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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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 Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:06 pm
Jude was, as always, in the kitchen. He had brought Gem up to the infirmary, but after standing by awkwardly for a while and generally getting in the way, he had gone back outside to keep an eye on his young assistants and send them inside if necessary. In consequence, he, like most of the abbey, had seen most of the night's tragedy unfold. He understood what had happened, he thought, but for some reason he couldn't make it mean anything to him. For now, he was almost glad that Gem was unconscious so that she didn't have to find out about her mother. The only loss that was beginning to mean anything to him was that of Eula, because he keenly felt the silence where she would have been making her reaction known to the abbey at large.
Having sent his assistants off to bed a few hours before sunrise, Jude was restlessly making porridge. It was well before breakfast, but he told himself he could just re-heat it later in the morning.
Donato came in and looked blankly at him for a second. "D'you mind if I sit here for a while? I was out by the pond-" He broke off.
"Yeah, sure, sit down." Jude pointed him to a stool next to the counter. He remembered his words to Donato earlier that night: I'm sure Eula's fine. Unsure of what to say, he began, "What happened after I saw you last?"
There was a beat while Donato tried to remember when he had seen Jude. He certainly didn't recall anything Jude might have said on the occassion. "Uh. I went with Jamie to find...her, but we couldn't." Beat. Then, quickly, "Look, I should go find Julia and tell her about Gem...." The hare began to rise.
Jude interrupted him. "Donato, it must be five in the morning. I'm sure she's asleep, and anyway Sister Ernestine can handle it. Sit and eat something." He thrust a bowl of porridge and a spoon into the hare's paws. Donato sat moving his food around with the spoon for a while. Jude, glancing over at him every thirty seconds, suddenly exclaimed, "Where did you get that?"
"...You just gave it to me."
"No, that."
Donato glanced down at his belt. Jamie's sword was still stuck through it. "Oh. It's Jamie's. I forgot I had it." A minute and a half, and three unsubtle glances later, Donato rose, porridge in hand. "Thanks for the food. I'm... gonna go sit for a while."
Jude looked at him, frowning slightly. "Alright. Bring that spoon back; we're always losing them."
With a forced grin, Donato turned and headed down to Cavern Hole. It was usually a good place to find some quiet.
...Except today, apparently. At the bottom of the stairs, Donato paused, not sure if he was up for an interview with Jamie at the moment. He considered heading back up the stairs, then changed his mind. Thrusting his spoon into the bowl, Donato took Jamie's sword from his belt and stepped into the room. He cleared his throat. "Here, this is yours."
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:00 pm
Jamie wouldn't say he was used to death. Being part of the Long Patrol, seeing his friends die was something he'd faced on a number of occasions. But he wouldn't say he used to it. Still, he was certain there was no right way to deal with it, no right way to accept a death and definitely no right way to grieve. There was something different this time though... It was Redwall... She'd been unarmed... The Long Patrol was coming soon and Eula's father would be coming...
The Long Patrol hare took another gulp of his drink, closing his eyes as he waited for the buzz in his head to overcome the twisting knot in his stomach. He sat alone in the dark silence, not stirring until he heard a voice. Damn it, he cursed to himself. He'd intended on being alone for awhile - at least until he was intoxicated enough not to care. Opening his eyes, his sea-green gaze fell upon Donato, and his heart sank. What on earth could he possibly have to say to Eula's boyfriend?
Jamie looked blankly at Donato, not comprehending him for a moment. Giving him a once over, he saw the saber in Donato's paws. "Oh." Blink. He reached out and took the sword from Donato's paws and set it down on the floor beside the armchair. He stared at Donato for another moment, then sunk back into his seat, cradling his nearly empty mug between his two paws, grateful in his foresight to have brought a whole pitcher.
He felt nervous being in the same room for Donato. It wasn't because he thought Donato would do anything, but precisely because he couldn't quite figure out what on earth to expect; dangerous anger, sobbing grief, stoic silence? It occurred to Jamie that Donato probably didn't come down here looking for him.
"You can stay," he murmured, giving a vague wave of his paw at the other seats. "I'm not going to bother you." Well. He felt that was a sufficient invitation to the other hare. If Donato wanted to sit there and stew in silence, then that was fine. If he wanted to talk, then that was fine, too... though Jamie couldn't promise to be a particularly insightful - or even coherent - conversationalist at the moment.
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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:53 pm
Donato watched Jamie put the sword down. Part of his mind wondered if he felt more or less comfortable without it.
Somehow he didn't think either one was quite right. He shrugged the question off.
