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 Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 11:13 pm
Snowbunnies (2) : 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.
Oh, and she was loving it. It was cold, sure, but they were ridiculously cute. Of course, between Lulu and Boo, she wasn’t short on little cuties in her life, but more cute things couldn’t possibly be a bad thing as far as she was concerned.
She giggled as the buns snuggled in, a few were off nibbling at some of the snacks she offered up to gain their trust. Not that it felt necessary on initial approach, they were friendly enough, but it got her into their good graces pretty quickly, not to mention it caused more to swarm toward her, and before she knew it she had flopped down into a burrow of snowbunny bliss.
“It is kind of getting cold though,” she thought aloud while petting a bun that had hopped up to snuggle into her neck. “I should probably at least try to get out of here…”
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Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2024 6:29 pm
The soft sound of snow crunching and the growing aura of an Eternal Senshi announced Goretti’s arrival before he even knew to introduce himself. Of course he’d been able to tell someone else was out there well before he saw them but he didn’t expect that their paths would meet here.
“Do you need a hand? Although, you look pretty comfortable,” Goretti said, flashing a warm smile as he looked down at the Squire.
He had a notebook in his hand and looked as though he’d been taking notes. Several snowbunnies were hopping in enthusiastic circles around him, but one recklessly propelled itself from by his foot onto Ekstrom without any heed of care. It snuggled eagerly against one of the other little bunnies already burrowed against her.
Goretti was still scribbling something in the notebook; his hand moved rapidly and he didn’t have to look at the page to continue the line of text. “I’m Goretti, I hope I’m not intruding. I was trying to do some research on these rabbits while they’re out, they’re the ones who led me here.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 6:40 pm
She sensed the aura first before she heard the source of it, and glancing up she spotted an unfamiliar senshi and offered him a warm smile in return for his offer to help. “I was actually just wondering about that,” she said, giggling about halfway through as more bunnies decided to hop on and snuggle in. It was enough that she toppled backward and so she was lying down on her back, and she was laughing at first…
But the bunnies didn’t seem to know when to stop, and while they weren’t vicious by any stretch of the imagination, they were starting to pile on to the extent that she was starting to feel a little suffocated. “I’m Ekstrom, and it is comfy but I think I might need to–”
Before she could think to actually do anything about it, the bunnies were absolutely everywhere all of a sudden, completely burying her beneath their cute, fuzzy, warmth-stealing bodies. She felt a chill to her bones as she struggled against them, managing to at least stick her hand out of the pile of white fluff.
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Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2024 10:56 am
“Oh–hold on, let me help,” Goretti said, leaning forward so he could grip her hand in his own. Gently, he began to pull her upright and into a seated position. The movement was steady and stable so that the bunnies couldn’t be too jostled, even though a few tumbled just slightly.
They found their footing and burrowed with each other, or hopped around curiously.
“There you go,” Goretti hummed. His smile was warm and he was clearly endeared to the rabbits, and his friendliness spread to Ekstrom, too.
“They really seem to like you. How’d you win them over?” he asked, as if he didn’t have two rabbits sitting on his boot and a third stretched up like it was trying to decide how to best climb his leg.
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 4:09 am
Ekstrom was all smiles as she emerged from the pile, her nose and her cheeks a bright red from the sudden cold. She didn’t look at all bothered, and in fact glanced around to make sure the bunnies were also fine after having to be displaced from her having to move. They seemed okay, so she sighed with some relief before regarding the senshi.
“Thank you!” she said, her smile as bright as his was warm. She could sense that he had a thing for these rabbits, assuming he helped her up gently more for their sake than hers. She completely understood, of course, and was actually grateful for it because the bunnies didn’t get scared and run off even after just a little bit of jostling.
At his question, her smile widened all the more, and she summoned a few more snacks–some cheese and cracker snack packs, as well as veggies–from her subspace. “Food! And probably warmth,” she giggled as an adventurous bun hopped up onto her shoulder and tried to make its way up to her head. “And maybe fun?” She offered the snacks to him.
