AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you Anonymous Guest for the review! I'm glad you liked the chapter. Efrafa will appear in several more chapters.
Chapter 107: The Flying "Machine".
"[...] was not mad at him, he had done nothing wrong, and that it was really all a big misunderstanding."
-spiritofwolf, Ditch of Leaves
The rabbits were slowly making their way towards the Down, until Hazel abruptly stopped.
-"There's something further away. Keep still."
Hazel remained motionless for a moments, intensely sniffing the air.
-"It must have been a small bird that has since flown away," he said. "I can't smell anything now."
He took a few cautious steps forward, before abruptly stopping once again.
-"It's still there. I don't know what it is, but I can't smell it."
-"Whatever it is, I'll fight it." Bigwig growled.
-"Don't do that! We don't know what it is, it might hurt you."
-"If it doesn't have a scent, it's probably not alive," Blackberry said.
-"Snares and guns don't have any scents either," Silver said, "but that doesn't make them safe."
-"I'll take a look," Pipkin said as he hopped towards the object Hazel had seen. "Watership Down doesn't stand a chance without you, Hazel. I'm not as important as you are."
-"Pipkin don't! You're really important to the warren."
Pipkin did not heed Hazel's warning, and continued moving forward. In order to protect him from himself, Fiver tackled him to the ground, and the two rabbits rolled a short distance towards the mysterious object Hazel had spotted. Fiver, lying on his back with Pipkin on his abdomen, cast a glance towards the object; he could clearly see it now, a large round-ish red object that seemed to be floating over a tree trunk.
-"It looks harmless," he shouted at the others, who came scurrying through the bushes.
-"You scared us quite a bit just now," Bigwig said. "What were you two thinking, you fools?"
-"Let them alone," Hazel ordered. "They had good intentions. As for that...thing..."
Hazel hopped over to the balloon, tied by the string to the tree trunk. Blackberry was already next to it, smelling it.
-"I really don't think it's dangerous," she said. "But what it is, I have no idea."
-"There's someone else close by," Bigwig said, "everyone hide!"
-"No, I'm not the enemy!" came a voice from some nearby bushes. "It's me, Blackberry!"
The male Blackberry revealed himself to the others, followed closely by Strawberry, Bluebell and Hyzenthlay.
-"Blackberry!" The blue-furred doe hopped over to the buck. "I didn't expect to find you here, I thought you were playing that owslafa game thing."
-"I was, Blackberry, but me and Strawberry here were eliminated, so we decided to go on a little escapade."
-"You're just in time, Blackberry. Do you have any idea what that thing over there is?"
-"What about you, Bluebell?" Fiver asked. "What brings you here? Blackberry didn't mention you among those who were eliminated from the game."
-"I was looking for the grey rabbit, Hawkbit, I was wondering if he might be with you all."
-"Here I am." Hawkbit hopped over to Bluebell. "Why were you looking for me?"
-"Can I kiss you?"
Hawkbit blinked a few times, taken aback by this unusual request.
-"Why?"
-"Blackberry doesn't want me to kiss him, and you're cute."
-"Uh...yes? Go ahead and kiss me, although I'm still not sure why you want to..."
Blackberry did his best to look away from Bluebell as he passionately kissed Hawkbit, focusing his attention on the balloon's string instead.
-"It floats."
-"Like a boat?" the other Blackberry said. "But it's not on water."
-"It must be an air boat."
In order to better understand the concept, the buck tried to nibble the string. It soon broke, but remained stuck between Blackberry's teeth, slowly dragging him upwards, until not even his hind legs touched the ground anymore.
-"Blackberry!" the other Blackberry shouted in terror as she rushed to him and grabbed one of his hind legs to hold him down, with Strawberry grabbing the other. After he had been successfully brought back to the ground, he managed to spit out the balloon's string. Hyzenthlay grabbed it with her claws; she was heavier than Blackberry, and was not carried into the air.
-"I was wrong," he said. "It doesn't float."
-"It flies!" the other Blackberry said.
-"Exactly!"
-"I still have no idea what's going on," Hazel said. "What does that red thing have in common with a boat?"
-"I made a mistake," Blackberry said. "It's not like a boat at all, it's like a bird!"
-"Now I'm even more confused."
-"What I mean is, if a rabbit holds this object, it will carry them into the air, unless they are too heavy like Hyzenthlay here. Probably Bigwig too, and maybe you too Hazel. Although, the rest of you could probably comfortably fly if you want to. Anyone interested?"
The rest of the rabbits looked at Blackberry in disbelief.
-"We would fly by holding onto that thing?" Dandelion asked. "Wouldn't that be dangerous?"
-"Not if you hold it firmly. If you just hold it by your teeth or the tip of your claws, then yes, you might let go and fall to your death. But in other situations, it should be safe."
