The mist had lifted and the morning sun had come to being a new day, except today was not a normal and regular morning in the forest, as four terrified rabbits came racing through the woods while running for their lives. An owl was in pursuit of the bucks, but they ran as fast as their powerful legs could take them. Their leader, a big pale grey buck, spotted a tree with a hole in the bottom, determined to take cover inside it. The owl got closer and closer, gaining up on the four rabbits. But they managed to dive inside the hole in time, just as the owl nearly got their leader, except it got a bunch of leaves from the tree stuck in his talons and decided to give up the chase.
The pale grey buck stuck his head out to make sure the coast was clear. The owl had left, so he climbed out of the hole, catching his breath, exhausted and agitated. The pale grey buck was none other than Captain Holly of the Sandleford Owsla, or was now that Sandleford Warren is no longer flourishing. The trio of rabbits kept silent as they waited until their leader assured them the coast is clear, also being inhabitants of Sandleford Warren until its destruction. The first rabbit was just a tough study buck, his name is Buckthorn with dark fur and bright orange underbelly (his colors resembled the berries he was named after), almond brown eyes and a trainee who was going to join the Owsla. The second is a peanut butter colored rabbit named Speedwell with pale moody purple eyes that match the color of a speedwell plant. The last rabbit is called Acorn, obviously due to the colors of his fur resembling an acorn; dark brown fur with a creamy golden underbelly and orange eyes. Speedwell and Acorn are not just the closest of friends, they're a pair of thin-looking six month old bucks with the strained wary appearance of those only too well used to the thin end of the stick.
Making doubly sure that his comrades are safe, Holly kept his eye out for any more elil. The former Owsla captain and his allies were in terrible shape and badly injured; Holly's left ear torn and drooping, Buckthorn suffered a blow across his face along with a rat bite on his left hind leg, Speedwell had red marks left on his back, and Acorn's front chest caked in dried blood from an injury. All suffered plenty of scars engraved on their bodies, slightly maimed by a past traumatizing event, beaten and disoriented, but not broken by spirit cause the team grew more determined to find the fugitive rabbits who had fled Sandleford Warren long ago.
"BIGWIG! HAZEL! WHERE ARE YOU?!" bellowed Holly.
"What if we cannot find them?" Acorn sighed. "Maybe Cowslip lied about their journey to the high hills."
"No! We can't give up, we must go on!" urged Buckthorn, fueled by determination.
"I just hope we do find them before elil find us," Speedwell worried.
Holly sighed, licking his wounds delicately. He believed they would never find Bigwig or the others, or if they ever made it to these high hills that Cowslip mentioned, unless he lied just as Acorn suggested. But he is an Owsla Captain. Holly would never give up, determined to find his friends, unless they wanted to call him an ally after how he mistreated them. If they are in the high hills, that's where they will go.
After sniffing the hear and listening for signs of elil, the former Owsla captain continued onward after signaling his friends to join him. "BIIIIIGWIIIIIG!" Holly's voice echoed all around him, desperately calling for his former officer.
"BIIIIIGWIIIIIG!"
Meanwhile on Watership Down, the day after last night ever since the rabbits had arrived, Fiver immediately woke up because of a strange voice coming far away from the high hills. He looked around, wondering if who he believed to be had mysteriously come to the down was real or not.
"What is it, Fiver?" Hazel asked, waking up.
"Hearing someone calling Bigwig's name, reminded me of a dream I had of Captain Holly," Fiver explained, shivering. "He was trying to stop us from leaving Sandleford."
"That's all behind us now." Hazel comforted his younger brother. "We're safe here on Watership Down. And it's a beautiful morning."
That same owl from earlier screeched, causing the rabbits to wake up and flee for the safety beneath the trees. Thankfully, it did not come for them. Everyone sighed in relief, though Lily was relieved the most to have Bigwig standing over her form in a protective stand. Suddenly there came another screech, but it was much closer. The rabbits scurried, until they realized it was only Kehaar trying to imitate a rooster that calls in the morning.
"Morning, Kehaar," greeted Hannah, tired yet annoyed.
"Yah!" the seagull replied.
The other rabbits came out of the shade, very cross. Although, Lily found it amusing for a seagull trying to sound like a rooster.
"Are you off your rocker, screaming like that?!" Bigwig exclaimed, angrily.
"Kehaar say hello to morning," replied the gull. "Oh, you should hear the whole flock sing. Big music."
"Oh, is that what you call it?" Dandelion asked in a sarcastic tone.
"I said these two should clear off our down and I meant it!" Bigwig suggested, sharply.
"Be fair, Bigwig. His wing's hurt," Hazel reasoned, trying to be fair with Kehaar.
"That's not all that'll be hurt if he doesn't watch his beak," Hawkbit warned, frowning.
A irked Hannah approached the lion maned rabbit with her paws on her hips. "What's the matter with the rabbits? Everybody likes gulls and mice."
"Not me." Bigwig fixed a hard stare looking down at her.
Lily just sighed, their first day in their new home and everybody is ganging up on poor Kehaar and poor Hannah. She liked the gull and the mouse, but the doe wondered how she could bring some sense of peace to everyone without starting a fight.
The rabbits began their usual morning routine of silflaying, relaxing, or exploring their surroundings. Lily decided to engage in good conversation with Hannah and Kehaar to get to know them better. The gull was relieved to know at least one rabbit had been to the big water before. In that moment, she noticed Blackberry examining the dirt scrapes where she discovered an opening inside.
"Everyone, over here!" Blackberry called out. She waited for the other rabbits came over to see what discovery the dark furred doe had found. "There were rabbits here once upon a time. Long gone now."
Hazel sniffed the entrance of their soon to be new warren. "No smell of disease, or enemies and it smells safe."
Blackberry, Strawberry, Lily and Hannah ventured inside the opening. The roots were covered or smeared in dirt and the warren was small enough for a group of two of four rabbits.
"Is it good?" asked Hazel.
"It's very big," replied Hannah.
"There won't be enough for everyone to squeeze inside," said Lily. "Unless we all piled up on top of one another."
