[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/dIXIuEs.png[/img]

[color=ade81b]”Why couldn't the octopus join the navy? He was too army! Hah! I crack myself up!”[/color]

[color=888888]— Betty “Biohazard” Barton[/color]
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/SYLaJgW.png[/img]

[color=cfff04]"Our text colors are actually different.”[/color]

[color=888888]— Tonya “Mac” Murphy[/color]

[hider=Tonya “Mac” Murphy]
[b]Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity
Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Moirai
Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Overcity Shift, Mystic Artifact

Magical Overload, Paragon, Blessing, Gifted Item | Monster Form, Big Brother, Arrogance, Vendetta
Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer[/b]

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 |  VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03
+46
STR: 21 | AGI: 21 |  VIT: 21 | MAG: 20 | LCK: 20

Earnings this post: Harebringer = pet, 1 Gold

Remaining: 7 Gold, 28 Silver, 38 Bronze 
Total: 11 Gold, 160 Silver, 182 Bronze
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Betty was on the hunt, ready to pet a Harebringer no matter the cost. Soon enough, she found herself at a small hill ringed by trees, which she found suspicious due to an oddity with the place; it was completely swarming with Snowbuns. There were Snowbuns sliding down the hill, Snowbuns climbing up, Snowbuns shaking tree branches, stacked like totems or even sleeping in little bundles. Some kind of phenomenon was drawing all these Snowbuns here. Then, Betty saw a glimpse of the Harebringer at the top of the hill; it was white like the other Snowbuns, but it wore a bunny-themed army helmet with a playing card sticking out of it. Based on its chittering at a row of three Snowbuns with goofy oversized helmets before it, it seemed to be talking to them, or perhaps even lecturing them.

The Cradle agent’s past woes, from Justine to her breakdown to the Lord of Change’s trick were all out of her mind. right now it was all about her petting one of those harebringers.

She was hiding behind a tree, hoping her pale skin and white hair would help hide her position. Betty had initially planned on a stealthy approach, but the terrain made that hard. It was hard to cover your tracks in snow, which also made a crunching sound when you stepped on it unless you were a snowbun. The trees were a better option, but they were also covered in snow, and  so much as a snapping twig could alert everyone to her position. It wouldn’t be as simple as just walking up behind the harebringer and petting them. They were even wearing a helmet, which likely had to be removed before she could brush her fingers across its plush scalp. 

But the commando inspired helmet did give Betty an idea. Doing things the stealthy way wasn’t entirely out of the question. Instead of being a ghost, she could use guerrila tactics to get closer to the harebringer that way. All of her bladed weapons had turned into candy canes of varying lengths. They were the perfect tools for pulling critters towards herself. She didn’t have to sneak past an army of snowbuns, she just needed to get close enough to them  so that she could take them out, then move on to the commando harebringer before they became too suspicious.

Betty took to the trees. Some snow might fall from the branches, but the trunk of a tree was really the best way to hide her red and black suit. She had rubbed some snow on it, but it wasn’t quite the same as rolling in mud in vietnam. She was ready.

A snowbun had slid down the hill and was getting ready to head back up when a candy cane reached out from the evergreens and yanked it into the branches. 

Another one decided to shake a tree for pine cones, only to have a pile of snow fall onto it’s head. Soon it too was scooped up by a candy cane and pulled into the trees. 

A pile of sleeping snowbuns was sleeping a bit too close to the treeline. One at a time, they were pulled into the greenery when there were no eyes to watch them.

Not even the totems were safe. The bottom one would get yanked into the trees, and the falling snowbuns would get collected by candy canes held in place by wind magic.

Betty was picking off the snowbuns one at a time. Giving them a pet and returning them to the petting zoo. she planned to do this until she had thinned them out enough to where she could climb the hill without being noticed.

Of course, Betty [i]was[/i] being noticed. But that was only because Mac had followed her here. While Betty was being careful, stealth wasn't really her forte. So why not give her a hand with some illusion magic? It was the least she could do for someone as broken as she was right now.

