Will Has A New Friend

Players involved: William, an otter, Lee, another otter, John, a squirrel, and Dibs, a mouse.

Ferravale Tavern

The weather outside sounds a little rainy by now. Aside from the few beasts chatting in the Tavern, everything is mostly still. The stillness is disturbed, however, by the door opening, and another otter walks in, leading a small mouse by the paw. He smiles down at her, then leads her toward a booth.

John glances at the pair. He nods to the young otter, then tuns back to Lee. "Thae Tribe well bae out for blood if any beast kills their 'Leader'..." He sighs, shaking his head.

Lee raises his paw and nods a greeting to the other otter, then drums his fingers. "Aye, yer right, John. An' I don't wanna deal wi' 'em blood thirsty."

The little mouse, Dibs, looks to be quite in a good mood, despite having a light sprinkling of the rain dusting her fur. She actually almost stumbles as she seems to be distracted going cross-eyed trying to watch a drip of water go down her nose - saved by the paw holding with Will. She looks up toward the otter almost sheepishly after, "I like the water, Will."

(William beams down at Dibs, then waves at John and Lee. He helps the little mouse up into the booth, then retrieves his little notebook and charcoal. After writing, "Hey John, meet my new friend, Dibs. She can't read, so I can't ask her anything... Can you ask her to tell me about Miss M?" He grunts a little, trying to get the squirrel's attention.)

John, hearing the grunts, looks at Will. He takes the notebook, glances over it, and, handing it back, he asks the young babe, "'Ello there, young 'un. Will 'ere would like tae know if ye ca tell 'em abou' Miss M? Ah bae John, by thae way." He smiles at her.

Lee watches Will, then back at John. "Friend o' yers?"

Dibs smiles at John, "'S nice to meet you, John." But then she starts tugging at her, looking up at the ceiling, "Umm. Um. She's Miss M. She's...um. She watches me'n we go places an'....um. She's Miss M." More ear tugging.

Will nods, then places an arm around the mouse, and squeezes. He looks at John, with a small frown. He has a suspicion he can't voice, out loud at least. The otter writes in his notebook, slowly and deliberately, "I have my own ideas about Miss M. None of them good." He holds it up for both John and Lee to see.

John reads the page and nods. Turning back to the dibbun, he says "Aye, well, 'tis nice tae might ye Dibs... Dae' this 'Miss M' 'ave a name other then 'M'?" He turns to Lee saying in a low voice, "Aye. Ah know thae otter, Will. He...He can't speak." truning back to the younger otter, he adds, "William, this is Lee, Head Guard o' Redwall. An' Lee, this is William..."

Dibs gets a little thoughtful frown on her face, then says, "Ummm...'s Madra, but 'm not s'pose to say her name. She's Miss M."

Lee squints at the page, then frowns, glancing at Dibs, then back at William. "T'is nice ta meet ye, mate. Yer welcome ta visit the Abbey anytime, once the vermin trouble is over, an' yer little friend, too. I bet she'd like ta meet other dibbuns 'er age, like me daughter." He glances at the little mouse again.

(William smiles at Dibs, and hugs her gently. He writes out, "Need to ask around about a Madra... And also teach Dibs to read, because right now we can only communicate by drawing..." He sighs at that.)

Dibs smiles at Lee, ears perking up, "Would she want to play with me?"

John looks at Lee, his eyebrows raised. "Ye have a daughter? Also, dae ye 'ave any clue whae this Madra is?" He reads the page, and, nodding again, says, "Aye." Glancing at the Young mouse, John asks, "An' why weren't ye supposed tae say 'er name?"

Lee smiles at Dibs. "Aye! She would! She likes meetin' new friends." He nods at John. "I do. Starlight is 'er name. I 'ave a son, too. Konrad."

Dibs' ears drop suddenly, and her eyes avert from the other creatures, "She gets mad. 'S disrespec'ful."

""Huh, ye learn somethin' knae every day..." The squirrel says, "Ah'll have tae meet 'em 'un day..." He again turns to the mouse. "Ah see..." John's eyes narrow. "An' what maner o' beast was Miss M, if ye don' mind me askin'?"

