Chapter 5-The Injured Captain

When Sam opened his eyes, he found himself again in front of Prince Rainbow in the dream state from the previous morning. "GREETINGS SAM," Prince Rainbow said, "AND HOW IS THE MIGHTY WARRIOR DOING THIS FINE MORNING?"

This statement didn't even get a smile from Sam as he recalled the events that occurred during the night. He sighed, "I really screwed up, didn't I? Now they're all going to hate me because of what I did."

Prince Rainbow wrinkled his brow in confusion upon hearing these words. "SAM, WHY WOULD THEY HATE YOU FOR KILLING A WEASEL? THAT THING WAS DANGEROUS YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY DID THEM A FAVOR BY DOING FOR THEM WHAT THEY COULDN'T DO FOR THEMSELVES."

Sam immediately shot back, "They're scared of me! Terrified! I may have ruined whatever chance I had of fitting in here because I killed that weasel without thinking. You didn't see the looks on their faces last night. Hawkbit is terrified of me, and Dandelion and Blackberry couldn't even look me in the eye. Hazel…Hazel could barely speak to me."

Prince Rainbow smiled inwardly before answering, "YOU JUST NEED TO HAVE SOME FAITH IN THEM, SAM. THEY MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO TRUST YOU FOR A TIME, BUT IT WILL BE ALRIGHT. YOU JUST NEED TO CONVINCE THEM, BEYOND A DOUBT, THAT YOU ARE ON THEIR SIDE." Prince Rainbow paused as Sam looked up at him with a glimmer of hope on his face. "I HAVE FAITH IN YOU. YOU WERE CHOSEN FOR A REASON." Prince Rainbow let his statement sink in for a moment before he spoke again. "WELL," he continued, "THIS HAS BEEN FUN, BUT I NEED TO BE GOING. THERE ARE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. OH, AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, YOUR POWERS ARE WORKING AGAIN, SO IT'S UP TO YOU TO TRANSLATE FOR YOURSELF FROM NOW ON. FAIRWELL. And without another word, he was gone.

Sam awoke on the side of the hill where he had fallen asleep the night before. He looked at the early morning sky and wondered what would have made him wake up so early when his stomach gave a loud gurgle. Right, he thought, I'm really hungry. That would do it I suppose. He was about to get up when he realized there was something warm pushed up against his back. He looked over to see a slowly waking Pipkin.

"Vao fu Frith, Sam," he said with a yawn. "Lung lay mi hyao?"

Sam just stared at Pipkin in confusion until he remembered that he was supposed to be translating lapine for himself now. He took a moment to activate his rabbit senses in time to hear Pipkin say, "…omething wrong? Stay here, I'll go get Hazel and Blackberry, they'll know what to do." He was about to head to the burrow when Sam stopped him.

"I'm alright Pipkin, I was just having some…hearing issues." Seeing the confused look on the little buck's face, Sam explained to Pipkin about his powers and how they worked. Pipkin was in awe as he listened to what Sam had to say.

"Wow, Sam," he said, "that's amazing! Do you have any other powers?"

"Well," he responded, "I think I'm supposed to, but I don't actually know what they are yet." Pipkin nodded in understanding and the two sat there looking at the countryside from the top of the hill. Even though he had already been there a couple of days, seeing nature like this was hugely refreshing for the New York boy. He hadn't realized how stifling the city could be until he got away from it. As they sat there for a little while longer, Sam thought of a question of his own. "Hey Pipkin," he began, "why were you sleeping out here anyway? I thought it was dangerous to sleep outside the burrow."

He looked at Sam confusedly before nuzzling against his torso. "Why were you sleeping out here? It's not any safer for you than it is for me. Besides, you saved my life last night. The least I could do was keep you warm." Sam looked at the little buck with a small smile on his face and gave him a little hug.

"Thanks Pipkin. But, aren't you scared of me too? After what I did, everyone else seems terrified of me."

