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Prompt 1: Destiny City has its fair share of infestations--rats, youma, seasonal monsters...There's no shortage of unpleasantries. But, for the first time in a while, there's a pleasant sort of infestation: along with the winter chill and a steady stream of snow, it seems like a herd of small, fluffy white rabbits have overrun the city. They aren't menacing or evil, they're just everywhere. They seem strangely domesticated; they are sweet, curious, and friendly creatures that will eat anything you give them. They always seem cold to the touch, and when they shake, little snowflakes sprinkle off of them. They can show up just about anywhere, either alone or--often--in pairs. They tend to wander off on their own but they seem to appreciate anything warm and will cuddle up to steal body heat.
A blast of cold air smacked Isiah in the face when he exited his basement apartment, causing him to recoil just a bit. It wasn't a terribly windy day. But his house was so warm and cozy and suddenly he'd been slapped with such a gust of cold air as soon as he'd opened the door, he couldn't help a little wince. Even his cat, following him to the door, recoiled with an angry cry as the wind assaulted her long fur, spearing her skin with an icy sting.
"What's the matter, Lessa?" he chuckled, as she stared at him in obvious disapproval from the doorway to the small hallway leading further into the apartment. She was very much an indoor cat. Not that he'd let her outside, either way. He could only imagine all the dangers to a cat that were out there. Like all the fast cars that might not break quick enough or at all. Aggressive stray dogs. Cruel people. The only time he didn't fear was during the winter, when she would barely leave the warm comfort of her home to linger near the front door, where the bitter cold of outside was being let in by her master. On the rare occasion she did get out, she had a collar with her information, along with a bell to announce her presence.
She blinked her yellow eyes slowly, uttering one soft meow before slinking back into the warm, probably seeking out a soft spot to take a nap.
With the grin still plastered on his face, Isiah left the house, shutting off the wind's continued access to his abode.
Nearby, propped up against the side of the house, was a shovel. It had snowed a bit over night. Not an unmanageable amount, but enough he wanted to clear it out before it piled up even more. With his boots, he scrapped at the snow directly in front of his door, making a beaten down path instead of using the shovel. He'd fix it on his way back.
Dropping the scoop end on the ground, Isiah started pushing it, gathering a full shovel of snow before flinging it over the half-covered path out to the driveway. He was halfway done, his body warming up from the exercise, when he noticed it.
The snow was moving.
His common sense imagined the moving lump as a cat or dog. Most likely a cat, judging by the way it was moving and not rushing straight at him as he'd expect any dog to do. Was it stuck? Hurt? Stabbing the scoop end of the shovel into the snow on the opposite side of the path from the animal, he edged closer cautiously, his animal loving soul unable to just leave it there or shoo it away if it was lost or hurt.
When he was close enough to reach out and pet it, he was met with a twitching nose and long ears that were now standing up off the head, listening to his approach. Not with fear, but what looked more like curiosity.
Was that a....Rabbit? A domesticated rabbit? Out in the snow like this? It couldn't possibly be a wild one, not this far in the city. And especially not watching his approach so calmly.
Still, he was cautious as he extended a hand, letting the creature sniff at his palm before he gave it a scratch behind the ears. Instantly, he retracted his hand.
he exclaimed. Even through his gloves, he could feel it. So cold. Far too cold for a normal animal to not have died or at least become totally unresponsive. But the rabbit was responsive, even edging closer itself, trying to snuggle more against his outstretched hand. As if it just wanted more attention. Was this another strange creature like that deer he was becoming more convinced hadn't just been a figment of his imagination while in the presence of this other strange phenomena.
He reached out for the rabbit once more, this time picking it up and holding it to his face for inspection. Looked like a normal rabbit, calmly staring back at him like something so much larger than it wasn't a threat. Now, he wasn't an expert on rabbits. But that wasn't normal.
Nor was the small flurry of snowflakes dislodging themselves from its fur as it started to squirm a little, pawing at the air slowly with its adorable front paws.
Feeling more than a bit weirded out, Isiah put it back down on the snow, just watching more snowflakes fluttering to settle on the snowbank around it as it scratched at an ear.
He had lived in Destiny City since he was 15. Never before had he encountered anything so weird. And now he'd encountered two weird things in two days. He'd heard rumors of weird things happening, but since he'd never seen anything himself, he just caulked it up to people telling tall tales. Just stories. Were they, though?
Not getting anymore attention from the human, the rabbit twitched its ears at him before hopping away, joining another of its kind. All he could do was stare after them, all the while thinking, were they stories?
Giving his head a shake, Isiah grabbed the shovel once more, now more focused on the work than he had been before. Out of the corner of his eye, he could still see the snow moving, until it seemingly just disappeared down a hole.
Of course they were just stories. And that was just a wild rabbit. His hands were just cold, since he'd been out here so long. And that hadn't been a deer last night, that'd just been his eyes playing tricks on him.
"I am not going crazy..."
