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"Everybody?" Will calls, turning to look at the other rats in the attic. The light from the 'window' illuminates them with a bright glow, their tail flicking. "There's a big cart arriving!" Within seconds Krow is at the window, poking its head beneath Will's arm. Owen follows soon after, peering over Will's shoulder. A few of the other rats crowd around, heads poking up and down as they try and catch a glimpse.
"What is it?" Bek calls, clearly struggling to stay still.
"Is it garbage?" Oli asks.
A few of the rats sigh, whilst Scott turns to him with flat ears, "Oli, why would they be bringing garbage to the castle? They want to take it away." Oli whacks Scott's back with enough strength that it nearly knocks Scott forward a step.
"Maybe they've finally appreciated my greatness and they're bringing me a feast!" he declares, waving his hand through the air.
Martyn laughs. "In your dreams, mate, if anything they'd bring you an exterminator."
Oli whips to him, fur puffed out, "You take that back, Marty!" He leans forward on his tiptoes. Martyn just laughs.
"Hey, hey, less of that!" Owen calls, blindly waving his hand back towards the group. Oli sticks his tongue out in Martyn's direction.
"Well, what are they bringing?" Sniff asks, throwing his cloak over his shoulder. Krow clings to the wooden support, ducking its head out further.
"It looks like a tree?" Will says.
"What?"
Krow steps back, shrugging its shoulders, "Yep, definitely a tree. One of those big ones with the layers from that forest over there." It waves its hand in an indiscernible direction.
"One of the fir trees?" Scott gasps, darting forward. Owen shuffles aside to let Scott poke through the gap. Scott bounces, leaning so far forward that Owen makes a concerned noise, grabbing the strap of Scott's dungarees. Scott, oblivious to this, lets out a series of loud squeaks. "It is! Oh, this is so exciting." A few of the others that were trying to get closer are pushed back by Scott's tail whipping.
"What does it mean?" Owen asks, still not relinquishing his hold on Scott. Scott thankfully jumps away from the window, waving his hands.
"The humans on the farm used to talk about it! They said the humans at the castle host a big ball, which lots of important people get invited to. And there's always a really big tree that they decorate with sparkly stuff!" He points at the window. "That must be the tree!"
"Okay, but how is this a good thing?" Martyn questions. "If they have this ball, then that means more people in the castle!"
"Yes but more people means more garbage, Marty," Oli replies.
"And new things to steal," Krow adds, a little quieter, but not quiet enough to avoid eliciting a sigh from Owen.
"We are not going to steal from any new humans," he tells them both, crossing his arms.
"Owen, has anybody ever told you that you're no fun?" Krow replies. Owen gives it a long stare.
Scott, either ignoring them or oblivious, jumps between them, "We have to let the others know! This is going to be so exciting. Oh, do you think we could make a tree of our own?"
"I'm sure we could figure one out!" Sniff agrees, standing a little taller. "How do they decorate it? Maybe we should see what sparkly things we have!" He darts towards the barrels and crates, climbing into one.
"Or we could go and look at it?" Bek suggests.
Scott gasps, ears sticking straight up, "We can watch it being put up!" In a blur of blue, he's already vanished, disappearing between wooden floorboards.
"Scott! Wait for us, you silly billy!" Bek calls, taking off after him. Owen follows close behind, and there's an exchange of shrugs and nods until most of the group is following, disappearing between the floorboards and into the storage room beneath.
The route through the castle is a well-worn one for the rats. Owen manages to overtake Scott to ensure they don't run straight into one of the servants; Scott's so focused on getting to the tree that he isn't even checking the corners.
Martyn pauses, hearing a human's voice around a corner. He slips around the door, quickly skirting onto the shelf next to the door, behind a roll of fabric. He doesn't hear any rats yelling after him, so he thinks he's gone unnoticed enough.
The tailor's room is one he's very familiar with, mostly because he steals from it. And frequently. As such, he tries to help out whenever he can. It's only fair, after all. Stops him from getting kicked out too, how'd he make his outfits otherwise? He flicks his tail, making sure that's tucked behind the fabric too.
"There is no way I'm going to get this finished on time," the tailor says. Martyn pokes his nose out enough to see him pacing across the floor, red waistcoat unbuttoned.
"It can't be that bad, G," somebody replies. Martyn frowns, scrambling up to a higher shelf to see the other person. This time he hides behind a wicker basket, brushing against the material. Ah, it's the engineer! The one with that fancy mustache.
"Do you want to sew these thousands of crystals onto this dress?" the tailor asks, staring straight at the man. "Do you want to, Mumbo? Because at this point, these crystals could appear on the dress overnight and I'd accept it." He sighs, slumping onto the tiny bit of desk not covered by fabric. "I just don't want to let him down, he's been so stressed about the ball."
"You'll pull through," the engineer replies, squeezing the tailor's shoulder. "You always do." Martyn hums, quietly slotting this information away for future use. Then, with quiet elegance, he leaps from the shelf and darts around the door, with only a soft, "What was that?" following his departure.
"Why do you think this is a good idea again?" Jimmy asks, dragging Shelby onto the shelf. She digs her claws into the wood, springing into the tight space. Jimmy glances to the side, and the pair skirt along the books.
"He seems like he's really been struggling lately!" Shelby replies. They find a gap big enough for them both and she peers over the edge, looking at the book open on the desk.
"And you think you'll be able to help?" Jimmy replies, his judging stare going unseen.
Shelby's ears point forward, looking at the illustrations as closely as she can, "Well, I spent a lot of time with all the wizards in their fancy magic school." The pages appear to contain a drawing of some kind of fauna, and lots of swirly, hard to read text. "So I like to think I know a thing or two about casting spells!"
"But what if this is an evil spell?" Jimmy asks. "What- what if it's going to kill all the rats in the castle!"
"No, of course not!" Shelby waves him off with her tail. "I think it's a weather spell." Jimmy tilts his head, dropping to the ground so he can poke his head further over.
"A weather spell," he repeats slowly.
She hums, pointing towards the pages, "Y'see how there's lots of different information? That's for the different types of weather. I'm not sure which one he was trying to do, though." She trails off, sitting back and trying to remember the conversation she overheard. Jimmy glances at her, then gently leaps down beside the book, giving the writing a closer look.
"He was trying to make snow," he decides. Shelby jumps, looking over the edge in surprise.
"When did you get down there!"
"Look!" Jimmy pulls his tail around, pointing with it. "You can see all the notes he's made here, they're in a different ink and the letters look different. And that's next to this drawing–" he points to a depiction of clouds with swirling snowflakes below them, "–so, obviously, snow."
"Huh." Shelby leaps alongside him, walking carefully across the paper so she doesn't accidentally rip it. But she needs to be closer, so she's able to read what's been noted down in very frantic lettering. "It looks like he's trying to find the right components for the spell. There's a list of them!" Jimmy steps alongside her, attempting to read the bullet points. "The needles of a fir tree, a pinecone, the feather of a robin, holly, the fur of a hibernating animal."
"He already has most of these," Jimmy points out. A little box next to the book is already filled with leaves and feathers and plants. He even jumps up to look into it, hanging onto the edge.
"Maybe he's missing something?" Shelby guesses. "I'll read 'em out, you say if you find it."
"We are so lucky Scott doesn't shut up about plants," Jimmy murmurs, before hearing Shelby call out for the fir tree. He holds the small twig up, and they continue down the list, one by one. Eventually, Jimmy does end up inside the box, but that's a lot easier than leaning into it.
"Holly?" Shelby calls.
Jimmy shuffles a few of the items around before frowning. "I don't see any here." He checks under a feather. "Actually that's a good thing, isn't it? Holly's all prickly."
Shelby's ears flatten," Oh, yeah, that would hurt." They both sit in silence for a moment, neither willing to admit they didn't think about it at all. So they don't! Instead, Shelby asks, "Where do you think we can get holly, then?"
"Oh, there's a patch in the garden! I eat the berries from it sometimes."
Shelby stares at him, ears flared out, "Aren't those poisonous?!"
"Are they?"
"Jimmy!" she cries. "For our safety rat-"
"Don't start!" He grabs the edge of the box, climbing over it and plopping onto the table. "I don't want to hear it."
Shelby snickers, her nose scrunching up, "Should we just go get that holly?"
"Please."
"It's everything I could've imagined," Scott whispers. He curls around the banister of one of the balconies overlooking the ballroom. The room is buzzing with activity – people on ladders setting up garlands, others carrying in large decorations, others gathering around the tree. The tree itself is a towering feature, so tall it would reach the balconies if it weren’t placed tantalisingly out of leaping distance central in the room. Even undecorated, it's beautiful.
"Imagine how pretty it's going to be once they've put all the sparklies on it," Sniff whispers, perched where the banister juts out just enough to stand on.
"And all the people dancing around it in big gowns and suits…" Scott whispers, leaning against the banister with a wistful sigh.
"And you can watch it this time!" Owen reminds him, nudging Scott's shoulder. "I'm sure we can find a corner to hide away in."
"Humans aren't very observant," Krow agrees. "Think of all the things we could-"
"No, you are not robbing everyone," Owen interrupts before that thought gets any further. Krow huffs, crossing its arms.
"Martyn would support me," it says, glancing around. Its ears twitch. "Wait, where is Martyn?"
"He'll turn up," Oli replies. "He always does."
Will crouches down, taking a big leap to climb up the banister and onto the railing. They scamper along it, quietly ooooing over the blue and white ribbons being tied above the doors. There's even a team taking down the curtains, different colours laid out ready to replace them. They lie on their stomach, letting their tail hang over the edge. It flicks contently.
"Do we know when it'll be?" Bek asks, hanging over the edge, muscles prominent as she holds the bannister. There's not much happening beneath them where the dramatic staircase is – only some people winding plants weaved with colours around the railings.
"It's supposed to take place on the longest night of the year!" Scott replies, turning slightly to look at her.
"Oh-kay," Owen replies. "And when is that?"
Scott's ears flop downwards. "I…don't know," he admits.
"I'm sure we'll hear the humans talk about it soon," Will says, soft voice just about audible from the railing. "They're probably really excited too!"
Claws scrape across the wood, a few of the rats turning to see Martyn approaching. Martyn holds his paws up, ears sticking out.
"Woah, just me! Jeez, a guy leaves for five minutes and everybody acts like he's a stranger."
"Where have you been, then?" Owen asks. Martyn shrugs.
"Around," he replies. He steps towards the edge of the balcony. "Damn, that's a big tree." His tail flicks in appreciation. Oli throws his arms around Martyn's shoulders.
"How long until we climb it?" he whispers into Martyn's ear.
Martyn snorts, "I give it a day."
"Ooo, do you think there'll be an angel on the top?" Bek asks, having absolutely heard their attempt at whispering. "I've heard that's where humans keep their angels."
"What, are you hoping that you'll find El up there?" Scott teases. Owen sighs, rolling his eyes.
"Terrible, you're all terrible." He looks around the group gathered on the balcony. Will is still watching the people work below, but most of the others have stopped staring at the ballroom in awe. "Should we find the other rats and let them know what's happening?"
"Oh, let's!" Bek says, running on the spot.
"Come on, team, let's split up!" The group scramble off the balcony, all going their separate ways down the halls.
Oliver hums inquisitively, reading through the document the humans left on the table carefully. Something about an order, they're not quite sure what for. Without further ado, they start gnawing through the corner, getting about halfway through the document when they hear footsteps approaching. They look up, smiling when they see Acho and Bek approaching. They wave, folding up the remaining paper and tucking it away in their coat.
"Hello there!"
"Oliver!" Bek gives a big wave. "We're here to tell you about the ball!" Oliver tilts their head, jumping down from the table. The library is pretty empty this time of day, so they aren't too worried about any humans coming through here.
"Ball?" Oliver asks. "Like one you kick around?"
"No!" Bek replies. "It's a big party! With lots of people and food and dancing…" Bek holds her hand up, doing a mock twirl. "They've set up a big tree in the ballroom and they're putting lots of decorations up!" Acho nods in agreement, having seen some throughout the corridors on the way here.
"That's exciting!" Oliver replies. "Does it mean we're going to need to hide more, though?"
"Eh–" Bek shrugs, "–if you're a coward. Which I'm not."
"We were wondering if you knew where El was," Acho says, politely changing the topic. "We thought she might be here so we could tell her about it."
"We're trying to let all the rats know," Bek adds. "Y'know, so nobody's caught off guard and all that."
"Ah," Oliver inclines their head. "And you just so happened to come looking for Eloise?"
"Well, I mean, it's not- We were just-"
Oliver snickers, holding their paw up to their lips, "She left to find Owen a little while ago. I think she found something she wanted to show him?"
"Oh." Bek's ears droop momentarily, but quickly pick up again. "That's fine! I'll have to catch up with her later, then."
"What were you doing in here?" Acho asks, walking closer to Oliver.
Oliver smiles, gesturing up to the table. "Somebody left out a bunch of invoices, so I've been deciding which ones to snack on. Come on, I can show you."
"Ooo!" Bek jumps up ahead of them, clearly forgetting about her temporary upset already.
