Sweetie Pie': Derivative
by Alfador

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Hiya! A little intro here: Alex Reynard's Sweetie Pie story inspired me to dream up an "after" ending to the story--it felt somehow incomplete. Then, to my surprise and delight, he posted a bunch of different endings for the story, exactly as I'd imagined!!

Only...it wasn't QUITE the same as I'd imagined. Most of them were really nice (the shortest one being a humorous exception!) but I had my own ideas. As an engineering student, I'm currently in the midst of classes, one of which is a seminar on intellectual property law. Legally speaking, in order to make this fanfiction, I have to get Alex's permission.

So I did. =^.^= And since it's a "derivative work," and the word derivative has quite a different meaning in mathematics, I decided to title this Sweetie Pie: Derivative...and then add the mathematical symbol for dy/dx...the prime symbol, an apostrophe. Hence: Sweetie Pie': Derivative. YAY FOR MATH PUNS!!!

Anyhow, if you're not familiar with the Sweetie Pie story, go and read it first (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/500335/), otherwise the characters will make absolutely no sense to you. And go ahead and read Alex's endings(http://www.furaffinity.net/view/504030/)--they're way cooler than mine. ;)

This edition of my fanfic is much revised from what was posted on CubCentral, with feedback from Alex himself, along with a thumbnail made by him to match the ones he used for the original story and endings.

Possible squickages include: cooking vore, death and afterlife, and cubs being involved in all this.

If all this scares you, or you don't want to read this...don't. Consider yourself warned off. But if you're open-minded and curious, or genuninely delighted by all of this, then by all means, read on!!

Shana, Lance, and Razielphustar Mephrolovontastico are characters of Alex Reynard and are used with permission. All rights reserved, including dinner reservations.

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  Lance sighed heavily. On the surface, the coyote had little enough reason to be depressed: He had a steady, well-paying job, ate well, had social and private entertainment... He wasn't what people call 'filthy rich,' but he was moderately wealthy. In simplest terms, he had reasonably inexpensive tastes, and was rich enough to fulfill them all--in contrast to people with higher incomes but expensive tastes, who often are never truly satisfied.

  But one of Lance's most expensive of desires, that of cooking willing, happy young cubs and devouring their delicious tender flesh... this, he hadn't indulged in in a long time. Only once, since... The coyote sighed. Since Shana.

  Memories flooded back of the squirrel pie he'd baked all those years ago. Was it really so long? It'd been, hmmm... nearly four years since the young squirrel girl had gone from timid and terrified at the prospect of being eaten, to willingly sliding down his throat as a tasty sugary treat. The memory brought nostalgic tears to his eyes. Such a sweet little girl. 'In more ways than one,' he thought to himself with a chuckle.

  But her digestion had brought self-reflection to his life. Never before Shana had he consumed a kit who wasn't perfectly delighted to be cooked and eaten from the very beginning. He would never, ever force an unwilling pup into his belly, but Shana had come close. He'd offered her ways out till the very end, and in the end, she'd reassured him that she was okay with the whole situation.

  He still couldn't shake his feelings of guilt, though. And since there was no way of contacting Shana for reassurance, short of psychics and mediums he didn't really believe in anyway, there was little else he could do. He'd only eaten one cub after Shana--a tiger kitten who purred all the way to his stomach. He hadn't sworn off eating cubs or anything like that. He just kept deciding against it whenever he walked by the display at the supermarket that always showed off giggling kits ready for dinner, some posing cutely to show off whichever body part they perceived as the 'best cut of meat on me!'

  His stomach growled as he rolled the shopping cart through the supermarket aisle. 'Hmm... pasta sounds good for tonight. I don't think I've ever tried gnocchi...' Lance thought to himself. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giggling rabbit girl came barreling around the corner, nearly crashing into the coyote's shopping cart. Her frantic mother scooped up the wriggling lapine with an apologetic glance toward Lance. The event passed, and the pasta went into Lance's cart, but something strange stirred in the back of his mind.

  Memories of Shana returned unbidden to his thoughts, more vivid than his recent reminiscence. He thought back to the fateful meeting on the city bus, the quick exchange of cash, the squirrel girl undressing in his kitchen, getting coated with butter and dough, sliding into the oven between two pie shells... sliding down his throat. It all came in such a rush... and as he returned from his reverie, he was surprised to see the same bunny girl from before staring wide-eyed at him. "L-Lance?" she stammered in a high-pitched toddler's voice.

  As the mother rabbit dragged the little girl off, mildly scolding her for bothering the nice coyote, Lance's head spun. What had just happened? How did that rabbit know his name? Could it... could it possibly have anything to do with Shana?

((At this point, the reader gives a wry grin and yells "YES!!!" at the coyote, and at Captain Obvious a.k.a. the author, Alfador. ;) *giggle*))

  His own fourth wall intact, Lance went on with his shopping list--pausing, as he often did, by the food cub display. As always, several bouncy cubs were eagerly waiting to be picked for some hungry carnivore's meal, with varying pricetags. The coyote sighed again. He'd been sighing a lot lately. He had the money, he just... almost couldn't bring himself to go through with it.

  Looking directly into the eyes of a plump rat boy was a mistake he would never regret. He left the supermarket with pasta in the bag, and rodent in the cart. The rat's name was Mikey, and he eagerly offered serving suggestions upon reaching Lance's kitchen. The coyote was very careful to make sure all his cooking equipment was still in working order--some of it was specifically for cooking large, live roasts i.e. cubs, and hadn't been used in years.

  Mikey was very helpful. He rubbed the depilation cream all over his body, then rinsed off in the sink while Lance prepared other components to the meal.

  As always, Lance gave his meal lots of hugs during the whole preparation, offering him lots of chances to back out. But of course Mikey didn't back out; he was excited to be cooked! He giggled as he rolled around in Lance's gigantic mixing bowl in a marinade sauce and squeaked with excitement as, with Lance's help, he placed assorted fruits and vegetables in his mouth (red delicious apple), in his big round ears (celery stalks), and even in his tailhole (peeled carrot covered in butter). The smile never left his face for an instant, even when Lance waved bye-bye to him as he closed the oven door.

  All too soon, a glistening, mouth-watering, perfectly cooked roast was revealed from Lance's oven, the grin fixed to the ratboy's features a testament to his enjoyment of the process to the very last. For Lance, though, the end wasn't even in sight. The hungry coyote tucked in to the tender meat with fork and knife. He looked into the boy's lifeless eyes several times during his meal, emotions churning in his mind even more troublesome than the digestive churnings in his belly.

