[Event] Wanihow

Entry tags:

[Event] Wanihow

Who: Megatron (ES), Mikey, Leo, and Donnie
What: A journey through the unexpected.
When: Nov 20th
Where: The Cathedral of Mirrors
Warnings: TBD

Slowly, you awaken from a restless sleep of strange dreams involving dreams of things you can barely understand. You get out of bed, like always, and brush your fur and make sure your tiny little whiskers are clean and your little bald tail is presentable. You look in the mirror and see yourselves for you are: Mice. Once you were a family of five, but slowly, little by little, your family has shrunk down to just the three of you. The other mice in the large abandoned human home you live in have always treated you kindly, if a little pityingly, and regularly check in on you to make sure you're doing alright. With your oldest brother, Leo, being an adult though, they tend to trust that you're all capable of looking after yourselves.

Still, their whispers of "Oh, those poor dears, tragedy follows them wherever they go, doesn't it?" or "I should bring them bread later. That always helps when things go bad" are just a touch grating when they seem to come none-stop when the other well-meaning mice think that the unfortunate little Hamato boys can't hear them.

"She went into The Grille." Whispered mice to each other, shuddering as they tried to avoid outright saying the dreaded name of the most terrifying part of their safe little paradise. The path into the sewers where a terrible evil lurks. It is said that no one who ever goes into The Grille ever comes back.

"Good as dead just like their father and brother."

One by one, the three of you filter into the kitchen in your home located in a part of the abandoned house called the Landing. As the kitchen sparks to life and breakfast is eventually made, you can hear the joyous shouts and excited mumbling of mice outside your home as they start setting up the Great Spring Celebration for later that day. Today is supposed to be a special day, which is why you are waking up far earlier than usual. Today, you were supposed to be celebrating the Mousebrass ceremony where Donnie and Anemone would be completing their rite of adulthood in honour of the Green Mouse. However, as Anemone, a dock mouse who had moved with her mother into the community many years ago, had disappeared the day before, it would seem as though you might be celebrating without your friend.

You're not quite feeling it though, for various reasons.

All three boys sit around the kitchen, the dining table in the middle is meant for much more than just three. You will be collected to join the ceremony later, but for now it's just the three of you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You must find Anemone. Perhaps there is someone who knows the sewers that can help you.

How's anyone supposed to be happy at a time like this? Donnie's mood hasn't been particularly positive ever since Anemone's disappearance, and all the relatively good humor of the other mice has started to become especially grating as the time draws closer. This isn't how things are supposed to go! This isn't how things are supposed to be at all...

He sits sullenly at the table, giving off the general vibe of one who definitely does not want to be here at all, his little goggles pulled down as an added layer, what little shield it provides from having to directly connect with anyone. His fingers work feverishly at a piece of wire, something to busy himself with since bringing any of his tinkerings to the table isn't allowed, but sitting and waiting for a meal he's not particularly eager to eat is less than appealing.

His frustration is probably clear as day to the brothers who have grown up with him. He wants to bolt from his chair, be anywhere but there. He wants to go find his friend!! But sometimes words are hard, and conveying his feelings, even more difficult. He chews on the wire, a habit of his when he gets overly anxious, and they can only be thankful this one's not actually connected to anything.

Things had been tense lately, and while Mikey has been doing his best to keep spirits up, there is only so much he can do and there is a point where even he struggles to keep it up.

So he cooks. He does most of their meals anyways, but he's gotten fancier lately. Fancier than usual. Stress fancy.

He places a plate in front of Donnie. It has way to much food, far more then he know Donnie will eat, but he made sure to include some easy foods and some of his brother's favorites.

"Specially prepared! Complete with no wires!" He holds out his hand expectantly. He isn't taking the little stress toy completely but it can't be healthy and he would really like his brother to chew on some real food please.

"We're all worried, but please try to eat something."

It's...probably not healthy. Out of defiance Donnie gnaws once more, extra-viciously before he reluctantly hands over the somewhat wet wire. Sorry, he's going to be Difficult, it seems.

He sniffs at the food, inspecting it through his goggle-lenses like the magnification might reveal any secrets. Well, it does smell good, but then most of what Mikey prepares is pretty good. Tasty, even. Maybe his brother just has a sharper nose than others when it comes to what things are palatable.

"I'm not hungry," he insists, worrying at the ends of his purple kerchief instead. "And I can't sit here another minute."

