I had wanted to make a Watership Down story ever since I watched the new Netflix miniseries on the last day of the new year 2018, and after watching the 1999-2001 TV series and reading two of Drewmoviefan's Watership Down stories. I know I have to work on New Places & New Beginnings, but I'd rather do one story at a time. I've been so eager to do this story for a while, I hope you enjoy it. This story series is a combination of the 1978 movie, the TV series, and the 2018 miniseries. Character appearances mostly based on the TV series, but also the 1978 movie and the 2018 miniseries.
I don't own Watership Down 1978, the Television Series, nor the Netflix miniseries. OCs belong to me. Bigwig x OC.
Enjoy, and no negative comments, please! Thank you.
Long ago, in the beginning, the great Frith made the world. He made all the stars by scattering his droppings, and the world lived among the stars. Frith made all the animals and birds, and at first made them all the same. Now, among the animals was El-ahrairah, the Prince of Rabbits. He had many friends and they all ate grass together.
El-ahrairah had so many wives and so many kits that even Frith couldn't count them. After a time, the rabbits wandered everywhere, multiplied, eating as they went. They ate all the grass and clover in the entire world. The hungry and distraught animals looked to Frith for help.
So Frith said to El-ahrairah, "Prince Rabbit, if you cannot control your people, I shall find ways to control them. So mark what I say!"
But El-ahrairah would not listen and scoffed, "My people are the strongest in the world, for they breed faster and eat more than any of the other people. And this shows how much they love Lord Frith. For of all the animals in the world, they are the most responsive to your warmth and brightness. You must realize, my lord, how important they are and not hinder them in their beautiful lives."
This angered Frith, and he could have killed the prince rabbit there and then, but he needed him for his hijinks and tricks, so he determined to get the better of El-ahrairah. He determined there would be a meeting of all the animals of the world, and upon each, he would bestow a gift. He gave a present to every animal and bird, making each one different from the rest.
When the fox came, he gave great cunning. Upon the hawk, sharp talons. Upon the cat, silent feet. Upon the dog, great smell. Upon the weasel, great speed. Upon the owl, great vision. Upon the wolf, great teeth. To each of them, Frith gave a fierce desire to hunt and slay the children of El-ahrairah. These animals became the elil, the thousand enemies of rabbits. One by one, all of El-ahrairah's wives and kits slaughtered and killed by the thousand enemies.
It was a few days later, when El-ahrairah heard of all this upon discovering his entire family dead, except for several rabbits whom escaped the thousand enemies. Now El-ahrairah knew that Frith was too clever for him, and he was frightened. He had never seen the Black Rabbit of Death. Desperate to escape, he began digging a hole in the earth, but his body was in half way until Frith appeared.
"My friend," said Frith, "have you seen El-ahrairah? For I wish to give him a gift."
"Err... uh... no, I have not seen him."
"Come out, and I will bless you instead."
"No, I cannot. I am busy. The fox and weasel are coming."
Obviously, Frith knew it was El-ahrairah and he said, "I know it is you, Prince Rabbit. Come out, the fox and weasel are not here."
The Prince Rabbit's head popped up from the dirt. As he turned to face Frith, he felt his fear become anger over the death of his people. "You have condemned my people to lives of fear, Lord!"
"I have warned you, your people cannot rule the world, for I will not have it so," Frith said. "Do you not wish to see what blessing I have for your people, Prince Rabbit?"
"If you want to bless me, to my bottom give your blessings!" El-ahrairah scoffed, turning away and stuck his rear end up at the sky.
"Very well, be it so," Frith complied, "Grow a tail to confuse those chasing you and legs to outrun them. Grow ears to hear any of your thousand enemies from miles away."
Then El-ahrairah's tail grew shining white and it flashed like a star. His ears grew longer to hear sounds no one can hear. His back legs grew long and powerful. And he tore across the hill faster than any creature in the world. He was pursued by the thousand enemies as he lead the surviving rabbits away, jumping over a fence and across the meadow to safety.
