Archive - 2004 Bunny Open House - Little Fluffy Critters fic challenge

[The Fluffy Bunnies]

More from the 2004 Fluffy Bunny Open House!  No prizes were involved, but there were a couple of fun stories!


Started by aeryncrichton on May 24, 2004

My fellow Bunnies know that I live in Southern California, very suburban, not a whole lot of wildlife around (not where *I* am, anyway....), but the area where I work harbors a lot of actual wild rabbits.... 

I get a kick out of watching the critters get larger over the spring.

Anyway, a year or two ago, on my way into the building, someone startled one of the rabbits, which ran straight into me, bounced off my leg, and then took off the other direction....  I ended up writing the incident into a fic ("Take Two," which is archived on my site and I think on Kansas, as well), with John being the victim of a small furry critter.....

ANYWAY, all of this is a long-winded way of leading up to a fic challenge, open to any and all, Bunnies or not.  There are no prizes, there are no judges, just the fun of writing and sharing a fic. 

The topic is: Write a fic involving a rabbit (or similar small furry critter of an alien kind), real or imagined, whatever you want to do.

Is John telling the story of the Easter Bunny?  Is that cute rabbit carniverous? Is one of the kids PROMISING to look after his/her pet?  Do our heroes have to get the critter to save someone's life?

It's up to you and your muses!

Post furry critter fics in this thread only, please.  Please note that these threads will probably be deleted eventually, so if you're happy with your contribution, be sure to archive it at Kansas or some other site as well as posting here!  And let's have a length limit of one reply, say, up to 6 or 7 pages (but much shorter is fine if you want)....

Go for it!   

[The Fluffy Bunnies]

Don_Squeaky on May 25, 2004

I guarantees youse, da followin' is fiction.

Youse friend,

Don Squeaky

Easter at the Crichton's
By
Bob Hutchinson
(UCSBdad)
--
2004

Disclaimer: No bunny, no money.  Time: Easter Sunday. Rating: Relentlessly "G" Archiving. Archiving?



"Mommy! Daddy!" The Crichton children squealed in unison as they rushed into John and Aeryn's quarters.

Aeryn, ever alert, slid her hand to the back of her pants where she kept her small pulse pistol. John was more relaxed.

"We saw him!" Jack said in an awed voice.

"Saw him." Olivia added.

"Saw who?" Aeryn asked.

"The Easter Bunny! Just like Dad said. " Jack replied.

"Easter Bunny." Olivia confirmed.

Aeryn glanced at John. She always had trouble telling Jedi knights from jolly old elves from jungle lords.

John smiled at his wife and then at his children." The Easter Bunny, huh? Big, floppy ears? Fluffy bunny tail? Left you some eggs?"

"He left two eggs." Jack answered. "One for both of us, and they're huge."

"Huge." Olivia opined.

"And then he ran off. He ran so fast, we couldn't catch him."

"Too fast." Olivia said, sadly.

"That's the Easter Bunny." John said with a solemn nod of his head.

Aeryn suspected her husband of being very deeply involved in this, but long years on Moya had taught her to be very cautious of any unusual events.

"Show me these eggs." She said sternly.

The children rushed off, calling to their parents to hurry, hurry. Aeryn strode behind them and John ambled on at a more sedate pace.

Arriving at a large corridor that ran the length of Moya, the Crichtons indeed found two very large chocolate Easter eggs. Each was covered in candy decorations of all sorts, but one clearly said, "For Jack" and the other, "For Olivia."

"See!" Jack said proudly.

"See!" Olivia echoed.

Aeryn stared at her husband. "These are human Easter eggs and pose no threat to us?"

John nodded. "Well, there might be a stomach ache if they eat too much."

Aeryn nodded solemnly.  "Then we'll put them in the food storage unit and give the children a small piece after every dinner until they're gone."

"No!" Wailed Jack. "We should eat them now!"

"Now!" Olivia said defiantly.

"Later!" Aeryn replied in her "Don't mess with Mom." voice.

"Dad!" The two children cried in unison.

"You know, honey, there might be something wrong with the eggs.  Maybe we should eat one, just to be sure."

The two children stared in shock at their dad, and Jack suddenly remembered his mom's love of chocolate.

