Fear, desperation, will power, everything relation to panic snd value for life jumbled in the five runaways. Trees glowered over them evilly with the sounds of hooting owls and howling wolves. Critters seemed to promise by sense that hey would attack and eat their meal. Oaknut was clutching tightly to Periwinkle as Chestnut clung on tight to Walnut's back. He was in the same speed with Giselle who was panting but determined to escape from the lunatics. Periwinkle, being the smallest of the two elder rabbits was miraculously faster but of course it must have been through suffered experience.
"Sniff them out!" they heard River roar. "We will have Frith condemn them below when we grab them! Oaknut and Periwinkle we will open and leave for elil!"
"Faster!" panted Giselle. "For their formers!"
"I don't want to die!" wailed Oaknut.
"And we won't!" Periwinkle assured him. "Frith is with us."
"The whole world will be your enemy," Chestnut whispered to himself. "But first they must catch you: digger, listener, runner, prince with a swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people will never be destroyed."
He felt calmer and optimistic from reciting the passage. His father always told him to repeat that passage to himself when in doubt or perilous danger.
"Whoa!" cried Periwinkle. She came to a halt as did the others. In a second they realised why; they were standing before a raging river.
"It's too strong!" complained Walnut.
"I can't swim!" panicked Chestnut.
"We don't have to," said Periwinkle looking to the left and nodding in that particular direction.
Everything turned to see she was eyeing an old, abandoned boat.
"Thank you, Frith," sighed Chestnut in relief.
"Everyone in!" instructed Walnut.
Periwinkle stood hind-legged and stood straight so Oaknut could climb into the board and Walnut did the same for Chestnut.
While they were clambering in, Giselle was gnawing at the rope. With one more bite, she leapt into the boat as the suction of the rapids was tugging at it.
"THERE! THEY'RE ESCAPING! QUICK!"
Elderberry was charging straight at them along with River with fire dancing in his hungry eyes, never seen so angry.
They were getting very close when the rope attached to the boat snapped and it took off, separating the five kittens from the elil they had been following as those two, followed by the other four yelled in anger for them.
"Next boat comes in an hour!" waved Walnut smugly.
His pride was short-lived as he was knocked back into the boat by the impact of a bump from an underwater boulder. He was the only one having trouble; the other rabbits were huddled together so not lot lose anyone. He went over to join them as waves washed over them, soaking them to their feet. Oaknut and Chestnut screamed in terror. Chestnut usually loved being drenched by his father, He recalled a time he took him swimming in a shallow pond. His father was just sitting there in the water and he sprayed Chestnut with water form his mouth. This seemed to serve a parallel nightmare to the young kitten.
It seemed about three it four minutes as they sped through the river. While it was a nerve-wracking adventure, it was better than being on the same ground as the so-called Path of Frith.
"I'll take a look where we are going!" called Walnut through the overlap of the rushing rapids.
With effort, he climbed to the top of the boat where a human would have view of direction through the water. Nothing but black, however the water's rapid bubbles made him put two and two together with what was coming next. What was coming made him gulp.
Dropping back down to his companions, he commented "Hope you all like waterfalls."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHH!"
The heavy shower from the waterfall battered them all, Giselle and Periwinkle covering the two younger bucks so they would not be affected by the unwelcome rain from nature.
"I WANT THIS TO STOP!" screamed Chestnut.
But it suddenly stopped and they swooshed into a very huge, calm pond. They had reached the end of the river.
The boat slowly, but eventually drifted to the shore. The rabbits hopped out, but in a struggle since the boat kept bobbing and bending when they used themselves as ladders for Oaknut and Chestnut.
They stepped onto the shore in a wide, calm field. The trees seemed much more friendlier an only crickets were chirping.
"We're safe," sighed Chestnut happily. "If we are lucky, this is the Field of Frith's Miracles."
"You wish, Child of the Seer!"
Everyone gasped as River followed Elderberry, Forget-Me-Not, Sunflower and Blossom.
"Cunning and full of tricks," commented Sunflower approvingly. "But not enough brains."
"Ready to meet Frith?" asked River to Oaknut whom he had obviously despised the most.
Oaknut cowered at this giant from his view, but Walnut stepped in.
"Why don't you go home and mate with Elderberry?"
Elderberry heard this and growled svagely.
"You're dead, Hutch-Bred" he snarled.
"You're rather gifted at rhyming," retorted Walnut.
River and Elderberry got ready to pounce when a huge figure burst through growling and hissing.
The Path panicked and they scattered away, Elderberry screaming like a baby doe.
"I PROMISE TO STOP SNEAKING CABBAGE AT NIGHT! I PROMISE TO STOP CALLING FOR MY MUMMY!" he screeched.
"SHUT UP!" shrieked River in panic as their voices and screams trailed away.
"MUMMY!" was the last thing they heard form Elderberry.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" was the final thing they heard from River.
