You Know What Some Might Say [Finished]

[Lucca]

She never quite knew how it happened. One moment, she was on her way to the same old patch of wild watercress she visited on a regular basis, the next she was suddenly farther from the Warren than she'd meant to go, perhaps farther than she'd ever been before. She never should have been thinking about anything other than getting to where she was going, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't stop her mind from wandering to other places and other things that had nothing to do with her day to day life as a servant. Not that she minded being a servant, after all, it was her lot in life as a Leveret and her duty to perform every task to the best of her ability. But that didn't mean she couldn't think about being something else every one in awhile, as long as she kept these thoughts to herself.

Except when it distracted her enough to get her...here. Wherever here was. The familiar warmth of blood seeped out of her back, though not as much as it once would have been. She was, slowly, learning better control. Teaching herself that better control was okay, necessary even. She stopped and sniffed. Perhaps she should just retrace her steps? Looking back, she could see them there...her footprints in the muddy bank of the river she'd been trying to follow, before realizing it wasn't the right one. With a sigh, she moved to turn when...she heard footsteps.

Footsteps that were lighter than Rabbit paws. Was she so far from the Warren that that was possibly a...a Card?? Panicking, the little Rabbit dashed quickly for a stand of rushes, diving into them and crouching low. She was shaking now, fear as well as shame welling up within her and making her feel almost choked.

[Lucca]

He almost missed it. Making his way wearily on foot through Selkie to visit an old friend of his mother's, Colin was brooding, and his mind was certainly elsewhere. He just barely noticed the small streak of grey that rushed across the path in front of him and buried itself in some foliage. Even so, he might have thought nothing of it but for the sudden, strong feeling of deja vu.

The back of his neck prickling, the Cardinal stopped. He looked over at the grass sharply, eyes narrowed as he looked for any sign of movement. To his great annoyance, he found an odd pull towards the mystery, and he was standing right near the edge of the patch before he realized he had been moving. He had to know.

True, it may have just been a small animal and not a...what he thought it was. But then, that's what he'd mistaken it for at first last time, too, and then...

Frowning, Colin flapped his wings, parting the rushes with the gust of air, and felt a sort of grim satisfaction when he saw a small form start. He thought he saw the tell tale long ears and short tail, as well as a pair of wide, frightened eyes for a moment.

Letting the wind die down, Colin sighed deeply, and decided to make peace with this odd situation once and for all. "Excuse me," he called into the rushes, feeling, despite himself, a little silly. "You don't need to be afraid. I won't hurt you." He cocked his head a bit. "I know what you are," he added, which came out sounding a bit more threatening than it had in his head.

[Lucca]

As the footsteps drew closer, the little Rabbit's worse fears were realized. She caught the glimpse of pale purple...pale purple -feathers-. It WAS a Card! Oh no oh no. And what was worse, it was coming closer! It must have seen her! Mythiril fought against the rising sense of panic in her chest, little heart thumping painfully. Her back began to bleed again, and this time she let it, for her shame at having been Seen was too much to endure without punishment.

She remained as still as a statue as the weird-looking, blue feet-claw-things approached, wide eyes watching their progress through the spaces in between the rushes. And then...then she felt a strong gust that blew her fur around and revealed her hiding place, and she barely surpressed a squeal of fear, and she had no idea what to do but shut her eyes tightly and hope that the horrible creature would go away, and take its weird tricks with it.

But instead of leaving, the Card began to -talk- to her. Myth felt like passing out. She forced herself to stop bleeding, but that just made the swimming feeling of dizziness worse. She had no idea what to do. She had just broken the single most important rule of society: NEVER be seen by a Card unless in disguise.

She did't even really listen to whatever the odd thing was saying to her. She really didn't want to know what it was talking about. But after silence didn't make those feet move away from her, Myth figured she should say something...anything!

"G-go away!" she cried in a small, shaking voice.

