Redwall MUCK Forum

SCENE: Somewhere on the River Moss, on a boat   (I like boats IRL.  And boat is a cute word to say.  Whatever.)

CHARACTERS:  LilyMoore, a female mouse.  Marek, a male stoat.  Patch, a male rat; Rayen, a vixen.

LOG:
It is wet. That's the best way to explain the entire situation outside. It has been raining since the night before, not heavily, but steadily. The boat is wet, the hares marching on the shore are wet, the trees and other plants are wet. Everything is wet. Even the river water looks more wet than usual. Droplets drip off the tree leaves, off the fern leaves, off the ropes on the boat. The rain has now died down to a fine mist, but it's still enough to make everything feel clammy and damp.   
LilyMoore peers out from under the covering of the cabin on the little boat that is steadily travelling up the River Moss, headed towards Redwall to hopefully save it from Ormaz's grip. The young mouse sighs, brushing a paw over her eyes and ears. Why does life have to be so hard?

Nearby is Marek, shrouded by the heavy rainfall on the dock as the mist all but covers him and his meditations. It has been a long journey to the mainland but Redwall is now close at hand and perhaps not a moment too soon. Will this conflict resolve? Am I strong enough to face my brother? What fate awaits me, all these questions and more fill Marek's mind as he tries to focus on preparing himself for the coming battle.

Patch is off to the side, sharping a couple daggers quietly.

LilyMoore spies her friend and walks over to him, for once happy that she has her boots on. Pulling the hood of her cloak over her ears, she crosses her arms against the slight chill. ".....I hope everybeast is okay, and that the Long Patrol is getting there in time."

Marek nods quietly. "Everything is going according to plan thus far, we can only hope that we shall arrive at Redwall in time to prevent a catastrophe, but battle is unavoidable" he stands quietly and stares out into the skyline. "I believe it is time you were trained properly. When we return to Redwall I hope you can find shelter but you may have to defend yourself if the situation turns dire, you must be prepared for this"   

Patch looks over at them, one of his rare serious times "I fer one am staying mostly clear...gonna be a lot of beasts trying ta kill one another, not a place fer a nice lass like you, kid"

LilyMoore scowls slightly.  "Momma's been training me, an' so has Uncle Emyuil."  She kicks at the railing.  "If you go into battle, I'm coming with you, Marek.  I'm not a coward, an' I'm not gonna let my friend face his scary wicked brother alone."

Marek smiles faintly. "I admire your spirit, child, but you must remember not to underestimate your opponent" carefully attaching a small shield to the end of his bronze paw, Marek draws a wooden sword and tosses another at Lilymoore before taking a stance. "Attack me"

Patch watches curious "Is that wise on a boat?" He shrugs and just finishes sharping his dagger and puts it away as he looks at the land.

LilyMoore unbuckles her sword belt and sets it to the side, in the center of a coil of rope so it doesn't get lost.  Picking up the wooden sword, she finds its balance and gets into an at-ready position.  Scowling slightly, she goes to attack, feinting to the left, then slamming towards the right, trying to 'chop' his leg off.

Marek quickly predicts Lilymoore's move and blocks the move aggressively with his shield, quickly turning his blade mid-strike to disarm Lilymoore with a quick and clean strike. "Always be on your guard, never assume that your opponent has lost his, try again!"

Patch watches still looking a little bored....Rayen walks up "What are they doing?" The rat shrugs "Practicing for battle...stuff like that" The vixen just nods and  looks at the land "Too close to the abbey now...I for 1 am staying ...well on the boat, not that camp"

LilyMoore is successfully disarmed.  Scowling even more darkly, she grabs the sword, takes a deep breath, then attacks again, keeping a lookout for what her friend might do.  She tries to slam into his shield, knock his sword to one side, then turn it and stab him in the chest!

Marek blocks each strike with grace, ending by blocking the flurry of Lilymoore's blows towards his chest, the small wooden shield chips slightly but otherwise does not give. "Better, but you must not let your anger cloud your mind in battle. Try again, but this time clear your mind and focus less on your sword and more on your movements. Picture your sword in your mind's eye and focus on your opponent instead"

LilyMoore backs off, gripping her wooden sword tightly.  Clenching her jaws, she closes her eyes, which have gained a faint pink tinge.  Breathing deeply, she stays that way for a few moments, then she visibly relaxes a little.  Her violetish eyes open, clear of their pinkishness, and she tries again, her movements, though quick and revealing her strength, are much more careful and thoughtful.  Although still not at an expert level, by any means.