“They seem to like you already,” nodding at the ones on his boot, “but this’ll probably get more to come to you if you offer.”
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:12 pm
Goretti laughed softly, moderated only to make sure he didn’t startle the bunnies. It was clear he found genuine delight in all of the snacks she’d packed.
“Well, if you insist. Thanks,” he said, and carefully crouched to offer a vegetable to the bunnies nearest to his ankles. “But I do have a confession.”
He kept his eyes on the bunnies as they eagerly hopped over to nibble on the new treat, and only when they were so deeply invested in it that he was sure they wouldn’t hop away while he wasn’t looking, he admitted, “I’ve been bribing them with treats. I ran out a while ago so I appreciate you helping me stay in their good favor. I don’t think I’m as fun as you are,” but that was a guarantee; she seemed so bubbly and warm.
Goretti was gentle and thoughtful so he wasn’t very intimidating and was fairly easy for them to relax around but they seemed to have so much energy around Ekstrom. They must have trusted her too, to be so vulnerable and let their guard down.
“I’ve been trying not to interfere with them, I really did just want to observe them. Scientifically speaking, you know. But it’s so hard when they’re just as interested in me as I am them. Well, I suppose, when I have food at least,” he laughed.
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Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2025 10:05 pm
”Yeah?” she laughed lightly in turn at his admission. Great minds did think alike, she thought as she watched the bunnies start to gather around the newly offered treat. She grabbed one from the bag, broke it into parts, and set the pieces out for other bunnies to share. Not all of them were hopping up onto her and Goretti, but they were still gathering around them and she felt bad that she couldn’t give them all her attention.
“Aw, I’m sure you’re a ton of fun!” she said, offering him an encouraging smile even as the bunnies continued to gather and threaten to again overtake her. Clearly she didn’t seem to mind, though, and in fact kept her focus on her new friend. “Well, I’ve got plenty to go around for a while. If you didn’t have other plans?” Gently, she patted the spot just beside her. “I don’t think I could even pretend to just try and observe these little cuties.”
Ekstrom fought down a giggle as a couple of buns tried to bury themselves in her neck, and she reached up and hugged them to her for a second before gently moving them back down to her lap.
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Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2025 4:46 pm
Goretti laughed softly, more because he didn't want to startle the bunnies than because of any effort to be reserved. “I don’t think I’m not fun,” he countered, carefully adjusting himself so he could sit in the empty spot next to her.
He moved slowly but everything about him seemed gentle. He had one bunny on his boot the whole time and carefully maneuvered so that by the time he was seated, it hadn’t event felt any need to jump off.
He dismissed his notebook to subspace so he didn’t have to set it down in the snow and sat, legs straight in front of him and hands planted flat on the snow behind him.
“I just think you seem like you’re having a lot more fun than I am! …Observation is not as fun as being hands on.” Which was easy to do when a bunny bounce right over his leg and into his lap. It put his paw on his chest and sniffed at the air as it stood on its hind legs, undoubtedly searching for more treats.
Goretti exhaled softly, obviously immediately won over by the bunny.
“Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to come play with them after all. They're so hard to observe, anyway! I have no idea where they come from or where they go. You can’t find them any other time of year. They’re very secretive. They must be very good at taking care of themselves too, though. You know I’ve never had anyone bring one of these into the office? Oh–I’m a vet tech. Everybody in the office has seen these little guys but nobody’s ever brought one in. I spoke to animal control about them last year and the guy I talked to said he’d never gotten any calls about one with even so much as a scratch. I don’t get it. I mean, good for them! They’re so goofy, and clumsy,” he watched one jump to get on Ekstrom and tumble off only to immediately try again. “I can’t help but worry!”
