Camp Willow Town Hall Meeting
Characters: Aibne, Haven, Raina, Zephyr
The Swaying Reed Tavern is jumping with activity this afternoon. Zephyr has called for a town hall meeting and asked everyone in camp to join them. It's after lunch and most beasts have completed their jobs for the day. A few are missing here and there but no matter, they'll find the news out soon enough. The acting Skipper is standing on a stool in front of the bar in order to give herself a few more inches of height and cups her paws around her mouth to call the meeting to order. "Attention! Everyone! Could you all please sit down! We need to get this thing started!!" Someone helps get everyone's attention by pounding a mug on the counter. It's Eli, the barkeep. "Sit down! Thank you!!"
Aibne has come in a little late as he walks over nd sits down. He waits for the meeting to start quietly as he rubs a slightly reddened area on his left cheek.
Raina, graviatating to the skipper by way of familiarity, sits on a barstool a few steps to her left, her paws resting in her lap as her feet dangle easily. There's a bigger male next to her who's carrying on a hushed side conversation, and his gestures keep elbowing the younger otteress in the side, but despite the slightly vexed expression she wears, the only measure to takes to prevent it is to squirm a little to one side in her seat. As the crowd is called to order, she looks up at Zephyr expectantly.
"Thank you all for coming today. We have some important business to discuss." Zephyr pulls a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and sets it on the bar beside her. She's going to have to turn to look at it but she has it mostly memorized anyways. "First off, we need to discuss our policy for vermin species in the camp. We are all well aware that there are various other groups in the area such as the Abbey and Ferravale that readily accept and allow vermin species to live among them. Ferravale not as much, per se, but the Abbey definitely has an open door policy when it comes to vermin. Just so that you all know, as far as Camp Willow is concerned, we will /not/ allow vermin to live here, regardless of their supposed intentions. There are two reasons for this: one, we are a holt and a holt is for otters. Two, we are not as protected as the abbey against attack and it is too risky to allow beasts to come and go without knowing who they are. Does anyone have any questions?"
Aibne speaks "Couse Ferravale allowes Vermin, it be a vermin town. Now I would never step footpaw inta the place. I know someone who did but that be their bussiness and not mine."
There's a great many nods of approval at the Skipper's statement, and a couple of cheers, the otter next to Raina being one of the cheerers and nearly smacking her across the head with his raised paw. She waits until Aibne speaks up, hoping to use the cover of his voice to scoot her stool across the floor. She's succcessful, but the creak and screech of the legs on the wood floor are louder than she intended. "Aye, let them vermin have their own places, ain't gonna have 'em here with my young 'uns!" a voice near the back of the crowd calls in agreement with Aibne.
Zephyr nods. "I apologize, I misspoke. Yes, Ferravale is a vermin city and therefore not a friend to Camp Willow. The abbey, however, traditionally has been a strong ally. However their new policies are deviating from what we here at the camp believe. Therefore, while we do not plan on completely severing ties with them, we do have the right to protect ourselves. As such, if any vermin species comes to visit us from Redwall, we must tolerate them in the camp and not threaten them or theirs. But they will be watched. As we know, simply saying that you are peaceful does not make you a peaceful beast. But there is the question about what to do when vermin come in from unknown territories and groups. If /anybeast/ - fox, stoat, rat, weasel, ferret, cat, whoever, enters the camp and does not have Redwall affiliations, ask them to stay on the edge of camp and come find me. If they display any sort of aggression, you are absolutely welcome to defend yourself. If they do not want to do what they are asked to do, they /must/ leave immediately. And then you are to come find me. Is that clear?"
Aibne nods, "Clear ta me, I don't plan to go to Redwall cause of that fox. I had a disagreement and brought up a good point. I don't want me sister Mint to think she can trust a foxor any vermin. I even told the Redwall champion to stay away from her and her to stay away from him, Maybe that was mean but I dont want her misunderstanding and maybe trusting some vermin who wishes her harm." He adds after a thought "And I am not saying that..Flicktail would harm any dibbun, but another fox could very well ensalve a dibbun and not care.
Aibne frowns a little " I may of hurt someone feelings ealier and I do feel bad on it but tis was for the best. I told someone I couldn't be their friend, nor my sister thier friend, if they were friends with vermin"
The door to the Tavern opens then, and an otter sporting a puzzled expression enters, a notably large pack upon her back. Upon seeing the throng gathered in the tavern, however, her expression changes to one of recognition. Ah, /here/ is everybeast. Not just a ghost town, Good. She quite fancies a drink, but for now simply sets her pack down and heads to lean against the bar, watching with interest and listening to what she has happened upon.
Another chorus of 'ayes' and stern nods, Raina finding herself in the latter group, her head bobbing up and down slowly. "That's.. the safest option. For everyone." she says, her voice quiet enough that probably only about half the crowd hears it, so she repeats herself, a little louder and with a growing flush. "I just.. I just said it was the safest option. For everyone, you know." she looks around, encouraged by the nods she recieves. "I mean, the vermin won't be without their own homes, but we don't have to worry about them here."
"Exactly." Zephyr nods. "We aren't going to go attack them in their city, they do have a right to life. We'll leave them alone as long as they leave us alone. And Aibne brings up a good point about dibbuns. I personally don't have any of my own but if I did, I would teach them to avoid all vermin in order to keep them safe. When they are older they can make their own decisions. So in short, if a non-Redwall vermin enters the camp, ask them to stay out until they have my permission to come in. I'm going to appoint a second-in-command that you can go to in case you cannot find me. But until I figure out who that will be, I'm the one to come talk to. So far so good?" Zephyr pauses, waiting for any more comments or questions.
