“What do you mean you lost it?!” PattiPearl’s eyes opened wide and her heart made an awful sinking sensation in her chest.  “Don’t you know how much it meant to me?” she added, almost in a whisper.

Leape the Dras shifted uncomfortably alongside her, making an irritable gesture with his arm, almost a twitch.  “Of course, and I’ve been trying to find it ever since.” 

Leape shifted from foot to foot, and looked away.  PattiPearl had been generous to lend him one of her precious gemstones….and like a cad he’d gone and lost it.  The fact he’d kept it from her was almost worst.  He’d been avoiding her for days, but it was her hurt expression that cut him more than anything.

“I’ve looked.  I know I had it for a day or two, maybe three at most.  I’ve kept an eye out for it, even pulled apart the sofa cushions….” he looked at the floor rather than Patti who seemed to be hyperventilating at this point, a paw on her heaving chest.  “Patti… I’m, I’m really sorry.  I thought maybe I’d find it before you’d know it’d gone missing, but - .”  he looked dejected, then grew irritable again.  “I’d no place to proper put it you know?”

Patti nodded silently, locked in a war of her own.  She’d been conflicted about lending her the stone in the first place.  It was hers, special gifted, but Leape had been going through a tough time of psychic attacks, and she’d wanted to do the best she could for her friend.  Now, though, now she knew she had to refind her stone, if she could.  And if she couldn’t?  Well, she’d already resigned herself to the idea when she’d lent the stone.  Her friendship was still more important.

The winter rain began peppering the glass panes, at first one or two, multiples, and finally a full torrent crescendoing against the glass..  Florence, the small, coffee colored Ineki rose and began pulling on her sweater, tugging the wool into a shape to allow her more movement.  She knew she was in for a longer night.

Florence grabbed her kerosene lantern and hoisted it ahead of her as she trotted up the iron spiral staircase.  Good thing she’d taken the time earlier in the day to place her stocks.  She cleared the last step and shielded her eyes as the fresnel lense swept past, cutting a blazing light through the top floor of the lighthouse to the low lying clouds and rain just outside the glass.  The wind shifted it’s howl, and she could feel the old lighthouse sway slightly in response. 

Florence set her lantern down and double checked the depth of the fuel.  It showed just below the full mark, perfect!  So the lamp was drawing already on the night’s stocks of fuel.  She closed the cap and turned around to peer through the rain spattered glass.  At first, it was only swirls of grey, and the rain slating sideways.  Then she saw it, a dark form at the horizon.  Her heart beat faster, the powerful light behind her turned, sliding the blinding beam steadily through the rain.  One turn, two, three…. Florence counted and then she could see the dark form lurch, turning abruptly to port, away from the shoreline.  Her heart lifted, they’d seen!  A light in the dark, to yet again let the mariners know land was here, to course correct safely away and back into the safety of darkness. 

Desiccated fungi barely dangling from the ceiling of the cave is a surefire way to keep you on your toes. They’re hanging on by but a thread; any wrong moves would make them fall. They’re grimy and disgusting, dripping an unknown fluid, just a smidge too thick to be water. You can only hope that it’s mud. Nothing more, nothing less.

Thump-thump.

The crackle of your torchlight is the only company you have. Its warmth is radiating and comforting. Maybe you could use the flame to burn away some of these plants, but the chain reaction it may cause could be catastrophic. You know not how flammable that gunk is, or if a fire would even be able to hold itself at all. It could be a futile effort… or it could blow you into smithereens. Neither is a desirable outcome. You’d rather take your chances with the mushrooms dirtying your gear. You just hope they aren’t toxic… or are at least minimally so.

Thump-thump.

Your heartbeat is growing even louder. It beats strongly in your ears, the thrum beginning to soothe your worried soul less than before. It’s eerie, in fact, just how much it sounds like it’s coming from outside of the cavity of your chest. It isn’t, though, is it? You round a corner, and with a squelch into a pile of mud and a sharp breath, realizing hits you like a truck.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

That… isn’t your heart. In fact, whatever it is, it’s further away… and coming closer. You swallow thick bile in your throat. It feels like your blood is arctic water, ice floes traveling to every crevice. It’s so close now. You feel like you’re about to lose the grip on your torch as your hands violently shake.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

It comes from around another formation of mossy rubble. You peer around it, your heart seizing with fear as you realize that there is, indeed, something there. You aren’t alone…

Thump-thump. Thump-thump-THUMP.

... and in front of you is, make no mistake… a rabbit?

No, that is no mere rabbit. That is a massive rabbit. It’s thumping its back legs angrily, perturbed by something nearby. Its brown fur blends in with its surroundings, its mouth coated in a tell-tale smear of red. It looks to you, its eyes thinning, and it thumps. Thump-thump-thump-THUMP.

You manage to keep hold of your torch, but with a shriek, you turn tail and run. That rabbit is ginormous, easily half your size, and it is enraged. You aren’t about to take any chances with it, with that thing’s bloodied mouth and its aggressive behavior. Terror surges through your veins as you bolt for the nearest exit, vowing never to return here again.

What you don’t see is the rabbit continuing to thump angrily, lamenting over a pile of raspberry stems and leaves with no fruit remaining. All that remains is on its scowling mouth, fussy and hungry, wishing for nothing more than another thousand raspberries to wolf down. It’s a shame the other creature left it behind. Maybe it would have had more raspberries to spare.

In the end… are you the one who has been tricked, or is it the woeful rabbit lacking in treats?