Ruled By Rats

"Ruled by Rats." Though not literally, a sort of plague has come upon the humans but it doesn't effect the rats or anything other than a human really. Thus animals start to take the world where humans are no longer, humans still exist but in pockets around the globe. Slightly futuristic, unrealistic coat colors are allowed due to human experimentation on animals eventually led to cosmetic changes ("who doesn't want a pastel pink dog?"). Animals are becoming smarter, living longer while the humans suffer. Societies, cities, and towns arose where the humans left behind and they're none the wiser; humans are unable to leave the bubbles they call their homes for fear of infection. The ones that do leave are simply called Blocks for the horrid skin they wear, all yellow and vibrant and block-y.

Most animals lifespans have expanded greatly. Mice and rats - usually living for one or two years - have found their lifespan nearly ten times than what it used to be. Dogs and wolves find their own nearly three times the norm, living to be fifteen to twenty years. Cats end up living longer than dogs do, twenty to thirty years. And so on and so on. It seems that the creatures with hooves of the forest have found themselves to be... indefinite (and by indefinite I mean they live 80 to 100 years). Though the plague happened over fifty years ago, there are still some moose and deer and horse that remember being there for Before. However, if you want actual knowledge on Before, it's the tortoises you consult. For how long they lived before, they must be immortal now.