Just gathering some herbs... (self){DONE}

[Jobie]

It was dark, just the way Cade liked it. In the dark of night the white jackalope hopped around with a basket dangling precariously from his antlers. The moon was full on this night and it was perfect for the red-eyed rabbit to see by to harvest his herbs and other plants he needed to keep his health up. Cade had been sickly since birth and had devised ways to try to keep him off of his bed and about, this being one of them. Gathering herbs was a habit of his, a much needed habit at that. If he didn't gather them and eat them, he got near his deathbed with his health. He loved to go out and about to gather the herbs he needed so long as the weather permitted. He went out in the dark of night because the sunlight posed a problem to him.

[Jobie]

Curses, she'd done it again. Samantha had always been a curious jackalope and tonight she had gotten into some trouble with one of the poachers because of her curiosity. She had witnessed them setting up traps in the meadows, and had gasped in disgust. It was a shame that they did such things to her kind for profit. Capturing them and treating them like animals was inhuman of the humans that did so. But as Samantha crouched behind her cover, which consisted of a small bush that barely covered her, the poachers spotted her. She took off at a fast run, trying to get as far away as possible. She heard them coming after her, their boots clomping and shouts of threats coming her way. They were not fast enough and Samantha found that she had outrun them, at least for now. But what she also found was that she had collided with another white jackalope whom she didn't know.

[Jobie]

Cade was minding his own business admiring a small patch of dark green grasses with little white flowers when something ran into him. He, of course, was knocked off balance by the force and went tumbling over. It sent his basket off his antlers and tumbling onto the ground. He landed flat on his front, barely stopping his face from smashing into the ground. The force that had knocked into him was now on top of him, but stumbling off. He turned around to see the greenish colored figure get up and brush itself off. He could also see its silhouette in the moonlight. The figure was definitely a jackalope. He could tell by her scent that she was a female, which he found a little odd. A lone female out in the middle of the night? That would make for an interesting story.

[Jobie]

The female stumbled off of her victim and brushed herself off, then turned to look at him. "So sorry," Samantha said to the poor guy. She really hadn't meant to knock him over. If she had paid better attention she wouldn't be in this mess. "The name's Samantha," she said with an embarrassed smile. She extended a paw to help the male up. He was still on the ground, which Samantha found a little odd. Had she hurt him that badly? She felt horrible. "I really am sorry. I didn't mean it," she added to her apology.

[Jobie]

Cade just stared at the strange female for a moment. It took a moment for her apology to sink in because he was not used to such things. Heck, he wasn't even used to much communication with other jackalopes period. He blinked, a light pink blush showing through his white fur. "Well, uh, I guess it's alright," he said to her, although he really wasn't sure his words were true. He had a very fragile frame and every bump caused at least a few bruises or, if it was bad enough, a broken bone or sprained ligament here or there.

He took her extended paw and lifted himself up, wincing as a pain shot through his left front leg. There was definitely a bruise there. Once standing, he released the others paw and brushed his front off. "I'm Cade," he said gruffly as he looked at the female. She was quite pretty, though he would never admit that out loud. He would probably laughed at or scorned for such a comment. He was always treated as such by other females because of his weakened condition.

[Jobie]

Samantha helped the white jackalope up. She noticed him wince in pain as she helped him and a million things rushed through her head. What if she had hurt him? She frowned and tilted her head, "Nice to meet you," she greeted him. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you," she added. And she really meant that. She hoped Cade wouldn't be mean to her for knocking him over. She didn't like it when others were mean, so she always tried to be nice. Well, she tried.

[Jobie]

"It's... ah, nothing," Cade said with a shrug, which induced another wince. He really wished people didn't ask about his injuries. They really were just a common occurrence to him and nothing more.

But Samantha was not to be fooled. "I'm not stupid, ya know," she said with a sly smile. She could sense that he didn't want to speak of it, but Samantha was curious. And, as they say, curiosity killed the cat, errr, jackalope.

He cursed silently as he tried to get away from the topic. "Well, it's, um, none of your concern," he said with a glance away from the female. As he was avoiding eye contact and thinking of a way to change the subject he realized something was missing. "Hey, have you seen my basket?"

Samantha rolled her eyes and pointed behind him. "It's right behind you," she told him.

[Jobie]

Darn it, Cade though to himself when Samantha pointed the other way. If he turned, he knew it would hurt and he would wince again. Or worse, cry out in pain. He sighed inwardly and turned his body. He tried his best to hide his facial expression, but he didn't think it worked because the next thing he knew Samantha was hopping around him to pick up the basket.

