"Anwyll, I want you to come with me to visit a place today."

I tilted my head to the side. "Where are we going to go?"

"To bring back a new family member."

My eyes widened. "R-really?"

Daddy nodded and kissed my cheek while I hung onto his neck. "I have a bad feeling, so I want you to be there to calm him, okay?"

My eyes stung. "Is he really hurt, Daddy?"

He sighed. "I don't know, baby. We will have to see. How is Matteo doing?"

"He's feeling better. I've been talking with him lately, and he feels genuine in comparison to how he was when I first met him. He seems to like himself and his quirks more with me around."

Daddy hummed and kissed my head. "Did you offer your love to him too, baby?"

"Are you upset, Daddy?"

"No, baby. I knew you would. He needs you, too."

I pecked his lips. "I love you, Daddy."

He grinned. "I love you too, baby."

"Should I get changed?"

"No, baby. Stay as you are, my cute little wolf."

I giggled and hugged his neck. "Okay."

He rubbed my back as we headed outside to the garage. It was cold out there, but I was dressed warmly and my daddy was very warm, too.

It had been a couple days since I was left in charge of Matteo and Blaine had his breakdown, but everything was going smoothly. Waltz had pressed me against a washing machine and held me in the midst of doing Gavin's laundry yesterday, but I wasn't too upset. Waltz looked happy for the extra kisses he got, too. Gavin and Zaire looked ready to pin me down and have their wicked way with me today, but Daddy told them he had to take me somewhere.

And that's why I'm now in the front seat of the CUV that Daddy's driving.

"What kind of Emerged is he, Daddy?"

He quirked his lips down. "A rabbit."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"It is when I consider the circumstances that may have caused him to Emerge as one."

"What about Blaine, then?"

"His attributes came later. He didn't truly Emerge until he was fourteen."

I hummed. "Okay, Daddy."

I watched the scenery fade from mountains and pine to aspen and pine. Daddy must have used magic to make the scenery change so quickly. He slowly pulled left down a gravel road, driving carefully to avoid damaging the vehicle by potholes. I was rocked around, but held onto the handle onto the side of the door to keep me from injuring myself.

Eventually we turned right down a dirt road that was muddy. I was starting to get a sinking feeling, and I know Daddy too could sense the evil emanating from the house we were driving towards.

"Daddy, I really am happy you created our home."

He eyed my worried expression, then nodded. "So am I, baby."

He pulled up and I stepped out of the car onto the wet grass. Daddy took my hand and led me to the front door. The ominous feeling made my hair stand on end. Daddy knocked a couple times and waited, then the door slowly swung open.

"Come in," croaked an old woman. "You're here for the rabbit, aren't ya?"

I tilted my head. "How do you know he's a rabbit?"

"Because I've raised him to be that way. He was supposed to go into my stew." she cackled, and I clutched Daddy's hand tighter. "And then my grandchildren just had to soil him. Take him away, would you? I don't want anything to do with him!"

My heart sunk as the basement door was yanked up. The old woman cackled as she tossed Daddy a flashlight.

"Go, get him yourself. I won't touch that dirty rabbit."

Daddy flicked the light on and he led me down the dark steps. I glanced back to see the old woman's evil gaze, then shuddered and turned away. Daddy's breath hitched and I nearly gagged as the stench hit my nose. It smelled of vomit, feces, urine, and even death. How could anyone live there?

Daddy cast his flashlight around and our eyes widened as we caught sight of the cages, saws, and gleaming tools. Real rabbits were huddled down there, but there was a deathly thin boy in one large cage, his form curled so tightly that a coil would be jealous.

The boy flinched when Daddy and I stepped closer. I was relieved that he was alive at least.

"D-don't t-take me, please! I'll be good!" he whimpered, and my heart cracked.

"We are taking you to a place that will love you, and we can bring your friends along, too." I whispered, and Daddy rested a hand on my head. I glanced up and noticed his small smile, so I knew I did okay.

"N-no one will love me. I'm a stupid rabbit."

"I was called a lot worse." I chuckled, and the boy's head turned slightly. Daddy cast the light elsewhere so it wasn't shining in his eyes.

"I can promise you that I will love you. I love a lot of people already, but I treat them all equally. You can be one of those people, too. The others will love you as well."

