Welcome to Gaia! ::

Donato was up in the nursery with Julia, Sister Ernestine, and about a score of Dibbuns. His cheerful announcement that they were going to play a game inside today had gone over well until a few of the older ones started objecting that it would be winter soon and they'd have to play inside all the time. In the end, he appeased them with the promise of pillow forts and herded them upstairs.

Now, little old Sister Ernestine was shooing him away from the table to which he was tying a blanket. "No, no. You're doing that all wrong. Shoo! Go help Maddy with those cushions." He threw up his hands and let the mouse untie his knots and start again. The longer this took, he reflected, the better. A little mouse nearly walked into him as she walked by carrying a towering stack of pillows raided from the Dibbuns' beds. "Here, Maddy, give me some of those."

((I think Gaia hates me of late XP TWICE I've thought my post went through here, and like a dozen times PMs are going missing from my inbox randomly))

((But gah!!! Apologies for all due waiting x3))

::It was aptly done, that for every time Tracy looked to the door, at least once, it was expected there'd be something in the way::

Hiya Trace! ::THIS particular incidence however, was right in front of her, as Gem flapped her wings vividly to keep herself airborne with that weighted-down leg, and instantly, regardless of her slightly tricky position, she flashed a wide grin as she proudly displayed a picture of a crudely drawn stripy lump with a winged-apple on his head, all wonderfully surrounded in splotches of polkadots:: Wanna draw?

~~~~~

Uh, yes, excuse me, but question here. ::Whisper pinged the tip of her prepared rapier as she raised a brow:: I'm looking at Kusaa and wondering if we're expecting one fox or one hundred...

::While she appeared no different, Kusaa seemed armed to the fangs, a menagerie of the blades Eula had seen on display yesterday had returned as two broadswords and a flamberge hung upon her back, and dirks and daggers decorated her like jewellery, but for all her weight, the bat didn't seem particularly bothered, nor was she by the stares from many a guardmouse or those around here::

I err on the side of caution. ::She explained herself simply enough::

I'll give that fox caution... ::Sideswipe growled, but for a lost cause, as long as the fox did nothing, he couldn't do much more than let his words and his size speak for him... weaponless, as if that mattered to the hulking badger...::

::It was hard to tell whether the absence of the little batling from her usual perch had caused his slight stromp, or memory of the fox's previous display... but he didn't look too happy regardless... as he raised a set of stony eyes over the gathering, and looked to the gates, where a waiting set of guards stood, awaiting the order....::

::One look from Sideswipe really was all the notice necessary, as quickly they moved, opening the gates, only a fraction, just enough for a lone beast to enter, and ensure no sudden rush of enemies upon them...::

::The badger and the bats tensed, there was a silence of tension unlike any other, until...::

Good evening, Redwall!!!! ::Cried the fox, who strode forward, arms held aloft, naked as the day he was born!::

::The wonderfully comical garb of earlier left in a trail behind him as he trotted forward, making an overly elaborate bow to the collection of warriors before him:: I do hope I'm not overdressed for the occasion?

Tannia gave the black fox a once over, then rolled her eyes slowly skyward, closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. Well. This was a great start. This was going to be a long, long night.

Eula lifted her eyebrows. She was unable to contain a grin. "All right, like we said before, we'll have to check you for any weapons. So if you could turn your head and-"

"Eula," Turan sighed.

Eula obliged Turan and didn't finish her sentence, but instead went into a barely contained fit of childish giggles. Well, at least Radaz had successfully amused one abbey member.

Turan turned to the fox with a serious look. "While I appreciate your leaving the blood splattered clothes outside, I'm going to have to insist you wear something. I'll have someone fetch you a habit before we proceed..." he looked back behind him at the others questioningly to see if someone would offer.

__________

The bunny started a bit at the sudden appearance of a bat obscuring the doorway she'd so dutifully been watching. She just stared at Gem for a moment, then cautiously looked behind her to see if the bat was actually talking to someone else. Well, Gem MUST be talking to her.

She had a million replies, questions, need for conversation, but instead she just smiled and nodded. Sliding carefully off her chair, she looked to Gem to lead the way.

"GEM! Be careful, please." Donato called across the room, earning a reproving glance from Sister Ernestine for the noise. In a normal tone, he continued, "Your mother will kill me if you hurt your leg any worse."

Turan sighed and passed a paw over his eyes, shaking his head slowly. Sideswipe wasn't gone two seconds and Turan already felt like he was taking entirely too long. He cast an imploring look in Eula's direction. Why had he even bothered to ask her to be serious earlier?

Eula completely missed Turan's look, but she figured he was shooting all manner of angry and indignant thoughts in her direction. "Sundries? Is that what y- ah!" With Turan standing a few feet away, Tannia had managed to get a sharp pinch on Eula's upper arm, stemming the younger haremaid's undoubtedly ill-advised remark. Eula was pretty sure she wouldn't be allowed to finish a sentence this evening.

Tannia remained as impassive as absolutely possible. Not a word, not even a GLANCE in Radaz's direction. She kept her gaze firmly anywhere but at the unabashed fox.

