Bun-Bun Race

Off to the Bun-Bun Races!

Landers certainly have some strange customs. During the spring, many people gather together to race their Bun-Buns! However, this is no ordinary race. It isn't just about speed, but also about the skill of the handler. At various points along the track, a series of challenges have been set up. Some are mundane, while others seem downright dangerous.

There is a feeling of excitement in the air. Old and young gather with their Bun-Buns in small cages, preparing them at the starting line. A young-looking Adventurer, dressed in bard clothing, seems to be acting as the MC for the event. Those who have done the Rat Cellar quest may just recognize her as the infamous 'Rat Bard'. However, Sozoku Nezumi seems to be bouncing with glee at the prospect of seeing the Bun-Buns race.

"Hello everyone!" Her squeaky voice calls out as she waves frantically. "Let's everyone get your Bun-Buns to the starting line! We're going to start soon!" It seems that she was supposed to turn the magical microphone off at that point, but she forgets so what comes afterwards is a high-pitched squeal, "EEEEEE THEY ARE SO CUUUUTE!!! Ooops." *CLICK*

Goldenblade will head over to the starting line. Festivals and traditions are a big thing, so here she is taking part in this one. She can't quite muster the excitement the kids are, but the bunbun she's selected is cute, white and brown with a gray patch on the ear. She's named it Grayhound as a sort of good luck wish. "C'mon, Grayhound, it's time for you to prove your stuff." What's going through her mind, though, is a riff off an old rhyme:

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
Bunbuns that lose
get made into stew.

Between the busy last week, and the looming tough times ahead, Shiruba needs something to unwind and relax a bit. Fortunately, the Landers are still having their seasonal festival, so that's the perfect time to do so.

"Come on!" Shiruba is making her way to the starting line, bun-bun cradled in one arm while she's using the other to drag her best friend and surrogate sister figure behind her. "I need a break, and so do you." Did you know having to pull that bow string all the time made her pretty strong? No? Neither did Gwen, by how surprising it was for the wolfgirl to actually succeed in dragging her out of the shop.

No matter what world he might find them in, Prophylaxis will always think bunnies and bunny-shaped things are adorable. There's a reason that he named his in-game brand 'White Rabbit Pharmaceuticals' after all! It's not just because of certain moon bunnies, though they might also play a role in his affefction for the little hoppity animals.

And so, as part of this celebration of cute bunnies, the good doctor has switched out his usual mushroom hat for... A rabbit-eared hood!? "You'll do fine, Usaginsuke," Prophylaxis whispers to the little bunny in his arms from near the starting line. The bun bun's nose twitches... smugly!? Can rabbits be smug? Apparently this rabbit is smug. Or at least, putting on the air of being smug.

Perhaps it has all the confidence in the world of its ability to win. Perhaps... pride shall go before the fall...

Gwen has been pulled away from her work, she was not happy about it, yet here she is. There really isn't much she can do about it. Given Uther and Morri conspired with Shiruba to get Gwen away from her project. She'd been dragged out the door, rather comically so. She was cheering up as she followed after Shiruba for a moment. She was also not expecting her wolf girl 'little sister' to be the one dragging her along like this.

"When did you get this strong?!"

    Merek was coming to assist with the bun bun which he was deciding upon, then nods a bit to it, finding the place at the line. He does pet the bun bun while he waits, then nods to the people, "Will be fun!"

    She can't just name it Bunny. Well, she can but that's unoriginal. ...Wis Jr.? Ehh, she shouldn't get so attached. Jazz? People might think she named it after Jazuhanzu. Frank? Sure, it's as good as anything. Although perhaps Donnie Darko is a bit dark of a reference to make. Wait! The moment she decides on that, she realizes a better name: Blueberry! After the smartest rabbit.

    Never mind that the rabbit in the book was named Blackberry, it's been years and it's not like she can look it up.

    Mizuki has obtained a black bunbun for the race; as with the peko race, she chose one billed as especially obedient and easy to handle. She cuddles it a lot more than she did the peko. But once it's almost time for the race, she puts it back in its cage and positions it at the starting line.

    She looks over the other handlers with a smile and waves. It's a bun-bun race, how can you not smile? Whether your bunny wins or loses, it will do so /adorably/!

