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 Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:02 am
 The muscular black buck had been out on patrol during the evening silflay. His regular route around the edge of the warren had been mostly undisturbed. The faintest scent of man had drifted to him on the breeze and for a few brief moments the threat of an owl had hung over him. But the owsla was a very experienced buck and had easily avoided the bird's notice. There had been the minor incident of a younger doe having wandered too far in the search for coltsfoot, but Blackthorn had guided her back to safer ground and left her under the watchful eye of her marli.
Now it was his turn to silflay and he had found a spot just a little distant from a group of foraging rabbits where he could feed in peace and yet still keep a watchful gaze over his warren. Blackthorn was a pleasant enough fellow, but a lifetime in the owsla had taught him to be content with his own company and so it was that he sat relaxed on his haunches as he chewed, ears flicking in an alert manner as he kept vigil over his homeland even while officially 'off duty'.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:26 pm
 Evening was always a beautiful time of day on the Down, regardless of the weather. Come rain or sun, there was always something to be seen to bring wonder to the mind of the inquisitive, and the mind of one such young doe was constantly lead to wonderment and excitement as her feet carefully pressed the grass beneath delicate pads. Large green eyes stared about, picking out every little detail, assessing the interest level, and then moving on. A beetle held more attention then a pebble, a bouncing leaf more then a bent stem of grass, but everything was awarded some level of attention before the gaze passed over them.
Skinktail was renowned for wandering a little too far from safety, however, her mind like a curious kitten, and needed to be fed with elements of curiosity, and guided back to safety afterward. Her careful crawl meant few would realise her progress from the safety of the warren, few would recognise her danger. Few could smell the path of the owl or hawk, being predators of the sky; fewer still would see the eyes of the fox or badger, hidden within the scrub. However, safe as they were on the top of the Down, few felt the need to be wary of such ground predators. The sky, however, was always a threat posed, and with a mind such as her's, Skinktail often failed to heed such threats. Stopped for a short while, investigating a feather, the young doe looked about herself. She was still within sprinting distance, should a warning be thrown out to her; a call, or a thump. She had a somewhat solitary nature; some of the other rabbits of the warren did not share her desire for learning. When she told stories, she was well loved and listened to, but when she just wished to speak of things she had discovered or learnt that day, she tended to find her audience lacking, and the rabbits that listened so avidly to her stories departing for another storyteller. It did not phase her, and she continued to learn, and tried to incorporate her learning to her stories. Sometimes they worked, sometimes not so.
Above, clouds roiled, their dark bruising heralding the night's encompassing grip. Skinktail knew that soon, silflay would be called to an end, but she did not feel particularly hungered, so felt only the need to allow her mind to explore a touch more. Little did she know she was at silflay with a trained owsla member, nor one of such upstanding protectiveness of the warren. Had she known, she may have not strayed so far from the warren's entrances, but instead, her mind wandered, and her feet followed in their dainty, precious steps, her dark coat glistening over supple musculature and slender figure.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:31 pm
Being an owsla, not much escaped Blackthorn's notice, even while he foraged for the tasty young shoots among the grass. His ears were ever moving and his attention rarely left the surrounding countryside. It was generally too flat for bigger elil to creep up on the warren undetected, it was when a rabbit ventured down the slope or across into the dark forest that things were much more dangerous. But here on this high hill, where their ancestors had finally come to rest after their legendary journey, the rabbits were as safe as they could possibly be while out in the open. Even the winged elil were easily spotted so long as a rabbit was payng attention, for they had to fly in from quite some distance. No owsla worth his fur would miss the signs and so it was a peaceful and content Blackthorn that sat quietly, watching the warren rabbits move about their business, eating, bucks posturing, passing hraka, marli watching over their vulnerable young....
Blackthorn found himself watching the marli more often these days. He was no young buck looking towards his first season. He was an experienced Owsla with many raids under his belt.. and yet he had no kittens to carry on his line after he met the Black Rabbit of Death. It had not bothered him before, but now he was keenly aware that as an owsla member, he was regularly in more danger than most and could not count on surviving many more seasons. He wanted to leave behind more than just a few faded memories once he was gone... A bushel of kittens to bring up... who he could teach to follow in his pawsteps, maybe one or two would even follow him into the owsla, protecting his beloved warren long after he was gone. Wistfully he glanced across the downs, wondering what the future would be like after he and Bracken-rah and all those he knew had passed on. Huffing softly at his sentimentalism, he pulled an ear forward to groom it as he turned back towards the warren and the rabbits under his watch.
From the corner of his eye the dark buck spotted Skintail, a doe known to have a habit of wandering too far from the burrow. It had been some time since he had seen her though, for of late he had been on more patrols and had simply attended silflay at different times than she, but it appeared her habits were as deeply ingrained as his own for true to form she appeared to be edging ever further from the safety of the warren. Releasing his ear he settled both front paws back on the ground, watching her a moment longer, giving her the chance to turn around.. but she did not so the large buck gathered himself and loped lazily across the grass towards her. Not at all threatening, for the owsla under Bracken-rah were not as violent as those at some other warrens, but his movements were purposeful and it was clear she was his goal as he moved. Once only a hop away he stopped and sat back on his haunches.
"Frith's blessings, Skintail. A fine evening for silflay."
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