Susan and Blaire: Chapter 5

Blaire squinted his eyes as light flooded in from above. A big furry hand reached inside and carefully plucked him up. The mouse clung to the thumb for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the light… and his ears became flooded with many voices.

He’d never heard so many people in one place. There were so many macros all around him; all chatting and laughing and dining with fancy platters. There were some lighter voices that he could only barely pick up; perhaps they were micros like him.

The next thing that flooded Blaire's mind was the scents. There were so many foods all around the building; meats, vegetables, herbs, and spices… some of which he couldn't even name. He felt his mouth water as he covered a hand over his snout. What wasthis amazing place?

Blaire’s attention was drawn by a curious voice from above him. “Am I to assume that this is your plus one?”

“Yes, sir.” Susan’s voice replied. “He’s my little man for the evening.”

Blaire blinked as he looked up at who Susan was talking to; it was another cat, dressed in some kind of fine suit with his hands behind his back. The cat seemed to appraise Blaire curiously, before turning to pick up a couple of menus.

“Prey, or non-prey?” The cat asked Susan.

"Oh, he's not part of my main course," Susan said. "Although… maybe we'll see how things go around dessert."

Blaire’s tail shook at that. Sure, Susan sounded playful, but she definitely wasn’t again gobbling him up when she could. In any case, the cat in the suit put down one menu while holding the other one to his chest.

“Right this way, ma’am.” The cat said as he proceeded to walk down a row of… Blaire wanted to guess they were fancy chairs, neatly arranged around tables attached to a long plank of some kind. Blaire picked up his tablet and typed up a question.

Blaire: Where are we?

Susan pulled out her tablet as she followed the other cat.

“We’re in a restaurant.” She said as she patted him on the head. “It’s called Zephyr’s. It’s one of the most popular places around town.”

Blaire: What’s a Restaurant?

“You’ve never been to one?” Susan raised an eyebrow. “Well, here’s hoping your first time is a memorable experience.”

The cat in the suit led Susan up to a table that was in the corner of the massive building (at least it felt massive compared to the cottage). Susan sat herself down comfortably before placing Blaire gently down in the center of the table. The cat in the suit opened up one of his pockets and pulled out, to Blaire's surprise, a small chair, and a matching table. The suited cat arranged the little furniture delicately for the mouse, before placing a very small version of the menu on Blaire's table.

“Here you are, young sir.” The cat said with a smile, before rising to pull out a pen and a notebook. “Now, what drinks can I start the two of you with?”

Blaire didn’t know what to say or do. It was surreal enough when Susan was kind and warm to him; having a complete stranger do the same was just right out there. Then again, Blaire WAS under Susan’s protection… maybe this cat was holding back to urge to swallow him. In any case, Blaire was completely unsure of what kind of drink he’d want… or even how he’d tell this big cat.

"Hmm, I think we'll both do with glasses of soda," Susan said. "My little guy here can be a bit… shy around other macros."

"Fair enough." The cat nodded as he wrote something in his notebook. "I'll be back in a few minutes, while you two decide on what you'd like to eat."

“Thank you!” Susan said with a flick of her tail. With that, the suited cat walked off to who knows where. Susan picked up her menu and purred to herself as she looked over its contents. Blaire opened his and tried to relax, despite the multitude of voices across the restaurant.

The items on the menu looked appetizing enough. They seemed to know exactly what a mouse liked to eat; peanut butter, various grains, veggies… even a selection of cheeses. There was also a selection of, to Blaire's surprise, MEATS. Perhaps Zephyr's liked to serve food to micro-sized carnivores, too.

Blaire found himself very curious about the picture showing a fruit salad with a side of sunflower seeds. He was about to tell Susan what he wanted via his tablet… but then he stopped to look around at the building’s interior once again. And his curiosity began to stir once more.

Blaire: Hey Susan, why did you bring me here?

The cat checked her tablet and then smiled at him.

“Well… for starters, I felt that you might like a chance to get out of the cottage," Susan replied. "You've been cooped up for quite a while because of the weather, so a change of pace was definitely in order, right?"

Blaire: Well, I do like going somewhere new…

The mouse scratched his chin as he looked around again. He saw several macros holding micros in their hands. The micros seemed… happy. Very happy, in fact. They hugged the macros on the snouts or sat still as their macro nuzzled or licked them. It gave Blaire a moment of pause; he never could have considered that so many macros could be friendly and caring toward the little folk. He glanced back up at Susan, who relaxed in her seat and smiled down at him. The cat’s face radiated with a warm glow; the mouse felt a funny feeling in his chest.

Blaire: I didn't know that other Big Folk could be so nice.

“There are plenty of nice Big Folk all around town, Blaire.” The cat smiled. “Though… a lot of them do like gobbling up tinies, too.”

Blaire: Do they let them back out, like you?

