Sniffles: *peers around and sneezes*

Silk: *making a little run for something yummy to take to her nest, pausing as she spies Sniffles. Sniffing towards her, she scampers closer for an inspection* are you sick? 8oa


Sniffles: *jumps and squeaks, startled by the approach. She backs away, ears flattened and back hunched, looking defensive* "N-no...I'm fine...." *but her heaving sides would suggest otherwise*


Silk: *blinking curiously, she pauses and settles onto her haunches, showing that she means no harm. Paws balled against her chest, she continues to sniff towards the unknown female, raising a precarious brow* you don't seem fine. 8o

Sniffles: *leans forward, slightly, extending her ears and whiskers forward, although her muscles are tensed and ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Her nostrils twitch, scenting the other rat* "I'm okay. Just...wet. Been sneezing a lot since I got wet." *whiskers flick with a slight smile* "I...I don't know you."

Silk: *pricking her ears into an alert posture, she moves closer, noticing that the scent of the other female had been rather strong. Noting the sheen across Sniffle's coat, she makes another motion forward, before pausing* Then we ought to get you groomed and dry. D8 You certainly can't sit there wet, you'll catch cold. No no no~ *without hesitation, she waddles over to the other rats side to begin smoothing and grooming the dampened fur. Stopping briefly, she lets her paws press the darker fur rapidly* No you don't. But you do now. I'm Silk. P8 And you are?

Sniffles: *body still trembling, she holds her ground as the other approaches. A quick squeak in protest at the grooming, but she flattens against the damp linoleum and takes it, eventually calming under her touch* "Silk. That's pretty." *she hesitates, clicking her incisors together in an uncertain way* "I...the Great Ones called me Sniffles." *which would likely suggest that she'd had these sneezing problems long before the storm, though she wouldn't admit it to a stranger. Right now, admitting weakness seemed like a surefire way to get eaten by...something.*

Silk: *not at all backing down from the brief moment of discomfort, her tongue adds back into the grooming process, fervently working to get the other rat dry. She'd seen too many get sick and eventually not make it through the days to follow... Ears twitching again, she files the name away to the back of her mind. Odd name.. but there were stranger ones out there. Moving to the hump of Sniffles back, her paws pressed more to smooth out the fur, and force out any water that was adamant in remaining clung to the frightened miss. * Do you have a nest nearby? You shouldn't be out in such a condition, Sniffles. Unsavory males could easily take advantage of you. 8c

Sniffles: *she blinked, eyes suddenly wide and uncertain.* "Males?" *Now that Silk was getting a good look at her, the little stormy-colored rat was quite young. She had in fact never met a male, although she did smell them sometimes through the wire of the cages*


Silk: *blinks at the other again, twitching her nose a few times* Oh yes. Some tend to take vulnerable females, forcing them into giving them pups and such. *she grooms behind Sniffles ears, before looking around their surroundings to make sure none were looming about* I think it'd be best if we found a safer place, my dear.

Sniffles: *is somewhat baffled by all of the attention and now the offer of safety* "Uh...okay..." *trails off, before beginning to brux contentedly, her skull vibrating happily as she grinds her teeth together, feeling quite relaxed despite herself.* "Are you...Are you like an Usim-li?"

Silk: *nosing down Sniffles ears to make sure the tender membrane is dry as well, she does another look around, before lowering onto all four paws* We can go to my nest for now. *turning to head that way, she pauses as the question is posed... chuckling softly* Oh no. *thinks for a moment... wondering if she could even manage such a position.* come along~

Sniffles: *trails after, occasionally shivering, although she is much drier now than she had been.* "You could be my Usim-li," *she says, timidly. Most of her fear of the stranger had dissipated, replaced now with a deep-seated appreciation for the rat that had found her -- and perhaps a bit of separation anxiety. She bounds to catch up.* "Did you...did you see when the Big Water came? It was so scary. I had to walk in it, but my paws wouldn't touch the ground." *nose wrinkles; she didn't know any word for "swim"*

Silk: *surprised by the offer, the older rat looks back at the younger with a small expression of awe. How sweet.* I am willing to share my nest with you if you don't have your own. *naturally being the motherly type she was, she couldn't turn down a youngster in need. Her nest was stationed behind a cage, where a hole had been clearly burrowed into the wooden wall. Slinking in, the inside was a little spacious, to where at least four adults could fit, but almost a third or more of it was full of fluffing and bedding. Sniffing about her nest, she made sure no one had visited unannounced.* Ah yes. Luckily I had a higher up nest, so I was able to avoid most of it. Though finding food had become quite an issue. Had to swim around to find some. It was quite tiring.

Sniffles: "Oh, really? That's lucky. I was still in my cage when it came...I was too scared to go outside when the others started breaking out, and then I almost didn't get out in time." *she shivered again, although this time it had little to do with cold* "You know, I heard that there was a whole bunch of food over that way. But there's other rats there, and I don't want to go look by myself in case they're not friendly."

Silk: *she watched the younger rat, and returned to grooming her once more like a mother would. Her face was main priority at the moment, making sure no water go into her nose or ears.* It's a good thing then. Not many can swim from such a strong current. I was only able to once it wasn't as intense. *nosing Sniffles cheek, she goes ahead to groom her own nose briefly, and brushes a paw over each ear once.* You stay here, and get into the bedding to get warm and more dry. *she gently nosed Sniffles towards the mass of bedding to encourage her there.* I'll go see if I can get us something to eat. *with a light smile, she scampered out*

Sniffles: *curls up into the soft bedding, a little baffled as to how she had managed to luck out so thoroughly in a single meeting.* "Okay," *she said, sleepily, giving a tremendous yawn. Now that there was no more fear coursing through her veins, she felt totally exhausted, and her eyes started to slide closed even before her new friend left the nest*

((1187 words))