Mother Bunny
"Hey Ratu."
"Hey Darling.
"What's on the agenda for today?"
"More refugee triage, and you?"
"Apparently, Scythe Magnum got my commission in the army reactivated."
"The army? But Canada doesn't have one, not any more..."
"No, but then I got reactivated into the Nato's unified military service, not my old service..."
"Is that legal?"
"Yeah, I asked Chatu."
"What, my good for nothing, layabout lawyer of a brother was actually good for something?"
"He's your brother, he can't be all bad."
"Hah!"
"Seriously, if I go away for a few days, is there someone you can go live with, while I lock the place up? You know the place isn't safe, not without someone to watch your back."
"I'll go to Mother Bunny, by the Shaughn Communal Gardens, it's always so peaceful there, and Mother Bunny suffers no fools to treaten its peace, either."
"It's not too far?"
"It's actually closer to work for me. What are you going to do with your place?"
"Put the alarms to maximum, and warn all the neighbours to stay away."
"If we lived at Mother Bunny's, you wouldn't need such defences."
"Well, I'm sure I'd need only half, maybe, it does sound ideal as a place to lay low. I'll walk you there tomorrow, ok?"
"And just where are you going?"
"Peacekeeping, in the boot."
"Damn, he couldn't find you a safer posting?"
"Well, the docks are pretty safe, I won't be in Rome, I'll be in Naples, it's a lot more disheartening than dangerous..."
"Welcome, Kindler, Ratu, of course, is known to me."
"I hear you are the director, of this place, of others."
"I am a medical administrator by trade, funny, Ratu never bothered to ask..." Ratu was gaping.
"Isn't the most crucial thing to 'administer' doctors is never to let them take control of the situation."
"Ratu's too sweet to need this particular treatment, but it is a wise course with some Surgeons, that is true. Come, you both must be famished."
Two months later.
"And how is your Kindler?"
"He calls every day, he's fine, but disheartened, it is hard work, fighting in the sun, the aliens, the zombies..."
"And you, you fight disease, ailment, hurt, every day..."
"Yes, but we support each other. We've been each other's strength for years now. What's this?" 'This' was a picture of a very muscular woman, cosplaying as a rabbit in super hero armour.
"Oh, that was me, when I was younger, I even wrestled, you know, for money."
"Oh, what was your wrestler name?"
"What else? Mother Bunny, the name you all call me by to this day... I used the bunny mask you see, obviously, and had this other nickname: 'The Ghost who Hops'. It was so silly."
"Do you miss it?"
"No, I enjoy the peace, the quiet now. It was good, while I was young and had the energy for it, but now I'm a different person, and I live a quieter life, with wiser pursuits. I couldn't go back."
"You still like carrots though."
Mother Bunny was bent over laughing.
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