Susan chuckled awkwardly. “A lot of them do, yes.”

The mouse grimaced.

Blaire: But there are still others who digest their prey anyway, right?

“Oh… I won’t lie, Blaire.” The cat frowned. “But most of those Big Folk… they prefer willing prey.”

The mouse sighed and looked down. He should have figured as much; there would always be those who liked to munch on micros. Blaire glanced up at Susan, whose ears were drooping as she bit her lower lip. Blaire quickly lifted up his tablet to reply before she got too sad.

Blaire: I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make things awkward. I shouldn’t have brought it up.

“It’s alright, little guy.” Susan nodded. “I just wanted to be honest with you.”

It was about this time when the suited cat returned to the table. He placed a glass of soda down before Susan… and then used a pair of tweezers to carefully place a micro-sized glass down on Blaire's little table.

"Here are your drinks." He declared. "Have you finally decided on your orders?"

Blaire quickly typed a response to Susan, which she read aloud.

“My little guy will have the fruit salad and side of sunflower seeds.” She said. “And I’ll have the chicken parmesan platter.”

“Right away, ma’am.” The server nodded before taking the two menus and walking off. Once again, Blaire and Susan were left alone with each other.

“Is there… anything else you’d like to talk about?” Susan asked. “Just name the topic, and I’ll answer to the best of my ability.”

Blaire tapped his chin as he tried to think of something nice to ask. He thought about what the cat had said during their little game earlier, and he scratched his chin.

Blaire: What did you mean exactly when you said this was a date?

Susan’s eyes widened a bit, and she blushed a little.

“Well… it was a bit of playful teasing.” She said. “I’d planned to dress up nice for going out. I whipped up an idea to give you a fancy suit… I guess I couldn’t resist joking that we’re on a date.”

Blaire; So… we’re not really on a first date?

The cat’s cheeks blushed a little more. “Well… we can call it one if you really want to.”

Blaire: Well… I wouldn’t mind. In fact…

It was now the mouse’s turn to blush as he typed the second part of his reply.

Blaire: You look very pretty tonight, Susan.

“Aww…” The cat smiled wide. “Thank you very much, little guy.”

The mouse tugged on his collar; he was feeling some rather strange things all of a sudden. He'd never quite looked at a cat this way before. Then again, Susan hadn't quite been like some cats he'd seen before in his life as a scrounger. She was a rather magical lady, too… in more ways than one. The way she tilted her head as she smiled down at him, with those big, lovely eyes… Blaire didn't know what to say, besides what he'd already had.

Luckily Susan thought of something else to talk about.

"We might not come back to Zephyr's all the time; it's mostly for special occasions." She said. "But there are lots of other places I can bring you when I've got the free time."

Blaire: Other places? Like what?

“There’s a local park, a theater, the beach…" The cat stuck her fingers out as she listed things. "I can even get you a map of the town on your tablet if you'd like a better idea."

Blaire scratched his head, and then looked over his tablet. The thought of looking at all sorts of places was certainly a curious thing to think about. He’d been living on his own in the general area of this town for so long that it practically seemed like his entire world. But to see what the whole thing looks like on a little screen? He’d never thought such a thing possible before… He shook his little tail as he typed up his response.

Blaire: I’d love to see a map.

The mouse smiled up at the cat as Susan read his message. She gave a little purr before reaching down to rub his little head.

“I’ll get you one as soon as we get home… well, maybe after your first fireball lesson.” She said happily.

Blaire couldn’t help but grasp the cat’s finger and hug it against his face. Susan purred again as she scooped him gently into her hand. The purrs continued as she hugged the mouse against her cheek. Blaire spread out his arms and shut his eyes as he pressed himself against that cheek; he’d never felt happier in his life. Once again, he was reminded of how much of a great thing it was that he wound up living with such a magical macro.

“Err, madame…” Came a familiar voice.

Susan moved her hand down, and she and Blaire looked up to see the server cat had appeared with a plate of food.

“Your meals are ready…” He said as he placed a big plate before Susan, followed by a miniature plate down on a platform for the mouse. “Enjoy your meals.”

“Ah, right… err, thanks.” Susan blushed a bit as she placed Blaire down on the table. “We certainly will.”

The server nodded and turned to leave, while Blaire walked over to take his spot before his plate. He then looked up at Susan, who chuckled as she picked up a fork.

“I guess we got carried away…” The cat laughed a bit as she dug into her chicken parmesan. “Let’s… try and contain our excitement until we get home, okay?”

Blaire responded by nodding his head as he dug into a sunflower seed. He put his tablet down, and the two began eating in relative silence.

It was a nice, lovely dinner, complete with the cat and mouse casting happy glances at one another. Blaire wasn’t entirely sure what the true nature of their relationship was… but he was just happy to be with her in this moment.

And happy to start learning to cast that fireball once they got home.