Messing with the Food Chain

Messing with the Food Chain
Shima unconsciously scratched the marks on her wrists. They had stopped hurting long ago, physically if not necessarily mentally.
Ohminae branded her shortly after her parents died. The Volkson said it was for protection in case they ever returned to the empire. That may be true, but Shima never thought that was the real reason. It was simply a show of raw force to reinforce the idea that Ohminae was in charge, and could do whatever she wished.
Ohminae had mellowed over the years, but Shima could still feel the need to show dominance whenever she was around. Not that the Rabbit Felgonian blamed the huge female. She was the product of countless military campaigns and Volkson society. It sometimes seemed the only difference between the two was that you could kill your opponents openly in one. It seemed entirely unreasonable to think that Ohminae would have such a drastic change in her nature.
The two would never be equals. Ohmine was several times Shima's size. One was a highly predatory carnivore while the other was a small herbivore. There was a similar gulf between the two when it came to their psychologies.
Shima had no delusions about eliminating that chasm, but perhaps she could decrease its size. Today's project was to practice consuming another sentient being alive and whole. Hopefully, this would grant a greater understanding of Ohminae by granting an understanding of the pleasure that she felt.
Vera grumbled over the body of a dead squirrel. It would keep her going, but that was it.
She knelt down with a sigh when a scent hit her nose. It was faint, but told Vera to forget entirely about her previous kill. "What that?"she asked. Her brain might not know, but her mouth certainty did. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva down after standing up to get a better sniff. It belonged to a Rabbit Felgonian.
Shima's heart accelerated a little when she caught Vera's scent. She didn't recognize it exactly. Was she in the right part of the forest? She had carefully selected this place and time so that she would know exactly what would be out. Should she call this off and try again later? Her plan was already risky. It seemed pointless to increase that unnecessarily.
Her hands reached down again to touch the dyed chains on her arms. It had hardly been a gentle process. Ohminae had picked up layers of skin to place the ink beneath it. The felgonian felt a little anger grow within her at the memory, but directed not at the volkson but at herself. Ohminae was a sadist at times, but she wasn't stupid. She didn't inflict pain on everyone she met. She did it because she could get away with it. Passivity and caution may be virtues, but they had a time for them. This wasn't it.
"Let's play," Shima said softly. She walked forward a few steps before stumbling into the dry leaves. She then crawled forward, got up, took a few steps, and stumbled again. Each motion was done with exaggerated slowness to make herself appear far weaker then she really was.
Her plan worked and Vera stopped her charge. She instead changed tactics and crouched against the ground. "Vera try this instead," the beastgirl said and crept up on her target.
Shima closed her eyes to focus entirely on the soft crunch of the leaves behind her. Her legs twitched with anticipation. She concentrated to force them to stop. She didn't want to show her would-be predator that she was aware of her presence. She waits a few more seconds before suddenly lifting one leg and spinning before thrusting the other one forward.
Vera only had enough time to blink her yellow eyes before the hard knee struck her. "Ruh?" she asked and staggered back. Her first thought was to wonder if that bony protrusion spontaneously  grew from her forehead.
Shima blinked as well when she saw the one she struck.  Her first thought was she (the creature had the beginning of breasts on her chest, and Shima disliked objectifying pronouns like 'it') was another of the anthropomorphic beings indigenous to this planet. Her light brown body looked canine in nature or perhaps feline. A bushy tail protruded behind her of a darker brown color. Perhaps she was a type of hybrid?
Not that Shima had a lot of time to think. She had committed herself to this line of action, and she had little choice but to see it through. She put down her leg, and raced forward to tackle her target.
Vera knew what Shima was, or at least thought that she did. She took another deep sniff of the one that now pinned her. It increased her confusion by giving her the same result. "You try act like Vera?"
Shima didn't respond to the question. All her mental energy was focused on the task at hand. A more experienced predator could begin consumption right now, but she wasn't that confident. She quickly moved her arms and legs to each of Vera's furry limbs to hold them down.
"You have identity crises?" Vera asked, and wiggled around to try and dislodge the girl on top. She didn't view her as a threat, but this was definitely felt awkward to be held against the ground by something that should be an easy meal.
"Perhaps," Shima agreed softly. She then lifted Vera slightly off the ground before pushing her down again. She repeats this process a few times to subdue her quarry. "Okay, that's done with," she said after her third cycle. Shima picked up her prey again and moved her jaws around. A loud crack came from her jaw bones when they protested being used in such a manner.
Vera opened her eyes slowly when Shima's warm breath hit her. The felgonian wasn't strong enough to hurt her, but had succeeded in stunning her for a time. Part of her felt she should be worried about the approaching mouth, but most of her felt amused at the thought of such a small thing trying to act like she did.
Shima had to move fast. She knew that this would be hard on her body, but she had underestimated just how much strain it would put on her. She had to work hard to block out the pain, or it would overwhelm her.
Vera squirmed a little in Shima's hold. A growing sense of anxiety was counterbalanced by one of curiosity. Breath that smelled of berries and blunt teeth reinforced the perception that this was prey. How long would the one holding her be able to keep this up?
Shima resisted the urge to gag when she moved Vera's furry body over her tongue. It was doubtful that her blunt teeth would cause any harm to the other female, but she would rather not risk it if given the choice.
Vera's eyes widened with the throat at the back of the mouth. She started to wiggle, but it seemed that Shima was ready for that and took a hold of her legs. Vera felt another emotion grow inside of her when she saw the quivering pink walls: admiration.
Shima closed her mouth gratefully when all of Vera was inside. It felt like her jaws were about to break, or rather break beyond what she had intended. She moved quickly to suppress her gag reflex, and redirect all breathing to her nose.
Vera moved a little in the tight throat but didn't really resist. She had lost and would have to accept the results. "Almost there," she whispered. The straining muscles moved slowly but steadily all around her body to guild her down. She eventually passed out of it and into the stomach. It was roomier but only slightly so. Vera still had to curl up in a ball. Te soft walls moved soothingly against her with Shima's breathing, and her heartbeat reverberated from all angles. All these forces combined to lull the beastgirl to sleep.
Shima sighed in relief when her ordeal ended. She then nearly laughed. She had planned so carefully on how to eat Vera, but she had no idea of what to do now that the beastgirl was bulging out her belly. She doubted a stomach that was designed to digest plants would be able to break down a sentient creature. It seemed far more likely that she would starve to death and rot before that happened. That possibility was simply far too cruel to seriously entertain. Shima would show off her catch to Ohminae and then let Vera go.