The Unlikelyest (closed)

[Faiyloe]

Ravax watched after him till he diapered threw the trees, He was the strangest otter she had ever met. Not that she had met many and the few that she had had tried to kill her. She hadn't thought to answer him till he was already gone and where he was going she could not follow. She turned and started back north not sure where she was headed.

***

Nearest to Burian was a group of otters playing ball. With a shout the ball went flying off course and landed in the underbrush near where Burian hid.

"I'll get it!" Said an pretty otter maid who looked like she was in her late teens. She ran around the rock and stopped short. "Oh , sorry." She said when she saw Burian.   

[The Skarzs]

It had been a long time since Burian had seen another otter, and he stared at the other for a little bit before shaking himself out of it. "Um. . . Hello." He picked up the ball that had stopped at his footpaws. "This yours?"

[Faiyloe]

"Yup thanks," she said "Your not from around here are you?"

"Marissa! Who are you talking to?" On of the players called over, a tall strong male otter who looked a little older than Marissa did, strode over. Upon seeing Bur he halted "Who are you?" he asked critically, "Carrel Be plight!" Marissa said shoving him "Excuse my brother, he's a nit wit," By now others where starting to gather wanting to see what this was about.

[The Skarzs]

"No, I'm. . .," Bur began, but was interrupted by another otter.
He disregarded the comment Marissa made about her brother, instead answering the other's question as the rest of the otters began to crowd around. ". . . My name is Burian; I've been trying to find a holt on the South Stream for a while." He looked around at the faces of the otters around him. So many. . . in one place! he thought. "Can you take me to your leaders or elders?"

[Faiyloe]

"Sure, follow me," Marisa said, She turned and lead him across the clearing to the cave Carrel following behind. Many of the otter stared at Bur with friendly curiosity. Inside the cave looked like any other cave until you got farther in. Then it started to look like a home. There where touches lining the walls illuminating the entire corridor which twisted and turned. The walls of the cave where painted with stories, and every now and then there would be a tapestry. There where various tunnels and rooms branching off of the main corridor in all directions and some times there where even little nooks where you could sit or play a game. And all this time there where otter, more and more otter, In the nooks, walking in the corridors, working or playing, and they all greeted Burian with a friendly smile.

Finally they came to the end of the corridor which op pend up into a large main room there was a large round table in the middle and on the far wall was a large fireplace with a roaring fire in it. Loitering around the table talking as if they had just finished a meeting, where a bunch of older looking otters numbering around 12.

"Father! We have a visitor," Marissa said stooping in the entry way. An otter who had been talking to an elderly otter, came over and shook Bur's paw warmly. "Welcome, to Holt Riverdale of the south stream tribe, I'm skipper Rurrock and my home is your home," He looked younger than any of the others in the room but he was also by far the the tallest of the company.

[The Skarzs]

"I-. . ." Burian began, but was left speechless. What if they were who -or what- he had been looking for this entire time? "My name is Burian, Skipper Rurrock. I'm. . . I'm not sure. . ." The otter decided to tell a bit of his story instead of stammering like a fool. "I travelled from up north, originally from the River Moss. I've been looking for my place of origin for a long time."

[Faiyloe]

"Welcome, Burian, I wish you luck an good fortune in your search and any assistance we can give will be given gladly, but in the meantime you are free to say here as long as you wish." He said cheerily "Come Have you had noon meal yet?" He asked leading Burian out of the room and back into the corridor.

[The Skarzs]

"Thank you sir," Burian said eagerly. "No, I have not eaten; what d'you have?"

[Faiyloe]

"Splendid, You can join us for midday meal. Marisa, go and tell your mother we have a guest,"  Marisa nodded and ran off to tell her mother to set another place at the table, While Rurrock lead him threw the tunnels and corridors at a slower pace. This part of the tunnel system had more wall painting and tapestries and the side alcoves where replaced by frequent doorways covered by curtains many of which had baskets pots or lanterns out side of them. Rurrock stopped by a red curtain and pushed it aside and waved Burian in. "My home is your home," He said letting the curtain fall behind them.

The room was comfortable and well lit with candles and lanterns. there was a fire place in the left wall with a chimney which seemed to go threw the ceiling of the cave and to the surface. There was a table in the middle of the room with five place settings. there was a stack of flat bread and and a bowl of spicy water shrimp sauce for dipping to start off. 

