Ride, Lotte Ride

The wind blew harshly through Lotte's fur as the ground blurred far below her. The hawk's talons gripped her shoulders tighter than she would have liked, but when she considered the option of being let go she decided that a little pain now was preferable to falling to the ground. In the darkness of the night she could see Gilchrist's hawk flying a little to the right of hers.

Then there was the silence. Or rather the lack of it; her transport seemed to have decided that she would want to be entertained during the flight. So he was singing to her. He had a powerful voice and it was the only thing she could hear on this windswept flight.

" 'Eres one my mother taught me - she said this was by some cousins of ours." He cleared his throat and started singing:

"I've been running down the road, tryin' to loosen my load..."

Lotte attempted to ignore the voice and thought back to the past day's events. Firstly, the warren had been invaded by, well, some force unknown. She and Cola had been directed out of the warren on a wild bunny-chase only to be found by Gilchrist. By then the warren was lost and Gilchrist took them away for safety.

They had travelled far and fast - and, as evening fell Cola persuaded Gilchrist and Lotte to return to the warren without her.

Gilchrist had gathered their belongings in silence then took Lotte by the paw and they slid off into the forest, leaving a sleeping Cola.

"It's what she wanted." Gilchrist said as he felt Lotte slow and he saw her eyes were turned back to where they had left Cola. "We must be quick if we are to get back before morning."

Lotte trampled after the black buck, despondent at leaving her friend, but, possibly more than that, just tired after a hard day on foot.

They broke out into a small clearing where they, luckily, came across a pair of hawks who agreed to fly them home to the warren. Gilchrist dealt with the birds as Lotte fought back sleep. Gilchrist had to wake her from a gently slumber. "We're ready to fly now. They've agreed to take us back." He stared down at the tired doe. "You'll have to try to stay awake for the flight - it's safer that way." He held out his paw to Lotte, "Come on, girl."

She tottered out and managed to stay upright as the hawks took off, then flew back down to pick their passengers up. Lotte was dragged fully awake as the raptor's talons grabbed her and yanked her off of the comforting earth into the foreign sky.

"If rabbits were meant to fly, God would have bought us first-class tickets" was the old saying. Based upon the sharp pricking in her shoulders Lotte was sure that this certainly wasn't first class.

"Wake Up! We're Nearly There!" Came a shout from her hawk. Lotte pulled open her sleepy eyes - yes she could feel the air rushing up at her rather than over. The hawk was shouting something then she realised he was counting down.

"Three! Two! One! Landed!" She managed to realise what was happening just before her paws touched ground, so she was just able to prepare herself so that she landed just slightly unlike a sack of potatoes rather than completely like one.

She stood on the ground on all fours hyperventilating after the rush of the decent. She looked up to see Gilchrist paying the hawks.

Looking around she was pleased to recognise her surroundings - they had been dropped off on top of the warren- and surprised to see a glow of light over the hills - the sun was rising! They had flown all night!

She stood up and was rubbing her tired shoulders as Gilchrist strode over, a smile upon his lips.

He held a hand out and helped her up on her back paws. He looked down and smiled into her eyes. She immediately felt her knees growing weak as she stood in his gaze.

His paw raised her chin up and he lowered his face to hers. She closed her eyes - no one could keep looking at that magnificent coney from this distance and keep sane - and pursed her lips.

He kissed her hard and his paws glided over her fur, touching her Here, and Here and, to make matters worse, Here. Her legs surrendered to the pull of gravity and for an instant her held her off of the ground before gently lowering her, continuing the kissing as they dropped.

Gilchrist's hands wove their magic spell over Lotte's flesh and she lost anything resembling control and melted passionately into his embrace.

---*---

Daylight through verdant blades of grass. Our viewpoint is at ground level with the worms (although there are none here at the moment - probably off fighting somewhere) and so we can't see much. We can, however, hear noises - a thump, two thuds and then, again and again, a thump and two thuds repeated and steadily growing louder. As they get ever louder we can hear heavy breathing as if of an animal that's been pushing itself hard.

Thump. Thud, Thud.

Thump. Thud, Thud.

Thump. Thud, Thud.

We are nearly knocked over as a steel-shod pole of wood lands next to our viewpoint from behind us, closely followed by a pair of rabbit's back paws that pass us and rush off towards the sun.

