Nightshade

“I'm not a coward, sir. I'm just careful.”

Gender: Male
Birth Warren: Efrafa
Current Warren: Hellebore's Warren
Voice Actor: Liam Neeson

Rank: N/A

Sire: Unknown
Dam: Unknown
Siblings: Valerian
Littermates: None

Mates: Lichen; Juniper
Kittens: Moss; Larkspur and Lily

Personality: Nightshade frequently worries about things, and is always anxious. He feels that his superiors demand too much of him, and he always takes measures to try and impress them. This can make him seem rather cowardly, when in fact, he's one of the bravest rabbits there is, when it suits him of course. He's also very smart, which goes nicely with his excellence in the battlefield and his rarely seen courage.

When not in the company of other officers, he's quite laid-back, and can be very kind to those around him. He has a gentle heart, and hates to see harm come to those who don't deserve it. Having lived in a place where injustice rules, he's grown sick of it. All he wants is security for his family and a life without the shadow of Efrafa looming over him, but then, it's all a bit too much to ask.

Relationships:

Valerian: Nightshade's older sister is very dear to him, but she can get on his nerves. In Nightshade's opinion, Valerian is a bit too stuck up and snobby for his liking, and he can do nothing but watch as she passes on these traits to her son, Vervain. He's always willing to lend a helping paw, as she is to him, but in spite of this, he knows that she holds slight disdain against him, for being their parents' last kitten, and thus taking up all their attention.

Vervain: Even though Nightshade was probably only an adolescent when Vervain was born, which means he's not a great deal older, he feels as though he needs to mentor the cruel buck, to teach him to be strong and honourable. Of course, both Vervain and Valerian disapprove of the idea, and so Nightshade withdraws, but can't help but feel as though his lack of interference caused Vervain to be the feared, heartless monster he is today.

General Woundwort: The General will remain in Nightshade's heart until the day he dies; he was cruel and downright evil towards him, putting him through the most difficult situations. Nightshade follows out of fear for his life, and because he knows that he will lose all respect should he retire from the Owsla. Not a day goes by when Nightshade doesn't pray to the Black Rabbit to take Woundwort, ending his life and stemming the flow of misery in Efrafa.

Lichen: Since the day he captured her from her home warren and took her back to Efrafa, where she would be a prisoner, Nightshade pities Lichen. After many days of getting her to trust him, and then an even longer period of time getting to know her, the two finally court, which is against the law of Efrafa, and even though it is illegal for an officer to be mates with a prisoner, Nightshade loves her, and will love her endlessly.

Moss: His only son, Moss is treasured by Nightshade, and coddled to no end (away from prying eyes, of course). He takes charge of training him alongside all the male kittens who want to be Owsla, as a way to bond with him inconspicuously. When the two are separated, Nightshade feels a great hole tear into his heart that can never be filled, and yearns for the day when they might meet again.

Hellebore: Nightshade respects him, and is ever grateful for saving his life and allowing him to stay in the warren. He thinks of the rabbit as a hero, having pulled together an army from the wounded and broken, and for protecting them at every cost. He knows that he's trustworthy, and knows that he will honour his promise to help Nightshade get his revenge.

Henbane: The Chief's younger brother is like a sibling Nightshade never had, the two always sticking together. He 's grateful to Henbane for his support, and will do what he can to repay the debt owed to him after Henbane stumbles upon him and saves his life.

Juniper: Nightshade makes special efforts to protect Juniper, even though he knows that she's capable of taking care of herself. He couldn't bear to lose her like he lost Lichen, and is aware that while she loves him dearly, she does find his protectiveness a bit too... smothering.

Larkspur: Nightshade's second son, Larkspur is a constant reminder of everything that could never have been with Moss. The two love each other as much as a father and son could, and Larkspur takes his father's concern into high regard, but Nightshade knows that he'll never be able to hold onto his boy forever.

Lily: The only daughter he ever got to see grow up, Nightshade loves her like no other, and is even more protective of her than he is with Juniper. She's not as strong, and they both know this, and unlike her mother and brother, Lily doesn't actually dislike her father's constant watchful eye.

History: Nightshade's tale is a long and tragic one. He was born in Efrafa, to a pair of quite old rabbit who knew that he would be their last kitten; the rest of his litter were stillborn, and the birthing nearly killed his mother. Because of her age, his mother's milk dried up, and he was sent to a sort of wet nurse for his early life. Because of this, Nightshade rarely saw his mother, and sadly, she died before he reached adolescence.

As a brash teen, he was trained by tough officers who saw in him a brutal warrior. To their annoyance, he was surprisingly reluctant to start fights, and didn't possess the harshness and cruelty that made most officers so feared. They began to beat this 'weakness' out of him, and he earned himself a nasty scar on his cheek, but still he refused to toughen up. Finally, the officers realised that he was set in his ways, and accepted this. He was still a fine warrior, and a witty one to boot. It was around this time that his sister Valerian's son was born, a dark-furred kitten named Vervain. He was everything that Nightshade wasn't: cowardly, small and undeniably cruel. Nightshade tried to convince his older sister to let him work with Vervain, but the stubborn doe refused his every offer.