"Wait, what are you talking about? Do you mean killing that weasel?" Sam nodded. "Sam, they aren't scared of you at all!" Seeing Sam's dumbstruck look, Pipkin tried to explain the best he could. "They were just a little…surprised last night. They didn't expect you to be so sudden with your actions. They stayed up for a long time talking about it, and after a while I didn't see you come in, so I went out to look for you. I saw you lying there on the side of the hill and you looked so lonely…"

Sam was surprised at hearing all of this. Maybe Prince Rainbow was right, and this would work out well after all! With this in mind, Sam said to Pipkin, "That's…that's really great to hear. And Pipkin, thank you. For keeping me company out here I mean. I know that it was dangerous for you, and it really means a lot that you would do that for me." The two shared another short hug before Sam turned back into his rabbit form and started to catch up on something that he had been seriously missing: eating. The two were going all around the top of the hill while Pipkin showed Sam which plants were good to eat, and which were better off avoided.

They were not out there too long before some of the other rabbits woke up and came out for morning silflay. The first ones out were Hawkbit and Dandelion. Dandelion greeted Pipkin and Sam like normal, his fear from the night before completely gone. Hawkbit just looked at Sam and mumbled some sort of incoherent greeting and hopped quickly away, embarrassment plain on his face. Blackberry and Fiver were the next to come out. Blackberry reacted the same as Dandelion, behaving as if last night did not even happen. Fiver, however, came over and had a more extended conversation.

"Good morning Sam and Pipkin, how are you two doing this morning?

"Fine" "Good" They answered at the same time. Sam asked back, "How about you? Is everyone feeling alright after last night?"

"We're all just fine Sam, but I'm more worried about you. Didn't that weasel scratch you last night? We don't want you to be hurt either."

"Thanks Fiver," Sam answered, "but I'm pretty sure I'm fine." He chuckled as he continued, "to be honest, I had totally forgotten about it until just now." Sam removed his shirt, and the three looked at the clotted slashes that were still on his shoulder. They decided they were going to be fine. No infection or anything.

"That's good Sam," Fiver said. "I'm glad you didn't get too hurt because of us." Just as he was about to hop off to find something good to eat, he gave Sam a little nuzzle and went on his way, leaving Sam staring after him and feeling in a great mood.

Sam ate for a while longer before he saw the sight he was dreading: Bigwig. Alright, he thought, I'll just keep my head down and hopefully I can go a day without being pinned. So Sam was doing just that when he heard someone come up beside him and stop. Looking up, he saw Bigwig looking at down at him with a look in his eyes that Sam could not quite place. Sam stood up and looked back at him. They stayed like that for a few seconds, which cause the others to look over at them, ready to jump in at any sign of trouble. They looked for another few seconds before Bigwig gave Sam a slow nod and hopped away to eat for himself, leaving Sam feeling quite confused. Wait, what? What was that all about? That was good, right? That must have been good, he didn't insult me or tackle me or anything, so it had to have been good. While he pondered the meaning of their encounter, he saw the last rabbit come out of the burrow: Hazel.

Hazel looked around the hill and upon seeing Sam, hopped over to him. He then gave Pipkin a "we need some privacy" look, and the little buck decided to go and join Fiver. With Sam staring at him in confusion, Hazel took a deep breath and began. "Sam, I wanted to apologize for the things I said last night. I didn't mean to-"

But Sam interrupted him, "Hazel, it's alright. I understand. While I'm not sorry for what I did, I certainly didn't want to push any of you away. I'm here to help you, and I'd like to be your friend. If you'd have me."

Hazel was caught off guard. The question was so simple, yet so complicated at the same time. "I…think I would like that."

"Thank you, Hazel," the boy replied. "You won't regret it, I swear." He then hopped over to Fiver and Pipkin and began eating with them, leaving Hazel standing there.

"No, I expect I won't," he said quietly to himself. With that problem taken care of, Hazel bent down to attend to his own breakfast.