"Here it is!" El calls, peering around the crate. "Exactly where I left it."
"What?" Tubbo calls, barreling around the corner and nearly running straight into the wooden box.
El gasps, leaping forward to grab him, crying, "Tubrat! Don't break it even more!"
Owen hops off the crate to examine the object. He picks up a screw, holding it in his hands.
"It's a contraption of some kind," he comments, trying to shuffle the wooden box around.
Tubbo rolls his eyes, freed from El's grasp to circle around it himself. "We can see that, genius."
El flicks him. "Be polite."
Working together, the three manage to shuffle the box around. There's a metal clasp holding the lid shut, whilst at the bottom, it appears a wooden plank has fallen off, revealing metal inside. Tubbo reaches up, flicking open the clasp, and then promptly screams and falls backwards when the lid flips open. A few wooden figures stand up with the lid, the paint on them faded and chipped. El scurries up, standing on her tiptoes to look inside.
"There's a note in here," she tells them, taking hold of the paper carefully. It's crisp, yellowed with age. Underneath is a golden charm, shaped like a flower with long petals.
"Ooo, shiny-"
"No stealing!" Owen calls without missing a beat. Tubbo's fur puffs out, narrowing his eyes and ears in a sulk.
"Come hold the other end of this paper," El asks, and Tubbo jumps back to attention, obediently grabbing it with delicate paws. El has to use her entire body to unfold it, stepping back and repeating the process until the paper lies open. The writing on the paper is neat, even though it isn't the swirly loops El's used to.
"What does it say?" Tubbo asks, head tilted towards El. She walks to the front of the paper, humming as she reads the big letters.
"Dear Pearl-" El starts, before immediately interrupting herself, "do we know a Pearl?"
"Isn't she one of the humans?" Owen replies. He's sat down behind the box, lifting it up just enough to get underneath. "The one Oli hates because she cleans up a lot."
"Guys, you're ruining my immersion!" Tubbo complains.
El laughs, but continues reading, "May the sunlight always guide your way. Sausage."
Tubbo stands there for a moment, waiting expectantly before exclaiming, "Wait, is that it?!"
"Yep!" El nods. "It seems like this was a gift of some kind, maybe?"
"So everybody else gets these long, fun notes, but no, I have to find the boring ones-"
Owen ignores Tubbo, replying, "I wonder how it got down here."
"I don't know. It's a strange place for a gift." El starts folding the paper up, elbowing Tubbo into helping her. "Looks like it's broken, too."
"Definitely broken," Owen agrees as he pulls loose a metal mechanism, with a cylinder and strange, flat planks of metal. One or two seem bent out of place, and the cylinder comes loose in his hand. "I think it was a music box." But when he pushes one of the planks down, it still lets out a soft note. "Or it still is, just not a working one."
"Oh, so it's a box that plays music?" Tubbo asks, skidding to Owen's side. Owen collects together the pieces, laying them side by side.
"It's supposed to," Owen replies. "So you see these bits sticking out of the metal?" Owen points them out on the cylinder and Tubbo nods. "Usually there's a mechanism that turns this around, and those push the metal bits here–" he taps a plank, "–in the right order to play a short melody."
"That's super cool!" Tubbo exclaims, ears sticking outwards. "Do you think we could fix it?" El looks at Owen, knowing that 'we' absolutely doesn't involve Tubbo.
"It looks like all the parts are still here," Owen replies. "If you're willing to help me tune it, I say I could get it as good as new."
"Yes! Sure thing, boss man." Tubbo does a quick salute, matching the guards they see on the walls. El sets the paper back down inside, stepping back to see the music box as a whole.
"It looks so sad," she says, sighing. Then her ears perk up with a thought, "Tell you what, if I figure out what flowers these are supposed to be, maybe I can repaint it?" She crosses her arms. "It's too faded to really tell."
"You could always ask Scott?" Owen suggests. "If anyone's going to know what flowers they are, it would be him."
El's tail flicks, standing up tall. "Yes, perfect!"
"Apo!" Martyn whispers, only to be quickly hushed. He frowns, clawing his way up one of the support beams and perching on it, alongside Apo. Apo peers into the corridor, where a large door is being opened. The king strides through, the tails of his coat flapping behind him. Though he's not wearing his more formal crowns, it's certainly not the casual one they're used to seeing. Martyn raises his eyebrows, settling in next to Apo and whispering, "Are we expecting guests?"
"I saw the carriage riding up," Apo replies, voice low as the king paces beneath them.
Martyn nods. "Makes sense. Apparently, they're hosting a big ball for the winter." Apo turns to him with a question on his face, but whatever question he was about to ask is interrupted by another person approaching the door. They both go silent, ears angled towards the conversation.
"Count Bdubs!" the king calls, holding a hand out. The man who enters is on the shorter side for humans, especially beside the towering woman who walks up behind him. She's immediately striking, with orange hair that practically glows like a flame. "And Count Cleo, it's a pleasure to see you've arrived safely." The king bows, taking Cleo's hand and placing a kiss to the back of it.
"Didn't know we were special enough for a personal greeting," Bdubs greets him. "It's good to see you, Scar! I hope we haven't caused any problems by arriving early."
The king steps back, kissing the back of his hand as well. "Of course not, of course not. It's always a delight to see you."
"They were childhood friends," Apo whispers, making Martyn jump. Apo hasn't turned away from the greetings taking place at the door. "I heard Bdubs used to live here before moving to the Crastle."
Martyn looks at Apo, then turns back to the trio. "Have you ever seen him before?"
"Not really," Apo admits. "A bit before my time." Martyn nods, turning back to the trio. A servant is pulling a cart of bags through, the door being closed by another behind them. The three are continuing to talk, oblivious to it.
"No Etho this time?" the king asks, turning to walk the pair down the hallway.
"No, you know what he's like," Cleo answers. "Social events like this aren't his thing. He's keeping things running at the Crastle instead."
"And you're trusting him with that?" The king asks, the smirk on his face clearly teasing.
"Yes, of course we are!"
"And Impulse is at home anyway. He's travelling up the day of the ball-"
Their voices trail away down the hallway, disappearing into the depths of the castle. Apo doesn't try to follow, so Martyn doesn't either. Instead, he leans against the drywall, watching Apo's scrunched-up expression. His ears are still pressed back.
"A ball, you say?" Apo finally asks.
Martyn nods. "A few of the other rats are really excited about it. Scott seems to know the most. They've been putting up decorations all around the castle getting ready for it." He waves his paw around dismissively. Apo hums, looking off down the hallway, now bustling with servants. "I do have a task for you," Martyn says, "if you're interested. Thought it was something we could do together."
"Oh?"
Martyn smiles. "Meet me tonight. I think you'll find it a nice break."
"You're on. I'll see you tonight, Martyn."
Lizzie sniffs the air, peering out from behind the heavy ceramic jars that have become a staple in rat-hiding culture these last few months. Whatever's in them, the humans never seem to need it. It makes the perfect place to sit and watch the kitchen – and there's plenty to watch in there today. Humans are passing back and forth, the fires consistently stoked and the room rich with the scent of spices and cooking food. Humans keep passing by with small portions, which is what confuses her. They're cooking so much, but nothing seems to be enough for a full meal. Barely even enough for a rat, if you were to ask her.
Another group of humans go past her with plates stacked upon a cart, clattering away as it rolls. She watches it go, which is how she sees the group of rats darting through the open door before it swings shut. She smiles, waving, and they make their way up to the shelf she's on.
"Lizzie," Will greets her, with a smile of their own. "Did you hear the humans are planning a ball?" Lizzie tilts her head, clasping her hands in front of her. Her dress swooshes around her legs.
"Oh, like one of those human parties?" she asks. "I suppose that makes sense, the weather is growing colder."
"It sounds really interesting," Sniff says. "I've always wanted to see a human celebration!"
"It would explain why the kitchen has been so busy today," Lizzie says, glancing over her shoulder where servants are still shuffling around. Will flinches slightly when a flame shoots into the air across the room, the chef continuing to move the pan around unaffected by it. "They must be deciding the menu."
"Oo!" Sniff's ears stick upright. "Do you think we might be able to sneak any samples of the food?"
Lizzie turns around, sighing softly. "Not with this many humans around," she replies. Their usual pantry raid is going to be difficult enough already, never mind stealing food the humans are cooking for themselves. "I'm considering coming back when most of the humans are asleep, though."
"That could be fun!" Will says, rocking onto their toes. "It sounds like there's so much happening! There are decorations being put up, food, Scott said there would be pretty outfits…"
Lizzie nods. "Yes! The humans always love putting on big, fancy dresses for these events. It's their way of showing off." She rests her chin on her paw. "Maybe they're trying to attract mates?"
"I don't think that's how it works," Sniff replies quickly. "Don't most of them already dance with their partner anyway? That's what I've heard about human dancing."
"Ah, yes, but a lot of them go to dances to find partners too," Lizzie explains. "It's like one big mating ritual. They're trying to pick the most worthy suitors."
"Mm, that sounds like a lot of effort," Will complains. "I just want to look at the pretty outfits."
Lizzie stands tall. "Thankfully, we aren't humans, so we can ignore all of their weird customs!"
"Could we still…" Sniff hesitates, twirling a strand of his hair around his finger before continuing, "dance with our partners, maybe?"
Will gasps, reaching out and grabbing Sniff's paws. "That would be so fun!" they say. "We could have our own dance to all the music, with all the pretty outfits…"
"If we do that, then we'll need some preparations," Sniff replies. "Maybe we should see what decorations we can gather from around the castle? I'm sure the humans will have left some things out."
"Yesss." Will's tail flicks. "Come on, let's go! There are too many humans here to do anything anyway."
Lizzie spares one look back at the big ovens and sighs. She runs along behind them. Another time.
Krow slinks along the corridor, careful to time its darts between pieces of furniture when servants have just walked past. It’s busy, lots of people holding ladders, strange wreaths of leaves, flowers, sparkling ribbons… Lots of things, and lots that Krow wants. It skitters up a shelf, smirking when it finds boxes full of decorations the humans haven’t depleted yet. Perfect. It dives forward, scooping up one of the artificial flowers when-
"Had the same idea, hey, Krow?" Krow jumps around, falling into the box with a shout. By the time it's resurfaced through the plastic flowers, Oli is standing above it, smirking.
"Is your idea to steal as much of this as you possibly can?" Krow asks, picking a flower out of its ear piercing.
"And then to eat it," Oli replies. "Our plans might differ a bit there."
Krow looks at the decorations with a hum. "A little." Krow climbs out of the box, taking Oli’s offered hand. "Does this stuff count as garbage if the humans are still using it?" Krow asks, giving Oli a curious look under its fringe.
Oli holds a hand up, shrugging. "I’m not planning to use it, so it’s garbage to me."
"Sound logic."
Footsteps echo down the corridor, the pair sharing a look before darting behind a plant, left neglected amongst the decorations.
"The team setting up the ballroom has stolen all the ladders," the human complains, picking up one of the boxes. "I understand that room is the most important, but it’s putting all of us behind schedule. I can’t do any of this right now." A piece of paper is placed on the shelf, curled at the edges. Krow and Oli share a look.
"I guess there’s nothing for it but taking a break then, huh?" A second human says, a smile in their voice. They can see a separate hand push the box back onto the shelf, the first human sighing. "Stop worrying about it! We’ve still got a few days."
"We’ve only got a few days," the first human replies. "And guests are already arriving." The humans continue down the corridor, taking their conversation with them.
Krow steps out, looking over the paper left behind."What’s this?" it asks.
Oli leans right over its shoulder. "Oh, it’s a list of tasks! Must be what that guy was complaining about." Oli knocks his thumb in the direction the humans left. Krow hums, a plan coming to its mind.
"What do you say," it starts, "that we put some of these decorations up?"
Oli tilts his head around to stare at it. "That’s the opposite of thievery," he says. "You understand that is the opposite of stealing, right?"
Krow steps away from him, rubbing its hands together. "Okay, hear me out," it says. "We put up the decorations. The humans are happy because their job is done. They’re less likely to notice things missing, so they’re less likely to come looking for us. Owen is happy because we’ve helped the humans. He’s less likely to care that we’ve stolen things. It’s the perfect plan!"
Oli hums, stroking his chin. "I think I could be convinced," he replies.
Krow grins. "Okay, what’s the first thing on the list?"
"The ribbons. Do we see any ribbons?" The two split up without words, poking their heads over various boxes until Oli holds up the thick fabric triumphantly. "Ribbons!" He pulls one of the ends from the box. And keeps pulling. And keeps pulling, until he’s reached the end of the shelf and the other end of the ribbon is only just falling out of the box.
"Oh, that’s long," Krow comments. "Do you think it’s supposed to be tied to two things, maybe? Like the ones in the ballroom."
"That sounds right," Oli agrees. The pair jump up the shelves, standing at the top to check out the walls. There are a few decorations across them. Nothing wintery, just the standard affair that usually adorns the castle – paintings, banners, a few swords a bit further down. But what’s consistent down each side are the crystal lanterns, hanging from the walls with a gentle white glow.
