Hi there dear readers, are you still there? We're going to see how those interviews go and if Hazel's leg holds through through them!
Just before this chapter begins, I'll say a special thanks to the great J Shute Norway for some feedback on my first work. I could use some great help in moving forward here!
Now that out of the way, on with the chapter!
Chapter 9: Down on the Hopps Farm
"Girls! Girls! Wait a minute!" Hazel hissed as he stumbled out of the bus and limped toward Clover, Abbey and Lucy as they walked toward the door of the biggest house.
"Hazel, what is it?" Clover asked with a frown, noticing Hazel's lack of cane.
"Look, if it's alright with you, I'd prefer you not to mention my injured leg," Hazel requested, talking fast before the others caught up with him.
"B-but why?" Abbey asked, "You got hurt s-saving us! You're a hero!"
"They'll hire you, I promise!" Clover declared in a whisper.
"I promise I will tell them, after we're hired," Hazel said, "But I don't want to hurt our chances. Let me tell at the right time, okay?"
"Alright, if that's what you want," Clover muttered as the rest of the group caught up to them and they started for the front door.
From the ground the group could see several rabbit faces in the windows of the house, watching the group of strangers that had showed up in their driveway. They approached a large, round front door with a brass knocker shaped like a carrot. Clover tapped it, and the door was quickly opened by a yellow rabbit kit no more than 10 years old.
"Hello, Kevin!" Clover greeted cheerily, "It's me, Clover. You remember, your mother's friend?"
The yellow-furred boy grinned and pulled out a weird looking grey device with several coloured buttons, a lid and a long stick at the end reading "Yap Boy Tape Recorder" from behind his back from his right paw.
"Yes," he said into the recorder pushing the record red button. He replayed the recording which said yes in his normal voice. Clover smirked a bit at his funniness.
"Okay, could you fetch your grandparents please?" Clover continued. "I've got some rabbits who'd like to talk to them about working here." "Yes," Kevin repeated into his recorder and replaying it to her before running off for them. The whole waited with bated breath as they heard Kevin's footsteps in the hall, along with little murmurs that sounded like various rabbits inside wondering aloud what was going on. Finally they heard Kevin's quick footsteps returning, followed by two other pairs of steps. Kevin returned to the door, still holding his Yap Boy, and behind him emerged two rabbits in their early 60's. The male was a plump, jolly-looking brown buck wearing a checkered shirt, overalls and a green and white hat with a carrot on the front, while the female was grey-furred with violet eyes, wearing a casual sleeveless dress.
"Clover, Abbey! How nice to see you again!" smiled the grey female doe hugging the two before letting them hug the plump brown buck male. "And you must be Lucy, and who are all these rabbits here?"
"Some very fine rabbits who are very helpful!" Lucy began as she turned towards the group. Hazel was leaning next to Bigwig in order to gain standing properly and not let his leg pain show.
"They saved our lives last night, and are all looking for work and I told them you were hiring," Clover explained. "You are hiring now, aren't you?"
"Hm? Oh yes, yes, of course!" stated the brown buck, "My name is Stu Hopps, and this is my wife Bonnie. You all saved their lives? Wo-o-oah! What happened, are you three alright? What am I saying, of course you are! Come in, come in!" And with a wave of his paw he jogged back into the house.
"Pardon my husband, he gets a little excited," Bonnie mentioned fondly as she gestured at the doe and the Sandleford group to enter. And when they did, they found themselves inside the most amazing house they had ever seen.
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The high arching ceiling painted a nice light brown seemed to be as tall as two buildings squished together. The whole interior had a soft and rounded appearance that gave off the impression they were going through actual rabbit holes; more than anything the décor reminded Hazel of the town of Whoville from a Dr. Zoos book he used to read to Fiver. They passed several round doors, small staircases and rabbits of all sizes as they walked down the hallway, all eyes watching them with curiosity, and then passed through a living room with walls entirely covered with framed family photos, before finally coming to a stop in what looked like an office that Stu and Bonnie led them into, shutting the door behind them.
"So," Stu started. "All of you are up for our open work positions on the farm?"
"Yes Sir Mr. Stu," Hazel bowed politely still leaning onto Bigwig and hiding his pain. Everyone followed and bowed too with Hana doing it in Blackberry's left paw.
Stu chuckled, "Please, call me Stu."
"That goes for me too for you all," Bonnie piped in smirking. "We appreciate your manners but you don't need to address us as with a Mr and Mrs always. Just call me Bonnie and my husband Stu."
"Alright… Bonnie," Fiver answered, stammering a little.
"Now, what do you mean that they saved your lives last night?" Bonnie asked Clover.
"We – the girls and I were camping in Podunk last night, when a gang of bucks invaded our campsite and ambushed us," Clover answered, her eyes wide as she remembered the events of last night, "Lucy cried for help, but they tied us up and gagged us, and then started raiding our food."
"Thank goodness they were hungry, I don't know where we'd be now if they'd just taken us right away!" Lucy jumped in, breathing fast, "But a few minutes later we saw him-" She pointed at Hazel, "And him-" She pointed at Dandelion, "…Pop out of a bush. They led 2 of the bucks away, and then he and he-" She pointed at Holly and Strawberry, "…Took out the third one. There were 3. And then we heard-"
"Dandelion," Clover jumped in, pointing at the yellow buck, "We heard him, that's his name, Dandelion. He and Hawkbit, that's Hawkbit-" She pointed at the blue-grey buck next to Dandelion, doing her best to keep track of all the names of the group, "They came out of the bushes, dragging one of our would-be kidnappers behind them." That wasn't the full story of course, but Clover was honoring Hazel's request not to have his being shot mentioned. "And then after a while Hazel showed up dragging the other buck, it was his plan that saved us."
Hazel smiled bashfully, trying his best to hide through throbbing in his leg, while around him the other rabbits exchanged looks of trepidation, knowing it was not how things worked out at all.
