A/N: Okay, here's another chapter. This one is going to be put up in parts. And I'd like to thank Sunflower for reviewing. Thanks Sunflower! Without further ado... the story:
Chapter Five
Watership Down
Part 1: Family
Ginger woke up with the sun. He felt an euphoria of happiness enveloping him, but he could not immediately remember why. It was not until he saw the hill in all the glory of the sun that he remembered the warren. His sense of euphoria increased until he believed it shone around his figure as bright as the sun.
Before he set up, he took the time to graze and chew pellets near the hollow he had found last night.
As he went up the hill, Ginger didn't bother about elil, he was much to busy worrying about not reaching the warren within the morning. He even crossed over the scent trail of a stoat without even bothering to notice.
By midday he was half-way up the hill. Usually he would be asleep by now, but since he couldn't find anywhere to sleep, and was to excited to anyway, he contented himself by passing hraka and feeding.
At the top of the hill, the sun was just rising as Orchid got out of the hole, followed by Fireweed's head. Whilst Orchid came straight out and moved a little way down the hill as if to show his impatience before coming back to his friend, Fireweed showed a certain reluctance and caution to come out, checking thoroughly for elil or any sign of danger on the sprightly morning breeze.
"Ugh! Just come on Fireweed! We're wasting time waiting on you to sniff over every available breeze. Just hurry up, will you?" cried Orchid in exasperation.
Tentatively, Fireweed came out and hopped over to Orchid. Like his father Fireweed was smart but above all cautious.
Slowly they hopped off down the hill, each taking turns, one after the other. They continued in this fashion for the better part of the day, only pausing to feed near midday. It was just as Orchid was tucking into some of the grass, when he caught the scent of a strange rabbit on the breeze. Nudging Fireweed, both of them edged closer to get a better look. It was just as they neared their quarry, Orchid smelt the unmistakable scent of man, looking at Fireweed, he saw his friend nod at him. The two bucks came closer to the strange rabbit with an intent to kill him…
Ginger looked up from his feeding. Something, a noise, had disturbed him. He stood up on his haunches and sniffed, his ears pricked and alert for any sign of danger.
A breeze from behind ruffled his fur cap, but a sudden change in wind direction brought a new scent crashing down upon his nostrils. He immediately became more alert and recognized the scent of two buck rabbits sneaking upon him from the previous upwind side of the hill. Glancing up, he saw them. Strangers, but hostile looking all the same. Sitting on his haunches, he prepared to meet them…
Orchid and Fireweed saw the strange man-smelling rabbit sit up and glance fervently at them. They also saw him as he prepared to meet them, but none of these images really registered correctly in their brains, for instinct had taken over.
Before they even knew what they were doing, the two rabbits had succumbed to their savage instinct and were racing down the hill to kill the stranger. For this was the wild, unwritten law of instinct among wild animals, an instinct that had helped them to survive for generations.
Fireweed, much to Orchid's surprise, dealt the first blow against the stranger and almost succeeded in knocking him down. Of course, if there was one thing they were not counting on it was the stranger's size, strength, and readiness to fight.
The stranger quickly regained his paws and neatly tripped the headlong-running Fireweed and side-stepped a blow of Orchid's that sent the unfortunate fellow (Orchid that is) hurtling down the hillside in a tangle of legs and ears.
By this time the two Watership rabbits' instinct had cooled off and they had had time to asses their adversary. He was handsome, quite large for his age (around just out of kittenhood), had a weird fur color, and a fur cap just like Bigwig's.
Ginger too took this time to asses his two attackers. The one he had sent hurtling down the hill seemed the most aggressively active of the two, but the other one still posed some threat. Both were strong, and if he didn't watch out they may just overpower him. A rabbit from the wild is no joke, thought Ginger bitterly as he saw how much wild life affected the strength of these rabbit's before him.
The battle began again suddenly and in earnest. Orchid took a took a tight hold on Ginger's neck and wouldn't let go. So Ginger, at the loss of some of the skin at his throat, finally pushed him off with five rapid kicks of his powerful hindlegs onto Orchid's soft, vulnerable belly, claws unsheathed.
