A Kiss Amidst Mice

Weeks passed, and then another month, and then Elias eventually lost track of the days. His days were spent playing volleyball with friends, eating the meals that Merloine fed him, drinking tea, and practicing magic alongside Serena. An idyllic life that felt like it would last forever. After a month, however, curiosity finally got the better of him after one of the magic lessons with Kuchisake.

“I’ll be heading off now,” Serena said. “Feel free to go on without me, Elias.”

He didn’t leave like usual, and instead stepped closer.

“Do you mind if I come with you?” he said. “Just thought you might need my help with something…” His face fell for a moment, and he decided to speak the truth. “And I’m just curious.”

“I…” Serena gave Kuchisake a look. The slit mouth woman shrugged. For a moment, the girl grew silent. She nodded and took his hand. “I trust you, okay? Do you trust me?” The intensity in her eyes left him at a loss for words for a moment, before Elias nodded. “Come on then.” She led him away from the shore, and back through the forest path. But they did not return to the shacks where they lived, but instead took a side path. Eventually the squeaks and skittering of animals reached them, more than usual.

As they approached the source of the sounds, Elias caught a glimpse of Serena’s face. Her smile and wide eyes reminded her of the time he’d seen her at the foot of his bed, staring at him. He shivered, and very nearly wrenched his hand from her grasp. But with a deep breath, Elias stifled that urge. She hadn’t hurt him. He needed to trust her.

Eventually they came upon a small clearing. Some mice picked through the underbrush for food. Serena grabbed one in her free hand with a practiced hand. She’d even used enough force to keep it alive, and it let out terrified squeaks in her grip. It tried to escape, but her hand refused to let it budge.

Serena avoided looking at Elias for a moment. “Could you…no, I need you to see this.” She gulped down a breath and forced her eyes to meet his. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” he said.

Her grip did not tighten on the mouse, but its movements grew weaker. Its body shriveled into a mass of wrinkled fur, and its squeaks of protests softened until they were nothing at all. Eventually she dropped it to the ground. It was no longer breathing. Its eyes had receded deep into its skull.

“What did you do?” breathed Elias. His gaze juggled between the mouse’s corpse and Serena.

“I have to do this sometimes,” she said. “I don’t know why. From what I remember, I never had to do this back in the world where my father and I came from. But I just get…really hungry when I go without for a while. It just feels right somehow, somewhere deep inside.” Her voice softened as she looked down at the forest floor between them. “I was so scared that I’d hurt you that I made it a routine to go out and top myself off like this.” Her voice rose, and she raised her head to again meet his gaze. “But I won’t hurt you, so you don’t have to worry. I would never hurt you.” Her voice threatened to break. “So please trust me, okay?”

Elias had no words. He stared at her.

Eventually she seemed to lose her nerve, and looked down at the floor. The way her head bowed, it was like someone awaiting an execution. His gaze fell to her sides. Her hands were balled into fists.

“This is a lot to take in, Serena,” he said.

“Yeah.”

Elias took in a deep breath. “So how much do you need to be…sated?”

“One mouse…no, two.” Serena held up two fingers for emphasis. “I’ll get a second one right now. You…You don’t have to watch.”

“It’s okay.” Elias made himself watch as Serena tried to catch another rat, but the others seemed more on guard after she’d already harmed the first. They managed to scurry out of her grasp, and she let out a frustrated huff.

“Sorry, just give me a bit. You can go back to the shack if you want.” The pained and anxious look, as well as those she occasionally shot his way, made Elias step forward.

“I’ll help,” he offered.

She stared at him. “You will?” Her lips parted.

“Yeah,” he said. “This is a bit like…another meal for you, right?” If he thought about it that way, and put aside the macabre display, what Serena did wasn’t much worse than someone catching a rat, butchering and preparing it, and eating it as a snack. If he just looked at it like that, what Serena did…what she had to do felt less frightening. Still, he tried not to shiver when his gaze fell to the mouse corpse on the ground.

He got into position, and Serena drove one into Elias’ grasp. He dropped it into her hand, and he made himself watch as it eventually grew still in her grip like the first.

“Is it some kind of magic?” he wondered aloud. “Have you asked your father about it?”

“I did,” she said. “Apparently it’s a curse I suffered when I came to this world.” Her lips pressed together, and she continued speaking in a softer, yet firmer voice. Each word carried a strength that drew Elias’ attention. “That’s why I want to learn magic. If I can just cast things, then I can learn a spell that can fix this. That can make this cursed appetite go away.” Her voice threatened to break. “But we’ve been practicing with Kuchisake for a while now, and I still haven’t been able to cast anything, even with the wand. I don’t understand why.”

She looked to be on the verge of tears, and Elias squeezed her shoulders.

“I’m here,” he said. “Let’s keep practicing together till we figure this out, okay? And in the worst case, you saw that I can cast with a wand. If I keep putting in the work, I’ll be able to figure out how to cast without it. And then I’ll work on that spell to make this hunger go away.”

“You would do that?” said Serena. She gazed into his eyes.

“Of course I would.” Elias smiled.

Serena stared at him for a moment longer. The look in her eyes changed, as though something solidified in her expression. She stepped forward and her posture shifted to an assertive stance.

“Huh? Wait, what are you–” Elias’ question crashed into Serena’s lips before it could finish. His words turned to a muffled sound of surprise. He stared into her eyes, his own wide with surprise while hers remained narrowed with resolution. His ears flicked up and his tail swished behind him. Eventually Serena broke the kiss and stepped back.

“If you disliked it, you can slap me if you want,” she said. She raised her head and kept her hands down, as though inviting the attack. “You stopped me before, so I shouldn’t have done it now. I really wanted to, but I know that’s not a good reason to kiss you.”

Elias pressed his fingers to his lips, as though to capture the pressure of her mouth against his. His ears remained perked upright as he replayed the feeling over and over in his mind.

“I wish you’d asked me first…” he started, but before he could finish, Serena bowed to him.

“I’m sorry.”

“But I suppose I didn’t dislike it,” he finished, managing a smile. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me about this, Serena.”

“Of course.” She embraced him, and he returned the hug. Instincts took over, and he gently bunted his forehead against hers, not unlike how a cat would to show affection. A pang of nostalgia coursed through Elias then, but he couldn’t put his finger on why. But the feeling of Serena’s chest against his, and her warmth in his arms, soon drove that feeling away.

Helping Serena catch some mice or birds to keep her strange hunger at bay became just another part of Elias’ daily routine. However, just because Elias supported Serena didn’t make her any better at casting magic. A week after the kiss, that lesson also showed no progress on Serena’s part. The look in Kuchisake’s face changed. Something like resignation flitted across those eyes, but even worse in a way that Elias couldn’t describe.

Eventually the lesson ended, and Elias made to follow Serena down that side path to help her capture more mice. She held up a hand to stop him.

“Thank you, Elias, but I think I’d like to be alone right now.”