A Winter to Freeze Your Heart part 2

[Faiyloe]

[deleted]

[Dannflower Reguba]

OOC: The RP is being wound back the teensiest bit. BIC:

       There they stood, a mere mile away from the Abbey. Three small armies packed in together like so many berries all jumbled together mid harvest. They stood in silence, everybeast aware of their duty, and the outcome that it likely entailed.... They had accepted their fate, grim as it may be.

       It was at this juncture that Ervoyce stood, albeit reluctantly, to quietly address the crowd, "Dawn approaches, let the sun rise on bloody grass... Best of luck to you." He kept it short, trusting the leaders of the various factions to lead their own as was appropriate. Even now, he could see his Redwall friends giving encouragement to their division as the mass began to move towards the walls.

[Cornflower MM]

Arya moved among the comparatively small group of Redwallers, touching shoulders and offering encouragement as they marched towards the Abbey. Bryant and Ushen were a few paces behind her as she made her way up to the front of the group, towards Vatra and Ervoyce. The squirrel slowed before she got to her other companions, and let the two catch up to her. "It's been quite the wild ride, hasn't it?" She asked, looking over at the two brothers.
"Yeah, it has, but I wouldn't have done anything differently." Bryant responded, and Ushen murmured an agreement. Arya smiled.
"I don't think I'd change much at all, either. I just wish some were still with us." A wave of sorrow flitted over Arya's features, "But I'm so, so glad I found the two of you." She took their paws and squeezed them before continuing towards the front.
Ushen looked at Bryant and mouthed, "Did that really just happen?!" Bryant merely grinned and followed his friend.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       There they were... the beloved walls, now desecrated by the vermin presence that hid behind them, within their walls, their abbey, their home. The entire army came to a full, immediate stop as an unspoken, yet shared feeling respect and determination swept all present. Vatra's paw snaked its' way into Ervoyce's left, sharing a squeeze and a quick glance. She chuckled softly once, being reminded of the seemingly endless prattling about, "Not disappearing this time," which was quickly countered by his own, knowing eye-roll. Yet, neither spoke a word, for what could possibly be said now? Each knew all too well the grim task ahead, and that neither of them could afford the luxury of distracting words. The pause ended shortly, and their paws strayed from each other as they darted into the trees with the rest of the rushers, quietly gathering momentum for possibly the most dangerous jump of their lives.

*   *   *   *   *

       Raphael had begun his morning routine, having dressed himself and just walked out the door when he saw a sickening sight. The southern wall top, in a flurry of young leaves, was suddenly mounted by dozen rather inhospitable squirrels. Time practically stopped as the weasel saw every southern wall guard essentially assassinated... They never stood a chance staring blindly into the overgrown forest, near instantly beset by their precisely vicious assailants. He ground his teeth angrily, but thanked his lucky stars he'd gotten up a tad early that day. The creatures on the wall had already started making their way down as another half-score of squirrels made their vault to the top, rendering the grounds already lost. He knew their best bet was to hole up until the garrison could be prepped for an all-out engagement. He bellowed orders to the vermin outside, just now becoming aware of their predicament, "All soldiers to the southern wall! 'Nary a drop 'o blood is to be spared, kill them all!" He quickly turned inside, barking more orders to have the entrances barricaded whilst the odd thirty remaining vermin outside were sacrificing their lives unbeknownst to themselves.

*   *   *   *   *

       Vatra raised her head, all but ignoring the lifeless carcass tumbling off the battlements and into the brush as she quickly checked the landing of her comrades. She had already slid halfway down the stairs by the time the second squad hopped the walls, counting on their javelins to stave off the pressure from the freshly alerted inhabitants of the grounds as she and three others hurriedly opened the gates for reinforcements. Her back immediately turned to the open air, she was just in time to see the rest of her co-jumpers form up with them as the sound of the third batch of could be heard hitting the ramparts above, rounding out to a full and a half score. "What'd the bird have to sa-er... share?" Ervoyce replied, "Apparently there aren't any significant hostile reinforcements coming just yet..." the mildly surprised undertone was clearly detectable, a feeling she could sympathize with considering their situation, "Thoughts?" "Nothin'," was all she got back.