"I'll get it," she said as she picked it up and brought it over to Cade. Inside the basket were various grasses and other herbs. She tilted her head curiously. She wondered what Cade was gathering and what he used it for. It couldn't be just for meals. She looked at him questioningly.

Cade sighed and turned back to his original position. Well, that cat's out of the bag, he thought as he saw the look on the young female's face.

[Jobie]

Cade cleared his throat and glanced nervously at the female. He really hated sharing his secret, especially with the female. "Promise you won't tell anybody," he said in a hushed tone.

Samantha nodded, her expression serious. And it was true, even when she found out all kinds of secrets, she always kept her mouth shut about them. It wasn't her place to reveal other people's secrets. "Your secret is safe with me," she said with a wink.

"Well, it's kinda complicated," Cade began. He really didn't want to tell her about it, but it probably didn't matter anyway. She would probably never speak to him again. And for some reason he felt that she could be trusted. So he told her about how he was born with a sunlight sensitivity and how he needed the herbs and grasses to keep his health up. He also spoke of his fragile frame and how easily he was injured. He finished with, "I know I sound like a complainer, but it's true. That's why I keep wincing." He looked down at his paws in shame, afraid of what the pretty female would think.

[Jobie]

Samantha listened intently as Cade told her what his issues were. She felt a pang of pity for him, but she also felt that he was managing to get along on his own despite his disabilities. "You don't have a name for it?"

Cade shook his head sadly. "Nor a cure," he said with a frown. "I just take in whatever I can get from nature and I'm very precarious," he added with a shrug. "This is life." He offered her a reassuring smile, though he was sure it looked more like a grimace of pain.

Samantha smiled back, though it was a little forced. "Well, I do hope you will be alright," she said with another frown. She felt awfully guilty for running him over like she had.

[Jobie]

"I've survived this long, haven't I?" The question was rhetorical, but Cade asked it anyway. It wasn't very often that he got to talk to another jackalope, let alone a doe. And she wasn't acting appalled by his explanation, but rather curious and concerned. That made Cade feel much better about divulging his secret to Samantha.

Samantha chuckled slightly at his comment. "I suppose you have," she said with a slight smile. He didn't seem mad at her for knocking him over, which Samantha felt happy about. She really hated it when people held a grudge against her.

Cade smiled back at Samantha, glad for her company at the moment. She didn't seem as harsh as other females did when they found out about his condition. Just then he heard a crackling sound like someone was walking toward them on the dry grass. His ears perked up and a worried look appeared in his eyes. "What was that?"

[Jobie]

Samantha was now enjoying her time with Cade, although they had met under unusual circumstances. She running from poachers and he gathering plants. Speaking of the poachers... She too heard the sound. She knew this time that Cade's question wasn't rhetorical. "It's, ah, we um, need to get out of here," she said with a worried look. "I'll explain later..."

Cade now looked at Samantha with surprise. What was she talking about? Was she some kind of fugitive running from someone? The thought sent a shiver up his spine. As he hesitated, he noticed that there was a light accompanying the sound. His eyes locked in on the light. What was it?

Samantha began to pull on Cade, trying to make him run with her. But he seemed to be in a trance. The light was nearing them and they needed to get away! "We have to go, the poachers are after me!"

[Jobie]

Cade continued to stare at the light. It reminded him of the sun that he wasn't allowed to go out in anymore. He wondered if it was warm and if it would solve all his problems. He had no idea what the light was, but it sure looked good... But then he heard a voice. It was as if it was coming from far away, although it was right next to him. He turned from his haze and saw Samantha's worried face. He swallowed hard. "Poachers? Why?"

"Because," she whispered rapidly. "I saw them setting up their traps and got away," she added. Though she wasn't sure why they'd still be chasing her. Maybe they wanted her to sell her? She gulped at the thought and pushed on Cade once again, trying not to hurt him more.

The humans were approaching fast and Samantha needed to get away, but she didn't want to leave Cade. When the human's bodies came into sight she noticed that they were carrying nets, the kind you could just through atop an animal and it would become entangled. "Let's go," she hissed to Cade.

[Jobie]

Cade blinked, the situation finally sinking in when he saw the humans. He glanced at Samantha, then scooped his basket up and placed it on his antlers once more.

