12.08.08 - Why Not to Play With Crutches

Location: Redwall Great Hall

Characters Involved: Taye, Tameus, Sivaine, Bottlebrush, Lucas, Sharpclaw

Really, who thought putting the infirmary on the second floor was a good idea? From the colorful oaths issuing from the stairwell, obviously not Taye! The buck is descending the stairs, all crutchified, but it's not the first time he's used the things, so he's doing fair. He reaches the last five steps and pauses, leaning against the wall. "Stupid bl-... mice... -iots." You probably get the gist of his mutterings.

"No," Sivaine says happily with a twitch of her nose. Then sneezes. "Have you been dusting?" Ardice touches her sister's arm. "Siv, I'll be back." Siv lifts the hood a fraction to peer at her. "Don't get dragooned." "No," Ardice laughs, and moves off toward the kitchen.

Sivaine catches sight of Taye. Well, it might be Sivaine. She's currently a mass of blue cloak, completely enveloped except for her muzzle. "Oh, Lieutenant. You're up." ..and she sounds far too chipper.

Lucas looks at his paw for signs of dust at the sneeze and question, though there's not much dust to be seen on him all the same "Dusting, sweeping and spending all too much time in the company of dust bunnies I'm afraid" his ears perk to the less than happy sounds from the stairs and he glances over "Oh dear. I hope he's after a specific mouse and not just mad at us all for some reason" he mutters.

Have the aliens attacked? Someone better check Siv for ear hosts. Taye glances up distractedly, but then he's distracted from being distracted by Siv being, um. Chipper. What the? He starts the rest of the way down the stairs, makes it, and proceeds to rest again. "I am. And so're you, I see."

Someone, please. Find this kid some better clothes. The jacket he wears is hardly more than a second shirt, with holes in the sleeves, and he's dusted over with snow, shivering and grinning as he comes in. Tameus's expression brightens further when he sees the limping Long Patroller. "Taye!" Trot trot.

She's trying to be dignified and sober. Now. Sort of. It's not working. "/Yes./" Sivaine looks eminently pleased. But.. oh. Her grin fades when she sees Tam come in. "Glad you're on the mend," she says to the hare, then has a quiet seat beside Lucas. Hrr.

Sivaine coughs. "There's tea, Taye," she calls. "Raspberry. Or will be, in a minute." She huffs a little sigh and looks over to Lucas. "You think Sister Beverly got them?"

Taye balances on one leg and a crutch to receive the approaching Tam. He gives him a one-armed, one-crutched hug, then starts forward again. Limpy limp. "Thanks," he calls to Siv. But instead of for the tea, it's the fireplace he's aiming for.

Lucas offers a brief nod to Taye before Tam comes in and he gives the kid a glance. Siv though gets a puzzled look as she's suddenly not all happy...and he can't work out why. Still, her question distracts him from it and he gives the kitchen a look "If she has we might be better off melting snow and making our own out here"

Tameus hugs Taye around the waist and then trots next to him as he limps. His eyes are on the crutches. "Hey. Hey Taye hey! Can I try?" He leans up once Taye seats himself, beaming.

Taye siiiighs his relief, then holds the crutches out to Tam. "Sure - give 'em a spin. Might be a little on the tall side for ya, though."

"Heh." Sivaine smirks beneath her hood. "You'd have to barter with the chief of the pygmies for that, judging by your grand entrance." She rests her chin on her good paw, elbow on the armrest, leaning away from Taye and Tam and toward Lucas. It's probably unintentional. Tam gets a worried little glance; she shuts her eyes.

They are, indeed, on the tall side. Tameus releases a sound of pure excitement and takes up a crutch in each hand. He sets them against the ground and hoooists himself off his feet, tucking his feet up for a moment and dangling. Giggle. The kid drops lightly and goes to climb onto a chair, carrying them with him.

"You know." Sivaine stands abruptly. "I'm going to see what's taking them so long. I'll see you later, Lucas; I want to go for a walk after."

Bottlebrush makes his way down the stairs, his singing voice..not bad but not an angels voice, leading clearly ahead of him, "Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die." What? It's catchy!

Taye watches Tam with wry amusement. "What I wouldn't give t'be able to do /that/ righ' now." His eyes shift briefly to Sivaine. Brow-quirk. The singing grabs his attention, though. "Sounds like we've a pirate in our midst," he muses.

Lucas chuckles at the pygmy chief comment before he catches that worried look and raises a brow. Still, a second later Siv's up and he's bewildered and waving a paw "Erm, well, good luck. Mind don't get trapped as well" His ear flicks round to the stairs at the singing but he's still puzzled over Siv for the moment.

