Watership Down - Blueberry's Tale, Chapter 20 (Epilogue)

By Skipai (c) 2009-Present

Chapter 20 - The end of the beginning.

Authors Note: This is a clean fanfiction story written in the Watership Down universe. There are some scenes of natural violence, ie. predators hunting prey. Watership Down is copyrighted to Richard Adams. All world, references etc is copyrighted to Richard Adams.

This story was written during Nanowrimo 2005 and comprises of twenty chapters, however for the time being I'm only uploading the first chapter to see whether or not there is any interest for a clean fanfiction story posted on here by readers and of course this will be quite different to my usual written works on here.

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"Well, what do we do with him?" Blackberry asked as he looked about the burrow while the form of Blueberry still lay unconscious on the floor. Hawkbit frowned. "Kill him of course, he was one of the attacking Efrafan's."

Carbi cried out as he moved right over to where Blueberry was and frowned. "No, he isn't against you at all." Carbi moved his head towards Bigwig and frowned. "Why don't you say anything on the matter?"

Bigwig frowned back at Carbi. "Hey, we don't know what happened after we left Efrafa, he may have decided to work for them." He stopped and then headed over before giving Blueberry a cuff on the head while muttering. "Come on, wake up now."

Blueberry winced as he felt pain in his head still but slowly he opened up his eyes as he sniffed about muttering to himself. "Sky must've fallen on my head. Ow..." Blueberry lifted his head up and looked about with the various rabbits that were looking at him. "How did I get here?"

Hazel had been quiet for all this time as he hopped forward but stopped as Bigwig gave him the cautionary look of not going too near to the rabbit lying on the ground. The honeycomb burrow was still wrecked in places as with the hole in the ground as Blueberry slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position, gave up on it and laid back down again.

"You've been here unconscious for a few days." Hazel said as he looked at Blueberry for a moment. "Blackberry pulled you in from being killed by the dog, although it was probably against a few other rabbits judgements here. You knowing Hawk and Carbi was helpful."

Blueberry closed his eyes and replied back. "I suppose you want to kill me then?" He sighed softly as he stopped after hearing what Hazel said back. "No, there has been enough killing already. Woundwort has been defeated, killed by the dog, there isn't anymore need to carry on fighting, although your role in this has still to be determined though."

Bigwig nodded as he looked down at Blueberry. "Why did you come on the attack of our warren." Blueberry opened an eye and replied back. "I had no choice on the matter." He winced slightly before carrying on again with both eyes open now. "I was under suspicion from Vervain after the chase when you escape... How did you escape by the way?"

Hazel replied back. "We're asking the questions at the moment, please continue." Blueberry nodded his head slightly and carried on. "I hesitated at a few hedges which brought my attention to Vervain who didn't like the fact at all that I wasn't running after you at full speed. I didn't want any of the rabbits to be caught. I didn't want Hawk or Carbi to be caught either. But after we couldn't find them, we headed back to Efrafa where I was put under arrest by the owslafa." Blueberry shuddered slightly. "It was then I was questioned by Vervain on what I knew about the plan and where your warren was. I only knew what Bigwig said but I didn't say anything at all. Even after they had beaten me up a few times."

Carbi was silent but carried on to lick at one of the new scars on Blueberry's body as he listened carefully. Blueberry carried on. "Eventually they gave up or I think Campion gave up on the matter and I was freed from not knowing anything at all. I made my choice on the matter to stay so that you and the others would get away. I didn't think that Woundwort would want me to be on this attack. I am fed up of the fighting myself, especially on such a futile and tharn reason for it." Blueberry went quiet again as he closed his eyes.

"I believe him." Fiver said as he hopped over to the other side of where Carbi was and placed a paw on top of Blueberry's head. "Hazel, he's speaking the truth, I've seen it but don't ask me how?"

All of the other rabbits nodded their heads as they turned to face Hazel and Bigwig who turned to face Hazel. "Well, you're brother hasn't been wrong so far. I am willing to let the whole matter go."

"Very well, he can stay." Hazel replied as he turned his head around to face Bigwig. "Give that option open to the other Efrafan's. If they wish to leave to go back to their warren then let them do so, those that wish to stay here may do the same."

Bigwig nodded his head and left the honeycomb, running down one of the runs while Blueberry picked himself up again to a sitting position. Blackberry smiled as he spoke. "Sorry about that, didn't know who you were back then."

Blueberry nodded as he looked about. "Don't mention it, you did what you had to do." He looked about a bit more as he frowned. "So, where's Hawk?" He looked at Carbi who was looking away from him for a moment as he looked to Hazel. "What's happened to Hawk?"

Hazel replied back. "I am afraid Hawk volunteered to help stop Woundwort and was killed in the attempt. He said he had to do it to protect Carbi whatever that means." Hazel paused before carrying on. "He didn't fully explain why."

Blueberry sighed and looked about. "Mind if I can go up for some fresh air?" He saw Hazel nod as he began to walk alongside Carbi before he stopped and spoke. "He did it as he made a promise to me to keep Carbi alive always like I promised to do back by the river long ago when my captain of owsla stopped running."

Blueberry didn't say anything else as he followed Carbi through the unfamiliar runs until they were up on top again. There wasn't a sign of any dead rabbits about on the field as Carbi explained. "I think elil took them or that man cleared them up. Either way there isn't much to say that there was any sign of fighting. It rained for a day after you were still sleeping. I think Frith was washing away the evil from this hill."

