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__________________________________ Lagomorphs Copyright © July, 2015, FurryWurry All rights reserved

Chapter 9 -- Entrance Exam __________________________________

It took longer than it should have: Jeff wasn't used to the altitude or to the long, steep climb. Several times Sky had to wait, impatiently, for him to catch his breath and take a sip of water, though Sky didn't want any. The sun was down and it was starting to get dark by the time they reached the warren, and Sky kept looking around nervously. Jeff could barely see the warren's entrance at the base of a large mound. A sliver of moon was near the western horizon. It'd be down soon, too. Then it'd be really dark, with only starlight to see by.

"Who goes there?" The whispered challenge was a little shaky.

"It's me, silly!" Sky admonished the young buck crouched in the opening. "And look: I brought a new friend. Now get out of the way and let us in. Quick!"

"You know we can't do that." The voice of an adult doe came from the darkness behind the sentry. "We don't know your friend. He might be a Demon come to Take us all. We have to Test him first. And you." She stepped forward. Her fur glimmered slightly in the dim moonlight. A young kit peeped from behind her. It was too dark to see their actual colors, but all three had fur as pale as Sky's, making them plainly visible in the dark. They probably had reason to be timid, being so easy to see.

"He's no Demon! I've been with him all afternoon. He's nice!" Sky threw an arm over Jeff's shoulders, patting Jeff's chest with his other hand. "See? You gotta let us in, quick! It's dark!" Jeff could feel Sky trembling. Nightfall seemed to scare him more than being alone.

"No. You both have to pass the Tests first. Now get away from him. He might have corrupted you."

"But, Cloudy, he hasn't! I just like him! We both need to come in!"

"Doesn't matter what you need. We need to make sure you're not Tainted. Get away from him, Sky, over there." She pointed to a spot maybe ten feet away. "Both of you, take off all your clothes."

"OK, OK." Almost whimpering, Sky let go of Jeff and moved away. He didn't go quite as far as the doe had indicated before he stopped and undid his loincloth. Jeff couldn't help watching.

"You! Stop staring at Sky and get those clothes off!"

"Jeff. My name is Jeff."

"I don't care what your name is. Stop dawdling. If we haven't finished the Tests by the time the moon sets, we'll leave you both out here. In the dark. For the Demons to Take."

"Jeff, please hurry!" Sky wailed.

"OK, OK." It was starting to get cold, but he'd better do it anyhow. Jeff dropped his backpack and pulled off his tee-shirt. He heard the young buck mutter something about "no fur."

"Hush," the doe, Cloudy?, admonished him. "Hurry up, uh, Jeff. Hurry up."

He squatted and took off his boots and socks, then pushed down his pants and briefs. He was very uncomfortable due to the cold, fright and no little embarrassment.

"OK, now what?"

"Hold out your arms and turn around. Slowly, so we can see everything. Both of you. Jeff, what's that on your chest?"

"It's just a medallion, why?"

"Take it off, too. I told you: everything." That wasn't what she'd said, but he didn't want to argue. Better to get this over as soon as possible. He dropped the carved disk on his pile of clothes.

"Wait, I'm the one who should be telling them what to do," the young buck suddenly said to the doe. "You're not a buck like us. It's not right for you to be giving them commands. You're not a buck. You're not."

"You're right, Rainy. Sorry. I wanted to get the Test started, but you're right. Go ahead."

"Jeff, how'd you loose your fur? Have you got the mange? Were you Taken by a Cock?"

"I've never had fur. My folk are mostly hairless." Maybe he'd gone a little overboard with the depilation. He'd thought it'd help with parasite problems, though, and maybe with odor control, too. Digging up garbage, he hadn't wanted to add his own stink. Of course, the ancient midden had smelled only of dust. But maybe the depilation did help. A little.

"He was with me all afternoon," Sky volunteered. "There weren't any Cocks around. None at all."

What did roosters have to do with anything? Did the ones here eat body hair? Were all the birds unreasonably large? Were there Kalenken, too? Is that what they meant?

"Oh. Well, that's OK, I guess." The young buck still seemed doubtful.

"Sit down," he ordered. "No, don't squat, sit all the way down. Uh, cross your legs, too." Jeff sat on his clothes. The grass was too cold and scratchy. He wouldn't be getting up easily, which probably was the point.

"I guess you have to do the rest, Cloudy, since Gemma's your kit."

Her kit? Something she made? Although that's also what most people called baby rabbits. It was the word he'd thought when he first saw the youngster.

"Gemma, dear, we need you to do something very, very brave. We need you to go sniff Sky and make sure it's really him. Let us know if he smells at all different. Then go hug Jeff. Tight. Smell him, too, so you'll recognize him later. Do you think you can do that?" The doe, Cloudy, crouched and stroked the kit's cheek.

"Sure!" The kit grinned broadly. "I like Unka Sky. I dunno the bare guy, but if Unka likes him, he must be OK!"

"Good girl."

Gemma sniffed Sky, especially his chin. "Yup. He's Unka Sky. And he's been eating strawberries." She gave him a quick hug while he licked her affectionately. Then she scampered over to Jeff.

"Sky's my uncle. Do you like him? I like him. A lot! I've known him all my life. He's funny sometimes. Are you? Laughing's fun, isn't it?" Their relationship was obvious. Both chattered. A lot. Or maybe it was what they both did when they were nervous.

She hugged him tight, sniffing his ears and chin. She was surprisingly strong. "You sure smell funny. I like it, though. Why doesn't your chin smell? Did you wipe it on Sky? I didn't smell you on him." She rubbed her chin on his shoulder. "There. Now you smell like me! You feel cold, too. Do I feel warm?"

"You sure do." And she smelled more like fresh-cut grass than Sky did. He couldn't smell anything from his shoulder, though, other than his own slightly pungent self.

"Gemma, I forgot. Look at his tongue, too. Is it flat or is it round like a branch?"

"Open up!" the kit demanded, then peered inside. "It's flat. Like a leaf. A pink leaf!" Pink? She could see that in this darkness? "And his teeth are small, too." She giggled. "You can't eat much with teeth like those, can you? You need big teeth like mine to chomp bark. Do you like bark? Some of it's really yummy. I like berries better, though. Did you have strawberries, too? Your mouth smells like them. Unka Sky was supposed to get some for Gran'Dam. Did you eat her berries? She won't like that."

"Just two." Hours ago, it seemed. Her sense of smell was amazing.

"Oh. Well, maybe that's OK. He has lots left, I think. His basket smells tasty. Well, the berries in it smell tasty! The basket's grass is getting really old. Yuck."

"OK, Gemma, that's enough, let go of him and come here."

Jeff wished she'd stayed a little longer: it was getting breezy and quite chilly. And even darker. The moon was starting to go down behind some shrubbery and clouds seemed to be rolling in from the north. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered.

The two sentries consulted quietly.

"OK, you both pass. Everybody inside! We have to shut the door for the night!"

Jeff grabbed his stuff and legged it for the warren, relieved that the strange test had been so simple. Sky beat him, but that was OK. He admired the scenery from behind, or what he remembered of it, anyhow. It was too dark to actually see much.

Warmth!