An alarm clock pulled Jill from her sleep as she fumbled to find the snooze button. She sighed in
frustration, her waking mind coming to remember that it was a Saturday, and she was not rostered
to work. The alarm had woken her completely unnecessarily.
Half an hour went by, and she failed to fall back asleep. With a grunt of annoyance, she pushed
herself upright, kicked her bedcovers off herself and stood beside the bed while she gathered her
sense of balance. Her bedroom, consisting of an attached bathroom and an adjacent living area, was
a mess of old clothes and assorted dinnerware left sitting wherever she had left it during the week.
Today she'd clean up since she had the free time. Or at least, that's what she had told herself before.
But for now, before she'd even cleaned herself and put some clothes on, she didn't want to even
think of cleaning this mess.
She yawned as she stepped into the bathroom, starting up her shower to begin warming up while
she relieved herself. As she washed herself under the warm water stream, she gradually reduced the
temperature until the water was almost cold.
By the time she was done, the cold water had woken her up fairly thoroughly. She wrapped her
towel around her shivering body and dried herself as quickly as she could. After she returned to her
bedroom and dug through the laundry piles for some clean clothes, she dressed herself in a plain
looking black top and blue pants and wandered into the kitchen. She could make herself breakfast
and a coffee, but the motivation to do anything still had yet to find her. It had been two weeks now
since her audition, and the lack of any contact from the two lynxes or any of their staff had been...
disheartening.
She decided not to have breakfast at home. Instead, she'd make her way to the Donny's where she
worked and get herself something there. It was already cheap due to her size, and she got a further
discount for being an employee. But more importantly, being out and around people would make her
feel better. Probably...
The train was surprisingly uncrowded and she managed to get herself a seat in a nearly empty car.
As it pulled into the mall, she watched as the familiar sight of various major chains, smaller
independent shops and other businesses that had secured a location here. This wasn't the largest
mall in Leona City, or even in this area, but it still served as a business hub for most businesses that
people had heard of.
The micro train line had numerous stops within the mall itself running close to the ceilings,
minimizing the distance that folk like Jill would need to walk when visiting this place to reach their
intended destinations. Jill waited until it had reached the secondary food court before she
disembarked, then followed the ramps from the elevated platform until she was down to the floor
itself. Between shops, lines marked walkways intended to alert patrons of the areas that would be
used by different sized citizens, otherwise someone like Jill could go unnoticed by someone like a
leopard and end up injured or even killed underfoot. There were horror stories of such accidents
happening that surfaced in the news now and then, but thankfully Jill had never seen it happen, nor
had she heard of it ever happening here.
She reached the stop closest to the Donny's and made her way from the platform to one of the
lifts that would take her to the floor. From here, the walkways for people her size were marked near
the walls, with areas marked in the doorways of each shop to watch for smaller pedestrians. As she
approached, she caught sight of the place and spotted Kira behind the counter.
'Jill?' Kira greeted her as she approached, raising an eyebrow as her amber eyes spotted the
mouse approaching. 'You weren't rostered today, were you?'
'No.' Jill replied, hopping onto a raised platform against the outside of the counter that smaller
folk could stand on without impeding the larger customers. 'I'm just here for breakfast.'
'Oh, of course.' Kira blinked and smiled, hitting some icons on the screen if front of her. 'Your
usual, right?'
'Yes please.' Jill nodded. While she waited, she looked out over the rest of the food court. Most of
the seating area was designed for felids of course, and the tables and seats were far too large for her
to use. There was a central area however where it was all replicated on a smaller scale and on a
raised platform, designated for shoppers the size of rats or mice. It was mostly occupied, but she
could see from here there were still some places free to sit.
'Here you go.' Kira's voice caught her attention and she turned back around. The ocelot held a
small capsule between two fingers that Jill was able to carry by a handle on the top of it. Though
many places could cater to mice, not all of them had mouse staff cooking on demand as they did
with the larger folk. This was a premade meal that places like Donny's could sell, and Jill had found
that despite being mass produced they were actually quite good.
'Thank you!' Jill called up as she turned and made her way back to the floor. As she headed
towards the central area and the smaller size dining area, her attention wavered and she saw too late
that a felid had chosen to cross the rodent walkway without looking. The cat's foot landed heavily
barely half an inch before her and as she staggered backwards, the other foot slammed into her as
the cat strode forward.
The air was driven from her lungs under the impact and her capsule flew from her grip. She
landed with a thud and looked up through dazed eyes just in time to see the capsule break open on
the floor in front of her, spilling her food and coffee everywhere. A small smudge to a felid perhaps,
but a huge disappointment to someone her size to see a full meal's worth gone to waste.