However, Stu and Bonnie stood with gaping mouths in shock at how this rescue turned out great and then both clapped at it.
"Bravo, oh bravo you sounded so brave saving these does!" Stu Exclaimed before breaking into a sob.
"Oh Stu, they're alive and well here," Bonnie soothed rushing to her husband's left and patting him on the back. "Sorry everyone, my husband gets emotional sometimes. You should have seen him when one of our daughters left for a job in the big city."
"Seeing family leave for big things is never easy," Hazel commented. "Family is just so important and big events such as that still bring me the waterworks," Stu sniffled as he wipe his eyes and composed himself. "Anyways, we were interviewing you for farm work?"
"Yes, we'd love to apply for positions if you're hiring," Hazel answered.
The group all leaned in until Bonnie spoke up: "Hazel, it is usually customary to interview new workers one at a time," she said softly.
"Oh sorry, it wasn't like that on our last job," Hazel replied.
"No, you'll all learn," Bonnie soothed. She then turned to the other rabbits in the room. "Sorry everyone, the rest of you will have to wait outside so we can interview you each. Who's going first?"
"Me then, Mrs. Bonnie," said Hazel.
"Very well then, sit down, please," Bonnie pulled out a folding chair and placed it in front of the desk. Hazel stopped leaning on Bigwig and hobbled over as discreetly as he could while the others left the room, thankfully Bonnie and Stu took no notice.
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"So, Hazel…" said Stu, putting on a pair of reading glasses, "Do you have a resume we can look at?" he held out his paw for one.
Hazel was a little taken aback, and then decided to be honest. "No I don't, sir, none of us do. My group and I come from a town called Sandleford, it was destroyed by a great swirling wind. Er, a tornado. We are the only survivors."
Stu and Bonnie both gasped in shock. "Oh my goodness!" Bonnie cried out. "When was this? Are any of you hurt? How did you end up here?"
"It was… actually a week ago today," Hazel answered. He continued speaking to Bonnie while he saw Stu grab an iPad and start looking something up. "None of us were hurt," he added, not wanting to bring up his throbbing leg, "But it was a traumatic experience. We gathered up what we could and got on that bus outside and just started driving, we didn't know where we were going. We kept driving west until we found work at this farm in Arizona, where we met one of our group, Strawberry. But there were dangerous folk there so we had to leave, and then we ended up in Podunk, where we helped Clover and Abbey and Lucy, and they led us here." This was withholding a lot of details, but Hazel figured it best to leave those out for now.
"He's telling the truth, look," said Stu to his wife, showing her the iPad. "Tornado in Kansas – rabbit-populated town of Sandleford destroyed, no survivors found." He looked like he was holding back tears. "Are there any relatives or friends of yours around that you can stay with?"
"No… it's just us. This place is our only hope." Hazel admitted. "We don't have resumes because we couldn't make any before leaving. We have a few days of farm experience each, from that place I mentioned, Cowslip's farm, but I promise we can all learn. Strawberry has lots of experience though, you can talk to him, he'll show us what to do."
"And... what experience do you have elsewhere?" Bonnie asked, keeping the interview going. "I worked at the town hardware store, so I know a lot about tools. I'm pretty good with my paws," Hazel answered. "But I have a brother here, he's a minor. And we have a kit named Pipkin too. We'll happily pay room and board for them."
"I won't hear of it, we'll find something for them to do!" Bonnie declared. "Until summer ends, then we'll have to see about enrolling them in school. But I promise you, your brother and Pipkin will be cared for as long as you're here."
"As long as we're here?" Hazel's face lit up, "You mean we're hired?"
Bonnie and Stu looked at each other, and both nodded.
"You are hired, but we'll have to interview the others first," answered Bonnie, "And you'll have to tell us your full name."
"Thank you, thank you!" Hazel stood up and shook both their paws. "It's Hazel… James Shawnson."
"Well, Hazel James Shawnson, welcome to Hopps Family Farm," Stu greeted warmly. "Now, let's talk about your pay…"
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Outside, the rest of the group waited with bated breath trying to listen to Hazel's interview through the door, but said door was surprisingly insulated from noise.
"Can you hear anything, Bluebell?" Violet whispered to the blue-eyed buck who was leaning his head and ear against the door.
"Yes, somebody just said, 'can you hear anything?'" said Bluebell with a roll of his eyes. He listened closer, "I think Hazel just said thank you, now there's little thumps…"
Suddenly the door opened, and Bluebell's suddenly unsupported body fell through the doorway and fell onto the carpet in front of a bewildered Hazel.
"*Oof!* Hey Hazel, how'd the interview go?" Bluebell asked as he got up and straightened his shirt like nothing had happened.
"Just fine although I'd prefer it if you Mammals would let me go through this myself," Hazel stated firmly.
"Sorry about that Hazel," Violet apologized. "We were unsure and I asked Bluebell for any confirmation he could hear of you."
"Well, I'm hired, if that's what you're wondering," Hazel said calmly. "Strawberry, they want to see you next."
"Oh uh okay Hazel," Strawberry muttered making sure he looked okay.
"Just relax mate," Bigwig piped in. "You look fine."
"I put in a good word for you, they just want to ask some questions based on your experience as a farmer," Hazel stated, "Don't worry, they're very good rabbits."
Strawberry nodded in appreciation and slowly went inside, Hazel exiting and closing the door behind him.
"What are they like, Hazel?" Acorn was the first to ask, "Will this be our new home, like Fiver said?"
"Hang on there," Hazel pointed out. "There is still the matter of interviews to go and all of us should worry about that first."
"Don't worry Acorn, it will all be fine," Fiver suddenly piped up.
"Did you just have another vision without us seeing?" Acorn asked with his eyes widening.
"No, I just... feel it," Fiver explained, looking like even he didn't know what he was talking about.