~~~~~~~~~~

Tracy, through random conversations around the abbey and discussions between her parents knew something serious was happening. Good or bad though, that all managed to stay quite hidden from her. She was quite sure she'd hurt something about a fox, but she'd grown up where hearing about a fox was the same as hearing about a mouse, a squirrel... so it didn't draw her attention enough to gather more information.

She sent Gem a questioning look, throwing in a signed "who?" almost subconsciously, as she knew well enough that she couldn't really use her signs with other young creatures in the abbey.

She turned about at the sound of Donato's voice, but quickly turned back to Gem, a grin lighting her face at Gem's bold reply to a creature who was older and clearly in charge.

Turan glanced at Sideswipe, lifting an eyebrow. That habit was probably used to dry dishes these days. Clearly Eula was not the only one he had to talk about instigating with. Still, Turan said nothing, wishing more than anything to just get along with this. The sooner this... 'conversation' could happen, the sooner Radaz would be out of the abbey. That was Turan's most pressing short-term goal. Get the black fox out of the abbey.

"Haha, you're so clever," Eula said with a laugh that she cut off shortly to show she was actually not amused.. She looked around at the others. "Mmm, Cavern Hole then?"

Turan nodded, indicating everyone to get started.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sitting cross-legged on the cot, Tracy took the picture and studied it for a few moments. Her gaze mostly focused on the depiction of the "mean" fox. Her eyes widened a little in surprise. She'd NEVER seen a creature that looked like that... Apparently mean foxes had horns and had fire on them. She was tempted to see him in person.

She looked around her again. All the Dibbuns were up here. She sighed. Trapped. She looked back at Gem, wanting to ask her how long they'd be stuck here, but found herself totally at a loss without her signing.

Giving up, she took her own parchment, then laid down on her stomach, choosing a few colors... the basic green, blue and yellow, then set about on her picture, clearly not in as big of a hurry to scribble out a scene as Gem.

((Hey Jas. Don't know if you're available or not, but maybe we could get through this faster on AIM? Since it's really just the two of us needed to do this scene? If you can't, that's fine. Just thought I'd suggest it.))

Who: Eula and Donato
What: Eula tells Donato she's going on recon, both wonder what to do about Faith
Where: Outside...

