12.10.07 Snow Fur

Location: Redwall Great Hall

Characters Involved: Lark, Lucas, Sivaine, Ardice, Beatrix, Jacob, Clover

Lark nods eagerly. "That's what I told the Brother, but he didn't listen! Mebbe we should put the chairs back, but cleaning the whole gatehouse is crazy! It'll take us hours! And the snow is already gone, anyway."

Lucas chuckles and shakes his head "Well he probably wants to make sure you remember not to throw snowballs around inside...besides, if didn't get you to do it us novices would probably get landed with the job!" upside for Lucas.

Lark shrugs, trying not to look like she'd rather Lucas did the cleaning. "But s'not that dirty in there! We're just cleanin' again. Been cleaned recently."

A gust of wind sweeps through as the outer door opens, admitting two bickering figures bundled up in heavy traveling cloaks. "It -is- an Abbey, dear. Place of peace, remember? Of course he was going to take it." "That's not what I have the problem with," grumbles the taller one, stamping snow off its feet. "Was it his tone? He was probably just cold." "We're all cold," says the taller one, pulling back its hood to reveal a slightly irritated looking mousemaid. "Something I hope to soon rectify.. just look at that fire! Race you there, Ard'." She heads for the fire; the smaller figure squeaks, and hurries after.

Lucas just chuckles at Lark's complaints "Then you won't have to do much to get it all spotless again when you?" he says before the door draws his attention, more amusement is shown at the bickering of the beasts "Good day!" he calls out to the pair of them.

Lark sighs, then looks up at the two newcomers, hugging her knees closer to her as if trying to make more room. "Hello," she seconds, just a beat behind Lucas.

"'Lo there, Master Mouse," Sivaine offers as she drapes her cloak over the back of a nearby chair and sits down, giving a nod to Lark, "And to you, young squirrel. A fine winter afternoon, isn't it? Excuse me just a moment-" She unslings a bulky pack fro her shoulder and sets it down just as the second figure hurries up, undoing the clasp of its cloak to reveal a sandy-furred mousemaid in a long plum-colored dress. "Ooh, Siv, show me, show me!" she squeaks, plopping down next to her companion. "Nothing's wet, is it?" she asks anxiously, riffling through the pack's contents.

Lucas is still rather bemused by the pair as he briefly bows his head to the taller, since she's the one who addressed them "Nothing so grand as master is needed. My name is Lucas, at best, a Novice...is there anything I could get for you? Food, drink or the like perhaps?" standard welcoming procedure taking over.

Lark offers, "An' I'm Lark," before falling quiet and observing the two newcomers in that open way that dibbuns do, without realizing that it might be rude.

"Lark and Lucas. Well met," the mousemaid replies, offering a smile to the quiet dibbun. "I'm Sivaine, and this is my sister, Ardice.. Ardice! There's people." The smaller mousemaid - who looks nothing like Sivaine, it should be noted - squeaks as she's poked gently in the side and looks up, offering an apologetic but sweet smile. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Hello," she beams. "It's lovely to meet you both. I'm so sorry, I just want to be sure my sketches are all right, and-" "Novice Lucas asked if we'd like something to eat or drink," Sivaine murmurs. "Oh, that would be lovely, thank you!" "She'll need feeding. I'll just have some tea," Sivaine translates to Lucas.

Lark perks up when given a smile, and returns the smile, then looks at Ardice. "Ooh, you do sketches? Can I see?"

Lucas chuckles at Ardice and offers a nod in greeting "Pleasure to meet you too" he says before directing his attention to Sivaine again "I'll see what I can rustle up..if anything is a little soggy I'm sure I could erect a line in front of the fire to dry it out on if necessary" slowly he starts wandering backwards towards the kitchen, waiting for a response before he actually hurries.

