

Sweetiepie's Ending
a nice little tale(s) of vore by Alex Reynard


  *  *  *

Author's Note: A little while ago, I wrote a story with no ending.

In this story, Shana; a shy little red squirrel girl, is bought and taken home to be eaten by a handsome coyote named Lance. Shana is a bit reluctant at first, but eventually agrees to be cooked because Lance is very kind to her. As it turns out, he bakes her into a nice apple pie and she loves every minute. As we left the two, Shana was curled up in Lance's tummy, and both of them had fallen asleep.

Many people wrote to me, asking what became of Shana next. Would she die? Would she wake up beside Lance unharmed the next morning? I got to thinking about all these ideas, and decided to do something interesting with them.

Now, I'm not sure myself how this story ends, but maybe it happened like this...

  *  *  *


Shana blinked a few times, yawned quietly, and awoke.

The fact that she was waking up at *all* rather startled her, since she'd gone to sleep the night before in a coyote's stomach. She figured she'd be dead by now.

As she rubbed the sleep-dust from her eyes, at first she could only see a fuzzy white light surrounding her. Then, as her vision cleared, she realized she must have died after all.

She was lying on a cloud, floating along through the bright blue morning sky. She was surrounded everywhere by hundreds, thousands of other clouds. Most of them were occupied by other fursons as well; some sleeping, some waking up just like her, some talking with other furs. Shana felt warm and safe. Her cloud was wonderfully soft. It was like lying on a great big pile of cotton balls.

Shana gaped all around in wonder. She sat up and felt an odd weight upon her back. She seemed to have grown something new while she slept.

She reached behind herself and her paw met a handful of feathers. _Her_ feathers! She had wings! Shana gasped in delight as she felt along the length of her new additions. They were amazingly soft, covered in a thin layer of downy fur. She concentrated and gave them a little flap. It was as easy as raising her arm. Maybe even easier. She fluttered them a bit and could really feel them start to lift her up!

The little squirrel laughed in happy surprise. So Heaven was real! It was real, and here she was! She was an angel now!

Just to check, she reached up and could feel a ring of warm energy floating above her head. "I have a halo!" she remarked.

This was pretty darn nifty, if she did say so herself. A big part of the reason being eaten had always scared her was the worry that afterwards she'd just poof out of existence. Her parents had always told her stories about Heaven, but she'd never believed them. Until now, of course.

Shana reached behind her again and gently took one of her new wings in her paw. She extended it around to her front where she could see it. Her feathers were beautiful, colored a very soft shade of caramel-tan. She thought it looked perfect with her orangey-brown fur.

While she was admiring herself, a joyful voice behind her shouted out, "Shana!"

Shana whipped her head around and gasped again. "Michelle!" Her skunk friend from school! But Michelle had been bought and eaten by a lion family months ago...

Michelle bounced over and gleefully hugged her friend. Her own halo glowed even brighter, and her black-and-white striped wings fluttered happily. "Oh, it's so good to see you again! I'm glad you made it!"

"Y-you're an angel too!" was all the surprised squirrel could get out.

The little skunkgirl giggled. "Of course I am! And guess what? I get to guide you to the Gates."

"Huh?"

"The Gates! You know; big and pearly 'n stuff?"

"Oh, I see," said Shana.

Michelle giggled again and gave her friend a warm smile and a hug. "It's okay. I remember when I was new. Come on; I'll explain some stuff on the way."

Shana looked around. The cloud she was on was just big enough for the two of them to stand on. "Um, where are we going?"

Michelle pointed straight up. "We're gonna fly there!"

Shana was a little afraid. "I don't know how to use my wings yet."

"That's okay," Michelle assured. "Neither did I when I got here. My Grandma was my guide, and she taught me. Hold my hand." Shana did so. "Now just spread your wings as wide as you can and start flapping."

Holding her skunk friend's paw tight, Shana unfurled her wings and gave a strong flap, then another and another.  Michelle did the same. Before Shana knew it, they were both floating above her cloud with their little feet hanging down below them. "I did it!" Shana gasped.

"See? It's easy! Plus, I'm helping you. You'll be able to do it on your own in a little bit," said Michelle.

Shana giggled as her cloud receded father and farther below her. This was incredible! "Wow! I can't believe we're really flying!"

"Let's go faster!" Michelle said. Keeping a firm grasp on Shana's hand, she rocketed up, increasing their speed tenfold.

Shana was frightened at first, then exhilarated. Despite being thousands of miles up, she felt completely safe. Her own wings were flapping steadily. She could control them almost unconsciously, like riding her bike. As she and Michelle soared higher, Shana could see all the other little clouds below her, with hundreds of other angels waking up, or talking with their guides, or ascending just like she was.

She looked around and saw the sky was full of angels. Happy laughter rang through the air from all directions. All the angels held paws with a loved one as they flew up higher and higher. Parents, lovers, children, friends; all of them guiding their newly-passed on companions on to paradise. It was the most beautiful thing Shana had ever seen.

That is, until she looked up. Directly above her was a glowing golden light, shimmering and rippling as multitudes of new angels zoomed up into its welcoming radiance. It was impossible to doubt that this was really the entrance to Heaven.

"Cool, huh?" Michelle said.

"That's an understatement!" Shana replied, and both girls giggled.

"So, how was it getting eaten?" the little angelic skunk asked her friend.

"Oh, it was really fun! I was scared at first, and really mad at my parents for selling me, but Lance, the guy who bought me, was really nice. He cooked me up in a pie! It was great!"

"That sounds fun! The Reddings, the family who ate me, were really nice too. I got to play with their daughter, Kyra, for a while before dinner. They prepared me like a roast. The marinade felt especially nice. They put me in the oven and I went to sleep and wound up here. I wish I could have gotten the chance to ask if I tasted good."

"I did," said Shana. "I was still alive when I came out of the oven, so I got to try some of me. I was the best pie I'd ever tasted! Then Lance gulped me down whole and I fell asleep in his tummy. It was nice and cozy in there."

"Lucky you!" said Michelle.

They were getting close now. The golden light would have been blinding, but instead it drew her gaze within it to its radiant core. Shana found in her heart that she wanted to go into that light more than anything else she'd ever felt. She put on an even greater burst of speed and Michelle kept pace with her easily.

"You ready?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah!" Shana shouted.

