Chioniphobia

Rebirth

Bunny twirled the knife restlessly in his paws, ears twitching as he finally caught a long-awaited sound.

"Took your sweet time there, didn't ya?" he commented.

Grim smirked and tucked a sprig of herbs behind his ear. "Thought you might say that."

Bunny took the thyme and sniffed it before noticing her watery eyes. "You okay there, Grimace?"

She sniffed and smiled, hiding her trembling fingers behind her back. "I'm fine."

"Good," he said, and knocked her to the ground.

Grim sat upright, her expression switching from frail to startled. "What-"

Bunny sat astride her lap, putting his full weight on her as he pressed the knife to her throat. Grim pulled away, and he leaned forward, the blade in his paw just shy of breaking thin white skin. The Reaper swallowed, struggling to speak.

"Pookie," she gasped. "Pookie, you're scaring me."

As quickly as he'd pounced, he was standing again, brushing off his fur and offering her a paw to help her up. "Now we're even."

Grim sputtered and swatted his paw away. "What- Pookie, you can't just do something like that and not explain!"

He glanced at her, eyebrow raised. "You were scared, weren't you?"

"Yes, I told you so. Now-"

"Why? I couldn't exactly have killed you."

"Well, no, but it was still a shock."

"Friends shouldn't be scared of friends, Grimace," he told her.

"No, but in the moment I was still...in the moment...I was...still..."

Eyes widening in realization, she stared up at Bunny as he smirked.

"Get it now?" he questioned teasingly.

She sighed and got up. "Yes, yes, you've made your point. I was an idiot, That Incident was just a mistake, and you being alarmed wasn't a sign of some deeper underlying issue with our friendship. That's not all you called me down here for, I hope?"

Bunny shook his head, still grinning. "Nope. Got you down here to give you your Christmas present."

Grim clapped her hands. "Ooh, my Christmas present! Is it socks? Are they argyle?"

Bunny gave a very un-rabbit-like bark of laughter. "No, but hopefully you'll like this at least as much. You mind closing your eyes?"

"As long as you don't spin me around," she answered as her eyelids flickered shut.

Bunny bit his lip and reached into one of the pouches on his bandolier, drawing out two identical pointed teeth.

"You trust me, yeah?" he asked, walking around her so that he was facing her back.

"I'm not peeking. That qualifies as trust enough for whatever you're about to do, I hope."

Bunny parted the back of her robes, eyes running over the scars between her shoulders. Gritting his teeth, he raised the knife and stabbed.

Black not-blood streamed from the reopened wound- not as much as he'd expected, but enough to make him a touch nervous. Drawing in a deep breath, he dragged the knife down along the path of the scar.

Grim gasped lightly when he'd finished with the first scar, causing him to flinch. She didn't turn, but her voice was shaky as she spoke.

"And here I thought you'd wanted to close old wounds, not reopen them," she joked.

Bunny steadied himself and plunged the knife into the second scar.

It went quicker the second time, thankfully. When he pulled the blade out, he wiped it clean of black on the grass and set it aside, opening his other hand, the one holding the teeth. Cautiously, he set one of the teeth in the middle of the first scar, noticing how Grim forced herself not to flinch as she did so.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A tooth. Now, focus on your memories of flying."

She laughed uncertainly. "Alright...if you weren't convinced of my trust before, you had better be now."

He nodded, despite her closed eyes, and set the other tooth in the second scar. Gently, he placed a paw on each wound.

Grim stood there a while, scars leaking, hands trembling, breathing wavering between steady and hyperventilating.

"Is this why Tooth asked me for some teeth a while ago?" she remarked suddenly, her voice breaking at the end of the question.

"Yeah," Bunny admitted quietly, pressing more firmly on the scars.

She laughed again, this time with an actual hint of humor to the sound. "So that's why she talked to me out of the blue. You didn't want to give away the surprise, did you? That's sweet."

Bunny moved his paws from the wounds, quickly grasping her waist instead. "Alright, you're going to want to put your weight on me now."

"Is there a particular rea- oh."

Grim crumpled, falling slightly backwards as Bunny supported her. She opened her eyes, looking up at him, and smiled weakly. "I'm dizzy all of a sudden. Think I'm falling for you," she teased, before blanching and clutching at his waist behind her. "And just plain falling. Oh dear- my head's spinning. I don't...I'm going to stop talking now."

"Good idea," he agreed, setting her down gently so the Reaper was seated on soft grass.

She winced, sneaking a look at her back prior to looking up at Bunny. "So...wing regeneration?"

"That's the plan," he confirmed. "Memories plus rebirth hopefully equals a second chance for you to fly again."

Grim smiled affectionately even as another wave of pain coursed through her. "That's so sweet of you. I already said that, didn't I? Oh, my head. Why does my head hurt? It's my back that's slashed open."

Bunny nearly placed a comforting paw on her back before seeing the black bones poking out of the wounds. "Strewth," he breathed.

"Is that a good 'strewth' or a bad 'strewth?' What does 'strewth' even mean, again? I-ah...agh..." Grim doubled over, her face tight with pain. "Urk...is this 'strewth,' ha...ugh..."

Bunny frowned, his brow creasing as he watched her shake. "Grimace?"

Her breathing quickened, and kept quickening, faster and faster. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but choked instead, crumpling onto her side as she sprawled out on the ground.

Bunny scooped her up immediately, adjusting his grip so he could see her back. The bones had extended into a tangle of withered muscle, broken flesh, and feathers. "Grim!"

She stared up at him, eyes wild, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her mouth gaped as she reached for the words evading her.

Bunny clutched her close. "Don't worry Grimace, I got you. Hold on, okay?"

He tapped his foot, and the Easter Bunny and the Grim Reaper disappeared down a tunnel.