She sat. Watched. Waited.

[boutiquez]

The tree stump underneath her was rough, obviously hadn't been chopped properly. Eyei shifted her weight from one side of her to other, and then repeated. Repeated quite a few times, actually. Though even Eyei knew that she couldn't blame her uncomfort completely on the stump. It didn't help, but the stump was definately not the main reason - the main reason being that she was sitting here to see if anyone would talk to her, and she hadn't talked to any other rabbits for weeks.

So Eyei sat. Watched. Waited. No one came. She shifted her weight again and again, daring herself to stay and wait, rather than slip back into the darkness of her shed by the graveyard.

She sat. Watched. Waited...

But still no one came.

[Robin]

{JOKER}

Joker was pissed off. That old wanker had given him a right talking to when he found out about him and his little 'expeditions.'
Joker snorted. What a little uptight prick. So what if he liked leaving the warren for a bit? So what if others followed him? So what if he was endangering the precious little chief. So what? He grumbled something unintelligible, his dull yellow/orange coat showing up clearly amongst the grass of shadow hill.
'Dirty.... old.... Stupid... slow... wanker..." He pulled himslef through a fence. He was heading into loner land.
"... Wouldn't know fun if it shoved itself right up his fat ass...." He walked into a small clearing, surrounded by gnarled trees. Ahhh... his favorite place.
Surprise registered on his face, as he saw a doe sitting on his spot. It quickly flittered away, though, and was replaced by a smirk. She was a small white thing. Quite pretty, really. Too bad she was on his spot.
"Excuse me." He said, smiling, his voice smooth as silk. "You appear to be sitting on my stump." He gave her another charming smile, and promptly shoved her a space or two to the left. He smirked again.
"You might want to be careful around here. Nasty things come around." He said, is smile widening.
"A pretty young thing like you might get lost. And he wouldn't want that, now would we? So, why don't you just run off home, and I'll forget I saw you. Hmmm? Does that sound good?" He said, still smiling, cocking his head to one side.
"Now shoo." He said, gently pushing her closer to the edge of the sump, his charming smile still fixed in place.

[boutiquez]

Sitting on the edge of the stump was not where Eyei planned to sit; nor completely off the stump, as this a**hole had suggested. He was bigger than her, that was true, but he was so arrogant he clearly wouldn't be able to take down a rat, yet alone her.
"Excuse me," she said not politely, not even rudely, but... menacingly. "I don't think you really want to push me around. I'm not exactly in a good place right now, and if you cross me one more time I'm taking you into it to join me."

It was a shame he was such an idiot really, because he looked... attractive. However, so far he HAD been an idiot, and she sure as hell wasn't going to fall in love with some guy who pushed her around.
"So, before you end up a broken bunny, go back to your little warren where you can find a new spot... right by your little chief, maybe. Huh. Thank God I'M not in your little... pack. I'm not exactly fond of anyone in your group. Especially what I've seen of the chief..." Eyei couldn't believe words kept spilling out of her mouth. Even back home before... well, before it happened. She didn't talk much. Not to a**holes anyway.

"So go," she threatined, as she stepped one paw out in front of her.
Eyei didn't know if she was try to get into a battle position... or flirt by stepping towards him...

[Robin]

{JOKER}

Joker laughed.
"Nice job" He said, still laughing. "You put me in my place." He sat down, in front of her.
"The last place I want to be is by my chief. Absolute wanker." he said conversationally. "Then again, judging by what you said, I'm guessing you feel the same way that I do." He smirked at her, cocking his head to one side.
He didn't move, and he noticed the position she was in.
"For Frith's sake! Im not the third brigade! At ease!" He said, laughing.
He thought he saw something flicker in her eyes, embarrassment? Anger? wait- no... no way. He almost laughed aloud. Flirting? He must be wrong. theres no way that was right. Absolutely no way. He smirked, shifting his chocolate brown paws. He was NOT about to say he had seen that.
He wondered what she was doing out here, alone. Now that he knew that she might feel like that, he was much better disposed towards her.
That didn't mean he wasn't going to be a least a bit of a dick.
"So. whats a pretty young doe doing here in the middle of nowhere?" He said, smirking at her with a lopsided grin.
"The names Joker."

