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Chapter Text

Name: Rosa

Age: 42

Gender: Female

Length: 18 inches (45.72 cm)

Weight: 1.2 pounds (544.311 grams)

Breed: Albino Fancy

Likes: Bruno, guavaberries, climbing, pets, arepas, Bruno's shoulder

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, leaving Bruno alone, being underestimated, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, having to fight 

Traits: Sweet, loyal, wise, protective

Background: She may be completely blind due to a jaguarundi attack 32 years ago. But, don't let that fool you into thinking she's helpless. She's not the de facto leader of Bruno's entire plague for nothing. When it comes to anything to do with Bruno, the Madrigal Family, or the Encanto in general; the rats always defer to her. Her solutions are usually diplomatic in nature due to her complete dislike of violence. But, that doesn't mean she won't defend her human to her last breath. She is the first to Bruno's side whenever he's in distress and the last to leave when his powers go haywire. If she ever leaves in the first place. She doesn't care if his vibrations are overwhelming when his Gift is active. If it were up to her, she'd never leave his side regardless of how ridiculous or dangerous the situations get.

Name: Juan

Age: 13

Gender: Male

Length: 28 inches (71.12 cm) 

Weight: 1.6 pounds (725.748 grams)

Breed: Norwegian Fancy

Likes: Bruno, female rats, arepas, mangoes, pets, romantic parts

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, male rivals, snooty females, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, being rejected

Traits: Amorous, stubborn, affectionate, protective

Background: This rat alone is responsible for the existence of half the mischief and it irks Bruno to no end. As much as Juan dislikes angering Bruno due to it always leading to empty bellies the amorous rat just can't help himself. He wants to mate with every female rat he sees. He is still loyal to Bruno and will stop when ordered to. Only to go right back to it the minute the seer turns his back. Just because he refuses to listen in regards to mating doesn't mean he won't take any other orders. He'll gladly lay down his life for his admittedly strict human.

Name: Gordito

Age: 22

Gender: Male

Length: 32 inches (81.28 cm)

Weight: 3 pounds (1360.78 grams)

Breed: Dumbo

Likes: Bruno, food, pets, sleeping, warmth, Bruno's lap

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, veggies, fruits, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, physical activity

Traits: Lazy, stubborn, cuddly, humble

Background: The fattest and laziest rat in the mischief. It's a wonder he can effectively hide in Bruno's ruana or move at all for that matter. It's Bruno's weakness to sad eyes that has led to this rat's massive size. Fortunately, Bruno has been working on bringing Gordito down to a more reasonable weight much to the rat's chagrin. But, he's well aware it's for his own good and tries to bear with Bruno constantly feeding him fruits and veggies. Key word being try. The annoying change in diet hasn't diminished his loyalty to Bruno. He'll gladly defend him by using his size to his advantage and threaten to eat whoever or whatever dares threaten Bruno.

Name: Zara

Age: 32

Gender: Female

Length: 16 inches (40.64 cm)

Weight: 1.03 pounds (470 grams)

Breed: Black Fancy

Likes: Bruno, pets, arepas, keeping Bruno safe, dragon fruit, fighting

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, Alma, anyone who hurts Bruno, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, fire

Traits: Overprotective, aggressive, stubborn, cynical

Background: You will never meet a more overprotective rat than Zara. She's basically the Pepa of the mischief. If you so much as glared at Bruno in her presence then you're likely to get your eyes scratched out. It's the main reason Bruno keeps her at Casita much to her annoyance. She's aware that she can be a little too much at times. But, she means well. She just wants to keep Bruno safe from all threats. She had seen just how cruel people can be to Bruno and how it had broken him. So, she trusts nobody except Bruno by default and you have to earn it. Once you've earned it, she's very affectionate and will constantly beg for pets. But, keep in mind that her trust is very fragile. You break it and she's never gonna let you forget it. She will make you regret the day you were born if you break her trust or hurt Bruno in any way. Bruno often describes her as having the hardest and meanest bite because he's seen what her bites have done to people. She would never bite her Bruno nor any member of the Madrigals. Not even Alma despite how much she hates her. Mostly because Bruno insisted very strongly for her and the rest of the mischief to NEVER bite a member of the family no matter what. It won't stop her from hissing at Alma though no matter how much Bruno reprimands her.

Name: Rebecca

Age: 15

Gender: Female

Length: 6 inches (15.24 cm)

Weight: 5 ounces (141.748 grams)

Breed: Dwarf Dumbo

Likes: Bruno, acting, pets behind the ears, mocha, arepa con queso, the warmest spots

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, not getting her way, arrogant males, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, small parts

Traits: Snooty, demanding, charming, stubborn

Background: The primadonna of the mischief. She always wants everything to be her way or she'll throw a hissy fit. She doesn't just want water. She wants mocha with just a bit of sugar. She doesn't just want arepas either. Only arepa con queso that's lightly toasted. You only get to pet her behind the ears or she will bite you. She will also fight you for the warmest parts of Bruno's body whenever he's asleep regardless if you're a rat or not. When it comes to acting, she's by far the best when it comes to her big dramatic roles. But, don't you dare give her a small role or there will be hell to pay. Yes, she's spoiled rotten and a lot of it is because of Bruno. But, she is by far the cutest and most charming rat he has. This often leads Bruno to use her as an example whenever he's introducing kids to the fact he keeps rats. Even though her director can get on her nerves, she will gladly defend him and show people it's not the size of the rat in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the rat and this rat has A LOT of fight. She'll make this easy for people to remember: Don't hurt even one hair on her director or SHE WILL BITE YOUR FACE OFF!

Name: Bandido

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Length: 15 inches (38.1 cm)

Weight: 10 ounces (283.495 grams)

Breed: Roof Fancy

Likes: Bruno, shiny things, pets, arepas, climbing, corn

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, getting caught, brooms, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, thunder

Traits: Sneaky, curious, mischievous, protective

Background: Shiny things are all this rat can think of. If he sees something shiny, he will find the sneakiest way to take it. Necklaces, watches, jewels, earrings, rings, he'll take them all. Fortunately, he always brings his ill-gotten goods to Bruno to see if he can keep them. More often than not he won't keep any of what he took. Especially anything he took from humans. It annoys Bandido a bit, but he doesn't want the other humans to be upset with Bruno. So, he tries to take shiny things that he finds lying around. But, the allure of the shiny things humans like to wear can be too tempting for this little thief. Just because he's a thief who is more likely to run from an angry human than fight doesn't mean he won't tear into any human who dares to harm his human. Those claws of his are insanely sharp and ready to rend anything or anyone to bits.

Name: Remy

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Length: 17 inches (43.18 cm)

Weight: 14 ounces (396.893 grams)

Breed: Satin Dumbo

Likes: Bruno, cooking, pets, good food, full bellies, experimenting with flavors

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, garbage, empty bellies, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, weaponized utensils

Traits: Smart, passionate, adaptable, fatherly

Background: One of the more passionate and parental of Bruno's mischief. Just like his namesake, he doesn't just love finding and eating good food. He loves how it tastes, how it smells, and how they can combine into something new. Bruno actively encourages his passion and even taught him how to make fairly simple dishes. When Bruno was in the walls, Remy would always make sure the other rats brought him the good stuff. No human of his eats rejectamenta on his watch. He always makes sure Bruno eats as much as he can find despite only being lucky if he finds a lukewarm arepa and a slightly bruised mango. Now that Bruno is out of the walls, Remy has doubled down on making sure Bruno is well-fed and Bruno has upped his cooking lessons in return. Maybe one day there will be three Madrigals who can cook. Well, once Bruno convinces Julieta that Remy can be trusted to cook unsupervised. Until then, Remy's happy to just assist Bruno and Julieta whenever they start cooking together.

Name: Roja

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Length: 14 inches (35.56 cm)

Weight: 13 ounces (368.544 grams)

Breed: Red-eyed Fancy

Likes: Bruno, stunts, pets, arepas, peppers, climbing

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, hiding, the ground, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, cats, bright lights

Traits: Fearless, protective, curious, relentless

Background: This ruby-eyed rat was born with more steel in her spine than the village blacksmith. She feels no fear and is constantly trying to pull stunts much to Bruno's chagrin. This rat would gladly leap in the mouth of a tiger both to see if she could do it and to get it to leave Bruno alone. She doesn't like staying still, hiding, or running in the opposite direction of potential danger. She doesn't even fear the village humans and it can often be to Bruno's detriment. Mostly because she's often the one who pokes her head out at inconvenient times and her eyes can be pretty alarming for a lot of people. She really is a sweetheart in spite of the color of her eyes and the most trusting. But, don't mistake her docile nature for pacifism. She's almost always the first rat to go on the attack the second she senses Bruno's in danger. This little fighter won't go anywhere once she gets her teeth and claws in you. She will hang on with everything she has to cause as much damage as possible. This resolute rodent will make you regret the day you laid so much as a glance on her human.

Name: Marco

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Length: 16 inches

Weight: 1.3 pounds (589.67 grams)

Breed: Brown Dumbo

Likes: Bruno, hiding, pets, Bruno's cooking, quiet, darkness

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, open spaces, noise, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, coming out of hiding

Traits: Timid, paranoid, quiet, sneaky

Background: By far the timidest of the mischief, this dumbo is so skittish he makes Bruno look daring by comparison. He would rather stay hidden in Bruno's ruana or anywhere dark and never come out. Whenever he is out of hiding, the poor thing is very shaky and jumpy with his eyes almost always bugged out. The slightest noise will send him into a squeaking panic and running for Bruno so he can hide. There are only two things that'll make him swallow his fear: Bruno's food and Bruno in danger. He just can't resist the soft, nutty, chocolatey goodness that is Bruno's double chocolate almond cookies. Nor the warm, delicious, symphony of flavors that are his soups. He doesn't know anyone who can unless they have no tastebuds to speak of. As for Bruno, well... Marco is afraid of a lot of things. Everything really. But, he'd rather face all of that than allow Bruno to come to harm.

