Chapter 3: Meeting by the Body
"Well, well, well. We are in trouble I see. Don't worry; no harm will come to you yet. But if you have seen anything, if you let even one word slip from that miserable mouth of yours, I promise you, you will pay. Pay dearly"
Rian came round. He felt dizzy. What had just happened? He was so confused he just lay there. He thought of the warren life he had left behind. What would they all be doing now? He looked up at the sky. The sun was rising once more. Would they not be looking for them now? Would they not be looking for Brindle and Blethlin? He thought to himself. Not him. They would never look for him. Few noticed him in their presence. He didn't mind greatly, but the nights were cold and lonely. But he'd rather be there then here. He sat up, blinking in the ever-brighter light. To his relief, the shadows had gone. But that one horrible thing was still there, even clearer in the sunlight. The body. Rian dared not look at it, and turned away. He wanted to run, but where had that thing gone. The thing that had jumped out at him, knocked him out and whispered in his ear. The words played back in his head, over again. Was he in danger? How was the attacker to know he had seen only a black object and no more? He had glimpsed a black shape, but he was too afraid to keep his eyes open for more than that short time to glimpse a sight.
He got up and looked around him more. Yes, the wood still looked terrible, even without the shadows. Rian had no experience in these events. He had no idea what to do. He wanted to ask someone, but who was there to ask? He could hardly have a conversation with a dead body. He couldn't even look at it without tears coming to his eyes. It must have been awful, he thought to himself, to die in such a way that gives you that look of pain. Rian sighed, blinking back the tears. Why had the other two not come to look for him? Did they not like him? He immediately thought of what Blethlin would say if she saw him with the body. He heard her say, " I told you! I told him he'd be the death of someone someday!" Yes, that's her way. Make a joke of things. He was always the butt of the jokes. He never said he hated it, but he did. He was afraid Blethlin would beat him. He felt she was stronger than he was. Brindle always came to the rescue. He liked him because he was someone he could depend on. An extremely shy rabbit like himself needed that sort of partner.
But now he was all alone. He sat there and shivered. The alone one he felt could rescue him was the one that he could not see ever coming back for him anymore. Brindle. He felt unable to help himself. He was alone. Alone.
Or was he? He heard noises. Two rabbits. Or was it three? Rian took no chances, but shut his eyes, as though awaiting some kind of monster. Indeed, three did come crashing through the bushes. The silence that followed lasted only a second. Then a voice of a doe spoke. 'Here,' she said, supposedly pointing at the body, 'we have found him. It is him, is it not Miriple-rah?' Rian slowly opened an eye. He saw two does, the one that spoke being the largest with a rugged look She had a few scars on her chest, and one ear was completely mutilated. She'd been through the wars. The other doe, the chief of some warren, was the smallest. However, she was the exact opposite of the other. Her sandy coloured coast was immaculate, if sprinkled with a few grey hairs. She was obviously not very young. Elven-rah never looked this pristine. The third in the party was a buck. Tough and stolid looking, he too had the same rugged look of the doe, and had an authoritative posture, with a straight back and one paw slightly more in front than the other.
Mirple-rah went up to the body. She gasped. The pain of seeing the body was to great, and she stumbled. Finally she said 'Yes, it is him. Oh my lamb, what has happened? Why did you never come home last night? You would have been safe' She turned away from the body 'I demand a search of the wood. I want Oaklas killer found! I might remind that he is not the first, but could be the last!'
'There is something else, Miriple-rah' continued the doe.
'What Corla?' came the reply.
'Someone was found. He's sitting over there'. The three turned to look at him.
Brindle and Blethlin had searched for hours. They had no idea what had happened to Rian. They heard a squeal, but could not track it down. 'Oh this is useless!' said Blethlin. 'We've lost him! The idiot! If he's not dead now, I'll kill him myself-Ouch! I a broke a claw!' She had indeed. On her way out of the bushes, she'd slipped and caught her foot on a stone. 'You two,' said Brindle, 'are as bad as each other. Can't you give him a break?'
'Yes! I can break his neck!' Brindle sighed. Relationship counselling did not seem to be his strong point. He wished she'd leave him alone. Neither had any idea of the devastation they caused him, because Rian opened up to no one.
They looked again in silence. They saw the sun rising in the sky. Brindle had never hated Rian, not in all the time he had known him. Blethlin turned up her nose at first sight. Brindle wished no harm to Rian, and he desperately wanted to find him. He did not deserve death. His thoughts were interrupted by shout only a few metres away, on the other side of the bush. 'YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING SCULKING IN THE BUSHES!? DID YOU DO THIS?!' The closeness made him jump. He looked around for Blethlin to see if she had heard it too. She had. 'Come on' he said to her, and pushed his way through the bushes.
