

Held In Captivity
by Alex Reynard


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY ONE


	*   *   *


Daniel thought that school fund raisers were probably the dumbest idea in the entire history of the universe.

For almost two hours now he'd been trudging up and down dozens of nearly identical suburban streets, schlepping along his bag of stupid, stupid coupon books. Maybe if they'd set him up with some chocolates or sausage baskets he might have had a chance. But nobody wanted these stupid coupon books!

It wasn't really the other peoples' fault for not buying them, he understood. These things were just crap. The cover said you could save over three hundred dollars. Dozens of family friendly fun locations! All for just ten measly bucks! What a rip. Aside from the fact that the 'family friendly fun places' inside were mostly places he'd never even heard of, you'd have to use every single coupon in the book within a year to save three hundred bucks, and then, obviously, you'd be spending a hell of a lot more money than you'd saved.

He checked his watch. Yes, *over* two hours now. Innumerable houses. Innumerable angry glares. Innumerable slammed doors.

He'd sold one.

ONE!!!

The thoroughly pooped young mouseboy collapsed beneath the closest shade tree and took a breather. If the homeowner came out and told him to get off their property, Danny was pretty sure he'd just give 'em the finger. His feet hurt so much he wished someone'd come by and lop them off with a machete.

Daniel curled up in a small ball, head resting on his folded arms, and felt his body pulse with exhaustion. He was still just a boy, but his eyes held a surprisingly fierce glint, as if he was forever frustrated with everything around him. His young body was trim and firm. Athletic. He ran and rode his bike a lot, but he didn't care for sports.

Beads of sweat rolled lazily down his golden-tinged chestnut fur. He was proud of his fur. In the right light, he gleamed like a bronze statue.

After a long period of doing nothing more than letting his thoughts wander, the young mouse checked his watch. He was surprised to discover he'd been daydreaming for nearly eight minutes. He quickly hoisted himself to his feet. They screamed in protest, but he knew he had to at least finish this section of the neighborhood before he headed home. Otherwise his dad would...

"Screw him," Daniel mumbled, low and hurt. "He's not out here baking in the sun and wishing for some liquid nitrogen to stick his feet in."

Of course, the funny part, the real kicker, the total punchline was that Dad wouldn't even buy one of these stupid, stupid, STUPID books himself. That was what parents were supposed to do, right? Buy all the useless crap their kids had to hawk for school fund raisers?

Daniel tossed off a groaning laugh and continued on. Only seven more blocks to go and he'd be done.


	*   *   *


Twenty or so rejections later, Daniel found himself on a front porch that seemed perfectly ordinary. Seemed. At first.

He was almost ready to give up and just start walking home now. It was unusually hot for May. The sun beat down on him like a dungeon master with a bullwhip. His back felt like it was so past sunburnt he could probably just peel the whole damn thing right off and turn it into a fur coat. And the people seemed to be getting ruder too. A few houses back, one little old lady had slammed the door right in his face before he'd even gotten two words out. Old bitch.

"Four blocks to go... Four blocks to go..." He'd been chanting under his breath all along, counting down the blocks like an especially grueling variant of '99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall'.

Now here he was on this latest furson's porch. He was about two seconds from ringing the bell when suddenly his instincts made his neckfur get all prickly. Something was wrong here... What, though?

He looked all around, trying to figure out why this house, out of all the other cookie-cutter ones he'd already been to today, was giving off a danger smell.

There was no mailbox. That was it.

No mailbox, no family nameplate, nothing in the windows. There wasn't even any house numbers! What the hell!?

Daniel backed up a few steps. This was starting to feel really, really weird. How could a house not have any house numbers? How would they get any mail? Or get pizza delivered?

His nerves were hissing at him to just keep on walking to the next house. Skip this one. No one'd ever know.

But Dad would know, that was the thing. He'd made Daniel promise to knock on every single door. If he didn't do this, if he skipped even one door, Dad would know. He'd take one look at Danny when he came home and just _know_, like he always did. Like some damn psychic radar. Dammit, why did he always have to be right about everything?

The boy let his anger at his father blunt his sense of uneasiness. He reached out and rang the doorbell.

No reply.

'Okay, outta here,' he thought. He'd tried. No one home. Too bad. Feet; move it you little bastards.

But then he heard footsteps approaching, and the door opened.

Daniel was halfway turned around, so he first saw the russet fur in his peripheral vision. When his head turned all the way, his jaw dropped. He went silent as a corpse.

A vixen was standing in the doorway, smiling.

Smiling at him, as if she'd been expecting him and he was right on time.

Unimaginable fear pulsated in his wide hazel eyes.

"There you are! My goodness, you're a cute one! Well, come on in. No sense wasting time!"

Her voice was chipper and cheery, as if there wasn't anything at all out of the ordinary about a predator living right smack dab in the middle of a prey-only neighborhood. She reached out and took Daniel by the arm. Her grip was gentle, but inexorable.

His fright making him light as a feather, the green-eyed fox pulled him inside.

Daniel barely heard the door shut behind him over the beating of his heart.


	*   *   *


'This can't be happening this can't be happening this can't be happening...'

Daniel's mind was whirring in panic as the vixen led him along through a livingroom straight out of some home and garden magazine. She steered him towards a long leather sofa and plopped him down at one end. She sat at the opposite end and reclined, leaning away from him but keeping her jade gaze locked onto him the whole time.

Neither of them spoke a word.

Daniel couldn't imagine what he could possibly say to her, even if his throat hadn't been locked up tight. This situation was simply impossible. There shouldn't have been any predators living within a hundred miles of here. They should have all been out beyond the Fence, where they belonged. There hadn't even been a sighting in two weeks. And that one had been way the hell over on the other side of town.

It was called a 'prey-only' zone for a _reason_. Prey. Only. How simple can you get? If a predator trespassed onto prey land, the police would kick their bloodthirsty asses out immediately. They even had the right to shoot them dead on sight if they resisted. Predators murdered prey furs and ate them. It was perfectly understandable why preys would prefer that predators live somewhere else, far, far away. Some were even in favor of wiping out every last one of them altogether.

The simple fact was, Daniel thought he'd go his whole life without ever laying eyes on a real, living predator fur. And now one was sitting not two feet away from him. He was certain she'd pounce on him in a second if he so much as moved the wrong toe. She'd probably go for the neck first. His first grade teacher had taught him that.

'Shit. Stop it. Focus on the now. You are in this situation, and you are going to have to get yourself out of it or else you will be killed and eaten.' A shudder ripped through his whole body. Killed and Eaten. That was what was going to happen to him if he couldn't find a way to outsmart whoever this was and get away!

The fox chuckled softly.

"You're not going to escape," she said with a smile. Not a cruel smile, just an amused one. She'd said it as if it were a completely foregone conclusion.

Damn, could she read minds too? Daniel opened his mouth to speak, hoping maybe he could either talk his way out of this or distract her, but nothing was coming out except his own hot breath.

"My name is Melissa Evergreen," said the vixen. "What's yours, little boy?"

"...D-Daniel." It was out of his mouth before he'd even realized it.

"Daniel..." she said with a warm smile, as if the name were music. "What a handsome young mouse you are."

Her voice was actually quite friendly. Soft and silvery. He didn't know whether that should make him less afraid, or more. "Thanks," he murmured, thinking he ought to say *something* back.

She shifted on the couch, and looked a little worried when he flinched. "Please. Calm down. Relax."

"Are you going to hurt me?" Daniel asked, looking her straight in the eyes as bravely as he could.

She seemed shocked. "Of course not!"

'Whew!' Well, that was a reli-

"I'm only going to eat you."

'Oh shit!' "What do you mean _only_!?" he burst out.

His reaction made her giggle silently. "Just that. I'm going to cook you and eat you. If you'll cooperate, there won't be any pain at all."

He sat straight up on the couch. Part of him could not believe he was having this conversation. "You're saying you want me to just give up and let you kill me!?"

She cocked her head to the side, playing at being puzzled. "Yes. Precisely. Haven't I made that clear already?"

Daniel just stared at her. He could hear his rapid breath pounding in his ears. He had to get the hell out of this place. Find some help. Someone, Anyone! "I'm not going to let you kill me."

"Oh yes you are," she shot back pleasantly, like a schoolteacher dealing patiently with a rowdy student.

"I am not!!"

"Well, you'll only be making yourself frustrated and unhappy if you do. It'll be so much better for both of us if you'll just calm down and let me explain what's going to happen here."

The young mouse stared at her a second more, astounded by the sheer conviction in her crisp voice. He sat back down and crossed his arms defiantly. "Okay then. Explain." Yes, get her talking. The hero always gets the villain ranting about something and then uses the time to think of a way to escape.

"It's simple, really," said the vixen. "You're going to stay here for a week or so while I fatten you up, and then you're going to be my dinner."

Well, _that_ didn't work.

She got up swiftly, going from a relaxed incline to ready on her feet in the blink of an eye. "Now, before you start thinking about how you're going to make like some movie character and escape, I'm going to show you to your room. Everything's all set up for you. I'd recommend against trashing the place out of sheer rebellion, since it's where you're going to be staying for quite some time, and I'm not replacing anything you destroy."

With that, she shot out a lightning-fast paw and caught his arm. "Up, please," she gently coaxed.

Daniel gulped and stood up. She was looking at him like she knew every single thought in his head. He started to feel dread setting in. He began to realize that he might really be screwed. That he really might not be able to think his way out of this.

The paw on his arm was gentle for now, but somehow he knew it was strong enough to snap his wrist in a split-second. The vixen was giving off an air of total dominance. The only thing he could do now was just play along and hope for a lucky break to pop up.

The boy was led up a short staircase to a balcony that encircled the livingroom. He could see the whole house from here and, even though he was terrified, he had to admit this was a nice looking place.

The vixen, Melissa, unlocked a featureless brown door and opened it slightly. She bent down to look directly into her captive's eyes.

"Please don't try to resist me. I might have to hurt you, and that's the last thing I want to do."

With that, she gave him a small push into the room and shut the door behind him.

Daniel just stared at nothing, completely perplexed by her words. It had seemed like a threat. But she'd sounded so sad when she said it, as if she really meant it about not wanting to hurt him.

Daniel closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then turned around to get a look at his new prison cell.


	*   *   *


He blinked.

This was *nice*.

A perfect little bedroom for any young boy. There was a big soft bed, a full bookshelf, a decent-sized toybox, a desk and a set of dresser drawers. White carpeting and wood paneled walls. It looked like something out of a picture book illustration.

For half a second, Daniel almost considered sticking around a bit to check this place out.

But what was sitting on the bed drove that thought straight out of his mind. It was a whole unopened package of cookies. Set out just for him. The obvious message was that he should eat them all up so he'd get good and fat for cooking.

Daniel gulped. He shut his eyes tight and tried to concentrate. In less than ten minutes, he'd gone from worrying about how much his feet hurt to finding himself in mortal peril.

His feet still hurt though, so he sat down on the bed. He shoved the cookies out of the way disgustedly.

Silently, he put his head in his hands and wondered what in the hell he was going to do.

The afternoon sunlight was falling across him like a soft paw running its fingers through his hair.

The window!

He was up like a shot. There was a little square window a few feet from the ceiling. Certainly worth investigating.

Daniel put his shoulder to the dresser, which was nearly as tall as he was, and shoved. Gritting his teeth and growling, he slammed into it again and again until it was finally underneath the window. Nimbly he scrambled up and scrutinized this possible shot at freedom.

Only it wasn't really a shot at freedom after all. The tiny window was not only locked, but painted shut. And the glass was set in thick little square panes that'd be impossible to break unless he had a cannonball to hurl through them.

He didn't even bother trying to heave it open. He was already exhausted, and he was sure he'd need his strength more later on. He let out a soft, sharp expletive under his breath.

Then his eye caught a small flash of yellow. A tiny note, stuck in a crack beside the windowpane. He felt a shiver streak up his spine. Was this a message from some other little kid the monster downstairs had caught and eaten? Was it a warning? Or maybe even, he dared to hope, a hint at escape?

He unfurled it and read:


	"Don't bother, it's sealed up tight. Now please come down before you fall and hurt yourself."
	-Melissa


Daniel stared at it in total disbelief. He felt his chest heaving.

"FUCK!!!"

He ripped the note to shreds. He leapt down off the dresser and gave it a good hard kick, sending the pain in his foot streaking up his leg like an armada of icepicks. He screamed the most vicious, disgusting swear words he knew at the top of his lungs.

He looked around for something to destroy. Then he remembered what she'd said about that. He was frustrated beyond belief, but not so far gone that he couldn't admit to himself that she had a point. If he trashed the room, he'd have to clean it up himself eventually. Why bother?

Instead, he jumped back on the bed. He kicked the box of cookies over the side and heard them crinkle-smash on the floor. There were several smiling stuffed animals sitting there by the pillows, and Daniel picked them up and hurled them one by one as hard as he could into the wall. He started punching the pillows, slamming his young fists into them with all the strength in his arms.

His anger broiled and burnt and screamed and shredded at him. He could feel it in his blood like a swarm of insects. He could feel it in his tight throat. He could see it in the dark spots creeping at the edges of his vision.

He clutched his face in his paws. "Stop, stop, stop!!" he screamed at himself.

He didn't know if 6th graders could give themselves heart attacks, but he didn't want to find out either. He forced himself to stop moving, felt every muscle in his body pulse with hot energy. He gradually slowed his breathing down, and felt his heartbeat follow.

He laid down on the bed on his back, staring up at the featureless white ceiling, not even caring that he still had his shoes on. He had to calm down, and he had to think. He wasn't going to save himself by abusing pillows and plushies. He had to think.

The young mouse felt his exhaustion and pain and the spring heat like living things. Felt them ripple over his slender body and make his fur tingle unpleasantly. He hadn't realized just how much his whole body ached from all that walking.

Before he even realized it, he was dead asleep.


	*   *   *


He awoke suddenly, out of a dream he forgot the second his eyes opened. But the sweat covering him was not all from the sun's heat, so he knew it must have been another bad one.

Probably about Mom and Dad again...

He looked up and saw the red glow of the sunset, then realized not only where he was, but that he'd stupidly let himself fall asleep in the one place where he should have been on his highest alert. He gnashed his teeth and felt like punching himself. "You fuckin' dumbass!"

He sat up and looked at his watch. He'd been out of it only two hours. It had felt much longer though. That sleepy fog was still clinging to the inside of his head, making it seem like he'd been dreaming for days.

He stood up, and then another problem presented itself. He had to piss like a racehorse.

Daniel looked around again. No door to an adjoining bathroom. The only door in the room led to the hallway, and it was undoubtedly locked. Crap. His bladder seemed to be about the size of a basketball. What the hell was he going to do?

The pressure in his crotch kept building, making it even harder to think. If he didn't come up with something quick, he'd be finding himself with soaked shorts and a big wet stain on the carpet.

He glanced over by the desk. There was a little powder blue plastic wastebasket sitting there.

He grimaced. "Oh _hell_ no..."

But what alternative did he have?

Feeling absolutely sickened, he pulled out the wastebasket and pulled down his shorts and underpants. He held his dick in his paw, disgusted with himself, and let go. He had to let it out in a tight trickle to minimize backsplatter. Altogether, it was one of the most humiliating experiences he could remember.

Afterwards, he got zipped up again and tucked the wastebasket away in the closet and shut the door. He went back to the bed and sat down. He tried to reason some of the self-disgust away by reminding himself that this was a hell of a lot better than wetting himself like a baby.

Despite the fact that the room was full of toys and books and activities, Daniel had no idea at all what to do now. Without really making a conscious choice, he'd decided to ignore all the playthings here out of sheer spite. This was not a bedroom, and he was not taking a vacation. He was a prisoner. And despite its appearance, this was nothing more than a cell. No: a cage. A cage where he would be kept until he was killed.

He wondered what his father was doing right now. Probably sitting in his chair, fuming to himself that his idiot kid wasn't home yet. It'd probably take him days to realize Daniel was missing. And Vince might not even realize it at all; he hardly ever came home anymore. He'd gone all asshole-y since he'd started high school. Apparently it wasn't cool to acknowledge you had a family. Unless you wanted some money, of course.

The young mouse felt a sudden sharp sadness pierce his heart as he realized he probably wouldn't be missed much at all if the fox downstairs really did kill him. His father acted like he was a nuisance. He hadn't been best buddies with Vince since second grade. Mom hadn't called or even sent a christmas card since the divorce. And he barely had any friends at school. Hell, everyone pretty much hated him there.

No one was going to care if he turned up missing. No one. No One.

Nobody cared about him.

Daniel drew himself up into a small ball of fur and hugged himself. He realized that he barely cared about himself either. Whenever he did anything wrong, he'd always curse himself out. Sometimes he even hit himself. Some of that was obviously taken from his Dad's attitude towards him. But at times, he thought he really did hate himself. And he didn't know why either.

He thought, 'Maybe it'd be best for everyone if I did just give up and let her kill me...'

He clenched his eyelids shut to stave off tears. No. He wouldn't. He wouldn't let himself think like that. He had to get out of here. Maybe this was just what he needed. To make himself realize that if nobody gave a shit about him, then it was his own fault, and it was up to him to change that. He'd do more, be more, make people notice him, make Dad finally be proud of him. But first he had to get away.

Just as he was about to start considering options again, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The fox. She was coming to kill him, he assumed with a panicky shudder.

No. She was probably just bringing him some food, he told himself. To fatten him up. It was dinnertime after all.

Well, screw that. He'd starve himself. She wouldn't want to eat a pile of skin and bones, right? She couldn't force him to eat, could she?

The door opened, and the vixen entered with a smile. "How are you..." She stopped. Then she looked a bit confused and sniffed at the air. "Oh my goodness, did you pee in here?"

His cheeks got hot. "Yes," he said angrily. "It's not like I had a choice."

To his utter surprise, she rushed to him, looking incredibly concerned, and wrapped him up in a soft hug before he even had time to react. "I'm so sorry!"

Wait, had she actually just said that?

"I'm sorry, Daniel, I'm sorry! There's a bathroom right down the hall you could have used. The door wasn't locked! Why didn't...? Oh, of course. I didn't tell you, and you just naturally assumed..." She kissed him tenderly on his forehead. "I'm so sorry, Daniel. I hope you can forgive me."

Almost paralyzed by confusion, Daniel felt tears come to his eyes. What the hell was going on? Why was she acting so nice all of a sudden? She wanted to *kill* him! What the hell was going on?

"Where did you 'go', sweetheart?" she asked softly.

He wanted to push her away, wanted to swear at her and grab the bucket of piss and hurl it in her face. But to his own surprise, he said softly, "In the wastebasket. It's in the closet."

"That was very clever of you," she said with an approving smile, not angry with him at all. "I'm sorry, again. Look, I've almost got dinner ready. That was why I came up. Why don't you go downstairs and I'll get your mess cleaned up, okay?"

Her voice was so soft and caring, even motherly. Motherly? Daniel was completely confused. Weren't predators supposed to be bloodthirsty and cruel and heartless, like he'd seen on TV?

He nodded. Just go along with it, he told himself. Get downstairs and maybe you can find a way out. This is the lucky break you've been waiting for, right?

Melissa stood up and patted him softly on the back. "I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs. There's salad, too."

Without saying a word, but staring as if he'd forgotten how to blink, Daniel got up and backed slowly out of the room. He ran downstairs as fast as he could.

Melissa let out a sad sigh. She'd planned this out to every detail, but it still hadn't prepared her for the fact that he was a real live boy, with real thoughts and feelings, and he might not want to go along with this at all.

All she could do was trust in her beliefs.

She went to the closet to get the wastebasket, then carried it at arms' length to the bathroom.


	*   *   *


Once downstairs, Daniel looked around in every direction, nerves tingling, on total red alert. There _had_ to be a way out of here.

He ran to the front door. The knob wouldn't even budge. There had to be a lock, but he couldn't see one. Just a featureless knob on a featureless door.

He ran to the kitchen. There was a window over the sink. It was half-open. "Alright!" He had to move quick while she was still scrubbing out his piss from the wastebasket. In hindsight, that had been one of the best ideas he'd ever had.