"I'll take Ardice. She's got a wicked arm. Lieutenant." Sivaine nods to Taye, manages a grin for Lucas, then heads off for the kitchen.

In a room page-pose, Sivaine sticks around to watch. Zombie-power, go!

On the chair, Tam steps to the arm of it. Good thing he's lightweight or the thing would tilt that way. He sets the crutches against the floor and holds them near the top, then shifts to put the top against him armpits - which is easy to do for someone full-grown, but leaves his feet way off the floor when he hops off the chair. Now the crutches are his legs! He wobbles and starts walking with then, knees bent up a little, grinning.

Bottlebrush makes his way in just as Siv leaves, the fox starting on the second verse and his back to most the room as he just wanders about. He has not been out of the infirmary in a loong while so he is in a cheery mood to strech his legs, "The king and his men stole the queen from her bed and bound her in her Bones. The seas be ours and by the powers where we will well roam." Odd to see a healer singing such a song but at least he sings it good!

Hum. Taye glances at Lucas, then leans over. "Ya know what that was about? With Siv?"

Tameus sways back and forth between the two crutches, dangling from them and keeping his balance well enough. "Taye, lookit!"

Lucas is settled enough by Siv's brief grin that he can flick his attention before to the others after a moment. Tam gets a smirk, Bottle, a bizarrely amused smirk before Taye catches his attention. He pauses for thought before finally he has to shrug "No clue to be honest. I'm just as stumped"

"Huh," Taye replies. "Ah well..." His ears perk at Tameus' call. He looks about. Grins. "Very nice, Tam. Please don't break yer neck."

Bottlebrush suddenly stops singing and blinks, finally turning towards the group. He quirks his ears to the sides and erps before he just stays silent.

The leveret giggles again, clearly enjoying himself. He toddles back and forth, lurching side to side with his ears flopping a little, muzzle twisted in a happy grinning expression. "Taye, Taye!" he fairly cackles, gleefully. "'s so much /fun/!"

Lucas perks an ear to Tam's calls as well and follows Taye's gaze back. The small smirk is slowly making a come back "Might not enjoy it so much if actually had to use them" he muses quietly before looking to see where the fox got to "Good day Bottlebrush"

Bottlebrush smiles and nods to Lucas, "Hello, Lucas, Tameus, Taye.." He blinks at Tams actions and chuckles softly, "The young one has good balance!"

Lucas is reading Taye's thoughts! He lifts his splinted leg up onto a foot stool, shaking his head. "M'glad yer havin' fun, Tam."

Taye nods to Bottlebrush, "'Llo, Bottle. In a good mood?" Ha.

Bottlebrush laughs and nods, "A very good mood, Taye! Though I do have a question to ask of you or any other Long Patrol member, when you have the time."

Sharpclaw comes padding in from the kitchens, a fresh tray of tea in his paws. "Sorry about the wait!"

Taye quirks a brow. "Oh, aye? Well, I've the time now, if you'd like. In private, or-?"

Bottlebrush shakes his head and chuckles, "It does not have to be in private, Taye. I am sure half the Abbey knows by now that a group of vermin where looking for a fox with one green eye. I was just going to ask if I could go back with the Patrol to Salamandastron when they go. I want to find out more about what I was like back when I led thirty or so vermin and I figure that the mountain and the Badger Lord there..if there is one..would hold the best chance of knowing of my past as DeadEye. I mean, I can't run from it so.." He shrugs, "I might as well learn what I was and what I remember in dreams is not enough." He then nods to Sharpclaw, smiling. Feels good to just say it rather than cringe and worry about once being a vermin.

Tameus makes it to the other side of the room, turning with little 'steps'. He leans back into the wall and releases one of the crutches from his hand to wave at the other beasts near the fire. "Hey! Heyy, lookit 'ow far I got!!"

Lucas has secret mind reading abilities but he only ever uses them for good or just at random...Anyway. He offers a nod to Bottle and raises a brow to the seeking of Long Patrollers but Sharpclaw's reappearance saves him from the temptation to pry and he glances to the kitchen "Sharp. Was worried you'd got trapped into some sort of endless kitchen task"

Tam gets an amused glance, and a wave. "Good job, kiddo!" But Taye's attention is mostly for BB. He considers a moment. "Well, there is no Badger Lord at the moment. None since Bludstripe. But I will pass your request on to the Colonel."