"Well that's too bad 'cause you're not leaving this table until you eat something," Leo said as he appeared suddenly over Donnie's shoulder, "Even if it's just a granola bar, though it would definitely hurt Mikey's feelings and you don't want that, do you?"

Leo snatched one of the butter biscuits off the plate and stuffed it in his mouth with an appreciative hum. Mikey really did make the best breakfast. It had been hard stepping up as "the adult", but at least he didn't need to worry about cooking. He couldn't blame Donnie though, he was also itching to go try and find Anemone and stop sitting around, but they couldn't do it on an empty stomach. The wooden pendant she'd made him once was hidden underneath his blue neck wrap, a constant reminder of the fact she had vanished.

"We're not hanging around long anyway, I promised Mrs. O'Neil I would run some errands to help with the festival," he said with his mouth full as opened one of the drawers and tossed an assortment of random tools and such into the pouches on his belt. He swallowed, shutting the drawer and coming back to sit at the table and help himself to more food. "I'll ask around if anyone's noticed anything."

At the mention of the festival, both Mikey and Leo touch their mousebrasses around their necks. Having already gone through their ceremony, both of them have already received their metal pendants: Leo had received the Sign of Bravery, a shield with two swords crossed over it. Mikey has the Sign of Creation, depicting a flower and a paintbrush. The boys and Anemone had speculated long over what Donnie and Anemone's mousebrasses will be. Anemone, who had always had an unfortunate tendency to start fires, accidentally, of course, used to joke that hers would be the Sign of Destruction, which amused all of you because no such mousebrass exists.

The timing of this is unfortunate for many reasons, not least because Anemone had shyly asked Donnie to go on a picnic with her in the back yard so that she can ask him something after the ceremony. Even though it was only two days ago, it might have been an entire other lifetime.

You can't hang out in the kitchen forever. You know in your hearts that your path lies in the direction of The Grille, the fearsome pathway into the sewers and into the dreaded domain of Venus, the terrifying Rat God whose evil presence can even be felt above ground. The sewers are a terrible maze of treacherous hazards and dead ends, not least there's the bloodthirsty Rats of Venus themselves to consider. You've heard tales of these creatures and their love of eating mice. How they love to skin them and then roast their meat while the skinless mice were still alive. How they relished in their pain and suffering, saying that it made their meat all the sweeter.

You've spent a lifetime hearing such horror stories.

The Abandoned House you all live in is made mostly up of mice, with some enigmatic bats living up in the attic where most mice don't dare go. There is one person that stands out in your community though: Megs the Baker. See, Megs is a rat himself who has been there long enough that most mice have lost their fear of him, though there are many stories about how he ended up here and what he'd done to save this community that got him accepted into it. Some say that he single-handedly repelled a rat invasion from the sewers many years ago, others say that the elders had allowed him to say simply on the words of the Bats due to a prophecy. Stories upon stories, and the only one who can clear it up is Megs himself, who doesn't talk much and prefers to keep to himself.

But. Megs is a rat who you know knows the sewers, and he's also very big and very powerful. The real challenge here is convincing him to help you.

Donnie's face pinches at Leo's words. He knows what his brother is doing, and he hates that it's working. Scowling, his expression softens as he slides a look towards Mikey before picking something from the plate that he knows had been specifically prepared for him.

He can't help but fidget as he nibbles, his eyes drawn to the movement, knowing what hangs around the necks of his brothers. He envies them for it, but the thought of going through with the ceremony for his own without Anemone is just unthinkable. His chest aches and he doesn't like the feeling, so resilient that it won't go away no matter how hard he tries to push it down.

The thought of having to go to the Grille stirs up even worse feelings of dread. Why did Anemone go there? She must have had a reason... Did someone take her there? So many questions that he has no answer to, and if there's anything Donnie hates, it's not having answers. But he hates not having his friend here or knowing she's safe, even more.

Leo's mentioning of running errands has Donnie stand up on his chair a bit, ears perking. "I want to come too," he says, his little crooked tail twitching anxiously, a sure sign that he's plotting something.

Edited 2024-11-09 18:14 (UTC)

Mikey touches at his mousebrass, an unconscious and nervous habit. He does, however, visibly relax when Donnie starts eating. He's not a huge fan of the emotional manipulation, but he's not above it and will turn on the crocodile tears if needed.

