The Guardians of the Woods [#JustWriteIt]

Chapter Fourteen: "I hope this'll work,"

*What's this? Have I made my own art for once? Oh my goodness! Well, I just drew on a rock texture BG.*

    We finally made it to the Rabbit Meadows. It was quite peaceful, the first herbivore place I've been to in a while. Staying in carnivore lands made me feel uneasy.

    I looked at Milu and noticed that he was worried. "Milu, what's wrong?" I asked him.

    Milu sighed and shook his head. "All rabbits look the same. How will you know if it's the right one?" he asked me.

    My ears lowered. "Uh...Well, maybe his voice? He had a distinct voice."

    A bunch of young rabbits hopped past us, laughing and cheering. I hoped that they were playing with permission, unlike Cameron. The rabbits seem like nice animals, maybe the one from my dream will be kind like Cole.

    Suddenly, a large brown hare came over to us. I flinched, remembering the demon rabbit that attacked me. I expected the rabbit to launch at me and attack for some reason, even though I knew it wasn't affected.

    "Christoph? Is that you?" Milu asked, lowering himself.

    The hare stood up on its hind legs and nodded. "Yes, Prince Milu. Why is there only a fox and a bear with you? Katie told us that you'd visited the wolves," he asked Milu.

    "The wolf didn't want to come, and the owl needs a little time before she leaves," Milu explained. "Do you have any rabbit kits with tree related names?"

    Christoph thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes, we do. Sadie's litter have tree themed names. Odd, I'd say. But to each their own, I guess."

    Christoph led us to a burrow and went inside of it. After a few seconds, he and another rabbit hopped out. 

    "Milu, this is Sadie. Sadie, this is Prince Milu." he introduced. 

    Sadie gasped and bowed out of respect. "Hello, Prince Milu, why are you here?" she asked him.

    "Christoph has told me that you have 'tree themed names' for your kits. Is this right?" Milu asked Sadie, who sat up.

    "Yes, I do. Oak, Fir, Maple, Birch, and Willow," she said, nodding.

    Milu narrowed his eyes. "Nobody name Pine?" he asked.

    Sadie flinched when Milu said the name. "W-well, I used to. B-but...Pine passed away soon after he was born. His lungs weren't d-developed properly so then he couldn't breathe." It seemed like she was starting to cry.

    Milu's ears flattened when he realized what he had said. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to bring it up," he said, leaning forward to her.

    "No, it's alright. You didn't know," Sadie sniffled.

    "May we see your kits right now?" Milu asked her, sounding guilty. 

    Sadie nodded and went back into the burrow. Five little kits hopped out, sniffing the air. They were young, yet had their eyes open. 

    I looked up at Milu. "None of them," I sighed.

    Milu closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's fine. Let's go."

~*~*~

    We went back to the forest. It was a cold night. I had no idea where we were going, but Milu told us that it was important. We arrived at a lake, the same one from my dream. Well, not the same colors. The part that was different from my dream was that there was a giant, flat rock in front of it. I noticed engravings on it, but I didn't see what exactly they were.