Muk had known that Miss Uki would be beautiful, as creatures, the queen favored invariably were, but he was caught off guard nonetheless. He had to remind himself to breathe as Miss Uki entered the room, graciously greeting each guest. He was so entranced that only Da’s timely nudge saved him from making a fool of himself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet a coalition officer,” Freya said, presenting her paw.

His mother had made him practice over and over what to say when he was thanked for his service. At this moment, he could barely remember the words.

“The pleasure is mine, fair mouse, as I could find no better way to love my people than to serve with them.” He embraced her paw, the touch electrifying. He tried to smooth his whiskers back as nonchalantly as possible, hoping his sudden nerves were not too obvious.

“I believe that I’ve received an invitation to the Luncheon at the Nithe house, in honor of our old veterans home,” Freya said. “Was that your doing?”

“I must admit I brought the invitation, I suspected that you would consider it an act of charity,” He said.

It was then that he noticed he had a Cobbler brother on either side, clearly eager for Freya’s attention.

“Miss Uki, we’re heard so much about these beasts of yours,” Cole said, flipping his ears back.

“Yes, we’re quite interested in hearing about how you’ve been working with them. I don’t think that we’ve ever seen any in cages before,” Philip said.

Philip’s purple tie was paired with a vest that seemed to glow with purple undertones on its grey exterior. He probably was either colorblind or this was a beloved family heirloom.

Freya’s attention turned to the pair of them, absently accepting a cup of tea as it was pressed into her hands. That done, her mother retreated to the doorway, scanning the room as though looking for something – the biscuit thief, perhaps.

“Well, it was Grandpaw who took the time to capture them,” Freya began, pausing for a sip, “and to design the pens, to keep them safe and contained. But really, what keeps them here is our feeding them, otherwise, they would just break out every time I release them to go get exercise.”

“Miss Uki, that pen is quite a creation,” Muk said.

He was considering the design of the pens. How the lines of wire gave the chickens a spot that would be safe from larger predators, but also let in the sunshine. The chickens could be fed through them without risk of escape. The wires had to be tall, yes, but the construction seemed simple.

“Yes,” Philip and Cole said.

Da Seung came to Muk’s side as Philip and Cole tried unsuccessfully to regale Freya with stories of their business misdeeds. Without a word, the two mice broke off to chat.

“These two amateurs are quite the show, eh?” Da said.

“They do look and sound the part of the Buffon,” Muk replied. “Nothing like any of your shows, however. At least they are not breaking into song.”

Da leaned in closer to Muk.

“I should let you know that I may be serious about Freya.”

“Well, won’t that be a first.”

“So you’re not just going to step aside?”

Muk took a long look at Da.

“I highly doubt it, Mr. Seung.”

“It’s war then, Lieutenant Chin-Hwa?”

A loud laugh drew the two mice back to the circle. “Ah, so you accept!” Philip said, grinning from cheek to cheek.

“Yes, I’ll gladly promenade with you later this week, Mr. Cobbler. I can’t see a reason why not,” Freya said.

Da cleared his throat, stepping forward. “Perhaps then we could talk about the business of raising these chickens on a separate promenade?”

Freya seemed to consider, smoothing her whiskers with both paws as if to stall for time. She looked to her mother, who gave a sharp nod.

“I don’t mean to turn away, but perhaps we could talk about business. I believe that I may begin consulting, perhaps begin a family business. A promenade would do me good,” Freya said.

Muk smiled.

The Cobbler brothers began nattering rapidly about investments, and Muk quickly lost the thread of the conversation.

He found that Freya seemed to know a lot about business already due to a friend that was a fox. This prompted another round of questions about which fox due to the rarity of foxes. When it was revealed that the fox was a lady, a further line of inquiry continued.

The Uki family entertained them all for the next hour until Freya's mother very politely kicked them all out with invitations to visit again on their next occasion.

Back at the supply depot, the thing that stuck out in his mind was that Freya was trying to hedge her bets.

I would probably do the same thing myself, he thought. Is Da Seung truly interested in that mouse? I doubt it.

He thought for a long while about how to even the playing field.

He pulled out his quill and drew up a parchment.

I’ll make my case to her with a letter. Ladies love letters, or so I’ve heard.