Samantha smiled at Cade's actions. He was finally moving! But she feared it was too late. The human's were getting closer, and closer meant they could be in range of throwing distance. "Alright, let's move," she said in a whisper as she began to hop away with Cade right behind her. Or rather, trailing a little bit.

Cade was hopping, following Samantha, when a sharp pain shot up his back foot. He must have stubbed his toe on a rock or something, because it really hurt. He stopped a moment to check if he was bleeding, but he had much more trouble than just a hurting toe. As he paused, the one poacher threw his net out, entangling the white buck in its ropes. Cade tumbled and cried out as the neck twisted around him, preventing him from going anywhere.

Samantha heard Cade call out and glanced around her to see what was going on. Oh no! A wave of panic spread through her as she saw the scene unfold. She was already far enough away so that the poachers couldn't get her, but they had gotten Cade!

[Jobie]

Cade struggled against the net that bound him, but it was useless. The more he struggled, the more it tangled him. It was caught in his horns and his feet were bound as well. After much struggle, he gave up. It was useless by this point. There was a face staring down at him and by the moonlight he could tell that it was female. "Hey, we got one! But I don't think it's the right one," she called out to her companion, a male.

The male human caught up to them, shining the flashlight in Cade's eyes. He flinched back, the light no longer welcome. The jackalope whimpered and shied away. "Nah, but we can still sell 'im," he said with a grin. The woman nodded, then lifted Cade up onto her back like he was a sack of potatoes.

~~~~~

Samantha watched with a look of horror on her face as the humans closed in on Cade. She needed to help him! But she didn't know how! She knew that if she just ran into it without thinking she would make a bigger mess that she already had. But what could she do? The humans were much bigger than she was.

[Jobie]

Samantha knew what she had to do, but it would be risky and dangerous. She wasn't even sure if it would work or not.

~~~~~

Cade let out a cry of pain as he was hoisted over the woman's back. As he hung there he closed his eyes to keep the world from spinning. He listened to the voices of the humans, wondering what they were going to do with them. He soon found out, they were going to sell him! What if they found out about his illness? Would they kill him?

Just then he heard what sounded like a battle cry. His eyes snapped open and he saw a figure coming towards them. As it neared he realized that it was Samantha. But what was she doing here? Didn't she know that she could get hurt?

[Jobie]

As Samantha neared the group she lowered her antlers and aimed at the legs of the one human. She had heard that if you aimed for the knees, they buckled and fell. She wasn't sure if it worked or not, but she would try it. She plowed into the first human and sent her to her knees because of the surprise in her attack. Samantha saw the net Cade was in fall from the human's clutches and the male rush to help his companion. Samantha took this opportunity to grab the net and pull Cade away.

~~~~~

Cade watched as Samantha came to his rescue. He fell from the human's clutches and to the ground with a loud 'umph'. As Samantha drug him away he bit his lip to keep from calling out in pain as the rocks scraped against his body. He hoped she knew of a way to get him out of the net without damaging him too badly.

~~~~~

Behind them the humans were recovering, although the female not had a deep cut in her leg from Samantha's antlers. The man cursed and got to fixing her up. "I suppose we've lost our rabbit," he said with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm ready to recapture tonight," the woman said with an equally heavy sigh.

[Jobie]

Samantha glanced back to where the humans had been and saw that they weren't giving chase. She heaved a heavy sigh and stopped pulling Cade. She looked at him worriedly. "I'm so sorry," she said with a frown. "I do hope you're okay."

Cade tried a smile to reassure Samantha, but it came out more as a grimace than a smile. "Can you just help me get outta this thing?" He didn't mean to sound rude to her, but he was really frustrated from being knocked around as he had been.

Samantha offered a smile, although the way his words sounded hurt. She really hadn't meant any harm... "Uh, yeah, sure thing," she said with a nod. She bent over to begin to nibble at the ropes with her front teeth. Soon, the ropes were falling away from Cade and onto the ground beside him.

[Jobie]

Cade could see the hurt in Samantha's eyes as she worked on getting him freed. He immediately felt bad for being harsh with her. Regret was a new feeling for Cade, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. Being on his own most of the time he didn't interact much and therefor didn't get the chance to hurt others often. He settled for a thank you after the ropes had come off. He pushed the broken rope away and sat up.