"I remember Silverweed telling you something similar back on Cowslip's farm; that gives me hope," said Blackberry. She held Hana against the door with her right paw, "Can you hear anything?"
"Think Strawberry is describing his experience at Cowslip's to the Hopps couple," Hana answered. "Now that Stu fellow is asking a bit more about his prior work experience."
"Mr Strawberry should be a real good help," Pipkin spoke softly. "He was very nice to Hana and me on the farm!"
"If anyone should be able to impress that Bonnie and Stu next, the Strawberry guy has what they want I guess," Speedwell added.
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The group waited anxiously until Strawberry came out, beaming: "I'm the group supervisor." Everybody most of the group cheered, although some looked a little confused.
"That's wonderful, Strawberry!" declared Hazel.
"What does 'supervisor' mean?" asked Pipkin.
"It means I give out instructions on Bonnie and Stu's behalf, and show you what to do," Strawberry answered. "Like back at Cowslip's. And if there are any accidents or anything, you tell me so I can tell the Hopps."
"Alright then, you're in, Hazel's in, who's next?" asked Bluebell.
"I think it should be Fiver," declared Bigwig. "After all, he's half the reason we're here."
The group murmured amongst themselves in agreement, and Fiver's response was to pull his ears over his face.
"I've never done an interview before, oh Frith I'm nervous!"
Hazel tried leaning down to him but the bullet-struck leg stung him so he signalled Strawberry to help him. "Just relax, Little Brother," he winced, "Mr. and Mrs. Hopps do want to hire us all, they just want to get to know us first. Relax and answer their questions honestly, and you'll be fine."
Fiver gulped, gave Hazel a quick hug to give himself courage, and then slowly opened the door and entered the office. Fiver walked in nervously but tried his best to smile as he sat down in the office chair.
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"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps," Fiver spoke quietly.
"Oh young buck, remember that you and your friends are free to call me Stu and my wife Bonnie," Stu smiled. "There's no need to call us Mister and Missus."
"Sorry Mister, um, I mean Stu," Fiver stammered. "Just a bit nervous, this is my first interview."
"Well, try relaxing if you can dear," soothed Bonnie as she walked over to Fiver and patted his shoulders.
"Thank you Bonnie," Fiver Answered cheerfully.
"You're most welcome," Bonnie replied happily and then walked back to Stu's left. "Now, Hazel mentioned having a brother in your group, are you him?"
"Yes Ma'am, my name is Fiver. Fiver Nicholas Shawnson."
"Fiver? That's a very unusual name," Bonnie commented. "Tell us, Fiver, how old are you?"
"16, Ma'am."
"Do you have any prior work experience you can tell us about?"
"N-not really. Back at Cowslip's farm I worked in the kitchen, but we were only there for a few days."
"That is a skill you could develop more over time perhaps with some of our family member's help," Stu suggested.
"That would be lovely," said Fiver. "I'd love that."
"No problem," Stu smiled. "Anyways Fiver, do you have any special skills we could pinpoint to certain duties for you?"
"Err..." Fiver didn't think having psychic visions counted, "No. But I'm a good learner, I promise."
"Good learning skills is important," noted Bonnie. "Your brother spoke highly of you while he was in here, and you seem of decent character. Consider yourself hired, at least until school starts again."
"Really?" Fiver's face lit up, "That's wonderful, thank you! Thank you! You will not regret this!"
"I'm sure we won't," said Bonnie, already feeling good about her decision, "I think you'll fit in well here, welcome to Hopps family farm."
"Thank you, thank you!" Fiver repeated, standing up to shake their paws, but then he instinctively hesitated. Stu and Bonnie each took his paw and shook it.
"I hope your daughter in the city's doing well, being a police officer can't be easy," Fiver suddenly muttered. He blinked in confusion, not sure where that had come from, and before him Bonnie and Stu gave equally confused expressions.
"How did you know she was a cop?" Bonnie asked, "Have you seen her on the news?"
"N-no, I don't think so, sometimes I just… know things," Fiver muttered.
Bonnie and Stu frowned a little, but decided not to pursue it.
"Very well, you may go then," said Stu.
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"How'd the interview go?" Hazel asked as Fiver got out of the office and Speedwell went in for his turn.
"They've hired me at least until school starts," Fiver answered getting a small round of applause from his friends. "I think I almost got in trouble though."
"How so?" Blackberry piped in.
"I think I nearly had a vision in my interview of one of their family members," Fiver began. "They got a bit suspicious but Mister Stu allowed me to go. I don't know if they're still going to hire me after that." His ears drooped in sadness.
"Wh - what did you see?" Hazel asked, concerned.
"That their daughter in the city is a police officer," Fiver muttered, "And I thought I saw… a rabbit doe and a fox, together in uniform, that was the picture in my head."
That was when it clicked for Hazel. "That's it!" he hissed. "I knew the name Hopps sounded familiar! Back in Sandleford, after the swirling wind hit, a bunch of us saw a news report on Zootopia officer Judy Hopps and her fox partner, Nick! You must have forgotten, I know I did!"
"And so did I – who could remember with all that's happened in the last week?" said Bigwig.
"Now I remember it, too!" piped up Hana.
"And me!" chimed in Blackberry, "Goodness it's a small world."
000000000000 Shortly after Speedwell came out, proudly proclaiming he had been hired as well. After some words of congratulations Acorn followed his brother, and also passed. Then a trembling Pimpernel went in, and when he came out he was shaking worse than before and Bonnie and Stu had unusually wary looks on their faces, but announced that he had been hired too. Reasoning that Pimpernel may have had a past he didn't like to discuss Blackberry then stepped into the office for her interview.
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"Alright, Miss… Blackberry," Stu started as she settled into her seat. "What is it in your skill set can you bring to the Hopps farm?"
"I've got a bit of background in nursing," Blackberry replied.
"Really? So do I! Do you have any certification?" Bonnie Asked.
