Testing Rikko
A light knock came at the door just as Sarahi and Oro were gearing up to go to work. The Rabbit opened it with his habitual frown. Fortunately, the Dalmatian on the other side was no longer put off by that expression, accepting it as Oro’s default. “Hey there!” Dane greeted with a smile.
Oro snorted as he pushed the screen door open, and he and Sarahi joined the Dog on the porch. “Hi. What brings you over here so early in the morning?”
“Good news, or I hope you’ll take it that way,” Dane answered, leaning back against the rail, “We’re having a barbecue at our place for Peace Day. You’re invited,” he chuckled, as if that should have gone without saying, “We’ll also be having Rikko and Lua over. I think you met him when Kita came to talk to you, but I don’t know if you’ve met his wife.”
Sarahi blinked. “Yeah, we’ve met him a couple of times now...and I don’t know why, but somehow I’m surprised that he’s married. Do they know about...?” She let the tail of that question hang as Kitt came through the door, all smiles as usual, and Dane blinked at the unfamiliar face.
“Hi!” the larger Dog quickly recovered himself, extending a hand to the stranger, “I’m Dane. You’re...new here, aren’t you?”
Kitt giggled as she took the hand, “I sure am! I am Kittkattarevielleketikit, of the village Eldriven, and very pleased to meet you,” she beamed.
Dane’s smile fell a little slack at the name, giving curious looks to Sarahi and Oro. “Just call her ‘Kitt’,” Oro shrugged, “I can’t get my tongue around that mouthful, either.”
“Uh...huh,” the Dog nodded, “And is she...?” he wiggled a finger between Oro and Sarahi.
“Eh, yes and no,” Sarahi smiled sheepishly, “It’s a bit of a story. We’ll share it at the barbecue, but right now let’s leave it at she’s staying with us. And she’s a lot older than she looks. Kind of like the twins.”
“Hey, now!” Kitt gave her a mock-insulted look, though she couldn’t hide the grin, “It’s rude to talk about a lady’s age where I’m from. Is it different here?”
Oro rolled his eyes. “Nothing personal, but we gotta get to work,” the Rabbit growled, “Thanks for the invite. We’ll be there.”
Dane’s smile returned, and sincerely. “Good. Glad to hear it,” he clapped Oro’s shoulder lightly, then started down the steps off the porch, but paused before he quite got into the yard. “Uh, much as I’d like to hear that story, though, we should find another time to share it. I think you were about to ask if they know about our relationships,” he glanced back at Sarahi, “And the answer is ‘no’, and we’re not entirely sure how they’d take it if they did. They’re good folks, but a bit more traditional, so we don’t plan to mention it. Although,” he added with an embarrassed look, “Now that I think about it, Rikko might know. Or at least suspect. We were kind of in a compromising situation that night he saved us, so it depends on how much of that he put down to being caught in an emergency.”
“Well, I’m sure he won’t go telling it around town,” Sarahi giggled, leaning on the rail to wave goodbye to him, “Right. We’ll mind our mouths, too. And we’ll bring the sides, so you just worry about the steaks!” she winked.
“Thanks,” Dane smiled, giving them a last wave and heading back for his own house.
Kitt grinned. “Well, this sounds juicy. Secret relationships? Shared between their house and ours? Should I be told about these affairs, or sniff them out myself?” she teased with a sly look at Sarahi, licking her lips.
“Oh, no, it’s not like that,” Sarahi assured her quickly, “Last winter they entrusted us with some pretty personal confessions about themselves. And we told them exactly how and why we’re all living together. Neither situation is really accepted in our culture, on the whole...though ours might be called the more tolerable of the two.”
Kitt smirked like she’d already figured out a secret Sarahi refused to tell, though. “Uh-huh. And is that why your scent is suddenly warm with lust and the rise between your legs?”
The Sha'khari’s mouth fell slack, and she instinctively pulled her front paws together to hide what hung between her back ones, despite being well covered by her jeans. “That is not...I mean...” She gave a half shocked and half embarrassed look to Oro...who simply clamped his hand on top of Kitt’s head, lifting and carrying her down the steps by a vice grip on her skull before dropping her in the grass.
