I haven't updated in a while, so here's a little mini-chapter while I work on the rest. This thing is going to get very strange before long *****
Perched in a tree along the old dirt path, the white-bunny girl crouched in darkness.
Rain droplets trickled from her reinforced leather bodysuit. The sudden storm had spared no frond from its watery onslaught. Rika was too preoccupied thinking over her orders to worry about getting wet.
This night, she was told, a man had come. A man from the outside. She didn't know who or why, but that wasn't important. All that matters now is that
they know. Certainly her enemies had noticed, and they would come for him. It was inevitable now.
"Go and watch the road," Remus had instructed. "This man has value to us. They mustn't be allowed to capture him. Do whatever it takes."
Whatever it takes. She unholstered the Fleming Rhino strapped to her hip and inspected the cartridge. Eight rounds plus one in the chamber...With luck she wouldn't need that many.
Remus had once told her that this weapon came from America. Rika didn't know where that was, but she suspected that it must be a rather terrifying place to live if they saw a need to manufacture something as decisively lethal as the Rhino.
True to its namesake, the gun had stopping power to spare. Entry wound the size of a marble, exit wound the size of a dinner plate, and enough spring-cushioning that a child could control the recoil. A well-placed round delivered to the weak point between the shoulder plates could even penetrate Remus's tough hide. She had once proven that point, to the bot's displeasure.
Whatever it takes, huh?"Are you sure they're even coming?" said a voice from behind her. "Maybe they don't know about him yet."
"They're coming, Risa," she replied. "They know." Rika knew from experience just how closely this trail was monitored. "They probably know more about what goes on around here than we do."
"It doesn't make sense. Why even let this guy out of the house? Are they trying to scare him or something? If the bad guys think he's one of us, he'll be safer inside."
Rika replied by loosening the whip coiled around her waist. "That's why we're here."
"You seem very confident," Risa moaned, "but I for one would rather be inside sleeping than sitting in the rain playing mercenary. We're supposed to be pop stars, right?"
"Do as you're told, or you may never get that chance."
"You should have invited Yuuko or Miki instead of me, anyway. They're prone to violence, you know?"
"Leave the fighting to me. I need you for your eyes."
It was true that Risa had been blessed with eyesight unrivaled among her peers, and most other humans for that matter. Even now, far off through the gloom, she had detected the solitary shadow descending along the muddy path from the castle. "Speaking of which..."
"Is it the mark?"
"Well, it's male and not made out of metal. Must be the guest. And there..." Risa's eyes widened. "They're here, alright. In the trees. They're heading right for him."
"How many?"
Risa squinted. "At least two."
If there's only two, we'll be damn lucky, Rika thought. She smiled and released the safety latch from the Rhino's trigger. "Ready? It's time."
*****