Rabbit Tuzel was the first experiment of an old Wizard whose name was unknown—a Wizard whose back had only ever been seen in an illusory message. From the time that Wizard had been an apprentice, Tuzel had remained by his side. He called himself a spirit-world creature, yet he was somewhat different from true spirit-world creatures.
"My dearest friend, I remember you saying you were very hard to hurt, right?" Ruger asked, clutching one of the rabbit's ears for one final confirmation.
"Heh! Of course! Don't underestimate me, Tuzel! I may not be able to beat even a tiny Wizard apprentice, but ordinary Wizards can forget about hurting me—let alone killing me. It was all that old fellow's doing. He was always afraid I'd run around causing him trouble—"
Ruger's question had led Tuzel away from the previous topic, and the rabbit immediately began talking a mile a minute, doing everything he could to prove himself.
Silently, Ruger kept nodding to himself.
In truth, the rabbit had never told him any of this. He had heard from Vito, back when he had first arrived at the crevice-space where Rabbit Cottage stood, that Rabbit Tuzel had been made by some powerful Wizard, was extremely difficult to kill, and possessed a long lifespan. Later, the illusory message Ruger had seen by that well had confirmed part of it. There truly had been such a mysterious and powerful old Wizard, and unlike the rumors claimed, the rabbit was not a flawed creation, but a companion intimately connected to that Wizard.
So Ruger made his judgment.
And now, he received confirmation from the rabbit himself.
"Think, my friend. Think now—" Ruger said, lifting Tuzel by the ears to his side.
"Think about what? What are you doing?" Tuzel asked.
"Think about what gifts you