Here we are RP

[The Skarzs]

OOC: They went outside the gatehouse. Us four were the only ones inside.

BIC: Skarzs nodded. "@Jukka? Are you willing to come as well?"
  He knew the path ahead of them would not be easy. They did not know the true scale of the world, and they would be travelling for some time. It. . . Scared him. He swallowed nervously. "Success is on the other side of fear," he muttered to himself.

[Jukka the Sling]

"Yeah, definitely," Jukka said, nodding.  This was going to be incredible, journeying across Mossflower.

...And also... very dangerous.  She sobered, considering.

Dangerous tribes and groups of vermin were everywhere in the books.  The characters could hardly step foot outside the Abbey to go on a quest without running into trouble within the first couple of days.

What would happen if she and her friends ran into some ragtag vermin group?  Jukka knew nothing about fighting -- she'd always been a homebody who preferred books and computers to physical activity.

...What would happen if she died here?  Would she be gone for good, or just end up back in the real world?

She looked up at Skarzs's next words.  "Hopefully," she said, and then added: "I hope we don't run into trouble.  I don't know... anything about fighting."

[The Skarzs]

  "Neither do I," said Skarzs in response to Jukka. He could imagine all the things that might go wrong. . .  "We'll need help."
  Drakken, the Abbess, and the recorder had come back in, and had heard the latest concern. "As Abbey Warrior, it's my duty to help with something like this; you'll all be protected. We wouldn't have you go off alone without our help."
  Abbess Lessia reassured them. "Drakken is a most skilled and trusted warrior; I would put my life in his paws. We shall also have healers with you, and others to help on the journey and for caring with the sick in Noonvale. Let us worry about those things. In the meantime, what you can do is help pack for your journey."

~~~~~~~

  Two days later, during the morning of their departure, Skarzs found himself with his head spinning around with Redwallers bustling everywhere. It was like his entire extended family had come for a reunion, but it was only the children. . . and if they were animals. He had backed himself into a corner to stay out of the way (and to prevent himself from stepping on anybeast) as he fought to get out the door of the Abbey. Finally, he popped out and hurried over to the others near the main gate, who were waiting for him. (He had needed to eat more food.)
  The infirmary sister with her healing supplies, Drakken with the sword of Martin,, and others, were getting themselves ready, shouldering packs, checking supplies, and saying farewells. Among them was the ottermaid Cress, and a young male squirrel who was looking quite eager to start.
  Skarzs found Corn, Jukka, and Dan. "You guys ready for this?"

[Jukka the Sling]

Jukka adjusted the straps of her pack so it rode more comfortably on her shoulders.  She felt giddy and lightheaded with both excitement and nerves.  They were actually going to travel across Mossflower!

"As I'll ever be," she said, grinning, looking across the group assembled around her.  "Everyone else ready?"

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Dann was admiring the string of a recurve that had been loaned to him by an older squirrel that he'd spoken with on several occasions before the trip. The bow was a simple but sturdy product of experienced hands, well worn, but comfortable as a result. He slipped it over his shoulder, next to the rest of his burdens for the trip. Turning and standing to face the others, he offered his response, "So long as ready isn't supposed to imply relaxed." Indeed, as exciting as such an occasion was, there were also a plethora of unknowns to be confronted... and that was unnerving.

[Cornflower MM]

Corn finished adjusting the straps on her pack and slung it on before snorting at Dann's words. "I wouldn't imagine that ready and relaxed are supposed to go together here. Either way, yeah, I think I'm good to go." She pushed her glasses up her nose and grinned at everyone else. The unknown was scary, but she'd at least figured out how to stop falling over her feet every two steps the night before and that made her extremely happy. She bounced in place, starting to get impatient at how long the Abbeydwellers were taking.

[The Skarzs]

  "If you wanted to relax, that's what the past couple days were for," the cougar said. He looked at the main group, where a bit too many niceties, well-wishings, and kind words were being passed around between the Redwallers who were staying and those who were leaving. Skarzs just wanted to start moving to get the jitters to wear off. He caught the eye of the other male squirrel with a chuckle. "Let's just bring everyone with us. That way they won't have to say goodbye."
  The squirrel, surprised at Skarzs' unexpected comment, gave a light laugh, turning away awkwardly.
  Skarzs wondered why he even opened his mouth sometimes.
  Finally, however, the main gates were opened, and the group made their way out onto the path. The Abbess had some final words to say, something about good weather, commitment, hope, and that the spirit of Martin would guide them. With that, they started marching north.
  The squirrel Skarzs had joked with earlier found his way into their midst, eventually walking along with Cornflower. "Hello! I'm Fentlo, but my friends call me Fenty. You're Cornflower, right?"

[Cornflower MM]

Corn had been quietly enjoying the scenery, more invested in looking around the forest than joining in any of the quiet chatter from the rest of the group. She hadn't been expecting any conversation from any of the Redwallers and it took her a beat to reel herself back into the present. "Uh, yeah, hi, Fenty. I'm Cornflower. Or Corn. Whichever." She blinked, hoping that didn't sound too awkward.

[Jukka the Sling]

Walking beside Corn, Jukka looked over at Fenty.  He looked youngish -- at least as far as she could tell, with him being a squirrel and all -- and he seemed really friendly.  It was nice to know that so many Redwallers were willing to look past their species and treat them normally.

[The Skarzs]

  "Well, it's good to meet you, Corn," said Fenty. "Hey, when we stop, did you want to race up a tree? Winner gets the loser's candied chestnuts."
