03.16.09 - On The River

Location: Broadstream

Characters Involved: Darcy, Harper, Crow, Belliger

The two escaped slaves, plus their kidnapped kitten, move through the woods near the river. It's not dark.. it's /black/. Darcy is a few steps ahead, trying to keep her footing and go as quietly as possible. Harper is once again carrying Crow, leaving the doe's hands free. She takes ahold of a tree trunk she can barely see and edges around the roots of it, continuing on while the river, swelled by the thaw, gurgles alongside their path.

The kitten is tucked inside Harper's shirt - he needed his arms free for this somewhat treacherous journey. There's no conversation between them, just the silent stumbling through the dark.

Speaking of the river, there's something splashing into it just downstream of Darcy and Harper. Given the lack of light, it appears that a small dark blob shoved a larger, flatter blob into the river. But the splash is definitely audible.

Darcy's ears stick upright and she stops. She doesn't say anything, just stares ahead, trying to make out whatever the blobs are - and whether these particular blobs will make things difficult for them.

Harper runs into the back of Darcy. He grunts under his breath, shifting Crow. His eyes then shift to the river, eyes narrowed. If only the moon was out.

Whatever just happened, the blob seems to have stopped, too, kneeling down on the riverbank and reaching out to the flat object he'd just pushed into the water. If they are near enough, they might be able to discern a head, and that it's turned towards them.

Darcy gives a slight grunt, and the bump of Harper into her back makes her step forward. There's a quick little shuffle as she holds onto a tree to keep from slipping into the water. Erf. ".. we don't.. want any trouble," she ventures carefully.

Harper's paw catches the back of Darcy's shirt, to steady her and pull her back. His other paw reaches behind his back, where the knife he spirited from Ruingate is tucked.

"Well that's good, 'cos I don't either." The darkness speaks! "What's yer business out 'ere this late, then?" The darkness also does not sound like he's totally buying in.

"We're... going... for a walk," Darcy says lamely, ears tucking back. Heh.

Harper draws the blade out from the back of his belt, quietly. "Who are you?" is his question for a question.

"Ain't none of your business, matey," The voice nearly growls. There's no blade drawn, or evidence of that anyway. "Why'n't you tell me who /you/ are?"

"Why don't we jus' go on our way 'n' you go on yours?" Harper counters.

Darcy is stuck between the two of them wobbling on the edge of the riverbank. She worries her lip for a moment, trying to make out some of the beast's features in the dark.

"Cos I don' know 'ow I feel about gettin' shot in the back while I'm sailin' downstream, is why." The beast in the dark stands up and very noticeably draws his blade, hunkered over as he peers into the darkness.

"We're not going to shoot /you/," Darcy quips. "So it'd be great if you didn't shoot /us/ either.."

Well, it's either let this escalate or say something. "We are two hares a kitten. We're on our way home. Met some trouble a while back. We're just trying t'get home. Leave us be 'n' we'll leave /you/ be."

"...Two 'ares an' a kitten?" The voice is hesitant. He puts his blade away, audibly. "Where's yer 'ome?"

"Redwall," Darcy murmurs, sounding uncertain as to whether she should supply this answer.

Harper puts his knife away, as well, tension leaving his form. He puts his arm on Darcy's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Redwallers?" The dark figure almost laughs. "Well if'n ye woulda /said/ ye were Redwallers..." Apparently they have allies, even up in the north lands. "'ere, I've got room on my boat for two more an' a kid, easy. I'm goin' all the way to the River Moss."

Darcy's shoulders sag. "Uhm." She sounds relieved, but gives Harper a glance over her shoulder. Not that she can even make out his expression, but.

"Who are you?" Harper asks again.

"The name's Belliger." The dark figure grabs a hold of... Something on the shore, and hops on to the apparent boat that he tossed into the Broadstream.

Huh. "Well... if you wouldn't mind us taking up the boat space," is Harper's answer, while glancing at Darcy.

Darcy blinks, expression shocked. "... /Belliger/?"

