To think that moments ago, the shadow of Efrafa had been over their heads… but now, all the does and Blackavar could feel over their heads was a warm sun and a bright sky brimming with hope. The hope of peace… of freedom… of life. But their awe was interrupted when a certain Captain of Owsla finally brought up the gall to address a certain gull.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do," grunted Bigwig. "You were supposed to attack and drive off the Efrafans yesterday, but you let us down and it almost got us killed by the Efrafans!"
"Bigwig, that's enough..." Lily tried to calm him down.
"We believed you abandoned us!" Hawkbit added, looking equally upset as much as Bigwig is. "We thought you had gone back to that Big Water of yours."
"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" Lily snapped irately before taking a moment to breathe. "Now that Kehaar is back, I think we should allow him to explain himself."
"Yah, but it's not a happy story," said Kehaar, flinching at the pain of his injuries reopened. "The day I lead you to bridge where river is hiding, I decide to look for spots where you can escape and I guide you to the safe spots while I frighten those stupid Efrafans away. And then..." he hesitated, "they come out and attack me!"
"The Efrafans?" Hazel guessed.
"Nah, not Efrafa rabbits... they were bloodthirsty ravens!"
"Ravens? Bah!" Bigwig scoffed in disbelief. "You sure that's not just an excuse to cover up your incompetence?!"
"Oh, why don't you stuff a carrot in your ass, Bighead!" snarled Nelthilta, jumping in on the conversation and still fuming over the loss of her sister, then added an insult of her own to make the lion buck retreat backwards, "or should I call you BIGDICK!"
All of the other rabbits stared at the doe, puzzled.
"Did you all know that Bigwig's been mating with Lily back in Efrafa?" Nelthilta smirked like a Cheshire cat.
Everyone gasped, sharply. Their eyes landed upon a mortified Bigwig, embarrassed at his secret love affair exposed. Lily shielded her blushing face, ashamed. The Watership rabbits exchanged baffled expressions, whilst some of them snickered quietly. Hyzenthlay was at least pleased to see Nelthilta still had a sense of humor left in her after the tragic death of her sister.
"Well, I didn't think you had it in you, Bigdick," Hawkbit teased, chortling.
"Just shut it!" shouted Bigwig, his cheeks had a deep shade of red, and decided to allow the gull to explain himself so to avoid being made fun of. "Please, continue."
Ceasing his giggles, Kehaar continued to explain his side of the story, "Anyway, these ravens fly at me from the clouds and carry me off to an abandoned chapel, where they warn me not to aid rabbits against the Dark One. I ask them what they are talking about, so the biggest raven of the group – Corvus, he is called and I think is the leader - say his flock serve the Dark Queen of Darkhaven and I am to stop fighting the Dark One or else myself and all of you will die by the her orders."
"Darkhaven?!" Fiver gasped, his eyes widening. "I saw it before, in my head!" He turned to Blackberry and Bluebell. "You remember back when we had been captured? My vision took me back to Woundwort's past and Darkhaven is a part of it."
"Yes, we do," Bluebell replied. "This Darkhaven must be another warren, but probably just as bad as Efrafa, if not worse if that's even possible."
"But why would a flock of ravens work for rabbits in this Darkhaven place?" Blackberry wondered.
"I don't know, but I believe these ravens and this Dark Queen must have formed an alliance somehow." Hazel shrugged his shoulders, not entirely certain. "Now, how did you escape, Kehaar?"
"Well, after I refuse to do what those crap-faced ravens order me to do..." Kehaar extended his injured wings out to show his wounds, red claw marks engraved on his body and white feathers had been torn off forcibly and a wound caked in old blood beneath his chest, the rabbits were so shocked by these injuries that they felt extreme guilt for doubting the gull's loyalty. "Those black birds try to tear me to pieces, but then I give Corvus something to remember me by. Hurt him plenty good I did, and I escape. I find shelter in an abandoned owl's nest in a tree to hide from those dirty birds. But I was pouring with blood; it hurt a lot whenever I try to fly. After a moment to rest, I leave the nest when it starts to rain, I try to find you and there you are under a bridge surrounded by stupid Efrafans."
