"Edith!" Narrita got up to her feet, speaking with a loud whisper as she faced the direction of the ominous chanting. "Edith! Can you hear me?" The woman looked behind her, continuing on once she saw that the griffinhawk was nowhere to be seen. Her slow walk became a brisk jog as the Edith's chanting became louder. "Kid! You don't want me telling your mom what you've be doing, do you?"

The further she moved through the trees, the brighter the area became. The light wasn't didn't come from the sun above, however. A brilliant blue aura burst through the gaps in the canopy, drawing Narrita's attention. Her jogged slowed to a steady pace as she approached the glow with caution. She placed one hand on an oak tree for cover and peered into the light.

"Edith?" she said, this time with worry. "Are you all right?"

"Monstio... Avovita... Necerfi..."

Narrita could hear the chanting clearly. Edith spoke each word with perfect pronunciation in the same tone repeatedly. She squinted her eyes and stared towards the epicenter of the glowing aura. She could make out the girl's outline as she sat on her knees in the middle of the grassy patch where the deceased rabbits lay. Her hair flew black, blown away by a steady stream of white mist that emanated from her hands that were firmly placed on the ground. Mister Cuddles sat beside her on his hind legs, rubbing his paw against what remained of his cheek as he watched her continue to channel the spell.

"Edith!" Narrita called out as she fled from her cover to the girl. As she moved forward, the white mist moved faster, swirling all around Edith before concentrating into thick streams that plunged into the rabbits' corpses. As the bodies absorbed the essence of the spell, the brilliant began to fade, and Edith's chanting stopped. Her flowing hair came to a rest on her shoulders as she lowered her head as her back and stomach moved steadily from her deep breaths.

"Kid! What did you just do?" Narrita darted across the remaining distance between her and Edith. She knelt down and put her arm across her back. She could feel the girl's heart racing through the back of her dress. "What happened?"

"Those rabbits..." she said timidly. "I woke them up." Edith coughed and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands.

"You did what?" Still holding onto Edith, Narrita turned her to the side. Mister Cuddles stared at her with his typical bored expression, but behind him she could see the bodies of the mutilated creatures slowly stand upright. Like Mister Cuddles, each one had bits of their flesh and parts of their limbs torn off, but they moved and acted as if they were never hurt. Simultaneously, they all turned to Edith, hopping towards her in unison.

"Edith! They're coming for us!" A trembling Narrita cried. "You... You've got this under control, right?"

"Yeah," Edith said as she began to rise. The rabbits continued their march towards their reviver. As they got closer it became evident that the undead animals were focused on reaching their summoner. Despite their intentions, Narrita continued to retreat, standing behind a confident and smiling Edith.

"They're going to listen to you?"

"Yeah." The girl reached down and stroked a pair of rabbits' heads with her hands. "If I'm nice to them they'll do what I say."

"That's good— ack!" The boney and bloody midsection of a rabbit brushed past Narrita's bare ankle, making her jump back. "W-What's your plan now? Going to distract the griffinhawk with some leftovers?"

Edith shook her head. "No. They're going to fight."

"The griffinhawk?" Narrita said, perplexed.

"Yeah."

"Looks like they've already lost once. You sure this is the best idea?"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Yeah."

"Can't argue with your confidence." Another overcast obscured the ground for a brief moment. Narrita, Edith and all the rabbits looked up towards the sky. A few more sharp feathers fell from the sky, cutting through the branches of above before piercing into the ground. "I really hope you know what you're doing, kid."

"I do." Edith stared upwards her hands clenched into fists as she waited for the griffinhawk to reveal itself.

"Come on. Let's at least take cover before that bird shows up! If you can tell them what to do, maybe they can distract it long enough for us to make an escape." Narrita pulled on the underside of Edith's arm only to have her pull her arm from her grasp.

"No! If we leave, then the bird will keep doing this to other rabbits! We have to stop it now!" The girl looked up at Narrita. Fury filled her red and soggy eyes. After a deep gulp, Narrita bowed her head.