    "GUUUUUUTTTS!"

    Yuuki holds the bun-bun up to her face, staring into its eyes firmly as she tries to psyche it up. The bun-bun stares back obliviously, a jagged scar over one of its eyes. It makes the bun look like it has Attitude with a capital A. One reason Yuuki chose it.

    Yuuki puts her bun down on the starting line, "Okay, Flash. Remember what we talked about. Just go fast! Speed is everything. Trust me!" Yuuki moves away to take her spot observing.

    But Yuuki does turn around to flash Flash a thumbs up, "You've got this, little guy!"

Challenge #1: The Starting Gates

Everyone begins to gather near the starting gates. Bun-Buns in a variety of colors all seem to sit in their little boxes, waiting for the start of the race. Some hop in circles, others scratch at their ears, and yet others are gnawing at the bars ready to run. Colorful numbers have been painted on the backs of each Bun-Bun to make them stand out to the audience.

The handlers are ushered into an area just beside the track, where they can run along side their pets. This likely won't be as easy as simply releasing them and hoping for the best. This type of race requires communication and skill by both animal and handler.

"Oh, are we back? Ready? Yay!" Sozuku clears her throat, "Let's have a good race everyone! On your marks, get set... 1-2-3 GO!" A bang sounds nearby, announcing the start of the race.

Out of the gate, the Bun-Buns don't all seem to know exactly where they should go. Some stay in their cages, while others seem to mill about. It seems that it might take some commands and encouragement by the handlers to get them going.

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Roll: +roll Handle Animal (with card) vs 10
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    "I'm sorry, Ma'm. I, Mr. Clerkman, am regretful to inform you that you have joined too late."

    "But I was busy saving a caravan from a monster ambush!", Uta exclaims as she slams her palms on the paperwork-covered table of the racing official. "Rescuing it from wasabi golems! Keeping the dire weasels off the shipment of fireworks! Do you have any idea of what kind of cataclysm would have been unleashed upon this venue, hadn't I arrived /just slightly/ late at this race?"

    "I am sorry, Ma'm. I, Mr. Clerkman, am regretful to inform you that you have joined too late."

    This time Uta downright *punches* the table. "Can you even imagine what horrors these eyes have seen? The screams these ears have heard?" She leans over, her face almost pushing against Mr.Clerkman's as her nostrils flare and her eyes bulge. "The inferno this nose has braved?" She points at the relevant part of her face with a trembling finger, as if to underline her outburst.

    "...Nose?", asks a puzzled Mr. Clerkman.

    "Wasabi. GOLEMS!", Uta almost screams, each word stressed by a punch slamming on the wooden surface of the table.

    "I am sorry, Ma'm. I, Mr. Clerkman-"

    "Ah, forget it..." Uta sighs, and as she turns to go away, she pulls up a fluffy creature she has in a satchel next to her. It's an adorably tiny rabbit with huge adorable eyes, which someone has somehow stuffed in a purple wig with long, wavy hair, a witch's hat with pink bows, a maid uniform, and a coat which covers everything. "To me you're always going to be a champion, Jazupoozu"

    "...you named your rabbit Jazz Paws? WHY?", asks the young woman standing right next to Uta.

    "Oh, I named it after my friend Jazuhanzu."

    "Someone named their character /Jazuhanzu/? WHY?"

    "I... I don't know, actually. I'll have to ask. Maybe they were going to go with Blueberry, but were afraid that people might think they named themselves after the smartest rabbit?"

    "That one is actually called Blackberry," corrects the woman, with a smug grin.

    Uta levels her unamused gaze at her interlocutor. "...It's been years, and it's not like I can look it up..."

    Blueberry just sits there chewing a piece of grace. "Come on, come on!" Mizuki cheers. As she gets impatient, her speech turns into a roar, but it doesn't really help, although perhaps the proximity of a were fang is upsetting all the bunbuns...

    Mizuki holds a hand over her face. "Come on, Blueberry, I named you after the smart rabbit..."

