Jill felt the cool liquid on her back, bubbles running through her fur to pop on the surface beside 
her. She giggled, partially at the ticklish feeling, and partially at the absurdity of what she was doing. 
Her feet dangled below her in the liquid, but she didn't need to kick them to stay afloat. Her hands 
clung to the edge of the glass, a tall champagne flute that was almost perfectly sized for her upright 
form. She was almost naked but for a red two piece swimsuit, the kind that was made to leave as 
little to the imagination as possible. 
     Looking from above, Andrea could barely contain the look of longing in her eye. 'You... you 
couldn't wait for Kira to have her camera ready? You had to get in there now?' The cat was looking 
dishevelled and a tad unkept, having been staying with Kira after her dispute with her father had 
apparently become somewhat more heated. 
     'This was your idea.' Jill shrugged. 'Sure you're not just jealous that you'll never be able to swim in 
champagne yourself?' The flute was standing beside the bottle on Kira's coffee table, the same place 
they'd used to create almost all of the videos for Jill's songs. 
     'Whatever.' Andrea scoffed, rolling her eye and sitting back on Kira's couch. 'I'm still drinking that 
when you're done.' 
     Jill laughed and felt herself shiver, knowing exactly what thoughts were going through the cat's 
mind but still trusting her enough to be in the room alone with her. For a short while at least. 
     A few moments later, Kira entered the room from her kitchen, carrying her camera and another 
glass of a different shape. On her shoulder was Tanner, steadying himself by the shoulder strap of the 
ocelot's pyjama top. She likewise hadn't done much with herself at this point in the morning, but at 
least had made some effort to clean herself up. 'So, couldn't wait I see?' 
     'Would you?' Jill called up. 'Better make this fast. Andrea's getting thirsty.' 
     'Champagne isn't breakfast.' Kira smiled, setting the extra glass down and beginning to prepare 
the camera. 'I found a coupe. We can use it for an above shot, have you floating on your back in a 
wider glass.' 
     'Oh, sounds good.' Jill blinked excitedly. 
     'Sounds like another drink.' Andrea grinned. 'This was a really good idea. Don't mind me if I start 
drinking early today.' 
     'You're getting too excited about this.' Jill called up to her. 
     'She's right.' Kira nodded. 'It was hard enough to convince her to get in a glass in the first place. 
Don't start saying things to make her nervous now.' 
     'Alright.' Andrea grinned. 'Let's do this. I'm thirsty.' 

     As the morning progressed, Kira got a number of suggestive photographs of Jill swimming in 
champagne. A few from a side on view through the side of the flute, some more from above splayed 
out in the coupe. Afterwards, she connected the camera to the television and shared all of the 
pictures she had captured. Even a few with each glass held up to Kira's own lips. 
     'You look amazing.' Tanner remarked, looking between the screen and the coupe where Jill was 
still floating in bubbling champagne. 'Which pic is your favourite, Jill?' 
     'I-I dunno.' Jill shrugged, blushing. 'It's hard for me to judge, you know? What do you think?' 
     'Kira?' Tanner turned to the ocelot. 'I'm probably too biased on this too. What do you think? As far 
as I can see, she's beautiful in all of them.' 
     Kira cycled through all of the pictures again twice more, eventually coming to shift between one of 
the shots from above the coupe, and another that had the ocelot's own lips poised on the edge of 
the glass behind Jill as she floated slowly towards them. 'I think one of these two.' 
     'In any case, there's plenty to choose from.' Andrea interjected, before draining the flute of its 
contents. 'Ooh, that Jill flavour makes it that little bit sweeter. Ahem, we can use a few of these for 
promo posters, and then keep whichever you decide is the best one for an album cover or 
something.' 
     'That's a good call.' Tanner agreed with a nod. 'All this publicity will make it easier for you to get 
auditions as well. Whether it's acting or singing gigs. You have options now.' 
     'Speaking of...' Andrea set down the empty flute and picked up the coupe, causing Jill to grab the 
edge of the glass to balance herself. As she lifted the glass closer to her face, her eye narrowed and 
focused on the mouse, who was now blushing and fidgeting nervously. 'I uh, may have a potential 
contact on the acting front.' 
     'What?' Jill asked, relaxing only slightly as Andrea spoke. 'What do you mean? Someone who's 
looking for an actress like me?' 
