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The hlessi kept her eyes trained on the grass beneath her shaking feet. The voice of the Owsla captain cut into her like the coiled silver thorn that had cut her leg long ago. She barely heard the plea of Rosewood and the decisiveness of Donovan. The nerves to run, and fast, were screaming in her head.

Despite the roar of fear and adrenaline, the doe amazingly heard Rosewood’s whisper. Not to get the other doe in trouble for speaking to her, the hlessi merely raised her eyes up to Rosewood’s level and then quickly dropped them again. Willow sensed the Owlsa captain wasn’t one of forgiveness for disobedience, so slowly the doe, still in a crouched position and ears flat back, began to back away from Rosewood’s flank.

Willow’s eyes kept to the ground, but she could still see the feet of the captain. This maneuver was so she could see if the buck would attack her even though she was doing his command. The doe kept quiet as she moved ever so slightly farther and farther from the warren doe’s side. Breath was barely drawn as fear of the great buck and a sense of self preservation took hold.

Expecting, but not expecting such an attack, Rosewood was cuffed, rolling her with the force cocklebur put into it. Screaming in surprise, already she could feel blood starting to seep out of the wound. The sting was nothing compared to the hatred she felt right that second. For a split second the thought of attacking him back crossed her mind. In her heart she was the victor there, but in her head she knew much better.

Glaring at Cocklebur, Rosewood darted off to the warren. If he would not listen to reason, then perhaps his commander would. Without letting him know this, she just ran. Tiny spots of blood marked her trail if one were keen enough to find them over the long distance and fast pace that she travelled. Sun in here eyes, she barely saw where she was going for the tears she had from the pain.

Getting to the warren, she began searching for Bracken immediately, almost in a frantic state. Who knows what Cocklebur would do to Willow if she didn't stop it. As she became more frantic at the thought, she was unaware that she had started crying out for Bracken.

The strike against Rosewood startled the already frightened Willow. As her shield took off in the direction of her warren, the young hlessi turned tail and broke off at a run. She didn’t turn round as Donovan spoke; the only thought in her mind was to get to a bush, preferably one with thorns, and hide.

Rosewood’s voice still rang in her ears to go to the fourth bush she saw and hide there. Willow counted to four, but decided the bush was too near the Owsla captain for comfort. The doe darted around a slight bend and between two decent sized residual rocks. On the opposite side were more bushes, these ones without thorns. The frightened hlessi slipped underneath the uplifted roots for cover. The small space underneath left her backside exposed, so she hurriedly scraped away some dirt from the tangle and wriggled the rest of herself beneath the plant’s anchorage.

From her place, Willow peered out between two thick roots. Her eyes detected no trace of any life around, and she was sure she wouldn’t be followed. The doe lay down on the cool, slightly disturbed dirt and panted to cool herself off. She put her head on her paws and decided to wait for nightfall.

Cocklebur returned the glare at Rosewood as she ran off, all but ignoring Donovan as he too made his leave. Huffing, the Captain stood up on his hinds and looked in the direction fo the Hlessi... only seeing a flash of her tail before she too had vanished into the cover. A little smirk played on his face. Good, the filthy thing was gone... his job was done.

Cocklebur paused to scratch at an ear, lingering for a moment to make sure the hlessi was gone. He then started up the hill and back towards the warren once more. That foolish doe might do something stupid, and he should probably be there to thward it.

As it was, Bracken was underground, resting in his burrow at the time. Thus, he didn't even hear Rosewood's cries.

The hlessi kept her head low on the loose dirt floor of her hideaway. Feelings of worry for the two warren rabbits who had stood up to an Owsla captain clouded her mind. If she had been accepted, all she would want was a warm den for the night and then she would move on in the morning. Sullen, Willow sniffed the air and, detecting nothing, dozed off.

Her nap was interrupted shortly thereafter by a muffled thumping from outside. Willows eyes, bleary from her short sleep, cast around the bush roots and winced at the bright light that leaked through the roots and place she squeezed through. The scarred doe blinked and wiped her eyes with her paw before turning her head to the farthest left she could. A shadow cast over the openings where the light was supposed to pour in. The doe's mind immediately thought elil and she got to her feet and to the back of her temporary den with speed.

The voice that came through eased her fear of elil slightly, but she was still alarmed. What if Cocklebur had sent some Owsla to scare her off the warren outskirts? Being even on the outskirts was still on warren land. Trying to regain her composure, but still unsure, she spoke formally;

"Hail rabbit. Are you Owsla? I am not hurt, and I do not carry the white blindness, only scars of encounters past."