A/N Finally, I was able to get ahead of the curve and get this chapter in by noon the next day, as I wanted to. Man, that test really punched me in the gut before NaNoWriMo, if it didn't I probably would've been able to get back sooner. Oh well, better late than never. I hope you guys enjoy!
R&R!
Chapter Four: The Hunt Begins!
"Home… I… I left home…" Bun Bun whispered, her eyes filling with tears. At that moment, her knees felt weak and shaky, while her arms began to weigh down upon her.
Without hesitation however, Lincoln rushed to her side and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a soft embrace. "It's ok Bun Bun, it's ok," he pushed her away slightly and looked into her eyes. "It's good that you at least remember it now… where do you come from?"
"I… I come from…" she paused, searching her newly returned memory for the answer, only to find the words eluding her tongue. "I… don't know…" she shook her head. "I ran away…"
"Do you remember from what?" The boy continued, his voice filling with a fatherly understanding. And yet, his companion shook her head.
"No… I just know that I ran away… that was the last thing I saw of my home before I left…"
Lincoln let out a deep breath with that. "Then that's all right," slowly, he helped her back onto her feet and dusted himself off, taking note of the unconscious Cleopawtra as he did so. "Whatever that crystal you got from Clyde's cat must've gave you back a memory."
Bun Bun nodded. "Yeah… when I saw it, I felt it calling to me… like I had to grab it."
"Well then, I guess if we find more of these, we'll be able to find out more about just how you ended up here…" Lincoln smiled. "…Are you all right? Cleopawtra didn't hurt ya, right?"
The bunny girl nodded. "Yeah… if anything I hurt her more than she hurt me."
"Cleopawtra I usually really well-behaved… did Bun Bun's memory shard really mess with her like that?" Lincoln nodded. "That's great," before he took the cat in his arms. The once hostile feline now snuggling into his arms like nothing had happened. "
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Lincoln?" Bun Bun leaned in close, worry filling her voice. "I mean, didn't she just try to maul us and… Clyde?!"
Lincoln's eyes went wide in realization. "We left him back in his room!"
"No worries! I'm ok!" A familiar voice called out, prompting the duo to turn towards the source: Clyde, now covered in bandages and leftover scratches waving at them from the nearby staircase. "Did you get Cleopawtra under control?"
"Yeah Clyde," Lincoln slowly made his way over to his friend, careful not to disturb the feline sleeping in his arms. "Turns out something was… possessing her…"
"Well, did you at least get it to let go?" Worry began to seep into Clyde's voice. "You know how my dads don't allow any occult magic in the house!"
Lincoln nodded. "Yeah… apparently some weird crystal was inside her…" he turned and glanced at his bunny companion. "And Bun Bun was able to absorb it and get one of her memories back."
"That's good," Clyde smiled, before taking his cat in his arms. "Huh… so doyou still wanna watch the Arrgh! Marathon?"
And in response, the boy turned to his companion. "What do you think, Bun Bun?"
For a moment, the young girl hesitated, her mind still fixated upon the image that once filled it. "My home in the stars… I had to leave, but why?"
With a soft, caring hand, Lincoln grabbed her shoulder. "Hey Bun Bun… are you with me?"
"Huh?" She looked at her male companion in surprise, before looking away and nodding. "Yeah… I'll be fine, just… it's nothing…" she turned back with a begging gaze. "Sure, let's go watch… whatever you're talking about."
"I know that look… it's what Lola puts on when she knows she's messed up, but doesn't wanna talk about it…" the boy nodded and looked into her eyes. "No problem Bun Bun… no problem," before he took hold of her hand and pulled, guiding her over to the nearby couch.
And with that, Clyde joined them, now running his hand through his cat's fur. "Huh… strange."
"What is?" Lincoln turned to his friend in confusion.
"My dads had her declawed a while ago… now it looks like we're gonna have to put her through that again…" the dark-skinned boy carefully moved his hand over to examine the cat's paw, now with three sharpened spikes protruding from it.
Immediately, the white-haired boy turned to the bunny girl, "Do you think, that crystal had something to do with it?"
"I guess…" Bun Bun's voice trailed off. "How about we just… think of something else? I mean, come on, there have to be more important things than just what I'm thinking of, right?"
For a short moment, Lincoln considered probing deeper into his companion's thoughts, only for the look of concern filling her expression to urge him otherwise. "Later…" he sighed. "Yeah, the marathon's coming on."
And with that, Clyde turned on the TV and they went off to watch.
A Few Hours Later…
The Arrgh! Marathon went on for the next few hours, culminating in Hunter Spectre finding his way through a bigger-on-the-inside animation studio covered in cult-like graffiti worshiping an ink demon.
And when that episode was done, Clyde bid his friend goodnight, before they left his home to head off for their own.
For the next few moments after that, Lincoln and Bun Bun walked in silence, the bunny girl's thoughts buried in her mind, while Lincoln simply kept pace with her, his hands in his pockets and gaze fixed upon the setting sun.
"So… how are you feeling now?" Lincoln's voice cut through the silence, though his companion chose not to respond. More likely from the thoughts filling her mind rather than the hoodie covering her ears.
Slowly, Lincoln checked his surroundings once more, before pulling the hood off her head, allowing the bunny girl's oversized ears to come into view. "Bun Bun…"
"Huh?" Her thoughts immediately snapped back to reality. "Wha-what's up?"
"Bun Bun… you've been quiet ever since I met you… but… you've been quieter ever since you got that memory back. What's going on with you?" The boy placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Please… tell me."
"I… I don't know…" she broke contact with his gaze. "It's just… I don't know who I am… and the first thing I saw was me running from home…" she turned back to her companion with a begging gaze. "But I don't remember why I ran away! Was I alone? Why would I run from something so beautiful?!"
"Lincoln… I know I just met you and your family, but please, please help me find more of these crystals… I need to get my memories back."
"Bun Bun…" Lincoln's voice trailed off, while the girl simply continued her plea.
"I don't know why… but I have a feeling that… that I had to run away for a reason," she turned away, before turning back with tear-filled eyes. "Please, please help me."
Lincoln steeled his gaze with that, and nodded. "All right Bun Bun, I'll help ya," before taking a deep breath and thinking. "I'm sure that Lisa might be able to help ya out. I mean, that crystal had the power to regrow a declawed cat's claws, who knows what else they're capable of? And if I know my sister well enough, she'll make a device of some kind that'll be able to find them."
"Thank you," she immediately threw her arms around him, pulling him into a soft embrace, before pushing back and pulling the hood over her ears once more. "Now, lets head back," and with that, she took his hand in her own and together they headed back to their home.
20-9-13-5 6-15-18 19-20-15-18-9-5-19 1-14-4 20-1-12-5-19 6-18-15-13 4-9-13-5-14-19-9-15-14 3 15-14-5 20-8-18-5-5 19-5-22-5-14
A/N Well that was slightly shorter than usual, but it was completely necessary. Now I'm finally ahead of the curve and can update on time! As usual, I thank my friends for their help!
Review Replies (C3):
Just4FunFiction: Great! I hope you enjoy!
Boris Yeltsin: Awesome! Now it's time to start!
TheCartoonist294: That's fine, and thanks! And maybe he will appear.
Hatoralo: One step at a time, imagine Clyde's reaction to that!
DreadedCandiru2: Yeah, she's probably a magical princess from another dimension! And yeah, I'm happy too!
Bouken Dutch 2.0: Bun Bun is a strange character at the moment. Could she be good? Could she be evil? She doesn't remember. But I can say is that she really isn't of this world.
