Starrunner

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As you travel through the jungle, suddenly you happen across a small structure built between two trees. It looks like a tiny house on a stick. A sign on the front says, "Take a book ~ Leave a book".

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Starrunner checked her map again. The little library should be around... She frowned. Yes, she was definitely close. She could tell by the books and scrolls strewn across the ground.

She trotted over to them and started sorting through them, annoyed. None of them seemed to be too badly damaged, just a little dirt and a few bent pages from being tossed haphazardly onto the forest floor. Fortunately, it hadn't rained recently. These places were supposed to let forest-dwelling dragons enjoy a good book now and then, and it was pretty confusing and frustrating to see one vandalized-

Starrunner looked up to put the books away, and found her way blocked by a scared-looking rabbit inside the book box.

"Ah," she sighed.

It seemed that the little library box was about the right size for an enterprising rabbit to make a nest in, as long as it kicked all those pesky books out of the way first. Starrunner had no idea how it had gotten in. The doors had latches; maybe the last sapient visitor had left it open by mistake. At least the rabbit hadn't decided to use the books for its nest.

Just as Starrunner was contemplating whether to reach in and make an easy meal out of the intruder, the rabbit made a break for it, almost making her drop the books again. It darted off into the undergrowth. Starrunner sighed again, rolled her eyes, and started pulling the nesting material out of the box so that she could put the books back.

As Starrunner put the last book back in place, someone came up behind her. "Excuse me," a somewhat soft-spoken voice interrupted. "You haven't, um... seen a brown and white rabbit come through here, have you?"

She turned to face the speaker: a pink and brown Coatl. The expression on his face told her exactly what he was thinking her answer might be, and indeed, what it almost would have been. Instead, Starrunner pointed to the undergrowth. "It went that way. I scared it off after it tried to make a nest out of my book box."

"Oh!" The Coatl's crest popped up with relief.

Starrunner chuckled. "I promise I did not eat your rabbit. But I can't say I didn't consider it - the thing just escaped."

"Thanks for your honesty," the Coatl hummed distractedly, already nosing through the brush. "Lucky? Lucky!"

Starrunner stepped back, to not impede the search. Within a few minutes of cajoling, the rabbit poked its head out, then bounded onto the Coatl's back and hid itself between his wings.

"Sorry about that," the Coatl admitted. "Lucky is wily. She tends to escape a lot. I swear she can open her own cage sometimes."

"No great harm was done," Starrunner reassured him. "All the books are intact, and Lucky didn't become my lunch."

The Coatl twisted his head around to check on Lucky. "It looks like she still thinks she might," he commented with a smile. "My name is Bok, by the way. I can't say I expected to see a miniature library and, I assume, its librarian, in the middle of the Wilds."

"Starrunner... you can just call me Star." Why had she given him her nickname right away? "Are... you living in the area?"

"Looking for a new place, actually," Bok explained. "Hence the escapee. My rabbits are all in their travel hutches - or they're supposed to be - and they aren't as secure as when I can set up a more permanent space for them."

"You could check out our clan," Starrunner offered hastily. "We're pretty small right now, just doing what we can, but many hands make light work, you know-"

"I appreciate that." Bok smiled again, stopping Starrunner in her tracks. "Let me just get Lucky back in her cage, and then I'll meet you back here before noon. Does that sound like a date?"

"Uh, y-yes," Starrunner stammered, trying to find the wherewithal to berate herself for getting so flustered. "It's... a date."

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Out-of-bio Lore
Sornieth Winter Games 2021
Sornieth Winter Games 2022

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