Fear scented the air -- fear and something more. That 'something more' had my heart pounding even faster than the race we ran. With an incredible show of power, the plump white hare leapt and twisted in mid-air, coming down on the far side of the drift, speeding back the way we'd come.
"Haha!" I yipped my laughter across the frozen tundra, circling wide enough to get a better look at her beautiful white coat, thoroughly enjoying the play of those magnificent muscles as she sprang ahead of me again. "What a fine, lovely ass you have. I'll bet you taste as lovely as you look! I am soo looking forward to feasting on you."
"Not today, Foxy!" My delightfully wicked rabbit spun again and darted right between my legs, leaving me snapping at thin air in an undignified somersault as I tumbled down the slope toward the harbor.
"Careful, Flopsie! Watch where you're going! Stay away from the humans!"
"Catch me if you can, you dog!"
A fair insult, though not as inventive as Flopsie. I forgot the slander completely as she changed course once again, heading directly for the one place I didn't want her to go -- the city. The human city, known as Last Chance, Alaska.
I've been in human cities before, though it has been some time. I'm not fond of cities. Dirty species humans are, constantly fouling their own dens with wastes that make the air hard to breathe. Still, I know their ways well enough. And there are a few things I had enjoyed on my brief visits. Music, to name --
"Watch out!"
My buxom beauty spun out of the speeding snowmobile's way and darted to the side of a building, racing down the alley and out of sight. Really, I had no choice but to follow her. I couldn't leave her to fend for herself amidst the evils of Last Chance. Last Chance is pretty low, even by human standards. Smallest of small towns. Sits right on the edge of nowhere. Town hall, a couple of bars, clinic, state trooper's office, passable rooming house for travelers -- not the touristy kind, but a safe place for those who needed to put up for the night to call home, or winter over -- an odd assortment of the kind of people who come here because they don't want to be found. My bunny'd be easy prey.
A long, low whistle split the night air. "Holy... where did you come from, Miss? You come on inside, quick, before you catch your death. No night to be out dressed like that."
One look at her and I threw myself behind a parked vehicle. Oh, yes, indeed, the human was right. And I was wrong. It was not my rabbit, but the humans who were at risk.
"The dance is tonight, yes?"
"Yes, Miss, but..."
Dance. That was the thing I loved about humans. Music and dance. Sifting through my memory, I found the correct human garb. I needed... black. "The lady is with me." I stepped out from behind the running vehicle -- the humans let them run all winter long, or they'll never start again -- and offered my arm to the golden goddess before me. "Come, my love. We must get you out of the cold. You've lost your coat again."
She smiled up at me, her eyes sparkling in the perpetual twilight. "I knew you'd keep me warm."
"Registration desk's through the door to your right," the doorman instructed. "And good luck."
"Thank you." Swirling my long black cape around her shoulders, I swept us both in out of the cold.
* * *
I could have called up a coat, of course. Something as dense and warm as my own natural rabbit fur. But it was so much more fun to see Foxy's breath catch when he got an eyeful of my human form, all decked out in my fancy red dancing dress.
He wasn't the only one looking, either.
Foxy usually chooses to avoid humans, but like all of us, he spent his time among them when he was young, learning their ways. And I know my Foxy. Sometimes better than he knows himself. If there's one thing that could draw my Foxy into a night on the town, it's music. My Foxy loves to dance.
Fortunately for me, he's as rakishly handsome a man as he is a fox, and just as charming. He's also a devilishly good dancer. If I'd shown him the poster that blew into the commons outside our burrow just yesterday, he might have agreed to come, just because I wanted to go. And then again...
"James and Jessie Fox. Couple number twelve. There you go. That'll be twenty dollars." The young man handed over our tags, and I looked to Foxy, nibbling my lip. Humans. I'd forgotten about cash.
Foxy flashed his infectious grin at me and tossed the man a twenty. We pinned our signs to each other's backs and took our places, waiting for the music to begin. "What shall we dance tonight, my love? You're dressed for something Flamenco. Tango, perhaps?"
I knew just what I wanted to dance -- a dance that was as much a battle of wits as the games we played in the snow. "The Fandango."
Foxy swept me into his arms with a spin and a deep flourish, then pulled me close for a kiss that seared my lips. "You want me to chase you around the dance floor? Very well. But this time, when I catch you, there'll be no mercy. You look good enough to eat, and I am going to enjoy my feast."
My grin split my mouth so wide I knew my teeth showed, and I touched my tongue to my lip. "I certainly hope so."