A tall, though not as tall as Rurrock or Burian, female otter came out of a back room, She wore and apron and had a dish cloth in one paw as if she had just come from cooking. 

"Tallia, I would like you to meet, Burian," Rurrcok said.

"Nice t'meet you, help your self to what's set while you wait," She said brushing her paws off and shoving the dishcloth in her apron pocket before shaking Burians paw. Rurrock sat down in the chair at the head of the table and indicated that Brian could sit in the one next to him.  Carrel came and sat in a chair across from Burian and listened in uninterested silence to the grownups talk while his sister helped in the kitchen.

"So This search or yours? Do you have any idea of what you are looking for?"

[The Skarzs]

Burian took a bite of the flatbread with some of the sauce on it, trying to breath out the heat as he chewed. "Hoo, that's good stuff."
He swallowed. "I have very little to go on, sir. I was adopted by some voles up north, but I left seasons ago. Not long after that I had come across a vermin wearing this:" He held up the bracelet. "Strangely enough, I have the same design tattooed on my rudder. When I asked where he got it, all he said was that it was from the south, down here."

[Faiyloe]

Rurrock took the bracelet and looked it over "This definitely belonged to someone of this Holt,"  he said pulling a medallion from under his tunic he held the mettle up to the bracelet. The symbols on them where almost identical the only difference being a squiggly line on Rurrock's where there where three dots on Burian's. "These here show the house," He said pointing at the dotes. "I don't recognize the house right away but I am sure old Torev will know who this belonged to,"

[The Skarzs]

The otter continued eating as Rurrock talked, taking a swig of water to wash down the food. "And where is this old Torev?" Burian asked energetically. "Don't mean to be rude, but. . ."

[Faiyloe]

"No worries, I under stand," He said passing the bracelet back to Bur. "Family is very important to any otter. Torev is one of the oldest otter of Holt Riverdale, You met him earlier, if but briefly, in the great hall. We can go an see him after we eat," He said as Marissa and Tallia came out with plates of fish and rolls and mugs of spiced beer. Carrel tried to steel on of the rolls from his sisters tray and got slapped with sauce spoon. "Keep your grubby paws off the food till yer served," She scolded while Carrel licked the sauce off his paw. Once the table was set and everyone sat down Rurrock said grace.

We thank the seasons for this meal
That we all partake of here
For good food and friends we say
Thank you for this blessed day.

[The Skarzs]

Burian only nibbled a bit on the food, the nagging urge to meet Torev making him impatient. However, this wasn't the time for impatience. Besides, he had never been in the presence of so many otters, so he tried to content himself by being as friendly as he could.

[Faiyloe]

Rurrock Could see that Burian was impatient and after he had quickly eaten his food, he was quite curious himself, he stood and gestured for Burian to follow.

"Come Torev should be in the library at this time,"

***

Rurrock entered a large cavern lined with shelves carved out of solid rock. Through out the room there where rows of wooden shelves. At intervals there where tables and desks set up for study, each with a candle to assist the users. Most of them where empty but on the far side of the walkway was a circle of light from one of the candles and a young otter maid no older than 12 seasons writing in a book with an elderly otter standing just behind supervising her work. He looked over at them when they entered and after tapping the young maid on the shoulders and giving her some instructions he came over to them leaning on a cane.

"Torev, this is Burian, he is on a mission to find his origins, We believe you may be able to help. Burian, show him what you showed me," He said in a hushed voice. 

***
Ravax had crossed the river and was heading south she had not stopped to eat until she was sure that she was far enough away from the Holt she did not want to run into any otters. Even then she did not stop walking but ate on the move, most of her stuff had dried out from her morning swim by now.

She stopped and flicked her ears up listening hard... She heard something. She tucked her half eaten role back into her satchel and got down into stealth mode. She approached the noise cautiously and peering from the underbrush she saw a large camp set up in the clearing with several makeshift tents and small fires. around the closest on where three vermin but she did not pay much attention to them. She was watching the large ten near the middle of the camp and the short weasel that had just exited it. He was decked out in a barbaric assortment of finery. A necklace of bones and crystals hung around his neck and over his shoulders was draped a cape of dark bird feathers and a baby sparrows scull clasped it at his neck. But this was not why she was looking at him, even under all of his face paint she still recognized his face, she would never forget his face.