Flight of Elil
The next morning Jade wakes up at the instant of sunrise, it's now clear to her that sleeping in a rabbit burrow wasn't comfortable, even if you are to scale. She sees Fiver waiting at the burrow's entrance.
"We did say it wouldn't be comfortable." He tells her. "Why were you so confident?" Jade is quick to respond.
"I was a rabbit once; it was to do with the Monkey talisman!" Fiver is a bit surprised at this but he soon asks another question.
"How long were you a rabbit?" Jade thinks a while before replying.
"About two hours!" She tells him, Fiver has no familiarity with hours, but he figures it's less than the time between sunrise and ni-frith.
"That's why you're not used to a burrow, isn't it!" He tells her, she sighs and nods her head.
"It wasn't the only bizarre thing that happened to me!" She tells him; Fiver looks at her.
"You'll have to tell me about those some other time," He tells her, "But the important thing now is that we've found three other talismans!" Jade jumps up at this, thanks to the trans-dimensional factor of height she didn't bump her head on the roof of the burrow.
"Who found them?" She asks Fiver, who replies fairly enthusiastically.
"Well, Primrose and I found the one with the rooster on it; Hazel and Bigwig found, what I presume to be, the one with the tiger on it; and Hawkbit stumbled on the one with the sheep on it!" Jade gasps at this, they found three of the scattered talismans in one night! She found it hard to understand.
"How could they find so many in one night?" She asks him in surprise.
"You don't know much about the rabbit body, do you?" Fiver tells her, she nods as Fiver continues. "A rabbit can quite easily outrun a normal sized human, so we can find such talismans in about half the time it would take you alone!" Jade acknowledges this; thinking about how long it took the Chans to get a talisman from one place or other.
Later, in the Honeycomb, Jackie and Uncle were taking a good look at the three talismans, taking care not to activate their powers. Jade and Fiver walk in at the same time Uncle has finished examining the talismans, putting the Sheep talisman down very carefully. Jade steps forward, but keeps her distance respectively; there were the five talismans, the three found over night in positions that made an equilateral triangle, and the Rabbit and Snake talismans the former on top of the latter. Hazel-rah puts his forepaw on her shoulder, she looks up to him (literally).
"What do they do?" He asks her, Jade makes a half-smirk as in 'that's easy to answer' and replies.
"The Rabbit talisman, as we've already seen, can make the holder run faster than sound; the Snake talisman renders the holder invisible, cannot be seen. Now the Rooster talisman enables the holder to float in air and make other things float in air; that Sheep talisman there can make the holder remove their soul from their body without dieing, that's astral projection; and the Tiger talisman can separate the holder's good elements from the holders bad elements and put them into two bodies of the same form." Hazel-rah thinks about this, using Hannah as an example; seeing how she would be under the influence of each talisman. When he comes to the Tiger talisman the results are both frightening and next to pointless; he makes an inquiry to the Chans.
"Shall we keep the Tiger talisman out of use?" Jade has been thinking about the point of the Tiger talisman and is ready to agree, but Jackie and Uncle have other ideas.
"Each talisman must have purpose!" Uncle announces, causing Jade to just stare at him. "We must value one much as the other!" Jackie confirms this by saying.
"If the Tiger talisman fell into the wrong hands the results could be devastating!" Then Blackberry perks up at this.
"To which side?" She asks him, Jackie thinks about this before replying.
"Both, It's dangerous to the user and those who the user is facing!" Blackberry gasps at this news; Hazel-rah, however feels that he needs to tell them a fact of last night that they weren't aware of.
"You each have to share a burrow," He tells the Chans, at which they all gasp, "As you have done last night!" At this Jade asks a question.
"Who are we sharing with?" Fiver is the one to answer this.
"Well," He begins, "You are sharing a burrow with me; Jackie, you are sharing with Dandelion; Uncle, you have to share with," He sighs, "Blackberry!" The Chans look at each-other and nod in acceptance of this fact.
Jade, Fiver, Bigwig and Hazel-rah set off in search of the Dog talisman particularly, whilst Jackie and Uncle will seek the Ox talisman; Blackberry assists Uncle in producing his locator spell. Just after they set off Pipkin enters the Honeycomb, he had been eavesdropping on their conversations and had been wanting to fly like Kehaar; now's his chance, he looks down at the Rooster talisman. He could take it and unleash the floating power within; but he's a sensitive rabbit and also wants to leave the talisman for fear of the consequences, he just stands there wondering whether to take it or not.
