Mikaela looked on as Alison sat on the edge of her plate and nibbled on a small handful of waffle dripping with syrup. The mouse had not yet gotten herself ready for work, still sitting in her white underwear and her black hair hanging in loose strands. The cat was far more dignified, having already showered, groomed her fluffy ginger fur and dressed in her work clothes before she had made this breakfast. The two had repeated this ritual almost every morning since they had moved in together, but this time felt different. Usually Alison would be ready for her own trip to work as well, but this week she had decided to take some of her vacation and use the opportunity to relax. As such, her appearance was less mature and more... messy. Something about it triggered the cat's desire to hunt and feed. The cat and mouse played to their respective natures in this relationship at regular intervals. Despite Mikaela's claims to be heterosexual, Alison's seductions and temptations had succeeded in appealing to the cat's sexuality and her more traditional hungers in ways that neither of them had thought could be possible. Normally these things were not indulged in the mornings before work. The time constraints were an unwelcome factor, something neither of them wanted to compound with the inherent danger of their... activities. 'You're staring.' Alison remarked, grinning through half a mouthful of waffle and causing a small droplet of syrup to escape her lips and trickle down her cheek. 'Is my bed hair really that sexy?' Mikaela sighed and smirked. 'No, I just... I don't know...' Alison raised an eyebrow and licked the syrup off her cheek. 'Ohh, you're hungry. I mean... huuungryy...' 'Don't do that...' Mikaela shook her head. 'Not now. I have to leave in less than ten minutes and I don't have time to play that game.' She picked up the last piece of waffle and slipped it into her mouth at the same time as Alison finished the last piece of hers. Their eyes stayed locked, with Alison doing her best to break Mikaela's resolve. 'Don't...' Mikaela repeated. 'Don't do what?' Alison replied cheekily, standing and taking a few steps towards the centre of the plate. She knelt down in front of the dregs of the syrup and dipped her hands into it. 'Alison...' Mikaela bit her lips and watched as the mouse rubbed the syrup over her mostly exposed body. The mouse opened her mouth wide and licked syrup from her own arm, breathing heavily and clearly exciting herself at the thought of what she was tempting Mikaela to do. 'Come on...' Mikaela sighed, but felt her lips curl into a smile. Despite her breakfast being perfect and hitting the spot just right, she could not resist this last little burst of flavour. Her chair slid back from the table as she lowered her head to the edge of the plate and let her mouth open... Alison cheered internally as Mikaela lowered her head to the table. The cat's mouth opened slowly, loosing shallow breaths of anticipation that betrayed the predator's own poorly hidden excitement and desires. The mouse stepped up to the ginger cat's face, placing a hand on the pink nose for a moment before leaning down and peering in under the cat's top jaw into the cavernous mouth before her. A blast of hot, humid air carried a slightly stale and sweet scent of waffles and syrup past the mouse, making her shiver in sheer ecstasy despite the heat it brought. She watched the tongue lift a little and fell forward onto it, feeling the slimy surface caress her panting form and lift her into Mikaela's mouth with a slow deliberate motion. Darkness enveloped her as Mikaela closed her mouth and began to savour the syrup covered mouse. Every wet slurp echoed loudly in Alison's sensitive ears and the feel of the gigantic tongue pressing her into the ridged palate was like heaven to the mouse. With the number of times she had done this, Alison had learned to read the motions of the tongue and interpret which direction she was facing in Mikaela's maw. She twisted, rubbing her syrup enhanced flavour into the cat's tongue and eliciting a booming moan of pleasure from Mikaela's throat. As Alison turned to face the direction the sound originated from, she twisted again, almost inhaling a mouthful of drool as she fought against the tongue's random motions to pull herself towards the back of the throat. 'Hrmmm?' Mikaela sensed Alison's intentions and pressed the mouse into the roof of her mouth, hearing the faint moans of protest as she slowly pushed Alison back to her lips. She slipped her finger and thumb between her lips and pulled the mouse clear with a slow, loud slurp. 