5th Water

Episode 5.9 - The Dark Truth

Disclaimers:

The Watership Down series belongs to Alltime and Decode Entertainment. The original characters and concepts behind Watership Down are the work of Richard Adams. Many of the additional characters in the series, however, belong to Alltime/Decode. I am just borrowing the characters for this fansite, and I mean no-one any harm by this. I am in no way connected with any of the people mentioned above.

5th Water is my third fanfiction series, continuing the storyline started in 3rd and 4th Water. All of them treat the storyline as though the official series 3 of WD never existed, mainly because to most people in the UK it doesn't.

All characters are completely fictitious and any resemblance to any persons either living or dead is purely coincidental. If anyone has any problems with this episode, they are advised to contact the webmaster on [email protected].

 

Writer's notes:

It's been another long wait, but we're nearly there now. Next we...er... episode is the finale of 5th Water, and indeed the whole Further Water series. Thank Frith you've all been so patient.


Early Evening, somewhere in the countryside

Vervain licked casually at the water from a small pond, before screwing his face a little. It was warm and stagnant, unlike what could have been found at a fresh stream had one been close, however as that day had been an especially hot one by British standards, it was still welcome relief. Despite the intense heat, Frith was nowhere to be seen. Instead a blanket of differing shades of grey cloud lined the sky above, threatening to burst open into a thunderstorm at any moment. As was often common with an impending storm, an eery silence had fallen over the whole area... a silence broken only by two voices.

"I soon found that the best way out of a barn was through the door," started Rutzy

"She did yes. Right out the front," chimed in Quizzle as they both began to nod. Bigwig sighed and looked over to Campion with confusion, the look back from the brown rabbit simply acting as a mirror. Neither of them could actually remember what the original discussion had been about, before the squirrels had taken over. Leaving Campion listening to more of their anecdotes, Bigwig quietly slipped over to where Kehaar stood against a tree trying to flex his damaged wing.

"Is the wing hurting again?" asked Hazel, as he joined them.

Kehaar flexed it a little more, before replying, "No. Is much better wing for Kehaar now!"

"We think he should be able to fly again soon. Perhaps before the next round moon," contined Hannah. Though there was no chance of seeing the moon, everyone still instinctively looked skywards at that. Hazel was the first to flick his head back down, "Still not soon enough, but we're really glad for your help Kehaar"

"Quiet!" interrupted Bigwig in a hushed voice, his trained ears having picked up the noise of someone rustling in the grass nearby first, "It's them again."

Everyone ducked down. Luckily they were in relatively long grass, so even the larger animals like Kehaar and Bark were able to vanish.

"Our scent isn't going in their favour, so we should be okay," finished Bigwig, deciding they were to be the final words uttered if there whereabouts was to remain secret. The rustling seemed to go on forever without any signs of its origin, before a band of rabbits emerged from the grasses. Straining his eyes, Bigwig could make out what appeared to be old scars on some of their faces, indicating they'd been in some sort of battle, but couldn't be certain. After some further sniffing at the grasses, and a few silent nods, the band moved on. Once he was sure they were clear, Bigwig was the first to pop his head out, lightly stamping out the all-clear signal to the rest.

"That was a clos..." started Campion, before being interrupted by a low growling. In an instant, an even larger group of hrair rabbits sprang out from the edge of the patch of grass, one instantly pinning down Campion much to his surprise. Everyone instantly realised the other group had been nothing but a decoy!

"R...r...run!" squeaked Vervain frantically, his feet carrying him off in a different direction to that which his head was facing, and straight into another one of the rabbits. With a weak yelp, he cowered into a ball.

"We're surrounded!" shouted Bigwig, managing to fight off one of the rabbits, before instantly finding himself overpowered by two more. It didn't take long for all the rabbits, Kehaar, Hannah and the squirrels to be held down. Bark took a lot more effort to overpower, with several rabbits being scattered like leaves, but eventually she too was restrained by three of the largest rabbits and dragged over to where the rest of the prisoners were gathered. A few of the rabbits simply nodded to one another, whilst Bigwig tried in vain to pick out a specific leader in case it could yield some tactical advantage. His efforts were cut short by one of them jabbing him in the back with a claw. They were moving! The attack had been quick, but effective!

