They returned home and saw Sharp, sitting by the game table.
"Heeeeyy guysss....What took you so long?" he asked in the most relaxed, non-chalant tone. Sharp sat there with two hands crossed over each other, completely relaxed, flaunting an endearing smile.
"I got here way before any of you. For a moment I was worried the Cat had gobbled you up" he chortled.
"You have the nerve to sit there and act smug after the shit you just pulled??? Taking the Mint out of the Giant's hand while he was asleep??? And the cat running after me while you came back here and gave Mother the Mint like some glorified hero??? Sharp if I were you, I'd just stay quiet for the rest of the afternoon" I snapped, stomping past him to the water bucket.
Reaching over the bucket I took it up in my hands, realizing that it was empty.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me..." I cursed under my breath. Running up and down had left me dreadfully thirsty, and all that had been on my mind was to get a nice, cool drink of water before I really began to tear into Cheesy and Sharp more for their blatant stupidity.
But there was none. And that made me even more livid. I walked up to Sharp and stood right beside him at the table, ready to square up with him. I never believed in violence ever, but I figured that maybe I would be able to knock some sense into his head so that he could see the bigger picture, and stop fighting over frivolous, vain things, like whose doing better than who.
"All this bragging and boasting you've been doing, and you couldn't fill the bucket up in the bathroom?? Your such an asshole. " I declared.
"First you run off, leaving the cat to come after me and almost kill me just because you wanted to prove a point and now, you're sitting here like you're the hero. If Cheesy hadn't been there to help me, I could have died because of you!!!" My voice echoed in the room while I belted out my concerns.
Sharp sat there, unbothered and sniggering at my fury. Seeing how cocky he was still further annoyed me so I grabbed his chest by his fur, pulling him forward.
"Everything's a joke to you isn't it?? You think putting us in a life and death situation like that is funny??" I threatened, Sharp still trying to cover his smile, amused at all that was happening.
"Sharp where's Mother???" Cheesy asked in the background. That alone broke my concentration and I let go of him, looking around the room to her nesting.
It was empty. I looked around some more and Mother Mince was nowhere to be found.
I peered at him wildly, wondering what explanation he would give this time.
He continued smiling like an idiot still, raising his hands and gesturing that he didn't know where Mother had gone off to. Just as he did that my eyes enlarged in appall.
"You fool!! She isn't well why would you let her go like that-" I deviated my path and head to the door.
As I stood there, Mother Mince leaned against the peephole, a warm smirk on her face.
"I hope you bucks didn't get into too much trouble while I was out.."
..........................................
"Mother!!!" Cheesy and Burrow chimed simultaneously, running to me with opened arms.
"Ohhhh my babies!!!" A light, airy warmth enveloped me as I saw my sons, all three of them together, not in pieces, not looking rugged, not with any serious scraps.
They were all here, and it looked like they handled themselves well. What was I expecting after all? I did raise them to the best of my abilities.
I breathed in and out, wrapping my arms around them and trying my best to stop the oncoming tears. I always got so emotional looking at them...It felt like just yesterday they were so tiny and squiggly and warm, squirming under me and praying for breastmilk; now look at them!! Big and rumbunctious, fully functioning adults.
I felt a sense of relief, knowing that if anything were to happen to me, they would look out for each other.
"Mother we thought we lost you" Burrow looked up to me with tears in his eyes, my heart breaking as he said that.
'"You could never lose me Burrow. I'll always be here, for all of you. Your courage, your strength, your heart, it's all me. And I'm always there" she comforted her babies, kissing the top of their heads as they surrounded her.
"Now, let's eat!! I haven't eaten a proper meal in days, and I bet you boys are ravenous after that chase that cat's put you through" Mother laughed, all of them shuffling to the dining table.
..............................................................................
We had a grand feast.
Mother laid out the table with chicken pieces, bread, bologna, corned beef, and cheese, which cheesy mostly ate.
