AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you Anonymous Guest for the review :)
Chapter 122: Leaks.
"I have told you all of that day, long ago, when he ruined everything for me. I have him now, in front of you. This sad bag of bones is that great and fine General. I would order you to kill him, but that would be too easy. He shall languish in agony until I decide you're finished."
-UnicornAmy, General Woundwort's Folly
The level of water kept rising. While Vervain, Orchis and Aspen remained above the surface on top of the hutch, Lady May was not so lucky. Water had poured in into the hutch through the wire; the bottom of her hutch had been completely flooded, forcing her to retreat to the second level. Even then, it still continued to rain, and Lady May's paws were getting wet.
-"Who's the most comfortable creature now?" Orchis teased, stamping on the roof.
-"I've only been wet for a few minutes," Lady May responded in annoyance, "and only my paws, while you three have been rained on ever since it began, all over your body. And quit that horrible noise, will you? It's distressing."
While Lady May indeed remained mostly dry, the water kept rising, and she kept getting more and more wet. After a few minutes, her paws could no longer feel the bottom.
-"Uh, on second thought, maybe I could join you outside?" she asked. "It's getting wet in here."
-"How about it?" Vervain asked Orchis. "She was rather rude earlier, but her hutch IS flooding."
-"Absolutely not," Orchis replied, looking away. "Let's leave this high and mighty thing where it belongs: cooped up and lonely!"
-"And drowning."
-"Yes, that too. But are you implying it deserves another fate?"
-"Are you implying she doesn't?" Aspen asked.
-"Was it the flirting?" Lady May asked desperately, as she struggled to keep her head above the surface. "Is that why you hate me? I'm sorry! It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I didn't mean it! Please help me!"
But Orchis did not help; instead he chuckled and resumed stamping.
-"Now that's just cold-blooded torture," Vervain said. "What has she done to deserve this?"
-"She is a fellow rabbit, after all, caught in this unpleasant weather like the rest of us," Aspen added.
-"She's not a real rabbit," Orchis said.
-"Please, just stop stamping," Vervain begged.
Orchis stared deep into Vervain's eyes.
-"Make me."
Vervain remained motionless, listening carefully. Judging by the sudden lack of sounds coming from below, Lady May was drowning. If she wasn't already dead, she would be in a few minutes. He was her only hope.
He stood up on his hind legs and, with his front paws, pushed Orchis off the hutch. The fellow captain made no attempt at fighting back, and silently fell in the water.
-"Aspen, tell yourself an El-ahrairah story," Vervain ordered. "If I'm not back to the surface by the time you're done, come rescue me."
-"But which story?"
-"ANY STORY YOU WANT!"
Before Aspen could reply, Vervain plunged in the water, and was soon facing the wire door of the hutch. Lady May was barely moving inside; he placed his teeth on the wire and tried to chew. This made it hard for him to breathe, and the wire still didn't break. There had to be another way to free Lady May; how else would the humans let her out? All the while, he could hear Aspen's distorted voice:
-"And El-ahrairah told Frith, 'why are there so many unanswered questions? So many rabbits whose fates remain unknown? I have heard of the warren of Feverfew grove, or was it called Feverview? But regardless of its name, I do not know what happened to its citizens. Did they survive, or did they die? Did they move away, or did they return? Did their situations improve, or were they faced with even worse problems than before?' And Frith remained silent for a few moments, reflecting on this deep question, before providing a non-answer, 'this matter is as important to you as it is to me, El-ahrairah, but it is a complicated situation, and there is no easy solution. I shall reflect on the matter with Prince Rainbow and my friends, and get back to you in a few days after the pondering has resulted in a satisfying conclusion.' And Rabscuttle, who was at silflay further away and had overheard the conversation, said 'yo dats real deep dude'."
After momentarily surfacing to catch his breath, Vervain dove back down to take a closer look at the wire. It seemed that the wooden frame holding the wire in place was rotting; under ordinary circumstances, it wouldn't have be too hard to chew apart, but doing it underwater was another matter. Nevertheless, it seemed easier than chewing the wire itself, so he got to work, as he still heard Aspen continue the story. He was a pretty talented storyteller; had Vervain not been busy trying to save another rabbit's life, he would have enjoyed this. He nevertheless realized that Aspen was not as dim-witted as he had first assumed.
-"And El-ahrairah could no longer contain himself. He journeyed forth to seek out Frith once again, and said, 'Lord Frith, I have been awaiting patiently for your results. Do you have any updates?' And Lord Frith said, 'as a matter of fact, I was just about to reach out to you. You have displayed extraordinary patience, you deserve an appropriate answer. But alas, it will most likely not be satisfying. The abandon..."
Vervain had finally managed to open the hutch. Lady May was lying on her side motionless at the bottom; he swam over to her and attempted to lift her up. This proved to be harder than he had first expected: despite how fluffy her fur was, she remained heavy, and she could not help herself. He quickly realized that he could not do this alone, and went back to the surface.
-"Aspen, come help me!" he shouted.
-"And Rabscuttle said 'lol fail'...but Vervain, I'm not done with the story yet."
-"You fool! Forget the story and help me bring the doe to the surface!"
-"Oh."
Vervain dove back underwater, with Aspen following moments later. They swam to the inside of the hutch, and placed Lady May on their backs. Even with two rabbits at work, they still struggled to carry her to the surface. After what felt to them like forever, they finally managed to deposit her on top of the hutch. It took several moments before she started to cough up water, and a few minutes before she was strong enough to get up.
