章 24: Chapter - 24
Yuki woke up tired. The pain in her jaw and chest felt inviting, something deserved. She shook her head, pushing those thoughts away, she looked around. Dark, twisting corridors under the earth, the turns and paw marks in the tunnel wall were unfriendly and unfamiliar.
At some point, she had left the nest, shambling blindly into the tunnels away from where her family had slept. The burrow was deserted. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she had at some point.
Boris' ridiculous smile came to Yuki's mind. The imbecile who wore shirts too small for him and was so blind he couldn't see Jenny didn't want to touch him with a ten-foot pole. It was all his fault, she reveled in the sudden anger. Yuki would have been here to protect her family if he hadn't poisoned her. She could have scared any silly human who dared to hurt the other bunnies if he hadn't taken her away.
Yuki ground her teeth, the sound echoing in the empty tunnels.
The next time Yuki saw the despicable human, she'd exact her vengeance. Oh, Yuki knew how to be evil and petty, she lived in the internet era. First, dominate him and make him gouge his own eyes out. Then she'd summon eldritch bunnies to burn him from the inside. But she wouldn't let him die, no. She'd heal him back up, only to start it anew. His suffering would be unending, mothers would tell unruly children of Boris' Folly.
Yuki walked to the nearest wall and hit her head against it, hard. She let go of her legs, flopping in a sprawl of limbs. She shook her head, clearing it from petty revenge thoughts. It wasn't Boris' fault. Yuki's family lived on a livestock farm, and she took too long to realize it.
The girl turned rabbit got up. She couldn't stay here anymore, she just couldn't, even if venturing outside was suicide.
"Status." The landing page appeared in Yuki's vision. She looked at the yellow parts of her body that still hadn't fully healed. She focused on the cup, and the numbers showed up again.
Magic Points: 6/18(20).
Yuki focused on the numbers, willing the system to explain things. For once, it did, in its own way.
Total Magic Points: 20.
Reserved Magic Points: 2 (Familiar Contract).
Usable Magic Points: 18.
Current Magic Points: 6.
Magic Regeneration: 1/day.
Additional Regeneration from Familiar: 1/day.
Current Magic Regeneration: 2/day.
She considered the numbers and their implications. Yuki decided that now wasn't the time to think about all the mistakes from the past days. She turned toward the first exit she found. Yuki couldn't stay here, but at least her MP was enough to cast two or three spells to defend herself. It would have to be enough until she found somewhere else to rest, away from the burrow.
Out in the moonlight, she observed the purple sky and strange stars. Was her family observing from there? She hoped this was some wannabe lion king cosmology, and each star represented one happy rabbit living their life away from any predator.
A sound caught her attention. Heavy and noisy, it waded through the trees, breaking branches and crushing leaves. Yuki heard panting breaths and, in the distance, barking dogs and calls of men.
Yuki lowered to the ground. She wouldn't flee anymore. If they wanted to take away the rest of the rabbits, she'd teach them a lesson.
Jenny burst into the open clearing of the burrow. The woman's eyes were wide, and she had several minor cuts on her face and hands. Immediately, they locked eyes as if the woman knew where Yuki was.
"Biscuit!" The woman gasped; she hadn't stopped her frantic dash. "Run!"
Jenny ran with her hands held in front of her face. In the darkness, she couldn't see the gnarled branches and shrubs. More than once, she fell. Her hands were scraped, and her knees bruised, but she couldn't stop.
From behind, the loud bark of dogs and the constant yells of the people chasing her. The quiet escape Thaddeus had planned went up in smoke the moment she shot down the guard. Like a wasp nest, men poured out of the manor, carrying torches, holding hunting dogs on leashes, armed with hunting bows and swords. Before she lost vision of the group assembling near the shed, she saw Gregory mounted atop a horse, yelling at everyone around.
She had no idea where he'd found a horse. Baron Baldwin didn't keep any in the manor besides those used in the carriage.
Running blindly into the tree fields wasn't the instant solution to Jenny's problems like she thought it would be. After her second fall, she had to slow down. She couldn't see the obstacles in front of her; the trees blocked most of the moonlight. The voices and torch lights from behind were getting ever closer, no matter how much she tried to pick up the pace.
The forbidden knowledge was eager to tell her about magics she could employ to save herself. To bend the light, muddle the mind, and transform into a harmless creature. It taunted her with knowledge of all the magics she could use but never the actual magic itself.
Jenny didn't know how long she ran or where she was going. For some time, her steps seem constantly going in the same direction. The more she followed that instinct, the more she was sure it was the right way. At some point, she waded through a thick patch of branches into an open clearing. Immediately, she knew what this was, one of the rabbit burrows. Her eyes locked on the single, small, almost glowing white, hornless bunny.
The rabbit's position was strange. Its head was lower to the ground, almost like it was preparing to pounce. Jenny didn't stop. She had no idea how she knew or how her pet rabbit got here. She called out, "Biscuit!" From behind, a dog barked, "Run!"
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