Cat and Mouse Chapter 4

Annabelle wandered around the giant town, growing accustomed to living life at the size of a mouse and as an apparent delicacy that would be in danger the moment she was seen. It was a lot harder than she anticipated, living underneath the giants of the city. She usually had to move at night and find places to sleep in the day, and found that most food she could get was freshly discarded leftovers from meals that giants hadn’t finished. The living situation somehow felt dirtier than even where her home was, and she was constantly alert to make sure no one would find her.
It was a few days after the party that she found an unexpected stroke of luck. A family was packing a car with what looked to be luggage packed for a vacation, and she discovered them while she was wandering around a neighborhood during the twilight hours of the day. Working fast she hid behind a nearby brick wall to listen in to the husband and wife talking as they loaded everything up.
What she gathered was they would be gone for two weeks, and that the guy who was going to take care of the house would only drop by once a week to make sure everything was in check and dust hadn’t gathered. Annabelle couldn’t believe her luck. She could stay there and get a break for two weeks, surely they wouldn’t mind as long as she didn’t make a huge dent in their food supply or break anything. She would be gone before they came back, and she could make sure that it was untraceable that she was ever there. It was brilliant, and she silently thanked whatever angel was looking out for her. (If there was one in this world.)
Sneaking up to the door, she waited for the husband to bring out the last bit of luggage while a child ran out behind him, and quickly slid into the house right as the door closed with a smile on her face at the thought of having a whole house to herself for a few weeks. Granted, it was breaking and entering, but when was the last time that she got the chance to have a sure fire way of being safe but have shelter? She stretched a little as she heard the family’s car get farther away, and took a good look around the house.
It was a quaint place, not very big. The front door opened to the living room, and there were three doors on one side of the house with a fourth door on the other side. Past the living room was the kitchen, and she could see a dining table near a back door. The child’s oversized Legos, remote control cars and Barbie dolls were lying randomly on the living room floor, and the living room contained a couch, recliner, television, fire place, and plush carpet. The furniture was moderately sized, and quite a few pieces would be easy to climb, since they had carvings in them that she’d easily be able to scale. The house was pretty warm compared to the outside, and the cozy interior had a friendly and inviting feel to it.
Annabelle found many places to explore as she looked around, but she couldn’t help the thought when she got to the kitchen that she wanted something sweet. Perhaps she could…just maybe….make something? She’d only gotten the chance to bake every once in a while, and she did remember a simple sweet recipe that was fairly easy and didn’t require many ingredients. Maybe the family had the ingredients for the recipe. But how could she bake when she was so small…?
She took another look around the kitchen. Well, the counters could be climbed because the wood in them was old enough there were slight crevices she could just barely slide her feet and hands in. There were cabinet doors in the counters as well, so maybe she could make do with climbing up the side of the doors using the crevices, and lift herself up onto the counter.
The oven would be impossible to use, so she’d have to stick with the no-bake sweet recipe she knew. Assuming she could get the supplies for it, that is. She walked up to the counter and looked up, seeing how challenging this would actually be. Did she really want to do this?…………………...Yes. Yes she did. With a small boost of self-motivation, she hooked her hands into the crevices in the counter on the edge of the door, and started to climb.
It took her a little while, since the crevices were so slight that she had to be careful to keep herself from falling. But with a little effort and constant reminding to keep her focus on the edge of the counter, she eventually climbed up all the way, carefully got on the top edge of the cabinet door, and heaved herself up onto the counter.
Her limbs were trembling a little by the time she got up, but she smiled as she laid there for a moment and let out a deep breath. Well, there was step 1, and this time she wasn’t on a counter to be eaten, she would (hopefully) be doing to the eating. Something about that fact made this a little more exciting. She sat up and took a good long look around the counter. Over the by sink was a bowl that looked freshly washed, and plastic too, so not too heavy to push or pull. There looked to be some silverware in the sink, so perhaps she could find a spoon to do mixing with.
