11-27-05

Characters involved: Taye, Darklett, & Tam.

Salamandastron: Crafts Room

Not surprisingly, Taye took the day off - as did a disproportionate number of the recruits. Fortunately the assumption was a particularly nasty and easily spread bug of some sort. He's presently hiding out in the crafts room, doing his level best to avoid having anyone watch too closely and notice that he's moving like a stiff, arthritic old hare. Somewhat resembling a certain colonel, actually. He's seated in the far corner, a cold cloth held to the back of his head. Ahhh. His eyes are closed.

There's a certain lieutenant that's feeling creative today!

Ha. Hahahahaha. Or not. Darklett had just been told that Taye, the poor fella, had been up here in the crafts room, and the lieutenant, worried one of his patrollers was down for the next couple days (and of course, down for the patrol tomorrow), sought him out. He's actually hesitant to enter, having only stepped into this room a few times when drug in by Audri before, and finding the place a little... artsy for his tastes. And oh, there's Taye! He starts walking towards the runner, paws behind his back.

Taye's ears twitch half-heartedly from their down position when the door opens, and he squints one eye open. He is thankful, at least, that Flatpaw's fists avoided his eyes. It's a few seconds before Darklett has come into the room far enough for Taye to see him over the edge of the table that somewhat blocks his view, and when he does he jerks the cloth away from his head. He scoots back against the wall, because it's as close to standing at attention as he can get. "Uh - sah!" Salute. Nod. "... Um. Evenin', sah."

Darklett keeps walking until he reaches the other end of the table, his paws raising up to assure Taye: "No, don't stand. I've seen some of the other hares, but you look worse off than most." The lieutenant has a seat, scooting a chair out and wiping away a wooden figurine that rests on the table. So much for respect for the arts. "Are you alright?"

He nods. Ahem. Throat clear. "... Aye, sah. Just feelin' a little undah the weathah, sah." He grins a bit weakly, gestures with the cloth, and sets it back to the back of his head. "I'll be /fine/ for the patrol t'morrah, though."

"Yeah, I see that." Darklett shifts forward in his chair, eyeing another wooden figurine, very similar to the first one. He swipes that to the side, too, and folds his arms over each other on the table. "Good, I wouldn't want to have to look for a replacement at the last moment... Though, I wouldn't want you getting even more ill than you are now."

Taye quickly shakes his head, but this only leads to the dizzies and he blinks, trying to ride it out without making it obvious that he is. "... No, sah. I won't. Pretty sure I'll start feelin' bettah in no time."

Darklett blinks at Taye, his arms lifting up so his snout rests on folded paws. "You sure?" he asks, his voice muffled from behind his forepaws, narrowing his eyes at the younger hare. "If you aren't going to be able to make it, just say so. I don't want to risk screwing this one up before it even starts." Haha, so the truth comes out! He's not worried about Taye at all! "Besides, Rah'd kill me."

The dizziness passes and, taking a deep breath, he shakes his head - slower this time. "I promise not to let ya down, sah. I c'n handle this." Gulp. He tosses the cloth away and pushes himself up using the wall. Steady, steady. He nods. "I'll be fine."

Darklett smiles at Taye, nodding. Apparently, he's convinced enough. "Good, good. Now, make sure you get plenty of rest. I don't want you to be too sick tomorrow. Gotta be my runner, alright?" He shoots the younger hare a glance of responsibility. "Can't be lagging behind."

Taye is quick to salute, though he has to reposition his paw before he gets it correct. Odd, but not incriminating. "No, sah. I'll be able t' do my duty. The day did me good. Feel like I could run laps 'round the mountain righ' now, even."

Darklett returns the salute, though quite slowly... He does find Taye's actions a little odd, but puts it on the 'sickness' tab. "Laps? Taye, you don't look well right now, you don't need to impress me. Yet, anyway."

Taye looks relieved. Obviously relieved. His shoulders sag somewhat and he nods. "Thanks, lieutenant. D'you know who all's going on the patrol t'morrah?"

Darklett rolls his shoulders, giving out a small sigh. "Myself, you, a fighter Niveus, maybe another fighter, and... Well, I'm not sure about a healer yet. I'm getting one, I just don't know who." He knows he's not that well prepared, and doesn't like it, hehe.