Her side was throbbing in agony where she'd been essentially kicked, and she rolled onto her back
to look up in a moment of panic. The felid that ha knocked her flying was a lynx, a young woman of
pale brown fur with a scowl crossing her amber eyed face.
'Why don't you watch where you're going, snack size?' She growled, before looking back up as if
to continue on her way.
'Hey!' A familiar voice interrupted, causing the felid to stop before her next step. A blur of black
and blue entered Jill's vision as she realized Andrea was squaring up against the larger cat, fury plain
in her voice as she spoke. 'She was walking across a size one walkway, you're the one who should
have been watching your step!'
'Get away from me.' The lynx growled. 'You're just a hypocrite like everyone else who voted to let
these rodents live beside us. Hasn't stopped you from eating them, has it?'
'That. Doesn't. Matter.' Andrea hissed. 'Your kind of thinking lost the vote. You don't have the right
to just... step on them!'
By now Jill had managed to push herself to her feet, still clutching at her side where the lynx's toe
had sent her flying. She was reasonably sure none of her ribs were broken, but the air being driven
from her lungs had been a hell of a shock and she was still struggling to breathe. But she was still
aware of her surroundings enough to see that the lynx wasn't about to back down any more than
Andrea was. If the situation escalated to violence, she could easily find herself under one or the
other's foot, whether it was deliberate or an accident wouldn't matter.
The lynx sneered down at Andrea but based on her glances at other surrounding patrons, seemed
to think better than to exploit her size advantage here. 'I did vote yes on Equality.' She said softly.
'Then my grandpa lost his house so they could turn it into an oversized terrarium for them. He was a
veteran of the war. Lost a leg. Then, in his new place, took a fall down the stairs before they could
install the lift. Broke an arm, four ribs, and pierced a lung. When I found him, paramedics said he'd
probably been dead for two days.'
Andrea was silent for a moment, then turned around and carefully scooped Jill into her hands.
Before she walked away, she gave one more glance to the lynx. 'That doesn't make this right. I'm
sorry.'
Nothing further was said as Andrea headed back towards the Donny's counter and a few moments
after, the lynx also continued on her way. Jill couldn't see where she went from her position cupped
in Andrea's gentle grip. By now the shock was wearing off, her breathing was getting easier, and the
humiliation and indignity of the situation was beginning to sink in.
Andrea set her down carefully on the counter and leaned in close. 'Are you alright? Is anything
broken?'
Jill couldn't completely hide how uncomfortable she was having the cat's face be so close, but still
managed to reply with a shake of her head. 'I-I'm fine. Just a bit of a shock, that's all.'
A tap to her left caught her attention, and she saw that Kira had put another capsule down on the
counter beside her. 'We saw what happened. You sure you don't want to go to the medical centre or
something? That looked like a nasty hit.' The ocelot leaned herself down to the counter as well,
further increasing the discomfort that the mouse felt. It was...
'I'm fine!' Jill snapped, standing and retrieving the new capsule. 'I just... Uh, can I use the little
restroom before I go?'
'...Sure.' Kira replied, standing slowly. Jill walked briskly to the return end of the counter near the
wall, where a small hatch was located. It lifted automatically as she approached, allowing her to
descend a small flight of stairs that led into a miniature enclosed facility that had been installed for
micro sized employees. It included a small kitchenette for lunch breaks, restrooms of course, and
several screens connected to the security cameras outside so that anyone in here could see what
was happening outside in case they were needed.
As Jill stepped into the foyer, she could see Andrea and Kira talking to one another, but the hatch
closing above had sealed off the sound of their voices. Even so, she could see the concerned look on
their faces as they undoubtedly talked about what had happened. The worry in their eyes. The... pity.
The mouse dropped the capsule and stepped into the ladies room to her left. She gripped the
basin as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was dishevelled, knocked into a mess by the brief
flight and there was a smudge of dust on her shirt where the felid's dirty foot had impacted her side.
The sight of herself in such a state coupled with her still uneven breathing and unsteady heartbeat
was just past enough. She broke, feeling the first tears breaching her eyes before her knees gave out
and she collapsed into a fit of sobs. Her whole life was subjected to the whims of these felids, even in
supposed equality she was one simple accident or ill temper away from being crushed or consumed.
Was it really any better than her life had been as a scavenger?
She lost track of time while she was on the floor. But after what felt like almost five minutes she
managed to pick herself back up and straighten herself out. She ran the tap and rinsed her face to
wash away any trace of the tears. She took deep breaths and tried to banish the thoughts of being
pitied. She took one more deep breath as she retrieved her capsule and headed back up the stairs.
