"They're lovely, aren't they, Campion?" Mist looked up at the buck rabbit, who was looking down at Mist's kits who were snuggled closely to their mother, who was laying on her side in a sunning spot on a soft moss nest. Mist had given birth to Campion's kits three sun rises ago, who's names were Snowflake, Willow and Champion. Snowflake and Willow were does while Champion, who was named after his father, was a buck, a dark brown one at that. Snowflake was a white and Willow was a bright gray, and it was sometimes hard to tell them apart, except for how they acted and the spots on Willow's ears. Snowflake was always active, trying to climb with blind eyes over her mother's back and onto the grass to escape from the cramped nest, while Willow was always quiet and didn't move around as much.

Campion looked at his mate. "Of couse, my love. They are always going to be beautiful, because they are your daughters and son, along with mine." the buck put his head up with her's and nuzled with her. The gray doe was starting to get use to this new life, though she always wondered what her mother and her uncle were doing, if they were still searching for their lost daughter, or if they had given up and thought it was hopeless. Nevertheless, she knew that she had to escape, and Campion was her ticket to doing so.

Mist had made a plan on how to escape, with her kits of course. She had already made friends with some of the other does who also agreed with the plan. Those friends were Bucenene, Shorna, and Clisp, and they had kit of their own, that were old enough to travel far distances. The three new friends, along with her, had planned on using Campion to get special rights on going out on their own patrols, and once they could, they would escape using the bridge under the iron road. They would take the kits with them, sneak them there the night before, then take them away the next night.

Mist looked down at her kits, then back up at Campion. "My love, can you please watch the kits for me? I need to go get something to eat. I'm very hungry."

Campion shook his head. "No. I won't allow you to do that. I shall get it for you, since your in such a condition. I shall be back."

Mist sighed, but didn't replie, letting the buck hop away to look for something good for her to eat. She had wanted to go say hi to Clisp and the others, who were not far from a patch of clover, and talk with them about the plans. But Campion was very protective of his mate, and he didn't want her to leave her nest. But to her releif, she didn't have to leave her nest to say hi to her friends. The three does hopped over to the young mother and nuzzled with her, once from each of them.

Clisp was the first, so she got to talk first. "I see your kits are growing up fine there. Their legs look strong enough to travel from here to Watership Down already. When to we leave?"

Mist narrowed her eyes a bit. "I don't know yet. I think once they are able to hop around and travel a distance, we should be fine. I think maybe when they are allowed to hop with me on private patrols we can. I will ask Campion if I can start them after the kits are able to eat greens."

"Thats in such a long time!" Shorna said.

Mist growled. "Shush! Campion is coming!"

The brown rabbit hopped up to the group with fresh clover in his mouth. He dropped it for Mint to eat. "Here you are. Fresh clover. I better go report to Woundwart, then go on my first patrol of the day." he hopped off and disapeard into Woundward's den.

Bucenene looked back at Mist. "So, do you really think he will let you?"

Mist nodded. "He's my only hope."

Back at Watership Down...

Clover hopped along the scent line of her daughters. Mist and Holly had been missing for a moon already, but Clover still wanted to find them. She and her patrol had scented them on the outskirts of Watership Down, close to the begining of Elefrya territory. Most of the rabbits in the Ousla had been tracking them down the hill, but had seemed to never find the two young kits.

The white doe kept following the trail until she got to Elefrya territory. Before she could give up and turn back, a peice of gray fur caught her eye. It was lying on a small bush just two feet after the border. Clover hopped over to it and sniffed it. It was Mist's fur! Then she saw another peice of fur, a black peice. They must have come this way, but, why would they go into enemy warren territory? She thought carefully to herself. All that was left of her kits might have just been their fur, but then another scent, a strong scent, came to her twitching nose. Elefrya patrols had crossed the border.

Then a terrifiying explanation came to the white doe's mind. What if her kits had been taken by one of the patrols back to their warren? But Clover just hopped along the scent some more, her nose twitching all the way. When she saw some more fur, black fur, she thumped as hard as she could on the ground so the other rabbits on her patrol would hear. But no sound came. Just a soft thump sound, not loud enough to be a real thump.

Clover looked below her to see that she wasn't standing on hard dirt. Something was below her. The rabbit quickly got to work digging it up. Aftger a few heartbeats or so, the white doe stepped back in horror. It was Holly.