The Potter and The Maiden
Characters: William, Martha, Bucky and NPC healer
Locations: RW Abbey: Pond, Kitchen Yard and Infirmary
RW Abbey: Pond
Martha blinks. Splash? Splash is... well, not surprising with dibbuns around, sometimes, but... Generally, the dibbuns resurface not long after they meet with the water. The hedgemaid puts down her slightly soggy reading material, standing with a worried glance at where Bucky entered the water. If he's not up in the next few seconds, she'll go get him.
Splash. Aaaaand then, nothing. Bucky is slightly amused by the feeling before he realizes that...He can't breath? Yeah. Not cool. His little black shod feet touch the bottom and he reactionarily kicks off but his long silky fur has grown heavy with the water and is holding him down, plus the weight of his shoes and clothes...And lack of knowing how to swim. He little scream rips from his throat, but all that comes out is a stream of bubbles as a stream of water flows in and he begins to thrash feebly in a panic.
He's not coming up... So Martha, worriedly, starts moving towards where she saw him go down. The hedgemaid wades, awkwardly, not watching her step as carefully as she should, paws feeling for the little squirrel. Right now, she's not terribly concerned about her spikes, as long as Bucky doesn't drown. Hopefully he's not too far in. Deep water is not nice.
Orph walks out to the pond. He's still wearing the same filthy black trousers and no longer white shirt he had on yesterday. Part of the ratling really wants to forget yesterday and the other wishes he could remember more of it. He sees Martha wading into the pond. Curious as always he waves at her, "Wot ya doin' Miz Martha?"
The squirrelbabe breaths in another lungfull of water as he feels a paw brushing the back of his shirt, instinctively he reaches out with both paws and clamps down on the arm, beginning to weakly climb it like a tree but there is one final feeling of heavy pressure inside his head then everything goes black and his grip limpens as one final stream of bubbles floats to the top...
Her paw feels the climbing, and up the squirrel comes. She looks to Orph, unable to give a proper reply through some panic. "William! Um... Healers! Or something... Please!" And she's wading back, quickly, towards him and the bank, a terrified little glance given at the small, waterlogged squirrel. She'd better have been fast enough.
Orph returns with one of the healers who takes over tending to the squirrel and shooing the other 'dibbuns' away, so she can work in peace without having to hear their fretting.
Martha is very relieved. The squirrel, she knows, is going to be fine. But that was a terrible scare. The hedgemaid wanders back towards where she left her book and her sandals. She needs to sit or lay there awhile and dry in the sun. "Thank you, William." She smiles gratefully.
Orph smiles back and takes a seat on the grass near her. He'd never met the little squirrel before and yet he'd still gone for help ... he was mostly a good dibbun wasn't he? But he was also the same dibbun that fought with Zen and tried to kill him and then there was yesterday which was much worse then that fight with Zen. "... Miz Martha ... you think I'm a good beast?" he asks not sure what to think after what happened.
Martha stretches her feet back out. They can get wet again. It was nice to have them in the water. She props herself back, to lay in the sunshine, otherwise. Martha doesn't know much of what happens around the abbey. She's never really witnessed anything bad from the rat. "Of c-course I do, W-William... Why w-would you ask s-such a thing?"
Orph sighs, "I ... I don't remember most of what happened yesterday. I remember being at Moledeep an waken up in my room there an eatin some th soup I made the night before an I remember checkin on Racky who was visitin an that he was still asleep ... who knows what he thinks of us leaving him there all this time ... I got all my things together an went out the entrance an there was a dead ferret there an I heard laughin an screamin coming from the what mighta been a rose garden once an I got my dagger an sheild ready for whatever was there an I snuck up on the two that was there an there was this old rat tied up an cryin fer mercy an Pa was standin over 'im an ya could tell Pa'd been beatin 'im an he was threaten t kill em an everything. I was mad about there being a dead ferret right by th front door an at what I saw seein. Turns out the old rat was once friends with my Pa but then he turned on him an handed him over to the bad beasts wot wanted t kill him or somethin an I gave 'em both a good tellin off fer tresspassin on what's mine an fer want t kill a beast when I ain't allowed to. Not fair for Pa t get t do things I'd get in trouble for, an I was real mad with the both of em an went an sit in the bushes ... an I got so mad that ... something happened I don't remember it ... next I remember I woke up at th Abbey with bad tasting stuff in my mouth an tastin blood on my fangs ... Pa told me that I'd ... I dunno gone round th bend or somethin I guess an I kill thet old rat after Pa'd let him go! I was so mad I jus lost myself somehow an killed im - tore 'is throat out wi my fangs an then I got scare of somethin an ran t th Abbey an go more scared an ... fainted ... I ... that /hare/ put the bad stuff in my mouth t wake me up ... I don't like him at /all/ ..." the dibbun shakes his head, "Th hares in th stories was heros but all th ones I've met where rotten in one way or another. I guess that Haper an Darcy were bad cause they thought what they was doin was good, but this other one ... uh, Craven he called himself looks bad an acts bad - his much worse then the other two ... he thinks I'm vermin an shouldn't be allowed at th Abbey. He says he's with th Long Patrol, but I think that, of the two of us, he's the one that's vermin."
