The hare perched alone upon the crater rim of Salamandastron, watching the sunset, depressed beyond compare.
He'd done a lot in his life- fought, killed, seen his comrades and friends slain before his eyes. But this one had been his closest friend, the Badger Lord. The old badger had died just a week ago, from age. It seemed there was nothing left for the hare, no purpose, nothing to live for.
He sighed, and he got up. He went down the stairs into the mountain, and wandered the halls toward his quarters.
As a Colonel, he had his own private rooms. There, his wife waited for him, as well as his young son.
His wife was also depressed, though she distracted herself watching her son.
The leveret didn't really understand what had happened, at the young age of four seasons. Surely he missed the old badger, who had been a part of everybeast's life at the mountain, but didn't know why he hadn't seen the Lord in so long. So, he sat with a smile on his face, playing with a small, wooden sword, crafted by his father specially for his little paws.
The Colonel smiled when he saw his son. Maybe he did have something left to live for.
Suddenly drawn out of his depression, he realized something, sat down next to his wife on the floor and put his arm around her, drawing her close.
"Come now, hon, he wouldn't want us to be like this, wot! If he could see us now I know wot he'd say; "stiff upper lip!" He'd want us t' move on!"
"Maybe," his wife said, "but I can't. It's just not right."
"It is right; it's what he would've wanted. Now where's that tough, strong maid I got married to ten seasons ago?" the Colonel asked.
"She died a week ago."
"She isn't dead," he insisted, "she's just not comin' out of her room right now."
"It's been well over a week since she came out," she said bluntly, "that's not really a good sign."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" the couple shouted together. A young runner, still huffing and puffing, came through the doorway with a small scroll, which he handed over to the Colonel. He read the thing and got a glint in his eyes. He passed it over to his wife, who grinned just a little.
"Let's get the little one safe in the Infirmary and get out there!" she declared, running off toward their bedchamber to retrieve her husband's saber and her rapier.
Once weapons were strapped on and the leveret in the Infirmary, having a mock swordfight with a young maid, they ran at top speed, out to defend their home, their family, and their friends against the latest vermin horde.
Maybe they did have something left to live for, she decided. And that something was the future!
