Chapter Twenty Seven

The Shadow Follows

Campion and Blackberry awoke to the sounds of happy laughter and excited talking from below the down.

“Let me get this straight before the whole warren ambushes me, I was supposed to be dead right?” Campion asked, stretching. He sat up and shook the dew out of his fur.

“Yes, though I’ve lost count of how many times you were supposed to be dead!” Blackberry laughed gently. She looked properly at him, the darkness of the night before had concealed him. On his shoulder she saw a patch of new shinning fur that had grown back after the injury. Upon seeing the Shadowsky mark all that time ago she had been certain it would leave him a large scar, but his flank was unflawed and shared the same gleaming fur as the rest of the body. He was in that best condition she had ever seen him and this puzzled her greatly.

“Fair enough point,” Campion agreed, watching the edge of the down, oblivious to her staring.

Blackberry still couldn’t get used to his voice.

“Though the kits thought you were out spying on the enemy warren for us. You might want to tell them the truth later,” Blackberry suggested, standing up and cleaning the dew out of her fur.

Campion looked glad. “Maybe it should remain that way… I don’t know how to explain what has happened without everyone thinking I am mad.”

“I won’t think you’re mad,” she said comfortingly. “After all our warren has been through, I think anything is possible.” When she got closer to him again, she froze. The scent of men washed over her senses.

“Did Fiver and Ivy tell you what happened to me?” he asked nervously and was relieved when she just nodded. “The men have… healers, like you are here. They healed me.”

“They healed you?” Blackberry asked slowly. “But, but, why would man…”

“I have a theory about that,” Campion began. “It is a long story, so can I tell you in the burrow tonight instead?”

“Yes, but I want the whole story Campion. No editing because you think it would hurt me, agreed?”

“Okay.” Campion nodded. “Here we go,” he added as the voices approached. He tensed ready for an attack but the smile on his muzzle portrayed his seriousness.

“Parli, you’re home!!” five voices cried in unison.

Campion was ambushed as he predicted he would be. He literally could not be seen under the bodies of his kittens.

“Campion!” Bigwig and Hazel cried in pure shock.

“Under here,” Campion replied feebly. He didn’t want to hurt the kits so he waited patiently.

Blackberry gently lifted the kittens off his back one by one and placed them onto the grass.

“You’re worse than me, you are.” Bigwig shook his head in mock exasperation.

“Hey! This time it isn’t my fault!” Campion cried in defence. “You make it sound as if you’re not glad!”

“How did you get away?” Fiver asked anxiously. “We saw….”

“Long story cut short, some men aren’t all that bad,” Campion replied.

“Men?” Ash asked slowly. “Weren’t you at the enemy warren?”

Everyone recognised Hazel’s lie and said nothing. “You mean they didn’t kill you?” Hawkbit gasped suddenly to Campion.

The whole group turned to look at him and there was silence as they waited for him to realise the obvious.

“Okay, okay! Forgive me if I’m not extremely smart, some of us didn’t get any sleep last night because we were on sentry duty all night!” Hawkbit shouted defensively.

“Why were you on sentry duty?” Pipkin asked suspiciously. “Who was there to guard here at the down?”

“Am… anyway, welcome back Campion!” Hazel smiled, interrupting Pipkin’s suspicions.

“And am I glad about it!” Campion chuckled. “You’ve no idea how much I missed this place.”

“Uh… your back,” Vervain cried out from the back of the group.

“Always a pleasure Vervain,” Campion replied, without shifting his glance.

“What’s that scent about you father?” Rosa asked curiously.

Campion was a bit dismayed that he still had the scent of man around him but he told Rosa the truth anyway.  Of course he didn’t tell her the whole truth. He just said he had a close brush with man. She didn’t seem too perturbed by the information; after all she had never had any need to fear humans herself. She just sat back on her haunches and cleaned her unusual raspberry coloured fur, absent minded.

“I take it the junior owsla passed?” Blackberry started to comb the dew out of her face, already starting to get used to life as normal again. She hoped to spare Campion from more probing questions from the young ones.

“Of course.” Swift puffed his chest out proudly. “Did you expect anything less?”

“That means we’ll be able to go out on a proper patrol all on our own this time, doesn’t it Bigwig?” Pipkin asked meaningfully.

“Well you won’t,” Hazel reminded. “You’re in the regular owsla now Pipkin.”

“Oh, yeah.” Pipkin realised slowly. “In that case, the others don’t stand a chance without me!”

“What are you trying to imply, Pipkin?” Swift asked, crouching down into a fighting pose.

“Anyway,” Hazel said, hastily stepping between the two. “Fancy telling us the whole story, Campion?”

“Are you sure you all want to hear it?” Campion questioned hesitantly, glancing at the kittens. No way are they hearing this.

“Okay, how about all the adult members of the warren meet in my burrow tonight?” Hazel suggested, catching the hint.

“Will there be enough room?” Bigwig asked sceptically.

“Oh yes, what with the kittens and all, the burrow had to be dug pretty big. You know what does are like,” Hazel whispered to Bigwig.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Blackberry gave Hazel a mock disapproving look but was too exuberant to really care. “Come on kittens, time for your lessons!”

