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How Not To Become Lunch 12: Be Careful at the Mall
“Okay Jack, welcome to… the mall!” Fiona removed her furry hands from his eyes and watched excitedly as his slightly nervous expression changed into a look of wonder. They were just inside the entrance, staring down a wide corridor of storefronts filled with flocks of chatting shoppers.
“Whoa, it really is huge…” He started to smile. For someone who had been secluded his whole life, the unbridled hustle and bustle held all kinds of unseen sights and sounds. He looked over the signs, the shops, the people. His smile faded slightly. “…There are a lot of preds here,” he muttered nervously.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you the whole time,” Fiona encouraged.
“And if they all catch a whiff of my mark and decide to pile on at once?” he asked morbidly.
“This place is full of great smells, you’re just one more passing scent.”
“Nuh-uh,” chimed in a happy little werewolf. “Jack is the best scent.”
Fiona shot a quick, sideways glare at her little sister. Then reached out her left hand and put it on Jack’s shoulder.
“As long as we keep moving, no one will even be able to tell who it’s coming from. So just stick close to me, relax a little bit, and try to enjoy yourself.”
“Yeah, alright Fi,” Jack replied, letting out a bit of anxiety with a light sigh.
“And you,” she said, turning to Sissy. “You will stay on this side of me,” she grabbed her sister’s left hand with her right and tugged her to her side. “You will stay away from Jack. And you won’t let go of my hand. Got it?”
“Yes, Fiona,” she said unenthusiastically.
“Good. Now let’s go have some fun!” she cheered. Starting forward, she led the trio further inside. She kept a close eye on Jack, of course, but also began to eye the shops as they passed by. “So, Jack, where do you want to go first?”
“Um… I’m not sure. What do people do at the mall?”
“Shop, mostly.”
“For what, exactly?”
“For everything, it’s the m-all.”
“Fine, so pretend I’ve never been before and help me pick where we should go,” he replied sarcastically.
“Right. Hm… Well you don’t need fur brushes or grooming scissors. Tail gel, claw files…” she recounted a few of her common go-tos, trying to find something relevant to Jack. “Perfume? Maybe we could find something to cover up your scent at school?”
“I think everyone at school already knows I’m marked; besides, it might just make me smell more edible.”
“Good point. Jewelry?”
“Eh…”
“Yeah, more of a girl thing, right…”
“MOUSE HOUSE!”
Fiona felt a pull at her arm so forceful she nearly fell over, as her little sister practically leapt toward a store they were passing on their right. Well, not exactly a ‘store’.
“Sissy!” she scolded.
“Look Fiona! It’s Mouse House! Can we go!? Please please please please please!” The little werewolf was pulling so hard, Fiona had to hold her with both hands.
“Sissy calm down! We can’t go there with Jack.”
“What’s ‘Mouse House’?” Jack asked over her shoulder.
“It’s a playpen for pred kids. They let a bunch of mice run loose with nowhere to hide and the kids try to catch them.”
Sissy whimpered pleadingly, trying to pry her way out of her sister’s iron grip, desperately wanting to rush over.
“It’s actually pretty fun. But I’m not taking you to sit in a room full of hungry pred kids and their bored parents. Plus, it’s expensive.”
“But Fiiioooonaaa!” Sissy whined.
“No Sissy, we’ll go some other time,” she insisted, almost growling. It was taking a considerable effort to keep the little furball from getting loose. “It’s Jack’s first time at the mall; we need to do something he would like.”
“It doesn’t matter what he likes, he’s just gonna end up in my belly anyway.”
“Oh you are so lucky we’re in public right now,” Fiona grumbled. She hoisted her sister up off the floor and held her squirming under her arm. “Come on, Jack, let’s just keep going. She’ll forget about this eventually.”
“…Jack?”
Fiona turned around further. Her chest tightened. No response, and no sign of him. She knew what that meant. Fearful, she turned in circles, searching frantically, and then she saw it: a pair of legs sticking up out of the crowd.
“Jack!”
She dropped Sissy and broke out into a sprint, knocking a few startled shoppers out of the way.
“Sorry! Coming through! Move it!”
She barely even got a look at the predator before bursting through the mass of people and tackling her target to the ground. They hit the floor with two grunts: a shrill one from the pred, and a muffled one from Jack, already waist-deep inside.
