Once upon a time there lay a lonesome rat, unafraid of her position. She eats the scraps the two-legged creatures provide on the hard land and hides in a pipe that goes from the floor into the tall, flat structure, always trying her best to avoid the cheese traps left behind and the fat, domestic animal the monsters call Snickers.
Perhaps the large predators hadn't known she lived here though it's not like she didn't mind. Life went on without a care and she was never bothered.
Another small animal skitters beside her front paws, scattering away from the ones who lived in the large box.
Great drops of water leaked from the pipe deeper into the tunnel and the rat lapped it up, devouring it to the best of her tiny ability.
Unbeknownst to the rat, Snickers the cat's ears twitched at the sound of rustling. The humans had only just reached the end of their wake time and were heading to their chamber long after nightfall. The moon held itself high into the sky and Snickers wondered why it seemed so far away. If only he had some company to share the moonlight with.
The rat drinking from the pipe scuttled back out of its tunnel and began scooping up the scraps underneath the dining table left behind by the humans.
Snickers had lived with this rat the entirety of his stay in the human home, but had never once decided to speak with it until now. He wondered if they could even properly communicate as they were very different species and the rat always squeaked whenever eating meals.
The sudden urge to hunt the rat made Snickers paws itch, but he held back so that he wouldn't do anything to hurt it. He wanted someone to watch the moon with not another meal to add to his pebble food collection.
His life felt very lonely despite the touches his humans give him whenever they please. They talk to him in high tongue and he purrs for them whenever they hit that itchy spot behind his ear. Snickers only wanted someone to talk to. He wanted to be able to play cat and mouse with the rat like the animated things on the TV show but without it living in fear. They could play Hide-N-Seek, Tag, they could spook birds and taunt the humans, and they could be the best of friends.
Is that what Snickers wanted? A friend? 🕳