"A New Journey" (based on Watership Down)

[Petrie.]

Arvens looked back and forth at Cinankhen and Mayberry.  A seer would make sense to Arvens.  He'd heard of them but never had there been one in Thornbrush, and he'd never come across one either.  Cinankhen wasn't saying he was one, but he sure wasn't trying to dismiss it as a possibility either.

"Joke, smoke," snorted Arvens, "its no joke to us.  Are you a seer or aren't you?  Just answer the question."

[Malte279]

"What on earth makes you all think this all of a sudden? What is this? Talk of Frith and Inleh? What are you talking about?" Cinankhen still looked genuinely confused.

[Petrie.]

Arvens moved very closely to Mayberry, knowing that she would probably understand where he was going with this.  He whispered quietly to her, "Do you feel he's doing this because he's scared of Owsla?  Unless the warren he's from never told an Elahrairah tale or nothing about the great Frith, however likely that is.  I'm not altogether certain he's being truthful with us."

[Malte279]

(One important note of clarification. When I let Cinankhen say: " What is this? Talk of Frith and Inleh? What are you talking about?" I didn't mean for this to be interpreted as him having no clue who Frith and Inleh are (he certainly does) but was referring only to the matter of him mentioning either of them. Sorry for sounding ambiguous on that one).

[Petrie.]

OT: I still like what I wrote regardless of that clarification.

[Campion1]

"Yes, that's exactly what we mean." Rankin replied to Cinankhen. He was still laying on the ground, lazily, without a care in the world. "We're wondering if you can talk to Frith and forsee the future."

[Malte279]

Cinankhen shook his head vividly. "No I can't. And why in Frith's name would you think that I could?"

[Myrkin]

Not far from the four rabbits there was a small brown doe hopping through the woods. She stopped for a moment, looked around and sniffed to detect any elils that could be nearby, hunting. Luckily, the woods were quiet, excluding the chirping of the crickets. Suddenly, she heard a slight rustle in bushes behind her. As she turned around, doe saw a gray rabbit coming out of shrub, who was gasping.

"Cou... Could you slow down a bit, Neltita? Not everybody can run as fast as you do." the gray buck complained, before collapsing to the ground.

"Well... Sorry for that, but I am eager to find some safe place to hide in." Neltita responded "Aren't you, Thyme?"

"I am eager, but exhaustion can beat eagerness every time." Thyme muttered "And I am exhausted, so I say we should take a break and..."

"Hush! I hear someone..." Neltita whispered. Both rabbits stood up and started to listen to the sounds coming from nearby opening. Now they could hear clearly voices of some creatures. They had followed them till Neltita and Thyme saw a smal group of rabbits, sitting by some ditch. They seemed to preoccupied with their conversation to pay attention to anything else...

"Should we approach them?" Thyme asked his friend, whispering.

"I think we should. After all, it's safer to travel in group."

"But what if they turn out to be hostile?"

"Since when the rabbits are one of the Enemies?" Neltita asked rhetorically "Don't worry. I believe they won't be a threat to us."

"If you say so." Thyme sighed. On many occasions Neltita had had feelings on many things and so far they had proved to be right. He hoped that this time was no different, as he doubt they could survive long just on their own. Thyme followed Neltita, who was hopping silently towards the group. They kept quiet not to surprise those rabbits, but not to attract attention of predators. When Thyme and Neltita were close enough to talking rabbits, the doe greeted with them:

"Hello there."

[The Great Valley Guardian]

Mayberry had finally gotten a chance to lay down on the ground beneath her, and said aloud, "Well... usually when one talks of Frith and Inle like that... is either usually near death himself.. or a seer." After speaking, she was moments away from letting sleep claim her weary body when she heard two more voices speak up, and she knew two things right away, one: they were more hlessil and two: she knew at least one of them wasn't hostile. Mayberry wanted more than anything to stand up and confront these newcomers, but her body's cry for rest was greater than she realized and she continued to lay on the ground awake but tired.

[Petrie.]

