Stoats and Rats

Characters: Amy, Chris, Kentar, Will, Garnet

Location: Moledeep, Mossflower Woods

Moledeep

Amethyst sits at the table in Mole Hall having just 'abducted' Chris after much back and forth with Garnet so the mother stoat could have a rest. The blind rat is feeding the baby slowly and getting the spoon in his mouth most of the time now though the food on th spoon doesn't always have the same amount of success.

Kentar comes into the hall quietly, the stoat yawning and looking rather sore. He moves near Amy and then sits down, scratching his head before sitting back and smiling a little. "Hello Amy. I see you've dibbun nabbed my son..." he chuckles.

Amethyst says, "It was for your wife's own good, I assure you. And I'm sure he's wearing more of his meal then he's eaten but he's not crying and I haven't missed his mouth any for once."

Kentar laughs and shrugs a little. "Yeah, so true." he smirks before nodding a little. "Thank you for watching him Amy. I know how much Garnet really needs a break. I'd watch him myself, but she's still not keen on that idea yet."

Amethyst shrugs a little and drops the spoon back into the bowl, using the spoon to slide the bowl out of the way since Chris appears to be done. "You're welcome. I think he could use a bath .... one without oatmeal that is and of the two of us you're least likely to drowned him sooo ..." she holds the sticky food covered baby out toward where Kentar's voice last came from, grinning.

Kentar huhs and then laughs, smirking a little. "Chris won't drown!" he laughs. "He's learned to swim! So young too. Thanks mostly to the otter's teachings." he nods, chuckling a little, taking the stoat babe, laughing to himself.

Amethyst says, "That's good for Chris, but it ruins your alibi."

Kentar grins. "Thank you Amy." he chuckles quietly, setting the messy stoat kid in his lap, looking down at the giggling ball of fur.

Amethyst says, "They teach Kluna to swim or did he already know how from living on a ship .... I'd think that would be something a beast'd learn if he lived on the sea but maybe not."

Kentar chuckles a little and takes a cloth to Chris's mouth, wiping it off. "Kluna already knows how to swim. He swam while we were escaping from his ship the first time." he says.

Amethyst nods a little, "Ah, I see. Still would be better for you to clean him off then me anyway." she says referring again to Chris.

Will had been doing something in the storage chamber for a while but has emerged to to and rummage around in the kitchen now. He smiles a little at the trio around the table but doesn't say anything as goes into the kitchen.

Amethyst is aware Will just passed by but doesn't say anything to him. She keeps her focus on Kentar and asks, "Might, when we're you thinking of going?"

Kentar shrugs a bit. "Not sure. Soon though. I want to be back in time for that boat trip Will and Aikuen keep talking about." he laughs but there's a lot of nervousness in his voice when he mentions the trip. Even sounded a little shaky.

In the kitchen Will had become distracted from his first task and begun to wash the left over dishes that were piled up in the sink. He wasn't sure who's turn it had been last night but either they hadn't done it or more likely the sink had been filled up again since then.

Amethyst squints at the stoat which doesn't help at all and probably looks creepy too. "Something wrong? ... I've heard about the boat trip. Were you going to invite yourself along whether they want you or not or something?" the maid guesses, "Or is there another problem you're not mentioning?"

Kentar laughs and smirks. "No no, I was invited. I think." he pauses. "Anyways. Yes. Something's wrong. I don't like boats or ships or anything." he sighs. "They bring back insanely bad memories." he nods.

Amethyst smiles a little, "Did they /say/ you were invited or did you assume you were invited? If you /were/ invited you could tell them you don't want to go or that you don't like boats. I doubt they'd be mad at you if you told them you didn't like boats. I don't like boats either .... which doesn't have anything to do with my being invited or not, but I wouldn't have minded if it had. Might have been better if it had. But that's not important and you didn't answer my question yet."

Kentar laughs. "Yes, Aik and Will I remember asking if I wanted to go..." he thinks but he's not sure. "Anyways, yeah. I'm looking forward to it, even though I don't like boats and stuff." He nods.