“Don’t embarrass her,” the Rabbit growled, “He’s a hot piece of tail with a way brighter smile than her husband. How the fuck do you think she’d respond to that?” he scowled. Then he leaned down close to Kitt’s nose, where she could take a good, deep whiff of his sincerity. “Don’t insult my wives. If you ever suggest that either of them is disloyal, I will punch you in that nose you’re so proud of. Understood?”
Sarahi rubbed her face. “Honey-bunny, that’s too far,” she sighed, despite feeling grateful he trusted her even in the face of her natural attraction to other people.
Kitt, however, smiled like she’d been praised, tail wagging happily. “Starting now?” she asked hopefully, “Please?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Look me in the eye and tell me with a straight face that you actually think she’d go there, much less has.”
Sarahi blinked, and Kitt smiled, giving her a sly look as her nose twitched. She seemed to think about it for a long moment before looking back to Oro. “...No,” she answered, sounding almost disappointed, “She’s easy to turn on, but her loyalty is sharp and clean. I can follow a scent trail six months old, and every scent on her belongs to your house. Much as I’d like you to cut loose on me, I’d deserve it for the lie. That’s not something I do to you.”
“Yep,” Oro grunted, and let it go at that. Sarahi was more than a little flattered. “They know us,” Oro continued briefly, “Because they tried to kill the witch’s ghost just after I got tricked into body-guarding her. I beat their tails, but not half so bad as I beat the bitch when I found out she was after their kid. They appreciated that. We made up and became friends. End of story.”
His wife winced a little at the brutal truncation of that story. “Accurate, if over-simplified. And yeah, I kind of get a rise out of Dane and his wife. Actually, I’m pretty sure Gemi gives everyone a rise, and takes pride in that,” she chuckled, “It’s going to be amusing to see how she curbs that with guests around.”
While they did their regular patrol of the mountain, Sarahi gave Kitt the more complete story of how they came to meet their neighbors, and the strange twists of fate that had led from them being momentary enemies to something like friends. At the end of it all, Kitt had to press her nose against Oro’s back as they walked, taking a deep whiff to reassure herself his scent had not changed. “That’s not like you, Broro,” the little Dog rocked her head, “I mean, the beatings, sure, but...going out of your way for strangers? Especially when it meant you’d be bound to the witch for even longer? That’s not something you would have thought about twice back home. I’d be less surprised to hear you made sacrifices of all of them, then killed the witch for spite as soon as she took her first breath.”
“Oh, that thought definitely crossed my mind,” the Rabbit growled, thumping his bat firmly on his shoulder. Shrugging her away from his back, he pointed the weapon over his shoulder at her nose. “I told you before: things are different in this world. Get used to it.”
Kitt nodded briefly, her smile back in place. Sarahi bit her tongue on her thoughts about Kitt’s brother from that other world, including the fierce desire to deny Oro was anything like him.
They took the following day off to meet with the Gritpaws and Fineclaws. Gemini came bouncing out the door to greet them before the family had quite reached the porch...or as close to bouncing as her plump tummy would allow. “Hello!” the Doberman beamed as bright and loudly as ever, “Long time no see! Rikko and Lua are already here, so make yourselves at home. Dane and Ares are working on the grill out back, if you want to enjoy the smell of searing meat,” she giggled, then patted her belly with a grin, “And just so nobody feels rude asking about this: It is exactly what it looks like.”
“Oo, congratulations!” Tuli immediately cheered, practically dancing up the steps to give the Doberman a hug.
“Oh, wow, has it been that long since we saw you guys?” Diya laughed as she skipped up to the porch to follow Tuli’s example, “Now I feel bad.”
“Don’t,” Gemini giggled, accepting and returning hugs all around, “Pretty sure you guys stay busier than we do. Busier than I do, anyway. We ought to invite you over more.”
Sarahi snickered. “Oh, I don’t know about that. You’re already on your second, after all.”