Arvens just sighed and moved away from Cinankhen.  This was getting ridiculous in his opinion, and all this talk was just wearing him out.  What a bunch of nonsense, and a lot of things would just be easier if they could just get to the point of things.  Yes, sir, no sir, you want me to stand on my hind legs, sir?  Time is of essence in the open, of which turning back to their present situation, he realized all the blabbering had attracted more animals.

A doe had peeked over the ridge of the ditch and greeted them.  A buck was by her side and didn't say anything.  "Hello," replied Arvens in a friendly tone.  "I don't know if its a blessing or a hint that our blabbering is carrying all over the place and we've been found.  I'm Arvens, formerly of Thornbrush, and former Owsla member.  Who might you two be?  If any of you are seers let me know beforehand so I can find out what that darn Cinankhen will say next," he grumbled and flung his ears in every direction.  "I've quite had enough of him."

[Myrkin]

Neltita looked at buck, that had spoken to them. He acted very friendly and it seemed he was honest about it. That's a good start.

"I am Neltita and my friend here is called..."

"...Thyme." gray rabbit finished with tired smile "It's nice to meet you, even though I would have prefered to meet you in our old warren instead here, in the open, where every elil can get us..."

Doe sighed. Thyme was always able to find bad side to all things. Well... Maybe it was a slight exaggeration, but only slight. What Arvens said got her thinking for a moment. Should he tell them about her feelings? In her old warren they caused her to be seen as bringer of bad luck, especially when she said there will be a disease and it turned  out to be true. Those who escaped from the warren forced her to leave their group, stating she was cursed and they didn't want to be affected by her curse anymore. Only Thyme went with her... And right now he was answering Arven's question for her!

"Well... If by the seer you mean someone, who can tell you what will happen, then Neltita is one. She has these feelings very often and sometimes they can get very creepy, but she is good and nice rabbit, I assure you."

"Thank you for summing me up this way, Thyme." doe said, not knowing if she should be upset by him revealing the truth about her abilities or reliefed by it.

[Malte279]

Cinankhen who had given a nervous twitch at the sudden appearance of the two newcomers now gave a greeting nod to both of them. "Hello. Welcome here Neltita! Welcome Thyme! And I thought that four lonely hlessi were enough to name this the night of the hlessi. This seems to be a migration of warrens indeed.
As the rabbit Arvens, who will never fail to mention his having been in the Owsla, already said my name is Cinankhen. I'm a hlessi, apparently an annoyance to him, and for reasons totally unknown to me these fellow rabbits here think that I was a seer and claim that I was talking to Frith.
Whatever their reasons before this rather odd debate was started we were out to take shelter in one of the tubes men put into this ditch wherever they are crossing it. Welcome as you are, we are turning ever more into a crowd which no elil could possibly overlook, so I suggest that we head for the nearest of the pipes to either rest or continue this debate or some of us continuing this debate thereby keeping the rest of us from resting. In any case it is not certain if we will all fit into the tube, but we won't know until we get there. So I suggest that we go there."
Turning to Arvens again he said: "Maybe you want to give the order to go there? I will head there either way and recommend everyone looking for some shelter from the owls to do the same, but if it makes you any less irritable if you can say the words before everyone does what everyone would do I do not suppose that anyone would have a major problem with the former Owsla member saying some words, if it makes him feel better. So long he does not misinterpret it as an agreement for anyone to generally submit himself to any orders he would give that anyone else might not do anyway?"

[Rocky]

As the duo listened, Winston turned to Nostradamus. "Hey Noesy, what is Frith?" Winston's question was met with a scowl. "How should I Know!" He shouted towards the skunk and caused him to spray behind them. The two ran out with disgusted looks on their faces. "Winston!" Nostradamus shouted. "Sorry." He said sheepishly as they looked at the rabbits in front of them. " Hi, I'm Nostradamus, and this is my friend Winston. " He said, motioning to the skunk.