Closer and closer the two angels came, both grinning widely, looking forward to the new adventures they'd share in Heaven.

Shana hoped she'd get to see her grandma and grandpa, and some of the other kids she knew who'd been food cubs. She hoped that she could be cooked and eaten again in Heaven.

Her last thought, right before she entered that incredible shining nexus, was that she couldn't wait to meet Lance here when it was his time...


  *  *  *

...then again, it could also have ended like this...

  *  *  *


Shana blinked a few times, yawned quietly, and awoke.

She was just about to start wondering why she was waking up at all, when her surroundings startled her to perfect alertness.

She was lying on the floor inside of a perfectly featureless red cube.

The little squirrel's tail frizzed up. This felt wrong, and it felt way too real to be a dream.

What had happened? The last thing she remembered she was curling up in Lance's tummy, feeling happy and oddly safe. She knew she would soon be digested, but that didn't seem to matter nearly as much as knowing that Lance had enjoyed gobbling her up, and that it had been so much fun for her too.

Shana got unsteadily to her feet. The floor below her was cool and felt like hard plastic. She was completely surrounded by featureless red; the color of lipstick, or glass christmas ornaments. The walls were slightly shiny and the cube was well-lit, despite the fact that she couldn't see a light source anywhere.

Completely befuddled, the little squirrel reached up to scratch her head.

She felt something that should not have been there, and gulped.

Directly on top of her head, two tiny horns had grown. Pointy and slightly curved. Shana guessed that they were probably the same red color as the box she was trapped in.

The little squirrel sunk to her knees. Great sadness welled within her. How could she have gone _here_? She was a good girl! At least, she thought she was... Her mind started replaying every naughty thing she'd ever done. She wondered what had been the one thing that had tipped the scales.

Before she'd gotten really, really depressed though, she heard the sound of a door opening behind her.

She swivelled around to look. And there was a very strange person indeed.

Entering the red room, from a door that definitely hadn't been there a second before, was a gangly young squirrel with cherry-red fur. He looked to be in his early twenties or so. He was wearing a red shirt, a black leather vest with matching pants, plus a shiny black top hat, like a magician's, that was a little too big for him. Aside from his candy-apple fur, he also had small batlike wings growing from his back and an almost microscopic black goatee.

He closed the door behind him. It vanished instantly.

He turned to Shana.

The little squirrelgirl gulped.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" the squirrel-demon asked in a cheerful, lightly-accented voice.

"I-I'm Shana," she managed to squeak out. She was nearly trembling in fright, not knowing what this strange person was going to do with her.

The squirrel-demon reached inside his vest and produced a cartoonishly-large and  overflowing clipboard. He ruffled though it noisily, papers falling to the floor like snowflakes and melting as soon as they touched the ground. "Ah, here we are; Shana." He ran his finger down some sort of list. Shana craned her neck to see, but from her vantage point on the floor whatever he was looking at was hidden. "Hmmm," he said after a moment. "You've been quite a naughty little girl, haven't you?"

Shana felt like she was going to cry. "I didn't think I was..." she said softly.

Seeing the sadness upon the little one's face, the squirreldemon flicked his clipboard out of existence. He came closer to Shana and laid a soft paw on her shoulder.

She looked up, and he was smiling comfortingly at her.

"Well, not all *that* naughty, not really," he said reassuringly.

"But I was still bad enough to get sent here," Shana said morosely.

The squirrel-demon knelt down beside her and, to her surprise, gave her a very gentle hug. "Oh, it's not so bad down here, Shana. You'd be surprised how many fursons end up here, sometimes for the tiniest little things."

Shana was glad that he was trying to comfort her. She looked up from her tears and noticed his vest had a nametag on it. It read "Hi! My Name Is: RAZIELPHUSTAR" and had a little smiley face after it. Shana could not contain a little giggle at that.

Razielphustar chuckled too. "Care to have a go at pronouncing it?"

Shana studied the bizarre collection of letters for a moment. Then she carefully tried to sound it out. "Ray-zee-el-foo-star?"

"Close!" he said brightly. He stood back up and reached in his pocket. "A good try; that deserves a lollipop." And with a flourish, he whipped out a nice big red one.

Shana took it with a startled little smile. She unwrapped it and gave it a lick. Cherry cheesecake! Her favorite! "Mmmm!"

"Raiz-ay-ELL-phuss-tar," he corrected, the name sounding half like a growl, half like a tape played backwards. "But you can call me Raz. I don't mind."

"Okay, Raz. Thank you for the sucker," Shana said politely.

"Not at all; you earned it. Not many mortal souls can come that close to pronouncing the true name of a Hellguardian."

"Is that what you are?" Shana asked, a little bit frightened again.

"Indeed, but don't worry. I'm basically just a bellhop. I greet you when you come in, then show you to your room."

"Oh. Okay," Shana said. She wondered what in the world was going to happen to her here. Would she be tossed in a lake of fire? Tied up and tortured? Spanked with a paddle? Then again, Raz was being very nice to her, so maybe it wouldn't be anything *really* horrible. "Am I going to get punished now?" she asked tentatively.

Razielphustar lifted his arm and checked his watch, which also hadn't been there a second ago. "Indeed, little one. It's lunchtime. And you're set to be on the menu."

Shana's eyes got big. They were going to cook her! Would it hurt?

"Come along now. I'll take you right to the kitchens," the Hellguardian said crisply.

He reached out for Shana's paw, and she gave it willingly. Shana figured if she cooperated, maybe they'd go easy on her.

Raz knocked six times on the shiny red wall and a door popped open again. "This way, miss." He patted Shana's back and gently ushered her through the door.

What she saw when she entered was not at all what she expected.

It was a great gleaming kitchen, larger than any she'd ever seen before. Dozens of ovens, barbecue pits, pots, pans, spits and every other cooking apparatus imaginable filled the room to capacity. Hundreds and hundreds of furs were being prepared as food, or were busy preparing others.

But what surprised her most was the loud burst of laughter that greeted her upon entering. As she looked about, she saw that everyone was smiling happily and not a single furson seemed to be in any pain or even discomfort.

A wide smile grew on Shana's face.

Razielphustar patted her shoulder. He grinned playfully, as if finally letting her in on a grand joke. "See? I told you it wasn't that bad down here. In fact, this realm is just the very first stop on your journeys. Have fun, little one. I'm sure you will."

