The Last Rabbit Prince

Spirit Animals

In an instance the wolf is gone and P'Phayu is there. He moves quickly and catches Rain before he can hit the ground. For a minute he holds Rain in his arms. Rain just stares up into the other man's eyes. P'Phayu then gently sets him back on his feet.

"You were a wolf?" Rain stutters, "a wolf!" He repeats as if P'Phayu wouldn't believe him, as if P'Phayu hadn't been there.

P'Phayu laughs and says, "A wolf is my spirit animal."

"Are you a werewolf then? Or a shifter?" Rain asks.

P'Phayu shakes his head. He says, "we don't shift, we only project our animal. You are able to project your animal as well."

"Will I be able to become a wolf?" Rain asks excitedly.

"Not a wolf, your spirit animal is a bunny and I told you we don't become them, we only project them. I was still there behind the wolf; you just didn't notice."

"Is it an illusion then?" Rain asks. The wolf hadn't looked like an illusion. It had looked very real.

P'Phayu shrugs at this, "Sort of, only in that it doesn't have a physical form. You couldn't have touched it, and yet the animal can channel magic, so illusion isn't really the right word either. It's more like it has a spiritual form rather than a physical form."

Rain feels this is all a little too much; he is starting to feel the world take on a blurry edge as if he is dissociating. Everything around him is starting to take on a feeling of unreality. P'Phayu must see that on his face because he says, "Why don't you rest for a little while. I will gather wood and start a fire. You have had a long day and I am sure this all must be overwhelming. We will have plenty of time to talk more about it while we travel."

Rain nods and takes a seat on a comfortable looking patch of grass. He needs to feel the ground beneath him and process all the information he's been given.

As he gathers wood, Phayu glances back to where Rain is sitting. Phayu tries not to show it but he is happy to finally have Rain here after all their years apart. Rain doesn't remember Phayu, but Phayu can't forget how Rain had followed him around from the time he could walk. The younger boy would cry if he were separated from Phayu for any length of time. Rain hadn't been old enough to understand that they were bond mates, just that he wanted to be near Phayu and that it hurt for them to be separated. Even if it were only for a few days.

When it became necessary for them to be apart for much longer, Phayu had been eleven and Rain had been five. Phayu still remembers how Rain had screamed and reached for him as he was taken away. Finally, P'Pakin had been forced to put the young boy to sleep. Phayu as well, it was only his parents holding him back that had kept him from running after Rain as he was carried away.

By then Phayu had known about their bond and being separated from Rain had been like having his heart ripped from him. The pain the separation had caused Phayu had been excruciating. Phayu had fallen into a depressive state for weeks refusing to leave his room. His parents had worried that he would die, it was only his father reminding him that he had to be there when Rain returned that had given Phayu the strength to go on. He knew Rain had been sent away for his own good but knowing that hadn't helped Phayu's heart to adjust to the boy not being there. It was soon after that when Phayu's father had gone to P'Pakin and the general had agreed to let Phayu be the one to check on Rain, even though Phayu hadn't even been a teenager. He had watched Rain grow up from a distance.

Phayu starts the fire then decides he should find them something to eat. He has a few things in his bag, but he doesn't have enough provisions to bring Rain back with him. The trip will be a couple days of walking. This was just supposed to have been another visit to check on him. It wasn't until he was almost at the border that he had received a message that their enemies were making a move. Then there had been no time to spare, he had needed to get to Rain as soon as possible.