Suddenly, Fae-Fae was flat on her back, in a cloud of kicked-up snow. The force that had struck her down had knocked some of the air out of her lungs. Her instincts flared up to launch a counter-strike, but they immediately cooled down again the second her eyes snapped open. A familiar pair was staring back.
It was Fang!
So she laughed instead, and wrestled her way back up to her feet.
"I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛ sᴇᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ sɪɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ! Aʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʟʟ?" she asked, beaming brightly. The Corporal immediately noticed changes in the senshi's uniform. He had gotten stronger since they met! He must have been working very hard.
Quote:
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.
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 9:30 pm
"Fae-fae!" he chirped back at her, springing up to his feet all rough and tumble. "Yes. Well. And you?"
He grinned as he shook the snow from his hair and clothes, making a "brrr" sound as he did so. Normally, winter would mean bad things for him—loss of heat, and with no family to speak of back home... No one to share space and body heat with. The hunting would be slim, and winter would be damn near a death sentence (should be dead should be dead should be dead). The snow would pile high and be difficult to move around in... All of winter was bad news for Fang.
But this time... he had a warm home with the modern "heater" invention, plenty of blankets, the microwave for warm drinks and stove for warm food, and plenty of people in the house to keep it warm both with bodies and company.
He never thought company would be so important to him again, but it was. He never thought winter might come with a prospect of enjoyability, but it was.
Then he spotted the rabbit and zeroed in on it, body going tense and shoulders hunching slightly.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2022 6:07 am
While she did her best to maintain a respectful attitude about it, Fae-Fae was fascinated by her alien friend's tail and ears. They were so expressive. Fang's ears could point up, over and back, like massive three-dimensional eyebrows. And they looked so fluffy and soft.
It was strange. The Corporal kept having thoughts of petting his head and scratching those ears. She did not know where these thoughts came from. It was one of the strongest temptations she had experienced on Earth. And yet, she stayed strong. Bravely and boldly, she kept her hands to herself.
The motion in the snow was a welcome distraction.
She saw a tiny, fluffy thing. Long ears. Barely visible in the snow. An animal, just on its way through the area. Normally, she would back away respectfully and try to disturb it at all. However, it seemed like her friend had other plans.
"Fᴀɴɢ? Wʜᴀᴛ's ᴡʀᴏɴɢ?"
The creature was harmless. Why was Fang so tense? Unless -- oh no...
genovianprince
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:42 pm
Fang didn't hear her, crouching low, ears fully rotated forward. His instincts were to hunt. Winter was here, they would starve. He would starve (again) (hunger) (ripping him wide open from the inside out) (hungry cold pain). He refused to let that happen.
It wasn't facing him and as far as he could tell, he was downwind of it. So at the right moment, he pounced, leaping forward to attempt to grab it and snap its neck.
What he didn't expect was how cold its bite was. He yelped and let it go, watching balefully as it sprinted off. He shook his hand, whining and whimpering. This bite was having a strange effect...
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2022 3:00 pm
It clicked together just as Fang started moving. Fae-Fae gasped in horror. She reached out to grab him by the collar and pull him back, but her hands wrapped around air instead. The senshi had moved fast, on practiced instinct. Her training couldn't compete with that so easily.
She screamed, and Fang yelped. But she hadn't been what stopped him. It had been the rabbit defending herself. Fae-Fae gratefully allowed the winter air to cool her body as she watched the little creature run away. The falling snow stirred a little, in a small swirl of winter air from another world.
Her eyes turned to the senshi. She was more shocked than angry.
genovianprince
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2022 8:24 pm
Cold. So, so cold. He shivered violently as a shooting pain of sheer cold zipped through his body and he whimpered, head bowing to Fae-Fae in submission.
"Just... hungry?" he said weakly, wincing. He knew that wasn't how it worked on Earth, he knew that, and yet... "Winter bad. Home... meant death. Hunt. Food."
The cold felt like it was seeping into his very brain and he whimpered again, falling to his knees in the snow. He knew he wasn't being perfectly articulate either. He doubted Fae-Fae would even understand any of what he meant. Coldhungerdeathsnow rabbitscoldhunger deathsnowhunt hunthuntnothingtoEATnothingnothing nothingBUTcoldhungerANDsnow
His body crumpled, falling all the way over into the snow as the cold ate at him. The cold was hUNgryand it would take him.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2022 2:33 pm
Fae-Fae knelt down in the snow with the senshi, slowly. She glanced briefly at the tracks the rabbit had left behind, which were being quickly covered by the snow. It was gone, and safe. She didn't want to stay angry. Especially when Fang suddenly looked so sad.
Now it was just the two of them again, and one with a wound to treat. Fae-Fae remembered Aliez had reported the Source Stone did not work on non-Velencians, and as far as she knew they hadn't found a way around that problem. So she fished a human first-aid kit out of her sub-pocket, and invited Fang to offer his hand so she could put a colorful bandage on it.
This was confusing. How could starvation happen on a living world? Food was supposed to be simpler on a living world than a place like Velencya.
genovianprince
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 12:15 am
Fang slowly sat up as another violent shiver rippled through his body. He gave his hand over to Fae-Fae, letting her tend to it.
"Dying," he whispered. "Everything... dying. Everyone... dead. No food. No water. Hunted what was there. Had to. Nobody... there. To take care of Fang."
He huddled in on himself, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. "Alone. Hungry. Many year. Hard."
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2022 1:01 pm
The bandage was a vibrant magenta color, with little white circles and dark blue squiggly lines all over it. Fae-Fae applied it carefully while she listened to Fang's tale. There were few words, but few were needed.
He had faced some of the same hardships her own people had -- and he had to do it alone. Starving and isolated, like Caedus had been.
No one deserved that.
"Bᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ɴᴏᴡ?" she asked. He had been so lively and cheerful a couple minutes ago. That had to have come from somewhere. And as the threads of his story came together, there was one more question...
"Fᴀɴɢ, ʜᴏᴡ ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛᴏ Eᴀʀᴛʜ?"
genovianprince
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 10:23 pm
Fang watched her bandage his bite and shivered hard again. But... this was nice. Being tended to like this.
"Better... little. Want... have pack. Safety. But... sometimes... forget. Only been on Earth few months. How..." He hummed, grimacing as a wave of sheer cold wracked his body again. He felt awful.
"Saw star. Closed eyes. Felt... change. Fell, in forest. Found pack."