"Well, thanks for rescuing us," Hazel praised, sincerely. "Without you, we would've stopped running back there. And I'm sorry to hear what you have been through."
"As soon as we return to the down," assured Blackberry, "I'll find you some herbs that will take care of those wounds, but for now, let me take a look at you." The black-headed doe carefully examined the gull's injuries and scars, making sure the injuries weren't fatal.
"I just hope to live long enough to see little Hazels happen pretty soon, eh?" Kehaar added jokingly with a wink, gesturing toward Clover standing beside Hazel, as both rabbits exchanged loving smiles at each other.
"I just hope you won't try to abandon us again," said Bigwig, apologetically.
"One of these days, you're going to have to find a way to exist without me for a while - Plump Rabbit!" teased Kehaar, playfully.
"For the last time, my name is Bigwig!" The lion manned buck insisted angrily, attempting to make a charge the seagull.
"I know it's Bigwig." Kehaar jumped back as he flapped his wings, avoiding the lion buck's charge. "But what's life if you can't tease your pal a little, eh?"
Some of the Watership rabbits chuckled at the gull's nickname for Bigwig. Though most of the does grew discouraged when hearing about this mysterious Darkhaven as well as the strain of last night's terrifying escape. They began to chatter or mutter amongst themselves, wondering where they are going and what they should do next.
"The does have seen it, our bird who saved us is injured," said Fiver, "they're exhausted and scared."
"But they have to move on," responded Hazel, "they'll die if they stay here." He looked at the Efrafan does, Blackavar included, unsure of how to approach them.
"Speak from your heart, Hazel-rah," advised Clover, gently.
"You can do it, Hazel-rah," encouraged Lily, wisely. "We believe in you. You brought us all together as a family. I knew you were a fearless, open-minded and kind-hearted leader the time we left Sandleford and risked many perils to find a home at Watership Down. You swore an oath to infiltrate Efrafa and liberate the does to freedom. And you have succeeded in saving these rabbits who suffered under Woundwort's tyranny. You're our leader, Hazel-rah, so just do what Clover says. We'll stand with you, whatever you say."
Listening to her words, Hazel felt the role of leader embrace him as he confidently stepped forward to present himself to the former prisoners of Efrafa. He cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. "My name is Hazel, and I am Chief Rabbit of your new home. I know that it will take time for me to earn your trust... and hopefully your friendship."
Bigwig smiled proudly in Lily's direction for speaking such wisdom toward his friend, he couldn't have asked for a better mate. Lily knew what he was thinking as she moved closer beside him, tenderly holding his paw.
"But it is a privilege for me to do so, and to serve each and every one of you, both old and new..." Hazel delivered his impassioned speech to the rabbits, relieving them of their stress, "you have fought so hard to earn your freedom. But now, you must fight to keep it. Because the battle of liberty is one which has no end, and if we fall fighting, if we stop running... then at least we know what it was like to run. I stand here not asking you to follow me, but to follow each other. Let's help raise each other to our strongest selves... Let's go home."
For two days, the rabbits' journey to return home had been long and tireless, but they didn't stop to rest. The only exception of tragedy that occurred was the loss of a doe named Thrayonlosa, the wound she received whilst escaping an Efrafan soldier to get on the boat had slowed her down and it made her the unfortunate victim of a fox attack. The rabbits stayed together in a large group, traveling through a wood, a dirt path beneath a tall tree, and passing through a field of tall weeds. When the sun had vanished and the moon came out, the rabbits didn't stop to rest. They continued onward, lolloping as if the moon or a slightly healed Kehaar, with Hannah riding on his back, guided their way through the darkness. The sun had barely come up while the rabbits climbed over a high hill that revealed train tracks, where they carefully crossed them and slid downhill, just a few minutes before a train thundered behind them. Nuthanger Farm was close, but the sight of Watership Down standing majestically before them was a welcoming sight for the rabbits.