'Ohh, please?' Alison reached vainly for the cat's lips as she was pulled away. 'Just let me stay with you all day... Just eat me!' 'No...' Mikaela walked across to the counter and set Alison down outside the mobile mouse sized apartment that had been installed near the corner. 'I don't want you to die, and besides, it's daylight now. It's illegal for me to eat you until eight tonight.' 'Promise?' The mouse squeaked, still dripping with cat drool. 'That's not what I...' Mikaela sighed with a smile and nodded. 'Fine. I'll see you later.' The entire day seemed to drag on forever for Mikaela. The incomplete bonding session had weighed something on her mind, something she eventually had to admit had been going on much longer than simply this morning. It occurred to her that she hadn't hunted and eaten a mouse since she had begun her relationship with Alison. She'd meant to but it just... didn't happen. Alison had taken many trips to Mikaela's stomach, but never stayed long enough to belong to the cat in the true sense. She had gone too long without indulging her true predatory side. Without truly consuming prey for sustenance. The thought had almost vanished from her mind when she committed to a relationship with Alison, but she had not realized how much that decision would impact her in the long term. She wondered if other cats and other predators experienced this subconscious withdrawal? When it was done, she delayed her decision to return home. She needed something first. Something she had gone so long without. She was stricken by slight worries that she would not even remember how to acquire it. She needed prey... Alison spent most of the day asleep, an unusual change of pace from her normally busy schedule in her job at the bank. The anticipation of Mikaela's return was palpable and her mind raced with thoughts of the pleasure to come. Mikaela was late. It was unusual for the cat to be home after six, it was usually in her habit to be home with takeaway or groceries by five-thirty. But now it was almost eight at night. It happened sometimes when work went late or a staff meeting was called, but the event was rare and the events of this morning seemed too convenient for this to be co-incidence. Alison smiled as the suspicion became more and more likely in her mind. Mikaela was probably planning to hunt. The door to the house slammed and Alison jolted awake. She didn't even remember falling back to sleep but she stepped out of her apartment and approached the edge of the counter. She watched as Mikaela stepped hurriedly into the kitchen, clutching something to her chest in both hands. 'Hey...' Alison called. 'Are... are you okay?' Mikaela blinked slowly, then sat herself down at the table and tried to calm her breathing. 'Y-yea, I just um... I hunted. It's been months since I've done this.' 'Oh?' Alison perked up. Her suspicions had been right. 'So, in those hands of yours...?' 'My dinner.' Mikaela grinned. She opened her hands and deposited her catch onto the table before her. It was a shaking mouse woman, white furred with black hair. Her clothes were a tight- fitting grey business suit that had been partially torn by Mikaela's claws. Despite this, she seemed uninjured. 'No... no please!' The mouse pleaded, scooting backwards across the table for a few seconds before the cat's hand snared her by one of her feet and dragged her back in front of Mikaela's salivating jaws. 'I have to.' Mikaela growled back, glaring down at her prey after the briefest of glances to Alison across the kitchen still standing on the counter. 'I've tried to refrain from it for so long, I'm gonna go mad if I keep holding myself back.' Her hand scooped underneath the trembling woman and she lifted her towards her lips. Alison watched with a mix of anticipation and fear as Mikaela's tongue lapped out and pressed the terrified mouse into the palm of the cat's hand. Again and again, Mikaela aggressively savoured the mouse's flavour, pinning her over and over into her hand despite the best attempts the smaller woman made to resist. The business suit was ruined now, drenched through with drool and torn in a dozen places thanks to the subtle barbs of Mikaela's tongue. 'Mmff... Ohhh...' Mikaela sat back and reclined in pleasure, her hand tightening its grip on the dishevelled mouse that was soon to be food. 