Nothing could ever be more important than family (A Redwall log)

Redwall Abbey Great Hall

Badgers: Zinnia, female.

Mice: LilyMoore, female.

Dormice (there is a very big difference between a mouse and a dormouse, just so y'know): Wyatt, male.

Squirrels: John, male. Aden, female.

Rats: Thorn, female.

Zinnia is just finishing up some writing and closes her journal with a sigh. She frowns at the spilled ink and ink stained paws and takes a rag she has to clean it off the tables and the chair.

LilyMoore comes down the stairs, following 4 Novices. As the Novices head towards the kitchen, Lily sees the Recorder and heads over to her. "You okay? Do you need any help with anything?" Ever since the majority of the otters came here, she has been spending most of her spare time helping her father and great-grandmother in the Infirmary, so she hasn't really been seen much in the rest of the Abbey.

Zinnia looks up and shakes her head slowly "All is well now and I am caught up with recorder logs, a lot have been sad but one was a happy bit of news"

LilyMoore shrugs with one shoulder. "You look sad, so I thought there might still be something wrong. I've been helping in the Infirmary as much as I can; so many of the poor otters are suffering." She sniffs and crosses her arms. "Wh...what's the good news?"

Zinnia answers "Well Thorn being back is good news, the fact some otters are getting better is good news. Its nice to have good news over ...any bad or sad news"

LilyMoore nods. "I met Thorn the other day; she seems nice, and she rescued Caleb, so that makes her a friend." She then scoots a little closer and goes to give the badger a hug. "You don't have to pretend, y'know; I know Xander's not back home yet."

Zinnia frowns, "No he isn't. There is that and...Krystal recently, a couple otters died in the infirm....so much going on, too much and I just want things back to normal"

LilyMoore nods and sits down. "Me, too. Maybe they'll be able to make these.....Monsters or whatever they are go away soon. Or maybe they'll all get eaten by eagles or something so we won't have to worry about fighting them or anything."

Zinnia shrugs, "It would take a lot of eagles. We may have one maybe and the Sparra." She sighs "The wildcat is gone it seems but no one can look for him with the other threat going on. He was found again briefly seems but...well that ended badly"

LilyMoore goes to rest her paw on the badger's arm. "We'll find him and rescue Xander, I know it!" Biting her lip, she looks down at the table. What can she say? She can't think of anything to say that might help. So she doesn't say anything.

Zinnia allows a single tear to fall and nods" I...it's...it's fine. I just need to not dwell on it. Uncle Zee is going to look and that's maybe good. I can not let myself get upset over it. I have my Recorder duties and helping out right now."

LilyMoore shakes her head. "No, it is not alright! Yeah, maybe you shouldn't dwell on it, and maybe you do have other things to do, but that doesn't mean you have to pretend that it's alright! He's you FAMILY, and you have every right to feel the way you feel about it!" So there!

Zinnia frowns, "But no one knows where he is and the only one who may seems afraid to talk. Heck the abbey may not even be here too much long if that horde moves closer" She sighs and looks away "I am sorry worried and maybe a little scared too"

LilyMoore goes to hug her again. "It's okay; I'm kinda scared, too. But maybe if we stay inside our walls and stick together, we will be okay?"

Zinnia says, "Yes everyone should stay inside as it's not just the horde, it's random beasts."

LilyMoore nods, then sighs. ".....Nana made me take a break to get food. Are you hungry? I'll get you something, if you'd like." She smiles a little. She's not the best at comforting words, but maybe that's okay; sometimes people just need you to be there for them.

Zinnia blinks, oh yes food. she sighs "It's not lunch time yet so I can't" She missed breakfast already. "I will be fine"

"Oh....right. The food rationing. I had forgotten. ....I don't think anybeast has told Nana yet." Lily bites her lip. "....Momma hates it; this morning she just took her food and ate in the gatehouse loft. She doesn't handle crowds very well....."

Zinnia nods "But as soon as its lunch I promise to eat something."

