Lily... a mysterious female voice began calling to the doe, Lily... can you hear me?

Awoken by the voice, Lily found herself staring at her own unconscious body with horror and confusion. Had she died? Was she to go to heaven? She wanted to cry or panic, until she heard the soft female's voice beckoning her.

Lily...

To her astonishment, a black doe entered the burrow where Lily's body lay. Lily noticed the black doe to be very beautiful, her black fur shining like the water's surface in the moonlight and she had dark red eyes that sparkled like rubies but cast no light. Lily didn't know whether to be afraid or feel calm with a strange doe standing in the same burrow with her.

"Hello, Lily." The black doe greeted in such a polite and gentle manner, but her voice felt like falling water echoing in the dark.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" Lily asked.

"I go by many names and many forms, but the rabbits know me as the Black Rabbit of Inle."

"You're the..." Lily instantly grew frightened, trembling as she remembered Bigwig's warning if any rabbit looks upon the face of the Black Rabbit on Inle, she will take them to the land beyond the living. She turned away, her eyes shut. "It's not my time to die! I don't want to die! I need my friends!"

"You needn't worry about that, because your time has not come" the Black Rabbit calmly assured her, approaching the timid doe and used her paw to angle Lily's face up to look at her. "Even though all walk with me, eventually."

Opening her eyes, Lily could see the black doe was not determined to take her soul as she gazed at her with those gentle red orbs putting her at ease, though she admitted, "But every rabbit fears you and death, so do I. All I did was rescue Fiver from the Efrafans, I don't want to leave my friends too soon..." It was now she realized how important Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and every rabbit in Watership Down had meant so dearly to her.

"There is no more to fear in death than in the passing of the seasons," the Black Rabbit softly replied. "You are more willing to risk your life for your family and your warren."

"But I already have a family! Henry is..."

"Henry is gone... gone to the afterlife where the humans go..."

An icy claw grasped at Lily's heart, if she was still in her body, as she stared at the black doe, mortified. "No..." she sobbed.

The Black Rabbit gave her a stern yet saddened frown. "The child was mauled by General Woundwort... the fire was his doing because he believed the humans were in his way."

Eyes enlarged at this revelation, the anger and rage boiled as Lily furiously wailed, "I'll kill him! I'LL KILL WOUNDWORT!"

"There is no need for revenge." The Black Rabbit's red eyes gleamed brightly to stare her down, warning her not to commit another murderous deed. "Will it make you feel better if you killed Woundwort? An eye for an eye only ends up making you blind and it destroys the lives of all," and then she smiled gently, "but your cunning and emotions will serve a better purpose."

"What do you mean?" Lily raised an eyebrow, her anger fading.

"If you keep this knowledge close to you, I promise you that you will be a great warrior and mother, one worthy of joining my Owsla." And with those words spoken, the Black Rabbit of Inle departed the burrow.

No sooner had the black doe gone, Lily regained consciousness. Her head shot up, searching for the Black Rabbit of Inle but she had vanished. The doe's head was a bit sore after last night's tumble downhill when escaping the Efrafan soldiers and the train. She noticed the mark on her leg had been healed, though the scar remained where it is. The burrow she found herself in, Lily didn't know whether if she was back in Watership Down or recaptured in Efrafa. A familiar voice she heard was enough evidence for where she is.

"Oh, brambles! Thank Frith, your alright." It was Strawberry, who had kept watch over her and the burrow ever since the search party had returned with their missing friends, and assisted Blackberry in caring Lily's injuries. The red doe gave Lily a big hug, and she returned it with equal affection.

"Hello, Strawberry. Did any other rabbit come in here while I was asleep?" Lily asked, wondering if the red doe had seen the Black Rabbit of Inle.

"No, the only rabbits here are you, me, and everybody else outside." Strawberry shook her head. "Why do you ask?"

Before Lily could answer her, the two does overheard their friends arguing outside the warren.

"Holly, is this Efrafa as bad as Bluebell says?" questioned Bigwig.

"It's far worse, and you can't imagine it until you've been there," replied Holly, before he sounded quite remorseful over what he said next. "Bigwig, I understand you hold it out against me for Lily's disappearance, but I apologize for how I behaved, it was wrong."

"It could've gotten Lily killed by these Efrafans if you hadn't forced her to run off like that!"

"There's no point in making Holly feel guilty," Hazel reprimanded. "He's had a rough time in Efrafa, no better than Fiver or Bluebell."

"You shouldn't hold a grudge forever, Bigwig." Lily staggered out of the burrow with Strawberry's support where everyone turned their heads toward her, as she repeated what the Black Rabbit of Inle told her. "It will blind you and destroy the lives of those around you."

