Antoine awoke groggy and nauseous, his left arm strangely heavy and throbbing with pain. He swallowed, blinking, and tried to shift it; it was largely immobile, and he glanced down to see a hard white cast, bound by a linen sling.

Of course. To his embarrassment, he'd fainted when Cat set his arm, and as soon as he recovered from that something Rosie had given him had put him right back under.

"Antoine, sweetheart? Are you awake?" Rosie herself bustled in, bringing midmorning light with her; Antoine groaned faintly and shut his eyes against the stabbing sunbeams, opening one when the nurse brought something warm and fragrant close to his face. "Drink this, dear. It'll stop your arm hurting."

"And make ze sleep," he grumbled, pushing it away.

"Well, yes. You should still rest a little."

He shook his head, carefully pushing himself into a sitting position. "'Ow long do I sleep now?" He thought a moment, waiting for the room to stop spinning. "Where iz Bunnie?"

"Well, you slept through the night." Rosie frowned, carefully setting the mug on the nightstand. "Cat's looking for Bunnie. We thought she'd be home after a few hours, but when it got dark and she still wasn't here…." She sighed, shaking her head as she stepped back out. "We'll find her, and I'll let her know you asked. Drink your medicine, dear."

**

Bunnie awoke shivering, dew-damp, and cramped from being wedged between two large boulders. She stretched as much as the space allowed, wincing at the sound of metal against stone, and then squirmed free, wrinkling her nose as she heard the stone crack.

It seemed she was breaking everything she came in contact with these days. No wonder Antoine had avoided her for so long.

He should have kept his distance.

She started walking again, plodding slowly away from Knothole. The territory was still comfortingly familiar; she'd been out this way many times, usually on more cheerful errands. Still, she was far from ready to return to the village, and even felt a morose urge to lose herself in territory she didn't know to make it that much harder to return. What if she hurt someone else? What if they didn't want her back at all?

"Bunnie!"

She twitched her good ear toward the sound. It was Cat, still a bit distant, hoarse and(she imagined)a bit impatient. Bunnie froze, considering. Cat rarely chased any child that went into the woods as long as they knew better than to head for the city; he believed in letting them have their privacy until they felt ready to return. If he was looking for her, it must be important.

Or perhaps he was simply angry at her and didn't want to wait to tell her so? Bunnie was usually one of the most practical of Knothole's children, but after the past few days the idea of being dragged back to where she'd done so much damage was too much. She plunged deeper into the woods, away from Cat and familiar territory.

**

Noon came and went with no sign of Bunnie. Near four o'clock, Cat came back puzzled and empty-handed. Antoine watched all this from his window, faintly surprised that Bunnie could manage to elude the puma. Of course, Cat had been teaching them to hide trails for years, and Bunnie was clearly determined to evade someone who'd probably been advertising his presence the whole time.

Antoine sighed, pondering the idea of going after the rabbit. Once again, he was at the root of the problem, and he owed it to her. Didn't he?

If only the idea of going into the woods alone, and then either failing to find Bunnie or making the situation worse again, didn't give him that prickling, numbing anxiety that had become so familiar since that ill-fated mission.

Stop that, he told himself angrily. A soldier is brave!

I'm not a soldier, though. Just a sad, nervous little pup.

He paced restlessly about, tail flicking and ears flat, arguing quietly with himself. He had to go… but everything he'd done lately fell to pieces, especially where Bunnie was concerned! Finally, his eyes fell on the little closet, still partly open from Rosie putting his boots away, and he caught sight of something blue and red, accented in gold.

His father's uniform tunic.

Antoine pulled the old uniform from his place, eyeing it; if he concentrated, he thought he could still catch his father's scent. After a moment he began struggling into it; it was difficult to work it over the broken arm, but he managed at last, fastening the top button to keep it from sliding off his shoulder. It was still a bit too big, though the cast gave him a bit of extra bulk.

Too big or not, he immediately felt better. Antoine took a deep breath and then crept from his hut, tiptoeing past Cat and Rosie's worried voices before hurrying into the forest in search of Bunnie's trail.

**

Bunnie settled atop a mossy log, scrubbing at her eyes with a little sniffle. She no longer had any clear idea where she was or how long she'd been out in the woods, and despite her attempts to not care she was growing lonely and frightened. Even so, she was still less frightened of the forest than she was of returning to her friends, so it was just as well she wasn't sure how to get back.

As the forest grew dark around her, she became aware of a faint rustling. Bunnie sat up straight, her good ear standing on end and turning this way and that as she tried to locate and identify the sound – something a bit off-balance, weaving through the undergrowth. She gulped, picturing injured, angry wild animals and SWATbots unaccustomed to the thick foliage before trying to relax, putting her chin in her hand with what she hoped was defiant nonchalance. Let it come, whatever it was – she didn't care.

Whatever it was, it emerged from the bushes and was still for nearly a minute before quietly sitting beside her. She frowned a little, keeping her gaze straight ahead a moment longer before curiosity got the better of her.

"Antoine!"

She tried to scoot away – amazingly, he was sitting on her left side – then froze as he laid his hand over her mechanical one, shaking his head.

"Do not flee, ma belle." He smiled tentatively, scooting close again. "I had enough time finding you now."

"Antoine, I don't—I didn't—I…." She sniffled, tears welling again as she looked at his arm – now in cast and sling.

"A minor mistake," he announced, waving his good hand negligently. "You learn quickly, non?"

"I guess," she mumbled, looking away.

"So. When are we to be returning to Knothole?"

"Oh. I…." She looked at him again, blinking back tears. "Yer not mad? It's yer good arm an' everythin'."

"I shall heal, and I shall use ze correct arm until zen."

"Right arm."

"Oui. Zat iz what I am saying."

She giggled in spite of herself, shaking her head. "No, Ant-honey, fer you th'left arm IS the 'correct arm'. You mean right." He stared at her in polite incomprehension, and she giggled harder. "Never you mind, sugar. You just use that 'correct arm', I'm sure it'll work fine 'til yer healed up."

"Yes, specifically as we seem to be staying in ze woods."

Bunnie watched him a moment, noting the nervousness that had come over the coyote since her capture, the way his broad ears twitched and quivered at every new sound. For all that he held firm, watching her earnestly, his good hand reaching up to brush a few fresh tears from her cheeks. After a moment she laughed again, more freely this time, and leaned forward to carefully wrap her arms around him, snuggling against his chest.

"Well, Ant-honey, you may be willin' t'stay, but this little rabbit wants to go home."

"As you are saying, mademoiselle." He wrapped his uninjured arm around her to give her a brief, gentle squeeze and they both stood, the coyote taking her hand to lead her home.