AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you Anonymous Guest for the review :)

Chapter 108: The Incomplete Challenges.

"They never thought it would happen, but it did. They thought he was dead."

-Weatherlord7, Soothing the Seer

-"I have had enough of being oppressed by my siblings!"

The game of owslafa had gone off course after the eviction of Gilia. The pebble throw at the beginning of the game had given her a special role, that of owsla captain, giving her the privilege to take someone with her when she was kicked out. She had a clear idea who she was going to eliminate.

-"You two," she said, turning to Mallow and Snowdrop, "are often leaving me out of various secrets. You're not treating me as bad as you do with Periwinkle, at least you acknowledge my existence. But you still have several meetings without inviting me. Secrets I only find out when my spies tell me. No, I won't reveal their identities, for their safety. And now, you knock me out of the game. Mallow, you're out."

-"Hey!" Mallow retorted. "You're always blaming me for everything! It's always my fault when something doesn't go your way. Have you tried taking a look at your sister instead?"

-"You're a buck, so you always think yourself better than us 'feeble' does. I've had enough of it!"

-"And you're always playing the poor, oppressed little doe, and unfairly accusing me!"

-"Children, please," Clover said as she approached the kittens and stood between them. "This is just a game. You're taking this too seriously."

-"It's more than just a game!" Mallow shouted. "It's like this for every aspect of our lives."

-"You should mention this to your parents so they can do something about it," Captain Broom said. "But for now, maybe we should continue the game? Let's not let this silly argument ruin the fun."

-"They're right, Gilia," Mallow said with tears in his eyes. "We have been handling this the wrong way. I'm sorry for how I've been treating you."

-"No no no, don't apologize, I'm the one who started it. I should take the blame."

-"The truth is, we probably all share the blame," Snowdrop said, as she approached her two siblings and hugged them.

After the three kittens had calmed down, the game resumed.

-"So, what's the current status of the game?" Holly asked.

-"Gilia just eliminated Mallow," Flyairth explained. "Both kittens were outskirters. It is now time to vote again."

-"Bu bu bu bu but..." Gilia stammered, "if it wasn't you who kicked me out, Mallow..." She turned to Snowdrop, "then it must have been YOU!"

-"I swear, it wasn't me either."

-"Liar!" Mallow shouted. "While me and Gilia are arguing, you get the best of everything: flayrah, sleeping positions, everything! You filthy owslafa!"

-"Filthy? My fur is so much cleaner than yours, Greenie! There isn't a single speck of dirt on my entire coat!"

-"Did you just call me Greenie? How DARE you? And besides, cleanliness is not what we're discussing here. The thing is, you kicked my sister out, and you shall not get away with it."

-"This is not the way to solve this disagreement." Vesper approached the kittens. "Not with insults and attacks."

-"You...you're right about that, Vesp," Gilia said. "This isn't the way. The REAL way...is to vote her out!"

-"I don't think that's the way either, but if it's going to put an end to this madness..." Captain Broom raised his front paw. He was followed soon afterwards Nyreem, Nelthilta, Holly and Thethuthinnang. Even Mallow and Gilia raised their front paws to vote against her, but since they had already been eliminated, their votes could not be counted.

-"Now, show them their big mistake, Flyairth," Snowdrop said.

-"What mistake?" Mallow asked.

-"Snowdrop did not kick you out," Flyairth said. "She is just another outskirter."

The three kittens looked at each other in disbelief.

-"Then...we unfairly disposed of you too..."

The three kittens hugged each other closely, apologizing for each other's misbehaviour.

-"You know who you REALLY should apologize to?" Flora said. "Periwinkle. From what I've seen, you spend very little time with her. Gilia, you yourself admitted that sometimes you pretend she doesn't exist."

-"You...you're right, miss Flora," Snowdrop said. "We should go and talk to her."

Fiver and Pipkin were sitting at the top of the Down, in front of Silverweed. The white rabbit was attempting to find Leo; his eyes were closed, and his front paws were on the sides of his head. His ears moved periodically, as if to obtain a better signal. After a while, he finally opened his eyes and sat down.

-"I have good news and bad news," he said.

-"Please tell us," Fiver said.

-"The good news, is that Leo is alive and safe."

-"And the bad news?" Pipkin asked nervously.

-"He has returned to the plane of reality he came from."

-"What do you mean by that?"

-"You may recall him saying that he was not born a rabbit, but was transformed. He has returned to his original form."