Gemini blinked...then shared in her laughter, nodding full agreement. “Well, I’m kind of hard to beat in that department,” she winked before ushering them through the door. The counter dividing the kitchen from the dining nook was covered in finger-snacks and ready-made sandwiches, with a notable empty patch reserved for the steaks to come. Oro added the beans, cole-slaw, and potatoes they had prepared, dangerously close to the edge of the over-crowded counter, then joined the rest of the family in the living-room.
“And that, of course, is Oro,” Gemini grinned as he stepped into the room, still in the middle of introducing their neighbors to the pair of Rabbits visiting with them. Rikko, smiling absently as always beneath his tired eyes, offered a friendly wave.
Oro’s skin crawled, but he managed to keep the grimace off his face and returned the gesture, then turned his eyes to the Giant Flemish standing beside (and more than a head above) the Jackrabbit. “Lua, right?” the scarlet-furred Rabbit grunted.
She blinked at him, like the color of his fur had her dazed, then nodded. “Yeah, nice to meet you,” she answered just a little hesitantly.
“He’s grumpy, but I promise he doesn’t bite unless you’re a monster,” Gemini giggled, giving the nervous Bunny a friendly nudge with her shoulder. Then she smiled at the little Hound wagging her tail patiently at the back of the group, looking around and sniffing curiously. “Aaaand...Kitt, was it? We haven’t met yet. Welcome to our place,” the Doberman beamed, waving her forward and offering her hand to shake.
“Thank you!” the energetic little Dog answered, happily bouncing forward to take the offered hand. She and Gemini might have been sisters, between the matching brightness of their smiles and tempo of their tails. “Wonderful to meet you!” Turning a friendly smile to Lua, she asked, “Is it your first time here, too? You seem nervous.”
The large Bunny, a little over double the Dog’s height, nodded. “Eh, sorry. I’m not fond of in-person crowds. I’m more of a gamer-girl, where all I have to do to escape when I need a breather is take the headset off.”
“Oh? What do you play?” Sarahi asked with a friendly, sincere smile, “I know SkyCraft isn’t typically considered MMO material, but I was pretty in to it back when life wasn’t so busy.”
Lua’s face immediately lit up. “Oh, it totally counts!” she argued, and began describing a small city she and some other builders had put together in that game, then went on to list some of the more recent titles she was enjoying. Sarahi smiled and nodded along politely, though she wasn’t very familiar with most of the list...
“Forgive me, dears,” Tuli broke in on the conversation with a warm smile, “I’m kind of out of the loop these days. What’s an ‘MMO’?”
Oro rolled his eyes, but left it to Tuli to do what Tuli did best: work with people. She wasn’t nearly that out-of-touch with modern entertainment, but her feigned ignorance gave Lua an opportunity to share her hobby, which tamped the Bunny’s anxiety considerably, not to mention gave Kitt cover for her modern ignorance. The little Dog was listening with eager attentiveness to every word that was said, soaking up terms and contexts she had never encountered in her own world. Between Tuli’s questions and Sarahi’s polite, more technical prompting, Oro wouldn’t be surprised if they all left the room as fast friends and Kitt started asking to play a MOBA.
“Hey, there’s our other hero!” Dane cheered as he entered from the back deck. The Dalmatian was carrying a tray piled with still-sizzling steaks to lay on the counter, while Ares held the door for him.
Oro grimaced at the greeting, balling his fist in warning. “Don’t make me punch you. I’m just higher on the food-chain than a monster.” Taking one more look around the crowded living-room and kitchen, he asked, “Aren’t you missing two? Did I scare her off with the kid?”
“Not at all,” came a quiet answer from the stairs as Johanna slowly, carefully made her way down them one-by-one with Orion in her arms, “Just sparing Gemi some diaper duty. She’s better at meet-and-greets.” She paused at the last few steps, noticing the new, uniform color of Oro’s fur. After a moment the Dalmatian seemed to decide not to call undue attention to it, and finished descending into the room.
She paused when Oro intercepted her on the way to hand off the baby to Gemini, tilting her head curiously as the Rabbit gave Orion a long, thoughtful look. “...Do you want to hold him?” the Dalmatian offered, subtly probing for his thoughts.
