Newton's adventure picks up where we left off, and among other things, our little wandering mouse meets the Billy cat he's heard so much about..

Billy

“You know…” Newton’s ears perked slightly as they always did, instincts on alert every time the voice of the immense cats echoed around him “if you, do decide to stay for more games, you might need to stop being such a miseryguts”
The semi-feral mouse grunted, tail and backside pressed still into the rough pads of the giant cat’s paw, taking a moment to stew over how to best respond to Matthew. He was done talking, he wanted to be back in the village, so maybe some of the tension from the game, the dangerous aroma of cat, and the unsettling feeling of being on living, moving ground could abate.
But he couldn’t do it… “Oh, sorry… I’ll try to smile next time one of you tries to kill me…”
“That, that’s what I’m talking about” the white and grey feline had paused by the door to the cupboard where the mouse village was nestled, lifting his paw a bit closer to his face “It’s just something to think about… I get it, you’ve had, a really rough time, yesterday was bad… the game today could have gone smoother for you. I get all that… but you know, a lot of the fun is in the immersion. That’s all I’m saying… I know you’re deciding if you stay or not… but it just hit me if you do plan to stay, you can’t, constantly be down on the game while doing it… you need to play along”
“Or I get eaten?” Newton added, eying the feline’s immense features. There was a lot about the cats which wasn’t so very different from a mouse… shape was different, eyes were different, but otherwise, not much.
Matthew’s eyes narrowed to thin slits, whiskers folding forward as the other paw raised into view for a moment. Newton felt his anger melt to liquid fear, he knew, deep inside he was about to be bitten, but, then a quick shake of his head saw the whiskers fold, and the paw go down again, an exasperated sigh exploding out of the cat “that’s, not fair”
“No?” Newton pressed, though, with less force behind his words than he wanted, briefly shaken
“No” Matthew retorted, Newton’s perch dropping suddenly, needing to cling to the fingers as Matthew’s arms moved to cross before the cat caught himself and levelled his paw again “Look… I’m not a mouse, I like to think I can imagine, that it would be really hard to trust a cat, but we have a contract with the village. If I ate you, if any of us hurt a hair on your head outside of the rules of the game, we’d lose the trust. I know you won’t understand… but you’re more than you think, to us. If you go, we lose a character sheet, a story, a history of adventures consigned to memory… if you’ve never played a game like this, and lost a favourite character, you’ll never understand…”
“What I understand, is whatever… feelings you talk about, they don’t go far enough to keep you from eating the mouse in question”
“It’s not that simple” Matthew countered, looking away from Newton “But you’re safe now. You’re all safe. Even if you don’t believe anything about how I feel about you mice, trust we care about our game. If we betrayed your trust, the game would be ruined. You’d never be able to act the same, we can’t have adventurers, with unwilling mice, that’s the whole point” the cat sighed “which, is basically back to why I brought this up in the first place… we need mice who will play the game and commit. If that’s impossible for you… you should either leave, or find a role in the village that doesn’t involve adventuring” He shot Newton a more, piercing look “because simply put, in addition to trying not to choose you, more things like, what happened with Jason will happen”
“Sounds like a threat” Newton added
“It’s not” Matthew sighed, digits around Newton curling for a moment before relaxing “we all get our allowance for, intervention. If you do your best to piss off everyone at the table, few cats will try to save you if something happens… and are more likely to want you, off the table so we can have fun. It’s all I’m saying. If you could stop reading too deeply into it, please…”
The mouse pawed along his whiskers, squeezing them together for a moment, wincing from the sensation, but it was like stretching, ached for a moment, but felt, soothing in its way. He considered adding something but thought better of it. If he did decide to stay, long enough to get some supplies, then the cat probably had a point. But it was hard to put aside his feelings, especially when some were carefully nurtured. He’d seen mice caught in the past. He’d seen mice play friendly, he’d seen mice beg, he’d seen mice shout and insult their captor. Only twice had he seen a mouse escape once caught. Begging got them eaten faster, playing nice seemed to make a cat both playful and suspicious… but those mice that took a more aggressive approach… those had been the ones that got away. An annoyed cat, played with their food. It was a gamble, but it offered one last chance to escape whatever game the cat decided upon.