"No, I completed a year and a half of a Registered Nursing program," Blackberry elaborated, "At Fernfield College near our town. But I had to drop out for family reasons, and then they needed help at the Sandleford Home for the Unfortunate where I grew up, so I took a job there as a caregiver and worked there until it was destroyed. I'm very good with kits."
"The Home for the Unfortunate…" Bonnie frowned, "I heard your friends Speedwell and Acorn mention that place, could you elaborate on it a little?"
"It's… it was, an orphanage, and the town's family services office," Blackberry explained, her ears lowering as she talked about the home that had meant so much to her, "Years ago… you see, our town was very isolated, and our city leaders preferred not to keep up with the modern world, and that extended to modern vaccinations. Because of that, 25 years ago, there was an outbreak of Myxy in our town that killed most of the population."
Bonnie and Stu both gasped, Bonnie clapping her paws over her mouth. They were all too familiar with stories of Myxomatosis, also known as white blindness, a highly contagious disease almost always fatal to rabbits. Outbreaks were all but nonexistent now due to vaccinations, but to hear of a town almost being wiped out due to the deliberate ignorance of its leaders was the worst fate they could imagine.
"I hardly remember it, I was 5 years old, but it killed my parents," Blackberry sniffled, "After the outbreak ended the Home for the Unfortunate was set up to care for kits who lost their families to it. I grew up there, and so did Dandelion and other members of our group. And when the swirling wind hit I was helping to run the Home with Captain Holly and Bigwig, I guess you haven't met them yet."
"N-n-no, we haven't yet," Stu quivered nearly ready to cry again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see any way to tell you about the Home without telling you about the outbreak," Blackberry apologized. "After that our town started doing vaccinations, so my group and I are all immunized, I promise."
"I have no doubt of that," said Bonnie. "Alright, moving on, what did you do at the last place you worked, Cowslip's Farm?"
"I delivered refreshments to workers, and worked in the nurse's office there," Blackberry replied. "It was very, very understocked with supplies, it was very difficult to treat anyone who came in." She didn't care to mention the doe who had died of heatstroke.
"It should be a mandatory practice to have an infirmary up to standards," Stu noted. "You'll be happy to know we have our own hospital ward with plenty of supplies. With so many rabbits living and farming here, we have to be prepared for anything."
"Happy to know? You mean I'm hired?" Blackberry asked, her ears perking up in excitement.
"Oh yes, dear, we'll be glad to have you," declared Bonnie. "We'll show you the ward as part of your tour after the interviews are over. Are there any more questions?"
"Just a statement," Blackberry said, remembering her discussion with the group outside, "Do you remember interviewing Fiver, how he seemed to just know that your daughter in the city was a police officer?"
"Yes we do, do you know why?" Stu questioned.
"Yes; on the day the swirling wind hit, a bunch of us did see a report about Officer Judy and her partner on the news, but we'd all forgotten about it until now," Blackberry explained. "Fiver too, but he might have connected the dots on some subconscious level and then repeated it to you. I swear to you, none of us knew she was your daughter before now; it's just a great coincidence."
"Very strange coincidence," Bonnie muttered, "I don't doubt your word, dear, but Fiver denied seeing her on the news; he said he just knows things sometimes."
"He does; he really is somewhat psychic," Blackberry admitted. Feeling she shouldn't be the one to tell them about Fiver's visions she added, "But he really was in the room when we saw the report, he must not have been paying much attention."
"I see," said Bonnie, "That's very interesting, could we learn more about that sometime?"
"It's not my place to tell about it, but I think you will," said Blackberry, knowing of the unpredictability of Fiver's visions. "But I promise you won't regret hiring Fiver, he's as good a kit as I've ever met, and I've worked with a lot."
Bonnie and Stu both nodded, accepting this vague but genuine answer.
"Very well, you may go," said Stu. Blackberry shook their paws and then left.
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Bigwig was interviewed next, and hired to work in security for the farm, a role he accepted with a small amount of trepidation after his experience at Cowslip's. Then Bluebell, Violet and Buckthorn, who were all hired to work in the fields, and then came a turn that some had been secretly dreading: Hana the mouse.
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"Dearie me, this is surely the part where they turn me away," Hana gulped in the right palm of Blackberry, looking more nervous than any of the group had ever seen her. "With all you rabbits, what can a mouse such as myself do?"
"Surely there is something Stu and Bonnie can come up with for you," Holly tried to console, "Don't count yourself out yet!"
"Thank you Holly, but I just don't see what I can do here," Hana sighed. "In a mouse community I could do something but here I can't lift, I can't operate machinery, and there's enough rabbits here to watch over Pipkin. They don't need me, and neither do you."
"Nonsense, you're one of the group, and we're not letting you go!" Hazel stated firmly, bending down to look her in the eye. "If they can't find a place for you here then we'll make one. We'll set up a place for you in one of our rooms, bring you food, and cover whatever rent Bonnie and Stu want."
Hana looked positively shocked at the gesture, staring into Hazel's face with her eyes wide and jaw dropped.
"But… why? Why would you want someone like me around?" She finally asked.
Hazel frowned a little at the choice of words, but then put down his own paw so that Hana could step onto it, and held her up to his eye level: "Because you're a survivor, like the rest of us," he said, "And we all have to look out for each other."
And then he opened the door to the office, carried Hana over to the awaiting Bonnie and Stu, set her on their desk and departed, leaving the mouse and two rabbits alone.
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"Uh, hello there," Hana stuttered looking up at Stu and Bonnie with her paws clasped together. But to her surprise, the rabbits looked rather supportive.
"We… heard what you said outside. There was a crack in the door," Stu said. "Hana, is it?"
Hana nodded with tremulation. "Yessir, Hana… Horrocks." The name felt strange coming out of her mouth, she had not revealed it to anyone for a long time.
"We actually do have a job for you," said Bonnie, "Have you ever done any sewing?"
