Had he been fully aware, Nathan might have been appreciative of the finely tuned senses of his tiny mouse form. The slightest sound, a faint whiff of a scent, all such signals immediately sent a message to his brain to be on alert. Right now, his sense were on overload as he explored the environment of his own home. Four tiny limbs helped him scurry swiftly across open spaces, which made him nervous. He preferred to stay near the base of the walls rather than venturing into the open.
He was unaware that scampering across the floor produced a very distinctive noise for ears made to hear such modest sounds. He squeaked in excitement when he came across a dropped crumb from a cookie. His tiny teeth made high-pitched scraping noises as they nibbled at the large crumb. As he satisfied his very basic instinct to consume any and all edible items he came across in his meanderings, he remained unaware of a stealthy approach being made by Patches, his mother's large black-and-white tomcat. The cat mostly existed in the background of Nathan's daily life. He had a dog, Buddy, that lived in the backyard. Since Patches was not his pet, he hadn't really given much thought that he would be sharing a house with a rather large predator once he activated the Chronivac.
Patches was in his element as he patrolled his home, always alert for rodents that dared invade his living space. Thanks to his diligence, the family had never been troubled with pests like mice or rats. Patches, concealed behind a large pot holding an indoor fern, remained motionless, except for the twitching of a long tail, as he got closer to the source of the tell-tale noises. His tail's excited lashing undid his patient stalking.
Tiny Nathan heard the furry tail slashing through the drooping fronds of the potted palm. He didn't recognize the sound, but that very fact put him on alert. He had a few seconds to react ahead of the spring from the tightly coiled feline hunting machine.
Patches meowed irritably when his leap missed the mouse by only a fraction. His extended claws managed to rake some hide off the mouse's own tail, causing a panicked squeak and pushing the tiny creature into an even more frantic attempt to avoid the clutches of the giant predator.
Almost feeling the feline's hot breath on his white fur and smelling the rank smell of canned cat food, the tiny mouse looked for a means of escape.