Marek continues to block strike after strike, though muck less quickly than before, after a few minutes of sparring he once again disarms Lilymoore, knocking the mousemaid to the ground and smiles. "That was very good, child. You are indeed your mother's child, and are learning quickly. You must remember to take these lessons to heart however, for I once allowed my dark side to cloud my emotions and it led me on a dark path, I do not wish the same to happen to you". He quietly sheaths his sword and offers a paw to Lilymoore. "You did well today, child. The weather does not look like it will improve soon, but perhaps we can surprise a few fishes with a bold and unexpected strike. Care to join me?"   

Patch looks at the two beasts and arches an eyebrow.   

Ewan steps onto the boat, a couple pages in his paw as he frowns, ok clearly not stopped just yet as he sighs "How am I supposed to get messages to anyone if the boat is moving..." He then frowns more as a paper blows away and he goes to grab it, another one slips away in the wind, he frowns and balances himself on the back of the boat to reach for it, he is fairly good with balance or seems to be.

LilyMoore oofs as she falls on her rear, her wooden sword clattering away to the side. Scowling slightly again, she looks up into her friend's eyes, and as she listens to what he has to say, her face softens. Nodding, she takes his paw and lets him help her stand up. "I would love to go fishing with you." She spots a paper flying around, then turns to see the hare threatening to fall to his watery doom. "Or we may have to end up fishing for a hare...."

~*~

Thanks for reading!

SCENE:  Redwall Abbey Champion's Cottage

CHARACTERS:  Matilda, a female hedgehog.  DoraRose, a female mouse.  Various spoofs.

LOG:
It was maybe a few hours after sundown and the champion had decided to get some needed rest, most likely ordered too get some rest and so she agreed. The guards were on the wall, but still they missed the lone shadowy ferret that got in,avole guard got a dagger to their throat and the ferret quickly picked the lock and walked into the cottage and looked around, he left the door open but his plan was simple..slip in and then out.  He was skilled at this.

DoraRose had been sent to bed early, forced to, even.  It had made her quite grumpy, and everyone had known about it.  But she had obeyed and gone into her Gatehouse -- she had even gone to bed like everyone wanted.  She had fallen asleep immediately (after all, she's been pushing herself pretty hard the past few months, even though she did take a few breaks at Oz's suggestion).....but then she was awoken by nightmares.  The nightmares she had started having when her baby sister was killed, which had stopped after her marriage to Leon.....and that had started again after he had died.  Knowing that she couldn't get back to sleep without doing something else, the Abbey Gatekeeper has gotten dressed again and is on her way to the training yard.  She has been allowed to have either her hammer or her axe with her in the Gatehouse so that if they are attacked while she is asleep, she can be ready at an instant's notice to come to her home's defense.  At this moment she is walking out of the Gatehouse, axe in paw.  Her plan is to go murder some training dummies...

Matilda is...well asleep.  I mean no one can enter without a key after all, she sighs and tries to get comfortable on the bed and finally does and drifts back to sleep. The ferret walks in further and looks around, unaware Dorarose is coming to go to the training yard and has to come into the main room to get to the doorway.  He scans the rooms...walks to the training room ..it's locked and he looks to the only other room....it opens slowly as he smirks seeing the sleeping hedgehog, paw on dagger he slips in, quietly and has no shoes so no noise.

DoraRose has come to the door of the cottage and goes to knock on the door, only to find it partially open.  Her eyes narrow, and she cautiously opens the door the rest of the way, silently stepping into the main room.  Her grip on her axe tightens as she sees the doorway to the bedroom open, and she makes her way over there.....

The ferret keeps slightly and walks over to the bed looking at the hedgehog, he sneers "Sorry..boss's orders..."He raises the dagger and goes to stab her in the throat, it may of been unwise to speak though as she mutters something and turns over, just in time for a dagger to go into her pillow, the ferret growls and that causes the champion to open her eyes and in her half asleep state blink and gasp, scooting sideways and tumbling off the bed, tangled in the blanket now she tries to kick away, not as easy as it looks as the ferret just chuckles, he has the dagger back.."Little trouble?  ...That's fine...makes my job easier and your famous magic blade is hanging up...too bad, so sad"

Oh, yeah, talking was a REALLY dumb idea.  DoraRose walks the rest of the way over to the bedroom door and kicks it open.  Her eyes widen, and she leaps forward and goes to kick the ferret in the shin!  "Leave her alone!"  Swinging her axe, she tries to use it to its best ability in the smallish space.

Matilda starts to get untangled as the ferret spins around to make a slice at the mousemaid "You interrupt...leave and go elsewhere or die now instead of when my Lord and Master wishes it"Meanwhile the Champion is getting her footpaws untangled, stupid blanket.

