She nodded and scooted closer to him. "6 is a lot!" she said happily, quite pleased with what they had accomplished. "I don't think I could've eaten 5 anyway."She pushed a rabbit over to him and then took a big grizzly bite out of one of her own.
Chane agreed, and then used his good paw to reach out and pull one of the rabbits close enough so he could bite into it.It was delicious. One of the best rabbits he'd ever eaten.
"Maybe we can figure out trick like that to catch zebra."
"Yeah~" she said happily in between bites. "I bet we could figure something out. You're really smart, Chane. The smartest apparition I've ever had!"
She took another bite and swallowed. "I could ask my Mama and my Aunt Mal too. They're really good hunters!"
Oh... And here he was starting to think that she thought he was real now... he frowned.
"Your mama and Aunt Mal?" He'd never heard her talk about them before. Maybe they were apparitions too? "Think they'd know a way to compensate for my bad leg? I'd... I'd be a lot more helpful if it wasn't for that."
She nodded. "My Mama and Aunt Mal are the greatest. They're really pretty, and they're really nice, and they really know how to hunt!" She grinned at Chane, oblivious to his disappointment that she still thought he was a apparition.
"Oh, maybe! I'll ask the next time I see them!" If she remembered to.
"Do you see them often?" he asked, barely looking up between bites of rabbit.
He wasn't sure he wanted to meet them. If they were half as batty as Bayhas he would be in for one frightening experience. If they weren't... well he wasn't sure he'd be able to convince them that he wasn't taking advantage of their loopy daughter/niece.
She frowned a little, looking kind of sad. "No.. Not really. I wish I got to see them more." She heaved a sigh and then tore into her rabbit, finishing the last bit of it quickly.
"I miss them. They're real, you know."
He tilted his head a little, "Are they?"
How ironic would it be if he was really just made up... questioning the existance of her real family. He sighed and pushed away the little bit that was left of his rabbit's carcass.
"Hey Bayhas?"
She nodded and reached for the next rabbit, tearing into it without a second's hesitation. When he said her name, she glanced at him. Her mouth was full, so she chewed furiously, and then swallowed so she could open her mmouth.
"Yeah?"
Chane had to get up to get his next rabbit.
"If I was gone... Would you miss me?"
If he wasn't real it wouldn't make much sense for her to miss him. But... then again he understood little about her.
She tilted her head at him, taking a moment to consider that. Would she miss him? She would, she thought. As long as she remembered him anyway. How long would she remember him? She took a small bite of her rabbit, chewing thoughtfully.
"I would miss you. Are you... going somewhere?" Her ears pinned back a little.
"I'm not planning on it," Chane said with a sorrowful tone in his voice. "But you never know what the gods have planned for you..."
Like these little rabbits, he took another bite. No guilt. They just tasted too good.
Bayhas dropped her head, looking down at the ground. "Yeah... The gods are mean," she said, sighing. She pushed at her rabbit with her paw, frowning at it. "Well.. I don't want you to go anywhere, Chane. I like you."
He smiled, "I like you too, Bayhas... You're not going anywhere, are you?
He was pretty sure he knew the answer to that one but it just felt like the right thing to say. He just hoped she wouldn't wander off with him one day thinking he'd just appear where ever she lay down again.
She looked up at him and shook her head. "No, I'm not going to go anywhere without you, Chane." She smiled up at him and scooted closer so they were touching, side to side.
"I like it better when you're around."
He looked rather surprised by that, turning an even darker shade of red then when she'd just kissed his paw.
He swallowed hard, "I know you don't believe me... but I'm real, Bayhas, I swear I'm real..."
She gave him a gentle, smile, a knowing look in her eyes. She wanted to believe him, but she couldn't. It was far more likely that he wasn't real. She couldn't go around believing he was, it would hurt too much if he wasn't. Still...
"I hope so, Chane. I really do."
end~