  He knew that whether the cubs entered his belly whole and alive, or fully cooked and in pieces, they went through the whole process willingly and had lots of fun doing so, as much as he was able to give them. But his mind kept wandering back to that one exception to the rule--Shana, who had ended the encounter as excited as any other food cub, yet began with nothing but fear.

*****

  A week passed before the coyote got the shock of his life. It was a phone call from Shana.

  She rapidly explained that it was way past her bedtime, but she just HAD to call and omigod you won't BELIEVE how cool this is and... "Slow down!" the bewildered coyote exclaimed. "How...I mean...You're not dead?"

  Cute giggling came over the line, and the strangely familiar voice answered, "Oh, I died in your belly alright. Stomach acid'll do that. *giggle* But I got...I think the word's reincarnated. It happens more often than you might think, but it's..." She broke off, then burst out with, "Buy me."

  Lance's head was spinning. "Say what?"

  "Buy me!" the giggling girl repeated. "I'll be a meal for you! And before that, I can explain EVERYTHING! My parents are Mr. and Mrs. Apinol, of 2718 28th Avenue, and I KNOW they'll be willing to sell me because a bunch of brothers and sisters that I've never even met went off and were food cubs and..." She took a breath...finally. "And you need to ask for Jenny. Mom 'n' Dad don't know who Shana is, so ask for Jenny."

  Lance barely got the name and address jotted down before his short-term memory lost it, then asked a final question. "Just one thing. I want to be sure. What did I make you into?"

  The voice on the other end of the line giggled again and said simply, "Squirrel pie!" Click.

  Setting the phone back in its cradle, Lance flounced back in his chair, his mind awhirl with impossibilities. Shana reincarnated? How? It happened 'more often than you might think' ...was this why there were so many fearless food cubs?

*****

  The next day, Lance made the trek to the address scrawled on the back of a discarded envelope. Even if the thing about Shana being somehow alive again was all just a misunderstanding, he'd already broken his halfhearted habit of not eating food cubs any more. And the leftovers from Mikey had long since made their way from the fridge to Lance's stomach.

  Halfway down the block, he took a moment to gather his courage and put on a mask of confidence. The coyote muttered idly to himself, wishing that there actually was some sort of mask one could put on to grant instant fortitude when needed. He pushed the doorbell, hoping as he did that this wouldn't end with the door slammed in his face for such a presumption as he was about to make...

  "Good afternoon," he greeted the rabbit who opened the door, noting that she was indeed the same doe who he'd met briefly at the supermarket a week previously. "Mrs. Apinol, I trust? Please forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I heard from a reliable source that there might be food cubs willing to be sold from this residence..."

  The mother must have seen right through Lance's false air of confidence, as she gave a wry grin. "Yes, your source was indeed reliable. I can understand if you don't want to say who, though. Please come in... As you should have already been told by now, we like to get to know anybody who's going to be buying one of our kits, so we can be sure you'll treat our little darlings right."

  Lance nodded and walked in, directed to the living room to sit on the sofa. Mrs. Apinol told the coyote to make himself comfortable, then started in on the questions. After introducing himself by name, Lance told her all about his background, where he worked, some hobbies, and especially the way he cooked cubs. He described in great detail how careful he was, always leaving the little ones a way out if they decided against being dined upon.

  After hearing about Lance's loving care of his meals, Mrs. Apinol smiled and nodded. "Well, I consider myself a reasonable judge of character, and I think based on what you've said that you'll treat our kits right." The rabbit mother patted her knees and stood up from the sofa, walked over to the staircase, then called a few names upstairs, presumably matched to the five bunnies who scampered down the stairs at decidedly unsafe speeds. The mother smiled, but gave a few of them a look that suggested scolding might be in order for that later.

  She introduced the five by name, but Lance didn't see the little toddler from before among them. "Um...so these five are the only ones available?"

  Mrs. Apinol nodded, "Yes, there are two more of the right age to be food cubs, but they've expressed a strong desire NOT to. Our family is all about love and respect, so Mr. Apinol and I honor their wishes and will not sell them to anybody unless they change their minds."

  Lance slowly nodded, "Hmm, y-es...I, er, was recommended to a specific one...name of Jenny..." he trailed off.

  Mrs. Apinol looked a bit surprised, but not overtly shocked. "Well...I don't know, I mean, Jenny is only three years old. Not really a full cub roast, you know, and she hasn't really expressed an interest in being a food cub...yet." The mother nevertheless called Jenny down, her curiosity piqued, and the toddler came happily bouncing down the stairs.

  Upon seeing Lance, the little rabbit shrieked with joy and started babbling, "Yay, yay, it's him, from the store! I remember him, Mommy, I remember!"

  The matronly lapine smiled sweetly and bent down to speak to her daughter. "Yes, it's him all right...and do you know what? He wants to eat you up, like some of your brothers and sisters went before you. What do you think of that?"

  Jenny looked over at Lance, who by now was more than slightly freaked out at recent events, and grinned at her mother. "I think...I'd like to go and do that. Like Molly and George and Jason and all the rest!" she bubbled.

  Mrs. Apinol twitched her whiskers at this revelation and smiled again. "Well, if you really want to, and he has the money, I think we have a deal." Indeed Lance did have the money, and indeed there was a deal. Jenny blushed as her mom brought down some things from her room. "Here's her favorite plushie...you can either bring it back after you're done or donate it to charity. And here are some spare training panties in case she has an accident."

  The motherly rabbit bent down to speak to her blushing daughter. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, honey. You're only three--you're still learning to use those muscles. Look at it this way: at least you won't have to worry about making it to the bathroom ever again!" Jenny brightened up at this and clutched the plush figure in her arms.

  After a goodbye kiss to mom and dad, bunny and coyote walked out to Lance's car. After making sure she was securely buckled in, Lance got in his own seat and began to drive down the road. As soon as he got around the corner, though, he pulled over. "Alright, I'm a bit confused here. Jenny...or is it Shana? What's going on here?" The rabbit girl giggled and reached out her arms. Lance unbuckled his seat belt momentarily to give her the hug she was apparently expecting, then listened to her story.

  "Oh, Lance...I know this might sound unbelievable, but it really is me! Last night I called because I remember EVERYTHING about what happened when I was Shana! Um...it's kinda hard to talk about it like that...I mean, the name I've gone by for the past three years is Jenny (oh yeah, my third birthday was last month!) but I remember a whole lot more about when I was Shana!"

