Journey to Thorn Valley

Prologue

The weather was getting warmer. The field was already planted, and some species of plants had already started to blossom.

Normally, by this time of year Mrs. Brisby and her family would move to their summer house, in between the roots of a great tree by the stream, which would keep them fresh during the summer. But now that their other house was held safely on the lee of the stone there was no need to hurry, and her family had been able to stay even after little Timothy had fully recovered from his illness.

Brisby's calculation of the new upcoming moving day was interrupted by a familiar voice yelling from the distance, above her.

"Mrs. B! Mrs. Brisb! Hey, Brisby!" It was Jeremy.
No small animal enjoys being startled from above and Jeremy could be tiring quite often, but he was also a good friend and Mrs. Brisby was nothing if not patient and kind.

"Jeremy!" She raised an arm to keep the sun off her eyes as she looked up. "Keep it down, or you'll attract the cat."
"That- Yes, sorry Mrs. B, it's just that's exactly what I intended to tell you uh- Uhm, well, the cat!"

Brisby didn't wait for him to finish, she saw it in his face and the way his eyes alternated between her and the near distance. She held the herbs she was holding with one arm close to her chest and broke into a three-legged run between the taller weeds, changing course entirely.
The cat jumped forward and ran after her, and she let go of the herbs in a frenzy to lose it. This time the stream was too far away for her to hide there, but there was a small, twisted tree nearby, and she ran to hide in one of the spaces between its roots.

The cat soon crashed into it and started looking for her hiding spot, its paws each larger than her, scraping the bark and wood as it searched.
Mrs. Brisby believed that she was in a spot only deep and small enough to be safe, but just in case she was wrong, she chose not to move and waited out the danger.

"Don't worry Mrs. B, I'll distract it!"
"No!" Brisby cursed herself for not being able to hold the exclamation, but the harm was already done, the cat doubling down on its efforts. "Just go to my house and tell my kids to wait inside!"
"Uh, don't worry, I got this!"
"No Jeremy, just tell my kids..."
"I can't hear you Mrs. B, I'm going in!"

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the crow would much rather face the cat than her kids, and it dived in from the cat's behind.

Now, corvids are in general some of the most intelligent species of animals, regardless of their personality traits and quirks, and this intelligence often comes with a good dose of malice. Jeremy was mostly friendly and well-mannered, but any crow that values itself gets a good kick out of mocking a cat.

Especially a big, fat and scary cat like Dragon.

Jeremy was merciless, pulling its tail, croaking and mocking him until the cat couldn't ignore its instincts and followed him away from the tree.

Mrs. Brisby had to admire the theatrics of the crow as she hurried home. It was still a bit far, and once she was at a safe distance and could still hear the ruckus of her friend and the cat, the adrenaline settled as she realized the danger she had just been in.

She kept noticing the different ways in which the rats of NIMH had affected her. For one, the cat was a lot more active and dangerous now that the rats were not around to drug him. She had been very lucky that silly crow was her friend, and that he had spotted the cat in time to warn her. The whole thing got her thinking of what would have happened if he hadn't.

Mice don't usually like to dwell on how short their lives are. They know this and they carry on as much as they can. But now she knew her children were not normal mouse children. They would not age at a normal rate...