Austin and Lansing slept peacefully together, pleased and comfortable in each other's presence. Their dreams were calm and pleasant.

Austin saw himself on the peak of a grassy hill, the tallest in a series of many gently sloping mounds. He looked over to his left and saw Lansing, atop another hill, watching him from afar. The Flareon's face lit up, and he bounded down the hill to go over and greet her.

But as he was descending, Austin tripped on something. What it was, he did not know. He had not felt his foot hit the ground prematurely, no, he had not even felt his foot hit anything, it had simply paused in midair, just long enough to carry the rest of his body into a roll.

As the Flareon rolled down the hill, he blushed, feeling pretty embarrassed. Then he began to cringe, for the base of the hill was wet, apparently from a recent storm, and the slimy muck coated his fur as he rolled through it.

After quite a bit of time, Austin began to wonder what was happening. With how long he had been rolling, he should have rolled right up Lansing's hill to her paws. But from the snatches of light that he saw each second before his face was once again mashed into the mud, he seemed to be only halfway down the hill, and the sky was darkening.

Rain began to fall around the helpless Flareon, and each droplet that struck him burned, even more than water usually did. He finally reached the valley, splashing to a stop in a viscous mess of rainwater and other fluids he could not identify. He tried to scream, but the sound seemed to bounce back at him, useless. The sky was pitch black, and Lansing was nowhere to be seen.

--

Austin came to in a bright white space. He shielded his eyes with a paw, and found but little comfort to note that his glasses were still on his face. He looked around, straining to see through the intense light. It looked like he was in the kitchen of the house, although the doors and windows were all replaced with pure white glowing panels. He tried opening cupboards, but the only thing that would open was the fridge, the interior of which seemed normal.

Suddenly he felt a tongue slurping up along the back of his head. A shudder went through the Flareon's body before he spun around to look at... Jan.

"Do you know where we are?"

Jan grinned at him, and not in a pleasant way. "Don't worry. No one is going to miss you in here. With me. Heh heh..."

Austin shuddered, but stood firm. "Where are we?"

"I'm at home," Jan purred in response. "And you... you'll be in my heart, always~"

"Wh-what does that mean? Where's Lansing?"

"Ooh! Lansing!" Jan giggled. "Lansing, like all the rest of them, has forgotten you!"

Austin stepped back for a moment. It was true, he had not been there long; he would understand if the other's had forgotten him. But Lansing... they had shared a bed... he had thought they were getting close...

"No! You're lying!"

Jan only grinned, seeming to delight ever more in the Flareon's disquiet. "I've always wanted a little mortal to keep with me all the time. What better than a Flareon? And one so new that I wouldn't have to erase too many memories to hide..." Jan purred, giving Austin's face a lick, while the Flareon stood, somehow frozen. "Don't be angry, mortal. You get to be a deity's pet now! Isn't that wonderful~?"

Austin wanted so badly to lash out, to scream, to do something... but the only thing he could do was move his head, up and down, yes, and yes alone.

Jan hugged him gently, holding him like a stuffed toy, then, she vanished, leaving Austin frozen there...

--

And thus ends Book 1...