"Food unit!" He said disconsolately.

For once, Olivia was silent. But both children followed their mother to the central chamber to make sure that their eggs were properly taken care of.

John made sure that all three were out of sight and then headed off in the opposite direction. A little way beyond his quarters, he turned into a side corridor and found himself lifted off of the ground. John was staring into a large set of fangs and beyond the fangs was a furry face. Instead of the usual fedora on the being's head were a pair of very nicely made bunny ears.  Without looking, John knew a fluffy tail was appended to the being's own tail.

The being spoke to John, his breath redolent with canole and red wine. "Woid o' dis li'l favor ain't goin' no further den youse an' da Missus. Capice?"

John nodded. To one side he heard a brief clearing of the throat and he was gently lowered to the floor.  A second, slightly smaller being stepped out of the shadows and carefully straightened the collar of John's coat.

"There is no need for that. Commander Crichton is an honorable human. We did him a favor, and in the future, he'll do us a favor."

"Anything but bunny ears." John replied with a smile.

The smaller being returned the smile. "Normally, I don't like to have people put limitations on our deals after the fact. But in this case, I think we can agree on no bunny ears, Commander."

He then looked at the Vorlex watch on his wrist. "Dear me. Captain Braca is expecting us at the Cohase asteroid belt in another four arns. It seems our little favor took too long. We can't possibly make it."

With that, the two turned and left, leaving John standing in the corridor. But just as John was walking away, a deep voice called to him.

"Do youse need a Sandy Claws fer Christmas?"

The End

[The Fluffy Bunnies]

MadScientist on May 26, 2004

Little Fluffy Critters

One thing that amazed John Crichton, since arriving halfway across the galaxy, was not the many unexpected little things that were different -- like how to open a door.  No, it was the many unexpected little things that were the same.  Like pockets.  I mean, think of it.  Pockets can be all shapes and sizes, located at the top or the bottom of just about anything you wear.  Even on Earth, there was a huge variation on pockets -- everything from the little one on the right side of a pair of Levi's jeans (just what WAS that supposed to be for, anyway?) to those huge flaps on the front of hooded sweatshirts (were they REALLY supposed to do a good job keeping your hands warm?).  Yes pockets could be like just about anything you could imagine -- and yet the ones in his black leather pants were JUST like what he'd expect to find on a pair back home.  One on each side on front, just inside the hipbone, and one -- or maybe two -- squarely centered on the buttock.  Maybe it had something to do with vaguely humanoid anatomy -- where COULD you put the pockets without getting less convenient about them?  But in a place where the doorknobs slide instead of turn, Crichton found himself being surprised at anything that seemed so much like home.

John was digging into the left front pocket of his pants, trying to retrieve the remaining krindars that still remained after their little barhopping expedition on the commerce planet the night before.  Yeah, it would have been easier with the pants off -- but he wanted to go down the hall to talk to Pilot first before retiring for the night, and didn't want to bother changing.  "Geez, these things are tight!" he thought.  Finally, though, he got his fingers around the several coins and pulled his hand out.  Along with the money were mixed several balls of fluff.  "Pocket fuzz," John thought.  "Another constant throughout the universe -- though it's hard to imagine where it would come from inside a pair of leather pants!"

At that point, the balls of fluff... wiggled.

"Whoa!" said John, and shook his hand till the little balls -- and the coins -- fell free onto the floor.

The krindars remained where they fell.

But the balls of fluff rolled, gently, away under the bed.  Almost like they were blown, by a light breeze.  Except there WAS no air movement in the cell.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

"D!"  John came running down the hallway to D'Argo's cell, breathing MUCH more heavily than he felt he should be, under the circumstances.

"John," D'Argo replied.  "Is everything all right?  Are we under attack?"

"No," John said, as he slowed down and stood, panting -- wondering himself what had him so spooked.  "It's uh, well, I think I found another parasite."

"Like the one that tried to take the place of Rygel?"

"Oh, frell, I hope not!"

"Where did you see it?"

John looked earnestly at D'Argo, hoping the big Luxan wouldn't think him a complete idiot.  ("Yeah," John thought, "I hope he'll think I've still got a few pieces missing.")

