They Thought Redwall was Safe! (Is Redwall as Safe as they Say it is? Part 3!)

[LT Sandpaw]

  "I, yes but Riverblue isn't far. Maybe they're there like we originally thought, I admit this detour wasn't what I hoped it'd be." Bracklew argued, loathing the idea of waiting until morning. Still, Duncan was right, the two youths could take care of themselves and each other in turn. Searching the woodlands in the dark would prove useless and perhaps even dangerous considering the signs of vermin activity they had just discovered.

Sighing Bracklew shrugged motioning for Duncan to take the lead. "Alright, let's find a place to spend the night, preferably away from this fire, the owners might come back."

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Roight! Toimskep!
Maybe somebeast patrolled around the Abbey and found Stumbly's body?
IC-
Rapshade awoke to the singing of birds.
Well...that was uncommon. Birdsong typically didn't reach the cellars.
He used his free paw to prop himself up and allowed his eyes to adjust to the room.
It was still a bit dark because the curtains were shut. Maxy was sleeping in the bed across from him, quietly mumbling and kicking.
The ferret took note of that.
"Rayne, are y' here?"

--

Duncan was up early.
He scouted back to the area they had spent the night and knelt to nudge Bracklew awake.
"I've gathered vittles, wot," the hare said.

[LT Sandpaw]

Sitting up Bracklew stretched and yawned trying to relieve a twinge from his back. Sleeping on roots and stones was an unfortunate side affect of spending the night outdoors, with nothing to lay on except their cloaks.
"Trust you to sniff out vittles first thing." Bracklew rubbed his eyes and stood up, taking stock of their location. "Well Duncan, what did you find for breakfast?"

~*~*~*~

"You're awake," the little mouse healer entered from her bedchamber which sat adjacent to the infirmary already dressed in her green habit and white apron. Rayne looked a little red eyed and droopy whiskered from lack of sleep, yet she seem as alert as ever.

"Your recent bout with Duncan left you worse for wear, but you will recover all the same. Still, I assumed you would sleep well into the afternoon."

[Ashleg]

"Recover?"
Rapshade blinked in disbelief. She was talking about recovering already?
He needed a break! He hadn't gotten in trouble for nothing.

Moaning, the ferret slithered down into the sheets. The chain clinked as he tossed his paw over his head.
"Oh, ev'rything hurts! How could I sleep? I'm feverish; have mercy, Rayne, I'm seeing stars!"

--

"Nothing good," snorted Duncan, emptying out the contents of a little bag he'd found in the woods.
"Some berries, an apple, and a lake full of fish. Didn't catch any though, I'm personally not very fond of 'em..."

[LT Sandpaw]

"I have medicine that can dull the pain," Rayne offered clasping her paws behind her back. "But the bruises and broken rib will have to heal on their own. I didn't want to give up anything yet, not while you were asleep. I would advise you to stay still for now, and if you behave I can talk to Grant about removing the chains."

She scurried off, returning with a spoonful of brown liquid, and a cup of his normal medicine. "Drink them," she prompted offering both to Rapshade. "The poppy and chamomile mix will help with the pain, and you know what the other does."

~*~*~*~*~

Sniffing at the apple, Bracklew carefully cut the slightly unripe fruit with his sword splitting it between himself and Duncan.
"A lake full of fish? I didn't know we were close to a lake." He mused over this discovery, biting into the sour apple and popping a few of the berries into his mouth. "So on the Riverblue next, hopefully Maxy and Stumbly don't move on before we get their. Actually, if we're lucky they'll have gotten home by now and all of this was for naught."

[Ashleg]

About to say that he was just being dramatic and that Rayne had taken what he said too seriously, Rapshade felt sudden panic. He drank both offerings and then looked the healer mouse in the eye, pressing the spoon back into her paws.
"Aye, whatever, I'll behave...heh. What was that about a broken rib ag'in?"

--

"Yeah, a lake, a pond more or less. Looks like nobeast's been there for a while and the fish had a chance to grow." said Duncan between chews.
"I'm sure you're right. You ready?"

[Groddil]

OOC: Can we timeskip yet?

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Ha, we just did.
Really, read my third most recent post.

[LT Sandpaw]

"Your rib is broken." Rayne said bluntly, storing the used spoon in her apron pocket. "A side affect that occasionally occurs when you fight, along with a number of bruises and a swollen eye. To be honest with you Rappy you got off easy, it looked like Duncan wanted to kill you the way he was going. Count yourself lucky that's the worst injury suffered."

~*~*~*~*~

Spitting out some apple seeds Bracklew nodded the affirmative. "Aye, let's make quick work of this, Riverblue shouldn't be far." Standing he strapped on his sword, tightening the belt considerably. His stomach grumbled, unsatisfied with the meager results of Duncan's scavenging.

Bracklew couldn't help but grin as they set out, knowing full well the hunger pains he endured were nothing compared to Duncan's. "They'll be having breakfast when we get there," he encouraged. "Maybe they'll let some old acquaintances steal a bite or two."



OOC:

Who do you want to stumble across Stumbly's body? Pun unintended.

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Maybe @Hickory 's new character can stumble upon her so he can get in here...
IC-
Shameful, Rapshade turned away.
It occurred to him now that getting to sleep outside of the cellars was not worth having a broken rib, nor a swollen eye or bruises for that matter.
"Of course I'm lucky..."
The ferret abruptly fell back and began to sob.