     'Maybe.' Andrea replied, swirling the glass slowly and playfully. 'A few caveats though. It's for a 
potential film adaptation of a book called Taste of Devotion.' 
     'Taste of Devotion?!' Kira interjected. 'You can't be serious. You'd ask Jill to do that?' 
     'I'm just suggesting it!' Andrea shrugged. 
     'I don't understand.' Jill shook her head, leaning a little over the glass' edge to meet Kira's gaze. 'I 
don't think I know that story.' 
     'It's... an old novel written about thirty years ago now.' Kira explained. 'Obviously back when mice 
were still scavengers. It's one of those forbidden romance type stories between a cat and a mouse.' 
     'Ohh...' Jill replied, nodding slowly. 'And... you think...?' 
     'There are intimate scenes in the story.' Andrea explained, turning the glass in her grip to get Jill's 
focus back on her. 'If you wanted to audition, you'd need to be comfortable with being close to your 
co-star's mouth. And, probably in it. There are a few scenes like that in the book. The mouse 
character also gets swallowed once or twice I think.' 
     'Twice.' Kira confirmed. 'But they'd do that with a green screen, surely.' 
     'Point is, there's your trauma to consider.' Andrea sighed. 'There's no point in trying if you won't 
be able to perform in half the scenes.' She brought the glass slightly closer to her lips, noting how Jill 
twitched at the motion and gasped lightly. 
     'R-right.' Jill stammered, calming down as Andrea lowered the glass away from her face. 'Can I get 
out of this now?' 
     'Sure.' Andrea grinned, bringing the glass back to her lips. 'Climb on out.' 
     As the cat started sipping, Jill jumped and landed atop her nose, then crawled using the strap of 
her eyepatch to climb atop Andrea's head with a trail of dripping champagne behind her. 
     'That wasn't funny!' Jill panted, stomping her foot as hard as she could manage. 
     'Cut me some slack.' Andrea laid herself back on the couch, dropping Jill to the pillow beside her 
with a well aimed nod of her head. 'I'm drunk and essentially homeless. And it's at least partially 
because I wanted to save your life.' She smiled and drank the rest of the champagne from the glass in 
one long swig. 
     A few moments of silence followed, as Kira offered her hand to convey Jill back to the coffee table. 
She joined Tanner and the pair hugged as Tanner playfully licked some of the bubbly beverage from 
the fur of Jill's cheek. Jill smiled but didn't respond immediately, as thoughts of what Andrea had said 
played out in her head. The black cat's life had definitely taken a turn recently, and her relationship 
with her father deteriorating was a result of her decision to fight for Jill's life. Even if Andrea had 
continually insisted that it was her choice and she'd never do anything differently in the same 
situation, Jill was unable to deny that there was a sense of... 
     Guilt? No, it isn't like she put herself in that situation. Owing? Maybe? She definitely owed her life 
to Andrea, but shivered at the thought of interpreting that literally. And even though the mouse had 
come to terms with this felid pair's good intentions, there were still times when it was difficult to see 
past what they were. They both still regularly hunted. 
     'Let's get back to the musical ideas.' Tanner said, bringing Jill back to focus. 'I have been contacted 
by a few venues enquiring after you.' 
     'Don't keep me in suspense.' Jill squeezed his hands with her own, prompting him to continue. 
     'Right.' Tanner nodded. 'I heard back from two nightclubs. Tales and Tails, and Smalltown Nightlife. 
Also got a request from a college professor at King's Grace about an interview and potential 
scholarship, and a couple inquiries about whether or not you'd perform at private functions.' 
     'Uhh...' Jill was speechless. She'd expected one or two calls at most, but two venues, a college 
professor and two private functions was more than she knew how to respond to. She sat herself 
cross legged on the coffee table and smiled thoughtfully. 
     'Those two nightclubs might be a problem.' Andrea said, sitting back up and leaning forward. 
'Smalltown should be easy enough for you, but they're really strict about anyone bigger than a 
wildcat. I might get in if I sign a book's worth of forms and pay an extra cover fee, but I don't think 
Kira will be allowed in there. Apparently, some mice went missing a month or two back and they 
tightened it all right up.' 
     'So I'd have to sing without Kira's playing?' Jill asked. 
     Andrea nodded slowly. 'You'd have to organise another piano player.'
     'Pianist.' Kira corrected, smirking slightly. 
     'I hate that word.' Andrea retorted, prompting Kira to smile mischievously. 
