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Prompt 4 (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 amount 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.
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 amount 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.
Todd decided to go for a walk a few days after The Tree Incident. This time, without the family dog, Maxim. He thought he could handle it alone, felt better if he could manage to do that. He wanted so very much to adapt to Earth better, to truly make it his home. As much as he desired to fix his own planet, to return to his true home, to properly grieve and mourn now that he felt like a much more stable person instead of the half-starved, feral, shell of a Fangan he'd become on the desolate planet, he... He wanted Earth to be his home. It felt good. Safe. Yes, there was still danger, of course there was, nowhere would ever be truly, perfectly safe, but... it certainly felt much safer than his own planet. He had people to talk to, food to eat, and a giant dog to snuggle. Perfectly sfe didn't really matter so much, not when his life was so much better in comparison to this time just two, two and a half(?) years ago. (He wasn't sure about the time—all of it on Fang was one huge blur, after the first couple hundred years and everyone had died, so it didn't really matter so much to him).
Ice still thoroughly coated some of the trees and he scowled at them, feeling his phantom ears pin back—being outside as Todd meant wearing his glamour, but much of the time, it was like he could still feel his ears and tail. He'd been told that sounded something similar to "phantom limb syndrome", and he liked that. Ghost ears. Silly, but apt. And his vocabulary had expanded by leaps and bounds in the last year, too. He felt... really, really good.
And then, he spotted them. The bunnies. Life. Besides the humans and their technology to keep them alive in the winter, and their pets of course, Todd didn't really see much life. So many animals went abed for the winter months... Raccoons, bears, skunks, hedgehogs, chipmunks—a lot of animals he liked to see during the spring. Bunnies, naturally, did not, but they did become more scarce. Made it harder to hunt. The harsher conditions and scarcer prey made Todd's heart race with anxiety, but he forced himself to slow down and take deep, measured breaths. He was okay. There was food in the fridge at home. People took care of each other. Nobody would starve in their home. Their home.
He zeroed in on one of the rabbits and let instinct take over, moving slow, trying to blend in, and he dove—
He yelped in pain as the one he'd tried to grab for bit him hard and the herd of them all fled. He cursed. It felt good to do that sometimes. Not often, but... Ah, it hurt. He whined, rubbing at the small wound. He felt so... cold, all of a sudden. That definitely wasn't a good sign. No, he needed to get home and explain to Zac he'd been bitten by a mysterious bunny seemingly made of snow, and now everything was just cold. Even the scarf Murikabushi had given him, now partially wrapped around his hand, didn't seem to have any effect. His heart humped uneasily in his chest. How long would this new nightmare last?