  Lance tried to take this all in. "So...reincarnation... it's real? I mean, what's the afterlife like?"

  Shana giggled. "Okay--first of all, everybody gets reincarnated. There isn't really an afterlife like they all talk about... really, after you die you just kinda float around as an intangible ghost, but you can talk to other dead people. Not very fun at all. But if you concentrate really hard, you can sorta... I dunno, it felt like I exploded, and then I woke up gradually over a few months after being born once again!"

  Shana continued her spiritual story. "I didn't have any memory of who I was as Shana; all I knew was this new life of Jenny, and I started learning about the world around me all over again. I don't really know if, like all the religious politicians say, there's a specific moment when the soul enters the body, but I'm pretty sure that I regained consciousness REALLY gradually. It felt like waking up from a loooong nap, only at the time I didn't have anything to compare it to. My memory was a blank slate!"

  The rabbit toddler giggled. "But all that changed when I bumped into you at the supermarket. Not only did I regain my memories of my life as Shana, but I remembered all the stuff I did in the afterlife too."

  She took a deep breath and continued. "There were a bunch of people like me who just looked like they did when they died--incidentally, my fur and skin were kinda melty and I felt really flexible; I guess I kinda kept the pattern of the way my body was as partially digested--but some of 'em had spent so much time in the...I dunno, I guess you could call it the ghost world, that they could control their appearances as they liked."

  Lance felt a bit more under control of his reactions by now, so he rebuckled his seat belt and started the engine again. As he continued on the road to his house, Shana continued to tell the tale of the mysteries of death. "The ghost world isn't really a separate place, so much as it's just like this world, only not quite. Like a layer over the top of it. It's a little hazy and blurry from a ghost's point of view, except that other ghosts look solid and real. That's how I found this one guy; he'd made himself up to look like some kinda devil-squirrel, to play tricks on new ghosts."

  She giggled. "It WAS kinda funny! This guy--his name was Razielphustar, though I kinda doubt he'd ever really had that name in life--told me all about how to reincarnate, and what I had to do to get my memory back, and to keep it in the first place." Shana smiled dreamily. "Apparently, to keep your memories of a life in the next one, ya gotta end it by being eaten."

  Lance's eyes widened. "Say WHAT?" he said incredulously.

  Shana giggled, bouncing her bunny butt on the passenger seat. "'S true! If you get eaten, your soul-memory kinda sticks around with whoever ate you, and if you come in contact with 'em, like I did, you get your memory back! Complete with memory of all the time I spent as a ghost!" Oblivious to the sudden switch between second and first person, Shana continued, "But if I hadn't been eaten, the only time I'd get to remember my past lives would be after the next time I died. Also, I think I'm kind of a new soul, 'cause I don't have any memory of a life before being Shana."

  Shana giggled some more. "It kinda hasta happen, 'cause the planet's population is always growing. I guess that's why I still identify as that name--I lived as Shana the squirrel for ten years, but I've only been Jenny the bunny for three. Something funny though--I don't remember bein' a baby squirrel, but I can remember most of the three years I've been alive as a rabbit. Go figure. Anyways, now you understand why there are so many willing food cubs!"

  It took a few seconds for Lance to get it, then he burst out laughing, checking his motion only enough to keep his eyes on the road. "It's all a big conspiracy then...you cubs just want to keep being eaten, because you know there's nothing bad about dying!"

  Shana nodded excitedly. "Yeah! And we stay cubs so we won't grow up and let the secret out. Oh, there's a few of us who know who've stayed alive long enough to grow up--how do you think we got laws and a society that allows cubs to be cooked and eaten, anyway? But most people don't know--for some people, that uncertainty is all that keeps 'em going. I mean, if you KNOW there's an afterlife, why not just die, and skip everything, going straight to the ghost world? But we food cubs know that the REAL joy is in living, and ending a life of happiness with the fun of being cooked and eaten up!"

  Somehow...somehow it made sense. It took the rest of the car trip for Lance to take it all in, but one thing still puzzled him. "Pain." he said clearly. "What about pain? Based on the cub cooking shows I've seen, I figured I was the exception rather than the rule when it comes to making sure the experience is as painless as possible for the cub...but I can't help but think they're using some kind of anesthetic or something. When I see a cub on TV getting impaled on a rotisserie spit, and SMILING through the whole thing, giggling like it just tickles..."

  He trailed off as a soft bunny hug cuddled against his chest. "Heh. Lance, you're right about there being an anesthetic in use, but... do you mean you honestly didn't KNOW? Well...I suppose I shouldn't be TOO surprised, I mean, I didn't know either until Raz--that's Razielphustar's for-short name--told me about it."

  At her pause, Lance said in an exasperated tone, "Well? Told you about what?"

  "NeuroGel." Shana said simply. "It's not really all that commonly available, because there isn't much demand for it. But it's not too expensive, and you can mail-order it or buy it online, I think. It's a general anti-pain drug that comes in a powder that you make into a sort of gelatin and eat. But it's mainly used for cub cooking and cooking shows."

  Lance looked confused. "Why? If it can help someone get through the pain of being cooked alive in more painful ways than simple heat, why isn't it in more general use?"

  The little bunny gave a wry grin. "Because it works TOO well. Y'see, NeuroGel--errr, I forget the generic name, not that there's more than one brand--completely and totally shuts down the pain nerves and receptors. It works completely within half an hour and gets broken down into inert components in the process, so you can't get its effects by eating someone who's had it. But it completely destroys your ability to feel pain, PERMANENTLY. That might seem like a good thing, but really, pain is your body's way of telling you something's wrong; you've got an injury that you need to heal. No pain...no healing, and it could get really bad.

  "So the only practical use they have for NeuroGel is for people who are going to die soon anyway--food cubs, and the terminally ill, and a few daring sideshow performers. But the cooking shows use it all the time; they just don't talk about it, except as a sponsor blurb in the credits. That's probably why you've never heard of it--it doesn't exactly come up in casual conversation."

  Lance was flabbergasted. "So...so this NeuraGel stuff can keep any cooking preparation totally pain-free?"

  "Neur_O_Gel," Shana corrected, "...and yes. Sooooo..." she grinned and looked at Lance, her cute bunny ears standing straight up, "how many kits have you cooked since me?"

  Lance gave a weak grin and a sigh, "...Two."

  Shana cocked her head to the side. "Only two? How come? It's been like four years...I mean, I remember what year and time of year it was when you ate me, and I worked out that my birthday was a little more than nine months after that. Gestation time plus the time I took in the ghost world, ya know. So how come you haven't eaten more?"

