The snakepard wasn’t content with a single rabbit. From the corner of Yuki’s peripheral vision, she saw the monster move toward her, one of the shoulder snakes lashing in her direction.

Yuki leaped out of the way and closer to the burrow’s entrance.

The snake lunged at empty air and hissed a shrill, bone-shriveling noise. The leopard bounded forward and, with a huge leap, landed between the entrance and the fleeing dwarf rabbit.

Yuki whirled and ran toward another entrance with speed born out of raw fear and desperation. She was prepared to jump away again, but the monster didn’t give chase this time. The snakepard was busy. It lashed and grabbed at the larger and slower rabbits who had also moved toward that entrance to their underground warren.

On the other side of the clearing, she saw another snakepard materialize, the shoulder snakes lashing at unsuspecting prey. From the corner of her eyes, she saw another rabbit, the biggest one yet, run toward the monster instead of away. Its head lowered, horn pointed at the enemy. Yuki didn’t stay to see the result. She didn’t believe the rabbit would win. She leaped, dashed, and scurried until she was back again at her corner of the burrow, huddled in the nest.

It turns out rabbits can’t shed tears, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Yuki didn’t go through the five stages of grief. There was no denial, Bunbun was dead. Huddled in a corner of the burrow, she glared at the others.

How had this happened? Weren’t there rabbits on the lookout for things like this? But she knew the answer. She’d seen the creature appear as if from thin air. The only clue she had was the smell. The lemony scent spiked before the monster showed itself.

Yuki knew that her new family was just rabbits. Even with all the anthropomorphizing, they were animals. But maybe she managed to convince even herself because right now, the hurt was too real. She shut off her mind and let the body take over. Like a feral animal, she snarled when Whisker Wigglebotton tried to join the nest. She nipped Nutjob’s paws when he moved closer. She screamed when Flopsy Mopsy approached to sleep. Not even Sir Hopsalot escaped Yuki’s anger; she ground her teeth and thumped whenever he tried to approach.

Yuki slept alone and cold. It was the thirst that took her away from the funk. Her mouth was dry, her throat sore, and her eyes stung like sand. She glanced at the system message.

Exp: +1.

It was hard to believe only one day had passed. Yuki got up, and then, like a zombie searching for brains, she shambled through the warren tunnels. Her thoughts went back to the clearing and the ambush. What else could she have done? Could she have prevented it? Yuki had no illusions she could fight. She was fast, but what else? She had magic. From the knowledge implanted in her brain, [Wrack] was an offensive spell. But the magic was strange, like it missed a part or something.

Yuki stumbled, falling face-first into the water. She ignored the other rabbits in the chamber and drank her fill. It was convenient that the burrow had an underground chamber reserved exclusively for water. Yuki never knew rabbits could be this ingenious.

Wet and refreshed, Yuki shambled away, dripping like an old rain gutter after a heavy downpour. She passed by other rabbits, kits exploring the burrow, and adults moving through and fro. Nothing seemed different like the disaster from the previous day wasn’t important enough. Yuki wanted to be angry at them, but that was silly; they were just rabbits. Yuki’s shambling led her back to the nest. Without a care for the mess left behind, she fell asleep again as soon she hit the leaves and fur.

Yuki woke up to a warm something pressed against her side. She opened one eye. Dark gray fur, twitching whiskers, and the black eyes of Whisker Wigglebottom greeted her. For a moment, both rabbits stared at each other. Content Yuki wouldn’t snarl, Whisker continued grooming Yuki’s fur. Yuki closed her eyes and went back to sleep. If she wiggled her bottom closer to Whisker, it was one’s imagination.

She woke up again; it was warm. She opened her eyes and noticed that Flopsy Mopsy slept by her other side. Yuki flipped around to stare in the wall’s direction. If that made her press harder against Flopsy, it was a coincidence. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

When she next opened her eyes, Yuki noticed something was off. None of her siblings were nearby, and the nest was torn to shreds, fur scattered everywhere. None of the comfy dry leaves and grass interwoven with the fur. On cue, her stomach growled. She peeked at the log messages—

Exp: +1.

It was time to get her shit together and move on. Moping around wouldn’t change anything. Yuki got up and shambled away from the nest. The warren was different. Rabbits still moved up and down the chambers but weren’t as lively as the days prior. Inside the chambers, a lot more rabbits lay there, unmoving. Some dug at the walls, which was a new behavior.

Down the tunnels she went. Once at her destination, Yuki drank her fill without an impromptu bath this time. She moved away and toward the upper chambers of the burrows. Between one tunnel and another, she met Captain Nutjob. Both stared at each other. Nutjob’s brown fur coat wasn’t as pristine anymore, and no Whisker followed him like a sad puppy. His nose still twitched with self-importance, but the giant rabbit was the first to look away and slunk out of Yuki’s path, giving a wide berth while he passed near her.

“Damn right!” she said, “move along.”

That would teach the big bully that size wasn’t everything. So what if he had a big and splendid horn? Yuki might be hornless, but she could bite like the best of them. With a pep in her step at the small but important victory, she continued her path. She stopped a few meters away from one of the burrow entrances.

Rabbits milled about, looking at the outside but not daring to go out. Yuki could guess why. The lemony scent was strong here. She’d bet there was one of the snakepards by the entrance, waiting for the tasty little rabbits to leave the safety of their home. They would get their just dessert in a moment.

How should she do this? Yuki closed her eyes and thought again about the spell she had in mind. It needed hand-waving and chanting. It didn’t need a material component, which was a plus, but it still felt like something was missing. The casting could be modified in several ways, but part of the knowledge was missing. The broken system trope wasn’t helping here.

Yuki took a deep breath. There was only one way to find out. She propped herself up, standing on her hind legs and freeing her ‘arms’. Then, she began the sweeping gestures needed to cast the spell. Soon after, she started the chanting.

Around her, the other rabbits’ ears swiveled in her direction. From outside, the sounds of leaves stepped on.

Yuki ignored it. This was nothing. She wasn’t embarrassed. Nope, she was a cosplayer. She’d worn strange costumes and done stranger stuff at others’ request. Yeah, this was RP, nothing else. No need to worry about what her fellow rabbits would think. Yuki followed the knowledge implanted in her mind. She took her time. The magic could be cast at a moment’s notice, but there was no need. Instead, she executed each movement with care, each chant articulated to the best of her rabbit capabilities. What could have been a magic cast in mere seconds turned out to be minutes instead.

After minutes of labor and interested nose twitching from her audience, Yuki was ready. She held the complete spell in mind, ready for release. She pushed her own power into the spell, willing it into existence.

A new scent spread into the air. It reminded Yuki of the nest, of happy days, of Mom’s vanilla scent. Then the magic stopped. The power receded; the smell disappeared. Yuki was left with nothing aside from several blinking system messages.

Failed to use Advanced Skill [Invocation].

Age of Maturity not yet reached.

System Skill Functions Locked.

Yuki eyed the message with distrust. “Dafuq is that?” She yelled.

FatElf

Have you ever head a rabbit scream?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cO-958YBBXo