2025-02-18 - The Eating Habits of Snugglebunnies

Even with temperatures in the low 50s (Fahrenheit, for those who use that unit of measurement) the Botanical Gardens are a popular tourist destination within the parks, and today before his shift Ari is blending in with the crowd. At first he was just walking in and out of the various conservatories, taking in the different biomes they seem to represent, but now he's out in the garden proper, crouched down to take a close-up picture of a dangling Foxglove flower from an unusual angle.

Tucked under one arm is a sketchbook, opened to a page that has a riot of color on it: other flowers from the gardens, in various shapes and sizes, definitely some kind of still-life study. He's in a plain white t-shirt and jeans, his work boots the only part of his outfit that might suggest he's not just another tourist wandering through.

After he takes a handful of pics he stands up, and starts flipping through them on his phone, mouth frowning and brow furrowed in concentration.

For a winter day it is practically balmy, maybe not by Spellbound standards, but Lee has only been around a few short months so not freezing in mid-February is still a novelty.

As they wander the gardens, Lee is looking for a suitable spot to let the now soft grey snugglebunny, in the clear, hard shell backpack with airholes along the side, out to run around. Were it not for the alien eyes bunny looking creature they could easily be mistaken for a tourist. A cream colored blousy top and black jeans, under a dark trenchcoat. The white hair is hidden, tucked into a black and maroon beanie.

Lee stops near where Ari is standing drowning at his phone. Reaching back they lightly tap the backpack shell "How about here? Is this better your picky highness?" This is met with a sour trilling note from the creature. Apparently it isn't.

Lee's approach with the pet carrier on their back doesn't go unnoticed. Behind his glasses, Ari's eyes widen as he spies the creature in the backpack, and he watches for a moment at the interaction between it and Lee.

He stows his phone away, apparently happy with his selection of image references for the time being, and then he considers the sketchbook now transfered to his hands. But after a moment of that, he manages to gather his confidence. It's not an easy thing for Ari to do, but he takes in a deep breath and nods, as if to himself.

Then, he looks over. "Is that one of those, uh, bunnies that have been turning up in the park?" Ari asks, his voice quiet.

Aisley hadn't been the only one who had had the idea to enjoy the sunshine. Walking down the walkway with a notebook in one hand and backpack slung over her zip-up hoodie sweatshirt, she looked around her environment, taking in the different types of flowers as she passed, making special notes mentally of certain ones.

The word 'Bunnies' gets her attention as she's passing by Ari and Lee, slowing her pace until she comes to the a stop, "Those things are everywhere." Aisley laughs.

Lee turns to Ari taking the snugglebun in question out of sight, "Sorry?" It takes them a moment for the question to parse. They should be used to total strangers just randomly asking questions by now, but they aren't. "Oh, the bunny. Yes, I guess they are being referred to as Snugglebunnies? Apparently mine is defective. The only thing it wants to snuggle up to is a fruit cup."

"No lie." Lee replies to Aisely. "I have heard they have been found in the weirdest places."

Immediately Ari looks a bit embarrassed for having spoken up, so he offers a quick, "Sorry to intrude." Though Aisley stopping by to join the conversation seems to calm him somewhat, and he nods. "I've heard a lot about them."

The fruit cup comment has him laughing. "I mean, fruit cups are good?" he asks. "Are we talking fruteria or, like, the stuff you get at school lunch, because I guess that does make a difference." His shoulders bounce up and down. "But I'm not picky."

The backpack is slipped around to the front of her body, unzipping the front smaller zipper compartment she pulls out three wax wrapped taffy pieces, "Mine loves taffy I got from the candy shop at the midway." Taking a step closer she offers them to Lee, "If you want a couple for yours? It's cotton candy, strawberry and chocolate."

Looking back to Ari, "Hey you were at the cookie decorating thing, right? Ari? Is that right?" And just in case he didn't remember and offered it also for Lee's benefit, "I'm Aisley."

"It's good." Lee says to Ari when he apologizes "It's not like I was doing anything except trying to find a play area for the royal highness back there." It's said with affection, even if it is annoyed affection.

