And you are...?

[Robin]

Herantha-rah was in her burrow, contemplating a small problem she had. it was a problem she had mulled over before, and it certainly wasn't going to blow over anytime soon.
'We need more emergency exits.. precautions must be taken. No rabbit from this warren will be touched on my watch.'
She was, of course, thinking about the threat from thyalan warren.
'That dirty old codger had better watch out next time he even thinks of trying to hurt this warren....'

She heard voices outside. Someone wanted to come in.
"Herantha-rah is busy right now to deal with you." Hera felt a small kindle of rage inside her. Se was never too busy to 'deal' with her subjects. She got up, and went over to the entrance.
"May I remind you, almond" She said, her voice smooth as silk. "That I always have time for my subjects. Remember that in future." She growled the last part.
"Come, Oakfoot and.... Doe." She realized with surprise that this doe had seen her before. Her advice had been valuable, and Hera was glad to see she was well... except... was that blood?
"Now, is there anything you need to tell me? Speak." She waited for them.
The doe had come at good timing- she could give her opinion on the safety runs. The small doe was definitely bleeding, and she was a small and plump as ever. Her deep brown eyes contained many emotions, but they were all much to clouded for her to see properly.
As for Oakfoot.... well... She hoped he hadn't gotten into trouble again.
Oakfoot looked like he usually did, angry. She waited for them to speak, and nudged some flayrah to them-two carrots and a lettuce.

[Harmony]

Continued from: Premonitions

The journey to Hera-rah's burrow was not so arduous as Oakfoot had originally feared. When he had set off through the muddy grass and light drizzle, the combined smell of blood from both his and Pepper's wounds bothered him immensely, and the pain in his forepaw did not stop, though the bleeding had slowed significantly. After making sure Pepper was following, the large officer limped with as much dignity and speed as possible into the nearest warren entrance, breathing a sigh of relief as the dry darkness encompassed him. It was a place all rabbits were comfortable; it was home. He paused in the entrance to shake himself as thoroughly as possible, ignoring Pepper, before making his way into the main runs. Here, the journey seemed instantly easier.

They met two guards as they neared their chief's burrow. The first, a young, newly recruited owsla doe who admired all of her officers desperately, let them pass without any bother. The second guard was crouching just outside of Hera's burrow entrance, and he started forward quickly when Oakfoot and Pepper approached. Oakfoot paused here; Almond - for it was he - was a superior and an older, more trusted member of the owsla. It would not be as easy to pass him.

"Almond - er, sir,," Oakfoot began quietly, very aware of his bedraggled state and likewise attempting to distract the other buck from it by sucking up - as much as Oakfoot despised such things. "We need to see Herantha-rah. It's very important."

Almond sniffed at him disdainfully, unmoving. "You smell of blood, Oakie. And wet. Aren't you supposed to be on watch? And what makes you think I'm going to let any old rabbit in to see Hera-rah?" He indicated Pepper with an equally disdainful flick of the head. Oakfoot growled lowly, claws digging into the packed earth at his feet. Even the throbbing in his leg seemed to lesson at this turn in events. Oakie? He was going to shred that stuck up useless waste of fur!

"Listen, you--"

"As I said," Almond interrupted pompously, " Herantha-rah is too busy right now to deal with you. Now be off!"
"May I remind you, almond, That I always have time for my subjects."

Herantha had arrived, and not a moment too soon; a fight had been nigh on breaking out. Disappointed, Oakfoot sat up, shooting an unseen look of contempt at Almond as the other buck was admonished and the two newcomers invited in. Glancing back at Pepper, Oakfoot hopped slowly into his chief's burrow, settling on his stomach quickly to hide his injured forepaw. It wouldn't do to appear weak or injured before Herantha. Partly because she was his highest superior and perhaps the only rabbit Oakfoot possessed more than a shred of respect for, but mostly because of his pride. He touched his nose to his forepaws in a brief show of respect, listening to Pepper as she settled in as well. He inhaled slowly, attempting to get a reign on his anger - it wouldn't do to snap at Hera, either, and Oakfoot was quite likely to snap at any rabbit he spoke to.