“Nope,” Oro answered instantly, “It’s just the first time I’ve really had a chance to look at him. Cute kid,” he declared in an accusatory tone, further confusing the Dalmatian by reaching out to gently pat Orion’s head once before heading back to the kitchen. Now that everyone was gathered, he figured it was time to cut down that pile of steaks a tad...
It was a warm and friendly visit, for the most part. Conversation drifted from games to movies to occupations, and finally came around to monster-hunting, and exactly how Sarahi and Oro accomplished that. That explanation, of course, demanded that they explain at least a little about where they had gotten their weapons.
Oro let Sarahi do most of the talking, adding only the occasional (usually snide) remark. While the Sha’khari told them about The Gauntlet, and specifically her first venture into it with Oro, he was keeping a constant, wary eye on Rikko, as if waiting for some sort of reaction. His distraction did not go unnoticed.
“Oro, dear,” Nayeli asked at last, quietly, “What’s bothering you?” Something had been on his mind practically from the moment they arrived. She could tell. There was a subtle difference between his relaxed-grumpy and tense-grumpy (so subtle that she and Sarahi were probably the only two who could make the distinction), and he had definitely been the latter all afternoon.
He glanced at her briefly, as if impressed that she’d noticed. “‘S nothing to do with what we’re doing here. Leave it,” he grunted, then immediately returned to watching Rikko’s every move like a hawk.
Nayeli quirked a brow, first at her husband, then at the Jackrabbit, then back again. “Still nervous about him, huh?” Neither Oro nor Sarahi had mentioned the Rabbit’s encounter with the Rikko-clone on the mountain, or she might better understand her husband’s unusually pointed interest.
“Nothing about this guy makes fucking sense,” the scarlet Rabbit growled, but softly, as if he worried about disturbing others for a change, “This isn’t even my body anymore, and my skin still crawls at the sight of him. The fucking demon is wary.” He gnashed his teeth, growing more tense the more he thought about it. “Just what the fuck are you?” he asked, this time more loudly...much more loudly, so that Rikko (and everyone else in the house) could clearly hear him. Sarahi stopped her storytelling with a confused blink.
The older Jackrabbit continued putting together little cracker-sandwiches for a moment, ignoring the question, until he seemed to remember that everyone in the room right now had already been disillusioned of his disability. So he faced Oro with his ears cocked curiously to one side, as though he did not understand the question.
“I’ve asked around about you,” Oro snorted, “All the moving companies know your name. Everyone who’s ever worked construction in this town seems to have your phone number. Everyone’s got a story: this one says you tighten bolts with your fingers, that one watched you carry couches single-handedly. There’s not a doubt in the world you’re strong,” the younger Rabbit’s ears flicked contemptuously, “But that doesn’t explain this twist in my gut.” He gestured around the room, at the rest of his family and the Gritpaws and Fineclaws all gathered together. “Not a soul here feels threatened by you. No one I talked to can remember seeing you in a fight, though some claim to have heard a story about it. Once. Hell, none of them could remember you being mad at any point, much less violent. So what is this, and why am I the only one feeling it, like the dread of a sheep that sees the wolf beneath the wool? I gotta know.”
Rikko...tilted his ears the other way, still curiously, but now seeming to ask more what Oro was proposing than what had him worried.
Oro jerked his thumb toward the door. “How about it? Let’s you and me have a little friendly match. If I see you in action...either I’ll finally be able to relax, or I’ll learn where this fear is coming from.”
“...Are you serious?!” Sarahi gasped, looking around at all their friends, “Oro...I think I know what you’re thinking, but I also think you’re wrong. This guy’s been nothing but a gentleman and sweetheart every time we’ve met him. I get something about him bothers you, especially after what happened last week, but that is no excuse to go looking for a fight.”
Everyone (except Kitt) tilted heads at that little remark. “‘What happened last week’?” Nayeli echoed, “What did happen last week?”
Lua obviously had the same question, and was about to ask something similar of her husband when Rikko surprised everyone with a simple shrug, as if whatever was about to happen could not be helped, then put his plate down on the table, waved vaguely in the direction of the yard, and started for the door. Probably no one was more surprised than his own wife. “Wait, you’re going along with this?! Rikko, what the Hell?” the Bunny nearly choked on her sandwich. It didn’t help that she was, effectively, the stranger in the group, and now her security blanket was leaving the room to do something extremely out-of-character.
