Lucky Rabbit

“What are you?”

Pandy could have said the words along with the boy who was staring at her so intently. How many people had asked her that by now? Way too many, which meant she was doing a very poor job of pretending to be a rabbit. Not that she should have expected anything else. After all, it wasn’t like she’d ever been good at anything before, so why should this be any different?

She just stared mutely up at Isidor, though, red eyes meeting black ones in the depths of one of the longest nights of her unlife. She couldn’t answer, even if she wanted to, and she wondered if anything she might say would actually make a difference anyway. Probably not, if the suspicion in that dark gaze meant anything.

Slowly, Isidor stretched out his hand until it just brushed her fur. He moved the finger back and forth, moving only a few hairs as Pandy held still, almost quivering with the need to run. Sure, he was only a six-year-old boy, but there was still something slightly menacing about him. Was it the thin, ascetic face, or those bottomless eyes? Or maybe it was simply the fact that he’d had the presence of mind to hurl a tactical tortoise into the heart of a Fire elemental bent on mayhem.

Whatever was behind the feeling, Pandy’s skin quivered, fur jumping as Isidor moved his finger over the surface of it. Then he sat back, shaking his head.

“I grew up on the edge of a desert,” he said softly. “It was leeched of life by Dark elementals hundreds of years ago, and only now are a few bushes and small animals beginning to appear again. Tortoises, mice…and rabbits. They come out at dawn and dusk, eat, then settle into their burrows again, waiting to emerge when the predators sleep. Thaniel says you were a wild rabbit before he found you, but you don’t act like a wild rabbit. You don’t act like a rabbit at all.”

Well, that answered that question. Pandy had just gotten her first performance review as a bunny. One out of five; needs to show more commitment to her role.

“But I’ve watched you with Thaniel,” Isidor went on, glancing at the sleeping boy, “and you care about each other. Today, you healed me and Geraldine, and I really think you were surprised by what happened with Ms. Wellington. So was I.” His lips tightened, and something like self-recrimination flashed across his face.

“I didn’t tell anyone about you.” Isidor said, gaze returning to Pandy. “And I won’t, as long as you don’t do anything to make me believe I need to.” He hesitated, leaning in and lowering his voice even further. “I’m…not exactly what I seem, either. But I have a job to do, and I think that at some point, I may need you to help me do it.”

Pandy backed up, her furry behind bumping into the leg of Thaniel’s bed. She looked up, then back at Isidor and shook her head. The boy gave a small, lopsided smile, looking far more mature than any six-year-old had a right to be.

“No, I’m not here to hurt Thaniel, or anybody else for that matter. And I won’t ask you to do anything that would hurt him, either. So, do we have a deal? I keep your secret, and you help me out if I need it.” He put out his hand, one finger extended.

Slowly, Pandy laid her paw on the thin, brown finger, noticing how calloused the boy’s hand was. Those weren’t the hands of a pampered noble, but Isidor had never claimed to be that. Still, he had to have spent years working hard at something in order to have developed such well-worn fingers.

Isidor moved his finger up and down in a tiny, solemn handshake, and Pandy gave an equally solemn nod. Isidor bowed his head and made a gesture Pandy had never seen before. Right forefinger extended, the other fingers of that hand loosely clasped into a circle, he turned the palm up and closed his eyes, breathing out slowly. His left hand hovered protectively over the right as his lips moved on the inhale, and after a few such breaths, he opened his eyes again and nodded back.

“Done and done,” he murmured softly, before rising and padding back to his bed, where he climbed beneath the covers and rolled away, presenting Pandy with his back. Pandy stared at him, then shook her own head and hopped back up onto Thaniel’s bed, wriggling beneath his arm until the furnace-like heat given off by his small, sleeping body chased away the chill that had been left in her bones by the interaction.

She spent the rest of the night going over every interaction she’d had with, well, everyone, trying to figure out who might know that she was something other than a normal rabbit. In the end, she came to the depressing realization that the only people who might not have figured out that something was hinky were those who just hadn’t spent much time with her.

The good news was that they all seemed confident they knew what she actually was, and none of them seemed to be worried about it except for Lian. It was the first time in her life that Pandy had ever been thankful that she was the kind of person who everyone dismissed as being completely helpless and probably pathetic.

Of course, the bad news was that Pandy herself had no idea what they all thought she was. Other than Lian, who was pretty sure she was a demon, and Thaniel, who thought she was…what? Some kind of high-tier elemental able to take human form?

Pandy rested her head on her paws and waited for morning to come. Which it did. Because morning always came, unless, of course, you died during the night, in which case there would be no more mornings for you. Unless, of another course – was that how that worked? – you were Pandy, in which case there were lots more mornings, and no sleep to actually let her mind rest.

By the time the cacophony that was the morning bell rang, Pandy had come no closer to figuring out what to do. She could turn into a human now, but the only human she could turn into was Ms. Wellington, who nobody liked. Plus, she only had an hour in human form, which wasn’t enough to do anything.

Thaniel sat up, stretching, until the neck of his nightgown slipped to the side, revealing the edge of his scar. It looked particularly red today, and Pandy wondered if all the worry and running around yesterday had irritated it. Maybe she should try to get some ice for him in her one-hour window of opposable thumbs and bipedal locomotion?