"Yeah, not anywhere near big enough, I'm afraid," Blackberry added, examining the walls. "It's in good shape. If everyone helps out with the digging, we're soon to have a home down here."
"Oh, brambles! That's an excellent idea!" Strawberry commended, excitedly.
However, the bucks waiting outside looked at each other and then frowned in refusal.
"By everyone, I assume she doesn't mean us," Hawkbit grumbled.
Bigwig sternly reminded the does out loud by the entrance, "Blackberry, in case you have forgotten - bucks don't dig!"
"Oh, here we go," despaired Blackberry, rolling her eyes.
"What's so good about bucks that they don't dig?" Hannah demanded, upset by Bigwig's comment.
"Doe rabbits dig," Blackberry replied.
"It's called sexism," Strawberry explained, rather dryly.
Lily decided to confront the other bucks as she ran out of the burrow and made it to the outside. "We could have a new home that's big enough for everyone, unless all of you offer a paw to help out the three does doing all the work!"
"She's right, be reasonable," Hazel agreed, willingly. "Lily, Strawberry and Blackberry are the only does. We can't expect them to dig the whole warren by themselves."
"Yeah, so?" Dandelion shrugged like he didn't seem to care.
"So, we're all going to pitch in."
"Oh, I don't think so," Bigwig disagreed, scorning.
"I'm with Bigwig on this one," Silver grunting, as he took his side beside the lion headed buck. "There's no way I'm doing a doe's work."
"Same here!" Bluebell protested, joined by Hawkbit and Dandelion.
"Look, if we are going to survive up here, we need new ways of thinking," Hazel said.
"I've had my fill of new thinking, you've already got us living here with gulls and mice," Bigwig scowled.
Hannah had just come out of the burrow when she overheard what Bigwig said, and she was not pleased about it. "So mice are no good then, eh? You don't want mice around? Fine! I'm gone." The mouse ran off from the group, angrily.
"Oh, very nice, Bigwig," Fiver scolded, disappointedly. "Very thoughtful."
"Maybe I should take back my apology for calling you a bully!" Lily growled, once again tired of Bigwig's arrogance. "Because you are acting like one, and so is every buck present here... except Hazel, Fiver and Pipkin."
None of the bucks liked being insulted by a doe. Huffing, Bigwig turned and dashed off to be by himself. The rest of the bucks hopped off in the other direction.
"We've got to get everyone pulling together, or we're finished here." Hazel was disgusted by the others' refusal to cooperate in the digging.
"Maybe they just need new time to explore a new place," Fiver comforted his big brother.
"You might try leading by example, Hazel. The digging won't do itself," advised Blackberry, as she went back inside while Fiver left.
Shaking her head with a sigh, Lily returned to the burrow to start the digging, with the help and assistance from Blackberry and Strawberry. As the does started to dig at the walls of the warren, the does began to chatter amongst how irritating bucks can be.
"Ugh! Who does that Bigwig think he is, anyway?" scoffed Lily, then started to mock him. "Oooh, look at me! I'm Bigwig! I'm so big and strong, I don't like to get my paws dirty because I'm such a girly little buck!" Blackberry and Strawberry burst out laughing at the ginger doe's imitation of Bigwig. "Hey, Strawberry, what is sexism?"
"It means prejudice, discrimination or stereotype against females," Strawberry explained.
"It's always been that kind of tradition amongst rabbits," Blackberry added. "But Hazel is right, we need all the help we can get."
Lily nodded, then thought about two other friends she worried for. "I do hope Kehaar and Hannah stay here, despite Bigwig's objection. I like having them around."
"So do I," agreed Strawberry. "Those bucks have no respect for newcomers... especially against me." The red doe lowered her head and her ears dropped, sadly.
"It will take time for everyone to get used to having you around," Blackberry assured her. "I know I like you, and so does Lily." As the dark doe placed a comforting paw on her shoulder, Strawberry smiled at her.
One of their stomachs began to rumble, catching them off guard as they stopped their digging.
"Oh, brambles! I hadn't had much to eat at silflay." Strawberry blushed, embarrassed.
"How about I go out and gather some flowers for us to eat?" Lily suggested. "I'll be right back."
Strawberry and Blackberry agreed, resumed to digging while Lily trotted out of the burrow and into the outside world. She just happened to overhear Kehaar coughing and spitting out grass he was trying to eat, then chatting with Pipkin about something that has to do with grubs.
Giggling, Lily resumed her chore of bringing food back to Strawberry and Blackberry. It was difficult to carry a bunch of grass or flowers in her mouth as they kept slipping out, but then she noticed a raspberry bush nearby. Licking her lips, she yanked each berry-covered twig off the branch and placed them in a pile. Her ears pricked up when she overheard Hannah grumbling and pouting all by herself.
"Who needs mice? I know who needs mice, everybody needs mice," Hannah complained, still fuming over Bigwig's insult.
"Poor Hannah." Lily would have gone over to talk with her, until she heard a mysterious voice calling far away in the distance of the high hills.
"Bigwig!"
"Who said that?" Lily asked, her head whirled left to right, searching for the owner of the voice. She waited for a few seconds, waiting for that someone or something to come out, but nothing happened. Brushing it off, she bent down to pick up the raspberries when...
"Bigwig!"
There it is again. Concerned, Lily wondered whoever or whatever it could be, and how it knew Bigwig.
"Bigwig! Where are you?!"
As she listened carefully, the voice sounded quite familiar. Lily thought over where she heard it before, and images of Sandleford appeared in her mind. "Captain Holly?" she whispered, remembering there was only one rabbit who owned that voice, but why should the Owsla Captain come here, until she remembered his threat of when he sees Bigwig again, Holly might kill him.
"What are you standing around for?! GET DOWN!" Hannah shouted, catching Lily off guard as the mouse pounced on her chest and the impact knocked the doe on her back.
"Hannah, what's going on?" asked Lily.
Hannah pointed out toward the long grass where a big weasel was approaching the down as he sniffed the air, his mouth drooling when he caught the scent of rabbits close by. Lily's eyes widened, she had never seen a weasel before nor did she ever want to get eaten by one. And she realized the weasel had discovered Pipkin's presence, while the young kitten had found grubs for Kehaar by a log. He had gone tharn when not only did he hear the mysterious voice, but the weasel's breath touched his neck.