DoraRose dodges and goes to block the sword with her axe and kick the ferret again.  "Hah!  Kill me?  Ormaz couldn't do that if I was blindfolded."  She goes to shove him against the wall, mentally cursing herself for not having a sword.  The axe is hard in here.  If the Sword of Martin is anywhere close by, it doesn't click in her mind that she could use it.  Instead, she jumps back, lifts her axe, and goes to slam its edge into the ferret's chest, aiming to cleave his torso into 2 pieces!

Matilda finally gets loose just in time to see Dora slam the ferret into the wall knocking down an old picture frame, the ferret lifts the dagger to stab the mouse and then drops the dagger as the axe slams into his chest, and leaves a slight bit of a mark on the wall....luckily not deep for the wall, not so lucky for the would be assassin as when he falls sideways it's clear he is dead, no checking on this he is clearly dead as the champion slowly stands and looks on in surprise, a bit more awake now... "I...thank you Dorarose, I am lucky you were around tonight. I heard no one enter and usually do...I have not slept in a couple days straight"

DoraRose is breathing heavily as she lets the body fall to the floor.  Turning to the hedgehog, she says, "Yeah.....well.....I was trying to sleep 'cause I haven't had much sleep the past few days, either, but I had nightmares, so I came to work out in the training yard.  Guess I was just in the right place at the right time."  Looking around, she adds, "Should we go alert the guards now?"

Matilda walks over and looks at the dead ferret and makes a face, she sighs "How did someone slip in...again..." She frowns as she sits down  "I wasn't alert enough...I was tired when that arrow missed...what if it had hit him, I didn't see it 'til it hit the wall, another 1/4 an inch...."  She covers her face with her paws and shakes her head "And tonight if you had not be here...."

DoraRose goes to rest a paw on the hedgehog's shoulder.....very gently, so as to avoid getting pricked by her quills.  "Hey, don't do that to yourself.  Believe me, I used to punish myself in that way, and it's not needed.  Nobeast is perfect, and if anybeast expects you to be....then you need to just ignore them, okay?"  The mouse sits beside the Champion, trying to look in her eyes.  "It's not up to you to be everything for everybeast.  Just be you, and everything will work out okay.  It always does, somehow."  She smiles slightly.  "Maybe we both need to rest a little more, and take turns being up on the walls."

Matilda smiles a little "Thanks but...beasts do expect me to..well do a lot it seems, and I need a day off, but I also don't want to look like I am not there for the abbey, and Ormaz is going to not just keep...hardly doing anything, he is going to full on attack and likely soon, he isn't going to wait forever to have a major attack and...and I need to be ready, we all do."

DoraRose smiles.  "Yeah, I think some beasts see the Champion as some kind of magical creature that has no soul or something and so doesn't need any rest or food or anything.  Ignore them."  She goes to take the hedgehog's paw and give it a slight squeeze.  "We can have our weapons at our sides at all times and train and stay in shape....but if we don't rest and make time for fun and relaxing.....Redwall might fall simply because we can't focus."  She pauses, then smiles slightly.  "Do you like cookies?  I love baking....maybe we could make some cookies or pie or something.  Together."  The Champion may be great and guided by powers, but maybe she needs someone to take her under their wings, so to speak, and guide her in a motherly sort of way.  The Gatekeeper can do that.

Matilda smiles "Cookies sound...great"  She chuckles "Maybe after some rest we would likely burn them to hard rocks...then again we could always -share- them with the horde, Redwall does like to share after all"  She made a small joke but it's clear she seriously needs some sleep.

DoraRose smiles.  "Aye, except under my watch, they won't burn.  Just because I'm a Warrior doesn't mean I can't be a good cook, too."  She stands and offers a paw to help the Champion up.  "Now, you are going to sleep in my Gatehouse tonight, and after I get some guards to help me clean up this mess, I'll come back and sleep in my rocking chair.  Okay?"  She's not going to take no for an answer, however, that's plain to see.

Matilda nods and decides to let the gatekeeper lead her to bed..she does stop long enough to get the blade and nods "Ok...let's go"   

DoraRose smiles and leads the hedgehog to the Gatehouse. After making sure she's comfortable on the bed (Leon wouldn't mind, she's sure of it), the mouse quietly leaves and yells at the guards! They rush around, finding the dead guard, dumping the would-be assassin right outside the front gates where Ormaz can see it first thing in the morning, and they scour the Abbey grounds and buildings, making sure that there are no more intruders. When this is well underway, the Gatekeeper quietly re-enters her home, sits down in a rocking chair, and is soon asleep. Her home is safe for now, so she can rest. Tomorrow they can start the struggle again....   

~*END*~

Thanks for reading