"Alright now, you all sleep sound. I'll be sending you all out into Mossflower if you make a ruckus like that again," The badger mother said, shaking her head with a tired look in her eyes. "Dear me, I'll need to get me some vittles if I'm to survive you all." With that, she left the room and headed for the kitchens, leaving the group of misfits to do as they please once more.
Nora quickly sprang up from her bed and looked at her friends, her face painted with elation. "Hear tha'? We coulda been gone to Mossflow'a Woods! Doesn' tha' sound wondaful?" She whispered, bouncing on her bed as she spoke.
Lonon got up from his bed, making for the dormitory door. "Ya, well I think tha' we 'ave to go now, afore they go an' give us baths," Lonon said, looking back at his dibbun friends.
Rayne frowned at Lonon, "We's already in bed! They not gonna give us anovva bath if we's already in bed!" She started to bounce on her bed as well, giggling. "Fun!"
Chip-claw was already scrabbling for the handle. Alas the young stoat could not reach it- not for lack of trying. "Ussn has to leave afore they baff us! Lackey! 'Elp me reach the 'andle!"
"Waait, wait, Rayne's vewwy right. S'long as we's suuuuper quiet, them grown-ups won' know a thing!" Nora whispered as she bounced her way off of her bed and clambered over to Lonon and Chip-claw, "We bettah wait until Missy's done in da kitchen. We need lotsa food if we gonna a'venture."
"I don' care about alla that now. I wanna go tuh sleep" whimpered Dale while burrowing his blanket.
"Yeah, wewll, dat's cuz you are alla scardy-cats! You donn wanna 'ave an a'venture?" Lokie asked grumpily, walking over to the door.
OOC: Er, could you guys now refer to Lonon as Lokie, spelled that way?
Chip-claw snatched up Dale's blanket, and tied it round his neck like a cape. "Nowa's right! We gotta wait two get the sugar fuwst, den we can bussout!"
"Hmmph. Fine den. Let's wait atill alla de bigbeasties are ina bed, den we ken getta da food, an' busta outa here!" Lokie said, gasping for breath after all of those words and puffing out his fur covered chest.
"Fiwst we needs a plan!" From under his duvet, the young stoat pulled out a crayon and a piece of paper, on which he doodled a shape roughly similar to the abbey's gate.
Nora hopped around impatiently, "I don' wanna plan! It take all o' da fun outta da 'venture. Missy's prob'ly vewwy asleep, we could 'scape to kitchens easy!"
"You guys go to da kitch'ns 'n come back here when you're done wif alla da stuff. I don' wanaa get in twubble" Dale said after jumping awake and squinting furiously at Chip-claw for stealing his beloved blanket.
"But one does not simply weave Wedwall!" There was a short pause before the stoat continued. "We need a plan Nora because if Missy snatches ius ye can forget puddin' tommorow! Oh, an' Iffen ye want the viddles yous gonna hafta come wid us Dale."
"Alla da plan we need is teh jest wait 'till alla da bigbeasties are sleepie-sleep. Then we can makea our move," Lokie said, pacing arund waiting for what he decided was enough time forall of the larger beasts to fall asleep. "Alrighty now. I think dat everybeast is sleepysleep, 'cept fer us'uns!" he said, going for the door.
"It's been fiv minuts" said Dale while snatching his blanket back.
Chip determinedly clung onto *his* blanket. "We hafta wait more den! Use your brainbox an' let go of my blankie!"
"You just stole my blaneket" yelled Dale.
"It's my cape!" Chip-claw tugged ever harder at said 'cape'
Dale jumps up and scratches at Chip-claw and falls down, "OWWWWWWWWWWW" wailed Dale
Nora scampered over to Dale, and started patting his head to soothe him " 're you okay?" She said. After a moment, an expression of concern spread across her face, "I don' tink we can go on a biiiig 'venture. We gonna get hurt!"
"Dale will." Chip-claw snarled as contemptuously as he could. He was shedding profuse tears because of the tiny scratch. "An' we still can! Heroes always suwvive de adventures even iffen we get hurt a little."
"C'mon naow, we've been plann'in wayway tootoo much. Le'sa just gogo!" Lokie grumbled, heading for the door defiantly.
"I ony got urt because you stol sometin from me!" Argued Dale.
"It isn't stealing if the balankie is mine!" Chip-claw protested, before slinking in between Lokie and the door. "Wait a bit more! Iffen it's too early usn'll get into lotsa twouble!"
"Well, I no wanna sit 'ere ferever. I wants teh get goin'!" Lokie said, sitting down on the floor and rubbing his soft chest fur anxiously.
