"Well... have you seen the rabbits that live up here?" A slight smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

"The really c-c-colorful ones?" I bounce on my paws.

"Yeah. Too many eyes and a pair of antennae. Those."

"What a-about them?"

"Catch one, and I'll think about it."

"That's all? No hidden catches?" Phoenix narrows his eyes at the Midnight Wolf.

"Exactly as I said: catch one of the rabbits, and I'll think about it."

"And you'll actually consider it?" Phoenix's voice trembles ever so slightly.

"I will."

"D-do they go r-really quickly?" Imagine if I could really chase something. Something that can go even half as quickly as I can!

"Yeah, they do." A smile tugs at Arcane's mouth.

"Yay! I-I-I'll catch o-one!"

"You've got it, Clap?" Phoenix looks unsure.

"Y-yeah. 'Course I-I-I do; running i-is what I-I c-can do.?

It isn't hard to find one of the rabbit-like creatures; they're everywhere. The hard part is sneaking up on them. Their countless eyes don't miss a thing. I'm still a couple hundred feet away when they bolt yet again.

I eagerly give chase, accelerating in a few strides until I hear the clap sound. Whoah! The rabbits can keep up! My eyes never stray from my rabbit of choice, not even when it goes into a series of zigzags and sharp turns. My claws dig into the rock as I force myself faster. Come on, Clap! You've gotta catch the rabbit so Arcane can bring back Ky.

The rabbit suddenly slows for a fraction of a second to make a sudden U-turn. My tail swings out to the side as I follow the rabbit's path. I keep my gaze locked onto my prey; if I look away, even for a second, I'll lose sight of the rabbit.

My muscles burn. I've never run this much, never stayed going as fast as I can for more than a few seconds. Until now, that is.

I force myself to take longer and faster strides- the rabbit is so close that I can almost taste it, whatever the metaphor means. Brook told it to me once, though I never got it. Just before I can reach out and trip the rabbit, it disappears down its burrow. I slow my strides gradually; I can't just put on the brakes like I can on dirt unless I want to tear up my paw pads on the rock.

I could've sworn that burrow wasn't there a minute ago. I frown at the hole the rabbit had disappeared down.

I walk back to where Arcane, Brook, and the rest of the group are sitting. My sides heave for breath, and my legs feel like noodles. My heart pounds in my chest, beating at a million miles an hour.

"S-sorry..." My voice trails off as I pause for breath.

"You didn't catch a rabbit?" Phoenix frowns. His flames start to crackle.

"Y-yeah..."

"Why not?"

"T-... T—too... Too fast." The air burns in my throat with each breath.

"Too fast? I thought you could break the speed of sound."

"R-r-rabbits... Rabbits fast. T-too." I sit down.

I really shouldn't've run that fast. But then I wouldn't've caught the rabbit, though I didn't even catch it to begin with. Next time. I'll catch the rabbit next time. But I won't try again until I've had a bunch of time to recover. Next time, for sure.

"Clap? You alright, there?" Wolf is waving her hand in front of my eyes.

"S-sorry."

"What I was wondering, was how you didn't catch the rabbit. Rabbits can't run that fast." Phoenix glares at me, curling his lip.

"Th-this one... Was."

"How are the rabbits so fast up here? I've never seen any like that before." Dove looks at Arcane as he awaits an answer.

"Well," Arcane starts after a few moments, but I cut him off.

"Wh-why... is a. A c-c-constellation missing?" The constellations on Arcane's pelt are evenly spaced, but there's a gap in them now.

"Huh?"

"Th-that gap... Was-. Wasn't th-there before."

"Oh, there is a gap." Arcane looks at his right shoulder.

"What constellation is usually there?" Brook asks.

"Lepus."

"The rabbit," she murmurs.

"And you have now brought it to life?" Phoenix narrows his eyes.

"Well, yeah."

"So you told us, but more Clap since she's the fastest by far, to catch a rabbit you knew we wouldn't catch?"

"Uh. Yeah, that sounds about right." Arcane shrugs.

"So you knew when we made the deal that you'd consider bringing back Ky if we caught one of the rabbits that it would be impossible for us to catch one?"

"It wasn't impossible."

"The rabbit went d-down," I say, pausing for breath every few words. "A-a-a hold th-that a-appeared out-. Out of nowhere!"

