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.
“Spending more time with Lianhua” was……very much a thing. A thing that Belle was trying to do. Both while powered up and not, because A-Xu loved his little sister and it was better for A-Xu if Belle and Lianhua got along. In the interests of that, it was better for Belle to spend time with her. He supposed that he might find reasons to dislike Lianhua by spending more time with her and becoming more familiar with her as a person? But as yet, Corvina found wandering around Destiny City much more enjoyable while accompanied by somebody than it was when he was alone.
Having a civilian glamour now probably helped a lot. Sure, Belle drew considerable attention regardless, as he and Lianhua looked around various shops for gifts Belle could give Shuangxu. But it was better than needing to go around town exclusively as Corvina and get accused of being a “cosplayer” (something that Corvina still didn’t entirely understand or particularly want to see the rationale of). At least people only looked at him funny because most humans didn’t have the decency and self-respect to be taller (which did not apply to Shuangxu, who was perfect in every way and anyone who said otherwise was Just Wrong).
As Belle and Lianhua made their way through one of the city’s many indistinguishable parks, carrying bags and heading from one store to another that was allegedly not too far away, Belle……supposed that he should probably say something. The cold felt heavy around him, lurking and reminding him that humans had different standards for manners and etiquette than he was used to dealing with. And maybe that made it necessary to blurt out—
“Thank you.…… For coming and helping me with everything.”
Noir Songbird
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:23 pm
So, fine, Lianhua was trying to get along better with Shuangxu's Giant Alien Boyfriend. Belial wasn't totally terrible to be around, at least, and his devotion to her brother at least put him a cut above every other loser Shuangxu had dated so someone would like him. Belle was charmingly devoted, probably to the point of mild to moderate self destruction, and while that could be problematic, well. He wasn't her boyfriend, so she could just enjoy it.
And also enjoy the benefits of shopping with a giant man at her side so no one dared try to hassle her. Seriously, Belial's bulk and height meant that he cut throguh crowds, and she got the benefit of doing so right next to him. Fantastic, showstopping, ten out of ten perfect shopping companion.
And if a couple of the bags he was carrying were hers, well, that was probably a fair "helping pick gifts for my brother" fee.
His words made her pause, and she blinked, turning to him. She'd gotten the impression that he wasn't exactly used to social niceties--a thousand years solo would do that, plus he came from outer space and who knew what kind of manners they taught out there--so...well, it was a little bit of a surprise. Not an unpleasant one, though.
"You're welcome," she said. "I mean, it's whatever. I don't think I've ever seen Xu-ge happier than when he's with you, and none of the other losers he ever dated would have even thought to get him anything. Mostly they just used his credit cards to get things for themselves, actually. So you wanting to do nice things for my brother puts you wayyy ahead, in my books, and I want to reward that kind of behavior with my sparkling company and assistance."
Belle listened to Lianhua, nodding along in the way that people on this planet apparently considered polite. “I appreciate the help. Never really had anything like this before.” Except in his own mind, as an idea of what he and Zhiheng could have had together, if only Zhiheng had……actually wanted…… “Don’t want to mess it up by……I don’t know. Not being exactly what Shuangxu deserves. All of what he deserves. All the time, forever.”
Which was a perfectly normal thing to say while carrying several bags of shopping. Why wouldn’t it have been?
“But also?” Belle’s expression grew dark. “Do you remember any of the losers’ names,” he said, his voice low and his tone deathly serious. Generally not the sort of tone that one might have expected while one was out shopping with one’s brother’s boyfriend. “I have a place where I can dispose of them. Isn’t even on this world. None of them would be capable of surviving it. Nobody will find them and they will trouble nobody ever again, least of all A-Xu.”
Mostly because Belle meant to dump the losers in question on his homeworld. Currently infested with Chaos and suffering a dearth of anything remotely edible, Corvina would have wrung all of those losers dry and smashed them to dust. If any of them managed to survive starvation and the Chaos, then the extreme weather on Corvina surely would have done them in eventually. And Belle himself wouldn’t have needed to actually murder any of them! So Shuangxu would be happy that he didn’t kill people!! Everybody got to win!!!