---*---

Another place.

We're at the top of a tree, next to a wiry, ageing buck who is staring down at the warren. You can just see a pair of figures cavorting, probably rutting, at the apex of the upturned-bowl that is the home of so many rabbits.

Cadam (for it is he) tsks as an old man should whilst overseeing all that he loves fall apart, and clambers down the tree.

"Never did like trees." He says to himself as he reaches the ground. "I think they've done for you, Phearson old boy." He says shaking his head.

He kicks dirt over the remnants of a small fire he'd lit the night before.

He casts a final look back towards the warren, hidden by the wood's trees but he knows where it is. "It's not safe there for any of the old school now." He picks up a short pole with a full, red-spotted handkerchief tied to the end and slings it over his shoulder and turns away from his old home.

"Let's see what's out here." He says as he saunters off.

---*---

In the throes of orgasm, Lotte was suddenly made painfully aware that they were no longer alone. This realisation broke the spell and she floundered. Gilchrist didn't break rhythm and pumped his seed into her even while acknowledging the presence of others.

He took a few deep breaths then parted from Lotte and turned to his audience, standing to his full height. Lotte attempted to hide behind him.

"Frank." He said to the watcher. "Status."

The coney saluted and stared to the left of Gilchrist's head. "Warren under our control. The Old Guard has been cooked." He smiled a little as he said that, "A few missing, including that message bunny Phump, but no surprises and nothing of any danger."

"Good." Gilchrist said in the clipped tones he keeps for underlings. "Any sight of the Carrot?"

Frank shook his head, "No, sir. Still looking."

Gilchrist turned to Lotte, and offered his paw to her. Taking it she stood up. Confused by Gilchrist's conversation with the young buck she recognised as one of the new guard bucks he'd brought in recently.

"Lotte." He said, staring down at her eyes again, "This is important," he paused for effect, "Do you know where the Golden Carrot was hidden?"

She nodded. "It wasn't hidden as such." Gilchrist's turn to nod, "It was broken and wasn't really Gold, so it wasn't worth anything, really."

"No," Gilchrist said softly, "but I may still be able to make some use of it."

"It's buried with Gorden." Lotte said quietly. "It seemed like a fitting resting place. It was his quest, after all."

Gilchrist turned back to Frank. "You heard?" Frank nodded. "I'll be in the Head Buck's rooms." Frank nodded again and rushed off.

Lotte looked shocked, "You're not going to dig it up?"

"Of course not," Gilchrist said, and for a moment Lotte breathed easily, then he completed with "That's what underlings are for." Lotte felt a shiver run down her back and didn't feel as safe as she had when they had just landed. No one iota.

Gilchrist took her paw, it was a mixture of gentleness and force that both chilled and excited Lotte, and he led he off into the warren.

---*---

We're back with the worms; we have the same viewpoint of the same place.

The sunlight glints higher now, 'though.

Again, the sound of running coney gets louder and we hear the noises again:

Thump. Thud, Thud.

Thump. Thud, Thud.

This time they emanate from one side. Finally, the paws and staff thump past us, racing from our left to our right. Slowly the noises fade off into the distance.

---*---

A slightly tubby young buck is sleeping on a mound of leaves in the woods. Over him stands a greying buck with more than a hint of tramp about him. His rough coat has holes in all the wrong places and it looks more like a set of ragged fairy wings than something that would keep you warm at night.

He kicks the sleeping coney, gently but not so much so as to leave him in any doubt about being kicked.

"Wake up it's a beautiful morning" He sings as he prods the younger buck, then stops and bends down to the still slumbering buck, "Wake up, BOO!" He shouts.

With a start the young buck opens his eyes and shakes all over like a jellyfish.

"Wowowowoooooo!" The younger buck says as he is shaken awake. He is not immediately cognisant. "Where am I?" He says floundering around. Finally recognising his coney-shaped alarm clock. "Oh, it's you, Malc." Phump says rubbing his eyes for the sixteenth time.

"The black queen chants the funeral march!" Malc sings to him with urgency.

Phump gets to his feet. "I wonder if I was mad, would I understand what you say?"

"The return of the Los Palmos two." Malcolm says turning away from Phump and walking two steps then turning to face him. "Run, run away."

