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 Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 4:04 pm
Quote: 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.
Sasha was tired and cold, more so than usual with each run out to the park to check for Villion. The crazy senshi hadn’t shown back up since the other day but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to brave the cold to check. But it was still early and as Sasha shuffled down the stairs with a little less pep in his step than normal, he looked out the window and saw small little white fluffy things moving around in the snow. Snow itself was new to him as well and he didn’t really like it. It was so hard to stay awake and his magic seemed to act up more with the cold. He couldn’t even get to his own planet to check because he was so worried about not being there to check if the senshi needed him to heal them again. Rubbing his face as he looked through the glass of the front door, he just watched the things for a bit.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:52 pm
It was early enough that Ian was wide awake and had noticed the other leaving the bedroom and wandering off. Figuring it was to get food, some sort of fruit, Ian decided to pad downstairs and see about getting himself something to drink and perhaps something to nibble as well. He liked to nibble here and there, it was never something too unhealthy, and it kept him between meals and after dinner since he tended to stay up late at night.
As he headed down, a hand in his pant pocket, he paused and stared at Sasha who was looking outside. “I know you dislike the snow, too cold, but it’s part of winter. You’ll like the spring though.” When everything came alive again, plants and insects and more. “That’s why I got you warm clothing, to help you with this weather, because while it’s pretty to look at it’s also very cold.” And the heating here was very nice, they even had a fireplace which he liked to use, Ian was doing his best to keep Sasha warm and healthy this time of year.
“Did you want to get something to eat and I can start a fire and you can play a game down here? I don’t have anything I need to do so I can put on a movie while you enjoy your game and I’ll grab you a blanket.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:53 pm
Blinking and jumping slightly, he looked back at Ian and nodded. Spring sounded good and he looked forward to it but all this snow was making it seem like it would be cold forever. Making a noise as he saw one of the white fluffs pop up like a grasshopper, he poked the glass and tried to draw Ian’s attention to it. “White fluff?” He wasn’t sure what it was but it looked interesting and he was curious how it handled the cold snow it was playing around in.
“Go look? Then Food?” The rest sounded nice too, he was still learning some of the words that were used and Ian had been helping him through some games. Most of them were on the little green thing called a console that he curled up with sometimes and played. Little games with gardens he took care of or animals he made friends with. They all reminded him of the greenery back home and he wondered if he had a tool like that to dig into the ground that he might be able to root out the bad plants to help his planet.
“Fire warm yes please.” Nodding insistently even though sometimes the smoke from it made him cough, he still liked how pretty it looked even if Ian would make sure he didn’t get close.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:53 pm
“White fluff?” Looking out the window he nodded after he spotted one walking across the snow covered ground. “Oh, a bunny. Those are rabbits. Those ones are magical, but friendly. We have normal ones that you’ll see outside of the winter.” These ones he knew enough about, from how many years they visited the city. “Sure, we can go see them and you can feed them some veggies if you want. Just don’t try and grab one, they don’t want to be grabbed and will bite.”
As cold as Sasha, and himself, would be going outside he could bundle them both up enough to go outside and feed the bunnies. He knew Sasha liked nature, all sorts of nature, and he was certain the other would be fond of the rabbits given how friendly they were. But Sasha going out into the snow would be an issue - and he wasn’t letting the bunnies inside.
“Go grab some veggies, you can grab carrots and lettuce and some other things, well feed them and when we get in I’ll get a fire going and you can play one of your games.” He’d figure some sort of warm drink for the other, as well as himself, once they were inside. Maybe hot chocolate or tea with honey…maybe something else; he wasn’t sure yet.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:54 pm
Sasha could understand the being grabbed and not liking it but he’d never thought about biting in response… maybe that might work in the future. Another idea to think about but for now he was more than a little curious about the things. “Rabbits? Soft?” Questioning if the things were as soft as they looked.
Moving quickly, he gathered up the green veggies and carrots for the little fluffs and pulled his coat on. It was big on him, mostly because he’d decided to get one to match Ian’s and it was almost too long on him. It did keep the cold out but he felt a bit clumsy in it.
Bouncing a bit between his feet now that he was dressed warmer and had the veggies, he looked between Ian and the rabbits through the front door’s glass. Just a bit more energy coming along with his excitement over the small things.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:55 pm
“Yes, rabbits are soft.” He wasn’t going to mention they sold rabbits as pets, that Sasha could have one hopping about here, maybe he’d mention it once they had their own place. He wasn’t sure about that, since he was thinking about insects instead for the other, he was certain he’d get Sasha some sort of pet though. “Warm?” He questioned, while grabbing his own coat from the coat closet. Already he was reaching for a scarf for himself and one for Sasha, which Ian went to go wrap about the other.
“Alright, why don’t you head out and we can go feed the bunnies.” Because Sasha was excited for this, and Ian knew he’d enjoy it, he was certain the other was going to fall in love with the bunnies, pulling on his own coat and scarf now that Sasha had a scarf on. Buttoning his coat the dark haired male finally reached for the door knob and unlocking the door he pulled the door open and motioned the other outside. “Approach them slow.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:55 pm
Sasha let them wrap the scarf around him as he nodded. With all the layers it was a bit too warm to be inside and the cold rush of air as Ian opened the door helped cool him off. Easing forward with slow steps, he crouched down and watched the rabbits as his antennae jittered with curiosity. They didn’t seem to pay him any mind at first which was good he figured.
Taking a look back towards Ian, he waited a bit more then moved forward until he was close enough that the rabbits perked up and stared at him. Their noses twitched and then finally one hopped closer and sniffed at the carrot he had in his outstretched hand.
