Chapter 190: The Orchard Detour.
"AAAAHHHHHH! HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!"
-Marco, Watership Down Plays Multiplayer Online Quake
Early that afternoon, Hazel called a meeting in the Honeycomb, where the three Chiefs and Flyairth mentioned the place the doe had discovered. While none of them mentioned that Flyairth's initial goal had been to start a second warren, several rabbits correctly speculated as to her intentions. Flyairth sensed that another major argument was likely to follow, so she quickly announced that "the plan is on hold indefinitely" before anyone had the chance to voice their opposition. The burrow fell largely silent afterwards, and it was soon agreed to visit this location.
Flyairth, of course, was chosen to lead the group, since she was the only one who knew the way. Bigwig also insisted on coming, since it would be his owsla using the spot to rest while on patrol. Hawkbit similarly volunteered, to get a rough idea of what he would be in for the next time Bigwig would "torture" him. Fiver was also brought along, in case he had any visions as to whether the spot was safe. Most of the former Efrafans pressured Moss into volunteering, which he did. The final rabbit selected was Acacia, who thought the adventure looked exciting and everyone else agreed to let him tag along.
The rabbits left around mid-day, and made their first stop near the edge of the Down.
-"The shortest way to the spot I mentioned is through the orchard, but I wouldn't recommend it," Flyairth warned. "There's a vicious badger roaming around there."
-"Oh, that's Bark, everything will be fine," Bigwig said.
-"I fail to see how the trees' bark will be of any use against elil, but hey, you're the captain, if you want to risk it, why not?"
-"That's not what I..." Bigwig stopped mid-sentence, and sighed. "Never mind, you'll see when we get there."
The rabbits continued their journey; Bigwig deliberately guided the others in the direction of Bark's den so he could introduce her to them. When they finally arrived at the base of her tree, Hawkbit peered into the hole.
-"Hey Bark, you have visitors!"
Moments later, the badger appeared. Several of the rabbits present did not know that she was friendly, and were therefore afraid. Moss bolted away as fast as he could, while Flyairth appeared to be going tharn. Acacia, meanwhile, readied his slingshot, so he would be ready to defend his new friends if necessary.
-"Oh, the long-ears of Watership Down!" Bark said in excitement. "Where Fiver?"
Bigwig cautiously looked around him, to survey the damage. Fortunately, only Moss had run away, everyone else was still present. He could hardly blame him for being terrified upon seeing Bark, since her species was normally elil, but it was still annoying. They would have to track him down, which could be a challenge, given the size of the orchard.
-"I'm right here," Fiver said, hopping to the front of the group.
-"O Fiver."
The badger picked him up and hugged him uncomfortably tightly.
-"Who are others?"
-"You know Bigwig and Hawkbit already. The other two are Flyairth and Acacia."
-"They scared?"
Fiver was unable to come up with a reply to this latest comment: the truth would hurt Bark's feelings. His silence, however, had largely the same effect, and she looked down sadly.
-"Bark sorry..."
With that, she dropped Fiver and went back underground with tears in her eyes.
-"Oh, that's the same badger who helped out with the weasels?" Flyairth said. "Right, didn't realize that. All badgers look the same to me."
-"I'm not proud to admit it, but I made a similar mistake, when I first met her," Bigwig confessed. "The truth is, she's perfectly harmless."
-"Indeed," Fiver said. "She saved my life once, after I was hit by a falling ladder."
-"It is very exciting that you have such amazing friends, the rabbits of Watership Down are the best," Acacia said, putting down his slingshot. "She seems to like Fiver very much, perhaps as more than a friend."
-"Right, shall we go look for the crazy Efrafan now?" Bigwig interjected, before anyone had the opportunity to ponder what Acacia was implying.
Tracking down Moss proved to be a challenge. The Efrafan was frantic: it was far too early in the season for the scent of apples to mask that of badger, and that stench was everywhere, contributing greatly to the rabbit's panic. As he ran, he spread his own scent across the orchard, making it impossible for the others to track him down this way. They were left with only one option: staying in one spot and waiting for him to run past them, at which point they would do their best to stop him.
The first time this happened, Bigwig tried to pounce on him, but Moss was too quick for him. Acacia quickly readied his slingshot and fired it toward the now-distant Moss. His aim was near perfect, hitting the tan rabbit near his hind legs, sending him crashing and tumbling. Before he could get up, Bigwig had pinned him down.
-"What's with you?" the captain boomed.
-"Flyairth warned you about the badger, but you still had us walk over to its den," Moss said, looking at Bigwig as if he was crazy.