Martha blinks, sitting a little stiffly as she tries to take it all in. Lots of 'vermin' and 'death'. She frowns and shakes her head a little, feeling a little frightened, but also, sorry for the rat beside her. "William... Beasts... Th-they do odd th-things wh-when they're scared... An-and, y-you know how s-some people are a-about r-rats and th-things... B-but, I kn-know y-your not bad... Y-you've never hurt m-me, or anyone who has n-not tried to h-hurt you somehow, b-before..."
Orph nods a little, "The first time ... that I can remember I tried t kill Zen! An yesterday I /did/ kill somebeast! Pa's not mad an I'm not in trouble an it didn't happened at th Abbey so I can't see how it'd get me thrown out, but I .... I killed him cause I was mad an ... I can't remember any of it .... if I ... I don't know what t do ..." he tears at the grass around his in frustration.
"It may n-not have h-happened at the A-Abbey, William, b-but... Well, I th-think beasts m-might b-be wary of y-you here now, all th-the same, should th-they know... I'm n-not a part of th-the Order, s-so I could not t-tell you how th-they might react... B-but... Oh, it is worrying," The hedgemaid cautiously reaches out an arm to try and give his shoulders a gentle squeeze hug "B-but every t-time I have m-met you, you h-have been n-nothing but p-pleasant. S-sulky, once, I r-remember, b-but who does not get th-that way sometimes..?"
Orph 'Hms' slightly as if in agreement. "My head hurts," he stands an glances at her as if waiting to see if she will follow before heading off to the kitchen yard where the potter's wheel and kiln are kept.
RW Abbey: Kitchen Yard
Orph drops a lump of red clay onto the wheel and beings to spin it seemingly oblivious to everything else. He's found that this is usually the best way to calm himself and keep his mind off unpleasant things.
Martha has decided to follow. And is still rather damp. So much for relaxing and drying off in the sun. She's slipped her sandals back on, tucked her little book under her arm and has hurried after the rat. Before discovering she's not sure what to say. "W-what are you m-making?" She asks, deciding perhaps it's best just to ask such things as this, and give him the option of talking about anything further by his own wanting instead of requesting it, herself.
Orph shrugs a bit mostly ignoring her to better focus on the clay taking shape under his paws. As the wheel spins he works the dark red-brown clay into a round mass before pressing in on the center hollowing it out into more of a bowl-like shape.
Martha watches, then. It's a bowl? That's what it looks like. She wanders closer, looking for a place to sit, where it's warm for drying off, and so she might watch him work. She smiles, despite being ignored "A bowl, W-William?"
You say, "Maybe. Never know til it's done."
Martha nods. "I see. Like s-some artists w-with wh-what they p-paint, or carpenters wh-who carve f-for pleasure..." The hedgmaid, settles and continues to watch.
The clay is worked up again into a cylinder and then back down again. The base forms a wide bowl shape, but the rest rises up still, maybe it'll be a vase, hard to tell at this point.
"Wh-whatever it is, I'm sh-sure it'll b-be lovely, W-William. Y-You do s-seem to care q-quite a b-bit for th-this work..." That little hedgehog he made still sits upon her windowsill, happily, and Martha certainly means what she says.
Orph nods some as he continues his work on the clay. The top is faned out in to a pear shape, the tip is being melded into a spout.
"A jug?" She tries, watching it take shape. "I think it m-might b-be a jug, W-William?"
Orph allows the wheel to slow some as he pulls out more of the same clay to form the handle. Once satisfied he lets the wheel stop and lightly scratches in 'Wm Redfang' along the bottom of the jug before placing it into the kiln. He sits back with a sigh, "That'll need t sit in there for least a hour fore it can be of any use."