Startled, overlapping exclamations came from around them:
“Wha!?
“Hey!”
“Geeze!”
“What the heck!?”
Fiona was much more focused on the one she had pinned. A harpy girl with painted feathers, maybe slightly older than herself.
“Cough him up! Now!” she barked.
“Hey, get off our friend flee-brain! She caught that one fair and square!”
Fiona glanced up. A few other harpies were looking down angrily at her. Evidently they were a flock.
“Well, you tell your friend to stop eating mine!” she barked back.
“Look, why don’t you just-” Two of the harpies had just started to move toward her, probably to push her off, when they were suddenly interrupted.
“JACK!!” came a high-pitched squeal. A little ball of fur leapt in out of nowhere and landed between them, barking wildly.
“You feather faces get away from him! Leave him alone! Go find something else!”
Sissy, the little maniac, didn’t even stop to see whether the other harpies were backing off, instead she just immediately spun around and grabbed Jack’s legs, pulling as hard as she could. Miraculously, they had backed off, probably more from shock than anything else. Taking the opportunity, Fiona pushed on the harpy’s belly, providing a little added motivation with her claws. With both their help, Jack was free in seconds.
Sissy wrapped both arms around his panting body as soon as he was out, and glared at the onlookers. Fiona got up and quickly moved to his side, checking him over for injuries.
“Hey, what do you-” One of the harpies started to say. But they were immediately interrupted by a round of barking from the canine siblings.
“These dogs are crazy! Let’s get out of here!”
With one of the group helping the battered harpy off the ground, the whole flock quickly retreated further into the mall, getting lost in the crowd. Other onlookers gradually started losing interest and walking off.
“That never stops being terrifying,” Jack babbled.
“Oh no, Jack I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I just let that happen!” Fiona apologized.
“Well, at least you managed to save me,” he replied. Something about being pulled from the jaws of certain death always left him feeling strangely optimistic- also ridiculously tired.
“Believe it or not, Sissy did most of the saving,” Fiona admitted. Jack sat up slowly, wiping the drool from his face.
“Really?” he turned to the little werewolf.
“No one gets to eat my human but me!” she announced proudly.
“Wow… Thanks, I think,” Jack replied. “Maybe she’s earned a trip to that mouse place after all?”
“No! Too many hungry faces, no one else gets to eat you!” Sissy insisted.
They both looked at the pup with a bit of surprise. Her newfound, stubborn protection was oddly endearing, despite the fact that she only wanted him all to herself.
“I think a clothing shop might be a good idea for our first stop,” Fiona suggested, helping Jack back to his feet. “You could use a new shirt. This one’s a little… damp. Look, there’s one right over there, come on.”
Fiona reached out her right hand toward Sissy again, and to her slight surprise, the pup actually reached back and took it without a fuss.
“Maybe Jack should hold your other hand too, so no one grabs him,” the little werewolf suggested.
That’s… actually a good idea, Fiona thought. It was weird, she had gotten so used to her sister obviously trying to trick Jack into vulnerable situations, that listening to one of her ideas felt wrong. She reached out and took his hand and then started toward the store. He lagged a step or two behind, still a bit dazed from his ordeal, before the pull on his arm started him walking with them.
“Good call Sis, happy to see you trying to keep my friend outside of someone’s belly for a change.”
Fiona wasn’t the only one who was a bit surprised, though. As they walked out of the hall and into the store, Sissy found herself eyeing the surrounding shoppers. And as her big sis and her future lunch started talking about shirts, she found herself thinking some different thoughts.
I’ll never be able to have my special human if someone else gets him first! I can’t let any of these hungry faces near him.
Did that one just look at him!?
Huh! That other one’s coming closer! …Good, he stopped. …Yeah, you better walk away. No Jack for you.
Jack check! Okay good, he’s still with us.
“Come on Sissy, we’re going to the changing booths to try stuff on,” Fiona called.
“Okay,” she answered.
She followed them closely to the back of the store, into a small room with three doors. Jack had a new shirt he carried by the hanger, trying to keep it off his saliva-soaked torso until he decided to buy it. Fiona had about a dozen items piled in her arms and seemed eager to see how they fit. They each opened one of the doors and started walking through. Sissy, like a good bodyguard, followed closely behind Jack.
