Common Hare

Cuddled up against Loki, Gimli yawned then scrunched his nose as it hit Loki's chin.

It sounded like Loki was half-asleep because he murmured, "Gim !...Bit."

What in Mahal's name was his love was going on about ? Another one of those odd dreams probably, he thought while he wriggled out from under Loki. As he stared the black-haired man shivered and a layer of ice covered his skin.

Wanting to play with Loki's odd dreams for once, Gimli replied, "Rabbit ? The rabbits are coming ?"

Ruby-eyes were half-open, but unfocused as the jotun nodded with an otherwise serious look. With some effort, he managed not to burst out laughing by rolling onto his back and focusing on the gold nugget that glimmered above his head.

Seriously, he managed to whisper, "Run, Loki, run. They're shooting flowers at you...out their asses."

Loki dramatically, which considering how utterly silly he looked at the moment was quite admirable, hissed, "No."

"The pies ! Get the pies and throw them on 'em like they're Orcs."

Suddenly, Loki's eyes focused, he looked amused, confused and terrified. "I just had the weirdest, funniest, scariest nightmare. There were giant rabbits with orc-heads, rabbit ears and saber teeth chasing us. Something about flowers too I think."

The door to their bedroom burst open and twelve years old, curly red-haired Ana rushed in. Borin's oldest daughter clapped and happily squealed, "Cousin Gimli, Loki there's hares outside !"

With a chuckle Loki countered, "There's hares in here too."

Ana stomped a foot exclaiming, "Stop being silly, Loki, there's no hares in here !"

"Of course there are, Ana. Come here and I'll show you."

Ana walked across the floor to stop by Loki's side of the bed as he rolled over. His lips twitched as he raised himself to watch already knowing what would happen.

The grey-eyed, two foot tall girl blinked up at them and started looking around in wonder. "Where ?"

Loki reached out to gently tug on Ana's hair. "See ? There's some hair right here."

She put her hands on her hips and frowned, "Loki ! That's not funny."

Just to even things out he wrapped a strand of Loki's hair around his finger to tug it. Meanwhile, Loki had ended up in a giggling fit, "Yes, it is it's hilarious."

"I mean it, there's hares out there and not hair, hair. Come on, come on."

They got out of bed, he was the only one who needed to get dressed. After he pulled on a shirt and pants he followed Ana and Loki outside the Caves to see bright-blue sky above them. In the deep, bare grey-stone bowl before Helm's Deep a few small, yellow rabbits hopped about.

Ana ran up to one of the farther rabbits, scooped it up and came back. Wait, that one wasn't a rabbit. It was too large, was the wrong colour and had black marks on its ears. That was a hare. When he shared a look with Loki the jotun was as confused as he was at seeing the two species intermingling.

Proudly, Ana stated, "See, Loki, its a hare. Gimli, can I keep it ? Mother won't let me keep it."

Not really wanting to disappoint Ana, but having to he said, "Not in the Caves, no. You wouldn't want it to run into the smithy and end up with a crispy hare would you ?"

The girl gasped and clutched the hare to her chest, "No. Can I keep it out here, please ?"

"If it stays around here you can. If it wants to leave you have to let it."

"Yay ! Thank-you, Gimli." Ana put the hare down and rushed back inside. Still confused, he and Loki decided to go for a walk, it was just a hare.

If only they had stayed one more second, they would have seen the 'common' hare crap out a perfect daffodil. The hare twitched his nose, for now the poor, stupid, two-leggeds would think them harmless, but one day, one day, they would overwhelm the world in flowers.