Shana looked up to him, beaming, but was too excited to say a thing.

"And if I can time my break right, I'll pop down to the cafeteria and see if I can buy you for my lunch. You look delicious!"

The squirrel-demon stepped back through the door again, which disappeared behind him, and a kindly-looking wolf walked over to Shana. He gestured beyond him to an empty roasting pan.

It looked just big enough for her to climb into.

Shana thought this wasn't at all a bad way to end up...


  *  *  *

I'm almost 100% certain it didn't end like this...

  *  *  *


Lance blinked a few times, yawned quietly, and awoke.

He sat up in bed and stretched, then looked down at his taut tummy. Shana had digested quite nicely during the night, leaving just a small round bulge.

The tall coyote got up and headed for the bathroom. He sat down on the ol' porcelain throne and went about his business.

"Bombs away!"

Accompanied by a few horrid farts, he disposed of what was left of the last night's squirrel pie.

"Thanks, Shana!"

Flush!


  *  *  *

...though it's possible it ended like this...

  *  *  *


Lance blinked a few times, yawned quietly, and awoke.

It was still dark out. Violet moonlight filtered in through the blinds to softly illuminate the bedroom. Through bleary eyes, he looked over at the clock; well past midnight.

He glanced down at his round belly. He could still feel the night's meal digesting away inside.

He felt a pang of sadness.

"Shana..." he whispered to no one.

"Yes?" came an airy reply.

Lance looked around wildly, unsure where the voice had come from, or if it had even been real.

Then, as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw a silvery form in his doorway.

The little figure stepped forward. Lance gasped.

It was unmistakably Shana's ghost.

She looked incredibly sad. It broke the coyote's heart. "Come here, sweetiepie," he said tenderly, holding his arms out to her.

She rushed to his embrace and flung her misty arms around him. She was cold as ice cream and weighed nothing at all. "Lance! I was so worried you'd be afraid of me!"

He gently tussled her hair. Her form seemed barely solid, as if he could pop her like a soap bubble if he held her too tight. "Why would I be scared?"

She looked up to him. Her once-brown eyes were now a deep glassy blue. "Well, 'cuz I'm a ghost," she said simply.

She looked so frightened and lost and afraid, how could he possibly feel anything but sympathy for the little spectral squirrel in his lap? "Shana... Hush now, little one. It's okay. I'm not afraid." He paused, and gave her a goofy grin. "That is, unless you're on one of those 'revenge from beyond the grave' things," he said melodramatically.

That managed to coax a little laugh out of her. "No, I'm not mad at you. Heck, I liked getting eaten! It was a lot nicer than I expected."

"I'm glad to hear that. You made such a tasty pie. Thank you again, Shana."

She nodded. She smiled a little, and seemed proud of herself for that. She looked down at his plump tummy and gave it a pat. "That's me in there..." she marvelled under her breath.

Lance had to admit, she was actually rather cute as a ghost. Her pretty tail floated languidly behind her, moving as if it were underwater. "Why do you think you're still here, sweetheart?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," Shana said. She sounded a bit frustrated. "I've been thinking about that for a while now. I remember falling asleep inside you after you ate me up, and then a while later I was waking up beside you in your bed. I freaked out a little when I looked down and I could see through myself. I went out into the livingroom to think about it for a while. I didn't expect you to wake up until morning."

"I'm afraid I don't know what I can do to help you, kiddo. I've never had anything like this happen before. Every other time I've eaten someone, I've woken up the next morning alone," he said sadly, wishing he could be more helpful.

Shana slid off of him and sat down on the bed beside him. She thought his blankets felt nice, and she rubbed her footpads over the smooth fabric. Then her brain reminded her what they'd been talking about. "Well, um... I dunno. Maybe they all knew how to go on to the next place, wherever that is. Maybe I got lost." Then another idea occurred to her. "Or maybe I just wanted a chance to say goodbye to you."

Lance put his arm around her. "I'm glad we have that chance now, little one. I've eaten up a lot of delicious cubs before, but you were special, Shana. I'm glad we met. You're a very pretty, polite, and all around good little girl."

She smiled happily at his words. She snuggled up beside him.

They talked together for a while longer, and eventually fell back asleep.

But not before deciding something; if Shana was still by his side in the morning, Lance vowed to do everything he could to help her find her way to the afterlife.

Shana thought getting there would be half the fun...


  *  *  *

With a bit of luck, it may have ended like this...

  *  *  *


Shana blinked a few times, yawned quietly, and awoke.

She murred softly at the feel of the warm blankets that surrounded her. The fabric was smooth and fluffy.

She realized her cheek was resting on something furry.

The little squirrel opened her eyes fully, and was shocked silent with surprise. Lance! She was lying right next to him, like it had never even happened!

She looked down and saw she was still wearing her panties, and only her panties. Lance seemed to be clad just his pajama bottoms. She could see the dome-like rise of his tummy. She put her paw on it. She could feel it still churning away at last night's meal.

But if she was out here, how could she still be in there?!

Shana needed some answers fast. "Lance! Lance!" she shouted. She jogged his shoulder repeatedly.

The handsome coyote came to suddenly, his eyes popping open and his limbs flailing about a bit. "What? What?!" He looked around, and found a pair of pretty brown eyes looking back at him. "Waaaaah!"

"Calm down! It's me!" Shana said.

"Shana?! What...? But I- And you- In my tummy...!" he blabbered in confusion.

"I'm okay!" she said.

"But how!?" he asked. "I mean, I ATE you!" He looked down at himself. "In fact, you're still in there!" he noticed with alarm.

"Well I don't know how it happened either, but I am glad to see you again!" Shana said brightly.

Lance had to admit he felt the same. "Me too, Sweetiepie." He leaned over and gave her a hug.

That was when he noticed that a strange (make that _very_ strange) woman was sitting calmly in his desk chair, reading one of his books.

"Hey!" the thoroughly befuddled coyote sputtered. "Who the heck are you?"

The strange woman put a finger up, and shushed him like a librarian.

Lance was too confused to argue with her, so he shut up.

Shana turned around to look too.

Sitting in the bedroom with them was a voluptuous redheaded mousewoman in a truly odd outfit. She was wearing bright green faux-lizardskin boots, a skintight red dress that ended barely above her knees, a great sweeping midnight-purple cape flecked with gold crescent moons, and a shimmering jet-black wide-brimmed pointy hat.

