Comet kept glancing back as waited for Blue and Bone to squeeze through the hole. He half-expected Felicity to burst out at any second and yell at him. At least once he left, she wouldn’t bother him anymore.

“Hurry up.” Said Blue, startling Comet. He edged towards the hole, took a deep breath and darted through. On the other side, he nearly collided with Bone.

“Watch it.” Snapped Bone. “The most dangerous part of the valley is the journey there so slow down.”

Comet’s spirits lifted as he saw the farmhouse door was still shut. He was free. He jumped with excitement.

“Did you even listen to me? We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

“Sorry, it’s just… this is all so new to me,” Comet apologised, his excitement barely contained.

“Let him have fun, there’s no sign of any danger yet.” Said Blue.

Bone sighed. “Just be careful. This whole area is outside of Magia control and there’s almost nowhere for us to hide.”

Just then, the looming shadow of a bird swooped over them, Comet instinctively ducked.

“Maybe you have a point after all.” He muttered.

They cautiously hopped across the field, bathed in sunlight, with clusters of trees and bushes offering occasional cover.

“Let’s take a break for a moment, there’s some great looking grass near that thicket,” Suggested Blue.

Bone shook his head. “We can’t—“

“Please?” Begged Comet. He’d never travelled so far in his life and his whole body was exhausted.

“Fine, but just for a little bit.” Said Bone begrudgingly.

The grass was good but not as good as his grain. “What sort of food do you have in the valley?” Asked Comet.

“Oh, we have much better stuff than this, fruits, vegetables and all sorts of grasses.” Assured Blue.

“It is one of the few perks of being a Seeker.” Said Bone. Comet gave him a questioning look.

“It’s a role for rabbits that do missions for the Magia.” Explained Blue. “It’s a pretty hard job and you don’t get much credit for it.”

“Shh.” Bone cut in, suddenly on high alert.

“What? It’s true.” Said Bone defensively.

“Quiet, I think we’re being watched.” He whispered, eyes fixed on the thicket. “We need to go.”

They backed away from the thicket nervously. Bone’s fear was contagious.

Once they felt safe, Comet spoke up. “So, what was that about? You were really scaring me back there.” Said Comet.

“Rabbits.” Said Bone, glancing back.

“How do you know-?” Comet started to ask but stopped as he noticed movement in the thicket. Strange rabbits emerged, their eyes locked on the trio with anticipation.

“Are they friends of yours?’ Asked Comet hopefully.

“I wish..¦” Said Bone, his voice tense.

“They don’t look like wild rabbits though.” Said Blue then gasped. “Could they be the traitors?”

“Possibly, but we can’t fight them on our own, we’ll report back to the Magia. For now, run.” Bone urged in a hushed tone. Comet barely heard him, but Blue was already spiriting towards the treeline.

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The strange rabbits surged forwards in pursuit. Bone caught up to Blue but Comet, with his long legs, quickly overtook both of them.

They didn’t stop until they reached the treeline where the thick shrubbery forced them to slow down. They struggled for breath, all of them uneasy and tense as they expected their pursuers to appear at any moment.

Blue disappeared into the shrubbery then reappeared moments later. “They’ve given up.” He said. “Let’s rest for a moment.”

“Finally.” Said Comet, collapsing with exhaustion.

“You can rest once we get to the valley. We’re too close to a wild rabbit warren so we need to keep moving.” Said Bone, nudging Comet up.

“Those rabbits seemed pretty wild to me.” Said Comet, staggering to his paws.

“Those rabbits that just chased us are former valley rabbits. The Magia has been trying to find the traitors base for a while now. I think that thicket must be it.”

“The Magia will definitely be happy with us today, found the hare and now this.”

“If I’m even a hare.” Corrected Comet.

“You better be, I’m not keen on going through that again.” Grumbled Blue.

“We mightn’t have a choice if the Magia decides to drive them out.” Said Bone. Blue groaned.

