Chapter 2: Rats!

Tiny paws scuttled and stalked after Paige, running along in old gutters and drains. For such a dangerous incursion, the best of the best had been summoned. And that fox had no idea they were on him!

Foxes had apparently gotten bigger since the fall. None of the rats had seen any since their banishing; this one walked on two legs and stood as tall as a man. It didn't seem like any of the humans were wise to his disguise, either: He teetered under his rags down the dim market street, occasionally stopping at carts or stalls to chat with the costermongers about their goods, before appearing to suddenly realize something and wander off again. His tail, wrapped around his thighs, could only be seen from a rat's-eye view.

Eventually, he sidestepped into an alley, overhung by eaves and clotheslines, so he could take off his hat and scratch his ears. The hunters sprang. They took aim and let loose a volley of stinging bullets, poisoned with Darkest Chocolate.

Paige made a sound, more startled than pained, and covered his face until the peppering of tiny punctures abated.

"Sorry, fox, can't have you taking what little we've got," the lead rat said as gruffly as a rat could manage, lowering his gun and waiting for the interloping canine to drop.

"W-what?" Paige asked, lowering his hands to stare sadly at the rats that carefully tracked him with tiny rifles. The rats were terribly familiar with deception, but his teary gaze was enough to make many of them hesitate. He stammered as he tried to think of a motive for this attack in a dark, dangerous world. "I don't want to eat you!"

What was in Paige's mind the lowest possible bar for decent conduct was a far sight better than many Londoners' typical treatment of rats.

"You'd be the first," one deadeye laughed. "Really? Where'd they find you?"

"Foxy lies, don't listen to him," the lead-rat hissed. "They'll muck with our contract with the Masters given half a chance, this one must be a vanguard."

"I think I crashed my ship here," Paige tried to explain. "And what contract is that? I don't want to do anything with it. ...Well, probably. I guess I can't say that if I don't know what it is."

Paige gathered his coat up and sat down in the alley.

"So, you don't want the city's scraps?"

"No! ...Well, I just got here and I don't have any money, so I'll probably actually be scavenging for a while..." Paige said sadly.

"Aha! It is an invasion!"

Some rats, moved or perplexed by Paige's apparent sincerity, were starting to emerge to get a better look at the interloper. "Well, that's no less than a destitute human would do," one mumbled, holstering her pistols. "You're really not going to eat us?"

Paige sat up straight, suddenly stately in his beacon-white fur. "No! You're thinking, feeling people; even if I were starving I couldn't trade your lives for mine!"

Even the lead-rat put down his rifle. He was beginning to wonder, in the back of his mind, why Paige hadn't dropped dead, or even convulsed a little.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

Paige nodded, smoothing his ruffled coat and cautiously pulling his hat back on.

"Well, blast it, this just got more complicated. And why aren't you dead? Not that I mind so much, now, but that was a lot of chocolate."

"Chocolate? Ohh, I'm not... I can eat all the chocolate I like. I don't think I'm like your foxes."

"I'll say. What're we going to do with him?"

"We can't let anyone else send assassins. Should we hide him somewhere while we bring back news?"

Paige glanced from rat to rat, disheartened by the attempted assassination.

"I don't know if anyone else would believe us. Maybe we should take him back where the older rats can meet him?"

"To a nest?!" the lead-rat balked.

"What's he going to do? Even if he was planning on attacking, he'd be surrounded."

"And how many rats would get hurt? We can hold a meeting somewhere else, maybe..."

While the rodents planned, Paige waved a paw to get their attention. "Um, my name's Paige, by the way."

The rats glanced over.

"I'm Lacey. This is Otto," the pistoleer said, indicating their lead-rat. He grumbled at the loss of anonymity.

"Say, what about that machine-room behind the carnival? Good enough place to meet at this hour," another rat suggested. At length, they agreed; most of the squad returned home and Lacey stayed to show Paige the way.