Yuki peeked from behind the fallen tree trunk at the patch of earth with no trees, bushes, or vegetation. Her nose itched. The area ahead smelled like pepper, vinegar, and ammonia. But across the barren patch of land, she recognized a big tree she often watched from the clearing. This was something made by the humans, of which she had no doubt. Yuki didn’t understand why.

Burnt marks populated the space here and there. Trees had been cut, and their stumps burnt. There was no place to hide, rocks, vegetation, shrubs, or anything. Yuki’s legs trembled at the sight of that. Rabbits’ instincts warned her that a rabbit in the open was a dead rabbit. That and the smell. It was like someone got all the things she didn’t even know she hated and mixed it all, then threw buckets and buckets of the stuff in the barren area.

Yuki was curious how she managed to cross it in the first place. She remembered nothing after the seventh mushroom… Well, that might be the reason. The damn ‘shrooms. Why did they have to be so tasty?

Enough procrastinating. Yuki didn’t want to cross the open space or face the smell, but home was on the other side.

She crouched low and donned her metaphorical sunglasses. She was the master of the body and could stealth in open space like the best of them! Yuki took a step forward, humming a theme song. “Dun dun, dun-dun, dun dun…” With each beat, she took a step. Despite the open area and horrible smell, she smirked. “Ta nan nan!” she belted and ran simultaneously. “Ta nan nan!” Two small bursts and mission accomplished. Who said it was impossible? With one last leap, Yuki was past the desolation and back in the safety of the understory.

From there, she took her time. She nibbled on new types of leaves. She smelled this purplish mushroom that sent her salivating, but she avoided that one. No more unknown flora consumption. Yuki investigated an abandoned tunnel, probably made by some other rabbit. She crossed it, hopping outside and ready to explore. She stopped dead in her tracks.

There were two humans in front of her. An old man, his face wrinkled, hands callused. He wore sturdy, if beaten, clothes in shades of grey. The man’s eyes were black and energetic despite his old age. He wore something like a cowboy hat and even had a piece of grass in his mouth.

The other, besides the old man, was another, younger, barely out of his teen years. He wore tight trousers and a shirt too small for him, like he had outgrown them and his family hadn’t yet replaced them. A bag hung on his broad shoulders. He had huge hands and a freckled nose, tanned skin, and eyes a deep brown. Eyes locked on Yuki.

Yuki stood there frozen. She looked at the boy, and the boy glanced at her.

“Hey, gramps, this one doesn’t seem dangerous.” The boy said, his voice a little playful. He nudged the old man.

Gramps turned around, eyes widening at Yuki’s sight. Gramps squinted. “I’ll be dammed. This one doesn’t have a horn, and look at the size. It’s a quarter of what it should have been.”

Yuki was ready to bolt, but none of them made any sudden gesture. She kept listening to their conversation, even if none of the words made sense.

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“Might be a newborn kit?” Asked the boy, looking around.

“Might be, but no, the other kits are bigger than that.” The man reached for the boy's bag and took something in his hands. Then he offered it to the boy. “Well, feed it then. That’s what we are here for. Let’s start with this one.”

The boy nodded and took whatever the old man gave him. He took a knee and extended a hand toward Yuki. He made noises, baby noises if she had to guess. The old man rolled his eyes.

Yuki wasn’t sure what to do. After seeing the hunters, she was interested in meeting with other humans, and these two didn’t seem to pose any danger. She sniffed in the direction of whatever the boy offered. It smelled amazing like those nuts mom gave them when they were little. Yuki never found them again outside.

The boy shook his hands, slow and gentle. His voice took on even more of that characteristic baby-talk tone. Yuki wanted to roll her eyes. She didn’t because the old man had already done it for her. He slapped the boy on the back of the head.

“Stop being silly. It can’t understand you.” The old man chastised. The boy looked back, betrayed.

The human-turned-rabbit considered what to do. She did want to meet with humans, but should she risk it? Well, it was just food. If anything happened, she could always use magic to escape.

Decision made; Yuki took a tentative step forward. Should she try to talk with them? She wasn’t sure if sapient animals were a thing here. They might overreact. She took another step forward. Best not to spill all her secrets on the first date. She took another step, and none of the two did anything to stop her, or even reached for anything they might use to capture her. Not that they needed anything else than their hands. Damnable opposable thumbs. She took a last hop, dashed closer, took a nut, and bolted away.

Both the boy and Gramps watched. The old man smiled. “That is a feisty one.”

The boy looked back at the old man. “Will it work?”

The old man shrugged. “Don’t see why not.”

Yuki listened to the conversation but ignored it. From up close, the scent was better than she remembered. She took one last look at the duo, but they didn’t approach. Yuki ate. She relished in the taste. It was the taste of happy days, of mom’s fur and warmth, of indulging in Bunbun’s awesomeness, of hopping along with Sir Hopsalot, of sleeping with Flopsy. She didn’t know she missed it that much. Thank god rabbits couldn’t cry. Imagine crying because the treat reminded her of the first days of her rabbit life. Now, she wanted to cuddle with them again. No more exploring. She yawned. Thinking about that even made her sleepy.

A log message scrolled past faster than Yuki could read. She stopped eating and then tried to focus on the message.

“See? It’s already working.” Said the gruff old man.

“What should we do?” Asked the boy.

Yuki focused harder. It wasn’t working. She wasn’t sure why. It was like eating her orange mushrooms, but without the colors or the euphoria. After much effort, the log message showed up again.

Poison overwhelms your Endurance.

You’ve been poisoned.

“Aw shit. I knew it was too good to be true,” Yuki complained. She tried to run away and enter the tunnel again, but her legs wouldn’t move.

“I’ll take it to the Lord. No one told me about a new breed.” Said the old man.

The boy fidgeted. The old man barked a laugh. “You go and take it to the Lord. My bad back can’t make the trip in time.”

The boy perked up. He approached and picked Yuki up.

“Let go of me, creep! Heeeeeelp!” She yelled, but her throat didn’t cooperate. Her body was stiff, even if she was still awake.

“Are they always like this?” The boy asked, looking at the rabbit in his hand with interest.

“Nah, this one is a screamer. You get them sometimes.” The man took the bag from the boy and turned toward the clearing. “Off you pop and try not to drool when you see the girl,” Gramps chuckled. “I’ll finish feeding this colony. Tomorrow we finish the last two.”