Chapter 242 : Friends and rats say hello

Jeremy knew coming here that James' children would be rats. His friend had been open about that. He had specified they were larger and more expressive than mundane animals, with even their skeletons being stretched to slightly more human-like proportions, even without being fully humanoid. If rats were furry potatoes with short legs, then these were... Well, for one, they were much bigger than Jeremy had anticipated. They were closer to being dog-sized, with the largest one reaching up to Jeremy's waist when he stood on his hind legs, the shortest one being half that, only reaching his knee, and the other three being somewhere in between. As for their limbs, while still far from fully humanoid, they were longer than they would be on a rat with similar proportions.

He quickly found his train of thought halted by one of the five rodents coming toward him with intense eyes staring at his clothes. The albino one, James had called her Blanche, if Jeremy remembered correctly, walked up to him, using exclusively her hind legs, unlike the others, who didn't hesitate to go with a more quadrupedal posture to meet up with them. It did mean that it took longer for her to reach the trio of adults than her siblings, especially the big one, who rushed to glomp James' legs, but not by much. Hell, the smallest one was still sitting there, brooding it seemed, rather than joining with the others and-

Scratch that, the little one was suddenly right next to them. Jeremy knew rats could be fast, he'd seen a few videos of them scuttling in restaurants online in shock compilations and the like, but seeing it in person was very different. He could see now why James had explained that David, the youngest, was the most in touch with his animalistic nature. The rat in question did stand back up on his back legs after his little sprint, quickly crossing his arms and... Well, sulking might be a bit strong, but it was clear he wasn't as interested in Maggie and Jeremy as his siblings were. Which... Yeah, again, James had warned them this might happen.

The little white darling finally reached him, her whiskers twitching as she studied Jeremy's attire as though it were a museum exhibit.

"Oh, when Papa said you'd be wearing black and white, I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, many of his other colleagues do too, but it's usually tacky. You? You pull it well! Do you mind if I...?"

As Jeremy was too overwhelmed to do anything but nod, Maggie was crouching down to pet Goliath and squish his cheeks, the big furry kid's eyes boggling in joy and his teeth grinding, bruxing, making a sound not unlike a cat's purr. His ears even turned pink as they twitched.

"Oh, who's a little cutie? You are! Yes, you are!"

"Aw, shucks! Thanks a lot, miss. I like your friend, Daddy!"

"Oh gosh, even his voice is adorable! James, how could you keep this little treasure away from me?"

James, for his part, couldn't hold back a chuckle, even as he answered.

"We had to schedule things for today, remember."

"Hush, you're interrupting my cuteness exposure."

Goliath giggled as she scratched him behind the ears. Foudre smiled and shook her head at her brother's antics, while Lucille was... Well, the de facto leader of the ratlings was happy to see Goliath successfully pull off their mission, making friends with their father's own friends, but she also couldn't deny that a tiny part of her was a little annoyed to see him so... Shameless? Careless? She couldn't put the finger on the exact feeling, but she knew it bothered her. But she also knew this aversion didn't make sense, that this type of behavior was exactly what was expected, and that even now it was proving very effective. She just... Disliked it.

Maybe she should talk to Father about this. Later.

James couldn't help but smile seeing his friends and children get along so well already. Well, he knew this was merely a first impression, but it was going swimmingly, so there was no reason for anything to go wrong. As Foudre joined Goliath in entertaining Maggie, ruffling her brother's fur too, and Lucille properly greeted Jeremy and listened to him and Blanche talk about the difficulties of finding a black and white look that worked to the fullest with no clashing fabrics, James knelt down to put himself at David's eye level before they started whispering.

"So?"

"Foudre wants to focus on the mage, Blanche on the edgelord, and Goliath is the cute face who'll entertain both."

"Lucille and you?"

"We're not the most entertaining pair for squimish humans, old man."

"Hm. So long as you're trying, I appreciate it. And hey, even among squimish humans, as you put it, not everyone clicks with everyone. It's just how people are. But I'm sure the board games will change your minds. They tend to get people to open up more."

"Board games? Making people open up? I don't see how Gluttonous Gators can act like therapy."

"Well, it's engaging, a driving force for a social interaction. That alone tends to help a lot of people. But also, playing roles lets you be someone else, and that lets you be more yourself."

"That made absolutely no sense."

"Maybe I'm just bad at explaining it, but it's a thing. You'll see. And David? If at the end of the day you didn't have fun or find yourself disliking my friends, it's okay. They're my friends, that doesn't mean they have to be yours. In the future, I can just have them over when you and the others are away. Hell, even if you're the only one who doesn't enjoy this, I'll let you go to the gym next time instead of staying with us. We'll just need to ask another adult friend to supervise."

The 'gym' was really just the training area James had set up nearby, and he trusted David to handle himself on his own - the adult supervision would just be Mischief acting as additional security and James' eyes on the scene. But, just in case anyone was listening, better to be safe. Besides, making sure to always be careful with what they said was just a good habit for his entire family to develop. Much like he did his best to never lie as Silhouette, only twist the truth, just in case someone with the right powerset to exploit lies came along. Paranoid? Perhaps, but one of James' friends did have exactly this kind of fae powers, so the risk wasn't zero either.