Thankfully, none of that is needed as he puts the wire back down next to Donnie as a silent thank you and wipes his slimey (ew Donnie) hand off on his apron.

"Let's all go together," he says. Whatever Donnie has planned, he's not doing it alone, Mikey isn't letting him get out that easily. He was too worried about his brother and really this whole situation. That's not even touching on the fact that he isn't really keen on the idea of being left behind. After what happened his brother and dad... he's very uncomfortable with letting either of his remaining brothers out of his sight.

Mikey removes his apron and hangs it up on a small hook on the wall while George casually crawls up his back and onto his usual perch on his shoulder.

"I need more sesame seeds anyways."

"Yeah, 'course." Leo smiled, he was pretty positive neither of his brothers were going to stay behind, not with everything going on. "Let's pack up some of this food and we can stop for a lunch later."

Once they were all ready to go, Leo led the way to their first and most important errand: the bakery. If this didn't go well, they were going to have a much harder time trying to help Anemone. Before they went it, he stopped, facing his brothers.

"I know we all hate it, but it's imperative you guys do your best 'poor sweet orphan act'." Considering that Mikey could turn on the cute at a moment's notice and Donnie was so fidgety anyone would feel bad, he wasn't too worried about that. He pushed the door open, heading inside the bakery, which as usual smelled amazing.

"Hello Mr. Megs! I'm here to pick up the order for Mrs. O'Neil, and the other order I placed before." The latter were some hand pies with meat and veggies, easy to store and carry.

The bakery is busy, with children running in and out and adults cheerfully making their orders. It's a particularly busy day for Megs, a large gray rat that looks like he'd been through it, his rough exterior sometimes scaring the small mouselets before they knew better.

The Great Spring Celebration was a busy time for Megs, as he was responsible for making the special cakes that the young mice would eat after going through their mousebrass ceremony. There were 18 this year... or, at least, there were supposed to be. Despite the chaos of managing the bakery all by himself, he makes the constant switch between dealing with customers and tending to the baking with ease, an old pro. Leo has to speak a bit loudly to be heard over the din.

Edited 2024-11-09 20:11 (UTC)

Megs flicked a torn ear in Leo's direction, but didn't turn away from the careful list he was writing down on the back of a bit of waxed paper for the elderly widower at the counter. "No, Hughes," he said patiently, "I won't forget to leave out the leftover milk. You know why." The mouse asked several more questions before being sent on his way, each of which Megs answered just as calmly and quietly as the others.

Another few orders were made, including one where the large, scarred rat bent over the counter so that the tarnished mousebrass he wore around his neck swung, in order to nod solemnly at the tiny mouselet on the other side, who squeaked and huddled behind their father. Megs had the good grace to not acknowledge anything at all has happened, simply nodded again and returned to his work.

It was only then that Megs looked in Leo's direction and bent his head. He took a soft, clean hand towel and used it to line a wicker basket that had been brought back and forth for the Hamato family's orders since long before Meg's had arrived on the scene, when the bakery had been run by a pair of elderly bakers. He then folded the towel over their hand pies and began doing the same with Mrs. O'Niel's order, although her basket was much newer.

"Any last minute additions?" He asked Leo without looking up.

"Do either of you want anything?" Leo ask turning to his brothers, every bit the brother who was making a special offer to get his younger brothers a treat. While they deliberated, the switched to a rueful smile, reaching a paw towards one of his pouches like he was deliberating taking something out but not certain about it.

"Well, there is one other thing, but it's kind of personal," he admitted in a low voice, looking around at the crowded store. "Do you think you'll have break soon we could talk about it?"

He leaned forward so he was closer to Megs, his voice a hushed whisper, "It's about our mom."

Megs' careworn face didn't change expression as he looked back at Leo for an uncomfortably long stretch of time. You'd almost think wasn't going to say anything at all and was engaging in a strange battle of wills instead of directly answering, if a twitch of his nose hadn't made his whiskers flick back and forth. "The carroway seed cakes are being picked up soon for the celebration," he said at last. "Once they are, I will flip the sign on the door and finish with everyone inside. If you are still here by then... You may say what you wish to say."

He then pushed the second basket that belonged to Mrs. O'Niel across the counter to him before turning away entirely to address the next customer. "Mrs. Cartwright," he said in that exact same solemn tone. "Here for your family's order?" The mousewife standing beside Leo perked up and hurried closer, and began chattering at Megs over the details.

