"How much further do we have to go?" Lincoln said.
"My legs are killing me!" Luan complained.
"Legs can kill people?" Leni questioned.
"*Groan* Mom!" Lana grumbled.
Rita pinched the bridge of her temple in frustration. Being a mother of eleven children, she knew that such banter was inevitable with long trips, full family or not. Had this just been any regular trip to the country carnival, she would've made it through just fine.
Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. While driving in the middle of the wooded lands, their van has had the gall to break down at that moment. As much as Rita wanted to return home, her kids would absolutely not back down on their insistence on this carnival visit. So for the middle aged woman's own sanity, despite not being the most logically sound idea, they went on ahead. Although this might have not been the case, had the mother of eleven known how long a trek it would be.
"Enough!" The middle aged woman screamed, silencing her children in the process, "No more complaining, or I'll have all of us turn around!"
Knowing not to trifle with their mother when angered, the children ceased all inane chatter and just focused on walking. Despite their concern over how long it will take to get to their location, their resolve to enjoy themselves at the country carnival is simply too strong to feel like turning back.
After a bit of distance, the children kicking up the dust on the dirt road from their legs getting sore, the youngest of the group suddenly stops in her tracks.
The others quickly took notice of this and stopped as well, turning towards her.
"What's wrong Lana?" asked a concerned Lincoln, walking towards his younger sister. "Need someone to carry you from here?"
Even though the white haired boy is just as tired, not to mention his lack of upper body strength, such circumstances haven't stopped him from lifting the young girl, sometimes along with her twin sister, in the past.
"No bro, take a look over there!" Lana said, pointing towards the sky over the trees.
Upon the family looking at the suggested direction, their eyes are immediately drawn to a raucous ball of black. You didn't need to be an animal expert like Lana to tell what these birds were.
"Crows?" Rita questioned, "What could such a large swarm of them possibly be after?"
Before anyone else could react to the spectacle before them, Lana charged off towards the trees, Luan following shortly after.
"Hey!" Rita called out after the two girls, "Where are you two going?"
Not getting a response and rapidly losing ground the two, the rest of the family quickly runs after the girls.
Upon catching up with the sprinting comedian and animal lover, they reach a vegetable field, with a tree atop a dirt hill, which is where the crows seemed to be gathering around the side of said dirt hill.
The rest of the family had no time to really think about the possible cause before Lana and Luan charged at the flock.
"You won't be hurting those poor things any further!" Luan yelled at the flock, brandishing her chest flower before having it fire out water.
Lana soon followed with her own plan of attack. Letting out a growl of a lion, she pounced towards the crows with reckless abandon, the flock being more scared and annoyed than intimidated, simply decided to bite, or in this case, peck back.
Now proving to be a threat to their own kin, the rest of the group chooses to fight as well, Leni pouncing on the crowd as well, and Rita, odd as it is, swung her hips at the black birds surrounding Luan.
"Huh, finally found a benefit to how big my hips are." Rita said, admiring her hips by giving them a pat before continuing to do it on the flock.
Lincoln watched the ensuing chaos, not really knowing what to do about the situation himself. Yet, upon seeing the sight of his younger sister being attacked by crows, he felt a sudden rush of brotherly instincts and did the first thing that came to his mind, grabbing a medium sized stick he found stuck in the ground, and rushed to his sister's rescue.
After a while of the Loud's valiant defense, the crows eventually lost interest, and flew away, Lincoln and Rita checking on Lana.
"Are you okay Lana?" Asked Rita, getting a look on her face for any damages.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Lana said, getting up and turning towards her older brother with a grateful smile.
"Thanks for the save, Linc." Lana said, as she got up and went towards the side of the dirt hill that the crows were trying to swarm.
Curious about what Lana and Luan we're so passionate about saving, the rest of the family goes up to the dirt hill as well. Upon inspection, the family finds a rather small hole, small enough to ward off attacks from birds, but only for so long. The contents of said hole is what shocked the family.
A pack of rabbits, looking scared and confused.
It was then the rest of the Loud pack connected the dots. Luan, being very enamoured with magic tricks due to her routines, has grown a strong appreciation for rabbits, going as far as to create their own little living space for her normally hat covered friends. Lana, on the other hand, was borderline fanatical when it came to animals, so of course hearing the sounds of innocent, defenseless creatures would cause the young grease monkey to chase after the sound with reckless abandon.
