Milly let out a frustrated sigh. "This is such a bad idea."

Cindy didn't seem bothered by Milly's obvious frustration. The mouse was practically skipping down the sidewalk alongside her sister. "Why? Valerie's super hot, and she's totally into me!"

"Yeah?" Milly raised an eyebrow at her sister. "And what happens when she wants you to be totally into her?"

"Why would that be a problem?" Cindy asked, tilting her head to one side. "I am totally into her."

"No, I didn't mean…" Milly stopped herself, took a deep breath. "Milly, do you really think it's safe to date her after what she did to Lisa?"

Cindy just rolled her eyes. "I know you're still holding that against her, but we don't know that Val was behind Lisa's disappearance. Some other predator could have gotten her. She was a bunny, after all! It happens every day."

"And we're mice," Milly said, letting out another frustrated huff. "We're on the menu for a raccoon just as much as a rabbit is. Maybe even more."

"Look, you don't have to come along," Cindy said, seemingly unconcerned. "I mean, I certainly don't mind if you want to tag along, but this is supposed to be a date."

Milly shook her head. Leave her sister alone with that monster? "No, I'm coming."

"Suit yourself."

Milly silently fumed until her sister found the right address. They approached the small bungalow, and Cindy knocked on the door, patiently waiting for a minute or two until the door swung open. Valerie's enormous figure stood in the doorway, towering over the two mice at nearly twice their height.

Milly's eyes went wide. Her heart skipped a beat. Her muscles tensed.

The raccoon had eaten someone.

Her stomach wasn't quite as large as the last time Milly had seen it, but the truth was undeniable. Her gut bulged outward, writhing and squirming as some poor soul fought for their life inside. And they were fighting, too, punching and kicking and screaming. Milly couldn't make out any words, but the voice sounded female.

Milly swallowed hard, tensing the muscles in her legs. She could feel the fur on the back of her neck rising. Every instinct screamed at her to flee. If they ran now, the raccoon probably wouldn't be able to catch them. She glanced over at Cindy.

Cindy, to Milly's amazement, did not appear to be preparing to run. In fact, she looked bashful, a blush staining the insides of her large ears.

"H-hi there, Val!" Cindy said, a nervous smile on her face. "Um, I brought my sister along. Is that okay? I didn't realize you were going to answer the door…looking like that."

Milly stared at her sister, struggling to parse her response to the situation. It took her a moment to realize that Cindy wasn't referring to the raccoon's stomach, but her state of dress. The raccoon was wearing…well, not much at all, just a pair of black panties and a matching bra. The majority of her fur was exposed, including a small heart-shaped spot on her chest.

"I, er, wasn't expecting company," Valerie responded. Her tone was hesitant, confused.

Cindy giggled. "That's silly! We had a date, remember? Or did you forget? You don't have to make excuses just because you had plans for me. Sorry if bringing my sister along ruins things."

The implication caused Milly's ears to burn, and she glanced back up at the raccoon's curvy figure. She couldn't deny her sister's assessment of Valerie as "super hot." She even wore that squirming belly well, if such a thing were possible.

Whatever had caused Valerie's confusion, she recovered quickly. "No, no, I didn't forget! That was just a little joke. Actually, I undressed because of this heat. And I don't mind at all if your sister wants to hang out with us! I'd love to get to know both of you better. Why don't you come in? As long as you don't mind me being in my skivvies." The raccoon took a step back, gesturing for the two mice to enter.

Milly's heart froze up again as she watched the predator invite them into her lair. Once again, she felt herself tensing up to bolt.

But Cindy was already stepping through the door. "It's fine with me! We're all girls anyway, right?" she said, smiling happily.

Milly opened her mouth, trying to find some words to convince her sister of the danger. But in the end, she just sighed and followed her inside. She would have to find a way to convince her sister to make a break for it at the next opportunity.

The door shut behind them with a click.

The inside of Valerie's house was nice, if a bit unkempt. Clothes were discarded here and there in the living room, which had a large couch and a TV.

Milly scanned the room for possible exits. The door sounded like it had locked, but she should be able to open the latch from the inside. There was a window as well that looked like it opened into an alley, but she couldn't tell if it would open easily…

Milly's eyes went wide when they fell on her sister. "Cindy, what are you doing!?"

"Huh?" Cindy looked over at Milly as she finished pulling her shirt off over her head. "Hey, Val's right, it's hot out! I think she's got the right idea! You can strip too, if you'd like!"

Milly looked up at Valerie, who was staring at Cindy. She swallowed hard. "Um, I think I'll stay as I am, thanks."

Cindy shrugged, then looked up at Valerie. "Anyway, before we hang out, can I use your bathroom?"

