Fancy Seeing You Here
Chacters:
Pedat
Aden
Otto
Hor Den: Tunnel Antechamber
You see nothing special.
Two siblings lost through time are reunited in the strangest of situations.
Pedat had been here for...How long has it been? One, two, maybe three days? He had lost track of time, all he did was sleep, go to the corner of the room to where water seeped through the cold stone wall and pooled on the floor to drink, then slept again...Dreaming in nightmares of what Anba would do when he returned.
Really, now, she should have seen it coming. She should have *parted* the grass before she stepped through, but no - instead she marched thorugh the grass confidently and fell in a ditch. Aden Skippaw was not one to fall in ditches! Brushing herself off, the squirrel maiden curses loudly, glaring up at the sky.
Pedat jumped slightly from his slightly reclined position where he had just managed the very lightest of dozes as he heard a noise right on the other side of the thick oaken door. He couldn't quite make it out, but one thing for sure...The feminine voice wasn't that of a vermin. "Hello?" He managed to gasp out in a dry croak, stumbling to his paws, wincing at the knife wound in his side.
Aden's ears perk suddenly...she could have sworn she heard a voice. She'd been alone too long: now she was hearing things, great. "Fabulous!" she calls out to herself (because, really, she'd been travelling alone. She had earned the right to talk to herself) "Exactly what I needed." She does not notice the structure off to her right, the den containing the imprisoned squirrel.
Pedat rolled his blue eyes and cursed loudly, forgetting trying to be subtle. "Open th' friggin' door!" He yelled, "It is tae yer bloody right!" He roared, giving it a solid kick that did absolutely nothing. So /this/ must be why the Military never accepted females. He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "she must be blonde" to himself before he stood back, glaring at the door and waiting for a reply or...the door to just open, either way.
Now, there was NO mistaking that one. Aden looks right and, suprise, a door. She yanks it open, scowling deeply. "Well I'm SO SORRY that I don't just go BURSTING into random homes; and NORMALLY a simple 'Yeah, its open, come on in!' would suffice. But, HERE, the bloody door is OPEN!"
Ice blue eyes shot daggers as the short, stocky squirrel clad only in a ragged pair of dirty trousers stood in the doorway, his right side caked in dried blood from a knife wound on his abdomen and covered in bumps, bruises, and cuts. "Why thank ye." He grunted, holding the hand that wasn't over the wound up to guard his gaze from the sunlight, the first that he had seen in days. "Who are ye?" He questioned, limping a few steps forward.
Aden blinks, quite suddenly realizing this beast's situation. "No problem." she replies curtly, frowning deeply and placing her paws on her hips. "Aden Skippaw at yer service, though ye might need quite a bit more servicin' by the look of you... Medicine ain't my specialty though, sorry mate."
Pedat gave half of a quirky little smirk at her words. "Yer too kind." He replied, straightening, then began to walk as swiftly as he could, catching her gently around her wrist. "Lissin," He whispered, "Do ye ken were ye are? Th'worst place ye can be, we need tae get out o' here, and fast." He explained, dragging her along as softly as possible. "Do ye have a weapon?" He asked, pausing to glance around a corner.
Aden scowls as she's pulled along "Fine by me. It's not like I *planned* to jump in this ditch." The gray squirrel furrows her brow, still being towed along, this guy seemed familiar... "Yeah, I've got a few knives. I'm quite handy with them." she digs her feet in the ground and pulls her hand free, quickly running a few feet away to grab something on the ground: a travelling bag. She throws it over her back and runs to catch back up. "Where exactly are we? And why do you look like you've been beaten over the head with an ugly stick?"
Pedat turned, eyes burning as he stepped close enough that their faces almost touched. "Listen, lassie, ye /dinnae move two paces/ away from me down 'ere or ye will get us /both/ tortured and killed, right?" He hissed under his breath, no time for formalities here. "And why do Ah look like that? Oh, because Ah was. Give me two knives." He ordered, peeking out around the corner again to make sure they were still clear.
Aden growls indignantly deep in her throat, but can tell from the urgency in his voice that it would be best to listen. She pulls two of her six knives from her belt and hands them to him, still glaring. "Alright, matey,-" she hisses venemously "Just point the way out. Oh, and if you break either of those knives you will have much more to worry about than torture and death."
"Can it!" He hissed, tail going bolt upright as a guard came into sight around the corner and the squirrel snatched the knives, thrusting one into his belt while his free hand quickly pushed Aden flat against the wall beside him and he also flattened himself; ears perking forward at the footsteps, waiting....Now. He spun out, his empty hand driving up; paralyzing the vocal chords of the weasel's neck so he couldn't scream, then the knife flashed forward and the vermin fell; dead before he hit the ground.
