{"sf1_id":1996800,"sf2_id":"znJbABQn","title":"Chapter 9: Greater Understanding","author":"HeatherOBunn","words":12313,"posted_at":"2023-06-04T15:47:00.000Z","tags":["Cat","Chapter","Cults","Doe","Murder","Novel","Predator/Prey","Rabbit","Rat","Romance","Shower","Thriller","sleepover","tom","torment"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1996800-chapter-9-greater-understanding","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/znJbABQn","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/aa/a8/aaa86324-56b2-466e-9cc0-609ad576f608","description":"#9 of The Murderess of Maplesburg: Disappearing like Rabbits\n\nWhen Ellie and Jason, private detectives, are asked to find a missing teenage rabbit, they soon become embroiled in a string of grizzly murders. Will they be able to navigate the barriers erected by the hostile police chief and catch the murderess before she strikes again?","content":"Chapter 9: Greater Understanding  \nJason awoke and peered at the clock: a quarter after four. He sighed exasperatedly and  \npulled the blankets up farther. The bedding smelled faintly of dandelions and strongly of rabbit;  \nhe guessed that Ellie hadn't had time to change the sheets. In general, he wouldn't mind  \nsleeping most of the day, but he wanted to get back to work. He wondered how long Ellie would  \ndecide he needed to stay in bed. And whether she would really try to hold him down if he got up.  \nJason was embarrassed enough that he had inconvenienced Ellie and Fitzie by turning himself  \ninto an invalid for a few hours, but he found it even more embarrassing and frustrating to be  \ntreated like an invalid even after he felt better. Ellie seemed to be enjoying the opportunity.  \nJason tried to peer out the door to see whether she was paying attention, but he could  \nonly see part of the partition between the kitchen and living room. After drinking several glasses  \nof water, he really needed to use the bathroom, and he really didn't want to ask Ellie's  \npermission. He had heard the toilet flush earlier, so he thought he had a pretty good idea where  \nthe bathroom was. Maybe he could sneak by Ellie. He slowly slipped out of the bed. It creaked,  \nand he froze, listening to see if Ellie had noticed. What am I doing? He didn't need to ask  \npermission to use the bathroom, and he didn't need to worry about what the much smaller rabbit  \nthought about it. He dropped out of the bed and strode out of the bedroom toward where he  \nassumed the bathroom was.  \n\"Where do you think you're going?!\" Ellie bellowed from across the room.  \nDespite his intentions, he nearly jumped out of his fur. Ellie sprinted across the room and  \ncaught him by the tail when he tried to dodge away.  \n\"I was just going to the bathroom,\" he explained hurriedly.  \nEllie glowered. \"I told you I'd escort you,\" she reminded in a soft but menacing tone.  \nStill holding his tail and watching him warily as if she expected him to try to make a  \nbreak for the outside at any moment, she led him to the bathroom.  \n\"Are you coming in with me too?\" he asked when they reached the bathroom door.  \n\"Don't be silly,\" Ellie scolded. \"But don't lock the door. If I hear you trying to climb out the  \nwindow, I'll put you in bed for a week.\"  \nJason closed the door behind him but obediently didn't push in the lock; it wasn't worth  \nthe argument, and besides, he had no intention of trying to climb out any windows. Just out of  \ncuriosity, he looked outside: they were several stories up. Does she think I'm a bird? After using  \nthe toilet and washing his hands, he slowly opened the door. Ellie was still waiting. She grabbed  \nhim by the wrist and led him back to the bedroom, watching until he was once again tucked into  \nbed.  \n\"Go back to sleep. I'll bring you dinner in a couple hours,\" she instructed.  \nJason managed to get back to sleep and was awoken when Ellie entered with his dinner.  \nShe brought him more of the split pea soup though this time she didn't try to feed it to him.  \nJason enjoyed the soup, but he wished Ellie would bring him some meat as well. He was sure  \nhe'd be fine for a while, but after all, he was an obligate carnivore. However, he didn't want to  \nsound ungrateful for the effort she was putting in, even if he thought it was excessive.  \nEllie left and came back with a plate of braised cauliflower and a bowl of grass and  \ndandelions. She sat down at the foot of the bed facing him and started to eat her dinner.  \n\"It's kind of nice to have someone to eat dinner with,\" she commented. \"How are you  \nfeeling now?\"  \n\"Nearly recovered,\" he answered. \"I think tomorrow I'll be right as rain, ready to get back  \nto work.\"  \n\"I'll be the judge of that. Besides, tomorrow is Saturday, a good day to relax and get a  \nlittle TLC.\"  \nJason smiled uncomfortably, \"If you say so, but what about the case? Don't you still want  \nto help catch Danny's murderer?\"  \n\"Of course, I do! And I need my partner to help me. We're a team, Jason. That's why you  \ncan't put too much burden on yourself.\"  \nJason felt a surge of camaraderie for this rabbit sharing her home and food with him.  \nEven if Ellie could be overzealous in her methods, he knew her actions came from a place of  \ngenuine concern and friendship. \"You're right, Ellie. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble, but  \nit's good to know I have you to count on when I get carried away.\"  \nEllie grinned, \"What are partners for, eh?\"  \nWhen they had finished eating, Ellie took away the dishes and returned with her tablet.  \nShe climbed onto the empty left side of the bed and propped the second pillow against the  \nheadboard to form her a seat. After plopping down beside him, she opened the tablet and  \nplaced it between them.  \n\"There's something I'd like you to listen to. Have you ever heard Cat and Mouse Cast?\"  \nJason shook his head, \"No, what's that?\"  \n\"It's a podcast I listen to. They brought up something the other day, and I wondered what  \nyou thought of it, especially after what we've been working on the last couple of days.\"  \nCurious, Jason nodded, \"Okay, let me hear it.\"  \nEllie pushed the play button, and the audio started.  \n\"You know something you never stop to think about?\"  \n\"What's that?\"  \n\"This country is still a freaking monarchy for Pete's sake! I can't remember the last time I  \nheard about the royals or nobility doing, well, anything, but they're still living it up on our tax  \ndollars.\"  \n\"Don't they help to attract tourists or something?\"  \n\"Great, so in addition to a bunch of moochers, we get to have a bunch of dense tourists  \nsalivating over them.\"  \n\"Heh, I guess you're right. We could probably use that money to build a really neat  \ntheme park or something. That'd attract tourists, and we could use it too.\"  \n\"Right, but if you do bring it up to people they're just like, 'Oh, but it's our tradition.'  \nTradition sucks! If we went by ancient traditions, we couldn't even be doing this podcast right  \nnow. Like, I'd have to be stalking you, trying to catch and disembowel you. Yuck!\"  \n\"Unfortunately, even with a tradition as objectively bad as that, there are still some who  \nwon't let go.\"  \n\"Oh, no. Not this again. I'm sorry I brought it up.\"  \n\"I know you don't believe it, Cat, but the carnivore cults are not just a conspiracy theory.  \nThere are dozens of unsolved cases of prey animals disappearing. What do you think is  \nhappening to them?\"  \n\"Just because I don't know doesn't mean that it has to be carnivore cults. Maybe it's  \naliens. Sounds about as plausible to me.\"  \n\"Aliens?! And you think I'm the conspiracy nut?\"  \n\"Hey, I'm just saying it's possible. Carnivore cults are just absurd. Who wants to go to all  \nthat risk to get something you can buy at the store?\"  \n\"I doubt anyone who would consider joining a carnivore cult has such a rational way of  \nlooking at things.\"  \n\"Well, that, anyway, is something we can agree on.\"  \nWhen the clip had finished playing, Ellie looked at him intently. \"So what do you think?\"  \n\"I guess it's a bit silly that we still have a monarchy, but as long as they don't have any  \nreal power, I don't see it as a major concern,\" he answered evasively.  \n\"You know what I mean, Jason: about the carnivore cults. Do you think they are real?\"  \nJason swallowed nervously. \"I know they are, Ellie. Half of those boxes in our office are  \nfilled with accounts on them.\"  \nEllie's eyes opened wide in surprise. \"Why have you never mentioned it then?\"  \n\"It's not something I really like to discuss. That research already ruined my personal life  \nand career once, and I don't want that to happen again. Anyway, it obviously wasn't them who  \nkilled Danny; they would have, they would have eaten him.\"  \n\"You can't say something like that and then not tell the whole story! What happened?