"So how exactly does this work?" Rat asked, cautiously stepping around the male cat.
Snickers looked up at the popcorn ceiling. Was he thinking? Rat thought to herself. Or is he just ignoring me?
Rat and Snickers sat in silence and Rat decided to look up at the ceiling as well. What exactly the two trial friends were looking at, she wasn't sure. Perhaps the cat had died and saved Rat from ever having to talk to another living being ever again. Dreaming of her every day solitude, Rat closed her eyes. She would have her pipe, her spiders, her roaches... and suddenly it didn't feel as appealing anymore. Was Rat ever truly happy to begin with?
"I have an idea." Snickers says. If Rat could raise an eyebrow, she would. Instead she twitched her hairless tail, awaiting whatever grand plan the cat had crawling into his fur. "How about we give you a name?"
Rat deflates immediately and Snickers becomes alarmed, eyes wide, fur prickling, and a bit of his claws poking out. "Are you alright?" Snickers asked, alert.
Stalking back around Snickers to her pipe, Rat threw behind her "I already have a name, you dumb fur ball."
"Rat is not a name, it's what you are. Like I'm a cat, but you don't see humans or anyone else calling me Cat!" Snickers exclaimed.
Rat turned around with a snarl at the ready and Snickers jumped to his feet, suddenly afraid. Then he gave a little cat chuckle and sat back down a few tail lengths away, now seemingly afraid no longer of the small creature's attempt at dominance.
Rat calmed down and made her breathing less heavy. She seemed to have had an idea. "Friends aren't supposed to argue, right? They're supposed to be... friendly." Rat had hesitated, tasting the word on her tiny pink tongue. "I accepted your trial, so now I think we should do something my way. Instead of me changing MY name, how about we change yours? Instead of Snickers, you'll be called Cat."
The cat, too proud, quickly denied this silly request. Cat is not a name. Rat is not a name. He thinks Anadil would be a better one.
"And anyway," Rat continued, "Rat could stand for 'really awesome thing' and Cat could stand for 'crazy awesome thing'. So I'm really awesome and you're crazy awesome which is so much better than mine that it's actually crazy." Snickers seems to light up at this, reveling in the name now. He could actually be awesome. Nobody had ever called Snickers awesome before. His humans had called him cute, handsome, and soft but never complimented him so handsomely.
"Awesome." The cat tasted the word on his lips, imagining himself a shining star. Who could ever be more awesome than him? "Alright, I'll take it." Cat said, standing up straight and proud with his head held high, not hearing when Rat muttered something about "too easy".
"Okay, Cat. Now that you have been named a super crazy, awesome name, what is the first order of trial friend business?"
Cat seems to always take far too long to think because, once again, silence rang true. Rat went over the list in her tiny head. Friends talk: check. Friends play games: yet to do. Friends sleep together: yet to do, probably won't do.
Suddenly, Cat leaped up into the air and before Rat knew what was happening, a rough tongue was being pushed against her fur, picking up most of the dirt, dust, dust mites and little bit of mold that held some fur patches together. Gagging, the tongue retracted back into the Cats mouth and it looked like he was about to cough up a fur ball.
Rat felt mortified. Never had she ever felt so violated in her entire life. What the actual rat droppings?
Still coughing, Cat tried to talk, but kept gagging. Before Rat knew what was happening and by pure habit, she ran back into her pipe, scared out of her mind. When Cat had stopped coughing and retching, he walked up to the entrance of the pipe, first sniffing and then talking. "Why did you run in there?"
Still shivering, Rat didn't feel like talking.
"Rat?" It kept on like that until light rose above the trees the next morning. Cat hadn't been heard in a while and when Rat peeked out, she saw that Cat was sleeping soundly, curled up directly beside the rusted pipe. Stretching, the female rodent stepped out of the hole, and looked at where Cat had scraped her tongue. Where the rest of the rats fur was a dark gray, the licked area was a lighter color, but not by much. That may be because of all the layers of dirt and water on the fur. Perhaps with more licks, it would turn into the same color as when Rat was born.
She heard a shuffling and scuttled to the corner of the kitchen. Humans were out and about. At that moment, Cat awakened and sniffed the pipe again. If he wasn't careful, he would give away the location of her home and the humans would kill her. Or worse, kick her out. Then she'd be pecked on by birds and whatever other monsters and creatures lay out in the woods. How would she survive in such an environment?
Cat stretched and shuffled over to his food, lazily munching on the pebbles in his food bowl. Rat had tried it once and decided she'd rather eat the carcass of another rat then ingest something with such a lack of flavor.
Rat knew she was living a life of luxury compared to many other rodents. The others lived outside. As a rat, she could survive and thrive in a human environment. There was always food available and water at every corner. Rat never bathed much but hygiene had never really been part of her normal routine. However, hiding behind a plant in the humans food room, a part of her fur felt chilly as if it was only just breathing for the first time. Turning around, the spot was indeed the place where Cat had licked. Sighing in pitiful defeat, Rat found herself wanting that to be all of her fur. Why not feel refreshed for once in her life. Perhaps this time with warning, preparation, and consent, she could actually enjoy it instead of feeling violated again.
Cat, as if sending her thoughts and feelings, licked his lips, looked up towards the plant, and squinted, noticing something pink and tannish like a worm laying beside it.
If a cat could smile, Cat would. 🐀