OOC: @Cornflower MM Apologies for taking so darn long 

[Cornflower MM]

Bryant had been in the first wave with Ervoyce and Vatra, and almost lost his nerve when the bloodbath started. He gulped resolutely and dove into the melee, thinking of the Dibbuns he'd befriended, as well as the other Redwallers, who deserved their home back. In what seemed like no time at all he was at the bottom of the walls and falling into position near Ervoyce and Vatra. He'd gotten down too late to help with the wallgate, but it seemed that had gone smoothly. He caught the tail end of his friends' conversation and frowned. Interesting....

~~~~~

Arya had been in the second group to go over the walls, feeling almost jubilant as she drew back her trusty bow. They were finally taking back the Abbey, and they had a pretty good chance at winning now that they had reinforcements, thanks to Ervoyce. It was hard to shoot on the crowded wall, and she had to resort to using the javelin she'd been handed mercilessly. Once the third group arrived and finished off the last of the vermin on the walltops she blew out a deep breath and drew back her bow. That was almost too easy, the squirrel thought, as she readied her bow again and checked on the wall gate situation. Vatra, Ervoyce, Bryant, and there's Ushen coming in through the wall gate. The vermin don't appear to be aware of us yet, everything is going to plan so far. Good.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Ervoyce was staring absentmindedly into the stones near the front door of the abbey itself. He started to pick up the rustling inside. His eyes snapped to alertness as the boom of a badger foot resonated behind him, Gale was bringing the Torrent in. The squirrel spoke before the Northern leader could pose a question, "Barricading, ask the Redwallers where any sally forth points might be and get them covered. We can have everybeast else form up near the front door, but I want planted shields in between us and the door. Ask Rory if he can throw a projectile breaker together in reasonable time while we plot." Gale passed by, barking orders to his chosen vanguard, having them survey the handful of potential "back doors."

       It did not take long to get everybeast inside with the shields planted and at least some broken semblance of a palisade jumbled up. There were even some stray blankets lying around as a result of some rather scatter-brained guards so there were a pair of scruffy, "tents," glorified canopies more like, but they served their purpose. They extended off of the barriers, and made for half decent meeting locations for the various leaders and they're direct subordinates in the meantime. The Torrent met under one, whilst the other two groups shared the other. Those underneath the shared shelter had stood mostly in silence, each processing the current situation. Ervoyce looked up from his pondering, his gently thrumming leg slowing down as he took stock of all present. He glanced over at Vatra, catching her eye quickly before he turned to go, "I'll be back," making his way over to the Torrent tent he whispered the end of the sentence to himself, "I promise..... and I'm sorry." His eyes shone, not with the usual mischief or playfulness, but with malice. Pure, cold, sinister, malice.

[Cornflower MM]

Arya had been released from the walltop for planning after everything had been set up, and she hurried down the stairs to the grounds. Everything was going to plan, quickly and easily. Almost too easily, Arya thought with a grimace. She walked around quickly, getting her bearings and figuring out what was where once more before heading for the tents.

Bryant and Ushen were among the group putting the finishing touches on the palisade. They both were looking around at everything in awe - Neither had ever seen the Abbey before, after all, and the buildings were majestic even after the season of vermin keeping up with the grounds and the reminders of the recent battle. "It's quite something, isn't it?" Arya spoke up behind them, startling the brothers.
"Uh, yeah, it really is," Ushen agreed quickly, nearly getting elbowed by Bryant as they both tried to turn towards her at the same time.
"Well, I'd like to stay and chat, but I'm needed elsewhere." Arya grinned at them, reaching out and touching them both on the shoulder briefly before continuing on her way.
The squirrel made it to the tents without any further interruptions, catching a glimpse of Ervoyce slipping into the tent designated to the Torrent.
"Hey, Vatra. Anything to report?"

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Vatra was still tracking Ervoyce when Arya appeared beside her. She turned to speak, but the look of concern and questioning was still present, "Hmmm? Oh, uh, nothing much I guess... We've mostly been sitting here brainstorming, limited options 'an all... I guess we didn't really expect this outcome, seems we've come up a bit short." The distracted squirrel looked between the others under the awning, then turned her compatriot and herself towards the corner and open air before quietly asking, "Doesn't something seem a tad off? We were ready, and he loves to push forward.... But.... he stopped. It was too cautious, and when he was telling the badger that they were holing up, he wasn't frustrated.... As a matter of fact, he smirked." Vatra looked up from the ground she'd started speaking into, locking eyes with her friend, "The more I think about it, the more I feel like we don't actually know what the plan was."

*   *   *   *   *