-"Eh, I'll pass," Hawkbit mumbled. "After what happened to Pipkin when he tried to fly, I'm never attempting it."
-"How about I fly with you, and we can kiss in the sky?" Bluebell suggested.
-"Feel free to kiss me again, as long as we stay on the ground."
-"Fiver," Hazel said, turning to his brother, "I'm still rather confused. Could you explain?"
-"I'll do my best, Hazel. You see..."
Meanwhile, an idea formed in Hyzenthlay's head. She looked at her sister, then at Bigwig.
-"Here, hold this, will you?" she told the owsla captain as she threw him the balloon. The buck stared at it in disbelief for a few moments, wondering just what the doe was going to do.
-"Primrose, could I have your ribbon please?"
-"It was a gift from Hazel," Primrose explained, "I don't know if..."
-"I won't do anything with it, I just want to take a look."
-"All right, but be careful."
Primrose carefully took one end of the ribbon with one of her front paws and pulled it off her ears; it fell on the ground. Hyzenthlay picked it up and looked at it: it was perfect for what she had in mind. She carefully tied it around Primrose's waist, not tight enough to hurt her, but still solidly.
-"What are you doing?" the pale-furred doe asked.
-"Wouldn't you like to fly?"
-"Yes, but you heard Blackberry. It would be very dangerous."
-"Not with your ribbon. You'll be safe. Hey Blackberry can you come over? I need your help."
Blackberry soon arrived, picked up the balloon from Bigwig (who was still confused, and watched the scene curiously) and carefully tied it to Primrose's ribbon. Hyzenthlay kept her front paws on top of Primrose's, preventing her from taking off before it was safe.
-"Are you sure about this Hyzenthlay? What if I don't make it? My kittens..."
-"You'll be safe. I can feel it. As for your kittens, they will be very excited to hear the story of your adventures in the sky."
-"I think it's safe now," Blackberry said. "It can't be any tighter without breaking."
-"You ready Prim?" Hyzenthlay asked.
-"I'm ready. Love you Hyz."
The two does nuzzled each other, before Hyzenthlay let go of her sister. For a moment they wondered whether Primrose too was too heavy for the balloon, but it soon lifted her off the ground, higher with every passing moment. Suddenly, she remembered the idea she had thought of at Blackavar's grave; if she was busy flying, there was no way the others could take action.
-"Wait! I forgot something!"
Hyzenthlay immediately jumped into the air and grabbed Primrose's front paws, pulling her down but still leaving her hovering a short distance above the ground.
Hazel was listening to Fiver's explanation of the balloon, when he was startled by his mate's shout. He turned around and ran over to her.
-"Primrose! What is going on?"
-"I'm going to fly, Hazel dear," she said. "But I think you might want to steal flayrah from the ruins of Efrafa, since Nuthanger Farm is off limits for now."
-"You're going to...what? And what does that have to do with Efrafa?"
-"I'm going to fly, as Blackberry and Hyzenthlay suggested. Nothing to do, I just think you might want to go do that in my absence. There was an underground flayrah supply burrow there, you might find some tasty vegetables there."
-"Don't you want to come with us?"
-"I don't think I would be able to handle it. I still have nightmares about that warren sometimes."
-"I understand. But flying, this is madness! So many things could go wrong up there, and there's no way any of us could save you!"
-"I understand your concern Hazel, but I can feel that she will be safe. I promise you she will survive." Hyzenthlay's voice was soft and reassuring, but did little to help Hazel.
-"Fiver?"
The small rabbit could see the deep fear and concern in his brother's eyes. He scanned his mind for any visions or feelings that might reassure him.
-"She will return to the ground alive and well," he finally said after a while.
-"Are you sure?"
-"Have my visions ever been wrong before?"
Hazel thought over what Fiver had said, and a profound feeling of guilt took him over.
-"I'm sorry I doubted you..."
-"It's all right, Hazel."
-"See you soon, Hazel dear," Primrose said, before turning back to Hyzenthlay, who was still holding her. "I'm ready now, Hyz."
-"Have fun." Hyzenthlay nuzzled her sister one last time, and let her go. The balloon soared upwards, the wind moving it away from the rabbits on the ground, carrying the amazed doe with it.
-"What's this about stealing flayrah from Efrafa's ruins?" Bigwig asked. "During my brief time there, I didn't see any flayrah burrow. That doesn't mean there wasn't one, but I have no idea where in the warren it would be."
-"May I point out that Primrose is currently...unavailable to provide more information about this?" Dandelion said.
-"That leaves us with just one option." Everyone turned to Silver. "We'll have to ask the Efrafan survivors who showed up yesterday. They would know more about that warren than anyone else."