"Lily!" Bigwig exclaimed, relief washed over him as he swept her in a loving embrace. "Oh, thank Frith and all Prince Rainbow's messengers!" He held her the longest as though fearful of letting go and she would disappear forever.

Everybody else rejoiced to see Lily still alive and in one piece as the rabbits, including Kehaar and Hannah, rushed forward to tackle her in a warm group hug, much to Bigwig's chagrin. Lily had never felt so at peace and happiness to have such rabbits in her life. Grief stung her in the heart to learn Henry is dead, but she would never forget him. The Black Rabbit of Inle was right. These rabbits are more than her friends, they are her family. Her new family.

"We're glad to have you back with us." Hazel smiled in relief as he and Holly were the last to join their group hug.

"Guys, I can hardly breathe!" Lily protested.

Everybody released her from their group hug, allowing her to breathe, though Pipkin lingered the last to nuzzle his head in her chest before he stepped back.

"We thought the Black Rabbit of Inle would have taken you," Pipkin said.

"Hehe. Funny you should mention the Black Rabbit because..." Lily chuckled, awkwardly.

"Captain Holly was about to tell us of your experience in Efrafa," Hannah added, interrupting her.

Lily wanted to tell everyone how she met the Black Rabbit of Inle, but decided to save it for another time. "Well, being in Efrafa is like living in a prison," she said. "The does have no freedom, they are treated like slaves. Their wide patrols are the biggest and strongest rabbits you have ever seen."

"A lot of us wouldn't be enough to fight one of their wide patrols," Holly added.

"What do you mean?" Bigwig asked.

Holly displayed the scar on his leg, still marked but slightly healed. "You see this?" As he did so, Lily, Bluebell and Fiver revealed the scars on their legs as well. "They did it to us. It's an identification mark. Tells when you can be above ground."

"What do you mean? Who's to stop you?"

"Their Owsla..." Holly hesitated, "their chief is called Woundwort - General Woundwort. He's bigger than a hare, a white scar across his left eye, and the most grim and savage rabbit you have ever seen. I don't think even you'd match up to him, Bigwig. Under him are his Captains, each one in charge of a Mark. If you're found above ground at the wrong time, they take you before the Council for punishment."

"Some of them must get away," Bigwig figured.

"They caught one trying to escape when we were there, the very same dark rabbit I told you about earlier when I said my group thought we found you but this poor wretch with the torn ears," Holly described. "Blackavar is his name. When they'd finish with him, both his ears were ripped to shreds... worse than his one of mine. He was lucky not to have been killed. There was another one... a doe, Hyzenthlay. We couldn't have escaped without her help."

"Why didn't she go with you?" Silver asked.

"She said she wouldn't go without the others," Holly explained. "I promised her that I would get her out of there."

"Then there are some that might be persuaded to leave?" Hazel deduced.

"Oh, yes." Holly frowned, doubtfully. "But you'd never get them out of Efrafa."

"Well, you, Fiver, Bluebell and Lily got out," Dandelion pointed out.

"Only because Lord Frith sent one of his great messengers."

"Actually, it was called a train," Lily corrected. "I had a plan to lure our pursuers to the railroad tracks where trains usually run on them. I figured we could lose the Efrafans there, and it worked, despite almost getting run down by the train."

"What happened to the Efrafans on the tracks?" Hawkbit questioned.

"I didn't see what happened to them. The train must have cut them down." Lily shrugged, not sure if Charlock was killed or not, until a dismal frown spread across her face. "But I do hope Hyzenthlay will be alright. Who knows what kind of punishment the Council gave her for helping us escape."

Holly's eyes had a pained horror, and his claws embedded in the earth. Lily could tell he was dreadfully concerned for Hyzenthlay.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way to get them out, including Hyzenthlay and Blackavar," assured Hazel, sympathizing the worried grey buck.

"Listen, before I got captured by their wide patrol, I heard them say they consider all outsiders a threat, and they won't rest until they killed us all," Lily explained, remembering her eavesdropping on the Efrafan wide patrol and had wanted to warn her friends. "They mean to discover our warren and wipe us out!"

Everyone began mumbling or talking, frightened.

"Are you sure, Lily?" Hazel asked. "Why would they want that?"

"Those are their own words, Hazel-rah." Lily frowned, warily. "If you had been there, you would know what kind of hell their warren is. I couldn't bare to have my leg marked down by a rabbit bigger than me, or to watch those does treated like dirt."

