Virtual Quill

Halloween’s coming up, and I had the option of going trick-or-treating as a spiderweb. Fenton and I were out flying, and he had a momentary lapse of concentration. The next thing I knew I was covered in silk. I was mad, and he felt awful. He’s been extra nice to me since. (I’m still finding the stuff in my quills.)
Speaking of Halloween, Fenton got wind of something his parents were plotting. They were going to pay trick-or-treaters to show up at my dorm room dressed as Wedding Planners. (They’re really persistent.) I’m still insisting on waiting until after I graduate, even though in my mind Fenton and I are already in a lifetime union. The main reason is...well, I don’t want to risk becoming a parent before I complete my degree.
Yes, plenty of college students do that and still graduate. (Kell, in fact, had Rudy during college and she graduated.) I just know how bad I am at multitasking. I focus intently on ONE THING at a time. When I do become pregnant, whenever that is, it will be all-encompassing for me.
This comes to mind because Rhonda was late this month. She and Quinn thought they might be expecting for a few days, but it was a false alarm.
Speaking of decisions, the election is reaching a crescendo, but I’m avoiding that topic since I want this corner of cyberspace to remain politics-free.
Finally, for all of you German-speaking fans of Hello Kitty, here’s my fave YouTube video of the week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJOJ9xhGanc. It’s a spoof of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_-sm_B9HAM.

After signing off last Sunday night I simply couldn't sit in my dorm room watching my father suffer through the filibuster. I texted my professors and told them a family emergency was calling me away. Some of them knew exactly what that was, but other academics don't follow the news so much.
Two hours later I was back home, watching the TV along with Kell and Rudy. Hours later Dad collapsed, causing Kell to bemoan her decision not to go down there to be at his side no matter what the consequences. Suddenly a snake sprung down from an overhead vent.
Kell screamed, and Rudy and I sucked in our breath. That's when we saw Coney, who had been quietly keeping to herself in a corner, leap into action.
Before the snake could sink its fangs into Dad she grabbed its tail and, in one quick motion, swung its head into the wall. It was killed instantly, and Coney proceeded to slowly chew it which continued the filibuster. (No one objected since the rest of the Council had already fled in terror.)
They returned just before Dad regained consciousness. They knew they were beaten, and that if they wanted Coney's protection they'd have to reform themselves. Some decided not to go along, and at least one lived to regret it when they encountered the dead snake's spouse just outside the warren entrance.
So, Dad and Coney remain on the Council which no longer meets in shadows. We'll see how long they stay honest.
Lastly, to make up the classwork I missed by going home I won't be as available for follow-up comments as I usually am. I'll do my best, though!

I write this on Day Three of Dad’s filibuster of the Rabbit Council. I don’t know how much those of you on the other side of the portal know about this, but Dad discovered that all of the other Council members were fantastically corrupt. Kell didn’t want Coney to be associated with such behavior, so Dad tried to step down from his seat. The Council members still wanted Coney’s protection, however, and refused his resignation. That’s when he started his filibuster.
Some legislative bodies use speech to hold the floor, but food is such an important part of rabbit life that it’s the act of chewing that the Council recognizes. This is standard for herbivore groups, as predators usually swallow things much, much quicker.
I’m following the events online, and Kell and Rudy watch on the TV back home as Dad chews and Coney draws pictures with her crayons when she’s not sleeping. Kell wanted to retrieve Coney when the filibuster started, but knew that going down into the warren would...complicate matters. Gran and Danielle volunteered to get her, but the Council signaled that Coney had to stay. She seems okay; there’s a lot going on around her and of course she’s well fed from the food coming in from the rest of rabbit society.
There lies the tale: the reaction of other rabbits. Veggies are pouring in from all quarters to aid Dad. Of course his quest is to leave the Council, but his act of defiance has released a wave of support simply to express disapproval of the status quo. It’s inspiring, if it wasn’t so painful to see Dad pushed to the limits of physical endurance.

It was an enormous honor for Dad to be appointed to the Rabbit Council, although he remains an outsider among the group. When they convene he’s the only one who sits under a lamp while the rest remain in shadow. At first he thought that they sat in darkness out of an instinct for self-preservation, but with Coney there they should have nothing to fear.
To be honest, I never paid much attention to rabbit politics while I was growing up in the warren. You might say that was for obvious reasons, but looking back I wish I had. (I’m making up for that now.)
Speaking of instincts, last week I was asked about how Danielle and I acquired our respective rabbit and hedgehog instincts when we “crossed over” from being human. In my case, I was infant so I didn’t have an established neural framework to re-wire. It was more complicated for Danielle, and in some respects it was an incomplete process. She still enjoys eating meat, for instance, and is generally fearless. (The latter trait, of course, does run in the family.)
Danielle does acknowledge, though, that she has picked up some strong rabbit instincts. She won’t elaborate, but when she says that she smiles...at George.
My hedgehog instincts are still in full force. I wonder, though, if my being born as a human had something to do with being able to spent my entire childhood believing I was a herbivorous porcupine instead of an insect-eating hedgehog. Angelique forced that belief on me since she didn’t want to feed me crickets, but perhaps my origins left me malleable enough to maintain that identity all the way to my senior year in high school.
That needs more research. Research...Mmmm...happy place...