Is it Any Wonder? [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

Fleur smiled brightly at her brother. He was getting good at this sort of stuff wasn't he? She couldn't help but wonder if someone in the warren would be willing to treat her how to do a few things like that. Next time she hurt herself she could manage it all on her own. But that probably wasn't want a proper Doe would do.

When her mother spoke her ears perked. Her eyes lit up at the idea of being able to play without falling flat on her face because of tripping over herself. She nodded at her mother's last comment. It made plenty of sense. Now the question was what was the reason for her tripping? The big spill was caused by what exactly?

"I think it's mostly my ears... though sometimes I do trip over my fluff. It hurts a lot more when I trip over my ears though. Ah... Thank you Mom. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."

[Lucca]

Despite himself, the smile from his sister helped cheer Shelby up again. It made him hopeful that he and his sister could stay friends, despite having such different roles in life. ...of course, even if that were the case, the chance of them going to the same Warren after they grew up was practically nil. Sometimes, it was hard to just be a kid with such weighty thoughts hanging over his head.

Seena nodded, but still decided to take care of the fluff first. The front legs...especially since the fluff wasn't as much a problem as the ears, would stay, for beauty purposes. But as for the back legs...Seena held the scissors carefully, and began to snip, feeling a small pang as the fine clumps of blue hair fell onto the table. But it was necessary. Fleur was right. She deserved at least as much of a childhood as Seena could give her...they both did, really.

"Oh, my dear...it is the prerogative of children to cause trouble," she said sternly, but with a smile in her eyes. "However, I do expect you to tell me next time before you go out, all right?" Snip.

Shelby, knowing this warning was for him, too, nodded when Mom cast a glance his way.

"As for your ears, Fleur, they can be bound up. Many lop-eared Does do the same, and the result can be even more stunning than leaving them low. But the good side of it for you is that they'll be out of the way."

[Kari Muffin]

The little Doe was more than surprised when she watched her mother take the scissors and stop to snip off the blue fluffs. It was one of the few things that set her apart from just being a very plain rabbit. She had been told many of times she would grow into the role, but she always had her doubts.

Growing up was really hard.

But she sat still with little protest as her mother snipped the feathery trim. She glanced over at her brother with a curious expression. What did he think about all of this? Her attention snapped back to her mother when she spoke again. "Okay. I promise that I'll always tell someone before I go outside," she said brightly, obviously feeling better about the entire situation now that everything was taken care of.

"All right." She said as she continued to watch her mother. "Uh... Mom. When you were my age did you trip over your ears?"

[Lucca]

Shelby watched his Mom clip the feathery hair, but he was quickly growing a bit bored with this whole thing. He was ready to be back outside playing! Or, if he was confined to the Warren for the rest of the day, at least go play in his room. He glanced around the room, looking for something more interesting to do...when his gaze caught his sisters, and he tilted his head at her curiously. Did she find this more interesting than he did? Yes, she was a Doe, and a girl, but she was also a kid, just like him. And it felt like they'd been in here -forever-!

Well okay, more like twenty minutes. But that was close to forever!

Seena smiled, satisfied with the promises of her children to tell someone in the future. That would help to protect against any accidents. After all, Avington was such a different place for a Warren than anywhere she'd been before...so much less open. She couldn't help but think how easy it may be for a child to get lost in those woods...or for some stray Card to wander too close to their Warren...

Results were rarely good when that happened, for either Card or Rabbits.

Finishing her task, Seena put the scissors away and began to clean the hair up, though she paused at her daughter's question. She chuckled lowly, a gentle sound. "I did, a bit. Not very frequently, though I think that had more to do with my stricter guardians. Yes, believe it or not, there are Rabbits out there far worse about lenience than I!" She brought out a comb from the box, eyes twinkling. "Also, where I grew up, in the Selkie Lakes...there's less to trip over. Everything around you is water. It's easy to be graceful in the water with just a smidge of practice." She began to brush out the feathering on Fleur's front legs. Yes, it was still pretty enough to get her noticed, even without the matching set on the hinds.

Seena also knew her apparent grace had to do with the fact that she'd been more the sort of child to read a book in preference to any other sort of leisure activity, and most of her precious free time had been spent sneaking into her Father-Jack's library and eagerly devouring the books there.

[Kari Muffin]

Fleur was getting rather bored. It was taking forever to solve the problem, and she wanted to be doing something else. Though she would be the first to admit that hurting herself did limit her options of running around and playing, so she would probably go back to studying or something boring like that. Which meant she should probably enjoy the time she had now.

She tilted her head at her mother's comment. She had heard plenty of stories about how strict other warrens were. And she was terrified at the prospect of having to be shipped off to one at some point. Was Heike going to ship her off to some scary place like that?

The idea of water was a nice one. "Could you... maybe teach me how to swim properly someday then?" Since grace seemed to be something that had to be forced for the little girl.

