Rat squeaking, human speaking

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    Six wasn't quite sure about this place. Everything smelt funny and no matter where she went, something felt off in every single room. These tunnels felt too tight to be comfortable, the the sand underpaw kept getting under her claws (which she hated by the way), and this place smelt like smoke, dirty paws, and like no one here had had a good grooming in months -- no, years.

Blueberry seemed to be in the same boat as her, but he didn't seem to be as cautious (or as disgusted) as she was. Not to mention, he seemed even more on edge when the female that smelt like him appeared, and that other male with the brown bag on his head.

Were humans always like this? All growly and snappy, with a thick air of awkwardness surrounding them as they met up. Or was Blueberry just being Blueberry again and throwing hissy fits over small things?

Well, it's not like she could blame him. This colony was weird anyways, they all walked on their hind legs and chattered in their weird grumbly, growly language. She'd wanted to have nothing to do with this place either.

She stared down at the lamp that was lit by the notch in the wall, curled up and laying in the corner of the dug out bed, Blueberry laying down beside her. He had a book in his paws, flipping the pages every once in a while, a silence between them Six wasn't use to.

She shifted her paws, looking up at him, resting her chin on her paws. "Hey, Blue? Frien?"

Blueberry looked over at her. He gave a small sigh, putting his book down, patting the spot next to him. Six got up, squeezing by him and curled by his side, resting her head on his upper leg.

Blueberry pulled her triangular hood down, showing off her short black fur underneath it. Running a hand in the slightly greasy fur, he gave a sigh.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do, Sunrise, this place... we can't stay here, we're not safe," he mumbled to her.

"Blue, I don't know what you're saying..." Six mumbled back in a soft squeak, the two sharing a somber look. The language barrier was frustrating on both ends, Six finding herself wishing she had grown up with her kind and not with the rats.

She lightly flinched, cursing herself to thinking that. How could she even think that after all Marigold and Velvet had done for her...

They gave her food, shelter, love, always doing their best to make her feel welcomed despite nearly every other rat could care less and just saw her a strange, semi-hairless rat with weird yellow slick fur.

Six's thought came to a quick halt as the curtain by the entranceway moved, the female that smelt like Blueberry stepping in, a soft smile on her face. Six couldn't stop herself from letting out a small warning growl, before a smack on the nose from Blueberry made her stop.

"No growling," he said. Six looked at him, giving a small snort. She was just trying to be protect them, who knew what these other humans could do.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked from the entranceway. Blueberry leaned back, his back resting against the wall.

"Unless you call 'avoiding the party' anything, no," he answered. Six looked at the two, an unamused look on her face as she was subjected to their weird human talk again.

"Sev, don't be so you for once. It's a miracle you're back, don't you want to go out and talk to old friends?" the girl said, stepping forward to join his side. Six felt the boy tense under her, finding herself growling again after sensing his discomfort.

"Banana," Blueberry warned, despite his word choice. The rat child stopped herself, but continued to watch with narrowed eyes.

"She's really protective of you, huh?" the girl said. Her braid's red ribbon shined slightly in the lamp's light. Ribbon, that's what Six could call her.

"Pretty sure I'm all she's really ever known, besides her rat pack or whatever they're called," he said back, Six glancing as he pulled her hood back over her head. She sat up, shaking her head and resettled it to where it normally was.

"Anyways. Come on, Sev, at least make an appearance," Ribbon said, her tone going up as though she was begging him. Blueberry gave a groan, before sighing.

"If it gets you off my case, fine. Stay here, Sunflower, I'll be back in a minute," Blueberry held his hand in front of her face, slipping out of the make shift bed, reluctantly following after Ribbon, who had a smile on her slightly rounded face.

Six gave a groan, putting her head on her paws again. Ever since they got here, it felt like she was being pushed to the side. Blueberry tried to keep her by him, but once he saw Ribbon, she was brushed off like the seed no rat wanted to eat.

It didn't help how out of place she felt. She was the only one who squeaked Rat and walked on all fours, and everyone seemed to be traveling in packs of two to three; but despite being with Blueberry, she still felt so... alone.

All the other strange rats gave her weird looks, like they were surprised and confused on why she was there. She shook it off as just her being new, but they didn't give Blueberry those looks. Why was she being singled out so much?

Six shuffled her paws under her, brows knitting as she thought. She didn't like this place, all the tight quarts were a lot different then what she was used to. The roots overhead didn't help, poking in from above to where she felt like if someone stepped wrong above them, the whole room would cave in.

