An unlikely friendship.
A quest to save their selves.
When a mouse with unnaturally large ears is abandoned by his parents, he must find a way to live on his own. As he learns the ways things work and live, and comes across a cat. They quickly become friends, because of their similar history, but they are brought together by something more than that as well…
Strong moonlight from the full moon filtered through the canopy leaves and shone brightly into the mouse's eyes. He shivered, and pulled a near-by leaf over his body. An owl hooted in the distance, reminding the mouse to remain still, however cold he was. He shut his eyes tight and curled up in the smallest ball possible, reserving any heat he had.
It was times like those when the mouse truly missed his family. He was abandoned by his parents because he didn't meet their standards. He had very large ears, his body was scrawny and his tail was too long. His parents traveled far from their home to leave him in the forest. He was almost blind and helpless then, being barely more than a few days old, but he, miraculously, lived. Feeding on only leaves, his body remained lean, and he never grew into ears and tail properly.
The night was long and cold, with the threat of predators about. The mouse barely slept a wink that night. It wasn't very unusual, but he did usually get more sleep. He could feel the tension in the air. Something was going to happen, and it wasn't going to be good. But what was it? The mouse gave a last tiny shudder and fell asleep.
The mice blinked open his eyes. Morning had come, and already the day was warming up. He crawled out of his leaf blanket and stretched, but it was cut short. As soon as he got the sleep out of his system, the mouse noticed that the tension in the air was stronger this morning. 'Oh dear, I'm afraid of what this could mean,' he thought to himself. As he did his ritual morning routine, he forgot about the stiff stillness.
"Crisp ones here, soft ones here," the mouse mumbled as he sorted his leaves. He lay down a crisp leaf in a pile, when a foreign paw reached out and clawed the leaf.
"Wrong pile there, mouse," came the voice. It sounded sly and sneering. The mouse froze in shock, and then slowly turned his small head to find a cat. It had glowing yellow eyes that looked hungry. Its tail lashed about, and the cat was teetering on it's haunches. It was obviously ready for its lunch.
"O-oh, thank you," he squeaked, and corrected his mistake. The cat's tail continued to lash to and fro. "Erm, would you like one?" he offered, and shoved the nearest leaf into the cat's face.
"No, I'm not a plant eater," the cat's eyes flashed threatingly. "You must know I only eat killings."
"But I'm far too scrawny for you, though, cat," the mouse told the cat quickly. "You look like a strong cat in need of proteins, and these hear leaves provide 'em all."
The tail quit lashing for a moment, and the cat sat back on it's legs. It wore a bemused face. "You're a long way from the nearest nest, aren't you?" it pondered, flicking away the leaf with its tail.
"Yes, well I ran away, see," the mouse lied. "Didn't like 'em at all. Weren't nice mice." The cat licked its paw and swiped it over its ear. "What about you? You're far away from your nest, aren't you?" The cat glared at him for a moment then sighed.
"I… ran away too," it said, and looked away. Then it turned its head back around. "You are a strange mouse. Most mice would've squealed and run away, by now. Not you. What's your name?" The cat asked.
The mouse looked around. He didn't have a name, that's the problem. He spotted a robin pecking at seeds on the ground. It gave him inspiration. "Seed," he replied smugly. "What about yourself?"
The cat looked closely Seed. "Rowan," it replied. Rowan's rust-coloured fur bristled, and Seed suddenly felt bewildered. "The forest! It's shaking! Follow me!" Rowan bounded away, deeper into the forest, Seed scrambled after him. The cat led him to a hole in the ground. "No, Rowan! That's where badgers live!" Seed warned as he puffed after him. From the darkness, he heard snarling. Rowan backed away from the badger set. "Climb up a tree. That would be the safest place," Seed suggested and with a flash of silver, he shot up an oak tree clumsily, taking cover in a squirrels den.