They were cute and he did want to pet them but he wasn’t sure if they’d like that so he was fine with watching them eat the carrot. An idea came to him though and he set some of the other veggies out on the snow and he plopped down to sit. They moved away for a moment, the few that weren’t already eating but then they all grouped up and started munching on the veggies quietly.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:56 pm
Following at a slower pace Ian sat himself in the snow next to Sasha and laid a hand on the others shoulder, green eyes on the bunnies. “You can pet them, I doubt they’ll mind.” He really did doubt they’d mind much of what the other could, or even would, do as he was the sort to be gentle and easy going. He was overly kind in ways many weren’t on this planet. He had to wonder how he’d survive this war and just living on this planet. It wouldn’t be easy all the time.
“It does look like you have their attention and they’re enjoying the offering of food.” As it seemed even more were turning up to join in on eating and snuggling to each other - they really were cute.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:57 pm
Looking back at Ian as he felt their hand on his shoulder, Sasha nodded. The rabbits did seem distracted enough and content with the food he’d laid in the snow. When he did reach out, the one nibbling on a carrot nuzzled into his palm. It was soft, so very soft but not warm like he thought it might be.
“Cold…?” Sasha kept his voice quiet as he spoke so the one he was petting wouldn’t scatter or bite. It seemed to be happy to get attention from him and he was fine patting its head. More and more of the little things showed up to eat the buffet of veggies he’d brought and he couldn’t stop smiling from how happy he was being able to help these little creatures.
“I like this…” Following up his words with a nod as he ran his hand over the rabbit’s back. If this happened when it was winter maybe that meant the cold brought nice things too.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:57 pm
“These ones are, yes. Normally rabbits are warm, they are mammals after all. These ones are magic of some sort.” Not to say they had magic but rather that they were in fact magic themselves, though how he didn’t know. They simply were. “You can pet the others as well, they might even like the attention.” So long as he was gentle, which he knew Sasha would be, and the other didn’t grab them than Ian figured they would be good.
“They seem to come nearly every winter. As soon as it gets cold enough they turn up…and they blend in with the snow. You just need to watch where you walk, they leave holes in the ground all over the city.” He’d heard, from his mother who was a nurse, of more than a few cases of people coming in for sprains, twists and breaks all due to stepping into the rabbit holes.
Maybe he shouldn’t say it, especially because he was planning other things for Sasha, but he also couldn’t help it when the other looked so damn happy. “Some people have rabbits as pets…they are social so most people have more than one I hear….”
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:58 pm
More of the wintry rabbits hopped closer, inspecting the small male as he pet them one by one. They didn’t seem bothered at all by his attention and he went about giving them more snacks as they nibbled through the greens laying in the snow.
“Okay.” He’d remember what they said when the rabbits came back after winter. It would be nice to see them again and give them more snacks, maybe he could figure out a small indoor patch for them like his window boxes with their little flowers and herbs. It wasn’t a lot but he was content with what he’d gotten to grow so far.
“Sounds nice.” At least if they were taken care of and he could understand not keeping one alone. He hadn’t liked not having company and he was sure Ian was warming up to him being around as he sorted out how he felt about them not being Amel.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:59 pm
Ah, so Sasha wasn’t going to ask for a pet bunny. That was a bit of a surprise but also good news for Ian, he didn’t think he could handle a bunny or two hopping about the house. Not only could he likely not handle that but he was still pondering the idea of moving, of them getting their own place, it might be best to wait till spring though for moving. He was still pondering something which they could tend to, especially if they were in a new home, he just had more research to do and things to purchase for the idea.
Watching Sasha feed the bunnies he reached out to ruffle the others hair. “When you get too cold, or run out of food, we’ll head back in and you can warm back up.” He could also warm back up, as he’d need to, at least the other was happy right now despite the cold of winter.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 8:59 pm
For a split second as he felt something touching his hair between his antennas, Sasha flinched with the image of Villion in his mind. But when he remembered it was Ian he just stayed still and let them ruffle his hair as he looked down at the rabbits. “Grocery store soon?” Turning back to look at them as he showed them his empty hands, having given out all the things to the rabbits. It was then that he noticed how his fingers had changed colors a bit from the cold.
“Inside…” Sounding a bit dejected, he watched as some of the rabbits hopped off towards the trees. If they were here with the snow then it meant he could see them through the season at least. Maybe he could bring some carrots with him on his nightly visits to the greenspace clearing when he went to see if Villion needed healing.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 9:01 pm
“Yes, we can go tomorrow morning if you like?” He offered, glad that he did much of his work from home, so he could take the other out to the grocery store early and restock them on food. Standing up, slowly, he patted his pants clean of snow and tried to ignore the cold wet patches. He was cold, he knew it, but Ian hadn’t said anything about it and wasn’t planning to. He’d change his clothing as soon as they got inside, so he could warm back up. Offering a hand up to the other, with a bit of a smile. “Sounds good, let’s head in and you can take a hot shower if you want.” Because if he was cold he was sure Sasha was also.
“We’ll get extra veggies at the grocery store tomorrow - just for them.” So Sasha could continue to go out and feed the bunnies, as it seemed the other would enjoy this immensely. Walking them, both inside Ian didn’t wait longer than the time it took to lock the front door before stripping down to his shirt and heading off with his clothing. The pants and socks went into the wash pile, he’d get to that later, and the coat was hung up, and Ian hurried off to get some pants on. “You should get something hot to drink as well Sasha - to help warm you up. It’ll also help warm your hands, I did see your fingers were too pale.” And discolored, though he didn’t feel the need to add that bit, as he vanished up the stairs to get himself dressed.
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