"Okay," Krow says. "Plan." It jumps down, grabbing one end of the ribbon and pointing for Oli to take the other. "We each take one end of the ribbon and jump up to two lamps that are next to each other." Oli picks up his end of the ribbon, getting a tight grip on it. "Then, we tie our end of the ribbon onto the lamp. They’ll hang there and, hey presto, we’ve put up a decoration."
"Ooo, very clever." The pair hop off, coming to stand beneath the crystals next to the shelves. Krow takes the one furthest away, its tail wiggling in anticipation.
"On the count of three," it calls.
"Three!" Oli calls back, immediately scrambling straight up the wall. Krow squeaks, racing to catch up with Oli’s height. Oli lands on the crystal moments before Krow, tying the ribbon to where the light attaches to the wall. Krow does the same, leaving the ribbon in all its colours hanging between them.
"That was perfect!" Krow cries, punching the air.
"Are you ready to repeat it-" Oli pauses to count the crystals down the hallway, "-many more times?"
Krow has the same observation, sighing. "No rest for the wicked," it decides, leaping over to pick up the next one.
"So whereabouts in this garden is this holly supposed to be?" Shelby asks, holding her paws close to her arms. With the weather so cold already, she wonders if they even need a spell for snow. Jimmy seems unbothered, running along the pathway on all fours.
"It's through one of these hedges," he tells her, searching for the telltale mark of the right one. It should be around here, he just needs the marks of- there it is! He skids to a stop in the well-worn tracks of dirt, looking at the twigs twisted together around the branches of the hedge. Most of the leaves are brown now, but they're still doing their best to hold on. "Through this gap!"
Shelby follows behind him, coming out into an area of the garden she doesn't recognise. The hedge is tall and thick around them, so tall she imagines a human wouldn't be able to see in. In the hedge, she can see a door without a handle nearly overgrown with branches. Jimmy wastes no time admiring the scenery, leaping straight up onto a stone bench that's cracked in the corner. Sure enough, beside it is a holly bush. The sun overhead glints off the leaves brightly.
"Ta-da!" Jimmy calls, holding his arms out towards it.
"Well, who would've thought!" She hops over, using her claws to delicately snip loose a bunch near the ground. Jimmy, meanwhile, plucks a berry off and throws it straight into his mouth. She stares at him for a long time – enough for him to eat another berry, in fact. "You know what," she murmurs, pulling the leaves free, "this is not my problem."
"You've got some, perfect!" Jimmy climbs down from the bench, landing with a soft thud. "Now we've just got to somehow sneak it all the way back to the Wizard Tower!"
Shelby looks up at the tower, tucked away on the side of the castle. Its roof gleams in the sun, smoke puffing out of the chimney. The only windows are at the same height as the highest peak of the castle. She takes a deep breath, adjusting her grip on the holly. "When you put it that way, maybe this was a bad idea."
Jimmy turns to her, head tilting in confusion. "What do you mean? We'll do this no problem!"
He darts off towards the castle, leaving Shelby to follow, dragging her bunch of holly behind her. Jimmy only seems to notice she isn't keeping pace when he's through the gap and halfway down the path towards the servant's door. "Oh," Jimmy says, looking back at her. "Maybe it's a bit of a problem."
Shelby sighs, lugging the holly another few steps. "You think?"
"Wait, c'mere, I can figure this out." He crouches down beneath the holly. Shelby yelps when the weight suddenly lifts, Jimmy standing proudly with the holly upon his shoulder. "Alright! Let's go."
Shelby sighs, taking a moment to shield her face with her ears before nodding.
The two set off across the garden, finding a quick marching rhythm that works for them both. Jimmy sings nonsense to himself, and Shelby keeps an eye out for any humans that might be passing by. Lumbered as they are, it's not easy to dart behind things at short notice. Getting the holly through the hole in the door proves its own challenge. They end up yanking it so hard one of the berries flies off, and they end up in a little rat pile on the ground.
"It's through!" Jimmy calls, Shelby quickly waving her hands to shush him. The shadows of humans stretch out into the entrance hall, murmurings of conversation creeping through the door. Jimmy nods, picking up his end of the holly and helping them both scurry through. They only have to pretend to be a plant once, waiting for a hurried human to pass them by. Once that's safely done, they scurry through to the door leading up to the tower.
It's propped open, making it easy enough to slip through it, only to come face to face with the stairs. Shelby stares at them whilst Jimmy tries to hype himself up.
"We can do this! No problem at all!"
"I wish I had your optimism," she replies.
By the time they're dragging the holly bunch onto the open book, the sun is setting outside. Shelby sighs, pushing her hair back from her face. Jimmy shakes his arms out, sending a few drops of red onto the pages.
"Oh, Jimmy!" Shelby jumps forward, holding his arm out. "You're bleeding, why didn't you say anything?" She looks around the room for anything that could bandage up Jimmy's arms.
Jimmy stares at the cuts. "Uhhhh, I didn't notice?" The bleeding has come as a genuine surprise to him too. He guesses that he noticed the holly leaves were prickling him a bit, but he didn't think it was bad enough to cut.
Shelby jumps onto the shelves, shoving things around in her hunt.
They both swing around as the door slams open – tails standing straight up and fur puffing out.
"Jimmy, run!" Shelby calls, leaping from the shelf and darting through the door. Jimmy sprints forward, jumping from the edge of the desk, only to find hands catching him midair, bringing him up until he's level with bright blue eyes.
"Oh, you poor thing," the man says, his hair matching the icy blue of his eyes. He shuffles Jimmy into one hand, who lies there kinda stunned. The wizard searches through the study with his other hand, wearing robes such a deep blue they look black in the sunset, edged with a lighter trim. "When they mentioned rats in the castle, I didn't think they'd look this cute." Jimmy's gently flopped onto his back, the wizard sitting at his desk as he dabs a cloth over Jimmy's cuts. "How'd you manage this? Got into a rat fight or whatever you rats do?"
Jimmy twists around, pointing his nose towards the holly still sitting on the open pages of the spellbook. The wizard glances over the top of him, cloth stilling for a moment.
"When did that get there?" he asks. "Did somebody drop it off during the day…"
Jimmy frowns, letting out a series of indignant squeaks he knows the human won't understand at all. But they worked hard for that holly, he's not letting some stupid human take credit for it!
"Did you bring that holly up here?" the wizard says, holding Jimmy up a little higher. Those blue eyes are squinted at him curiously. Jimmy sticks his ears out, trying to look as proud as he can. But the wizard just sighs, continuing to swab along Jimmy's shoulder. "Maybe Zed is right. I am going insane in this tower."
Jimmy huffs. He sits patiently, not trying to struggle as the human cleans him up. He even uncorks one of the bright pink potions sitting on the top shelves, dipping the cloth into it and swiping that across the worst of his cuts.
"Jimmy, what are you doing?!" Jimmy wiggles around, finding Shelby pressed up against the doorframe. He waves his arms, which gets a soft scolding from the wizard.
"He's holding me, Shelby, what do you want me to do?!"
"Leave!"
"How am I supposed to do that?!"
"Why are you suddenly being so vocal?" the wizard asks, glancing over at the door. Shelby squeaks, trying to dart back around. But the wizard holds the cloth up passively. "Hey, it's alright. I'm nearly done with your friend here." He gently presses the cloth under Jimmy's chin, then puts it down and stands. Jimmy wiggles his legs as the human crouches, lowering Jimmy to the ground. Shelby runs up to him, checking him over. "Okay, both of you get going now. There's too much magicificating in this room, it's not safe for two little rats."
"Don't need to tell us twice," Shelby murmurs, grabbing Jimmy's hand. The two run around the door, hearing it click shut behind them.
"Scott?" El calls, waving for the farmer across the attic. It's growing late, the stars shining through the holes to outside.
Scott looks up, knelt in the dirt. He stands, trying to brush the worst of it from his fur. "Eloise," he says, smiling at her as she approaches. "What can I do for you at this hour?"
El looks around the attic with flattened ears, clearly distracted. "I was wondering if you'd be able to identify some flowers for me," she asks. "We found this old, wooden box and I want to repaint it, but I can't tell what they are. I don't want to ruin the original artist's vision, of course, so I was hoping you might recognise them."
"Well, you've come to the right rat.” He straightens up, ears standing proudly. "Lead the way. I'll take a look."
El nods, guiding him to one of the gaps between the floorboards.
The box is a decent run away. They only pass one human, a knight that seems far too tired to be on duty. They're easily avoided with a quick duck behind a dresser in the hallway. The glow of carefully placed crystals lights their way down until they reach the little storage room just off the side of the library. El knows it's been used to store important items before, which is why she was so surprised to find the wooden box discarded here, broken.
"Here it is," she says, leading Scott around the crate. The box sits mostly untouched, though it looks like Owen's been cleaning the metal parts for it. El knows better than to touch those, it's far above her paygrade. She instead undoes the latch, letting the box open and revealing the wooden flowers inside.
Scott makes a soft noise of appreciation, standing on his toes to see inside the box easier. "This is very fancy," he comments.
"That's why we're trying to fix it," El replies. "It looks sad, left here all alone." She leans forward, reaching into the box. She manages to grab the chain of the necklace, pulling it up so Scott can see the charm. "There's this too. I think it's the same flower."
Scott hums, nodding. He looks between the wood and the golden charm, his nose scrunched.
"I think it's a sunflower," he tells her, as a final deduction. "You can see the long petals, and the paint looks like it might have been yellow. Sunflowers have long, yellow petals, kind of like the sun!" Scott beams at her as if proud of the comparison. El hums, considering where's best to get yellow paint. "I'll try and find a picture for you tomorrow. I know there has to be one in my books."
"Thank you, Scott. I appreciate that." It'll help her bring this artwork back to life perfectly. Just like it deserves. There is just one thing bothering her, though. "Are sunflowers a romantic flower?"
Scott turns to her, expression slightly surprised. "No. At least, I've never seen them used that way." His tail flicks across the wooden flooring in thought, sending a little cloud of dust into the air. "Do you think this was a gift to a lover?"
"No, no," El starts, before pausing. "I mean, it might be. I wasn't really thinking about the box though."
"Oh?" Scott replies. "What were you thinking about, then?" El worries her lip, ears pointed backwards.
"I was thinking about uh… a gift. For somebody I care about very much."
Scott raises an eyebrow. "In a not very platonic way?"
"No, I mean, in a platonic way as well." El waves off that thought quickly. "Just also in a not platonic way too."
"Right," Scott hums, nodding slowly. "Well, I'd say your best bet for that is the classic rose. Nice and red, easily recognisable."
El nods, staring at the box. "Yeah. I think I'll do that. Thank you, Scott."
"Anytime!" He gives a little salute. "Don't stay up too late."
El laughs. "No, I don't think I can start until tomorrow anyway. I'll find my paints tonight." She stretches out, her tail reaching as far as it can. "This will be the most artistic-looking box you've ever seen."
"Go, girl!" Scott encourages, clapping her back. "You show off your artistic genius."
"Hey."
Martyn spins around, nearly falling off his perch. Apo snickers, tail wrapping around his front. Martyn sighs, burying his face in his paws. "You sure know how to sneak up on a guy," he says.
"So, what was it you wanted me for?" Apo rocks on his feet, hooking his thumbs into his belt.
Martyn grins, his ears pointing towards Apo. "Yes, of course! Give me one second."
Martyn jumps backwards, diving into his pub. Apo pokes his head over the edge, listening to the clattering of Martyn as he rummages through his chests. He pulls himself up, throwing a sewing needle to Apo. "Come on! We're heading to the tailor's room."
"The tailor's room?" Apo asks, following Martyn as he darts down the stairs.
Martyn looks back towards him, nodding. "Yep! It'll be great." Then he squeaks, barrelling straight into Acho and knocking them both over.
"Oh my god, you guys." Apo jumps forward, pulling Martyn upright as he rubs his head.
"Ow," Acho mutters, staring at the ceiling.
Martyn holds a hand out, helping him to his feet. "Sorry, Acho. Wasn't looking where I was going."
Acho fixes his beret, looking at the pair. "Where are you two headed this time of night?" he asks.
"Martyn was leading me somewhere," Apo explains, looking pointedly at Martyn.
"We're heading to the tailor's room! I've got a mission for us." Martyn continues walking down the corridor, Acho and Apo following behind him.
"Oh?" Acho says, a question in his tone. Apo turns to him.
"I have no idea either."
"Brilliant."
Martyn peeks into the tailor's room, finding the room dark. Good, he has gone to sleep then. Martyn was slightly worried the man wasn't going to rest until the ball happened. He gestures for the other two to follow, jumping up to the table. Silken fabric lays across it, covered in tiny dots of different colours. A basket full of crystals sits next to it, and it's not hard to notice they match up to the colours marked on the fabric.
"Oh, this is beautiful," Apo says, rubbing the fabric between his fingers.
"Isn't it?" Martyn says, picking one of the crystals out of the basket. "So, what we need to do is sew these crystals onto the marked spots." Martyn smiles, hugging one of the crystals to his chest.