"All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies," said Frith. "And whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you... digger... runner... listener... Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed."
The primroses were over. Toward the edge of the wood, where the ground became open and sloped down to an old fence and a bramble ditch beyond a field where the upper part of the field was full of rabbit burrows. The grass was altogether and everywhere a cluster of flowers of different kind. A few yards away at the bottom of the slope ran a brook surrounded by a few kingcups, watercress and blue brooklime. A small walkway bridge crossed over the three-feet wide brook to the other side of the field where there stood a thorn hedge connected within a wire fence and a signpost having recently put up by two men, one hammered the sign in place and the other smoked a cigarette.
"Along the edge of that wood, there..." said the man as he finished hammering and put his tools away. "Enjoyed many a game of play from it, too."
"You can't hold back progress," replied the second man, flicking his cigarette aside and crushed it with his boot. "Shame, though."
The first man glanced at his watch. "It's gone 8:00, and I told Elizabeth we'd go into Newbury this evening."
The two men left the field by passing through a gate, and boarded an waiting pickup truck.
"Old sun sets so late in summer, it's morning before..." the second man closed the truck door, started up the vehicle and the truck drove off down a dirt road, leaving a trail of dust behind it.
Across the field beyond the dirt road appeared a rabbit, a doe, bounding over the grass and weeds at great speed, desperately trying to catch up to the departing vehicle. "No, wait! Stop!" she cried. It was unusual for a rabbit to chase down a pickup truck, but not this one. She was too late as the truck was further off a good distance. The rabbit sighed dismally, "Oh, no. How do I find my way home now? Which way should I go?"
The distraught rabbit, called Lily, began to sob like a lost child out and alone in the big world with no one to care for her. She had never been on her own in the wild, growing up in a farm had made her unreliable in the wild, despite the love and care she received from her caretakers, but she never thought an unexpected turn of events could force her out on her own. She had been on her own for three days, trying to find her way back, but she never had any sense of directions. Despite eating some grass or drinking from ponds, it never suited her taste buds, eating vegetables and fruit all her life, and her figure had become very skinny, almost revealing bones. Her paw reached up to wipe away the tear, sniffles came afterword and a struggled gasp in the midst of her sobbing. Lily was quite young and fairly pretty, slender enough to be identified as female, smudges of mud smeared all over her fur making it impossible to tell what color her fur is, but her tear-stricken eyes displayed an alluring sapphire shade that used to be full of joy and happiness, but drastically changed by the pain and trauma of her past, through her days of misery and loneliness. She dismissed her plan of secretly boarding the vehicle to deliver her back to home. Giving up seemed like the better option when a plan doesn't go right, its best to have been left alone until a hawk or a fox will come for her.
Her nostrils twitched when she caught a whiff of a strange scent. "What's that smell?" Lily wondered, wiping off the last of her tears. She sniffed the air and crossed the dirt road, trailing after the source of the scent. Lily hopped up the tall hill to where she came to the wire fence and noticed the sign post left earlier by the humans, and surprisingly she can read the human words.
This ideally situated Estate comprising six acres of excellent Building Land is to be Developed with high class modern residences by Such & Martin, Newsbury.
Lily had no idea what it meant yet she figured it meant something important since she had seen these kind of signs before back on the farm, but she noticed a giant billboard stood out among the smaller signpost to make it appear more important. It read SANDLEFORD and it had the picture of a human neighborhood. As she pondered what this could mean, Lily's nose twitched harder this time. The scent was close, making her feel nervous. The doe cautiously glanced over her shoulder and, to her relief, there was nothing and nobody behind her. Only a large and beautiful green field, except full of holes that lead underground.