--

Duncan stepped twice as quickly as Bracklew, but he came to a skidding halt in his tracks when the squirrel mentioned breakfast at the Abbey.
The hare's stomach was like a black hole, constantly sucking but spitting nothing back out.
"You flippin' frogwalloper! This is for last night, isn't it?"
He chuckled grimly, wiping sweat off his brow.
"Listen, Brack, I'm sorry for snappin' at you but I was right, wasn't I? There's no need to get dangerous now.."

[Groddil]

Camped amongst the trees, just north of Riverblue, the army from the north sat about on their haunches, eager and waiting for word they knew would arrive any minute now. News that the Southern lands would soon be ransacked! At the center of the camp, beneath a hastily rigged canvas fly, stood a wildcat, glaring at a weasel that had appeared from the woods.
"I trust you have good news this time, Grenlik?"
A huge, mustelid-like creature, as muscular and tall as the biggest badger, stood behind the weasel and dug its claws into the scout's shoulder. The weasel winced, unrolling a scrap of parchment.
"Zobba managed to map our route, but it's not that necessary. We managed to cross the river, but the way across was too narrow to move an army. We... Found Redwall."
"Did they notice you?"
"No. But we did manage to find another way across the river."
"Talk."
"Outside the Abbey is a path running north-south. We followed it north, found this town bridging the river. There's a guard force there, good enough to deal with a smaller band. No chance against us though."
"Why haven't you found this place before?"
"Y'see, they let us through the town. Dunno if it was 'cause we were a smaller, relatively peaceful band, or 'cause the riverdogs were with us. We didn't get a good look at the place, but the path on the other side of the river got really overgrown fast. We wouldn't even noticed it on the way down, an' that's assuming we were far west enough to find it."
"Take us there. Once we deal with that town, we can hole up there and plan our next move. RERN! Get them moving!"

[Ashleg]

A small, furless rat with wealthy-looking clothes and crimson eyes gave the commander a sharp salute.
"Of course, Milord," he sneered, tweaking a whisker between two claws. It popped up and curled at his snout.
The rat turned on his heel and stalked off, waving at the other vermin soldiers that awaited orders.
"Get moving!" he snarled.

[LT Sandpaw]

Surprised Rayne stood openmouthed, trying to comprehend how to deal with this. Over the seasons she had seen her share of sobbing dibbuns and knew how to comfort them, but an adult vermin, chained in her infirmary bawling his eyes out left her momentarily unbalanced.

"Rappy," she scolded slapping his paw lightly with the spoon. "That's quite enough of that. What's gotten into you, there's no reason to be crying. Your wounds will heal, just like that leg of yours will, give it time."

~*~*~*~

Laughing the squirrel dodged away from Duncan, curling his whiskers and running over the perceived breakfast menu aloud. "Mmm, I imagine they'll be having hot porridge with honey, and dabs of meadow cream and strawberry jam on toast. Crispy scones still steaming from the ovens, and all the drinks and breads a beast could ever want. October ale, strawberry fizz, dandelion cordial, greensap milk to name a few."

Trailing off the squirrel kicked a stone, growing more serious and acknowledging the truth in the hare's statements. "Yeah, you were right. If those vermin had stuck around we might have walked right into the middle of them, because I was being impatient. I'm sorry too, I made a mistake which could have cost our lives, I'll be sure to listen more and rush less next time."

[Ashleg]

"That's fine," said Duncan hurriedly, covering Bracklew's yammering snout with a paw.
"Just stop the flippin' food talk. You're killin' me!"

The old hare pressed on, padding down the trail while his squirrel friend kicked the rock. His mind journeyed back to Maxy and Stumbly, and to wondering how they were.
"I really do hope they're okay. I have been a little overprotective, but that's just because I want them to be safe."

--

The infirmary was silent except for a certain vermin's whimpering and the calm reassurance of Rayne.

"I'm a wr-wreck...don't go!" gasped Rapshade as he was wracked with another round of crying.
Chain aside, the ferret was nearly doubled over on the bed, claws clutching the blanket with such force that it looked like he could rip it. Each sob sent a jolt past his broken rib.
He was close to hyperventilating.
"I'm n-not even th-thinking about...that. I'm s-sick...weak...without my real name...oh, Marm, forgive me."

[LT Sandpaw]

OOC: We should have them arrive at Riverblue in the next post, and maybe if Groddil's up for it the vermin can attack while they're there, and Brack and Duncan can help defend.

IC:

"I agree, I didn't expect them to stay out this long. Maybe we're just getting our tails tied into knots for nothing, they could be back at Redwall by now for all we know." Bracklew sighed, treading his way down a small rise.

"Look there, you can see the cook fire smoke from Riverblue, they built the place clear across the river you know. It's quite the sight to see."

~*~*~*~

Realizing what was happening, Rayne sat down on the edge of Rapshade's bed, deeming at least a little bit of kindness could go a long way in this situation. Still, she touch her jaw, feeling it pop under the light touch. Rapshade wasn't a beast to be trusted, he would willingly play the odds to his favor and take advantage of anybeast he could, or at least he did thirteen seasons ago.

Taking the ferret's paw in her own Rayne hushed him, gently taking the blanket from his grasp. "Lay back down Rapshade," she used his proper name, it felt almost foreign on her tongue, and it hadn't been heard in the Abbey for who knows how long. "You're hurting yourself by moving around like this, try to relax, take deep breaths and you will feel better."

Rayne could not forgive him, not yet anyway. The memory of fallen and wounded Redwallers, many of whom died later in the infirmary despite her best efforts still weighed on her consciousness. Rapshade had not earned her forgiveness yet.