An Angel Descends!

The girl looks around the area, ignoring the glares of Mira and the local rabbits.

"Quite the nice field you have here. Such a shame only droopy ears are around here."

"Why are you and your old man beards here!?"

A vein visibly pops on the girl's head with Mira's words. Digging her foot into the ground, she barely manages to keep her cool. The girl steps forward past her own party of rabbits, meeting in the middle where Mira does the same. The two are basically the same height, but both try to make themselves appear bigger than the other.

The girl places her hands on her hips and narrows her pale brown eyes.

"Nothing wrong with a couple of rabbits wandering around the park, is there? Last time I checked, this was made for public use."

"Don't give me that! You know that this is our territory!"

Mira stomps her feet into the dirt in frustration and the rabbits behind her squeak in support. However, the intruder is not afraid.

"Lighten up! We wouldn't ever dare to cause you all trouble! If you spend so much energy being suspicious of everyone, more than your ears will start to sag!"

"Maybe you should go home and lay back in your nest! All of this trekking is making your beard go grey! Soon it'll start falling out!"

The two rabbits look ready to pounce on each other and start tearing at some throats. All of these insults have served only to rile up both sides, including the normal sized rabbits that look ready to leap into action.

Both step forward even further, getting well into whisper range by human standards. They're close enough that I'm sure even their breathing can be felt as they glare at each other. I managed to get myself somewhere near the hostilities, just close enough to hear the last attempts at intimidation.

Mira's face looks prepared for murder, like a gang leader preparing to unleash chaos upon their rivals.

"Bringing an army of that size onto our land, that might as well be a declaration of war."

The other girl doesn't lose her confident grin and simply fires back.

"Oh, please! You think you could even stop me? Don't make me laugh!"

"We had you mangey brats begging for mercy once already. We'll just give you a little trim and send you home in tears again!"

"Grr!"

The girl scowls at Mira's words. At her side, small nails dig into her own skin as she holds a deathly tight fist. She brings her face even closer, basically spitting with every word.

"Want to test that out, Droopy Ears!? I'll take you all on myself no problem!"

"Sure, go ahead Old Man Beard! I doubt you could even beat a newborn kit!"

"Keep talking big! When I'm done with you, I'm tearing your entire nest to pieces!"

"I'd like to see you try! I'll even be fair and give you a headstart!"

A chill goes down my spine from the sheer pressure these two are releasing. Even more, I feel a strange itch in my gut at hearing Mira speak with so much malice. This isn't the rabbit I know.

"Alright guys, calm…down?"

As I try to step in to break up the warring rabbits, I notice an even more concerning detail that I couldn't possibly have missed. The hands of the two rabbits are no longer empty.

"Hold on, is that a gladius!? Wait, where did that girl get a falcata!?"

Mira holds in her right hand a double-edged shortsword that reaches no longer than her arm. Her small fingers wrap around a thick handle hardly protected by a guard and the uneven blade sits ready to stab into her enemy. On the other side, the girl carries an Iberian sword that threatens to cut down her enemy with a single curved edge. Both of these weapons are made of wood, but that doesn't make them free from danger.

Before I can take another step, a large impact shakes the air around us. The two rabbits slide backwards from the recoil of the clash, nearly crashing into their respective parties. Both remain on their feet while their hair and clothes recover from the shockwave. The two steady themselves and ready their blades for the next attack.

The

"Very well. I suppose I could get your name before I shred you to pieces."

"How kind of you to ask."

In response to her enemy, Mira swings her sword to the side and places her free hand on her chest.

"The name given to me is Mira! As a soldier of the Lops, I will strike you down here!"

"Mira…interesting!"

The other girl stabs her sword into the ground and places her fists against her hips. Her thick hair sways around her as she stands proudly, demanding the attention of all who bear witness to her form.

"Humans witnessed my glory and began referring to me by a glorious title!"

While shorter than most of the people present, the girl presents herself as looking down to our lowly existences.

"Ange."

Even Mira takes an instinctive step back at this girl's pressure.

"You need not remember that name for long. As a Lion, I will unleash the might of the heavens and destroy you!"

The showdown between Mira and Ange is looking to be fierce and legendary, but I can't seem to take a single word they say seriously.

I feel like I'm watching a school play with all of the fancy language and wooden props. If I'm being a little more generous, it reminds me of a table top role play game where two players are facing off against each other in the early stages of the plot. The other strange detail is their supposed backstories. The two obviously seem to know of each other, but without knowing any names while still having malice. The world of rabbits is only getting stranger as we go deeper and deeper down the hole.

"Grrr!"

Mira bites her lip before turning in my direction, where even I forgot I was standing. For at least a moment, the Mira I know returns.

"Noa! Why does she get a cooler name than me!?"

"Huh!? Don't ask me! I just gave you a name I thought was nice!"

Her annoyed look returns to focus as the sound of displaced dirt rings out across the grass. Ange cuts out a rift in the ground and points her blade at Mira.

"Prepare yourself Lop! You meet your end here!"

Without another word, Ange leaps across the grass and swings a heavy attack towards Mira.

"Argh!"

"So you blocked that, huh?"

The blue rabbit manages to hold her ground against the fierce blow, blocking just in time the wood aimed directly at her chest. Mira attempts to launch a counterattack, but her swings are handily blocked.

"Too slow!"

The orange rabbit returns a barrage of swings that Mira has to dedicate all of energy to defending against. Even from my position close to the fight, her attacks are too fast for me to follow. However, Mira reveals an ability that I would never have been aware of if not for this brawl. If I was told the night I picked up a rabbit that the small creature was a master of the sword, I would have passed out laughing.

"Shield!"

Mira yells to the rabbits behind her as she creates some distance between her and her opponent. From seemingly thin air, the small creatures procure a large rectangular shield that curves inward to protect its user. The thick wood contains an emblem of a lopped-eared rabbit.

"Where the heck did you guys even get a scutum!?"

First the gladius and now the scutum. I just woke up one morning and at some point Mira had become a full blown centurion. The large wooden tower even seems perfectly fitted for her size.

With her new equipment in hand, Mira easily blocks all incoming attacks and lands a powerful thrust against Ange.

"Ah!"

She manages to bring her sword up in time but is unable to withstand the force of the attack. Ange's entire body is thrown backwards and she crashes into the ground near her group of rabbits.

"Tch! Get me one too!"

At her orders, the maned rabbits march towards the fallen body of their leader with a shield of their own. This time, it's a Greek hoplon. The circular wood is painted white and contains an emblem depicting a rabbit with a flowing mane.

Mira charges forward, giving her opponent little time to rest.

"It won't be that easy!"

The orange rabbit gathers sword and shield with unparalleled speed and is quickly back on her feet to defend the oncoming attack. Mira is pushed back once more and the two have returned to facing each other across the grass.