Beside him Samantha was sitting still, looking down at her paws with a look of shame on her face. She nodded at his thanks, but didn't look up. It was her fault Cade had been captured. If she hadn't been snooping or running without looking where she was going this wouldn't have happened. She sighed and looked away from the buck, not able to cope with looking at his angry expression.

[Jobie]

After a few moments of awkward silence hanging in the air Cade felt it was necessary to break it. He put a paw on Samantha's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said gently. "I didn't mean to hurt you either."

Samantha looked up at Cade with tears threatening to overflow from her eyes. "No, it's my fault," she said sadly. "If I hadn't been snooping or running without looking this wouldn't have happened," she added, voicing her previous thoughts. "Now you're hurt worse than before." She sniffed and looked into the white jackalope's red eyes. There was something there, but she couldn't quite place what. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

[Jobie]

Cade felt horrible now, but it wasn't because of his physical pains. It was because Samantha was blaming herself for what had happened. It was true, but Cade wasn't going to blame it on her like that! What kind of guy would he be if he did that? He cleared his throat, scooting a little closer to the female. "But it's over now. I'm alive, aren't I?" He managed a genuine smile this time as he sat there with the doe.

Samantha smiled shyly, acutely aware of their closeness. "Yes, yes you are," she said with a short giggle. "I suppose I shouldn't worry about what I cannot change," she continued with a small sigh. She blinked back the tears that were still threatening. She couldn't cry, not now. Not with Cade. The buck before him was actually being very nice, and she could finally identify the look in his eyes. It was regret. Regret for what, she wasn't sure. Perhaps it was for his harsh words earlier? She realized that she had overreacted to it.

[Jobie]

"That's the spirit," he said softly. As they sat there, so close to another, Cade had a thought. But he wasn't sure if he should carry out the thought. Just sitting there with Samantha he felt content, his disease completely from his mind. He felt himself leaning a little closer to her. He found himself changing the subject of the earlier encounter with a compliment to the doe. "You know, you are very pretty, Samantha," he said softly.

Samantha smiled softly at Cade's comment. She needed to get over that bump in the road. As long as she had not caused the death or selling of another she could get over it. Within moments she felt the mood around them change. It was much different from the self pitying one a moment ago. She looked toward Cade, who was closer than before. She swallowed nervously. "Thank you," she said softly. As she sat there, she felt the need to close the distance between them.

[Jobie]

As Samantha moved closer, Cade's heart began to pound rapidly. He closed his eyes as she closed the short distance between them. Their lips met and Cade felt as if his heard was going to beat right out of his chest. Her soft lips pressed against his own lips and he didn't want to remove them. It was such a sweet sensation.

On the other end of the kiss Samantha found her own heart pounding. She found that her lips wouldn't leave his, and she ended up deepening the kiss. After a few more seconds she pulled away from him, a small, embarrassed grin spreading across her features. The kiss had been wonderful, but she wondered if Cade had been comfortable with the sudden change of mood.

[Jobie]

Cade was completely caught off guard by the nights change of events. As he pulled away from Samantha his eyes opened and he blushed deeply. If he fur wasn't so light the blush wouldn't have been visible, but it was. He smiled sheepishly. He was unsure of what to do now, he didn't want to ruin anything.

Samantha found her own cheeks growing warm. She was speechless, but she knew she couldn't just kiss him and hop away. It had been unexpected and it bewildered the doe. She had never done anything like it. "I think, I, uh, have to go," she said softly as she looked away from Cade. There were many things she had to think about. What if the kiss turned into something else? What if he wanted to go into a relationship with her? The thoughts terrified her. She may have been thinking too far into it, but she had to go now. "Maybe, I'll, uh, see you later," she added. She didn't want him to think she didn't like her, because she did. She just wasn't sure how she liked him yet.

[Jobie]

Cade was a little taken back by Samantha's actions. "Well, okay," he said. He tried to keep the sadness from his voice, but he knew he couldn't keep it all out. "Yeah, I'll see you later," he added.

Samantha nodded. "It was nice meeting you," she said softly before turning to walk away. She hopped slowly away, thinking that maybe one day she would find Cade again, although she wasn't sure what would go on if she ever did. Maybe by then she would know what she wanted. But making any decisions tonight would be too soon.


"You too," he said with a small smile. Cade watched as Samantha walked away. Then he began thinking as well. He wondered why she had left so quickly. He also wondered why he had kissed her. He knew he liked her, but he wasn't sure if she liked him back. He really hoped that he would see her in the future.

[Sponsored content]