"Whats day under yuh feet, oh I wonder what dat is oh wait dat tis a blaneket, and what tis day around your neck oh thas my blaneket!!" Yelled Dale.
Nora emitted an exasperated sigh "Yer'all bein' whiny babies. If we're gunna go on 'venture, we needs to go now I guess." She slid past the rest of the group and haphazardly opened the door with her small paws. Once she knew the coast was clear, she scampered in the direction of the kitchens.
"Nora!" Chip-claw made to sieze her tail but tripped spectacularly and planted his face into a wall. Surprisingly he didn't burst into noisy tears. Shaking his head he whimpered quietly. "We's gonna bet baffed again!" Yet, despite his protests the stoat made to follow.
Lokie raced after the other two. "Wait! Ima comin; too!" Once he caught up with them, he grinned. "I was righty-right."
"No you wasn't! If we had left when you wanted us to we'd have been caught by our tails and hanged on dee washing line!" Chipclaw peered round. "Are de others coming too or is it just us three?"
"Lets get goin' alwedy! Wev been waitin long enough" Magle said as he reach for the door
"No! Dose aduwts are awe wazy an' sweepy! Dey probly been 'sleep ferever long time!" Lokie shot back, racing ahead of the others. "Are yew guys comin' or not?!"
"Course I'm comin'! I'm comin' faster 'n yew aw!" Chip-claw raced after the fluffy tailed dibbun.
Lokie glanced back, only to find that Chip-claw was fast gaining. "Oh, no ye don't," Lokie said, speeding up. The escape had rapidly turned to a race, though with their small little legs they had not gone far.
The familiar, competitive urge to out-do his fellow dibbuns embraced the young stoat, who now shot as fast as he could on all fours. As fast as lightning! As quick as a thunderclap! Down the STAIRS!?!?!
Chip-claw was moving too fast to slow down and bounced from one step to another before crumpling into a blanketed heap at the bottom.
Lokie had stopped with his mouth wide open when Chip-claw had passed him, but now! Chip-claw had fallen down the stairs! Lokie glanced back at the others to see if they were following, then raced down the steps to see if Chip-claw was okay.
"Hey, uh, H-hip-cwaw, awe ye okaye?"
"No..." The stoat groaned. Well actually he was fine. A bit winded, somewhat bruised but overall he'd had more painful baths. But of course... he had the sly cunning of vermin... and was hungry... and Lackey looked so worried... "I dink I'm dyin'... need food... iffen I 'ad some stwawbewwy fizz righ' now..."
OOC: Lackey? Really?
BIC: Lokie looked at his buddy in dibbun-like concern.
"Wroight away, Hip-cwaw," Lokie said, running to the steps that led to the cellars. A few moments later, he returned empty-handed. "Actually, oi'm too awfraid. I'm notta-not goin' down dere."
Chip-claw wheezed pitifully. "I undewstan'... et may be tew late fe me anyways..." If he had to get up and get the fizz himself his deception would be futile! And Lackey would surely know he was pretending! Or suspect it...
Lokie paced about worriedly. This was bad. His buddy Hip-caw was gonna die all because of him!
"Aw-awroight. I'll do et fer you, buddy Hip." And with that, Lokie set off.
"Wait fo me!" Magle shouted running after the other dibbuns
Seeing the others n their way, Lokie sighed with relief. One of the others could get the strawberry fizz for Hip-caw.
" 'Ey, guys. c'mere! Hip-caw needs some stwab'wy fizz! One o' ye needs teh git it fer 'im!"
Dale shaking himself awake try to catch up to the other dibbin's "wait up!!"
Nora had been following alongside the other two, barely keeping up with their impromptu race. She was secretly glad that Chip-claw had fallen down the stairs, for it allowed her to crumple to the ground and catch her breath. "Wait... fur... the others..." She gasped out as she saw Dale and Magle coming up to them. "Af'er a res', we gonna keep goin' fastly. Y'don' need stwab'wy fizz, Chip."
Internally Chip-claw was seething- why wasn't this working!? Yet, like the actor he was, he gave another heavy wheeze, which transformed into a cough half-way through. He let his eyelids drop slightly and pressed his ears against the back of his head.
Rayne bounced up to the group - She'd gotten distracted watching an ant crawl around on the wall - and peered down at Chip-claw with a concerned expression on her small face. "Uh ohs, didja bonk your head? You'll be's okay!" She announced cheerfully, breaking into a grin as she extended a paw to help him up.