After everyone had finished eating, the rabbits again split into the same groups they had the day before in order to finish the digging, which Blackberry said would be finished by the end of the day. Sam was about to follow the digging group underground when he changed his mind. He ran over to the owsla walking down the hill, much to Bigwig's annoyance. He asked, "And just what do you want?"

Sam hesitated before asking, "I was wondering if I could train with the owsla today instead of digging. It's not that I have anything against digging, but I need to get used to this body a bit more. I mean, what happens if I get into a position where I can't change into a human but still need to fight?"

"Then you figure something else out," Bigwig shot back, "because I do not, absolutely do not teach humans!

Dandelion tried to reason with him. "Oh come on, Bigwig, give the lad a chance. After all, he fought a weasel and won, and how many owsla rabbits can…do…that…" He trailed off after seeing the withering glare Bigwig shot him. He sighed, "Sorry Sam, I tried."

Satisfied that he wasn't going to say anything else, Bigwig turned back to Sam. "I won't do it. I don't care if you did kill that weasel, you're a human, and I don't teach humans. Now, go do some digging or something, we have training to do. Owsla! Move out!" And the three of them hopped off, with Hawkbit chuckling a bit.

Well, Sam thought, I guess digging it is then. He made his way to the burrow expecting to see the same flurry of activity that went on yesterday, but instead saw the rabbits digging much more slowly. As Sam was looking for a place to jump in, Blackberry came over to him. "Hello, Sam, where did you go?"

"I was trying to see if Bigwig would let me work with the owsla today. Just as a chance to get a bit more used to this body."

This made Blackberry start laughing. "Bucks are the same in any species aren't they? Always trying to get out of the digging. Anyway, we don't need any more help in here either I'm afraid. We're down to some of the more careful digging, so we need skill more than raw power. Not that you're so much less skilled than the others…" as she said this, the two heard the sound of shifting earth and looked over to see Hazel with dirt past his ankles and a look of annoyance on his face. "Case in point. You're just a little bulky to get into some of the smaller spaces. Thank you though." She then hopped off to try and help her chief in fixing his mistake.

Sam hopped out of the burrow and looked around the hill. Well then, what am I supposed to do? Well, I suppose I could get to know the surrounding area, or something. Yeah, that sounds good. Sam began to hop down the hill in the general direction of Nuthanger Farm, figuring that was the part they would be traveling through the most. He wasn't walking very long before he heard the sound of wings behind him. He turned and saw the gull, Kehaar, flying down towards him.

Kehaar landed and asked, "Sam, where you going? You not help other bunnies make home?"

After getting over the surprise of the gull's sudden appearance, Sam replied, "No, they don't need my help with the burrow and Bigwig won't let me train with the Owsla. So instead, I'm scouting the area around the down. I figure I might as well do something, right?"

"Oh ya ya," Kehaar answered with excitement, "that good idea! Kehaar help. I see things in sky you not see on ground." Sam nodded and the two of them set off. They went in circles around the hill that got further out as they went on. Sam made a mental note of all the good hiding spots that he could find, as well as any positions they could lay traps for incoming enemies. We'll probably need those later, since Woundwort will eventually make his way here. Not that they know that. Hm, should they know that? He kept the thought in his mind as they explored.

After a while of looking around, the two stopped by a river for a rest. Sam ate some of the plants Pipkin showed him earlier while Kehaar went fishing. As the two took some time to rest, Sam tried to get to know Kehaar a little better. "So Kehaar, where are you from?"

"From big water," he said with a voice that said 'where else would I be from'.

Sam caught his mistake. "Right, I mean...are you from-" he was about to say 'this county,' but that probably wouldn't have gotten him anywhere either. He decided to try another approach, "I mean, have you lived in this land your whole life? Or did you fly over the big water from somewhere else?"

"Ya, I come on boat from the east."

Sam nodded in acknowledgement. Riiight, he was supposed to be from Norway? I think? Well, it is to the east. He was so caught up in thinking to himself, that he didn't hear Kehaar ask him a question right away. "Sorry Kehaar, I was daydreaming, what did you say?"

"I ask where you come from? You cross big water too?"