*************

Deep underground...

Bigwig growled and kicked at the wall of the burrow they were in. It was a dry and solid place, clearly having been built some time earlier, the result of which meant Bigwig's kick did nothing but send a cloud of dry dust at his nose. He sneezed and shook his head, before turning to the others, "What are they keeping us down here for?"

The rest of them looked back silently, but obviously knew no more than he did. There were only the rabbits in the group now, the non-lapines having been pushed further underground and out of sight. Bigwig swung round again to where the guards stood at the entrance and hollered to them, "I said why are you keeping us here!?"

In keeping with any other questions he had asked them, the officers didn't reply.

"Well they're bound to come and talk to us soon, so why don't we figure out our story," started Campion before turning to Wintercress and the three rabbits he had brought to join them with a smirk, "Why don't you talk to them. I've heard you're a master of telling stories to get out of danger."

Wintercress smirked back for a moment knowing it to be an accurate analysis, before sighing, "This lot wouldn't believe me anyway. I cant say I've ever come across this warren or most of its rabbits before, but one of those I did see among the guards looked familiar from a place we visited in the past. We only just scraped out of that place with our lives thanks to a cunning story that could have been crafted by El-ahrairah himself, but I expect he'll remember me now."

Even if they had intended to allow Wintercress to do all the talking, there was no chance to develop the plan anyway, as at that moment they were interrupted by the sound of several guards coming in. Hazel stepped forward to speak first.

"We apologise if there has been some misunderstanding here, but we meant no harm to anyone," said Hazel. Without any thought, Hazel had dropped straight into the role of diplomat, working on his usual assumption that until there was definite proof to the contrary all animals should be deemed contactable.

"Silence! You have been bringing elil down on the warren," snarled one of the other rabbits.

"If you're referring to the badger and the gull, that's just Bark and Kehaar and they won't hurt anyone,"

The gasps and shocked mutterings spreading throughout the other rabbits were all too obvious as Hazel finished talking again. It was the same rabbit who had addressed him before that continued, "So you admit to consorting with elil? That's a very serious offence,"

"I s...swear I had nothing to do with any of these creat..." came a whimper from Vervain, as he tried to distance himself from any trouble, however no-one was listening to him.

"They're not elil, they're our friends," continued Hazel trying to remain calm, before Bigwig jumped in, much more abrupt in his manner than the chief, "And listen chum, I don't know who you think you are, but if you harm any of them..." His voice lowered to a growl.

"You'll what?" snarled back the other rabbit. The two of them locked eyes for several seconds, in some vain attempt to look threatening to one another.

"Bigwig, don't start any more fighting. We don't need any more trouble," said Hazel, not that he expected Bigwig to listen to him for a second. There was usually more chance of getting Hawkbit to dig the whole warren by himself than there was of getting Bigwig to back down once challenged by another buck. Bigwig just paused for a second, glancing at Hazel.

"Listen to your friend, otherwise you'll only regret it,"

"Bigwig doesn't do regrets," muttered Campion, shaking his head and smiling as Bigwig leapt at the other rabbit with an angry growl. Despite the size and strength of the other rabbit, it didn't take Bigwig long to pin him down, though his victory was short lived as two other officers grabbed him and pushed him to the ground instead. Amongst all the shouting words of encouragement from their rabbits, Hazel suddenly spoke up again.

"Look, those creatures are helping us. We need their help to help us defeat an enemy called General Woundwort. He invaded our home warren, took all our rabbits, and we can only begin to imagine what... he... is..." His voice trailed off towards the end as all the other rabbits left Bigwig alone, suddenly falling silent and backing away into a group, their eyes telling a mixture of shock and confusion.

