The plan started off without a hitch. They were in position within the hour, and when the hounds started barking they knew it started. At that point Sandpaw and Fleta ran over to the fields, but they left the other two behind who were waiting for the second signal.

The rice patties were wide and wet. Sandpaw felt the marshy earth squelch as he walked. He was growing more confident that there were memories in his head that were… not truly his? Or at least not truly those of a bunny. He couldn’t help but think that this would be easier if he had shoes, some way to keep his paws out of the mud.

As he crept through the grain stalks he finally heard the first signal, as a loud bang came from the other side of the farm followed by loud barking from the place’s hounds. Instinctively he hid, even though he’d already been keeping his head down, and waited for the barking to get farther away from him. With that, he nodded at Fleta, and began to creep forward towards his goal.

Once they reached the end of the rice patties, Sandpaw and Fleta boosted each other over the two foot tall stone wall and into the next spot, the garden. It was wide, larger than Sandpaw felt was reasonable, and filled to bursting with a wide variety of different plants. “Okay, where are the roots?” He asked, knowing his advisor and guide would know where to go.

“The carrots and things are over here.” She said, ignoring the majority of the plants. “The other vegetables are hard to move all the way back to the Warren, so we mostly keep them here. They are tasty, and definitely filled with mana, but we simply don’t have the ability to bring them to the kits.” She shrugged, and Sandpaw supposed she was right.

Considering they had climbed through the drainage ditch he was unsure if he’d trust that eggplants and other such things would survive easily. They walked over and creeped into the last area, where a variety of green plants stuck out of the ground but didn’t have any sort of fruit.

“Do you know which one are the carrots?” Sandpaw asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I do, but this is a test as well, so perhaps you should see it as such. Go, grab what you think is right.”

Sandpaw shrugged, moving forward and digging out one of the plants, finding a brown lump inside.

“You have chosen poorly” She said with a giggle. “That’s a potato.”

“Laugh it up, you crazy…” He said, digging up a couple more plants. He found onions, radishes, and garlic before he finally dug up his carrot. It was huge and juicy, and a part of him wanted to eat it now, but he knew he had to get out of there now.

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“Alright, kit, you have to pick it up and bring it. Okay?” Fleta asked, glaring at him. He heard a large smashing sound from a ways away, it sounded like the Farmer had gotten out. There was a bang, as some form of magic went off in the distance.

“B-but, I don’t want to leave all of this here. What about my friends. I can always help them!”

“Don’t worry about them, you can come back later.” She grabbed his neck with her teeth and dragged him away. With sadness he sighed, grabbing his carrot and moving with her. After a minute she let him down and he hopped on his own four feet. The carrot was firmly in his mouth, and the delicious juices dripped from each of his teeth marks.

Climbing up the hill he found himself exhausted, his heart was moving like a jackhammer. The tree at the top of the hill was a welcome relief, and Sandpaw collapsed on the couch as he waited for the rest of the small community to get there. He kept the carrot in his mouth as he fell asleep, dreaming weird dreams.

When he woke up, a few hours had passed and everyone had gotten back to the tree. He saw that they had piled up their gains onto the main table. There were sprigs of leaves from a couple different types of plants, a couple weird looking roots, and some small fruit or buds, it was hard to tell.

“So, what have you guys collected?” He asked, raising his eyebrow, spitting the carrot out and walking over to the rest.

“Spices. The hairloom garden is filled with spices.” Joshua said. These roots are ground up for spice, these leaves and fruits too. All of them are made into mixtures by the farmer, I believe it’s what the two-legs call alchemy.

“Not quite.” Sandpaw said offhand. “Spices are only one small aspect of alchemy, technically what we’ve been doing in eating these plants are a form of alchemy as well.” He frowned, why did he know that. “In fact, my bet is that making those into a spice will increase their potency, maybe even enough to drive you guys towards evolving again.” There it was again, the weird sense that he could remember a life before. And yet, he had no such thing, right? Although, his brain was no longer quite as fogged as he thought about it.

“Wow, that’s a good job Sandpaw.” Fleta said. “You’ll earn your twoleg name in no time.”

He shrugged, grinning. “In any case, I need to get back to try and get my confirmation. I just hope my carrot doesn’t get all wrinkly this time.”

“Why not just eat it now?” Fleta said. “You’re not going to evolve right away, so if you eat it and then go there, I can go with you and confirm what you say. That way Elder Benjamin has to take your words.”

“You know what, that’s a great idea…” He paused for a second. “Can I take two of these though?” He asked, pointing at the haul on the table. “I have friends back at the warren, I’d like to give them a head start.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea. Take what you want. With a brain like yours, we’ll be able to get more in no time.” Fleta said, patting him on the head. “Now, eat the carrot.”