Goldenblade's Grayhound is off to a miraculous start, leaping out of the cage and immediately finding some delicious-looking grass to sample. He nibbles a bit here, and a bit there, and some more over there. GB shouts encouragement, "C'mon, Grayhound, go for it! You can do it!" And after several moments, it does hop a few more inches in the right direction before finding some more delicious grass. "GoooooooooOOOOOOooooooo!

"Running around the wilderness and repeatedly drawing bowstrings is a workout!" Shiruba replies with a laugh. She was feeling better already having Gwen along.

She let go of Gwen's arm and hunched down to set her rabbit at the start line. "Ready, Yojimbo?" Being a bun-bun he just wiggles his cute nose, a scrap piece of fabric from the shop wrapped loosely around the base of his ears to make him vagely homage his namesake.

What? Before there was video games, she was a comics and magna nerd. What else would she name a rabbit after?

She stands up excitedly. "Ready... set..." And thrusts out an arm dramatically to yell at the same time the official signal "GO!" And holds that pose for several seconds, until she realizes her bun-bun is still sitting there. Thrusts her arm out again with more emphasis. "GO!" Looks down.

"... Go, please?" That might get a slow hop out of him, eventually.

    And they're off!

    And yet, they're not.

    "Gooooo, Flash! Goooo! No! Not that way! Ye-nnnoooo! Don't lie down! Arrrgghhhh, this is a disaster."

    Yuuki holds her head in her hands as her bun-bun just sits there scratching behind its ear with a leg.

"Yuuki please rabbits don't like loud things," Prophylaxis says as he attempts to shield his own bun^2 from this sudden onslaught of noise, "We must be gentle with our small furry friends...!" Even one as judgmental and haughty as Usaginsuke. He is a regal, silvery-furred floppity-hoppity, with the sort of bearing that suggests that it thinks itself well above these simple festivities. Also, he doesn't seem bothered by Yuuki being Yuuki or even- once in the cage- the mighty <BANG> that reverberates through the air.

And they're off! But...

But...!

The rabbit... simply sits there in its pen. Prophylaxis stares at the bun, the bun stares at Prophylaxis. The doctor squints and says, "I've got some really good carrot juice in my back pocket for you if you get going."

The bun-bun seems to understand this blatant bribery and wiggles its nose once as if to say 'I SHALL REMEMBER THIS PROMISE MORTAL' before turning and... hopping once out of the gate, tentatively. Whether he continues at any semblance of a decent pace is utterly up for grabs.

    Merek would be assisting his bun bun while he watches them take off, using the concoction of material alchemy to try and lure them, still it doesn't work that well, admittedly.

Gwen sees Uta has joined the fun Gwen will wave to her friend as her own Bun Avalon is getting into the race, this should be fun. Whatever happens, as far as she's concerned she calls out to Uta.

"Uta! Hey!"

good news Uta it seems Shiruba dragged Gwen out of her workshop again. Her bunny is in the lead? That's pretty awesome as she cheers Avalon on. She also wraps one arm around Shiruba and says "Look at them go!"

Challenge #2: The Carrot Pit

"Oh boo! A few of the Buns got left behind! Maybe they can catch up later, though!" Sozuku calls out. Eventually, most of the Bun-Buns manage to get moving along the race track, following the voices or calls of their handlers.

As it rounds a corner, the Bun-Buns are lead up a ramp which drops them into a pit filled with carrots. These seem to be the heirloom type, coming in many colors. "They've made it to the carrot pit! Now the handlers have to help their friends find a golden carrot! Otherwise they won't be able to open the gate to the next part of the race! Search hard little guys!" The girl calls out, excitedly.

As more and more Bun-Buns drop into the pit of carrots, it becomes hard to distinguish who is who. They bounce on top of one another, dig into the carrots, and occasionally one will pop out, trying to lay a carrot on a magical plate, only to find themselves ejected back into the pit when it is the wrong color.

The fastest Bun to find and bring a golden carrot up to the plate will have the advantage going into the next stage!

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Roll: +roll Searching (with card) vs 10
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Goldenblade encourages Greyhound to find the correcr carrot, "Not that one! Over here maybe...." But she's not particulalrly successful, and Grayhound proves his name ought to be chowhound, exploring all the carrots and sampling them all ... for taste. Many of them meet with his approval, and despite GB's exhortations, he makes a meal of it, and then some, filling up on free carrots whatever GB may say.

