Entering the new colony was exciting until Comet remembered this was where Blue and Bone had lived. He couldn’t tell what Blue was thinking, but he kept to himself.
Comet wondered if his family knew what happened to Bone and if they regretted letting him be a Seeker.
Deeper into the colony, the scenery was very different to Silver Colony. The trees and fallen logs that covered the land appeared lifeless. In a world of black, white and grey, the only colours came from the vines, bushes and tufts of grass that scattered the colony.
Their journey was progressing smoothly until they were approached by two rabbits, one white and the other blue-grey.
“Hello, My name is Luxe and this is Cobalt. What are you doing here?”
“We just want to pass through.” Said Comet shyly.
“Why?” Asked Luxe.
”Well, um...” Comet hesitated.
“It’s none of your business. Move aside.” Ordered Arrow.
“Are you on a mission?” Asked Luxe
“Did the Magia send you?” Added Cobalt.
“Enough.” Said Arrow, attempting to push past them but Cobalt blocked their path.
”Did you get Nove’s permission to pass through?”
”No, but a Watcher gave us permission.” He said.
”We’ll let him know then.” Said Cobalt.
”That isn’t necessary!” Arrow called but they were already gone.
Arrow growled with frustration. “Now the whole colony will know we’re here. We have to move faster.”
”They were bound to find us anyway, it's just over a day's journey though here isn’t it?” Asked Rusty.
”Yes, but I was hoping sticking to the outskirts of the colony would help us avoid anyone. I just hope those rabbits don’t go telling everyone… but knowing Porcelain Colony rabbits, they probably will.”
”Aren’t you a Porcelain Colony rabbit?” Asked Comet.
“Yes, of course I am… but a lot of Porcelain rabbits are way too curious and nosy for their own good. Keep watch over your belongings, they don’t quite grasp the concept of personal property.”
“Then we should go to the Magia council here and ask them to send some Watchers or guards out to stop that.” Suggested Rusty.
”That’ll just slow us down. Hurry up.” He said and nearly broke out into a sprint. It was difficult to keep up wearing satchel bags.
Rusty kept pausing and looking around him, like he was waiting for someone to appear any moment.
Then rabbits did appear, a lot of them. It looked like Luxe and Cobalt had bought the whole of Porcelain Colony to meet them.
“Hey, go back to your roles.” Demanded Arrow but they either didn’t hear or chose to ignore him. They crowded around the group, asking many questions and began rifling through their bags.
“Don’t touch that.” Comet snapped.
”Give that back.” Pleaded Blue as a rabbit rummaged through his bag.
“We have to find the Porcelain Magia or we’ll lose everything.” Said Comet.
“But—“ Began Arrow.
“We don’t have a choice.” Said Rusty.
”Let’s go then.” Said Arrow gruffly and they barged through the crowd.
The rabbits didn’t chase them, they just seemed a bit confused.
They arrived at the wall of a large grey ruined building, with arches and a broken stained glass window. It looked beautiful in the sunlight. A huge white log lay in front of it, covered with vibrant, intricate patterns.
They didn’t have time to stop and admire it though as Arrow led them straight through the end of the hollow log and into the warren.
Pushing through the rabbits that had stayed in the warren, they came to the central hall. The domed hall branched into various tunnels, with a large table at the centre of it, surrounded by numerous rabbits.
Comet felt very claustrophobic and overwhelmed, Blue didn’t seem particularly happy about the situation either. Only Rusty seemed unbothered.
“Nove! ” Called Arrow, finally spotting the rabbit he was looking for.
“Why are you here? I was told by Janu you were passing through.” Said Nove. He wore a pendant emblem around his neck.
”We were until the colony swarmed us like rats.” Said Arrow furiously. “We need some guards to protect us.”
As Arrow and Magia Nove discussed the best rabbits for the job, Comet noticed his satchel was somewhat lighter. He was horrified to find some of his food, herbs and worst of all, the silver and porcelain resources were gone.
”Hey, Blue, do you have all your stuff?” He asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?” He asked but still checked his satchels. “I can’t believe my own colony would steal from me, they took my food and herbs!”
“What’s the problem?” Asked Nove, seeing their distress.
”They took our stuff, even some of the items we need to create—“ Began Comet but Nove cut him off and said in a low voice.
“You need to keep your mission a secret, you never know who’s listening.”
”Sorry.” Said Comet.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help get your items back.” He said. “Follow me.”
