Beauty and the Beast
His name was Granite. A rabbit from Darkhaven warren, he had joined his fellows in an attack on Watership Down, led by General Woundwort, the prophesised "dark one." At first, the battle seemed to be going their way. But, just as victory seemed at hand, something impossible happened. The sky cracked open, and the Black Rabbit of Inlé himself descended upon them. Granite, usually fearless, was struck by a terror he had never imagined possible. He quickly turned and fled. As he ran, he heard the screams of his fellow Darkhaven rabbits, but he did not dare stop and look behind him, for fear of sharing their fate. He just kept running, for how long, he did not know.
Eventually, he came upon one of man's works: A stone wall, with an iron gate nearby. Granite could smell other rabbits on the wind. Their close proximity to a dwelling of man didn't phase him much; The Darkhaven warren had been close to another of man's works, leading him to believe these other rabbits could possibly be like him. Though bigger then an average rabbit, Granite still managed to squeeze himself through the gate's bars.
As he hopped across the path, following the scent, Granite found a most peculiar sight: A hedge, larger then any he had ever seen. Moving inside, Granite saw many twists and turns within. Trying to follow the scent proved difficult, as he was met with dead ends, and confusing turns. Eventually, exhaustion overtook him, and he collapsed.
As he came to, Granite found himself within a warren, surrounded by several worried rabbits. He felt a small patch of grass underneath him.
"How did I..." Granite croaked.
"Shh." One rabbit, a doe, stepped up. "We found you outside, and in pretty bad shape, too. Just take it easy. Have some flayrah."
She nudged a carrot towards him. Granite stared at it skeptically.
"Why are you helping me?" He asked.
"Because you need it." The doe replied matter-of-factly.
Those words, and the way they were spoken, reminded Granite of the Watership Down doe, Blackberry. She had been held prisoner at Darkhaven not too long ago. When Spartina had been sent to infiltrate the Watership Down rabbits, Granite had been tasked with killing Blackberry if Spartina didn't return by the next full moon (Woundwort reasoning that her absence could only mean she had been discovered and killed). Blackberry attempted to escape, and Granite had been grievously injured trying to stop her. To his surprise, Blackberry then stopped and tended to his wounds. Such a thing was forbidden by Darkhaven law; The wounded were to be left to perish. Granite was grateful for Blackberry's help, to the point where he tried to help her to escape.
When Woundwort led the Darkhaven rabbits to Watership Down, Granite hoped that Blackberry would have the sense to run; The thought of her getting hurt was unbearable. Whatever the Black Rabbit did to the other Darkhaven rabbits, he seemed to have spared Watership Down, leaving Blackberry safe. That was one of very few comforting thoughts Granite had at the moment.
Warily, Granite took a bite out of the carrot. It was fresh and juicy. The food around Darkhaven was tough and tasteless, so the carrot was like ambrosia to him.
"Good, isn't it?" The doe smiled.
"Thank you." Granite mumbled reluctantly.
"You're welcome." The doe smiled. She made to leave, then turned back. "I'm Buttercup, by the way."
"Granite." The burly rabbit said gruffly.
The other rabbits left the chamber, clearly not comfortable around the stranger. It was then that Granite was hit by the full enormity of his situation; His comrades were gone, he was the last member of his warren, and he had nothing left but this unfamiliar warren and its inhabitants. Before long, exhaustion once again overwhelmed him, and he fell asleep.
The following morning, Granite awoke, fully revitalized. As he got to his feet, Buttercup padded in.
"Feeling better, are we?" She asked.
"Hmmph." Granite grunted non-committedly.
"You're welcome to stay for as long as you need to." Buttercup continued, undaunted. "We have plenty of food and room."
"Good." Granite said dully.
"If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you?" Buttercup asked. "How did you come to be in our hedge? Were you being chased by Elil?"
"You could say that." Granite sardonically replied. "Now, I have a question for you: Who is the chief rabbit here?"
"Chief rabbit?" Asked a nearby buck. "We have no chief rabbit."