"I have never tried the cafeteria style fruit cups. Just the fresh fruit cups you get at markets. Though at home I just cut the fruit up myself." They look at the offered candy their expression dubious "You give your bun candy?" Their tone echoes the skepticism. They tentatively take the strawberry taffy. "Is that even good for them?"

"Lee." They offer as names are tossed around. They shift the carrier around so that it is carried on their front "And this is Xīnlà de, or Spicy in English. It only answers to the sound of a treat bag.”

"That's me," Ari says, and there's a note of surprise in his voice, that he's been remembered. Not bad surprise, though, and he smiles at Aisley for it.

He watches the trade-off of taffy and looks a little dubious himself, but mostly just curious, as he had been when he'd first started the conversation. "I mean, they're not really bunnies, they're like..." He waves the hand not holding his sketchbook. "Magic fluffballs, right?" The confused look on his face, brows drawn downwards, suggests he has no idea what he's talking about.

Still, even despite his lack of understanding, he crouches down a little bit to meet Xīnlà de at eye-level and say, "Hi there." Though given what Lee's just said, Ari isn't expecting a warm welcome.

"Everything in moderation," Aisley shrugs against the dubious looks that she's getting, "that's my motto anyway." Taking the other two taffy pieces back and places them into the zipper compartment of her backpack and turning back against her back. "Angelo was the one that told me they liked sugar sweets, so I tried these and mine loves it. I call it my Dreamling, it attacked me... not in a bad way, but would not stop sniffing me after the cookie decorating, I think it was all the sugar and icing I smelt like." Easily she falls into a soft laugh.

Looking down at Ari and 'Spicy' then back to Lee, "Honestly, I've just been trying to feed it from what it shows it wants and what others have told me they are feeding their bunny creature things."

To Ari she adds, "I hope your siblings like the cookies?"

"Point." Lee concedes that to Ari. "I took it to one of the vets and they just suggested I follow the advice that other people have been posting on the employee forums. So I have kept to fruits. I need to remember the magic part."

Well it's a welcome of some kind. At the greeting from Ari it stands on its hindlegs and scratches at the hard plastic as it makes chirping noises.

"Did you come out here to do some sketching?" Lee has noticed the sketchpad in Ari's hand. "Maybe it was me that interrupted you." There is a bright smile at the reversal.

The activity inside the backpack carrier comes as another surprise to Ari, who watches for a moment before he straightens. "Well, I hope I didn't upset them," is all he can say to that.

He brightens at the mention of the cookies, and then even more as his siblings are brought up. "I think so!" he answers, only sounding a little uncertain there.

And then he bows his head, looking at his sketchbook. "Yeah," he says. Only to wince and add, "No, no, it's fine! I'm just trying to find some inspiration for some 'dark fae' set pieces I'm designing. Figured some flowers might be good?"

"Good, I'm glad." Aisley offers a small smile over at Ari at the mention of the cookies possibly being a hit with the siblings.

Tucking her own notebook closer to her mid-section she glances back at the two interacting with Spicy and says, "I think I'm going to walk on, I wanted to check out what flowers could be asked to be used for Daisey Chains come the first day of spring."

Lifting a hand she waves a little, "Bye Spicy. It was nice to see you again, Ari, and nice to meet you, Lee."

"No more that they already were." Lee assures Ari sincerely. "They came by the name Spicy honestly. I have been nipped at and scratched multiple times, but we have come to an understanding finally and I have grown attached to the little monster."

"Like fairies?" Lee questions curiously. "I guess flowers would be a place to start? My only knowledge about fairies comes from video games, D&D and other fantasy games." As Aisley departs they lift a hand in a wave. "Nice meeting you too."

Aisley gets a wave as well from Ari and a called out, "See you around!" before he's turning back to Lee. And speaking of scratches, he flashes his hand, showing the tiniest scratch on the ball joint of his thumb. "My cat can be spicy too," he says, sounding wounded.

Seriously, it's such a small scratch.

He nods after, and says, "Yeah, D&D and video games for me too. But I'm trying to dive deeper. Celtic mythology, folklore, that sort of thing. Just not my area of expertise."

