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Chapter 19: Cleaning Up Messes

Ellie was being led past the iron-barred cells of the jail by her least favorite feline.

"Breaking and entering. Jason won't be pulling any evidence of your innocence out of his

ass this time, rabbit," Lily sneered.

She halted, catching Ellie by the arm in front of the cell containing a familiar gray tabby,

and put the key into the door.

"Very funny," Ellie drawled boredly. "Don't you have something better to do than try to

scare me? Like, you know, investigate a serial killer?"

"You still think I was bluffing, do you?" Lily growled. "You're about to find out I was

deadly serious." She swung open the door of the cell and pushed Ellie in front of her as she

stepped inside.

The gray tabby leapt down from the top bunk and looked at Ellie with ravenous delight.

Lily directed Ellie toward the tabby. Ellie tried to stop, but the much larger bobcat easily forced

her to keep moving toward the hungrily grinning cat. The tabby opened her arms, and Lily

walked Ellie into her grasp, pushing her forward until she collided with the cat's chest. The tabby

wrapped her arms around Ellie and squeezed her tight against her torso.

"There you go," Lily crooned mockingly. "Nice big hug from your new kitty friend."

Ellie looked up into the tabby's toothy grin and trembled with horrified terror. "Y-you

can't," she choked.

"Shh, what's the matter? She's your new best friend now," Lily taunted. She stepped

back, leaving Ellie tight in the murderous cat's embrace. "Where's that insolence now, rabbit?"

she sneered.

"I-I'm sorry," Ellie choked. "Please, please don't leave me with her."

"It's too late for begging me," Lily taunted. "I'd like to stay and watch you try to negotiate

with her, but I have better things to do." She addressed the tabby, "Try not to get hungry too

soon, Jessica. I want her to have some time to contemplate how she got here." Lily left the cell,

locked it behind her, and with a final sneer at Ellie, stalked out of the jail.

The tabby purred and squeezed Ellie tighter, "I told you we'd be together again, bunny."

Ellie struggled to pull away to no avail.

"There, there," the tabby growled softly. "I won't kill you just yet. I hardly got to play at all

with the last bunny, but I'm not so hungry now. We can play for quite a while before it's time for

dinner."

Jason, I'm so sorry. She'd been wrong about Lily bluffing, and now she was going to pay

the price, become a meal for this cruel cat. And she would never see Jason again. Like Katya,

he'd have to live with the knowledge that it was another cat who had killed her. Another cat. But

this monster was nothing like her sweet kitty. She had been secure in Jason's arms, knowing

his sharp teeth and claws would only ever defend her, but these arms held the vicious claws

that would rip her skin, held her in reach of the dagger-like fangs that would strip the flesh from

her bones, crushed her against the belly that would melt her flesh while her bones dried on the

cold floor. There was no escape, nothing she could do. Lost in despair, Ellie began to weep.

* * *

Ellie awoke to find her pillow wet with her tears. Zeus, what a terrible dream. The worst

part was that it might have come true if Jason had listened to her. She'd been convinced that

Lily had been bluffing about jailing her with the murderous gray tabby, but then Tom had told

them that Lily had done something very similar with a papillon just days before. Ellie assumed it

was the papillon she and Jason had apprehended, and whilst the dog had herself been

murderous, gleeful at the prospect of killing the dachshund as well as Ellie, she still hadn't

deserved that cruel fate. Ellie tried to push away the thought of helplessly waiting for the cruel

tabby to eat her. She glanced at the clock: it was close enough to time to get up. She slid out of

bed and hopped over to her closet to select an orange tank top for her morning jog; running

would help clear her mind.

After she hydrated herself with a glass of water, Ellie set out on her normal route. She

waved to the fisher as he opened up his butcher's shop, and he waved back.

"Good morning, Miss. Anything you need for your feline friend today?"

"Not today, thanks, but I'll probably be in tomorrow to pick something up," Ellie answered

as she jogged by.

"Excellent! Have a good day, Miss."

"You too!"

Ellie continued on her jog, feeling better for her cordial exchange with the fisher. While

she'd had some very negative experiences with a few carnivores in the past week, it was good

to be reminded that most were more like Jason, Katya, and Tom than Lily, the insane tabby, or

the vengeful Scottish terrier and his friends. Similarly, most prey weren't like Joe. Those kinds of

backwards ideas belonged to the past, and whilst they might never die out completely, they

would continue to dwindle away.

And today she'd hopefully be meeting another friendly carnivore, Jason's canine date.

Jason's cryptic description of the chihuahua had further piqued Ellie's curiosity, which had

already been incited by the fact that this was the first date Jason had had since she'd known

him. How would she be different? Ellie already assumed she was different from most dogs since

Jason had expressed his dislike for them. Was that all he had meant, or was she different in

some other way? I'll find out this evening, I guess.

Ellie finished her jog and returned home to rinse off and change into a silver-gray blouse.

She ate a leisurely breakfast consisting of a plum, grass, and a handful of dry oats. Afterward

she proceeded to work. Jason was already there as usual, but today he was already engaged

with a pair of female miniature pinschers in dark green pinstripe blazers.

"I'm sure that nasty vixen did something terrible to him!" the dog on the left whined.

"You don't know that, Virginia," the other dog growled. "Mr. Garmann is resourceful. He

can take care of himself."

Garmann? Someone involved with the bank again?

"But we left him all alone with them! I should have tucked him in my pocket when the

police arrived!"

"You would have been fired for sure!"

"But he wouldn't be missing now!"

"Do you have any idea who this vixen was?" Jason inquired calmly.

"The bobcat called her 'Her Grace,' so I assume she was some type of nobility," the dog

on the right answered.

"Bobcat? Do you mean Officer Schulz?" Ellie asked.

The dogs turned sharply to look at her, apparently having not heard her come in.

"This is Inspector Bennett," Jason introduced her. "And these are Georgia and Virginia.

Their boss, Alfred Garmann, went missing last night."

"When and where did you last see him?" Ellie asked.

"At the opera house about half past nine. The Magic Flute was about to start," Georgia

answered.

"We're his bodyguards, so we were supposed to be protecting him. He's resourceful like

Georgia said, but he's only a little vole after all! But that horrible vixen had us arrested for

nothing, and, and I, we left him alone. I should have grabbed him!" Virginia fretted.

"He would have been furious if you'd handled him like that," Georgia rejoined sharply.

"You know how he is about that kind of thing."

"I know, but I should have done something!"

"We'll find him," Jason assured them.

"Right! We'll figure out who this vixen is and whether she had anything to do with his

disappearance," Ellie added.

Georgia nodded.

"Thank you!" Virginia cried. "I'm so worried about him!"

"We'll get to work on your case immediately," Jason stated. "How can I reach you to let

you know what we find out?"

"Do you have a piece of paper and pen?" Georgia asked.

Jason slid a piece of paper and pen across his desk, and the dog jotted something

down.

"That's my personal number. Let us know as soon as you know anything."

"I will."

Georgia nodded. "Good luck. Mr. Garmann isn't the most pleasant person, but I'll be

sorry if anything happened to him." She directed Virginia to the door with one arm, "Come on,

Virginia. We've done all we can for now."

Ellie stepped to the side to let them pass, and they left the office.

"Sounds like a pretty serious case," Ellie noted. "Another missing person. We could be

investigating a murder; Lily won't be pleased at all."

"If we are, then it's her fault," Jason replied.

"I gathered that she arrested the miniature pinschers-"

"And she refused to look for the vole," Jason cut in. "It was before you got here, but they

told me that after they realized he hadn't come home, they phoned the police station. But Lily

said that she wasn't interested in scanning the sidewalks for a vole someone trod on and that

he'd turn up flat or otherwise soon enough."

"That negligent piece of shit!"

Jason bobbed his head in agreement, "So again it's up to us. Anyway, she can't claim I

went back on my promise when we don't know whether he's dead."

"Do you think he is?"

Jason shrugged, "I don't know, but it doesn't sound good. He wasn't exactly having a

friendly conversation with the vixen before she had the police arrest his guards."

"Who do you think she was?"

"I'm not sure who would go by that title, but it sounds like Lily knew who she was."

"You want to ask her for help?" Ellie grumbled.

"It seems like the quickest way to find out," Jason answered. "I'll call her."

Ellie frowned, but didn't protest further. The most important thing is finding him quickly,

even if that means dealing with Lily again.

Jason used the office phone to call. "Hi Lily, this is Jason. I need to ask you something."

...

"No. I need to ask you who the vixen was who had you arrest the miniature pinschers

last night."

...

"Unless you know something we don't, he's only missing, and I don't think 'trod on'

counts."

...

"Thanks. Bye, Lily." He hung up. "She says it was the Duchess."

"The Duchess?"

"You know, the Duchess of Gooseberry. Her estate isn't too far from here; though, it is a

bit of a drive."

"Huh, what was she doing in Maplesburg?"

"Attending the opera, apparently."

"How far a drive is it?"

"At least an hour, but showing up and accusing the Duchess of doing something to our

missing vole isn't something I want to do anyway. It'll be bad enough calling."

Ellie rolled her eyes, "She's just a fox."

"She's a duchess. You heard what the dogs said. She had them arrested for nothing."

"That's their side of the story. I'll call and ask if you don't want to." She pulled her tablet

out of her satchel and tried to search for the number but didn't come up with anything. Shit. "Do

you have any idea what the number would be?"

Jason shook his head, "Couldn't you find it?"

"No."

He frowned, "Maybe Lily knows."

Ellie sighed exasperatedly. We have to ask her for help again!? "Go ahead and call her."

Jason dialed Lily again. "Hi Lily-"

...

"Yes, again. Listen, do you know what number we can call to reach the Duchess?"

...

"Please, Lily. If you don't give it to us, we'll have to drive all the way there to talk to her."

...

"Alright, thanks, bye." He hung up. "You want to call her now, right?"

Ellie nodded.

Jason punched the numbers in and handed the phone to her. The phone rang several

times before someone picked it up.

A grumpy voice answered, "This is Belmont Manor. Who is this?"

"Hi, this is Inspector Bennett in Maplesburg. Can I speak with the Duchess?"

"No."

Ellie frowned, "We need to ask her about a vole she met last night. He's gone missing."

"I'll talk to her," the person on the other end grumbled. "I assume you don't mind

waiting?"

"That's fine."

Ellie heard the phone being set down, and then she had to listen to several minutes of

silence. She exchanged a frown with Jason; they were certainly taking their time.

Finally, the same voice answered, "She says he went home with Lord Larchwood."

"That's it?"

"Yes, I assume that's all?"

"Do you know his number?"

"No."

"Okay then. Thanks for your help."

The person on the other end snorted contemptuously and hung up.

"Well, they seemed unpleasant, but they said the Duchess said the vole went home with

Lord Larchwood, whoever that is."

"Let's see if we can get ahold of him."

A web search again failed to produce a number, but the map showed that the small

estate was only a short distance to the South of Maplesburg.

"I guess we can drive to talk to him," Jason conceded.

"He's still a fox, I assume," Ellie pointed out.

"Yes, but he's only a lord, and with an estate that size, I doubt he holds much sway. I

don't think we'll get arrested merely for questioning him."

"Alright. Do you want to drive?"

Jason blinked, "Do you want me to?"

"A leisurely drive through the country might be nice, but I guess we should probably get

there today," Ellie joked.

Jason rolled his eyes, "Right, you can drive as usual."

They were soon zipping down the freeway toward the estate. Ellie peered sidelong at

Jason gripping his seat and smirked.

"You'd better hope your new girlfriend likes to drive nice and slow," she teased. "Maybe

you should date older women."

Jason didn't respond.

After about twenty minutes of driving, Ellie exited the freeway to a winding two-lane

highway. She enjoyed tearing around the curves. Jason did not; he breathed a sigh of relief

when she turned onto the gravel driveway of Larchwood estate. The driveway was quite long,

and a short distance up it, they passed a sign that read "Larchwood Vineyard" followed by rows

and rows of red-fruited vines.

"Those are the strangest grapes I've ever seen," Jason commented.

"That's because they're tomatoes," Ellie corrected.

"Oh."

Ellie was obliged to drive slowly on the rough gravel driveway, but at length, they arrived

at a cul-de-sac in front of a large two-story brownstone house with a heavy-looking oak front

door and maroon curtains in the windows.

They got out of the car, and Ellie hopped up the stone front steps to knock on the heavy

door. They waited a minute, but no one answered. Ellie knocked again.

A voice called from behind them, "Good morning! How can I assist you?"

They turned to see a red fox in a ratty straw hat and grimey gardening gloves striding

toward them. They stepped back down the front steps to meet him. He towered over the two of

them: the tod was over a head and a half taller than Jason, and Ellie was less than two-thirds

his height.

"We're looking for Lord Larchwood," Jason answered.

"I'm him!" He pulled off his right glove and offered Jason his hand, which Jason shook.

"A pleasure to meet you, lad!" The fox turned to Ellie.

She offered her hand, and he knelt to take it and pressed the top to his lips.

Ellie twitched her left ear, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the gesture.

"And a delight to meet such an enchanting lady," he added smoothly before standing

straight again. "Now what can I do for you?"

"We need to ask you a few questions," Ellie replied.

The fox grinned, "An interview? I knew the press would take an interest in tomatoes

eventually!"

"We're not journalists," Ellie corrected. "I'm Inspector Bennett, and this is Inspector

Brown. We need to ask you a few questions about a vole you met last night."

The fox's expression instantly changed from jovial to nervous. "Vole? Ah, yes, I do

believe there was a vole at the opera last night. Quiet fellow. I didn't pay much attention to him."

"According to the Duchess, he went home with you," Ellie rejoined.

The fox swallowed anxiously, "Well, uh, I did offer to escort him since he was alone. It

can be dangerous for such small folk in Mapelsburg at night. But he refused. Her Grace left first,

so she must have gone before it was quite decided."

Ellie exchanged a glance with Jason. It was obvious that he was, at the very least, not

telling the whole story.

"Is there anyone who can corroborate that?" Ellie asked.

"Y-yes, my fiancée, Penelope." He went to the door, opened it, and called inside,

"Penelope! Can you come out a moment, Dear?"

A minute later, a white Persian cat in light pink chemise sauntered out of the house and

glanced at Jason and Ellie. "What is it, Jean? Who are these people?"

"These are Inspectors Bennett and Brown. They'd like to know whether we took the vole

home last night."

The cat blinked and turned to Jason and Ellie, "We most certainly didn't. Nasty creature.

Why would we want to associate with his type?"

Ellie frowned, "Lord Larchwood said he was quiet and that he offered to escort him

home."

The cat gave the tod a quick glance, "W-well, it was Her Grace who said he was nasty.

Apparently, something happened before we got there. But Jean is such a gentleman that he still

offered to assist the miserable creature."

"So then, you have no idea where he might have gone after the opera?" Jason inquired.

"None whatsoever," the Persian cat confirmed.

"I do hope he'll show up," Lord Larchwood put in.

"And if he doesn't, well, that sometimes happens, doesn't it?" the Persian added quickly.

"People just disappear as if, as if they melted away into nothing!"

Lord Larchwood gave her a horrified glance. "What she means is that, with someone so

small, if some, some accident were to befall them, then there might not be enough left for

anyone to ever find the remains."

"I guess that's possible," Jason conceded.

"Did he leave before or after you?" Ellie asked.

"I believe it was after," Lord Larchwood answered quickly. "I'm sorry we couldn't be of

more help."

"I can show you around inside if you want to look," the Persian cat offered.

Ellie glanced at the large house. It would take the two of them forever to search the

entire place for someone as small as a vole. "I don't think that will be necessary. Thanks for

your time." She motioned to Jason and started back toward the car.

"Have a nice afternoon!" the fox called, sounding relieved.

"You too," Jason responded.

They got in the car, and Ellie began the drive back out the long driveway.

"If they're not involved, I'll lick your feet again," Jason commented.

"If they're not involved, I'll lick your feet. I've never met a pair of more terrible liars."

Jason sighed resignedly, "I suppose it's time to take the case to Lily and stop working on

it ourselves."

"You think they killed him then?"

"I don't know how else to interpret their suggestion that he might never be found, and

'melted away into nothing' hardly sounds alive to me."

Ellie grimaced, "Right. It sounds more like, like what would happen if one of them ate

him."

"Zeus, you think she was being that literal!?"

"The way he took it suggested so. He acted like she'd practically admitted."

"We'd definitely better go to Lily then. Maybe she can have their stomachs pumped.

Although, it's probably already too late if they ate him last night."

"Right. Hold on. I don't want to waste any more time while the evidence 'melts away to

nothing.'"

She reached the road and peeled out. She pushed the compact car hard on the drive

back, and the engine squealed as if in agony. Jason shut his eyes and groaned while gripping

the seat. Before long, they reached downtown Maplesburg and the police station. Ellie parked in

front of the station and jumped out of the car. Jason followed close behind.

The obnoxious prairie dog was at the front desk, and he glared at them as they came in,

"What trouble are you causing today?" he asked peevishly.