"Um," John said, "I, uh, found 'em in my pocket."

"Your... pocket."

"Yeah.  And then they kind of rolled under the bed."

"What was it you found in your pocket?"  D'Argo had one of *those* looks on his face, and John had the feeling he was back to sliding doorknobs again.

"Well, it was... pocket fuzz."  John looked down at the floor for a moment, then up at his friend -- hoping that look was gone.

It wasn't.

"Pocket fuzz," D'Argo replied.

"Yeah," John said.  "Little fluffy puffs of -- well, I don't know what they're made of.  Heck, we have 'em back home... on Earth...  But they don't *move* like that."

D'Argo gave a big sigh, looked in a direction that he no doubt though the deities might be located, the ones that give succor to those incessantly beset with trivialities, then looked piercingly at John and said, "Show me."

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Back in John's cell, D'Argo surveyed the clutter of Crichton's room, wondering how such a creative mind could still be so undisciplined -- not to say messy.

"There, under the bed," said John -- feeling like a 6-year old telling his daddy he'd had a nightmare about a monster.

Got to give D'Argo credit, without a moment's hesitation, he got down on his hands and knees, and looked under the bed.

"Awwww..." he said.

Now, this wasn't the response John had expected to get at ALL!

"Um, D?  What's down there?"

"Come on down and take a look," D'Argo replied.

John got down on the floor and looked under the bed, where the Luxan was peering.

There he could see a large ball of fluff, surrounded by several others.  Okay, nothing he hadn't seen under the couch at home, whenever Mom got too busy ferrying the kids to swim team or baseball practice to keep up with the vacuuming.

But the little balls of fluff were moving.  Kind of jostling around, bumping into the big ball.  For all the unfamiliarity of the situation, John was minded of newborn kittens, or puppies.

"Aren't they cute?" D'Argo crooned.

"Uh, D?   What are they?"

"They're not parasites, John.  A better word would be symbiote.  They reside in the little places on a ship -- under furniture, behind equipment -- and live on the little pieces of organic material too small to be bothered with by the DRDs.  Dropped chunks of food.  Skin flecks.  They process them all -- so they don't simply decompose and smell -- and excrete tiny dust particles that get swept up by the DRDs as dust."

"Dust bunnies?"  John was incredulous.

"You mean you don't have these on your home planet?"  D'Argo sat up and regarded John.  Yes, this human was truly alien to him.  "I thought they existed everywhere."

"Well, yeah, we have them on Earth -- but they're not alive."  D'Argo's unwavering gaze troubled John a little.  "Well, at least I don't think so."

"You must admit, that your people are definitely backward regarding a few things.  Perhaps they've just never noticed."  D'Argo reached for the top of the bed and began to stand up.

"But, uh..." John wasn't sure how to respond here.  Then it hit him.  "What were they doing in my pants?"

"Ah," D'Argo replied.  "That my friend, is their favorite kind of place to deliver their young -- a small, protected space, only about the size of a hand, where everything is warm, and enclosed, and safe.  A piece of clothing with pockets, set aside for the night, is the kind of place they like to have babies.  They stay for only a few arns.  Then the kits are mature enough to move out under the furniture, like their parents."

"But a bunch of them were still in my pocket," John said.

"Well..."  D'Argo looked like he was explaining something obvious to a very, very young child.  "Then you did the right thing in helping them out, didn't you?"

John stood there, looking from his pants to the space under the bed, and back again.

"Good night, John."  D'Argo left the room, palmed the control, and closed the door.

A strange, half-smile crept onto John's face.  Yeah, this WAS like sliding door knobs.

"Dust bunnies!  Who'd a thought?"

One thing for sure -- he'd never again feel guilty about forgetting to vacuum under a bed!

[The Fluffy Bunnies]

Nanse on May 27, 2004

Thanks you very much ac for getting my muse all psyched about this. 

It's not great.  I think I lost it a bit at the end,  but hopefully amusing.  Its also not beta'd so please bear with me.

It is rated PG for mild fluffy violence.  (you'll have to read it to find out.)