"Oh, really?" Granite smirked. "In that case, I think I'll apply for the position."
"I don't think so, outsider!" A particularly bold buck stood up.
"Oh, you want to challenge me for the position?" Granite snarled.
"Challenge?!" The buck spluttered.
"It's how we did things in my old warren." Granite declared. "I was once the chief there. I got the position by fighting my way to the top."
"Fight?" The buck repeated, his confidence diminishing.
"Yeah, fight." Granite sneered. The burly rabbit towered over his rival, being almost twice his twice.
"L-look, there must be a better way to settle this." The buck stuttered.
"Maybe." Granite smirked. "But until we figure it out, this'll do for now."
Granite raised his paw, ready to slash his opponent. Before he could make his move, another, much smaller paw placed itself against his. The paw belonged to Buttercup.
"That's enough." She said firmly.
Granite looked at her. There was a hard, steely look in her eyes. It reminded him of some of the strongest Darkhaven rabbits. Slowly, he lowered his paw.
"We don't have a chief rabbit because we don't need a chief rabbit." Buttercup declared. "Man takes care of us."
"Man?!" Granite snarled.
"Yes." Buttercup nodded. "He made the hedge our warren is hidden in, and he provides us with food when we need it."
Granite balked. Living near man was one thing, but to accept food from man?
"So you're just a bunch of pets, is that it?" He asked contemptuously.
"Not exactly." Buttercup replied. "Man mostly leaves us to our own devices. We are free to do as we please."
"Unbelievable." Granite spat. "This whole warren is a joke, an insult to all true rabbits."
"Then why don't you just leave?" Buttercup shot back. "There's nothing stopping you. So why not just go?"
"Because..." Granite swallowed. "I have nowhere to go to. My old warren is now empty, and the only other warren I know of would not be happy to have me."
"You warren is empty?" Buttercup asked.
"Yes." Granite admitted. "All my comrades were lost... in battle."
"I see." Buttercup nodded. "Well, you can stay here, as long as you promise not to cause any more trouble."
"Stay here?" Granite repeated. "No, I'm a warrior. Fighting is all I know. I'm not cut out for a life like yours. Never was."
"Well, maybe it's time for a change." Buttercup smiled.
Left with no option, Granite did indeed stay. Most of the other rabbits kept their distance from him... except for Buttercup. For some reason, she went out of her way to interact with him, striking up conversations and even offering some of her food to share. The doe was a complete mystery to Granite. Even Blackberry hadn't confused him like this. As much as Granite didn't want to admit it, he was touched by Buttercup's attempts to reach out to him. However, his stubborn pride refused to let him return the favor, save for a grunt, or a mumbled "thank you."
One day, Granite stepped out of the warren for some fresh air. As he sniffed deeply, he picked up the unmistakable scent of a weasel in the air. A rustling sound indicated that the beast was crawling through the hedges towards him.
"I can smell you, longears..." The Weasel's voice hissed through the bush. "Coming to get youuuu..."
Granite's first instinct was to face the intruder, but his thoughts suddenly turned to the warren. He didn't much care about most of the rabbits, but Buttercup was a different matter. Hopping back inside, he called "Elil! Elil!"
The rabbits scattered. As Granite turned back to the entrance, he saw the Weasel in the flesh, making its way down the tunnel.
"Big longears." The Weasel grinned as it appraised Granite. "You'll fill me up nicely."
"Just try it." Granite growled. "RAAARHHH!"
Granite charged the Weasel, ramming into it head-on. The Weasel snarled angrily as it tumbled to the ground.
"You'll pay for that, longears." It hissed.
"It's been too long since I had a good fight." Granite smiled. "Bring it on!"
The two charged each other, snapping and clawing fiercely. But the battle was soon interrupted by Buttercup's sudden appearance.
"Granite, what are you doing?" She gasped. "Get away from that beast!"
"I run from nothing!" Granite roared, shamed by his previous flight from certain death. "Not even Elil!"
Taking advantage of the distraction, the Weasel clawed Granite in the back leg, causing him to drop to the ground in agony.