Lee has to lean forward slightly to see the scratch on the man's thumb. The jostling of the carrier has Spicy trilling a few sour notes. "Isn't that the norm for cats though?" Sounds like they don't have much experience with small, furry creatures.

"I know a little bit of the Greek and Roman stuff, but nothing about the Celtic stuff. Anytime I need to know something I just go to YouTube. But I guess there will be as much useful and not, and how did you tell the difference?"

"I guess, he's my first cat but it seems to be the case," Ari admits. He frowns at the scratch, rubbing his opposite thumb over it, before he tucks his hand into his pocket and his sketchbook back under his arm.

Then he blows out a breath, one mildly frustrated. "Yeah, exactly. How much is someone's faerie obsession and how much is like... historic... fact isn't the word I'm looking for. But, like, based on authentic folklore and not someone's fanfiction, I guess."

The answer gets a bright laugh "My sister got one a few years ago. But I haven't been home for more than a few days at a time in years. And she doesn't bring the cat to our parents house."

"I guess you could put feelers out on the employee forum?" They unwrap the taffy in their hand and push it through one of the air holes. The wrapper gets pocketed. "I have seen posts on there of people looking for things like that." Spicy sings a happy tune as it sniffs the candy and begins to nibble on it.

Ari nods once, as they continue the cat-talk, something he can clearly go off on for some length of time. "I sneak my cat into my apartment sometimes. He lives most of the time at the shop I work at." He shrugs, and then he's looking down at his sketchbook, biting his lip in thought.

The mention of the employee forum has his head lifting again. "Oh, I could do that. I already have someone willing to assist and they seem to know what they're talking about, but with all the magic around... maybe there's something out there that could help." He nods again, at the idea. "Thanks!"

"I thought pets were allowed at the apartments." Color Lee confused about that "Though I may have glossed over the lease agreement. I left that mostly to the roommate. Admittedly we haven't had the super come to the apartment since we got the snugglebunnies. Does the cat like the workshop?"

"Do you really think calling on the magic here for answers is a good idea?" Once more Lee is looking dubious "So far the magic has been benevolent, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way."

"Oh no I just don't want to inconvenience my brothers, who let me room with them," is Ari's explanation of the whole apartment-cat situation. And then he nods to answer the follow-up question, adding, "Yeah! He has a bed and food and water and honestly too many places he likes to nap in. Plus I share my lunch with him sometimes."

The point Lee makes about the magic here does have Ari questioning things himself. "Maybe... maybe not. At the very least I should leave it to the professionals who have experience with magic, right?" he suggests.

"Your brothers work here too?" Lee seems a bit astonished by that. "I understand about not wanting to impose on the people you are staying with. I sofa surfed for awhile before I got my own place. And less than two weeks later I found this little menace to society." they tap on the carrier, though Spicy is busy grooming their ears to pay any attention to the tapping.

Lee shrugs "I have only been here since November, and only recently figured out what my magic is, so as for magic experience...I have none. There is bound to be someone around here though, maybe someone who has been around since the place opened, or even since before then?"

Ari ducks his head down, not out of embarrassment but amusement it seems, given the sly look on his face. "Brothers and sisters," he says. "Seven of us live here at the park." He nods about the sofa-surfing and adds, "I did that too, uh, for a while on the east coast, before I moved here."

The talk of personal magic has Ari's eyes widening, but he resists the urge to ask visibly, biting his lip. Instead he just says, "Maybe I'll post something then, or at least ask around. See what I can find."

Lee just stares for a long moment. Apparently the idea of that many siblings blue screened them "Did you say seven? I don't even have that many cousins, let alone siblings." they are gobsmacked by this bit of information "I don't think I know anyone that has more than two or three siblings.

"That sounds like the smart thing to do, but you don't have to take my word for it. I have been known to make some pretty dumb decisions in my life." though they don't think that would be one of them.

As they speak, Spicy begins to get restless now that the taffy is gone, scratching s at the plastic and trilling it's dissatisfaction. "Okay, okay your highness." Amusement laces their voice. "I need to find it a space to run around away from people." They smile at Ari "Good luck with your dark fae mission. I'll see you around." A wave to the man as they begin to continue the way they were heading.