Cat & Mouse
Tiny Way Of Life
chapter 21
by
copier
· original author:
a27293
"...we should play cat and mouse!" Sora urges, clearly excited. "You'll be a mousy that's trying to get all the way across the house, and-"
You hold out your hand to stop her, shaking your head firmly and shutting her down hard. "Yeah, no," you answer flatly. "That sounds about as fair as the kraken game last night. Fool me once..."
"But it won't be!" She insists. "Wait, listen! I'm going to go and get something from my room. Promise you'll wait here, and let me explain it when I get back?" Her tone is anxious, pleading. She seems rather excited to try selling you on it. Well, you're pretty sure you already know what this entails.
Still, couldn't hurt to hear her out, you suppose. "Alright," you shrug. "But I'm not promising I'll agree to anything." "Yippee!" She pumps her fist, and jumps up gleefully; as you're momentarily baffled by seeing someone actually and unironically shouting 'yippee' in real life, she hurries out of the room.
After what seems like an eternity of waiting around later, you're back in the cereal bowl casually munching on some of the remaining cheerios when Sora finally skips back in, now dressed in... a white kitty outfit, and holding a small dessert bowl. "I'm baaack, Stevie!" She proudly proclaims, posing in the doorway with the bowl at her hip.
Sora's mothers may not have let her have a lot of friends, but they obviously were much more willing to acquiesce when it came to toys. The cat pajamas she was wearing had a detachable, button-on hood in the back, with a fuzzy pair of white kitty ears sticking out of it. Similarly, a set of cat-paw mittens buttoned on to the end of each sleeve - impractical, but fancy. A detachable fuzzy tail curved behind her, as well.
What probably didn't come with the outfit, was the set of yellow-and-black colored contact lenses she was wearing in place of her usual glasses, or the makeup she'd drawn a little black nose tip and whiskers on herself with. "Cat-eye contact lenses, really?" You ask, dumbfounded. "Not, like, regular ones, so you don't have to wear glasses around all the time?"
"Y'never wore contacts in your eyes before, huh, Stevie?" Sora laughs off the question, like it was a silly thing for you to ask about. "I have regular ones, too, but it's a pain to get them on and off all the time. I'm not gonna put them on just to sit around the house... more importantly, what'cha think!?" She asks you eagerly.
You sigh. "Look, it's pretty cute and all" you answer, standing up to get out of the bowl again, "but I'm still not gonna play any game where you can just pick me up and eat me again."
"But it won't be!" She insists. "Okay, it's like this-" she strides over and sets down the second bowl right in front of you. Inside is a pile of... powdered brown sugar? "I'll put a piece of string cheese up in my bedroom, on the nightstand," she goes on. "And I won't start hunting you until I'm done with homework, in like an hour or so. You have that long to try and hide, or sneak by me - but if I see you while I'm doing homework, I get to chase ya right then!"
You know the living room, where she studies on the computer, is right by the stairs you'd need to take to reach her bedroom. You'd have to be very brave or very crafty - if not both - to try sneaking past her there. "So if I get the cheese, I win, right? But what's to stop you from just guarding it after you're done with homework?" You counter.
Sora begins to smile devilishly, starting to feel like she's winning you over. "If I don't catch you by dinner time, you win! And then you get to order me around all day tomorrow. I still can't promise that I can get you home before my moms get back, though" she adds.
"And if you win..."
"Then the super-cute kitty gets to eat the mischievous little mousy she caught trying to steal things from her room!" She grins wider. "Or maybe she'll play with her food for a bit..." she taunts. "So, you in?"
Thinking it over for a bit, it does seem like you have pretty good odds here. An entire hour to hide? You could get away from an actual cat with that kind of time. Your main worry is that she'll just refuse to eat dinner when she fails to find you, but then, you're willing to bet she'll cave to hunger before you do. "Alright, just one more question" you tell her, nodding toward the bowl of sugar. "If you're leaving cheese out for the objective, then what's that for?"
Sora's been sneaking her hand up behind you while you weren't looking, and by way of answer, she simply snatches you up in it, plucking you from the half-finished bowl of cereal, and tosses you into the pile of sugar.
You yell out loudly as you land atop the sand-like mound - more from surprise than anything, as the powder cushions your fall quite nicely - and struggle to find your feet in the cloud of dust and poor footing that the impact creates. With your body still wet with milk from the cereal bowl, the sugar instantly starts gluing itself to you, as it comes into contact with your shorts and skin. By the time you make it out of the bowl, waving the fog of powder away from your face and bearing the weight of Sora's hysterical laughter, you're covered all over in a fuzzy, brown layer of the stuff too thick for you to easily pick off.