Name: Gabriel

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Length: 20 inches (50.8 cm)

Weight: 1.4 pounds (635.029 grams)

Breed: Rex Fancy

Likes: Bruno, exploring, pets, new things, arepas, outside

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, indoors, hiding, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, staying put

Traits: Adventurous, stubborn, curious, intelligent

Background: New sights, new smells, new sounds... He wants to explore it all! Regardless of how Bruno feels about him exploring without any backup. Out of the Close Ones, this is the rat that you're most likely to see away from Bruno and the colony. All he wants is to see new places, people, or things and understand them. As a result, he is by far the leading expert on how human and animal societies work. He can even read both English and Spanish thanks to Bruno letting him go through his books. If the rats get a hold of anything that belongs to the humans, Gabriel can identify it in a split second along with how it functions. No, Gabriel does not misunderstand how things work. He always makes sure he studies everything thoroughly so he won't make rookie mistakes like that. He's an experienced explorer after all and has only made mistakes in his younger days. Besides, how was he supposed to know the difference between a fork and a brush? They looked the same to him at the time! Bruno and the rest still won't let him live that down. He used the fork to brush his fur ONE TIME! But, he still loves Bruno despite his teasing and is willing to use all his knowledge at his disposal to protect him.

Name: Mota

Age: 17

Length: 13 inches (33.02 cm)

Weight: 14 ounces (396.893 grams)

Gender: Female

Breed: Dalmatian Fancy 

Likes: Bruno, creating things, lulo, pets, writing, being appreciated

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, destroyed/damaged creations, distractions, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, harsh critique

Traits: Creative, determined, shy, curious

Background: The artist of the mischief. This spotted wonder can create just about anything. She helped Bruno create those cardboard cutouts used in his stage plays back in the walls. She's had to make do with what she can find to sate her need to create things. It's usually her fault whenever papers, colorful thread, bits of fabric, and artist supplies go missing. Now, she's making clothes for the rat actors and rats in general with Mirabel's help. So, it's not unusual to see the Close Ones and a few others wearing scarves, bow ties, ruanas, and jackets after Casita was rebuilt. From Rosa's pink tail bow to Pepita's orange scarf, Marco's beige ruana, Bandido's mask, Juan's jacket, Gabriel's fingerless gloves, and so on. She also loves to draw paintings and write stories. Her hand- erm paw writing leaves much to be desired due to the quills being too big. But, it's legible enough to make most of it out. Her drawings and paintings on the other hand are really good. Especially her sketches. Even if her drawings are a bit hard to make out and the subjects are a little... Limited.

Name: Pepita

Age: 41

Gender: Female

Length: 12 inches (30.48 cm)

Weight: 9 ounces (255.146 grams)

Breed: Roof Dumbo

Likes: Bruno, children, seeds, pets, arepas, healthy Bruno

Dislikes: Angering Bruno, a child in danger, filth, Bruno being hurt/sick/sad, falling, Bruno neglecting his health

Traits: Motherly, kind, protective, intuitive

Background: The second oldest rat and the mother of the mischief. She has had the most litters out of everyone (402) and the least number of stillbirths (12). Kind and motherly with an intuition rivaling the seer himself. She is the rat to go to if you want to know how Bruno's actually doing. If he's not doing well, she'll do everything in her power to keep people away from him. If he's in a good mood, she'll either invite you in or try to keep you from ruining his mood depending on who you are. This rat is the closest thing Bruno had to a mother that actually tries to care for him before Casita fell. She did everything in her power to take care of him and tried to learn as much about caring for humans as she could. It was a trial and error process for her. Caring for Bruno is obviously not as simple as grooming him and keeping him fed. What with the constant depressive episodes that have him refusing to do even the most basic of self-care rituals. Not to mention the vision migraines from overusing/suppressing his powers that leave him bedridden for days. But, she did her best to learn her way around his every mood and idiosyncrasy. Now, she has a dozen humans just as determined as she is in getting Bruno healthy. Needless to say, things have been going much more smoothly for the cinnamon dumbo. The depressive episodes have been far less frequent and the vision migraines are practically nonexistent thanks to Julieta cracking the code on Bruno's Gift. Who knew aguapanela with a few rare herbs mixed in would do the trick? Either way, Bruno is doing far better than he has since he was in his twenties and Pepita couldn't be happier. But, she will be very unhappy and those responsible will be very unhealthy if anyone tries to hurt her Brunito in any way, shape, or form!

Chapter Text

Bruno was in Antonio's room playing hide and seek. There were many places in this jungle of a room for someone as small and flexible as Bruno to hide in. But, Antonio was pretty good at finding him. Not that Bruno was letting Antonio find him. Hide and seek eventually segued into an energetic game of la traes. Bruno was able to keep away from Antonio despite the fact he was riding on Parce at one point in the game. A terrified part of Bruno considered that Parce was playing with his food and a more rational part thought the jaguar was just going easy on him. Either way, it didn't take long for Bruno to have to end the game prematurely due to the remnants of his lung condition starting to flare up again.

Yes, Julie's amped-up healing did a great job of clearing out and healing his lungs. But, one glass of sugared-up lulada isn't gonna fix ten years' worth of damage caused by breathing in all that dust and plaster. It is getting easier on him and he can run farther every day. But, it can get a little frustrating for him at times. Especially when he wants to play with his sobrinos, but his body just refuses to cooperate.

"Are you okay, Tío Bruno?" Antonio asked with worry in his chocolate eyes, "Are you getting sick again? Do I need to get Tía Julieta?"

"No... No..." Bruno gasped, "I just... I just need a... Need a minute..."

His rats begged to differ as they pulled at his ruana to make him sit down.

"We can rest if you want." Antonio offered, "We don't have to keep playing."

"But, I..." Bruno wheezed, "But, I want to... To keep playing..."

"But, how can you play if you can't breathe?" Antonio asked.

"I... I dunno..." Bruno coughed a bit, "I'll... I'll figure something out..."

...

...

...

"Have you figured it out yet?"

...

"No..."

...

...

...

"How about now?"

...

"Nope..."

...

...

...

"How about—"

"Maybe... Maybe I should rest..." Bruno conceded breathlessly, "Just for a bit..."

"Okay!" Antonio smiled cheerfully, "Parce knows a great place to rest."

"Do I..." Bruno hesitated, "Have to... Have to get on the cat?"

"Can you keep up with Parce when you're sick?" Antonio asked curiously.

Bruno honestly couldn't keep up with that cat even if he were in peak physical condition. So, he answered by slowly climbing on the jaguar and hanging on for dear life as the large cat bounded through the jungle Antonio calls a room. They eventually came to a river with a caiman swimming lazily by the two Madrigals. It took everything for the somewhat breathless seer to not fly into a panic. Antonio thankfully saw his distress and tried to calm him.

"Oh, don't worry." Antonio smiled, "Mordé says you're too crunchy for him."

How very reassuring... Not!

But, Bruno decided to take Antonio at his word and tried to make peace with the fact there's a caiman in Casita.

Uno, dos, tres...

Four, five, six...

He's just one of Antonio's pets.

Uno, dos, tres...

Four, five, six...

He's not gonna hurt him.

Uno, dos, tres...

Four, five, six...

Antonio wouldn't ever let that happen to him. Heck, the kid even told the boa constrictor to be gentle with him because "his bones still break easy". Bruno's pretty certain her name was Apretá.

Is it just Bruno or are a lot of the animals' names a little on the nose?

Antonio insists that he never named them but sometimes he isn't too sure of that. He looked over his mental list of names for every animal that he learned of in this room. From Chispi the capybara who's anything but energetic to Raya and Baya. The coati twins who often like to take up residence on his shoulder.

Now, who names their pets after stripes and ber—

Bruno jumped a bit when he felt a tiny hand rubbing his knuckles.

"Oh, am I doing it wrong?" Antonio asked.

"Huh?"

"I always see the adults do this to your hands when you get scared or sad." Antonio explained, "I thought if I do it you'd feel better."

Dios, Bruno loves this kid! Antonio barely even knows his uncle and he still tries to do everything he can to help make him feel comfortable.

"I-it's okay," Bruno assured, "You're... You're doing it right. You only startled me a bit."

"Okay." Antonio nodded before asking, "Do you feel better?"

The knuckle-rubbing was making him feel a little better. It always takes him back to when he was a kid and mamá was much more understanding. How she'd always do that whenever he knocks his knuckles bloody. She'd gently grab his hands and softly tell him "Bueno manos, Brunito" repeatedly until he stops. Once he stopped struggling, she'd hold him and wrap his injured knuckles while humming softly in his ear. Once she finished wrapping them, she would rub his knuckles while singing "Sana, sana colita de rana" in order to "make the hurt go away". It always calmed him, eased his pain, and grounded him.

"Yeah..." Bruno smiled wistfully, "I feel a little better."

He turned to Antonio who had the biggest smile.

"Gracias, Toñito." 

The smile got impossibly larger as Antonio replied, "De nada, Tío Bruno."

Bruno and his youngest sobrino smiled at each other for what felt like hours. But, it probably couldn't be more than a minute or two. Sometimes Bruno's sense of time isn't always the most solid. The moment was broken either way by a mountain tapir who thought Bruno's lap was its bed. The sudden weight startled Bruno so badly that his world tinted an acidic green and the wind picked up a little bit. But, he quickly reined his magic in as Antonio began using his to scold the animal.

"Hocico!" the young animal whisperer scolded, "Tío Bruno gets scared easily! If you want to climb on his lap you need to ask first!"

The tapir looked pretty shame-faced and made noises Bruno would expect from a bird rather than something that looks like a furry pig with a long nose.

"I'm not the one you should say sorry to."

More noisy squeaks.

"Just show him how sorry you are."

The tapir nodded before turning to Bruno and began rubbing against him as gently as he could. The seer laid a hesitant hand on the tapir's head and began to gently stroke him. The animal seemed to like the gesture as he leaned into Bruno's touch and began making soft squeaks.

