With her good hand, Yuki drew in blood — Jenny’s blood — the contract ritual circle. Jenny had stopped moving some time ago, and Yuki feared the worst. The diagram was complicated, and Yuki didn’t want to waste her only chance. If Jenny didn’t survive until she was ready, Yuki would… she wasn’t sure what she would do. Be sad, probably. Crazy witch persona aside, Yuki liked Jenny. The servant girl was always caring and gentle with her pet rabbit, and the ear massages were divine.

Amid Jenny's blood and gore, a new scent spread out. It was faint but permeated the whole room. It was sickly sweet and nauseating — the smell of Ferdinand’s magic. Yuki tensed, waiting for whatever was about to happen. Nothing did. The man cast a spell, but Yuki didn't know what it did.

She didn’t have time to question things. With one last line traced in life carmine, Yuki was ready. Her hand, still drenched in blood, performed the unfamiliar movements for the spell. She chanted, low and steady. Apart from the circle, none of the other steps were necessary, but the more she did, the better the spell outcome.

What should the terms of the contract be? Yuki imagined herself dressed in skimpy BDSM leather, bat wings sprouting from her back, and curved goat horns in her head. She held a whip in one hand, and in the other, she displayed a piece of parchment. The heart-shaped tail pointed to the terms of the contract. “Do you want power, knowledge, and a chance to live?” The Yuki-turned-succubi asked. “You need only sign away your soul.” The demoness whispered in seductive temptation. And like any goody-two-shoes devil, she’d follow the letter of the agreement and fudge the details. All of that, to laugh scornfully at the naive human when Jenny realized her mistake.

A notification blinked in the corner of her eyes. Yuki shook her head, succubi-Yuki was interesting, but now wasn’t the time or place to fantasize about these things.  Keeping with the spell movements, she willed the system to show the text.

Contract parameters accepted.

Familiar contract initiated.

Terms sent to entity Jennifer of Ravenshade.

Uh, no. The spell wasn’t complete yet. And what was this about terms?

Jennifer of Ravenshade accepted your terms.

You promised Jennifer power, knowledge, and a chance to live.

Jennifer promised you her soul.

Terms agreed, pact accepted.

Initiating contract System.

Please wait.

No, no, no. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Yuki didn’t want to abuse that moment of despair to impose a choice that wasn’t a choice on Jenny.

Contract System initiated.

Calibrating…

Calibrating…

“No, stop! Those are not the terms I want!” Yuki yelled.

Number of boons granted: 3.

Number of penalties imposed: 1.

Exacting toll.

Cold, indifferent claws dug into Yuki’s soul. She gasped, then fell, unable to control her body. The claws dug something out of her core. When they left, they took a part of Yuki with them and left something else behind.

By Yuki’s side, Jenny gurgled, started breathing again, then coughed.

Yuki didn’t know what those claws were, but other sensations washed over her. The contract followed the letter of the agreement. Jenny's magical essence was restored, and knowledge about magic was implanted in her head. Up this close, Yuki could feel Jenny’s life force. It was fading, and fading fast. She didn’t get up. Instead, she dismissed the shapechange spell. She didn’t have time to relish how comforting it was to be back in her body. The girl-turned-rabbit waved her paws and chanted the words for [Regeneration]. She invested one point of shaping into the number of targets parameter and the rest into duration. She hobbled closer and laid against Jenny’s arm, letting the magic flow into both simultaneously.

Yuki’s injuries from the human form transferred back to her rabbit body. The spell wasn’t a life-save utility like those D&D wild shapes. She settled down, keeping the spell going. The soothing magic eased the pain of her many injuries. Jenny’s breathing by her side slowed down, and the gurgling stopped. The knife slowly slid out of her stomach and clattered to the ground.

The weapon’s edge was wicked-looking. The first word that came to mind was evil ritual dagger.

“Status.” She called out.

The rabbit on the landing page was still red all around. The goblet, however, caught her attention. It was different, but she couldn’t figure out why. Did it look smaller? That was for another time. Right now, Yuki needed to heal Jenny and herself and leave before the whole shitstorm in the morning when the entire manor woke up. She could check her status later, once she was back at the burrow, safe and among family.

Yuki missed Whisker and Flopsy. She even yearned for the chance to see Captain Nutjob's smug mug.

The hours whittled away, and the sky outside turned from dark purple to gray to orange. When the first panicked scream sounded inside the manor, Yuki knew it was time to leave. She stopped her magic and got up. Her paw and mouth still hurt, but not like before.

By her side, Jenny stirred.

The rabbit looked at the crazy witch. She hopped closer and pressed against the girl’s cold face. It was brief, but Yuki enjoyed her time with Jenny, even if the last day was something she could live without. She rubbed her head against the girl’s face, then gave a lick for good measure.

Without looking back, Yuki hopped outside and toward the back of the manor. She didn’t want to leave by the front gate and enter the town — it was too dangerous. She would find another place to squeeze through, then return home to rest and spend time with family.

The sun was already out and about, the manor was in complete uproar, and the shrilly women's and men's screams were Yuki’s background music. Not long after she found it, a small crack in the wall led to the outside.

Yuki squeezed through the small passage, fur scraping against the mortar and ragged stone. With one last push, she broke free on the other side, and with a pep on her hops, she bounded toward the burrow.

She found the farms again and found it strange that no one was working them. It could be a holiday. It was a lucky break for her. She slowed down her hops. Yuki took her time crossing the field and sampling the delectable produce. She added the fields as a place to visit again later.

From the farms, she crossed into the gnarled tree fields; to make sure, she cast [Wrack] with the last drags of her mana and let the spell rest. She wasn’t taking chances anymore. Anything jumped her, and it could eat some creepy tentacle bunny in return. Maybe it was her magic, perhaps it was her luck, but nothing accosted Yuki. She crossed the barren and obnoxious-smelling patch of land. After the night she had, the horrible smell was tolerable.

The tall, gnarled tree that indicated the burrow was already in sight.

Yuki bounded at speed in the burrow’s clearing. She noticed the lack of rabbits outside but remembered the sun was out. Most of the rabbits preferred to leave at dawn and dusk. She entered the burrow with light hops and happy thoughts, navigating its familiar twists and turns. She was ready for a long break.

With one last turn, she entered the nest. It was cold and empty. Yuki stopped in her tracks and looked about.

“Whisker?” she called out. No one answered. “Flopsy?” she called again. There was only silence.

Yuki turned around and ran deeper into the burrow. Now, focused on things, she noticed how empty it was. Before, it bustled full of rabbits prancing about, but now she could barely find anyone.

“Captain?” she called out. Even his ugly face would do. But there was nothing. The burrow was empty and deserted. She found one rabbit here and there, but none of her siblings or even Mom. What happened? Where did everyone go?

Defeated, tired, and lost, Yuki returned to the nest. She laid down in the cold nest and smelled the scent of happy days. Rabbits can’t shed tears, but Yuki gave it a good attempt that day.

FatElf

So, yeah, I did some images here, I mean, research on possible new forms for Yuki.

A bit NSFW-ish, so, yeah, peek at your own risk!

Yuki's imagination:

Spoiler

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Next chapter tomorrow!

There's five chapters ahead in ko-fi if you want to help me commission a new cover image and read ahead!

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