He’d never quite decided why it worked out that way. Maybe it was something to do with their old instincts. He’d seen the feral cats play with their food. It was prey with energy and fight, that they batted and chased. They ate it when it lost its fire. Maybe the two-legged, larger variety had a similar quirk… a mouse who was fighting, shouting at them clearly still had energy… still had fun, to be squeezed out of them before eating. Or maybe they just got careless when they were annoyed. Fortunately, enough it hadn’t been too hard to convince himself to adopt the strategy. He was a fighter to the core… but, that strategy was fine if you were trying to escape one cat, that had you in paw. Not, surviving alongside cats for a prolonged time. Maybe he’d have to play nice. They did want him to act after all.
“I’ll consider it” Newton finally spoke
Matthew opened his mouth to reply, but the words never left his tongue, whole body turning to the sudden, rushed approach of the ginger furred feline, Aaron.
“Can’t have the next game set up yet” Matthew commented “or are you waiting on me to make my trap selections?”
Aaron answered with a shake of his head, lifting a paw to let the gleam off the screen of, what Newton understood was a method of communication and distraction.
“Billy called me, he’s planning to drop in, lunchtime he said”
“Oh” Matthew’s tone was neutral “I thought he wasn’t coming in till tomorrow? We had a game planned”
“I mean, at least since it was a short game we’ve got time to clear the table, but yeah. Thought I’d let you know”
Matthew’s tongue clicked high above “It’s not that I’m complaining, but I was looking forward to this one, I was going to take Lisa, she’s been waiting for a mountain scene, should be able to upgrade her class if she finds the right reagents”
Aaron shrugged “it’ll keep, but Billy’s coming to run, not to play”
“Yeah, ok, ok” Matthew grunted, waving Aaron away, before looking back to Newton “sorry”
“I’ve heard that name before” Newton noted, considering. Whoever this cat was, everyone seemed to take notice. What little he’d heard had given him a firmly negative impression.
“Oh, he’s, sort of a member of the club” Matthew murmured “or, he was when he was here, then he got his degree and all, but he comes back from time to time. Mostly he likes to run, runs games from his house, think he has a little collection of mice there. But he likes the set up we have. He’s pretty good at what he does, gets into it. I looked up to him big time when I first joined the club” his gaze focused on Newton a little more tightly, the mouse noticing the narrowing of eyes “but, well… the rules are a little different. Only volunteer mice, I wouldn’t recommend you do that though, his games… they’re pretty high level, you’re just starting”
“I see” Newton murmured. He took that to mean, deadly.
“Anyway, if he’s coming we need to clear up the game we had planned” Matthew sighed, punctuated by the creak of the cupboard door. Newton was offered the soothing view of the village… where everything was nicer in scale “you just settle in, get a meal, a drink, you earnt it, ok? Maybe you’ll have a game over the week, or… well, if you go, I’d love to say goodbye… anyway” the cat muttered, the platform of his paw descending to the ground inside the village, leaving Newton to ease off onto blissfully solid ground.
“Heads up” he heard Matthew speak a bit louder above, voice cast over the village “Billy mission coming up next, probably two more tomorrow too. Fetch your bravest mice” he added with a faint smile.
Newton watched; the towering presence go. Only finding some flicker of peace once the door had shut, and a predator wasn’t literally looming over him.
“You made it” A familiar voice chimed in; the younger buck John padding closer casually
“No thanks to that Jason cat… but yes”
John’s smile fell “what happened?”