"Hocicco says he likes your hands." Antonio translated, "They feel nice."

"Well, his fur feels pretty nice too." Bruno commented while petting him somewhat absent-mindedly.

Hocicco made another soft squeak.

"He thanked you."

Bruno wasn't too surprised the tapir understood him. The magic has gotten much stronger since Casita came back. From Camilo being able to turn into animals to Dolores being able to zero in on sounds that humans normally can't hear. Even Bruno's Gift felt much stronger to him and the experiments Mirabel had him do can attest to that. So, is it really any wonder that Antonio's Gift likely extended to the animals being able to understand human speech? It certainly explains why his rats are so much easier to train since the magic returned. Not to mention the incidences with Parce and Apretá.

"De nada, Hocicco." Bruno smiled.

Yet another name that's quite literally on the nose.

Okay, granted, Bruno isn't immune to giving names that are a bit lacking in imagination. From Roja who's red in every sense of the word to Bandito who steals anything shiny. Not to mention the fact that Antonio is five which doesn't exactly put him at the height of giving creative names. But, he keeps insisting up and down that he never named these animals. That they just tell him their names.

This led Bruno to wonder...

If the animals give each other names...

Then, what are the actual names of his rats?

Oh, that question is likely gonna eat him alive until he gets an answer. Not to mention the fact that calling his rats by name is gonna get awkward now that the thought that he's calling them by the wrong name crossed his mind. Luckily, he has someone who can speak to the animals sitting right next to him and his lungs finally eased enough for every breath to stop feeling like one of his many ratnovela cliffhangers.

"Hey, Antonio."

"¿Sí, Tío?"

"Do you know..." Bruno hesitated a bit, "Do you know the names of... Of my rats?"

"Yeah!" Antonio grinned, "I know all their names! Rosa, Pepita, Bandito, Gordito, Roja, Rebecca, Remy, Mota, Juan—"

"No-no-no-no-no!" Bruno barely managed to stop him, "I meant their... Their real names."

"Oh!" Antonio realized before asking, "Why didn't you just say so?"

Give him a break! He's a bit rusty with the whole conversation thing and even rustier at initializing it.

"S-sorry, I'm still new to..." Bruno tried to put it in a way he can understand, "Well, I just... Haven't talked to people in a really long time and I—"

"You need to practice?"

"Y-yeah..." Bruno admitted while rubbing his arm, "I need to practice... Talking with people, that is..."

"Like how you needed to practice hugging?"

Bruno nodded.

"Don't worry." Antonio grinned, "I'll make sure you get lots of practice."

Ay, this kid melts his heart every time. It was all he could do to keep from hugging him on the spot. Bruno smiled shyly at him before getting back to the question he had.

"So... Uh..." Bruno cleared his throat, "Did my rats ever tell you their real names?"

"Nope."

"Can I..." Bruno fumbled a bit, "Can I call for them? Y'know... So you can ask them?"

"Sure!"

Bruno debated on calling all of them or just the first 12. After a moment of indecision, he decided to settle on the first 12 so they won't be here all day learning the names of 302 rats. He put his first finger and thumb to his mouth and let out a whistle that Dolores could just make out. It wasn't long before his first 12 rats came through the bushes and made a squeaking beeline for their human. All of them were wearing various articles of clothing thanks to Mota and Mirabel. From Rosa's scarf to Pepita's tail bow to Gabriel's gloves to Juan's jacket. Bruno subconsciously held Antonio's hand as he always did when introducing the more timid kids to his rats.

What he heard next shook him to his core...

"Bruno!" Rosa called, "I can smell him over there!"

"Is he okay?" Pepita wondered, "His vibrations are all over the place."

"Pepita says your waves are all over the place." Antonio translated.

"Why don't you ask him?" Remy suggested.

"Bruno?" Pepita squeaked, "Are you okay?"

Antonio was about to translate before Gabriel interrupted.

"Remember to make your squeaks loud and sound human or he won't understand." Gabriel reminded her.

"Oh, yeah..." Pepita sighed in annoyance at herself, "I forgot."

Squeak-squeak? Squeak squeak squeak-squeak?

They... They created a language for him? Bruno thought his heart was gonna explode.

"Uh... Estoy bien, Pepita." Bruno stammered out before wincing.

"He's lying!" Zara called him out, "I sensed his pain! He's not fine! Who hurt him?! Who dared hurt our Alpha?!"

A-Alpha?! Him?! Since when?! Maybe in another universe! But, definitely not this one!

"Zara said you lied." Antonio translated, "She wants to know who hurt you."

Rosa spoke up before Bruno could answer.

"Calm yourself, Zara." Rosa gave Zara a small lick, "The pain was likely caused when he lied. Lying always caused him pain. It's been that way ever since he was a pup."

"Rosa's trying to calm Zara down." Antonio explained.

"Why did he lie then?" Zara demanded with her fur standing up, "Why is he so distressed?!"

"She wants to know why you lied."

Bruno tried to answer. But, Rosa kept interrupting him.

"That's what we're going to find out." Rosa told her before turning to Pepita, "Pepita, you're the most in tune with his moods. What do you sense?"

"Rosa's using Pepita to find out what's wrong."

At least Bruno was right about Pepita being intuitive. She always seems to know when he's upset no matter how hard he tries to hide it.

"He feels more surprised than upset." Pepita answered, "No, surprised is putting it mildly. He seems really shaken."

"Pepita says you're really surprised." Antonio translated before asking, "Why are you surprised?"

"Toñito..." Bruno explained haltingly, "I... I don't know if I... If I finally lost my mind or... Or if that branch I hit back there knocked something loose..."

"What do you mean?"

"I... I think..." Bruno confessed, "I think I can understand them..."

"What do you mean?"

"I... I don't mean like how I usually understand them." Bruno tried to elaborate, "I mean... I think... I understand them the same way you do."

"What?!" Antonio gaped.

"What?!" Parce roared.

"What?!" Hocicco squawked.

"What?!" All 12 of his rats squeaked at once.

The jungle came alive in a cacophony of voices all demanding to know how this could have happened.

"Ugh!" Bruno groaned while doubling over, "Please... Make them stop!"

"¡Silenco!" Antonio roared and the jungle went dead quiet.

Once Antonio was sure they'll stay quiet, he turned to his tío with his stern expression morphing into a look of pure astonishment.

"You... You can understand them?"

Bruno could only nod very slowly.

"But... How?" Antonio whispered in awe.

"I... I don't know." Bruno struggled to find a connection, "I... I-I think it started when..."

Bruno looked through his memories and saw that it started the moment he grabbed Antonio's hand.

"I think... I have an idea..." Bruno muttered before turning to his stunned sobrino, "Let me test something, Toñito."

"Okay." Antonio nodded hesitantly.

Bruno released his hold on Antonio's hand and turned to Rosa.

"¡Anda!" Bruno encouraged, "¡Di algo!"

Rosa seemed hesitant before trying to speak with Bruno. All he heard were high-pitched squeaks.

"Oh... Gracias a Dios." Bruno sighed with relief.

"She asked if you were okay." Antonio translated.

"I am now knowing that I didn't just steal your Gift." Bruno sighed with relief again before muttering, "I do not want that kind of power. I'd rather See how the universe is gonna end than have to deal with that."

As if in answer, his world began to tint that poisonous green.

"No-no-no-no-no!" Bruno shouted frantically, "I take it back!"

Colors other than green began to return much to his relief.

"Are you sure you're okay, Tío?" Antonio asked with his eyes wide in concern.

"Yeah, just my Gift acting up." Bruno chuckled, "You... You know how it can be at times. Remember what happened at dinner last night?"

"Oh, right." Antonio recalled, "You don't always control your Gift."

"Yeah..." Bruno sighed before moving on, "Now, let me hold your hand again."

Antonio took Bruno's hand without hesitation.

"¿Rosa?" Bruno asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Bruno?" Rosa squeaked.

Bruno gasped in equal parts shock and excitement before staring at Antonio's hands.

"Antonio!" Bruno grinned, "Your Gift! It's grown!"

"Grown?" Antonio asked, "How?"

"When you hold someone's hand," Bruno explained excitedly, "You share your Gift with them as long as you hang on!"

"Really?!" Antonio beamed.

"Makes things a lot easier for you." Bruno smiled, "No more having to translate when you can just hold their hand and let them hear it from the donkey's mouth... Literally."

Antonio giggled at the mild joke.

"It'll definitely make speaking with my rats a lot easier." Bruno turned to Rosa, "I do have a lot of questions."

"Oh, I can only imagine." Rosa made herself comfortable, "Mind if I ask a question first?"

"Sí, cualquier cosa." Bruno answered.

"Why do you always speak Español to us?" she asked.

"Oh..." Bruno fumbled, "It's... It's an old habit. Español was my first language. It was all I knew when I first met you. So, it kinda... Stuck? I-I can stop if you want."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Rosa assured him, "But, it would probably make Antonio feel less left out since he's still learning Español."

"True." Bruno conceded before continuing, "So... What are your real names?"

"Real names?" Rosa asked.

"Uh, yeah." Bruno nodded hesitantly, "What was your name before I found you?"

"I... Don't really remember." Rosa admitted.

"Well, what do the other rats call you then?" Bruno asked.

"Rosa." she shrugged, "The others have always called me that."

"Okay, what about the rest of you?"

"I've always been Pepita." the mother of the mischief squeaked.

"I like Juan better than my old name." Juan puffed out his chest, "It makes me sound strong."

"I've always been called Gordito." the rotund rat yawned.

"I've always been called Bandito too." the roof rat chimed in.

"I like the name Zara." the black rat spoke up, "It makes me feel tough."

"Remy suits me way better than my old name." the chef smiled, "I am a lot like the rat you See with your second sight."

Every answer from the 12 ranged from liking it better than their old names to making them sound or feel a certain trait.

