#mouse prey

Fall had been hard for the pack. They weren't a large group, but between their own appetites and the competition of other predators, there was little food to go around. Today, a small hunting party had been sent out to bring back what they could. With growls in their bellies and throats, they set out.

Hard times though these were, the pack did love to run together. They felt like a single beast as they leapt over obstacles and desperately sniffed for a whiff of prey.

There! With one mind they turned on the trail of their quarry. With one heart, their pulses quickened at the thought of food.

The head of the group spotted the source of that warm tantalizing scent first: a mouse. It wasn't much, but it was all they had. Strong hind legs launched him into the air and he pounced. Massive forepaws touched down on the startled rodent, pressing it into the leaves. 

It squeaked and struggled to get away. Suddenly there was claws and fur all around, fourteen paws digging in unison. They threw away all the leaf litter, leaving the mouse exposed with the earth.

The little rodent looked around, quivering as it saw seven mouths hanging open, tongues lolling as the wolves panted. Just the sight of the mouse was enough to make all their mouths water, drool running down and dripping into the leaves.

"Good work!" One barked. The others echoed and congratulated each other without every looking away from the mouse.

"That's not very much," another whined.

"Who gets it," woofed a third.

"Me!" Came the bark mere moments before teeth closed around the terrified scrap of prey. Slobbering tongue buffeted the mouse, getting a good taste. Then it tumbled from the wolf's maw, bouncing a little as it hit the ground. Shivering where it fell, the mouse could see a couple wolves scuffling. Their fury was terrifying to watch, fur and webs of saliva flying into the air.

The fight broke up and one of the wolves trotted up then pawed at the terrified mouse, "Maybe we could split it?"

Another shoved its face close, big, black, wet nose huffing air that chilled the saliva dampened mouse. "We could each take a little bite, just a nibble," it whined, sending hot breath washing over its prey. 

"Tear it apart!" One howled from the back. Several others joined with howls of agreement.

The mouse scrambles to flee from these ravenous wolves, but a well aimed tail sweeps it back into the clear patch. "We must hurry, or it will escape."

"That would be terrible!" 

"We must pick someone."

"Yes someone must be picked to enjoy this prey."

"We can hunt more; now one must eat."

The mouse spun around, staring in horror at the glittering eyes and frothy mouths of each speaker. It wasn't sure how they came to the conclusion. Only the wolves knew each other so intimately, knew who needed it most and who could press on to hunt.

Sure enough one stepped forward as the others backed off. They sat down, watching as if their hunger would be sated vicariously. 

The chosen wolf licked its chops. It reached a paw forward tentatively and knocked the mouse to one side. "So scrawny," it whined.

It leaned close, its sniffling pulling at the fluffed fur of the mouse. The wolf's big, wet, warm tongue popped out and licked at its prey. The mouse was lifted off of the ground, only to fall down once again, the sticky saliva unable to hold it for long.

"Yet tasty," the wolf almost murred. In a flash its muzzle flicked forward, its jaws parted, and it licked the morsel into its mouth. The wolf squirmed in delight as it chewed at the mouse, its teeth hardly pressing enough to hurt. Its tongue rolled the poor little creatures body all around its maw, soaking its fur in saliva. Some stray saliva drips from its jaws as it enjoys its first meal in a while.

On silent wings Houston flew above the starlit fields. The silver sliver hanging in the sky hardly gave off any light; a perfect night for him to hunt. 

A rustle down below caught his attention. He tilted his head one way and the other as he circled the area far above. It wasn't hard at all to pinpoint the poor rodent's location.

With the slightest tilt of his wings, the owl descended. His wide loop soon became a straight dive. His prey's heartbeat pounded in his ears and moments later there was a shrill shriek as his talons wrapped around that small furry body. A few powerful strokes took him back into the night sky. 

