Chuckling Ulen paid for the clothes and weapons. Time to feed his very hungry rabbit. Their business complete, for now, at the outfitters. The odd pair headed to the tamer center's cafeteria.
Arriving, Ulen saw that it was mostly empty only a few D-Girls from the center's staff having their dinners. The whole day had passed and Ulen was starting to feel drained from the rollercoaster of emotions he had experienced that day. With Carrot still walking behind him he headed to the self serve food dispenser. He got a pasta dish that was easy to eat with one hand. He was to tired to struggle with a steak even if he wanted it. Getting his tray he waited for Carrot to make her selection. She got the steak, pasta and chicken breast, then thought for a second and got a salad as well. Ulen felt his left eyebrow twitching, but then shrugged it should be fine. Getting her trays the pair sat at the nearest table.
While they had been walking to the cafeteria Carrot had told him that the guards at the disposal facility had fed her just not enough. So there was no need to recondition her stomach to handle solid foods as there would have been if they had not fed her anything. She had been at the disposal facility for two weeks so why had the cost conscious government bothered to feed her? It was a minor mystery, Ulen was not curious enough to solve. He was grateful for it as it would speed her recovery. He could have sent her to the center's treatment center and she would have come out two to three days later fully recovered and ready to be bonded. This did not suit Ulen's plans. He needed to establish a relationship with her before bonding and that meant time spent with her, lots of time.
She had been tamed the day before the decision to dispose of her had been made so she shouldn't need it again for a couple more weeks. It was cruel, but most likely not deliberate. It did give him more than enough time, to get her back into shape given the enhanced recovery even a D-Girl with her horrible stats possesed. The care and affection he planned to give her would also help delay the need for taming and hopefully help make the bond a strong one. Basically, it meant he couldn't tame her until she had genuine feelings for him.
The meal proceeded, mostly, in silence Ulen was distracted by his thoughts (naughty ones) and Carrot was fully focused on her food. She was a noisy eater. The food was ok not good or bad enough to deserve attention, though Carrot looked like she was really enjoying her's. Ulen finished before her, no surprise there. He watched her practically teleporting food into her mouth, for a bit. He pulled out his pad and ordered a few necessary toiletries, for Carrot, to be sent to their suite.
He didn't order underwear or socks, which she also hadn't gotten, as he would take her to get them tomorrow. That done he waited for her to finish. She did after another steak and two pieces of carrot cake. Finally, satisfied she sat back and patted her belly which had only a slight hump to show the huge amount of food she had just shoveled into it. Ulen wondered if she had a compactor in her stomach. She had just eaten enough to feed a family of five plus dessert and that slight bump is all that showed. He briefly worried about his future finances.
Ulen stood up and politely waited for Carrot to join him. Carrot, her eyelids drooping sleepily sighed and moved to get stand up. Her eyes popped wide and a loud *BBBBbbbrrrrrrrmmmmpppffff* rumbled out of her mouth. The D-girls who had finished their dinners and had stayed to watch the skinny bunny girl eat in amazement, started giggling like a bunch of school girls. Ulen tightened his lips not wanting to further humiliate the now crimson rabbit. She sprang to Ulen and tried to hide behind him with very little success with their difference in height. Ulen couldn't suppress his sigh as he he tried to turn and leave only to have Carrot prevent him. Trying to use him as a shield to block the other D-Girls view of her. She wouldn't let him turn to walk out of the cafeteria. He briefly considered using Electric Touch at a higher setting to make her let go, but decided not too. He didn't want to carry her to the suite.
Ulen thought quickly, than took a small step back forcing Carrot to step with him. Than he tapped her leg once. He, concealing his discomfort, took a step right and tapped her leg twice. Finally, he took a step left and tapped her leg thrice. He had to perform the same movements and taps three times before he felt that Carrot had caught on. He did the whole routine once more just to be sure she had it. The D-Girls who had been giggling were now laughing like mad women, a couple had tears streaming down their faces while holding their sides. The sight of a 5'9" bunny girl trying to hide behind her diminutive 5'4" master, while they performed some strange dance was the most ludicrous yet endearing sight they had ever seen.