He flexed his fingers, then pushed up on the window. Nothing. He pushed harder, forcing every ounce of strength he could muster into his arms. He stepped into the sink, knocking over dirty dishes, to get more leverage. He braced himself against the stainless steel and pushed until he thought both of his eyes were going to pop out.

Damn. Nothing!

Okay, it was already half open. Maybe he could squeeze his way out. They'd said in school that nonev mice could jam their whole bodies through any hole big enough for their heads to pass through. He should be able to pull that off too, right? Daniel reached underneath the window's edge and fed his whole arm into the tight space between it and the mesh screen. He figured he could pop that out once he had enough of himself wedged in to push against it.

He forced his face in between the dusty sill and the hard wooden edge of the window. He'd gotten most of his face in, but he was stuck around his eye ridges. He pushed as hard as he could... The pain was incredible...

"You're going to give yourself a headache doing that."

Daniel extracted himself and swiveled around. Melissa was standing there in the doorway, looking partially worried and partially amused. She couldn't hide a tiny grin at the bizarre position she'd found him in.

The vixen walked over to the sink and picked the boy up as if he weighed no more than a plush. She set him down on the tile floor and put her hands on her hips, giving him a reproachful look.

Daniel had no idea what she was going to do to him now. He steeled himself for some outrageous punishment.

Instead, all he got was two small pats on the head. "I'm not angry with you, Danny. It's perfectly natural that you'd be scared and anxious and want to escape. But you have to understand; I also want to keep you here."

He almost felt a little ashamed. Almost.

"Let's go have some dinner, honey. We can talk about it while we eat, okay?"

He reluctantly nodded. He'd been caught fair and square. He'd tried his best, but now there was nothing to do but wait for another chance.

She pointed him in the direction of the dining room. He was surprised she didn't escort him there and maybe even strap him down in a chair, but apparently she was convinced that no matter what he tried he wouldn't be able to escape. Well, he'd prove her wrong. If it took a thousand tries, he'd prove her wrong. She didn't know how clever he was when he needed to be. She didn't know everything.

The dining room was actually quite pretty. A small, wooden maroon table was encircled by four white plastic chairs. Two places were already set, side-by-side rather than across from each other. The table looked out onto two wide glass doors that faced the backyard. By now the sun was down. Everything looked cool and blue. The grass ruffled silently in the spring breeze.

Daniel sat down and waited for Melissa to join him. He wasn't sure if he would eat anything or not. His stomach was grumbling. He hadn't had anything since breakfast.

"Would you like milk? Or I have some cola," she called out from the kitchen.

"Milk's fine, I guess," he replied. Damn, she was being so polite to him. She was making it kind of hard for him to hate her.

'Just remember, she wants to eat you. She wants to kill you and cut you up and turn you into a freakin' recipe. No matter how nice she acts, don't forget that.'

Melissa emerged a few seconds later, carrying a large serving bowl of spaghetti and another one of homemade sauce. "Ta da!"

It did smell good... Daniel caught himself licking his lips, then stopped himself. 'That could be _you_ in a few days!' he thought warningly.

She went back and returned with a gallon of milk and a basket of breadsticks. "You can pour yourself a glass. I still have to get the salad."

Daniel didn't touch the milk.

Melissa left and came back again with two brimming salad bowls and two bottles of dressing. "Would you like Italian or Blue Cheese?" she asked as she sat down.

He fixed a hard look at her. "I'm not going to eat any of this shit," he said firmly.

She recoiled as if slapped. The vixen turned slowly back to him with the most pitifully sad green-and-amber eyes he'd ever seen. "Why not?"

He couldn't believe her attitude. "Because you want to kill me! I'm supposed to be okay with that, just 'cause you're pretending to be nice to me!?"

Her expression was quiet. Sad, but not surprised. "I'm not pretending," she said softly.

Daniel didn't know what to say back. He didn't think she was lying about that. Mutely, he just stared at her for a bit.

This was the first time he'd really _looked_ at her. He had to admit, she was kinda pretty. Her fur was fluffy and colored like dark amber. Her hair was chocolate-brown and came down to the middle of her back. She was much more angled than a mouse, with all of her features seeming to suggest softened triangles. He hadn't expected a murderous pred to be so, well... *beautiful*.

She looked genuinely hurt by his words too, which he couldn't understand. It was as if she couldn't fathom why he wouldn't want to end up as a main course.

"Why do you want to eat me?" he asked, much softer this time. Maybe all he'd have to do was reason with her.

She looked back with a small, bittersweet smile. "Because you're a mouse, Daniel. And I'm a fox. That's just how it is. Foxes catch mice. It's what's supposed to happen. It's nature. It's how things are."

"But don't you care that I don't want to die?"

"Of course I do!" she assured immediately. "But that doesn't change who I am. I was hoping that, maybe, you would warm up to the idea eventually."

He snorted. "Are you kidding?"

He saw that she wasn't.

"But, but..."

She leaned a little closer, locking her eyes to his with a gentle, earnest gaze. "Daniel, the better question, the one you should be asking instead is: why don't you want to be eaten?"

That took him aback. He hadn't even considered that. And why should he? It was obvious! "Because it'll hurt and I'll never see my family again and they'll miss me and I'll be dead! Geeze!!"

She nodded understandingly. "Well, you're partially wrong. It won't hurt; I can assure you of that. I'd never cause you any pain if I didn't have to. I'd rather starve and let you go."

It would have been so easy to just laugh at that, but he could tell she really meant it. She wasn't trying to trick him, or manipulate him, or lie to him. She was telling the truth.

"And as for missing your family, that is true. There's no denying it. But unless my instincts are off by a mile, I sense that maybe your family wouldn't mind all that much if you suddenly disappeared. I apologize if I've insulted you."

But she hadn't. What she'd said was, unfortunately, probably true. Daniel had no idea how in the hell she knew that, but he couldn't deny she was right.

Melissa was exceptionally perceptive, and she saw all the answer she needed in his eyes. "Daniel, can I ask you a favor, please?"

"What?" he mumbled sullenly.

"For now, just consider the idea. Consider being my food. Give it a few days. If you finally decide that you absolutely will not, I'll respect that. I'll let you go. But I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for a very long time, and I'd appreciate it very much if you'd stay. I'll make it as pleasant for you as I can, Daniel. I promise."

Her soft, gentle voice was chipping away at his cracked, angry heart. It wasn't so much that he was actually willing to say yes to the idea, but that he was so unused to someone being so nice to him. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had talked to him in such a kind, tender, respectful voice.

She regarded him without words, seeing through his expression that he was indeed beginning to consider her proposal. "Well, you don't have to say anything now. It's a big decision, I understand. We can talk more about it later. Why don't we just have some dinner now, hmm?"

He looked up and was about to ask another question.

She laughed softly. "And no, there's not another cub in the sauce. I've never eaten anything but nonev prey before. I swear it on my family's honor. You would be my first."

He nodded, feeling somehow sure, just from how she'd said it, that she wouldn't play around with the honor of her family. It sounded like something she valued a lot. And that was, exactly, the question he'd been about to ask. How the heck did she *do* that?

Daniel stared down at his plate for a little bit, just thinking.

She waited patiently for a reply.

"Could you pass the milk, please?" he finally asked.

"Of course, sweetheart."


	*   *   *


The spaghetti was actually some of the best he'd ever tasted. Daniel went through a plate of it in a matter of minutes, not realizing until that moment just how ravenous he really was. He asked for seconds, but Melissa politely insisted he eat some of his salad first. Daniel chose the blue cheese dressing and obeyed.

Afterwards, he sat back in his chair and felt full. He hadn't felt this full in quite a while, actually. Or rather, he hadn't felt full *like this* in quite a while. Dad sucked as a chef, so most of the time they just went out for greasy fast food; stuff that ended up sitting in his stomach and making him feel like he'd swallowed a lump of concrete. This was the first time he could remember feeling full of *good* food in a long time.

He thanked Melissa for the meal and told her she was a good cook. She gave him a very happy smile and a hug.

He had decided, just for now, that maybe he should be nice to her too. After all, she'd been being nice to him so far, and he did believe her when she said she'd let him go if he decided not to be her meal. All he'd have to do was just be polite and chill out for a few days, then tell her no and it'd be all over.

Daniel watched her as she cleaned off the table and did the dishes. It was so weird standing right next to a real live pred. She was nothing like what he'd been taught in school. She wasn't dumb and cruel. She didn't smell bad. She wasn't some uncivilized cave beast. She was just like any other prey furson he'd ever met. Totally normal.

When she was done cleaning up, Melissa told Daniel she was going to go watch some TV, and that he was welcome to come sit with her if he didn't want to go back to his room.

He tossed the idea around in his head a bit. His favorite cop show was on tonight. And it was supposed to be a new episode.

A few minutes later, the two of them were sitting on Melissa's big comfy leather couch, staring at the usual primetime lineup. Daniel got to see his program, and was surprised to find out it was one of her favorites too.

He didn't even notice for several minutes that she had her arm around him.

And when he did, he didn't ask her to remove it.


	*   *   *


At eleven, Daniel was yawning every few minutes or so, and all that was on were a bunch of dumb late-nite talk shows anyway. "Looks like some little mouse needs to go to bed," Melissa noted.

Daniel didn't argue. She was right. He was tired as hell and his nap earlier had done nothing but whet his appetite for more shuteye.

Melissa took him by the paw and led him upstairs. The lights were already off in the little bedroom. She saw no need to turn them on. Daniel was too tired to protest as she pulled off his shoes and socks for him, followed by his T-shirt and shorts, which she hung on the back of the small chair by his desk.

She picked the small mouse up and laid him down gently on the bed. She pulled a sheet up over him and tucked the blanket down by his feet. She didn't think he'd be needing it on a hot night like this.

Daniel got himself comfortable. The bed was pretty cozy, actually. And Melissa's paws were soft and gentle...

The vixen gave her young guest a kiss on top of his head. "Sweet dreams, Danny. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," the boy said quietly.

She padded silently to his door. "I love you," she whispered. She closed the door as quietly as she could, and went back downstairs.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY TWO


	*   *   *


The next morning, Daniel swam up through the hot tropical waters of his dreamworld and crested the surface of wakefulness. He took in a deep yawn. He felt great. He hadn't woke up this rested in a long time.

He looked around a bit, confused.

This wasn't his bedroom...

It hit him suddenly. He knew exactly where he was. Whose house this was. His whole body tensed up in an instant. 'Oh shit!'

What the hell had happened to him last night? Had she hypnotized him or something? It was all kinda fuzzy still. They'd been talking, and eating dinner, and then they were on the couch together, and she was *hugging* him! What the hell!? Did she put some kinda tranquilizer in his food?

Just hours before, he'd been willing to shatter his eye sockets to escape through a window gap he should have known he'd never be able to fit through. How had he gone from that, to letting her tuck him into bed last night?

The questions were rhetorical, but another part of him answered them anyway. 'Because she was being nice to you. And you know you don't get that every day. You just wanted to feel some more of it. That's not so bad. And besides, remember her deal?'

The deal. Yes. Right. She'd said if he really didn't want to die, she'd let him go in a few days so long as he considered the idea. Okay. That was doable.

'Considering... Do I wanna get ripped to bits and char-broiled?'

'Nope!'

'There. My obligation's done.'

"Daniel?" A muffled voice from the hallway.

Startled, the small mouse sat up straight, clutching the bedsheet in his paws.

The door opened an inch or so. "Danny? Are you awake?" Melissa poked her muzzle in and saw that he was. "Oh, good! Give me just a moment." She swiftly ducked back out into the hallway again.

Before he could even guess what that was about, she was back, carefully carrying a TV dinner tray in front of her. The kind with the little fold-down metal feet. "Good morning!" she exclaimed in a chipper, sunshiney voice.

Daniel blinked in incomprehension. She'd brought him breakfast in bed. It was _impossible_. "No one's ever brought me breakfast in bed before," he said aloud without realizing it.

"Well, I thought you might like it," she said. The smiling vixen sashayed over to sit on the edge of the bed. Daniel backed up into a sitting position and she delicately set the tray down on his lap.

It wasn't anything ridiculously impressive. No steak or lobster. Just some scrambled eggs, toast and juice. Daniel stared at the food, completely silent.

Melissa cocked her head, curious. "Is it okay? Do you like eggs? I have cereal instead if you want."

Daniel suddenly could not contain a hard, stinging sob.

She leaned closer. "What is it, honeypie?"

He resisted a sudden, violent impulse to just hurl the tray at her as hard as he could, send the food flying everywhere, watch the juice glass shatter all over the floor. "I KEEP TRYING TO HATE YOU AND YOU WON'T LET ME!!" he screamed savagely in her face.

Stunned, she backed straight off the bed and nearly lost her balance. She wanted to say something in reply, but had no idea what he'd even meant by that.

The small brown mouse hung his head, staring at the yellow mass of eggs on his plate through a fisheye bubble of tears. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Melissa padded a step closer. Cautiously. "What did you mean by that, Daniel?"

He sniffled. A tear landed on his toast. "I meant that I woke up today and I got all scared, remembering where I was, and I was thinking about trying to escape yesterday and how you want to kill me. But every time I try to get mad at you or scared of you, you do something nice and that just goes away and I think there's something wrong with me..."

The vixen closed her eyes and let out a tiny, bitter whimper. She kneeled by the mouseboy's bed and tentatively reached out to place her paw on his.

She was glad to feel his small paw close over hers.

"Daniel, there's nothing wrong with you. Nothing at all," she reassured quietly. "This is, I'm sure, probably the most confusing situation you've ever found yourself in. I can only imagine how your feelings must be divided right now. But whatever you choose to feel, about being here, about me, it's not wrong."

He nodded.

"You can hate me, if you want to," she said, realizing this may have been the first time this young boy had ever been given permission to feel his own emotions. She envisioned dozens of other adults, all shaking their fingers at him with stern looks, telling him NO; that his feelings and opinions weren't valid. "Or, you can be my friend if you want to."

He nodded.

"I don't like keeping you here against your will," she said sincerely. "But I think it's necessary to, at least for a little while, to give you the time you need to make a real decision without anyone else's notions of how you 'ought' to feel getting in the way. I want you to tell me what _you_ want. And whatever you decide will be okay with me. This is your decision, Daniel. Nobody else's. Not even mine."

She gave his paw a pat. "Okay?"

He looked to her and smiled softly. "Okay." He wiped his tears off on the fur of his arm. "Thanks for breakfast."

She smiled too. "You're welcome. When you're done, you can bring the tray downstairs and put it on the kitchen counter by the sink. I'll be in the den. I have some bills to pay. I'll leave the door open if you need anything."

"Alright," he squeaked.

"And there's some new clothes for you in the dresser. I had to guess at what size you wear, so I hope they fit."

Daniel nodded again. He tried a bit of his eggs. They needed a bit more pepper, but he didn't say anything.

Melissa stood up and patted him on the head. "Eat up, sweetie. As much as you like, or as little as you like. It's all up to you." She ruffled his hair, turned, and left the room, shutting the door silently behind her.

Daniel took a sip of juice and smiled a very small smile, almost as if he were hiding it. He felt something warm and delicate in his heart now, and he had no idea what it was. Only that it felt nice.

He took another bite of eggs and glanced to the side. For the first time, he noticed that she must have come in to check up on him during the night; she'd replaced all the stuffed animals on the bed beside him.


	*   *   *


After a very satisfying breakfast, Daniel padded down the stairs to the first floor. He was wearing a new red shirt and black shorts. They fit okay. A little baggy, but that was just fine when it got hot like this.

He still felt confused, but it came alongside a clarity he hadn't felt before, becoming an altogether strange and interesting sensation. He could remember times before, even yesterday, when he'd been in full-blown furious mode and he'd tried to force himself to think. It was like his brain was full of blood. No matter how hard he screamed and swore at himself to concentrate, that red electric mist over his eyes wouldn't let him.

Now he was calm and quiet, and thinking came a heck of a lot easier.

The young mouse took his breakfast dishes to the kitchen. He set them on the counter and was about to walk away.

Then he stopped, and went back. He put his dishes in the sink, rinsed them out and stacked them neatly to be washed. He even wiped down the tray with a dishrag laying nearby.

He stepped back and there was an odd little smile on his face. He'd just _decided_ to do that. Out of the blue. He _never_ did any more chores than he absolutely had to at home. He'd done this now, because, well, he wanted to.

To do something nice for Miss Evergreen.


	*   *   *


He found her in her den, like she'd said, bent over her desk and scribbling away at grownup-type papers. Forms and stamps and envelopes were spread all over the place. Unlike his dad, she didn't yell at him when he walked in. She didn't say she couldn't concentrate when he was in the room. That he was a distraction.

Instead, Daniel stood quietly beside the desk and they chatted a bit. Nothing too important or philosophical. Melissa asked him a lot of questions about school and home and what he liked to do for fun. What kind of books and movies did he like. What kind of foods did he like.

Daniel asked her many of the same questions as well. He was curious to know what predators were really like, and it surprised him again and again how much Melissa was just like any other prey furson he knew. Aside from her sharp little fox fangs, there was barely any difference at all.

Again the question came to him: how exactly could she be living here without anyone noticing? How could she keep her neighbors from spotting her and calling the cops? Did she just never leave the house? He guessed that was possible. You could do a heck of a lot of stuff through computers nowadays. You could work and buy groceries and watch movies online and get whatever you needed delivered right to your door.

But then she shattered that theory. "I have to go out for a little while this afternoon," she said as she riffled through a stack of envelopes like playing cards. "It's all boring, grownup stuff. I have to go by the post office and the bank, and I might stop to pick up something at the supermarket on the way home. Are you going to be okay here by yourself for a few hours?"

"Well, yeah," he said. "I'm almost twelve now."

She chuckled softly and patted his paw. "I know. I should have phrased that better. What I meant was, are you going to try to escape again?"

Daniel gulped and bit his lip. "Um..." Truth be told, he didn't really know.

She cast him a sympathetic glance. "It's alright if you still want to. Remember, it's your choice. But I made sure before you arrived that this house is pretty darn escape-proof. I just don't want you to hurt yourself, is all I'm saying."

He 'hmm'ed. He hadn't expected her to look at it from that angle.

"So, am I gonna come home to find smashed furniture everywhere and you hurling my bowling ball at the sliding doors?" she asked with a grin.

He giggled. "No."

"Okay then. I trust you."

He nodded, liking the sound of those words: 'I trust you'. "I'll find something to do while you're gone," he said.

"You can watch TV if you like. Or there's some videos in that big wooden cabinet under the VCR in there."

"Maybe," he said. But he wasn't quite in the mood for mindless entertainment just now.

Melissa got up and slipped her envelopes in her purse. She gave Daniel a playful swat with her big fluffy tail as she turned to leave, and they both laughed.

Daniel walked with her to the door. "I'll be home in a little while," she promised. "Be good, sweetie."

"I will."

She bent over to kiss him between his ears. "I know." She opened the front door and stepped out, locking it behind her.

Daniel went to go watch her from the window. As she bent over to unlock her car door (it was a rather nifty looking little yellow coupe, he saw), a neighbor waved to her from across the street. She waved back.

"Huh?"

Could that guy have possibly not seen that she was a fox? Was he blind?

Puzzled, Daniel watched as Melissa got in her car and drove off. The neighbor, a rabbit, went right back to watering his lawn.

There was no way. No way that the whole neighborhood could just accept her being here. Come on, this was suburbia! The land of normal! The very idea that a predator could just move in and settle down with no one losing their mind and calling the cops and trying to shoot her was nonsense.

So what the hell was really going on then?

Daniel didn't have any answers at the moment, and he suspected he wouldn't get any until Melissa got back from her errands and he could ask her.

In the meantime, he'd keep himself busy. He trotted up the stairs again, back to his room.

He looked all around the place. He bypassed the toybox and went over to the bookshelf to peruse the titles. Lotsa good stuff here. She'd probably gone up to the library and bought the whole darn young adult section at that last big annual book sale they'd had.

Daniel picked out one from a series of scary books the junior high kids were all going nuts over. Stories of masked nutballs going around hacking up cheerleaders. Sounded amusing.

The young mouse took the book with him and flopped back down on the bed again, laying across it upside down, his feet on the pillows. He kneaded the smooth material with his toes.

He opened the book, then closed it again. He'd had a thought.

