8.28.08 - Slap Slap Kiss Kiss

Location: Redwall Infirmary

Characters Involved: Sivaine, Zade

Evidently Sivaine meant what she didn't say yesterday, because here she is again, standing. Nothing new about that, but she's actually carefully walking the circuit around her bed, and not falling over. She pauses every now and again to look out the window at the dark winter sky, frrf, and keep moving.

From the doorway comes a gruff, familiar chuckle, and Zade eyes the wobbly mouse with a bit of a grin. "Y' tryin' t' rob me of my excuse t' carry y' around?"

Rajani tries to sneak past Zade in the doorway. Be like a shadow..He looks like one, at times. He sneaksneaks towards more linens and bandages before his chain gives off a light clink and he freezes, ears flicking to see if anyone heard it..

Sivaine pauses, steadying herself against the headboard to aim a wry smirk his way, though her face looks a bit drawn. "A cold lady without mercy, I am," she replies and continues in less lofty tones, "If I let you have your way, it'll probably be ribbons in the hair next." Her eyes flicker past Zade to Rajani; shadows aren't that deep in this light.

"Now really, Siv," the big otter snickers, giving a casual, fairly uninterested glance toward the source of the clinking. His eyes travel back to the mouse, though he stays in the doorway, now leaning into one side of it. "Do I really seem like th' sort t' even know how t' tie a ribbon?"

Rajani turns his head towards Siv and tries to look relaxed and like he is in the room for a reason when he sees her looking his way, along with a glance from Zade. He keeps silent, however, and just watches..though his eyes do dart around a moment to see if Ardice is nearby.

"Depends how colorful that past of yours really is.." Sivaine trails off, eyes narrowing slightly to pick out Rajani's movements. She moves forward haltingly, but not unsteadily. "Anyway, I wasn't having any more of that horrible tea. Rajani."

An open sketchbook and charcoals on the chair by Siv's bed. Ardice is around, but seems to have stepped out for the moment.

"Like a rainbow," Zade responds, brows lifting, "an' there's a pot o' gold at th' end. What do th' healers think of y' walkin' now?" He holds one hand out to her, but makes no move to close the distance between them.

Rajani blinks when his name is spoken, the mouse looking confused, "Umm..Horrible tea? Are you saying I make bad tea?" He then nods, "Cuz I do..I thought you could use any leaves but it seems maple leaves do not make maple tea.." The dark mouse flashes Siv a grin and fidgits in place, "Or were you saying 'Rajani' as a hello?"

Sivaine cracks a little smile at that. Just a little one. "It was a hello," she clarifies. "I was going to show you tea-making, wasn't I." She pauses a moment to feel over the bandages supporting her midsection, a little frown working across her features. "There's nothing wrong with my legs. Long as I can keep the pain down and don't go for mile runs through the forest.."

"Heh.. well y' never know 'bout healers. 'specially if they're th' ones that gave y' belladonna of all things." Zade still seems amused by that. "Don't figure th' rib's gonna be more than jus' sore right now, s' long as y' don't bend o'er backwards too soon."

Rajani nods, "But tea-making can wait, Siv-mousy. You are talking with a bigotter and still need to heal." He nods again, leaning from one footpaw to the other.

Zade is now not just an otter, but a bigotter. He smirks.

"Mm," Sivaine nods in agreement. "As far as I understand, it was the only thing Lark could remember on short notice." Why they kept using it, she doesn't care to speculate on. "It's more or less all right. Just slower than usual. Have to be - nf - careful." She twitches her nose, and glances between mouse and otter, the corner of her mouth curling up. "Zade, Rajani. Rajani, Zade. You have a mutual interest in owl-hunting."

Rajani blinks at the introduction and looks at Zade, "Bigotter got cut by his talons, too?"

"An' were all th' actual healers conveniently .. unavailable?" Zade asks, brows lifted a little. "Y' had that hare's attention enough. Harpster? Guess maybe th' lot of them were incompetant. 'm no healer, Siv .. but I know my poisons." His gaze flicks at Rajani, and now the otter's muzzle quirks into a grin. "Heh, no. Bigotter makes a hobby of killin' big annoyin' buggers. Th' owl is jus' one of many."

Rajani ahhs and nods, "Rajani wants to kill that bird! He has hurt Rajani and Siv and others!" The mouse pats the chain wrapped around his right arm from shoulder to shackle, "Verminkiller will break his beak.."