Bottlebrush flashes Tam a grin, "Balance like that! You sure you are not a squirrle disguised as a hare?" He then looks back to Taye and dips his head, smiling, "Thank you. I figure you hares would have the best knowledge of vermin who sale the seas so it's my best chance to find my past."

Sharpclaw starts pouring some tea. He grins at Lucas. "Oh, no, just took longer than expected."

Lucas gives the kitchen door another glance "Seem to have missplaced a small bat and a couple of mice on the way though...Unless they're hiding in the tea pot of course" he says as he offers out a paw for a cup of tea.

"Nope! 'm a 'are arright!" Tam calls back to Bottlebrush, beaming. He swings his legs a little.

Sharpclaw gives a nervous smile to the Novice. "Oh...Miss Sivaine and Gwen are...taking a walk, I think" he explains.

Bottlebrush chuckles, "If you say so, mate! I still think you took your fluffy tail and braided it too look like a hares ears!"

Lucas ahs and nods slowly "Yes. Siv did mention she fancied one. Well all the better. She can try out her new cloak"

Tameus giggles at this thought - his muzzle is open and laughter spills out of it, eyes shut, legs tucking up more while he wobbles in place. "'m too 'andsome t' be a squirrel!" The leveret dissolves into cackles of laughter as he pushes off the wall, reaching to grip the crutch again with the hand that way just waving and swinging the other crutch forward to 'step' at the same time. The combination gives him about two seconds with no grip on the only crutch on the floor - it skids out from under him, clatters, and the leveret follows, hitting the floor with a hard *WHUMP*

Bottlebrush winces and jumps forward, running over towards Tam before he has even hit the ground, "Haresquirrel down!" He kneels near the young one, his ears perked, "Are you ok, Tam?"

The whump gets Lucas' attention and he looks back over. A second later and he's getting up to join Bottle's concern "Oh dear, is he alright?"

What the... His crutches! I mean. Oh no, Tam! Taye sits up and forward; it's all he can do. "Is he okay?" he calls.

Tameus is on his back as Bottlebrush comes to lean over him. His eyes are mostly shut and he huffs out, dazedly, vision swimming. One hand flinches a little and his muzzle drifts a few notches to the side before he .. passes out.

Bottlebrush erps and scoops his arms under Tams back and his knees to lift the young one up. He carries the young one over to a chair and places him down to he can check his head. A bump is fine; every young beast gets a bump or a cut or three while fooling around! Anything more and it's off to the infirmary!

There's a tender spot at the back of Tam's head which is slowly forming into a bump.

Taye hisses in through his teeth, grimacing. Oh, Tam.

Lucas grimaces as the young hare passes out but greatest he can do right now is kind of hover out the way and watch.

Bottlebrush shakes his head and chuckles, "Can someone call into the kitchen for some hot water?" He reaches into his robe and pull sout a small case and pulls out a small herb, "Have them steep this in it. Tam is going to wake up with his head a-thumpin and a drink of this will make that go away."

"Um, can someone..." Wait, no. Bad Taye. Focus, focus! But his eyes are on his crutches, one paw resting above his splinted knee.

Taye calls out a little louder, toward the kitchen. "Oy! We need some, um. Water! Hot." Right. Let's see how that works out.

Lucas is happy to make himself useful, take the herb off of Bottle and head for the kitchen "Relax, I'll get it"

Oh, look! Lucas saves him having to shout anymore. But Taye's still lacking his crutches. So he just sits. Humph.

Tameus flexes the fingers of one hand slightly. Slowly, slowly regaining consciousness.

Bottlebrush looks back down at Tam and smiles softly when he stirrs, "And our resident bouncing dibbun starts to awaken."

Tameus opens his mouth slightly. He draws a breath and releases a pained 'nn' sound.

Taye watches from far. "How is he?"

Bottlebrush looks to Taye while he waits for the tea he asked for to be brewed, "A good bump on the head but otherwise fine! He will carry a headache for awhile and hopefully the knowledge that walking with critches is hard for longer."

Taye hehs, softly. He nods, looking relieved. And a fraction guilty?

Now the leveret mumbles. His eyes are still shut as his hand come up, fingers curling against his muzzle. "Mmfhhtaye?"

Bottlebrush had the foresight to place the leveret in a chair right next to Tayes. He has seen how the young one looks up to the older hare.

Taye leans over his chair, to get closer to Tameus. "M'here, kiddo. You bumped yer head."

Sharpclaw seeing that all is relatively well, he pads back to the kitchen.

"Umf," is Tam's reply. His eyes crack open. He looks dazed and groggy. "I was.. doin' good, though..."