Like a legendary reptilian soldier, Betty solidly snaked her way through Snowbun after Snowbun, the oblivious little creatures having been stealthily taken out by tactical petting action.
As Snowbuns came down the hill to investigate the disappearance of their fellow comrades, even more of them were petted, until only the Harebringer and his trusted soldiers remained.
Luckily, the general himself was too distracted by his chittering to notice the growing silence on the hill, allowing Betty the chance to climb up the hill. However, Betty happened to accidentally step on a twig hidden underneath the snowy coating of the hill; the Harebringer was prepared for sneaking hunters. He turned to see Betty approach, surprised by the disappearance of his fluffy troops.

Betty froze in place. Her eyes flicked between the harebringer and her foot. It was always a bit disappointing when your 100% stealth run was forfeit by something so small, doubly so when you’re supposed to be a Cradle agent. Today it was just a twig, but what if it had been a pitfall trap? What if it had been a snare that did something humiliating like hang her upside down from a tree? What if the snare also reverted her back to human form, and suppressed all of her magical powers so that she couldn’t escape? What if the harebringers had a recipe for Betty stew, and had a spit set up so that they could grill her? What if they were so barbaric that they’d just eat her alive? What if this was all a clever ruse Justine worked out with Dan to have her removed so that Maura could be taken off the map? Clearly, Betty’s screw up was unforgivable, and she’d reprimand herself for it later. Even if the idea of a bunch of snowbuns nibbling her was kind of cute, it was still bad! 

Mac on the other hand knew the twig was an illusion she herself had placed there. She wanted to help Betty as much as the next person, but without a little bit of chase, this hunt would be rather stale. 

Betty steeled herself, preparing for a split second change of plans. She held her candy cane over her shoulder like a batter and attempted to teleport right beside the harebringer. With any luck, she’d knock the helmet off of his head.

For the briefest moment, the Harebringer and Betty exchanged looks, the military-themed Snowbun visibly impressed by Betty’s skills. However, he was not going to be petted without a fight. The moment he chittered a command to his soldier buns, Betty made her move; she teleported up to the Harebringer in a motion similar to punting the round creature as if it was an oversized golf ball. To her surprise, that exactly happened, though it wasn’t her goal, as she aimed to knock a helmet off. Instead, a soldier bun leapt in the way, sacrificing themselves with a teary look as it flew far to the distance, blinking like a star in the sky.

Betty’s eyes traced the snowbun through the sky. Her jaw hung lower and lower until the snow bun vanished from sight. The Cradle agent finally looked away, feeling nothing but regret for what had happened. She’d have to see if she could find that snow bun later. But for now she had to avoid thinking about the horrors of war so that she could complete her mission. Her eyes became intense when she refocused them on the harebringer.

Mac knew this would be good, and was glad she kept her distance.

Now left to two soldier buns, the Harebringer’s eyebrows furrowed, and a magic circle formed vertically around him; suddenly, a wave of Snowbuns crashed through the portal, piling up like a stream of Cocoa Puffs in a cereal bowl, overflowing to the rest of the hill and knocking Betty back about one-third down the hill. That was when Betty realized what the lagomorph leader had in mind; the Snowbuns began to stick together in a single shape, forming a giant bipedal humanoid construct made entirely out of the fluffy creatures. The two soldier buns popped out of the shoulders of the mecha-like combination, in control of the arm Snowbuns, while the Harebringer’s face popped out of the center of the chest and was in control of the legs. With a chittering command, the soldier bun on the right prepared to slam a massive fluffy fist down at Betty, while the soldier bun on the left pointed a cannon arm at her, shooting a scattershot of Snowbuns. Mac now wished that she had picked a spot behind the treeline. She laid on her back and allowed the plush bodies of the snowbuns pass over her. Some of their ultra-soft bodies smacked into her, but it wouldn't have any lasting effects on the former police officer.

Betty had just managed to stand up again when the, hmm, she needed a name for it. Snowbun Prime would have been okay, but the way the harebringer and their soldiers were working together, it was more reminiscent of the megazord from the Power Rangers. Yes, this was the Snowbun Megazord! No, that was still too long. It wasn’t entirely correct but maybe she could call it the Snowazord? Yes! Now that was a name that embodied the ferocious cuteness of the adorable monstrosity in front of-

Betty dodged the shot of Snowbuns that bounced on the snow, and managed to side step the snowazord’s fist just moments before it crashed on top of her. The entire arm compressed like jello from the impact, and the impact kicked up snow onto her. Betty ignored the snow for now and used the opportunity to jump onto the arm and scale it up to the shoulder. The arm’s fluffy, gelatin-like nature meant that she had to be on her toes to avoid getting struck by flying snowbuns. With any luck, she’d be able to pet the soldier controlling the arm.