Quite frankly, she looked like a witch.

Her eyes darted speedily across the page she was perusing, then she abruptly snapped the book shut and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ahhhh! That was good timing, you two! Just enough time to finish! That was a pretty good one, Lance. I don't read many legal thrillers, but that one was damn well written if I do say so myself."

The coyote and the squirrel goggled at her, speechless.

The mousewitch regarded them with amusement.

"Um, who the heck are you and why are you in my bedroom?" Lance was finally able to ask.

The gorgeous mouse gave him a sparkling smile. She crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair. "Belinda Willow, at your service," she said breezily.

"How did you get in here?" Lance inquired further.

"Flew down the chimney," she replied.

"_Flew_?"

"Yes, flew. On a broomstick. Down your chimney," she said, as if it couldn't have been more obvious.

"Are you a witch?" Shana asked.

Lance was about to scold her for being rude, but Belinda let loose a whoop of laughter. "Yes, indeed, young squirrelfemme! Correct answer!" she said gleefully.

"You are?!" Shana asked, incredulously.

"Perchance you didn't hear me the first time?" Belinda replied with a grin, turning her head sideways at the girl.

"Okay, so there's a witch in my bedroom," Lance said flatly. "This is what I get for eating all that pie before bedtime," he added, now certain that he must be dreaming.

"And me," Shana reminded him.

He gave her a little kiss. "And you, sweetie."

"So, aren't you going to thank me?" Belinda asked suddenly. She swiveled herself upside down in the chair so her hat fell off and her long orange curls dangled down to the floor. Her green-booted feet kicked lazily through the air.

"Thank you...? For what?" Lance asked, puzzled.

"I should think it would be painfully obvious," the mousewitch returned, grinning upside-downedly at him.

Lance looked at her, then he looked at Shana. A lightbulb went off. "You mean you...?"

"You saved me!?" Shana finished.

"Correct answer again! That's two in a row!" Belinda effervesced. She did an astounding somersault off the chair, landed perfectly on her toes, then let herself fall backwards onto the bed with a 'whumph!'. She patted Shana on the head like a pleased teacher praising a student.

"How?" Shana asked.

"Well, I must say, you two were extremely lucky. If I hadn't been flying overhead, you'd be in Heaven right now, Shana. Or maybe meeting my friend Razielphustar."

Shana had no idea who that was.

"I was on my way to pick up some supplies at this adorable little magick shop on the west coast..."

"The coast? That's at least a thousand miles from here!" Lance noted.

"Two thousand, two hundred and sixty eight point nine," Belinda corrected. "Good thing I fly at mach five, huh?"

"Mach five. On a broomstick," Lance said flatly.

Belinda nodded, as if there was nothing at all unusual about that.

Shana giggled.

"Anyway," the mousewitch continued, now starting to idly play with Shana's hair, "as I was passing overhead, I 'felt' you two. I could tell you'd been eaten up, little sweetheart," she told Shana, "and that you," she addressed Lance, "were feeling very conflicted about it. I could feel your dreams just as easily as you can see the color of my boots. I knew you were feeling happy that she'd been such a nice meal, but sad that she would have to die. I just couldn't sit by and do nothing."

"Thank you," Shana said. "So how'd you get me out?"

"Oh, it was simple. I've probably eaten more cute little cubs than Lance here's ever seen in his life, and I've got dozens of spells to keep them safe in my tummy. It was a snap to whip you up a new body out of dust and various particles in the air, then pluck out your soul and squish it into its new home."

That sounded a little weird, but Shana wasn't about to look a gift reincarnation in the mouth.

"Oh, and since I could tell you two really liked each other, I decided to throw in a bonus, too," Belinda said casually.

"What's that?" Lance asked.

"You can eat Shana up as many times as you like, forever, and she'll be completely safe every time."

Shana's jaw dropped. "Really?!?"

Belinda nodded. "Indubitably, little one. I created a love-bond between you and Lance. So long as you two care for each other, neither of you can harm the other in any way. He can cook you, serve you, slice you up and eat you, and you'll always be fully aware of it and able to pop right back to life afterwards. And there won't be any pain at all. You could even cook him too if you wanted."

Shana thought this was the coolest thing that had ever happened to her.

Lance thought so too. "Really, Miss Willow? You mean it?"

"One hundred percent absolutelytivelydoodles," she assured. "You'll even keep a full tummy after she's reformed herself."

Thoughts of recipes danced in Lance's head. He pictured Shana being the main ingredient in all his meals from now on!

Shana was imagining the same things too. She wanted to try out a new recipe right away!

Belinda sprang up from the bed and retrieved her witch's hat. She tipped it up on her head at a rakish angle. "Well, I can see my work here is done. You two have fun now!" she said, turning to leave the room.

"Wait!" Lance and Shana both called out.

Belinda turned.

"Don't go! We totally have to do something to thank you now!" Shana insisted.

Lance backed her up. "You've given us such an incredible gift. Could we at least treat you to breakfast?"

The mousewitch considered it, and smiled. "Oh, why not! I already flew out and got my supplies, then zipped back here to check on you. Shawn's coming to visit later, but he shouldn't arrive until sometime after school. I've got oodles of time."

"How much of that pie do we have left?" Shana asked Lance.

"Tons, sweetie. Plenty for everyone!"

Belinda grinned. "Pie for breakfast? Oh good; I thought I was the only weirdo here!"

Everyone laughed, then they all went to the kitchen to share a great big friendly breakfast...


  *  *  *

Though I kinda like to think that maybe it happened like this...

  *  *  *


Lance blinked a few times, yawned quietly, and awoke.

Sunlight streamed softly in through the blinds. His stomach grumbled.

The handsome coyote smacked his lips, still tasting the sweet flavor from last night's meal. He sat up in bed and stretched his arms.

Then he looked down at his belly and felt a pang of sadness. Shana, that shy, pretty little squirrel girl he'd bought and brought home, was now just food digesting in his gut. He'd erased that adorable smile of hers from existence. She was gone.

It was strange; he'd never felt like this the morning after gobbling up the other little cubs he'd eaten. Then again, they had all gone happily and willingly. They had all seemed ecstatic at the thought of being his food.

