Chapter 277: Planning and Spying.

"He walked in through the front door. He heard a scream. That's when it occurred to him, someone else had already moved into his quarters."

-slashythetroll, The seer

Venturing into the warren, Rosie, Tumbler and Crackers were amazed at how dark it was. The last rays of sunlight faded at the first turn in the tunnel, leaving the squirrels and hedgehog slightly disoriented: unlike the rabbits, they were not used to such total darkness. Tumbler did not have any other matches she could use either.

Upon reaching the great burrow, they found it deserted. A far cry from the way it used to be just a few weeks before, when one could find a large crowd there at any time of day.

-"There are so many tunnels in here, which way do we go now?" Crackers asked.

-"I explored the warren a lot in my youth," Tumbler explained. "If she is still in the same burrow as last winter, we have to go through the third tunnel on the fourth row, then turn left at the lower passage, then the second burrow on the right after reaching the strawberry crystal pointing the wrong way."

Her two friends stared at her in confusion, as the directions were unexpectedly complicated.

-"It's a very large warren with few rabbits, there are many unused tunnels and burrows that result in a more difficult path."

The three creatures started to follow the path Tumbler had indicated. Upon turning left at the lower passage, however, they saw someone else deeper in the tunnel, forcing them to hide in another alcove.

The other rabbit was Cowslip's ghost, hovering through the tunnel, talking to herself, and never noticing the squirrels and hedgehog as she went past them.

"Don't you get the thing?" she was saying. "Hmm...hmm...I mean like really? UGH I HAD TO WAIT SO LONG!"

The ghost suddenly starting to scream was something nobody had expected. The hedgehog and squirrels patiently waited for her to leave, so they could continue their trip to Tindra's burrow.

-"Maybe it's just the darkness playing tricks on my eyes, but I could swear she was floating," Rosie said.

-"She also looked almost transparent," Tumbler added.

-"She was also talking to herself!" was Crackers' observation.

-"All the rabbits in the warren are weird, but she takes it to a whole new level."

By this point in the conversation, they had reached their destination. Peaking inside the burrow, they confirmed that Tindra really was there. She appeared asleep; however, given the urgency of the situation, she would have to be woken up.

-"Let me go first," Rosie said. "If all three of us go in at once, she might be overwhelmed, hurting our chances."

Seeing the logic in Rosie's suggestion, the two squirrels nodded, and went to opposite ends of the tunnel to keep an eye out for hostile visitors. The hedgehog, meanwhile, went into the burrow. She wondered what would be the best way to wake up the rabbit, but this proved to be a moot point: she opened her eyes on her own, and looked at the visitor.

-"A mouse!" The doe took a few steps back. "Are you a spy from New Sandleford?"

-"I am not a mouse, or a spy."

-"Oh. Sorry for incorrectly assuming your species..."

Tindra still remained unconvinced about Rosie's claim not to be a spy, however, as such a denial was exactly what an actual spy would say.

-"What are you doing here?" she asked instead.

-"I am here to warn you about a spy."

A legitimate warning, Tindra wondered, or an attempt at deflecting suspicion? Either way, it did not matter, because...

-"I'm not Chief Rabbit. There's little I can do."

-"But this warren doesn't have a Chief, does it?"

-"Officially, we don't, but Toadflax is basically in charge these days."

Rosie shivered at the mention of that big jerk.

-"Regardless, you still have a spy in your warren."

-"Who is it?"

-"It's Flesca. Me and my friends saw her kissing one of the New Sandleford rabbits."

Tindra showed no emotion. No shock, no surprise, no disbelief, nor even a sign that she had expected that.

-"Why are you telling me?" was her next question.

-"Toadflax won't listen to me," Rosie explained, "but he will probably listen to you, and he may be able to take the proper course of action."

-"No. He won't listen to me, either, I'm just a doe. If anything, he might accuse ME of being the spy and trying to deflect suspicion."

This last reply left Rosie worried and sad. In her attempts at helping the rabbits, she may have made things worse for at least one of them. Warning someone else instead of Tindra was not an option either: knowing Toadflax, he would make the same accusations of deflection. Was there truly nothing that could be done, but let everyone die off?

Suddenly, she felt someone land on top of her. Looking behind her, she saw that it was her two squirrel friends. For them to actually touch her, risking their paws, there had to be something serious going on.

-"What are..." Rosie started to ask.

-"The floating transparent rabbit is back!" Crackers and Tumbler were so worried about the ghost that they did not seem to realize the unfortunate situation with the quills.

-"Oh no, not her again..." Tindra said, annoyed. "Quick, hide behind me, who knows how she will react."

The three creatures quickly hid behind Tindra as instructed, and remained absolutely still and silent. Cowslip's ghost was still hovering and talking to herself nonsensically. She stopped in front of the burrow's entrance, and peaked inside, staring directly at Tindra.

-"The nettles are stabbing my toes."

Another highly nonsensical comment, as there were no nettles underground, nor in the warren's vicinity, not to mention that as she was hovering and not actually made of matter, she could not step on anything. Without waiting for a response, she hovered away, continuing her nonsensical comments alone.

-"What's up with her?" Crackers asked, now that it was safe to move again.

-"Someone accidentally summoned her and nobody knows how to make her go away. If you ignore her, she's harmless."

-"That's better than I expected," Crackers confessed. "But wait! If she is a ghost, maybe she is the killer!"

-"I doubt that," Tindra said. "The murders started before she arrived here."

-"Oh..." Her new theory disproved, Crackers turned to Rosie. "So, how is it going? Did you already tell her about Flesca?"

-"I did," Rosie replied. "But she doesn't seem to want to do anything about it."

-"What!?" Tumbler was utterly shocked by this revelation; she turned to face the rabbit. "Who knows what horrors will befall you and your friends if nothing is done?"

-"Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't see much of a future for any of us," Tindra said. "There aren't many of us, and there's a killer on the loose. There are no kittens, nor does anyone have the motivation to have any. I wouldn't be surprised if we were to all die out before winter."

-"All the more reason to act while you still can!" Crackers said.

-"In addition to being a spy, Flesca may also be the killer!" Tumbler speculated.

-"Seriously, though, what do you expect me to do?" The rodents' insistence was getting annoying to Tindra. "As I already said, if I told Toadflax, he wouldn't believe me. If I try confronting Flesca myself, and she really is the killer, then I might be her next victim."

-"Isn't there anyone else you could trust, who could help?"

The squirrels and hedgehog were really persistent, Tindra thought. Perhaps they were right, and she could team up with someone else. If that didn't work out, then she would have to try and track down Hickory and Marigold's warren.

-"Acorn, maybe. He's probably trustworthy."

-"See? It's not that hopeless!" Tumbler said with a smile.

-"And we can help you too, confront her when the time comes, and provide moral support," Crackers added.

-"Meet me outside at evening silflay, we will confront her then. Now go: Toadflax won't be happy if he finds you here."

-"We'll be there!"

Rosie, Crackers and Tumbler, eagerly anticipating this upcoming event, scurried off, leaving Tindra alone once again. They did not encounter anyone else on the way back above ground.