Therese was silent as Mikaela set four plates. She wondered if the ginger cat was unaware of Ben
heading out for his night shift, then raised an eyebrow as she gestured for Jenn to take the fourth
place.
  Jenn shuffled off the counter awkwardly, giving a glance towards Therese's silent stare before
looking back into the more encouraging eyes of Mikaela. 'T-thank you.'
  'May be your last night.' Mikaela shrugged. 'You might as well have a full belly yourself.'
  'Right.' The squirrel sighed. Why go out scared AND hungry...' She climbed into the chair Mikaela
had pointed to, having to stand on it in order to be able to use the table.
  'Oh, I get it.' Therese shot a glance to Clive. 'This was your idea, wasn't it?'
  'What could I possibly be trying?' Clive retorted, smirking as he lifted the first pan from the stove
and sat it down carefully on the tray in the centre of the table. 'This is my house, Therese. If I don't
want you doing something or eating someone, I'll damn well say so and you know it.'
  Therese was silent as Clive clicked a pair of tongs before carefully lifting a still sizzling steak from
the pan and set it down on Therese's plate. He stifled a small laugh before giving out the rest of
them, then proceeded to remove the now empty pan and replaced it with the pot full of vegetables.
He was less generous with these, knowing already that these were nobody's favourite part of the
meal. Finally, he lifted the last pot and retrieved a gravy ladle.
  Mikaela let out a small giggle of anticipation as he stirred the pot's contents. 'This is the moment
of truth, huh?' She looked to him.
  'Yes.' Clive nodded, letting the grin cross his face again. 'Tonight I prove that I am capable of being
a better cook than Ben.' He lifted the ladle and one by one dripped almost a full cup onto each of
their plates, smothering each of the steaks with a sauce that instantly filled the kitchen with a spicy
yet sweet aroma.
  'Why does that even matter?' Therese asked with a roll of her eyes. 'You're already better than
him at literally every other aspect of life.'
  'He just wants to prove that he can still look after you.' Mikaela said in a sweet voice. 'Just part of
being a brother. Do you have a brother, Jenn?'
  Jenn froze, almost dropping the knife and fork she had picked up, at suddenly being the centre of
attention again. 'Oh, um, yes.' She managed to say. 'I have a younger brother. Turns eleven later this
year.' Her eyes dropped back to the food, reminding all of them that they were hungry as well.
  'Don't keep me waiting.' Clive said, taking his seat. 'How is it?'
  The four of them began to make their first cuts, the cats having a much easier time of it than the
squirrel, with the cutlery being twice the size of what Jenn was used to. Even so, it didn't take her
much effort to keep up with them.
  Mikaela was the first to speak. 'This is amazing... Clive where did you even learn to cook like this?'
  Clive shrugged. 'Cooking is basically just following instructions.' He answered. 'I'm sure Ben would
spout some crap about art, but I think these results speak for themselves. And I'm sure we know I'm
a natural at following instructions.'
  'And giving them.' Therese added without thinking. She looked up at Clive slowly, realizing what
she had said. He stared back for a few seconds before a smile slowly crossed her lips. 'Well? Tell me
I'm wrong.' She challenged.
  'Damn civvies.' Clive rolled his eyes. 'How's the food, shorty?' He looked across the table to Jenn,
who had made surprisingly good progress through her meal despite her size.
  'Mikaela's right.' Jenn nodded. 'This is fantastic.'
  Therese eyed Jenn with a mix of curiosity and resentment. She watched the squirrel down
another mouthful of the steak before shooting a glance to Clive as she finished her own. She wanted
to ask him why he'd waste such good food on... well, more good food. Clive seemed to pick up on
her unasked question but chose to remain silent. If he was planning something, he was infuriatingly
nonchalant about it. But then, he had always known how to drive her mad when he wanted to. It
had always been his revenge when she used to beat him at board games.
  It didn't take the four of them long. Therese was unsurprisingly the first to finish, With Clive and
Mikaela cleaning their plates a minute after. Jenn was just finishing the last of her vegetables when
Clive stood, reaching for the empty plates to load them into the dishwasher.
  'So...' Clive began. 'Overall opinions on the sauce? Too much spice, too sweet, what did you
think?'
  'I thought it was perfect.' Mikaela replied. 'Not too much of either, and just enough of both. It
went with the steak fantastically, and even made the veggies better.'
  'Yea, she's right.' Therese added. 'I'll let Ben know the bar is a lot higher now. Did you save some
of that sauce for him to try?'
  'Of course.' Clive nodded, showing only a small smile at the praise he received. 'It's not like I'm
opposed to some constructive criticism. Or basking in someone else's jealousy.'
  There was a moment of silence, broken only by Jenn laughing at the cat's remarks. The sound
drew Therese's attention, prompting the white cat to stand and slowly walk around the table and
lean on the back of Jenn's chair.
  'So, rodent.' Therese began. 'In the mood for dessert?'
  'You mean... being dessert?' Jenn asked uneasily.
  'Oh!' Clive interrupted before Therese could respond. 'Actually, there is dessert. Who's got room?
There's enough for everyone.'
  'I think I'm gonna wait a little while.' Therese replied, resting her hands on Jenn's shoulders
heavily. Clive curled his lip and turned away before stepping out of the kitchen. While he was gone,
Mikaela turned and took a look at both of them.
  'You're committed.' She remarked. 'I'll give you that.'
  'You know me.' Therese grinned. 'This little squirrel isn't leaving this house, unless she's being
carried in my stomach.'
  'Even after hearing about her little brother?' Mikaela asked. 'You'd leave that poor kid without his
bigger sister? Their mother without her daughter?'
  Therese stared blankly before sighing. 'Uhh, you know who you're talking to right? That kind of
sympathy crap would work on someone else, but me? Come on. I'd just as soon eat her brother as
well.'
