Affinity for Victuals

A small beige rat with lavender eyes that gathered the light hid at the base of the floorboards, unnoticed. Around her the bustle of the women cooking up a hearty meal for their family circulated, conversation and tasting and stirring and smacking of lips in anticipation. Affinity watched cautiously, staying hidden easily because her fur was nearly the color of the cream paint and pale tan linoleum, as long as the flash of her pale purple eyes did not catch the humans' attention. So she kept her gaze low, watching feet and ankles, hems of trousers and of long skirts.

Then at last dinner was served. Between their returns to the kitchen for more food, drink, and new courses, Affinity gathered the bounty bit by bit and stuffed it into her cheeks. She looked more chipmunk than rat when her mouth was so full of food she thought it would burst. Then she wrapped yet more food in a dishtowel and took it in her teeth, finally dragging the whole load into an umbral rat-hole.

She parceled the food into three piles. One for her - that was the smallest pile. Another pile was for Esme and her new family - they were hungry, Affinity knew. And the third was for her 'sisters', Calamity and Eternity, and her 'brother' Obscurity. She went to see Esme and the babies first, taking up one of the larger piles into the cloth in her teeth.

She dropped out of the umbra into the anteroom of Esme's nest. She scritched lightly on the floor, letting Esme know she was there. "It's Affinity," she whispered. Esme peeked her nose out, twitching the black whiskers. Esme's rat form was all black, except for a few white speckles on her back and tail. Affinity crept into the inner nest, and the tiny rat kits swarmed over her. Esme had had a litter of fourteen. So far they were all still alive, an accomplishment of which Esme was very proud. Affinity spread the cloth open and the young rats all began to eat at once. After a few moments Esme nosed her way in and ate her share as well. Affinity knew she'd need the food to create milk for her offspring. "Enjoy," she told her rodent-born ratkin friend and the baby rats, knowing they would not understand. They understood good food and full bellies, that was enough.

Then Affinity returned to her stash and took the remaining large pile to her own lair. Her 'siblings' as they all called one another, the other children who had survived the Plague and who Affinity had joined when she'd escaped from Armbuster. They'd all decided to take names like hers, for which she had been very flattered. They were asleep, and she left the food with her initial scratched in the earth next to it. They'd know who it was from, sure enough.