The Undecided

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Raleigh's heart stopped, Twisty was right below her! Forcibly calming herself, she peered down at the rat, barely visible through leaves, thin as they were. He didn't appear to have noticed yet, was it better to run? No, she was too tired to make a quiet getaway. The squirrel plastered herself to the branch, Darrin would certainly insist on moving out soon, right?

[Ashleg]

The rat marched up to Darrin and swung the fish at him.
"What'd yew do wit' Raleigh?!"

[The Skarzs]

  "Gettoffit!" cried Darrin, narrowly dodging the fish as it swiped near his face. He regained his composure, and glared at Twisty. "Do with her? I woke her up, you idiot! If she isn't where she was then look around! She ain't my problem. With any luck she ran off."
  Darrin got back to his hasty meal.

[Ashleg]

"Oh, yeah, ain't yer problem. Suuuure thing, Darrin."
Twisty walked back to the tree and leaned against it, picking his teeth. "Hmm." He folded his arms, glaring at the ferret. "She's gotta be around 'ere somewhere, an' if she's not, there'll be 'eck to pay fer Darrin."

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Twisty appeared surprisingly calm given how he had acted previously under similar stresses. Raleigh breathed out slowly, feeling some semblance of relief due to his apparent distraction... But how long would his moderate temper last? She looked behind the trunk to find a good spot that was more hidden from the camp, shuffling upward a little bit more to wait.

[Cornflower MM]

Rowan nibbled on a scone, "I should hope we do catch up with them today. We really ought to hurry and get going," She commented, voice icy. She hadn't forgotten the conversation with Elijah the night before, and she hadn't changed her mind either. Her nose twitched as she thought about it, and the squirrel gave a small sigh.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Raleigh's breath started to stutter, the branches being colder than the ground she had slept upon. She closed her eyes as if to shut out the fear and discomfort, but was startled back into awareness by a light breeze that passed right through her clothing. Her gaze shifted downward once more, only to catch a glance of the paw that was really to blame, that accursed, defective paw... The same one that, even now, was in jeopardy. She desperately tried to drown out the voice of the surgeon, to blind her knowing eyes, to ignore the likely fate of the rat, her captor, should she manage to evade his grasp... All in vain. Her eyes were too full of sorrow to willingly allow such a pain to persist. The squirrel slowly slipped down the back of the tree, paws practically numb, waiting for a sound from camp to cover her jump... Sure enough, a short scuffle proved loud enough for her to comfortably leap to the low hangers on another tree, bounding a couple of steps and half dropped, half fell out to land with a huff in a pile of soggy vegetation and mud. There was little time, the nearby plants would have to suffice as an explanation. Raleigh darted from young clump to young clump, counting her blessing as nearly ripe blueberries showed themselves, followed soon by the even better chamomile bulbs which very quickly found themselves in her sash.

       Raleigh stepped back into camp, making extra sure to avoid being near, or directly opposite Twisty upon arrival. After taking a quick look around she sat down, paws stuffed in armpits to try and regain their feeling. Little attention was paid to her quiet appearance, something that caused her to question whether she really regretted not taking the opportunity to wash up in some way. There was no need to move, as Twisty was sure to show up on his own... unfortunately. She sighed.

[The Skarzs]

  "I'm ready to go as soon as you are," said Elijah, giving Rowan a look. He didn't quite understand what her problem was. "We can finish eating on the march."

~~~~~~~~~~

  Darrin glared back at Twisty as he readied himself for the day, turning away just as Raleigh showed herself. With some dismay he looked up and saw her, wishing she had just cut and run. She was doing something weird to the rat, and it was affecting the whole crew.

[Ashleg]

"What?" Twisty grimaced. A flicker of red fur caught his eye, and he rushed past Darrin.
"Raleigh! Why, bless me 'eart! Yew came back!"

[Dannflower Reguba]

       "Eat these," Raleigh's outstretched paw held most of the blueberries she had just picked. The berries he was likely to take, but she was trying to figure out how she could possibly convince Twisty to eat the chamomile later. She tried to avoid it, but couldn't help taking a peak at the disfigurement again, "You do realize we'll need to... take care of that soon, right?" This problem had been bugging her since the previous night, what with her lack of tools coupled with the fact that anything done out like this would not be sterile... But it was his only chance.

[Ashleg]

"Aww, apology berries! 'Ow sweet!"
Twisty took the offering from Raleigh and turned to sniff them-- just to make certain they were blueberries and not something more dangerous. Then he popped them twixt his jaws and swallowed.
"Not bad. Anyway, what? This old thing? Why, isn't it better now?"

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Raleigh stopped herself from explaining the calming effects of blueberries for the moment, better that Twisty's obliviousness be maintained. Though his very next action gave her pause, her eyes sharpened suddenly in response, it wasn't like him to take wise precautions... Or in her case, any caution at all. She stored this small revelation away for the time being as he turned back around, her answer neither courteous nor terse, more tired than anything, "The healing process is a long and arduous one... One I highly suggest you take more seriously." She turned on her side and rested against the side of the tree for what little time was left, trying to get back some of the energy she'd just spent.

[Ashleg]

"What's an aredoofus?" Twisty's ears twitched and he grinned dumbly. "Can't take it seriously if'n I don't know what it is, y'know."

[The Skarzs]

Deleted

[The Skarzs]

  "Alright, that's enough, you two!" cried Darrin. Seeing the stupid look on Twisty's face when he was talking with Raleigh made Darrin gag. He was going to put a stop to the idiocy then and there. "Twisty, get her goin', or I'm leaving the both of you behind! Every minute we stand here is another step Hacklaw has on us. But you don't seem to care that we've got a bloodthirsty giant after us, no! You've got your previous sword, your little excuse for a paw is healing up oh so nicely, and you've got a pretty little squirrelmaid to keep you company." He spat. "I'm sick of your fooling around, rat!"

~~~~~~~~~

  Rallowan had his paws full.
  He knew he was gaining on Darrin; the tracks we're fresher, and he could almost smell the food they had eaten. But the other vermin he had with him had neither the same predatory sense nor vision the fox had.
  "We ain't goin' no further!" said one, a big ferret. "We boys 've talked. It ain't worth tryin' to catch Darrin. There's easier pickin's back at the castle!"
  "Hacklaw wants Darrin," said Rallowan, still walking. He stopped when he heard no one else moving behind him, and turned around. The whole group of vermin had stopped, and were looking at him with rebellion on their eyes. "You're traitors."
  "No, we just ain't stupid!" said the ferret.
  Without another word, Rallowan took a knife in his paw and threw it at the ferret, felling him where he stood as it pierced his throat. The vermin around him backed away from the fox. "You follow, or you die," he said.
  After a moment, the others began to creep away, eventually turning and running. "You can't kill us all!" came a receding cry.
  Rallowan stared after them with pale eyes, then turned back to his trail. They only we're holding him back. Now the real hunt began.