The sound of birds chirping to the morning sun awoken Lily to her first day in Sandleford warren. The doe opened her mouth to yawn, arched her back up and stretched her paws out. The sleep had never felt so good, but she felt hungry and needed food. However, she was caught trying to leave the burrow and Bigwig forced her back inside. Lily was not allowed to leave the burrow cause Bigwig ordered her to stay until she was recovered as she was still weak. Nevertheless, he brought in plenty of silflay for her to eat. Once she had eaten all of the silflay, Lily felt her strength and energy returning. She felt stronger than ever. Except Bigwig firmly confined her to his burrow to make sure she kept resting. Despite the delicious berries and plants he brought in for her to eat, she was still thin and needed more food. Lily hated every second of it, but she gradually began to understand his intentions. Bored, she grew tired and decided to rest.
Once it was close to afternoon, Lily yawned and stretched the sleep out of her system. When she opened her eyes, she found herself face to face with an adorable young kitten, a buck, with golden eyes and brown fur.
"Oh!" Lily jumped back, startled.
"Hello, Lily!" greeted the little buck with a cheerful and kind smile.
"Who are you, and how did you know my name?"
"My name is Pipkin, and Bigwig asked me to bring in some silflay for you to eat." The little buck used his paw to point out a small pile of pansies and grass lying close to the nest. "He told me to look after you until he comes back from morning inspection."
"Thank you." Lily sniffed at the silflay and then started to eat it. "Don't you want some, too?" she asked, hoping she didn't eat too much and assumed the young buck might get hungry.
"It's alright, I already had my silflay," Pipkin assured her. "If your still hungry, there's more where this came from outside." He settled down right beside her and looked at her curiously. "Did you really grow up on a farm?"
"Yes, I did." Lily nodded, her mouth full of pansies before she swallowed them. "It was my home, and I loved it there... especially Henry."
"Who is Henry?"
"Henry is a little human boy who takes care of me, and he is my best friend. I vaguely remember, but I did have parents once, and a few siblings. I don't even know what happened to them, all I remember is Henry found me when I was an infant. He took me in and raised me. I had plenty of freedom around the farm, as long as I stayed with Henry so no other wild animals could catch me. There were no cats or dogs. Just pigs, chickens, ducks, cows and horses. I often played with them, but as I grew older, I enjoyed talking with them. Most of these days, Henry always took me on his family outings and I have seen many places in the world that no rabbit has ever seen." Lily frowned a sad smile as she mentioned old memories. It was the first time she told any rabbit about her human caretaker. None of the other rabbits would understand her if she tried talking to them, but talking to Pipkin about it brought a sense of comfort and consolation to her. Every word she spoke, he kept his attention completely focused on her as he listened carefully.
"Wow!" Pipkin awed, his bushy tail wagging excitedly as he grew fascinated by the doe's adventures. "You're really lucky. It must be wonderful to see the world."
"Yes, it is." Lily smiled.
"I see you two have become friends." A gruff male voice interrupted their conversation, catching the two startled rabbits' attention as they turned to the figure coming into the burrow. To their relief, it was Bigwig.
"Hello, Bigwig!" Pipkin's smile lit up. "Lily just woke up, and she was telling me all about the farm she lived in. It sounds lovely!"
Although Bigwig smiled, the tone of his voice didn't sound entirely convincing. "I'm sure it is." He ushered the young buck to leave the burrow. "Why don't you go outside and play with your friends. I'll take care of the doe."
"I'll see you later, Lily!" Pipkin hopped out of the burrow to go outside.
Lily chuckled, wholeheartedly. "He's such a cute little one. And he's very friendly."
"I know..." Bigwig then got serious when his smile faded as it changed to a hard frown, "but I don't want you giving him any ideas about living on farms and living with humans!"
"Excuse me?" Lily raised an offended eyebrow.
"Humans are dangerous!" he warned her. "If you see a man, you run as fast as you can."
"That's not true! Humans are not dangerous! You can't possibly know that!" she objected. "If you had seen the ones I lived with, you'd understand-"
"ENOUGH!" Bigwig shouted as he suddenly leaned in very close to her face and his paws pushed against her, making Lily shrink back against the wall and his voice as sharp as a blade that cut right through her emotionally, "This warren doesn't like outsiders bringing danger to our home, especially if they come from Man! So as long as you're in my custody, you will obey my orders and stay away from the humans, or you will suffer the consequences! GOT IT?!"