LilyMoore nods and sticks out a paw. "Same! Shake?" She then sighs. "I wish I could help with the poor otters, but I'm not a Warrior yet....."

Zinnia smiles some "You can help by distracting ones here, not all of them will go to the fight. Dibbuns will be here and I am sure Uncle Oz would like the help. And non-fighters, ones in infirm will be here too"

LilyMoore ducks her head and peeks up at the badger. ".....are you sure I'd be helpful? I try, but I don't know how to make any of this better....." She is also learning the alarm tones for the bells.

Zinnia hmms "You [ring] the bells and you can help in the kitchens or infirm. You are good at talking to beasts and cheering them all and that's all good qualities to have. You may even make a good novice one day"

LilyMoore wrinkles her nose as she thinks. "....but I want to be a Warrior someday, like Martin and Mom and Uncle Emyuil. Maybe.....maybe I could read to the Dibbuns?" she adds hopefully.

Zinnia nods "Yeah maybe. They frown on warriors but if you want to, then you cant be a novice. Novice lay aside all forms of violence to all living things."

LilyMoore furrows her brow. "What about mosquitoes? And poisonous spiders? And......but we eat fish and stuff. Aren't they alive? Isn't killing them for our food a form of violence?"

Zinnia blinks and hmms "I...well with the spiders before we found someone who was an expert and they got them out safely. Fish is meant for food but we only take what we need "

"But killing anything is a form of violence, so wouldn't consuming a fish or shrimp or whatever be against the Code of the Abbey Order?" Lily is suddenly asking some pretty tough questions.

Zinnia frowns, she thinks hard, "Well...I don't know maybe ask Benar. I have never..." She then frowns, there was the crow and she goes silent and decides she has to do something "You know what I have lots to do in the library"

LilyMoore ducks her head again. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong; it's just.....that's been bothering me for a while. Do you need any help? I can help....until it's time to ring the bells for lunchtime." She will also go away if need be.

Zinnia frowns "I was just....remembering something." She sighs "Crows on the way to Salamandastron, a couple large ones. Your mother had me hold her ax and I sort of...killed a crow with it and another I threw a parcel of hot root at and made it crash into a tree so hard it died...and I felt so, so bad over it, even though I knew it could of killed your parents if I had not. It was bad enough... at the time I was going through....some issues and that made it...worse"

LilyMoore listens quietly, then goes to hold the badger's paw. "....doesn't the Abbey charter have a thing in it about fighting if there's a need?" She looks up at the ceiling as she thinks. Then she recites from memory, "'To honor and protect friends and brethren, only raising paw to do battle when life at Redwall is threatened by treachery and the shadow of war; at these times every Redwall creature should show courage, fortitude and obedience to the Father Abbot. The taking of another life must always be justified and never carried out in a wanton manner.' ......I think that counts when you're out on a journey and you get attacked, too," she adds, looking the Recorder in the eye.

Zinnia frowns and sniffs, "I...don't know....happen so fast and then all I wanted to do was run away and that made things worse, almost really really bad"

LilyMoore thinks for a few more minutes. "Did you talk to Mom or Dad about it? I'm sure they'd be able to help you better than I can...."

Zinnia takes a deep breath "A little bit, not too much. It was when I was lost and sort of...not myself. I was drifting away and I was planning on just leaving, and not coming back. I was about to just leave letters on Lord Ciocan's desk and excuse myself but....well ...I am here and so didn't disappear"

Wyatt shoulders a backpack off himself as the young dormouse pushes through the hall doors. He rolls his neck, sighing out with effort as he grabs his pack in his arms and stomps forward towards the tables. "Crumbs," Wyatt mutters as he looks around. "Did I miss lunch?"

Making his way up the stairs from Carven Hall (and the noon meal), John steps into the massive room, looking about. His plan, at least for now, is to head outside and enjoy the May-time sunshine. And so he starts walking, his bare footpaws making a petter-patter sound in the relatively empty room.