[Lucca]

Shelby was openly surprised that his Mom had used to trip too. The idea almost didn't make any sense. He wrinkled up his nose. What did his Mom look like as a kid? Probably a lot like his sister did now. He hopped from foot to foot, even these thoughts not enough to distract him from the boredom.

"Shelby, stop that fidgeting," Seena said, casting a quick glance her son's way. "If you find yourself bored, you are quite welcome to return to your lessons. I believe your tutor told me you two were working on the proper way to make a bed?"

The little Lev frowned. "But Mooom, making beds is boring too. Can't I play a little more?"

"Later," Seena responded shortly. "You've goofed off quite enough for today, I'd wager. But perhaps we can see about getting the two of you some time tonight, after supper. You could even go out, since it's supposed to be a pleasant night, though Fleur will need to be mindful of her leg. And assuming, of course, you behaved yourselves until then."

Shelby's ears perked back up and he nodded. "I'll be good, I will be!"

Seena smiled and turned back to her daughter. "As for swimming, I'm sure I could find some time to teach you, once your leg is healed up and it's warm enough. Until then, just go easy on it, all right?" She nuzzled her daughter's head, and then hopped over to get out a small golden band, which she quickly fastened around Fleur's ears. She could tell her children were getting antsy, and she had a book to get back to, anyway. "Is that too tight, dear? We can find something a little prettier later, but this should get the job done for the moment."

[Kari Muffin]

"Thank you Mom!" she said cheerfully. The prospect of her mother being able to teach her something that didn't involve reading sounded exciting. As much as she enjoyed learning how to read... it was sometimes terribly boring. "I promise I'll go easy. I won't open it up or anything...." Because it would hurt again, and she liked it better when she wasn't in pain.

"This is good," she said after a moment of shifting her around. It didn't pinch, it didn't fell awkward, and the best part was that she wasn't going to trip over her ears again. "Thank you Mommy. I'll go back to my lessons now unless... you want to punish me."

Hopefully she wouldn't. Hopefully this little slap on the wrist would be all the punishment she got. Most of all she truly hoped that Mom wouldn't tell anyone what she had done. She didn't want to get in trouble with Heike, and she didn't want any of the leverets to "watch her closely."

[Lucca]

Shelby wondered if he would be invited to go swimming too. His Mom's attitude towards him was inconsistent at the best of times. There would be times she almost completely ignored him, times when she'd yell at him for everything, times when she'd actually act like his Mom...and times where she'd just look at him with this endlessly sad look in her eyes. Shelby had no idea what that look meant, but it was a little scary.

Hopefully he'd at least be able to sneak along on the swimming venture, maybe carry the towels or something. That was a cheering thought.

"Good." The question gave Seena pause, and she looked at Fleur carefully for a moment, then turned to give the same look to Shelby. At last, she sighed, and shook her head. "I think what you've been through today was punishment enough. But if you sneak out of the Warren without telling someone where you're going again, there will be consequences, and you won't like them. Do I make myself clear?" Her blue eyes burned as she gave her children a stern look, though she also began to gather together the basket to take it back to her room. It was true, though, that Heike might still hear of this, as Seena told him most things unless he looked too busy to deal with them.

Shelby stood up straight, ears held perfectly rigid, at Seena's look. "Yes, Mom."

[Kari Muffin]

Fleur gave a hopeful look at her mother. She wasn't going to be punished? That was fantastic. And she would be a good girl and tell anyone if she was leaving the warren... that was assuming she went out to play with her brother. She was still tempted to sneak out on her own every once in a while.

Who could blame her? This warren was boring as hell. For children at least.

Her thoughts were brought back to reality when her mother spoke. "Yes, Mother." She said with a timid smile. At least she wasn't angry, and at least she wasn't going to yell. Everything was going to be fine as long as she was careful.

With that she slowly slipped off of her seat. Now she had to go back to studying and being a good little Doe. "Thanks Shelby," she said to her brother as she passed by him with careful hops.

[Lucca]

Getting the expected replies from her two children, Seena knew that would have to be god enough for now. Who knew if they would actually keep their word, but they were, after all, children, and prone to getting in trouble. Ah well. For today, at least, she was sure they'd behave. Taking the basket in her mouth, she hopped out of the room after a final look at Shelby and Fleur. After all this, she felt she deserved some time to herself with her book.

Shelby watched his Mother leave the room, and just as he turned to help his sister off the table, she was already on the ground. He blinked, thrown off by this, and managed to stutter out a response. "D-do you need help getting back to class?" He frowned lightly. That wasn't quite right. "I mean...you're welcome. Just what brothers are for, you know?" He did hope she accepted his offer of help, though. Otherwise he'd have to just go back to class that much sooner. Ugh.

((ooc: do we wanna end the thread? or timeskip? Up to you. ^^))