But then—Belle’s head snapped up and whipped in the direction of one of the bushes. It was rustling, which couldn’t be anything good. Instinctively, he positioned himself between Lianhua and the bush, preparing for anything that might have jumped out with a mind to harm her.
Noir Songbird
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:07 pm
Aww. That was cute. Gross, since Belial was talking about her brother, but cute.
"Bel-ge, I do not think you could possibly mess this up. Xu-ge adores you. Like, disgustingly, sappily adores you. He looks at you like you hung the stars in the sky or purposely buffed his League main or something." Surely, if Belial lived with Shuangxu, he at least had an idea of what those words meant. "Genuinely, prior to seeing you two together, I thought that kind of ridiculously sappy s**t only existed in romance video games. And yet here you are, proving it exists in reality every time the two of you are in the same room."
Honestly, it was bonkers to her that Belial might think there was even a chance Shuangxu would ever stop absolutely adoring him. But then, if he'd never been with anyone before, maybe that explained it. Anxiety and also intense, intense devotion. To an eyebrow-raising degree.
"Belial, you can't murder my brother's exes," she said, "as funny as that would be. Also, Shuangxu would know their names better than I do. I mostly thought of them as Loser Number whatever, they weren't even worth remembering beyond that. Total ********." She rolled her eyes at the memory, which was enough distraction that she was surprised when Belial moved between her and the bush.
"Do you think it's some kind of--" She didn't get to finish asking the question, because the answer popped out, adorable little nose wiggling.
A tiny white rabbit, soon followed by a second.
"Awww!" She cooed, delightedly. "Bunnies! Look at them! Totally safe, they turn up every year, people talk about them online all the time. Just don't scare them and they're totally friendly."
Everything Lianhua had to say was important, and Belle wanted to respond to it. But for one thing, he also felt like he needed more time to……sit with what she was saying. She didn’t have intel on Shuangxu’s former partners. Unfortunate. And asking Shuangxu for that information probably would have tipped him off to the fact that Belle was planning something. Then, he might have gotten very upset, which wouldn’t have counted as a win for anybody. Least of all, for Shuangxu, who deserved the win more than anyone else.
But for now, Belle didn’t quite know what to say about………most of that. Nor could he exactly think too clearly with the bunnies hopping out of the bushes. “Do……do we pet them,” he said, watching Lianhua for any clues about what to do here. “Is it even safe to put the bags down so I can do that?”
Somehow, Belle didn’t think so. Even though several of the bags were sturdy, they also seemed to be made from some kind of fancy paper. Considering the fragility on the parts of some things he’d picked up for A-Xu, and several of the things Lianhua had gotten for herself, Belle didn’t think exposing the gifts to snow was a good idea.
Noir Songbird
Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 12:29 pm
Before Belial even asked, Lianhua was already plopping down in the snow, crossing her legs and opening her arms as an invitation. One of the bunnies eagerly leapt forward into her lap, and she began to gently bestow pets upon its soft fur, which made it relax in clear contentment.
"We can absolutely pet them. And the bags will be fine, they look like fancy paper but most of them are designed to be water-resistant. We won't stay long enough for it to be a problem." Just a few moments in the snow with some friendly bunnies. Honestly, what a perfect cap-off to such a lovely day.
Watching Lianhua move, Belle stayed standing and waited for her to tell him that it was okay. He really didn’t want to damage anything they’d just spent her and A-Xu’s parents’ money on, especially not when everything Belle had gotten was supposed to be a gift for A-Xu. When she gave him the go-ahead, though, he took great care in setting the bags down and kneeling beside her.
Rabbits on Earth didn’t seem much like the rabbits from Corvina. Smaller than Belle was used to, for sure. But as Belle held out his hands, palms up and cupped together, one of the bunnies hopped over all the same. Belle gasped softly, eyes going wide with wonder, but he resolved to himself: he would be gentle with this bunny and give it no reason to bite him.
