A Winter to Freeze Your Heart part 2

[Faiyloe]

Vatra stood up "Hello again. Are you any good at building traps?" She said getting right to the point.

OOC: Whisperers is good.

[Cornflower MM]

Bryant blinked in confusion. "I don't know...I've never tried. Why?" He asked, wondering how this male squirrel might be to Vatra. He looked around for Arya, but she'd disappeared up the stairs. While he was doing that, he noticed that the remaining people were staring whispering to each other about his tail. Or rather, lack of. He'd once gotten in a fight with a rat while ago, and the rat had chopped off half off his tail. His being albino probably didn't help either. "Can we go outside, if you've finished eating?" He asked, wanting to get away from the stares, whispers, and pointing paws. Even if it was only for a little while.
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Meanwhile, Arya had dashed up the stairs quickly before the other squirrels could engage her in conversation, then looked back down. I didn't notce Bryant only had half a tail before." she thought, rather amused. She walked off toward Zanga's room. When she got there, she peeped around the cormer and saw that he was awake. She called softly, "May I come in for a moment?"
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When Abbess Russina had eaten her fill, she'd wandered outside, noting that Arya had disappeared, leaving her albino friend with Ervoyce and Vatra. She sighed, shaking her head. That squirrelmaid! Will she ever quite surprising me? She dangles her tail out the window for ideas, she has a habit of switching her mind to something else in the middle of a sentence, and now she appears with an albino male squirrel? And that's just a few of her oddities... She mused, bending down to look at a interestingly shaped rock.

[Faiyloe]

"Why don't we go to my chambers, Arya and me are going out later to set some traps for the vermin. You might be able to help. Are you good at stealth?" Vatra said starting out of the hall.

[Cornflower MM]

Bryant quickly followed, with his cheeks growing red from ambarrassment. A dibbun had shrieked out as he walked by her table, "MAMA! LOOK AT THE WEIRD WHITE SQUIRREL WITH THE SHORT TAIL!" He'd tripped at her her words, adding more chuckles to the ones at the little mousemaid's screamed words. "It's kinda hard to be stealhty when you're pure white. White fur shows up too good in the darkness." He said gruffly, trying his hardest to hold beack the tears of shame and sadness. He knew he was sensitive, but he liked for people to like him. Not laugh and point paws, as happened too often because he was different.

[Faiyloe]

"I suppose so but you must do very well in winter where I would stick out quite blatantly,"  Vatra said, "OH! I have a splendid idea!," She said leading them in to a hall with doors on eather side and into one of the rooms she shared with Arya. "Vermin are superstitious right? You would make a brilliant Ghost! We can haunt the abbey! Scare the silly things out of there whits," She said. 

[Cornflower MM]

"Yes, I suppose so. At least then I'd be useful, not a walking white freak show with only half a tail for little ones to laugh about or be afraid of." Bryant said bitterly, looking at the floor.

[Faiyloe]

"Don't say that!" Vatra said "I'm not very good at this, Ervoyce is better, But I know how you feel. People used to be scared of me. I have trouble controlling my anger. I was afraid and removed hiding from people afraid of hurting them. They thought I was odd and violent. I learned though that if I act confident, even if I still blow my top sometimes, they wont be as afraid of me.  A little confidence can go along way. Act like you belong, show that you are proud to be different," She said all this as she got a bag from beneath her bed and dumped the contents on the bed. There were four bark masks two cloaks and several other things including a map and a odd whistle.       

[Dannflower Reguba]

     Ervoyce hadn't said much on the way, but he started chuckling, bordering on laughing when Bryant spoke on stealth. When they got to the top he turned to his opposite and said reassuringly, "Look at my fur my friend, it's blacker than a moonless midnight. Yet I was able to hide from the vermin for an extended period of time in the snow of all things." He slowed down as he finished with more fervor, "All it takes is a little ingenuity and effort. For example, soot is black and easy to apply." He turned to face both Bryant and Vatra, "Or, as Vatra suggested, maybe you WANT to stick out, and your half missing tail could prove to make you all the scarier. It's all about acceptance, no one else will accept you until you accept you." Ervoyce clapped his new companion on the shoulder, "So, you want to join the local club of squirrel oddities?" He smiled warmly, he understood what it felt like to be shunned, having strange colored fur had that effect.   