Bigwig's paws tightened in fury, silently fuming. He couldn't imagine what kind of tortures Lily had to endure while in Efrafa, especially imagining this savage buck forcibly holding her down and burying his claw in her leg when she was to be marked. What if he didn't mark her, and he'd tried taking advantage of her. It only made him angrier and more determined to protect her. "I think it's time we start focusing on defending our warren. I need an Owsla!" he announced, decidedly.

Everybody turned to stare at him, speechless.

"Bigwig, in case you haven't forgotten, we still need to keep digging and the warren isn't entirely finished yet," Blackberry objected.

"Digging is doe's work!" Bigwig stated. "I, for one, refuse to dig!"

"Same here." Silver folded his arms.

"Bigwig's got a point there," Hawkbit agreed.

"I agree." Bluebell yawned, rudely.

"Me too, digging is definitely doe's work," added Dandelion.

"You can count us in as well!" Acorn exclaimed, while Buckthorn and Speedwell frowned in agreement.

"Strawberry, Lily and myself are the only does!" Blackberry refused to do all the chores unless she had help. "Do you think we should just build the warren by ourselves?"

"But, Bigwig-" Hazel protested to no avail.

An argument erupted among the crowd of rabbits about agreeing or disagreeing about whether the bucks should cooperate in the digging or not. Lily was the only one silent, thinking about what the Black Rabbit of Inle meant about her becoming a warrior and a mother. She doesn't have offspring nor did she have a mate, but she does have the courage to risk her life for her family, that is considered the spirit of a warrior. Her thoughts stopped when she heard Bigwig speak again.

"No, besides my job is defense. Holly and I have an Owsla to train." Bigwig could see Holly staring at him in surprise at his sudden asking for his help to train an Owsla, but the former captain was glad to have earned Bigwig's trust again. Bigwig's eyes studied the bucks in present that he would pick to be members for the new Owsla. "Hawkbit... Dandelion... Bluebell... Silver... Acorn... Buckthorn... Speedwell... Pipkin, I want you lot in our Owsla!"

"Really, Bigwig?" Pipkin grew excited. "Wow!"

"Well, Silver and I do have experience in the Owsla back in Sandleford," boasted Buckthorn.

The other bucks were surprised at being picked to join an Owsla, but neither of them argued as this was their chance to get out of digging.

"But until the warren is finished, what is there to defend?" questioned Blackberry.

"Our very lives." As he spoke, Bigwig's eyes lingered on Lily. "Efrafa isn't like any warren we've ever heard of, they are vicious and bloodthirsty!" Then he turned to Hazel, scorning. "You want to dig a burrow, Hazel, and I did, that's fine then. But my number one priority is Military Exercises!" The lion buck began hopping, or pacing, back and forth, devising his plan to military defense.

"Hey, hey! Military exercises!" Kehaar flapped his wings, excited at the idea of joining a military.

Bigwig kept on hopping with a grim determination in his eyes. "We must be prepared for an attack at any moment."

"Yeah, we must be prepared!" Kehaar agreed, and as he flapped his wings, the vibrations knocked an acorn off a branch and it fell, landing on Hannah's head. "You see?" The seagull grinned, whilst the mouse glared up in his direction, until Kehaar whispered in her ear of a plan.

"But we can't just leave the does doing all the work in digging!" protested Hazel, trying to be firm.

"Huh! Take all the diggers you want, I need every buck for the Owsla!" Bigwig scoffed, refusing defiantly. "We must defend the warren!"

"But there isn't a warren to defend, Bigwig, we're not nearly finished!" Blackberry objected, approaching him.

"We've got to keep digging, if only so to hide if there is a threat!" Hazel exclaimed.

"Oh, there is a threat, Hazel! We could be struck at any moment!" No sooner Bigwig finished speaking, a tree nut dropped on his head and the impact made him fall back.

This momentarily surprised everyone to what just happened. Then Kehaar soared downward from the air, allowing Hannah to jump off from the gull's back and pounced on Bigwig, the second impact knocked him down. Bigwig opened his eyes to find Hannah laying his broad chest. Lily giggled amusingly at the scene, her laughter sounded like the chimes of snowbell flowers in the breeze, in Bigwig's perspective.

"You surprised now, eh Bigwig?" Hannah asked, half chuckling.

But Bigwig was not amused at all. "Kindly remove yourself from my chest," he warned, threateningly.

The mouse immediately jumped off his chest. Hawkbit and Hazel helped Bigwig back on his feet. The lion buck didn't like to be humiliated like this in front of his darling doe, hearing Lily giggle at watching him get hit on the head by an acorn, even though he secretly found her laughter entrancing.

