Vervain's new life Part 9

Thorn murmured and growled as she made her way trough the country-side.

She had been on the road for a while now, but she refused to settle in anywhere. She had met some small groups and warrens that were ready to take her in, but she had refused every single offer. But now it was getting late, and she needed a place to stay. As she walked up a hill, she felt a faint scent of a rabbit around. She followed the scent and found a burrow between some stones. She smelled around. There was only scent of one rabbit, and it was faint. But she knew it was still there.

"Come out!" she shouted with a strong voice. For a moment, only silence answered. Then she heart footsteps coming from the burrow.

"Lupine, is that you? Oh come on, you already took the kits, what else you wa-" the buck was cut short when he saw Thorn.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else..." the dark brown buck said, little embarrassed. "How can I help you?"

"I need a burrow to stay over the night. And since this is the only one on a mile radius, I will rest here whether you liked it or not." Thorn said, pushing past the buck without waiting for an answer.

The buck was confused for a while, but finally uttered "Uh, yeah, sure, make yourself at home..."

Thorn laid down in the small burrow and sighed. She had no idea what she was doing anymore. She wanted revenge on Vervain. But how? She knew that in combat they were fairly at the same strength. Plus simply fighting and winning wasn't enough. Not anymore. She wanted the whole family to suffer. Vervain, Larch, even the kits. But how? They were comfortably living under Rhizome's protective eyes. Thorn was out of ideas. She was ready to give up... She would have most likely walked until she was eaten by an elil... if it was not for an innocent question from the buck she was sharing the burrow with.

"So, since you're staying here, would you at least tell me your name? I'm Bark!" he said.

"Oh hello Bark, where's your dog?" Thorn spat un-interested.

"Haha, oh if I had a carrot every time I heard THAT one!" Bark laughed awkwardly, apparently having to endure similar comments his whole life.

"No but really, what's your name, pretty-face?"

"If you're coming on to me, I WILL rip your balls off and feed them to owls!" Thorn growled.

"I just want to know who I have the... honor... to rest with!" Bark said, voice shivering.

"If I tell my name, will you leave me alone?" the female asked.

"I would love to, but it's a small burrow..." Bark said.

Thorn let out a long sigh. "Thorn. My name is Thorn."

"That's a pretty fitting name." Bark said.

"Are you all alone because no-one could get by your, uh, spiky nature?" Bark asked.

"No, I'm alone because everyone in my warren is bloody CRAZY!" Thorn shouted, getting up.

"Whoa, sorry I asked!" Bark gasped, but Thorn wasn't done talking.

"My best friend and I made a promise! Promise to never mate and be free and happy forever! But then she abandons me for that crook of a captain from Efrafa!"

"Efrafa?" Bark gasped.

"I've heard of them! Their chief was a monster and every rabbit in that warren was crazy as geese!"

"And now one of their captains, Vervain, just poofed out of no-where and beat Larch into submission, made her pregnant and manipulated our chief to chase me off because I was the only one who knew the truth behind his evil heart!" Thorn lied.

In her head, that is how it happened, even though most of it was not true, as we know.

"I'm sorry miss Thorn." Bark said, sitting up. "You must have gone trough a lot of trouble because of that guy..."

Thorn sighed again. "You have no idea... but I'll stop him yet. I don't know how but I will find a way."

"Could I help?" Bark asked. "I'm not much of a thinker, or fighter... more of a runner... But at the very least I can bring you food and give you a shelter until you figure something out!"

Thorn had heard this song and dance before, rabbits giving her home to stay at, but all of them had no interest in actually helping her to achieve her goal. But this buck felt different somehow...

"Where is your warren, Bark?" Thorn asked.

"I don't have one." Bark answered, ears drooping. "I used to have a family, but mom and dad died of old age, two of my brothers died in fight over chiefdom, my sisters ran away with some bucks and my mate told me I was spineless buck and took away our kits..."

Thorn felt a sudden slash of guilt from yelling at the buck. He had lost his only family too. Now it made sense for Thorn why she felt more at home with Bark and not all those other rabbits in the big happy warrens. Bark was a loner, just like her. Not like those well fed, happy and jolly warrens who never though of the future.

"I'm sorry." Thorn said, almost softly.

"But there are some big, nice warrens around you! Why not join them?"

"I don't know... I just never felt like leaving my birth-home..." Bark said. "Lupine was right. I am spineless... But what can you do other than accept it?"

For a moment both were quiet. Finally Thorn said, while laying down:

"Very well, I would be delighted to have you assist me on taking care of Vervain."

"Really!?" Bark asked, ears jolting up.

"Yes yes, just sleep now. We have plenty of time in our paws to act tomorrow..." Thorn said.

Bark smiled widely and laid down next to Thorn. And thus the weird companionship between the two rabbits had begun.