Donato had made the decision not to leave at the foot of the stairs. Now, he accepted the other hare's invitation with the reflection that Jamie at least wouldn't be watching him every two seconds like Jude had been. He dropped into a seat with his porridge still in his paws.
He tried to eat for a few minutes, but there was no way this silence could be comfortable. On top of that he had just realized he was sitting in Eula's chair. Swallowing hard, he pushed his rising tears away. Damned if he was going to cry in front of Jamie.
Clearing his throat, he began to talk in an unnaturally casual voice. "It's a shame about that rat. Poor stupid creature was probably scared out of his mind anyway."
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:20 pm
Jamie supposed it wouldn't surprise him if Donato cried. He wouldn't think less of Donato if he did... but it would just embarrass both of them if he did now. That's why Jamie didn't pay Donato any attention, just kept to his own silent thoughts.
Really? Donato was going to try and have a conversation? Really? Maybe if he tried to be serious, or morose even, it'd be different. But what a horribly random topic. Jamie couldn't really believe Donato felt that way, either. Sorry for a rat that, by all appearances, was following the orders of the fox who had just murdered his girlfriend? Sorry for THAT rat? Doubtful. He sent Donato a jaundiced gaze, wishing the hare could just sit without needing the sound of his own voice for comfort. But what could Jamie possibly say? At the least, the Long Patrol hare could sympathize, but he still didn't have to like the other hare.
"Trust me," Jamie said flatly, sitting up in the chair to refill his cup. "The rat got off the easy way." Before sinking back into his chair, he poured some of the cool brown liquid into the spare cup as well, then slid it toward Donato. The other hare could take it if he wished. Jamie could at least promise it'd be easier to down than whatever the hell kind of food Donato was trying to force down his throat.
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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 10:44 pm
Donato shrugged. "Yes, I mean that too. I mean, I mean it's a shame we couldn't get any information from him." That was what he had meant. The last part had just come out without his thinking. In fact, why was he feeling sorry for the rat? "It's just, I don't know. He was probably just some dumb beast who was absolutely terrified of Radaz and afraid to disobey orders or something." He sighed and passed a paw across his eyes. Looking up again, he saw the cup Jamie had pushed toward him. He set his porridge down and picked up the cup, gazing at it for a moment.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 6:40 pm
Jamie wanted to ignore Donato. He couldn't believe the other hare was still blathering on. Truly he had seen all forms of grief and disbelief in the wake of a death... but mindless babbling? Flattening his long grey ears, he tried to sink into the only way he knew how to handle the situation, but he found Donato impossible to ignore. Lowering the cup to his lap, he stared at the Redwaller as he talked to hear his own voice. He drew his eyebrows together as he realized what Donato was saying. Jamie couldn't believe anyone was that pacifistic... or naive. Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
"Donato," he said in a rather flat, unfriendly tone. "Everyone has a choice. There are more of those rats running around than the one Radaz. There's no excuse to follow him beyond evilness and stupidity. If all of them make the wrong choice and follow a murderer, there is absolutely no reason to feel sorry for them. You should be angry. You should want to fix the kind of problems they cause. Stop feeling sorry for them, because your pity isn't going to stop them, as surprising as that might be."
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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 2:34 am
"I know," he said, angrily and a little thickly. He really wasn't sure why he was having this conversation anymore. He suddenly wasn't thinking about anything they were saying at all, but blinking rapidly and trying to stop thinking altogether. He took a sip from his cup so he could hide his face for a moment. ((Btw, sun's rising right now.)) Donato didn't generally drink, and he almost started coughing. Instead, he swallowed hard and set the mug down beside his porridge.
Leaning against the arm of his chair, he covered his eyes with his paw and cleared his throat. He would not cry in front of this hare. "I know I should feel that way. But I don't." And he didn't. He felt pity and mostly disgust for Radaz's horde, not anger. And for Radaz himself... he didn't even know. The thought that he wouldn't even leave them Eula and Whisper's bodies - he realized with shame and only mild surprise that that thought didn't make him want to go out and stop Radaz, but only to be sick or cry or just go away.
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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:26 pm
Jamie heard the angry shift in Donato's voice, and how the other hare was obviously trying not to cry now. Although he felt bad for Donato, he also felt a growing frustration with how Donato commiserated with the vermin. He found Donato's complacency and pacifism annoying and somewhat baffling before, but now it was downright ridiculous. From what he knew of Donato, Eula appeared to be the closest person in his life, and now she was gone; killed by the very vermin he still felt the need to defend. What did it take to stir him to action, to make him angry and vengeful?