“At least wild rabbits won’t be much of a problem for us, they’re cowards and would flee at the sight of us.” He said.

“Not necessarily when they are fighting to defend their own territory, which is why I don’t want anyone attacking them.” He said, glaring at them both. Comet didn’t know why he was looking at him. He couldn’t even fight a mouse.

“I think we might have to.” Said Blue in a low whisper, looking to the left.

Partly hidden in the bush was a little brown rabbit with large black eyes and a triangular nose. It looked skinny and skittish.

“Let’s just go a different way.” Said Bone.

They followed him, only to see another brown rabbit, then another, then another. No matter where they went, some big beady eyes were staring back at them.

“That’s it. There’s no way out of this without a fight.” Said Blue and screamed as he charged forwards.

“Wait no!” Shouted Bone, but it was too late, Blue was already fully engaged with fighting a wild rabbit and the rest were quickly joining the attack.

“Don’t fight them, just run! I’ll catch up!” He said before dashing into the bush to try and back up Blue.

Comet pushed his way through the bushes, ignoring the scratches and cuts until he finally came to a grassy clearing surrounding a large tree. His sides heaved with exhaustion.

Maybe he couldn’t survive out here after all but when he looked for the farmhouse, all he could see were dense trees and bushes.

Blue and Bone called from up ahead. He sighed. If they made him travel much further, he was going to go back home even if it meant facing dozens of crazy rabbits.

He trudged through the undergrowth until he saw clear open skies. Blue and Bone were sitting on a small hill.

“It’s just over this hill.” Said Bone, gesturing to him.

Comet slowly made his way to them. When he got up the hill, he half expected to find another pursuer but instead, he saw the whole of the valley.

The valley was vast, with a large river following from end to end, sparkling in the hot morning sun. Trees, shrubbery, flowers and long grass dotted the landscape with birds flying around. In the distance, he could see little human homes and a road with cars travelling along it like mice.

“What do you think?” Asked Bone.

“It looks beautiful..” He said with awe.

“So, you’re going to stay?” Asked Blue hopefully.

“I have to see if the rabbits here are going to kill me first.” He said.

“Follow me then.. and watch your step.” Said Bone, leaping down the hillside.

Comet scrambled after them, trying not to tumble down the valley’s steep slope. He was very relieved when they finally reached a narrow ridge, providing a gentler path.

“Which colony are we heading to?” Asked Comet.

“So you know about the colonies then?”

“Yes, Mossy and Stone, the rabbits that used to live with me actually come from Iron Colony. Did you know them?” He asked hopefully.

“No, I can’t recall any Iron Colony rabbit by those names. They must have been around before the Magia made travel easy between the colonies.” Explained Bone.

“We’re from Porcelain Colony, when we get closer to it, I’ll point it out to you.” Said Blue excitedly.

Comet looked out to the valley now he felt comfortable enough to look beyond the path. They neared a bleak expanse of withered dead trees dotted along dark gravely ground.

“That’s Porcelain Colony.” Said Blue proudly.

“Really?” He said, with more disgust than he intended.

“It’s not that bad. Besides, you’re going to Silver Colony, over there.” Said Bone, gesturing towards a marshland that circled around a large lake. It was at the end of the valley, hitting a sheer rock cliff face.

“Couldn’t we go to the nice meadow across the river?” Asked Comet hopefully.

“Silver Colony is where the Magia wants to meet you.” Said Bone.

“The whole south of the valley is off limits anyway, even for Seekers like us.” Said Blue.

“Why?” Asked Comet. It looked so much nicer than the north.

“It’s because their leaders hate the Magia. They might even start a war because they hate them so much.” Said Blue.

“Blue.” Said Bone sternly.

“What? He should know if he’s going to stay here.” Said Blue defensively.

“I wish I didn’t ask.” Said Comet nervously. If a war started, he’d be heading straight back to the farmhouse.