  The coyote tenderly explained how the squirrel's fear had driven him to guilt and self-doubt. "But now that you've told me this secret... which, by the way, I'm reasonably sure would get me laughed at as a psychic-type nutcase if I tried to tell the world about it... I'm beginning to get back into the comfort zone I was in all those years ago. Heh..." he chuckled, "I might even get cooked myself one day. If that's the secret to keeping memory..." he trailed off.

  Shana nodded. "You can...but you could also keep my memories safe inside you for a while yet, so I can do this a buncha times with you, and still get my memory back in a couple o' years!"

  This made Lance think of something. "Yeah...how does the reincarnation work, anyway? I mean, is it random? Or do you just float up to a couple...err, conceiving...and get sucked into the developing body?"

  Shana giggled. "That'd be pretty cool, wouldn't it? No, it's really kinda random, but from everything I've heard, you really tend to be reborn into a body that's close to where you are when you do the weird concentration stuff that makes it happen. It's really hard for me to describe... I don't think words exist for it. But it does mean that if you wanna learn a certain language, all ya gotta do is die, then float over to a country where it's spoken and live a life there!" The rabbit girl giggled, and Lance was unsure if she was joking or not...

*****

  Soon enough, they arrived at Lance's house, and it was his turn to tell how his life had gone in the past four years. There wasn't all that much to tell, really--mostly mundane matters. But Shana insisted he describe the two cub meals he'd devoured, especially the preparation and cooking, in all its graphic, delicious detail. Shana had her belief confimed: that the coyote was still a nice guy, wanting nothing but the most enjoyable of experiences for his prey. She had a surprise for him, though, when he asked if she wanted to go to the kitchen right now.

  "No."

  Lance was confused. "No? But I thought this was what you wanted?"

  Shana grinned. "Nope. Nuh-uh. Or I should say...not YET."

  She grinned widely and the idea dawned on Lance. "Oho, you want me to order some of that NeuroGel, so I can do something extreme to you!"

  Shana bounced up and down, giggling. "Yup! Yay!!! ...Uh-oh." She suddenly blushed.

  "What's wrong, Shana?" Lance asked, concerned.

  Shana stammered, "Um...y'know...I said I was only three years old, and...uh..." Her eyes flicked to the bag Lance was carrying with her plushie and pull-ups in it, and Lance understood immediately.

  "Oh...oh, you had an accident. That's okay, really, I mean, your body's still only three..." He bent down and hugged the wet little bunny girl reassuringly.

  After cleaning Shana up and changing her pullup for a dry one, Lance steered the conversation towards culinary matters. "So...um. If I'm going to be cooking you...again...I'm going to want some of this NeuroGel stuff. How did you find out so much about it, anyway? Was that Raz...Razzafraz person, a food cub many times over or something? I mean, I've watched so many cooking shows, and I've never even heard of it."

  "Razielphustar," Shana corrected, "or just Raz. And actually, I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. Since it isn't in general use, like buyable at a drugstore or something, the only people it's important for are those with a lot of involvement in cub cooking, and medical professionals. Amateur cub connoisseurs like you might or might not know, depending on who you've talked to."

  "Some of us," the bunny girl continued, "and by 'us' I mean reincarnated food cubs, had stories to tell in the ghost world about fun cooking, and not-so-fun. Usually the ones where the chef didn't know about NeuroGel were the times that were not-so-fun for the cook-ee, but..." Shana suddenly giggled. "Cookie! Heh, maybe you could make cub cookies somehow!"

  Lance laughed out loud, and Shana continued her tale of wonder. "Anyhow, I compared stories with a few others, and apparently, you're one of a few non-NeuroGel carnivores who have all good reviews!" Lance smiled and hugged Shana close. He felt his eyes misting up almost with tears--no higher praise could he imagine.

  "So...it was just chance that you happened to be born as a cute bunny?" Lance queried.

  Shana nodded her lapine head, "Uh huh. It's not so unlikely that I ended up in the same area as you, as I said earlier--which is why food cubs are so likely to get to remember their past lives and so be unafraid of being devoured--but my species and sex are essentially at random, from my point of view. I had a 50-50 chance of becoming a boy this time around."

  Lance chuckled. "Then I really wouldn't have recognized you!" he laughed.

  Shana giggled. "But I'd recognize you, as soon as I came near enough to get my memory back."

  Lance nodded, "I suppose so."

  "Hmm, I just thought of something," the coyote mused. "What about religion? I mean, you KNOW what awaits you on the other side of death, but what about all those people who only do good things because of the fear of eternal punishment if they're bad? What happens if someone like that reincarnates with all their memories?"

  Shana nodded, her lapine features becoming a bit more serious. "Well," she began in her musical, high-pitched toddler voice, "in order to reincarnate the first time, you have to know how it works, and talk to other ghosts. I don't have a CLUE how that particular chicken-and-egg paradox got started, but I guess someone just figured it out by accident and started telling other souls pretty early on in the history of civilization. When I was there, us ghosts were kinda sparse compared to the population density of the living; I guess most people take more time in life than in death."

  "Anyhow," the rabbit girl continued, "if someone really wants to run amuck, the rest of the ghosts will figure it out in the first coupla minutes of conversation. They'll take the time to explain why you have to be nice. See, you never know where you'll be reincarnated to, so you might end up in the exact same situation as someone who you treated horribly in a previous life. It's like the Golden Rule and karma and a buncha other stuff, all wrapped into a tight little package of rational self-interest!" Shana concluded with a giggle.

  "I got a lot of those words from older souls. I don't remember even having memories of lives previous to Shana, nor conversations about 'em, so I'm pretty sure being a little Jenny bunny here is my second life ever!" Shana wiggled her large rabbit feet, and Lance was unable to resist tickling them.

  "Eeeek!" Shana giggled, as the coyote gently grazed his fingers over the soles of her feet. After a few moments, he stopped, and the two hugged once more. "So...hee!...aaanyway, that's about it. Ya don't necessarily reap what you sow, but it's generally necessary to keep the overall state of society on the up-and-up, which means bein' nice. Oh, and apparently I'm not exactly a rarity in terms of ending my first life while still more or less a cub."

  "Oh?" Lance looked mildly surprised. "You were so scared at first, I don't think all that many food cubs would be that willing on their first run-through."