"And why do we need to do this?" Acho asks.
"The tailor sounded really stressed," Martyn explains, threading the needle with white thread. "And I thought this would be nice to help out."
Apo pulls his own needle from his back, holding it close. "I think it'll be fun," he says, holding the needle out so Martyn can thread it. Martyn smiles, carefully pulling the thread through. Acho watches them, then shrugs, climbing over to the basket.
"You guys sew," he tells them. "I'll bring over crystals."
"Teamwork!" Apo declares, taking the crystal Acho offers and finding an appropriate spot on the fabric. They check higher up, where some have already been sewn on, to make sure they're matching the direction and method. It doesn't take long for them to find a quiet rhythm, Acho carrying the crystals over for each of them, Martyn and Apo sewing them in place.
"I think it's time we pack up for the night," Martyn says, watching Acho yawn for the fifth consecutive time. Apo rubs his eyes. The fabric is coated with crystals, far more than were there when they started. "We've made good progress!"
"It's not finished though," Apo says, frowning.
"We can meet back here tomorrow night?" Acho suggests. "I'm sure this won't be finished by then."
Martyn leans back, stretching out with a yawn of his own. "Tomorrow night sounds good. We've still got many hundreds to go."
"Everybody! Wake up!" Tubrat's yells ring across the loft, waking several rats with disgruntled groans. "Wake up, sleepyheads! Up up up!"
Owen stumbles into El, the latter scowling with her hair down. Owen's goggles sit askew, yawning.
"I'm going to ring the bell," El murmurs, scrubbing her face.
"You're not going to ring the bell," Owen replies. "But it is very tempting."
"It's snowing!" Tubbo shouts, leaping across crates recklessly. He jumps onto a barrel, stomping on it. "It's snowing!"
"It's snowing?!" Bek cries, jumping to the window and sticking her head out. "Oh my god, it's snowing."
A few more rats emerge from their houses, some still in the lighter clothes they wear to sleep. Most of them are yawning. Will peers out the window with a smile on their face. Oli drags Martyn out of his pub, Martyn grumbling every step of the way. Jimmy is already sitting at the window, watching as the snow floats down.
Shelby runs up to him, jumping onto the ledge with a bright grin. "Jimmy! Jimmy, we did it!"
Jimmy leans down, lifting her into a hug. "We did!" He points outside, at the white landscape. "We did that!"
Shelby squeals, jumping up and down with her paws on his shoulders.
"You guys did what?" Krow asks, climbing to the other side of the ledge. Shelby and Jimmy freeze, both of their ears sticking out.
"Uhhh-"
"We may have helped a wizard do a spell to make it snow?" Shelby blurts.
"Shelby!" Jimmy cries.
"That sounds sick, actually. You guys did magic?" Krow leans forward, its ears pointing towards them.
"Well, we didn't really do it," Shelby admits. "We, uh, just collected holly for the spell."
"But he couldn't have done it without us!" Jimmy adds, puffing his chest out. Krow hums, standing back with its tail flicking in thought.
"I'm totally going to find those books later," Krow replies, mostly as an afterthought to itself. Jimmy and Shelby share a worried look.
"Maybe that's not a smart idea," Jimmy says.
"Yeah, those spells can be pretty dangerous," Shelby agrees.
"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Krow waves them off. "I'll see you guys later!" It jumps off the ledge, running across the attic before they can say anything else.
Shelby's hand is still held out, as she gently brings it back towards her chest. "You know, I think we just unleashed something terrible," she says, looking at Jimmy.
"I'm thinking it's not our problem anymore."
Across the attic, Oli pops up beside Will, sending the smaller rat jumping backwards.
"Oh, it's only you," Will sighs, a hand on their chest.
Oli squeaks, crossing his arms. "Only me? I'll have you know that I'm-"
"Are you setting up decorations again later?" Will interrupts, pulling their tail around to hold. "I saw you and Krow doing it yesterday and it looked really fun! I want to join in."
"I say we can do that!" Oli declares, the slight against him entirely forgotten. "Are you planning to go out in the snow?"
"Mm, maybe," Will replies, leaning on the side of the window. "It's been a long time since I've seen snow."
"You should do it!" Oli encourages, squeezing their shoulder. "I bet most of the rats will be out there today, testing their skills. At, uh. Snow."
"It'll be a busy day," Will agrees.
The kitchen is silent. Not even breakfast service has started yet; the only human they've seen has been a servant lighting the fire. Oliver continues reading aloud the recipe book that was left on the table, Scott and Lizzie looking at the ingredients.
"They should add some more to that," Scott says.
Oliver hums, picking up the quill. "How much are you thinking?" they ask, drawing an arrow from the herb.
Scott hums, turning around to scurry up one of the shelves. The humans always keep the kitchen arranged in the same way, so it's not hard to find where the herb is stored. He eases up the lid, reaching in and eating a handful.
"I think two spoons," he calls. "That should be enough not to overshadow the flavour!" Oliver hums, nodding their head as they scribble the note down.
"Also, I think they should try dumplings with it," Lizzie suggests, looking at the drawn pictures of the stew. "They'd soak up the stew well!"
"Ooo, what dumplings do you think would go well with it?" Oliver hops to another recipe book, flicking through the pages. Lizzie tilts her head.
"I think the one with parsley in it," she says. "It's a big event, they deserve the fancy dumplings."
"Yes!" Oliver agrees, checking the page number. They hop back over, adding another note, "Cooking staples, page forty-six - dumpling recipe." Scott skids back to them, looking at the piece of paper tacked up on the bulletin board. It lists all the decided meals – of which they’ve currently discussed all but one. Oliver steps back, a frown making its way onto their lips as they read the final line.
"They still haven’t decided on the main dessert yet," they tell the others, disappointment in their voice. "How are we supposed to try it if they’ve not even chosen one!"
"That’s sad," Scott agrees. Lizzie, instead of moping, climbs to the bookshelf and grabs the top of a familiar pink book. The weight of her and the book combined causes it to tip, and she barely jumps away before the book lands on top of her, pages falling open. She stands back, taking in Oliver and Scott’s shocked faces proudly.
"Or," she says, "we decide on a dessert ourselves!" Scott tilts his head, running to the side of the book whilst Oliver and Lizzie push the pages to the front. "How long do you think we have until anybody wakes up?"
"An hour, at the most," Scott replies.
Lizzie nods, determined. She looks down the list of recipes until she sees letters she vaguely recognises. "I want this one," she tells Oliver.
They nod, murmuring, "Page twenty-two…" as they flick through the pages. Scott watches curiously, less familiar with baking. He didn’t take to it as much as he did cooking – he prefers the flexibility of being able to adjust everything to people’s tastes. Being creative is part of the fun! Baking has always felt too strict for him, and besides, nobody can be as good at it as Lizzie is.
Lizzie squeaks in delight upon seeing the pages revealed. "Yes, this is the one!" She looks at Oliver, gesturing for them to pick up the quill. "This is one of my favourite recipes, and with some modifications, I think it will be perfect for this ball."
"Cupcakes?" Oliver comments, nodding their approval. "Suits you."
They take the quill and start writing.
Apo totally didn’t make a point to pass by the tailor’s room on purpose. Their claws still hurt a little from the repetitive movement of the sewing, but it’s that satisfying kind of pain. The sign of hard work done well. And the dress had looked beautiful when he left it last night – the fabric glistening, each crystal catching the light just perfectly. He can only imagine how it’s going to look in the ballroom, with all the crystals and movement…
"I don’t understand it," the tailor exclaims. Apo presses himself by the side of the door to listen in. "There weren’t nearly this many crystals when I left it last night. I know I finished up late, but I didn’t think I was going this crazy!"
"What was it you said?" another voice replies. "That you wouldn’t even question it if a bunch of crystals appeared overnight?"
"I mean, yes. But I didn’t expect it to actually happen! Mumbo, I might be able to finish this dress without pulling an all-nighter. This is- this is so strange."
Apo smiles, skipping away to join the other rats outside.
"Don’t think you’ll escape that easily!" El calls, patting down the snow in her paws into a solid ball.
Scott laughs, sprinting between walls of snow. The snowball flies over his head, prompting a louder laugh from him. He reaches over to gather his own ammunition and is just about to pop his head up when an avalanche of snow falls on top of him, soaking him straight through his fur. He squeaks, leaping up and tackling El into the snow instead. She laughs, tussling with Scott through the crisp ground.
"So, what you do," Oliver explains, lying back in the snow, "is you lie down and stretch out your arms and legs as far as you possibly can." They mimic their instructions, reaching out the very tip of their claws. "Then you wave them back and forth in the snow…" They leap up, spinning around to reveal the wide, rat-shaped imprint in the snow. "And you have a snow rat!"
Shelby gasps, leaning over it on her tiptoes. "That’s so cool!" she exclaims.
"I learnt it from some of the kids in the castle," Oliver explained. "I think they call them snow angels. But, of course, we aren’t angels. We’re rats. So I thought the name was more appropriate."
Shelby squeaks, flopping into the snow next to Oliver’s imprint, quick to copy their movements. She jumps up with so much excitement that she nearly falls back into the snow, pointing at the phantom rat left behind."Look! That’s so cool! I did that!"
Oliver claps, tail whipping back and forth. "You did!" they praise. "And it’s far neater than, uh, whatever Scott and Eloise have created." The pair have finally stopped wrestling, curling up laughing in the snow. Their trail can be followed through the disturbed snow, kicked up by flailing limbs and scooping paws.
"Acho," Tubbo says, crossing his arms as he lands on the bench beside him.
Acho turns to him, twitching an ear dismissively. "What?"
"What?" Tubbo repeats, pacing a few steps away from him. "What is the point of you coming out in the snow if you’re just gonna sit up here and be all prissy about it!"
"I am not being prissy!” Acho replies, scowling at him.
"You start wailing if anybody dares aim a snowball at you!" Tubbo protests. "What was the point in coming out if you won’t do anything? You might as well have just stayed inside where it’s boring."
Acho huffs, fingers skimming the buttons of his waistcoat. "I’m just… working my way up to it," he argues.
"Come build a snowrat with me."
"What?"
Tubbo stands his ground, "Come build a snowrat with me. Right now. Come on." Tubbo grabs Acho’s arm, dragging him onto his feet.
"I don’t think-" With Tubbo’s full strength behind him, he shoves Acho straight off the bench. Acho squeaks, barely managing to steady himself enough not to fall straight into the snow. "Tubrat!"
Tubbo lands next to him, brushing his paws off with a smug smile. "Come on. I’m gonna teach you how to make the best snowrat on this side of the castle."
"There isn’t anybody on the other side-"
"First!" Tubbo interrupts, picking up a bunch of snow. "You collect some snow and pack it together real tight." Acho watches inquisitively, picking up some snow himself. It's wet on his fur. Tubbo continues picking up the snow, patting onto the growing ball until it’s slightly larger than the snowballs the other rats are throwing at each other. "Then you gotta start rolling it."
"Rolling it?" Acho repeats.
Tubbo nods, placing the ball in the snow and starting to roll it along, patting it with each turn. "Yep! It’ll look a little silly right now, but wait until it gets bigger.” Tubbo says the word with so much reverence he could be talking about one of those rare, imported cheeses. "And make sure you keep patting it!" he adds as an afterthought. "You want that snow compact."
Acho follows Tubbo’s lead, rolling the snowball around the garden and leaving a trail in the snow. He’s meticulous in his order, making sure the snowball remains so compact that nothing falls off it. Tubbo is slightly more eccentric, beginning to run with his ball the moment it’s big enough.
"Are you making a snowrat?" Jimmy asks, in one of Acho’s closer passes to the group.
"Is it that obvious?" Acho replies. "Tubbo’s dragged me into it."
Jimmy nods, giving Acho a thumbs up. "As he should, it’s fun!" Jimmy jumps away, back into the growing snowball fight. "You’re doing great!"
Several minutes later, the snowball has grown so considerably in size that it’s becoming hard to push. Acho isn’t some strength demon like the other rats, and doesn’t try to be. He hears Tubbo gasp, the snow crunching as he approaches.
"Look how big this is!" Tubbo exclaims, running in circles around the giant ball of snow. It’s reaching Acho’s chest and, he’ll admit, he’s kind of proud of it. "Acho, you’re a rolling master, my guy! This will make an epic body."
"Is it big enough then?" Acho asks.
"Pshh, of course not!" Tubbo waves his paw. "Come on, get next to me. Let's get rolling." Acho looks at him, following Tubbo’s lead. They both just about fit behind the snowball, and with a bit of work from both of them, manage to get it rolling again.
As the ball gets bigger, so does the crowd of rats helping to push it along. Jimmy eagerly jumps in to help, so Scott naturally follows soon after, using his back to push one of the sides. Shelby and Oliver start rolling the head that Tubbo abandoned. It doesn’t take long until they’ve got a ball of snow nearly as tall as they are. They roll the body to a stop by the hedge, snow still falling softly to cover their tracks. Shelby and Oliver roll the head next to it, letting out dramatic breaths simultaneously.
