Redwall Isn't Safe Anymore! (Is Redwall as Safe as they Say it is? Part Two)

[Ashleg]

It was early morning.
The sun hadn't even risen yet, but the good creatures of Redwall Abbey were already up and getting ready to start their day, for Abbot Grant was hosting a feast in celebration of the Winter of the White Sky!
Duncan practically flew out of bed when he realized that he'd overslept, waking up only when Grant knocked on his door.
He threw the door open and glanced down at the mouse, panic alight in his eyes. "Huh, wha? Did I miss the scoff? Oh Abbot please, tell me I didn't miss the blinkin' great feast! Tell me..."

Grant smirked and put a paw on the hare's shoulder.
"You didn't miss the blinking great feast."

Duncan instantly relaxed.
"Whew. If you'd only held it in the beginning of winter, Sah, I'd not have overslept--"
Grant clicked his teeth and brought a forepaw up to the hare's mouth to silence him.
"Aah, but I held it back for you, remember. You were sick from stuffing yourself with scones during those early days of winter. I remember you droning on and on about how if you missed the feast, you'd die out of sadness..."
"I certainly did not!" Duncan retorted, going red in the face.
The Abbot flashed a smile. "You certainly did. Come now, we need to set up! I know we'll be in need of extra paws in the kitchens, especially when Chrysanthe gets here. And I still have to wake up Bracklew and see if Drubble has the drinks ready..."
Together they headed down the hallway.

OOC-
Okay, guys, here it is!
Let's not bring in the horde until the feast is over. The Redwallers deserve at least a little break, y'know?

[Groddil]

Mortembell the vixen, Redwall's Recorder, groaned at the antics of Duncan and Grant in the hallway. She rolled over and tried to close her eyes when Stumbly the mousebabe pulled back the covers.
"Bell, Bell! We 'ave t'go to da feast! Stumbee's hungwee!"
Mortembell picked up Stumbly lightly and set her back on the floor.
"Why don't you go and tell those two outside that I'll be out soon. If you do that, I'm sure Drubble will let you taste the drinks with him!"
Stumbly clapped her paws with delight and toddled over to the slightly ajar door. She pushed it open and tugged at Grant's robe.
"Fatha H'abbot, Bell says she be out soon and I gets t'taste da dwinks wif Dubble!"
The vixen emerged in the hallway, fiddling with her robe.
"I'm here, Grant. Go on Stumbly, run along now. Take Max with you!"
Mortembell shook her head.
"Never get used to this Abbey. Sun's not even up and everybeast is already gettin' all set for the feast. I still haven't got over dinner last night yet."

*****

Deep in Mossflower Wood, a lone vole puffed heavily as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Maniacal laughter filled the trees as two dark forms appeared in front of him. The vole screeched as a scrawny stoat knocked him to the ground and pinned him down. The grotesque face of a blind hedgehog filled the vole's vision.
"Hmm, you can see...Can't have that can we? HEHEHEEEHEEEE!"
The vole screamed in pain as the hedgehog's sharp claws raked out his eyes. The vole gurgled and went to the Dark Forest. Muddle shook his head sadly.
"Another one that can't handle the truth. HEEEEHEHEEEE! One-Ear ain't gonna get us, let's get outta here!"
The hedgehog and stoat vanished into the trees.

[Hickory]

Ava the Badgermum joined the hare and mouse as they headed down the hallway. Dressed in the traditional habit that all Redwallers wear, she walked without the use of her cane. The piece of wood was now collecting dust in her room. "Morning, Father, Duncan. Mmm, I can already smell the bread baking from here."

[Ashleg]

Grant chuckled when Stumbly left, the young squirrel Max fast on her heels.
He turned to Mortembell, shrugging.
"Oh, you will soon enough. There's lots of things we didn't get done last night, so don't you worry. The feasting part of the feast will probably be around twilight."
Duncan grinned and nudged Mortembell. "He means that the good part of the feast will be around twilight. Eh, eh?"
When Ava arrived, both hare and mouse smiled at her.
"Morning, Ava!"
Duncan sniffed the air. "I, too, can smell the bread baking....Burning. Burning?! Oh Martin help us, the bread is burning!" With a yelp of surprise, the hare sped off down the hallway.
"Which one of you villains is burnin' bally bread?!"