When there's something to be done, the last thing Donnie wants to do is wait around. To Leo's question he'd shaken his head, impatient to play this game but having little other option. Although as the time wore on, being inside a place full of delicious smells starts to wear on a mouse, making him kind of regret eating little more than half a cheddar biscuit.

He'd smiled tightly at the well-wishes he was given when he was noticed, clinging to his own tail as he stuck close to Mikey until the crowd started to dwindle bit by bit. By the time things did empty out, it'd be no surprise that he'd busied himself with tightening every loose bolt and screw in the shop the moment he had space to move freely. Keeping busy helps calm him down, so surely this is nothing new to his brothers, and Megs gets some maintenance done!

The little gray mouse is wedging something under a wobbly display table leg by the time Megs goes to turn the sign to close the bakery.

So they were set to wait. Mikey tried to be good at first, waiting as patiently as he could as customers filtered in and out, wandering around, keeping his brothers in sight. Eventually, Donnie wandered off to start fiddling with various mechanical upkeep and rather than trying to stop him, Mikey dove into his own helpful busywork and distraction.

He helped with the baking.

Without really asking, he let himself into the kitchen and starts helping turning over dough, throwing things in the ovens and setting things up on the display. He lets Megs deal with the orders and the customers and keeps himself busy with making sure the pastries and bread and the like keep coming.

Finally, he sets out a final tray of muffins as Megs finally flips the sign and closes the bakery. He takes one of the muffins and slips it into his mouth whole before stashing one away for later and handing one each to his brothers.

Megs turned back to the face the brothers after turning over the sign. His dark eyes flicked from where Donnie was bent to prop up a table after puttering around doing small repairs, and back to the kitchen where Mikey was emerging with muffins to share amongst his brothers.

He didn't say anything at first about either observation, though his ears relaxed to hang loosely at the sides of his head, which he knew well enough that the mice of the community never could recognize as a sign of happiness unless they knew him well. And no one outside of the elderly baker and her husband who had taken him in that had previously run this bakery knew him well. His hand went briefly to the baker's tarnished Mousebrass and the worn Sign of Renewal engraved upon it before he dropped it back to his side.

"You both do good work," he said to the room at large. He did not say another word about the muffins. They had been intended to be given out as a show of solidarity during the celebration anyway, so he hardly begrudged the brothers getting a few. Not to mention the extra loaf he regularly slipped into their basket ever since the loss of their father and brother. They had their pride, but they could be proud while not going hungry for a little longer.

He then moved back behind the counter and began to methodically wipe it down. "You wished to speak to me. About your mother," he said without looking up again at any of them as he swept the warm, soapy cloth in precise circles. "What was there to say?"

Edited 2024-11-10 04:08 (UTC)

Leo, having returned from dutifully delivering the other basket to Mrs. O'Neil, took the muffin Mikey offered him and slipped a few coins onto the counter. He was sure the work Mikey and Donnie had been doing as they waited made up for a few muffins, but he didn't want Megs to think they were taking advantage of his kindness. Not before such a big ask. He set his muffin down on the counter with a serious expression.

"I'm sure you've heard by now, about how our mom disappeared. She...went to the Grille, and never came back. She never told us why she did it, but there must have been a reason." He artfully fiddled with his neck wrap so both his wooden pendant from Anemone and his mousebrass were visible, the two swords showing clearly. "And now....with Anemone..we don't want to lose anyone else."

Leo looked down at the counter before taking a big breath and looking up at Megs with his chest puffed out, trying to look as resolute as he could.

"Now that Donnie's basically an adult, we decided we're going after her. You can't talk us out of it, but we were hoping you might know something about the Grille that would help us. I know my brothers are ready, but I still want to keep them safe. You understand, don't you?"

He was banking on Megs' time with the mouse colony having given him some empathy, despite the fact he was still a big and scary looking rat.

Megs' expression was inscrutable as always as he listened. His ears had lifted from where they'd hung low before and turned towards Leo for the most part, though twitched from time to time to take in any errant sound. His eyes flicked away only once, towards polished metal hung in the corners that looked decorative but were actually intended to allow him to be able to easily see his blind spots. Even as far as he trusted the community he had fallen into... that trust did not cover every possibility.