Not wanting to get on this Owsla officer's bad side, Lily nodded timidly. "All right," she squeaked.
Satisfied that he had gotten the message to her, Bigwig drew back and granted her permission to leave the burrow to go silflay, "Now I've got sentry duty for the day. You may leave."
Lily left in a hurry to get out of there, and away from him. She grew frightened by this Bigwig, especially his temper and irked by his distrust against the humans. But she could not shake off that tingle she felt when his face had been very close to hers.
Up ahead, Lily spotted other rabbits out in the field going about their usual daily routines; silflaying, playing with their kittens, or engaged in polite conversation. As Lily approached further out into the field, her presence started to gain their attention. The staring and the whispers started as she made her way across the field, trying to find a spot to silflay or to introduce herself to other rabbits up for a conversation. Sadly, the rabbits didn't want anything to do with her. They whispered horrid things, calling the humans as the elil of the thousand enemies, or rabbits raised by humans cannot be trusted or should have been killed.
Dejected, Lily decided to keep to herself and search for her own private spot to silflay. She passed two bucks, one of whom mentioned something about does and the other buck shushed him as if he grew tired of the usual talk of does. As she was hopping over to a thistle plant, she accidently bumped heads with another rabbit. "Ow! was all Lily said, as she massaged her head to smooth out the pain, and looked down into the face of the rabbit she bumped into.
It was a rabbit, a runt by his size. She noticed he had heterochromia iridium, his left eye being hazel brown while his right eye is hazel green, but Lily thought it looked fascinating. Those eyes widened as he stared fixatedly at her. The runt rabbit had light hazel colored fur, and dark brown tipped ears that reached part of his head between the eyes and ended to his nose, and a big dark brown patch on his back and his four legs were a shade of dark brown. He looked quite scared and timid when he tried to interact with her, raising or turning his head suggested not so much caution as a kind of ceaseless, nervous tension.
"What's going on?" one of the bucks whispered after he and another buck witnessed the event.
"It's only that mad runt, Fiver," sneered the second buck, "jumping at bluebottles again."
Lily glared at the two bucks, at first ready to confront them over their words, but she felt the runt's presence, whom she now knew called Fiver, was still there. "Are you okay?" she asked, kindly.
"Y-y-yes." Fiver spoke in a nervous voice.
"I don't mean to frighten you, I was just looking for some silflay, as you call it."
"Fiver, there you are!" called another buck's voice.
Lily glanced over her shoulder, just as a taller version of Fiver appeared over the hill and approached them. The buck himself had the same hazel brown colored fur like Fiver, dark brown tipped ears that reached part of his head between the eyes and at the nose, and a large dark brown patch on his back. His eyes were a hazel green, and he looked quite handsome. He appeared as though he knew how to take care of himself and to take care of those younger than him. The buck studied her for a moment as he looked over at Fiver's trembling.
"What did you do to my brother?" the buck questioned, his eyes narrowed as he instantly stood between her and Fiver.
"No, wait!" Lily protested, but luckily Fiver spoke up for her.
"It's not her fault, Hazel," he explained. "I ran into her. It's just... ever since the dream I had... I feel like a cloud of death hangs over us. It sounds so oppressive, like thunder."
"A cloud of death?" Lily grew alarmed at his words.
The buck, now she knew was called Hazel, sniffed at her fur and then stared at her, eyes alert. "You're the outskirter doe the Owsla caught yesterday!"
"Yes, I am." Lily sighed, like it was obvious that every rabbit had to point it out and remind her of who she is. "But I don't like to be treated badly like how some of the other rabbits treat your brother. One of them just insulted Fiver!"
Hazel became silent as he looked away in shame. "I'm sorry," he said. "My brother predicts things, sometimes he can see them in his dreams, and most of the time, he's correct about these things. Unfortunately, nobody takes him seriously."
"Really? What kind of things?" This piqued Lily's interest that a rabbit can actually inherit such an ability.
"Like your coming here," Hazel replied. "He said something about a hutch rabbit is coming to our warren. I believe it is you."
"That's remarkable!" Lily was deeply impressed. "You have a magnificent gift, Fiver."
"Uhhh..." Fiver had no idea of what to say. No one in this warren spoke good of his visions for as long as he can remember, other than his deceased parents.
"Err, perhaps if you care to join us for silflay?" Hazel offered politely, in order to make up for his brief rational behavior.