"AAGH!" Granite seethed.
In response, Buttercup rammed the Weasel in the side. The attack wasn't that strong, but it took the Elil by surprise, causing it to crash against the tunnel wall. Granite gaped in astonishment. The usually friendly look on Buttercup's face had once again given way to a hard glare.
"Can you stand?" She asked, not taking her eyes off their foe.
"Of course." Granite smirked.
"Longears..." The Weasel hissed. "Now you've made me angry!"
The Weasel lunged at Buttercup, but Granite intercepted it, knocking it into the opposite wall.
"You should get out of here." Granite told Buttercup.
"Not a chance." Buttercup growled.
"Fair enough." Granite smiled. "We'll do it together, then."
Granite and Buttercup headbutted the Weasel at the same time, sending it flying out of the warren. They then gave chase, determined to drive it away once and for all.
"You're not welcome here!" Buttercup yelled.
"Leave now, or you'll be sorry!" Granite added.
They forced the Weasel back towards the mouth of the maze.
"No longears can keep me away." The Weasel snarled. "I'll just keep coming back, until I get you all-"
Suddenly, a net came down upon the Weasel. Man had come, and he lifted up the struggling Elil in his net, barely responding to its hissing and frantic attempts to escape. Without a second thought, he turned and left, taking the Weasel with him.
"What just happened?" Granite asked, completely nonplussed.
"Like I told you, man takes care of us." Buttercup declared. "If he finds Elil lurking about, he gets rid of them."
"Never thought I'd see the day that rabbits would have a use for man." Granite mused.
"Oh, and by the way..." Buttercup sidled up to Granite, then struck him on the ear.
"Ow!" Granite winced.
"You thick-eared fool!" Buttercup chastised him. "What were you thinking, taking on that beast by yourself?"
"I could ask you the same question." Granite retorted.
"Yes, well..." Buttercup mumbled. "I suppose we both acted a little foolishly..."
"Thanks, by the way." Granite smiled. "Not that I actually needed the help, but I appreciate it."
"An actual 'thanks'?" Buttercup smirked. "Just how hard did that Weasel hit you, anyway?"
"Very funny." Granite snorted. As he moved towards the warren, a jolt of pain ran up his back leg. "AAH!"
"Come on." Buttercup pushed up against Granite's side. "Let's get you inside, so I can have a look at that."
Once in the safety of the warren, Buttercup saw to Granite's wound, tenderly licking it clean.
"It's not too bad." Buttercup scrutinized the damage. "A little rest, and it should heal in no time."
"Thank you." Granite smiled, finally admitting his gratitude. "For everything."
"No, thank you." Buttercup smiled back.
"For what?" Granite asked.
"For warning us." Buttercup replied. "You didn't have to, but you did."
"To be honest, I was warning you." Granite replied. "Very few rabbits have treated me the way you have. I had to return the favor somehow."
Buttercup looked right at Granite, her eyes bright and beautiful. Struck by a sudden impulse, Granite leaned forward, touching his nose to hers for the briefest of moments.
"Well..." Buttercup flushed.
"Maybe living here won't be so bad after all." Granite smiled. "As long as you're around, that is."
"That's your attempt at charm?" Buttercup smiled. "You'll have to work on that."
"Oh, I will." Granite smirked. "I will."
Buttercup slept next to Granite that night, and every night since, even though his wounds healed in just a couple of days. They stayed close together all through winter, and in the spring, a litter of kits appeared in the warren. Granite and Buttercup, the most unlikely of pairs, had started a family. Despite the fact that Granite often tried to teach the kits how to fight behind their mother's back (Old habits die hard, after all), their life was quiet and uneventful. Granite had finally found a measure of peace in the seemingly hard, cruel world. He often thought that if it weren't for the Black Rabbit, none of this would have happened, of which he was actually grateful for. On the inevitable day that their paths would cross again, Granite intended to thank him for it.
The End.
(Watership Down and all associated characters are the property of Richard Adams and Martin Rosen.)