He saw four rabbits. A buck and a doe were trying to stop a small doe from scratching the fourth rabbit's eyes out. The fourth rabbit was trembling more than jelly, pressing himself into the ground. It was Rian.
The shouting continued 'ANSWER ME!' said Miriple-rah.
Rian was so upset he could only stammer 'I-I-I don't know!'
'WHAT DO YOU MEAN? YOU MUST KNOW! TELL ME YOU STUPID CREATURE!'
'Mirple-rah! Do you honestly believe he did it? Look at him! He's a quivering wreck at the sight of you, and even smaller than your son. How could he possibly do that?' said Corla.
The buck spoke gruffly 'Corla, even the quietest of folk are capable of these things. Perhaps more so. Look we have company' He drew there attention to Brindle and Belthlin. Immediately, Rian leapt to his feet 'Brindle! Blethlin you found me! You didn't forget me!'
'What is going on?' asked Brindle, confused.
'Perhaps you should be asking your friend more directly' said Stalwart, the buck.
'Rian?' said Brindle turning to him
'I never touched him honest! It wasn't me! Please believe me!' he cried at Brindle desperately. 'Just tell us what happened and then we might all believe you' said Brindle, reassuringly. Rian hesitated. He didn't like the feeling of being stared at, but he told them. 'I was afraid,' he said, 'I didn't like the darkness. I got lost. Then I heard a noise through the bushes. I went to see what it was. I saw him,' he said, pointing to the body. 'Then something attacked me, but I didn't see what it was' It was noted that he did not look anyone in the eye at this point. He decided not to tell them what he had seen, for he supposed that the others would think he was making it up, or being stupid. 'That's a likely tale!' said Blethlin loudly. 'You, stay around in the face of danger? Stick your head in the sand more like! Because of you, I had a serious accident! I wish I had never laid eyes on you, you liar! You're an embarrassment to the male race!'
A silence. Brindle looked around. From the faces of the other three, he could tell that they no longer believed Rian to be the killer. He didn't either, but evidently Blethlin did. Perhaps it was the frightened look that Rian gave Blethlin that did it.
'You keep a civil tongue in your head!' said Corla
'Why should I?' said Blethlin, glaring at her
'No one insults an innocent rabbit like that here. We have no room for that sort of childish behaviour. Stop it right now, or you'll have me to deal with'
'Ooh, I'm so scared! You dare touch me and I'll rip your tongue out!'
'I can reach yours from here!' They leapt for each other. They bit and scratched, and rolled over, cuffing each other where possible. Miriple-rah watched, completely at a loss. Stalwart pulled Blethlin off Corla. 'New comer or not, I am arresting you for assaulting a Floxwood officer!'
'What! You can't do that!' said Blethlin as he lead her away, screaming 'I demand a rematch!' The she looked at Stalwart 'Say, sir, how about you join in my burrow for a while…..' she said more calmly as she looked into his eyes as he led her away. Brindle heard her giggle like a kitten.
Now that Blethlin had gone with Stalwart, Brindle asked the small doe. 'Are you from Floxwood warren then?'
'Yes, I am Miriple-rah, and this is Corla. And this is-was- my son Oakla' She stared dejectedly at the body. She looked so helpless, so sad; Brindle would not have thought for a moment that she was the chief. 'We are from Watership Down. We have come to help'
'Oh, you have? Thank you!' and she completely broke down and cried there and then. Her elegance had gone. Now she somehow seemed ordinary, with no high status.
'I'd better take her home,' said Corla 'You three can follow'
Just then another buck burst through the bushes, tripped and fell flat on his. He was young and energetic, and large clumps of hair stood out in tufts, where a leaf or two had gathered. 'Fashionably late again, Duffel' said Corla
'I heard shouting' he said, grinning and picking himself up, 'was it a fight? Was it good? Who won? Hi' he said turning to Brindle and Rian. He spoke very fast 'I missed it! I was chasing the butterflies! I was riding one, but it told me to get off or he'll eat me! Can you fight again, so I can see what happened? Do! Do! Do!'
They moved away from the clearing, leaving the body behind them. 'Oh Rian' said Brindle 'you're hurt'
'Am I?' he replied. Two scratch marks were on his right hind leg. 'Oh, that's all right. It'll heal' But if only Rian knew the truth. If he had only looked at the body more closely, he would have seen something wrong. Very wrong.
