Sibling Rivalry (Sandpaw vs Groddil)

[LT Sandpaw]

The body, wrapped in its funeral attire plummeted from the cliff face, landing with a sickly splash in the dark waters below. Silver fins could been seen for just a moment as the teeth of the deeps surged after this new trespasser of their domain. On the rain slick rocks the gloomy possession held no real sorrow for the dead, in fact, their new queen was practically shaking with joy as she knelt on the cliff's edge, allowing a rat to place a thin circlet of gold between her ears. Crocodile tears stained her face as she bemoaned the fallen royalty, cursing the fates that would take her 'dear' mother from her.

Wilce droned on in the background about the chosen heir of the queen, about how 'Silth would be missed and the island would mourn this terrible loss' all in the disinterested voice of a beast that was not used to making public statements. Queen Lantur ceased her weeping, turning to her loyal servant and waving her paw to signal that enough was enough, now it was time to address her subjects. The two dozen or so water rats that stood ideally by, probably wishing they could be inside the barracks out of the rain with the rest of their kin then attending this pathetically bogus funeral.

"My loyal creatures," she began, slipping out a small bit of parchment upon which carefully crafted words had been inscribed. "On this most terrible day, there must first be grief in light of High Queen Silth's death, but then there must be celebra-" She stopped midsentence, concern etched across her features as none other then her older brother Mokkan approached.


OOC: Not exactly in line with the book, but whatever. You're up @Groddil .

[Groddil]

"There must be celebration, because your king has returned."
The fox snatched the circlet from Lantur's head.
"As the eldest of my siblings, it is only right that I be the one to lead us. I see no reason for you to stand around in the rain any longer. Return to your barracks. Mourn the queen, worship the king, I don't care."
He smiled smugly at Lantur.

[LT Sandpaw]

 "M-Mokkan," Lantur stuttered, sounding as surprised as she felt. Her plan had been to slay her returning brothers and sisters out on the lake, before they could intervene in any way. It seemed as if Mokkan had decided to return early, and doing so in the most abrasive of ways. Mokkan was the most dangerous and devious of the seven Marl cubs, and as such she dared not invoke his wrath. Lantur looked around Mokkan, searching for any other signs of her other siblings, cautiously backing away from the large fox.

"Where is Vannan, or Gelltor?" She asked peering into the surrounding shadows. Marlfoxes could hide from most anybeast, using their cloaks and natural dark coloring to hide from prying eyes. Perhaps they were waiting in the background, wishing see how things would turn out, but surely they would be opposed to Mokkan so blatantly claiming the crown.

Meanwhile the rats, who hardly cared who was in charge, shrugged their shoulders and marched off to their barracks. Only Wilce remained, standing worriedly, a small distance away.

[Groddil]

Mokkan spat into the water.
"Gelltor is dead. Slain by woodlanders. Vannan is dead. Slain by woodlanders. Ascord, Predak, and Ziral are dead. Killed by mice and squirrels. I survived because I was already on my way here to fetch reinforcements. When the deserters caught up to me, I killed them myself. They were weak. All of them. As the High King, I am going to take every rat in this place and slaughter everybeast within the blood-stained walls of that wretched abbey, and burn the place to ashes for what they've done. They will pay soon enough."

[LT Sandpaw]

"We're thieves, not warriors." Lantur scolded, sounding very like their mother for a moment. "Ours is to take, to steal without concern and vanish into the shadows. I see no point in returning to fight these murderers." The vixen considered her older brother with disdain for a moment, running over the numbers in her head. Five of her brothers and sisters, slain by woodlanders, and nearly two hundred water rats. What manner of woodlanders lived in Mossflower, who were capable of such a slaughter. Truly it was too bad they hadn't managed to kill Mokkan as well, Lantur had no special love for her siblings, and if they had never returned it was all the same to her.

"Why did our sisters and brothers take it upon themselves to fight these woodlanders?" She asked in a slightly less accusing voice motioning for Mokkan to follow her. She had a special wine upstairs that would ease the pain of his loss, she had to keep herself from sniggering at the thought. "Come inside out of the rain brother, you must tell me all about these vicious woodlanders who so callously slew our family, and whether they pose a risk to your kingdom here."

[Groddil]

"Why? I'll tell you why, it's because that Abbey is full of treasure. Magical swords, shiny trinkets, tapestries that tell the future! The others tried to get it, and now they're dead. I'm going to go and get it myself this time, with a bigger army and less idiots messing up the plan!"
He pointed at Wilce.
"You, go tell the rats to be ready to leave tomorrow."

[LT Sandpaw]

"Tomorrow! Mokkan don't speak such foolishness." Lantur growled her eyes flashing dangerously. "Wilce stay where you are. The king-" she had to force the last two words through clenched teeth, that crown ought to be hers'. It was bad enough to kill the superstitious Queen Silth through tricks and poison, but to kill Mokkan the same way, over the course of a day? Impossible. "-Is tired from his travels, and isn't thinking straight. Even if you should leave the castle unguarded brother, and take the remainder of the house guard, it would be only be a fraction of the force you took originally. Surely these woodlanders who slew upwards of two hundred soldiers, and five marl foxes aren't beasts to be trifled with. And who would keep the slaves from revolting and taking over? Me and Wilce?"

