Luck of the Rabbit

“Harriet, look at this.

William turns his phone around to show his friend and coworker a video on Wild Forest Appliance. Harriet slows down her walking pace to check out what William is presenting which appears to be a new addition to the line of Platinum Edge Knives Collection. The ad showcases the knives’ sharpness as warriors and samurais cut down droves of foes and kitchen ingredients at the same time, resulting in perfectly cut samples of things to eat after a hard fought battle. William knows these kinds of videos are Harriet’s standard entertainment.

“Moving far past the fact that blood would’ve gotten on the carrots, celery, potatoes and whatever else they decided to show, the meals you’d make with such wild swings is gonna make the proportions too uneven.” Harriet says understandably nitpicking at the logistical aspect of cooking in a fight and cooking in a kitchen. “Plus, the knives from the Platinum Edge series aren’t even that sharp when-”

“Not when you use your heaviest claymore to test the cutting effect of a kitchen utensil.” William rebuttals. His sleepy speaking manner doesn’t really irk Harriet, but she knows it was a light jab at her attempts to see what they were capable of. Harriet opens her mouth to speak but both her and William's earpieces go off. A tap on their devices alerts the two of an in progress robbery going on at a bank and a shoplifter on the loose. The problem being more so that these incidents are on two different sides of the city. Realizing this, Harriet and William make a break for which situation they believe suits their skills best: Harriet heads to the bank and William goes to shoplifter. Harriet turns and shouts to William before they get too far, “Wild Strip. 15 mins max. Be sure to get your wallet ready.” William responds, “Wont need to when I'm there before you.” The two take off running off to complete their objectives with their side goal to be done before the other.

After a few blocks of running, Harriet can hear citizens panicking a bit further ahead. A male panther faunus rushes up to her and desperately begs for her help. Harriet looks towards the man with reassurance and confidence that she’ll get the job done while guiding him to a safe spot away. With no further interruptions, Harriet steps through the doors of the bank, hands in her pockets and preparing for anything coming. She enters and finds the assailants, all with black masks covering their heads and fitting black clothes. Still analyzing the immediate area she can see a few people weren’t able to make it out in time and that some security lay injured. Her analysis is interrupted by a woman’s voice cutting through her thoughts. “The Grass Grazer is here just like I told you. We wasted too much time” says one of the criminals. “Simple fix” a man’s voice says aloud, “We’ll just give her some free memory loss.” The man takes off with fire in his hands towards Harriet while the woman hesitantly follows behind brandishing her knife. Harriet effortlessly dodges the hands of fire while weaving out of the way of knife slashes and attempted stabs, hands in pocket seemingly analyzing how this party fights. An overhead knife swing clashes with Harriet’s unsheathed short sword before contact is made. Just as the thieving woman pulls back for another swing, Harriet grabs hold of her arm and bends it far behind her back, leaving her own back exposed to the man. “GOT YOU!” yells the man rushing in for an explosive palm strike, assured this was his moment to deal some real damage.

Pivoting into a turn with the woman in her grasp, Harriet spins with her makeshift human shield and grants the man his wish. The bound woman feels a low wave of heat before a massive burst of fire erupts at her side and sends her colliding into some of the civilians who were too fear stricken to escape in time.

Realizing his mistake, the man staggers backwards, sweating with worry and not sure what to do next. He turns his head violently scanning for someone he can use as a hostage until he locks in and turns his attention to a nearby boy cowering next to his mother. He dashes with no regard for his surroundings and a single tracked mind. He gets within reach of the child, but his extended arm is met with a swift rising kick from Harriet. Everyone who can stand to watch the fight hears a grueling snap sound but can’t tell if it was from the speed of the kick or the breaking of the man's arm, noticing the upward bend of the joint. A desperate, grating, rageful scream can be heard throughout the entire bank. “YOU PLANT EATING MISTAKE! I'M GONNA-” the man’s teeth swiftly greet the hard tile floor as Harriet plants his face into the ground. “If you’re gonna call me out my name, you better back that shit up.” Harriet says while rising up. She takes the time to help all the civilians out before checking on the injured guardsman. They thank her for her work and are honored to have seen The Silver Maiden in action…but they ask her something. Catching on to their inquisitive state she walks back to the remaining thief that didn’t fight her. They’re obviously not as experienced as the other two, shaking and trembling more with each step Harriet takes towards them. They were much smaller compared to the others as well, coming about as high as Harriet’s chest when they meet “face to face”. “So…” Harriet speaks leaning to match the scared assailants eyes, “What are you gonna do now? Run away, steal some more money, or attempt to fight like your partners over there?” The thief trembles even more and begins to tear up. Harriet can’t help but pinch the bridge of her nose at this. “Tia, how’d you get roped into this?”

The thief's eyes don't clear free of tears, but her eyes emote a sense of surprise. “You thought I wouldn’t recognize. Your eyes are differently colored even if it is slight, the left being a bit of a lighter brown. Another thing-” Harriet stands in between the guards and Tia so they don't see her face when she takes off her mask, revealing Tia’s small but white bunny ears. Harriet points to her own floppy brown ears, “Rabbits can tell one another apart. You know this.” Tia’s face turns a mix of embarrassed and scared getting caught out by someone she knows. One of the guards begins to walk over and asks Harriet if everything is okay. She explains the situation to them as more of her suited coworkers arrive to apprehend the woman and man from earlier. Under Harriet’s story, Tia was a last minute snatch due to a member of the group flaking out at the last minute, causing her to be the unlucky replacement for them. She hadn’t hurt anyone and wasn’t carrying anything that could be remotely assumed a weapon so the guards had no reason to suspect anything. With word from the “Silver Maiden” herself, the guard allows Harriet to escort Tia outside the bank. A few glances and murmurs are heard but nothing that wouldn’t be expected right after a robbery. “You good T?” Harriet asks a calmer but still shaken Tia. “Y-Yea…I'm fine.” She responds. “...thanks for the-” Tia is cut off with a smack to the head. “I told you to learn a martial art or to learn some sort of defense so things like this WONT happen, dumbass.” Harriet scolds Tia for not listening to her warning and advice, knowing something like this was bound to happen. Before she can get more words in she catches the time from a magical sundial close by and knows it’s about time to start leaving. Before doing so though, she hands Tia enough money to catch a bus back to her home and begins to run down the street.

Corners are cut and walls are leapt off to jump over individuals as Harriet makes her way to the Wild Strip at rapid pace. It takes no longer than 5 minutes of her running until she sees the door to the restaurant and no William in sight. She slows down her pace, fully confident that William probably got lost along the way again or forgot his wallet this morning. As she goes to open the door to the restaurant, she hears a familiar voice from down the street. “Where are you going, Ms.Harry?”. The restaurant that Harriet was about to enter morphs and shifts into a comic book and card collection store. Having even slightly opened the door alerts everyone inside and Harriet is rushed by fans and enthusiasts alike who shout and holler in excitement that she has graced the store with her presence. All while William, the one who cast illusion magic on her when he handed his phone to her, walks into the Wild Strip, preparing for a meal he “earned”.