02.01.09 - Next Time Rules

Location: Salamandastron Boxing Room

Characters Involved: Tameus, Micah

This is a big... big place. And it's suddenly gotten a lot busier. So Micah has found his way into the deepest part of the mountain he has yet ventured, hoping to escape the new throng of hares. It has brought him to the boxing chamber, which at this time of day is all but empty. All those perilous hares making a break for the dining chamber and lunch. So, Micah finds himself wandering into the large empty room, eyes blinking silently. His ear twitches as he nears the enroped boxing ring. A paw reaches up to rest on the lower rope. He leans.

And then there's a sound - footsteps, rather quiet ones, as Tam approaches this room - just one of many waiting to be explored. He stops in the doorway, one hand lifted against the frame, and stays there for a moment, looking in, his expression one of eagerness and fatigue.

The sound is lost on Micah. He has ducked under the rope and clambered up into the ring. There's a single pair of boxing mitts that have been left behind. It is these that he approaches. He squats, lifting one to look inside. His head cocks.

Tameus edges toward the boxing ring, glancing around at the room and then letting this take his whole focus. He reaches the edge, sets both hands on one of the ropes, and smiles curiously at the other leveret. "Hi."

Micah's ear gives a fluttery twitch. His head turns. Tameus gets a long, silent look, and then Micah is looking away again. He picks up the mitt, slipping it experimentally on his paw. It covers his arm up to the elbow.

Tameus's ears angle back a little. He ducks his head under the rope to step into the ring, taking a few steps to approach Micah with his head tilted to the side. "H'lo.. 'm Tam."

That same faint flutter. He looks up again, semi-expectant. "Hi. I'm catchin'. Go 'way."

Tameus's brows lift a fraction. He hesitates, and takes another step toward Micah. ".. y'r catchin'? That ain' y'r name, 's 't?"

Micah's eyes narrow thoughtfully. "Mike."

A smile shows on Tam's muzzle again. "'m Tam Sade."

Micah picks up the other mitt, though he keeps his eyes carefully on the other leveret. He fits it onto his remaining paw. The mitts are heavy, weighing his paws down. He rests them on the mat. Still squatting. "Kay."

Another step draws Tam closer still, and he crouches, peering thoughtfully at Micah's face. The smile is still there, but tiny, more curious and uncertain as he looks at the scarring on the other boy's face. ".. what 'appened t' y', Mike?"

"Spiders ate m'face," the leveret answers steadily.

Tameus blinks in alarm. "That was real mean'a 'em. Must'a been big spiders?"

"Lotsa little ones," Micah contradicts with a shake of his head. "Red with tiny sharp teeth." He demonstrates, baring his.

Tameus's teeth bare also, but it's a cringing kind of gesture. "... ew."

"Yeah," Micah agrees, and lifts his mitted paws pressed together. He overbalances, falling back on his butt. With a scowl, he tosses the mitts off.

Tameus continues to squint curiously at the younger leveret's scars - then he moves onto his knees, reaching for the closest of the mitts when they're discarded. "What's these f'?"

"Boxin', doncha know nothin'?" Micah look at /Tam/ curiously, now.

Tameus tilts his head. ".. some," he says with a shrug, lifting the mitt, considering it. "Gran'da' started t' teach me. Didn' say nothin' 'bout these though." His gaze travels up to Micah. "Y' know 'bout boxin'?"

To be perfectly honest, Micah only knows what the mitts are because he saw and heard some recruits talking about them. But. "Yeah. 'Course."

Tameus holds the mitt with one hand and stretches out the other. His fingers are healed now, though sore, and the splints were removed sometime during the journey. He curls this hand in a fist and looks up. "Y' wann' do 't then?"

"Dunno." Micah's looking at Tam veeeery curiously, now.

Tameus tilts his head in response to the look. ".. 'd be fun," he says, as certainly as he can, and nods. "'ve only boxed wit' th' punchin' bag b'fore. Bet this 's better. Boxin' wit' /some'n/."

Micah slowly stands. His eyes are about level with Tam's muzzle. His eyes flick up. "Who's yer Gran'da?"

Tameus angles his muzzle down just a fraction, smiling more. "Well 've got two'a 'em," he explains. "Ender's th' one who was teachin' me boxin'. Jarril's th' other. /Major/ Jarril."

"Oh," Micah says. "Kay, I guess."

Tameus hefts the mitt and turns it in his hands. "I d'nno 'ow t' use /these/ though."

"I don't like 'em," Micah shakes his head. He holds up a paw, fists it. "Yeah?" Askance.

Tameus shrugs, tosses the mitt down. "We won' use 'um then. Y' know 'ow t' punch an' all, righ'?" He steps back, stance spreading, hands coming up in a guard position. Enough practice and he actually sort of knows what he's doing by now.