“I’m pretty sure he kicked the table” Newton looked to the door out into the world of cats as if it was the offending feline
“On your first game?” John shook his head “that cat doesn’t play fair sometimes
“Sure… unfair” Newton snapped “Unfair is the word I’d use, for trying to add me to his diet… good grief… if not for…” Newton paused a moment to think “Arden, I think… I’d be…” he shuddered. Squishy, moving floor and walls, soaked to the skin in digestive slime… in the dark with only foreboding groaning for company. He’d suffered sleepless nights as a pup, listening to elder warnings of the insides of a cat… “I’d be trapped, in a horrible place, dying… probably swimming in half digested food, the amount that cat would care…”
“I’d try not to think about that too much” John advised
Newton shot an exasperated look at John “how… how are you so calm?”
“I’m, used to the idea?” John shrugged “it’s how we all go… it’ll be unpleasant… I mean, is it ever pleasant for anyone? Thinking about it doesn’t make it better. I guess I’ve also spent more time around cats? I’m assuming anyway. I mean… our home is at belly level… I’ve heard, it…”
Newton stared at John for a long moment, trying to absorb the concept that this… younger mouse that, honestly he saw as unnervingly naïve, was, more desensitised to cats than he was, having run from them his whole life. He shook his head “I’ve seen things you couldn’t imagine… and somehow you’re more used to the idea than I am” A faint burst of a laugh escaped his mouth as he rolled both forepaws to his face “that’s maddening… anyway… I may be here a bit, so I guess I need to get used to being close to the damnable felines… get used to chatting pleasantly while somewhere inside a mouse so very like me is slowly losing strength as juices rise… like being trapped in one of those nightmares where hard as you run your inner demons just get closer. Except this time, you don’t wake up”
John’s paws set to his shoulders “what happened out there… you’re really in a state”
Newton shook his head, and shoulders of the mouse touching him “I’m fine… or fine as I normally am. Just on edge” he forced himself to exhale, deeply, before drawing in a long, new breath, trying to push his stresses back where they could continue to fester
“Anyway” he began “I guess I have time to kill… couple days of it, thanks to this Billy cat”
“You’re not leaving then?” John’s voice tinged hopeful
“Not yet” Newton mused “I am leaving though… but I lost everything. I want to leave prepared”
“Oh… makes sense I guess. Hey, maybe you’ll change your mind”
“Maybe” Newton muttered with little conviction “As an aside… who is this, Billy?”
The way John’s face fell was telling. Newton, in the corner of his eye, watched the mouse very closely. His posture, how his forepaws folded together
“He’s, probably my least favourite cat” John conceded slowly “His games, are the hardest, but some of the more, difficult to acquire things we ask for, they’ll only let us have them as a reward for one of his games. I guess they must be expensive”
“Mice die?” Newton probed
“Yeah…” John reluctantly agreed “sometimes. I mean, sometimes mice die on adventures. But the only game I was ever on where a mouse died was one of Billy’s”
Newton considered the younger mouse. So eager to defend the cats, yet this one made him twitchy. Bad omens all over “I’d like to hear how if you don’t mind saying”
“Sure, I guess” John nodded off, starting to talk as he moved, and Newton obligingly fell in line “So, it was an adventure to explore disturbances and strange lights at a distant, long abandoned castle. We had some, trouble going through the woods, but we kept alert, everything went fine. We had a storm hit, and kinda narrowly avoided some falling trees. But we got there. It was this… huge troll we had to fight”
“Troll?” Newton cocked his head “what animal represented that…?”
“Oh, none” John glanced back, before nodding Newton towards a squat, wide building. He saw mice sitting at tables that surrounded it, John leading them to one “We had an animal fight in the woods, big nasty rat”
“I wonder if it was the same one that almost took a bite out of me” Newton muttered
“Maybe, they have three” John noted, sitting himself, making a gesture to a mouse who scurried towards them… and on seeing it, scurried away again “anyway… the troll, was one of their handpuppets”
“What’s a handpuppet?”