He stared at Donato for a few minutes, then, fed up, he put his still half-full cup back on the table and sat up. "Fine Donato, that's fine. You stay here and feel sorry for the poor poor vermin who attacked your home and murdered your girlfriend. Just see if your pity does anything to stop them." Reaching down, he picked up the saber he had set down on the floor and stood. "If you change your mind, you can come find me. If you don't, then don't bother." Wrapping his paw around the hilt of the weapon, he turned and made quickly for the stairs to leave Cavern Hole.
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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:37 am
Stung, angry, and feeling utterly useless, Donato listened to Jamie leave. When he heard the door at the top of the stairs close, he slammed a fist down on the endtable and heard his mug topple off the table and shatter. For a moment, he leant forward to pick up the pick up the broken pieces, only to give up and throw them down in disgust.
Tears were dripping down his face now and he could feel a sob rising in his chest. He curled up in the chair, resting his forehead against his knees and stifling his sobs in his lap. First he thought of Eula, dead in the bushes outside the walls, then, suddenly and with a pang, he remembered her fear of heights and how she was always afraid he'd fall off the ramparts. Remembering her alive, speaking these words to him was even worse, because she'd never say them again. How could she be dead, when just last night she'd been sitting beside him upstairs? It didn't matter. He knew she was dead, and that was enough. For a while he sat that way, until his sobs became hiccups and his eyes felt raw from crying.
Had he been seated more comfortably, Donato might have cried himself to sleep. Instead, he was stiff and restless; he stood up and started to pace the room while he repeated Jamie's words to himself silently. He walked quickly, and as he went on, carrying on a perfectly inaudible conversation with himself, he began gesticulating to emphasize points he was making. Every so often he would bite his knuckles and blink back tears; restless as he was, he felt too tired to start another bout of weeping just now.
Instead, the image of Eula, dead, and the image of the vixen he had watched Sideswipe kill (more vivid now than it had been for years) competed in his mind. The latter won out, and his response was unmixed horror and hatred of what the Redwallers had done. Why, he suddenly asked himself, had he never left Redwall - moved on or returned home? Why didn't that horror extend to Sideswipe himself? His own inconsistency suddenly struck him. Redwall was good and Sideswipe was good, and all the wars they had fought didn't touch that. Or did it? He sighed and pressed his paws up against his eyes for a moment, then resumed his rapid pacing.
No matter what, every emotion in him railed against war and violence, and his brain told him it didn't make sense to do evil that good might come of it. But his stomach turned at the memory of Jamie's words, just see if your pity does anything to stop them. Angrily dashing away more tears, he began pacing a bit faster. Would it be better to give up pity and replace it with righteous hatred? No! (This last accompanied by an insistent gesture.) Well. But then, were the good going to be forever trampled by the evil because their hands were tied by mercy? He sighed, stopped pacing, and slumped his shoulders. It couldn't work like that. There couldn't be mercy without justice (and the security that only justice had any chance to bring). Only futile pity, in which he suddenly recognized the cowardice that haunted him in all his dealings with the Long Patrol.
He groaned. Very little had changed. He still felt only dread of Radaz; thinking of Eula's fate made him wretched, not angry; he didn't want to go find Jamie and tell him any of this. But he miserably decided that he had to fight for the Abbey. He thought of the sabre in the trunk at the foot of his bed - buried under clothes, books, and knicknacks. He still remembered how to use it. Mostly.
He thought of digging it out. Or going to talk to Jamie and get that over with. But then he thought of something else. Someone has to look after them. Especially now. Damnit, really? How utterly anticlimactic. Just when he had decided to give up years of pacifism and join this fight, he remembered that he had about a score and a half of dibbuns - Redwallers and woodlanders - in his charge. A charge he had let shift of late to the uncomplaining Sister Ernestine. Who must have spent most of the night trying to keep order in the nursery amidst the chaos unfolding around it. "Damn it," he said aloud. It must be broad daylight by now. He went to his chair and scooped up the pieces of the broken mug into his bowl of congealed porridge. Then, he went upstairs to drop off the mess with Jude, who wanted his silverware back, and to get to work.
((OMG, the melodrama. dramallama I apologize.))
((And then the philosophy? I apologize again. What an outrageously long post. Maybe I'll edit it later. When it's not four a.m.))