“Oro,” Nayeli sighed, shifting her priorities as he also got to his feet, “When you say ‘friendly’...can you actually do that? You have something like an obsession with winning, even in play.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the scarlet Rabbit grunted, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his hoodie as he followed the Jackrabbit, “If he’s as strong as everyone says, he’ll be fine whether I hold back or not. Chill.”
“Will he, though?” Diya asked quietly, more to Lua, who was sitting beside her, “Do you know if he’s ever been in a fight?”
Lua, surprisingly, shook her head, apparently struggling to make up her mind whether she wanted to go outside and watch or wait here to be told the outcome. “I wasn’t there when it happened, but from what the kids said the next day, that one fight people keep talking about wasn’t much to speak of. I don’t think he knew his own strength at the time, and the other guy was just lucky Rikko was trying to give him a chance to walk away. I remember thinking Danny didn’t look any worse than usual for someone who’d been in a fight, when I got to see his face...but he did look rather worse than usual for someone who only took one hit. No one ever messed with Rikko after that, so it was good for kids with regular bullies to stand near him.”
Sarahi shook her head, waving for Lua to keep her seat as the Bunny finally started to stand. “I’ll stop him. He’s a jerk and a half, but he’ll listen to me and Nayeli.”
“Wait,” Lua surprised her, quickly catching up to the Sha'khari and following her onto the porch, “This is so unlike him...he’s not even the aggressive sort, forget a fighter...I can’t help thinking he agreed for a reason. A specific one. An important one. I can’t imagine what that might be,” she admitted with a wince, “But I’m sure of it. So...let them be, for now. He is strong. He’ll be fine...I think.” She had heard stories, of course, just like everyone else. Her husband was something of a quiet, local hero. He’d swum across the river to save a fisherman from a sinking boat. He’d held up a collapsing bridge while emergency supports were wedged under it. He’d kicked a monster in the face and sent it running...and that was straight from the Gritpaws’ own mouths, describing what had happened in front of their own eyes!
But he’d never been into it with anyone who might be able to go toe-to-toe with him. Lua wasn’t sure how he’d handle that. And even if Oro wasn’t as strong, she’d heard Kita talking about why she’d hired the scarlet Rabbit. That kid was experienced, and not just against other people. He had slain monsters.
“Not saying you shouldn’t have confidence,” Johanna cut in, leaning against the porch rail and scrolling through something on her phone, like usual, while the two long-ears put a little space between themselves and the audience, “But are you sure Oro will be okay?” Turning her phone toward Sarahi and Lua, she showed a photo from an old news article. A bystander had managed to catch one of Rikko’s heroic moments in a snap-shot, showing the stack of iron tracks on his back as he kept them from falling on another crewman. He held them until the rest of the crew could get a crane turned around, just to avoid an uncontrolled spill, according to the article.
In spite of the picture, Lua was surprised to hear pretty much his entire family burst into laughter. “We all love that jerk,” Kylan chuckled, “But if he bites off more than he can chew here...well, I think that’d probably be good for him.”
“He’s had some close calls,” Nayeli agreed, “But he’s gotten too used to winning. A solid loss would be a good lesson.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not the first time they’ve hoped to see that,” Oro growled quietly, heard only by the Jackrabbit across from him, as he rolled the sleeves of his hoodie up to his elbows, “They’d better not hold their breath. Now I’m only going to ask this once,” he growled, stabbing an accusing finger at Rikko, “Did we run into each other up by the peak of Witch-Mountain?”
Rikko didn’t immediately deny it. But the look he gave back to Oro was that of someone trying hard to remember something from the distant past, in an effort to give the benefit of the doubt to someone they otherwise might have to regard as just a little crazy. After appearing to give it some serious thought, the cinnamon-furred Jackrabbit finally shook his head. Oro...was not convinced.