"Yes, thank you," Sivaine nods, "We are a bit waterlogged, I'm afraid." Meanwhile, Ardice -beams.- "Oh, yes! Here-" She grunts, wrestling a small, crudely-bound book from the innards of the packed pack, and flips it open to a ragged page.. covered with tiny, detailed studies, some given a light ink wash. Even those that seem hurriedly scribbled have a remarkable lifelike quality to them. Sivaine smiles wryly as Ardice scoots over to the dibbun, book open in paw, and rises from her chair to follow Lucas. "Umph. Hold up; I'll give you a paw."

Lucas smirks at the smaller mouse's enthusiasm and turns to head for the kitchen, only slowing again when he hears Sivaine's words "No real need..but if you insist" still a smirk there as he slows down for the other to catch up.

Sivaine patters quickly across the stone tiles, falling into step beside Lucas. "Oh, yes; I'm warm enough now. Besides," and here she smirks a bit herself, "I'm a curious girl, and this -is- the famed Redwall."

Lucas chuckles lightly and holds the kitchen door open for the other mouse "Travellers come to see if it lives up to expectations then perhaps? I only hope we leave a good impression"

"Ah well, you know how it is.. you grow up hearing the stories about fountains of cordial, monolithic cakes and overwhelming generousity, you want to see how the real thing measures up," Sivaine replies airily with a toss of her paw, and pauses to say "Ah.. thank you," before she passes through the door.

Sivaine grimaces, then smiles ruefully at Lucas. "Sorry, I realize that must have sounded a bit rude. Ard' and I have been on the road for a while.. I need to get used to civilization again."

Lucas chuckles and follows through the door after her, quick nod to a cook "Not rude at all. Perfectly understandable with the reputation the place has. Fountains of cordial though? Now that's one I didn't hear but sadly, I believe we would have to disappoint on that one..the monolithic cakes may sometimes be seen at feasts though" all the time as he's talking he's going round cupboards. A small tray put to one side on a counter, a couple of cups coming from somewhere else, a kettle being positioned back over the fire.

Lark scoots forward on her chair and looks at the sketches proffered. "Ooh, they look real! Lotsa extra lines, but it makes it look real!" She points out a squirrel in particular, clearly more taken with the ones resembling herself. "Wouldya sketch me? I'd love ta have my picture."

Sivaine leans back against a table, generally trying to stay out of the way for the moment. "Oh, yes. Neverending, apparently. Mind you, I started getting skeptical about that particular travelogue right around the fire-belching lizard corsairs. Farnham likes to embellish things." She watches the commotion going on, itching with idleness. "Nothing I can help you with at all?"

"I'd love to!" Ardice responds, smiling in clear pleasure from the praise. "Here, if you'll hold this-" She leans forward to place the open book in Lark's paws. "-I'll get my inks out, all right?"

Lark grins, taking the sketchbook and flipping pages carefully. "Thanks! I wanna see what I look like on paper." She glances up at the kitchen door, after Lucas and Sivaine, then her gaze moves on to the snow beating against the windows, and back to Ardice.

Lucas chuckles and continues his pottering about "I believe there was lizards at a time, though I'm not sure if they were corsairs but thank seasons, they didn't breath fire!..That even sounds rather painful.." he pauses at the question, looking around quickly "Erm..the kettle should probably boil in a moment, can pour the tea when it does" he's not used to having help when doing this particular job "..Who's Farnham? Sounds like a bit of story teller"

Clover comes from the entry.

Clover has arrived.

Wind suddenly whips in through the door as a new arrival pushes it open, shoving it shut, but not before there's snow blown in, and not before the cold wind runs around the room playing havoc with the inhabitants. Pushing back her hood, a middle-aged mouse lady is revealed, shaking herself off as she unties the cloak and hangs it up on one of the hooks near the door.

The sketchbook really is a marvelous little thing. Besides flowers and trees, Ardice has made careful sketches of ice-encrusted branches, raindrops on leaves, ink washes of skies, and beasts engaged in various activities, among other things. An entire page is devoted to the many expressions of Sivaine, which seem to range from intently concentrating to annoyed or wryly amused. Ardice fumbles about in the pack, sticking her tongue out as she extracts something from its depths. "Aha!" She pulls her arm free, revealing a small clay pot, stoppered with a stained cork plug, and a sharpened twig. "Here we are.." She holds the pot up to her ear and shakes it gently. "Oh good, some of it's melted.. all right. You can look to the side, or face me.. or smile or make a face or close your eyes, but I'll need you to stay still for me while I'm sketching."