'M-Mikaela?' Alison suddenly felt a new emotion creeping into her head. 'Uhh, maybe you shouldn't do this? You're talking about... She's gonna-' 'She's gonna die.' Mikaela interrupted flatly. 'Yes, that's what happens. Well, at least it used to.' 'Are you mad at me?' Alison asked suddenly in an accusatory tone. 'It sounds like you're blaming me for the fact that you haven't eaten a mouse in so long. I never stopped you from hunting!' 'You were just about to try!' Mikaela snapped back, cutting through Alison's defensiveness like a knife. 'I stopped hunting because I knew how you'd react eventually. It's all fun and games when it's you putting yourself at risk and me bringing you back up when you... finish. It's fun but... it's doing something to my head that I can't get past.' The mouse Mikaela had caught was still squirming in the cat's hand, her tail flailing loosely outside the tight grip. 'I wasn't...' Alison's words died in her mouth as she realized she had been about to do precisely what Mikaela had accused her of. Had her own desire really blinded her to her sense of empathy? Ever since the two had begun living together, Mikaela had stopped hunting and Alison had assumed that the games the pair played had been enough to satisfy the cat's predatory urges. Had she been so blinded to the growing frustrations in her lover's mind? 'Wasn't what?' Mikaela growled. Her expression softened as she realized how tense the face off between them had become. She took a deep breath and even her grip on her prey seemed to relax slightly. Alison followed suit, sighing deeply before she sat down on the edge of the kitchen counter. 'I'm so sorry. I didn't think to ask if you still wanted to hunt.' 'I...' Mikaela rested her hand on the table, loosening her grip just enough to allow her captured prey to squirm but not enough to break free. 'I can... I guess I can just... let her go? For you?' The two mice made brief eye contact before Alison turned away. She considered taking Mikaela up on the offer, but what would the cost be? Mikaela was already becoming increasingly agitated due to her self-imposed restraint. But what was the alternative? It occurred to Alison that she had not actually seen Mikaela consume another mouse since they began seriously dating, and the thought had made her... uncomfortable. 'Alison?' Mikaela pressed. 'I want to do this. But I... I value your input.' Alison met the other mouse's pleading eyes before blinking slowly. She mouthed the words "I'm sorry" before looking back up at Mikaela. She nodded slowly. Mikaela no longer hesitated, lifting the mouse up to her face and deftly removing the mouse's clothes with her claws. Now naked, the mouse was hysterical and once again trembling in sheer terror. The cat's gaze betrayed no traces of remorse or pity for what she was about to do and her mouth opened wide. There was a brief scream before a muffled groan of fear. Alison blinked just in time to miss it and looked back up to see Mikaela's jaw slowly work her prey from one cheek to the other before the cat stood and walked over to the counter. She felt her heart race and her breathing became more rapid as Mikaela leaned down, bringing her lips to Alison's face. There was the briefest of moments where the cat's lips slightly parted, and an echoing scream resounded before it was cut off by Mikaela's loud wet gulp. Alison closed her eyes and tried to turn away, but Mikaela's finger pushed her cheek to face forward again. She peered into the fleshy cavern of the cat's mouth with its ivory frame of teeth as the tongue snaked forward and ran up her belly and chest. Once it retreated, a wave of hot, stale air washed over Alison as the cat exhaled happily. As Mikaela stood, she looked down at Alison and sighed. 'I... I needed that.' Her hands rested on her abdomen. 'I'm gonna go lie down and... let this happen.' Alison nodded slowly as Mikaela turned and walked into the living room. That mouse was going to be digested alive in Mikaela's stomach, a place Alison herself had survived due to Mikaela's love borne mercy. Mikaela had become something more than a predator in Alison's eyes, fooling the mouse into believing that she in turn had become more than simply prey. But if Mikaela's instincts could not be buried, how long could this relationship truly last? She wanted Mikaela to be happy, and in her lustful state had enjoyed watching the first mouse become prey. But this one... This one she actually pitied. Maybe it wasn't going to be as easy as she had thought.