Belliger just stares. "...Aye?"

".. Darcy. Darcy and Harper," she says hurriedly. "From that village..."

"Oh, 'ey, Darcy! What in the blue river're ye doin' all the way up 'ere? I thought ye were goin' west!" Belliger still rests on his boat, holding it in place on the shore.

"We ran afoul of some slavers," Harper explains.

"...Yer runaways?" Belliger straightens up. "...I'd get on board if'n I were ye..."

Darcy leans back into Harper, face awash with relief. "We... just escaped Ruingate," she says, and steps forward to climb into the boat.

Harper doesn't have to be told twice. He follows Darcy onto the boat, looking relieved and grateful. "Thanks, Belliger... Thanks." He sounds. Ridiculously relieved.

"Hold onto yer 'ats." Belliger takes out a knife and slices the rope that'd been holding the raft onto the shore. And off they go! At a pretty rapid pace, given it's the Broadstream.

Darcy sinks onto her knees, hands against the bottom of the boat. "Harp?"

"Darce?" Harper also sits. No standing for this bucko. He grips the wood beneath him.

Who stands on a riverboat, anyway? Belliger doesn't. The shrew just sits, letting the river take them on their way. "Don't think they'll be tailin' ye now..."

"... I think we're going to make it," Darcy says in a whisper. Her head lifts. She looks at Belliger like she just might /kiss/ him or something. "Thank you."

Heck, /Harper/ might kiss him. "/Thank you/. So much."

"'ey, it's no problem. Anythin' fer Redwallers!" Belliger turns around in the boat, leaning up against the front of it. "I can take ye to the west shores if ye prefer it..."

Darcy's ears twitch. "I.. don't know."

Harper glances to Darcy, but he's going to field this one. He shakes his head. "... No. Home. We just want t'get home."

Darcy nods her agreement. "Drop us off.. far from here. South, closer to Redwall. ... we can walk part of the way."

"If that's what you want," Belliger shrugs, relaxing, crossing his ankles over one another. Loungin' shrew. "Haven't stopped by the good ol' Abbey in a fair bit, think I'll poke in an' say ahoy too."

Safety in numbers, woo! "We'd love the company."

"And the... protection," Darcy mutters.

"No problem, mateys. Hey, sorry for deckin' ye a nice one back at the brewery town," the shrew offers to the buck.

Ha. Harper smiles wanly, "Mate, that's like a.... a vaguely pleasant memory, comparin' it t'Ruingate." He sighs. Shakes his head. "And this more'n makes up for it. Who knows how long it've taken' em t'gather up a patrol after us."

Darcy points out, "We kind of, uhm.. kidnapped." Heh.

Harper's ears lay back. He doesn't say anything.

"...What?" Belliger perks up at this. "/You/ kidnapped somebeast?"

Harper likes to think of it as liberating. Or. Rescued! "We rescued the kitten." Aheh.

Darcy clears her throat. ".. rescued. Right. Uhm..."

"...Ye /kidnapped/ that cat?" Belliger stares at the two.

"/Rescued/," Harper repeats firmly.

Darcy just.. sighs.

"Hahaha. /Rescued./" Belliger snorts, then giggles, then laughs. "Oh, you Redwallers..."

Harper doesn't find the funny! He hugs Crow close, fall silent.

Darcy shakes her head a little. "So.. how long will we be on the river?"

"We'll probably take a day or so to make a good distance, then we can stop an' eat, or at least find somethin' to eat while we move." Belliger taps his footpaws against each other in a little beat. "The logboat's a-sailin', the logboat's a-sailin', a sailin' down the stream..." The little ditty is murmured to himself.

"Oh, good," the doe mutters. "So I can.. sleep. If you don't mind."

"Go ahead and sleep, Darce," Harper murmurs. He reaches out, touching her shoulder. "You need it." He glances to Belliger. "We'll wake you if we need to."

"Aye, we shouldn't run inta any problems. 'ave a rest if ye need it." Belliger looks relaxed... But alert enough to trust to stay awake.