The rabbit boy turned, his dark brown lop ears hanging down limply. He was naked; his skin dark from a number of things. His eyes were so sad. They were such a rich russet that the sight stunned me.

"Can you really be sure of that?"

"I'll make sure that you're well-taken care of, I promise. My daddy can help you, too. We came to get you out of here."

The rabbit boy looked slightly happier, but he cast his gaze to the other rabbits. "I want them to find good homes if I am going to one."

"We will. I'll make sure of it."

Russet eyes met with my violet orbs. "Promise?" he whispered.

"I promise."

Daddy flicked his hand and the rabbits disappeared. The boy squeaked, but I opened his cage and held out my hands.

"Daddy put the rabbits in a safe place. You can see them again after we arrive home."

He looked around, then at us. "Really?" he whimpered. "Really, no more will get eaten?"

I shook my head. "No more."

He crawled out of the cage and weakly took my hand. Daddy provided a large blanket to wrap him in, which I did and held him close. I tried diverting some of my dragon strength to this form and found that it worked. Daddy smiled and patted my head while I carried the rabbit boy in my arms. He hid his face to block the light and the sight of the evil old woman.

Daddy kicked her down into the cellar and locked the door, making me giggle as he moved the rug back and shut the front door. The old woman's curses faded as we reached the car.

"You were mad too, huh, Daddy?"

Daddy took a big breath in and let it out. "Yes, baby. I was very mad."

He helped me into the car and let me hold the rabbit boy, buckling us both in. Our new family flinched closer to me with every movement. He was much bigger than me, probably around Waltz's size, but he was very, very thin. I hugged him a bit tighter, and he relaxed into me with a soft sob.

__________________________

When we arrived home, Daddy helped me inside with the rabbit boy, and our family started to gather.

I looked up at everyone with a frown. "Please back off, guys. He needs space."

Angel smiled and leaned down to kiss the tips of my ears. "All right, Anwyll. We'll wait to meet him."

Waltz pouted. "Gimme a kiss later, Annie. Okay?"

"Okay, Alt." I grinned, then waved at everyone. "See you later! Love you!"

Everyone smiled or laughed. "Love you, too!" they called out in a chorus of unsynchronized voices.

I walked to Daddy's room, because he had a bathtub there. I didn't think the rabbit boy would like the shower at first. Daddy let me inside and presented a t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and some socks for the rabbit boy. He kissed my head and left the room.

I set the boy on the edge of the tub. "I'm going to make sure the water is warm. Daddy gave me a bath around the time I first arrived here, too. I thought it would be nicer than water spraying down, since it can be quite shocking."

The rabbit boy turned slightly in his cocooned form to watch me turn on the tub. I tried to get the right temperature, and I scooped some water with my hands to present it to him. The boy's russet eyes were watching me with concern.

"Here, dip your fingers in. Does this temperature feel okay? I think it does, but I may be able to tolerate heat a bit better now. I used to be forced into cold showers and beaten if I couldn't do it faster than two minutes."

The rabbit boy flicked his eyes to the door. I shook my head.

"I love my daddy. My mother would beat me and starve me. It was really, really bad. I'll spare you the details." I smiled softly, then he cautiously put his fingertips into my hands. "Is the water okay?"

He slowly nodded, so I turned back to the tub and plugged the bottom up to let it fill. I faced him again and gently peeled the blanket away from his gruesomely anorexic form. The rabbit boy flinched and hid himself from my eyes.

"Don't look at me. I'm ugly and dirty."

"Well, your skin and hair are filthy, but I'll help you clean up. And you're definitely not ugly. You're so cute."

The rabbit boy's cheeks flushed. "I'm not, though. You're the one that's so beautiful."

I beamed with rosy cheeks. "Thank you, and yes, you are cute. C'mon, let's get you into the tub."

He still wouldn't move, so I quirked my lips down. "If you're ashamed of your body, I'll get naked, too. We can have a bath together."

The rabbit boy's ears perked. "Y-you'd do that for me?"

"Of course. You're my brand new family member. You will have to get used to the weirdness here, and even my own odd quirks, but I know you'll like it here."

He slowly crawled into the bathtub onto his hands and knees, then looked at me. I tilted my head to the side.