"W... Woundwort?!?" whispered one of them suddenly, the word sounding hollow.

"He... he said the name!"

At that, the whole group ran off, leaving only the two guards outside the door, who seemed oblivious to the events on the inside. Bigwig stood up and shook the dust from his fur before blinking at the door, "What just happened?"

"Do you suppose they've heard of him?" said Campion.

"Perhaps they've already had problems of their own with ol' Woundwort. That could work in our favour," replied Bigwig.

"We don't know anything yet Bigwig. Let's not get excited just yet," said Hazel, looking around cautiously.

"Do you think we should make a run for it now?" whispered Bigwig.

"We'd never find our way out of this warren in one piece Bigwig. We're way underground, you know that,"

"Let's worry about that when we get out..." replied Bigwig, but he was cut short as two rabbits entered. They didn't say a word to anyone present, but simply positioned themselves as sentries on the inside of the entrance. Bigwig looked at Hazel blankly, his gaze being met by Hazel, before suddenly another rabbit entered. Moving with a slight hobble, she was bigger than any of the others they'd seen at this place, and her body carried much heavier signs of battle than anyone else. Half an ear was shredded, and a long set of scars ran across one side of her body, clearly originating from an injury a long time ago. The two rabbits who had come in before her bowed down to the ground as she entered, with another two following close behind. Hazel looked her over, before stepping forward with Bigwig barely a paw's length behind him.

"Greetings. This is Bigwig and I'm H..." started Hazel, before Bigwig interrupted him.

"And who are you?" he snorted, stepping forward of Hazel.

"I'm Laurel, Grand Chief of this warren," she paused to bring her nose up close to Bigwig, "And just what do you know about my son?!"

Meanwhile, Further underground, in complete darkness

After being separated from the rest, Bark, Hannah, Kehaar and the squirrels had been herded deeper underground and into a cavern formed of rock. It was more solid than the earthen burrow the others had been placed in, and had a large boulder across the entrance sealing it off and making the room even darker. This place was for more dangerous prisoners and they knew it.

"We cant stay in this place. The others might need us," started Hannah.

"No, no. Is good point! We get out ya!" squawked Kehaar in reply. He looked around their cell for a moment or two, seemingly straining every part of his mind in case he'd missed something blatently obvious again, before turning his head halfway towards the mouse sat on his back, "But how we do that?"

"I dont know yet Kehaar, but I'm sure I'll work something out," she replied, after pausing to think for a few moments. The two squirrels were about to reply to her, when Bark chimed in instead.

"Bark fight us way out, you see," she suggested, already baring her teeth angrily. Though she was generally tame towards other rabbits and had never been known to hurt a single animal living around the Down, it was clear she still missed the chance to fight now and again.

"No. They overpowered you once, so they could do it again, and next time they might not let us live. There's just too many of them. They must have a whole army out of rabbits out there. Besides, Hazel wouldnt have us hurting more rabbits, as it might make them worse. There must be another way," finished Hannah, hopping off the gull's back to look around their enclosure. There didn't appear to be any obvious weaknesses with it.

"We'll help you come up with something," smiled Quizzle, finally getting her chance to speak.

"Oh yes, we're good at solving problems," nodded Rutzy in agreement.

"Very good, yes!"

"One time there was a big shortage of nuts."

"Not many nuts, were there?"

"Nope, not at all. We found some but there weren't many of them."

Both of them shook their heads at the same time before carrying on the story, despite the fact that already no-one was really listening to them.

"Came across some other squirrels not long after," continued Quizzle.

"We did, yes! They tried to take the nuts."

"They wouldn't take no for an answer."

"They wouldn't, no!"

"Then they started getting angry!"

"They did. I was quite scared!"

"She was scared!"

"I was, yes!"

Both of them nodded at that, the detail about which one of them was actually scared being lost completely.

"But we solved the problem in the end,"

"We did too!"

"Oh, come on then, surprise us," interrupted Hannah, half listening to what they were saying now, "What did you do? Chase them away? Fight them tooth and claw? Bore them?"

