I rack my brain, trying to figure out where they could have gone.
My first thought would of course be invisibility...if it made any sense at all. Ignoring the rabbit-kin's supposed class incompatibility and the rarity of that spell, they're not even registering with my magic sense.
So, some other kind of magical ability that hides them from all of my senses? I've never heard of such a thing, but...I guess that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
This is...troubling.
"What's wrong?" (Zara)
Zara is giving me a concerned look. I frown.
"I can't see them, and I can't sense them either. Any of them. It's like they all disappeared. I have no idea what's going on." (Mizuki)
Surprise flickers across her expression, then she sighs.
"I have no idea how that's possible, but it is probably for the best. You seem...agitated, and I'd like to establish trade relations with them, if not more." (Zara)
I freeze.
Guilty as charged, I suppose. Alto would definitely chastise me for almost forgetting about how much of a vested interest Zara has in this trip. All I really need from each race is to tune my magic sense to them, to inform them about the situation with the Empire, and to make sure they're prepared to accept refugees from my jailbreak, if one proves necessary.
If push comes to shove, I could do all that without their cooperation. Zara, on the other hand, is resting the future of her people on this going smoothly. I...should really keep that in mind, going forward.
I scratch my cheek nervously.
"Uhm...yeah, I'm sorry about that. I'll behave myself from now on though...I promise." (Mizuki)
Zara cocks an eyebrow.
"Really? What if another scared rabbit yells again?" (Zara)
I blink.
"Was that...sarcasm? You make jokes now?" (Mizuki)
Zara lets out a small smile.
"Alara says it's important that a leader has a sense of humor." (Zara)
Of course she did...what is Alara doing, corrupting my straightforward little Zara? Clearly, her and I need to talk.
I sigh, then take a look around the farmland. Around, I see numerous farming tools dropped haphazardly. Hmm...I mean, they have to come back here eventually, right?
"Alright, Zara, time for plan B, I guess. You ready?" (Mizuki)
She raises her eyebrows.
"What are we doing?" (Zara)
I give her a sly smile. Then, I raise my voice conspicuously.
"What are we doing!? Well, clearly trying to talk to them is a waste of time! We're leaving, obviously!" (Mizuki)
[Just kidding...] (Mizuki)
I wrap my arm around Zara and cast an invisibility and silencing spell around us, before flying us into the air once again. I stop a few dozen meters above the ground. I glance at Zara, who is watching me with a curious expression.
"It's okay, we can talk now." (Mizuki)
She smiles.
"So, what are we really doing?" (Zara)
I sigh.
"We're...waiting. I don't know when, or how, but if they think we've left, they should come back. They were busy, after all. It's not an ideal strategy, but...I don't know what else to do." (Mizuki)
Zara nods.
"Okay. What do we do when they return?" (Zara)
I frown.
"I haven't figured that part out yet. Any suggestions?" (Mizuki)
She shrugs.
"You look human, so you're probably especially terrifying to them. I could try talking to them alone, while you stay invisible?" (Zara)
I guess I don't really have a better idea. I nod.
"It's worth a shot, I guess. If your friend tries to run again, though, do you want me to stop them?" (Mizuki)
Zara's brow furrows thoughtfully. She shakes her head.
"No, I don't want to do anything aggressive...yet. If that happens again, just see if you can figure out how they're disappearing." (Zara)
"Can do..." (Mizuki)
And then, we fall silent, and begin watching patiently...
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
We end up having to wait longer than I expect, so Zara and I take the time to chat. I ask her about the rabbit-kin's ridiculous speed, assuming that some of them must be able to use physical enhancement. However, it turns out that it's just part of the rabbit-kin's natural physique. Much like the wolf-kin are naturally stronger than humans, with subtly clawed hands and better senses, the rabbit-kin are extremely fast, and they have especially sharp hearing.
Apparently, this is true for every race of demi-humans. They have some kind of enhanced facets of their physique, and specialize in a certain type of magic.
Our discussion is interrupted when, after over an hour of periodically checking the area below with my magic sense, I finally sense one signature pop up. I sit up straight, my eyes narrowing seriously as I look in the direction I sense them.
I nudge Zara.
"Zara, I sense someone." (Mizuki)
She leans forward curiously, following my gaze.
"Where? I haven't seen anyone moving." (Zara)
I nod.
The signature isn't too far away from where we originally landed, yet I haven't seen anyone moving to that spot from the surrounding area either. It's like the magic signature popped up out of nowhere.
I point with my hand towards the approximate location where I sense the magic signature, guiding Zara's gaze. As far as I can see from this distance, there's nothing there, though.
"There...I'm going to take us closer." (Mizuki)
Without waiting for her response, I fly us down closer to where I sense the individual. As we near, I notice a small patch of white against the dark, earthen background, and I nearly drop us mid-flight out of shock.
Zara's dumbfounded voice reaches my ears.
"Are they...underground?" (Zara)
I have to fight the urge to slap myself on the forehead. Indeed, her and I are staring at a rabbit-kin man, the same one that ran from us earlier, poking his head out from under a camouflaged trapdoor, looking around nervously.
I sigh bitterly.