Hana's eyes widened, "Er, yes, a little, for clothes my size."
"Well," said Bonnie, "On this farm there are hundreds of young and hardworking rabbits about, which means hundreds of articles of clothing in need of mending, patching and button replacing. We've always got a team of bunnies working on that, but your small paws could thread and wield a needle with more accuracy than a bigger mammal. Would you willing to learn to sew for bigger mammals?"
"Yes! Yes I would!" Hana declared, her face lit up with relief, "When can I start? Today?"
"As soon as we hire you, we still want to ask you some questions first," said Stu, now sounding more business-like.
"Um, okay?" Hana responded, feeling nervous again. She felt the rabbits' eyes travel over her brown body, noting her worn clothes (a yellow shirt and green pants with frayed knees) and then eyeing her right ear, which had a chunk missing as if someone had bitten it off.
"Can you explain what happened to your ear?" Stu asked.
Hana instinctively covered her ear with her paw, "That's getting a little personal, don't you think?"
"I'm sorry, but we've seen marks like that before," said Bonnie. "Our daughter sometimes brings case files with her when she comes to visit from the city, and we've seen pictures of mammals who had that done to their ears as a mark of…" She hesitated before she said it, "…Gang initiation."
Hana gulped nervously, not having expected that at all. "Well, you see…" she started.
"Do they know?" Bonnie asked.
"No," said Hana, "I only met them all a week ago before the tornado hit. But… I love them, they're all I've got. I was in with a bad crowd once, I admit it, but it's not like you think."
"Why don't you let us be the judges of that?" Bonnie offered. "We do want to include you here, but first you have to be honest with us. Can you do that?"
Hana hung her head low, torn between confiding to these rabbits she barely knew and the urge to jump off the desk and run away.
"Everything you tell us stays in this room, you can tell your friends what you want in your own time," Bonnie added.
Finally Hana looked up, deciding to take the plunge. "Alright, it's like this…"
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All the Sandleford rabbits waited patiently outside awaiting hopefully good news from Hana's interview.
"Sure hope Hana is feeling fine in there," Blackberry said.
"Can't blame her, she is the smallest in our group," Hazel added. "Still she is a good friend of ours."
"They better find her something as I can't really imagine much of what she can do with a whole group of regular sized mammals," Bigwig said.
"Hey now, be patient Bigwig!" Holly softly scolded with a light slap across the back of his head. "After all we've been through, you can't just give up on her now!"
"I wasn't giving up, I was just being realistic," Bigwig countered.
Holly sighed. "Fine, fair enough. But all of us are in this together. None of us are dropping anyone from the group no matter the size."
"I agree, I'll go along with what Hazel told Hana. But who knows how long she'll stick around if she doesn't have work to occupy her."
Just then, the office door opened and Bonnie and Stu came out, Bonnie holding Hana on her paw.
"They hired me, I'm working with the sewing group!" Hana announced enthusiastically. Blackberry gave a slow clap followed by Hazel and then everyone joined in increasing their clapping speed, full of relief that their friend could stay.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Pipkin cheered as he took Hana from Bonnie's paw, and to Hana's surprise he gave her an affectionate little stroke on her head with his finger. "We were so worried! What would you do with the sewing group?"
"Sewing buttons, repairing rips and things like that," Hana answered. "A little unorthodox but, they had a point - with my size I could thread a needle better than anyone."
"Then thank you, Mister and Missus Hopps!" Pipkin stated, and before Bonnie and Stu could react Pipkin ran up and gave each of them a hug, Hana still perched on his palm.
"Wow, this little Pipkin fella really does enjoy everyone doesn't he?" Stu chuckled.
"He is quite fond of almost any mammal although we've mostly lived with just rabbits our whole lives," Blackberry commented. "It'll take a while to get used to these other species around us."
"Well here in Bunnyburrow, we're a big friendly community and all of us try to pitch in with each other," Bonnie said. "Just relax and all of you will adjust to our community in no time!"
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Next to be interviewed was Holly, who was hired to work in the fields until, as Stu put it, a job more befitting his past leadership experience could be found. Then Silver was interviewed, then Hawkbit and finally Dandelion, all of whom were hired.
Finally, Bonnie and Stu had Pipkin come into the office to talk with them for a few minutes, telling him of his own future on the farm, before at long last the interviews were over and the whole group had been hired. All rabbits stood in the hall cheering and congratulating each other.
"I'm so happy for you guys!" cried Clover, hugging Strawberry, "You deserve this after your heroic rescue!"
"You'll all love it here, this is one of the best farms in the Burrows!" declared Abbey, who had grown more comfortable talking to the group during their time in the house.
"Well, thank you all for setting this up," said Hazel to the does, sitting in a chair to lessen the strain his injured leg.
"How's the leg?" Lucy asked anxiously, making sure Bonnie and Stu weren't listening in.
"It's – it's alright, thank you," Hazel answered. In truth it was killing him, but he was good at putting on a brave face.
"Congratulations, all of you!" Stu announced to the crowd. "I think you will all make good workers here on the farm, and now, Bonnie and I gotta show you around! Clover, Abbey, Lucy, you want to stay?"
"We'd love to, Stu!" Clover answered for all of them, taking Strawberry by the paw. The orange buck blushed at the contact.
"Very well, let's start with the kitchen and the dining room!" said Stu, gesturing for the group to follow. As he led them away from the office down the hall he began to elucidate: "Now, as you imagine we've got hundreds of mouths to feed, so that means big, BIG kitchen and lots and lots of dishes…"
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2 hours later, the group was nearly panting as Stu led them down a hallway towards the final spot on their tour: the guest house where they would be staying.
"Time for you all to see where you will be staying!" Stu beamed as they ventured down the hall to their destination. The hallway had no corners, but instead a rounded look like most of the rest of the Hopps house. Coupled with its dirt-red chestnut color scheme it felt like they were going through an actual tunnel, which was fitting considering that the hallway was underground, as was most of the Hopps household as the rabbits had discovered along their tour.
