Prompt 7 (Snowbunnies): Winter seems to bring out the cutest of all rodents; this isn’t the first time that small, white rabbits have infested Destiny City. They’re small, rarely larger than a guinea pig, and have large eyes and wiggling noses. They are always pure white and seem to show up whenever there’s snow. 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.
While they seem to be social creatures who seem to appreciate anything warm and will cuddle up to steal body heat, they are too skittish and fast to be kept for pets. They can show up just about anywhere, either alone or--often--in pairs. They tend to wander off on their own without any trouble, but if you surprise them or try to catch or hurt them, they may bite. Their little teeth are enough to break skin, but after one bite they run away. The bite itself isn’t bad, but the effects are a bit unpleasant: for roughly two days after the bite, the injury is cold and the victim will feel random, cold, shooting pains. Their core body temperature will drop and they will often be sent into random fits of shivering. No medicine seems to help, and no amounts of blankets or hot baths can soothe the chill. You're just going to have to deal with it and hope it gets better…
Most experiences with the bunnies are perfectly pleasant, you just have to worry about them burrowing. There are holes peppering Destiny City, and with the fresh fallen snow it can be impossible to tell where they are hiding. The holes range from small holes to several feet deep, so can be a minor inconvenience to a potential hazard. On the bright side, sometimes you wind up covered in bunnies looking for warmth from their sudden guest. On the other hand, there are a rising number of trips to the hospital for twists and sprains. The bunnies always leave with the snow, so best to enjoy them--or avoid them--for as long as you can.
It had been an impromptu idea. After the experiences with the unwilling ice water bath and the attack of the owl that followed, Lacerta was keen on making sure that she had a partner watching her back if she were to go out. She had fostered the beginnings of a friendship with Ariadne and it was with the idea of further strengthening the friendship that she had put out a call for some simple energy gathering to her fellow Dark Mirror Senshi. Now Lacerta was waiting for Ariadne's arrival.
Her gaze scanned the night sky in a bit of random paranoia. Ever since the owl attack something had seemingly been keeping her awake at night and she'd yet to figure out exactly what it was. She'd only heard sounds like something was trying to get into Rhona's place but other than that - there'd been nothing.
She drew out a mirror shard and concentrated on calling forth one of her wraiths before drawing it back in. At least she was getting better at being less obvious with the shard.
xnoir songbird
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 9:31 pm
It had been several nights with very little sleep since the owl attack. With the damn thing showing up at her window, Ariadne had been avoiding going out--especially with the stirng of misfortunes all in a row--but when she got the offer from Lacerta, she accepted immediately. It seemed smart to patrol with someone else; if they could get lucky and find someone with offense magic, that would be even better, but for now, the two of them would do.
She came up with a smile, glad she knew enough about makeup to cover the dark circles under her eyes.
"Hey! How've you been?" As she approached, she held out a tray of hot drinks, since coffee had become something of a necessity. "The one in the green cup is for you--I got hot cocoa for you, I hope that's okay?"
The thoughtful gesture to grab drinks before she came to the meet was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise. Lacerta eyed the tray before gently plucking the green cup from the holder and taking a warming sip of the heavenly concoction. If only every patrol could be started in such a fashion during the winter than she would be a happy senshi. Lowering the cup Lacerta glanced at Ariadne before smiling, "so, this is definitely a bonus for the start of a patrol. Thank you. To answer your question; I'm doing alright. Been a bit restless to just get out and try and do something normal though."
She didn't mention the nocturnal visits yet. Instead she took another sip of the hot chocolate and fished out her shard again. She wasn't sure where they should go to at least try and gather some energy for the court but they'd need to be careful about whatever targets they chose. "You are able to get your wraith to get energy, right?"
She had been certain that Acubens had mentioned something about Ariadne being taught the basics.
noir songbird
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 9:57 pm
"Yeah, I thought it'd be nice for us to have something, especially since it's been getting colder and colder," Ariadne sighed. "Gotta void trees and puddles for a little while, I think."
The question made her nod, and she slid her mirror shard out from under her bracer, calling on her wraith. "My sister showed me how to do the basics when she brought me into the Court. She's an Eternal, and she's been Dark Mirror for years; doesn't get out much anymore, but she showed me everything I needed to know."
It had been a hell of a 21st birthday gift, getting brought into the Court, but Ariadne wouldn't trade it for anything.
"These little guys are pretty easy to control, too, and people basically never notice them. So, a little quick energy draining, and--oh!"
There was movement in the corner of her eye, and Ariadne turned.
She knew she shouldn't be an idiot and trust what was in front of her, but she "aww"ed helplessly anyway, because what she had seen was a small, pure white rabbit.
"Oh, look at that!" She said. "Much friendlier than an owl, I think."
Lacerta was eyeing the wraiths as Ariadne brought hers out to be at least semi visible before she nodded in understanding. Ok, so if anything it looked like she was still the one getting used to using the wraiths. "Yeah, I've noticed that regular folk don't seem to notice much of anything. If I recall correctly I know what it feels like to have these things go through and steal the energy," she gave Ariadne a weak smile before continuing and trying to explain, "I was originally a white moon senshi when I was awoken. I chose afterwards to change sides. It's not been the easiest adjustment to make but I'm slowly getting the hang of things I think."