Sam answered, "Well, I suppose I came from America." Seeing the gull's blank look he added, "It's a land to the west. But as to how I got here, well, I'm still trying to figure that one out myself."

Kehaar just chuckled instead of questioning him like Sam was expecting. "Strange things happen in this world."

After a while longer, the two set out again. They looked around until dusk, and were just making one last sweep when Kehaar called out to Sam. Sam ran over to where the gull was hovering and stopped as a metallic smell hit his nose: blood. Before he even realized he had moved, he was ducking in some nearby bushes looking for the source of the smell. Wow, he thought in amazement, those rabbit instincts work pretty well. There's no way I would have moved that fast normally.

Kehaar landed by Sam's hiding spot. "What you doing in bush? There hurt rabbit over there! Nothing else around, go help him!" Upon hearing these words, Sam followed Kehaar to a dark grey rabbit with a rather large gash on its side. The rest of its body had a decent number of scratches too.

Sam approached the injured rabbit cautiously and asked if he was alright. The rabbit, who was facing the other way, turned his head. "Bigwig, is that you?" This caused Sam to look at the rabbit curiously. If this guy knows is asking for Bigwig, that would make him…

Sam answered out loud, "No my name is S-Sunflower." Maybe telling him I'm a human turned into a rabbit isn't the best idea until he's healed. "But I do know where Bigwig and the other are. Here, let me help you." Sam got on the rabbit's uninjured side and helped stand him up. He was weak, leaning on Sam for support.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "My name is Holly. I'm from Sandleford like the others. Or rather, I was from Sandleford…until those ithéil came and destroyed everything!"

Even though Sam knew what had happened at Sandleford, the new was still sickening to hear. Kind of makes me ashamed to be human. He said to Holly, "I'm sorry that happened. Alright, we're going for the top of that hill over there, so you may want to save your strength." Holly nodded and the two of them continued on their way.

Back on the Watership Down, the rabbits were in the middle of silflay, having finished their tasks for the day. Looking around, Blackberry was the first to notice Sam's absence. She called everyone else's attention to the fact. "Hey, does anyone know where Sam went?" They began to look around, some of them with worried looks, when they heard Fiver shouting.

"He's coming up the hill this way! And there's another rabbit with him, is that…Captain Holly?" The rest of the rabbits went running as they heard this and helped Sam get Holly safely up the hill. They waited to get him into a burrow before they began asking questions. Bigwig was the first to say something.

"Frith above, Holly, how did you make it all this was with those wounds?"

Holly gave a weak chuckle before answering, "Oh come now Bigwig, have a little more faith in me, eh? No, I escaped Sandleford unharmed. Some of these wounds I got fighting off a homba that was about to sink its teeth into Pimpernel's neck. The two of us escaped together you see. After that fight, Pimpernel was too injured to go much further. Luckily, we stumbled upon a warren run by a fellow named Cowslip. He said we could stay and be a part of their warren, but we were set on finding you. I left Pimpernel there to heal up, and I continued my search. I had a close call with a hawk earlier, that's how I got this little scratch here," he gestured to the gash on his side as he said that. "I thought I was done for, but then I heard the oddest sound and the hawk flew away. It was right about then that Sunflower here found me and brought me here."

A few of the rabbits cast Sam glances filled with gratitude while the others kept their looks directed toward Holly. Hazel was the one to answer. "Oh yes Holly, Sa- I mean, Sunflower is quite the…interesting asset to this warren. But that's enough questions everyone, Holly needs rest to recover from his injuries. We'll talk more tomorrow."

"Why that's nonsense Hazel," Holly said as he tried to cover a yawn, "I'm perfectly alright."

"Good night, Holly," said Hazel as he herded the rest out of the burrow. Holly looked after them with a tired chuckle before falling into one of the deepest sleeps of his life.

As Hazel and the other walked outside, Bigwig suddenly said, "We need to go get Pimpernel. I don't like the thought of leaving him in some strange warren when he's injured. We should get to him as soon as possible, Hazel."

