Hey there, readers! It's been a minute since I last wrote a chapter for Kiana's story, but dangit, I am back at it! I am super happy to have gotten this one out, and really hope that you all enjoy it!

 

 

I've Been Reincarnated as a Bunny Girl?! (Chapter 11)

 

by

 

Elite Shade

 

 

"Allow me to understand the situation, Percival," the Grand Bishop said as he stood at the collapsed ruin where the mouth of the tunnel had been. The red-headed elf high priest stood stoically, knowing that the old man was furious despite his calm demeanor. Off a ways away were the old man's bodyguards, eight paladins standing at attention in a semicircle around the two, facing outward, and out of range of hearing. "Our miners and earth mages finished the construction of our tunnel. An advance party of assassins was sent through to scout out the small town of Starlight Rose, and set up the crystallarium jammers. During their mission, a flying mount was spotted, a wyvern no less, and so they were sent forth to slay the beast without drawing attention to themselves, all while you had a platoon march through the tunnel and set up camp on the other side."

 

Percival said nothing and simply nodded, wringing his hands in the folds of his robes to keep them from shaking.

 

"And in the process of doing this, not only were they discovered, and the beast not slain, but all but one of the assassins was killed, who in turn led, as she put it, a monster back to camp. Said monster being a rabbit beasta who has been starting to sound quite annoyingly familiar as of late, who then proceeded to wipe out the entire platoon, before hurling the assassin back through the tunnel, and somehow collapsing the mountain to close it off. Have I gotten the gist of what transpired, Percival?" The Grand Bishop's smile was insincere and his calm-sounding voice dripped with a hidden venom. Percival nodded once again.

 

"Yes, Grand Bishop. We cannot be certain that the rabbit beasta in question was the one who collapsed the tunnel, possibly with explosives; but overall that summarizes the events that took place five days ago."

 

The Grand Bishop's magenta robes hung loosely on his old, withered frame, fluttering a bit in the light breeze. His amulet twinkled in the sunlight. In his right hand he held his ceremonial scepter. It was five feet long, carved from white oak, with the tip carved to resemble a roaring lion's face, with rubies inserted into its eyes. The old man turned to look upon all of the assembled soldiers, who were standing at attention like the paladins, formed up into their ranks, waiting for the Grand Bishop to bellow out his orders.

 

"And these are all of the assembled men and women that were present that evening?"

 

A little caught off guard at the sudden question, Percival nodded yet again. "Y-yes, your holiness. As instructed they have not left, nor have they removed the amulets that you bestowed upon them with our lord's blessing."

 

"And none of them have spoken with anyone else about what happened?"

 

"No, your holiness."

 

At that, the old man nodded. "Despite this major setback, it truly is reassuring to see such faithfulness amongst our soldiers," he said in a gentle voice.

 

Percival, while still cautious, was beginning to feel a sense of relief. A new plan must have been devised already that would help make up for this inconvenience. The elf opened his mouth to speak... only for it to drop in horror as the Grand Bishop's staff's eyes began to glow with a bright red malevolence. Each of the golden amulets adorning each of the soldiers started to shine with the same light, with the exception of the paladins, who looked on with disinterest. Many soldiers looked confused, before, in rapid succession, they all began to fall to the ground, dead, their corpses withering and becoming mummified. The red lights faded, and the Grand Bishop stood up straighter, his back creaking. He turned to regard Percival, and the elf almost let out a shriek, as he saw the same light shining out from his eyes.

 

"I am most displeased, Percival. I had many high hopes when you achieved the rank of High Priest."

 

Percival stammered and tripped over his words, slowly backing up until he lost his footing and tripped over himself. He scrambled to his feet to see the old man standing behind him, his magenta robes flowing.

 

"Do not fail me again, Percival. I have been most lenient with you as it is. This is your final grace, am I understood?" The Grand Bishop's voice was much deeper and lacking any hint of its usual scratchiness.

 

"Y-yes, your holiness," Percival said, climbing to his knees and brushing himself off.