Amethyst hmms, "Interesting ... And here I was last told I'd be staying here with you and 'everybody else'. That must have changed. Last I'd heard there were two otters going and Will .... but it has been a while since I was told that, so it /could/ have changed. ... At one point I was going too but that changed. You might want to ask again to make sure you're invited before tagging along, though I can't see why you wouldn't be invited. You're Will's brother and Aik's beast friend ... of course I don't think Racky's going either .... it is a puzzlement," she grins a little to lighten the mood should what she just said have depressed or upset the stoat.

Amethyst hears a faint grinding sound and there is no answer from Kentar yet. She is very puzzled for a moment til she become aware of another beast in the room and it's not Will, who she can still hear clattering around in the kitchen. Being blind the maid is unaware of the looks she is getting from the upset mother but can imagine the stoatmaid isn't pleased that Chris hasn't gotten his bath yet. "Uh ... Hello, Garnet. Chris was going to get a bath but it didn't happen somehow. Sorry about that. If there's a problem with who was going to clean him off, I couldn't do so myself for obvious reasons without endangering him and there was no one else around. I know he wouldn't hurt Chris so there shouldn't be any problem had he bathed Chris as he was asked to do. We were talking about the boat trip Will and Aik are going on and weather or not any one else is going. Kentar seems to think he's going and he might be but I had been told otherwise at one point.

Of course I was told /I/ was going at one point and that later was changed. So Kentar's 'not going' could have changed to 'going' as well, and no one had told me yet. It was nothing too important."

Garnet still does not acknowledge Amy, "You could have asked me..." she gives her another dirty look, for saying that stuff out loud. And if she was trying to be helpful, she is failing miserably. As now it brought up another topic, one that she is not inclined to be a part of. She grinds her fangs again, next time Amy will not be allowed with Chris. Until she and Kentar are all patched up again. Which just might have been extended by the rat-maid. She places a paw on Kentar's leg and gives it a little rub, "I know he wouldn't hurt Chris... That's not the point..." she sighs and nods a little, glad to change the subject "Yeah I heard about that. I was never invited directly, but I don't think that really matters much. I'm sure if I wanted to go, they would let me. Chris might like a little ship ride. Isn't that right Chris!" she chuckles and continues to clean the little one.

Amethyst can't see the dirty looks but aims a few of her own at Garnet's voice now, "I could have asked you but I didn't. I choose to made a good friend of mine happy instead. We agree that Kentar would not hurt Chris and since being with his father isn't harmful to him then what reason is there for him to be kept away from his father - which /is harmful/ to him. To /both/ of them."

Garnet sighs, "Amy... can I speak with you... Alone..." she stands up and walks over to Amy, Placing a paw on her shoulder lightly. Amy needs to know why. Garnet believes that Kentar even knows why she is keeping Chris away. But she will never discuss it in front of him.

Amethyst grips her staff, stifling at the touch, she stands anyway and follows where the stoat will lead her. "Aikuen's nearly killed me twice now," she says, ".... Don't try to out do him." A request phrased as a threat, an empty threat mostly likely given the beast it's coming from.

The sounds of falling and breaking dishes can be heard from the kitchen as well as muted curses. No beast emerges, likely too busy cleaning up whatever mess they've made.

Garnet tilts her head at Amy, "What are you talking about?" getting the threat, but doesn't know how Amy ever made that connection. She just wants to talk, and Garnet is not being threatening at all. She leads her into the sleeping hall and eventually into the stoats' room. It looks an awful mess. And as the odd scent of tears in the air. Garnet closes the door and places the semi clean Chris back into his crib, "I'm not going to hurt you... this..." she shrugs, "Is girl talk..." she goes to sit on the messed up bed and she says, "Come on up Amy, I want to talk... Girl to Girl..." she pats the bed.

Kentar had been there quiet as anything. "Garnet." He stands up slowly. "No matter what you think, he's my son too, and I would never hurt him." He sighs. This is just making him even more upset. First time he had his son with him in days, and she shows up and takes him. He can't believe it, he really can't. Slowly he turns, blinking away a few tears and walks quietly, sadly out of the room, looking hurt, in many ways.

Amethyst is blind so expressions and body language are often lost on her she relies on tone of voice, inflection and far too much, her own experiences when deciding what to do. "... Oh, nothing. One can't be too careful when one can not see is all." She still follows the stoat-maid off to one of the back rooms and stands by the door unable to see the bed and not relishing any sort of 'girl talk' least of all with a maid she's still mad at.