"Now we just need to get it up there," Scott says.
"How about you guys do that," Tubbo says. "Acho and I are going to go find some rocks for the face." Acho turns to Tubbo and, well. Guess that’s what he’s doing now. His nice suit pants are pretty much soaked through anyway. He’s going to have to put this whole outfit by one of the lamps to dry it out tonight.
Tubbo leads them over to the path, digging through the snow until they can reach the gravel below.
"It’s not so bad, is it?" Tubbo asks, startling Acho from his focus.
"What?"
"Getting a bit messy to have fun with your friends." Tubbo grins at him like he’s gifting Acho with a sacred truth. "It’s no fun being all uptight and proper if it means you’re moping all by yourself."
Acho stands still for a moment, looking back at the group as four sets of paws try to roll the head onto the snowrat’s body. Whilst they were rolling that together, he forgot all about his fancy clothes and the damp cold. They were just laughing and having fun.
"Yeah," he agrees. "It’s been fun."
"Good." Tubbo holds up a few pieces of gravel, shoving them into Acho’s paws. "Now let’s go finish the job before they beat us to it."
El is on Oliver’s shoulders, trying to sculpt a nose onto the head when they return.
"Look, we got it up there!" Jimmy calls. "With no casualties at all."
"Right, you can call it that," Scott replies, still wringing his ears out.
"No casualties of importance," El throws in with a small smile. Scott’s ears turn out, his wet fur doing a hilarious attempt at puffing outwards.
Tubbo points upwards, elbowing Acho’s side. "Come on, put the eyes on!"
"Oh, do you want a lift?" Oliver asks, letting El slide down. Acho nods, climbing onto Oliver’s shoulders (with Jimmy urgently stabilising them.) He looks at the white face of the rat in front of him, judging the canvas carefully. Then finally, he sticks the eyes into two approximate places that aren’t quite perfect, twisting them in so they don’t budge. The rats cheer behind him, Oliver crouching down so he can climb off.
"Now it just needs a scarf!" Tubbo declares. "Just like Bek." A few of them snicker, Scott hiding behind his paw at the memory of the poor rat moaning about the chill.
"Where is Bek, by the way?" Scott asks. "I thought I’d see him out here having fun, especially if there’s fighting involved."
El sighs. "I sent him inside because he kept shivering," she explains. "I didn’t want him getting ill, you know? That wouldn’t be a very fun party."
"I’m sure he’s made his own fun," Scott replies, offering a comforting bump of the shoulder.
"I’m sure he has."
"Hey, Sniff!" Bek calls. Sniff pokes over the cabinet to see Bek waving a piece of paper at him. "Can you come read this for me?"
Sniff glances down the hallway, listening for any humans before he jumps onto the carpeted floor. He takes the paper from Bek's hands, placing it on the floor to read properly.
"Where did you even get this?" he asks, glancing up at Bek who's hovering over his shoulder.
"Oh, you know, around." She waves her hand dismissively. Sniff stares at her a little longer and Bek squeaks, shrinking down. "I took it off the king's door?"
"You what?!"
Bek hushes him. "It's fine, nobody's gonna notice, right?"
"You stole a note from the king!"
"Might as well read it then!"
Sniff makes a long noise of distress, burying his head in his paws. "We read it and then we return it," he decides.
Bek grins. "Sounds perfect to me!"
Sniff shakes his head. "Watch for any humans," he tells her, crouching down to read. Bek puffs herself up, putting her hands on her hips. Sniff takes a deep breath. "Your majesty, Scar."
"Oooo, that sounds a little upset."
"Your stupid- Wait, no, that's been crossed out. Your cat has stolen my moss cloak. You know, the one I was planning to wear to Winter Ball? That cloak. Return it. Now. Your honoured guest, Bdubs of the Crastle."
"We should find the cloak!" Bek declares.
Sniff turns to her. "We just agreed we were putting the note back!"
Bek leans close, holding her paws out. "Okay, okay, but hear me out," she starts, grinning like she's just heisted the pantry, "we return the cloak to Bdubs instead! It's perfect, right?"
Sniff makes a loud noise of disbelief, his cloak flying out around him. "From the cat?!"
"It'll be great! We'll be heroes!" Bek pumps her fist into the air. Then she leans closer, glancing around. "And El and Oliver will think we're totally cool," she whispers.
"Not if we die," Sniff cries.
Bek waves him off, grabbing the note and folding it up. She tucks it under her arm, resting her hands on her hips. "We'll be fine! Come on, let's go find that cat!" And without a further chance for argument, Bek is sprinting off down the hallway.
"Bek!" Sniff cries, running after her.
"So, what are we doing today?" Krow asks, watching Oli read the note. It's creased in numerous places after they pocketed it, not wanting one of the humans to pick it up again. You lose far too many things in this castle by doing that. Will is sitting on the floor, invited along by Oli and eager to help.
Oli hums, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Since we did the ribbons yesterday–" Sure enough, the shades of blue and white now run up and down the entire corridor in a simple pattern, "–it looks like it's flowers today."
"Flowers?" Will echoes. They look at the paper as if they'd know whether Oli read it wrong. Krow searches down the corridor, trying to figure out what that could mean by itself.
"Oh, in the ballroom!" Krow says, holding its hand out. "They had those bunches of flowers, like, tucked away in places? Maybe we need to do some of those? Put some flowers in the corners of pictures or in pots and stuff."
"I think that'd look pretty!" Will agrees.
Oli shrugs. "If it's wrong then it's their fault for letting the rats do the decor."
Krow hums its agreement, searching for the box of fake flowers and calling the others over when it finds it. They all lean in – though Will literally jumps in – and grab a bundle of flowers each, scattering to various places down the corridor.
It's a big space to cover. It's one of the main connecting corridors through the castle, a favourite for both rats and humans for getting around. Krow dumps a handful of flowers into an empty vase, whilst Will perches carefully on the top of a painting, wrapping the flower stems around the hook in the corner. Oli is wrapping them around the crystal lights; why change something that isn't broken? With the extra pair of hands, it's a lot easier to disperse the flowers around the hall until they have a noticeable effect as the rats make their way through it. The blues complement the colours of the ribbon, matching the snowy landscape seen through the windows.
The three meet up on the usual shelf. Krow searches through the box, hunting through the meagre remaining flowers.
"There's barely anything to even steal," it complains, grabbing a handful anyway.
"I'd like some," Will comments. "I think they're pretty."
"Will, c'mere," Krow waves them over, getting them to turn away from it. It bites the stem of the flower shorter, wrapping it around Will's headband. Will tries to look upwards, holding still as Krow works. "There. Perfect." Krow directs Will to a polished vase, letting them see their reflection. One of the blue flowers sits there, tucked perfectly behind their ear. Will coos, lightly stroking the petals with their claw.
"Wow, that's sappy," Oli comments, coming out of the box with an armful of flowers for himself. "Looks good though."
"Thank you!" Will and Krow call, pausing before they turn to each other and giggle.
"Consider it a thanks for helping us in our scheme," Krow tells them, patting their back.
Will smiles. "Thank you for letting me! I had fun."
"Good! Because we've got more work to do tomorrow."
Owen hums, his ear giving a content twitch as he hears another piece click into place. He and Tubbo have been hard at work polishing all the pieces, making sure no rust remains on them. He picks up another cog, smiling at his reflection in the metal. He told Tubbo to go out and play in the snow since the rat was so excited about it. He'd be bouncing so much it'd be hard to work with him here, anyway.
Owen swings the cog in so that it nestles perfectly between the wooden slats from the box above. He gives the cog a turn, watching a repainted sunflower gently bob back and forth. The music box demonstrates some impeccable craftsmanship, in both the woodwork and the mechanism. It seems like the turning of the music box also turns the sunflowers in the box, all powered by the winding of a key.
He and Tubbo spent a good amount of time tuning once they got the cylinder turning. Owen straightened up the planks, then left Tubbo to it as he got engrossed in gently adjusting each tiny pin that was out of place on the cylinder.
The two celebrated with El when they put it together, late in the night (not that either of them knew it then), and let the dainty notes play in the open air. It was a simple tune, something quiet and like a lullaby. Owen ended up carrying Tubbo back to the attic after he fell asleep curled around his own tail.
It’s that mechanism Owen now needs to slot back into the box. With some force, and after closing the lid, he manages to push the box onto its side. He brings over the debris he’s been using as a stool, peering into the hole and trying to remember where the pieces fit. His other worry is the weight of it. One drop and he could easily damage the delicate components. Owen sighs, lifting the edges to see how heavy it is. Yeah, this might be a problem.
"Owen!" Owen’s ears perk up at the sound of Scott’s voice bouncing off the walls.
"I’m in here!" he calls in reply, running over to the small hole hidden in the doorframe. Scott grins when he spots Owen, quickly squeezing through the hole. Owen looks at the darker blue of his fur, humming as he walks back to the music box.
"You been outside?" he asks, Scott following behind him.
Scott laughs, stroking one of his ears. "My, however, could you tell?" He shakes his fur back out, jumping over to where the music box sits. "We were all getting a bit cold, so we decided to warm up with some food. Which!" Scott pauses, reaching into his overall pocket and pulling out a small pot. "I brought some for you."
Owen takes it, removing the lid and watching steam float into the air. Soup. "Is it really lunchtime already?"
"Also because I had a feeling you wouldn’t’ve eaten yet," Scott teases. He jumps over to the music box whilst Owen drinks from the bowl, giving it an appreciative look over. "Eloise works fast, she only came to me about the flowers yesterday."
"She’s been working a lot on it," Owen explains, licking his mouth clean of soup. "Once I’ve fitted the mechanism in, she’ll be back to finish it all off."
Scott circles around to where the mechanism sits next to the empty compartment. He has to stand on his toes to see fully into it.
"And you were planning to put that in by yourself?" Scott questions. Owen sighs, already knowing what’s coming.
"I know, I know. It’s too heavy for one rat," he repeats Scott’s words back to him. It’s not his fault he sometimes underestimates the weight of what he’s making. It’s easy to get caught up in putting everything together!
"Well, isn’t it a good job you’ve got me here to help you out," Scott replies, flicking his tail with a cheeky smile. "Come on, you grab that end, I'll help you lift it in."
Owen drops the empty bowl on the floor, tucking his screwdriver and the loose screws under his arm. "Okay. Once it's in place I'll need you to hold it there whilst I screw everything down," Owen explains, crouching down and getting a grip on the corners.
Scott nods, listening to Owen's countdown as they both lift, turning the mechanism into the box. Owen makes sure everything slots in correctly, letting the mechanism rest on the side. Scott presses against it, making sure it's not going to just slip out whilst Owen twists the screws in either side. "And just the baseplate now-" Owen takes it from Scott without even looking, clicking the plate into place. It sits seamlessly against the box, creating a solid shell. Owen steps back, wiping his brow.
"You did it!" Scott calls, waving his hands up. Owen breathes out, nodding.
"I did it!" he agrees, turning to Scott with a smile.
"Come on, let's get it upright and see if it works." Scott runs to the other side, which is when Owen realises-
"We don't have the key."
"What?"
"We, uh, don't have the key."
"Huh." Scott's ears flatten, looking at the box sadly. "I guess we have to hope that whoever owns the box has it then."
"And that it works," Owen adds. Scott turns to him.
"Owen, you've worked on it. Of course, it will!" And, as much as Owen tries to look grumpy, he still finds himself smiling.
"If you say so, buddy."
El dips her brush into the pot of red paint, stroking it across the wooden sculpture she gnawed into shape herself. There’s already a layer of red on the petals, not as thick as she’d like. She needs to do at least two more layers, so it won’t chip the moment Bek gets a hold of it. She’s even made a base for the rose, so Bek can display it in her house!
It’s not a real rose, of course, but those are hard to come by with the colder weather. Plus, these roses don’t have any thorns to get pricked on! Maybe she can pick those off? No, that's in the future. Right now, she's painting.
"What are you doing over here?" Oliver asks, standing over El's shoulder at a polite distance. El leans back, looking up at them.
"Painting," El replies, resting the brush over the pot. "I was hoping to make something for Bek, you know? Just something cute for the winter ball."
"Ooo, that's so sweet!" Oliver leans over to look at the sculpture. "Is it a rose?"
"It is!" El holds it up by the stem. "I'm glad it's recognisable, I was kind of worried about it." It's always her fear whilst making these things. As well as believing it looks absolutely terrible despite everyone saying otherwise. She's working on it. Slowly.
"It's really cute," Oliver tells her, smiling. "Maybe I should get something like that for Sniff, I think he'd like it."
El smiles back at her. "No, I think you being there is enough."
"Awww!" Oliver tilts their head, clasping their hands in front of them. "I wonder where Bek and Sniff are. I feel like I haven't seen them for ages."
"Yeah," El frowns, thinking about when she last saw Bek. "I'm sure they're off having fun!"
