"And Lo, the ghost of a man ages thought to be dead

A smile and a ribbon he wore with a dutiful pose

A wink, A prick from the thorn of that beautiful rose"

-Touch Tone Telephone, Lemon Demon

"Acorn?" Speedwell couldn't believe what this stranger was saying. It simply couldn't be true! Could it? He thought about what thistle had said earlier that day, about the strange dark-rabbit.

"Yes that's my name, don't wear it out!" the buck said cheerfully. The scratch that speedwell had made faded from his dark brown fur. That dark brown fur, just a bit too dark to be Acorn's. But then again, he did look familiar. He could recognize the slightly bent right ear of his late companion, along with that, Speedwell could pick up a faintly familiar scent coming from the dark-rabbit. It wasn't strange, or dangerous, but familiar, like the smell of spring after a long harsh winter. The whole ordeal was making speedwell more and more confused by the minute, so much so that he only managed to ask a simple "How?"

"To be perfectly honest with you Speedwell, I have no clue either. One minute I'm enjoying my time in the afterlife, the next I find myself in the fog!"

"So, you really are Acorn?"

"In the flesh!" Acorn smirked.

"Then why are you so, Dark? You have the same scent as far as I can remember, and the same ear, but why is your fur different?"

Acorn, Looked at his own body, then looked back at Speedwell, "I have no idea,"

"Also, what do you know about the others like yourself?"

"What others?" Acorn looked rather confused by the question.

"The other dark-rabbits,"

Acorn thought for a long while then said, "No, I didn't know there were others, Do you know who they are?"

"Well, Thistle said that he came across a dark-rabbit like yourself, who claimed to be his mother. And now that you, my late friend, are standing alive and well in front of me, I'm starting to believe maybe it was my past mate," But why would she act so mischievously if that was the case? It was a question Speedwell wanted to answer but decided against it. Acorn probably wouldn't know either.

"Thistle?"

"Yes, Thistle, Did I forget to tell you I have a son? Silly me!"

Acorn's eyes lit up, "I didn't know you were a father!"

Speedwell beamed, "It's true. He's the best child that a father could ask for! And he's pretty smart too, maybe even smarter than strawberry"

"Where is your son currently?" Acorn asked, peering past Speedwell towards the entrance of the scrape.

"Oh he's in the scrape, I can get him if you'd like to meet him,"

"I'd love to"

"Thistle!" Speedwell called. And soon the young buck emerged from the scrape, an expression of confusion on his face.

"I'd like to introduce you to my late friend, Acorn!" Speedwell gestured to the rabbit he was referring to, who then waved when Thistle layed eyes on him.

"Hey, Thistle! Your father told me all about you. He says you're a very intelligent rabbit for your age, maybe even smarter than Blackberry" Acorn said cheerfully.

Thistle saw only kindness in his eyes, there was evil, no facade, and thus instantly trusted Acorn.

"Thanks," Thistle mumbled and hid behind Speedwell.

Acorn only laughed, "Shy one isn't he?" he said to Speedwell

Then to Thistle, "Just like your father when he was little,"

"Imagine that!" Acorn thought out loud, "Your father being a small, frightful buck!"

Thistle peaked out from behind his father and gave a small laugh.

"I wouldn't blame you if you couldn't" cracked Acorn, to which Speedwell gave a cross look at the joker, and Thistle laughed his head off. At this point, Thistle warmed up to Acorn and came out from his hiding place behind Speedwell and started asking Acorn all sorts of questions that little-kits ask when they meet one of their heroes.

As the two talked, Speedwell looked on with a smile on his face. Perhaps he was just being too pessimistic. Maybe, just maybe everything was going to be fine, everything was going to work out in the end. Suddenly the two burst in a fit of laughter, causing Speedwell to relax enough to join the conversation.

"Look who finally decided to join us," Acorn teased, "I was just about to tell this little rascal here about the time when you got caught in a thorn bush and refused to get help because you were a prideful little kit,"

"Hey!" Speedwell exclaimed and then cuffed Acorn playfully.

"Did that actually happen?" Thistle asked innocently.

Speedwell reluctantly said, "Yes," to which the other two laughed.

"Did I tell you about the time when Acorn got scolded by Bigwig because he wanted to go back to sandleford warren?"

"Hey! You wanted to go back too!"

"Oh yeah. Good times.

The three enjoyed each-others company until the fog began to darken.

"It's getting dark," Speedwell said, noticing that the fog's change in color, "I think it's time for bed Thistle,"

Thistle responded with a yawn.

"Alright, you can go to the scrape, I'll chat with Acorn for a little longer,"

Thistle nodded and disappeared into the burrow. It was then Speedwell realized there was a spacing problem.

"Oh dear, I don't think we have enough room for you in the scrape! Maybe if we-"

"No, no. It's fine Speedwell. I don't need to sleep underground," Acorn assured.

"But what if there are elil out tonight?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, I haven't come across any elil since I found myself in the fog,"

Speedwell made a mental note of what Acorn had just said, "But where will you go?"

The sky was nearly pitch-black darkness now, and Thistle had most likely fallen asleep by now.

Acorn just chuckled, "I'll be around,"

And with that Acorn seemed to sink into the darkness and disappear. From somewhere in the fog, Speedwell could hear Acorn say, "Goodnight, I'll check up with you in the morning," and with that, the only sound Speedwell could hear was the rustling of grass through a non-existent wind. Speedwell soon retired to the scrape and found a still awake Thistle inside.

"Where's Acorn?" he asked.

"He's gone," Speedwell said simply.

"For good?"

"No, He said he'd be back tomorrow,"

"That's good," Thistle said, "Could I ask a question?"

"Go right ahead,"

"How did Acorn die?"

Speedwell was caught off guard by the question but realized that Thistle meant no harm in asking, "It was a very cold winter," Speedwell started, "There was hardly any food to go around, and the snow buried all the grass and plants. It proved too much for Acorn to handle,"

"Oh," Acorn lowered his head in sadness.

Noticing this, Speedwell ended the story on a lighter tone.

"But the important thing is that he's here now, and you get to meet him,"

Thistle gave a sleepy smile, and with a groggy "I guess so," fell asleep besides Speedwell.

Speedwell looked out the scrapes entrance into the infinitely deep darkness. He could hear the soft breathing of his son and the soft raising and lowering of his chest.

Speedwell was content.