CHAPTER 2: FIGHTING AND PATROLLING
"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively."
-Bob Marley
The next morning, all the rabbits were almost as tired as they were the previous day. The mere thought that they were being held prisoner in a strange warren by Prince Rainbow was enough to keep most of them awake. Also, without anyone to snuggle with, the private burrows were uncomfortably cold. Hazel was determined to sleep with Hyzenthlay the next evening, regardless of Prince Rainbow's opinion on the matter.
-"EVERYONE WAKE UP! I HAVE A CHALLENGE FOR YOU ALL! WAKE UP!"
The voice resonated loudly in all burrows, almost as if they were equipped with a powerful sound system. Groaning and mumbling, all the exhausted rabbits made their way to the great burrow.
-"I think you're all wondering where (SHUT UP COWSLIP) Silverweed is?" said Prince Rainbow.
Actually, nobody had noticed the young buck's absence, with the possible exception of Cowslip, who was doing his best not to think about it, just like every time a rabbit went missing back at his warren. Seeing everyone's silence, Prince Rainbow answered his own question:
-"He kept me awake. He spent the whole night reciting poetry! I knew I had made a mistake when I invited him and Cowslip here, by sending him a vision,"
-"You mean you actually sleep?" asked Pipkin.
-"Of course I sleep! Even Lord Frith himself sleeps! Anyway, I evicted Silverweed because I couldn't sleep. I arranged for Kehaar to escort him back to the Warren of Shining Wires." (Cowslip grimaced at this, but knew better than to get angry at Prince Rainbow) "He should be all right. Anyway, today you will face two challenges. Bigwig, Cowslip and Hazel, you will participate in the first one. The others will just stay here and watch. Here are the rules..."
Meanwhile, Silverweed was running through the grass near the Warren of Shining Wires. During the trip, he had had a long talk with Kehaar, and realized that the way of life he enjoyed at the warren was not as great as it seemed. He had been taught at a young age that the shining wire was the only way of life, but he had been proven wrong. Kehaar had talked about the amazing warren at Watership Down, how everyone there was happy, and lived in complete freedom. Silverweed's warren, however, was the exact opposite, and full of suffering. With his mystic powers, he was the only one who could put an end to it. With a little bit of luck, he might even be able to convince his friends to rescue the Watershippers from Prince Rainbow's terrible warren, and finally redeem himself after all the harm he had done. Without Cowslip around to interfere, it shouldn't be too hard.
Meanwhile, in the great underground burrow, the roof of which was held by tree roots, a large number of rabbits were half-asleep, until one of them suggested:
-"I was wondering if anyone else would be interested in hearing a poem?"
The crowd began murmuring intensely. The young buck added:
-"Is there anything wrong with my request?"
The question was followed by more murmurs and a few complaints. Suddenly, he said:
-"Wait a moment. Where is Silverweed?"
Before he could realize what was happening, he received a powerful cuff on the side of the head, knocking him down. Several other rabbits approached and began attacking him, until they heard Silverweed's soft voice coming from the far end of the hall:
-"It's all right. I am here."
Everyone turned and stared with fear at the little rabbit. Many were afraid that he was a ghost, having died in a shining wire, and that he had come back to haunt them and punish them for their unnatural ways and their bad deeds. However, there were no signs of injuries on his body, so they soon accepted that he was still alive. He started his poem, and the words captured their hearts. However, none of them moved, as if they were being held there by an invisible force.
-"...and the one who can successfully defeat the other two wins. Are you ready?"
Prince Rainbow's challenge was worse than expected. The rabbits had to fight each other in single combat until two of them were too weak to continue; the last one was the winner and would receive some flayrah. Bigwig and Hazel didn't mind fighting Cowslip, but fighting each other was another matter.
The first fight was between Bigwig and Cowslip. Cowslip, remembering how he had nearly been killed by Holly the previous summer, was terrified. He was so afraid that he went tharn in the middle of the fight, and was instantly knocked unconscious. Just as Bigwig was about to deliver the final blow, he was struck by a fireball.
-"I said that you were to fight, not KILL each other!" said Prince Rainbow with a growl.
With Cowslip unable to fight Hazel, the next fight was between Bigwig and Hazel. The captain of owsla looked at his chief with sorrow.
-"I never thought I would have to fight my own chief. I'm really sorry, Hazel."
