# Kinship 1: Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Cats

By: TheDragonBoy

## Content

*grumble*   *gurgle*   *glorp*

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he woke. A dim light was trickling into the room, catching faintly on the sea of black fur in which the little creature found himself.

*groooaan*   *squelch*

“Ugghh… Pang, you’re grumbling again,” came the tired voice from amidst the black sea.

*gurgle*

“Pang?... Pangur, wake up already!”

The blackness below shifted a bit, seeming only slightly disturbed.

The small tuft of gray stood up from his comfy position on the noisy tummy and plodded over to the sleeping head nearby. Sticking his muzzle into an exposed ear, he called, “Pangur!”

The fur-covered ground quivered as Pangur grunted, letting his eyes open slightly. “Huh? What’s wrong?” the large cat asked, sounding half asleep.

“You’re grumbling again,” the little voice repeated. Pangur took a deep breath, giving his tired mind some extra time to process things and prompting another loud gurgle from his belly.

“Oh, you’re right. I guess I must be hungry then,” the cat replied, with a good hint of sarcasm and a wry smile, “Thanks for letting me know, Evan.”

“Well can’t you make it stop so I can go back to sleep?” Evan asked. Pangur gave his legs a good stretch before slowly rolling off his side, prompting little Evan to scurry off onto the ground.

“Sorry, but there’s only one way to quiet it down,” he stretched some more as he rose to his feet and yawned, briefly revealing his pink tongue and growing fangs. “Besides, it’s time to get up anyway.”

“Fiiine,” Evan conceded, “But next time you better keep your tummy quiet!” he demanded. Pangur walked over to a nearby puddle, which they kept filled with fresh water. Evan followed.

“You know, you don’t have to sleep on my stomach,” Pang replied. He lowered his head to take a few laps while Evan dipped his tiny paws and ran some of the water over his gray fur.

“But it’s so comfy,” the little mouse insisted.

Pangur decided to leave the discussion at that and finished his drink. He took a look around their enclosure. They were alone, the morning sun just starting to enter in through the opening of their hut and barely filtering in through the leaves and twigs that made up the roof and ceiling. His eyes settled on the exit as he contemplated his first activity of the day.

“You going out to hunt?” Evan asked.

“That’s right. Can’t have my noisy belly keeping you awake,” he replied, taking a few steps toward the sunlight and getting a fresh whiff of the morning air.

“Do you think I could finally come this time?” Evan asked sheepishly. Pangur could almost feel the mouse flinch as he asked, having been shot down so many times. He looked back at Evan with an anxious expression, he had always wished his adopted brother could tag along with him, but… Pangur looked around again and sniffed the air. They were alone, maybe if they were quick…

“Alright, but you have to swear not to tell,” the cat answered. Evan’s tiny face lit up so bright that Pangur couldn’t help but smile himself.

Evan ran up to Pang who carefully reached down, grabbing the scruff of the mouse’s neck gently between his front teeth. He hoisted Evan up and placed him high on the arch of his back, where he once again formed a small patch of gray amongst the shimmering black.

They hastily shot out of their home and into the morning sunlight. The world flew by for Evan as Pangur skillfully navigated the hilly, tree-covered terrain, passing by several huts similar to their own, and a few other cats, all noticeably larger, all tending to their own business.

Alright, we’re almost there, If I can just make it a bit further without-

“Oh, good morning Pangur,” called a feminine voice.

Uh oh. Pang came to a reluctant stop and turned to face the call.

“Morning mom,” He said as innocently as he could. The larger cat smiled at him as she approached.

“Going out for a morning hunt?” she asked rhetorically, it was quite clear where he was headed. Then her smile suddenly faded. “Is that Evan?” she asked in a reproachful tone. An awkward silence answered her question. “Pangur! You know there are no Rodentia allowed in the hunting ground! What if he got mistaken for prey!?”

“But I wouldn’t let anything happen to him!” the young cat insisted.

“Not a chance!” their mother said sternly. There was a moment of disappointed silence. She sighed, lowering her temper a bit. “Besides, it’s Learning Day. Why don’t I take Evan over to the Rodentia village to hear the Grandmouse and you can get to your hunt?” she offered.

Pangur nodded his head glumly, and Evan presented himself to be picked up and carried away.

…

“And so it was many, many generations ago that our ancestors gained the intelligence and wisdom necessary to rise above their lesser, mindless kin. Learning to conjure fire, to craft tools and mold nature, moving from primitive burrows to the more intricate houses we know today. Felis history shows a similar pattern of change, though it was only after many years of fear and blood that our two kinds came to recognize each other as equals by our intellects, and we learned to live together.”