Micah's experience is less with boxing, more backyard brawls. His fists come up as well. "'Course."

"Okay," the older boy huffs. Tam stares at Micah hard for a second and then jerks a little forward, throwing a quick jab at his chest.

Micah doesn't even TRY to block the jab. That is apparently not his scene. His fist jerks out to sock Tam right in the nose.

Tameus has definitely practiced offense more than defense; it's easier to do with a punching bag. He reflexively ducks back and whips out one fist in a sort of flailing right-hook-thing at the side of Micah's muzzle.

The fist connects and Micah staggers back. He lowers his head, steadying himself. Spits where his gums have cut on a tooth. When he looks up again it's with a glare. He /charges/ Tam, head down, to sack him around the waist and knock him to the ground. Yeeeeah backyard brawls, okay.

Tameus has seen boxing. Zeraph and Darklett? It was rough but it wasn't .. like .. /this/. He has maybe a second and a half to look perplexed before Micah lunges right into him, and the older leveret is suddenly no longer standing. "Hrk!" And he's on his back, jarred a little from the landing, blinking and then grabbing at Micah by the upper arms. He clutches his opponent while bringing up his knees, tucking them in, then growling and giving one hard upward lash of both feet to meet with Micah's middle and toss him off.

Micah growls when his arms are grabbed, a frustrated little sound. He struggles to free himself, but then he's being tossed off. There's a guttural sound as the feet connect with his middle. He rolls off, curls over onto his side. Doesn't move, just gasps for breaths.

Tameus is tense as he rolls onto his knees, fur bristled a little. His hands press flat to the floor and he stares at the spot between them for a moment, then lifts his head. "Mike?"

Micah doesn't respond. Each breath ends with a little 'hck'.

Tameus draws a breath, lets it out. "Y' okay..?"

Micah's ear twitches. One eye opens and it stares at Tam. It somewhere between thoughtful and a glower.

Tameus lifts one hand. The fingers flex, fidget-like, and he reaches to set it on Micah's shoulder. ".. Mike."

Micah grabs Tam's arm to yank him forward... into his fist! Stomach. Thing! Never say die!

Tameus grunts. His mouth opens on a 'nnh' sound and his face screws up, stomach tensing as much of the air goes out of him. The leveret jerks away, drawing a sharp breath. On his knees he snatches for Micah's hair and throws the other hand, fisted once again, toward his face.

But Micah rolls away... with a few strands of his fur in Tam's paw. He gets up on his own knees, then scrambles to his feet. Brings his fist up again. A small trickle of blood runs down his chin. His steely blue eyes regard Tam speculatively. What's he gonna do?

Tameus rubs at the side of his face, rubbing there as he catches his wind a little. "Y' don' figh' fair," he says accusingly.

"Fair's only if ya set rules," Micah shoots back.

Tameus scowls, but has no response for that. ".. guess there ain' n' rules," he mutters, and lunges at Micah, to grab at the front of his shirt, jerk him, and shove him down onto the floor.

Micah is pretty easy to throw around. He goes down on his tailbone, hard. Tears squirt into his vision. He lifts his foot, to bring his heel down on Tam's toes.

Tameus yelps and jerks back. He about loses his footing, wobbles, and stays upright. A little huffed noise, halfway a growl, comes out of him and he shoves at Micah, shoves again, then brings back one hand and punches at him. Wherever the fist happens to land. Aim is sort of lost on him now.

The fist contacts with his chest. He grunts, swinging his fisted paws at Tam's head. They're not so much punches as tiny-fisted flailings of rage. Batter!

Haven't Tam's ears taken enough of a beating? Then pin back and his eyes are mostly shut as he's hit repeatedly, mostly on the sides of his head, with a lucky punch-thing hitting his eye. The leveret grunts and shoves at Micah again, one hand planted against the other leveret's middle, clenching his shirt - the other sending a punch at his ribs, and another, and another.

Micah grunts as each punch connects, his teeth gritted and grinding. He turns, trying to shoulder into Tam with as much force as he can. Kick a knee up into his abdomen.

Tameus falls back a step - but he doesn't let go. The leveret doubles over slightly, abdomen clenching, and jerks with a noise of discomfort. Both hands are fisted in Micah's shirt and he attempts to pull the younger buck with him, twist, and throw him down on the floor.

Micah goes down, hard. He puts his paws down to break his fall and cries out when his wrist twists. Those tears burst free and he rolls off it, grasping at it with the opposite paw. The fight goes out of him in a whoosh and he just lies there, grimacing.

Tameus is still kind of clinging at Micah with one hand, the other drawing back, fisted, ready to keep going. He lands another punch against the leveret's shoulder and then hesitates, and just stands over him, that hand upraised, breathing a little heavily.