"Just fetch Officer Schulz," Ellie replied.

He crossed his arms, "No."

"Then we'll go to her ourselves." Ellie strode toward Lily's office with Jason behind her.

The prairie dog sat up like he was going to get up to try to stop them, but then seemed to

think better of it and slouched back down.

Ellie flung open the door to Lily's office, and the bobcat jumped to her feet.

"Zeus blast you, rabbit! You think I'm going to keep tolerating your insolence?!" Lily

snarled. "Get out before I rip you apart myself!"

Ellie didn't blink. "You have another murder on your hands," she declared.

Lily glared over her at Jason, "Murder?" she growled. "I thought we had an

understanding, Jason."

"We wouldn't be involved if you'd taken the case this morning," Jason rebutted. "It's the

missing vole. We just got back from Larchwood estate, and if they didn't murder him, then they

know who did."

"They?"

"Lord Larchwood and his fiancée. They practically admitted to it. From what they said,

we think one of them might have eaten him."

Lily blinked. Then she snorted, and her mouth curved into a smirk. Then she burst out in

a giggle. Ellie found her inappropriate, high-pitched tittering even more off-putting because of

the incongruity with its source.

"Eeheehee! Eeheeheehee! Eeheeheeheehee!" Lily gasped for breath. "Zeus, Jason, you

really have lost it! Eeheehee! Eaten! Eeheeheeheehee!"

"I don't see what's so funny!" Ellie rebuked. "One of your own officers was eaten! And

the papillon!"

"Jessica is insane!" Lily returned. "But you think, eeheehee, a lord is going around

gulping down rodents! It's absurd!"

"It doesn't sound so absurd to me," Ellie cut back. "Anyway-"

"Of course it doesn't sound absurd to you, rabbit! You probably see hungry predators

around every corner, but Jason ought to know better!" Calming down from her state of hilarity,

she shook her head and gave him a wry look, "You've been with this rabbit too long, Jason.

You're starting to think like one."

"I don't care whether you think it's absurd!" Ellie shouted. "Investigate anyway! Maybe

they ate him; maybe they killed him some other way! But from how nervous they acted, they

definitely knew something they weren't saying!"

Lily sneered, "I don't have to do anything you say, rabbit."

"So then what? You're going to let them get away with murder?!"

"If they really ate him, then they're probably going to get away with it regardless. Do you

think there's anything left by now?"

"If you press them, they might admit it. They nearly admitted it to us!"

"They'll be more prepared next time. They'll have their story straight."

"So you're not going to talk to them at all?!"

"We'll talk to them," Lily conceded. "For all the good it will do. They'll have their story

straight now, and even if they confessed, they'd probably get a pardon anyway. The King

doesn't let his lords rot in prison for one little vole."

Ellie frowned disconcertedly at Lily's glib dismissal of the idea of equal justice. She's a

police officer! On the other hand, if she was that jaded and cynical, it explained a lot about the

bobcat.

"As long as you'll look into it," Jason assented. "I wish there was something more we

could-"

"There isn't," Lily interrupted harshly. "Don't forget that breaking and entering charge,

Jason. If your pet is so worried about how I'm doing my job, I know a criminal I can arrest

anytime I want."

"If there's nothing we can do, then I guess that's all," Jason concluded.

He put his hand on Ellie's right shoulder, and she whipped around to stomp out of the

office. That negligent piece of shit. Maybe Jason had been right when he'd suggested that Lily's

lack of initiative on the serial killer case was a result of her apathy towards the lives of prey. Ellie

tromped back out to her car with Jason behind her. She slammed her door and turned angrily to

Jason.

"How is it that we have a piece of shit like that for our chief of police?!" she fumed.

"I don't know. I guess Lily was always pretty driven when we were in school."

"But she's not driven now! She hardly does her job at all!"

"She does seem awfully jaded," Jason acknowledged.

"So she should be fired! Or demoted! We need someone who actually cares when prey

get murdered!"

Jason nodded glumly, "Not much we can do about it though."

"Oh yes there is! I should have done this weeks ago! I'm calling the Mayor's office!"

Ellie pulled out into the street and drove back to their office building. Upon arriving, she

proceeded promptly to the office's phone, looked up the number for the Mayor's office on her

tablet, and dialed.

"Mayor Puddleshim's office. Shannon speaking. How can I help you?"

"This is Ellie Bennett. I'm a private inspector here in Maplesburg. I need to speak with

the Mayor; it's urgent."

"I think she's having lunch, but I'll see if she'll speak with you."

Ellie heard the phone being set down, and several seconds later, Shannon answered it

again.

"She says she has time. I'll transfer you over."

The phone rang twice before it was answered by a chirp, "This is Mayor Puddleshim.

You have something urgent to tell me?"

Ellie recognized the Mayor's tweet from an interview she'd seen online. Mayor Deidre

Puddleshim was a robin who was serving her second term as Mayor of Maplesburg. Ellie hadn't

voted for her either time because she disagreed with her views on the eating of insects and with

her costly plan to install a tram through downtown when the bus system seemed perfectly

adequate.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about the chief of police, Lily Schulz."

"What about her?"

"My partner and I have been investigating a number of murders over the past couple

weeks, and Officer Schulz has done her best to thwart our investigations at every turn. On top of

that, she doesn't seem to have any interest in investigating them herself. A young rabbit, a male

squirrel, and a family of squirrels including a mother and her two children have all been brutally

murdered. My partner and I have talked with the coroner, and he believes we're dealing with a

serial killer, yet Officer Schulz closed the case on the family of squirrels before it had even

started and wants to wait around until someone else is murdered! And on top of all that, three

people have died in her jail in the past couple weeks!"

"That all sounds pretty damning," the Mayor tweeted worriedly. "I knew about the deaths,

but she assured me she was doing her best to catch the killer. I'll have an investigation into her

conduct started right away."

"And if what I'm saying is true, you'll fire her?"

"I actually don't have the authority to do that myself, but if what you said is true, I'll

recommend it in the strongest possible terms."

Ellie smiled smugly. That nasty bobcat fucked with the wrong rabbit. "Thank you, Ma'am.

I'm sure your investigation will agree with what I've said. Maplesburg deserves better than Lily

Schulz."

"Thank you for bringing the problem to my attention. I'm sorry if she's been making it

difficult to do your job. Is there anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"Okay, have a nice day then." The other end hung up.

"Lily is in deep shit now!" Ellie crowed. "Zeus, I should have done that a week ago! With

that jerk gone, we'll actually be able to do our job and help stop this psycho!"

Jason nodded solemnly.

"You're not feeling sorry for her, are you?" Ellie accused.

"No, she deserves to be fired for everything she's done, for what she did to you alone,

but I don't think you should declare victory just yet. I'm sure Lily will have her own story, and the

Mayor might be more inclined to believe her."

"The proof of her negligence is all there! She hasn't caught the killer, and what can she

say to deny that she hardly investigated the murder of the squirrel family?"

Jason shrugged, "Hopefully, you're right. I guess I should call our clients now and give

them the bad news."

Ellie winced: she'd almost forgotten about the fact that they needed to tell the miniature

pinschers that the vole was probably dead.

Jason retrieved the piece of paper with the dog's number from his desk and went to the

phone to call.

"Hi, this is Inspector Brown."

...

"Yes, I'm afraid it's bad. We think he's dead."

...

"We don't have a body. But we've talked to the last people who saw him, and we think

he was murdered."

...

"You'll have to talk to the police about that. I'm afraid we can't investigate any further, but

they are investigating now."

...

"I have an, an agreement with the chief of police. I'm sorry; I'd like to keep working on

the case too."

...

"Alright, take care. Bye." He hung up the phone. He turned to Ellie, "That's never a

pleasant experience," he groaned.

"Were they very upset?"

"I only talked to Georgia. She didn't seem too upset. I don't envy her having to tell

Virginia; she seemed much more attached to him and much guiltier about losing him."

Poor thing. It must be horrible to feel like it was her fault that he died. "Just like Ms.

Planter," Ellie murmured. Ellie wondered if the vole had also had a family who would miss him,

possibly children who no longer had a father. Did people like the serial killer or Lord Larchwood

and his fiancée even consider things like that? What made it even more disturbing was that Lord

Larchwood hadn't seemed like a heartless monster. Before they'd told him why they were there,

he'd seemed like a good-natured, if eccentric, fox. Were cold-blooded murderers that difficult to

spot, or more disturbingly still, were ordinary people only a tiny push away from cold-blooded

murder? Ellie tried to dismiss those dark thoughts and sat at her desk to read the daily news.

The remainder of the afternoon was uneventful, and at 5:40, they headed to Panda's

Wok. The restaurant was not in easy walking distance from the office, so Ellie drove them,

parking in the small lot behind the two-story brick building. The restaurant was on the ground

floor, and a red neon sign in the front window read "Panda's Wok" next to a blue neon sign that

read "Open." Ellie followed Jason through the glass front door, and they were greeted by the

owner, a red panda in a black dress shirt.

"Good evening, folks. How many?"

"Three, we're meeting a chihuahua," Jason answered. He glanced around the

restaurant. "I guess she's not here yet."

The red panda grabbed three menus and showed them to one of the circular mahogany

tables with cushioned black wood seats before bustling away to greet another guest. The

restaurant had a black and white checkered tile floor and the white ceiling was hung with

decorative red and gold spherical lamps. The crimson walls displayed a number of beautiful ink

drawings with flowing lines forming landscapes or figures of various species. The spacious

restaurant was mostly full with a large variety of species occupying the circular tables. Ellie

watched the door in anticipation for Jason's date. Glancing at Jason in the seat to her right, she

noticed that his blue and silver striped tie was crooked, and she reached over to straighten it in

his white shirt collar.

"I'm a little nervous," she admitted. "I hope we get along. It would be awkward if I didn't

get along with my best friend's girlfriend."

"I think you will," Jason replied; though, Ellie noticed he didn't sound super confident.

"She's, uh, a bit like you in some ways, very forward."

"You could say Lily is 'forward'," Ellie pointed out.

"She's nicer than Lily," Jason asserted.

"I certainly hope so! That's a very low bar."

Ellie turned back to watch the door, and a few minutes later, a chihuahua wearing a

sleeveless red blouse with ruffles along the V-neck and carrying a brown tote entered. The red

panda approached her, and after a short exchange that Ellie couldn't hear over the many voices

of the other patrons between them and the entrance, he led her over to their table. The table

had six seats, and Ellie was sitting on Jason's left. The dog took the seat to his right.

"Hi, Jason!" she yapped.

"Hi, Rosa. It's good to see you again."

The dog leaned over and gave his ear a quick lick, "It's great to see you too!"

Ellie leaned forward over the table to peer around Jason, "Hi, Rosa! I'm Ellie. I'm looking

forward to getting to know you! Anyone who's a friend of this goofball is a friend of mine." She

reached out her hand across the table.

The dog took her hand, but then pulled her forward up onto the table. "Caught you!

Wow, that was easy! This means I get my choice of pieces, right?"

Surprised, Ellie tried to jerk her arm back, but the dog kept a firm grip.

"Ah ah ah, bunny. Once you're caught, you have to offer me a taste. That's the rule."

"Rosa," Jason intoned embarrassedly under his breath.

Rosa looked to him and back to Ellie and then let her go, "Sorry, that was a joke."

Ellie sat back in her seat and blinked. I don't get it. "What was the punchline?"

"It was funny because you're a rabbit, and I caught you when you were off your guard,"

Rosa explained.

"Oh, okay." She glanced at Jason who looked like he was regretting the whole thing. I

don't want to let one bad joke ruin things. She smiled at Rosa politely. "Jason has told me a little

about you, but I'm hoping to learn more. We might be spending quite a bit of time together."

"Jason has told me loads about you," Rosa replied. "You could say, you're his favorite

topic."

Ellie glanced sidelong at Jason and smirked. Silly kitty. "I hope it was mostly good."

"I'd say so. He has a high opinion of you."

Ellie grinned at Jason, "Goodness, Jason, I didn't know you felt that way!" she teased.

She nudged her arm against his, "Oh wait, yes, I did!" She turned back to Rosa. "He's such a

goofball. He says the sweetest things to me all the time."

"It sounds like you have an interesting relationship," Rosa said politely.

"We're close friends," Ellie explained.

"You must be. From what I've gathered, he lets you have your way most of the time."

Ellie frowned, "We're usually in agreement."

"I'd think you'd have plenty of disagreements, being a rabbit and a cat."

Ellie shrugged, "Not really."

"Maybe we should decide what to order," Jason cut in.

"Yeah, I guess so, we can talk more after we order," Ellie agreed. She began to look

over the menu, turning to the vegetable section.

When their waiter, a large-spotted civet in a white bowtie, arrived to take their orders,

Ellie ordered the Szechuan style green beans and the bok choy.

"I'll have the mapo tofu, er, without the pork," Jason told him.

The civet nodded as he jotted it down.

"I'll have the orange chicken," Rosa stated.

"Okay, thank you." The civet turned and scurried away.

Ellie looked at Jason curiously, "You're sure you wanted it without the meat, Jason?"

"I, uh, thought it might be nice if we could share for a change."

"That was nice, but I don't want you to miss out on the nutrients you need."

"It's only one meal; I'll be fine."

"Well, you're welcome to try some of my vegetables then. You might like the green

beans; I don't know about the bok choy."

"You can have some of mine too if you like, Jason" Rosa put in.

"I, uh, don't really like citrus," Jason replied awkwardly. "Thanks though. You can try

some of mine."

"No thanks, I don't like the squishy texture of tofu."

Ellie decided to continue her conversation with Rosa, "So, Rosa, what do you do?"

"I work in marketing at Buukomart."

"Is that interesting?"

"Not really."

"That's too bad. I worked as a barista at Mole's Mugs for a while after college, so I know

what it's like to have a dull job."

"It's not so bad. It pays well at least, unlike serving coffee. How did you get started as a

private inspector?"

Ellie smiled as she recalled her first meeting with Jason, "It was all thanks to Jason,

actually. I was trying to get a job at the paper, and I happened to meet him while I was waiting

for my interview. When I told him about my plans to become a private inspector as soon as I

could afford to start my practice, he told me he had some money and would like to discuss

going into business together. So that's how it happened."

"You started a business with someone you'd only just met?"

"We talked it over. We got along really well, so we decided to go for it."

"You hit it off right from the beginning then, huh?"

Ellie nodded.

"What's it been like working with a cat?"

"Great, no issue at all. Jason's a sweet kitty. Aren't you, Jason?"

Jason mumbled something indiscernible, looking down at the table.

Ellie smirked, "He's a little shy about it." She reached over to stroke his back. "You don't

need to be embarrassed, Jason. She'll be pleased to know what a sweet kitty you are."

Rosa smirked, "I'd say 'sweet' is accurate enough," she agreed.

Ellie grinned, "See? She already knows it too."

Jason flicked his ear.

Ellie smirked and turned back to Rosa. "One thing you should know about Jason is that

when he acts like you're embarrassing him, he's actually enjoying it," she jested.

"That's not true," he grumbled.

"Isn't it, Jason? I seem to remember you asking me to mess with your tail on the way

home from the brewery last time after you acted like it mortified you the times before," Ellie

teased.

Jason flicked his tail. "That was one time," he muttered. "And I was trying to make up for

ruining our drink with Katya."

"Lily ruined our drink with Katya. Anyway, I don't buy it."

"Lily? Katya?" Rosa inquired.

"Sorry, Rosa. Lily is the chief of police and Jason's ex, and Katya is another officer I

invited to have a drink with us."

"Lily is the bobcat then?"

"That's right. I guess he already told you something about her."

Rosa nodded, "He did, but I didn't realize she was the chief of police. He made it sound

like he rarely saw her."

"We see her more often than we'd like."

"You don't get along then?"

"You could say that," Ellie replied dryly.

"What's Katya?"

"She's a cat."

"So you get along with regular cats but not bigger ones?"

Ellie frowned, "That has nothing to do with it. Lily is a jerk."

Rosa blinked, "Sorry, I'm just trying to figure things out."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's odd to me that the two of you get along so well together. I'm trying to figure out

what makes it work. Like, are you only afraid of certain types of predators, or do you particularly

like cats for some reason?"

Ellie blinked in surprise, "It's odd to you?"

"A bit."

Ellie shrugged at a loss as to what she needed to explain, "I get along with some people

and not with others."

"Because you are comfortable around some species of predators and not others?"

"Because I think they seem nice, and they think the same about me. Isn't that how

everyone makes friends?"

Rosa shrugged, "I guess so, but I would have thought which species you're comfortable

around would come into whether they 'seem nice'."

Ellie frowned, "I try not to let prejudice get in the way like that. I can't say I always

succeed, but I do my best."

The civet returned with their meals. Jason breathed a relieved sigh as the civet set the

mapo tofu in front of him.

"Thank you!" Ellie piped as he set her dishes in front of her.

"Enjoy." He scurried away.

Ellie turned to Jason, "So did you want to try some of my vegetables, Jason?"

Jason looked at them skeptically, "I'll try a couple green beans, I guess."

Ellie used her chopsticks to put a few on his plate.

"Did you want to try some of my tofu?"

"Yes, please!"

He spooned some of the saucy dish onto her plate. Ellie popped one of the soft tofu

cubes in her mouth. The savory flavors of ginger and other spices Ellie was less familiar with

mixed with a pleasant spiciness of hot pepper on Ellie's tongue. She swallowed the tofu and

grinned at Jason.

"It's delicious, Jason! Good choice. Thanks for making it so we could share."

Jason smiled, "I'm glad you like it." He picked up one of the green beans and bit off half.

His eyes widened in surprise. He chewed and swallowed. "That was surprisingly good, really

savory!"

Ellie grinned, "Do you want to try the bok choy?"

Jason looked at the white stalks with dark green leaves, "I think I'll pass on that."

Ellie peered around Jason at Rosa, "Do you want to try any?"

"No thanks, I have enough. I don't want to take your food when you can't eat any of

mine."

"I have more than enough."

She eyed Ellie's plates, "It's all green. I don't like that much green."

Ellie shrugged, "Okay."

They focused on eating for a few minutes before Ellie decided to continue her

conversation with Rosa.

"Jason told me he's going to meet your friends tomorrow. What are they like?"

"They're dogs: a sheltie, a dachshund, and a labrador."

Ellie noticed Jason flinch at the mention of the lab. "All of your friends are dogs?"

Rosa nodded.

I guess that explains her questions. She must not feel that comfortable around other

species. "Well, now you have a rabbit friend too," Ellie said cheerfully.

Rosa gave her a funny look as if she wasn't sure she wanted a 'rabbit friend', "Yeah, I

guess so. What are your friends besides Jason?"

"Tom is a ferret, and I already told you about Katya."

"That's it? You don't have any prey friends?"

"Not at the moment."

Rosa smiled, "Okay, I get it now."

"You do?" Ellie wasn't sure she did herself.

"Yes, I don't think you'll mind my saying this, but you don't really act like prey. So it

makes sense that you only have predator friends."

Puzzled, "I don't act like prey?"

"Not at all! I admit I was skeptical when Jason insisted that you weren't afraid of

predators, and I thought you seemed a little scared by my joke. But you brushed it off, and you

haven't seemed nervous at all since."

Ellie frowned, "Why would I be nervous? We're having a friendly conversation."

"You're having a conversation with a dog. If we didn't have this," she gestured to her

meal. "We wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Oh. You mean because, right," Ellie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She looked down

at her food and then at Jason. He looked like he was feeling sick to his stomach.

"I don't mean to offend you," Rosa asserted. "That's just how things are, but like I said,

you don't act like prey. It doesn't seem to bother you at all."

"It didn't bother me when I didn't know you were thinking about it," Ellie muttered.

Rosa's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh! I just assumed. I mean, I thought it would be

something you thought about."

"About being someone's meal?!" Ellie rejoined incredulously. She put on a sarcastic

tone, "Yeah, I like to think about that every night before bed. It really helps me get to sleep."

"Okay, now you're acting like prey," Rosa grumbled. "I'm sorry I thought I could be

honest with you."

"How am I the one at fault?" Ellie shot back. "Jason doesn't wax philosophical about how

he might be eating me instead of his food while we're having dinner. Or ever."

"Jason might be happy to starve himself trying to live on soybeans, but you can't expect

other predators to."

"He isn't starving himself! You heard him; it's one meal! He'll be fine. And he didn't have

to do that for me; he was being nice."

"There's nice, and there's suicidal. Now, maybe it's nice. If we didn't have lab-grown

meat, it would be suicidal."

"But we do!"

"Right, that was my point, so I don't know why you're getting so upset about it."

Ellie looked away, upset at where the conversation had gone and that she wasn't getting

along with Jason's date. Did he know she had such backwards views? Jason reached his left

hand over and gave her right hand a comforting squeeze. At least it didn't seem like Jason was

angry with her for having the argument with Rosa.

"Are you going to be able to finish yours, Ellie?" he murmured.

Ellie eyed her food: she hadn't eaten much of it yet, but she wasn't feeling hungry

anymore. She shook her head.

Jason waved over the civet. "Can we get three to-go boxes?"

The civet nodded and hurried off, returning shortly with the white trapezoidal boxes.

Jason spooned part of his meal into one and pushed it in front of Ellie.

"In case you get hungry later," he explained softly.

"Thanks, Jason," she murmured.

He gave her hand another squeeze and went back to eating. Ellie picked at her food a

bit more before putting the rest in the other two boxes. She didn't particularly want to talk with

Rosa anymore, and the dog seemed to agree. They finished their meal in silence.

"Are we going to split the bill?" Rosa asked when they were done.

"I'll take care of it this time," Jason replied.

After he'd paid, they got up to go.

"See you tomorrow, Jason," Rosa stated.

"Right, see you tomorrow."

Rosa looked coolly at Ellie, "It was interesting meeting you, Ellie. Goodnight."

"Bye, Rosa," Ellie muttered.

Rosa left, and Ellie collected her boxes to take to the car.

"Let me take those," Jason offered.

Ellie let him carry the three boxes and led him outside to her car. She unlocked the

doors.

"Just sit them on the floor in the back seat," she instructed.

Jason did so, and they climbed into the car. Ellie pulled out of the parking lot and began

the short drive back to the office. After a minute, Jason broke the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry about that, Ellie."

"I should be apologizing to you."

"No, you didn't say anything wrong."

Ellie hesitated before continuing. "Do you like her, Jason?"

"She seems to really like me, and we got along well enough last time. But she said some

worrisome things then, and this time was even worse. Maybe she just doesn't know any prey

that well, but I don't think it's going to work out between us, especially when she says things like

that to your face. It would be bad enough to think them, but to say them and then act like you

were the unreasonable one," he let the sentence hang.

"You should tell her as soon as possible then. It's not right to keep stringing her on."

"I'll tell her first thing tomorrow when I see her."

"You could call her tonight."

"I feel like I ought to explain to her face."

They returned to the office building. Ellie already had all of her things, so she let Jason

out outside of the parking garage.

"See you Sunday, Jason! If you get done with Rosa quickly, feel free to come by

Saturday and get to work. There's a lot of cleaning for you to do!"

Jason rolled his eyes, "How enticing. I'll see you Sunday, Ellie."

She waved and drove off, headed for home. She was sorry that she hadn't been able to

get along with Jason's date, but she was glad that Jason didn't think it had been her fault. She'd

tried her best to get along with the dog even though the conversation had begun to become

awkward early on. However, Jason's assurance that he was on her side had largely relieved her

distress over the uncomfortable meeting, and she was beginning to feel hungry. She'd barely

touched her food after she'd started talking to Rosa again! Ellie hurried home to warm up her

dinner.

* * *

Rosa had asked Jason to come to her house to meet her friends at eleven Saturday

morning, so Jason decided to show up half an hour early, hopefully before her friends arrived,

so that he could explain why he couldn't date her anymore. He barely slept Friday night

worrying about what he was going to say. Should he simply tell her he was in love with

someone else? She'd probably guess who since she'd suggested it on their first date, but it

might be easier than telling her that he didn't like her views on prey. He felt the latter would

make her angrier and more defensive, and if her friends were there, they might try to jump into

the argument on her side. Jason didn't want to be in an argument with a roomful of dogs. On the

other hand, if you loved someone else, what could you do? He felt it was less of a personal

attack.

After worrying all morning as well and pacing around the living room trying to prepare

what he was going to say, Jason finally made his way over to Rosa's house. He arrived early as

he'd planned, but her driveway was already full of cars. Shoot. He parked out in front and

walked through the yard to the front door and jumped to ring the doorbell. Boisterous barking

from at least two dogs erupted as soon as the doorbell rang. Jason almost made a dash for it

back to his car, but he managed to stop himself.

Rosa answered the door wearing a short, sleeveless white dress with a ruffled bottom,

"Jason! You're early! I was just about to tell them you were coming. Wait in the entryway a

minute so I can prepare them."

Jason stepped inside and waited just inside the doorway. Rosa trotted back to the living

room. Jason could hear her address her friends.

"Girls, I was just about to tell you that my date I mentioned last week is coming to meet

you-all today!"

"Was that him?" another dog barked excitedly.

"Yes. Woah, just a minute!"

Jason heard multiple dogs leaping to the floor.

"Just a minute!" Rosa repeated. "I need you to be calm when he comes in. I don't want

you to scare him."

"Huh? Is he particularly skittish for some reason?" the same dog asked.

"He may be. Just try to remain calm. I'm sure you'll all get to talk to him."

She trotted back down the short hall and waved for him to come, "Come on, Jason."

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he started toward the living room. His heart

pounded hard in his chest as he approached the door. Rosa ushered him in with her right hand

on his back.

"This is Jason."

The three dogs, a yellow labrador in a yellow tank top, a sable sheltie with a pleated

black skirt, and a dachshund in a pale green short-sleeved blouse, who Jason was surprised to

recognize as Olivia Clark (or whatever last name she was using now), leapt to their feet again.

"But that's a cat!" the sheltie, whose voice matched the one Jason had heard while

waiting, barked in surprise.

Olivia gave Jason an embarrassed wave, but he hardly noticed as the larger dogs

rushed toward him. His fur floofed out, and his claws extended, those on his feet gripping the

red-violet carpet to enhance his traction. He made a move to turn and dash back for the front

door, but Rosa caught his arm.

"Hey!" she yelled. "I said not to scare him."

The sheltie stopped dead, looking embarrassed, but the lab merely slowed, striding the

remaining distance in just a few steps. She towered over Jason and Rosa, roughly three times

Jason's height and several times his weight. She leaned down and grabbed Jason by the scruff.

Lifting him up to her face, she only narrowly avoided choking him with his gray shirt collar and

green tie. He looked into her piercing hazel eyes fearfully, and she grinned, showing her

massive fangs.

"Good one, Rosa," she growled amusedly. "You almost had me going there." She sniffed

Jason and grinned wider, mouth gaping slightly to let her drooly tongue roll out. "This is a nice

chew toy you've brought us. Who wants to play tug-of-war?"

Oh, Zeus! Jason almost swooned at her suggestion. He'd be ripped apart! "Please, no,"

he choked weakly.

"PUT HIM DOWN, FRIDA!" Rosa shouted in rage. "I wasn't joking! This is my date!"

"You can't hurt Inspector Brown, Frida!" Olivia yelped.

Both Rosa and Frida turned to regard Olivia in surprise.

"You know this cat?" Frida inquired.

"Yes! Inspector Brown and his partner are the private inspectors I told you about! They

found out that cheating bastard, and they saved my life!"

Frida frowned and regarded Jason regretfully, "We can't use him as a chew toy if he

saved your life, I suppose."

She dropped him, and he landed on all fours. Rosa helped him up and straightened his

tie. He stood uneasily, still shaken by the terrifying experience.

"Even if he didn't save Olivia, you weren't going to harm a whisker!" Rosa snarled. "This

is my date, and I invited him here to meet you, not for you to terrorize him!"

Frida gave Rosa a funny look, "Wait, you're actually serious? This cat is your date?

What's the matter with you, Rosa?! You're dating prey now?!"

"Cats are carnivores as you well know!" Rosa yapped back.

"Still, little ones like that-"

"He's bigger than me! Am I prey?!"

The lab scowled, "Fine, not prey," she growled. "But still, a cat? Aren't there enough

dogs for you?"

"There aren't many her size, Frida," the sheltie put in.

"So you think it's normal, Molly?" the lab asked dubiously.

The sheltie shrugged.

The lab turned back to Rosa and Jason, balefully examining him further. "You always did

have a thing for the pretty boys. I guess it makes sense," she allowed reluctantly.

The dogs sat back down: Frida on the large purple recliner, Olivia on the small light blue

armchair, and Molly on the large dark brown couch. Rosa led Jason over to the couch as well

sitting close on his left side with the sheltie farther away on his right.

Jason had recovered from his shock to enough of an extent that it occurred to him he

should thank Olivia for her help. He turned to her gratefully, "Thank you, Olivia. You're a

lifesaver," he breathed.

She shifted embarrassedly in her seat, "I don't think Frida would have really hurt you,"

she murmured. "She just gets carried away sometimes and says things she won't really do."

Jason was less than convinced that the lab hadn't been ready to maul him.

"How's Inspector Bennett?" Olivia asked politely.

"She's fine."

"Why did you go to a pair of cats to investigate that bastard, Olivia?" Frida queried

harshly. "If you couldn't find a decent dog to investigate, you could have just asked me to shake

it out of him!"

"What if he hadn't been cheating?!" she yelped "Anyway, I didn't want you shaking it out

of him; I needed evidence to make sure I get my due in the divorce." She hesitated before going

on more softly. "Also, Inspector Bennett is a rabbit." She mumbled the last word so that it was

almost incomprehensible.

"A what?" the lab demanded.

"She's a rabbit," Rosa stated. "I met her yesterday. She's, well, she's okay for a rabbit."

The lab turned to Jason in surprise, "You went into business with prey?!" She shook her

head wryly and smirked, "Okay, cat, you have my respect now; that's crafty. Not only do you

have a 'partner' who has to do anything you say, but if business goes South, you can cut your

losses and have a nice dinner." She chuckled lightly, "Heheheh, I wish I'd thought of a scheme

like that."

Jason was utterly disgusted by the lab's comments. How callous is this dog?! Only his

fear of the enormous dog kept him from hissing a scathing rebuke. Instead he just looked away

and clenched his fists, taking a deep breath to try to remain calm. Rosa put her hand on his leg.

"Jason doesn't think about prey like that, Frida," she responded. "He cares for his

partner. I've seen them together; hurting her is the last thing he'd do."

The lab snorted derisively, "He cares for a rabbit? What kind of nonsense is this, Rosa?"

"I told you: he has a different perspective on prey than we do. He doesn't think it's odd

for predators and prey to be friends, and that's what he thinks of her as, not just his partner but

his friend. He goes out of his way to please her. It's odd, but it's kind of sweet in a way."

"That's the most ridiculous load of crap I've ever heard, Rosa! His friend?! How can you

be friends with a walking dinner?!"

Finally, Jason couldn't hold back his anger any longer, "Ellie is no one's dinner!" he

hissed. "You're the one with the problem! Predators can be friends with prey no different than

they can be friends with each other, and I wouldn't give up my friendship with Ellie for anything!"

The lab scowled at him in disgust, "Where did you find this nut, Rosa? Picking cabbages

with a bunch of rabbits?"

"We both accidentally showed up at a speed dating event put on by the Lagomorphic

Society."

Frida gave her a look of condescending pity, "Somehow I doubt it was a mistake in his

case."

"You shouldn't be so prejudiced, Frida!" Olivia piped up. "Inspector Bennett is very

brave. You'd know that if you'd been there when they rescued me from Reginald and his awful

friends. She didn't flinch when they threatened her, and she put a bullet in that bastard's foot.

Even if she were here now, you'd see how brave she is! I doubt she'd be afraid at all in this

room with four dogs!"

"Then she's an idiot," Frida growled. "Fools are often brave."

"It's more like she's spoiled from being around Jason," Rosa modified. "She simply

doesn't expect predators to consider her potential food. When I brought it up, she became very

hysterical, but before that, she was fine."

The lab eyed the sheltie, "What do you think about all this nonsense, Molly? You've

been awfully quiet. We usually can't shut you up."

The sheltie frowned contemplatively, "It's a bit odd to me, but if he really doesn't see her

as food, then I don't see why they shouldn't be friends. I suppose it's nice that some people are

able to push past those instincts."

The lab scoffed, "'Nice,' it's just ridiculous! You can't change nature just because you

think it'd be nice!"

The sheltie shrugged. "Maybe you can't, but maybe you can work around it."

Rosa put one arm around Jason and squeezed him to her side. "I knew this would lead

to an interesting discussion!"

"Interesting" wasn't the word Jason would have used to describe it. He found it extremely

disturbing to be acquainted with three people who couldn't wrap their minds around how

predators and prey could be friends. At least Olivia wasn't so backwards, but it seemed like her

opinion had largely been shaped by Ellie saving her life. Jason wondered how she'd thought

before that.

Fortunately, the topic seemed to have been exhausted.

"There must be other interesting things about dating a cat," the sheltie commented.

"What's it like?"

Rosa smirked and gave Jason a mischievous look, "We haven't done it yet, but you

should feel how sleek he is. We cuddled for quite a while last weekend, and that was very

satisfying."

"Can I feel?" the sheltie asked excitedly.

"Go ahead!" Rosa offered.

Apparently, it wasn't up to Jason. The sheltie scooted over until her long fur was

brushing against Jason. While she was much smaller than the lab, she was still at least fifty

percent larger than him. He sat rigidly as she stroked her hand down his back and then down

his chest.

