Chapter 275: The Explanations.
"Mon frère, ma douleur
Mon fardeau, mes dix plaies
Quitte à oublier mon propre cœur
Je me perdrai pour te sauver"
-Slimane, Frérot
(translation: "My brother, my pain, my burden, my Ten Plagues, up to forgetting my own heart, I will lose myself to save you")
Vervain was on the verge of insanity. He had had a difficult day, and now he was forced to stay awake and travel despite his exhaustion. His eyes were playing tricks him him: on a few occasions, he thought he had spotted elil in the distance, only for them to vanish moments later, clearly nothing more than a figment of his imagination. After a while, he stopped worrying every time he saw something unusual, since it most likely existed only in his mind.
When he saw Orchis approach, bones still sticking out of his chest, he dismissed his fellow rabbit as another hallucination, at least until the supposed hallucination spoke:
-"Hey Verv! Have you been thinking about my big reveal?"
Actually, Vervain hadn't. He had been too preoccupied with the outsiders. Now that the subject was brought up again, however, his mind was once again filled with questions.
-"Brothers, eh? How did that happen?"
-"It just did," Orchis said matter-of-factly. "We were born in the same litter. Neither of us asked for this; it just happened."
-"You know what I mean!" Vervain snapped. "I thought you were dead."
-"Figures." Orchis sighed. "Even before you betrayed your home warren, we had been drifting apart. We were inseparable as kits, but as you grew up, you started spending all your time with your darling Chibiscuit, instead of with me."
Vervain remained silent. Orchis' words were perfectly true. But the mention of Chibiscuit was still painful; despite all his attempts, he had still not found her.
-"How did you live?" he asked.
-"As you know, Woundwort destroyed our home warren of Ahfernwort," Orchis recalled. "You should know, you helped him. In those days, he was young and inexperienced. Fortunately, he learned from his mistake in future conquests. But back then, even with you assisting him, he did poorly."
-"Poorly!?" Vervain felt insulted, despite the fact that it was actually Woundwort whose skills were being criticized. "He destroyed the warren! That's not a failure!"
-"That's true, but the results were still far from perfect. For one thing, he lost his eye. Not to mention, he didn't kill or capture everyone, as he will do once he finds the outsiders again. Back then, several rabbits survived largely unscathed, including me. I took a small group to safety. But then...something happened."
Orchis fell silent, hoping to increase the suspense. He anxiously waited for Vervain to ask him what had happened, but Vervain refused to give him the satisfaction.
-"A dog happened," Orchis was forced to continue. "It was rather small, and judging by its condition, I would assume a stray. But that did not make it any less damaging. It attacked while we were resting, and we scrambled to get to safety. We all ran in opposite directions. That was the last time I saw Chibiscuit, or any of the others."
-"YOU WERE WITH CHIBISCUIT!?" Vervain yelled in fury. Had Chibiscuit cheated on him with his own brother? He refused to get mad at her, instead blaming Orchis for stealing her from him.
-"Relax, bro, Verv, there was nothing between us. We just ran away from the destruction together, and there were others with us too. I never thought of her again afterwards, until you showed up and mentioned her in your sleep."
This new information allowed Vervain to calm down slightly.
-"So you never saw her again?" was his next question.
-"No, I didn't. Sorry, I can't help you find her, if she is even still alive. Anyway, as I was saying, the dog attacked and we were scattered. After a few days, I went back to the warren that used to be Ahfernwort. What a tragedy it all was! Not a single living rabbit was there, only a few corpses. Alone in what used to be my home, I discovered the meaning of life, and it influenced every decision I ever made afterwards."
Once again, Orchis chose to stop stalking in order to build up suspense. Once again, he was left disappointed, with Vervain refusing to ask about the meaning of life, choosing to simply stare at his brother instead.
-"The meaning of life is pure evil. Woundwort had tried it and, despite some amateurish mistakes, he had won. Therefore, to lead a good life, I decided to do the same. Whenever I encountered a dog afterwards, I brutalized it, as revenge for what that first savage beast had done to me. I soon discovered the warren then known as Stormhaven, where I led an excellent life as a warrior. And then Woundwort returned, and so did you. You know the rest."
Having finished his glorious tale, Orchis turned to look at Vervain once again, awaiting his reaction. As on every previous occasion, Vervain disappointed him by not reacting.
-"What about you, bro? What happened to you since Ahfernwort?"
-"Nothing much, really," Vervain said. "Woundwort made me a captain as a reward for my help. I raided Redstone and took Primrose back to Efrafa. Had that meddlesome gull not intervened during Blackavar's trial last summer, I would have had the pleasure of executing her."
-"Oh well, just a slight delay," Orchis said, chuckling.
-"You're being optimistic. Either way, then the outsiders happened and Woundwort has been chasing them ever since. But enough about me." Vervain took on a defensive tone. "Why did it take you so long to tell me that you are my brother?"
-"You didn't recognize me, and I wasn't sure how you would react. Like I mentioned earlier, we were already drifting apart before we were separated. Not to mention, I was testing you, as I already knew all the answers."
