Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

The iron door of the terrarium scraped open. Three tiny noses immediately started twitching in pure panic.

Rue leaned her arms over the glass edge. The bright morning sun poured through the giant windows of her high-rise apartment. She could hear the faint, comforting sound of city traffic and sirens far below. She finally had a working thermostat. She didn’t have to freeze in a snowy forest anymore. She was exactly where she belonged.

Thick, sleek black fur covered her powerful shoulders. A , muscular panther tail flicked lazily behind her. She had sharp claws the size of kitchen knives. She stared down at the three tiny balls of fluff huddled in the cedar shavings. She loved this new form. She wasn’t fragile anymore. She was at the absolute top of the food chain.

"Breakfast," Rue said. Her voice was a deep, rumbling purr.

She dropped a handful of fresh green lettuce and a few thick slices of sweet apple directly into the cage.

Knox reacted first. The brown hare was furious. He stood in the far corner and thumped his tiny hind legs repeatedly against the wooden floor. The rhythmic tapping sound echoed loudly inside the glass walls. He wanted the noise to serve as a violent warning. He wanted to look like a dangerous warrior defending his sacred territory from a giant monster. He just looked like an angry, fuzzy potato.

Rue blinked her glowing green eyes slowly. She found this entire display mildly entertaining.

Axel tried a different approach. The fluffy white angora rabbit stood straight up on his hind legs to inspect the food. He puffed out his tiny chest. He wanted to project absolute royal dominance. He wanted to look regal and unintimidated. But his pristine white fur was totally out of control. He looked exactly like a giant cotton ball with a pink, twitchy nose.

And then there was Caius.

The tiny black lop-eared bunny didn’t move toward the apples at all. He sat frozen in the darkest corner of the cage. He was trying very hard to project a cold, still predator aura. He wanted to look like a calculating killer waiting patiently in the shadows. The scary illusion failed because his long, soft ears kept flopping directly over his eyes. Every single time he tried to glare at her, he had to shake his little head just to see past his own ears.

Rue sighed. She crossed her , muscular arms over her chest. She really didn’t know how she ended up running a daycare for three aggressive fluffballs.

A bright blue screen popped up right next to the glass terrarium.

[Daily Master Task: Your pets require physical affection to maintain their health. Please groom the slaves.]

Rue stared flatly at the floating text.

"I’m not doing that," Rue muttered. "They hate me. Look at them. The brown one is trying to fight a piece of lettuce."

[Host, this is a mandatory care requirement. Proceed immediately or your terrarium privileges will be permanently revoked.]

Rue rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to get evicted by a glowing digital box.

She slowly reached her giant right hand into the cage. Her skin was incredibly tough. Her sharp claws fully retracted into her fingertips so she wouldn’t accidentally slice anyone in half.

The prey animal panic inside the cage was instant.

Knox stopped thumping. His brown ears flattened against his skull. His wild survival instincts hijacked his brain. He scrambled frantically backward. His tiny claws slipped wildly on the cedar shavings. He tried to hide his entire body behind Axel.

Axel dropped quickly back down to all fours. His nose twitched rapidly in pure terror. He shoved himself deeply into the corner, trying to make his fluffy white body look as small as possible.

Caius just froze . His tiny heart rate skyrocketed. He stared at the giant, dark hand coming right toward him. He wanted to run away. His tiny legs simply refused to work.

Rue scooped Caius up first.

She lifted the tiny black bunny right out of the cage. He fit inside the palm of her hand. She brought him up close to her face. He was shivering violently. His wet pink nose bumped directly against her thumb.

She picked up a small plastic brush with her other hand. She started running the soft bristles gently down his back.

Caius squeezed his eyes shut tight. He braced his body for the worst pain imaginable. But the brush felt incredibly warm. Rue was very careful. She stroked his soft black fur slowly, moving smoothly from his head down to his tiny cotton tail.

Caius started clicking his teeth. It was a soft, rhythmic purring sound. He didn’t want to make the noise. He tried desperately to close his mouth. He was a proud, cold warlord. He shouldn’t be tooth-purring for a giant panther. But his bunny body felt totally safe in her warm hands. The happy sound just kept bubbling out of his mouth against his own will.

Rue tilted her head. She listened closely to the quiet clicking.

"You like that, don’t you?" Rue whispered.

Caius turned his little head away. He refused to look at her. His long black ears flushed a bright, visible pink. He was humiliated.

Rue set him down gently on a soft white towel resting on the coffee table. She reached back into the cage to grab the brown hare.

Knox didn’t go quietly at all.

When her giant fingers wrapped securely around his middle, he opened his tiny mouth and bit her thumb. He bit down as hard as he possibly could. He wanted to draw blood. He wanted to prove he was a dangerous threat who refused to be caged.

His tiny teeth just squeaked harmlessly against her thick panther skin. He couldn’t even leave a tiny white scratch.

Rue lifted him out anyway. "Are you done?"

Knox let go of her thumb. He glared up at her with furious brown eyes. His tiny chest heaved rapidly. He kicked his strong back legs frantically in the air. He tried to box her wrist to win his freedom.

She placed him right next to Caius. She used the soft brush firmly on his rough brown fur. Knox growled softly under his breath. He sounded like a very tiny, very angry engine. But after three long strokes of the plastic brush, his kicking stopped. His body betrayed his anger. He melted right onto the towel. He flattened out into a fuzzy, deeply relaxed puddle.

He hated how good it felt. He kept glaring fiercely at the wall just to pretend he was still angry.

Finally, Rue reached for Axel.

The King of the North was backed into the absolute farthest corner of the glass cage. He looked pathetic. His pristine white fur was covered in dusty cedar shavings. When Rue picked him up, he didn’t fight her at all. He just went limp. He surrendered to his terrifying fate.

Rue placed him on the table with the others. She carefully brushed the wood shavings out of his long white fur. Axel’s ears hung down in pure, defeat. He couldn’t even look at her face. He just closed his icy blue eyes and waited patiently for the nightmare to be over.

Rue finished grooming all three of them. She looked down at the tiny, fuzzy row of bunnies sitting perfectly still on her white towel. They looked ridiculous.

She felt a sudden, weird wave of affection hitting her chest. They were actually very cute. She would never admit that out loud. She just filed the soft feeling away under a clinical appreciation for small domestic animals.

"Alright," Rue said flatly. "Back in the box."

She started to reach her hand toward Caius again.

Suddenly, the apartment door creaked open.

, clumsy footsteps pounded against the wooden floorboards. The floor actually shook from the immense weight.

The three tiny bunnies froze . Their long ears swiveled backward to track the loud noise. Their noses twitched in absolute overdrive. A brand new, unpredictable threat just entered the room.

Little Theron walked in.

But he wasn’t little anymore. In this universe, Theron was a , hulking panther toddler. He had messy black hair, bright golden eyes, and a very thick tail dragging heavily on the floor behind him. He was incredibly clumsy. He bumped hard into the doorframe and giggled loudly.

He spotted the table. He saw the three tiny balls of fluff sitting exposed on the white towel.

Theron’s golden eyes went incredibly wide. He let out a loud, excited squeal.

He stomped quickly across the room. He raised a giant, chubby hand with sharp baby claws directly at the table.

"Bun-bun!" Theron yelled happily.