The Meeting, Part Two (Adults only please.)

"The Meeting, Part Two" by T.K. Wade (Adults only please.)

Jonas leaned on his elbow for a bit as he casually stirred his soup. Levin saw that he was thinking and had a sudden interest in what he might be thinking about. He asked, “Jonas, is that ever-thinking mind of yours concocting something brilliant for us this evening?”

Richard added, “Yes, you look fairly preoccupied with something.”

Jonas raised his head and smiled. “I was just thinking about life in the Highest Place.”

Levin blinked. “I’m intrigued. We rarely talk of life on the higher planes, do we, Richard?”

The retired soldier mouse shook his head. “Don’t think much about it either.”

“Well, I don’t have any objections to it. Please, Jonas, what do you have to say of the Highest Place?”

Jonas took a long drink from his glass and placed it down with a contented sigh. “Well, you all know most of the gods, I assume.”

Levin nodded. “This and that. Admittedly, it is not something I discuss a great deal.”

“Mersis, the goddess of compassion, had a very annoying childhood. She had the misfortune of having a rat for a brother. You both must have heard of that boisterous scamp known as Maximus.”

Richard raised a finger. “I certainly have.”

“Maximus was not like most annoying brothers; he was worse. Mersis would find herself propositioned by him as a regularity. If the taboo of incest was not bad enough, she could see in his eyes that the attraction was founded on anything but love. It was even conceivable that he was infatuated with the taboo in and of itself.

“Her mother, Euridice, was little help, feeling the need for Mersis to work this out for herself. All the same, she had always been blind to her son’s vile urges having been so accustomed to her rat husband, Phallus.”

Levin laughed. “You cannot be serious! Is that really the name of her father?!”

Richard confirmed, “He’s not joking.”

Jonas shrugged. “Nothing concerning a rat should surprise any of you.”

Levin remarked, “Alright, you have a point there. So what did the poor goddess do?”

“Well, Mersis was not the type who wished to hurt the feelings of another. At the same time, the constant pestering was almost unbearable. It was obvious that Maximus was unable to take ‘No.’ for an answer. So, she made plans to have a heart to heart with her brother one night in her own bed chamber.”

Levin commented, “What a terrible place to meet.”

Jonas smiled. “Well, yes. But Mersis is strange in that way. She knew that Maximus was most comfortable in that setting, and she did not want him to be uncomfortable for this meeting.”

Richard shook his head with a chuckle. “Mistake.”

“She sat him down upon her bed and told him that she had had quite enough of his incestuous passes. She spoke with dignity, respect, and courage. There was only one slight problem with the meeting: he did not hear a word. In fact, he was drooling. The very thought of being in the same bed with his own sister, whether having sex or not, drove him mad with desire. He thought of nothing but to rid her of her attire and take her right then and there. Knowing Maximus, he would definitely try.”

Richard remarked, “She’s not very bright, but I suppose it came from being so young. How did the goddess fare?”

Jonas continued, “She fought him, furiously. Clothes were ripped. Pillows were thrown. She even had to resort to biting his grabbing hand. In the end, Maximus was defeated, and Mersis stood to her feet and yelled like she had never yelled before. For the first and last time in her life, she lost her temper.

“Maximus, who had fallen to the floor during the brief struggle, sat there quietly as he listened to his nearly-nude sister scream at him, using words that even we are not aloud to know! The rat still sat there quietly; anger and frustration filled his heart. He knew that he would never get what he truly wanted. Ever since he could remember, he wanted his sister to himself. He focused on her. He desired her more than anything, and now, he began to realize that it would never happen.

“The deep-seated urge to breed was still strong within him, needing release. He thought to himself that, if he could not have the one that he wanted, then he would take out his aggressions on everyone else. Anyone and everyone, it did not matter. Now that his focus was destroyed, he opened himself to all forms of pleasure.”

Levin remarked, “Perhaps that is why he is usually portrayed as so very fat. To some extent, eating can be a form of pleasure, especially that of the sweet persuasion.”

Jonas smiled. “Yes, Levin. In fact, growing fat was the first thing that he did. He ate and he ate, and he never stopped. He just kept growing until he was, by mouse standards, quite grotesque. I imagine that he grew so fat that there was nary an article of clothing in the Highest Place that would fit the ugly rat.

“And after he had engorged himself, he went out looking for people to lay with. It was just sex at first, but he soon became open to the vilest of fetishes. If he had not heard of it, he had not tried it. He wanted it all. He wanted everything for himself because he could not have the one thing that he truly wanted, his own sister.”

Richard chuckled. “That sounds like a rat alright. It’s amazing that anyone, even one of them, would find such a grotesque creature to be attractive.”

Jonas added, “Well, I have heard something about that the lure of taking everything is quite hypnotic, and it plays into the Maximus lore.”

Levin agreed, “Yes, there must be some sort of hypnotic influence to the big rat. Either that or they truly are all whores.”

Jonas took another drink and answered, “No, they aren’t all whores, Levin. Those who fall to the whim of Maximus are lost to his desire to indulge in all things, but there is another rat that I mentioned earlier.”

Richard named him, “The rat known as Phallus.”

“Phallus is the god of plenty. Where he has a strong sexual drive like Maximus, the father believes in love and caring, which is why he was married to begin with. And now, as it is, we have two major factions of rats: those who will seek everything, and those who find only that which they desire.”

Levin raised his glass and announced, “Exceptional tale, Jonas!”

Jonas smiled. “Thank you.”

Richard agreed as well, “You are a brilliant story teller. I always look forward to what you bring to the table. This night is turning out quite well.”

Levin drank the last sip of his cider and said, “And I am still hungry. The night is still young. I say we have one last helping.” The others nodded in agreement, and more soup was ordered.

-Glossary-

Highest Place: Heaven or realm of the gods.

Mersis: Mouse goddess of mercy and compassion.

Maximus: Rat god of lust. Brother of Mersis.

Euridice: Mouse Goddess of justice. Mother of Mersis and Maximus.

Phallus: Rat god of fertility and prosperity. Husband of Euridice. Father of Mersis and Maximus.