"Oh, I'd like that! Thank you very much!" Lily leapt for joy, her tail wagging. At last, she found more rabbits who treated her with kindness like dear little Pipkin.
"Good, because I spotted some thistle down by the stream and I haven't eaten anything decent in days." Hazel lead the two rabbits across the field, passing several rabbits who sent friendly greetings Hazel and he politely greeted them back, making Lily feel a bit envious how Hazel is respected by the other rabbits.
"So, what did you dream this morning?" Lily asked. "You mentioned a cloud of death hangs over us."
"I dreamt something else is coming to Sandleford," Fiver said. "I think it might mean we're in danger. Captain Holly was in it and there was a huge-"
"Captain Holly?" Hazel chuckled lightly, but not to offend his brother. "Fiver, I think Captain Holly can take care of himself." They passed Holly himself as he stood on sentry duty with one of the officers. "They usually do in the Owsla."
"Perhaps it meant Captain Holly could be in trouble," Lily suggested, glancing a concerned face at the Owsla Captain.
"No, the other rabbits were in trouble as well," Fiver continued. "But no one likes hearing about someone else's dreams, but I dreamt of something foul and fierce coming to Sandleford."
Just then, Hazel came to a halt when he spotted a pretty doe, with light peach colored fur and blue eyes, having a girl chat with two other does.
"Who is she?" Lily asked.
"Dewdrop..." Hazel sighed as he gazed dreamily at her, but Dewdrop turned away embarrassed as her friends giggled.
Lily realized that Hazel must really like this Dewdrop. "Why don't you tell her you like her?" she offered.
"I could, but-" Hazel began, but his brother called out to him.
"Hazel!" Fiver gave him a stern look as he waited impatiently for his brother and the doe beside him.
"Sorry!" Hazel apologized as he came toward his younger brother, with Lily trailing behind him.
The three rabbits went across the stream by jumping from one rock to another before they reached the other side. They arrived at a small flowery area surrounded by bushes of blooming flowers and plants. As it turns out, one of them grew sow thistles and cowslips at their feet.
"Here we are!" Hazel said, pleased. "Sow thistles and cowslips! Finally, something good to eat."
"Are they really good?" Lily sniffed the cowslips and thistles warily.
"Definitely good!" Fiver concluded, as he leaned down to take a bite of a cowslip.
Suddenly a large paw stomped on the cowslip, preventing Fiver from eating it. He looked up, and there stood a glowering Toadflax and Scabious.
"Oi, you lot!" Scabious spoke, his steely glare forced Fiver to draw back. "You know the rules!
"Fiver found it!" Hazel defended, frowning.
"And we'll eat it. Sow thistles and cowslips are reserved for members of the Owsla only," Toadflax reprimanded. "Don't you know that?"
"And you should know it as well, hutch rabbit!" Scabious bullied, glaring at an upset Lily. "Move along," he ordered them to leave.
The trio of rabbits left in disappointment as the two Owsla bucks laughed cruelly. Toadflax ate the cowslip, while Scabious ate the thistle.
"Some Owsla you've got!" Lily huffed, wondering if Bigwig and Captain Holly could also be bullies just like them since they are Owsla after all. No sooner had the three rabbits left the area, they shook their heads in disgust.
"'You know the rules!' To tell you the truth I'm getting sick and tired of the rules," Hazel growled. "Sometimes I feel like clearing out of the warren altogether without the Owsla stealing from us."
"So do I," Lily agreed. "I wonder if there's a place for me in this warren. No one wants to have anything to do with me, except for Pipkin."
"Oh, Pipkin is very kind to all of us." Hazel grinned. "And there's Blackberry. You'll like her. She's a smart doe."
At last, they found a nice private spot away from staring eyes to eat silflay, displaying a grand view of the countryside as the sun touched the top of the hills and the sky had a mixture of blue and pink, creating a beautiful atmosphere.
"The view is so breathtaking," Lily sighed in admiration.
"Yes, sometimes my brother and I come here to it." Hazel began to eat the grass, and Lily decided to join him.
Fiver stared out at the field and the sunset, his body froze until he trembled violently. First, he discovered the white board that the humans put there yesterday, old boot prints belonging to the humans and an old burnt white cigarette left behind. He began breathing in and out silently, either of he was hyperventilating or close to having a nervous breakdown, in Lily's mind that is.
"Fiver, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.