"Okay," Bruno pressed, "But, what are your real names?"

"We don't remember anymore." the 12 chorused.

"Does it even matter?" Rosa asked, "We've always gone by whatever you call us. Especially the ones who are born into the colony. We've always called them by whatever name you give them because it always seems to suit them. Besides, you are our Alpha and your word is law in this colony."

There it is again. That unbelievable term. Referring to the word Alpha and himself in the same context seems almost oxymoronic to the seer.

"H-how am I..." Bruno stammered, "Wh-when did I become A-Alpha to you guys?"

"Well, in order to explain that, you have to understand how things work in the colony." Rosa began, "We operate on an Alpha/Beta/Gamma/Zeta social system. The Zetas are the lowest and weakest in the colony. They pal around the Gammas and stay away from us. The Gammas are the average rats. The ones you see running around doing things like gathering food, growing the colony, things like that. Betas are typically the peacekeepers in a rat colony. Our colony is similar, but it also differs in that regard. Here, the Betas consist of The Close Ones."

She sensed Bruno's confused vibrations.

"That's the first twelve of us." she elaborated, "We are called that because we are the ones closest to the Alpha. There is one other difference between us and the Gammas and Zetas as well."

"What's that?" Bruno asked.

"Well, the Gammas and Zetas typically live 2 or 3 of your years." Rosa answered, "You should know as much. You've done your human burial ritual with every single one of them. You even did it with those who didn't make it out of the nest when it collapsed."

"Y-yeah." Bruno nodded sadly, "I have."

Bruno quickly recalled that his youngest sobrino was still there, "C-can we not talk about this in front of Antonio?"

"Why?" Rosa asked curiously.

"Because he's too young to know about this." Bruno explained in a tone that was a touch too harsh.

Dios, he feels like a hypocrite!

After all, he learned about life and death at the ripe age of four when he Saw Señor Morales die via a wagon in a prophetic dream. Yep, he had those even before he got his Gift! To See Morales getting run down by a wagon. The sickening crunches, the scream that suddenly cuts off, and that... That mangled corpse covered in red. So much red. He knew it was very bad. He had to stop it from happening and he did. But, it hasn't stopped it from occasionally haunting him whenever he fails to prevent death from happening.

It's like his brain was shouting angrily, "¡Oye! You stopped this when you were four! Why weren't you able to stop that death as an adult?!"

The answer to that is cruelly simple to Bruno as he felt his side where that deep scar used to be. Interfering with Death itself one too many times very nearly got him killed and rendered comatose for two days. But, Bruno saw that injury as a slap on the wrist compared to what happened to Morales at the lumber camp. He still shudders just thinking about that day. It was like something out of that movie he Saw in a prophetic dream once where people tried to cheat Death and failed spectacularly.

Bruno shook himself of his memories when Antonio spoke.

"Don't worry." Antonio smiled a bit sadly, "I know what death is."

"Uh..." Bruno hesitated, fearing Pepa's wrath and feeling a bit upset himself, "Wh-where did you... Learn that?"

"The animals." Antonio answered, "Chispi said that when you die everything just kinda stops. I wanted to know what Chispi meant and Apretá told me they stop moving, breathing, and their heart stops. I wondered if it was like being sick. That they'll get better after a few days. But, Parce told me that when someone dies they can never come back."

Ohh, Bruno's gonna have some words with those animals if Pepa doesn't get to them first. Antonio is too young for this! 

"Don't be mad, Tío." Antonio frowned, "I asked them about it when André died."

André...

"Oh, yes... André" Rosa sighed, "That was a sad day for the colony. He was a good protector and one of the strongest among us. Yes, he died fulfilling his duty for the good of the colony. But... He was far too young."

"I'm sorry..." Bruno sniffed, feeling like a failure.

"It's alright, Bruno." Rosa rubbed her body against his knuckles, "There's nearly 300 of us and only one of you. Even with your second sight, you can't possibly protect us all."

"Yeah," Zara nodded, "Besides, your family gave that stupid human what for after they found out. And when that human said we were just rats—"

"Alma lost it!" Gabriel chuckled, "I haven't seen her that angry since the..." he remembers Bruno was there and squeaks it at a pitch too high for him to hear.

"Well, at least that led to Kate and the Miracle itself getting the entire colony of humans to open their eyes." Roja pointed out.

The rest of the 12 nodded in agreement.

"I just wish my poor Brunito didn't have to go through so much pain to get there." Pepita squeaked pitifully, "It broke my heart to see him hobbling around on a cane. Barely able to walk let alone climb stairs. Not to mention hearing him constantly shout in pain and frustration. His vibrations were... So sad... So angry... So scared... So... So hurt."

Bruno frowned at the memories of that blasted cane. He prays every day that he'll never have to use it again. He felt like such a burden during those days even though everyone insisted up and down that he was never a burden. But, honestly, Who wouldn't be feeling that way after nearly dying and being crippled for a month?!

Of course, he was sad! He lost his ability to run, jump, and parkour! He couldn't play with the kids like he used to!

Yes, he was very angry! Mostly at those so-called men that did this to him and his lack of mobility frustrated him to no end!

He was hurting too... In more ways than just the constant pain in his feet.

But... Scared?

Maybe... Maybe because he wasn't as mobile and was therefore unable to escape a potential assault... He was vulnerable. Yeah, that would make sense. It explains why he didn't want to leave the house the entire time. Every time he tried to leave a strange terror would seize his heart and keep him from clearing the threshold. It took Kate everything to get him to leave for the Town Meeting. It was an even bigger show of bravery for him to show himself on that stage. He sat in front of over 200 people who haven't seen him since he was... Injured. Hadn't seen them look that horrified since the time he walked out of the Guzmán's house half-asleep without a shirt. Yeah, that's one way of letting the whole Encanto know just how emaciated he was at the time. Bruno knew they'd find out eventually. He just wished that it happened in a less... Horrifyingly embarrassing way.

"At least he's better now." Mota smiled, "Julieta's blessing saw to that. Remember how Bruno was so happy that he was doing cartwheels and swinging on the rafters like the mono he is?"

"Yeah," Rosa nodded, "Half of us were hanging on for dear life."

Bruno blushed a bit and smiled while remembering that day. It was one of, if not, the best day of his life. That was the first time he's shown his family what he was truly capable of in terms of sheer athleticism. He'll never get over how Camilo shouted how old he was in disbelief when they saw him hanging upside down on the rafters. It certainly gave his madre quite a fright seeing her fifty-year-old son leaping across the rafters like he was in his twenties.

Well, he certainly felt like he was in his twenties that day and he just wanted to test his range of motion. It's not his fault it ended up frightening half the family while the other half wanted to learn how. Pepa and Julieta were against the kids learning, but Bruno agreed anyway. How could he possibly say no to passing on his knowledge of parkour?

"Yes, I remember that." Pepita smiled, "I haven't felt vibrations that happy in years."

Bruno nodded before deciding to move on, "So, uh... The Gamma and Zeta rats?"

"Ah, yes." Rosa recalled, "They don't live for very long compared to us. They only live for 2 or 3 years. The oldest I've seen was 5 before he finally drew his last breath."

Yeah, Bruno named that rat well. Terco was very stubborn to the end. Now, he's next to the mahogany tree in the garden with the rest of his brothers and sisters.

"We have never suffered a death in our number." Rosa continued, "The Close Ones seem to just... Never grow old. While you probably see that as an oddity. We are practically ancient in the eyes of our brethren."

"Yeah... I've noticed that." Bruno nodded, "I've kinda... Always blamed it on the magic."

"So do we." Rosa chuckled before moving on, "Our job as Betas is to keep the peace. That much is true. But, we also take on the role of Alpha whenever you aren't around. Especially me, since I'm the oldest and wisest in the colony. I'm basically the Alpha whenever you aren't with us. The outsiders you brought in yesterday consider this strange."

"Why?" Bruno asked.

"Because the Alpha rat is almost always male." Rosa explained, "Males are bigger and stronger than females. It may sound misogynistic to you. But, to us rats, it's just a fact of life. It's even odder to them that our Alpha isn't even the same species as us. So, the outsiders challenged my authority as well as yours. Fortunately, Zara was there to... Set them straight."

"If by 'set them straight' you mean tear their ears off." Zara muttered angrily.

"Zara." Bruno scolded lightly.

"They questioned your authority, Bruno!" Zara protested loudly, "What did you expect me to do?! Just sit there and let them speak of committing high treason?!"

High treason... As in... Killing him?! Bruno's blood ran cold at the thought of his own rats trying to kill him. Fortunately, Zara sensed his fear and rubbed against his hands to comfort him.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone lay so much as a glance on you." Zara promised, "Regardless if they're my own kind or not."

"None of us will!" the 12 chorused, "We won't let anyone or anything hurt you and that's a promise!"

Bruno was so touched by the declaration that he had his hand over his heart and needed a moment.

"What did I ever do to warrant this kind of loyalty?" Bruno wondered aloud.

"You're our Alpha." Rosa answered.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"There is one duty the Betas, Gammas, and Zetas all have in common in this colony and that is to ensure the protection of our Alpha." Zara declared with all the seriousness of a knight protecting their king, "So, we will guard you and your family with our lives."

Bruno needed to lie down after that which led to a cacophony of concerned rats asking if he was okay.

"Are you sick?" Pepita asked.

"He doesn't look or feel sick." Remy squeaked.

"Is it a vision?" Rosa asked.

"His vibrations are all over the place." Pepita noticed, "But, not nearly enough for his second pair of eyes to open."

"Are you tired?" Mota asked.

"He doesn't feel tired." Rosa noted.

"Nor does he look it." Pepita agreed.

"Okay, we all did a great job figuring out what it's not." Zara grumbled, "Now, how about figuring out what it is?"

"Why..." Bruno muttered.

"Why, what?" Rosa asked.

"Why am I an Alpha to you guys?"