-"What happened?" she mumbled, as she got slowly walked over to the edge, and looked at her reflection in the water. "My fur! My gorgeous fur! It's ruined!"
-"Oh, shut up already!" Vervain shouted. He had hoped that she would stop being rude, since he had saved her life, but she still continued. "Would you rather be dead?"
Lady May lowered her head in shame.
-"Thank you for saving me..."
-"Now," Vervain said, turning to Aspen, "can you finish that story? I want to know how it ends."
-"Uh...where was I?"
-"Rabscuttle was acting weird."
-"He's always acting weird. Could you be more specific?"
-"Congratulations, Vervain!" came another voice; as Vervain looked in the distance, he saw Orchis swimming back to the hutch.
-"Why are you congratulating me?"
-"Because you passed the test, of course! By saving that pitiful waste of rabbitry, you proved yourself worthy of the information."
-"What information?"
-"About Nepenthes." Orchis climbed back onto the hutch, as Vervain gasped.
-"You said you didn't know anything!"
-"That was a lie. I know many things, but I had to make sure you were worthy of finding out before I could tell you."
-"That's the most evil thing I have ever heard!" Vervain shouted in anger. "Tell me now."
-"No. Only once we're back at the warren, and we talk to the Speaker of the Past."
-"I've waited so long...please tell me now." Vervain was no longer shouting, but begging pitifully.
-"No. Only when we return to the warren. As you say, you've waited so long, what's a day or so more?"
-"Fine...but if you make up any further delays, I swear, I'll kill you."
-"I'll be looking forward to it."
-"What is your goal, Orchis?" Aspen asked. "You've been making so many weird statements. Whose side are you on?"
-"I'm on the side of...wait, why should I tell you? You don't even know who they are...yet."
With a sigh, Vervain lied down; Orchis' behaviour was truly exasperating at times. The rain was slowing; hopefully he would be able to get some sleep.
The water had completely submerged the Down. It had made it halfway to the top of Blackberry's dam, and the rabbits were rushing to shove dirt inside all cracks that appeared between the rocks. Had it not been for the dam, the warren would have been entirely flooded, just like in Fiver's dream.
-"At this rate," Hyzenthlay said, shoving some dirt in a hole, "we'll need more rocks."
-"There aren't any more rocks underground," Thethuthinnang replied. "We used them all!"
-"Nelthilta is in a bad way," Blackberry said, hopping out of the warren's last open entrance. "I hope the floodwater recedes so we can open up her burrow again."
-"I think the rain is slowing," Fiver suddenly said.
Several rabbits looked upwards. Had they done so earlier, their eyes would have immediately been filled with water, but this was no longer the case. The rain was indeed slowing.
The rabbits remained outside for a while, keeping their front paws pressed against the rocks to prevent any sudden collapse, and periodically looking upwards to check the rain, until it finally stopped. Hyzenthlay cautiously peaked over the top of the dam; grass was visible on the other side. The water was starting to drain away.
-"We're safe!"
It took a few moments for this knowledge to sink in the minds of the rabbits. It seemed too good to be true.
-"We're safe!" Primrose repeated.
At this, the rabbits started jumping in joy and running throughout the limited space inside the dam. They arranged themselves in pairs, usually with their mate, or with a close friend if they didn't have a mate, and continued to frolic on top of the Down. Only two rabbits did not participate: Pipkin and Nyreem. Instead, they sat down on top of the dam and looked at the sky. The clouds had cleared, and a faint rainbow was visible by the moonlight.
-"This is beautiful!" Pipkin said with a gasp.
-"It is," Nyreem replied. "But not as beautiful as you." At this comment, Pipkin quickly turned his head and looked at the young doe.
-"What?"
Nyreem did not reply; instead she pounced on Pipkin and started tickling him relentlessly. Soon, both rabbits slid off the dam and rolled down into the water, which now only reached halfway to the top of the Down. They soon hopped out, unharmed but soaking wet.
-"You're really cute when wet, Pipkin," Nyreem said.
-"You're pretty cute too."
Meanwhile at the top, Bluebell hopped over to Hawkbit, and kissed him.
-"We're safe!" he said once more.
-"Are you trying to make me jealous?"
Recognizing the voice, Bluebell turned around, and saw Blackberry staring furiously at him.
-"I'm sorry?"
-"Kissing another buck repeatedly in front of me! You're trying to make me jealous!"
-"Kissing someone else was your idea..."
-"I demand that you kiss me."
-"You...want me...to kiss you?" Bluebell blinked a few times, taken aback by this unusual request; on past occasions, Blackberry did his best to avoid being kissed, but now he wanted it?
-"Yes. Please do."
Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Bluebell slowly approached Blackberry, and gave a light peck on the side of his head.
-"You call THAT a kiss? Let me show you how it's done."
Blackberry placed his front paws behind Bluebell's head, and pulled him closer. Their mouths and whiskers touching each other for a long time, until Blackberry eventually let go. He had had mixed feelings at first: he had never wanted to be kissed before, but since Hawkbit accepted it, it couldn't be THAT bad, could it? Nevertheless, he found himself enjoying the kiss; perhaps, in the future, he should agree to Bluebell doing it. Without saying a word, he hopped underground; Bluebell meanwhile, was experiencing a sudden rush of emotions.
-"Oh!" Bluebell said. "Oh my!" This was all too much for him; he fainted. Hawkbit, who had seen everything unfold, sighed, and followed Blackberry underground.