"Hazel... oh, Hazel. This is where it comes from... the thing in my dream..." Fiver breathed heavily. "I know now that a terrible thing is coming. Look, the fields are covered with blood!"
"Blood?!" Hazel and Lily exchanged confused yet worried expressions.
As Fiver gazed intently at the field, it did indeed started to pour a wave of blood covering the warren's hills completely. The sounds of a machine and despaired cries for help began ringing in Fiver's ears. The black cloud of death came closer and closer, until all screams had been silenced by strange hissing noises and the machine crumbling up the earth, destroying all forms of life instantly.
"It's only the light of sunset," Hazel tried to assure his little brother.
"Is this one of his predictions?" Lily questioned, noticing the whites in Fiver's eyes as his face was filled with horror, and now she wasn't so sure if his gift to predict the future was good at all. "It must be dreadful."
Thankfully, Fiver managed to snap out of it and he turned to the others. "Brother... I know everyone thinks I'm strange, even you and Lily sometimes, but I believe we are all in danger! We need to warn everyone!"
"But we're outskirters, Fiver. No one will listen to us," Hazel reminded him. "They'll think you're out of your mind."
"Well, we must make them listen!" Fiver sounded fully determined, committed to it. "Something very bad is going to happen."
"How do you propose we do that?" Hazel asked.
"We could try seeing the Chief Rabbit. You can tell him about it," Lily suggested. "Although I don't expect he'd like the idea at all."
"It's worth a shot." Hazel agreed to her idea, but he also knew the Chief Rabbit wouldn't believe them if they tried to warn him.
The trio of rabbits arrived back at the warren, where the rabbits were still silflaying, playing or talking amongst each other. Neither of them said a word of Fiver's vision as they had to be careful of the Owsla close by. Approaching the Chief Rabbit's burrow, Lily recognized the two bucks guarding the Chief Rabbit as Bigwig and Captain Holly. Bigwig stood on sentry duty outside the entrance, chewing on some grass. Holly was silflaying from a small cluster of grass.
It didn't take long for Bigwig to notice their presence and he recognized the leader of the trio. "Hazel? It is Hazel, isn't it?"
"It is." Hazel confirmed.
"What are you doing here?"
"We want to see the Chief Rabbit, Bigwig."
"WE? You mean they want to see him, too?" Bigwig cocked his head to one side, catching a glimpse of Fiver and Lily.
"Yes, I must!" Fiver added.
"I just came along for support," Lily said.
"What's it all about?" Bigwig glanced suspiciously, or rather worriedly, at the doe. "Does it have something to with asking the Chief Rabbit to mate with her?" His envious green eyes bore down on Hazel with a black scowl that would send any rabbit running.
Hazel wasn't intimidated by the scowl at all, nor did he flinch. "It has nothing to do with her."
"Bigwig! What do they want?" Holly demanded, a piece of silflay sticking out of his mouth.
"They want to see the Chief Rabbit."
"What for?"
"I have to..." Fiver tried to explain.
"Send them away!" Holly ordered, sternly.
"I'll take care of it, Holly." Bigwig turned toward the three outskirters, gruffly speaking, "Go away. He's busy."
"Look Bigwig, when have I ever asked to see the Chief Rabbit before?" Hazel reasoned, calmly. "Please, we only need a few moments with the Threarah and we wouldn't ask if it weren't important."
Bigwig looked at them for a moment, then he glanced back at the burrow. He closed his eyes and sighed, having reached his decision. "Wait here." He turned and entered the burrow to speak with the Chief Rabbit. "Excuse me, sir..." Only what happened next sounded muffled, which only the rabbit trio could barely make out as they waited for a while. At last, Bigwig's head popped back out like a jack in the box. "Alright, go on."
Relieved to have been granted an audience with their leader, Hazel and Fiver and Lily started their way into the burrow.
"But if I get my head bitten off, I'll come looking for you!" Bigwig warned, although he only meant it to Hazel and Fiver, he glanced over at Lily and realized she wrongly assumed he was threatening her as well. He would've tried to explain it to her, but she had already went inside the burrow.
The Chief Rabbit, the Threarah, seemed to be in usual spot the last time Lily saw him, munching on some lettuce the Owsla had raided from a farm a mile off earlier this morning.
"Ah, Walnut, is it?" Threarah greeted, glancing over his shoulder when he saw the outskirters.
"It's Hazel, sir." Hazel corrected him.