[Lucca]

Silence met his request. A silence that seemed to stretch on for an unnerving eternity, leaving Colin to feel stupider and stupider with each passing second. Maybe he -had- just imagined it. Maybe the grey thing had been a normal squirrel, and nothing even sentient. Or maybe he was finally losing his mind. He was about to turn around and just try to forget this ever happened when a tentative voice finally spoke, so softly and haltingly that he almost could have imagined it...except that he would never imagine any sort of creature being quite that rude to him.

Frowning, Colin leaned down a bit, squinting to try and make out the...thing in the shadows. "Excuse me, but that is a very rude thing to say to someone you just met." He 'hmmphed' slightly. "I would think everyone would be taught basic manners, even if you are a...a..." He swallowed, finding that he couldn't actually say it. "Even if you aren't a Card. Now come out here and we can talk like civilized beings, if you please. My name is Colin, and there's really no need to be afraid." His voice was calmer at the last, and he offered his best attempt at a warm smile to where he assumed the other creature to be concealing itself.

[Lucca]

The little Rabbit shivered. It still wasn't going away. It was still talking to her! Reluctantly, she raised an ear...and pulled it back down, feeling a rush of shame. The Card...it was scolding her. More trembling. More warm blood seeped out of the magical cuts on her back. Listening to its voice she realized it was a -he- and she felt even worse. How could she disrespect a Male so, even if he was a Card? Slowly, she pulled herself to her feet, it taking a few tries because of a sudden fit of dizziness. Oh, right, the bleeding...with a small whimper, she force it to stop, though this made her head spin again and her stomach ache with shame.

Slowly, she made her way closer to the Card, crawling along on her belly, and peeked up at him. "H-hello, I apologize for my rudeness S-sir," she began in a small voice. "M-my name is Mythiril, and I am your humble servant." Clumsily, she got to her feet so she could give him an attempt at a bow.

[Lucca]

Colin's would-be friendly smile faltered slightly as it seemed the Rabbit was going to continue to be rude to him...but wait. Now the small creature was making its way toward him...slowly, but still! He smiled down at the curious little thing, wings twitching a bit in interest. Rabbits were such odd looking creatures...and it was hard to believe he was actually seeing one. Again.

"See now, Mythiril?" he asked gently. "That wasn't so bad, was it? Now how would you like to--" Abruptly, Colin broke off as he noticed something. Blood, and a lot of it, enough that he could smell it and it made his stomach churn uncomfortably, even as he worriedly looked over the little Rabbit for any signs of injury. Had the poor creature been hurt when it dived into the bushes? There...on its back! Three jagged slashes, and for a moment Colin felt panic. Had some predator done this? He leaned closer and opened his beak to ask, before something clicked. The grey fur. This Rabbit was from the Mid-Range, and so the bleeding was, in some ways, natural. It was a...a choice, if he could remember correctly. Nevertheless, it was quite alarming. Could a Ranger bleed themselves to death? The only other one from that region he really knew, his friend Ichigo, had never bled himself in front of him, and now he was glad of that fact.

This poor little Rabbit must be feeling shame, then...shame at...being seen. Colin felt bad again. "Mythiril," he began again gently, "It's okay. Are you...does it...hurt? You're so small to lose so much blood...are all Rabbits so small? Come on...let's get you somewhere safer..." Kneeling, he drew a first aid kit out of his messenger bag, gently mopping up the blood around the magic cut and cleaning the area with disinfectant. He didn't know if Mid-Range cuts culd get infected, but it was best not to take chances. And he sort of felt responsible for this, so he needed to make sure the little Rabbit was okay.

[Lucca]

Myth kept her eyes downcast in respect as Colin spoke, feeling some of her fear ebb away...until the Card abruptly broke off. Myth froze, wondering what she had done wrong...her heart raced as she could feel his eyes on her, and could only imagine how angry he must look...she noticed him kneeling, coming even closer, and she trembled, sure he was going to kill her or eat her or whatever else angry Cards did to little Leverets who were stupid enough to be Seen by them...he did something and her back began to sting horribly...she was about to bite him, in a last measure of self defense, and...