No sooner was Orchid off his than Ginger had to deal with Fireweed. The normally tentative rabbit tried to keep clear and use his claws, but to no avail. Ginger, who moved like a whirlwind when spurred on, had taken a large clump out of Fireweed's belly fur and severed the tip of one black-tipped ear and pinned both rabbits down beneath him before either had the chance to strike a blow against him.
"Now," said Ginger, "that we're all comfy, I'd really like to know why you two scoundrels attacked me. For certainly I have no idea why?" he probed.
From either Orchid or Fireweed's point of view, it was anything but comfy. Orchid was completely humiliated, and Fireweed's ear was bleeding severely. But as it was, neither was paying Ginger much attention, for Orchid had just realized who he was.
"It's the same rabbit from my dream, Fireweed, I swear. This is the rabbit we were meant to find, and by golly we've found him, though I don't know how we'll persuade him to come back to the warren with us. He just beat the hraka out of both of us in less than a second." Total awe was in Orchid's voice as he recounted the fight.
"Orchid," whispered Fireweed in his friend's ear, "I think we should listen to him."
Ginger had remained quiet when he realized his audience wasn't paying him any attention. As soon as Orchid and Fireweed returned there attention back to him, he asked them a question, "All right, two questions, 1. Who are you? 2. Why did you attack me?"
Fireweed, since he was the cleverer of the two, elected himself as speaker for both of them. "W-well, I'm Fireweed, and this is my friend, Orchid. As to why we were attacking you, well, you smelt of man. Wild law decrees that any creature that smells of man must be killed. We just followed our natural instincts. Anyway, can I ask what your doing here?"
"Well, since you just asked I suppose I'll answer. To tell the truth, I heard tell from a rat that there was a warren up this hill, so I thought I'd come see if I could join."
Forgetting for a moment that Fireweed was the elected speaker, Orchid stated, 'Well, that can be easily arranged!"
Confusion was written on Ginger's face as he looked at Orchid, then he asked, "How can that be so easily arranged?"
"Well," scoffed Orchid, "we're from that warren. And, as if it gets any better, I'm the son of the Chief Rabbit there."
Ginger took it all in quicker than they expected him to do, and in stead of standing there gawking at them, he turned round and appeared to be about to go straight up the hill. At the last moment he turned around and asked them,
"Well, aren't you coming along? You did say that this was your warren we're going to, though if all of them are as threatening and unwelcome as you two were I'm afraid I shan't think of them." With that the stranger turned and hopped leisurely up the hill towards the warren.
Orchid and Fireweed looked at each other. Than without another word they followed Ginger up the hill, pondering on how to explain to Hazel about the stranger's appearance. They knew nothing about him except that he was a good fighter and had intentions to join their warren. It was hardly enough to go on, but from stories he had heard from his mother his father had been in a similar position once, except he had known even less. So Orchid assumed that he would be okay, as long as he arrived with the stranger and not behind him.
"Come on!" he suddenly shouted joyfully to Fireweed, who looked surprised. Orchid ran a little way up the hill, then waited for his friend. When the other rabbit caught up, Orchid spurned himself on until he reached the stranger's side. Even though Hazel's son was panting hard, the stranger seemed not to care the distance he traveled, and hadn't let up his pace once.
Finally they reached the Watership warren. When they breasted the hill, Hazel and Fiver were grouped together with their original band, backs to them, discussing the sudden disappearance of Orchid and Fireweed, all sounded worried.
Suddenly feeling a little guilty and self-conscious of himself and the trouble he'd caused, Orchid motioned for the others to remain where they were while he went up to announce they're arrival.
"Um, father, I, uh…" Orchid muttered, unsure of his position in neutral standing.
Hazel whipped around to face his son, his face a mask of relief. Then he held back a little and asked, "Where were you, and where's Fireweed? Why did you leave? Why didn't you tell anybody?"
For a moment Orchid didn't bother to answer his father, for he felt with great reverence the love and concern with which his father felt for him. Then he regained his composure and answered his father's questions: "I was just down the hill, and Fireweed's just below the top, with another rabbit. Fireweed and I left to find this other rabbit. El-ahrairah told me to find him. I didn't tell anybody else because there was no need to. And now I suppose you all want to meet this stranger."
Orchid turned back to the rise and motioned for Fireweed and the stranger to come up and greet the others.