"Now, is there anything you need to tell me? Speak."

"Yes," Oakfoot answered immediately, "urgently." He sniffed at the flayrah his chief offered, but declined to nibble - as much as he was tempted to. Flayrah was a rare treat indeed. "While I was guarding the rocky outcrop exit, three rogue rabbits attacked, Hera-rah. Two bucks and a doe. We fought them off, Pepper and I," he nodded at the small, plump female next to him, still bloody from the fight, "and I killed one of the bucks. It was him or me. The other two got away, and here's a thing: the surviving buck told us, 'we'll be back.' It seemed a matter which should be brought to your attention immediately. Sir." Oakfoot referred to Hera-rah as "sir" as a half-joke, perhaps the only joke he was known to make. The relationship between the two chief rabbits of Naratha and Thyalan was well known, as well as Hera's "modern" personality. As serious as the situation was, this was one thing Oakfoot could simply not resist doing.

"Not that I think they'll be too keen on attacking again anytime soon," he added, once more sniffing at the flayrah. "We got them pretty good. I don't know what they wanted, though."

[Robin]

Pepper sniffed at the flay-rah that was offered. The delicious scent wafted to her nostrils, and she took a tentative nibble. She saw Hera-rah looking at her from the corner of her eye. Was it rude that she had taken the flay-rah? She ignored this. she liked flay-rah, and the chief rabbit had offered it, hadn't she? She wondered how on earth Oakfoot had managed to resist it. She was soon munching hungrily on it. She felt like she hadn't eaten for ages, she felt empty... so empty... She stopped.
She had felt this emptiness since she was a child,when her mother rejected her. She had felt so empty... And the need to fill that gaping void. The hole was smaller, but it was still there. Pepper had a sneaky feeling it would be there forever. She had stopped munching because they might not hear each other over her greedy munching.
'you're such a greedy, fat, ugly, guzzling creature. No wonder no one knows your name- you're too ugly to know. Your mother was right. '
A great sadness came over Pepper as a small, nasty voice in her mind said this, and she had to take another two small nibbles of carrot to smother the wave of depression.
she looked nervously around the room, and saw Hera-rah looking at her, almost as if she knew about that wave of sadness.
"You say..." Hera-rah paused to remember Peppers name. The voice in her head cackled viciously. Pepper took another small bite of flay-rah. "Pepper fought too? Did she succeed in driving one off?"
Hera-rah regarded Pepper curiously, and Pepper shied away from the attention, and curled up into a slightly tighter ball, trying to look as small as possible. Hera-rah turned her gaze to rest on Oakfoot lightly. Her gaze itched to turn back to Pepper, to see if she was OK, but she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.

She had noticed the sadness, and wondered the reason. She wondered if Oakfoot had. She watched as Pepper took small nibbles of flay-rah from time to time- Hera didn't mind- she'd have more tomorrow. Though she did admit, pepper would be better off without it.
She mulled over the 'we will be back' line. It was a tired cliche, but she was inclined to take it seriously. It brought her back to escape runs, just in case.

"As for the 'we will be back' thing, I want a few more patrols, and I have a couple more ideas up my sleeve... Which brings me back to what I was considering before you came. Pepper?" Hera said, turning her attention sharply to the small bundle of fur. it looked up at her.
"I want your advice again. I was thinking about escape runs-where do you think would be best, and do you have other ideas?"
Pepper looked at herantha-rah - amazed. She was asking for her advice again?
"W-w-well, herantha-rah, perhaps another run leading through up-into a bush, then another beside it-slightly hidden- leading to a place by a tree- a big burrow? In the tales with fiver and hazel, they made a place called the honeycomb-we could make a place like that too. A sort of, emergency meeting place or an emergency shelter."

Hera-rah listened to this and nodded.
"It would take a while, but it's a good idea. Thankyou, pepper. Is there anything else, Oakfoot?"

