Vervain's new life Part ???

This is actually the first Vnl I ever drew, though it takes place later on in the story. This is not the next part of the story and takes place few months later from part 13.

Red Oak tried to calm his breath. He did not know how long he had been running. Heck, he did not even know where he was. The fox had attacked him and his father just minutes ago. Red's dad told his son to run, and Red did. Young rabbit tried to listen the surrounding world over his breath and heart beats that drummed in his ears. As he started to calm down, only thing he heard was the rain outside the little hole he had dived in after he was too tired to run.

Red peaked out of the hole and smelled the air. No danger. But also no...

"Dad?"

Red Oak came out of the hole and looked around, listening and smelling as he did. There was not even a speck of black anywhere. Red started to panic, but he tried to keep his head clear. Young rabbit found his own tracks and started to follow them backwards as well as he could...

---

Finally Red started to recognize the world around him. He smelled familiar smells of his home burrow and friends. But he also smelled something new... blood. Red started to panic again. Dad might have been hurt.

"Dad!?" he shouted, hoping that no elil could hear him. He looked around and kept shouting until... he saw something.

A small black figure, laying on the ground... barely moving.

"Dad!?" Red shouted as he ran to the figure, and was broken to see that he had been right...

His father, Vervain, was laying on the ground, barely breathing, eyes closed... with a gaping, bleeding wound on his neck.

"Dad..?" Red almost whispered as the tears started to form in his eyes.

"Please... wake up!" he squalled, trying to push aside the fact that there was nothing he could do anymore. No rabbit could live with a wound that big.

"Daddy? Please daddy! Wake up! ... at least say goodbye..."

And almost like Frith himself would have heard the little rabbit's wish, Vervain opened his eyes.

"Red..?" he said, sounding more tired than ever before. "Are you okay..?"

"Daddy!" Red shouted happily seeing that his father was still alive... but then remembered that these would be his final moments, and his smile faded. "I'm okay..."

"I'm glad... to hear that..." Vervain said, smiling, even though talking hurt him. "I'm... sorry..."

"I'm sorry that you have to... learn to live... on your own..." Vervain said, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Don't be sorry dad! You saved my life... in exchange of your own... you should be proud of yourself!" Red said, trying to sound strong.

"I am proud... proud of you, my son." Vervain said, lifting his other front-paw on his son's head. "I know... that you will grow up to be something great... greater than me at least..."

"What do you mean?" Red asked, trying to keep his father with him as long as he could.

"When I was young, I was forced to join a warren... called Efrafa." Vervain's often loving green eyes suddenly got a mean gleam in them when he said the name.

"I was nothing but slave for most of the time, but I learned to be cunning. I learned that in Efrafa, you survive by hatred and disloyalty towards everyone else but the Chief Rabbit..."

Vervain's eyes looked into the distance for a second, and while that second, there was so many emotions seen on his face; fear, hate, disgust...

"General... Woundwort..." he then hissed with hate. "He was a nasty piece of work, I tell you that. If he had not been so strong and big, and bloodthirsty, I would have escaped long time ago. But I was scared. Of him. A fellow rabbit. It was mad. But I learned that in Efrafa... you can't trust or be trusted. I took part in an escape-plan with some other slaves. I knew that the escape was too risky to work, and thus I did something horrible.. out of fear and will to live..."

Vervain's tears started falling again. Red looked at his father with sorrow. He had never knew his father had such a hard life. He had always been so warm and happy. It pained the young rabbit to see his father that way, but he wanted to listen to his father's last story to him, no matter how much it hurt them both.

"I... I told the General about the escape... he believed me, and those rabbits that tried to escape... they... I... I caused their deaths, Red... your father is nothing but a dishonest traitor!" Vervain started to sob and looked at his son with sorrow and horror.

Red did not want to believe that his father had done it. But he had no choice. But...

"But... you got out of there, dad! You changed! You became a good rabbit again! All you did, you did out of fear!"

Vervain calmed down slowly. His life was draining away. He could hear the Black Rabbit call his name.

'Just few more moments, Black Rabbit...' he begged in his mind. 'I want to teach my son one last lesson...'

"After I had showed "such a great detail of loyalty towards my General", I became a part of Owsla. I was never too good in fighting, so I lurked my way to the Captain's place with brain and cunning. But because of my betrayal towards the escaping rabbits, everyone on the warren hated me. And I could not do anything else but hate myself too. I numbed myself into the power of Captain. And as everyone already hated me, I had nothing to loose. I was a bully, a sneaky bastard... nothing more than a bad excuse of a rabbit..."

Vervain took few breaths. He felt the Black Rabbit beside him, but he was waiting for him to be done. Black Rabbit had no rush.

Red could not feel the Rabbit, but he knew that his dad was on his last breaths. He sobbed and held the tears back as best as he could.

"After the General was defeated the first time by the Watreship Down warren, I thought about the free life. I got an idea to run. Run as far as I could and start a new life. But I did not get far when that blasted Woundwort turned out to be alive, and was standing right there in front of me. There was nowhere to run. I was once again trapped in his claws. But the idea of the free life did not leave me. It irked me. I wanted it. I hated General. More than anything. I wanted to be free. And as the Black Rabbit took him, I got that freedom. I didn't even try to consult with the Watership Down rabbits, I knew they hated me. I ran. As far as my legs could carry. And I found your mother... I found this warren. I found... happiness. And Frith gave you to us..."

Red watched as his father started to run out of energy. The bleeding had stopped. His eyes were half closed.

"Red Oak... promise me something..." Vervain whispered.

"Anything, daddy!" Red answered.

"Don't... Don't become like your father. Be free. Don't let anyone tell you how to live your life, what you are worth of... or who you really are." Vervain said, smiling, even thought the tears did not stop. He was afraid. Like always. But even though he was afraid of death, he was more ready to go than ever.

"Promise me..." he said, closing his tired eyes.

"I promise... I promise Daddy!" Red said, trying to sound strong. "I promise that I won't let any rabbit in the world push me down!"

Vervain smiled. "I'm so... proud of you... my son..." he whispered.

'I'm ready to go, Black Rabbit. Take me to my beloved Larch. Let me meet my parents and childhood-friends again. Heck, take me to Woundwort! I have some things I want to put straight with him. Just please... let my dear son live long and happy...'

Red waited for his father to say something else. Anything else. But then he noticed that his dad had stopped breathing.

"Dad?" he asked. "Daddy?"

But no answer.

Red stood up. He could not keep the tears from falling no longer. With sorrow he lifted his head, looked up to the rain-clouds and whispered...

"My heart has joined the thousand... for my father stopped running today...."