  'Point taken...' Mikaela shrugged. 'But-'
  'And besides!' Therese cut her off. 'You ate that poor rabbit lady a few months back. That was
someone's mother. Did you know she had seven kids?'
  'What?' Mikaela's eyes went wide. 'How do you know that?'
  'Ben looked into it. A few nights after.' Therese shrugged. 'So don't think you can hold some
moral high ground over me.'
  Jenn winced as Therese squeezed her shoulders again, watching as Mikaela fell silent. The orange
cat's ears drooped slightly, as though she was now feeling guilt over what she had done. The
moment came to an end as Clive re-entered the kitchen and set a small container down on the table.
It had the unmistakable shape of one of the small tanks felids used to hold captive mice in, and like
them had a small cloth draped over all four sides.
  'This is dessert?' Jenn asked. 'Oh, is this the...?'
  'This is what we call the Ben's Specialty.' Clive nodded. 'Ben catches mice trying to scavenge food
from his work all the time. Not all rodents are open to Equality, see. Plenty of them still prefer to live
under their old dangerous lifestyle.'
  'How many are there?' Therese asked.
  'Four.' Clive replied. 'One each. These were... some former employees of the Eastern Sovereignty
Military.'
  'You mean...?' Mikaela raised an eyebrow.
  'Deserters, yes.' Clive nodded. 'They tried to sneak out when they learned they might be seeing
active duty. Fortunately, some other employees had more integrity.' He pulled the drape from the
container, revealing four mice huddled over with fearful expressions.
  'Who's in?' Therese asked. 'Mikaela? Bro? Jeeeenn?'
  'Of course.' Clive nodded.
  'Yes please.' Mikaela grinned.
  'Uh... sure.' Jenn nodded.
  'What?' Therese squeezed Jenn's shoulders in surprise. 'You, squirrel? You're gonna eat one of
those poor defenceless little mousies?'
  'Yes, okay?' Jenn replied impatiently. 'Can I have the grey one please?'
  The mouse Jenn had indicated twitched and turned around in fright. Her eyes met those of the
squirrel with a mix of terror and disbelief. She let out a shrill squeak of shock as Clive reached in and
snared her by the tail.
  'W-wait!' The mouse girl pleaded before Clive tossed her to Jenn. The squirrel caught her with
deft hands and held her tight. 'P-please! Don't do this to me!'
  'Shh.' Jenn replied, running a finger through the mouse woman's hair. 'I don't wanna hear this
right now. Just...' She trailed off, there was no point in trying to explain or justify this. Her mouth
opened slowly as she brought her whimpering prey close. The cats watched in intrigue as the
squirrel pressed the mouse onto her tongue. One last cry of fear was silenced as Jenn pulled her
tongue and the mouse back into her mouth.
  'Wow...' Therese remarked, sounding genuinely impressed. She stepped around beside Jenn to
get a better look, before sliding back into her chair. As Jenn slurped the mouse's tail into her mouth
and began to swish the unfortunate rodent across her tongue, Therese leaned forward slightly in
intrigue.
  Clive and Mikaela snared a mouse each from the container, leaving only one remaining alone and
shaking inside. Even as they slipped their squirming prey into their own mouths, the sight of Jenn
doing the same was too enthralling for either of them to look away.
  Jenn tried to ignore them and focus on keeping her own mouse inside her mouth, but her smaller
size meant the mouse had far less room to fit and as such keeping the squirming rodent past her lips
was proving difficult. She could hear muffled words, but the tight confines of her jaws were making
it almost impossible for anything clear to be said.
  She was trying her hardest not to chew. Although she was being truthful when she said she was
no herbivore, the taste of blood was something she found no appeal in, so if she were to go through
with this it meant the unfortunate mouse would either suffocate in her mouth or stomach. Or worse
yet, succumb to her digestive acids. Jenn tried to put the thought from her mind as she slowly but
firmly worked the mouse to the back of her mouth and swallowed.
  She felt a tiny hand try to grip one of her rear molars and swallowed again. This time there was no
delaying and she felt the large squirming bulge travel almost painfully down her throat. She sighed
heavily before taking another deep breath. It had been harder than she'd expected. She could still
feel the squirming mass travelling through her chest for a few more slow seconds before feeling the
extra pressure in her belly. She had already been full, but at least with a full belly the mouse
wouldn't be squirming for much longer.
  'Impressive.' Therese smiled. Didn't think you had it in you.'
  'Well, it's in her now.' Mikaela added. 'Look at that little belly stretch.' Her remarks got a laugh
out of all three cats and caused Jenn's skin to turn red even through her light brown fur.
  'Yea.' Therese purred. 'And lucky for her, my belly is a little more full than I expected too. Hear
that Jenn? You won't be my dessert for the night.'
  'Wow, really?' Mikaela almost laughed. 'You seemed so determined. Does this mean I can have
her?'
  'What?' Jenn protested. 'But, I thought Therese was the only one who wanted-'
  'No!' Therese cut her off, answering Mikaela's question. 'Little Miss Prey Rights here has been
making her case ever since she started working at Donny's. Well tomorrow everyone is gonna know
how much that means.'
  'Oh.' Jenn sighed. 'I almost thought I earned your respect for a second there.'
  Therese simply laughed. 'No, you're still just one step above a mouse to me. But at least you get
to spend the night in my warm bed instead of my warm stomach.'
  Clive smirked. 'Hooray for small victories.'
  'Wait...' Jenn looked up at Therese slowly. 'In... your bed?'
  'Oh yes.' Therese nodded. She reached over and picked up the mouse container, shooting an evil
grin to the last occupant before lifting Jenn by her shirt. 'And I think it's just about bed time.'