     Jill shook her head. 'I don't want to do that.'
     'What?' Tanner asked. 
     'Sing without Kira's playing.' Jill explained. 'I only have all of this attention because of her help. I 
don't want to sing somewhere if she's not playing the piano there with me.' 
     Kira visibly flushed, her ears dropping and her eyes widening in delighted surprise. She leaned in 
close then stopped herself, closing her eyes and blushing even more.
     'A-are you alright?' Jill asked, flinching slightly at how close the ocelot had suddenly gotten.  
     'Yea, s-sorry.' Kira replied. 'I wanted to kiss you. Thank you for saying that. It... it really means a lot 
to me.' 
     'Oh, it's alright.' Jill nodded, now blushing herself. 'I know music is your passion.' 
     'Well then...' Tanner looked around before deciding whether or not to press the matter. 'Should I 
get back to Beatrice at Tales and Tails and see what I can find out?' 
     'Sure...' Jill nodded, laying herself down and staring at the ceiling. 'While we wait on that... when is 
the audition period for this movie?' 
     Andrea and Tanner both raised an eyebrow at the question. Kira leaned back and looked between 
them with a mix of concern and curiosity. 
     'Something wrong?' Jill asked. 
     'You sure you're up for that?' Andrea asked. 'I mean, knowing what it's gonna... require?' 
     Jill took a deep breath. 'I wanna be an actress. I love singing, but acting is what I want to do and 
be remembered for. I... I wanna prove that a mouse can make it in this world.' 
     'Right.' Tanner knelt beside her. 'And when it comes time to kiss a cat up close?' 
     'I guess I need to come to terms with that.' Jill sighed, reaching for Tanner's hand. As he pulled her 
upright, Andrea rested a hand on the coffee table nearby and gestured to Kira with her other hand, a 
wry smile on her face as she gently nudged Jill's lower back with her finger. 
     'Why not start now?' She suggested. 'And let Kira have that kiss she wanted?' 
     'W-what?' Jill stammered, completely unprepared for the idea. 
     'Andrea!' Kira protested. 'Shouldn't she see a therapist or something first? Try to work through 
this on her own time?' 
     'The audition period is only gonna last two more days.' Andrea shook her head. 'That pretty much 
gives us tomorrow. I got a friend of a friend on the set, and he tells me they're having trouble finding 
a mouse to play the character of Anwen. Murid actresses are either too scared to be near a cat's 
mouth, or eager for all the wrong reasons. You want the part? You need to be better and braver than 
your competition.' 
     'Right.' Jill took a deep breath. 'I-I was ready to deal with it for that documentary audition. This 
shouldn't be all that different, right?' Her lower lip trembled as she spoke and her ears were pressed 
back in very obvious nervousness. 'Kira? K-kiss me.' 
     Tanner took a step aside and watched tensely as Kira slowly leaned in. Jill's vision was filled with 
the ocelot's face as she loomed closer, her lips slightly parted and her breathing shallow and slightly 
more rapid than usual. 
     'Come on Kira.' Andrea encouraged. 'Pretend you're Velisse. Don't get all worried about whether 
or not Jill will be okay, she has to be Anwen and you have to be her lover. Just for a few moments.'  
     Kira and Jill looked back at each other, both blushing, and nodded. Kira leaned in closer still and Jill 
took a slow step forward. 
     Jill's heart was racing, but not from the thrill of romance. Despite how much she trusted Kira, the 
ocelot's lips were dominating her vision, the air from her shallow exhales puffing through the cat's 
mouth and nose and reminding the mouse just how close she was. How easily those lips could part. 
How easily Jill could slip through, between the teeth that lay just past those glossy black surfaces to 
the pink interior of Kira's carnivorous and cavernous maw. And from there... 
     She realised her hand was shaking, only because Tanner had stepped up behind her. He held her 
hand with one of his, and rested the other on her shoulder. Embraced from behind, Jill felt a slight 
reassurance, but it did little to quell her fear. 
     'Just relax.' He whispered. 'You're safe. Remember you're with friends.'
     'R-right...' Jill nodded, doing her best to steady her breathing but having little luck. She froze as 
Kira's lips moved the final inch and made contact with her, enveloping her entire face in their soft 
embrace. She felt the damp warmth of the ocelot's touch for what felt like a long time but was 
probably only a second. The thin veneer of saliva left behind quickly cooled as Kira's lips withdrew, 
and a moment later they were once again staring eye to eye as the felid lowered her head beside the 
coffee table. 