At the sound of surprise from Ariadne, Lacerta turned to examine what her fellow senshi had seen before almost letting out an identical sound of adoration. The pure white creature definitely looked much more friendly than an owl and she nodded before crouching down and trying appear less threatening, "it's way too bold. I wonder if it's someone's pet...because it's not just fleeing at the sight of us."
noir songbird
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 10:43 pm
Someone who had chosen the Mirror. Just like Encke had mentioned--though this was the opposite way that he'd suggested. It was interesting, and as Ariadne squatted down to offer her hand to the fuzzy little bunny, she looked back at Lacerta with curiosity in her eyes.
"What made you decide to come over?" She asked. "I mean, if that's not a rude thing to ask. I heard about people going the other way, leaving the Court, but not about anyone coming in." Lacerta almost certainly wasn't the only one, but she was here, to ask, so Ariadne was going to ask.
The bunny approached, sniffing and then nuzzling at her outstretched palm, and another one bounced out behind it, shaking its body and shedding little snowflakes.
"Oh," Ariadne said softly, "do you think...magic, maybe?"
A softer, sweeter magic than she was used to. Ariadne would gladly take that.
Lacerta heard the question that had been posed of her and watched as one bunny suddenly became two. She felt her gaze widen at the sight of the snowflakes that were shed from one of the creatures and nodde in a response to Ariadne's question. As she kept an eye on the bunnies she pondered how best to answer the question about why she'd come to the mirror court.
"I think the best response about why I decided to change sides was that I wasn't feeling like order was the right place anymore. The cat that found and gave me my powers wasn't always there when I needed him to be for explanation and even though I tried to fit in - things kept happening that made me doubt myself. I think it was meeting Acubens time after time that made me realize that I was missing the stability that having a close-knit group could provide. Order has no cohesion - and after I became a super senshi I was talking with Acubens and it sort of hit me that I'd be happier in a smaller group - one that felt like family."
She watched the bunnies before wondering if Ariadne wanted to know what had finally driven Lacerta to walk through the black mirror in the end. Reaching a hand out Lacerta gently tweaked an ear of the nearest bunny to her and watched for it's reaction. "They seem unperturbed by our presence. Besides the snowflakes I wonder what else they do. She moved quickly to scoop the one whose ear she had tweaked before cooing softly. The fur was so soft and the animal seemed to sense the warmth from her body and cuddle in closer but Lacerta had the wherewithal to be cautious. She held the creature in her palms, away from her chest before lowering her arms to the ground. If the rabbit wanted to flee she wouldn't stop it.
noir songbird
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 11:52 pm
Ariadne nodded along with the explanation, making a thoughtful noise.
"That sounds awful, being set adrift like that. I'm glad I've had my sister the whole time, to help me out." Sure, Ava didn't really like powering up anymore, but she was at least around all the time. That was better than being totally abandoned, and not being able to trust that the person who was supposed to look after you would be around.
"So was that all of it? Just the desire to have something better than being lost?" That seemed like more than enough to Ariadne, but maybe there was more to Lacerta's story.
As she asked, she set aside her latte to pet the bunny that had approached her; if it got a little cold in the snow, that would be fine.
"Ugh, I know we can't just sit here forever and pet them, but I kind of want to."
At Ariadne's probing question Lacerta looked down at the rabbit that still hadn't decided to hop out of her hands. She gently flexed her fingers and taking the hint the rabbit scurried off it's perch. Her story had omitted a key reason on why she hadn't stuck with the white moon and maybe, just maybe - talking would help. She leaned forward to stroke the fur of the creature that Ariadne was holding before letting out a sigh. Her friend deserved an honest answer and she wanted to give one.
"I guess you could say that I had run out of other options. I mean I could have stayed with order had I had someone that I felt could take me in, but I just wasn't sure in my connections with other white moon senshi. I knew Acubens wouldn't hesitate. In one of my earliest conversations with Acubens she mentioned that if I ever chose to join the dark mirror that I'd have to make my folks believe that I had died. I was sort of shocked at that but it made sense in a way. However a few months before I made the switch - an incident occurred in which the end result was that my parents passed away. I had no one left that I knew would step up to take me in except Acubens."
Dusting the snow off the bottom of her fuku Lacerta grasped her cup of hot chocolate again and took a sip before rising to her feet. It hurt to talk about her folks but at the same time it bled a little of the hurt off. But only a little.
noir songbird
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 1:59 am
Ariadne's expression softened, and she felt her heart break. She had lost her father, yes, but she still had her mother and sister--losing both her parents sounded like something she wasn't sure she could recover from.
"I'm sorry about your parents," she said, "may their memory be a blessing. But I'm glad you were able to find safety with the Court." She gave the bunny one last pet before she stood, picking up her latte as she did, and took a sip once she was back on her feet.
"Thank you for telling me," Ariadne said honestly. "I imagine it can't be easy to talk about." She wouldn't press for more. It would be cruel.
Lacerta nodded in response to Ariadne's sympathy. It helped ease the memories of what she had witnessed. In the back of her mind Lacerta still wondered if somehow her folks had been targeted or if it was just one of those cases of random circumstances being what they were. Her gaze went skyward for a moment as she thought about that night in general before shaking her head. No, now was not the time to reflect on things that she couldn't fix at the moment. Time might heal all wounds - but Lacerta's still felt fresh, still very much raw.
"Thank you Ariadne. Your kind words are a soothing balm. Thank you for listening,"
Lacerta watched as the bunnies seemingly camouflaged themselves back into the direction from whence they had come before sighing softly, "I'm lucky that I found the Court, and even more so that there are kind people within the Court. It helps to know that the court cares for their own."
Taking one last sip of her hot chocolate she scanned the park again. There didn't seem to be any likely targets within range and she glanced to her partner this night before nodding in reply to her suggestion, "Let's go."
