AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you TheRanger101 for the review :)
Happy Easter everyone! This week there are two chapters, which feature another minor crossover. As with Fifi LaFume's cameo earlier in the story, this is a one-time thing and will not be a recurring part of the plot. Also the "View from a Hill" song comes from the soundtrack of the 1999 WD series.
Chapter 47: The Unlikely Friends.
"In these dark days it's good to have reliable companions, friends that will stick with you to the bitter end. But in a pinch, a dog will do."
-LastFootnote
The fog around Watership Down seemed to be thickening; Fiver was the only rabbit above ground. He reflected on the current situation. Hazel, Bigwig, Blackberry, Primrose and Blueberry were all somewhere in the fog. He had no idea how they were doing, or if they were still alive. He couldn't even telepathically call them; the only other rabbits who could receive his signal were those who had similar abilities like Hyzenthlay, and maybe Vilthuril. The weather seemed to be the perfect reflection of Fiver's mind.
Suddenly, he smelled something unusual over the fog; he concentrated his thoughts on identifying it. After a few moments, he realized that it was the scent of a cat. What would a cat be doing on Watership Down? It didn't smell like Tabitha; it was another cat. He then noticed another smell, that of a dog. There was no smell of blood though; clearly the two creatures were not fighting each other, but this made the situation even more mysterious, as it is a well-known fact that dogs and cats are mortal enemies.
Fiver's instincts told him to run back underground, but his curiosity told him to stay there and see what exactly was going on. His curiosity ultimately won out, when he heard the two creatures. Unlike Tabitha, whose speech was full of meows every few words, and Duster, who didn't speak at all, these two had perfectly normal speech patterns, and appeared to be having a conversation of some sort.
-"It sure is foggy around here, Runt. I don't know if we're even on right trail." Fiver could clearly hear that this voice came from a female, but he was unable to determine whether it was the dog or the cat who was speaking.
-"Yep, it's foggy around here. Definitely, definitely foggy." This voice was that of a male.
-"The weather can be so unpredictable. But when we reach our destination, hopefully we will soon find someone who will give us a home."
-"I definitely hope you're right. Gee, Rita, you're a good dog. Definitely a good dog." Fiver then realized that the female, "Rita" as she seemed to be called, was the dog, while the male, "Runt", was the cat. Either way, they definitely had weird names.
Then, there was silence. Fiver could no longer hear the two creatures, only their faint footsteps. Weirdly, despite having heard two voices and smelled two creatures, he could only hear one creature's footsteps. Then, the voices resumed.
"You think we'll reach Yellowstone soon, Rita?" the male said.
-"How should I know? Maybe if I could see where we're going, I might be able to tell you."
-"Gee, Rita, maybe we could be able to see from the top of that hill?"
-"To the top of the hill we go, then!"
Fiver sat up. He had been hoping that the dog and the cat would steer clear of the Down, but they had just announced that they would go to the top. They did not appear to be aware of the warren's existence...yet. But, once they would be at the top, it would be impossible to conceal. Fighting them would be impossible in such weather.
Fiver tried to think of a way to protect the warren, until he finally came up with a solution: he had to lead them away. Due to the fog, he would probably have to go very close to them in order for them to notice his presence. Hopefully he would survive this mission: if he didn't, Hazel would be heartbroken upon his return. But there was no other solution.
Fiver set towards the bottom of the Down, but around halfway down, he came face-to-face with the two creatures. The dog was really large, comparable in size to Bark the badger, and also fat. Most of the fur was beige, apart from one weird overgrowth on the head that partially obscured the eyes. The cat, meanwhile, had green eyes and grey fur, although the chest, the front paws and the tip of the tail were white. The cat was sitting on the dog's back; that would explain why Fiver only heard one set of pawsteps.
Fiver was startled by the sudden appearance of the two creatures. He was about to bolt another way to hopefully draw their attention, when suddenly, the cat spoke:
-"Woah there Runt, there's someone else in front!"
Under ordinary circumstances, Fiver would have run away, but the cat's voice baffled him. It was the female voice he had heard earlier; how could this be possible? He had clearly heard the male voice call the other a "good dog". His thoughts were interrupted when the dog bent down to get a closer look at him.
-"Aww, look at the cute little puppy!" he said. Fiver was slightly relieved at this. Clearly this dog had trouble figuring out the differences between species. That would explain why he had called the cat a dog earlier and, even better, he probably wouldn't attack him, since he thought Fiver was one of his own kind.
-"No," the cat suddenly said. "Not a puppy. A bunny." Fiver rolled his eyes; of course the cat had to ruin everything. "Like at creepy Bob's ranch."
-"Oh, yeah. That Bob definitely was a creepy guy. Yup, definitely definitely creepy. Good thing we helped all the bunnies escape before he turned them into fur coats, isn't it Rita?"
-"Sure, but I still say we let Bob off easy. He deserved worse than that."
-"Yeah, you're right. You're a good dog, Rita. Definitely a good dog."
-"Don't tell him," Rita told Fiver, presumably referring to her species, before jumping off Runt's back. "Look, bunny, is it all right if we hang around at the top of the hill for a bit?"
Fiver thought quickly. The dog and the cat had apparently helped some rabbits escape from an evil human. So far they did not show any signs of hostility towards him, and he did not have any negative feelings about them. He had no reason to deny their request.
-"You can come," he finally said. "I'll lead the way, it's easy to lose your way in the fog."
-"Thanks," Rita replied.
Fiver hopped back to the top of the Down. Rita and Runt were behind him; while he could not see them, he could still smell them and hear them speak:
-"This bunny definitely is cute, isn't he Rita?"