"Sleek and fit, and look at his pretty green eyes! You made quite the catch, Rosa! Maybe

I should try to find a cat my size."

The lab scoffed, "You too, Molly? Find yourself a decent dog, not some prissy feline."

"Easy for you to say!" Molly shot back. "Not everyone lands the swim team hunk right out

of high school!"

"Are you saying there's a shortage? You certainly don't have the excuse Rosa does."

"There is if you don't want a man who spends hours chasing a ball and then thinks

romance means humping for a couple minutes! You heard Rosa! Jason actually cuddled with

her!"

Jason wished he wasn't at the center of an argument about the sheltie's sex life. He'd

meant this to be a quick visit to explain things to Rosa. But when am I going to have the

opportunity?! He didn't think it would be wise to interject with all of her friends here, not with how

excitable they were.

"I'm sure you could find a handsome cat, Molly," Rosa remarked. "What do you think,

Jason?"

"I, uh, I suppose she could," Jason assented.

"Do you know any?" Molly asked hopefully.

"Not any close to your size, sorry," he replied. "I know a bobcat, but she's not a very big

one. And she's a she."

"But that's what I should be looking for as far as size goes, you'd say, yes?"

"Yes."

She rubbed her hands together in anticipation, "Bobcats, here I come!"

"Don't come crying to me when you get your pelt clawed off," Frida growled.

"Tosh!" Molly barked back. She turned to Olivia. "How about you, Olivia? Are you going

to get in on the fun?"

"I'm not into cats," she murmured. She paused uncomfortably. "Apparently, Reginald

was."

Molly winced, "Oh right, I'm sorry, Olivia."

Olivia shook her head, "It's not your fault. From what Inspector Brown and Inspector

Bennett told me, it wasn't even the cat's fault; she didn't know he was married."

"That lying, faithless bastard! If he weren't locked up, I'd rip him apart!" the lab seethed.

Jason winced. While he wasn't exactly cheating on Rosa, he still wasn't being honest.

Ellie had been right when she'd told him he shouldn't string her on, but he'd continued to do so

rather than create an uncomfortable situation. He took a deep breath to fortify himself.

"Rosa? Can we speak in private?" he murmured.

She blinked in surprise, "About what?"

"I'd rather tell you in private."

Rosa glanced at her friends, "Er, just a minute, girls. Jason wants to tell me something."

Molly grinned, "Oh boy, I hope it's something juicy!"

Rosa hopped off the couch, and Jason followed her. She led him toward the kitchen, but

he motioned toward the front door. She followed him out to the front step, and he closed the

door behind them.

"You really didn't want them to hear," she remarked. "Okay what is it?"

Jason shuffled his feet and swished his tail nervously, "I, uh, don't want you to take this

the wrong way, Rosa. I did enjoy our time together last weekend, but I realized since then that,

that I, um, I love someone else."

Rosa blinked, "It's the rabbit, isn't it?" she asked, deadpan.

"I figured you'd guess," he confirmed anxiously.

"Does she know?" Rosa demanded.

"N-no."

Rosa sighed resignedly. "Well, at least she wasn't silently mocking me while we were

eating last night," she grumbled.

"I-I'm sorry, Rosa," Jason apologized hurriedly. "I should have realized it sooner, but, but

I thought I couldn't love her because she's a rabbit."

Annoyed, "And it took me pointing out the obvious for you to realize?"

"That and what happened after I left last Friday. That's when I realized my feelings went

beyond friendship."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked irritatedly. "Do you realize how embarrassing

it's going to be for me to explain to my friends that you chose a rabbit over me?!"

"I-I'm sorry! I should have! But I didn't know how to explain my change of mind to Ellie

after I'd already told her our date went well," he explained lamely.

"You could have told her the truth too!" she snapped.

"I know!" He moaned. "But I've been too afraid of how she'll react. I don't want to risk

losing our friendship!"

Rosa shook her head exasperatedly, "Listen, Jason, if what I saw last night was anything

to go by, I don't think you have to worry about that."

Jason hoped she was right. "Do, do you want me to go back in with you?"

"No," she answered firmly. "I don't want to have to stop Frida from trying to make you her

chew toy again. You'd better leave."

Jason nodded, "Goodbye, Rosa," he murmured.

"Goodbye," she replied coolly.

Jason slunk back out to his car and pulled away from the oversized house. He noticed

Rosa still watching; as he started down the street, she slowly turned back toward the door.

* * *

Ellie used her last clean spoon at breakfast. She hoped that Jason would do as she'd

suggested and come over after talking with Rosa, preferably before lunch. Otherwise, Ellie

would have to wash dishes herself instead of leaving them for Jason to do; she didn't want him

to get off easy after losing their bet. However, it was nearly noon, and the oatmeal she'd eaten

wasn't sticking with her. Either he decided to wait until tomorrow, or he's taking longer to talk to

Rosa than I thought he would. Ellie understood it could be a delicate issue to tell someone you

disliked them when they liked you, and she knew Jason wasn't the type to end a relationship by

bluntly censuring the other person. She was about to get up from reading on the couch to do

dishes, at least enough to eat lunch and dinner, when she heard a knock at the door. Ellie

bounded across the apartment and peered through the peephole. Seeing Jason's brown fur and

black stripes, she flung the door open.

Ellie beamed, "Jason! You decided to come today after all!"

Jason grabbed her in a hug, squeezing her close. Ellie was surprised by the

suddenness, but she quickly recovered and returned the hug.

"It's good to see you too, Jason, but you might not be so affectionate when you see what

I have in store for you."

Jason didn't seem to process her statement right away. He nuzzled her between the

ears and then paused, "Huh? What you have in store?" he asked bemusedly.

"Did you forget our bet? I want you to get to work on the dishes right away. I'm hungry,

and there's nothing to eat lunch on."

Jason looked at the sink piled with a week's worth of dirty dishes and frowned.

Ellie nuzzled his chest, "It's going to be so nice having a kitty servant this weekend," she

teased.

"You want me to get started right now?" he inquired, reluctantly.

"Yes, I'm hungry! Wash enough for us to have lunch, and you can do the rest afterward."

Jason nodded. Ellie pulled away, and he proceeded to the kitchen. Ellie sat at the left

end of the table to watch. Jason added dish soap and water to the green plastic basin and

glanced at Ellie.

"What do you need me to wash?"

"A pair of plates, two sets of silverware, and a pair of glasses should be fine for now."

Dutifully, Jason began to scrub the specified items with the off-white dishrag and blue

scouring pad Ellie had left at the sink, quickly completing the small task. He looked at the much

larger pile of remaining dirty dishes disconcertedly.

"Did you do dishes at all this week?"

"I wanted you to have something to do," Ellie quipped. "Alright, let's make lunch. I bought

you some stuff at the butcher's shop this morning."

Ellie hopped over to the refrigerator to pull out and unwrap the meat she had bought so

that Jason could see: it included a few breakfast sausages, some sliced ham, and a couple beef

filets.

"Thank you, Ellie. It looks like you're trying to keep me well fed again."

"You need energy to work!" she piped.

Jason smirked, "You mean you're not going to make me work until I collapse from

hunger and exhaustion?"

"You're only allowed to collapse after you're finished," Ellie jested. "Now, let's fix lunch

before I collapse from hunger!"

Jason selected the ham, and Ellie put the rest of the meat back in the fridge. She took

out an eggplant for herself.

"Do you have bread?" Jason asked.

Ellie pulled a loaf of whole wheat bread out of the cabinet above the counter and handed

it to Jason. She used a chef's knife to slice off a few wheels of the eggplant and put them in a

skillet with olive oil to pan fry. She turned to the fridge to grab some grass, spinach, and carrot

to make a salad, but Jason was poking around inside.

"I suppose you don't have any cheese. Do you have mayo?"

"There's some in there."

"I can't find it. It's a mess in here."

"You can clean it out after you're done with the dishes then. It should be on the second

shelf."

Jason dug around and finally found it. "Do you have mustard?"

"It's in the door."

Jason extracted the second condiment.

"There's some lettuce and tomatoes in the left and right drawers if you want," Ellie noted.

Jason pulled out a tomato and inspected the tag.

"That's a tomato," Ellie confirmed.

Jason glanced at her, "I know. I was looking for whether it referenced Larchwood

Vineyard anywhere, but it doesn't."

"That's fortunate. I wouldn't want to buy a murderer's tomatoes."

After Jason finished in the refrigerator, Ellie fixed her salad and finished cooking her

eggplant. They sat at the table together to eat.

"How'd it go with Rosa," Ellie inquired.

Jason frowned, "As you might imagine, it wasn't fun."

"Was she very upset?"

"Not really upset but not happy. Her friends were already there, so it was even more

awkward."

"Yikes, did they try to argue her side?"

"I managed to get her by herself, but from the discussion beforehand, most of them

seemed to hold the same views or worse. It wasn't a pleasant experience being in a room with

three people who think you can't see prey as anything but a 'walking dinner'."

Ellie grimaced; it was more than a little disturbing to think that there were more than a

handful of nut jobs who would look at her that way. "All of her friends thought the same way?"

"Well, no. Our client, Olivia Clark, was there, and she disagreed with what the others

said. It seems you had a big impact on her when we rescued her from her husband."

"I shouldn't have to save someone's life for them to not want to eat me!" Ellie pointed

out.

Jason reached across the table to put his right hand on her left. "I know, Ellie. I can't

understand why they have such backwards views. Even after listening to their discussion, all I

could gather is that they're obsessed with what's 'natural' as if being natural somehow makes

something right. Living in houses and driving cars aren't natural."

Ellie shook her head, "Hopefully, there aren't many predators who are so irrational."

"I don't think there are, but even if it were everyone else, I'd never see you that way,"

Jason averred.

Ellie put her right hand on top of his. "I know that, Jason. You're my most trusted friend."

"You're mine too, Ellie," he murmured.

Ellie pulled her hands away. "Don't think that gets you out of our bet though, Jason," she

stated. "I'll still enjoy watching my most trusted friend clean my apartment."

"That's okay, Ellie. I enjoy helping you with things."

She smirked, "Does that mean you want to come do this every weekend?"

Jason frowned, "Er, no. I'd rather spend our time together differently, but this one time,

it's enough to be spending time with you."

Ellie grinned amusedly, "You might change your mind before too long. I expect this place

to be spotless!"

Once they had finished their lunch, Jason took their dishes and went back to the kitchen

to finish washing. Ellie watched him scrubbing at the dried-on food and wondered that he wasn't

grumpier about the task. Instead, he seemed cheerful. Maybe she'd been right when she'd

joked that he'd enjoy cleaning her apartment almost as much as she'd enjoy watching him.

Spending time with a friend she could joke with without him taking it the wrong way was much

more fun and relaxing than dating. She didn't have to worry about Jason being incensed by her

opinion on a movie or taking her words as innuendo. His not being attracted to rabbits made the

latter easy of course. He was a sweet kitty, and she knew he cared for her; but he still wasn't

interested in anything sexual between them. At least, she assumed that was the case. Not being

attracted to carnivores, she had always assumed the range of Jason's attraction was similar to

hers.

"Hey, Jason, silly question, but you're not attracted to me, right?"

Jason froze. After a couple seconds, he called back, "What was that? I didn't quite hear

you."

Didn't hear? "I asked whether you are attracted to me."

Jason paused again, set down the plate he was washing, and slowly turned around,

looking like he was trying to swallow back panic, "I, uh, wouldn't say you're unattractive."

Ellie rolled her eyes, "But politeness aside, you haven't ever thought about us having

sex, right?"

Jason's smile was unconvincing, and Ellie began to feel a bit disconcerted. Have I been

wrong all this time?

Jason responded nervously, "I've, uh." He paused to swallow. "I've never considered it

as a serious possibility."

Ellie felt her ears getting hot. That was hardly a "no." She put on a tone of exasperation

to hide her embarrassment, "What's with the evasive answers? Do you want to have sex with

me or not?"

"Why don't you answer that first?" he asked timidly.

"Because I asked the question!" she shot back, raising her voice.

"It's, it's a difficult question to answer."

"No, it isn't. It's a simple yes or no."

Jason stared at her a few seconds, looking as though he was trying to read her. Ellie did

her best to keep her face stoic.

"Okay then, no," he finally gasped.

"Zeus' lightning bolts! Why was that so difficult?!"

"You still haven't answered," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Do you want to, you know?"

"No! You're a handsome cat, Jason, but still a cat!"

Jason breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, I'm glad that's settled."

"It's not settled at all, Jason! Now, I want to know why you couldn't just answer the

question." Ellie demanded.

Jason looked at his feet as he shifted them and flicked his tail, "Because I was worried

you were going to answer 'yes'." he mumbled.

Ellie stared at him, baffled, "So in this hypothetical where I wanted to have sex, what

were you going to do?"

He looked up at her, the inside of his ears red. He flicked his ears before answering

slowly, "I, uh, I guess I would, uh, I would have-"

"Spit it out!" she shouted.

"I would have done my best!" he blurted.

Ellie stared at him in shock. Done his best? What in Tartarus is that supposed to mean?

"Are you saying you would have tried to have sex with me even though you didn't want to?"

Jason nodded.

Ellie shook her head in disbelief. "That's crazy, Jason. Why wouldn't you just tell me the

truth?"

"Because I couldn't hurt you. If that's what you really wanted, I'd try to make you happy."

"But if you didn't love me-"

"I do love you, Ellie!"

Ellie froze, staring at the cat, wide eyed. She noticed the insides of his ears had turned

from red to white. He looked as shocked by his outburst as she felt.

"But, but you just said-" she stammered.

"I love you in every way except that way," he added hurriedly. "That's why I would have

done my best; I couldn't let you think I didn't love you."

Ellie shook her head. She could hardly process what he was saying, "Love, Jason?

We're friends, and I care for you. But-"

"It's enough that we're friends, Ellie."

"But if you love me, doesn't that mean you want more?"

Jason looked back at his feet, "We could live together, spend our entire lives together

instead of just work and the occasional visit. But what we have now is precious, and if you don't

love me, keeping what we have is enough."

Ellie felt a wave of warmth for the cat, but it was tempered by confusion. He wants to live

together? Not have sex but live like a couple?

"But don't you think it would be better to live with someone who you loved and wanted to

have sex with?" she questioned him.

He shrugged, "I guess so, but I think it's better to have love without sex than sex without

love. It wouldn't be that hard for me to find someone to have sex with, but finding someone to

love, that's what's difficult. And I love you, Ellie."

Ellie hopped up from the table and across the room to wrap him in a hug. She tilted her

head back to look at him, and he looked down, surprised.

"You're the dearest friend I have, Jason, and on top of that, my partner. I'm not sure I

want to be your," she paused. She wasn't sure what word to use. Wife hardly sounds right. "I'm

not sure I want to live with you, but I'll think about it. And whatever I decide, we'll still be friends

and partners."

Jason hugged her back, "Thank you, Ellie. I'm glad you understand."

She nuzzled his chest, "I'm not sure I understand completely, but I still care for you.

You're still my sweet, silly kitty."

They hugged a few seconds longer before Ellie broke away. She eyed the dishes Jason

had been washing.

"If we lived together, would you expect me to help with the dishes, or would you do all of

the chores?"

Jason smiled, "For you, Ellie, I'd do them all."

Ellie smirked, "You certainly know how to tempt me, but unless we're going to get you a

maid uniform, I'd probably insist on helping occasionally. But for now, it's your job."

Jason went back to washing the dishes, and Ellie stayed close by, sitting at the dining

table and watching him work. She tried to imagine them living together. There would obviously

be some issues: having to smell cooking meat, trying to convince Jason to take a proper bath.

But on the other hand, she wouldn't have to come home to an empty apartment. On the other

hand, she'd have someone who loved her to curl up next to every night. But never to have sex.

It wasn't like she was having sex now, but she hadn't planned on a life of celibacy. Maybe it

wouldn't be a permanent thing. She hadn't lied when she said she wasn't sexually attracted to

cats, but maybe the intimacy of living together would engender attraction. Maybe over time, their

affection would expand into sexual desire. It was a bit of a gamble; she'd definitely need to

consider it carefully.

At least there was nothing physically preventing them from having intercourse. Ellie's

eyes drifted down to his rear and fell on his scrotum protruding from behind his tail. She blushed

and looked away. It felt strange to even be considering the possibility. After a few moments, she

looked back, carefully keeping her eyes above his waist. It wasn't like their affection wasn't

already fairly intimate. Ellie thought back to the times she'd been wrapped in his arms, recalling

the warmth and security she'd felt. Was that love? If she had underestimated Jason's affection,

had she also underestimated her own? Perhaps dating wasn't frustrating because of its inherent

difficulties but because she was comparing her dates to the handsome cat who was already

under her nose.

After he finished the dishes and rearranged the fridge, which wasn't actually dirty but just

disorganized, Ellie directed Jason to the bathroom.

"If we were living together, you'd have to get used to my grosser aspects anyway, so I

guess this will be a good crash course for you. I expect you to clean all of the fur out of the

shower and make the sink and toilet sparkle."

