Redwall MUCK Forum

Montamillion

Member

Registered: 2018-10-28

Posts: 56

Onwards and Upwards! (The Quest Begins... Long Patrol log, 12/12/18)

Location: The beach just outside the entrance to Salamandastron

Characters: Varus (LP Major, male hare), Monty (LP Private, male hare). Adrian (LP Corporal, male hare), Jinora (LP Major, female hare)

Scene: Early morning just before dawn, Major Varus and Major Jinora personally see Private Montgomery and Corporal Adrian off on their Long Patrol recruiting mission. The adventure begins!

-------------------------

The sun is not yet up, though the sky to the east is starting to lighten. There is a notable nip in the early morning air, and the few hares assembled at the main entrance to Salamandastron stick close to each other in order to keep warm. One older hare stands apart, however: Major Varus, seemingly unfazed by the cold weather, peering out toward the east as sky steadily grows lighter. His son and Private Montgomery should be coming out shortly, and he gruffly orders the other few hares to step to attention. He's tired of all these greenhorns.

Despite having plenty of opportunity to do so, (they had returned to the Mountain from Halyard relatively early the previous evening, all things considered) Private Montgomery did not sleep well, if at all. The immense weight of the oncoming task weighed heavily upon him now that the day had finally arrived, and that internal fear he'd always carried with him had reared its ugly head and invaded his dreams. Still, such a thing would not stop the young buck from doing his duty, and so he had gotten himself up at the agreed upon hour, and had silently gathered his things and gotten everything ready for travel. Shouldering his satchel, Monty takes a deep breath, and, steadying himself, he makes his way towards the exit of the mountain. Upon arriving, he waits there for Adrian to join him, and he shifts from footpaw to footpaw, fidgeting as he gazes out at the horizon.

Spotting Monty as he exits the mountain, Varus makes his way toward the younger buck. "Ah, Private Montgomery. An' there's Corporal Swiftbuck..." Indeed, Adrian has come out just behind his friend, looking better rested, all things considered. He must have slept like a baby. "Majah," he says, raising a salute to his father, "Wasn't sure yah'd actually be 'ere, wot. An' yer not alone..." Varus nods. "Somebeast needed ta be 'ere ta see yah off... You boys both be careful out there..."

As he stands there at the exit to the mountain, Monty notes the small greeting party that had been assembled for them, and he cannot help but smile a little. He'd come a long way from the relatively green yet enthusiastic Private who had first arrived at Salamandastron...the same Private who would otherwise come to be known as 'Mad Monty' after his after-battle symptoms had begun to show, and despite doing his best to hide them, the word had gotten out. And embellished a little, of course, as they usually tend to be. In any case, here he is now, tasked with one of the Mountain's most vital missions in a long while, and having support from his fellow Patrollers. As Adrian approaches, Monty gives him a nod and a weary grin, and he turns to Varus to give him a sharp salute as well. "SAH. Thank you f'being out here t'see us off, SAH. I promise that I will do my best t'make sure Corporal Adrian doesn't get himself stuck in anything, SAH!" Humor to ward off those butterflies...

Adrian side-eyes Monty. "Oy, more like keep ya from losin' yer 'ead, wot?" He grins good-naturedly. "Anyway, we'll do our best, Da... I mean, Sah." He salutes awkwardly. So hard to wrap his mind around his Father being her superior officer. In a slightly less guarded moment, he adds, "I, ah... Spoke ta Mum... I know she were upset, about mah leavin' so soon aftah gettin' back... But she's bettah now..." He looks away. "I know she were upset wi' you, too, Da... But I made 'er undahstand, wot..."

Monty fidgets with the cloak he had chosen to don due to the chilly weather, raising and lowering the hood repeatedly over his head as if testing just to make sure that it works. In actuality, it's likely just another nervous gesture, distracting himself as Adrian tends to personal business with his father. Getting the occasional odd look from one or two of the other hares who had accompanied Varus, Monty simply grins at them and shrugs. "Yeah, if I lose m'head, m'ear'd have noplace t'go, so it'd prolly end up runnin' away an' joinin' someone else who's missin' one!" Monty chuckles, as he does a quick double check through his satchel to make sure he'd brought everything he needed. He'd also brought along a haversack with some food items, which sits on the ground beside him. "Yer ma won't have t'worry, Adj. I'll watch your back better n'anyone else, wot."

Varus is unable to reply. His wife had been more that a little upset, and wasn't hiding it. "I undahstand..." He feels about as awkward as his son, and knows things need to be said between them, but now is not really the time. There's no hug from father to son, but he does grip Adrian's shoulder with a tighter squeeze. "I may not say it enough, but yer a good son. Now... You two 'ead out there, an' find us more recruits, wot! We'll keep th' mountain safe in th' meantime. An' you, Private Montgomery... I know yer story. 'm frankly amazed yer still a Patrollah, wot! Go out there an' prove ya got wot it takes!"

A small Patrol kicks up sand in their wake as they jog towards the Mountain, a knot of three beasts tasked with simple and routine beach duty - barring the existence of any dangers, it's over and done within a couple of hours. The three approach, and while two of the hares continue into the mountain, the third veers towards Monty, Adrian, and Varus. "Glad I didn' miss seein' you lot off!" Major Tottheim beams, panting slightly.