Lark nods eagerly in response to Ardice, but as she poses looking slightly to one side, she sees the newcomer. "Clover!" bursts from her at the top of her lungs, and the squirrelmaid darts from near the fireplace to jump at the mouse, throwing her arms around Clover's neck.

Startled, it takes Clover a moment to recognize the youngster, at which point she returns the hug. "You've had me worried

sick, missie! You should've told me when you left, I thought you'd gone down with your dear mum. I've been worried sick!" The mouse has tears in her eyes, so 'gone down' is made rather clear.

"That's a good way to put it," Sivaine chuckles. "He's a scholar and writer.. makes his way by trading news and teaching for room and board. Which he's really very good at. He just gets a bit carried away, especially now, in his old age." The mouse is apparently feeling a bit chattier now, because she continues, staring up at the dried herbs hanging from the ceiling. "The lizards exist, and sometimes they're corsairs, but the fire-breathing you're right about - completely impossible unless they're -very- drunk around an open flame."

"Eep!" Ardice dives for her sketchbook, just missing it. The wood cover boards clatter against the floor and the sudden breeze ruffles the pages. The mousemaid picks it up and, tucking the ink pot in the crook of her arm, carefully dusts it off while checking for any damage done. Once satisfied that it's undamaged, she looks to the tearful reunion. "Ahm.." she ventures, unsure of what to say.

Lucas finishes up fixing up a small snack and places it on the tray before looking back to Sivaine, interest shown and slight surprise at the lizard part "Really? I never knew the fire part was even possible.."

Lark slowly releases her friend, reaching up to wipe away the mouselady's tears. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight," she replies quietly, then perks up. "Go warm up by the fire, Clover, I'll go get you some tea." She drags the mouse by the paw towards the fire, closer to Ardice. "I'll be back so you can draw me, Ardice. Oh, this is Clover. Clover, Ardice." Introductions quickly done, she heads for the kitchen, pushing through the door and looking around for Lucas.

"Well, it isn't really," Sivaine responds, rising as the teakettle starts whistling. "It's all that grog on their breath. Catches fire. You could do it too, with enough cordial," she grins, pouring the steaming water into the cups. "Although you might not want to do it twice for the headache and heat."

Clover allows herself to be pulled towards the fire, certainly not going to argue with the warmth. When the dibbun darts off, she smiles at Ardice, moving closer to the fire and taking a seat. "The young move so fast," she offers with no little amusement.

Beatrix arrives from the Staircase..

Beatrix has arrived.

"Oh.. yes, yes, I suppose they do," Ardice smiles, a little unsteadily but rapidly getting back on familiar ground. "Siv' likes to say that sometimes. But she's a very nice girl; I quite like her!" A pause, while the mousemaid juggles her drawing supplies so that she has a paw free to offer along with her sunny smile. "It's very nice to meet you, Mistress Clover."

Lucas's ears perk a little "Really?...Well, I suppose that's probably not something can do in the abbey walls..might catch something on fire" regardless he sounds like he's tempted to try it. He turns his eye to the door when it opens "Hello Lark, we taking too long for beasts out there?"

Clover nods, clasping the offered paw with one of her own. "And you, Miss Ardice. Are you one of the residents here? I'll admit it's been quite awhile since I've stayed at Redwall." She looks around, eyes lingering on everything, especially things that look new.

Lark shakes her head at Lucas. "No, but my friend Clover just got here, so I said I'd get tea for her, too. Can you add one more cup?" Since she's too short to get it herself, she looks questioningly at Sivaine.

"Oh, no, no," Ardice responds, drawing a nearby footstool near and setting the ink pot and stylus down on it. "We just arrived, really - that's my sister, Sivaine, she's off somewhere with Novice Lucas right now. We've never been here before.." She nods and waves to Clover as the older mouse heads off.