And then her mind caught up with the words he'd said moments ago. Wait. He wasn't angry, he was...worried? About her? Now that was confusing. She thought all Cards hated and feared Rabbits, so why would one ever offer -help- to one such as her, the lowest and meanest of all creatures? She swallowed against her dry throat and the coppery taste of blood in the back of her throat.

"I...I'm fine..." she said quietly. He was not a Mid-Ranger. He couldn't possibly understand. "Most Leverets are small, almost as small as me, though I'm not quite full grown yet." Wide, blue eyes looked up at him fearfully. "Y-you're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?" she blurted, the question out of her mouth before she had a chance to think it through. She blanched as soon as she'd said it, hoping he wouldn't take offense. He was just being so -nice- and she had no idea why...

[Lucca]

After cleaning up most of the blood and sanitizing the cuts, Colin summoned a bit of fresh water with his ability to wash her fur the rest of the way, then took out a blanket and wrapped her up in it. He picked her up gingerly in his wings, feeling a bit awkward, since they weren't made for holding anything. Oh, to have a biped form...

Leveret? What was that? He was about to ask, when the question came. The little creature was so fearful anyway, Colin felt the need to put her mind at rest about this. He had decided the Rabbit seemed to be female, at least, though he wasn't entirely sure. "Of course not. Do I look like the type of guy who'd enjoy being called a lunatic?" Colin shook his head, then realized this might be unclear to her. "Among Cards...Rabbits are thought to be a myth," he explained, and then had to stifle a laugh. Myth...the word was so close to her name...

"I met a Rabbit once before, you know," he said, almost to himself. "It was when I was a child, in my own Realm...I got just a glimpse of it, but then, it turned and...stuck its tongue out at me. Very rude of it." He frowned slightly at the memory. "I've never told a soul about it, oh no. No one would ever have believed me..."

[Lucca]

Myth's ears went back in confusion at his outburst, but when he explained...she was a bit taken aback. Cards thought Rabbits didn't exist? Well, that certainly explained...a lot. Quite a lot. She frowned slightly, young face screwing up. That must mean the Rabbits -wanted- Cards to not know about them. It would certainly explain all the rules about not being seen by them...

"I...I'm sorry," she muttered quietly, though unsure why she said it. She was feeling a bit sleepy...but no, no! She had to get back to the Warren soon. Wherever that was. She whimpered slightly as a jolt of fear made her shake a bit. What was she going to do? She couldn't possibly let the others know about this! They would think her even more useless than before, and possibly even Bad Luck or a danger to have around! And she was already missing so many of her duties and everything back home...

[Lucca]

Colin sighed wearily as all the little Rabit could manage in response to his words was another apology. Such a meek little creature. He thought he'd seen similar behavior from Palace servants and pet Aces before. Maybe Mythiril had low standing in whatever bounds encompassed Rabbit society? Maybe. Gently, he stuck the little bundle of blanket and warm, 'fantastical' creature into his messenger bag, leaving just her nose poking out and her blanket-covered ears. He could clearly see, having travelled so much himself, what the Rabbit refused to acknowledge to herself: that she was not fit for anymore travel today. He'd have to find somewhere close and safe to take her, and the thought made him antsy. How far was he from the nearest town? The family friend he had been planning to visit didn't live in any major area, preferring her home nice and isolated. And taking a Rabbit there was out of the question. He'd never be able to hide it well enough, and he shuddered to think what the superstitious woman would do if she actually -saw- the Rabbit...probably kill it. Ugh.

Straightening up, he listened carefully for the sound of either people, or water, figuring that if he found on of the lakes, even a small one, there was bound to be a town nearby. He hoped. Not hearing much of anything except birds and the wind through the trees, the Cardinal continued down the path he was on before, but resolved to take the first fork he found.

"Don't worry, little one," he mumbled, brushing the bundle in his bag absently with a few feathers, "We'll get you somewhere safe." An inn would be ideal, especially one where he could just run in and get a room, no questions asked.