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

[The Skarzs]

  "That's the spirit!" said Oriff with a grin. He took hold of the sword before Maxy, and held the handle in both paws. The mouse stared up and down it for a second, then shrugged. "It's pretty! But I think I'll stick with Fastooth. Spears are better!"
  Afagon had no choice but to take the sword as Oriff shoved it in his paws. The otter held the sword across both paws, looking at it. "This weapon is truly for a real warrior," he said. "And that, I am not." He offered it to Maxy. "But are you?"

[Ashleg]

Maxy's ears twitched. "Soon, I'd like to be," he said, giving the sword an experimental swing before grinning sheepishly and attempting to balance it back on its holder.
"This thing is heavy! Fastooth, you're taller, help make sure it doesn't slip off the other side!"

[LT Sandpaw]

Moving forward to assist Maxy the big rat took care not to prick his paw lifting the weighty blade unto the hooks that held it in place. Sliding one claw down the length of the blade Fastooth gave a low whistle as a small flurry of sliced furs drifted to the redstone floor.

"Maxy's a fighter all right, a regular battle beast. Ye should'a seen him fightin' them likkle tree-rats, e' saved my life out there. I reckon if'n ye asked Bracklew 'ed teach ye to swing a sword proper like."

~*~*~*~*~

Having joined Duncan and Grant in Cavern Hole Bracklew sat down and began drumming his claws on the tabletop. He'd been considering Maxy's admission to viewing the past through his dreams. The more he thought about it the more worried Bracklew became. For more reasons than one.

Turning to the other two abbey leaders Bracklew pushed away his concerns breaking the ice onto another subject that had been occupying his mind. "These Painted ones that attacked Maxy and murdered Stumbly." He began, keeping his voice low so as to not worry anyone who might be nearby. "We can't allow that to stand, can we? I want to make sure they wont kill any other Redwallers permanently. We can take the otters and any other volunteers who want to fight and Maxy's new friend, that rat. We'd be able to defeat them easily, I'm sure of it. And it would give us closure on Stumbly..."

[Ashleg]

Maxy grinned bashfully.
"I don't know about that...but hey, we have practiced before! He and Duncan taught me everything I know." He elbowed Fastooth. "And if you're so impressed, huh, who's to say I couldn't be a warrior? Let's go back and find Bracklew. Maybe he'll agree."
A trill of excitement ran from his tail to his eartip.

--

The only response that Duncan gave may have been a determined and grunted "aye," but old and tired Abbot Grant expressed a bit of more concern upon hearing Bracklew's proposal.
"Now, Bracklew," the elderly mouse chided. "We do not know for sure which rat killed her, and yet you would like to take a revenge party in and slaughter them all. I never thought I would hear you talk like this."

[LT Sandpaw]

Having expected some level of protest from the abbot Bracklew chose his next couple of words carefully. "We can practically guarantee that they were the one's responsible, and they slew her right at the doorstep of our Abbey. And if what Maxy says are true they are tree rats, which means they can climb the trees by our eastern wall and jump right on inside whenever they please. If they are willing to slay Stumbly outright, whose to say they wont attack dibbuns or elders? Not only that but they've been openly terrorizing others for who knows how many seasons. I don't want to slaughter them all, but I want to drive them off. Ensure they know never to return or come near our Abbey again."

~*~*~*~

"Well why'd ye need that there sword to be a warrior?" Fastooth asked, genuinely curious. "I already saw ye fight, n' ye came back fer me. I ain't ne'er 'ad a matey oo' would do somethin' like that. I reckon yer warrior enough. Sword or no."

Turning to Afagon and Oriff the rat winked at them and nudging Maxy. "Wot say ye cullies? Is Maxy 'ere enough o' a battler to be considered a warrior?"

[Ashleg]

"And how do you expect to accomplish that?" Grant pressed. "Even with the otters, you shall be outnumbered. What if you or Duncan gets murdered? Or Maxy's new friend?"

"I've dealt with worse than tree rats," Duncan chimed. "We survived the takeover of Redwall. We can surely survive this."

OOC-
Waiting for Skarzs before I go to post with Maxy.

[The Skarzs]

  Afagon raised his paws. "Who are we to say? I haven't seen you fight, nor am I really a good judge of what a good warrior should be."
  "He means you should be great!" said Oriff with a wide smile.

[Ashleg]

"I don't know what to say. You guys are too nice!" Maxy grinned from ear to ear and clapped his paws in front of him. "But, there's a difference between being a warrior and being the warrior. The Abbey Warrior gets to use Martin's sword...it's a Redwall thing, I guess. Might be hard to understand unless you were raised here. So? To Bracklew? Come on, before I forget!"

