"The doorframe's too short."
Camp Willow, Residential Clearing! (Although some beasts come and go from Hale's house. ;) )
Hale, Callie, Rorgan, and Chud! All river otters, 'cept for Rorgan, who's a sea otter!
Enjoy!
The winter snow glistens wetly in the afternoon light. The Clearing is mostly empty- many otters are off on guard duty or are eating in the tavern. THe door to a house on the edge of the clearing opens slightly, and soon a loud swear is heard. "Bloody 'ell!" Hale stumps out onto the path and turns to look at the house, rubbing her head. "Gotta fix that..." She glares at the low doorframe. Clearly, it wasn't built with her height in mind.
Callie isn't really supposed to be here, but she saw a small class of dibbuns hanging around the river Moss, so she came in with them, and is now just wandering around the camp avoiding beasts best as she can. She freezes in place, walking in front of a house a few down from Hale's, as she hears the swearing and muttering. "Ah..." She watches the giant otter apprehensively.
Hale swings around. "It's nothin', only a lil'- oh, it's you." She frowns. "Thought ye were somebeast else. Sorry. Shouldn't ye be with th' other kits eatin' lunch?"
"It's me? Wha.. I don't know you.... I thought no one knew I was here...." Callie screws up her face as she thinks. "Mebbe a coupla other kits, but, I'm not a kit! I'm older'n thems!" She crosses her arms, indignant.
Hale's booming laugh echoes around the clearing. "Ahaha, lil' one, 'course we knew ye was 'ere. I was even on guard duty when you crept in. But we're not gonna kick out a lil' kit like you, so we were jus' letting you take yer sweet ol' time before introducing yerself to us." She winks. "So, ready to tell me yer name, yet?"
Callie huffs and hugs her arms to herself. "Gosh, it's Callie." She kicks a little ball of ice with a footpaw. "I woulda told ya if'n you asked earlier. You didn't need ta let me jus' wander 'round."
"Well, Callie, no hurt feelings, yeah?" Hale's trying her absolute hardest to be nice, since she really loves dibbuns, but they always run from her. Go figure.
Callie rolls her eyes and flops on the ground. "Yeah. Whatcha talkin' ta yer house for?" Forgive and forget, that's what dibbuns do!
Hale squints at her doorframe again. "Oh, er, nothin'. It's jus'..." She may as well say it. Not like the kid's going to make fun of her height, right? "It's too small. I alus hit me head on it.
Callie sniggers. "Heehee, mebbe yer jus' too tall! heeheehee! Whatcha gonna do about it? Can't fix a house? Don't e'ry body know how t' do that?"
Hale frowns. She should have seen that one coming. "Look, kid, I'm not a house builder. I don't know how to bloody fix a house. Gonna hafta get some other beast in... or, well, suppose I /could/ do it mself... it is /my/ house, after all..." She looks at it, sighs. "Damn. Why not. Just, stay out of the way, alrigh'? Dont want t' get hit wi' somethin.'" Hale starts to head back inside.
Callie comes a few steps closer, ignoring the warning. "Wait, wher' ya goin'? C'n I help ya? I don't got nothin' t' do, anyways..." She sticks her head in the doorway of Hale's house. "I still don' see wha' th' problem is, though. Seems plenny big 'nuff t' me." She sniffs.
The sound of pawsteps sound out softly on the ground, enough to barely hear, as a black furred otter clothed in black leather armor comes walking into the clearing, looking as though he's exploring. A red tattoo of a tribal style adorns his right arm, and he is armed with three daggers and a bow with a sheath and a quiver of black shafted arrows.
Hale returns with a huge axe in paw, and minus her precious blades. "Woah, kiddo, didn't I jus' tell ye to stay away? I'm going to do this-" She pauses as she sees the newcomer. "Oh, 'Ello, matey. C'n I help you?" She's heard of his presence in the camp (as a guard, she's expected to know who's around and who's not), but she's never met him. She leans on the tall axe handle, giving him a good once over. "Nice, tattoo, matey." Hale approves!
Callie pouts as she follows Hale a few steps out. "But I wanna help ya! Got nuthin' else ta do, I said." She kicks the little ball of ice she was playing with earlier moodily before the axe catches her eye. "C'n I hit stuff wit'cha gianormous thing? Pretty please?" Though all of her talking she hasn't noticed Rorgan even though Hale greeted him, and so when she does see him she squeaks and dives for "cover" in Hale's house.
Rorgan chuckles softly, adjusting his course to walk over towards the two otters, smiling. "Well thankee miss," He replies, seeming to be in good spirits. "I'm just explorin' the camp fer now."
Hale nods. "Tha's nice. There's certainly lots 'ere /to/ explore. I'm jus..." She watches Callie dive into her house and looks very bemused. "Er, Callie? It's not a weasel... or a rat... I think we'll be ok." Turning back to Rorgan, she shrugs. "I'm entertaing that lil' kit, apparently, and I was about to get ta fixing me house. So if ye'll pardon me." She grins, swings the old axe once or twice, and slams it into the top of the doorframe. The whole house shakes.
"That don't look like fixin' t'me," comes a young voice as Chud saunters in, taking a swig of hotroot from his canteen. "Aft'noon, all," he says casually.
Callie nearly screams and runs out of the house shouting. "Whad'id ya /do/ that for?" She runs slap bang into chud, does scream, and runs back to the house to hide behind and hug one of Hale's legs. "Hale... there's'n ottah ovah there." She whispers, wide eyed, staring at Chud.
Rorgan raises an eyebrow, watching all of this happen. "Mayhaps I can help you miss," He suggests, not quite acknowledging Chud just yet. "Wot exactly is wrong wid th' house?"
Hale stops the axe mid-swing as Callie runs between her legs. She sighs heavily. "Hi Chud. Callie, meet Chud. Chud's an otter. I'm an otter. You're an otter. Relax, kid!" Without moving her paws so as not to disturb Callie, she twists to look at Rorgan and Chud. "The doorframe's too short, matey. Allus hit me head on it. Gotta take it down an' build a new, higher doorframe. Not a builder meself, but I'm sure I c'n do it." Actually, she probably can't, but hey, it's Hale. She's gonna try.
Chud laughs as he's knocked over by the high-velocity otterbabe and he grins. "Yup. All otters here, lass." He laughs again when he sees Hale's method of removing the doorframe. "Y'gotta use a crowbar, not an axe, mate!"
Callie wrinkles her nose at Chud. "I know yer an ottah. 'Course I knew you was an' ottah." She doesn't let go of Hale's leg but keeps looking around it. "Whatcha drinkin'?" She asks with interest, looking at Chud's canteen.
Rorgan approaches Hale, laughing. Th' otter's right. You need yerself a crowbar, course I don't have anythin' like that wid me since I'm more of a warrior than a carpenter."
Hale raises one eyebrow, squints an eye, and wrinkles her nose. A very complicated face to make. "A crowbar? Ye think?" She looks down at her axe. "But... I like me axe! And what otter in this camp is gonna have a crowbar? Most o' us are jus' warriors, like yerself..." She glares down at Callie. "Yer puttin' me paw ta sleep, Cal! Gerroff!"
Chud grins at the situation Callie and Hale are in. "I've got one, acherlly," he says with a sly twinkle in his eyes. "Want me ter get it?"
This is unfinished! So stay tuned!
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