To the baby rabbits of the burrow today was the best day ever. Mother and father brought much delicious food. A feast of seeds, roots and vegetables laid before the kits. Those old enough to enjoy the feast dug into the spread with gusto. The younger kits burrowed deeper into their mothers emerald green fur and suckled in peace. These children did not have fur just yet and this fact gave some of the older rabbits a sense of pride and superiority. In that moment however, they were merely happy that there was less competition for their food of choice.

The feast was interrupted as their father entered the burrow carrying what to the kits was a giant log of wood. Most of the young rabbits returned to their own food quickly as their mother began to take huge bites out of the chunk of wood. One rabbit in particular turned away from the food that had been prepared for them and began to sneak towards the log. It wasn't sure why, but there was something about it that stirred a hunger within the kit. A hunger deeper and more primal than that which it had just sated.

The closer the young rabbit hopped the stronger the smell became. The buns tail began to twitch and it's eyes widened. Its pace quickened and as it reached its prize it tried to take a piece of the wood for itself, yet as its teeth closed around a piece of bark the young bun found itself unequal to the task before it. So focused on its prize was the kit that it hadn't even noticed its father moving until the evil rabbit dragged it away from the prized log.

Immediately the kit tried to lunge for the log again only to find itself stymied by its mother as she blocked its advance. The enraged kit looked at its mom with indignity and found only amusement in her gaze. Turning for help it found that its father was intently focused on gnawing at the leg of some strange animal. Blood dripped from the leg, staining the rabbits fur a deeper crimson than it already was.

Unsettled, the rabbit turned back to its mother. It did prefer her cool green fur compared to fathers unsettling damp red, even if she did have little bits of wood growing from her fur. Eventually mother relents and tears a piece off for the hungry little bun. She didn't need to crush it with her paw, but the bun had to admit it did make it easier to eat. It was gritty and hard to swallow, but as it sunk into the rabbits belly something changed. Some sort of intoxicating energy sunk deeply into its body. Anticipation welled up from within.

But nothing happened.

Somewhat disappointed the little bun decided that whatever energy that was, it wasn't worth the nasty gritty taste of the wood and dirt. The food their parents had brought for them was far better.

Unfortunately, while the young bun had been eating bark, its siblings had eaten the rest of the good food. With no food left to eat the bun had little else to do but explore the burrow it had been born in. It looked at the dirt packed floor and walls. It looked at the root and the wood that supported parts of the wall.

Nothing new!

Not much to do then except go bother its other siblings. Part way through trying to climb over one of its bigger siblings their father called for the attention of the kits, It was standing at one of the entrances to the cave and beckoning them forth.

For a moment there was confused silence, then they all burst forward at once in a desperate scramble to see the outside world. Their parents had always blocked the way out. Finally they would be able to see the world beyond!

There were so many more colors than the young kit had thought existed. The hole that they emerged from seemed small. Their home seemed so small now. The world outside the burrow was so much more massive than the young kit could have ever guessed. Some of the siblings retreated back to the mouth of the cave, intimidated by the strange and vast world outside, but the bold kit rushed to the nearest bark thing it could. It was so much bigger than the pieces of wood that mother ate!

Though it didn't smell as good as mothers meals did. Driven by curiosity the young kit began to run towards a strange looking plant with brilliant golden petals when its father blocked it off. the kits yelp of surprise was cut short as it collided bodily with its father and bounced off. Desperately it tried to get around its father, but was stymied at every turn.

Pouting, the kit went back near the mouth of the cave and watched as its father also stopped its siblings from straying too far. The young kits attention strayed to the cliff face that the burrow was in front of. It was cracked and porous. With lots of little holes and gaps the young bun might be able to fit into.

