You move the golf stick, hitting the silver-colored golf ball into the hole about fifteen in front of you. The guys behind you cheer and clap as you get excited. Meanwhile, Rattlesnake Jake only smiles at your achievement without any of the guys noticing.
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Mayor: Is this your first time playing golf? You're a natural.
Y/n: (Smile) Thanks, and no it isn't.
Mayor: May I ask, where are you from, miss Y/n?
Y/n: Oh uh... I'm from a place very far away. I used to live with a human.
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In shock and surprise, the men behind you gasp and they whisper something about humans you didn't hear. But it seems that they're scared of humans.
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Mayor: A human? Now they didn't hurt a sweet rabbit like you, did they?
Y/n: Oh no, they took care of me since birth and-
Mayor: Cause the humans... ain't something none of us would never dare to come across. They're the most fearsome predators in the animal kingdom.
Rabbit Henchman: They'll kill us for our meat.
Reptile Henchman: And our skins.
Mayor: Of course, not all humans are vicious. But we must keep our distance from them to ensure our survival. You must have had one of the good ones.
Y/n: Oh yeah, I did.
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Maybe you should question him about why he's buying all of the farms on the land, including Beans. You do notice a few beavers building something near you all. Then a couple of beavers, one of them carrying large blueprints, walk towards the Mayor. As they talk to each other about the plans, one of the rabbit henchmen stands next to you.
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Y/n: Hey, do you know what they're building over there?
Rabbit Henchman: Oh yes, that's going to be a general store, I think.
Y/n: Oh.
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The mayor then finishes talking to the beavers and wheels over to you from his wheelchair.
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Mayor: I see you're interested in this soon-to-be new establishment Y/n?
Y/n: Huh? Oh yeah. Um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you buying most of the farms around here?
Mayor: Well unfortunately, the farms around here are not growing crops. No crops mean no food and with the lack of water, the best I can do for these struggling farmers and their families is give them the money so they can move to another location. And with those lands, I can rebuild the town into something greater than anyone can imagine. Come my dear, let me show you something.
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You follow him and he takes you to a standing telescope nearby. He signals you to have a look and you peek your right eye into it. When you do, you see what's down the hill near here. There are a little over a dozen buildings in the process of construction.
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Y/n: Woah... what else are you building mayor?
Mayor: The future miss Y/n, the future. You know our old town is not going to be adequate for living. What was once the center and the place to be in the desert has now become ruins. By building a new town, there's room for an improvement in the quality of life and a bright future.
Y/n: That's very impressive. But how will the folks stay if there's no more water in the area?
Mayor: I have some of my men still searching for that. In search of rivers, a nearby ocean, or underground water wells. We're very hopeful that we'll find it. And once we do, dozens will come back and live here where they don't have to worry about the building collapsing on them. And this will be a place where the civilized can live peacefully. That's what the future holds, miss Y/n.
Y/n: I can't wait to see when it's all done. Oh, (You point to a specific building) I bet that's going to be a school correct?
Mayor: (Chuckles) Correct.
Y/n: And... That there a hospital maybe?
Mayor: More like a gym and bar. The one all the way to the left is going to be a hospital. And that there will be a craft store and the one behind that is going to be a market.
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Rattlesnake Jake can only watch you talking to the mayor about the changes happening. He sees the innocent smile on your face and forks his tongue out for a second while making a quiet hiss. And he just keeps staring at you while you chatted and played golf with him.
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A Little Later...
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For the rest of the morning, you played golf with the mayor before heading back home and seeing Mrs. Belle taking a nap in her rocking chair in the living room. Instead of waking her up, you head upstairs and grab your book before laying in bed.
But after reading a couple of paragraphs, you put the book down and lay on your side facing the balcony. You're bored. And the only idea you can think of doing is running or sleeping. It has been a little bit since you practice your running. You get up and go downstairs before heading out the back door without waking Mrs. Belle.
As you prepare for your run, you stretch your arms and legs as a warm-up. You feel pretty confident in your speed compared to day one. But then again, back then, all you kept thinking about is how you were going to leave town and into human civilization without coming across predators. But now, you don't think leaving here would be a good idea.