Shana was different. He hadn't realized at first how truly afraid she was of being eaten. He'd had to coax her, but respectfully. He knew in his heart he could never have eaten her if she wasn't truly, honestly willing. She'd politely agreed to be cooked for a bit to see how it felt, and then she'd decide later if she wanted to go all the way. To his delight, she had warmed up to it quickly, obviously having fun as he lovingly turned her into a pie.

She had even thanked him just before he'd gulped her down.

So maybe that was it; he'd forged a stronger emotional bond with her than his previous meals. Maybe that was why he was missing her so much now, and why he felt like such a horrible furson for ending her life.

Lance sighed silently, then got up and went about his morning routine.

~ ~ ~

All through the day, concentration was impossible. No matter what, his thoughts returned to Shana.

He'd done some yard work, and the fall leaves reminded him of her fur.

He'd watched some television, and a girl on a commercial laughed just like Shana had.

He'd gone out to do some shopping, and passed a little squirrel girl and her parents.

He'd sat in his favorite chair reading a novel, and one of the characters was a food cub.

It felt like Shana was haunting him. Or his guilt was.

Lance finally gave up and went to bed early. He laid there in the dark, clutching his pillow, and softly crying.

Unconsciousness claimed him, and he began to dream...

~ ~ ~

"Lance!" came a happy shout.

Before he knew what was happening, the tall coyote was nearly knocked over by a furry little torpedo.

"Lance! Oh, I'm so happy to see you again! I've been waiting all day!" Shana gushed with a brilliant smile on her face.

'No, no, I can't be dreaming about her. Not now.' he thought.

Shana noticed his shocked, sad expression. She let herself down from her hug. "What's wrong?"

Lance looked around. He was standing in his kitchen in his underpants. Shana wasn't wearing her pink dress from the day before, but instead, a pretty yellow blouse and short skirt that looked adorable on her.

"Shana... I'm so sorry. I just... I don't think I can dream about you now. I want to wake up."

Her ears drooped. "Aren't you glad to see me?" she asked in a confused and disappointed whimper.

Lance knelt down and took her shoulders in his paws. "Yes, and no. And it's all for the same reasons. I've been feeling guilty all day long about eating you. As beautiful as you are Shana, and as much as I love you, I'd rather just not dream anything at all 'till I wake up tomorrow," he said somberly.

Shana looked frustrated. "But I'm not a dream. I'm real."

He shut his eyes, his expression was pained. "Shana, please..."

"I'm _not_ a dream!" she insisted. "I'm me! I know I am! I fell asleep in your tummy and I woke up later on your couch. I wandered around looking for you, but you weren't here. I tried going outside, but all the doors and windows are locked, and it's so foggy outside I can't see past the front lawn." She let it sink in for a second. "I think that I'm *in* a dream. Your dream. But I'm pretty darn sure I'm real."

Lance looked torn between depression and yearning to believe her. "That can't be, Shana. When I wake up, you won't be here anymore."

"I will too!" she snapped back, sounding a little miffed now. "I've been waiting for you to fall back asleep all day now! I was just now about to get a snack and head off to bed too, when you popped up. I was standing here and you just *appeared* in front of me." She snapped her fingers. "Just like that."

Lance hung his head. This was just getting worse. His dream was trying to convince him it was real...

Shana put her hands on her hips. "Allright then, I'll prove I'm not some dumb ol' dream! Wake up, then fall back asleep. I'll be here waiting."

"Shana, I've never gone back to a dream in progress my whole life," he said.

"Then that'll prove I'm real, won't it?" she countered.

Lance stood up and regarded the insistent little squirrel standing before him. "Shana... Part of me wants this to end right now and part of me wants it to keep going because I don't want to lose you again. You really were my favorite meal..."

She seemed very pleased by this. She smiled sweetly at him. "I know, it must be hard. But I'll be here when you get back."

She patted his paw.

"Now just ...WAKE UP!!!

~ ~ ~

Lance sat bolt upright in bed, the words still ringing in his ears.

He bent double and held his head in his paws.

His teeth grit, his eyes started to water. He'd never had a dream that realistic before. Not in his entire life. The colors were vibrant. The sounds were natural. He had felt the cool kitchen tile beneath his bare feet. Shana looked exactly as she had the day before.

And he knew he hardly _ever_ remembered any kind of dialogue from a dream. Maybe a sentence or two at the most. Yet his whole conversation with Shana was still perfectly fresh in his mind. It felt as real as if it had just actually happened.

Shaken by the overwhelming sense of unreality, Lance got up to go to the bathroom. He took a whiz, got a drink of water, then headed back to bed.

He flopped down on top of the covers and just stared at the ceiling for a while.

What could the dream have meant? Why did it feel so real?

Eventually, he felt sleepy again. He let out a long, loud yawn.

He crawled between the sheets and was asleep in seconds.

~ ~ ~

He was standing in his kitchen again. Shana was sitting on a stool, grinning impishly at him.

"Toldja."

Lance's jaw flopped open. Never, ever EVER in his life had he returned to a dream like this. His kitchen was the same, Shana was the same, her yellow dress was the same. The incredible *realness* of it was the same.

Shana hopped down off the stool. "So, ready to believe I'm real yet?" she asked.

There was no way he couldn't. Even if it was for just this one night, just this one time, he could not simply allow this miracle to pass unappreciated. He ran to Shana and swooped her up in a tight hug. He started to cry. He mumbled gentle, loving words to her as he sobbed and caressed her fur. "Oh my sweet Shana oh I'm so sorry I ate you I'm so sorry you were so tasty but I didn't realize how much I'd miss you I hope you can forgive me Shana you're so beautiful I'm so sorry..."

She chittered happily at his kind words. "It's okay. Of course I forgive you. I liked getting eaten up, remember? I'm glad you made me give it a try. It was sooooo nice gettin' cooked and sliding down into your comfy tummy!"

He gave her a kiss on top of her head. "Shana, even if this is just a dream, I'll believe. I have to. If I can have just one more night with you, I'll take it."

"Does that mean you'll cook me again?" she asked eagerly.

He was rather startled that she'd be so willing. "Well, I don't know." He walked over to the kitchen counter and sat her down.

"Pleeeeeeeease?" she begged in her cutest voice. "I've been waiting here all day for you to show up. I've been looking through your cookbooks. All the recipes in them sound so yummy! I want to be a part of all of them!"

Lance couldn't resist a chuckle at her happy enthusiasm. "Well, okay then. If you really want to. Did you have anything particular in mind?"

