Chapter 207: Collapse.
"He realized that he was witnessing something special, something that a man witnesses only once in a lifetime."
-Legatum, And Last
The next morning, Spartina got ready for her departure. She spent a while grooming her feather "Darkhaven-style" so she could blend in with the others more easily. After she had finished, she made her farewells to most rabbits in the warren, with several of them giving her words of encouragement.
-"You keep doing what you do best, you go and obliterate Woundwort!" Flora said.
-"Don't underestimate yourself," Captain Broom advised. "And don't do anything crazy."
-"That implies that the mission in itself isn't 'crazy', which it is," Hawkbit mumbled.
-"Best of luck of El-ahrairah to you," Vesper said.
Bigwig proved to be the most troublesome. While he was fully aware that he could not venture into Darkhaven with her, he could still escort her most of the way; this was a compromise that she was willing to accept. Before leaving, he gave one final order, leaving Holly in charge of the owsla until his return.
The Sunflower Forest digging group would also be traveling alongside Bigwig and Spartina, part of the way. Blackberry was once again leading this mission; that day's additional diggers were Hickory, Marigold, Hyzenthlay and Silverweed.
Once the rabbits reached the edge of the orchard, Spartina stopped and turned to face the others.
-"This is where we'll have to leave you all," she said. "You will be going through the orchard to reach Sunflower Forest; Darkhaven is the other way.
-"How is the digging going, anyway?" Bigwig asked.
-"It's going well," Blackberry said. "We might be able to finish everything today."
-"That's good news. I'll be able to get back to training a full owsla, without anyone going away on another project."
-"We have to get going now, though. We can't afford to stop here for too long, or we might have to go back tomorrow."
-"Right, we'll let you get to it then."
The two groups went off in their respective directions. Spartina led the way to Darkhaven, with Bigwig following. They maintained a steady speed, and did not take any breaks, until around noon, when they came across a river. It was very wide, and the current was fast, more so than the river Test near Efrafa. Bigwig looked at the wooden bridge over the river, then at Spartina.
-"Darkhaven is on the other side?"
-"Yes," the doe said. "But I would advise we wait a while, there's a boat coming."
-"A boat? Why should we wait for a boat? There's a bridge."
-"I'm not talking about a small raft like you used at Efrafa. This one will be much larger, and dangerous."
With that, Spartina calmly started nibbling the grass. Bigwig did not understand what she was talking about, so he decided to wait and see. After a few minutes, he spotted the approaching vessel, a small barge. The drawbridge rose, allowing the boat to go under it.
-"This happens every day, around this time," Spartina said. "It also often happens in the evening, and maybe at other times too. The bridge always goes back down afterwards, and it is once again safe to cross."
-"You certainly know this area better than I do, having lived there for a while," Bigwig said, as he joined his mate at silflay.
They remained by the river for a while: for several minutes after the boat had passed, the drawbridge remained raised, and impassible. Suddenly, the ground started to shake: it was an earthquake. It was of relatively low intensity, not enough to cause any significant damage to the human structures, and it only lasted a few seconds. The rabbits, however, were very sensitive to vibrations, and felt it strongly. It was a lot like a rabbit stamping, but it would take a huge rabbit, larger even than Woundwort, to provoke such a sensation.
-"Is this normal too in this area?" Bigwig asked anxiously.
-"No," Spartina said. "I have never experienced anything like this before. Whatever it was, though, it's over now."
By that point, the drawbridge had started to lower again.
-"Shall we get going again now?" Bigwig suggested.
-"I'm afraid this is as far as you go, Bigwig. This is the edge of Darkhaven territory," Spartina explained. "While they rarely venture to this side, the other is heavily patrolled, it's virtually impossible to remain undetected. It would be too dangerous for you."
Bigwig looked down with a sigh.
-"My heart tells me to keep following you, regardless of the possible danger. But my head tells me to go back to Watership Down as soon as you cross that bridge."
-"I know, Bigwig." Spartina nuzzled him. "If your head and your heart say the same thing, great. But if they don't, always trust your head. That's the more logical course of action. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
-"I don't want to lose you, Spartina."
-"You won't lose me. Tomorrow night, I will be sneaking out of Darkhaven to go out on a solo patrol; come over to the bridge, without crossing it, and I'll meet you for an update."
-"I'll be there."
-"I know you will. Stay amazing."
-"Stay amazing too. I'll wait for you."
Spartina smiled at Bigwig, before calmly hopping to the bridge. Bigwig continued watching until she vanished in the overgrowth on the other side, before turning back to begin the journey back to Watership Down.
At ni-Frith, several rabbits were at silflay at Watership Down. Holly had decided to take it easy, and did not set up any elaborate training for the owsla. They worked hard under Bigwig's leadership, they deserved a break.
Underground, Acacia hopped over to Hawkbit's burrow. Along the way, he hopped past the run that used to lead to the caverns, now a dead end. In the wall, there was a large crack, that stretched from the ground almost all the way to the ceiling. This was a new development: it wasn't there when the caverns were first sealed. It left him rather worried, that maybe a collapse was likely to come soon. Unfortunately, Blackberry the best digger was currently away, and therefore unable to inspect this; he would have to tell her upon her return. Until then, however, he avoided touching it, out of fear of weakening the structure even more.
Hawkbit was lying down, albeit perfectly awake. Upon noticing Acacia's arrival, he startled.
-"What's going on?"
-"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you."
-"Oh...what's this about?"
-"I have noticed, you are often very grumpy."
-"Sure, I often am," Hawkbit admitted, "but not today. In fact, I'm actually quite cheerful today. For once, I get a break from the owsla, and I don't have to go digging either."
-"If you dislike it so much, why do you do it?"
-"I have to. Blackberry forced me to dig this warren when we first arrived here, and since then Bigwig has kept me in the owsla. If I don't do as they say, they will get angry, and things will be even worse."
-"I think there's more to it than that," Acacia speculated. Although Hawkbit did not like to admit it, this was indeed the case.
-"We are currently at war," he explained, "and everyone has to do their best to ensure the warren's survival. That includes me, no matter how annoying these tasks might be. Once Woundwort is defeated, then I'll be able to take a break. And it will all have been worth it."
-"Your devotion to this warren is admirable."
-"We're all just trying to survive, really. Nothing admirable about that."
-"You're just being modest," Acacia said with a small laugh. "And it is still important to be cute and happy."
-"We'll all be happier when we won't have to deal with Woundwort anymore."
There were a few moments of silence, before Acacia spoke again:
-"I think you need a close friend."
-"I already have one: Dandelion. We've known each other since we were kittens back in Sandleford Warren."
-"I never saw you two kiss."
-"That's because we never did. That's not the sort of relationship we have."
-"You need someone else, then, to shower you with the many cute kisses you deserve."
-"I'm really not sure what you're getting at with this."
-"Can I be this friend?"
Hawkbit was still debating how to react, when suddenly, he heard loud rumbling, and everything seemed to shake.
-"What's going on?" he asked.
-"I think the caverns might be collapsing."
-"Didn't we already collapse them?"
-"There's no time to explain, we'll be safer above ground. Go go go now!"
The rumbling grew louder, until the sound of dirt crashing on the ground resonated throughout the burrows. The air quickly got filled with dust, and the rabbits were glad when they finally made it above ground.
Fiver was staring in the distance at the time the earthquake struck. As the ground began to shake, he saw the sky slowly turn red, as if it was filled with blood, dripping down onto the distant lands. By the time the shaking had ended, he had collapsed, unconscious.