The five kittens looked up in shock at the giant figure. After the disorientation cleared, they made the figure to be a huge, plump badger.
"What in the world are you lot doing out here at this time of night?" he said grumpily. "It's not safe fro young'uns like yourselves to be gallivanting in the dark."
"We're lost, sir," said Giselle meekly. "We only escaped from those rabbits who tried to kill us."
"We're trying to find someplace to stay," said Walnut feeling intimidated by this critter. "Do you know of any place where can take shelter?"
"I don't know of such places around these parts," said the badger. But then he looked closely at Walnut. He then sniffed him.
"I had a bath on the way here you know," said Walnut in an offended tone.
"What was your father's name lad?" asked the badger.
"Vine," replied Walnut.
The badger gasped in delight.
"Are you Walnut?"
Walnut gasped in shock?
"Uncle Fir?"
They both laughed and the rabbit hopped into the badger's arms as he hugged him tightly laughing happily.
Everyone was watching bewilderment.
"Rabbits and badgers can be friends?" asked Giselle.
"At Watership Down there is a badger called Bark," explained Periwinkle. "Very sweet and harmless."
"You've grown!" the badger chuckled as he lay down balancing Walnut on his foot.
"I thought I would never see you again after everything I went through," replied Walnut and he jumped onto his now-called Uncle Fir's chest.
"Oh?" responded the badger. "What happened?"
Walnut hopped off Uncle Fir explained everything about his father's tragedy, him falling into the paws of Rawfinn, meeting Chestnut and escaping with him, clashing with the Path of Frith, meeting Giselle and escaping with two members of the Path who clearly didn't belong.
Uncle Fir looked at the four young rabbit mentioned in Walnut's story.
"You'd better come and spend the night in my den, young'uns," he offered. "These rabbits are bad news should they come back and you are defenceless."
Uncle Fir's den was very cozy. Not exactly Watership Down but better than the short warren Chestnut and Walnut had created on the very day they first met and took refuge from their escape.
Soon after they had eaten a share of berries, they all gathered together as Fir asked how they all got together in the first place.
Chestnut explained about how he ran away from home because he was convinced that a bad dream had killed a rabbit back at his warren which even his Great Aunt Larkspur agreed with, then she kidnapped him and held him at Rawfinn Warren where young kittens were considered sinner deserving of death, then he met Walnut and escaped together and lead to the same pattern of Walnut's already informed story.
"So now," Chestnut concluded, "we are on a quest to find the Field of Frith's Miracles to ask Firth to grant our wishes."
Fir growled in suspicion.
"I've heard of such a place, young'un," he replied. "But I've never known where it is."
"Who told you?" asked Oaknut. He was getting used to this gentle giant around now.
"Too much for an old badger like me to remember, sprout," replied Fir regretfully. "But I recall Vine telling me if I was to follow a desire, I would find three golden pebbles at day and three white pebbles at night."
"That's it!" cried Giselle. "That's the answer! Where we will find these six pebbles, they will lead us to the Field of Frith's Miracles!"
"But how do we know it will?" asked Walnut plainly. "We don't know for sure."
"Have faith, Wallie," said Chestnut excitedly. "That's what Daddy always sa - oh, sorry! I wasn't thinking."
"It's okay, Chessie," said Walnut smiling gently. "It's okay."
"It's just Papa never told me about this place until this was all mentioned and that was from the Path themselves."
"I thought Vine would tell you of it being your son," agreed Fir suspiciously. "But then parents always decide the best time to reveal to their offspring. They always want what they feel is best."
"Will you help us, Fir?" asked Periwinkle.
"I must help you anyway," replied Fir brightly. "I'd be a nincompoop to let five, defenceless inexperienced kittens to venture into this perilous world. And the four of call can also call me Uncle. Seeing as Walnut has made some loyal friends, I promptly think of them as my own nephews and nieces too."
They smiled.
"I have a badger for an uncle!" explained Chestnut. "This is exciting."
"You know, Uncle Fir," said Walnut in a pouncing position. "I've been training a lot since I was a baby. I'm not afraid to take you on."
"Try me, young'un," laughed Uncle Fir.
Walnut ran all over the badger making him giggle in sensation of being tickled. The other rabbits couldn't resist and joined in the fun with this gentle giant.
Chestnut, for the first time in a while, let go of his troubles for everything he wanted seemed to be there; a brother figure, a group of friends, a cousin and a new uncle. Fun was something important to him, a remedy of pain and sorrow.
Soon, everyone tired of the romp and were soon ready to sleep. They all made themselves cozy around Uncle Fir's soft warm coat.
Chestnut went to join Walnut was resting against the badger's flank that drifted the gently back and forth, making him feel he was sleeping against his father once again. But he snuggled close to Walnut. He felt more than just friendship with him now; he helped him escape from those terrible rabbit and guided him here to safety. The feeling for Walnut must be love - surely. He'd have to ask his father if that's how he felt the same with with Uncle Hazel.