Garnet tilts her head at Amy, "Well, that I can understand... with otters around..." she sighs, "Listen, this is what I wanted to say... but not in front of Kentar. I am a mother... which someday you will be endowed with... and then you will understand..." she is trying to word this correctly, "I don't mind that Kentar had Chris... Not at all, after I cleaned Chris I was going to give him back to him. It was you... see..." she sighs, "You gave him to Kentar, without my permission, and with full knowledge that I didn't want, that, to happen, at the time... " She frowns, "And yes I know Kentar won't hurt him. I trust him. But this is not about Chris, or about Kentar. This was me trusting you, with my little son..."

In the Kitchen Will has moved the broken pieces that were once plates and cups into a pile out of the way of the regular traffic of the kitchen and scrawls down a quick note to put out on the table in the hall as he chews on his lip trying to decided if he should leave the pile where it is or throw it out and if the latter how and where. He puzzles of this a while and goes to the storage chamber, leaving the note on the hall table on the way there, to see if he can make use of the old wheelbarrow for this job.

Amethyst isn't moved by the stoat's words. "You would have given him back to Kentar? How do I know you aren't lying? You two fight an awful lot. He killed his brother to keep you safe and yet for some reason you don't seem grateful. Why is that?" Amy says again glaring at the other maid's voice.

Garnet sighs, "I am not lying... I love Kentar, and Chris does need to see his father. They need to see each other, in fact Chris would be back In Kentar's arms again, but i needed to talk to you... To stop treating me like that... You don't know..." Sounds like she about to cry. She sniffs and wipes a paw across her eyes before continuing, "I am very grateful... I'm glad Bale is dead... But he whipped Robin... and the first image i saw, was him whipping Chris... I told Kentar that..." she blinks and starts to sob as the picture fill her again, "And I know he never will... but that image still haunts me... But I still love him... Even went to his brothers burial. I was there... I went for Kentar..." she blinks tears and continues, "And then he tried to leave... Leave Me and Chris... That killed me on the inside... I still love him... And yet he wanted to lev-" and she stops, as the sob as gone full force now.

Amethyst blinks, "O.K. He whipped Robin and you started hallucinating and .... and now you can't talk anymore. ... lovely .... I can't talk to beasts that don't talk back. It doesn't work very well." Amy lowers herself down to sit by the door. She looks toward the crying, no longer glaring at the stoat, " .... Do you want me to go get someone? Kentar? Anyone?" The rat-maid sighs and leans her head back against the wall. She closes her eyes feeling a head ache coming on already. "You're very loud do you know that? ... Ok. I am sitting here by a wall and a doorway and there's loud crying over there and it's dark but it's always dark just not always here or with the loud crying. .... You hear that crashing from th kitchen when we left th hall? Hope whoever it was cleans it up." Amy falls silent for a short while since Garnet is still crying. She's partly been trying to distract the stoat so she'll stop crying and partly to drown out the sound of the crying so she doesn't have to hear it herself.

Garnet places her head face first into the bed to muffle the crying. She has done this almost everyday since Kentar first killed Bale and later whipped Robin. She doesn't know what to feel. So many swirling emotions. This is all very confusing, and it hurts her so badly on the inside. After a long time, the sobbing dies down, and eventually just stops with her crying into bed. She breaths lightly and blinks trying to stop herself. She looks up and picks up a nearby towel to dry her face off. She takes a stuttered breath before going over to the crib to look at Chris, "It wasn't a hallucination ... It was motherly instinct... to protect my son... and Robin..." she picks up Chris, and kisses his forehead, "I want to go see Kentar... I need to see him right now..."

Amethyst uses her staff to more quickly drag herself farther from the doorway so she won't be stepped on, "Then go! He may have gone for a walk after you took Chris ... he gets upset whenever you're upset. The sooner you two stop fighting the better it will be for everybody." Amy isn't likely to stay in the stoat's room after Garnet leaves but isn't in any hurry to go anywhere at the moment.

Garnet looks at Amy and says very sadly "...I'm sorry... but... please stop yelling at me... You're hurting me... I know he will be upset..." and she is off to go find Kentar, with Chris is paw. She shortly returns, looking very distraught and it seems to be crying again, "I can't Find Kentar..."