That old mouse sure does talk a lot, Evan thought, standing in the crowd of other mice- all silent, say for the speaker. Here in the center of town, the broad clearing was dotted and surrounded by numerous, artful structures from houses to sculptures, but he just looked off in the direction his adoptive mother had gone after dropping him off. I was really hoping I would get to see Pang hunt, it sounds so cool…

A rather loud clattering sound came from somewhere not too far off, but the congregation at large seemed to ignore it.

“…And so the Felis hunting grounds were established, to provide them with land where they could feed without the concern of accidentally preying upon one of us. By staying clear of its borders, we have been able to live in harmony for generations…”

A series of clattering sounds came, louder this time, accompanied by the sounds of snapping twigs and indistinct shouting. The Grandmouse paused and looked over in the direction of the disturbance, as did most of the audience. A quiet murmur began to spread through the crowd.

Then came a single, terrified scream; the cry of a mouse. Off out of view, but followed by another, and another, until the air was filled with an overlapping cacophony. Everyone started looking about as the cries grew louder and closer, but Evan was too small to see much.

After a moment he could start making out a word or two. “Run”. They were screaming for everyone to run. But why? Soon Evan began to hear frightened mice scurrying by, screaming as they went, but he was boxed in, the crowd still unsure of what was going on. Before long, he made out another word, “cats”.

Suddenly, a rather large cat leapt into view at the far end of the clearing, crashing through a Rodential home and reducing it to debris. Mice scattered in all directions from his feet, but he quickly darted his head down, catching one between his teeth.

To the utter horror of every onlooker, the cat nimbly maneuvered the mouse between his jaws and then swallowed it whole.

Evan’s tiny ears were overwhelmed with shrill screams as panic took the crowd. Everyone turned and tried to run, attempting to force their way through. Evan found himself, being towards the center of the crowd, pushed and shoved in every direction as older mice rushed past, a primal terror in their eyes.

A second cat came into view as the first advanced, then another, and then suddenly there were five, and then more and-

Terror finally overtook Evan, forcing him to turn away. He saw a brief opening in the crowd and he went for it, squeezing his tiny form between masses of fur. His world became a chaos of limbs and wails as he was carried along by the current, the mice themselves destroying their own buildings as they attempted to flee.

Just when Evan thought he wouldn’t be able to keep up anymore, his eye was caught by a small opening in a recently collapsed house, just within leaping distance. He threw himself at it, landing breathlessly in the dim shadow as hundreds of paws thundered behind him. He quickly pulled himself as far in as he could, quivering in fear. A long moment of screams, crashes and muffled paw-falls passed.

“It finally happened after all…”

The sudden nearby voice made Evan jump. He turned and found he was not quite alone. One other mouse stood there, staring off into nothing as he shuttered in terror.

“They always told me the cats would come for us… that the hunting grounds would run dry… I never wanted to believe it…”

“What are you saying?!” Evan asked fearfully. The mouse just kept staring blankly, continuing to talk just as much to himself as anyone else.

“The cats have turned on us… they’ve all decided that we’re nothing more than prey…”

“No! Stop it! You’re wrong! They wouldn’t do that. Pang- Pangur would never do that!” Evan yelled.

The mouse slowly shifted his head to look at him.

“All cats get hungry.”

A sudden feline paw smashed through their shelter, accidentally flinging Evan into the air with a scatter of debris. He landed a good ways off and forced himself to his feet, instantly beginning to run, too scared to look back. He heard a scream that sounded like it could have come from the mouse he had just seen.

Evan quickly found another hideaway and dove into it, this time confirming that he was alone. The opening of the shelter faced out onto the clearing, giving him a perfect view of the decimated village. Structures lay torn and broken, some even burning. Most of the mice- the large crowds- were gone, having fled or been taken. Now there were only the cats, dozens of them, looking over the wreckage with piercing eyes, tails twitching idly as they sifted through debris searching for stragglers.

If I stay here, they’ll find me, the terrified mouse thought. If I try to run, they’ll catch me.

He heard a distinct shriek and looked to see a cat who had just come across another mouse, hiding in a nearby wreck. He saw the cat strike downwards, but he quickly turned away, squeezing his eyes shut. He considered just keeping them closed but found the fear of not knowing where the cats were even worse, so he reluctantly opened them again.

And when he did, he found himself looking straight at none other than Pangur. And not just him, but their mother too, standing off amidst the destruction. For a moment, Evan’s little heart leapt with hope, but only to plummet with crushing fear as the words of that other poor mouse ran through his head. He watched for a moment longer, they seemed to be searching through the wreckage, just like all the others.

