Another Level

~7~

"Oh thank god you're here!"

Exclaimed an older man, seeming to be in his late thirties. "You're Gon Freecss right?" Gon nodded in confirmation. "Yep! I'm here to deal with your Copyhare problem." The man led him onto his farm, where herds of cattle were grazing in the field. "Those damn things keep picking off my baby cows and herding dogs. It's costing me a fortune." He grumbled. Gon nodded thoughtfully, scanning the area. "Well, I'll get it sorted out in no time. Give me a week max." His client groaned. "A week? Ya kiddin' me?" Gon waved a hand. "Don't worry, I'll make sure none of your animals are harmed. But I need time to find their burrow and round them up as well. Plus they might not even try to hunt again for a few days." He explained.

"Fine, but if any of my cattle get killed, you're paying for it."

"Deal!"

Gon spent the next few hours sitting out in the field, the cows grazing around him. It was quite peaceful and serene out there. Wind in his hair, grass tickling against his legs, no sound except the animal noises and the wind blowing through the trees. There were eight calves, and two herding dogs small enough for the Copyhares to prey on. He made sure to keep track of them at all times, planning on keeping his word. Ultimately he hoped it could be dealt with in half the time frame he'd suggested earlier, but Gon had learned to always give himself more time than he thought he needed to compensate for any unexpected events.

He waited there for a long time, occasionally reaching out to stroke one of the dogs or cows as it walked by him. At dusk, suddenly he spotted something strange. Three odd looking creatures were hobbling towards the herd of cows. Gon narrowed his eyes, it was pretty dark but he'd always had good vision. Aha! There were three fluffy creatures with hooves and long droopy ears waddling amongst the cattle, mimicking the sound of the creatures around them. The cows didn't notice that they were any different, but Gon sure did. He stood up and walked over to the Copyhares slowly, clicking softly with his tongue as to not startle them. Three pairs of beady eyes turned to him and the creatures crouched, ready to flee. Wary of him.

Gon smiled softly, crouching down to their level. "Hey little guys, I'm not here to hurt you." Their small noses twitched as they sniffed at him curiously, hopping closer and shedding the cow features. They looked a lot more like hares now, although they were slightly purplish in color. "These cows belong to someone, you can't eat them. But hey! I know this place with all sorts of prey and no big scary humans at all." The creatures chittered back and forth, as they did so Gon realized that all three of them were females. Strange, usually the males are the hunters. He thought back to his notes, which were currently in his backpack. Gon preferred to keep physical notes over digital ones because they were easy to add to. Although he hired someone to back them up digitally for him every now and again, just in case.

One of the Copyhares hopped closer to him and rested a paw on his leg, sniffing at his face. Gon smiled down at it. "Where's the rest of your husk? I can't move you to a new home if I don't have all of you" The Copyhares chattered once more, darting off towards the treeline. Obviously excited at the idea of more food. Gon followed quickly, keeping pace with the creatures. They led him to their burrow, he was far too large to fit inside it though. Gon waited as they disappeared into the burrow, then started emerging with tiny Copyhares. Around eight of them. This must be all that's left if they're repopulating again. It would really suck if there weren't any males left... Gon examined the small bundles of fur, just to make sure. To his satisfaction there were a healthy three males in the bunch.

Man, I got really lucky. I can solve this today!

Gon started scooping the tiny purple leverets into his bag one by one. There was no way they could travel so far on their own, they were only about two weeks old from his estimation. One of the adults eagerly lept in with what he assumed were her babies. He slung the backpack over his shoulders, making sure to keep it open. Afterwards Gon bent down and scooped up one Hare in each arm, thankfully they were just few enough for him to be able to carry. He'd be able to finish this assignment tonight!

After about forty five minutes of running, he'd successfully rehomed all eleven Copyhares in a peaceful forest a couple miles away from that man's farm. The trip back was a lot quicker, only about fifteen. He could move a lot quicker without having to make sure it was a pace the Copyhares could handle. He burst through the door with a bright grin on his face. "I did it! And it only took me-" Gon froze for a moment in complete shock at the horrible scene he'd just walked in on. Five baby Copyhares, throats slit, and his client holding a sixth still as he prepared to kill it too. Gon quickly snatched the furry bundle from him, gritting his teeth. "What the hell is wrong with you? They're just babies!"

The man scowled at him. "Babies turn into adults. I don't want my livestock being eaten by any more of these little shits." Gon held the remaining shivering leveret to his chest, feeling his blood boil. "I just told you I was going to move them! If you kill them off like that, they'll just repopulate anyways! Killing the babies is just cruel." His client frowned. "Eh? Already? Thought you said it'd take a week." Gon scoffed. "Well, since I'm assuming you killed off most of their husk, there were only three adults and some babies so they were easy to round up. Plus I happened to come on the night they needed to hunt for more food." Gon fought to keep his cool. But people like this really pissed him off.

The man grudgingly handed him the agreed upon payment, and Gon stomped back out of his house, fuming. He frowned down at the terrified creature in his arms, murmuring soft soothing words to it. This one looked so much younger than the others that had been in the burrow. Or perhaps it was just a runt. "Sh... it'll be ok. You're safe now." He soothed, gently stroking the fur on the top of its head. Well, at least I can leave now. Poor thing....

1135 words

To Be Continued...