Silhouette

James dropped the two heavy suitcases he had been carrying in his hands before reflexively wiping his brow with the back of his hand, the five little furry children hiding behind him poking their heads from his legs and back to stare at the door they had stopped in front of.

"Is this the place, papa? It looks a little... Blemished."

"Why would father stop here otherwise?"

Blanche the diva rolled her eyes at her sterner sister's remark, unsatisfied with the quality of their accommodations. James, using his human form clothed in casual streetwear, chuckled at their antics. Judging by the squeaky noises, he wasn't the only one that David put no effort into hiding.

"Come on, you've lived in sewers before, a small apartment won't be that bad. Besides, I've seen the inside, it's nice."

Her head tilt and squinted eyes showed she didn't share his enthusiasm. He'd do well to try and quell her rising standards. He was fine with letting her be the princess she wanted, but only so long as she didn't let that get in the way of her or others' lives. He'd hate for her to become the classic bully from all of those stupid high school shows. Well, her dreams of Heroism showed she had a kind heart beneath that pristine white fur and expensive shampoo.

Seriously, she represented half of the money he spent on the kids. Not that the others asked for anything, but still.

As he picked up his keys from his pocket, James took the time to fully embrace this moment. This was it. They were finally moving into their new home, a haven for them free from the chaos and danger of the slums. A place where the ratlings could grow and mature, not as intelligent monsters stuck in the filth of Zalcien's worst parts but simply as children - a place for them to live normal lives, without worrying about surviving yet another day.

Sure, they had been safe and well-fed for a while now, but it wasn't the same. They would have been stuck in James' shadow whereas now they were free to choose their fates. As a parent, he'd still make sure they wouldn't get themselves in trouble, but going to school would open the doors to education and socialization, things he wouldn't be able to give them on his lonesome.

With a twist the door unlocked and the kids ran in, leaving James alone as he picked the luggage back up. He shook his head with a chuckle as he followed after them, and much like back in the park where he met Marie Merry, he knew he would have a smile on his face if he could, watching them behold everything in amazement, an appropriate childish innocence in their eyes as they scurried on the wooden panels of the floor, hopped onto the cushions of the couch in the small living room, and watched through the windows the busyness of the street of a few floors down.

This was the first time they got to experience true furniture, and James was glad he made sure to replace the old rackety scraps of wood that came with the apartment beforehand. It wouldn't do for one of the kids to cut themselves on a loose broken spring or to get chips stuck in their paws. The place wasn't quite the drug addict lair he expected someone like Froko to find, but it did take a full day of cleaning and transporting furniture to make this truly feel like a home.

Being capable of parallel thoughts and forming as many limbs and tools as necessary was useful for more than just combat. James would probably make a killing as a handyman. If the whole Silhouette thing went nowhere or if he found a found to duplicate himself or something similar to Solvent's situation, it'd be something worth considering. He'd just have to do it out of sight so that people wouldn't make the connection between his civilian self and his far less humanoid counterpart.

"Come on kids, don't play rough inside. I'd like to have scratchless stuff for once."

Cats were adorable critters. They also were absolute jerks with no care for rules and a mad love for using their claws on everything but their toys.

Blanche sagely nodded as she held Foudre floating in the air, the psychic albino diva putting her dirty gadget-wearing sister down from the couch before whatever contraption she wore could ruin the grey fabric.

David, from the top of a column of a metal skeleton covered by wooden plates that served as both a shoe rack and coat hanger, rolled his eyes as he sat up, his paw pushing against the wall barely a head below the ceiling.

"Seriously, old man? Not even a minute in and we're already doing this?"

Lucille, far from amused by the antics of her savage of a younger brother, crossed her front limbs in front of her furry chest as she addressed him, her hair reflecting the light oddly, as though they were thin strands of metal.

"David, you are a jump away from crawling on the ceiling. Father is right to set some ground rules now rather than wait for you to break something he will have to replace. Or someone who will call the police on you."

The bloodthirsty rodent rolled his eyes but complied, holding one of the metal bars in his paws before letting himself fall, his pouting look quickly making way for joyous laughter as the speed kicked in. Who knew it'd be easier to play the firefighter when smaller?

Goliath looked upon his troublemaking brother's game enviously, but unlike his sibling the largest and oldest of the litter could keep his urges in check. He also knew that being twice the size of the youngest, he'd be likelier to make the piece of furniture fall than successfully slide down.

"Kids, kids. I want to make something clear: you won't be free to mess around here as much as before, but that doesn't make it less of a home or place for you to be happy. We'll see about getting you toys and games and all that fun stuff, but there will also be rules. You don't need to worry about bland stone, but fabric and plastic are much more fragile."

James lowered himself to the ground and the ratlings gathered before him.

