Susan and Blaire: Chapter 7

It was only a few minutes later. Susan had prepared a plate of crackers with peanut butter spread upon them. She then sat down on her couch in the living room, with the lights on and the plate spread out nearby. She’d placed Blaire down on her left thigh, while Puck and the red mouse sat down on the other one. The cat gave everyone a cracker, and she relaxed as the mice chowed down.

Blaire was grateful for the snack; though he was too busy watching the red mouse to really enjoy his own. She kept casting him mistrusting glares, even as her little brother chowed down with glee. He’d rolled up his sleeves as best as he could and tossed his hat back, though they were gradually stained with crumbs as he ate.

“Now…” Susan began, “Would you mind telling me your name, Miss?”

The red mouse glared up at her now. “It’s… Brunhilda.”

“My, that’s quite a name.” The cat said with wide eyes. Brunhilda glowered at Susan, who put a hand over her mouth. “Erm, I didn’t mean it as an insult, Miss Brunhilda. I’m sorry.”

Brunhilda simply glowered again, before taking a quick bite of her cracker. She barely flinched as Puck ravenously tore into the last pieces of his own cracker.

“More, please?” He asked with cheeks stained with stray peanut butter. Susan could only snicker before reaching for the coffee table to hand him another one. He squeaked happily as he took it in his hands. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, little one.” Susan smiled.

Blaire couldn’t help but smile as well. He hadn’t seen such mouse kid in so long; not since he was with his own family. And this Puck seemed so innocent, too… like he wasn’t aware of what a dangerous world it was out there for many micros. Blaire felt a chill run along his back; he could feel Brunhilda’s glare on him once again even without glancing at her. Perhaps it was for a good reason…

“So, how long have you two been out in the wilds?” Susan asked Brunhilda. The red mouse crossed her arms and looked away. Puck looked at her worriedly, but then sighed and turned to look right up at Susan.

“Sis has been taking care of me by herself for a few years now.” He said. “Ever since… Well…”

Puck’s ears drooped and his eyes began to water a bit. Brunhilda noticed this and draped an arm over his shoulders to give him a quick hug. Susan frowned, as did Blaire; both of them knew what those tears meant.

“So… can I ask how old you two are?” Susan made her voice softer.

“I’m nineteen.” Brunhilda said. “And Puck just turned ten last week.”

“Oh, congratulations.” Susan nodded to Puck. “Maybe I can get you something to celebrate?”

Puck smiled a bit and sniffled as Brunhilda broke the hug. “I’d like that, Miss.”

Brunhilda, however, still wasn’t too trusting; she glared back and forth between her and Blaire as she wracked her talons against her knee.

Susan frowned at that. “What’s wrong?”

“You plan on keeping us here, don’t you?” Brunhilda asked accusingly.

“Well, I wouldn’t put it like THAT.” Susan replied. “I don’t want to force you or your brother to do anything… I just think that you’d be safer staying HERE, in my cottage.” Susan gestured around a bit. “I like to give shelter to the mice that wander in, so I can keep them safe, and warm, and…”

“As your pets.” Brunhilda said coldly.

Susan blinked, and then frowned. “I mean… I’d prefer to think of you as guests.”

“I wouldn’t mind being a pet.” Puck said happily. Brunhilda looked at him in shock, while Blaire scratched his chin at that.

“Puck, don’t talk like that.” Brunhilda snapped. “We can’t just give up and let the macro have her way.”

“But what’s wrong with being a pet?” Puck frowned. “Pets are loved and taken care of and given great food.” He put his cracker down and let his sleeves fall over his hands. “Wouldn’t you rather sleep somewhere cozy, rather than one of those soup cans?”

Blaire’s eyes widened; already he could imagine Puck and his sister being huddled together in the middle of some old can in a dark alleyway, while the rain beat down heavily and buffeted their ears with painful thunder… just like what he’d gone through. Brunhilda seemed to have similar thoughts, as she reached up to grasp at her ears and clatter her teeth. Blaire knew those feelings all too well; being forced to hide somewhere out of desperation, and wanting so badly to be somewhere safe… but not knowing if you could trust one of the Big Folk…

Blaire picked up his tablet and typed out a message. He sent it to Susan’s tablet, who picked up hers and read it. The cat blushed a bit, before turning her tablet to show it to Brunhilda and Puck.

Blaire: You can trust Susan; she’ll protect you.

“Why aren’t you talking directly to us?” Puck asked as he scratched his ear.

Blaire sighed, and whipped another message for Susan to show, while he lifted up his head and pointed to the scar on his neck.

Blaire: Years ago, I got into a serious accident. My life was saved, but I lost the ability to talk.

“Aww…” Puck’s ears drooped again. “I’m sorry, Mister.”

“You can call him Blaire.” Susan said softly. The white mouse nodded in agreement. Brunhilda looked between the two, and then focused on Blaire uneasily.

“How long have you been this cat’s pet?”

Blaire smirked a little, and typed up his message.

Blaire: I’m not a pet; I’m her apprentice.

