Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

He had stopped drinking human blood for a girl who was MIA.

Of course Daniel figured that was his fault, too. Get too loose with your relationship rules and suddenly there weren’t any at all. If their involvement could be construed as a relationship… He was fuzzy on that. Nevertheless, Daniel had given it up for Holly, and now there was no Holly, but he was still trying to hold out because there might (?) be a Holly at some point in the future and at this point, he was proud of his restraint. Not killing people might be the only prowess Daniel could muster.

But things got touchy when the butcher ran out of blood.

So here Daniel was in a pet shop, holding a brown bunny by its midsection, pretending to be in earnest search of a furry companion. The bunny’s eyes darted back and forth. Its nose twitched. Daniel inspected its undercarriage because he didn’t know its gender. Why that mattered when the idea was to eat it, he didn’t know.

“Have you ever cared for a bunny before?” asked a saleswoman in enormous glasses.

“No,” he said. “I had a dog once.”

“They’re nothing… like dogs,” she condescended.

“Really? Because my dog humped everything in sight, too.” Daniel smiled at her, trying to charm her. It did not work, so he said, “I’ll check out a library book,” just to get her off his scent. He carried the bunny to the shop window and looked outside. Daylight savings time meant that he had to shack up longer, so it was 9:30 already. The shop closed at 10:00. If he was going to drain this critter tonight, he needed to make up his mind.

A pretentious woman in a fur stole walked past the shop. Daniel covered the bunny’s eyes. "Look awaaaaay," he cried.

[Thread: Open to Anyone]

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Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

The shift at the shop had ended up being a double, the other assistant having called in sick, and Melody was exhausted as she hurried along the street, heading home. She was pretty pleased with herself though, because her extra time had meant she'd had plenty of time to work on the salve she had had some difficulty in perfecting. It was a time sensitive concoction that needed the ingredients added in a specific order, and at times that involved observing exactly what was going on in the mixture. Every other time she'd tried it a customer had walked in and she'd had to abandon it, but this afternoon she'd finally succeeded, and was now carrying it in a small glass jar, to have on hand if she came across someone who needed it.

She managed to stop herself from walking into the man who appeared to be carrying something he covered up to protect from the woman wearing a fur coat, stepping back then letting out a little gasp and laugh followed by an 'Ohhh, so cuuuuute!' when she saw he was holding a bunny.

"What's its name?" she asked, clapping her hands with a laugh, her eyes bright.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

“Uh…” Daniel looked at the wiggling critter.

“Hey, are you going to buy that rabbit or not?” called the owner, who was not thrilled to see her customer standing in the open doorway of the shop, merchandise in hand

“Yeeee….ah?” he cringed, hesitating now. Was he? The longer he looked at this bunny, the less appetizing it seemed. Daniel turned his attention to the dark-haired girl, whose eyes were sparkling like two pieces of obsidian as she admired the animal. He imagined her pupils turning into pinwheels like a cartoon character. “Socrates,” he said on a whim. He shuffled the bunny because its feet kept twitching.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

Melody waved to the sales assistant, she was a regular there, for some unusual orders that they needed sometimes at the store. When the man answered Melody let out a giggle, her eyes meeting the bunny's as her fingers waved in front of its face.

"Hello, Socrates! It looks like you might have found a new daddy! Aren't you a lucky bunny!" she said, smiling at the rabbit then looking back up at the man. "He's so pretty, and look at his huge feet!" she said, her fingers having lightly hooked under the front paws and lifted them a little, demonstrating their size.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

“How do you know it’s a boy?” Daniel asked, feeling like a dumbass for saying it out loud. The bunny was neutered, so he wasn’t likely to spot any fuzzy testicles hanging down. Did male bunnies have bigger feet? Special markings like a bird? And since when was he this thing’s daddy?

With an exasperated sigh, the bespectacled sales clerk walked over and flipped the bunny’s belly in the air. “This is a penis,” she said, demonstrating how to press around the fur until its parts were more obvious.

