Oscar made sure his shoes actually made a little noise in the dust on the ground. Normally, he'd never think of something like that, and his cloth shoes were designed to be silent. But, in the very low lighting in the walls, Sam needed help to find his way. His eyes weren't used to the dark, yet, and Oscar was trying to help him.

"I can get to anywhere in the motels just usin' the walls," he explained in a hush. He looked back and saw that Sam was stepping hesitantly along, and rather than leave him on his own, Oscar gently put his hand on Sam's arm. He could guide him while Sam learned.

"I don't walk around in the vents too much or it gets too cold or too warm," he continued, leading Sam around a corner. For the moment, they were still adjacent to the room that Sam and Dean were staying in, though not on the same path that Sam already knew. Oscar wondered if Dean was listening for them out there.

Sam's head was on a swivel the entire time Oscar talked, his eyes doing their best to focus on anything in the deep shadows and dark interior of the vents. His heart fluttered at the darkness around them, finding it nervewracking to lack any ability to navigate on his own. Without Oscar, he'd end up lost a few feet away from the entrance to the room. The light dropped away with startling quickness around the first corner.

Oscar was not only used to it, he was an expert at finding his way around, and found it normal.

Unlike Oscar's cloth shoes, Sam's boots made a noticeable sound when they impacted the metallic ground that surrounded him. He did his best to soften the noise, actively working to disguise his movement. One day his life might rely on that ability, and he wanted to be just as good as Oscar at it.

"I can imagine," Sam breathed, thinking of the hot air that could blow out of the vents during the winter, and the icy breeze that would waft its way into the motel rooms during the summer. "Do you try and time when the air comes on? That way you can move when it's safer."

Oscar grinned. "I do my best!" he replied, thinking of the times he'd been stuck on a route home and had the whole system start up. The loud clang of the distant air conditioner or furnace starting up always echoed to him, a reminder of the sudden air that would follow. He did his best to escape the air ducts into the walls themselves if that happened.

"Sometimes in the winter if it gets real cold I can go lean on the outside of the big duct close to my house. It gets real nice and warm. I can even push my blankets on it to warm them up and then go hide under 'em," he explained. When the weather outdoors was warmer, it was much easier for Oscar to maintain a good temperature. He preferred the warmth over the cold any day, and the walls, not ventilated themselves, warmed up during the summers.

Oscar giggled quietly, continuing in his quiet voice. "One time I was waiting in the vent and trying to see if there were humans in a room, and the air condition started up and it was really loud. I thought it was a human doing something in the room at first."

Sam let out a breath. "That could be scary!" he declared, thinking what other humans were like. He wasn't afraid of Dean, and Bobby and John weren't dangerous for him, but anyone else made a chill run up his back. Big hands that could grab them off the ground, trap them with no way out, he didn't want to stumble across a room with strangers in it anytime soon, especially not while he was just learning.

His new size put a new perspective on his life, and there were times he hated it. Forced to consider everything a threat, forced to remember that even Dean could be a danger to him. His older brother shouldn't be dangerous!

"Do humans ever look in the vents?" Sam whispered back. He needed to know everything he could about the dangers.

Oscar pursed his lips and tried to think of an instance where a human had looked into the vents. Other than Dean leaning down to watch him and Sam disappear into the walls, he couldn't recall a single time. "Well, I never saw one doing that," he admitted. "But my mom always said that they would if there was too much noise."

There were a lot of things about the world that Oscar's mom had known or seen for herself. Oscar always wondered how much she still would have been able to teach him, if she had come back the night she went out. He would never know, and that was a large part of why he was so cautious with the things he didn't know. He was learning a lot about everything just from being around Sam and Dean, at least.

"It's pretty safe to travel in the walls themselves, 'cause the humans can't check there as easily." He stopped and peered around this section of the air duct. They were still near Sam and Dean's room, so Oscar wasn't as nervous about them quietly whispering to each other as he might normally be. "I think there's a way out into the walls near here, if you wanna try to see in there," he suggested. "Might be some light leaking in through the wallpaper. No one lives on this side of the room though so it's really dusty."

