Welcome to Gaia! ::

Josh nodded and confirmed Anita's statement. "That is right. LuLu's essence was some kind of sentient ink. It was a bit of a handful itself." The boy knew that if he was around any other person they would ave given him a backwards look and walked off. However, that was one of the many comforts of the Lab regulars: no one ever thought that you were crazy.

LuLu seemed distraught that her attempt to stir the masses had failed her. She had done just about everything she could save for actually throw the rabbits out of the cage. She had managed to rile her brothers and sisters up, but it was her new friend who formed them into a like minded body. That singular thought was freedom.

In one burst of energy, more than a dozen small mammals leaped onto LuLu and made their presence known. Tiny nails poked at her skin like little barbs; yet, the sting was minor if it assured the greater good. The bunny frei barely heard her friend's name over the sudden ruckus. Nevertheless, when she did, a smile tugged at her lips. It was a fitting title.

When all was was said and done, a little over half the rabbits had actually worked up the gumption to escape. The other portion remained in the cage, mostly elders. They looked at the raevan with reproach and contempt. Like Tango, they knew the results of such disobedience.

Josh stood up straight when he heard the commotion erupt near the rabbit cage... or rather IN the rabbit cage. The words that roared were much different that Ani's. Anger seared the edge of his voice leaving it a raw scream. "LuLu!!! What did you do?!" Well, he knew what she had done. A more appropriate question would have been: 'why did you do it?' The boy bolted over to his charge. Fingers nimbly looped under her armpits and swung her back out of the tank. The motion was executed easily as if he had practice in wrangling the frei before. Her plopped her onto the tile floor before she could protest being in the air. Josh spoke again, "You stay here. Do not do anything else. I only said one and I meant it." A tinge of aggravation still stained his lips, but he was able to refrain from yelling.

With that said, the boy dove down and picked up the first rabbit he saw by the scruff of its neck. The small mammal wore a look of dejection as if its fun had been prematurely ended. LuLu wore a similar look. Josh set the creature back into its cage with a sigh. Lucky for them, most of the pets in here were overfed and relatively lethargic. Hopefully the chase would be simpler due to this fact. Josh turned to Ani with an apologetic frown, "If you do not mind helping me, I think we should start wrangling them up before any escape outside."

Josh visibly deflated as the rabbits ran off into to their various hiding spots. Each one seemingly disappeared in to the walls. It was like watching cockroaches scatter; admittedly, this was cuter than that. It was going to be tough trying to wrangle them all back up. However, Josh was up to the challenge.

The boy walked over to a shelf that was riddled with a good number of rabbits. He could hear small feet scampering just out of his reach; only one or two levels past his fingertips. Josh turned to Ani with an unsure look. He spoke hesitantly, "Climb up on my shoulders and get them please." This was a rather frustrating turn of events, but they had to act fast. Josh would ponder later why there was no ladder nearby to gain access to the higher shelves.

LuLu glanced at Tango rather dismissively. He was just as frantic as Ani and Josh. She did not understand the commotion. Why did people turn hysterical when rabbits were set loose? Did people act the same way when prisoners were set loose... or slaves? LuLu frowned. It was just like the petting zoo all over again.

Sure, she had broken their deal, but it was because she had wanted to do something better. Yet, now her efforts were fruitless as she saw the first of many rabbits being put back in their cage. It hurt her to see them returned to their confinement. It also took great self control to not free them once more and start this game all over again. However, It would be unwise to go against Josh's wishes a second time. The two humans would simply collect her brothers and sisters again and the raevan would be in even more trouble. Right now, there may still be hope that she would leave with one friend. LuLu was not going to spoil that. She whispered faintly to the dog, "I wanted to help."

Josh grunted slightly as he lifted Ani up. It may have been a while since the girl had received a piggyback ride, but it had been even longer since the boy had given one. It was not like he had much of a chance to give one though. LuLu hated leaving the ground. Long ago, the boy had discovered this the hard way when he had tried lifting the rabbit into the tub for her first bath. That day, he had narrowly escaped with his life intact.

If one was paying attention, they would notice that Josh bent down to hug the frei.

So, it was to be expected that they got off to a shaky start. Josh could not help but sway gently until he found his balance. Once that small goal was achieved, everything else fell into place. Two rabbits were captured with ease.

The boy settled down onto the floor again and allowed the girl to slip off of his shoulders. As soon as he could, Josh stood upright again. He groaned and rubbed at the back of his neck. A tinge of pain was already radiating through it. He craned his head back until he heard a pop. Ani was heavier than she looked. Then again, Josh had gotten used to hefting LuLu around. A lot of things were made easier when you only had to carry a third of a girl rather than the whole thing.

Josh looked back up, ignoring his stiff neck, and scanned the upper shelves. To his delight, there were no more rabbits to be seen. The battle was now moved the their level. The ground. The boy called to Ani, "I am going to go catch a few more. I'll meet you back here in a bit." With that, the boy took off at a brisk pace down one of the isles.

LuLu watched as her guardian left. She stiffened as two more of her siblings were placed back into their glass prison. Her ears fell back against her skull as she tried to avoid their harsh screams. She did not want to hear the pained wails. However, when the noise finally reached her, she was caught off guard.

"Wheeeee!"

"Aw, man! We got caught."

"This is fun!"

The frei's jaw went slack. She could not believe it. It could not be true. They still did not understand! Her fists tightened. They were acting like this was just a game?! LuLu had sincerely wanted to free these people and they re-payed her efforts by playing tag with the humans. Perhaps, she had chosen the wrong group to get involved with after all. It seemed as if these individuals were never truly set on their freedom. They were too enchanted by their institution to get involved with things like that.

LuLu turned to Tango. A rage was smoldering within her. The embers had risen to her lavender eyes. They now glowed with an unspoken ire. She could not understand what the dog had said. His words had come out like a patchwork, some bits of rabbit mixed with something foreign. However, she knew that he was trying to comfort her. Two words of his monologue she understood perfectly.

"Help them."

LuLu bit at her lip until her anger had ebbed away. The raevan was given two options: she could sit here and huff or she could humor her brothers and sisters and give them a good time before she left. She chose the latter.

The frei floated after her guardian and helped in his effort.

Nearly fifteen minutes had passed before they all met again at the rabbit cage. Both Josh and LuLu had an armful of the small mammals. The boy wore an expression that seemed much calmer as compared to before when the rabbits had first released. Likewise, the raevan seemed more at ease. Perhaps, the two had a small conversation between rounding up LuLu’s “siblings”. One could not be sure. Nevertheless, there were no complaints as the frei shuffled the last of her siblings into the pen.

Except one.

Swift resided in LuLu’s hands. The raevan spoke in the language that only her and her sister understood. “I could not help the others, but I promise I will help you.” The raevan looked up at Josh. A stubborn flame sparked in her eyes again. She spoke to her guardian with a firm tone. “This one.” She floated towards the front counter of the store. It seemed like a bold move on her part. Perhaps she was acting out a privately discussed arrangement? A deal that had been forged on aisle 5 between the doggy dishes and the cat food? One could not be sure.

Josh’s eyebrow rose as his gaze trailed after LuLu. He turned to Anita with a sheepish smile. “I am sorry about all this. I hope next time we meet it is under better circumstance. It was great seeing you.” With that, the boy tailed his raevan.