“Okay, whoa, whoa,” Daniel said. “I got it. I got it.” He waved her off. He felt bad for the bunny, having his manhood exposed in front of the ladies like that, fodder for ridicule. This was his fault. He should’ve taken the Asian girl’s word for it. Besides, its reproductive capacities didn’t matter if he was going to be dinner. Poor little dude. Daniel contemplated if he should knock it over the head first.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

"Well, it was mainly because you said his name was Socrates," Melody told him, stroking the animal's ears and back once it was upright again. "It's a good name," she added, smiling at the man again before leaning down to talk to the rabbit.

"Are you a wise and philosophical bunny?" she asked the rabbit then straightened again. She needed to pick up the things she'd ordered, and saw another of the sales clerks bring out a package from behind the counter - the things she needed were not what they usually carried out in the store on the shelves, as they would freak most customers out. Definitely not 'fluffy bunny' things.

"He's definitely cute," she added, giving the soft fur another couple of pats before dropping her hand by her side.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

Could bunnies be wise? Daniel held it up and made solid eye contact with the pet. It certainly had a noble look about it, like the bunny knew more than he was letting on. Where had he come up with Socrates when he could’ve said something generic or literary like Hazel or Thumper? For the first time, it occurred to him that he might be in a pet store because he actually wanted a pet. If all Daniel was looking for was a cheap meal, there were hundreds of stray animals roaming around the city. He didn’t have to pay for one.

Hell, maybe he’d adopt a bunny. Or a duck. Jeez, he was getting weird, like one of those centuries-old vampires who’d had all the blood and sex they could stand, so they started cultivating eccentric habits instead, only Daniel hadn’t had all the blood and sex he could stand. In fact, he had the opposite problem.

So he walked back into the shop proper and started looking at large cages with attached water bottles, cubes of plastic-covered cedar shavings, and the like. “I had a cousin once who ate a handful of rabbit pellets," he mused. "He thought they were cocoa puffs. Remind me not to make that mistake.”

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

"Don't eat cocoa puffs unless they're straight from the box!" she said, laughing. Melody left the man to finish off his purchases and headed to the counter, talking quietly to the sales assistant who went through the list Mel had handed her, ticking off most of the items, and shaking her head, rolling her eyes and heading back out to the stock area with a cry of "... can't trust anyone else to do a job right!" over her shoulder.

Melody looked around the shop, leaning an elbow on the counter as she waited, the three items on the list that weren't already in the package now being hunted down by the less-than-happy sales assistant.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

She could talk quietly all she wanted, but Daniel could hear the valves opening and closing in her heart, so it wasn’t too hard to pick up on whispered requests. He frowned. Then he turned to stare at her back. So that’s what her scent was… magic. Herbs, powders, incense, candle wax. At first he’d interpreted the bouquet of fragrances as a penchant for essential oils, but no, he’d bet his last dime she was a witch, now that’d he heard her request various pieces of an amphibian.

He walked up to the counter and set the bunny on the smooth surface. Socrates behaved.

“Abracadabra,” he mumbled. “Or maybe double, double toil and trouble is more apropos?”

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

Melody blinked and stared at the man, a little taken aback at his approach and completely stumped as to how he'd possibly have known anything about her spells and potions.

"Uhhhm, sorry?" she said, wondering she'd misheard hi, or if he'd been a customer in the shop and she had maybe forgotten him. But she knew she had heard correctly, and that she didnt' forget faces so easily, and his was very nice, if a little ... intimidating to her like this.

"What was that?" she asked, giving him a small smile as she again tried to remember his face, but failed miserably.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

Daniel snapped his fingers and waggled his fingers through the air, a gesture like ‘poof’. When her face didn’t register anything except confusion, he cocked his head. “No? C’mon, you smell like cloves and rosemary, you’ve gotta know what I’m talking about. At the very least you recognize Macbeth. Let not light see my black and deep desires. I mean, I’m no literary giant, but…”

He blinked. Wait, was he wrong? Maybe she was just an avid bread maker who happened to smoke clove cigarettes.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

Her eyes darted around the store, looking to see if anyone had overheard him, then returned to his face. They fell down to her hands fairly quickly as she wasn't focusing on the cute bunny he'd been holding before, but was now looking at him.

