The Blushing Rabbit

No one noticed children. We weren't seen as threats. That's just the way things were, even when a war was raging on and had been for years. Our and the other side rarely saw children as anything more than a sad byproduct of war. We were orphans or most likely soon to be parentless. It's the way war worked and we were supposed to be innocent.

Well, most were. No one wanted to yet corrupt humans that had not yet seen a decade and were still 'pure.' But my siblings and I were different. We had been taken off the streets or from our homes to be warriors in the good fight. Everyone of us had shown a certain tenacity that many others hadn't. While other orphans had cried, screamed in despair, or hid like was natural, we had rose to the occasion and fought. We had protected either others or ourselves.... We had killed. That is what made us different and chosen for this new life. We were taken in to the rebel family, loved, cared for, and trained. We were taught to go in, learn about our enemy, and report back. Hopefully without being caught.

Each of us trained for a year to a year and a half before going out in our small group to do our part. Like now. As my deck of five, myself included, slipped into a village to do recon, we found something different than what were were told. Instead of a impoverish village that was untouched by the war, we found that the war had ravaged it. Buildings were on fire. People lay dead or dying on the ground. The village was painted Red, black, and yellow. My deck looked to me for instructions, I was their leader after all.

With a nod I split us up into two groups to make it less obvious and to cover more ground. The Chariot, Wheel of Fortune, and Hangman went in one direction to look for survivors, while Myself and the Moon went in the other. We were only able to save a few as many had been slaughtered. If it hadn't been five years since I became a member of the Major Arcana, I probably would have fallen on my knees in despair or vomited from the stench. Instead my brother and I kept moving from house to house. We didn't stop until we heard a single gunshot. Freezing where we were, we dropped to our knees and listened for any signs of the enemy. When no triggering sound came, we moved slowly towards the sound. It took a little while, but eventually we entered a hut with a young dirty boy standing in the middle of the room. Gun hanging loosely in his hand, he stared despairingly at his dead parents; a soldier lifeless not too far away.

Cautiously walking towards him, I put my hands up non-threateningly. "Boy? Boy are you alright?"

"He killed my parents. My... My parents-" The boy burst into tears, dropping the gun and covering his face with his hands. Less afraid that he might accidentally shoot me, I picked up the gun and handed it off to the Moon before pulling the boy into my arms. I let him cry for a few minutes before forcing him to look at me.

"We have to go. If we don't more of his kind will come and punish you. Come with me and you will be safe. I'll protect you." I wiped the tears from his face as he nodded his consent. He looked at his parents once more deciding to grab his mother's necklace and his father's ring. Then he grabbed my hand and followed as we went to rendezvous with the others. As we waited for our siblings to meet us just outside the village in a heavily shrub covered field, I looked at the small boy next to me and asked, "Do you think you could do it again? Shoot someone, I mean?"

"I don't know, I might. Why?"

"If you could, you can join us." I started fiddling with the cloth that usually covered the lower half of my face. "We fight for the rebels and I think you'd fit in well with us. We're all like you, orphans. You could... You could be our brother... If you want I mean."

He looked at me with wide russet eyes. "You'd want me to be your brother?"

I shrugged, a little scared he'd say no. "Only if you want to be. I know you just lost your parents and it's a lot to take in. You don't have to answer right away." The boy made a squeaking noise before he launched himself at me causing us to tumble into the Moon. His head enthusiastically nodded and he sobbed into my shoulder. I grinned up at the Moon as he smiled happily down at me. "What's your name? I'm Rikki also known as The High Priestess. This is Zeeka, who we call the Moon."

"My name is Ezra. Do I get a cool name too?"

Present day
"Erza, get your ass up! You're going to be late!" Rikki called through her brother's door. She knew she shouldn't have let him stay up to finish the boss fight. But he was 21 years old, he was an adult and she shouldn't have to tell him it's a bad idea to go to bed later than 11 on a school night.

Looking down at Sam, who wagged his tail impatiently, the young woman sighed. Technically he was Ezra's dog and he should be the one taking the dog out for his morning bathroom break. However, it was looking to be one of those mornings. With a sigh she grabbed Sam's harness and leash which caused the pup to jump in excitement.

