"Do rats love?" asks the boy.

If Ripred was one to have a nervous tic, it would appear now.

And—

Now.

There are so, so many things Ripred could do.

Tell the boy to mind his own business. Snap at his fingers for good measure.

Or maybe take off his whole head while he's at it.

But, neither of those possibilities are very feasible.

The first would only make these pups more guarded and exacting to make do with.

The second would get everyone and Ripred's last bit of credibility killed.

There's also a third possibility — telling the boy that, as cliche as it sounds, rats have feelings too, and this big rat might get royally pissed if you question his ability to love again.

…Well, he's not doing that. He has dignity.

And besides, the boy is not ready to handle a rat being a person yet. It would all cause too much trouble, and Ripred has enough trouble being saddled with a score of pups in the first place.

So he only smirks and says, "Oh, yes. We rats love ourselves very much."