“Apprentice?” Brunhilda raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“In case you didn’t notice…” Susan picked up one of her wands and waved it around. “I’m a witch.”

Like clockwork, a tea kettle and a cup floating their way out of the kitchen in whimsical fashion. The kettle poured some eat into the cup, and Susan happily drank some of it before sending the kettle back on its merry way into the kitchen. Susan then put the empty cup down on the coffee table, while Puck clapped his hands.

“That was cool.” He cheered.

“Thank you very much.” Susan smirked as she waved her wand around playfully. “I can do all sorts of things with my magic, and I’ve recently begun teaching Blaire here how to cast some basic spells.”

Blaire hurriedly typed a message for her.

Blaire: Like fireball?”

Susan blinked, and then chuckled a little. “Soon, Blaire. Soon.”

“I’d like to learn to make a fireball!” Puck yelled excitedly as he wagged his tail.

“Oh, now look what you’ve done.” Susan playfully nudged Blaire in the shoulder. “Pretty soon I’ll have to teach everyone how to make fireballs.”

Blaire squeaked in a laughing way; the best he could do to mimic real laughing. Puck giggled a bit as well… but Brunhilda barely budged.

“Puck, fire is dangerous.” She said sternly. “And magical fire is doubly-so. I really don’t think it’s a good idea for a mouse your age to be playing with it.”

“Aww…” Puck pouted again. Blaire nodded in understanding; his sister had a good point, after all.

“I can easily teach him other, more harmless bits of magic.” Susan said to Brunhilda. “And to you as well, if you’d like to stay.”

Brunhilda rubbed her upper arm. She looked at Blaire, and then at Susan… before glaring a bit.

“I want an honest answer out of you.” Brunhilda sneered. “Do… You… Eat… Mice?”

Susan frowned, and then leaned back a bit. “It depends on how you define eat, Miss Brunhilda.”

“Do you put mice in your MOUTH, and swallow them down for sustenance?” Brunhilda demanded.

“They come out safe and sound afterward… but yes.” The cat nodded.

Brunhilda sneered. “So you’re going to want to eat US, aren’t you?”

Puck quietly stepped back to hide behind his sister. Susan frowned at that and rubbed her neck as her own ears drooped this time.

“I mean… Only if you’re comfortable with it.” Susan replied. “I wouldn’t do anything if you didn’t feel safe around me.”

“And how are we supposed to feel SAFE around someone who has no problems with eating mice?” Brunhilda demanded. “Sure you can SAY That it’s safe and sound, but that could just be trying to trick us!”

Blaire grimaced. He was about to type something for Susan to show Brunhilda, but the red mouse merely growled at him.

“Oh, don’t bother trying to say anything in her defense!” Brunhilda yelled. “For all we know, you’re in on the trick! Maybe you’re just agreeing to try and save your own hide from being digested!”

Blaire sighed again; it was the same kind of stubbornness that he’d shown himself not too long ago. Susan was beginning to look rather hurt; she was likely a few moments away from showing Brunhilda and Puck the way out so they can be on their way. Blaire wasn’t sure if a storm was about to hit like what happened with him… but he had to do what he can to prove that Susan could be trusted. And the best way he could to think to do it was… well, a bit unpleasant. Still… he’d do it for her.

Blaire picked up his tablet, took a deep breath, and typed a message for Susan alone to read.

Blaire: Eat me.

Susan gasped in surprise. She looked straight at Blaire, as if he’d somehow mistyped the whole thing. The mouse simply pointed at himself, and then at her pudgy belly.

“Are you sure, Blaire?” Susan asked softly. “You really don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Blaire simply clutched his tablet to his chest and nodded affirmatively, much to the confusion of Brunhilda.

“What’s going on?” She demanded.

“Well… alright…” Susan carefully lowered a free hand down to her thigh. “Come on up here, little guy.”

Blaire stepped into her palm and sat down as the cat slowly lifted him up to her face. She planted a soft kiss upon the mouse’s head, making him squeak a bit. She then slowly parted her jaws and slid her tongue out before Puck’s feet.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” Brunhilda asked in alarm. Blaire turned around to look down at her, while Puck peeked around her body to watch it happen. Blaire simply smiled, waved to the two mice, and then turned to face Susan’s open maw.

Even though it wasn’t the first time that Blaire had stared into the cat’s mouth, it still gave him a moment of pause. The cat took very care of her fangs to get them so sparkling and white. The tongue was fat and pink, and more than a little squishy under his feet. And as he crouched down to duck under her upper row of teeth, Blaire could feel warm breath blowing against him. She looked desperate to start tossing him around in her maw to taste him; she must have been showing quite a lot of restraint.