"Yeah you were. But I shouldn't've let you do it," Taye worries.

Tameus pushes up a little. His head's swimming but his muzzle pulls in a smile. "I jus' need more practice."

Bottlebrush smiles and, seeing that Tam is not crying, moves over to get Tayes crutches, "Falling once is good enough for today, Tam. Too much and you will want your squirrel tail back to cushon your fall."

"No more practice," Taye disagrees. He nods his thanks to BB.

Bottlebrush chuckles softy and places the crutches by Taye before he restarts his song. Perchance it will distract Tam from trying to knock his noggin again. After all, don't most abbeybeasts like singing? "Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die."

"Bottle?" This is.. not Lucas. This is Sivaine - a rather worried-looking Sivaine, still in her cloak, with a steaming cup in one paw. "How bad is it that you need painkillers for him?"

Tameus rubs at his face as his head clears more. "Mmf."

Bottlebrush looks to Siv and smiles softly, "This is more of an 'ouchkiller', Siv. It's to get rid of any headache he may have and nothing else. He has a spelnded bump on his head but hares are a strong species, they are." The fox chuckles, "This would not take the edge off of a deep cut on a grown beast, that's how weak it is."

And Tameus is awake. Once Sivaine sees that, her expression changes. "Oh. Is that all?" Blink. Blink. She clears her throat and holds the cup out to the healer fox, suddenly very interested in the tapestry. "Right, well."

Taye keeps his quiet, looking a bit on the guilty side. He shifts the crutches, leaning them next to himself in the chair.

Bottlebrush takes the cup and blinks at Siv a few times before he gives a friendly chuckle, "Thank you for bringing the cup, Sivaine."

Sivaine shrugs, with the perturbed look of someone hiding embarassment. "I was in the kitchen." Yup. That's all.

Sharpclaw comes rushing back out, kettle in paw. "Here we are, Siv!" He briefly sniffs, wondering what /exactly/ is in that kettle anyway.

Sivaine sort of hunches her shoulders and twitches her hood over her ears. "If he's all right, then I'm going for that walk now."

Bottlebrush hands the cup to Tam and smiles, "Drink this, it will take away any headache you have, Tam." He then looks to Siv and nods, "Enjoy your walk, my squeakable friend." As nicknames go, that one is horrible.

Sivaine gives Bottlebrush an incredulous look.

Tameus is eyeing Sivaine skeptically for a moment before his eyes are drawn to the cup of tea. He sits up more and lifts his hands to take it, the steam rising against his face. "Can I practice s'more after I drink 't?"

Bottlebrush blinkblinks at Sivs look, "What?" He then looks to Tam and chuckles, "Better not. The drink is a little bitter and you would have to drink MORE if you fell again. You would do better to strengthen your arms with some other exercises so you can try again another time, but better."

Lucas is following along after Sharpclaw and a glance to Tam shows he's awake and apparently fine. All is well! Cut to Siv. Another raised brow as she's off again "A walk?"

Sharpclaw flicks his ears to the back of his skull. Squeakable? He's torn between laughing and gagging. The vulpine sets the kettle down.

Tameus dabs at the tea with his tongue and grumps. "S' too 'ot."

"'Squeakable,' Bottle? Just.. 'squeakable?' Bottle. Bottlebrush. You are my friend, but." Sivaine shakes her head and tugs her hood down. "I'll just.. right. Ardice. Sister Beverly. Rescue. Thing. Go away." The mousemaid gestures vaguely, and starts to head for the kitchens.

Bottlebrush gives Tam another smile, "You can wait for it to cool. If you don't have a bad headache, you don't even need to drink it if you don't want." He then mrrrps and looks back at Siv, his ears quirking to the sides, "I think I nearly broke her with that comment..Is it that bad a nickname?"

Sharpclaw manages a small wave to Sivaine, the fox trying to be cheery. "Umm...enjoy...your walk, Siv..." he calls out. He makes a mental note to /never/ put that word to his muzzle. Ever.

One of Tam's eyes is mostly shut as he considers the tea, then leans over to just put it down. He's gone back to eyeing the crutches wantingly.

Lucas continues to watch Siv for a moment...Riiiiight. Another brief glance to the group before he quietly follows the other mouse without bothering with an excuse this time.

"Improbable circumstances?" Sivaine mutters to herself as she disappears into the breezeway.

Sharpclaw sighs, the fox heading upwards to the infirmary.

Bottlebrush can't help but let out a rather happy laugh, the fox shaking his head.