The rats came and went. It was dark; it was damp; the mist drifted outside, limiting visibility. But within the colony's nest--hidden away among the stony Crags of Cetus--it was warm, and relatively dry.

A scraggly young male, damp and smelling of mud, scrambled in. He had a tiny drop of amethyst on one side of his head, and as he sat up and set about cleaning his whiskers, his claws clicked over it. A female, no gem visible on her body, pushed past him to sniff at the exit. To one side, a pair of smaller, younger rats tussled, one with a cluster of topaz along his back and flank--making him stiff in turning--and the other with a spike of some sort of silver-white, translucent gem sticking pointedly from his right foreleg.

An older rat stuck her head from the nest, whiskers quivering as she sniffed at the night air; she drew back, after a moment, satisfied that all was well. The much larger, black rats of Cetus--the ones with red eyes and long, wicked fangs--drove out the smaller brown rats wherever possible, and there were always predators lurking: Greater Gembound (though the rats were unaware of this) who hunted them and killed them. There was always danger; the rats were always on alert.

A very young rat--a male, with a small cluster of jagged, muddy brown gem at his left haunch--crept up along the tunnels. He had the wide-eyed, hesitant manner of the newly-hatched--he had only just fallen from his chrysalis, and the other rats, the nest, and the world at large were all new to him. He froze, one forepaw in the air and his head quickly tilting back, as the two older juveniles came to sniff him.

"No bite," the baby rat said, fearful but insistent. One of the juveniles leapt back; the other sniffed at him, blinking more intently. "No bite," the baby rat repeated, and now several of the rats were sniffing his way.

None of them responded, only skittering about in the nest.

The baby rat moved away, afraid, unsure of the others' intentions--they didn't seem hostile, exactly, but they also seemed to ignore him somewhat strangely. For a time he fidgeted, alone in the corner, so that the rats--their instincts suggesting that the loner must be ill--left him alone. He did grow lonely, but the first rat he approached, the older female, at once bit him and drove him back, for she had her own young one to care for and he was a stranger to her. He cried for mercy--"Stop! Why?! No! Please!"--but she drove him on, ignoring his pleading.

He hid, again, and he only emerged hours later, driven by the sharp pangs of hunger that had been gradually growing in his belly. He could find nothing, and he began to ask the others, with what few words he innately knew. "Food? Hungry. Please?"

But not one of them answered him.

The rat in the nest lay miserably alone, hungry, thirsty, and--despite the dozens all around him--entirely alone.

From behind the strange talking rat another figure appeared, like him seeking shelter from the elements. A beetle that, while smaller than the adult rats, absolutely dwarfed the child in size. It's armored body was black as the shadows themselves, but a mesmerizing orange glow radiated from neon patterns across its form.

The rats in the nest slinked away as it moved, but did not panic. They seemed to instinctually understand that this while this was a threat it wasn't nearly dangerous enough to abandon the relative safety of this place.

Ignore it and it might go away.

The little rat leapt near out of his own skin as something brushed up against him from behind. He sprang away, eyes wide, scurrying against the cave wall. The beetle trundled on past, and Archimedes' startled, frightened gaze watched its glowing orange spots trundle past and fade into the deeper darkness further in the nest.

He began to settle back down once he realized that the others were avoiding it, disregarding it. He realized belatedly that it might have been food--but some stirring wisdom in him warned him softly against chasing this one down, and eating it. Perhaps it was a logical conclusion drawn from seeing the other rats in his nest avoid it--or perhaps it was some long-forgotten instinct warning him against brightly-colored beetles. Whatever the case, he soon after felt himself going oddly numb along his left haunch and side.

Where the beetle had brushed him.

Frightened further, weary, hungry and disturbed, he crept back deeper into the rats' nest--totally hidden, along with the rest, deep inside the crevice.

He settled himself here miserably again, but now--rather than rest fitfully--all he could do was worry about this new issue. At length he tried to plead for help from another rat that passed him down the hall, one about his age. His voice was very, very soft, a mere whisper even among the rodents.

"Excuse me-..?" he tried. The rat jumped a little, stared at him sidelong, then hurried on without a word.

Archimedes lifted a paw, as if to follow--and stumbled.

Oh, this wasn't good.

This wasn't good at all.

The plan had been a simple one; travel from Canis through Tunnel K to Orion, then through Tunnel I to Polaris. The goal was to simply look around, see if there’s some nice food, some pretty treasures, and then head back to the den. All very much simple. And indeed, the plan had gone rather smoothly… at first.

