To be blunt, I'm not happy with this one. Feels too much like an exposition dump, and I should have gotten beta readers involved before I finished it, learning experience...
Anyway, our leading mouse, trapped in the curious oasis of Trevor Darke's office, finds himself hearing much of the feline perspective on the fall of his kind

Newton and the Pawel incident

The simple but refined room around Newton was largely silent, motionless but for the immense feline settled comfortably in the chair of dark hide. His own perch, on a chair, by a table, on a much larger table gave him a view of the feline from the chest up, the well-groomed tabby cat taking a thoughtful sip of his drink, before refilling it from the long-necked vessel, steam pouring forth with the darkening liquid.
“To understand the, incidents around the… fall of you mice, I feel like I need to start with a little brush up on, the state of our politics…” the cat, Trevor Darke said after a long moment “you see… our government began in a different way, than that of you mice and took a different form… I’d argue your kind was a little too, young, in governance”
“I’m listening” Newton muttered from his spot… it gave him an excuse to nurse the hot drink in his paws, as he watched the mass of flesh and fur. He was braced to distrust the feline’s account of history… all the same he was, curious. Surely such a cat was informed on the topic at least
“Well, the short of where we are now, is that we are a democracy. It’s a system of government revolving around public input and community decision making. We follow three core creeds” he noted “firstly, honesty above all. A leader to mislead, is to be incompetent for their position. Secondly, one given the mantle of leading democratically, must be as free of ulterior motives as possible, especially financial. To better understand those worst effected, any cat in a political role earns whatever the lowest full-time wage is amid the people we govern. To increase our pay, is to increase the minimum wage. And thirdly, each voice is individual, party-based politics, are strictly forbidden. Attempts to form a collaborative majority to shut out other voices is grounds for immediate dismissal” he paused to sip his tea “murine politics was the opposite, we’d consider it a, faux democracy. Faux meaning, fake, or imitation. It resembled some democratic principles, but overlooked a lot of the key features”
Newton felt a frown deepen his features. Such talk was, not what he was accustomed to “my experience has been of, independent nests… but I’m told we had a… central leadership I suppose, once”
“Yes… the mouse capital” Trevor noted “built in an old bear warren. The locals avoided the region for the knowledge a bear lived there, but it passed without notice. By the time someone investigated, mice had fortified its old home. It was a cause for concern for some, though as fortune had it, your kind had, in your way, learnt to use our, radio-based technology. At that point talk, began”
The cat sighed some “mmm, but I get ahead of myself a little. In our society, we have the council, it’s a semi-static government, with votes every four years. We operate a two-vote system, each cat who is governed may cast firstly a vote for any present council member if they wish, and a second vote for any candidate they wish. There are thousands, possibly even millions of candidates, all with a page on our central network, cats may listen to their stances at their leisure. The intention is that each cat may find a political avatar that best resembles their own personal and unique set of values. The first vote is to help preserve a council member they feel they like the stance of, the second, is to bring to attention any new voices outside of the council, which they feel deserve to be on the council. Therefore, the thirteen members are generally very different, there are, two or three spots that are commonly in flux, as cats, similar to a current member are voted in, then fall out when their voters need to pick only one cat for their preservation vote. Should a cat find no council members to their liking, both votes may be cast for, two different applying cats” he tapped his chest “I’m in the lower council. If a cat can boast, about point five percent of the secondary vote, give or take, they rise to the lower council, in acknowledgement that while still in the minority, their stance is noteworthy, at which point we acquire a little extra funding to spread our message, if only to give us a better chance to test if our ideas have traction, or can be made to have traction with the people.” He shrugged a touch “to cut it short, the purpose is to represent as many cats as possible. That was the issue with party systems… such as, what your kind used. See, parties function in similar ways at first. There could be, a hundred, a thousand of them. But one will be, biggest, the majority, most common set of viewpoints. The other parties, stand no chance, so, the second biggest, perhaps, absorbs views, not quite its own but similar enough, till they outsize the first. This continues till you inevitably have only two or three with any actual chance of winning. We call this majority rule… it is, the laziest way to interpret the idea of democratic voting, and, discourages compromise, enhances animosity between