Rhata was a good rat. She did not like the new cage. Or Green-one.
Green-one fed her, but she was not Head Patter. He was good.
Rhata liked Head Patter. She got lots of food here, and Green-one had a big nest. Head Patter had no big nest.
He had many names. Rhata knew them.
One Paw. Calruz. Head Patter.
Weeper.
She missed him. He had to go. He explained it, but Rhata didn’t understand. So Green-one took care of Rhata and Haldagaz. That was what Rhata understood, so she behaved…mostly.
She also was nervous about the Others. They were big. But they were not People of the Grain Sack. They were…close.
They were very big and ate much of the wood of the Great Food One’s home. She got upset and shouted, but they were also hers, and they were fierce. Defenders of the Cave. Rhata had not been there when the pact was struck.
She had not been there when it was betrayed. She was a small rat, and even if she could bend the stupid metal, she was weak.
She wished she could be big, so Head Patter’s bars would bend for her. Rhata could not help him scurry free, but perhaps even if she bent them, he would not leave?
The grey rat ate food and wandered about Green-one’s home. She waited for Head Patter to come back. She was a good rat.