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:01 am
::The smell was heavy, hard, and choking::
::The choking air upon her lungs, among many other things, would have been Eula's first dim glimpses of awareness, along with a good few complaining body parts from the night before... but at least that was good: even if the others couldn't know, she'd know the pain meant she was still alive!::
::That heedy, choking air was being shoved down her, tightening her throat, forcing her to cough or choke or do something to wake her up and see where she'd find herself!!::
::In chains, taut and tight, barely any room to move her arms - or legs - yet settled upon a silk sheeted bed, caught in a curious position between enslavement and royal treatment... a veil seemed to seperate her from whatever was beyond, but she'd see the incense burner close to the bed, the source of whatever nauseating fume that was that had woken her up!::
::Her head could swim, but it wouldn't be long before sound began to make itself aware, loud sound, roars, pained, and agonised... and a silhouette against the veil, as a fox-like figure stood there, and slowly, lowered his voice, but still rambled on...::
...doing as you say... the bells... always the bells... I'll give you bells I will...
::The muttering was incoherent, and even for her ears, a little distant, but still there:: ...think she's dead... probably chaos... ripe for the plunder!
...What's that? ::He suddenly spoke, at full voice, to no-one else, there were no other silhouettes in the room around the veil...::
...She's awake you say? ::He spoke louder, approaching, as the silhouette turned upon her, coming closer, larger, until his red eyes could be seen through the veil, and his fangs twisted into a hideous grin, throwing back the curtain of silks to unveil himself, garbed in the finest of new garbs, still bloody as it lay crudely stitched upon his back: a cape made from bat-wings::
...Hello there, Poppet.
~~~~~~~
::Things back at the Abbey hardly seemed to be any better looking... the moles worked in silence at repairing the masonry and burnt wooden supports and gates... it was hard to imagine one Fox could do all that damage::
::Hard to imagine one Fox could cause so much pain::
::Hard to imagine, for one fox, as she looked out her window... Faith bit her lip... looking to the streams of paper strewn round her room... the riddle incomplete... she'd spent so much time, so much effort and thought and research, all for nothing!!!::
::What good was it, if she couldn't even use it to help save her dearest friends?::
::She felt like ripping it up, tearing the paper scrolls to pieces and burning them... yet, somehow, she wouldn't, somehow, some grain of hope or mercy, or blind belief wouldn't allow her to...::
Where has Martin been...? ::She murmured slowly, her voice barely holding straight... her dreams, like many, had been tormented by the beast of black shadow, and in times like this, when Martin would normally show himself, there was nothing, only this one riddle, this incoherent, uncomprehendable riddle...::
::She wanted to sink back into bed... but... she had a duty, and an abbey full of creatures looking to her for answers... she took a look at herself... and pulling on her robes, tightening a few of the ever-present bandages, took to her staff, and opened the door... moving out, and trying to act like it was any other day...::
Orders o' the day, marm? ::A familiar Racoon stood guard at the door, but spoke in an unfamiliar voice, as Dux turned her head until her eye could look to the small vixen, reserved for good reason::
::Faith sighed... she couldn't even put a smile on for her, as she nodded slowly:: Please go reach every able-bodied beast you can... the Guosim, Turan, Rosa... any warriors available...
...I think we need to see what happens now...
~~~~~~~~
::Jasmine didn't wake, she'd been awake all night, moving between patient to patient... a few guard's sporting burns, a few injured by the falling rubble of the wall... Gem... she stopped, looking at the bed, the bat's head swathed in gauze, lying as if in a fitful nightmare, one that she couldn't wake::
::...And one, Jasmine almost wished, she wouldn't have to...::
::It was hard to tell which would be more disturbing, as she pulled back the curtain, whatever nightmare the girl was in... or the world of the wakened beast...::
::She sighed, looking to the two cots tied together now empty... hardly surprising Sideswipe couldn't sleep, or wouldn't stay still... she'd worked herself long and hard to try and salvage that arm... but for nothing::
::There wasn't much more she could prescribe for the pain of losing an arm, and your friends, than anything stronger than the cellarhog may have had... but she took no drink for herself... this was one day she'd have to be sober for them...::
::And then she looked at the next cot, drawing the curtains back, and widening eyes... it seemed Sideswipe wasn't the only one who'd decided to vanish from the Infirmary, as she looked for Shune suddenly:: Where is Kusaa?