"Get Hazel, quickly!" Lily ordered, as she bounded off to rescue Pipkin.
Hannah didn't need to hesitate by an order, and she dashed off to alert the others, shouting, "Rabbits!"
When the paralyzed Pipkin quivered before the hungry predator, the weasel sneered, "Welcome back to hunting ground, Long Ears." His lips and sharp teeth covered in drool.
Pipkin shielded himself and shut his eyes, preparing for the worst to come.
"Leave him alone, you swine!" Lily fearlessly charged at the weasel, only to halt when the weasel turned and glared his sinister greedy eyes at the doe. Her courage replaced by fear, having gone tharn.
"Another tasty Long Ear," sneered the weasel, in a sadistic voice.
All of a sudden, Bigwig appeared out of nowhere and head-butted the weasel with one mighty pounce. The weasel got back on his feet and prepared to attack Bigwig, until Silver and Hawkbit took turns to head-butt the weasel fiercely. Just as the weasel was going to fight back, then Bigwig tackled him again and forced him tumbling down the hill. Not entirely giving up, the weasel slunk back into the woods.
"Are you alright?" Bigwig asked, giving Lily and Pipkin a concerned frown.
"Yes." Lily nodded, looking equally shaken about the weasel encounter as much as poor Pipkin was shaken.
Once Pipkin explained why he had gone out was to search for grubs for Kehaar to eat because he asked him to, Bigwig realized that it was Kehaar's doing that nearly got Pipkin and Lily killed by the weasel. Nobody had ever seen him so angry before, except that time at Cowslip's Warren.
"What do you use for a brain?" Hawkbit chided at the gull when everyone confronted him.
"Sending Pipkin off on his own like that! You nearly got him and Lily killed with your selfishness!" yelled Bigwig.
Kehaar hung his head apologetically and said, "Kehaar, stupid gull. Kehaar, sorry."
But Bigwig rejected to accept the apology, still replaying the images in his mind how his precious doe and the poor little kitten almost got eaten by a predator that neither of them had the time to run away. "The sooner your gone, the better!" he exclaimed, bitterly.
Pipkin gasped, cause he didn't want the mouse and the gull to leave the down, and neither does Lily.
"There's no point making Kehaar feel worse than he does," said Hazel, hoping to calm the situation.
"You can't blame Kehaar for what happened!" Lily protested, but Bigwig put a paw on her mouth to silence her and his expression stone cold.
"I told you rabbits weren't meant to mix with gulls and mice, didn't I?" Bigwig was more arrogant than ever.
"And who warned us about Pipkin? Hannah, a mouse. Without her, they'd be gone. And Lily told Hannah to warn us," Hazel pointed out, trying to force Bigwig to listen to him.
"Well..." Bigwig tried come up with a reason to use Hannah as a scapegoat, but he secretly knew Hazel was right on that one thing. But he continued to put the blame game on Kehaar. He gave a stern expression as he shouted, "it's that gull's fault they were out there!"
"And now we know there's a weasel on the down, that's what we should be worrying about," argued Hazel.
Every other rabbit separated to go back to their daily routines, except for Pipkin, Lily and Bigwig.
"Right, here's the lecture for both of you: don't go off on your own anymore, lecture's over," Bigwig lectured, sternly. As he finished, he hopped away to patrol the down.
Lily noticed little Pipkin was shaking, and she probably believed he was traumatized by the weasel attack. She consoled him by giving him a hug, saying, "Cheer up, Pipkin. The weasel is gone. Why don't you go eat silflay for while?"
Pipkin silently nodded, but his shaking prevented him from speaking. Lily left to go help in the digging, but passed Bigwig on the way and gestured for him to go talk to Pipkin, noticing the shaken kitten glancing over his shoulder warily. The buck understood and turned back to reassure the little rabbit.
"Oh, here now." Bigwig softly consoled him. "No point in letting a rotten old weasel shake you up."
"It's more than that, Bigwig," Pipkin explained. "I heard a voice in the wind, calling your name."
"There's no other rabbits around here but us."
"I know, but what if it was the... the Black Rabbit of Inle!"
Those words left Bigwig in a dreadful shock, but he kept his poker face on as he consoled, "If he's looking for me, he knows where to find me." Then he left with a false grin on his face.
If the Black Rabbit is coming for him, than Bigwig should expect him to come. But there was one problem: Lily. How could he break the news to the doe he cared deeply for? How could he bare to leave Lily so easily like this? He never had the chance to tell her how much he loved her. If he was going to let the Black Rabbit take him, Bigwig knew that he had to confess to Lily about his true feelings, when the timing was right.
Meanwhile at the lake, Holly, Buckthorn, Acorn and Speedwell had swam across to reach the other side. Luckily, it never lasted long when they succeeded in crossing the lake. The four bucks collapsed on shore to catch their breath. Then Holly noticed a bunch of rabbit pawprints left engraved in the dirt and sniffed them. His face lit up upon recognizing the scent.
"It's Hazel and Bigwig! They came this way!" Holly exclaimed. His discovery put a spark of life in their spirits as they stood back up.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Buckthorn said, gleefully.
The four rabbits traveled a little further onward, where they stood on a hilltop and found Watership Down, admiring the scenery for a moment.
"If Bigwig and the others are up those hills, there's only one way to find out." Holly tread down the hill, racing toward the high hills.
Back at Watership Down, the rabbits were silflaying although Pipkin stayed closer with the group, afraid to be attacked by the weasel again. Blackberry, Strawberry and Lily were still digging deep inside the scrape, creating a tunnel that lead to the burrow they discovered earlier. Kehaar kept his distance, feeling guilty about endangering Pipkin's life, especially Lily when she unknowingly walked right into the danger.
Bigwig had gotten scared due to what Pipkin had told him, as he was spooked by even the tiniest thing, demonstrated when he was given a fright by a bug flying out of the grass. His ears cocked when he heard Lily come out of the burrow to shake the dirt off her fur. Bigwig's heart gave a flutter as his gazed lingered at her shaking off the dirt from her beautiful, smooth, silky ginger and white fur. How Bigwig wished that he could touch her fur with his tongue to give her a grooming whenever he wanted, and to feel her tongue on his fur when he wanted a grooming.
