#rabbit!sam

Her parents were easily distracted by a small commotion at the other end of the hall and immediately hurried there, leaving her alone. Sam didn't even give the noble sons a second as she slipped into the nearest balcony. It was only about three meters from the ground. She walked over to the corner of the railing where the column was, kicking off her high-heeled shoes along the way.

Once again, she looked around the room through the glass doors hidden by curtains. It seems they haven't thought to look for her yet. Nevertheless, she hurried and examined the dress that her mother had ordered her to wear. This terrible pink color and voluminous ruffles bothered her eyes all evening. And now, without regret, she tore off her outer dress, remaining in a chemise and petticoats. Then she deftly jumped over the railing and carefully descended the ledges in the column, landing in the backyard, far from the front entrance.

Sam knew the security patrols like her own ears. Thanks to Tucker, her only friend and guardian of the Manson Estate. He likes to chat and sometimes told her about his work when she asked. So now she could walk unnoticed through the courtyard all the way to the garden and the hedge maze. There was a small hole under the bushes to get into the fields.

Covered in dust and blades of grass, but happy and free, Sam finally reached the forest through a field. It was a wild area, unmarked by anyone. Beyond that were the lands of other noble families, like lions, tigers, deer, and rumored to be inhabited by mythical beasts. Unfortunately, there was too little information about this, no matter how much Sam searched the family library. Or maybe rabbits couldn't have it, who knows.

The grass, slightly damp after the past rainy week, crunched under her feet, the leaves of the trees above her rustled, and lonely branches creaked in the distance. Nature sang its own music, and Sam listened enthusiastically, absorbing every note as long as she could. 

After all, she was not a dreamer, and this was not her first escape. The guards of the Canine family would easily pick up her trail and, depending on when her parents noticed her absence, they would find her no later than early in the morning. For now, she was content with the evening breeze and the red sunset visible through the canopy of trees. 

Still, she shouldn't have walked so carelessly in the wilderness. There were animals here that she couldn't negotiate with, and the only thing they did was satisfy their hunger.  

Sam didn't hear it, but rather felt it. Danger. The forest was still rustling under the pale rays of the fading sun, but now the shadows were getting longer. She didn't wait for the blow and ran. 

Her eyes scanned her surroundings, she needed to find a small enough shelter to wait out the danger. The darkness, as if for evil, prevented her from seeing much. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear a growl. It wasn't the growling of dogs that Tucker had shown her. Something more vicious and deadly that makes the hair stand on end. Her ears were fully turned to the sound, picking up on the change in direction. 

There was too little time left before the collision.

The trees opened up a lawn in front of her, a very small field with a large flat stone in the middle. Sam, without thinking twice, turned into a beast. Her little body with golden fur appeared in the folds of her clothes, instead of her black-dyed hair. Her paws were digging a passage under the stone, the main thing was not to get her. However, it didn't take her long when a hollow space suddenly appeared in front of her.

Her little heart was beating fast. She listened to the sounds outside, but there was silence. No howling, growling or heavy breathing of a predator. She seemed to be safe, but she didn't look out, wisely deciding to wait for morning. And now that the danger was over, her body involuntarily relaxed, her energy ran out after a long run, and she fell asleep unnoticed. 

***

Waking up has always been a difficult task for Danny. Couldn't Pandora have scheduled a workout for lunch? Why morning? It's not like the naga depends on the time of day! 

Even going on a short weekend, Danny had to work out instead of falling asleep for all those hours. Just because he could stay awake for several days didn't mean he needed to. After all, sleep is a great human habit!

In any case, he still had to wake up, because he had to get to Pandora in time so that she wouldn't give him extra hours for being late. However, something stopped him. There was something warm on his tail. Gently squeezing the fluffy ball with the tip of his tail, he pulled it out of his curled body.

Danny saw a small golden fluff with flattened ears and a white tail. He even poked at the muzzle and got no response other than a slight twitch of the nose. 

‘Cute...’

Deciding to pick up a brave wild rabbit that was not afraid to approach him, Danny crawled through the forest with the company. The birds were just waking up, and the breeze was stirring the trees and gently playing with his white hair. 

