Lynn was stretched to her limit. The petite mouse stood on her tiptoes on the bed, reaching up with both arms. At this angle, it was difficult to tell if the large, rectangular sheet of paper was straight or not.

“Hey, do you need help with that?”

The voice wasn’t particularly aggressive or startling – certainly nothing that would have frightened Lynn on its own. However, it did come from right behind her, and the mouse had thought the dorm room was empty. As a result, the sudden offer of help caught her off guard, and she found herself teetering backward. The poster slipped from her hands as she lost her already precarious footing.

“Whoa!”

“Hey!”

Fortunately, she didn’t crack her head on the floor. Instead, she fell backwards into something soft, and strong hands caught her around the shoulders. She found herself looking up into a worried feline face.

“Whoa, hey, are you okay?” The cat asked.

Lynn blinked. “Um… Um, yeah, I think so.”

“Good!” The cat smiled down at her, showing off a set of sharp, clean teeth. She tightened her grip around Lynn’s shoulders and lifted her into a more upright position. “Not that I mind a pretty girl falling into my arms, but you should warn me next time, okay?”

Lynn felt her ears and cheeks start to heat up, and as soon as her footing was solid, she darted out of the feline’s grip and whirled around to face her, finally getting a good look at her.

The feline was tall and lithe, with ginger fur and a lighter underbelly. She wore an off-the-shoulder top with an undershirt visible beneath, and a pair of jeans that hugged the curves of her hips. A long tail swished behind her.

Realizing that she was staring at the smiling feline in silence, Lynn stammered out a reply. “Y-Yes, um, I won’t. I mean, I won’t make a habit of it.” She forced a smile. “Um, I guess you’re my new roommate?”

The feline grinned and held out a hand. “I’m Eloise. Sophomore, music major.”

Lynn took the proffered hand. “Lynn. Freshman. Undecided.”

“Charmed!” Eloise gave Lynn’s hand a firm squeeze and shake. Then she nodded her head in the direction of the bed, and the poster that had collapsed onto it. “So, do you want help with that?”

“Um, yes please.”

Lynn watched as Eloise climbed onto the bed. Her long tail came up, helping her keep her balance. She looked so graceful – not at all at risk of taking such an embarrassing tumble. At least she seemed friendly! Lynn had heard horror stories about bad roommates, but she was starting to feel like maybe she didn’t need to worry.

Eloise picked up the poster and started to lift it up, then did a double-take as it unfurled. “Whoa, you’re a fan of Rose and Ruin?”

Lynn blinked. “Um, yeah?”

“Sweet!” Eloise tilted her head back to look over her shoulder at Lynn. “I’ve got all their albums. They’re one of my biggest inspirations!” She grinned again – an expression that Lynn got the impression came naturally to her. “I think you and I are gonna get along great, Buttercup.”

Lynn felt her ears flush again, but as Eloise turned her attention back to her task, she found herself smiling. Yeah: she didn’t need to worry.

Eloise had just finished fixing the poster into place onto the concrete wall when she suddenly froze. One of her ears twitched, and turned.

Lynn furrowed her brow. “Are you o…?”

“Shh.”

Eloise turned around and hopped off the bed, alighting onto the floor with so little sound it made Lynn wonder for a moment if she had gone deaf. The feline turned her head this way and that, looking around the dorm.

Lynn turned her head to look with her. The dorm was more or less empty – just the two beds with bare mattresses, the still-packed bags that Lynn had brought in with her, and another bag and guitar case that she presumed belonged to Eloise. The feline seemed to be focused on one of the beds, or more accurately, the floor near the head of the bed.

“I don’t…” Lynn started.

“Shh!” Eloise repeated, holding up one hand with her pointer finger toward the ceiling, indicating that Lynn should wait.

She did wait. A few seconds passed in silence.

Eloise pounced.

The feline leaped toward the bed, pushing it an inch or two with a metallic creak as she dove into the space between the bed and the wall. Lynn had only a moment to contemplate the fact that the feline even fit into that seemingly-tiny space before Eloise let out a victorious cry.

“Gotcha!”

Using one hand to balance herself against the wall, Eloise came back out from behind the bed and stood up straight. Her other hand was holding something.

A mouse. She was holding a mouse.

Not a mouse like Lynn, of course. Not a person. This was a small mouse, the four-legged variety. Eloise held it aloft by the tail, and it squeaked and writhed as it attempted to escape.