Micah's eyes flinch at the shoulder punch, but he doesn't retaliate. He just. Narrows his eyes. Breathes. Doesn't say anything.

Tameus keeps that fist curled up tightly. He's on edge. "Mike?"

"What?" His ear twitches, his gaze steely-eyed.

Tameus's fist relaxes, drops. He still holds onto Micah's shirt, expression wary. "... who won?"

Micah holds his paw up to Tameus, while keeping the other curled up against his chest. He doesn't say anything. Just raises his eyebrows.

Tameus's brows lift a little also. His hand comes away from Micah's sure, leaving it bunched up where his grip was. He looks down at the other buck, uncertainty in his expression - and takes Micah's hand with his. There's a moment where he does nothing, then pulls on it to help him upright.

Micah comes upright. He eyes Tam silently a moment, then frees his paw. "Maybe next time rules."

Tameus blinks slightly, expression nearly solemn. Then a smirk blooms on his face. He nods. "Y' figh' good."

Micah shrugs easily. All nonchalant. "Yer not bad." He rubs absently at his jaw.

The smirk just grows. "Well I /won/."

"I... for, um. Fitted." Brow furrow. "S'a difference."

Tameus tilts his head and looks at Micah oddly.

Micah gives Tam an impatient look. "I coulda still whipped you. M'wrist just hurts." /There/. He holds it up, gesturing. See?

Tameus makes a face at the other. "Y' quit fightin' jus' 'cause'a /that/.. That ain' nothin'."

Micah's eyes narrow speculatively. "Ya /want/ me t'punch you again?"

Tameus considers this. His head tilts, his eyes narrow. "... bet y' couldn' anyway."

Ahhh, the struggle of young wills. He draws his fist back. Quirks his brow.

Tameus brings both fists up in a guard position, and grins at Micah from behind them.

Micah's ear twitches back. He frowns. "... I don't wanna. I'm hungry. Maybe later I'll beat ya. Okay?"

Tameus snorts. "Sure, sure y' will."

And just like that, Micah's angry. "You bug me. Go away."

Tameus's fists lower, ears canted back. His expression changes, shows confusion. ".. why?"

Micah says, "'Cause you /bug me/. I /said/."

Tameus says, ".. bu'. Why?"

Micah scowls, clearly exasperated. "Nnh!" He moves past him, shoulder-bumping on the way. He ducks under the ropes, climbing down out of the ring.

Tameus is not at all used to someone not /liking/ him. He shakes his head, confusion writ all across his face as he follows, ducking between the lower and middle ropes, dropping down from the raised ring. "Mike? .. what'd I do?"

But now Micah's back is turned, he doesn't respond. He's walking for the door, shoulders hunched and his paws shoved deep down into his pockets.

Tameus trots up behind Micah, reaching to grab at him and tug him. ".. Mike. Mike. 'm sorry. What'd I do?"

Micah's arms flail, shrugging frantically to try to release Tam's hold. He turns, shoving at the other leveret. "Go away! I don't like ya!"

Tameus is shoved, but holds on. He scowls a little at Micah's face when the other leveret is turned toward him. "/Why/? Y' don' jus' n' like some'n f' no reason."

"I. I jus' don't, okay? Get off." Now he's just trying to detach himself, leeeeaning back away. Offoffoff, leach! Thpt!

Tameus shakes his head stubbornly. "N' til y' tell me /why/. 'r. Somethin'."

"'Cause you-" and he emphasizes his next word with a shove, "/Talk/ funny! Nowgetoffme!"

Tameus lets go, and falls back a step with the shove. ".. well." He blinks, shakes his head. "/Y'/ talk funny too! Leas' /I/ didn' get .. get /chewed/ on! By /spiders/."

Micah's eyes narrow into slits. "Take it back."

Tameus looks unhappy at himself already. His muzzle ducks and he stares at Micah for a moment. "... I didn' mean.. t' say that," he mumbles.

"Don't ya /ever/ say... say... just SHUT UP!" Micah's little body is shaking. Upset or angry or both.

Tameus swallows and shakes his head. "I won'. I won' e'er," he promises.

Tameus says, "'m r'lly .. r'llyr'lly s'rry.."

Micah just stands there, shaking, silently for several long seconds. He cuts his eyes away. "... S'okay." His teeth grit.

Tameus bites at his lower lip guility, and shakes his head. "'m s'rry," he mutters again, and looks up. One hand moves to grasp Micah's arm, fumbling a little; his fingers close around the leveret's wrist. "I .. I 'm. S'rry. Ne'er 'gain, okay?" he murmurs in earnest.

Micah doesn't say anything for a loooong time. He just stares at Tam's grip on his wrist. With an outletting of breathing, he finally says, "... Ya don't talk funny."