those who vote one way or the other. If they hold the majority… the other voices have no say whatsoever, it’s intentionally designed that way” he sighed some “so it was with your kind, each colony in radio communication with the capital, voted, one mouse selected from each for your own, larger council, but since they were party based… they had to fit in with only two viewpoints, no room for… other arrangements of ideas. It reaches a point sadly where you end up voting for, not who represents your voice, but against whoever represents it least. We, in our way, want to understand not only views, but how they combine. Otherwise, the people are not free to express their voice, but, free only to pick which of the voices allowed to them, they like better, I hope you can see the distinction. There aren’t only two options… but I digress”
Trevor cleared his throat “Largely your system went along fine… the ruling class of mice gave themselves a lot of perks, which gave motivations beyond improving society to said class, unfortunately. It broke into two parties, and those parties effectively took opposite sides in every argument. One of the factions was more, concerning… they represented a minority of mice overall, mostly colonies bordering with feline regions. Their tactic for accruing votes was, through fear and anger. Stoke anger, you create fear. Both emotions make a mouse more likely to vote for, a party which promotes aggressive and defensive rather than cooperative narratives… and both emotions lead to, tunnelled vision against new ideas. The anger, naturally, was against cats. Those settlements were smaller but more numerous… and since the leading faction was the one with the most colonies under its wing, not the most mice, that party managed to grasp power frequently enough. On the issue of cats, one side wished to make felines, pay for pain caused, and otherwise make us go away… an, unlikely scenario. The other side wished to communicate and work with us. It was that party which broadcast to us”
“I, see” Newton muttered, pondering this, world… all mice in communication? Hard to, believe
“Despite their public, shouting, most of the other faction of mice did realise the obvious… that we had to communicate, and that long term, if mice didn’t want to be eaten, we needed to collaborate. These talks were very, very hush. Our government is not especially secretive… it goes against our principles, but this was… a hot topic. All before my time of course…” Trevor rolled a shoulder “The mice equally kept quiet about it, we knew these discussions were going to be, complicated, not helped by a complete change in demands from one mouse government to the next sometimes… but I dare say from what I’ve seen of the correspondence, it was, slowly, making progress on some key issues… but…” he sighed some “then it happened. The, more aggressive murine party had been on a losing streak as communication systems improved, so they changed tactic… almost all reference to their policies was abandoned, they focussed instead on making unprovable accusations against their opponents, and avoided saying anything that could be tested. Disgracefully dishonest tactics, but in the mind of the voter who isn’t deeply versed in evidential reasoning, it works. They hear one side, talk about how great they are, and how bad their opponents are… it takes them, mere moments to make an accusation, and takes their opponent far longer than that, to correct it. Instantly they put their opponent on the defensive, quite illegitimately mind you. This was spearheaded by the mouse who would become the, last leader of the mice. A mouse by the name of Aiden Tucker” Trevor’s whiskers twitched some, before he took another deep drink “well, Aiden was not a very political mouse, and very aggressive in tone. Enjoyed buzzwords like, freedom, independence, big, powerful, pretty words that are open to vast interpretation. String together such powerful words, in a vague way, people will imagine whatever, those words mean for them. He took power, and in his… possibly sincere belief that he knew better than anyone else, immediately revealed the talks with the cats to his kind, demanded an audience with the feline council. Declaring that he would, put an end to the faffing and, in his mind, wasted diplomatic time. That he would stride into the heart of feline society and bring justice, whatever that was supposed to mean” The cat looked into his drink “what could be done? Cats had already discovered the mice had radio, to make it public there made it public here, it forced our paws. We accepted of course. A house was cleared out near the council chambers, and mouse diplomats were invited in for this, historic meeting. Mr Tucker, was very bold, and in truth very stupid” Trevor reported scathingly “or maybe just naïve. Came in full force with demands, all made, very publicly to be heard by his followers. That cats immediately stop preying on mice, reparations for past damages, that any cat who eats, even a feral mouse, be put on a watchlist. Very, mice first, cats never sort of policies. He found the feline council not to his liking”
“Why can’t cats… just leave us alone?” Newton grunted