"Keep doing that and you're going to slam your head into the ceiling." Rikki warned as she watched her dog jump about six feet int he air. He should be an agility dog. "Alright, stop I need to put this on you." Getting him to calm down for a minute was just enough time to slip on his easy walk harness and clip the leash on the front. "Ez, if you're not up and gone by the time I walk Sam, I'm pouring ice water on you!" She didn't wait for a reply as she swung the door open and headed out. It was a nice day for it being late April. She half expected it to be cold and wet. However, it was cool with a clear sky. She could handle cool.

As she walked around for a couple of blocks, Rikki thought of a few errands she should probably run before her shift at the bookstore. Arriving at the local dog park, she unclipped the leash. "Be free!" She yelled right before Sam shot off to collide with another dog. Rikki watched with a grin as her pup went crazy chasing a pit bull that zig zagged around the park.

"Is that... um Samaneral?" The young woman turned to find Slader pushing off the fence to walk towards her.

"Close, Samandriel. And yeah, that's our crazy pup." With a smile she turned to look back at the dogs. "Is that your dog he's chasing?"

"Yes. We are trying to get her used to the name Zoey since her previous owner decided Casanova was a great name." He rolled his eyes.

"Well, to be fair I bet she could cause any man or woman to swoon." The pair chuckled. "She seems to be handling the adoption well."

"So far. We've only had her three days and we crate her while we're both out, but other than that she's been well behaved. Granted she pooped in the house once, but I can't be mad at that."

"No you can't. Once you know the potty dance the better off you'll be. Are you planning on doing anything specific for her to warn you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ez and I are trying to reinforce Sam to hit a bell we have by the door. If he rings it three times we know he has to go otherwise it probably means he just wants to go out and chase something."

Slader looked at her in surprise, "We hadn't thought of that, but that's brilliant."

"Takes a little while, but it's nice to know. A friend of mine had a dog that full out ran at the door and jumped on it whenever she had to go. It was kind of funny." Bringing her fingers to her lips, Rikki let out a high whistle. "Sam, come on time to go!" Not liking that idea, Sam when down on his front paws, let out a bark, and then ran the opposite direction.

"Looks like he doesn't want to go." Slader chuckled.

"Regardless, I have work in an hour. Sam, come." She stared her dog down until he finally relented and took the long way round to her side. "That's my good boy." She rubbed his slobber wet side. "It was nice seeing you Slader, but I must be off." She clipped Sam's leash before shaking the young man's hand.

"You too. Have a great day."

"You too!" She waved over her shoulder as she headed back to the apartment. Once the pair returned to their street, they stopped in the Italian bakery under their apartment. Mrs. Piro was a lovely woman whom always had something for Rikki to try and a treat for Sam. Clapping happily at their arrival, kissed the young woman's cheek before rushing behind the counter to grab a cannoli.

"Thank you, Mrs. Piro. This is marvelous as always." She hummed into the bite. Everything melted in her mouth. "You didn't see Ez rush out of here did you?"

"I believe I did. Someone was running like a madman." She replied, feeding Sam pieces of strawberries and blueberries. "Did he stay up late again?"

"Of course. I told him not to, but does he listen to me? No. Why should he listen to his sister?"

"Men!" The woman cried with a laugh.

Just then her husband walked in, "What about us?"

"You don't listen to us." Mrs. Piro grinned

"And we are silly for it. Hello Rikki, how are you?" He kissed both her cheeks in greeting.

"A little tired, but fine. Have a few errands to run before I head to the bookstore." Rikki replied with a smile.

Shaking his head, he commented, "You work to much. You are far too young to be wasting your life so."

"What can I do?" The young woman shrugged, "Got rent to pay, groceries to buy, this pup to take care of, and Ez's schooling to pay for."

"You are a wonderful sister. You need a man to take care of you. You're too young to waste your life." Mrs. Piro wagged her finger.

"Mrs. Piro." Rikki whined causing Sam to look up at her mildly concerned.

"Woman then? I do not judge."

"I thank you for your concern, but I'm fine for right now." Thanking Mr. and Mrs. Piro for the cannoli and fruit, Rikki hurried out the door before they got on her about finding someone. She was fine and had other issues to worry about before even thinking about dating. Shaking her head, the young woman dropped Sam off in the apartment before heading out again. The rest of the morning was spent getting groceries, picking up a few items at the local Target such as light bulbs, toilet paper, detergent, and a bad $5 movie, and lastly depositing her check so she could pay her utilities. Arriving back in just enough time to drop everything off, she headed to work almost the moment the eggs were in the refrigerator.