"You can sit. You don't need to crawl on yours hands and knees."

The rabbit boy blushed and sat down, then watched me from over the tub's wall as I began to pull my oversized sweater off, then tugged off the black undershirt, slipped off my leggings, and socks. I pulled down my underwear, then turned around. The rabbit boy was hiding his face.

"It's okay to look. I'll be seeing all of you for a good long while during the cleanup process." I said, coming over to stop the tub from filling.

Russet eyes moved over my slightly flushed alabaster skin. "You really are pretty."

"Thanks. You're pretty too, but I know you'll be a showstopper by the time you're clean and dry."

He blushed and hid his face, then slowly peeked at me again as I climbed in. I knew he got an eyeful of my tiny cock, because his face turned even redder. I giggled as I grabbed a washcloth behind him, and lathered it with a bar of oatmeal soap and some water.

"May I have your right arm?" I asked softly, kneeling in front of him.

He nodded, holding it out to me. I gently moved the sudsy cloth over his skin, wiping away what looked to be years of grime. The rabbit boy was tense at first, but he began to relax.

"This feels really good." he mumbled, then opened his russet eyes to watch me slide the cloth over his shoulders.

"That's good." I smiled, kissing his fingertips.

He blushed and clenched his eyes shut. I giggled, then kept washing him. When the first cloth was too dirty from just his arms and shoulders, I hummed and looked around.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"May I have ten more washcloths?"

He chuckled and a huge stack appeared next to the tub. The rabbit boy's eyes grew wide, but I soothed him with a gently touch.

"Thank you so much, Daddy."

"You're welcome, baby." he smiled through my mental-link.

The quick call ended, and I found the rabbit boy in my face. I blinked, then grinned at him.

"Daddy gave us some more washcloths." I said, reaching for a new one.

"Oh, how did he do that?"

"Magic." I said with a flourish, making a strange sound burst from his lips.

I blinked as he made the sound again. "Your laugh is cute."

He looked startled. "L-laugh? That was a laugh?"

"It's strange, isn't it? It's your first laugh. I am happy that I got to be here for it." I beamed, my tail splashing water over the edge onto the tile. I glanced over the edge and pouted, using a cloth to wipe it up.

"What's your name?" I asked him, turning to face him. "My name is Anwyll."

The rabbit boy stiffened. "I don't have one."

My jaw dropped. "Really? May I give you one?"

He nodded while I soaped the next clean cloth. I shuffled closed to clean his collarbones and neck, gently scrubbing more of the dirt away to reveal a beautiful light brown skin tone. I believe it was categorized as "peanut."

He watched me while I carefully went lower. The water was getting grossly murky, so I knew I would have to draw fresh water soon. For now, though, I carefully cleaned his chest, sides, underarms, and torso. I had him turn around, which made him nervous, but I reassured him with a soft hum in the back of my throat. I got a new towel to work on his back, and the cloth began to scrub away the thick dirt and whatever else was on him. I started seeing scars appear, but ignored them for the moment.

I had him stand for a moment so I could at least clean his bottom. There was a cute brown and white bunny tail above it, but I didn't touch that yet.

"Stay there for a bit. I'm going to drain the tub and fill it with fresh water."

I heard a soft noise of acceptance, so I remained quiet while I drained and refilled the tub. I got a new cloth and soaped it again, then placed it at the back of his left thigh, underneath his butt.

"Um, Russet, would you mind if I cleaned between your cheeks?"

He turned sharply, and I feared for the worst, but an awkwardly crooked smile was on his face. Tears began to slide down and he got down on his knees, carefully turning around in the water to hug me. I flopped the soapy cloth over the edge and wrapped my arms around his bony self.

"...A name!" he cried softly. "I have a name!"

"Yes, and I named you that because of your pretty russet-colored eyes." I explained, making him hug me tighter with his lackluster strength.

"Thank you," he rasped. "And yes, clean wherever you need to. I know I need it."

I giggled and rubbed his squeaky clean back. "Okay, thank you. And you're welcome!"

Russet smiled at me again as he moved back, then turned around again and leaned over to grasp the side of the tub. I tried to be careful while cleaning his backside, but I noticed some signs of arousal at the end of it. I used a couple new cloths when I needed to for his tail, his legs, feet, and between his toes, then had him sit down again facing me. This time, I had him sitting on the edge of the tub. I took the second to last cloth to soap up along with my hand.

