Time to Rebuild [End]

[Greenie]

Giovanni needed an ally. His Warren was so secluded in the depths of Esterberry that few Jacks bothered to travel to visit him, despite the fact that there were at least two nearby - but he didn't trust that Highlander one much, not after the rumors that the Jack had one of his Does now. No, no, the Avington one was a better bet; he was a new Jack, he'd heard, having moved up from a Leveret, and he was quickly making a place in the world for himself, and had a bigger warren than Giovanni did.

A bigger warren than Giovanni did now, at least. Life just felt like kicking him - somewhere uncomfortable, didn't it? It was no matter though, no matter.. he would rebuild, he just needed to re-establish himself and make some connections, and all would be well.

All would be well.

He'd made the appointment with this new Jack several days in advance, and made the day trip out of Esterberry and over to Avington. He couldn't stay long, not with Alohilohi alone in the Warren, but he had to go.

The Esterberry drew himself up tall, straightened his coat, and knocked on the door.

[Kari Muffin]

Heike's Warren was still disorganized. The Jack didn't have everything where he wanted it. Seena was going to be having children. They were still short staffed. He had heard news that someone was looking to get rid of a leveret for the right price. He needed to find things he had been keeping hidden for such an occasion.

So when someone knocked on the door, he was the only one around to answer it.

The Jack had been kind enough to contact him him in advanced. Everything had been planned, but nothing went the way Heike wanted. The Jack rabbit's ears drooped lightly as he slipped the freshly picked flowers into the vase. He glanced around his rather small study before going to answer the door.

This wasn't proper, but at the moment he wasn't about to interrupt the things that needed to be done desperately.

"Hello, I apologize if you've been waiting long." Heike gave a slight bow. "I'm Heike of Avington, and you must be Giovanni, please come in and make yourself comfortable."

[Greenie]

Giovanni slowly rose an eyebrow as he was kept waiting for longer than a minute. Where was this Jack's Leverets? It wasn't precisely rude to be kept waiting under such circumstances, but it was also highly irregular.

He quickly smoothed his expression back down when the door finally opened. He was planning on seeing a Leveret at the door, or even perhaps a Doe, but could only blink when he was face to face with the Jack himself. He quickly regained his composure and bowed in return. "Yes, I am Giovanni. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." The Esterberry followed Heike in, and made sure to keep himself carefully neutral, even as he noted the many imperfections and things out of place in the Warren. He would never let things stay in such a disarray.. but it could be set aside, considering how new of a Jack this man was.

[Kari Muffin]

Heike could already tell from the look on the Jack's face that he didn't approve. Of course it wasn't like he could go back in time and relive those delicate moments of a first impression. Either way the Jack was now in his warren and it was time to play the host.

They arrived in the sitting room. It was perfectly arranged, with a sofa and several plush chairs. There were a variety of portraits on the walls, and two vases that were mirror images filled with brightly colored flowers. In the center of the room was a nicely polished oak table with steaming hot tea already placed in the center. Both of the cups were already arranged for the chairs, and already poured.

"Please, take a seat," the rabbit said motioning to the one of the chairs. He was certainly relieved that at least a few things were going smoothly. He would have to thank whoever place the tea out for them when this was all over.

"I do hope your trip went smoothly, most people have a difficult time navigating the forests of Avington." He took a seat in his favorite plush chair as he spoke.

[Greenie]

Giovanni's snotty opinion was somewhat appeased when the study was decently organized, even if the rest of the Warren was not. The state of one's personal space reflected the state of one's mind better than any other place. If he was in command of his study, then perhaps this visit would go better than the past few moments had reflected.

"Thank you," He murmured in response, and sat in the chair indicated. The tea certainly did look appealing.. The Jack picked up his cup and sipped appreciatively.

He shrugged slightly in agreement. "It was fine, yes. I've traversed Avington enough to be mildly familiar with it," He replied. Truthfully, he'd had a bit of trouble at the border, but he wasn't about to admit that. "I trust all is well here?" Giovanni asked mildly, curious as to how Heike would respond. He was expecting a well-spun lie, at the least; to reply with the entire truth would be... amusing.

[Kari Muffin]

Of course he had to ask such a question. Heike picked up his teacup with a smile, sipping it before actually answering. Tea calmed the nerves. Not this very moment, but it would make things better along the line. "Actually things are going rather well. Despite a few things still being out of place, I've actually had quite a bit of luck recently. One of my Does is pregnant, I have a potential trade in the works, and you've come all the way from Esterberry to grace me with your company. I don't think my life could get any finer."

He gave the other Jack an award winning smile. "Well, of course things could be perfect, but where's the fun in that?"

Was this the part where he was supposed to laugh at his own joke? He took a long sip of tea instead. He lightly paced the cup on the saucer when he was finished. "If you don't mind me being too forward, your letter wasn't all that detailed. I'm curious to know why you've traveled all the way to Avington to meet me, of all the jacks."

[Greenie]

Giovanni tilted his head in interest, then raised his teacup to Heike. "It sounds as if congratulations is in order, then." He said pleasantly, with a hint of an indecipherable smile. "I hope your good tidings last. It's certainly not across the board for all Warrens."

"Ah, indeed.. The life of a Jack is full of surprises. I imagine the only one of us living any sort of perfection would be the White Rabbit.. and such notoriety can't be much fun at all," He replied with a snerk.

The Jack sat back in the chair, deliberating on how to answer the last question. How honest should he be? He had no idea just how well-known his current predicament was... it was probably best to be honest with exclusions. It wouldn't hurt to make it sound better than it was. "Well," He began slowly, "We're in mildly similar situations, in terms of the size of our Warrens. You're a newer Jack, beginning to expand... I'm an experienced Jack going through some..... misfortune." He crossed his legs and sipped at his tea before continuing, gazing evenly over the lip of the cup at Heike. "It never hurts to know one's neighbors."

[Kari Muffin]

Heike raised his teacup as well in appreciation. He took a careful sip as he watched the other Jack. It was hard to read Esterberries to begin with, and dealing with a jack just made things more difficult. At least that little lop eared terror was put out of his misery before he ever had the chance to try to become a Jack.

The White rabbit? The Avington couldn't help but smile at that. The idea of someone that legendary actually existing was something whimsical that he had always pondered. Maybe one day when he swore to the rabbit's name he would receive some sort of divine punishment. "How true," he commented idly.

He had heard plenty of rumors about the Esterberry Jack falling into misfortune. Of course, they could never tell if the rumors were quite true or not. If he had been a leveret he would have actually been able to investigate, but instead he had to depend on others. He would just have to get used to it. But now that the rabbit was sitting in front of him, this confirmed the rumors. "I see. It's good to know that I have friendly neighbors." A smile twitched onto his face. "Not all Jacks are kind enough to introduce themselves in such a manner. I can't express how much I appreciate your visit."