Intro This is my novelette, Foragers, about rabbits in meadow systems facing the evil of an infection trying to destroy their homes and sacred traditions from generations past. I hope you enjoy this novelette inspired by Warrior cats and other zombie stories! <3 I worked hard on it. But yeah TW // Guts, Violence, Depressing/Distressing themes, blood, cannibalism implied, etc. throughout the whole story. This is your warning and explanation, thanks for taking the time to look at this! Love, the author, -Celeste. Prologue The medicine rabbit galloped across the forest floor. Not often would she wander this far. She collected the poppy seeds quickly, not to be seen. Sudden shifts in the bracken made her ears raise up. A cat, a small one. Before it could even leap she twisted right around and darted off to the other bush in the center of this part of the forest. But the trodding noise of the cat did not comply. She raised half her head out of the bush, just to take a peek. The cat lurched forward, looking for her. But something was very wrong. It smelled like rotten onions, it moved as if half alive. Then, when she looked at its stomach, It was ripped right open, maggots writhing out of its intestines. Her heart sank. No sickness was quite like this. She felt adrenaline pulse through her tiny body. What happened to this cat? She thought grimly. I…have to tell our leader! She suddenly leaped as fast as she could, still carrying the seeds. Not looking back.
Chapter 1 Jasmine was alone. Sleeping peacefully in her burrow. Light seeping through the hole at the top. Her flanks rose and fell softly as she breathed. Her eyes opened and she crawled up to the grassy meadow. She felt a surge of pride as she saw the grass waving to her. She just got her forager name after her sigil the night before. “Hey Jasmine!” A voice called from behind. It was Jasmine’s best friend, Aster. “Hey Aster! How’ve you slept since the vigil?” “Not well, I had a nightmare.” “Awh I’m sorry..what about?” “Remember when you walked off to your burrow to sleep?” Aster asked. “Uhm yes?” her nose twitched uncomfortably. “Bluebell came back in a panic and told the leader something that made him horrified.” “What could’ve been that bad?” Jasmine muttered out of shock. Aster shrugged. “No clue. Anyways want to go forage with me?” “Sure!” The two rabbits ran off deeper into the meadow. The path that had been marked with thousands of pawsteps from generations past, led the two she-rabbits to the Twoleg greenplace. “Maybe we can get some pumpkins!” Jasmine exclaimed. As she jumped excitedly, Her pelt rippled in the noon’s wind. “The pumpkins are not ripe yet, it’s flowerbloom.” Aster explained. Jasmine’s puffy tail swished back and forth. “Well maybe later we can get some!” She suggested giddily stomping one of her back feet. “Yes I think so.” Aster proposed to Jasmine cooly. The two walked over to the big brown rock barriers that held the food they needed dearly. Jasmine rooted the carrot deep out of the dirt with her long teeth. Aster hopped over to the patch of kale and pulled out some roots of it with her teeth, smiling at their success. As the two she-rabbits padded away under the tree gate onto the path, Jasmine let the afternoon wind brush past her pelt. The wilderness was the best part of living. The way the creek’s birdsong flooded the air, the crunch of a leaf along a path, speaking about it with others too. She couldn’t live without it, it's what made her truly free. They returned to the nest warily, tired from their first trip as foragers. They stopped by the collection pile to drop off their offering to the nest. Aster picked out an onion, she always had a strange taste in vegetables. “Are you going to come eat with Peony and Poppy?” Aster asked. Jasmine looked around as she heard the sound of an agonized groan. “J-just a minute!” Aster seemed confused, her expression made Jasmine remember she had better hearing then her peers. Aster waved goodbye as her friend trodded away. The groaning rang out again. Her ears pinned upward and she hopped over to investigate the noise. It came from Bluebell, the medicine rabbit’s burrow. Jasmine popped her head into the burrow’s entryway and looked around. There was a rabbit that was lying on its side. He was the one groaning in pain. Very strange. Jasmine thought with a twitch of her nose. Bluebell was currently chewing herbs to feed the male rabbit. Her eyes closed. The he-rabbit’s fur seemed trampled and he had a nasty bite. I'm surprised he’s still alive! Jasmine chuckled out loud. She covered her mouth with her paw when she realized she revealed she was there. Bluebell opened her eyes and looked up. She spat out the herbs onto a small stone at once. “Who’s there?” She commanded. Jasmine sighed as she realized Bluebell’s burrow was quite dark, though it wouldn’t take long for Bluebell’s eyes to adjust. “Bluebell, what's happening?” Jasmine asked politely. As Bluebell stamped forward she glared at the she-rabbit. “You need to leave.” she shouted. “Why?” Jasmine asked. “This operation is for medicine rabbits ONLY.” She stomped her front paws. “B-but-” Jasmine turned her head over past Bluebell to see the he-rabbit, still suffering. “No buts! Just leave or else you’ll become infected!” She finally admitted. It just occurred to Jasmine that in the daylight, Bluebell’s coat shimmered like freshly ground rocks. But in her burrow her coat was bland and dark grey like the paved grey paths Twolegs walked upon. She realized this when Bluebell’s ears pinned straight up, covering the injured he-rabbit. “A-Alright!” Jasmine stammered. She held her head up out of the burrow. She was quite harsh! Well… I suppose for a good reason, the forest and mountain were flooding with some kind of new infection? Jasmine pondered. She looked up to see the amber sky, and quickly realized she was starving. Mealtime is almost over now. She took one last look at the sunset and dashed to the collection pile. Chapter 1 and prologue: You are here :3 Next chapter:
