Chapter Text
Eclipse stared at the large roughly woven basket that was sitting on the counter. The occupants burrowed among the fabric scraps were tiny. No bigger than kittens but nowhere near as cute.
“I’d ask where you got these but I’m afraid to know.” A small part of him wanted to reach out and poke the sleeping mass of long limbs but one of the little beasts yawned, showing off an impressive dental array. Riling them up probably wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Moon found them in one of the Creators labs. Wisely he did not leave them behind.” KC dumped the bag full of tiny pale pink things into the sink before turning the hot water on.
Eclipse tore his gaze away from the basket to see what his code donor was doing. His expression wilted. “In the sink? Don’t let Sun see you defrosting whatever the hell those are in the sink, he’ll have a coronary.”
“Pinky mice. From the pet store.” he poked and prodded the tiny pale pink things around the hot water in an attempt to speed up the defrosting.
“Still don't let Sun see. He’ll lose it over there being dead mice babies in the sink.” Eclipse pulled a mug out of the cabinet and helped himself to the fresh brewed coffee.
“As distasteful as Sun may find it, this is what they are used to eating. They may not accept any other food at the moment. If they can’t or won't eat this then I may have to resort to putting the mice in a blender.” Which really would send Sun into a fit. While he was certain the solar bot would understand he wouldn't blame his partner if he had a bit of a freak out.
Eclipse almost choked on his coffee as he let out a little laugh. “None of us will be able to use that blender afterwards.”
“I will get a new blender for the others to use if I have to resort to that.” KC prodded at the still cold lifeless bodies, adding more hot water. The little ones likely wouldn’t be interested in the prey if it was still cold.
“Has Sun seen them yet?” Eclipse hummed softly as he took a sip of his coffee, the bitter taste lingering on his tongue.
“Not yet. I am certain he will understand why Moon could not leave them behind.” He added more hot water then continued to stir the tiny corpses up until they warmed up. Using his claws he plucked one of the tiny bodies out of the water, shook it off then approached the basket. Holding it above the heads of the mini Kill Codes was like a dinner bell to the small predators. They stirred, crimson eyes opening sleepily while they chirped in confusion. One looked up then lunged, tiny claws digging into the pale flesh while it stuffed the offering down its maw as fast as possible.
Eclipse grimaced and rubbed his neck then made a face of disgust. Much like their code donnor the little creatures didn’t do much chewing, preferring to swallow whatever got near their mouths. At least Bloodmoon chewed.
The rest of the brood was awake now, their inquisitive eyes locked onto him. They chirped softly while jostling with each other trying to get into the best position to be fed. KC rumbled happily at their eagerness to eat.
It would have been cute if it hadn’t been a basket full of small predators that would become large very dangerous predators. “Do they have the kill code? They are going to be dangerous once they get bigger unless they can be taught to control it.”
“They do. I believe they were made using a copy of my kill code. They won’t have much control over it at this age but I am certain we can teach them restraint.” He plucked another pinky out of the sink and fed it to the now very active mini predators. The full ones settled into the corner of the basket away from their still hungry siblings.
The moment KC turned around to retrieve another tidbit from the sink, one of the little predators decided it didn’t want to wait and tried to scramble out of the basket. Putting those animatronic reflexes to good use, Eclipse lunged and caught the little bot before it could plunge to the floor, something that no doubt would have ended its young existence. It began to wail and scramble at his casing with its tiny claws.
KC’s head whipped around so fast he was certain the vertebrae in his neck cracked.
“Someone decided you were taking too long and tried to help themselves.” He sat the mug down on the counter then carefully cradled the squirming bundle of limbs, wincing every time its sharp teeth scored his fingers.
KC relaxed, instincts settling. “I didn’t mean to take so long, little one.” He chuckled at the unhappy little chirps that stopped the moment it saw the diminutive mouse dangling from the larger predator's claws. The moment the tiny rodent came near the hungry predator it scarfed it down in two gulps. Its belly plates bulged from the meal. Satisfied it curled up in the cage of fingers.
It was kinda cute though he wasn’t willing to admit it. He lightly rubbed its swollen little belly with the tip of a finger before placing it back into the basket with its sleeping siblings. “Sun is going to want to dress them up and everything.”
KC chuckled softly. “I am certain of it.” He placed the remaining mice in a plastic container then set it in the fridge. Hopefully Sun wouldn’t have an adverse reaction to finding them.
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Any one want some mini KCs? You’d have to feed them extra small pinky mice until they get larger so it's not for the faint of heart.