The boy absently pulled the fabric back into place, and swung his legs out of bed while rubbing his red-rimmed eyes. He had slept deeply, but there was no doubt he could use more time in bed. The same was probably true of all of the children, but school must go on.

Pandy had already hopped out of bed, but she froze as she realized that wasn’t true. It was Saturday. Now, Pandy had spent most of her life getting up just as early on the weekends as on every other day, because she always had chores or work, but in Gacha Love, Clara was allowed to sleep in on the weekends if she wanted to. There was no bell, and it was a good chance to make sure she regained her full Stamina, especially since a lot of late-night events took place on Fridays.

Apparently this was one difference between Condor and Falconet, possibly because the children were so much younger? Whatever the reason, the morning went on exactly as it would have on a weekday, with the boys going back and forth to the bathroom, getting dressed, and then trooping down to breakfast.

Only four teachers sat at the head table, including the chancellor, who had distinct bags beneath his eyes this morning. The smiles he gave the children were a little more forced, too, and when mounds of fluffy pancakes were served with what Pandy was willing to bet was real maple syrup, he only picked at his food. So, what had he spent last night doing? Were they still searching for Ms. Wellington? If so, she desperately hoped they hadn’t found anything.

There were even fewer students at breakfast than there usually were during the week, because some of the children who stayed at the school on weeknights went home on Friday night or Saturday morning. There were fewer tables set, and this forced students to sit with different people. Most of them started conversations with their new seatmates readily enough, but that just made the space around Suzanne that much more obvious when Thaniel and Isidor entered the dining hall.

“Suzanne!” Thaniel called, almost sounding like his usual cheerful self. He sat in the chair to Suzanne’s right, while Isidor took the seat to Thaniel’s right, leaving Suzanne’s left side open. That changed soon enough, when Geraldine and Abbington entered, looking almost as tired as the chancellor, and sat in the two empty seats on the left. Pandy just enjoyed the flow of Corruption Points that came from sitting so close to the young Dark mage.

+1 Corruption Point for entering Dark Aura I

She only got one about once every thirty seconds, but over the course of a nice, long meal, that should be- The scrape of a chair made her edge out from between Thaniel and Suzanne’s chairs, looking toward the head table. The chancellor was already standing, and he smiled tiredly as he said, “As this is our first weekend together this term, I’ll go over a few things. First, you are all more than welcome to visit the stables, training yard, library, or gardens. We will have games and snacks available in the dining hall throughout the day, but please restrain yourselves to eating a reasonable amount.”

He paused to see if anyone had questions, but no one did, so he went on. “Some of your teachers will be available if you have questions, and staff members can help you with horses, practice weapons and armor, or anything else you may need. Please continue to act with the decorum expected of you as the future leaders of our country, but also relax and enjoy this time. Bells will alert you to lunch and dinner, but you don’t need to attend if you don’t wish to, or if you’ve already filled up on the wonderful treats our kitchen has prepared. There are no chores today or tomorrow.”

Again he paused, and the children watched him expectantly. Nodding, he finished, “No one will be allowed off campus this weekend, but in future you can arrange with a teacher or staff member to go shopping, to a park, or other activities. Tomorrow, a priest of Ismara will be in the Dance classroom all day, and there will be a short service in the morning for anyone who would like to attend.”

Ah, yes. That was a thing in Gacha Love, too, but for whatever reason, neither Clara nor any of the love interests were particularly religious, in spite of Clara’s Light magic. The services were mentioned once, by Chancellor Blackwood, as it happened, and then never brought up again. In fact, the church and religion in general were another thing that seemed to be added to the world for flavor, rather than being an integral part of the story.

The chancellor smiled around at the students, told them to enjoy their weekend, and then departed, abandoning his plate of soggy pancakes to be discarded. Pandy stared at them longingly. She had only gotten some strawberries, hay, and a handful of blueberries, and breakfast pastries were one of her very favorite things. She didn’t even know how many boxes of Waff-os she’d bought and eaten over the years, in spite of the fact that they were more expensive than pre-cooked flour and water had any right to be.

As the children polished off their breakfasts, Thaniel for once not dropping a single crumb, Suzanne looked like she’d like to say something, but stopped each time. Only when the servers were carrying the empty plates away did she finally burst out, “What happened yesterday?”

Thaniel, Geraldine, Abbington, and Isidor looked at each other, and Thaniel opened his mouth, only to close it again as Isidor nudged him, shaking his head. “We need to go to the seamstress,” Isidor said, standing. He patted his pocket absently before adding, “We can tell you if you come with us.”

Geraldine brightened at this. There was no doubt she was feeling Eleanor’s absence more than the others, and she said, “Do come, Suzanne. I need to find the infirmary, too. Do you know where it is?”

Now Suzanne looked worried, and stood up as she said, “Are you hurt? If you are, we should go there first. Mrs. Farrier won’t mind.”

Geraldine shook her head. “I’m fine, but Ellie-” This time she was the one who got Isidor’s pointy elbow in her ribs, and she, too, stopped. The tall boy sighed, clearly accepting defeat, and began to speak quietly as he moved toward the door leading to the kitchen and Mrs. Farrier’s workroom. The other children trailed after him.

“It started when Ms. Wellington led us to-”