“Sissy, wait out here until we’re done,” Fiona instructed, noticing her just before Jack did.
“Nuh-uh, I have to make sure no one gets him,” she replied.
“You can’t follow him in there, he needs to change his clothes. Besides, you’ll just try to eat him yourself.”
“Fine, then you go in with him. You’ll keep him safe enough.”
“What!? I can’t go in there with him!”
“It’s okay Sissy, look,” Jack interrupted. He gestured through the open door. “There’re no other doors in here; this is the only way in. As long as you guard this door, no one else can get me.”
The pup poked her head inside and looked around, taking a few sniffs.
“Fine. Just go fast,” she agreed a bit begrudgingly.
He walked inside his little room and closed the door with a click. A moment later, Fiona did the same. Now all alone, Sissy locked her eyes firmly on Jack’s door, and waited… for about ten seconds.
“Okay, Honey, just wait in here while mommy tries on her new clothes,” came a new voice.
Sissy turned around to see two other people entering the small room, one around her height and the other much taller. They both shared small, round ears; black and white striped fur; and modest yet distinct claws. Definitely predators.
“Okay mom,” the little one replied.
Sissy watched the mother enter the third changing room and close the door. She stood, silent and alert, until the other kid noticed her and turned her way. She shot him a warning glance. She was on guard duty, and no one was allowed near her door. He quickly turned away but kept a nervous, sideways peek in her direction.
Silence lingered for a short while, broken only by the muffled sounds of shifting clothes from inside the booths. But before too long, a new sound perked Sissy’s ears.
*sniff* … *sniff* *sniff* *sniff* … *sniiiiifffff*
The pup’s gaze darted to the new kid, his nose now twitching. His head slowly turned, following a scent, heading in her direction.
Oh no, Jack smells too tasty! Sissy thought. She considered warning him off with a growl, but at that moment she heard a sharp click and the door swung open.
“Ah, nice and dry,” Jack muttered to himself as he stepped out of the stall. He saw Sissy immediately and noticed the tense look on her face, not realizing he had just stepped between her and the little badger boy. “See, I’m just fine,” he said.
*NOM*
Poor Jack, he should learn not to say those kinds of things. The next thing he knew, his entire head was suddenly engulfed in the uncomfortably familiar enclosure of a tight, wet maw. He had no clue what had happened- Sissy had been standing right in front of him and hadn’t moved- but Sissy had seen everything. The little boy had jumped three times his height and with wide, hungry eyes, dived right onto Jack’s tasty face. The momentum carried the ambitious pred down over his prey’s shoulders before Jack lost his balance and they both toppled over.
“Hey! You spit him out! He’s mine!” Sissy yelped.
The kid quickly realized his meal was in jeopardy and tried to follow his instincts, grabbing the unfortunate human as solidly as he could and leaping toward the exit. Unfortunately for the little badger, his human target was a bit out of his weight class. He only managed to drag Jack about three feet before sliding to a halt.
“No! I said he’s mine!!” Sissy yelled. Jumping forward, she opened her own not-so-little jaws wide and grabbed one of Jack’s flailing feet in her mouth, wrapping her lips around his ankle and then wrapping her hands around his leg.
The angry pup, her fur standing on end, heard a strained *gulp*. The boy had tried to swallow! The nerve! But Jack’s shoulders were a bit too big for him, and he had just barely managed to force anything down.
No one is eating my special human but me!! Sissy roared in her head.
*gulp*
*gulp*
*gulp*
The determined werewolf started swallowing eagerly. She grabbed Jack’s other leg and shoved it down her throat, quickly working her way up toward his hips. Her adversary looked worried, and tried swallowing a few more times with only slight success. He couldn’t even use his arms to try and help the human down, because he needed them to hold his prey’s arms out of the way.
Sissy felt the drool building up in her mouth as a warmth began to fill her stomach and a symphony played across her tongue. She had been waiting for this for so long; it had been days since she’d first eaten Jack. But as much as it pained her, she had to try and ignore his incredible flavor. She had to hurry and swallow him up, or else she might not get the chance to keep him! Luckily her belly had no complaints about that, eagerly swelling to accommodate the long-awaited meal.