[Harmony]

Oakfoot gave in to the wonderful scent of flayrah and set to munching on a piece of carrot while Hera-rah digested the information he'd given her. It appeared she definitely hadn't heard about the attack before this, so the young officer's slight on the captain of owsla would be well noted once the older buck found out. Excellent. He ignored the sound of Pepper nibbling her own treat, completely unaware of her feelings. Detecting the moods of others wasn't something Oakfoot was good at - nor did he bother to try. If anything, she ought to feel pride at having beaten a rogue, hadn't she? Right. Nothing to worry about, then.

"Pepper fought too? Did she succeed in driving one off?"

"Yes, yes, as I said," Oakfoot snapped impatiently, sitting up gingerly to clean his whiskers. His forepaw had stopped bleeding, though it still bothered him. He settled down again, much more comfortable now his fur was beginning to dry out. After a short pause, he added, "Sir," by way of taking some of the sting out of his testy outburst. The young buck waited patiently while his chief rabbit seemed to think, unperturbed with her silence.

Generally, Oakfoot was loathe to wait for anything, but the fight had tired him out. Being underground again was nice, moreso after a long shift spent in the rain. Though his paw throbbed and his fur was still wet, Oakfoot rather thought he could curl up and take a nap where he was. Speaking of... the burly officer turned his face toward Pepper at the sound of her curling into a ball.

Sniffing at the cool underground air, he wondered briefly if she was interested in a nap, too. That wouldn't do, of course. Especially not in Hera's very burrow. He put his ears up and lifted himself into a more alert position, shuffling around a bit as he did so. Then Hera spoke again at last.

"As for the 'we will be back' thing, I want a few more patrols, and I have a couple more ideas up my sleeve... Which brings me back to what I was considering before you came. Pepper?

A few more patrols? As if they didn't have enough already! What they needed to do was track down the loners and attack, not make doubly sure the borders were secure. That hadn't worked when the rogues attacked firsthand, and it wouldn't do any good now. Oakfoot growled softly, frustrated. Sometimes, it seemed the only rabbit who thought to get anything done was him. He managed to not voice these mutinous thoughts to his chief rabbit, not out of respect for her leadership, but because she'd gone right on talking, addressing Pepper.

"I want your advice again... do you have other ideas?"
"W-w-well, herantha-rah, perhaps another run... a place called the honeycomb-we could make a place like that too. A sort of, emergency meeting place or an emergency shelter."

Oakfoot stared blankly at Hera when she first asked Pepper's opinion, wondering somewhat. His initial reaction was one of scorn - why ask the word of a small, rather useless doe when there was a perfectly capable officer of the owsla sitting right under her nose? These thoughts were overriden quickly enough, however. Oakfoot knew there was more to Pepper than met the eye - and he knew she was a thinker. He even suspected whether she had some kind of ability like that seer from the stories, though it was doubtful if she did. Either way, the plump female had bested a large buck in a fight, and that was something. All things considered, it seemed only natural her opinion would be asked.

"It would take a while, but it's a good idea. Thankyou, pepper. Is there anything else, Oakfoot?"

"Er," he said. What more was there to say? "No, sir. I suppose not. Er, do you have any orders?"

[Robin]

"Yes, My orders are that you BOTH get to your burrows an-"
Herantha-rah cut off when a terrified looking Owsla burst into the warren.
"A bird! there's a giant bird outside!"
Pepper gasped. Herantha-rahs first response was outright rage. How dare he interrupt her? And how did he get through the guards so quickly? She would ahve to talk to Almond about this.... angrily and in private.
Then, she realized what he had just said. Ice covered the fire, and she considered what to do.
"A bird? What does a bird want? Why didn't you kill it?" She said, growling. She was still rather well enraged at her sentries 'efficiency.' True- she wanted to see subjects, but it bothered her when the guards didn't even bother to try and stop him first.
The owsla rabbit made a slightly started cough, and started choking on air.
"You need to see. then you'll see why." Hera-rah did not like being bossed around. Nevertheless, she signaled to Pepper and Oakfoot, she stepped out of her burrow. She paused by Almond.
"We will discuss your efficiency... later." She growled.
Pepper felt terrified. A giant bird? Outside? Not even an owsla had felt up to taking it on! And now, pepper was marching towards it (well, she wasn't exactly marching. Dragging her self along seems more appropriate). She wondered what it'd look like.
'Maybe it could teach us how to fly....' She thought dreamily. Even though she knew perfectly well it was utter nonsense, she savored the picture of her soaring up high in the sky...
She snapped back to attention as they emerged into the sunlight. Well- more like very weak light. It was still drizzling lightly- but only herantha-rah was the only one not complaining. pepper shivered, and tried to shake the small rain droplets away. Oakfoot grumbled a bit- it was the second time he had been out in the rain today. The owsla rabbit jabbered away to Herantha-rah, until she could take no more.
"Be quiet for frith's sake!" It was a silent journey the rest of the way.
Pepper tagged along at the back - unwilling to see this gigantic bird. But she went along still. She suddenly longed for the comfort of her burrow. he had never before appreciated how smooth and warm it was, even when she had no burrow mate.
An ear splitting squawk made every rabbit jump, and a huge dark shadow was silhouetted against the fog and light drizzle.