-"Sure, Runt. This fog isn't clearing, is it?"
-"Well, here we are," Fiver finally said. "This is the top."
Runt looked around in confusion, as Rita jumped off his back and walked around.
-"This is the top, eh?" she said. "You can't see any better than at the bottom."
-"Perhaps you could try climbing to the top of the beech tree?" Fiver suggested. "Maybe it isn't as foggy up there."
-"Oh shoots no. Not after what happened last time in Nebraska."
-"What is Nebraska?"
-"Doesn't matter." She walked over to Runt, mumbling: "Bunnies. Go fig." Not the most polite thing to say, Fiver thought, but at least she didn't attack.
-"Gee, Rita, I'm sorry I brought you to the top," the dog said. "I thought we would have had a good view from the hill."
-"View from a hill, huh?"
At this, Rita stood up on her hind legs, raising her front paws high in the sky, as she started to sing:
Like the view from a hill
I can see you and me
Like the view from a hill
It's so easy to see
Here's where we belong
I feel it so strong
I see it so clear
As I always will
Like the view from a hill
Fiver listened attentively to Rita's song; he hadn't heard anything like this before. He also admired the unlikely friendship between her and Runt; as she sang, she walked around him, at one point looking deeply into his eyes as she played with his ears. Runt seemed to be smiling, a facial expression Fiver had never seen on Duster. He was glad to have brought them to the top of the Down. If Tabitha and Duster were as friendly as Rita and Runt, raiding the farm would be much easier.
His thoughts were interrupted by a horrifying scream coming from underground. Rita and Runt did not seem to be bothered by it, and the cat kept singing:
Like a bird in the sky
I can see us below
As it all passes by
I believe that I know
This feeling of love
Seen from above
Goes on and on
And it always will
Like the view from a hill
Fiver, however, rushed underground to see what was happening. As he tried to trace which burrow the sound came from, he bumped into Vilthuril, their noses accidentally touching in the process. While Fiver had enjoyed the soft feeling of the doe's fur, the situation remained awkward.
-"Uh, sorry..." he finally said. "Any idea what that scream was about?"
-"You don't have to apologize." Vilthuril blushed. "I don't know what happened, I was digging and Hawkbit just randomly started screaming."
-"I should go talk to him."
The two rabbits made their way to the burrows being dug, and Fiver realized that Rita's song could clearly be heard underground:
Like the view from a hill
I can see through the tears
Like the view from a hill
I can see down the years
Here's where we belong
I feel it so strong
I see it so clear
As I always will
Like the view from a hill
When they finally arrived at the new burrows, they were met with total chaos. Several rabbits, including Hawkbit, Dandelion, Nelthilta and Nyreem, had their faces covered with their ears and their front paws, presumably in order to stop hearing Rita. Several others, including Pipkin, Snowdrop, Gilia, Mallow, Clover and Thethuthinnang, had their ears straight up instead.
-"You were above ground, Fiver, weren't you?" Flora said, hopping over to him. "What type of bird makes this wonderful sound?"
-"Wonderful?" Dandelion shouted, temporarily uncovering his face. "You call that wonderful? Please, Fiver chase that bird away!"
-"Chasing other creatures away is the owsla's job," Strawberry said, "so it's not really up to Fiver. Although, honestly I kinda like that sound..."
-"I don't think it's a bird," Blackberry said. "It doesn't sound like one, unless it's another type of bird from far away."
-"It's not a bird," Fiver said. "It's Rita."
-"Regardless of what it is, please make it stop!" Hawkbit shouted.
-"Weird name," Thethuthinnang said.
-"It sounds almost like a human name," Clover said. "I remember the human child back at the farm once brought her friend over, and her friend was called Rita."
-"It's not the same Rita, though," Fiver said.
-"I'm certainly glad there's no human outside," Dandelion said.
-"What type of creature is she though?" Flora asked.
-"She's a cat."
-"A cat?"
-"A cat?"
-"Surely he must be joking..."
-"Anything but a CAT!"
-"You stayed above ground with a CAT?" Vilthuril turned to Fiver. "Why? She could have killed you!"
-"She's quite harmless," Fiver explained. "Surely any creature who can make such a lovely sound cannot be evil."
-"Except the sound isn't lovely at all!" Dandelion said, before turning to Strawberry and Hawkbit. "Looks like we'll have to go and get rid of it ourselves, since nobody else seems to care enough to take action on their own."
-"Look, before anyone attacks, I'm going to take a look at this cat myself." Hyzenthlay had been sitting in a corner of the burrow, watching the scene unfold. "If she turns out to be a threat to the warren, I'll lead the attack, but if Fiver says she's harmless, she probably is, so we would have nothing to worry about."
Before anyone else had a chance to reply, she hopped out of the burrow. Fiver followed her.
-"Thanks for what you did back there," he said. "You seem to be a more qualified leader than me. Would it be all right if you took over until Hazel comes back?"
-"I appreciate that, but no. You're a good leader, don't underestimate yourself. But for now, let's take a look at this cat."
-"You will find that there is a dog too. His name is Runt, and he too is harmless. He didn't even realize that I was a rabbit until Rita pointed it out. And for some reason, they are friends."
-"Many weird things happen around here, it seems."
Fiver and Hyzenthlay made it above ground just as Rita was finishing her song:
Like the view from a hill
I can see you and me
Like the view from a hill
It's so easy to see
Here's where we belong
I feel it so strong
I see it so clear
As I always will
Like the view from a hill
Like the view from a hill
Like the view from a hill...