Quinten Log 1060 - 03 05 2006
RW Abbey: Western Rampart
The rampart is most certainly the place to be if you wanted to look over Mossflower and it's glory. The walls stand high above the ground, giving one the ability to look over whatever is present and beyond. The stones are smooth from the years the abbey has stood, a few darkened stains about could account for the wars that have taken place in the peacekeeping home.
These magnificant walls too are capped with a lovely array of white, glistening, pristine snow that fills the little nooks and crannies of the ramparts. Barely any footprints can be seen in the muffling blanket of white for most beasts don't want to dare the brisk winds that take over the tops of the ramparts in the deepest of winter. The topmost regions of these great walls, in fact, are mostly devoid of snow due to those very winds. The surely spectacular walls overlook a Mossflower that has also been blanketed with white, white that coats the trees and grasslands, glinting almost painfully in the crisp winter sun.
The ramparts of Redwall are empty for the most part, the thick old red walls deserted of all beasts. Except for a lone Hare who is perched over the threshold, starring out at the grasslands with a far away look in his eyes
Walking along the wall comes Shalina, lugging a large, covered basket with her, forcing her to tilt to the side as she walks. As she comes upon the hare she pauses and gives him a quick look up and down. "Ye're all over th' place, aren' 'cha?" she remarks.
Quinten blinks and turns his head nad smiles at the ujill "Oh hello ma'am sorry was thinking of me old home" he waves a paw at the grasslands "It was out there someplace"
"Mine was over 'ere." Shalina remarks, pointing due west. "On th' coast." She turns to face in the indicated direction, sniffing the air. "Ah. Can' smell th' sea from 'ere." she says. "So wha'cha folks doin' 'ere anyway?"
Quinten smiles and stands back up, buttoning up his uniform "Some of us hare recruits will be enterring your Novie Programme, learning new skills and the like"
Shalina smirks. "Ah, great. More beasts runnin' around an' makin' a mess." She chuckles. "Well, th' "adventurers" are worse."
Quinten smiles "I guess they would be ma'am but you'll get no mess from me, i like things clean and tidy" he holds out a paw "I'm Quinten"
Shalina sets down the basket and grabs the hare's paw, giving it a firm squeeze. "I go by Shalina mos' of th' time." She grins. "Sunrose only uses m' las' name when she's mad at me."
Quinten chuckles "Most beasts try to avoid using my surname, its a tad long" he winks at you and places a paw on the basket "Want a hand carrying this back down ma'am?"
Shalina shakes her head. "Nah, it's emtpy. It's easier t' avoid tha' hag down 'ere if 'y look busy." She grins and winks, nodding to indicate an elderly mouse who's overseeing some of the maids on the yard.
Quinten chuckles and stands up "Thats ok at the moment i'm just a guest, not in the novice programme yet so the officers have given me a few days off"
Shalina nods. "Yah, Sunrose us'ally gives me time off 'round 'is time o' month, bu' old Prune down 'ere likes t' run things 'er way... An' she has't in fo' me." She makes a face at the mouse behind her back. "I'm in th' scullery othe'wise."
Quinten chuckles and shakes his head "I thought that big otter Garn ran the scullery? He keeps telling us to keep our grimy food stealing paws out of there"
Shalina tilts her head. "Oh, e' pro'ly means th' rest of th' kitchen. Th' scullery's where th' dishes are washed." She grins. "'ey won' let me in th' kitchen either."
Quinten laughs softly "No i'm quite sure he said scullery, something about not understanding why beastsmoan about it, he gets to sit about andplay with water all day"
Shalina chuckles. "Tha's an otter fo' ya." she says. "I don' jus' wash dishes tho'..." She pauses to scratch her chin. "Ah, 'nough of tha'..." she mutters, looking down. "She's startin' t' look suspicious."
Quinten laughs and nods and tugs on your paw "Come on, let go look busy together"
You page, "ahhh cool :)" to Hallow.
