Justin and Adius woke up bright and early for the day of the Orycto fair, in order to get the most out of it. Adius had mentioned many types of carnival games would go on throughout the day, food stands, and the grandstands of course, holding all the major events where folks could come and go at their leisure. Since Adius participated quite late in the day, they had agreed to amble around before needing to get ready. Justin gladly took in all the event had to offer, especially considering all of the food was free.

  After the hours of games and laughs, the two took their seats in the crowd, gazing onto the current badminton match at hand. To Justin, it may not have been as exciting as tennis, but it was good enough, and slowly he became more intrigued, watching the players dart, dive, and smash the birdies into the court. The whiffs and claps of the rackets could be heard from the stands, but it wasn’t long before the cheering of the people overpowered them. The points racked up, and the referees counted with their megaphones. Through the saves made, Justin actually found himself cheering just as everyone else! And he couldn’t believe it.

  Eventually, however, it was time for Adius to leave Justin behind, following downstairs to the field, as the managers made way for the pole vaulting event, clearing the nets. Four judges took their places, The chief judge decides the starting height of the crossbar, a senior judge controls the time limit for each participant, as well as observes the runway during the performance, and the final judges, along with the senior judge, grade on style of takeoff, performance, height, and landing. Each vaulter would run three trials, and at the end their tallies would be added and averaged. If a vaulter were to touch the crossbar, they would be allowed an extra trial. If they were to do so again, they would be disqualified. If the crossbar were to be knocked off by a vaulter: Disqualified...

  The disqualification exceptions continued for some minutes, despite Justin’s dismay...

  At last, it began, and as Justin could make out, Wyver was first, and clearly, he was focused. All three of his trials were completed hastily—appearing perfect. Justin was quite frankly astonished, though the participants on the field didn’t seem deterred. The score was made: 9.1/10. ‘Surely, no one can beat that,’ Justin thought, but Wyver was furious, showing his anger towards the judges, and stomping off of the field disappearing, as if he had trudged back to his bedroom. Next was a rabbit Justin didn’t know. They were peppered black and white, looking confident in what they were about to do. In some minutes, their trials were finished as well, with an 8.6 out of 10. Their face was much more disappointment than anger as they sat on a bench off to the side.

  Through all of this, it was as if the crowd couldn’t get enough. Waves of cheering erupted during each vaulter’s entrance, then silence, then swelled again for the landing. For everyone, it seemed like the enjoyment came from the stunts themselves, and not from how well or bad each opponent did. There was no rooting, apart from a few instances of onlookers screaming the rabbits’ names from time to time, and it was likewise that way for Justin. All he wanted to see was Adius’ performance, and hoping they would be satisfied of it.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Subliminally, Justin had begun to scan the crowd around him, curious, as if he couldn’t help but do so. He looked to his left. An almost sea of clashing earthly colors was there. Black blacks to greyish whites, and browns of darks and lights. He looked to his right, and almost immediately something caught his eye. He saw the black rabbit, Oden, the one who had threatened him and others in his presence, sitting there, as still as a statue.

  And they were staring straight at him.

  Oden stared at his mark. The previous days had been spent thinking, plotting ways to get rid of this potential threat among his people. They were all naive. This infection amidst their body, their home, couldn’t be neglected; he felt like the only white blood cell looking to attack it. He needed to be bold—something they couldn’t escape from, only to end up ostracizing them, no. It wasn’t good enough—of course, it wasn’t about notability. For years he attempted to please Her Grace, but nothing had been good enough for even a simple thank you. He would show her. Despite giving her only the highest of respects, it was never equal in return. He ignored what everyone had been telling him, fixated on this desire, this foreseeable goal against this unarmed nuance, waiting for the perfect time to cross the line, and he understood—he knew, exactly how he would make it happen. To rid this person of their voice and to bellow out his own in declaration only towards one doe. All he needed was what he had been wasting. Time.

  “Hey!” Justin as startled by Adius’ voice, “Did you see me?! I got an 8.8! That’s good enough for me!”

  Justin broke his vision from Oden, looking up from his seat at the tawny rabbit, “Yeah! Yeah, I saw you! You did good!”

  Adius smiled, feeling accomplished, “Come on, the fair’s ending. It’s getting darker out, we’d better head up to the room.”

  Justin nodded in agreement.