“Outside the Burrow”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: The leaves are orange.

The leaves dappled the ground, forming a mosaic of orange over the browning grass. Not many would dare venture forth into the clearing, yet he was different. He wanted to learn more about the world outside the Burrow, to see what adventures awaited.

He stretched out his nose tentatively, his whiskers brushing over the skeleton of a leaf. He jerked back instinctively, the feeling strange and unfamiliar.

Suddenly, he wasn’t so brave. He stumbled backwards, bumping into his mother’s soft side. He nuzzled against her, wanting nothing more than to hide from the terrors of the Outside.

A wet nose brushed the top of his head.

‘Come,’ his mother said. ‘Come, little one.’

Slowly but surely, she coaxed him out of the burrow. He shivered, the wind brushing through his thin fur and prickling his skin. He hopped forward cautiously, keeping the Burrow in his sights in case he needed to make a quick return.

His nose twitched as the autumn breeze carried many new scents. He reached up to sniff at the wind, only to stumble backwards and sneeze. Something tickled his nose and he sneezed once more, making him fall over and onto his back. His mother chuckled, but didn’t help him right himself. He shook out his long ears as he stood again, watching with wonder as small pieces of leaves fell from his fur and onto the ground beside him.

He hopped forward once more, his ears twitching at the sound of the crunch beneath his paws. He jumped slightly at the sound and lifted his paw, examining the orange powder on his pads. Eyes wide, he bent down to sniff his paw before sticking his tongue out to gently prod the powder. Immediately, he recoiled from the taste; it was bitter!

‘Come,’ his mother called once more, her voice a mere whisper in the wind. ‘Come, little one.’

He raised his head to look at his mother. She was gazing down at him, pride in her eyes.

‘Well done, little one,’ she whispered.

He puffed out his chest and strode forward with more confidence. The crunch beneath his paws didn’t scare him so much anymore. The scents were exciting and fresh.

He was ready for the Outside.

Final Comments: Coming into this one, I had no ideas whatsoever. But when I started writing, the image of a bunny popped into my mind, so I decided to go with that. Writing in the third person was also pretty different from what I’m used to, but it actually wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

Overall Rating: 🙂