Shalina nods. "She can' blame me fo' showin' a future novice 'round, can she?" she says, and starts to walk purpousefully along the wall. "What 'cha wanna see?"
Quinten smiles and follows along with you "nope and hmmm there is not much i've not already seen, taken a good look around already "
Shalina shrugs. "Ah. So, wha's th' coast like nowadays?"
Quinten smiles and turns around the corner of the wall and out of sight of the old mouse "Well lets see the mountain is still there...miss Keita runs the bar in Halyard"
"Oh, I was neve' tha' far south, we lived west o' Ruingate." Shalina says. "Heard o' tha' place?"
Quinten frowns and nods "Aye i've heard of Ruingate, tis not a place for hares to visit"
Shalina looks a little taken aback. "Oh. We used t' trade with'em." she says, looking out over the forest.
Quinten smiles and nods leaning on the wall and stopping now we are out of sight and safe for a bit "Well the stories in the mountain are none to favouring of the place i'm afraid"
Shalina tosses the basket up, playing with it a little before she sets it down on the wall. "S'ppose it depends on who ye area. I didn' exactly hear th' best o' things 'bout th' mountain eithe'."
Quinten smiles and winks "But i bet we all heard the same things about this palce didn't we "
Shalina turns to lean her back on the ramparts, leaning her head back and enjoying the breeze. "I didn' hear much 'bout it at all."
Quinten smiles "And yet you now live here? Well it is a beautiful place to live i am thinking"
Shalina nods. "I s'ppose... I was goin' t' move out las' summer, but 'ere was a change o' plans..." She sighs a little, peering at the roof of the abbey.
Sallen though I'm not very mad shrew like today" to you.
Quinten tilts his head to one side "Oh? what changed your mind Miss?"
Shalina chuckles. "Ah, I sorta had m' mind change fo' me..." she says, waving her left paw in the air to show off the ring.
Quinten smiles "Well i'm glad you stayed miss i'd never had gotten to meet you if you had left" he eyes your left paw "Wots thhat shape"
"Never seen a weddin' ring b'fore?" Shalina chuckles. "I met 'is really charmin' hob, y' see..."
Quinten laughs softly and sits up "Ooooh sorry i didn't see wot it was, an a hob ye say...wouldn't be mister walk about on all fours Gorefang would it?"
Shalina bursts into a fit of giggles, putting her paw before her mouth to muffle it.
Eventually she recovers, straightening up and adjusting her blouse. "Sorry... Don' tell 'im I did'at, will ye?" She grins. "No, it's no' 'im, it's a weasel... I 'ave a son wi' 'im too."
Quinten chuckles and flicks his ears "Sorry fer guessing wrong, he's the only hob i've met here, hmm well aye'm glad fer you ma'am"
Shalina coughs in her paw. "Yea... It wasn' exactly plann'd..." She's quiet for a while, and then notices some activity down below. "Oh, she's comin' fo' me... I bette' head off b'fore she notices wha's in m' basket..."
Quinten looks at the basket to see what is in it "Ok Shalina was nice meeting you"
Shalina hurries away along the wall, empty basket under her arm, and walking like there was actually something in it...
- A Couple of Hours Pass -
RW Abbey: Entry
The flat, open area between Great Hall and the main gates of the Abbey has been kept neatly cleared of the snow which otherwise piles up in drifts about the walls of the ancient building, and the steps leading up both to Great Hall and the ramparts have been painstakingly freed of ice, to avoid sprained spaws that might otherwise slip. Pathways through the snow have also been made for the more well traveled routes of Redwall, most especially to the open grounds and the pond. The gatehouse roof is bristling with icicles. It's quite cold, and your breath is visible in front of your face.
There is a bustle of activity here, and you can hear the occasional murmur of a passing conversation. The sun is high overhead, and shadows are small. All is bright.
