“Bunny-”
“I’m coming!” She finally shouted back just as I made myself comfortable on her couch, Fidel flying off towards the sound of her voice before I heard a door close.
“Hello, dearie bird.” The woman cooed.
“My feathery little plum!”
“He’s not a baby.” I huffed, my eyes widening a little in remembrance before I showed the basket to her.
Bunny tilted her head. “What’s this?”
“Apples, Dad wanted me to get you some,” I said before she took the basket out of my hands.
“Oh! Then give my gratitude to your Dad then, I sure as heck wasn’t going to go out there and get some myself with all these stories going about.” Bunny scoffed.
“The cult I assume? Yeah, don’t worry old hag, I think they’ll think twice before having pulled rubber for dinner.” I teased as I turned my head to look at her where a scowl was present on her face.
The woman was elderly, that much was clear from the number of wrinkles present on her face.
Hell, I remembered my Dad scolding me for saying the underside of her chin resembled a turkey’s. But, despite that and her other features, Bunny having an olive skin tone that was surprisingly smooth to the touch, her lips constantly red from the lipstick she applied religiously and her gray hair in a bun held together by many many pins.
Nonetheless, Bunny? She was as fit and active as if she were still young.
After a humiliating defeat to her via arm wrestling? I've long since learned my lesson thinking it was wise to assume all little old ladies to be weak.
“Don’t feed him pieces of cake, he’s still a wild animal. I don’t want him to be dependent on me nor you.” I quickly said, causing her to scoff.
“Too late for that honey, don’t you think? You two are as close as old friends!” Bunny said, her finger running over Fidel’s chest plumage for the third time before he flew back to rest on my shoulder.
I gave him a few pets on the head while I watched Bunny begin to wash off the apples.
“Anyway, whatcha come over for? Bad to go places when there’s a cult stalking about” She asked.
I rolled my eyes, a cult that only went so far as to step on a twig in the forest before they realized they wouldn’t dare to try and attack during the day.
“I came because I wanted to hang out.”
“And?”
I cocked a brow.
“There is no ‘and’.”
“Oh, please Chelidon, you’ve been traveling to bother me since you were fourteen! You always come here to either eat or talk.” She chuckled, causing me to mumble to myself for a moment before I let out a small sigh.
At least there was no reason to suddenly conduct my plan out of the blue...the plan to talk, talk and discuss whether or not I was making the right decision when it came to Dilion.
“I mean....I guess I came to talk but it’s nothing serious.” I huffed.
“Speak then, ol’ Bunny here is always listening to her favorite neighbor. No matter how rude he is” She laughed, the sound of a microwave closing before the smell of cinnamon pie hit my nose making my stomach growl.
‘So that’s what she was cooking...’ I thought. I cleared my throat.
“I have this friend-”
“She a girl?”
“No!”
“You like ‘em?”
“Storm’s mercy, no!” I exclaimed, the feeling of Fidel beginning to flap his wings at the sound of clinking plates making me scoff.
“Even if they were a girl, what’s that have to do with anything?” I asked before Bunny handed me a plate of cinnamon pie.
Although the old lady was fond of calling it ‘pie’ due to the shape, it was nothing more than her using pancake batter, cinnamon, vanilla, and some other ingredients before she decorated it with whip cream and sprinkles! Not that I was complaining of course.
“I’ll turn my advice towards how to get the girl of course!” Bunny cackled. I rolled my eyes with a sigh, setting my plate aside.
The darn bird was quick to go for the treat.
“My friend...he’s...not fortunate in terms of home-life. His family doesn’t approve of us because of my Dads.” I began to explain
“They say that no one should be friends with a boy who has parents who are two men married to one another, that their love is like a virus, it spreads.” I sighed.
“Of course, though, I thought it was kind of him to still be insistent on being my friend despite what his family said, I even invited him over to my house!” I continued.
“But almost immediately, My Dad-
“Which one?”
“-Anaku.” I clarified.
“He kicked my friend out and pulled me aside, he told me that there was a hunger in his eyes when he looked at me. Like a starving tiger eyeing a naïve deer.” I grumbled, a heavy sigh leaving me at the last sentence.
The house went dead silent, the sound of Fidel feverishly pecking at the plate almost as haunting as the expression on Bunny’s face.
Usually, a teasing and playful expression would be planted on her face but in this moment?
Serious and thoughtful was the main look before she slowly shook her head.
“Your parents are looking out for your butt dearie, the saying is true, parents see further ahead.” Bunny sighed.
“But with this cult going around? They’ll be overprotective and may accidentally squeeze you too tightly. Don’t blame them for that Chelidon.” Bunny continued.
I smiled lightly. “I don't, it’s just...I don’t want to mess up you know?” I said, causing her to nod.
“I’m bored, I want someone to talk to who’s my age, I want to look around the neighborhood with someone else besides my Dads. It’s boring!”
“I understand.” Bunny hummed, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“However, you can’t be perfect, you know? Your sixteen boy, hell, even when you’re my age, you’ll still mess up! The way to win at life is to make sure you aren’t messing up too much or making mistakes at the situation that’s obvious.” She said.
I let out a groan.
That was the point of me even talking to her! I didn’t know whether or not this situation was obvious or not! Dad was too cautious and Father usually followed whatever Dad said because he doted on him like nothing else!
I understood the reason why they wanted to protect me, why they constantly told me to be vigilant and to never trust anyone randomly nor too easily in these parts! But at the same time? I wanted to make my own decisions, to go out and make a friend and do what I used to do in the city! I remember...Eos and Sayri? Always after school, they’d invite me to go places with them and see everything that the city around the school had to offer, from foods to different stores!
Sure, the places never interested me much but...the simple fact that I was spending time with people that I considered friends?
That, more than anything, I missed that aspect of life...in exchange for quietness, I lost two people that gave me a reason to not go straight back home and do the same routine all over again.
Back then, I had a reason to explore and test the limits of life.
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