 

"Good. Also," the old man said, striding back towards his carriage, his bodyguards catching up and forming up protectively around him as he walked, "be sure to make sure that the report reads that these men died bravely in a skirmish with a large orc tribe at the border of Kel-Thonna, and that their families are properly compensated." Without another word, he climbed into his pearl-encrusted carriage with his paladins mounting up beside it. And like that, they were off, leaving Percival alone amidst a sea of death, turning to look and stare at the collapsed tunnel entrance once more.

 

 

In Starlight Rose...

 

 

"Oh wow! I think I can see Lake Phantom from up here," Malay said, leaning back into her big sister's arms. She and Kiana both sat astride Snowflake, who was flying high up in the sky. The young wyvern's white scales glittered in the sunlight as he chirped happily. All around them were crystal clear blue skies, and below was the land stretched out like a colorful tapestry.

 

"I think you're right, Mal-Mal," Kiana said, a wide grin on her face. Ever since Snowflake had more or less attached himself to the bunny beasta and her traveling group, she hadn't hopped on the saddle to go flying very often. While this wasn't as high up as Kiana had been when she had jumped straight up from the tip of the Spire, it was still quite amazing to be flying. Once she was done giving her brother and sister their turns riding high up with her on Snowflake, Kiana made a mental note to go flying on Snowflake more. Snowflake chirped again and banked to the right, startling a flock of rainbow-colored geese, who honked in agitation at them.

 

"WHEEEEE!!!" Malay cheered. Kiana giggled at the excitement of the young wolbet beasta, happy she could make her so happy.

 

"Alright, let's not tire Snowflake out, especially since Valay will wanna fly him next," Kiana said, giving her wyvern a gentle squeeze with her legs. He chirped twice and started a gentle spiral downwards.

 

"Awww," Malay said, but she understood. Kiana looked down and spotted her little brother in the clearing, jumping up and down in excitement. Kiana giggled and smiled. She loved traveling and being an adventurer, but she still missed her family. She knew that Archibald and Geth, Geth especially, would want to head out soon to investigate the attack from last night. After a morning of scouring the nearby area and finding some crystallarium jammers, and subsequently smashing them, there was little else to find regarding the assassins and the bandits from the previous night.

 

 

Meanwhile...

 

 

Felixin examined the smashed crystallariums before him, scratching at his chin.

 

"They're all made by the same manufacturer... but there are no serial numbers or company logos, except for the sujuna stones set into the base, but Grommick-brand stones are all too common across the continent, so that tells me nothing," the wolf said aloud. On his workbench, open, was a leatherbound book. With each word he spoke, the words appeared on the pages, in his curvy handwriting.

 

"The same goes for all of the weapons and equipment we were able to recover. High quality, dwarven and goblin craftsmanship, but no logos. One oddity that I was able to uncover was the armor of the bandits. What wasn't too warped to tell for certain, was all of the same quality. Most bandit tribes wear a mismatch of armors, often what they've managed to steal or maybe cobble together themselves. It's possible that if these are bandits, that they maybe robbed a mercenary group, or even somehow robbed a manufacturer's warehouse, or possibly a caravan. The assassins that we had to dispatch were indeed of significantly high levels, so managing to pull off such a heist is within the realm of possibility, but something like that would make the news." Felixin rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He dispelled his Magic Gaze and let out a heavy sigh. With a wave of his paw, his book snapped shut.

 

"I... don't like this." Felixin's ears twitched at the sound of a knock at his front door. Getting up, he stretched and snapped his fingers. His staff appeared in his outstretched paw. Taking a moment to focus himself, he readied himself to cast a spell if need be, and went to answer the door, internally grateful that Pumala was interrogating the prisoners back at the station. Making his most stern face, Felixin opened the door... and raised an eyebrow.

 

"Can I help you?"

 

 

A little while later...

 

 

"That was AWESOME!!!" Valay cheered from where he sat perched on Kiana's shoulders. Kiana winced from the loud yell, but smiled nonetheless.

 

"I'm happy you enjoyed it. Snowflake seemed to enjoy himself too," Kiana said.

 

"Do you think we can ride him again before you leave?" Malay, who was skipping along next to her big sister, looked up with wide begging eyes.