Grinning, she hopped down and went to retrieve one of the cookbooks she'd been scrutinizing. She found it and flipped through to the recipe she'd seen that had excited her so much. She ran back to Lance and held the book open for him. "This one!"

Lance gulped hard. The picture showed a young kitten being spit-roasted over a blazing barbecue pit. "This one!? Are you serious, Shana?"

She nodded, still grinning. "Uh huh! It looks really exciting. Kinda scary too. I wanna try it!"

This was an incredible turnaround from the shy little squirrel who was so frightened of being cooked at all just the other day. "Shana, I don't understand. And I don't even have a rotisserie..."

"Yes you do!" she insisted gleefully. She tugged on his arm. "Come see!"

Confused, he followed her. On the opposite side of the kitchen was a doorway he knew wasn't in his real kitchen. When Shana pulled him through, he couldn't believe his eyes.

He'd seen professional chefs' kitchens that didn't look this impressive! The room was full of top-of-the-line cub cooking apparatus. There was a cast-iron cauldron, a six-foot long barbecue grill, a fully-stocked preparation counter and, yes, a spit-roasting setup.

"How did..." Lance sputtered.

Shana giggled. "We're dreaming, remember? I figured it all out while I was waiting for you. See, I'm living inside you now, and we can make anything happen just by wishing for it! As soon as I saw that recipe, I wished you had all sorts of fancy cub cooking stuff. Then I looked up and saw the doorway. Poof! Just like that!"

She ran over to the preparation counter. "And look at this!" With that, she selected a great big cleaver and, without a second's hesitation, chopped off her own paw.

"Shana!!" Lance screamed in alarm, running over to help her.

The little squirrlette giggled. "Don't worry! It doesn't hurt. See?" She picked up the paw lying there and her fingers gave him the 'OK' sign. Shana touched the severed paw back to her wrist, which wasn't even bleeding, and it healed together instantly.

Lance was rather relieved to see this. "How exactly did you find this out?"

"I was readin' through one of the cookbooks and got a papercut. I wished that I didn't have to put up with anything like that ever again, so I don't," she explained.

Lance just stood there, taking it all in. Shana was here, apparently still alive, though transformed somehow into a living dream, and they were together in a fantasy world where anything they imagined would come true.

He felt his depression slip finally away. A grin came to his lips. He'd be an idiot not to take advantage of this!

"Okay Sweetiepie, so you wanna get spit roasted?" Lance asked Shana.

"Yes!" she jubilantly replied.

He tussled her hair. "Allright, li'l cutie. That sounds pretty tasty to me too. Why don't you climb up on the counter there and we'll get started?"

"Yaaay!" Shana cried. Everything was turning out just as she'd hoped!

Lance took a look at the cookbook. "Okay, it says here the first step is to get rid of all your fur."

That was Shana's least favorite step, but she was willing to go through with it. After all, she knew burnt fur smelled pretty awful. "Okay." She started taking off her clothes. "Oh, d'you like my outfit?"

"Yes, indeed! It looks perfect on you! That color really goes with your fur."

She blushed happily at his compliment. "Thanks! It's my favorite, so I wished I was wearing it." She wiggled out of the blouse and skirt and tossed them to the floor.

She was just about to take off her socks, when Lance stopped her. "Wait a second, Shana. I want to try something."

"What?"

He stared at her little white socks. "I wish your socks would turn into cotton candy," he said loudly.

Poof!

To their mutual delight, her socks turned instantly into a tasty sugary treat. "That was neat!" Shana said.

"Mmmm! I always loved going to the fair when I was a kid and eating lots of cotton candy." Lance picked up Shana's ankles and began to happily eat her socks.

Shana giggled and squirmed as his tickly tongue licked all over her feet. "T-that tickles!"

Lance giggled with her. He couldn't believe he was really doing this, but he no longer cared. So what if it was impossible? It was only a dream, after all!

Lance finished up her delicious sugar socks and licked his lips. "Yummy!"

"Hope they weren't stinky," Shana said with a grin.

"Nope, not at all." He lifted her feet again and gave her a kiss right on each sole. "Your feet are both cute and tasty!"

She wiggled and laughed.

He tickled her cute toes for a bit, then thought back to the recipe. "Okay then, now how do we get you furless?"

Shana slipped her panties off and tossed them aside as well. "There's a tube of Fur-Gon over there and some rubber gloves for you," she told him. "I planned ahead."

Lance got the supplies. "Good girl!"

Shana scooted over to the end of a counter and slipped into a stainless steel sink as big as a bathtub. She turned on the water and adjusted it to a pleasing warmth.

Lance had used Fur-Gon before. It was a special gel used for quickly and painlessly removing fur from someone who was about to be cooked. Sometimes in a recipe it didn't matter if the prey still had their fur, like the pie last night (so long as the predator didn't mind getting it stuck in their teeth). But when it came to open flame cooking, furlessness was a must. Lance slipped on the big black rubber gloves and squirted a generous portion of Fur-Gon onto his palm.

Shana giggled in anticipation. She had never lost her fur before and was curious what it would feel like.

Lance ran the water over the little squirrel with the snakelike adjustable faucet head. He began to rub the Fur-Gon all over her, building up a good lather. Shana cooed; it tingled quite nicely. She looked around and saw huge patches of her pretty orangey-brown fur sliding right off! It didn't hurt a bit. In fact, it was kind of exciting to lose her fur.

Whistling a tune as he scrubbed, Lance made sure to do a thorough job. He rubbed and rubbed, making sure not a single hair was left. When it was all gone, he rinsed her off good.

Shana looked at her reflection in the side of the sink. She squealed in a mixture of surprise, embarrassment and delight. She was completely naked! She'd never felt so nude in her life. She was perfectly pink all over. Her head was as bald as a watermelon. Her poor furless tail now looked like a mouse's. She had to admit she looked pretty weird, but she knew she could always wish her fur back again after she got done being cooked and eaten.

Lance consulted the cookbook again. "Allright, now we have to prepare the marinade and the stuffing."

"Turn around," said Shana.

He did, and the marinade and stuffing had magically appeared on the counter right behind him.

"I didn't want to wait," Shana explained.

He chuckled and patted her head. It felt rather odd; just smooth skin there now.

Shana climbed back up on the counter and laid down on her back, hands behind her head. It was time to be stuffed.

