Talking to a bird was not as terrifying as Comet had feared and for the rest of the afternoon, they trained.206Please respect copyright.PENANAfD8JuNItsv
Comet stayed the night in the cave but awoke to the sound of frantic movement. He got out of his bedding, expecting to see Nightwing but instead saw Bone, looking around anxiously.206Please respect copyright.PENANAMQ0z5q2Amm
“What are you doing here?” Comet whispered.
“Looking for you.” He said. “The Magia has started the battle, we aren’t ready. You said you’d change their mind.”
“I did but Orion wouldn’t let me, I can help though. I can use my powers.”
“Fine, but hurry. I’m supposed to be at the battle right now.” He said, looking over his shoulder.206Please respect copyright.PENANAnzFgcezlRl
“You shouldn’t be here.” Said Orion, his voice startling them.
“I’m very sorry.” Said Bone, bowing. “I came looking for help.”
“I know. I’m sorry the Magia has done this but Comet will come.” He said. He then removed Comet’s necklace and placed a diamond pendant on it next to his diamond one and placed it back on him.
“Thank you.” He said, very grateful that Orion had decided that he was worthy of it.
“You should carry precious stones in case you want to use their power from a distance.” He said, then he placed a sash made of densely woven grass around him, on the side was a small pouch.
“Hopefully it isn’t too heavy for you.”
“Not at all, thank you.” He said. 206Please respect copyright.PENANAbT7GQLRIMv
“Ok let’s go-“ Began Bone who’d been pacing anxiously until he saw Magia Janu with some other Magia council members.206Please respect copyright.PENANAIe0rcFH5m3
“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked.
“I’m going to fight in the battle against the rebels. We’re leaving now.” He said, trying to get past him. Janu put his paw out to block him.
“You have your training to complete. While you…” He said, turning to terrified Bone, “need to go and join the others, I can’t trust any of you, you’re all traitors in my mind.”206Please respect copyright.PENANAtykMaa06l6
Bone quickly bolted out of the cave.
“He’s not a traitor, he just could see that the colony wasn’t ready for another big battle so soon. Why did you think it was a good idea?” Demanded Comet. He could sense Orion was giving him a disapproving look but he didn’t care, he wanted answers.
“RiverCharm sent a messenger to say that he has now decided to reject the trial and joined Gold Colony’s Golden Alliance. We need to get rid of the rebels so we don’t have to fight two enemies at once.”
“But couldn’t you have waited to be more prepared, a lot of rabbits were injured yesterday and a lot of them will die today.”
“Just less potential traitors in my mind, Silver Colony has been full of the most disloyal and selfish rabbits we’ve had the displeasure of governing.”
“You want them to die?” He asked, in horror.206Please respect copyright.PENANAXmYCAC3t3q
“Not all of them, but enough to make them easier to manage.”
“You can’t do that!” Growled Comet.
“You can’t tell us what to do, did you know the reason RiverCharm rejected the trial is because you’re here!” He said.
“I don’t understand.” He looked at Orion who sighed.
“RiverCharm hates magic and was hoping that once I die, magic would die with it but now they know you’re here, they know that won’t happen.”
“Yes, I’m sure it’s those traitorous rabbits that told them. Anyway, that’s why you need to stay here, so no other rabbits see you.”
“I’m not staying here for the rest of my life like Orion.” He said.
“You don’t have a choice.” He said.
Comet and Janu growled at each other, ready to attack. 206Please respect copyright.PENANARdUcsMCdCR
“What if you recreated the Master-Medallion, that could solve your problems.”
“I’ve told you before, giving every rabbit in the colony the powers of fortune would be a disaster. The Diamond Magia himself is against the idea.”
“The power of Master-Medallion can only be used by those who have been initiated. It will be a powerful weapon against the Golden Alliance.”
Janu thought for a moment. “Hmm, but do you need to be a hare to use the master-medallion?”
“No, in the past, it was protected by a special group of rabbits who included the healers, leaders and masters of every colony. But it would need a lot of energy to activate it, the power of a hare would be very useful.”
“I’ll discuss your idea with the Diamond Magia, if he were to agree to it, we would have to re-create it. Comet would be the one to do that.”