“Ah… it’s complicated” Trevor noted “here’s the first issue. Recognition of your government as a country, or society, rather than simple, oddly bright mice. That was never officially established… because that, carried with it a lot of baggage. To recognise you mice as a nation, would make those mice raiding feline homes, thieves. We could, forgive past transgressions in return for the same from your kind… but what about the future? Forbidding eating talking mice? Very difficult… both to get approval from the people, and then to enforce. You’ve got traditionalists, you’ve got mental wellbeing activists, you’ve got pro nature activists, you’ve got of course some who would see this as setting a bad precedent for all live prey, the list goes on… and to enforce it? Swallow a mouse and it’s done with. Once you’re dead it’s hard to tell you apart from feral mice. How would we know? Mice could get chipped, but that’s expensive, and mice might be opposed to being tracked at all times by cats, even though that would also help with the mouse crime issue… and why, mice reasoned, should they bear the responsibility? Not to mention, it’s not so easy to track if the mouse is dead or alive by just a chip… if they’re reported missing, who’s to say they’re not down a sewer by then. And lets say we track down a cat with a mouse’s chip in their gut. How do we prove they knew they were eating an illegal mouse rather than a legal one? And on mouse crime… if it’s illegal to eat you, then it should be illegal to squat in feline houses, damage and steal their property… how do we enforce that? What if we catch such mice, do we need mouse jails? Most cats would say, just eat them, but that would be harsh punishment… again, complicated” Trevor pawed to his forehead “which is why it was taking, time, to discuss this… forcing a, we’ll get this done with, meeting, was foolhardy and doomed to fail. Especially with such an uncompromising mouse. The fool was willing to sacrifice negotiations, just to appear hard on cats, that’s my assessment. The whole thing was for publicity, and he knew we’d never take his demands… just, wanted to make a show of coming and talking to us. Unfortunately, it escalated” Trevor clicked his tongue “a member of his, diplomatic team was found dead, in the house next to the one they had been stationed in. We might never have known, the mice in question had been given, identifiers to wear, the mouse was without his given outfit, but the cat who found him, recognised him. They had been on television and all… they were going to put the mouse in their trash, but, called the police… sure enough it was them. The mice demanded the body but, not before we got a basic cause of death, poison, the same sort the cat in question put down. Our working theory was that a… forest grown mouse wasn’t trap savvy enough to realise the food put down was, poisoned. Now… obviously this was bad, a diplomat dead, but frankly, the question of why they were in a house, dead from poison put down to kill mice stealing food… well… for the sake of diplomacy, the council wanted to move past this, because frankly, it looked worse on the mice from our standpoint, but… Aiden tucker, refused to apologize, in fact, he blamed the cat who owned the property, wanted to focus on the poisoning of mice as horrific and immoral, rather than acknowledge the… obvious. Blatantly ignored that point when pressed, switching to his own declarations. Naturally… this was quite a scene, but…” Trevor sighed weightily “then it got worse. One of our minsters, one of the thirteen cats on the council, a minister Pawel, was poisoned. The same sort of poison that killed the diplomat. We’ve only had, I think three assassinations in our history including that one, so it was, quite shocking to a lot of cats… part of our system means felines can get very loyal to specific voices in the chamber, and one had been snuffed out. Pawel was also, from a prestigious family of lions. One of their family had been on the council, more years than not for the last three centuries. So, there was a full investigation. He had died in his personal chambers, which were closely monitored. Our chambers… are also largely mouse proof. Those who prepared his food were questioned and ruled out, though traces of the poison were found on his tableware. After, about a week, they found the culprit, or at least, the presumed culprit. A mouse. Found because of a new scent in the room, which led to the body. They had been hiding in the room, unable to leave, dehydration. No traces of the poison were found in their system, but were found in their fur. And they had to have entered before Pawel’s death. Additionally, they closely resembled a mouse seen on video footage, at the front of the, mice who had gathered to welcome the diplomats, fur dyed in such a way to, support Mr Tucker’s party. It was considered conclusive enough. Worse, however, was the reaction. Claims of a framing, attacks on the character of the deceased, not a shred of decency from the… mouse side present”
Newton rubbed at his jaw with a forepaw. It was an effort to imagine the situation. He felt he got the general idea; of a sort of interaction, he knew nothing of. He’d seen glimpses of feline culture on their screens, but generally if a cat was watching a show, it was a good time to hunt for food or goods. But, what he was hearing, didn’t sound wrong “So… an important cat died, the room was, locked? And later they found a mouse inside?”