He nodded emphatically, "Yes, Ellie."

Ellie smirked. Don't enjoy it too much, you doof.

Jason went to work with sponge, scrub brush, and citrusy cleaner, and Ellie moved to

the couch to read. After she'd finished a chapter in her book (She was now reading Call of

Cthulhu.), she went to check on him. The sink, toilet, and shower were clean, and he was on all

fours scrubbing with the brush at the pale blue tile floor, which matched the painted walls

outside of the white-tiled walk-in shower.

"Make sure you really scrub the grout," Ellie instructed. "I want it to shine."

Jason redoubled his efforts, scrubbing at the grayish grout between the light blue tiles

vigorously. Amusedly, Ellie watched him working furiously a few minutes.

"Keep up the hard work," she piped before returning to the couch to relax.

A short while later, Jason exited the bathroom with a groan, "My arms hurt. Can I take a

break, Ellie?"

"Maybe a short break," she allowed. "There's a lot of apartment left. At this rate, you're

going to still be working most of tomorrow." She patted her thigh. "Come rest your head a

minute."

"Thank you, Ellie."

Jason did as she instructed, lying on the couch with his head in her lap and gazing up at

her adoringly. She massaged his soft cheeks and velvety ears. He began to purr, and she

continued to pet him silently for a few minutes before speaking again.

"You're enjoying me ordering you around, aren't you, Jason?"

His ear twitched, and he looked at her nervously. "I love you; I want to make you happy."

"I'm glad, but I think it's more than that. You can tell me if it's something you like."

His sea green eyes studied hers a few seconds. "I do like it, Ellie."

Ellie smiled, "I thought so." She booped his nose. "Silly kitty wanting the bunny to tell him

what to do. Don't worry, I'm happy to oblige."

He returned a gentle smile, "I was worried you'd think it was creepy or wrong."

"Of course not, Jason. You're my sweet, silly kitty, and I'm glad you don't let dumb

generalizations about species control you."

"Thank you, Ellie. I'm glad you understand."

"I do, and now you can get back to cleaning my apartment. If you don't finish tomorrow,

you'll have to try again next weekend, and it may be an even bigger mess by then."

Jason sat up. "What should I do next?"

"Why don't you dust? Make sure you get the baseboards."

He nodded, "What do you want me to use?"

Ellie hopped off of the couch and went to the side closet opposite the bedroom to

retrieve a microfiber cloth, which she handed to Jason.

"You've been doing a very thorough job so far," she remarked. "Keep it up."

"Thank you, I will, Ellie."

Ellie watched her compliant kitty wiping the living room furniture a couple minutes before

going back to reading. Living with Jason was sounding more convenient all the time. It doesn't

eliminate the bathing or meat smell issues, but if he wants to defer to my decisions, it ought to

minimize the number of arguments. Of course, it wouldn't be right to take unfair advantage of

that proclivity, but if it meant they didn't have to argue over dumb things like whose turn it was to

take out the trash, that was a positive. Anyway, she knew from five years of working with him

that he'd hold strongly to his position if he thought it was important, and part of it probably was

Jason wanting to make her happy since he'd tried to clean her apartment before when she

hadn't asked or even wanted him to. Still, Ellie found it a bit titillating to think that the cat wanted

her to boss him around. I'm sure Lily took full advantage of that. If she decided to move in with

him--she assumed they'd be living in his house instead of the apartment she rented--then

they'd have to discuss exactly where the boundaries were.

By the time Jason had finished dusting, it was time to fix dinner. Jason waited while Ellie

prepared braised parsnips, celery, and carrots before searing one of the beef filets in a skillet.

Ellie sat by the open window whilst he cooked the meat. He looked at her apologetically as he

brought his food to the table to join her.

"I guess it would be hard for you having to smell my food everyday if you lived with me,"

he murmured.

"Maybe I'd get used to it. Regardless, I wouldn't let something like that stop us from

being happy together."

Jason looked at her hopefully, "Are you considering it then?"

She nodded, "I think we should give it a try at least."

Jason beamed, "You do?! Thank you, Ellie! I promise I'll do everything to make you

happy!"

"It shouldn't be all one-sided, Jason. I'll do my best to make it work too."

Jason continued to beam, practically glowing with happiness, as they ate. Ellie felt

tender warmth toward the cat rising in her chest; seeing him so happy and knowing she was the

source of that happiness sparked a wonderful feeling of joy in her heart. She returned his

adoring gaze with a warm smile, holding his sea green eyes with hers. Affection radiated

between them, and Ellie felt the joy and tenderness intensifying in her chest until they almost

choked her.

Jason paused from eating and purred, "I love you so much, Ellie."

Ellie felt a rush of giddiness, her heart palpitating, and she averted her eyes

embarrassedly a moment before looking back. He loves me, and I, do I? She wasn't sure, but

being loved felt wonderful. She wanted to hold onto the feeling. She wanted to share it. He was

a cat, but why would that mean she couldn't love him? He loved her, and she cared for him,

deeply. I want to love him too. Her chest was swelling with affection; she felt that, if they held

each other close, she could cross that threshold with him. She looked back at her food to go

back to eating, but warm affection twisted with nervous excitement in her chest. She could feel

Jason's loving gaze still on her, and it was like a warm beam of sunlight that further excited the

entwining emotions inside her.

When she was done eating, she looked back up shyly, "I, uh, I was going to keep you

working until bedtime, but I'd prefer it if we watched a movie together now. Is that okay with

you?"

"I'd love to, Ellie."

Ellie had gotten a few movies out of the library for the weekend so that they would have

something to pick from after Jason finished cleaning. She went to look through them: she hadn't

gotten anything romantic, though that might have been a little cheesy. However, she didn't want

to watch anything too grim, which ruled out The Shining. She decided epic adventure was most

appropriate and selected The Return of the King. She put the disc in the player and motioned

for Jason to sit on the couch. He sat with his back against one arm and his feet propped up in

front of him, but instead of sitting on the edge to leave her space beside him, he opened his

arms.

"I'd like to hold you, if that's okay, Ellie," he explained.

Ellie nodded, but as she prepared to climb into his lap, she felt a tickle of nervousness

she hadn't felt on previous occasions. I'll practically be sitting on-. But Jason didn't care about

that. Did she? Attempting to push aside her embarrassment, she climbed into his lap and

carefully adjusted her rear against his thighs and her feet between his bent knees. Then he

wrapped his arms across her chest pulling her close against him, and her embarrassment was

washed away in the warmth of his embrace. She relaxed contentedly in the curve of his legs

and torso and brought her arms up to reach over his encircling arms so that she could place her

hands on his. He nuzzled her between the ears tenderly, and she sighed happily. Cradled by his

warm body, she breathed his familiar scent and felt a serene sense of security that deepened

her affection to her very core, swallowing up all her doubts and anxieties. He's still my sweet

kitty.

"Are you going to start the movie?"

Oh right. Ellie peered at the remote, which she'd left on the couch. She stretched out her

right leg and managed to pull it closer and then pushed the PLAY button with a toe. The movie

started playing, but Ellie was paying more attention to the feel of Jason's firmly muscled body

beneath her. She stroked her right hand over his left arm, feeling the powerful muscles under

his soft fur. Why hadn't she ever found him attractive? She admired his pretty stripes and green

eyes. Was it because the shape of his face and ears were wrong? But she'd always thought he

was rather handsome, so that didn't seem right. She carefully felt the smooth tops of his razor-

sharp claws still underneath her left hand. She supposed it would make sense if she had some

instinctual fear of being held by claws that could easily be brought to murderous use, but

instead she felt safe in the cat's arms. His claws would fiercely guard her, never hurt her. So

what reason was there? Maybe she had never allowed herself to find him attractive, assumed

they were incompatible and disguised her own feelings even from herself. But now that she

knew he loved her, now that they were going to live together, now she didn't need to lie to

herself. She felt his sleek, fit body pressed against her, his strong arms holding her close, and

she admitted to herself that she did find him attractive. So what if he had pointy teeth and sharp

claws? She'd wanted him to hold her close anyway, and now, now she wanted more than that.

She felt a soft warmth creeping into her loins, and she shifted her legs embarrassedly. Jason

had explained that he didn't want to have sex mere hours ago. Perhaps now wasn't the best

time to be thinking that way. She tried to turn her attention back to the movie.

The movie was a long one, and by its end, Ellie needed to use the bathroom. In fact, she

was becoming worried that Jason would inadvertently squeeze an embarrassing fart out of her.

While she didn't think he'd be very disturbed--he might even find it amusing--she'd be mortified

if she farted on his lap. She squeezed his hand.

"Jason?" she murmured.

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to use the bathroom and then take a shower." She paused. "I guess you don't

have to take one if you don't want to, but I'd like it if you'd take one occasionally when we're

living together. Maybe once a week."

"Okay, Ellie, once a week."

Ellie was surprised by how easily he'd agreed. I guess he really does want to do

everything to make me happy. "Every other day would be even better," she noted.

"Every other day!" he gasped in horror.

Ellie smirked. Okay, that's the reaction I expected. "Once a week is fine," she allowed.

"But you'd better make sure you really scrub yourself well, or I can come in and help you."

"I can bathe myself," he grumbled.

"Washing each other in the shower might be fun though," she suggested lightly. And it

would give her an excuse to run her hands over his body.

"Maybe," he replied skeptically.

"Well, we don't have to try it today. Can you let me up?"

He let her go, and she rolled off of his lap. However, there was insufficient couch edge to

roll onto, and she continued rolling over the edge. Jason's lightning quick reflexes saved her

from an embarrassing tumble onto the floor; he quickly caught her under the shoulder with his

closest arm. He pulled her up into a sitting position on the edge of the couch. Ellie flicked her

right ear embarrassedly.

"Er, thanks."

"You sure you can make it there on your own?" he teased.

"I'm fine," she replied tersely.

She hopped off of the couch and hastened to the bathroom. At least she'd still managed

to hold her gas. After she relieved herself, she took a nice hot shower. She didn't understand

why Jason didn't like getting nice and clean. Especially after spending the afternoon scrubbing

her dirty apartment, she thought a nice shower ought to be exactly what he wanted. After she

finished her shower, she quickly dabbed off with a towel so that she wouldn't drip too much and

hopped over to the door to poke her head out into the rest of the apartment.

"Hey, Jason!"

He turned his head to look at her from where he was still seated on the couch. "Yes?"

"When was the last time you took a shower?"

Jason frowned and mumbled something indecipherable.

"What?"

"It was last Saturday," he admitted reluctantly.

Ellie grinned, "Then it was a week ago, eh? Sounds like you're due."

"You said I didn't have to," he moaned plaintively.

"That's before I knew you'd been slacking off!" she teased. "Do I have to drag you in

again?"

Grimacing, he slowly stood and slunk across the room to the bathroom. Elie ushered him

in. He paused to look distraughtly at the dripping wet shower. Ellie gently pushed him forward.

"Go on, Jason. You'll be alright," she soothed.

She guided him through the door, and he huddled himself inside, trying to avoid touching

the wet walls as much as possible. He looked at her forlornly.

"Making sad eyes at me isn't going to help," she chided.

She adjusted the temperature then turned the water on. Jason winced as the water

began to spray him, and she pulled the door shut.

"I assume you know what to do this time," she called over the running water.

"Yes," he muttered back.

"Good. I'll help you dry off when you're done."

While Jason was in the shower, Ellie went back to drying herself off, wiping away more

of the water with the towel before finishing with the blow drier. She watched to make sure Jason

actually lathered himself up with the shampoo. When he was done, he shut off the water and

poked his head out.

"Satisfied?" he grumbled.

Ellie nodded. He stepped out onto the dark blue rug, looking miserable.

"Feel better?" she asked.

"No, I feel wet. Where's my towel?"

"Oops, I didn't grab one yet!"

Ellie hurried out of the bathroom and collected a pale yellow towel from the small closet

near the bathroom. She dashed back to the bathroom where Jason was standing with his arms

wrapped around himself, shivering unhappily. He unwrapped his arms and held out his hands

for the towel. Ellie momentarily considered trying to dry him herself but then tossed him the

towel. She should discuss her feelings with him, not invent a pretense to start feeling him up.

She watched as he dried himself, waiting to help him finish with the blow drier. Apparently, her

stare was a little intense because, upon making eye contact, he flicked his ears and averted his

eyes embarrassedly. When he was done with the towel, Ellie accepted it, hanging it on a hook

on the door. Then he let her blow dry him the rest of the way. Setting aside the blow drier, Ellie

stepped forward, put her hands on Jason's waist, and nuzzled her face into his fluffed up chest

fur. She breathed in his feline scent now combined with the rosemary shampoo.

"There, now you're nice and clean, and you smell nice too. I'm looking forward to curling

up with my sweet kitty tonight. What do you say we crawl into bed?"

Jason wrapped one arm around her gently and stroked her head with the other hand.

"You want to, Ellie?" he breathed. "My feelings for you don't bother you at all? I was so worried

they would."

"They don't, Jason. Actually, I've been thinking about my feelings for you, and." She

paused and looked up at him. "And I think you're very handsome."

Jason blinked and gave her a quizzical look, "I know that, Ellie. You haven't been shy

about complimenting my stripes."

Ellie shifted her feet embarrassedly. Do I need to spell it out? "I mean more than your

stripes. I want to be with you."

Jason squeezed her tighter, "I want to be with you too, always."

"I mean I think you're hot!" she blurted.

She felt him tense up, and he looked down at her, eyes wide.

"You do?!"

She nodded nervously, "That doesn't bother you, does it?"

He was still tense, but he stroked her back as if to reassure her, "N-no, I just didn't think,

er, does that mean you, erhem, you want to-"

"Yes, Jason, if we're going to live as a couple, then I want to have sex."

Even tenser, he nodded slowly, looking as if he was trying to swallow back panic. "If, if

that's what you want then-"

"Don't you find me attractive at all?"

"We-ell, I mean, you're a, uh, a good-looking rabbit, and I suppose, we shouldn't have

any issue, erm, you know."

Ellie frowned, "I don't want to force you to, but don't you think it would bring us closer?"

Jason blinked, "Do you?"

"Sex feels good, doesn't it, Jason?"

"Yes," he admitted nervously.

"Well, I want to make you feel good, and I want you to make me feel good too. I'm sure

that will strengthen our bond. How could it not?"

"I-I guess so, but I feel good just holding you, Ellie."

"It makes me feel good too, but you know sex is different from that, Jason. It's more

intimate, more intense. It will bring us even closer than cuddling. I want our bond to be as strong

as possible. Besides, lying next to such a handsome cat without ever having him, it'd be a little

bit, you know, frustrating."

Jason hugged her close with both arms, "I understand, Ellie. I want our bond to be as

strong as possible too. If you want to have sex, then I want to too. I want to make you happy,

and I'm sure it'll, it'll feel good."

"It'll feel wonderful, Jason. I'll make sure you enjoy yourself too."

"Do you, do you want to do it tonight then?" he asked awkwardly.

Ellie smirked, "Anxious to try it with a bunny, are we? No, I think we should wait a little

while. I only found out you loved me today; I want to get used to the idea. But we should try it

before too long."

"Alright, Ellie, let me know when, uh, when you want to."

They stepped apart.

"Are you still alright sleeping together now that you know how I feel?" Ellie queried.

Jason nodded. "I love you. Nothing can change that."

After they brushed their teeth, Ellie led Jason to the bedroom. She nodded at the bed,

indicating he should climb in first. Jason crawled across the bed to the far side, pushed back the

covers to slide his legs under, and turned on his side facing Ellie. Ellie flicked off the light,

leaving only the cool moonlight from the bedroom window to illuminate the room. She climbed

up onto the bed, and Jason opened his arms to invite her in. Ellie crawled across the bed, and

with a shove--it took a considerable amount of her strength--she pushed Jason over onto his

back, allowing her to lay on top, chest-to-chest. Resting her elbows on the bed just above his

shoulders, Ellie held his head between her forearms, massaging his cheeks and ears. She

leaned her head in to touch noses and then to nuzzle his cheek. Purring, Jason stretched his

head up to rub his cheek against hers. Ellie pulled her head back to gaze down at her sweet

kitty, and he gazed back at her adoringly.

"I'm glad you told me, Jason. I didn't realize this is what I wanted, but now I don't know

how I didn't know. I was lying to myself. If you hadn't admitted how you feel, who knows if I ever

would've realized that."

"I was lying to myself too, Ellie. I should have realized how I felt a long time ago."

Ellie nuzzled his cheek again, "Well, that's all over now," she breathed. "Now, we're

being honest with ourselves and with each other."

He stroked her back, and Ellie scooted down a little to nuzzle his neck. His throat

vibrated vigorously with his purring, which also vibrated his chest against Ellie's, and she

pressed her nose firmly into his soft fur. Feeling the cat's vibrating throat under her muzzle, Ellie

had an impulsive twinge of mischievousness.

