King of the Woods, or Trivial Pursuit

Part 17 - Rabbit

Day Two:

-

A white rabbit sat on Ray's chest, wiggling its nose. Ray wiggled his own. The verdant clearing smelled of wildflowers and enthusiastic sex. He set the rabbit aside and sat up. The previous night's storm clouds had fled, and the dawn prepared to follow, taking her oranges and pinks with her. She seemed less angry this morning. Although the sun was bright, the air was cool, and dew still glistened on the grass.

Ray traced the suck-bruises and scratches on his throat and chest. His body remembered the night before better than he did. He wnot sure where he was or where his clothes had gone, but the bed of leaves and petals he sat upon felt softer than a mattress and nearly as warm as his lover's embrace.

Soft footsteps approached through the dewy grass. Ray looked for something to cover himself with. He settled for crossing his legs and cradling the rabbit in his lap.

"Good morning," Ray said. The footsteps stopped. The deer's antler nubs had grown again, but he recognized it just the same. It lowered its head and nibbled on the grass. Ray stroked its neck. The scorned rabbit bounded away.

"Still worried about me?" Ray said.

The deer looked up from its breakfast and into Ray's eyes.

"Don't be," Ray said. "I feel drained, but in a good way. My soul hasn't gone anywhere."

The deer returned to its meal. Ray sat there awhile, enjoying the warm air and company. Everything around him felt more alive. After a time, he stood and stretched. If there had ever been a reason for Ray to feel embarrassed about being naked, it was one more memory lost to the night before. A bright-yellow butterfly landed on the deer's antlers, and another landed on top of its head. More butterflies followed, until the deer was festooned.

"You look ridiculous," Ray said.

The deer tossed its head, dislodging its passengers but not harming them. It looked angry.

"I'm just messing with you." Ray yawned and scratched himself.

"Gah!" Ray's countenance was more somber and mournful than the deer's had ever been. A tiny splinter, or a thorn, had pierced the shaft of his penis. He tweezed it out with his fingernails. A drop of crimson welled from the wound, but when Ray wiped it off he bled no more.

The deer snorted. It sounded a little like laughter.

"And that's why you don't play in the woods, kids," Ray flicked the splinter away.

He meandered aimlessly. The woman whose name didn't matter - Ray only said "girl" because "dread woman" sounded clunky - had abandoned him in a field with no clothes, no wallet, and no cellphone, literally holding his dick. He didn't mind.

Sunlight glinting off metal guided Ray to his keychain. He followed another reflection to his belt, which was still attached to his pants. Ray followed the trail, dressing himself as he went. He knelt for his shoe, and his hand knocked against something hard. He brushed long grass aside, revealing a carbon-black tree trunk.

"What the?" Ray touched the trunk and ash coated his fingertips. Looking around the clearing again, Ray saw fallen snags and scorched stumps obscured by new growth. He dropped to his knees, tore up grass and soil, and pressed his face to the ground. It smelled of fire.

"Who are you digging for this time?" Dread Girl stood no more than twenty feet away, carrying his belongings in her reed basket.

"Where did you come from?" Ray said.

Dread Girl walked closer to him. Her dress flowed easily over the grasses, and her footsteps made less sound than a grazing deer.

"The woods," she said. "Now answer mine."