Sandpaw sighed as he walked back into the woods. “Well, there’s only one more thing I need, food for the kits… I’m not going to be able to carry it from out here though. I suppose I’ll have to start back.”

Sandpaw didn’t have pads, just soft fur under each foot and paw. It was odd, as he knew that bunnies weren't meant to have pads, but he knew some elders that had them. His soft fur muffled every step and hop he took in the dark under the canopy of the trees. He was thankful for the help in stealth because, well, the raven who’d helped him wasn’t going to do so again.

As he snuck through the forest his ears twitched, hearing a sound from a few dozen feet away. No, I can’t get distracted… He said to himself as his body trembled. He wasn’t sure if it was in fear or anticipation as his paws began to move himself towards the sound. He couldn’t stop himself, this curiosity would be the better of him.

The underbrush got denser as he moved forward, as if even the forest canopy above was warning him this was a trap. There was something that said this was a horrible idea, and he was going to die. His heart beat wildly, and Sandpaw felt a mental tug in any direction but where he was going. However, his stubborn curiosity kept pushing him closer and closer to the sound.

After a minute of quiet climbing up a hill he found himself on the other side of the underbrush, popping his head out into the fresh air and a much more sunny area. There was another clearing of sorts, a wide path that cut through the woods and was unobstructed by trees and brush. The path was stone but cracked and old, pounded almost to gravel in places. On the path stood a person.

It was a human, at least he was fairly certain it was. It was hard to tell from this far away, as the person was moving around with a sword in their hand. They were fighting off a pair of foxes. Sandpaw shuddered, foxes were the one thing that every rabbit was warned would eat them easily. He was in no mood to get eaten so he started to turn away and leave.

He couldn’t watch this, besides he knew that humans could easily take out any fox. It was only a matter of time. He heard a yelp, and turned to see one of the foxes limping with its leg cut. See, that was a simple solution, now all he had to do was disappear into the brush and neither group would be any the wiser. It was then, of course, that Sandpaw heard a snap of a twig behind him.

Getting up, the small bunny ran into the road and began to run away from whatever was behind him. Of course, that left him running right into the melee, the foxes biting at him and the sword just barely missing his ears. That was a closer one, and he tried to resist turning back but couldn’t help it. There was what was behind him, it was another fox. However this one was much larger and more intimidating, larger even than the human.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Sandpaw kept running, it wasn’t like his help would be any use. He only got a glimpse of the person and realized they had a mask on. Their face was featureless except for blue glowing eyes and two large antlers growing out of their mask. The fox was running behind him so he put on speed.

If there was one thing rabbits were good at, it was running. Their hindquarters were blessed and able to get them to safety. He ran, his paws loping into the ground, but every time he turned around he found himself face to face with the fox once more.

The sun had started to set, and the fox looked like it was glowing with a bright orange light. However, in the distance behind the fox Sandpaw heard the baying of dogs and saw a glimpse of blue. There were ghostly figures behind the fox that were chasing it as it chased him. That was it, his salvation!

“If I just get out of the path I can hide long enough for those dogs to scare the fox off.” With that declaration he began to look for a place to hide. It came all too soon as a bend in the path occurred, there was a tree planted right where the path turned. It had scraps of rope hanging from it, and Sandpaw saw a small hole in it’s bottom. He began to zigzag his running to confuse his persuer.

With one last leap he made it into the hole and tucked himself into the back of the tree. The fox was too large to fit even its muzzle into the tree, so all he could see was the fire from its mouth for a few seconds before it was tackled to the ground and dragged away. He saw what had been chasing it, dogs. Ghostly hounds that were completely translucent.

Climbing out of the hole Sandpaw looked up at the tree, it was a large oak with sparse branches but a strong core. In fact, this was exactly what he was looking for, and he began to search for acorns. There were several scattered on the ground, and with a paw he began to gather them up before sticking them in his mouth, hoping he got the right ones as he tested each for rot.

As he turned away he got a glimpse of a white bone sticking out of the dirt and closed his eyes. A part of him had already known, this tree was a place ful of death and suffering for humans, one he didn’t want to look too closely at. Moving forward he took a left and began to walk through the woods again.

It took him an hour, by which time full dark had come, for him to return to the Warren. He’d been lost, it was hard to find your way without any sign of light or knowledge where you walked. There, in the clearing next to the warren’s wall, was the Raven.

“Ah, you come at last, I was afraid my work was for naught. Come closer so that I may take my price.”

Sandpaw nodded, spitting the acorns into a pile and walking forward. “So what’s this price?” He asked, looking up at the raven. When he woke up later, he realized that may have been the wrong question.