Then somehow the two travels ended up getting lost in Tunnel I at some point. Vladis did not often travel outside of Canis though he insisted on leading as though he knew the way. His familiar had little choice but to follow in annoyance. Soon they had found their way into Eridanus instead. Deciding that was clearly not where they meant to go, they wanted through another tunnel.

Now they found themselves in a dank and misty cavern. Somehow it was more depressing than Canis was. But at least Canis had tasty bones to chew on and the occasional gemstone with any luck. Here there only appeared to be fog, damp earth, and the scent of stale water.

“Lovely,” Vladis grumbled while taking in the scenery. Ratty simply stayed quiet. It was tempting to simply go back and try again to find their way towards Polaris. He had heard in passing that it was a lovely area and was bound to be filled with treasures. Yet his paws ached and his belly growled none too quietly. Taking a short rest stop would probably do them well.

The two moved on before the tanuki stopped, fed up with the troubles. “Ratty, make yourself useful. Why don’t you scurry on and see if you see anything nice to eat while ah set up camp.” He tried in vain to stifle a yawn.

Ratty rolled her eyes but nodded. “Yeah, yeah,” the echoing grey rat mumbled in his mind before she dashed off.

While she too was from Canis, she had spent some time before being bound to Vladis in wonderings with her small pack. As such, she was use to different environments and adapted much more easily. It also appeared she was more apt to travel than the lazy raccoon dog was. So off she dashed in search of what food she could gather. While traveling, she also took note of the various other rat packs that lived in the area. Even if she no longer belonged to one, it was useful to know.



Speech. Thought. Ratty's Out Loud Ratty's Telepathy

Tag: @Archimedes
Notes:

Archimedes, after some hours of shivering numbness and fearful misery, ignored by his comrades bar an occasional cursory sniff or show of teeth, had eventually crept his way again to the entrance of the den. His stomach still gnawed at him, and he lay in a state of deeply-stressed indecisiveness.

Some part of him felt that maybe, just maybe, food lay outside the den--it was why the others were coming and going, after all, and those that returned did smell well-fed. Yet when he peered outside, the world was massive.

Impossibly vast, pitch black and full of mist, damp and cold and full of strong smells. Those odors ranged from "overpowering" to "fascinating," but Archimedes had no idea what lay beyond.

Several times he tried to question those going in and out, but was again ignored, or pushed aside. It was so strange; the others didn't seem hostile, as such, but deliberately ignored him.

Is something wrong with me..? Do they want me gone? Is this all some terrible trick? There must be something wrong with me.

Hungry beyond measure he lay there, only his head and forepaws barely-visible at the entrance to the nest nestled in the stone. Whiskers quivered, nose worked, bright eyes stared about, but he just could not bring himself to leave. The hunger wasn't that bad, yet--not enough to overpower the fear.

He did, however, continue to call out to each rat that he saw pass, or approach, his young voice less hopeful with every attempt.

"Hello?"
"Is there food?"
"Excuse me--I have question?"
"I'm sorry--why no one talking to me?"

@Vladis

Vladis originally found himself curled up on the ground for a nap. The earth of Cetus was damp and the air muckier than he was use to, but he’d try to make due. But sleep did not come easily despite the yawn he could finally give. He tossed first one way, then another, before lying on his back in contempt. Ears flattened with a soft growl of annoyance.

Very soon his stomach answered his unspoken question. Hunger was harder to tolerate than sleepiness was. With a snort, the tanuki rolled over and slowly stood up. It would seem that the two mammals would both be looking for food. Though his might be the easier of the hunting, looking more for tasty berries and such.

“Never mind, I’m gonna look for some grub to. Let me know if you find any,” Vladis mentally reported to his familiar.

The familiar, meanwhile, was not too surprised by the change in preference in her partner. She found him to be a bit of a fickle creature at times. No matter. She was given leave of him for a time and she planned on taking advantage of it while she could.

The echoing grey rat wandered through the swampy lands. It was easy enough for a wild creature to find the hidden tunnels and pathways left by other lesser gembounds. While the connection that now linked her to Vladis did aid her mentally, instinct was still strong in her and it guided her well. Travel was easy enough.

The only concern was the presence of a number of rats. Her kind were among the smaller of the various rodents that lived in the cave system. As she carried the scent of a greater gembound along her fur, she was not as worried about the others as much. Still, some creatures are more territorial than others. And Ratty had no desire to get into a fight at this time.