Strange Days


John yelped as yet another slimy branch smacked him square in the nose.  Using his thumb and index finger, he gingerly pushed the disgustingly damp foliage out of the way.  This place, by far, earned the title of most unpleasant planet in the universe.  From what he'd seen so far this backwater rock had two climate zones Amazon Rainforest on crack, and Degobah.  He'd never been so wet in his life.  He'd seen storms, even enjoyed staying out in a couple, but the rain on this planet came down in biblical proportions.  Water saturated everything making things muddy, slimy, and generally gross to the touch.  Rygel would probably feel right at home. 

To top things off, they had left the relative dryness of the township at the crack of dawn.  Now they tramped through the ankle deep mud, struggling through the dense undergrowth.  The only blessing came from the tree canopy.  Instead of getting drenched continually they only got drenched periodically when they had to walk through cascading waterfalls of rainwater redirected by the leaves.  The Sahara never seemed so grand before.

"Tell me again why we're out here."  John griped as he caught up with Aeryn.

"The mineral Moya needs can only be found one place in this solar system, and that is in the system of caves...."

"In the middle of this forest."  John finished her sentence.  "Yeah, yeah. I got it.  I suppose we're lucky that the mineral wasn't in the Degobah part."

"The what?"  Aeryn asked.

'Never mind."  He answered, "At the risk of sounding like a five year old on the way to Disneyland, are we there yet?"

"According to the map nearly." 

John peered over her shoulder at the holographic display.  It looked like they were practically on top of the cave system, but with the dense fauna, they could be walking into a rock wall and not know it.

"That way."  Aeryn pointed after pondering a moment. 

 Having an impeccable sense of direction as always, she led them to the cave within microts.  As caves went this one fell into the more dark and dank variety, but it was paradise compared to the weather outside. 

"So where to oh guru of the map?"

Aeryn shot him a somewhat amused look, and began to lead the way through the tunnel system.  If John didn't know better, he would have sworn that Jules Verne had left earth and visited these caves.  With the elaborate and hauntingly beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, he felt like he had walked into the pages of "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  He chuckled to himself at that thought.  It was just another page in the never-ending personal Science Fiction story that was his life.

John followed Aeryn, letting her navigate the twists and turns of the underground maze while he took in the interesting geological scenery.  He craned his neck back and forth, swinging his light around to get mental pictures.  It wasn't every day a primarily space bound man got to see caves like this.

 Just as they were about to go down a fork in the road, something caught John's eye.  He skidded to a halt.

"Hold the phone!"  He exclaimed.

Seeing her companion stop, Aeryn paused and walked back to him slightly impatiently. "What is it?" She asked.

"Do you see that?" He asked

"See what?  It's a cave."

"No, in the cave."

"I see rocks."

"No."  John hissed, snatching her light from her and switching it off.

"What the frell!?"  She snapped.

"Look!"

He pointed at the other fork in the passage.  A soft light emanated from the opening, highlighting the two of them.

"These caves were supposed to be deserted right?"  John asked

Aeryn shrugged. "The merchant didn't say.  He seemed to imply that people don't travel out here during the rainy season, but that doesn't mean anything."

"So there could be someone here?"

"It's possible."

"Think we should go say hi?"

Aeryn fingered the pulse pistol resting in its holster.  "Better than someone surprising us later."

"Alright then." John agreed, then indicating toward the passage added "Ladies first?"

Cautiously, the pair made their way down the tunnel.  As they approached the corner, Aeryn silently signaled John to halt.  Pressing her body against the stone so as not to be seen by anyone just around the bend, she leaned around to catch a glimpse of the light source.  The Sebacean froze.   John couldn't see her face, but he noticed her tense, alert stance slacken slightly.  At first he thought the way must be clear; that she saw no threat.  After a microt however, he realized she hadn't moved. 

"Aeryn?" He said quietly. "Is the coast clear? Aeryn?"

"Frell me."  She whispered in shock as she moved from her hidden spot.

For a second, John considered making a comment about accepting, but shook away the urge and stepped out himself to see what had flabbergasted his resident former Peacekeeper.  If he had been a Looney Toons character, he would have pulled an eye bulging, jaw on the ground gag that would have put Bugs, Daffy, and even Wile E. Coyote to shame.  When he had thought about Jules Verne earlier, he hadn't been this serious.

