2007-05-11: Lucky Rabbit Foot

Starring:

Laurel_icon.gif Daphne_icon.gif

Summary: After the rabbit's life-saving surgery, Daphne brings her to her new home, and she gets a name. Also, Daphne totally betrays Jane's trust, but SHHH.

Date It Happened: 11 MAY 2007

Lucky Rabbit Foot


Laurel's Apartment, New York

The last few months have been… busy. Graduation photos and parties, April and May Weddings, and a surprise travel broshure job in another state for a few weeks… The money of the past few months, the big travel job especially, had given Laurel enough money to move out of her rather crime-ridden apartment to a more prestigious and higher security tower. Better part of the city too! She couldn't be happier. Of course, now she has other things to worry about. Like prepping her room for a new guest, one who has an instinct to dig and chew! Luckily for her land-person, she's very much paranoid about these kinds of things. So a play area has been set up for the rabbit.

First of all, one whole room of the apartment has been completely redecorated just for this purpose. The baseboards are covered with a wooden structure that she built herself. Untreated wood so the rabbit can chew if it desires. The carpet has also been covered, with natural fiber blankets and wooden panelling for the cage to be situated on. Even the cage? Homemade. Apparently the idea of getting a bunny brought the sculpture artist out in Laurel. The walls are painted with a field scene, complete with clouds and a sun peeking out. It frames the windows in a way that makes them not look completely out of place. Everything the rabbit can chew on can be easily replaced and removed without going to her cleaning bill when she moves out. And let's not forget all the toys, the shelving units and the camera set up to photograph the bunny at the spur of the moment… She's never owned a pet of her own before, so she's very excited.

Today's the day! According to her friend. Last minute set up with the litter boxes — one in the cage, one in the corner of the play area. Now for the hard part… what is she going to /name/ this bunny?

—-

Little no-name has been relatively calm on the way over, thanks to Daphne's ability to tell her that everything really /is/ okay, that there's nothing to worry about… Even the vets commented on how unreasonably calm the rabbit was, which is why they kept her longer than usual - in case something was wrong. Daphne, of course, couldn't tell them that the rabbit was so calm because she /spoke bunny,/ and besides, eventually, the black and white bundle of fluff did come home, and has been hanging out with Daphne's other rabbits for the past week or so.

She's still got patches of fur missing, but she's young, and the surgery was successful. As well, she's now spayed, which is one thing Laurel won't have to worry about. Like with most animals, it's much easier to do both surgeries at once to minimise the shock, especially on rabbits where too much anasthesia can kill them.

To keep her calm, Daphne has her in a plain brown box - marked 'BOOKS' since she pulled it out of her basement just a little while ago. She's very excited, has been told she's going to a new home with a friend, and although Daphne can't prevent all the fear, Little black-and-white is pretty calm for a move like this. The conversation on the way over consisted of the rabbit equivalent of 'ARE WE THERE YET?'

…Every ten seconds.

Eventually, they reach the apartment, and Daphne knocks on the door. The bunny is waiting inside the box - with a green bow tied around her middle - for her new owner.

—-

A little after the knock on the door, it opens.

There stands Laurel, wearing more down to earth clothes than normal. Nothing fancy at all. In fact she's wearing jean overalls at the moment, with some dried paint smears on them, and a light blue shirt— also with paint smears. The overalls are definitely cute and fashionable, though! Not the dingy old farmer kind, but the cute fun girl kind. With many pockets, including one for a camera. "Hey, Daphne," she says with a smile, before she glances down into the box. Oh— there she is.

Leaning over, she looks into the box, and then quickly pulls out the camera. "Don't mind the flashing light. It's just so you'll look prettier," she says to the bunny, before drawing it up to her eyes and framing the rabbit in the picture. Okay— yeah, that's a cute face! Click! Flash! Instant photograph. Bunny's first picture.

Putting the camera away, she looks up at her friend and smiles. "All right— guess we should get her inside. The room's all fixed up! You haven't seen it yet, have you?"