“I didn’t think you would trust me enough.”
“I don’t, which is why I’ll send other rabbits with you.”206Please respect copyright.PENANAn35xwMbHwb
“He still needs to complete his trial.” Said Orion, it was the first time Comet had seen him look uncertain about something.
“Fighting in the battle can be the trial.” Said Janu. “You seemed happy enough to go let him fight.”
“What do you want to do Comet? You know you’ve only learnt two resources and you would have to travel across the valley to recreate the Master-Medallion.”
“I can do it. I know how to use Diamond, you can talk to me.” He said. He was eager to explore the valley, and would do just about anything to make sure he wouldn’t be confined to the cave. 206Please respect copyright.PENANArS0bUZNSQB
Orion still looked a bit conflicted. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back after the trial and you’ll have another day or two to train him so more.” Said Janu.
“Fine, this battle will be your trial. I will watch your progress through your silver pendant.” Said Orion.206Please respect copyright.PENANAXgzPi8orQJ
Comet was glad to be free of the secrecy of the cave and headed to slope of the valley, figuring the battle would be near the thicket where they found the rebels.206Please respect copyright.PENANAfd50ow3o2h
Despite his determination, ascending the valley ended up being more time consuming than he had planned, as he was forced to stick to flat paths made by other rabbits. 206Please respect copyright.PENANAfo00UysuEY
Finally, he got to the top, and halted to survey the chaos: rabbits were engaged in a frenzied battle. The rabbits didn’t pay any attention to him. The large silver colony rabbits struggled against the relentless swarm of wild rabbits.
He was shocked. Why were there still wild rabbits? Where were the rebels? 206Please respect copyright.PENANAB3JyTvwj8i
He decided to try finding the thicket, haphazardly travelling through the chaos while trying to peer through the foliage. 206Please respect copyright.PENANALpQJyaMg22
He heard a resulting sound and saw a group of wild rabbits coming towards him. He panicked until he remembered that he had a way to defend himself now. Just as a rabbit lunged at him, he scraped the diamond stone, emitting a piercing sound that sent them all fleeing in terror.
The nearby rabbits stopped their fighting as well, disoriented by the sound. Some silver colony rabbits recovered quickly and were able to take the opportunity to counterattack but others were too affected to defend themselves against the wild rabbits attack.
Comet snorted in annoyance, what good was this power if it hurt his allies? 206Please respect copyright.PENANAPrgIgLOeEX
He didn’t want to stand around being useless though so he strategically used his diamond pendant to startle the rabbits and give the silver rabbits a chance to retreat and regroup. He kept heading towards the general direction to the thicket until he felt a tug of energy from silver.206Please respect copyright.PENANAYBPT9RcjtK
He focused on it and was drawn towards a bush where he saw Bone hiding, bleeding heavily.
“Bone, get up.” Said Comet, nudging him.
“Do you know where Blue is?” He said.
“Uh, give me a moment.” He said. Through the chaos of dozens of silver pendants, Comet managed to find the one worn by Blue.
“He’s nearby.” He said. “Come on.”206Please respect copyright.PENANABshEQo92PO
Bone used all his strength to get up and limp along but they didn’t get far until they were ambushed by a group of wild rabbits. Without thinking, he activated his pendant and the bright light and deafening sound was enough to send them fleeing.
He shoved Bone ahead of him, directing him to keep going straight ahead while he stayed behind to make sure they didn’t come back.206Please respect copyright.PENANAPP5k9xBxph
When he was satisfied they had gone, he raced ahead, he couldn’t see Bone anymore and frantically pushed forwards until he came to a familiar clearing. 206Please respect copyright.PENANA0FXTVovlK6
He saw Bone lying motionless alongside Blue, who rested next to him.
“Blue, Blue!” Cried Comet, shaking him gently.
“I’m alive, my poor brother isn’t.” He said, briefly opening his eyes before closing them again.206Please respect copyright.PENANAyYXtOL2V7v
Bone was still and lifeless. Comet breathed heavily. There was nothing he could do. He felt so helpless, so useless. 206Please respect copyright.PENANABVxOiT0Har
He couldn’t miraculously heal them despite all his training. There wasn’t the time to search for the right herbs and finding Ruby would take too long.
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