"So what are you doing up this way?" Harper asks quietly, so as not to disturb Darcy as she tries to sleep.

"Oh," Belliger answers, considerately quiet. "I was just runnin' an errand for a couple squirrels I owed a favor." The shrew crosses his arms. "Too old an' slow to go venturin' up this way, so..."

Darcy settles down on the bottom of the boat, just resting there, slightly curled.

"When you say 'owe a favor' do you mean 'lost a bar bet'?" Harper asks, based on his limited exposure to the shrew.

Belliger blinks at Harper, sitting up a little straighter. "...What's /that/ s'posed to mean?"

Erp. "... Sorry. Just a joke. Which... yeah." Aheh. Harper isn't trying to get them thrown overboard.

"... No, they're jus' old friends o'mine. An' when I say old, I mean 't. When I stopped..." Belliger seems to reconsider the sentence once it's already started. "When I started bein' more of a wand'rer I stayed at their place quite a few times when I needed some 'elp. Lots o' beasts in Mossflower did the same, so I try an' do what I can."

Harper nods, soberly. "Sorry. I didn't mean t'imply anything. Well, /we/ surely do appreciate the help."

"It's alrigh'. I tend ta get defensive." Belliger smirks. Hey, at least he knows his own shortcomings? "Didn't Darcy say ye were with a couple others, too?"

Harper nods. "We got separated from 'em when the slavers nabbed us. I'm hopin' they made it on to Sala all right. They might even be back to Redwall by now, for all I know."

"Huh." Belliger tsks quietly, shaking his head. "I 'ope they did, too. They might be makin' plans ta come get ye... We should probably try an' get back before they try anythin'."

Huh. Harper hadn't really thought about what they might be doing to rescue them. "... That's true. Well, this boat trip will take a good while off the journey, so... That's good."

"Let's 'ope we see 'em on our way back," Belliger comments. "That'd make thin's much easier."

"Yes, let's..." And then silence. Harper's ears twitch. His eyes close. "Let's hope."

"Is she arright?" Belliger gives a nod to Darcy, or rather her unconscious form.

"... Fine. She's fine," Harper says as if from a long distance. "Or. I mean. She'll /be/ fine. Once we get home. Home."

"...Are /you/ arright?" Belliger's head tilts towards the buck. "I know ye wanna get 'ome, but if ye ain't well we should probably get ye looked at... I know some beasts in the area..."

Harper's eyes open. He stares straight ahead at Belliger. "No. No. I'm fine. Just a little tired. Crazy past coupla weeks." Heh. All the color has drained from the flesh of his inner ears.

Belliger peers into the darkness at Harper, then shrugs. "If ye say so, matey. I can imagine. Of all the thin's I been, I never been a slave."

Harper grips the boat as it rocks. Looking a little sick. "It wasn't fun," he mutters under his breath.

Belliger straightens up in the boat once more. "I don't know if slaves're allowed to 'ave fun. It's like, one o'the rules, righ'?" The shrew's trying to make light of slavery, heh. "Relax, mate. This ain't the first logboat I ever built."

Harper's ears flinch. "Guess it depends... on who you end up enslaved to," Harper says, sounding not quite all right at all. "Sorry. Sorry, yes. The boat's fine."

"...So what do ye do at the Abbey, 'arp, matey?" Belliger sounds concerned, but uninvasive, about Harper's current condition.

"I'm..." Loooong silence. "The Recorder. Um, Belliger, I think I'm going to lie downforabit, okay?" Harper rubs at his brow.

"Sure thing, matey." Belliger eyes Harper's silhouette with a bit of concern, but doesn't say anything else. "If anythin' 'appens, I'll let you know."

Darcy stirs a little. She really just passed out, didn't she. Her ears pin back as her head raises. "Nnh."

"Yeah. Yeah, thanks." Just as Darcy's stirring, Harper is lying down. He closes his eyes, firmly, and his shoulders hunch. He faces away from the others.