[Harmony]

"Yes, My orders are that you BOTH get to your burrows an-"
"A bird! there's a giant bird outside!"

Oakfoot heaved a light sigh and began to get to his paws, irritated as Hera began to talk in a manner that he considered to be unnecessarily bossy. Nevermind that she was the chief rabbit and had every right to give orders. And nevermind that he had just specifically asked for those orders. Oakfoot despised bossy unless it was coming from himself. He had just stood fully when another rabbit burst into the warren shouting about a bird. The sudden commotion caused Oakfoot to startle; his surprise quickly turned to annoyance.

He sat down again and stared at the newcomer scornfully, ignoring Pepper's gasp. A bird was nothing to be afraid of. Oakfoot himself had chased off multiple sparrows and robins in his time; anything bigger than that probably wouldn't have let a rabbit live long enough to, say, run into his chief's burrow to shout about it. And even if there were a dangerous sort of bird out there, why run around shouting about it? At the very least every rabbit should run underground where they'd be safe. At that point there would be no reason to worry about any kind of bird. Not that Oakfoot thought there was anything to worry about.

"A bird? What does a bird want? Why didn't you kill it?"
"You need to see. then you'll see why."

Ah, yes. This was primarily why Oakfoot respected his burly leader so much. He had been wondering the same thing, rather. If it had been Oakfoot who had run into the bird, at least he would have made a concerted effort to be rid of it - once and for all. One less bird to worry about. This resolve hardened as the runner choked, clearly terrified out of his fur, telling his leader to see for herself. Or come take care of it for him, since he clearly can't do it himself, Oakfoot thought, completely unsympathetic to his fellow owslamember's plight.

The young officer stood once more when Hera-rah motioned to Pepper and himself. He knew what was coming. Sure enough, they'd all troop silf only to find a crow or something equally harmless. They'd probably be the ones that took the initiative to get rid of it, too. If it was still hanging around after all of the shouting and dashing about the rabbits had caused. Oakfoot sighed again, taking up the rear as they all trooped out of the burrow. His spirits were lifted somewhat when he heard Hera rebuking Almond. Though he hadn't been able to make out all of her words - being stuck behind Pepper, who did not appear eager in the slightest to go see the bird, had its obvious disadvantages - the senior officer's startled and dejected demeanor prompted a smug snort from Oakfoot as he hopped past. Highlight of his day.

When they each exited the warren into the gray drizzle of the outer elements, Oakfoot's temper rose further. There was little more Oakfoot disliked than the feeling of wet fur. "Just had to be us, didn't it, and it just has to still be raining," he grumbled to Pepper as she shook herself unhappily. "Oh, Lord Frith, come out, for your people's sake," he added, more to himself than Pepper. He was in a grumbly mood. It did not help that the runner was talking almost nonstop, and just when Oakfoot was sure he'd claw the fool's whiskers off just to shut him up, Hera did the honors. Verbally, of course. And much nicer than Oakfoot would have done. Blessed silence fell over the little group as they made their way across the grass.