"Well, well, well. We are in trouble I see. Don't worry; no harm will come to you yet. But if you have seen anything, if you let even one word slip from that miserable mouth of yours, I promise you, you will pay. Pay dearly"
Rian came round. He felt dizzy. What had just happened? He was so confused he just lay there. He thought of the warren life he had left behind. What would they all be doing now? He looked up at the sky. The sun was rising once more. Would they not be looking for them now? Would they not be looking for Brindle and Blethlin? He thought to himself. Not him. They would never look for him. Few noticed him in their presence. He didn't mind greatly, but the nights were cold and lonely. But he'd rather be there then here. He sat up, blinking in the ever-brighter light. To his relief, the shadows had gone. But that one horrible thing was still there, even clearer in the sunlight. The body. Rian dared not look at it, and turned away. He wanted to run, but where had that thing gone. The thing that had jumped out at him, knocked him out and whispered in his ear. The words played back in his head, over again. Was he in danger? How was the attacker to know he had seen only a black object and no more? He had glimpsed a black shape, but he was too afraid to keep his eyes open for more than that short time to glimpse a sight.
He got up and looked around him more. Yes, the wood still looked terrible, even without the shadows. Rian had no experience in these events. He had no idea what to do. He wanted to ask someone, but who was there to ask? He could hardly have a conversation with a dead body. He couldn't even look at it without tears coming to his eyes. It must have been awful, he thought to himself, to die in such a way that gives you that look of pain. Rian sighed, blinking back the tears. Why had the other two not come to look for him? Did they not like him? He immediately thought of what Blethlin would say if she saw him with the body. He heard her say, " I told you! I told him he'd be the death of someone someday!" Yes, that's her way. Make a joke of things. He was always the butt of the jokes. He never said he hated it, but he did. He was afraid Blethlin would beat him. He felt she was stronger than he was. Brindle always came to the rescue. He liked him because he was someone he could depend on. An extremely shy rabbit like himself needed that sort of partner.
But now he was all alone. He sat there and shivered. The alone one he felt could rescue him was the one that he could not see ever coming back for him anymore. Brindle. He felt unable to help himself. He was alone. Alone.
Or was he? He heard noises. Two rabbits. Or was it three? Rian took no chances, but shut his eyes, as though awaiting some kind of monster. Indeed, three did come crashing through the bushes. The silence that followed lasted only a second. Then a voice of a doe spoke. 'Here,' she said, supposedly pointing at the body, 'we have found him. It is him, is it not Miriple-rah?' Rian slowly opened an eye. He saw two does, the one that spoke being the largest with a rugged look She had a few scars on her chest, and one ear was completely mutilated. She'd been through the wars. The other doe, the chief of some warren, was the smallest. However, she was the exact opposite of the other. Her sandy coloured coast was immaculate, if sprinkled with a few grey hairs. She was obviously not very young. Elven-rah never looked this pristine. The third in the party was a buck. Tough and stolid looking, he too had the same rugged look of the doe, and had an authoritative posture, with a straight back and one paw slightly more in front than the other.
Mirple-rah went up to the body. She gasped. The pain of seeing the body was to great, and she stumbled. Finally she said 'Yes, it is him. Oh my lamb, what has happened? Why did you never come home last night? You would have been safe' She turned away from the body 'I demand a search of the wood. I want Oaklas killer found! I might remind that he is not the first, but could be the last!'
'There is something else, Miriple-rah' continued the doe.
'What Corla?' came the reply.
'Someone was found. He's sitting over there'. The three turned to look at him.
Brindle and Blethlin had searched for hours. They had no idea what had happened to Rian. They heard a squeal, but could not track it down. 'Oh this is useless!' said Blethlin. 'We've lost him! The idiot! If he's not dead now, I'll kill him myself-Ouch! I a broke a claw!' She had indeed. On her way out of the bushes, she'd slipped and caught her foot on a stone. 'You two,' said Brindle, 'are as bad as each other. Can't you give him a break?'
'Yes! I can break his neck!' Brindle sighed. Relationship counselling did not seem to be his strong point. He wished she'd leave him alone. Neither had any idea of the devastation they caused him, because Rian opened up to no one.
They looked again in silence. They saw the sun rising in the sky. Brindle had never hated Rian, not in all the time he had known him. Blethlin turned up her nose at first sight. Brindle wished no harm to Rian, and he desperately wanted to find him. He did not deserve death. His thoughts were interrupted by shout only a few metres away, on the other side of the bush. 'YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING SCULKING IN THE BUSHES!? DID YOU DO THIS?!' The closeness made him jump. He looked around for Blethlin to see if she had heard it too. She had. 'Come on' he said to her, and pushed his way through the bushes.
