#mouse!warren

Admittedly, his clothes reeked and there was some matting on the little puff on the end of his tail, but could you really blame Warren? It was just a struggle to not die every day. But still, he knew that even some of his worst first impressions didn’t hold a candle to just how bad the cat-man who had rescued him introduced himself.

The little mouse-man had been hiding in a vending machine when it happened. He had spotted, what he had thought at the time, the human coming into the ruined building and making a beeline for Warren’s hiding place. He had broken the glass and taken everything out of the vending machine, even the bag of chips that Warren had desperately been trying to open, and had spotted Warren nearly instantly. 

It’s not like the little man had known that the enormous intruder was an enhanced human being with cat-like features. He had heard the sniffing and by the time he had looked up, he saw those piercing green eyes staring down at him. He had seen those slit pupils widen and when Warren had tried to run, he was caught. 

Squeaking and squirming, Warren had been carried off. After the cat-man had found something shining in the dirt, Warren thought he was done for. He had been raised up to the cat-man’s face and saw that mouth open, revealing sharp fangs. Warren had screamed, thinking that he was about to have his head bitten off, only to have those fangs clamp down on the back of his clothes and hold him tight. 

And there was Warren now, dangling from the mouth of some giant cat-man-beast. He hiccuped softly, letting his tail curl around his legs, which were pulled up to his chest. His round, soft ears were flat against his skull as the beast breathed through its nose and ruffled his hair. His tears had dried several minutes ago, but left his face uncomfortably damp. 

He didn’t dare raise his hands to dry his face, lest he slide out of his clothes and plummet to his death. He didn’t dare use his claws, or else the beast might just drop him down onto the unforgiving rocks. He didn’t dare speak. If not for his hiccuping and hyperventilating, Warren might not have dared breathe either. 

A glowing blue portal opened in front of the beast, and a whimper bubbled up in Warren’s throat. He screwed his eyes shut and buried his face in his knees. 

He only dared open his eyes again when the sudden sick feeling died down. He felt cool air blast against his skin and the beast holding him sighed. They were inside some giant ship/castle looking thing. There was a ring of computer monitors surrounding the little walkway they were on and stone walls and banners in a language he didn’t understand and wall mounted torches. 

Among the things in the room was a little robot. It was only about half the size of the beast, and it had a screen for a face that had some kind of message scrolling across it. It approached as a voice came from above. “Welcome home, Slayer.” 

The beast raised a hand and Warren recognized it as sign language. ‘Hey V.’ 

“I see you found the parts and- Slayer, what is that in your mouth?” 

‘I found the cutest little thing.’ The beast, apparently known as the Slayer, set the large burlap sack down and placed the bag all the food had gone into down on the monitors. The droid approached, but it had changed the way it walked, more stiff, and the screen had a question mark on it. 

There was no warning before Warren was spat into the waiting palm of the Slayer and shown off to the robot. 

This time when the voice spoke, it seemed to be coming from the robot. “It’s a tiny man… he looks so frightened. Have you been carrying him this whole time in your mouth?” 

Warren nodded vigorously. He felt like he had better chances of surviving if the robot had him. At least the robot wasn’t going to eat him, and knew he was terrified. 

The robot’s face changed from the question mark to a little pixelated face rolling its eyes. “We did talk about you bringing these ‘gifts’ home. It was bad enough when it was demon carcasses, but you’ve kidnapped some poor creature.” The robot reached out to grab Warren, but Warren was snatched back by the Slayer. 

It felt like a block of wood was lodged in Warren’s throat, stopping him from talking. He struggled, but went stock still as he was held once more by the back of his clothes by those fangs. Only little gasps came out.

‘No. If you don’t like the little guy, I’ll keep him.’ 

“Slayer.” The robot put its hands on its hips. It sounded like a parent scolding a child. After a second, it extended its hand. Warren noticed absently that it only had three thick fingers and a thumb. “Give him here.” 

The beast hummed softly, and then took off running. Warren felt himself slip a bit, and then stopped breathing as the collar of his shirt cut into his neck. He faintly heard the robot shout, but was more occupied with not choking to death. 

After a few horrifying seconds where he managed to not fall or choke, Warren was spat back into the Slayer’s palm. 

Warren gasped the moment he was free, and was overtaken by a coughing fit. He glanced up, on his hands and knees. The cat-man was grinning, staring over his shoulder. Warren saw his ears were twitching like a house cat’s while it was on the hunt. 

With one more cough, Warren was able to clear up the block in his throat. “H-hey.” 

The Slayer stared down at him, sharp teeth on display. 

“Please don’t eat me.” A whimper left his throat. “I- I’m not ta-tasty.” A sob quickly built in his throat and before he knew it, Warren was crying. 

---

The Slayer felt like the world’s biggest dirtbag the second the poor little mouse burst into tears. All the playfulness he always got from teasing Vega was gone in an instant. He tried to make a soft shushing noise, but that just made the little mouse cry harder.

The maintenance droid that Vea currently inhabited bounced off his thigh and the Slayer glanced down, past the poor creature. He did his best to have his face read ‘help’ as he stuck the little creature into Vega’s hands. 

“Sl-oh. Uhm. It’s going to be okay.” Vega carefully cupped the little mouse against the robot’s chest. “There, there. He isn’t going to hurt you.”

“He - He’s just so bi-i-ig!” 

“I know. I know he’s big. It’s okay. I promise you’re safe here.” Vega’s face tilted up and the screen read ‘help.’ 

He shrugged desperately and then got down onto his knees. How was he supposed to help the poor little dude when it was his fault he’d burst into tears? Besides that, he was horrible with comforting people. He more excelled in violently tearing things to shreds than emotional support. 

After a moment of fumbling, he tried reaching out and carefully patting the little mouse-dude on his head. He tried to bury himself in Vega’s chest, but the sobbing did quiet down to a whimper. 

An idea popped into his head and he scrambled away, leaving Vega alone with the little creature. 

Vega glanced down and had his voice as steady and comforting as it got when he spoke again. “There, there. What’s your name?” 

The little creature rubbed a sleeve over his eyes and glanced up. He seemed to notice that the Slayer had stepped out. He hiccuped (the noise was adorable, but Vega had to focus) and then spoke in the softest voice. “Warren.” 

“Warren? That’s a very nice name.” Vega really hoped the Slayer would come back. He was good with numbers, not with emotional support. “I am Vega.” 

“You’re not- not gonna let him eat me, are you?” He whimpered. 

“No. The Slayer would never do that.” Vega hoped that the lying didn’t show through. He had seen the Slayer devour several live creatures whole and alive before. Most of them were low ranking demons, but occasionally one was nearly the size of a person. He needed a more truthful answer. “Never to an innocent creature.” 

Nailed it. 

After a few more moments, some of which Warren had started to breathe normally, the Slayer returned. He had a square of fluffy purple cloth in his hands and pretty much just dumped it on top of Warren. The poor little guy went stock still. 

Vega glanced up at him. “What was that supposed to accomplish?” 

He shrugged. ‘Help calm him down?’

“Warren?” Vega carefully pulled the bit of blanket away from Warren’s face so he could see the little creature. He was clutching the blanket like it was a life line. “I promise you that you’re safe here.” 

“I- I” Warren glanced over at the Slayer and shivered. “I’m gonna pass out.” 

The little creature fell over with a soft ‘thump.’ Vega carefully pressed a finger against his neck.