"Try closer to midwinter revels, if you're considering it," Sivaine responds, giving Lucas a sideways glance. She looks down to Lark and smiles at the young dibbun again. "It's not really something I'd try," she says offhand, setting the kettle down on the stove to lift another cup from the rack, "If you don't know what you're doing it can go the wrong way, I've heard - though that's Farnham again, and he can be a bit morbidly dramatic." Another cup of tea is poured, and placed on the tray. "All set here?"

A small book of loose, unbound leaves tucked under her wing, Beatrix emerges from the library with her usual silent grace. Given the recent events, her bearing seems quite normal; the only concession to her recent tragedy would appear to be a substitution of a black head-veil for her normal scarlet one. Her ears very quickly pick out the shapes near the hearth, and the tiny bat maiden quietly makes her way to an unobtrusive side chair, one of the small ones usually used by dibbuns.

Ardice has apparently just arrived - two traveling cloaks are slung over the back of hers and an adjacent chair, forming small puddles on the floor, and a bulky-looking pack is on the floor near her feet. The mousemaid herself looks a bit travel-worn, but still cheery as she smiles to Beatrix, should the bat maid take her notice, and fingers the ragged edges of the small book in her lap.

Lucas glances over the tray briefly before giving an affirmative nod and picking up the tray "I do believe we are and can join the general populous again" waiting for the other mouse to go first.

"Excellent," Sivaine nods, reaching for the tray. Which isn't there. Er. The mousemaid half-shrugs and heads through the door, back toward the Great Hall's fire - but she still pauses and thanks Lucas. Apparently she's not that used to having things done for her, and would seem to appreciate the thought.

Beatrix, for the moment at least, isn't looking with her eyes. Her ears can easily pick out the shapes of those by the fire, but not small details like smiles or the condition of clothes... her own expression, while hardly somber, could not rightfully be called cheerful. Particularly by anyone who already knows her usual bright moods. The diminutive bat carefully takes inkstone and brushes from her pouch and begins to set up something akin to a makeshift writing desk upon the surface of the small table before her, setting the unbound book among the utensils.

Ardice watches Beatrix's actions with some interest - for a moment, at least, but then she shakes her head and turns away, and lets her gaze roam around the spacious room.. until Sivaine leans over the back of her chair and pokes her in the forehead. "Miss me?" The younger mouse eeps and bats her sister's paw away. "Siv'!" Siv' smirks, and comes around the chair, taking up hers and Ardice's cloaks as she does so. "There's tea." "What kind?" "You know, I didn't ask. The good kind."

Lucas follows after Sivaine and pauses by Ard's chair to offer out the tea and food. He spots on the way the bat though "Afternoon Lady Bea..how are you doing?"

Lark bounces back inside, grinning from ear to ear despite being covered in snow. "I won!" she crows, brushing off snow before heading for the fire to once again melt and slowly dry. She grins at each beast in turn she recognizes, then realizes her friend Clover must've gone to tidy up or bathe after walking here.

Beatrix's ears flick as the others enter from the kitchen; shapes of sound bouncing off the stone walls and sorting themselves into stranger, stranger... friend... Lucas's echo, at least, she knows. Her head lifts, glancing towards the novice as he approaches. She sets a brush on the edge of the small cleaning bowl and rises to her feet, a smooth curtsy at the ready. "Novice Lucas. I am... not unwell. I hope the evening unfolds to your liking?"

"Congratulations to you, then," Sivaine grins at Lark. "You know, Novice Lucas, if there's some sort of cord for hanging these, I can-" As she lifts the cloaks, she realizes Lucas is entering into conversation, and she cuts off. "Tch. Ah well." She focuses her attention on the young squirrel again. "Are you still under all that snow, Miss Lark, or has a snow beast taken your place?" she teases, hanging the cloaks on the chair backs again. Ardice, meanwhile, accepts the tea with a bright thanks.

Lark shakes herself, sending snow in all directions. "I'm still here," she complains, only a dibbun being able to argue such a simple comment. "Don' call me 'miss', I ain't a lady."