He looked back at Leo, his gaze taking in both him and Mikey with his sad wet eyes behind him, Donnie with his intense expression behind him. "I do understand, and I am... truly sorry for the pain your family has endured that started from The Grille," Megs said at last, slowly and carefully and with every word heavy as a stone dropped down a well. And just like that stone, it sent out ripples. Megs actually shuddered and briefly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, those dark eyes narrowed and his jaw firmed. "But that does not change my answer. No. I do not talk about that place, and I do not approach it. If that is what you have come for, then you will be disappointed."

Edited 2024-11-10 17:28 (UTC)

Donnie had devoured the muffin the instant it had been placed in his hands, fastidiously cleaning off crumbs from his fur and whiskers so he could look Serious once Leo explains things to Megs. His tail twitches behind him like it's ever looking for the right wavelength as he stares intently at the old rat.

Oh no. He knows where this is going. There's a big 'But' coming and he holds his breath for it, little paws clenching tight. The confirmation that comes in those heavy words to follow threaten to sink him, and quick as a whip, he's come up beside Leo, tail lashing.

"Well we didn't come to be disappointed! We came because we thought you could at least provide us with some useful information!" At least Megs isn't telling them not to go, but withholding information seems to be about the same.

"We're just wasting time!" Anemone's been gone too long, any amount of time in the Grille sounds like it would be. He's not the one who's good with words, practically vibrating with the intent he can't voice before turning away sharply. If no one wants to help them then they'll just go themselves. Because it's always been just them, hasn't it?

Mikey tries not to be disappointed, he tries really hard, but the emotion is obvious. His shoulders slump and his face goes with it. He tries to tell himself that he knew this was coming, but the truth was, he really had been hoping.

"You really won't help us?" he asks, grabbing Donnie's hand as if he's afraid his brother will run off and stepping up next to Leo.

"I... I know it's hard, but even the smallest bit of advice could really mean life or death." The quaver in his voice, the swish of his tail, the twitch in his whiskers, the shining of his eyes, it's all not played up for once. They are going to the Grille, whether Megs helps them or not, and he has absolute, unwavering faith that as long as he's with his brothers, they can get through it together. But the idea of going in so blindly is terrifying him. Especially when there is someone standing right here in front of them that could help.

Leo's shoulders hitched up and his ears flattened, tail twitching with a frustrated swish. This was always a possibility, but it still stung. Megs had been their best chance at getting more info on what they were about to face.

"Don't bother Mikey, he isn't going to help."

He turned away with a deep scowl, grabbing their basket from where it had been sitting out of the way. He gave Megs a sidelong look, putting a hand on Donnie's shoulder.

"Guess you're just a rat after all. You don't deserve that mousebrass."

For the first time, Megs' flat countenance broke. His ears pinned back flat against his head as his tail lashed and his hand came up automatically to clutch at the Sign of Renewal that had belonged to his dear friend Dorthy. She'd believed in second chances and never judging a creature for their past so fiercely, up until her dying day.

He really was just a rat, wasn't he? Denying aid to mouselets... Was he proving Dorthy wrong?

"...Wait. Wait, I-" Megs lifted his hand from the cloth he hadn't been moving at all throughout their pleas, and almost started to reach out towards Leo before he dropped the hand back to his side. "I do not want the deaths of young ones on my conscience. If you are truly going to go regardless of what anyone else tells you, then-"

He sighed, and came out from behind the counter, pulling a keyring on a necklace made of knotted twine out from under his crossover sweater wrap. "Then you might as well have a map to guide you, at least. And advice, if you would still accept it."

He shook his head and with a nod of his head, led the way into the kitchen to a medium sized door. He unlocked it with one of the three keys on the keyring, and tucked it back beneath his sweater. He then ducked beneath the doorframe and led the way upstairs into a tiny, cramped loft.

The loft was meticulously clean to an almost anal retentive extent, but was also packed full of all sorts of trinkets and knickknacks and mementoes that must have belonged to Dorthy and her husband. "Sit anywhere," he said over his shoulder, when there was only the bed and a desk chair piled high with half-completed quilts to sit on.

He moved to the base of what to a mouse would be a ludicrously oversized bed but that was just his size, where a large, iron-bound trunk sat. He used a second key to unlock it and began sorting through stacks of paper and fabric, muttering to himself in a low tone before eventually pulling out a large, rolled up sheet of paper. "Here," he said, moving to crouch over the bed and unrolled it to reveal a hand drawn map of the world beneath The Grille. "I drew this from memory after I arrived here. It is very out of date, so it wouldn't show any recent changes."

