Yuki polished the bowl with the last chunk of bread, catching all the remaining stew. Satisfied that none of the broth had escaped, she nibbled the soup-soaked bread, delighted at the taste. Yuki might have sighed, eyes closed, and a happy chirp may have escaped her mouth once or twice. After the bread went down the hatch, she licked her fingers and patted her extended belly. A burp escaped, but she was too content to care about it. Yuki opened one food-coma-laden eye to find Jenny staring at her. “What?”
By Yuki’s side, Bee had already eaten her bowl and now devoured Jenny’s portion. Whisker lazed on Jenny’s lap, enjoying Jenny’s ear massage. The grinding purr and occasional thump echoed over the noises of eating. Yuki wasn’t jealous of her sister, not at all.
Jenny’s gaze followed Yuki’s, and the older woman’s stare softened. She shook her head, looking back at Yuki. “Did you enjoy the food?”
Yuki burped again, patted her belly, and then just sprawled on the bed, looking at the ceiling. “It was amazing!” she declared. “Been forever since I ate anything other than leaves, grass, and berries.”
Bee had taken her face off the stew bowl and looked at the two. “What language is that?”
Jenny opened her mouth, but before she spoke, her skin rippled, her bones popped, and her clothes sagged. In a moment, she wasn’t Larissa anymore, but pretty baby blue-eyed Jenny.
“Hidden by magic,” Bee muttered, eyes filled with wonder. “Do it again?”
Jenny adjusted her clothes and fixed her hair. “Don’t worry about the language,” she said in the local dialect. “What are you doing here, and what happened to you?” she asked, ignoring the request to use magic again.
Bee put on a brave front. She went back to eating, but her posture was tense. “Too much beatin’,” she said after eating some more. “Legged it outta there when I could.”
Jenny frowned, lips drawn in a severe line. She pressed. “What about your mom? And Boris?”
“Workin’,” Bee shrugged.
“Why did you flee from home, Isabella?” Jenny asked, her voice soft, even if intense.
“Carlos and Joel gotten meaner after you fled.” Yuki noticed the girl’s hunched shoulder and tight voice. “New Baron made everyone work till they can’t, and when they can’t, still get beatin’s.”
Yuki got up from her lazy sprawl on the bed. She didn’t understand all of what Bee said, but the girl looked uncomfortable and hurt. Those same system induce instincts told Yuki how scared and hurt Bee was. Yuki sat behind Bee and hugged the freckled menace. “Shh, it’s alright, you’re fine.”
“Eeep!” Bee yelped, almost spilling her food.
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Jenny and Bee continued their conversation, but Yuki’s mind drifted elsewhere. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but was her human and rabbit body also messing with her mind? Rabbit-Yuki was flitty and curious, like a hyperactive puppy. She found it hard to stay still then, and she was touchy-feely with Jenny, with all the nuzzling and petting. Kid-Yuki was immature at some points, emotional at others, and prone to strange behaviors, like the dere moment in the dungeon. She hadn’t spent too many hours in this body, but she found most of her actions childish. Even now, she wanted to dismiss these concerns as dull.
Did it matter, however?
In the before, Yuki had been strangely beholden to what other people thought about her, constrained in things she did by fear — she would never have admitted that — of what others would think, even if everyone already thought her crazy, given all her different obsessions. But did it matter? No, in the end, it didn’t. ADHD rabbit or sentimental child, Yuki always felt herself, aside from the passion part. But that one, she also realized only amplified things that were already there.
She had always hated the stalker and loved fluffy things. Those things were already there even before she died. Those sentiments were just… amplified here in a way that might push her to make decisions she wouldn’t have otherwise.
“Biscuit?”
The conversation had died down between the other girls.
“Biscuit? Wasn’t it Yuki?”
Yuki still hugged Bee, her head resting on the girl’s shoulder, hands locked around Bee’s waist. Now that Yuki paid attention, Bee reeked something fierce. Old sweat, trash, and dirt—she even smelled a bit of manure from the girl’s clothes. She turned toward Jenny.
“Yes?”
“We can’t keep the rabbit—”
“Whisker.” Yuki corrected.
“—Whisker and Bee here for long. People would talk about me keeping two girls locked inside my room, and we don’t want more attention than what we already have.”
Yuki nodded.
“I think I can convince Peggy to let you two stay here for the day and probably night because of the lurker, but tomorrow morning, you’ll need to go with Isabella somewhere. She promises it’s safe and will wait for me there until I’ve gathered the materials for your magic. After that, we’ll go to the farm, like you asked.”
Yuki nodded again; the strange, morose mood hadn’t abated. “And after?”
Jenny’s jaw tightened, and her face was a careful blank mask. “Then we deal with Gregory.”
----------------------------------------
It had taken the rest of the morning, until the bell’s toll. Yuki’s transformation had ended, and she was a rabbit again; she rested on the bed, snuggling with Whisker. Bee was asleep on the other side, and Jenny read from her grimoire.
Whisker startled at the loud gong but soon calmed down again. Bee grumbled and rolled, mumbling something in her sleep. The blonde closed the book. She looked at the bed, a soft smile blossoming on her face. Her eyes met Yuki’s. “It is still early. Do you think you can use the magic again? I might be able to get the material still today,” Jenny whispered.
Yuki snuggled closer to her sister, gave Whisker one last hug, and then got up and trotted toward Jenny. “I can do it, but I’m running low on magic.”
“Hum,” started Jenny. “That livestock market gave me an idea. Maybe we can purchase animals there.”
Yuki opened her mouth, about to refuse, but shook her head. That was a good solution, even if somehow she thought it shouldn’t be. “That’s a nice idea.” She hopped out of bed and stopped beside Jenny. “Ready?”
Jenny nodded.
Yuki recited the magic mumbo jumbo and waved her paws in familiar movements. Magic moved from her core, spreading through her paws and flowing into Jenny. Jenny’s skin rippled and changed. The woman grew, her bones popped, and her hair changed color. Magic never ceased to amaze Yuki. She didn’t have words to explain how giddy she felt every time she cast the spell—like butterflies spreading through all her body.
“I’ll close the door on my way out,” Jenny said in Larissa’s voice. “Don’t let anyone inside.”