With a relaxed sigh, Lily trudged downhill to the field where she decided to explore her surroundings. She found the bridge and the brook underneath and, feeling quite thirsty and eager to get rid of the mud from her body, the doe felt obliged to take a drink and later a bath. She sat calmly by the brook and leaned her head down to lap her tongue in the fresh cool water that relieved her thirst. Lily felt much better, not having anything to eat or drink since... those traumatizing events three days ago... Lily shook her head, trying to keep her head focused on today. She didn't want to be reminded of what she had to go through. Hopefully, she'll find a way to return to the farm... and to Henry.
After finishing her drink, Lily immediately leapt into the brook, as if she were a human child jumping into a pool to go for a swim. The brook was only three feet that she didn't have to paddle or swim, thankfully. The water felt cool on her fur as she swept her head back and rubbed the mud off her ears with her paws. It would be quite unusual to see a rabbit bathing in a brook, but nobody was around to witness such strange rabbit behavior.
The dried up mud washed off her fur and drifted away in the brook's current, exposing Lily's true fur color; a golden ginger rabbit with a white underbelly and white shades covered her eyes. Relieved, she climbed out of the water and shook its contents of her fur, making her fur look all shaggy. Then she began grooming herself and straightening her fur out until it was nice and neat as it used to be, despite her very thin figure. "Ahh, I feel much better now," she sighed, contently.
Suddenly, her ears pricked up at the sound of movement coming from over the steep hill. Lily jumped, her eyes staring up at the hill and sniffed the air. That strange scent was back, and it was closer than ever. Lily crept toward the bridge and kept herself silently hidden within its shadow, hoping whoever or whatever it is didn't see her. Her heart beat faster as the steps came closer and closer.
As she watched, a figure crept up the steep hill. To Lily's surprise, it was a wild rabbit. A large buck, that is. He had green eyes, looked strong and broad chested, with a large dark brown mane of fur on his head and around his neck and shoulders. Lily felt he resembled a lion with that mane and judging by the hard expression on his face, he must have the heart of a lion and ready to fight at any moment now. The lion headed rabbit sniffed the air, moving toward the bridge where he began sniffing through the partial cracks of the bridge. Lily held her breath, she didn't dare make a sound nor did she move. The last thing she would have on her mind will be Henry gingerly stroking her fur and hand feeding her carrot pieces when she was an infant...
"GOTCHA!" the lion headed rabbit growled.
"Aaaagh!" Lily squealed in horror, she ran out from under the bridge and up the steep hill and away from the large rabbit.
"I found the intruder!" the lion headed rabbit called out, and several other large rabbits joined the pursuit.
Lily tore across the field as she tried to escape the angry lion headed rabbit and the other bucks. She had never run so fast in her life, except for yesterday. As she looked back, terror seized upon her as the bucks picked up speed. She didn't know why these rabbits were chasing her, but they didn't look friendly so she assumed they must be bad rabbits. The billboard was just up the hill and beyond it, the gateway to freedom. Just when it seemed that Lily was going to make it, she felt strong paws and heavy body weight pounce on her. The lion headed rabbit had caught her. He tackled her and they rolled across the ground, ending with Lily on her back and the lion headed rabbit pinning her down to restrain her.
"I've got him, Captain Holly!" the lion headed rabbit shouted.
"Good work, Bigwig." Captain Holly, the leader of the large rabbits was a big pale grey rabbit with a dark line on his back that ended on his face to his nose. "We're coming!" he shouted.
"Thought you could outrun us, eh lad?" Bigwig, the lion headed rabbit, sneered triumphantly at the poor rabbit beneath his paws.
But upon inspecting her face more closely and catching her scent, Bigwig drew in a sharp gasp. The intruder was a doe, and the most lovely doe he had ever seen. He stared at her, completely thunderstruck, and silently into the gentle blue eyes that ever reflected Frith's stars, lost for words as a calming smile spread over the doe's serene features. Her smile sent a warmth through Bigwig's heart that he had never experienced before in his life. However, the feel of her skin and bones startled Bigwig and a tiny hint of pity for this poor doe's degrading health.
