7 Nagging Curiosity (1/2)

Chuckling at the mouse's misfortune, Mina followed him inside the hut. When they arrived inside, the mouse shook off the water from its body, but it remained sullen.

”What happened?”

”That white amur tricked me into falling into the river. They lured me to lean closer and closer and when I fell, they all laughed at me for being a gullible land animal. Bullies! All of them are bullies!”

”Dry up and rest, Tarou.”

Looking at the fuming mouse, reminded Mina of how the pre-schoolers she looked after were like when someone stole their toy. Somehow she found herself blurting a few more words to comfort her companion.

”We can't take revenge on those creatures now, but we can try to catch a few of them sometime.”

The mouse clenched gnawed its teeth and looked at him with pitiful eyes. Mina let out a deep breath.

'She couldn't promise that they will eat fish after torturing them to death! It would be a complete lie. Eating something raw is just --- urgh!'

Making her way closer to the mouse, patting its slightly damp head.

The mouse stiffened at the touch. Looking up the black imposing cat to assess the situation, he saw its gentle expression. But he couldn't be sure, could he? The sight of the sharp claws still made his heart race and he finally snapped out of his foul mood.

'I can't put this cat in a bad mood. It's better to be drenched than be food!!!'

Now lying down on its front with paws tucked underneath, the black cat didn't look as imposing. Seeing the cat's relaxed whiskers, the cat's body didn't threaten him in any way. In fact, Boss seems to be smiling.

It wasn't bad to suck up to this kind of cat. He even struggled to get inside the rat hole last night because he ate too much. He even snatched more food when they went out.

Seeing the satisfied look on the mouse's face, Mina got up on all fours to find a more comfortable place inside the hut. Before taking another step forward, she glanced back to the mouse, remembering something.

”Tonight, we'll raid the bandit's lair again. Is there no other settlement in this area?”

With the naughty fishes completely forgotten, for now, the mouse shook his head. ”The only village close to this part of the forest has been burned to the ground.”

Sensing intense curiosity from the cat's focused gaze, he continued. ”Nothing survived in that village. I had to leave to find food. I barely made it to this hut”

”Why was the village destroyed?”

A sad looked passed over the mouse's face. ”To ruin an alliance.”

”Huh! How predictable. Humans.”

The mouse remained silent while staring at the cat who settled on a shady corner, away from the window. Sitting on her bottom, the cat started to lick her paw subconsciously.

'This feels great, it's as if I'm taking a bath.' She looked at the mouse, and her curiosity nagged her to ask for more.