"Hey guys, look!" Leni yelled as she pointed towards the red capped girl, "I think Lana's turning into a mouse!"
The rest of the Loud pack look over in Lana's direction to find her making little squeaking sounds, as well as some ridiculous gestures, mimicking the usual posture of the very animal she's facing.
Quick to roll their eyes at the intellectually challenged Loud's observation, it was Lincoln that decided to explain what's really going on.
"That's just Lana talking to the rabbits." Lincoln had extensive knowledge on all of his sister's traits, so seeing this kind of thing was like seeing the sun rise to him.
After a bit of negotiating, as well as some extra coaxing on Luan's part, Lana finally seemed to make the rabbits more comfortable as the pack seemed to hop on out, one by one, until they all came out of their hiding place.
Then another one popped out… then another one… then another one… then another one… THEN ANOTHER ONE!
By the time all of them had come out, the sheer abundance of bunnies outmatched the flock of crows they had just scared away.
"Well, I guess this explains why a bunch of crows surrounded this area." Lincoln said, stunned into near silence at the brigade of bunnies in front of him.
The brigade was so large that all the family could see was white fuzz with the occasional black eye appearing. Apart from the amount of dirt that got caught in their fur, they all appeared interchangeable.
Well, there was one bunny in particular that stood out. A rather large bunny, whose size dwarfed the rest in the pack and had fur that was as thick as a lion's mane. Currently, said bunny was being stared at by Leni, who looks like a child staring down a christmas tree of presents.
"Oh my gosh! Look at that one! He's soooo cute!" Leni exclaimed as she started to run toward said bunny, the other bunnies quickly moved away to make a path for the blonde fashionista as she ran toward it. Once making it over, she simply picked it up and gave it a hug that could've been mistaken for a choke hold, it was so tight. Despite this, the large bunny seemed to have little negative reaction to it, in fact, it seemed to enjoy it alot.
With one of the family members preoccupied, the young animal lover of the group notices the looks of bafflement at the situation and seeked to put their perplexities to rest.
"We must've stumbled upon a rabbit hole." Lana began to explain, "They tend to have most of their babies down there."
"But how can they have so many at once down there at once." Lincoln asked, still overwhelmed.
"Well, duh, rabbit holes are incredibly deep for this purpose, Linc." Lana said, rolling her eyes at her brother's ignorance, "What do you think the term "rabbit hole" comes from?"
Just then, two bunnies came up to them and started squeaking at them, seeming to make some attempt at communication to them, despite the obvious difference in group, figuring this much out, looked towards the family's resident animal expert for guidance on this matter.
Not even needing anyone to pop the question, Lana stepped up to the two bunnies and started to make squeak and grunt sounds of their own, assumably communicating with the two.
After a while of back and forth noises between Lana and the two bunnies, Lana finally turned towards the family.
"So what are they saying Lana?" Lincoln asked, Luan and Rita giving similar looks of curiosity.
"These two are the parents of this rabbit hole, and they say that they're grateful for saving them from the crows." Lana motioned towards the two hares, who simply seemed to nod in response.
The white haired boy was simply dumbfounded by this turn of events. Sure, he knew that Lana was the animal expert of the household, without competition, but to be able to properly communicate and translate animal speech, let alone speak in inflection that they understand, goes beyond what Lincoln thought his tomboy sister was capable of. He might need to make a request with Lisa about this phenomenon at some point.
The rabbit parent's sudden noises broke Lincoln out of his thoughts and focused on Lana, who seemed to be shocked by whatever the rabbit parents had just told her.
"What are they saying Lana?" Rita asked, unsure if what they are saying is good or bad.
"They seem to be inviting us to stay with them." Lana said excitedly, contrasting to the other member's bemused expressions.
"Stay with them?" Lincoln questioned, "What do you mean?"
The rabbit parents simply responded by hopping inside of their hole that the brunt had hid in just moments ago, the rest of the bunnies following suit, sans the large one, who lagged behind due to Leni only just letting it go.
"Wait, they want us to go in there!?" Lincoln exclaimed, "How could we even fit in there?"
"Again, it's a rabbit hole Lincoln." Lana explained to her older siblings, "It's way deeper on the inside then looks would have you believe."
This statement didn't do anything to make the rest of the Louds more comfortable with the idea, sans Leni, whose mind is focused solely on getting that bunny back within her arms.
"I don't know children." Rita said unsurely, "I feel as though we had spent enough time around here as is."