The little bookstore/cafe Rikki found herself in was cute and full of hipsters. The store was large and following big enough where it had two registers; one for the cafe and one for the books. Although customers tended to wander between the two areas, it wasn't uncommon for Rikki to get some patrons that had no desire for a drink and vice versa. It was a relaxing atmosphere that only vibrated with high anxious energy when the local students had exams and final projects to worry about. During those times, the owner opened the cafe portion later for that late night kick some students needed to get through those hectic weeks. Rikki was fortunate enough not to have to deal with those kids. She would pick the bar folk any day.

Like most Sunday's, the store was on the slower side. Many from the cafe browsed the books, but didn't bother buying any. Once their names were called, they replaced the book they were looking through and went on their merry way. When someone did arrive to actually buy a book, they tended to walk around slowly choosing their fantasy or different reality carefully. It always interested the woman what the person would choose. More often than not she was wrong in what the customer chose.

Around dinner, her shift ended allowing her time to actually cook a proper meal. The rest of the week passed liked any other. Ezra went to school and every other night dropped by the bar to play for the patrons. Rikki showed up for her shifts and dished out the alcohol batting away half a dozen people interested in her. Although many would grow bored with the routine and hum drum of this life, the young bartender was grateful for it. She'd had enough excitement in her life. Once Friday night arrived however, Rikki found herself being pulled out of The Blushing Rabbit for some fun.

"Come on, you work too hard and I want to have fun!" Michael complained, not letting his friend's wrist go. "We are going to Flanigan's, we are going to drink, listen to live music, and have fun! No excuses missy."

"But I don't have clothes to go out in." Rikki tried, but knew nothing would stop her friend.

"Hush, Ezra dropped this off. Now change in the back of my car, we'll hopefully be there in fifteen." roughly twenty-five minutes later the pair found themselves walking through the doors of a semi-crowded pub. The open room was loud with Irish music, the pounding of shoes on the floorboards and table tops, and an undercurrent of conversation. "There we are! Oi, hey!" Michael waved to their group of friends that happened to include the Vance sisters and the Henley brothers. "Glad everyone could come!" He wore an excited grin. Like most of the group, it had been weeks since he was able to socialize.

"You managed to convince Rikki to come, proud of you my love!" Seth grinned and kissed his boyfriend.

"More like dragged me here, but who can say no to this face?" Rikki patted her friend's cheek before doing the rounds of greeting. Once that was out of the way, she ordered herself a beer and took a seat next to Seth.

Throwing an arm around her shoulder's, the young man with sparkling blues eyes grinned, "So I hear, you were trying to get a date with me... and Mary... and then Michael."

With a shrug and a sip, Rikki replied, "What can I say, ya'll are desirable."

"And you don't want to date."

"Technicalities."

"Only you." Seth barked out a laugh. "Well, it has been too long, shall we?" Offering a hand, the pair walked into the thick of the dancing. They watched as three women danced to the music, mixing modern dance with Irish step dancing. Getting the jist of the patterns, the pair jumped up and joined. The crowd erupted as they kept time. They stayed through the next three songs, at times falling back into different moves they once performed when they were a dance pair.

Everyone that watched could see how easily the pair read each other. Easily flowing from one move to the next. For the time being everything was simple and full of fun. No one had to worry about bills, siblings, family, the world, or jobs. It was a night to have fun and fun they were having.

When the song finished, Seth and Rikki took a bow before jumping off the table they had found themselves on. As the pair walked back laughing, Michael and Mary whistled catcalls. Mary pulled Seth into a heated kiss, while Michael smothered Rikki in a bear hug. "Damn, I love watching the two of you dance."

"It was impressive to watch, do you do it often?" Slader asked as he offered both dancers water.

With a nod of thanks, Seth replied, "We used to be dance partners, but sadly life has become too crazy for us to continue on a weekly basis. I miss our dance sessions." He looked longingly at his old partner.

"It is a tragedy." Rikki gave a sad smile back before chugging some water.

"I never knew you could dance." Tara commented as she slid in next to Ezra.

Shrugging, "I don't do it much now and you've never been to the apartment so..." Rikki trailed off. It was true, they really wasn't a time where she was around the sisters that would have been an environment she would dance in. "And I don't dance at work."

"Except that one time." Michael grinned.

Pointing her newly acquired beer, she replied, "That was once and because you were freaking out you would look like a fool at your niece's quinceanera. Why did I have to be the one to teach you when you have Seth?"

"We weren't dating yet. Barely friends at that point."