Eventually, Greyhound finds the gold carrot, but he seems not to like the taste, and he'll drop it, selecting another instead. He seems to like that one.

    Merek would keep on assisting that bun bun with looking for a few places that it can travel while finding the carrot. He does not look like he's making progress, which means that the man is a little bit back in ranking.

    Mizuki watches Blueberry loiter in its cage. "C'monc'monc'monc'monc'mon..." and when it finally starts hopping along the track she throws up her hands in celebration, "YESSSS! Go Blueberry go!" And then... the first challenge is finding one carrot in a pit of them. "...Are they even smart enough to understand the task? Rabbits have worse color vision than humans, too... wait, this is a game..."

    She tries to guide her bunbun verbally. "That one! No, not that one! That one! Yes! Bring it to the... no, don't DROP it! Go back, go back!" she keeps shouting commands as Blueberry brings the wrong carrot and gets flung back into the pit.

    "Okay, buddy, we're not out yet. Just focus. Visualize the golden carrot in your mind."

    "N-no, that's a black carrot..."

    "That one's yellow, getting closer!"

    "Nnnnooooo! That's black again. C'mon little guy, there's one right there!"

    Yuuki is pointing to a golden carrot lying on a pile not a foot from Flash. But the bun-bun seems reluctant to go for it. Or it's just blind.

    Uta spots Gwen and Shiruba among the crowd, from afar. "Oh, hey, Gwen! Shiruba too!" A wide smile appears on her face, as she attempts to navigate the crowd, which proves impassable. "Wait a minute, I'm gonna try and go around it!", she shouts to her far-away friends, mouthing exaggeratedly and making wide gestures with her fingers to try and communicate the concept as well as possible, disappearing among the sea of people...

Shiruba whistles. "Wow Gwen, looks like you picked a good bun-bun." She waves briefly to Uta when she hears her name, but her attention is mainly on the race.

Her own little fluffball does get going, and seems to be taking his time down the track.

Up until the pit of carrots comes into view... And then he takes off like a shot, bounding forward and diving into the heap of carrots with such vigor it'd make a certain elderly coin-swimming duck marvel at the display.

"Come on buddy! Golden. It's like a lighter shade of orange. Keep looking!" It takes a little time, rummaging around while avoiding the other buns in the pile, but Yojimbo does come up with a golden carrot sure and steady. Maybe they're still in this race after all, if it isn't purely a speed based effort! "There you go! Good job!"

"I am beginning to regret picking the rabbit that got to the carrot juice first," Prophylaxis says as he stares at Usagin's... can you call it progress? It's not /really./ The silvery rabbit was swift in reaching the pit of carrots, certainly, but...!

"No, Usaginsuke! You're supposed to find the golden carrot, not eat ALL the carrots!"

Usaginsuke nibbles imperiously on a distinctly un-golden carrot, looking entirely as though he has already succeeded at his desired goal. After all, the true prize... is functionally unlimited carrots...!

    Uta, while wandering around, mumbles to herself, in a sudden moment of realization, "A golden... what? Are they trying to get the bunbuns to pick a 24 carat carrot? Did someone hire Kauchemar to write these challenges?"

Gwen is cheering on Avalon right now as her Bun-bun is doing pretty well. She get to the carrot pit to look for the golden carrot. Gwen will start trying to encourage the bun to get the golden carrot and move on to the next stage as quickly as it can. She's still hanging on to Shiruyba if she let her as she's getting excited. She might grab Shirub and bounce up and down.

"Look at them go!"

Challenge #3: The Siren Song

"No, no, that one is brown!" Sozuku calls out, trying to encourage one of the Bun-Buns that just can't seem to find the right carrot. "Oh boo! We'll have to catch back up with them soon."

A strange, lullaby type song starts to sound over the racetrack as the Bun-Buns start to hop into the next turn. It causes them to slow, seeming to almost wobble side to side with the hum of the music. Eventually, one topples over and starts to make a visible snoring animation, with little 'zzz' rising up from it.

"It's the siren's song! This song puts Bun-Buns to sleep! Their handlers will have to find a way of making them up and getting them moving again! It's a music battle!"