The shoulder Snowbun’s helmet dropped off after the impact of the punch shook the Snowazord, leaving the little lagomorph vulnerable to a sudden petting thanks to Betty running up the arm of the ridiculous mech and plucking the Snowbun out of the white mass.
The Harebringer seemed to realize that a giant mecha was unsuited in a fight against one as agile as Betty was, and chittered again; now, the mass of Snowbuns bounced Betty off, and transformed into a sphere of Snowbuns, before it flattened into a pool of the creatures. That was when Betty realized the general’s helmet flew into the snow next to her; it had now blended in with the mass of Snowbuns thanks to its white fur. The mass of fluff now slowly began to hop around in an attempt to overwhelm Betty.

it was fortunate that the snow was so soft, because being thrown repeatedly from any hight was sure to rattle her poor brain at some point. And having a working brain was something she felt like she’d need, especially with the absolutely ludicrous number of snow buns hopping around. Maybe it was too late. She had no idea what she was going to do. Panic started to set in as she was unsure how to deal with the problem. She wasn’t a snowbunologist. Neither was Mac. In fact, mac was at a loss for words as to how to deal with something like this. It wasn't like her third eye could pick a harebringer out of a crowd of snowbuns. But Betty wasn't dettered. She was a Cradle agent, and steeled herself again.

The Cradle agent picked up the helmet and wiped the snow off of it. She then placed it on her head. it was a little big, but she felt like it it was bestowing some of the harebringer’s power on her (it wasn't, actually). She flexed her fingers and prepared to charge into the pile of snowbuns. But then she had a random thought: had the harebringer abandoned his helmet? a pool of snowbuns was intimidating, but couldn’t she just pet them all? 

Before she did anything else, Betty stomped, and a gust of wind blew away from her in all directions, scattering the snow in the immediate vicinity. She had come too far to let the harebringer escape now.

The sudden strong breeze caused the tide of Snowbuns to part, like Moses parting the seas.
Chittering noises accompanied the spectacle, as surprised Snowbuns reacted to being thrown around. That's when Betty spotted a Waldo in the crowd; one of the Snowbuns did not chitter or even blink as the wind swept them.

The genuine article? A ruse? Betty wasn’t sure. There was still a soldier unaccounted for, but she didn’t have time to second guess herself. She focused her mana, and with a quick hop, teleported to the snowbun’s position to stroke the rascal’s head.

Betty succeeded in running her fingers through the creature’s warm, fluffy fur...That seemed to stick. In fact, she couldn’t remove her hand from the Snowbun, who now blinked, as if confused by what was happening. She realized that it was the last soldier bun, and he was enchanted by the Harebringer to have adhesive fur. That is also when Betty felt something round and fluffy slam into her back, and turned to see the Harebringer; he was visibly furious, with furrowed eyebrows, frowning mouth, and a red aura that glowed around him.

After the first slam, Betty noticed something strange pop up in the upper right corner of her vision: a bar had appeared titled “STAMINA”, which had been depleted one-fifth after the slam.
Betty noticed that she was beginning to get a bit hungry. The Harebringer slammed again, and that feeling of hunger grew stronger, weakening her; the Harebringer’s final tactic was to reduce her STAMINA to zero and knock her out.

Mac was powerless to do anything. She could resolve the situation easily, but not without giving away her possition. Betty needed to do something if she wanted any help.

Betty whimpered. It took the harebringer a moment to find a tactic to subdue a slippery opponent like her, but they finally did it. Her impressive agility meant nothing with her hand pinned in place, and she wasn’t going to just blink away after blinking towards the snowbun soldier. Since just her hand was stuck, she could orientate herself differently, but as long as she was stuck to [i]this[/i] snowbun, could she expect to pet the harebringer? Her mind immediately flashed to the rave, a moment she could barely remember. She felt just as vulnerable now as she was then. Betty braced herself as the harebringer struck her a third time. This could be the end. Or at least it would be if the harebringer hadn’t underestimated her determination. 