Monty smiles a little at the gesture from Varus to Adrian, being quite aware of the constant tenseness between the two...and so it was good to see things not quite so icy for the time being. To Varus

Monty smiles a little at the gesture from Varus to Adrian, being quite aware of the constant tenseness between the two. It was good to see things not quite so icy, at least for the time being. To Varus, Monty gives a nod in agreement. "Yes, sah, as am I, sah. But I'm not gonna let a little bonk t'th' noggin' or two stop me from doin' what I've always meant t'do, an' that's be a member of the Long Patrol, sah! An' I thank y'for givin' me th'chance t'stay in an' not givin' up on me!" At this point, Jinora arrives, and Monty seems happy that she was able to make it before they left. She gets a salute as well. "Major Jinora, sah! Took y'time t'get here, yeah?" he jokes, with a little grin as he reaches down to heft the haversack he'd brought.

Adrian salutes Jinora as she arrives, as does Varus, though the elder buck has to constantly remind himself that she has the same rank as himself. "Ah, 'ow'd yer patrol go?" the Major asks, "No trouble, I 'ope?" Adrian, however, hefts his own sack, and looks out toward the east, as the sun is starting to peek up over the horizon. "Didn't think we'd see ya, Majah Jin... Don't know wot I woulda done if we'd bloody well missed ya entirely..." 

"Well, somebeast 'as t'make sure there's still a Patrol for ye t'come back to." Jinora smirks, crossing her arms at her chest. The young doe gives a short laugh to Varus, dismissing the question with: "'bout died'a boredom, Majah, bu' made it as fast as I could t'see you two off. Wouldn't miss it fer th'world!" She pauses a moment before making a 'shoo' motion with her paws. "Alrigh', I saw ye - now git!" She cracks a smile, betraying the ruse. "Everythin' is in ordah, I assume?"

Monty also notes the sun beginning to show itself...it seems that the two are right on schedule. Given that there aren't any delays after they set off, things should start off as smoothly as possible. Monty laughs, the sound holding a bit of his pent-up tension and nervousness, and he nods to Jinora. "Aye, if y'call anythin' havin' t'do with us two 'order'." He grins. "Y'more than happy t'send me on m'way after all th'headaches I've given ya, I c'n tell..." he teases. "M'glad y'made it though, sah! An' thank y'again for helpin' me." The buck shifts back and forth anxiously on his footpaws, glancing towards the horizon once again, and his tension is quite obvious. "Oh! Keep an' eye out for a new recruit, should be comin' this way in th'next day or so. Th' name's Marriana. Told 'er t'search ya out when she got here." Monty finds himself smiling in spite of himself.

Adrian nods in agreement with his friend. "Aye, Miss Marriana is a bloody good fightah, wot. She oughta be out this way soon." As he speaks, he's busy looking through his bag, making sure he left nothing of importance. "Anyway... It's all in ordah, yes. Think we're gonna 'ead south first, right, Mont? South seems a good bet, 'specially at this time o' year..."

"Ah, I met tha' one. Plucky lass, she'll make a fine addition. Well!" Jinora claps her paws together. "Lucky fer you, I've go' a thick skull - bu' I'll keep th'healahs ready on those nasty bark-teas fer when ye return." She smiles, though the healers swear by the tea as a remediation for migraines, she can't say she's ever felt much of a difference. "Bu' if that /is/ everythin', it looks like we will be... Seein' you lot again when ye return, rife with new blood fer us." She clears her throat, nodding to Adrian and Monty in turn. "Good luck, you two. Th'Patrol is countin' on ye."

Monty's smiles momentarily shifts to that goofy grin from the evening before as Adrian speaks and Jinora notes her familiarity with Marriana, and he nods. "Aye, she will!" he agrees, perhaps just a bit too enthusiastically. He notes a couple of the other hares staring at him again, his face turning a bit red, and he shifts on his footpaws, reaching up to fiddle with his hood again. "Ahem. Right. Tea...an' healers. N'bark. Tea. Well. Er...so, I suppose we'll be off...then..." The buck nods his head to Adrian, "Aye, I'm thinkin' we agreed t'head thataways first, Adj. Sounds like a plan t'me!" Monty returns Jinora's nod, his eyes gleaming with pride amidst the nervousness. "Thank y'much, sah, we'll be seein' ya soon! Or, later. Or somethin' like that. Whenever...we get back...n'such, heh..." He eyes Adrian for a moment to make sure he too is ready to head out. "Got good ol' Adj here t'watch m'back, we'll be abso-bally-lutely peachy, yeah, mate?"

Adrian nods his head, and salutes Jinora. "Aye, t'is time we depaht. Ya'll keep th' lights on, alrigh'?" He nods to Varus, who nods wordlessly in return, shoulders his bag, and looks to Monty. "Well, Private, let's march out, wot. I'll try not ta pull rank on ya too much..."

Monty grins at Adrian as he shoulders his bag as well. "Who's t'say I'd listen t'ya anyway?" he winks. "Welp, here goes nothin'. We'll be seein' ya!" he nods to Varus, giving him a final salute. "Don't let th'leverets cause y'too many problems, sah..." the buck replies with a grin, as he pulls the hood of his cloak up to cover his head. He takes a moment to glance back at the Mountain, eyes flickering with emotion, before he turns and trudges off southward in the direction of the dunes, trailing just slightly behind his best friend and Patrol-mate. Onwards and upwards! 

Onwards and upwards, indeed. As the two younger bucks travel southward into the distance over the dunes, Varus remains there and watches, until the two retreating figures shrink from view. With a quiet sigh, the old buck heads back into the mountain. He's still got a long day ahead of him...

---

“You will find joy, frustration and sorrow in your quest. Never forget that friendship and loyalty are more precious than riches...Happiness can be brief, but it knows no time in the land of dreams.”

Owner of: Monty, Dominik, and Grau