"You serious?"

"Of course. I just want you to meet them once, and we'll see where it goes from there. And I will admit, today is especially important for Jeremy. He really needs a distraction, something to relax and let loose."

"Mph. Alright, old man. But I will wreck them when we play Sinking Feeling, sad feelings or not."

"Oh, I have no doubt. Besides, it's easier to be angry than sad. Now come on, let's save him from Blanche before she builds him a brand new wardrobe, he looks like he's getting overwhelmed."

The black and white young man in question didn't actually seem that distraught, merely snapping his fingers idly as he tried to remember the name of the place where he had gotten his jacket adjusted, pumping up the shoulders a little, after Blanche inquired as to where he had gotten an item that didn't seem to match any of the ones in the city's boutiques - the fact she knew the catalogue of every clothes vendor in Zalcien left James impressed, and perhaps a little concerned, though that seemed to be the norm whenever it came to his children.

David, catching on to the fact that his father just gave an excuse to have him introduce himself, rolled his eyes before skittering to the monochrome guy's feet, ignoring Blanche as she tried to narrow down the boutique options by throwing out names, to see if Jeremy would recognize any.

"Hey. Name's David. So, you're the old man's emo friend."

"I am not emo. The emo movement is a distinct phenomenon that just so happens to share some traits with my personal lifestyle. I adhere to no such established movement, I have far more individuality than that."

"Ah, emo goth hipster then, got it. Gotta say, impressive you can keep up with Blanche's nonsense."

"Fashion is very much all about sense, David. Fashion sense. Remember, charisma and charm are mighty tools. Not that you'd understand, you cave mouse."

"Yeah, yeah. Still, not everyone got your level of dedication to that whole mess."

Jeremy chuckled, seeing the two siblings bicker like that was... Well, a reminder of better and easier days. He was happy to know Maria was safe now, but... Well, they still wouldn't indulge in such sibling rivalry soon. Thinking about his sister brought him back to his worries about the interview, but now wasn't the time for that. James and Maggie were doing their best to help destress, and the least he could do was play along. And hey, the kids were fun.

"Oh, I'm not actually that knowledgeable. My expertise lies in clothing that matches my aesthetic, as long-term exposure to my body would ultimately drain them of all color regardless. Anything that isn't a shade of white, black, or grey? That is beyond me. My sister's the colorful one. When we were kids, it was like she was wearing a rainbow. She kept saying I was her gloomy shadow. Really, she's the one who inspired me to start dressing well. One of us had to be tasteful."

Blanche nodded, gesturing toward herself.

"I am quite lucky myself. With my pristine white coat, I can accessorize with anything. Well, so long as it doesn't clash with my eyes, that is, but red goes with most things too. Oh, I cannot imagine what a curse it must be to drain all colors around yourself. You did such a splendid job working around this ashen skin. Not perfect, mind you, nothing ever is, but... Well, if you have the time, maybe we could go over a few options together? Papa couldn't tell me your exact build or shade of grey, but I did prepare a few portfolios with different possibilities..."

Maggie, holding Goliath in her arms like a giant plushy - and struggling to do so, he may have been a child but he was quite muscular under his fur - grinned when she saw Jeremy's face, fighting between an amused smile, a grimace, and something more melancholic, perhaps nostalgic. The end result almost looked like spasms and was quite entertaining in her opinion. She had to hold back some giggling herself, a task made much harder by the very large she was carrying. Finally, with a sad look in her eyes, she was forced to put him down with an 'oof', the weight too much for her to bear. The way he kept looking at her like she was the best person in the world melted any guilt away. Though she did miss his body heat. The kid was much warmer than she expected, even if the fur, and suddenly losing that made her realize the winter air around them wasn't the most comfortable.

"Alright, grayscale boy, if you're done playing model, I think it's about time we head home with James and the kids. It's getting a bit chilly staying out on the street in this weather. You two can talk about dresses when we're somewhere warm and playing games."

Foudre tilted her head for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Oooh, yeah, forgot you guys can get cold easier than we do. To us, the weather's fine, and Dad's weird shadow body handles temperatures pretty well."

"Uh, it does? James, is that true?"

"It never really came up, but yes. I mean, I can still feel cold or hot, I'm just more resilient than the average person. To be fair, we don't really talk about our powers that much, not even on HardCored. I mean, sure, you all gave advice when I first showed up, but since it's been mostly messing around."

"Ah, yeah. You'd think Sig would complain about it, but nah, dude likes it that way."

"I'm sure he'd tell us something about the importance of a community above boasting about fireballs and magnets."

"Eh, yeah, probably. Just got a Soul Core, if you were curious. It's basically mandatory for fully human mages, so it's usually pretty obvious if you have one, but always nice to confirm. Besides, some species can do magic without one, and some weirdos can combine Soul with other Aspects. Like, pretty sure that aquatic necromancer guy who plagued Krill's homeland was a Transformation and Faith guy on top of Soul, hence the big undead curse problem."

"Uh. Well, you can tell me more about that on the way home. I wouldn't want you to freeze on me. Kids, Jeremy, let's go! We're leaving for real this time!"

Time to head home and have fun.