She was met with Andrea's gaze as she stepped out onto the counter, with Kira thankfully too busy
dealing with a pair of customers to notice her. Andrea rested a hand on the counter at a respectful
distance. 'Are you sure you're not injured? I'm off the clock now so I can wait for you at the medical
centre if you want?'
Jill bit back what she wanted to say and replied more politely. 'I'm fine, really. I'll walk it off. Please
just...' She sighed. 'I know you probably mean well, but this isn't as helpful as you think it is.'
'Ooh?' Andrea smiled. 'Saying you think I mean well is a big step from not trusting me. Alright
then. I'll let you go. But don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it.'
'Thank you.' Jill replied, mustering as much sincerity as she could before stepping away. She didn't
spare a glance backwards as she went, taking the ramp off the counter to the floor and this time
being far more attentive about larger pedestrians in the area. This time she made it to the centre and
walked the ramp to the micro size dining area, finding am empty seat after a few seconds of looking.
Some of the other rodent diners here spared a glance as she passed them, and she noticed a few
further away that were also looking in her direction. Evidently her encounter had plenty of
spectators. Just as telling and infinitely more frustrating was that only a felid had come to her aid.
Not that she could entirely blame other mice. The look in that lynx's eye was like someone weighing
jail time against the satisfaction of physical violence, and had it been a mouse that had told her off
the outcome could well have been different.
There were after all laws to protect mice during day hours, but Jill had seen the reports that most
authorities tried to suppress. There were still rodent citizens disappearing during the day, since it was
just so easy to conceal them, even consume them straight away if charismatic hunters could lure
trusting mice away from public eyes. This fear was in part why she was so reluctant to trust Andrea. A
small part of Jill's mind felt guilt at the thought that the cat genuinely meant well, but her greater
pragmatic side simply suppressed any temptation she may have had to take that kind of chance. Even
after the night of her last audition, she couldn't rule out that Andrea was just playing a long-term
elaborate mind game as part of her hunt. It was a thing that had become common enough among
felids. Something about it being more intimate to consume someone after you knew them so much
better.
She felt better as she opened her capsule and inhaled the sweet aroma of pancakes and coffee.
She was informed that felids actually prepared these things. She couldn't imagine how they prepared
food so small, but it didn't matter. It was still exceptionally good and much better than many rodents
were used to. She still had vivid memories of subsisting on crumbs and old scraps she's managed to
pilfer from her unwilling host.
As she slid the cutlery and syrup out of their compartments and after a moment of spreading the
sweet sticky condiment, she began eating. It was now she realized how hungry she was and
remembered that this was the first she'd eaten today. Her hands were still slightly shaky as she tried
to work the knife and fork, but after a few bites and a few sips of coffee, she began to relax.
It didn't escape her notice that Andrea was still hanging around, having changed out of her
Donny's uniform into casual clothes and sitting near the outer edge of the food court with a coffee of
her own. Though the cat seemed mostly preoccupied with something on her phone, it was obvious
that she was hanging around for Jill's "benefit." The mouse masked her frustration and closed the
capsule back up once her meal was finished. She stood and made her way to the return slot in the
centre of the food court where she could deposit the capsule. It would be cleaned and re-used and
likely show up here again within a week with a freshly packed meal.
As she turned to leave, she noticed another mouse standing a short distance away with an empty
capsule of his own. She stepped to the side to allow him to pass but his gaze remained on her.
'Sorry if I'm staring.' He said. 'I saw what happened. It's lucky that you have friends that size to
help you out.'
'Oh, they're...' She stammered for words as she took in his appearance. 'They're co-workers. Not
sure I'd go so far as to call them friends.'
'I see.' He nodded. His fur was a pale brown in colour, almost beige in places while his hair was
blonde and cut short, making the line between hair and the fur of his face almost indistinguishable.
He wore dark grey trousers and a plain mid blue top that matched the colour of his eyes. 'Well, it's
obviously too late to ask if you'd like to join me for breakfast, and I have a few errands to run. But... is
there any chance I could join you for lunch? Or dinner?'
Jill felt her cheeks burning as the question took her completely off guard. As she tried to think of
what to say, what she even thought of the proposal, he lowered his head slightly and smiled.
'Was that too sudden?' The mouse asked. 'You're right. Uh, how about this. My name is Tanner.
May I ask yours?' His eyes met hers and a warm smile crossed his face, one that broke through her
defences with its utter sincerity.
'I'm... My name is Jill.' She replied, feeling herself smile. 'And lunch sounds fantastic.'