 

"Sorry, Mal-mal, Val-val," Kiana said, her ears drooping a little. "After the attack from last night, we're gunna be heading out sooner than we had originally planned. Geth and Archie both agreed with Dad about it being weird, so we're gunna head south to find the other end of the tunnel, and investigate from there."

 

The two wolbets groaned. "You really have to leave so soon?" Valay asked.

 

"I know, I hate it too, buddy," Kiana said, reaching up behind her to rub his back. "But hey, I promise I'll be back as soon as I can! And then we can go flying again!"

 

"Can't you just jump over the mountains?" Malay asked, the light breeze ruffling her lavender sundress dress that was a match for Kiana's. Valay was wearing dark green clothes with a black scarf covering his mouth, claiming it helped him blend in with the surroundings in the woods.

 

"Yeah, but Geth says I made the government of Tunada angry when they found out I'd hopped over the mountains serving as the border between them and Galios, and so I had to go beat up a giant for them to get them off my back about it. To the south is the Empire of the... well, the Empire of something or other, and they're a lot more serious about their borders. So we've got to go through the 'proper channels'," Kiana said, doing her best impression of Geth's 'serious voice'. "Luckily, he and Archie have themselves some connections via merchants and some nobles that are greasing the wheels a bit to speed up the process."

 

"It's the Holy Empire of Leoluna," Malay chimed in with a giggle.

 

"Yeah, those dorks," Kiana said, waving a dismissive paw, vaguely remembering a group of their missionaries she had run into a while ago. She hadn't paid them much attention, as they were pretty loud and annoying, but remembered hearing them saying something about a Grand Unification.

 

"They're what our teacher, Mrs. Mazzie, calls a military state," Valay said.

 

"They're a militant theocracy, Val-Val," Malay corrected her brother, who just rolled his eyes.

 

"Regardless, they sound like loads of fun," Kiana said with an expert roll of her own eyes. Turning another bend, their house soon came into view. Kiana was a little taken aback to see Geth and Archie standing outside the front door. Mirabelle was coiled up next to Archie, who was gently scratching her head with his mechanical arm, making the end of her tail thump. Geth, who was wearing his polished red armor, sans the head piece, was looking to Kiana like he had seen a ghost. The bunny beasta wasn't certain, but he looked like he was several lighter shades of green. Lowering Valay from her shoulders and having her siblings stay behind her, Kiana approached her friends.

 

"What's going on?"

 

"Kiana," Geth said, "i-it's... incomprehensible!"

 

"Huh?"

 

"Please, Geth," Archibald said with a smile, "there's no need for the hyperbolic. In all honesty, I'm surprised this hasn't happened for the two of you sooner."

 

"There are proper procedures for a reason!"

 

"Excuse me," Kiana said, crossing her arms in mild annoyance. "Could one of you please explain to me what the hells is going on?"

 

"We... our group... is being scouted!" Geth exclaimed.

 

"Huh? What, by some more assassins? That's not so unusual," Kiana said.

 

"No! By the top tier adventurer guilds!" Geth said, taking a moment to compose himself. When Kiana had first met him, he had such disregard for anything to do with adventurers. After becoming one at her insistence, he had taken it upon himself to learn as much about the entire system as he could. He had been surprised about how organized it was, with the local guild hall being an example of the base inter-adventurer guild organization, affiliated with all the big name guilds and part of the same network. Not to mention the resources that became more readily available to adventurers affiliated with one of the big guilds.

 

The baseline guild-halls served to help fledgling adventurers gain reputations, rank up, and make names for themselves, allowing the more advanced guilds to scout promising adventurers who have become more experienced and battle tested. Also, it allowed for aspiring adventurers looking to form their own guild to do just that, with each guild having their own rules and regulations, all agreeing on a set of universal guild rules that they were all expected to enforce within their own ranks. Geth had floated the idea of forming their own guild, with Kiana semi-interested. One thing about all the guilds was universal, though. The guildmasters were easily the strongest adventurers of their ranks. Kiana didn't think there was a single guildmaster who wasn't at least a Midnight Obsidian rank.