\"  \nJason looked at Ellie anxiously for a moment. She hadn't responded badly when he had  \nadmitted that he thought the carnivore cults were real, but how would she react if he told the  \nentire story? Maybe it would be better to refuse to tell her and deal with her hurt and anger at  \nhis lack of trust than to risk her thinking he was obsessed and crazy, but what was more  \nimportant among partners than trust?  \n\"It started with my final research project at the academy. We were supposed to write a  \nthesis and present on some aspect of crime or law enforcement in Vulpineva. I was going to  \ncritically examine the evidence for different cults that had been reported throughout our history,  \nbut when I started looking into the carnivore cults, I found the evidence was simply  \noverwhelming. So I made my report entirely on proving their existence in contradiction to the  \nmajority opinion among the populace and government officials. When I made my presentation in  \nfront of the academy, my instructors were irate. They demanded that I redo the project and  \nrecant what I had said. As you can imagine, I was shocked and angry. I threatened to take what  \nI had found to the press. They told me that if I did, I could forget getting a job as a police officer,  \nso I dropped out.\"  \nEllie had been listening intently to the story, \"Did you ever take your report to the press?\"  \n\"Yes, for all the good it did. Every editor I talked to thought I was a nutter. The only one  \nthat published anything only did so to mock me. The worst part was that Lily was furious. She  \nsaid I had put my vanity before her, and that's when she broke off our relationship. I suppose, in  \na way, she was right,\" he finished forlornly.  \nEllie placed her hand on his dark brown eyes looking at him earnestly. \"I don't believe  \nthat, Jason. I think you did the right thing, what you had to do.\"  \n\"So you don't think I'm an obsessed lunatic?\"  \n\"No. But even if you are, you're still my partner.\"  \nHe flipped his hand to grasp hers and squeezed it gently. \"Thank you, Ellie. That means  \na lot to me.\"  \nShe squeezed his hand back. \"It means a lot to me that you could tell me about  \nsomething so painful.\"  \nThey shared the moment of tender camaraderie for a few seconds longer. Then Ellie  \npatted his hand with her free left hand before pulling away.  \n\"Well, I need to take a shower. Just stay here and keep relaxing, no sneaking off while  \nI'm occupied.\"  \nEllie left the room, and a short time later he heard the shower running. It would indeed  \nbe a good time to leave if he wanted to escape her ministrations, but after their dinner and  \nconversation, he wasn't really anxious to get away. And of course, Ellie would feel betrayed; he  \ndidn't want to repay her kindness that way.  \nAbout half an hour later, Ellie walked back into the bedroom, sans shirt, and started  \ndigging through the closet. Her fur was fluffed out and sticking every which way. Jason  \nchuckled.  \n\"Good look you have going there, Ellie.\"  \n\"I'm sure you look just as silly after you get done bathing,\" she sniped back. \"Speaking of  \nthat, I presume that you also didn't shower the last two nights since you didn't go home.\"  \n\"Uh, I don't usually shower at all, on special occasions perhaps, but I normally just lick  \nmyself clean.\"  \nEllie whipped around. \"You what?!\"  \n\"Lick myself. Like this.\" He demonstrated by grooming his left arm.  \nEllie shook her head in disbelief. \"That is unacceptable. You are taking a shower right  \nthis instant.\"  \nJason's jaw dropped in shock. \"But-but I thought you wanted me to relax,\" he managed  \nto stammer.  \n\"And there's nothing more relaxing than a nice hot shower,\" Ellie answered dogmatically.  \nShe strode over to the bed and grabbed him by the wrist.  \n\"Let's go,\" she enjoined, pulling with her weight. \"You aren't getting clean lying there.\"  \nJason could have resisted, but he could tell Ellie wasn't going to back down. He let her  \ndrag him to the bathroom, glancing desperately at the route of escape he had failed to take just  \nminutes before. In the bathroom, he looked despondently at the open door of the walk-in  \nshower. The textured glass door and the white tile walls were already beaded with water drops  \nfrom Ellie's shower. Ellie shoved him inside, and he gingerly tried to avoid touching the wet  \nwalls, squeezing his arms in and tucking his tail to make himself smaller.  \n\"Ellie, please,\" he whined plaintively. \"I don't like to get wet.\"  \nEllie shook her head. \"You'll feel loads better once you're clean,\" she assured him.  \nShe adjusted the knob to the right temperature then pulled it out to start the flow of  \nwater, quickly stepping out and shutting the door. Jason stood miserably as the water soaked  \nthrough his fur. He could see Ellie watching just outside, her image distorted by the textured  \nglass.  \n\"Okay, you can turn the water off,\" she called after what seemed like half an hour.  \nJason pushed in the knob and swung the door open, gratefully stepping out of the torture  \nchamber.  \n\"Where are you going? The shampoo is on the shelf behind you,\" Ellie stated.  \nTurning his head, Jason looked back nervously at the bottle in the dripping  \ncompartment.  \n\"Go on. Or do you want me to come in with you to lather you up?\"  \nJason hesitated until Ellie moved toward the shower purposefully and then hurried back  \ninside and closed the door. Retrieving the green bottle, he squeezed the shampoo out onto his  \nhand and gave it a sniff. Rosemary? Soon he'd be going around smelling like a spice cabinet.  \nHe grimaced as he worked the slimy liquid into his fur, finally covering himself from head to foot  \nin the scented foam.  \n\"Go ahead and rinse off now,\" Ellie called.  \nHe pulled the knob back out and again let the water soak him through, though at least  \nthis time it had the benefit of removing the shampoo. When all of the shampoo was gone, he  \nturned off the water and cracked open the door.  \n\"I can come out now?\" he asked hopefully.  \nEllie nodded, and with relief, Jason stepped out of the loathsome shower. He began by  \nlicking his right arm: it was going to take forever to get himself dry.  \n\"You're supposed to use this, you doof,\" Ellie said and threw a rose-colored towel at him.  \nHe caught it and began vigorously rubbing himself with the soft fabric.  \n\"No, no, just use it to gently wipe away most of the water. We'll use the blow drier for the  \nrest.\"  \nOnce he was done with the towel, Jason stood still and let Ellie dry him the rest of the  \nway with the hot air. When she was done, she gave him an appraising look.  \n\"There, now you look just as silly.\"  \n\"Gee, thanks,\" he muttered.  \n\"Don't worry, I'll give you a thorough brushing in the morning so long as you return the  \nfavor. It's a pain trying to brush your back.\"  \n\"It's not an issue I usually have to deal with,\" he reminded snippily.  \nEllie shook her head. \"That's so gross, Jason. If you aren't going to bathe, you should at  \nleast warn people to wash their hands after they touch you.\"  \n\"I get myself clean!\" he protested.  \nEllie rolled her eyes. \"Riiight, covered with slobber, very clean. Speaking of brushing,  \nyou do actually brush your teeth, don't you?\"  \n\"Of course,\" he replied tersely.  \nEllie found him a fresh toothbrush. After he'd finished brushing with the radish-flavored  \ntoothpaste, she led Jason back to the bedroom, and he crawled into bed under her vigilant  \ngaze.  \n\"I'll be sleeping on the couch,\" she explained. She gathered the extra sheets from the  \ncloset and headed out of the room. \"Sleep tight!\" she called as she left.  \nAfter the forced shower, Jason wasn't sure he could tolerate another day of Ellie's so-  \ncalled TLC. What if she made him shower again? And who knew what other surprises her  \nadamant good intentions had in store for him. He'd have to make an attempt to slip away; he'd  \napologize for his ingratitude later. The problem was he had no way to tell when Ellie was asleep.  \nHe'd go to sleep for a few hours to assuage her concerns then slip away when she would  \nhopefully have fallen asleep.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nThe couch was significantly less comfortable than Ellie had expected. She kept rolling  \nfrom one lump to another trying to find the right position. Moreover, she had begun to feel a  \nparticular gurgling in her lower gut: it would soon be time to pass her caecotrophs. Since rabbits  \nwere not ruminants, they had to reingest special cecal pellets to allow them to fully digest their  \ncellulosic food. Ellie had expelled her regular feces early that afternoon, and like most rabbits,  \nshe tried to time her digestive cycle so that she would be at home when she had to pass  \ncaecotrophs. While this was all normal for Ellie, she knew that most other people would find this  \naspect of her biology highly disgusting. Thus, Jason's presence was increasing her discomfort  \nbeyond the purely physical discomfort of the lumpy couch. She didn't want him to be aware of  \nwhat was going on when she went into the bathroom.  \nEllie waited until she felt she couldn't wait much longer then crept to the door of the  \nbedroom. Angling one ear around the side she listened intently: she could hear Jason's soft,  \nregular breathing. Sounds like he's asleep. She crept to the kitchen and carefully retrieved a  \nlarge bowl then slunk toward the bathroom. Whilst passing close to the bedroom, she paused  \nand listened again: nothing to indicate Jason had woken up since she'd checked. Entering the  \nbathroom, she closed the door as quietly as possible and locked it.  \nAfter she had finished with the messy business, she brushed her teeth again and  \nadditionally swished some mouthwash. Next, she washed the bowl in the bathroom sink and  \nthen returned to the kitchen, carefully placing it in its designated spot under the oven, separate  \nfrom the other dishware. Finally returning to the uncomfortable couch, she breathed a sigh of  \nrelief; she didn't think Jason had woken up during the whole procedure. As much as she thought  \nhe was disgusting for licking himself instead of bathing, she would have been mortified if he  \nwere disgusted by her. The incongruity of these sentiments was not lost on her, but then again,  \nthere was nothing biological about not bathing, whether one enjoyed it or not. Now that the  \nsource of her emotional discomfort was out of the way, Ellie thought she might have better luck  \ngetting to sleep. She flopped back down and tried to get comfortable again.  \nAn hour later, she was still trying to get comfortable. She tossed from side to side, but  \neverywhere she turned, another lump was jabbing into her. Suddenly, she heard a creak come  \nfrom by the kitchen. She shot up and peered through the darkness. The moonlight from the  \nwindow by the table showed the faint outline of someone standing near the door. They had a  \ndistinctly feline shape. Ellie flew into action, springing off of the couch and bolting across the  \napartment. She leapt through the air and landed on the figure's back with her legs wrapping  \naround their waist and her arms wrapping around their neck. Jason yowled in surprise and  \ncollapsed under her sudden weight. Ellie scrambled to stay on top and, gaining the position,  \nquickly sat on his back just below his shoulders.  \n\"I told you you'd be staying in bed if I had to sit on you!\" she proclaimed triumphantly.  \nJason grunted resignedly. \"Very well, you made your point. I'll go lie back down.\"  \n\"Oh no! I'm not giving you a second chance to sneak off while I'm asleep.\"  \nJason squirmed underneath her. \"Then what? You're going to sit on me all night?\"  \n\"I have a better method.\"  \nShe got up and helped pull him to his feet. Grabbing him by the wrist, she led him back  \nto the bedroom.  \n\"Just sit there for a second,\" she instructed.  \nJason obediently sat on the bed. Ellie first went to the left side of the bed to flip on the  \nreading lamp and directed it toward the closet. She then went to the closet and started digging  \nthrough the lowest shelf. Feeling a small wooden box, she pulled it out and turned to face  \nJason.  \n\"What's that?\" he asked curiously.  \nEllie grinned deviously and opened the lid to reveal a pair of steel handcuffs and set of  \nkeys.  \nJason blinked, \"Why do you have handcuffs?\"  \n\"In case I need to restrain any misbehaved kitties, maybe?\" she teased.  \nShe stepped over to the bed and locked one of the cuffs around Jason's left wrist before  \nlocking the other around her right wrist.  \n\"Now you won't be going anywhere without me.\" She climbed onto the bed and stopped  \nto yank the handcuffs. \"Well, come on!\"  \nJason continued to sit on the edge of the bed, looking uncomfortable with the whole  \nthing. \"Why, why didn't you lock me to the headboard instead?\" he asked awkwardly.  \n\"Because the couch was really uncomfortable,\" Ellie piped. \"Really, I should thank you  \nfor trying to escape.\"  \nHesitatingly, Jason followed. Ellie dropped the keys into the drawer of the adjacent  \nnightstand, and then she slid under the blankets on the left side of the bed. Jason crawled back  \nunder the blankets where he had been lying on the right side, positioning himself on the edge  \nwith his left arm extended toward the middle. Ellie switched off the lamp, returning the room to  \ndarkness. She snuggled down into the blankets and sighed as she relaxed onto the  \ncomfortable, uniform mattress. She yawned and closed her eyes.  \n\"You sure gave me a lot of work today,\" she murmured.  \n\"Sorry,\" Jason whispered.  \n\"Shh, don't worry about it, silly kitty.\"  \nA short time later, she had slipped into a deep sleep.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nEllie awoke feeling well rested. She glanced at the clock: it was after ten. She hugged  \nthe pillow she was holding. It didn't feel like a pillow. She glanced down and realized she was  \nhugging Jason's forearm to her chest. She must have moved closer and grabbed onto his arm  \nat some point during the night. She turned her head to see if he'd noticed. He was lying with his  \nhead turned toward her, sea green eyes watching intently.  \n\"Good morning, Ellie.\"  \n\"Sorry!\" she exclaimed, hurrying to slide back to the left and out from under his arm.  \n\"You could have woken me up!\"  \n\"I was just thinking how innocent you looked, not at all like someone who tackles people  \nin the middle of the night.\"  \n\"Hmf! Well, if you didn't try to slink away, I wouldn't have to,\" she rejoined defensively.  \n\"Only teasing. Anyway, did you sleep well? I take it from your affection for my arm that  \nmy presence didn't disturb you.\"  \n\"Why would it disturb me? Did my presence disturb you?\" she teased.  \n\"Er-hem, no. I merely thought, among other things, you might have some instinctive fear  \nof sleeping so close to a predator. It's good that you don't; that ought to make things easier with  \nFitzie.\"  \nEllie was momentarily confused, \"Fitzie?\" Then realization dawned on her, \"Aha! I knew  \nit! You did think I was flirting with Tom at dinner the other day!\"  \nJason looked embarrassed. \"You weren't?\"  \n\"No, you goof. And if I ever stumble into a conversation that awkward again, I'd  \nappreciate it if you'd help me out of it!\"  \n\"Heh, oops. Sorry, Ellie.\"  \nShe smirked. \"Well, now that that's all cleared up, let's get up.\" She retrieved the keys  \nfrom the nightstand and removed the handcuffs.  \nJason sat up. \"Thanks. I, uh, have to go to the bathroom. Are you going to escort me, or  \ncan I go by myself?\"  \nEllie narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. \"Are you planning to make a dash for the  \ndoor?\"  \n\"No.\"  \n\"Good. You can go by yourself. I want to go for my morning jog anyway. After I get back,  \nI'll fix you some nice oatmeal.\"  \n\"Er, Ellie? Do you think there's any way you could get me some meat if I'm going to be  \nstaying here another day? I know you don't like the smell, but I am an obligate carnivore. And as  \nmuch as I appreciate your cooking, it's not enough for me, nutritionally, you know?\"  \n\"Of course, Jason. There's a butcher shop right on my normal jogging route, and I'm  \nglad you've decided to do what's best for your health and spend Saturday relaxing with me  \ninstead of going to work and exhausting yourself again.\"  \nJason smiled awkwardly, \"Well, I was hoping you'd let me do a little work today.\"  \n\"I'll think about it.\"  \nShe went to the closet and slipped on a yellow tank top then headed to the kitchen to  \ndrink a glass of water before she headed out. Meanwhile, Jason headed to the bathroom. When  \nhe came out, Ellie was still sitting at the table; she motioned for him to come join her. He walked  \nto the table but paused to look at the pile of junk covering the other side.  \n\"Oops, let me move that,\" Ellie apologized.  \nShe stacked up all of the magazines, junk mail, and pens and carried it into the living  \nroom where she set it on the bottom tier of her glass topped coffee table. She hopped back to  \nthe kitchen to grab a wet rag then used it to wipe away the dust from the unused side of the  \ntable. Jason sat down, and she brought him a glass of water. She sat back down and finished  \ndrinking her own glass of water before standing to leave.  \n\"I'll be back in about half an hour. Is there anything you need before I go?\"  \nJason shook his head. Ellie waved and headed out the door and down the stairs.  \nOutside, it was already quite hot with the sun beating down from high in the sky. One  \ndisadvantage to sleeping in. Because the butcher shop was usually early in her run, Ellie went  \nthe opposite direction, so she wouldn't have to carry the meat as long. Though it was Saturday,  \nthe late hour meant there were quite a few people out and about. Ellie was obliged to dodge  \naround several of them during her run including a group of young chickens playing hopscotch  \non the sidewalk, a wolf with a cart selling sauerkraut and sausages, and a group of three crows  \nin white trilbies holding signs warning of the imminent return of Cthulhu. Another disadvantage  \nof sleeping in.  \nBy the time Ellie reached the butcher shop, she was panting from the heat, and she was  \nglad for the cool air conditioning of the shop despite the smell. The lynx and pine marten  \nexamining the wares both gave her a funny look as she strode up to the counter, but the fisher  \nbehind the counter just waved amiably.  \n\"Hello, Miss, how kind of you to come visit me after I missed you this morning.\"  \n\"Actually, I need to buy something.\"  \nThe fisher's face lit up with surprise, \"Oh? But what do I have that you can eat?\"  \n\"It's not for me,\" she explained. \"It's for my friend who's staying with me. He's a cat. He  \nasked me to pick something up for him.\"  \n\"What did you have in mind?\"  \nEllie looked around the shop at the gruesome goods. How was she supposed to know  \nwhat to buy?  \n\"Er, what do you think he would like for breakfast?\"  \n\"I have some nice pork breakfast sausages, excellent stuff.\"  \n\"Okay, I'll get some of those.\"  \n\"How much would you like?\"  \n\"Uh, just give me however much you think he would eat.\"  \n\"Big cat or small cat?\"  \nEllie held a hand above her head trying to approximate Jason's height. \"About this tall.\"  \nThe fisher nodded. He weighed out and wrapped some of the sausages. \"Anything  \nelse?\"  \n\"Yeah, what do you think he'd like for dinner?\"  \n\"How about a couple of these chicken fillets?\" the fisher asked, gesturing to the cuts of  \nmeat.  \n\"Okay, I'll get a couple of those too.\"  \nThe fisher weighed and wrapped the fillets as well. \"Anything else?\"  \n\"That seems like enough.\"  \nThe fisher rang up the items then scanned Ellie's left hand.  \n\"It wants a signature,\" he stated, pushing a touchscreen towards her on the counter.  \n\"Oh?\" Ellie asked in surprise. She was never asked for a signature.  \nThe fisher grinned toothily, \"Your bank doesn't know you have a feline houseguest. They  \nwant proof it's you and not someone who chopped off your hand.\"  \nEllie laughed uncomfortably, \"Heh, right.\" She signed the screen, authorizing the  \ntransaction.  \nEllie took the items gingerly and said goodbye to the fisher. Outside, she took a deep  \nbreath of fresh air before walking the short distance back to her apartment. Entering her  \napartment, she set the meat on the kitchen counter. Looking around the apartment, she didn't  \nsee Jason anywhere. Did he take the opportunity to run off back to work?  \n\"Jason!\" she called.  \nNo response. She peered into the bedroom and bathroom: no Jason. It sure was a dirty  \ntrick to make me buy that stuff so that I'd think he wasn't going anywhere. And she'd been  \nenjoying having a guest and looking forward to just relaxing together now that he seemed to be  \npretty well again. She plopped down at the dining table looking at the empty place. Shoot.  \nKNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. Ellie hopped up and peered through the peephole. Jason was  \nstanding out in the hall. She unlocked the door and flung it open.  \n\"You came back!\" she exclaimed gleefully.  \n\"Yeah, I was downstairs moving the laundry to the dryer. You locked me out.\"  \nEllie blinked. \"You were doing my laundry?\"  \n\"Yeah, well, I didn't have anything to wear, and I couldn't run the washer with only my  \ncollar.\"  \nEllie shook her head. \"You are such a goofball. You don't need to wear clothes to lie  \naround the house. Who are you trying to impress?\"  \n\"You're wearing a shirt!\" he protested.  \n\"I was just outside. By the way, why don't you take a look at what I grabbed you at the  \nbutcher's shop?\" She gestured toward the counter. \"Tell me if it seems okay.\"  \nJason unwrapped the meat and smelled it. \"It looks great. Thanks, Ellie. If I ate this well  \nevery day, I'd get fat.\"  \n\"Oh? I asked the butcher to give me how much he thought you'd eat.\"  \nJason chuckled. \"He may have upsold you a bit, Ellie, but we can give him the benefit of  \nthe doubt and assume he just erred on the side of more than enough.\"  \n\"Hmf, well, I'm going to cool off in the shower quick. Go ahead and fix however much  \nyou want. I certainly don't know how to cook it.\"  \nJason stared at her in horror, \"Jaws of Cerberus, you're going to get wet again?!\"  \nEllie smirked, \"Does that mean you do or don't want to jump in after me?\"  \nJason glanced toward the door of the apartment.  \n\"I'm joking. Obviously, there's no reason for you to cool off when you've only been doing  \nlaundry.\"  \nEllie headed to the bathroom and had a refreshing rinse. She giggled as she thought of  \nJason's expression when she'd said she was getting in the shower again. Once she had dried  \noff again, she stepped out of the bathroom, and ran into a wall of the odor of frying meat.  \n\"Ack!\"  \nCovering her nose, she ran to the dining room window and pulled it open, sticking her  \nhead as far out as the screen would allow and taking deep breaths of the fresh air.  \n\"Uh oh, that bad, is it?\" asked Jason from the kitchen.  \n\"I'll be okay,\" she assured.  \nShe sprinted back to the bathroom and flipped on the exhaust fan and then back to the  \ndining table by the open window. Jason shut off the stove and came to the table with a plate of  \nsausages.  \n\"I put the rest in the freezer. I'll just take them with me when I leave. Weren't you going  \nto have oatmeal or something?\"  \n\"Maybe after the smell dies down.\"  \nJason looked at her guiltily, \"Sorry for smelling up your apartment.\"  \nEllie shook her head, \"It's okay, really.\" Ellie watched him eat for a few minutes until the  \nair away from the window was tolerable. \"You really should balance that meal out with some  \nwhole grains. I'll fix us both some oatmeal.\"  \nEllie hopped to the kitchen and began boiling some steel-cut oats. When they were  \ncooked, she mixed in raisins, dates, and walnuts. She spooned the cereal into two bowls,  \nliberally sprinkling hers with brown sugar. She brought the sugar and bowls to the table and set  \nthe second bowl in front of Jason.  \n\"I wasn't sure how much sugar you wanted on yours.\"  \n\"None, thanks. Cats can't really taste sweetness.\"  \nEllie gasped, \"Oh no! There must be so many foods you can't enjoy!\"  \nJason shrugged, \"All of those refined carbohydrates aren't really good for us anyway.\"  \nEllie glanced at the oatmeal, \"Do you want that at all then?\"  \n\"Some complex carbohydrates are fine.\"  \nOnce they'd finished eating, Jason glanced at the clock on the stove.  \n\"The laundry should be done by now. I'll go collect it before someone gets peeved and  \nthrows your clean clothes on the floor.\"  \n\"Thanks, Jason, and after you get back, I'll keep my promise from last night and brush  \nout your mussed-up fur.\"  \nJason left, and a few minutes later returned with the basket of white garments.  \n\"Do you want me to fold it for you?\" he asked.  \n\"Sure, and after that, the floor could use vacuumed, and the furniture and baseboards  \ncould use dusted.\"  \n\"Um, okay?\"  \nEllie couldn't hold her straight face, \"Ahahaha, you were going to do it, weren't you? I  \nbrought you here so I could make sure you relax, not so you could do my housework, silly kitty.  \nJust set that down, and I'll go get the brush.\" She eyed him mischievously, \"Though if you want  \nto come over next weekend and do my chores, I won't complain.\"  \n\"Heh, right, I'll set this in the bedroom then.\"  \nWhile Jason did that, Ellie grabbed her brush out of the bathroom cabinet then sat on the  \nmauve couch. When Jason emerged from the bedroom, she patted the cushion next to her.  \n\"Come sit down, and I'll brush you.\"  \nJason sat down, somewhat stiffly she thought, and she stood on the couch and began  \nsmoothing out his pretty striped fur, starting with his head. She reached his back and began  \nsmoothing out the fur in long strokes of the brush. On the third stroke, she began to hear a deep  \nrumbling. Her ears swiveled as she brushed, trying to locate the source of the noise: it seemed  \nto be coming from right in front of her. She placed her free hand on Jason's back and felt him  \nvibrating softly.  \n\"Oh, you're purring!\" she exclaimed. \"How adorable! I've never heard a cat purr before.\"  \nThe rumbling cut out and Jason stiffened back up with a soft cough.  \n\"No, don't stop!\"  \nEllie redoubled her efforts, brushing his back in long strokes while simultaneously  \nscritching him around the ears. At length, she was rewarded for her efforts as he relaxed his  \nposture and the rumbling resumed. Upon finishing with his back and sides, she got down off of  \nthe couch to do his chest and arms. Finally, she motioned for him to stand up so that she could  \nbrush his legs, and she finished with his long tail. She ran her hand through his smooth, glossy  \nfur.  \n\"All done. Now, it's my turn.\"  \nShe looked at the brush, which was full of his brown and black fur. She pulled it out and  \ntossed it on the floor, pushing it under the couch with her foot.  \n\"Something else for you to clean up next weekend,\" she jested. She sniffed the brush.  \n\"Puh, I should have tried to find a different one. This one has your cat stink all over it now!\"  \nJason smirked, \"I guess that's my revenge for you subjecting me to your rabbit stink.\"  \n\"What rabbit stink?\"  \nJason put on an expression of mock contemplation. \"Hmm, how about what I've been  \nlying in since yesterday morning? Pretty obvious you didn't change the sheets.\"  \nEllie felt her ears getting hot with embarrassment. \"Sorry about that.\"  \nJason shook his head, \"Don't worry about it; I wasn't bothered. Now let me fix your fur.\"  \nHe held out his hand for the brush.  \nEllie sat enjoying the feeling of the soft brush dragging through her fur with the bristles  \ngently scraping against her skin. If rabbits purred, she supposed she might have.  \nThey spent the rest of the morning sitting together on the couch. Ellie pulled up an  \nanthology of Edgar Allan Poe's works on her tablet. Jason turned the radio to the Classical  \nmusic station and reclined back with his feet propped on the edge of the coffee table. Ellie sat  \nleaned against the cushioned side panel of the couch proximal to the rest of the apartment with  \nher feet on the couch. After about half an hour, Ellie finished reading The Oblong Box, the tragic  \nstory of one Mr. Wyatt that is made darkly amusing by the obliviousness of the narrator, and  \nglanced up at Jason: he appeared to be drowsing. She reached out her left leg and brushed it  \nagainst his tail, which was sticking over the edge of the couch. The tip of his tail flicked once,  \nbut otherwise, he didn't respond. Ellie smirked and went back to reading, starting on Ligeia.  \nAnother half an hour had elapsed by the time Jason stirred. He turned his head to look  \nat Ellie through half open sea green eyes.  \n\"Ellie?\"  \nEllie kept half of her attention on the book. \"Hmm?\"  \n\"Did you think about whether I can get some research done for the case today?\"  \nEllie looked up from her tablet. \"Do you promise not to overdo it?\"  \nJason smirked, \"I assume you won't let me 'overdo it' even if I try.\"  \nEllie returned the jest with a mischievous wink, \"Now you're getting it.\" She flipped the  \ntablet closed with a snap and set it on the coffee table. \"Right, I'll go get some of the papers we  \nhaven't looked through yet.\"  \n\"Do you want me to come help?\"  \n\"No, I'll be fine. Back in a few.\"  \nEllie slipped the tank top she'd been wearing earlier back on then trotted out of the  \napartment and down the stairs. She was crossing the parking lot when she was surprised by a  \nshrill yell from behind.  \n\"Ellie?! Oh thank Zeus!\"  \nEllie turned sharply to see a brown rat in a faux leather jacket dashing towards her.  \n\"Joe? What are-\"  \nJoe threw his arms around Ellie's torso and hugged her tight. \"Ellie! You're alive and  \nwhole!\"  \nEllie looked down at the shorter rat, whose head reached the middle of her ribs: tears  \nwere streaming down his face, and his breath was heavy with whisky. Ellie grabbed him by the  \nshoulders and tried to gently pull him off.  \n\"Joe, you're drunk. Let go of me.\"  \nJoe either ignored her or didn't even register what she'd said. \"Ellie! I was so worried! I  \ncouldn't sleep at all thinking about you alone, alone with that beast. And then when I saw him  \nstrutting around, not sick at all, I knew something was wrong. I went up to your apartment, and  \nthat's when, that's when I smelled it. I thought for sure you were gone, Ellie, devoured!\"  \n\"Joe, what in the festering pits of Tartarus are you blabbering about?!\"  \nJoe hugged her tighter, and Ellie increased her efforts to pull him loose. \"The cat, Ellie. I  \nsmelled cooking flesh, and I thought he'd eaten you! I didn't know what to do!\"  \n\"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Joe! But if you thought I'd been murdered,  \nwhy didn't you call the police?\"  \n\"The police?! The police, Ellie? Don't you know the chief of police is a bobcat? They're in  \non it, Ellie.\"  \n\"In on what?\"  \n\"All of it, Ellie: the disappearances, the carnivore cults.\"  \nExasperated with Joe's frenzied state, Ellie tried to speak calmly, \"Okay, Joe, so you  \ndon't trust the police. But why would you even begin to think that my friend and partner who you  \nknow I've been working with for years would have killed me? Certainly, you could have thought  \nof a more likely explanation: like, he got better, and I bought him some meat, which is what  \nhappened.\"  \n\"They don't see prey as friends and partners, Ellie. To a cat, you're just a quick meal  \nhe's keeping fresh!\"  \nUsing her full strength, Ellie wrenched Joe off of her and held him at arm's length. She  \nstared at him, infuriated. \"That's a wretched lie, Joe, and if you don't take it back, I'm going to  \ndrop kick you into the dumpster!\"  \n\"No, Ellie, listen!\"  \n\"And after that,\" she snarled, \"I'm going to call the police and let them know your  \nthoughts on their involvement with the carnivore cults. I'm sure they'd be interested in  \ndiscussing that with you.\"  \nJoe's eyes bulged, and he pulled away and stumbled back a few steps. \"Okay, Ellie,\" he  \nsqueaked tremulously. \"I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything.\" He turned and ran back inside.  \nEllie shook her head in disgust. She'd had no idea Joe was such a prejudiced piece of  \nshit. With an angry huff, she turned and walked the rest of the way to her car. The drives to and  \nfrom the office were calm, which was fortunate because Ellie was barely able to pay attention to  \nthe road, still fuming over Joe's grotesque statements. She managed to lug the heavy box of  \npapers on her desk down from the office and then up to her apartment with the help of the  \nrespective elevators.  \nWhen she returned to her apartment, she heard a humming sound coming from inside.  \nStill holding the box, she pushed the door handle down with her elbow and shoved the door  \nopen with her shoulder. Jason was pushing the vacuum cleaner around the living room. Ellie  \nstumbled the last few steps and dropped the box on the dining table with a loud wham. Jason  \nstarted and looked toward the dining room.  \n\"Jason! I thought I made it clear I was joking when I said you should vacuum and dust!\"  \nshe yelled irritatedly over the vacuum.  \nJason shut off the vacuum and tilted it back and forth nervously, the tip of his tail flicking.  \n\"I know, but I thought I should repay you for your help somehow.\"  \nEllie scrunched her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose. All of this stress was  \nstarting to give her a headache. She plopped down at the table, still rubbing her nose. Jason left  \nthe vacuum and hurried across the apartment.  \n\"Are you okay, Ellie? I didn't know my vacuuming would upset you. I'm sorry.\"  \n\"It's not really that, Jason,\" she sighed. She glanced up at him sternly, \"But I forbid you  \nto do anymore of my housework; it's just awkward\" Relaxing her expression she went on  \ngloomily, \"It's actually because of that douchebag Joe.\"  \n\"Who's Joe?\"  \n\"You remember. The rat who helped carry you yesterday.\"  \nJason shook his head, \"I don't remember any rat.\"  \n\"Oh. I guess you were pretty out of it by the time he got there. Anyway, he accosted me,  \nliterally grabbed me, while I was walking out to leave.\"  \n\"Grabbed you?!\" Jason yelped. \"You're not hurt, are you?\"  \n\"No, no, it was more of a hug. He was relieved to see me. Alive.\"  \nJason blinked in surprise, \"What? What did he think could have happened since  \nyesterday morning?\"  \nEllie rubbed her nose again, and Jason put a comforting hand on her shoulder. \"That's  \nthe really awful part, Jason. He was convinced that you had eaten me.\"  \n\"Pu-wha-\"  \n\"And when I tried to tell him how stupid he'd been,\" Ellie interrupted his shocked reply.  \n\"When I reminded him that you were my friend and that we'd worked together for years, he  \nclaimed that you couldn't possibly see me as anything but a quick meal.\"  \nEllie felt tears of anger beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. She pulled up her  \nshirt to dab them. Jason slipped his arm around her shoulders, and she reached across with her  \nright hand to grasp his hand.  \n\"I was so angry, Jason. I'm still angry. I told him if he didn't take it back, I'd drop kick him  \ninto the dumpster, which I should have done. And then I said I'd also call the police on him,  \nwhich I probably shouldn't have said because he was convinced that they are colluding with the  \ncarnivore cults, but after what he said, I wanted to scare him.