''Let's bow our heads boys before we say our prayers" Mother announced, Sharp, Burrow and Cheesy holding each other hands with her in the middle.
"Our heavenly Father we come to you this very day, saying thank you for bringing our family together. Thank you for giving us the healing and the protection that we need to see each other again. Thank you for the food, for the privilege to be alive, and most importantly thank you for brotherhood. God I ask you to spread your protection and love over my sons and help them to see that no matter what trials and tribulations may come, family and looking out for each other will always triumph the worst evils. Amen"
'Amen" the rest of us finished, everyone finally sitting down to enjoy a family dinner; something we hadn't had in a very long time.
Cheesy filled his mouth with as much cheese as he could grab, overindulging himself while we kept talking to Mother about all the things that happened to us while she was out. He finished munching and began telling mother of how brave him and I had been.
"So Burrow overslept and Sharp left out to go get the Mint himself, and Burrow woke up and they both found that the Giant had the mint leaf in his ha –"Sharp coughed loudly before he could finish getting the word out, both him and I secretly eyeing Cheesy.
"Well, you know Mother I got the Mint leaf quite easily, just plucked it right out there. I'm just happy it made you better" he said coolly. Mother watched Cheesy intently, fully with drawn in what Cheesy was about to bust. Cheesy saw the look we gave him and picked up on it, deciding to fill his mouth with more food.
Mother turned around and looked at Sharp and Burrow, her eyes heightened in curiosity. We both gave her the most innocent looks and smiles, offering her more food.
The point is that she didn't need to know the exact risk they took to get the plant, all that mattered is that she felt better. The brothers feared that if she did know how close they got to the Giant, she would freak out.
They had to play it cool.
"Sharp helped me get the mint and he saved us from the cat Mom. Cheesy did a great job healing your wounds and he also helped me out a great deal from falling of a ledge in the storeroom. Everyone helped each other it was great" Burrow chimed in, looking around with a sense of joy to his brothers. Sharp smiled and nodded and so did Cheesy, proud that they all worked together.
'Well yes I did have a bit a trouble getting the mint but I got it! That big old cat feels like he can bully anyone but I'm not afraid of him! Not one bit! He tried to gobble up Burrrow and I threw a vase in his head! Else Burrrow would've been cat chow.. That cat doesn't frighten me at all!" Sharp boasted, Mother flashing Burrow a aggravated look.
" That's my sons!! Coming up with quick schemes in a short space of time!! I know I can always trust you guys. Thank you so much Burrow for bringing me that aloe plant, and the mint –" Just as Mince said that Burrow and Sharp corrected her at the same time.
"Sharp brought the Mint Mother" Burrow said.
"I Brought the Mint Mother" Sharp reminded.
"Right yes!! I'm just happy that Burrow as your older brother has great leadership in guiding you and you all work together so well! I love all of you." Mother rubbed their heads together and brought them in for kisses, Burrow and Cheesy smiling and blushing.
Sharp hugged her, with his eyes looking maliciously at Burrow. He sighed deeply. How did Burrow still manage to get all the praise despite the fact that he did the work too? He was the one that went out and got the Mint after all. So why was the conversation about him? Why didn't Mother tell him that he was a good son too?
'Mother may I be excused? I'm really tired and I'd like to go to bed now" Sharp asked, stopping everyone amidst their fun and celebrations.
''Oh Sharp yes sure. You've done so much you can go right on ahead and sleep" she assured him.
With that Sharp nodded his head and told everyone goodnight, going to his corner of the room, and snuggling up. Burrow narrowed his eyes at Sharp's strange behavior. He was expecting Sharp to be more enthusiastic, but, instead, he was calm. Quiet. To himself.
..........................................................................
Night came and everyone slept soundly. That night we joined our nesting's together and slept with Mother, her being in the middle while Cheesy and I slept to the opposite ends of each side. Sharp stood in a corner by himself, on his own nesting, parted off from us.
