Video, un: clovertales

[keyofelde]

WHO: Souta Suzukaze
WHERE: Network
WHEN: July 24
WHAT: Souta's turn with the animal curse
WARNINGS: Soft bunny, maybe surprise glowing powers

[Video feed suddenly turns on for the Libra app. There is a slight view of an apartment ceiling and a few furniture legs, angled so low that the phone must be on the floor. However, the room is mostly obscured by a fuzzy belly as a small rabbit paws repeated at the screen.]

[Folks who have been around Kaisou a while can probably guess what's happened.]

[Someone is a bit too panicked to realize they've finally managed to turn on the phone app. Those who recognize the username might have an inkling as to who.]

Comments

[keyofelde]

Even though we're family?

I mean, I thought I was normal before I could hear the plants talking. Maybe dad is like me, and we just don't know yet.

[Or maybe he is grasping for straws here.]

[not_a_possum]

I don't know. Maybe. But if he was like you I'd think he'd have the app.

Maybe you should come up with a back up plan. Just in case he just thinks you're a normal rabbit.

[keyofelde]

No way...

[The exclamation sounds more disheartened than doubtful. The idea that his father wouldn't be able to know that it's him feels breaks his heart a little.]

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have another plan. I wouldn't want to risk my plants going without water for too long... or worrying my dad.

[...Also food, but so long as his father gets home eventually he should be alright. His dad wouldn't just starve a mystery bunny.]

[That was if his dad got home today and not late in the night.]

[not_a_possum]

Well...the good news is I've been doing okay with everyone seeing me as a possum, so I'm sure we can figure something out with you being a rabbit no matter what. Although it'll be tricky since you don't have hands.

Um...do you have any way in or out of your house that would be accessible to someone who's roughly possum sized? If so, I could bring you food if need be, or sneak you out if you want me to at some point.

[keyofelde]

Um...

[The bunny hops back and forth.]

We have a balcony, but it's a little high up. But I might be able to get you the spare key for the front door.

[Windows are out of the question. No way Souta was getting that high up in this state.]

[not_a_possum]

Hm...do you want me to come by and get the key from you so that at least I'll be able to come in and check on you and see how things went? Then if he just ends up seeing you as a rabbit, I can get you out of there so you don't have to just live like a rabbit.

[keyofelde]

[Well... it might go against internet safety, but he would like reassurance that someone will be able to take care of him in this state.]

Yes, please.

And... if you brought greens while picking it up, that would be nice.

[not_a_possum]

Okay, I'll be there. With greens. What's your address?

[keyofelde]

[Souta gives the address to an apartment in Midtown.]

Um... let me know if you need directions.

[not_a_possum]

I'll just put the address in my phone.

[It'll take him a while to get there since he's walking and he's got short legs, but he does arrive with a package of red romaine lettuce in hand and, standing underneath the balcony, he texts.]

I'm here.

[keyofelde]

[Upon seeing the text, Souta the bunny starts making his way to the balcony. It takes him a few minutes, being much smaller than normal and needing to weasel the door open wide enough to fit though. But eventually, a bunny head pokes out from under the railing.]

Hello!

[Hopefully he can hear. But- oh, that is a long way down for someone his size. He shuffles back from the edge.]

Do you think you could get up here? I don't want to assume.

[But Souta also has no idea what his fellow app members can do. There's such a range.]

[not_a_possum]

Um...

[He looks up at the balcony. That's...really high up.]

No. But if you drop a key down I could get in.

[He figures it'll be much easier to find a way to get up to the doorknob than the balcony, since he just needs a little boost there.]

[keyofelde]

Okay! Give me a minute.

[It will be more than a minute, as little bunny Souta struggles to remove a spare key from his jacket and hop with it back to the balcony. But eventually the bunny nose can be seen again before he nudges it off the edge.]

[The key falls onto the pavement with a clink clank. Not that Souta can see where it landed from his position.]

There! Can you get it?

[They didn't just lose the key, did they?]

[not_a_possum]

[The sound of the key hitting the pavement draws Moxxie's attention and he quickly finds it.]

Got it!

[Now for the door. Reaching up, he's able to reach up and unlock the door, quietly entering soon after. He knows the kid said he was home alone, but still his heart hammers in his chest. There's something nerve wracking about breaking into someone's home even if he was technically invited, especially when the person who invited him is currently a rabbit. As quickly as he can, Moxxie closes the door behind him, locking it, then rushes up the stairs to find Souta, lettuce in hand.]

[keyofelde]

The house is fairly standard for the area. Not too big, but not too little. Or perhaps that is just an illusion from the limited furniture offering more open spaces. You might call the aesthetic 'simple and clean,' except it's not quite clean. There's obviously dust in places, but at least most things are put away in a tidy manner.