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 6:24 pm
A glance sideward had her expression softening some, seeing someone be as mindful of the bunnies as she was. She’d only been there for so long and already she had a soft spot for them, so it was…nice to see. She scooted a little bit closer to accommodate the one bunny who seemed like it was trying to hop from her lap over to his, and a few others were starting to try and do the same.
Gathering a few buns into her arms, she brought them up to her face for a proper snuggle as he spoke, and a quiet sigh escaped her as he expressed his concern.
“That’s…” she started to say, but stopped short. She wanted to be more hopeful about the situation, even if it was concerning and that concern weighed ever so slightly on her expression. Still, she offered Goretti a little smile and the armful of bunnies. “I think something we can worry about, but also…I don’t know. Maybe in their case it’s one of those things we just need to be grateful for, and treat ‘em nicely when they let us get close?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2025 7:24 am
Goretti watched as she raised the bunnies, as they all tried to press against her face for affection. His hands each rested over two and he stroked his thumbs down their backs.
“That’s true,” he agreed. “When I first saw them, I thought they were some escaped domestic rabbits. I thought they’d never survive in the wild. Pet rabbits have no idea how to take care of themselves, it’s very dangerous to just let them loose. I thought if they were pets I might just snag some up and see about rehoming but,” he shook his head as he surveyed the population. “Well, you know what they say about rabbits breeding, but there’s no way this was ever just a few lost pets.”
He had to spread his fingers out so he could pet two at once with each hand.
“But they never seem to get sick, they don’t have any natural predators that I know of. They’re just little mysteries! But, I don’t know. If I was a predator, I couldn’t eat them.”
Goretti’s restraint dwindled and he scooped one up to hold it at eye level. “They’re just so cute. I wish they were around all year. Well, I guess I won’t miss the holes they burrow, at least. I’ve fallen in two of them this week and that’s with me being careful where I step. But at least I haven’t landed on any of them. And thankfully, the Negaverse hasn’t been causing much trouble. I much prefer these rabbits to their youma.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:50 pm
She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face even if she tried, though she was doing her best to listen to Goretti as he expanded on his concern for the little creatures. The bunnies were such an adorable distraction…
Ekstrom nodded along, able to piece together why he was so concerned for them now that he fully explained. “I didn’t know pet rabbits were so sensitive,” she said, tone soft as she processed the information. She’d never had one before, nor had she ever known anyone to have a pet rabbit, so this was new to her and…a little surprising. She was suddenly ever more grateful that these particular bunnies weren’t your average, everyday buns.
Seeing Gorettin finally scoop one up, she let the concern ebb away and fully smiled once more. “They are! And I totally agree, these little guys are way better than youma. I’ll even take the burrows over dealing with youma any day of the week.”
She was about to comment on the Negaverse being quieter of late (which she had also noticed, actually) when she noticed a pile of bunnies off on one side of the burrow that was gradually getting smaller and smaller, until there was just a handful of the little things huddled around what looked to be a new burrow. Ekstrom frowned slightly, her disappointment showing through despite being fully aware that there was no way she could spend all night out here with them even if they hadn’t shown any signs of starting to leave.
“Guess maybe it’s their bedtime?” she asked, nodding toward it.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2025 6:31 am
“Maybe,” Goretti agreed, wearing a smile that was both cheerful and disheartened. It would have been cruel to pester the bunnies to further his research and he certainly didn’t have the heart to disrupt their schedule. Besides, it was hard to be too sad when they were so adorable, shuffling over each other and scurrying to move along.
“Maybe it ought to be our bedtime, too. Or,” he laughed, “at least mine.”
He pulled out his senshi phone and made a face when he checked the clock. “Guess it should have been mine a few hours ago, actually. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow. It’s just easy to get caught up with them. I’ll be back out again tomorrow, I’m sure. I hope I run into you again sometime, Ekstrom. I liked talking, let’s do it again soon.”
While it might have been easy to assume he was just being polite, Goretti had a friendly, welcoming smile. He wouldn’t force a meeting, but he would have been happy to cross paths and chat any time.
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