LilyMoore goes to hug the badger. "I'm very glad that you came back," she whispers, then turns to the dormouse. "Hello! Welcome to Redwall! They're actually about to--" The bells start to ring. "--serve lunch right now!" Boy, does the time ever fly..... She has yet to notice the squirrel yet.

Zinnia smiles at the hug and nods "Me as well. They have a new badger Lord and he is very nice"

Wyatt neatly tosses his pack into a chair nearby and claps his paws together, rubbing them eagerly. "Right on time then? Brilliant! Ol' Wandering Wyatt is known for this kind of stuff, I'll have you know!" The dormouse ducks and steps back as trolleys of food are wheeled to the waiting serving table. "And it doesn't cost anything, right?" Wyatt wonders suddenly, stopping short of reaching for a warm, buttered biscuit.

Thorn pokes her head in, "Ummm...hello?"

LilyMoore smiles and shakes her head at the dormouse. "Everything here at Redwall is free for those who come in peace," she says softly. Turning to the badger, she says, I'll be right back. What would you like to eat?"

John pauses upon hearing the bells, but, having just taken his own lunch early, he continues walking against the flow of beasts that has now flooded the hall. A few minutes of peace and quiet to think will do him good. Well, he hopes.

Lunch? Lunch! That is Aden's cue to flounce her merry way into the Great Hall, scrubbed clean of the road's grime. While the silver squirrel still looks drawn and tired, the exhaustion is one of satisfied action - because there is absolutely nothing worse than sitting around twiddling your thumbs while a war wages nearby. Aden Skipaw is not a thumb twiddler! After nearly crashing into John, the acrobat side-steps Zinnia and Lilymoore and drops herself, with a huff, into a seat by Wyatt, not bothering with the petty formalities of 'oh, is this scene taken?' "Mmmm - rations." She grins, hauling a hunk of bread and a bowl of soup towards herself. His question earns a chuckle. "I should hope not."

Zinnia smiles "Guess what ever is for lunch"

Thorn walks in and sits down after getting her soup and some water. She sighs as an otter watches her and so she sits at the far table, yep no otters here just abbey beasts.

"Good," Wyatt heaves out as he snags the biscuit and immediately takes a bite. "Otherwise I'd rack up quite a bill, eh?" The mouse snorts a laugh as he starts to pile up his own plate with more bread, a slab of butter, stewed carrots, and a few blackberry tarts. "Lookit this spread!" the mouse proclaims after a long drink of iced mint tea. "Haven't seen anything like it since I was here as a lad, aye!"

"Woah, sorry there, lass." John says, after the near collision. The squirrel looks over the beasts gathered, pondering if it would be worth getting something to drink (and maybe another of those meadow cream biscuits - they really are worth dying for, if nothing else) to mull over. He's rather annoyed by his own laziness in the past month or so, what with everything going on, and yet... He shakes his head, heading over to where the food is spread out.

"Yeah, the Abbey never fails to impress." Aden replies, speaking around a mouthful of bread, crumbs clinging at her whiskers. "Even with the - ah - extra mouths to feed." It happens; it's what the Abbey is there for, after all. Safety and all that. From the corner of her eye, she spies the bloke she nearly brained moments before, and she waves a paw at him. "Come! Sit! Revel! Might as well, eh? Before you get slapped on wall duty." She winks, tail flicking behind her.

LilyMoore nods and goes to get herself and Zinnia some food. She returns after a few minutes with soup and bread and salad and tea and tarts. "Or bandage rolling duty. It's surprisingly boring," she adds to what Aden said.

Wyatt hums and bounces in his seat as he scarfs down food with the velocity of a hare of Salamandastron. "M'/starving/," he explains with maybe just a touch of embarrassment to any ears around him listening. "Been on a bloomin' military paced march to the Abbey for nearly a week." Ooh, are those leek and veggie pasties? "Don't mind if I do," Wyatt sings to himself as he snags one or three. His eyes pick up to John with a smile. "Hurry 'fore I eat all of it, hah!"

