Dreaded Rabbit of Legend

JP with Bandorchu, Omni, and LucianNepreen

Greyriver Steading

“There are many burrowin’ things in this world. In Kru’ll alone there are so many critters diggin’ beneath our feet that many are still a mystery, but for many youths in the Burghs however, there is one in particular from beyond the jungle that is just as mythical as the magi of old, a truth elders often take advantage of. There are many grown Kru’ll warriors that would piss themselves at the mere mention of the dreaded rabbit of legend, while others would be fooled into lookin’ for them in the most ridiculous places. The fact is we don’t have any deep in the jungle, while those near the borders only get a rare glimpse.”

Tarmen began to chuckle, some of the fonder memories of his youth resurfacing.

“When I was a pup, only just havin’ passed my test with Zin, I had fallen in with several other scamps near my age and we were quite well known for being troublemakers. Swindlers, tricksters, con-artists, and more, we had played nearly every trick in the book. It wasn’t uncommon, Zin knew we were a dime-a-dozen, but what irked our elders was that we often got away with our schemes free of consequence.They knew we had done it with certainty, but it was hard to call us out when the nicked goods were in another crew’s base. I guess we went too far when we got our hands on one of Ole’ Lady Grinks’ latest batches of ale. One bottle, but it was clearly enough. She had one of her men invite us to a meetin’, all professional like. We thought we had hit a lucky break, finally seen for our worth.”
[10:49 PM]
Even after all this time, Tarmen felt some embarrassment well up in him, knowing now how hard they were played. It manifested as a drunken giggle, before he took a swig to burn it down.

“She was a terrifyin’ crone known for mixin’ fine livin’ and savage habits. If anyone had coin to spare, it was her and we wanted in so badly. So when she said somethin’ to us about how we were VERY special and QUITE the skilled bunch, well, it made us feel like proper adults. Then she got to the point and how desperately she needed some rabbit scales for a sale or whatever. She had even laid out a trap for it and we just needed to go catch it, since her larger men always alerted the beast too soon.”

He then squatted to outline the story with his finger, drawing it along the floor to mark out the scene and where he remembered him and his companions' locations.

“We didn’t even consider if we were bait or not, nearly killin’ each other just to be at the front as we were led to a clearin’. Not a trap in sight, not even tracks to hint at a trail, but here she gave the damnin’ words. She had kept quiet about what to look for and how to take the creature, but just before she left she simply said,’Oh, you’ll know… and I want it alive.’. The first hours weren’t so bad, just borin’ since we were silent and dared not move lest we spook the rabbit away and only believin’ the tales that didn’t make your hair stand on end. Once the sun started settin’ however, we got more nervous. Had we just heard the evenin’ whistles of the Speck Lark, or maybe the taunting’ calls of the rabbit. A monkey’s holler, or the mimicked screams of the cursed rabbit? Did they really have scales? Scales often meant horns and teeth. What had the stories said about their diet? Could they really be such a viscous predator? Suffice to say, we were all very much on edge after a time.”
[10:49 PM]
He then pointed in front of his own spot.
“I then heard somethin’ scuff the dirt near me and I sprung, tacklin’ the beast to the ground and wailin’ on it. It certainly had some fight, cause I was promptly thrown off and set upon. The noise caused the others to come out and join in the capture.”

Tarmen’s chuckling returned as he sat back.

“Only after we had tied it up did we see it was one of our own. That was when we realized we had been made fools of, standin’ there in the dark havin’ beat ourselves silly. Even if the rabbit was real, we spat on the deal and went home before a real beast found us. Grinks didn’t even mention our deal, though we were the butt of many jokes for a time after. One thing for sure, we never took such offers freely after and certainly without askin’ proper questions about the job.”

He stretched his legs again, enjoying one of the few memories of home that hadn't been tainted by his recent doubts and trials. Just a bunch of dumb kids doing dumb things.

“I’ll toast to that.”

Alexis laughed. While certainly entertaining, she felt here in Arcadia, each of them could easily fall prey to tales of a mystical and horrifying bunny equivalent.

Much as they had already seen of this lands, they were still far from being ‘home’.

All the more comforting then, to summon some remnants of what they left behind, and keep ‘home’ alive in their hearts at least.

As Tarmen had aptly stated: Remember who they were, anchor it in their hearts, so they might not get completely lost in the coming storm.

She smiled, grateful for these wee little hours and especially the people she was sharing them with.