Hopping over to near where the hill started to slope downwards, Blueberry came to a stop and looked out over the edge as he saw a few rabbits down below hopping away as Bigwig came running over. "Some of them are heading home, none of them could say if Woundwort was killed or not but he must've been, there wasn't a sign of his body anywhere."

Blueberry nodded his head. "I hope he is dead, he was evil throughout, thought he was the Black Rabbit and doing what the Black Rabbit wanted to do." Blueberry paused as he carried on looking out to the view in front of him. "Bigwig, you still doubt me?"

Bigwig blinked and shook his head. "No, I don't doubt you. Maybe you made the right choice and all, just that I don't think that we could trust them again." His voice trailed off as he watched as the small forms moving across the field down below finally went out of view.

Blueberry didn't respond at first before he coughed. "So you and Hyzenthlay?" He gave a side look to where Bigwig was sitting but saw him look away with a cough. Bigwig eventually replied back. "I think she's picked Hazel, but that's okay. You know, you should be proud of Hawk in what he has done, he did tell me everything once." He turned his head to where Carbi had wandered off to talk to a few other rabbits that were up and out of the warren now. "Carbi's settled down very well here, you think he's been here all of his life."

"I am glad of that, at least." Blueberry said as he looked back himself as Carbi began to chat friendly to some of the Efrafan's that had escaped or chosen to stay behind. "He can make friends with anyone, well..." Blueberry paused before taking a scratch of his right ear that had started to irritate him again. "Mostly anyone though, there are exceptions to that rule."

Bigwig chuckled. "Well, I don't think Tacca would've liked to be friends with anyone." The large buck was at ease now as he carried on talking. "So tell me about Captain Sando? You must have really liked him to risk your life in carrying out his orders." Bigwig said admirably. "I admire that in an officer, loyalty and all."

Blueberry carried on watching Carbi tell a story as he replied back to Bigwig. "Oh, Captain Sando was one of the old style of captains in the owsla. He was okay with you as long as you did your work, trained hard and was honest and truthful. He taught me everything he knew as a kit." Blueberry looked down. "He even stayed within the warren while all hope was lost when we were ordered to get away. I suppose it was one of those protect the chief against elil to the last breath." Blueberry paused and looked at Bigwig. "Are you crying?"

Bigwig coughed and looked away. "No, no of course not, I just had something that blew into my eye." Blueberry gave a smirk as he hopped over a few places. "Okay, well let's see what Carbi is talking about shall we."

Hopping over to where Carbi was talking, Blueberry groaned as he heard the tale of him taking on Captain Sando with a bobstone contest to get on a owsla farm raid. Bigwig nudged Blueberry and laughed. "Okay, now I like you." He turned to face Carbi before asking. "Is this true, he challenged his own captain of owsla? You didn't tell us of that story."

Carbi nodded back excitedly. "Oh yes, Blueberry so wanted to get on with a farm raid and pass his owsla training that he just hopped right over to where Captain Sando was, sat down, gave his right ear a scratch with a hindpaw and then spoke. 'Captain Sando, I like to challenge you to a bobstone contest'. It was really amusing at the time. I ran off to get others to come and watch, it wasn't everyday you had a young buck challenge their captain."

Blueberry felt like he wanted to be swept off his feet by a hawk or something as he looked down at the ground. "Carbi, that was a long time ago now." Blueberry felt Bigwig laugh, quickly followed by the others until Bigwig coughed and looked at Blueberry, then back at Carbi. "So, technically speaking, he's the bobstone champion at your old warren, right?"

Carbi nodded his head and Bigwig nudged Blueberry on the side. "Well, that settles it then, I challenge you to a contest right now, champion against champion. What do you say, lad?"

"Watch it Blueberry, he's the champion here and captain of owsla as well." Carbi said but Blueberry turned his head to face Bigwig with a grin on his face. "You're on, old one. I've taken down captains before."

Bigwig hopped forward and turned around. "Oh is that so, young lad. Well, we shall see who will win this one." He turned his head around and called out. "Hazel, Fiver. Do you mind coming over and judging a bobstone contest?"

Hazel blinked as he paused in his silflaying and looked at Fiver. "I see, Bigwig's found a new challenger, what do you say?" He turned his head around to Fiver who got up. "Well, it be interesting to see if Blueberry can beat him."

Both got up as they headed over to the group of Watership Down rabbits and Efrafan's that had formed a small group on the hill of Watership Down. Carbi went and found the right sort of pebbles and brought them back, dropping them onto the ground from his mouth and sat back away.

Hazel looked about and smiled, Frith was high in the sky, not a single sight or smell of elil in the area as he moved his vision back down to the two rabbits with fur on their heads as Hazel blinked. "Are you two related by any chance?"

Both Blueberry and Bigwig turned their heads around to face Hazel as both spoke at the same time. "We don't know." Hazel looked at Fiver who just sat there looking at them both without saying a word before he turned around back again to the two bucks. "Who's going first?"

Bigwig smiled as he replied. "Young lad can guess first." He watched as Blueberry turned his back around from Bigwig and waited as Bigwig looked down and pushing one pebble to go underneath him, he placed his paw over the remaining one and spoke. "Ready."

Blueberry turned around as he came face to face with Bigwig again and looked down at both paws on the ground. Slowly he lifted up his head and looked about again to where the world was laid out before him and smiled. He turned his head back once again and while under the gaze of rabbits that used to be prisoners and enemies with each other, now all watching a friendly bobstone contest, Blueberry spoke. "Bobstone guess...."