Late in the Evening at Camp Willow
Characters: Nicholas, Zephyr
It's late evening and the Skipper of Camp Willow is marching across the main grounds on her way back from an emergency at the docks earlier. A dibbun fell off a logboat and got tangled in some weeds. Normally an underwater otter wouldn't have been a problem but the little otter couldn't resurface and began panicking. The issue was quickly resolved but the dibbuns' mother freaked out and started yelling at everyone who had been on the docks. Because there is no police force in the camp, Zephyr was called upon to mediate. So now she's tired, frustrated and hungry. Plus the Redwall group hasn't left with their foxes yet and someone has locked the food storage and run off with the key so there's also a matter of getting that open before breakfast tomorrow.
Nicholas is just hanging out in the camp, just being there, man. He's like, loitering, or something. Probably. Unless that's a strictly legal term, in which case he wouldn't be, unless if they did just so happen to have a law against it. Otherwise, he was just doing nothing, or something close to nothing. Spotting Zephyr, however, he smiles, getting up and walking towards her. "'Ello, miss! Me name's Nicholas McInally, o' t'e McInally clan!" He extends a paw towards her.
The look on Zephyr's face is classic. Her entire body is tense and she stares at the squirrel as if he just accused her of an unthinkable act. Then she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and releases her fists. "Sorry." The skipper accepts the proffered paw, shakes it twice and releases it. "I'm Zephyr, acting Skipper of Camp Willow. Good to meet you, sir. You here with the Redwall group?"
Nicholas nods. "Oi, at least yer not accusin' me friends o' bein' badbeasts fer no reason." He smiles, and shakes his head. "I'm not, alt'ough I am sota lookin' fer t'e abbot, as I need ta talk ta 'im 'bout some treasures I confiscated from some bandits. I was told 'e was 'ere. Oh, an', nice ta meet ya, Zephyr. Oh, oi, by t'e way, I can't remember 'is name, but some otter 'ere was bein' kinda rude ta me friend. Do ya t'ink ya could talk ta 'im 'bout it?"
Zephyr listens with the ear of someone who has one million other things going on in her head. "Mmm....don't know where the abbot is but I do know th' group is stayin' in the cabins on the north side of the camp." She waves a paw vaguely in their direction. "Who's your friend?" She'll /consider/ talking to the otter. But as far as she's concerned the otter is at home and besides, she doesn't know the whole story.
Nicholas says, "'Is name's Flicktail, a fox from Ferravale." He frowns slightly at her disinterested demeanor, but then perks up again. "Oi! I just remembered! Em, well, would ya 'appened ta 'ave seen anybeast with a symbol o' a spider on t'eir back?"
"Oh. Flicktail." Zephyr completely dismisses the story at that point. At least in her head. "Mm..no, no spiders. Tattooed onto their back or...on their cloak, like?" She's slightly confused by this.
Nicholas nods. "Aye, Flicktail. An', on t'eir cloaks. Oi, if ya spot anybeast like t'at, t'en... Oi, could ya 'old 'em, an' come find me? It's very important."
Zephyr tilts her head, considering all of this. "Aye, o' course. We can do that." Spiders on their cloaks okay. "What're you looking for them for?"
Nicholas says, "Well, me 'omeland was invaded, long ago. T'e most recent ruler ta take t'e t'rone was a vixen named Shritana, t'e Spider Queen. All 'er soldiers wear t'at insignia. If t'ey're 'ere, t'en t'at means t'at she's lookin' ta invade Mossflower."
Zephyr pauses and turns to face Nicholas, taking him seriously for the first time. "What?"
Nicholas blinks. "Eh? Oi, Mossflower might be invaded." He shrugs. "I mean, she's 'avin' a pretty 'ard time in me 'omeland, tryin' ta keep us down." He chuckles. "Oi...me people don't go down without a fight!" He grins, thrusting a paw in the air. "ERIN GO BRAGH!"
Zephyr squints as she feels the first tendrils of a headache invade her frontal lobe. "We will definitely keep an' eye out for 'em. We'll probably end up killin' a few if'n they end up in the camp though. Ain't much good fer questionin' if they're dead, eh?" It's a lame attempt at a joke but it's either humor or alcohol at this point and she doesn't have a drink in her paw.
As an Irishbeast, Nicholas would be deeply disappointed by the lack of drink. "Oi..." He's obviously not too humored. "Em, seriously... Come find me if ya spot any. He thinks for a moment. "Is t'ere anyway I could repay ya fer it? Some kind o' service, or somet'in'?"
Zephyr drops the comedy. "No thank ye. We'll do it because if yer tellin' the truth, it'll affect more than just th' otters. We might not be very nice, but we do care about defendin' Mossflower an' the beasts init. Where will we be able to fin' you if we get one?"
Nicholas shrugs. "I was kinda plannin' on stayin' at t'e Abbey, on account o' t'e t'ings I've 'eard 'bout t'eir food an' drinks!" He winks, chuckling. "Oi, but, I might stay in Ferravale." He shrugs again. "Honestly, I 'ave not much clue as ta where I'm plannin' on stayin'... Oi, anyplace t'at ya would reccomend?"
Zephyr shakes her head. "Can't recommend Ferravale as I've never actually been there m'self. But th' Abbey is nice and they do know how to have a good party. And it'll be easier to send otters to th' abbey. Not many o' us like going to Ferravale. Asides, your spider vermin will fit in pretty well at Ferravale. Not sure how I'd feel 'bout a town where my enemies fit in."
Nicholas says, "I suppose yer right..." He then mutters under his breath, "At least t'ey don't judge beasts just fer bein' t'eir kind..." He then returns his voice to normal, clearing his throat to play it off. "Oi, an' I already asked Flick ta keep an eye out for 'em, too."
Zephyr doesn't care what a squirrel with a weird accent has to say. If he doesn't like the policies, he can sleep elsewhere. The comment is brushed off like the mosquito on the back of her paw. "Sounds like y'got it all figured out then. Now, I've got things to do before I can sleep tonight, particularly if you feel like eatin' tomorrow morning. So it was nice to meet you but I must beg your pardon and bid you good night." She nods politely. "I trust you have a place to sleep?"
Nicholas shrugs. "I can find one." He chuckles. "Oi... Back 'ome, we've learned ta sleep in trees, waitin' fer t'e soldiers ta come marchin' down t'e roads, an' t'en ambush t'em." He smiles. "So...aye. I've got a place ta sleep."
"Good. Sleep well." Zephyr turns to go. She's going to pretty much just kick that stupid building open. There will be breakfast tomorrow, but somebody's going to have to install a new door.
<---End--->
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