Darcy rests one hand lightly on Harper's arm as she sits up. 'Sick?' she mouths at Belliger.

Belliger responds with nothing more than a quick nod. He isn't sure if Darcy wants to talk or let him rest, so he leaves it up to her.

Darcy shifts over so her back is to the wall of the boat, legs crossed, and pats her thigh. Pillow. She looks groggy as she smiles at Belliger. "How long was I asleep?"

It doesn't take much prompting. Harper shifts so that his head rests on Darcy's lap. His eyes close again. He looks ill. Sea sick, perhaps?

"...Not long, not long at all. Feel a little better?" Belliger smiles. "What're the odds? I mean, really?"

Darcy brushes her fingers over Harper's hair, a little reassuring gesture. "A little. I'm still tired. Guess I just have some uncanny knack for knowing when he needs a pillow." The doe looks out at the dark shapes of the trees along the river. "I'm glad it was you, Belliger. Of all the beasts we could've run into."

"I would've preferred Nicodemus. /With/ the Abbey. If he could just bring it with him, like," Harper says at a mutter.

"Me? I'm sure ye can think of /somebeast/ else." Belliger chuckles. "Like 'e said, Nicodemus. Whoe'er that is, if 'e could carry an Abbey, I'm sure 'e'd be a lot more useful 'n me."

"That's a lot of stone for an old squirrel to carry," Darcy comments.

"... It's what Martin would do." Clearly. It's possible that Harper is only half awake.

"So how /is/ the abbey? I've been kinda neglectin' the place, I 'ave to admit..." Belliger smirks, resting once again against the front of the logboat.

Darcy shrugs a little. "Don't ask me, I've been gone for a month." She leeeans over to pick up Crow gently and tug him in near her side. It's verging on a cuddle pile.

"It was fine where I left it," is Harper's half-asleep and hardly sensical response.

"Aye... Well, good point. We'll all 'ave to see when we show up, I guess." Belliger looks on either side of the boat, hmming. "Current's great. I need ta take trips down the Broadstream more often..."

Darcy reaches one hand to let the fingertips brush the water. She flicks the water at Harper's face. "Belliger? Do you have any healing supplies? - herbs I mean."

/That/ was nice. Harper's ears flinch. "... Hey," he mutters.

"Shh, keep your eyes shut. It'll help," Darcy murmurs.

"...I guess the slavers didn't let ye keep the pack I gave ye." Belliger laughs, quietly. "I 'ave a few herbs. Didn't 'ave much time to restock yet." He leans up away from the boat's edge, taking off a backpack and scooting forward, reaching out to hand it over to Darcy. "Don't keep anythin' for stomach aches if 'at's what yer lookin' fer."

Sure it will. Harper's brow furrows, but he doesn't say anything.

Darcy accepts it from the shrew and goes rummaging. "Nausea actually.. let's see what you've got. How you holding up, mister?"

"Nausea, stomach aches... Whatever, I don't think I got it. Feel free ta look, though." Belliger scoots back against the edge of the boat, resting his back against it.

Harper's ears lay back. The only assumption could make is that his stomach contents are not long for this world. "I'm fine," he murmurs, his eyes firmly shut.

"Aha. This'll do." Darcy brings out a leaf of spearmint. She folds this a few times and nudges it against Harper's muzzle. "Chew. It'll help, best we've got right now."

Harper's muzzle opens and accepts the leaf. He chews, silently. Lookin' miserable.

"No no don't... Ahhh... Whatever, ye can 'ave it." Belliger is apparently attached to that particular leaf, or at least kind of leaf. "You can 'ave the 'ole pack again, just try not to lose that'n." The shrew kind of grins off to the side, looking at the water again.

Darcy gives Belliger a wan smile. "I'll stock you up when we get to the abbey. Cross my heart." See, she even makes the gesture.

"Oooh, aye, I forgot. Abbey'll probably restock me completely..." Belliger rubs his paws together, delighted.