The morning chill was not felt on his skin, but the fur ball in his hands visibly trembled. Unfortunately, Danny didn't have anything, not even a light cape, except for a tight tank top. And even though his hugs wouldn't give much warmth, he could still hold the animal to his chest and protect it from the cold wind. He had to get to Pandora's temple as soon as possible.

The nagas were slower on land than in water, but it was enough for Danny to reach the edge of the forest in half an hour. From the smoothness of the movement, the walk did not bother his little friend at all, who was still asleep. 

High walls with torches, carved columns and huge statues of naga's warriors appeared in front of him. To the side of the temple was the entrance to the maze, where Pandora stood stroking the minotaur. Her back was open, her posture relaxed, but Danny wouldn't have thought it would take her by surprise.

"Good morning, Daniel," Pandora greeted without even turning around. "Wouldn't you even try to attack?"

"I know when to stop," Danny shrugged. "Morning."

Pandora grinned and turned around, chasing the minotaur back into the maze. Her gaze immediately fell on the young naga's hands, noticing the golden fur.

"Who did you bring today?"

"Oh, that," Danny smiled and opened his arms, lifting the animal higher. Compared to Pandora's height of 12 feet, the rabbit looked very tiny. - I found it in the forest, or rather it climbed into my tail ring. Can I take it with me? It'll be warmer and safer in the palace than the wild forests, right?

"Hmm..." Pandora lightly poked at the fluff and carefully examined the creature. "Daniel, you know it's a beastman, right?"

It turned out to be loud enough for the animal to wake up and move, slowly lifting its head and ears.

"Wh-what... what?!" - Danny brought the rabbit closer to him, which caused the animal to freeze, the nose twitched, and the eyes, a fascinating shade of purple, focused on his face. "But don't beastmen look like people with animal characteristics?"

The rabbit had enough nerve to roll his eyes and snort in his face. Danny could now believe that it really was an unusual animal. 

He awkwardly examined the rabbit, for which he received a hiss and a twitch of paw in response. Then, with the same embarrassment, he released him to the ground in the ring of his tail. 

"Uh... I beg your pardon?"  Danny scratched the back of his head, letting go of his gaze. "I didn't know you were a beastman... so that doesn't mean I had to take you without permission... but…"

"I think our guest realized that you were sorry," Pandora smiled with that sly look. "How about you let her out of the tail ring and let her go inside.

"Ah?" Danny looked at his mentor and back at the rabbit. "But what about the transformation into human form?"

And the beast hissed again and jumped on his tail, slowly climbing up a kind of wall. 

"Daniel, the beastmen don't appear clothed when they transform."

'The Ancients...' Danny felt his cheeks turn red. All he had to do was give the rabbit a path, and together with Pandora they went to the temple, and he awkwardly trailed after them.

The little friend did not lose his jumping pace, keeping up with Naga. When they reached the massive entrance, they looked at Danny again, snorted, and disappeared inside. Pandora laughed for some reason and went in too, closing the door in front of him. 

It wasn't a long wait, and yet every minute dragged by as Danny crawled around the porch, spinning in circles. He was terribly embarrassed and wanted to properly apologize after seeing the person himself.

Finally, the temple doors opened, and Danny crawled closer. 

His jaw seemed to drop as his gaze swept over the human figure that had walked out. The white tunic covered the entire body up to the ankles, and the arms came out of the side slits. Short black hair reached shoulders, and two ears peeked out from the top of head. The familiar purple eyes stared right at him, very intently, as if they could find out everything about him. Danny's heart skipped a beat and then started beating again in a new rhythm, and the tip of his tail moved restlessly. 

"Uh... ah, well..." the words, as if to spite him, did not come to his mind at all. "I-I'm sorry that I take you with me?"

'The Ancients, this is terrible,' Danny wanted to twist his tail and hide there until the end of time. 'Why has it become so difficult to speak?'

"It's okay," the girl shrugged. "I can't blame you when I got to you first, even if I thought you were a stone."

"I'm... a stone?.." Unintentionally, Danny looked down at his tail, which was covered with black scales glistening in the sun. 

"Pfft..." she looked at him so straightforwardly, holding back her laughter. "Yes, it's a very beautiful stone."