Russet shivered as I carefully cleaned his cock and balls, every so gently scrubbing and stroking to massage the dirt away. Russet made a noise and I felt him tense, then fluid hit my face.

I was shocked, honestly, but kept cleaning him. He whined a bit at first, but then he started to get hard again.

"Sorry, Russet. I have to make sure you're clean. I don't want you to get an infection."

He shuddered with another soft noise, his body trembling as I rinsed the soap off his private areas. He came once more on my face. I didn't mind.

"Sit down here again, Russet." I said, patting the bottom of the tub.

He refused to look at me, his expression filled with mortification. "I-I did something weird to you."

"It's okay. This has happened on purpose before. I expected this would happen because I'm getting very intimate to clean you thoroughly, Russ."

"R-Russ?" he glanced over at me while I washed my face off.

"Yeah, it's your nickname." I grinned, moving between his thighs. "Short for Russet."

He gave me a broad grin. "I like it."

"Good," I said, then grabbed the last cloth and readied it for the last places that needed to be cleaned. "Close your eyes, Russ. I need to wash your face."

He dutifully closed his eyes and I swept the cloth over face, chin, both sides of his jaw, his lop ears, human ears, and around his neck. I hummed softly, kissing Russet's clean forehead while I rubbed his nape. He shuddered and leaned in closer, pressing his lips to my basically nonexistent Adam's apple.

I dropped the last dirtied cloth, then before I could ask anything, Daddy made some gentle baby shampoo appear for Russet's rabbit ears and tail along with some natural shampoo for his hair. Russet jerked again, but I showed him the bottles and explained that Daddy made them appear with magic again.

"Is he your real dad?" asked Russet, while I massaged the baby shampoo into his left rabbit ear.

"Mmhm, he is. Daddy was forced into a magic agreement that stated if I did not Emerge as a dragon, then he had to leave me and not come back. When I turned three years old, it became clear that I was a wolf, and Daddy was forced to leave. He thinks he had the choice to bring me with him, but I don't think so. His dad is a conniving old man."

Russet looked confused, but I continued on, "Basically, Daddy didn't know that the next time he'd see me was fifteen years later with a tiny, frail body—kinda like you now—and a thankfulness that he'd saved me from killing myself."

Russet blinked back tears. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just going to say this now. Everyone who lives here has gone through something awful or many really bad things. We've been hurt, abandoned, betrayed, and some have even hurt others—not necessarily on purpose. You're not alone, Russet. We're here and we're a family. I love everyone here, and that includes you."

Russet's bottom lip trembled while I finished washing his rabbit ears. I squirted some shampoo on my hand for his hair, then lathered it a bit. I asked Russet to close his eyes, which he did, so I could wash his hair without getting soap in his eyes. After several repeats on his hair, then came his tail, so I had him rest on me on his knees. I reached around behind him and shampooed his tail, scrubbing it firmly.

He shuddered with a low moan, his knees moving apart. He nosed my head, then buried his face in my neck as I rinsed his tail. At the end, I helped him up and reached for the fluffy towel Daddy provided, which was was on the counter. I almost fell, but caught myself a moment later. I blushed when Russet laughed softly at my weird position.

"Step onto the bathmat, Russ."

He carefully climbed over the tub wall, watching me as I unplugged the drain and washed the rest of the grime away. I rinsed myself off, then climbed out after him. I properly retrieved the towel this time and dried his hair a bit, wiping most of the water off his upper body and legs, then wrapped him in the towel to dry a bit more while I got my own.

Russet was staring at himself in the mirror when I turned around with the towel wrapped around my body. I grinned at him, which caught his attention.

"See, I told you. You're super cute!"

Russet's cheeks burst into flames and he huddled on the bathmat with his towel over him. "I'm not! I'm dirty."

"You're not, I promise. Whatever those brats did to you did not make you dirty—it made them dirty, instead. You're beautiful, Russet."

A soft sob shook his shoulders. I moved closer and knelt down, hugging his curled form. Two arms snaked out and wrapped around my hips, and his head rested on my bare lap. I blushed, but petted his auburn hair.

"Thank you..." he whispered, silently crying.