And he had figured out what she was.

"I'm not used to people knowing when I'm... well, not at work," she said, her eyes fixed on a button on his coat as her fingers of her right hand fiddled with the beads and a small metal disc around her left wrist.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm not going to ask where's your star." He reached over and lightly slapped her sleeve. Daniel leaned on the counter. He hadn't expected her to be chagrined, which was reminded him how out of touch he was getting with reality. Some people didn't flaunt alternative religions and here he was, calling her out on it. In the scope of things the girl could be, it just didn't seem like a big deal to him anymore; he was dead.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

She wasn't sure why he touched her sleeve, and her eyes darted up to his face again. "How did you know?" she asked. It had only been recently that she'd started to even use any of her magic outside the store, and she stifled a smile at the expression on Maddie's face when she'd done the little bit of levitation with the straw in the diner. Her mother had made it clear she should be very very careful about who knew her abilities, as she didn't want to attract the wrong people, or end up being accused of things she didn't do, just because of what she could do.

"Have you been to the store?" she asked. She again couldn't remember having seen him before, and she normally remembered faces. And again, his was rather memorable. Even almost as much as the bunny's. Though hopefully his nose didn't twitch as much. She suddenly found herself staring at his nose.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

"No, I heard what you ordered." Daniel flicked his earlobe and frowned. "Yeah, uhh, really... really good hearing. I've never been in a magic store." Actually was he even allowed in those? He guessed there would be wards up all over the place, on a real one anyway. He drummed a percussive beat on the counter top. The bunny's ears twitched.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

"Oh, I see," she said, eyeing him a little warily, then looking at his fingers as they tapped.

"Are you a magic user?" she asked, curious as to why he recognised the things she'd ordered, the tapping of his fingers making a pattern she thought she recognised from somewhere, but she couldn't place where. "Because most people would just think I was weird if they heard that list of stuff."

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

"I am not." Daniel pushed off the counter and contemplated telling her the truth before the shopkeeper came back, just for shits. It wasn't something he ought to shout from the rooftops (or whisper in dark corners), but he had a wild urge to do it because...

Well, because if her eyes got any bigger, they'd fall out of her head, and he hadn't even said it yet.

"Lemme see your hand." He waggled his fingers at her and grabbed onto her forearm. Before he did anything else, Daniel stopped and pointed at her in mock warning. "But don't scream. I come in peace." Then he laid two of her fingers against his throat, where a light stubble covered his pulse point. "Start counting now."

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

She resisted the urge to pull her hand out of his, especially when she felt how cool his skin was to the touch, but when he put her fingers to his throat she wasn't sure what to think.

Until she realised there was nothing happening beneath the skin. There was nothing to count, and his eyes were telling her this, almost as if he was mocking her for not knowing. She pulled her hand away and lowered it, chin lifting a little as if in defiance.

She hadn't met a vampire before, the store and her home warded and her path never having crossed with one before. She knew about them, had heard stories, even a few tales of some who were not all about killing and siring, but she had no idea if they usually revealed themselves to someone they didn't intend on trying to kill. Did a witch's blood taste any different to anyone elses? She couldn't imagine why it would, but didn't want to find out from him if it did. "So you have good hearing, huh?" she said to him, eyes narrowing a little now.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

Yeesh. Hostility. Her eyes had gone from a kind of bewildered naivety, which he rather liked because it was adorable, to suspicious in five seconds flat. “Yeah,” he said. He dropped his hand and looked at a flyer taped to the table. “Which means I’ll hear it if you start whispering an incantation, so if you’re going to do it, no need to be stealthy. I say go big or go home.”