[The Great Valley Guardian]

Mayberry kicked at the ground for a moment and finding strength in her newfound anger she stood up on her hind legs and decided it best to introduce herself the best way she knew how. "My name is Mayberry, former Captain of Owsla, to the Warren of Bloodsbain. I have been running for a great many days.... and any hlessil to anger me further... well, let's just say they won't have to worry about it much longer." With her 'introduction' out of the way, Mayberry slid back down to the dirt and attempted to rest once more.

[Petrie.]

Arvens was practically ready to give Cinankhen the cuffing of his life for his smartass mockery of him, but a sound behind him gave him a pause.  The stench that followed nearly caused him to pass out and want to move as far away as possible.  Behind him stood a rabbit and a skunk...not an animal rabbits particularly had any business with given their differences, but not a mortal enemy either.

"You startled me," Arvens said rather quickly.  "I'm Arvens, former Owsla member of Thornbrush.  Why did you sneak up on us like that?"

[Malte279]

"What did I say?" Cinankhen said more to himself than to anyone else at Arven's pointing out of his Owsla past.
All the while he was inconspicuously moving away so as to maintain what was his apparently preferred safety distance not just from Arvens but from each of the newcomers as well. In doing so he also made sure to be on the luvward side of the newly arrived skunk though there was but only a slight breeze at this time.
Turned to Nostradamus and Winston he said: "My name is Cinankhen and it is nice to meet you. However, by now we are so many here that we will attract owls or the like in no time unless we take some cover. There may be the safety in numbers of not being just the one to be picked out of a crowd such as this one, but I reckon there is more safety in having some solid cover above ones head when it comes to birds of prey. I don't know if there is enough room for everyone in the pipe over there..." he pointed towards the nearest pipe which they had been considering for shelter before "...but there will be more of them in this ditch and I'm also not sure if..." he squinted at Mayberry "...everyone feels like staying close to such annoying hlessils as myself or awake enough to take the final steps to security though I would surely recommend it to your highness."
Cinankhen cast a look over his shoulder taking a deep breath. Before he finished: "I'm sure that all of us, apart from a need to rest, have interesting stories to tell and hopefully also the will to listen to the stories of others. But to avoid any of our stories to be cut untimely short we really ought to take some cover!"
With that he set in motion towards the pipe.

[Myrkin]

Even for such small amount of time, Thyme was getting to like Cinankhen. Maybe sometimes he spent a bit too much time on saying something, that could be said in fewer words, but he seemed to be quite reasonable fellow. In addition, he didn't take Owsla's titles very seriously, so he was probably a good sort - not looking down on others and not bullying outskirters.

"I think Cinankhen is right. It's good idea to go into cover now, before any of us becomes a meal for a fox or owl." Thyme said aloud and then he followed earthly-colored rabbit. Then he stopped, remembering that he had almost forgotten to introduce himself to new rabbit and his skunk friend.

"My name is Thyme and since everybody here is boasting about being in Owsla I'll let you know, that I am former almost-accepted member of Greenweed's Owsla" he said with a smile, that could look cheeky to particular Owsla Captain. He would probably be right to think so. Thyme didn't wait for a response, as he hopped into the ditch...

[The Great Valley Guardian]

Despite everything she'd been through in the last few days, Mayberry knew that if she planned on living long enough to be of any use to anyone including herself, she had to put her safety before her pride and slowly but surly followed Cinankhen towards the drainage ditch knowing it would offer her the protection she sought for the night. She reached the drainage ditch and looked inside. She the commented by saying, "This, does not look very wide... or stable. Are you certain it can hold any of us?" she asked Cinankhen.

[Malte279]

Cinankhen eyed the tube critically. Before he responded: "As for stability there is no need to worry. These tubes are rather stable. As for wideness I guess it would be comfortable enough for anyone of your size or mine and tolerable for the somewhat larger ones. As for the largest of us...", Chinankhen cast a look back to the others, "...I guess they need to try. But since our group has grown quite a bit by now I do not think this one tube will do for all of us."

[Campion1]

Rankin once again hopped back to the hole where cinankhen and mayberry had been at and made a comment

"I'll just stick out here. I'm not going in there."