There was peanut butter and a stick of butter near one corner of the counter, close by the sink, and large jars with labels on them such as flour, powdered sugar, sugar, etc. a couple things had been left out on the other side of the sink, some of those things looking like candy bars and chocolates, and on the other side of the stovetop oven (which had a couple of pots on it) there were cereal boxes, granola bar boxes, and graham cracker boxes. She got a thoughtful look as she walked over to the sink area, finding that there were a few miscellaneous things freshly washed such as dry measuring cups, 1 wooden and 2 metal mixing spoons, an empty jar, some small candle holder looking things, and a couple plates.
She could have just taken a candy bar, but where was the fun in that? She was already this far in her plan. It didn’t take her long before she decided how she could make her chocolate peanut butter bar recipe, and she couldn’t help a happy smile as she got all her ingredients together with some effort and exercise. The hardest part was melting the peanut butter and chocolate, since she was small and she couldn’t risk falling into the pot. (One of the pots that were conveniently left on the stove was clean enough to use.) The peanut butter was heavy, it was exhausting getting enough of it in the pot to melt with the butter, but it got easier to work with once it was all melted and smooth. Getting enough candy was another challenge, but eventually she got enough to mix in with her bars.
The smell of the mixture was becoming intoxicating, and she could feel her tongue salivating at the scent of the yummy goodness. But her luck was never on her side, so eventually, something would have ended up going differently than planned. As it was already becoming a usual occurrence, it was in the form of a giant Neko. “Well,” said Dezzy, his voice startling her so much she fell off of the box she’d been standing on and into the jar of powdered sugar she’d pulled over, “What do we have here?”
As the powder settled around her she heard the vibrations of his footsteps cross the floor, and soon the top of the jar was filled with the view of his face. “Looks like a little mousey is making something in a kitchen that isn’t hers, with ingredients she is stealing,” he said. She whimpered as she looked up at him, getting on her knees (since standing in the powdered sugar was a little difficult) and placing her hands on the side of the jar to brace herself. She suddenly had an overwhelming feeling of guilt. After all, she was going past just surviving and into being a thief. She hadn’t even thought of that when she’d thought of a recipe to make. She gulped lightly as she said “I swear I didn’t mean any harm! This family, they’re only going to be out a few weeks and I only broke and entered this place to be safe for a while and I just wanted to make something sweet, I don’t usually just steal other people’s food I’ve been taking leftover stuff that’s been thrown out and –Hey!” she suddenly realized, “what are YOU doing here?! This isn’t your house!” Dezzy started laughing at her sudden realization, his grin lighting up his face. “What am I doing here? I happen to be here to house sit. I know that family personally, and I promised to check on the house once a week to keep events like you from happening.”
Annabelle gulped hearing him say this. So he was the one they were talking about. Well, so much for a safe place for a few days. Dezzy’s head disappeared out of view as he looked over at the concoction she’d made, and she heard him take a deep breath and say “mmmmm” in that damnably deep silky voice of his. She expected him to pluck her out of the sugar and once more try to eat her, but instead his face came into view again with a…curious look. “What are you making?” he asked.
She blinked a bit before tilting her head as she looked at him, though her voice was quieter and hesitant since she knew she was in trouble. “Peanut butter chocolate bars…” “What are they?” he asked. Her jaw dropped as she looked at him, all fear disappearing as she said rather loudly “You’ve never had peanut butter chocolate bars?!” Dezzy shook his head, looking both curious and a little like he was left out of something he wanted to be in. Annabelle carefully got to her feet after a couple of tries, jumping up and grabbing onto the edge of the jar to pull herself out “I can’t believe you’ve never had…oh my sweet lord….”
With a bit of swinging she flung herself out of the jar, landing a little hard on the counter but looked up at him “I’m almost done with them, you have GOT to try one! You haven’t LIVED until you’ve had a peanut butter chocolate bar!” Dezzy nodded a bit eagerly, looking like he’d forgotten about eating her or that she’d broken and entered and more like he was curious about trying one of these treats. Annabelle brushed off some of the powdered sugar she’d been covered with, and climbed back up her box to continue mixing. Even though he was the enemy, somehow she felt more motivated to finish them, and something in her made her truly want to give him one. The thought of him being deprived of peanut butter chocolate bars….it was both ridiculous and a situation that needed to be fixed as fast as possible.