“Basically” Trevor noted “there have been conspiracy theories of course. None with any evidential footing, but then, that’s a given. Pawel was well liked, he was a moderate sort of cat, best type to have on the council, good at finding the compromises when there’s a rift. The only meaningful observation I’ve heard from that camp is that, indeed someone who had power and authority, could theoretically catch a suitable mouse, touch them with poison, have them put into the room illegally after the fact as a framing tool, but there’s no evidence to support any of that, it’s just a story that weaves through the gaps in certainty” The cat rolled a shoulder, brushing aside the topic “anyway, Aiden Tucker, was not sensible enough to show remorse and sympathy. He hadn’t liked Pawel. As I said, Pawel was about compromise, and took a firm paw with, extremist and biased ideas. He was very well practiced at pulling apart an argument, and confronting opponents with how warped the pieces were in favour of one group or another. There were plenty of cats on the council who disagreed bluntly with Tucker, but, from the old videos of the events, I’d say Pawel got under Tucker’s skin the most. It’s one thing to be told you’re wrong, another to have someone demonstrate you’re wrong… if you’re the sort who refuses to, be wrong. And, Pawel was also quite in favour of changing the relationship between felines and mice, far as I could tell, that annoyed Tucker even more” the cat paused to sip his drink “there’s no evidence Tucker ordered the poisoning, but it’s undebatable his thunder rode off of, increasing animosity between cats and mice, he’d previously championed mice who could bring down a cat, and made it clear he wasn’t the least bit, disappointed that a member of the council had been killed. It was, the last straw, in a sense” Trevor looked into his cup, swirling it for a moment “In the end, politics, even our politics, has veins in, popularity. If we are to represent the people’s will, we need to be flexible to changes in their will, only to hold firm against their will, when their will would take them outside of reality. Public opinion soured overnight, cats were angry, and scared. Suddenly the mice many had tolerated living around them, to one degree or another, were potentially a threat to their lives. This, was what Aiden was too naïve to understand. And what cost his people so, dearly. Those on the council more inclined towards the status quo, and those who, considered the potential threat of mice to outweigh the benefits, got louder. Those who would normally oppose them, found it, harder to raise their voices in the wake of events. Diplomacy was halted, while we held what we call a, flashvote. Most cats will never experience one in their lifetime… it’s when we set up a vote to take place in a matter of days, to get the public opinion on a crisis that needs, immediate reaction. If, for example, it has been something unseen, we can’t know the public opinion on it, and so on. This of course, was to find Pawel’s replacement. All work was suspended but for vital services, to allow for every cat possible to take part. As you might guess, Pawel’s replacement was, a sign of the current mood. The, lower council’s positions shifted quite dramatically, filling with voices less friendly to the mice. It wasn’t a full vote of course… the current council positions remained unchanged but for one addition.
The cat paused to smile ruefully “I go off on tangents… forgive me, it is nice to speak freely… but it’s a dry topic. Short version, the talks didn’t improve, they met once more, on the premise of, seeking to return to diplomacy, but… Tucker still refused to, acknowledge any responsibility, blaming felines for what had happened. The talks were officially called off, and the, relationship between cats and mice was, changed. The mouse settlements were no longer considered, semi-protected zones, but, hives of extremism, it was considered, dangerous to allow mice this sort of growth, the, tone was set for the future. The people took a lot into their own paws, unfortunately. Settlements raided, mice fleeing to the woods. I hear the, opposing party of Tuckers was focussing on evacuations for the remainder of mouse society. The diplomatic residence was cleared, though Tucker wasn’t there. Officially, he was never found”
“Officially?” Newton lingered on the word
“Unofficially, there were reports from the mice in the building that Tucker and some of his inner circle had fled when they saw the writing on the wall. His trail was followed best they could, stopped around the back of a restaurant, supposedly the owner had caught a fair few, mice out back the night before. But, the investigators concluded that’s unlikely to be where Tucker went. There was a bloody patch on the ground, and they found the, flattened body of a mouse in the trash nearby, not much to see, but what there was matched his description. It seems he was simply, trodden on. That’s a little tidbit not shared with the public”
“It’s not right” Newton shook his head “this, Tucker sounds like an ass, but, there were those mice who did want to speak with you…”
“And a lot of us in politics are sad it never went that way, myself included” Trevor chuckled a touch “believe it or not, little mouse, I’m considered one of the more, pro-mice candidates. I understand their actions, it was to help preserve public order, and be seen to, deal with a problem frightening the people. Arguably, it might have been the best option for the mice as well. Your, budding society was seen as, the problem, when the capital was dismantled, and Tucker’s, fight to the death holdouts were put down, the fervour could stop, the problem tied up with a ribbon. There were cats calling for a lot worse… already we’re to a point where felines are relaxed about having mice in their homes, wandering their streets. I’d like to take it further though”
Newton’s ears perked some, considering the, seated, looming cat with a slightly different perspective “you want to, do what exactly?”