"What's up your nose, Bigwig?" Hawkbit asked, curiously staring at the lion maned buck's weird expression.
"Eh..." Bigwig's thoughts broken by another's voice, nervously embarrassed over what Hawkbit might think if he knew. "Just trying to stay alert, somebody got to, you know. Dangerous."
"Yes, but apart from that, we're really starting to enjoy it here," Dandelion sighed, contently.
"Once the does are done digging us a nice cozy burrow, the happier I'll be," Hawkbit commented.
Lily, Strawberry and Blackberry stuck their heads of the half finished tunnel, they had quite enough of the bucks' laziness. Shaking the dirt off their bodies, they emerged from the tunnel for a confrontation.
"Things would go a lot faster if everybody helped, I'd enjoy that. Really, I would!" Blackberry scorned.
"And on top of that, there's a weasel about and the sooner we get everyone underground, the better!" Strawberry had not felt this angry since her former warren forbade her from saving Nildro-hain's life.
"You're absolutely right, Strawberry," Hazel agreed, taking their side to the relief of the does.
"If you want to work like a doe, Hazel, that's fine. But we have our pride." Hawkbit continued chewing on grass, ignoring the does' protests.
"You should be ashamed of your arrogant pride and selfishness!" reprimanded Lily.
"I think all of you better get digging!" Hazel ordered, using anger to his advantage, but the stubborn bucks wouldn't budge, refusing to cooperate.
"Oh, you do?" Bigwig questioned, having quite enough as he confronted this bossy rabbit.
"You heard me!"
"And who's gonna make me?!"
The two bucks stood up on their hind legs, eyes ablaze with anger, raising their paws up and looking ready to start a brawl over leadership, growling viciously. Lily gasped, frightened over what is about to happen. Even Pipkin trembled fearfully.
"STOP!" Fiver leapt himself between the two taller bucks, just as they were about to jump at one another. "There's no point in fighting."
"Shows what you know," Hawkbit mumbled, sarcastically.
"There are other ways to settle things," advised Fiver.
"Such as what? What can we do?" asked Lily, eager to stop a fight.
"Well, Bob-Stones!" Fiver suggested, as his ears went straight up at the solution. "We'll play a game. If I win, everyone has to help out with the digging."
"And if Bigwig wins?" Bluebell slyly grinned.
Fiver looked to his big brother for the lost bet, so Hazel said decidedly for him, "If he wins, you can all lie on the grass for the rest of your lives."
"You have a deal!" Bigwig smugly accepted the challenge. "It's only fair to warn you, I was Bob-Stone champion at Sandleford three seasons running!" he gloated and pointed to himself.
Gasping in horror, Fiver had no idea that he'll be against a champion. "Oh, I didn't know that."
Blackberry placed a confident paw on the runt's shoulder, assuring, "Don't worry, Fiver. You got this."
Later in the afternoon, Fiver and Bigwig had their match of Bob-Stone started, their paws at a 2-2 tie. Hazel told Lily about how the game works, sort of like a guessing game for a rabbit to guess which stone is hidden underneath which paw. If their guess is correct, they win, or if their guess is incorrect, they lose. Two groups of rabbits had taken sides; in Bigwig's group, there is Hawkbit, Dandelion, Silver, and Bluebell, and in Fiver's group, there is Hazel, Blackberry, Strawberry, Pipkin, and Lily.
"Bob-Stone guess," signaled Fiver.
That meant it was Bigwig's turn to choose. The lion buck came closer to the runt, attempting to scare him. However, Fiver managed to keep a straight poker face. He won't let Bigwig bully him anymore, not after all they had been through.
"Oh, oh, come on, Biggie. I know you can do it," Dandelion cheered him on.
"Kick his tail bottom, Biggie boy!" Silver encouraged.
Bigwig thought deeply as he guessed, "Bob-Stone guess is... one."
Smiling, Fiver lifted his paw one at a time to reveal which stone was hidden. Bigwig felt he was confident to win, but Fiver's second paw reveals the stone. He was surprised to see he had picked the wrong paw.
"Bad luck, bad luck. Come on, come on. I've seen you play better. Come on," Hawkbit coached.
"You can do it, mate!" Bluebell coaxed.
The anticipation was mounting. It was now Bigwig's turn to signal Fiver to turn around as he prepared to rearrange the stones underneath his paws.
"Guess this right and you win," said Pipkin.
"You can do it, Fiver!" Strawberry encouraged.
"Bob-Stone guess." Bigwig was ready to see Fiver lose this challenge.
Fiver kept his poker face on, then he guessed, "Bob-Stone guess is two."
Shocked, Bigwig's mouth hung open as he revealed two stones underneath both his paws. Fiver's group cheered victoriously for his winning the game. Bigwig's group scowled in defeat.
Kehaar burst out laughing and pointed his wing out that a impetuous champion like Bigwig was defeated by a runt gifted in visions. "Now, you boys get to dig like does!" he taunted, reminding them of the deal they made if they lost the game.
Bigwig cleared his throat and he glared daggers at the seagull, silencing the laughter. "If you don't click that beak, I'll kick you off the down whether that wing works or not!" he warned, threateningly.
"Leave Kehaar alone! You're not a bunny rabbit, you're a bully rabbit!" An angry Hannah stood up to lion headed buck.
"I thought you were leaving," Bigwig added, sharply glaring down at her.
"I was, till I saw you rabbits needed my help, hairy head!" Hannah made fun of Bigwig's mane and fur on his head, hands firmly on her hips.
"Bigwig, it's just a game," Lily interrupted, pushing herself between the buck and the mouse in hopes to reason with him. "You lost, but it doesn't matter. You're going to help us dig a burrow that will be big enough for all of us that will keep everyone warm from the winter and safe from the elil. Please, do this for me." She pleaded, urging him to cooperate in the digging.