Tameus lifts his muzzle just a notch and smiles at the other buck. ".. an'. Y'r.. y'. Y' look nice," he manages.

Micah's muzzle twists, ruefully. "No I don't." Pause. "Ya wanna go sneak somethin' from the kitchen?"

Tameus opens his mouth, and shuts it. On the verge of arguing he just smiles. ".. yeah. Bu' I d'nno where th' kitchen /'s/ yet..."

"I'll show ya," Micah offers. All ranker seemingly gone. Fickle, thy name is dibbun.

Tameus glances around the still-empty boxing chamber, and nods. He heads past Micah toward the hall. "'ow lon' y' been 'ere, then?"

Tameus asks, "A'ways?"

Micah's ear twitches. He follows after Tam, tugging on his arm. "What?"

Tameus looks over, his own ears a little perked up. "Y' a'ways been 'ere? 't Sala? Got y'r parents 'ere an' all?"

Ah. His ear twitches back. He shakes his head. "No. Just got here a few days ago."

"Oh." There's silence. "I jus' got 'ere t'day. Came from th' abbey. Y' know? Redwall?"

Micah nods, his ear perking back up a little bit. "Yeah, I used t'live near there. When I was little."

"Heh! .. I used t' live near /'ere/," Tam chuckles. "South a ways. Been 't Redwall .. a lon' time, though. Don' 'ardly 'member bein' n'where else."

Micah nods, seemingly understanding that. "I don't really remember bein' at Redwall hardly at all."

Tameus quiets for a moment, looking at the floor as they walk. ".. s' nice. I miss 't. Bu' I wan'ed t' come 'ere t' be a Lon' Patroller, so. 'ere I am."

"I guess I'm gonna be a Long Patroller, too." Micah says somewhat dubiously.

Tameus tilts his head. "Y' guess? .. why w'd y' be 'ere if y' weren' gonn' be?"

"... I dunno," he kind of mutters. And redirects! "Why d'you wanna be a Patroller?"

No one's actually ever asked him that. For a moment Tam looks thoughtful. "Well. Taye an' Darklett 're in th' Patrol. An' m' gran'da' an' gran'mum an'.. ... an' 'm gonn' be Colonel one day. Make 'um all proud'a me."

Micah's eyebrows go up. "So... 'cause yer fam'ly is?"

Tameus nods. ".. m' fam'ly /now/. Yeah."

Micah asks, "Yer fam'ly now?"

"N' th' same's m' fam'ly /then/," Tam explains. "... things 'appened. I 'ave a new fam'ly."

Micah's muzzle forms a silent 'oh'. He doesn't say anything for a while.

Tameus walks for a little longer without saying anything, then asks, carefully, ".. what 'bout y'rs? Y'r fam'ly? They 'ere wit' y'?"

Throughout this conversation, MIcah has been watching Tam's lips carefully. Now he looks away. "... Dead. Spiders killed 'em."

Tameus tilts his muzzle over toward Micah and makes a low chuffing noise of sympathy. "Mine 'r dead too. M' .. firs' fam'ly. Th' one I 'ad b'fore goin'a Redwall."

Micah glances back as Tam starts speaking again. "How'd ya get a new'un?"

Tameus smiles, a tiny little thing that tugs at his lips. Nostalgic, maybe. "Well. ... I met 'Arper."

Micah falters, missing a couple of steps. He stops. "... What?"

Tameus's brows lift a little. "'Arper. 'Arper Sutton," he says, and the smile grows. His eyes shut for a moment, expression adoring. "'e's a Brother 't th' Abbey. M' da', now. We /chose/ each other."

The scars of his face have paled noticeably. "You..." He looks poleaxed.

They've stopped walking. Tam looks curiously at Micah, that far-away kind of expression shifting to one of concern. "What? What's wron'?"

"What d'ya mean he chose you?" He's veryveryvery quiet.

Tameus tilts his head. ".. I mean. 'e asked me t' be 'is son."

It's like a switch has been flicked. Micah grunts, the sort of sound one makes when all the air has been punched out of them. He doesn't say anything.

Tameus peers thoughtfully at Micah's face, and takes a step closer. "Y' arrigh'?"

This requires very rapid thought. Or. Thought. Confused and very... something. Thought. "... Yeah m'fine."

The older leveret frowns a little. "Okay. .. y' still wann' go filch some'n from th' kitchen?"

Micah shakes his head. "... No." He points. General direction of the kitchen door. "S'there. I'm goin'..." And he makes a vague gesture. Somewhere else. He turns, abruptly, and starts walking away.

Tameus is nothing but confused and intrigued by the other leveret. His brows furrow as he watches Micah wander off. ".. 'ey? Y' said y'r 'ungry.."

No response. He disappears up the stairs.