"An hour is a sh-short t-time to w-wait f-for something th-that might l-last a lifetime, or m-more... And st-still be useful..." The hedgemaid nods, watching him carefully.
Orph shrugs, "Could be more than one hour, but a hour at least. Leaving them a little longer doesn't seem to do much harm, but if ya leave em too long they shatter."
"I see... At y-your age, I d-didn't know anything l-like th-that... You're f-father must b-be proud, t-to have s-such a b-bright son?" The hedgemaid smiles, gently.
Orph blushes and shrugs a little, "I guess so. He did says he was yesterday, but .... sometimes he says stuff that's good an doesn't do it himself." he shakes his head with a sad smile, "That otter doesn't have much sense sometimes. He's gonna get himself killed cause of it I'm sure."
"A good j-job th-that he has you t-to look after him, th-then. P-proper adults are n-never as s-sensible as th-they should b-be..." She smiles. Of couse, she's almost an adult herself, to most. But she knows she can get away with the joking sentiment. "N-Now, sh-shall we see if B-Bucky is up and a-about again, y-yet? N-Nothing could k-keep him d-down f-for long, I'm sh-sure..."
Orph smiles, "Yep, Aikuen is very lucky. Yeah, better see what th little squirrel's getting into now in case he need 'rescuing' from th healers."
RW Abbey: Infirmary
Orph follows Martha into the infirm, much calmer than he had been today.
Martha has arrived, with William, to check on the little squirrel who nearly drowned. Seeing him in a bed, apparently still not awake makes her feel like her stomach just dropped away, and rather anxiously queasy. "Bucky..?" That's not the lively, awake little fluffball that she was expecting to see at all.
Orph watches the little squirrel's chest rise and fall, "He's not dead, probably sleepin'" he remarks off handily to the hedgemaid. He doesn't like it when she gets upset.
Martha nods, but looks very worried, all the same. "But what if he c-can't w-wake up because he w-was under too l-long..? I sh-should have gone in after h-him m-more quickly..." She fidgets, drawing closer to that bed.
Orph eyes Martha closely, "Can ya swim good? Did ya wait any after ya knew he wasn't comin back up in time? Sure he's fine, jus sleepin ..."
Bucky squirms a little and opens one green little eye, umm, where was he? He gives a sigh and opens both eyes, looking around the room and spying the two beasts. Or, most importantly, Martha. This calls for a....Squeak! He sits bolt upright, "-Mum!-" This is followed directly by a fit of coughs.
"I... I s-saw him j-jump in... But I d-did think he wasn't coming up f-fast enough... I had doubts before, b-but I j-just had to w-wait those few s-seconds in c-case I w-was worrying over n-nothing..." Martha mutters, reaching a paw for Bucky's arm. And then, up he is. And a squeak. And then... what? Oh. But, she's rather pleased to see him up and the 'mum' will register more in a few moments. Right now, she's reaching to hug him, very carefully.
Orph cocks his head at the pair confused, "He call for his Ma or he think you are his Ma?" For all his knows she could be the squirrel's mother like Aikuen is /his/ father.
Bucky gives one last cough and reaches up into the hug, snuggling in regardless of the spikes. He is sort of getting used to them >.> He gives another sigh and relaxes fully, leaning his head against her shoulder and popping the gemstone into his mouth.
Martha blinks. And realizes she doesn't know. She doesn't know that he has a mother, here or anywhere else, reaching to pat him gently as he snuggles. He's not distressed, so... "I d-don't think he w-was calling f-for his m-mother..." Martha seems to realize, after a moment's thought.
Orph chuckles, "Well, it depends on who he thinks /is/ his mother."
Martha nods a little. "But... I am sh-sure he could n-not think I w-was his m-mother..?" She ponders this, and, slipping out of her sandals, moves to lay on the bed with the little squirrel. "I th-think I shall st-stay w-with him... J-just in case he w-wakes up f-frightened..." She decides. And, apparently, more tired than she thought she was, herself, the hedgemaid drifts off alongside him.
Orph smiles at the hedgemaid as she falls asleep. He pulls the covers out from under her and lays them over her. He half considers kissing her good night, but he doesn't want to wake her since she'd looked so tired. "Night Miz Martha an ... Bucky? I think that's your name. Sleep well." the ratling tippaws out of the infirmary.
Groups:
