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 Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:07 pm
'tis one to ponder... ::And why would the dibbuns still STAY with the rat...?::
Tell me which way ye found 'em, and go on, get them inside... ::It was plain and simple as that as she no longer whispered, no reasons left here to hide anything in her book as she gave a sudden, experimental flap, ready to go - as long as the dibbuns were okay, it would be fine... but she needed to look in the long run as well... and see what exactly happened here...::
::Just making sure the dibbuns was okay was fine just now, but making sure it didn't end up on their doorstep was another...::
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:13 pm
"Was travelin' up the north path, it was a touch west off the path about two and a bit leagues from here." Jamie was about to stop her, ask if he could come along, but she seemed to be in a hurry. He sighed... it was already dark out! Another day come and gone. He was never going to get home.
Gently wrapping the bunny back up in the blanket, he took Maddox's paw and led him out of the gatehouse. He tried to walk slowly so as not to rush the kitten, who was probably tired and curious.
He got lost a couple times on his way, but asking a few Redwallers that walked by, he was able to find his way up to the infirmary. Stopping outside the room, he lifted a paw and politely knocked a couple times upon the door.
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:33 pm
Maddox could do nothing but stare silently at the new creatures who opened the gate. Whatever species they were, they certainly didn't look familiar to him at all and he figured it'd be best to just keep quiet lest he made them suspicious of him.
His attention was so fixed at the appearance of the two strangers and the inside of the gate that he paid almost no attention to what they were saying although the name Fenya seemed to dart out. He felt a surge of panic when he saw one of them draw out a rapier and almost jumped in surprise, but was still trying his best to keep himself rather scarce. Feeling Jamie's paw on his head reassured him, however, that there was nothing to be afraid of.
Keeping one paw on Jamie's and keeping his other in his mouth, he continued to walk alongside Jamie looking around with extreme curiosity, both at the environment and at the locals. A dreadful sense of confusion overcame the poor kitten with everything and everyone looking so foreign to him.
They stopped in front of a door. Maddox suddenly grew nervous and immediately clutched Jamie's side. He never liked doctors.
Um...why do I need to see a doctor? I'm not hurt or nuthin'...
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:33 pm
((Um... o_o;; ))
Jamie looked down at Maddox, surprised by the kitten's odd fear of the infirmary. After knocking, he put his paw back down to ruffle the Dibbun's headfur again. "'S okay, chap. It's jus' you've been through a lot and better t'be safe an' get you two checked out."
He glanced at the door for a moment, then back at Maddox. "There's nothin' to be afraid of. All Redwall creatures are quite nice." Granted, he had heard some horror stories about Jasmine, but he decided not to share those with the terrified litlte kitten. Besides, he had met her once and she didn't seem so bad.
"Though if'n it makes y'feel any better, I'll see if I can stay with you," he offered. He'd already given up hopes of trying to leave again tonight.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:35 am
::It took so long for the door to be answered, as finally, a voice rang out:: Coming, coming!!
::Within moments, the door was flung open suddenly to reveal slightly dishevelled Jasmine, the red vixen was touching up her long green robes as she stood there, only JUST fastening the belt right there, and immediately, the first thing she saw at level height had been Jamie, where she blinked incredulously, before lighting a small smile:: Jamie... word of a few said you'd left us just this morning...
I suppose- ::She let her pupils wander, and stopped, noting not only the bundle in his arms, but following his arms length, the kitten huddling in against the hare's side, and was silent for a moment of surprise... but in her mind, it seemed she'd put it together well enough what the situation could be, as she softened a little more, for benefit of the frightened one, and moved aside with a nod:: You can bring them in...
~~~~~~~
::Meanwhile, in the Mossflower woods, slowly, Whisper glided down amid the woods... it was like looking for a needle in a haystack here, but finally, she glimpsed the form lying on the ground of a rat, her eyes narrowed critically as if he might leap up at any given second to strike at her, the rapier never leaving her grip as finally she landed, and looking at it from a distance, began to walk forward slowly, she'd have to get as close up as she could to see what blade of beast did this...::
::Things were afoot, and she did not believe they would be any good...::
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:42 pm
Jamie smiled a little, a very tired looking smile, as he inclined his head in greeting. He would've normally bowed in respect, but the Dibbun in his arms prevented him from doing so. Taking ahold of Maddox's little paw, he walked into the infirmary.