Despite these concerns, she found herself stopping near the home of an oversized mischief of rats. There was something about it that drew her. As she got closer, she realized it was the faint sound of a voice like the greater gembounds used. The rat moved hesitantly closer until she could more clearly see the entranceway closest to her.

Shiny eyes became puzzled for there was a small baby rat. It was clearly quite young but none of the other nearby rats appeared to lay claim to it. More puzzling still, the faint voice appeared to be coming from it. How could that be? She had not heard of a greater gembound taking the shape of one of their own. Then again, they often took quite a myriad of shapes.

Ratty was already an adult by the time Vladis had found her. If things had gone like originally planned, she most likely would have found a mate and made her way about starting her own pack with a litter of pups. Things changed as she became bounded with the strange tanuki and such thoughts were pushed from her brain. Seeing the abandoned child reawakened that maternal instinct. And instinct is quite a strong thing for lesser gembounds.

Cautiously, Ratty moved towards the baby. While she wanted to help, she did not want to invoke the wrath of any of the other rats nearby. As she drew closer, she tried to think of the best way to calm the youngster. He spoke using the greater tongue, so it made sense to try and mimic something she had heard to soothe him. She was reminded of the small chick she had met when she met Vladis ... she had spoken defensive words towards her and her pack mates at the time. Perhaps those would work here.

"Don't hurt me! I didn't do it!" While she tried to keep the volume low, she could only do so much about the inflection and tone of the avian voice she now mimicked. She kept her body lower to seem less threatening, pausing a moment after her words to see how the pup would react.


Speech. Thought. Ratty's Out Loud Ratty's Telepathy

Tag: @Archimedes
Notes: I'm sure Ratty is sounding much creepier than intended, lol

Archimedes' head came off his forepaws once more as another rat approached. This time, though, he paused, blinking and staring, whiskers quivering.

The other rat was bigger than many here--and grayer, a somewhat shaggier rat whose entire shape and color didn't quite seem to fit with his own colony. Her odor, as it wafted to him, was something alien as well--something larger, hotter, though he couldn't at all justify this thought or even explain it to himself. How did something smell larger, or hotter?! Before his mind could get too lost in this, however, the other rat spoke.

Archimedes stumbled back and up, his little heart racing and his dark eyes springing wide.

"Hurt you?! I won't hurt you?" he cried, alarmed. His words were clumsy, one tumbling over the other in their unfamiliarity. He hesitated, still in the mouth of his nest, and then leaned out to sniff.

Is it injured, maybe? Did something make it look different? A brief and frantic inspection netted him nothing--there were no wounds that he could see, no smell of blood or the like, though his experience with such things was nil. Only instinct guided him, there, and he found himself at a loss, wondering worriedly if there were wounds that wouldn't drip blood, if there might be damage that he couldn't see or sense.

A few scrambled steps and he was toppling from the nest to crawl toward Ratty, whiskers working and expression concerned. He kept a safe distance, pausing with a forepaw trembling in the air, his pulse still quite rapid.

His head swam with it all.

A new world, one that ignored him--and then a dark stranger, coming from the mist, calling out as if wounded--but smelling of strange beast.

What was all of this?

The rodent was pleased as the young pup came closer and started to inspect her. She took it as a sign that her verbiage was working. He seemed concerned but she merely took it as her being able to speak the greater tongue (to a degree) and how different she was from the rest of his colony. Whiskers twitched as she took began to sniff and assess the other rat. Overall, he seemed okay, but definitely malnourished. It was clear that none of the rats of the colony were his type nor were willing to act the role of a guardian to him.

Meanwhile, a distance away, a certain tanuki was slowly growing impatient. He had managed to find a bush of creeping dogwood that would make for a decent snack and it was difficult waiting for his familiar to return before feasting on it. But with a rumbling stomach, the temptation was growing larger and larger.

“Hey Ratty, you headin’ back soon? I found some berries.”

The echoing grey paused in her examination of the young gembound while listening to the message from Vladis. It was fairly faint in her head but with concentration she could just make it out. Apparently, it was time to head back before the tanuki became cranky. He was quite irritable and more annoying when that happens.

This left the question about what to do with the pup. If he remained here, there was a question of who would take care of him. Would he be able to survive on his own? She had to make a quick decision.

“Heading back soon,” She mentally cried out to Vladis in return. Then her attention turned back to the gembound. A decision had to be made.

