AUTHOR'S NOTE: warning, this chapter is dark...

Chapter 213: Eternity Falls.

"I think yesterday showed us all how easily we can lose one another. We need to enjoy what we have while we have it."

-DarkKing427-FluffKing, Heart of Lordship

The Sunflower Forest digging group returned to Watership Down late that afternoon. Blackberry was first in line, escorting Marigold; they were followed by Silverweed, with Hickory bringing up the rear. That in itself was an indication that something was wrong: usually the couple were together. Additionally, Marigold had a leaf on top of her head; she had never done anything like this before. Hazel was the first to approach them as they reached the top.

-"How did it go?"

-"I'll be with you in just a few moments," Blackberry said.

She escorted Marigold the rest of the way to the warren, then went underground with her. After a few minutes, she went back above ground, alone, and hopped over to Bigwig, who was at silflay.

-"Bigwig, can you keep an eye on Hickory?"

Bigwig looked around, and soon spotted the buck staring off in the distance.

-"Why? And why are you ordering me around?"

-"Please just do it, and keep him away from Marigold."

Bigwig grumbled, but complied, hopping a bit closer to Hickory, while still maintaining a small distance between them, so that his spying wouldn't be too obvious. Blackberry, meanwhile, went back to Hazel; by this point, the Chief was almost afraid to ask for the details, but did so anyway.

-"What happened?"

-"It's a long story. Everything fell apart, both literally and figuratively."

The two rabbits lied down and started to nibble the grass.

-"The warren survived the shaking largely intact, at first," Blackberry continued. It was after Hyzenthlay's departure that there was a collapse. None of us did anything to trigger it, it just happened. Then there was chaos. I never thought I would get lost in a warren after having dug most of it myself. When I finally made it above ground, I found out that Hickory was in horrible shape. He wasn't physically hurt, but what he had just gone through had reminded him of his previous warren's destruction. Marigold and Silverweed had been able to pull him out of the dirt, but as soon as he was out, he completely freaked out, thrashing about madly, speaking incoherently. None of us could approach him, he would just scratch and bite. He kept yelling about kittens, but none of us understood what that was all about."

-"Most of his and Marigold's kittens never made it out of Redstone alive," Hazel recalled.

-"Yes, I remember that. Maybe that's what he was talking about, but he was hysterical, we could barely make out the words. And that's not even the worst of it. Marigold kept trying to get close to him despite his fighting reflexes; as a result, she sustained several wounds."

-"Is that why she had the leaf on her head?"

-"Yes, the wounds have to remain covered so they don't get infected. Also, after he scratched her a few times, he uttered what was perhaps his only coherent sentence ever since the collapse. He told her, 'it's all your fault'."

Hazel gasped, and lowered his head. He would never have expected Hickory to act so horribly towards his mate.

-"By this point, it was obvious that we would never be able to calm him down," Blackberry continued, "so Silverweed remotely deactivated him. That was something to see: he pointed his paw towards Hickory's forehead, then bright lights shined around them both, soon spreading throughout the entire burrow, bouncing on the walls. A few moments later, it all abruptly stopped; Hickory closed his eyes and fell asleep."

Hazel closed his eyes and shook his head.

-"What happened then?"

-"Neither of them have said a single word since this happened. Marigold is quite shaken up. I'll have to check up on her wounds and treatments, of course, but I am more worried about her mental state. Ever since he said these horrible words, she almost seems afraid of him. I can't really blame her for that, can I? I would probably feel the same way, if I had a mate and he treated me like this."

Blackberry's mind wandered to Campion. She doubted that he would ever do anything so horrible, but then she wouldn't have expected Hickory to act like this either.

-"This is horrible," Hazel said. "I know they had trouble in the past, but things seemed to be getting better. And now, things are worse than ever before. I don't know if they will remain mates much longer."

-"Maybe not. We'll have to support her in any way we can. In order for her to feel safe, we'll have to make sure he doesn't go near her. He will be moving to another burrow at the other end of the warren, and they will never go to silflay at the same time. We'll also have to keep an eye on HIM, so he doesn't do anything foolish."

That evening, after silflay Violet was one of the last rabbits to go underground. Looking at the many stars in the sky, she felt sadness take her over: such beauty in the world, which she would never be able to achieve, all thanks to a hawk. She didn't deserve to have been saved from the fire...

-"Are you coming underground?"

Startled by Silverweed's sudden question, Violet nearly bolted off the Down. After regaining her composure, she scratched her ear, acting like nothing had happened.

-"I suppose I should, right? The elil will be out soon."

Wanting to avoid any further awkwardness, she was about to hop underground, but Silverweed followed her.

-"You're a great rabbit."

-"Look, I appreciate the intention, but unless you're blind, surely you realize what I look like?"

