'Day's almost done.' Jacob called. 'Those last few orders need to be done before anybody starts
to relax.' His eyes were focused but tired, the stress of a longer shift than usual was telling on his
features recently. Therese did feel some sympathy, but ultimately management was not her burden
to bear just yet and she intended to enjoy the leniency she still had.
  'On it!' Jenn called back cheerfully. The squirrel's eternal cheerfulness always grated on Therese's
nerves, but the cat had convinced herself that her vision was clouded by her bias towards... prey. In
the months that Jenn had been working alongside her, the smaller young woman had proven adept
at every task assigned her. Jenn had successfully surprised Therese at every turn, from proving adept
at every aspect of her job, to revealing that she was only sixteen years old and already accepted at
the Central District University.
  Therese hid her envy well, but made no secret of her desire to eat Jenn. If a predator caught prey
in an outdoor public zone after 8pm, they were legally in the right to consume them. But Jenn had
lived up to her supposed ingenuity, and was always frustratingly difficult to snare.
  The end of the shift came without any trouble, and the two girls each headed out into the food
court among the other finishing employees. Only Jacob had stayed inside to finish up some
paperwork as per usual, and likely wouldn't be out for another half hour.
  Jenn took a seat near the mall entrance and took out her phone. Therese watched from her own
seat nearby and raised an eyebrow. She'd picked up on many of Jenn's habits, and the gentle sway
of the squirrel's tail was a sure indicator of nervousness.
  The cat smiled as Jenn looked up towards her. 'Is something wrong, Jenn?'
  'Oh...' Jenn replied. 'My bus has been delayed and I don't have another ride before...' She trailed
off upon realizing that Therese was well aware of what it meant. 'I guess I need to organize a lift
home from a friend.'
  'You could stay at my place.' Therese offered jokingly. She slipped out of her seat and started
walking over to where Jenn was sitting. 'Or do you prefer to keep our relationship strictly
professional?'
  'You wanna play your game again do you?' Jenn smiled back. 'I don't have anything else to do.
Fine then, have at it.'
  'You don't have your usual plucky attitude today.' Therese observed. 'Something wrong?'
  Jenn looked up into Therese's cocky stare and narrowed her eyes. 'I really hoped you might have
learned something. It's been months now and you can't move past the fact that I'm...' She sighed
and trailed off.
  'Prey? Food?' Therese finished for her. 'Does that upset you? Really? Did you expect something
different from me?'
  'I guess not.' Jenn smirked. 'So what's your plan? You just gonna gloat for the next half hour?'
  Therese continued to smile and took a seat across from Jenn. It reminded her of the first time the
two had met, when it had been Jenn taking an unwelcome seat across from her. With the roles
reversed, the cat was enjoying the squirrel's company considerably more. 'Gloat? I was thinking of
something more than that.'
  'You're... serious aren't you?' Jenn began to fidget nervously. 'It won't be as easy as you think. I
hope you know that I'll do everything I can to make it hard for you.'
  'I... Therese paused thoughtfully. 'I guess we could make this interesting. If you really are going to
miss your bus I could offer you a ride when my boyfriend turns up. He's one of these soft types and if
you're really lucky he'll talk me out of it. If you're not, then nothing changes.'
  'So... what if I say no to this?' Jenn raised an eyebrow.
  'Then I'll text him right now and tell him to wait half an hour.' The cat shrugged. 'That should be
more than enough time.'
  'So you would drive me home, and I just need to survive the car ride?' Jenn pressed.
  'Unless you're feeling really adventurous, then you can stay at our place.' Therese giggled.
'Mikaela and my brother are staying as well, so you'll have lots of company.'
  'Mikaela, she's...'
  'My friend.' Therese answered. 'The ginger cat you've seen a few times.'
  'She's nice.' Jenn nodded. 'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.' The corner of the squirrel's lip
curled slightly, and her voice began to carry a little of her more typical bravado. 'When does your
ride turn up?'
 
  'I think I was wrong.' Jenn said, eyes wide as Ben rounded the corner. His tyres screeched lightly
before he began revving the engine again and once more picking up speed. Therese was in the
passenger seat, clutching Jenn to her chest and nibbling her ear. 'This doesn't feel safe at all! I want
a seat belt!'