He glanced over the side of the bed. The package of cookies was still there on the floor.

They looked crumbly, but still edible.

He picked the cookies up and tore a corner open. He popped one in his mouth and started reading.


	*   *   *


"I'm home!"

Melissa's clear, crisp, musical voice rang through the house as she stepped in through the front door. Daniel found himself smiling to hear it. She really did have a nice voice, he'd come to realize. He wondered if she ever sang in the shower.

The vixen nimbly ascended the steps and noticed the door to Daniel's room was wide open. She peeked in on him.

"Hi," he said, dog-earing the page he was on.

Right away she noticed the empty package of cookies beside him, and all the little brown crumbs in his fur. She grinned and rushed over to him, setting her groceries down on the floor beside the bed. She affectionately patted his head. "What a good boy!"

She was treating him a little like he was six, but he guessed he didn't mind. He laughed, finding the situation kinda weird. Most parents would go nuts if they found their kid had eaten a whole box of cookies while they were out. And had gotten crumbs in the covers to boot.

Melissa continued to skritch softly between the boy's large ears. "I guess you won't be wanting lunch then?" she asked with a grin.

"Nope," he confirmed, rolling over onto his side and rubbing his stomach. "I kinda lost track of everything but the book. And then there was nothing but crumbs in the bag."

She reached out to give his cute furry tummy a pat. "Well, I don't mind. Remember, if you're going to be my supper, I want you nice and roly-poly."

To his surprise, he laughed. That thought hadn't filled him suddenly with fear. Normally, joking about being eaten would not have been funny to him at all. But it was the way she'd said it. How her words had reinforced that it was his choice to make.

"So, whatcha reading?" she asked.

He flipped up the cover for her. "It's dumb, but kinda fun. I think I figured out who did it about a quarter of the way through, tho'."

"I used to read a lot of mystery novels when I was a little pup like you, but more detective-type stuff. Of course, the fun isn't guessing who did it, but in trying to figure out how and why. Oh, and by the way..." She acrobatically leaned almost straight back and pulled her grocery bag towards her. "I got you some more snacks."

He sat up inquisitively to see what she'd brought him.

Melissa extracted three more packages of cookies and two big bags of chips. "I hope you like these kind. I just guessed."

"No, these are good," he said. He smiled warmly at her. "Thanks."

She smiled back. "You're welcome, sweetie. I also got some more soda pop, but it's downstairs. You can keep these in here as long as you don't make a mess. I'll bring you some bowls and paper towels."

"Okay, I'll be careful," he promised. Dang, his Dad would _never_ have trusted him to keep snacks in his room!

"Well, I guess I'll let you get back to your book," Melissa said as she stood up.

"No, wait!" he said abruptly.

She paused. "Hmm?"

Daniel tried to figure out a way to phrase the question that had been bubbling and simmering on his mind's back burner ever since he'd seen her drive away. "Um... How come no one seems to mind you living here? This is sposto be a prey-only neighborhood. But I saw your neighbor wave at you like he didn't even realize you were a fox. And how did you go out shopping without the police coming after you?"

Ah. She knew he'd ask her that eventually. The vixen grinned at him as if she had the most delicious secret on her lips. "That, little one, is something you're just going to have to figure out on your own," she said in an amused purr.

Daniel arched an eyebrow at her. "Huh?"

"It's too good of a twist ending to spoil by just *telling* you," she cryptically explained. "Enjoy your book, Danny."

And with that, she padded silently out of his room.


	*   *   *


As it turned out, Daniel was right. The best friend was the killer. Although Melissa was right too; the motive and the method were the more surprising parts.

After shutting the book triumphantly and taking a peek at the back cover blurb again, Daniel glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw it was approaching dinnertime. Listening closely, he could hear cooking sounds emanating from the kitchen.

He put his book back on the shelf, resolving to stay here at least long enough to read the next one in the series, and then went bounding downstairs.

He could hear water boiling. Entering the kitchen, he saw Melissa was just getting started. "Hi," he said.

"Hi there, Daniel. I'm kinda tired tonight, so I'm just making macaroni and cheese. Is that okay?"

He grinned. "Mac 'n cheese is the greatest invention of the twentieth century."

She laughed out loud and couldn't resist coming over to give her young guest a nuzzle. "I forget how easy it is to please little boy's tummies."

"Do you ever put tuna in it? Or little cut up hotdogs?" he asked.

She 'hmm'ed. "Not usually. But that does sound like a good idea. There's some tuna down there in the cabinet under the dish drainer. If you don't mind giving me a hand, the can opener's right over there."

"No problem," he said, smiling. He went over to get the can and opener, and marvelled for a second at how he _never_ helped Dad cook at home. And yet now he'd wanted to help Melissa right off the bat. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that the pretty vixen had actually asked him nicely, whereas his father just screamed at him to do his chores. And sometimes hit him when he didn't do a good enough job.

'You catch more flies with honey, I guess,' he thought.

He paused abruptly. That was probably exactly what she was doing. Catching him with honey. Being so nice to him, he'd want to stay. Stay and be eaten.

And yet, even as he realized that his insight was probably true, he also realized he didn't mind that much. The young mouse found the tuna easily in the cupboard, then sat down at the short table and opened his can, his face set in a thoughtful expression.

So what if she was trying to catch him with kindness? At least her kindness was genuine. He could tell that. He thought he'd gotten pretty good over the years at sniffing out grownups who were all sugary on the outside and rotten dog food on the inside. Like his third grade teacher. She'd started out the year smiling like a nutcase and going on and on about how much she wanted to be pals with all of them. But, man, they all found out soon enough that if you broke one of her rules, she'd slap so many punishments on you your neck'd break. He remembered her looking him right in the eye one time and telling him in that syrupy-sweet voice of hers how he'd 'never amount to anything at all with an attitude like that'. Yeah, Daniel thought he had a pretty good radar for bullshit kindness.

There weren't any of those warning signals coming from Melissa though. Not a one. He could tell she just really liked being nice to him. Even if, at the same time, she also wanted to get him in her belly. He supposed he really couldn't be angry at her for that. She was his natural predator, after all. And what was a more considerate way of hunting than softly, respectfully asking one's prey if they'd mind being eaten?

"What're you thinking about?" Melissa asked lightly, having looked up from stirring the noodles and noticing his somber expression.

He snapped out of his little mindwalk to look up at her. "Um, nothin'. Just about you and me." He realized he'd been still twisting the knob on the can opener long after the lid had already popped free.

"Given any more thought to whether you'd like to stay the full week?"

No, actually. "Uh, yeah," he lied.

She caught the telltale tremor in his voice, but didn't say anything. It would be hard, letting him just walk out of here after a few more days. But if that was what he wanted, she had swore to herself that she must let him. The only thing she could do to change his mind was to show him every reason she could think of why he might like it even more if he stayed.

He got up and handed her the tuna can. "Here ya go."

She gently stroked along the edge of his left ear. "Thanks, sweetie. You're a good helper. Would you like to get the peas out of the freezer?"

He nodded, "Okay," and set off on his task.


	*   *   *


After dinner and a bit of TV watching, Daniel joined Melissa in her bedroom for a little before-bed reading. He'd brought another of those whodunit books from his room and was now about halfway through it. The two of them sat silently side by side on her bed on top of her sheets, close enough that their fur occasionally brushed against each other. Daniel kinda liked it. Her fur was very, very soft, and it shimmered when the light hit it. He could feel the warmth of her body just barely flitting about alongside his own.

The only sound in the room was the low drone of the window fan and the occasional flip of a page.

Daniel was just getting to the good part. The killer was about to be unmasked. He was sure it was the school nurse this time.

But then the author threw a curveball at him, and Daniel didn't like where it landed. The killer turned out to be a predator, a female bobcat, who had slipped past the Fence and used fur-dye and a disguise kit to walk around unnoticed. The predator managed to get away, evading capture by the fearless main character, and biting into her boyfriend's throat before she did so.

Daniel felt suddenly very, very disappointed with this author. He'd gone the easy route. There had been no clues to suggest that this was the twist (it was almost as bad as one of those 'it was all a dream' endings). And worse than that, the pred in this was a total caricature. A stereotype. All single-mindedly evil, like some bad kiddie cartoon villain.

And then, suddenly, he felt somewhat ashamed to realize that, less than a week ago, he would never have had such a strong, angry reaction to this very same story.

Daniel put the book down on his lap, not even bothering to keep his place.

"Melissa?"

She cocked her ear to him, finished the sentence she was on, put her thumb in the book and looked to him. "Yes, sweetie?"

"This guy's a jerk," he said, pointing at the author photo on the back cover.

"Oh," she said, not quite understanding the significance of that statement.

"Um..." Daniel tried to gather his thoughts, knowing what he wanted to ask but unsure how to ask it. "Does it ever, um... bother you when you see predators on TV, or in books and movies, and they treat them like they're just big and dumb and bloodthirsty? Like some kind of monster?"

She put her book aside as well. "Yes, Daniel. Yes it does. It hurts."

She sighed pensively. "But at the same time, I understand it. It's a justified fear in many ways. My kind kills your kind for food. And it seems like most of my kind can't see the other side of things either. It's like they go out of their way to live up to the worst stereotypes the prey can come up with. They're proud of their cruelty. They disgust me."

He was surprised to hear such strong words from her. "I'm glad you're not like that," he said softly.

Melissa put her arm around her young guest in a soft embrace. The little mouse's words meant a lot to her. "Thank you, Daniel. I try not to be. I've always tried not to be like that. I remember as a little girl in school, they taught us that prey were just mindless, screaming hunks of meat to be harvested. You had no souls, we were told, so it was perfectly alright for us to hunt you. And if we caused you pain, it was deserved for the way you treat us."

Daniel stared at her, shocked.

"All nothing but lies, of course. A way to justify more and more hatred. I'm sure you've been taught awful things about us as well."

Daniel nodded, a little shaken by the mental image of a predator saying such horrible things to little kids. And then he was remembering all the lessons on predators from his own teacher. Lessons he'd listened eagerly to. "Yeah. I... Well, it's too embarrassing to say."

She leaned over to kiss his forehead. "It's not your fault if you believed it, little one," she told him, displaying again her unerring intuition that seemed sometimes almost like clairvoyance. "Just as it wasn't my classmates' fault when they'd play 'slay the prey' at recess, or talk about how they couldn't wait until they were old enough to try a Fence-crossing on their own. The young are brainwashed to believe that the other side has no hearts, no feelings, no thoughts. 'They' aren't like us, so it's okay to kill 'them'. It is the story of every war that has ever been fought."

Daniel was silent, just trying to imagine little pred kids being indoctrinated to believe prey like him were nothing but walking slabs of meat. It saddened him more than horrified him. He thought, 'What if somewhere out there there's a kid who could be my best friend, but he can't because we're on different sides of the Fence?'

Melissa silently observed the introspective look in his eyes. She could tell he was just beginning to doubt all the lies he had been fed about the struggle between their two societies. And she was very proud of him for it.

Eventually, he looked back up at her. "So... are you here because of all this? Like a spy?" he asked hesitantly.

She sighed sadly. "You're a very clever little boy, Danny. I am. But not quite."

"How so?"

"Well, it's not the only reason I'm here, but there are things I'm doing here that will hopefully benefit friends of mine back on the predator side. Don't worry; I'm not scouting potential victims or anything like that. Actually, I belong to a small but growing group whose ultimate goal is to tear down every Fence in the world someday."

He chuckled grimly, doubting that'd ever happen in a billion years. But, he guessed, it couldn't hurt to hope. "So you're, like, a rebel?"

She nodded. "In a lot of ways, yes. Hardly anyone knows it, but there are more predators than you'd think living preyside, and even more prey living amongst us. There are special camps on our side, like retreats out in the woods - or, actually, like nudist colonies - where prey and preds live together. Side by side as friends. I've been to two of them so far. Memories from those places will warm my heart as long as I live."

"Wow. What a cool idea..." Daniel could just picture pred and prey families living together up in the mountains. Kids of all different species splashing in the lake together. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. The more he thought the idea didn't just make sense, but that it was the way things *should* be. That he'd much rather live in a place like that than in a world where everyone was trying to kill each other all the time.

Oh, he could just hear his dad's voice now: 'You little pussy! They're usin' their propaganda on you to soften up your brains so they can kill ya!' Daniel's father was a firm believer in the 'shoot 'em all on sight' school of thought. Hell, if he ever got out of this, Dad would probably smack him around for not killing Melissa when he had the chance.

"There was a story I heard on the news a while ago," Melissa said unexpectedly, a haunted look coming to her eyes. "I'm almost certain it was only a big story predside. Your newsrooms probably buried it as deep as they could."

"What?" Daniel asked.

"A few weeks ago, in another country, a fifteen year old predator girl walked right through the Fence gates. She was a coyote. She was holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands; a peace offering. The prey guards had their guns trained on her the whole time, but by law they weren't allowed to shoot unless she 'displayed aggressive actions'. And all she was doing was walking, staring straight ahead. I'm sure she was scared out of her wits, the poor dear."

Daniel hadn't heard of *anything* like this. And he almost always sat in the livingroom with Dad and watched the six o clock news while they ate dinner.

"She walked right into town. Holding her flowers out in front of her. The guards had no idea what to do. They knew they couldn't just kill her in cold blood. ...They might have their pay docked for a week or so," she added grimly.

"What happened then?"

"She got about a mile in when the city's police chief closed off the street and stopped her. He asked what she was doing, and she said she was surrendering. That she didn't want predators and prey to fight anymore. That she'd brought her flowers as a symbol of apology for all the wrongs her kind had committed.

"She bent over to lay the flowers on the ground at the police chief's feet.

"And he put a bullet straight through the top of her head."

Daniel felt as if he'd been kicked in the chest. "No!"

Melissa went on, emotionlessly, staring off into space. "He put six bullets into her, even though the first one killed her instantly. Then he turned to his men and said, 'Clean up this mess.'"

Daniel could not believe what he was hearing. He'd never head of anything like this before, and it suddenly hit him hard that just because he hadn't heard of it didn't mean that things like this didn't happen every single day, all over the world.

"What the police chief didn't know was that a young rat had watched the whole thing, and he just so happened to have his video camera with him. He got a perfect shot of the whole incident. And also by chance, he was just beginning to think the way that poor coyote girl did. By dinnertime, his footage had been shown across the globe. Predator stations showed it in its entirety. Prey stations did everything they could to suppress it.

"That little bit of video is one of the most important things to have happened in our societies in a very long time, Daniel. It is making things heat up. Some preds, some foolish, misguided bastards, are taking entirely the wrong message from it. They're saying that this is the last straw, that we should all just storm the Fences and kill every prey in sight. Thankfully though, the prevailing sentiment is the opposite. We look at that footage, of that poor young girl dying just because she wanted peace, and we want her dream to come true someday.

"Her name was Lydia. There are *already* protest groups named after her."

Daniel did his best to just take this all in. It was a hell of a mind-fuck. He'd gone from his nice, safe little bubble of prejudice just a few days ago, to having the surface of his whole life ripped suddenly away to expose the blood underneath.

Melissa gave him a soft squeeze. "Now, I don't want you thinking that we preds are all saints and all prey are just a bunch of murderers. No. There are plenty of monsters on either side of the Fence." She shuddered for a moment. "But I believe most fursons are just like you and me. Sensible, rational people who, if peace were declared tomorrow, would be happy and relived to have all the fear and death finally be over."

Daniel reached up to squeeze her paw, then gave her an understanding nod. "But wait... Why do you still want to kill me then?"

She moaned softly, as if in pain. But the boy was 100% justified in asking that, and he deserved an answer. "Because, my dear little sweetheart, it is the way things work. It's like a rite of passage for us predators. First Prey. It defines the change from childhood to adulthood, and I've put mine off for as long as possible. This is something I have to do, and I have to do it _now_.

"Daniel, every single living thing in nature must survive by killing other life forms. It is the way of the universe. Natural predation is just that: natural. It is a part of life, and actually, I believe it is a very *important* part of life. And just because we call ourselves civilized doesn't necessarily mean that should change."

He pondered that. "I'm confused," he admitted.

She stroked his tail. "I'll try to explain better then." She paused a moment to gather and reorganize her thoughts. "You see, animals have been killing and eating other animals since the dawn of time. I don't think that will ever change. When a lot of new members to my group join up, they have big, idealistic dreams of a world with no more killing. And that simply isn't plausible. We are *designed* to prey on each other. It is how we've evolved. It is our purpose. As long as there are different species, they will kill one another to survive.

"But...

"While I do believe natural predation is excusable, I also believe firmly that cruelty is not. Never, ever, ever. I think that fate, or whatever deity you choose to believe in, gave the animals of the world a great gift when we evolved to become fursons. When we gained the ability to walk upright, and talk, and reason. And we've so far done nothing but waste that gift, using it to think up better and more devious ways of hurting one another. No, I think we were given this gift as a chance for us to make peace. To become friends. To accept that, yes, some of us will still have to die to feed others, but now we can do everything possible to make that moment as calming and loving as we can. We don't have to kill with malice anymore, and we shouldn't. I envision a world where, gradually, the line between predator and prey thins to nonexistence. Where there is no hunting, only furs giving themselves willingly to other furs out of love. Where we learn to fear death less, and believe that living a good life is better than living a long one."

Daniel sat silent for quite a while as he thought over all of her words.

Then, silently, he leaned over to hug her. "I think I'd like that. To live in a world like that."

She ran her paw soothingly along his back. "Me too, little one. It's a concept so simple that even the youngest child can understand it, and yet to most of the world it's considered treasonous to even say aloud: That it's better to be friends than enemies."

Daniel nodded solemnly. He felt deeply, deeply ashamed for so eagerly agreeing with most of the hateful things he'd heard about predators all his life. But at the same time, he was glad that he'd had the chance to hear all this. That he'd been given the chance to change.

"We're friends, Melissa," He said quietly. "Even if I leave, I'll still think of you as my friend."

Melissa could not speak a word. She leaned over to enfold the boy in her arms, resting her head atop his. A tear rolled down her cheek to land silently in his hair.

Finally, she whispered, "I'm very, very proud of you, Daniel."

The young mouse lifted his head and kissed her.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY THREE


	*   *   *


The next morning, at Daniel's insistence, Melissa went online to a predator news website and downloaded the footage of Lydia's last moments.

They watched it together in silence.

Afterwards, Daniel burst into tears and Melissa held him in her arms for a long, long time.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY FOUR


	*   *   *


Daniel's fourth day at Melissa's house was a much happier one. All through the previous day, he'd been haunted by the murder he'd witnessed on the monitor in the den. It wasn't anything like in the movies. Nothing romanticized about it. It was almost an anticlimax, and that had made it somehow worse.

Lydia had bent over, the gun had come up, and then in a split-second she became an inanimate object. Just like that. Alive, then dead. A beautiful, brave young girl one moment, a heartbeat later; a pile of meat.

And then that monster had emptied the rest of his bullets into her, making her corpse jerk and flop like a marionette.

He and Melissa had barely spoken a word the rest of the day, but it wasn't out of animosity. There was just nothing they *could* say to each other. They had both watched a horrible, horrible thing, and it had changed them forever. Melissa's having seen the footage before meant nothing. Every time she watched that gun come up and that young girl fall, it was like the first time all over again. The atrocity never diminished.

Later that afternoon, they sat in the backyard together on the soft grass and watched the clouds go by.

Melissa took Daniel's hands in hers and pressed something small and worn into them. It was a tattered little picturebook, one that had obviously been read and reread hundreds and hundreds of times over.

The vixen explained that her grandmother had given her this when she was very young, and that it was her favorite book in the whole wide world. She said that it had been banned dozens of times, all over the world, and had actually become quite infamous. While hardly any prey had ever heard of it, and most predators only knew the title, it was always referred to with disgust. In the same tones one would talk about pornography, or graphically violent video games. Something 'dangerous' that would 'corrupt the fragile minds of the children'.

Daniel wondered what in the world could possibly be so awful about a simple children's book. Then he looked at the cover.

The title was 'My Best Friend'.

Below that was an illustration of two young girls, a black cat and a white mouse, holding hands. And smiling.

"There are some places," Melissa said, "where you can go to jail just for holding that book in your paws."

That only made Daniel want to read it more.

