Chapter Text
Sunlight reflected off the snow, forcing Techno to shade his eyes with his hand as he scanned the yard. ‘Yard’ might have been a generous term, land that he and Phil had claimed as theirs would be more accurate, but there was a fence and ‘yard’ rolled off the tongue much easier than the other options. He frowned and shifted the basket full of honey comb to his other hand.
The two dogs he had taken with him to collect the honey comb had bolted suddenly, barking their heads off, and now were pacing back and forth along a small portion of the fence. He whistled. One of the dogs, Cami, lifted her head to look back at him and then returned to pacing the fence, stopping here and there to whine and scratch at the ground.
“Get dogs, they said. They’re loyal, they said. They’ll come when they’re called,” muttered Techno under his breath as he began walking towards the fence. “Should’ve got cats, instead.”
When he got closer to the fence, Techno set the basket down and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Things had been quiet lately and he hoped it would remain that way but the quiet of the cabins in the arctic had been shattered once before and he wasn’t one to take that sort of risk.
“There better not be anyone thinkin’ about trespassin’ on my property,” he said aloud, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the area. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound. The dogs were still pawing at the ground along the fence. “I mean it.”
Still nothing.
Techno took a deep breath, in through his snout. He could smell blood, both fresh and old, and animal. His frown deepened. The sort of animal was currently escaping him, overpowered by the dogs and the blood. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and walked a bit down the fence line to one of the gates. The dogs followed, eager to get through the gate, to whatever it was.
“Sit. Sit.” Both dogs whined loudly but sat, their ears drooping and tails wagging. “Good dogs, you stay right here.”
Opening the gate, Techno slipped through as quickly as he could and pulled it shut behind him. The dogs were well trained but even the best trained dog might disobey if it thought there was a good chase or a tasty treat at stake.
He walked back towards the area the dogs had been barking at and began to carefully scan the area. The undergrowth was thick with sweet berry bushes and fallen spruce needles that colored the ground, making it difficult to see anything and he hadn’t brought his glasses. He sniffed the air again, moving closer towards where the scent of blood was the strongest.
Red splattered the ground in places, almost blending with the bright red berries, and Techno crouched down, moving the branches aside. He almost didn’t see it.
Tucked among the roots of the berry bush was a rabbit.
At first Techno thought it was dead but then he noticed the shallow rise and fall of its flank. He reached in and pulled it out as gently as he could. The rabbit’s eyes opened and he expected it to struggle, the fear wafting off it in waves, but it stayed limp in his hands.
It would probably be a kindness to put it out of its misery but Techno found that he couldn’t. The rabbit was terrified, covered in blood and dirt, and the thought of killing it sat uneasy in his chest.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m a sucker,” said Techno, tucking the rabbit into the crook of his arm, doing his best not to jostle it, and stood. The voices in his head laughed. “Leave me alone, alright?”
He hurried back to the gate, letting it bang close on its own, and bent to pick up the basket, before whistling for the dogs. They eagerly came bounding to his side, almost tripping him as they wove back and forth in front of him, trying to sniff at the rabbit he was carrying.
“Look, I’ll give you guys a treat later, alright, but this one’s not for eatin’. Down, don’t make me tell you twice, Gordon.”
Taking the steps two at a time, Techno stopped at the door of the cabin and dug into his pocket with his free hand. It was a bit of a shame to give the dogs the good jerky but he felt guilty for depriving them of their prey and for his intention to leave them outside.
“Here ya go,” he said, tossing a few pieces to them. “Now just stay here while I go play bunny doctor.”
Inside the cabin was warm and smelled of smoke and leather and iron. The rabbit began to kick weakly in his arms and Techno stroked its fur, murmuring in what he hoped was a soothing manner. Clutter covered most of the kitchen table and he pushed it to the side unceremoniously, clearing a space as best he could.
Still holding the rabbit, he rummaged around in the various chests and barrels, looking for anything that might help. It was awkward, not being able to use both hands, trying not to move in a way that would hurt or startle the rabbit. He spread out a blanket on the table and set the rabbit down.
“Now don’t go jumpin’ off or anything, got it?”
The rabbit didn’t move. One eye was partially open, caked with dirt.
Techno pulled the lever on the sink, listening as the red stone mechanic that brought heated water up from the basement activated. The pipe rattled slightly before spitting out water. Steam rose from it as Techno filled the small bowl. Pulling up a chair, he sat down in front of the rabbit.
“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got,” he said.
He wasn’t sure where to start.
As carefully as he could, Techno began wiping away the dirt and the blood. There was a lot of blood, more than he thought a rabbit had in the first place, despite it being much larger than the rabbits he saw around the tundra. It was a different color as well, a soft tan that reminded him of a baby deer, different even than the speckled brown of the rabbits in the desert, though it was hard to tell. He had thought its ears had been held back but now that he was looking closer, he realized that wasn’t the case. Parts of the ears had were torn or cut away, one almost cut down to half its length.
“What the heck happened to you, huh?”
His original assumption had been that some animal had gotten a hold of it but now that he saw the injuries up close, he knew that wasn’t the case. Techno might not know about rabbits but he knew about blades and all the injuries they could cause. The cuts had been done with a knife. The thin, red stripes across the back, on the other hand, had been done by something else, something that Techno couldn’t place.
“Or who the heck did this to you,” said Techno softly.
The rabbit didn’t answer.
Techno smoothed the cloth over the rabbit’s fur looking for injuries that were still bleeding. It felt like too many and Techno wondered how it was still alive. Taking the jar of flour, he sprinkled it over the wounds; it would clot the blood and if the rabbit decided to lick its wounds, it wouldn’t do it any harm.
When he was done, the rabbit still looked bedraggled and half-dead but it was cleaner and the bleeding had stopped. Its fur stuck up in places, patches missing, and its eyes were closed but its breathing had evened out. That was good enough for Techno.
He stood from the table with a groan, keeping an eye on the rabbit as he emptied out the basket, putting the honey comb up. It was big enough and deep enough that he didn’t think the rabbit would jump out. Or could jump out, given the condition it was in, with two of the toes on its paws missing. Lining the basket with a towel, Techno carefully tucked the rabbit in, stroking its head as he did so.
“I really am a sucker, huh.”