The next day, Lexi planned on returning to the forest alone.

She told Saxa and Inu that she needed to get a few more herbs. They wanted to come along, but she reassured them that she would stay safe and that it would be quicker.

Although it was part of the reason, Lexi also wanted to find and check on the rabbit. She feared that Saxa would try to catch it and turn it into their next meal. Oven-baked black rabbit with carrots.

While they were busy with afternoon classes, she stood in the field. She patted her sides and looked over everything, ensuring that all her stuff was safe and secure.

Then, Lexi shook her arms, willing the transformation to activate. In a flash, her arms turned into large bird-like wings covered in maroon feathers. Harpy wings.

Raising her arms, she observed the transformation. Since Sister Fauna advised her not to until she was thirteen, this was her first time transforming.

Why? Because according to her and the church, children shouldn’t forcefully use magic until their bodies are strong enough, even if the magic is natural. It was less stressful on growing bodies and protected children from injuries.

The day she turned thirteen, Lexi asked Sister Fauna how to transform and fly. She rubbed her head, saying that she would instinctively know.

It was. She watched her feathers flutter in the breeze and brushed them. Soft.

Steadying herself, Lexi prepared to take off. She lifted her arms and flapped down, generating a strong gust of wind below her. It wasn’t enough.

She repeated the motion, flapping faster and firmly. As she pushed the air down, it pushed her up, lifting her into the skies. Lexi was flying.

She hovered for a few moments, balancing herself and getting used to the feeling. After a while, she adjusted her weight, practicing her mid-air control and flight.

“Ah!” Lexi’s inexperience caused her to rapidly fly out of control as she shifted forward. Her body dove down towards a tree.

She flailed around, attempting to turn herself upright.

Swish. After some rolling, she stopped herself just in the nick of time.

Lexi gasped for air, calming her rapid heart. She almost crashed on her first attempt.

Sister Fauna is a liar. Flying isn’t intuitive.

As she took deep breaths, June and Rose darted over. Their eyes were wide with fear and horror. They spun her around and examined Lexi for injuries.

“Oh my,” exclaimed Rose, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You should’ve been careful.” After ensuring her safety, June ran a hand over her wings. She sighed, “If you’re gonna practice flying, at least get someone to spot you.”

Lexi shrunk. Her arms lowered, and her feathered ears drooped. “Yeah.”

June stared at Lexi, contemplating something. She sighed, “Sister Rose, you can leave. I’ll spot Lexi as she practices.”

Rose peered at Lexi before nodding. She turned and entered the church. June glanced at her, telling her to try again.

So Lexi started flying under June’s watchful gaze. It was prickly.

They spent the rest of the day practicing, and she got the hang of it. Lexi could twirl in the air and safely land.

“Well, we should end today’s practice session.” June rubbed Lexi’s head, ruffling her hair. “Good job but don’t practice alone. That could’ve been dangerous.”

She nodded, and they strolled back to the church. Along the way, Lexi remembered what she planned on doing.

She blinked before cupping her face in her hands. Lexi groaned. I forgot to go into the woods.

------

It was afternoon and two days after they found a black rabbit. Today, she was determined to check on it and collect herbs.

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Considering yesterday’s attempt, Lexi decided not to fly through to the field. It would be bad if I crashed.

Instead, she hiked through the woods. With a hand on the tree marks, she navigated through the forest.

As she approached the field, she noticed that the white pond lily was missing. That could’ve meant a lot of things, but there were also rabbit tracks all over the ground.

Lexi reached into her bag, grabbing a dagger. She followed the tracks around, marking trees along the way. But after half an hour of searching, she couldn’t find the rabbit. It must be hiding.

Instead of continuing, she decided to look for more herbs. Her previous trip was cut short by time, so she couldn’t gather everything she wanted.

After a few hours of searching, Lexi found all the plants and folded them into her bag. She scanned the sky, noticing the low-hanging sun. It was time to leave.

Passing by the clearing, she noticed a tuft of black fur peeking out of a bush.

Lexi quietly crept towards it. When she was a safe distance away, she knocked on a nearby tree.

