It looked oh-so-innocent. How could a pretty little egg in a pretty little basket be any sort of trouble" Not like it was the first time that some well-wisher had strewn treats about the city for people to stumble upon. Shar still had the little snow globe she'd gotten near Christmas-time and the wonderful little trinket sat on her bedside table next to a little sheep made out of basalt. So she just assumed that this was another benign way of spreading cheer.

Oh. Someone somewhere was probably getting a kick out of this, but it sure as hell wasn't Shar!

Her fingers had just wrapped around the egg when she felt the familiar tingle of magic. Warning bells went off in her head a split second too late. The egg slipped from her fingers to return to its place in the basket and a poof of smoke enveloped her form. That was about when everything started to go horribly wrong! After all, she happens to live in a building protected by a polymorph ward. What if it misfired on her" Always prepared Shar had a protection spell against that. Only it didn't quite work as intended on this particular cantrip.

She was coughing and waving a hand in front of her face to clear away the smoke. It took her a moment to realize the hand waving wasn't her usual pale skin" was that fur"

"What the !?"

Both hands held up, both covered in a thin layer of pale grey fur, lighter on the palms. She ripped at the sleeves of her coat, but sure enough, the fur continued up her arms.

"No...What is this?" What is?" She scrambled for her phone, the touchscreen taking a couple aggressive swipes to unlock. Camera function summoned up, flipped around to selfie mode and"

"WHAT THE !?"

People passing by were starting to stare. Shar made a whimpering noise and fled to the nearest alley where she could hide out and try not to panic too much. She was panicking alright, just trying to control herself so she could find a certain elf mage's contact in her phone. There was a moment where she didn't know where to press her phone, then she held it up tentatively to the side of her head.

"Mist!" She didn't let the elf even say hello. "I'm a rabbit." Pause. "No, not like a little hoppy-hoppy rabbit, how would I even?" But no?" She shook her head rapidly and waved a hand like he could see it. "I'm' I'm' an anthro rabbit!"

Sure enough, instead of being fully transformed into an adorable little bun-bun, the elven woman was looking like a rather excellent cosplay of Lola Rabbit. If Lola dressed like Shar.

"Stop laughing!" Her voice rose about two octaves. "This isn't funny! I'm all covered in fur!" Another pause to listen, her expression shifting to one of disbelief. "This isn't hot, Mist! No! Stop picturing it!" She groaned. "No, I'm not taking pictures!" She pressed a hand—pawish as it was—over her eyes. "Please, can you see if you can't reverse this" Fine" Fine. Just one picture!"

About an hour or so later, a rather glum looking—but once again non-furried—Shar sat by Mist's fire drinking the bracing cup of tea he'd made her to soothe her after the ordeal. A soft snickering drew her eyes to the blond elf and her ears, the big floppy rabbit ones that hadn't gone away, flattened against her head.

"You can make them go away, can't you? Oh!"

A plain brick fa"ade, empty windows staring blankly out at the city on either side of a door propped ajar. The strains of Chopin's Nocturne, violin and piano, drift out into the descending night in a pool of light as the figure within works to set the shop in order, crates of plants littering the floor. Cut blossoms are first, their chilled cases already set up. The first of the infiltrators goes unnoticed, hum lilting to the music as Damian sorts through the delicate stems.

The second, however, is less fortunate. Catching the flicker of motion in the doorway, the man pauses to watch as a small rabbit creeps inside, ears twitching, before stretching up the side of a crate to start nibbling the broad foliage of a hosta dangling downward. The first is already busily demolishing the leaves off a tiny, gnarled crabapple bonsai when it's spotted.

Step soft on the stark contrast of black and white tile floors, Damian plucks the first up by the scruff, dangling the intruder for a brief scrutiny before dropping it into an empty crate. With the lid slid shut, it won't be going anywhere, presumably. The second makes a bolt for the door, to be snared by its hind legs in a pounce just a little too smooth and balanced, dangling for the few moments it takes to deposit that one into another crate and slide it shut.

