Sample scene from my next series (coming out in 2027), adapted for the What In The Wattpad contest. (Max word count allowed: 2,000 words.)

I sat on the grass while sharpening my long dagger. Giant ant chitin always dulled the edge, and I was unfortunately fast enough to end up near the front lines against those horse-sized beasts on a regular basis.

Even as Bree fluffed up her fur and sidled next to me, I knew the mist rabbit was plotting something. I wasn't sure what it was, but she had sat still for fifteen minutes, so she was bound to be up to something.

I glanced down at the small bunny as she sat on her haunches. She widened her blue eyes and overlapped her front paws as she gave me an utterly innocent expression that no one who knew her would believe.

"Yes?"

"Lydia, could I please have a speed potion?" she asked, her dainty voice entering my thoughts through the Beast Tamer bond.

"Maybe during the next battle. We won't be on the front lines until tomorrow," I replied via the link so as not to bother my human companions.

Her eyes widened in false concern. "But I'm just an innocent little bunny. Anything on the battlefield could turn me into a snack if I'm not fast enough!

The large leopard lounging on the grass nearby lifted his head, having heard her through a similar link. "You're already a blur. And there are no battles happening right now."

Bree thumped her tiny foot as Diego tried to undermine her argument. I grinned at the cute fuzzball's reaction. The Rogue sitting nearby smirked. He wasn't able to hear my bonded companions' words, but he was familiar enough with them to know that the mist rabbit was trying to stir up mischief again. "What's she asking for?"

"More speed potions, of course."

He laughed. "Why this time?"

"Safety on the battlefield, supposedly." I shook my head. To Bree, I said, "I really don't want you in the fight. It would be safer that way. Besides, the healers were very happy for your assistance behind the lines earlier."

"I'm the fastest fetcher in history!" She proclaimed, fluffing up her fur a bit more.

"And you knew the names of what they were asking for, which they were impressed with," I added, hoping to convince the young whirlwind of energy to stay in safer locations. Diego could take a few hits with my tamer healing spells backing him, but Bree was at an extreme size and strength disadvantage.

"Why don't we take the portal to the city for dinner?" Kaiden asked, possibly trying to distract the rabbit.

"That sounds pretty good," I told my friend as I slid my dagger back into its sheath. The free military food tasted fine, but it was the same twenty dishes over and over again, and I had a hankering for fried fish.

"Oh, I'll come!" Bree exclaimed, her ears perking up. "I love the marketplace. So many cool things! And they sometimes even have speed potions!"

Diego yawned and dropped his head onto his paws. "I'll remain here. One of the Rangers told me there was a deer leg in the companion supply tent for me."

The Mage and Druid in our group were already in the city getting supplies for whatever they were working on, so I asked Bree, "Would you mind fetching—"

"Zooming!" The white rabbit blurred with speed, apparently having been following my thoughts. Before I could even stand up, she returned with my coin pouch hanging from her mouth and jumped onto my shoulder, dropping the purse into my hand.

Kaiden and I walked to the portal and tossed a copper coin to the Mage on duty, who powered it up. Stepping through was jarring, like when you thought there was an extra step when descending stairs, but we had crossed half the kingdom, so we couldn't really complain.

We left the portal compound and headed into the city. Bree balanced on my shoulder, remaining on her best behavior without being told. It was one thing to goof off in a relaxed warcamp when off duty, but it was quite another to act up in a city where most of the population wasn't at ease with those who wielded magical abilities.

Both Kaiden and I preferred simpler foods, so we headed to the more rugged part of the city, far enough from the market that prices were low, but close enough that the food was still fresh and of decent quality.

We took a shortcut down an alley, only for a man in his late teens to step out with a sword in one hand and a small buckler shield on his other arm. "Give me your money!"

His voice shook, possibly the first time he was trying to rob someone. I stopped, narrowing my eyes and detecting a faint trace of magic. His gifts must have just awakened, probably a Warrior class, since Rogues avoided confrontations if possible.

Kaiden stilled beside me, just tense enough to give the illusion of being worried when both of us outranked our would-be mugger.

Diego must have felt something through the bond, since he asked, "Danger? Do you need help?"

"No. He's a low rank. He hasn't noticed my dagger under my cloak, nor has he clued in that a rabbit on my shoulder might mean I'm some sort of Ranger or have another class. He must assume we're regular civilians, or he wouldn't have tried this."

I felt the bond shift as Diego observed through my eyes and ears.