"Oh, Hazel, of course. I knew your mother well. That one time... eh, ahem! And your friends?"
"My brother, Fiver. And Lily, she's a friend."
"Now then, do tell me how I can help you?" Threarah continued eating, without turning around.
"Well, he says there's a bad danger coming to our warren," Hazel warned him, calmly.
"A bad danger?" Threarah grunted. "How very upsetting. So Hazel, you're here to speak of your brother sensing things."
"Uh, yes. Sometimes images in his head, and..." Hazel sighed, before he recalled, "I don't know how to say it, but he was right before. He knew the flood was coming last Autumn, and he knew Lily was coming to Sandleford. Fiver visioned it in his dream and we had to add layers to our walls and entrances to block the flood coming into our warren."
"That's impressive!" Lily complimented.
"This danger is so bad that you have to get everyone to leave tonight, please Threarah," Fiver pleaded.
"My goodness, everyone tonight?" Threarah chuckled. "The entire warren, and you want me to tell them that we all have to go during the mating season?"
"He's had these feelings before, and he's been right again and again," Hazel begged.
"And you're their leader!" Fiver exclaimed, starting to get impatient.
Threarah ceased his munching for a moment, he probably took offense to the young runt's words. "Well, I shall give that a serious consideration." He slowly turned his back to them, saying dismissively, "Perhaps we'll discuss it later, in the summer."
"You're not listening to me! We can't wait!" Fiver protested. "There is no time. I can feel the danger, like a wire around my neck! Threarah, you must act NOW!" His final words echoed throughout the burrow. He behaved with such conviction that he upset the Chief Rabbit and alarmed Bigwig outside, not to mention a few other bucks overheard him.
For a moment, Lily wondered if those words about a wire around his neck could be another prediction.
"BIGWIG!" Threarah shouted for him, before glaring at the three rabbits. "Walnut, I think your brother needs to rest for a while. Why don't you take him outside for some fresh air."
"No, but-" Fiver objected.
"Shh!" Hazel shushed, calming his brother down. "Yes, Threarah." Then he corrected, "And it's Hazel, sir."
As the trio of rabbits left the burrow dejectedly, Bigwig passed them on their way out, scowling in their direction. The second they left the burrow, Lily could overhear Bigwig getting his head chewed off by a very angry Threarah.
"What was that all about?"
"Well, sir..."
"I told you I wanted to be left alone, you fool! Your duty as an officer is to protect this burrow and, instead, you let a bunch of outskirters..."
"No, sir..."
"Those three lunatics..."
Lily scowled in fury. Their warning had been ignored and dismissed as lunacy. She wished they had a single proof to Fiver's dreams of oncoming peril. Even though Fiver did predict the flood last Autumn, the Chief Rabbit still believed him to be a lunatic. "What a nerve he has! He doesn't deserve to inherit the title of Chief Rabbit!" she growled, looking back at the burrow. "But I do hope Bigwig will be all right," she whispered.
"Than that's our answer now! We have to go!" Fiver said, decidedly.
"But, Fiver-" Hazel protested.
"You know what? I'm with Fiver on this one." Lily agreed. "If he wants to leave the warren, I want to leave! I refuse to have a lazy, uncaring Chief Rabbit and bullies for Owsla!"
Hazel couldn't believe what they were saying. He opened his mouth to object, but he could see there was no point in reasoning with either of them. "Are you both really sure?"
"I'm telling you now, as your brother, as your friend," Fiver heeded, "this warren will soon be laid waste. We can leave tonight, or be destroyed with it."
Hazel closed his eyes and sighed, thinking over his brother's word and the doe's decision. She was right on one thing, the Owsla are bullies and the Chief Rabbit insulted them. He remembered his own word of clearing out of the warren altogether, and tonight might be his only chance. "Right, we need to spread the word as soon as possible, but be careful, both of you. If the Owsla get wind of this, there will be trouble."
And with that, the trio of outskirts ran their separate ways to spread the word to many rabbits they knew well. Lily wanted to do this alone, even though she knew none of the rabbits would trust her, she determined to take that chance. The first rabbit she wanted to speak was Pipkin.
"Pipkin!" she called him over in a whisper.
"Hello, Lily!" Pipkin came bouncing over to her, glad to see her out and about. "Have you had any more silflay?"
"Now's not the time, Pipkin!" Lily hushed him, much to the young buck's surprise. "Listen, there's a danger coming to the warren!"