"This is a terrible idea," Sniff repeats, for what must be the fifteenth time. Bek continues not to listen, crawling along the ground silently. Her tail flicks as she slinks about and sniffs the air. Sniff is simply walking along behind her, watching for any humans nearby. "What's even the plan once we find the cat? What if she doesn't even have the cloak!"
"It'll be fine." Bek turns just enough to acknowledge Sniff's concerns, and then continues sniffing the air. "It's nearly night-time now, anyway. The cat will be asleep!"
Sniff makes a loud noise of distress. "Bek, cats are nocturnal!"
Bek pauses, looking at Sniff with a tilted head. "What does that mean?"
"Bek!" Sniff buries his face in his paws, letting out a muffled yell. He takes a deep breath, straightening up and smiling idyllically. "Nope, this is going to go great. Don't worry about it. We're going to find this cloak and we'll be heroes."
"Exactly!" Bek grins, giving the air another sniff to figure out where they're going.
They've ended up in the more residential part of the castle, full of sitting rooms and bedrooms and often, unfortunately, people. It's an area most rats avoid unless they're searching for something specific. Which is exactly what they're doing.
"Bek!" Sniff grabs Bek's arm, dragging them both underneath one of the low chairs. He watches a pair of feet walk past, oblivious to the rats hidden from their line of sight. Sniff swings around the chair leg, making sure the human is well gone before they slink out together. "You need to be more careful!" Sniff whispers. "We won't find any cats if the humans catch us first!"
"I'm plenty careful!"
"You nearly got caught!"
"Psssh!" Bek sniffs along the floor, heading further down the corridor. There are several doors, mostly closed. One or two are propped open, and if Sniff weren't so nervous, and Bek so focused, they'd head inside to snoop.
Bek's tail wags as the scent grows stronger, starting to sniff along the gaps under doors. Her ears point forward as she reaches a door, grinning.
"Behind this room!" she declares, looking up at it. Sniff blinks.
"You mean the king's room?" he asks.
Bek tilts her head, mouth opening wide. "Ohhh. Oh, that makes sense, doesn't it?"
Sniff sighs, but shakes his head, getting a grip on the doorframe. He pulls himself up far enough to leap onto the table. "Come on, let's get in!" Bek nods, following Sniff up the doorframe.
There's a hole, just big enough for rats to wiggle through at the top of the ceiling. Sniff manages to duck through with ease, turning around to help pull Bek through afterwards. Bek shakes her fur off, sliding out far enough to peer in the bedroom.
There are no humans, thankfully. But across the room, a familiar white and grey cat is lounging in her bed, a noticeably green piece of fabric draped across it.
"That'll be the cloak," Bek whispers, leaning close to Sniff. Sniff nods, his ears pointed towards the cat. The cat doesn't often leave this area of the castle – probably because it's warmest here. They all know to watch out for her when they're in here, though. She's not exactly a malicious cat, but rats seem to make fun playthings in her eyes.
"How are we going to get it?" Sniff muses, crouching lower to the doorframe to map out a potential route. Bek squints.
"If I distract our kitty cat friend, do you think you could get to the door?" Bek suggests, tracing the route with her finger.
Sniff follows it along. "And what do we do then? The door isn't open."
"I can leap up and pull the door open! The cat will still be focused on me, so you'll be able to get through, and I can escape through the top!"
"Right." Sniff takes a deep breath. "Let's go."
Bek jumps down first, slinking up to the cat with her tail stuck up behind her. The cat opens one of her eyes, the green peering at Bek lazily.
"Hey, kitty kitty," Bek calls. "Look, I'm a fun little rat! You totally want to play with me!" The cat's eyes open fully, her back smoothly stretching as she stands, resting on her back paws. "Yes, that's it! Come on-" The cat leaps forward, Bek screaming as she stumbles back, barely managing to get her claws under her in time to run away. "Go, Sniff, go!"
Sniff leaps down, gathering as much of the cloak as he can in his paws as he carries it towards the door. The cat leaps onto the dresser after Bek, clattering through several ornaments as Bek screams, launching towards a bedpost.
"Jellie? What's going on in there?" The king's voice calls from outside.
"Bek, get to the door!" Sniff yells, dragging his bundle of cloak towards it. Bek shouts incoherently, landing on the end table. It's barely half a second until the cat lands after her, knocking straight into a vase of flowers. They fall with a loud crash, water flowing in a wave onto the floor. Bek squeaks, scrambling towards Sniff and grabbing an armful of the cloak. The door swings open, and the king practically steps over them to pick the cat up.
"Oh, Jellie, what have you done?" the king says, sighing. Bek and Sniff frantically squeak, carrying the cloak through the door around the king's feet. They continue sprinting down the corridor blindly, not stopping until they reach the stairs and Bek falls straight down the first step.
"We did it!" Bek cries, picking herself up from the stair. Sniff keeps throwing the cloak aside until he can finally push it off his head, breathing out deeply. The adrenaline is still running through them both, the cloak sprawled out on the floor.
"Now we just need to return it," Sniff says, slumping against the wall. Bek looks down the corridor towards the guest room and groans.
The morning brings the trundle of carriage wheels loud enough to be heard from the attic. Martyn, Apo and Acho are still sound asleep, dreaming of crystals on glimmering fabric. But a few of the other rats are up and about, hopping around. Oli looks out the window, cooing at what he sees.
"Looks like we've got some guests arriving," he calls to nobody in particular.
Some of the other rats do hear it, Will heading over to peek out too. "Oh, that's a lot of carriages."
Owen climbs up alongside them, his ears sticking up in surprise. "Guests must be arriving early for the ball," he says. "It's going to be a busy day." Owen hops back down, disappearing across the attic.
"He's in a hurry," Oli comments, watching him go. Will laughs, turning back to Oli.
"I have an idea," they start, weaving their fingers together, "for later. Do you… do you think Krow would join us?"
Oli leans down, waving Will closer. "Bring it in, bring it in. What are you planning?"
Owen knocks on El's door. He's beginning to create rhythms by the time El opens it, staring daggers at Owen. Owen just grins, giving her a friendly wave.
"Hi, Eloise," he greets. "How do you feel about helping me deliver the music box to Pearl’s door later?"
"Why, Owen, I’d sure love to!" she replies in the same chipper tone. "Now get the hell out of my house and let me go back to bed."
Owen laughs, ducking quickly away before she can throw something at him. "Heard loud and clear!" he calls.
Shelby lies on her stomach, watching the carriages rolling up to the castle’s gates. The sun is steadily rising in the horizon, it’ll only be a little while until it’s shining directly into their attic space. She always thinks the world looks pretty outside those thick castle walls. The magic school didn’t have as much greenery as here.
"Shelby!" Scott calls, flopping onto his belly beside her. He gasps, rolling over to get some air. "Ow, don’t do that, actually." Shelby giggles, turning to look at him. They lie side by side on the carpeted spot.
"How can I help you on this fine morning, farmer rat?" she asks.
"It’s not now," Scott tells her, "but later."
"Ooooo." She leans in close.
"I was thinking, because obviously, we’re all going to go watch the ball-"
"Obviously," she agrees.
"-that we get a team together, and sneak down to the kitchen to take some food. We can have our own feast whilst all the humans do!" Scott looks so excited about the idea that it’s infectious.
Shelby gasps, clapping her hands together. "That sounds perfect!" she replies. "I will be there in a heartbeat, you just let me know."
Scott nods, "And anyone else you think will be interested. I was thinking of asking Lizzie…"
"Will do, farm boy!" She giggles. "Oh, this is so exciting."
"It’s going to be an exciting day."
"Up we come," Krow says, pulling Will onto the small platform. It’s a little area, tucked away behind the carved stone towards the ceiling of the ballroom. It’s always been one of Krow’s favourites for people watching – also people thieving, but that part’s less important right now. What the other rats don’t know can’t hurt them.
"Oh, you can see the tree so well from up here!" Will exclaims, kneeling at the edge of the stone
"And that grand entrance they all like coming through," Oli adds, dropping a misshapen potato sack inside the alcove. It can comfortably fit the rats of the storage attic, with enough room to allocate a dancefloor of their own and set up some places to sit and chill around the edges. It’s the perfect space to spend tonight.
Krow digs through the sack, beginning to throw decorations out from it. Nothing too big – it wants to keep some of its loot, after all – but enough to brighten the otherwise dreary stone room. Will smiles, picking up some flowers that match the one in their hair and running with them to the corner of the room. Oli gnaws some spots across the walls to hang things on, and he and Krow start setting up ribbons and wreaths throughout the room. Oli sings for them as they work, in his proper singing voice, once the other two have been sworn to secrecy about the fact he can actually sing.
"When did you learn to sing like that?" Will asks, tucking a flower onto one of the hooks.
Oli stumbles through his words for a few seconds, trying and subsequently failing to come up with some fantastical tale. "I, uh, got tired of where I was living at," he quietly admits, "and one day this band of travellers came through. They were performing bards, and they did this big show in one of the assemblies. And I thought, you know, I want to do that. So I hitched a ride with ‘em!"
"That’s so cool!" Will tells him. "Did you get to see many places?"
"Lots of ‘em!" Oli replies. "They played at pubs, at fancy houses, public squares. There was never a dull moment." Will gasps, ears tilted towards Oli. They’ve completely stopped any decorating they were doing. Even Krow has, though it’s a little more discreet about it.
"So…" Will says, glancing down. "Why did you stay here?"
Oli swallows, squeezing the ribbon in his hands, "There was something here that was too important for me to leave behind." He turns to them, putting on a smile more typical of his usual behaviour, "And, you guys are cool too, I guess."
"I’ll put that up on my board of accomplishments," Krow replies, turning back to the knot it was tying. "Called cool by the rat that eats garbage."
"Hey now!" Oli says. "I’ll have you know eating garbage is a very respectful position in life." Will snickers, stroking the flower in their hair. They go back to decorating in silence for a few minutes, until Oli quietly asks, "You guys won’t tell all the other rats that, right?"
"Why not?" Will tilts their head.
"I don’t know," Oli says, with a big sigh. "I guess I’m just not ready for them all to know."
"Well, your secret’s safe with us!"
"I don’t know, how much could I get for it?"
"Krow!" Will cries.
Krow puts its ribbon-filled hands up, crying, "Joking, I’m joking!" Oli laughs, and the other two are quick to join in with their own giggles.
"Less tragic backstories," Oli declares, "let’s make this the coolest ballroom those rats have ever seen!"
"Yeah!"
"Why did we decide to do this bit?" Tubbo complains, slouching as the others circle the music box.
"Because," Owen says, with the voice of a parent that’s repeated something one too many times. "It’s the polite thing to do."
Tubbo groans, "But we put all this work in and we’re not even going to keep it?"
"Tubbo," El calls, pointing to Bek to tell her where to hold. "Stop being selfish. We’re doing a good deed."
Tubbo slouches so low he ends up falling backwards, flopping on the floor instead. "But I want to be selfish!"
Bek lightly kicks him on her way past. "On your feet, come get your corner." Tubbo makes another valiant groan, but rolls back onto his front, lumbering over and grabbing his corner of the music box.
Owen checks around each side, making sure everyone is in the right position before returning to his. "Okay, everyone. On three," he instructs, getting his hands under the wood. "Three, two one, lift!" With the combined strength of all four rats, the box lifts off the ground, held neatly in the air. Bek lets out a whoop, whilst Owen twists his neck around to check where they’re going. "Time to back up, guys."
Moving, it turns out, is a little harder. They end up taking frequent breaks in their adventure through the corridors, Tubbo skipping ahead to check there are no humans waiting just out of sight. Once or twice they have to drag the box under a table or chair with lots of hushed squeaking until the humans pass them by. Then they jump back into position, heaving the box up and continuing their way down the corridors.
Pearl’s door is in the servant’s quarters, somewhere the rats are a little more familiar with. Navigating the area is a challenge, with humans passing back and forth constantly. They end up switching to El, Bek and Owen carrying the music box, whilst Tubbo scouts ahead and signals when it’s clear for them to move.
It’s probably a miracle they make it to Pearl’s door unharmed.
They drop the box outside, looking up towards the door with a wooden crescent moon hanging from it. The crescent is painted, and El wonders, looking at it, if the brushstrokes would match the same ones she’s become so intimately familiar with on the music box.
"So, uh," Bek says. "What do we do now."
El groans, slapping her forehead with a paw, " I didn’t even think to bring some paper! We could’ve left a note!"
"What do we do with it?" Owen says. "It doesn’t feel right just leaving it out here." He looks around, at the well-trodden carpets in this area.
"Ugh, whatever, you guys." Tubbo leaps onto the side table by the door, arching his back.
"Tubbo-?" El calls. With a surge of power, Tubbo launches himself towards the door, grabbing the handle with so much weight it drops just enough to hear a click. The door swings open, a crack of yellow light filtering between the crack. Tubbo drops to the ground. "What did you do?!" El grabs Tubbo’s arm, dragging him underneath the table.
"Solved our problem!"