At that time on the high hills, Pipkin had been nibbling on some daisies when he noticed Holly sitting silently by the stream. Ever since Hazel's band had left the down, he hadn't silflayed in two days, still going through the guilt of leaving Hyzenthlay behind at Efrafa and his traumatic experience at Sandleford. The young kitten knew he was thinking about Hazel, Hyzenthlay and the others, so he decided to cheer him up with a little pep talk.
"Cheer up, Captain Holly," comforted Pipkin. "I'm sure Hazel, Bigwig and the others will be back soon."
But Holly was less than convinced. "Hazel should have let me go with him," he sighed. "I was the one who tried to stop you from leaving Sandleford. If I had succeeded-"
"You owe us nothing, Captain Holly. You were obeying orders." Pipkin pushed the daisies at his feet to share his snack. "Cheer up, not a single rabbit here holds that against you."
"But Kehaar failed to report their plans in the past three days," Holly worried. "If Woundwort found out what they are up to-"
"I'm sure Kehaar has an explanation, and I don't think Woundwort knows about them," Pipkin refused to believe the worst. "Now, come on. Eat something, you're growing thinner and worse by the minute."
All of a sudden, a familiar squawk alerted the two rabbits as they glanced up at the sky. Kehaar descended near toward the rabbits, squawking painfully.
"INCOMING, WOUNDED GULL!" warned Hannah from the gull's back, struggling to steer the bird from crashing into Holly and Pipkin while they scattered out of the way to allow the gull to crash land on the grass and skidded to a halt.
"Kehaar, you're back!" Pipkin cheered, glad to see the bird again as he rushed over to greet him.
The seagull grunted and moaned in pain, staggering up on his webbed feet. "The rabbits… are coming… home," he reported weakly before collapsing from sheer exhaustion.
No sooner had he spoken those words that a big surprise came over the hill: a huge band of rabbits climbed the tallest hill to reach their home. Holly stared, not sure if he was seeing things at first, but his heart leapt with joy when he realized this was the real thing. Pipkin cheered with delight, alerting everyone else inside the warren of their friends' homecoming.
"Hey, everybody! Hazel's back!" he shouted. "And he's got the does!"
Strawberry popped her head out of the tall grass. "By Frith! They made it!" As she raced out to welcome them, the rest of the inhabitants joined in; Buckthorn, Speedwell, Acorn, Haystack and Boxwood.
Everyone hurried over to warmly greet or embrace one another, as the does and Blackavar were given a friendly welcome by the Watership inhabitants. Strawberry nuzzled Lily and Bigwig happily, whilst Pipkin gave them each a big hug, stating he knew they would come back.
As Holly scouted the crowd to search for someone he longed to see, she found him on her own. "Hyzenthlay, thank you for saving me. I owe you my life."
"Your warren has given me back my life, and if the roles were reversed, you'd have done the same thing," she spoke, softly.
"A thousand times," replied Holly, just as the two rabbits shared a heartwarming nuzzle and embrace.
Everybody gathered around Hazel as he prepared to introduce the newcomers to their new home on Watership Down. "Welcome to you all," he announced. "Welcome home."
Inside the warren in the Honeycomb, the rabbits grew astonished by a special feast prepared for them by Buckthorn and the others, having stolen numerous vegetables from the garden at Nuthanger Farm in the past two days, to celebrate the heroes' arrival and their victory; carrots, lettuce, radishes, turnips, corn, spinach, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. A slice of cheese had been taken to give to Hannah, and some worms for Kehaar to eat, right after Blackberry used her healing skills to clean and cure up his wounds. There was plenty enough food to go around for everyone. Hazel's band ate like normal, but Blackavar and the does devoured their flay-rah like they hadn't eaten it in years. Throughout the morning, the rabbits spent their day feasting and playing and telling the story of Hazel's band and their journey to the down, and the does were given a tour of the warren by Acorn and Speedwell, trying to show off and impress the does with their superior knowledge. Most of the rabbits settled in nicely in their new home, silflaying in the grass, chatting with one another, playing tail-tag with others, or exploring their surroundings.