Will hurries into the hall from outside and unpacks the still warm dishes he'd made and brought back from the Abbey. He stacks them on the hall table and in short stacks so they'll be less likely to be dropped when he moves them to the kitchen.

Amethyst sighs, "Fine. Fine." When the stoatmaid returns she slowly pulls herself to her feet with help from her staff and the wall she'd been sitting against. "I said he'd probably gone for a walk or something. We'll go to th hall and wait for him, ok?" she offers tiredly.

Garnet blinks at her and sniffs, sounding like she has been crying for weeks. Just really out of it "Okay... Thank you..." she was about to help lead Amy to the hall, but doesn't want to unbalance what has been made. Anymore than it has been. She slowly walks back to the hall, and goes to sit in her spots next to Kentar's at the table. She blinks at Will, as she begins to rock Chris very slowly, giving small glances to the entryway and to Kentar's spot.

Amethyst lets the stoat go ahead of her and follows her back out to the hall and takes the first empty chair she finds. "...welcome." Amy mutters a little toward the stoatmaid as she sits down.

After a little bit, the door opens and Kentar steps in, face drenched with tears. He quietly goes to Garnet and holds out a note he wrote, just for her, and then a second one to give to Chris when he was much older. The stoat leans down and gives her forehead a small kiss before turning and leaving again.

Will has since gotten the new dishes put away without breaking any of them. He walks back into the hall as Kentar leaves. He blinks a few times and calls out, "Hey, where are you going? You need t stay here, Kentar! The ..." And then Garnet is off as well. "Hey! Get back here you stoats, I have news from Redwall, imporant news!" He turns to look at the remaining beast at the table, which is just Amy now, and says, "I just got back from th Abbey an was told that guards .... a good size army just about are in Mossflower. North of th Abbey thankfully, so not near us again, yet. ... They're from Ashturah. They're looking for Pa and want t take him back t their island and take him t their king for crimes of treason an piracy and killin' beasts and all lots of things. They all wear blood-red uniforms and boots like th ones I got.

A small group of them were here once before as I've told you an Pa killed em and ..... none of them were left that I know of but somebeast maybe one of them told th rest of em Pa was here someplace. So they're gonna turn th woods upside down lookin' for Aikuen Tazan. ..... And I am th son of Aikuen Tazan an th Finder of Moledeep so we are NOT letting them find any of us or letting them in here and we're /sure not/ gonna let them have what they're after and if they try t come here and attack us th ground'll match their uniforms! And IF any get away they won't dare come back a third time!"

Amethyst claps a little nervously as her intended finishes speaking and she smiles a little, wishing the stoats hadn't ran off so soon. "Sooo do we want the otters back soon now or not? I'd think yes we do but ...." she rests her head on the table, This isn't good news, Billy."

Will lifts Amy's head back up and kisses her nose. "It'll be okay, Bram. When they get back we'll tell them. And with luck Pa and St- ... Pa and Mum won't get caught."

Amethyst sighs, ".... Tell me what to do and I'll try and help secure th place. As is we can only do so much."

Mossflower Woods

Kentar doesn't listen to Garnet. He just walks. He's going towards Redwall, and not stopping. But when he's followed, he does slow down a little. "Go away." he says. "Its clear you don't want me around anymore..." he sighs, scratching his ear a little, tears falling slooowly.

Garnet has been following him and she manages to catch up, she is also crying. She runs up to him and says, "NO!... AS YOUR WIFE, I WILL NOT GO AWAY! YOU WILL STOP AND TALK TO ME!..." she blinks as she can't believe she ever yell like that at him, "Sorry... But you promised you would never leave... and yet you are..." she shakes her head vigorously, "And whoever said that i didn't want you around is either lying or stupid... I never want you to leave, ever..." she sniffs.

Kentar stops and turns, looking only slightly surprised when she yells. "THEN WHY ARE YOU NOT LETTING ME SEE MY SON!?" he shouts. He shouted louder then he's shouted before. "If you wanted me around, you'd not have kept my family away from me. Chris is my son, just as much as he is yours." he frowns. "It's obvious you don't want me around him or you. So just let me go."

