LUCEM
Chapter XLIX

It's been four days.

Four days there was nothing out there or in the places that could be seen by the eye-span of the alert rat teams. Mary and Mars are still sleeping. Moonflower calls them unconscious, but Marbella calls them sleeping. Marbella chooses to believe that Mars is really tired. He just needs to sleep to relieve his stress or fatigue and he will be fine.

He'll be fine.

"He's just tired" Marbella told James. “And when he wakes up, it'll be fine."

James just looked at the cat girl with a slow nod, sitting all day accompanying the restless girl. She knew Marbella only needed someone to wake up by her side while the younger brother slept without being able to wake up. Marbella just needs someone to listen to her beliefs, concerns that she denies.

Sam who delivered the munchies for them has returned to the squad.

A large tent has now been set up in the courtyard. The rat troopers took turns entering the tent, they called it a stupid quiet tent because it was never quiet here. The tent was a common common common room. It is a meeting room, break room and game room where the rat squads gather day and night and relax in turns. There is a simple kitchen space there, making the inside of the house more quiet from the activity.

Marbella wants the inside of the house to be quieter as long as her younger brother is asleep.

In the tent. Jimmy was in the kitchen area, leaning against an insignificant counter. Sam, Superman and some of his colleagues are waiting for the electric kettle to boil.

Teas.

This is Superman's idea, of course. For some reason, they can never get a sugary drink from the main kitchen. They could only drink bitter black coffee, and it was rationed seriously. It was only after they got Superman's tent kitchen to realize that we could get tea, incidentally the day Superman gave his proposal, that Jiso wasn't so militant about it.

But here...

Superman makes it his mission to force hot tea down the throat of an army of rats every night. He doesn't even need caffeine from coffee. His ability to manipulate electricity always keeps his body filled, he says he likes it because he feels the ritual is soothing. Whatever. Now Jimmy and his colleagues gather at night and have tea. Superman put milk in his tea. Sam adds the whiskey he brought secretly from Moonflower's closet collection. Jimmy refuses Sam's offer of whiskey and opts for a thick black tea.

"Really?" Superman said, when no one chimed in.

“I mean, he might just be in a coma and a coma basically just a really long nap. Mars will be fine. The girls will make it better, and then he will be fine, and everything will be fine. I said everything was fine, of course, because Sam saw them and he said they were fine.”

“Sam looked at them and said they were unconscious,” said a rat colleague who was stirring the contents of his glass.

When he found what he was looking for— a packet of crackers, he tore the wrapper.

But Sam didn't even have a chance to pull one of his free crackers because Superman nimbly snatched the package.

"These hornbills are for our tea" he said sharply.

Sam glares.

All the fellow mice glanced at Superman, who seemed oblivious to the sacrifices made in his honor. "Yes, Sam said they were unconscious" he said, taking a small spoon from a drawer. “But he also said they look stable. Alive."

"Just right," said Jimmy, pointing to Superman. "thank you. Stably. Alive. These are critical words.”

Superman takes a piece of tenuous that was saved from Sam's hand and begins to arrange the plates and cutlery in a belief that confuses all his comrades there. He did not look up as he said, "It's really amazing, isn't it?"

Jimmy and Sam shared a confused look.

"I wouldn't call it extraordinary" said Sam, taking a spoon off a tray. He checked it, then traded it for a fork. "But I guess forks and dirt are pretty cool, as far as discovery goes." Sam quickly puts a fork cavity between the tail of Superman dangling.

Superman jumped in shock, then fell down because of his pinched tail. He complained and cursed Sam. "Damn, Sam rat... What are you doing!?"

Sam puts his face closer to Superman, letting his mouth touch the corner of Superman's eyes that narrow in annoyance.

"Superman, tell us quickly..Where do you keep all the cookies in that can?" Sam pointed at the red can on the table, clenching his teeth.

Superman stuttered. He denies hiding all the red cans on the table. He even swore that he had just learned that the red can contained a different food than the image on the outside.

All the fellow mice squinted at Superman in disbelief.

Inside the house. Marbella sat down while gently rubbing the hands of Mars lying by her side. While James who was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room closed his mouth tightly, enjoying the sweet taste that filled his mouth cavity. He swung slowly his head withstanding the pleasure. Mm-hmm.....