Strawberry and Pipkin were engaged in good conversation with Lily and Bigwig, all sharing a laugh from a hilarious story Bigwig told them from his childhood, surprising Lily that her mate withheld a sense of humor she never knew of. Blackavar, Primrose, Rithla, and Buckthorn gazed at the setting sun over the horizon, admiring the changing colors in the sky. Fiver and Vilthuril were silflaying together, until their noses touched but neither of them pulled away as they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. Holly had been attempting to make Hyzenthlay smile, even though she did upon their reunion, it wasn't easy after the abuse she received in Efrafa, but she appreciated what he was trying to do. Hazel and Clover had emerged from the warren together and nuzzling noses together, which later turned into a kiss. Thethuthinnang was singing to some birds, harmonizing beautifully with their chirps. Silver became entranced by her melody as he came over to compliment her, which flattered her deeply.
Elsewhere, Bluebell was sharing a conversation with Nelthilta, having bonded with the blue buck over their shared jokes and silliness, whilst Blackberry simply ate some grass.
"Blackberry here doesn't like jokes," Bluebell told the amused Nelthilta. "She doesn't see the value in them."
"Now, that's not true at all!" Blackberry's head shot upward in denial. And this earned a chortle from Bluebell and Nelthilta.
During the afternoon, Strawberry was silflaying alone until two bucks approached her; Hawkbit and Dandelion, still trying win her affection to see who she will choose as her mate.
"Hello, Strawberry," Hawkbit greeted. "Err… Dandelion and I have something to say. Well, I'm going to say it, because he speaks about once a fortnight. But the thing is, we're both rather fond of you," he chuckled, awkwardly. "And, well... we'd appreciate it if you made a decision of which of us you like."
Strawberry stared at the two bucks, nervously stunned. "Oh, brambles! Right, err... I'd forgotten about that. This is..." she stuttered, unsure of what to say so not to hurt their feelings. "Can I take some time to think about this?" Truthfully, the red doe wasn't quite ready for another buck to replace her beloved Nildro-hain, his death left a strong impact on her and refused to move on too quickly.
Dandelion and Hawkbit nodded their heads, approvingly understanding to give her time to think over their proposal.
"Of course, of course... but be quick," Hawkbit said, "because there are more does around now and, well... two eligible bucks like us are bound to get snatched up fast."
Then Strawberry slowly backed off and retreated to another spot to silflay.
"Why did you say that last bit?" Dandelion demanded, upset. "You didn't say the last bit when we rehearsed it."
"I don't know! Maybe I just don't want to end up alone forever," retorted Hawkbit.
Deep within the burrows of the warren, Bigwig and Lily planned to share their own burrow together now that they are officially mates. Creating a nest of fur and twigs large enough for two, the love bunnies settled themselves in and decided to have a repeat of the moment they shared together in Efrafa. They shared another flirtatious kiss, feeling themselves growing aroused every second. Only this time, Lily laid on her back and urged him to mate with her this way. Instantly, Bigwig started thrusting in and out of her. He playfully nibbled at her neck, creating sounds of passionate moaning from his mate. He told her to keep the noises silent so not to alert the other rabbits and have them tease the couple in such a position. As Bigwig pushed as far as he could, he reached the climax, and so did Lily. He slowly pulled out of her and collapsed beside her, exhausted by the love making and his sleeping beauty dozed off.
When the sun had set at last, everyone retired to their burrows for the night. This would have been a happy ending for everyone, but despite Bigwig's rash decision, this would foretell the start of a new beginning, with many more adventures to come for the rabbits of Watership Down, but a day will come when a war between Watership Down and Efrafa would bring devastation, betrayal, and tragedy for the rabbits on both sides.