"Yeah," Lincoln added, "I think we should get back on the road and keep moving. It's getting late after all."
"Oh come on Lincoln, not feeling up to a "Hare"-raising adventure?" Luan jokes, her character defining laugh playing out as the rest of her family simply groans in response.
C'mon guys, I never got to see a rabbit hole from the inside before." Lana begged.
"Yeah, and I wanna see Big Bun again!" Leni joined in with her own begs.
The sisters of the Loud Family began their pleas by widening their eyes and repeating the word "please" over and over. It was fairly clear to the lone brother and matriarch of the family that the popular vote was for following the bunnies into their hole.
Lincoln and Rita gave each other a look, coming to a very similar conclusion of reasoning. They both knew that denying the sisters any further will only end up causing more chaos somehow. It was the way their family worked after all.
"Okay, Okay." Rita said, holding her hand up and trying to talk her daughters down. "We'll go inside their hole for a little while, but I want us to be out and on the road in another hour or so."
Satisfied with the answer given to them, the sisters suddenly turned back to their normal demeanors and let out a cheer.
"Alright! C'mon then, let's go!" Lana said, excitedly running towards the rabbit hole, Luan following close behind.
"Oh boy!" Leni exclaimed as she walked along with the remaining family members, "I can't wait to see Big Bun again!"
"Big Bun? Why that name?" Rita asked
"Y'know," Leni began, "He's a big bunny, and he's totes adorable!"
Lincoln could only roll his eyes at his older sister's enthusiasm. He knew Leni always had an infatuation with bunnies, particularly those that are large and huggable. Not that Lincoln wouldn't have wanted her not to be. She was the one who gave him Bun Bun as a hand me down gift at a young age.
Once all the Family members were at the hole, which was cutting into the side of the dirt hill, it was the family matriarch that gave the most obvious question.
"So, how are we getting in there anyway?"
"Simple Mom!" Lana said as though she's asking an obvious question, "Just crawl on in!"
Lana continued to get on her hands and knees, and move herself right into the aforementioned hole, Luan following close behind.
However, upon Leni trying to do the same, she finds herself unable to move any further all of a sudden. The blonde fashionista tried to pull herself through as hard she can, but she soon found this attempt futile and decided on a more verbal approach.
"Someone help! I can't move!" Leni shouted, trying to get the attention of the people behind her.
Though she isn't able to hear what her daughter said through the hole, Leni's squirming legs were more than enough of a sign of what the teenage girl probably needed.
Getting into a proper position to help give a push, Rita put her hands on her daughter's posterior and pressed down with pressure. Lincoln only stood back a few feet, watching as the family matriarch kept on pushing down on her daughters behind. Had this been any other context, this would be a rather awkward thing to explain, though Lincoln couldn't explain why.
Eventually, the mother finally got her child into the hole and Leni crawled faster into the dirt mound after the rest of her sisters.
As soon as she caught up, she found a rather surprising sight to meet her. For one, the whole space was huge, which while it made sense with how it would need to fit a whole kin of rabbits, but with it being the size of a school gymnasium, it seemed to be a bit superfluous, if not quite illogical.
The other thing of notice was the giant chandelier hanging off the top of the small dome of a den. It looked very much like a candelabra one would see during the holidays, golden with a few lights on what the girl's hoped weren't real candles on each arm.
"So, is no one gonna question the giant chandelier in a place where the only entrance is a hole barely able to fit Leni?" Lana asked, feeling weird about the odd discrepancy in logic above her.
This would go on to be unanswered by her sisters, as they seemed to be rather fixated on looking around the rest of the den. Bundles and bundles of bunnies within piles, as well as Big Bun sitting in the corner, other bunnies laying underneath him for warmth.
"Oh my gosh!" Leni said exuberantly, "It's like softness heaven in here! It's totes adorable!".
"I know, right?" Luan responded with matching excitement, "I wonder how many of these are babies."
"I hate to interrupt your excitement girls," the girls hear a voice ring out from the hole they just came from, their mother to be exact, "but I need help getting through here too!"
Sudden realization coming to the girls, they ran up to the mother, currently struggling and pulling herself futility to get through the whole to the den, very similar to how her teenage daughter was just a moment ago.
"So much for the bright side." Rita said with a sigh, looking towards where she roughly believed her hips we're in relation to her. "Care if I can get a little assistance here girls!?"
