driftfleet | (no subject)

Don't worry, he'll stay in my room.

[That doesn't exactly answer the question does it?]

[Hey, she's not the space rat police.] Okay! So long as you keep him or her safe somewhere, they won't get eaten.

[Misty smiles and starts to say something but then! The robot starts beeping again and zooms off.]

Oh shit! Rhiannon's picked up another one!

Another what? What's wrong with your robot?

Another one of these rat things!

[She starts off after the droid.]

C'mon! We gotta get it before she does!

I could send Snuggles! [Who will eat it.]

[She turns around, jogging backwards as she looks at Wrath and Snuggles.]

He's going to it them though!

But it's his job!

I know but if I can save them, I gotta at least try! Even ugly animals that nobody likes deserve some love, don't you think?

I don't think it's about pretty or ugly, it's about them eating our supplies and pooping everywhere.

Well yeah, but they're just tryin' to survive. And they ain't any worse than us, really. Humans eat up the Earth and shit all over it and we call it being civilized.

Yeah, but I'm a human and it's my job to protect humans. Even if they are shitty. And I like eating and not having rat poop on my bed.

[She laughs.] Fair enough. But I'm still gonna try to save them.

All yours if you can keep 'em away from Snuggles.

Deal!

[She looks down at the fox.]

Guess you gotta eat too, ain't that right?

[Killing for eating is something she can accept. Fox got a right to survive just as much as the space rat.]

[Snuggles, knowing his cue, yips and wags his tail.]

Gotta eat to live, gotta live to eat. [Grin.] Since we don't pay him in credits.

[The rat startles at the fox's yip and scurries into Misty's shirt to hide. A little rat-shaped lump can be seen trembling under her clothes. She pats him gently through the cloth.]

Aww honey it'll be alright, don't you worry.

[She returns her attention to Wrath.]

What do you feed him, if there ain't any rats around?

He can eat the same protein base that we do. And the kelp, since foxes are omnivores. But hunting is better for him.

Hell who doesn't love bacon kelp? That's the best plant I've ever seen. Too bad we don't got it on Earth.

It's definitely the best! Like I think I still like vat salmon better, but Vision comes up with some great stuff. I wish he could do protein like we did back home though.

Vat salmon? What's that?

A kind of fish protein that's grown? It's pink!

So like... you don't have to kill anything to make it?

Well yeah. Ugh, why would a person eat a dead animal, that's so gross. Like, it's one thing if Officer Snuggles wants to eat rats, he's a fox, and that's what foxes are supposed to do. But... [UGH.]

I wish we had something like that back home. I mean, I guess there's tofu, but that ain't quite the same.