Aden nearly shouts as she is pushed against the wall, but swallows the noise as she sees the vermin guard. She watches in interest as Pedat flashes forward and slays him, crossing her arms across her chest. "Wipe off my knife after you kill someone, please." she tells him, almost bored with their situation. "Look sugarcakes, let me run up ahead and scope it out. Then we won't have to sneak around so much." Insulting nicknames were quite common in her vocabulary, it would seem.
Pedat absent-mindedly handed the knife back to her, still dripping, purposefully not cleaning it off as he crouched at the body, tugging forth a saber and a long bladed dagger. "Lemmesee-ah, no." He replied. "Keep yer bonny wee hide behind me." He ordered firmly, adjusting the grip of his large, scarred paws on the hilts of his weapons. "Just give me orders 'o were tae go." He added.
Aden wipes off her own knife on the back of his shirt, then tucks it back into her belt. "We jus' need to get out of this ditch then get back to the road." The squirrel maid sighs, looking up at the dark sky; This guy couldn't tell her what to do, she had just saved his life, he should be grateful! But...well, frankly she didn't know where she was (she'd been lost for two days) and vermin guards were never a good sign.
Pedat sighed and paused, looking around. He had been unconscious when he was brought here, and had utterly no idea where he was, and the bank was too high for one beast to get up on by itself, but he could get her out of here and out of danger, then worry about himself. He scooted over to the wall of the bank and looked back at her. "Ah'm much indebted tae ye, but...It is nae safe down 'ere." He said softly, glancing around, then cupped his hands, lacing his fingers together in a step. By getting in them, then his shoulders, she would be able to get out.
Aden laughs softly. "I'm in better shape than you, and much more nimble than you give me credit for." she says, a smile playing across her muzzle. "Move aside-" she whispers, pulling out two of her knives and looking up at the bank, she bends her knees and jumps straight up, digging the knife tips into the earth and hanging there. She pulls her feet up and manages to balance on those two knives, and then stabs two more above them: she's making a ladder. "Well, c'mon! What are you waiting for?" An odd glint in her blue eyes suggesting that she is having a bit too much fun in such a dangerous position.
Pedat glanced up, an actually surprised light in his own blue eyes as he watched her with a slightly approving air. He was apparently impressed, although it was hard to tell. He tossed the dagger and the cutlass up to the top, then moving a bit slower than normal due to his condition, began to follow her, finally gaining the top; blood pouring from his re-opened wound. "Nice." He panted, more from biting back pain than being out of breath from the climb.
Aden reaches a paw down to help Pedat up, at the same time using her tail to wrap around each of her knives and pull them free. "Thanks. We need to put something on that cut." She reaches down and tears a strip of her tunic off, passing it towards the other squirrel. "Shove that on there. Should help a little bit." She scans the area quickly and sets off towards where she last saw the road.
...One painful journey later...
RW Abbey: Infirmary
Several beds are lined against the red sandstone walls of the Abbey's Infirmary. An examination table, separated from the rest of the room by hanging blankets, rests against the far wall. Tucked into a small alcove is a sizeable workbench with various containers for mixing and preparing medicinal compounds. Against another wall is a desk for use by the Infirmary Keeper. A curtained off alcove behind the desk hides a locked door to the Infirmary's supplies and linens.
They had finally made it to RW after what seemed like an endless journey to Pedat; the lack of food, water, and blood the past few days, plus the sudden rigors of escaping were taking its toll on him although he held up well due to just being young and strong...But he had never been happier to see the sickbay and half collapsed onto a bed, letting the now bloodsoaked cloth fall away
Aden drops onto a bed herself, propping her feet up on the pillow. She would leave the medicining to the mediciners - "So. You got a name?"
"Get yer feet off th' pillow and yer arse off th' bed." The squirrel growled, shooting a glare over at her. "yer not wounded, nor sick." He said, looking around the room for a nurse, which, like usual, there wasn't one to be seen..."Yes, Pedat Quien." He retorted, almost absent mindedly as he reached for a fresh cloth and dampened it in a nearby bowl.
Aden returns his glare evenly, arms crossed. And then her stomach drops: right through the floor. "...what?" she sits up slowly, trancelike. "No..." she stands, moving to his bedside, and gets a closer look at him. The eyes give away the truth...they were the same shade as hers. So, after years of seperation she does the only thing a long lost sibling can do: She aims a painfully hard punch at his arm (he's laying down, so it was the only thing easily accessible). "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" she roars.
Pedat ow-ed a bit at the punch, even though it didn't hurt that much and sat upright, the previously said blue eyes glaring once again out of reaction, then he seemed to change before her very gaze and showed a beast that he let very few people see. "Aden?" He barely whispered, standing and placing a bloodied paw on her shoulder; the look on his face wary, as if someone was playing a cruel joke on him.