Hazel though about that before saying, "I can see where you're coming from Bigwig, but we might as well wait for Holly to get better. Pimpernel needs to heal himself, and it would be much easier for Holly to lead us there rather than trying to follow directions. Knowing Holly, we'll be on our way in a matter of days."

The rabbits seemed content with this plan and were about to disperse when Sam stopped them. "Wait," he said, "I…I think I should tell you something." The rabbits stopped and faced him with questioning looks.

"What is it," Hawkbit said with exasperation, "I'm hungry."

Sam stuttered, "Well, um…alright. You know how I told you Prince Rainbow just kind of dropped me on that rainbow and whisked me here? Well, where I come from, all this that's happening, is…well… a story."

"What do you mean a story?" Blackberry asked. "It's still happening, how can there be stories about it?"

"Hah, I wish I knew," Sam admitted. He had been thinking about how it was possible that he was here for the past few days. Was this a part of his world, or did he go back in time? Was he missing from his home however long he was here? "I've tried puzzling that one out for a while, but I'm not sure how our worlds are connected. You just have to believe me when I say that I essentially know the future for you guys. That's the reason I killed the weasel, because I knew for a fact that it would be back later. And…it's also why I know that going to Cowslip's warren…isn't a good choice.

Here, Bigwig couldn't stop himself from interrupting, "We are not leaving one of our own to stay in some strange warren. It doesn't matter how dangerous it is, we're going to get him."

Sam hesitated before continuing. "In the stories, you, Hazel, and Fiver, led by Holly, went to the warren. When you got there…you found out that Pimpernel had already died." Noticing the shocked looks on the rabbits' faces, he quickly continued to avoid any interruptions. "That warren is surrounded by snares. The rabbits there live knowing full well what's out there, but they don't leave. A farmer gives them flayrah and keeps any elil away from them. When one is taken by the snares, the others refuse to acknowledge that they ever existed. Pimpernel is gone. I'm sorry."

The rabbit's faces were filled with pain and loss from the news, but it wasn't long before Blackberry's intelligence came into play once again. "Sam," she said tentatively, "you said that in the stories, Holly went with them to the warren?" He nodded. "Well then, isn't it possible, although this might be a stretch, that Pimpernel was caught during the time that Holly would need to heal enough to be travel-worthy?"

Sam considered what she was saying, then his eyes widened. "That could be possible! The stories never said specifically when he was taken, so if we were to leave right away tomorrow morning…"

"There's a chance he could still be alive," she finished.

"You're a genius Blackberry!" Sam said enthusiastically. "Alright, I think we should make that our plan. Get directions from Holly in the morning and get there as fast as we can. Maybe we'll be in time."

"Alright everyone," Hazel said, "let's all get some rest. We don't know yet just how far we're going to have to travel tomorrow, and we need to be up for it."

The rabbits nodded their heads and started to walk back to the warren. Sam just sat there thinking to himself. Well, I kind of doubt this is going to work, but we do have to try. As Sam sat there, he finally noticed that Bigwig had held back from the rest of the group too, and that it was just the two of them out there. Bigwig came closer as Sam gave him a weary look. He just stared at Sam before looking away.

"Thank you"

Sam just blinked in confusion. "Wha- what?"

Bigwig continued, "Thank you, for saving Holly I mean. He was my teacher, my mentor in owsla training. He…he was the one I was most sorry to leave behind. So, thank you for bringing him back here."

Sam just stared with an incredulous look on his face before he answered, "Well, yes. Of course. You're welcome Bigwig. Good to see I'm not totally useless after all, right?" He added the last part with a hint of mischief in his voice. Probably not the smartest course of action, but everyone needed their moments.

Bigwig just snorted before answering, "Don't push it, you. As far as I'm concerned, you could still be a threat, so watch yourself." Bigwig sounded serious, but Sam noticed the corners of his mouth curling into a little smile.

He laughed in reply, "Of course, Bigwig. Whatever you say." And the two of them went into the warren to rest for the journey they would be taking the following day.