(William feels anger, then. Not at Dibs, at Miss M... Madra. He pulls Dibs up into his lap, and hugs her, kissing her forehead gently. He writes in his notebook, "John... please tell her for me that I won't let anything happen to her again.")

Lee frowns, and he curses under his breath. He doesn't need to hear Dibs' reply, he's had plenty of dealings with those manner of beasts, and he especially despises them.

Dibs is starting to squirm a little in her seat, but seems to settle a little once she's on Will's lap. She's still got her nervous habit of ear tugging, however, "..Miss M's a mouse.." More squirming.

(William squeezes her gently, then looks at John with concern in his eyes. He sighs, rocking the mouse in an effort to calm her. He picks up his charcoal and jots down, "I'm taking her to Camp Willow. She'll be safe there... I'm afraid Miss M will come looking for her.")

John's paw moves to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Ah see.." he repeats. Reading William's message, he says, "Will would like ye tae know tha' 'es no' goin' tae let anything 'appen tae ye again...An' tha' 'es goin' tae take ye tae a place full o' otters- There's bound tae be beasts yore age there."

Lee leans over and whispers to John, "That Madra beast needs a talkin' to, I think... Wonder if anybeast knows 'er."

Dibs suddenly looks a little hesitant, "...Miss M din't say when she'll be back...Will she be mad at me? She said find someone here."

(William looks down at Dibs, and shakes his head. He points himself, then at her. He rubs her head softly.)

"Nay, she won'." /Not if we have anything to say about it/ he finished in his mind. "Ye found somebeast- Will. An' he sure has taken a liking tae ye."

Dibs smiles at Will, "Tha's good. I like him, too."

Lee leans forward and suddenly asks, "Dibs, do ye ah... remember if there were any others yer age with Miss M?"

(William smiles happily, and hugs the small mouse close, kissing her softly on the forehead. He wants to keep her safe, and he'd beat Miss M off with a stick if he had to.)

John smiles at her; though it doesn't reach his eyes. "Aye, an' dae ye know were she is now?"

Dibs nods to Lee, "...'M the only." Then, ear tugging, and looking at the ground, "...She said she didn't even like me there." And now ear drooping, and the little mouse starts looking upset, "...She din't say where she was going or when she'd be back, jus' I was s'pose to find someone 'ere t' do somethin' for."

(William frowns, rocking Dibs gently. He grabs his charcoal again, and writes, "I'm not gonna let that beast have Dibs back...")

John nods. "Ye shouldn't...An' if there's anythin' Ah can dae, Ah will."

Dibs leans back against Will, but still seems a little on the agitated side, "...What's gonna happen if she comes to find me, an' I'm not here?"

(William squeezes Dibs, but is unsure how to answer. He needs another question answered, first. He writes, simply, "Does Miss M scare you?" then looks at John.)

John sighs, saying, "Nothing ye need tae worry abou'." Then, looking over the page, repeats the written message, "Dae' Miss M scare ye?"

Dibs doesn't look any of them in the eye as she tugs at her ear, "..When 'm bad.."

(William frowns, nodding at Dibs. )

Lee scowls. "The more I 'ear o' this Miss M, the less I like..."

John nods slowly. "Aye..." After a pause, he asks, "Dibs, what, er, counts as 'bad' in Miss M's eyes?" His voice low.

Dibs looks toward the floor while she's talking, still tugging away at her ear, "...dunno...like being disrespec'ful, an' talkin' back, an' not doin' things right, an' breakin' rules...."

William squeezes the young mouse, and writes down, "I should get her to bed soon, It is really late."

John reads the page, and nods. "Aye, tha' ye should. Speaking o' bed," Here John rises from his seat, "Ah need tae go find 'un soon as well.." He stifles a yawn.

Lee nods also. "I best see if I can get a room for meself in the inn."

Dibs just stays snuggled into her buddy, Will. She's quiet now, but she does have the bleary eyed look of a little one up later than she's use to.

(William smiles gently, then carefully stands, shifting Dibs gently as he carries her. He nods to both John and Lee as he retrieves his notebook.)

"Well, Good Night..." John says to the beasts as he heads for the door, taking his cloak out of a beg at his side. Putting the hood up, he turns and waves at the creatures, smiling; then exits.

William nuzzles Dibs gently, then exits for the Inn.

Thanks for reading!