Like Rabbits

The library was quiet. A few other students browsed the shelves and walked the halls, but the building was so massive that the frequency you met with others was far and few between.

 

"What is it you're looking for?" One of the librarian girls asked me in a soft voice. Staff was easy to identify because they they were dressed in the same outfit that the receptionists at the administration office were wearing when I had filled out my student housing form.

 

"Uh, Hello." I said awkwardly. "I was looking for some books on magic circles." Unsure of how I should phrase my question.

 

"Are you looking for anything specific or is this a general inquiry?" She asked with a polite smile.

 

"Ah, I suppose this would be more general in nature... I want to know what magic circles are and how they're used..." I said, speaking softly out of embarrassment, just loud enough to be audible. All the other students clearly already knew quite a bit about this topic, while I knew basically nothing. And although I was immensely grateful to mother who paid for my siblings to attend the public teaching classes course in the local borough square, ensuring that we were all literate, most of my knowledge was still either self-taught or missing entirely. In the area of magic especially, where specialized tutors would be cost prohibitive for a single-rabbit mother to afford, my knowledge was essentially zero.

 

"Just a moment." The librarian woman asked for patience while she brought out a large multi-volumed tome. The binding on the front etched with a wide array of glowing runes arrange in a circular pattern.

 

Placing her hand over the front the book sprung open, flipping pages on its own before slowing down to a reading pace, eventually settling at a specific page number.

 

"You'll find 358 books that meet your inquiry. Look on the 2nd floor, sections 12A through 13B. There's signage you can look for to guide you."

 

Taking a blank piece of paper, she held it over the open book letting the page touch down. Slowly at first, the words from the book crawled towards the dangling paper, circling like sharks with blood in the water. As soon as the first word touched the paper it swam onto the blank page with eager force, triggering the other words to do the same. After the excitement faded, the page she held was arranged like a perfectly printed paper, and all of the titles I was interested in were arranged neatly.

 

"Did you just use magic?" I asked, blinking in amazement.

 

"It's an artifact." She replied simply, still smiling politely but clearly amused by my comment.

 

"Oh, uh. Thanks then." I said, taking the page along with a quick bow of my head before walking off in a hurry. Embarassed that I had exposed my poor background.

 

Was this the place? I questioned while glancing down at the page of titles I had in my hand, referencing the numbers that popped up on every one of the book shelves.

 

[The Origins of Magic] One of the titles read. It was one of the names on my list.

 

It seemed like a nice option but I wanted to keep browsing anyways.

 

Pulling a book out from the shelf whose binder had caught my eye, the empty space it left allowed me to see the outer binding of the books from the other side of the shelf. One of which began to move, being pulled out by person from the opposite aisle. With both books gone, a woman's face was visible from the other side. 

 

"Hi there." She said through the opening we had created between the book shelf.

 

"Uh... hello." I replied, somewhat shyly, trying to adjust to the sudden and unexpected conversation. "...Are you looking for books here too?" I asked, only to realize how stupid that may have sounded. We were in a library, of course she was here looking for books.

 

No matter that I was no longer a virgin, talking to girls was still something I was terrible at. Cursing myself silently only to look up and realize the girl was gone.

 

Peering through the empty space where the books had been, I tried to catch a glimpse of where she had gone. Feeling a strange tingle from my neck only a second later as I felt a presence approach me from behind, followed by the sound of a woman's giggle.

Turning around in a hurry, I faced the direction from where the sound had come.

 

A tall and slender silver haired girl with long hair stood before me, wearing the academy's lady's uniform; skirt, blouse, jacket and all. From which I could tell she was my age; her clothes had no stripes on the shoulders. Second years and up would have a gold-stripe and tassel added, one for each year completed.

 

I'd been studying her clothes so intently that I hardly noticed the intense gaze she had been giving me in return.

 

"Hasn't anyone ever told you its rude to stare?" She asked me. 

 

Her words sent chills through my spine, no matter how I fought the urge to shiver. Belatedly, I realized how imposing the woman was, something that went far beyond just her large stature. She was normally proportioned as far as one would expect from a girl my age... only larger. Although her features were classically pretty: slender, long legs, and ample bosom, she was decidedly not human. Her height which would have made her considerably tall for a human, was less so when one realized her race. She was a lycan, a wolfkin... but even so, she was large even by their standards.

 

Sloped furry ears popped out from her silver hair, perked forward and alert, showing her attention was focused on me, while a gray bushy tail poked out from from behind her skirt, swishing passively through the air. Her eyes glowed bright purple, fixating on me like she would for small prey, and her lips parted with a smile that exposed a particularly threatening pair of sharp canines. Despite the implied danger, it still somehow came off as charming.

 

"I know you! You're that rabbit from the entrance ceremony. Aren't you?" She asked with a mischievous tone. Sounding like she wanted to cause me trouble. "That was really quite a show." She laughed, but it sounded somewhat unfriendly to my ears.

 

I straightened my posture, shaking off any instinctual fear I might hold towards her species. I had experience dealing with wolves, and appearances were everything. If they thought of you as easy prey, they'd take advantage of it. 

 

"That's right... that was me, and may I ask who you are? I'm afraid that while you know of me, I am not acquainted."