"Yes'm. I was plannin' t'get an early start home..." He paused at that, his back turned while walking in. He turned back to Jasmine, folding back the cloth to show the a pair of large bright blue eyes of a small bunny. "Well, got sidetracked."
~~~~~~~
There was the rat, splayed on the ground, most definitely dead. He was covered in dark, dry blood, various cuts on him, showing that there had at least been a struggle. It was no quick shot. The mortal wound would be noticeable upon closer inspection... a deep gouge in the rat's side.
But all was quiet, no sign of other creatures nearby.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:12 am
As the two were led in, Maddox glazed his eyes upon the interior of the infirmary. Observing the various medical instruments that hung against the walls and stood on the cabinets made Maddox feel all the more nervous based on his previous experience with doctors. He remembered having his paw stitched up once from a bad cut and the doctor that sewn him had drove the needle roughly. He also remembered another doctor giving him medicine for a cold that not only tasted really nasty, but also made him feel sicker.
The kitten was hoping he wouldn't have to experience either of those two situations in this infirmary. He looked at the doctor again. She seemed nice enough as Jamie had assured him. The unfamiliarity of her outfit, which looked different from what the doctors he had seen wore, at least didn't give her the image of a doctor which sort of helped things a little.
Maddox rose up his paw nervously to greet her.
H-hiya...I'm Maddox... He said immediately withdrawing his paw and avoiding eye contact.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:09 pm
You don't walk through a rain storm and cut out bone dry... ::Whisper murmured to herself as she examined the corpse... definitely not Fenya's work... that massive sword could have cracked a skull in and been the end of any beast, just a single blow would have been all Fenya needed... and there were all these other wounds...::
::She knew who it wasn't... but instead... she was looking for more blood, smelling for it... if she could get a pick of it, get something to follow... the direction blood may have been trailed... anything that could lead her forward from here...::
~~~~~~
::There was an audible gasp from Jasmine as she saw the little bundle, her paws on her mouth as she watched just for a moment... and in an instant she wanted to scoop the little bundle up... yet with a minor sidetrack of herself, she looked to the little cat-ling, watching his curious actions, struggling this and that; and noted the occasional glance at the end of the infirmary where her supplies were kept, but smiled, placing herself to block the view, for here at this end at least, all he would see were the beds, empty albeit one, which Jamie knew would probably be Faith's::
Well, hello to you, Maddox... ::She came low, just about kneeling for his height, examining the little one over... shy... but hopefully with a little space and a little more time, he'd come around:: I'm Jasmine... and I'm the nurse here... ::She struggled to think honestly... trying to keep her mind on the little one, while many questions were so there as she slowly stood again, and continued:: Does THIS little one have a name? ::She reached out gently to take the baby rabbit from Jamie...::
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:57 pm
Though whatever crime had been committed here, it was terribly difficult to pick out any clues, with pawprints in every which direction, and they seemed mostly from Jamie when he was checking out the area, and then a smaller set of pawprints, which could've only been Maddox, were added in the direction back to Redwall.
There wasn't any sign of other pawprints leading out of the area where the dead rat lay.
~~~~~~
Jamie fixed his eyes on the kitten, watching as the small creature soaked in his environment with a guarded nature. He frowned a bit, obviously lost in thought for a few moments. He was roused from his reverie when Jasmine turned back to him.
He gave over the bunny, shaking his head at her question. "I haven't the foggiest idea, marm. I'm thinkin' she's still too little t'speak. Maddox doesn't seem t'know either. Really quiet little thing... she never made a peep the entire time." When the nursefox took the Dibbun from his arms he stretched them a little, realizing that they felt stiff from holding the bunny all day, as small as she was.
"I didnt know what t'feed her, bein' as little as she is. I gave her small pieces o' bread an' she seemed t'take those down well enough an' was satisfied," he added, a little unsure if he'd made some kind of mistake. "Speakin' of which, I promised Maddox a decent meal when he came here. He didn't much favor my travelin' rations," he said, shifting a small wink and smile in the kitten's direction.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 4:58 am
Closer inspection of the supplies revealed that it was not much more than herbs and pouches. Letting out a sigh of relief, Maddox started to feel a lot more comfortable with both the place and the person.
