"That was pretty good boss!" Dex commented as he took the last bite of his bread. "Fresh bread sure beats moldy bread, doesn't it?" Rex laughed. Whitey quickly nodded his head with puffy cheeks.
Ken walked and ate as the two mice continued their conversation. They had gotten a few extra copper and silver coins for the jewelry they had 'found' earlier. Since Ken had only gotten two pieces of fresh bread, they still had a decent amount of money saved over.
Ken didn't mind sleeping on the streets, he liked to save money where he could. He remembered what it was like to live in a home from those years ago, and he wanted to have his own one day. Living off of cheap food and sleeping in the streets was a great way to save money. He'd only want to pay for the bare essentials.
As Ken turned a corner, he found himself colliding with yet another person. Ken looked at the man and his face paled a little. It was the pot bellied man from earlier, and with two guards accompanying him this time.
"Watch whe-hey! It's you!" The man yelled as he pointed an accusatory finger at Ken, "This is the one I'm telling you! I'm sure this brat is the one that took my watch."
Ken's face paled further when he noticed who one of the guards were. "Kenneth Lovell," Henry sighed. "Got yourself into more trouble? How many times have we done this?"
Ken grimaced internally. He hated when people said his last name. It reminded him of his parents and what happened. "Come on son, give the man his watch and be on your way."
"No! Not only do I want my watch back, but I want compensation for my time and this inconvenience as a whole!" Spit practically flew from the man's mouth as he yelled at Henry.
The old guard sighed again and gave Ken a look. "I-I don't have it," Ken stammered. "Where is it?" Henry asked. "Just give us the watch back boy," The second guard chimed in.
Ken was contemplating on whether or not he should run when the pot bellied man suddenly grabbed him. Quickly finding Ken's small pouch of coins, the man poured its contents onto his hand. "This thieving little shit sold it! And for a handful of silvers and coppers no less? That watch was worth tens of gold!"
Ken figured the watch was worth more than what he got for it, but that was part of selling stolen goods to shady merchants that don't ask questions. Ken was definitely going to correct the man for how much he had actually sold it for.
"I demand for this brat to be thrown in jail! I'm sure my watch is long gone by now and I have to pay for another one!" Vein's bulged from the man's temple as he spoke.
Henry's lips tightened as he began to pull a set of rusty iron shackles from his belt. "You did it this time kid. I'm sorry but you're going to have to come with us."
The second guard quickly took hold of Ken as Henry spoke, grabbing the iron cuffs and slapping them on Ken's wrists. "Good! Now I assume you two don't mind if I keep this as recompense then, correct?" The merchant asked as he put the coins back into their pouch and then into his pocket.
Henry shook his head, "No sir. We'll take care of this from here, you may go about your day."
"Hmph, another rat off the street," The man sneered as he began to walk away. "Let's get going kid," Henry said as the second guard pulled on the shackles attached to Ken. The day had just gone from strange, to great, to worse.
///
By the time Ken and the guards had made it to the cell Ken would be staying in, the rays from the sun were gone, leaving only the moonlight penetrating the dreary stone room.
Once the bar door was closed, the two guards locked the cell and walked off, leaving Ken and his companions behind the steel bars. Scattered hay along the floor led to a slightly raised mound of hay, presumably Ken's bed.
Sitting down on the floor and leaning his back against the wall, Ken sighed. The two mice left the confines of his pockets and perched themselves on his shoulders. "Well, what do we do now?" Rex asked from his left. "I-I don't think I can last long in jail boss," Dex said shakily from Ken's right.
"Well, you can leave anytime you want. I'm the one stuck here. Just my luck." Ken blew out a breath. The three sat in silence for a moment before a new voice caught their attention.
"Well, what do we have here?" A hoarse voice asked from below, "Look boys, we got us a couple of street mice here." A collection of similar sounding laughs cut through the silence of the cell.
Ken looked around, trying to find the source of the voices. "Rats," Rex hissed. Looking down to the corner of the room where steel bars were met with the stone wall, Ken noticed the four large rats slowly making their way towards them.
