Zodiac Bond: Rabbit

Perhaps because they were part of a quest, The goblins corpses did not disappear, the stench of blood becoming thicker with each passing minute. With the exception of Horo, the other members wrinkled their noses, their animal characteristics seemingly amplifying their senses. Luna was secretly alarmed that she wasn't actually adverse to the smell. In fact it seemed almost..pleasant? 

Horo kept glancing back in the direction of the threatening presence, a bit nervous about what that entity could be. He inadvertently let out a soft chuckle, in disbelief at this quest which he could only describe as some sort of sick joke. 

 "Any ideas on how we can possibly beat this? I don't know about you guys but this game feels so real that dying is probably gonna really suck." 

Luna scowled and stepped towards him, poking his chest as she glared up at him with her ruby eyes.

 "ZIP IT. If you have any bright ideas, why don't you share them instead of making stupid jokes!". 

Ouroboros narrowed his eyes in response, meeting Lunas glare with one of his own, unwilling to back down.

 "Why? Is it 'cause you can't think of anything? Your brain is just another muscle after all~" 

Perhaps due to the tension of the bad situation they found themselves in, even the usually calm Horo was agitated as he in turn took a step forward to stand toe to toe with Luna as he sneered back with venom dripping from his words. 

Lily was panicking seeing the party starting to fall apart. She didn't want to see the two of them fight but she couldn't bring herself to try and stop Luna even though she believed that Luna was in the wrong for acting like that first. 

"Stop fighting! Sis, you both need to step back…" 

Leo had a frown on his face as he stepped between the two of them, pushing them away from each other. With his hand on the Snakes chest, Leo looked him in the eyes 

"I get it that you are nervous, you don't want to see us get hurt but you need to apologize to my sister! She is agitated because of what this quest means to her. Please don't make the situation worse. 

Leo thought that his understanding of Ouroboros inner thoughts would reach the mans heart and that he would apologize for his careless words. However there was silence. Leo noticed that the mans eyes had widened in shock, looking past him. 

"....Leo" 

A voice that was colder than a blizzard reached Leos ears. Like a rusty robot, His head slowly turned to face Luna, his eyes widening in absolute terror as he realized where his hand was. 

Luna was staring at him, fury blazing in her eyes as her whole face was cherry red in embarrassment. Leos hand was placed directly on her chest. She knew that Leo didn't mean to but she had long since developed a complex on their small size in comparison to the likes of her best friend Lily. 

"L-Luna. Y-you know this wasn't intentional right?! RIGHT?!" 

Leo shouted desperately as his eyes swam with utter panic, his hand retracting at a speed that was almost undetectable to the human eye.

"Leo….I'll remember this~" 

The soft voice mixed with the fury burning even hotter than the sun in her eyes was paramount to a death sentence for Leo. He couldn't mutter a word, frozen as Luna turned away and stormed off somewhere, most likely to search for another Goblin Squadron

.

Lily and Ouroboros watched the rabbit run off before moving to stand in front of Leo, clasping their hands together in prayer, lowering their heads. 

"What are you guys doing?"

 Leo tilted his head curiously as he tried to calm down, the cold sweat flowing down his back sent shivers up his spine. In response Lily kept her head bowed

 "We won't forget your sacrifice Leo"

Without missing a beat, Ouroboros followed up

 "We won't forget to add fresh flowers on top of your gravestone~"

"You know what? The both of you can go fuck yourselves!" 

Leo snapped back in annoyance, showing both of them the middle finger before he chased off after his sister. 

The Tigress and the Snake glanced at each other before bursting out into laughter, 

"No matter what it takes, I want to see Luna act like this more. Her brother is her whole world and his fate is tied to his character. We can't fail"

 Lily walked after the brother sister brother duo with a faint trace of smile on her face. Affection seeping from her eyes as she saw her best friend acting all embarrassed. 

Horo looked at Lily with a somewhat confused expression before letting out a sigh. He then scratched his head as he stood on the spot

 "Alright alright. You win. We just gotta win and not die yeah? We got this". 

Seeing the man assure her, Lily gave him an appreciative look before she picked up her pace, trying to catch up to the siblings. She stopped for a moment to call out to the snake once more..

"Lets go Horo! We can't let our friends run off too far ahead without us" 

Ouroboros was stunned, not used to the idea of genuine appreciation could be directed towards him. He suppressed the corners of his lips that threatened to curl up if he relaxed. 

"Friends huh…Doesn't feel bad at all' 

The soft murmur was heard by no one as he chased after his party, his steps far lighter than they were before. 

Leo and Luna were unable to look at each other for a while as they looked for the goblins. However, all of a sudden, a screen appeared in front of both of them. 

-Bond of the Zodiac: Rabbit has reached 10% Completion. Buffs will be applied accordingly. If the player wishes, they may also choose to permanently bind the Bond to the chosen player. Doing so will result in 

Zodiac Bond : Rabbit shall be permanently bound to Player: Luna. Zodiac Bond : Rabbit Growth shall become uncapped. Total Available Zodiac Bonds shall be reduced to 11.

-Do you wish to bind Zodiac Bond: Rabbit to Player Luna? 

-[Y/N] 

Both Luna and Leo saw this screen and Leo immediately pressed yes without hesitation. Luna and Leo had been together for practically their entire lives and had been each others support when they lost their parents that one fateful day.

Even if the world came to an end, he knew that his sister would have his back as she was his only family left and the bond between them was unbreakable. Even with some hiccups along the way , they truly cared for each other and nothing would change that.. 

As soon as Leo pressed yes, Luna felt a sharp pain on her thigh as a light burst forth. When the light faded, there was a large hole in her leather armor but on her flawless skin, a faint outline of a rabbit made with a yellowish green light was tattooed there.

-Zodiac Imprint Complete. The following buff(s) are currently in effect. 

-Skill: Rabbit Legs

-Description: Increases Leg Strength. Attack +10% when using leg attacks. Jump strength +10%, Running Speed +10%. 

-Applied to: Luna, Leo

Both of the siblings were stunned to see the new skill that came about because of Astras skill.

 "That is 10%? Wouldn't that mean the skill can be ten times stronger?!"

 Luna couldn't help but ask with an incredulous voice, her gaze turning to Astra. Even someone as bad at math at her could tell that this was an insane buff. 

Leo was equally surprised to see such a buff. However he then realized that this may be the point they could use as a trump card to break through. After all, he still had 2 more zodiac bonds. He directed a fiery gaze at the Snake and Tigress who were tilting their heads in confusion as he looked at them. 

"Lets get going! We need to hunt some more. We should have enough time to awaken the Snake and Tiger Zodiac!" 

Leo loud declaration caused confusion for Lily. Were those the Zodiacs that Horo and Lily had. She decided not to question it any further though, instead choosing to have faith in her brother and his partner Astra. 

There was now a beacon of hope, Astra had become like a bright star in the darkness, the North Star guiding them to victory. The only question was whether they would be able to last on the road they needed to take to reach their destination.