Offering to take the box, she nudges her door open enough to let her friend in easily, before she nudges it closed again. Don't forget to lock all the deadbolts! She'd give a reminder, but this is Daphne, not a newbie to Laurel-mindframe. "The bunny room is this way. I still haven't thought of a name yet…"

—-

Even in paint, Laurel looks great, which makes Daphne laugh. Seriously? Daphne's comfortable in jeans and an old t-shirt, which is a whole lot more practical when she's spending the better part of a day cleaning out animal cages and habitats, when she's not working at the zoo. One would think she'd get tired of it, but… Nope. She loves what she does. Her animals are happy, /she/ is happy, so there's no reason at all to complain. She doesn't, however, need another permanent resident, hence why she's brought the rabbit here.

Quickly translating for the rabbit, who's still shocked when the flash lights up her surroundings, Daphne doesn't close her eyes quickly enough to prevent her from seeing stars. "/Laurel,/" she mutters, looking up, blinking. She can't see the smile because she can't see anything, but she's sure the other girl is smiling. She can feel it in her voice.

Once inside, and once Laurel has the box, Daphne rubs at her eyes, nudging the door closed with a toe so she can lock it as her friend tends to the rabbit. "Haven't seen it yet, no. You've been busy." Once she can see again, Daphne turns, smirks, and checks the door to make sure it's locked. She's careful, too… Not this careful, but yes, she's used to the routine. After a brief pause, she adds, "Yeah, she wants a name. All my other critters have names. I told her she'd have to wait."

—-

"What? I wanted a picture before she came inside— does it bother her? Are rabbits really light sensetive? Should I use a camera that doesn't need a flash?" Laurel has all kinds of cameras, and some digital ones can be adjusted so they can use the ambient light in the room to do the same thing. She takes mental notes of this as she waits for the door to be locked so she can lead the way towards the painted bunny room. The blankets on the floor are even green, in an attempt to make things as cool and bunny-like as possible.

"Names— I've been thinking since you told me! But I'm not used to having animals. I don't name things— you know how hard it is to name photographs in my portfolio? I have one called 'Dude in the Park on a Rainy Day'. I don't think she'll appreciate being called 'Cute Bunny Rabbit'."

Once she's inside the room, she sets the box down, and picks up a protective fence, like something people would use to childproof a set of stairs in a house. Instead, she attaches it to the door once they're inside. Hopefully her bunny isn't a jumper.

"Okay— what do you think? Did I do too much? Should she not have a whole room to herself?" She's honestly not sure how much running room a bunny needs— but she did get a couple books for reading.

Names… Names… there's got to be a name somewhere.

—-

"Well, she's okay," Daphne says. "They get scared easily, though, so it might be better to use a camera without a flash after I leave. I can't talk to her if I'm not here." It's a mild admonishment, though an important one. She does think a rabbit is perfect for Laurel, and this one will likely even let herself be picked up sometimes, thanks to Daphne's time with her. Short - just a few days, really, but she's already made (pardon the pun) leaps and bounds.

Daphne's first reaction to the room is to smile. After all, she knows what animals want, and she knows for a /fact/ that little no-name will be very happy in here. "I think it's really nice," the vet-in-training states, trying and failing to hide a little chuckle. Does she think Laurel overdid it? Yeah, a little. But the fact is, if the animal is happy, none of that matters. "If you're not using the room, what's the harm in giving it to yor rabbit? I'd do it, if I could." As it is, Daphne has to divide out-of-cage time between all her animals, and sometimes their play time overlaps. Luckily, she's one of the very few people in the world who can allow her rabbits and ferrets to play /together./ It comes in handy.

As for a name… "I had a friend with a rabbit who looked like this. Her name was Magic. …The rabbit, not my friend." Kneeling down, she examines the cage, shaking her head. "You didn't have to do all this, though. She would have been perfectly happy with half of this. I think she's gonna think she's in rabbit heaven."

—-

"Right— less flash. I don't want to scare her," Laurel says, thinking about how skittish /she/ can be at times. She wonders if she's like a rabbit divided by ten in skittishness sometimes? She should figure if something would make her jumpy, it'd probably do the same thing to the bunny. Reaching into the box, she says, "Okay— let's see how you like the place. Bunny Heaven?" This gives her friend enough time to send soothing thoughts as she lifts her up briefly, and then puts her back down on the blankets. All natural fibers! Great for chewing, eating, and best of all… digging. There's three layers even, so she can take one up if it starts getting chewed through and the carpet might be exposed.