"Danger? What kind of danger?" Pipkin asked, surprised.
"I don't know, but all I know is Fiver predicted it. He mentioned the field covered with blood and it doesn't look good..." she stopped upon noticing the horror in the young buck's eyes. "Me, Hazel and Fiver are leaving the warren tonight. We'd be glad if you could join us. If your parents can be convinced to come-"
"I don't have a mother or father," Pipkin sighed, wistfully. "A weasel killed them both."
Lily's heart wretched, now wishing that she had chosen her words carefully. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Pipkin."
However, Pipkin's face lit up instantly. "But I'd like to come along! I want to see the world, just like you did!"
"Good." Lily sighed in relief. "Meet us under the bridge at sun down. Do not tell the Owsla."
"Its Frith-down, but I will be there!" Pipkin saluted cutely and he bounded off to spread the word.
Lily was glad to get Pipkin on their side, though she didn't understand his Lapine language. As she trudged across the field, she could overhear Hazel talking to a buck name Bluebell and a doe named Blackberry. Bluebell's name said it all since his fur is a pale bluish color and blue eyes. Blackberry is a dark brown doe with a white underbelly, light cherry red eyes, and a black pelt on her head and ears that stretched over her back to the tip of her tail. The two rabbits listened carefully to Hazel's warning.
"Good heavens! I mean, good gracious. I mean, that is to say..." Blackberry stammered slightly, as the blue buck sighs. "Hazel, if your brother has taken a firm stock in such a portent-"
"I think what Blackberry is trying to say is - we're in!" Bluebell finishes, eagerly agreeing to join him, and the doe nodded her head beside him.
"Good, meet us at Frith-down, under the bridge," Hazel instructed, before he left to warn others, just as Holly and Toadflax came marching over the hill checking up on the other rabbits.
I guess that's three rabbits joining us, but who else will come? Lily thought. She noticed Fiver talking to a pair of bucks. The first one is tall with an lean slender body, a yellowish blonde buck with a white underbelly and golden eyes, he goes by the name of Dandelion. The second one is a shorter buck with a dark grey color and a white underbelly, he had dijon eyes and his name is Hawkbit. After a moment, she saw the two bucks nodding their heads in approval before wondering what all that was about. Now that makes five rabbits, including myself, Fiver and Hazel. Who else? In the distance, Lily just happened to overhear an interaction between Hazel and Dewdrop.
"But I don't understand, Hazel. Sandleford, it is our home," said Dewdrop.
"Look there's a danger coming. My brother sensed it, and he's often right about these things," replied Hazel.
"But what if it's more dangerous out there than here?" asked Dewdrop.
"Excuse me?" a violet colored doe with lovely rose pink eyes approached Lily, much to her surprise. "Blackberry told me you were leaving the warren tonight. If it's true, I'd like to come along."
"Of course you can come, uhh…" Lily had no idea of whom the rabbit's name was.
"My name is Violet," replied the doe.
"Pleased to meet you, Violet. My name is Lily. Now, meet us under the bridge at sun down, or Frith-down, as you call it. But be careful of the Owsla."
The second Violet had gone, Lily turned to overhear the last of Hazel's interaction with Dewdrop.
"We're meeting at Fu-Inle by the cattle grid bridge. Come with us, come with me," Hazel begged, almost desperately.
Dewdrop looked unsure whether to believe him or not, but she responded, "Let me think about it, okay?" And then she left.
In the back of her mind, Lily had this strange feeling that Dewdrop will not come at all and Hazel just made the mistake of telling someone who would betray their plans.
It was nighttime in Sandleford warren, and all of the rabbits had turned in for the burrows to sleep. But not all of them. The Owsla may be on patrol, but some particular group of rabbits snuck past them to reach the cattle grid bridge over the stream. Hazel, Fiver and Lily (who had to avoid Bigwig all afternoon after sneaking out of another burrow to escape his wrath) remained hidden in the shadows, waiting eagerly and impatiently for others to join their leaving. A twig snapped, catching their attention.
"Dewdrop?" Hazel called out softly. "Is that you, Dewdrop?"
It was not Dewdrop at all. In fact, it was Blackberry who was accompanied by five other rabbits.
"It's me, Blackberry!" the doe said. "And I've got Pipkin, Violet, Bluebell, Hawkbit and Dandelion too."
"Get down here, before you're seen!" Hazel told them.