Bree practically vibrated. "I ought to thump him. He needs a lesson. Can I thump him? Please let me thump him."

I wondered what his ego would feel like if he got beaten up by a rabbit the size of his foot.

I tilted my head in consideration. "You know what? Go for it."

A regular rabbit had a strong kick, and their back claws were no laughing matter. And if that rabbit happened to be a speed-amplified monster capable of running three times as fast as a cheetah? Yeah, he was going to regret this.

Kaiden remained motionless, knowing my words were for one of my companions, while the mugger blinked in confusion.

Diego's amusement came through the link. "This should be entertaining. Go get him, little sister!"

"Woohoo!" She surged off my shoulder with a jump strong enough that I was forced to step back to keep my balance, even though I had braced myself.

The lad clumsily swiped at the airborne mist rabbit—something that I would have retaliated against if I thought he was even a partial threat to my companion—but Bree nimbly darted up the blade.

"You need to be quicker than that! I chase ants around all day long and keep up with the healers' requests at the same time! A shield? Really? More like a springboard! Wheee!"

The pint-sized rabbit bounced off the small arm shield and onto the wall, instantly pivoting to launch right back at him, hitting his chest so hard I heard ribs crack.

"Do you still call it armor if it can't even stop a rabbit?" she mused, continuing her mental commentary even though he couldn't hear anything she said.

Metal thumps echoed off the stone walls as she thoroughly dented the shield and metal bracers with powerful kicks more suited to a lightning zebra. The mugger tried to bat her away, but like everyone else in history, she was a mere memory by the time he moved.

"Yeah, she doesn't need any more speed potions," Diego said, laughing in my mind.

I grinned and crossed my arms as I waited for him to flee or for guards or a wandering Warrior to show up. Kaiden's eyes never left the man, ready to react at a moment's notice if need be. A few people passing by the alley stopped to watch, but being civilians, they kept their distance when they saw the unnaturally fast rabbit.

"Aah!" The man's hands flew to his rump.

Diego's words were barely understandable behind his laughter. "Sister dearest, that is the most unladylike place to bite."

"But it always gets their attention!"

"I guess that is one way to get him to drop his weapon..." he commented, his mirth still rolling across the link. "But you're going to need to chew some peppermint leaves when you come back."

She bounced between the walls on either side of the narrow alley, her speed overcoming gravity. "I already had some stockpiled just in case— Hey! Wait! Where are you going?!"

The man ran, leaving his sword on the ground, only to stumble into a guard who had been coming to check the commotion. The guard's hand locked onto the lad's arm, not about to let anyone flee the scene. By the time his eyes darted in our direction, Bree was innocently sitting on my shoulder.

His aura was that of a mid-ranking Warrior, and his uniform marked him as someone hired to keep the peace as opposed to another classed individual coming to break up a fight. 

After a quick discussion with eight witnesses—he'd started with the typical five, but checked with more to confirm the bizarre claims about the rabbit—the guard hauled the lad away and let us carry on.

As we walked down the street, I told Bree, "All right. You earned that speed potion, but no climbing the mountains tonight."

"Why not? It only took me an hour yesterday. And I even helped the scouts update their maps!"

"Superior speed potion for behaving, minor if you leave the camp."

She sighed. "Fine, I'll stay in the camp."

"Thanks."

Her ears perked up. "If I run laps until it wears off, do you think it might form a trench?"

"I'm not sure..."

The corner of Kaiden's lip twitched, fighting a smile at the half of the conversation he could hear.

"Awesome! I'll try it just to see if it works! If nothing else, it'll make the sentries question my sanity again!"

They wouldn't be the only ones.

"Hey! I heard that!"

I plucked her off my shoulder and squeezed the soft ball of fluff in a hug. "You know I love you. Besides, we both know you're hoping one of the Mages gets blamed for an illusion spell gone wrong."

She laughed across the link. "Yep! I can't wait!"

I grinned. Neither could I.

Her earlier plotting hadn't worked quite the way she had imagined, but the entertainment factor was worth a speed potion. It never hurt to have a fast rabbit around.

* * * * * * *

The full series with these characters will probably take 2 years to write (so, posting will begin in 2027). As I learned with Between The Crystals, which was just completed on Aug 15th, 2025, I'm not good at posting chapter-by-chapter as I write the story since plot holes and other problems start appearing that I'm too far along to fix. So I've decided to write it entirely offline first.

Thanks for reading, and have an awesome day!