Though they were relieved that the two missing rabbits had returned safely, with only a few wounds, they were surprised by the stranger, and none looked more surprised than Bigwig. As the stranger hopped up over the rise and into their view, most of them started whispering about him, and Speedwell disappeared down the nearest hole to tell the rest of the rabbits underground.
While the others were stunned and rooted to the ground, Bigwig slowly approached the stranger, his cheeks puffed out and nose working furiously. The look on his face made it seem as if he were sniffing this stranger over for clarification. Suddenly he stopped and the relief and familiarity in his eyes was plain for all to see.
Coming up close to the stranger, he whispered in his ear, so only they could here, "Come with me." Without further explanation, he disappeared down the nearest run.
A slightly confused, familiar look crossed the stranger's face, but only for an instant. And then he followed Bigwig and left everyone else in a confused silence, staring silently after them.
Finally Hazel turned to face the rest of his rabbits and said, "Now, I wonder what that was all about." And then he went to find out.
Down in Bigwig's burrow, away from the staring crowds in the honeycomb, they settled down. The Owsla captain allowed the stranger some time to examine his surroundings before he spoke:
"I know you, but it was such a long time ago. Your mother said she was taking you somewhere, somewhere, I can't remember. You look just like me apart from your fur color. You look the mirror image. I remember you, but not your name. tell me, now. Tell me."
The stranger was confused, but he obliged Bigwig, if just to find out what he was talking about, "My name is Ginger. What's yours?"
"Ginger, Ginger, Ginger." muttered the gallant captain to himself, shaking his head all the while, "Don't you remember me? Don't you now the name of your own father?"
Ginger gasped and looked again at Bigwig. He was just about to comment on the other rabbit's sentence when they both heard another rabbit working his way down the run. Instinctively they both fell silent, this talk was private.
When Hazel entered Bigwig's burrow, everything was silent. Bigwig's face was blank, and the stranger was looking away, the look on his face sheepish. It didn't take genius to tell Hazel that something had passed between the two rabbits before he himself had arrived.
"Well?" asked Hazel, prompting Bigwig and the stranger.
"Well what?" asked Bigwig. "If you want to know this fellow's name, it's Ginger." With that the burly Owsla captain pushed past Hazel and went out of the run that opened up inside the wood.
Hazel turned back to Ginger. "I'm Hazel." he said. Ginger didn't answer, he just followed Bigwig up the run. Hazel was left in Bigwig's burrow to contemplate on the strange behavior of the two rabbits.
Outside Ginger caught up to Bigwig by the roots of a beech tree. Sitting down next to him, he whispered in his ear, "What's all this about then?"
"Shh!" hissed Bigwig, "Let me show you." And he led Ginger out of the wood on the other side, the side the other rabbits had never seen, but where Bigwig had come many times with Kehaar. It was a place of understanding.
Facing Hare Warren Down, the two rabbits, so alike yet so different, watched and waited. The wind whistled through the trees behind them, feeling so thick now that they were on the other side of them. It seemed a place completely cut off from the real world. Serene, tranquil, with a certain place of beauty not common in the world. If any other creature had come there, they would not feel the same about it. It would be, to them, as normal as any place could get, but for Bigwig and Ginger, this place had it's own aura of special-ness.
Ginger was fascinated. The downs seemed to go on for ever, every sound was muted, it was like being inside a bubble, but so perfect a bubble one wouldn't wish to pop it. To Ginger, it was unreal, yet beautiful, and yet he knew it was real. He could not fathom how such a lovely place could exist on this earth, either in real life or the dream realm. He thought it must be the domain of El-ahrairah himself.
But it was as he was looking out upon the millions of grass stems waving gently in the breeze, that the true change came over him. Suddenly every one of his senses was a thousand times sharper, in his mind's eye, he could see millions of thousands of miles around the world, and through his real eyes, the details were sharper. He saw pain, death, misery, despair, but surrounding it all, overwhelming in it's very presence, was a prevailing sense of joy and happiness. And suddenly Ginger knew, he understood.
Turning to Bigwig, he murmured, "Thanks." And by the smile on the Owsla captain's face, Ginger could tell he was experiencing the same wonderful feeling of understanding.
A/N: Okay, I've had one review, let's try for 2 before the next part of this chapter!