Jacob comes from the entry.

Jacob has arrived.

"Aha, you are the real Lark! Snow beasts are very vain, and like to be called all sorts of titles." Sivaine exclaims, and brushes some errant snow from her shoulder. "This is good - it would be rather messy if you melted away in the middle of the Great Hall." She's having fun with this.

Lark bites her lower lip, a grin starting. "But at least they wouldn't be able to get me to clean it up!" She looks over at the bat, recognizing her from the other evening. She gives a little wave in her direction, adding, "Hello."

"That's very true!" Sivaine responds merrily. "The one time you make a mess and can't be told to clean yourself up! It might be fun, being a snow beast." She moves into the circle of chairs again and has a seat, picking up her cup of tea in both paws. "Would you like to hear a story about them?" she offers.

Lucas smiles faintly to the bat "Glad to hear it and the day is..eh, well, little busy mainly but so far, not unpleasant" he says as he places the tray down within reach of the other mice "Oh dear, I entirely forgot the string for hanging anything up on, I can go get some now if you like?" faint amusement going to Lark throughout.

Lark hops up on the chair next to Sivaine, nodding eagerly. "Please! I love the snow, and I'm sure I'll like stories about it."

Beatrix's head dips in the direction of the squirrel. "Good eve," she cheeps, somewhat absently. She straightens from her earlier curtsy and brushes the edge of her surcoat with a wingtip as she settles herself back into the chair. A thin smile passes over her muzzle as she listens to the banter by the fireside.

Jacob creaks open the door to Great Hall and enters, propping it shut quickly with an elbow to keep out the cold. He sniffs slightly while brushing any excess snow off his robe. Taking the hood off, he looks about squinting slightly. He sniffs again before wiping his nose on his robe sleeve. The fire looks quite inviting, so he starts going that way, leaning just slightly on a staff rather than his usual spear for support as he goes. He passes a light nod to the others as he searches for a seat.

"Ah, well then." Sivaine smiles warmly and shifts in her chair so she's facing the young squirrel, tucking her legs underneath her. "I think you'll like this one. It all happened a long time ago, though not so very far from here. You see, deep in the heart of Mossflower Wood, there was an old squirrel carpenter and his wife.." She pauses to take a deep sip from her cup, and continues. "And they were happy enough, as life in the forest goes, save for one very important thing.."

Lark perks up eagerly, all attention on Sivaine. She pauses for a very brief wave in Jacob's direction before she focuses back on Siv. "Essept for what?" she asks, annoyingly interrupting. She may look like she's on the verge of being a young adult, but she certainly still acts like a dibbun sometimes.

"Except for 'Yes please, Novice Lucas, as I fear Ardice and I are making quite the puddle ourselves,'" says Sivaine with a grin to the mouse so named, before she turns back to the story. "I can help," Ardice offers, rising from her chair. "There's no budging her now," she adds sotto voce.

Lucas turns his attention briefly to the door as it opens, a quick bob of the head going towards the older mouse "Good day sir" he calls out before a nod goes to Siv at her reply "I'll go fetch some, anyone else in need of something while I'm at it?" glance to Jacob "Food, drink?" look to the bat "A cup of tea Lady Bea?"

Beatrix, starting to take up her brush again, returns it to the table. Though her gaze is on the implements before her, her ears are turned back, listening to the story being told by the warmth of the hearth. After a moment she drops all pretense of trying to work, folding her wings daintily into her lap. As to Lucas's offer, she politely declines with a murmur and shake of her head.

Sivaine coughs. "Ah. Let's see.. ah, yes. That thing was that in all their years, happy as they were, they had never had dibbuns of their own. And now, grey-furred and stooped, they watched the hedgehog twins who lived in a nearby log making snow-pigs, and realized too late what had been missing in their lives. So." Another sip from Sivaine's cup. "Rather than mope about - well, not for long, anyway - the squirrel carpenter turned to his wife and said, 'If we can't see our own children enjoy the snow, wife, then let's go outside and enjoy it ourselves.'"