“They… put their hand in it” John tried to explain “it’s like a big glove… with the image of a creature on it. They walk it with two fingers, swing its arms with the other… this one had a weapon attached… actual, big axe, tall as a mouse, firmly strapped to the finger… though I think it had leather bindings to the wrist to keep it from sinking…” John looked to Newton, before sighing “you don’t care about that… anyway, it was swinging, really dangerously. But, we had a good warrior. Big mouse, giant of a mouse, head taller than you” John gestured up with his paw “Sturdy. Deflected each swing with his shield… and you could tell the cat was really trying… best as the posture allowed, to swing it hard enough to knock him down. Fight went easier than we thought it would”
“You won, then?” Newton mused, looking up to see the other mouse returning, tray held in her teeth, which she set on the table, easing back to let her paws take two braced thimbles off, placing them beside each mouse. The darkness of the metal made it hard to tell, but Newton considered the liquid was, orange… citric scents making his nose itch. John quickly drank from his.
“We did…” John murmured “I was excited… but…” he sighed “we were searching for loot… because often in the more dangerous games, there are hidden extras to find. I heard the dice rolling, and… well, it seemed the castle had fallen in war… and was plagued by angry spirits, which we’d woken up during the fight… the… our warrior, had come foul of them, and his class didn’t have resistances to that sort of attack… dice rolled, then rerolled, but he failed the checks. I had barely noticed it was going on till I looked up and saw him, armourless, being tossed past Billy’s teeth. Swallowed whole”
He swigged his drink again “I was, shocked… it felt so, unfair. I guess it did make sense, lore and that… but it felt so… bad, we were already celebrating, he’d done so well, and then…” he swallowed for emphasis
“That’s cats” Newton muttered “they want to eat you”
“Well…” John murmured “I feel like any of the other cats… wouldn’t look for a way to add new deadly danger they hadn’t already planned for… just because we were doing well…”
Newton drank… it was pretty good. Other than that, he let the conversation die out. He hadn’t planned on playing for that cat… but it had helped him, in his mind anyway, figure out the difference between them… this cat actively tried to ensure mice died… the others, well… he felt they were excited for it, but perhaps were content to let it happen, or not… by the roll of their dice. He didn’t want to play in any of the games really… but the games of that Billy cat were a flat no.
There was a long silence, where they both drank, offering Newton a moment to look around himself. There had been something similar back home. Mostly for the foragers, a place where anytime they could come to get a drink and a meal. They did venture far afield. The feeling here was, different, it lacked the desperation of mice trying to shake off the fears the forest could bring and fill themselves with precious nourishment. There was a calm contentment to it all.
“Anyway” John spoke again after a while “his games are volunteer only, so easy to avoid. More to the point, I had something to talk to you about”
Newton gave an affirming grunt, content to let John change the subject
“Ok, so…” John mused “the big building, the guild, isn’t just for looks… most adventuring mice can room there, and train” Emphasis lingered heavily on the last word “A lot of training is, you know, pretty much free. We have facilities, and more experienced mice… sometimes you need to book a time around other mice, but it’s workable, we have an interest in helping each other after all. But… there’s a special sort of training, that you need… mmm, experience points for, which you’ll have now”
“More game rules then” Newton muttered
“Yes and no” John reflected “we have, books, and experienced mice… heck, you could become one of them probably” John seemed to consider as an afterthought. They teach, about animals, plants, and the lore and history and rules of the game. You can just, proactively learn, right? But you can trade those points I mentioned, for an exam paper on any of these subjects. Pass it, and you officially get, knowledge of that sort on your character sheet” John explained “which, is often more helpful than just, trying to learn the knowledge. If you’ve got those skills on your character… then even if you forget a detail, or a topic, your character officially knows it… What it means is, if you encounter a situation where your character should know, or realise something, then they’ll tell you what it is, even if you don’t notice it. It can be really helpful” John seemed to go quiet for a moment “like… for example, I studied up on… well, this ancient people in the game lore, now, if I’m ever going into a game where the ruins are linked to them, I get secret knowledge, and bonuses to ever roll for, naturally spotting traps, or that sort of thing… it’s a wildcard that can get me through a lot in the right situation”
“I don’t know if I have the patience for that” Newton muttered
“I get that” John noted “but you’re a wild mouse, right? You probably know a lot about, plants, animals? You could probably pass some of the exams for those quickly with just a bit of reading to figure out, what topics they’re on. Then… you get an extra safety net on anything to do with them”
Newton pondered that for a moment, before shrugging “if it helps me live, then I’m for it”
“That’s great” John grinned, the morbidity from before forgotten, or buried “Let me, take you along… maybe today you can skim the books, talk to the mice who teach about it… I think he’s an outsider like you, or was. And tomorrow, you can take the first stage exams probably… the guild can tell you how many points you got from the adventure… probably not that many, but enough for something”
“Ok, ok” Newton waved off the younger mouse’s excitement… There was no way, he could ever have that sort of enthusiasm, for anything to do with this game. Still, what did intrigue him a little was talk of a mouse who had… well, maybe had his sort of life… whoever they were, they had clearly stayed.