"I trust you. I know you will do your best. I just need you to understand that this is a new life for us. A new world, with new rules, some of which go completely against the old ones. It's fine if it takes you time to adapt. It's fine if you're confused, scared, angry, or sad. All I want in return is for you to try. Try to understand, try to adapt. I don't need or want you to discard everything you are to be just like the others, just for you to do the bare minimum so that we can live together. So that you can see more of the world than dark tunnels and whatever hole I decide to hide in."

Tendrils bore out of his wrists, his hands still holding onto the luggage, and the new black limbs went on to hug each of the children, gently wrapping around them without restricting their movement.

"You need to understand the people you save if you wanna be the best Heroes ever, no?"

The rodents smiled as one and pushed into the hug, the mass of fur pressing against his shirt and exposed shadowy flesh.

"We will honor you, father."

"We won't get you in trouble, Dad."

"We will be the most pristine in the school, I'll make sure of it papa."

"We won't do anything stupid, daddy."

"I'll stab the first idiot who tries anything."

All five heads turned to the notable outlier.

"What? I said if they tried to. I know you can't stab people who haven't done anything. Well you can, but then the police get involved."

"With every passing day, I further question if you truly share our dream of becoming a Hero team, brother."

"Do not bother, oh ruthless sister of mine. The fool simply lacks the intelligence to understand."

"Say I'm stupid again and I'll shear you like a sheep."

Goliath gasped before taking his brother and white sister in a hug, pressing them hard against his chest.

"Please don't fight!"

"Goliath, if you don't let go of me right now-"

The younger of the two brothers looked into his elder's eyes before turning his head away with a click of the tongue.

"Fine. Fine! I'll play nice, but miss high and mighty over there gotta play nice too."

James faked a cough to catch the children's attention.

"I do agree with David on this. Yes, he is violent and aggressive and will need to work on his attitude, but that doesn't mean the rest of you are free to do whatever. Blanche, your brother isn't wrong to say you have a nasty habit of having more venom than words in your speech."

"But papa!"

"Tut! I understand being annoyed at people or disliking things they do, but that doesn't mean you have to vocalize it, especially not such mean-spiritedly. You can't complain about your brother's bad mood when you goad him so often."

"Sigh, yes papa..."

"Lucille, you have no idea how much I appreciate the work you put into herding these cats-"

"Dad, we're rats."

"-but you need to learn how to relax. You'll be kids at school, not soldiers at war. I'm sure your teachers will love your discipline, but you are still young. Embrace your childhood. You don't need to worry about death around the corner all the time anymore."

"Understood, Father."

"Again, I'm not asking to change who you are. Just remember to have fun."

David fell on his back and rolled on the ground, his front limbs hitting the ground in a mad fit of squeaky laughter. Blanche tried to keep appearances, but it was clear she struggled to keep her amusement concealed, or at the very least to downplay it. Her cheeks puffing up to the sides of her snout were proof she wasn't doing a good job.

The glare coming from their sister did little to douse their fun.

"What about me, dad? What's the big social thing I gotta work on?"

"Honestly Foudre? You seem fine to me. Just try to tone down the mad scientist vibe with all the gadgets."

"Hey, I'm not the one making them."

"I know. It'd just be a shame if you fried another kid's hair because you were playing with your toy of the day."

"Fine. I promise."

"Thank you."

The young rat raised her chin high in pride, her zigzagging tail sliding on the floor as she pivoted to put her paws on her hips.

"And Goliath..."

The largest of the bunch looked up, his front limbs held close with one paw over the other, his muzzle twitching.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"You're a sweetheart. Just... Don't forget some people are mean. Don't let them walk over you. Don't hesitate to call your siblings or me for help."

"I promise I will! I'll be a strong boy!"

"You're already one. You're a much better person than I was at your age."

The older of the two males of the litter sniffed, grateful for the compliment. James chuckled as he patted all five of their heads one last time before rising back up and clapping his two tendrils together.

"Alright, enough sappy stuff. Who's ready to help me decorate your room?"

"Yeah!"

"No pink!"

"You will be sorely disappointed, beastly brother of mine."

"Hey!"

James laughed out loud once again and went to follow the furry children as they scurried away, racing towards what would be their shared bedroom despite having no idea of the apartment's layout.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to make him feel safe. The fact he had used proxy Infused to occupy every other dwelling in the small building helped him feel more at ease, and he knew friendly watchful eyes would keep track of the surroundings. Their tunnel network had expanded, and though he couldn't infuse things willy-nilly as usual to avoid drawing attention to himself, Mischief's cunning and fleeting nature made them more than apt at laying low. Mistakes would cost them more than usual, but he had faith in them.

They had tracked down Medraw in her escape. They managed to operate flawlessly down in the Sunken City. They had avoided detection from the usual dwellers of the tunnels. Rodents were already sneaky creatures, upgrading them with shadows and whatever shenanigans his powers were up only made them better suited at stealth and spying.

He could only hope exterminators weren't better at their jobs in this world.