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 Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 10:34 pm
 Dogsbane took some long, shaking breaths. He had run clear across the open plain and into the edge of the thicket. He was a touch jumpy. As fast as he was, he didn't like the short grass he had just bolted across. It was dry and every crack the prickles made sounded like a homba coming down on him. He stopped in the thicket for a moment, to catch his breath. He was far from the down, having been sent by his captain to go hunting for more flay. Flay-rah would be a treat but in the coming winter, any food that wasn't rotted beyond edibility would be good. While catching his breath and grooming, his nostrils flared, smelling for both food and danger. He had to prove to Ginkgo he could do this. He had already come so far, traveling half a day as the rabbit hops. He'd never been so far away from the down, or gone this long, but his first mission was important. 'Find Food'. His captain had sent another runner to go with him, but halfway Dogs suggested they split up and cover more ground. He should have been back with a grim report that there was hardly anything left to eat, but he was steadfast and determined. He WOULD find food. He'd be a hero. And maybe Ginkgo would like him more for it. That would take that insufferable scowl off his angry, dumb...sharp..gorgeous face. His nose suddenly caught another scent and he paused, lifting his head and snuffling. It didn't smell of elil and it wasn't coming from the pheasant feathers nearby, nor from the little mouse family scurrying out into the field for their silflay. No...it was a rabbit. He was sure of it. And a rabbit meant there was food in this copse. So he turned and began to slowly hop towards the smell, on guard, eyes and ears alert and paws ready to run.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 11:03 pm
Lost had been in the wilds for some time now. She was, as her name implied, very much lost. It had been so long since she escaped that hutch and into the wilderness, tasting freedom for the first time in her soft, domesticated life. She escaped with a purpose and her purpose was to return to free her offspring and the others who would one day be on the chopping block, yet she could not seem to find her way back. How far she had traveled was beyond her. Seasons had turned on a few occasions and where once she was an inexperienced doe who had several litters of kittens at her masters' beck and call, she was now a nervous hlessi who had seen the worst in elil. She had not yet felt their claws, however. She was too fast, too quick witted, and that was her only saving grace. The wilds had quickly reverted her to her natural state.
She had help, though.
She had spent the previous winter and the beginnings of spring in a far away down. She had stumbled upon them after springing for freedom and they accepted her, despite her odd scent and mannerisms. They took her in and taught her of El-ahrairah and what it meant to be one of his many children. She learned how to be a rabbit from them and carried their lessons dear to her heart. They had asked her not to leave and offered her sanctuary in the warren as her proper home, yet she had to leave, to find the offspring she had left behind and to free them and teach them the wonders of the world and the ways of El-ahrairah.
But it seemed this was not to come to pass. The upbeat doe was losing hope and reality was setting in. She doubted she would ever return to that particular farm, where rabbits were bred and grown for food and fur. That sad thought plagued her mind as she nibbled a blade of grass. Her dark ears were alert and she nearly bolted out of her skin at the sound of a creature approaching. It didn't sound large, but elil were crafty creatures and she had to be craftier to remain alive. She whirled about on her paws, ready to either flee or defend herself. The gray buck that she saw, however, was not nearly as intimidating as, say, a lendri.
"Oh, hello~"
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 11:11 pm
Dogsbane pushed his head through a small part twixt a pair of gorse bushes and stared at the hlessi doe. A small smile pulled at his features. "Well hello there. I thought I could smell a sister nearby." He hopped around her slowly. He'd never seen such a coat. There were so many hues of brown that he caught himself staring. And then there was that roguish but still lovely feather on her ear. He'd never seen that before, either.
And happy day, she was sitting close to a small patch of sheltered blackberries that had not rotted off the twigs yet. He began to gnaw them free, making a pile of vine berries before him.
"And whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" He asked, sitting back on his haunches and looking her over. "You can call me Dogsbane. The fastest runner of my warren."
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:11 am
There is an old saying, and perhaps and even older story, about not speaking Inle`'s name unless you wished him to appear. Perhaps it worked for thought too, or mayhap Dogsbane was just that unlucky.
The thin male had poor luck this morning, he'd missed his catch and was in dire straights. The roots he'd managed to find and dig up tasted awful and hadn't sit well during his mid-day nap. Though now the fox was on the hunt again and while seeking out a mouse or two there had been a rustle in the grass before a blaze of gray had shot across the field. Much too far away to chase, the young and starving male watched sadly before the rabbit disappeared into the brush. Perhaps though, just perhaps, that rabbit wouldn't be able to run in growth that thick.
Loping forward towards the thicket, he kept down and quiet as he came up to the bushes, listening and waiting.
A careless pair of mice wandered out of the bushes and into the field, and before they could scurry away he'd managed to snatch up one, eating happily at his first warm meal in some time.
The other mouse had scampered before he could try for it, dashing back into the thicket and out of his reach. It wasn't worth the energy to try and push through the dense branches where he'd make too much noise in searching for a mouthful.
No, he'd wait out here. Watch and wait.
Though he was sure he could hear the sound of branches snapping just a little ways in.
He circled around to the noise, sitting just outside the bramble and hoped that rabbit would show itself again.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 5:26 pm
"Warren?"
The doe crinkled her pale pink nose. The arrival of the stranger hadn't caught her off guard. She'd heard him coming, no doubt he was out searching for flay. She didn't realize there was a warren none too far off. It couldn't be her warren, or rather the warren that took her in after her narrow escape from the farm that she had once called home. No, she was too far away for that. The pfeffa furred doe turned to look over the buck owlishly, her pale blue eyes studying every inch of him, from his dark and stone coloured fur to the scar over his eye. The hlessi groomed an ear, seemingly unbothered by him being around.
"Dogsbane... I am Lost."
Her long, dark ears swiveled and she peered past Dogsbane, before glancing at the berries and eating one, the juice slightly staining the white tufts of fur about her lips. She felt somewhat uneasy, given how exposed they would be outside of the brambles. Elil were a dime a dozen out here.
"Where you followed?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 12:09 pm
Dogsbane couldn't help it anymore. He snatched up one of the berries too, savouring those thick sweet purple juices and sighing. It was the best thing he had ever eaten, but that was the hunger talking.
"Yes, my warren. Its on a great hill where you can see everything. Even in the field beyond you can see it, way in the distance." He scratched at his belly and gave a small yawn. He had traveled so far today and this place seemed safe enough.
"Lost, huh?" He was a clever rabbit. "Now...is that what you're called by or is that what you are? Because I don't know this area well enough to help you if you've lost your way."
He thought about if he had been followed or not. "No, I don't think so. I cleared that field pretty fast, so its hard to be sure, but I don't think anything followed me."
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:45 pm
"Ah, the Down. I've heard of it, but I didn't think I was this close." She nibbled a tender berry, probably the last few she would have before they all withered and died in the winter. It was still a ways off, but every now and again a cool breeze would remind her. She'd survived one winter on her own as a hlessi already, but her coat did little to mask her from elil in the snow.
"I guess it's a bit of both. I know where I am, but I don't know where I am going. I'm in the wild, but not really wild. I wanted to get home, but I don't remember where it is and it was so long ago that I left it. It's probably a lost cause by this point. Anyway - I hope no one followed you, I thought I had a nice little treasure to myself, here." She gave him a wry grin and wiggled her nose, as if teasing. She really didn't mind sharing, but she was worried that if every rabbit in the area was aware of the bushes that they would be over grazed come next berry season.
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