Oakfoot was just beginning to wonder just how far away this bird had been sighted in the first place - outside our borders, perhaps? He thought sarcastically - when the bird made its appearance. Its cry was loud, louder than Oakfoot had ever imagined a bird could be - and close, closer than was comfortable for such a starling noise. Oakfoot jumped forward between Hera and the runner, vaguely noting that Pepper had fallen to the back of their wee patrol, and stood on his back paws, neck stretched out. The bird was humongous, the like of which he'd never seen before. It would be difficult to fight off... should he wait for it to attack first, or run and jump at it?

The bird made Oakfoot's decision for him. Winging in a low, tight circle around the staring rabbits, it turned shortly and came to earth in front of the party with much clapping of wings and flinging of water. Oakfoot took a pace backwards, then remembered himself and stood his ground. It was a hawk. A real hawk, the kind that are only whispered of in tales of far-off warrens so strange and different they seemed like a dream. Everything from its lethal talons the length of a rabbit's ear to the vicious, hook-curved beak awoke a voice in the very back of Oakfoot's head that screamed, Run! Run! You're looking death in the FACE, stupid! Get away! To his great inner relief, Oakfoot managed to hold himself steady.

Bird and rabbits regarded each other for a split second before the hawk let out a long, low, ululating cry like tseeeer!, startling the rabbits again. Oakfoot found himself shouting in the hedge dialect of all animals, surprising himself. Talking to the beast had been the last thing on his mind. He dug his claws into the rain-soft dirt, fur on end.

"You! Hawk! What want here? This land rabbit only!" It was a dialect Oakfoot was not particularly good at, and when the hawk replied - not attack or even fly away, but replied - he almost didn't understand it.

"Keee! Longears! I breeng newz."

Once he'd digested what those words meant, Oakfoot was quite at a loss as to what to do. News? Of what? Why would a bird - a hawk - want to share any sort of news with rabbits? The young officer remembered his earlier thoughts during his station at the rocky outcrop, when he had been wondering if something big and strange and terrible was coming. Could this be it? He shivered. No.

[Robin]

Herantha-rah stared at the bird.
"No ears." She said, in halting hedgerow. "what news you bring? Speak and leave. This our territory. Why you bring news for us, we not friends."
Hera was feeling pretty pissed by now, and she didn't care to explain why because she did't know.
The hawk studied Hera, and she swelled her chest and met its gaze evenly.
"You are gut. Ya. I tell yoo vhy. Ya." He studied Hera again.
"Rabbits ees my friends. Ya? I friend of Kehaar. Ya? You know heem?" Hera was shocked. Kehaar? The keehar?
She got over her shock, and stood before the hawk.
"Friend of Kehaar, you welcome. Speak of news you bring."
The hawk looked at Hera-rah.
"You cheif? Ya? Dees clown.." He waved a wing dismissively at the rabbit that had warned them about the hawk.
"Ees yoke. I talk to chief. Ya? You chief?"
Hera nodded.
"Gut. De men ees coming. Ya? Dey come."
"Men? What do they want?"
"Do not know. Dey at bottom of hill. Be careful."
Hera considered this.
"Thank you." The bird flew off. "Right." Hera said, turning a small crowd of rabbits behind hr, her mind whizzing.
Men? Here? Would they hurt her rabbits? If they did, she growled in her thoughts.
They'll find a surprise. we'll fight them.
"I want a volunteer to warn the thyalan warren. Ads much as I loathe them, there wont be anyone to kill if the humans get to have them all, will there?"
This small speech was met with a few weak-ish cheers.
"Pepper, I want you there. When you speak, you have a way with words."
Pepper felt like there was a band of worms was currently seeing how much they could wriggle.
"Oakfoot, I want you there too. If it comes to a fight, I want you to protect Pepper and anyone else who comes. I want one more rabbit. Will anyone else speak up?"
Pepper wanted someone else to suddenly say, 'hey! Im great with words too! I can come! Pepper can go to her nice cozy burrow and dream!'
No one did. She crouched down in the grass, burying herself.
Hera-rah was testing her. Ruthlessly. Did pepper realize this? No.
Of course not.
"No one has volunteered. you go alone."
Isnt this just great? Thought pepper.