She really wanted out of here...

~~~

   Seven groaned as he heard the loud cheers of the rebellion members, who were all gathering the largest room in the rabbit warren.

The smell of food made him flinch. The boy hated eating almost as much as he hated sleeping.

He could be doing so much more if he didn't have to preform those two simple tasks everyday, imagine all of the explosives or plans he could make in six hours! But noooo, instead he was forced to eat because he was on a set schedule here and on The Maw. Not to mention how dangerous it was with his stupid curse always begging to be fed and could take control anytime he wanted to.

In front of them, kids of all ages rose their cups in the air, cheering loudly as some sang songs.

"Through the forest, through the buildings, to The Tower up above, the city will be ours!"

"Pass the Hunter with his gun in tow, the Doctor and the Teacher, to the tower we will go! The City will be ours!"

Seven stared out with a dumbfounded look as he heard the singing and chanting. What the hell was that all about? 'The City will be our'? The rebellion was just a safe haven, it wasn't some actual driving force that wanted to take over The City. Besides, their goal was to one day just kill all the higher ups, what would a bunch of kids do with a city anyways?

Rain looked to him as she gave a small smile of reassurance, before the whole room turned as Commander's chamber curtain opened. Seven glared under his bangs as Mono walked out, his ripped bag revealing a peek of his scars underneath it.

Seven could still remember when the fox attack happened, back when he was Rain were only spending their fourth year in the rebellion. It came out of no where, the first morning of spring, the fox supposedly looking for food in the rabbit burrow, not know the multitude of children it would run into.

Mono and some of the now older kids were injured, but the boy in the trenchcoat suffered some the worst out of them all. From what Seven had seen under his bandages back when it first happen, he knew Mono had gone blind in one eye, or at the very least, lost most of his vision in it.

Coming back into reality, Seven watched as Mono stood on top of one of the horribly put together tables, his coat tail flaring out slightly, briefly reminding Seven of wings as it fluttered down and settled back against him.

"Children of the rebellion! This afternoon, we had an old friend of ours return back to us. After two long years, it's with great honor that I announce our dear Oracle's twin brother and our once lead head pyrotech and former member of the Adults Settlement Destruction Unit: Seven, has returned!"

Loud cheering erupted throughout the room, the boy they were cheering for whining and covering his ears. Too much noise, stop it, please, too much noise!

"Tonight, we feast. So, let's make the most of the night; drink, be merry, and have fun."

Slowly, it calmed down after the Commander finished his words, Rain laying her hand on her brother's shoulder in a comforting manner. The kids started to eat their fill of whatever they had gotten from rummaging around: stale pieces of bread, small pieces of slightly rotten fruit, whatever animals they caught in snares the Hunter had yet to check (Seven was glad Squeaks wasn't here as he saw a small head of a rat placed on the splinter filled table), and was seemed to be like sweet tree sap.

He noticed Five and Scarf making a beeline to the tree sap, the two small children laughing as they went. The tarped child that carried them here, Three, seemed to be eating bits of bread and whatever meat was in front of her. Occasionally, Seven saw a peek of her large, slightly distorted hands when grabbing a peice.

He saw the familiar faces of Two and One, the two scouts joining a month before he left. The two shared friendly talk, enjoying pieces of a peach and a bit of apple. They looked up, noticing him, giving a small wave in greetings before turning back to their talking.

A smaller group of kids looked over, one child running over to the twins. He was a smaller boy, his hair was black in color with a small scar across his nose, eyes rounded as they shimmered brown in the torch lighting.

"Oracle Rain, Oracle Rain, Nosebleed is hearing the voices again! Come see, come see!" He said, taking a hold of Rain's arm, pulling her towards where they were.

Rain could barely squeeze out a 'be back in a minute' to her brother, before being pulled by the young boy to an older girl, her nose bleeding, dripping onto a blood stained white shirt as she held her head in her hands.

Seven looked away. 'Oracle business, don't mess with Oracle business, the stars just cause trouble,' he thought to himself. He spotted Mono coming towards him, the boy forcing himself to stay still.

"Seven, could I speak with you in my chamber?" Mono asked, his tone low, yet polite.

"Why not here?" Seven said quickly. Mono stood still for a moment, but gave a small shrug, turning and standing by his side, looking to the dining room.

"It's good to have you back and all... but,"

"But?"

"I'll just be blunt. Your feral friend can't stay."

Seven blinked in confusion. Squeaks? Mono continued, not letting the other speak.

"We can't have ferals running around. Whatever animal raised them will follow their scent here, and that's the last thing we need right now. More and more adults are kicking their kids out at younger and younger ages. Those we don't find in time are taken in or ate by animals, which has resulted in a few... mass casualties with those we have taken in."

Seven didn't speak, and even if he did, he wasn't sure what he could and would say. 'Fuck you, Squeaks isn't leave', 'Squeaks isn't even from here so what the hell would follow her', maybe even a, 'oh go to hell, I'm not falling for your bullshit again'?

Mono turned his head towards him, the boy in blue looking into the dark holes of the bag, meeting nothing but dark shadows, but could feel the look the other was giving him. Cold, unsettling, off putting as he stared into the seemingly empty black holes.

"She'll be safer outside," he finished, his voice low and monotone, a small hiss under his voice Seven almost didn't catch.

"Mono, she was raised by rats, rats aren't-"

"That's Commander, things aren't what they use to be, Seven, so don't expect them to be. I'd like her out of here before dawn tomorrow."

With no other word, the boy walked off towards his room, but stood at the doorway for a second, holding his head. Seven could barely hear him mumble a, "stupid migraines" before leaving.