[Hickory]

A fat mouse was nearly bowled over by the racing hare. Putting his cook's hat back atop his head, Friar Rusk's normally jolly face soured at the sight of the gluttonous hare. Signaling for two mice to take the lightly burnt bread of of the oven, he lifted one of the hot loaves off of the tray. "No one's burning bread except the oven, Duncan. Here, take a look at this loaf."

The mouse held the bread out to the hare. A nearly indistinguishable black mark ran along the bottom, where the fire had reached too high and seared the loaf. "Just a little burnt, nothing to be worried about. You'll still get to eat it."

[Groddil]

OOC: Stumbly is female.

BIC:
Mortembell chuckled.
"Hi Ava. Looking well as always."
Duncan sniffed the air and ran off yelling about burning bread.
"Hares. They're all the same. Well, shall we go and make sure he doesn't appoint himself cook to 'fix' the problem?"

[Hickory]

Ava laughed.  "The Friar is not coward when his blood's roused. He's dealt with Duncan before, I doubt Winterberry will give him much trouble."

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Oh no, sorry!
IC-
"Oho, I'm lookin' at it alright. It looks good...Ah, warm bread on a cold winter's day..." Duncan sniffed the bread and grinned, attempting to take it out of the friar's paws.

[Hickory]

Rusk tried to pull the bread out of Duncan's grasping paws. A final tug by the hare broke the bread into two pieces. The Friar breathed a sigh of exasperation. "Well, you can have that piece, hare."


He called a work break. Taking his section, the Friar set it on a cutting board and selected a sharp bread knife. Cutting it into enough slices for the rest of the kitchen crew, he pulled out a small amount of butter. Carefully, Rusk spread the creamy concoction onto each slice, the butter melting on the bread. All the kitchen helpers took a slice and dug into it. Offering the knife and butter to Duncan, the mouse spoke around a mouthful of bread. "Here, might as well have the butter to boot."

[Groddil]

The vixen sighed.
"Well, if there's a feast that needs cooking, I suppose I'd best go get the prisoner to help out. No use letting him sit down there while we all slave away."
Mortembell trotted off down the steps to the cellars. She waved to Drubble cellarmole who was busy moving barrels of drinks up to Great Hall and unhooked a keyring from her sash. Mortembell turned the key and shoved open the heavy oaken door. Rapshade sat there, chained up to the pillar. Mortembell wrapped the chain around his paws and took the free end.
"Time to help out in the kitchens, Swifty."

*****

One-Ear, Champion of the Vigil, sheathed his katana. The fox motioned to a small group of Vigil soldiers, who emerged silently from the bushes, weapons raised. Damien Branchsnatcher, One-Ear's second-in-command, used a footpaw to turn the bloodied corpse of the vole onto its back. He winced at the shredded, eyeless face of the poor creature, turning gravely to the Champion.
"Another one. Lookit 'is robes. This one's from Redwall."
The fox cursed. He issued swift orders to the soldiers.
"You two, get rid of this poor sod. Take 'im into the bushes and bury 'im. Damien, take three soldiers with you to Redwall. Tell 'em the news. The rest of you are with me."
Damien nodded, selecting two otters and a black squirrel.
"Charm, Rivertail, Asher. We're goin' to Redwall."
The squirrel tucked his sling back into a knapsack and watched One-Ear lead the remaining soldiers off deeper into the woods.

[Ashleg]

"This early?" Rapshade's teeth clattered as he stood up, nodding at Mortembell's words. The ferret looked about tiredly. He hadn't been out of his cell that often, and each day had gotten increasingly colder. The former pirate shivered and glanced at the door. "Wh-why is it s-s-so cold down here?"

--

Duncan eagerly spread the butter on his piece of bread and tucked in to it.
"Mmph, Rusk, this is delicious? What'd you do different--burn it?" He burst out in laughter, wiping a year from his eye when he was done and letting out an awkward sigh.
"...It was good bread, I'll give ya that."