\"  \n\"I'm sorry, Ellie. If you hadn't had to bring me home, you wouldn't have gotten into this  \nawful argument with your friend.\"  \n\"It's not your fault, Jason, and I don't want friends like that anyway. He's really just a  \nneighbor I was friendly with.\"  \n\"As horrible as it is to think about, we have to keep in mind that it really wasn't that long  \nago that he'd have had all the reason in the world for those suspicions, and the fact that there  \nactually are some people still involved in those insane, murderous cults doesn't help matters.\"  \nEllie glared at him, \"That doesn't excuse him. He had no reason to think you would do  \nanything violent beyond your being a cat.\"  \n\"I'm not trying to excuse him,\" Jason soothed. \"I'm just saying it's easy to understand  \nwhere those attitudes come from even if we know he's wrong.\" He stroked his free right hand  \nover her angrily laid-back ears. \"And that's what's most important, right? That we know he's  \nwrong.\"  \nEllie sighed, still feeling upset though somewhat comforted by her friend's attempts to  \nconsole her.  \nAfter a short pause, Jason went on in a more casual tone, \"And thanks for dragging this  \nwhole box here. I'm really sorry you had to go through all that to get it. Do you think doing some  \nreading will help get your mind off of that unpleasantness?\"  \n\"All of that gruesome stuff? I don't think so,\" she answered grumpily.  \nJason stood silently for a few more seconds with his left arm still across her shoulders  \nbefore asking another question, \"Would you like to go just sit on the couch together for a while?\"  \nEllie looked up at the concerned cat; she nodded. Jason led her over to the couch, and  \nthey sat down next to each other. Jason placed his right forearm around her mid-torso, and she  \nleaned her head against his shoulder. Reaching across him, she took his left hand and pulled it  \nover to her lap where she held it between both of her hands. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled  \nagainst his shoulder: his usual cat smell had a lightly sweet undertone of rosemary. He  \nresponded by rubbing his cheek against her ears. As she was listening to his rhythmic  \nbreathing, he began to purr, softly at first then building to a deep rumble. She nuzzled his  \nshoulder again and squeezed his hand, allowing their mutual affection to soothe away her  \ndistress. Ellie absorbed herself into his comforting purring; she lost track of how long they'd  \nbeen sitting together or even whether she'd been awake the whole time.  \nAfter what could have been ten minutes or two hours, Ellie opened her eyes and looked  \nup into his warm, sea green gaze.  \n\"Thanks, Jason. I needed that.\"  \nHis gentle smile widened, \"What are friends for, eh?\" he murmured.  \nEllie sat up and gave him back his hand, \"Okay, let's get to work!\" she piped.  \nThey sat across from each other at the small dining table, reading through the accounts  \nand case files the rest of the afternoon. Around a quarter to six, Ellie glanced at the stove clock.  \n\"Time to fix dinner. I think that's enough work for one day.\"  \nJason didn't protest as she collected the papers they'd read through, and he carried the  \nbox while she took the sorted stacks of read documents to the bedroom. They shoved them in  \nthe closet where they would be out of the way but where Ellie would see them Monday morning.  \nThey went back out to the kitchen, and Ellie started digging through the fridge.  \n\"Hmm, dinner. What should I have?\" she thought aloud.  \n\"Do you want to make yours first this time?\" Jason inquired. \"That way you won't have to  \nwait for the smell to clear first.\"  \nEllie turned her head to look around the refrigerator door, \"Do you think it will be as bad  \nas this morning?\"  \nJason shrugged, \"It's hard for me to know since I don't think it smells bad, but I guess  \nchicken is less pungent. Maybe if I bake it in the oven, the smell won't be as strong.\"  \nEllie nodded, \"If that works for you, let's try it.\" She looked back into the refrigerator,  \ncontemplating her options, \"If you are going to heat up the oven anyway, I'll make something in  \nit too.\"  \nEllie pulled a couple carrots, celery, and a turnip out of the refrigerator and grabbed a  \npotato from under the sink. Jason set the oven to 350? and took the chicken filets from the  \nfridge.  \n\"What else do you need?\" Ellie inquired.  \n\"A baking dish to start, and then you can show me where you keep the spices.\"  \nEllie pulled a circular, green ceramic dish with a lid from the cabinet. Jason placed one  \nof the slimy pieces of flesh in the dish, rewrapped the other, and put it in the freezer next to the  \nsausages. Ellie opened the spice cabinet for him. The glass bottles clinked as Jason searched  \nthrough the spices, ultimately sprinkling the chicken with salt, black pepper, paprika, and a little  \ncayenne. Ellie cut the carrots, celery, and turnip into large chunks and placed them in an  \naluminum baking pan with a little water and olive oil. She seasoned the vegetables with sage,  \nsavory, thyme, salt, and black pepper before covering the whole thing with aluminum foil. She  \nstabbed a few holes in the potato with a fork and placed it on a separate aluminum baking  \nsheet. Once the oven was preheated, they slid the dishes onto the two racks, Jason taking the  \nbottom so that any juice that might boil out of the dish wouldn't contaminate Ellie's food. They  \nreturned to the dining table to wait for the food to cook.  \nEllie considered grabbing her tablet to do some more reading but realized that Jason  \nwouldn't have anything to read unless she got the cult files back out or tried to find some other  \nmagazine or book for him to read.  \n\"We could play cards or something while we wait,\" she suggested.  \n\"Sure, do you know how to play gin?\"  \nEllie shook her head.  \n\"Do you know how to play rummy?\"  \n\"Yes,\" Ellie answered.  \n\"The games are quite similar, but gin is better for two people. I'll tell you the differences  \nin the rules, and you should have no problem.\"  \nEllie went and dug her playing cards out of the closet. After Jason had explained the  \ndifferences between gin and rummy, they sat playing the card game, occasionally getting up to  \ncheck to see how dinner was coming along.  \nEllie laid the four of diamonds face down on the discard pile, \"Gin!\"  \nJason squirmed uncomfortably as he laid down his hand, \"That was too fast. I hardly had  \nanything yet!\"  \nEllie smirked as she added the points from his hand to the twenty-five points for going  \nout and summed her total score, \"One hundred and three to thirty-seven, you're not doing so  \nwell,\" she teased.  \n\"I just need cards like what I got the first hand. I've gotten nothing but crap since then,\"  \nhe complained.  \n\"Or maybe you only won the first hand because I was still figuring out how to play.  \nMaybe you should just give up and admit who the real champion is.\"  \n\"Go ahead and deal the next hand,\" he grumbled. \"I'm going to check on the chicken.\"  \nEllie watched as he went to check the internal temperature of the chicken. Spending this  \ntime together outside of work had proven to be more fun than she would have anticipated. I  \nshould invite him over some other time he isn't sick. Of course, he wasn't exactly sick now;  \nthere was really no way she could reasonably demand that he stay another night. She began  \ndealing the cards as he returned to the table.  \n\"I suppose I should take you to get your car after dinner,\" she said casually. \"Though  \nyou're welcome to stay longer if you still aren't feeling well.\"  \n\"No, I feel fine. I don't want to inconvenience you.\"  \n\"Right, after dinner it is then,\" she replied briskly. \"Let's see if I can thoroughly defeat you  \nwith this hand.\"  \nJason managed to take the hand, but Ellie won the next two, handily passing the one  \nhundred and fifty point limit with one hundred and sixty-seven points to his sixty-four.  \nEllie grinned as she collected the cards, \"You're lucky we weren't playing for anything.  \nNext time you feel like doing housework, you can come over and let me trounce you again, and  \nwe'll make cleaning the other's place the wager.\"  \n\"I thought you didn't like me doing that,\" he grumbled.  \n\"Only because you didn't have to. It's one thing to have my guest trying to clean my  \napartment. It's another thing to win your servitude fair and square.\"  \n\"Humph, if we play for anything, I'm bringing a new deck. You might have these subtly  \nmarked or something.\"  \n\"I do not!\" Ellie averred indignantly. \"Bring your new deck. I'll enjoy seeing you on all  \nfours, scrubbing the bathroom floor.\"  \n\"You won't think it's so amusing when I make you clean out my fridge. There are  \nleftovers in there even I'm afraid to open!\"  \nEllie giggled, \"Heeheehee, gross. Let's see if dinner is done before we both lose our  \nappetites describing the gross chores we're going to make each other do.