His mannerisms didn’t suggest any imminent danger. Of course, vampires could turn on a dime, lash out faster than a normal person could flinch, but he seemed more interested in perusing the sale prices than doing so. And maybe a little bit hurt, which even Daniel had to acknowledge was odd.

“I named you. I figured naming myself is the least I could do.”

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

She had no idea what he meant about whispering incantations, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. Her wariness was brought on by her lack of experience with the undead, not any fear of them, other than a rather innate sense of self-preservation that was purely a survival instinct present in most, even those without a heartbeat.

"I've never met one of your kind before," she told him, still no fear, or hostility evident, or felt, just the wariness. "Thank you for ... " What was she thanking him for? Other than the fact her parents had taught her to be sure to always thank a giver for their gift, be it an item, a blessing, a moment of their time, or simply knowledge. And in this case it had been the latter. If he hadn't told her he was a vampire, she would never have known.

"... your admission," she finished, and for a brief moment thought of Maddie, and what she might have done right about now. Of course now she knew more about Maddie, and her age and experience, she found herself thinking more often what Maddie might do in a given situation, and this was one in particular. After all, just because she was improving in her own craft, it didn't maker her a great practitioner, or all-powerful, or even very brave.

The movement of Socrates drew her eye down to the rabbit, and they darted back up to his face. "Were you here to buy a pet?" she asked, realising Socrates wasn't actually his rabbit that he carried around with him, and silently chiding herself for thinking something so silly in the first place. After all, other than a place she picked up the supplies they needed for certain spells at the magic shop, they did sell pets. He hadn't walked in with him tucked in his coat to buy him some dinner pellets.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

“Honestly?” Daniel winced, sucking air as he looked down at the animal. “I was thinking about eating him. The butcher’s out of… Cherry Coke.” He hoped she got the inference. “I can get pretty hard up for Cherry Coke.” Daniel scratched behind his ear. “Anyway, I changed my mind.” Maybe he’d turn into a weird guy who adopted turtles or families of ducks that followed him around in a line. Did dogs like vampires? He could see himself with a golden retriever.

The saleswoman returned and he pointed to the rabbit, indicating he’d need food, a cage and shavings. Daniel had a feeling this was going to be one of those impulse purchases he instantly regretted. He hoped he didn’t rip the rabbit to shreds in a thirsty rage.

He shelled out some cash.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

It almost gave her a sense of relief, and a tiny sense of power. Socrates wasn't going to end up as replacement Cherry Coke as he put it. That put a small smile on her face, but it faded a tiny bit when she realised she would never look at a can of the drink in the same way ever again.

She watched as he proceeded to complete the purchase of the things needed to give Socrates a comfortable home, her demeanour easing a little with the 'familiar' actions and conversation - if he hadn't told her what he was she would never have known, and that made her wonder, not for the first time, just how many vampires peopled the streets, walking among them at night.

"You do still have that skin problem, with the sun?" she asked when the sales assistant moved away for a moment. Her curiosity was piquing again, after having watched the perfectly normal transaction taking place right in front of her.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

“Yeah.” Daniel stuffed the leather wallet in his back pocket. “What can I say, I burn easily. There’s also this.” He looked over his shoulder at the shop window. The world beyond it was dark, so the bright interior of the shop was reflected on the pane of glass. He waved at the brunette’s reflection standing alone by the register. “Took me weeks to get used to that.”

He turned back around to look at Melody 'actual'.

"Is it true you float?" Daniel smiled.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

Melody glanced at the window and immediately saw what he meant, and gave him a small sympathetic smile, wondering for a brief moment how female vampires managed to apply their makeup, something she hadn't even thought before but for some reason thinking now. Until he asked his question.

She laughed, her hand flying to her mouth to cover it as she did. She shook her head and lowered her hand. "Not yet, but it's something I'm going to try and learn." She then realised maybe she shouldn't have let on what she couldn't do, but then she quickly decided it really wasn't going to make any difference to him. From what she knew and had read, vampires were fairly athletic and he could probably outrun, or jump or anything else.

