77. The Survivor
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L carefully watched the rabbitkin speak with Eika. When she had first saw her, she assumed by her body structure that she was not a practiced combatant, however as she had watched the rabbitkin’s movements and actions over the last few hours, she had come to question that assumption. Perhaps rabbitkin simply were built different physically. She also had to remind herself she was in a world were even an overweight old man could have a class that allowed them to wield significant power. She was also a free rabbitkin, which was apparently quite rare. Free in body anyway, even if her body might be built differently, her eyes were similar enough. L had seen the look on war veterans, prisoners, and men who were never truly free. She was a haunted individual. Haunted by what, L was unsure, perhaps it was the death of her clan, or the enslavement she and the others were freed of, but to L it seemed as if it was something deeper. L could only be sure of one thing, the rabbitkin carried a great burden. She continued to watch them talk, wary of the influence she might wield over the girl.

"Really?! We have our own songs?!" Eika's eyes were large and round as she listened with rapt attention to the scattered facts about her people. "Most cultures and peoples do girl." The woman's voice was still harsh as she recounted fragments of their lost heritage to Eika. "The stories also say that we used to only eat vegetables, but over the hundreds of years of captivity to meat eaters, we adapted to eat both. There is always debate among the clans on if we should try to return to the old ways. My clan considered it a strength to be able to eat as we please. I know of another however who shunned the idea of meat completely. Although to be completely honest, I’m not sure the stories are even true." Eika nodded "I like eating meat, it’s got lots of flavor! Although, Eika does like really like vegetables too.... I couldn't choose only one!" She paused a moment and tilted her head. "May I ask a question?" The woman pursed her lips but nodded. "Normal bunnies and rabbits exist... right? Are we related to them? Like distant family?" Spindle-leaf shook her head "How would we be? That does not even make any sense girl. Supposedly we were created by a God to have qualities of rabbits, which already existed, due to that God's fondness for rabbits. Supposedly that is how all the animal races came to be. A God or Goddess wished to have followers that held similar traits to their favorite animal." Eika jumped up from her setting position.

"Is there a God of Rabbitkin?! And a God of Catkin?! And stuff?!" Spindle-leaf shook her head "Of course not, the Gods who created the animal races must certainly be long dead by now, I doubt the Gods would suffer to live one of their compatriots who had the de facto allegiance of an entire race. That is probably why new races stopped being created..." Eika's ears flopped down. "Eika was hoping that we had a God that watched over us or something..." The woman's expression grew sharp enough to cut glass as she responded. "All but four of the Gods betrayed our people when they ordered their church to turn against us, and our ancient Champion. To know their names is to invite destruction. It is said that after our champion was struck down by the gods, they turned on the four that refused to betray us. Slaughtering them mercilessly. Supposedly, even their names were cursed. So that all that learn them would wither and die."

L watched Eika's emotional roller coaster as she and the woman spoke. Luna, who had been setting by Eika for a long while got up and started to wander to the edge of the camp. L did not feel like going on a "Find where Luna wandered away to" quest, so she stood up and walked over to the girl, placing her hand on her shoulder. Luna was looking up into the sky. "Hi lady." Luna said simply. "Hi girl." L responded, after a moments silence, L spoke again. "What are you trying to find in the clouds?" Luna, still looking upward, responded "I was hoping to see the moon. I don't remember why my parents named me Luna... I was thinking about how fluffy ear girl's name was Eika. I thought it was such a nice name, her parents must have loved her so much, to give her such a friendly sounding name. I was wondering why I was named after the moon." L struggled to respond, glancing at Eika. "Uh... I’m sure the person that named you cared for you very much. Don't look at the sun, and don't leave camp." Luna nodded "The sun is very pretty, one time I looked at it because it was so big and shining, but then I couldn't see well, and stumbled into a water drain..."

