Gif: HOP AWAY, LITTLE BUNNY (Patreon)

He'd almost finished robbing the office when he slid open the bottom drawer of the CEO's desk, triggered a hidden mechanism, and - POOF - a cloud of sparkling pink smoke blasted directly into his face.

“Aw, hell!” he coughed, stumbling backward and waving the smoke away. His skin tingled strangely for a moment, then the feeling faded. Inside the drawer sat a folded note written in elegant gold script:

To whoever thought robbing a warlock was a smart idea: Congratulations, you’ve just been hexed! Now hop away, little bunny. Hop, hop, hop away.

The thief’s eyes widened. "Hop away, little bunny"? What kind of nut was this guy?

He dropped the note and glanced nervously around the dark office, wondering if the pink smoke and the note were just a distraction and opening the desk drawer had actually triggered a silent alarm or something. He didn't want to chance it. He knew the elevators were wired with security cams, so he bolted for the stairs.

He hurried down the shadowy stairwell, taking it two steps at a time. Somehow he felt lighter on his feet than usual, and kind of... bouncy? The adrenaline was making him sweat but he felt a lot cooler than he should've, especially his shoulders, chest and legs, as if he was running around almost naked in the darkness.

He kept thinking of that note: "Hop away, little bunny." Something about it disturbed him more than a blaring alarm would have. He told himself it was just a dumb prank, but somehow he sensed it was more than that.

He burst out the building’s rear exit into the cool night air, relieved to put this whole caper behind him.

“Stupid rich weirdo,” he muttered smugly. “Thinks he can scare me with that stuff about a hex... but obviously it didn’t really do anything at all!”

He got to his van, hopped in the driver's seat and settled back, shifting uncomfortably as he realized he was sitting on some kind of lump. He reached beneath his butt and felt something soft, round and fluffy.

His cottontail.