Aibne nods slowly, "It be wise ta be careful as vermin could lie just to get into camp or pretend to be injuried so we best be carefull"
Haven watches for a while. It's clear what's going on here - a town meeting about security, mainly regarding the vermin species. She's certainly getting into it: after a while of travelling, it's relaxing to be among her own kind for a while. In fact, so relaxed is she, that she finds herself quizzing the skipper. "Say, is this in response to anything in paerticular? Somethin' happen recently?" she asks.
Having said what she had to say, Raina sits back now, lips pursed slightly as she looks over to the newcomer, Haven, as she speaks.
"Aye. And not because of the abbey. A squirrel, Nicholas, has informed me that we should be on the lookout for an army of foxes led by the spider queen." Zephyr nods. "They are recognizable because they have a spider on the cloaks that they wear. He told me a story about how they have overrun his homeland and quite possibly have moved into Mossflower. I haven't seen any as of yet but we can never be to cautious." She looks over at her notes. "Ah, yes, and it would be preferable if we can keep one of them alive for questioning. Nicholas apparently wants to talk to them." Her voice is flat as she says this. "So there's that."
Pheone has connected.
Haven hrm's some. She seems unfazed that she's a stranger in a strange land, so to speak, and though she's questioning, she doesn't seem antagonistic. "Security's a good thing, then, but I wouldn't go around closing all your figurative gates to certain creatures just yet. Even the Abbey champ's a fox these days... as weird as that might sound, even to me."
Aibne listens"Sounds like a dangerous group to me, I say leave none alive as I only like foxes 6 foot under de ground"
Raina looks a little shocked at the news. "An army?" she asks of Zephyr, looking up at the Skipper and biting her lip nervuosly. "We don't want to fight any wars, we just want to be safe.." she says, frowning a bit.
Aibne says, "I dont trust that Flicktail, I dont care he best stay clear of me and my sister too"
Zephyr tilts her head and responds to Haven. "Right...you came in a little late. We've discussed that already. He's allowed in but only because he's part of Redwall. And even then we'll keep an eye on him." The Skipper dislikes discussing things twice, particularly in a meeting that could possibly take as long as this one will. "So keep an eye out. Things could get dangerous in the next couple of weeks." She glances at Raina. "Don't worry, no wars are going to break out anytime soon. At least not because of us." She turns back to look at her notes. "Hopefully anyways. Okay! Second order of business! We're trying to get stocked up for winter. /Anything/ that you can harvest and place in storage will be helpful. Just please, store it correctly. There's nothing quite like moldy fruit and rancid vegetables in the dead of winter. We're also trying to start a garden, so if you know /anything/ about raising plants successfully, please help us out by planting and cultivating them."
Aibne speaks up "Mushrooms and maybe in that cave close to the water as the ylike it dark and cool and a little damp. I could work with them I had worked on some notes on how to do it" He gets out his notes and hands them to the acting skipper "I also know how to dry out fish for later on"
Haven gives a nod in response to Zep. "I have noticed in my brief time in these parts that there do seem to be some troublemakers of, ah, certain species. Just saying, if there /is/ an army roaming the land, it might be worth considering the whole 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' philosophy." There's logic, but she's no diplomacy machine. She's a hit-things-really-hard machine.
There's a lot going on here. Zephyr accepts Aibne's notes, thanks him, and then looks back at Haven. "If you'd like, we can discuss this further later on but in the interest of moving the meeting along, I'd like to talk about food storage right now." She doesn't mean to be rude but there are things that have to get done still and the dinner crew is looking restless. They've got to start prepping for the evening meal soon and this meeting has dragged out for awhile now. "Good, Aibne, mushrooms are excellent. And any fish you can preserve should be stored in the dining hall, in the food pantry. Someone will be able to show you where. If anyone else here has any ideas about winter preparations, please come let me know after the meeting. Now, finally, during the upcoming season I would like to set up a sort of treasure hunt here in Camp Willow. It would involve finding clues and following hints to the prize which will be a surprise. But believe me, it will be worth it."
Aibne smiles "A bit of fun sounds like a nice idea, need some fun after my morning ealier" He doesn't go into detail but he does still have a reden mark on his cheek, but its mostly faded now.
Haven purses her lips and nods. "Righto. You're the boss." she says without any sarcasm. She stretches and crickles her neck. Taggerung's Attempt To Look Wise And Taggerungy Number One: Failed.
Raina shifts in her seat a bit, studying the crowd and particularly Haven, the newcomer who's already been so outspoken. "A treasure hunt?" she asks Zephyr curiously, "Like a game? That could be really fun." she says, giving a little smile.
Zephyr nods. "Aye, a sort of competition. You'd need to be in groups and find clues which will lead you to the treasure. I'll hide things around the camp and, on a particular day, set you all off! If you have any ideas about /that/, please talk to me afterward." She shuffles her papers and folds them back up and puts them in her pocket. "And that's that! Anyone have anything else they feel the need to discuss before we're dismissed?"
Aibne shakes his head as he listens, he doesn't have anything else to add, he then hmmms maybe he could find wild strawberries, but he can do that and then talk to the acting skipper if he succeeds finding wild strawberries first.
Raina shakes her head succinctly. She's not super fond of the idea of group scavenger hunts, being as she only really knows Zephyr, but even her introverted mind can realize that this might be a good oppurtunity to meet new people and to make some new friends. Might.
Aibne has disconnected.
"Excellent. Drinks are on the house! Eli already promised me you can have whatever you would like!" Zephyr hops down off the stool and begins to make her way to the door. Anyone who wishes to talk to her further will have to do so outside where she can breathe.
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