Walking over to the two rabbitkin, L spoke. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation but I need to speak with the girl a moment." Spindle-leaf nodded "When you come back, I will tell you the story of our ancient liberator. The true version." Eika's eyes sparkled at the thought, "ohhhhhh I’ve always wanted to know! This lady at the city said that-" L cleared her throat and guided Eika away from the woman, out of earshot of Luna. "I think something is wrong with Luna. She... seems to think her parents named her. She also seemed as if she only recently learned your name. She was beaten down during our... during their assault on the slaver camp, but I don't think it was bad enough to rattle her brain. Maybe you should talk to her a little, you have always been her caretaker after all." As L spoke, a growing look of concern spread over Eika's face. "R... really? That sounds bad. Eika will check it out right away!" Eika ran over to Luna, who had placed her hands over her eyes, and was trying to look at the sun between her fingers.

"Luna? Are you ok?" Luna turned and looked at Eika. "Oh yes! Thank you for asking! That is very kind." She reached out and grabbed Eika's ears, making Eika produce a strange yelp. Luna released her grip immediately "Oh! I’m sorry!! I just wanted to touch them; they looked so soft." Eika shook her head "Uh, no its fine. The insides of my ears are sensitive, and you sort of just grabbed them out of nowhere." Luna looked back to the sky as Eika continued. "So... why do you like my ears again all the sudden? I thought you stopped that once I told you that you cannot have your own rabbit ears? Back in the city..." Luna furrowed her brow as she tried to remember. "Oh... right. Ya, I remember now, I can’t have my own rabbit ears..." Eika was certain Luna would not lie to her, but her tone of voice made Eika question if she really remembered or not. "Do you remember what I taught you about secrets?" Luna tilted her head. "Was that you? Someone told me about how secrets are important, even more important than normal because Divine Champions are dangerous." Luna looked down at her own hand's as she muttered "Oh ya... I am one of those as well... that big floating guy said I would be protected..." Luna raised her head and looked at Eika. "Are you a divine champion?" Eika shook her head, her concern for Luna only increasing. "Uh... not exactly. I work for one though. And... you sort of do as well. Remember V?" Luna nodded "Ya, angry eyes man. Ya... he saved me from a bad man once and..." Luna opened and closed her mouth a few times, "We ate something together in the city. On a bench. You were there as well. It was the tastiest thing I’d had ever eaten... I think."

Spindle-leaf walked over to L, who was watching Luna and Eika converse. "Something is wrong with your rabbitkin slave." L was surprised the rabbitkin was talking to her. "Oh? What's wrong with her? I must assume you mean more than simply not knowing about her own people." The rabbitkin spit. "Of course not. That is something wrong with all of us. No. I mean something else. I cannot exactly tell you what. When I look into her eyes, I can see something isn't right." L shifted her weight. "That is it? You came to speak with me because you think something is wrong with her, and your only explanation is 'I don't know, it just feels like it when I look at her?'" Spindle-leaf face was filled with disgust as she responded. "Is it so strange? If you look at an animal that is rabid, even if it is not attacking you, you can see something wrong in its eyes, can’t you? In one of your cities, while you walk among the crowds, sometimes you pass someone who does not look right do you not? Maybe they are hiding something, maybe they are mentally damaged, maybe they are sick. You cannot tell how or why, but you can sense it. You can sense when something is not right. We are people of the wilds, our senses, our instincts are stronger than a human’s. And besides, she is one of my own kind. Trust me when I tell you, something is wrong with her. When I look her in the eyes, I just... I feel a sense of dread. It reminds me of the strange feeling in the air right before our clan was betrayed and slain. It reminds me of the feeling I get when I see our kind enslaved en masse. That girl has something wrong inside of her. I care nothing for your lives, but I owe you for liberating me from that horrid place. Watch her. Something is wrong with her."