 

"Oh, so they sent a letter or an envoy or something?" Kiana wondered why Geth looked so nervous, figuring that he was concerned Kiana was going to embarrass them or something.

 

"NO! Th-the guildmasters... they're here to meet with you!"

 

"Oh," Kiana said, starting to feel excitement bubbling up in her belly. Reflecting on that info, it made sense why Geth would be a little nervous. Being scouted by a couple of high-ranking guildmasters meant they'd probably need to make a good impression. At least, if they wanted to start being allowed to take on the higher-tiered, and even more lucrative, jobs, they'd need to join one. "Okay, understood. So who are they and how many are there? Like two or three?"

 

"ALL OF THEM!!!" Geth shouted, before clamping a hand over his tusked mouth.

 

"What?!"

 

"All the guildmasters from the top nine guilds are here," Archie explained, much more calmly. Kiana caught a twinkle in his eyes betraying his elation.

 

"Phoenix Phist?"

 

"Yes!" Geth said; Kiana now noticed he had his polished silver rings decorating his tusks.

 

"Unicorn Riot?" Kiana asked, starting to feel excited as well.

 

"Yes!" Archie said.

 

"Savage Gryphon?"

 

"All of them, Kiana!" Geth exclaimed in exasperation. "Your father is currently hosting them in the living room. Now that you're here, we can go in and start making a good impression--"

 

"Wait... my Dad's doing what now?!" Kiana asked, suddenly panicking.

 

"Uh... hosting them?" Geth and Archie shared a confused look. Malay and Valay both started to giggle as Kiana rushed to the door and wrenched it open, accidentally tearing out a couple of the hinges, warping the handle. Kiana ran into the living room to find a group of oddly-dressed strangers, with Felixin in the center, holding up the family photo album, showing Kiana's baby pictures.

 

"My little princess just loved playing tea party with her dolls when she was little," the wolf said, having been gushing this whole time about her. Kiana's eyes were wide as she felt a blush forming on her cheeks, praying to whatever entity was listening that he hadn't talked about when she was potty training. "She even kept her little stuffed wolf with her for protection when there was that little scuffle our town had with those bandits some years back."

 

"Are you perhaps referring to that full-scale siege?" an elven woman asked. She was wearing silver armor that was faintly glowing. Her hair was a platinum blonde, and she had a scar along her right cheekbone. Kiana recognized her as Liama Von Hollow, the guildmaster for the famous White Rose, the only all-female guild. "I had heard reports that the bandits had been single-handedly defeated by a very young rabbit-beasta girl."

 

"I heard it was more of an outright slaughter," came the whispering voice of a tall and lanky hooded figure sitting in the easy chair. They were wearing black robes that covered all but their mottled gray arms and black clawed hands, with red glowing eyes shining out from the darkness of their hood. Kiana knew that she was looking at Kazim the Revenant, the undead founder and guildmaster of Unicorn Riot. She recognized him from some of the official guild magazines she had collected when younger.

 

"Regardless, she took on two hundred bandits with just her bare paws," a kindly-looking gnome woman said, sitting on a small stool and puffing a light pink smoke from her pipe. She looked to Kiana and waved. Lim, guildmaster of Savage Gryphon, smiled at the open-mouthed bunny girl.

 

"Daddy!" Kiana yelled, her cheeks burning from embarrassment.

 

Felixin's ears perked up and his bushy tail started to wag at the sight of Kiana, with Malay and Valay on either side of her, the two wolbets covering their mouths with their paws, desperately trying not to burst out laughing.

 

"Ah, there you are, princess," the big wolf said, oblivious to Kiana's mortification. "I was just entertaining our visitors with stories about you as a little kit!"

 

"They've been most entertaining alright," snickered a goblin in pitch-black armor. He was leaning against the wall, his helmet off and under an arm. He had a shock of purple hair in a mohawk, his large bat-like ears twitching and making the jeweled golden rings piercing them twinkle in the light. His teal skin coloration signified that he was from a tropical tribe from the Miar archipelago. That plus the spider web-like tattoo on the side of his face that kept shifting and changing into other web-like patterns interspersed with runes that would occasionally glow red, confirmed his identity as Fubar, the founder and guildmaster of the perpetual frat party of a guild known as Goblin House.