The poor Bun-Buns will start to fall asleep if they aren't given some kind of distraction or encouragement to keep going. Of course, in this case, bad singing might be just as effective as good singing.

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Roll: +roll Song (with card) vs 10
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Goldenblade proves that bad singing is not the solution. She coudn't carry a tune in a bucket. But she will shout and encourage Grayhound to run fast, or at least to wake up. When shouting proves ineffective, she'll try and sing to him, to drown out the siren song. But given her singing skill, her bunbun (and probably everyone else) would rather crash their ships into the breakers. "You've gotta get up, you've gotta get up, you've gotta get up in the mor-ning! You've got to get up, you've got to get out of bed!" and other such travesties. Greyhound does nothing out of spite. Or out of sleep.

Shiruba cheers as they find the gold carrot and make up some time! Though Gwen's bun-bun is far in the lead. "Keep going! Keep going!" Then she's grabbed and bounced around by Gwen, and laughs. "I knew you could use a fun time to recover some energy!"

Hop hop hop they go! But then the music starts to play, and each hop from Yojimbo the bun-bun gets slower and wobblier. "Oh no. Don't doze off now!"

She squirms out of Gwen's arms so she can see better. Considers for a moment, and then snaps her fingers. Of course! They are bun-buns, after all. She takes a deep breath... To sing?

Not quite. Instead, it's to tap into more of her wolf side and--

"ArrrROOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Howling is kind of singing for wolves, right? It's close enough, as it startles her bun-bun into moving. Or maybe drowned out the lullaby. Either works really, she's not complaining.

    Oh no, the bunbuns are falling asleep!

    And it's THE MOST ADORABLE THING MIZUKI'S EVER SEEN.

    "Awwwwwwwww! ...Wait, no!" Her ears splay and her tail goes bushy. "Come on, come on, we need an energetic song, like a march or something..."

    She stomps her foot, then claps her hands, kind of wishing she had a drum.

    Marching song, marching song...

    "Down at an English fair, one evening I was there, when I heard a showman shouting up above the flair:" Mizuki sings out, "I've got a lov-el-y bunch of coconuts, there they are all standing in a row! Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head! Give 'em a twist, a flicka the wrist, that's what the showman said!"

    Merek begins singing to his bun bun, then he nods a bit, "Alright, YOU ARE A WAR MACHINE, YOU CAN WIN!" He then tries to do what looks like it's a metal cover.

Oh no! It's the worst possible obstacle! Not necessarily because Prophylaxis can't hold a tune (he can't, he's a doctor not an aidoru), but also because Usaginsuke is absolutely stuffed with carrots! Look at him hopping contentedly but lethargically right into the siren song. Look at him, flopping right over like the most satisfied not-so-little ball of fluff in the world. He's so full, he's... he's halfway to being a hasenpfeffer already...!

"Do I really need to?" The doctor asks, visibly blanching. "The only songs I know are... ugh...!"

"Baka mitai~o/''" It's true, he is a fool. He's a fool for thinking he was going to get through this without embarassing himself. And so Prophylaxis sings...! "Kodomo na no ne~~o/''"

Things seem to be going pretty well for Avalon and Gwen is pleased, she does know that it not over. Until it's actually over, and she will finally let go of Shiruba as she starts squirming as she watches the high pace race. Wait she'll end up trying to sing too. She's no bard but at least it won't cause too much pain?

    Flash flops down on the ground, snoring.

    "GUUUUUTTTTTTS!"

    Yuuki calls out to her bun-bun with their warcry, trying to get it to move. Its ears twitch a few times.

    "You can do it little guy! Ignore the siren's call. Focusssss!"

Challenge #4: The Maze

"Bun-Buns are so cute when they're sleeping. I should get one!" Sozuku obviously doesn't realize that she's on the microphone again, "Oh, they turn aggressive when in large groups?" There is disappointment in her voice, "But they're so cute..."

Beyond the reach of the Siren song, there is a small tube that dumps the Bun-Buns down into the entrance of a maze made with tall, wooden walls. There are twists, turns, dead-ends, and distractions. It all seems built to get the little furballs turned around and confused on what direction to go.