You run towards the rock you mentally marked before. And as you run, you continue thinking of why staying here with Mrs. Belle might be better for you. There's the freedom, the friends, and kind folk, and with a new town in the works, you can definitely see yourself living there. That and the mayor did bring up a good point you haven't thought of, that humans are the top predators. Sure, your human is nowhere near a predator, but the humans that kidnapped you were. And then there are the hunters that'll kill you for your meat and skin. You honestly feel way more comfortable being around these animal folks than humans.
You stop at the rock for a second before running back to the building. Once you stop, you feel like someone's watching you. Looking around, you don't see anyone. Maybe you should head back inside and take a nap, thinking that it's the heat messing with you.
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...Night Comes...
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You say goodnight to Mrs. Belle before going upstairs to your room. You don't know if Rattlesnake Jake is out there, so you head towards the balcony to see if he's around. You don't see him yet, but you wait here for a little bit to make sure Mrs. Belle is deep asleep before you head downstairs and go out the back door.
You walk past the rock and continue straight down to another big rock nearby. You hop on the rock and lay down to get a better look at the night sky. It's a relaxing scene as you feel the cool breeze brush against your body and hear the sounds of crickets. You've definitely been more of a nightowl recently.
Wasn't long before you hear a familiar rattling sound. You turn your head to see Rattlesnake Jake circling his body around the rock you're laying on and resting his head on the rock next to you.
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Rattlesnake Jake: You don't get tired at night, do you?
Y/n: Nope, not recently at least. That was a good game of golf in the morning. Thanks again for inviting me to come with you.
Rattlesnake Jake: Don't mention it, little bunny.
Y/n: Haha, little bunny? I'm not a bunny.
Rattlesnake Jake: (Chuckles) You look one. Why don't you tell me a story about when you were with that human?
Y/n: Oh well, I have plenty of good stories. Like this one time...
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Three Short Stories Later...
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You two share a good laugh to the point where you're almost in tears. You haven't laughed this hard in a while, so having this laugh feels great.
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Y/n: (Laughs) Man... that was funny. And the best part was the dog took a number two in the human's shoes after we left.
Rattlesnake Jake: (Laughs) Where do you find these animals?
Y/n: I don't know, it just seemed like almost everywhere I went there was always some kind of trouble and for some reason, I have to be the one to fix it. But it was fun at least.
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You stop laughing and let out a calm sigh as you look at the night sky. Who knows what time it is and you couldn't care less about it.
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Y/n: It's such a good night, just laying here and having a good laugh.
Rattlesnake Jake: It sure is. Do you miss your human?
Y/n: When I first came to this town I did but... I've been thinking that... I don't. Not anymore. Here, I can make my own choices and not worry about my human setting me up with a male rabbit.
Rattlesnake Jake: Setting you up?
Y/n: Yeah, my human wanted to purchase a male rabbit for me to mate with him and have babies. But I didn't want that. You can't just force someone to fall in love, and I'm assuming that's what my human thought she could do.
Rattlesnake Jake: So you're not interested in relationships?
Y/n: I am, but if I'm going to be with someone. It'll be someone that I chose and not some human or anyone else telling me what to do. I'm following my own path, and I want to be with someone I can definitely see myself with for the rest of my life. I know that must sound incredibly cheesy.
Rattlesnake Jake: No, it's not.
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He then lifts himself up and looks around to see if there's anyone around.
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Rattlesnake Jake: It's getting real late for you. You should head back and get some rest, I'll take you home.
Y/n: (Smile) Alright.
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He wraps the lower part of his body around you and you look up at him and smile. He smiles back before lifting you off the ground and slithers to your home. Like last time, he stops before gently putting you down in front of the backdoor.
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Y/n: Goodnight Jake, I'll see you later.
Rattlesnake Jake: Night little bunny.
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You chuckle at his words before heading inside and calling it a night. You really enjoy talking to him. When you first saw him, you were really terrified of him, but now you don't feel that way anymore. In fact, you now think that you two are becoming friends.
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Main Owl: And the friendship between a rabbit and a dangerously venomous snake blossomed the night with their laughter. All though there is still a chance that she could be eaten by that same snake. But it seems like fear no longer controls her mind as well as her actions to want to continue seeing and speaking with him. But little do they both know that something bad, possibly life-threatening, will happen that will affect them both, and we shall see where their friendship will lead them.