"I can't run away," Phump says to him, "I've got to go back, Cola and Lotte could still be alive and they'll need my help." He looks at his feet. "We should never have trusted him."

"No sympathy for the devil."

"I've got to go back."

Something in Malc seems to break, "You're nuts! You can't help them! He's taken control and he won't let go!" Malc grabs Phump by the shoulders, "You haven't seen him do the things I've seen."

Phump is visibly shaken, "You're sane? Why do you...?"

"Who says I'm sane?" Malc says with wide eyes, then as if by way of explanation, "Sometime when those around me act nuts I look as though I'm the sane one." He lets go of the confused young buck. "Come on, we've got to make a safe distance before he can turn it on again." Malcolm turns away from Phump and walks two steps away (as is his want) "I can show you some of the people in my life..." He says before starting off into the woods away from Phump.

With a grunt Phump tramps after him.

---*---

This time we're next to a worm. In true cartoon style he's sitting in a deck chair reading a newspaper. There is no shade - the spring sun is directly overhead.

Again, the sound of a running coney gets louder and we hear the noises again:

Thump. Thud, Thud.

Thump. Thud, Thud.

From in front of us we can see the paws and staff hitting the ground, maybe not as steadily as the last couple of times, but relentless none the less. The paws and staff rush past us, slowly the noises fade off behind us.

The worm folds his newspaper up and turns to us.

"Well, that's not something you see every day." He says before disappearing down a hole.

---*---

Lotte sat quietly on the floor in the corner of Cola's office.

Cola's office! She snorted to herself. It didn't look like it anymore! Gilchrist had moved in with a vengeance. All the warmth and softness of the office has disappeared, any sign of Cola's custody of the offices had been removed. From somewhere a large portrait of Gilchrist has been found and adorned the wall behind the desk, which had been moved so that it stood opposite the door. Except for his chair, the seating had been removed; visitors were expected to stand. The visitors seemed to expect this. And he had a lot of visitors. There seemed to be a new security force with a new uniform. It's amazing what can happen in one day, Lotte wondered.

A large array of things stood on the desktop.

The platinum pear that the moles had discovered and delivered stood in the centre - but Gilchrist had opened it up and scooped its contents out - what looked like a mixture of mechanical and organic things that Lotte really didn't want to pay attention to.

There were two trays - one of wooden rings (there were lots of these) and one with a few plain golden rings. Gilchrist wore one golden ring on his right front paw. He gave a wooden ring to many of the conies that visited. He had not given Lotte either.

Thump-Thump on the door.

Three or four heartbeats later Gilchrist spoke the single word "Enter.", he continued pottering about with the things on the desk.

The door opened and in came Frank and (Lotte had learnt) Ernie, holding a sack between them. They were filthy, as if they had been digging in mud.

They dropped the sack onto the floor.

"Don't ask us to do that again." Ernie said.

Gilchrist had not turned but said quietly and with some venom, "Get that off the floor, now." He didn't need to raise his voice; the two bucks looked scared to death by his tone and grabbed the sack up.

Lotte was pleased to see that his lieutenants were as scared of him as she was.

She realised that she had admitted something she didn't realise until then. She was scared of him. She'd known him and they'd shared a bed for weeks but she hadn't really known him until today. She felt sick in her stomach every time she realised that they'd left Cola all alone, miles away in the forest with no friends and nothing but her staff. She was sure that Gilchrist was behind everything. Looking at the events of the past few weeks and, particularly, of the last couple of days, she wanted to kick herself for not seeing beyond his manners and eyes and muscles.

"Where would you like them, er, it, sir?" Ernie said passively.

Gilchrist pointed to the end of the desk. The two stepped gently across the room and fished into the sack to pull out the two tarnished parts of the fabled Golden Carrot.

Gilchrist looked at the two parts and nodded.

"Thank you, that will be all." He said to them. They looked at each other and Frank got his courage up.

"Do we get a ring sir?"

"I haven't decided, yet." Gilchrist said, picking up the head-piece of the carrot, he still hadn't looked directly at them, "I'll send for you later."

"But..." Ernie began.

"Of course you're just making my decision easier." Gilchrist said as he examined the carrot.

"Yes, Sir!" the pair said in tandem. They twirled and left the room as fast as decorum would allow, well maybe a little faster than that.

"I can see you're wondering." Gilchrist said to Lotte without looking away from his work, "But don't worry, they will get their rings. They've grown a little familiar and it always helps to shake up the familiar every so often, don't you think?"

Lotte could tell that he didn't want an answer. She didn't agree with him anyway, but she doubted that she could sway his opinion.

---*---

The afternoon is well underway, the shadows on the grass are lengthening and we're wondering why we're back here again. Well let's face it we're not wondering much; we're pretty sure why we're here, but just to be sure...

If we strain our ears we can hear the sound of a coney plodding through the forest. The plodding gets louder and we hear the distinct noises again:

Thump... Thud... Thud...

Thump... Thud... Thud...

Finally, from our right hand side we can see the paws and staff hitting the ground, not steady at all, but the relentlessness hasn't diminished one jot. The paws and staff push past us and, slowly, the noises fade off to the left. After all this we wouldn't be surprised to see Scooby Doo and Shaggy following the coney.

---*---

He worked at the things, connecting pieces of the pear to the carrot and fiddling with the carrot and the innards of the pear.

He stepped back from the desk.

"Make me a drink, girl." His words were aimed at Lotte even if his eyes weren't. "Scotch will do." She didn't move. He turned to look at her. "The cabinet over there" He motioned. Lotte stared back at him. He took a step towards her. "You will do as I say, girl. You don't have options. You don't have a free will." He had a little laugh to himself. "Not for much longer anyway." He took a step neared and Lotte finally broke. She couldn't face the power of this buck and not bow to his will. She was a weak-willed doe. That's how he'd tricked her, how he'd tricked Cola.

She clambered up to her feet and padded over to the drinks cabinet and poured a drink for her master.

He took the drink from her and put a hand on her shoulder as she made to return to her corner.

"Do you think they're ready?" He said taking a sip from the glass. Lotte couldn't answer; she had no idea what he going on about. "Do you think they know?"

He looked through the golden liquid in the glass at the apparatus he had constructed, as if toasting it.

He quaffed the drink in one last swig.

"I think I'll let Francis and Ernest have a little lesson. If I give them the ring after I turn this on they will truly understand my leniency. "

"You, however, my dear, I can't afford to have running around loose, I'm afraid." Gilchrist touched the ring on his right hand and held his hand out to her. "Take my paw for now, girl."

Scared she reached her paw out tentatively - Gilchrist took it in his steel grip, examining the position of the ring and her fingers. He stepped towards his Heath-Robinson affair of wires tubes and, well, things, and picked up the carrot head. He flicked the carrot top and the machinery begun to hum.

He took a deep breath as if it was morning and he'd just woken up, then smiled.

"It's not as efficient as the original. I have had to cannibalise parts of the pear that were never supposed to be used outside of their original brief. But, By Jove I think we've done it!"

Lotte had no idea what he was talking about until he turned to her and let go of her hand. As her fur left the touch of the golden ring, the humming of the machine seemed to grow and her mind seemed to drift into butter. Her thoughts became sluggish and she felt as though she was falling into a big black pit.

Gilchrist looked down at the doe at his feet. She looked back in plain and simple adulation. He raised her chin up. "I think I will call you doe number one." He said, not unkindly.

He walked to the door of the offices and opened it, he called the guard buck in from outside.

"Matt. It is working." Gilchrist looked at the wooden ring on the hand of the guard coney - this wooden ring held enough technology to resist the effects of the carrot, whereas conies with a gold ring would experience the beneficial effects of the carrot. Conies with neither ring would lose all personal control and become mere drones to the will of the carrot and so the be-ringed conies.

"Fetch Francis and Ernest. I will give them their rings now." He smiled as the guard buck left.

---*---

The sun is sinking and an old doe is stirring a pot of steaming broth. She has two bowls on her table but her little hole is only big enough for one. There is a small cot in the corner big enough for one and the bowls and cutlery are mismatched, as if she doesn't own more than one of anything.

There is a panting noise outside the open door of the hole.

"Come in!" The old doe shouts, "I've made enough for us both."

A confused Cola enters the room. "You must be mistaking me for someone else," she pants, "I'm lost. I'm not from round here."

"I know. Come in and sit down. I hope you like carrot stew."