       As Ervoyce left the sight line of the others, he came face to face with Gale, who opted to speak first, "I would ask.... but your eyes tell me that you're not only ready, but awake as well." The black squirrel slowly raised his gaze, looking his former leader straight in the face, "I ran from this decision for years, I've made my choice, but I haven't given him a chance to argue yet..... Looks like we're both ready to play today. The ferret seems to be their leader, convenient oddly enough... I do have one request, give her the sword before the challenge begins.... I want fair standing in my little... disagreement. But back to the ferret..." Eyes narrowing, teeth clenched, the sentence was finished in a hiss, "... that son of a raven's mine!" A moment of silence passed before Gale reached out his hand, a scabbard clutched within, "I saved it for you." Ervoyce's face broke into a full, toothy smile, "Knew you would."

[Cornflower MM]

Arya frowned, "I was just coming to see what was going on - It's been oddly quiet on our end, I thought I may have been needed. You're right. I think something's going on that we don't know about." The squirrel stroked her tail thoughtfully, turning to look back at the tent Ervoyce had vanished into moments before. "It's weird that he'd keep any plans secret from us, especially you. I don't like it."

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Vatra was now staring off into the void that was everything in front of her, pondering in relative frustration. Under normal circumstances, she would've known his thoughts through familiarity alone, but everything about how Ervoyce was acting seemed to lack his casual flair. It wasn't the first time she'd seen the hollowness behind his eyes, but this was certainly the most predominant they'd ever been. She sighed, as if to try and shed some of the mystery onto her friend, "Yes, 'tis odd, but what else is new at this point?... In any case, what do you make of all..... this?" Dark, furry paws swirled in the air as she gestured at, indeed, everything.

[Cornflower MM]

Arya snorted lightly, "What's new indeed. Can it get any odder?" She took a moment to ponder Vatra's question, slowly blinking as she looked around the Abbey grounds again. "It feels like it's been too easy. I'm not complaining, not by any means, but I don't like it. It's making me uneasy." As she spoke, Bryant and Ushen joined the pair.
"Yeah, I was in with the last wave and we weren't even really needed," Ushen offered, frowning.
Arya shrugged, "At least we're on the right track to get the Abbey back. I just wish we knew what happens next, what to do, where to go."
"Where's Ervoyce? He's usually the one coordinating all the plans," Bryant chimed in, looking to Vatra.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Vatra threw her hands in the air in somewhat mock exasperation, "The question of the hour it seems... He just... left us... We don't really know what he's doing, he pretty much just walked out to go join his old tribe and that was that." She was going to return to pondering, but her attempt was halted by a voice that sent a chill down her spine. Paranoia set in quickly, it was a voice she knew, but it wasn't Ervoyce's, "S'cuse me?" As the squirrel turned around, she stifled her desire to physically react upon seeing Stormfront, ushering out a quiet response instead, "Yes? Do you have news?" She didn't want to hear it, she'd seen what he was carrying in her peripheral vision, but could not accept what it was. The torrent squirrel held the item forward to be taken, "Ervoyce requested tha' we bring this teh you miss." Vatra forced herself to reach out and grab it, paw gently grasping the purple binding of the hilt, supporting the scabbard in the other as she looked upon Ervoyce's sword. Stone faced, she looked Stormfront dead in the eye, "Why?" The answer came not from his lips, but from the dreadful crash of a javelin passing through the stained glass of the abbey, sure to clatter harmlessly to the floor inside. Such an object could only serve one purpose at this time. Her gaze shifted towards the door, but was distracted by the torrent otters spreading themselves out in the field, hiding behind the makeshift wooden walls, spears and shields in hand. They stood, not as soldiers, but as ready sentries.... they weren't there to fight, but to observe. Vatra's heart dropped with her stomach, her words spoken into the uncaring, frolicking wind, "You wouldn't.... not now... would you?"

       A mere pause passed, or so it seemed as the door to the Abbey slowly shifted open. The head of a rat popped out, shouting, "Our warloard, Raph'el, accepts!" The door was then slammed closed accompanied by the "toonk" sound of the rat getting clobbered over the helmet and berated by one of his rank. Vatra found no comfort in any of these events, a weary expression was all that remained as she could merely manage but a whisper, "....Ervoyce...?..."

[Cornflower MM]

Arya frowned, she didn't like that Ervoyce had just left them high and dry. He had always been the one with the plan, the reliable one, and the fact that he hadn't even told Vatra what was going on left her unsettled. It felt like something was wrong. The squirrel from the Torrent only confirmed her suspicions that something wasn't right. Arya's head snapped to look at the Abbey over the makeshift barricade when the javelin was thrown and the rat replied. "You didn't know anything about this, do you?" Arya asked Vatra, already knowing the answer.