And so, she made one. “Don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me,” she repeated to the gembound. It had seemed to work before. Perhaps such phrasing would work more. As she spoke, she crept closer to the pup. Then as quick as she could, she reached out a front paw to attempt to pull him close enough to be able to grasp the nape of his neck and carry him back.



Speech. Thought. Ratty's Out Loud Ratty's Telepathy

Tag: @Archimedes
Notes: Ratty will now attempt to grab him and claim him as her own pup, if you're up for that plot.

The rat pup leapt back with an alarmed squeak as the other lunged. What was this?! What was it doing? The "don't hurt me" was eerie enough but it seemed almost to be a trick as the Echoing Gray scooted rapidly closer. The already-wary Archimedes, smaller but apparently quicker, at least for now, skittered back.

A half-glance behind him showed that the other rats were hiding--perhaps afraid of the larger gray rodent.

He looks back to Ratty warily, now keeping a healthy distance from her.

"What do you want? Can you help? What are you doing?" His whiskers trembled, dark eyes wide. Everything was terrible, really. His colony ignored him, the world was dark and murky and this rat, the only stranger he'd thus far met who'd speak to him, merely spoke terrifying nonsense before leaping at him.

Was it a lure..? Did it even understand what it was saying? Perhaps it was a predator that only looked like a rat, and that's why it looked-... off? Maybe it lured others closer with sweet, nonsensical words, and then ate them up!

Horrifying images tore through Archimedes' mind, thoughts of what Ratty might look like in her true and terrible form! Five feet tall, dripping with blood, with seventeen fangs--at least!

He cowered back, staring and quivering, unwilling to draw closer.

I'll just react IC! So far he's like NOOOPE

@Vladis

Ratty watched with some surprise as the younger rat swiftly moved away from her. He had seemed uneasy but comfortable enough approaching her just a moment ago. Now all of a sudden, he seemed nervous in her presence. She sat on her hind legs in silent puzzlement while trying to figure out what went wrong. Perhaps she had acted too quickly, spurred on by her partner’s request. This was a healthy instinct of the young rat pup if one were to be fair. However, this would not work, though. Not at all. The pup needed care and that wasn’t possible if he was too scared to approach or allow her to approach. Whiskers quivered in perplexing situation that was faced.

Part of her wondered about simply leaving the pup there. He was not kin to her, not part of her old pack or even of the same sub-type of rodent as she was. There were many rats around though they currently hid themselves from her. Wouldn’t one of them take pity on the poor creature and house him until he was large enough to leave on his own?

As soon as the thought occurred, Ratty knew the answer to that. He was different. Different meant risk, meant danger and possibly death to lesser ones. Even for herself despite being partnered with one of the greater ones, constantly fighting the unease that would appear on occasion at the absurdity of the situation. No, if he stayed on his own it would more than likely be his doom; if not by starvation than by being an easy prey to another.

So engulfed was she in her thoughts that when a larger shadow overtook her, she became at once startled. The echoing grey reared around, flashing her incisors and glaring at the creature who had managed to sneak up upon her.

At least, until she noticed who it was. For before her was an unfortunately all too familiar tanuki. Despite a mouth full of plants with red berries, his maw was crinkled in displeasure at the greeting. “ ‘Am ‘ats,” he grumbled past the plants, glancing at the even more skittish rat colony.

“You startled me,” Ratty rebuked him, relaxing her posture despite the firm tone in his mind.

“Ya took too long,” Vladis grumbled in return. “Wha? Wanted to visit family or somethin’?”

Ratty snorted in annoyance at the question. Once again, Vladis’ lack of observation and intelligence was showing. Sometimes she wondered how he managed to survive. If he had been a lesser, he’d most certainly have been eaten by now.

“Not family. But there’s a pup in need. I was trying to get him.” Ratty looked back over her shoulder to where the rat pup was.

The tanuki followed her glance and noticed the young rat. “ ‘Scawi wiw han’, an e?” he mumbled in the common language of greater gembounds. Realizing the difficulty in talking with a full mouth, he dropped his gatherings. “What’s your name, kid?”



Speech. Thought. Ratty's Out Loud Ratty's Telepathy

Tag: @Archimedes
Notes: Sorry the post is so long! It's hard to write short posts with a 1.5 characters! ;n;

First mumbled line: ‘Am ‘ats = Damn Rats
Second mumbled line: ‘Scawi wiw han’, an e = Scrawny lil thing, ain't he