Okay… name. "Magic's a good name, but— mmm… You don't really look like a Magic to me," the young brunette settles down to watch the bunny nose around and become aquianted with her area. She did have the extra room. This new apartment had more than enough space for it, and she's happy of it. Her old apartment would never have allowed this kind of thing at all.

"Not a magic… but I don't see you as anything like… Blackie either. The white spots on the nose and foot are cute— like… I dunno. Oreo cookie. If you had more white I'd call you oreo." But not so much in the white department. Instead, she focuses her brown, nearly hazel eyes on the white foot. "It's like your lucky foot— Oh. I know! Lucky. She'll be Lucky. Cause you found her, and she has the foot— and thanks to the surgery and all she's still around. Do you think Lucky works?"

—-

Daphne's sure that the bunny will be okay. She's kind of got the advantage of not having to worry about if she's safe or not, since she's been /told/ she's safe, that Laurel will take good care of her. There will still be some necessary time for acclimation, especially because she was almost getting used to living with Daphne and her zoo, but it'll be fine!

Sitting back on her feet, she pushes her hair out of her face, looking upward at Laurel as she sits.

<So it's okay? It's okay? This is okay?>

Daphne answers with a positive, so that Lucky can get to exploring her surroundings without worry. She's learned that rabbits ask a lot of questions. It seems like part of the reason they're so easy to scare is because they can't always answer those questions, because they don't understand. "So you've been reading?" Daphne asks, reaching out for the bunny, who now seems more interested in exploring than in either of the two humans sitting around.

Naming things can be remarkably difficult. Daphne would know - she's named lots of animals in her time, and it /never/ gets easier. You want to pick something perfect for them, to fit their appearance and personality. Something you'll still want to call them in three or four years, and something to which they'll be glad to respond. "I think that's a really good name," Daphne answers, because it /is./ It makes sense. "Are you sure? I'll tell her."

—-

Yes, this is okay! Not that Laurel can answer the rabbit, as she noses around with her little white speck above her nose, looking for her places. "Your cage is over there," the young woman explains outloud, as if she thought the rabbit could understand her. Honestly it can't, but at least she's trying to answer the questions. Or at least the one. "Yeah, I read a couple books. Went down to the library and got some," she gestures up to the shelving area, where there are indeed a couple books.

"They said if I have a lot of time to spend with the rabbit having one is fine, but if I'm going to be out a lot, I should get her a companion. Maybe I'll go shopping for a boyfriend for her. I know she's fixed so I won't have to worry about surprise babies." That's one worry— and also lifespan tends to be better when fixed. She read that too.

"Yeah— I'm sure. She's definitely a Lucky," she adds on with a nod, suddenly rather confident about it now that she's told the name doesn't suck. She has a lot of questions too— just like the rabbit— but at least there's people around her who can answer them.

—-

<Okay, so you wanted a name,> Daphne says.

<Name??> the rabbit asks.

<A name. To call you.>

<Call me?>

<It's Lucky.>

<I am Lucky?>

<Yes.>

The rabbit seems satisfied with this, should respond fairly well if Laurel says it to her - hopefully. Daphne's found that while animals respond pretty well to /her,/ it's hit or miss with other people. "She should get it eventually," Daphne says, reaching over to scratch Lucky's back. She asks the rabbit if she's happy, and after another round of circular questions, she gets an answer. "She really likes it here. She's comfortable," Daphne says. "Kind of confused 'cuz she hasn't been here before, so it may be a good idea to keep it dark in here for a little while 'til she gets used to it.

"It's gonna be a little work, Laur, but you can call me if you need anything, okay? Rabbits aren't too demanding, not like dogs or anything. They're good for apartments. I mean, I think they are, anyway. She's pretty calm, too, but you have /me/ to thank for that." She elbows Laurel a bit. "This talking to animals thing comes in handy sometimes."

—-

"Lucky," Laurel repeats, so the bunny can hear her name said, once she's sure that the bunny knows her name— at least in bunny talk. Lucky. The Luckiest Rabbit in the Pet Store. Happened to find a person who could talk to animals, right when she needed medical intervention. With so many animals in the cage with her, the store workers would have never noticed she was sick until it'd been too late. So— they're lucky. The best part about rabbits? They don't require all the crazy vaccinations and tags that a dog would, and—

"Yeah, I read they cope well with small areas," she says, leaning down to watch her bunny quietly. A boyfriend… maybe in a few weeks, if she starts thinking Lucky's getting lonely.

