"A New Journey" (based on Watership Down)

Malte279 · **Reply #180 on:** October 31, 2010, 02:50:45 PM

The moment Cinankhen made contact with Neltita something strange happened to him. His eyes got out of focus, he seemed to shrink and was trembling slightly and his head was jerking several times as if Cinankhen was trying to pull it in between his shoulders. He then uttered a series of small noises somewhere between chocking, gulping and gasping as if he was suffocating and while his eyes remained unfocused he several times closed and opened them in a convulsive manner.

Campion1 · **Reply #181 on:** November 01, 2010, 03:07:56 AM

For the last few moments, Rankin was waking from his sleep at the sounds of conversation next to him. He rotated his head a little to his left and perked his ears and eyes up a little as his vision adjusted to see his companions in and out of the manhole. When his view sharpened, it looked to him like cinankhen was having another of his episodes and the other rabbit was particularly alert about something. He opened his maw to yawn and blinked, but did not make a comment.

Malte279 · **Reply #182 on:** November 01, 2010, 07:13:13 PM

"It is not your burrow!" said Cinankhen. His voice sounded not like his usual voice, but a lot more raspy. "Black doe. I had seen the blindness. You're Owsla. Why wouldn't they listen to me? But I dug it. The young storyteller is promising. See ahead of things..."
There seemed to be no sense and no coherence at all in what Cinankhen was saying. He continued to speak, but his words lost intelligibility and faded ever more into a mumbling. His eyelids fluttered, then gradually his eyes cleared and became more focused. Cinankhen was panting and seemed exhausted and yet like he had just woken up. He coughed slightly, quickly backed away from Neltita, cast a look around and made sure he was nowhere near any of the others.

Myrkin · **Reply #183 on:** November 01, 2010, 07:32:28 PM

Neltita looked at Cinankhen with wide eyes. His behaviour, all this mumbling and trembling was so unexpected, that at first she thought what any rabbit would think: Cinankhen was showing signs of some disease. Yet, as she kept listening to buck's words, she realized what Cinankhen was talking about, but how could he know about those things? After he had seemingly become normal again, she asked with concern:

"Are you alright, Cinankhen?"

Malte279 · **Reply #184 on:** November 01, 2010, 07:39:38 PM

Cinankhen nodded wearily but trying to put on a smile.

Myrkin · **Reply #185 on:** November 01, 2010, 07:51:29 PM

"I wouldn't say he is quite alright, after all this mumbling and shaking he made" Thyme said, backing away from Cinankhen a bit.

"What is this commotion all about? You can be heard from far away." Arvens asked from the edge of ditch. He kept his voice low, even though others had made so much noise already, that there was little point in being quiet now.

The Great Valley Guardian · **Reply #186 on:** November 05, 2010, 12:52:20 AM

Mayberry was asleep, and before she realized it her ears were pointed forward, her eyes were open, and she had crawled to the opening of the edge of the drainage pipe and she was shouting, her infamous anger taking hold. "By the fury of Bloodsbain!!! You bucks make more noise than any predator could ever hope to make!!!"

Campion1 · **Reply #187 on:** November 08, 2010, 03:39:54 PM

"Mayberry," Rankin said in a hushed voice "You are not helping. Arvens, why are we up?"

Myrkin · **Reply #188 on:** November 13, 2010, 07:37:35 PM

Arvens just shook his head at Mayberry's outburst. Did everybody lose any common sense all of sudden?

"There is a predator about. For a second there, I've caught it's scent and I think it is a weasel. In addition, the morning is starting, so it's time to move out," he explained, looking briefly in direction of place weasel was hiding in "Is everyone awake now?"

"I am," Nelita replied, gazing at Cinankhen.

"Even if I was asleep, I would wake up after all this shouting," Thyme said with snort "I'm ready to march."

Malte279 · **Reply #189 on:** November 14, 2010, 10:31:13 AM

Cinankhen merely nodded.

Campion1 · **Reply #190 on:** November 14, 2010, 04:37:17 PM

Rankin rose his body from the ground and stretched his legs once again.

"Yeah, let's go."

He hopped over to Arvens but stopped and looked at Mayberry with an annoyed expression, and proposed his view

"And Mayberry, if you're as tough as you say you are, maybe you should help with taking care of the weasel if the time comes. "

Malte279 · **Reply #191 on:** November 14, 2010, 05:23:39 PM

"A weasel?" Cinankhen asked surprised looking at Rankin. "How do you know there is a weasel? Unless I missed something we don't know what kind of Elil there may or may not be?"

Myrkin · **Reply #192 on:** November 14, 2010, 05:56:33 PM

"Uhm... Cinankhen?" Thyme said hesitantly "Didn't you hear Arvens saying he caught the scent of this Elil?"

Malte279 · **Reply #193 on:** November 15, 2010, 02:28:23 AM

"Of Elil alright, not of weasel in particular. Anyway..." Cinankhen shrugged.

Myrkin · **Reply #194 on:** November 15, 2010, 09:11:05 AM

"Well... I heard him saying that he caught the scent of predator and he thinks it is a weasel," Thyme said shrugging in the same way as Cinankhen.

Campion1 · **Reply #195 on:** November 17, 2010, 02:45:55 AM

Rankin grew aggravated and spoke

"Are we gonna analyze what Arvens said, or leave?"

Malte279 · **Reply #196 on:** November 17, 2010, 10:31:42 AM

Cinankhen looked slightly sneeringly, but then he apparently he decided to swallow whatever remark there might have been on his mind. Instead he he just watched everyone with a look of mild interest as if he was viewing a scene from afar that was of no concern whatsoever to him while at the same time he kept a somewhat more concerned watch on the open fields on both sides of the ditch.

The Great Valley Guardian · **Reply #197 on:** November 17, 2010, 08:46:39 PM

Mayberry never being one to flee from a fight turned to Cinankhen "If we attack them now... what do you honestly believe our chances of survival are? Because honestly, I just want to start a fight!" she said with an almost sinister laugh.

Malte279 · **Reply #198 on:** November 18, 2010, 05:07:47 AM

"Attack...?" Cinankhen visibly struggled to suppress a fit of laughter. "We are rabbits without so much as a warren to defend. We are blessed by frith to outrun, to hide, to trick elil, not to fight them. What do you hope to achieve that would be worth a single scratch on a single rabbits fur? Elil won't stop being elil to you even if you did chase one of them away. We are currently in the most advantageous position available to avoid a fight. If we stay in this ditch we are out of any elil's view, if we peek out we have a clear view over the flat ground on either side of the ditch and can gain a formidable lead from any elil by just fleeing to the other side making the ditch an obstacle for any pursuer to cross. And so long no pursuer is within view we can move unseen at the bottom of the ditch having the water at the bottom of the ditch wash away our scent. Why in frith's and inleh's name should we waste away all those advantages and seek a fight in which we have nothing to gain unless...", Cinankhen cut a grimace, "...anyone here got a taste for blood or meat of elil."
Again he cast a look over the open fields on both sides of the ditch where no elil had so far appeared. "Whatever you do is your business, but I shall not seek a fight of high risk and no benefit!"

Campion1 · **Reply #199 on:** November 20, 2010, 08:26:22 AM

Hearing mayberrie's challenge, Rankin hops toward and near Arvens giving him a look of suspicion over her comment, and turns around at his side with his body ready for whatever she meant.