He saw four rabbits. A buck and a doe were trying to stop a small doe from scratching the fourth rabbit's eyes out. The fourth rabbit was trembling more than jelly, pressing himself into the ground. It was Rian.
The shouting continued 'ANSWER ME!' said Miriple-rah.
Rian was so upset he could only stammer 'I-I-I don't know!'
'WHAT DO YOU MEAN? YOU MUST KNOW! TELL ME YOU STUPID CREATURE!'
'Mirple-rah! Do you honestly believe he did it? Look at him! He's a quivering wreck at the sight of you, and even smaller than your son. How could he possibly do that?' said Corla.
The buck spoke gruffly 'Corla, even the quietest of folk are capable of these things. Perhaps more so. Look we have company' He drew there attention to Brindle and Belthlin. Immediately, Rian leapt to his feet 'Brindle! Blethlin you found me! You didn't forget me!'
'What is going on?' asked Brindle, confused.
'Perhaps you should be asking your friend more directly' said Stalwart, the buck.
'Rian?' said Brindle turning to him
'I never touched him honest! It wasn't me! Please believe me!' he cried at Brindle desperately. 'Just tell us what happened and then we might all believe you' said Brindle, reassuringly. Rian hesitated. He didn't like the feeling of being stared at, but he told them. 'I was afraid,' he said, 'I didn't like the darkness. I got lost. Then I heard a noise through the bushes. I went to see what it was. I saw him,' he said, pointing to the body. 'Then something attacked me, but I didn't see what it was' It was noted that he did not look anyone in the eye at this point. He decided not to tell them what he had seen, for he supposed that the others would think he was making it up, or being stupid. 'That's a likely tale!' said Blethlin loudly. 'You, stay around in the face of danger? Stick your head in the sand more like! Because of you, I had a serious accident! I wish I had never laid eyes on you, you liar! You're an embarrassment to the male race!'
A silence. Brindle looked around. From the faces of the other three, he could tell that they no longer believed Rian to be the killer. He didn't either, but evidently Blethlin did. Perhaps it was the frightened look that Rian gave Blethlin that did it.
'You keep a civil tongue in your head!' said Corla
'Why should I?' said Blethlin, glaring at her
'No one insults an innocent rabbit like that here. We have no room for that sort of childish behaviour. Stop it right now, or you'll have me to deal with'
'Ooh, I'm so scared! You dare touch me and I'll rip your tongue out!'
'I can reach yours from here!' They leapt for each other. They bit and scratched, and rolled over, cuffing each other where possible. Miriple-rah watched, completely at a loss. Stalwart pulled Blethlin off Corla. 'New comer or not, I am arresting you for assaulting a Floxwood officer!'
'What! You can't do that!' said Blethlin as he lead her away, screaming 'I demand a rematch!' The she looked at Stalwart 'Say, sir, how about you join in my burrow for a while…..' she said more calmly as she looked into his eyes as he led her away. Brindle heard her giggle like a kitten.
Now that Blethlin had gone with Stalwart, Brindle asked the small doe. 'Are you from Floxwood warren then?'
'Yes, I am Miriple-rah, and this is Corla. And this is-was- my son Oakla' She stared dejectedly at the body. She looked so helpless, so sad; Brindle would not have thought for a moment that she was the chief. 'We are from Watership Down. We have come to help'
'Oh, you have? Thank you!' and she completely broke down and cried there and then. Her elegance had gone. Now she somehow seemed ordinary, with no high status.
'I'd better take her home,' said Corla 'You three can follow'
Just then another buck burst through the bushes, tripped and fell flat on his. He was young and energetic, and large clumps of hair stood out in tufts, where a leaf or two had gathered. 'Fashionably late again, Duffel' said Corla
'I heard shouting' he said, grinning and picking himself up, 'was it a fight? Was it good? Who won? Hi' he said turning to Brindle and Rian. He spoke very fast 'I missed it! I was chasing the butterflies! I was riding one, but it told me to get off or he'll eat me! Can you fight again, so I can see what happened? Do! Do! Do!'
They moved away from the clearing, leaving the body behind them. 'Oh Rian' said Brindle 'you're hurt'
'Am I?' he replied. Two scratch marks were on his right hind leg. 'Oh, that's all right. It'll heal' But if only Rian knew the truth. If he had only looked at the body more closely, he would have seen something wrong. Very wrong.