They rose from their seats, once the last of the juice was downed, Newton following John towards the guild. It was a large building. Looked quite sturdy. Neatly cut beams of wood, painted a soft white. Actual paint, Newton mused. The town he’d been born into, colour had been somewhat precious. A pasty, greenish paint made from plants had been used to stain anything that lingered outside, but inside… bright, colourful, anything they could find. Colour, he remembered being told, was a divider, between them and, their feral cousins. He’d never understood it much, at first. In time he’d come to conclude, they just felt more… like they weren’t hiding from predators in the woods, when inside their homes, they could have something, bright and needlessly garish. Actual paint though… glossy, that was something only cats had. It made the building stand out very uniquely… the least mouse looking building in the place.
Beside wide doors, thick enough for a cat’s wrist to fit, were statues. Newton found himself pausing to consider them. They were of mice… presumably ones from the past. Some of the founders maybe? They were carved out of stone, elegantly. It gave him, such a strange feeling in his chest… pride, maybe? Pride that mice made this… his people could, do this if given the chance.
He shook off the lingering thoughts and hurried inside. Within, was a single, large room… corridors going deeper into the building. There was a long desk, mice talking over it, and on one wall, a sheet of, cork. Thistle thorns pinning slips of paper to it
“Those are the quests” John noted, as he saw Newton’s attention “the cats come up with most of their games long ahead of time… and attach certain requests of ours, to each one. They consult with us weekly about which quests we’re accepting… and if any mice have specifically requested to go on them… the cats still decide who they pick… but, they normally take a mouse’s wishes into account…”
Newton grunted as answer, and followed as John turned, beckoning down a corridor.
“So, down here is the library” John explained, pausing to, gesture to a door. Newton peered through it… shelved, and an assortment of things on them. Some, that looked like actual books… he, had never actually seen one his size. Other pieces of paper were folded against one wall… pieces from, something more cat sized if he had to guess
“Oh… can you read?” John suddenly murmured
“A little” Newton muttered “I was, lucky. My home… when it was still my home, was big enough we have a bit of that knowledge left. Most mice I’ve met though can’t… can you all?”
“Mostly” John mused “we’re taught when we’re young, if we’re born here. I forgot for a moment you were… well, from outside” he seemed to hesitate “there are lots of drawings. And this is why we have mice to teach”
“I’ll cope” he pressed through the door “so I just… look around?”