"You feed us." Gordito yawned.

"Y-you sh-shelter us." Marco stammered from Bruno's ruana.

"You take care of us when we're sick or injured." Rosa smiled.

"You help care for and protect our pups." Pepita pointed out the pack with Rubia and her pups sleeping inside.

"You keep us clean and free of the itchies." Rebecca flaunted her shiny coat.

"You help us pursue our passions." Gabriel, Mota, and Remy chorused.

"You let me help grow the colony." Juan grinned which earned him an aside glance from half the mischief. Yes, he's a big help in growing the colony. But, he does it against Bruno's orders to stop.

"You keep us out of trouble with the humans." Bandito smiled awkwardly.

"You helped us get in the human pups' good books." Roja squeaked.

"You protect us." Zara nodded.

"Okay, the rest I understand." Bruno cut in, "But... Protecting you?"

"You saved me from that big snake just a few days ago." Rosa pointed out.

Apretá immediately went into hiding.

"You saved me from that mean cat." Roja recalled.

Parce hid his face when Bruno glanced at him.

"You saved me from that mean human with the dead fish." Bandito smiled.

Bruno grimaced at the memory of stopping Bandito from stealing Osma's new necklace... Again.

"You were even protecting us as a pup." Pepita reminded him, "You saved me from being crushed by Alma's broom."

Bruno winced at that memory. He considered that the day he and mamá no longer saw eye to eye. She tried to kill one of his rats and that turned into one of the catalysts that led him to subconsciously consider her a threat. He's still trying to stop himself from flinching every time she calls for him. He knows how much his fear reaction breaks her heart. So, he's been trying to stop. Trying to tell himself that she's not gonna hurt him, she's not a threat, she's his mother, she's trying to change, and he needs to do the same by not fearing her. Fortunately for the seer, that unwanted fear response has begun to fade about a month ago. Hell, he even smiled without making a conscious effort yesterday when she kissed his cheek. So, even he's getting better. He has to get better. For his family, for mamá, and... Maybe a little for himself.

"Okay, maybe I do protect you guys." Bruno shrugged.

"There's no maybe about it." Rosa insisted, "You do protect us."

"You even helped many of us escape the nest when it was collapsing!" Zara added loudly, "You risked your life to help us escape! If that's not the mark of a true Alpha then I don't know what is!"

"I-I wish I-I-I was that br-brave..." Marco stammered.

"And that strong!" Juan added.

"In both senses of the word!" Remy chimed in

"I don't know anyone more selfless than you!" Pepita cried.

"Anyone who calls you otherwise is an idiot!" Roja shouted.

Brave?!

Strong?!

Selfless?! 

Him?!

Bruno's mind and emotions were at war. His mind agreed with the rats. Even showing him memories of the times he protected and cared for these rats. Of course, they'd give their undying loyalty to him and even see him as their leader. But, his own self-hatred refuses to believe it. That the rats were just saying what they want him to hear. Maybe they're doing this for more food. That has to be it 'cause who in their right mind would ever see Bruno, El Mal De Ojo of the Encanto, as any of those traits?!

"He doesn't believe us." Rosa lamented, "I can sense it."

"It feels more like he's at war within himself." Pepita pointed out, "Let's give the part of him telling the truth a paw."

"Alright!" Mota cried excitedly, "Who's up for a cuddle party?!"

All 12 of them were in agreement.

"I'll call for reinforcements!" Rosa grinned.

And call for reinforcements she did. It wasn't even two minutes before Bruno's thoughts were interrupted by a tidal wave of rats followed closely by the 12. They were all shouting something about a cuddle party and showering the seer with kisses, cuddles, and praises. Even Antonio joined in the cuddle party at some point.

"But... But... I don't..." Bruno tried before an angry Antonio interrupted him.

"Don't listen to that mean voice in your head!" Antonio glared, "They do love you no matter what that voice thinks! Just listen!"

Bruno couldn't help listening to the cacophony.

"I call dibs on his chest!" Rebbeca shouted.

"I get the shoulders!" Rosa yelled.

"Cuddle party!" Mota bellowed.

"We're lost without you, Bruno!" 50 different voices shouted.

"We trust you, Bruno!" 100 rats cried.

"WE'LL ALWAYS PROTECT YOU, BRUNO!!" 200 rats clamored.

"WE LOVE YOU, BRUNO!!!" every single rat chorused as if they waited their whole lives to say that.

Needless to say, it was really hard for his self-hatred to argue with the insistent voices of nearly 300 rats and his sobrino. Bruno felt it retreating as overwhelming happiness took over. He began stroking as many rats as he could reach and his sight blurred a bit due to him being unable to stop the happy tears from coming.

"Bruno?" Rebecca asked.

"Is he okay?" Juan sniffed at him.

"He's fine." Pepita smiled, "He's just really happy."

"Then why are his eyes leaking?" Rebecca nearly demanded, "Doesn't that mean he's sad?"

"Humans are weird like that." Rosa explained, "When they get overwhelmed by any emotion their eyes start leaking."

"So..." Bruno sniffed as he continued giving the rats all the pets, "Anything else I should know about my place in your colony."

"Well, to put it bluntly, the entire colony centers around you." Rosa explained, "You are our leader, our protector, our guide, our Alpha—"

"And we will keep telling you that until you believe us!" Zara shouted.

"Yes..." Rosa rolled her beady eyes, "Without you, our entire colony will fall apart. We'll be sitting ducks. Directionless. Vulnerable."

"You can imagine our horror when I found that note saying you were sick." Gabriel frowned, "Deathly sick. It said how you were wasting away, feverish, malnourished, and couldn't be left alone. That you probably wouldn't make it through the week."

Bruno's eyes widened in horror.

The note to Doctor Hernandez mamá lost and had to rewrite!

"Yes," Rosa nodded, "That note caused the worst panic since the nest collapsed."

"It probably didn't help that I ran through the tunnels screaming that Bruno was dying." Gabriel rubbed his forearm sheepishly.

"No, it didn't." Rosa stated bluntly.

That explained why Bruno was surrounded by rats for nearly a month after the note disappeared. It was fortunate that Señora Guzmán was so accommodating. Especially, after mamá gave her quite the tongue-lashing for calling them pests. It also explained why they looked so scared all the time. Why they wouldn't stop bringing him the best food they could find. Even risking their lives at some points. Why they kept cuddling and grooming him nonstop. Bruno thought it was because they were traumatized from Casita collapsing when they were actually worried about him.

Worried that he was dying...

"I-I'm..." Bruno stammered, "I'm so sorry for worrying you guys. I... I didn't know... I thought—"

"It's okay." Pepita cuddled his arm, "You didn't know. How could you? It's not like one of us went up to you and tried to explain why we were acting so clingy."

Rosa sighed in annoyance at that, "We created a whole language to communicate with you and we didn't think to use it."

"Hey, it's okay, you were scared at the time." Bruno chuckled a bit, "I speak from experience when I say that rational thought tends to take a leave of absence when you're panicking."

"Yeah, I guess." Rosa sighed.

"Is there anything else I need to know about this... Society?"

"Well, I'm the Alpha when you're away." Rosa explained their roles, "Pepita is our best interpreter for your moods and your caretaker."

"My moods?" Bruno asked curiously.

"Hmm..." Pepita's long whiskers twitched, "Curious, fairly calm, still trying to process, and a bit hungry."

Bruno's stomach agreed with her assessment.

"I'll go have the gatherers get something." Remy was just about to leave.

"No, that's fine." Bruno quickly opposed while reaching into his ruana and grabbing an arepa, "I have food."

"I keep forgetting how rat-like you are." Remy chuckled, "Hoarding food like that."

Bruno flushed a bit in embarrassment.

"Let me see it." Zara stood up trying to sniff at the arepa, "I have to see if it's safe."

"Uhh... I'm pretty sure Julie isn't trying to poison me."

"Better safe than sorry."

"But—"

"I will not run the risk of our Alpha eating food that might be dangerous!" Zara hissed

"Ooookay..." Bruno acquiesced hesitantly.

Zara took a small piece and sniffed at it before nibbling on it for a few seconds.

After what felt like an eternity Zara nodded, "Okay, it's safe."

"Obviously, Zara is one of our best protectors and a poison checker." Rosa smirked a bit, "Remy is the leader of our hunter/gather Gammas and our best poison checker."

"That explains a lot." Bruno smiled as he slowly ate the arepa knowing full well the risk he was taking eating solid food like this.

"Roja is the leader of the protector Gammas." Rosa continued, "Gabriel is our expert on human society. He also teaches the younglings about you and how everything works when they're old enough to be weaned."

"So, that's why I never see him when the pups are gone from their mother." Bruno realized, "I always thought he just went out exploring again."

"Nope, he's usually in the tunnels teaching our newest generation about you and our society in general." Rosa smiled.

"Which is exactly what you're doing to me." Bruno chuckled.

"Seems like it." Rosa snickered.

"Trying to take my job, eh?" Gabriel jabbed playfully.

"Nah, I'm happy being the de facto Alpha when Bruno isn't here." Rosa grinned.

Gabriel just shook his head while chuckling.

"Now, back to our roles." Rosa went on, "Mota helps make the nests and clothing. She is very good at making the most comfortable nests and I love the scarf she knitted me."

Mota just kicked out her hindleg in an "aww shucks" motion.

"Bandito is our best scavenger." Rosa sighed a bit, "Unfortunately, your name for him is very apt as he tends to steal shiny things from the humans."

"Sí, lo sé..." Bruno groaned, "I've actually lost track of the number of times I've had to return things to people because of him."

Bandito chuckled awkwardly at all the eyes glaring at him.

"Rebecca is one of our best scouts." Rosa continued a bit grudging, "And one of your best actors."

"I think you mean the best actor." Rebecca smirked, "And the best scout."

"And the biggest primadonna." Juan grumbled.

Rebecca gasped in shock before turning away with a scoff.