"Me think they fly off and leave them," added Kehaar.

"Even better. We just handed them all over," said Quizzle.

"We did indeed," added Rutzy. The two of them paused beaming for a moment, before Quizzle continued.

"They ran off happy, and all was good again."

"It was good!

"Yup very good, apart from us being hungry."

Hannah paused for a second, not knowing what to say, and hoping to a certain extent that someone else would speak first. In the end, she just turned and wandered off to explore the doorway some more.

"I'll be okay on my own, really, but thank you for offering to help," she said, sighing quietly as she began to sniff around for clues. Almost instantly she screwed up her face and muttered to herself, "This place smells of foxes"

"Foxes," started Bark, shivering a little, "Not very friendly creatures. Often used to torment Bark in orchard, but always run off before she come."

Hannah nodded in agreement, "I can't say I like them either. It just doesn't make sense why they'd be down here in the middle of a rabbit warren," she said, looking confused as she covered her nose a little with one paw.

*************

Back with Hazel

Though she had appeared threatening and confrontational at first, the new rabbit Laurel had soon settled once Hazel had began explaining. How they'd met Woundwort as chief of Efrafa as well as all their past struggles with him, before finally moving on to their current situation.

"After escaping from the river, he began to rebuild his army with the help of another enemy called Cowslip. We didn't find out until it was too late, but he succeeded in totally destroying the warren of Redstone, before moving on to Efrafa, and finally The Down. We tried all we could to stop them, but there were just too many rabbits. We're all that's left free of the warren now,"

Laurel shook her head in disbelief. This certainly wan't the son she remembered, but yet she couldn't think of any way to argue with them, "So where is Woundwort now?" she said instead.

"We're not sure. After he left Watership Down, he took everyone with him, and we've been trying to find them ever since," replied Hazel. Bigwig sighed at that, knowing how cold the trail had gone now.

"From what you describe, it certainly sounds like he took a specific disliking to your place... I just don't know why," she sighed.

"Just our idea of freedom clashed with his of having everyone living in fear," snorted Bigwig.

"If only his father had been able to teach him better... but then he never did get the chance,"

As Laurel finished the sentence she sniffed and looked distantly across the room, as though trying to see into another time. Hazel hesitated, not wanting to press with anything that might upset her, so he quickly changed the subject, "Y... You still didn't mention where Bark and Kehaar and the rest are," said Hazel. He had been searching for a good moment to mention that, and now that he was looking for a distraction it seemed ideal to raise it.

"Ah yes, they're all fine. They were taken down to the lower prisoner rooms in the warren. They're much more highly guarded than here, and much more difficult to escape from. It's where we take the foxes if we ever end up with one stuck with us," replied Laurel, at first still staring distantly with what looked to be a tear in one eye, before shaking her head and snapping her attention back as she spoke.

"But they're okay?"

"I promise it. We mostly leave anyone in there alone for safety of the warren. It's just a temporary holding place, nothing more."

Laurel's tone of voice instantly reassured Hazel they were safe, but he still looked a little confused about some things.

"What about Hannah, Quizzle and Rutzy though. They could never be mistaken for elil, so why did they get taken down there?" he asked.

"Well the mouse refused to leave the gull on his own. As for those two squirrels..." said Laurel, before stopping and shaking her head. Bigwig grinned a little, "This should be good!"

"We took them down there to give the officers some rest. I've already had to give two of the rabbits from the patrol a full day off as they were shaking from all the talking those two did on the way in. Not meaning to be rude to you, but they do talk quite a bit!"

"Don't we just know it!" Bigwig muttered, still smiling.

"Can we see them?" asked Hazel.

"I'd best keep them there for the moment as it'll worry the warren moving them about, but we can go down ourselves in a little while. In the meantime I shall instruct the guards to take down fresh bedding and food, tell them of what is happening, and make it be known that they are to be treated as guests," said Laurel, waving to one of the sentries who nodded and vanished off to the lower burrows.