Not one to leave their mother stuck in a jam, Lana and Leni grabbed both of Rita's arms and heaved with all their might.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the currently occupied hole, Lincoln was doing his best to help his mother into the, pushing her the same way he saw her push Leni inside. However, due to his very lackluster strength, he can only do so much to actually get her inside like this.
"Jeez, Mom!" Lincoln said exasperatedly, looking at the main source of how their mother is stuck, the hips. "How could anyone see the good in hips like that!?"
Thankfully, the other's couldn't hear him. Nothing worse than being on your mother's bad side after all. Lincoln kept on trying to get Rita inside, now switching methods from hand to his back. Unfortunately, his leg strength seemed to be about as strong as his arm strength, leaving him two for two when it comes to failures.
"Alright," Lincoln said, finally giving up on the second approach, "time for a more blunt approach."
The white haired boy proceeded to back up a few feet back, pull up the short sleeves of his orange shirt, and get into a kneeling position, one similar to that of a football player.
"Time for those practice sessions with Lynn to finally pay off!" Lincoln said, psyching himself up for what was certainly going to be a physically taxing maneuver.
As soon as he felt ready, Lincoln charged forward with as much speed as he could muster, and braced himself for impact.
Once the lone brother of the Louds finally made contact, the sisters on the other side of the hole, who we're still pulling their mother, found themselves suddenly being pushed by her with an unexpectedly abrupt momentum, the Loud women ending up in a pile on the dirt ground of the den.
"Ugh… Care to warn us about that maneuver next time Linc?" Lana said, seeing her brother finally get in himself.
"Sorry guys…" Lincoln said sheepishly, not knowing the maneuver would be as effective as it was. As the lone boy among the group finally got a look, he found himself getting a look at the chandelier above him.
"Why is there a chandelier in here? How could they even get one in here?"
"Thank you!" Lana said, glad she wasn't the only one finding it rather illogical.
"Ugh…" Rita groaned in slight pain, getting herself off the dirt floor. "Let that be another reason why we shouldn't have gone in here."
"Sorry Mom, guess I have more strength then given credit for." Lincoln apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head before helping his mother back on her feet.
Before the two could catch their breath anymore however, they noticed bunnies crowding around the leaders, who seemed to give the group of Louds a particular look.
Looking towards the sole person in the family that can understand them, Lana took a good gander at the head rabbit's faces for a little bit.
The others didn't exactly know how a girl as young as Lana could do something like this, but, at least in Rita and Lincoln's case, they stopped questioning things like this a long time ago. Such is the way to survive within the Loud House.
"Looks like they want us to come up to them." Lana said, childish excitement still covering her voice. "C'mon guys, let's go!"
She runs toward the wall, the rest of the group following shortly after, as the pack makes a path for the Loud clan.
"Well, if nothing else, this group of rabbits sure seem friendly." Luan said.
This only prompted the group to pause and take a quick glance at the resident jokester with questioning expressions. Luan only looked at the others in disorientation.
"Was it something I said?" Luan asked.
"It's more like what you didn't say." Lincoln responded.
Before the instance of stiffness could continue any further, the bunny pack, now with the added assistance of Lana, was edging them forward towards the center. Not caring enough to press any further, the rest of the group went up to the ushered spot.
Once in the position, the parents of the rabbits took sticks within their mouths and started dragging them on the wall behind them. The rest of the participants just sat there, observing and comprehending, or at least attempting to do so, in the case of the Loud clan. They could tell that they were drawing something, but are quite unsure what it possibly could've been.
"Hey Lana?" Lincoln asked, "Is this a normal thing for rabbits to do?"
"Not sure, Linc." Lana shrugged, "Bunnies tend to be crafty with sticks, but I've never seen any of them with art skills."
"Oh, does that mean the candle thingy is made of wood too?" Leni asked, pointing towards the chandelier.
"It can't, it would make the whole thing catch on fire." Rita explained, somewhat shocked at Leni's rare moment of making a compelling inquiry. Perhaps the rabbits just crafted that light fixture themselves, but are a rabbit's teeth strong enough to morph metal? Clearly, this clan is proving to be far more advanced than she was thinking.
Before the subject could be talked about any further, the group looked to the wall that was being drawn on, only to be stunned at the finished product on it. The picture appeared to be five tall figures, one much larger, and one much shorter than the others, that seemed to be defending a metric ton of round circles with tall ears from black, winged figures with white dot eyes.