In his early adulthood, he was promoted to Corporal, proud that he'd finally managed to become one of the Owsla. His first real test was to go with a few of the Captains and take a small warren that had been set up quite close to Efrafa. He dreaded it, thinking that there would be strong warriors there that could harm him, but upon arrival, he realised how wrong he was. They were greeted by friendly faces, but the Captains tore those friendly faces to shreds and started down the burrows. Corporal Nightshade was ordered to stop or kill anyone who tried to escape. One of these few who ran was a young doe, about his age. He stopped her in her tracks, and, seeing the tears streaming from her eyes, decided to spare her. He took her to the Captains, who were somewhat pleased by his resourcefulness, and they proceeded to take her and a few others back to Efrafa to make her their prisoner.

Days after the warren raid, Nightshade began to feel immensely guilty. He found his way to the doe's burrow, and learned her name: Lichen. She was terrified here, scared of every shadow, afraid that the officers would kill her. It took a while, but he finally convinced her that he was a friend, and that he truly meant her no harm. She eventually warmed up to him, and they both found themselves falling in love. Lichen birthed a litter of kittens to him, a buck (Moss) and six does, and though they were afraid that someone would ask, most of the guard assumed that she had been pregnant when they captured her, which would explain why she ran from them.

Nightshade was promoted to Captain not long after, having been recognised for his strength. His nephew, Vervain, was a Corporal, trying to earn the General's respect through worship, seemingly. He never left his uncle's side, trying to ask how he managed to be promoted, and he was always sent away disappointed. Over time, Nightshade managed to be around Moss a lot more, and when the General himself questioned him, he said that the kitten interested him, and that he'd like to be responsible for his training. The General was pleased by this, and allowed him to take Moss away from Lichen to introduce to training. His son was eager to learn, and even though he was young, he was very understanding. Nightshade would often tell him about how wrong the General's ways were, and would tell the same things to Lichen and their daughters as well.

But one day, an officer caught Moss calling Nightshade 'father'.

He was taken before the General right away, and was questioned thoroughly. Nightshade couldn't come up with a plausible explanation, and decided to tell the truth instead, from the moment he and Lichen courted down to today, where he had began to plot with Lichen on how to overthrow Woundwort. The General was, as you'd imagine, outraged, but he didn't show it. Instead, he brought Lichen to the gathering place and killed her right before Nightshade's eyes. Horrified, the Captain tried to get to Woundwort, but was held back, and told that as long as he left and didn't return, Moss and his sisters would live. Unbeknownst to Nightshade, all of his daughters had been killed, and Moss had been taken by none other than Vervain himself. Fearing for his kittens' lives, he left, but not before the officers tore into his right foreleg. He never even got to say goodbye.

He wandered for a great deal of time, scared and alone. He collapsed far from Efrafa, in a clearing where he was found by a group of rabbits. They took him to their warren, where he was cleaned up and cared for. After a few days spent recovering, he was interrogated by the Chief Rabbit, Hellebore, and his brother, the Captain of Owsla, Henbane, who was the one who led the patrol that found him. When they learned of his story, the two brothers allowed him to stay in the warren, and made efforts to ensure his happiness and security. Hellebore's mate's sister, Juniper, also seemed interested in befriending him, and the two became close. She gave him two kittens, Larkspur and Lily, which nearly tore Nightshades heart in two. It reminded him so much of his older kittens – by Frith, how old would they be now? - and Juniper tried her best to help him.

He watched his two kittens grow to adolescence, and it was just when he thought he could finally put his past life out of his mind, when he heard from a bird that Efrafa had been destroyed, and a new leader had risen. Intrigued, he asked Hellebore's permission to journey there, and it was to his surprise that the Chief sent Henbane along with him. Upon arrival, they were met by a face he knew well – the face of Corporal Flax, newly promoted to Captain, or so he claimed. Nightshade demanded to be taken to the Chief Rabbit, and he was shocked when he saw the new leader.

It was Moss.

He'd changed so much. The eye markings he had once shared with his father had faded into smaller eye-patches, and his eyes had a new fire to them. He was older than Nightshade thought he would be, but he had not forgotten. Nearly in tears, Nightshade embraced his son, and, blubbering, explained his disappearance, apologising sincerely. To his surprise and relief, Moss forgave him.

He and Henbane stayed in Efrafa for a great deal of time, but the other rabbit was growing restless, and despite the fact that he wouldn't leave without his companion, he was beginning to get homesick. Nightshade regretfully told Moss this, and despite the sad look on his son's face, the Chief of Efrafa embraced him and wished him well, vowing by Frith to visit someday. Safe in the knowledge that all was not lost, Nightshade and Henbane returned to Hellebore's warren to continue their new lives.