08-21-05 2

Characters involved: Miette & Taye.

Salamandastron: Crafts Room

It looks like a mini bomb went off in the Craft Room. Or a mini hare. In the parchment section, pieces of parchment are torn up and scattered everywhere, making a light dusting of snow in that corner. Dies are also spilled over the floor and turning bits of parchment into squishy colorful lumps. A now multicolored young Miette is off to the side of it all, quietly coloring on one of the few surviving sheets of parchment.

Surprisingly, Taye isn't coming into the crafts room because of the inexplicablly red, spreading stain coming out from under the door. In fact, in his weary state the young buck doesn't even notice it. The door is opened and he tramps over the stain unawares until - yes. There it is. The pause. The widening eyes. And the dropping of the pile of ripped tunics he carries, into the dye. The leveret is stared at dumbly. The dazed look is less because of the bandage around his head, and more because of the fact that she represents all colors of the rainbow.

Miette doesn't even glance up as she hears the door open, though her ears do perk and flick in his direction. Even with the splat of the tunics in the die, she continues with her drawing. There's just the quiet scratching of a charcoal stick on parchment to break the silence.

Suddenly Taye remembers the tunics and he looks down in horror. Ripped, colorfully dyed tunics, now. Oh, snap. He quickly crouches, gathering them up into his arms again so that he can deposit them in the appropriate basket. Only then does he look around at Miette again, in order to stare some more. He finally clears his throat, taking a tentative step forward through the dye mess. "... 'Llo?"

Miette's answer is rather short and abrupt, not quite angry, but not cheerful, either, "Hi." Still, she doesn't let it halt her coloring.

Slowly approaching the strange little fur ball, Taye gives his head bandaging a light scratch. Whatever's underneath is itching. "So, uh... what happened, here?" He looks one way and then the other.

Miette once again gives just a simple one word answer, "Playin'."

Taye looks around the room, a little helplessly. "... This ain't a play room."

Miette says, "Ahc'nplayhere."

After his survey of the disaster area, he looks back down at Miette and slowly, his head is shaken. "Not if yer goin' t' do /this/ t' it... What's yer name? Who're yer folks?" So he can find them so that /they/ can deal with this. He's already fought in enough battles for one season.

Miette says, "Miette'nZoe'nOx."

Taye's eyes widen slightly as he picks out the names of two of his superiors. Two superiors who were both in the recent battle, come to think of it. "Oh, bloody great..." He sighs long and hard and then continues the rest of the way over to the leveret, extending a paw down to her. "C'mon, I'm takin' ya t' the leveret dormitory... It's late." He looks around, diffidently. "Guess I'll come 'n' clean this up aftahwards."

Miette suddenly stands up, looking upset, "Ah dun' wanna go there!"

Taye blinks and almost steps back in surprise. The only thing that stops him is his pride. He withdraws his offered paw, clasping it along with the other in front of his waist, uncertainly. "Why not?"

Miette says, "Ah dun' like 'em."

Taye's lips twitch in the beginnings of a frown. "What, the othah lev'rets? Well, they're asleep. So don't worry 'bout it."

Miette says, "They wake up."

Taye shakes his head, firmly. "They won't. It's too late." He holds his paw out to her, again. "C'mon. Ya need t' go t' bed, Miette."

Miette steps back, "Only 'f Ah c'n sleep in mumma's room."

Taye looks over Miette's head at the room again, looking frustrated. "... Fine," he sighs out, gesturing with his paw again. "Ya ready?"

Miette nods, scurrying over to grasp his paw.

Taye takes hold of Miette's paw and turns for the door. He then thinks to add, "Yer folks're a'right, y'know. I saw 'em both aftah the battle."

Miette says rather quietly, "They workalot."

Taye falters in his step, glancing down at the top of Miette's head. "... Well, yeah. 'Course. They're officahs." As if that explains it all. He gives her a paw a teeny shake, to get her attention. "My da's a majah. He works a lot, too."

Miette glances up at him, "'S your mumma, too?"

Taye's ears dip slightly. Maria's not strictly his mom, but it would be more trouble to explain than it's worth. "... No. She's away from the mountain. Some... fam'ly stuff. Been gone fer a coupla seasons, now. M'sistah, she's about yer age. She misses her a lot."

Miette says only, and very softly, "Oh.."

Taye tries to smile, but it falls a little short. "Most o' the hares at Halyard're due t' come back t'morrah. Bet yer mum 'n' dad'll be comin' back with 'em."

Miette says, "They'll be busy workin'."

Taye's smile wavers, more so than it was. "Ya don't know that. Anyway, folks're s'posed to get time off duty aftah a battle. I won't be on duty fer at least the next few days." His ears perk at the thought, and he adds. "The same'd go fer yer mum 'n' dad, officahs or not."

Miette doesn't sound like her hopes are much raised. She says only, "Maybe."

Taye's ears unperk at Miette's unfailingly bad mood. He holds in a sigh as they reach the door, and he holds it open for her. Does he dare? "... Y'know, if ya'd rathah not be alone, ya could sleep in my dormitory." Shrug. Inward wince. "Jus' give me a blanket 'n' a pillow 'n' I'm fine in m' armchair." That is, Miette'd have the bed.

Miette is silent for a long moment, but then the young leveret looks close to tears all of a sudden, "..Please?"

Awr. Taye sees those watery eyes and immediately looks away, embarrassed. Shrugging away the seeming seriousness of their attitudes, he tries for a grin. "Sure, 'course. Gives me some company, too..." Then, feeling guilty that he almost didn't even offer, and her being his sister's age, too, he pauses and crouches down, glancing back at her. "Wanna ride there?" He offers a paw over his shoulder for her to grab ahold of.

Miette finally makes a little smile, moving to clamber up onto his back.

Once she's securely on his back he stands up from his crouch. That little smile of hers is all he needs, and his ears are all a-perk again as he exits the messy room. He'll... clean it up in the morning. XD