Zinnia nods her thanks for the food and smiles, she has been helping and keeping abbey logs up date. She will eat and help with clean up for the kitchens after lunch.

Thorn eats quietly, she has been back only a few days so far and not talked to many, maybe avoided some beasts.

Sighing, John makes his way over. He shrugs. "Eh, don' think the ones in charge believe I'm the most qualified beast to be on wall duty." He adds, with a small grin, "I've nothin' to fear. As for y', mate," John says, grabbing a plate and turning partially towards Wyatt, "I suppose stocking up now would be a good idea. Don' want to let ye starve us all." The squirrel winks, grabbing a few fruit.

"That's why I latched onto this 'scouting' gig. Not that I don't /love/ staring at the forest for hours on end." The sarcasm is heavy in Aden's tone as she nods to Lilymoore. "Better you than me with the bandages, though. Eesh, good on ya." She notices Thorn, and there is that imperceptible narrowing of her eyes - she doesn't really trust vermin in the Abbey in times of peace, but she doesn't go out of her way to ostracize them. She considers Flick to be among her best of friends, does she not? ...Oh, wow, how did that happen? The thought pulls at the corners of her muzzle, and she flicks that smile between Wyatt and John. "Best eat what you can before one of the Order beasts catch you. You'll get the 'rations' lecture, ugh." She shudders. She doesn't want to hear /that/ talk for the... Third time.

LilyMoore spots the rat and waves for her to join her and the Recorder. "Come join us, Thorn! There's always room for one more." Glancing at the adults, she says humbly, "I'm trying to learn the alarm signals for the bells. It's hard....but fun," she adds with a daring smile. "But we do have to be careful; we don't know how soon we might be under siege. .....or at least, that's what Momma told me." She says earnestly. And Zinnia is an Order beast, so there.

"I am sorry," Wyatt mourns as he takes another helping of carrots. "But I've only had a bag of nut mix for the last three days. M'gran didn't pack me enough, you see..." His ears droop but, wouldn't you know, he keeps eating. "M'almost full," he assures John and Aden in turn with a meaningful look. "So, uh. What's with the extra guard?" the dormouse asks of anybeast around him. "You'd think I was a rat armed to the teeth by the way they interrogated me!" Bashfully he glances at Thorn. "No offense meant, o'course." Aheh.

Thorn knows she has beasts who don't know her watch her every move and yet she offers a smile and a wave to each one and sits down where she is invited "Hello" She says quietly, she chuckles "I am sure my father could tell all about the rations."

Letting out a rather hearty laugh, John says, "Aye, well. I know well how to ration things - and no, it wasn't because they lectured me. Though they have, o' course.... As for being under siege, well," He shrugs. "We aren't right now. And besides, fruit doesn't keep all that well." He finishes gathering a meal unto his plate. "Say," he adds, after a moment, "Have any of ye actually been in a siege? Gods know how many times this place has fallen under it in the past..."

"Surprised you made it here at all." Aden blinks at the mouse. "Been hauling refugees in for days - we've got one helluva horde skulking about..." She lowers her voice for sensitivity's sake. "Overthrew Camp Willow, killed their Skipper. Bloody /mess/." She clears her throat, and resumes her previous volume, an ear twitching towards John. A smirk slowly spreads across her muzzle - she does love telling stories. "Er, kind of. My troupe got caught in the middle of a feud, once. Two hordes on either side of a plain. We used it to our advantage, at first - sayin' 'oh, they paid us this much, so we'll be performing there tonight' and the like. Made a pretty penny while they competed with each other, but." She snorts. "Wound up with our cart on fire, running through the grass in the crossfire. Lost every coin - and the hordes just about wiped each other out. War is a nasty business on any scale, but this..." She shakes her head, mood sobering once again. "The poor beasts."

LilyMoore goes to hug the rat, then eats some food as she thinks. ".....I've lived through some of the recent wars on Redwall, but I was s little, I don't really remember," she says honestly, then listens to the silver squirrel's account with wide eyes. When she's finished, the mousemaid nods her head. "The majority of the survivors are either injured or broken mentally, it seems....although I've really only met the ones in the Infirmary, so I may be wrong....."