"I'm not sure. This week's just been a.. blur," Sivaine truthfully replies, blinking a few times as if for emphasis. "..did I? Harper. His name is Harper. Er." she asks, brow furrowing with something akin to worry. "Anyway, I've known Lark since she was this high. If she wanted to poison me, I'll have to rethink my child-rearing strategies." To Rajani, she points out quietly, "They say he won't last long. He's blind now."

Zade's eyebrows creep up a fraction more. "S' good as dead already, thanks t' Siv. An' .. sorry. Harper. Ach, I didn't mean Lark was /tryin'/ t' poison y'. Jus' y' may want t' be more choosy 'bout who y' have do your healin', an' be sure they ... actually. Know what they're doin'."

Rajani awwws and droops a little, "At least Rajani and Verminslayer broke his talon.." He looks down at himself, "OR was it Rajanis chest? Rajani was still really skinny then.." The mouse looks back towards the two and perks up his large ears, "Poison? Who would poison Sivmousy?"

"Heh. True enough," Sivaine nods, looking sober for a minute. "Well. I'm not bouncing off the walls and everything's on the mend, so lesson learned and no harm done.. though I should talk to some beasts I know." Hrm hrm. Blink. "What? No. Nobeast was trying to poison me, Rajani. Some healing herbs are just.. strong."

Sivaine eyes the little red-eyed mouse. "You are looking better," she comments, trying for a change of subject. "..heftier."

Strong enough to kill. Easily. But Zade doesn't say this, just gives a nod of affirmation. The hand he was holding out is now against the doorframe, weight shifted against it. "I figure y' can take care of yourself," he says, "don't need lookin' after, right?" Grin.

Rajani perks up and smiles with a blush, the mouse flexing his muscles with only a slight wince. He's not warrior-grade but he tries to keep in shape since he aspires to be a warrior, "Thank you, Sivmousy! I have been eating well but not eating enough to get sick again. I have also been spending time learning to read..even if it is really hard.."

Sivaine looks at Zade askance. "Not with that ridiculous grin on your face," she snorts, sounding fairly amused. "Go on, say it." She flicks an ear and nods at Rajani. "Do you have someone to help you? Ardice or I could do it."

The big, brawny, scarred otter tries his best to look perfectly innocent. Like a child. A big, brawny, scarred .. child. "Say what?"

Rajani's eyes widen and he ummms, "Could..Ardice..help me?" He scuffs a footpaw as he asks, suddenly interested in the ceiling and missing the otters dibbun act.

"Whatever it is you're thinking," Sivaine replies crisply, with a neat little switch of her tail. "Ardice?" She turns that speculative look on Rajani, taking in the posture, the sudden interest in roofing.. /mhmm./ Her mouth works silently. "I can't imagine her saying no. She's not that much free time, though, so you'd likely have to switch off with me, or come up here when she's visiting."

"I don't know what I was thinkin' a moment ago," Zade snickers, "but if y' want t' know what I'm thinkin' /now/...?"

Rajani perks up and starts to grin but catches himself and only smiles while he nods, "I will accept Sivmousies help, too! You and Ardicemousy have been nothing but kind to me since I arrived! I just don't..umm..I don't want to take up all your time, Sivemousy, so I thought to ask for Ardices help first." At least he's a quick thinker. That blush is still visible on his face, however. Curse his dark fur!

Sivaine nods faintly, like a jeweler appraising a stone. "I'm not supposed to move around much. I have plenty of free time," she points out. "Entirely too much for my liking, really." Her eyes flick to Zade. "This ought to be good. Go on then."

Zade's grin softens and his eyes narrow. For a moment he considers Sivaine from across the room, then moves toward her, within reach - scooping his hand against her elbow and ducking his muzzle near one of her ears. Now he whispers something.

Rajani nods to Siv, "Then I will come up here for lessons, Sivmousy!" He blinks and falls silent when he sees Zade move over and whisper to her, his head tilting.

For a fleeting moment, Siv's eartips tiny to pink - and then she snorts and swats lightly at Zade with her good paw. "Now you're just trying to get a rise out of me," she smirks, and with a flick of her ear the color is gone. "Nice try, though. Five out of ten."