If they’re here with everyone else, does that mean it’s true? Evan thought. Pang did seem to be searching a bit more frantically than the other cats, but his belly had been pretty rumbly that morning… What if it is true? What if- what if he only wanted to take me with him today so he could hunt me? He watched as Pangur dug his paws through the wreck of another collapsed house, before scattering it to the wind in a somewhat violent fashion and dashing off to the next one, which happened to be directly in Evan’s direction.

What do I do!? He asked himself, squeezing his eyes shut again, but this time in frustration. Moments of his life began to flash through his panicked mind, his life with Pangur, but he found them suddenly interrupted by the horrifying image of that mouse being swallowed alive.

Pangur tore through another broken structure, he was getting close now, very close. Fate seemed to be drawing them together once again. But the other cat who had almost got him a few moments ago was also back on the hunt.

They’re gonna find me, Evan thought.

The images flashed through Evan’s mind again, but this time he was the mouse being swallowed, and his brother was the hungry cat.

He looked up at Pangur, frantically digging through debris, and locked his eyes on him.

“You know, I was really looking forward to growing up with you…” he began to say.

The twisted pictures in his mind raged: he would be trapped behind his brother’s pointed fangs, the sopping tongue rough against his fur as he tried to crawl out from the pink embrace.

“…To getting to know you like a brother… and having a real family…”

He took a step forward out of the rubble, and then another.

The mouth would slowly close around him, sealing him away like any other prey the cat hunted. And then Pangur would squish his maw tight, squeezing him down his throat in a single gulp, burying him away inside forever.

“…But, you know what, Pang?...”

The cat’s ears darted up and swiveled, recognizing his name, just as the little grey spec caught the eye of the other nearby predator. But Evan just kept his eyes on his brother and took another step into the open.

Squeezed tight and then ejected out, he would land with a splash inside his brother’s hungry belly. It would squish and squeeze and soak him, waves of stomach juices crashing over him as the cat’s body did its job, mashing him around and melting him away as Pangur’s tummy gurgled and groaned happily, just like it always did when he came home after a good hunt.

“…If I have to end up in someone’s tummy…”

Pang saw the little mouse just as the other cat did, and both immediately lunged at him, smashing together in midair, both maws gaping wide.

“…I’m glad it’s yours.”

Evan jumped forward, taking aim, and watched as his world went dark, his face burying itself directly between Pangur’s open jaws.

He heard the cat grunt and felt him gag, the large palate squishing in against him to force him out of the unprepared throat. He felt his paws scrape against the rough tongue as he was pushed back slightly, only to feel his rear press up against the backs of his brother’s pointed fangs. He was thrown around as Pang landed and picked himself up off the ground, only to immediately dash off at top speed.

The little mouse was pressed firmly against the ridges at the roof of the cat’s maw, bathed in darkness and growing levels of saliva. He cowered there, his tail tucked tightly around his side, shaking with a mixture of anxiety and fear.

His brother’s rapid breaths poured over him as the slight gap between the imposing jaws let in just enough light to dimly illuminate the cat’s hungry gullet, only a hair’s breadth away. Evan stared down at the pulsing opening, fixed in primal fear. All other aspects of reality, even time itself, seemed to fade away in the face of that precariously tiny distance between his tiny body and that one-way trip to his brother’s hungry belly.

And then, just as suddenly as he was thrust inside, he was cast out. Almost violently even; spat out in disgust along with a flood of drool.

Evan skidded a short distance in the dirt before coming to a stop. He ran his paws over his face, trying to clear away the globs of saliva, and did his best to stand up. His blurry vision focusing, his eyesight cleared just in time to stare up into Pangur’s angry face.

“What in the world were you thinking!?” the cat exclaimed.

Evan looked around in a daze. They were back in their hut, the air eerily calm and peaceful compared to the turmoil that had just passed.

“Well!?” Pangur demanded. Evan looked back at his brother, tears forming in his little eyes.

“I- I thought you wanted to eat me…” he squeaked.

The anger on the cat’s face shattered.

“All the cats were rushing around- an- and swallowing us- and they said you all had decided to just eat us- and- and I thought-” The little mouse broke down and began to cry, his body collapsing from exhaustion.

“Evan, I…” Pangur started, gazing down sympathetically at his little brother. He laid himself down on the ground, letting his paws stretch out past the mouse, and pressed his cheek up against Evan’s tiny form.

“I’m so sorry…” Pang breathed, “But it’s okay, I won’t let anything happen to you…”

They stayed like that for a moment, until their mother slunk in. She looked back over her shoulder worriedly, before taking a deep breath and turning to them.

“What a miracle you were able to find him in time, are you okay Evan?” she asked. He nodded weekly, still sobbing. She took another relieved breath. “Good, because we need to leave. It’s not safe for you here anymore.”

Originally Published: 21-Dec-2018