And the second half.

Chapter 48: The Progression.

"When people look at me, they automatically assume I'm dark and weird. Why can't they see the truth? I'm just a girl, trying to find my place in the world."

-Gena Showalter

-"Gee Rita...that definitely was a pretty song. Definitely, definitely a pretty song," Runt said.

-"It sure was...Rita..." Hyzenthlay said, hopping over to the two creatures.

-"Oh look, it's another cute bunny!"

Runt licked Hyzenthlay's back. The doe realized that the dog was trying to be friendly, but this remained an unpleasant experience: her fur was covered with dog saliva and it would take a while for the resulting scent to go away.

-"You were right, Fiver," she said. "Mostly harmless."

-"Another bunny?" Rita said. "Are there many of you living here?"

-"Sure, there's a whole warren," Fiver said.

-"Wow, can I meet them, can I meet them?" Runt asked. "I would definitely love to meet them!"

Runt was quite excited, jumping around. While he had no ill intentions, Rita, Fiver and Hyzenthlay nevertheless had to be careful not to be stepped on.

-"I'll go see if anyone wants to meet you," Fiver said.

With that, Fiver went back underground. He found that the situation had calmed down somewhat, now that the song was over. Nevertheless, several rabbits were visibly nervous at the thought of a cat being above ground, so close to their home.

-"They are quite harmless," Fiver started to say.

-"They?" Strawberry shuddered. "You mean there's more than one?"

-"Yes, there's a dog too..."

At this, Hawkbit let out another scream, even louder than the previous one.

-"I tell you, they're quite harmless..." Fiver repeated.

-"If they're so harmless, where's Hyzenthlay?" Blackberry asked. "I don't see her with you."

-"I am right here," Hyzenthlay said, as she too entered the burrow. "Are you satisfied of their friendly intentions now?"

With both Fiver and Hyzenthlay having spent time with Rita and Runt without being attacked, most sceptics had to agree that they did not pose a threat to the warren.

-"Anyone want to go and meet them?" the doe asked.

-"I think I'll go," Blackberry said. "The fact that such peaceful dogs and cats exist is worth investigating."

-"I'll go too," Clover said. "I want to meet this friendly cat, especially after how Tabitha tormented me back at the farm."

Several other rabbits, including Vilthuril, Flora, Pipkin and the kittens, also expressed desire to meet the two creatures, and made their way above ground.

-"As for the rest of us," Nelthilta said, as the last few rabbits who wanted to go above ground left the burrow, "who are sane enough not to mingle with elil, what do we do?"

-"Anyone who wishes to stay underground is free to do so," Hyzenthlay said simply, before joining the others.

The rabbits spent a while with Rita and Runt. Flora had a lengthy conversation with Runt, and at one point he took her for a ride on his back. Clover, having watched Flora's ride, asked to go next, which Runt accepted. She too seemed to have enjoyed the ride, although she spent most of it clinging to Runt's ears. Most of the others, meanwhile, talked with Rita, who told them several stories of human malice and stupidity. However, when Snowdrop, Mallow and Gilia started playing with her tail, she began to lose patience.

-"It's hard to tell with all this fog, but it must be getting late," she said. "We'd best be on our way."

-"Where are you going?" Hyzenthlay asked. "We might be able to give you directions."

-"Which way is Yellowstone National Park?"

Looks of confusion appeared on all rabbits' faces.

-"Do you mean Redstone?" Pipkin eventually asked.

-"No, Yellowstone."

-"I'm afraid I don't know of any such place," Clover said.

-"I know," came the sudden voice of Fiver. His eyes seemed far away; it looked like he was having a vision. "It's far away."

-"How far?" Runt asked.

-"On the other side of the Big Water."

-"Oh, that's...definitely far away..."

-"Drat!" Rita made a weird gesture with her front paw. "I knew we got on the wrong plane."

-"It seems you did," Fiver said, still in a trance. "There are no humans around here who can give you a good home. Except..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Fiver fell unconscious.

-"Humans stink," Rita said bitterly. "What's wrong with HIM though?"

-"He...does that every once in a while," Pipkin said, not wanting to get into the details of Fiver's special abilities. "Flora, Clover, can you help me carry him back underground?"

The two does nodded, and started dragging Fiver towards the warren. Along the way to his burrow, however, they bumped into another rabbit; it was Flyairth.