“Oh” John hesitated “I’d planned to give you more of a tour… but that can wait I suppose. Let me, help you find the books you need. I’m told, we’ve got a really good one on, flora”
Newton let John pass him, to search the shelves. It made sense to him. He’d seen how useful a good knowledge of plants was. It had been forefront of his own limited education. What you could and couldn’t eat. Which plants were useful for building. It also covered how to blend in. Before long, John handed him a book, with a light smile, gesturing to, chairs, tables, scattered on the other side of the library room “just, try to be quiet, and careful with the books… that’s about it. I’m sure… that book is nothing you don’t know… but, if you feel confident you know what is in it, you should do fine on any, plant knowledge test you take”
“Thanks” Newton murmured before finding himself a seat, easing down, and opening the book. Time passed, as he flicked through the pages… he hated to admit, he was glad how much it emphasised images, and the mice who drew them had been talented. He recognised a lot of them and agreed with the descriptions of how they smelled and felt. He found himself encountering, some plants he didn’t know much about. Though more straining, where he had to be sure he was reading clearly, were small, annotations at the bottom of the pages. Detailing potential relevance in the cat game… a lot of it he didn’t have the patience to care about… detailing that, this plant or other had been important to, civilisations whose names meant nothing to him. He felt sure he should be trying to absorb it, especially when, one skimmed line, he noticed it said, a certain plant could be found frequently around the dens of… the word meant nothing to him… but he recognised the letters that spelt, wolf, in the word… some sort of monster wolf from their game? He finally pushed the book away. Reading might prove the problem after all. The symbols were the cat’s written language, which mice had adopted, along with their spoken one. So much of, writing had been lost. There were a lot of words he didn’t know… worse still, if the game had its own nonsense words. The plant aspect he understood… but if it had to be in game context… he’d need to learn it’s words first, or, he mused, just talk to an actual mouse. That sounded, a lot better. He spent a moment cursing his haste in not letting John show him around… then he’d know where to find that mouse he’d heard about. All he could do was, find John, he supposed… or another local mouse. The library was empty, however.
He eased himself up, leaving the book on the table, since he was unsure where it belonged… and, reasoned sitting out was easier to find, than wrongly shelved. Stepping out into the corridor, he still saw nobody, and moved back towards the main room. Sure enough, there were mice… mostly, at that desk, talking. He spent a moment debating how rude it would be to interrupt them, when, his ears twitched to, a familiar sound. He’d, grown very used to listening for the creak of a door.
Intrigued despite himself, he walked for the door out, stepping into the open space before the guild. The central street ran straight from the guild to the wide plaza close to the immense door, which was opening. The cat who pushed it open was Matthew, although, he eased aside, to let another cat enter. A new cat. This cat was wearing more than Newton was used to seeing on cats, though the chest was bare, a long leather coat hung from the shoulders, a golden brown, almost matching the cat’s fur. The fur itself, neatly groomed. Long hair was tamed and combed back to drape almost to the shoulder, and what might naturally have been, impressive fur around the neck and jaw was trimmed to a styled goatee, threads of gold against an otherwise white jaw. The eyes, were a sharp amber, considering the mice as a sly smile graced the strong jaw of the, slightly wiry maybe, but still relatively large cat.
Newton had, never actually seen a lion in person before.
He couldn’t help a certain curiosity… this had to be that cat, Billy. Torn between wanting to avoid at all costs… and to scout the danger, he found himself moving down the main street, but stopping short of the plaza, watching as the cat eased past Matthew to consider the mice. From a pocket at the front of his coat, he fished a folded set of reading glasses, which he settled into place. His other paw was feeling into an inside pocket, and from it, he drew a mouse. Even from a distance, Newton could tell… this mouse wasn’t in the same situation they were. Frantic, panicked movements, held by her tail, trying to bend up to attack the fingers, blind to the danger of the fall… they wanted free that badly.
When the cat spoke, the voice was deep, a thrumming sound that captured the attention “today… adventuring mice of Muringard…” he spoke “a terrible tragedy is carried on the tongues of messengers that flood the land… the princess of Rodenburg, has been swept away in the talons of a fearsome dragon. Who, the king begs through his many scattering voices, will be brave enough to save her from, certain doom?” for emphasis, his hand moved, lightly bouncing the mouse in his grip. Her eyes turned, plaintively to the mice below. Newton felt himself tighten… there was such a fragile hope in that look. Then the fingers closed in a fist around her, the paw moving back to the pocket he’d pulled her from, coming back empty. The lion smiled down to them… it was, starkly calm, anticipating “Surely the clock is ticking for the helpless princess…but surely, bold adventurers will rise to the occasion”
Newton felt himself relax, for just a moment… it was, a game… of course it was, and not his problem to solve. His eyes glanced down, to, the mice waiting around in the plaza… they were hesitating? His tension rose. Volunteers only… what happened if nobody volunteered? He knew… if John, that overeager buck didn’t want to play this cat’s games, who would…?