"Is the guesthouse close?" Groaned Hawkbit. "I feel like we've walked a marathon in this house!" A collection of agreed groans and pants came behind him.
"Come now, it's only 403 rooms," Bonnie commented, clearly enjoying the rabbits' reaction to the magnitude of her and Stu's home.
"Half of Sandleford alone could have fit in the dining hall!" panted Dandelion. "And I didn't know it was possible for a house to have its own movie theater!"
"In a house this big, you need that extra space to house all those mammals for a big film!" Bonnie said. "These aren't regular sized homes with a TV in a few rooms and you must remember we rabbits are good at multiplying." She emphasized that last point with a wink of her right eye.
"I guess you're right," Hazel chuckled a bit through the panting, walking as little on his injured leg as possible. 'Although none of us have ever seen a rabbit family this big. You must have as many children as El-ahrairah!"
"Who's El-ahrairah?" Stu asked.
"I know that name, my father used to tell stories of him," said Bonnie. "Wasn't he the first rabbit, or something?"
"We do have some history books on him if you're having trouble remembering," Holly spoke up.
"I might have to take a rain check, dear, with all the work we have to do Stu and I don't get much time for reading," Bonnie replied. She reached a round wooden door at the end of the hallway, "A-ha! Here we are!" She pulled out a key and turned the lock, and the door opened to a guest house like none of the group had ever seen.
"Well, what do you think of this?" Stu puffed out his chest in pride.
None of the mammals knew what to say, each felt gobsmacked at the sight of it: They were inside a living room that had the look of an old-fashioned log cabin, with a wooden log structure and crossbeams in the ceiling. Various pictures of rabbits and vegetables and fruits adorned the walls, but the furniture was covered in white sheets; clearly the house had not been used in some time. But despite the absence of residents the house had a distinctly cozy feel to it, with a piano in the corner and a grey stone fireplace that would make for wonderful décor on Frith's Eve (Christmas to most rabbits).
"I'm afraid this house hasn't been used in some time, but there should be enough rooms and facilities for all of you," Bonnie said.
"Rooms? For all of us? How many rabbits can this place hold?" Bigwig asked loudly, barely-concealed awe in his voice.
"If me or my husband told you, could you handle that information?" Bonnie replied.
Neither of the Sandleford lot knew if they could. This was already beyond any of the modest buildings they knew from their hometown and they had only seen the living room.
"Probably not, but you'll have to tell us anyway," Holly spoke for them.
Bonnie took a deep breath and answered in a matter-of-fact voice: "This house has 15 bedrooms, and enough bunk beds, sleeping bags, couches and kitchen facilities to house up to 40 rabbits."
The group let out a collective gasp, and Bluebell actually did a big, comical faint onto the carpet.
"We used to have such big family reunions that this house would get packed to the brim over the holidays," Bonnie added, clearly enjoying effect.
"Hazel, I'm beginning to think that sign outside town wasn't a joke," Fiver whispered to his brother.
"I think you're correct Fiver," Hazel whispered back. "This is reality it seems."
"So, where are the bedrooms?" Violet spoke out as she quickly helped Bluebell regain consciousness and stand up.
"Right up the stairs over there," Stu laughed. "Come along now."
"What just happened?" Bluebell asked as he rubbed his head a bit to keep his eyes open.
"You fainted from how many rooms and the amount of supplies Bonnie told us," Speedwell said.
"It was weird, I could have sworn she said this place holds up to 40 rabbits," Bluebell answered.
"Uh, she did say 40 rabbits," Violet replied.
"Uhhh…" Bluebell's eyes rolled back and he fainted again. And this time Violet rolled her eyes, "You're faking now aren't you?"
"Course I'm faking!" Bluebell slid back to his feet this time like nothing had happened.
"Now I know this seems quite shocking but trust us when I say you'll get used to all this space after a while," Bonnie said.
"Certainly hope so Mrs. Bonnie," commented BlackBerry. "These certainly aren't living areas we're used to, they never had families like this back in Sandleford."
"I have no doubt, families like ours are actually rare nowadays," Bonnie explained as they reached a wooden staircase and started to climb it, "Only farmers who grow their own food can possibly feed this many children. And now, here are your rooms!"
She gestured down the hallway at the top of the stairs and the group gaped in awe: there were over a dozen doors in the hallway just as Bonnie and Stu had said, and all of the group were now excited at the prospect of being able to have their own rooms while living here.
"So how do the rooms go?" Acorn asked. "Do you assign us or are we allowed to choose ones ourselves?"
"Oh, you may decide amongst yourselves, it doesn't matter to us," answered Bonnie. "Here, let's look in a couple." She opened the first door on the left, revealing a cozy bedroom with wallpaper patterned like a wheat field. It had a dresser, a chair and a bunk bed for furniture, there was a closet on the opposite end of the room and on the wall was a framed black and white picture of an old-fashioned grocery store.
"Wow, it's very nice," said Buckthorn, "Do they all have bunk beds like that?"
"Nope, a couple have double beds too," ans
wered Stu, "Most of these rooms are for families with children. But if you don't like sleeping in bunks, they come apart."
"What? How does that work?" asked Bigwig.
'I'll show you, Give me a hand, would you?" Stu led Bigwig over to the bed, and instructed him to lift one end of the top bed while he took the other, and to Bigwig's surprise the bed slab and mattress lifted right off, held in place by holes that fit in divots on the bed posts. Then Stu lifted up said posts and they came off, creating a single bed that would fit a rabbit comfortably.
"Well that's great, I always hated sleeping in bunks in the army," said Bigwig approvingly, "What do we do with the rest of the bed?"
"Just put it there in the closet," said Stu, and Bigwig did.
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Then the group left the room and Bonnie showed them another bedroom, which was similar except that it had rose-patterned wallpaper and a basket of fake flowers on the windowsill, clearly a room intended for girls.
