"Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Remember me to one who lives here. For he once was a true love of mine," Y/N sang. She glanced up from the flowers in her hands and smiled as she watched her little sister frolicking in the tall grasses and flowers, her pink and white checkered skirt fluttering in the breeze. Lulu usually stayed within the safe oaken walls of the burrow, and whenever she did leave, she always had to have a companion with her. Even in the meadow, there were too many risks of danger, or so Y/N's mother and father thought.
She turned back to the daisies and daffodils in her hands and continued weaving the stems together. "Tell him to make me a cambric shirt. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Without no seam, or fine needlework. And he shall be the true love of mine." She reached over to the smile pile of daisies that Lulu had collected for her and picked another one. She rubbed the stem between her fingers for a moment, admiring the way that the petals shone in the morning sun, before intertwining it with the others in her hands.
"N/N!"
Y/N glanced up and smiled when she saw Lulu bouncing towards her, Ayala running along behind her. She set aside her work and stretched her arms out, allowing her little sister to come flying into her arms, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. Ayala fell to the ground beside Y/N and embraced her friend.
"How are you today, Y/N," Ayala asked as she pulled away from the hug. She sat back on her calves and picked up the flower crown that Y/N had been working on. Ayala always loved admiring Y/N's work, whether it was the gentle stitches on fabric, the seam in a new dress, or the careful weaving of grass and flower stems.
Y/N shrugged. "Okay."
"Y/N~ Can you braid my hair?" Lulu pulled away from her hug and sat on Y/N's legs, holding out a strand of her hair to her sister.
Y/N smiled. "Of course. Turn around."
Lulu eagerly spun around and sat facing the small pond in the centre of the lake, humming softly as Y/N began to braid her hair. The older bunny pulled out a pink ribbon from her apron pocket and as she neared the end of the braid, she started to weave it in, twisting the ribbon as if it were a strand in her sister's hair.
"There," she said after a few minutes. "All done." She picked up a daisy from her pile and slid it into her sister's braid before turning her around to show Ayala.
"Perfect," Ayala mused. "Absolutely adorable." She bumped elbows with Y/N and the girls smiled as Lulu admired her braid.
"I'm gonna go play," the little bunny declared, getting to her feet, and she bounded off a moment later, calling for her friends in the meadow.
"Don't go near the forest or the wall," Y/N called after her. Lulu called back, saying that she remembered, and disappeared from the girl's sight a moment later, though they could still hear her shouting for Ayala's brothers to come and play with her. Y/N giggled and took her flower crown back from Ayala.
"Who's the crown for," Ayala asked, leaning back on her palms as she stared at the willow at the other end of the meadow.
Y/N shrugged, "I don't know yet. I wasn't making it with anyone in mind." She held it up, turning it slowly to see if she had any gaps in the flowers, and when she decided that she didn't, she set it down on her lap again and continued weaving.
It was quiet for a moment as the two girls sat there, listening to the song of the birds as they fluttered by overhead, and to the wind as it rustled the grass around them. The sound of the brook and the pond as small fish jumped and fell back beneath the surface, and the sound of bumblebees and honeybees buzzing to and fro as they searched for flowers. One little bee bumped its nose against Y/N's cheek and she giggled, holding out her hand for it. Despite what others thought about the bees, Y/N loved them. She loved their tiny little wings and their fuzzy little bodies that shimmered like gems as they flew by, like little drops of gold, the children of the sun above.
"Hello to you too," she cooed as she watched the bumblebee dance on her finger. She reached out with her other hand and gently drew it across the bumblebee's back, petting it as she would a little kitten. "How are you on this fine day?"
The bee buzzed in response, before lifting from her finger. It bumped her once more before fluttering off, buzzing for its sisters. Y/N watched them as they fluttered off to a nearby patch of dandelions, settling down on the petals and starting to harvest the pollen. She waited until the bees had buzzed off before returning to her weaving.
Ayala watched Y/N's delicate work, smiling as the bunny's fingers slipped between the knots of stems. She picked up a small cluster of daisies and started to weave them together, watching Y/N's hands and attempting to copy the flow of the bunny's fingers.
Y/N glanced over to her friend and giggled when she noticed Ayala copying her. She set down her crown and gently took Ayala's hands in hers, precisely moving them, guiding the stems of daisies this way and that until she was sure that Ayala understood what to do.
Suddenly, there was a scream and Y/N's ears perked up.
"Y/N! Y/N HELP!"
Y/N was on her feet in a moment, the flower crown forgotten as it lay at her feet. "LULU!"
"Y/N!"
Y/N darted off, faster than Ayala had ever seen her move, and was darting in the direction of her sister's voice. She ran through the grass and flowers, panic shining in her eyes as she tore through the meadow, listening for her sister's voice.
"Y/N!"
Y/N skidded as she turned and shot off towards the part of the meadow where the fields touched the forest. A stitch was growing in her side and she winced, forcing herself to run through the pain. If something happened to her sister, she would never forgive herself.
As she neared the break in the wall, she noticed two little deer cowering on the side of the wall that met the meadow. Their hands clapped over their eyes and their bodies trembled as they listened to the screams of dear little Lulu.
"LULU," Y/N shouted, vaulting over the wall. She darted into the forest, eyes wild and ears alert as she searched for her sister.
Thankfully, the little bunny came crashing through the brush a moment later, tears streaming like rivers from her eyes, and her breath coming out in little hiccuped sobs. Y/N fell to her knees and opened her arms. Lulu threw herself into her sister's arms, clinging to her tightly as she sobbed freely. She gripped Y/N's hair, pulling it closer to her as she tried to reassure herself that she was safe in her sister's arms and that Y/N would never let anything get close enough to her to hurt her.
"What is it, Lulu," Y/N asked softly, gently petting her sister's hair as she rose to her feet.
"I-I... T-there was a w-wolf," Lulu cried.
Y/N's eyes widened and she stared into the forest that her sister had just come crashing through. And that's when she saw them. The pair of golden eyes peering out from the bushes and brambles, glowing in the light of the afternoon sun. Y/N forced herself to look away and she turned back to the meadow, holding Lulu tightly in her arms.
"Go find Ayala," Y/N whispered, setting Lulu down in the meadow. "Tell her to bring everyone in. And go get Father."
Lulu nodded and ran off, not questioning why Y/N decided to stay behind. Ayala's brothers ran after her, eager to get away from the woods and back to the safety of their camp.
Only once Lulu was gone did Y/N turn back to the forest, stepping once more over the wall.
"You can't be here," she whispered as she walked deeper into the forest.
Jack pulled himself up from the bushes and stepped towards her. "Why -"
Y/N took a step back, holding her hand out in front of him. "You're a wolf." She glanced behind her. Her friends and family would be here any moment. Turning back to Jack, she met his eyes. She didn't even notice the basket in his hands. The basket of sweet treats that his mother had made for him to bring to her. "You need to go," she whispered. She approached him and started pushing him back toward the woods. "You need to go before they find you."
"But-"
"Please," Y/N whispered. "I-"
"Y/N!"
Both teens looked back at the meadow. They could smell the approaching beastmen. The bunnies and deer and squirrels would be holding pitchforks and torches in hopes of defending their little meadow.
"Please," Y/N whispered. "Please go!"
Jack sighed. "Fine."