"How about you though? What are you doing here then?" asked Campion. It was the question everyone had been dying to know of course.

"I've been here a long time now, looking after this warren carefully. It was the only way I could cope after what I thought happened to Woundwort. By doing all I could to protect other rabbits. This place was almost destroyed by the local foxes when I was first brought here,"

"But..." started Bigwig, hesitating slightly. He wasn't keen on pressing the matter either, but someone had to do it, "But Fiver told us you were dead. He saw the fire and the weasel in Woundwort's mind,"

Laurel shivered visibly at the mention of that, before breathing deeply and lowering her head, "And indeed he was right, all of that happened. But.. how did he know that?"

"It's a long story, but he knows more than most rabbits," nodded Bigwig.

"Well if I'm honest, I should probably have died. Man came, and brought fire with him to destroy the old warren Darkhaven. I was barely able to get myself and Woundwort out alive. Distracted by trying to get away from that place though, and with our senses not about us, I led us straight into the path of a Weasel," she paused and sighed there. Clearly she blamed herself for that mistake and always would. Hazel tried to reassure her by placing his paw on her shoulder as she continued, "Whatever else happened I had to get my son out safely. I took on the Weasel myself and instructed him to just run for his life. Which he did!"

"But you survived. You beat her back?" asked Bigwig.

"Just barely. It left it's mark on me," she started, indicating to all the scarring on her, "But I escaped. I'd managed to do some damage back, but would probably still have been taken by the Black Rabbit had it not been for the sound of man scaring off the filthy brute,"

"Pipkin said Woundwort had mentioned something about escaping a man when he was a prisoner at Efrafa. None of us could make sense of it though, not even Fiver," said Hazel.

"I don't know what he was doing out there, but it was him who got Woundwort. I had a very nasty injury to my leg, but I still did all I could to find where he'd gone. He hadn't gotten too far, but by the time I'd finally found him it was too late. Man had him!" she choked to hold back a sob, "It was the last I ever saw of him. I had no choice but to assume he'd stopped running. I can't remember much of what happened after that. All I'm told is that a group of rabbits from this warren as it was then found me crouched in a ditch whilst out on a long patrol, and brought me back here, where I've been ever since."

Wintercress whimpered a little, never having heard this story properly before, "You lost your mate, your home and your son in the same day. I... I don't know what to say, other than how sorry I am,"

"We lost our first home to man too," said Bigwig, "A lovely place called Sandleford at one time, but it's gone now, and we found Watership Down instead. Nothing in the world compares to tha..."

Laurel lifted her head and her eyes widened as Bigwig spoke, "Sandleford? You came from Sandleford Warren? The great Sandleford Warren run by that old hraka the Threar?"

Bigwig just blinked as he looked back, "You know of the place?"

Laurel's previous upset face had turned to one that was desperately holding back anger now, "Sandleford was my home warren,"

There were several seconds of stunned silence from all the rabbits at that, before Hazel finally spoke.

"You mean you and Woundwort came from Sandleford?"

"Just me. Woundwort was born of Darkhaven, which is where I went after Sandleford,"

Bigwig wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Being of the Owsla, he knew it wasn't that unusual for a rabbit to leave Sandleford, but it was very unusual for a doe to choose to leave on her own, "You left Sandleford? But why?"

"Not by my own choice. The wonderous Threar threw me out," she started, before recanting the tale of her last meeting with the old grey rabbit.

"I hear that the flayrah stocks have been mysteriously lower whenever you've been watching them," said Threarah.

"B... but sir, I've not been in charge of the flayrah stocks for hrair round moons no..." replied Laurel.

"And yet you're a very good size for a doe of your rank who isn't carrying kittens," continued Threar.

"What does my size have to do with things?" she asked.

"I ask the questions round here. I've had enough of this subordinance," snapped the Threar, his silvery whiskers twitching heavily.

"But this is only the third time in my life I've ever met y..."

