EIGHTEEN: Interlude – Rabbit

Interlude:

Rabbit

“All right, y’all!” said Ms. Jensen, smiling as she took in the class full of over-energized second graders. “I’m sorry about recess, but I can’t turn off the rain for you. We’ll have read-aloud time and play some games afterward. How does that sound?”

“Boring!” one boy shouted, rocking back and forth so hard his desk clacked against the floor.

“Good,” a few kids said, their eyes already on the stack of board games in one corner of the classroom.

“Yes, ma’am,” the class’s goody-two-shoes replied, clasping her hands primly in her lap.

From his seat behind the girl, Alden Thorn raised his hand, stretching for the ceiling.

“Thank you for sitting so politely in your seat, Alden. Did you have a question?”

“Can you read from the book about superheroes?” he asked quickly.

“No, I want the dragon book!” another boy protested.

“I want—!”

Ms. Jensen held her hand up for silence. When the children finally calmed down, she said, “I think Alden should get to choose since he asked first. And since his family will be leaving Nashville soon to head to Chicago. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

A few people grumbled, but not many. Superheroes weren’t a bad choice, as far as rainy day reading material went.

The teacher pulled the familiar book out from under a stack of papers on her desk and took her seat at the front of the room. “Okay, who remembers which class of Avowed we read about last time?”

“Meister,” the girl sitting in front of Alden said promptly.

Alden lowered his hand in disappointment.

“That’s right, Clara. So, let’s see…oh, today’s class is one of the rares! Isn’t that exciting? Who knows what a Rabbit does?”

“My daddy says they’re rich.”

“My daddy says they’re cowards.”

“You’re wrong!” Clara said in an uncharacteristic shout. “That’s a bad thing to call any of the Avowed. They’re brave, and they fight demons and bad guys for us, and my momma says only dissants say mean things about them because they’re jealous not everyone gets powers!”

The whole class had started whispering. Ms. Jensen’s smile was getting thinner by the second.

“Settle down!” she called. “Remember that conversation we’ve had a few times this year? About how we will try to think our own thoughts in class and not only repeat what we’ve heard from others?”

Clara gasped. “But that doesn’t mean our parents, does it?”

The teacher cleared her throat. “Let’s all learn from this nice book,” she said. “And not talk about things like dissidents anymore.”

Before anyone could protest, she started reading.

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from A Children’s Encyclopedia of the Avowed

(Interviews with real supherhumans in every chapter!)

You’ve probably heard of the classes we’ve talked about so far, but have you ever heard of a Rabbit?

No, not the cute and cuddly animal you might have for a pet!

Rabbit is a funny-sounding name for an Avowed class that is just as serious and important as all the others in this book. Rabbits offer their service to make Earth and Artona better places, just like all the other superhumans here!

The Interdimensional Warriors Contract isn’t just for people who fight villains here on Earth and wherever else they might be called to by our Artonan friends.

We’ve already met some healers. Let’s learn about another class that does special work away from the dangers of the battlefield!

But first, where did the name “Rabbit” come from? To answer that question, we’ve asked Honorable Ty-krol, a biologist from Artona 2, to explain:

The Ryeh-b’t is a small flying reptile, native to Artona 3. It was domesticated more than twenty thousand years ago, and it has since become a popular companion animal throughout the Triplanets and on many of our resource worlds.

The Ryeh-b’t is known for being swift, clever, and easily trained. Many Artonan children enjoy using their pet Ryeh-b’ts to send gifts and messages to their friends.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Though normally it is unacceptable to call sentient beings by animal names, the Ryeh-b’t is so beloved that it has become common practice to refer to particularly helpful children or useful junior members of business organizations as “Little Ryeh-b’ts.”

The Ryeh-b’t class exists on every Artonan resource world. Humans who are chosen as Ryeh-b’ts usually use their skills to work as assistants and errand-runners on the Triplanets. Their powers might not be as flashy as a superhero’s, but they are summoned to help out the Artonans more often than any other class!

When the System first came to Earth in 1963, the word Ryeh-b’t and the way members of the class are prone to disappearing in a flash when they’re summoned, made English-speakers think of rabbits.

The name quickly entered common use, and the System adjusted it to accommodate human preferences.

Now, our friendly interviewer Steven will talk to A-rank Rabbit Maryam Musa about this interesting class.

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Steven: Hi, Ms. Musa! Our young readers would love to know more about you and Rabbits in general. How long have you been a Rabbit?