He made his way back to the hollow he called home and dropped the stunned critter onto the edge of his nest. The light brown field mouse lay limply for a few moments then scrambled to its feet and bolted for the back of the hollow. Houston hopped after it, letting a sharp talon land just above its tail to pin it where it stood. A few small squeaks of exertion escaped before it twisted around and clutched at the claw, trying to move it. When that failed, it cried out, "Please don't eat me!"

The owl tipped his feathered head, large yellow eyes boring into his prey, "Whoo?"

The mouse rolled its beady eyes, "Oh fine play dumb and tear me apart then!"

He gave the uppity rodent a peck between the ears, plucking some fur. He could hear each fiber tear from the follicle, a soft sound above the continuous thud of the poor thing's heart. "I simply couldn't believe a scrap of prey like you would dare speak out against an apex predator like me. So, who are you to do so?" He slowly lifted his claw up.

Immediately they scurried forward, but had now reached the seamless back of the hollow with nowhere to go. It clutched its tail to its chest and sat back on its haunches. Its ears and whiskers quivered terribly, but it made a noble effort to speak, "W-Well I'm a living creature, just like you! I have a right to live."

"But so do I, do I not?"

"I mean yeah, but that doesn't depend on the ending of my life!"

Now he tilted his head the other way, almost upside down; it was a delight to hear every tiny sound seemingly shift in space with each movement of his own head. "Sure it does. I need energy to love same as you. Do you argue with the grass and trees as you take their seeds and fruit? Do you consider the other animals you chase from your lands?"

"Well, no, but that's still not killing them."

"It could one way or another. Now, do you propose I don't kill you and simply take a part of you? Perhaps a leg or your tail?" He nipped at its forepaw, scratching it with the tip of his beak. That earned a yelp. "Hmm? What's wrong now? Isn't this what you want?"

"No!"

"Oh would you rather it was not you whoo was eaten, but instead your wee offspring? End the lives of your own seeds?"

"Oh that's even worse!"

"Yet it's what you do to the plants to survive."

"But there are so many more," it pleaded desperately.

"There are hundreds, if not thousands of mice out there too! Whoo are you to step from the circle of life? Whoo are you to be exempt?"

"I… I don't know," it flopping down and quivering. "Maybe you should just eat me," it wailed. "I'm far too proud to make it in this world."

"I'll say," Houston hooted with a small measure of amusement. "If you're so sure that you want to serve your place, that you want to give yourself over to me for sustainable, then alright."

He pressed his foot against their narrow chest, wicked pointed claws curling around the rest of its body. That heartbeat picked up once more, fluttering at the ribs containing it. He leaned in to take the first bite, only to hear, "Wait! Just wait. Um, could you maybe spare me the pain of being torn apart."

Houston considered, not responding with words. Instead, he flicked the morsel into the air and caught them in his beak. His little tongue pushed at their body, feeling the heartbeat that fluttered inside his head. It was rare for him to take prey like this, swallowing them down still squirming and alive. 

For its part, the mouse didn't plead or struggle very much at all. It couldn't completely relax of course, and its legs kicked reflexively against Houston's throat muscles as they squished him down. 

While the little mouse slid into his stomach, the owl got comfortable in his nest. His night's hunting had been successful, he got a small conversation, and now a little belly rub for his trouble. 

Indeed, though it had given itself over, the mouse couldn't help but writhe as the owl's weak acid ate away at its flesh. Each convulsive movement massaged the inner walls, which only made them flex against the unfortunate food all the more.

"Hey Zeke, you wanna hang out today?" Isabel scurried along the tiny sidewalk at reached her giant friend's shoulder.

Ezekiel looked over at her and gave a sideways grin, "Of course Izzy. I was just thinking of finding you to invite you over."

"Really?" She beamed.

"Really. Was just talking about you with someone," he trailed off and held out a delicate paw for her to climb onto. She scampered right over it and up his arm to perch on his shoulder. She leaned against his neck, her big ears folded back.

