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Catfishing: Afterward

Sarah sat with Rosemary and the other cats in the sunny meadow by the burbling river. It had been a few days since Rosemary ate her, and Sarah had spent much of those days exploring the world she now existed in. The dreamscape meadow seemed to go on forever, but she'd found that if you walked long enough you came back to where you started. Moreover, it wasn't really necessary to walk anywhere: by simply focusing on a place you could simply "jump" there. However, that seemed to be the extent to which she could manipulate the dreamscape. No matter how much she focused, she couldn't cause even a pebble to appear while Rosemary had raised a mountain with a thought. She never felt tired or hungry, a perk of not having a body, but she had slept and seen the other cats sleep. It merely seemed to be something they remembered enjoying, and there was a lot to be said for napping in the sun.

Even after all of her exploring, Sarah still had questions about this world the rabbit had created, and since Rosemary was currently sleeping and thus with them in her dreamworld, now seemed like a good time to discuss it. She'd thought to discuss it over a picnic; however, the other cats had warned her that one thing Rosemary couldn't do was create edible meat. This was because the only meat the cottontail had ever consumed was cats, whole and alive, and she simply couldn't imagine what prepared meat actually tasted like. She had attempted to create it based off of her impression of its smell, but it had tasted revolting. Therefore, unless Sarah wanted a salad, some fruits and vegetables, or baked goods, there was no point in asking Rosemary for food. They had their chat with some catnip tea.

"One thing I'm really curious about is how this all started," Sarah meowed. "How did all this," she gestured widely with one arm. "Come to be? How did you start eating cats, Rosemary?"

"That's Veronica's story if she wants to tell it," Rosemary answered mildly.

Sarah and some of the other cats looked toward the small, black cat who sat next to Fred, dwarfed by the giant tom. Sarah thought she was barely larger than Rosemary.

"I don't mind," Veronica mewed softly though she kept her green eyes on her lap. "I was the, um, the first. I was different in that I asked Rosemary to eat me."

"You did?!" a silver tom, Harold, meowed in surprise.

Veronica nodded embarrassedly and rubbed her arm, still looking down. "I had lymphoma. My, um, my kidneys were gone. I was living on dialysis, and I heard from one of the other patients about a rabbit who worked at the hospital who could swallow a whole head of lettuce."

"There's not a lot of time for lunch sometimes," Rosemary explained.

Veronica went on, "I asked around, and she came to see me. That's when I asked if, um, if she could eat me. She was, well..."

"I was surprised to say the least," Rosemary interjected.

Veronica nodded, "I had to talk her into it. I told her that it would make me feel better to know that I was useful, that I wouldn't just go in the ground but be of use to someone. Even if she was a rabbit and an herbivore, if she could digest me and use me as food, then I wouldn't feel so bad about dying."

"And the hospital just let her fulfill your request?" Sarah asked.

Veronica shook her head.

Rosemary answered, "I didn't think it prudent to ask permission for something like that. Veronica checked herself out, against medical advice of course, and I took her home and ate her. It's hard to explain what it's like eating someone for the first time, feeling them inside you. I was worried it would hurt her, but it didn't seem to."

"Rosemary was very gentle, and being digested in her stomach didn't hurt at all," Veronica confirmed. "It took longer than I expected, but maybe that's because she's an herbivore." She looked around at the dreamscape shyly, "I, um, didn't expect all this."

"It was just here?" Sarah asked.

Veronica shook her head. "Neither of us knew this would happen. I died, and then I woke up. Rosemary was there--she was sleeping at the time--but there wasn't much else, just some random objects in a void."

"I thought I was having a dream about the cat I ate," Rosemary admitted. "It was actually pretty disturbing when she kept insisting it wasn't a dream and asking me how she got there. How was I supposed to know? I thought she'd be reincarnated."

"Rosemary disappeared eventually, but she came back the next night," Veronica added.

"It was only after I had the same dream again and Veronica kept insisting she wasn't a figment of my imagination that I decided something weird was going on," Rosemary said. "I started to wonder if, since I knew I was dreaming, I could change the void into something more hospitable. Veronica wouldn't admit she was scared, but I could tell she was."

Veronica nodded embarrassedly, "I thought, you know, that I was stuck there. Rosemary was there to talk to sometimes, but otherwise there was nothing."

"So I tried to imagine someplace nice, and being a rabbit, I made a sunny meadow with lush grass," Rosemary explained.

"I was the one who suggested the flowers," Veronica added. "They were only dandelions at first. Rosemary's gotten a lot better at this."

"Dandelions are tasty," Rosemary defended herself jokingly. "But I'm glad I've gotten better at providing for my kitties. If I hadn't been able to, I wouldn't have eaten anyone else unless they asked like Veronica did."

"What made you start eating other cats?" Sarah inquired curiously. She might have asked this in an accusatory way, but she didn't. She was at peace with the fact that Rosemary had eaten her. Even to say she had forgiven the doe would be too strong, too suggestive of an offense that required forgiveness. It was simply a thing that had happened and that she had accepted.

Rosemary smiled amusedly, "Well, you can't have just one kitty. She might be lonely! And it turned out it was awfully fun hunting you kitties, luring you into my clutches. You never suspect the little bunny is going to eat you, or poses a threat at all!" Her smile widened into a dominant, superior grin. "Such foolish kitties I get to make mine!"

Fred chuckled. "That's true. I never suspected a thing until you stuck that needle in my back."

"Fred was my second," Rosemary stated proudly. "I used to sedate my prey so that I could eat them. I decided 'wasting' ketamine and dexmedetomidine at work wasn't a good long-term plan. Plus, it takes a little while to kick in, which is dangerous. I had to be ready to jab and run! I still keep a little in case my prey is too afraid. I would have used some on you, Sarah, if you'd let me. I learned how to do rope bondage as an alternative. The hardest part was finding good digestible rope! Luckily, I'm an herbivore, so I'm good at digesting plant fibers."

"And cats just let you tie them up?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"You did," Rosemary replied smugly.

Sarah blushed.

"Like I said, you kitties don't see a little bunny like me as a threat," Rosemary went on. "It's pretty easy to convince you to let me restrain you, and most cats seem to like it. I guess it has a sort of turnabout appeal." She grinned toothily, "Especially when I eat you!"

"I-isn't it still dangerous?" Sarah asked embarrassedly. "I mean, I could have eaten you first."

"You could have," Rosemary admitted matter-of-factly. "But that's why I get to know my kitties before I take them home for dinner. If they're nice kitties, they have enough control of their instincts not to eat me. I wouldn't want mean kitties in here anyway."

Sarah realized that meant the success of training she'd done and her commitment notto eat prey was what had made her Rosemary's prey, but again, she felt no resentment about being eaten. So the fact that being a "nice kitty" was what had gotten her eaten also didn't bother her.

"Do you have anymore questions about all that?" Rosemary asked her.

"No, I think that covers it," Sarah replied.

The doe turned and lay her head in Sarah's lap with a sigh on contentment. She beamed up at her affectionately, "All that really matters is that I have my beautiful kitties, and they're all happy."

Sarah smiled down at the cottontail lovingly and caressed her cheek before running one of her long, velvety ears through her hand. "We're lucky to belong to such a sweet little bunny." She placed her other hand on Rosemary's plump, little belly and mussed her soft fur. "Even if we had to get here via your stomach."

"That's the best way to a bunny's heart!" Rosemary quipped jovially.

Sarah and some of the other cats chuckled softly. Sarah petted Rosemary's belly and purred contentedly. It really was.