Mikaela sighed as she stopped at the warehouse door. A few of her co-workers had stopped a 
short distance behind her as she held her key-tag to the electronic clock, waiting for the audible 
beep before she went inside. The door led straight into the warehouse's staff room where she 
deposited her backpack and coat into a locker along one of the walls and replaced it with her safety 
hi-vis vest. Through the door straight ahead was the grocery store, and to the right the small 
attached warehouse where the ginger cat would hopefully spend most of her day. 
     'Mikaela!' A voice called. She recognized the voice of Daniel, her shift supervisor and turned to 
face him as she closed her locker's door. 
     'Yea?' She replied, looking across at the young grey furred and black-haired weasel already 
dressed in similar work attire to her. 
     'How are you feeling today?' Daniel asked. Though there was a noticeable size difference 
between them in the cat's favour, Daniel managed to retain an authority over her with sheer 
confidence and experience. It wasn't entirely uncommon for the smaller folk to command respect 
during the day, and in these hours he was the equal or even superior to any felid that worked in this 
shopping centre. He was of course, smart enough to be at home during the evening and night, when 
cats like Mikaela and those even larger than her would be seeking to turn the smaller citizens into 
their dinner. 
     Mikaela shrugged at first, but then nodded slowly. 'I feel better, I guess. I still have a few feelings 
to work through but I think I'll be okay.' 
     Daniel nodded, narrowing his blue eyes a little. 'Feel up to taking one of the counters today? 
Elana said she's getting sick of dealing with customers.' 
     'Let her watch the self-serve checkouts then.' The cat almost hissed in frustration. 'I'll run a 
counter and you can put Alex or Jynn back in the warehouse.' 
     'Alright.' Daniel nodded. 'Thanks. And like I said, if you want to take a few personal days just let 
me know as soon as you can.' 
     'I think I'll be okay.' Mikaela sighed. 'But... thanks, as well.' 

     The day passed with minimal drama, the lynx Elana accepting her day's assignment with a 
measure of gratitude towards Mikaela for the reduced workload. There had never been much 
sympathy from anyone here for the situation Mikaela had found herself in, with the slight exception 
of Daniel, but there was at least enough respect to hold off any forming resentment between the 
other co-workers. 
     Mikaela's prevailing thought was to get through the day. To get back home so she could see 
Alison again. The only thing that had kept her going through the last few weeks. She had come close 
to seeking a counsellor to help her deal with the Alison issue, but had tried to be strong for the most 
part on her own terms. She had still found her way to seeing Alison every day, but it was getting 
more difficult each time. She didn't want to resort to therapy, but as the days went on it was 
beginning to feel as though it would be inevitable. 
     It was only as she was headed back out at the end of the day that she finally felt relief, but even 
then it was cut short as she approached her car. The car just reminded her of the first time she'd 
met Alison, her meeting with the bank worker to arrange the loan she'd needed to buy the vehicle. 
The mouse had contacted the cat afterwards to follow up, and following a rather interesting lunch 
date had revealed her more personal interest in larger partners. 
     Mikaela hadn't thought it could work. But in her own sense of being nice and humouring Alison's 
odd request at least for a small time, had discovered that her own interest had indeed been piqued. 
They had become close, and before Mikaela could really process her feelings the pair had become a 
couple. An absurd notion in this felid dominated society, but one that had prevailed nevertheless...

     The drive home was quiet. Mikaela had not found herself in the mood for music lately, not even 
her favourites from the band Jackalope. Once she was home, she let herself rest back in the seat for 
a few long seconds before she turned off the engine and slowly shuffled herself out of the car. She 
had usually looked forward to coming home but the house no longer held much joy. Not since things 
had gotten so tense between her and Alison. 

     The cat eventually found herself at her front door, fumbling slightly with her keys before opening 
the door and stepping inside. As she walked down the corridor towards her room, she paused at the 
doorway to the kitchen. She looked in at the small mobile apartment that had been installed for 
Alison to live in, the structure sized for mice that was hooked up to the larger house's electricity and 
water to provide amenities for smaller citizens in larger houses. 
     She looked at the small building's balcony. Part of her hoped that she'd see Alison step out and 
wave the way she used to. But she didn't. It had been weeks since the last time the mouse had 
greeted her like that. With a sigh she continued past, shed her clothes once she was in her room and 
prepared herself for a shower. 
     The cool water felt good, soaking into Mikaela's ginger and striped fur and rinsing the day's dust 
from it. The longer she stayed, the heavier it felt as her normally puffy fur matted to her body shape 
under the water's weight. Eventually she had enough and turned off the tap. She waited a few 
moments to let the excess water drip to the tiles and then gripped the handrail inside the shower 
and shook herself vigorously. Fur like hers carried water easily and her towel would be drenched in 
no time if she tried to use that alone to dry herself. 
     She didn't bother putting clothes back on. She wasn't expecting any other visitors and so she 
settled for only her underwear before making her way back to the kitchen with her phone in hand. 
She looked at Alison's apartment again, remembering after it had been installed that she had made 
the joke about it being the perfect spot. When Alison asked why, Mikaela had answered because it's 
where the food goes. Not normally a joke she'd make to a mouse, but Alison's kink had ensured that 
she saw the humour in it. 
     She opened the fridge and took out a can of soda. After a deep breath, she sat herself at the table 
facing the small apartment and set her phone down in front of her. She waited. Nothing happened. 
She cracked the top of the can and took a slow sip. Still there was nothing. 
     Mikaela sighed and looked pleadingly at the small apartment. 'Please... Alison?' She spoke in 
almost a whimper as she struggled to hold back tears. 'Please come out of there. Talk to me. This 
house is too big for me by myself. I need your company.' 
     Still nothing happened. 
     'Alison...' Mikaela repeated as a single tear drop landed on the table. 'Just let me hear your voice 
again, please?' Her hand reached for her phone shakily and she unlocked the screen, loading up her 
messages before selecting a video she had been sent... 