Many of the little cracks and gaps were too small for the young bun to fit into, but even more were very shallow, the crack showing nothing but insects or plain rock. One gap, however, was deep and dark. So deep that the kit could not see the back of it. The kit began to hop inside. The hole was dark and cool, the ground was hard and uncomfortable on its paws. Hearing father hopping closer the kit began to exit the cave, not wanting to make its father upset. Fathers eyes laid solely upon the kit. Then his ears twitched and he turned towards the the woods.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A moment later the kit heard it too. Something loud was coming closer. Father rushed to the burrow and shoved the kits siblings inside.

Trembling, the kit retreated deeper into the wall. Fathers always damp fur grew wet and little pellets of blood began to float into the air.

Then a strange two legged creature burst forth from the woods brandishing some sort of shining grey stick. The stick flashed out at father and was intercepted by pellets of blood. The strange thing growled and attacked father again and again. The fear slowly began to subside as the kit realized that father seemed unconcerned by the two legged attacker. Its every blow was rebuffed as the strange monster grew more and more angry and loud.

Then more of them came from the clearing and the fear returned. These new monsters were far taller and more muscled than the first one.

One of the scarier ones barks something out and the small monster retreats behind them.

A strange sound comes from father and the two legged monsters respond. They continue making sounds at each other and then father seems to deflate, before baring his teeth and lunging. What followed was far too fast for the young kit to follow. Claws and fang met their strange metal sticks and the blood pellets shot forth at the monsters who blocked or dodged them with strange magics of their own. When the pellets struck they shattered stone and toppled trees.

But they were more than merely offensive tools. Blood seemed to stream from fathers body, quenching gouts of flame and shattering spears of ice. Father seemed to have the upper hand, but every time he was about to defeat one of the evil monsters the others would rush towards the burrow and father would abandon his attack to cut them off.

The young bun quivered in his burrow as he watched the fight drag on. Father was stronger than any one of the monsters, but he was not facing only a single monster. The kit flinched as his father was cut and wounded again and again. The wounds healed rapidly, but father was slowing down more and more as the fight took its toll.

Then another monster stepped forward, one covered in bright blue and gold. He laughs and waves his hand. The other monsters retreat behind them.

He makes a sound at father, who regards him warily.

Father leapt at the monster.

Then father was gone.

All the kit heard was a sickening snap. All it saw is a streak of red as its fathers body flew into the forest.

The monsters paw is clenched and outstretched in a fist covered in blood and fur, wreathed in golden light.

There is no time for the kit to process the death of his father when a wail of agony, deep and visceral echoes out and a streak of green bolts from the burrow.

Another sickening crunch and mothers body strikes the cliff so hard that it shakes rocks loose which fall onto her prone form. The kit can see its mothers eyes, it can see that wood which always clung to her fur which now form shattered armor. Then she sees him and determination flashes in her eyes. She drags her shattered body up as the monster casually walks towards her. The two look each other in the eyes. Something passes between them. And then she screams. The kits mind does not understand what she said.

But its soul does.

CHILD OF MY WARREN, I NAME YOU BAIYU AND I BEG YOU TO LIVE

Then the monster struck again and mothers head twisted into an unnatural angle. Baiyu did not know what to do. He is frozen in fear and so he watches. He watches as they dragged his parents bodies away. He watches as they use their foul magics to collapse the burrow and drive his siblings from their burrow. They emerge, some wounded and covered in blood, some limping on twisted limbs.

Baiyu did not see a single one of its furless siblings.

One by one his siblings are caught as they attempt to flee. Then one of the monsters accidentally steps on one of his sisters while chasing another. Something about that, the way her body simply squished and she died with but the barest of sounds was too much for Baiyu. He let out a terrified squeak.

The monster in blue and gold noticed.

The killer of his parents began to rush Baiyu and he turned and scrambled deeper into that hole in the wall. He was not fast, but he had a head start and the monsters arms were not long. The tips of the monsters paws brush against Baiyu's back as he scurried into the darkness.

Then the monster says something and the hole flashes with blue light, but whatever the monster did it wasn't enough.

Baiyu escaped into the darkness.