"Are you alright, Bigwig?" Hawkbit asked.

"Of course!" Bigwig dusted himself off, then he demanded, "What's the meaning of this?"

"This is military exercise, Pigvig, you must be proud," declared Kehaar.

"Certainly not!" Bigwig scorned.

Hannah covered her mouth to try hiding her laughter. "But you're surprised, Bigwig."

"Yes, you looked surprise when nut hit you." Kehaar couldn't bare to hide his laughter. "Bing! Pigvig fall down!"

Bigwig would have exploded at them for their childish behavior, but he didn't want to be the bad guy in front of Lily. "This is no laughing matter!" he shouted.

"Is what I say, much serious matter. Stop laughing, Hanya!" Kehaar immediately tried to get back on his good side.

Hannah gulped, nervously. "Don't laugh."

"Please to continue," Kehaar added in a posh accent.

"We must form an Owsla, immediately!" Bigwig gestured his chosen bucks to come forward and begin their military training instantly.

An idea formed inside Lily's mind for both parties to work things out without causing a dilemma. "You're right, Bigwig, we should set up a patrol. And Hazel is right, we need diggers to create a bigger warren," she said. Stunned, Hazel and Bigwig opened their mouths to say something but closed it when Lily continued, "But we need to keep digging, so how about we split up into two groups; one group to dig and the second group to defense. Is that fair to everyone?"

Impressed, Hazel realized that needing an Owsla to defend their warren from the Efrafans and a band of diggers to have his group dig. Bigwig thought this over for a moment, understanding Lily has a point with an idea to the solution. The other rabbits discussed and whispered among themselves about this plan, reaching an agreement whilst some of them protested to no avail.

"That's an excellent idea, Lily," commended Hazel.

"I suppose half an Owsla is better than nothing," relented Bigwig.

Hazel assigned to one half of the group. "Holly, Hawkbit, Silver, Buckthorn, Bluebell, Dandelion and Pipkin can join your patrol." Then he assigned to the other half. "That leaves Fiver, Blackberry, Speedwell, Acorn, Strawberry, Lily and me to continue digging."

Kehaar came in front of Bigwig again. "Pigvig, we like to volunteer in the Owsla," he volunteered.

"Yes, you must want us now, Bigwig," Hannah imitated the gull's accent.

"Certainly not! I have no time for birds or mice!" Bigwig turned his head away, behaving like a bigot. It wasn't because of their sneak attack stunt they pulled, but because he doesn't want to have a seagull and a mouse part of the Owsla.

"But Hannah has interesting ideas, Bigwig." Blackberry tried to change his mind. "And from the sky, Kehaar can do advanced scouting."

"You're in charge of digging, Blackberry. I'll look out for the Owsla!" As Bigwig finished back-talking her, he started on his way to a clearing down hill where both he and Holly can train their bucks.

Kehaar and Hannah pouted, believing Bigwig never wanted them. Lily felt sorry for them, but couldn't say anything comforting.

"That's it then, let's start digging," Blackberry announced, and the other rabbits followed her back into the warren, while Kehaar and Hannah secretly followed Bigwig and his Owsla.

Lily glanced back at the Owlsa one last time in concern before returning to the warren. So throughout the morning, every rabbit in the burrow began digging the warren to build new burrows for every rabbit who lived on the down now. So far, everybody made good progress, as Blackberry praised encouragingly. Strawberry was the fastest digger in the warren, probably having grown to like it or determined to prove herself to the rabbits. As far as Lily knew, the red doe did prove herself when Hawkbit and Dandelion were starting to fight over courting her, and the idea of bringing more does to the warren could have worked had Efrafa not been cruel to their request for some does. And what about the planned raid to Nuthanger farm to liberate Clover and whoever she has with her as hutch roommates? Looking at Hazel digging by lonesome with a solemn frown, the doe thought about asking him how it played out.

"Hazel..." she asked, approaching him and assisted in digging a burrow for him.

"What is it, Lily?" Hazel glanced up at her.

"I remember you mentioned your plan to liberate Clover from the farm, so I just thought if I'd ask you how it went?"

Hazel stared at the wall in silence to her question, then he sighed. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah, it could pass the time while we're digging," Lily insisted.