She must have been crazy, after all, she was probably only going to make it worse for herself when she WAS eaten, but she just couldn’t imagine anyone living without having at least tried one of these yummy bars. She went back to mixing, Dezzy remaining at her side by the counter the whole time she mixed in the last of the chocolate she’d picked out. He was actually quiet as she jumped off the box to mix in the last of the ingredients, but she did at least glance over to see if he was plotting something.
She almost regretted it. He looked completely, utterly, insanely adorable, like a child waiting for a present. His ears were perked and his tail swaying so hard she could see part of it from where she was positioned. His eyes were wide and interested, watching the concoction as she finished making it. She couldn’t believe it, but she felt a sense of pride at how great this was actually turning out to be. Until she realized that she made a mistake.
As the concoction finished melting together, she suddenly went pale and reached up to scratch her head lightly “oh…..Shit…..” “W-what’s wrong?” asked Dezzy, his voice shockingly confused and…worried? Annabelle sighed and looked up at him. “I completely forgot….I need a baking pan to complete them….otherwise they won’t finish setting right….they’ll be mush. I don’t even know how-“ she didn’t finish before he moved so fast he almost made her fall off the box again. Before she knew it, with a clang a baking pan (the perfect size) was set down next to the pot.
She blinked lightly as she looked from the pan, to Dezzy, to the pan, back to Dezzy. He looked like an excited kid, and she couldn’t help wondering if her bars were affecting him this much. Maybe it was because they smelled so good? “Anything else?” he asked. Annabelle looked at the pan, biting her lip as she tried to hold back a laugh. Since when could giants be so cute? It just wasn’t fair. But it was too sweet to resist as well.
“Well….it usually helps if it’s lined with wax paper-“ again she was cut off by him suddenly turning, going over to the pantry and taking out wax paper and lining the pan with remarkable speed. She took the chance this time to hop off her box and very carefully turn off the stovetop so the mixture wouldn’t burn (even though the burner was incredibly hot and made her nervous) before going over and inspecting the pan, which was now perfectly lined with the paper.
“Like that?” he asked. Smiling happily, Annabelle nodded at him. “Perfect!” she said, “Now we just need to get the mixture-“ he grabbed the pot before she could finish and poured the gooey batter into the pan, and her mouth watered at the sight. It was torture to see so much that she couldn’t touch yet. They smelled delicious, and she bet they would taste that way too.
“Now what?” he asked. Annabelle sat on the counter, cross legged as she said “now wait 10 minutes.” Dezzy pouted at this, and the sight was so unfairly and unbelievably cute she couldn’t help a giggle. “10 minutes?! But that’ll take forever!” She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. “Well, if you’re a good boy it will be over before you know it.” Dezzy sighed and got onto his knees so he could watch into the pan but get comfortable. “Fiiiiiine,” he reluctantly said, “if I have to.” Annabelle had to hold her hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing, her face turning red from holding it in. So sweet treats made him turn into a little kid? He was like the boyfriend she’d always dreamed of but never had. Why couldn’t guys in her own dimension be this adorable?
He stayed like that for a few minutes, never noticing that she was staring at him. He looked so childish like this, and intriguing. Who knew that guys could actually have a heart, and actually be interested in something she was doing? She bit her lip lightly and looked down to try and get her common sense back, and noticed that she was still covered in powdered sugar. Deciding to take advantage, she slowly got up, heading over to the sink to wash up. She didn’t get very far before the back of her shirt was lifted up and she was looking right into the Neko’s piercing green eyes. Damn him, he moved too fast for his own good.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” He asked. Annabelle gulped lightly, her fear slowly returning as she cautiously said “I’m still covered in powdered sugar, I was just going to wash it off…” Dezzy smiled at her with that wicked grin of his, and she realized all too soon she shouldn’t have told him that. “Oh, you want to wash off the powdered sugar? Well, let me help you.” His tongue slid along his lips, and Annabelle struggled to get out of his hold. “N-no! I can do it myself, you don’t have to-Hey!”
Dezzy licked slowly up her leg, his hot squishy tongue licking off the powdered sugar and replacing it with thick saliva. Did she think he was cute earlier? She must have meant that she thought he was a dickhead. “Bad kitty!!” she shouted as a reaction, “No! Put me down!!” Dezzy simply smirked at her, amusement flickering in his eyes. “Bad kitty huh? Oh yes, I’m a veeeery bad kitty. Don’t you know, Bengal cats are badasses, we follow our own rules.” He slowly licked up her other leg, all the way up to her belly, and she struggled even more. This was a hopeless fight, while he held her there she was powerless against his will.
Dezzy licked off all the powdered sugar, even sucked on her feet and legs and arms lightly, tickling her a little with the sensation. When he was satisfied after what seemed to be an eternity of tongue torture, he set her back down on the counter. “There you go, all clean~ ” he said, “such a sweet flavor too, I might just coat you with powdered sugar a few more times.” Stupid Neko and his stupid jerk attitude thought Annabelle grudgingly. Luckily, by the time he was finished with her it had been at least 10 minutes, and she looked over to the pan. “They should be ready now,” she said.
Dezzy jumped up again, going over and grabbing a knife (which looked very unnerving to Annabelle) and went over to evenly cut the peanut butter bars. Annabelle watched him quietly, and before she could say anything against it he swiftly lifted out one of the squares. She watched as the corner disappeared behind his lips and teeth, the soft mushy crunch of the bar being split following the movements of his pearly whites. Trying to ignore the shudders and chills racing along her spine, she watched the Neko as he made his judgment of her special bars.
His eyelids  fluttered for a moment, before his eyes rolled back in his head and his eyes closed, a look on his face proving he found them as savory as she did. Annabelle couldn’t help a triumphant smile as she happily went over to claim a bar of her own. Just as she got in the pan to munch on a square, she heard Dezzy’s rumbling voice wave over her again. “You’re right…these are…..incredible….” he munched down the rest of his square before reaching in and grabbing two more, his hand coming near enough to make her lightly squeak in surprise. But she couldn’t help smiling up at him. “I told you!” She started munching on her own square as one of the square’s Dezzy picked disappeared as fast as the first, and he looked down at her as he swallowed the last of it. “Ok little mouse, I think after evading me thus far AND giving me that chewy goodness, you deserve a deal. I won’t just try gobble you down every time I see you. In fact, I’m going to wait for you.”
Annabelle looked up at him confused as she chewed another mouthful of peanut butter bar. “What do you mean ‘wait for me’?” Dezzy smirked lightly and leaned down, the other square he’d taken held between his fingers as he leaned with the other arm on the counter. “Human’s don’t last very long here, as I’m sure you’ve already seen. Most find you a delicacy, while some of the older people think you’re vermin. It’s more than just rare if a human actually finds a way to live or someone to live with, eventually you’ll realize this and give up. You’ll realize this past few days has been nothing and you will want to forget this whole thing and give up. So when you do, when you finally realize that you can’t survive here and you want to just be done with it, I will eat you as I said.”
Annabelle blinked lightly. “Wait…so….You’re going to wait for me to come to you and ASK to be eaten?” Dezzy nodded with a cheerful smirk “that’s right. Believe me, you will. And I am still your predator, so if the situation calls for it, don’t think I won’t eat you without your permission. For example, if you’re bloody in the street with no way of surviving any further, or being chased by someone else. But, if I see you alone like this, I may just come give you trouble. You’ve become rather…entertaining to me.” Annabelle narrowed her eyes as she swallowed another bite. “Oh, you think I’m going to give up, do you? You really think that I’m going to go to you and say that I want to just end everything?”
Dezzy cocked an eyebrow, his arrogance making her want to both smack him and prove him wrong. “Very well then,” she said, “I appreciate you not just trying to eat me every time you see me. But, I won’t give up so easily. I’m a street rat, I’m used to the harsh ways of the world, so I won’t give in just because it’s hard.” Dezzy chuckled with an evil but amused look in his eyes. “That is what I anticipate. But you’re no rat. You’re a mouse. Rat’s don’t make peanut butter bars and give some to the enemy, they keep it to themselves.” He grabbed one more bar before leaving her sight, starting to clean up the little girl’s toys. Annabelle couldn’t help feeling insulted and complimented. Well, at least he was being…tolerable. Even if he still made her blood boil.

She supposed this was one challenge she would just have to really fight for. The curious thing, she found, was that she was looking forward to it too.