They left the warren and they gathered around the front of the log. The Magia sent out messengers to quickly gather the colony which was still full of energy, unfocused and demanding answers. Comet had no idea how Nove would get them to settle down.
Nove touched his emblem and a moment later, the crowd calmed down and seemed sort of confused. When Comet noticed they were all wearing glowing porcelain pendants, he worked out what happened. It made him uncomfortable but it did seem to work.
“These rabbits and hare are on an important mission to help the valley, they need to travel quickly. Before they can do that, anyone who took something from their bags must return them immediately.” He said sternly.
Items were reluctantly returned to them, but they were only their food and herbs.
“Sorry about that, our Council has been trying to teach them but it’s harder to change a culture than you might think.” Said Nove, shaking his head.
“It’s alright, we’ll be on our way now.” Said Arrow.
”We can’t leave yet. We don’t have the silver and porcelain.”
“I don’t think they would have stolen that… they aren’t usually drawn to those things but I’ll check.” He said and then touched his porcelain medallion. He shook his head.
“All of you may return to your roles.” He announced and crowd dispersed.
“Whoever took it, must have left the valley. Just when you think you’ve gotten rid of all the rebels, you find some more hiding in the colony.” He said gravelly. “Don’t worry, you can stay here and eat with the colony while I send my guards and Watchers to find them .”
”If we don’t leave now, we’ll have to stay here overnight. It’ll be too dark to travel.” Said Arrow.
”That’s alright, that’s why we gave you a week for this mission.”
”We?” Asked Comet.
”Yes, the Magia leaders of every colony planned out your mission carefully. We suspected something like this might have happened to slow down your progress.” He said.
Comet nodded. Of course they’d planned it all out.
“If we have to stay, where will we sleep?” Asked Blue flatly. He didn’t have his usual energy at all.
”We have a spare burrow you can sleep in, but first, you should come and put your belongings into the treasury. The rest of the colony isn’t allowed in there.”
They followed Nove down a separate tunnel from the central warren hub. None of them had guards, except for one which they entered.
The treasury was filled with porcelain, carefully arranged even if some were cracked or broken. Much of the porcelain was covered with detailed patterns and artwork.
They removed their satchels and as they were about to leave, Blue spoke up.
”I’ve heard the colony talking, my family, they’re asking where Bone is, why haven’t you told him that he’s dead?”
”That’s IvoryHeart’s job.” Said Nove, unbothered by Blue’s distress.
”What happened to IvoryFoot? I thought he was the leader?” Asked Arrow.
”He was until he died of disease.” Replied Nove.
”Seems like the Magia can’t be bothered to tell us anything.” Said Blue, storming off.
”Where are you going?” Demanded Nove.
Blue paused. “I’m telling the colony about Bone.”
He continued down the dim passageway while others were too shocked to do or say anything for a moment.
”I guess we should go to see how this turns out.” Suggested Rusty.
They found Blue outside the warren, gathering the rabbits who were now having a break for lunch.
“Sorry for this interruption but I’ve heard you asking where Bone is and I need to let you know… that, that he’s dead!” He announced.
The crowd immediately erupted into chaos, demanding answers.
“He’s dead because the Magia pushed us to battle the rebels before we were ready. They forced us to keep fighting even after we discovered that the wild rabbits had returned.” He yelled, his voice furious and rambling. As he finished, he noticed Nove’s stern glare and recoiled, realising the weight of his words.
“Sorry, I know you had your reasons, but —“ He began.
“Be quiet and I’ll explain what really happened.” He said. He then pressed the porcelain emblem. Confusion swept over the rabbit again. Comet was horrified. How often was he going to manipulate the rabbit's memories? How much have they already forgotten?
“Yes, Bone is gone, as are many others. They went to fight the rebels only to be ambushed by wild rabbits. It was too late to retreat. We know it was a risky battle but we had no choice, the Golden Alliance had threatened war with us and we wanted to get rid of another threat before we have to face them.” He said then left.
“Now, next time be careful about what you say.” He warned sternly then went back into the warren.
“Well that’s going to give them something to talk about over lunch.” Said Arrow.
”You know, it was pretty satisfying getting that all out.” Said Blue.
“That’s great” Said Comet, though he wasn’t sure if they remembered anything he said, “But we should go and check on IvoryHeart. He was the one who was meant to tell the colony this information.” Maybe he could also help reduce the Magia’s influence. Surely, he must be concerned about his colony’s memories being erased on the daily.
ns 18.68.41.179da2