Something occurs to Darcy. "Do you have any /food/? ... I haven't eaten anything but gruel since we got to Ruingate."

A while back the drug that was running from the child's system wore off, but it was the late hour really that has kept him mostly asleep for this whole time. Every so often Crow has shifted or made a noise of disturbance but now is when he actually begins to show signs of consciousness. His eyes flicker open and he mewls uncertainly after a moment just laying there and feeling the sway of the boat.

Ah. "I do /not/ 'ave any food. Er, I 'ave one bit of dried shrew cake." Belliger shrugs. "Not used ta havin' company on my travels, ye'll 'afta excuse me."

Darcy tweaks the tip of Harper's ear. "Did you bring any? He's waking." She curls her arm lightly around the kitten as he mewls, with a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, little guy.."

"In the pack. What I could find," is Harper's quiet answer.

Darcy shrugs a little. "Too bad we don't have any valerian." Is she allowed to joke about that yet?

No. Harper grunts.

"Because it'd make /you/ feel better," the doe emphasizes. Not her, see?

Belliger spaces out, trying not to intrude on Harper and Darcy's conversation. Noooot his business!

This.. is not home. Crow has just awoken on a river and his green eyes glow in wide circles through the darkness, ears twitching as he gazes about while sitting up as he is pulled into the hug. Another uncertain mewl is given. He's not hungry.. he's confused.

Harper suddenly grips at Darcy's lap. Flinches his eyes shut, again. Just. Breathes.

Darcy gives the buck a sympathetic look. "Breathe. In, out. Like you're.. giving birth." Her fingers brush Crow's arm lightly. "We're going on a trip, sweetheart. Taking you home with us."

"'ey." Belliger leans forward, inspecting Harper. "'e's not gonna... Ye know. Vomit. Is 'e?"

Let's not talk about vomit. Harper's face twists. Ugh. He turns in towards Darcy's lap, arms around her waist. The comfort of woman, it's a great thing.

Yeah but with Harper clutching at the doe's lap the kitten is kinda left to sit there with a paranoid expression on his face. These are beasts he knows and likes but if they are going on a trip 'home' then shouldn't there be someone else here? ".. wan' Tobe.." He states as if this will make Darcy bring him forth.

"Tobe?" Belliger looks between Darcy and Harper. "Who's Tobe?"

Darcy crinkles her muzzle at Belliger. No, no talk of vomit please. "He'll be okay. Ah.. Tobe. Tobe was Harper's... owner."

Darcy leans to put her muzzle near Crow's ear. "Hey, have you ever been on a boat before, Crow..?"

Harper just. Groans. That is his contribution to the conversation.

"Why's 'e want Harper's owner? That's odd." Belliger crosses his arms. He fully intends to leave this conversation right there.

Yes, Crow has been on a boat. He can remember specifically /what/ boat too cause it happened to be very recent and traumatizing. His ears fold, then he looks around more quickly, expression becoming distressed. If that's what they're on he'll have no part in this. ".. wan' Tobe. Where Tobe?"

... oh yeah. That boat. She meant /besides/ that one, obviously. "Uhm." She liked it better when he wasn't asking questions.

"Harper," Darcy prompts him.

Harper's ears twitch. "... He's coming later," he lies. Or hey, it could /not/ be a lie. He /could/ come later! With an army. To get his brother back from the kidnappers.

Shrews... Are not /all/ stupid. Belliger is not stupid. And so, he doesn't look very amused right now. But hey, he keeps that to himself. For now, at least.

The toddler doesn't understand really. He was /home/. When his brother is stated to be coming along later he looks somewhat upset then goes to tuck his face in against his knees, hugging arms around his little legs. Sigh.

Hey Harper? Maybe this was a bad idea. That's what Darcy's expression suggests. She curls her arms around Crow and snugs him.

Crow buries into the side of the doe when the arms curl around his little body, ears flattened into his ruffled, black hair. Well even if she is an evil kidnapper he still knows and trusts her after all their previous ordeal. Poor little sucker.