ToT Intermission Part 1: Babysitting Bunnies

“Again, thanks so much for watching the kids! I’m so sorry to burden you, but Vander and I are both very busy. I’m just glad that we found someone willing to watch Chili, especially after last time…” Curry muttered the last bit. “Um, w-what happened last t-time?” Curry laughed nervously. “Oh, nothing! Just talking to myself! Anyway, I’ll be back this evening to pick them up. See you in a little while!”


As soon as Curry was gone, Chili immediately began pestering her brother Ginger. “Hey, nerd, still reading that book?” Ginger just ignored her, making the older Buneary mad. “Hey, don’t you give me the cold shoulder!” Chili began giggling. “Pun not intended.” Ginger sighed. “Just because I can use Ice-Type moves doesn’t mean that’s a pun. Stop trying to act smart. You’re not.” “Why you-!”


“Now now, you two, break it up! We won’t put up with this bickering.” Horace scolded the two. He sighed and turned to Gary. “What are we gonna do with these three? Clearly, keeping them all in the same room is a bad idea.” “W-well, maybe we could split them up. I c-could watch Ginger and Ray, a-and you could watch Chili.” Horace sighed again. “That could work, but I’d need something to occupy her. And we only took this job because we were freed up.” Just then, the doorbell rang.


Upon opening it, they found a Diglett impatiently moving around, which was tearing up the porch. How did he hit the doorbell? Horace shook his head. That wasn’t important. “Can we help you?” The Diglett looked up at them. “Hey guys, the name’s Zeb. I’m Lady Sela’s assistant. I heard you weren’t out on any missions, so I came to ask for a favor. Mind if I come in?” “Err…” Horace tried to stall, wondering how to explain that he didn’t want Zeb to rip up the floorboards without offending him. Just then, the sound of Chili letting loose a Hyper Voice shook the house.


“I see you have company. Alright, I’ll just ask here.” Phew. “I’m here because the tunnels I use to get through the Great Tree are starting to get too dry. When that happens, they can collapse altogether. So, I need someone to help me collect some dirt to pack it in. I can do the packing myself, but I need someone to bring the dirt, since I don’t have arms. Can you do that?”


“W-well, we actually-” “We can do that!” Gary looked at Horace in shock. “What?! B-but we have to watch Curry’s kids!” Horace grinned. “Yeah, but this’ll give me an opportunity to distract Chili with something. If I take her on a mission, she’ll probably come along no problem!” Gary looked apprehensive. “I don’t know, Horace. W-what if she wanders off?


“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something.” Horace turned back to Zeb. “Alright, I think I can handle it.” Zeb smiled. “Sweet. Here’s a map of the dirt mounds. I’ve gotta go report back to Lady Sela. See you later!” He burrowed back into the ground, leaving a hole in the porch. Horace sighed. “We’ll have to fix that later. First, let’s go assess the damage of that Hyper Voice.”


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“So, Chili, how would you like to go on a real life mission?” Horace winked at her, hoping she’d buy into it. Thankfully, she did, as he could tell by her shining eyes. “Awesome! My dad never lets me go with him! Are we gonna beat up bandits?” Horace laughed. “Well, you’re still a little young for that. But it’s a mission nonetheless. Come with me and I’ll explain the details.” The fiery little rabbit followed him out the door, slamming it as she left.” Gary let out a sigh. “Th-thank goodness she’s gone.” He turned to the children left in his care.


Ginger was a good kid, so Gary would have no trouble there. He would probably just borrow a few books to study from, or do work for the Scholars. Ray was a little harder to figure out. He was a quiet kid, very shy. Gary wasn’t sure what he might want to do while he was there. Well, maybe I should just ask him. “S-so, um, Ray…” The little Tyrogue looked up at him, then averted his gaze, mumbling something. </i>He’s as bad as I was when I was his age. What am I supposed to do with him? Maybe I should ask Ginger. </i>


He found him sitting quietly on the couch. “H-hey, um, Ginger?” The younger rabbit sibling looked up from his book. “Yes, Mr. Gary?” Gary blushed. He’s so polite. Unlike his sister. “Um, is there anything s-specific that Ray would like t-to do?”Ginger rubbed his chin, thinking hard. Other than playing pranks with Chili, I don’t really know what he enjoys. He’s a quiet kid, and normally he's busy doing chores at home.”


Gary sighed. Well, I guess I’ll just have to come up with something myself. “Ok, w-well, th-thanks anyway.” As he turned to leave, Ginger closed his book. “Actually, I have a question. Do you have any other books around here? I’ve just finished this one, you see.” Gary smiled. “Oh sure, w-we have lots of books. Here, I’ll sh-show you to my room.”


Gary lead Ginger into his bedroom, where he had shelves filled with books. Ginger’s eyes shone with amazement. “Mr. Gary! This is incredible! Where did you get all of these from?” He began browsing the shelves. Gary blushed a little. “W-well, these are mostly gifts, f-from my brother. I had him ship them up here a while back.” I wonder if he’s doing alright. It’s been a while since his last letter…


“Mr. Gary? Do you mind if I read some of these? Many of them are titles not available in this area. I believe they would be an interesting read.” Gary beamed. “G-go ahead. Books were m-made for reading, after all.”