"I don't like rats, boss!" Whitey cried as he crawled into the safety of Ken's pocket. Rex sat defiantly on Ken's shoulder looking down his nose at the group approaching.
"Come on down from there and talk to us for a moment," The rat at the front of the group laughed. "We just want to show you around. We're just trying to get to know our new neighbors. Say, is that your owner?"
The group continued their advance until Ken spoke up first. "No, they're not my pets. They're my partners and if you try to hurt them, I'll step on you."
The rats froze in place, looking up at Ken with bewilderment on their furred faces. "Did he just talk to us?" One of the rats asked. "I think so," another one quipped. "Humans can't understand us," the third one said with a scoff. "Shut up all of you!" The leader hissed, making the other rats go silent.
Turning his attention back to Ken, the leader spoke, "Do you truly understand us?"
"Loud and clear," Ken replied. The three rats in the back began to whisper amongst each other. "I'm guessing you understand those mice on your shoulder as well, right?" Ken nodded. "How strange," The leader muttered to himself.
After a moment of silence, the leader spoke again, "What's that you said about being partners again?"
"We're business partners. Though we just started today, the plan was to work together. Though things have been put on hold for now due to this," Ken gestured to the room they were in.
"Yeah, it seems so. Let me guess. Got caught stealing something am I right? Young, scrawny, and dirty. A street rat, so to speak," the leader laughed.
"Something like that," Ken replied bluntly.
"I figured. You get a feel for people when you live in a place like this. Anyways, how about a deal?" The leader asked.
"What kind of deal?" Ken asked with raised brow.
"Don't trust him! He's a rat," Rex whispered to Ken.
The leader continued, "I've got a few dozen rats that I look out for. Most of us live within the walls of the jail. Life's not great, but it's not bad either. Either way, we're rats. We're at the mercy of those who spot us, so it's a fifty-fifty chance whether we'll be squashed or not. That's just the life of a rodent, I'm sure your friends there understand what I mean."
Rex shifted uncomfortably for a moment. As much as the brown mouse didn't want to admit it, the rat was right. Life was never guaranteed, especially for small creatures like themselves.
The rat continued, "Like I said, life ain't exactly sweet for us. However, the fact that we can talk to each other gives us opportunities that could help both of us. Just like your partners, I say we scratch each other's backs. We get valuables and the likes for you, and when you get out, you get us a place to live. We'll make you rich and you provide a safe and cozy life for us. How's that sound?"
Ken pondered for a moment. In truth it really didn't sound like a bad deal at all. He never really held ill will against rodents. Hell, he's practically been one himself for years.
Taking a moment to look at Rex, Ken turned back to the rat, "Alright, I can do that. But if any of you harm Rex or Dex then consider yourselves paste."
The rat bowed for a moment, "Of course. Then consider it a done deal. While you're holed up here, I'll send word to the others to start collecting valuables."
Before the group could leave, Ken spoke up again, "I'll need something to call you by. How does Fitz sound?"
"Fitz," the rat repeated, "Yeah, I think that's fine." Before he could turn around, Fitz began to glow along with Ken, slightly illuminating the small room.
Fitz' body had slightly grown, and his wiry frame from before was fuller, and his fur seemed to grow as well, just like with what happened to Rex and Dex. All four rats' eyes were wide in bewilderment once again.
"What just happened?" Fitz asked as he studied his new and improved self. "I'm not so sure either," Ken shrugged, "But it seems that if I name a mouse or rat, they seem to improve somehow. I'm still figuring it all out. How do you feel?"
Fitz clenched his paw for a moment, "Stronger." Ken nodded, "Well, if you want, I can give all of your people names." Fitz studied Ken, then looked at the three very eager rats next to him. "Alright, that's fine," was all Fitz could get out. In truth, the rat was unsure of itself. This entire situation was too strange. Yet Fitz had a feeling that somehow, things might turn out alright for once.