He just wanted some strawberry fizz. It took a dangerous amount of self control to stop himself from growling and pounding the floor in frustration. His acting was perfect, what could possibly have them doubting his need for sweet strawberry sweetness?! Was it not the lifeblood of all dibbuns? The best of medicines? The truest of truths? And what if he was dying? Would his fellow dibbuns truly leave him on the floor without even a drop of strawberry goodness?
With waning determination he gave another wheezy cough and made a great deal of effort flopping his arm in a show of weakness to rival the invalid. "Need... stwawbewwy..."
Lokie got up and looked down at Chip.
"I'm startin' to finks dat 'e's fakin'," he said, looking back at the others.
Panic was beginning to seep into the stoat's mind, slowly and deliberately. WIth a final wheezing cough, he shut his eyes and lay still, his tongue hanging out the side of his slackened jaws.
Lokie looked down at Chip, who was now playing dead.
"No! We kiwed 'im!" Lokie said, aghast. "Oh, oi'm sowwy Chip, dis is awe my fawt." Lokie sobbed, beginning to cry on Chip's clean shirt.
Chip did not personally care about the state of his shirt. But if the badgermum saw it all mucky and filthy (again) he'd be reprimanded (again).
"Oi! Geroff! I'm alive ye big dafty."
Magle arrived panting, "Was been goin' on here?"
Lokie got up, looking very surprised. Suddenly, realization dawned on him.
"Wha- Wait! Ye were fakin' da 'ole time! Dat's wot's been 'apenin'! Chip's been fakin' dead!" Lokie said, beginning to look quite angry.
It would have been easier to admit the truth, after all what could Lakey do? But the young stoat was as stubborn as they came. "N-no it wasn'! I was dyin' until I wasn't. It's a miwackle! Praise Mawtin!" He got to his feetpaws. "Still doesn change de fact yew neawly kiwed me."
Lokie looked abashed almost immediately. "Oi'm sowwy, Chipie. Oi suppose dat dis giwes you da woight to fakee," he said, looking at his feet in shame. Suddenly, he brightened considerably. " 'Ey! We ken git goin' naow! Wet's go!"
In Dale's rush to catch up with the others, Dale fell down the stairs on to Chip-claw *THUD* "OWWWW" screeched Dale, his eyes starting to water. After some pain, Dale muttered, "I-I-I'm f-f-fine." *sniff*
Rayne stood back, staring at the scene aghast. She'd been just about to perk up again when Dale fell down the stairs and her eyes went wide. "Does anyfing hurt?" She asked, reaching out to pat him on the head.
"Oi, few one, fink dat 'e's fakin' jus' wike Chipie was. Wet's go, aweady!"
"Sh-sure l-lets go" Dale said while getting up and limping forward " Hey chip w-we sh-should get goin'"
He'd been about to berate Lackey for not bringing him the strawberry fizz he had so desperately want- needed!- when Dale jumped on him.
Dale was no longer on top of him but Chip-claw had had the wind knocked out of him on impact and was currently admiring the pretty birds that flapped around his head like a halo. He really was an angel! Or... going crazy...
"I'm..." What was that word grown-ups used when some-beast was incapacitated and unable to get up? Dazed? Stunned? Knocked out? Unconscious? Terminally ill? Pregnant? It had to be pregnant. Why else would Sister Gwendoline be bed-ridden? Although... she was very fat. Perhaps it meant eating too much? If he said he was eating to much then none of the others would let him eat anything! "I see de stars..." He finally said, dizzily, upon deciding that grown-up language was complicated and stupid.
After staring in shock (for nearly 4 months), Nora rushed to Chip-claw and grabbed his hands to help him up. "Don' wurry, is gonna be okay! We gunna help you get to da ki'chen an' get bettur."
In the way she had seen many grown-ups do when helping an injured beast, she slung Chip's arm over her shoulders as best she could and walked with him by her side, though she could barely reach his shoulders.
"Les go!" Dale said while marching in a random direction, Not knowing where to go, and almost waking the grown ups by walking into random rooms.
"We need to go to de kit'hen and no staw berri fizz for you Chip! You iv ben compainin abat it for too lowng!"
Rayne giggled at Dale, "You soun' liek one of the grow'-ups, Dale!" She whispered. She then peered at Chip-claw, completely getting in Nora's way. "'Ellooooo? Chip-claaaaaw? Wakey up, we's got 'ventures to do!"
"Raaayne get outta da way!" Nora whined, doing her best to maneuver around the dibbun-sized obstacle. Sadly, her lack of strength meant that the only way she could be able to manage this was dragging poor Chip-claw by one hand across the grimy floor.