"I've had enough of it! I want you out. We all want you out! Get out of my warren! Get out! Get out! Get out!!"

"Those were the last words he ever said to me before having some of the Owsla take me beyond the perimeter of Sandleford," she finished.

"So what was his true reason for wanting you out of Sandleford?" asked Bigwig.

"I never found out. The rumour going round shortly before that happened was that the Threar was starting to get a bit worried about me because of my size and strength. I'm guessing he thought of me as a threat to his position, as sooner or later someone was due to challenge him,"

"Well they never got the chance to. Threarah is dead now. They all are. He refused to leave the warren when Fiver saw a great danger coming, and now the warren is no more," finished Bigwig.

Laurel sniffed a little, "I had many friends in that place. It's sad to think that because of that oaf they'll never run in this world anymore. I just hope the Black Rabbit was slow in coming for the old Threar and let him suffer like he did to so many others," she finished, her voice curling up into a snarl.

Hazel, who had stopped to think for several seconds, finally spoke again, "Could this have anything to do with how Woundwort treats our warren?"

"Sadly yes. Though he never came from Sandleford himself, I did recount that story to him many times, in the hope that one day he might be strong enough to go back to Sandleford and teach the Threar a lesson he would never forget," Laurel said, before sighing.

"He's never mentioned this Sandleford to me before," chipped in Campion.

"He was very young then, so perhaps it's been pushed somewhere to the back of his mind after all this time," replied Laurel, before sighing, "This is all my fault. If you came from Sandleford, then it's hardly surprising that in his heart he hates you, even if he doesn't know why. Everyone who has ever had anything to do with that warren is in danger, and it's... it's all my fault..."

"Seems like you were right, Hazel. There always has been some other reason he's hated our warren more than most. W... we have to find him now, as no-one is safe!" said Bigwig.

"Hazel?" asked Laurel, looking to the brown rabbit, "You never mentioned your name was Hazel,"

"I was about to," replied Hazel, glaring at Bigwig briefly for interrupting his introduction earlier.

"Have you heard of him?" asked Bigwig, desperately trying to avoid the stare.

"Not personally, but perhaps you can help with something else. Come with me."

Soon...

After leading them out of the burrow, Laurel had led them around the warren, heading further towards the surface. Most of the rabbits had split off to meet others in the warren under Hazel's orders, leaving only Hazel and Bigwig following Laurel through the maze of runs. They'd always thought Watership Down to be big, but it paled in comparison to the size of this place. Bigwig could see now how they'd been able to afford to bring out a practical army just to catch a few rabbits. As they walked, Laurel continued talking, "No one knows where she came from or where she was headed. We tried talking to her, but the only thing she whispered one time when awake was 'Hazel'."

Hazel nodded politely, though was clearly more eager to just get to wherever she was leading them. He had been listening with building anticipation as Laurel had been describing how they'd found a rabbit in the woods after dark some days back, bitterly cold and barely breathing, yet with no signs of sickness. She'd also explained how though they'd managed to get her warm once more, she hadn't eaten a thing. Even the best flayrah hadn't interested her. She just lay there motionless most of the time, something heavy preying on her mind.

"Just don't get your hopes up too high Hazel," said Bigwig quietly, sensing his chief's eagerness, and easily guessing what Hazel was thinking.

"Everything fits perfectly. It just has to be Primrose. Who else would know me?" whispered Hazel in reply.

"She could just have been talking about a tree. She's not in a good state, you heard Laurel," replied Bigwig. He always hated being the one to bring Hazel down like this, but knew that he was the only one who would do it.

"In here," nodded Laurel, indicating to one of the side burrows. The burrows in this part of the warren were much warmer and cosier in appearance, with no-one guarding them. They were clearly for guests rather than prisoners. Hazel wasn't too interested in that though as he leapt forward to look inside.

"Pr..." he started, before stopping suddenly, his heart instantly sinking. In the corner of the room sat a dark grey doe, just a little older than Fiver.

