It's all Vervain's fault (just ask Woundwort) that I'm writing another fic about him. Why does he have to be so interesting? Oh well... Anyway this is an origin story (as my brother dramatically called it) that tells about Vervain's time in Efrafa before canon (TV series canon, that is). Since this is pre-canon it'll contain some Efrafan OCs, mostly Vervain's family though.
Always remember that I own nothing! NOTHING!
Prologue
Vervain ran.
He ran and ran as fast as he could and not once did he look back. The Black Rabbit of Inlé was there and to look upon him meant death. He knew that; every rabbit knew that. He could hear the panicked screeches of the Darkhaven rabbits behind him but he didn't dare imagine what was happening to them. He sped up his pace, the wind roaring in his ears. He welcomed the temporary deafness. Finally, he'd reached the bottom of the hill and the forest was within sight. He leaped into the first bush he saw and crouched down, pressing his body down on the ground to make him as small as possible. He vaguely noted that he was shivering. Closing his eyes he focused all his thoughts on calming his wildly beating heart, praying to Frith for... for what, exactly? To live? To survive? He wasn't sure but still he prayed and prayed.
Vervain had no idea how long he laid there. When he finally opened his eyes he noticed it was getting dark. The reality of the situation hadn't hit him yet. All he knew was that once more he had run in the face of danger and once more he had survived when others perished. Survival, it was the most basic instinct but lately it seemed that no rabbit around had the common sense to listen to it. Still, this time...
Part of him wanted to turn back, to see what had happened, to confirm that the General was really gone. It wouldn't be the first time the General cheated death. But in the end Vervain didn't turn back. Somehow he just knew that this time he wouldn't be coming back. No rabbit, not even Woundwort, could escape if the Black Rabbit came for him personally. Despite himself, Vervain was impressed. Of course the General had made even his death extraordinary. Vervain didn't think any rabbit had ever before moved the Black Rabbit in such a way. Very impressive, but in the end the fate of every rabbit is the same, no matter who they were and what they did. Still, this time...
"Guess you didn't give me to the Black Rabbit after all, hm, Sire?" He whispered. "But you still left me behind..." His heart felt heavy and he felt tears welling up in his eyes as his mind finally caught up with the facts. This time it had been Woundwort. Again. For real. "...just like I left you... again..." It wasn't betrayal, it was just survival instinct, that's all. He had told himself that before, convinced himself of it, yet still it stung. He'd promised to never again leave the General behind like that. Yet still he had. Vervain supposed he just couldn't help himself. He was- had been- no, still was, loyal to the General, to a fault even some would argue, but still he would never have given his life for him. Never. What would be the point in that? What good would he be to the General dead? Before the destruction of Efrafa he had not once even considered that the General would actually die at any other creatures' claw so the thought of what use he'd be if the General were dead had never occurred to him. He blinked the tears away. He hadn't cried since he was a young kitten. It's pointless to cry. It won't bring him back so I choose to hold strong as he would've wanted me to. Vervain hadn't remembered his mother's words in a long time. They rang so clearly in his mind that it was almost as if she were with him. Strange, he hadn't thought about her for so long, even though he'd adhered to many of her sayings. She had run as well, he remembered, she had run and left the rabbit she loved behind. How ironic.
But what was he supposed to do now? Last time he'd focused on surviving and hadn't really stopped to think about things. It hadn't gone well then. Vervain hated to admit it but he was rather worthless out in the free world all on his own. He had no idea how to survive on his own but he had no choice now, did he? He had nowhere to go, no-one to turn to. There were no stray Efrafan rabbits running around either. He actually had no idea where they'd all gone. There would be Darkhaven rabbits about but he didn't fancy running into them. He never liked Darkhaven or its ridiculous rules of combat. Nor could he stand to stay another second in that stinking place of death, man and hrududu. Woundwort had been the only reason he'd tolerated it all.
Redstone was gone now too so that was no option either. It was a pity really, he had liked that warren. When they were there, Vervain had hoped they would stay there until they stopped running. For a while life had seemed normal again. Even the General had acted more like his old himself. Or so Vervain had thought. It had turned out to be idle hope. All because of man. No, all because of that stupid 'destiny of destruction' nonsense that Woundwort had convinced himself of. Hmph, destiny. Just look where believing in that destiny had gotten him! And that prophecy had only made things worse. Visions of the future were already bad enough but prophecies? Really? It had honestly surprised Vervain that Woundwort of all rabbits would fall for something so ridiculous. A rabbit made his own choices. Thinking back on it, Vervain regretted ever telling Woundwort about Silverweed. His reading of Woundwort's heart had only spurred the General on further down his path of destruction. Though Vervain kept trying and hoping, it might've already been too late then. Woundwort had been too far gone. Still Vervain had followed him. That had been his own choice, not some play of destiny, even though he couldn't really explain his reasons when Silverweed had asked about them.
As nice as Redstone had been Vervain knew there was only one place he wanted to return to: Efrafa, his one true home, the place where he had lived for the majority of his life. There was nothing left for him there but then again there was nothing left for him anywhere and he wasn't planning on dying here, hidden underneath a bush inside the territory of the rabbits who had turned out to be Efrafa's doom. No, if he was to stop running, it would be in Efrafa. Vervain knew the Black Rabbit would come for him soon too. He had neither the skills nor the energy (nor a reason besides just survival) to live in the free open world filled with hostile rabbits and elil. But by Frith, he was going to choose where he'd die, even if it was the last thing he'd do. Which it would be of course.
An owl hooted. Vervain lowered himself again. It was almost completely dark now. He'd waited too long, the elil would be out now and the world looked a lot different in the all-consuming blackness of the night. He knew the way though. To think they'd come so close to Hazel's warren during their wide patrols... Would things have been different if only they'd found it then? He shook his head. It was pointless to think about that now. It would most likely be smarter to stay put until dawn but Vervain didn't want to stay there any longer so against better judgement he crept from underneath the bush. Carefully he glanced around. The coast looked clear. For now. Not wasting another second he hopped off, making straight for Efrafa. He made sure to keep to cover as much as possible and though he heard a few owls and some menacing rustling of leaves, he never saw any elil.
As he passed the boundaries to Efrafan territory he felt instantly safer. Somehow, even with Efrafa destroyed, it still felt like the best place to be. He paused when he passed the skull of a fox. A warning to all elil that any who dared cross paths with Efrafa would meet the same fate. Vervain remembered when he'd seen it for the first time. The moment had changed his life forever. But he'd have time to reminisce later so he hopped on, following the familiar trail. There were much fewer traces of elil here. It seems they still fear you, General.
It was confronting to see Efrafa in ruins. He'd run away during the battle when the ground had split and swallowed Woundwort up. He'd known the battle was lost and the warren destroyed but he hadn't known it would be this bad. The tree had split and crumbled and with it the tunnels had collapsed. There was no way he'd be able to get inside without risking being caved in. The smell of death hit him as he descended down into the rubble and he was glad for the darkness that concealed any dead bodies. The Outsiders hadn't even bothered with the Efrafan casualties. And they called themselves so righteous, hah! How was the destruction of Efrafa justice, then? If they hadn't attacked then... He shook his head again. More pointless thoughts. Clearing his mind, he looked around for a place to rest. Eventually he found a hollowed piece of wood more than big enough for him to sleep in. He crawled inside, turning so that he could look out upon the remains of his home warren. Above the clouds parted, revealing a pale moon. It barely provided any light but that was fine.
Vervain closed his eyes and let memories flood over him.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
Chibiscuit~