With a fleeting smile, the young squirrel scampered off down the hall.

[The Skarzs]

  Afagon caught Oriff before he went after Maxy. "I don't think we should be so quick to turn him into a warrior, Oriff. He may do much good, but it may also change him."
  "Don't worry about it, Af," said Oriff, shaking his head. "Ol' Bracklew seems nice enough, so what's to say Maxy won't be the same?"
  "That's what I'm worried about. We don't know everything Bracklew has been through, and he might be a far different creature than he was when he was younger, and maybe not for the best."

[LT Sandpaw]

   "Duncan's right Father Abbot, and we can't sit around and wait for them to attack us or any other creature again. We have to intervene. Bloodshed and our own lives are worth it if it means keeping the young from having to die too soon. Stumbly is a testament to that." Bracklew pounded his fist on the table to emphasize his point, looking to Duncan for support. "If we aren't willing to try something now those tree rats will continue to hurt others and cause trouble without restraint. Besides, if Maxy and one rat can take them on and survive, then why couldn't a full troop of tough Redwallers soundly defeat them?"

   Bracklew paused in his discussion with Grant, looking over the Abbot's shoulder relaxing in his poise. "Ah, here comes Maxy and his new friends. That brings up another thing I wanted to talk to you about Father. Hoy Maxy, come over here, the Abbot and I want to speak with you."

[Ashleg]

Maxy shot a grin back at Fastooth, Afagon, and Oriff, and then marched up to the three Redwallers at the table, resting his paws on it.
"Turns out, I wanted to talk to you too!" he puffed out his chest, smiling like he was in on something the creatures before him weren't. "In honor of Stumbly and my new friends, I want to be Abbey Warrior one day."

[LT Sandpaw]

   Bracklew blinked in surprise, not entirely sure he heard Maxy correctly. He'd been meaning to discuss locating the tree rat's hideout, the thought of Maxy becoming the next Abbey warrior meant a lot to Bracklew, and spoke of his own demise. After all the position of warrior was his, and wouldn't need to be passed on for hopefully many seasons to come. Perhaps Maxy simply hadn't considered the implications of such a comment. Bracklew would have never even have considered somebeast else wanting to live the life of killing and suffering, much less his adoptive brother. He himself having been thrust into the position and left physically and mentally scared because of it.

   The warrior cast a confused glance towards Grant, looking for some guidance. None was forthcoming and Bracklew realized this was his problem to resolve. His choice. His wisdom. At first he wrestled with the implications and self-doubt to make his choice. But it was only when Bracklew tried to understand the sudden announcement from Maxy's point of view that he began to understand. Using that realization to come to a conclusion.

   "Are you sure Maxy? Because I want you to think on this very carefully, and know I never willingly became Abbey Warrior. It's wrought with suffering and pain." Bracklew self-consciously touched his paw stump. "If you have really thought about it, I won't deny you. With the Abbot's permission of course. You've shown tremendous courage, reckless courage, but courage all the same if the rat's word is anything to go by. On that note I needed your input for an expedition of sorts. I was just convincing Abbot Grant that we needed to take proactive action against the tree rats who attacked you and Stumbly."

[Ashleg]

Duncan coughed into his arm and stared in embarrassment at Grant, waiting for Maxy to reply. Surely the young squirrel was not that naive?

"But you were younger than me when you lost your paw, and surely not Warrior yet..." Maxy argued, about to go on and state that he wanted to go through with it when Bracklew mentioned the rats.
The white squirrel's eyes got larger, and when Fastooth, Oriff, and Afagon finally arrived behind him, he twisted his paws uncomfortably.

"The rats?" he hopped slightly. "Are you sure?"

We attacked the rats, not the other way around. He glanced at Fastooth, hoping the rat would read his face and chime in. Would Fastooth be mad if I told them? Would they be mad?

[LT Sandpaw]

   Catching on to what Maxy was worried about rather quickly Fastooth gave the slightest shake of his head. Coming up to Maxy's left the big rat wrapped a supportive arm around the squirrel's shoulders, ruffling his ears in a friendly manner.
   "Aye, an' after them rats attacked us Maxy here did th' warrior thing an' came back to save my ol' tail. Inn't that right cully?"

[Ashleg]

A hollow feeling entered his stomach. Maxy gulped.
"R-right," he laughed.

Abbot Grant rose. "Do as you think best," he addressed them, gathering his plate. "I see I cannot stop you, so I trust you all to think wisely and act on those thoughts. Especially you, Duncan," he added, knowing the hare could get a bit out of hand when justice was involved.

The mouse padded across the room and sat down by Rayne.
"Hello, there."

Maxy turned back to Bracklew.