[Faiyloe]

"See I told you he was better at this,"Vatra said she opened up the map "Now down to business, See here are the places where we already have traps or have  had one before.  So any suggestions. Typically we set a trap or too and then we draw them into it with this," She said holding up the whistle. She put it to her lips and blew on it. a sound like singing and like the wind came from it. "That at is why we call our selves the Whisperers,"   

[rachel25]

Zanga jumped slightly at the sound of Arya's voice. He had been so deep in thought, that he hadn't heard her approach. "Oh, yeah sure. Take a seat." Zanga sat indicating an over stuffed armchair that had a sword, and hardened leather jacket on it, used as a sort of protection against arrows.
Zanga quickly took the things off the chair, and threw them into a cupboard.

[Cornflower MM]

Arya walked over and sat in the chair and said, "I know you've noticed Vatra and me sneaking out, and returning about dawn or so. Well, I was thinking it wouldn't hurt to have someone who can actually swim without being dragged down by a big, bushy tail with us. And you're brilliant to put it bluntly. Another mastermind wouldn't go amiss in the Whisperers. So, do you accept? Even if the rest of us IS squirrels?" She said, being blunt and to the point. Then she added teasingly with a smile, "And what's on your shirt? Did you spill ink on yourself?"
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Bryant felt, for the first time in his life, wanted. His mother had never wanting because he was white. His dad spent his time around them drunk, and was rather rough. He'd never had any sisters or brothers. "You? Anger issues? That's...Not so hard to believe, actually. And you hid in snow. And you're the opposite of me. Well, you learn something new every day, I suppose. Neat whistle. I have one that sounds like rain, see?" Bryant said, smiling. Even thoiugh he didn't really like to be touched, he made allowances, like when Arya hugged him, or the black squirrel put his paw on his shoulder. He produced a leather thong from around his neck, wih a whistle on it. He blew it, and sure ebnoughm it sounded like it was raining. He tucked it back under neath his shirt and said, "It's actually easy to make different sounding whistles, once you get the hang of it. I have so many I lost count."

[Faiyloe]

"Well then welcome to the club Bryant! I have gotten allot better, thanks to Ervoynce here. " She said. handing both Ervoyce and Bryant a mask.

[rachel25]

Zanga was a little surprised, and not quite sure what to say. He didn't want to say no, but he had to finish what had been started twenty four seasons ago. "I, ur. Well I'd love to join, but I've got some important business I have to deal with, and I can't make any other commitments until its done."
He was as blunt, and to the point as Arya had been. Then it registered that she had said something else, about ink on his shirt. He looked down, and noticed a blackly purple stain, he wasn't quite sure when he had gotten it,  but at least it have him an excuse not to look at Arya.

[Cornflower MM]

Areya's smile faltered, and sh said quietly, "Alright. If that's what you want...I'll see you later, pal." She got up and left the room softly with her feelings rather hurt. She went to her and Vatra's room and peeped in. "I see we have two new recruits Vatra! Well, have they had the orientation yet?" She said, forcing cheerfulness into her voice, smiling a forced smile. "Looks like we're going to need more cloaks." She observed, then went over to her bed and pulled out a chest that was hidden under neath. "I'll get right to work, since I'm the one with the material. Unless one of you is better with a needle and thread?" Arya said, while pulling out a good length of the same stuff the cloaks were made of and setting it on the floor and pulling out her sewing kit. She was a good sewer, all her clothes she'd made herself. She looked up to see Bryant shaking his head at her question, he was horrible at sewing,and he was the first to admit it.

[Dannflower Reguba]

     Ervoyce had brought the prototype for the new gear with him. He snatched the package from the night stand he had placed it on, "Don't bother, I've got something better." The upper half: chest sleeves, hood, and veil rolled out once again for Arya's appraisal, "It could take awhile to have enough for everybeast, but I could probably get one finished for both Bryant and myself by nightfall if I can find my assistants ."