The boy in blue narrowed his eyes, before leaving the dining room. Fuck this, he wasn't going to be pushed around again. Coming down the tunnel towards his bedroom, he threw the curtain open. He's not staying here anymore.

"Squeaks, we're leaving... Squeaks?" Seven looked around, puzzled as he saw the empty room. The dug out bed was empty, the blanket that was on the foot of it stayed where it was at, undisturbed. There didn't seem to be any evidence of a struggle of anytime, but there were no prints anywhere either.

"Squeaks? Squeaks, where'd you go?" He said, looking under his desk. He looked under his little bit of furniture the room had, still finding nothing. A small feeling of dread came over him.

He looked up, seeing a root that was longer than the rest, and reached up, pulling it down. A section of the roof moved, moonlight flooding in the once covered sky light.

The boy came over, jumping and grabbing the ledge, pulling himself up and out of the small hole. He covered the hole again, adding foliage that grew nearby to keep it hidden.

The forest around him was quiet, with the occasional animal noise or cricket chirping. It was a lot safer than going out through the main entrance, and the root that you needed to pull wasn't exactly all that hidden. He only guessed she was being nosy and decided to chew on roots or something, and pulled the right one. Rats were naturally curious creatures after all, he's surprised it was the only thing she seemed to have done while he was gone.

He couldn't blame her for leaving when she saw the sky light though, this place was hell to most kids. The unfairly treatment they gave to kids who couldn't preform as well or had a crippling injury was cruel at times.

The Commander before Mono was a kind soul who saw passed all old wounds or challenges others had, seeing them as equals. He was the reason Seven didn't have to forced into a healer or cook position, which most kids with handicaps were forced to become because of their conditions. Commander Thirteen had actually encouraged his love for fire, appointing him as a division just right for him to try and hone his fire crafting skills, with the the destruction unit.

But... Thirteen wasn't here anymore, Squeaks was being treated like any other child with a handicap, and it wasn't right. Who gave a shit if she couldn't speak regularly or ran on all fours? It made his blood boil as he walked in the forest, calling out to her, "Squeeeaks!"

A nearby bush rustled, making him turn. "Squeaks, get out here, we're leaving. We're going to head towards The City-"

As Seven pushed the branches aside, he was pushed to the ground. A large, bushy furred, masked creature jumped out, angrily hissing as its ringed tail bristled in fury.

Seven gave a growl back to it, kicking the raccoon off of him, who continued to hiss before running away.

He propped himself on his elbows, muttering a few swears under his breath as he looked. The bush rustled again, before a familiar face appeared.

"Frien!"

Seven could barely gather the breath to speak, before getting pushed to the ground again as Squeaks tackled and sat on top of him, smiling brightly, fangs glinting slightly in the moonlight.

He narrowed his eyes, looking up at her. "And what do you think you're doing all the way out here by yourself? It's dangerous, Squeaks, which is why I can't afford to leave you alone."

Squeaks closed her grin, getting off of him, circling back to the bush. She let out a few chirps, before another head popped out from the leaves and twigs.

It was a boy, looking to be horribly young (possibly three or four by his size) to have just wonder off by himself. He must have been another 'feral' as Rain called them, seeing the way he nervously came crawling out on his hands and feet.

A white feather tucked behind his head as a wrapping of some kind was around his head and eyes. He didn't wear anything besides a cloth around his groin as he came out from the bushes, quietly watching with a small tremble as he slipped out from his cover. He looked ready to run off, but Squeaks nudged his shoulder, letting out a soft chirp.

She looked back to him, before putting one of her hands on the other feral's small head. "Frien', frien!" she said, as though trying to introduce Seven to the other.

The feral boy looked at her confused, before letting out a small series of yapping and squeaking noises. Squeaks looked back, confused for a moment, as though she too wasn't sure what he was saying.

Seven brushed it off, getting to his feet at last. "Squeaks, c'mon, we're leaving," he said sternly, turning and already making his way through the forest. He looked over, stopping as he noticed Squeaks hadn't moved from her spot.

"Squeaks,"

Squeaks didn't move forwards like he expected her to, rather taking a step back.

"Squeaks, come on,"

Squeaks lingered for a moment, looking to the other feral, backing away again. What was she doing? They had to get going!

"Squeaks, let's go!"

Squeaks sat down, looking at him fully now, as though she was making her choice clear. Seven growled, his temper already coming again.

"What, on strike now? Let's go, Squeaks," he snapped.

Squeaks still did nothing, holding her ground. Seven only grew more pissed, growling loudly, before stopping. Squeaks perked up slightly after he stopped, noticing something from where she stood.

"Why are you doing this? I just want you and I to be safe..." Seven mumbled, not even acknowledging his sudden, out of place broken tone. Freaking mood swings.

Squeaks put her hand back on the small boy's head. "Frien'," she said again, seemingly not sure how to say whatever she wanted to say. Her English was very broken, but despite that, was obviously trying her best to try and talk to him.

Seven took a moment, before he seemed to somewhat understand. "Gonna live in the wild, huh? Well... I don't have much room to object, Mono wants you gone..."

Squeaks came over to him, smiling softly. "Frien?" She asked. Seven gave a sigh.

"I want to leave-- need to leave but... I can't really leave Rain again, can I? At least, not with that asshole," He muttered, "you stay hidden and don't go near any TVs, okay? I'll see you come bedtime."

He got to his knees and pulled the other into a hug, the rat child smiling and putting her chin on his shoulder. He let go soon after, giving one last pat goodbye to her, before heading back to what what he was forced to call home.