You glare at the highly-entertained little girl in front of you until she chokes down her laughter, and covers her mouth behind her hands - or, rather, paws, since she had slipped the mittens on. "Now you're a cute little brown mousy. You'll be a- teehee! - a nice tasty treat for kitty, when she finds you!" She proclaims, still holding back some laughter.
Despite her clearly comical get-up and mirthful tones, something about that outfit of hers makes this somehow unnerving to hear, deep down, now with those cat-eyes staring you down up close. You sigh, and shake it off. "Very funny, Sora, but please don't throw me around like that just for kicks, okay? I don't like it."
You make to climb back into the cereal bowl to wash the sugar off of you, when Sora snatches it away. "Hold on! It was actually for a reason!" She rushes to clarify. "This way, you'll have to be careful not to leave tracks behind while you're hiding. It'd be too hard for me if you didn't. Sound fair?" She asks, tentative.
Well, you suppose that as much effort as she's put into dressing up for this little game, you can give a little ground here. "Alright, but after you're done with homework, you have to keep the mittens on" you concede, at her pajama paws. "That'll at least make it harder to look through everything."
"Deal!" Like an excited little kid, which you guess she kind of is, she jumps on it right away. "Okay, start now Stevie! I'll go start homework now while I finish my breakfast, so don't worry - I'll be back for dessert real soon!" Throwing out one last jab, she rushes out of the kitchen before you can even throw out a response, leaving you once again stranded on the table alone.
Deciding not to waste any time, you start to scout on each side of the table right away, considering your options.
Within the kitchen itself, the floor is white tile, and fairly clean. Trying to avoid leaving behind too much a trail, of the brown sugar all over you, might take more time than you'd like, but with the potential reward of having lots of extra time to bury yourself among the utensils in the cupboards.
Next, just through the hallway there's the foyer and entertainment room on one side, and the living room on the other. The floors there are all chestnut-colored hardwood, meaning a bit of sugar here and there would be hard for your playful young pursuer to spot. And while the foyer doesn't feature much in the way of hiding places, besides a shoe rack by the door, the entertainment room is a treasure trove of furniture and electronics for you to shelter in.
On the other hand, if you could find a way to sneak past Sora, victory's a short trip up the stairs the other way...
Where do you make your move?
You hold out your hand to stop her, shaking your head firmly and shutting her down hard. "Yeah, no," you answer flatly. "That sounds about as fair as the kraken game last night. Fool me once..."
"But it won't be!" She insists. "Wait, listen! I'm going to go and get something from my room. Promise you'll wait here, and let me explain it when I get back?" Her tone is anxious, pleading. She seems rather excited to try selling you on it. Well, you're pretty sure you already know what this entails.
Still, couldn't hurt to hear her out, you suppose. "Alright," you shrug. "But I'm not promising I'll agree to anything." "Yippee!" She pumps her fist, and jumps up gleefully; as you're momentarily baffled by seeing someone actually and unironically shouting 'yippee' in real life, she hurries out of the room.
After what seems like an eternity of waiting around later, you're back in the cereal bowl casually munching on some of the remaining cheerios when Sora finally skips back in, now dressed in... a white kitty outfit, and holding a small dessert bowl. "I'm baaack, Stevie!" She proudly proclaims, posing in the doorway with the bowl at her hip.
Sora's mothers may not have let her have a lot of friends, but they obviously were much more willing to acquiesce when it came to toys. The cat pajamas she was wearing had a detachable, button-on hood in the back, with a fuzzy pair of white kitty ears sticking out of it. Similarly, a set of cat-paw mittens buttoned on to the end of each sleeve - impractical, but fancy. A detachable fuzzy tail curved behind her, as well.
What probably didn't come with the outfit, was the set of yellow-and-black colored contact lenses she was wearing in place of her usual glasses, or the makeup she'd drawn a little black nose tip and whiskers on herself with. "Cat-eye contact lenses, really?" You ask, dumbfounded. "Not, like, regular ones, so you don't have to wear glasses around all the time?"
"Y'never wore contacts in your eyes before, huh, Stevie?" Sora laughs off the question, like it was a silly thing for you to ask about. "I have regular ones, too, but it's a pain to get them on and off all the time. I'm not gonna put them on just to sit around the house... more importantly, what'cha think!?" She asks you eagerly.
You sigh. "Look, it's pretty cute and all" you answer, standing up to get out of the bowl again, "but I'm still not gonna play any game where you can just pick me up and eat me again."