"Anyway," Rosa sighed, "Juan is one of our peacekeepers and an unrepentant breeder."

"Hey, I can't help that the ladies can't get enough of me!" Juan grinned.

"Cassanova..." Bruno scoffed.

"Hey," Juan chuckled, "I take that as a compliment."

"Of course you do..." Bruno sighed.

"Gordito is another one of our peacekeepers and a poison checker." Rosa continued, "Yes, he's a bit lazy. But, even he knows when it's time to get serious."

Gordito was dead asleep on Bruno's lap and just snored in response.

"And Marco?" Bruno asked.

"Oh, he's the leader of our scouts." Rosa answered, "He's actually really good at detecting danger. Well, if we can get him out of your ruana for longer than three minutes."

"Th-th-thanks..." Marco stammered.

"Can you tell me more about these roles?" Bruno asked, "What are they for, how many there are, how you tell them apart... Things like that."

"Sure." Rosa smiled before turning to the plague of rats, "Everyone! I want you to separate into groups by the role you were given!"

The 300-plus rats all crawled off Bruno and separated into seven groups of varying sizes. Bruno already noticed a few physical differences in the groups. Mainly the sizes of the rats, length of their claws, prominent noses, and more. But, he let Rosa name off the groups in case he missed something.

"These are the peacekeepers." She gestured to the rats that largely made up the first 12, "They keep the peace within the colony. See that your laws are followed, break up fights, deal with troublemakers, things like that."

Bruno nodded and Rosa moved to the next group that consisted of the biggest rats he's seen.

"These are the protectors." she explained, "Their job is to guard the colony against anything that would threaten it. They are also the first ones to your side when you use that attack whistle of yours."

Bruno recalled the last time he had to use that whistle. It was a little over three weeks ago. Camilo was being threatened with a knife all because he couldn't shift at that time. He was furious with those people and immediately sicced his rats on them. Bruno could only recall a handful of times when he was that angry. The Man-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cheating on Julieta, that same man using him as a scapegoat to breakup with Pepa, the times when bullies try to make Pepa cry, and his last fight with mamá.

He nodded and Rosa moved on to the next group which seemed to be by far the largest group consisting of nearly half the mischief.

"These are the hunter/gatherers." Rosa went on, "They hunt for anything around our size or smaller and gather anything edible that's lying around. Don't worry, Remy makes sure that we're not stealing directly from the humans unless we absolutely have to."

"When do you absolutely have to?" Bruno asked.

"When we can't find food anywhere else which has never happened to us so far." Pepita listed, "When one of us just can't resist which happens pretty often. Oh! And when you're sick, we try to bring you the best food we can find."

Bruno made a mental note to never let himself get sick as Rosa moved to the next group who all seemed to have really big claws and teeth.

"These are our diggers." Rosa continued, "The vast majority of us live under Casita and we need diggers to maintain and dig tunnels for the colony."

"Maintain?"

"Basically, we keep the tunnels from collapsing on top of us." one of them explained before smelling Bruno's worry, "Uh, that hasn't happened yet. We're really good at our jobs and fix any tunnels the second they show any signs of instability."

Bruno sighed with relief as Rosa went to the next group that consisted of pretty fair-sized rats.

"These are the scavengers." Rosa introduced, "Their job is to scavenge anything we can repurpose for use in the colony from nesting material to even furniture."

"Furniture?"

"Yeah!" one of them nodded, "Those square metal cans where you keep the dead fish make really good tables and those paperclips you keep losing have so many uses that it's amazing!"

"Huh..." was Bruno's oh-so-intelligent reply.

Bruno was slowly realizing just how advanced these rats are as Rosa moved on to the next group which consisted of rats with prominent noses.

"These are our poison checkers." Rosa explained, "They check any food for poison by sniffing at the food and taking a careful bite. If it's safe, it goes into our food hoard. If it's poisoned, we get it as far away from the colony as possible. We always have Remy and Zara assigned as your personal poison checkers. They always get the first sniff and taste of any food that you're gonna eat to make sure it isn't poisoned." Rosa sensed Bruno's offense, "It's not that we don't trust your family. It's just always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to you."

Bruno nodded in understanding as Rosa moved to the next group which is by far the smallest in every sense of the word. Even the rats in the group largely consisted of tiny roof and dwarf rats.

"These are the scouts of the colony." Rosa continued, "They scout out new areas to see if it's safe for the rest of us. It's one of our more dangerous jobs which is why most of them are Zeta's since they're tiny and pretty much expendable." Rosa sensed Bruno's glare, "I'm not saying that to be cruel, Bruno. As I've told you, Zeta's are the weakest in our colony and can't really do much. But, even Zetas need a job and this is the only one that they can do well."

Bruno nodded a bit more hesitantly at that. Still not liking the idea of any rat being seen as expendable.

"Well, that's everyone." Rosa finished, "What do you think?"

"I had no idea rats could be so..." Bruno searched for the right word, "Organized."

"We kinda have to be in order to function." Pepita chuckled.

Bruno opened his mouth to speak before he heard three knocks at Antonio's door and Mirabel shouting, "Antonio! Tío Bruno! It's dinner time!"

"Alright everyone it's time for Bruno to eat with his family!" Rosa ordered, "Zara and Remy will check any of his food for poison! Bandito, Gordito. Stay away from the kitchen! Pepita and I will keep him calm when he gets stressed! The rest of you will return to your duties!"

The rats all showed their acknowledgments before leaving while Zara, Remy, Pepita, and Rosa climbed onto a thoroughly stunned Bruno.

"What?" Remy chuckled, "We do this every time you go to eat."

"Every time..." Bruno gaped.

"You think this is nuts?" Zara grinned, "You should see what we do every time you set foot outside of Casita."

"I almost don't wanna know." Bruno mumbled as he and Antonio got to their feet, "You guys probably treat me going out like a large-scale military operation or something."

The four rats all giggled as the two made their way out of Antonio's jungle room to have dinner with the family and share what they had discovered.

Chapter Text

Everyone was settling in to a nice meal of ajiaco that the Morales graciously donated to them. They would've made it themselves, but Julieta accidentally injured her hand when a brick fell on it and Bruno was too tired to cook for the whole family. Bruno was having plain chicken broth as per Kate's orders that he be on a strict liquid diet. The humans finished bowing their heads and mumbling over the food for whatever reason. Alma finished making her speech about the progress they made with rebuilding Casita and told everyone to enjoy their meal in Español.

Remy took that opportunity to crawl out of Bruno's sleeve and take a sniff at the broth. As per his duty as one of his personal poison checkers. The smell was nauseating and would've made Remy gag if he were physically capable of it. He saw that Bruno was about to pick up the spoon and started trying to get his human's attention by waving his paws at him and making as much noise as possible.

"Bruno." Alma admonished, "What have I told you about rats on the table?"

"Lo siento, mamá." Bruno apologized before turning to Remy, "Te dije que te quedaras fuera de la mesa."

"But... But, Bruno—" Remy tried.

Bruno gently picks the frantic rat up by his scruff and places him on his shoulder, "Ahora, comporte usted mismo, Remy."

His unknowing human picked up the spoon, scooped up some soup, and brought it to his mouth. Remy quickly crawled down his arm and onto his hand to try to get his attention. But, waving his paws frantically wasn't doing anything. So, Remy had no choice but to break one of the laws of the colony and bite him. Not hard enough to draw blood, mind you. But, it was hard enough to make Bruno shout in pain and drop the spoon.

"¡Ay!" Bruno shouted before angrily grabbing Remy, "¡¿Por qué me mordiste?! ¡Tú, de todas las personas, sabes mejor que morderme!"

"The food is poisoned, Bruno!" Remy shouted in the language they created for him.

"¿Qué?" Bruno tilted his head, "¿La comida es qué?"

"Poisoned!" Remy practically shrieked, "The! Food! Is! Poisoned!"

Now, Bruno was looking at his soup like it was gonna jump out at him.

"Bruno, what's going on?" Alma asked.

"My..." Bruno stumbled, "Remy... He's saying that my soup is... P-poisoned."

"Poisoned?!" Over half the table shouted.

The table broke out into a cacophony of questions, demands, and accusations before Alma quickly silenced it with a raised hand and a, "¡Basta!"

Alma turned to Bruno's oldest sister, "Julieta, will you be able to make your hermano some broth?"

"Sí, mamá." Julieta was just about to get up before Bruno cut in.

"No, I-I can make it myself." Bruno insisted, "Julie needs to rest that hand of hers." 

"Are you certain?" Alma tilted her head a bit.

Bruno nodded with intent.

"Very well." Alma nodded before getting up, "While you make your broth, I will go and have a few words with the Morales."

"Mamá," Bruno tried, "Y-you don't need to—"

"Yes, I do." Alma glared, "It is long past time for there to be consequences for their actions."

Bruno shrunk into his ruana which led to Rosa and Pepita trying to comfort him.

"It's okay, Brunito." Pepita soothed while cuddling into his neck.

"She only wants to make things right." Rosa rubbed against his knuckles.

Bruno nodded minutely before getting up and heading into the kitchen to make himself some broth.

While he was making the broth, he gave Remy a big piece of cheese from the pantry along with a tiny shot glass of chocolate santaferño.

"Es lo menos que puedo hacer." Bruno smiled as he stirred the small pot of chicken broth, "Es posible que me hayas salvado la vida."

Remy smiled as he ate the piece of cheese and lapped up the hot chocolate.

Needless to say, nobody was allowed to donate meals to the Madrigals after that incident. The Morales were denied any of their services unless it was life or death. The family actively wished they had their Gifts just so they could give them what for.

Little do they know that the rats have that covered.

Bruno actively denies knowing of a black rat that kept biting them every now and again. Bruno even denies any rings and necklaces going missing. He also denies any knowledge of his rats raiding their house for nearly a month. It's not like he owns every rat in the Encanto, right?

He winced in pain?

Oh, that's just because the bite from Remy stings a bit.