  Skarzs said nothing. This would be interesting to watch.
  He hurried to the front of the group, where Drakken was walking. "Are we sure the Guosim will be there at the fjord when we get there?"
  "They should be. Skipper went off to get them days ago. At his time of the year they're further upstream, so it shouldn't have taken them long to get there as long as Skipper found them quickly."
  "And he'll be coming with us after that, right?"
  Drakken nodded. "Of course. Why do you ask?"
  The cougar shrugged. "Oh, no reason, I guess. . . I mean, other than the fact that he doesn't seem to like me very much. . . Jukka and me." The warrior looked at him. "It's not hard to see, though I'm not surprised. We're not only foreigners, we're a giant cat and a ferret."
  Drakken thought for a moment, then caught Jukka's attention with a glance in her direction and a wave of his paw. "My brother can be very untrusting. It may be good for you two to know why."

OOC: Jukka, if you want to you can make up something for the Skipper's past. Anyone can play him or any of the other NPCs.

[Cornflower MM]

"Uhhhh. To be fully honest, if I tried climbing a tree, I'd probably fall on my face and break something. I'm. . . Not very good with trees. Or heights." Corn admitted, giving an awkward laugh. She spotted Drakken motioning for Jukka and her face lit up at the potential topic change, "Hey, Jukka, I think Drakken and Skarzs want you,"

[Jukka the Sling]

Jukka had overheard the last part of Drakken and Skarzs's conversation, but she didn't quite realize Drakken had turned towards her until Corn mentioned it.

"Oh!  Okay," she said in response to Corn -- and immediately cringed at the slang she'd let slip.  Oh well.  Hopefully it wouldn't be a big deal.  Speeding up, she fell in step with Skarzs on his right; Drakken was to the cougar's left.  She gave Drakken a questioning look.  "So..."

"...My brother," Drakken said, and he turned away to look at the path ahead.  Maybe he was feeling a little uncomfortable?  "As I was saying to Skarzs here, he can be rather... untrusting.  I can't really blame him, to be honest."  His voice dropped, taking on a serious edge.  "It's... not a pretty story.  Rush is quite a bit older than me, y'see, and back when he was a kit, before I was born, our family lived in Mossflower, by the stretch of river that winds around to the east of the Abbey.  There was this mouse couple who lived nearby -- had a kid about his age, and he would run over to play with him every now and then."

Jukka's eyes widened, afraid of where this was going.

"One day he went over by himself to play and... they were all dead.  Husband, wife, kid."

"Oh my goodness," Jukka gasped, covering her mouth with a paw.

Drakken nodded.  "Traveling band of marauders had passed through and tried to rob them, but things had turned ugly.  By the time my dad came and found Rush, he'd been sitting for hours, just... staring... at the family.  Dad got him and my mum to Redwall and then got together a party to hunt down the murderers.  They got 'em."  He turned to look at Skarzs and Jukka.  "Dad always said he'd expected to find a group of nothing but vermin.  But they weren't just "vermin".  There were a few woodlanders among them."  He released a sigh.  "I don't think Rush was ever the same after what he saw."

Jukka swallowed.  That certainly would explain Skipper's trust issues.  "I'm... so sorry."

Drakken nodded and looked ahead again.  "I don't usually tell this story, but I thought you deserve an explanation for my brother's behavior."


OOC:  I probably went way too dark with Skipper's backstory, plus I gave him a lame name (I don't think he had a name before??), and I don't know if it's realistic to tell such a dark story so soon to foreigners you just met two days ago.  But it is late and I hope this is acceptable.

[The Skarzs]

OOC: That's awesome, Jukka. Thanks for taking the time to post it!

BIC: Skarzs winced as Drakken relayed the story of his brother. He was beginning to understand the Skipper a little better. With a sad past like that, it was no surprise he was untrusting. Of course, he didn't seem to want to try to change that. . . Did they have psychologists of any kind in the Redwall universe?
  "One more thing," said Drakken. "What I just told you isn't what y'might call common knowledge- Please don't spread it around."
  "We won't, don't worry," said Skarzs with a nod. "Thanks for telling us."

  Fenty's tail drooped for a moment, but he shrugged with a smile. "Maybe I could teach you, then! My father is the best treehopper in all of Mossflower, and he taught me. After that, then we can race! I'm sure you'll be great." He grinned despite Corn's assurance to the opposite.
  "Oh, leave her alone, Fentlo!" scolded Cress from beside Corn. "If she doesn't wanna race, then she doesn't want to." The ottermaid turned to Corn and Dan. "Sorry about Fenty, he doesn't know when to stop.
  "You know, I've been meaning to ask. . . What is it like where you're from? Where are you from?"

[Jukka the Sling]

Still a bit shocked by the conversation with Drakken, Jukka zoned out for a second.  Gradually, she started listening to the conversation behind her without even meaning to, and then she perked her ears up to hear better, curious about what Corn and Dan were going to say.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       There it was, the million dollar question that was bound to show it's face sooner or later. Dann had been mulling the answer over, and figured the best way to answer the question was with the truth... but with a little help. He chimed in from Corn's other side, "We're adventurers that, quite honestly, just happened upon this place. Where we come from is difficult to describe, and most of the ways I could describe it to you are beyond the imagination. Our land is filled with gleaming cities full of buildings made with metals. We have tools that can send entire books miles through the air in an instant without damaging them, or capture an entire painting in a... in mere seconds. We even have some records on Redwall, Salamandastron, and, as is probably obvious by now, Noonvale!.. We don't really know how to get back from here though, if that's what you mean, sorry." Hopefully the resulting confoundedness would give them some breathing room on the ridiculous nature of this entire situation.