"Very well." Hazel sighed, beginning his tale of the events on Nuthanger farm during the time Lily's group had been in Efrafa. "Bigwig, Pipkin and myself left for the farm before sunset. We crept through the gate and ventured into the farm." Most of the rabbits busy digging listened carefully to the story. "No humans were out, it was too quiet, except the two dogs snoring in their kennels, and no sign of the cat. But we kept our stealth at complete silence as we crept passed the sleeping dogs. The three of us got inside the empty barn and found two hutch cages ahead of us on piled on human crates I think. We overheard two humans arguing inside their house, mentioning a human named Lucy or whatever else they spoke of. Bigwig kept watch as Pipkin and I spoke to Clover..."


"Hello!" Hazel called, poking his nose at the second cage above the empty one beneath him.

At first, no answer. And then, Clover appeared when she heard his voice, gasping in surprise. "Hazel! I knew you'd come back!" she exclaimed. "When I first met you days ago, I knew it wasn't a dream. I kept telling my friends here that there are other rabbits living under the sky."

"Hello, my name is Pipkin!" the young buck introduced himself from the pile of wood he stood on.

"Ohhh, aren't you adorable?" Haystack, a doe with golden blonde and white underbelly fur, cooed affectionately as her paw reached out to give the disgruntled Pipkin's cheek a playful pinch. Then she noticed Hazel and Bigwig, gasping warily. "Oh! Who are you?"

"Oh, Haystack! This is Hazel, the rabbit whom I've been telling you about," Clover introduced.

"We've come to get you to... to break you free," said Hazel.

"To get me free?" Clover chuckled, sounding delighted with the idea of living in the wild.

Haystack and three other does named Boxwood (a pale orange short haired doe with white and black markings), Laurel (a pale ash grey doe), and Cornflower (a black and white Himalayan doe) began to talk and whisper, worried or unsure about this unexpected offer.

"What do you mean he's come to free us?" Boxwood questioned, warily. "We still live in the hutch?"

Clover decided to explain it to her fellow does, showing great enthusiasm for a chance to live a life outside a hutch. "When you're free, you live underground in fields, you can eat when you want, you can even run about, can't you, Hazel?" The buck nodded in her response. "Listen, you need to be quick. The humans are inside, but sometimes they come out to get firewood."

Hazel and Pipkin began chewing on the leather straps holding the door of the hutch.

"It won't give," said Hazel, "let me try again."

"Okay, there are two straps that hold the door in place," Clover advised. "I think they are made of something soft."

"Alright, Bigwig. Stay sharp," Hazel instructed.

"I'm always sharp, Hazel," Bigwig declared. "Bigwig doesn't get distracted."

A crash came from inside the farm house. The farmer's wife ranting at her husband for breaking her grandmother's plate. It momentarily frightened the rabbits, but thankfully it didn't wake up the dogs nor did the humans come outside. Sighing in relief, Bigwig assured them that it was nothing serious. Hazel and Pipkin worked together to try and unlock the cage.

"Hello, who are you?" Clover asked, noticing the lion buck down below.

"Me? I'm Bigwig. Good to meet you." Bigwig introduced himself, bowing politely like a gentle-rabbit.

However, this was the only distraction Bigwig had committed, unaware of a small doggie door swinging back and forth. Tabitha the cat, or Tab for short, was out and about once again. She had seen the rabbits in the barn and, licking her lips hungrily, growling silently as she hid herself in the shadows to catch her prey off guard, mostly Bigwig.

"Since I first saw you, I dreamed of this day," Clover longingly expressed her dream of a free life outside the walls without kept locked up. "You don't know what it's like living in a box. Not being able to see the sky, I just want to be able to run, Hazel."

"You will, I promise you," Hazel promised, then he wondered, "Why do they keep you in this thing?"

"I don't know, I guess is I think they're being kind to us," Clover explained. "The humans aren't completely bad. In fact, that little girl seems quite nice. I think they just lack understanding."

But Hazel still doubted such a thing as good humans, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to believe that." He was still reeling in from the horror of Holly's story of the Sandleford massacre and Cowslip's warren surrendering themselves to humans.

However, Pipkin ran into trouble as the leather strap is too tight for him. "It's too tight to the wood, I can't get my teeth around it."

"Stand away from the door," Hazel commanded. "Pipkin, help me push it inwards."

Working together, the two wild rabbits began loosening the door by pushing the door with their bodies against it to give it all their might.

"Faster, faster!" urged Clover.

"Are you inside yet?" asked Bigwig, impatiently.

Before the door could get open, there came a familiar shriek and a growl.

"BIGWIG!" Clover shouted.

Bigwig turned around just as Tab charged forward. But he did not falter as he stood his ground, the two engaged in fierce combat. Scratching and clawing at each other with their claws. The hutch rabbits watched in dreaded concern, whilst Hazel and Pipkin looked on, when the ferocious feline pinned him down.