"Have you met your dad yet?" Lily asks Thorn as an afterthought.

Some carrot drips from Wyatt's mouth before he has the sense to dab it up. "Aw, jeeze. No foolin'?" he asks with a glance between the abbey dwellers. "If gran knew that she woulda never sent me out into Mossflower, no sir." Wyatt wags his head. "Guess my lucky whisker worked again!" He grins goofily and points at the one solid black whisker amongst the otherwise white ones. Of course, they're talking about death and whatnot and Wyatt relieves his smile with a cough. "Well that's... uplifting, really. Sheesh." His eyes drop into his lap as he slowly nibbles on a fresh tart.

Thorn nods "My father knows I am home, he is proba'lly busy somewhere in the abbey"

How does one not lose themselves, at least a little, as they watch their home burn to the ground? Watch their neighbors and families cut down and strewn about a bloody marsh? No, Lilymoore's statement holds true - it's reflected in every dead-eyed stare in the Great Hall. The Camp Willow otters are easily distinguishable among the Abbey beasts and other refugees, simply seeking shelter in the face of such danger. Aden scratches at the back of her neck. "Sorry." She laughs, a forced sound, and shovels soup into her mouth. She doesn't want to think about that. "Lucky whisker, eh?" She squints at it, grasping onto the change of subject, and nods. "Well, guess it is! Wouldja look at that. Fancy stuff. Where ya from, anyways?" She rounds on John, suddenly. "And you? Have we met? I think we have... Have we?"

Looking rather intently at Aden, John says, "I heard about the camp... Didn't know the skipper died." he curses, softly. "And the beasts that did this? do ye have any info on them?" He has stopped eating. He glances over at Wyatt, but doesn't say anything to him. "Also, do ye know if th' abby has any plans for dealing with them? I'm never really told anything upfront, here... And yes;" He adds, "I think once or twice before..."

LilyMoore trails off into silence, playing with her napkin. She can literally not imagine what it would be like to lose Redwall in that manner. Shaking herself, she smiles faintly at her rat friend. "Was....did he seem happy that you were back? I'm sure he...was."

Thorn nods and smiles "I think I am getting lotsa of chores but it's ok, he thought I was dead but I'm alive."

Wyatt twitches his whisker beds up, showing off the bushy crop of whiskers, the black one on his right side and to the top of the bunch. "Northeast, just outside of Mossflower. You think this horde o'baddies is going that way?" Wyatt wonders suddenly, ears twisting painfully back at the thought of home. "But, uh, well. Here I am now, so...!" Wyatt looks around and ducks just a bit at the solemn environment. "I guess I can help with these vermin. If they need weedin', that is. I'm /really/ good at weeding. And composting."

"Aye, they're our allies and we're not going to let them suffer in silence. There is... Something of a plan, yes. I'm not the one to talk to about that. Our Champion, Magramba, is the go-to lad there - or the new Skipper, or some... Weird ottermaid with metal stickin' out of her face." Aden answers, pushing herself up and away from the table. "Well, it was lovely sharing a meal with you all, but I'm afraid that wall duty awaits!" She salutes, casting a cheeky, lopsided grin around the table before heading out the door. "Good luck weeding. And composting!" She calls to Wyatt, over her shoulder.

John nods, slowly, looking down at his food. He sets it on the table; it's relatively untouched. He glances over at those still gathered, nodding to them. "Er, well...I think going to take m'leave as well. Lot to think about..." He shakes his head, starting to head for the door.

LilyMoore stands, also. "I need to go back to the Infirmary and help Nana. It's great to see you, Thorn." Smiling she heads to the staircase, saying over her shoulder, "My name is LilyMoore, by the way, but you can just call me Lily. My father, Leon, is the Master Healer here. Have a nice day!" And then she is gone, too.

Thanks for reading!

[1]

Groups:

• Order of Redwall