"You've left yourself open to my attack, Jason," she growled impishly.

"Hmm?"

Ellie opened her mouth as wide as she could and reached her jaws around his throat.

Growling playfully, she gently masticated his neck.

"Oh no, you got me!" Jason cried in mock horror. "Spare me, Ellie!"

Ellie let go and pulled her head back to look down at him teasingly. "Don't worry, little

kitty, I won't hurt you as long as you surrender. Do you give up?"

"Hmm, let me think about that."

He grabbed her to him tightly, and rolled over, squashing her beneath him. Her air went

out in a squeak, and she gasped a new breath when he pushed himself up, holding her wrists

under his hands on either side of her head.

He grinned down at her, showing off his sharp fangs. "Looks like the tables have turned,"

he teased.

He opened his mouth full of dagger-sharp teeth and began to lean in toward Ellie's neck.

Ellie's heart thumped against her ribs. Relax, Ellie, Jason won't hurt you, and you did it first, she

chided herself. Still, she was fighting against the urge to kick out and to struggle to pull away

from the cat's descending maw. Jason reached her neck. And he licked it. He licked it again and

then again, continuing to lap in rapid succession. He purred as he moved up over her jaw and

cheek and then began to work vigorously at grooming around her right ear. His rough, damp

tongue rasped inside her ear, and Ellie jerked at the strange sensation as tingles shot down the

right side of her body.

"Okay, Jason, that's enough! You said you were going to ask before you started

slobbering all over me," she complained.

He stopped licking and regarded her calmly. "You didn't ask before slobbering on me,

and you made me take a shower. I noticed you had some gunk in your ears, so I decided to

return the favor."

Ellie squirmed underneath him, "First of all, gross! I can't believe you want to lick 'gunk'

out of my ears, and I don't need your drool in them instead!"

"I'm not drooling in them, and-"

"Secondly, you're squishing me! I can hardly breathe!"

"Oh! Sorry, Ellie!" He rolled off of her and sat up, looking at her concernedly.

She pushed herself up and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked apologetically.

"I'm fine. You're not that heavy, just heavy enough to make it difficult."

"I'm sorry. I'll stay off of you in the future."

"I might want you on top sometimes in the future," she pointed out.

He flicked his ears embarrassedly. "Er, right, okay."

"And I'm not that fragile, we can goof around without you constantly worrying about

hurting me as long as you don't get too carried away. No claws, and I'd prefer no teeth; though,

I can't blame you for acting like you were going to do what I'd already done."

"No teeth or claws," he agreed. "I wouldn't have used them even if you hadn't asked; I

don't want to hurt you. And I'll be more careful with my weight."

"You can squish me every once in a while," she allowed. "But if you make a habit of it, I'll

start to get sore."

Jason lay back down on his side, facing Ellie, and opened his arms. "How about I hold

you instead?"

Ellie looked at her sweet kitty's inviting arms, and her annoyance melted away. He didn't

mean to scare or hurt me; he was trying to play like I was. Anyway, she was fine, no worse for

wear. She crawled up beside Jason and slid herself into his arms, lying on her side with her

back to his chest. He hugged her close, and she relaxed in his warm, comforting embrace.

"Can I finish cleaning your ears, Ellie?" he murmured.

Ellie tensed. She wasn't sure she liked it, but if he really wanted to, maybe it was okay.

She wasn't the one licking earwax, and she supposed she'd have to make some compromises

for the cat's sensibilities.

"I guess you can. I still think it's gross."

"You're not gross to me, Ellie. I'll get your ears nice and clean."

Ellie held still as he groomed around her ears and then the outsides and then finished by

thoroughly licking the insides. It still felt weird, but he seemed content, purring loudly as he

worked. When he was done, he nuzzled her head and then tucked his chin over top. Cats were

weird, but she guessed she would get used to his foibles. Snuggled against the sweet,

handsome cat who loved her, Ellie drifted into contented sleep.

* * *

His body coursing with love and joy, Jason held Ellie as she fell asleep. She was so

perfect, and she looked so peaceful as she slept. Jason wasn't sure he could sleep himself; he

was too ecstatic to relax. He'd been afraid to tell Ellie how he felt, but everything had turned out

better than he'd dared to hope. She accepted him, and moreover, she wanted to be with him

too. He was a little worried about his ability to satisfy her sexually--he didn't know how different

having sex with a rabbit would be--but he was willing to do whatever he had to. And maybe

when they were intimate in that way, she'd be more open to being intimate in ways he wanted.

He'd like to give her a complete wash occasionally, but so far, she'd resisted his attempts at

grooming. Eventually, Ellie's gentle rhythmic breathing helped soothe Jason to sleep as well.

Jason was woken by Ellie squirming in his arms. The moon had risen above the window,

and the room was mostly dark though Jason could still see in the dim light.

"Ellie?" he whispered. "Are you awake?"

She stopped squirming, "Uh, yes, Jason, I was just trying to get away without waking

you. I need to use the bathroom."

Jason let her go, and she rolled away and hurried out of the room, closing the door

behind her. Jason yawned and closed his eyes, waiting for Ellie to come back. After a couple

minutes, he realized that he needed to use the bathroom as well. He crawled out of bed and

went to wait by the bathroom until Ellie came out. After a few more minutes, Jason heard her

washing her hands; it took her quite a while. He guessed it was good that she was fastidious

about washing up after using the bathroom though perhaps if she were less dogmatic about

'proper' washing she wouldn't make him take a shower. Finally, Ellie exited the bathroom. Jason

wasn't trying to scare her, so he was surprised when, upon seeing him, she jumped, dropping

the large white glass bowl she was carrying. Jason's quick reflexes kicked in, and he dove,

catching the bowl before it could hit the floor.

"Whew, that was close," he remarked. He looked up at her puzzledly. "What were you

doing with this?"

Ellie quickly bent down and snatched the bowl away. "Nothing," she answered tersely.

"What are you doing up?"

Jason stood back up. "I have to use the bathroom too. Why would you have a bowl in

the bathroom to do nothing with it?"

Ellie looked down embarrassedly, "I needed it for my caecotrophs," she mumbled.

Jason wasn't sure what she'd said or whether he'd even heard correctly, "Your what?"

Ellie shuffled her feet. "Rabbits do something called hindgut fermentation. It's a

necessary part of our biology, but it means we have to, to eat our food a second time."

Jason blinked in surprise, "You mean you have to, erm-"

"It's different from regular feces," Ellie insisted.

"But it, uh, still comes out-"

"Obviously!" she snapped.

"Sorry, Ellie, I guess I shouldn't have asked," he apologized.

Ellie sighed resignedly and shook her head. "You had to find out eventually, Jason."

"You didn't need to try to hide it from me, Ellie. If it's part of your biology, then I

understand."

"I was afraid you'd think I was disgusting," she explained. She looked at him worriedly,

"Do you?"

"Of course not, Ellie! I love you! You could never disgust me!" he averred.

Ellie set down the bowl and leapt to wrap him in a hug. "I love you too, Jason, even if

you do do gross things sometimes."

Jason hugged her tighter, purring loudly as his chest burst with joy. She loves me too!

Maybe it had been implied before, but now she'd said the words! "This is the happiest day of my

life, Ellie! I want to go on being this happy, and as long as I'm with you, I know it's possible!"

"If finding out I eat poop makes you this happy, I'm sure you'll have other wonderful

surprises," Ellie joked.

Jason purred amusedly and nuzzled her head. "Waking up next to you every morning

will be the most wonderful surprise of all. I don't know how I got so lucky to meet you, Ellie."

Ellie nuzzled his chest, "There you go saying the sweetest things to me, Jason. I'm lucky

to have met you too."

After a few seconds, Ellie broke away. "I have to put this away," she stated, looking at

the bowl. "I'll be waiting for you in bed."

After Jason used the bathroom and washed up, he returned to the bedroom. Ellie was

lying on her side facing him.

"Why don't I hold you now?" she murmured.

Jason lay on his side beside her, and she held his head against her chest with her right

arm extending under his neck and her left hand stroking his head and ears. He purred

contentedly.

"My sweet kitty," she murmured drowsily. She pressed her body against his and sighed

happily.

Jason breathed her warm, herbal scent, which was reminiscent of sun-warmed hay

sprinkled with marjoram and topped with rosemary from the shampoo. Jason wished he could

be enwreathed in her aroma forever. He slipped to sleep in Ellie's tender embrace.

* * *

Ellie woke up the next morning to find that Jason had already slipped out of bed.

Glancing at the clock, she saw it was eight, still fairly early for a Sunday. Groggily, she rolled out

of bed and padded out of the bedroom: Jason was in the kitchen standing in front of the stove.

Ellie prepared to be assaulted by meat scent, but instead she smelled cooking vegetables--

turnips and carrots among them--as well as coffee. She ambled across the apartment to the

kitchen and peered around him.

"What are you making?" she queried.

Jason started at her voice and turned to look at her. "You're up! I was making you some

breakfast; it's potato, turnip, and carrots fried in olive oil, a sort of hash."

"It smells nice," Ellie commented. "But what about your breakfast?"

"I didn't want that to be the first thing you smelled when you got up. I'll fix one of the

sausages once you have yours."

Ellie stroked his back, "That was considerate, and thanks for fixing me breakfast."

"No problem, Ellie," he purred.

Ellie went to sit at the table and watched the cat cook. At length, Jason seemed satisfied

the food was done, and he scooped it onto a white plate from the cast-iron skillet with the

stainless-steel spatula and brought it over to Ellie, placing the plate and a fork in front of her. He

watched expectantly as she tried a bite. The 'hash' wasn't necessarily something Ellie would

have fixed, but it still tasted nice.

"It's good. Thank you, Jason."

He smiled, "I'm glad you like it Ellie."

"I wish I could return the favor, but-"

"Don't worry about it. I don't want you to have to cook meat when the smell bothers you

so much, but anytime you want to fix me something plant-based that you think I'd like, I'll be

happy to try it."

"Do you want to try some of this?"

"If you have too much, I'll try some with my sausage."

Jason returned to the kitchen to fix his breakfast, and Ellie cracked open the window. A

faint breeze of warm morning air bathed her face as she ate. She was almost finished by the

time Jason returned to the table with his food and a mug of coffee.

"Is there any coffee for me?" she asked.

"If you want some, I wasn't sure you would since it doesn't seem like you drink it all that

often. I was a little surprised you had any actually."

"I got kind of sick of it when I worked at Mole's Mugs."

Ellie got up and filled a mug with coffee; the mug was mauve with white script letters

reading 'University of Northern Vulpineva', which was where Ellie had attended undergrad. She

added a couple spoonfuls of sugar and returned to the table. There were only a few bites of

hash left, but she was already full, and she figured Jason could use something to balance out

his meal.

She pushed her plate across to him, "If you don't mind eating after me, you can have the

rest."

"Alright, I don't mind. It's probably unlikely we can transmit many viruses to each other

anyway."

I suppose that's one benefit of being with someone of an entirely different species. On

the other hand, it was as if even viruses didn't think they were compatible. Ellie wasn't

supremely concerned with what others would think about their relationship, but what about her

parents? What about his parents? Hers knew she worked with a cat, but she'd never introduced

him to them or met his parents. Honestly, it hadn't been something that had even occurred to

her before now. Her work-life was her business, but if they were a couple, he'd have to meet

them eventually.

He took a bite of hash and made a face.

"Don't you like it?"

"It's, uh, okay. Was it good for you?"

Ellie nodded, "I thought it was tasty."

"That's good." He took another bite and added to it a bite of sausage.

"Hey, Jason, your parents are still alive, aren't they?"

He nodded.

"I was thinking that I'll have to introduce you to mine soon. They're going to be pretty

surprised when I tell them I'm in love with a cat, especially given that I'm already living with him

when I've never mentioned our relationship before."

Jason paused his chewing and swallowed. "I, uh, I guess I never really thought about

that. I've thought about us being together but not about meeting your family. Do you think it will

bother them that you're with a cat?"

Ellie shrugged, "I'm not sure. I haven't thought about it before now either. They weren't

bothered that I worked with a cat, but living with one is a whole other thing. They might think it's

pretty strange to say the least."

"I suppose mine will think it's odd as well. My mother might complain that I won't be

giving her any grandchildren, but my brother already has kids. So she can't complain too much."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"I have two littermates, a brother and a sister."

"That's all? There are eight of us: two older, me and my two littermates, and three

younger."

"I guess my parents decided one litter was enough to handle. Do any of your siblings

have kids?"

Ellie nodded, "Both of my older brothers do and one of my sisters who's my age and my

younger brother."

"Sounds like a lot of rabbits. I hope they won't be afraid of me."

"If they are at first, they'll soon find out what a sweet kitty you are. You'll probably have

the little ones climbing all over you in no time."

Jason frowned, "I hope you'll rescue me if that happens."

"If I can stop laughing long enough, then maybe," Ellie teased.

"Hmph, well, you can count on me to rescue you if my brother's kids jump on you."

"I think I can handle a few kittens," Ellie replied dryly.

"I'm sure you can, but their claws will be like needles. I don't want you getting all

scratched up because they thought you looked like a fun toy. I'll have to have a word with my

brother if he doesn't make it clear that that kind of behavior is unacceptable."

Ellie winced. Suddenly, being jumped by a gang of kittens sounded like a less comical

experience. "Well, that's not something you'll need to worry about, Jason. If any little bunnies

climb on you, it will be because they're curious, not because they want to sink their teeth or

claws into you."

"Hopefully, it won't be an issue for you either. They should already be receiving

instruction on how to manage those instincts, so as long as you don't give them an opportunity

to chase or stalk you, you'll probably be fine."

"I guess we won't know for sure about any of this until we meet them." Ellie grinned in

anticipation. "It makes me a little nervous, but it's also kind of exciting. I want to get to know the

cats who raised such a sweet kitty, and I want my parents to get to know you too. It's too bad I

didn't ever introduce you before, but they never come to Maplesburg. So there wasn't much of

an opportunity."

"Yeah, I guess it would be a bit weird to bring your business partner home for

Saturnalia."

When Jason had finished eating, he collected the dishes and took them to the sink. "So

what do you want to do today?" he queried.

Ellie smirked, "Did you forget? You have to finish cleaning my apartment. There's still the

vacuuming, my laundry, and the whole kitchen."

Jason frowned, "When did you want to move in with me? I was hoping it would be soon."

"Well, the lease on the apartment doesn't come up for renewal for another couple

months, but soon is fine with me. I can pack up what I need and move today. Then we can

worry about what to do with all of my furniture next weekend."

"It seems like kind of a waste of time to keep cleaning your apartment then. I'm sure the

owner will have it cleaned before they rent it to someone else regardless."

"But then you would get out of our bet," Ellie teased.

Jason rolled his eyes, "So what?"

"You think I'm going to let you off easy like that, Jason? Maybe I'll let you trade for

something else. Let me see, um, okay, instead you can carry me around on your shoulders

everywhere we go for the next month."

"That hardly seems equivalent!" Jason protested. "How about I wash your car instead?"

Smirking, Ellie shook her head, "I get to come up with the alternative. Either finish

cleaning or carry me around."

Jason scowled, "I'll finish cleaning," he grumbled.

"Aww, I liked the idea of riding you around. Okay, only for a week," Ellie compromised.

"No."

"Only for today and you wash my car."

He looked at her warily, "If I agree, are you going to suggest we go on a ten-mile walk?"

"Don't be silly, Jason. If you collapsed from exhaustion, how would you carry me home?

We can go to the grocery store though."

"That sounds awfully embarrassing, Ellie!"

"That's what makes it funny. Besides, you like it when I embarrass you, remember?"

Jason scowled, "I don't."

"Yes, you do, just like how you like me to order you around."

Jason looked to the side embarrassedly. "Maybe I like it a little," he muttered.

"Ha! I knew it! Is that a deal then?"

Jason turned back to study her a few seconds. "Okay, it's a deal but only because I don't

want to pointlessly clean the apartment you are moving out of."

Ellie kicked her legs gleefully, "Yes! I can't wait to see the looks on people's faces when

I'm directing you through the store! I wouldn't be surprised if their mouths fall open so far that

things start dropping out: gum, food, dentures. It'll be hilarious!"

"It sounds messy," Jason remarked tartly.

Ellie giggled, "Heehee, it does a bit, doesn't it? Try not to slip on anything." She stood up

from the table. "Right, I'll put something on, and we can go. Then when we come back, you can

wash my car while I pack."

Ellie bounded to her bedroom and slipped on a violet t-shirt and then grabbed her tan

satchel from the coffee table. Jason put back on the gray collar and green tie he'd arrived in.

"Right, crouch down, so I can climb on!" Ellie commanded.

Jason glanced at the door and back to Ellie. "Maybe we should wait until we're outside,

so you don't run into the doorways."

"Hmph, fine."

They took the elevator down and stepped out the side door onto the asphalt parking lot.

Jason continued toward Ellie's silver compact car.

"Hey! Where are you going?! You have to carry me!"