Without hesitating any longer Hazel sighed and turned to leave, but was stopped by the sound of the other doe speaking.

"Laurel, oh thank Frith you're here. I was just about to send a messenger up to find you."

"Where is she? Where's the other rabbit?"

"I don't know. We brought down some fresh flayrah to see if she would eat, but... but she was just gone!"

"Search the warren... and gather a party of scouting sentries! Come on, she can't have gone far in her state!" ordered Laurel, already heading back down the run with Hazel and Bigwig in tow.

Outside, late evening

Laurel was right in her predictions. As expected, the doe hadn't gotten far. She had made it outside the warren, which was still somewhat of a surprise to them, but was only just crossing the first field when she was spotted. Had she been out a little earlier during the peak of the recently passed storm she might have been more difficult to spot, but even that had passed now, ruining her chance of cover. By the time she'd almost reached the other side, the much more efficient patrol already had her surrounded. Bigwig and Hazel emerged with Laurel, allowing them to see the outside of the place for the first time. A single large overhanging tree provided shelter for the warren, seperated from the forest behind. Immediately in front of the main entrance was a large field, providing them with a clear view of any intruders long before they arrived. It also provided a clear view of the events unfolding, as they headed towards the patrol closing in on the doe.

"Look, just calm down, we're not going to hurt yo..." said one of the guards to her, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible; a task which proved impossible with his battlescarred features.

"No. I... I must find him. I have to," paniced the female rabbit, backing away from him, and looking around frantically. She could see that she was surrounded, but still made a bolt for one of the rabbits, who promptly restrained her from moving any further.

"I need... need to get to him," she whimpered, her voice almost silent now. The officer, not really sure what to do just held on as carefully as he could so as not to hurt her.

"Let her go!" shouted Laurel, finally catching up to the circle of rabbits with Hazel and Bigwig. Nodding, the officer did as instructed, with which the doe just slumped lifelessly on the ground. Before anyone said another word, Hazel broke forward running towards her, "Primrose!!"

Whether she was unconscious, or simply didn't have the energy no-one could tell, however she didn't respond. Unperturbed, he curled up beside her and nuzzled her. It was only up close he could finally see how different she actually was to the doe he remembered. Her body was cold and lifeless, with her fur ragged and dull. But it was indeed still her. Primrose! He sighed for a moment, before suddenly hearing a voice.

"H... Hazel?" said Primrose quietly, slowly lifting her head.

Hazel quickly brought his down to meet it, "It's me. I'm here!"

"Oh, I've found you. Thank Frith," she muttered, before her head fell back to the ground from lack of strength.

"I'll never lose you again!" said Hazel.

"Haz..." started Bigwig, before Laurel placed a paw on his shoulder. "Hush," she signalled to the rest of the guards with her other front paw, at which they began to move off silently over the damp grass, "Lets leave them alone for a little while."

*************

Underground, when the moon is in the sky

Laurel had ordered the sentries to watch over the two rabbits incase their friends the foxes decided to show up again, however had instructed them to remain at a distance. Hazel had stayed curled next to Primrose until well after dark, when she'd finally found the strength to move back underground, though barely saying a word to him. Predicting this, Laurel had cleared the burrow nearest the surface, which was where they lay now.

"Hazel?" struggled Primrose, keeping her head on the ground. "What's wrong?"

Hazel hadn't realised she was awake, let alone monitoring his behaviour. He smiled and leaned his head down to nuzzle her, "Oh I'm fine. I... I just keep remembering what happened at the Waterfall, no matter how hard I try not to,"

"I'm sorry if I acted stupidly there Hazel," replied Primrose.

"Stupidly? Don't be stupid!" replied Hazel, instantly realising how silly his own sentence sounded, "What you did there saved us all!"

"So we won then?" asked Primrose, lifting her head a little as she looked at Hazel hopefully.

Hazel swallowed hard, before standing up and looking away, "We did!"