"I'm still getting used to it too," she found herself admitting, "which is why I get to do the messenger runs," she added, indicating the parcel he clearly knew about, given its contents and her conversation about them were what had given her away.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

Daniel frowned his confusion.

"No. No, I meant float on the water. You know, if she floats she's a witch, if she sinks she's... uh... Salem? Witchcraft trials?" He wondered if he had the reference wrong. It had been a long time since American history. "Forget it, I'm sure you'll be levitating in no time." He looked at the bunny, the cage and its contents, and wondered how he was supposed to carry it all outside. As he consulted his wallet and considered getting a cab, he said, "You shouldn't cover your mouth when you laugh. Laughs are supposed to be loud and you look good doing it."

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

Having been brought up in a household of workaholics, and not having been imbued with the knowledge of American history, not even through the medium of movies or television, Melody wasn't really any the clearer on what he'd meant, but she did of course recognise the name of the town. But his purchases and following comments removed any necessity for her to ask.

Instead now a flush of colour rose in her cheeks, and Melody could feel it heat up her face. "Thank you," she found herself saying automatically again, though she did mean it and hoped he wouldn't notice the blush. It was from both his apparent faith that she would master the skills required, and his compliment that had her smiling and looking at Socrates again, to deflect attention.

The sales assistant chose that moment to return from the storeroom and had a triumphant look on her face as she presented the missing items. She gave Daniel a look over and Melody noticed the slight angle of her head and batting of her eyelashes at him, the attention she'd been giving Melody before now halved. Melody looked down at her hands to hide the smile on her face, especially at the sales assistant's question to Daniel.

"Are you being looked after? I can help you if you'd like, just be a sec!"

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

Daniel was bemused. “Gosh, you are much nicer than your boss,” he told the sales girl. He leaned his forearms on the counter, closing the distance between himself and the employee, but he shot a quick look at Melody and winked to share in the inside joke, figuring she’d noticed it too. “I already paid, but thanks.”

He opened the new cage on the counter and eased Socrates into it. The bag of shavings, etc. he’d have to haul under his arm. “Well, looks like I’m good to go.” He picked up his purchases and wallet, still no closer to a full stomach.

Daniel fixed the brunette with a narrow-eyed but pleasant look, like he was still trying to puzzle her out. “It was nice meeting you. By the way, I’m Daniel.”

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

She was amused at his answer to the assistant, who had handed Melody the invoice for the items with barely a glance at her. She was counting out the money onto the docket, and pushed it all back to the distracted girl.

"I'm Melody," she told him, "and I guess you know where I work," she added, "and it was nice meeting you too," she told him, picking up the packages and putting them in the messenger bag she had slung over her shoulder. She went to stick out her hand, figuring that he seemed like the type who wouldn't attack her outside the store, or on her way home, if they had shaken hands, though she had no idea what made her believe that. Perhaps the way he'd taken her fingers and pressed them to his throat, or the simple fact he'd actually told her what he was, she didn't know. but it just seemed like the thing to do. Until she realised his hands were full of his purchases, and Socrates' cage. So instead the hand thrust turned into a sort of wave and she giggled a little. "Can I give you a hand with something?" she offered instead, her hands conspicuously free.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[daniel_stacy]

"Ah..." He winced. With the door propped open, there wasn't much he could ask for. Daniel needed to hop public transit, drop off Socrates at his apartment and get a bite to eat. If Melody followed him outside, she might start looking delicious. "I think I got it."

As if on cue, his stomach growled, loud and long.

Daniel shook his head. He was left to duck out of the pet shop, looking much like a teenage boy backing away on a dance floor after too much contact.

Re: Fluffy Bunny Thoughts

[melodymagic]

Melody shrugged, and watched him depart, then turned and thanked the assistant. "I'll ring through the order again next Tuesday," she told her, and turned toward the door, reaching into her pockets and pulling out a timetable to check when the next bus was. After checking it she returned it to her pocket and headed out, humming to herself and wondering if Maddie was going to be working at the coffee shop the next day.