"I think I'll take this one," Blackberry announced. Bonnie nodded in approval and closed the door, and then she and Stu led them past the other bedrooms to the door at the very end of the hall.
"This is the main bathroom," Bonnie announced, "There is also a small one over there that Blackberry, Violet and Hana can use, but this should suit all the boys very well." And with that she opened the door and the group was greeted with one of the best bathrooms they had ever seen: It somewhat resembled a locker room from the town gym back in Sandleford, only there were no lockers. It had clean white walls and a brown-tiled floor, and nearby on the right they could see at least 10 toilets in green adjoined stalls, opposite a long blue counter with as many sinks in front of a giant mirror.
Past the toilets they could see a large fur dryer embedded in the floor, which gave entry to a room with several curtained shower stalls surrounding a long wooden bench that people could use to dress. Bonnie and Stu led the group past the stalls into the shower room, where they saw an entrance into another room.
Inside this room were 2 sunken bathtubs, a large wooden sauna and several little sunken tubs that the group did not know the purpose of.
"Foot baths – we farmers get such tired feet," explained Stu. "Farming is hard work, we believe in taking good care of our workers. That sauna is excellent for loosening up those sore muscles. Let me show you how it works." He pulled open the sauna door, which was held in place by some sort of magnet, and inside the group saw what looked like an enclosed wooden room with panels of red felted grates lining the walls, with 2 levels of conjoined benches beneath them. It looked very cozy.
"Infrared sauna – it warms you better while using a lot less power," Stu noted. "You turn it on like this-" he pressed a button on a control panel next to the door, and a beep sounded and lights inside came on, "And it takes about 10 minutes to warm up. You adjust the temperature like this-" he pressed two buttons with arrows printed on them, and the group saw digital numbers indicating temperature go up and down, "And you turn it off like this." Stu pressed and held a final button, and the lights went out with another loud beep. "Easy as pie, you'll find towels in the closet outside."
"Looks really relaxing mate," Hawkbit smiled as he inspected inside the sauna, greatly enjoying its smell of red cedar. "Anything else about this bathroom area we should remember?"
"Just one thing – you lot are responsible for cleaning it, along with the rest of the house while you are staying here," answered Bonnie with a note of firmness as she and Stu started to lead them out of the room. "I suggest you make up a schedule and take turns – you will find cleaning supplies in there," she gestured at a closet just outside the bathroom, "And there's also a cleaning closet downstairs. You run out of anything, come see one of us."
"No problem Mrs. Bonnie," Bigwig said with a little mock salute, "Scrubbing latrines was part of being in the army. This will be a cinch by comparison."
"Oh well good to know," Bonnie replied. "Cleaning shouldn't be too hard provided you all make an effort to pitch in. You lot aren't say big party mammals are you?" All the rabbits except for Clover, Abbey and Lucy looked confused at that.
"What do you mean by that Mrs. Bonnie?" Dandelion Asked.
"I mean do you any of you like to party, like rowdy college students?" Bonnie asked. That seemed a slightly odd question to ask their particular group, but then Hazel supposed the Hopps' had to cover all bases.
"Er, no. We didn't even have a college in Sandleford. Biggest party we might have is a Frith's Eve party."
"Frith's Eve? I thought all rabbits called it Christmas now," said Bonnie, understanding the term.
"Sandleford was really old-fashioned in its terminology, we use a lot of Lapine words," Holly answered. "Of course, most of us didn't know it was old-fashioned until we left the town for the first time."
"I see," said Bonnie. "I look forward to seeing what other new words we pick up from you." She turned around, "Come on, there's still so much to show you. "Over there on the wall you will notice a basic first aid kit…"
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Half an hour later Bonnie and Stu finally completed their tour of the spacious guest house. They had shown the group a few more bedrooms, the dining room, the TV room, and the kitchen, which was unfortunately empty save for a few canned goods.
"Sorry there isn't any better food available, we don't stock the guest house when it isn't being used," Stu explained. But Bonnie is preparing a lovely satay vegetarian stew for later and you're welcome to join us."
"That sounds excellent, thank you!" Hazel accepted on the group's behalf as he explored the cupboards, "These baked beans should do for a lunch until then!"
"Are you alright, young buck?" Stu suddenly asked.
Hazel gave a little jump, "W-why, yes, why do you ask?"
"Well, you look like you're limping, and Bonnie and I have noticed you've been often been leaning on your friends or furniture like you're trying to support yourself. Is your leg okay?"
Hazel internally froze, and so did others of his group in the immediate vicinity. He didn't want to lie, but he still feared the prospect of losing his new job should he reveal himself to be injured. "Well, you see…" he started, "I twisted my ankle running in the woods last night. It's still tender."
"My goodness, let me have a look at that!" said Bonnie as she started to bend down to try and inspect his ankle.
"No!" Hazel started. "No, it's, it's okay. I'll be able to start work when you want, no problem."
"Well, let me know how it is when you start tomorrow," said Stu, "I might have Strawberry start you on light work until you're better. And meantime, try out the sauna and a foot bath, that will help!"
"Thank you, I shall," Hazel said with much appreciation.
"Hospitality for our guests is always important in the Hopps House!" Stu smiled giving a right thumbs up. "Now how about Bonnie and myself let you lot get unpacked and settle in for a while?"
"Sounds excellent, sir!" said Holly. He clapped his paws, "Everyone, let's go unpack the bus! Hazel, you pick a room and we'll bring up your luggage."
"Thank you very much Holly," Hazel said gratefully, and he turned to start leaving the kitchen.
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"Oy, wait up!" called a little voice. Hazel turned and saw Hana running across the kitchen counter towards him, and reached down a paw to pick her up.
"Thanks, Love. Could we talk a minute?" Hana asked, "My luggage is in Blackberry's suitcase, I can't help much with the rest."