  Shana giggled, "You'd be surprised...but actually I was referring to such tragic things as kits born in areas with positive population growth, who are therefore likely to be new souls, only to die early from lack of resources like food, water, and medical care. But they are well cared for by people who stick around in the ghost world, to comfort the ones frightened about death, or who have memories that are mostly pain. I...I gotta confess, even though I was excited to be eaten by you, and I was comfortable with it in the end..." Shana looked at Lance. For that brief moment, no words were needed--Lance scooped up the little rabbit girl in his arms and held her close. "...I was still a little scared, too."

  Lance held Shana in his arms for a while before she stirred and looked him in the eye. "But if all goes well...that'll be the last time ever that I was scared to die." Jenny, incarnation of Shana the squirrel, grinned. "Now let's go order that NeuroGel!"

*****

  Five to ten business days passed sooner than Lance had expected; his days were far more enjoyable with Shana to converse with after work and such. All too soon, though, the package arrived, containing not just a single dose of NeuroGel for Shana, but a few dozen boxes; plenty for his next several meals. Shana was delighted. "Just in time, too: I'm almost outta pullups!" Lance laughed and cuddled the little girl close.

  They'd discussed how Shana was to be cooked, and she'd pointed out Lance's countertop rotisserie. It was about the size of a microwave oven, but with a fully transparent door and top and bottom heating elements. It also had sharpened metal points at either end to hold a thawed roast in place on a turning spit set in the middle. The whole assemblage locked in place in the roaster, but could be easily removed to put a roast...or cub...onto it. Lance was extremely uncomfortable with the idea at first. Sure, there was the NeuroGel... but could he trust it to keep Shana from feeling pain while being impaled and roasted alive?

  The rabbit girl reassured him that, yes, it could. "Of course I don't have any direct experience with it myself, but all the food cub ghosts I talked to agreed that even the most tortuous cooking didn't hurt one bit with NeuroGel. One thing though: I will experience a bit of discomfort if I'm still conscious when my lungs get too cooked for me to breathe properly... but the NeuroGel helps dull even that. Don't worry, Lance... and be glad I'm little enough to fit in there."

  The pair hugged again, and the coyote hurried off to the kitchen and brought out what would be Shana's last meal in her life as a bunny. "Dessert first," Lance chuckled as he set down a bowl full of what looked like strawberry gelatin. He had added fresh strawberries and strawberry jelly to the NeuroGel mix, and it did indeed make a delicious dessert for Shana. The bunny girl scarfed down the whole bowlful, gulping from the spillproof sippy cup of orange juice Lance had given her to wash it down with. She burped and giggled, and Lance laughed, ruffling her headfur.

  The coyote took the bowl back into the kitchen to wash later and returned with a plateful of microwave-warmed, savory breading. Shana felt a slight tingling all over her body. As she ate the stuffing, the tingling increased in intensity until her whole body felt charged, like she had scuffed her socks on carpet to build up static. After a few minutes more, it began to subside, and the rabbit girl continued to shovel in the stuffing until she was full. With a grin, she did her best to eat even more, putting forkful after forkful of the tasty stuff into her mouth until she couldn't swallow any more.

  "All done?" Lance smiled, and Shana nodded.

  "All done," she confirmed, with a little burp for emphasis. Lance hugged her once more, then took the plate back into the kitchen, noting as he did so that the little bunny had finished nearly the whole plate. He patted her swollen belly and nuzzled her cheek.

  "Looks like this bunny girl's all stuffed and ready to roast. Mmm, you look tasty, Shana, maybe I'll just eat you right now!" With a smile, he picked Shana up and carried her over to the couch, where she laid down and he started sucking on her toes. This made her giggle and laugh out loud, squirming a bit when he started licking the soles of her mythically-lucky feet.

  They'd played this game quite a few times over the past several days: the "Gonna eatcha!" game. Wherein Lance would lick, slurp, or play-gnaw at various pieces of Shana: ears, toes, fingers, arms, legs. The coyote deliberately kept to extremities, so that if Shana *really* wanted to, she could pull away entirely, instead of just the usual tickle-struggle. It was a lot of fun, and helped both of them to feel comfortable with the concept that yes, Lance was going to cook and eat Shana, and yes, there was nothing at all wrong with that.

  After playing at devouring Shana's feet for a while, Lance relaxed on the couch, Shana snuggling against him. "Um...Lance?" she said, in a tone of voice the coyote had become familiar with in the past several days, one not quite of embarassment, but only slight nervousness.

  Lance hugged her. "Had another accident?"

  The toddler bunny nodded. "Yup, I'm wet alright. And again, not quite an accident...y'know...'cause I figured since it's the last pullup from the package..."

  Lance nodded knowingly. "Yah...y'know, if you have to go number 2, it'd be better to just do it, either now or in the bathroom. I wouldn't mind cleaning it up, but it'll be better if your bladder and bowels empty out now, rather than while you're cooking. Know what I mean?"

  Shana blushed and giggled, nodding. "Um...'kay..."

  The blush deepened, showing through her fine, soft cheek fur, as Shana strained a little. Lance stroked her headfur and got up from the couch to get the cleanup supplies. When the coyote came back, his sensitive nose could smell precisely what the bunnygirl was blushing about. "Had a messy accident, did we?" he chuckled, lovingly touching noses with Shana.

  "Yup..." she said shyly. "Heh...last one I'll have in this body."

  Lance nodded, "Yup. Now let's get ya cleaned up." Shana stood up as Lance spread a towel on the floor, then she laid down on it.

  The coyote tore open the perforated sides of the little girl's training panties and swiftly pulled apart the back strip over her tail. With Shana helping him out by lifting her legs at the right times, Lance quickly used a warm wet washcloth to clean up the bunny toddler's stinky mess. He nuzzled her tummy several times partway through.

  The coyote finished the job by carrying the soiled pullup to the trash and the washcloth to the bathroom sink, where he thoroughly rinsed it out. Before returning, he made a short side trip to the pantry and tied on his apron. Not for the first time, he smiled and gave a chuckle at the picture thereon. The cookpot kitten never ceased in cuteness.

  As he came into the room, the first sight he saw was the little rabbit girl, already rubbing depilation cream all over her nude body. Nude, he thought again, not naked. Naked implied that one was defenseless against a threat. But there was no threat here, not even in cooking, not even in death. Only love.

  But, he grinned inwardly, if you said it as 'nekkid,' it just sounded cute. Nekkid. He chuckled and knelt down to help Shana rub the cream all over. Soon he was helping her climb into the kitchen sink, rinsing cream and fur down the drain. Without the fuzzy covering on her body, the bulge in her tummy from her final meal was even more noticeable.