Why would he ever lie to the people who tried to poison him?

That would be just plain mean of Bruno, wouldn't it?

Chapter Text

Pepita's six pups have recently returned to the pouch from their Naming Day which nearly always occurs between 15-20 days after the pups are born. Her pups have been named Sofia, María, Blanca, Luz, Lucas, and Javier. They shall forever be known as such by the rest of the colony for Bruno's word is law. 

Every Naming Day is an emotional moment for every mother in the colony. It signifies that their pups are almost ready to be weaned, taught their ways, given their assignments, and do all they can for the good of the colony as well as the human who ensures the colony's existence. It was all Pepita could do to keep from leaping for joy when Bruno got around to naming her pups.

Now, she felt like she had been caught in one of those snap traps because Luz had asked a question she hoped she wouldn't answer until Gabriel began teaching them.

"Why was Bruno not drinking the funny-smelling juice like the other humans at the party?" Luz asked.

The feeling only got worse when the others chimed in.

"Yeah, he only drank water the entire time." Sofia agreed.

"Why didn't he drink the juice?" María asked.

"Is it bad for him?" Lucas wondered.

Pepita took a deep breath before answering, "To answer those... Questions. I have a story to share with you."

The pups were pretty excited to hear another story. They all love it whenever she tells them stories. Especially the ones she tells about Bruno. They especially loved the one where he got the colony out when the nest was collapsing at the risk of his own life. The more they hear about the green kindness that is Bruno the more they loved the human who nurtures and protects the colony no matter the cost.

But, the sadness Pepita gave off wasn't lost on them.

"¿Mamá?" Blanca sniffed at Pepita, "¿Estás bien?"

"Sí..." Pepita sighed, "I just... I hoped that you all would've been a little older. This... This isn't a happy story."

"But, most of your stories have been happy." Javier protested, "Especially the ones with Bruno."

"Yes, but not everything can be all cheese and warmth." Pepita reminded him, "There's always a snap trap to the cheese and a cat seeking the same warmth."

The pups could only nod in agreement.

"So..." Luz dared to ask, "What happened to Bruno that made him never drink funny-smelling juice again?"

"Well, as you all know," Pepita began, "I'm much older than I appear. I've been around since Bruno was a pup much like yourselves. And you know humans draw breath for much longer than us."

The pups nodded.

"I was there during Bruno's darkest days." Pepita recalled, "He would drink so much of that funny-smelling juice that it would make him stumble around and even pass out. He would say things he would never say and do things I've never seen him do otherwise. He told me it was to help keep the visions away. But, I think he drank it for more reasons than just that."

"Why would the funny-smelling juice make him do that?" Sofia asked.

"The funny-smelling juice can be very bad for humans if they drink too much of it." Pepita explained, "It makes them stumble around, say things they don't mean, and do things they would never do. It's outright poisonous to us. So, none of you should ever drink it."

The pups nodded in understanding.

"Bruno stopped drinking the funny-smelling juice when his hermanas had their pups as well as several other reasons." Pepita continued, "He didn't want them to see him drinking that stuff. He wanted to be himself for their sake. He didn't want to say or do anything to his sobrinas that he knows he'll regret. Not since what happened with defiant Isabela and his painful belt."

The pups winced at the implications.

"It was very hard, but he managed to stop for many of our generations." Pepita smiled.

"Bruno's always so thoughtful." Javier gushed, "Always putting everyone else before himself."

"Yes, he is very considerate." Pepita nodded before continuing, "But, his self-sacrificing nature is what led him to live with us in the walls for many generations."

"What's wrong with the walls?" Luz asked.

"That was a very dark time in his life, mi bebés." Pepita sighed, "His vibrations were often very erratic which made him hard to be around. His eyes would glow for so long that I feared it would never stop."

"Why did that happen?" Blanca asked.

"He suppressed his power to see the future so much that the bad effects were a near constant." Pepita answered before continuing, "It got to the point where he started stealing the funny-smelling juice and drinking it to the point of passing out just to make it stop."

"Did it get better?" María asked.

"No..." Pepita shook her head solemnly, "Things only got worse after he started drinking that stuff again. He often said and even shouted some very frightening things I'd rather not repeat for your sake. His eyes leaked a lot in those days and he would often hurt himself for no apparent reason."

The pups had their heads down in sad contemplation.

"One day..." Pepita shuddered at the memory, "He drank an entire bottle of funny-smelling juice without passing out. All while mumbling more of those scary things I mentioned. He wrote a note that Gabriel later translated as an apology to his entire family for leaving and that it was better if he... Removed himself from the picture entirely. For each of them to be the best version of themselves and that they were the real gift. He even wrote a few words for Alma. They said to not be so hard on the kids or his sisters for his sake."

The pups didn't like where this story was going.

"He took out a length of rope and weaved it to where it had a circle shape at the bottom." Pepita went on despite the memories, "His face was completely blank the entire time and I couldn't pick up anything from him. His vibrations have completely stopped. It's like... Like he was gone but his body still moved for him. He secured one end of the rope to the rafters, climbed on top of some boxes, tightened the other end of the rope around his neck, and... He... He jumped off the box."

The pups stared in shock.

"But..." María stammered, "But... W-w-wouldn't that hurt him?"

"That was the idea." Pepita answered sadly, "Bruno... Our guide... Our protector... Our Alpha... Tried to make himself draw his last breath."

They gasped in horror.

"Why?" Javier cried, "Why would he do such a thing?"

"You must understand, mi bebés." Pepita sighed, "Not everyone can see Bruno as we do. The other humans have been very cruel to him because they never like what he tells them. Humans never like hearing bad news of any kind. They believed he was causing these bad things and made many attempts to harm him. His family wasn't much better. All they did was focus on keeping the other humans happy rather than protect their own."

The pups looked very sad.

"Everything is much better now that Kate set those humans straight and she's even helping to take care of Bruno." Pepita assured them, "But, back then... It drove him to believe that it would be better if he... Left."

The pups still looked sad but Pepita continued with the story.

"When he jumped off the box, his vibrations came back and went so crazy that some of us thought he was using his second sight." Pepita continued, "But, The Close Ones knew better. We knew that he was panicking, regretting what he did, and was trying in vain to get loose. We climbed up to the rafters as fast as we could and all of us chewed the rope to bits to free him."

"Did you all make it in time?" María asked.

"He's still breathing, isn't he?" Pepita chuckled.

The pups nodded while happily listening to Bruno breathing as he slept in his clothes... Again.

"We managed to free him in time and he fell to the ground pretty hard." Pepita recalled, "Every rat within hearing distance sprinted to check on him. His eyes were leaking a lot and I could practically taste his sorrow. Everyone crawled onto him to comfort him without being ordered to. He held all of us pretty tightly. But, none of us cared. We just wanted him to be okay."

"Is he okay now?" Lucas asked.

"No, he's very sick." Pepita sighed, "But, he will get better if we all do our part to make it happen."

The pups all nodded in determination.

"So... Did that make him stop drinking the funny-smelling juice?" Luz asked.

"No." Pepita answered, "That wasn't what made him stop."

"Then what made him stop?" Blanca asked curiously.

"The one who hears all." Pepita answered.

"Dolores!" the pups chorused.

"That's right." Pepita smiled, "You're all such smart little pups!"

The pups all looked bashful at the praise before one of them had a question.

"How did she make him stop?" Sofia asked.

"She came running after she heard him fall and make the noises he always does when his eyes leak." Pepita explained, "She knocked on the family tree painting while calling for him. Dolores was so desperate that she threatened to tell the family about him. He tried to get up to get to her, but none of us needed to smell him to know that he was hurt from the fall and needed our help just to get to his feet. He grabbed another bottle of funny-smelling juice and drank some which seemed to help with his pain. He managed to get to where he sat to eat and saw Dolores through the crack with her eyes leaking. I could sense her fear and concern through the walls."

"What did he tell her?" Blanca asked.

"Unfortunately, he lied to her." Pepita shook her head, "He braced himself against the pain of telling a lie and told her that he fell trying to relight his lantern."

"Why did he lie?" Javier nearly demanded.

"I guess he didn't want to frighten Dolores." Pepita shrugged before continuing, "Dolores told him that she was gonna leave him a fresh arepa to heal him. She gave one of us an arepa to give to him. But, before she left, she told him that she didn't like the things he says when he drinks. That they scared her and she didn't want him to go away forever."

The pups gaped at that.

"Yeah, Bruno made that same face." Pepita smirked before continuing, "He stared ahead like that for quite some time before finally turning to stare at the bottle still in his hand. I sensed a lot of emotions from him at that moment. Many of them were not pleasant and seemed to cycle for a while. His mind finally settled on one emotion and it was largely good. The resolve I sensed from him seemed to fill the entire space and I'm pretty sure every rat could sense it. Even those without our senses could see it since his expression was like stone and he held that bottle so tightly that it cracked. I was admittedly concerned with how fast he was breathing and his glowing eyes. He eventually let out an angry yell and threw that bottle so hard that it shattered the second it hit the wall. He slid down the wall and sat there for a very long time while muttering nunca más over and over again. It took The Close Ones a while to calm him down enough to eat the arepa and heal himself."

"Th-That's when he stopped?" Luz asked hesitantly.

"Sí." Pepita nodded, "He swore to never touch the drink again for as long as he lived... Or make another attempt on his life."

"Has he made good on that promise?" Javier asked.

"He hasn't touched the funny-smelling juice since." Pepita answered, "And I haven't seen him try to hurt himself in a long time."

The pups nodded while looking relieved. But, some were still pretty saddened by the tale.

"I didn't like that story." Sofia sniffed, "It was so sad."

"Yes, it was sad." Pepita agreed before explaining, "But, those stories must be told to keep the same thing from happening again, ¿Entiendes?"

The pups all nodded slowly.

"Come, it's long past your nest time." Pepita smiled.

"Aww, just five more minutes?" Blanca whined.

"No."