Upon finishing the picture, the bunnies began saying… something. The majority of the group couldn't make heads or toes on what is said right now, but whatever it is, it certainly gained the attention of the bunnies, as well as Lana.
The young animal lover suddenly beamed, and turned towards the rest of her family.
"Guys!" She said excitedly, "They're telling them about how we saved them! We're heroes to them!"
The rest of the group seemed to lighten up as well upon hearing that. Though some still have their suspicions on the whole ordeal, they can at least feel at peace with the fact that they saved the lives of a rather large mass of rabbits tonight.
Eventually, after understanding this fact as well, the bunnies get jubilant as well, many trying to crowd against their human saviors, presumably to show their gratitude to them.
"Eeeee, so many cute bunnies!" Leni squealed, picking up an arm full of bunnies in her arms. Said bunnies simply pressed into the blonde fashionista, evidently not bothered by the display of affection towards them.
Luan soon does the same, only without the squee from before, as does Lana. Lincoln and Rita weren't quite sure what to do in this scenario, not out of disliking the sentiment, but more out of confusion of how these rabbits could feel such empathy towards other species.
The next thing the group knew, music started playing around the den, causing all bunnies to head to the middle and pull, what the family could only guess was a jig. Before the rest knew it, Lana, Leni, and Luan went towards the center too, dancing to the best of their ability, at least without accidentally stepping on any of them.
Only having more questions on their mind, Rita and Lincoln look around and come across the source of said music. A bunch of bunnies, seeming to be playing instruments crafted of wood, rather crudely at that, was supplying the den with it's banjo sounding tunes, giving it a type of country sound to it.
"Good thing Luna isn't here," Lincoln thought to himself. "She'd be popping a blood vessel at the mere sound of banjo's."
That did bring up another interesting question though. How are these makeshift instruments sounding so close to actual instruments?
But as the white haired boy turns to ask his mother, he finds that she is gone as well. Looking towards the dancing area, he finds his sisters dancing, except for Leni, presumably to find "Big Bun" again, yet no sign of his mother.
"Mom?" Lincoln shouted, somewhat concerned.
His concerns were shot down the moment he heard Rita's laughter coming from a corner of the den. Looking that way, he finds the woman in question, currently sitting with her back against the wall, seeming to be eating something.
"Don't mind them, honey!" Rita relieved her sole son. "They just asked me for a snack!"
As she said that, another bunny comes up, lettuce in hand, or in this case, teeth.
"Oh! Why don't mind if I do!" Rita said, gladly taking the offer granted to her.
Lincoln could only sigh internally whilst going to his own corner of the den and sitting down by himself. As he looked at all the festivities currently going on within the den, the white haired boy couldn't help but have a feeling of disturbance on the whole thing. Sure, the clan of bunnies have been nothing but cordial to them so far, but he couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed with overt friendliness coming from them, as it could end up all a pretense, and end up putting the family in some kind of danger. Besides, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't missing his other sisters back home.
Before Lincoln could dwell on the matter any further, he feels something nudge his side, rather gently at that. When taking a look at the cause of this sensation, he finds a sole, perfectly white furred bunny, seemingly interested in nudging itself into the white haired boy's lap, giving him a look as if begging.
The preteen boy's heart couldn't help but soften at the sight of it. Though he doesn't really show to many people, the boy had an affinity for rabbits. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone real close to him, one of his prized possessions was a doll of one after all, but Lincoln has always made something of an effort to conceal something like this. He doesn't need to give anymore fuel for the bullies to use against him.
Not at all minding the sense of affection from the white furred bunny, he began petting and coddling the animal on his lap, finding it incredibly satisfying for him to do. The bunny simply embraced the attention with open arms, doing it's best to comfort the boy as well, to the best of its ability anyway.
As the Louds have the time none of them would have expected, the outside has become totally dark, the only unnatural light coming from the hole seeping from the rabbit's den. As the wind softly blows and bristles the branches of the tree atop the mound where the lies beneath, and the sound of an owl's hoot fills the ambience of the moonlit forest area, the denizens down below are having the time of their lives.
A/N: Well, I bet this story is rather unexpected by some. This was a request by user crafordbrian17, someone that has contacted me about writing for him since I posted The Limp Musician back in February. So this story has been in the works for quite a long time now.
Working in the story was, admittedly, a little bit of a hassle on my part, mainly due to other projects demanding my attention and interest. Still, I hope those who read this found enjoyment in it thus far.
Thank you all, and have a good one!