  Lance couldn't resist giving a playful poke. "Hey!" Shana giggled. "You'll get the stuffing soon enough! Don't poke me too hard there or I might barf it up. I'm pretty full." She blushed a little, not as much as she had when she'd messed herself, but it was far more noticeable without fur on her face to hide it.

  Lance smiled and hugged the little bunny again. "You think the NeuroGel's had time to take effect?"

  Shana nodded. "Probably. Let's test it; go get the needle." Lance nodded and picked up the sewing needle from the counter where he'd left it, handing it to Shana. The rabbit girl delicately pressed the point to one of her fingers, applying pressure gradually. "I don't feel anything but a little push," she confirmed, and moved the point of the needle to the palm of her hand. Pushing a little harder, she nearly jumped with surprise when a small drop of blood welled out of a new hole in her hand.

  "I'm okay." she reassured Lance. "I don't feel anything except the needle...I dunno, just being in there. It's really weird." Lance moved to take the needle back, but before he reached it, Shana jabbed hard and thrust the needle all the way through her palm. Lance yipped as he saw the needle sticking all the way through the bunny girl's hand, but she just grinned. "It's alright, Lance. It feels really weird with the needle all the way through me, but I'm alright." Lance carefully pulled the needle out and wrapped a washcloth around Shana's pierced hand. He was surprised at how little blood was coming out of the double wound--evidently she'd managed to miss all the major vessels in her hand.

  "Well, are we ready?" the rabbit toddler giggled.

  Lance nodded and lifted her up in a warm embrace. "Shana..." he said, and then faltered. "...Thank you. Thank you for telling me all this, thank you for wanting to be my meal...again...thank you for..."

  Shana stretched up and planted a tiny kiss on a coyote nose. "Yer welcome. And...and I know why I'm doing all this." She smiled, and nuzzled against the coyote's chest. "It's love. Not the love of a couple, or family love, but love all the same. I want to feed you with my body. I want to give my life to you, so that I can go around again and have another. I think...I think that is definitely love."

  Lance smiled, and a tear formed in his eye. "Yup...I think it is, Shana."

  With another loving embrace that seemed to last a lifetime, Lance laid Shana on the countertop, where he'd laid out the equipment and ingredients for the last bits of preparation. The bunnygirl giggled happily as he brushed on sweet-smelling barbecue sauce, getting silly about it as he practically danced around the kitchen, painting Shana in seasoning. After she laid down on a cutting board, he ground some fresh pepper over her bulging belly, and sprinkled garlic powder and other spices all over the little bunny. The coyote got his hands all messy, and the girl all giggly, from rubbing the spices and sauce into her skin. After washing his hands, Lance sighed heavily as he looked at the final device.

  Shana noticed the coyote's sudden change of expression and realized the cause. "Lance...don't worry. I really want this."

  Lance nodded, "Yes...but...well, this is kinda the point of no return. Except for the needle, nothing we've done yet has been potentially painful--oh, I dunno, I just really have mixed feelings about trusting the NeuroGel."

  Shana made a move to hug him, before realizing that she'd only get messy barbecue sauce all over his apron. She settled for another little kiss, this time on the cheek. "I'll be alright. To tell the truth, I had doubts myself even after I broke the skin with that second poke. That's why I jabbed it all the way through my hand: so I could be sure." The rabbit girl suddenly got a look of inspiration on her face. "So you don't really have to trust the chemical...trust ME, instead!"

  The coyote smiled. "I think that's it, then. I CAN trust you." He picked up one side of the rotisserie skewer and bent down. "And I love you, too."

  Shana turned her head to meet his kiss with her own lips. Surprised, Lance pulled back afterward, but the bunnygirl just grinned. "And I hope I taste just as good today as when you made a pie out of me."

  Lance smiled and touched his nose to hers. "I know you will, sweet little bunny," he grinned.

  With that, the coyote shifted the skewer in his hand as Shana got down on all fours on the cutting board. Lance had smeared the metal rotisserie skewer with a coating of butter to make sure it slid in as easily as possible for both of them. As he positioned the pointed end at Shana's tailhole, she thought, 'This is it! Point of no return!' Four years ago, she'd been excited and slightly scared at the same thoughts. It'd been the exciting kind of fright, like watching a scary movie. Now, though, she realized she wasn't scared anymore, but was still excited.

  'He's going to stick that big pointy skewer all the way through me, and then I'll roast and roast until I'm cooked all the way through, and then he'll eat me!' As Lance slowly slid the butter-greased rod into her butt, she grinned once more. 'And then he'll have as full a tummy as I've got right now.' She giggled as the point stopped against some resistance. Lance hesitated for a few seconds, then, wincing a little as he did so, pushed hard, breaking through the barrier of flesh. He looked at Shana's face, but could find no trace of pain. In fact, she looked to be enjoying this! Lance continued lancing the young rabbit girl, and Shana felt the metal spear through her stuffed stomach. Carefully, she rolled onto her back and indicated with her hands where she felt the tip. When she pointed at a spot near the top of her chest, Lance paused.

((Somewhere in the last paragraph, readers familiar with the other, 'official' epilogues to Sweetie Pie will groan at the blatantly ripped-off pun. ;) ))

  "Shana...I think you might not be able to talk if I take it further. Do you want to say anything before I finish skewering you?"

  The impaled rabbit girl nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. This feels WEIRD! The skewer poking me in my insides doesn't hurt, but it feels really tickly and...and just weird; I don't know words to describe it, and I don't think words even exist to describe it. And Lance...I just wanna say...Thank YOU, for being so kind and wonderful to me, and not being afraid to cook me like this. Thank you...for being the nicest carnivore I've ever met."

  She smiled. "And thank you in advance for making me taste so scrumptious, 'cause I know I will. You're a good cook. ...I love you, Lance." With only a wink more, Shana laid back, opening her mouth for the skewer to go through. Lance gave her another kiss on the cheek, then pushed the rod all the way through. When he saw the tip come out of her mouth, he grabbed a small green apple he'd picked specifically sized for this purpose, and slid it onto the glistening tip of the skewer, lodging it firmly between Shana's jaws so she wouldn't hurt her teeth on the metal rod. Plus, he thought, it looked good, and visual preparation is an important part of any meal.