"Fine. You can take lead. But the moment things go wrong, we're resorting to my plan. Understood?"

"Yeah."

The branches above snapped, sending a large chunk off debris crashing onto one of the summoned rabbits. It made a soft whimper as the weight of the wood crushed its bones and embedded it into the soft dirt. Narrita staggered back from the sudden movement while Edith remained steadfast, staring at her re-fallen friend as it squirmed from underneath the weight of the branch.

A loud screech echoed throughout the area. The griffinhawk swooped in from the sky, digging its talons into the side of the rabbits. It opened its beak and yelled again as its head panned around towards the circle of rabbits that surrounded. Instead of them fleeing into the depths of the forest, they remained firm in their stance, all staring at the enormous predator glowing yellow eyes of hatred.

Edith extended one hand with an open palm. "Attack," she commanded in as booming of a voice her small body would allow. Instantaneously, all the rabbits lunged forward at the same time. The griffinhawk turned its head from side to side, unable to focus on a single target to attack. In a matter of seconds, Edith's minions hopped onto the bird, ignoring the blades of its feathers cutting through their fur.

With their tiny paws and jagged teeth, they began to gnaw and cut away at the soft flesh beneath the plated armor of feathers. The griffinhawk spread its wings, showing off its illustrious silver underside as it tried to take off. Rabbits were sent flying as the griffinhawk flapped violently. It began to gain some elevation, only to fall back to the ground as the biting and scratching from the attacking rabbits increased.

"No way..." Narrita said under her breath as she watched the battle unfold. Blood, flesh and feathers became scattered across the forest floor as the griffinhawk squirmed with all its might to free itself from the clutches of its attackers. The rabbits that were flung off came running back, pouncing on the legs of the bird. A series of chomps and gnaws toppled the bird over onto its side.

Only Mister Cuddles remained by Edith's side. The other rabbits continued their assault on the dying predator. With its remaining bit of life, it tried to rollover, but it wasn't enough. Edith lifted her pet and carried him over her shoulder and stared down at the bulging eye of the griffinhawk. "Mister Cuddles," she said after turning her head to face him. "Finish it."

She lowered Mister Cuddles on the ground. With a single leap, the pet lunged through the air with its mouth opened wide, flashing its jagged teeth. He landed on the griffinhawk's exposed neck bit into the soft flesh.

A whimper escaped from the fallen bird, its beak rattling as it lay open and spread across the dirt. A single black eye stared up at the sky, unmoving like the rest of the body. Edith continued to stare at the now-dead animal with scorn. She crossed her arms while Mister Cuddles and the other rabbits continued to tear away at flesh.

"Edith!" Narrita came running forward, coming to an abrupt stop after seeing the gruesome scene. "You were right!" she said with relief. "You and your... friends...all stopped that crazy animal!"

"Told you." Edith turned around and faced Narrita. "We can go home now." The girl then turned back once more and extended her open palm the same way that she did as last time. "Rest!" she commanded with the same voice as before. At once, all the rabbits save for Mister Cuddles turned limp, falling down motionless as if they were never summoned.

Mister Cuddles continued to chomp through the griffinhawk's neck, tearing through its kin to reveal rancid meat underneath the soft skin. "What's your pet doing?" Narrita asked as she stepped closer. "Is he hungry or something?"

"No. He doesn't eat meat."

"Then why is he still gnawing away at its neck?"

Edith bent forward and clapped her hands. "Come on Mister Cuddles. Time to go home now!"

The rabbit scratched and chomped a few more times before plunging his teeth into the gaping hole he created. With both planted firmly on the ground, Mister Cuddles wiggled backwards, slowly pulling something out of the bird's neck in the process.

"What you got there, Mister Cuddles?" Edith asked as the rabbit came hopping back towards her with a pulpy brown mass between his teeth. He then dropped it at her feet.

"Disgusting..." Narrita said with a scowl as she lowered herself enough to get a solid glimpse of what the rabbit brought. "Is that... some kind of bug?"