[Harmony]

A friend of Kehaar? The very same Kehaar spoken of in the stories of Watership Down? Kehaar – a seagull – a bird – which had helped to build one of the greatest warrens known to rabbitkind? And here Oakfoot just thought they were stories. Just stories. And yet…

“De men ees coming. Ya? Dey come."
"Men? What do they want?"
"Do not know. Dey at bottom of hill. Be careful."

The burly officer snapped out of his wonder – an unusual state of mind for him – at these words. Men! Here? But men never came so near Shadow Hill… Oakfoot pondered this new dilemma while Hera and the bird exchanged their closing words. The young officer was always game for a good scrap or five, and precious little scared him. In a way, Oakfoot almost hoped there would be a fight of some sort – a battle against men. One, perhaps, to end all the strife between rabbit and man forever. Could such a thing as man be destroyed, though? No, he told himself, and growled softly. There would never be anything good between rabbits and men. There hadn’t been in the days of El-ahrairah and there wouldn’t be when Frith saw fit to end his creation.

This didn’t mean Oakfoot wouldn’t fight them if he had to, naturally. He scored the soft earth with the claws on all four paws at the thought. When – not if – it came to battle, this rabbit would leave the men with something to remember.

"I want a volunteer to warn the thyalan warren… Pepper, I want you there… Oakfoot, I want you there too. If it comes to a fight, I want you to protect Pepper and anyone else who comes… Will anyone else speak up?"

Oakfoot stiffened when Hera saw fit to mention Thyalan. But those rabbits were just a bunch of hraka-eating worms! They didn’t need Thyalan’s help – nor should they need to warn them of anything! If the men chose to destroy Thyalan over Naratha, well, that was all to the good. There would always be rogues and loners to fight off, and if their territory were to expand across the river they were likely to meet up with more. Oakfoot could only stare disbelievingly as Hera went on to nominate Pepper and himself as the diplomats for the job. He opened his mouth to speak when Hera called for a third rabbit, but no sound came out. He didn’t know if he was incredibly livid or simply horrified.

"No one has volunteered. you go alone."

“Just a moment, Hera-rah!” Oakfoot objected, hopping forward a pace aggressively. This mission sounded horrible to him. “Do you mean to send me alone into enemy territory with no allies or military help except for a small, untrained doe whose ‘way with words’ may very well get the both of us killed? We’ll be attacked before we’re an ear-length across the border…” he trailed off, imagining the seemingly inevitable battles that might befall him. And Pepper.

Oakfoot simply loved a good fight.

“…nevermind. We’ll leave immediately, sir.”

[Robin]

Pepper stared at Oakfoot in disbelief. All through the indignant part of his speech, she had been nodding quietly along, and so , his sudden change of mind left her reeling.
She thought he had been on her side for one second!
one measly second. She grumbled to her self. No back-up! nothing! What Herantha-rah thinking?!
Hraka, thats what she's thinking, Growled Pepper. Then she realized that Herantha-rah was looking at her... in a weird way. Almost pityingly. Like she thought Pepper couldn't do it.
'I'll show her!' She growled. She was in a bad mood. a very bad mood.
Ill shred ever rabbit in the place! Shred them!
Herantha-rah nodded shortly at her. Pepper, who was still wrapped up in her indignation and excitement, didn't notice it.
They'll be talking about how I shred their skins for a long time! She said, scuffling her feet.
Ill kill 'em! She vowed fervently.
Herantha-rah nodded in approval again. This was exactly what she wanted.
She wanted to test them both. Not only because she was bored, but because she knew that Oakfoot loved fighting, and Pepper did too. She needed a chance to prove herself. But mainly boredom.
She ached to go with them.
She looked meaningfully at Oakfoot, and then spoke.
"When you get to the border, stop and wait for a patrol. Please, Oakfoot, please, leave most of the talking to Pepper." She said, a glint of humor in her violet eyes.
Pepper snapped out of her daydreams.
What?!
"Herantha-rah, I dont think this is a good plan. they could kill us. and then no message will ever reach sorrel-rah." she said, slightly stubbornly.
Herantha-rah turned to Pepper.
"What? don't think you're up to it?" she asked in a slightly teasing voice.
Anger flared in Pepper.
"Lets go." And she turned around and stubbornly headed for the border, and danger.