Otto has arrived
Otto bussled in saying, "Where is he? For goodness sakes where is he?"
Aden shakes free of his paw, still glaring furiously at him. "Obviously." Her arms raise as if to shove him hard, but she seems to regain control and holds them steady. "I thought you were dead, you -" a very nasty word escapes her at this point "Did you not even *try* to find me? Because I tried to find you! Though, what could I do? I WAS JUST A DIBBUN!" She is distracted by the sudden entrance of Otto, and calms herself for his sake. "This *idiot* got himself captured. Think you can help him? He's beat up. Though, frankly, HE DESERVES IT."
Otto catches his breath and replies, "I heard. Anba_Horof all people? How did you cross im?" He then walked over to examin Pedat's injuries.
Pedat glanced up at Otto as he bustled in, and for a split second a smile touched his face, and then he was the same old, gruff Pedat again. Bloodsoaked, battered and all, as he turned back to his sister. "Incase ye dinnae kennit, lassie, Ah was a wee bit /speared/ on the business end o' ah wildcat's claws at th' time!" He shot back, then continued. "An' /then/ I got drug off along with our /brother/ and sold as rowing slaves on ah ship that got wrecked on th' other side o' the damned world!" He exclaimed hotly. "O' /course/ I tried tae find ye!" He frowned, the cut on his brow puckering with the action. "Tha' was eight years ago, Aden, Ah thought ye were dead too." He said, a bit more softer, then sighed and sat back down, addressing the mouse. "Long story." He said, shaking his head a little. "Worst was ah knife in mah back." He added, turning to show him.
Otto grimaces at the cuts and straightens his specs. He leans in close, ignoring everything ellse only focused on the injuries. He murmured, "Oh my." He then looked up very shaken and said, "Now don't panic but uh... there is a sliver of metal lodged in your back."
Aden sits back on the bed, covering her face with her paws. "I know, I know, I'm sorry..." she rubs angrily at her eyes, scrubbing off the angry tears that had accumulated. "You got sold as rowing slaves, I joined the circus... I guess we could call it even." she manages to force a soft chuckle. "W-what happened to Ryker?" For the most part, she ignores the mouse - she doesn't know him, after all.
Pedat sighed softly as he heard the healer speak of the metal shard in his back; this day just kept getting better and better so it would seem, then at her question of Ryker, he was convinced that bad just got worse. He quickly accepted the bottle a nurse had held out to him, most likely to dull the pain, but he took several swallows of it moreso to sum up his courage in answering his sister, but procrastinated it long enough to glance at the healer. "Get it out, then." he said simply, then gave yet another sigh. "Dead."
It was as if the world had just crashed around her. Pedat she had always assumed had died, he seemed - dare she say it - expendable. But Ryker...Ryker was immovable, he was immortal. She had gotten through long nights calm in the knowledge that Ryker would always survive... she stood up quite suddenly, nearly bumping into the nurse: Why was Ryker dead and Pedat alive? How was that fair? Aden's paws go to grab at her face in anguish, turning away from her surviving sibling, wishing all too much that it was Ryker on a bed behind her instead. It's not fair. "...how...?" she manages to finally croak out, ignoring the fact that Pedat was about to have a piece of metal ripped out of his side.
Facial expression didn't change at her reaction; he had expected this. Sorta. He took another long shot, and nodded at the healer who began to work with clean fingers and small tools to surgically remove the metal. "He killed himself, in a sense." He said in a level, surprisingly calm voice, although inside he felt right around how she looked, and was probably thinking the same thing. "Almost half a season ago."
"Shut up. Just...just shut up!" she yells, paws balled into fists. If the healer wasn't there she would have attacked her brother. The squirrel maid does not bother to check the tears now falling openly down her cheeks "You're lying!" he had to be. Ryker couldn't be dead, it was impossible, he had to be hiding somewhere. It was a trick. And, even if he was dead, he would never, ever, kill himself. Not without finding her, Aden.
Pedat kept his face emotionless lest he too would start tearing up; same old play that he always used. Show nothing to hide everything. For once he forced himself to focus on pain, his back, specifically, to try and override the memories and pictures that flickered into his head. "His fiancee died during the plauge." he explained in a level voice. "he...couldn't take it, not after losing you, then being a slave, then her. He went...wild." He said, pausing to take in breath, perhaps because of a tweak in the wound, or perhaps he just needed a second to think. "He went out one night without anyone knowing....A traveler brought him in the next day two two arrows broke off in his chest, said he found him surrounded by three other armed vermin."
Aden can't take it anymore. With a final half growl, halfsob, she spins around and runs from the room.