  'I've got the seat belt and I've got you.' Therese retorted. 'Stop panicking. You'll be fine. Until we
get home.' She clutched Jenn tightly and closed her teeth over the squirrel's ear again.
  'Stop that!' Jenn squirmed. 'Ben?!'
  'Yes Jenn?' Ben smirked. He kept his eyes forward, not noticing that Therese had wrapped her
hand over Jenn's mouth. 'Cat got your tongue?'
  Therese let out a small giggle. 'You know it's funny, since we're past 8pm, you technically have no
legal protection. If Ben wasn't such a reckless driver, I'd probably already be trying to get you down.'
  'We haven't died yet.' Ben retorted. Their destination was just up ahead on their left, prompting
him to tap the brakes before rounding into the driveway and coming to an abrupt stop. 'Handled like
a boss.'
  'Time to play, squirrel.' Therese grinned, unclipping the seatbelt and stepping out of the car with
Jenn held close under one arm. Jenn stopped struggling when she realized where they were. This
district of the city was the residential zone for citizens sized around cats and lynxes, and if she tried
to make a run for it here she wasn't likely to get far. As insane as it sounded, she was better off
taking her chances with Therese. For the moment.
  The house was a double storey brick with generously sized windows. Ben was at the front door
before the distracted Therese, still fixated on her prey. He left the door open and Therese pulled it
shut once they were inside.
  To Jenn's surprise, Therese let her drop to the floor once the door was shut. She thought better
than to try running at this point. From what she knew, this was actually Therese' brother's house,
meaning there was another cat here besides Therese and Ben. A living room with a large TV setup
was on the right, a hallway to the left and a short corridor leading to what she guessed was the
kitchen straight ahead. She hadn't seen which way Ben went.
  Footsteps drew the squirrel's attention from the kitchen, and a grey furred cat stepped into the
corridor wearing black pants and a green sleeveless top. 'Oh, you brought your own dinner.' He said,
his voice sounding almost sarcastic. 'And here I thought you were looking forward to my cooking.'
  'Crap...' Therese replied softly. 'That was... tonight. Clive I'm sorry I completely forgot.' She
nodded slowly as she remembered. 'Did Ben already sneak back out?'
  'No, he said he'd have enough time for a short shower when he brought you back.' Clive
answered.
  'It's just...' Therese trailed off as she tried to think of what to say. 'You know how long I've been
trying to get this one, right?'
  'Sure.' Clive nodded. 'Hi Jenn.'
  'Hi...' Jenn replied meekly. 'I don't suppose you could talk your sister out of eating me, could you?'
  'Hmm...' Clive shrugged slowly. 'Let's see how the night plays out.' When the sound of the shower
from upstairs stopped, his ears perked and he locked eyes with Therese.
  'I think I'll shower too.' The white cat said. 'Can I leave this with you?'
  'Leave her with Mikaela.' Clive shook his head. 'I'm busy.' He turned away and stepped back into
the kitchen, leaving Therese still clutching Jenn to herself.
  'Mikaela's nice, right?' Jenn asked nervously, trying to reassure as much as remind herself of the
few times she'd met the orange cat in the last few months. Though this would be the first time she'd
find herself at Mikaela's mercy.
  'Sure.' Therese replied, lifting Jenn with ease and carrying her through another doorway. 'I just
have to make her promise not to eat you herself. She snared a rabbit once. I still haven't had a prey
bigger than a mouse yet.' The room they'd entered was the living room she'd glimpsed on the way
in, with two sofas and an armchair she hadn't seen before.
  Jenn grunted as she was plopped onto the soft surface of the sofa, Therese hefting her small form
over the back and giggling as she was put down. When the surface beneath her rump began to
move, the squirrel understood why.
  'What the hell?' Mikaela's voice mumbled, sleep addled and soft as she protested her rest being
disturbed.
  'S-sorry!' Jenn stammered, afraid to move and risk annoying the cat further.
  'Hmm?' Mikaela opened her eyes further, taking notice now of both the squirrel that had been
dropped on her so unceremoniously and the grinning white cat that had done the deed. 'Oh, wow.
You finally did it huh?'
  'Yes.' Therese nodded. 'Can you do me a favour please? Can you babysit my dessert for a while?'
  Mikaela let out a long moaning sigh and rolled her eyes. 'Fiiine. Here.' She held out an arm,
prompting Therese to push Jenn into her friend's grip Mikaela pulled Jenn close, hugging her under
her chin like a teddy bear.