“Fine,” the Rabbit growled, taking a step back to put just enough distance between them, “Let’s do this, then. Don’t you dare hold back,” he warned, noting the Jackrabbit’s casual stance and generally relaxed air. “No hold’s barred, no trick is dirty. I want to see what you’ve got. If that’s unfair, too fucking bad, whether that’s for me or you. You got a problem with any of that?” Rikko shook his head, stretching his arms briefly before putting his fists up next to his face like a boxer.
Oro had flashbacks to his first “practice” against Sarahi. His opponent looked every bit as green and soft now as she had then. Oro suddenly doubted his instincts for a moment, and wondered if he was genuinely up against the wrong guy. Even in the best scenario, though — and it would be easy to take “mistaken” as the best scenario — he was itching to put this guy to the test. “Okay,” Oro grunted, popping his own knuckles and assuming his customary hunch of a stance, “All that said, I won’t bring any weapons into it. I’m not out to kill you. Tap out when you can’t take anymore. Now here I come!” he announced loudly, heading off any accusations that he had started without due warning.
Then the Rabbit moved, closing the distance they’d put between them with blinding speed, and kicked Rikko square in the stomach before the Jackrabbit could react. Rikko slid backward several feet, falling on his knees and clutching his stomach with wide eyes, unable to draw a deep breath. Everyone in their little audience winced. “Oro,” Tuli called gently, about to ask him to go a little easier on the rookie, much like she’d warned him to be careful of Sarahi’s face the first time they’d tussled in the yard. Oro cut her off with a glare and a bark worthy of Ares.
“NOT ONE FUCKING WORD!” the Rabbit insisted, pointing at Rikko, still huddled on the ground, “This fucker fought off that monster with his bare fucking hands! Don’t you underestimate him for a second! And you!” he rounded on the Rabbit in question, “Don’t underestimate me, either! You take this seriously, or I’ll beat the fuck out of you for insulting me!”
“...I don’t mean to sound heartless,” Ares muttered with a sigh, “But he’s got a point, sort of. That thing tore a hole in our wall, but didn’t even leave a bruise on Rikko when he saved us.”
With a bit of effort, and still fighting for a deep breath, Rikko got his feet under him and stood back up, giving Oro a respectful nod. Then he doubled over and spent a moment tossing up the snacks and soda he’d eaten at the party before now. Still half-bent and bracing one hand on his knee, he gestured with the other for Oro to come at him again.
The absurdity pissed the younger Rabbit off, and he did indeed come at Rikko again, this time with a three-punch combination to both sides of the head, driving Rikko back several steps, and one right between the ears, planting Rikko’s face in the dirt. Shaking the stars from his eyes, Rikko pulled himself to his feet once more and raised his fists...before Oro hit with another flurry, driving him further across the yard and down on his knees again.
Nayeli was hiding her face in her hands in shame. Sarahi was gritting her own teeth and fighting the urge to charge out and pounce on Oro to force him to stop. Poor Rikko could barely keep his feet under him, though he seemed to have found some degree of mobility now, and was carefully working his way in a circle to keep them in the yard. He’d managed to avoid taking a hit in either eye, or even the mouth, but Oro was working his head over hard.
“PUNCH BACK!” Lua surprised the pair by lunging at the railing and yelling at her husband, “Kick his ass, Rikko!”
The Jackrabbit glanced in her direction briefly. He looked...disappointed, strangely. While his eyes were diverted, Oro swung a hard kick up into his ribs, lifting the Jackrabbit off his feet and depositing him on them again several inches back. “Pay attention!” the scarlet Rabbit barked.
Sarahi tilted her head, blinking curiously as the Jackrabbit side-stepped Oro’s follow-up, turning back toward the porch. “Actually—and I know this sounds crazy—but right now, I kind of think Rikko’s winning.” That earned her an incredulous stare from Lua...and most of their other friends, for that matter. “I mean, I’m usually too close to the action to take measure of it like this, but I’ve done a lot of sparring with Oro at this point. He’ll never admit it, but he wears out fast. He’s strong...like, ‘makes my arm hurt through the shield’ kind of strong...but that doesn’t extend to his endurance. Oro likes to keep things brutal and short. A hard-and-constant barrage like that will exhaust him.”
