Chapter 239: The Nightmares.
"With tears in his eyes and filled with rage he charged at the smirking General."
-jaxman5051, At what cost
Hazel and the others made their way to the top of the Down, with the seven rabbits of the junior owsla closely following. Nyreem, struggling to walk following her injury, had to ride on Holly's back; he carried her to Blackberry's burrow, so the healer could take care of them both. Primrose ran over to meet the approaching patrol.
-"They're all safe," Hazel reassured her.
-"Don't worry, lads," Bigwig told the junior owsla. "This war can't last forever, and you will soon be able to carry a patrol to the very end."
-"Soon, but not soon enough." Periwinkle sighed.
-"Let's go play bob-stones," Pipkin suggested, hoping this would take the kittens' minds off the disappointment of the failed patrol. "Those mean Darkhaveners can't stop that."
Pipkin, Periwinkle, Snowdrop and Mallow went underground; Gilia and Blueberry did not, as Bigwig held them back, at Hazel's request. Meanwhile, Primrose hopped closer to her mate and hugged him tightly.
-"Thank you."
-"What for?" he asked in confusion.
-"For keeping them alive."
The two mates nuzzled, and it soon blossomed into a kiss. The two remaining kittens looked away, with mixed feelings: they felt uncomfortable looking at the adults' public display of affection, and also disappointed at how, with Bigwig looking, they couldn't do the same thing.
As soon as he saw the kittens return, Fiver went above ground, as he had an important message for his brother. By the time he got there, however, Hazel and Primrose were busy kissing; he patiently waited for his brother to finish. It seemed to last a long time, until the two separated.
-"What is it, Fiver?" Hazel asked.
-"Silverweed mentally felt the presence of a Darkhaven patrol, very close to our warren. They are gone now though."
-"I smelled them. They were probably following the kittens, and when they lost the scent, they decided to return to Darkhaven."
-"I hope you're right Hazel. But I have a bad feeling about all this..."
-"They were so close to our warren?" Primrose seemed deeply concerned.
-"They did come close, but that's all Silverweed knows," Fiver explained.
-"We do have an unrelated problem, though..." Hazel said, looking back at his daughter and her friend.
At this, Blueberry and Gilia looked at each other with great anxiety...
Hazel and Primrose went to their burrow, where the Chief told his mate about the events regarding Blueberry and Gilia. The two rabbits quickly agreed on what the biggest problem was, and rebuked their daughter for not telling anyone about what she planned to do. She admitted that this had been a mistake: subconsciously, she had known all along. Despite this promising start, however, it did not take long for the discussion to completely fall apart.
-"Would our mission have been approved if we had told you before?" she inquired.
-"No," was Primrose's response. "It's just too reckless for two kittens to go away alone."
Gilia lowered her ears, feeling deeply frustrated.
-"This is ridiculous," she mumbled. "You have been at war with Efrafa, but the truth is, you're just as bad as they are."
-"That's not true at all!" Primrose was quick to say.
-"Isn't it?" She stepped over to her mother and looked directly into her eyes. "Woundwort didn't let you leave the warren, and now you're doing the same thing with me."
Before either parent could reply, Gilia stormed out. She encountered Snowdrop and Mallow in the Honeycomb; by this point, Pipkin and Periwinkle had left to silflay. The sight of her siblings made her even more furious.
-"Oh, also I hear you stopped Blueberry from following me at the farm. Thanks a lot, you almost got me killed by the Darkhaveners!"
Once again, she stormed off without waiting for the others to reply. This harsh criticism left Snowdrop dejected, but her brother quickly stepped in.
-"Don't feel bad. We did the right thing by stopping this ridiculous mission."
Back in the burrow. Primrose was deeply saddened by her daughter's words.
-"She doesn't realize how good she has it," she said. "She wasn't kidnapped from her home. She isn't bullied by the owsla. She can silflay whenever and wherever she wishes. Her misdeeds aren't punished by being sent to the digging squad with half rations."
-"You're right. We're not like Efrafa at all. She's upset, but she will calm down. I hope." Hazel added these last two words due to his doubts: he remained afraid that Gilia would disobey and try to leave again...
That evening, as a way to distract from the troubling events that had occurred earlier, Dandelion told a story in the Honeycomb. Nearly everyone living at the warren was present, including both Gilia and Blueberry (although the two were forcibly kept apart by their parents). Silver was the only one absent, as he was on guard duty: someone had to make sure no elil sneaked up on the unsuspecting crowd underground.