-"It's all right, Bigwig. Besides," (Hazel started whispering, to prevent Prince Rainbow from hearing) "I will surrender. You won't have to do anything unpleasant and we will both come out all right."
Bigwig hesitated for a few seconds, before replying:
-"No, I will be the one who will surrender! I won't let you do this."
-"Look, I will surrender, not you. Besides, if we keep arguing, Prince Rainbow will suspect something, and we don't want that."
But it was already too late. The voice of Prince Rainbow boomed:
-"CHEATERS! You are not supposed to bargain in fights, just like you are not supposed to sit on stones while playing bob-stones! It is cheating and against the rules! Bigwig, you're out!"
-"I'm out? What are you talking about?" said Bigwig, confused.
-"I mean that you have been evicted from this warren and are free to go back to Watership Down. In fact, your presence here will not be tolerated. You may silflay, but after that you will have to leave."
-"Oh, and by the way, Thlayli," said Woundwort, doing his best to appear unconcerned, "there is something you ought to know."
The captain of owsla looked at him angrily, but he nevertheless continued:
-"Your Chief Rabbit. He fancies Hyzenthlay."
The General then received a powerful cuff from the doe, who added:
-"Well? There's a reason me and Hazel are mates, you know? We love each other!"
The General would have wanted to kill Hyzenthlay on the spot, but he knew better. She seemed able to hold her own in a fight, and with all the others on her side, he wouldn't have a chance. Even Campion had deserted him. He would have to take his time to plot revenge: he still wanted to bring the does back to Efrafa and take back control of the warren, probably killing Campion in the process. But for the moment, he did not react and simply went back to his burrow.
Campion, Clover and Nelthilta were wandering through the woods, scanning the area around them for potential dangers. The patrol had been assembled by Prince Rainbow, as the second challenge the rabbits would have to face, a few hours after Bigwig was evicted. The goal was to notice as many things as possible and report them to Prince Rainbow, with the winner receiving some flayrah, and the loser being evicted from the warren. Campion, having a lot of experience from his numerous wide patrols, was doing very well. Nelthilta didn't have as much experience, as does were not allowed in the owsla under the reign of General Woundwort.
Clover, meanwhile, stayed apart. Having spent most of her life in a hutch, she hardly had any experience in patrolling. There were many smells, but she was unfamiliar with most of them, and she was awfully worried about her kittens. She knew that her mate Holly, and another doe Thethuthinnang, were at the warren and could take care of them, but the fact remained that at such a young age, kittens need their mother. She waited until the patrol was in an area with a lot of cover, then she made a dash. It took a few seconds before Campion heard rustling in the bushes and saw the doe running away. Just as he was about to run after her to catch her and bring her back, Prince Rainbow intervened.
-"Never mind, let her go. She probably would have failed this challenge and gotten evicted anyway."
-"She's going to get killed!"
-"She won't. After what General Woundwort did to him, the Black Rabbit won't be able to claim anyone's soul for a while."
Clover kept running, without stopping, or even bothering to check for elil. But she was quickly losing her strength. Back at the farm, she never had the opportunity to run, and this was the first time she had left the warren on Watership Down since she had first arrived there the previous summer. She had no experience in travelling long distances, and she knew she couldn't keep going much longer.
Suddenly, she crashed into another rabbit. She had not seen him or smelled him until it was too late. She quickly got up and examined the body. The rabbit, who had been knocked unconscious by the impact, was a buck, rather big, and with a few recent scars, as if he had been fighting some type of elil. She then noticed an unusual overgrowth of fur on his head; it was Bigwig. She could not leave him there; she would have to carry him.
After spending a while trying to get him on her back, she started walking again. She did her best to move forward, but he was twice as big as she was, and he greatly slowed her down. Suddenly, she saw some rustling in the nearby plants. She was sure it was a homba or some other type of elil, who had been following them for some time, and was getting ready to pounce. She could not smell anything unusual, but her sense of smell had been weakened by the strong scents of the farmyard, most of which she had never managed to identify.
It was not elil. It was another rabbit, but she didn't see him. By the time he revealed himself, she had already gone tharn and blacked out.
Meanwhile at the warren, the patrol, which was now down to two rabbits, came back with the sad news. Everyone was filled with sadness and anger, and several rabbits wanted to go look for Clover, but Prince Rainbow forced them all back underground. Since Campion and Nelthilta did not finish their patrol, the challenge was left without a winner and no flayrah was distributed that day.