"But it won't be!" She insists. "Okay, it's like this-" she strides over and sets down the second bowl right in front of you. Inside is a pile of... powdered brown sugar? "I'll put a piece of string cheese up in my bedroom, on the nightstand," she goes on. "And I won't start hunting you until I'm done with homework, in like an hour or so. You have that long to try and hide, or sneak by me - but if I see you while I'm doing homework, I get to chase ya right then!"
You know the living room, where she studies on the computer, is right by the stairs you'd need to take to reach her bedroom. You'd have to be very brave or very crafty - if not both - to try sneaking past her there. "So if I get the cheese, I win, right? But what's to stop you from just guarding it after you're done with homework?" You counter.
Sora begins to smile devilishly, starting to feel like she's winning you over. "If I don't catch you by dinner time, you win! And then you get to order me around all day tomorrow. I still can't promise that I can get you home before my moms get back, though" she adds.
"And if you win..."
"Then the super-cute kitty gets to eat the mischievous little mousy she caught trying to steal things from her room!" She grins wider. "Or maybe she'll play with her food for a bit..." she taunts. "So, you in?"
Thinking it over for a bit, it does seem like you have pretty good odds here. An entire hour to hide? You could get away from an actual cat with that kind of time. Your main worry is that she'll just refuse to eat dinner when she fails to find you, but then, you're willing to bet she'll cave to hunger before you do. "Alright, just one more question" you tell her, nodding toward the bowl of sugar. "If you're leaving cheese out for the objective, then what's that for?"
Sora's been sneaking her hand up behind you while you weren't looking, and by way of answer, she simply snatches you up in it, plucking you from the half-finished bowl of cereal, and tosses you into the pile of sugar.
You yell out loudly as you land atop the sand-like mound - more from surprise than anything, as the powder cushions your fall quite nicely - and struggle to find your feet in the cloud of dust and poor footing that the impact creates. With your body still wet with milk from the cereal bowl, the sugar instantly starts gluing itself to you, as it comes into contact with your shorts and skin. By the time you make it out of the bowl, waving the fog of powder away from your face and bearing the weight of Sora's hysterical laughter, you're covered all over in a fuzzy, brown layer of the stuff too thick for you to easily pick off.
You glare at the highly-entertained little girl in front of you until she chokes down her laughter, and covers her mouth behind her hands - or, rather, paws, since she had slipped the mittens on. "Now you're a cute little brown mousy. You'll be a- teehee! - a nice tasty treat for kitty, when she finds you!" She proclaims, still holding back some laughter.
Despite her clearly comical get-up and mirthful tones, something about that outfit of hers makes this somehow unnerving to hear, deep down, now with those cat-eyes staring you down up close. You sigh, and shake it off. "Very funny, Sora, but please don't throw me around like that just for kicks, okay? I don't like it."
You make to climb back into the cereal bowl to wash the sugar off of you, when Sora snatches it away. "Hold on! It was actually for a reason!" She rushes to clarify. "This way, you'll have to be careful not to leave tracks behind while you're hiding. It'd be too hard for me if you didn't. Sound fair?" She asks, tentative.
Well, you suppose that as much effort as she's put into dressing up for this little game, you can give a little ground here. "Alright, but after you're done with homework, you have to keep the mittens on" you concede, at her pajama paws. "That'll at least make it harder to look through everything."
"Deal!" Like an excited little kid, which you guess she kind of is, she jumps on it right away. "Okay, start now Stevie! I'll go start homework now while I finish my breakfast, so don't worry - I'll be back for dessert real soon!" Throwing out one last jab, she rushes out of the kitchen before you can even throw out a response, leaving you once again stranded on the table alone.
Deciding not to waste any time, you start to scout on each side of the table right away, considering your options.
Within the kitchen itself, the floor is white tile, and fairly clean. Trying to avoid leaving behind too much a trail, of the brown sugar all over you, might take more time than you'd like, but with the potential reward of having lots of extra time to bury yourself among the utensils in the cupboards.
Next, just through the hallway there's the foyer and entertainment room on one side, and the living room on the other. The floors there are all chestnut-colored hardwood, meaning a bit of sugar here and there would be hard for your playful young pursuer to spot. And while the foyer doesn't feature much in the way of hiding places, besides a shoe rack by the door, the entertainment room is a treasure trove of furniture and electronics for you to shelter in.
On the other hand, if you could find a way to sneak past Sora, victory's a short trip up the stairs the other way...
Where do you make your move?
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June 2
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