"Get off me, you flea-bitten fur ball!" yelled Bigwig, kicking the cat off his body with all of his strength.

"Get out of here, you have to help Bigwig!" exclaimed Clover.

Resuming the battle, Bigwig got bitten and tossed aside like a rag doll by the cat. Before Tab could finish him off, Hazel tackled the pussycat into a pile of tractor parts. The farmer's wife began shouting from inside the house, overhearing the noise and complaining about the cat. The two dogs were awoken and started barking angrily at the intruders.

"Leave! I'll be fine." Clover insisted, ushered the wild rabbits to make their escape before the humans come out.

"We need to go!" Hazel ordered, forcing his two companions to run across the yard and out into the open field.

It was a good thing Tab didn't pursue them because the humans had just come out of the house, unknowingly allowing the wild rabbits to escape pass the fence and stone hedge. They stopped to rest on a hill overlooking the far. Their plan to liberate the does had ended in failure, and Bigwig angrily began calling out on Hazel for making them leave.

"I could have held off that cat for you to get into the hutch, but you blew the whole damn scheme by being too squeamish!" Bigwig scorned. "What in the name of Frith has gotten into you?"

"I'm leader, Bigwig. That's what's got into me!" Hazel justified his actions as being the leader of their warren.

"Oh! You're leader?" Bigwig chuckled, questioning his leadership. "A leader who could drown in a puddle of water!" His insult forced Hazel to stop in his tracks, shocked. Bigwig studied his eyes, adding, "Oh, you've got the fear in you. I can see it in your eyes. Your mind's going tharn. That's the truth of it."

In response to Bigwig's harsh words, Hazel defensively protects himself by stating, "The truth of it is that if I make one bad decision, like the Threarah did at Sandleford, we all end up dead!"

A frightened Pipkin watched the two bucks staring angrily at each other before Hazel moves ahead, leaving a fuming Bigwig behind until he left to return to the down.


"That brawl was enough to imply that I make decisions with all of our friends in mind, but Bigwig makes decisions based on how he would respond to them," Hazel concluded the end of his tale.

"It means you are cautious and Bigwig is reckless," Lily figured. "But it means you're still effected by the loss of Sandleford." Hazel nodded, before she continued, "And Clover is still right on one thing; not all humans are bad, like Henry, for instance."

"After our return to the down, we learned of Holly's departure to Efrafa and you weren't anywhere close by," Hazel continued, avoiding the talk about humans. "I was worried about Fiver, and Bigwig grew worried sick about you."

"If he worries about me so much, why does he have an attitude?" wondered Lily, thinking back to those times on their journey to the high hills. "I know he once told me that he's fond of me, but he needs to control his temper."

"I guess it's because he was trained in the Owsla," Hazel guessed.

Suddenly a part of the roof collapsed and Lily was completely buried under a huge pile of dirt. The other rabbits began frantically digging the pile of dirt aside, until Lily's head popped out of the top of the dirt pile, unharmed.

"You're filthy!" coughed Strawberry, as the dust of the collapsed roof spread everywhere.

"Why don't you go take a break, Lily?" Blackberry suggested. "We'll clean up from here."

"Okay, thanks." Lily nodded, then hopped out of the warren and trotted downhill.

Finding a river and a small waterfall close by on the down, Lily cautiously dipped her paw underneath the falling water to find it cool, not exactly cold but perfect. She walked underneath the pouring water, feeling it wash away the dirt from her fur and soaking her entire body. Her hind legs stood up taller than usual as she brushed her ears back to scoop some dirt off, scrubbing her back and stomach to get rid of the leftover dirt. Lily began to sing 'Bright Eyes' while she stood under the pouring water for a little longer to relax.

"Bright eyes... burning like fire..." her angelic voice drifted in the wind like the petals of a lily flower detached from its bud, "how can the light that burns so brightly, suddenly burn so far... bright eyes..." Lily's mind wandered back to Hazel's story of his failed raid, and an idea sprung into her like a newborn bunny hopping for the first time. Maybe if she and Hazel could go back to Nuthanger farm and tried again, this time at dark when the humans are asleep.

