Highwall Warren is in its infancy, developed out of a need to protect rabbitkind from an unknown threat within Poppy Hills that seems to encroach ever further toward the Dales. The warren was created by Asher, Stormborn, and Hoarfrost begrudgingly, as the trio understood the need for a protective force to investigate and, if need be, destroy the threat to their peaceful homes.
It began innocently enough. Rabbits often move warrens as their lives change and the circumstances permit. Living on the border of Poppy Hills and the Dales has always been a challenge. Burrowing too far into the Hills often meant laboring for days to dig out a proper sized burrow for a rabbit, let alone a small family. Softer dirt was a calling for families, and so it wasn't unusual for some rabbits to up and leave the area.
Recently, however, Asher had noticed that many of his friends and neighbors seemed to disappear in droves. Whether they moved out or were taken was anyone's guess, but some of these rabbits were those Asher was especially close to, and it seemed... strange for them to leave without even saying goodbye. Still, Stormborn and Hoarfrost insisted it was just that -- rabbits had left the borderlands for softer soil and more abundant food sources further south, as was their right.
Asher accepted that, however wrong it felt in his stomach. They were older than he was, and he trusted their judgment. Stormborn seemed on edge when the discussion rose, like she had noticed something off too, but whatever her thoughts were on the subject, Stormborn did not share.
Not until they found the first burrow. The first true sign of something that might be wrong in their little borderland paradise. Asher had only investigated the burrow because of a strange smell inside it, something rotted and tangy. There were no rabbits in the burrow, but the smell of blood was overwhelming. Something had taken these rabbits from their burrow, leaving only blood in their wake. Asher scrambled after the trail until he lost it somewhere in the Hills, far from his home.
It took several days for Stormborn and Hoarfrost to find Asher, still tracking through the hills as if he could pick up a trail that had long faded from his senses. Once they were able to convince Asher to return home, to leave the dead, as they no doubt were by that time, the trio returned to Hoarrfost's burrow. Asher made his declaration there.
"If something is hunting us, we have to stick together." He insisted on it, arguing with Stormborn and Hoarfrost the need to protect themselves and their friends from whatever was out there in the hills, targeting rabbits. Hesitant, Stormborn agreed. Begrudgingly, Hoarfrost followed. The trio scouted along the borderlands for a space to begin digging, and a new warren was born.
Highwall Warren. The first line of defense against whatever threat laid beyond their borders.