[boutiquez]

Eyei was glad she wasn't the sort of rabbit who blushed. Of course she was flattered, but she didn't want to look... weak.
"Eyei." she said casually, "and yeah, he looks like a wanker. I personally don't know how you live with him. "If I were to be in one of those little packs you rabbits are so fond of, I think I would need to be the leader. But no one really listens to me. So I guess that wouldn't work."

Joker was becoming more and more like an okay rabbit. Okay, he had made the pretty little doe comment, but she had let that go. Finally she remembered she had never answered his question.
"And why am I here? Why don't you tell me where the hell else I could go." Hearing that out loud made it seem a little more real, and much, much scarier. "But trust me," she said, partly to reassure him, partly to reassure herself, "I'm fine. May God help whoever gets the wrong side of me on one of my bad days." Which even Eyei knew were most days.

Eyei sat a little closer to him. He almost had an aorura of warmth. It was nice.

"So, what's your story?"

[Robin]

Joker cocked his head to one side, one ear up, and the other to the side.
"God?" He asked, puzzled. "Who's that?" It sounded suspiciously like 'Dog' backwards.
"My story?" He asked, surprised. "Not much to tell, really. I was born in the warren.. I'll die in the warren... you must know the drill." He said, teasingly, nudging her slightly. He was very comfortable around strangers, he knew he could fight back if they attacked, so why not enjoy the fact that they weren't attacking when they weren't? He avoided telling her abut his past, because he wasn't born in the warren. He founded the warren, pretended to be one of the mindless rabbits that were born in it, that had just developed a troublesome streak.
His quick mind then brought another snippet of speech back to his attention. Eyei? That was a good name. Rather... nice. He shook himself mentally. He was going soft. "Eyei's a nice name." He said, quietly before he could stop himself. He snapped his mouth shut, and mentally kicked himself. He then smirked, trying to balance it out.

"Come on, Ill show you my other favourite place." He jumped off the log, and glanced over his shoulder, to see if she was coming.

[boutiquez]

Eyei jump off the log to follow him. As she ran behind him she talked.
"God. Right. My family believed in him. They thought he was everything, really. Thought he created the world, answered prayers... don't ask. I personally think it's all bullshit anyway. But my brother and I were the ones out of my family who didn't believe in him, so I learnt all the stories. What I just said then was purely a figure of speech."

Eyei was running behind joker so she could see him. He really was quite good looking. She wished she were a little more interesting than albino and skinny but she couldn't do anything about that.
"Thank you. Joker is a nice name too, though I can't help but wonder how you came to be called it."

[Robin]

"Thats strange. Another belief... I thought Lord Frith made the world. Still do, in fact." He added. His voice didn't really falter as he ran, though it did break somewhat. But it was only rabbit. His deep chocolate paws skimmed ove rhte ground, hardly touching it. His eras, that were also dipped in chocolate, Flickered everyso often, searching for sounds, checking that Eyei wasn't lost or slowing.
"When we get there." He said, shotuing over the wind roarng their ears. "Dont stop. You will b compelled to, in fac, if you don't feel the urge to stop, you're crazy. But without the run up, you'll never get in." He said, switchign to fourth gear, faster still. He nimbly dodged a tree, and suddenly, he was runnign full tilt towards a tree. He did not stop. He was looking at a small place in the ground, but there was no hole, or anything, really.
"REMEMBER, DONT STOP. STOP, AND YOU'LL DIE." He yelled, and, suddenly, he disappeared. He was underneath the tree, and Eyei was right behind him. Panting, Joker dragged himself to a corner, and grinned at her.
"Nice, huh?" He said, gesturing. there was a small run leading actually inside the tree. "Once I found out this place was hollow, I dug a hole, right up into the tree. The actual hole, or rather, whats covering it, is a trap, of sorts. A man put it there. If you dont run into it directly, it might snap you up. But I figured you could handle it." He smirked, looking at her.
"Come on! I'll show you around. Maybe I could tell you about the lord frith, if you're interested." He winked.

[boutiquez]

"Holy."