-"Well, now I know all the answers too. What next? What sort of relationship are you hoping for?"
-"I was hoping we could be evil together. Let's face it, we both make great villains; with two of us, we can be twice as evil! As soon as Woundwort has tracked down the outsiders, let's get murdering!"
-"Yes...murder..." Vervain was not looking forward to that, as he was afraid that HE would be the one getting murdered.
-"Did someone say 'murder'?" came a third voice.
It was Kurai who had spoken, as he made his way to Vervain and Orchis. Neither of them were particularly happy to see him, considering the rather disturbing way their last conversation had ended.
-"Yes, murder!" Vervain shouted in accusation. "You said that you murdered Dewdrop!"
-"Yes, I did!" Kurai grinned; even to Vervain, this cheerfulness was deeply disturbing.
-"Why?"
-"It is hard to keep a secret, even..."
-"No no no, you misunderstand me. I wasn't asking why you confessed. I was asking why you killed her. Sure, she was the most annoying rabbit in the warren and nobody liked her, but she was never in the same mark as you. I can't figure out how you two met."
-"Actually, we never met, not before her death. I killed her because I wanted to, and I could. Not to mention, she wasn't my first victim. Don't you remember another dead doe, of the left flank mark, shortly before Hazel first showed up?"
Vervain tried to recall the event Kurai was mentioned; once he did, he was left horrified.
-"That was you!? But...you were the one in charge of the investigation!"
-"Indeed. Being the lead investigator put me in a unique place to divert suspicions away from myself. Despite my best attempts at the time, one rabbit did find out the truth: Campion. But that fool was in love with Primrose, making him very easy to blackmail."
Vervain became angry at the mention of Campion. But the traitor was right about one thing: Kurai was dangerous.
-"Also, that other doe was not my first time either!" Kurai said, but his cheerfulness was soon replaced by a sombre mood. "Did I ever tell you about my mother? She killed my siblings for no reason. So I killed her too."
The more Kurai talked, the more disturbed Vervain was. Why was he surrounded by freaks?
-"You did what you had to do," Orchis calmly said. "If she killed your siblings, you might have been her next victim had you not struck first."
-"That doesn't count for Dewdrop," Vervain interjected. "Regardless of all the rules she broke, this was not a 'kill or be killed' situation. Same goes for your other victim."
-"I suppose I have regrets," Kurai said with a sigh.
-"Well, that's a good thing..."
-"I regret killing Sainfoin alongside Dewdrop. He was actually a good friend of mine, I didn't want him to die like this. But, during this chaotic period of Efrafa's history, I did not realize that he was also in the burrow when I collapsed it. Had I know, I would have tried again later, when Dewdrop truly was alone."
-"...no regrets about Dewdrop, then?"
-"None."
-"And your other Efrafan victim?"
-"Still no. I would do it again, and I will, once I find another suitable victim."
Vervain was completely horrified. Executing an annoying troublemaker was one thing, but killing a defenceless doe just for the fun of it? That was too much.
-"Why are you telling us all this?" was all he could say.
-"You asked," Kurai calmly replied. "I aim to please."
-"Aren't you afraid we will tell Woundwort?" Orchis asked.
-"You two? Snitch?" Kurai grinned. "We all know that's not going to happen."
-"Don't be so sure!" Vervain taunted, prompting a scoff on Kurai's part.
-"All right, let's assume you do tell. Do you seriously think he will believe you? You tried to kill him. Your reputation is nonexistent."
-"And what about me?" Orchis asked. "I didn't try to kill anyone except the outsiders. I am trustworthy."
-"True, but unfortunately, you're dying. It's really sad, you're a good rabbit and a talented owsla officer. Woundwort would blame your injuries for misleading your tongue. I mean, there's reason why I only confessed to you two. I had to pick those whose words could not be trusted afterwards."
Vervain and Orchis looked at each other, as it dawned on them that Kurai was right: nobody would believe them.
-"He will believe me," came Aspen's sudden voice. "I overheard this entire conversation, including your confession, Kurai. I will tell Woundwort."
Vervain and Orchis looked at Aspen with great anticipation: he was the last hope for justice to prevail. Unexpectedly, Kurai responded with a smile.
-"I didn't know you had it in you, Aspen, I'm impressed. But believe me, you won't. Because if you do, I will tell Woundwort about the way you were working with Campion and conspiring against him."
Aspen was taken aback by this unexpected reveal.
-"How did you..."
-"You're not the only one overhearing others' conversations." Kurai winked.
Vervain and Orchis were also left surprised by Kurai's accusation; Aspen's lack of a denial seemed to imply that it was true.
-"I KNEW IT!" Vervain shouted. "That traitor Campion wasn't working alone, he had an ally this whole time!"
Realizing that the truth was out, and that his life was now in danger, Aspen made a few cautious steps backwards. Soon spotting Coltsfoot in the crowd, he ran over to him and whispered something in his ear; the two rabbits instantly bolted.