The sound drew its attention, and the tuft disappeared. In its place was a rabbit head peeking out of a bush.

The rabbit stared at her, carefully observing her movement.

Lexi reached into her bag, grabbing a lily and some herbs. She placed them a little in front of her and backed away.

It scrutinized her before hopping forward. The rabbit sniffed the herbs and started chewing on them. It pressed the lily against its leg, rubbing the petals.

She sat next to a tree and gazed at the rabbit, watching as it interacted with the plants. She might’ve spent an hour there.

Eventually, Lexi got up and left.

------

Yellow eyes. They reminded her of glowing amber.

She sat there cross-legged, entranced. Trapped by its stare like a bug trapped in resin.

Whoosh. A breeze brushed passed, picking up some leaves. She blinked as the wind dried her eyes. It had blown strands of hair across her face, drying out her eyes.

Lexi lowered her head and raised a hand to push back the hair. When she looked up, she saw it pushing back its ear.

Its eyes were closed as it raised its paw. The paw lifted and pinned the swaying ear down. Then, it also looked up and continued to stare at her.

Both sides watched each other, lost in their own thoughts.

For the past few months, Lexi had been visiting the black rabbit on a weekly basis. Every Sunday, she wandered into the woods alone, armed with a head of lettuce and some herbs.

The first visits were weekly checkups since she came to observe its injury. Although the rabbit was weary of her, it accepted her offerings and distant care.

During this period, she realized that the rabbit wasn't a rabbit. It was larger than the rabbits the hunters caught by a great margin. Even the largest ones that the hunters boasted about were smaller compared to this one.

And it was faster. Faster and smarter than the rabbits that would run a short distance and hide. This one kept on running and dodging attacks, allowing it to escape danger.

It looked like a rabbit but didn’t resemble any of the rabbits she had seen.

Since Lexi didn’t know what it was, she asked Lena.

“Sister Lena, what’s a larger rabbit?”

She stared at Lexi, confused. “A larger rabbit? Isn’t that just a rabbit?”

“No. I mean… uh…” She shook her head and tried to explain it. “Something that looks like a rabbit but is bigger than a rabbit.”

“Oh. A hare.”

“What’s a hare?”

Lena grabbed a book from the shelf. It was an animal encyclopedia. “Rabbits live in forests. Hares are like rabbits but larger. They live in the prairies.”

“Oh, thanks.” Lexi was about to leave but quickly turned around. “Um… Can I borrow that book?”

Lena passed the book and directed her to the librarian desk. “Sure. Just check it out.”

She did some research about hares and compared the information to the black rabbit. They matched.

The black rabbit was a black hare.

Over time, its leg completely healed, and the hare could happily bounce around.

Lexi could have stopped there, but she didn't. She continued to visit the hare and care for it.

Suddenly the hare stood up. It carefully crawled towards her offerings and lowered its head, biting a leaf. As it chewed, it watched her with its glowing yellow eyes.

The sound of soft crunches filled the air as they stared at each other.

Somehow we—a harpy and a hare—maintained this balance.

Lexi watched as the hare ate all the plants. After it was done, she got up to leave. She had already gathered everything for the week, and it was almost sunset.

Before she turned around, the hare abruptly started hopping towards her. It crashed into her leg, the touch startling her.

She looked down and saw it nudging her leg. Lexi crouched down and stroked its head.

“Bye,” she whispered, “see you in a week.”

The black hare rubbed its head against her hand.

------

For around six months now, I’ve been visiting a black hare with bright yellow eyes. At first, I was just checking on it, but I’ve been feeding it for a while too. Did you know that rabbits and hares look similar but they’re different animals?

It was pretty cute when it hopped around and stared at me. I wanted to touch it from the beginning, but that would’ve scared it.

Today, it approached me. It came to me and let me pet it.

Let me say, it was as soft as it looked. I wanted to take it back with me, but it would’ve run if I tried to do that. Then six months of hard work down the drain.

Anyway, I’ll try and get closer to it. Maybe it’ll come with me.

Would it let me name it?

I kinda wanna name it Lux.

Lux and Lexi.