"Dark— yeah, I can do that," she says, standing up slowly and walking over to the shelves, where a small lamp is located. This lamp gives a little light in the room, but when she turns off the big overhead one, things definitely look darker. "There— enough light to see by, but still dark. I need to get boxes and stuff— and I read that they like having tunnels, like your ferrets. Only bigger, obviously." Tunnels to hide in and run under. All she has right now is a round cardboard chew-tube, a chube.

"I'll call you, of course. You're the only person I know who understands rabbit." It'd be rather dumb of her not to ask her friend for help in that area. "I should be fine for tonihgt, though."

—-

Well, /two/ people. Daphne hasn't told Laurel about Peter yet. She should… She should tell her friend about the fact that she's met other people with abilities, but she's not sure how to bring it up without betraying their trust. She knows Laurel isn't going to ruin things, though, because - it's /Laurel./ Reaching out for the bunny as she comes close again, Daphne looks toward the floor. No secrets between best friends.

Hopefully Jane doesn't injure her.

"I… have to talk to you about something," Daphne says as the light goes off. She backs up until she's leaning comfortably against a wall. "Figured I could do that while I'm here. I mean, at least it'll kill some time, you know?" She's dancing around the conversation topic, something she does when she's uncomfortable. "And… I'm not really supposed to be saying anything, 'cuz I promised, but I think it's okay if I tell /you./ I met more people who can do things, you know, like we can." She pauses, considers, then adds, "I came by to see you one day, and this one girl— She lives right down the hall from you."

—-

"Really?" Laurel asks, looking over at her best friend for a moment. It really doesn't /surprise/ her— after the incident at Central Park, after all, she knows there's more than just the two of them. Doesn't mean that she's not /somewhat/ surprised… especially that one lives right down the hall. "Wow— that's— I mean— there's those girls in the park, two of them at least. The fire one, and the one that jumped around. They're kinda— weird right? If there's four of us girls around the city, makes sense there'd be at least a few more."

Wonder if they're all girls? Maybe the Y Chromozone destroys the alien genes in men! Or something like that. She's not a genetics person, or a biologist. The sciences she knows are limited the chemicals, for her developing stuff.

"So— did she know what's going on, you think? With us, I mean. She doesn't think we're aliens, or anything, right?" Aliens are her thing… She glances towards the nosing bunny, before laying down on the covered carpet so she can get into a more comfortable position. She doesn't seem as paranoid as she /should/… Sometimes it's good to know you're not alone, right? Maybe one of the people out there with strange abilities will know what's going on.

—-

Making a weird face, Daphne nods. "Yeah, and there's a lot of people out there who can hear animals. I mean, this one guy seemed to spontaniously learn how while I was in the store getting this rabbit. And the other one can only talk to dogs. The one who lives down the hall from you can break glass with her voice. It was amazing."

Jane's going to kill her. She's going to /hear Daphne talking/ and kill her. Kill her horribly, it'll be ugly. And— No. No, Jane's not the type. "Her name's Jane Something-or-Other… I can't remember her last name. She made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone." Oops. "She said… Not all of us are good. She kind of told me that people not like us are 'outsiders.' I don't know, Laur. I don't want to stop trusting my parents just 'cuz they can't snap their fingers and turn lead to gold or something. I want to tell them one day."

Anyway. Reaching into her bag, she pulls out the photo Jane gave her. She probably shouldn't have it with her… And usually doesn't, but this is a special circumstance. She hands it over. "She said if I saw this guy, I should leave and call the police. His name's Gabriel Gray… I remember that much. She seemed pretty serious."

—-

"Really?" Laurel asks, looking up towards her friend with a look of surprise and shock. Well, that rules out no special guys. Oh well. Just means the alien gene isn't erradicated by being a man. "Break glass, hmm. That doesn't sound very useful— unless you like breaking glass." She's not so sure she would like such a talent, not that having these… wall things is that great either. Except when someone's trying to mug her.