"How does this solve-" The door swings open, all the rats falling silent as Pearl’s figure blocks out the light from inside the room. She looks left and right, frowning when she sees nobody there. Tubbo reaches into his pockets, and with all his might, throws a small piece of gravel at the box. El waves her paws at him as the gravel makes a soft whack off the box. But Pearl looks down, soft waves of brown hair nearly touching the floor as she picks the box up.
"What’s this doing out here?" She asks the empty air, once again glancing for whoever left it. She slips her fingernail under the clasp, swinging the box open. The repainted sunflowers stand tall, folded note and necklace sitting pristine in the small compartment. "Oh." this time, her voice is a lot smaller.
With that, the door closes again. The rats hold their breath.
"Do you guys think that’s a job done?" Owen asks. They nod.
Apo leaps into the tailor’s room, squeaking in shock. Martyn and Acho are quick to run up behind him.
"What, what is it?" Martyn asks.
"The dress is gone!"
Sure enough, the central table is void of the shimmering fabric they’ve all grown so used to these last few nights. It's a strange sight to not see it catching the light, drawing all the attention in the room. The rats split up to search for it, but come up empty. The mannequin is undressed, and the dress isn’t folded in one of the bundles by the door. It’s completely vanished.
"Maybe it was a bad idea to come back," Apo says. "I mean. We’ve been visiting here almost every night now. What if the tailor’s caught onto us?"
"No, guys, up here!" Acho waves them onto the table, and the pair are quick to leap onto the wood. Even the basket containing the crystals is gone, possibly emptied and slotted back neatly on the shelves. Instead, in the centre of the table sits a package wrapped in brown paper, with a paper note pinned to it reading, To My Secret Helpers. The three surround it carefully, Martyn reaching out and poking it with the knife from his belt.
"Do you think it’s for us?" He asks, unwilling to take his eyes off the parcel completely.
Acho reaches for the note, carefully unpinning it from the parcel whilst Apo squeaks and hisses, "It could be a trap!"
"I’m sure they could come up with a cleverer trap than this," Acho replies, folding the note open, and laying it on the table for the others to gather around. It looks like it was written in a hurry, with a blot of ink in one corner and a few words scribbled out.
"To my secret helpers," Martyn reads, using his tail to guide him through the words. "Yes, I know somebody’s been coming into my room and working on this dress every night. You aren’t as slick as you thought you were, are you?"
"See, he’s after us," Apo whispers. Acho hushes him, leaning towards the note.
Martyn continues, "I don’t think of myself as superstitious. There’s usually a logical explanation behind things if you bother to go looking, but I need this dress to be finished in less than four hours, so that’s something I don’t have time to do. What I do know is that I would have had no chance of finishing this dress if it weren’t for your help. Because of that, I've prepared a small parcel for you. If you are the same creature that seems to steal fabric from here, I hope it keeps you happy for a while."
"Open it, open it!" Acho calls, the moment it’s evident Martyn has finished reading.
"Okay, you can open it yourself too, ya know?" Despite his words, Martyn joins Acho in tearing open the parcel, leaving the paper to fall down in large strips onto the wood.
Inside are three stacks of neatly folded fabric, of varying colours, patterns and materials. Apo gasps, all of his fear vanishing at the sight as he leaps forward to look through the stacks. Martyn gently shuffles through them, whilst Acho circles around the table, only looking at a few of the interesting colours. Each square is big enough to make numerous outfits from, never mind accessories or decorations.
"We’ve got to get these up to the attic," Martyn says, heaving a few of the stacks towards the edge of the table. "Between the three of us, we should be able to get it up there pretty quick."
"Wait," Apo calls, holding up a paw. "Before we do, can we write thank you? On the note?" Acho and Martyn share a look, smiling.
"That sounds perfect."
"Alright, team!" Scott stands with his hands on his hips, addressing the collection of rats in front of him. Oliver and Lizzie are stood together, whispering. Sniff stands politely, hands behind his back, Jimmy beside him, whilst Shelby is next to Scott. "Right now, down in the kitchen, the chefs are preparing lots of food for the ball tonight. And, let’s be real here, they’re not going to notice if we steal some."
"Will said that they’ve set up a little area we can watch the ball from!" Shelby continues. "Once we get the food out of the kitchen, they can lead us up there!"
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Jimmy replies, his tail swishing in excitement.
"Are we trying to get any specific foods, or just anything we can find?" Oliver asks, tilting their head.
"Absolutely anything you like the look of," Shelby replies.
"Though try and get a bit of a variety," Scott adds. "We don’t want somebody to be left out because they can’t eat something. Or that we end up with like, only cake. As appealing as I’m sure that idea sounds to some of us."
Lizzie leans her head closer to Oliver’s, whispering, "There goes my afternoon plan." The pair giggle, quickly snapping back to attention when Scott coughs, giving them a not-very-discreet look.
"If any of us get caught, we’ll help you out," Scott finishes explaining. "Family over food. No point grabbing it if we can’t eat it with each other, is there?"
"I mean, it would mean more for-"
"Shelby," Scott interrupts, sighing. "Just- don’t leave anyone behind. Meet up on the stairs to the balcony level once you've grabbed whatever you can."
"You’ve got it, boss!" Sniff salutes.
With that, they all split off, taking various routes down from the attic. It’s the best strategy, after all. If they all enter from the same place, they’re far more likely to get spotted. Spreading out like this makes them harder to detect, and harder to catch! Oliver runs alongside Lizzie, pausing to fix the leaf on their head before catching up. Lizzie slows down a smidge, waiting until she can see Oliver’s paws running alongside hers.
"Do you think I’m underdressed?" Oliver asks. Lizzie turns to them, trying to figure out where that’s come from.
"Why would you think that?" She asks, nudging her head to lead them into one of the passageways. They keep travelling as they talk, careful to avoid any loose stones.
"I mean, like. You’ve got that super cute dress on. Sniff has that really pretty cloak, and I love El’s top! Sometimes I can’t help but feel maybe I’m not... Fitting in right?"
"Absolutely not!" Lizzie replies, jumping down alongside the pipe and waiting for Oliver at the bottom. "You’ve got all that cute jewellery, for one. That’s always made me jealous."
"Oh, thank you!" Oliver replies. "You can always borrow it if you want."
"And, two, you fit in by not fitting in!" Lizzie smiles. "If we all looked the same the attic would get very boring. We’d be like all those other monotone rats, doing nothing but chew walls all day. You’ve got to embrace what makes you unique! That’s what makes people love you, after all."
"Huh," Oliver says. They push open the flap, poking their head into the kitchen.
Scott was right, it is busy. People are rushing back and forth, waiters carrying plates stacked upon plates stacked upon plates. It seems like there isn’t a single surface which is clear of food preparation, china, or prepared dishes waiting to be loaded onto a cart. Below them, somebody is chopping greens on a board, and across from them is-
"The cupcakes!" Lizzie whispers, pointing at where a chef is diligently piping swirls of icy blue frosting onto the cupcakes one by one. "Oh, we need to go get one."
"Do you think we can manage it?" Oliver asks. "They’re pretty big."
Lizzie nods, determined. "Between us? We can totally do it."
They skirt in silence around the kitchen, leaping from shelf to shelf. They stick up high, shielded from most people’s eye-lines. The majority are looking down anyway – at whatever food on the counter needs their attention. It doesn’t take long until they’re on the same unit as the cupcakes, sitting in their neat rows on the counter. The pair of rats slowly lower from one shelf to the next, until they’re on the shiny wooden surface, and the cupcakes are sitting just there.
"Okay," Oliver whispers, "the next time they turn around to fill their piping bag, we grab the one on the corner there." Oliver points at a cupcake sitting close to them, already adorned with icing and sprinkles that glitter like snowflakes, Lizzie nods, lying close to the counter in wait, feeling the cool wood against her skin in the otherwise stifling humidity of the kitchen.
It takes several minutes of patient waiting, but the moment the baker is turning towards the bucket of icing, they pounce. Lizzie grabs one side of the cupcake and Oliver grabs the other, pulling it behind a few ceramic jars. Lizzie points to one of the holes, hidden up on top of the cabinet, and Oliver nods. Jumping onto the next shelf, Oliver reaches down, taking the cupcake when Lizzie lifts it and then pulls it onto the next shelf. Shelf by shelf, they navigate the cupcake upwards, until they reach the top, and they’re able to safely carry it into the rat-sized passageway.
"What did I tell you?" Lizzie says, turning around to give Oliver a big smile.
"Yeah, yeah. I should’ve known better than to doubt us."
"Exactly!" Lizzie says, smiling. "Because now the real challenge is stopping either of us from eating this before we get upstairs."
Oliver looks at the cupcake, at the perfect ridges of the icing, the delicate flakes of sprinkles.
"Oh no," they murmur.
"Have we got everyone yet?" Owen asks, looking at the crowd of gathered rats. They don't make it easy to tell, considering how many of them have climbed onto the walls or furniture. But, nobody's calling out a rat that's missing, so it'll have to be good enough. There's already a buzz of conversation creeping up the staircase, guests gathering in the ballroom and beginning to mingle. More distracting is the smell of food that's permeating the entire castle, but at least that blow is lessened by the stash various rats are carrying. "Alright, lead the way, you three."
Will preens, looking to Oli and Krow to lead the way. "It's so cool," they say, "We put up-"
"Shhhh!" Krow leans down, shushing them. "Don't give it away!"
"Oh!" Will giggles. "Whoops."
Will darts ahead, snooping around each corner whilst the rats follow behind. There are a few times they frantically wave the group back, and the rats attempt to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. An interesting venture when half of them are holding food nearly as big as they are, but one that's thankfully managed. The tunnel into the alcove needs to be taken single file, giggling echoing off the stone walls.
Upon leaving the tunnel, each rat is greeted by a miniature ballroom of their own. The stone space has been transformed by soft ribbons hanging from the walls, cut down to an appropriate size for the smaller space. Small wreaths (put together by Krow and Will) are hung on the walls, giving a pop of frosted greenery. And above the rats' heads, flowers are tucked delicately into crevices, the petals swooping down towards them. Oli ushers people in, and Krow directs them where to put food. In the centre of the room, a square has been marked out in chalk for a dance floor.
"This is incredible, you guys!" Oliver squeaks, jumping over to pull Will into a hug.
Oli waves his hand, staring off towards the ceiling. "Nah, it was nothing. Just a bit of fun."
Jimmy uses the opportunity to jump into Oli's back, laughing at his squeak. "Take some credit, you-" he falters, searching for the right word, "you rat."
"Garbage rat's a rat?" Martyn gasps in exaggerated shock. "How did we let him in here?!"
Tubbo runs forward, nearly skidding straight off the small platform leading out to the main ballroom. It's already filled with people, their large dresses coating the floor with fabric. The herald of trumpets lures a few more of the rats over, watching as servants pull open the large wooden doors.
"Introducing Counts Bdubs and Cleo, and Lord Impulse of the Crastle," a servant announces, voice booming across the room. Amplified with magic, Krow determines.
Bek launches across the room, dragging Sniff behind her and waving excitedly, "That's the cloak! Look, he's wearing the cloak!" Sure enough, Count Bdubs is wearing a green cloak with a mossy, mottled texture that swings around as he moves. The three nobles talk as they descend the steps, Count Cleo leading the way in a deep blue dress that sparkles as if it contains stars.
"We got it to him in time!" Sniff exclaims, his ears sticking up.
Oliver walks over, giving Sniff a concerned look. "What did you two get up to?" they ask with a hint of a frown.
Sniff laughs nervously, waving his hands. "Nothing, nothing at all!" he says.
But, Bek leaps forward, already raving, "Oh, we were so brave! We fought a big scary cat to get that cloak back." Bek puffs out her chest, gesturing towards Sniff. "Sniff was a hero! There’s no way we would’ve made it without him."
"I don't think-" Bek waves, quickly quieting Sniff’s protest. He attempts to copy the same triumphant pose instead, declaring, "Yep, all me that was! Super brave!" Oliver smiles at him warmly.
"Bek?" El calls, gently butting into the conversation. Bek swings around to face her. "Can I talk to you somewhere a little quieter?" El asks.
"Yeah, of course!" Bek grins, waving goodbye to Sniff and Oliver as she skips to Eloise. "Where do you want me, boss?" El laughs, gently leading Bek back inside.
Lots of the rats are hanging out, chatting away, whilst the others watch a Princess Gem of Dawn be announced to the ballroom. El leads Bek straight through, nudging Oli out of the way. They head back into the tunnel, walking until the conversations around them are a soft hum in the background.
"Okay, stay here for like. Two minutes," El says, holding a finger up. Bek nods, El running down the corridor before she can even see it. It’s a little dark and dreary without any of the other rats here. Bek sighs, slouching against the wall as she waits.
El keeps true to her word, barreling down the tunnel a few minutes later, gasping for air. "Hold on, hold on, I want- I want to be able to breathe whilst I do this."
"What did you do?" Bek asks, patting El’s back. "Are you, like, okay?"
"I just ran very very fast," El replies, standing up straight. She pats down her hair, coughing slightly to look presentable. "Okay! Bek–"
"That’s me!" Bek helpfully chimes.
