A commission for  Prowler7

Joining the Festivities
Scurrying about underneath the boardwalk is a small, long tailed figure showing interest in the bustling of the old harbor side city. Loud thunderous steps can be heard overhead of the old wooden walkway, each water worn board squeaking and bending under heavy feet. Following the commotion under the boardwalk is a curious creature by the name of Rodent.
Curiously something has caught his attention. A group of strapping men appear to be carrying heavy crates with a great deal of care, as if they were delicate newborns.“What could possibly be in those crates?” Rodent asks himself in wonder.
He follows the group until they arrive at an old Victorian style clock tower. Afraid of being noticed, the young rat hides in an old plotted plant near the side of the building. Throughout the night Rodent hears a lot of commotion coming from inside. “I must know what is inside of those crates!!” the restless rat exclaims. “Are they having a party with lots of cheese? Perhaps they have swiss, provolone, or aged cheddar. Or even limburger! Oh that would be so lovely indeed! This is not Fair! Why must I wait to see?!”
After a few hours Rodent's eyes began to feel heavy. Before long he has
dozed off into a heavy slumber, dreaming of cheese flowing endlessly like fountains from the wooden crates. A purple butterfly appeared as if it were made of the moonlight itself, dancing to the sonata of the cool blue night. It's hypnotic dance leads it to land on Rodent's dreaming nose.
“What..... is this” he said yawning. “Why hello there little fell.....a” Rodent trails off his words now entranced by the shimmering translucent wings, beckoning him to follow the soft star like glow. The seemingly fragile butterfly drifts away up the old tower.
In a trance like state Rodent climbs up the side of the vine and moss covered stone. He follows it into a hole in the wall and mindlessly crawls through the cob webs and onto the rafters. The delicate glimmering glow flutters around the rat causing him to dance on the narrow slick beam.
Still mindlessly dancing, he follows the butterfly towards a curtain of vines casing him to get tangled and falls gently into the crates below. Rodent pops his head out of the box and shakes off the saw dust that had cushioned his fall. “Oh... oh dear me, how on earth did I end up here? Well while I'm here, I might as well take a look around,” giggled the rat. Feeling dizzy Rodent falls out of the crate and stumbles around a bit. Goodness me I feel a tad lightheaded” he chuckled.
“Oh!? What is that up there?” he wonders, noticing red objects up in the rafters. Brimming with curiosity, Rodent scurries up towards the rafters. Higher and higher he climbs feeling as if he is being compelled by a force unknown to him.
The closer he gets the more visible the red objects become. By the time he reaches them his eyes are open wide with excitement. “I can't believe what I'm seeing! This is much better than cheese! I wonder ho...” His voice trails off as he notices the fluttering wings, their purple enchanting hue above his head.
His eyes become locked into a trance once more as the soft light reflects in his eyes. The dreamlike butterfly lands on his nose once more as the gears in the old clock tower begin to move for the first time in decades. With the toll of the first bell, the vibration shakes loose some of the masonry revealing the moon as it shines its light upon the rat. The next bell follows soon after causing Rodent's small body to turn purple and sends out a slight tingle around him.
With the third toll of the bell his claws vanishes into his paws. By the time the bell has rung a fourth time both his arms and legs have begun to receded back into his body, the rat completely unaware due to the deep trance like state. With each new ring of the bell more of the rat's body becomes like a purple cylinder, just day dreaming of rolling around as a smooth ball. On the eleventh bell Rodent's head is forced to look upwards. Now the final bell tolls, the last part of the transformation taking place. Rodent's tail becomes like a dry black rope as the butterfly disappears into the gears of the clock. The old tower becomes still once again leaving the rat motionless and asleep.
On the next night Rodent finds himself awoken by the soft moonlight shining into his eyes. He tries to speak but finds he is unable to, tries to squirm but is only able to move his head ever so slightly. Eyes darting around he notices that he is still on the rafters outside the clock tower. A sudden blinding light to his left shoots up into the sky causing him to close his eyes momentarily. Soon after he looks up in awe as the bright object explodes in the air. Excited about his front row seat he finds himself no longer worried about his inability to move.
More of the red objects begin hissing all around him. Each one starts to shoot upward around the tower sending a shower of sparks down from the sky. He thinks to himself how he would love to be amongst them and watch the rockets explode from above. Unexpectedly Rodent hears a hissing from behind, but before he's able to look he finds himself airborne. At first he closes his eyes as he feels the wind rushing all around him, eventually peaking them open to gaze at the wonder and awe of being able to see the town from so high up for the first time in his life. As he looks around he sees bursts of various vibrant colors in the air around him.
Higher up Rodent continues to go at a faster and faster pace, feeling as if he could almost touch the moon. For one last time the delicate wings of the butterfly flutter in front of the rat's eyes as it lands on his muzzle. Understanding of what is happening now comes to Rodent as he closes his eyes and feels himself start to slow his assent. The butterfly fades away as the largest of fireworks goes off and sends purple sparks flying everywhere in a beautiful display.

By Tye Dye
Edited by Zennyfox