Chapter 269: Sheep and Rainbows.

"It is late in the day but the red sun can still be seen through the cold and grey looking clouds."

-lederra, Come Along Now

Following the catapult misadventure, Vervain landed in a tree; the mossy branches and leaves cushioned his fall, preventing any serious injuries. Looking around, he spotted Watership Down in the distance; he had been thrown farther than he had thought. At the moment, however, the priority was finding a way back to solid ground: the tree was tall, simply jumping off was not realistic.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud bleating. Looking down, he saw that the field was filled with sheep; the tree was in the middle of a fenced enclosure. What luck, Vervain thought: all he had to do was wait for one of the sheep to get close enough to the tree, then he could jump on it, with the soft wool protecting him from the fall.

Vervain waited for an annoyingly long time. For the most part, the sheep were content with staying in a single spot, slowly munching the grass in front of them; it took over an hour before one of them moved close enough for Vervain to jump on it. After hopping back on solid ground, he considered his options as to where to go next.

-"Hi rabbit!"

Vervain froze: one of the sheep had spoken to him. He turned around to face this creature; it was younger and smaller than the others, still just a lamb.

-"Hi?" he responded hesitatingly.

-"I'm Frost!" the lamb said. "What's your name?"

-"Vervain..."

-"You look like you have something on your mind. Can I help?"

Vervain hesitated. It was highly embarrassing to ask a sheep for advice...but there was nobody else he could ask instead, so...

-"I don't know what I should do with my life," he admitted.

-"Why not?"

-"I basically have two options. The first is to go back to my old acquaintances and get in trouble."

-"Big trouble?"

-"The biggest trouble." Woundwort wanting to have him killed certainly qualified, Vervain thought.

-"Sometimes, friends are worth a little trouble," Frost said.

-"Right...but he's not what I would call a friend."

Frost shook his head.

-"You said you have two options. What is the other one?

-"Leave and try to start a new life elsewhere."

-"Would this also lead to trouble?"

Vervain thought about it for a few moments. He had already attempted it several times, but it had never worked out.

-"Yes."

-"If I understand what you're saying, you will be in trouble no matter what you do."

-"Also yes." Vervain sighed: his life was truly depressing.

-"My old friend Pipkin would no doubt have some wise words for this situation."

-"Pipkin?" This name caught the rabbit's attention, and it left him anxious; he sincerely hoped that this wasn't the same Pipkin of Watership Down.

-"Oh, you know him?" Frost asked obliviously. "He's a nice chap, very wise for his age. In fact, he's the reason why I'm talking to you know, I promised him that the next time I would see a rabbit, I would talk to him, even if it got me in trouble. You're the lucky one. His other friend Fiver..."

-"Embleer hraka, even the sheep are friends with the outsiders!" The mention of Fiver confirmed Vervain's suspicions, and he became furious. "What madness! Is there no escaping from these meddling rebellious low-lives?"

-"What is..."

-"Don't talk to me, you traitor!" With no outsiders present, Vervain took his anger out on the innocent lamb, who stepped back in fear as he saw the previously friendly rabbit become aggressive.

It was then that Vervain heard the sound of angry bleating; it was unlike what he had heard before from the other sheep. Turning around, he saw that there was a goat among the sheep, and it was staring at him in anger. With horror, Vervain realized that it was about to charge him. He bolted away as fast as he could and crawled under the fence to safety.

As he fled, Vervain quickly decided that he would be going back to Watership Down. He had to get revenge on the outsiders for ruining his life.

Meanwhile near Watership Down, Orchis was sitting apart from the rest of the crowd. He was grooming himself as Woundwort had ordered, but given the severity of his injuries, he doubted whether it would actually help. He mostly focused his thoughts on the next battle; despite his injuries, he would still do his best to destroy the outsiders, even if it cost him his own life.

It was then that he heard another rabbit approach. Turning his head, he instantly saw the multicoloured fur between the ears; Prince Rainbow was back.

-"Hey princy! What brings you back?"

-"You. More specifically, your lack of action." Prince Rainbow sounded deeply annoyed.

-"What do you expect me to do? I was about to do it, but I got interrupted."

-"So try again."

-"But the one I have to speak with is currently absent, maybe dead."

-"He is not dead, the Black Rabbit of Inlé told me."

-"Good. He's still absent, though."

-"So seek him out."

-"I can't, the death of the outsiders is the priority."

-"The Black Rabbit of Inlé would disagree with that."

-"Just what do you want me to do?" It was Orchis' turn to be annoyed.

-"I do not 'want' you to do anything. You are free to do whatever you want. But you are wasting your second chance at life. You will not get a third."

-"What does it matter whether I succeed or fail?" Orchis asked with a sigh. "I clearly don't have long to live either way. Having bones stick out of your chest isn't exactly healthy."

-"I am not the specialist of death; that is the Black Rabbit of Inlé. But maybe, if you repair your family, you will feel better while alive, even if you die soon afterwards."

-"Maybe. Maybe not. Destroying the outsiders will also make me feel good."

Woundwort was observing Orchis from a distance; with Prince Rainbow invisible to everyone else, it looked as if Orchis was talking to himself. Woundwort was left disappointed by this: clearly, the captain's injuries were even more severe, causing hallucinations and/or delirium.

-"Captain Orchis, why are you awake? I told everyone to get some sleep, and that includes you!"

Orchis turned around, as Prince Rainbow faded out of existence.

-"Oh General Woundwort! I was looking for you, I had this new idea for the battle that I think will leave you very impressed."

-"I'm listening."

-"I was thinking we might get a hrududu, and shrink it with magic, the Speaker might know how. And then we drive it into the warren, running over any outsiders foolish enough to stand in the way."

Woundwort could hardly believe his ears. This was supposed to be a serious suggestion? Meddling with otherworldly forces? Unlike the outsider Bluebell, Orchis was not known to make inappropriate jokes. To his horror, he came to the conclusion that Orchis really meant what he was saying; further proof of his insanity.

-"So, how about it?" Orchis asked.

-"I will think about it," Woundwort replied. This was a lie: the idea was beyond absurd, but Woundwort did not want to disappoint an injured rabbit, even one as foolish as Orchis. Unless, perhaps this crazy idea could be used on Vervain (with a regular-sized hrududu, skipping the magic). Unfortunately, that would never happen, because Vervain had stupidly killed himself with the catapult (or so Woundwort thought). He was already starting to miss him.

It was then that he saw Vervain in the distance, slowly hopping towards the group.