As for Lily, when she got a good look at her attacker, her blue eyes widened when she stared at the lion headed buck's face up close. She hasn't felt such peace since the tragic fire at her former home on the farm. The doe felt a smile spread over her features as her heart squeezed at his piercing eyes gazing down on her. For a wild rabbit, he was quite attractive. And he felt so muscular when his chest pressed against her own. She tried to avoid eye contact with him, but his eyes seemed to have a hypnotizing affect on her.
"Bigwig! Are you going to let us arrest the intruder or not?" one of the bucks grunted impatiently, whom was named Toadflax.
The voice of his fellow rabbit brought Bigwig back to reality as he stepped back and allowed the rest of the bunch to surround the confused and scared doe. "Mind yourself, lads. It's a doe, and she smells like Man," he warned them.
The other rabbits took a whiff of her scent to make sure he was telling the truth, and their reactions were just the same as Bigwig upon realizing the intruder's gender and the scent of human on her form.
"Never mind who she is, Bigwig!" Captain Holly reprimanded, eyeing the doe suspiciously. "She is under arrest!"
"Why? What did I do wrong?" Lily questioned, baffled. "And who are you?"
"I am Holly, Captain of the Owsla," the pale grey buck responded sharply, "and you are arrested for intruding on our warren! You will come with us." He approached the timid doe with a hard expression in his eyes that are as red as the holly berries. "And if you try to run, you will be killed. Understand?"
Lily stepped back, trembling. But she silently nodded to show him that she understood his warning.
"What shall we do with her?" another buck named Scabious asked.
"We shall bring her to the Chief Rabbit," Captain Holly said decidedly. "Threarah will decide what to do with her. Then we will interrogate her."
Nodding, the rabbits obeyed orders and surrounded Lily, enforcing she never try to escape from them. With no other choice, Lily reluctantly followed the large rabbits. Bigwig trudged silently alongside her, his eyes never left her as he kept a close watch on her. Lily avoided his piercing eyes as she tried to look where she was going. She secretly hoped these bucks will not kill her, even if she tried to find some ways of escape.
Several other rabbits emerged from their burrows after Captain Holly had announced that it was safe to come out and the intruder had been caught. Their noses sniffed the air when they caught the scent of the female Man-smelling hlessi. Some of the bucks watched her intently, and some of the does grew jealous of the unwanted attention Lily disliked. The kittens were shielded by their mothers if the intruder had tried to escape and attacked them. Lily knew she would never harm an innocent young rabbit, but these rabbits didn't know that. As far as they were concerned, she was an outsider who invaded their warren.
Then Lily noticed the bucks leading her to a big tunnel that stood out high among the fields, probably the home of their Chief Rabbit. It was dark inside, and the only light she could make out was the outside setting sun's rays shining their way through the burrow. It wasn't long until they arrived at the center of the burrow. As Lily peered over Captain Holly's back, she saw an elderly silver colored rabbit stretching his paws and yawning. He must have be awoken by their presence, and he didn't appear quite pleased with it.
"What is it, Captain Holly? How many times must I tell you, I am not to be disturbed!" Chief Rabbit Threarah scolded. "It is late in the evening and..."
"Threarah, we have caught an intruder in our warren," Captain Holly interrupted. "She's a hlessi; a doe, who smells like Man."
"What is a hlessi?" Lily asked, curiously. She had never heard such a word before.
"Hold your tongue!" Bigwig harshly whispered in her ear, but then his eyes widened when he realized her question. "Wait a minute, surely you must know a hlessi is a homeless rabbit who dwells no burrow or hole."
"No, I don't." Lily shook her head.
An incredulous Bigwig gawked at her, and to Lily, he stared at her like she had grown sharp teeth and bigger feet.
"Quiet!" Toadflax cuffed her on the back of the head, earning him a slight cry from Lily.