She winced as another trio of hits rained down on the retreating Jackrabbit. Rikko had made no effort to go on the offensive thus far, though he had managed to keep his feet and find his mobility by this point. As the blows kept falling, he was also getting his arms and hands in the way more often...though not always. Oro, meanwhile, seemed to be losing some of his steam as they circled around the yard. The blows were still heavy, but the gap between them was getting longer, and the younger Rabbit’s own breath was growing every bit as labored as his opponent’s.
“I don’t know how much comfort it is,” Sarahi admitted, “But I’d have been down after the first flurry, if I didn’t have my shield. I’d be having trouble keeping my guard up by this point in any case. But cheeks aside, Rikko’s basically the same as he was to start. His guard’s even improving. If he can keep it up a little longer...a war of attrition is the one kind Oro doesn’t win.”
These facts had not gone unnoticed by Oro, either, who paused his barrage for a moment to catch his breath and reassess. His knuckles were starting to sting, and he still wasn’t satisfied with any of the hits he’d got in. Plenty were landing, but not where he wanted, and not as effectively as he’d expected. “Alright,” he hissed, flexing his fingers to return the flow of blood to them for a second, “Color me impressed, but I’m also getting pissed. You can take a hit, but you haven’t thrown even one. Pitying me? Looking down on me?”
For the first time, Rikko grinned, and gestured for Oro to come at him again. The scarlet Rabbit’s ears and chin went slack. “You little fuck,” he hissed, even as the corners of his mouth turned up in a grin, “Are you trying to say...I don’t have what it takes to put you down? Is that what you think?”
Rikko flashed a big grin, and two thumbs up, before balling his fists again. Oro laughed outright. “Alright, then,” the younger Rabbit grinned savagely, “One more go. I’m giving you all I’ve got in this one. If you’re still standing after that, I’ll call it my loss and admit you’re right. Good luck.” Rikko nodded. Oro relaxed, and grew very still...
“No, Oro!” Sarahi yelled, taking off into the yard.
“By the authority given to me...,” Nayeli began saying, calling on her newly gifted power in an effort to stop what they both knew was coming.
They were both, needless to say, far too late and too far away. It was over before all four of the Sha’khari’s feet had touched the grass. There were two distinct but near-simultaneous pops. The first happened when Oro disappeared, using the infamous “quick-step” Sarahi had come to know and fear. The second happened when Rikko’s fist connected with the charging Rabbit’s stomach. The power in that arm, combined with the speed of Oro’s rush, pushed all of the Rabbit’s internal organs to the wrong side of his spine for a fraction of a second. Oro fell silently onto his back, a look of shocked confusion frozen on his face even in unconsciousness.
“...Holy fuck!” Oro gasped, jerking upright the instant his eyes popped open. The mere fact that he could breathe seemed to shock him, and he took several quick and short breaths, bordering on hyperventilating.
Sarahi immediately caught his shoulders, pulling him back against her side firmly. “Whoa, there! Take it slow, honey-bunny,” she advised, “My ribs hurt just seeing that hit. How do you feel?”
She was laying in the grass of the yard, letting him lay with his head and shoulders pillowed against her side. The sun was still high and warm in the sky. He hadn’t been out long, he determined. Not nearly as long as he should have been. “...Fine,” he admitted, surprised, “Better than I have any right to be. What happened?”
“Well,” the Sha'khari sighed, glad to hear he wasn’t in pain, “It looked to me like you ran yourself right smack into Rikko’s fist, and frankly I was afraid it would come out the other side. The shock must have knocked you out, because you just kind of collapsed. He checked your pulse and your breathing...and your eyes, though I’m not sure what he was looking for there...then figured you were okay and went back inside. That wasn’t even five minutes ago. Nayeli went to heal his cheeks, then she’ll be back out here. Oh, and I don’t know whether Lua’s more likely to chew you out or just gloat over your loss, but you shouldn’t expect her to be nice after this little fiasco.”