Rajani blinks, "You wanna rise Siv? Just pick her up again, bigotter!" The mouse calls out. Seems he is quite the literal beast.

Sivaine exclaims, "Not literally!"

Zade takes the swat as a light hit against his chest, and his mouth breaks into a toothy grin. "I /almost/ had y'," he retorts, and reaches to pinch at one of her ears playfully. "That deserves better'n jus' five. Seven, at least."

Rajani chuckles and clasps his hands behind his back, looking around.

Sivaine bats Zade's paw away and crosses her good arm over her bad. "Mm.. six and a half. And only because I've been half out of my mind this week," she decides, quirking a brow at the big otter.

"That'll do, girly," Zade teases, brows quirking up as well. The tips of his upper teeth are still visible with the smiling expression, eyes narrowed.

Rajani smiles and starts to move towards the door, "Umm..I think I will sleep so I can be ready to read learning..err..learn reading..tomorrow!"

Sivaine smirks back up at Zade, apparently undaunted and about to retort, but Rajani distracts her. "Good night, then," she calls, waiting until the door shuts again to sigh and run her good paw through her headfur. "There goes another one."

Brows still up. "Another?"

"Mm-/hmm,/" Sivaine nods. "If nine seasons of sisterhood has any bearing, there goes another admirer of my lovely sibling."

"Hm," the otter responds, glancing in the direction Rajani went and then back to Sivaine, and his muzzle works into more of an amused expression. "Well. How many have /you/ had, then?"

"What?" Sivaine gives Zade a baffled look. He may as well have asked 'Who was the commander of the Long Patrol during the time of Lord Sunflash?'

"Admirers," Zade says, moving to take a seat on an unused cot and stealing a pillow from the next one over, to heap on top of the first and lean back into. "Or, y'know .. whatever y' want t' call 'um. I'm not askin' for a number, figure there's too many t' really remember... but p'haps hazard a guess?"

"Paramours, sweethearts, swains?" Siv suggests. This standing is getting a bit tiring, so she starts making her way back to her cot. "Mm.. Zero." Pause. "Yes. Definitely zero."

Zade gives her a gesture to come toward the one he's on - it's closer anyway. "Zero? A'right, an' /how/ exactly is that possible?"

Sivaine thinks about this. She settles for snatching a pillow from an empty cot and hugging it in front of her like a shield while she remains standing. This might give her a height advantage. Almost. "I use big words? I'm never in town for more than a few weeks? The whacking great weapon might have some weight too." She cants her head to the side, adding, "You're a bit of an unconventional fairy godmother."

".. well 've never been called.. /that/ before," Zade nearly laughs, shaking his head. He eyes Sivaine for a moment longer and then leans back, eyes shut, hands behind his head. "Next time I'll wear m' kilt an' prance around, jus' t' act th' part. Wonder what I could use f' fairy dust..."

Sivaine eyes Zade back with an ironically arched brow. "Mm.. don't use flour. Take my word for it - gets /everywhere./ Think we could recruit you for the winter pantomime?"

"If y' want t' scare th' kiddies int' a comatose state... abs'lutely," Zade responds, eyes still shut.

"..given some of the children I know, tempting." Sivaine cracks a sort of half-smile, but after a moment returns to her own cot, stolen pillow in tow. To the victor, etc. "So. Hunter, then."

One eye cracks open. "Aye," the otter replies, this one narrowed at the mouse, now a few cots over. "S' why I came t' help with th' owl problem, y' recall? Me an' Taye, plannin' .. an' I told y' I didn't much like puddin'?"

"Right. The pudding," Sivaine replies, carefully easing herself back into a sitting position with only a minor facial twinge. "Nf." She stuffs her ill-gotten pillow in with her others, and after a moment's consideration picks up Ardice's sketchbook from the chair. "I remember the pudding. Good pudding. Good plan, too."

Sivaine asks, "Do they usually rip through nets like that?"

"Depends on the net," Zade answers. His face holds a bit of a scowl as they return to this topic. "When I'm huntin' alone I have different methods... but I figure th' net wasn't well-made. Soggy, prob'ly th' rope was weak an' old. They were made in a rush, aye?"

"Very much a rush," Sivaine agrees. "Wasn't enough rope in the Abbey to begin with.. what sort of hunting methods do you use on your own, then?" This is Sivaine, trying to start a conversation as she flips through her sister's sketches.