\"  \nEllie poked the vegetables with a fork, finding them to be tender, and Jason found the  \ntemperature of the chicken had reached 165?. They set the dishes on hot pads on the table,  \nand Ellie grabbed them each a plate, fork, knife, and glass of ice water. Ellie was a bit off-put by  \nthe sulfur-y smell of the chicken, but fortunately it was overpowered by the sweet, tangy scent of  \nthe vegetables.  \n\"I made enough vegetables so that you could have some too,\" Ellie explained.  \n\"Thanks.\"  \nJason took a piece of carrot, a few chunks of potato, and a small slice of turnip to  \nsupplement the chicken. Ellie piled the vegetables on her plate.  \nJason cut off a piece of chicken and was raising it to his mouth when Ellie interjected  \nwith mock gravity, \"And now let us thank Great Cthulhu for this bountiful feast!\"  \nJason paused with his mouth open, \"Huh?\"  \nEllie snickered, \"Would you believe that in the past few days I've seen two groups of  \npeople out warning passersby of the return of Cthulhu?\" She shook her head in amusement  \nbefore looking slyly at Jason. \"You don't believe that one, do you?\"  \n\"Of course not, that's literally from a work of fiction.\" He popped the chicken in his mouth.  \n\"It's amazing what some people will spend their time on,\" he mumbled around the piece of meat.  \nAfter dinner, Ellie slid the dirty dishes into the sink to wash at some later time. Jason  \nwent to the bedroom and retrieved his shirt collar from the basket of clothes that still hadn't been  \nput away.  \n\"What ever happened to my tie by the way?\" he asked as he was buttoning it on.  \n\"It's at the office. Hopefully, it's okay. I had to use it to cool you off yesterday,\" Ellie  \nadmitted.  \n\"I guess I'll find out when we get there, but as long as you were using water and not  \ncoffee, it will probably be okay.\"  \n\"I hope you mean you'll find out Monday. You're going to get it if I find you passed out  \nagain Monday morning,\" Ellie warned.  \n\"Don't worry: I don't want to go through that ordeal again.\"  \nOrdeal? His choice of words made Ellie self-conscious. \"It wasn't that bad was it? I  \nthought we were having a good time.\"  \nHastily, \"Sorry, I meant what I put myself through. I didn't mean to characterize my visit  \nas an ordeal. I did have a good time for the most part,\" he amended. He paused before adding  \ntestily, \"I still can't believe you made me take a shower though.\"  \n\"You should make a habit of it. A light hint of rosemary did your scent a world of good.\"  \nJason narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, \"Or maybe I could find some bacon scented  \nshampoo.\"  \nEllie gawked at him in horror, \"That'd be just awful!\" she gasped.  \n\"Then it's a good thing I still don't like getting wet,\" he rejoined. \"You'll just have to deal  \nwith my normal scent.\"  \nNow it was Ellie's turn to amend her statement, \"I didn't mean that you usually smell bad,  \njust that you smelled nice with the rosemary shampoo.\"  \nJason blinked, \"You thought I smelled nice?\"  \nEllie felt her ears getting warm. She flicked one, trying to seem annoyed, \"Don't make  \ntoo much of it. Are you ready to go?\"  \n\"Just let me grab the meat from the freezer.\"  \nJason collected the leftover meat, and they took the elevator down to Ellie's car. The sun  \nwas approaching the tops of the midsized high-rises as they drove to the office. Ellie watched to  \nmake sure Jason walked toward the parking garage and not the stairs to the office after she  \ndropped him off. Satisfied, she turned the car around and went back home.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nJason turned and watched Ellie driving away then finished walking to his dark blue  \nsedan. He turned on the Classical music station and began what he intended to be a relaxing  \ndrive to his small, one-bedroom house a few miles East of downtown. However, he was  \ndistracted by the niggling feeling that Ellie was disappointed that he hadn't accepted her  \ninvitation to stay longer even though he felt fine. And then he'd put his foot in his mouth by  \ncalling the whole thing an ordeal when she'd put in so much effort to do what she thought was  \nbest for him. And then she said I smelled nice. It was something you never said to prey unless  \nyou wanted them to run away screaming, but from the other way round, he guessed it could be  \nconsidered flattering. Maybe he should go back and see if she wanted to watch a movie or  \nsomething. Now that he had his own car, he could leave at any time.  \nBy the time he had arrived home, he'd made up his mind to go back. The first thing he  \ndid was feed his pet crickets and change their water. Then he went upstairs to his bedroom and  \nselected John Carpenter's The Thing from his movie collection. He went back downstairs to the  \nliving room and contemplated his DVD player. He'd noticed that Ellie had had a small tv located  \nat the far end of her living room by the radio. However, he hadn't noticed whether she had had a  \nDVD player. He decided to take his just in case. He unplugged the connecting cable from his tv  \nand took it with the player, carrying everything out to the trunk of his car.  \nDusk was setting in as Jason drove back through downtown to get to Ellie's apartment  \non the North side. When he arrived, he pulled into a guest parking spot and removed the movie,  \nplayer, and cables from the trunk. He walked to the door but didn't see any way to call up to be  \nlet in. He looked around in the semi-darkness and noticed a rat in a black jacket peering at him  \nwarily from beside the dumpster. He was holding a cigarette in his right hand, but it appeared to  \nhave gone out.  \nJason waved, \"Hi, I'm here visiting Ellie Bennett. Maybe you know her: white and brown  \nrabbit, black spot under her nose. Do you think you could let me in, or at least let her know I'm  \nhere? Her apartme-\"  \n\"Yes, I know her, and I know who you are,\" the rat cut him off.  \n\"Oh. You must be Joe. Ellie told me you helped carry me yesterday. Thanks for that.\"  \nJoe sniffed and crept a bit closer. He glared at Jason, looking him up and down.  \n\"I don't know what she sees in a pampered pussycat like you,\" he sneered.  \nJason responded lightly, \"Maybe it's my winning personality.\"  \nJoe sneered again, \"I doubt it. But I expect she'll get tired of having a pet kitty before too  \nlong. The novelty will wear off.\"  \n\"I can see you aren't going to help me get in. I'll find someone else,\" Jason replied, still  \nremaining calm. It wasn't like he cared what this rat thought anyway.  \nJoe took a couple of quick steps closer, \"No, I'll let you in just as long as you let Ellie  \nknow I'm sorry.\"  \nJason blinked, \"Why would I tell her that? It doesn't sound like you've changed your  \nmind at all.\"  \n\"That doesn't mean I'm not sorry. I shouldn't have upset her, should have found a way to  \nlet her down easier at a better time, but I was drunk.\"  \n\"I don't think I'm going to tell her that. She was upset enough after you talked to her this  \nafternoon. If you wanted my advice, I'd say you should let her be for a week or two and then  \nsincerely apologize and never mention it again.\"  \nJoe scoffed, \"Why would I take advice from you?\"  \n\"Because, contrary to whatever nonsense you believe, I'm Ellie's friend, and I don't want  \nher to have a bad relationship with her neighbor on my account.\"  \nThe rat shook his head, \"Maybe you're actually naive enough to believe that, but you  \ncan't deny biology. You'll always be a few missed meals away from ripping her apart.\"  \nJason had had more than enough of the rat's wretchedness, but he still needed to get  \ninside. He was trying to figure out if he could ask again without it coming out in a growl when he  \nwas saved by a mink coming out the door. He moved toward the door, and the mink caught it for  \nhim.  \n\"Trying to get inside?\"  \n\"Yes, I'm here visiting Ellie Bennett. Maybe you know her: white and brown rabbit with a  \nblack spot-\"  \n\"Under her nose,\" the mink finished. \"Yeah, I've bumped into her.\" She looked at what  \nJason was holding. \"Getting ready to watch a movie?\"  \nJason nodded. \"Did you want to tell her so that she can let me in?\"  \nThe mink contemplated Jason briefly, \"Nah, you look trustworthy enough. I haven't heard  \nof thieves bringing DVD players into the place they are robbing.\"  \nThe mink continued to hold the door as Jason walked through.  \nShe seemed to finally notice Joe as the door was closing, \"You need something, Joe?\"  \nThe door shut, so Jason didn't get to hear Joe's response. He took the elevator to the  \nfifth floor and finally made it back to Ellie's apartment. He knocked on the door. After a few  \nseconds, he heard movement inside the apartment culminating with the sound of her claws  \nscraping across the linoleum in the entryway. There was a pause as she presumably checked  \nthe peephole, and then the door swung open. Ellie had apparently gotten out of the shower  \nrecently as her fur was sticking in all directions. Her expression was one of puzzled concern  \nwith dark brown eyes wide, ears alert, and mouth turned down in a slight frown.  \n\"Jason? Is everything all right? I thought you were going home.\"  \nJason flipped his tail nervously, suddenly a bit self-conscious about his impulsive  \ndecision, \"I, uh, thought you might enjoy watching a film. But I should have called to ask, so if  \nyou've had enough of me for one weekend, I won't ta-\"  \n\"Hush, silly kitty! I'd love to watch a movie!\" Ellie interjected, beaming. \"I thought you  \nwere anxious to escape. I'm glad you weren't just being polite when you said you'd been having  \na good time.\"  \n\"I'm sorry I made you doubt my sincerity about that. I made a bad choice of words, and-\"  \n\"Yes, yes, no need to apologize for a misunderstanding. What movie did you bring?\"  \n\"The Thing. Have you seen it?\"  \nEllie shook her head, \"What kind of movie is it?\"  \n\"It's a horror movie,\" Jason explained. \"It's known for having exceptional practical  \neffects.\" He paused. \"It's pretty gruesome now that I think about it. Maybe I should have  \nselected something else.\"  \nEllie waved her hand dismissively, \"I can handle a little movie gore, and if I can't, that  \njust means you'll have to hold me, eh?\" she remarked teasingly.  \n\"Eheh, I guess,\" he answered with an embarrassed smile. \"Do you have a DVD player? I  \nbrought mine in case you don't.\"  \n\"I haven't used it in a while, but I assume it still works. Give me the disc, and I'll get  \nthings started.\"  \nJason handed her the DVD case and set his player on the table. Ellie took the disc to the  \nfar side of the living room, and Jason followed. Ellie turned everything on and inserted the disc.  \n\"Seems to be working,\" she noted. She wiped the dust off of the television screen with  \nthe back of her hand. \"It's been a while since I watched tv too.\"  \nThe couch was facing the wall separating the living room from the bedroom rather than  \nthe far wall where the tv was.  \n\"Should we move the tv or turn the couch?\" Jason asked.  \n\"Let's just move this one section out of the way,\" Ellie suggested, pointing to the section  \nclosest to the tv.  \nThey pushed it over by the coffee table. Rather than traditional armrests, the sides of the  \ncouch were high and cushioned the same as the back; thus, removing one end section created  \na sort of chaise longue.  \n\"Alright, sit up against the end, and I'll grab the remotes,\" Ellie instructed.  \nJason sat as she had indicated with his legs on the couch, facing the tv. Ellie grabbed  \nthe remotes from by the tv and turned back around.  \n\"Okay, now scooch over toward the edge, so I can squeeze in.\"  \nJason moved as close to the edge as he could, trying to make ample space. Ellie  \nclimbed up onto the couch, walked across to the end he was sitting at, turned, and dropped  \ndown beside him. She scooted down until her head was tucked under his right arm, which he  \nhad placed across the top of the cushion to maximize the amount of room. Her long ears  \nbrushed over his arm. Jason was hanging a quarter of the way off of the couch, and their fur  \nwas still brushing together. He tried to steady himself by holding onto the back cushion.  \nEllie glanced up at his hand gripping the pillow, \"I didn't think the couch was that wide.  \nScooch back this way, you goof.\"  \nJason scooted over slightly until they were just touching.  \n\"Come on; I'll let you know if you're squishing me.\"  \nJason scooted the rest of the way back onto the couch, squeezing firmly against Ellie.  \n\"There we go, nice and cozy.\" She looked up at him, \"You comfortable?\"  \nHe nodded.  \n\"Good, then let's see this movie you've brought to horrify me.\"  \nShe picked up one of the remotes, which she'd laid on her belly, and started the movie.  \nFor the most part, they enjoyed the film together in silence.  \nHowever, after the first reveal of The Thing, Ellie murmured, \"I see what you meant by  \ngruesome.\"  \nJason glanced at her to see if she seemed too disturbed, but she was watching the  \nscreen intently. Toward the middle of the movie, she leaned her head against his side, and he  \nstarted slightly as her ear brushed into his whiskers. He was glad that Ellie didn't seem to  \nnotice: if she thought he was more scared by the movie than her, it might be a month before she  \ngot tired of teasing him about it. They both jumped when the blood jumped, and Jason thought  \nhe felt Ellie start again later when The Thing burst through the floor. At length, the movie ended,  \nand the credits began to roll.  \n\"Creepy,\" Ellie remarked.  \nCurious, \"Did you like it?\"  \n\"Yeah, like you said, the effects were really neat, and the concept is pretty scary itself. If  \nit were real, either one of us could actually be that thing right now.\"  \n\"Heh, I guess so. It wasn't too scary for you though, right?\"  \n\"Of course not.\" She turned to look at him slyly, \"But if you're too scared to go out in the  \ndark to drive home, you can always spend the night again. Of course, if I really were the thing,  \nwhile you were sleeping would be the perfect time for me to get'cha.\" She grabbed his leg with  \nthe last word.  \nJason rolled his eyes. Somehow, he didn't have a hard time imagining Ellie wrapping a  \ntentacle around his neck. \"With that thought in mind, I think I'll sleep better in my own bed, but  \nwe should make this a regular thing, getting together on Saturday.\"  \nEllie grinned and nodded enthusiastically, \"Definitely, what time do you want to come  \nover next Saturday?\"  \n\"I think you should come to my house next weekend. You shouldn't have the burden of  \nbeing the host every time.\"  \n\"Okay, what do you say I come over about eleven? We can have lunch, and we can  \nfigure out what to do after that.\"  \n\"Sounds good. I'll find something for you when I go to the grocery tomorrow.\"  \n\"As long as it isn't just a bag of carrots.\"  \n\"Heh, right.\" He slid his legs over the edge of the couch and stood to leave. \"Well, I'll see  \nyou at work Monday. Have a good rest of your weekend.\"  \nEllie hopped up after him, and wrapped him in a hug, \"See you!\"  \nJason felt his ears getting warm as he blushed. He lightly hugged her back with his right  \narm. Once Ellie had let go, he turned and headed out to the dark parking lot, which was  \nilluminated by a single security light by the entrance to the building. Fortunately, the miserable  \nrat had gone back inside, so he got to his car and drove home without incident. It wasn't until he  \npulled into his driveway that he realized that he'd forgotten his movie and DVD player. Crap. He  \nwasn't about to go back again. He supposed Ellie would notice and bring them to work with her.  \nHe went inside and straight up to his bedroom. It would be good to sleep in his own bed  \nwithout the awkwardness of his rabbit partner sleeping right next to him. I don't know if I could  \nsleep right next to a wolf. He sat down on the gray comforter and began to groom himself. His  \nfur tasted slightly bitter. Whether Ellie thought it made him smell good or not, there were clearly  \nmultiple disadvantages to shampooing his fur. After he had licked himself everywhere he could  \nreach, he went to the bathroom and used a slightly damp washcloth to get his head and neck.  \nFinally, he brushed his teeth, removing the taste of the shampoo from his tongue with the  \ncatnip-flavored toothpaste.  \nHe returned to his bed and threw back the top couple blankets; the hot weather meant  \nthat the house was plenty warm, and the air conditioner wasn't set to come on until it hit 85?.  \nHe flipped the linen sheet down, flopped into bed, and yanked it back over himself. He turned  \nonto his side, facing the middle of the bed, and pulled the extra pillow into his arms, holding it  \nagainst his chest. He'd gotten used to sleeping with someone when he'd been dating Lilly and  \nsubstituted the pillow when they'd broken up. Now he needed it to feel normal. Early on, he'd  \ntried to imagine he was still holding the bobcat, but as time went on, the pain of their breakup  \nhad faded away, and he'd let go of the fantasy. As he drifted to sleep, he briefly imagined that it  \nwas Ellie in his arms. He pushed the thought away. Even though Ellie expressed her friendly  \naffection with a fair amount of physical contact, that would certainly be more intimate than either  \nof them were comfortable with. He squeezed the pillow that was just a pillow and cleared his  \nmind as he let sleep take him.\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"The Murderess of Maplesburg: Disappearing like Rabbits","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1996790-chapter-8-research.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1997077-chapter-10-a-pleasant-outing.json"}}