Hunting the Plot Bunny

You never knew when you might see one. You may be scrolling through the internet feed of our choosing, or riding a bus while listening to music. You may even just be walking down the hall. Suddenly, you see a flash - just a quick tuft - gone almost as soon as you notice. Or you may hear, just for a second, the tiniest tap of a paw.

You stop, holding very still, while you try to process what you just might have seen. Trying not to make any noise, not even breathing, you wait. You don't want to scare it off, after all. Moving slowly, you look back where you saw that tuft, listen again for that tap of a paw. Careful! If you try too hard, you'll scare it away!

Sometimes, you're wrong. What you thought was a tuft of fur was a bit of discarded fluff, with nothing behind it. That tap wasn't from a paw, but the angry sounds of a keyboard being used as a weapon. You thought it was there, and sadly, the hunt has not gone your way this time.

But sometimes, oh my friend, sometimes, that tuft of fur slowly reveals itself to be the tail of a beautiful bunny. That tap is followed by three more as the bunny moves in your line of sight, showing off its glorious fur and wiggling nose. You were right! It's there, waiting for you!

Now what?

Now is the time to hope your tools are close at hand, and that you're able to capture the bunny before it flees. You don't hunt for meat or to kill, no - that's not the kind of hunter you are. You hunt to study, to learn all you can from these ephemeral beasts, and so you need a net of some sort.

Anything will work - a notepad and pencil, a laptop, a smartphone, even a receipt and a crayon if it comes down to it. You must be quick, and you must be careful. If you dawdle, the bunny may hop away before you've completed your net. If you are too harsh, the bunny may change in your net, morphing into something else, something strange and not a bunny at all.

If you're careful, and if you're quick, you'll capture your bunny and can study it at your leisure. Make sure to give it plenty of attention, now - bunnies are apt to slip away if no one's looking, leaving just a trace of fur in their place.