~~~

    Six watched the other leave, a small smile linger on his face for a moment longer. For once, it felt like him and her actually understood one another.

Slowly, she felt Bandage settle beside her. "Six? Who he?" He whispered.

Six looked over to him, seeing his confused and curious look. She gave a small soft giggle to him. "Blueberry, he's nice... kinda," she muttered the last bit.

Bandage looked at her, her brown eyes looking over the wrappings around his head. He seemed more confused. "But monsters scary... monsters hurt wolves-- monsters kill pups," he stated, growing a bit more frantic at the thought.

Monsters? Six remembered seeing monsters on The Maw, but she hadn't seen any on the Mainland so far. What was there to fear? Why was Bandage scared to even be around Blueberry?

"Blue isn't a monster. Yeah, he can get into his moods where he gets all angry and snappy; but I won't call him a monster-"

"Humans monsters! All humans monsters! Monsters no trust, monsters not good. Blue bad, Blue monsters," Bandage stated with a slightly louder voice, though he barely spoke above a soft tone.

From the younger's sudden exclaiming, Six blinked as it started to click to her. "Bandage, have you ever seen a human?" She asked. The wrapping around his head obscured all his vision, how he was walking without falling down small cliffs both amazed and confused her.

Bandage suddenly let out a growl. "No! Bandage no see, seeing bad, seeing brings Static Monster," he said in a defiant tone. Six felt confused, static monster?

"Bandage, Blue is safe. Hey, let's make a deal, okay?"

Bandage turned his nose up, looking off, before tilting his ear up as he heard the other squeak.

"Bandage listen,"

"What if, I show you humans are okay? Or at least, not all are monsters. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. If I can't, well, then you were right and we don't have to do anything like this again. Deal?"

The pup was silent for a moment, probably trying to understand what she had said. After a few heartbeats, he nodded. "Bandage... agree," he mumbled.

A small smile made its way on Six's face, giving a small nod. She could help him, she knew she could.

So why did she have the urge to call the deal off?

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Finished - Feb. 1st, 2021

Guysssss, only 10 more days until we get the good stuff~~~

Anyways, yeah, this chapter was a lot longer than usual, about 3,100 is words. Not my best work though, but I hope you all enjoyed!

If you have an theories as to what is happening, I'd love to hear what you guys got.

With that out of the way, I'll see you next chapter!

Take care!

* Edited Mar. 12th, 2021 *

De is sleeppppyyy, ahhhhh

I added, like, nearly 500 words of new content in this. Prepare for future big sister Six moments-

Now I have to rewrite all of Bandage's scenes, double aaahhhhh-

Anyways, De has big tests next week, so don't expect a lot happening since she has a lot to do during that time.

But, complaints aside, thank you all for reading! Hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!

* Edited May 19th, 2021 *

Just fixed a few minor issues, nothing much.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!