The two of them sat together under a shady willow tree as the afternoon sun rolled towards the horizon. Melissa sat silently watching her young friend as he read her treasured book. And then read it again. And then a third time.

It was a story about the two girls on the cover. How they meet accidentally one day and, after getting over their initial fear of each other in a surprisingly comic fashion, realize that neither of them is a monster and that they're more alike than different. Over time they become best friends and meet every day in the woods behind their houses, slipping through a hole in the Fence. When their parents eventually find out, they lock the girls in their rooms and forbid them to ever see each other again. But one night, the mouse girl escapes, slips through the Fence, and runs all the way to her friend's house. Together, they run off, deep deep into the woods and on into the mountains.

On the last two pages, the girls come upon a magical valley, hidden away from everyone else, where predators and prey live together in happiness. The last illustration (spotted with tear stains, Daniel noticed), was of the two girls, their clothes tattered from their hard journey, holding hands, running towards the hidden village as the sun rises over the beautiful, utopian valley.

Daniel stared at that picture for what felt like hours.

When Melissa gently jogged his shoulder, telling him it was time to go inside and eat, he looked up, and she saw he was crying.

But he was also smiling. "It's my favorite book now too," he said without any hesitation.


	*   *   *


Daniel didn't even remember what he'd eaten for dinner that night, only that he'd gone to bed early with his brain swirling with more thoughts than he'd ever had crammed in there before. He had stared up at the ceiling in the darkness for hours before nodding off.

That night he dreamed of the special, beautiful, wonderful little book he'd read. And of Lydia.

He saw that last illustration, and Lydia was there...

With a bandaid on top of her head.


	*   *   *


"Have you decided yet?" Melissa asked gently.

Daniel looked up suddenly and bits of cereal went flying all over the table. He'd been lost in thought again, for what felt like the thousandth time since just getting up that morning.

She chuckled patiently at his reaction, then wiped the mess up for him with her napkin. "You are awake, aren't you? Your brain isn't still lying upstairs on your pillow, is it?" she kidded gently.

She managed to coax a smile from him, which was an impressive achievement considering his thoughts from just moments ago. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I've just been kind of in a daze since yesterday."

She ruffled the pretty brown fur on his forearm. "Perfectly understandable, sweetheart. You're at a very important crossroads in your life right now. You have many choices about what you want to learn from what you saw yesterday. And what you read."

He nodded. 'Boy, is she right about that!' he thought. "So, uh, what did you say before? When I was spaced out?"

She took a sip of her orange juice. "I asked if you'd made a decision yet."

He blinked, still not getting it. His sleep had been fitful and unsatisfying last night, and that was certainly contributing to his lack of concentration now. His gaze asked, 'What decision?'

"About whether you want to stay or go," she said softly, afraid that his answer, and her promise, might mean losing him forever.

Daniel went silent. 'Oh... *That* decision...'

"If you still need more time-"

"No," he cut her off firmly. "I'm still not sure yet, but I think I ought to make a choice today."

"You know you don't have to," she reassured.

"Yes, I do," he insisted. "I don't know why, but I just have this real strong feeling in my gut that says today is the day. I gotta make my choice today."

Melissa nodded, impressed by the conviction in his tone. Just as she had hoped, he was indeed ready to make the decision for himself. Not for his father, not for his society, not for her, but for Daniel.

She reached out her black-furred paw and patted his brown one. "I'll be proud of you no matter what you choose," she told him earnestly.

He nodded.

Melissa finished up the last bits of cereal in her bowl, then tipped it up and slurped her milk. She got up from the table and saw Daniel was still starting solemnly down into his bowl, stirring his soggy brown paste automatically. But his mind was miles away from his food. She wasn't even sure his eyes were seeing anything more than a dull blur.

"Would you like me to leave you alone for a little while?" she asked.

He looked up slowly, like an old, old man. "Yeah. ...If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't." She went to the sink and washed up quickly. She did not look back at him.

The vixen's paws were trembling with anticipation, but she couldn't let him see that. She scurried off to her den and went on the computer to lose herself in some mindless busywork for a good, long time.

After a few minutes, she heard water running in the sink, and then soft mouse footsteps going up the stairs to his room. Then the sound of the door shutting behind him.


	*   *   *


Daniel thought.


	*   *   *


Nearly an hour later, Melissa looked up from her computer screen to see Daniel standing in the doorway. His approach had been so quiet, even her nearly-perfect vulpine ears had not detected him.

The little mouse stood there with all the animation of a signpost. His eyes were glassy and faraway, but at the same time he looked ready to cry at any second.

She parted her lips to speak his name, but as soon as she took her first breath, he ran towards her and ensnared her in a hug so deeply felt it was almost painful.

The tears he'd been denying since breakfast finally came, much harder than he'd expected. He never in a million years would have imagined that making this choice could be so hard.

Still a bit startled by the suddenness of the boy's embrace, Melissa tentatively put her arms around him and rested her long muzzle between his ears. "Oh Daniel..."

The little mouse could feel his tears soaking her pretty blouse. He tried to speak, and all that would come out was, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry..."

And then she knew what choice he had made.

"I wanted to," he sobbed. He kissed her on the cheek. "You're the nicest person I've ever met. I wish you were my mom. I wish I could just stay here forever, or that we could go to one of those camps you talked about where preds and prey are friends. I wish I could stay..." He looked up, his eyes almost as bright pink as his nose. "But I just can't."

Melissa patted him on the back. She felt a heavy weight drop onto her heart, but she forced herself not to let it show. She had sworn to herself long before she'd even begun this little experiment that she must respect her prey's decision. In fact, that vow had been her final deciding factor in going through with it at all.

What she had told him about the ritual of First Prey was a lie. Oh, First Prey was real all right. The most important moment in a young predator's life, they had said. It meant she was an adult now, they had said. In truth, her First Prey had been years ago, when she was just fourteen. One year younger than Lydia. And only two years older than Daniel.

Her family and teachers and friends had all built the occasion up so much, like it was this magical thing that would open up the whole world to her. She would become a Woman. She would become a True Predator. She would become One Of Us.

Her fourteenth birthday. All her friends were there. After the cake and the presents, her father wheeled it out. Her final present. A white rabbit girl. She had probably been only seven or eight. She was strapped to a handtruck, a shiny black gag in her mouth, and she had been more terrified than anyone Melissa had ever seen before in her life.

Though she fought against it, the smell of her prey's fear excited her. Aroused her. Made her mouth water. Made her become wet ...down there.

Every last bit of rationality and compassion screamed at her not to do it. To somehow free this little girl and run off with her, into the night, into some fantasy safe place like in her favorite book.

Her conscience screamed, but the party guests screamed louder.

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

All those smiling, happy faces. All those colorful party hats and banners and balloons. Wrapping paper all over the floor. Colors so bright they made her head hurt.

And before she even realized it, her teeth were in the rabbit's throat and it was already over.

Everyone had gathered around, patting her on the back, congratulating her. All her best friends. Her parents. Her neighbors.

But her grandmother wasn't there. Her grandmother, who had given her the storybook. Probably at great personal risk, too.

The hole left by her grandmother's absence was more disapproving than any shameful glare she could have given her young granddaughter.

'I expected better of you.'

Melissa looked at what she had done. Looked at the bloody, inanimate thing strapped down before her, murdered without a single hope of escape or mercy. The taste of red in her mouth. The cheers and smiles of the people around her.

She tipped back her head and screamed at the top of her lungs. A scream so full of savage despair and disbelief and horror and self-hate that it would haunt most of those assembled on that day for years and years to come.

Melissa went tearing up to her room as fast as her legs could carry her. She locked the door behind her and wouldn't let anyone in. She hid her head under her pillows and pissed in her sheets. And shivered, constantly shivered.

When she finally felt she could bear her grandmother's gaze, she escaped out the bedroom window (nearly breaking both her legs in the process) and ran across town to her house. To Melissa's shock, her grandmother was not angry with her, nor repulsed by her. Instead, the plump, wise vixen pulled her confused, frightened granddaughter to her in a long and tearful hug of shared grief.

Melissa asked her, what could she do now to atone for her crime?

And grandmother had told her of a group of women she knew of. Women who Knew things...

That moment had been years ago. A whole lifetime ago. Since then, Melissa had torn her old life apart and rebuilt herself from the shreds. Becoming, she believed, she hoped, a better furson in the process.

And now her small black nose was buried in the downy, dark hair of a beautiful, smart, insightful little boy who she would never, ever see again.

But letting him go made her feel finally proud of herself. A pride she might not have been able to feel if he had chosen to stay. So, in a way, she was grateful to him. And she would always remember him.

"I love you, Daniel," she whispered. "I'll miss you."

"Me too," he said.


	*   *   *


They stood together in the short front hallway, the open door before them. It was nearly noon and the hot sun seemed more welcoming than blistering today. Outside, Daniel could hear the sounds of cars passing by and a group of children playing in the sprinkler out on their front lawn.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

She stood just behind him, her gentle paws on his shoulders. "You have nothing to be sorry about," she told him firmly. "You made your choice. You chose to live. I'm not disappointed in you at all, little one. I promise."

"Okay," he said softly, looking down at his feet. "I just..."

She shushed him. "You don't even have to give me a reason, Daniel. You don't have to justify your choice. You don't have to defend it. I understand. All I ask is that you remember me."

He turned around immediately, looking up into her green eyes and hugging her. "Of *course* I'll remember you!!" he said desperately, as if the very thought that he even _could_ forget her frightened him sick. "I'll always remember you! Forever and ever! Even when I'm an old fart! And maybe even... Maybe someday I can come back. Maybe someday I'll be ready," he said, sounding almost hopeful.

She nodded and ran her fingers through his hair. Unable to bring herself to tell him that she thought she would be leaving this house very soon. Casting it off like a disguise, or a cocoon. He would never be able to find her again, ever.

Daniel closed his eyes and held her for a moment, his cheek and ear pressed to her stomach. He thought briefly that if he'd stayed, this was where he would have ended up. And to his surprise, he found that thought brought almost comfort now.

Melissa knew that soon she would break down in tears. And for some reason, it seemed very important to her that he not see that. It might make him change his mind, out of sympathy, and that wouldn't be fair. She patted his back. "You should go now if you're going," she told him, her voice a trembling whisper of mixed caring and longing.

Daniel nodded. "You're right. Okay." He knew this, but part of him wanted to hold their embrace just a little longer. That part of him knew that this could very well be the last genuine hug he'd receive for a long, long time.

Finally though, he forced himself to let go and turn his back on the pretty vixen who had captured him what seemed like months ago, but was in reality, little more than three days. "Goodbye, Melissa."

"Goodbye, Daniel. Good luck. Have a happy life, my little one."

He shut his eyes tight, fighting back tears, feeling like a total jerk now and having no idea why. He only wanted to live; was that so bad? That wasn't being selfish, right?

"Goodbye," he said again, and walked out into the sunlight.

Silently, Melissa closed the door behind him. Then she ran to her bedroom to weep.

Daniel stood there on her porch. Remembering that first day, so long ago, such a short time ago, when he had come here trying to sell her one of those stupid coupon books and his feet had been hurting and he'd rung her doorbell and realized her house didn't have any numbers on it.

The young mouse took a deep, bracing breath and marched forward.

But on the top step of the porch, he stopped again. A thought had occurred to him.

'What are you really going back to?'

'What's back there, back home, back at school, back in your old life, that you want to return to so much?'

Had he really just thought of his life as his 'old life'? As if the past three days had changed him that much?

He sat down suddenly, almost collapsed, and realized that they had.

What *was* he going back to?

His father. Asleep in his recliner in front of the TV. Or screaming at him for cleaning the toilet wrong. Or wandering around the house scratching his ass. Or yelling at someone on the TV news whose opinion he disagreed with. Or reaching in the closet for the belt. Or telling him he was a sissy. Or making him drag empty beer bottles back to the party store for deposit. Or pulling down his pants and spanking him. Or *lingering* sometimes, before he began the spanking...

'Sonofabitch, I imagined that last one! I only imagined it!!'

No, you didn't. And you know it.

Daniel's inner voice went speechless.

As the cars passed by and the children played and the noon sun beat down on all of them, Daniel put his head in his paws and stared off into space. Just sitting on the porch, looking like a life-size stone statue. But inside his mind, his thoughts were a tornado...


	*   *   *


Two hours later, Melissa was ready to get on with the rest of her life. The vixen's tears had ended long ago. She had taken a deep breath and told herself that this was not the end of the world. This was only an experiment, and experiments didn't always produce the results you wanted. She could always just try it again and hope for better luck next time.

Oh, who was she kidding? There would never be a next time. This experience had drained her dry. The last three days, her emotions had spiked up and down so violently she thought she'd go crazy. But that wasn't a bad thing. Oh no, not at all. She wouldn't have traded these last three days with Daniel for anything in the world. She did love him, and she always would. And now he was gone. Gone off to live his own life, happy and free. And she would never, ever see him again.

No, she would not be repeating her 'experiment'. She felt a sudden wave of disgust at herself for even calling it that. Why had she ever thought this was a good idea? How had she possibly talked herself into such craziness? What did she expect would happen? Had she really, honestly expected a preyfur to just say, 'Oh sure, go ahead and kill me'?

But she wasn't... Didn't...

Oh, and now she was crying again.

"STOP IT," she screeched at herself. She very nearly started clawing at her eyes to stop the tears. She had no right to cry. She was a monster. She had become what she'd always feared that night after her fourteenth birthday party. One Of Them. Just another murderous, bloodthirsty pred. It was her destiny. It was inescapable. No matter how hard she wanted to be better, it was all just a lot of happy bullshit lies she told herself.

'Face facts, Melissa,' she told herself. 'You kidnapped a little boy off the street so you could eat him. Kill him and skin him and cook him and eat him. You are a monster. Just like in the books and movies, just like Daniel said. They're all right about you.'

NO NO NO, she *WOULDN'T* believe that!

Melissa Evergreen thrashed about on her bed, weeping and murmuring as if trapped in a nightmare, for one hundred maddened minutes. She pulled her hair. She slapped herself. She cursed herself. She tore her blouse. She ripped herself up inside. She thought long and hard and rationally about various methods of disposing of herself forever and making the world a better place.

Finally, the emotion that eventually won out was sheer numbness. Her little tantrum had drained her energy like a cheap foreign battery that comes in a new appliance. She was tired and sad and she also realized she was hungry.

She sat on the edge of her bed, her stomach rumbling. Half of her wanted to just sit here in her dimly lit, smelly bedroom forever and never get up again. But slightly more than half wanted to get up and go get some cheap, easy fast food and gorge on it.

'Yes, that's a healthy response to an emotional trauma,' she thought with a mirthless grin as she got up. Her knees sent little razor blades of pain up her thighs and into her spine. 'Just eat a lot of junk food and make your ass that much bigger. Why, Dr. Evergreen, I believe you have discovered a revolutionary new approach to behavioral psychology.'

Miserable and ashamed of her childish little outburst, Melissa grabbed her purse and shuffled out the front door in search of comfort food.

To her absolute shock, she found Daniel sitting on her porch.

Still sitting there, silent, as he had been for the past two hours.

He did not seem to have heard her yet.

"D-Daniel?"

Slowly, as if he'd forgotten how, the little mouse turned his head to glance back over his shoulder. He looked even more miserable than her, if that was possible. He looked frightened and confused and hurt and torn. But most of all, he looked lost.

"What are you still doing here, honey?" she asked, her voice shaky with uncertainty. This was a complication of her experiment she had not foreseen. "I thought you wanted to go home."

At that, his expression quickly coalesced into one strong, final emotion: heartbreaking certainty. He stood up painfully, his every joint aching beyond belief. Both his legs had fallen asleep. Half of his tail had gone numb. His forearm had a dent in it from where he'd been resting his chin on it all this time.

Slowly, he walked over to Melissa, and hugged her. He wept without a sound.

"Can I come inside?" he asked in a cracked, dry, hollow voice.

"Of course, sweetheart," she told him. She led him back into her home and shut the door behind them. She had forgotten all about being hungry.


	*   *   *


Melissa asked if he'd like something to eat and Daniel said no. He said he wanted to sit with her on her bed, like the night when they'd been reading together, and talk. But he also said he wouldn't mind something to drink since his throat felt scratchy.

She laughed and said she knew just how he felt. She poured them both big glasses of water. Daniel drained a third of his in a single chug and asked for a refill.

Then they went into her bedroom and sat down.


	*   *   *


Melissa's arm was around Daniel's shoulder and the little mouse felt ready to tell her what he had been thinking about all this time on the porch. The water was cold and good, and his throat felt a lot better now. He looked up to the pretty vixen sitting beside him. Her smile was as welcoming and loving as it had always been. He looked away, picking a point in space and staring at it, and began.

"I realized today, I'm kind of an asshole."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he gave her a sudden sharp pleading look of protest, telling her wordlessly not to interrupt him. He wanted to get it all out first, and then they could discuss it.

"I am, and I never realized it before. I've got this temper. I get mad a lot. Everything frustrates me. When I get mad, I punch stuff. Usually it's just my pillows or my mattress. But sometimes it's kids at school.

"Someone'd say something to me I wouldn't like, and even if it was just a mistake I'd say something really nasty back. Try to hurt them as much as I could for pissing me off. Sometimes they cried, and sometimes they wanted to fight. So I hit them. I just hit them until I felt like stopping. Then some teacher'd pull us apart and send me home, or suspend me.

"And when Dad found out, you'd think he'd be pissed at me, right? He'd punish me? But no, it was like, after I'd been caught fighting, that was the only time he really seemed proud of me.

"One time he said, 'See, I knew you weren't a *complete* pussy!'. Like that was the biggest compliment he could possibly give me.

"He drinks beer all the time and he sits around in his underwear and he _stinks_! I've never said that before 'cause I knew he'd beat the shit out of me if I did, but he _stinks_!! I come home from school and it's like walking into this gross cloud of beer and piss and farts. Sometimes I just wanna fucking throw up!

"But If I ever said anything about it, I know he'd...

"He'd...

"Sometimes he just smacks me. Like, upside the head. And that's not so bad. He just kinda gives me a little whack and I go off to my room or something. But sometimes he screams at me, and that's worse. 'Cuz my Dad can scream for a really long time. I think the neighbors are scared of us. We've had people move out of the houses on either side of us, like, three separate times. And sometimes he splashes beer on me. Like if I interrupt him while he's watching TV. And sometimes he hits me with the belt.

"It's hard for me to sit down at school the next day after that.

"And sometimes... Oh fuck, sometimes he... He spanks me. And, I keep trying to tell myself he doesn't really do it, but... Sometimes, when he spanks me... Just sometimes, I mean... He makes me pull down my, my pants and he... I lay across his lap and he... He... Sometimes he stares at my ass for a while before he hits me."

Daniel stopped talking for a minute or so. His heart was beating like a steel piston. He could not believe he'd just said that. There was no way he'd really just said that. He'd imagined it. Obviously.

"So, um... He... Um...

"And Vince is no fucking help. He's either up in his room with the door locked or he's out with his friends doin' stuff I don't even wanna know about. We used to be best friends! We'd do all sorts of stuff. When I was little and he was, like, my age now, we were best pals. And now... Now he's just this stranger. He wears sunglasses a lot, and this big leather jacket with lotsa pins on it that smells like he's never washed it, like, ever. Sometimes he comes downstairs and eats with us and it's *still* like he's not really there. It seems like the only time I ever hear him say anything is when he's like, 'Uh, Dad? Can I have another twenny dollars?' And dad yells at him a bit but always gives him some money anyway. I think it's because he's as creeped out by Vince as I am and just wants him out of the house as much as possible. So then Vince goes off with his messed-up, scary friends again. There's this one guy, his hair is all long and he smells like... Like lighter fluid or something. He's got this grin that just makes me wanna piss my pants and run away and stick my head under a pillow.

"And my mom...

"Shit.

"Some nights, I can't even remember what she looks like anymore. She hasn't even called or visited for years. Not since her 'n Dad got divorced. I think he'd probly lock the door if she ever tried to come over and visit us.

"And, so yeah... Um, what was I talking about?