"More effective ones," Zade responds in a gruff tone. He pauses. "Poisons sometimes. Depends on th' thing I'm after. A week or so 'fore I came here I got me a snake, real pretty skin on it. I wanted th' skin undamaged so I drowned it.."

"Hunh." There's silence for a few moments while Sivaine turns a page, peers closer, and mumbles to herself, "Mn. Good one." "What do you do with them.. after, then?" She keeps up a tone of light conversational interest.

Zade shifts to sit on the edge of the bed, eyeing Sivaine with a skeptical look. ".. Siv," he states, tone gruff, his whiskers giving a slight twitch to either side of him muzzle. "You're half a room 'way from me, in a place full of sick people, askin' what I do wit' th' bodies after they're dead?"

That. Gets silence. Sivaine closes her eyes, mouth forming a thin line. "Sorry. You're right."

"S' not th' askin' I'm raisin' m' brows at," Zade says. He arches his eyebrows, then crooks one downward, eyeing her. "But if y' want t' know, really.. y' oughta come o'er here." The skeptical expression turns into something more amused.

"Is it the half a room away bit?" Sivaine asks, looking faintly guilty as she closes the crudely-bound book and rests her paw atop it.

"I like t' keep y' nearby," Zade responds, leaning back into the pillows again. "Can't be havin' y' too far off, right? Someone might do somethin' daft. Try an' heal y' with poison or somethin'."

"Are you adopting me, then?" Sivaine asks, looking faintly amused. "All right, fair enough." She pushes the book aside and swings her legs off the side of the cot, with a little hiss through her teeth. "Wait a minute, I'm the sick one. Why don't you come closer?"

"'cause you were /o'er/ here an' I offered y' t' sit wit' me," Zade responds. "So 's your own fault y' have t' walk more'n y' should."

"I have a chronic aversion to talk of relationships," Sivaine replies, and then makes a face at her words, getting to her feet with a shake of her head and a quiet "Bah." Her movement across the room is slow - leisurely, if she wasn't so stiff - and then she carefully sits towards the end of Zade's cot. "Didn't mean to be off-putting."

The otter shrugs. One eye is closed, and for a moment he watches her with the one that hardly has any vision - so Sivaine is just an odd blur as she sits on his cot. Zade leans forward, both open now, and squints at her. "Hmph. Y' better make it up t' me." One hand lifts and his fingers give a slight 'come hither' gesture.

Arms cross; Sivaine looks suspicious, to say the least, as she tilts her head to the side and observes the otter. "You're not going to steal a kiss when I get close, are you." It's a question and a flat statement. "I've seen that one done."

".. now see. Th' only reason you'd /think/ I'd do that is 'cause y' /want/ me to," Zade drawls casually.

"Mm-/hmm,/" Sivaine raises a skeptical brow. "Or I think you're still trying to make me blush. You would be."

"Pick one," Zade says, leaning in more, his teeth flashing in a brief smile. It actually comes very close to being 'ladykiller' in nature. "Which d' you think I'm after?"

Sivaine's eyes widen the tiniest fraction and she has to lean back a bit, but her gaze doesn't break away, and half-lids, hooding over like a hawk's. "Your sort are never serious, but you like your fun," she replies. "If I said 'blush,' you'd kiss me just to bluff me out."

Sivaine says, "Awfully unsporting to be playing this game when I've only got one arm to whack you with, too."

"My /sort/?" Zade hisses at her in a playful manner, and his hand snakes out to cup the side of Sivaine's face. "You're jus' givin' me a label t' make it less personal. Make it so y' don't have t' /care/ which it really is."

One-armed or not, Sivaine's paw comes up to block Zade's; she has to stick out a leg for balance, but manages not to fall. "Or I've seen this played before," she retorts, "and I think that's exactly what you're doing. You want a challenge, to prove your male whatever-it-is. Shall I make it easy and simper?"

Zade's muzzle draws back a little, brows up. The smile is gone, poof, just like that. "You're a lil' addict, aren't you?" is his cool reply. "You're so damn attached t' bein' th' sister no one sees that y' don't want t' acknowledge that someone /has/."

Oh, we're bringing sisters into it now. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Sivaine replies, her own tone starting to chill. A pause, then. "Telling me you're serious?"