Within a few seconds, Sissy had worked her way over Jack’s belly, and the little badger had barely started to reach onto the human’s chest. The two little predators were less than a foot apart, and there wasn’t much exposed human left to swallow. The werewolf gulped again, inching even closer.
He had to risk it. The badger let go of one of Jack’s arms and shoved his free hand in the pup’s face, trying to push her away. Sissy grabbed the boy’s furry hand, stared him dead in the eye, and then shoved it straight down her throat with the rest of her prospective meal. The message was clear.
The terrified badger boy yelped through his prey-filled maw. He yanked his arm back in half the blink of an eye and started retching urgently. He couldn’t get the delicious human out of his gullet fast enough to quell his fear. A moment later and Jack’s gasping head was spat back into the world with a burst of drool. The little badger turned and ran without a second look, yelping fearfully all the way.
“Ugh, *ptew*,” Jack spat, watching the little boy run away down the hall. “Twice in one hour?” he muttered tiredly.
Wait, why do my legs still feel like they’re in a stomach? He looked backwards.
“Sissy!?” he yelped.
The werewolf pup looked at him with happy, triumphant eyes- the charm of which were a bit lost on him considering he was nearly chest-deep in her jaws.
“Okay Sissy,” he said with a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “You were just grabbing me away from that other kid, right?” he asked nervously. “You’re not actually trying to eat me again, are you?”
*gurgle*
He felt the child’s stomach squeeze around his feet. Her tongue twitched.
*gulp*
His hopeful smile disappeared, her lips rose to cover his chest, he took a deep breath and prepared to scream.
“*Tsk*, what a letdown.” The door to Fiona’s stall opened with a click, and the somewhat disappointed werewolf stepped out, wearing her original clothes and carrying her pile of potential purchases a bit less excitedly than before. She took one look at what was happening and immediately dropped them altogether.
“SISSY!! WHAT DO I KEEP TELLING YOU!? Let him go right now!!” she screamed. Grabbing Jack from under his arms and lifting both him and the attached werewolf pup into the air, she jerked them up and down to shake Sissy off his lower body.
Sissy decided to cooperate- there was no chance now that Fiona was involved- coughing up her precious human in little spurts until her feet came back onto the ground and his feet slipped out of her mouth.
“I can’t believe you! How can I not trust you to be alone with my friend for two minutes without trying to eat him!?”
“But- but the other kid tried to eat him first! I saved him!”
“What other kid?!”
“What’s going on out here!?” came a new voice, as the hastily dressed badger mother burst out of her stall. She looked over the three arguing kids and quickly noticed someone missing. “Where is my son!?” she asked worriedly.
“He went that way,” Jack replied weakly, pointing toward the exit.
The mother quickly scampered back out into the shop to look for her child. Fiona watched her go, then looked back at Sissy’s innocent, wide-eyed face, then over at Jack.
“Well, technically, she did save me I guess,” he admitted.
“*sigh* We’ll talk about this later,” she said with exasperation. “Come on Jack, let’s find you another new shirt… and some pants.
She took both their hands again and started to lead them away from the changing rooms. Jack caught sight of Sissy licking her lips and smiling as she savored the last of his taste. Hopefully that would keep her satisfied for a while… or maybe it would just encourage her even more.
Either way, Fiona kept and even closer eye on the two of them as they went back through the store and browsed the wares; the werewolf teen doing her best to help guide her friend as he gradually recovered from his second (or arguably third) excursion of the day into the maw of a hungry predator. When they eventually headed back toward the changing rooms, Jack had picked out a number of articles, while the only things in Fiona’s hands were Jack’s and Sissy’s.
“This time I’ll be out here waiting for you,” she reassured as he walked back into a booth, the door closing behind him. There were a few seconds of ruffling fabric.
“Aren’t you going to pick out anything? I thought you didn’t like the last batch?” Jack asked, having to yell a bit to be heard through the door.
“Not here,” Fiona answered. “I need to find a place that sells better pred clothes.”
“Oh,” he answered slowly, clearly preoccupied with his task. “Well, why don’t we just go to where my mom sells her stuff?”