Lark grins. "Smart squirrel. S'fun ta play in the snow." Then she claps a paw over her mouth and sits back, clearly intending to just listen now, and stop interrupting Sivaine's story.

Jacob's answer to Lucas' offer is delayed, as he seems a bit preoccupied with finding a good seat before realizing he's being addressed. "Hm? Oh. Oh yes, I'd like that, thank you," he replies. "Something hot to drink would do wonderf'ly for warming the old bones." Finally finding a seat that looks promising to him, he settles in with a content sigh. He looks up and about, muttering aloud to himself more than anybeast, "Redwall, eh? Like it so far."

Lucas bobs his head quickly to Jacob and hurries off to the kitchen once more. Small smirk to the story on the way and it makes him hurry all the more, try and get back before he misses it all.

Beatrix quirks a slim smile at the enthusiastic squirrel. As the story draws her in, she finally turns to face the hearth, her tiny form as regal as a queen on her throne. She remains quite still, not deigning to interrupt the flow of the narrative.

"Quite so," the mousemaid grins. "So, being the smart squirrels they were, they wandered outside to the clearing near their tree where the snow had fallen deep and thick the night before. Now, the squirrel wife was a wonderful baker of bread, so she packed and rolled the snow tight to make a little head and body, with a long, thick tail behind it. Then her husband, with his woodworking chisel, carved as delicate and fine a pair of paws and ears as you've ever seen. Little claws, a button nose, and - for he was a master of his craft - even fine eyelashes, all of frozen snow."

Lark lowers her paw from her mouth, but refrains from commenting. Her eyes are dancing, however, and her smile doesn't fade.

Jacob is listening somewhat to the narrative, though the majority of his attention is on Beatrix. The old mouse is squinting at her trying to discern her form, unaware that this might look rude.

"And when they were finished-" Sip. "-when they were finished, they stood back to admire their work. 'How lovely!' his wife cried, and 'A job well done,' he nodded with pleasure and pride. And they stood there, admiring the pattern of snow that looked like fur so soft to touch, and the hint of a smile 'round the mouth, not noticing how cold they had grown, or how long the shadows had become. 'I wish-' he breathed, and she finished, '-she were real.' And all of a sudden," Sivaine pauses for a moment, leans forward with dancing eyes, and whispers to Lark, "/she was./"

Lark's eyes widen as she lets out a comic gasp. She opens her mouth to exclaim, but closes it quickly with a smile for Sivaine. Her only comment is, "Go on!"

Beatrix can 'see' the shape of the elderly mouse as an echo, off to one side, but doesn't quite realize he's scrutinizing her for several minutes. When it finally occurs to her that his attention is somewhat focused, she quickly turns her head towards him, her expression quizzical but unoffended. She's quite aware that her people are a rarity in these parts of the lowlands, and merely assumes the mouse has never seen one of her kind before. After meeting his gaze with calm bemusement, she looks towards the storyteller once more...

Lucas reappears with another cup of tea and a ball of thread just in time to catch half of Siv's words, his ears perking up towards the end as he heads for the fire, going to pause by Jacob and silently offer him the cup of tea.

Jacob has by now discovered what Beatrix is and withdraws with a hint of chagrin upon being able to tell she looked his way. "Er, pard' me, my eyes aren't what they used to be," he apologizes, keeping his voice low enough so as to not interrupt Sivaine's story. He accepts the tea gratefully, saying a soft "thank you" to Lucas in the process.

Sivaine is well deep into her story now, and it's clear from her expression she enjoys the telling as much as Lark is enjoying the tale. "First, her tiny lashes fluttered," she continues, with a wiggle of her paw to demonstrate. "Then her sweet smiling mouth, opening to breathe. And then she sat up with outstretched arms and cried, 'Mother! Father!'" Siv' chokes on her tea a bit there. Ardice leans over and thumps her on the back once, then approaches Lucas. "I'll get one side?" she suggests in a hushed voice, while her sister continues: "So they named her Snowfur, and they were no longer lonely.."