Garnet holds Chris out to him, looking away at the shout. But understands where is is getting at "Yah at first... back then, I was scared... And what happened at the table today..." she sighs, "He was covered in oatmeal, and you weren't cleaning him... I was going to clean him up a bit, then give him back... But then Amy... Got me upset again..." she blinks, "Chris misses you... and he needs a father... as I need a husband..." she looks down again, "I need you... He... needs you... your family... needs you..."

Kentar closes his eye slowly and turns away. He starts to walk again before leaning against a tree, sliding down it, and sobbing quietly into his paws, not sure what to do. He's so confused. One day its...stay away from the crazy stoat, and now its well your family needs you, so you cant leave. He wishes they'd make up their minds. "But why...why did...did you not...let me see him? You know...you know...I'd never hurt him. Ever."

Garnet goes over and sits on her heels beside Kentar, she says very softly, "I never told you why... didn't want you to think... I was... crazy... and..." she sighs, and changes topic "Every time you wanted to see Chris... the image of you whipping Robin, implants itself in my mind... and... I just couldn't let go of him... Something inside me driving me not too..." she looks down and sniffs, "I know you never would have hurt him... but... it's something inside me... When I saw you holding Chris today... I didn't get that image... First time, since the incident..."

Kentar takes a few deep breaths, and thinks things over in his mind. "But...you know...I'd never hurt him..." he frowns. He doesn't get it. He really doesn't. "It still...doesn't mean anything...how...you saw Chris in Robin's position..." he frowns and gently pushes her away, slowly standing. "No...it's best...if I leave." he nods, sniffling.

Garnet blinks a few times, and starts to tear up, "But... Kentar... I know you would never hurt him... Don't leave... no... please no... Not like this!" she goes to look at where Kentar was siting and she closes her eyes, "I feel that Robin was my son..." she sighs and stands up, "That's why I was so upset... I felt that he was my son... alright... I know I only meet him once or so before it happened but... that's what I was feeling..." she sobs lightly but does not chase after him, "If your not going to stay for me... stay for Chris... and for Robin and the others..." She takes a stuttered breath, "I love you Kentar... for now, and forever... you're killing me if you leave..."

Kentar keeps walking. Keeps walking for a long time. But then he stops and turns around, looking to the love of his life. He can't stand this. He's so confused. Does he stay? Does he go? He doesn't know. But something inside him does. And he slowly starts to walk back to Garnet and when he gets there, he kneels down with her and tries to hug her tightly to him. "I..." he doesn't know what to say.

Garnet was about to break down completely when she feels the hug, and that candle in the dark, was lit. She goes to rest her head on his arm, crying into it, "I love you Kentar..." and she wraps her free arm to hug him back tightly also. Garnet nods as he speaks, and she smiles as tears roll down her face, "Please Kentar... Please, never again..." then she says, "Here... hold Chris... I want to do something..." he holds out the little one to his father.

Kentar sighs and hugs her close to him, the stoat keeping himself from breaking into even more tears. He gently takes Chris into his arms, looking down at the sleeping stoat and smiling a little, looking back to Garnet, tilting his head, wondering what she wants to do.

Garnet she smiles weakly at him, "I've should have done this, a long time ago... I was stupid then... but now I realize..." she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her weeding ring. She smiles at it, before slipping it back on her ring claw, "It means so much then I can ever imagine..."

Kentar looks worried when she pulls out the wedding ring, thinking she was going to throw it away. But then he smiles so brightly, almost about to drop Chris but then he remembers he's holding his son. "I love you..." he leans over to give her a kiss. "I love you so much."

Garnet smiles at him and returns the kiss, with an added tight embrace, being mindful of heir son, "I love you so much Kentar... I was stupid... And... Stupid..." as she can't think of anymore words to describe it. The lit candle is now a very large flame in the darkness, lighting their path. "You mean more to me than anything..."

Kentar leans into her and sighs happily. "I was stupid too. I should have known you loved me...but...I didn't...I'm an idiot." he sighs, giving her cheek another kiss. "Come on love..." he stands and goes to help her up. "I'm tired...let's...put Chris to bed. and then let's go ourselves." he nods slowly. It will be nice to be in his own bed again rather then a lumpy infirmary cot.

Garnet smiles warmly at him, and lets him help her, "Lets just say we were both idiots... and call it a night..." she chuckles lightly, something she hasn't done in awhile.