“Oh, duh! Why didn’t I think of that? It’s right here in this mall!”
“She’d love it if you were wearing one of her pieces the next time you came over.”
“Totally!” Fiona agreed with renewed excitement.
A second later, Jack’s door reopened, and he emerged wearing a set of fresh, dry clothes.
“Great, then let’s get out of here before I have to buy even more clothes. Or- you know- never get the chance to pay for these.”
They walked through the store, paid, and exited back into the corridor- thankfully without incident. Rejoining the chatty flow of traffic, Fiona started turning her attention very slightly towards the signs for the surrounding shops.
She had known for a few years that Mrs. Eten sold her clothes at one of these shops, but up until recently she had felt a bit too guilty to shop there. She knew she probably wasn’t going to actually run into Jack’s mom- she wouldn’t have been working there in person for safety and PR reasons- but buying something of hers would’ve inevitably gotten her thinking of Jack, which up until recently hadn’t necessarily been pleasant. Now that everyone was back together, she was excited to show her support- not to mention Mrs. Eten was not bad at her job.
“What was the store called, again?” Fiona asked, wracking her brain.
“*sigh* ‘The Fur Coat’,” Jack answered.
Fiona giggled. “Oh, yeah. …There it is!” she called, spotting it with her keen eyes.
She pulled them along a bit faster, but as they got closer, she started to slow down. There were a couple less-than-friendly voices that seemed to be coming from inside.
“Ma’am, please, I need to ask you to calm down.”
“‘Calm down!?’ Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you?”
“You’re causing a scene.”
“Well maybe you should have thought of that before trying to sell me this trash!”
A third voice joined the quarrel just as the trio got closer.
“Is there something I can help with over here?”
“Oh, there certainly is! You can start by getting this human-made filth off the racks! You can offer me the best amphibian-ware you have left and hope it’s decent enough for me to take off your hands! Then you can fire this useless birdbrain and get a real predator who might actually know a thing about pred clothes. In fact, this one can hardly call himself a predator at all! He’d be better off leaving here as my lunch than leaving unemployed, at least then he might be good for something!”
Fiona peeked nervously into the shop, as the third voice spoke a sharp reply.
“Ma’am, I have just the outfit you need.”
“Another human rag?” the shopper scoffed.
Jack looked inside next, just in time to see an angry, towering lioness bring her huge, toothy maw down on top of what looked to be some kind of toad woman. The feline’s jaws took in half the amphibian’s body with just the initial strike, and lifted the woman up like she weighed nothing. Two, maybe three gulps later and the toad was gone; a vague, descending bulge in the cat’s fur.
The lioness shook herself, as if the unpleasantness of the encounter still clung to her. She turned and faced the employee who had been talking with the former customer a moment earlier: a short avian male with brilliant plumage and a heavily frazzled expression. She said something softly to him and gestured with her snout. He replied with a quiet ‘thank you’ and then turned and started for the entrance.
Right towards Jack, Fiona and Sissy; bringing the feline’s gaze straight to them.
Jack felt his heart sink the moment those eyes found him. It was times like this when he really wished he knew an invisibility spell or two. Instantly composing herself, the lioness smiled, inadvertently showing off her sizable, pointed teeth.
“Oh, I’m so sorry about that! Come in! Come in! Everything’s fine now.” She spoke with a sweet, almost melodic tone.
“Oh…” Fiona awkwardly stepped out from around the corner, Sissy in hand, feeling a bit rude about hiding. Not to mention a predator that large, especially one that apparently had no qualms about eating other preds, was enough to intimidate even her. Jack, already spotted, stepped out next to her and stuck close to her side. “Actually… I think we might go somewhere else…” she replied as politely as she could.
Suddenly, something changed in the lioness’s eyes. Her gaze locked straight onto Jack. She stared, then sniffed the air softly. Her inviting smile bloomed into a huge, toothy grin. And then she charged.
Jack’s frown hit the floor with the pit in his stomach. Not only was the sight of a giant, charging lion terrifying, but in that single second he only had time for a single thought, and that thought was:
There’s no way Fiona’s going to be able to pull me out of that.