-"I'm not sure I understand..." Pipkin said.

-"Let me show you."

Silverweed's eyes started to glow; in front of him, an image appeared in the sky. At first, the image was blurry, but it gradually came into focus, revealing two humans, a man and a woman, sitting on a park bench.

-"That's him."

-"Wow." Pipkin was amazed by what he was seeing. "He looks so different! Nothing wrong with that, just...not what I was expecting."

-"Who is she?" Fiver asked, pointing to the woman sitting besides Leo.

-"Rosie Rell. They are both great friends."

-"That must have been a really exciting adventure," Rosie said.

-"It was amazing," Leo replied. "Except at the end."

-"What happened?"

-"I don't know. I was helping treat a few injured rabbits, then everything went black. When I woke up, I was a human again."

Tears appeared in his eyes.

-"I didn't get to say goodbye," he said. "One moment, I was there, and the next, I was gone."

-"Don't worry," Rosie said, hugging Leo. "We'll find a way for you to get back."

-"How? I don't even know how I managed to go to their world in the first place."

-"We'll find a way. I'm sure we will. My sister Cynthia might have some ideas."

-"If I do go back...would you like to come with me?"

-"Absolutely! I would love to meet all these kind and cute rabbits you mentioned."

The light in Silverweed's eyes dimmed, and the image of Leo and Rosie faded into nothingness.

-"Is there any way we could help him?" Fiver asked.

-"Not that I know of," Silverweed said sadly. "He is in another plane of reality, and I do not know how to travel from one to another. Unless..."

-"Unless?" Both Fiver and Pipkin were momentarily excited at the possibility of getting Leo back.

-"I vaguely remember a tale of El-ahrairah, in which there was an object of some sort that was used to travel between various planes of reality. Something about a shining star." Silverweed sighed. "It's really hazy in my mind. I hardly ever heard the stories when I was younger, since Cowslip didn't want anyone telling them."

-"Dandelion might be able to help. He knows all the El-ahrairah stories, he might know more about this object."

It was early morning in Darkhaven. Most of the rabbits were still asleep, following the previous day's lost battle. But one rabbit remained awake: Woundwort. He had planned for a battle against the outsiders for so long, and now that it had happened, his side had lost.

What could have gone so wrong? The outsiders may have been more numerous than expected, but his owsla still should have been able to win. Woundwort could only think of one possible problem: they had poor fighting techniques. They were strong and large, but unless they used their bodies the right way, weight and strength would be useless, as they had been with Cowslip's followers. He would have to train them even more. Once he was satisfied with their performance, he would lead another attack on the outsiders' warren.

Only then did he remember that he still did not know that warren's location. He had encountered the outsiders while they were out on patrol, not at their warren. Even if his owsla improved massively within a few days, they would still be useless unless they knew where to find the enemy. The search for the warren would have to continue, preferably without compromising the training.

He knew just the rabbits for the job.

Once again, Vervain had experienced trouble falling asleep. While Blueberry was no longer around to bother him, he was unable to get his mind off Nepenthes. Orchis remained overly clingy, but it did not bother Vervain as much as the previous night. It was actually rather relaxing, and after several hours, he finally fell asleep.

-"VERVAIN!"

The General's voice rang painfully loud in Vervain's ears. Still exhausted, he buried his face deeper in Orchis' fur.

-"ORCHIS!"

-"What is your desire, Woundwort?" Unlike Vervain, Orchis got up really quickly, stretching and yawning. With his hiding place gone, Vervain had no choice but to stand up alongside his new friend.

-"You two are going on wide patrol," the General said.

-"Again?" was all half-asleep Vervain was able to say.

-"Again? You make it sound like a regular occurrence."

-"Isn't it?" Vervain mumbled.

-"Meet me by the entrance right away," Woundwort ordered, running out of the burrow without answering Vervain's question.

-"What's wrong, Verv?" Orchis said, grooming himself. "Don't fancy going out on patrol?"

-"I was looking forward to sleep. And asking around about Nepenthes."

-"Do you know who might know about Nepenthes?"

Vervain sighed.

-"I hate questions like this. Just tell me."

-"The Speaker of the Past! She knows so many things! Most of this knowledge is pointless, but sometimes, she's actually useful."

Vervain shuddered. The Speaker profoundly creeped him out. But how far would he be willing to go, to find Chibiscuit again?

-"Let's ask her."