After a few minutes, Eika ran over to L, Spindle-leaf had returned to her place at the edge of the camp. "L I think you're right, something is wrong with Luna. At first, I thought it was just because she was confused after waking up after being attacked. I was talking to her; she seems to remember only parts of her life. She thinks her parents named her Luna, she sort of remembers the things I taught her but she is not sure who taught them to her. Most of her memories of her time with us are jumbled up and confused. She thinks a giant silver dragon came down and saved all of us from the Champion of Fire... I don't think she is ok... Eika is scared..." Eika's voice was small and panicked. "Can we tell V? I know he has only been sleeping for a few hours, but he is from a world that is better than yours or this one, right? Maybe he will know what is wrong with her! Alice and him talked about medicine and words that Eika has never heard of before! Maybe he knows what’s wrong with her." Normally, L would tell Eika to wait as V was barely helpful even when fully rested. However, the girl looked like she was about to fall into hysterics and she did not want to have to deal with that. "Let's go, I don't think V was ever a doctor, but you're right. He does know things that we do not."  

"V please wake up!" Eika shook V awake. She intended for it to be gentle, but it was more frantic than anything. V took a second to realize Eika was shaking him, but he jumped up, knocking her over. "Wha? Are we being ambushed again?" V grabbed for his sword before L waved him down. "No. We have a problem, but I would not call it an emergency." L looked at Eika, who's eyes were threatening to produce tears. "Not that kind of emergency anyway." Eika described what she had learned as L kept watch on Luna from the tent flap. V rubbed his head a few times as Eika spoke. One way or the other, this was certainly going to be a headache. "I don't know, it sounds like some sort of amnesia. She could have a concussion." At L and Eika's blank looks he explained "Your brain hits the side of your head and... look, it's just something bad that happens if you hit your head." He walked out of the tent with L and Eika in tow. The two men they had rescued had just restarted the fire for whatever reason, but they stopped what they were doing and deeply bowed to V. V figured it was probably in thanks for saving them. "Luna. How are you feeling?" he knelt down and looked at her face. He supposed there was a chance she had a stroke as well, so he tried to look for the commonly known signs of one. "Oh, angry eyes man. Although your eyes don't seem angry right now.... V. Hi. I am ok. Eika thinks I might be sick, she said to make sure I stay in camp. Am I sick?" Luna often looked up at the bright sky. "Do your ears hurt at all?" Luna shook her head and her fox ears flicked a few times "No... I don't think so. Should they?" V shook his head. "No, I’m just wondering."

After a few moments of speaking with her, V looked at Eika and L. "She has none of the symptoms of a concussion that I can tell. No dizziness, she obviously does not have any light sensitivity, and as far as I can tell no sound sensitivity. She also does not have any obvious signs of a stroke; I’m not explaining a stroke to you right now. It’s possible that this was the answer to a question I had regarding Luna." V had not moved away, so Luna was able to hear everything. "Ohhh a question about me. What was it! Is there a fun answer?" She asked excitedly. V looked at her a moment and shook his head "Not exactly. I was wondering why you had such a strong power, and why no one else had the same power you do." Luna gasped "I have a strong power?! Is it eating a bunch of stuff all at once? Because I think I could do that really easily." Ignoring her, V continued "She helped save Eika from the camp. She... I guess... was constantly learning of the future and adjusting our course and actions." V looked at L "She distracted a camp full of slavers for enough time for me to free you from that shack. She has no skills to speak of, yes she was only beaten after enough time had passed to find you and your sword." Luna tilted her head "I sound really powerful! Is telling the future a skill? You said I did that but that I have no skills. Oh! Maybe I can tell the future and see what your answer is!" Luna gazed off into the sky again as V continued. "Perhaps some form of brain damage is the cost of fully utilizing her power. It would explain a lot as well. Supposedly this god game has been going on for around a year. If she was sent here early on, surely, she would have either died, or learned some type of self-preservation skills by now. Maybe she has been in a cycle of learning, and then losing it when her full future sight abilities are used to avoid danger." Eika's bottom lip wavered as she looked and Luna and hugged her. "That would be so sad!!" Luna shrugged "Nope, trying to see the future did not help me hear V’s answer sooner."

 

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