 

"Still, the stories and reports not only from that amazing debut, but also from your adventures are very impressive," came the deep rumbling voice of a massive and muscular lioness beasta. She was wearing basic red leather armor, with a gigantic longsword strapped to her back. She looked Kiana over with her golden eyes, nodding in approval. Vashka the Dragon's Roar, the guildmaster of Phoenix Phist, had an eye for strength. "And not just you, miss Kiana, but also the other members of your party. You and Getholon the Mystic, who already had quite the reputation even before he became an official adventurer, slew the rogue necromancer Zrathk, and purged the surrounding land of his vile influence. Truly a grand display of raw power."

 

"I personally had a good laugh when I heard about Shuta," a dwarf in sapphire blue robes sitting on the couch chuckled, his black beard long enough to reach his waist. Kevin, the leader of Blue Bull, smiled and nodded to Kiana. "Ya showed that stuffy Duke that even he can't protect his bastard nephew, and caused him one heck of a political headache in the process... as well as some collateral damage."

 

"You would find amusement in that ghastly action," said a human man on the other end of the couch. He was dressed in a purple petticoat with a cream-colored ruffled blouse underneath, and matching trousers. His black boots were polished and shiny, without a speck of dirt from the road on them. Sheathed at his side was a cutlass, his arms folded across his chest, a silver ring with a large ruby in the center on his ring finger. Kiana saw that Lord Phoenix, the current leader of Phantom Cyclops, a guild known for being mostly nobles from various nations, looked just as stuffy as he did in the photos from the magazines. His raven-black shoulder-length hair was swept back and braided in a ponytail. His pale skin, icy blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, and pointed chin gave an appearance similar to a vampire. He looked Kiana over with an arched eyebrow.

 

"However, taking on those dastardly pirates and acquiring someone of young Lord Nunarin's pedigree into your party shows that you are somewhat salvageable, perhaps with a bit of refinement."

 

"Your aura not only radiates power, but an attunement with the natural world that is just beautiful," came the quiet voice of a halfling woman in a leafy-green dress, with white and red flowers intertwining her long chestnut-brown hair. She was sitting cross-legged on the carpet and bowed to them. Kiana, Geth, and Archibald returned the bow. Hiama, the guildmaster of Ethereal Mantis, while every bit a crunchy granola-hippie stereotype, as Kiana remembered Felixin claimed all druids to be, was still a known force to be reckoned with. Evidenced by their guild hall being located in the dead center of the Kowtow Swamp, an area home to many strange and deadly beasts.

 

"Tch." Kiana's attention was drawn to a sullen-looking dracofian that was wearing a cloak made from moving shadows with the hood down. His scales were a bright blue with a deeper blue under his eyes, which Kiana suspected was just makeup. He was wearing all black leather with blue trim armor, and had a curved staff that ended in a point with a white glowing crystal in the center. "That's all impressive, I guess, though I must say, taking down that forest troll got you on my radar." Kiana recognized Krito, the guildmaster of Shadow Kraken, a relatively new guild to the scene. Meeting him in person confirmed Kiana's suspicion of him being an edgelord.

 

"Regardless, we all came here for the same reason," Kazim said, standing from where he was sitting on the dining room chair that had been brought out. He strode forward, the red light of his eyes looking like two red lights in the dark cave of his hood as he looked over Kiana and her friends. Despite her burning embarrassment, Kiana felt the thrill of excitement return in full force. From within the folds of his cloak, Kazim the Revenant produced a black paper envelope and handed it to the bunny girl. "Kiana, Getholon the Mystic, Lord Archibald Nunarin; I, Kazim the Revenant, would like to officially invite your party to join my guild, Unicorn Riot."

 

"H-hey, I thought we'd agreed that I was going to be the first to ask them!" Krito said, jumping to his feet, looking indignant. He then fake coughed and composed himself, walking up and holding out a scroll with a gold metal clasp keeping it furled up, to Kiana as well. "Well, anyway, you should be overjoyed to get an invitation from me, of all people, to join the great Shadow Kraken."