Taye's nose wrinkles juuuust a bit. "Well... if ya needed it in a crunch, I play a fair good healah." Squint. "Have ya asked m'dad?"

Darklett raises a brow. "Uh, no, I haven't." The lieutenant scoots back in his chair, his eyes shifting off to the side. "I didn't know that was somethin' I had to do. You're a Patroller now." He's... alarmed. :P

Taye blinks. "Uh - no. I mean... have ya asked m'da if he'd go on the patrol. As." Pause. "A healah." Blink-blink. This time his confusion isn't head injury induced. XD

Darklett blinks a few times, then settles a bit. :P "Ah, no, no I haven't... Heh, I was kinda avoiding asking my superiors to go," the lieutenant confesses. "Colonel Zoe gave me an opportunity to manage this myself, heh, I don't want to have some other hare's word going over mine on this one."

Taye's lips part in a silent 'ahhhhh', then he nods. "Undahstood." He can't help but grin. "Well, the offah still stands. I guess I'd recommend Buckthorn like ya said, then."

Darklett shakes his head. "Yeah, I was thinking Buckthorn, too. He refuses to go." He rests his right arm over the back of the chair, the other paw moving up to rub the side of his head on back to his ear. "Hope I can find a healer before tomorrow, right?"

Taye's brow wrinkles. "Refuses to go? Why would'e do that?" He crouches down and, with only the slightest of grimaces, grabs the cloth he'd discarded earlier. Mmph. Straighten up. "... Guess we'll just have to see."

Darklett shrugs. "He always acts weird when my authority is brought up. I don't know what he's thinking sometimes. Eh, I'll try to find a healer. If not, well... We'll just have to not get hurt, eh?" He laughs, tossing a wink at the struggling Taye.

Taye smirks a bit grimly, then nods. "I'll do what I can, sah." He scratches an ear. "... But can't ya just ordah Buckthorn?" Since he doooes have authority, and all.

Darklett hesitates at this question. Maybe a little too long, actually. "I... guess I could. But he's a friend, too. Don't think this would go that great if I went and -made- him go on the patrol. Besides, I'd rather have a hare that's willing to be there. That way his whole heart's in it. Any ideas?"

Taye lets out his breath in a long, slow sigh. "Marleigh? Maybe Ronan? He's new 'n' all, but he looks pretty good for it." He walks stiffly over to the table that Darklett's near, crouching down to pick up the knocked-off wooden figure. He sets it back on the table with an amused ear-flick.

Darklett mulls this over a few seconds. "I... can't say I know the fella, but if you say so... It's not like I have many choices, here. You see him very often? Tell him he's going on a patrol tomorrow." No reservations at all in ordering Ronan around, hehe.

Tam walks in abruptly then seeing Darklett he stands to attention "What time is the patrol tomarow sir?"

Taye notes this change of heart with a slight raise of his brow. He acquiesces, regardless. "I see 'im around. And yes sah, I will." As Tam walks in and over - abruptly, indeed - he falls silent.

Darklett's ears perk suddenly as a new voice comes from behind. Spinning around in the chair, he sees the at-attention Tam, and turns his head to look at Taye, then back at Tam. "Er, hello. Recruit. Ah, how'd you hear about the patrol?"

Tam smiling slightly "From a friend sah, I'm new here and was wondering the specifications in rank to go on one"

Taye glances back at Darklett, with a shake of his head. "Sah, I didn't-" Tell anyone, that is.

Tam looks over at taye then back to the Leutenant "Unfortunately I haven't been here long enough to make aquaintence with Taye, so no it's not him, if you are wondering"

Darklett eyes the recruit up, brow furrowed. "Aha... Well, I didn't really plan on letting the patrol out to all the hares, so don't tell anybeast else, recruit. It's tomorrow, but we're going to be in action, so recruits aren't allowed to come."

Taye crosses one arm over the other, linking them behind his back. He looks down at the ground, waiting for the two to finish their conversation.

Tam raises and eyebrow "Action, with who?"

"Well, hopefully just a badger." Darklett scoots his chair's back against the table, and crosses his arms. "But you never know what might come up."