The lioness was ridiculously fast. Despite being right next to him, Fiona barely had any time to react. She had just about opened her mouth to yell her friend’s name when the feline plowed into him, knocking her to the side. Catching her balance, she swung back around to face them, heart pounding, expecting to see her friend- once again- lodged halfway down the throat of yet another hungry predator.
“Jack!!” yelled a voice. But it wasn’t Fiona, and it definitely didn’t sound like Sissy. And it wasn’t a fearful or panicked voice either, but an excited one. Fiona, geared up and panting with claws bared, froze still and cocked her head, staring on in confusion.
The lioness had both arms wrapped all the way around Jack like a naga’s coils, pressing him against her belly, lifting him up off the ground and shaking him excitedly side to side in the biggest hug Fiona had ever seen. After a few long seconds, she released him just enough that he could pull his face off her shirt, allowing her to get a good look at him.
“Please let me go! I don’t want to be lunch!” Jack gasped.
“No no no no! I wouldn’t dream of eating you! Your mom’s told me so much about you! Aww you look just like her!” She squeezed him again in another tight hug.
Jack, forced to hold his breath, felt uncomfortably close to the toad woman, who he could still very much feel squirming within the lion’s belly.
“I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you! And you just walk right into my store!” she gushed.
“Oh, you’re Mrs. Eten’s boss then,” Fiona pieced together.
“That’s me! The name’s Savannah, but my friends just call me Anna.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m-”
“Oh, you must be Fiona, right? Jane talked a lot about you too. I can’t thank you enough for keeping this little guy safe, you know it just means the world to her.”
“About that, you might want to let him breathe,” she said with a half-worried smile.
Anna looked down, realized she was still squeezing him and quickly let up.
“*GASP* *pant* *pant* *pant* It’s- *pant*- nice to meet you too…” he breathed.
“And do you know who I am?” Sissy asked eagerly. That was a mistake- and not only because Mrs. Eten had just met the little pup last night. Anna looked down, noticing the pup for the first time, and her feline eyes lit up.
“Goodness you’re so cute!!” the lioness yelped. She practically dropped Jack and immediately scooped up the little werewolf in another suffocating hug. Fiona helped Jack back to his feet with a wry smile as she watched the overjoyed woman affectionately squeeze her mischievous, squirming sister within an inch of her life.
“So, this is where your mom sells the clothes she makes?” Fiona asked him quietly. “The way you describe her I thought she’d be way too nervous to work for a pred.”
“Yeah, but Anna is-”
“Oh, Jane is just the sweetest!” she interrupted, apparently overhearing them. “I could never hurt one hair on her pretty little head, honestly! And I am so lucky to have her cause she makes the cutest outfits!”
“Oh, I didn’t mean any offence,” Fiona apologized.
“Yeah, my mom’s just super extra cautious when it comes to preds,” Jack chimed in.
“I only thought she’d get a little freaked out if you ate someone every time they criticized her designs,” she joked.
Sissy finally managed to squirm herself free and leap into Fiona’s arms, falling limp from exhaustion with her fur standing on end from the static.
“Oh, they can yap about designs all they want, it don’t bother me,” Anna replied cheerily. “But nobody threatens my employees! No siree, not while I’m around!”
Jack smiled. That didn’t sound too far off from what Fiona had said that morning.
“Oh I can’t get over how cute you are!” the lioness yelped again, reaching for Jack a second time. Apparently smiling had also been a mistake.
“You know I was actually hoping to find one of Mrs. Eten’s outfits for myself,” Fiona interjected quickly. She was just in time to save Jack from another death-hug.
“Oh, that’s a good choice! All her outfits are amazing! Totally worth the occasional bigot. Wait right here! I think I have just the one!” The lioness dashed off further into the store, bound for wracks of clothes.
“Thanks,” Jack said with a hint of relief.
“I can see why your mom likes working with her. She’s so nice! And with a big lioness like that watching her back she doesn’t have much to worry about.”
“Almost as good as a werewolf,” Jack replied.
“Aww, cut it out,” she said with a smile and a tail wag. “So, where do you want to go after this?”
“Actually, after we finish here, I wouldn’t mind heading back home. I think I’ve had enough ‘fun’ for one day.”
“Yeeees… hooooome…” Sissy moaned in agreement.
Both Jack and Fiona couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah alright, I guess that’s enough for your first trip.”