OceanOtter of FurAffinity writes:
"You're located actually just a few miles from my home, so I hope this letter makes it too you in good time before the holidays.
Have you ever accepted requests from oddfellows who actually would want to be a meal for you? Not that I personally would go all that willingly, excuse me for being so forward.
Best Regards,
-Otter- "

Alexis responds:
"What an thought-provoking question, Mister Otter. It is unfortunate I could not respond before the New Year. I can tell you the postman was none too pleased to convert your letter to tele-
(over)
-gram, and may be even less pleased when he sees how long I dallied before my reply. He may make his complaints to me in person.

As for the matter of those who volunteer, yes. There are a few. More often by correspondence than in person, but I have had some come right to my gates with a ribbon on their neck. When I was younger I would gobble them up with little thought for it, whether I was hungry or not. Certainly it did not put me in the mood for other pre-meal activities, and I found myself more inclined to allow my teeth to make an impression on the way down. It was a learning experience for many.

Later I refused them altogether, until I realized that what irritated me about the offers is that it denied me my prerogative to *choose*. My choice, my will imposed on another, is as critical to my enjoyment of a meal as any other aspect of it. A meal served to me by someone else - even by the entree themselves, is dissatisfying. And declining all offers is equally depriving me of my choice. Now I ignore them, and forget them, and perhaps come across them later when I'm a particular mood, and perhaps not."

- - -

To those who have offered themselves, directly or indirectly, as a potential meal, Alexis' estate manager sends a mass-printed copy of the estate's quarterly call for labor. It's long been a matter of common knowledge among the locals that those hired to work at the estate tend not to be around to earn out the rest of their hiring bonus at the end of the season.

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