"And that doesn't sound unfair? The deal was rigged from the start."

"Well, you agreed to it."

"You said it wasn't impossible," Brook starts. "How would it be possible?"

"Catch one- it isn't super complicated. All you have to do is catch one."

How are we supposed to catch one? I can run faster than the speed of sound, but I wasn't able to catch a rabbit. How can I catch a rabbit who I can't outrun?

"How d-do we... H-how do we catch one?" Maybe there's something he hasn't said yet?

"But where's the fun in telling you exactly how to do it? I think you can figure it out." Arcane smiles slightly. I rise to my paws and start to walk in a circle, pacing as I think.

"How are we supposed to catch a rabbit that you control?" Wolf crosses her arms across her chest. Dove looks expectantly at the Midnight Wolf, adopting the same pose as Wolf and raising an eyebrow.

"That's for you to figure out. I'll give you until midday, but come ask me if you think you can catch one. Your time starts now."

I watch, confused, as Arcane slowly pads away, red, bushy tail waving. "Ok. What the hell just happened?" Phoenix sends death glares to Arcane's retreating form.

"We've got a puzzle to figure out in about three or four hours, give or take."

"I know that, but what the hell! He's given us an impossible task! I'm gonna go find him-."

"And what?" Dove says, interrupting Phoenix. "And attack him? What is that going to accomplish, other than making him a hundred times less likely to bring back Ky? Arcane said the challenge isn't impossible, and we're going to trust him on that. Don't attack Arcane, Phoenix."

"Don't tell me what to do. If Clap can't outrun the rabbit, how are we supposed to catch one?"

"Set a trap?" Wolf offers.

"Or bribe them? Maybe with some grass or something?"

"I-I-I could try a-again."

"No. Don't do that, Clap. Something tells me we're not going to catch a rabbit by simply chasing it." Brook furrows her brows as she watches a few of the rabbits hop across the rock as they search for food, seemingly oblivious to our presence. I want to go and chase them; I've never found anyone or anything who can run as fast as I can, though I haven't met many people.

But I think Brook is right. I don't think we'll be able to catch the rabbits by speed and running straight after to them- that's too easy. But if it isn't that, then what is it? How do we catch a rabbit? That seems like a dumb question. Oh, well, whatever. It's true, though; we need to catch a rabbit so Arcane will bring back Ky.

I watch the sun creep higher and higher in the sky. With each passing second, Phoenix grows more and more angry. His flames blaze.

"It's been who knows how long and we still haven't figured anything out! Ideas. Who's got any ideas?" He looks to each of us in turn.

"I-I'm working on a-an i-idea, but I haven't figured o-out everything a-a-all the way." I shrug my shoulders.

"Let's hear it. Spit it out, Clap. We don't have much more time."

"We've still got, eh, a-another hour or so. Anyways, i-it's not a-a-all the way figured out. G-give me a-a bit more time."

"We don't have time!"

"There's s-still a-an hour. That's time."

"Phoenix, before you speak, take a deep breath and calm down. We will figure out how to bring back Ky," Dove murmurs.

"Don't tell me what do!"

"Phoenix, freaking out now isn't going to help things. Please stay calm." Phoenix mutters something in reply that I can't quite make out, but I'm about ninety percent sure it's a curse.

Another half-hour has passed by. A myriad of ideas have been passed around, ranging from setting an elaborate trap to simply fighting Arcane until he agrees to bring back Ky, the last one, of course, being Phoenix's idea. I pace back and forth, my mind scouring for any hint Arcane might've given us, but I don't come across anything.

Come ask me if you think you can catch one? Isn't that what he said? Come ask me... Come ask me, come ask me, come ask me. Wait. That's it!

"Yes!" I leap into the air before digging my claws into the ground as I leap forward to find Arcane.

"What is it?" Phoenix blocks my path.

Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying The King's Remorse! There are only a few more chapters left in Clap's section, Unknown. 

Are there any guesses as to who will narrate the next section?

So Arcane's willing to consider reviving Ky, provided someone in the group can catch one of the rabbits, or, more specifically, Lepus. Will he?

Or, more importantly, will someone catch Lepus?

What's Clap's idea?

-Werewolf14-