A Colonel Introduced

SUMMARY: A group of beasts wanting to leave the Army of Northern Mossflower confront something else they're not comfortable with - their commanding officer will be a ferret! CHARACTERS: Drago, Bradge, and Vlen

A squirrel idly stands by next to a pole flying the flag of the Army of Northern Mossflower: An outline of Redwall, with four stars around it. Vlen, standing near the flag, regards a small group of creatures sitting beneath a tree. Vlen looks somewhat thoughtful.

Drago loiters around the small gathering before he heads over towards Vlen. "Something on your mind?" he asks after a few moments, coming up behind the mouse with a tilt of his head.

Bradge is among those creatures sitting under that tree, conversing in relaxed tones with the others near him. Over the last couple of days, he's managed to shake off the distress of leaving his home with the help of his new comrades, but he still offers the occasional antsy glance towards the big red building that seems to always be close, but unreachable.

Vlen looks to Drago, then salutes. "Proper form Colonel," he whispers. "Call me General. Alot of these creature here are thinking of mutineering. I need to address them, so.... for now at least, keep proper form, I don't want them to see any possible favoritism in the ranks." Then he sees Bradge amongst the creatures, and calls out, "Capt. Bradge, front and center!"

Drago nods slowly and then returns the salute, standing at attention quietly as he looks around. Most everyone is in a uniform. But he's not. Yet. "Yes General." he says quietly before humming and looking around for a few moments to see who the mouse is calling to.

Bradge's head lifts up as he hears his name called, and quickly stands, jogging over to the general and colonel, stopping short of the both of them. "Aye?" he stands, with his paws folded behind his back, eyes going between the ferret and mouse.

Vlen looks to the squirrel and says, "Lt., grab Col. Drago a uniform." The squirrel salutes and runs off, returning quickly with a uniform, offering it to Drago. Vlen looks to the otter and the ferret. "Capt. Bradge, this is Col. Drago. You will be reporting to him. Colonel, the Captain will be directly under you in command of your unit."

Drago hms and ohs, taking the uniform. "Finally." he chuckles quietly. "Thanks." He nods before looking to Bradge with a nod. "Captain." he says with a nod before looking to Vlen for a few moments. "I didn't realize I had a unit." he blinks.

Bradge pays rapt attention to Vlen as he speaks, only diverting it away at the introduction. "Aye. Pleasure meetin' ya, Colonel." As if making up for his lapse of protocol when he first approached, the otter throws up a salute with twice the effort of a normal one. "Glad ta help anyway I can."

Vlen smiles slightly to the two, nodding. "Yes, Colonel, and many of your soldiers will be.... these here." Vlen sighs, and though he's doing a good job keeping his look of a leader, one can tell he's nervous. "So wish me luck." Then the General walks over to the group and calls out, "You beasts, gather around."

Drago blinks a bit and nods. "Good luck?" he hums and shrugs with a nod, following the mouse slowly, looking to the otter and just smiling a little before turning his head back to the group.

Bradge, too, follows the mouse with his eyes as he goes to round up the rest of the beasts he'd been conversing with before. So he's in charge of them, then. He's pretty sure they're all older than him. "Are you an Abbeybeast, too, Colonel?"

As the beasts gather near Vlen, one of them, an otter, pipes up. "General," he calls, "we've done our share! No way are we going to war following the orders of some..... some ferret!" Uh-oh, this must be what Vlen meant. The mouse stares at the otter for a moment, before looking at the others. "All of Hactor's army is just back there, in control of the Abbey. I'm telling you, this is no time for a fight. We could surely use your help. If you choose to fight well..... there's something you need to know about this army. It was formed 3 seasons ago by the former Champion of Redwall, Compest. A weasel. A weasel who fought and died protecting this Abbey." The otter, as does the rest of the crowd, become suddenly quiet, only listening.

Drago steps forward, looking to the mouse for a moment, not answering Bradge yet. "May I say something, General?" he asks, tilting his head to one side as he looks out over the gathered beasts, taking a deep breath.

Bradge at first simply watches Drago go to the troops, but decides it might be best to stick by his Colonel for now, standing just to the side and behind him.

Vlen holds a paw up at Drago, as if saying 'a moment'. Then he turns to the creatures who are silent. "All of us volunteered to fight for Mossflower. Some came mainly because we were bored at home. Thought this might look like fun. Some came because we were ashamed if not to. Many of us came because it was the right thing to do. All of us have seen beasts die. This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history you will see beasts fight for money or some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, or because a king leads them, or.... or just because they like killing. We are here for something new. This has not happened much. We are an army out to set other beasts free. Mossflower should be free ground. All of it. Not devided by woodlander or vermin, all the way. From here to the ocean. No beast has to bow. No beast born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. And it's not about the land. There is always more land. It's the idea that we all have value. You and me. What we're fighting for, in the end.... what we're fighting for is each other."