"I'm an idiot..." (Mizuki)
In retrospect, this should have been obvious to me. Why I sensed such a massive cluster of people from further away, but not when we arrived, and why there were no major living structures around.
My normal magic sense is just a 2D grid, which means that it has virtually no margin for error in the up-down dimension during use. Especially over large distances past my line of sight, this normally forces me to 'scan' that axis with my magic sense grid, to account for changes in terrain elevation and even the curvature of the planet. When detectable magic signatures start popping up in that area of the grid, I know I've got the right elevation, and if it proves necessary, I can swap the magic sense to probe for matter density, which lets me find the ground-air interface.
However, when I use my magic sense within line of sight, I just instantly cast its grid right above ground level. So, if the rabbit-kin population was largely underground, then it makes sense that I'd detect them by magic sense from far away, but they'd suddenly 'disappear' when I got close. The same applies for when I tried to track the fleeing rabbit-kin – they must have dived into nearby underground access tunnels, evading my magic sense at ground-level.
Also, not to racially stereotype these guys or anything, but...normal rabbits live in underground burrows, so why not rabbit-kin, I guess? Again, in retrospect, I really do feel stupid for not considering this sooner.
Curious, I quickly cast my magic sense again, this time allowing it to scan into the ground. In just a couple seconds, I register a staggering number of signatures – over ten thousand, for sure. I know a full-blown settlement when I see one. They're spread out over quite some distance, but that only makes sense with them being underground. They can't just excavate the space for a normal, dense city without some incredibly advanced structural engineering. As is, I'm already impressed.
I turn to Zara with an exasperated smile.
"Well, I certainly feel dumb for missing all these rabbit-kin so easily, but...you couldn't have told me that they live in underground burrows? I was only extending my senses above ground." (Mizuki)
However, Zara's expression is genuinely bewildered, disbelief dripping from her voice.
"They don't...or, well, they didn't. I've never heard of such a thing. It's been a couple centuries or more since the wolf-kin have really interacted with the other demi-human races as a people, but it was my understanding that the rabbit-kin lived in simple huts. I was told they're not much more advanced than the wolf-kin were. I don't know how they could manage to build entire villages underground. " (Zara)
I purse my lips, intrigued by the obvious disparity between reality and Zara's expectations.
"Well clearly, something has changed. Regardless, this is something you can just ask them yourself. It looks like you're up." (Mizuki)
I nod at the area about ten meters away from us, where the rabbit-kin man was scouting out of his hidden access point. He's cautiously climbing out of the ground, and soon I see other rabbit-kin emerging from additional trapdoors scattered across the surrounding area. They soon begin picking up their tools, clearly prepared to get back to work.
Zara takes a deep breath.
"I suppose you're right." (Zara)
With that, she nods at me before hopping down onto the ground, emerging from both my invisibility and silencing spells. She lands with a thud, drawing the attention of the nearby rabbit-kin, including our dear friend Screams. Once again, their eyes go wide as saucers, while Zara gives a polite, non-threatening bow.
"Please don't be alarmed. I am Zara, Elder of the wolf-kin." (Zara)
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
"Niceee." (Mizuki)
Zara gives me a deadpan look.
"Perhaps we should revisit your plan of strangling that man...you can find him now, right?" (Zara)
I smirk at Zara, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Wait, wait...don't be so hasty. That scream of his definitely sounded slightly less terrified this time. You're totally making progress." (Mizuki)
Ahhh yes...it seems Zara's hypothesis that I was the architect of the rabbit-kin's fear was flawed. When she tried to introduce herself alone, a very familiar scene played out. Now, the rabbit-kin still have yet to reemerge...we've been sitting in the sky for over two hours. They're clearly even more on guard after this last interaction, and there's no telling when we'll see them again.
On top of that, when the rabbit-kin threw his hoe at Zara and bolted this time, it hit her pretty squarely in the face. It was hard enough to draw blood. She's not as sturdy as me, after all. I made sure to heal that wound along with her ears, which were again ringing from the man's scream, but Zara...
I glance at her, and she's rubbing her forehead with an irritated look.
"Being polite is not getting us anywhere...perhaps we should revisit your earlier suggestion." (Zara)
I smile to myself.
Zara's clearly upset by that cheap blow from the hoe, and I'm also starting to get the impression that her impatient wolf-kin nature makes sitting around for hours like this torture. It must be getting to her, if she's now seeing my earlier suggestion to strangle Screams as appealing. Oh how the turntables...
Sweet irony aside, now that I'm calm, I don't think we're quite there yet.
I shake my head, preparing to try and calm Zara down, when her head suddenly jerks in a particular direction. Her eyes sharpen, and her tone becomes unexpectedly severe.
"Did you hear that?" (Zara)
I raise my eyebrows.
"Hear wh-" (Mizuki)
Before I can finish my question, I hear the familiar warning screams of the rabbit-kin begin echoing all across the area below us from their hidden access points...
"PREDATOR! {in rabbit-tongue}"
"PREDATOR! {in rabbit-tongue}"
"PREDATOR! {in rabbit-tongue}"
...and on and on.
Shortly after, the very air around us seems to vibrate as a deafening sound rips across the plains.
ROAARRRRRRR!