I found it odd how he was acting. He was the one that wanted to prove to Mother and to me that he was responsible too; that he could take on more. He successfully got the Mint bush, played super hero by foolishly dropping that vase on the cat's head. Now that he informed Mother about his "brave acts" and saw that she was pleased, why was he staying to himself??
Wasn't he happy that Mother was alive and well?? Who cared about who saving the most and being the most???
Sharp was prioritizing the wrong things, but that was the least of my concerns.
What worried me most was if Mother would stick to her promise and still want us to experience the outside world? I rolled over and sighed, a million thoughts running through my mind.
I twisted to the other side and closed my eyes, but nothing happened. I turned to the other side, and much of the same thing happened. No matter what I did, sleep was impossible.
So I did what my mind was telling me to do. It was time Sharp and I had another one of our midnight conversations.
I got up, tip toeing over to Sharp's nesting on the far left, sitting down beside him as he slept.
"Sharp!! Hey wake up." I whispered, resting my paw on his shoulder. I rocked him back and forth, gently.
"Sharp!! Come on I know you can hear me. Wake up!!" I kept insisting, poking Sharp in his side. Sharp sniffed, shrugging my paw off his shoulder and ignoring me. I decided to get a bit louder.
'"Sharp!!''I voiced.
Sharp sighed deeply, turning around to face me on his side.
"What Burrow??" he answered grumpily in his sleep, his eyes barely open.
"Why were you acting so strange today? Mom's finally good and you leave the table?? What was that aboout" I headed straight to the point, knowing that when it came on to asking questions, it was best to hit head first when dealing with him.
"Go to sleep you idiot. Stop asking foolish questions" With that said Sharp turned his back to me and continued resting. I was still suspicious, but I decided to try going to sleep again.
...............................................................................
The next day had come rather quickly, it was early morning. The dew drops were still on the leaves, the place still had fog, and everybody was asleep. Except To-mas.
The feline got up from the couch, edge its back up into the air and stretched, before lazily making his way to the man's bedroom door. He looked at his owner sleeping peacefully in his bed, reflecting on how kind he had been to himm since he got here. It was the first time any Human had showed him any amount of Love. He found it strange...
Suddenly, To-mas felt slightly guilty. He bit the Human on his hand yesterday. Maybe he shouldn't have done that.
"Ah well, what's done is done" the cat muttered to himself, making his way to the cat door, and going outside. He came out the door and jumped up on the railing of the patio, jumping down into the garden beside the house quickly and concealing himself; before anyone saw him.
Every morning To-mas would make sure to come outside at this exact time, before the sun came up and it was still cold outside. Yes it was cold as ever, but with great rewards, came great sacrifice.
He looked up to the oak tree and heard a noise. Then, as expected, he saw a great black and white bird flapping its wings, leaving the tree with her nest of eggs open.
She did this every day. Got up at 6, left her nest to go get food, then she would take a few minutes before coming back.
That was it. That would be my window of opportunity, the cat thought greedily to himself. It had been only three days now since she had them. He knew her routine now. Now that he did all he had to do, was wait. Patiently.
The rat meat was nice. Hell, the rat meat was always nice, but he had never ever sampled the babies of such a great bird before. Now that would be an interesting switch of palette for his tongue.. As soon as those eggs hatched, he would be there. Waiting.
..............................................................................
The next morning the rodent family is fully awake, still elated from their party last night. Mince is preparing breakfast from the leftovers, with some carrot strips and broccoli that she had saved. Sharp was cleaning his area, Burrow was inspecting something and Cheesy was just sitting up to awaken his body from sleeping.
As Mince turned over the carrot strip, she saw some dirt on it, dusting it off with her hand but then realizing that it would be better to wash it.
She looked around for the bottle cap with water in it, Sharp being the closet to it.
"Sharp sweetie can you bring that bottlecap of water to me please" she asked softly. Sharp, who was moving cotton pieces of his bed back and forth stopped, picking up the water and walking briskly to get to her. There was a small rock of rubble on the ground below his feet.