Drago watches and then leans in to whisper to Bradge, going to answer his question. "Not really. I lived at the priory in Ruingate under brother Antioc for a while." he says. "I'm not here because I like the abbey, I'm here because I owe it to him." he whispers with a sigh before nodding at the General's words.

Bradge listens to the ferret, giving him a straight-faced nod in understanding. Of course. The priory. He /knew/ that would come in handy. Of course, he doesn't offer any words of encouragement, clarification, or much of anything else at all, at the time.

The crowd remains strangely silent as they stare at the mouse. Vlen nods to them and says, "If you remain with us, to fight for Mossflower, then I will be truly grateful." Vlen then turns to face Drago and Bradge and walks toward them, whispering in passing, "They're all yours Col. Drago." The otter who made his remark about fighting for a ferret stands, staring directly at Drago, and salutes. Slowly, the other beasts stand, and join him in their salute.

Drago looks towards the crowed and steps forward, smiling at the salute. He returns it before speaking. "I'm not here because I'm bored and want something to do. I live at the Redwall priory in Ruingate for a while. And if it wasn't for them, and brother Antioc, I'd have died a long time ago." he says. "I came to the abbey with him before going away. I came back only to find vermin in what I thought would be my home, and that my best friend..." he pauses and sighs. "I don't want you to take orders from me because you're being told to. Take orders from me because we're trying to save the abbey. And the lives of everyone inside and out." he nods. "You don't have to like me. Just do whats right." he nods, turning to leave to find somewhere private to change into the uniform.

Bradge is now left standing alone in front of the saluting woodlanders. "...I ain't got a speech or nothin', an' it looks like y'all made the decision ta fight already. But in that Abbey's a fox who reckons 'imself King of Mossflower. We gotta show 'im 'ow wrong 'e is if 'e thinks we're all jus' gonna bow down to 'im jus' 'cause 'e says so."

No sooner does the ferret turn, and does the otter speak, does the crowd explodes in cheering, calling out the name of their commander, "DRAGO! DRAGO!" Vlen smiles a bit at Drago, nodding and saying, "Well done, Colonel, well done. You've won your brigade."

Drago smiles a little and looks down. "Thank you." he says before vanishing in the woods. A few minutes pass before he returns, fully uniformed, thinking to himself. "Can I keep this when we're done? Its comfortable." he chuckles.

Bradge raises his brows at the chanting. Oh, well that's kind of cool. Turning towards the two higher officers, Bradge steps up alongside Vlen. "...Good job, General."

Vlen smiles to the large otter and then to the ferret. "It was you two that finished it off," he says, "so..... thank you." The crowd is now shaking paws, as if happy to be where they are.

Drago hums a little and then chuckles. "But if it wasn't for you, General, they wouldn't have listened to me." he nods before looking to Bradge. "What about you?" he asks after a few minutes. "Are you from the abbey?" he asks with a tilt of his head.

"Aye." Bradge glances at Vlen, then returns his gaze to Drago, hesitantly. "I'm actually a novice, but don't worry, I learned 'ow ta fight from the Long Patrol seasons back, an' kept up on my trainin' as best I could." He speaks this in hushed tones. "Don't reckon it's the best idea ta let 'em know they're reportin' ta a mostly peaceful beas', though, aye?"

Vlen smiles a bit to Drago. "What you said after me I think would have grabbed their attention." Then he looks to the large otter. "Well, Bradge, the Long Patrol is.... a very mighty force. This army has fought with them, and it's why I promoted you to Captain."

Drago hums a little bit and tilts his head. "And why was I given Colonel?" he asks with a tilt of a head with a chuckle.

"Aye, but still. Seems like these folks're easy to sway either way," Bradge asserts, with a small 'heh' of laughter. "Might be best if'n we don't test their faith in their officers all 'at much. Besides, it ain't really like most of us Abbey folk ta go off an' join an army."

Vlen smiles up at Bradge. "In times of war, whenever a horde would go against the Abbey, the Abbey has always come to a strong defense. And Drago," he says, turning to the ferret, "You have proven terrific loyalty in times of trouble. Your past is very similar to mine, and from the beginning I have always seen you as a leader."