Oro snorted, as if insulted by the very idea that he’d care if someone was nice to him or not. “Ran into his fist?” the Rabbit sneered, “Fuck that. He kept up with me. He stopped me from hitting him where it counted, and just ate the rest to make his point. Fucker’s made of iron and lightning.” Sitting up, he heaved a reluctant sigh before admitting, “Fuck whatever he says: he was definitely on the mountain last week. I still don’t know what he is, that has Gorgorond shaking in my skin...but he’s right to. That guy can take us. Hands down.”
Sarahi’s head rocked thoughtfully from side to side. “I have to admit...it was surprising. I still don’t quite believe it, but I’m still not afraid of him, either. I don’t see him ever lashing out the way you might have, back in school, so he doesn’t scare me even as much as you still do. How...do you feel, now?”
Her husband grinned, and answered with a chuckle, “I want a ‘round two’. I’ve never met anyone I couldn’t beat when it came down to it. My pride’s wounded.” The Sha'khari rolled her eyes, asking herself why she should be surprised. “Not today, though,” Oro promised, rubbing his belly where he could still feel the imprint of those knuckles, “He got me, fair and square. My curiosity’s satisfied. And I think you’re right about the rest. What the fuck is he?” the Rabbit repeated his question from before the match, now more certain than ever that the mute Jackrabbit had more than a few secrets behind that tired smile.
“I don’t know,” Sarahi shook her head slowly, “But I’m glad you got it out of your system. Now, you really should say something to her.” She gestured to Kitt, who had been sitting on her knees in the grass a little to one side, looking...apprehensive.
“...I’m so sorry, brother,” she whimpered when he gave her a curious look, “My nose...li-lied.” She gnashed her teeth at the confession, looking about as upset as either of them had ever seen her, “He smelled normal. He smells normal now. Just when he hit you...for just a second, I caught a whiff of something else. Like the impact forced it out of him. But it was gone by the time you fell, and I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to identify it. I can’t even smell it on him now. I’m sorry.”
Oro rolled his eyes, and laid back against Sarahi’s side. “Oh, shut the fuck up,” he chuckled, “You are the embodiment of ‘TMI’, and you share every scrap of it that goes through your head whether we ask for it or not. Apologize when you knew something you deliberately didn’t tell us.”
Sarahi nodded her agreement. “Kitt, this isn’t even your world,” she reminded the little Dog quietly, checking the door to the house to be sure they were the only three out here, “I’ll be the first to admit, the amount of things you do know is staggering. It’s tempting to think you’re psychic sometimes. But there’s bound to be some things here that surprise you, besides just the technology. None of us expect you to know everything.”
But Kitt shook her head vigorously. “I don’t pretend to be omniscient. Especially here. But my nose always knows! I can smell souls, for crying out loud!” she reminded them, looking downright ashamed now, “It’s not impossible, I’ll admit. Things can be hidden from me. But it’s hard, and usually explained by something else covering the scent. I get nothing from that man except ‘Rabbit’, just like Broro, and the smell of the mountain that hangs on all of us. The scent of your spear lingering on you is stronger, Sarahi.”
“Can you smell my quick-step?” Oro asked before Sarahi could remark on that. The question caught Kitt off-guard, and she shook her head quickly. “Exactly. People are weird. We can do things, or learn to do things, that aren’t inherent to what we are. There’s no way you could tell all the things a person is capable of just from scent or sight. Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out later.”
That seemed to reassure the little Hound somewhat. Smiling again in relief, she crawled over to lay down at Oro’s side, also pillowing her head on Sarahi. “Thank you.”
“Hey, you,” the Sha'khari chuckled, nudging her with a back paw, “That’s Nayeli’s spot. I charge exorbitant fees to anyone else that tries to lay there. Yours can be up here,” she teased, patting the grass between her front paws.
Kitt’s response was to cling tighter to Oro’s arm, grinning in challenge. Oro rolled his eyes, then got to his feet and brushed the grass off his clothes just as Nayeli came back out to check on him. Rikko welcomed him back inside by wagging his thumb between the ceiling and the floor with a questioning look. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Oro grunted, not entirely certain which question was being asked, “And we’re cool. Fair fight, no hard feelings.” Rikko smiled warmly at that, nodded, and brought the other Rabbit another steak...while Lua grinned smugly, looking very proud of her husband.