  Nonverbal cues were all he'd be able to get out of Shana from here on out, so when a wink was her only response to his query, "You okay so far?" he nodded and continued. Taking the bunny girl's feet and folding them up close to her rear end, he carefully slid the parallel spikes in, the rest of the skewer sliding a bit forward with it. After her feet were effectively pinned to her buttocks, he checked her cute face again. The point of the skewer had slid out a bit further, as expected, but Shana only kept grinning around the apple. Weird, she'd said it felt. Certainly, to the coyote, it could only be described as weird to see an adorable bunny toddler with blood leaking out of holes in her body, smiling as if in no pain at all. And indeed, he admitted, he HAD to believe that she really wasn't feeling any pain. He had to trust her.

  Lance kissed Shana's cheek once more, then placed the other side of the skewer mount to lock onto the point. Shana proved her eagerness by putting her wrists at the two spikes on that mount, as Lance pierced them through, pinning her arms to her shoulders as the mount locked to the skewer rod. The sight of Shana bleeding onto his cutting board still gave Lance unease, but another look at her face, smiling around the apple and skewer, calmed his doubts once again.

  Lifting with arms and legs, not with his back, the coyote carried the skewered rabbit girl over to the rotisserie, which he'd already turned on to preheat. Opening the glass door, he carefully slid Shana in, locking the skewer mounts in place. "I'll be back, Shana," he promised before closing the door and starting the turning motor.

  As Lance moved away and Shana started to rotate around the skewer, her mind was racing. 'I'm skewered!' she thought with exhilaration. 'I'm going to cook all over and turn into meat and Lance is going to eat me...again!' She wiggled a little with excitement, but didn't seriously thrash about. First, though she didn't think it was possible for her to tear loose from the skewer and fall onto the bottom heating element, she sure didn't want to find out the hard way that it was. Second, if she looked like she was struggling, Lance would only worry, and might even stop cooking her if he thought she was in pain!

  Shana didn't want Lance's meal to be ruined; she wanted to be thoroughly cooked into a delicious roast for Lance. She giggled as she thought of the third reason not to wiggle too much: she didn't want the big ol' rotisserie to shift and topple off the counter! She'd get seriously knocked about...wait a second...come to think of it, that wouldn't hurt at all. With the NeuroGel, it wouldn't be any worse than sitting on the heating element.

  But she still didn't want these things to happen because they'd ruin the meal she was going to be. Shana smiled as best she could around the apple in her mouth. She no longer had to worry about getting hurt. Not till her next life. All she had to think about now was turning into the best culinary taste treat she could be. The thought kept a contented expression on her face even as Lance returned, opening the glass door.

  "Mm mmunn mmllrenny?" Shana mumbled around the mouthful of fruit and metal. She surprised herself--it wasn't that much harder to breathe with the rod inside her throat, and her voice still seemed to work well enough... for the time being.

  The coyote shook his head, "Nope, you're not done already, I'm just basting the roast." Lance chuckled as he brushed the sauce all over her, the rabbit girl's skin beginning to glisten with cooked-out juices and barbecue sauce. Finishing quickly, he leaned in closer, feeling the warmth of the rotisserie oven on his face. "And you're going to be the best roast I've ever had. I just know you will...Sweetiepie." Shana wiggled a little on the skewer, short little bursts of giggle managing to escape around the apple wedged firmly between her teeth. He did remember! And he did believe!

  He was also going to watch. Shana saw glimpses of Lance sitting in a dining room chair he'd moved into the kitchen, reading a book. Every so often, he'd glance up and look at Shana, going around and around in the oven. It might have been cramped, if she'd been any bigger, but as it was, she thought of it as a fun ride. The NeuroGel kept her from hurting from having the skewer through her body, or the spikes through her limbs, and the cooking heat was pleasant warmth to her senses. Around and around she turned, seeing Lance every time her eyes passed over the glass door.

  Pretty soon Lance opened it up to baste her again. She realized that she couldn't feel the brush this time around, but a tiny bit of wiggling told her that she could still feel the skewer inside her. Probably all the nerves on her skin were too cooked to work, she thought. 'I wonder how long it'll take before the rest of me is too cooked to do anything?' It was a bit exciting to think about. She knew dying wasn't anything to be afraid of anymore; she'd drift off and then Lance would eat her. Then she'd be able to see Razielphustar and all the other ghosts she'd met after Lance had eaten her the first time!

  Drifting off was a pretty accurate description of how Shana felt in her last few minutes as a rabbit. Her head felt a bit foggy, like she'd stayed up way past bedtime. She kept experimenting with wiggling on the skewer, and found that she was less and less able to move as more and more of her muscle turned into meat. After what seemed like hours of dreamy warmth in the oven, Shana saw Lance come towards the rotisserie with a two-tined fork in his hand. The rotating motion stopped. The bunny girl didn't even feel dizzy. Lance opened up the door and poked at Shana's rump. She didn't feel a thing, but inferred what he was doing from what she could see. She slowly blinked a few times as Lance looked at her face and smiled.

  "Well, Shana, it seems you're done cooking. A perfect juicy roast!" The coyote shook his head in amazement. "I can't believe you're still alive in there. Here, I'll get you out." With oven mitts, the coyote pulled out the unlocked skewer mount and laid Shana on a large platter, a soft bed of fruits and vegetables surrounding her. Dreamily, she tried to smile as Lance carefully pulled the metal rod out of her roasted body. She found that she could barely move. It felt like she was falling asleep. Shana realized all of a sudden that she wasn't breathing...that she couldn't breathe. Well then, she'd just have to...

  As Lance gently pulled the apple out of her mouth, Shana whispered, "Love you, Lance." It might have been as soft as a gentle breeze.

  Lance's sensitive ears caught the softly whispered words. He kissed the roast rabbit on the top of her head, licking sweet sauce as he did so. "I love you too, Shana," he whispered, and that was the last thing she heard through those ears.

  It did feel just like drifting off to sleep...

*****

  Shana opened her eyes to see a sight she hadn't known for more than three years. The world around her looked hazy and unreal, as if if seeing through someone else's prescription glasses. Her own body looked clear and crisp...ooh, wait, no, she thought with a giggle, she looked *crispy*! Just like how last time, she'd died in the middle of digestion and appeared in the ghost world a little melty, now she looked...well, delicious! She took an experimental lick at her arm, but tasted nothing. Like licking fog. Shana supposed that made sense, seeing as she was a ghost and all. Hmm... The little rabbit ghost wondered if she could look like Shana again instead of Jenny...