"Sharp be careful, slow down else-" just as Mince was about to warn him, Sharp stepped on the rubble and fell, the water splashing all over the place on the ground.
"Oh Drats.." Mother sighed, rolling her eyes as she looked down at Sharp.
"I told you to stop walking so fast! Look what you made happen!! Water wasted all over the floor. Now I'll have to go get some water from the bathroom and I didn't want to go out today" she complained, her hands on her hips.
"Why can't you take advice and listen for once in your life Sharp? See how Burrow listens to me and stays out of trouble? Be more like that" Mince hissed, shaking her head and turning around to continue cleaning the carrots. Sharp glared at her with nothing but hate in his eyes, Burrow coming over him and stretching out his paw to help him up. Sharp swatted his paw away and got up himself.
"Why can't I be more like Burrow you say???" Sharp asked, Mince raising her eyebrows and slowly turning around to face him.
"Why should I be more like Burrow? For what? Is it because he speaks well all the time. Doesn't curse, doesn't use any slang. And apparently, he's the only one that's responsible that can make good decisions in this house" Sharp's eyes were beaming at her now, not moving off of her for not even a second.
"Sharp your blowing things out of proportion-"
"Am I Mother??" Sharp rose his voice slightly, Mother's eyes opening towards him in surprise.
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me you-"
"No!! Mother." Sharp came closer to her now, she stopped midair of wagging her finger at him. Cheesy and Burrow looked on quietly, the place filled with tension.
"Cheesy may be afraid to say it to you but not me. You act as if Burrow is the only son that you ever had, like he's the golden child and everything he does is perfect. He's the only one that you praise. But he isn't the only one doing things around here." He paused.
"I'm the one that got you the mint leaf. I'm the one that saved Burrow and Cheesy's behinds from getting eaten alive by that monstrous cat. What about that? And you never blinked an eye to tell me how good I've done. Or even Cheesy who was constantly making sure that your fever wasn't too high! " Cheesy sighed and scratched his head, wondering what possessed Sharp this morning to make such a fuss.
" Sharp that is untrue. I 've told all of you that I loved you, I love all of my sons. You sound jealous of your brothers-'
"Jealous of who? Of what?? I can't be jealous of the King! I'm but a peasant. He's on the pedestal! You know what you and Burrow were made for each other. Both pretending to be something to be that they are not. " Sharp turned to go out the door and Mother followed behind him, her eyes squinted in fury.
"Don't you dare disrespect me after all the things I've gone through for all of you!!! Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!!! And just what am I pretending to be???" Just as she commanded him, Sharp swirled around and looked at her from head to toe.
"Your pretending to be a rodent when your just.. a rat!!!"the sound of a slap bellowed across the room, Mince striking Sharp across his face.
"Don't you dare!!! Use that kind of language in my household!!Get out !!" she hurled insults at him as he made his way out, Cheesy standing there with his paws covering his mouth, and Burrow standing there feeling a mix of emotions, not knowing that this was how Sharp felt all along.
...............................................................................
Sharp headed for the bathroom, hiding himself underneath the cupboard where the pipes were. He was pacing back and forth, angry about the argument with Mother.
"Oh Burrow you're so responsible, you're so smart, you're not like your brothers, I'll kiss your feet now anything you want my one and only son.!!!" he mocked in the highest pitch his voice could go, doing his best impersonation of Mother Mince.
''Drats it all!! It's like he's the only rodent in the world" Sharp mumbled to himself.
"Just wait. I'll get the hell out of here and leave her with the two sons she wanted, Burrow and Cheesy. Alll she evver cared about was them!!!! To hell with me, right?? So, screw the family then!! I'll get out of here on my own!!! I'll leave them to themselves in this cursed house so the cat can gobble them up" Sharp rose his fists, pumping them in the air as he cursed.
Suddenly, he saw a light come in, the door of the cupboard began to slightly open as he stood there talking to himself. He jumped from his position and hid in a dark corner, behind a metal pipe that came out of the ceiling.