However, there is a tasty smell meant to lure them to the other side of the maze. A reward of a few sprigs of a tasty herb waiting for the Bun-Bun that is fastest to it.

The handlers will have to figure out how to guide their little furry friends through the maze and out the other side, or risk being left behind by the leaders!

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Roll: +roll Tracking (with card) vs 10
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    Merek would begin to guide with a leading into the maze with the bun bun, he would even actually shoot a firebolt so it'd know which way to travel. His bun bun then leaps up into the fire while its fur begins to singe, and it wiggles with meeping, then looking to the man that was guiding him and launching at him from the track, the man beginning to run away, "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Oooh, a maze! This is right up Shiruba's alley... though she's not the one running the race of course. She is the one shouting commands though. "It's just like a set of tunnels underground!" she calls out when her bun-bun slides down the tube and into the wooden maze.

Yojimbo hops a few times, his little nose wiggling and twitching his whiskers. Whiskers flick against the walls, giving the bun-bun some idea which ones are narrow or short and wide as he bounds around a turn, then back another way, and catchs a whiff of snack at the end. Much like the carrots he's off at a happy hoppy pace once he's got something to follow, though he probably won't beat the lead bun-buns there it's enough to get him going down the right paves with little difficulty.

"Whoo! Go Yojimbo go!" Thankfully Shiruba is back to just cheering and not trying to wolfcall more.

Goldenblade's Grayhound sniffs at the air, hops towards the smell of some tasty herb, the carrots weren't enough. "There you go, Grayhound," she calls. Go left, go left! Right!" Calling out encouragement as it hops through the maze. GB cheers as it seems to make better time, not that he's pulling ahead, but he makes up a bit of lost ground, hopping on with the scent of food.

Bun-Buns ARE cute when they're sleeping. They're cute in basically all scenarios, in fact, except when you get enough of them in the same place.

Because then they apparently become actual man-eaters.

But that's neither hare nor there! Yawning lazily, Usaginsuke finally hops his way into that narrow tube (barely, he's still absolutely stuffed with carrots after all) and slides slowly down to the mouth of the maze. His absolutely stuffed girth serves as an impromptu obstacle for what few rabbits are further back in the line-up, but once he gets down there...

There's a scent in the air.

Prophylaxis himself doesn't even need to do anything at this point. There is /food/ on the line and, though he might be full, Usaginsuke is not going to be the last to the delicious herbs waiting for him at the end of this maze!!

A Maze? This is getting itnereing and she has to wonder about seeing if she can keep Avalon, but for now she focus on the race as they get past the song. She sees the maze she watche as Avalon keeps moving after that herb. They are hungry little one and she'll do her best using the fire bolt more as a signal flare to attempt to guide the bun to Victory.

"Come on Avalon! You can do it!"

    A maze? A maze!? Come on, they're buns, not rats!

    Yuuki scratches her head as she looks at the maze. She can see the path through it from her perspective and is also aware of the smell trail. But so far her bun has not proved very receptive to commands.

    Must be all that Attitude.

    "Follow your nose, little guy! C'mon! That's it! No, the other way! Noooooo, don't go that way!"

    Yuuki's bun-bun ends up hopping in a circle for quite some time, before finally deciding to take a different path. It's pure lucky that it manages to make its way out of the maze.

    Hearing Goldenblade sing that makes Mizuki stop and stare at her for a moment. Sam can remember visiting grandparents as a little kid, and his grandfather would sometimes sing that song to get them out of bed. For a moment, he can better see her as being played by an old grandfatherly man.

    And then they're on to the next challenge! "Come on, Blueberry! Just be smart about this! Hug the left wall and you'll get out eventually! No, the left wall! Come on, you've almost caught up to the lead bunny! You can do it!"

Challenge #5: The Mud Slinger

"Oh, we're down to the last stretch! This is the most dangerous part for our little buns! Can they avoid being splattered by the mud slinger!?" Sozuku seems to be on the edge of her seat, bouncing with excitement.

The Bun-Buns roll their way out of the maze onto the track, but this time there are splatters of mud everywhere. It's likely a warning of things to come. As they race forward, huge globs of mud are being flung from a series of little wooden catapults that some of the local Lander children are loading up.