Tam gestures north "On my way down here I met a badger called Vansinnig, is that the badger you are going up against?"

Darklett is a tad dumbfounded. "...Y-yeah. Yeah, that's the exact badger. Where did you see him last? How long ago was this?" Darklett leans forward, drilling the questions one after the other. "Did he attack you? Was he with anybeast else?"

Taye's ears stand upright at this news, but beyond looking from one to the other, he says nothing.

Tam shakes his head "About last week. I saw him by the uh tavern oh whasitsname. um no he didn't attack and he was with a rat called Vorth"

Darklett takes a deep breath, and thinks on this. "Right. We'll have to keep an eye out for a rat, then, too." His glance goes to Taye again, his face quite telling of 'oh crud.'

Tam looks a bit confused "Who are they?"

"Oh, just two parts of a big group of vermin we had to chase out of the area." Darklett rubs at his forehead momentarily, then shakes his head. "You just saw to of them, right?"

Taye returns a look that is far from comforted. He looks at Tam and then away, unhappily.

Tam shakes his head "Up north I met a ferret named Scragg, but he was about 10 days up north of here."

Darklett shakes his head quickly and lowers his paws down to his knees. "Alright, then. No problem. The patrol's still on, if there's a rat, we'll deal with the rat, too, if he gives us trouble." He speaks a little more reassuringly than he might have been just moments ago towards Taye. :P

Tam nods "Good luck Lieutenant"

Taye straightens up, trying to look confident for Darklett's sake. And to keep up appearances in front of Tam. He glances towards the door. "What time d'we leave t'morrah, sah? I'd like to get a good night's rest."

Standing himself, Darklett kicks the chair around to face the proper way, and places his paws behind his back. "We leave a bit after noon. We'll meet at the niche at noon time... Don't be late."

Tam drops his ears a bit, disappointed at not being able to go

Taye salutes; this time his paw does not miss its mark. "No, sah. I won't." He nods to Tam and backsteps towards the door. "'Night."

Tam nods to taye "Night sah"

Tam turns to face Darklett "Sah, how much higher in rank is a runner from 2nd recruit?"

Darklett returns the salute. "Night, Taye. Get your rest, you may need every bit of it." After the runner leaves, Darklett's ears turn towards Tam. "Just one rank. As soon as a hare passes second recruit, he becomes a full officer of the Long Patrol."

Tam nods as he soaks every bit of information "Thank you Sah"

Darklett straightens out his uniform, and rolls his neck around, contemplating this new information. "...How long have you been at the mountain, then?"

Tam smiles "I've been here before, but oh a week maybe, maybe 5 days"

"Alright, thanks for telling me about the badger and the rat." The lieutenant takes a few steps towards the door. "What're you training to be?"

Tam shruggs "Anything where I'm needed, so I guess, all arround, whadaya call that?"

Darklett thinks for a few moments, then shrugs. "I don't know, but you're gonna have to pick one eventually, heh. Not much use to us officers if we don't know what you're best at."

Tam feels like slaping himself "That's what you mean, then a swordsbeast, sorry sah"

"So a fighter, then!" Darklett claps his paws together, turning around once he's passed Tam, standing between him and the door. "I'm a fighter, too. Make sure you keep up with training; I'm not gonna put up with any slackers."

Tam nods "Yes sah" he salutes

Tam asks, "Would you recomend a one hand, hand and a half or two hand sword?"

Darklett raises both brows slowly at the question. "I don't know," he responds, after a few seconds. "I've never seen you use any of them. Just whatever you feel more comfy with, eh?"

Tam nods "Yes sah, ... are you heading off then?"

Darklett nods. "Yeah, I've gotta find another fighter to head off with on the patrol. Don't want to take any chances now that the badger might have company."

Tam nods "Then allow me to join you"

Darklett frowns. "No, no, don't even think about it. This is why I didn't want every hare in the mountain knowing about it. You're just a recruit, nowhere near trained enough to go on a patrol. Sorry, maybe when you're a full-fledged Long Patroller."

Tam shakes his head "That's not what I meant"

"...Oh." Darklett considers this for a moment. "I'd rather you didn't, actually. I don't even know who I'm asking, it'll mostly be just wandering around the mountain 'till I see one I like."