Monthly Drawing 28: You Must Remember This… (Patreon)

Trigger warning: No blood but, deals frankly with hunting.

Our Story:

Tucker O’Brien walked quickly and very quietly along the edge of the woods. His plan was to make his hide by the West meadow just before dusk to be there when the rabbits would begin their evening feeding. 

He carried his .22 lightly but, carefully, the bolt closed and the magazine in his pocket. It was cool but, not yet cold and he wore only his Carhartts and a wool flannel shirt. A light late-September breeze ruffled his red hair and he smiled at the scent of wood-smoke it brought. 

Tucker enjoyed hunting. His mastery of the four-part challenge of knowledge, awareness, patience and marksmanship filled him with pride. He didn’t hunt for the sake of killing, he was no ‘sport’ hunter. He enjoyed being as much part of the cycle of life as a modern human could be. Plus, he made a mean rabbit stew.

He would take only one rabbit tonight, if he got a clear shot. When he was younger, his father instilled in him the philosophy of always getting a clean shot. End the animal’s life instantly. To this end, his father made certain he was an expert marksman before he ever drew a bead on a living creature. 

Of course, as sometimes happened, he might not even take a clear shot. That’s how much he loved the ritual of hunting. He was equally happy going home with nothing as he was going home with dinner. It was easy as rabbit stew was, for him, a luxury and not a necessity. 

The sun was just below the thinning treetops when a shape popped up from the long grass about twenty meters in front of him. It took a second for him to register what it was. It looked, for all the world like a child in a very strange rabbit costume; as though someone had described a terrestrial rabbit to an extraterrestrial costume designer. 

It stood about four and a half feet tall with a large round head. Its lop ears were immense and bobbed behind it, nearly touching the ground. It seemed to have large, jutting eyebrows. 

It was very strange, indeed. Then, it began to move closer and its gait made him re-think his analysis.

Not a kid, he thought, it doesn’t move like a kid and not an it, a she. As it got closer, he saw wide hips, narrow waist and shapely legs; definitely a she. 

She stopped about ten meters ahead of him and he could see her face clearly. It regarded him intently and then put her head on one side, seeming to consider something. She nodded to herself and then, leapt into the air.

Not just leaping but, dancing in the air! Tucker was too stunned to move and too enthralled to be afraid. She began to dance and spin through the air above the meadow. Trails of glowing pink light seemed to surround her, flow from her and follow her. The light traced her complex path as she got closer and closer to him. 

She spun by him and he turned to watch her. She began a pirouette as she moved moved towards him and she spun faster and faster the closer she neared. The light spun around her like ribbons when she suddenly stopped directly in front of him not two feet away. 

Tucker started a bit but, did not flee. He just goggled at her. The pink lights faded into a miasma as she bobbed in the air.

He could see her so much more clearly now. Her fur was mostly smooth and brown with shaggy yellow tufts on her calves, forearms and the ends of her massive ears. Her face was quite feminine with large eyes above a small rabbit-like muzzle. It was her eyes that captivated him.

They were a dark pink with slightly slitted pupils and they were very expressive. They seemed to speak to him, truly speak. A sound, a thought resonated almost in his entire body. It wasn’t exactly a voice but, if it were, it would have been very feminine. 

“I think” it said sweetly but, almost with command, “I would like you to be my friend.”

“Um, I-“ Tucker began.

The rabbit moved very quickly and came up so close he could smell her fur. It was cinnamon? Cardamom? Cloves? He found himself intoxicated for a moment trying to place the scent when she moved even closer. She pressed her muzzle to his forehead and kissed him.

*SMEK*

“Oo!” Was all Tucker could say as a feeling of comforting warmth washed over him. 

He felt the warmth radiate from the kiss and spread over his body. Then, that body began to feel odd. First there was a slight chill as he dimly realized his clothes were disintegrating. Then a return of warmth as fur began to grow. He began to feel as though the world was getting larger around him, the trees, the grass the alien-rabbit herself began to seem larger. He began to feel softer, rounder, feminine. 

His rifle dropped from relaxed hands that were rapidly becoming quite paw-like and fell unheeded to the grass as the kiss continued to fill his world…