After taking another breath, Blaire switched on the app on his tablet that showed the camera. He held it up to record everything he was looking at in the maw, before stepping forward to venture toward the throat. Once he was near the gaping abyss, Blaire got down onto his back and pointed his feet toward it. The jaws shut behind him, sealing him in darkness, before the head tilted backward…

GULP

Blaire had to admit he still felt a bit skittish about the trip down the throat. Sure, he knew it was a quick descent, but it still felt so cramped. Maybe he would have preferred it if he was somehow teleported straight into Susan’s belly via magic. Perhaps he could ask her about that sometime…

Before long, he was pushed through that familiar opening and into the spacious chamber that was Susan’s belly. He stood up, wiped himself down, and made to wander over to the shallow end to sit down. Just as he was getting comfortable, a chime sounded alerting him that something had sent him a message on the tablet. So he held it up, clicked the message… and found a video image of Susan smiling at the tablet.

“Alright, looks like the camera is up and running.” She said with a giggle. “You doing okay in there, Blaire?”

The mouse waved at his own camera, which made her purr; he could hear it coming from up above, while her cheeks on the screen flushed a bit pinker.

“What’s going on?” Puck’s voice asked down below. “Did he get put into that weird metal thing?”

“Here, I’ll put the tablet down and show you him…”

Blaire watched as the camera whirled around a bit before coming to land with a plop on the belly. He could now see Brunhilda and Puck on Susan’s though as the looked at the camera in amazement. Puck rushed forward and put his hands on the bottom of the screen as he sniffed around the camera to try and get a whiff of Blaire’s fur. Blaire couldn’t help but smile as he backed up and waved at the camera.

“IS that what a belly looks like on the inside?” Puck asked curiously. “It looks so… squishy.”

The belly walls seemed to shift and groan in response to the little mouse’s comment. Blaire coyly rolled his eyes before typing up a reply on the messaging system. Puck gasped in surprise at the chime, and then rubbed his eyes to read it.

Blaire: It’s also pretty wet in here, too.

“Is that where you go to sleep?” Puck asked.

Blaire: No, I have a bed upstairs.

“I’d like to see it.” Puck said with a smile.

IT was about this time that Brunhilda finally stepped up to have a look around at the stomach interior. She seemed quite freaked out that a mouse would casually be standing around in a pool of the murky liquid. And if Blaire was being honest, it wasn’t unjustified; there was always that nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he couldn’t stay safe in the belly forever. Still, Susan had gone out of her way to prove she was trustworthy; she’d surely fish him out of there if she felt something was going wrong. Speaking of which…

Blaire: Tell Susan that I’d like to come out the way I came in.

Brunhilda blinked and did a double-take; it must have been a weird thing to say. Still, she awkwardly waved up at Susan to get her attention. “He, uh… wants you to spit him up.”

“Alright, I’ll get right on it…”

There was a moment of silence… before Blaire felt his entire body being lifted up out of the liquid into the air. A tingling sensation surrounded his body; the same kind that came whenever he was lifted via levitation. Sure enough, eh could just barely catch the very end of Susan’s wand out of the corner of his camera as he held the tablet tightly.

A moment later, Blaire was lifted up and out of Susan’s mouth. He came to a gentle landing in her hand, where she happily rubbed his head with a finger. Susan couldn’t help but purr again as she placed him down on her thigh.

“There, you see?” Susan said warmly. “You two would be safe and sound in my belly.”

“I… I…” Brunhilda looked very confused by everything that had just happened. Puck, however, seemed a bit more comfortable about the whole thing; he pressed his head against Susan’s belly to try listening to it gurgling and rumbling.

“How did you learn all of this magic stuff?” He asked.

“Oh, that’s a long story.” Susan chuckled. “I’d be more than happy to tell you everything there is to know. But it might have to wait until tomorrow morning…” She parted her jaws and yawned briefly. “I’m getting tired.”

Blaire had to admit that he was beginning to feel drowsy as well; it reminded him of how his nap was interrupted by the two other mice’s shenanigans. Susan scooped him up in her hand again, and he gently held onto her thumb. She then scooped her tablet up in her other hand, along with her wand, and made to hold them under her arm.

“I’ve got another hand for the both of you.” She said to Brunhilda as she offered said hand out. “We can get you a nice place to rest once we’re upstairs.”

Puck didn’t have to be asked twice to get into Susan’s hand. Brunhilda almost pulled him back out, but then her little brother frowned at her.

“Come on, Sis…” His eyes got quite big and teary. “Can’t we please sleep in some nice beds, at least for tonight?”

Brunhilda’s own eyes began to tear up a bit. She sucked in a breath and did her best to look strong… before finally sitting in Susan’s hand beside him.

“Okay…” She sighed as she hugged her little brother. “For tonight, at least.”

Puck hugged his sister back, making Blaire smile. He heard Susan purring again as she scooped them up and made to walk through the living room.

“I’ve got plenty of spare beds that you two can use.” She said happily as she made to walk upstairs. “You’re going to love them, I just know it.”

This wasn’t quite how Blaire was expecting the evening to go. Still, it was nice to meet new mice again. Maybe he could help Brunhilda relax in time. He knew it wouldn’t be an easy thing to do; he’d been where she was not too long ago. Granted he didn’t have to take care of a little young mouse… but he could sympathize with wanting to protect them.