AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you TheRanger101 for the review. I'm glad you liked last week's two chapters.

This week we're back to one chapter as usual.

Chapter 49: Separations and Mergers.

"Are you alright, Sam? I did the same thing when I got back. We can't touch just yet, since you're still just a soul."

-kamikazitwinkie, Prince Rainbow's Blessing (available on this site)

Fiver and Pipkin spent a long time together, before Pipkin went above ground to silflay. Fiver's thoughts drifted back to Silverweed. Hyzenthlay's trick had clearly put him out of action for a while. He decided to go and see how the digging was going.

As he entered the Honeycomb, he realized that it was nearly empty. Most of the time, there were a few rabbits there having a discussion of some sort, but in this case, there was only one other rabbit there; it was Vilthuril. Finding himself alone with her made him feel rather awkward, especially after the incident earlier. He was unsure what to do, but she broke the silence first:

-"I hope you're feeling all right, after what happened to you above ground."

-"I am. How is the digging going?"

-"We're taking a break now. We have a few burrows finished, but we could still use a few more."

-"Oh." Fiver remained silent for a while, trying to figure out what to reply, but Vilthuril was once again the first to speak:

-"I've been thinking about today's incident, with Silverweed. You seem to have mind powers of some sort, don't you?"

-"You could say that. Sometimes, I have visions of the future. I know something is going to happen, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it."

-"That sounds like a useful talent."

-"It can be. It saved lives on several occasions. But it's not always so simple. On several occasions, the visions were so vague that nobody understood what they meant before it was too late. And I have no control over them: I can't make them come or suppress them. Sometimes, I wish I was just an ordinary rabbit."

-"Don't feel bad about that. Despite the limitations, it's an amazing skill."

-"But why does it have to be me? I didn't do anything to have this skill, it's just like that. Why couldn't it have been someone else?"

-"Frith works in mysterious ways." Vilthuril hopped closer to Fiver and nuzzled him. "Think about the river of knowledge. A few days ago, when me and the others first stumbled upon your warren, I had been following the river in my mind, or, more accurately, I let it carry me. But essentially, my mind felt this thing, despite the fact that most of the others had no idea it was actually there."

-"I saw the river in my mind," Fiver replied, "but I didn't create it. I don't think I have the ability to do that."

-"We both have special talents, as well as Silverweed. But they are different, both the powers themselves and the way we use them. I felt a river that lead me to a new warren. You have visions of the future, which allowed you to save other rabbits' lives. Silverweed can penetrate other rabbits' minds, and does so with hostile intentions."

-"He apologized to me before he started his invasion. I think there's more to this than one would think at first. If only I could talk to him..."

-"Perhaps you should try that."

-"But how? He's in the place called Darkhaven, and I don't know where it is."

-"Well, I remember an El-ahrairah story Bluebell told a while back, at the old warren. El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle were at a pond when suddenly, a weird duck showed up and split their souls from their bodies. Their bodies remained motionless next to the pond, and while their souls could still see, hear and smell each other, nobody else could. They became increasingly nervous until suddenly, the duck's niece randomly arrived and reversed the process."

Fiver chuckled.

-"That's a really weird one. I don't think I heard it before."

-"At first I thought he was making it all up, especially with that random ending, but now I'm not so sure. Do you think you could pull off something like what the ducks did?"

-"I honestly don't know."

-"It might be worth trying out."

Fiver was about to reply, but Vilthuril had already left the Honeycomb towards the digging area. He remained motionless, staring at the run, and thinking about what she had said. Could he possibly attempt to contact Silverweed using a trick similar to what the duck had done in Bluebell's story? Vilthuril was right: it was worth trying out. But first, he would have to try with someone else to see if it was possible. If he tried with Silverweed and failed, the results could be disastrous.

Fiver walked out of the Honeycomb and went outside; it was still as foggy as ever, but he estimated it was late in the afternoon. A few rabbits could be seen at silflay further away. Among them was Pipkin; Fiver hopped over to him.

-"Pipkin, there's something I would like to try, some sort of mind trick, but I would need your help."

-"Sure! What do I need to do?"

-"Just sit over there and silflay normally, do your best to ignore me."

-"That's it?"

-"That's it."

-"Uhhh..." Pipkin was visibly confused. "All right, if you say so..."

Pipkin hopped further away and started to nibble the grass. He turned and looked awkwardly at Fiver, who was staring at him.

-"Please, Pipkin," Fiver said, "just pretend I'm not here."

Pipkin returned to his grass, wondering exactly what Fiver was attempting to do. A few moments later, he heard a noise like a twig being broken in two. He turned to Fiver, who was still staring at him.

-"I'm sorry, Fiver, I just can't not pay attention."

-"You're doing fine, Pipkin. Climb on my back."

-"What? Fiver, I've grown since the last time we played that game. I'm heavier now, I don't want to hurt you."

-"It's all right. You can climb on top of me, I'll be fine."

Pipkin hesitated for a few moments, before finally deciding to make the jump. However, as soon as he was sitting on Fiver's back, he saw his friend walk away. He looked down, and saw that he was floating in mid-air.

-"I'm flying? Like Kehaar? That's your mind trick? That's amazing, Fiver!"

With that, Pipkin started running around the sky, clearly enjoying the experience. Fiver looked at him the whole time, satisfied that everything was working as he had hoped it would.

Pipkin kept running for a while, until he suddenly looked down, and saw a familiar shape lying in the grass. He moved towards it and, after recognizing it, he turned to Fiver.

-"Hey Fiver, why are there two of me?"

-"There is only one of you, Pipkin, but your mind is the only part of you wandering in the sky. Your body has to stay on the ground."

-"I'm not sure I understand."

-"Neither do I, but it's amazing, isn't it?"

Pipkin glanced at his body one more time.

-"Can I go back to my body now?"

-"As you wish."

Fiver raised his front paws and placed them over his eyes; as soon as he had done this, Pipkin's mind was sucked back inside his body. Pipkin shook his head.

-"That was something. I enjoyed it, I guess. I appreciate that you did this, but I would rather you didn't do it to me again."

-"I won't. Thanks for helping me though."

Pipkin smiled and hopped away. Following the success of this experiment, Fiver felt ready to try to connect with Silverweed. He was just about to begin the process when he suddenly saw three dark shapes climbing the Down. Due to the fog, it took a while before he could finally identify them.