Betty’s weapons had all become candy canes, which made cutting through her arm impossible. But she was still able to break her humerus with a single swing. She winced in pain, but had already committed herself to winning at all costs. She gave the harebringer an equally furious glare over her shoulder. Between the last three strikes, Betty had worked out the tempo of the harebringer’s attacks. As the harebringer drew closer, she hopped over the soldier in front of her. She couldn’t go very far, as her hand was still stuck to the head of the soldier bunny, but the sticky snowbun was now between the harebringer and herself. If the soldier didn’t stop the harebringer, what happened next most certainly would.

Betty bit through her bicep while pulling away from her trapped arm. She didn’t have Trixy’s bite, but did have enough strength to tear the rest of her body free. A spray of crimson soaked the harebringer and the soldier. With her determination to win and pain overriding all of her other senses, Betty let out a war cry and Rushed towards the harebringer.

To give it a gentle pet.

The Harebringer expected Betty to jump and avoid its attack, and dodged to the side of the soldier bun, who by now had realized it did not want to be in this precarious position, and began to wiggle in an attempt to break free of Betty’s hand.
The Harebringer dashed hopped to the side of the soldier bun, ready to give one last hard slam to end Betty’s hunt, when something happened even the battle-hardened ball of fluff couldn’t have seen coming; blood. The Harebringer turned away to avoid being blinded by the spray, but when he turned it was already too late: Betty’s hand now rested atop him. At that moment, the Harebringer turned docile, and removed the spells he had made on the soldier bun and the other Snowbuns. Then, it slumped down, partially flattening like a pancake as it now closed its eyes, exhausted from the intense battle.

With a sigh, Betty turned around and fell backwards onto the resting harebringer. She didn’t need a stamina gauge to tell her that her body had been pushed to its limits. She reached for her dismembered arm and shoved it onto her stump. Fortunately, Betty always kept her healing artifact on her person. the tiny lantern’s glow went to work mending her arm back together. Even for a cradle artifact, a severed limb was something that would take time to heal. But the pain was starting to subside as bone and flesh knit themselves together again. Her breathing slowed, and the frenzied look in her eyes softened. It was fortunate she had chosen to wear a lot of red, as Betty wasn’t sure if her healing magic would clean her outfit. She doubted it would.

While her arm healed, she removed the army helmet she had borrowed from the harebringer commando and placed it back on his head. It was a difficult chase, and she wasn’t entirely satisfied with how all of her choices played out. But in the end, her willingness to use desperate tactics enabled her to triumph over her opponent.  But with the operation completed, her mind drifted to other things. Maura, Justine, the friend raffle. She found her breathing started to accelerate again.

But wait, the opperation wasn’t over.

She had sent all but 1 soldier to the zoo. Even if this was an intense game of tag, surely swatting a snowbun into the stratosphere was overkill. Betty felt a strange kinship with the soldier. She too had been seperated from her group for a time, and the idea that such a noble creature was still out there didn’t sit right with her. 

Her arm still ached, but that didn’t stop Betty from pushing herself to her feet. She vaguely remembered which direction she had swatted the soldier in. Perhapse if she kept walking in that direction, she could find and pet it.

...

Mac breathed.

She too petted the rabbit before departing. As stressful as the situation was for Betty, Mac was also concerned for her in that moment. All that blood and work to touch a bunny. Mac could almost drink after watching that spectacle. 

Though she also understood Betty's struggle. That desire to be accepted by others. 

In a way, Mac had it easy. She didn't need to care what anyone wanted, but that was because her parents showered her with love. It was also somewhat flattering to be chosen by fate to save other worlds. Fate itself felt like she was important enough to carry out its tasks. Though Mac also felt like she could learn something from Betty. Seeing how far she was willing to go for her faction was inspiring. That wasn't something Mac could do, and she knew it. Recently at least, she hadn't been too good at her job. At least as far as making fate happen that was. Even if Betty was a little screwy and vulnerable, her effort was something to learn from.

What a wonderful holiday. How many more interesting characters would she encounter?