“Heh.” Eloise looked over her catch with a self-satisfied smile. “I guess they didn’t do that good a job cleaning before the new residents came in! Not that I mind, but we should probably tell the RA.”

“Um… Y-yeah.” Lynn stared at the small mouse. She was still processing what she had just seen.

“Still, it works out for me. I didn’t bring lunch!”

And with that, Eloise started to lift the mouse up above her head, opening her mouth wide.

Lynn froze. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn’t possibly mean… She wasn’t about to…!?

Eloise released the mouse.

It seemed to hang suspended in the air for a moment. It continued to writhe and squeak as it made its long journey through the few inches between itself and the feline’s mouth. Then it touched that rough tongue, and Eloise’s jaws snapped shut.

Squeak!

Lynn wasn’t sure which mouse had just made that sound.

Eloise used two fingers to push the mouse’s wiggling haunches the rest of the way into her mouth, then slurped up its squirming tail. The feline’s cheeks bulged out, and Lynn could see little pushes from the inside and hear squeaking as the mouse continued its escape attempts.

Eloise tilted her head back.

Lynn’s breath caught. She couldn’t look away. Her eyes were fixed on the feline’s neck, taking in the shape of the muscles and fur.

Gllk.

A large bulge slide down Eloise’s neck. It happened quickly, but Lynn was certain she saw it squirm before it disappeared behind the feline’s collarbone.

Eloise licked her lips and gave her stomach a pat. “There! Right where you belong,” she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. Then her eyes fell on Lynn, and her expression grew concerned.

“You okay, Buttercup?”

Lynn let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She realized she was gripping the bottom hem of her shirt quite tightly with both hand. She forced herself to release it, to relax.

“Y-yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” she managed.

“Okay… well, if you do need anything, please don’t be afraid to let me know. I’m gonna get back to unpacking.”

“Um… Yeah, good idea,” Lynn said. She continued to stare at Eloise’s waist for a moment, before finally tearing her eyes away and turning her attention to her bags.

Lynn lay in bed, not sleeping.

She and Eloise had finished unpacking, and all things considered, had had a very pleasant remainder of the afternoon. The feline didn’t seem to have a second thought to spare for her meal, so Lynn had decided to just try to not think about it herself. The pair had spent the afternoon setting up their living space and chatting, and Lynn had the strong feeling that her instinct earlier had been right: she and Eloise were going to get along just fine.

Now, though, it was late in the evening, and Eloise was asleep. And without anything to distract her, Lynn’s thoughts had started to wander back to “lunch.”

The bedroom area of the small dorm was shared, with the two beds on opposite sides of the room. Eloise had changed into a baggy t-shirt and a pair of shorts, and was currently laying on her side, one arm flopped against the headboard, the other wrapped around in front of her face. Her position had inadvertently caused her shirt to ride up, giving Lynn a perfect view of her midriff.

She couldn’t stop staring at it.

It was in there.

Not still alive at this point, of course. Probably. She thought she had seen a twitch earlier, but the bedroom was dark, and Lynn assumed it must have been her imagination. But alive or not, it was still in there.

She couldn’t stop thinking about it. She kept picturing the shape of Eloise’s collarbone as that lump had vanished beneath it. She kept hearing the sound of that swallow, as if it had just happened moments ago. All of it had been burned into her memory.

Lynn squirmed in place, rubbing her thighs together.

Her thoughts wandered down to the campus store. She had stopped by earlier to look at books, but the store also had snacks, foodstuffs, and other various supplies that a student might need on short notice. And she couldn’t help but notice one particular item that had been on offer:

They had boxes of feeder mice. They were the kind they sold to feed to pets, but Lynn suspected they were also intended for the carnivorous students who might want them.

They hadn’t been that expensive. Lynn could buy one. And then what if she… accidentally let one or two escape? She doubted Eloise would mind hunting them down. She had seemed to downright enjoy it earlier.

And then Lynn could watch her eat again.

Lynn shook her head. This was ridiculous. She rolled over, turning to face the wall, and screwed her eyes shut. She needed to sleep, and banish the crazy thoughts running a mile-a-minute through her brain.

But still… it wouldn’t be that hard to do.

Lynn huffed, and squirmed in place again.

This was going to be an interesting semester.