Lance was a bit apprehensive. He'd never done this before, since he'd always eaten his other meals alive and smiling. He knew now that he couldn't hurt Shana, but it still seemed strange. He selected a long carving knife and looked down at Shana's tummy.

She noticed his uneasy expression. "It won't hurt," she reassured. "I know it won't. I know you'll be gentle. I trust you."

Her words gave him confidence. Gingerly, he made the first cut.

Shana murred at the pleasant sensation of being opened up like a gift.

Lance split her tummy, then got to work removing all her insides. Despite Shana cooing and chittering and obviously enjoying it, Lance was still a bit creeped out, so he finished quickly.

"Now you stuff me," Shana said. "Just think of it as if I was a plushie!"

That was an odd, if rather fitting, way to look at it. Lance took handfuls of the savory stuffing and filled her up nice and snug. She helped too, smooshing handfuls of the stuff into the hole in her tummy. She licked her fingers afterwards.

When she felt nice and full, Shana reached behind her and brought out a needle and cooking twine. "Now sew me up."

"Um..." He didn't think he could. Slicing her was one thing, poking her with a needle just seemed awfully mean. "Well, a-allright..." He kept telling himself that he wasn't hurting her. 'It's only a dream, it's only a dream...'

Shana knew he wasn't entirely comfortable with this, but she knew he'd get over it eventually. She knew they'd have every night together after this to try new recipes. He would come to realize soon enough that nothing could hurt her anymore. Though she did appreciate that he cared so much about her.

Lance did a quick, professional job of stitching her up. He even tied a little bow at the top. "There. Give it a wiggle; does it feel tight enough?"

Shana prodded her stuffed tummy. "Feels fine. You did a good job." She brightened. "Now you've gotta spit me!" She was really looking forward to it. She knew this would prove to her own self beyond a doubt that she couldn't be harmed in this dream world. It was a big reason she'd wanted to try this recipe; if getting spit-roasted didn't hurt, _nothing_ would.

Lance tenderly scooped up his squirrely prey in a hug and carried her over to the fire pit. He could feel the stuffing squishing around inside her. He watched her furless mousey tail sway to and fro. It was a truly surreal moment for him, but the perfectly content little smile on Shana's face urged him on. If this was what she really wanted, he'd make it as pleasant as possible for her. And, too, he was sure she'd taste delicious when she was done!

Shana jumped down and got the spit. She 'ooh'ed at the long metal pole, trying to imagine how it would feel inside her.

Lance went back to the counter for the bowl of marinade and then started to grease up the spit. "I'll go nice and slow, darling Shana. If it hurts at all, just tell me and I'll stop right away."

Shana nodded. "Okay, but I know it won't. I know you'll be as gentle as you can be." She leaned way over, propping herself against the rotisserie. She presented her backside to be spitted.

Lance dropped to one knee and lined up the spit. "Relax your muscles, sweetie. It's going in now," he told her.

Shana squeaked in anticipation, then squeaked again, louder, as the tip of it touched her anus.

"Did I hurt you?" Lance asked concernedly.

"No, it's *cold*!" she said.

He chuckled. "It'll get warmer soon."

Shana closed her eyes and let out a low moan as Lance began lancing her. She could feel the cool metal sliding upwards, deep within her little body. Her coyote friend was indeed going nice and slow, as gently as possible. It felt even better than she'd imagined. "Thank you, Lance!" she said quickly, knowing that once the spit was all the way through she wouldn't be able to talk. "Thank you so much for doing this with me. I know you got kinda creeped out for a second there, but it'll be better soon. Just watch; you can cook me again and again. Every time you fall asleep, we can have more cooking adventures! We'll try every recipe in the book, then make up our own! I love you, Lance! You're the best chef ever!"

Lance smiled warmly at her words. "Oh Shana, my little entree, I love you too! You're going to be just delicious! I hope you're right about us being able to do this every night. I have so many recipes I want to share with you!"

With that, he gave the spit one last long push.

Shana felt it in her throat, mumbled another quick "I love you!", then the metal spear passed up and out through her mouth. She looked down and watched Lance push it all the way through her, centering her right in the middle of the pole. 'He did it!' she thought happily. 'I'm spitted!'

Lance reached over to flick on the fire for the barbecue pit. It turned on with a loud 'FWOOMP' and a beautiful cooking flame popped right up.

Shana could feel the heat from it. She squirmed in excitement!

Lance picked up his skewered squirrel sweetie and set her gently on the rotisserie. He was surprised at how cute she looked spitted. She had a happy smile on her face. She obviously wasn't minding the heat a bit. "How's that, Shana?"

She mumbled a little 'just fine' sound.

"Good, good." He turned on the automatic rotating mechanism.

Shana began to slowly spin. The flames licked her all over her, teasing her nude skin, warming her up and turning her into food. It felt wonderful!

As Shana quietly enjoyed her ride on the spit, even occasionally dozing, Lance went to check out some of those cookbooks Shana had found. His mind was already awhirl with new recipes...

~ ~ ~

A few hours later, which seemed to fly by in seconds, Shana had been roasted to perfection.

Lance had made sure to pay careful attention to basting her. He gave her a nice thick coating of cool, tangy-smelling sauce. And just when some part of her started feeling too hot, he was always there to cool it down again with another coating. Shana loved every moment of it.

The sweet smell of cooked girl meat filled the kitchen. Lance looked up from his cookbook (there was a recipe there for cub eclairs that looked incredible), and noticed that Shana had turned a deep golden brown. His mouth watered from the smell of roast squirrel and the sight of her pretty young body turning lazily on the spit.

He walked over and shut off the fire. It died out with a little 'poof'.

Shana blinked and looked around. "'M I duh' yeff?" she asked, her mouth full of metal.

By her inflection, Lance knew she'd asked if she was done yet. "Yes you are, my darling. You're perfectly roasted. You look so beautiful! My little cooked sweetheart!"

His warm words made her smile. She felt so proud of herself as he put on oven mitts and then gently took her spit off the rotisserie.

Mindful of every step, he walked out to the dining room with her. He'd wished for a place to already be set for him, and it was. There was a big serving platter all ready. With infinite care, Lance tilted the spit at an angle and let Shana slide down off of it onto the platter.