The six rabbits joined Hazel, Fiver and Lily to hide underneath the bridge. The group made doubly sure nobody in the Owsla trailed them to the bridge. No Owsla in sight. That's a relief. Except the group wasn't big enough to evacuate a whole warren.
"Wait, is this everyone?" Hawkbit questioned, looking around. "And where are the does? I presumed there'd be more does."
"Ahem!" Lily, Blackberry and Violet cleared their throats in union, glaring at Hawkbit. Apparently, they are the only does present.
"Hello, there," Lily greeted.
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Blackberry," the dark furred doe introduced herself. "Sorry we didn't get the chance to talk, but I hope we get to know you soon."
"Hi, I'm Bluebell," the blue buck greeted. "Did you really travel the world with humans?"
Dandelion sauntered over, behaving like a proper gentle-rabbit as he took her paw in his own. "Enchante, mademoiselle. The name's Dandelion, but you can call me-"
"Don't even go there with chivalrous nicknames!" Hawkbit chided, slightly jealous. Then he switched to address the new doe with his own charm, "Uh, ahem! Hi, I'm Hawkbit. Bigwig said the newcomer was a pretty sort of creature. Even your name suites you."
Lily blushed at his compliment, whilst the others rolled their eyes in annoyance.
"This can't be everyone. It can't be!" Hazel peeked out from underneath the shade looking worried, still looking for Dewdrop. "Maybe we should go back, and try to convince the others."
"She's not coming," Fiver said, and Lily noticed a look in his eyes that told her that something was wrong.
"We ought to be going soon," Dandelion added, glancing over his shoulder with anxiety. "There's a walled rumor going on around. Some nonsense about a plot against the Threarah."
An old can dropped into the brook out of nowhere, startling the group of rabbits as they curiously watched it float along the current.
"There's been more and more of those strange things recently," Fiver said. "They come from humans."
"Fascinating!" Blackberry awed.
"I've seen Henry eat soup out of those cans before," Lily said.
"There aren't many of you, are there?" a male voice caught them off guard, frightening the rabbits as they looked up at the steep hill.
To Lily's surprise, there came who appeared to be a younger version of Threarah, but different facial features. He was a hefty brisk-looking buck, well known by sight to everyone in the warren, for his fur was entirely silver that glistened in the moonlight as he approached the group. There was a faint white underbelly beneath him, his eyes a dark shade of red, and his height made him look just as tall and strong as Bigwig.
"Silver? What are you doing here?" Hazel gasped. "Are you off duty?"
"Off duty, and likely to remain off," the rabbit called Silver responded. "I've left the Owsla right after I had a falling out with my uncle about your visit with him."
"Uncle? Owsla? I don't understand, who are you?" Lily gawked at him, stammering.
"You must be the hutch rabbit I've been hearing about. My name is Silver, I am the Threarah's nephew, or was his nephew. I was a part of the Owsla but I quit it. Some of those bastards in the Owlsa have always been giving me a rough time, teasing me about my unusual fur and saying I only got into the Owsla through connections with my uncle," he said. "Fiver, I've been thinking about what you said. I want to come with you."
"Well, I suppose we could use a big strong buck like you around," Violet suggested, eying Silver with a flirtatious smile.
Silver blushed, and Hawkbit rolled his eyes in a jealous manner.
"Alright, let's go," Hazel announced, and the group was about to be on their way until...
"NOT SO FAST!" Everyone looked up and there was an infuriated Captain Holly on the bridge above them.
"It's the Owsla!" Hazel exclaimed.
The rabbits tried to make a run for it, but Toadflax blocked their path. Scabious sealed off another path to prevent their escape. Holly leapt in front of Silver and Hazel, both whom stood out in front of their fellow rabbits attempting to protect them.
"You're all under arrest!" Holly proclaimed, looking quite angry and very serious.
"Under arrest? What for?" Dandelion questioned.
"Spreading dissension and inciting to mutiny! Silver, you too, for failing to report for duty this evening!"
"You more than anyone need to listen, Captain Holly," Fiver calmly attempted to reason with him as the Owsla Captain glared coldly at him. "Something is coming to this place. Something foul and fierce."
"Just let us go," Hazel said. "Even if you are bigger, there are more of us. We'd fancy a good fight."
"You outskirters couldn't put up a good fight because you're not strong enough!" Toadflax mocked. "Not even that idiot, Silver, could do it!"
Lily was shocked, but she understood that Silver was no stranger to Toadflax's bullying. No wonder he wanted to join their leaving the warren.