 

"I beg your pardon," Lord Phoenix said, rising from his seat and producing an envelope with a red wax seal, "but I believe that you would benefit the most with a bit more refinement around high and proper society." He gave a stiff bow and passed it to the bunny girl, suddenly being shouldered aside by the dwarf.

 

"Bah! Only another self-important sycophant wants to join your ranks, Mathew," Kevin said, giving Kiana a square of parchment. "Here's my invitation. You'll find that the Blue Bulls are much more to you and your friends' style of rushin' in, gettin' the job done, and asking questions later." Kiana's ears twitched as she heard Geth mumble under his breath. She knew he wouldn't approve of their joining a guild notorious for being so reckless and causing so much collateral damage.

 

"I think you'll find," Liama said, having pushed all the others to the side and standing tall and proud before the party, "that The White Rose is a much more suitable guild for your talents. We're even breaking our normal custom and extending this offer for your... entire party to join." The elven woman said this, looking at Geth and Archie with a raised eyebrow, before handing Kiana a single white rose with a white stem and thorns. Upon taking it, Kiana realized that the rose was actually some kind of origami one, that immediately unfolded into a sheet with the invitation written on it.

 

"Here you are, dear," said Lim, looking up at Kina and brushing aside her auburn locks as she handed Kiana a simple envelope. "We at Savage Gryphon would love to have you." Kiana was about to start responding, when a butterfly fluttered and landed on her right ear. With a green POOF, it became a single green leaf that fluttered down. Kiana caught it and saw that there was writing on it, inviting her to join Ethereal Mantis. Kiana looked to the guildmaster, who just bowed again.

 

"Gah!" Fubar threw his hands up in exasperation. "Who's a guy gotta drink under the table around here to get a word in edgewise!" The goblin chuckled and tossed to Kiana a crumpled piece of parchment. He winked as Kiana unfolded his invitation to Goblin House, noticing that there were some dark stains on the invite that smelled strongly of alcohol.

 

"I'm only interested in adventurers who are strong, and looking to get stronger," Vashka said with a smirk as she approached, giving Kiana a card. The lioness looked smugly at the other guildmasters. "Well, this was nice, but I need to get back and reign in my knuckleheads before they tear our guild hall apart." With a nod, Vashka saw herself out.

 

"I too must return at once, lest my guild accidentally sets fire to our hall... again," Kazim said with a bow. He snapped his clawed fingers. The shadows in the room lengthened and enveloped him. The shadows receded, and the guildmaster was gone.

 

"I also must depart from this... lovely home, please excuse me," Lord Phoenix said with another stiff bow, heading for the door, with Fubar, Vashka, and Kevin following behind.

 

"Let's head to the pub and have us some drinks!" Kevin shouted, with Fubar letting out a cheer. Liama wordlessly bowed and nodded to Hiama, who stood up and bowed deeply once more to the party and Felixin, taking her offered arm. With the pair leaving, that left Krito, who gave Kiana a smirk.

 

"I know you'll make the right decision," he said with a wink and a flourish of his cloak. He disappeared in a puff of white smoke, and Kiana just rolled her eyes.

 

"Well... that was quick," Felixin said with a huff. "I didn't even get to talk about my little princess' dance recital."

 

"Dance recital?" Geth and Archie both asked in unison, the two looking amused. Kiana groaned internally.

 

"Dad, no, just... no," she said, looking down and choosing to focus on the invitations in her hands. "Well, guys," she said, hoping to get her friends' minds off her Papa telling any more possible 'cute' stories from her second childhood. "It looks like we've got a decision to make."

 

"Agreed, though we can't forget about our current objective," Geth said. Straight back to business, something Kiana found she was grateful for.

 

"Daddy was able to get some pictures of Kiki in her tutu!" Valay said, holding open the photo album to the pages with said pictures in them, making Geth and Archie chuckle while Kiana facepalmed.

 

 

And there you have it, folks! Please consider leaving a review or a comment, and you all have a great day!