 

"Lycia." She stepped towards me after announcing her name, effortlessly closing the distance between us and bearing down on me with her presence. "It's a pretty name, isn't it?"

 

"It does sound pretty." I said, trying to speak but finding my tongue rather dry. Still wincing from the close quarters, I stuck out my hand in greeting, giving her my best smile. "So... I'm Fenton, uh, it's nice to meet you?" I said while trying to disarm the tension in the air. Watching passively, discerning the girl's purpose as she bent down a little so that she could stare at me face-to-face.

 

Unknown to her, the rabbit god had popped into existence just behind her. Surreptitiously checking her out from behind, distracting my attention while the girl continued to stare daggers.

 

"Wolves don't shake hands." She intimated, her knees bent further so she was even closer to my face.

 

"I think I've seen wolves shake hands before though?" I asked in a confused manner, somewhat apologetic, but I was pretty sure she was just making that up.

 

"Only with those we respect. And I don't respect you."

 

I knew wolves were hierarchical, extremely so, they always tried to fight like this to establish dominance with those in their social circles... and this girl for whatever reason was trying to do that with me. The only problem was, I had no idea who she was. We were total strangers, weren't we?

 

Meanwhile, the rabbit god had somehow found himself standing under the spread legs of the wolf student, angled just enough that he could peer up her skirt with impunity. The more outrageous he became, the more distracted I was by his antics.

"Stop that." I hissed at him, swearing under my breath and speaking just between the two of us. Even if she couldn't see, I found myself  offended enough on her behalf. It was bothering me!

 

"Fenton, go for this girl. This right here is a grade-A babe, and not to mention, she's got everything else you need. Big pay-off in a lot of ways."

 

"I mean it! Just stop that!" I said, finally managing to shoo the rabbit away from his vile deeds, feeling some relief when the pest dematerialized himself just as abruptly as he had came. 

 

My eyes drifted back up to meet the wolfgirl's gaze, but the tension I felt from before was gone. Seeing her obvious intimidation display, I just smiled awkwardly in return. Not knowing what to do, I just hoped she wouldn't be too offended.

 

"Hmmm. You really are a weird one." She finally spoke, breaking her one-sided staring contest. Taking my hand unexpectedly with both of hers and shaking it.

 

I'm the weird one? I thought in disbelief, stunned by the girl's complete reversal in behavior.

 

"You're really not afraid of me?" She asked, seeming more curious that upset. "What a strange rabbit." She muttered under her breath. Not loud enough to be intended for me to hear, but my ears were sensitive enough to pick it up anyways.

 

"Should I be?" I questioned her, with no idea about what her intentions were, I found myself equally curious.

 

She just grinned in response, tightening her grip on my hand which was still held firmly in her grasp. Claws extended slowly from her previously delicate nails, the tips of which now threatened to break the skin of my hand and wrist should she apply any more pressure.

 

"Everyone's afraid of me."

 

"Um, I don't even know you though?"

 

She cocked her head, studying my face as if she couldn't comprehend what I just said. Finally grinning again, clearly pleased by what she heard.

 

"Hehe. I see how it is. This is just too perfect, you're telling me you don't know who I am? But I definitely know who you are." She licked her lips happily. "So how about we take this somewhere more private?" 

 

It took a second for my ears to process, but when it did the words shocked me. My face turned redder.

"That's! Uh! I-uh, I don't know what you've heard but I'm not that kind of rabbit!" I stammered out. More convinced now that she really was after my body.

"You! Be quiet and come with me!" She looked a little embarrassed by my words but held on with her vice-like grip around my wrist, her fingers not budging no matter how much I pulled. Physical strength was never one of my strong suits, and even if I could fight pretty well, as a rabbit I had to use my speed and flexibility more than anything.

 

"What are you even talking about?" She muttered, beginning to drag me from the aisle. Rather than out of the library she seemed to be bringing me into one of the back rooms which were normally reserved for studying.

 

A bead of sweat formed on my brow. Those were private rooms, normally reserved for student organizations who lent them out to members. Normal students and staff didn't have access to them. I again found myself asking, 'who is this girl?' And more importantly...

 

If she got me in that room, it was going to be all over. The library was already not the most popular place, taking me to a secluded section of the building and into a private room on-top of that... it was clear what she intended to do to me.

 

"Lycia... LYCIA! Please, let's talk about this first! I'm sure you must have feelings for me of some kind, and I know you're a very pretty girl, and I might even come to like you a little too... BUT!" I spoke while dragging the heels of my shoes against on the floor futilely as I was pulled. Drawing in breath deeply. 

 

"IT'S TOO EARLY FOR US TO BE HAVING SEX!!!" I shouted. Loudly. Expelling all the air I had in my lungs into a yell which reverberated through the previously silent halls. Echoing all the way through the building. 

 

The grip on my wrist slackened, enough for me to pull away. Gaining some distance before I looked back, catching sight of an incredibly confused wolf-girl.

 

"What!?! W-what are you even talking about!?!" She stammered, tripping over her own words as her face turned completely red with embarrassment as she looked at me in both shock and horror. I could already hear people coming to investigate. 

 

I didn't wait around, high-tailing it out of the library as quickly as I could. Passing by a small number of perplexed students who had come to check out the noise.

 

"What the fuck!?" A certain rabbit complained in my ear. "You could have had her!"