     Jill was still frozen in place. Her eyes were wide and shifting rapidly from Kira's eyes to her lips. 
Tanner wrapped his arms tighter around her, nuzzled into her neck with his cheek and lips, and in the 
next few moments her breathing finally slowed. 
     'Not so bad huh?' He whispered softly. 'See? A friend. Perfectly safe. Wanna try again?' 
     'Wanna try deeper?' Andrea interjected. 'Get in Kira's mouth. Sit on her tongue for a few seconds.' 
     'W-what?' Jill's breathing sped up again and panic became visible on her face. 
     'Andrea...' Kira began. 
     'She needs to do this.' Andrea interrupted. 'We just need to know that she's up for it. Otherwise 
trying for that audition tomorrow is pointless.' 
     'S-she's right.' Jill nodded. 'I just... I just...' 
     'Alright.' Tanner stepped around in front of her and held her by her shoulders. 'How about I go 
with you? I'll step in first and you'll see that everything is fine, then you can step in beside me, 
alright?' 
     Kira was silent, but Andrea smiled and focused her eye on Tanner. 'Have... have you ever been in a 
felid's mouth before?' She asked. 
     'Well, no.' Tanner shrugged. 'But I trust you both. How bad could it be? A little warm, a little damp, 
the teeth...' 
     Kira was blushing and trying not to laugh. 'Oh, you sweet naïve soul.' She ran a finger gently over 
Tanner's head, mussing the mouse's hair until he lifted a hand and tried vainly to bat her digit away. 
     'She's right.' Jill laughed tensely. 'You can't understand what it's like to be in a cat's mouth until 
you've actually experienced it. It's not...' She trailed off and took a deep breath as she looked up at 
Kira, the brief levity she had provided already gone. 
     'It's alright.' Tanner shook his head. 'I'll still do it. I'll still be right beside you for this. No matter 
how... uhh, awkward it gets.' He nodded to Jill, then quickly took off his shirt. 
     'Nice abs.' Andrea remarked. 'They look delicious.' 
     'You can ask Kira in a minute.' Tanner retorted. He gripped Jill's hands tightly to reassure her, and 
slowly led her towards the edge of the coffee table. 
     'I guess we're doing this.' Jill took another deep breath and followed him. 'Kira? I'm sorry if I 
seem...' 
     'It's alright.' Kira smiled. 'I don't want to push you or make you uncomfortable. But if you really 
want to do this to prove that you can, I'll help out. I promise not to talk about how good you'll 
probably taste. After, I mean.' She sighed at her own comment before leaning down to the table's 
edge. 
     Tanner held Jill close, doing his best to keep her nerves calm. As The ocelot's face lowered before 
them, Tanner also had to keep himself by shaking. 'W-wow, she's bigger than I thought up close, 
huh?' He tried to keep his tone comical to maintain his composure, but couldn't completely stop the 
slight waver in his voice. 
     Kira opened her mouth, and both mice felt the initial wave of her breath over them. Her lips had 
curled back slightly, exposing her pearly feline teeth and the barbed surface of her soft, pink tongue. 
A moment passed and her tongue lowered, granting them a view of her twitching throat. Her uvula 
wobbled slightly as she inhaled and exhaled, and after a few more moments to come to terms with 
the view, Tanner took his first step forward. 
     Jill didn't budge, prompting Tanner to turn back. He nodded in understanding, leaning in for a 
quick kiss before moving closer to Kira again. He tentatively let go of Jill's hand and stepped up to 
Kira's chin on his own. With slow, careful movements, he gripped one of her lower fangs and lifted a 
foot onto her lip. His toes sank slightly into the soft skin and he hoisted himself hastily over her 
incisors to sit himself on her tongue. Kira's tongue twitched and lifted slightly in response to his 
presence, a motion that Jill assured herself was probably involuntary as she watched. 
     Another exhale from Kira, and Tanner was visibly trying to keep his own breathing shallow. He 
beckoned towards Jill to come close and join him. 'Come on, this is... not so bad...' 
     'You're a terrible liar.' Andrea laughed. 'I can almost smell Kira's breath from here!' 
     Kira rolled her eyes and then squeezed them shut to avoid awkward eye contact during the rest of 
the test of Jill's willpower. 
