Making a New Friend

Chris stood in front of the group, barely getting his shield up in time. The karate rabbit slammed its foot into the weapon. The impact launched him backward, and he crashed through trees as he flew off into the distance.

Bang!

“Claire, take Kira and regroup with Chris!” Gwen screamed, stones circling her body.

Claire didn’t argue, retreating with Kira in her arms.

The mage didn’t have time before she had to roll to the right, dodging a strike to her head. Coming to one knee, Gwen thrust her arm forward, shooting the stones at the monster.

To her dismay, the rabbit easily dodged the stones, leaving behind an afterimage.

Trusting her instincts, she quickly covered her forearms with stones as she crossed them over her chest. The rabbit's kick struck her arms, breaking the stone. The force sent her tumbling out of the grassy bushes, coming to a stop in an open area.

“Okay, so Karate Rabbits are fucking strong!” Gwen grumbled, shaking away the numbness.

The monster appeared immediately in front of her. Its paw swung toward her face.

Gwen deflected the attack, but it followed up with its foot. The kick connected, snapping her head back. Blood dropped to the ground from a cut on her lip.

She barely dodged the follow-up strike to her jaw.

The Karate Rabbit dropped to the ground, staring at Gwen with mild interest in its eyes.

Gwen took a deep breath and got into a stance. I have to focus on counters and quick parries if I hope to get an advantage over this monster.

Finally, all the martial arts she learned over the years were finally seeing some use.

A leaf gently floated downward.

Once it hit the ground, the rabbit shot forward, becoming a blur and leaving behind multiple afterimages.

Gwen closed her eyes and sent magic into the ground.

Using the earth, she could sense, to some extent, where the rabbit was. When it stepped on the ground in front of her, Gwen leaned to the left, dodging a punch, then ducked under the follow-up kick.

As the monster was falling, she brought her knee upward and slammed it into the rabbit’s chest. She felt the rabbit bounce a couple of times before it left the area she could sense.

The old lady at the church was right, she thought. I really haven’t been using my magic to the fullest.

Soon the rabbit reappeared in her senses. Lifting her right hand up, the earth followed, making a limb that tried to reach for the rabbit, but it was faster.

The monster jumped over it, lashing out with yellowed strikes that broke the stone hand into pieces. Not deterred, Gwen fired rocks at the rabbit, forcing it to keep dodging.

Gritting her teeth, she put both her hands together; sweat appeared on her face as she gathered a heavy amount of magic. The earth began to crack as the rocks began to melt.

The temperature rose sharply, and trees caught ‌fire.

“Magma flow!” she shouted, leaving a flooding clearing.

Gwen sensed the rabbit touch the ground and jump in the air. Feeling something was wrong, she opened her eyes, but it was too late. The karate rabbit's fist was flying toward her face. A visible ripple went through the air, slamming into Gwen.

CRACK!

Gwen crashed into a tree, leaving a dent as she dropped to the ground.

The concentration on her spell lapsed, causing the lava to begin disappearing. She scrambled to her feet, panting as the rabbit dropped down in front of her.

The karate rabbit's muscles twitched, and immediately Gwen dropped into a stance. Yet another attack didn’t come.

“I’ve captured its shadow, trapping it!” Claire shouted; her voice strained.

Gwen glanced at a dark shape stretching from the monster all the way to where Claire stood. Taking this chance, she channeled a bunch of magic. The bracelet on her wrist started to glow brightly as the rocks started to float behind her, forming a spear.

She brought the spear to rest next to the rabbit's head, a feeling of deep regret growing. Just maybe the Karate Rabbit would be an excellent member.

“If you can understand me, blink once,” Gwen asked.

Much to her shock, the rabbit blinked once.

“Seriously, you can understand what I’m saying?”

It blinked again.

“If my friend drops her spell, will you try to attack us again?”

The rabbit hesitated, but blinked slowly this time.

Gwen frowned and debated the situation.

“I…can’t hold the spell much longer.” Claire gasped.

Gwen bit her lip and came to a decision. She turned to Claire, who had both her hands flat on the ground.

“Let the spell go.”

“W-what? If I do that, then—”

“Just do it!” Gwen demanded.

Claire looked like she wanted to argue, but ended up dropping the spell. The shadows connecting both Claire and the rabbit snapped. The Karate Rabbit stumbled before regaining its balance. It glanced at the spear—then gave Gwen a deep bow.

Sensing no intent to continue the fight, Gwen brought the spear back towards her. She didn’t completely let it go in case it tried a surprise attack.

“Are you the only rabbit left?”

The rabbit looked at her and shrugged.

“So you don’t know if there is any more?”

The rabbit blinked once.

Gwen stared deeply at the rabbit. “I’m looking for a familiar strong enough to keep up with me when I go traveling. Are you interested?”

The karate rabbit looked at Gwen for a while, not moving, just staring deeply. A moment passed before the monster finally blinked.

“Seriously? You’d join me?”

Instead of answering, the monster walked forward and stopped in front of her. It kept waving its paw at her, as if asking her to do something.

Hesitantly, Gwen lowered her right hand.

The rabbit gripped her hand, its paws glowing a deep yellow. The energy sent a warming feeling through her body. For a split second, Gwen lost control of her magic, causing the earth spear to shatter.

“Um… boss, is the fight over?” Claire spoke up, her tone coming closer.

Gwen opened her palm, and the rabbit looked at the hand for a second before jumping into it. She turned on her and faced Claire.

“Yeah, it's over. Welcome to the newest member of our team!”

Claire opened her mouth and closed it. “Don’t tell me you just tamed that rabbit monster?”

“Yes! Honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to kill it!” Gwen admitted. “Plus, it  wouldn’t be great to have another fighter around who could keep up with me in a fight.”

“Gwen… ever since meeting you, the world has just been weird.”

“What can I say? Weird things always happen to me.”

Gwen suddenly felt an odd sense of amusement, but it didn’t come through. She looked at the rabbit in her hand.

“Is it you I’m getting the feeling from?”

The rabbit just gave a swift nod.

Gwen smiled. “Huh, that makes it easier for us to communicate.”

Her new monster didn’t reply—a serious look now going across its face. The amusement Gwen felt through their bond disappeared.

Before she could ask what was wrong, the rabbit launched itself from her palm. It landed on the ground several feet away, its body lowered into a fighting stance.

Gwen’s smile faded. “What is it?”

The rabbit didn’t answer; its eyes locked onto the trees behind them. A soft rustling sound came from the branches.

Eight long legs crawled across the bark as a massive spider lowered itself from above, its body covered in dark fur and glowing markings.