  With a little concentration, she saw to her delight that her ghostly form was shifting, growing bigger, and her fur was returning. Her head changed shape and her tail grew long and bushy once more. She giggled, and decided to try changing back later on...or even to other forms! Turning her eyes towards the blurry form of a coyote tucking in to a delicious dinner of roast bunny, she was surprised to see another sharply-visible form beyond the dining room table. "Raz!" she squealed, and ran over to give a hug to the red-furred squirrel demon.

  "Nice to see you too, Shana. Or is it Jenny now?" he chuckled, tipping his top hat to the squirrelly spirit.

  Shana shook her head in response. "No, I've got much more memory of being Shana than I have of being Jenny. I feel more of an identity as Shana. Though my life of Jenny is still my life...I remember bein' a bunny! It was a fun life, and a fun death too. I loved having Lance cook me again! It was awesome! And I taught him about NeuroGel, 'cause I remembered."

  Razielphustar smiled and held the little rodent close. "I'm so glad. That particular coyote has made many food cubs very happy even without NeuroGel. Tell me, was it more fun for him to cook you the way he did this time, or before?"

  Shana giggled. "It was way more fun this time, but I'm pretty sure a lot of that was that I knew dying wouldn't be so bad. I was a lot calmer about it!"

  Razielphustar nodded. "I'm sure a lot of food cubs will find it even more fun to be cooked by him now. With no pain at all, it's easier to enjoy being cooked."

  Shana nodded. "Uh huh! It didn't even hurt when he skewered me on the rotisserie; it just tickled and pressed! It was really weird and awesome!"

  Raz grinned. "I shall start spreading the word. Now let's watch. It seems you're rather delicious..."

*****

  Indeed Shana was delicious. Lance couldn't stop gobbling down more and more of the little rabbit roast, only stopping momentarily when his mouth got full to chew and chew, gulping the squeezed juices down his throat until he had gotten all the flavor he could out of Shana's meat, then swallowing his mouthful with a gulp of water. He started by slurping the tasty toes that so short a time ago he had been only playing at devouring. Wonderful! Marvelous! Even better than before!

  He reminisced about the squirrel pie as he started in on Shana's rabbit legs. That had been wonderfully sweet, while now Shana was wonderfully savory, with the best barbecue sauce he could find, the finest peppers and other spices... The coyote let out a dreamy sigh. The most wonderful taste he'd had in years. His only regret about cooking cubs completely was that they couldn't experience being eaten like the sweetie-pie Shana had become all those years ago.

  Shana had certainly experienced being cooked this time, and it was probably more exciting than just napping through a short trip in the oven. As Lance gingerly pulled off Shana's legs to munch her thighs, he gave a uniquely coyote grin. With the NeuroGel, he could eat cubs piecemeal like this without cooking them fully first. Next time...he'd try a rare roast. He'd want to skip a meal or two beforehand, to make sure he could devour the whole cub in one go: he'd never want a little kit's last moments to be in the cold and dark of his freezer. The warmth of his tummy or his oven seemed to him much more pleasant places to spend one's final moments.

  Lance was getting rather full by now. The coyote didn't want to finish dinner tonight without some of the stuffing, so he picked up a kitchen knife and smoothly sliced Shana's belly open. The delicious smell of the steam that rose from her body cavity nearly made him drop the knife in bliss; he sat heavily back on the dining room chair, a dreamy look on his face for a few minutes. Before he moved back to open up the taste treat that lay within Shana's stomach, he closed his eyes and spoke. "Shana...I don't know if you can hear me where you are, but I just wanted to say that you are wonderfully delicious, and I thank you... I thank you so much for wanting to be my meal again. I truly enjoyed eating you...and I'll want to do so again next time I see you."

  Shana could not, in fact, hear what Lance was saying. But she saw him lean back and smile, and then his mouth started moving. The ghostly squirrel girl guessed that he was saying something to her, and though she didn't know what it was, she giggled and moved towards the coyote. She couldn't exactly touch him to give a hug, but she wrapped her arms around the area where he was as if to do so. "Thank you, Lance." she smiled. "Thank you for cooking me so wonderfully."

  When Lance felt as stuffed as Shana had been, he pushed his chair away from the dining room table. "Wonderful meal," he said, patting his belly. One thing remained for him to do tonight, then he could go to bed happy and satiated. He picked up the knife once more and began cutting what remained of Shana's body into pieces small enough to fit into freezer bags. As he put each piece into a bag, along with what was left of the garnish, he put it immediately into his freezer.

  The last piece was Shana's head. Her face looked happy, peaceful...and delicious. Her eyes were closed. Lance held her head in his hands and smiled. "Thank you, Shana. I love you." He placed a kiss on the bunny girl's forehead, then placed the head gingerly into a large freezer bag, packing it in with the other pieces of roast Shana in the freezer. A perfect fit! Though there wasn't room for anything more, all that meant was that he'd be having rabbit for dinner for quite a few days after this... He chuckled as he held the freezer door open, looking at Shana's body staring through closed eyelids at him from the plastic bag. "'Bye Shana. See you in a few years, I hope." The coyote smiled, and closed the door.

*****

  Over the next several years, Lance cooked many cute cubs, always with the NeuroGel. Now that he knew about it, he didn't think he could ever do without it again. On several occasions he had an extremely rare roast, only cooking them a short while before happily devouring a giggling kit. Every time, he continued his tradition of giving the cubs a way out at each stage of the cooking. Every time, they went into his belly willingly. Sometimes he'd even swallow one whole, as he'd done with Shana so many years ago.

  Every so often, he'd go for a walk past the local elementary school. He'd make sure to pass by the playground while the kits were at recess in hopes of having Shana's next incarnation recognize him. For years, nothing happened. Lance knew he was getting older himself, but felt he was aging rather comfortably. Sometimes he would find to his delight that a cub he had purchased at the store turned out to recognize him!

  Each time, it was one he'd eaten before Shana; he couldn't find the squirrel girl who had taught him so much. He still kept the plushie she'd owned as Jenny-bunny, both for his own memory and in case he should find her again.

  Then came one day when a group of kits playing dodgeball at the playground kicked the ball all the way over to the chainlink fence. "I'll get it!" was the cry from one snow leopard kitten, and the boy ran over near Lance. As he picked up the ball, a familiar set of memories rushed through the coyote's mind. He blinked, and the two looked into each other's eyes for a few moments. Then the kittyboy grinned, winked, and ran back to the game. Lance stood there for a few moments, blinking some more. Then he, too, grinned, and went on his way.

  'So,' he thought to himself, 'Shana was born a boy. This time is sure going to be *interesting*...'

***THE END***




***...for now, at least ;)***