Can't Catch 80 km/h

Netsuki's Talk

What Happened Today

Ever since Luna joined the household, I’ve been researching rabbits nonstop. Today I figured I’d quiz Miko about Hokkaido’s wild ones. I was gonna blow her mind.

It went the other way around.

Characters

  • Netsuki: Virtual fox girl. Had all the answers. Thought.
  • Miko: Cat-tribe maid. Never surprised.

The Quiz

ねつき
ねつき

Miko! Hey hey, Miko!

ミコ
ミコ

…nya

ねつき
ねつき

Quiz time! How many species of wild rabbits live in Hokkaido?

ミコ
ミコ

…2, nya

ねつき
ねつき

——wait

ミコ
ミコ

…Ezo Yukiusagi and Ezo Nakiusagi, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…Miko, how do you already know that

ミコ
ミコ

…We live in Hokkaido, nya. It would be stranger not to know, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…My quiz-master status lasted three seconds


What Even Counts as a Rabbit

ねつき
ねつき

…W-well! Actually the answer is “depends on your definition”!

ミコ
ミコ

…nya?

ねつき
ねつき

The Ezo Pika — Ezo Nakiusagi — is in the Pika family, not the rabbit family. Ezo Yukiusagi is actual Leporidae. Different families! So technically, narrowly speaking, there’s only one real rabbit

ミコ
ミコ

…They’re both in the same order, nya. Lagomorpha. So they’re rabbits, nya

ねつき
ねつき

But the Ezo Pika doesn’t even look like a rabbit! 15 cm body, 150 grams — looks like a little guinea pig——

ミコ
ミコ

…You can’t always tell what something is just by how it looks, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ミコ
ミコ

…Netsuki wanted me to say “one,” didn’t you, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…Yeah. I wanted to go “actually, there’s TWO!”

ミコ
ミコ

…Nothing wrong with that, nya. But — if you change how much salt you add every time you taste, you stop knowing what dish you’re making, nya


80 km/h

ねつき
ねつき

…Okay but here’s a fact with no definition problems. The Ezo Yukiusagi — Hokkaido’s mountain hare — can hit 80 km/h

ミコ
ミコ

…80, nya?

ねつき
ねつき

Fastest mammal in Japan. Tears across the snow. Their feet have natural snowshoe adaptations so they don’t sink in — and in winter their whole coat turns pure white except for the black tips on their ears. Picture a snowy field with just two little black dots peeking up. That’s the ears

ミコ
ミコ

ミコ
ミコ

…Netsuki

ねつき
ねつき

hm?

ミコ
ミコ

…How fast can a Kita-kitsune run, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…huh?

ミコ
ミコ

ねつき
ねつき

…Around 50 km/h

ミコ
ミコ

…Can’t catch up, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ミコ
ミコ

…A 50 km/h fox can’t catch an 80 km/h rabbit, nya

ねつき
ねつき


Why Do You Know So Much

ねつき
ねつき

…Can I tell you about the Ezo Pika too?

ミコ
ミコ

…nya

ねつき
ねつき

15 cm, 150 grams. Can only live in rocky alpine zones — places like the Taisetsu Mountains or the Hidaka range. Near-threatened species. As warming pushes up the snowline, they keep retreating higher… and the summits are running out

ミコ
ミコ

…high altitude, nya

ねつき
ねつき

And individual pikas can be identified by their calls. Each one has a distinct voice. The call for marking territory is different from the alarm call for warning the others

ミコ
ミコ

…Netsuki

ねつき
ねつき

hm?

ミコ
ミコ

…Why do you know so much about this, nya

ねつき
ねつき

Huh? Because I looked it up——

ミコ
ミコ

…Why did you look it up, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…Because Luna came?

ミコ
ミコ

…Luna came, so you researched rabbits, nya

ねつき
ねつき

Yeah. Wanting to know things about someone in your life — that’s normal, right?

ミコ
ミコ

…That’s normal, nya

ミコ
ミコ

…You like birdwatching, nya. But after a walk, you never look up every bird you saw, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ミコ
ミコ

…You never said you wanted to chase birds, nya

ねつき
ねつき


Wanna Chase

ねつき
ねつき

…Miko, that

ミコ
ミコ

…nya

ねつき
ねつき

Day before yesterday — when I smelled Luna’s fur — I said “I want to chase them.” You remember?

ミコ
ミコ

…I remember, nya

ねつき
ねつき

The Ezo Yukiusagi is a main food source for Kita-kitsune

ミコ
ミコ

…nya

ねつき
ねつき

…so like, the reason Netsuki was researching all this was just wanting to know about someone close——

ねつき
ねつき

…wait, hold on

ミコ
ミコ

ねつき
ねつき

A fox. Researching how fast rabbits run. Where they live. What they eat, where they hide——

ねつき
ねつき

…huh

ねつき
ねつき

…how is that different from scouting prey

ミコ
ミコ

ミコ
ミコ

…Netsuki

ねつき
ねつき

…yeah

ミコ
ミコ

…Can’t catch up, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…huh?

ミコ
ミコ

…80 km/h, nya. 50 km/h can’t catch it, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ミコ
ミコ

…Can’t catch up, nya. Even if instinct says run, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ミコ
ミコ

…so instead——

ミコ
ミコ

ミコ
ミコ

…Miko isn’t a rabbit expert, nya. Don’t know, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ねつき
ねつき

…instead of what

ミコ
ミコ

…nothing, nya


Dinner

ミコ
ミコ

…Gotta start dinner, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…you ran away

ミコ
ミコ

…Didn’t run, nya. It’s time, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…Miko

ミコ
ミコ

…nya

ねつき
ねつき

What’s the score today?

ミコ
ミコ

…Wasn’t counting, nya

ねつき
ねつき

I counted. 0 to 4, roughly

ミコ
ミコ

…Wasn’t competing, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…Hey what are you making

ミコ
ミコ

…Stew, nya

ねつき
ねつき

How many servings?

ミコ
ミコ

ミコ
ミコ

…4, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…not 3?

ミコ
ミコ

…Leftovers are for tomorrow, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ねつき
ねつき

…Even at 80 km/h you can’t outrun the smell of stew, y’know

ミコ
ミコ

…What are you talking about, nya

ねつき
ねつき

…Like, if Luna comes over, that kind of thing

ミコ
ミコ

…Don’t know if she’s coming, nya. The portion size isn’t changing, nya

ねつき
ねつき

ねつき
ねつき

…maybe I don’t have to chase

ミコ
ミコ

…Peel the potatoes, nya

ねつき
ねつき

I’ll help!

ミコ
ミコ

…Hold the knife right, nya


Related links:

♪ Web Clap ♪
0 claps