Before them, the tunnel opened into a vast cavern so large, they couldn't discern the where it ended.  A warm yellow light filtered down from some unknown source, reflecting off of a huge subterranean lake.  Dark sparkling waves splashed against a sort of coastal plain teeming with life.

 "Whoa!" John exclaimed.

It looked as if the hand of some higher deity had ripped open the planet, plopped a portion of the Southern California coastline into the hole, and covered it up again.  Low, dark scrub brush and tall golden grasses colored the scene.  Moderately tall trees that looked frighteningly similar to oaks dotted the plain adding shade and greenery.  A variety of little dark earth tone birds chirped and flittered about in the golden sky.

"I have never seen anything like this."  Aeryn muttered.

Slowly, both ventured from the tunnel a motra or two.  Through the corner of his eye, he saw that Aeryn still had her pulse pistol ready.  He knew he probably should be on alert as well given that he knew nothing about the place or the danger it held.  The place just reminded him too much of Earth, though, without the sky of course.  He wanted to explore every nook and cranny and take the familiarity in.

Aeryn's sudden movement snapped John's attention from the terrain.  She spun around, instantly alert, pointing her weapon at an unseen foe rustling in the bushes.  John quickly crossed the space between them, aiming Winona.

"What is it?" He whispered.

"Not sure."  She whispered back.

Both tensed as the rustling increased.  What ever it was, it was moving closer and making a lot of noise.  The bush shook.  The branches parted, and out hopped a fuzzy, brown, long-eared little creature.

It paused, regarding them with mild interest.  It cocked its little head to one side and focused big, sweet brown eyes on Aeryn, then John.  He knew that it couldn't be what it looked like.  Humans didn't have deep space travel, so there was no what this little creature would have managed to make from Earth to this rock, but still, before his very eyes sat a little cuddly bunny rabbit.

Enticed by its friendly eyes, John took a step toward the little animal.

"John, you don't know what that is."  Aeryn warned.

"It looks harmless to me."  He replied, "Besides, I'm not going to touch it or anything.  I just want to get a closer look."

As he took another step, the brush rustled again.  Another rabbit loped out, followed by three smaller ones.

"Hey look" John chuckled "it's a family."

"Crichton, let's go.  We have minerals to get."  Aeryn prodded.

"Just a sec.  I just want to watch 'em for a second.  They look a lot like an animal on Earth."

"They are not your Earth animals, they might be dangerous."

"Look at them.  How dangerous could they be?"

He should have known saying those words would be his doom. 

With a hiss and wholly unnatural squeal the first rabbit reared up and leapt toward his jugular.  John threw his hands up for protection, as Aeryn's pulse blast sent the thing hurling to the ground.  A hideous wailing erupted from the remaining four as they launched themselves toward them.  The smallest creature opened its jaw wide sinking long sharp fangs deep into John's leg, while another flew at Aeryn's shooting arm. 

"Get it off!" John hollered batting at the creature attached to his leg.

Aeryn slapped the flying animal aside and fired a well-aimed shot at the one attacking John.   The reaming two rabbits backed off, growling with fangs bared.  Around them the underbrush cracked and shook.  Rabbit after furry rabbit emerged from the shrubs eyeing their prey.  Slowly the Sebacean and the Human backed away.       

"Retreat?"  John asked looking at the numbers.

Aeryn nodded.  They spun around.  The vicious creatures had begun to cut off their escape.  Pulse blasts erupted from the pair, hitting one furry animal after another.  They sprinted for the tunnel and didn't stop until they were out in the rain.

"I told you they might be dangerous."  Aeryn snapped 

John just shrugged.  What was he going to say?  It's not like he really thought they'd be in the middle of Attack of the killer bunnies.

"We have to get the minerals."  Aeryn reminded him.

"Frell!  Can't it wait?  Those beasts have big sharp pointy teeth."

"Moya needs the minerals and there is no where else close enough to get them.  Why the frell do you think we are on this disgusting planet."

John sighed, pulling up Winona.

"Okay, after you.  Cadbury Bunny slaughter here we come.  Aeryn you wouldn't by any chance have a Holy hand grenade?"


Then End