“Well, we can’t just, override tradition and the concerns of the people. Far too many, don’t want mice integration for all manner of reasons. But, I’d like to get onto the council and propose some small steps. There are countless industries where mice could be useful due to your size. You don’t quite have our paws, but you’re dextrous enough to manage. I’d like to, encourage workplaces to take in mice and train them, give those mice a protected status within their organisation. At first, it’s likely the mice would be… living tools in effect, a working cat would fetch a mouse from the stock to help with their tasks, to eat one would be theft or destruction of company property, for example. It’s not the end goal, but it’s a step. A step that allows more cats to see, actively, that mice can be dutiful, work hard, and be helpful. I’d also like to try and get mice into film again. Long term, I’d hope this could lead to, mouse citizens. I don’t think extending that paw to all of your kind would ever work, in reality. But, if we have recruitment programs, bring mice into society, then offer them, a place as part of society, it could work. They’d need to wear some sort of distinct marker though… that’s the tricky bit, distinguishing them from wild mice in a way that can’t be copied”
Newton’s tail curled a touch, as he thought “can, I help?” he almost flinched as the words came off his tongue
“Well, I appreciate that reaction” Trevor smiled down to him “but I’m afraid not… that’s not your fate, little mouse. All of this is thought experiments at the moment, some of it makes its way into my, official correspondence, but only so much can be set in motion before I’m even a council member” Trevor exhaled slowly “and I, will, make it to the council”
“Is it, difficult?” Newton muttered, arms folding… not his fate, no positive way to read that one.
“For a cat like me, yes” Trevor propped himself back “a little history lesson for you. Feline society was started by lions, did you know that? Way back, our kind was very solitary, like our feral ancestors and cousins. Except lions. They moved as prides. Still each cat was mostly independent but, more communal. They were the foundation of our democracy as well. The lionesses ran the pride, through compromise. Their lion, was the centre of the pride, handed external diplomacy, added deciding votes, sort of was their referee. If a lion sought more power, the lionesses left, the many, had the power of the one, in terms of strength. They learnt that early. So, in time, thirteen prides, in discussion, banded together. Unfortunately, their goal was to subjugate all the, lesser breeds in their eyes. And they did, they spread far, made their own little, regions for each pride, but ruled, together, officially. I’ll spare you most of the events back then. At first, the prides competed, whichever was strongest, ruled the others. In time, however, they remembered what they had learnt long ago. Together was stronger than alone. If two prides grouped together, they could overcome one. They, could see I think, where this would naturally lead, a rift, a division down the middle of their nation. So, they compromised, and formed the first council. One member of each pride would sit there. At first, it was the lions. Traditionally they were the diplomat of their pride, but, the ‘councils’ up to that point, had been one lion, plus lionesses. Now it was all lions. So, tensions rose, and it was decided each pride would decide amid themselves who to put on the council. If it was all lions, or all lionesses, it wouldn’t matter, the choices had been open. So, the first, elected council sat with twelve lions, and one lioness” Trevor clicked his tongue “eventually this changed, the lions kept breeding after all, descendants of the original founders, lions who had not been kept as the heart of the pride, managed to stir enough unrest to force notice. It became, that any lion could be put to the council, voted for by the ruling class. The ruling class eventually expanded to other big cats, and, not much has changed since then in terms of council membership” Trevor noted “but society has changed, a few hundred years ago, cats like me, the common breeds, were recognised as equal citizens in society, but not a one has gotten into the council yet. Lower council, or advisory position at most… That’s an aspect of the politics here. When a council member is elected, they may pick, three, individuals, to bring into the council chamber with them. These cats don’t have votes, but, have a voice. It’s a way to curry favour with groups your policies don’t hold direct allegiance to. A lot of cats in my position, for example, might be picked by a council member as one of their advisors… to, say, make them look more mouse friendly, or, unfortunately, to take out competition for their seat. For example, were I to get a seat, I’d probably want to pick the, second largest pro-mouse undercouncil member as one of my advisors… because to the common cat, voting for me to stay in the council, is voting for that cat to stay in an advisor role. The most important decision you’ll make, is who to bring in with you… that can decide if you keep your seat or not…”
“So, you’ve got your own motivations for wanting in”
“Naturally” He looked to the mouse on the table “I have my causes I want to stand for, I also want to make history”
Newton frowned “didn’t you say something about, your politicians not having, other reasons to be on the council”
Trevor smiled slightly, rolling a shoulder “there are loopholes. For example, I earn minimum wage, but, this office, my clothing, that’s on my work expenses. It’s still a good virtue, you won’t get rich going into politics, as it should be, but, doesn’t mean there aren’t perks to be found”
The cat set his cup down next to the teaset, looking to his wrist, a segmented band of metal “seems I’m almost done with time. It’s been pleasant talking with you, even if I ended up doing most of the speaking. Just, recounting things to a mouse does wonders for the, perspective”
Newton set down his smaller cup as well. A wave of, tension running his body “So you want a mouse here because you, want to see things from our perspective?”
