While taking a break from his duties, a rabbit knight finds himself in a chance encounter with an indigenous, tribal wolf. Will they fight or will they get along?

Rabbit Knight

Krimson whistles to himself while cleaning off his weapons and knight outfit. Years of fighting and years of wear and tear has left the rabbit’s outfit dirty, so the rabbit is just taking a hiatus for now until he returns back to his regular role as a knight. Wearing only a loincloth around his waist, Krimson still has his sword, though he is currently cleaning it.

The off-duty rabbit knight is occupied with himself when he suddenly senses movement nearby. Though he has no cover, he still has his fighting spirit, and the rabbit grips his sword, whirling around to confront the mysterious stranger, “Alright, come on out! Who's there?!”

Krimson is met by the sight of a tribal brown wolf who raises both of his hands up to show he is unarmed. With a smirk, the wolf whispers, “Take it easy, pal. I'm just passing through.”

“You better be. Otherwise I'll turn you into dog chow!” Though Krimson is still somewhat untrustworthy of this wolf stranger, the rabbit does not let his guard down. But the indigenous wolf isn't easily fooled either, nor is he backing down. The wolf simply states, “You're a feisty one, aren't ya?

Chuckling with his hands still raised, the wolf further comments, “I halfway expected to die on my way back but I never pictured my ending coming like this - so swift and sudden! And from an unlikely source too! You must really enjoy your role as protector, sir!”

Krimson points his sword at the wolf in declaration, “I will cherish my position as knight until the day I die!! Now tell me, wolf! What are you doing out here??”

“Heading back to my village! I already told you I'm heading back to my territory, so there's nothing to fear!” The brown wolf reminded Krimson of his reason for his own travel. At first, the red-eyed rabbit knight doesn't budge, but after some brainstorming, the knight agrees to let the wolf proceed. Krimson lowers his sword and secures it back in his sheath, granting the wolf the green light. “Very well, you may proceed on your way. However…”

The wolf turns to leave when his ears fly up to Krimson’s acknowledgement, “However what?”

The rabbit elaborates, “One condition - bring me with you so I can meet this tribe of yours. Capiche?”

The wolf waves for him to come along and follow, claiming, “This may be an important matter you can discuss with the tribal chief. Only he has the last word in this matter. By the way, who are you, really?”

“My name is Krimson - Krimson Snow!” The rabbit replied, “And you are??”

“Benny Rialto, warrior of the Red Rock wolf tribe.” Benny resounded.

“A tribal warrior, huh?” Krimson smirked, “How good are you at fighting?”

“Hand-to-hand and swords are my specialty.” Benny replied matter-of-factly. In fact, the brown wolf is confident in his own fighting ability.

Krimson draws his sword in a taunting gesture, challenging the wolf to a potential swordfight. “Why don't we see how good you do, then? After all, a knight and a warrior are in the same light. We shall make this mark in history!”

“Bring it on!” Benny draws his own sword, confidently accepting the challenge. “I'm always up for a challenge!”

The two begin clashing in practice, trying to gain the upper hand over the other in a quick decisive victory.

With their different fighting styles, one side is sure to win - while Krimson’s attacks are calculated, Benny is far more aggressive. But seconds into the fight, Krimson lands a swift jab to Benny's lower abdomen, having noticed an opening in the wolf’s line of defense.

Benny grunts in pain and covers his lower abs instinctively after being poked by Krimson’s sword. It is only a minor jab with no serious injury. When Krimson notices, Benny stops the rabbit to assure him, “I’ll be fine; I've been through worse.”

“Haven't we all?” Krimson retorted. “Even I have the scars to prove it all.”

It is no strange situation to Benny. In fact, the wolf casually points out all the scars lining the white rabbit’s body. “Yeah, I can see that. You must have done a lot of fighting to acquire those scars.”

“I’ve had my fair share of fights, but not too many.” Krimson follows Benny while recalling his reason for the scars throughout his body. Though he hasn't been in too many fights himself, the aftermath is proof enough. For Benny, however, the flesh wound inflicted to him just now will be covered over once it heals. He should have no problem moving at all.

~~~~~

After a brief journey to the territory, Benny leads Crimson to the chieftain for them to meet and have his blessing and permission to explore and stay around. It is only going to be for a brief while. Once they were seen by the tribal chief, Krimson was granted access to freely roam the land. From there, Benny leads Krimson to his own tent, allowing Krimson to camp with him as a guest for the time being.

After settling down in Benny's tent, Krimson reviews the practice fight they had, recalling with a giggle, “Man, that was a short fight; but it was fun, though!”

“I agree, though I could have done better.” Benny chuckled in reply. The wolf instinctively covers the mark on his lower abs, though he still smiles brightly and remarks, “No one can ever go up against a knight of royalty. Who would know anyway?”

“You're one of the only talented types I’ve met that are actually good with swords.” Krimson observed. The rabbit sneaks a quick peek outside of Benny's tent and whispers to the brown wolf, “By the way, are you the only one who's a warrior in your tribe?”

Benny shakes his head, “Nope. There are other wolves in the tribe that are warriors, but we all share a part in daily activities such as hunting, gathering, and scouting.”

The rabbit knight whistles in amazement at learning this. He chuckles and remarks, “Obviously, Benny, you are a very fortunate wolf to have supporters backing you up. I'm the only one in my class who's actually decent. Sure there are other knights working the same field as me, but they slack off most of the time.” Seeing the inquisitive look on Benny's face, Krimson elaborates, “Positively, I'm 85% sure that I’m alone in the field, but hey, what do you expect when you’re appreciated more by your superiors rather than your colleagues in arms?”

The explanation makes Benny squirm a bit. Turning apprehensive, the wolf claims, “Wouldn't that make you hated more? What if your partners end up jealous and want to kill you?”

Raising his hands, Krimson shakes his head knowingly and confidently. He then speaks boldly, claiming, “If that's the case, why did they become knights if jealousy was to take root? Should’ve taken a different trade!”

The once apprehensive wolf turns forlorn with his ears folding flat. Exhaling deeply, Benny later admits, “Sadly, that's all too common; we are not exempt from that ourselves. Our chief has even exiled other wolves for reasons pertaining to jealousy, the main reasons being power and an inflated ego.”

“Yeah Benny, I know how you feel in that regard.” Krimson reaches out to pet the wolf on his head between his ears in consolation. While this relaxes Benny, the rabbit knight further relates, “And it hurts too because you're forced to fight the very same people who are supposed to be on your side! You see I lost part of my ear in one of those fights!”

Pointing to his partial ear, Keimson indicates the still-intact ear. This makes Benny squirm again and whisper, “Not fun. Betrayal is never fun.”

“Yeah, tell me about it…” Krimson merely rolls his eyes on the subject when he suddenly changes topics to move on, “So, about your tribe, Benny, I would like to meet the rest of them. And maybe we could have another practice fight - this time unarmed combat.”

Benny laughs, “I may not be the strongest of the tribe but I can hold my own! You're on!”

~~~~~

Krimson Snow belongs to Sophia E. Carrots from Discord; Benny Rialto belongs to me!