Jason turned back to Ellie, "The car is right there."

"Then you won't have to carry me very far! Get back here!"

Jason sighed exasperatedly and trudged back to the door. He crouched down, and Ellie

slung her bag over her shoulder and scrambled up onto his shoulders. She crossed her feet in

front and held onto his head to steady herself.

"Alright, mush!"

Jason sighed resignedly, took hold of her legs to better stabilize her, and slowly stood

up. "You're not all that light, Ellie," he grumbled.

"Quit complaining," she scolded. "Be a good kitty and mush!"

"Dogs mush," Jason muttered under his breath.

Ellie ignored him. He began walking. Ellie had to tighten her hold with arms and legs to

steady herself for the initial lurch of motion, but remaining in place was easier as he continued

the dozen or so steps to the car. Upon reaching the car, he crouched down, lifted her up over

his head, and set her down in front of him.

"Have fun?" he asked dryly.

"The real fun will be seeing people's faces, but it was a little fun. Anyway, you needed a

warmup run to help break you in."

Jason rolled his eyes. He stalked around to the passenger's side while Ellie unlocked the

car.

The trip to the grocery store was a quick jaunt farther to the North of downtown. Ellie

parked in an empty space near the back of the lot, which was already about half full.

"I hope we don't see anyone we know," Jason grumbled.

"If we do, you can tell them the good news though," Ellie teased. "It's not every day you

get to tell your friends you found the bunny of your dreams."

They got out of the car, and Jason dutifully crouched down for Ellie to climb onto his

shoulders. Once she was situated again, he padded toward the grocery store. Ellie noticed an

otter and a grouse with four chicks already giving them funny looks. Jason carefully kept facing

forward, but Ellie turned her head to smile at each of them. The otter smirked while the grouse

quickly ushered her chicks toward her red minivan. Ellie grinned and turned back to the front:

she noticed Jason was headed toward the door on the left side of the long, tan and green

Doubleplusgood Foods building.

"Hey, the entrance is on the other side," Ellie directed.

"Uh, no it's not."

"I've been here hundreds of times, Jason! The entrance is on the right!"

"I've been to DPGF hundreds of times too. Unless this one is different from all the

others, the entrance is on the left. If you go in the right, you have to wander through the whole

store before you get to the meat."

Ellie glanced at the left side of the building. "You mean that entrance opens into the

meat part of the store?"

"Of course."

"Huh, well, I'm directing, so go in the right side. We'll make our way over there at the

end."

"Who says you're directing? I'm the one walking."

Ellie grabbed his ears, "Do I need to steer you?" She tugged his head toward the right.

Jason winced, "Easy! Alright, I'll go where you want."

Jason turned toward the right entrance. Ellie didn't have to worry about hitting her head

on the tall automatic doors, which were designed to accommodate much larger species. Whilst

housing was typically designed to accommodate a narrow range of sizes and small businesses

were also permitted to accommodate whatever range of sizes was convenient, large businesses

and government buildings were required to accommodate all sizes. However, this close to

downtown Maplesburg, there was little risk of being trod on by a deer or bison since no one

wanted to build housing or office space for large species in the high-priced downtown area. Why

rent an apartment to one horse when you could rent to a dozen or more rabbits? Perhaps it was

unfair that large species were relegated to the outskirts of town, but Ellie had had enough

harrowing experiences dodging enormous hooves over the years that she supposed it was for

the best. When you really thought about it, it was a wonder that downtown wasn't packed with

mice, but Ellie supposed that was due to the historical bias in favor of species similar in size to

the vulpine ruling class.

Jason grabbed a cart in the entryway and pushed it into the produce section, which was

of course where the right entrance led.

Ellie pointed around his head toward the greens, "Let's start over there. I need some

fresh grass."

There were several rabbits inspecting the different varieties of grass. Jason held back,

waiting for them to move.

"If you wait for an opening, we'll be here all day. Just reach over them. Second shelf

down, third from the right, that's the kind I like," Ellie instructed.

Reluctantly, Jason stepped up close behind the rabbits. Reaching past a white rabbit's

head, he snagged the bag of grass. The white rabbit turned to eye him nervously, no doubt

wondering why a cat was buying grass, and started with surprise when he spotted Ellie.

Ellie gave him a friendly smile, "Don't let us disturb you." She pointed Jason to another

set of shelves. "Okay, now the root vegetables."

Jason turned and headed right, toward the other vegetables, leaving the white rabbit

watching with his face screwed up in confusion. Ellie glanced back at him and smirked.

"I think he has bigger questions on his mind now than which type of grass to buy," she

remarked.

"Right, like whether he should call the police," Jason grumbled.

"Huh? The police?"

"Cat carrying a rabbit through a grocery store? Maybe he thinks I caught a dumb bunny,

and I'm taking you home to fatten you up."

"Phooey, you just want to put me down! You'll have to come up with something better

than that nonsense."

Jason grumbled under his breath as he walked up to the root vegetables. "What do you

want then?"

"Let's see. I think I need carrots; grab a bag of those. Then a beet and, uh, heck, a turnip

too."

Jason transferred the items to the cart. "Is that all?"

"That's all here. Actually, let's go back to the greens. I want some kale and green leaf,

no, make that red leaf lettuce."

Jason sighed resignedly and trudged back over to the leafy greens. He grabbed a bunch

of kale. "Which lettuce did you want?"

"Red leaf."

"Which is?"

"The one with reddish tips on the leaves, fourth from the right, bottom shelf."

Jason crouched down to pick up the lettuce.

"Okay, let's grab a tomato and then a couple jalapeños. I feel like making something

spicy."

Jason stood and turned toward the red fruits. As he turned, Ellie noticed the white rabbit

lurking nervously a short distance away. He coughed softly. The other rabbits were pretending

to examine the grass, but their ears were perked, obviously focused on what he was about to

say.

"Hold on a second, Jason," Ellie instructed. She turned to make eye contact with the

white rabbit who shoved his hands into the dark blue hoodie he was wearing. "Hi again, do you

need something?" Ellie inquired.

"A-are, are you alright, Miss?" he asked timidly.

"Fine, couldn't be better."

The rabbit swallowed. "Uh, is the, uh, the cat your, um, your caregiver or something?"

"Caregiver?"

"I, I just thought that, uh, if you need help getting around, there might be someone." He

quickly glanced back at the other rabbits who had stopped pretending to look at the grass, and

they all jumped back into looking intently at the bags. "One or more of us maybe, who could

help you get around if you can't walk, and-"

"I can walk! My legs are fine!" Ellie gave a couple kicks to demonstrate.

The rabbit's face screwed up into confusion again, "The-en why, uh-"

"I spared his life, and now he's my slave," Ellie jested.

"Huh?" The white rabbit looked baffled.

The other rabbits glanced at one another dubiously.

"I lost a bet," Jason cut in grumpily. "I only have to carry her for today."

The white rabbit blinked. "A bet? Y-you have to?"

"Look, don't concern yourself about it. She's fine. We're friends," Jason explained

tersely.

Ellie stroked his head, "More than friends, eh, Jason?" She gave the white rabbit a

mischievous grin, "He's my kitty sweetheart."

The white rabbit's mouth dropped open, and he stared at them dumbly.

One of the other rabbits yelped, "Sweet-!" before another slapped their hand over her

mouth.

The white rabbit studied Jason, disturbed, "Y-you're n-not going to, to, uh-"

"She was telling the truth that time," Jason interrupted. "Can we get back to our

shopping?"

"Y-yes, sir! D-don't mind me."

Jason snorted, and tromped away toward the tomatoes.

"Aww, it was just getting good," Ellie teased.

"You don't need to tell people about our relationship," Jason grumbled.

"Why not? Does it embarrass you?"

"No. But it's none of their business."

"He wanted an explanation; I told him the truth. If it doesn't embarrass you, then I don't

see why I shouldn't."

Jason sighed, "Fine, but only if they ask."

Ellie smirked, "I'm hardly going to start shouting it at random people. Don't worry."

Jason collected the tomato.

"No mention of Larchwood Vineyard on this one either," he noted.

"They probably only sell them at the most upscale stores: pretentious tomatoes for

pretentious people, courtesy of a murderer."

Finally, Jason collected the peppers. "Anything else you need?"

"Not in produce. Grab some bread, and I think that's all for me. I'll pack up the rest of the

food I have at home to bring with me too."

As Jason made his way through the store, Ellie noticed several more people staring at

them. One gray fox burst into such a fit of giggles that he stumbled into the cereal, knocking

boxes all over the aisle. Ellie giggled at the disarray they'd caused, and even Jason snorted in

amusement. Ellie showed Jason which bread to add to the cart, and then he headed for the far

side of the store.

Jason took his time perusing the different options in the meat section, apparently either

used to the odd looks they continued to get or too focused on his food to care.

"It all looks the same," Ellie commented.

"That's coming from the person who wanted two types of leaves," Jason responded.

"Kale and lettuce are totally different."

"Yeah, well, so are chicken and pork. I'm trying to decide what I want. Are you in a

hurry?"

"No, I guess the longer you take, the longer I get to watch people make faces at us.

Take all afternoon if you like."

Ellie smiled at a bobcat in a black tank top who was giving them a puzzled look. The

bobcat blinked, looked around, and then began to make his way over toward them, pretending

to nonchalantly examine the meats as he strolled. He sidled up beside them, still looking down

at the meat.

"Hey, Man, nice rabbit you've got yourself there," he murmured.

"Mmhm," Jason replied, distractedly.

"The two of you, uh, planning on a big dinner tonight?"

Jason blinked, "I don't think so," he answered bemusedly.

The bobcat examined the contents of their cart. "I see. Making an investment for a

bigger dinner, nice. Good strategy, they can't be easy to come by."

Ellie blanched. Pits of Tartarus, I guess Jason wasn't totally off the mark!

Jason frowned, "Huh?"

Jason still wasn't getting it, but Ellie wasn't sure she wanted to be the one to tell him.

"You know, the willing ones. I've heard of it but never actually seen it before."

Jason shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you, Ellie?"

"He thinks, he thinks I'm going to let you eat me, Jason," Ellie murmured under her

breath.

"Puwha!" Jason yelped. He turned to face the bobcat, placing himself between him and

Ellie, and took a few steps back.

"Look! I'm not trying to steal her! I just wanted to know how you found one!"

"I didn't! She's my friend! She doesn't want," he paused, unwilling to even say it. "And

neither do I!" he finished.

"Oh. Shit. I'm sorry, Man. I thought, uh; never mind, that was my bad." He turned and

hurried away.

"Zeus' bolts!" Jason exclaimed.

"I guess you were right, Jason," Ellie muttered gloomily. "Maybe I should get down."

Jason put his hand on her leg and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Hey, that was just one

nutter. Don't worry about it. You don't want to let me off easy, do you?"

Ellie stroked his head, "You're right, Jason. We can't let one weirdo spoil our fun."

Jason quickly selected a few packages of meat and placed them in the cart. "That's all I

need. Let's go check out."

They got in line at one of the registers behind a poodle in a pink sundress with a pair of

pups in her cart. She eyed them distrustfully. Ellie smiled pleasantly at her.

"Why's the kitty carrying the bunny, Mom?" one of the puppies, who appeared to be

about four, piped.

"Hush, just ignore them, Honey," the poodle whispered. She turned to glare at Ellie and

Jason. "You should be ashamed," she growled. "I don't care what you do at home, but flaunting

your deviancy in public," she spat the last words in disgust and turned away from them angrily.

Zeus, you'd think we were actually doing something. Ellie felt a poke on her back and

turned to see a pine marten in a gray t-shirt emblazoned with a bright blue dragon standing in

line behind them.

"Sorry! I was checking whether you were real!" he apologized embarrassedly.

Ellie smirked, "Nope, just a very convincing animatronic."

The pine marten stepped back behind his cart. "Sorry," he repeated.

"Don't worry about it."

"Are you two a, uh, a couple then?"

"What? Me and my valet?"

"S-sorry-"

Ellie giggled, "Heeheeheehee, no, you were right."

The pine marten seemed pleased that he'd guessed correctly. Jason pushed the cart

forward and began to set their items on the belt. Ellie glanced forward to see the elderly hen

with thick glasses at the register scanning the poodle's hand.

Ellie turned back to the pine marten, "Looks like it's our turn, have a nice day."

"You too."

The poodle took her bags and wheeled her cart away, and the hen started busily

scanning and bagging their groceries.

"I forgot to ask whether you wanted to check out separately," Ellie whispered in Jason's

ear.

"No, it's fine. You can buy the groceries some other time."

The hen bagged the last of their groceries and squinted at Ellie through her thick lenses.

"Would your daughter like a sticker?" she asked Jason.

"I'm not his-" Ellie began to correct her.

"I'm sure she'd love one," Jason interrupted.

The hen pulled a smiley face sticker out of the pocket of the green uniform top she was

wearing and offered it to Ellie. Ellie accepted it to be polite.

"Say thank you, Ellie," Jason instructed.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Ellie recited, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

Jason snorted, holding back a laugh. "Good girl," he praised.

Ellie peeled the sticker off its paper and stuck it on top of Jason's head. Jason paid then

pushed the cart out into the entryway of the store and grabbed their bags to carry them to the

car. At the car, he set the bags on top before crouching down to lift Ellie off his shoulders. After

setting her down in front of him, he tweaked her scut, causing Ellie to jump.

"Hey!" she yelped in surprise, whipping around to hide her tail from him.

Standing, he peeled the sticker off of his head and stuck it on hers. "You certainly are an

ornery little girl, aren't you, Ellie?" he teased.

She ripped the sticker off, crumpled it, and threw it at him. "Your daughter! I'm going to

get you for that!"

Jason smirked, "What, you can tell people I'm your slave or valet, but I can't tell them

you're my daughter?"

"I didn't let them go on believing it!"

"I didn't want to give her a heart attack. Anyway, if she can't see well enough to tell a cat

from a rabbit, it's not like she's going to recognize you the next time."

Ellie narrowed her eyes, "I'm still going to get you. Don't forget who's in charge."

Jason smirked, "Who might that be?"

"Me!"

Jason stepped forward and scooped her up under the arms to hold her in front of his

face. He grinned toothily, "You're going to tell me what to do, are you, bunny?"

"I am! And you're going to thank me for it!" Ellie demanded.

Jason purred, "My bunny despot. What should I do now, Ellie?"

"Put the groceries in the back and get in. After lunch, you can get to work washing."

Jason hugged her to his chest and nuzzled her cheek. "Whatever you say, Ellie."

Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close while she nuzzled him back,

"Good kitty."

"For Zeus' sake! Get a room!" someone shouted from across the parking lot.

Jason and Ellie turned to see a grumpy looking fox squirrel next to a black pickup truck

glaring at them from several spaces away.

"Er, maybe we should go home now," Ellie suggested.

Jason nodded and set her down. She opened the car and waited while he put the

groceries in the back and got in. Ellie pulled out of the spot and headed back to the road. The

fox squirrel was still glaring at them as they drove past. After they returned to the apartment

complex, Jason carried Ellie and the groceries back to her apartment, carefully crouching to

avoid running her into doorways, and then they fixed lunch. Jason had more of the ham Ellie

had bought him, and Ellie had a grass and red leaf salad with a few slices of tomato.

After lunch, Ellie sent Jason out with a set of keys and a bucket of soapy water and

sponge to get to work on her car. Meanwhile, she started packing her clothes into a pair of large

suitcases. Remembering that Jason didn't have a blow dryer, she also shoved that in. Ellie had

finished packing her clothes and was working on packing her food and cookware into boxes

when Jason returned for the vacuum to clean the inside of her car. He sighed irritatedly as he

wheeled it toward the door.

"Is everything going okay?" Ellie asked.

"For the most part," he muttered.

Ellie paused in her packing to regard him concernedly, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I had an unpleasant conversation with a particular rat is all."

Ellie groaned and rubbed her nose, "Joe. Never seeing him again is going to be one of

the biggest benefits of getting out of here."

"That's what he's concerned about actually, that I'm going to take you away, and no one

will ever know what became of you when you disappear. Except of course, he'll know. He was

very insistent on that."

"Fucking Tartarus, do you want me to come outside and kick his ass, so he'll go away?"

"No, he left already anyway."

"If he comes back, call me or come get me, and I'll deal with him."

Jason nodded though Ellie doubted he would actually ask her to come talk with the rat if

he returned. She wondered how much Jason had told him. Of course, Jason's being there alone

was enough to incense the psychotic rat.

By the time Jason returned, Ellie had finished and was reading on the couch. She

hopped up as he entered the apartment.

"Right, let's take this stuff down," she decided.

It took them a few trips together up and down the elevator to carry everything Ellie had

packed to their respective cars. They would have to rent a truck and maybe get help to move all

of her furniture, but what she had packed would be enough until she needed to vacate the

apartment. Ellie looked around the apartment a few seconds from the doorway on their last trip

down.

"Are you going to miss it?" Jason asked.

