Rabbit Hunting, Scene v1

I'll be posting less frequently now I think. Lots of school work and running out of backup material.

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“Argh, is this some kind of joke? Do we really have to spend our day trying to catch a stupid rabbit?” whined Sara. “Why couldn’t they just send out some hunter, or a kid, to catch the rabbit?”

Sara kicked every leaf and brush around her in frustration. “I swear, this must be his way of punishing Furball here for her stupidity, and we got dragged down with her.”

“Can we just focus and get this over with? You’re probably scaring all of the rabbits away with your crying,” snorted Kismet.

“I’m scaring them away? Have you looked in a mirror recently? You’re a damn lion—panther—tiger—or whatever—thing.”

Lucas rubbed the back of his head. “Sara does have a point…maybe we should split up until one of us manages to catch one?”

Kismet walked off. “Fine, whatever.”

The birds sang blissfully, as Sara’s voice faded into the distance. Kismet strolled between the trees, inhaling the scent of fresh oak to calm her soul. She watched the animals go about their business peacefully, as they paid little mind to her presence. Squirrels scurried up and down the trees, gathering acorns for the coming winter. Birds chattered away in the sea of red and yellowing leaves. However, their peace was short-lived. Suddenly, all the animals scurried into hiding. Kismet peered into the woods as a rabbit bolted around the brush. The rabbit leaped into Kismet’s arms and buried its face into her chest, shaking horribly. She staggered back a step as a bear trampled after it.

Kismet locked her eyes on the bear. Its body, a lumbering mass of muscles, appeared slightly disfigured, the black fur littered with scars and bloodstains. The bear roared as it stood on its hind legs, towering over Kismet. It swiped at her with its razor-sharp claws. She rolled to the side, sheltering the rabbit in her arms against her body, but was unable to fully avoid the attack. Kismet cried out in pain as the bear’s claws managed to gouge her lower right leg. The bear lunged forward, pinning her to the ground. It raised its paw, ready to strike her face. She quickly elbowed its jaw with all her might, dazing the bear. Retracting her legs under the bear’s body, she raked its torso with her claws. The bear roared as searing hot blood trickled over her. The bear thrust its head in an attempt to bite her. With no other choice, she slammed her forehead into the bear. With a loud crack that filled the air, blood seeped down from the split on her forehead. She clawed the stunned bear’s face. The bear roared in pain and retreated into the woods.

Kismet stumbled back on her feet in a daze, with the rabbit still trembling in her arms. When she stood, a sharp pain shot up her leg that nearly made her fall. She limped in the direction that Sara and Lucas had ventured off to, struggling to keep her balance and leaving a trail of blood behind her. She winced in pain with every step as blades of grass brushed against her bone-deep wound. After several minutes of painful treading, she managed to find her comrades.

Lucas and Sara glanced back at the sound of Kismet’s footsteps. “Did you find one?” asked Lucas.

She exposed the rabbit’s head, still buried against her chest in terror.

“How the hell…” said Sara, in disbelief.

Lucas’ eyes grew wide, noticing the blood on Kismet’s face. He then lowered his gaze to the open wound on her leg. “W-what happened? You’re hurt!”

Lucas reached to unravel the spare bandage wrapped around his arm.

“Don’t. I’ll be fine, let’s just finish this,” insisted Kismet.

Lucas shook his head defiantly and knelt beside her, puzzled at the shape of her wound. Kismet sighed then leaned against a tree to take pressure off her leg as he wrapped it with a bandage.

“So, what happened? Did you fall or something?” mocked Sara.

Kismet ignored Sara and stared off into the trees, caressing the rabbit’s fur. Lucas stood up and helped Kismet rise to her feet. Kismet shrugged away his support and began walking toward the cave.

“Tch,” grunted Sara, as she followed Kismet.



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