"Keep your paws to yourself, hraka!" Bigwig gave him an appalled frown for his actions, then he cuffed Toadflax on the forehead.
"Silence, back there!" scolded Captain Holly.
"A doe?" Threarah caught a glimpse of the newcomer and sniffed the air of her scent. He briefly thought over the doe's fate and suggested, "It is May, and the mating season is approaching. Have the doe live with the outskirters." Then he yawned and decided to go back to sleep.
"Yes, sir." Captain Holly nodded, then he and the Owsla escorted Lily out of the Chief Rabbit's burrow to the outside, where the sun was close to disappearing from the horizon and a few stars began to twinkle early.
"Now, who are you and how did you find our warren?" Captain Holly began the interrogation of the hlessi doe, sitting up straight with authority as Bigwig and the other bucks stood by, like a police officer interrogating a prisoner over the facts of a case.
"My name is Lily, sir," answered the ginger doe. "I didn't mean to intrude on your home, I was just trying to find my way home."
"Where is your warren?"
"I don't live in a warren, sir. I lived in Ridgeway Farm, that is until..."
"A farm?!" Captain Holly repeated, stupefied.
"The hlessi must be a hutch rabbit, raised by man!" Toadflax pointed out. "That explains why she doesn't know the rabbit language, so she must be incredibly stupid!" Apparently, he had overheard Lily's conversation with Bigwig, and this got the every other buck in the Owsla laughing cruelly, some of them glowering in her direction.
"Shut up, Toadflax!" Bigwig snarled, infuriated by Toadflax's rudeness and his gruff voice silenced their laughter. "If she is a hutch rabbit, then why is she skin and bones? Look at her!" He gestured his head toward her form.
Captain Holly studied her appearance for a moment, then his breath caught in his throat when he noticed her condition. "Oh, Frith!" he gasped. "Has Man tortured you to this state?"
"Of course not," Lily answered, shaking her head. "They do feed me... but there was a fire, and... I wandered for three days..." her voice trailed off, and her downcast eyes held a deep sorrow to them.
The Captain of Owsla suspected more to this story, but a flicker of solace crossed his face as he decided to let it go for now. "We'll find you a burrow for you to sleep in and someone to watch over you until you're better," Captain Holly decided.
For the first time in three agonizing days, Lily smiled. "Thank you," she said.
"Sir, I'd like to share my burrow with the hlessi until she's back on her feet!" Bigwig volunteered as she stepped forward boldly.
"Oooooh!" the other bucks crooned, some of them made kissing sounds to tease him and whispered Threarah's mentioning of the approaching mating season.
"Not like that!" Bigwig growled, his furry cheeks turned a small shade of red, and so thankful Lily didn't understand it either. "What I mean is, I'll keep guard over her, just in case she doesn't try to run off."
Captain Holly thought this over for a second, and then he made a decision. "All right." He looked over at Lily as he introduced the lion headed buck. "This is Bigwig, you will be placed in his custody until you are strong enough. He'll be able to answer any questions you have or if there is any help you need."
"Thank you, sir." Lily nodded, truthfully she felt quite relieved to share a burrow with Bigwig, and she wouldn't have anything to do with bullies like Toadflax.
"You are dismissed." Captain Holly ended the interrogation, and he left with the rest of the Owsla.
No sooner had the bucks left, Lily followed Bigwig as he lead her to his burrow that was just a bit far off from the Chief Rabbit's burrow. The burrow itself was slightly large for the size of an Owsla officer, but there was enough room for Lily to settle down in the comfortable nest of moss and leaves.
Bigwig, on the other hand, had to remain on guard as he stood at the entrance of his burrow from the inside, keeping an eye out for elil or to ensure the doe will never try to sneak out in the middle of the night, but in the back of his mind, he doubted she would try it in spite of her condition. Tomorrow, he will try to find her some silflay so the doe can regain her strength.