Sivaine has hardly finished the question before Zade aims his muzzle in toward hers, to catch her off guard with a quick smooch.

"Fw-" You'd think Zade had headbutted Sivaine, the way she falls over (though she does catch herself with her good elbow. She's had a lot of practice these past few days.) "That-" she starts, ears beginning to color.

Zade's hand curls at the upper part of Sivaine's uninjured arm, and he pulls her back up toward him - eyes narrowed, still with no smile present. "Don't y' bite me," the otter gruffs.

Sivaine looks like she might be considering it, but just lets herself be hauled up by her arm instead. "That wasn't an answer. That was a kiss. They're very different," she points out.

"Well y' haven't bitten me yet," Zade points out, sliding his other hand behind her head. "That counts for somethin', right?" And with a wicked little smile he repeats the smooch. Less of a quick peck, hopefully, and more substantial.

Sivaine is an interesting shade of dusky rose by this point. "Mf-" She ducks sideways - an action that merits a grimace and a little squeak of pain, and puts up a paw to block any further advances. Scratch that. She stands up. "Still not an answer."

The otter stays seated - it doesn't give her much of an advantage. He eyes her for a moment and then gives a low chuckle, mouth slowly forming into a bit of a grin. "... I was right," is all he says.

"/Were you./" Sivaine eyes the otter back, crossing her good arm over her bad. Brows arched high, eyes half-closed, tail doing a metronome swish behind her - oh, she can't wait to hear this.

".. I said you'd look real pretty," Zade says slowly, "if I could get y' t' blush." He pauses, and the smile becomes smug. Just a bit. "... an' I was right."

"..." Sivaine's mouth narrows to a line so thin it's nigh invisible. The corner trembles, then pulls back in - what? A grin? A grimace? A snarl? "You," she informs him, "are an arse."

"You're hard t' please," Zade gruffs, and stretches out his hand, giving another gesture forward. "C'mere, y' cripple. 'm gonna get nine outta ten if it kills me."

Sivaine sniffs and twitches her whiskers. "Minus points because I've half a mind to bean you with a washbasin," she explains. "And nice try, but no. You left your knife here the other day, I should mention."

"I know," Zade replies, with a smirk at the threat. He stands up and steps nearer to Sivaine, brows up, hand coming up to flick at the outer edge of one of her ears. "I left it for y'. Or d'you not want it..?"

Sivaine gives Zade a very old look; her ears flick as if dislodging a fly. "It's a good knife," she concedes. "Even _if_ I had to explain its presence to Brother Miles while drugged up on nightshade." The mousemaid sounds rather disgruntled about that.

"An' what'd y' say?" Zade asks. "I hope it was somethin' about a devilishly 'andsome otter. An' how said otter was very, very impressed by th' amount of eye-goo y' got on it."

"Well, you can hope away, then," is Sivaine's crisp reply; as if for emphasis, her tail flicks in one sharp, switchy motion. "I'll take the eye-goo comment as a compliment, though."

"I would'a prefered brain-goo, so.. seven outta ten," Zade responds. "One out of ten on th' kiss though. You're not very good at it."

"/Believe me,/ I wasn't trying." Sivaine's voice is dry as a desert. "Fair enough on the brains. I'd have preferred that as well."

"Well why not?" Zade gruffs back. "If I'm not 'serious', th' least y' can do is use me t' practice with. Else you'll go int' th' most romantic moment of your life squelchin' like a dyin' fish." He even makes the fish-lips at her.

"I like my kisses with fewer bristles and not tasting of fish," Sivaine retorts, though really, you have to smirk when an otter is making faces at you. Tap-tap-tap goes her foot on the floor. "Only sort of practice I'm using you for is targets, and certainly not your face."

"/You're/ th' bristly one!" Zade responds, starting to grin again. He pushes up off the cot and heads toward Sivaine again, reaching to scoops both hands to either side of her face, despite whatever smacks he might get for it. His teeth show in a grin. "Thorns without th' rose. I'm s'posed t' be your teacher, girly, not some sort'a bullseye t' inflate your ego."

"Says the creature grinning like an idiot and calling me 'girly,'" Sivaine points out. She makes a sidestep her ribs aren't very happy about, but finds herself caught regardless. Blue-green eyes narrow at Zade. "Who's a bullseye for who?"

