Chapter Text
Winter had finally passed, pulling away its delicate covering to give way to the warm spring. It was pleasant. It was quiet. It was perfect.
The only disturbance within the serenity was the noise of someone awakening from a long winter's nap. Straw, blankets and dust parted to reveal the slowly waking mouse hybrid. Quietly they had begun to slip from the warmth and comfort of their nest, as now they were awake, there was work to be done.
The garden needed to be checked, sunflower seeds unpacked, grass wacked back and a scavenge check needed to be run.
Very slowly as the mouse left their nest, the entranceway gave way to the view of the broken ruins of what was once an airplane crash, though the name was long gone and forgotten. All that remained was what was once the tail end, seats broken and pressed down and rearranged to be a base for the mouse’s nest.
Letting out another yawn, the mouse had moved to another broken portion of the plane, the other half, that he kept his food locked away in, opening the door of what was once a cockpit so that he could fetch a jar of flour and sunflower seeds.
Once upon a time, society would have existed, but now there were only the hybrids. Maybe they would’ve been housepets at one point, but now their original lineage was long bred out, leaving a generation of feral hybrids that were gaining their traits to survive the wilderness once more. The mouse, Chan, was surrounded by ruins, but he didn’t care for exploration for the sake of curiosity. He was content with the slice of comfort in the world. All he needed to do was keep up with his garden, harvest berries when they had grown, and hunt down more jars for him to store his food in for when he needed to hibernate.
There was much to do, and not enough time for Chan’s liking as he had moved around to grab an old jug, one of many he had cleaned out to fill with spring water, using it while he had prepared himself a simple meal. His cheeks held onto the last remnants of his winter fat, adding to his natural squishiness and softness that he enjoyed. It made curling up in his nest all the most enjoyable.
Mealtime had eventually shifted into his first trek into the ruins for the spring. He had a small list of things he hoped to find, mostly more jars and containers. They were always useful, but he loved finding blankets the most. Even small scraps of fabric were taken back and lovingly added to the mismatch piles of fabric and stuffing. Everything perfect to keep him warm.
The broken down and overgrown crash site had given way to pathways that had been trimmed and maintained by the mouse over the years, lovingly cared for in the way they safely routed to the entrance of the main ruins. Dirt eventually gave way to what may have once been a street, fragments of asphalt broken down and spread around by the foliage that had grown through the cracks of yearly neglect.
Roads lead somewhere, though the entrance to the main ruins was only a hint of the magnificence that it may have once been. Windows had long been broken down and shattered in the line of buildings that surrounded Chan as he approached, almost dancing as he silently hopped from fragment to fragment, careful to keep his steps silent, but enjoying the feeling of the warm sunlight warming his back and face, pleasantly soaking the warmth of the steady rays.
As Chan passed by various buildings, all held up by years of overgrown foliage, he couldn’t help but pick up things he saw, tucking them into the woven grass basket he had brought with him and strapped to his back. It was perfect to carry his finds in, all while not being too heavy to move around in for the mouse.
He would pick up a few things, namely jars, containers, pretty rocks, metal pots that had long lost their handles, metal spoons and various other things, but tucked deep within a long forgotten home was the mouse’s greatest finds.
First it was containers, but then he found blankets, lots of them! All of them were in various states of wear, but all of them were soft! So soft in fact that the mouse was too busy rubbing his face to notice the movement not too far away from him in the room, until the sound of something sliding caught his attention.
The mouse was upright in a second, large rounded ears twitching and moving to try and find the source of the noise before he turned his head and felt his blood run cold.
Cats.
Two of them but.. They didn’t look scary.
“.. Are.. Are you okay?” It was the first time in a season that Chan had spoken, and his voice was rough with misuse. Before him were two cat hybrids, one with stunning blonde fur and the other with steel blue fur, curled up on the ground as the steel blue cat sat up protectively over the blonde in a stack of blankets and crumpled up paper. At first he let out a hiss, but Chan could see the other cat was not in good shape, shivering and flush with fever that made the mouse’s heart ache. It was the cruel reality of how things were now, but Chan had dealt with a similar illness himself, so he knew he could help, it was just a matter of getting over his own fears.
“I-I.. I can help.. I have a nest not far from here.. This structure isn’t safe anyway.. Winds get real bad. Cold.” Tentatively the mouse took a step towards the cats, causing the blue cat to hiss again before relaxing minimally as the fact it was a mouse talking to them and not another predator. Prey was helping them. It was.. certainly not the strangest thing.
“.. Didn’t know what to do.. Got bad really quick..” Chan couldn’t help but nod as he let himself come closer. He couldn’t help the tremble of fear in his shoulders, but with a glance to the other hybrid, he reached down to rest the back of his hand on the blonde cat’s forehead.
They were burning up.
“Can you lift him?” The blue cat nodded, carefully moving from his curled up position so that he could wrap the blonde cat in a few of the blankets and lift them up. Chan himself had grabbed a few blankets to carry back with them before beckoning for the blue cat to follow. His steps had become careful then, having to remind himself that the cats cou;dn’t just easily go the same delicate routes that he used to traverse the ruins, instead having to find other ways out of the crumbled and abandoned building that would ensure the floor below them wouldn’t collapse on them.