Eula: Eula had left to go meet with the others in the infirmary after her little chat with Donato. While her intention had been to avoid Jasmine and her bandaging-up ways, she knew everyone had convened there, and she had yet to talk to Turan and Faith, and they were the ones with the answers to her questions. Now she had succeeded into getting herself into a much-needed recon mission. She had run to her room quickly and changed yet again, into a clean dark green tunic, strapping her sheathed rapier onto her brown belt at her hip. She glanced down at herself, rolling her eyes at the now-visible lightly bandaged injury on her lower leg. She left her room slowly, drumming a nervous beat on her thighs as she walked. She walked rather blindly down the corridor and out to the grounds with every intention of finding Donato again, but not paying much attention to her surroundings, lost in thought.
Donato: Donato had continued his ramble about the grounds after Eula had gone back inside, trying to work out his agitation over having misplaced two of his charges with swift pacing and climbing of trees. Having sat in the branches of his habitual apple tree for a while in thought, he now swung down from his perch to go back inside. As he made his way back towards the Abbey, he caught sight of Eula, now in her third outfit for the day. He frowned slightly as he took in both her bandaged leg and her weapon. "Hullo again. Long time, no see."
Eula: Eula stopped when she saw Donato. “Hey,” she paused for a few moments, considering how to bring up the topic, but she was in a very serious mood and didn’t feel like hemming and hawing around/ “I went to speak with some of the others and suggest we put together a recon. They agreed, so me and Turan and Jamie and Whisper are going… tonight.” And she held her arms out a little to indicate that this is why she was dressed for battle again. “And… I just thought I’d let you know.”
Donato: Hm. That was very direct. He nodded once or twice while that sunk in, only to wish that it hadn't when it did. In an instant he had the image of the four of them creeping through the forest by night towards that fox, and who knew what would happen? He shook his head quickly and looked at her seriously. "Well. I can't say I'm thrilled, but it has to be done I guess. Any idea how long you should be gone?" So I'll know when to start panicking. He added mentally.
Eula: Eula shook her head. “Hopefully not more than a couple hours… we’re not looking for trouble. The problem is we have no idea where they are. If we find them and things are going smoothly, we’re going to try and find out as much as possible. If it looks too dangerous for us, we’ll turn around and come back. Oh! Listen to this… Faith thinks Radaz is trying to accuse her of emulating Tsarmina, the old Queen of Mossflower during Martin’s time. I didn’t catch one until Faith said so in the infirmary… but he did keep calling her ’Queen’ during the meeting in Great Hall.”
Donato: Donato frowned, puzzled. "I don't know much about her," he admitted. "Got here a little late for Abbey School. But anyway, weird. What's he going for with that?" He wondered aloud. "...And before the subject is irretreivably changed - be careful out there tonight, huh?" He added quietly, putting a hand on her arm.
Eula: Fast history lesson. “Tsarmina was the tyrant ruler of Mossflower until Martin came along. Ever since, there hasn’t been any kind of leader in Mossflower. Honestly, Redwall is the only place in Mossflower with any kind of hierarchy. Faith seems to think that Radaz thinks that her whole plan with this village is a step in recreating some kind of tyranny again.” She rolled her eyes a little. “Faith said something like “I’m nothing like her” during the meeting. Again, I didn’t get until this talk in the infirmary.” She rubbed her forehead a little. “So I’m having trouble deciding if Radaz just thinks he’s preventing some kind of absolute control in Mossflower… or just messing with our heads while he tries to take over Redwall like all the vermin scum before him.” She was quiet for a moment, as she glanced up at Donato. “I will be careful. Like I said, we’re not going to look for trouble.”
Donato: "Huh. Radaz as liberator of the oppressed? I'll see about wrapping my brain around that one," he retorted. "And I know, but now I feel better for having said it." He attempted a grin.
