[drabolo] Discovery (Rabbit)

[Smerdle]

firefly

The next time he wandered into other Ashdown, Rabbit was on his way out of Mavericks. He was meant to lock up, and even though he wasn't sure whether securing the door on this side would stick on the other, he knelt and did so anyway.

"Lord Bennett."

Rabbit's heart jumped in his chest as he took in a sharp breath, spinning in place even as he remained crouched. It would have been graceful had he not wobbled and fell on his a** when he stopped.

"Oroh." He was a little surprised to find that he recognized her, not just because of the golden orb that stood in place of her eye, but because of her. The shape of her face and the way she inclined her head just so. "I almost pissed myself."

"I apologize."

"It's okay." He took a second to gather himself and rise to his feet. "So."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, sure. I was just at work, so I wouldn't be..." He gestured vaguely at the ground. No matter how shitty he felt or how hopeless things seemed, he had never been tempted to show up drunk at his job.

"I see." Oroh glanced at the glass door behind him. "Locking it here has locked it there, if you're curious." She turned and headed off into the rainy evening. "Come along."

- - - - -

He had a head full of questions, but rather than allow him time to ask them, the fetch kept up a brisk pace, leading Rabbit through rainy alleys and empty streets to a quiet building near the water. There were towels inside, surprisingly clean and bright, and Oroh handed him one once they were safely out of the storm.

"I want to talk about your powers," she said.

"What about them?"

"I want to know what you can do."

He drew in a breath and sighed it back out. "Can't I do anything here? Isn't that, like, a thing?"

"Yes. But I want to know what you can do in your Ashdown. Show me."

He only really knew how to do one thing. Rabbit closed his eyes and thought of turning his face to the sun, of his father's flickering light, and in the space between seconds he flared with a warm, comforting glow, ephemeral wings unfurling and spreading wide.

He looked like a benevolent god in business casual, and Oroh sank to the dusty, gray floor, bowing with reverence and adoration.  

[Smerdle]

spider-man

"This is weird," Rabbit said from his position halfway up the brick alley wall. He had been startled into attempting the impossible climb by some weirdo floating jellyfish that had tried to touch him, but when his feet had actually stuck, he had kept going for curiosity's sake, scaling the vertical surface as easily as if he was on the ground.

"I feel like Tobey Maguire." He flicked his wrist at Oroh, eyes going wide when a thin length of glowing string shot out of the base of his palm and secured itself around her forehead in a neat bow.

"Holy s**t. I am Tobey Maguire."  

[Smerdle]

history lesson

This should have felt more like a fairy tale. Werewolves—which, unsurprisingly, he'd known about—and people who could see what animals saw, even talk to them like Disney princesses. Moonwalkers and wargs. They existed. He closed his eyes, saw the blood and screaming at Blackfriars, and opened them again with a start.

"Do they dance?"

"What?"

"The moonwalkers. Do they dance?"

"I suppose they might, if they were so inclined."

"Forget it."

"I could find one for you to ask."

"Nope, that's cool. It's not important."  

[Smerdle]

future feast

Rabbit had an undeniable need to move. Usually when he held still for too long, he ended up chewing his nails or lighting cigarette after cigarette, searching for calm but only making things worse. But here, working with Oroh to discover who he had become, there were times when he remained stock still without trying, listening to her tell a story or practicing his powers. It was during one of these quiet afternoons that the thought of food crossed his mind, and since it so rarely did, it lingered for a moment, out of place and obvious in his head.

"Oroh. Do you eat?"

"Sometimes. I'm not often hungry and I usually don't like the taste."

"Would you like something from where I'm from?"

She tried to hide her reaction, but even Rabbit could tell she was interested.

"I can bring over some food from there. If you want, I mean."

Oroh opened her mouth, the breath she inhaled rattling slightly in her chest. "I wouldn't object. There are ways of keeping your food fresh here, and once you have brought enough, perhaps we could sit down together to try it."

"I wouldn't bring over anything that needed to be kept fresh, so don't worry about that," he said. "Twinkies and s**t, probably." Rabbit smirked at his fetch as he settled in to try creating another globe of light. "But I'll see what I can do."  

[Smerdle]

wiggin' out

"Brought you something."

"A Twinkie?"

"Well, yeah, I brought some of those too, but they're not for you, they're for us." He reached in the giant duffel bag at his side and pulled out a wig, bright pink and rather knotty. Rabbit had carried the bag around all day, struck with the unshakable feeling that he would cross into the otherworld at some point, and now that he had arrived, he couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

"Here." Rabbit dropped his bag, crossing to Oroh's side and tugging the wig over her skull. At first her expression seemed to suggest that he had installed a headcrab rather than presented her with a dress-up tool, but it wasn't long before she tentatively approached the nearest mirror and forced herself to stare into it, turning her head left and right and watching the hair flutter around her face.

"I thought you might like it."

"Yes. It's very striking, Lord Bennett."

"I can bring you more of them, if you want. Other colors."

It was clear that she was struggling with something that he didn't understand, but following another minute and a half of subtle swaying and pleased glances, Oroh nodded. "I would enjoy that."