A glob of mud slams into one of the lead Buns, causing them to roll over and over again before getting stuck against the wall, little legs flailing. Another clips one of the other racers, causing them to slip and fall prone with all of their bunny legs out in different directions.

It's the last section of the race, leading towards the finish line, so not only do they have to be agile to avoid the incoming mud-projectiles, but fast in order to beat the rest of the Buns to the end of the track.

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Roll: +roll Evasion (with card) vs 10
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    Merek would eventually be able to get his bun bun back to that track, while it would begin to run along, evading away, though not managing well also.

Goldenblade's bunbun, Grayhound, does not like the flying mud he sees striking the lead buns, and he scampers forward in a hurry to avoid it. He bobs and weaves, it might seems, in any event avoiding the mud as he advances in a hurry. "Go, go, go!" she shouts. "You can do it!"

Well that explains why the kids at the other end of the track were so giddy and cheerful. They get to play with mini siege weapons!

"Left! Right! Double Right!" Shiruba is doing her best to try and direct her bun out of the lines of fire. "Jump!" The bun-bun leaps high enough to clear over a big splat of mud, but in doing went at a kittycorner angle and lost some distance because of it, especially with the rest of the ground now slippy sloppy with the splattered mud, and it's hard to keep a steady pace. "It's okay, just run while they're reloading!"

It's a warzone of mud and rabbits! Oh the bunmanity! ... though now kind of fitting she nicknamed her bun-bun after a rabbit samurai.

    "This is it Flash, this is your moment to shine! Hit the gas!"

    Yuuki's bun appears to be rather adverse to being hit by mud as it manages to jump its way out of the way of several lumps of it. It's making up good time, coming up quickly from behind to give even the leaders a challenge.

    Unfortunately, as the buns come in to the final stretch, it's pretty clear that Yuuki's isn't going to win. She drops to her knees in defeat, "Noooooooooo!"

What? A mud catapult hurling great big gobs of sludge at these innocent little bun-buns!? How terrible! If Usaginsuke got himself all dirty, he'd need to have a bath, and then he'd need to get dried off, and then he's be /even fluffier/ than he already is...!

The idea of intentionally leading the over-eager food-muncher into a mud trap is perhaps a little *too* tempting, but it is banished by the thought of forcing a bunny to suffer through such indignity.

And, more importantly, this is the exact kind of challenge that Prophylaxis was hoping for. "Finally," he sighs, "Platforming...! This isn't the first time I've had to teach someone how to dodge on the fly! Go Usaginsuke! Do not merely avoid the mud, but avoid where the mud is going to be!!"

Usaginsuke looks the doctor in the eye...

And hops just fast enough to avoid getting splattered, but not enough to actually catch up to the rest of the pack.

But hey, at least he's going to be nice and clean by the end of this!

    Can they avoid being splattered by the mud slinger!?

    "The what?!" Mizuki turns to look ahead on the track and runs alongside.

    Oh my god the bunnies stuck in the mud are so adorable. /)^3^(\

    "There goes the competition! Don't let them get you, Blueberry, you've almost won!" A clump of mud lands right in front of the bunbun and he trips over it, somersaulting and falling on splayed legs. But he stands up, unharmed and...

    ...starts washing his face with his forepaws. "No! Blueberry, there will be time for that later!" Mizuki shouts, but the bunbun will not cross the finish line looking less than his best!

    ...Once he's satisfied though, he resumes bounding along the track, zig-zagging and dodging the oncoming mudballs!

    At the side of the track, Mizuki holds her breath. This is a surprisingly close race!

Gwen was so close so very close iwht Avalon but the poor Bun just has a bad day with the mud slinger the poor bun ends up getting slabbered in mun and will take some time to get free before it can finally try to rwin it. "Come on Avalon! You can do it!" She's still cheering the little creature on, and intends to fully clean the poor thing up when the race is over...

"Come on, come on, come onnnnnn...." Sozuku encourages, and then calls out, "AHHH! We have a WINNER! The Bun-Bun lead by Mizuki has come out on top! Let's make sure we give all our little furry friends a hug and lots of treats for a job well done! Congratulations!"