A bunch of dibbuns are outside, playing in one of the remaining patches of snow. There are mostly mice, a rabbit, two squirrels, and curiously enough a weasel. Standing by the wall, keeping an eye on them, is Shalina, who is trying to knit to pass the time. It doesn't look like she's doing too well. )
Quinten walking around the corner of the south gable, his uniform tunic undone to enjoy the spring sunshine is Quinten, he looks about and smiles happily as he spots the dibbuns and pauses to watch them play
The dibbuns, in the typical manner of dibbuns, don't seem worried about having a weasel as a playmate, or a caretaker for that matter, although some of the mothers that are running errands nearby still seem a little cautious. Shalina doesn't seem to notice the occasional look, she's much too busy trying to untangle her fingers from the yarn, muttering something under her breath that's probably not meant for the dibbuns to hear.
Quinten spots the weasel and walks on over and nods to her "Good day again miss, need a paw with that?"
Shalina gets her right paw free. "D'you know how t' knit?" she asks.
Quinten chuckles and shakes his head "Fraid not, i can sew though, quite good to"
Shalina begins to untangle the fingers on her left paw, putting the bundle of yarn and the pins back in the pocket on her apron. "Sewing. Tha's anothe' thing I didn' learn... Some wife I'm turnin' out t' be..." she remarks with a grin, and then points at the weasel dibbun. "Tha's Shamir over 'ere. Looks like 'is dad, 'e does."
Quinten smiles at the weasel "He looks healthy ma'am i am sure he'll grow up big and strong like"
Shalina nods. "I hope 'e does. An' per'aps 'e needs a couple o' brothers an' sisters, too..." She grins, winding up the last of the yarn onto the bundle. "I don' think I'll ever get th' hang o' that..." she mutters.
Quinten chuckles "Well i'm a bit too young to know too much about tha tmiss"
Shalina chuckles a little at the hare. "Oh, I meant th' knittin'. The othe' bit goes by itself..." She tucks the knitting safely in her pocket and does a head count of the dibbuns... yep, all of them still there. "So, you're goin' t' stay 'ere?"
Quinten smiles at Shalina "Yes for a couple of seasons at least, long enough to get a feel for your way of life and to learn what i can"
Shalina grins. "Ah, lots o' time t' get t' know one of th' does 'round 'ere too..." she says, nudging Quinten in the side with her elbow.
Quinten shakes his head and smiles "I have a girlfriend ma'am Gabriel she is a rabbit and is not in the patrol, she has come here to hopefully live"
Shalina smiles. "Gabriel? Lookin' forward t' seein' 'er... Oi!" The latter exclamation is to one of the dibbuns, who's getting out of line, pulling at another's tail. Shalina steps in and pulls the two apart before anyone gets hurt, apart from the squirrel who had his tail pulled, who has started to cry.
Quinten smiles at the dibbuns and shakes his head "They are little terrors aren't they....you should see what the leveretts are like
Shalina hoists up the crying squirrel in her arms, rocking him a little while clicking her tongue soothingly. "Mmm..." she says, distractedly. "Dibbuns'll be dibbuns, eh?"
Quinten chuckles softly and reaches out to pet the crying babe "Aye thats true"
Shalina chuckles. "That'll change b'fore y'know't." she remarks. "Jus' hold'im like I do, an' make sure t' support 'is rump." She holds the kit out again. "An' don't drop 'im. His mum's watchin'."
Quinten takes the kit carefully and bounces him gently in his arms and smiles down at him, supportinghim carefully "Hello little one"
Shalina smiles. "Not too 'eavy, is 'e?"
Quinten shakes his head "No he's fine ma'am i may be short but i'm actually 7 seasons old and quite strong"
Shalina nods to her kit in the crowd. "I was eight when I 'ad Shamir over 'ere." she says.
Quinten smiles at Shamir and waves an ear at him "Wow...i'll still be training by the time i'm eight"
"Mmm, well, we weren't plannin' it or anythin'..." she says, watching her kit, and getting a somewhat distant look on her face.
Smiling and still holding the baby squirrel Quinten settled down next to Shalina to help her look after the little ones.
End Log -