Seconds passed… nothing. Newton felt a grimace coming to his features… they’d, seen the look in her eyes, hadn’t they? More seconds… they were painfully slow.
“Nobody?” the cat asked, an air of… amusement in that voice “Surely some mice want to rush to the rescue of such a helpless mouse…”
“I will” Newton… heard the words coming out of his mouth, though his face cringed around them like he’d swigged pure lemon juice. What the hell was he doing, he asked of himself, as he took a step closer. But he couldn’t do it… Couldn’t live with himself if he ignored that mouse.
Behind the cat… he saw movement, it was Matthew, grimace on the features, making, cross shapes with his paws… it was too late though, right? He looked up, to gleaming eyes, watching the movement of fur, as the smile deepened.
Newton felt a thump to his back “I’ll join”
He glanced back… a familiar mouse… Arden wasn’t it. Same mouse from his last game
He saw, a few more mice hesitantly step from the selection, voices he didn’t recognise.
Above, the head nodded, before a paw patted the pocket where the mouse was “well, we’ve got a game” Billy straightened himself, turning, but glancing back to the mice “best ready yourselves… we’ll get things set up quickly”
Newton felt himself, shudder… what was he doing… he had to play again now… today even. A consoling part of his mind told him he’d… get lots of their game points from this sort of game, if he understood correctly… but damn this sounded risky.
“I’ve lost my mind” he concluded
“I mean, I think I felt like you did” Arden behind him said “Wasn’t far off snapping and throwing myself at it. Doe in distress and all that”
Newton gave the mouse a long look “I thought you had a larger, doe, in mind”
Arden smiled slightly “is it wrong to feel a deep compulsion to be of service to females? Besides… I think my goddess will look favourably on a bit of chivalry”
“Whatever” Newton muttered, lingering his view on those mice who had volunteered as well. They were, mostly leaving, to prepare themselves he supposed. One of them stood out to him, for their age. While a far way from wizened, the mouse seemed, older than he was used to seeing… most mice of course, didn’t get all that optimistic of a lifespan.
Arden too moved off, leaving Newton to try and comprehend what he’d just agreed to in a moment of, well, he wasn’t sure he had a good word for what it was. He found distraction when a familiar mouse appeared in the corner of his view, coming his way.
“Hello John” Newton said “I was looking for you”
John paused near him; a deep grimace etched into his features. His gaze glanced briefly to the door “I…” he began before shaking his head “That’s… Billy” he muttered “you, should, be trying to avoid him”
Newton folded his arms, fighting against a sense of agitation “well, that poor mouse wasn’t getting any help, did you see her? How scared she looked?”
John sighed, pawing at a twitching ear “someone more experience would have volunteered… do, you think you’re the one most likely to manage to help her?”
That was a point, Newton conceded to himself “if anyone planned to volunteer, they were taking their damn time”
“Anyone would, when a dragon is mentioned” John countered “I guess… maybe you don’t know what that is, but in the game it’s… just about the biggest most dangerous thing you can be put up against…”
“I know what a dragon is” Newton muttered “what do they use to emulate one…?”
“I, don’t know” John deflated “but I’ve read the books… high stats, high damage… nobody would just agree without asking if they, were ready for that”
“Well, I don’t care about your game” Newton grunted “what I care about is… a desperate mouse’s life is part of the reward. It’s my problem, not yours… I’ll figure it out”
“I wish you luck and all…” John sighed “just… that wasn’t wise… Matthew asked me to keep an eye on you… and, now you’ve agreed to face the worst beast, by… Billy…”
Newton grimaced… it didn’t sound good, not that it had sounded great any way it was phrased. He really hoped he hadn’t just, chosen death… but still. His eyes drifted to the door again, beyond it cats were getting ready… he didn’t feel too bad when he thought about it… what sounded worse, was quailing away from that smirking cat and his terrified victim. He didn’t want that visage added to those that haunted him… even if it meant he had to face a ‘dragon’.