Lucky Rabbit

The Reedsleys only had ten or so regular servants – though that seemed like a lot to Pandy and Thaniel – and all of them were apparently busy in the kitchen or serving guests. The halls were empty as Thaniel snuck up to his room, cradling Pandy to his chest like she was something precious. Only when he closed the door of his room behind them did he truly relax, releasing a deep sigh even as he hurried to the bed.

Out of habit, he started to put Pandy on the clean, fluffy duvet, but stopped just before her bloody paws touched the fabric. Looking around, he spied the basin of water ready for him to wash his face and hands before supper, and plopped the rabbit into it, causing the water to instantly redden.

“I know Geri said there’s no time to give you a bath, but…” The boy hesitated. “Can you wash yourself?”

Pandy froze, feeling like a real rabbit who had just spied an eagle circling overhead. Was it just enjoying a pleasant updraft, or was she about to be lunch? Cautiously, she nodded.

Thaniel flinched, then gave her a small, tight smile. “All right, then. I’m going to change.” Leaving her there, he went to the wardrobe, but when he opened the doors, he left them at an angle, rather than throwing them wide, thus blocking Pandy’s view. Not that she was planning to watch, but while he was usually shy about changing because of his scars, it wasn’t to this extent.

Trying not to think about it too hard, Pandy ducked her head beneath the water, shaking her head so the blood in her fur could work its way free. She was probably more pink than white when she came back up, but she got a pleasant surprise when she began licking her fur clean.

+8 Corruption Point for drinking a Potion of Blood which includes Blood of a Defender of the Realm

+7 Corruption Point for drinking a Potion of Blood which includes Blood of a Defender of the Realm

+6 Corruption Point for drinking a Potion of Blood which includes Blood of a Defender of the Realm

Poor Miss Cupcakes must have gotten hurt more badly than Pandy thought, probably when she fell into the bush. Or was a few drops of blood from some shallow scratches enough, as long as it was bolstered by Pandy’s own blood? What ratio of blood to water was required to count as a potion? Pandy had certainly been wearing enough of her own, so it could take quite a bit.

Well, for right now, the important thing was that Pandy was receiving more CP than ever before. This continued until it was reduced to only one point of CP for each lick, but that was still more than enough to have Pandy contemplating drinking the whole bowl of water after she was done bathing in it. Speaking of which, why wasn’t she getting points for bathing in the blood of a Defender of the Realm? Was the concentration of the kitten’s blood not high enough for that? Were potions exclusively for drinking, not bathing, so it didn’t count once it was part of a potion?

The questions were beginning to make Pandy’s head pound, so she was relieved to see Thaniel emerge from behind the wardrobe doors, gingerly holding his dirty clothes. He laid these down on the windowsill, making sure no blood touched the highly polished wood. Then he lifted his filthy shirt from the stack and walked toward Pandy as if to pick her up. Rather than doing so, however, he stopped just short, staring down at the bloody cloth in his hand.

“I knew Daddy did something to bring you back,” he finally whispered. “Everybody thinks I’m too little to understand, but I know Daddy did somethin’ bad with his magic. Dark mages are only supposed to call certain elementals and perform magic they’re licensed to do, and…and bringing a rabbit back from the dead isn’t part of that. But I wanted to believe it, so I pretended I did, and I love you, and-”

He broke off, sobbing again, and Pandy desperately wished she had arms so she could hug him. He really was so little, and he’d already had such a hard life. How was he still so sweet and kind after everything he’d gone through?

Finally, he wiped his face with the back of a sleeve, which was fortunately a dark blue, so the smears only showed a little. Staring at Pandy with desperate, swollen eyes, he said, “Are you a good rabbit, or a bad rabbit?”

Good! Pandy wanted to cry herself as she tried to convey this with her eyes. Of course, the fact that those eyes were crimson and she was currently soaked in bloody water was probably not helping the situation. Still, she could only hope her past actions could speak for her, since her voice couldn’t.

As if her pleas had somehow reached him, Thaniel nodded, then swiped at his eyes again. Stepping forward, he scooped the sopping-wet rabbit into his dirty shirt and carried her across the plush carpet to the window. Once he settled her onto the less-disgusting pants and coat, he rubbed her fur with the cleaner parts of the shirt, which was mostly the back.

“You’ll have to finish cleaning up yourself,” he said, though he looked a little dubious about her ability to do so. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He turned away, then paused and looked back. “I don’t think Geraldine saw the wings. I was in front of her, and she was trying to pull me down. So no one else knows. Except Miss Cupcakes, I guess.” He gave a feeble laugh, and for once Pandy was glad she wasn’t human-shaped, because she would have to pretend to laugh too, and she wasn’t sure that was actually a joke.

With that, he picked up the rather pathetic bouquet of hydrangeas and left, carefully pulling the door closed behind him. Pandy stared after him until the warmth of the sun began to dry her fur into a puffy pinkish cloud, then began to clean herself.

As with other aspects of being a rabbit, Pandy had found it surprisingly easy to adapt to licking herself clean. Yes, sometimes it tasted disgusting, but she didn’t even really mind the feeling of fur in her mouth, especially when she let her mind wander as her body did what came naturally. Now, she turned her attention to her status.

Name: Pandy

Race: Rabbit? (Deceased)

Age: 24

LF:-1/0

Mana: 2/10

Stats

Strength: 3 Intelligence: 12 Agility: 15Skills

Hop: Lv. 15 (36.4%) Bite: Lv. 5 (20%) Scratch: Lv. 7 Minor Heal: Lv. 11 (78.9%) Wings of Glory: Lv. 1Corruption Points: 58

Fifty-eight Corruption Points? That was far more than she’d ever had before, but somehow Pandy still didn’t feel safe. Now that she knew running out had such dire consequences, she was almost afraid to use any of them. What if she accidentally spent them all again?