"Sure!" Sam said in a rushed, whispered exclamation. A little dust wouldn't hurt. Dean had long since commandeered the sink in the bathroom for Sam to use to wash up if he needed it, making sure there was no possible way for the tiny child to slip down into the drain. He'd even found a way to drape a washcloth into the sink, enabling Sam to climb up on his own so he didn't need to call for help with the simplest task.

Sam's hand found Oscar's sleeve, clutching the too-big shirt that the other kid was wearing. "Lead the way," he said in a hush. He'd like to be able to see where he was going, even if it was just for a little bit. Maybe being in dim setting like that would help him adjust to the darkness a little more, growing used to the shadows without the glaring light that filled the motel rooms.

Oscar smiled and nodded, even though he knew Sam didn't see the gesture. It was hard to make out someone's face in such low light. Even Oscar couldn't see perfectly if it was too dark. His adaptation only went so far.

He led the way along the wall of their metal corridor, brushing his fingertips on the side. He found the loose panel he was looking for after a few more steps, and dug his fingers into the small gap. It was easy. He wrenched the panel aside, finding it easier to move than the one closer to his home. He'd have to investigate why that was, at some point.

"Okay," he said, a cue for Sam to follow him through the gap he made. He took Sam's wrist and guided his hand to the top of the opening so he wouldn't bump his head as he ducked through. In no time at all, the tiny children were outside the vent in the dusty walls themselves.

Sam straightened, blinking blearily in the newfound light that lurked in the walls. Drifting motes of dust could be seen suspended in the air, swirling around at their passage. A few steps in, and he turned to blink at the panel they'd just made their way through, an entrance for people their size that Dean wouldn't be able to fit his hand through.

"This is something else," Sam said, keeping his voice at a low level. It felt… eerie, inside the walls. Like he was in another world, almost. He didn't want to disturb the surroundings, knowing that he was outsized by almost everything in their world.

Oscar smiled faintly. It was easier to see his face in the low light leaking in from a split in the wallpaper above. They were just on the edge of the illumination before it faded into murky darkness in either direction. "It's not too bad," he said, nudging a woodchip with his shoe. It, like some other debris, was left behind from when the building was made.

"The path to my house is a lot cleaner, though, 'cause I don't want too much dust," he explained conversationally. Oscar looked in both directions before he nodded to himself, assured of which direction they'd need to go if they wanted to get to his home from here. That was a long walk.

He opened his mouth to say more, but paused, almost frozen, and listened. There was a distant sound in the dust, something moving in the darkness beyond the area they could see. Oscar listened with a look of concentration on his face and turned his eyes towards the source, watching the dark. If they needed to run, they at least had the air duct right there to scurry into.

Oscar could see farther into the dark. When he saw the source of the quiet shuffling, his face broke into a grin. "Oh!" he muttered excitedly, glancing aside to Sam to see if he'd noticed yet.

Sam gasped at the sound, and found himself coughing on some dust he'd inhaled. The sounds echoing in the walls around them didn't sound like a person's footsteps, and were far too lightweight to be a human nearby. He couldn't put an image to what the source was, and worry filled him at the thought of not knowing what was out there.

"Wh-what is it?" Sam asked Oscar tremulously. His hand once again gripped the younger boy's sleeve, seeking out security. The hilt of his knife brushed against his chest with the movement, reminding him that he may be small, but he had a way to defend himself if he needed it.

Oscar blinked in surprise, finding that for once, he wasn't scared of something while Sam was. Usually, Oscar was the timid one, hovering close to the older boy for security. But in the walls, Oscar was the one who knew what was going on. As the quiet shuffling grew closer, Oscar smiled at Sam.

"It's just a mouse," he said, looking back just in time for the rodent to cautiously pad her way into the small area lit from above. She had round, pink ears, brown fur, and whiskers that twitched curiously at the two children in her path.

Oscar beamed. "It's Rita!" he exclaimed, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. At the sound of the name, the mouse stopped and let out a low squeak of recognition. Oscar turned to Sam and pointed at the waiting mouse eagerly. "She visits my house sometime. She's the friendliest mouse, and they're already all friendly."