"School, yeah. Um, I don't really have any friends there. There's a kid I sit with sometimes at lunch, but I wouldn't even feel comfortable asking him to borrow a dollar, you know? He's just kinda there. And I guess I'm just kinda there to him too. We talk about sports stuff, mostly.

"And I'm always so pissed off because nobody likes me. That's why I get into all those fights. It's like, 'Why the hell is everyone ignoring me? I just wanna fucking talk to someone!' And I get mad at totally random people because they looked at me funny, or didn't wanna be my partner for some science project, or didn't wanna be on my team at recess, or some other stupid thing...

"And I just realized today... I'm a bully."

He became gradually aware that he was crying.

"I don't want to be a bully. I always thought bullies were someone else. On TV shows and stuff, they tell you about how to handle bullies. And I remembered all that stuff, and at school I'm like, 'Okay, I don't see any'. And that's because... Because... ...It's me."

Melissa leaned down closer and comfortingly laid her head on top of his. He took her paw in his without really even realizing it.

"This morning, I decided that I wanted to go home and try to make things better. I'd be a better furson from now on. I wouldn't listen when they told me predators are all bad. I'd remember you.

"And then I left, and I'm about to head home, and I realize I don't ever want to see that house ever again.

"Ever, _ever_ again.

"I don't want to be a bully and a jerk and an asshole anymore. I don't want to be mad and frustrated all the time. I don't wanna come home to a house that smells like my dad's been shitting his pants all day. I don't want to come home to a brother who treats me like a piece of dirty clothing draped over a chair. I don't want any of that! I just want it to be over with!!"

He stopped himself. His breathing was way too fast and his head was starting to pound. He forced himself to calm down a little.

"I just want it to be over with.

"I don't wanna go home. I wanna stay here. You're the only furson who's ever been this nice to me, and I want more of that. And I feel bad because if you'd known me longer, you'd probably hate me too. I'd probably do some dumbass thing to piss you off and make you my enemy just like everyone else around me. It's like, 'If you're not gonna be my friend, I'll make your life miserable so at least you'll have to acknowledge I'm there. Pay attention to me or I'll hurt you.'

"I wanna stay here. Melissa, I wanna stay here.

"Just eat me and then I won't be a bully anymore."

The vixen pulled him close, laying his head on her shoulder, and held him tenderly as he began to sob.

"I find it hard to believe that such a sweet, smart, helpful little boy as you could ever be a bully," she whispered in his ear.

He whimpered sorrowfully.

"You can stay, my darling mouse."

"Thank you," he said, so quiet she could barely hear him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY FIVE


	*   *   *


Something was tickling his foot.

Daniel grunted and twitched in his sleep, rolling over on his side. His dreams were starting to break up and become forgotten. That tickle came again.

Exasperated, he finally forced his eyes open and looked up. Melissa was there, holding her tail in her hand. She'd been using its furry tip to coax him out of sleep. She smiled and giggled lightly. "Oh, have you decided to wake up finally?"

He couldn't be mad at her. Not after last night. Not for anything. He didn't even remember getting into bed, so she must have carried him all the way upstairs when he nodded off. The little mouse sprang up from underneath his covers, bounded to the foot of the bed and hugged the beautiful fox there with all the love in his heart.

Melissa returned his hug tenfold. She nuzzled his forehead with her little moist nosepad. "Good morning to you too! Did you sleep well?"

He nodded. "Yeah! I dreamed a lot, but I kinda lost most of it. I think in one part, we were in an ice cream truck and you were driving at, like, seventy miles an hour on the freeway, and I was throwing popsicles out the window to some dogs that were following us." He shrugged. Some dreams revealed deeper, hidden meanings and some, he thought, were just silly.

"My goodness!" she said. "Well, I guess you must be psychic. I do that all the time!"

He laughed. "Hey, what time is it anyway?" It seemed like he'd slept for a really long time. It didn't feel like morning anymore.

"Nearly noon," she said.

Daniel's eyebrows went up. Noon!? Geeze, he hardly ever slept in that late! Largely because his dad was The World's Most Annoying Alarm Clock. Every day before school, the old fatass would scream up the stairs again and again and again until his 'lazy' son finally got up. He did it with such regularity, sometimes Daniel woke up early just to lay there for a while listening to him, counting the swear words and imagining the veins in his throat popping out.

"I've got some errands I need to run today," Melissa said. "Mostly, I need to get up to the grocery store for some boy-cooking ingredients." She tickled behind his ear and he grinned, not scared a bit of being eaten now. "I was thinking we could go to a restaurant for lunch if you like. Or in your case breakfast. Sound good?"

"Sure!"

"Alright then. Get some clothes on and get ready. I'll be downstairs."

Daniel nodded. She walked out and he immediately hopped out of bed to get dressed. He felt bizarrely happy this morning. He couldn't remember waking up so excited and cheerful and hopeful in years, maybe even never before.

It was weird, of course, because the night before he'd basically signed his own death warrant. But yet it didn't feel like that. Not at all! He felt _good_, deep down inside of him, down to his very soul. Maybe it was because he was glad he wouldn't be leaving Melissa. Maybe it was because he'd finally told someone about all the black, sticky stuff that had been clogging up his heart for so long. Maybe it was simply that he felt free now. He had made his choice. He'd chosen not to let his father, his family, or himself hurt him anymore. He'd chosen to be unselfish, to give his life to Melissa. Because it would make both of them so much happier that way.

Once he'd slung on some green striped shorts and a red T-shirt with black sleeves, he ran down the hall to the bathroom to take a leak and comb his hair. He felt excited about today. He knew he and Melissa were going to have lots of fun together.


	*   *   *


Melissa unlocked the car door and the neighbor across the street waved to her again. As Daniel trotted around to the other side of the cute, curvy little yellow car, he thought that maybe today he'd get some idea of how the heck his vixen friend was able to pass unnoticed through prey society. Really, she couldn't just drive downtown and go shopping without hundreds of people seeing she was a predator. Did she have some sort of special license to be here? He'd never heard of anything like that before. Or was she just hypnotizing everyone? He chuckled, imagining mental beams coming out of her head to cloud prey's minds. And even if that was the case, why wasn't he affected?

Miss Evergreen plopped down into the driver's seat beside him. The car was small and sporty on the outside, but very roomy and comfy inside. There wasn't a straight line anywhere to be seen. Every facet of the car's design was rounded, giving the dashboard especially an oddly organic look. Like maybe this was really some futuristic submarine instead of a car.

"Buckle up, little mouse!" she reminded him.

Daniel did, remembering that the seatbelts on Dad's car were used about as often as that toaster oven in the basement one of their aunts had given them for Christmas a few years back.

Melissa eased out of the driveway and onto the street. The car's engine was nothing more than a pleasant hum.

"You've got a really cool car," Daniel told her.

She smirked. He could see she was proud of it. "Thank you for saying so! Clarice here is my first car and I take real good care of her. Don't I, baby?" she asked her beloved transportation, blowing a kiss at the steering wheel.

Daniel looked a little confused. "Clarice...?"

"Sure. Doesn't everybody name their car?" the vixen asked in all innocence.

The mouseboy laughed. "If that's true, then my dad's car's name is 'Goddam Cheap Piece Of Shit'!"

Melissa snickered. "Doesn't he know that cars are like plants? You have to be nice to them to get them to do what you want."

Daniel tossed that around in his mind a bit. Logically it was ridiculous, and yet it still seemed to make sense in a weird way. Experimentally, he reached out to give the glove compartment a friendly pat. "Okay, Clarice; find us a good restaurant. I'm hungry!"

Melissa laughed musically. "It doesn't work quite like that, squirt. But don't worry. I've got a good place in mind."

Daniel was sure she did.


	*   *   *


The place in mind turned out to be a nice little coffee, soup and sandwich shop. It was, surprisingly, totally unpretentious. A mom and pop type place. Rare these days, especially downtown.

Melissa walked in without a trace of conspicuousness. One or two customers looked up, but their glance was only of the type reserved for pretty ladies entering restaurants, not the look of panic and fear that would have accompanied the entrance of a bloodthirsty canine. Daniel, walking just behind her, couldn't begin to explain it.

"Welcome to Beans 'N Butter. May I take your order?" the perky chipmunk teen at the counter asked the two of them.

Melissa glanced at Daniel, giving him an 'any idea what you want?' look. He shook his head. She checked the menu. "I'll have a small coffee with cream and sugar, a chocolate chip muffin ...aaand a bowl of cream of broccoli soup. And whatever he wants."

Daniel had noticed a large rack of tantalizing-smelling donuts. Fresh baked and ripe for the plucking. He surprised both Melissa and the cashier by ordering three of the most extravagant-looking ones, plus a large vanilla milkshake.

The mildly curious look the chipmunk gave them as she went to retrieve the donuts was not one of 'what's a predator doing in here with a little boy?', but rather 'what kind of parent lets their kid eat so much junk food?'

Melissa did glance questioningly at her young companion.

"Well," he whispered, "you're the one who wanted to fatten me up in the first place," he said reasonably.

The vixen smiled. Touch‚.


	*   *   *


After a delightfully gut-busting breakfast (the donuts were *exquisite*. Daniel sort of regretted that after he went into Melissa's tummy, he wouldn't be able to have any more of them), it was off to the bank for a small withdrawal. The bored, nasal teller behind the gilded bars didn't seem to notice Melissa was a fox either.

After that, Melissa asked Daniel if he'd like to rent a movie for tonight. He thought that was a great idea and told her so as he gave her a hug right there in the car. He didn't usually get to see many movies, not unless they were on TV with all the good parts chopped out and commercials popping up every time things started getting interesting. There was a video store just a block from the bank, and as they went inside, Melissa told the excited little mouse he could pick out anything he wanted.

Daniel zoomed to the new release wall, thinking about all the trailers he'd seen on TV for stuff that looked really good. Stuff he thought he'd never get to see. But now, here he was in cinema utopia! 'Anything He Wanted'. Those words were like magic!

First, he picked up a big-budget explosion-and-car-chase movie he'd seen previews for. It looked suitably dumb and exciting. But then he read the back cover description and realized with anger that the bad guys in it were, once again, stereotypical evil preds. He put it back on the shelf immediately. It occurred to him to wonder where they got preds to appear in movies like that. Did they bus them in or what? And why would they even agree to humiliate themselves and their kind like that anyway?

Another movie Daniel glanced at was one he'd heard about in the newspapers. It was an art-house kinda thing. People had been protesting it with angry signs because it dared to suggest that predators weren't so bad. The news said it even had the first onscreen prey/pred kiss in the history of cinema. Daniel thought that sounded cool, but he wasn't in the mood for something so heavy. Not tonight. This looked like one of those movies where all the good guys died in the end. And hey, he *already* knew predators weren't so bad.

His choice ended up surprising him. He settled finally on a family-friendly flick about a boy his age being sucked into a magical land with all sorts of computer-animated monsters and wizards and junk. The effects looked neat, and it was just the kind of happy, upbeat thing he was in the mood for today. Sure, it was made for younger kids. But Daniel had started to *feel* younger himself. Something about being with Melissa made him feel littler, but in a good way. Like it was okay to snuggle up on the couch with her to watch a movie like this. He knew she'd never call him a sissy or a baby because of it. And that was a really good feeling.

The islands of shelves being a bit too tall to see over, Daniel wandered around a bit until he spotted a plush red tail swishing past one of them. He caught up to Melissa and showed her his selection. She gave him a big smile and said it looked like a fun one. He was happy. And was also a little surprised to see that one of her picks was the controversial pred/prey movie he'd just been looking at. He mentioned that, and his other rejected choice, and she seemed very, very proud of him.

She also said they'd probably have time to watch a double feature tonight, so if he wanted to get another one that was okay. He said they should make the choice together and she praised him for his thoughtfulness. Surprisingly, the decision came easy. Since they were both fond of cop-type TV shows, they zeroed in on a gritty, intense police action drama that appealed to them both. Glancing at the box, Melissa noted that it had a really good director and lead actor, and that there didn't seem to be any predator bad guys in this one. Daniel heartily approved.


	*   *   *


Next stop was the supermarket. Daniel, without fear, asked on the way over how she intended to cook him. Melissa gave him a small, sly smile and told him not to worry. She had everything all planned out. It would be a surprise, and he would enjoy every second of it.

He remembered her promise to him that it wouldn't hurt if he went through with it. He decided to trust her on that. He knew she loved him, and he knew whatever she was planning, she would be gentle. Until tomorrow, he would just put all thoughts of it out of his mind and concentrate on having fun tonight.

In the store, Daniel asked to push the cart while Melissa flicked back and forth between the aisles looking for ingredients. She said she'd forgotten her list and wasn't quite familiar enough with this store yet to know where everything was. Daniel didn't mind following her on her zig-zag, back and fourth course. He'd always enjoyed pushing grocery carts anyway.

Eventually, their cart was full of strange stuff. Spices and vegetables Daniel had never tasted before. Some he'd never even heard of. Daniel's dad was a firm believer in the 'things that come out of cans and boxes' school of cuisine. Melissa also instructed Daniel to go forth and seize lots of snacks for tonight's film festival. He obeyed enthusiastically, scooting over to the junk food aisle and picking out three bags of salty goodies.

At the checkout, Daniel was perplexed again by the utter lack of terror in the cashier's face. She was an old rabbit with glasses, but Melissa wasn't more than a foot away. Couldn't she see her? Couldn't she smell her?

Without giving any sign that anything was out of the ordinary, the elderly cashier took Melissa's money and handed back her change. She even commented on what the vixen was purchasing. "Oh, looks like you're going to be doing some home-cooking soon, eh?"

Melissa nodded. "Yes, definitely. I'm looking forward to it."

The old bunny gave Daniel a warm, guileless smile. "And will you be helping out, young man?"

Trying not to giggle at what an understatement that was, Daniel simply said, "Yes, ma'am!"

Melissa grinned foxily. "Oh yes, he always likes to jump right in whenever I'm cooking!" she quipped.

Daniel bit back a belly laugh.

The cashier instructed both of them to have a nice day and waved at Daniel as they left. Still, she had no idea what they'd found so funny...


	*   *   *


They arrived back home with more than enough time left for an early dinner and two movies. Since they both intended to pig out on snacks, Melissa decided on dinner salads for their main meal. Get the healthy stuff out of the way so they could suck down calories later. Daniel didn't much care for salads, but he agreed she had a point. He did indeed jump right in to help her with the preparation. Though not literally this time.

Melissa emptied out most of the vegetables in the fridge, including a few that were in mortal danger of going bad soon if not used promptly, and the two of them basically chopped up everything in sight and made a very chaotic salad indeed. They were also able to use up a half-dozen crouton and bacon bit packages left over from Melissa's various fast food excursions.

Melissa scooped her portion of salad out of the giant mixing bowl and told Daniel she was going to go turn on the news. Daniel dumped an obscene amount of dressing on his bowlful and followed her.

While they ate, Daniel noticed something that struck him as odd. He'd watched the local news enough times to know that a missing child is usually a top story. But he'd been missing for four days now and none of the news people had said a word about him. No school picture, no search teams, no number to call if some alert citizen spotted him. It was more than confusing, it was also a little spooky. Was it possible that his dad hadn't even noticed he was gone? No way. Dad was dumb, but not that dumb. It seemed more likely, as hard as it was to realize, that Dad probably just didn't *care*. Daniel, for his own reasons, did not share these thoughts with Melissa.

That brief bit of gloom was soon forgotten though, and Daniel was glad for it. This was a happy day and he wanted it to stay like that. After their salad bowls were empty (Daniel decided his wasn't too bad, though his stomach felt a little woozy from all the heavy dressing he'd put on), Melissa vaulted off the couch and told Daniel to get the first movie ready while she whipped up the snacks. To his delight, she didn't mix them up, but kept them in separate bowls, just how he liked. For whatever reason, he'd always had a 'thing' about his food touching.

The first film was an absolute knock-you-on-your-ass nailbiter. The box was right; a real white-knuckle tensionfest. Daniel and Melissa both gave it a very high rating. Great, believable characters, good camerawork, excellent pacing. Daniel especially liked all the stunts. There was only one car chase, but it had looked so *real*! As the ending credits rolled, both mouse and fox were out of breath.

They took a few minutes for a pee break and to let the video rewind. Daniel was glad there were two bathrooms in the house, since both of them were bursting. Having to wait outside would have been torture for either of them.

When they returned to the couch, Daniel saw that the snacks were still holding steady. Melissa popped the second movie in and snuggled up on the couch next to Daniel, putting her arm around her sweet mouse. He liked that. He laid his head on her shoulder and thought of how much this reminded him of the few good memories he had of his mommy when he was little. Outside, the sun was just starting to consider setting.

In many ways, Daniel ended up liking the second movie better than the first. And not just because Melissa made such a nice, soft, warm furry pillow to lie on. He wondered if fate had helped him chose this film out of all the others on the shelves.

The hero was a young skunk who starts out as a total brat. A real selfish little stinker. But then a magic staff transports him to another dimension, full of fascinating places and characters that were all very metaphorical if you looked closely enough. Through his journeys, the young skunk learns how to be considerate of others, and that there are more important things in life than his own wants. Daniel actually cried a few times. It reminded him too much of himself.

But the ending filled him with a peaceful joy. The skunk in the movie finally gives his own life to save this new world he's discovered, protecting it from the evil mountain-monster, and is then miraculously healed by his new friends. The boy gives of himself, and everything turns out okay in the end.

That made Daniel feel good. Even hopeful. Maybe everything would turn out okay for him and Melissa too. He certainly had no illusions of being brought back to life after she ate him, but maybe there would be something for him in the afterlife. It was not a subject he'd ever really thought much about. But he supposed it was possible there might be a better place for him beyond this one. A place where he could learn to be a better boy.

As the movie rewound, Daniel found himself so sleepy he could barely move. Strange, since he'd slept so late this morning. But this day had been so full and happy, it had seemed to go on forever. And now it was over and it was time for bed.

Melissa held his paw as they walked upstairs. He tossed off his shirt and shorts and squirmed beneath the covers. Melissa knelt by his side and said that she'd had lots of fun today. She thanked him for being such a good boy. Daniel gave her a sleepy smile and thanked her for doing so many nice things for him.

She softly stroked his cheekfur for a while, then bent over to give him a kiss. She stood up to walk away. "Goodnight, Daniel."

His eyes already closed, half asleep, Daniel mumbled, "Goodnight, Mommy..."

Melissa paused, struck silent by that single word. She felt tears in her eyes. Her smile grew wider on her face and her heart seemed to swell.

Silently, she left his room and went downstairs to think. And to prepare for tomorrow.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY SIX


	*   *   *


Daniel was lying on a warm beach.

Clouds floated by overhead in a sky so blue it looked like you could reach up and daub a finger in it to see what it tasted like.

The sand was hot and cozy on his back.

There was a fluffy towel laid across his chest.

His eyes were closed, and he was listening.

From somewhere far away, the most beautiful music in the world was drifting on the air towards him. A downy, loving melody that made him feel happy and safe. The gentle voice faded in and out with the waves on the shore, but steadily grew stronger until it was as if someone was kneeling right next to him and humming in his ear...

Slowly, as if being gently lifted up into loving arms, Daniel awoke to Melissa's song.

His eyes still closed, he could feel her weight on the bed next to him. He could feel her nimble fingers lightly tracing tickly patterns through his tummyfur.

She was humming a song he had never heard before. Maybe it was even a predator lullaby. Daniel thought it was beautiful. He'd never been woken up with a song before, not in his whole life. Screams, yes, but never songs.

Still somewhat fuzzy from dreams, Daniel rolled over and put his head in Melissa's lap. He nuzzled her tummy.

"Good morning," she whispered.

The little mouse murred quietly. He felt small. Like he was just a baby again, being held by his mommy. He began to softly cry, for all the lost memories and good times he'd never had, and he held Melissa tighter.

The vixen ran her paws through his hair, along his ears, down his back and sides. Her touch was airy, delicate as a breeze. Her beautiful boy was holding her and softly weeping, but she knew it was not from fear of what was to happen to him today. No, she could tell he only wanted this moment to last forever.

They had time. They had plenty of time.

Melissa sat and comforted her young friend for a long, long while, still singing to him her sweet song.

And Daniel was happy.