"Certainly Hana, are you feeling alright now?" Hazel replied as he carried her towards the stairs while the others went out the front door.
"I should be asking you that, with your wounded leg and all," Hana stated with a mix of concern and admonishment as Hazel limped up the stairs.
"It's alright, I promise. I just need to sit down for a little while," Hazel tried to assure her, but a sudden wince as he reached the top stair told the real story.
"You put on a brave face, but you're clearly in bloody agony," said Hana. "Why are you doing it? Why are you pretending to be less hurt than you really are?"
Hazel didn't answer until he entered a random room and collapsed onto the bed, clutching at his wounded leg.
"We've all worked so hard to get this far, *errgh*, and my injury could make our new luck go away," Hazel moaned through gritted teeth. "I don't want to let them down."
"You don't know that it would – Mr. and Mrs. Hopps are very understanding, they wouldn't turn you away for being hurt!" Hana assured him.
"AAARGH!" Hazel suddenly cried and doubled over, his leg throbbing like the worst cramp of his life.
"Omygod – did you tear your stitches!?" Hana ran to Hazel's side and pressed her body against his thigh, feeling and sniffing for blood.
With a great deal of effort Hazel unzipped his pants, pulled them halfway down his legs and checked – no blood, but he had definitely strained his stitches. "*Huff*, maybe you're right," he groaned, thinking back to the kindly rabbits he had spoken to, "But it's too late now. If they find out I lied to them they'll definitely throw us out. Oh, Frith, what have I done?"
"Don't say that, I still think they'll be understanding," Hana insisted. "But if you really want to keep this a secret I won't tell. Is there anything I can do?"
"No…" Hazel desperately wanted help, but he didn't know what Hana could do. "I think I'll just… lie down for a while."
"I think you should take Stu up on his offer – that sauna in the bathroom would be great for your leg!" said Hana. She jumped off the bed and started for the door – "You get undressed and grab a towel, I'll go turn it on."
"How? It's too high for you!" Hazel pointed out.
"Don't worry, I'll find a way!" Hana promised, and she left the room leaving a confused Hazel behind.
Hana was only a mouse, but she was nothing if not resourceful. She scampered over to the bathroom door, climbed up the door frame using her claws to dig into the wood, and jumped onto the doorknob. With her body she twisted the knob, and pushed with her leg to swing it inwards. Then she over to the sauna and looked upon it with a frown – the wood was too smooth for her to climb on. She looked around, and then she saw it: a mop leaning against the wall in a bucket in a nearby corner. Hana hopped on the bucket, and climbed up the mop handle until she was perched on the top. And then with a kick she pressed against the wall, sending herself and the mop handle falling in the direction of the sauna door. Timing it just right Hana leapt off and used her momentum to press into the ON button, and the sauna turned on with a beep. Hana sat on the floor, admiring her triumph for a minute before Hazel entered the bathroom wearing a towel around his waist.
"It's on for you love," Hana stated.
"How did you do that?" Hazel asked in astonishment as he walked over to the now-active sauna. "When you're my size in a big world, you learn to be resourceful," Hana replied, gesturing at the mop lying beside her.
Hazel smiled and opened the sauna door, "We're going to have to build some little ladders or something so you can access everything too."
"It's no trouble Love, really, but if you find a way to do that I won't say no," said Hana as she followed him inside. Hazel closed the door, laid down on a bench and perched Hana nearby, and then he held out a washcloth, which would do as a large towel for her. Hana nodded in gratitude and began to remove some clothes herself, and was down to her underwear by the time the heat really started to kick in. Hazel leaned back against the sauna wall and breathed out a sigh of relief, and Hana could feel herself begin to sweat through her fur already. It was glorious.
"Thank you, Hazel." She said.
Hazel stirred, "For what?"
"For what you said earlier, how I was one of the group and you'd help me even when I can't help you… thank you. That meant a lot to me, it truly did."
"For all of us including a wanderer such as yourself, we're the last of the survivors of our hometown and Sandleford and its history survives with us!" Hazel declared. "Especially Fiver, He is all of my original family left."
"You really do care for him don't you?" Hana replied. Hazel smiled warmly at her words, "More than you can imagine."
A deep, fond look appeared in his eyes that Hana had come to recognize every time Hazel was either around Fiver or just heard his name mentioned. The mouse had seen a few parents look at their children like that in her day, but never from one sibling for another. There was such a bond there, and she could not deny her curiosity about it.
"Um, how… how is it that it was just you two, even before the tornado?" she asked gingerly. "I'm sorry, I don't like to pry, but-"
"Our family was small even to begin with," Hazel said sadly, "Our mother died when I was 11, and our father-"
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KNOCK KNOCK!
"Hazel, you in there?" called Bigwig's voice from outside the bathroom.
"I'm in the sauna, Bigwig!" Hazel yelled back. He looked down at Hana, "I'll tell you about it later."
Bigwig and Fiver both entered the room, and Hana saw the fond look arise in Hazel's eyes again.
"I got your luggage outside, you picked a room yet?" Bigwig asked.
"No. Whatever Fiver picks, just put me next to him," Hazel requested.
"Whatever you say Hazel," Bigwig Answered. Fiver looked at his brother warmly.
"Take it easy big brother," smiled Fiver. "This really feels quite lucky for us." He then went in and gave him a quick hug before following Bigwig out the sauna to find his room.
"We'll bring you both some water," Bigwig said as he and Fiver left the room. "Thanks," said Hazel gratefully. His leg was starting to feel better already. 000
Whew, this is turning up pretty lucky for the Sandleford Rabbits and getting used to big buildings and other species will be some big tasks for them. However will Hazel regret hiding that big leg injury and stitches from Bonnie and Stu?
Come back again for the Sandleford Group settling in for their first dinner with the Hopps, Bonnie introduces a few select family members for the rabbits and Fiver gets a bad feeling of something disastrous to come! Please leave a review if you can!