"Huh, you right." The group snickered and then fell into small groups of conversation. As hard as Rikki tried not to get into a conversation with Kai, yes she was slightly avoiding him, somehow the two ended up leaning on the bar talking. She didn't want to be rude, but she was still feeling a little hurt over the rejection she doubted he even noticed.

"So, fancy bottle opening and dancing, is there anything you can't do?" Kai grinned over the lip of his Guinness.

"As I said before, you'll just have to wait and see. Can't give all my secrets away, where'd the fun be in that?"

"Very true. Alright, I've been trying to figure out your accent for a while. Sometimes you have a southern twang and sometimes you sound like a northener. Why is that?"

Running her finger on the bottom of her glass, she replied, "I lived in Georgia from almost my midteens to about three years ago. Before then..." She bit her lip. It wasn't exactly a smart move to admit that she was from Abezra. The rebel leaders had warned them to be careful right before the Major Arcana fled to America. Anyone could be listening. If they were noticed, it could mean trouble for not only that person but for the family.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." The woman looked up to see concern in the man's eyes.

"It's not really... It's... I wasn't born in America and although I love my siblings our childhood wasn't exactly great. It's not something I like to talk about."

"I understand. Well, not really. Slader and I had a pretty good childhood, but there are things in it I don't like talking about."

Rikki nodded. "Maybe at a later time."

"Yeah maybe." Unlike his usual grinning smile, the one he gave her was soft and true. It made her heart beat faster and she mentally cursed herself.

"I can say though, growing up in Georgia is nothing like here. I don't think I'll ever get used to the cold!" The whine in her voice caused Kai to let out a loud laugh.

"I'm a little nervous to find out. I mean Texas has some chilly days, but nothing like here from what I understand. Snow barely exists back home."

"Expect a white, grey, slushy winter ahead of you. I hope you have winter attire."

"Yeah... Kai and I are going to need to buy some of that." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I have boots from working, but a coat to withstand negative windchill not so much."

"I'll keep a look out for deals. Ez might have an old jacket one of you could wear."

"That'd be nice, thank you."

Before Rikki had the chance to say anything, Christine slid in next to Kai and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Placing a kiss on her cheek, the Texan replied, "The weather." Receiving a disbelieving look, he continued. "How I'm from Texan and Rikki is from Georgia. She was warning me about how cold it gets here. "

"It does get quite cold. The winter storms sometimes get you stuck inside for a few days."

"Make sure to horde non-perishables for those days." Rikki added. "And blankets for when the electricity goes out. Sometimes it takes a day or two for it to come back on."

"I heard that. It never happened to us thankfully, but there were some families without power for up to two weeks."

"Longest for Ezra and I was a week a few years ago when the northeast was pummeled with snow. It was terrible."

Kai's mouth dropped open. "What did you do?"

"Went to work. The couple who owns the bakery below us let us use their gas oven. To pay them back, Ez and I baked a few breads for them. They were quite thankful."

"I'm a little nervous now..."

"Oh don't be." Christine cooed."You could always stay with me if a storm is coming."

Feeling uncomfortable as the couple gazed lustfully at each other, Rikki excused herself. Luckily, she was quickly distracted when a young man offered his hand. With a smile, the pair joined the rest of the couples on the floor for a dance. The rest of the night was spend getting lost in the music and temporarily forgetting about the Texan man that saw her as nothing more than a friend (hopefully). Sometime after two, the group left the bar slightly inebriated. The Vance sisters said farewell causing a slight delay in leaving when Kai and Christina locked lips. Michael patted Rikki's shoulder before Mary, Seth, and him said goodbye and wandering off to their apartment. Slater looked uncomfortable as he waited for his brother while Ezra looked ready to run when Tara didn't leave him alone.

Getting fed up with waiting and wanting to go to sleep, Slader crossed his arms and stared at his brother. "Kai, let's go. You're holding up some of us from going to bed."

"Sowwy." Kai mumbled without removing his lips from his girlfriend's. Half a minute later, he released her lips, said a final good-bye, and then the group split. On the train for the half hour ride, Ezra rested his head on his sister's shoulder while the brothers tried not to fall asleep on each other. As she had done numerous time before, Rikki kept watch. Never letting her tired eyes droop closed until everyone was safely home.

Upon the train stopping at their station, the four tired adults headed out to the streets. Waving and wishing each other a good night, the Styke siblings stumbled back to their apartment for a much needed rest.