Jackalopes

Dreams and Portents

As they continued to wander into the puzzle-woods Jane thought about fate. Fate is, of course, just another word that humans use to rationalize their own or others fortune or misfortune, and is thus a word without any real meaning. Thinking about fate always disturbed Jane greatly. To not be in control of her actions, that everything is already decided, is too much for her to bear. We all have thoughts like that, keeping us awake at night. Deeper in the woods Jane thought she could see someone clad all in white wield a giant hammer but the vision was lost within the second.

"Crafty bugger, this one..." Urminora mumbled as she closely examined the tracks left behind by the kitsune.

"Watch out!" Only half of Jessica's warning registered with Jane before she had to take flight to avoid it.

The attack was instant and devastating. Jane flew several meters in the air and landed with a sickening crack on the ground. She tried to stand up but found out that her strength had left her. Lying on her side, Jane saw the giant kitsune run towards Urminora, mouth open and ready to strike. Jane opened her own mouth to scream but quickly felt a more productive use of her remaining energy was to get out of the way. With one swift jolt she jumped out of the way with a grace she had not known since she had won the silver medallion in the international high-jump when she was alive. Urminora gasped, both surprised and relived that Jane had survived. Jessica, on the other hand, just contained to fly ever upward, drawing the eyes of the kitsune.

"Stay back, idiot!" Urminora shouted at Jane.

"We will take care of this!"

"Jane!" Jessica called out.

"Try to stay back and distract it so that we can attack!"

Jane stiffly nodded and ran in front of the kitsune, waving her arms about awkwardly. As soon as the kitsune saw her it roared and began its pursuit.

"This is my land!" it screamed at the three jackalopes.

"And this is my sand, my band! You shades have no right to be here nor will you seal me into the ground with that spell! Even if you do, I shall awaken when nine thousand years have passed...Your precious Silvercrowned One shall know defeat this time!!"

Images entered Jane's mind. Images of a rabbit and a fox jumping around in the woods trampling and tearing creatures both great and small, blood flowing in rivers of red and souls flowing in a river of white, mingling into a larger tide coursing into a large hole that the rabbit and fox greedily lapped from until their bulging bellies proved it hard from them to move at all. Suddenly a great maw engulfed them both, bringing them with a terrified scream deep into the earth. The fox continued to cackle and eat the worms of the earth, but the rabbit was hurt and scared. Suddenly a giant nail tore a hole in the cave roof, creating a giant bleeding sore. From within the sore a river of golden water welled down from above. The fox screamed and pushed the rabbit into the pathway of the water and ran.

The water stopped and many mountains rose from the ground, ejecting fog out of their caverns and holes. Next, Jane saw the scene from above. The landscape below had turned into the shape of a crown, which glistened and glittered like silver...

"Oy!" Urminora pushed Jane out of the way of the rampaging kitsune.

"Don't just stand there daydreaming, watch your back!"

The kitsunes maw missed them both by inches. Jessica came flying down, picking them both up with her powerful talons and took them to safety.

"Cowards!" the kitsune mocked.