"Three more minutes?" Lucas asked.

"No."

"One more minute?" María whimpered.

"How about a song?" Pepita offered.

The pups all nodded in agreement before snuggling up to Pepita as she began to sing a lullaby Bruno had taught her many generations ago. It got all the pups to sleep faster than any nursing ever did. Pepita looked out of one of the holes in the pouch towards the snoozing seer and smiled at him.

"No te preocupes, Brunito." she whispered, "None of us will let anything like that happen to you again, lo juro por mi vida."

Chapter Text

To say Rebecca is Bruno's neediest rat would be like saying the sun is a lightbulb. Bruno couldn't go one morning without getting demands from lightly-toasted arepas to mocha with ONLY two sugars. Bruno was busier than ever, with so many villagers and tourists wanting visions and jewelry from him. But, Rebecca was just being impossible today.

"Bruno!" Rebecca whined, "Will you brush me?"

"Rebecca, Te cepillé esta mañana." Bruno answered while busily adding sand and various rocks to the mortar.

"But, Bruno..." Rebecca whimpered, "I have a knot!"

"No tengo tiempo, Rebecca." Bruno sighed as he ground the rocks into a powder, "Estoy muy ocupado."

"It's really uncomfortable." Rebecca complained.

"Entonces no deberías tener problemas para arreglarlo tú mismo." Bruno glowered a bit as he added water to the mix.

Mirabel was walking by when she felt a tickle in her throat and coughed which got Bruno's attention.

"Mi mariposita, you're not coming down with something, are you?" Bruno fretted.

"No, it was just a little tickle." Mirabel tried to assure him.

"Well, I'll make you some tea just in case." Bruno told her as he used his Gift to summon the kettle and some tea bags, "Would you like a blanket?"

"No, that's okay, Tío." Mirabel smiled.

"Mirabel gets all of the attention just because she might be sick." Rebecca scoffed mentally before a devious lightbulb went off, "Hey..."

Rebecca let out a loud sneeze which nearly made Bruno drop the kettle.

"Oh, no..." Bruno lamented, "No tú también, Rebecca."

"Oh, yeah..." Rebecca mentally celebrated as Bruno coddled her with pets and blankets, "Bring on the attention!"

Bruno eventually let up on Mirabel after her tea and a temp check. He spent several hours juggling jewelry orders and taking care of Rebecca. He provided her with plenty of heated blankets, warm water, and hot steam to loosen any mucus. Rebecca just milked every moment of it with her sickly act.

"I think I'm getting worse..." Rebecca moaned, "Maybe if you would give me a few more pets..."

Bruno gave her some pets before feeling her ears, nose, and tail.

"Hmmm, no te sientes febril." Bruno observed before grabbing a tiny thermometer, "déjame comprobar tu temperatura."

"Under the tongue!" Rebecca insisted, "Under the tongue!"

Bruno manages the get the thermometer in her tiny mouth.

"Bien, comprobaré después de terminar de cultivar estos cristales." he told her before leaving the room.

Rebecca sat and thought to herself before noticing the steaming kettle making her water hot. She climbed up the table and put the mouth end of the thermometer into the steam. She couldn't help a squeaky giggle as she did so.

"This should do it." Rebecca thought to herself.

It wasn't long before Bruno returned from making crystals to check his poor rat's temperature. It was a whopping 108 degrees which only made the seer coddle her even more now that he had confirmation that his rat was ill. Blankets, warm water, and humidifiers were in store for the pampered rat.

"Pobre Rebecca." Bruno coddled her, "No tenía idea de que tuvieras fiebre tan alta."

"I didn't want to be a burden." Rebecca whimpered which only made Bruno even sadder.

Before Bruno could respond, Mirabel came in looking like the very picture of illness.

"Mirabel!" Bruno cried as he ran to her before she hit the ground.

"I'm too sick to lie." Mirabel whined, "I didn't wear my shawl all month."

"I knew I should've sewed it onto your dress." Bruno sighed.

Mirabel chuckled a little before breaking out into coughs and sneezes.

"Dios mío, you're too sick for me to even think about scolding you."

"Am I really that bad?"

"Mirabel, I can't think of anything to say that's worse than what you just did to yourself."

Rebecca could only glare as Mirabel stole Bruno's attention from her again. Bruno fussed over her, showered her in blankets, and even made her his cold-killing soup.

"Here, nothing kills a cold faster than my cold-killing soup." Bruno smiled.

Mirabel could only stare at the dishwater-colored broth that had a smell even Rebecca couldn't identify.

"Now, I wish I wasn't sick." Mirabel moaned.

"It can't be that bad!" Bruno rolled his eyes.

"It made Isabela's piranha plant gag when Camilo tried to feed it the soup."

"Well, it's not meant for plants." Bruno countered, "It's meant for sick humans like you."

Mirabel groaned as Bruno managed to feed her the soup and send her off to bed. Rebecca squeaked in delight as Bruno turned his attention back to her. It didn't last as long mostly because Bruno had deliveries to make which made the rat grumble a bit as he left Casita. The rat decided to check on the ailing Mirabel to make sure that the soup was doing its job. She may be stuck up in a way that would make even the most puffed-up primadonnas scoff in derision, but she's far from cruel.

Mirabel was lying in bed all bundled up with cold compresses on her head and neck. She doesn't look as bad as she first did which was a good sign in the rat's eyes. But, the seamstress looked absolutely miserable.

"All I've done all day is eat, sleep, and stare off into space." Mirabel mumbled, "What an awful existence..."

"I don't dump on your lifestyle." Rebecca squeaked in offense.

"Tío wants me to rest." Mirabel sighed, "But, how can I rest knowing that Juancho is behind on his math? I even promised Señora López to help with some gowns. Not to mention the music lessons I promised to María... And the deliveries for Osvaldo... And the window displays for Señora Manas' shop... And... And..."

Mirabel forced herself up and ran out the door.

"Some people just can't enjoy being sick." Rebecca sighed before deciding to take a nap.

When Bruno came back home, Rosa climbed on his shoulder to deliver some surprising news.

"Isn't Rebecca supposed to be sick?" The blind albino asked.

"Sí." Bruno nodded.

"Then why is she snacking on chocolate?" 

"Hmmm... Eso es raro." Bruno mumbled, "Rebecca no tiene apetito cuando está enferma."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Iré y obtendré una lectura más precisa." Bruno smirked.

"You mean..."

Bruno nods.

"I don't wanna be Rebecca right now."

Bruno came in to see Rebecca in her heated blanket and lapping up the warm water.

"Rebecca" Bruno got her attention before telling her, " Rosa me dice que comiste unos chocolates."

"Well..." Rebecca fumbled a bit, "I couldn't find your cough syrup. So, I substituted chocolates."

"Hmmm..." Bruno raised a brow, "Voy a tomar su temperatura de nuevo."

"Under the tongue!" Rebecca whimpered, "Under the tongue!"

"No..." Bruno smiled as he takes a certain thermometer out, "Necesito obtener una lectura más precisa."

"Against my body?" Rebecca asked as Bruno grabbed her, "Can't I have a... VOTE IN THIS! I'm being violated! Ow!"

"Una reina tan drama..." Bruno mutters as he takes her temperature.

"You try having a cold piece of glass stuck where it doesn't belong!" Rebecca hissed.

Bruno rolled his eyes as he walked into the kitchen with the thermometer and looked at the reading.

99.8 degrees.

"¡Rebecca ha estado fingiendo todo el tiempo!" Bruno snarled.

"Let's bust that entitled princess!" Rosa hissed

"O..." Bruno smirked sinisterly, "Podría divertirme un poco primero."

Rosa looked over at the pampered pest and let out a giggling squeak, "That diva's gonna wish she was sick."

Bruno ran out looking fearful before telling Rebecca, "¡Su temperatura es muy alta!"

"I really am sick?!" Rebecca gaped.

"Sí." Bruno nodded, "Y eso solo puede significar una cosa."

"More heated blankets and warm water?" she squeaked hopefully.

"Un buen baño frío." Bruno smiled as he summoned a small tub and filled it with cold water and ice.

"Uh... I... I'm..." Rebecca squirmed at the sight of the tub, "I'm feeling much better!"

Her plea didn't stop a grinning Bruno from picking her up and forcing her into the freezing water.

"I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!!!" Rebecca screeched.

Bruno put Rebecca through absolute misery after being forced to bathe in ice water. He forced her to eat his cold-killing soup, stuck all kinds of things up her nose, wrapped her up so tight that there was no hope of wiggling out, and many more of his miserable remedies. By the time Bruno realized Mirabel escaped from bed, Rebecca looked almost as bad as Mirabel did when she finally admitted she was sick.

He eventually returned with Mirabel in tow and swaddled her using his infamous burrito technique. Not even Camilo at his worst could wiggle out of that. Rebecca could only whimper when Bruno finally turned his attention back to her.

"Hmmm..." Bruno mumbled after feeling under Rebecca's chin, "Ella definitivamente hinchada."

"Really?" Rosa raised a brow, "I hear most animals need surgery for that."

"Surgery?!" Rebecca gaped, "Wait! Stop! I'm faking it!"

The two pretended to look aghast.

"I faked the whole thing!" Rebecca cried.

"¡¿Qué?!" Bruno stared.

"How could you fool our own alpha like this?!" Rosa scolded.

"I just wanted a little attention!" Rebecca sobbed, "Is that so wrong?!"

"It is when it involves tricking people into thinking you're sick!" Rosa hissed.

Bruno glared at her before lecturing, "Espero que hayas aprendido la lección."

"Yes." Rosa glowered, "It's wrong for a rat to cry cat."

"I'll never do it again!" Rebecca whimpered.

"Bien." Bruno smiled a bit.

"I still have that knot though."

Bruno could only groan and think to himself that Rebecca would never change. But, at least she'll never pretend to be sick just to get his attention again. He'll make sure of it even if he has to stick that thermometer in the cold box.