	*   *   *


The moment came very close to lasting forever. Daniel drifted warmly through states of half-asleep and half-awake, dipping his toes into his dreamworld to watch the ripples. Melissa's fur was warm and softer than anything else he'd ever felt. He felt safe with her. It was as if he'd been running through a terrible thunderstorm all his life and had finally found a small, comfy place to make shelter.

He lifted his head from the vixen's lap and gave her a kiss. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, my darling," she told him.

He sat up on the bed and yawned for all he was worth, stretching out his arms like an eagle and opening his mouth so wide you could have dropped in a baseball. He licked his lips, finding a bit of snackfood aftertaste still there.

"Did you have fun last night?" Melissa asked.

Daniel gave her a look that said 'Do you even have to ask?' "Of course! I've had fun all week. Thank you so much for all the nice things you've done for me!" he burst out, smiling brightly.

His gratefulness overjoyed her. She loved knowing she had made him happy. "You're very welcome, little one. You've been the best houseguest I could have ever hoped for." She paused, and her smile became more solemn. "But you know what happens today, right?"

He nodded, his smile becoming oddly proud. "Uh huh. I'm ready. I want to. I wanna do something nice for you now."

Hearing that, Melissa could not resist hugging him again. She peppered his fur with kisses, giggling all the time. "What a good boy you are! What a wonderful, special, generous little boy! Oh Daniel, I am so proud of you. You're so brave. What a brave boy you are."

The little mouse murred and giggled and lapped it all up like milk from a saucer. Hearing her say such things was an indescribable joy. Things he'd heard so little of back in his old life. But that was all over now. Forever. He was here now with Melissa, and he was going to stay.

At least, he was going to stay in the *house*. He broke the hug abruptly, looking a little embarrassed. "Um, sorry. But I gotta pee real bad all of a sudden!"

She laughed and helped him down off the bed. "Nothing to be sorry for, Danny! Not after you drank so much soda last night. Go on now, and meet me downstairs when you're done. You don't have to bother getting dressed."

"Okay!" The little brown mouse ran off to the bathroom. She was right; It really didn't matter if he got dressed. He wasn't going anywhere today. Except for Melissa's tummy.

An amazing change had come over him in the past week. Now, when he thought about being eaten by the pretty, caring, wonderful vixen in the other room, all fear had been replaced with eagerness. He was excited. Excited to be her food! To give his life for her, like a gift.

Yes, that was right. He was giving himself to her like a present. What a good feeling that was!

Daniel finished up, washed his paws, combed his fur and ran downstairs with a happy grin on his face. Just like a young cub on Christmas morning.


	*   *   *


Daniel had been meaning to ask Melissa over breakfast how she would be cooking him. But when he skidded into the kitchen, he got all the answer he could have possibly needed.

His first thought was, 'How the heck did she get that thing in here!?'

His second thought was, 'Wow, it really IS big enough for me to sit inside!'

Smack dab in the middle of Melissa's kitchen was the most quintessential cooking pot one could have ever hoped to see. Just like in a thousand and one cartoons where witches are brewing potions or natives are stewing bewildered tourists: it was big and black and metal, and so iconic it was hard to believe it was really real.

Daniel came up to it and ran his paws over the rough sides. The lip of the pot came up to his chestfur. He knocked on it, and it made a low, low bass bell sound. "Wow..."

Melissa came up behind him, putting her paws on his shoulders. "Impressive, huh? It's an old family heirloom. Back from the old tribal days when there were no borders."

He'd heard about that in history class. The time before civilization. When predators and prey killed each other with even more viciousness than today, and in numbers so great they would make your head hurt if you let yourself think about them too long. It struck him then that he'd probably be the first furson to ever step willingly into this pot.

Melissa was paying extra special attention to Daniel's expressions and body language today. She wanted to make certain he was really ready to do this. If she sensed the slightest bit of reluctance or fear coming from him, she would stop everything, even if he protested. This had to be a decision borne from his love. One single drop of fright would ruin her recipe as surely as a drop of strychnine.

Daniel was feeling awe now, trying to imagine the history this old pot had seen. Melissa didn't dare tell him some of the real stories it had accumulated. He'd never believe her anyway.

She kneaded the boy's shoulders, draining away any lingering tension. "What do you think, sweetie?"

He gulped. "I'm gonna go in there, right?" he asked. Just making sure.

She nodded. "Mm hmm. I thought it might be nice to have a big, hot bowl of boy soup for dinner tonight."

Boy soup! For some reason, he liked that idea. He smiled. He was going to be made into soup. The thought filled him with delicious anticipation. He thought about the smell of fresh hot soup in restaurants. How it warmed your throat going down, how perfect it was on chilly days. This was what he was going to become for Melissa. To show how much he loved her.

"When do we start?"

The eagerness in his tone made her amazingly happy. "Why, right now if you like. It'll take a long, long time to cook you, so the earlier we begin, the better."

He nodded like an airplane pilot about to take off on a daring mission. "Okay."

"Want me to help you up into the pot?"

He nodded again.

Melissa leaned down a bit to lift up the little mouseboy, clad only in his fur, and put him down in the cookpot.

Daniel liked the feel of the cool metal on his bare feet. He noticed that the bottom was not smooth, but that it had a raised lump in the side. He pointed it out. "What's that for?"

"Why, for you to sit on," she explained. "That way, you can sit comfortably as you cook. It will take a very long time, of course, and you won't have to worry about the broth coming up over your nose. You'll be awake through most of it. It will make you taste better."

That thought sounded both scary and exciting. He'd actually be able to watch himself cook! To feel his body becoming stew meat, becoming Melissa's delicious dinner. "But won't it hurt like hell? I mean, I've accidentally put my finger in boiling water before. It's hot!"

She ruffled his hair reassuringly. "Don't worry, sweetie. I promised you it wouldn't hurt and it won't. The reason it's going to take so long cooking you is that I'm going to be doing it over a very low flame, increasing the temperature so gradually you won't even realize it. It'll be just like a hot tub. It'll feel nice. You will simmer, and get to smell all the ingredients I'll put in to make you taste even better!"

He giggled. She was really making this sound fun! And of course, he trusted every word she said. "Okay." He sat down on the little protrusion and found it just the right shape for his bottom. "How do we start?"

"Well, first we have to fill the pot with water. Then we can make boy broth." They both giggled. Melissa picked up a short piece of hose. As Daniel watched, she unscrewed the end of the kitchen sink's faucet and attached one end of the hose. She placed the other end in the pot. Then, with a flick of the knob, water began to trickle in around Daniel's feet. "Voila."

Oooh, it was cold! He shivered and splashed his feet in the tiny puddle. It felt really nice on a hot day like this. It would be like going to the swimming pool! "That's pretty clever," he said.

"Thanks! Now, it'll take a while to fill up. Are you thirsty?"

He nodded. He was hungry too. "Can I get some breakfast while we wait?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, kiddo. It's for the best that you keep your tummy empty while we do this. Although you can drink all the fluids you want. In fact, I have something right here I want you to drink for me, okay?" She went over to the counter and brought back a tall glass of a clear, blue liquid with a bit of powder floating around in it. She gave the mixture a few stirs with a long spoon and it cleared up.

Daniel's ears flattened a bit. "That won't put me to sleep, will it?"

"No, no of course not!" she assured. "Like I said, it'll be much more fun if you're awake and can enjoy every bit of this." She handed the drink to him. "This is just to help your body get ready for being cooked. It'll help make it a smoother transition. See, normally, your body would react very strongly against being boiled alive. It would be very uncomfortable, almost unbearably so. What this blue stuff does is to kind of 'trick' your body into thinking everything's okay. 'Nothing going on here! Nope! Not being cooked one little bit!'"

Daniel laughed. He took another look at her concoction and took a hesitant sip. It was a little chalky, but not bad. It kinda tasted like blueberry. "Mmm," he said as he licked his lips.

"I stirred in some Koolaid powder too, to make it taste better. Do you like it?"

Daniel's reply was to down the tall glass in a single long chug. "Ahhhh!" he sighed happily. "That was pretty good."

"Glad you liked it." She leaned over to check on the water. It was up past his ankles now, which gave her some reference as to how long this was going to take.

As the pot filled up, Melissa went about her other preparations and the two of them had a nice long chat.


	*   *   *


Melissa brought out all the ingredients she'd purchased from the supermarket the day before and laid them out on her long, shiny white counter. As she began to chop and mince and mix, Daniel told her all about his life. He'd reasoned that, since this would be his last day, he should tell Melissa everything about him he could remember. All about his family and few friends, his likes and dislikes, favorite jokes, secret wishes. In a way, without realizing it, Daniel was trying to preserve himself by giving Melissa his memories first, before he gave her his body. That way, some part of him would live on, through her. Within her.

She listened intently to every word. Throughout his life, Daniel had felt like all the grownups around him were just nodding their heads and going 'uh huh' when he spoke. It felt like no mater what he said, it wasn't important enough to bother paying attention to. As if he was so small and worthless that nothing he could possibly say would ever be of any interest. So it was just common sense to block him out the second he opened his mouth.

But Melissa wasn't doing that. She understood. To him, this was serious, so she was taking it seriously too. Daniel appreciated that more than he could ever say.

And to reward her, the only way he knew how, he let himself be more honest with her than he had ever been with anyone else in the world before. He told her things he'd never dared believe he could tell another living soul. Things he'd only ever muttered to himself as he'd laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling on cold winter nights as tears ran down his cheeks and his body ached from the bruises of his most recent punishments. As she tipped little piles of spices into the rising water around him from her cutting board, he told her everything. All his secrets. Not a single one was spared. Even the ones that might not have cast him in the best light. He admitted his sins, and her soft, loving expression let him know that she didn't think any less of him for them.

When the water was up to the young mouse's chest (and oh, but it felt so nice! Like his own little private swimming pool!), Melissa knelt down on the floor and turned on a low-flame heating apparatus she'd hooked up the night before. The little blue flame hopped out from its hidey-hole and kissed the bottom of the pot. Daniel couldn't even feel it.

Saying that he was thirsty again, Melissa gave him a glass of apple juice. He paused in his storytelling to drink it and the pretty vixen took up the talking in his stead. She described in happy, caring tones how each of the ingredients she was putting in would help him to taste as yummy as possible. Daniel liked that. He hoped he would be tasty for her. He hoped he'd make her taste buds sing. He hoped he'd make the very best meal ever.

Melissa slid in chopped carrots and potatoes. She told Daniel he could help out by stirring them in. He nodded and eagerly obeyed, happy to be able to assist his favorite chef. Again, he marvelled on how truly he had come to want this fate. How he didn't feel a solitary ounce of fear. In fact, he could barely remember the last time he'd looked forward to something this much. He swirled the savory-smelling broth around by lightly kicking his feet back and forth like riding a bicycle. He watched the cut up slivers of potato bobbing about all around him, looking like tiny boats.

He was finally beginning to feel the flame. Or at least he thought he was. It was hard to tell. Melissa had said it would be gradual, but the water did seem to be a little warmer now. Melissa poked her finger into the water and smirked knowingly. But whatever she'd gleaned, she didn't tell him. She said he should just relax and not worry about his progress. She would take care of the cooking. All he had to do was keep still and think yummy thoughts. That brought a giggle out of him.

And gradually, as the water went from cool to warm, as more ingredients were tumbled into the pot with him, and as more secrets were shared, Daniel began to feel sleepy.


	*   *   *


Daniel was more relaxed than he had ever been before in his life. The water was hot now, all the way up to his neck. It felt like he was simmering in a giant, liquid hug. As if the soup itself were gently enticing him to let go and become a part of it. A tasty mouseboy morsel, ready to be eaten.

Since all her preparations were long past finished, Melissa had pulled up a chair beside the big pot to be right there beside her brave boy as he fulfilled his transformation into food. As she watched tiny bubbles appearing in the surface of the broth, listening to the occasional ethereal drone of faraway cicadas outside, she would stroke Daniel's ears, or run her fingers through his hair, and speak soft words of encouragement to him.

He yawned a little. He felt like he was being slowly swallowed by a dream. This tiredness building up within him was borne not out of fatigue, but rather a gentle coaxing. It reminded him of long August nights when he'd lie on top of his sheets in just his fur, when the air was so hot there was nothing else to do but drift off to sleep.

The only thing still keeping him awake were Melissa's words. Her beautiful voice, like the sweetest music in the world, spoke loving words into his ear. Everything she said was gentle and caring and true. Every word made his heart warm. He wanted to give himself to her, yes, but he also wanted to stretch out these last moments with her as long as possible. Just to be with her a little while longer. Just to hold on to this magical, foreign feeling of being loved.

He took in a deep breath and was enchanted again by how good the soup smelled. How good *he* smelled, for he was really part of the soup now. Just another ingredient. He giggled thinking about that. If this stuff was canned, the label would read, 'Ingredients: water, potatoes, little boy...'

"I smell nice," he whispered to Melissa. It felt like all he could do now was whisper.

"You certainly do, sweetiepie." She took in a deep breath too, her whiskers bobbing in delight. "Mmmm! Scrumptious! I'm sure you'll be the best soup I've ever made!"

He wiggled a bit, grinning, her praise making him feel proud. "How long will it be until I'm done?" he asked.

"Not for a while yet," she cooed in his ear. She tousled his hair with her slender black paws. "But pretty soon you'll get so sleepy you won't even be able to keep your eyes open anymore. The broth will feel so warm and inviting, you'll just drift off and dream and slide down deeper into the pot. You won't even notice it, I promise. It will feel so good, you'll never notice a thing."

"Okay," he said with a tiny nod. He paddled with his his feet a little, feeling drifts of cut-up vegetables swirling around his paws like a school of tiny fish. "Melissa..."

"Yes?" she asked, leaning in closer. His voice was becoming so thin. It wouldn't be long at all now, before...

Struggling against somnolence, Daniel turned and opened his eyes wide to her. He had been wanting, abstractly, to say this to her for a very long time now. He felt he didn't have much time left to say it, so it had better be now. And he had to make sure she heard it. His voice weak but his emotion strong, he told her, "I wish you'd been my mommy instead."

Melissa's heart fluttered and tore. She closed her eyes and leaned in as close as she dared into the steaming pot, nuzzling her sweet boy and trailing soft kisses up his cheek, up inside his ear and on top of his head. "Me too, my little darling. I wish things could have been different. That you could have been born into a family that would have cared for you more, nurtured you more and made you feel special. I wish I could have rescued you when you were little and taken you with me far away to one of the camps in the mountains. The ones I mentioned, where all of us can be friends."

He nodded, smiling. He had wished for the very same thing.

"I wish we could have spent more time together, my beautiful, sweet boy," she uttered in his ear, her warm breath tickling him magically. "I wish... Oh Daniel, I wish you could have had a chance at all the happiness you've always been denied. You _do_ deserve to be happy, sweetheart. You're a good boy." She paused only for a second, to let a sob pass.

"I love you Danny. I love you so much. More than anything."

"I... love you... too, M'lissa..." he said weakly. He was beginning to slip away now and he knew it. He wasn't scared though. Not a bit. He was ready to let the sandman wrap him up in a warm blanket and take him away forever and ever to the land of dreams. He just wanted to make sure she knew how much he loved her first.

Daniel, with the last of his strength, tilted his head up to nuzzle the beautiful vixen's cheek. "Thank you... for cooking me, Melissa. I'm happy now..."

Warm, clear tears slid down Melissa's cheeks and landed in the pot below. She cradled the boy's head in hers and kissed him with fierce love, completely unable to believe he had said such an impossible, wonderful thing to her. "You're welcome, Danny. Thank you too. You're going to be the best supper ever, I know it. You've already been the best little boy I've ever known. I love you so much, sweetheart. I love you a million times. I love you the sun and the moon. I love you more than anything, little mouse..."

"Love you more," he wheezed. "Goodbye, Mommy..."

Daniel's smile was wider and truer than it had ever been before in his whole life. With no pain or sadness or regret at all, something fell silent within him, and went to sleep.

Melissa let him go.

She took her paws away, trembling badly, and the young mouse's head slipped serenely down into the savory-smelling broth. She watched him descend, his hair and then his eartips vanishing out of sight.

A tiny bubble emerged to the surface, and that was all.

Daniel was gone.


	*   *   *


Melissa bent over her chair and buried her face in the fur of her forearms. She wept, her sorrow mixing with her joy in a way her heart could barely handle. She was proud of him, and she loved him, and was glad that she had made his last days the happiest of his life...

But she would miss him. And eating her supper tonight would be so hard.

'No,' she reminded herself. 'Have faith. Nothing is over yet. _Nothing_. You have to believe, Melissa.' And for a second there, her inner voice had sounded exactly like that of her grandmother's.

With a heavy sigh, she stood up and went to set the table. She would let him cook a while longer. Then it would be time to eat.

She took a deep breath and the sweet smell of delicious food filled her nose. It was a happy smell. As if her soup wanted to remind her that this was not a sad moment. That Daniel was happy now, and that he had given himself to her just like he wanted. He was his own gift to her, for her kindness. He wanted her to be happy too.

Standing there in her kitchen, surrounded by the delicious scent, Melissa found herself able to smile.


	*   *   *


That night, Melissa Evergreen sat down to the most delicious dinner she had ever eaten.

She ate and ate and ate, taking second helpings and even thirds and fourths. She ate until her belly distended like a pregnant woman's. She sipped wine and laughed at the comparison.

In every slurp of the magnificent soup, she tasted Daniel's happiness. His pride in the choice he had made. She felt like he was watching her, overjoyed at how much she was enjoying him.

"Thank you, sweetie," she said out loud to her silent, empty room. She patted her taut, round tummy. "What a good boy you were."

After cleaning up a bit and putting away the leftovers, the satisfied vixen went to bed to digest her meal.

And to dream.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY SEVEN


	*   *   *





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY EIGHT


	*   *   *





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY NINE


	*   *   *





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY TEN


	*   *   *





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DAY ELEVEN


	*   *   *


Daniel blinked.

His heart had begun to beat again. Hesitantly, his lungs took in a long overdue breath. The boy's body awoke slowly and cautiously, as if in a state of bewildered disbelief. But, just like riding a bicycle, it quickly fell back into the same old usual groove again.

The young mouse's mind took slightly longer to catch up. It felt to him like cotton-candy cobwebs had grown all over the inside of his memories. But now, one by one, his thoughts slowly woke up and the spider silk dissolved away. Danny was becoming Danny again.

As the first sound escaped his throat, Melissa, who had been sitting at his bedside for nearly two hours now, choked back a shout of mad joy and clasped her paws over her muzzle. The million tears she'd cried, doubting herself and her skills, were as if they'd never even existed. A single thought rang through her mind like a grand, brass churchbell. She saw the thought as an immense white banner stretched across her soul, proclaiming joyfully, 'IT WORKED!!!'

The quaking vixen brushed aside a mound of tissues and crawled up onto her bed, where Daniel was laid out motionless beneath the covers. She shuffled over to cradle his head in her paws. She placed one hand behind his large, adorable ears and the other began to stroke his furry chest. She could feel breath filling his lungs and the vibration of his heartbeat. It was a miracle. She'd made an honest-to-gosh miracle happen. The small part of her that wasn't going nuts screaming in joy at seeing him alive again was feeling a vast sense of pride at the fact that she was able to accomplish this amazing thing.

"Danny? Sweetheart? Can you hear me?" she whispered breathlessly. "It's time to wake up now."

From somewhere across the universe, the boy could hear soft sounds calling to him. A moment later, his budding brain was able to classify them as a voice, and then as words. And then, as the voice of someone he knew. Someone he loved.

His mouth opened.

"M'lissa?" he husked, scarcely a sound at all.

The vixen just barely held in another joyful whoop. Tears poured down her cheeks as her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Yes, Danny, yes! I'm here! Please, little one, wake up! Oh, I have the most wonderful surprise for you!"

The explosive emotion in her words was doing the most to rouse young Daniel from the heaviest slumber he'd ever felt. As he felt himself becoming himself again, he took stock of the situation. For one, he felt like he'd been asleep for a month or two. And secondly, weird as it seemed, he felt smaller somehow. His body seemed normal in every other respect. In fact, he hadn't felt quite this fit and refreshed in a long time. But still, there was an odd sense that he was somehow *littler* than when he'd fallen asleep.