Beatrix's eyes glaze for a fraction of a second as the mouse cries out 'Mother! Father!', but her poise slips back into place almost immediately. She allows the apology from Jacob to pull her attention onto matters of decorum, and in a voice perfectly modulated to avoid interrupting Sivaine, she responds. "Your pardon, gentlebeast. No offence can be taken where none intended," she reassures.

"No, indeed. Snowfur was a constant delight. Her fur was the softest white, her eyes the blue of a winter sky in evening, and her voice clear as a bell. The hedgehog twins next door loved to play with her, for she knew the best games, and the snow almost seemed to fountain under her touch to make castles and eagles and trees. All winter they played together, and all winter the old squirrel and his wife watched from the window 'til she came home, safe, to tell them of what fun she'd had. Sometimes," Sivaine smiles wryly, "they would join in, but not for long. Their cold cut into their old bones, for this was the dead of winter. But the chiller it became, the happier their daughter seemed to be."

Lucas nods once with a smile to Jacob in response to the thank you before his attention turns back onto the story, that is until Ardice is coming towards him "Hmm?..Oh! Yes" he says barely above a whisper before he offers the end of the thread to the other mouse and heads towards the fire, unwinding it from it's ball as he goes.

Lark is raptly attentive, the only abberration occurring at the word 'mother', though she covers it well. Clearly she'd rather hear the story than draw attention to herself.

Jacob nods softly to Beatrix's polite acceptance. "..Think you might be the first bat I've actually seen. A shame I can't say it was clearly," he says in passing with a soft chuckle.

"And then it was spring." Ardice takes the thread's end and backs toward one end of the fireplace mantle, where she manages, after a little fumbling, to secure it. "Everybeast had been having such fun that the winter passed almost without notice, and the snow began to melt to make way for tiny wildflowers, new grass, and budding leaves. Snowfur had grown quickly - I think she was about your size, Lark - but as the season advanced, she became quiet and sad, preferring to stay indoors and watch from the mouth of the drey, as her parents had done before. She was not sick, she said, so when the hedgehogs came and clamored outside the tree the old squirrel wife ushered her down to gather the young spring shoots and flowers for dinner."

Her head turning back towards Jacob for a brief moment, Beatrix murmurs, "Then I should look forward to our meeting one another, when the good mistress has finished her Marchen, sir." She dips her muzzle, a smile passing over her features as her attention goes back to the fireside...

Jacob blinks, Beatrix's reply taking a moment to register. When it does, he settles back in his chair and listens further to the story, again feeling a hint of chagrin.

Lucas likewise ties off the other end of the thread on the mantle and glances around but failing to spot anything that would cut the thing he just pops the whole ball on the mantle piece, still attached. He heads back to the chairs to take one of the cloaks from them, bring it back to the fire for hanging up. All the way through his ears are perked and listening..though he looks a little sad as he can guess what might be coming next.

Sivaine continues. "They stayed out all day, filling their baskets with young greens and flowers, some of which they wove into crowns for themselves. When they returned home near dusk, they invited Snowfur out once more, to a bonfire of the branches that had fallen from the heavy weight of the snow. The flames leapt high in the clearing, crackling and snapping in the cool spring night. The twins laughed and shouted merrily. 'Look, Snowfur! See what we can do!' they cried, and first one, then the other, leapt over the dancing flames. They landed, dusted themselves off, and turned to invite her to try jumping the fire as well.. only to find their winter playmate had vanished, nowhere to be seen."

Ardice, meanwhile, hangs the two cloaks over the taught line. Soon they begin to steam from the fire's heat. "Though her playmates and parents called and searched, Snowfur was nowhere to be found." Sivaine drains the last of her tea, and stifles a yawn with a paw. "But you know, the tale really doesn't end there, I think. Because the next winter, when the snow had fallen deep and thick, the old squirrel carpenter and his wife climbed down to the same clearing. And they wished.." The mousemaid trails off there, and stands. "I'll leave the rest to you, Lark. It's getting late, and Ardice and I have been traveling a while.. I think it's time for some much-needed rest."