-"There's this smell I can't place..." she said. "It's almost like a dog..."

-"Runt is quite friendly..." Clover started to say.

-"There IS a dog then! That filthy human companion, I swear I'll kill it!"

She pushed her way through the group and rushed above ground.

-"It's a shame, really," Flora said. "She's good-looking but she's not right in the head..."

-"Hyzenthlay and the others can keep her under control, I'm sure," Clover replied.

As soon as she was outside, Flyairth looked around her; it didn't take her long to spot Rita and Runt.

-"And there's a cat too! GO AWAY YOU SAVAGE BRUTES!" she shouted. Just as she was about to pounce, however, Hyzenthlay held her back.

-"It's not what it looks like," she said. "They don't mean any harm."

-"Have you gone crazy? They're elil! And even if they haven't attacked, how do you know humans haven't sent them to infect us with the White Blindness?"

-"Stop worrying so much," Thethuthinnang said, as she grabbed one of Flyairth's front paws. She and Hyzenthlay soon started hopping towards the warren, dragging her away. "Dogs and cats can't carry the disease."

-"Let me go, I tell you!" Flyairth shouted desperately. "I'm just trying to protect you! You'll regret..."

Her screams faded as she made it underground, leaving Blackberry alone with Rita and Runt.

-"What a psycho." Rita rolled her eyes.

-"Yeah, definitely, definitely a psycho bunny," Runt added.

-"That's a bit harsh," Blackberry said, "but she's always been one of the crazier ones."

-"Well, I suppose we ought to be on our way then." Rita hopped on Runt's back. "Thanks for allowing us to spend the afternoon with you."

-"Drop in again, sometime!"

-"We might, if we ever come back to this area."

-"We definitely will!" Runt stood up on his hind legs and picked up Blackberry, hugging him tightly; Rita slid off his back in the process.

-"Dogs...go fig," she mumbled.

While Runt didn't hurt Blackberry, the buck couldn't help but remain nervous until the dog put him back down. Rita jumped back on top of Runt.

-"Let's go, Runt."

With that, Runt slowly started walking downhill. Rita turned around and waved at Blackberry.

-"See ya, bunnies!"

Blackberry waved back, as Rita and Runt vanished into the fog. With the two visitors gone, he went back underground.

Fiver slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but he could make out the faint shape of another rabbit in front of him.

-"Pipkin?"

-"It's great to see you're awake, Fiver," Pipkin said. "I was worried about you, after the way you just collapsed above ground. I brought you some flayrah."

-"Collapsed?" Fiver remained silent for a few moments, attempting to recall what had happened. "Oh right, I was talking with Rita and Runt. I better go back to them now..."

Fiver got up and was about to hop out of the burrow, when Pipkin said:

-"I'm afraid it's too late for that. Blackberry told me they left just now."

-"Oh..." Fiver was visibly disappointed by these news, and lied down in a corner.

-"Aren't you going to eat?"

-"I suppose I should..."

With that, the two friends started nibbling the lettuce together.

-"It was quite nice to have them visit us, wasn't it?" Pipkin said after a while.

-"Yes, I suppose it was," Fiver replied absent-mindedly.

-"Just what WAS that vision you had earlier?"

-"It's hard to explain, really. For a moment, it seems almost like I could experience the world like they did. How much did you understand, from Rita's stories?"

-"Not as much as I would have liked to. She kept mentioning these human things. What is a pyramid? A politician? A fiddle? A pound?"

-"A pound is a place where humans dump animals they don't want anymore. Not sure about the other three. Anyway, Rita and Runt escaped from one of these so-called pounds, and decided to stick together until they found a home."

-"Did they find one?"

-"They found a few, but for reasons beyond their control, it never worked out. They always found themselves getting kicked out or running away within two days. They've been searching for years and years, and they have yet to find a decent place to live."

-"That's...really sad. One would never think they had gone through such hardships by looking at them."

-"And you know what's the worst part of it all? I know of a place where they could have found a home, right in this area. But I fell unconscious before I could tell them, and now they're gone."

-"Perhaps they can still stumble upon it on their own?"

-"Not a chance. Their only hope is if they somehow return to the warren." Fiver sighed. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have visions."

Seeing Fiver getting increasingly depressed, Pipkin hopped over to him and hugged him tightly.