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Vatra merely offered a shake of the head as an answer to Arya's optimistic question. The bustle continued, albeit, with an increase in confused looks and whispered gossip. Aside from Stormfront behind her, she could see no other familiar faces amid the small, Torrent encampment, nobeast she could raise the question nipping away at her calmness to, nobeast to ease her wandering mind. A slight gust in the wind winding it's way around her heels provided the only distraction, causing her to look at the ground. The sad excuse for grass at her feet, trampled and scuffed as it struggled to come alive again offered naught but another reminder of the vermin a mere sprint away. She dragged her eyes up as she heard the slow creak of the door as it opened once more, this time widely, to allow the twenty vermin lined up inside to shuffle out. These were grizzled beasts, not to be taken so lightly as the now corpses lying around the walls. They were quickly followed by one, the one, Raphael. The sight of him sent not a chill, but the first warm feeling Vatra'd felt all day, and not the settling kind. Some of the shrews and redwallers reached for their slings or bows, but their hands were quickly stayed by the otters around the perimeter. The suddenly dead air did not remain so for long, the impatience of the vermin seeping into their leaders voice as the ferret called out to the crowd, "Well? We're waiting! Who's it gonna be?!" He was almost immediately answered by a resounding, earthy thud as the same otters stomped in unison, followed not too long after by the softer, more hollow thunk of their shields being raised and slammed into the ground. They repeated this slow, dirge like echo multiple times, finally looking back towards the rest of their contingent with expectation. Raphael's eyes narrowed, his voice filled with a contemptuous air as he spat out a simple, "So it is you, 'bout time I got to finish you off."

* * * * *

       There he stood, one of the black squirrels of the woodlanders... but the aura he gave off was... wrong? He was not wearing his usual attire, dressed now in old, tattered hides. Patches peppered the torso like trees in the forest with twice as many rips and tears. A hodgepodge of browns, grays, and red tints that were better left unexplained. The pants-like, skirted portion of his attire was clearly less torn, but that did little to settle the nerves when replaced by the frayed and burnt ends. Raphael looked him up and down, gauging him from across the soon-to-be battlefield, "Your breathing is that of a deadbeast, what are you playing at?" This enemy of his, eyes cast to the ground, and dull by comparison to the day they met, perhaps the flames had caused them to glow in that time? Yet it was still that breathing... that slow, nigh imperceptible breathing that he couldn't get over. The walk, affirmative, that born of a warrior's purpose. Weapon? A blade of some type it seemed, though small, and sheathed behind his waist. The ferret found himself faced by an ensemble of confusing signals, an opponent that defied his measurements and evaded his predictions. He scrunched his nose in annoyance, looking instead to his designated contingent, passively reminding them of their duties.

       

The twenty now picked and preparing, Raphael made his way to Vaurie, his chosen weasel archer, "Goes without saying, but you see any sign of funny business, I want the stripedog pinned ag'inst the wall, no more quarter, things are bad enough as it is, and we can't lose this opportunity. Knowing woodlanders and their bravado, this is a free kill on one of their leaders, and possibly even a forced retreat.... pick off a couple extra when I'm done too, but be quiet about it." The challenge was straightforward, one versus one, no interference. Winner got to topple the leadership of their opponents, possibly breaking them in a single fight, a single duel. He could taste victory, but his tongue lay sour, the challenge feeling odd after the advantage gained by the redwallers in taking the walls. He could merely chalk it up to their desire for peace and ease, one fight, less blood right?... He was going to enjoy draining every drop from these would-be saviors, starting with the fool that stepped up to him on the grounds. He turned to the assembled vermin cohort, "Shove off, bloods the flavor of the wind today!" The army behind him roared once in response, the send off for twenty one vermin as they crossed the threshold.

       Eyes narrowed again as they turned back to the beast that had threatened him so long ago, "You and I've both been waiting for this, almost forgot you up 'till now... I saw you burn, now I'll see you bleed.... and I'll enjoy every second of it." Raphael strung his bow, the waxy strands proving the only thing to tame his desires, the contemplation of releasing the string, the anticipation.... 'twas the only thing that felt good enough to keep him from pulling it now, "Hurry up you doddering oaf, don't you have friends that need visiting?!"

[Cornflower MM]

Arya stood frozen to the ground, watching in disbelief. She had pretty much known what Ervoyce was doing when the javelin had passed through the Abbey window but she hadn't wanted to believe it. Glancing at Vatra, she asked, "How are you doing?" Arya knew how close the two were, and she also knew how Vatra got when things got bad. If things between Ervoyce and Raphael went south they would need Vatra to be sane and not rushing off getting herself killed, which wouldn't be what Ervoyce wanted no matter the outcome. She reached out her paw to the other squirrel, hoping to provide comfort, or grab her if necessary.

Behind them, Bryant and Ushen had figured out what was going on to an extent, but were still extremely confused. "That's not Ervoyce, is it?" Ushen whispered to Bryant with a frown. The squirrel was all black with silver streaks but he didn't look like the Ervoyce Ushen was used to, not quite. Something was very, very different. "It is, and something isn't right," Bryant murmured back, his gaze carefully flicking from Raphael and Ervoyce to Arya and Vatra. His faith in Ervoyce was unwavering, but all of the secrecy and the otherness surrounding him now made Bryant anxious and uneasy.