The Orphan Slave Rabbit Girl... Wait- Boy?!

The Trial

That's enough about Angel. I don't know why he's crossed my mind to the point that I'm thinking about him and our last together. Maybe it's because this might be the last time I get to think about things peacefully like this? Or well, as 'peacefully' as I can in a net. If I do become a slave, spacing off with my head in the clouds like this will be punished. I'll have to keep constantly working, making it pretty much impossible to think about nostalgic memories calmly. I just hope Angel's doing alright now. He's definitely not like me, stuck in a net getting dragged away to the village's building for where trials take place. Or as I like to call it, The Trial Room.

How is it going to end up for me..?

All I can do is pray that it doesn't end the way that I think it does.

________________________________________

By the time I've finished getting lost in the swarm of my own thoughts, I notice that they've brought me into The Trial Room, as I like to call it. It's really just a building where the village holds trials and deals with most legal issues. Yeah, we surprisingly still have laws despite the whole ''being born as animals and waiting for the ability to shift into humans'' thing. I mean, the world would probably be in pure and utter chaos without any rules at all, so it's a good thing that laws are still around. It's just a bit surprising, that's all.

Since I've stopped struggling and have been silent almost all the way here, they decide that it's okay to finally let me out of the net. Of course, they don't give me anywhere to run. They're blocking the exit and it'd probably be a bad idea to run anyways. I don't want to make even more of a name for myself.

I decide to just sit there and wait as they prepare for the upcoming trial. I gulp, starting to grow more nervous. I'm sure if I had palms instead of paws, they'd be all sweaty and clammy. I'm shaking like a leaf, my ears drooping. If my tail wasn't so short and fluffy, it'd be stuck between my legs like a scared puppy's, but it's nowhere long enough to reach. Instead, it fluffs up even more in response, probably as a defense mechanism. my body is instinctively trying to make itself look bigger and stronger, using fluff to its advantage, but in reality I'm terrified. I don't want to be here.

After what seems like forever, shifters in their human forms come out and the one that looks like the jury gently hits their hammer on the pedestal as a signal to start the trial. I'm not sure if I'm more or less nervous than before. Maybe even possibly the same amount? I don't know, I'm just staring wide-eyed with one of my back paws lightly thumping against the ground uncontrollably probably to try to calm myself down. It helps quell the irritation and fear, if only slightly. But I'm well aware that I shouldn't be too loud or interrupt the procedures, so I try my best to stop my foot from anxiously thumping, feeling my body shiver slightly from their intense stares. I can tell they're annoyed with me already. Why is it like this?

"Ms. Rabbit, what is your name?" The Jury asks. The question makes me think. Did I ever have a name? I don't think so.

"Uhm.. it's actually Mr... and I don't have one," I finally answer. I can understand the 'human' tongue that people that can already shift use, but I am unable to speak it. Anyone that is unable to shift can only use their 'animal' tongue. Shifters understand both, but only people that can already shift speak both. Basically, I'm speaking in my animal tongue which probably makes things worse since it proves that I can't shift yet. Actually, my appearance probably proved that already. Most people that can shift prefer to be their human forms, even if they have their animal ears and tail out they still tend to prefer to look more humanoid. Not only are human forms able to do more with their expendable thumbs, but they're also much larger than most animal forms. Especially large compared to tiny bunnies like me.

"Ah, my apologies. Mr. Rabbit. You don't have a name..?" The jury furrows their eyebrows. "Well then, what would you like to be called?"

"I-I don't know.. I never really thought about it," I accidentally let out a soft whimper, showcasing just how weak I am compared to these people. f**k, I really am not winning today.

If the jury is irritated with my answer, they try not to show it. But I swear I catch a glimpse of annoyance in those honey-brown eyes. "Alright, Mr. Rabbit it is then. Since you do not have anything you wish to be called, let's proceed," they hit their hammer once more and nod towards the person who's accusing me. It's a lady with orange--er, ginger?--hair kept up in a bun. There's a hint of white at the end of her hair, reminding me of a fox. Oh, maybe the reason her hair is so strongly orange isn't just because she's ginger, it's probably the orange from the coat of when she was a fox. You see, when someone shifts, they keep any traits they had as an animal lime their fur color and eye color, it just translates to hair color and eye color instead. Of course, you can dye your hair, but it'd affect how your fur coat looks once you turn back into an animal. Most people don't want to be animals anymore, at least the people I know in my village don't. The Pianique tribe has always been against the whole 'animal curse' that the Gods and Goddesses gave us for as long as I can remember. But even so, most shifters don't like to dye their hair because there are times where they get too tired from shifting in their human forms and have to go back to their animal forms. Shifting takes energy, so most people turn back into their animal forms whenever they're asleep or resting their energy while still awake. The only people that might not need to rest as often is alphas, because alphas are shifters with large amounts of mana. They can even control the form they take when asleep. But, they still do need rest as well. Just not as often as 'normal' shifters do. Beta shifters. For omega shifters, they're the opposite. They have to rest way more often and have a harder time controlling their form.

Anyway, just her being a ginger is a red flag on its own. Just kidding.. gingers can be cool! Your hair color doesn't depict who you are as a person, it's just part of your style. I'm only judging her so harshly as a joke, especially since she's the one who's come to stand against me in trial. She's not the only one with accusations, but she's still the person I'm going to have to go up against.

As she speaks, spouting different reasons about why I'm a cursed child destined to destroy civilization as we know it, my mind goes numb. I end up drowning her out, she's just way too loud and overly annoying. I'd like to think that I can tolerate people, but that's when they're always whispering things about me. This woman is speaking loudly, proudly, as if she knows the story of my whole life or something. Which, she doesn't. She's just giving 'valid' reasons for her accusations, trying to back it up with whatever false claims she has. I don't actually know how false or true her claims are at this point, to be honest. I stopped listening to her a while ago.

I don't even catch the jury calling for me, I'm too distracted with drowning the lady out that I didn't realize she stopped talking. And now the jury is trying to get my attention, to hear my side of the story so that they can come up with a proper verdict and such. It takes them banging their hammer against the pedestal loudly for me to come back to my senses.

"I'm sorry.. what did you say?" I mutter out, flinching slightly at the sound of their hammer.

"I asked you for your side of the story, and if you refute any claims that Ms. Karen has made."

I prepare myself to answer, letting out a sigh to cool my nerves. I don't actually remember anything she said, but I can at least tell my version of events.

I'm hoping that it's enough for me to not get a guilty verdict. What am I even supposed to be guilty for, anyway? Being cursed?

But we're all cursed. Cursed to be shifters. Why should I be treated differently just because I'm an orphan?

This f*****g sucks.