Listening to her words, Bigwig thought back to one of the most important codes in the Owsla. Even if you don't win, the Owsla has to accept defeat, whether it was fair or not. He hated digging, but he never wanted to push her away again. The Black Rabbit of Inle is coming for him, and he would spend his last moments defending his beloved and the warren from the weasel. Finally, he relented, "All right."
"You cheated, didn't you?" Hawkbit accused. "Didn't you? Hmmm? Those visionary powers of yours, you didn't even guess!" He stood at full height as if to intimidate Fiver.
"First, you don't believe I have visions, now you're accusing me of using them to cheat, make up your mind, will you?" Fiver snapped.
"Hey, enough of that!" Bigwig came right between them. "I lost. An Owsla's honor is that I accept that," he scolded Hawkbit, until he shot Fiver a dirty look. "Whether it was fair or not." He cast one last soft begrudging glance at Lily before he hopped off, later joined by the other bucks.
"Well, at least we won," said Blackberry.
"Did we?" Hazel sighed, doubt flooded him like a river as he lay down in the grass.
His group returned to the burrow, only Lily and Hannah lingered behind to give Hazel a little pep talk when they noticed he was down in the dumps.
"Things have been a bit rough on the first day on the down, aren't there?" Hannah said, kindly.
"I do hope everyone calms down after this is over," added Lily.
"We won't survive, if we keep fighting among ourselves," Hazel told them, sighing. "Hannah, I don't know how I can bring us together."
"That's the problem with two leaders," Hannah said. "There can only be one leader."
"Maybe we should make Bigwig the Captain of an Owsla on the down," Lily suggested, and it sounded like a good idea.
"I know, and you may be right, Lily. But I guess my job's over. I got us safely to Watership Down, maybe it's time for Bigwig to take over." Hazel looked away, thinking about giving up position as leader and passing it down to Bigwig to avoid more tension.
"No, you're the leader!" Lily and Hannah shouted in union, for they would not hear of such a thing.
"You're not listening!" Hazel objected.
"I'm listening fine. You lead them to Watership Down, that makes you leader, fineto!" Hannah chided, using the last word in Italian.
"Listen, Hazel," Lily advised, sternly. "During our travels, you have shown true leadership qualities. Bigwig is strong, impetuous and can be quite the bully, but he I have seen a heart of gold beneath his hard exterior. And he's better off an Owsla officer. He has more experience in the Owsla, so perhaps Bigwig can be named Captain of Owsla. You're the one who got us through a perilous journey, kept everyone calm during deadly situations, and you think outside the box to try new ideas. That makes you the leader, Hazel-rah!"
Hazel gawked in disbelief, but Lily felt she made her point to him while returning to the burrow. Hannah smiled impressively at the doe's words.
Night had fallen on the down as every rabbit slept peacefully beneath the trees. The bucks had to assist in digging in the burrows, though neither enjoyed every single moment of it. Bigwig only did it to make Lily happy, and to obey the Owsla code. Lily snuggled beside Bigwig, although wishing she could sleep with the does and Pipkin once in a while, but he felt so soft and warm. She kept hearing Captain Holly's voice ringing in her ears in the middle of the night, "Biiigwiiig! Where are you?!" Her eyes fluttered open when she heard his voice, wondering if it was only a dream or if it was real.
"WEASEL!" Kehaar screeched, flapping his wings wildly.
The alarm woke up everyone and the first thing the rabbits saw is the weasel ready to pounce from the bushes. With a roar, Bigwig charged at the weasel, using his strength to tackle him down. They rolled across the grass until they stopped. Hazel, Silver, Hawkbit, Dandelion and Bluebell ganged up around the weasel, surrounding him and outnumbering him. The weasel knew he couldn't stand a chance against six rabbits, so he retreated back to the woods below.
"Fall back to the burrow!" Bigwig ordered, as he and the others stepped back together with their eyes still focused on the woods to make sure the weasel didn't try anything reckless.
The rabbits retreated to get inside the burrow, though Lily shivered upon hearing the weasel's dark threat, "One by one, I will get you, Long Ears. One by one." His cackle echoed in the darkness.
Because of the weasel's attack, it made everyone more anxious to keep digging to make the burrow a whole lot bigger the next morning. The rabbits worked quicker than ever. Then Hawkbit tripped and fell on Bigwig, startling him.
"Watch it, clumsy!" exclaimed Bigwig, as he pushed Hawkbit back.
Dandelion was busy digging until Bluebell accidently threw some dirt in his face, shouting, "Oi! Do you mind?"
"Sorry about that," apologized Bluebell.
Bigwig had gotten tired of digging and he wanted so badly to stop, despite Lily's advice. "We should figure out how to deal with that weasel instead of doing doe's work!" he complained.
"No use arguing if you want a bigger warren to protect us from the weasel!" Strawberry scolded, as she dug harder and faster than the rest of them altogether, determined to prove herself worthy to the bucks. She climbed on a stump to dig at the walls and ceiling, confusing the others of what she was doing. The red doe never answered questions, her mind totally focused on constructing the warren's interior.
"Strawberry, slow down!" Hazel cautioned when he realized the red doe had dug too fast as it made the ceiling crumble.
Suddenly the roof became to crumble and cave in. Eventually, the roof subsided and collapsed as the dirt fell all around them. When the dust cleared, every rabbit's head popped out from the large pile of dirt.
"Oh, nice work, Strawberry," chided Bigwig.
"Everyone alright?" Blackberry asked, worriedly.
Groaning, Hawkbit groaned and scratched his ear to knock out some of the bit of dirt and dust that got in his ears. "All accounted for. Have we done anything yet?" he answered.
"We're all right here," reported Silver.
Strawberry pointed to the ceiling and the entire warren in amazement, and Blackberry followed her gaze to what she saw. The two does exchanged proud grins at the work their employers had done.
"Actually, you haven't done bad at all," Blackberry praised. "Especially you, Strawberry."
Strawberry smiled, looking quite pleased with herself. The rabbits stared at their surroundings. At first, it had been a small burrow, until the cave in as a result of their extreme digging created more room to make a burrow big enough for every rabbit to stay in. The roots of the tree kept the ground, or rather ceiling, from collapsing on them.
"It was a little burrow, now it's a great big one!" cheered Pipkin.
