Chapter 182: Soft as They Came

"Who?" Rachel instantly asked, causing the man to rub between his eyes.

"Who?" he repeated. "Only Taranis, the Irish god of thunder... I don’t want to accept it without learning a bit more about the real him. This may be asking a bit much, but I heard Scarlet and Nia talking about your mom being able to talk to them. I wanted to first ask to see if you were cool with that before approaching her."

Internally flicking her outfit’s ear, she caused the surprised bunny to trip and slide across the floor.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" she yelled across the room. "Sabotage!"

She met the huffy bun’s glare as Scarlet helped her up.

Try not to talk about sensitive topics when other people are around listening, maybe?

"Oh..." Nia’s face scrunched up into a pout as the others glanced between them. "Well, you didn’t have to flick my ear. I didn’t do nothing bad on purpose. I’m a good bunny. Humph."

Letting her sulk and get back to her game, Rachel leaned against the back bleachers, keeping her eyes on their group, Selvaria and Coral joining Alexa, her brother, and Barbara in their game of PIG.

"To be honest, I haven’t seen my mom use her powers... I’ll run it by her after I get back from my dinner date with Arthur."

Anthony showed a half-smile as he nudged her with his muscular arm, causing a jealous twitch to hit her ears. "Going after a married man, hmm, and one more than three times your age? I guess you need to get your tail from somewhere."

"Shut up," she chuckled, hitting him back and enjoying a more friendly atmosphere with someone more like her; between Barbara and Anthony, she was finding a lot of stress relief in hanging around people with similar interests. "You’re going to have to show me how to use my hammer when we go on the next Quest."

"Really?" He gave her a sidelong look. "You know I’m a spear and sword man. I don’t have expertise with hammers, and I doubt you’d find many masters nearby to learn from. Like I said, I think you should just pick up a Hammer Expertise Feat if one shows up."

"Sure... You can help me with weapon basics, though, so stop stalling. You just don’t want me on the Quest," she shot back with a sigh. "I’m telling you, give me a few days, and I’ll be good."

"So long as you can prove it to me." Anthony got to his feet and stretched out, showing phenomenal flexibility for his size. "I’ve got to pick up some sweets and a get-well card for my girl to make her smile. You heading back to get ready for the dinner date?"

Rachel jabbed a thumb at her focused bun, who was trying to make three-point shots without much success, Scarlet acting as her cheerleader. "When I have Nia, I can be ready with the snap of a finger. She’s amazing. So, no, I’ll be doing other things. You go do your cute shopping trip for your girl. I’m sure it will brighten her day."

"Send me a text," he said, referencing the meeting with her mother before bumping fists and exiting through the locker room. "Later, guys!"

Everyone turned to wave him off, Barbara confirming another meet-up tomorrow before their flight to Miami for the funeral. Rachel’s attention was snatched by her phone, Maria’s number lighting up the screen. She answered it while watching Nia jump up and down at getting her first three-pointer.

"Yo, what’s up? You get my message?"

Maria’s agitated voice met her, still at the airport, by the sounds of the crowd. "Aye, what kind of chica estúpida takes money from Ballesteros’ boys; your gata want to be pimped out on the block? Gah."

"Deep breaths," Fiona soothed from beside her. "You know how desperate she sounded. She didn’t have anyone to help her, and she couldn’t get ahold of her family... It’s hard right now."

"Bah." The unicorn released a long stream of air. "I get you relate, Fi, but it’s not easy, ya know? There’s a lot of shit happening between Ballesteros and the other gangs in the area. They’re tightening down funds for what looks like a war. Look, Liebre Lunar, I sent Felix and Elena to pick her up in my whip; we’ll sort the shit out when we get there tomorrow. Damn, I’m tired."

Not even waiting for her to answer, the white-haired gangster hung up, making Rachel smile. She figured Maria couldn’t turn down a person in need; despite her tough exterior, she was as soft as they came.

Her lips fell open upon seeing the message from Arthur that had come in while they were playing. He’d moved up their meeting by an hour, and surprisingly, Tom would be joining them; they needed to leave soon if they were going to make it.

Doing one last stretch, she let Nia know they were going to be heading out soon. It was time to see what Arthur and the good general were up to; Merlin had provided the dignitary with a charm that protected their conversations from being overheard whenever they were together.

She expected the Montana incident to come up since its glow had steadily increased over the past two weeks; it was probably going to open soon, and she wasn’t a hundred percent yet. That all could change tonight, though, and Anthony’s request gave her the excuse to see if her mother could bridge the gap between her two powerful lunar bunny Soul Items. She needed the Positive Energy they could provide.

Bidding everyone farewell, they went outside. Nia changed her into their semi-formal purple skirt and white blouse outfit before saluting her and transforming into her adult counterpart. Nia chose a dress of a similar color, yet a strikingly opposite style, to provide a contrast as the limousine pulled up to take her to the appointment. This was obviously something the bunny had picked for herself to wear, as Rachel couldn’t see herself in such attire.

Nia’s cautious eyes darted to her as it stopped, the driver exiting to open the door for them. "You don’t think Relica is going to make a surprise appearance?"

I highly doubt it, Rachel returned through their private connection, slipping into the seat and smoothing out her skirt, but if she is... then it may get a little heated. Something big is happening, though, and they’ve kept it secret. We’ll know soon enough.

The door shut, and they pulled away from the curb.