He heard Jamie mention meals and he immediately remembered how hungry he was. He was promised fish and hoped that was what he would indeed get. Something unlike fruit, cheese and bread...
Yeah...I'm hungry... When do I eat? Maddox put his hands on his growling belly.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 4:06 pm
::She knew there would be voices, beasts crying out this way and that about the cat, what had happened... so many things, questions about the rat...::
::After all... it didn't have to be a big beast that killed that rat...::
::Yet, she wasn't quite so ready to be cruel... and to fling accusations was just crass at this time as she nodded lightly, approvingly with a smile over her features:: Just as much can fill his belly and you bring him straight back, you hear Jamie?
::She made no mention on Jamie's feeding habits with the baby rabbit, but lightly, almost subconsciously, she reached out a single claw, making sure to only use the back of the finger as not to hurt the little one, tickling gently to see if that would bring anything from the silent little one as she looked down, a grin lighting her face now::
I'm sure our abbess would not approve any beast being starved in her own abbey...
~~~~~~~
::Whisper scrutinised for so long... it was maddening what happened... where were the rats tracks even? Tracks were everywhere, scattered round this way and that, blood, everything seemed scattered, horribly stacked against anyway for her to collate it and make sense... dead rats didn't just fall out of the sky, did they?::
: biggrin id they?::
::She looked at her wings just for a moment, and looked at the trees... suddenly she had a very new angle to her suspicions, as slowly, she flapped upward, to examine the trees... if there were gouges in the bark, she'd know somebeasts claws had been there hopefully...::
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 6:44 pm
Jamie nodded a bit, turning to smile at Maddox. "Will do." He smiled at the thought of who the Abbess was, and with that his eyes strayed over to where the fox Dibbun slept.
The bunny's face lit up, and the two tiny paws grabbed around Jasmine's, wriggling as she was tickled. A grin decorated the Dibbun's features, bright blue eyes dancing with laughter. But laughter is something that didn't come. The Dibbun had every normal reaction to being tickled, but did not make any noise.
"As I said," Jamie pointed out, nodding at the small Dibbun. "Odd little'un."
As the bunny lifted her arms however, there was something just barely noticeable on her arm, a little black mark there, near her shoulder. It was mostly obscured by the fluffy white fur of the infant creature.
"Well c'mon then Maddox," Jamie beckoned the kitten along. "Let's see if we can scrounge some food out o' that delightful mousechap. Can't recall his name t'be sure. Happen t'know he's an excellent cook though..." And who knew how much food Eula coaxed out of Jude just for Donato and Jamie the past day?
~~~~
Now Whisper would find some luck. Gouges marked up one of the trees in the area, and further up, where trees' branches began to meet in a thicket, marks went from one tree to the next. Many were only small scratches, barely visable to someone not paying attention.
However, they kept a steady pattern, leading through trees before finally dropping out to the path, where there was a faint sign of pawprints going straight across before going back up into the trees. The marks through the trees kept a path going near due east.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 3:58 pm
::Whisper looked upon her find, the gouge marks were small... not too deep, but it only lead to so many possibilities... she glanced back at the abbey's distant direction, but found no sight of it among the trees to give her the spark she needed... she couldn't afford to go back for any help, she'd have to stick this out alone...::
::But in her mind, she had a scenario... could it have been squirrels?::
::It didn't take much incentive for a beast to believe a rat was vermin, yet in the past many seasons, it had become harder and harder to draw lines between goodbeast and vermin, what with even the infirmary keeper being a vixen, and the bat horde that had attacked only so long ago...::
::What IF the Squirrels had attacked, the rat being a goodbeast, protecting the babe, but didn't notice it? She didn't have Jasmine's mind for it, and she didn't realise JUST how quiet the rabbit could be, so she did not have many answers... but she knew where to find them as her wings folded behind her, and upon this new trail she followed, her rapier held openly... her ears and eyes upon the whole forest in suspicion...::
::Not even a tree would be allowed to sway near her if it seemed threatening in any way...::
~~~~~~~
::As Jamie left, Jasmine finally let a look of anxiety cross her face, as she closed the door, keeping the bundle wrapped and close to her, moving about the room, closing the windows firmly and throwing an extra log piece or two into the fire, moving back to the examination table: she knew how sensitive newborns were to the cold, and she daren't let chance of cold or fever pass, as she gently lay the little one down, and delicately began to open the blanket wrapping her, she wanted to examine the little one further, and that didn't end at just that black mark for a close look...::
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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:59 pm
There would be little in the way of anomalies along Whisper's journey through the finely-scratched Wood. The marks led her further and further east. It would seem tedious after a long while, the same trail, going forever onward, until finally the marks stopped. There were no more.