Crossing to the door, the florist checks the street outside, though there don't seem to be any more rabbits within sight. Perhaps it had been a fluke " pets escaped from some other shop in the area. The only peculiarity uncommon to cities of the type may be the basket, and egg within it, resting on the curb before the shop. That earns a long consideration, before he steps outside. Chopin fades, and Dvorak rises from the depths of the shop. Perhaps appropriately; Requiem.

Crouching before the egg, Damian prods at it with a fingertip. That should have been all it took, really " the magic strikes, licking through and over him in a surge. A roil of smoke puffs, but in its wake there's a florist squatted there instead of a rabbit, quietly reciting a litany of profanity in a remarkably calm and flat tone. Shaking the singed hand as he straightens up, Damian leaves the egg " and basket " where they sit, retreating into his shop to close the door, and lock out any more rabbits that may come visiting.

A few minutes later, one of the empty windows, still awaiting their displays, gains one. A clear plastic crate, with a layer of dried grass in the bottom and two rather disturbed looking rabbits, a handful of broken flower stems and damaged plant foliage for food, a dish for water. And a sign" "Free rabbits".

(Rabbits provided by: random NPC's #854 and #2.5)

April 1, 2017 The Marketplace

Considering that her house was out in the middle of Rhydin's countryside nowhere, Cassandra had thought it fitting to go and make absolutely certain that the delivery of her new furniture wasn't going to get lost. Lilin or no. Really, she wasn't afraid of a few incubi, when it came down to it.

In retrospect, it wasn't demons that she should have been afraid of.

Being a land of magick, even with her sensory spheres up, the enchantment on the basket of eggs was not obvious to the mage. The basket was adorable in and of itself, and the eggs within it brought back all the best memories of the Easters of her childhood, back in Italy. All her better instincts went out the window, and she stooped to pick it up. It'd make a nice decoration on an end table, she thought...

And then the lights went out. For a moment, Cass panicked—just how did some sort of attack happen without her noticing it"—until she realized that the sun still shone through the neck of her jacket—a jacket she was no longer wearing, by virtue of becoming a rabbit.

She swore under her breath. At least she'd put her phone in the inner breast pocket. It still took some nosing and biting and tugging to get it out, not to mention swiping with her nose. Making that phone call felt like the longest one of her life. "Pick up, please pick up." She could feel her nose twitching in agitation, and that only made things worse.

His phone...rang" A sudden buzz while he was getting ready for another day. Spending hours in a towel wrapped around his waist "accidentally" catching his reflection in the mirror too many times. He had set a "special" ring. (They were special ring official apparently.) And he scrambled to answer his phone. "Cass?"

If she believed in a God, she'd probably be thanking him right now. The relief was clear in her voice, nonetheless. "You know how you have been saying you would help me out, someday' The day is here. I am barely outside the Marketplace, buried in my jacket...and I'm a fucking bunny rabbit!" There was a bit of drumming going on in the background, even above the bustle of the city. There was another quiet swear, and said drumming—her feet!—stilled only with effort. "I need you to come get me, I can't fix it quickly."

"...." Silence. On the other end. "A bunny' Like how Pharlen made me a bunny?" She could hear him set his phone down. Hear the distinct rustiling of Jo moving through his effects to get dressed. He picked his phone up again. "Alright. See. This is a dream. You're in a Playboy bunny suit and I'm about to come find you in the Marketplace. Then we're going to find a public bathroom somewhere because I'll tell you I can't wait because you look so good. Then I'll wake up hard and alone again...So I'm gonna tell myself ta wake up now."

The speechlessness was catching, for a moment. He could hear her hiss. "No. I mean something small and cute. Like Disney. Thumper. I am not kidding! This isn't funny!" Any other time she might have more patience, but that moment was not now.

"What"!" She was insistent. So Jo slid that v-neck over the mountain range, buckled his belt, finished tying his boots, and set out the door. "Where are you in tha Marketplace doll" I'm comin'." "By a lamp post, near the road that heads for my house. There is a large bush of some sort planted by it. If you see a basket of Easter eggs, don't touch it! That is why I am a rabbit." Disgruntled. "I am still under my jacket...for some reason it did not change." Probably because of all the magick she'd imbued the thing with. "I will try not to move, if I can help it. I do not want to be someone's dinner, though. Or a pet." The thought made her shudder. "Please hurry."

