By the time he got to the other side, he could see that a wild rabbit was being chased by Blue and Bone along with some other Watchers.
They were coming right at him and he narrowly got out of the way in time. They chased the wild rabbit right to the lake. It tried to get away but they fought it and it slipped, falling into the lake.
He watched in horror as the wild rabbit flailed in the water then slowly disappeared into the water. It never resurfaced. Comet felt sick to his stomach.
”That was the last wild rabbit, I’ll tell Janu” Said Key. “The rest of you must wash yourself, wild rabbits carry all sorts of diseases and get any wounds cleaned out by Ruby.”
After they did that, Comet went up to Blue, “What happened up there?”
”The wild rabbits attacked us and the Magia decided it was the perfect opportunity to wipe them all out so that we can attack the rebels tomorrow.” Said Bone, injured and very distressed, “I don’t think it’s a good idea, it’s so hard to fight in those bushes. It was chaos, I don’t even know how many were injured or killed.”
”It’s just a good thing wild rabbits can’t swim.” Said Blue. He limping and his eye was swollen shut.
”You should definitely see Ruby.” Said Comet.
”I am but I’m not doing that bad, it looks worse than it is.”
”I’ll come with you.” Said Bone.
“No, I’ll be fine. It’ll be crowded down there, just relax.” He said and hobbled away.
Bone shook his head. “See what I mean? We aren’t going to be ready for tomorrow.”
“Maybe I could try changing Magia Janu’s mind, I am a hare and I’ve agreed to stay here, so he should listen to me.”
”You really think so?”
”Definitely.” He said confidently. “I just need to tell Orion I won’t be back for training.”
”What’s your training like?”
”Oh, I’m not supposed to tell you.” Said Comet sheepishly.
”I understand.”
”But maybe I could ask Orion to give you permission to see. It’s his cave, he should be able to decide who can come in.” He said and hopped towards the cave.
”I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Called Bone but Comet had already made up his mind and didn’t hear him.
He went back to Orion’s cave.
“That was a long lunch.” He said.
“I know, I’m sorry, Brook taught me how to swim and then this wild rabbit came into the valley and I just lost track of time… but I guess you already knew that, didn’t you?” He said, looking down at his silver pendant.
“I do not spy through rabbits pendants, Nightwing gives me the information.” He explained.
“I’m going to have to leave again, I promised Bone I would talk to Master Janu and ask him to stop the battle against the rebels tomorrow.”
“You shouldn’t have promised that.”
“Why not?”
“The Magia will not change their mind, not even for a hare. Once they want to do something, they will do it.”
“The fighting rabbits are all injured and exhausted from their battle with wild rabbits, can’t they see that would be a bad idea.” He said.
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“They must have some reason in mind, don’t bother them Comet, please, I’ve tired myself in the past and it only causes problems.”
Comet wasn’t entirely convinced but didn’t want to argue. “Alright, but what if I fought then, I would just need to learn some more offensive powers of fortune.”
Orion was silent for a moment. “I’m not training you to kill rabbits.”
”I don’t want to kill rabbits. I just want to have a way to protect myself and others. You can see I’m not very physically strong.”
”You’re very tall and fast though.” Said Orion.
“That’s good for running away, not fighting.” He insisted. “Besides, the Magia wants me to learn all the powers of fortune.”
He sighed. “They do and you will learn but copper is one of the most dangerous resources. l teach you how to use Diamond if you like.”
Comet perked up.
“It can be used to project sound and communicate with others from long distances.”
“How’s that going to help me defend myself?”
“If you’re clever, it can.” He gave Comet a diamond stone and then went to the back of the cave. Suddenly, it was like his voice came from the stone itself, in a strange sort of echo.
”Is that all it can do?”
”Of course not. How else do you think I can talk to Nightwing?” He said.
”So… I can talk to other species?” He asked wide eyed.
”Only if they’re wearing a diamond stone.” He said. “When communicating through Diamond stones, especially with other species, you have to be very clear with your words and intention, otherwise the sound will become a jumbled mess. Now you try.”
They went back and forth communicating with each other through the stone. It was fairly easy in the quiet cave with no other noises or distractions.
Orion then bashed something with his back foot, holding the diamond stone, it echoed through the room and seemed to shake the items in the room. Comet cowered and put his paws over his ears.
When the deafening sound stopped, Comet sat up.
”Why did you do that?”
“You need to be able to communicate no matter the noise around you and you said you wanted to learn more offensive powers.”
Comet realised what he meant and was excited. This could be a powerful way to drive away an attacker.
”Let me try it.” He said. With one paw, he held the diamond stone, while he dragged his claws across a piece of silver. It made such a loud, high pitched sound that one of the mirrors cracked. He was sure rabbits beyond the cave could hear him. He worried he’d made Orion go deaf and looked at him apologetically.
“Sorry… I guess I still have some work to do before I can learn to use copper.”
“Yes, you do but you will get there eventually.” He said. “Let’s continue.”
They continued practising and Comet found himself getting quite confident with his ability to use diamond.
“Do you think I’m doing well?” He asked.
“Fairly well, but you still need to practise communicating to other species, like I told you before, Nightwing won’t hurt you.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m ready for that.” He said. “What if I communicated with another rabbit, like Bone, that would be a good challenge.”
“I’m not sure if Janu told you, but we’re not supposed to share our training with others.” He said.
“He did tell me that, but Bone is trustworthy and he can’t even use the powers of fortune anyway though I did hear rabbits used to be able to use it.”
“But not anymore, and the Magia thinks the only way to keep the colony orderly is to not remind them of that. They think seeing magic training will only make them jealous that they can't use the powers of fortune.”
Comet hadn’t considered that, it sort of made sense. “But Bone doesn’t seem like the jealous type. I told him I would ask you if he could come into the cave.”
“Well my answer is no, I’m sure he’ll understand. If he comes, he could get in serious trouble with the Magia.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so scared of them. I was told I was here because once you die, the Magia won’t have any power. They should be scared of you, you can take away their power at any moment.”
“It’s not that simple… I made a promise to the Magia when I was initiated by them through the Diamond emblem.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I came to the valley as a younger hare, the rabbits were struggling to survive against the ever growing number of predators and wild rabbits that competed against them. I tried helping them but I was only one hare in a big valley. Then the Magia came from a faraway valley, and arrived at Diamond Colony. They found me and we ended up discussing what to do about the valley. We both knew of the powers of fortune, only they couldn’t use it because they were not tied to the valley and were spiritually opposed to training. I then agreed to power their medallions as long as they helped bring order to the valley which they did, but I haven’t always agreed with their methods or views on how the colonies should be run.”
“Do you regret helping them?” Asked Comet.
“Sometimes… I do believe that rabbits of the valley need to have magic to survive but I think things need to change and I believe they will very soon.” He said mysteriously. “Anyway, all you need to remember is that for now, no rabbit can be involved in your training. It’s for their own good.” He looked at Comet seriously.
“Fine, Bone’s going to be disappointed though.” He said.
“Don’t worry about him. I’ll get Nightwing to help you finish your diamond training.” He pressed his paw to his diamond necklace and then let go.
“Did you say anything?”
“I did, through my mind.” He said.
“Wow, you’ve got to teach me that,”
“I will, but first you need to talk to Nightwing.” He said. Just then, Nightwing fluttered in. Comet tried not to cower.