"And the roots hold up the ceiling, looks like a..." Fiver added, looking at the roots.
"Like a honeycomb!" Strawberry chirped, creating the name. "You see, the roots aren't as thick as the ones in Cowslip's warren, so I wanted to leave some to hold up the roof."
"Then that's what we'll call this chamber: the Honeycomb!" Blackberry agreed on the given name for the warren.
"I think it's incredible!" Hawkbit admitted, deeply impressed at Strawberry's work. "I think you've given us... a home." His praise flattered the red doe, pleased with her work.
"Once we get it cleared out, there'll be enough room for everyone," announced Hazel.
"Even Kehaar?" Hannah added, hopefully.
"Not likely," refused Hawkbit, as he and Bigwig stared angrily at her.
"I think Kehaar would like it down here as much as I do," Lily agreed to the mouse's decision to allow the seagull to live in their burrow.
"Come look at this," Pipkin called out for everyone's attention, upon finding a small rocky passage in the wall that lead underground. "Do you think it goes somewhere?"
"Let's see." Hazel poked his head inside the hole. "Hello!" he called, his echo responding to him, and then backed out of the hole. "It's narrow and rocky, and from the echo it goes on forever. Also smelling fresh air coming out of it."
"So it must come out somewhere," said Fiver.
"Well, I heard stories. My uncle says that he's been to the underworld twice, goes to the far side of down, it's true," Hannah explained.
"Not much use to us if you can't turn round in it." Dandelion studied the small passageway.
"It might do us a lot of good," said Hazel, coming up with an idea to solve their weasel problem. "I think I know how to tackle that weasel."
The daytime sun had come up earlier as everybody regrouped outside the burrow to listen to Hazel's plan to trick the weasel, whilst Kehaar stood guard to make sure the weasel wasn't nearby.
"If we can get the weasel down that rock tunnel, we could seal it behind him," Hazel proposed.
"Yeah, and he'll come up somewhere far away hopefully never to return," Bigwig agreed, though sarcastically. "But how do we get him in, ask nicely?"
"Maybe invite him over for silflay," Bluebell joked, only to be lightly smacked on the back of his head by Silver.
"This is no time for jokes!" scolded Silver.
"I'll get him to chase me. You'll be waiting outside ready to rush in and seal off the rock tunnel," answered Hazel, though he knew the possible risk and Fiver might lose his older brother.
"I think someone should point out the obvious flaw, you'll be sealed in there too, Hazel," Hawkbit pointed out the obvious, slightly concerned.
"I know. If I don't do it, the weasel will get us sooner or later," Hazel assured, calmly. "There's no choice."
"But what will we do without you?" Lily asked, saddened at the thought of losing their leader.
Silence fell among the group, as the risk of losing Hazel to the weasel was unbearable to them, especially for Fiver and Pipkin as both rabbits lowered their ears in deep melancholy sadness. It became obvious who the leader of this warren is, and everyone remembered Hazel's courage and level-headed personality that kept everyone together during their adventures to find the high hills.
"Let me do it, Hazel," Bigwig volunteered, having made up a decision as he cast a hurt frown at the surprised Lily.
"Look-" Hazel tried to refuse, but he got turned down.
"No listen, the Black Rabbit of Inle is coming. I heard him calling my name," Bigwig admitted.
A chorus of gasps escaped the mouths of the rabbits, like a bolt from the blue. No one was stupefied the most than Lily.
"But the Black Rabbit of Inle only takes the old and sick with him, to the land beyond life, it's got to be a mistake," Dandelion said, hopefully.
"I don't believe he makes mistakes." Bigwig shook his head, certain that Pipkin was the key for evidence. "Pipkin heard him, too."
"Please, tell me you're not joking," Lily glanced to the young buck, though she sounded unconvinced.
"He called... 'Bigwig... Bigwig...'," Pipkin did an impersonation of the Black Rabbit, putting his paws in the air and his voice deepened to sound intimidating.
"Right, they get the idea." Bigwig made him stop by placing a paw on Pipkin's shoulder. "The point is when the Black Rabbit calls you to carry you off to the land beyond life, you have to go."
"Why didn't you tell us about this?!" exclaimed Lily, her voice breaking. She couldn't bare to lose him, not again. "I don't want you to go! Please, don't go!" she pleaded, desperately.
"I didn't want to worry you... I'm sorry..." Bigwig hesitated, taken aback by Lily's tears. He was afraid she would react like this when she found out his time had come. He hated watching her cry and it broke his heart to see her like this. Then he began addressing Hazel with an apologetic frown, "Look Hazel, we've had our differences, but none of us would be here without you. If Watership Down is going to survive, they need you, Hazel, with all those new ideas of yours. Let me do this last thing for everyone."
Hazel nodded, solemnly and silently.
Noticing Lily's eyes flooded by tears, Bigwig attempted to reach out for her, but she tore away from the group and ran off to sit by the embedded boulder, where she began to weep. Bigwig sighed, wishing he had told her sooner. He could see Hazel ushering him to go talk to her, but first Bigwig needed to do some things first.
"Hawkbit, Bluebell, Pipkin, over there, the rest of you hide behind the tall grass behind the tree," ordered Bigwig, then he turned to the gull. He knew he behaved poorly to the bird, but he had a job for him and he felt like making amends to him. "Kehaar..." But he got cut off when the gull threw his wings around him and gave him a big hug.
"For you, I do anything Mr. Pigvig! Hero bunny, most brave rabbit!" Kehaar praised, as if ready to cry any moment.
Not one to get emotional, Bigwig sarcastically pushed the bird away since the hug felt weird. "Yeah, alright. That's nice. Thank you. When the weasel goes after me, sound the alarm."
"Raah! Like this?" Kehaar demonstrated, and Bigwig nodded approvingly.
Hannah emerged from the burrow, she wanted to speak to Hazel about another discovery. "Come inside. I want to show you something."
While Hazel went inside the burrow, Bigwig came over to the sullen Lily on the embedded boulder. He could still hear her crying, her face buried in her paws as she lay belly flat on the rock. Sighing, he reached over to place his paw on her back. His touch startled her and she looked up, her cheeks wet and her expression cross.