Not far from where she was at, Bigwig had returned from military exercising his newly trained Owsla. He had been quite harsh and firm to his pupils, pointing out all harmless mistakes or reprimanding them for naivety for some things, although Silver and Buckthorn had experience in the Owsla, they couldn't escape Bigwig's lectures. Holly, on the other hand, was the opposite of Bigwig. Although Holly maintained his usual authority self like he was back in Sandleford, he was more gentle and encouraging toward his Owsla, therefore lecturing Bigwig on his controlling nature. All he got was a shout in the face from the stubborn Bigwig, proclaiming himself Captain of Owsla and he will run things the way he wants. Silver and Buckthorn had to break up the argument, until they spotted Efrafan patrols far away in the distance, so the Watership Owsla had to lead them in a different direction to keep the Efrafans away from their warren. Pipkin got separated, so Bigwig had to rescue him and he would never have made it had Kehaar and Hannah come to the rescue by dropping nuts on the Efrafan wide patrol, allowing Bigwig and Pipkin to escape, later joining the other rabbits to make their getaway.

Once Bigwig and his Owsla reached the edge of the down, his ears twitched when catching a familiar feminine voice in the atmosphere. Telling the others to go back to the down while he investigated this strange new voice, imagine Bigwig's surprise when he found Lily under a little waterfall by the river and singing to herself. As he watched her, he couldn't help admiring how her melody, relieving him of the stress of training his Owsla. He admired how shiny and smooth her fur looked when wet. Her body so slim and beautiful, as she stood up higher on her hind legs, he caught a glimpse of her private area between her legs. The look in his eyes enlarged, a look of desire and lust overtaking him. The things Bigwig could do with her body made a bulge rise up between his legs, though he tried to stop it as his face flushed red. His claws embedded in the ground and his breathing became heavy. Bigwig wanted to jump out and claim Lily as his mate, the urge taking absolute control of ever fiber of his physical being.

"Hello, Bigwig. I didn't hear you coming." Lily's sweet voice brought the lion buck's thought back to reality.

"Uh, hehe, h-h-hello Lily," Bigwig stuttered, nervously. He regained his composure to not try anything stupid to her. "I... uh..." He fumbled over his words but he couldn't quite pick the right ones.

Lily crawled out of her private shower, shaking the water's contents off her body. Then she started grooming herself to straight out her fur. "How did the training go?" she asked.

"Err, not quite as I had planned," Bigwig explained, solemnly. "We almost got caught by the Efrafans, and they're just as you and Holly described."

Frozen in fear, Lily gazed up at him with horror in her eyes. "Oh, no! Please tell me no one got hurt, right?"

"No worries, lass. We're all safe." Bigwig assured her, beckoned to help out in the grooming as he dragged his tongue gently on her fur.

Lily did not object to Bigwig's assistant in grooming her. She was glad to feel his tongue on her fur, relishing it in with a longing sigh. It got Bigwig's engine going when he heard her response. A sly grin spread across his lips as he decided to take it further. He wanted her. His body craved for her. Bigwig made his way up to her face, his right arm circled around her waist to pull her against him, and began to lick at the fur of her neck.

The doe gasped in surprise. "Bigwig, what are you... Ohhh... Aaah…" a deep moan escaped her lips before she could question his behavior. Her body responded to his touches, feeling one paw slide up her waist to her chest to grasp at it, like a man grasping the breast of a woman during a moment of passion.

"Ohhh... Lily..." the lion buck groaned between licking at her neck. The sense of arousal growing stronger by the minute, igniting the passion he created between them. Inhaling her scent encouraged him to tilt her head up to look at him, closing the gap between them.

In that moment, Bigwig touched his nose with her own and stayed like this for a short moment. Lily stared at him, at first she believed he was going to kiss her, but obviously he preferred the old fashioned ways of courting. Didn't he learn anything whenever Bluebell tried to kiss Blackberry? Her eyes shifted toward his lips and, without having second thoughts, grabs his face to press his lips against hers. Lily's heart leapt up in her throat, feeling emotions she had never felt in a long time. She knew she really liked that impetuous lion maned buck and truly cared about him. This is what the Black Rabbit of Inle meant when she called her a mother. Lily is going to be mates with Bigwig, and produce a litter of their own.

As for Bigwig, his eyes grew wider when he felt those soft lips press against his own. He had never been kissed by a doe before, let alone touch noses with one. His mind gone blank as he gave in, closing his eyes as he returned the kiss with equal passion. He realized at once that he truly loved her. His strong arms circle around her back, bringing her closer than ever. He felt her arms circle around his neck to deepen their kiss. Bigwig decided to make it rough by slipping his tongue into her mouth. Lily felt him do this as she glided her tongue into his mouth, her paw clutching at the mane on his head.

