Chapter Text
“I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.”
--Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
-”Stoopid foog! Kehaar see noddings in dis weather.”
Kehaar was flying in the area around Watership Down, continuing to search for Blackberry and Primrose.
-”Fly lowa, ye silly boid,” Hannah said. “How do ye expect to see anyting oderwiz?”
-”Ya.”
Uttering one of his signature cries, Kehaar dove towards the ground, and was soon flying just above the top of the trees.
-”Ye see any rabbits, Kehaa?”
-”Nah. Kehaar see noddings. Ees veree sad.”
-”Don worry Kehaa, youl fine 'em. Juss keep a low atilude.”
Kehaar did so, but did not find the rabbits. At one point, he flew over Darkhaven, but failed to spot Primrose, as she inside the barrel at the time. He remained awkwardly silent for most of the flight, until he suddenly closed his eyes and uttered a loud cry.
-”Kehaa, wash where yer goin!” Hannah said desperately.
Kehaar opened his eyes, but it was already too late, and he collided with the tree. After falling down a few branches, he finally landed on his back on an especially large one. Hannah crawled out from underneath him.
-”Hoo many tims do I have to remine ya to flee wit yer eyes open?”
-”Kehaar so sorry.” He wiped tears from his eyes. “But Kehaar fail. Everything is fail.”
-”What are ye talkin aboot, fail?”
-”Kehaar fly everywhere, but didn't find mees Plackberry or mees Prim. Dey gone!”
-”What makes ye tink that, Kehaa? Ye cnt assume ey're dead oonless ye have any bodehs te prov they arr.”
Kehaar did not listen, and kept crying. After a few minutes, he let out a loud sigh.
-”I go to peeg vater,” he finally said.
-”Whet? But don't ye remembah wat happen lass tim ye went 'ere?”
Kehaar thought back of that day when he had visited the Big Water. He had left disillusioned with his former friends. He had found them selfish and arrogant, and they took great pleasure in trashing puffin nests for no reason. But the wonderful waves, the sounds of boats, the taste of fresh fish...
-”I go anyvay,” he eventually said.
-”Is dere anytin ah can do er say to make ye see c'mon sense?”
-”Nah.”
-”All righty 'en. Go. I'm not shtoppin ye.”
-”I'll just drop you off at Watership Down before I go, ya?”
-”Na, don't bother. Whil I'm 'ere, ah might as well go see Tassel. The squeerel.”
-”Ya sure?” Kehaar asked.
-”Oh sure I'm sure. If yer gonna go, juss go.”
-”Vell, goodbye Hannyah. Maybe I see ya anudder time, ya?”
-”Ye. I say. Bye now.”
Kehaar nodded, and uttered a loud cry as he took off; Hannah put her front paws in her ears so she wouldn't hear him. The vibrations shook the entire tree, and a leaf fell on top of the mouse.
Blackberry had been following the strangers' tracks for a while, when her nose suddenly caught a dreadful smell. As she tried to identify it, she realized that it was the scent of rabbit blood. There was no smell of elil, so she could safely approach the source of the smell. She made a few cautious steps towards in that direction, and slowly brushed away the undergrowth to get a closer look. Further away, right next to a road, she could see the motionless body of a rabbit. As she got even closer, she finally recognized the body, and she gasped in shock: it was Primrose. What had happened to her?
A quick examination showed that Primrose was thankfully still alive, but she was clearly in a bad way, especially her tail. The top priority was to stop the tail from bleeding; Blackberry had a supply of healing herbs at the Down, but unfortunately she didn't have anything available at the moment. She found a leaf on the ground and wrapped it around her friend's tail; it would have to do until they got back to the warren. But until then, they couldn't stay there: it was only a matter of time before the scent of blood attracted elil. She started to lick her friend's face, until she slowly opened her eyes.
-”Do you think you will be able to get up now?”
Primrose weakly nodded, and slowly got up. The two does made their way back to the river, and started to walk alongside it. Progress was very slow: while the bleeding had stopped, Primrose was still in great pain. Suddenly, Blackberry heard a twig snap. She worriedly looked behind her, but was relieved when she saw that the creature responsible for the noise was another rabbit. It was Granite, but she had never seen him before, and therefore didn't recognize him.
-”I'm sorry to bother you, sir,” she said, “but could you please help my friend? She's wounded, and I'm trying to get her back to our warren. Could you please help us?”
-”I'm afraid you'll have to come with me to Darkhaven,” the stranger replied.
As she heard the word “Darkhaven”, Primrose raised her ears. She cast a glance at the stranger, then fell to the ground.
-”Don't let him take me,” she begged Blackberry. “He's going to kill me.”
Blackberry thought quickly. At first, she thought that Primrose might be raving, but the stranger had said that he would take them to a place called “Darkhaven”. With a name like that, it couldn't possibly be friendly.
Blackberry made a few cautious steps backwards, and looked around her. The boat she had noticed a while earlier was on the riverbank, right where she had left it.
-”As soon as I stamp, jump onto the boat,” she whispered in her friend's ear.
-”I was hoping we would be able to avoid fighting,” the stranger said with a sigh, “but your refusal to cooperate leaves me no choice.”
-”NOW!” Blackberry shouted as she stamped.
Primrose hopped towards the boat; she nearly fell into the water, but Blackberry pushed her to safety, before pushing the boat off the shore into the water. The current was rather fast, and the boat was soon in the middle of the river; they had successfully escaped. Blackberry sighed with relief, and lied down on the bottom of the boat.
Suddenly, she found herself knocked onto her back, with another creature's paw on her neck. A quick glance besides her showed that Primrose was in the exact same situation.
-”Now, you didn't seriously think a river would stop me, did you?” Granite said with an evil smirk.
-”Why are you doing this to us?” Blackberry asked.
-”My leader said that any hlessil I find are to be brought back to the warren. So will you come peacefully or do I have to force you?”
The two does were too afraid to reply. Granite growled menacingly, but suddenly fell silent as he heard loud rumbling. Before anyone could react, the boat plunged over the edge of the waterfall, carrying all three rabbits with it.