He then leveled an assessing look at the brothers. "What do you know about the Rats of Venus?"

Donnie would have bolted but he really didn't want to go alone, and he knows his brothers are just as willing to go look for Anemone as he is. His own grasp tightens briefly around Mikey's, shoulders hunching just slightly at Leo's touch, but he's thankful for it, and knows he's not the only one frustrated by this turn of events. He glances back as Leo conveys his own disappointment to Megs.

That's it then. They'll just have to do it themselves. But it's okay. They'll do whatever they need to, like they always have.

His head lifts when the rat speaks up again, looking back over at Megs suspiciously as though expecting this to be some attempt to talk them out of it. He glances at his brothers as the offer is made. A map is certainly something. Advice surely won't be turned down, not from someone who knows the horrors of the Grille from experience.

Pulling away from Mikey's hand so he can turn, he's eager to follow after Megs once he's sure his brothers are following. Naturally he can't help but be curious about this new area they've been allowed into, but he keeps to himself even as he looks around. He doesn't seem inclined to sit, watching while the rat goes to retrieve the map, gravitating towards the bed only once its been spread out there. His tail twitches about again while he looks it over, trying to mentally absorb every detail of it. Outdated or not, it's still more than they'd had to start with.

"The awful things. The ones they tell us to keep us away from the Grille," he says flatly. He's on the fence about whether he believes them or not, ever the skeptic, but he also knows some things aren't without some basis of truth. "That Venus is the evil rat god, and that the rats like torturing and eating us practically alive." He grimaces a bit because truth or not, that bit is pretty gruesome and he'd rather keep his skin and fur where it is, thank you very much.

The Rats of Venus, Megatron states, is everything the boys have ever heard of and worse. She's a fearsome entity of unknown origins who has buried herself deep, deep within the maze of sewers underneath the city. Her dark influence has spread through the sewers like a malady, corrupting and infecting anyone that comes in contact with, twisting the rats of the sewers to her own mysterious bidding.

For no reason Megs knows, Venus demands that every young girl of any species found by her rats be brought to her. She seems to be desperately looking for something, but only she knows what that is, and those girls who are not what she's looking for are ritually sacrificed in her name to feed her power. Megs supposes that, if the rats have not disobeyed their God and eaten her, that Anemone is currently within the lair of Venus. The likelihood that she is dead by now is very high. The likelihood that this is basically suicide is very high.

Does Megs know the path to Venus' lair?

He does.

This does not dissuade the boys at all. After their meeting with Megs, they immediately get ready as fast as they can while everyone is slowly gathering for the celebration. Before long, the boys are gathered on the outside of The Grille, an ornate metal construct of a surprisingly elegant design. The Basement, a forbidden place no one ever goes, is cold and foreboding, your gaze is drawn towards the corner of the large metal grate. A corner of the grate is broken, allowing wayward mice to get through and into the sewers below, and the slight stench of the sewers below start to waft up towards you.

If your gaze lingers on it for too long, you can feel the pull of it. An invitation into the dark and unknown. It touches your mind and pulls you in, pulls you down. You blink, shake yourself, and find yourself a couple steps closer to it, the hypnotic pull of it too strong to resist.

You're waiting for... well. You didn't have a clear conclusion on if the old man was going with you or not. You have his maps and a direction to go in. You know what to look for and that you should avoid the rats as much as possible.

So you wait, just a little bit, to see if baker will show.

The story that Megs tells is much like the ones that Mikey grew up on, yet somehow worse. He finds himself scooting closer to his brothers and maybe clinging a little.

They're really doing this, huh?

They really, really were, as proven by the fact that he was now standing here with his brothers in the dreaded basement. They have their supplies, their packs and their warmer wear for the chill the sewer brings. They have their wits, their survival instincts, their determination. And most importantly, they have each other.

Still, Mikey is staring nervously at the grate, convincing himself that he is brave. This is for family, for Anemone. For their mom.

He doesn't have any intentions of running away, his worry about his friend far stronger than any fear, but he does wish a little bit that he was still at home making some sort of pastry puff.

"So... how long do we wait?" he asks. Megs hadn't exactly said he as joining them, and Mikey was half certain that this was as much of a stalling method as anything, now that they were officially faced with the looming pull of the sewers. Of course, there is also the hope that he actually will show up. It would be really nice to have someone familiar with what they were getting into, even if he's already given them the crude map and frightening advice.

The Start

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