It was.. odd, to say the least, having companions to walk with, but it wasn’t all bad. There was an odd comfort in the echo of his own steps being reflected by the crunch of stone and grass behind him. It was a feeling he didn’t want to think about too much. The cats were only staying temporarily, after all.
Chan hadn’t grabbed everything he needed for this run, but he came back with something a bit more special as he had led the duo to his little sanctuary. The look on the blue cat’s face as they approached was of awe, and Chan couldn’t help but smile softly as he lead the two of them through the massive garden, weaving through the ending section of edible flowers to a broken a hollowed portion of what may have once been a wing in the massive structure.
Letting the pile of blankets he brought with him with a ‘plop’ he turned then to the cats with a smile.
“I think I still have some stuffing leftover when I moved in here, if you want to hold onto him for a bit longer.. I can go grab it and we can make you both a nest..” The instinct in Chan to nest was so powerful that he left the blue cat in stunned silence as he ran off, dropping off his bag of things before moving about with a practiced ease to grab what he needed.
Stuffing, hay, fabric, blankets and even a few bundles of dried leaves packed together and weaved into a bundle to create something of a pillow were soon piled up and brought over to the wing, all while the blue cat watched the mouse work in awe.
“We.. Never had enough to nest. What you saw us with was the most..” The words drifted up quietly from the blue cat after the blonde cat in his arms had let out a weakened whimper. The cat looked so weak, and Chan could only hope that he could get them back up to health, as he didn’t wish for the poor thing to get lost to the stars.
“I see.. Well, you both can stay for as long as you need. I.. don’t have anything like meat he may need, but I’m sure you would have no problem hunti-” He was cut off by a low growl at the suggestion they part for the blue cat to go hunt. “Right.. Right. After he wakes then.”
Chan had given them a bit of space then, letting the blue cat move the other and get them comfortable into the nest before curling up, wrapping himself protectively around the blonde cat while Chan himself had moved to go and start making a meal for them.
Even with everything being portioned for just Chan, he had more than an abundance of carefully stored harvest that it took no time before he had everything set out that he needed.
Carefully the mouse had dragged out the considerably sized hollowed out stone bowl that he used to put his firewood in, tenderly getting the blaze started while the blue cat watched from a distance in the nest. Curious gaze watching the little fire get going while Chan moved around tirelessly, chopping vegetables, adding water to a pot and throwing in things the cat hadn’t seen in years. What made him the most curious was seeing the mouse knead up a dough and lovingly place it into a pot with a lid before setting it directly on the fire.
The smell. The smell alone made his stomach rumble and the blonde cat in his arms started to stir awake, bleary eyes blinking awake and senses being filled to the smells of stew and fresh bread.
“Hyunjin..?” “Shh, it’s okay.. Just rest. We’re safe. Someone found us but.. They’re so nice.. They’re gonna help you get better, Felix. Okay?” The blue cat, Hyunjin, couldn’t help but give the other cat a smile, carefully brushing a few strands of hair from their face before the small moment of peace was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching and standing in front of them.
Standing in front of them was Chan, two bowls filled with warm soup that gently steamed from the top and a plate with a few rolls of bread sitting on his arm. “It’s ready.. Hi um..” “.. Felix.” The blonde cat spoke up then, albeit softly, giving the smallest smile to the mouse as Hyunjin had been right. This mouse was good. No one else would have treated them this kindly, and they hadn’t. “Right.. Felix.. Are you okay to try and eat yourself or did you need help?”
Handing one bowl to Hyunjin, he didn’t even let the other cat debate with him, as he shot the cat a look the moment he opened his mouth to try and protest. Words died on Hyunjin’s tongue before he took the bent up spoon in hand to take a small sip of the warm brothy soup. Oh how the cat couldn’t help how his eyes lit up for a moment from the taste. Even if it was a bit bland, it was warm and comforting. Perfect for the duo that hadn’t seen much food in a while.
While Hyunjin ate, Chan was careful in getting Felix to sit up, though it seemed the blonde had no qualms about being fed, the large ears above his head even perking up a little and flickering as he opened his mouth for the first bite. Soon that little nest was filled with the sounds of the two eating and eventually purring from Felix as he relaxed, letting himself be fed spoonfuls of the warm soup and bites of fresh bread.
Even when Chan had eventually left to grab himself a portion and clean up the dishes, Felix had continued to purr, already feeling a bit better then he had in a long time.
“.. Do we have to leave, Jinnie?” The words were soft, tentative and reserved, yet hopeful in a way. “I don’t know.. I don’t want to.. But this is his nest.. I’m sure he’d want to be alone.. We probably scare him..” Hyunjin sounded a bit sad, but he couldn’t help but let his long tail wrap around and intertwine with Felix’s own as they spoke softly in the darkness. “.. We could help him.. Find things for him and prove we can stay. I don’t want to be cold again..”
And that was all they needed for themselves. A little hope and warmth.
Meanwhile Chan couldn’t help but feel fondness for the two cats. At first, of course, he had been rightfully afraid, but the duo were so soft spoken and clearly just trying to survive together that the mouse couldn’t help but bring them in as his own.
For a long time things had been lonely, but Chan silently hoped that they would stay.