Eyei stood up, a little shakily, and sat down in the corner by Joker.
"You don't do things by halves, do you?" she laughed, "It is pretty amazing though." Taking deep breaths to try and return to a normal state of breathing, she continued talking. "Lord Frith. Where did you learn about that? God, my parents found out about that from the humans. There are books about him and everything.

"They used to call my brother and I broken, because we didn't believe in God. My sisters were the worst. They labelled us as too thick to comprehend it. But it isn't true. I hope you don't hate me, but I have serious doubts about your Lord Frith... it just doesn't make sense! If Lord Frith created the world, or God, whatever, then who created them? I'd love to hear you talk about him though." For the first time since her brother's death, Eyei felt safe. There were only two people in this little underground world, one being her, and one being... Joker.

[Robin]

Joker laughed.
"Its the only way I can get a way from the warren!" He said.
"Anyway, about Lord Frith. Frith is a great orb of power and fire that hangs in the sky." He said, looking up at the dark ceiling.

"He created everything, the birds, the horses, and the rabbits. The prince of rabbits was El-ahrairah. You must know of him surely, and his trickery?"

He inquired cautiously.

"At first, he made them all equal, and they were all friends and ate grass together. El-ahrairah's rabbit thrived, and traveled, eating and multiplying as they went. Soon there was not enough food for the other animals, and they asked lord frith what they should do. Frith told El-ahrairah that if he could not control his rabbits, Frith would find ways to control them. But El-ahrairah would not listen, saying that his rabbits were the strongest in the world."

He paused, and a sort of sad note hung in the air.
"This angered Frith, and so he thought up a trick. He gave every animal a gift. When animals like the homba, the pfeffa, and the hawk, came, to each of them, he gave them a fierce desire to hunt and slay the children of El-ahrairah."
He paused again, as if remembering the screams of rabbis, the terrified squeals of agony, the angry howling, kicking, hissing biting, squawks... He shut his eyes. "Then El-ahrairah knew Frith was too clever for him. and he trembled with fear, and tried to save his people. Then Frith was moved to pity, and went in search for him. He found a rabbit digging a hole, and this was El-ahrairah, but Frith did not recognize him.
He said; 'Friend? Have you seen El-ahrairah?' And El-ahrairah, who thought Frith was about to bestow another awful punishment upon him, shook wih fear and said, 'N-n-n-o... I have not seen him." And frith said; 'I wish to give him a gift, but I cannot find him. Come out! and I will bless you instead.'
El-ahraiah shook, and said, 'I cannot. the fox and weasel are coming. I must finish digging this hole.' And so, Frith blessed the only part of him that was showing, his bottom. At once, El-ahrairahs tail grew shiny white, and flashed like a star. His back legs grew lean and powerful, and he tore across the hils faster than any creature in the world. When El-ahrairah came out of the hole to look at his tail, Frith then suddenly swooped down, making his ears long and powerful too. His mind heightened, and a million tricks came clear to him. Then frith spoke;
'Good Luck, Prince with a thousand enemies. Whenever your enemies catch you, they will kill you. But, first they mast catch you. Digger, listener, runner, Prince with a swift warn. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.' and, so far, Frith has kept his promise. And now, our people come out and play under his gaze, for they know that Frith is their friend."

Joker finished the story, and sat quietly, pondering. Silence hung in the air.

[boutiquez]

Eyei looked at Joker's intent face as he finished talking about his Lord.
"So you believe every word of that?" she asked softly. She cocked her head slightly to one side so that the tips of her ears stroked along his. It was a weird feeling being here, so close to another rabbit, almost intimately close, talking about Gods and Lords, such deep meaningfull topics. It felt weird, but to Eyei, almost right.

But not completely right. She had only just met Joker, how could she trust him? When she had been watching all the rabbits from afar, none of them had seemed nice. Or trustworthy. But here she was, sitting right beside a rabbit she thought she might be falling slowly in love with. It couldn't be right. She wasn't so lucky that she would meet the only other decent rabbit on Shadow Hill. If she had been lucky, she never would have come here at all.

As she thought about her brother Eyei got a sudden strike of pain. Even though she had only imagined the throttlingly painful feeling, she accidently let out a small scream.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, "I, I don't know what happened..."

[Robin]

Joker snapped out of his trance, and then smiled weakly.
"Of course I believe every word! That's what I think is our history." He assumed her small scream had been related with his story. He congratulated himself, oblivious to the fact that it had, of course, nothing to do with it.
"Come! I'll show you the rest of this place." He started to walk up the run leading to the inside of the hollow tree. Now. In burrows there are no light. But rabbits, and any other animal that spends half their lives in the dark, or the experienced blind, have the power to sense things around them. There was no need for that in the hollow tree. There were small holes everywhere in the tree, filtering weak sunlight, dust motes were dancing in the sunlight. 'The light of frith-rah...' Joker thought, watching the dust motes play together appreciatively, he looked beside him, at Eyie's face. She stared around her in wonder. The light filled the large tree trunk, putting small weak fingers of sun on a patch of leaves, and other obvious signs that the tree trunk was inhabited. There was no doubt, it was beautiful.
Joker looked on at her wonder, and felt proud of his work.
He hopped a few paces forwards.
"Welcome to my true home." He winked.

[boutiquez]

"I wish I had a true home," Eyei said softly, before looking up at Joker and smiling, "don't feel sorry for me though!" she laughed. "It's beautiful here, it really is. Are you the only one who goes here, or is that just a line you spun me to suduce me here?" she joked.

Eyei crept silently around the room. She remembered the stories of fairies Emily used to tell her, back when she was with her family. The little girl had talked of winged creatures and their beautiful houses in mushrooms and hollow trees. Fairies were magical. So was this little room.
"Have you ever heard of fairies?" Eyei asked, "Humans talk about them too. They live in places like this. Well, they're meant to. They're not real, of course. Emily believed in them, but she was only young."

Eyei went back to where Joker was standing.
"I can't believe you lived your whole life in a warren. Or that nothing happened your whole life.... Tell me your secrets, Joker, and... I'll tell you mine. But you can't speak of them to anyone. Please."

Just before Eyei was quiet and ready to listen, she said to Joker, "You know, Joker. I really like you. You make my dark world just that little bit brighter."

[Robin]

"It's beautiful here, it really is. Are you the only one who goes here, or is that just a line you spun me to seduce me here?" Joker laughed.
"Believe me, if I was trying, you'd have absolutely no chance." He said teasingly.
He looked on as she explored the room, sniffing the corners. As she started to talk about fairies, he didn't answer, not having heard of them, but he could imagine them.
"You know, Joker. I really like you. You make my dark world just that little bit brighter."
Joker shifted uncomfortably. He did not like that. It made him feel slightly awkward, and embarrassed. He cleared his throat slightly, and stood, and walked to where she was. Attempting to keep it light, he smirked at her.
"I tend to affect rabbits that way." he said, still smirking at her.
He didn't rally like it when things got very deep too early, it made him feel uncomfortable. He chocolate eyes shifted around the room, and looking through the holes, he realized the sun was going down. He should be at the warren, eating grass with his mates. They'd be wondering where he was, but they could screw themselves. They knew he was tough. He would sleep here tonight. Or, maybe...?
Hm. He remembered the meeting. the opportunity the piss his chief off seemed to good to pass up, a chance to ruin his good mood.
Much too good to pass up.
"Eyei..." He began. He then realized he was unwilling to leave Eyei alone (or so he pretended. He didn't ant to be left alone without her).
"... How would you like the chance to see me piss the chief off?"

[boutiquez]

Eyei smiled at him, it wasn't a girly smile-at-the-boy-she-likes smile, it was a real, genuine smile of excitement.
"And that effect works on... everyone but your chief? Or only the rabbits you can be bothered with, maybe."

She looked around the room one last time, taking in all of her surrondings. She really, really hoped that Joker wopuld take her here again; and for all she knew he was about to lead her out of the hole and bolt. But Eyei couldn't do anything about that, nor could she resist being there when Joker wound up his chief, so she took one final look and stepped towards Joker.

They both stood there for a second until Eyei finally said, "Joker, of course I want to go, you didn't even need to ask. Could've just told me." As she followed Joker slowly to the exit she said, "No wait. You did have to ask, I don't have rabbits telling me what to do. Joking."