As soon as she was free, she let out a long yawn. "Wow, that was fun! A bit hard on my teeth, though." Her front tooth in particular had kept bumping into the hard metal. But it was a tiny annoyance compared to the overall wondrous feeling of being cooked.

Lance watched as she stretched out, looking just like she'd merely risen from a nap. It was a sight that defied his senses. She was completely cooked. He could smell her, he could see her skin had browned and glazed, and yet she seemed just fine. She was smiling broadly, looking perfectly pleased to have gone through something that would have been unimaginably painful for any other fur.

But after all, it was only a dream.

"Are you gonna eat me all up now, or should I start without you?" Shana asked cutely. She popped a finger in her mouth and suckled on it. "Wow! I'm really tasty!"

Lance laughed, then got a very interesting idea. If it was only a dream after all, he wouldn't have to do the laundry afterwards...

Not caring that he was getting his fur all messy with marinade, he suddenly scooped Shana up in his arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well, I've had breakfast in bed before, but never dinner!" He had a wide grin on his face, excited by the idea of doing something totally crazy. With Shana in his arms, he ran off to his bedroom and plopped right down on his bed. He and Shana both laughed and bounced.

"You'll get your nice blankets all sticky!" she told him.

"Who cares? I'll just wish them clean afterwards!" He gave her a big kiss, right on the lips. And, goodness, but she _was_ delicious! "Oh Shana! I love you so much! My little edible girl!"

She giggled and kissed his nose. "I love you too, Lance! Now eat me up! I'm good 'n cooked and I need to be eaten right now!!"

Thus encouraged, Lance pulled her closer and bit off one of her ears.

Shana gasped in pleasure. That felt good!

Delicious! Scrumptious! Amazing! Words that hadn't even been invented yet! That was how Shana tasted!

"Am I yummy?" she asked.

"You're so beyond yummy," he said with a full mouth, "it's incalculable!"

Shana grinned in delight. She reached behind her. She took her tail in her paw and gave a little yank. It came off easily; she was only meat now after all. "Here, eat my tail!" she said as she presented him with the morsel.

Lance slurped it down like a huge strand of spaghetti.

Shana leaned back and put her feet right in his face. "Now eat my feet! Bite my toes off!"

The hungry coyote did so with gusto. He nibbled off each of Shana's tasty toes, one by one. 

She laughed joyfully as each one was consumed. She felt like a chocolate Easter bunny or a giant animal cracker! She was being eaten, and it felt fantastic!

Lance continued to eat up her adorable feet. He chewed loudly and sloppily, getting juices and drippings all over the bed, and he didn't care a bit. All he was paying any attention to was the heavenly taste in his mouth and Shana's sweet squeals of pleasure.

Now her wonderful coyote chef was eating her ankles. Shana squirmed and rolled around on the blankets. Her grin felt like it was splitting her face. She felt like she could never stop smiling! With each bite, she loved Lance even more!

Lance continued happily down her legs, gobbling up the savory dark meat. Shana was, without a doubt, the best meal he'd ever eaten.

Shana decided to try some of herself too. She undid the bow on her tummy and opened herself up. A plume of steam rose from her belly cavity and the smell of hot stuffing was added to her already mouthwatering odor. She dug a paw into the stuffing and tried it. Yum! It was great!

As Lance continued to devour her, she began helping him out. Shana peeled off bits of her own meat and ate herself up. She was proud to taste so good! She was so happy to have become Lance's dream. Now the two of them could share kitchen adventures all the time. They could spend time doing lots of other fun things too. Whatever they wished, they could experience together. Shana felt happier than she thought she ever had. She loved and trusted Lance, and knew she'd always be safe with him, and within him.

Meaty juices dribbled down Lance's chin as he devoured Shana's buttocks. The meat was sweet, bursting with flavor, while Shana burst with giggles. It tickled every time he bit into her bottom!

Lance continued on to her tummy, and Shana helped him along. She began to nibble off her fingers one by one, like little sausages.

The two of them ate and ate and ate, never feeling full. They made an incredible mess of the bedsheets. Every inch of Lance's fur was slick with grease. Neither of them minded the mess, of course. It was fun to do something that felt so naughty!

After an impossible-to-determine length of time, Shana had been reduced to just her head. Lance cupped her lovingly in his paws. He lifted her to his lips, and gave her a long, tender kiss. "I love you so much, Shana. Thank you for being my meal," he said tenderly.

"Thank you for enjoying me!" she replied. "It was even more fun than being a pie!"

"Really?"

"Uh huh! Going on the spit felt really sensual, feeling my meat get nice and warm and cooked. But you eating me up was even better! As much as I liked getting swallowed last night, feeling you chew me up was just...!" she trailed off. There were no words for how much she'd enjoyed their food play. All she could do was smile at him.

"I loved it just as much, little one. Knowing that I could eat you like this, and it wouldn't hurt you a bit, that was what really made it enjoyable. You know, I would have never even thought twice about this recipe before tonight. It's always been important to me that my food cubs are happy and that they go down my throat willingly. I could never have spitted any of them and cooked them alive. Never in a million years! I'd sooner be cooked myself!"

The heartfelt passion of his words made her happy, but they did not surprise her one bit. She knew well how much he cared.

"So I'm really happy we got this chance. Even if it's just this one dream, it was worth it. This has been one of the happiest nights of my life, Shana."

"Mine too," she said softly.

"Love you, li'l sweet squirrel."

"I love you too, my master chef!"

He giggled, then opened his mouth wide.

Shana chittered in excitement.

Lance popped her head into his mouth and easily gulped her down. He felt her travel down to his stomach and land there with a little splash. 

"You okay in there?" he asked his tummy.

Her muffled voice replied. "Yup! It's cozy in here!"

With a completely satisfied smile on his muzzle, Lance laid back on his grease-splattered bed. He gave his belly a tender pat, then tucked his arms beneath his head.

"Goodnight, again," said Shana.

"Goodnight."

Soon, they were fast asleep.

~ ~ ~

The next morning, Lance woke up to perfectly clean bedsheets.

It had only been a dream after all.

But he felt something different now. Deep within him, he could actually *feel* Shana's presence. Her soul was safe within him. Perfectly safe.

He couldn't wait to go back to sleep again tonight...





  *  *  *

Or maybe it ended completely different. That is up to you.

One thing is absolutely certain though.

And that is that Shana and Lance both lived happily ever after...


The Ends