"What do you want now?" she asked, bitterly.
"Lily, I'm sorry I couldn't confide in you about what's going to happen to me. I never meant to hurt you this way," Bigwig apologized, feeling guilty for causing her this much grief. "I know you've suffered enough after losing your farm and you may not know a lot about living in the wild, but I've seen how you've matured these last few days. You saved us from the Owsla and you saved my life in Cowslip's warren. That makes you a strong, smart and compassionate, doe. You will get on without me. I know you will." He gave her a genuine smile as he placed his paw tenderly over her own. And then, he leaned in close enough to wipe the tears off her cheeks with his tongue, then started to groom her face with deep affection. Oh, how he longed to do this for her. Her fur was just as smooth as he hoped it would be.
Mildly surprised by this gesture, Lily felt her bitterness melting away and the warmth of his tongue on her cheeks and forehead sent shivers tingling down her spine. It had never felt so sweet and so soft to her. She pressed her head against his mane to snuggle against him. His mane felt soft and much warmer than his tongue.
Bigwig knew the time had come to profess his love for her, although he never had experience of confessing his love to a doe since his time in the Owsla had hardened his heart, but his heart was not entirely made of stone when it comes to Pipkin, and then came Lily, who broke the barrier around his heart so he could find love. "Lily, I-"
"Getting cozy, are you?" Bluebell's voice teased from behind them.
Lily and Bigwig leapt up, half frightened by this sudden interruption. Their friends were smirking at what could have been the most romantic moment to have ever witnessed. Bigwig grunted, furious to have his private moment ruined. Lily's cheeks turned a shade of red, embarrassed at what the rabbits could have seen.
"If either of you mentioned this again..." Bigwig was ready to send a warning threat to them, but he didn't have the heart to do it as he brushed it off. "Well, that's all then, no questions?" he simply asked.
"Umm, we decided that I say a few words," Hawkbit began, his smirk turned into a dismal frown. "It's been an honor to know you and-"
"Look, your a good bunch and you'll all get on without me, now let's get at it," Bigwig interrupted, wrapping up his plan of the heroic sacrifice.
"It's okay, Bigwig, you don't have to," Hannah's voice cut the mood, sounding much happier about something.
"Hannah's going to lead the weasel into the rock tunnel!" Hazel explained.
"What? Really?" Lily's features lit up, perhaps there is a slight chance that Bigwig will not have to meet the Black Rabbit today while her tail wagged excitedly.
"I beg your pardon?" Bigwig didn't understand if this was a joke or not.
"There's a tiny escape hole, just the right size for Hannah, it leads to the back of the burrow," added Hazel.
"And you said mice were no good," Hannah recalled the lion maned buck's insult, rubbing it in his face that mice can be useful after all.
"Yeah, all well and good, but I'm not letting a mouse do a rabbit's job," rejected Bigwig.
"Now, be sensible, Bigwig," Fiver attempted to reason with him to no avail.
"The Black Rabbit's coming for me." Bigwig shook his head, stubbornly intent to give him his life for the Black Rabbit. "I'm going, and that is that!" He cast a sad smile at Lily, before turning back to Hazel. "Take care of Lily for me." Then he started to hop away.
However, Hazel wasn't hearing any of it, he would not let Bigwig throw his life away for no reason. "Grab him," he commanded.
At this order, every buck surrounded the large lion headed buck, ganging up on him in a circle to prevent him from going any further.
"You wouldn't dare," Bigwig warned, and he tried to leave.
Soon everyone piled up on top of him to the ground, preventing him from leaving the down. Lily and the does giggled in amusement, even Pipkin chuckled amusingly.
"You just said Hazel was leader, best we follow his commands, don't you think?" Hawkbit teased, his body on top of the lion buck's head.
"All right, all right!" Bigwig annoyingly gave up.
"And you should have seen him giving Lily a grooming," Bluebell added, grinning like a clown. "She was nuzzling him and he gave her a lot of licking for-"
"When I get up, the first thing I'm going to do is to rip off your ears if you mention it!" Bigwig warned, ready to give the blue buck a thrashing if he exposed his intimacy with Lily.
"Shutting up," Bluebell mumbled, not wanting to get on Bigwig's bad side.
Tonight was the time for the plan to act. The agitated Hannah waited by the entrance of the burrow, but the weasel didn't wait long to show up as he was determined to catch the rabbits for a meal. The feisty mouse kept shouting, "Smelly breath!" to get his attention. The weasel gave chase as he followed the mouse into the hole. The other rabbits waited quietly in the grass so the weasel can't see them. Kehaar gave the signal "Raah!" and every rabbit rose out of the grass and ran inside the burrow. Hannah continued to taunt the weasel to lead him inside. The snarling beast crawled inside the rocky tunnel, as the scared Hannah ducked into the small hole she had found earlier to escape. As the smirking weasel cornered her, he heard a strange noise and looked back. Everything turned dark as the rabbits worked together to push the boulder to cover the entrance so the weasel can never come out, even though the weasel would eventually find his own way out in the tunnel.
Hannah emerged from the hole in the wall, panting, "Oh, pretty scary, eh?"
"Oh, you were wonderful, Hannah!" Hazel praised, impressively.
"Thank Frith, you're safe!" Lily sighed in relief, giving the mouse a big hug that would have suffocated the mouse so she had to let her go.
"Yeah, I suppose mice and gulls aren't completely useless after all," Bigwig admitted, apologetically.
"Praise indeed, that's the best we're gonna get from you, eh Bigwig?" teased Hannah, as the lion buck stares at her in embarrassment.
Everyone went outside to celebrate their victory over an elil, some of them admiring the moon and the stars up in the sky.
"Easy as acorns," said Hazel.
Bluebell decided to celebrate by attempting to kiss Blackberry, much to her disgust.
"Stop trying to kiss me! That is not a thing we do!" Blackberry swatted him in the face again.
Just then, the mysterious voice called out from within the darkness. "Bigwig! Where are you?" It sounded closer than ever. Birds flew off from the trees where the origin of the voice sounded off.