Valerie pointed with her thumb to a hallway behind her. "Just down that hall, second door on your right."

"Okay! Be back in a sec!" And Cindy danced off down the hall, wearing just her shorts and bra, leaving Milly alone with Valerie.

Milly swallowed hard. Alone with Valerie was not where she wanted to be.

Valerie sat down on the couch, resting with one arm on the back of the couch and her other hand settled on her squirming gut.

"So," Valerie said, her tone conversational, "why'd you want to come along? I don't mind, I had always planned this to be a casual 'hangout' kind of date, I'm just curious."

Another muffled scream came from inside Valerie's belly, followed by a flurry of movement and what was undeniably a hand pushing out through one of the bulges. That voice sounded distressingly familiar.

"I…er…" Milly let her eyes wander around the room, if only to stop herself from staring at that stomach. "I just…wanted to make sure my sister was okay."

Valerie smiled. "I can understand that. Gotta watch out for family, am I right?"

The casual response made Milly feel a little bit better. Maybe Cindy was right, after all. Predator or not, Valerie was still a person, just like her. Maybe she shouldn't be so worried about Cindy wanting to date her.

Or at least, she felt better until her wandering eyes took in more of the room. Everywhere Milly looked, she saw more indications of Valerie's predatory nature. Many of the clothes discarded around the room were too small for the huge raccoon. And on that shelf near the wall ─ were those bones?

Milly's heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on what was clearly a rabbit skull. It…it couldn't be…?

Valerie looked back over her shoulder, in the direction that Cindy had gone. "You know," she said, her tone conversational, "I think she's the first prey to enter that room without being inside me first."

Milly's gaze snapped back to Valerie, only to find that the raccoon was looking back down at her with a sly smile on her muzzle.

Great. Now the predator was teasing her.

"Hey ladies, I'm back!" Cindy's cheerful voice greeted them both as she walked back from the bathroom. "Did Suzy get here yet?"

Milly gasped. "S-Suzy?"

Valerie tilted her head slightly, looking curious.

"Mhm!" Cindy said. "I had invited her to come along and hang out with us, too. I thought she'd be here by now."

Milly swallowed hard. "Y-you invited…Suzy? Our cousin?"

"Yeah!" Cindy sounded pleased with herself.

"The one who looks just like us? Who we sometimes joke about being a 'third twin!'"

Cindy raised an eyebrow and smirked at Milly. "Uh, yeah? C'mon, Milly, what's with all the exposition?"

Milly was struggling to breathe. Her vision started to turn fuzzy, and she blinked, trying to clear her head. She looked back at Valerie.

The raccoon's expression had changed from looking curious to looking pleased. She gave her squirming gut a squeeze. "I'm sure she'll be here soon," Valerie said. "Why don't we watch a movie while we wait?"

"That sounds great!" Cindy hopped up onto the couch next to Valerie. The raccoon wrapped an arm around Cindy's waist and tugged her close, before picking up a remote and turning on the TV, clicking through the options to get a movie going.

"C-Cindy, don't you think that maybe we…?" Milly began, thinking that maybe she could convince her sister they should go look for their "missing" cousin. If they could just get away, maybe they could get help!

But Milly's words died in her throat when she saw Valerie looking down at her. The Raccoon was still smiling, her eyelids lowered. She gave Cindy a firm squeeze, eliciting a giggle from her, and raised her free hand to place a finger to her lips. Then she patted the couch next to her.

Milly got the message. The time to escape had been when they were at the door. Now they were in the predator's den, on her home turf. The two mice wouldn't be going anywhere unless Valerie let them. They were completely at her mercy.

Milly steeled herself, then climbed up onto the couch next to Valerie.

The raccoon reached for her, and for a moment, Milly felt her cheeks flush at the thought of being pulled in against the larger female's curves, like her sister. But Valerie's hand wrapped around her head, rather than her waist or shoulder, and Milly suddenly found the side of her face being pushed directly into Valerie's squirming gut.

She could feel every panicky movement from inside. Frantic, frightened screams and begging were accompanied by loud glrp and gllch sounds, the raccoon's stomach bringing the one inside ever-closer to her eventual fate, and Milly got the feeling that Valerie wanted her to listen to every moment of it. Rather than the movie, Milly found herself staring across the room at that all-too-familiar rabbit skull.

Maybe it wasn't too late for an escape. Valerie seemed to be…well, toying with them, at the very least. And the raccoon had just eaten. Maybe she would fall asleep while watching the movie, and Milly and Cindy would be able to slip out. Or maybe the raccoon would have mercy on them, after all.

But when Milly glanced up, she saw Valerie looking down at her. The raccoon ran her tongue across her muzzle.

Mercy didn't seem very likely.