"–you know I care about you very much." El reaches backwards, resting her hand on something behind her. "And I wanted to give you something as like… a token of appreciation, I guess. For sticking with me for so long." She turns around, picking up the rose. It sits perfectly in her hands, the wooden curves sanded down and painted with a glossy sheen. El closes her eyes, counting to three in her head before turning, holding it in Bek’s direction.
Bek gasps, eyes going wide, "That's so pretty!" Bek takes the rose, holding it up to her head. She turns it around, looking at the sculpture from every angle whilst El watches nervously. "Did you make this?"
El laughs, scratching the fluff of her neck. "Yeah, it's not much but-"
Her words are cut off by Bek wrapping her arms around her and squeezing tight. "It's amazing, it's everything I could've ever asked for, I love it so much." Bek steps away, holding the rose up and spinning. "It'll have pride of place next to my boxing ring!"
El's ears drop slightly, smiling at Bek in fond amusement. "Of course it will," she tells her. "I'm sure it'll look perfect there."
"The red will go perfectly with the blood-"
"How about we take it back together so we can rejoin the party?" El suggests before that comment can go any further.
Bek gasps, tail flicking back and forth. She takes El's hand, holding the rose with one arm close to her chest, "Come on, let's go!"
Lizzie stuffs another handful of cupcake in her mouth, failing to resist as Jimmy drags her away. About a quarter of the wrapper is already empty, hand-shaped chunks scraped out of it by various rats. Lizzie licks the icing off her fingers, laughing as Jimmy tries to give her a disapproving stare.
On the balcony, Martyn, Acho and Apo are watching the guests with Oli, waiting for the king to be announced.
"Ooo, who will it be this time?" Martyn asks, listening to the trumpets. They all lean forward, watching as the large wooden doors swing open.
"Introducing King Ren of Dogwarts." A pale man with canine features steps out, bowing his head towards the servants.
Acho hums, resting on his paw. "The outfit construction is good," he says, pointing out the deep red cloak with a furred neckline, strewn with silver chains. "But it feels a little edgy for a winter ball. There are no blue or lighter shades in there at all."
Apo holds up the corner of his own cloak, "I don't know, I think the colour scheme is great."
"Of course you would," Acho replies, rolling his eyes.
Martyn, meanwhile, leans in closer to Oli, whispering, "So what do you think, smash or pass?"
Oli hums, stroking his chin as he considers it. "I don't know, look at those wolfy features," he says, pointing out the ears atop the king's head. They twitch as he descends into the crowd. "I imagine he'd be pretty rough, I'm more of a gentle lover."
"I don't know," Martyn replies, "I think the claws could add a certain something, don't you think? Definite smash for me." Oli and Martyn snicker, knocking their heads closer together.
The trumpets resume their usual tune, but the rats perk up when this time the song continues, adding an extra few bars at the end. The four are forced to shuffle up to the edges, other rats crowding in behind them. Even the guests have fallen silent, turning towards the door with drinks in hand.
"Introducing his majesty, King Scar." The doors open, and the king steps out with his dress trailing behind him. Each crystal sparkles as it catches the light, making him glitter as he approaches the bannister. The fabric gathers into folds that drape across him, the blues matching the decorations around the hall perfectly. His crown, too, has been made to match the occasion. Icy blue crystals float above the white-gold structure. There's almost a gentle twinkling from them.
"Esteemed guests," the king says, tapping his cane on the ground. The white gemstone encrusted in the top shines. "It is my honour to invite you to my home for a night of celebration, music and laughter to stave off the winter chill. I hope that for tonight, you will feel as at home in this castle as I do." There’s polite applause. Oli starts to whoop, only to be quickly elbowed by Owen. "Now, without any further delay, let the Winter Ball begin!" The cheer among the guests is more enthusiastic this time. The orchestra in the corner begins playing, and guests turn away and resume what they were doing. The king turns to one of his servants, talking to them with a bright smile.
"We helped make that!" Martyn calls, pointing at the dress. "That was us, you guys!" Apo bobs happily in place, and Acho’s shoulders stand a bit straighter than usual (somehow.)
"It’s so pretty," Apo whispers dreamily. "It looks like a sheet of snow."
Acho turns to him, "I thought poetry was supposed to be my thing?" Apo looks up, finding the teasing sparkle in Acho’s eyes and laughs, leaning against him.
Inside the rat’s alcove, some of the rats have taken to dancing themselves. Bek bounces around with abandon, weaving in between the others with a passing resemblance of actual dancing. Oliver stands at the edge of it all, sipping a glass of the fruit punch Jimmy managed to grab. They turn at a gentle tap on their shoulder, finding Sniff standing behind them. His hands are behind his back, and he takes a deep breath before looking Oliver in the eyes.
"Oliver," he starts, holding his hand out, "would you, uh- what’s the phrasing? Would you, um…" Sniff’s ears turn down as he frowns.
Oliver smiles, gently pressing Sniff’s chin back up. "Tell me how you’d say it," they tell them, softly.
Sniff takes a dramatically deep breath, trying again with, "Okay, okay. Oliver, would you dance with me?"
Oliver’s smile widens, taking Sniff’s paws into their own. "I would love to, Sniff," they reply. Oliver puts their cup on one of the side tables, keeping hold of Sniff’s hands and leading him onto the dancefloor. Amongst the chaos, the two go mostly unnoticed. Just another few rats having a good time. Oliver places their other hand on Sniff’s side, feeling Sniff’s hand settle on theirs. "Do you know any dances?" Oliver asks, swaying to the rhythm.
"I mean, my parents taught me some," Sniff tells them. "But I think I like what we’re doing here more."
"That’s good," Oliver agrees. They pull Sniff closer until both of their paws rest on Sniff’s sides instead. "I think I prefer this too."
The festivities continue until late into the night. The humans seem to dance without end, an endless supply of food and music (and probably a fair few glasses of alcohol) keeping the party alive. The rats have no problem continuing their own celebration, whether it’s eating, spending time on the dance floor, or people-watching the guests below. Owen thinks he’s the first to leave, in fact, when he slips silently into the tunnel. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy the company of the others, not at all! He’s just tired. He thinks he’s been around people quite enough for the day.
The muffled music and conversations through the wall keep the castle from being eerily quiet. He runs straight down the centre of corridors, only keeping a cursory ear out for any people nearby. It’s a good job he does because he barely stops in time when he hears the call of somebody’s name.
"Pearl!" Owen skids across the carpet, flattening himself against the wall. He creeps around, searching for a better angle of the conversation.
"Sausage," Pearl replies, her figure unmistakable in the light. She’s swapped her easy attire out for a dark blue dress, sewn with pearls along the skirt. A white ribbon is tied around her waist, the bow fluttering as she moves. "You came."
"Of course I did!" the other man, Sausage of Sanctuary, if Owen remembers correctly, replies. Owen found it strange how he had no title. "I’m not going to ignore a note from my Pearlie asking to meet up, am I?"
"Stop that," Pearl says, poking Sausage’s nose.
"What? Calling you nicknames? Pearlie pop? Pearly whirly? Pearly poo?" Pearl laughs, slapping his chest until he stops. They both fall into laughter, Pearl wiping her eyes as she straightens back up again.
"You’re terrible, you know that?" she tells him. "Which, thinking of why I actually brought you here-"
"Is it a knife?" Sausage calls. "I wasn’t planning to get murdered today, but this would be the perfect place to do it!"
"You know, part of me wishes it was." She steps back to Sausage with a box in her hands. Owen gasps when he catches sight of familiar yellow and green paint. "No, I found- not found, I didn’t… This was left on my doorstep yesterday. I don’t even know who could’ve done it, I didn’t see anyone in the corridor at all. It was just sitting there, like this."
"I don't-" Sausage falters, reaching forward and gently stroking the lid. "I don’t understand, I thought it was broken?"
"It was!" Pearl agrees. "But, no, I even turned the key. Everything works. The music plays, the sunflowers move, and even your note is still there, Saus. It’s like when you first gave it to me."
Sausage takes it from her hands, delicately opening the lid. A few notes of the melody play, and Owen gives himself a pat on the back for a job well done. The humans stand and listen, neither of them speaking until the last note is completely clear from the air.
"I miss you, back in Sanctuary," Sausage whispers. He gives the music box back to Pearl.
"I miss you too. I’ve heard you’re doing great things there!" Pearl replies. She smiles, taking the necklace out of the box. She holds it out to Sausage, who gently takes the chain.
"Well, every time I need to make a decision, I just think what would Pearl do-"
"A very dangerous choice."
"It’s worked wonderfully so far! You just said it yourself." Pearl holds her hair aside, letting Sausage close the clasp. The necklace falls perfectly, the sunflower charm landing perfectly between her collarbones. Sausage sighs, "I know you love it here, and I’m never going to change your mind! I want you to be happy." His shoulders slump as Pearl turns back to face him. "I just wish we could see each other more often."
Pearl hums, thinking. "How about, this year, I arrange a visit to Sanctuary? And you can show me all the crazy things you’ve built because I swear you don’t know how to take a break."
"Oh, I take plenty of breaks," Sausage objects, "I just do lots of designing, too! We’re a growing community, Pearl." Pearl laughs, and Owen takes the opportunity to slip away, leaving them to their quiet reminiscing.
"Oli, if you sing that one more time," Jimmy warns. Oli leans over, nearly falling on top of Martyn, who pushes him back upright.
"Sing what, Jimmy? This-" Oli takes a deep breath, and both Jimmy and Martyn slap their hands over his mouth with a chorus of, "No!" Oli just breaks into hysterical laughter instead, Martyn groaning.
"Remind me never to party with you again," he mutters. "I am getting far too old for this."
"Aw, Marty, you love me really." Oli pokes his cheek, Martyn batting him away.
"I thought the other rats were going to murder you!" Jimmy cries. "Didn’t you see Krow? That rat had bloodthirst in its eyes." They stumble into another corridor, Martyn glancing around to tell which direction they should be going.
A shriek cuts off all of their thoughts completely. Martyn flees, jumping straight under the nearby table and letting Oli fall to the ground with a thud. Jimmy feels like he’s frozen in place, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Oh," the human says. Jimmy looks up and finds distinct, bright blue hair. "You’re that rat from before! The one that was bleeding all over my desk."
"You did what?" Martyn hisses, wriggling forward enough to see them. Oli has barely managed to stumble onto his feet, hiding straight behind Jimmy.
"I’m not going to hurt you!" The wizard protests, holding his hands up. "I actually was hoping I’d run into you again, I had something to say thanks!" The wizard searches through his clothes – the only change he appears to have made for the ball is putting some suit trousers on. "Here!"
On the floor, in front of them, the human puts a tiny lantern. Inside is a blue flame, licking at the glass. Jimmy leans forward, squinting at it.
"It’s perfectly safe!" The human says quickly. "It’s a magical flame, so it shouldn’t hurt any living creature. One of my best spells, I use it on my hair sometimes." Jimmy looks up, blinking in surprise when he realises there are, in fact, soft licks of blue flame coming from the wizard's hair. "It just gets very cold in the castle sometimes, and like- maybe I'm stupid for worrying so much about a rat but I've never claimed to be smart." Jimmy takes a few small steps, closing the gap between him and the lantern nervously.
He picks it up, cradling the warm metal in his paws. He can see his reflection in the glass, moulding into the fire. It doesn’t burn.
"Anyway, I need to, uh. Get back to the party before Impulse starts calling me crazy for talking to rodents too. You rats be good, got it?" Jimmy doesn’t know if the wizard was expecting an answer, but he walks away before Jimmy can give one. Not that his words would be any more understandable than some loud squeaking, anyway. It leaves a strange feeling in Jimmy's chest.
Oli reaches for the lantern, Jimmy jumping and holding it out of his reach.
"Oh, c’mon," Oli begs. "Just let me hold it!"
Jimmy huffs, puffing his cheeks out. "Maybe later," he tells Oli. "Not before Shelby gets to hold it! She helped, after all." Oli groans, backing off and straight into Martyn, who’s sniffing the lantern nervously. "It’s all fine, see." Jimmy holds the lantern up for him to see it.
Martyn eyes it warily. "That human talked to you," he says. "Yeah, I’m going to bed, actually. That’s enough for me today." Martyn strides off ahead of them and Jimmy follows with Oli, his arms wrapped around the lantern.
Bit by bit, the rats trickle back into the attic. The party is dying downstairs, goodbyes are being said, beds are being filled. By the morning, all the food will be cleaned away, and the ballroom will look as clean as the day the decorations were put up.
Jimmy and Shelby curl up to sleep, bathed in the blue glow of the lantern. Tubbo strums his guitar, looking out at the moon, whilst Apo and Martyn draw out plans for outfits, surrounded by piles of all-new fabric. Bek and El curl up with each other, tails wrapped in the shape of a heart. Krow, Oli and Will sit together, counting the decorations they've claimed as loot. Owen and Scott sleep soundly, whilst Oliver and Sniff plan an expansion for their house. Lizzie eats the last of her cupcake, and Acho writes a poem about building snowrats and the warmth of friends.
The attic is quiet, ready for another day.