In a copse Hazel-rah, Jade, Fiver and Bigwig take at rest, Bigwig had to give Jade a piggy-back in order for her to keep up with them; Fiver looks from Hazel-rah to Jade and Jade to Hazel-rah whilst Bigwig lets out his annoyance by cuffing a tree. Jade and Hazel-rah are resting under a tree. Bigwig now goes on lookout in case of elil; it's now Bigwig notices Fiver looking between the two.
"What's the matter, Fiver?" He asks the young psychic with concern, Fiver turns to Bigwig.
"How Hazel was feeling about Primrose when he and Primrose journeyed to Redstone," He replies, "Is how I feel now about Jade." Bigwig interprets this as feeling sympathetic; then Fiver adds. "Someday she'll give me expectations!" Bigwig wonders what Fiver means by 'expectations' but thinks it means 'expecting Fiver to do something'.
Bigwig's so hooked up in Fiver's words he doesn't notice a homba approaching from down wind, but Hazel-rah does when it's too late.
"Bigwig," He comments, "You volunteer for sentry duty and that slips close." Indicating the homba, Fiver and Bigwig turn to see it and dash to Hazel-rah and Jade; now Jade notices the problem, realising her existence as a human doesn't help anymore.
"Ah," Snarls the homba, "Three long-ears and a miniature man, this is a treat!" It's now that Bigwig moves forward to block the other three.
"Come on now," Bigwig growls, "You want to fight? You want to fight?" Hazel-rah and Fiver quickly grab Bigwig to hold him back.
"Are you mad?" Fiver asks the owsla officer in a more logical tone; the homba now makes his own comment.
"Do any of you want a last request?" Jade makes a comment now.
"Of all beasts in the area, why do you choose us?" The homba is about to reply when movement is caught by the corner of his eye; the cornered quartet turn to the movement to see a tree being uprooted and floating in air on it's side. The homba gasps at this, just before the tree swings like a rounders bat and wallops the homba for four, causing him to squeal in shock and pain.
The tree now appears to replant itself and Pipkin slips down from the sky onto the ground; he makes an innocent expression and says.
"Hello you four!" Jade is shocked by this.
"Wow," She says, "For once I'm not the one who takes a talisman when no one's around!" Bigwig is about to scorn Pipkin for what he did when Hazel-rah spots something out of the corner of his eye.
"What's that?" He asks the others, Jade immediately moves to the object and recognises it in an instant.
"It's the DOG TALISMAN!" She cries with excitement, and picks it up. Then all five of them head back to the down; Pipkin satisfied with his time of levitation.
Back at the down Jackie and Uncle look to the five approaching; quickly Jackie rushes to Jade.
"Jade," He asks her, "Do you have the Rooster talisman?" Jade shakes her head with elements of pride and replies.
"No Jackie; I have the Dog talisman," Jackie takes it from her before she gets chaotic, "Pipkin here has the Rooster talisman." At this Pipkin gives the talisman to Hazel-rah who gives it to Jackie; then Uncle shows them that they managed to get the Ox talisman; Jade makes a sum in her head. "Right so we have seven talismans and five we still need to get." Blackberry makes a question now.
"How do you get seven and five?" She inquires; here Jackie makes a sum that leads to the numbers.
"Five is one plus four," He tells the Watership rabbits, "Seven is four plus three!" This is accepted and they go to put all three talismans in the pile in the Honeycomb.
"Did any Efrafan Wide Patrols spot you?" Dandelion asks Jackie and Uncle with concern.
"We kept alert," Uncle announces, "But no Wide Patrol was seen!" Hazel-rah nods at this; in the present situation with Efrafa such stealth to elude alertness isn't on their side; just then Fiver shuts his eyes and begins quivering from head to toe.
"What's the matter with him?" Jade inquires with confusion.
"It's Fiver," Hazel-rah replies, "He's having one of his visions!" Jade is surprised at this, he's not telepathic but he had visions, Hazel-rah goes to Fiver's side. "What do you see, Fiver?" He asks his younger brother. "What do you see?" Fiver speaks is a haunting tone that sends chills down Jade's spine again.
"The Horse talisman," He says, "It is about the Horse talisman!" Jackie now takes an interest.
"What about it?" He asks Fiver, who soon replies.
"It is," Fiver replies, "It is…"
"Yes?" Hazel-rah asks; then Fiver begins to sing the answer, coincidentally it is the same as the chorus to 'The Riddle'.
"…Near a tree by a river, there's a hole in the ground, where an old man of Aaron goes around and around; and his mind is a-peeping in the veil of the night, for a strange kind of fashion there's a wrong and a right! Don't ever let them fight over you!" The Chans and Watership rabbits look at each-other trying to figure out exactly where such a place is.
To be continued…