It was another fitful sleep. It was another day waking up in a dense fog. It was another headache.
They had been trekking nearly-blind for what felt like forever and Speedwell's worry only grew. He had begun to ask when they'd get to the downs but Acorn cut him off as he had a dozen times already, "We'll get there when we get there."
The fog was an infinite expanse that swallowed anything that ventured too far. Speedwell could feel the fog seeping into his mind and sloshing around in his head; it was a pressure that he couldn't get rid of. He focused on Acorn, who was leading the trio. The rabbit's fur was the color of a starless night and pierced through the fog. Behind speedwell, Thistle followed close behind, his fur brushing against his father's with every stride they took.
They had been traveling for what felt like hours, yet the endless hills of green had yet given way to something familiar. It was only fog and grass and the occasional tree. Speedwell on many occasions had to concentrate to stop his shaking. I'd die of stress before even seeing the Downs! Though he didn't say this out loud for fear of worrying Thistle.
"Acorn?" Asked Thistle.
The dark rabbit stopped and turned towards Thistle. Speedwell turned around as well.
"What is it, thistle?"
"How close are we?"
Acorn grinned a little, "You couldn't have asked at a better time!" Then dashed off into the fog. Speedwell looked at Thistle and Thistle at Speedwell before they both followed-suit.
Speedwell plodded along, looking out into the fog in hopes of some familiar shape to reveal itself. There was nothing, more nothing, then a mess of twisted branches revealed itself: The Beech Tree! He went from a light hop to a dash as fast as his old legs could carry them. The pressure on his head seemed to dissipate as he got closer to the tree.
As he got closer, the shapes of rabbits appeared and before Speedwell knew it he was on the Downs again with Thistle huffing by his side. A few rabbits who had seen him coming quickly scurried away and down the nearest warren holes they could find. Speedwell flopped down on the grass in exhaustion and Thistle did as well. He lay there for a few moments recollecting himself. He had made it. He was safe.
"Speedwell? Thistle?" It was Fiver who had seem them dash from the fog while he was out to silflay himself. "Where have you two been? We'd given you two up for dead!"
Speedwell grumbled and made a show of slowing standing up; Thistle stayed where he was.
"It's a rather long story that i'm too exhausted to tell right now"
"Well please tell me after your done with your rest, it's urgent that we know what's going on out there."
Speedwell's eyes widened, "Why, what has happened while we were away."
Fiver looked grim, "We're running low of flayrah and every owsla we've sent has been attacked by these dark-rabbits. From what i've heard they've never spoken a word, but they've taken a bite of us a couple of times."
"How many dark-rabbits have you seen?"
"We've sent three owslas and there always seems to be four of them"
Speedwell glanced at the fog. Nothing.
"For some strange reason, they don't seem to follow us into the warren; they always stop just before the warren boarder. Perhaps we're safe within the warrens boarder" Fiver looked out into the fog as well, his eyes darted left and right in sporadic motions as his scanned the horizon. "But for how long?"
"If they wanted to get to us, they would have done it by now, right?"
"That's something I've thought of," Fiver looked back at Speedwell, "I'm worried if the world beyond the fog is even still there"
Speedwell thought back to his journey home, "Nuthanger farm is still there. Thistle and I spent a night there. But everything was so empty, not a bird in the sky or an insect chirping, the only thing that made a sound as the wind running through the trees"
Fiver looked stunned and didn't speak for a while, then said. "That's disturbing. When you're done with your rest, come down to my burrow so I can hear the rest of what happened."
Speedwell almost didn't want the conversation to end, but agreed. He was too exhausted to continue.
[[sorry for the short chapter. Getting back into things]]