-"I know, but it doesn't matter. It's what you're like inside that matters. You have a beautiful personality."

Violet stared at Silverweed.

-"Pipkin told me more or less the same thing."

-"It's true. I'm sure me and him aren't the only two who realized it."

Violet kept staring. She was really not sure why Silverweed was acting this way.

-"Right, so I'll be going underground."

With that, Violet hopped towards her burrow. Silverweed followed her from a distance, before retreating to his own burrow. It wasn't easy for him to make friends, but with Violet, this was a promising beginning. He would have to keep trying to cheer her up, her mental state was almost as bad as Marigold's. And Marigold was one rabbit he was powerless to help: she still felt uncomfortable around him, due to his past role under Cowslip.

Strawberry was lying in his burrow. It seemed to him that many bad things had happened recently. Not to him personally, but to those around him, and sometimes to the entire warren. It was with these depressing thoughts that he slowly fell asleep.

However, he was soon afterwards woken up by approaching pawsteps, and a familiar smell.

-"Hickory?"

Moments later, this rabbit peaked into his burrow.

-"How did you know it was me?" Hickory asked.

-"I smelled you," Strawberry replied calmly, as he stretched. "What's on your mind?"

-"Strawberry, you're probably my closest friend here. I would need your advice on something."

-"I will do my best to advise you on these important matters," Strawberry said with a chuckle. "What is it about?"

-"Well, you see," Hickory started to say as he entered the burrow and lied down in a corner, "I was thinking about...you already know what happened, don't you?"

Strawberry knew everything that had happened at Sunflower Forest, the news had travelled quickly and nearly everyone had heard.

-"Yes. Yes, I do."

-"I know how they're all looking at me." Tears appeared in Hickory's eyes. "I failed so many times. First, at Redstone: I am responsible for the death of all rabbits there."

-"No you're not! It's the hrududil who are responsible. You didn't do anything wrong."

By that point, however, Hickory had broken down in tears.

-"And I failed again with Marigold. Nobody will never look at me the same way."

-"Calm down," Strawberry said sternly. "Has anyone bullied you because of Redstone, apart of captain Broom?"

-"No."

-"There, you see! Nobody blames you for that, it's all in your head. Now, has anyone insulted you over what happened with Marigold?"

-"No, they all keep quiet, but I know what they're thinking. I've seen the way they all look at me. Flyairth in particular, had this look as if I was completely worthless."

Strawberry had not seen the way Flyairth had looked at Hickory, but from what he knew of her, it seemed plausible. He would not tell Hickory that, however, as it would likely make him feel worse.

-"You did nothing wrong at Redstone, you didn't kill anyone, you need to stop obsessing with the fear of everyone being mad at you, because it's not the case. About Marigold...I won't lie to you, that was a mistake on your part, and a big one at that."

-"I was thinking of asking Silverweed for help. I know I had negative experiences with him, but he's a changed rabbit now. Cowslip isn't exploiting his talents anymore, he is leading his own life. His powers are unique."

-"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

-"You're right..." Hickory lowered his head. "He may hate me for what I've done, like everyone else."

-"'Hate' is a strong word, I don't think anyone hates you. And that's not what I was thinking about. Silverweed doesn't like using his powers, for any reason. I don't know what he could even do for you, anyway. You didn't expect him to hack into everyone's minds to erase their memories of what happened, did you?"

-"No..." Hickory, however, seemed unconvinced. "But to be honest, I don't know what I was even thinking. I would be willing to do anything..."

-"Stop worrying about what everyone else is thinking. The only one whose opinion you should care about is Marigold."

-"She probably hates me like everyone else does. I just want things to go back to the way they were before."

-"Did you try apologizing to her?" Strawberry suggested. "Sometimes, the most simple solution is the best."

-"Blackberry wouldn't let me near her."

Strawberry shook his head.

-"I suppose that makes sense, she may be worried that you would attack again."

-"I won't! I'll do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen again."

-"You'll have to convince Marigold of that."

-"How am I supposed to do that if they won't let me see her?"

-"You'll have to convince Blackberry and the others first."

-"But I thought you said that what they think doesn't matter?"

Strawberry sighed. There was no easy answer to Hickory's problems.

-"You should go talk to Blackberry tomorrow morning. Success is not a certainty, but if you don't even try, of course you'll fail. If you need help, I'll be there."

-"I'll keep that in mind...see you in the morning..."

As Hickory hopped out of the burrow, Strawberry felt sad. Hickory and Marigold had had a difficult life, first living at the warren of the shining wires, then their new warren getting destroyed. They were not responsible for any of this, but it had still left them both traumatized. Previously, they could always find comfort in each other, despite the challenges, but not anymore...