But how exactly had she used them all? Everything she’d ever done had required exactly one CP. But no, that wasn’t quite true. The very first time she’d ever used Minor Heal, it took three Corruption Points. The System had even asked if she was sure she wanted to spend those points.

So why hadn’t it specified how many points Wings of Glory would take? Sure, it had asked if she wanted to use points, but there were no numbers involved. Unless…maybe even the System hadn’t known? After all, that ridiculous god’s magic was throwing all of this together on the fly, as it were, or maybe the ‘corruption’ referred to by the term Corruption Points had actually caused it to glitch over the exact cost?

More importantly, after that initial three point cost, Minor Heal had only taken one point to use every other time. So maybe the real cost was in adding a skill to her list, and after that it went down to something more manageable? If she used Wings of Glory right now, would it take thirty-plus CP, or would it take one? Not that she was going to try it, because she was just starting to feel clean, and the sensation of having her back tear open had been far from pleasant. Unless that, too, was a one-time thing?

A thump sounded at the door, and Pandy turned, seeing a shadow move along the gap beneath the door even as the doorknob jiggled. Was someone trying to get in? But who? Everyone should be busy, and it wasn’t like the door was locked, anyway. As far as Pandy knew, Thaniel didn’t have a key, so it had to be open.

Another thump, and the doorknob moved, turning to the left. Not enough to open the door, but there was no doubt now. Someone or something was out there. Pandy stared down at the pile of wet, stained clothes on which she sat. There was no way to miss the blood, and there was far too much of it for an accident that didn’t require a doctor.

She had to hide them, but if she tried, she’d probably just stain the carpet or the wood in the process. Pandy had taken exactly one class in Bioremediation, in hopes of becoming a crime-scene cleaner, and while she didn’t remember much besides running out and vomiting into a nearby trash can, she did know that blood stains were really hard to get out of wood. In retrospect, that probably wasn’t the best choice for someone who felt nauseous at the sight of blood, but she’d been desperate.

It was too late anyway, as another thump led to the knob turning far enough to release a soft click, and the door slowly swung open. And there, hanging from the knob by her tiny paws, was Miss Cupcakes, her yellow eyes narrowed into slits of determination and a snarl on her lips.

Seeing Pandy, the kitten released the doorknob, falling to the ground with yet another thump. She sat, curling her tail around her paws as she looked away from Pandy, trying to look like she’d just accidentally opened the door. After a moment, she stood, stretching slowly and with great deliberation, before pacing inside with her head held high, for all the world as if this was her room.

“Meow,” she said, then sat again, licking a paw before smoothing it over her long white whiskers. Honestly, she was so adorable that Pandy longed to stroke her fluffy gray fur and squeeze her little pink toe-beans. Based on past interactions with other cats, however, even if Pandy suddenly achieved Pandy-ness again, she would only be scratched for her efforts.

Pandy checked her own paws, finding that the sun and the self-cleaning had done their job, and she was now mostly clean. While she didn’t dare move the damp, bloody clothes, she thought she herself should be safe to hop down. Doing so, she edged warily around the room, circling behind the kitten, who watched her with suspicious yellow eyes, but made no move to attack, or even stop washing her face.

Finally, Pandy used a paw to push the door closed again, watching Miss Cupcakes cautiously as she did. Would the kitten take this opportunity to try to kill Pandy? Or would she panic at being trapped with the surprisingly dangerous bunny?

Neither of those things happened, but the kitten did finally finish grooming her whiskers and settle down on her belly, with her tail twitching slightly behind her. Silently, kitten and rabbit stared at each other, until the cat offered a chirruping, “Mrrow?”

Pandy was so tense that she hopped straight up, ears quivering and eyes wide. When nothing else happened, however, she began to relax, though she was still ready to use one of her many CP to Hop out of the way if the kitten got frisky.

Time stretched. Eventually, Miss Cupcakes’ eyes drifted half-closed, and not in the suspicious way she usually looked at Pandy. Instead, she just looked sleepy, especially as the sunshine coming in through the window touched her paws, then her nose, and finally reached her yellow eyes, which closed completely as her chin settled onto her paws. Even her tail stilled as she seemed to fall asleep.

Pandy didn’t sleep, but seeing the kitten dozing in the warm summer sunshine triggered memories of lying on her bed in her small studio apartment, playing Gacha Love on her phone as sunlight shone through the single window above what passed for her kitchen counter. She’d often fallen asleep, sometimes without remembering to use her once-every-four-hours free gacha, and recalling those peaceful hours made her wish she could take a nap again.

Carefully, she edged forward, closing the distance between herself and the sleeping predator. The kitten didn’t move, even when Pandy slid a single paw into the spreading pool of light. That paw was soon joined by another, then a tentative ear, and then somehow Pandy was completely within the light, and so close to Miss Cupcakes that their whiskers almost brushed.

A gleaming eye slitted open, only a few inches from Pandy’s face. Pandy froze, not even her nose quivering as claws slid out of the ends of the kitten’s toes, then vanished back into their velvety sheaths. The cat sniffed, then very deliberately turned her back, exposing a greater portion of her body to the sun.

It was practically an invitation, and Pandy dared to slide a little nearer, until she could actually feel the kitten’s soft fur tickle her nose. If she still had to breathe, she would have sneezed, but instead she settled into the sunbeam beside the cat, not quite touching. Closing her eyes, Pandy drifted into memories of happy moments from both of her lives, coming as close as she could to sleep.