Upon further inspection, another creature would be found on the Wood floor, another dead creature. It was an odd, and, for lack of more eloquent phrasing, ugly creature. It had a filthy off-white light brown fur, with a longish snout and grimy whiskers. It possessed a bald ringed tail, stiff and thick unlike a rat's. It was bigger and rounder than a rat in general as well.
--------
"Well c'mon then, little chap," Jamie said cheerfully. He was always cheerful when it came to the prospect of dining on Redwall's spectacular food. He led the kitten gently down a set of stairs and around towards the Great Hall.
Before he made the turn into the large dining hall, he nearly bumped into another creature.
"Woah," the female hare said, smoothing her tunic. "What're you in a hu- Jamie!"
Jamie and Maddox would be met by a smaller, shorter female hare with white fur and whose long ears were tipped with a jet black. A pair of violet eyes scanned the two creatures in confusion. "You just left this morning, did you really miss me that much?"
Jamie smirked at her, and brought Maddox around to introduce him. "Maddox, this is Eula, Eula this is Maddox."
Eula's eyes widened in surprise as she scanned the body... the face... the ears... the whiskers... the teeth... "Jamie... do you um... realize that you have... a... cat?"
"Aye, an' a hungry one at that. C'mon Eula, work your little magic on that delightful mousechap cook an' get a hero and his sidekick some vittles, eh?"
"Now see, I don't think I will. 'Cause you decided I wasn't important enough to come an' say hi to first. However, I WILL take the hero," and with that, she reached down and held out a paw. "Hey, c'mon over here Maddox. I heard Jude cooked up some fine greyling this evening. I'd assume you'd want fish..."
Jamie bit his lip, trying to consider how best to change Eula's mind. "Hey, Eula. I love you." He attempted with a ridiculous grin.
Eula laughed, beckoning Maddox to follow. She looked down at the kitten. "I don't know. Maddox, do you think we should feed Jamie?"
----------
The little bunny seemed completely fine. There was no scratches, bumps, nothing of the sort. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a healthier little Dibbun. She watched Jasmine look over her without any complaints, just laying there quietly and soaking in her surroundings with those bright baby blue eyes.
The only odd thing about the little bunny was the black mark on her upper arm. It could only be distinguished when the fur was parted and it was looked closely upon. The black mark formed two letters... "T.K."
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:02 am
::Whisper grimaced immediately, giving the creature only a sparing look... so much for squirrels...::
::The trail of the marks ended, and now she was left with this? She was about ready to just leave for the abbey again, when she looked at the beast a little more... how did this one die?::
::If she could have had it alive to ask of it what may have transpired... mayhap she'd have had something to go upon, but instead, she could at least know how THIS one died as she moved over for a closer look now, rapier still there in paw, she did NOT like being surprised at all...::
~~~~~~
::Jasmine stared down over the little one with a final sigh, her finger tickling out again... she couldn't be sure... but being this quiet just didn't seem normal...::
::If the little one wouldn't laugh, the only other way to see if she COULD make a sound was when in pain or hungry... and neither did Jasmine want to push upon her... maybe a bath later would see whether or not she would cry, she remembered many a dibbun had cried as a babe whenever it came to bathtime... seasons on they still did!::
::It drew a brief smile as she watched over the little one... would that mark come off from a bath, was it a birthmark?::
::There were many things still unanswered, still unknown::
Well... since we don't have a name for you yet...
TK.... I think we might as well use that with you...
Tara Kindheart... how does that sound?
Can we name her affer Tannya? : razz iped up a little voice from one of the beds, widening Jasmine's smile::
She's a rabbit, Faith, I don't know if Tannia would approve if we borrowed her name so quickly...
Isser a d'frenz?
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