Rayne jumped over Chip-claw with a giggle, "Whoops, sorries Nora." It truly appeared Rayne had no clue what was going on and was just being oblivious, which was true in part, but she was also worried about her friend. "Don' drag him liek dat!" She frowned, scooping up Dale's other paw and hefting some of his weight.
"Why ar you dragin him' liek dat?" Dale said truly confused. Dale grabs a leg "dis is how you drag som'un"
Nora, now holding Chip-claw with the others like some sort of mangled parachute, continued walking forward until she suddenly stood still (which nearly dislocated poor Chip-claw's arm she was holding).
"Waait, where we goin'? Dis isn' the righ' place..." she looked down the unfamiliar hallway ahead of her and saw a large door at the end that appeared ancient. Like 20 years old at least! "Sh... should we go in?"
Rayne's ears perked up, "Ooooooooooh!" She cried, dropping Chip-claw without another thought and springing forward to investigate the door. "It looks oooooold." She said, reaching forward and tapping on it gently. "Smells old, too," she said with a nose wrinkle after smashing her face up against it.
Dale dropped Chip-claw down Dale and walked up to the door and said " We shoul' twy and open it!"
Dale marched towards the handle, but failed to reach it. " Is too high up! We need ta' work togetha'" He said in a slightly tired tone.
Chip-claw stood up, scowled, and brushed the dust out of his fur. He was not too sure why he hadn't been kicking and screaming the entire time he'd been carried. He had no idea why he hadn't bitten off Nora's paw for dragging him across the floor. He sat up, muttering darkly. They had carried him all the way here just to drop him on the cold, hard floor. They had carried him away from a soft warm floor and thrust him upon one made out of rocks and boulders and stones! The- the- nerve of them!
"Where's Lackey?" Chip-claw wondered aloud.
Nora shrugged apatheitcally, "I'm sure he fiiiine, probab'y jus' lost" she said, then changed her tone to a clearly audible whisper, "We need ta keep movin' though, othawise we gonna get caught!"
She skittered over to Dale, and began to try and climb onto his shoulders in an attempt to reach the elusive door handle.
Dale tries to jumps for the handle one more time before falling over as Nova is climbing on top of him. "Ey! Don' jump on me wif out warnin'!" Dale gets up and climbs on top of Nova and jumps for the handle and..... he reached it! Altough he reached it he couldn't turn the handle. "Ow' we supos' to turn dis thing?"
"Te the left!" snapped Chip-claw impatiently. He gesticulated wildly to the right. "Te the left ye ninny an' quick-like before de badger-mum shows up!"
Rayne had moved over to make way for Nora and Dale, and she turned to blink at Chip-claw. "Das not your left, das your right." She paused to look at her paws to confirm, "yeah, das your right. Also, ssshhhhhhh." She turned her attention back to Dale and whispered loudly, "You c'n dos it! Just pull down on the sticky-outy-bit!"
"Wha' do I do? You sai I shou turn it AND pull dow tuh spingy thing!" Dale said angrily while losing grip on the handle.
Nora sighed dramatically, "Dale, yer slowin' us down! Jus' watch me do it!". She began to walk backwards, away from the handle, until she reached a point she was happy with. She then sprinted straight towards the door, jumped over it in a confusion of paws and limbs, and unceremoniously landed on top of the handle in a loud thud. Despite the poor execution, she still achieved her goal, as she fell on the handle and slammed the unsuspecting door open.
"Owwwwwwww" She groaned, tears forming in her big eyes, "Sowwy, I thought I would be more quiet..."
Dale falls to the ground with a loud PLONK with his eyes starting to well up "A-a-a a leas I din't urt anyone!"
Dale gets up quickly trying to shake it off and hoping if he goes on ahead he won't get caught by badger mother. "We oughta go out a 'ear before Bajah muther ears' us!" Dale said in a hurried tone. "Is sooo dahk in ear'!!!"
Rayne gasped when Nora fell, scurrying over to her friend. "Are yous okay, Nora?" She reached down and patted her gently on the head, then Dale fell and her eyes got wide. "Maybe.... Maybe we shoulds go back?" Rayne hesitated, wringing her little paws together in an uncharacteristic show of unease. "I don' wants us to get hurt."
"Rayneee, trus' me! We can' go back now, our 'venture still waits!" Nora bubbled, and to make her point, turned around and darted headlong into the darkness that lay beyond the door.
The room she entered was nothing like what she had expected. In fact, it seemed to not even be a room at all! From the light of the doorway she could make out a small lantern, unlit, hanging on a hook on the left wall. The patter of her feet echoed throughout her cavernous surroundings, resonating off the walls and stopping her in her tracks. "Woah... I neva' knew this was down 'ere..."