They stepped out of the rain and into the gloomy halls of Castle Marl shaking their fur dry. Outside the bad weather continued to pick up, it'd be a long night for those stationed on the walls.

[Groddil]

"No, you won't be staying here to guard the castle, you will come with me. Rat, I've told you once, and your king does not like repeating himself."
He turned to Lantur.
"The original plan failed because of our siblings' stupidity. This time, the magpies will come with us. They can fly you over the walls to open the gates for the rest of us. And with all of the Abbey's warriors off on a wild goose chase to find us... Easy pickings. Easy treasure. Easy revenge."

[LT Sandpaw]

"Go with you!" Lantur shouted in anger, drawing the looks of several rats who were sitting nearby. "Fly over the walls on magpies! Brother have you lost your mind? What gives you the impression that any rat or bird would be dim enough to go along with that plan and follow you into certain defeat? I'm wondering if it was actually our brothers' and sisters' stupidity that led to your defeat, Mokkan. And that crown should be mine by all rights, mother wished it for me!"

Lantur was a smart and collected fox, not prone to outbursts, however she had been pushed just a little to far; a very dangerous too far. Reflecting on her words she backed away, unsure how Mokkan would react. A small part of her wanted to flee, but a larger, less sensible side urged her to stay and fight for her right to be queen. Lantur's paw slid to her side where it grasped her axe's hilt, she may very well need it in the near future.

[Groddil]

"You will come with me, you self-entitled little worm, because I am your king. You will do as I say when I say and you will not disobey me again, or I will throw you to the Teeth of the Deeps myself! The crown belongs to you only in your own egotistical fantasy, sister. Sucking up to mother means nothing. I am the eldest, the crown is mine regardless of what you want. You probably murdered mother anyway. She wasn't sick, only in the mind, and she was only physically challenged in the sense that she didn't want to walk anywhere. So here's what I propose. You will go along with my plan, which I know will succeed because it has been done before, or I will execute you for the murder of our mother! Guards!"
The rats stared at them.
"If Lantur tries to harm your king, kill her. If she decides not to bow to her king, execute her for treason and the murder of the queen!"

[LT Sandpaw]

Lantur's lower lip trembled, she wanted to shout and rave, but Mokkan had her trapped. There wasn't much she could do to save face at this point, unless the water rats simply ignored Mokkan and aided her. Which held the same probability of her sprouting wings and flying away.
"T-the white ghost killed mother, not I." She growled, even as she fell to one knee, lowering her head. "Yet I spoke out of turn, forgive me brother, I am afraid... Your plan might as well be to slay me yourself. I'm not strong and capable like you, I'm not a real queen, you are king." For now. She added silently to herself.

Wilce, seeing this surrender hastened off to do Mokkan's bidding, not wanting to be the target of the fox's aggression.

[Groddil]

"What White Ghost? There's no such thing. A figment of mother's senility, and until I see it with my own eyes and touch it with my own axe, I'll pass it off as another of your pathetic scare tactics. Go get some sleep, and get that axe sharpened. Has that thing ever been used?"
The fox grinned.
"You, rats. I want you to keep an eye on Lantur. Follow her everywhere she goes, and watch her door at night. Don't let her do anything stupid that might endanger her king."

[LT Sandpaw]

"Yes, of course brother." Lantur snarled, her paws practically shaking in frustration and rage. Spinning on her heel Lantur stalked off, closely followed by the rats Mokkan had assigned to her. Ascending one of the many ramps that filled Castle Marl the fox vented her anger on the many priceless ornaments that filled the halls. Vases were smashed, tapestries torn, and a great many shiny baubles scattered to the floor. Silth had always demanded that she be surrounded with beauty and wealth, and it was these items that Lantur destroyed so maliciously during her temper tantrum.

The three water rats beheld this youthful display of anger with admirable patience, stepping around the short-lived queen's mess, careful not to cut their paws on any sharp shards. They had been given a decisively simple task, and they moved about their duties with bored assurance. Thus they were unimpressed when Lantur returned to her room, her old one as Mokkan would surely claim the royal chamber, slamming the door on their noses and locking herself inside.

Shortly thereafter Wilce arrived having finished her duties for Mokkan, slipping inside the room at Lantur's permission, leaving the other water rats lounging outside.


"What do I do Wilce?" Lantur asked in a cracked voice for the fifteenth time since the rat had arrived. She paced across the floor in agitation, her brush tail twitching to and fro as if it had a life of its own. "He will know if I try to poison him, he will know to be on guard if you or I get too close, and there is no other rat we can trust on this island. I don't have time to make a long and complicated plan, and perhaps the only reason I am alive now is because he needs me for that mess of a plan he has."

Wilce frowned, turning over their options in her head, meanwhile Lantur threw herself face first on to her bed, screaming into her pillow.
"We'll need something less assured then," Wilce murmured, causing Lantur to perk up her ears. "A knife to the ribs isn't the prettiest method, but I'm sure there is a few rats in this castle who aren't interested in boating across the lake to fight a mysterious foe who already killed more then half their brethren. Surely we will have help, we just have to ask the right rat, and give the right motivation."

Lantur sat up, her silver eyes shining with a new light. "How many guards," she asked, her voice quiet and thoughtful, "do you suppose my brother will have protecting him while he sleeps?"

[Groddil]

OOC: Timeskip, maybe?

[LT Sandpaw]

OOC: Sure, where is Mokkan now?