"Jane— well— I won't tell her you told. Secret's safe with me. I'll put it in my special folder— especially if I ever meet her and take her picture." Little does the forcefield generator know that she's already seen the woman at least once. In the park. Playing her guitar. "Well— I dunno, aren't we the outsiders? I mean— we have to be in the minority or there'd be a lot weirder things going on. People would've seen it. We'd be on the news!" So to her— they're the outsiders. Outsiders are the ones left out, right? The ones who are "different".

Tell her parents… "I dunno. Maybe I'll tell them someday. They'll just think I'm crazy, though…" She's convinced they would, at least.

Sitting back up, she takes the picture and looks at the face. Huh. What weird eyebrows. "Gabriel Gray? Sounds like a name that's easy to remember— I don't think I've heard it, or seen him… But I'll definitely call the cops. They're on speed dial." And with her? It's probably true.

—-

"Yeah, I guess I'm not so special," Daphne says with a shrug. Eh, at least it's proven that she's not crazy, and she really is hearing animals. Like the fact that Lucky is wondering to herself if she has to poop or not. Yeah, those are the kinds of things Daphne could go without hearing, but it's become background noise now in most situations. Working at the zoo, she's noted that the animals have just become a quiet addition to the voices of the people who are visiting the park.

There's a good question. "I sort of feel like it sometimes." Outside, looking in? Yeah, she gets that feeling a lot. "I think she meant that the only ones who know are the ones who can do things. Like it's some sort of club." After a moment, she continues. "She's kind of right, though. I… wouldn't have told you if you weren't, you know. If you couldn't make those walls. I'd be scared to. I thought you'd think it was weird. Hell, I thought I was crazy for the longest time. But I'd like to be able to… not be so careful, I guess."

She feels like a liar every time she goes over to her parents' house. Every time Daphne's come close to telling them, she's chickened out, thought better of bringing it up, come up with something else to talk about— anything. It's just not something she can come out and say. For all that she loves her parents, she's afraid they'd have her committed.

That Laurel has the police on speed-dial makes Daphne roll her eyes. "How hard is it to dial 9-1-1, Laurel?" she asks with an uneasy chuckle. "Besides, with what you can do, you don't really /need/ the cops. But something about this guy makes me uneasy." Reaching forward, she taps the photo. "Jane didn't tell me what he did, but I really don't want to find out."

—-

"Don't be silly," Laurel says, glancing over to give her a weird look. "Can I talk to animals? No. It's like saying 'oh no, someone else has my amazingly blue eyes'." Just as her friend reached over to poke her, she does the same as she hands the picture back, the face memorized. Really, it's just kinda silly to her. But in a humorous way. She moves to lay back down, getting into a relaxed position on the floor, feet raising up off the carpet— or the blankets covering the carpet.

"I don't think I'd want everyone to know. It's kinda like… I have talents and skills, right? I guess it'd be cool if I could put 'invisible walls' on my resume, but that's not what I want to do as a job. I mean— I can figure skate and I don't put that on my resume either. And I don't go around telling everybody either." It's one of those things, right? "I guess in your line of work talking to animals would be a good asset." The most she could do with forcefields is protect herself from angry mobs while taking photographs in a riot! Or they could send her off to a war zone. Oh heck no. She likes happy pictures.

"One number is faster than three," she says plainly, as if that's all the difference in the world. "I'll throw up a wall, run the heck away, then call the cops, deal?"

—-

Hey, Daphne /does/ have amazingly blue eyes. They are pretty, and her favourite feature. Totally. Folding the photo up, which possibly makes Laurel cringe, she puts it back in her bag, at the bottom of a pocket where it can't accidentally fall out. She's become almost more paranoid than Laurel lately, but she won't admit it, and she won't let herself /scare/ herself. She's just a lot more careful than she used to be.

It's driving her nuts.

"Well, not /everyone./ But having someone to talk to… I'm just glad I can. Really glad." She was feeling really alone, having that huge secret that she couldn't ever tell anyone for fear that she was crazy. Now she's been using it more. Getting better at it. Learning how to talk to reptiles, like snakes. It's not easy, but she feels like she's getting through to them.

Eventually, she stands. "You and Lucky have some catching up to do. I'm gonna head back home, okay? But I can come back if you need me to." Daphne rests her bag on her shoulder. "Jane said to walk away calmly. I dunno, though. I'd run, too."

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