Fallen asleep... 'When exactly was that?' he asked himself.

The memory of the smell of soup gave him an answer.

Suddenly, Daniel was _very_ awake. His eyes popped open, meeting Melissa's. He could see an incredible relief in her features, along with a happiness so bright it made her seem to glow like an angel. He was in her room, tucked snugly in her bed, head on her soft pillows. The room was dim, but a playful ray of sunshine peeked around one of the window curtains. It felt like morning. And that seemed quite appropriate, for whatever reason.

On shaky arms, Daniel tried to prop himself up. Seeing how unsteady he was, Melissa helped, putting a paw to his back and easing him into a sitting position. She placed another pillow behind him and let him down as gently as she could.

He looked up to her, more than a little bit confused. "Didn't you eat me?" he asked.

Melissa burst out laughing. She threw herself on top of him in a giggly hug. "Yes! Oh Daniel, yes I did! I ate you all up! For two days, all I ate was soup. But I never got tired of it! Mmmm, you were wonderful! Fantastic! The best soup ever, just like I knew you'd be!"

Still confused, but at least certain that he was happy to be with her again, Daniel returned the hug, resting his short muzzle on her shoulder. "But how come I'm alive now? I thought I was just gonna end up as some bones 'n stuff."

She grinned and giggled. "In just about any other situation, you would have been, kiddo. But you're not. And that's because I haven't been 100% honest with you." She pulled back from the hug just enough to look earnestly into his eyes. "Now, I haven't lied to you. Not ever. At least, I hope not. But I have omitted a small detail about myself. See if you can guess what it might be."

Daniel was still too sleepy for riddles. "I dunno. Sorry, my head still kinda feels like it's fulla dust."

She ran a paw comfortingly though his stiff, messy hair. "Well, let's hope that feeling goes away soon. I have a lot to tell you, and I'm sure you're going to start asking me lots and lots of questions pretty soon.

"But in regards to my secret, think about when you asked me why it is that I can live here, in a prey neighborhood, and no one seems to notice. Now why might that be?" she asked, a minxy smile on her pretty muzzle.

Much as Daniel wanted to come up with an answer for her, he just wasn't running at full steam yet. He shrugged, mouth hanging open. "Sorry. No idea."

"Okay then," she continued gently, perfectly understanding his dream-fuzziness. "I'm sure you heard plenty of fairy tales when you were little, right? Everyone has. Now, what kind of a character in a fairy tale can perform magic, and who also likes to eat up little boys and girls...?"

Daniel blinked. His mind almost had it, but seemed unsure that what it was grabbing for could possibly be right. "Umm... A witch?"

A beaming, proud smile! "You're absolutely right, my little muffin! Though I prefer the term 'sorceress', since it sounds cooler."

Daniel firmly shook his head. "No way! You're messin' with me. Witches aren't real. They're just in fairy tales, like you said. I mean, it *seems* like magic, since I know for sure I remember falling asleep in that pot..." He blushed just a bit. "...and it felt really, really good, too." She smiled happily. "It couldn't have been magic though. That doesn't make any sense. That's little kid stuff."

Her smile became softly cryptic. "Funny you should say that..." She pointed across the bedroom to a full-length mirror hanging beside her dresser drawers. "If you can, why don't you get up and go over and look in that mirror there?"

He gave her a look to ask why, but she remained silent. All she showed was that frisky, teasing smile. Daniel took in a deep breath. He still felt a little wobbly, but he didn't feel at all bad or sick. Just a little out of it.

A bit more of his strength had come back too. He pulled away the blankets with no tremble in his arm and scooted himself towards the edge of the bed. He felt his feet slip out from the silky sheets and get kissed by the warm morning air. He set his feet down and wiggled his toes in the plush carpet.

"Can you stand up okay?" she asked with genuine concern, moving to assist him if needed.

He held up a paw. "I think I can do it. Lemme try..." Another deep breath. He put his paws on the side of the bed and pushed up. His body rose like a helium balloon. For a second there, he thought he might topple backwards onto the bed. But then he was okay again. He was standing up. He was out of bed.

And he was absolutely butt naked, too.

Realizing this, the little mouse bashfully tried to cover himself, more out of habit than humiliation.

Melissa giggled gently. "Oh, don't be embarrassed, sweetheart. I've seen it all before. I think you have a beautiful body, Danny. You're a very handsome boy."

He smiled at her, realizing that she was right. Plus, he'd felt comfortable enough to run around in just his fur the day before (if it even HAD been the day before. It seemed to him he'd been asleep for a *very* long time...). The little mouse took his hands away, letting her see his secret-place.

"Your boybits are very handsome too," she said, perfectly truthful.

He chuckled, feeling a tangled, tingly combination of boyish emotions at having a beautiful grownup inspecting his thingies. "Uh, thanks."

"Go look in the mirror, honey," she coaxed.

Daniel nodded. He took a hesitant step, not sure if his balance would be able to catch up or not. It seemed to, so he took another. When he was fairly sure he'd got the hang of this walking thing again, he crossed the room to stand before Melissa's mirror.

His jaw dropped. He wanted to gasp but couldn't make a single sound.

Melissa padded over, tail swishing. She put a reassuring paw on his shoulder.

There was a reason he'd felt smaller when he'd first regained consciousness; he *was* smaller! Younger! He hadn't looked like this since at least fourth grade, maybe even third. Somehow, he'd simply dropped three or more years off his age!

"Do you mind, sweetheart?" the vixen whispered to him. "I thought you might enjoy it. If I'm wrong I can fix it, don't worry."

"Wut... How... But..."

A soft chuckle. "The how doesn't matter right now. We'll get to that later. But as I was bringing you back to life, I thought you might like to be a little younger. It was just an idea I had, that you might like to go back a bit. Have more time to be a little boy before grownupdom sets in."

Daniel was speechless. He *had* wanted that. But not in any way he'd even been able to grasp yet. When she'd said the words, it was like a little lightbulb going off: 'Yes, that's it exactly!' But then, how had she known?

"Do you mind?" she asked again.

"N-no," he finally answered, staring into his own past self's eyes. He was amazed at not only how much his physical self had changed since he'd last looked like this, but also his emotional appearance. When he'd looked in the mirror the day before becoming soup, he'd seen so much festering anger and tension there. A steel spring set to snap. At any moment, at any thing. And while that still wasn't all gone, not by a long shot, there was definitely a heckuva lot of difference to see. "I... I think I like it," he said. Quietly, but confidently.

Good. She was happy. "Now do you believe I'm a witch?"

He turned around to her. "I don't know..."

The vixen lifted him up into her arms, resting him against her shoulder. "Well, let's go get some breakfast. I'm sure you're starving. I'll do my best to explain everything I can."

Feeling as if his life had become one of the fairy tales they'd just been talking about, Daniel went cooperatively limp in her embrace and felt her carry him along to the kitchen.


	*   *   *


Daniel was plopped down in one of the smooth, cool kitchen chairs (which felt funny on his bare tush, but in a good way), and Melissa began buzzing about the kitchen, preparing breakfast for him. As she had told him in passing a few days before his transformation into supper, 'Melissa' was the Greek word for bee. She certainly looked the part at the moment, flitting about from cupboard to cupboard as she whipped up a nice big bowl of cereal, plus orange juice and toast.

"Is cereal okay?" she asked him. "I wish I had time to prepare something more, but I had no idea when you were going to wake up. Quite frankly, I didn't really expect you to come out of it until this afternoon."

"No, no, cereal would be great," he told her. He thought some nice, cold milk splashing down his hot and gummy throat would be just the thing right now. "But what exactly happened to me? Okay, so you're a witch- sorry, a *sorceress*. What'd you do to me after you ate me?"

She was glad he'd remembered what she liked to be called instead. 'Witch' conjured up images of crabby old crones with wrinkly green skin and pointy noses. Not exactly the most glamorous first impression one could make. Sorceress, on the other hand, had a much more feminine quality to it. It was a liquid, silvery word. She liked just saying it. But as to Daniel's question... "Well, um, actually, the details of it get a little gross here and there. I did have to, erm... digest you."

He wrinkled up his nose. "Awww, did you turn me into poop? Gross!"

"Well, I told you," she admitted sheepishly. "And it's a perfectly natural biological process. Besides, how else was I supposed to get you out of me?"

Daniel shrugged. Actually, the thought of being vomit was somehow even more disturbing.

"Regardless, let's just say it was a very complicated process. And it took a long time. You've been asleep, or something like it, for four days now."

"Geez, really?" he burst out. Actually, that wasn't too much of a shock. It had actually felt even longer when he was first waking up.

She nodded. She brought over a bowl of multi-colored breakfast loops and set it before him, along with a nice tall glass of O J. The toast would be ready in a minute. "But everything worked out, that's the important thing." She sat down beside him. "To be truthful, this was the first time I've ever done anything of this magnitude. I'm really only a sorceress-in-training. This was, in a strange way, sort of like my graduation."

Daniel shoved a spoonful of yummy breakfast in his mouth. His tastebuds cheered, but his ears were still firmly concentrating on Melissa's words. The fog of sleep was mostly gone now. He was alert again and eager to hear, and to believe.

"It all started when I was fourteen. And now that I think about it, I did lie to you, and I'm sorry about that. But at the time I had to. You see, you... weren't my first."

Puzzled. "What do you mean?"

She opened her mouth to speak and just then the toaster dinged. Glad for the reprieve, even if it was temporary, she got up to bring Daniel his toast. She set it down on a little saucer beside his bowl (like in a restaurant, he thought), and pushed the oleo tub towards him, if he wanted any.

Daniel just picked up a slice by itself and stuffed it in his mouth. The food was good, but Melissa's story held the lion's share of his attention now.

And so, she told him the story of her First Prey. It hurt to, of course. But she knew it was something she had to do. It wouldn't be fair of her to keep it from him any longer. He needed to hear it, to understand why everything that came afterwards happened as it did. His shocked expression made her heart weep. He was motionless, his slice of toast dangling from his lips.

"...so then, my grandmother decided that I was ready to meet some friends of hers. Very close friends. She'd been wanting to teach me their secrets for a long, long time, but she still had to make sure I was ready. Ready in my heart, I mean. Magic is mostly emotion; did you know that?"

He shook his head.

"Silly me. Of course not." She managed a little smile. "But it's true. You can only perform certain spells in certain moods. Some spells won't work if you're angry, or sad, or if you hold hate in your heart. Some spells can never work on someone you love, and other ones should only ever be attempted with someone who trusts you completely. If you're doing a spell with another person, their reactions are almost *more* important than the ingredients and procedure of the spell itself.

"When I came to my Grandma, covered in blood and tears, and told her that I had let them make me a monster, she knelt down beside me and told me to never to say such a foolish thing again. She said that a monster is someone who does horrible things and then doesn't feel anything in their heart afterwards. My tears, she told me, proved I wasn't like that. She said that she and I were predators, and always would be, and that we would always need to take other beings' lives to live. But so long as we could still feel for them and know that cruelty is wrong, we would never be monsters."

Daniel swallowed the little wad of toast that had been sitting on his tongue for the past three minutes or so. "Wow..."

"And that's when she began to teach me about magic.

"She said that it's very nearly a lost art; that most people think it's just nonsense. As real as the tooth fairy. But Grandma insisted it was as real as her or me. That it was important to make sure it never died out, because it might end up being the only way all of furkind could ever find peace with one another.

"She took me deep into the mountains. Not to one of the camps, not at first, but we did stop there for a few days on our journey and it was one of the most magical times of my whole life. I just about burst from happiness at the wonderful things I saw..." Her eyes got dreamy for a moment; faraway, like a child's, as she remembered her first glimpse of a place she'd only ever seen in her dreams (and at the end of her very favorite storybook).

"I'll tell you more someday, Daniel. Soon. Everything I can remember, I promise. But that's a whole 'nother story.

"Anyway, in the mountains I was introduced to a small group of real live witches. Mostly women and children. Only a few men. They talked to me for a long time; asked me questions, made me perform strange little tests. And then they decided that I could begin training.

"That was years and years ago. I learned so much and saw so many impossible things, I could probably sit here and tell you all about them for days."

"You should write a book," he mused. He took another slurp of cereal, not wanting it to get mushy.

Melissa chuckled. "That's an idea. No one would publish it as non-fiction though," she quipped. They laughed together. "I worked really hard to learn magic. Most of it was really hard, but there was always one thing I was really good at. Care to guess what it was?"

"Being charming and nice?" he said flatteringly.

She grinned in delight and couldn't resist bending over to smooch him on the cheek. "Thanks for saying so, cutiepie. But that's not exactly what I meant. I can show you a little bit right now. Just look down at your bowl for a few seconds, then, without thinking about it, look up at my face."

Daniel made a little 'huh?' noise, not sure what that was supposed to accomplish. But he did as she asked. He stared at his sugar-sweetened little life preservers, bobbing about in a sea of white, counting 'one mississippi, two mississippi...'. Then he looked up.

He was so startled he nearly fell back out of his chair.

For a few seconds there, Melissa had been replaced with a completely different furson. Despite her posture, shape and features being essentially the same, she had become, for just a moment, a mouse! A pretty russet-furred mousewoman. The illusion was absolutely perfect. When Daniel shut his eyes and opened them again, the vixen was once again a vixen.

"I assume by how much you jumped that it worked?" she purred casually.

"Uh, yeah!" he gasped out. "I guess that explains the whole 'other people not noticing you' thing!"

She nodded crisply. "I've always had a knack for that. It was one of the biggest reasons I was chosen for this particular... Mission isn't the right word, but it's as close as I can come up with. I was supposed to come out here and live among prey for a month or so. To test the waters, basically. See what the atmosphere was like. How much do your people hate mine? Is there any hope? If so, how much?

"My little appearance trick really only works on people who don't know me well. Just now, you saw through it in a few seconds because you know I'm really a fox. But the other people all around me have no idea I'm not a preyfur like them. Since I show them a mouse, they *expect* to see a mouse. After a while, I don't even have to put any effort into it. Like the neighbor across the street. I could go up to him and shake his paw and even touch nosepads with him. And he'd never guess I was a vixen. Never."

Daniel thought this was seriously cool. "This reminds me of a video game I played once. So, like, you just put out a brain-vibe that says 'I am a mouse!' and people believe that. And since they don't know you're not really a fox, they don't have any reason to doubt what they see, right?"

"Very good! That's it exactly! You see, our minds have an amazing ability to rationalize what our eyes see. We get used to seeing things a certain way, and if we see something out of place, sometimes we'll deny such a thing ever happened simply because we *believe* it shouldn't have. Like, for instance, if you were at home and all of a sudden a huge tiger ran straight through the livingroom, what would your very first reaction be?"

He said it without even having to think. "'I did NOT just see that'!"

A smiling nod. "Precisely! I just sort of *know* how to take that part of people's minds and tell it, 'Don't panic! Nothing's out of the ordinary here! You just go right back to whatever it is you were doing. I'm not a predator; that's silly!'"

Daniel giggled. "So, can you make people see anything you want?"

"Not really. Sometimes, for just a second or two, I can make myself look totally different just for shock value. Like, if someone was chasing me. I could whip around all of a sudden and they'd see a huge, evil monster with giant blood-dripping fangs..."

"Cool!"

"...but it works best when I'm trying to make people see what they *expect* to see. I'm sure not everyone sees me the same. Some people see me as a mouse, or a bunny, or a squirrel, or whatever else makes more sense to them than having a fox walk past them in the grocery store. To me, it's easy. I could probably go to a football game and the whole stadium would never notice a thing. The cameras might see through the disguise though," she said thoughtfully. "I've never really tested that."

Daniel was totally impressed. "That is just sweet as hell. I wish I could do that; make my dad think I'm just a piece of furniture when he's stompin' around the house lookin' for me." He laughed, but then stopped abruptly. "Um... have you seen anything on the news yet? About me, I mean?"

Her smile fell too. She looked ashamed, but not of herself or of Daniel. "Sweetheart, this is very, very sad..."

"What?"

"I haven't seen a thing. Nothing. Anywhere. Not in the papers or on TV," Melissa admitted.

Daniel looked down at the table. Part of him was not surprised by this at all, but another part felt like he'd been stabbed in the back.

"When I felt it was safe to, a few nights ago I hunted down your house and looked in at your father through a window. I... I hate to say this, but you'd never know from looking at him that his youngest son had been missing for over a week. It's like he didn't even care. Like... Like it was a relief to him! I can barely make myself say such horrible things. Just because I don't want to believe any parent could ever really feel that way."

Daniel reached out to pat her on the arm. His expression was saddened, but it was also stony. This news was hard, yes, but deep inside him he knew he had nothing at all to feel bad about. "Melissa, I don't care."

She looked straight at him and could tell he wasn't lying.

"When I was gettin' cooked, I was totally okay with dying and going away forever and never seeing him again. I mean, yeah, I knew I'd still miss Vince, even if he is an asshole now. Just 'cuz we _used_ to be such good friends, y'know? But Mom and Dad... It's like they're made out of poison and I just now realized that. I don't care if I ever see them again. I don't want them to poison me anymore. So if they don't want me either, then... Fuck 'em, I guess."

The boy's resolve was diamond-hard. Even though his body was younger than it had been days before, his eyes had become older, wiser. He had _learned_.

Melissa placed her velvety dark paw upon his. "I don't blame you for feeling that way one bit, Daniel."

The young mouse was quiet for a few moments, staring off into space in deep thought. When he looked back into Melissa's eyes, she could see the traces of tears starting to form there. In a very small, frightened voice he asked her, "I don't have to go back to them, do I?"

In a heartbeat, her arms were around him. She pulled their chairs close and enfolded the little boy in a hug, laying her head down on top of his. Her paws rubbed his arms firmly, soothingly. "No, Daniel. No. Never, never, ever."

She felt his fear evaporate, replaced by pure relief.

"I'd never do that to you, Danny. I'd never force you to go back to them, to *him*. I'd never make you go back to someone who hits you and tells you you're worthless. I'd be a terrible furson if I did."

Her words gave his heart peace. He felt brave enough to ask the only real question he'd wanted to ask her so far.

"Does that mean I can stay with you, and get eaten again?"

The question completely floored her. She jerked her head down, probing wildly in his eyes for any sign that that last part might have been said as a joke. "Daniel..." she husked, "did you really mean that?"

He nodded. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Sure."

"You... *want* to be eaten again?"

"I want to be with YOU," he said forcefully. He hugged her close again. "I want to go with you when you go back home to the predator side. I don't care if I ever spend another day here. I don't care about my dumb family. I don't care about school. I care about making you happy. I wanna go with you, and you can do whatever you want to me. I let you eat me because it made me happy knowing I was giving myself to you, as a present. I'd love to feel that way over and over and over again. I'm actually really excited to know that I even can! I mean, you brought me back once. You can do it again, right?"

The pride she felt for him was unmeasurable. She gave her brave, selfless boy a grateful kiss on top of his head, a single thin tear running down her cheek. "Oh Daniel..."

"You can, right!?" he asked again, sounding honestly desperate.

She nodded. "Of course I can, sweetheart. In fact, that was the whole *point* of my whole silly experiment..."

"What do you mean?"

Still cradling him in her warmth, she began to slowly rock with him. Back and forth. Gently. "When I first came here, I got the idea. And now I think a big part of it was to see if I could find a way to put to rest the horrible guilt I still felt over that bunny girl I killed all those years ago. I'd heard before of prey who gave themselves willingly, even when they knew it would mean the end of their lives. People who believed in peace. Like Lydia and her flowers, they would offer *themselves* as tokens of surrender. Or sometimes, even for pleasure. I've heard that some prey find the thought of being killed and eaten... um... erotic."

"It did feel really good," Daniel confessed, his eyes involuntarily darting down to his boybits.

She gave his tummyfur a little skritch. "And sometimes, on very rare, special occasions, I'd heard how witches like me would find a prey partner who would be their food forever. I wanted to try an experiment, to see if it was possible for a complete stranger, a child, to go from fearing me to wanting to feed me in no more than a week."

Daniel wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. "Um... I was just an experiment to you?"