     'Jill?' Tanner called. 'Come on, it's fine. She's-' His voice cut off as a drop of saliva landed on his 
head. Jill stifled a laugh, but didn't take a step. 
     'He's right.' Andrea slid off the couch and sat on the floor beside the coffee table, resting a hand 
beside Jill and slowly running a finger down her back. 'It's Kira. She's the kindest, sweetest, most 
gentle cat I have ever known. Try not to think about the last time she hunted and just crawl on into 
her mouth there. Go on.' She gave a firm but gentle nudge and pressed Jill up to Kira's lip. 
     Jill whimpered and squeezed her eyes closed. She felt Kira's lip moving slightly under her hands 
and began trembling as her breathing became rapid. 'T-Tanner?' 
     'It's alright, I'm here!' He replied, leaning forward and placing his hand on hers. 'Come on, she's 
not going to hurt us.' 
     Jill opened her eyes and looked back at him, losing a few tears that she blinked clear rapidly. She 
managed eye contact with him for only a few moments before her gaze was drawn to the scope of 
Kira's mouth behind him. The ridges on the roof of her mouth, leading into her soft palate and the 
uvula hanging before the dark leading down to where... 
     Jill felt more tears, her mind flooded by memories of being eaten by the white cat. She didn't 
need to imagine what was past Kira's throat, she knew exactly what was there and what it meant for 
any mouse unfortunate enough to take that trip. It could easily be her, like it had to have been 
thousands of others by now.  
     'Jill!' Tanner called again. 'Look at me.' He squeezed her hand more forcefully. 
     'Tanner?' She whispered back. 'She's... she's eaten so many like us...' 
     'She has to.' He whispered back. 'But she won't eat us. Your co-star won't eat you when you're 
shooting the film that's gonna make you a movie star. Everything is going to be alright. Climb in here 
and let her prove it. You two are gonna have an amazing music career together and you're gonna be 
in movies and television shows. This is just a trust exercise. You trust her, right?' 
     'I-I do.' Jill whimpered, then reached out with her other hand, taking hold of Kira's other fang and 
letting Tanner pull her onto the ocelot's tongue. She grasped him tight, wrapping her arms around his 
torso almost to the point of stopping his own breathing. Her feet pressed into the back of her incisors 
as she shifted her position, getting coated in a layer of drool that had not been present a few 
moments earlier. 
     'I think we're making her mouth water.' Tanner whispered. 
     'Why do you say something so comforting, then say something terrifying?' Jill replied, thumping 
her fist into his ribs. 
     'Sorry.' He squeezed her back. 'But see? We're fine. Even though we're swimming in drool and cat 
breath, in a few seconds we'll be back on the coffee table and laughing about it.' 
     There was a bit of motion as Kira sat upright, slightly closing her jaw and rolling her head around. 
Jill began to twitch and look around fearfully, once again stuck staring at the slope of the tongue and 
dark abyss of the ocelot's throat. 
     'We're fine.' Tanner leaned in and pressed his cheek to Jill's. 'She probably just needed to stretch 
her neck. Leaning down for that long couldn't be comfortable for her.' 
     'R-right.' Jill nodded, still staring as the throat made a shallow gulp, taking some of the excess 
saliva from around them with a loud wet squelch that sounded horrifyingly familiar to her. 'T-this is 
enough, right? Can we get out now please?' 
     Kira's tongue shifted and her head tilted forward. The mice slid, feeling their skin and fur rub 
against the barbed surface as they slipped off and landed in her waiting cupped hands. 'Aaah, are 
you two alright?' 
     Tanner clutched Jill close and looked back up at Kira with a reassuring smile. 'We're alright. It was 
uhh, interesting?' He wiped a hand through his hair and looked with mild distaste at the saliva 
coating his fingers. 'Probably not something I'd do for fun...' 
     Kira smirked, still blushing, and turned her gaze to Jill. 'Are you alright, Jill?' 
     'That was...' Jill began, trailing off and beginning to hyperventilate as she buried her face against 
Tanner's damp chest. 'S-sorry! That was a bit much.' 
     Andrea sighed. 'Do you think the audition is going to be worthwhile?' 
     'Yes.' Jill replied firmly. 'I'll... I'll get past this somehow.' 
     'Let's not take any chances.' Andrea nodded. 'I'll see if I can find... a good therapist or something. 
We'll book the audition and hopefully this won't come up before you're ready...'