Eula: Eula was very animated with her paws while she spoke, but now she just let her arms fall in exhaustion to her sides. “I would do anything, anything for just a long night of sleep. I wanted to do recon tonight, not only because I’m tired of being in the dark about what we’re facing, but because maybe if I know, I can just sleep. No matter how bad it might end up being, it can’t be worse than not knowing. Donato, I’ve had nightmares almost every night since Ura first told me that riddle. Not only have I gotten nowhere on this riddle, but the nightmares now. You only caught me up last night because you were up, too. But it happens a lot… so maybe just knowing will help?” She finished that drawn-out though in the form of a sentence, as if needing Donato to reassure her that it would help, that she wasn’t going this all for nothing.
Donato: He looked at her, somewhat surprised but also realizing that he shouldn't have been surprised. He was now sorry he had only caught her up this one night. He heard the question in her voice and quickly agreed. "I think it will, you're right. Once you all know what we're up against, it won't be so bad. We can start planning and preparing. There'll be something to do." He sounded sure, because he honestly agreed. Putting an arm around her shoulder, he continued. "And when you're finished tonight you can go to sleep."
Eula: She let out a tired sigh a nodded, letting the tension go out of her shoulders. She rested her head back against his shoulder, then circled her arms around his middle. “My next goal is to find a way to keep Faith from being in charge during this whole… ordeal. I put up with her whole being abbess thing, but this is going to ruin her. We were all talking calmly about going on recon and she could hardly say a word through it. She completely relinquished the plans to Turan because she couldn’t even handle the idea of just the danger involved in recon… yet she thinks she can be a wartime leader. I think someone needs to clarify the whole idea that her title is honorary until she’s actually old enough to handle these situations. Some lines got skewed somewhere and she’s being allowed to do more than she should.”
Donato: Donato could only agree. "I know. She's not much more than a Dibbun." He sighed. "Y'know Jasmine might be the biggest help there." He shook his head. "I don't think I'm ever going to reconcile myself to that whole thing, but you're right. Someone else needs to take the reins for now."
Eula: Eula frowned. “Then why isn’t anyone else saying anything? Is it even my place to just go to Jasmine or anyone else and say I think Faith should be kept out of all of this? I certainly can’t tell Jasmine myself. Though that whole grudge might just be on my side,” she reflected. “Anyway, we’ve kind of clashed and I haven’t really forgiven her yet. Now I just can’t go up and tell her her daughter is too young for making dangerous decisions.”
Donato: He sighed. "Maybe I could try. Just about every other Dibbun in the Abbey is my responsibility at one point or another, and today Faith's friends were up in the nursery with me while she was talking to this Radaz. Unless you have another idea?" He asked hopefully. He didn't relish approaching Jasmine much more than Eula did.
Eula: Eula smiled a little at Donato’s question. “I love how we keep bouncing ideas back, trying to get the other to come up with a solution. We’d make such fantastic leaders. I’m not trying to push anything off on you… you don’t have to do anything, don’t worry about it. You know what I’m most surprised about? Kusaa not saying something, as antisocial and stoic as she is, she’s incredibly protective of Faith. But now…” Well! She was unconscious.
Donato: "No, you're not pushing it off on me. Something has to be done, and I think I'm probably the better choice to say something if we're going to go to Jasmine." He grinned a little. "Hm, that's a good point about Kusaa, though. I wonder why she doesn't say anything."
Eula: Eula shook her head and smiled a little, resting her head against his shoulder in silence for a minute. Taking a breath, she drew away. “I better meet up with the others, we’ll be leaving soon. Don’t stay up waiting for me… I’ll tell you everything that happened in the morning.”
Donato: He gave her arm a parting squeeze. "Yeah. Okay." His tone meant clearly the opposite, but he grinned as he said it. Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek. "Wait 'til tomorrow to fill me in, by all means, but I don't know that I'm sleeping until you all get back."

It hadn't been a year, Donato thought, since he'd been put in charge of the orphanage. Yet once again in recent days he was relinquishing his post to Sister Ernestine to come and eavesdrop in a world he had quit years before. He had come straight from the Nursery, only stopping at the Kitchens to grab a roll and some butter from Jude. Now he entered Cavern Hole (aforementioned lunch in hand) and greeted Turan and Tannia with a polite nod. "Hullo Turan. Tannia." He caught sight of Eula sleeping in the chair. "Oh," he said, more quietly. The hare walked over to her chair and perched himself on it's arm, waiting for the others to arrive.

((Jasmine.... I have no words.))