Oleander's Journal

Domain Animal: Cottontail Rabbit

The man walked through the woods, hesitant and terrified. He was  uncomfortably aware of everything, every movement made his eyes zip  around at unnerving speeds. The jitters, unsteady and unsure of himself  and the surroundings. In this scared manner, he searched for an exit  from the realm rather than wanting a domain animal. I mean, really? The  domain of tragedy? An animal? The only animal would probably be a dead  one, unsettling as that is.

In his dark suit, he stumbled forward, tripping over the terrain. The  brambles and tree branches reached for his clothing, tearing and making  themselves at home in the fabric. His jet black hair was slick with  sweat, traversing the woods was not the salaryman’s ideal questing  location. The dull eyes revealing his scatterbrained mindset, which was  common whenever his mind was not focused solely on work. When he  wandered, mentally, was a vulnerable spot which meant it let all the  anxieties and insecurity within him bubble up.

The man froze upon hearing scuffling, swiveling his head like a deer  towards the noise. His eyes wide like saucers, slowly inching forward  and peeking through the leaves. The scared eyes landed on the man, and  the wolf, and the blood.  Fear gripped him like a sobbing mother  watching her child die in her arms, instincts overlapping thoughts. He  felt the urge to rush forward, provide medical attention, as he was  skilled in first aid, thanks to his work’s requirement that all  employees know first aid. The overwhelming animalistic instinct kicked  in, overpowering his thoughts of helping.

Blood. Blood. The crimson liquid flowing from the wounds. That could be you. That should be you. Run. Run. Run. Why aren’t you running? Why aren’t your legs moving? MOVE THEM. In one quick moment, the man set off, full speed. Although he appeared  quite weak and otherwise slow, when driven by fear he was sonic. Gotta  fucking go fast. Life or death. He ran through the woods, bumping into trees and stumbling over rocks.  His dress shoes covered in dirt and grass, his necktie hanging loosely  around the thin pale neck. There was fear in his ragged breath, heart  racing faster than a student late for school. A tragedy.

It was then that he noticed a small furry blur running next to him,  large floppy ears waving in the wind. What was that? A rabbit. It was a  rabbit. It was running, just like Oleander. Was it running from the same  thing? Was it running from the predators on all sides? Did it run on  fear like the salaryman? It appeared to. A few steps more and he tripped  over a big log, crashing to the earth and letting out a long sigh.  While he stopped quite abruptly, the rabbit paused, staring back with  beady black eyes. He stared back at it.

They kind of just stared at each other for an awkwardly long amount of  time. It was then that Oleander realized that was his domain animal,  whether he liked it or not. They were very similar, slight in build,  aware, fast when scared. He hadn’t really put any thought into animals  before, but the fuzzy rabbit was sort of cute. Upon getting up, the  rabbit did not move, or rather it moved closer, approaching with a sense  of cautiousness.

Unsure on how to continue, Oleander reached out a hand, gently stopping  in front of the animal. Was it a rodent? He didn’t know animals well,  never needed to. He had always thought they were dangerous, but this  small thing didn’t seem like that. It was smol. Now that he had a domain  animal, this meant he had to name it right? There was a pause.

“… Y-you seem l-like a… Hyacinthus. Yes… for s-short Cinthus,” the man  mumbled, furrowing his brow. His own gray eyes stared back at the black  ones, each drowning in their own trauma. The similarities between them  are uncanny.

Hyacinthus: In Greek mythology, this is the name of a youth loved by Apollo who accidentally killed him, after which the hyacinth flower sprouted from his blood.