>>5784528Your initial instinct was to present the little chimera to Henzler—Izirina, rather—to make up for having claimed Muffins. But then again… The imitation jackalope seemed pretty fragile in many ways. Izirina Henzler was a nice enough girl, in her special way, but pretty much the ONLY field she didn’t exceed you in was Life Magic and chimera-care. As you lightly stroked the twitching face of your new friend, and first creation, you reflected that it will probably need plenty of both.
“We could just let it loose?” suggested Pearce, dangling the rabbit-deer loosely and regarding ti. “Seems sturdy enough.”
You quickly took the creature from him, supporting the back legs.
“Never dangle a rabbit,” you admonished your burly friend. “Their spines are delicate!”
“Well sorry for trusting your craftsmanship,” he muttered. “Why don’t you just make the spine better?”
You were tapped for magic, for one thing. For another… Well, calcifying or reinforcing the spine could have other effects, including negative ones on mobility and flexibility. But Logan Pearce was a smart mage, including in the biological fields. He knew that. He was just being grumpy.
“Hey,” you said gently, “thanks… You know, for being there for me.”
He just shrugged, and then grinned, eyes drifting to the puddle before you,
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” you groaned, following his gaze.
He said nothing. You both knew the answer. You sighed.
“Well, fair enough,” you told him, “but you’re watching and feeding the jackalope… Chimera… Thing.”
“What?!” he asked, startled as you (carefully!) handed it back to him. “Why me?”
“You grew up on a farm, didn’t you?” you asked.
“Well, yeah, but our only rabbits were for FOOD.”
“Don’t,” you commanded him, “eat my friend.”
He looked down at the rabbit, meeting it’s eyes with a deep frown. It was Pearce, though, so he did as you ’requested’, and was somewhat mollified when you assured him it was just until your next break. If Izirina Henzler was a poor fit for the poor critter, and Logan Pearce didn’t want it, there was only one other place you could think to leave a one-of-a-kind weirdo like this modified monger-monster: Old Maple Hill, with the fairy folk.