The two rabbits had never felt such an intense passion before and neither of them wanted to stop this moment. Tongues danced around buck teeth and twining around the other in a battle for dominance, moaning heavily in each other's mouths, breathing through their noses, and forcing Bigwig to lower her down to the grass, where he will be ready to take the next step in mating, though this is highly unlikely for rabbits to do this kind of thing for making out like this. Thanks to Lily, the lion buck was open to new ideas in claiming her as his mate. Just as he was about to begin the commitment of mating when...

"BIGWIG! LILY! Where are you?!" Holly's voice echoed from the high hills at a distance.

The eyes of the two rabbit lovers shot open, pulling apart from each other with reluctance. Their faces flushed red and taking deep breaths from that intense kiss, though wiping their mouths to remove the saliva that connect their lips together when they separated.

"Well... that was, uh..." Lily stammered, as she couldn't find the words to explain it.

"Wonderful." Bigwig finished her sentence, glancing a warm smile in her direction. "Maybe when I'm not busy, we should do this again more often."

"That's a good idea." Lily nodded, before she added, "But let's keep this between us for now, okay?"

"Right!" Bigwig agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "They'd never let me hear the end of it if they knew what just happened."

No sooner the two rabbits left their private spot for romance, they had failed to notice Kehaar and Hannah with their mouths open and their eyes so wide they could pop any second now. They didn't know whether to be overjoyed that two rabbits found love, or to be freaked out by this unusual make out session Bigwig and Lily shared between them, especially catching Bigwig's little buck arousing within his legs was enough to disgust the pair.

"Ooookaaaay, is this what the rabbits do when we're not around?" droned Hannah.

"We must never speak of this again," Kehaar responded, stupefied.

"Good idea, now let's get back to the down and not a word of this to Hazel or anybody else!" Hannah said, before she climbed on the gull's back so he can take off for flight and back to the down.

Arriving back on Watership Down, Bigwig and Lily kept a slight distance so no one can suspect what occurred between then, other than Kehaar and Hannah behaving awkwardly. Hazel and Fiver were engaged in conversation with Strawberry about digging an extra hole for an escape root just in case, when they noticed the Owsla returning to the warren.

"Hazel, we just encountered the Efrafans and they're just as dangerous as I suspected," Bigwig reported. "We must make major changes to the warren to assume adequate defense. The work must start immediately."

"And just who will do all this extra digging, Bigwig?" questioned Blackberry, scorning as she believed he was going to suggest another absurd idea.

"I will, and so will my Owsla!" Bigwig announced, creating a chorus of shocked gasps from everyone.

"But I thought digging was doe's work." Hazel smirked.

"Ah, but this is defensive digging," Bigwig stated, making an excuse to avoid the early argument. "Holly and I talked about it. We reached an agreement to dig." He looked over to see Lily smiling proudly at him, which made his heart soar to see her smile at him like that. "OWSLA! Initiate digging procedures!" he commanded with great authority.

"Oh, brambles!" cheered Strawberry. "That's wonderful, Bigwig. Good for you."

"Uh, agreed." Dandelion eyed the red doe flirtatiously. "I'll help Strawberry with the digging while Hawkbit feeds Kehaar."

Hawkbit didn't like the idea at all, glaring darkly at the blonde buck. "No way! Why don't you feed Kehaar?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm afraid he'll mortally wound me," retorted Dandelion.

"Well, there's no way I'm digging like a doe!" Silver refused. "I'm better off acting like a buck and joining the Owsla."

"Come on, guys. Why can't we continue with more training?" Pipkin pleaded, eager to get out of digging despite the harshness of military training.

"I'd rather lie in the sun and eat clover all day," sighed Bluebell.

"Now, listen here you lazy lot..." Holly prepared to lecture them for their rudeness.

The rest of the bucks began to angrily protest or complain, but the scowl in Bigwig's eyes prepared him to give the other bucks a good thrashing for refusing to obey orders until...

"SLUGS IN A BURROW, STOP!" Strawberry exploded, as she pounded her front paws in the earth, finally fed up with the bucks' arrogance and complaints. "You are all helping us dig the warren and I don't want to hear another word out of either of you, or we won't be friends anymore!"

Everyone stared at the red doe in disbelief of her behavior. Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Lily, Blackberry and Holly were deeply impressed with Strawberry taking command of the situation, finding it amusing if she were part of the Owsla, she would have made a remarkable captain. The rest of the bucks exchanged baffled glances at each other.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho!" Kehaar chortled, amused at the bucks embarrassing themselves in front of a doe. "You boys have quite a way with the females. How can you resist such charm?" The sooner every rabbit left to start digging, Kehaar began to feel hungry and said, "Hey, wait! What about my worms?"

Hannah sighed, "I'll find you some worms, Kehaar."