There are cheers and applause from the audience, with children and adults rushing forward to scoop up their Bun-Bun racers. Afterall, as Sozuku had said, they can get aggressive if allowed to group up too much. Soon enough, the racers are put back into cages, the handlers talking excitedly amongst themselves.

Sozuku runs up to Mizuki, grinning ear to ear, and hands them a strange ball that is red on one side, and white on the other, with a little circular button on it. "Congratulations! This is for you! Your bun-bun really was the best!" As for everyone else? Well, a few of the children are passing out pamphlets to the racers, which at least offer some informational knowledge about nature in Yamato.

Bun-buns are not to be taken lightly in groups, and Shiruba quickly bounds to the end of the track to pick her's up. He's a little muddy, but she still hugs him. "You did great! That was fun, so winning doesn't matter." She leans a little closer to whisper as she holds the bun-bun up to look towards Gwen. "Besides, you helped me get her out for a bit, thank you."

Also a wave towards Mizuki. "Congratulations!"

THough now she kind of wants a bun-bun pet. Sigh.

    Merek offers a little clap for Mizuki while he smiles a bit, "Congratulations," the man states while he takes a moment to think to himself, and picks up the bun bun. This will be a wonderful new pet.

Goldenblade is quite pleased and surprised to have come in second. Not that she did anything, herself, the bunbun deserves all the credit. She looks in her inventory when she's told she won, and there's an invormational pamphlet she doesn't recall. Is that it? How does she read it? She makes that attempt. Are there buttonpress combinations? That one just looks more closely. "Bah, stupid interface," she grumbles like an old man.

"Congratulations," Prophylaxis says to Mizuki with a certain happily stuffed bun-bun tucked neatly under one arm. Usaginsuke is using his cute little pawsies to tip back a little glass vial full of some curiously orange-colored liquid. The promised carrot juice, apparently. "You're a natural rabbit wrangler. I'm afraid I miscalculated when I tried to use food to pick the best racing bun out of the lot. I just ended up with the hungriest one."

Beat.

"Well, he's not white, but I guess I can use him as a mascot at the clinic, maybe. Hmm... Though perhaps a Bun-Bun breeding program is... unwise...?"

    Mizuki... actually won?! Or rather, Blueberry did! Mizuki's surprised, wide-eyed... but then beams and turns to the crowd and waves, and bows as she's congratulated, before running over to pick up the winning racer and hold him high while walking back to the starting line and the cages.

    And then Sozuku runs up to her. Mizuki doesn't recognize the girl, she never saw her in the rat dungeon. She's handed... "...This is a pokéball." She tries to appraise it but doesn't find out anything special. "Well, I guess noone in here cares whether CC got the rights... Should I be seeking out the other hundred-fifty...?"

    Mizuki turns to Prophy and rubs the back of her head. "Ahh, I'm not sure I really made that much of a difference! I just picked one that was easy to work with... well, maybe the song moved him along, at least."

    She looks thoughtful at the mention of bun-bun breeding. "Do you think beasts raised in captivity might be easier to train without the Animal Handling skill?"

Goldenblade collects her bunbun at the end, but what's she going to do with it now? Hasenpfeffer? But she doesn't know how to make it, and no talent for cooking, and asking a lander will likely result in another meal of wet cardboard. Asking a player is likely to get her crucified, with kids today. She looks around, and will ask, "What shall we do with these when we're done? I don't have any way to take care of it..."

"Wait, we can keep them?" Shiruba nuzzles the bun-bun in her arms. "That's even better than winning the race!" Her parents in the real world never let her have any kind of a pet.

No, the irony of her being part wolf having a rabbit as a pet isn't lost on her. The bun-bun is cute and cuddly and she doesn't care. No one is eating this one.

Gwen has had fun but after scooping up Avalon she's going to leave in short order before Shiruba can stop her, she's got a project she really wants to get back to.

Shiruba's task has been successful, she's not going to try and stop Gwen at this point.... And she needs to get to the Marina to get back to Shibuya now that her little relax time is over with.

Goldenblade will drop off Greyhound with one of the Lander children watching. A second-place bunbun ought to be enough bragging rights for a kid. That should keep him from being eaten. And now she will amble off, half muttering into her chimlinkk.