The foxy Novice of the Abbey comes walking into the Infirmary, paws full of a rather large plate of food and tea. He doesn't seem to have his normal smile or swaying tail, though he is handling a rather large load at the moment, perhaps explaining his lack of cheer. His eyes flit about the room, nose picking up Sivaine's scent. "Hello, Miss Sivaine!" he calls out to her. Then, there's Zade. "Oh, hello. I...errr...haven't interrupted anything, have I?" he inquires, slightly nervously.

Sivaine's eyes flick sideways from her, er, compromising position. "Novice Sharpclaw. No. You most definitely have _not._"

"Well I'm th' one with an arrow in me," Zade responds, pulling off the playfully cheesy line with impressive charm just before Sharpclaw steps in. He glances up, his ears quirk at what the mouse says, and he takes advantage of her being distracted - delivering a quick kiss while he still holds her face in his hands. Bwahaha.

"Pfft-" Sivaine _does_ bite this time, and aims a stomp at his footpaw for good measure before she wrestles free. "Zade. Stop it," she warns, ears slicked back.

The otter grunts, hand coming up to his mouth as Sivaine pulls free. "Y'know.. th' third time's s'posed t' actually /work/. .. gah, you made me bleed." He brings his hand away and eyes a bit of blood on his finger. Zade's tongue prods at his lower lip.

First, the mouse says nothing's going on. Then, the distinct sound of a kiss. A blush forms as the soundwaves hit his ears, the insides of his ears beat red. "I...ummm...err...." Yep, the fox has walked in on something. At least until there's a warning about things. The fox patters forward, balancing tray with finding his way without tripping. "Sir...please...Miss Sivaine has been hurt. Be gentle with her, and don't do anything she won't like" the Novice states.

"Oy," Zade mutters, "/she's/ th' rough one. She bit me." A smirk pulls across his muzzle. "Y' want me t' be gentle with y', Siv? Should I keep in mind that you're hurt an' weak?"

Sivaine's voice has a chilly edge to it. "Three only works in stories. You can flirt until you're blue in the face and _I don't care,_ but you do _not_ kiss me unless I want it," she remarks, shoulders hunching up. The blood doesn't go unnoticed, but at this point, whatever comments she can think of are better left unsaid.

Sivaine says, "I never asked you that."

Sharpclaw sets down the plate of food, the Novice frowning. "Please, Sir. We've had enough trouble recently. Don't start any more." The fox soon moves to stand near Sivaine. "Are...you alright, Sivaine?" he inquires of the mouse.

Zade rolls his shoulders in a bit of a shrug, muzzle angling upward. ".. alright. So y' can let me know when y' actually know what y' want, aye?"

And the otter's nose twitches in response to Sharpclaw. He says nothing, cutting his glance away and turning to go.

"What I want is a weapons teacher. Whatever else you're thinking I 'want,' it's all in your head. I could use some tea." This last is to Sharpclaw; the mousemaid puts her good paw on the fox's shoulder to stay him and reassure.

Sharpclaw silently moves over to where he set the tray down, and starts to pour some of the hot tea for Sivaine. He carefully picks it up, and returns to Sivaine's side. "Here you are." No tea is offered to Zade, a rather chilly act for the otherwise generous fox.

"So that's what y' have, then," Zade responds. "Come find me when y' can even swing you're halberd 'gain." He exits the infirmary and heads down the hall.

Sivaine says nothing in reply, instead accepting the cup from Sharpclaw with her good paw. The mousemaid lifts the cup up to her muzzle, taking a deep whiff with eyes closed, and then a long drink. "Frew," she mutters, shaking her head to dislodge the clutter. "Thanks. I needed that."

Sharpclaw smiles a little bit, the fox nodding. "Of course. That's why I brought it up here! I have some scones, and some apple pie as well, if you're hungry" he offers, already moving over to procure her a plate of either that she may wish. "How are you feeling? I do hope he didn't hurt you..."

"Sharpclaw, you're wonderful." Sivaine means it. Really. She takes another deep draught from the cup, working the hot liquid 'round in her mouth as if to rid herself of some bad taste. "I'm all right. I'm sore, but I'm up, and much better than I was at the beginning of the week." A pause, while she considers. "Don't worry about Zade. He's just an.." Expletive deleted. "He's Zade."