You answer with downcast eyes, unable to make eye contact with him. His eyes are black like any rodent's, and they seem to look right through you in a way you can't really explain. Whatever he might look like, whatever he might smell like, the promise of somewhere safe and warm is more than interesting enough to get your attention. He smiles at your positive response, his tail twitching a little behind him. "Good, Day. I wouldn't feel good leaving you up here by yourself, not with a cat on the loose and these traps all over the place!"
His concern for you is flattering, and it makes you feel even better about leaving the only escape from these wall-caverns you know behind. He offers you his free hand, and you take it, gripping his gnarled gray paw with your delicate pink one. If feels good to not have to think about what you're doing for once, just to walk along beside him and let your mind wander. You think about how you will go about getting back to normal... if the possibility is still open to you. You wonder if you still have some of Marisa's magic. Didn't she say some of that had been transferred to you somehow? Maybe if you figure out how to use it, you could change yourself back to normal. Of course, the fact that you have no idea where to even start does a pretty good job discouraging you. A few hours ago, you didn't believe magic even existed... now here you are: a naked little mouse hiding in the walls of a witch's department store. An almost unbelievable thought, but you can't deny your memory. You are able to think freely as you walk, wandering down tunnels and crawling down shafts with ease. They all blend together to your little mouse-brain, and there is little conversation between you. The rat is always watching you, in the way that boys watch girls that they think are pretty, but you don't have the courage to ask him to stop. You're also not entirely sure you want to.
Your thoughts do not go on forever, though, because eventually you see light blazing up ahead. "This is where my family lives," he explains. "Or where I live, anyways. The kitchens are a good place! There's lots of food... usually it's the rest of my family that visits me for food. You'll love the other females..." He didn't sound quite so confident about that. "Just try to agree with them if you can. They've never seen a mouse before, and I'm not sure how they'll take me bringing a female home with me."
You try to reply with something unenthusiastic, but all you manage is a little squeak again as you pass through the doorway into the lighted room. It's huge, with soft fiber on the floor and a few little Christmas-lights attached to batteries by lengths of wire. There's furniture made of wood, and the smell of food everywhere. Your mouth hangs open as it washes over you, buckteeth poking out even more than usual. "Do you think..." He nodded with a smile, patting you on the head.
"Of course, Day. I'll have-" But he does not get the opportunity to finish. A gray from lunges out of nearby doorway, colliding with you and slamming you to the floor. She's bigger than you, just like Saul is, and her eyes are angry. Her teeth are bared against your neck as you land, hissing loudly. What happens next is so unexpected that you don't even realize it's happening. One moment you're helpless, the next your question about whether or not you have any of Marisa's magic is answered as the rat female...