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The 16 year old Ulen, his dignity a fast fading memory, skillfully guided Carrot out of the cafeteria with the following combination: 8 three taps, 21 one taps and finally 7 two taps.
A security D-Girl had recorded the whole thing from multiple angles using the center's security cameras. Those recordings would provide years of laughter to the staff of the Ellington, Missouri Tamer Center. And with the nature of such things spreading to other centers. Making Ulen and Carrot minor celebrities.
Once they were out of the cafeteria and the sight of the thoroughly entertained girls in it. He sighed, in relief, as Carrot came unglued from his back. He crossed his left arm under his right and turned to look at her. She stood still her head hanging and face an even deeper crimson. Her left rabbit ear gyrating and the right standing straight up. (Imagine a little girl whistling while standing on her right leg and twisting the left)
"I...I'm...sorry...ma...master.", she said slowly and tearfully, her head down peeking at him from under her eyelashes, with no trace of tears. This, this, THIS, WASCALLY WABBIT!! Ulen briefly channeled the spirit of a long forgotten mythic hunter.
His face reddening than paling, he got a firm grip on his temper and dispelled all thoughts of wabbit hunting.
'HAa, well the only thing I lost was my dignity,...so no real harm.', thought Ulen trying to keep his inner dignity even if he had lost the outer.
"It's all right Carrot. It was an...interesting experience.", Ulen calmly (despairingly) said to his worried rabbit.
"Have you had enough to eat?", he asked her. Bravely prepared to face the gales of laughter emanating from the cafeteria. Carrot looking grateful at not getting yelled at. Violently shook her head, not daring to speak lest he change his mind.
"Alright. Lets get some sleep. I don't know about you but I'm 'barassed...beat, I mean beat.", Ulen let his real feelings slip. At his slip, Carrot mentally and physically huddled down into herself eyes really tearing up. Ulen mentally kicked himself grabbed her right hand with his left and laced his fingers with hers. It was a very intimate and possessive grip. He turned and walked to their suite, forcing her to walk beside him, not looking at her.
Carrot, let her master pull her along. Even more than Ulen, Carrot's emotions had been in a constant state of turmoil. From despair, to pity, to hope, curiosity, annoyance, fun, contentment, embarrassment and now to something she didn't understand. It was like the need for taming only not as desperately animalistic and it didn't demand immediate gratification. It also didn't make her feel afraid or ashamed. Only a little nervous and bubbly? Was all she could think of to describe it. Her unstable heart, spirit and mind needed an anchor and by accident not design, Ulen gave it to her. Carrot dealt with her confusion by focusing on the warmth of her hand joined with his.
The pair got to their suite and Ulen quickly opened the door and went in. They were still holding hands. They were both too tired to deal with the piles of items in the middle of the room. Ulen, regretfully? Let go of Carrot's hand. She looked a little sad.
"Carrot why don't you take the room on the left.", said Ulen not really giving her a choice, due to future considerations. His earlier instinctive action had caught him by surprise. He had settled back down and his more logical side had a say again.
The suite was called a three room, but it actually had four. A communal room and three bedrooms with beds large enough to comfortably hold three people. Normally only tamers with a full harem of six used the suites.
"Alright. Good night, master.", she said while nodding. She was tired but not, that, tired. She didn't really want to separate from him. No, she corrected herself she didn't want to be alone. But he wasn't giving her a way to ask and she had recovered enough to remember. That no matter how bubbly she felt he, literally, owned her and she was not sure what she meant to him.
The young couple stood there awkwardly, both wanting to say something but not knowing what. Ulen broke the moment.
"Good night, Carrot.", he simply said giving her a tired smile and walked to the center bedroom. He left the door open. Some might have taken that as an invitation. Carrot guessed he really was tired, but didn't want to close the door on her.
Still feeling a little bubbly she smiled after her master and went to her own bedroom to sleep.
Author's Note: Ok, in case anyone was gonna ask, I am not turning this into a rom/com. It will stay an adventure/harem. I just got abit carried away while writing this. So you can consider this chapter a bonus/interlude even if parts of it are relevant to the story.