Up the stairs are a few doors (one partially opened), and also a small parlour area nestled in the hall. While the house is mostly western style, there are a couple zabuton cushions piled in the corner.

The rabbit wiggles back through the partially open balcony door into this living space. Once through, he darts forward to the middle of the room.

"Hello?" he calls out louder than usual. Souta sure hopes Moxxie made it in.

[not_a_possum]

Of course, even a small house would seem massive compared to the size Moxxie and Souta are now. However, when he hears Souta's voice he's able to quickly figure out where it's coming from and he starts up the stairs.

"Hello! I have your lettuce!"

Once he reaches the top of the stairs he spots the rabbit.

"Souta?"

[keyofelde]

Oh good, lettuce! He won't starve! Souta the bunny hops in joy.

"Yes, that's me!"

In person it is much more obvious that the bunny is very small. He's not quite baby bunny size, but Souta is still smaller than Moxxie.

"Did you find your way all right?"

[not_a_possum]

"I did, yes," he says, opening the package and setting it down so Souta can get to the lettuce. "So, I was trying to think of some solution in case trying to communicate with your dad doesn't go well. Do you think you'll be able to keep your phone on you? Do you want to plan check ins, and if I don't hear from you in a certain amount of time I can come check on you?"

Since it seems fairly easy for a rabbit to end up with no way to contact him, and...well, he's a bit worried. If this kid's father doesn't recognize him things could get messy, after all.

[keyofelde]

Souta is very tempted to chow down on the lettuce right away. He bounds up next to it, but holds off at the last minute. Would it be rude to his guest to eat in front of him? It's not like Souta can offer Moxxie a snack, at least not without Moxxie getting it himself.

The planning also gives him pause. " I don't think I can carry the phone like this, but I could keep it somewhere I could reach. Do you have a time that works best for you?"

The place would be the floor of his bedroom, where it is right now. He could potentially nose it somewhere more hidden if need be.

He adds, a bit more sheepishly, "Speaking of my dad, I think we could get some extra time before he notices anything."

[not_a_possum]

What time would work best for him for check ins?

"My schedule's pretty wide open. Maybe every morning at nine?"

Most people should be at work then, so it might make it easy to sneak over if he needs to without drawing Souta's father's attention.

"Extra time? How?"

Because honestly, it seems rather difficult to hide not only the fact that Souta is missing, but that there's suddenly a rabbit in the house.

[keyofelde]

"That could work! My dad's already left by then."

Normally Souta is also at school, which might cause problems if he can't figure out how to switch back soon.

"Dad usually gets home late. If we put some pillows on the bed and covered them with blankets, we could make it look like I went to bed before he got here!"

...Yes, this is his brilliant plan. But Souta seems surprisingly confident about sharing it.

[not_a_possum]

"That sounds like a good plan to me! I'll go ahead and take care of that for you."

Since he has hands and all. It makes things like this much easy. Sure, he has no idea if it'll work or not, but since the options are 'try to fool Souta's father by making a fake pillow Souta' and 'do nothing and have him clearly see that Souta's missing', Moxxie figures it'll be worth a shot.

Climbing up onto the bed, Moxxie begins arranging pillows, shifting them around and nudging them to try and perfect the 'body under a blanket' look, pulling the blanket over the pillows before stepping back (though still standing on the bed, of course) to examine his work and ask himself if it was convincing. He goes back to shift a pillow or two a couple of times.

[keyofelde]

It's definitely a better shot than leaving the house clearly empty sans one rabbit. His father often returns from work at 10 or 11 PM, so finding his son asleep in bed wouldn't be that outside the range of possibility. And would he bother his sleeping child that late?

The plan might not work for multiple days, but it could at least buy them time.

Bunny Souta sits on the bedroom floor as Moxxie works. Occasionally he shifts to sitting up on his hind legs to see if he can watch what's going on that way. (He can not.)

"How is it going?"

[not_a_possum]

"Pretty good. I think it looks convincing."

He glances down and, seeing that Souta probably can't see up here, decides to take a picture of his handiwork and hop down.

Showing him the picture, Moxxie asks, "What do you think?"

[keyofelde]

"That looks good!" he agrees enthusiastically. Souta feels a bit guilty deep down, trying to fool his dad like this. But it will only be a temporary measure.

Or at least that's what he keeps telling himself.

"I'll make sure to answer my phone if he calls this evening, so it looks even more convincing. Luckily he doesn't usually text."

Since typing with little paws is much much more challenging than batting at one button.