All heads whirled around to gaze in the direction of where the haunting voice came from, trembling in fear. However, Lily could tell the voice sounded very familiar. If it is Captain Holly, she would be glad that Bigwig doesn't have to give up his life to him, yet who knows how Holly would react upon finding them, probably vengeful toward them for escaping Sandleford and humiliating his Owsla at the river.
"It's the Black Rabbit of Inle!" Hawkbit shivered, spooked by the voice and hid behind Silver for cover.
Bigwig knew his time had come, bravely standing up on his four legs and ready to go accept his death. "I'll uh... I'll have to go now." Looking down at Pipkin, he said softly, "Be good, Pipkin. Lily will take care of you."
"I won't let you go!" Lily protested, blocking his path.
"I don't have a choice!" Bigwig tried to run toward the voice, but the doe would not budge an inch.
"And I don't believe it's the Black Rabbit!" she retorted. "I suspect that it must be someone we know who has followed us to the down!"
Voices murmured among themselves, wondering if the ginger doe is right or wrong. But no one dared to stop Bigwig from rushing off to meet the Black Rabbit. However, Lily would not let that stop her when she dashed off downhill to confront this stranger.
"No, get back! If you look on the face of the Black Rabbit, he'll take you too!" Bigwig warned, despaired at her recklessness.
"If it is him, I won't let you face him alone!" Lily stated, and then tore across downhill to find the strangers, ignoring the pleas of Bigwig and the others.
Positioning herself in front of the dark wood where the voice sounded closer, Lily prepared to attack whoever it is or if it really is Captain Holly, she will be ready to fight, despite never having to fight another rabbit before, except the time she shoved Hazel down for attacking Fiver.
"Zorn... Oh, Zorn!" the voice groaned, wailing as if in extreme pain. "All dead! Ohhh, Zorrrn!"
It sounded like Holly all right, but quite unrecognizable. Whatever zorn means, Lily believed he wanted her friends dead as revenge for their escape. She got into pouncing position, resembling a cat when ready to attack while she remained hidden in the tall grass. As she watched, Lily saw a rabbit limping slowly as he come out of the bushes. It was so dark that she couldn't make out who they are. Then a very familair pale grey rabbit covered in scars and wounds stepped into the light of the moon, and Lily couldn't believe her eyes when she recognized the pale grey rabbit.
"CAPTAIN HOLLY?!" Her suspicions were correct, but Lily had never expected to find him such a horrid state.
"Lily... is that you?" Holly groaned, before he collapsed from exhaustion and surprised to find the hutch rabbit there.
Before long, three more rabbits came limping out of the shadows. Though Lily had never met Buckthorn, Acorn and Speedwell before, their appearances, Holly's included, shot a bullet of horror in her heart. Never had she seen such a group of maimed rabbits looking so miserable, weak, injured and emotionally broken. Whatever resentment she held toward Holly was gone, replaced by sympathy and concern for the former Owsla Captain and his companions.
"By Frith, it's Captain Holly!" Hazel exclaimed in recognition. "And he's brought Speedwell, Acorn and Buckthorn!"
Hazel and everybody else, including Kehaar and Hannah, had come downhill to try and stop Lily from committing a possible suicide if confronting the Black Rabbit. Their reactions were in shock upon recognizing the disheveled rabbits. Bigwig had wanted to stop her from facing off the Black Rabbit and scream at the top of his lungs at how much he loved Lily, but seeing his former captain in such a mess, he was secretly relieved not to blurt it out in front of everybody, it would've saved him the embarrassment.
"Bigwig!" Holly cried, as the lion buck rushed to his side. "We found you!" He grasped his paw, relieved to see him in person. "We've been searching for you... for days."
"It's all right, Holly, you're safe now... you're safe with us," Bigwig soothingly comforted the poor captain as he smiled. "And I see you brought Acorn, Speedwell and Buckthorn with you."
"They're badly hurt, look at their wounds!" Pipkin pointed out the newcomer's scars.
When Holly noticed Fiver approaching, he limped toward the runt and sadly regretting the day he denied his visions. "I remember you... you're the one who saw it coming."
"But, what happened?" asked Fiver, puzzled.
"Sandleford... it's gone. It's all gone."
Everyone gasped softly, just like Fiver had predicted in his dreams.
"Did anyone else get out?" inquired Fiver, hopefully.
"No, everybody is dead... killed by Man..." Holly added, mournfully.
Lily covered her mouth with her paws, horrified.
"Fiver, you were right about everything," Holly breathed. "You knew the story before it was even told. We should have left when we had the chance."
The entire group looked at Fiver in recognition, as the runt was shocked while he cried, "I saw it all in my head, I saw the fear and death, but part of me hoped I was wrong! Sandleford's gone and we're all alone! What do we do, Hazel?"
"What our ancestors did before us. We go on, Fiver," Hazel replied, boldly.
"What is everybody standing around for?" Hannah shouted. "Let's get them to the Honeycomb and fix them up!"
The band of rabbits worked together to help carry Holly, Buckthorn, Acorn and Speedwell back to their warren, and in no time reached their warren for safety.
"There's something else," Holly added, his voice shaken. "You're not safe here... no one is."
Everybody stared at him for a moment, not knowing what he meant. But whatever it is, it cannot be good. Even Lily assumed it must be something more dangerous than elil or humans.
Far away from Watership Down, two abandoned smoking stack chimneys connected to an old fallen tree revealing an opening to a burrow. Everywhere were rabbits stronger than any Owsla buck and bigger than Cowslip's rabbits. These bucks shouting abuse at the whimpering and begging does, though some of them were unfairly punished by beatings or biting. One officer buck passed through a cave beneath the tree, rushing through one tunnel to the next, passing crowded burrows of imprisoned unfortunate does, entering the ruins of the chimney. He reached the final burrow on the left, where the biggest and most scariest buck rabbit hid in the shadows.
"Sir, the wide patrol picked up the scent of a large band of rabbits in the country," the Owsla officer reported, "Unfortunately, sir, we lost them."
The giant rabbit lifted his head and spoke in a deep raspy voice, "Tell them not to return until they're located." He turned his head toward the officer, revealing his left eye blind from a life long wound, a scar as white as the moon. "Leave one alive for questioning."
