AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you Anonymous Guest for the review.
Chapter 161: The New Portal.
"I don't see why we need to go poking our noses where they may not belong."
-The-BlueEyedCentauress, The Return of Effrafra
Upon her return to the warren, Vilthuril sought out Fiver to talk to him about her discovery. He was above ground, but not at silflay, just staring in the distance, as he sometimes did.
-"Is this a bad time?"
-"No." He turned over to her. "What is going on?"
-"I found something over at the river. I was hoping you could help me with it."
Vilthuril dropped the item in front of Fiver. Before he could take a close look, however, he spotted Flyairth further away, sniffing the air.
-"There's that smell again..." the larger doe said. "I don't like it..."
-"Let's go," Vilthuril said, realizing what would happen if they stayed long enough for the larger doe to identify the smell.
Vilthuril carried the object to a more secluded corner of the Down, with Fiver following. She selected this spot due to the presence of a bush, that would hopefully mask the scent.
-"Why are we hiding?" Fiver asked.
-"Flyairth tends to overreact. Also, I was hoping to talk to you alone."
-"That, she does. But I'm afraid we're not alone here either."
Indeed, upon raising her ears, Vilthuril could pick up two faint voices.
-"You can't withdraw over something like this, Holly."
-"I really do think it is the best option for the future of the warren. Flyairth's rule would be disastrous."
-"She's still my former Chief."
-"And I'm sure she did a great job over there. But that doesn't mean you have to agree with her about everything."
-"And I don't. This warren appears safe and I see no logical reason to leave. However, you shouldn't withdraw, I should. It was rather pretentious of me to run in the first place, I was just a captain."
-"I am just a captain too. You are very qualified, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe in you."
-"All the same, I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me again."
-"Again?"
-"Oh, sorry...just a slip of the tongue..."
-"If we both withdraw, then Flyairth would win by default. There has to be another option."
Fiver and Vilthuril, not wishing to interrupt Holly and Hyzenthlay's discussion, went to the other edge of the Down, where they could have their own conversation. They remained silent for a few moments, to ensure that they really were alone; fortunately, this time, they were not disturbed.
-"So, what is this object that Flyairth doesn't like the scent of?" Fiver asked.
-"I found it at the bottom of the river, I'm not sure what it is."
Fiver stared at the object for a long time.
-"It's pretty. It's shiny. Like you."
Vilthuril blushed.
-"But what is it?" she asked.
-"I don't know. Why did you bring it back?"
-"I had this weird feeling in my ears." Vilthuril scratched her ear, thinking back at what she had felt.
-"Could it have been the water? You were in the river, after all."
-"I'm fairly sure it wasn't the water. It was just a weird, unexplainable feeling..."
-"Since we don't know what this object is for, I'm afraid there isn't much to be done with it."
-"What a shame, it does look nice...I suppose I'll have to dispose of it somehow, before Flyairth stumbles upon it again."
-"Perhaps we could use it to decorate our burrow?"
Vilthuril smiled; soon, the two rabbits carried the object to the burrow. Fiver carefully pushed the sharp end into the dirt wall, anchoring it in place, while leaving the shiny part visible. They admired the result for a few moments, before hopping back out of the burrow.
It was at that moment that they heard something. Turning around, they saw that the burrow wall had crumbled to bits, probably due to the weight of the object. However, this had an unexpected side-effect that left both rabbits confused. A hole had appeared in the wall, the edges of which were shining. Peeking inside the hole, Vilthuril could see another creature, currently asleep. Neither rabbit could identify what type of creature it was. The shape of its body and tail was vaguely similar to that of a fox, but its fur was largely grey rather than the usual orange. Additionally, there was no fur on its head.
-"What just happened?" Fiver asked.
Bluebell was hopping throughout the warren. He was on his way to Blackberry's burrow, when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Curious, he turned to look inside the burrow where he had seen it.
-"Oh Frith and Inlé, is that the king from the old El-ahrairah story?" he said, hopping inside for a closer look. "It is! Oh how wonderful, I'm sure Blackberry would love to visit the..."
-"Really?" Vilthuril was surprised by what Bluebell had just said. "That's not how I imagined King Darzin to look like."
-"Oh, it's not King Darzin," Bluebell clarified.
-"King Fur-Rocious then?" Fiver said. "He doesn't look too threatening..."
-"No, not him either. This is King. Just King. I see you're playing with portals, how did you open it?"
-"I don't kn.."
-"Oh, the star's portal!" Bluebell spotted the object on the burrow floor and answered his own question.
-"Star?" Bluebell's answer made Fiver feel optimistic. "As in 'shining star'?"
-"Wow, it's been a long time since I last heard this archaic name...but yes. This portal is very flexible one, but it is also easy for inexperienced users to bridge to an unintended destination, which is what I assume just happened."
-"Almost. We weren't aiming for anywhere in particular, it just...happened."
The extended conversation between the rabbits had the effect of waking up King. He was not pleased at this, and stared directly at them.
-"How dare you wake me up in such a way? I was in the middle of a most pleasant nap. I hope you brought snacks, otherwise I shall have no choice but to send my minions to..."
-"Sorry King, no minions today..." Bluebell hurriedly closed the portal, then turned back to the other rabbits.
-"So, you're saying that this object could open a portal leading to anywhere?" Fiver asked.
-"Not necessarily anywhere, but almost anywhere, yes," Bluebell explained.
-"Including the human world?"
-"Yes, but why would you want to do that?"
-"To get Leo back."
-"You definitely know more about this than anyone else," Vilthuril said. "Do you think you could operate it, Bluebell?"
-"I do know most of the stories, but actually opening a portal leading to the right place..." Bluebell hesitated, and shook his head. "I'll practice in my burrow. I'll let you know if I come up with anything."
Bluebell hopped out, somewhat nervous. While he was excited at the prospect of what he could accomplish, there could be disastrous consequences if he made a mistake.
Hazel was at silflay. It seemed to him that, lately, he had to worry so much about his children. First, there was Periwinkle and her troubled relationship with her siblings; they seemed friendlier recently. Then, there was Snowdrop and her attempted murder of Blueberry; fortunately, he and Primrose were able to reason with her. And now, there was Gilia, with her crush on Blueberry. Raising a family was a very rewarding experience, but also emotionally draining at times.
He soon noticed two rabbits hopping over to him. It was Hyzenthlay and Holly, and they both seemed concerned.
-"Is there a problem?" he asked.
-"We've been talking about the election," Holly said. "We would like to know what the current situation is."
The election. Hazel had almost forgotten about it. It was yet another project that had been started recently, but was not yet finished.
-"Last time we voted, Flyairth almost won; since then, several rabbits have stated that they wouldn't vote for her anymore," he explained.
-"So what happens now?" Hyzenthlay asked.
-"I honestly don't know. If we were to vote again, we would probably end up with a three-way deadlock once again. While having a second Chief to help me run the warren would be useful, it may not be worth the trouble. Unless someone knows another way to proceed."
-"We've been talking this over, and we have a solution, we hope. It won't involve anything drastic, and it should hopefully resolve the situation rather easily."
Hazel patiently listened as Holly and Hyzenthlay explained their plan.
-"This really seems to like a reasonable option," he said once they were finished. "In fact, it may be the only solution that doesn't involve abandoning the whole project. Tonight, we'll vote again, for the last time."