"Maybe a little. I've gotten used to living here, even the gaudy colors." She turned to

Jason. "But wherever my sweet kitty is is where I want to be. Come on."

Ellie locked the door, and they took the last load down to their cars. Ellie knew the way

to Jason's house, but she let him go first, following his dark blue sedan out of the parking lot and

through downtown. He still drove like a grandma. She pulled into his cement driveway behind

him and surveyed the small two-story house with its white vinyl, blue fixtures, and bluish gray

composite roof. She examined the front yard, studying the pair of lilac bushes and midsized

silver maple. Grabbing her satchel and one of the boxes of food, she followed Jason inside,

pausing in the doorway to take in the sky blue walls and wood floor, the dark blue futon, and the

kitchen containing oak cabinets and table and light gray composite counters beyond. She'd

been here before, but now this was her home too. She took a deep breath: besides the smell of

cat, there was also the smell of wood and a faint smell of stale coffee.

Halfway across the room, Jason turned to look at her worriedly, "Are you having second

thoughts?"

Ellie smiled at him, "No, I'm coming." She shut the door behind her and followed him into

the kitchen.

After they had brought in the food and cookware and found places for everything in

Jason's refrigerator and cabinets, Ellie brought in her suitcases. Jason led her upstairs to the

bedroom. Little of Jason's bedroom closet was dedicated to clothes, the rest occupied by boxes

of books and papers.

Jason hefted one of the boxes. "I'll move a few of these to the hall closet to make room

for your clothes."

"I can put my clothes out there if that's easier," Ellie suggested.

Jason shook his head, "Your clothes should be in the bedroom, not in the closet with the

extra sheets and vacuum. I want you to feel at home here."

"Okay, thanks, Jason."

Ellie waited for Jason to move a second box before beginning to hang her clothes beside

his. Jason moved five more boxes, giving Ellie enough room to hang the remainder of her

clothes.

"That's enough," Ellie stated when he came back in for another box. She nodded toward

her coats, which she'd lain on the bed. "Do you have another closet for your coats?"

"Yeah, there's one down in the living room by the door. Do you want me to help take

them down?"

Ellie nodded, and Jason grabbed two of the coats, leaving the other two for Ellie to carry.

As he laid them over his arm, Ellie's handcuffs fell out of one of them and clattered onto the

royal blue carpet.

"I knew I packed those!" Ellie exclaimed. She hopped over to pluck them up off of the

floor.

Jason looked at the cuffs disconcertedly, "That was something you decided to bring right

away?"

Ellie smiled slyly, narrowing her eyes, "I thought a certain silly kitty might like to try them

on again soon."

Jason smiled nervously, "Did you?"

Ellie grinned knowingly and set the cuffs on the bed, "I'll let you think about it," she

answered archly.

Jason glanced at the handcuffs and back to Ellie. He swallowed and smiled nervously

again. Ellie didn't think he'd have to think about it for very long. They headed downstairs to hang

Ellie's coats in the front closet. Once that was taken care of, Jason slipped his phone out of its

holster to glance at the time.

"I guess we should think about fixing dinner," he noted.

They proceeded to the kitchen. Ellie decided to make tacos. She chopped bell pepper

and jalapeño then sautéed them in vegetable oil with some frozen corn and canned black

beans, adding cumin salt and pepper as the vegetables tenderized. While that was cooking, she

chopped some kale and tomato. Jason sniffed interestedly at the spicy, savory aroma.

"I might have to try some if there's enough," he remarked.

"There should be plenty. If you want, you could make meat to put on yours."

Jason nodded, "Good idea, thanks, Ellie." He got some ground beef out of the freezer

and put it into the microwave to defrost.

The vegetables didn't take long to cook. Ellie turned the fire off and briefly heated one of

the small corn tortillas on a clean skillet before transferring it to her plate, adding the cooked

vegetables, and topping with the raw kale and tomato. Jason joined her at the table sitting at the

end closest to the kitchen whilst Ellie sat at the chair on his right, facing the window. Ellie had

finished her first taco by the time Jason's meat was finished thawing. She got up to get another,

and he got up to start sautéing the beef. Ellie returned to the table but moved to the other side,

cracking open the window for fresh air. Jason glanced at her from in front of the stove.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"You don't need to apologize every time. What you have to eat is what you have to eat.

It's not your fault the smell bothers me."

Ellie had finished eating before Jason's food was ready, but she kept him company at

the table while he ate. Ellie glanced around the kitchen.

"I guess this is sort of the first meal of our new life together," she remarked. "It's kind of

weird to think about, a lot to take in."

Jason swallowed the bite of food he'd taken. "It is; I can hardly believe you're here to

stay. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and find out this was all a lovely dream."

Ellie brushed her foot against his under the table. "Believe it, Jason. You're not going to

get rid of me by pinching yourself now."

"If I wake up and I haven't told you how I feel, I promise to tell you right away," he

declared.

"I promise too, but I know this isn't a dream: I never would have imagined this before

yesterday."

Jason finished eating and glanced at the clock on the stove. "It's not too late yet. What

do you want to do now?"

"Well, we have to go to work tomorrow, so we can't stay up too late. But if we get

cleaned up now, I have an idea for something fun we could do before bed," Ellie answered

suggestively.

The insides of Jason's ears turned red and he flicked them, "O-oh! You want to?

Tonight?"

Ellie smirked, "Not that, not quite yet, but I'm glad you're anxious to try it. I have another

idea, a little less juicy but still fun."

Jason looked relieved. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise. I'll tell you when I get out of the shower."

"As long as the surprise isn't that you're going to try to shove me in the shower after

you."

"You could come in with me if you want," Ellie suggested playfully.

"Once a week! That's what you said," Jason reminded petulantly.

Ellie rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'll wait to drag you into the shower with me until next

Saturday. I assume you are going to lick yourself then, right?"

Jason nodded. "If you want, you can skip your shower, and I'll wash you too."

Ellie frowned, "Tempting offer, Jason, but I think I'll pass," she replied dryly.

"I'd like it if you'd let me sometimes, Ellie."

"My whole body? I thought you just wanted to do my head."

"That was when we were just friends. Couples can give each other a full bath," he

explained.

"I'm not licking you clean, Jason," Ellie stated firmly.

"You don't have to. I'm happy to do both of us."

Ellie sighed and rubbed her nose, "Does it mean a lot to you?"

"It does," he answered sincerely.

"Okay, I'll think about it. Maybe it will be okay on occasion. I can always take a shower

afterward to wash off your spit."

"You'll feel nice and clean afterward, Ellie," he asserted.

"We'll see," she allowed. "But not tonight."

Ellie hopped up from the table and bounded her way upstairs. Jason followed behind her

until she stepped into the bathroom. Ellie glanced at him heading for the bedroom as she closed

the door. Excited for what she had planned, Ellie took a quick shower and hurriedly wiped

herself partway dry with a fresh towel from the bathroom cabinet. She looked around for the

blow dryer and only then realized she'd left it in her suitcase. Shoot. She flung open the door

and bounded to the bedroom. Jason was sitting on the bed stretched into an awkward pose

while he licked his leg. He looked up in surprise, tongue still stretched out on his fur. It was a

rather amusing sight; however, Ellie was damp and annoyed at herself for not grabbing the blow

dryer, so she didn't take the time to laugh at him, quickly dragging the suitcase out of the closet

and snatching out the dryer.

"That was quick," Jason commented. "Aren't you still wet though?"

"No kidding," Ellie replied sarcastically. She held up the blow dryer. "I forgot this."

"Oh. Well, I'm not done yet anyway."

Ellie hurried back to the bathroom to finish drying herself. While she was blowing her

legs, Jason entered to brush his teeth.

He glanced at her quizzically, "Are you going to tell me what you want to do now?"

Ellie smirked, "Soon, Jason. I'll tell you when I join you in the bedroom."

He shrugged, finished brushing his teeth, and left.

When Ellie's fur was warm and dry, albeit fluffed out, she quickly brushed her own teeth

with Jason's catnip flavored toothpaste, and then she returned to the bedroom. Jason was

sitting on the bed, waiting patiently.

"So what was it you wanted to do then?" he inquired.

Ellie hopped over to the bed and snatched up the handcuffs she'd left on the gray

comforter. She smiled slyly, "Did you think about trying on your new accessory?"

Jason swallowed nervously, "I, uh, I don't know, Ellie."

Ellie pouted, "Come on, Jason. I think it's only fair."

He blinked. "Fair?" he asked, puzzled.

"Think about it this way, Jason. Every time you hold me, I'm giving myself up to you. If

you wanted to do anything to me, I wouldn't be able to stop you."

"But I would never-"

"I know that, Jason, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm putting my complete trust in

you. I want you to put your complete trust in me too."

Jason studied Ellie a few seconds before slowly nodding his head once in assent, "I

guess that does seem fair."

Ellie grinned, "Alright, lay with your hands up by the headboard!"

Jason complied, and she scrambled up onto the bed up by his head. She locked a cuff

around his right hand, slipped the other cuff around one of the five vertical oak bars between the

base and top of the headboard, and then locked it around his left hand. Crawling back a short

distance from him, she surveyed her caught kitty delightedly. She crawled back forward to

stroke his head.

"Good kitty. How does it feel letting a bunny chain you up?"

Jason smiled at her, "It's a little thrilling," he admitted.

Ellie grinned, "I thought you'd think so. It's about to get a lot more thrilling. I told you I

was going to get you for that thing at the store."

"Eh?"

"I wonder if you're ticklish at all."

Jason shook his head, "Nope, I'm not."

Ellie was far from convinced, "Really? Well, we'll just have to find out."

She tried tickling him under the arms. He smiled back at her calmly.

"Maybe your feet."

Ellie crawled down to his feet and tickled the bottoms. He stretched his head up to look

at her but didn't so much as giggle. Probably a good thing that wasn't the spot. I didn't want to

get kicked. Ellie crawled back up beside his belly.

"How about here?"

He shook his head a little too vigorously to be convincing, not that Ellie wouldn't have

tried anyway. She grinned and wiggled her fingers above his belly.

"That looked like a yes to me," she teased.

She tickled his belly, and he stretched out his legs. Ellie examined his face, and he

looked like he was struggling to hold back his laughter. Yes! Got him! Ellie dove back into

tickling the cat, and he was unable to hold back any longer.

"Eek! Eeheeheehee! N-no! Eeheehee!" he squealed in surprisingly high-pitched peals of

laughter.

Elated by his shrieks of laughter, Ellie tickled him mercilessly. She was unable to keep

from laughing herself, "Ahahaha! I've got you now, Jason! Hahahaha, tickle, tickle, tickle. What

are you going to do? Hahahaha!"

"Eeheeheehee! I'm gonna, eeheeheeheehee, get you back! Eeheeheehee!"

Ellie paused in her tickling to look at him mischievously, "Oh? How are you going to do

that?"

"Heehee, aha, when you let me up, I'm going to hold you down and tickle you until you

wet yourself!"

"Are you? We'll see about that." Ellie thrust her hands back into his fur to tickle him

again.

"Eek! No! Eeheeheehee! Eeheeheeheehee!"

Still tickling, "What are you going to do when I let you up?"

"Get you! Eeheeheehee!"

"Wrong answer!"

Ellie redoubled her efforts, tickling him relentlessly. Thrills of excitement and ecstasy

coursed through her body as she made the cat squeal and thrash, vainly twisting and kicking in

attempt to escape the assailing fingers.

"Looks like you might be the one to pee themself," Ellie crowed.

"Eeheeheeheeheehee! N-no! Eeheeheehee! Please!"

"No? You said you were going to make me," Ellie taunted.

"Eeheeheehee! I won't! Eeheeheehee!"

"What are you going to do when I let you up?"

"Nothing! Eeheeheeheeheehee!"

"Swear it!"

"Eeheeheehee! I-I swear! Eeheeheeheeheehee! I won't do anything! Eeheeheeheehee!"

Ellie stopped tickling, and Jason gasped for breath between fading giggles.

Ellie smiled at him smugly, "That's right. You won't do anything." She crawled forward a

bit and lay on top of him, face-to-face. She stroked his cheek. "Good kitty."

"You're one dastardly rabbit, Ellie," Jason teased. "It's only fair if I trust you completely,

eh?"

Ellie grinned, "Just because it's fair doesn't mean it's wise," she teased back. "But I hope

you're going to continue trusting me completely so that we can have more fun like this in the

future."

Jason smiled up at her adoringly, "I will. Maybe I should be angry about how you tricked

me, but." He smiled shyly, "But it only makes me adore you even more. I love you, Ellie."

Even after she'd just been tormenting him, he only had love for her in his heart. Ellie

beamed down at him and rubbed his cheek. "I love you too. Do you want me to let you up now?"

Jason shook his head, "You don't have to. You can have another go at me in a few

minutes if you want to."

Ellie took his head between her hands. "How about I have another go at you right now?"

Twisting herself to align her mouth perpendicular to his, she opened hers and lowered it

onto his. She collided with a wall of teeth and pulled back to make eye contact with him: he

looked confused.

"It only works if you open your mouth too, Jason."

"Oh!"

He opened his mouth, and Ellie lowered her head back down, locking their mouths

together. Ellie pushed her tongue into his mouth, feeling it slip over his sharp teeth and rough

tongue. Jason reciprocated, pushing his tongue into her mouth. His rough tongue felt a bit odd

against her hard palate, but Ellie was too in ecstasy to care. Their tongues twisted together as

they kissed deeply. Ellie closed her eyes, drinking in his taste and scent. Her breath came in

quick gasps through her nose as she pushed her tongue deeper, wrestling with his long tongue

that filled her mouth and pressed toward the back of her throat, threatening to gag her if she let

him press in unchecked. Still, she pressed her head in as deeply as possible, unwilling to back

off as she imbibed his very being and was simultaneously absorbed into it.

Ellie wasn't sure how long they'd kissed--it could have been minutes or hours--but at

last, Jason pulled his tongue back, and Ellie pulled away to gaze down at him, trailing a line of

their combined saliva. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, it was getting a little hard to breathe," he explained.

Ellie glanced at his hands still locked to the bed, "Let me let you loose."

She picked up the key from where she'd left it on the other pillow and pushed herself up,

pulling her bottom half forward until she was sitting on his chest. She scooted forward and

leaned over him to reach the cuffs.

"Uh, Ellie?" came Jason's muffled mew.

Ellie glanced down to see his muzzle pressed into her upper pelvic area, only

centimeters above her vulva. She smirked and finished with the cuffs before she sat back,

adjusting her rear against his chest and bringing her feet to the sides of his head.

"Well, you're loose now, kitty. What are you going to do?"

"I want to kiss you again, Ellie."

Ellie grinned, "The correct answer was 'nothing', but I'll accept that answer too."

She lay back down, took his head between her hands, and leaned in. Again, their

mouths locked together, but this time Jason held her close with one hand on her head and the

other stroking her back as they drew at each other's essence. Ellie allowed herself to be

absorbed into the sensation of his embrace: his body pressed against hers, his hand stroking

her back, their tongues entwining and pressing deeply into each other's mouths, his taste, his

scent, his hot breath on her face. She held his head tightly, and he pressed her head in too.

Eyes closed, Ellie's world became a tide of warm, intimate sensations and rushing waves of joy

and pleasure.

Jason pulled his tongue back, but he held her close. She felt him swallow, and then he

pushed his tongue back in. Their tongues resumed their twisting dance, each tongue embracing

the other while simultaneously fighting to overwhelm its partner. Jason's tongue momentarily

pushed Ellie's against his sharp teeth, and an additional thrill of excitement rushed into Ellie's

swirling pool of sensation and emotion. Who would have ever thought such a fierce predator

would be all hers? Jason was a sweet kitty but still a cat with razor-sharp claws and pointed

fangs for ripping flesh, but now he was hers. And she was his. They belonged to each other in

almost every way, and as for that final way, Ellie was determined that it wouldn't be long. She

was ready to be joined together in that most intimate embrace, to share those even more

intense rushes of ecstasy, to explore the most intimate parts of his body.

Finally, after several minutes, Jason released Ellie's head and pulled his tongue back.

Breathing heavily, she pulled her head away. The fur around her mouth was sopping with saliva,

and some dripped onto Jason's face beneath her. He stretched his head up and gave her a few

quick laps around the muzzle to dry her off. Lying back, he gazed up at her with a tender smile

of affection and contentment. Exhausted, Ellie flopped back down onto his chest, scooted down

a bit, and, turning her head to the side, tucked it under his chin. She yawned and closed her

eyes. Jason stroked her head and back a few minutes, and his purring vibrated against her

head and chest. Ellie yawned again.

"Bed time, bunny?" Jason murmured.

"Mmm."

Jason wrapped one arm over her, holding her as he carefully lifted himself to push the

blankets down. Ellie kept her eyes closed, but she felt him pull a pair of the blankets up over the

two of them, covering her to her neck. He stroked her back beneath the sheets, and she sighed

contentedly. Pressed against her warm kitty sweetheart, she drifted to sleep.