After a few moments she tugged on his hair, "Well come on don't make me drag it from ya. What did you talk about me?"

"Oh," he chuckled, "Well they thought it was funny that a cat and a mouse were such good friends."

She giggled, a high tittering noise that tickled his ear. "I suppose it is," she finally managed to get out. 

"Yeah," Zeke sighed.

He took her home riding on his shoulder like that, chatting mindlessly. In truth, his thoughts lay elsewhere. The friend he had been talking to had said an awful lot more than just that the relationship was ironic. Being another tomcat, he had noticed that Isabel had a delightful smell. Now that it had been pointed out, Zeke was hard pressed to ignore it. He had also asked if Zeke had ever had a taste of her; the thought of that had shocked him. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how nice it could be. Though she was quite the proper lady in public, she was quite adventurous, and most importantly she was fairly laid back. Surely Izzy wouldn't mind if he just had a little taste, right?

Later that evening, after a haphazard supper of foraged food from the pantry, they were lounging on his easy chair watching some uninteresting show. Zeke was beginning to get hungry again, and Izzy's scent wafted up to his nose slowly as she sat on his lap. He licked his lips. He squirmed a little and eyes went wide as his stomach growled. He tried to mask his discomfort as she looked up at him, "Hungry again already?"

"Sort of I guess," he mumbled, forcing himself to look at her.

"Watcha want? I can go grab it for you," she giggled.

He rolled his eyes and let a little laugh escape. He bit his lip, took a deep breath, then said, "I actually kinda wanted a taste of you."

Her eyes widened, then she broke down laughing, flopping against his belly. When she caught her breath a little she managed to get out, "Yeah, sure, go ahead buddy?"

His heart raced and he took in a sharp breath. She'd really said yes! He scooped her up gently in his hand and held her up to his face. He parted his jaws and let his tongue slip out, dragging the rough surface across her throat and chin. As it returned, warm flavors danced across his tongue. She stumbled back, landing on her rear on his paw pad. Squeaky words sputtered out, "I was joking! Gosh I can't believe you just did that."

Her words fell on deaf ears. They sounded distant to Zeke while his other senses had kicked into overdrive. Her scent was mouth watering, and her taste was intoxicating. He could feel her heart pounding through her little ribs. His eyes caught every little twitch and tremble as his fingers curled around his little mouse. He could see her mouth moving, but the words were meaningless. His stomach growled again and this time he embraced it. His tongue slid out and raked through her fur again and again, pinning her helplessly against his paw pad. His mouth watered and his tongue left slick trails of saliva across his morsel of prey. A low purr rumbled through him, "Mmmm you're delicious!"

Jaws parted then closed around his prey after his tongue lapped her up. From side to side she was tumbled. Tiny squeaks escaped as she was squished up against the roof of his mouth, dragged along the ridges of his hard palate. His pointed teeth pricked at her skin, but he wasn't interested in crushing his prey to a pulp.

Without a thought he swallowed, that purr returning as he felt her slide down to his stomach. She slid into slippery fluids that bit at her skin. She struggled to escape, only succeeding in causing his stomach to flex and squeeze her. He could feel her movements within. She fluttered against his gut, also a thickly sensation that was stupendous.

He licked his lips, purring loudly. Her flavour lingered on his tongue, warm and salty. For a few leisurely moments he relaxed and savoured her panicked movements against his active and noisy belly.

Suddenly it hit him what he had just done. He leaned forward and stuck two fingers in his mouth. In no time he had coughed Izzy up into his hand. The taste of bile hung on his tongue as he wiped her off with his shirt. She was terrifyingly still, patches of fur missing and replaced with irritated red spots. He nudged her head with his thumb, "Izzy? Izzy? Come onnnn," he whimpered.

She made a small noise and curled a bit on his palm. Sweet relief flooded through him. He went to the sink and gently ran water over her, flushing away the lethal fluids. The little mouse shivered in his hand, even after he had returned to the couch.