“Yes, that’s about the length of it… trying to think how to, phrase things for you, reminds me how different your world view will be. You seemed so, confused and quiet. The very, reality of society and politics is foreign to mice these days. Other methods will be required to convince mice of anything”
“Maybe, you need a mouse to speak for you, then” Newton murmured “I’ve been around a bit. It’s not common to trust a cat, for good reason. But it’s possible”
“A speaker, an, interpreter” Trevor considered “It’s not unheard of for cats in my position to have mice attendants. There was an era when mice like you were used for, subterfuge. To this day, all official buildings are, rigorously sealed from mice entering or leaving”
“Maybe it would be better to start getting to know more mice now, than later” Newton offered
“True” Trevor conceded “Part of me hoped to find mice who would jump at the idea to change their lot”
“There might be some like that” Newton murmured “but, aren’t there mice living in the city you can, get to know? Communities don’t trust cats as a rule but… if you’re a known cat in power, they might be willing to make an exception”
“It’s something I’d need to keep hush, but, there could be value in that” Trevor noted “gather some, middlemice to help arrange some, contacts in the murine world. Even if your kind are not so… long living”
“I could help with that maybe” Newton offered. The idea didn’t sit all that well in his mind, yet, it gleamed in his vision as a route to surviving this encounter. The feline eyed him for a long moment. A paw dipped in closer, settling on the table, pads up.
“Hop up here will you” Trevor instructed. For a moment Newton, hesitated… he glanced around the room again. It sounded like his chances of escape were pretty bad. With some reluctance he stepped closer, onto the wide paw. In moments, fingers rolled in to block his view, trap in his limbs as the paw grasped and lifted him higher, closer to the muzzle of Trevor.
“Unfortunately, I think that’s time… but you’ve given me something to think about”
“You’re not going to eat me…” Newton grunted “I can be useful… I could help you”
“Well, I’m not going to eat you certainly” Trevor’s idle paw brushed his whiskers “I don’t eat mice, not good for my image. But, you’re not useful to me I’m afraid. Gratitude is a very sincere sort of loyalty, if I want a mouse to serve as an assistant, I can just rescue one that doesn’t know about my motivations. The added bonus, they will already have local contacts. You, would be an outsider, entering a nest on the behest of a cat”
Newton grimaced. His mind sought a good rebuttal but, he found nothing in easy grip, the task harder as he felt his nerves rise, his thoughts narrow to the, vital two options “what are you going to do?”
“With you?” Trevor mused “My secretary will enjoy you”
“You, want this… this room secret, right?” Newton struggled to form sentences past the grasping fingers on his chest “I, I won’t talk if you let me go but… but I’ll shout in her paws”
There was a sadness to the small smile Trevor offered him “she’s my secretary. You can’t keep secrets from a secretary. I’m sure it’ll be quick”
Newton’s mouth opened to object, but a thumb smothered his muzzle, the cat’s paw dropping back against his side, Trevor arching his back for a moment, before padding for the doorway. Just barely able to see, Newton squirmed stronger when they passed the door, trying but failing to bite the pad smothering his snout.
“Any messages or me Karen?”
“No Mr Darke” the voice was, tight, precise, Newton soon shown its owner. The feline had pristine white fur along her jawline, mottled grey everywhere else, drifting between white and black without obvious pattern. Her eyes focussed on him, the intensity… he gathered she knew, he wasn’t leaving.
The paw brought him closer to her, and her own, fluffy white paw rising closer towards him “why not finish up and call it a day, I’ll be out the rest of the afternoon. Enjoy the mouse”
“Thank you sir” Newton didn’t even have time to shout, before the released grip of one paw led into the grasp of another. The paw being brought in closer to the secretary’s chest. In the corner of his view, he saw Trevor sauntering off already. He could see little else past the grasping fingers, but a colder, hard sensation touched his feet, then slid up his ankles. Her fingers relaxed, letting him fall a short distance into a small, one mouse sized glass jar, a metal lid, studded with three holes turned efficiently into place. The white paw dipped, and dropped him into darkness, the leathery sides of a bag rising in all directions. Briefly, he looked up into the eyes of the dispassionate cat, before her paw blocked his sight, and sealed the bag closed. Changed paws again. Newton pawed along his whiskers… alive for now, he consoled himself. He just had to hope she didn’t chug him down like a squirming shot…