  'Hey...' Jenn protested, squirming uselessly against Mikaela's relaxed grip. 'You can't be serious
about this? Therese?' She squirmed just enough to turn her head and see the back of the sofa, but
Therese had already left.
  'So, how'd you finally screw up?' Mikaela asked. 'Therese has been stalking you for months,
waiting for you to slip up. What happened?'
  'My bus was cancelled.' Jenn replied sombrely. 'I couldn't organize anything else in time. And so
when the sun went down Therese decided to offer me her own generous hospitality.'
  'Aww, wasn't that nice of her.' Mikaela giggled. 'She's always so excited when she talks about
you. I can tell she's wanted to eat you for a really long time.'
  'Please let me go.' Jenn whispered suddenly. 'I thought I'd be more... together, when this time
came. I really thought I could face this bravely but I just can't, I... please...'
  'Shh.' Mikaela stopped her, resting a hand on top of Jenn's head. 'I've never known a prey that
was a coward. There's more to this than just dying.'
  'No, that's really all there is to it...' Jenn interrupted. 'Death, and pain.'
  'Silly squirrel.' Mikaela grinned. 'Getting out of this situation is easier than you'd expect. It isn't all
about outwitting Therese or sneaking away. You just give her what every cat wants.'
  'A... full belly?' Jenn smirked.
  Mikaela laughed. 'Oh you rodents. A full ego.'
  'A full ego?' Jenn repeated. 'Are you serious? How the hell am I supposed to do that?'
  'Convince her that she's already won.' Mikaela murmured, sitting up and lifting Jenn onto the
cushion beside her. 'Eating you is just a matter of superiority. She resents that she has to treat prey
as equals, during daylight at least. It just isn't her nature. She needs to feel that she's right.'
  'That doesn't make what you're saying any clearer.' Jenn confessed, trying to hide her fear but it
was soon obvious that Mikaela saw straight through her fa�ade.
  'Well you better figure it out.' Mikaela shrugged, before stretching her arms and yawning tiredly.
The squirrel did her best not to look, but could not tear her eyes away fast enough to avoid seeing
the cat's wide open mouth and those gleaming teeth. She had only heard a few stories about
Mikaela before, mostly that she was friendlier and more tolerant towards prey than her white furred
friend.
  But Jenn also knew that Mikaela was just as happy to play predator as any cat. And she had been
brought to this house under Therese's claim, so the ginger felid was in little position to help even if
she were so inclined. She was right, Jenn needed to figure this out and she needed to do it fast.
  Jenn listened to the shower coming from upstairs as Mikaela stood. Even though common cats
were the smallest of felid breeds, each of them stood twice as tall as a squirrel on average. And
while their most common prey was mice and rats, a determined enough cat could also manage to
stuff someone her size down their gullet. Her eyes wandered to Mikaela's belly as the cat turned to
face her. On the other side of that fur was the death of countless rodents, and would be for
countless more.
  'You look like you saw a ghost.' Mikaela laughed. 'Come into the kitchen with me. I wanna talk to
Clive.' Her hand took Jenn by the forearm and she pulled the squirrel along behind her. Once in the
kitchen, she lifted Jenn almost effortlessly and sat her on the edge of the counter.
  Clive glanced across from the stove and smirked. 'You're gonna wash that first, right? And then a
slow marinade?'
  Mikaela smirked back. 'Don't you think she's nervous enough already?'
  'Pff.' Clive shook his head. 'You and I both know exactly what's gonna happen. Ben's specialty.'
  'I don't think she'll be easily swayed this time.' Mikaela giggled.
  'Stop!' Jenn interjected, feeling more uneasy with every word of the conversation. 'What do you
mean, what's gonna happen? What's Ben's specialty?'
  'Ben's specialty is just a fun nickname we have for... well, you'll see.' Clive replied with a grin. 'But
I think for the time being, squirrel, I'd like to ask YOU a question...'
 
  Ten minutes passed, with Ben making his way out to his own job and Therese finishing her shower
not long after. As she entered the kitchen, fur bright white and fluffed, her eyes locked with Jenn
and a devilish smile crossed her lips.
  'Perfect timing.' Clive remarked, turning off the stove. 'Shall we eat?'