[LT Sandpaw]

"Thank'ye kindly mate. Say I didn' miss the feast did I?" A short cheerful looking otter walked though the open wicker gate grinning at the squirrel who held it open for him.

"Don't think so."

"Figure if'n I'm even a moment late that'n Duncan t'will make it disappear. Say your lookin' sweaty, been runnin'?" The otter asked as the squirrel closed the gate and slid the bolts into place. The squirrel did look sweaty, even for such a cold morning. The crisp air, and crunch of frost on the grass that heralded winter didn't seem to chilly to either beast protected under their winter coats, and clothing.

"Been training. Running is a part of that."

"Oh aye Bracklew everybeast knows that, but tis time to be a celebrating ain't it. Ye can take a break an' come to the feast." Bracklew looked discontented shaking his head quickly.

"No Aver I don-."

"Right see you there. And you better smile, one o' me squirrel mateys be bringing his daughter. 'Bout your age, mayhap ye could talk. Ye could use somebeast to talk too. Tally'hoo." Aver left the shocked looking Bracklew by the gate and jogged across the frozen lawns to the main Abbey building chuckling to himself. He'd probably have to drag the squirrel warrior to the feast, but Bracklew needed it.

Coming up to the door Aver slipped it open sniffing in the smell of breakfast. He had eaten only a small snack before leaving the otter holt, his crew would be arriving later to join in the feast. Following his nose Aver let himself into the Abbey and made his way to the kitchen.

[Hickory]

The Friar grudgingly smiled. "Ha ha, very funny, Winterberry. Be off now, I don't want a salad missing next time I turn around."

As the fat mouse moved to supervise the creation of a trifle, he bumped in Aver coming in the door. Squeaking in surprise, Rusk quickly covered it up. "Ah! Ahem, oh, it's you, Skipper. If you're here for your hotroot soup, it's over there by the moles. Careful, they've been adding their own spices to the mix."

<O>

Asher stood up from where he had been inspecting the vole's body. "Hmph, Redwallers. Not a good warrior twixt 'em."

He leaned again a poplar tree, waiting for the others to get underway. He was constantly moving, checking his bowstring, testing the edge on his dirk. One paw on a branch, the black squirrel watched One-Ear head off into the depths of Mossflower. He had his own private thoughts about the fox - he was far too scared of the Abbey to start. Then there was the sword, and the crossbow. Asher preferred traditional bows to the high-powered bolt shooting weapon that the fox carried.

[Groddil]

Damien tapped Asher on the shoulder.
"Come on, we're goin' to Redwall."
The squirrel nodded to Charm and Rivertail, who dived into the creek and began to swim towards Redwall.
"Let 'em swim, we'll go through the trees."

*****

Mortembell pulled on the chain roughly.
"Its the chill o' death, Rappy. Your time is comin'. Don't worry, its nice and warm in the kitchen!"
The vixen trotted up the stairs, pulling Rapshade behind her. She pulled him into the kitchens and clipped the chain to a bar on the side of an oven. Mortembell affixed a heavy lock to the chain and left Rapshade to the mercy of Friar Rusk. She took a plate and some food and left the kitchens in search of Drubble.

[Ashleg]

Duncan left the kitchens right as Skipper came in.
He nodded to the otter before stepping out into the hallway, satisfied that he'd eaten the bread.
"Mayhaps I'll sneak back in later without old Rusk ever knowing," he said to himself, chuckling and slinking away.

--

Rapshade gasped and stumbled tiredly behind Mortembell, basically hopping along due to his broken leg. He nodded in silent acknowledgement of Friar Rusk, then turned his head towards the window. Snow was coming down fast, adding something lighter to the still-dark sky. The ferret's eyes widened; he'd come from a warmer place and spent his whole life at the ocean. He'd never seen or heard or snow before.
Normally he'd keep quiet, but it sent him into a state of panic.
Rapshade's black fur fluffed up. "Aaah, what in th' sea is that? 'T looks dangerous! Is it?"