"Oh NO, sweetheart!" she reassured fervently. "I used that word almost as a joke. You were never just some guinea pig to me. Never! I always kept in mind, at all times, that you were a real, live boy with feelings and a life of your own. That was why I was so insistent that it be a completely free choice. It'd be so easy for me to just snatch you off the street and gobble you up. But I wanted to know if it was possible for a young preyfur to actually come to *choose* to be my dinner, of their own free will. I promised myself I would not force you. That all I would do was just be as nice to you as I could. To love you. And hope that maybe you could come to love me too."

Daniel nodded. Something was still nagging at him though. "But... Okay, so you must have planned this all out. So how come when I showed up, you seemed like you were expecting me? Were you just waiting for any kid who knocked on your door?"

"No, no, no..." she cooed in his ear. "It wasn't random. Not at all.

"Before I left, I talked to Shara, one of the elder witches. She has the Sight. She can see glimpses of the future sometimes. She told me that she had seen a young mouse standing on the doorstep of the house I would soon move into. A young mouse boy who came from a neglectful, hurtful home. An angry boy who barely knew what love felt like. Daniel..." she kissed him again, "*you* gave me the idea for my experiment. *You* did. Before I even met you..."

For Daniel, everything suddenly fell finally into place. He hugged Melissa with all his love. It wasn't random. It wasn't just pure, dumb luck that had led him to press her doorbell that day. It was their destiny. It was supposed to happen. They were supposed to find each other. A boy in search of a mother, and a woman in search of a son. It was meant to be. Just like he'd somehow always known.

If it had been random, it never would have worked anyway. He would never have agreed to spend a single day here. He would have screamed bloody murder at the first sight of her and run off at top speed, bellowing for help all the way home. And yet, he hadn't run. And he knew now it wasn't just fear that had froze him in place on her porch that day.

That first night, he had let her put her arm around him as they sat together on the couch. By the second day, all thoughts of escape had left his mind for good. By the third day, he had come to see her as the mommy he'd always wanted. And by the fourth day he had decided that a single day more with her was better than a whole long lifetime spent apart.

They were _meant_ to be together.

The gentle vixen stroked the little mouse's small paw within hers. "Sweetie, I would love nothing more than to have you come with me when I leave. It'll be soon, too. Just a few more days while I tie up loose ends. And then we'll head off into the mountains together. Just like in that book I gave you. And while I can't say it won't be dangerous for you, I can promise you that I would die to protect you. Without a second's hesitation."

Daniel hugged her tight, feeling joy swell inside him. It was like his heart was made of pure sunlight.

"And Daniel, if you really want to, you can be my food as many times as you like. That's another part of the spell. In order for it to work, you had to climb into the pot of your own free will, and never feel fear or regret the whole time you cooked. Those emotions would have made the potion fizzle out like a candle. That's why I was able to keep on. I knew if you wanted to back out, I'd see it the second you felt it. But you didn't. You sacrificed yourself to me. And because of that, the spell worked out just right!"

She gave him a big, loving squeeze. "Oh Daniel, it's so wonderful! Do you know what this means? It means we've made a special, unbreakable bond together. So long as we live, neither of us can die as long as the other is still alive. And neither of us can ever cause any harm to each other, not the slightest bit. I could eat you a hundred million times, you could even eat me, and we'll never feel a single instant of pain. And we'll always come back to life afterwards. We'll always be safe, as long as we're together."

Daniel had thought he couldn't possibly get any happier, but he was wrong. Beautifully, wonderfully wrong. He cried and laughed and hugged his wonderful new fox mommy as tears poured down his face and their happy cries filled the tiny kitchen.

What was left of Daniel's cereal ended up getting soggy.

He never even noticed.


	*   *   *


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


EPILOGUE:
DAY TWENTY ONE

It had been a hard journey. And at the same time, an easy one.

From the day of his rebirth (the first of an uncountable many), Daniel had been a tiny furry bundle of anticipation. This was like waiting for Christmas multiplied by a million.

There were indeed loose ends to tie up. There is a lot more paperwork involved in moving out of a house than any child could ever realize. If there is one great truth of the grownup world, it is that they love to shuffle important-looking papers around.

But finally, once all the 't's were dotted and all the 'i's were crossed, the deal was done.

Melissa and Daniel spent their last night in the house together on the sofa, watching videos together and later on, reminiscing about all the memories they had made in this happy place.

Daniel had finally gotten around to asking a question that had been nagging at him for several days leading up to the move: How come they hadn't packed up all the furniture and stuff yet? They had to leave tomorrow morning. Shouldn't they have gotten everything into boxes by now? Melissa just smirked and told him to go upstairs and put everything from his room he wanted to keep into two big black suitcases she provided for him. She also told him to dream that night of anything he had left behind at his old house that he wished he could have taken with him. Unsure but trusting, he obeyed her.

In the morning, they had a last breakfast at Beans 'N Butter, where Daniel got to sample those magnificent donuts for the last time. The REAL last time, this time.

When they returned to the house, Melissa put her own three suitcases, plus Daniel's two and a sixth empty one, into Clarice's trunk and back seat. She told Daniel to stand in the doorway of the house with her for a moment. They did, silently. Remembering this place that had brought them together, and which they would almost surely never see again, they held hands and closed their eyes.

Melissa told Daniel to count to ten.

He did.

When he opened his eyes, the house was as bare as an empty cupboard. The furniture, the appliances, the carpets, the decorations, _everything_, was simply gone. In one or two places there were even little scattered piles of grey dust that looked like ash.

Melissa looked suddenly exhausted. Daniel asked her again and again what she'd done. Had she used some kind of spell to incinerate everything? Or had none of it really existed in the first place? She refused to tell him. She said that it would be much more fun to figure it out on his own someday. That it was too good of a twist ending to spoil by just telling.

With that, they got in the car and drove off, leaving behind only a lonely bag of school fund raiser coupon books, forlorn and neglected behind the bushes at the side of the house.

It was farther to the prey/predator border than Daniel realized. After an hour's worth of driving, his rich breakfast and Clarice's smooth ride lulled him into an afternoon nap. Melissa could not have been happier. Everything would go much smoother with him blissfully unawake and unaware.

Eventually, the cold, sharp reality of the Fence loomed before her. Two armed prey guards stopped her at a checkpoint a quarter of a mile away from the lone, small gate in what seemed like an otherwise impenetrable two-story high razor-wire monstrosity. A cruel metaphor for everything wrong with their two split societies.

The guards leveled their weapons at Melissa's little yellow car and told her to turn around before they had her arrested. No civilians allowed. Authorized personnel only.

Their minds were small and machinelike, and very easy to manipulate. Putting on the charm at full volume, Melissa leaned out the window and fed them a bullshit story so innocent, so convincing, so perfectly reasonable, they lowered their rifles and let her pass by with smiles on their faces. Ten seconds later, both of them had completely forgotten what her story was. Thirty seconds later, they had completely forgotten she ever existed.

So now she was in predator territory. She had brought a helpless young preyfur into an area where thousands of people would do next to anything for a chance to sink their teeth into his tender flesh. She prayed to the Goddesses, trusted in her own powers, and drove on.

Daniel woke up later, just as they were passing through a large, urban city on the freeway. The young mouse pressed his nose to the window glass, his face slack with horror. He had never with his own eyes seen such a burned-out, dilapidated, hopeless, ugly place before. It made him realize that even the crappier parts of his own hometown looked like a royal palace compared to this brutal ghetto. He asked Melissa if it was like this everywhere. No, she replied, but it was in many places. Too many.

They stayed that night in the safest-looking motel Melissa could pick out. They were past the worst of the nightmarish sprawl by now and were in a more suburban setting that was much nicer, if not perfectly peaceful. As they parked the car and trundled the suitcases inside, Daniel looked around at all the laughing, playing predator kids, and thought about how much alike they and his own kind were. Kids are just kids, and that's true everywhere, he realized. Yet at the same time, it broke his heart more than scared him to know that if Melissa's mind-clouding power lapsed long enough for any of them to see what he really was, he'd probably be dead and on a barbecue grill within five minutes.

None of this was fair, he thought.

His dreams that night were sad and frightening, but lined with occasional soft pockets of hope.

The next day was spent driving, driving, driving, driving, driving. They left the big cities, and even the small ones behind by midday, stopping every now and then at dinky little roadside rest areas and once (to satisfy Daniel's curiosity about how the other half lived), a toy store. Melissa bought him an action figure of a heroic robot fox. He thought it was a cool toy, partly just because he'd *never* seen a predator character that wasn't supposed to be a bad guy before.

By nightfall, the only signs of civilization they could see were the occasional lit windows of houses that peeked out from within the endless green landscape all around them. Lines of trees like silent guards lined the narrow, two-lane road on either side. Nary a streetlight to be seen. It was all more than a little spooky.

Close to midnight, Melissa parked at a minuscule rest area that was nothing more than a parking lot and a public bathroom. Theirs was the only car around for miles. No one had even passed them in the last hour or so. It was actually fairly easy to imagine that they were the only living things in the entire world. Except, of course, for the infernally droning insects all around them.

Melissa put the seat back and got as comfortable as she could. Daniel laid his head down on her side. Together, they slept.

They were awakened in the morning by a loud and obnoxious bear family whose seven pudgy children all needed to go potty at the same time. The near-constant barrage of arguing snapped Daniel and Melissa out of slumber like a hail of gunfire. They waited until the bear family had departed, then used the incredibly grimy and disturbing restrooms themselves. After a light breakfast of greasy prepackaged goodies Melissa had bought at a gas station the night before, they were on their way again.

That afternoon, just as Daniel was beginning to think he'd be stuck in this car for all eternity, Melissa turned onto a bumpy dirt road that cut a barely-visible path through some of the hugest trees he'd ever seen. They emerged on the other side in a campground.

The people there all stopped what they were doing as the car pulled up. Always alert, just in case anyone ever discovered this place by accident. But enough of them recognized Melissa's little yellow coupe that a collective breath of relief was released. A delegation of friends and acquaintances approached the car.

Daniel looked out the window and felt reality bend. Somehow, he had entered the illustration on the last two pages of Melissa's favorite childhood book.

Fursons of all species surrounded the car. Predators and prey. Parents and children, *especially* children. Kids were running around everywhere! Playing games and singing and shouting and laughing and doing things all happy children everywhere do. Without any thought whatsoever as to what species their playmates were.

Daniel stepped out of the car, feeling the greatest sense of awe he would ever feel in his lifetime.

More than a half-dozen furs came over to greet Melissa. Another vixen called out to a long, bunkhouse style building behind her that their sorceress spy had returned unharmed and had brought a new friend with her. As Melissa hugged all her long-missed friends and tried in vain to keep up with their questions, Daniel looked all around him at this wondrous, magical place.

It was a whole hidden city, built in and within the forest. Nearly everything he saw was made of natural materials. People walked around in loose, earthy clothing. Some of them were even moseying around in nothing but their fur. No one seemed to mind though. Everyone was smiling. Predator grownups were hugging prey kids. Prey grownups were hugging predator kids. People were talking in the streets or helping each other with errands. Everyone looked fit and healthy and happy to be alive.

"This is just the coolest damn place _ever_," Daniel muttered under his breath.

Someone poked him in the back.

He turned around and got an almost deafening "HI!" in the face.

Standing there before him in a shabby green dress and a freckly grin was a young mousegirl just his age (or at least the age he appeared to be now). Her fur was like caramel, with vast amounts of curly red hair spilling down her back and shoulders and over her eyes.

"Uh, hi," he said back.

She stuck out her paw. "Are you Melissa's new chew-toy?" she asked conversationally.

"W-what?" he asked, befuddled.

She giggled. "Oh, sorry! I'm totally used to it, but I bet you're not. She ate you though, right? That's why you're here?"

He nodded, a little amazed that she could be so casual about it.

"My mommy's a witch too. She eats me up at least once a week, sometimes more," she said authoritatively. "It's the best! And on Sundays, they have a great big prey-roast down by the lake. Anyone can volunteer. I always do! Sometimes even preds do too, just for fun."

The very idea blew his mind. "And... and they're all safe? I mean, no one dies?"

The effervescent little mouse shook her head as if that was the silliest idea she'd ever heard. "Nope, never! Well, okay, technically I guess we do... But it's only temporary, so there's nothing to worry about!"

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Daniel cut off his intended reply and turned to see Melissa and a ravishing, voluptuous mouse lady with dazzling silver hair approaching.

The little mousegirl burst out smiling and ran to the two women. "Mommy! Aunt Melissa! You're back!" She ran at the happily startled vixen and practically hurled herself into her arms. "I missed you sooooooo much!"

Giggling, Melissa peppered the little sweetheart with kisses. "I missed you too, little muffin! I'm so happy to be back!" She turned to Daniel. "This is my best friend Daphne Willow and her daughter Belinda. Guys, this is my new son, Daniel."

Though they'd both silently acknowledged that that was what he had become, this was the first time Melissa had specifically referred to Daniel as her son. It took him aback for a moment. And then a deep, serene smile came to his face. It was like that one little word had made it all real. Like it had put an official seal on the fact that they were now, and would forever be, a family.

Slightly dazed, but in a good way, Daniel shook paws with the Willows.

Belinda jumped down from her favorite fox's arms and bounced straight up to Daniel again. He couldn't quite tell if she thought he was cute or if she was just like this with everybody. "My mommy and Aunt Melissa are teaching me magic. I'm gonna be a witch someday! I'm gonna know a million billion spells and help people and live forever and catch little kids like me and eat 'em all up!" she declared proudly, ending with a giggle.

The grownups barely contained laughter themselves.

The peppy little rodent grabbed Daniel's arm. "Come on! Let's go play! We can round up all my stoopid brothers and sisters and I'll show you how to turn 'em into statues! Of course, they might do it to me first, but that's the fun part!"

Daphne reached out to restrain her little firecracker of a daughter. "Um, honey, I think Daniel and Melissa might want to unpack first."

"Oh," said Belinda. She hadn't considered that. She released her grip on her new playmate. "Well, I guess we can play afterwards, right? After you get settled in? There's not *too* many other mice here, and you are kinda cute."

Daniel grinned, holding back a chuckle. At least that explained that. "Uh, sure, Belinda. That'd be fun. It's been a long trip though, so I'm kinda pooped. But maybe we can play tomorrow."

She nodded vigorously. "Okay! I guess I'll see ya then! Bye! I'm gonna go make a pest of myself!" And with that, she zoomed off with the energy and speed of a charging freight train.

"Has she had too much soda pop today or what?" Daniel asked, deadpan.

Daphne and Melissa both cracked up. The mouse lady gave Daniel a charming smile. "No, dear. She's just a little screwy. The whole family is. It's the witch heritage. We're always hyperactive and brilliant as kids. No one knows why."

"My mom used to say I was full of beans," Melissa remarked.

"Oh, did you fart a lot?" countered Daphne, and both women laughed uproariously.

Daniel giggled too, but sensed that might have been some kind of private joke between the two of them.

Letting out a long, tittering sigh, the mousewoman gave her vixen friend one more hug. "It really is good to have you back, Mel. I've worried about you. All these nights... You really are braver than me, and I'm not ashamed to admit it."

Melissa blushed modestly. "Thanks, Daph. I've missed you just as much. But I've been driving for almost fifty hours straight now. If I don't lie down soon, my butt is going to shatter like glass."

Daphne chuckled. "Heard and understood. You need any help carrying those bags in? Your old place is still waiting for you, just the way you left it. I even made sure to sneak in and do some dusting on occasion."

"Really? Aw, thanks!" She gave her mouse friend a hug. "But it's okay. I think Daniel and me will be just fine." She turned to him. "Right, kiddo?"

Daniel shot off a snappy salute. "Aye-aye."

Melissa and Daphne exchanged a few more pleasantries and hugs, then the vixen finally got back in her car. Her legs protested loudly, but she reminded them it was just a hundred feet or so more. She and Daniel drove a little ways away to a long row of friendly-looking houses. Like summer cabins. Melissa parked Clarice next to one that was nearly indistinguishable from the others, save for a huge mutant spider plant hanging from the porch roof and a small note tacked to the door.

The fox and mouse got out and began lugging the suitcases out of the back. Daniel lined them up on the porch while Melissa read the note (smiling in such a way that it was obvious it was something nice from one of her friends) and hunted through her key ring.

Noticing something odd, Daniel jiggled all the suitcases. "Hey, uh, wasn't one of these empty when we left?" he asked, feeling a little breeze of unreality.

Melissa nodded, smiling that cryptic smile of hers again. "It _was_," she said, accentuating the past tense. "Remember when I asked you to think about all the stuff you left behind at your old house...?"

Daniel's eyes went wide. Sure, it was impossible. But he believed her anyway. Somehow, across time and space, his favorite toys had magically appeared in one of their suitcases. Or maybe they'd sprung into being, copied directly from his memories? Either way, he knew he was going to be smiling his lips off later when he unzipped this one.

When the key clicked in the lock and the door swung open, Daniel peeked inside at what was soon to be his new home. It was a lot smaller than Melissa's suburban hideout, but it was nice nonetheless. Quiet and peaceful. A happy little place.

"Just leave the suitcases by the door," Melissa told him. "We'll get to them later. Right now, I just wanna collapse on the bed."

"I'm definitely joining you," he said.

Together, the passed through the cute little cabin into a cheerful sunlit room with a wide, comfy-looking bed up against the window. Melissa walked over to it and melodramatically dropped back onto its softness, as if she couldn't possibly have held herself up a second longer. Daniel ran over and jumped up beside her.

The vixen rolled over and ensnared her beloved mouse in a tickle attack. Daniel squeaked and cried out laughing, but never once asked her to stop. She kitchie-kooed his tummy for a bit, then swept him into a big hug and planted tiny kisses all over his face and ears. Daniel was reduced to a wiggly, giggling little ball of fur.

"So, sweetie, do you think you're going to like it here?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Daniel shouted exuberantly.

"And do you think you'd like to be my dinner tomorrow night?"

"Yeah!" Just as enthusiastic as the last one.

She nuzzled his furry cheek. "And don't worry, the first time always takes the longest. This time, not only will you wake up in your new bed the morning after, but you can stay awake the whole way through it if you like. Nothing will hurt. It'll all feel wonderful."

"Anything you want me to do, I'll do it," he pledged with a contented smile. "I trust you. I know any recipe you pick out for me will be fun."

"Fun for both of us," she said.

"That's right," Daniel agreed. He hugged her tight, closing his eyes, beginning to feel sleepy. "I love you, Mommy."

Touched beyond words, Melissa kissed him between his fuzzy ears.

She rolled over just enough to close the blinds, making the bedroom nice and dim. Perfect for an afternoon nap.

Then she put her arm around her beautiful new son again. And together they dreamed of the wonders their new life would bring.



               The End
               ...for now





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This one turned out to be more than I _ever_ expected.

I originally pictured this as some little seven-page fetish story. A cute little vore tale. Even kinda goofy, in the same vein as some of the sillier chapters of "Bartleby's Descent".

Ha ha ha. Silly me. I have Stephen King Disease.

I'll bet all the money I own that a whole bunch of his novels were originally short story ideas. And sometimes, that's all an idea is meant to be. Just a little sketch with words; a short peek into another dimension. But sometimes you get an idea that's so potent, so moving, so emotional... Sometimes it means so much to you, it basically grabs you by the lapels and *demands* that you expand on it. And usually that means the idea is trying to tell YOU something, not your audience.

This one started disobeying me from the Very First Page. I'd envisioned it totally different, envisioned Daniel completely different. He really surprised me with how much more he had to say than I ever gave him credit for.

The beginning is the same, and the ending is the same, and just about everything in the middle came to me a split second before I actually typed the sentence up. Totally spur of the moment. Bolsters my theory that I don't actually write *anything*, that actually, little ghosts sit on my shoulders and dictate stuff to me. I'm sure Suzy would get a kick out of that idea.

Still though, this story has made me cry more times than anything else I've ever written. Tears both happy and sad.

So, before I end up rambling on like some shabby old geezer in the park, the most important thing I wanted to say is: I hope you liked it too.

Toodles!


PS; I hope you all got the amazingly blatant reference to "The Witch In The Woods" there at the end. I just couldn't resist! And in case you were wondering, this story takes place a few hundred years before that one. Yay for continuity! ;)



"Held In Captivity"
Started: Jun 4th, 2005   Finished: August 28th, 2005   Editing Completed: September 20th, 2005