Nora turned back to Dale and the others "C'mon! You gotta see dis!" she shouted, and then proceeded to fumble around the floor in search of a way to light the lantern she had spotted.
Cautiously stepping into the new space, Rayne looked around with wide eyes, her unease evaporating as her curiosity took over. "Whooooaaaaa, dis is so cool!" She grinned and giggled, bouncing around in the light from the door. As she moved around, getting in Nora's way, she kicked something on the floor, moving it further into the darkness. The little squirrel gasped and dropped to the floor, trying to find the mysterious item.
After a moment her paw made contact with a little box and Rayne held up it triumphantly. "Lookit what I found!" She paused, squinting at the box to figure out what it was. "MATCHES!" Her largest grin yet that night spread across her face. Rayne loved to play with fire, although she was so excitable and forgetful it was a horrible idea for her to be around it even with adult supervision.
Milly had been abruptly woken from her sleep by all the wailing and clattering down stairs, she lay still for a bit, but as the sounds didn't die-down, Milly concluded it was her job to go investigate.
As she headed for the door, she noticed piece of paper and picked it up.
"Ooo! I's a evil p'an!" Of what the evil plan entailed, Milly had no idea, but she got changed quickly and ran after the sounds as quickly and quietly as her tiny paws could manage.
As Nora searched, the excitement of the adventure began to slowly wear off and an unsettling fear began bubbling up in its place as she began to realize truly how dark the mystery cave was.
"R-rayne?" she said, her voice quivering as she slowly made her way over to the squirrel and grabbed her hand "I don' wanna be here. Is dark and I... I'm scared..." In saying this, she gently let go of Rayne's hand made her way over to the light of the door where Dale and the others were still waiting.
"I'll keep wa'ch instead, okay!" she called back in a horribly loud whisper "Don' worry, nobuddy is gettin' here 'f I got sumthin' to say 'bout it". As she said this, she began staring intensely down the bright hallway, not knowing who may come down it next.
The young wildcat crept down the stairs almost soundlessly, then she sniffed around at the bottom of the stairs, for what she was sniffing, Milly knew not, but she came across a yellow ribbon. "I's so p'etty! "
And with that, Milly left all care to the wind as she ran down the well lit hall, watching the ribbon flap behind her.
Merak, a stoat about Chip-claw's age, who'd been left at the Abbey by his Momma as she was off fighting, rolled over and woke up to see all of the others gone. "Huh? Where is ev'rybody?" he wondered as he sat up and rubbed an eye. He noticed the door was open. "Dey's musta run off.." The young stoat wondered if he should follow after them. While he was used to having to be alone for long periods of time, that didn't mean he had to like it. Besides, if I follow after them, maybe I could find Momma! She hasn't abandoned me, right? No, of course not! He got up and ran out into the hall. Where'd dey go? ...Prob'ly downstairs somewhere. He headed for the stairs.
Milly laughed as she spun faster and faster, the ribbon swirled and spun. Milly reveled in the feeling of her dress spinning and waving and- CRASH! The little wildcat slammed into the corner at full speed, sending her spinning down the hallway at an alarming speed.
(OOC: By the way, the reason Milly isn't screaming in pain is because she's having a delayed pain reaction. It happened so quickly her brain hasn't realized she is Hurt yet.)
(Is she spinning in Merak's direction?)
(OOC: No, she's headed for the group at the end of the hall)
Merak headed downstairs just in time to see Milly slam into the wall. He winced in sympathy and quickly headed after her.
Rayne fumbled with the box of matches, trying to open it as quickly as she could since Nora was scared of the dark. "Don' worry! I's working on da light!"
After a moment she finally got one of the matches out of the box and she lit it with a giggle, taking a long moment to just stare into the flame. before snapping out of it. "What does I do wiv dis?"
Milly wobbled a bit as the pain began to sink in, she stumbled and slowed down as she neared the end of the hall. There was a small group of beasts at the end of the hall, Milly wondered for a moment what they were doing. After a bit of consideration, she skipped over to the small squabble of dibbuns and asked. "Watcha doin'?"
The little wildcat's eyes widened at the sight of the lit match in Rayne's paw. She quickly forgot her bruises and scratch. "Flicky-flame dangaous! Are ya donna put it in da la'p or somefink?" She peered dubiously into the dark room before carrying on. "What'n dere?"
Merak quickly caught up to the group, nearly bumping into Milly. "Why...why...why'd you leave wit'out me?" the stoat panted. "Wh...where we goin'?"