Sweet Empathy
Sorry for the typoes :(
RW Abbey: Wine Cellar
The wine cellar is cool, dry, and dimly lit. It is a very large, low room, extending far back into the Abbey's underworks. The vast space is almost entirely taken up by rack upon rack of wine bottles and ale casks, barrels of all sizes, and shelves of flagons and stoneware flasks. For all the space available, the drink here only fills a small part of it, and most of the barrels still stand empty. There have been obvious work efforts occuring here recently, and the cellar is, if emptier than seasons past, cleaner than it has been in a long while. The further corners of the cellar are hidden in shadow, and consist of many nooks and crannies.
Exits: [Up] to the Kitchens
Krystal the squirrel. Oz the badger. LilyMoore and Angela the mice.
Krystal wanders into the wine celler and looks around like she was looking for some beast and sighs a little and sits on one of the steps near the bottom.
Oz sits agaist a wall holding a cup of October ale, he hasn't taken a sip of it yet to just been sitting down her most of the morning, holding it and ever so often letting it swish around in the cup as he moves his paw around.
Krystal almost jumps and then notices its Oz, she ohs "Ummm..I was looking for Lacota, have you...has he been around?" Well she can't really ask if he has seen him after all.
Oz shrugs, "I don't know, I am sure he is somewhere, no one has come down here all morning...just you. I would of heard any other beast come down here, its a good place to...get away."
Krystal blinks and inches closer, "So,why are you down here usually no one goes down here.well maybe Lacota does I am sure."
Oz answers, "Its quiet down here, no one brothers you or so far no one seems to..it is cool down here also and a good place to be alone."
Krystal says, "Being alone isn't always good"
Oz frowns "I been alone before...well almost alone, but basiclaly I was for a good 6 seasons or so, before came here"
Krystal listens but she isnt sure how to reply right away," Oh..well, I think in times of..well like this its best to be with friends and family."
Oz frowns, "Most of my family are gone...my neice wants to lock her self away and not talk to me, I have an uncle whom I have no clue where he is..." He frowns and leans back and starts to take a sip of the ale" And..I use to have a brother."
Krystal says, "I...heard of what happen, I was keeping the bees happy while they were havesting some of the fruits and..the bell sounded and everyone went inside that was in the abbey.""
Oz says, "I find out..two hours after I get back, so its been maybe almost 4 hours since in happen..and whom do I learn the news from..."
Krystal shrugs "I..don't know..the abbot?"
Oz swirls the ale around in the glass, "Nope...I learn from Zinnia..Zinnia of all beasts."
Krystal frowns, "Oh..probally not the best one to find out from, she was..there I think" She watches him and decides to head upstairs, "Ummm...I am gonna see if Lacota is elsewhere.." That and she rather not be down in the dark creepy cellar, well creepy to her.
Later that same day....
Oz has been sitting down here all morning, he has only had one beast chat a brief time. He holds a glass of ale but has yet to drink it, he rarely drinks the stuff and one main thing is, well he just can't really handle the stuff and the one time he drank it, he got sick and was passed out a couple days. But that was seasons ago...before he came here.
LilyMoore is in a deep sadness over Zork's death. She is wearing a black dress, so as she comes down the steps and enters the cellar, she blends into the shadows. Not that the badger would be able to notice that. "Papa Oz?" She asks quietly as she walks over to him. Her voice has a hollow tone to it, and her eyes seem haunted in her sadness.
Oz sighs and brings the glass he has to his mouth to take a couple sips and stops as he lowers it and tilts his head, "Lilymoore...what are you doing down here?"
LilyMoore shrugs, ignoring the fact that he can't see her. Maybe he'll be able to hear her shrug. Who knows? "I'm sad, and I wanted to be somewhere dark." She kneels in front of him. "I miss Zork......"
Oz frowns, "I do...also."
Oz holds the ale glass up again as if debating on drinking it, its only half way full but he sorta remembers last time, course it was something else and it was stronger than this stuff is, a small sip may be ok.
LilyMoore looks up at the badger's face and asks in her broken-sounding voice, "Why are you down here? And what are you drinking?"
Oz tilts his head "I am not...drinking it yet. It's October Ale and I wanted to...be alone" Tears go down his face slowly, he cried a lot more the night before.
LilyMoore looks down at the floor. "Oh.....sorry." She then, suddenly, impulsively goes to hug him. She is sad, too, but her empathy with him is just making her want to comfort him even more.
Oz allows the hug and returns it with his own and holds back a sob forming and coughs, he takes a few sips of the ale, not the best plan most likely but so far it's only a few sips and he was coughing...he clears his throat and frowns. "I have....few family left....."
LilyMoore accepts his hug and goes to pat his back. "It's okay to cry." She goes to hand him a handkerchief she dug out of her sleeve. "I'm sorry, Papa Oz. I'll be part of your family if it makes you feel better."
Oz frowns as he goes on..."Loss...first mom and dad...then Northstar and Cole...then Maxtor...now Zork. Zinnia won't talk to me, she wants to stay locked in a room...she locked it...and Uncle Zee not been...writing" He shrugs "Maybe Uncle zee...dead too." Tears go down his face and he coughs a few times , he takes a few gulps of the ale without thinking as he slowly gets up and then drops the glass and groans, oh yeah that's why he doesn't drink the stuff...the last time was when he lost his mate and child, many seasons ago well shortly afterwards...he tumbles backwards and looks ready to pass out and slides down the wall into a sitting position...he frowns and holds his head.
LilyMoore listens to him, then scoots back as he stands.....then sits back down. "Papa Oz!!" She rushes over to him, then has a better idea. "I'll go get Nana!!" And she runs off. A few minutes later, Angela can be heard ordering some Novices about in the kitchen as they get ready to bring a stretcher down. Lily comes dashing back down the stairs and comes over to the badger again. "Nana's on her way! You'll be okay..... Oh, Oz, I'm so sorry that all this happened to you!" She has started to cry, tears pouring down her cheeks as she bites back an empathetic sob.
Oz groans, his head is pounding as he reaches for Lilymoore. The fact she is crying might make it worse but he still has it in his mind to comfort her. His other paw holds the side of his head and frowns, he tries to say something but he doesn't really get anything out as he coughs, yeah it also burns his throat some.
LilyMoore gulps and coughs as she tries to suppress her sobs. She goes to hug his paw to her chest as she just cries. Not what she had in mind when she started to try and comfort him. Angela and the 6 burly otters (whose sole jobs seem to be carrying badgers around the Abbey) come down the steps lugging lit lanterns, and the old healer sighs. "Get him on the stretcher, please. Oz, I need ya to cooperate as best as ye can. I'm wantin' to take ye to the Infirmary so ye can sleep all this off." The otters go to help him onto the stretcher.
Oz frowns, he then nods... "Only had...half a...mug.....ohhh my head." He mutters . He does let them help him to lay down, he couldn't walk if he wanted to walk right now anyways.
LilyMoore steps back out of the way, then runs off so she can cry in solitude. Angela sniffs the air around the badger's head and wrinkles her nose as she nods sagely. "Am I correct in guessing that you don't drink alcohol very often?" The otters go to pick up the stretcher and start to carry it towards the Infirm.
Oz shakes his head, "Not drank it..in many...ohhhhhhhhhh many season, when was in the northlands and Send..." He groans and just closes his eyes, not that it helps much, his headache is too bad to really sleep right away.
Angela sighs, then waves the otters onward. "What's with beasts who aren't used to drinkin' consumin' large amounts of alcohol??" she grumbles as they head towards the Infirmary. What a week...
Thanks for reading!
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