"Stay there doll. I'm comin'." Jo meant it. That call ended and he had slid his phone back into his pocket. This was when he didn't care if people saw exactly how fast he was. Down the steps, his legs started to churn on the stones. Jo normally moved faster and more lightfooted than anyone should be capable of. Now he was a blaze of motion, blurring by in a rush of air. It only took him a minute to reach the spot she was speaking about, and he slowed to a stop on those thick boots. "Cass?" He called, and tested the air with his nose a few times.

The jacket was undisturbed—probably thanks to the speed the Hunter could move at. Black leather shifted, and a little pink nose and brown-button eyes in butterscotch fur peeked out from beneath it, floppy lop ears getting caught on the collar. The foul mouth was all Euthanatos, though. And despite vague overtones of hay and animal musk, the scent was a familiar one. "Please pick me up..."

"What.....the fuck." Was all the Hunter could say. Born deep in that booming baritone even if the notes decided to ring astonished. The voice and scent were undoubtedly Cass', so he reached down with rod thick fingers and ham sized hands to gather her up. The grin was too implacable. Too perfect for words. Tilting every last ounce of his exaggerated lip line upwards until his eyes practically sung. "You are god damn adorable."

Really, she should crap on him. Rabbits do that, it would just come natural. But she had her dignity. Ears laying back and nose working overtime. Instead, she gave him a questing nip—not too hard, because Cass knew it was a long way to fall. "I will hurt you." Crooning that out in a promise that just seemed ridiculous from a tiny lop rabbit. "Get my jacket." Because all her toys were in there!

"Oh my god I just want to cuddle you." Not that was any different than before. Flowing downward with Bunny Cass secured in his left hand, he reached down and grabbed her jacket and slung it over his shoulder. He was expecting to get bit. But he brought those floppy bunny ears up to his face and gave them a nuzzle.

And there was one of her damn hind legs betraying her again and drumming on that plateau of a palm. "I want to go home," Cass demanded. Not that she didn't shove her nose against his chin. Fine, fine. Pet me, human vassal. She flicked her head as if she were shaking her ears, and then settled down again. "They are still planning to deliver today, after all." He knew what she meant.

Once the words were able to resound and make sense. Nodding meant moving the muscle in his neck and that mountain range of a shoulder line demonstratively. Instead of the shadows it was the sunlight that captured his forged features when recognition hit. Hang on for dear life bunny Cass. Because Jo was blurring through the forest with every bit of his super speed to make sure they didn't miss that delivery. The rush of air stopped when they reached her front door.

It took everything she had to not do a high-pitched terrified bunny squeal the entire way there. Jo is not going to drop you, idiot, repeating over and over in her mind.

With a free hand he opened the door and stepped inside. He tossed her jacket onto the couch then set her down atop of it too. "What the fuck do we do about this?"

"I can unweave this. But I need time." And to be within the safety of her very well-warded house, thank you very much. That was done, though. "I am sure you can handle the delivery men. I am going to go downstairs and fix this. Please let me down?"

"But I just want to rub my face in your floppy lil ears." The grin wouldn't wear away. He couldn't pick which was his favorite memory these days. This one would definitely rank up there. With one more nuzzle into her little bunny face he set her down on the ground. "Alright, I'll handle tha delivery."

The exasperated sigh came out as more an exasperated squeak. Cass was very glad that she couldn't blush at the moment, because she was certain that if she could, she'd be red from head to toe. "Thank you. I'll be back, I hope. As me, not...cotton butt." Ugh. He could watch her head down to a part of the house he had not yet explored—the basement. Not that she'd forbidden it. Still, that was where most of the magick happened, and it would be no different now.

Even if it did take her forever to get down the damn stairs.

(With many thanks to the player of Jochin Nagadari!)