"Th… they are?" Sam asked, curiosity starting to overcome his worry. He edged up behind Oscar, still keeping himself back a bit. All his life, he'd loved animals. Like dogs. His current size, though, seemed to make it impossible to him to ever get close to one safely. He was the size of a dog toy, or a treat.

Sam squatted down, peering through the murk and squinting to make out the form of the friendly mouse. "H-hi Rita," he called out to her, a hesitant smile overtaking his face.

Rita's nose twitched rapidly as she took in the strange scents surrounding both of the boys. She squeaked quietly, curious about why they smelled so much like the rooms out in the open. The smaller humans didn't go out there much, as far as she knew. On pink paws, the mouse crept forward further, blinking dark eyes.

Oscar grinned and walked right up to the mouse, holding out his hands for her to sniff. Her whiskers tickled his arms and he giggled before suddenly laying over Rita's back in the biggest hug he could give her. The mouse squeaked, finally recognizing him despite the new scents that clung to him.

"I've known Rita for a long time," he said, looking over the mouse's head at Sam. "Since she was a pup! She's really soft." To demonstrate, Oscar ran his small hand over one of Rita's ears and the mouse paused, perking up on her hind legs to stand among them patiently. Oscar hugged her tighter, even burying his face in the soft fur at her side.

"Wow," Sam breathed in amazement as he saw the small animal letting Oscar hug her. There were no forthcoming attacks, only happy squeaks and two friends greeting each other. The round ears twitched at the sound of his voice. The mouse knew Oscar, but Sam was still an unknown kid.

Sam inched his way towards the other two, holding out a hand just like he'd do with a puppy. "D-do you think she'll let me pet her?" he asked, full of wide-eyed wonder at the sight of the little brown mouse.

Oscar finally let go of the mouse and she turned to nudge him with her twitching nose before settling down to clean her ears. Oscar nodded. "I bet she would. Rita even brings me food sometimes!"

After rubbing at her ears, the mouse looked up and noticed Sam's slow, cautious approach. She leaned forward, her whiskers extended straight out as she examined the scents on the new kid. He had a few traces of the smells she knew around Oscar on him, but otherwise, he mostly smelled like the rooms. Rita squeaked curiously and inched forward until her nose was right in front of Sam's hand, her whiskers brushing his arms just like with Oscar.

Sam couldn't stop a giggle. "It tickles!" he said in an excited whisper. He kept his hand motionless in front of the twitching nose, letting her smell him. When the nose lightly bumped against his hand, Sam took that as permission. He reached over and stroked the fur over her right eye.

"You're so soft!" Sam told her, rubbing right behind the rounded ear. He let his hand drift down, and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. His face was buried in the soft fur, and it hid the tears that crept up on him without warning. "I wish I could have a friend like you, but I don't think my dad would let me," he said honestly. "He never liked puppies when we saw them walking by." He tightened his hug before pulling away.

Rita patiently let Sam hug her, and when he pulled away she turned her head to nuzzle against his cheek. She'd seen Oscar cry before, too, and usually that cheered him up at least a little. She might not always understand what made them upset, but she did have an idea of what helped them feel better.

Oscar thought about puppies as he knew them. They were too big to be safe, and definitely too boisterous. To a dog, he and Sam were the size of tiny toys. But with Rita, they were safe.

"I wanted Rita to come and live in our house when we first met her, but she had to go back with her mama and the other pups."

Sam brushed away his tears and straightened. He rubbed an ear again, finding the motion just as soothing for him as it was for her. "Well, maybe when she's older she can come stay with you," Sam suggested, a part of him cringing inside at the thought of Oscar being alone again. The kid had spent an entire year surviving on his own. No mother, no family, only a few mice to check up on him.

At least until they'd come.

Sam found himself musing on the thought of taking Oscar with them. Rita wouldn't be able to come with him, though. They'd be taking him away from his friend.

What should we do?

A/N

Little Rita makes an appearance at long last!

Next: A Storm to Remember, coming March 16th

Comments and reviews greatly appreciated! If you like the story, let us know! (or if you don't like it, we can take constructive criticism I promise)