-"I honestly expected better than such mindless panic from someone who used to be in the Efrafan owsla."
-"I realize that. That was foolish of me." Moss finally regained his composure. "But I still consider my fear to be rational. Despite having been in the owsla, this is the first time I encounter such a large badger. It could easily break our backs before we could have the opportunity to fight back."
-"She is indeed capable of killing us all, but she won't. I can assure you that she won't hurt any of us."
-"He's telling the truth, you know?" Flyairth said.
-"She really is harmless," Hawkbit said.
As Bigwig led Moss and the others back to Bark's tree; the badger returned above ground and picked up Fiver once again.
-"You see?" the small rabbit said, doing his best to hide how uncomfortable he was; the badger was not malicious, merely clueless as to how to hold him. "Perfectly harmless."
The rabbits stared as the scene unfolded. After a while, Moss shook his head.
-"All right, she's harmless." Moss still remained nervous, but not wishing to hurt the badger's feelings any further, did not say anything else. "Shall we get going now?"
-"We probably should," Flyairth said. "Despite the shortcut through the orchard, we still have a long way to go."
Blackberry had been digging since early in the morning, expanding the new escape tunnel. The work she had done, with help from Thethuthinnang, Strawberry and others, had paid off, this tunnel was now by far the longest in the warren. It was hard to gauge how far it led without making a hole in the ceiling; that would be the next step, to see how much further she would have to dig.
After a few more minutes, she broke through the ground, and peaked out. A quick glance revealed that she had actually overshot the intended destination, the message tree near Efrafa: the tunnel made it several trees further. Pleased with the results, she then spent a few minutes concealing this exit, to prevent elil from using it to access the warren. Her task was then complete; all that would remain to do was periodical maintenance, to ensure the tunnel's continued stability.
After returning to the main part of the warren, she soon stumbled upon Hazel, and told him of the progress she had made. As he heard her description, he smiled.
-"That's honestly even better than I hoped for, and finished so quickly," he said. "You've done a great job, Blackberry. I hope we never need to use this tunnel, but if we do, we'll be ready."
-"I hope so too, Hazel. I love this warren, I don't want to leave."
-"I don't think you have been shown enough appreciation for what you have done. It goes way beyond the tunnel you just finished: you also dug many of this warren's burrows, not to mention when you had to deal with complaints from some of the bucks."
-"It really wasn't all that bad. Digging is fun."
Blackberry wasn't really paying attention anymore; her thoughts were elsewhere. Hazel quickly caught on.
-"There's something that worries you, isn't there?"
-"There is. It's about Campion."
-"What about him?"
-"I think he might be in love with me."
Hazel's eyes went wide as he heard this.
-"You look surprised," Blackberry pointed out.
-"I am. I didn't know you two were close. I thought you only met twice: first when he discovered this warren's location, and then during his most recent visit."
-"There was a third meeting, when I was out with Primrose," Blackberry revealed, before remembering the injuries Primrose sustained over the course of the journey. "I'm sorry..."
-"What happened to her is not your fault, there is no point in blaming yourself. Now tell me about that third meeting."
-"I appreciate that." Blackberry momentarily smiled. "As for the meeting, there's not much to tell. Primrose had been captured by the Darkhaveners, and I was out looking for her, when Campion suddenly showed up. He said that he was running from a badger, and asked me to apologize to Primrose on his behalf. I don't know why, he didn't explain, he just ran off. Do you have any idea what that was about?"
-"I'm afraid not. He didn't mention this during his next visit to the warren, and Primrose hasn't told me anything about him either."
-"I suppose we'll have to ask him the next time we meet. But anyway, apart from dreams, those were the only three times we interacted."
-"What makes you think he is in love with you, then?"
-"A single remark, at the end of the third meeting He asked me to wait for him, and promised that he would be back for me. Then, he once again ran away before I could question him."
Hazel spent a few moments to think about what Blackberry had just told him.
-"That does sound like the sort of thing a rabbit would tell their lover before going on an extended mission," was his final conclusion.
-"That's what I thought, but why does he love me?" Blackberry asked. "We hardly know each other, and I hadn't tried to seduce him or anything."
-"Sometimes, love just happens without anyone trying. That's what happened to me and Primrose at first. The important question here is: do you love him back?"
It was Blackberry's turn to silently think about Hazel's question.
-"I honestly don't know. While I considered several options over the seasons, I never actively pursued any of them, and that includes Campion. If his memory of me keeps him going, I do not want to shatter his hopes upon his return."
-"You should not feel any obligation. Don't worry about the future, we'll deal with it when the situation arises."