"Hazel, there's something else though isn't there. What is it? What happened?"

Hazel sighed. He'd told this story many times now, but never to someone who loved the Down so much. He scratched his feet at the dirt under him, to relieve his frustration a little, before continuing, "You weren't the only one who frith spared from the water."

"You mean Woundwort got away too? Is it the little ones? What did he do to them?" continued Primrose, her voice becoming more paniced.

"No no, the children are all alive and well," said Hazel. It instantly dawned on him he had no idea that was actually true, but decided it best to stick with that assumption. Primrose breathed a sigh of relief, her face still remaining as concerned as before though.

"Wait, does this have something to do with you being in this strange place?" she said.

"After surviving the waterfall, he came back. He invaded everything; Redstone. Efrafa. The Down. He took everyone, and left nothing but destruction in his wake," sighed Hazel.

"Took them? Took them where?"

"I don't know," said Hazel, his voice sounding hollow. He paused silently for a moment, running over several thoughts in his head, before finally turning back to look at Primrose. Her eyes had always been able to inspire him in times of need, yet now they seemed more dull and lifeless than he had ever seen them before, "The trail grows ever fainter, and I think everyone knows even I'm not sure we'll find them anymore. Will things ever be the same again?"

"B... but they still run Hazel. I still see a glimmer of hope in your eyes," said Primrose. Hazel knew she used to take similar inspiration from his eyes, but had never considered that they could show any signs of hope now, "They will be found, and we'll all be safely together again soon. As long as they continue to run, and you continue to run, Watership Down will never be destroyed,"

It was at that point Hazel saw the look in Primrose's eyes he had been so desperately searching for, albeit faint. He shook his head and quickly tried to focus, "Y..you're right. If I could find you in a world this size, then surely we can find the others. Both El-ahrairah and Frith will guide us, I just hope they do it soon..."

Hazel fell silent. A dull noise had been building up amongst the rabbits a few runs away in the Warren's gathering place. As Hazel had talked, it had been increasing in volume until his voice was practically drowned out.

"What is that about?" said Hazel to himself, heading for the door before stopping, "You rest here, and I'll be right back."

"I'm not going to leave you again, Hazel. I'm going too," said Primrose, managing to force out a smile. Hazel would have argued with her, but he knew deep down she would be very stubborn about sticking to that point. So much so, that it would probably end up taking more time in the long run to try and persuade her otherwise, so he begrudgingly nodded to her. Primrose clambered to her feet, and despite looking unsteady and needing Hazel's support for the first few seconds, she was soon following the brown rabbit into the run. He entered the gathering place at the same time as Laurel entered from another tunnel.

"Bigwig, what's going on?" Hazel shouted to the grey rabbit who was already stood there, trying to make his voice heard over the noise.

"I'm not sure. From the sounds of things though, I think they're bringing someone in," replied Bigwig, as the two of them struggled to see past the crowd. He was interrupted by Laurel calling for silence at that moment. Instantly the noise vanished, and in entered three rabbits. Two were officers, the first one of whom was a particularly tired looking rabbit carrying a third rabbit over his back who lay unconscious and badly wounded.

"We found this one lying on his own in the wood. Any longer and the foxes would probably have gotten him. It's hard to say, but he looks like he was attacked or fell or something like that," spoke the second rabbit of the patrol who had not been doing the carrying, as the first placed the one he was carrying onto the ground.

"Summon the medical rabbit here at once," said Laurel, before being interrupted by Hazel's voice, who had finally managed to catch glimpse of the wounded rabbit.

"Hawkbit!!"

Leaving Primrose and Bigwig behind, he bolted over to where the grey rabbit lay on the ground, badly wounded but still alive.

"Is there anyone these rabbits don't know?" whispered a few of the assembled rabbits to one another.

 

TO BE CONTINUED


Next episode, lives will change forever. The world will never be the same again, as the finalé of 5th Water is finally upon us.

Thoughts and Opinions always welcome =:) - Guestbook / email

 

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