|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:27 pm
The season had not been kind to the warren. It had been downright cruel, toying with the rabbits like a pfeffa. It didn't even have the decency to take rabbits to meet the Black Rabbit with dignity. Kittens died of hunger, marli wasted, and the sick grew sicker, joining the Thousand in agony. And what did the great leaders do? They bickered. They argued. They allowed their warren to die all around them. Liadon snorted and regretted the action a little when her breath puffed warmly on the frozen air.
The enemies of the rabbits were everywhere but, from what the gray doe could tell, their greatest enemies were themselves. She crept through the pre-dawn woods cautiously, ears twitching for any sound of a predator. More and more, she'd taken to exploring the deep woods, where trees grew like ancient bones, gnarled and cracked and, most of all, offered some sort of protection against the skies. Perhaps, if she was lucky, she'd find some choice flay and be able to take it back to the warren. Perhaps today her actions would save a kitten.
Although she wasn't purely altruistic; hunger gnawed at her stomach like an elil, sharp points reminding her that it had been weeks since she'd been able to eat as much as she wanted.
Something had to be done. Either they could all huddle and wait for the warmth to return, or they could actually save lives and the warren. Unfortunately, from her perspective, the leaders opted for the former. She peered around the copse, trying to find even the slightest bit of green in the frozen wasteland that had once been a forest.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:06 am
[Lark] was cold and exhausted. The trip hadn't been a long one, but in this harsh climate, it seemed like forever. The snow soaked his fur and froze his feet. He and his companions often huddled for warmth in the safety of the underbrush, but living topside was a stressful thing for a rabbit. Like his mother used to tell him when he was an outskirter - rabbit underground, rabbit safe and sound. He wasn't hungry, though - or at least as hungry as he could have been. There was still bark here that hadn't been completely scraped away from the trees' bases and they'd managed to dig up a couple of roots only that morning.
At the moment, the tawny buck was searching for another bite to eat before making the journey to the down - even despite Bracken's warning to vacate the premises, he wasn't about to just leave. There was far too much work to be done and they needed to get these rabbits back home. Originally, he was doing this to save his own warren and to bulk up his own numbers - but now he felt pretty rotten for the rabbits on the down. They seemed to be suffering and would definitely benefit from having members leave. He would get out all of those he could for the sakes of rabbits on both sides.
He was shaken from his thoughts by the sounds of another none too far away - obviously not one of his warrenmates, who had been left behind him and surely couldn't have passed him up at this rate. Sounded small... Curiosity overwhelmed his want to flee. Maybe a hill rabbit straying to forage? He was relieved to see a doe he recognized from their brief encounter on the hill's slopes.
"Ahem - Liadon, was it?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:18 pm
Liadon's attention was jerked sharply away from her foraging by another's voice. Not just an unfamiliar voice, but one calling her name. This was interesting and unusual enough to temporarily supersede her need for food. Oh... that was one of the hlessi wasn't it? And he seemed to be alone. Liadon's ears twitched as she tried to pick up the sounds of any other rabbits, just in case.
“And you're Lark, as I recall. I also recall Braken-Rah telling you to leave.” She didn't sound annoyed, but a trace of interest laced its way around her voice. The hlessi had seen the problems of the warren, the petty infighting, the lack of food, and they chose to stick around. Presumably, there was a reason for that.
“I don't mean to be rude, but why are you still here?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:25 pm
"Are you alone?"
He stood on his hind legs, pert ears swiveling as he looked for any sign of danger, rabbit or otherwise. She didn't seem to be with anyone and he was satisfied that she wasn't before she had time to answer. If there was someone else here, he would most likely have seen them or smelled them.
"Good, good - we may be able to talk properly then." He remembered the meeting on the down quite vividly - mainly the many problems the others were suffering and how such things could be used to his band's advantage. There had been so much bickering and the others seemed so thin, whereas his companions weren't nearly as bad off... And they were supposed to be hlessi! Not one to waste valuable time, the brown buck settled on all fours and began.
"I've something to tell you, rabbit of the down. We are not who we say we are - we are not hlessi, there was no man destroying our warren. My comrades and I are from a warren not too far from here. The only issues there are too many empty burrows and more flay than our bellies can handle. Our rah sent us to see if we could find rabbits to bring back and, by the looks of things..." He trailed off for a moment, tilting his head as he observed her, looking for some sort of indication as to her reaction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 2:24 pm
Oh dear... 'are you alone' was far from the best phrase to mention to a doe wandering on her own. Liadon's fur fluffed automatically to make her thin frame seem a lot bigger. Running was the best option, if the hlessi attacked. Thankfully, he settled down quickly; there was no danger here, as Lark claimed he wanted to talk properly, whatever that meant. Presumably it meant a moment to speak without someone insulting someone else or a fight breaking out.
Her fur settled itself back as the 'hlessi' explained why he was still there. Empty burrows and plenty of food. It sounded perfect. Too perfect, in fact. But... the proof added up, Liadon realized as she looked more closely at Lark. “I thought there was something wrong with the story,” she said, realizing that the buck looked a bit too well-fed for a hlessi.
“And, by the looks of things, we both have something the other needs,” she finished. Well. Now this was very interesting. She sat up once more to comb her ears in thought. It really didn't require a whole lot of it, to be honest: Downs was dying, unless some of the rabbits moved. Liadon's cool exterior cracked a little at the thought of it. “Downs is overcrowded,” she confessed.
Did it even count as a confession when anyone could see? “So... you propose to open your warren to outsiders then?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:47 am
"Maybe it isn't the best cover story, but it was the only one I could think of that sounded plausible - we still smell of the other rabbits somewhat and we don't look too hardened by the wilds." He agreed with her, it hadn't been the best, but it was what he had to work with and he ran with it. Warrens were destroyed now and again by men, after all. At least their rah seemed to believe it somewhat.
"So it seems. We thought it would be harder when we first came to the down. That is until we saw the many rabbits and all the bickering." He nodded his slightly grizzled head, one ear swiveling towards the sound of a birdcall, but it was nothing he found worrying and his attention remained on the silver doe ahead of him. Frith smiled on them, it seemed... Or at least somewhat. Moving the rabbits over to his warren would be a challenge, but he was up for it.
"We moved to a new warren recently and our numbers are few, though we are healthy and strong. Our rah sent us to fetch you. Well, not you specifically, but your warren rabbits - whoever we can bring back. Our rah is always a doe." He added the last bit, as he felt need to make it clear. He had been raised in his warren and such things made sense to him, but he had found in their travels that many rabbits did not think that way at all.
"So yes, our warren is open to outsiders.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