"I've heard enough! You'll all come with me!" Holly declared.
If things can't get any worse, then Bigwig appeared out of nowhere. He was very cross. Some of the rabbits panicked, for they knew Bigwig was the strongest and most temperamental rabbit in the Owsla, and they feared they would stand no chance against him. The lion maned buck had vowed to find Hazel and Fiver to punish them for getting reprimanded by the Threarah, but upon his discovery of Lily's absence when he couldn't find her, panic overtook him when he feared the worst and he realized she must have been involved with those two outskirter brothers.
"The Threarah nearly tore my ears off tonight, after I'd let you in!" Bigwig growled, glaring daggers at Hazel, Fiver, and Lily.
"Sorry." Lily tried to apologize for getting him in trouble, but she was harshly rejected instead.
"Quiet, doe! You were supposed to be confined in my burrow!" he snarled. "And the Threarah even told me I'm lucky that I'm not kicked out of the Owsla! Lucky to still have my privileges! Well..." Bigwig paused, and as he noticed Lily's terrified eyes and little Pipkin trembling behind her, it could have torn out his heart to arrest them like this. This was not the answer. He no longer wanted to be a part of these bullies or their despicable troop. "Well, I'm sick of being in the Owsla!" He instantly turned on Holly, scorning him.
"Thlayli?!" Holly became surprised and frightened at his own officer turning against him, even surprising the other officers.
"I'm sick of being in this warren! I'm sick of obeying your orders and towing the line!" Bigwig ranted, cornering his former boss at the top of the bridge.
"Thlayli, be careful now." Holly had never been so afraid in his life. "Think about what you're doing."
"Go now, Captain Holly, or we'll kill the lot of you!" Bigwig threatened darkly, as his eyes seemed to glow in the night burning with ultimate fury.
Holly had no other choice but to flee or he would receive a violent thrashing from the strongest rabbit in the world, although Toadflax and Scabious stubbornly stayed behind.
"We're not cowards!" Scabious declared, standing his ground.
"Go, now! Or we'll kill you!" Hazel growled, coldly repeating Bigwig's threat.
"It's you who will be killed!" Toadflax was losing his patience, and his cruel eyes fell upon a scared Lily. "But I'd rather start with the hutch rabbit! The trouble started ever since she came to our warren!"
In a flash, Toadflax reached over and bit her on the fur of her neck, trying to yank it off. A cry of pain and anguish escaped from Lily's mouth. All of a sudden, Silver rushed forward and cuffed Toadflax right in the eye, forcing him to release the doe. Silver gave the bully a few more hard cuffs to the face until his face was bleeding from the scars.
"You don't know how long I wanted to do that!" Silver smirked, triumphantly.
"You stupid-Oomph!" Toadflax prepared for a rematch, but Bigwig leapt upon him, his claws extended as they left scratches on Toadflax's face as he pined him to the ground with all of his strength. He scowled dangerously at Scabious when he tried to intervene.
"If you lay another paw or tooth on that doe, I will tear out your throats at the same time!" Bigwig's eyes blazed with such savagery that it put the fear of death in Toadflax, so the cowardly Owsla officer fled the scene, later joined by a frightened Scabious. He growled softly, relieved to have freed himself from the Owsla, and he turned to the slightly bruised Lily. "Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice softer.
"I'm alright, it's just a scratch," Lily assured him, wiping a tear from her eye as a result of the sudden attack. "By the way, why do they call you Thlayli?"
"It's the name I was born with, it means fur-head." Bigwig gestured to the fur on his head and the mane around his neck. He watched the rest of the band come out from under the bridge, making sure the coast was clear and needed to make a clean getaway before things could get really worse. "Someone must have told them what you're up to. We need to move, before they come back with the entire Owsla."
"Along the line of the stream and through the meadow everyone, then into the woods. Come on!" Hazel ordered.
As the small band of rabbits made a run for it, Hazel looked back at Sandleford warren with a longing solemn frown. Lily glanced over her shoulder, she knew he was thinking about Dewdrop. She was not coming. Lily had a suspicion that Dewdrop was responsible for ratting them out to the Owsla, but she knew Hazel would never accept it. However, they needed to leave Sandleford and discuss it another time.
"Hazel, we need to go now," Lily told him.
Nodding, Hazel followed Lily as they caught up with the rest of the group, thus beginning their journey to find a new home.