     The camera was shaky but still focused enough to reveal the naked chest and face of Alison the 
mouse. Her fur and hair were soaked through and heavy with slimy fluids that clung to her form and 
made it difficult for her to keep her eyes open. As the camera moved, haphazardly held in the 
mouse's grip, her surroundings were revealed. The pink creased flesh of a stomach wall curved 
above her, pulsating in rhythm with a dull heartbeat that sounded through the speakers. Almost 
submerging Alison was a pool of brownish green viscous liquid with the occasional chunk of diluted 
white pastry bobbing in and out of focus. 
     'M-Mikaela?' Alison asked shakily. 'The last call ended but... I'm pretty sure you fell asleep out 
there. I don't know if you'll wake up in time and I tried to call you twice but you... you still had your 
phone on silent from work, I think? I don't know if you'll wake up in time so, I uh... I wanted to 
record this and send it to you just in case.' 
     There was a moment where everything seemed to shift, the view on the screen blurred for a 
moment before Alison was able to right herself. Her face was panicked but also seemingly amused, 
her predicament conflicting with her survival instinct and her enjoyment of her erotic forays into her 
feline lover's insides. 
     'It's been almost forty minutes since you fell asleep, and I think nearly an hour since you 
swallowed me.' Alison continued, using her free hand to try and clear some of the gastric juices that 
had splashed onto her face. 'We... we always knew this was a risk, right? I trusted you every time 
and I still do. I know you wouldn't do this on purpose. But if you wake up and I'm... if it's too late? 
Please don't blame yourself. I was the one that pushed this. And I was the one that caused you to 
suppress yourself before.' 
     Mikaela's hand faltered with her phone for a moment. This next part almost always broke her. 
     'I love you!' Alison blurted suddenly. 'I know we weren't together for long but you did so much for 
me that I didn't even realize. When I finish recording this, I'll try to transfer all my money to you. So 
you can keep up with the rent until you find a new housemate, or a new place, whatever you decide. 
And remember, we always knew I might get caught by some other predator one day. I guess we can 
be glad that didn't happen at least?' 
     Mikaela watched the video tremble again, accompanied by a loud distorted growl as her own 
stomach became more aggressive in its efforts to process its prey. Alison's face wavered.  The cat's 
tears were falling far more rapidly now, hearing what Alison had said and knowing... 

     ...Knowing that Alison had died in her stomach three weeks ago... 

     Mikaela had awoken the next morning, immediately gripped by panic and horror. The string that 
Alison had gone down with still hung from her lips but when she had strained to pull it back up, 
dreading what she might see, there had been nothing still attached. Nothing left of the mouse 
woman she had become so attracted and attached to. The bank teller that had become her close 
friend and lover after a chance meeting to take out a car loan... 
     The phone dropped from Mikaela's hand and her head hit the table beside it, preceding a fit of 
sobs that, despite Alison's words, were fuelled by guilt. Even if Alison hadn't blamed her, the cat had 
ended the mouse's life in what many rodents considered to be the most horrific way possible. 
Despite the mouse's final words to her, Mikaela knew enough about biology to know that Alison's 
last moments had almost certainly been agonizing as the stomach acids broke through her fur and 
skin. There was no way for the cat to know just how damaged Alison had already been during that 
video, as most of her body remained submerged beneath the stomach acids for the duration. 
     And no matter what she tried to tell herself, at the end of each day Mikaela was forced to remind 
herself that she was not ready to accept Alison's death. Only denial had gotten her through each 
day, and every time it cracked, it was taking more of her with it. 

     Two hours of silence passed, broken only by Mikaela's sobs and whimpers. As fatigue finally 
caught up to her and she shakily stood to ready herself for bed, she reached her realization that she 
needed help. She couldn't keep living like this. She would have to find a counsellor or a therapist and 
work through this grief...