Dandelion's story was very exciting, full of twists and turns that kept his audience hooked and eagerly awaiting what came next. When he finished, the burrow was filled with cheers and calls for more, which left him deeply pleased. Even now that there was a second storyteller at the warren, he could still hold his own; even now that he was no longer part of the owsla, he was still respected for his other skills. Not wanting to disappoint his adoring audience, he told a second story, although this one was shorter due to the late hour. It was also well-received, and nearly everyone went to their burrows afterwards, including the storyteller himself.
When Hawkbit joined Dandelion in the burrow soon afterwards, he instantly spotted the smile on his friend's face.
-"Good to see you so happy."
-"It is good to BE happy," was Dandelion's response.
Hawkbit chuckled.
-"Whatever happened to your quest for a mate?"
-"It is not a priority at the moment. I am not entirely opposed to getting one at some point, but I am in no hurry."
-"Eh, you do you. Good night."
-"Good night Hawkbit."
The two rabbits lied down, and soon fell asleep. Despite the good evening he had experienced, sleep did not prove to be restful for Dandelion, as he soon found himself in a very unpleasant dream.
He was in a dark and misty place, and a light rain was falling from the clouds. Looking around him, there was not much to see, merely endless mist, and the occasional rainwater puddle on the ground. There was a faint shape nearby, somewhat rabbit-like, but the thick mist left him unsure if it really was a rabbit, or even if it was actually there at all. He kept staring, hoping that his vision would clear up, but it didn't.
-"You," the figure said ominously.
-"Who are you?" Dandelion asked nervously.
-"I could be someone else, but I am not. I am Red. I am a ghost."
-"A ghost? I thought we were finished with you lot. Didn't we break the curse by filling in your warren?"
-"There are many ghosts. The only thing I have in common with the ones that you helped helped is that we are all dead. They were from Sunflower Forest, I was from Efrafa, and you are an old fool."
Another thing that made this new ghost different, Dandelion thought, was politeness, or lack thereof. Willow had always remained kind and respectful; meanwhile, this ghost was insulting him.
-"I must have done something wrong..." he said, hesitating.
-"Indeed, you failed," was Red's blunt answer. "Again. That was the worst story I have ever heard."
-"I'm doing my best."
-"Your best isn't good enough, is it then? Your stories are pathetic. Do you realize what this means?"
Dandelion was unable to speak. He was unable to move either, it was as if his paws were being held into place by an invisible force.
-"It means that you are forever doomed to uselessness," the figure said.
Dandelion was starting to believe the ghost, completely forgetting all the praise he received for his story by the living rabbits earlier.
-"I could try to find myself a mate," he suggested, thinking back at his conversation with Hawkbit just before falling asleep. "I know I said that it wasn't a priority at the moment, but priorities change."
-"You don't stand a chance. Most of the important rabbits have already been claimed. Marigold tried recently, and failed."
-"She didn't ask me. Since both of us are looking..."
-"You're too late, she's not looking anymore," the figure said contemplatively. "You're not useful on your own, and you can't even mate with a useful rabbit."
-"I'm worried..."
-"You have every reason in the world to be worried."
-"What should I do? Panic?"
-"I dare say you are way beyond that stage."
Despite Red's last comment, Dandelion was still panicking internally, as he contemplated his own uselessness; was there truly no solution?
-"Your last hope lies with the owsla," Red said, as if he had read Dandelion's mind. "Complete a hobaring."
Dandelion recalled hobarings in the distant past, at Sandleford Warren. They were challenges for potential owsla recruits, who had to prove their worth before being formally allowed to join. It had never been done at Watership Down, he had almost completely forgotten about this concept.
-"Do it now, or risk eternal uselessness," Red continued.
-"But no tasks have been assigned!" Indeed, at Sandleford, each hobaring was a very specific challenge, and was assigned by an existing officer.
-"Nitpicking the details as usual. No wonder nobody likes you."
-"I will prove you all wrong!" This last insult made Dandelion even more determined. "I will complete this hobaring, no matter what it involves!"
Dandelion was about to dash off, but he did not. His paws were firmly stuck on the dark ground, he was unable to raise them.
-"I can't move," he said pitifully.
-"Of course you can't, you're asleep. You have to wake up first, obviously."
-"Oh."
When Dandelion woke up soon afterwards, he quickly hopped out of the burrow, although he was careful not to disturb his friend, who was still sound asleep. As he went above ground, he told the guards on duty that he was going to pass hraka, much like the kittens had the previous day. But, just like with the kittens, this was a lie. As soon as the guards looked away, he ran away without a word. He had to complete this hobaring, it was the only way to ensure his future.