“But we want to hear the story now,” they wined. 

Blackberry looked over at Campion, who shook his head hastily.

“He’ll tell you it later, in a……… more exciting version,” Blackberry improvised, attempting to hurry them on.

“But marli, can Ash and I not stay behind?” Swift asked quickly.

“Why?” Blackberry asked in surprise. “What’s your excuse?”

“We could have our combat lessons with parli now,” Swift suggested.

“You two will do anything to get out of real lessons,” Blackberry laughed. “Go on then.”

“Hello Yew, glad to see you made it here,” Campion turned to Yew as Swift and Ash ran rings around him excitedly.

“Oh yes. I have Fiver and Ivy to thank for that,” Yew said politely. “And the whole warren has been very welcoming.”

“Nonsense Yew, everyone at the warren is glad to have you.” Fiver smiled coyly, hiding something.

“Especially Brunnea,” Ivy pitched in slyly. “My sister and I share everything.”

“Oh I see.” Campion joined in on the teasing. He was glad he was free of worries and could get back to the normal day to day aspects of life, such as teasing his best friends about does.

“Haven’t you got some training to do?” Yew asked Campion hastily, “or some sentry duty or something?” He turned to Ivy and Fiver.

“Campion, yes, but us? Unfortunately no.” Ivy smiled sweetly.

“I’ll see you later.” Campion laughed at his friend’s predicament.

“Can’t I come and help you?” Yew asked desperately.

“Oh look who’s coming over right now, Yew,” Fiver called across to him.

“You have to deal with it sometime,” Campion reassured him. “It was like this at the start for every couple in the warren.”

“But we aren’t a….” Yew started in despair.

“Come on, Swift, Ash! Let’s see if you have been practising your hiding and tracking!” Campion cut Yew off.

Yew sighed dramatically and attempted to slip away from Ivy and Fiver.

Bigwig turned to Hazel. “I think we should increase the security on the warren, Hazel.”

“Why? The Shadowsky warren is gone,” Hazel asked, confused.

“Yes,” Bigwig started impatiently. “But are we forgetting why Shadowsky warren was cleared out and by whom?”

“Oh, okay there’s no need to be so grumpy about it,” Hazel grumbled.

“Hazel, my priority is the safety of this warren, not being polite!”

“Okay we’re on it now!” Hazel shouted desperately. “Hawkbit, Dandelion, Strawberry!”

“We’re busy!” Hawkbit shouted back.

“Digging,” Strawberry finished.

“What!” Hazel shouted incredulously.

“Hazel!” Bigwig cried in annoyance.

Campion stopped in his tracks as his kittens’ cries pierced his ears. He lifted his head from the tracks he had found.

“What? What is it?” Campion shouted back. They are not brilliant at hiding.

“It’s a… a black rabbit,” Ash stammered back. He sounded very close to where Campion was.

Campion pivoted and nearly stumbled over his feet in pure shock when he saw what his kittens were staring at behind him.

It was a rabbit as black as night, blacker than any Campion had ever seen. It had curious red eyes with large black pupils, the kind of red that screamed out to every animal that danger was close.

Though by far, the most confusing thing that Campion noticed was that, even though it had a scent he could not tell whether or not it was male or female, and it almost frightened him.

“Swift, Ash go along home.” Campion indicated quietly. “We’ll finish lessons later.”

Swift and Ash didn’t argue, they were too disturbed by this strange newcomer.

“Who are you, and what is it you want?” Campion asked with his politeness strained.

The black rabbit stared at him steadily then finally answered quietly, “I’m Shadow and I have come to find Watership Down.”

Campion looked hard at his expression, but it remained clear. “You’d better follow me then.”

They had returned home at a fast pace to Watership Down, and Campion panted lightly as they reached the burrow entrance.

“Aren’t you?... Aren’t you tired?” Campion questioned, bemused.

He was just returned with a silent glance that he was already starting to get used to.

“Wait here,” Campion ordered shortly.

He returned quickly with Hazel and Bigwig who had thought it quite urgent.

“The kittens found him on our patrol, his name’s Shadow,” Campion offered as an explanation.

“And am… what is it he wants?” Bigwig more asked Campion than Shadow himself.

“He…” Campion started, but was then interrupted.

“I have come to live at your warren,” Shadow replied.

“Well, we need to know a bit more about you before…” Hazel began. He bent down to sniff the new rabbit and expected Shadow to do the same as this was common rabbit greeting.

“I’ll just make myself comfortable in one of the empty burrows shall I?” Shadow made his way down the burrow without looking back or returning the gesture.

“He’s a chap who knows what he wants anyway,” Bigwig snorted, not sure if he was threatened by him or not.

“But, Campion you told us he said to you he had come to find Watership Down, how did he know the name of our warren?” Hazel asked.

“There are a lot of questions I could ask about him.” Campion shrugged.

“As in why in Frith has he got red eyes?” Bigwig exclaimed.

“I think we’d better talk to Fiver,” Hazel suggested, clueless.