::And when did she wake up!?::
~~~~~~~~~
::Although many moved through their duties alone and almost distant to one another, Kusaa had woken into this sorrow-filled abbey, and quickly found her story for what had happened... every word of it::
::She wasn't planning on lying in an infimary bed, as she stood, keeping to the shadows for the moment, ripping the unnecessary bandaging from her head, while already standing in her scant warrior's armor...::
::That was when Jamie passed, and her gold eyes flung upon him... she'd certainly waited long enough, and she hoped at least no other beast would come upon them!::
I need a word. ::She suddenly spoke, drawing to his attentions the shadows she remained in, it was not a question, not a word, or request::
::They needed to talk::
((Phew, big one here! >> ))
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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:06 am
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:24 pm
The first real feeling that came to Eula, rather, was the pounding and aching in her head. Coming to, she pulled in a deep breath compared to her earlier shallow breathing when she was unconscious. Almost immediately, she choked on the thick air and went into a fit of coughing. Well, now she was certainly awake! Stirring a little, she realized before she looked that she was bound. Startled, she opened her eyes, and looked around, confused. She was chained up to a bed... in some kind of room... was incense burning? Did she hear a voice? Her heart rate sped up as she started panicking, not knowing where she was. She tried to take some deep, calming breaths, but all that did was make her choke on the smoky air again.
All right, calm down. Think. Someone's talking nearby. I'm in a room, and for whatever reason, my captor decided to keep me alive. Alive? Am I okay? I think so... but my head... Am I bleeding? I don't think so... I'm all right. So where am I? I don't know, I've never seen this place. Whose voice is that? I don't know! Where was I last? Redwall... I was in Great Hall. Who was there? Donato was there, definitely. Who else? Faith, I think.... and Dux maybe? Yes, we were working on the riddle. Were they captured too? Are they nearby maybe? But wait... didn't I leave the Great Hall? I think I did... Then where did I go?
Before she could work out the rest of the mystery story playing out in her head, a paw pulled away the curtains. Radaz! The fox had captured her! But... how? Squirming with little success, she stared up at him, but her defiant glare faltered at the sight of his bloody cape. Eyeing it in disgust, she quickly averted her gaze, willing herself to believe it wasn't from... someone she knew. Collecting her severely frayed nerves, she lifted her gaze again. "Where am I?" she demanded, though the indignant tone she was aiming for was ruined by the fact that speaking put her through another bout of coughing.
The one upside to being bound was it was difficult to see her trembling paws. What scared Eula more than being captured and being here with Radaz was not remembering how it happened. What had happened, who was involved? Had anyone else been hurt - or worse? What had happened?
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After Tannia and Turan separated to their own respective responsibilities, Tannia went back to their room, waiting for her daughter to wake up from her undisturbed night of sleep. Sitting on the edge of Tracy's bed, Tannia affectionately caressed the top of the bunny's paw, tilting her head as she watched her sleep. To Tannia, her sleeping daughter was the embodiment of absolute innocence; unblemished, undamaged, untouched by lines of worry. Was it possible to maintain such purity through all of this?
As Tracy stirred awake, Tannia put on a smile. "Good morning sleepy-head," she said lightly, determined to hide last night's events for every spare minute she could get. Anything to push back the inevitable. She kept Tracy in their room for breakfast; marveled at how her daughter asked no questions. Watching her sit their at the table eating, she let her mind wander. She would be wanted around the abbey, but she was loath to leave her daughter alone without her for even a second. She'd already made up her mind. But now what? She couldn't just keep Tracy locked up in their room all day; it would be irresponsible of her, not to mention utterly futile.
Resolved upon a new plan, when Tracy was finished eating, Tannia scooped her daughter up onto her hip, huffing a bit in surprise at how heavy the bunny had gotten. When did that happen? Setting a kiss on her daughter's forehead, she smiled. "I thought that maybe today you and me would go help out in the nursery today. How would you like to be a big helper?"
Tracy smiled and nodded, putting her arms around Tannia's neck as her mother pulled her up a bit more to get a better grip. Tannia still wondered, even though Tracy was generally well-behaved, she was also very inquisitive, and still didn't question her on the strange way she was acting this morning. Taking Tracy up to the nursery, Tannia was unsurprised, and actually a little relieved to find that Donato wasn't there. Instead she found a rather frazzled looking Sister Ernestine. She offered to watch the Dibbuns while the other went to get breakfast, and with Tannia insisting she took her time, the Sister quickly took the offer and disappeared. She set Tray down, and the bunny went over to play with the others. Slowly sinking into a chair, Tannia put her elbows on her legs, cupping her chin in her paws as she watched them.
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Turan, on the other hand, was helping with the clean-up. Not feeling much like leading the efforts, he found he wasn't given much choice, as everyone kept asking him what to do. He felt like they should all be mad at him, but they weren't. He felt like they should be doubting his leadership, but they weren't. So he sent them all to a variety of duties, offered support and worked alongside them. The only thing he did, rather out of character for him, was to dodge questions about last night.
How did he tell them all that he didn't know anything more than them? He didn't know how Radaz had snuck into the abbey. He didn't why there were now three dead; two of their bodies missing, and the third... a mouse, he realized with painful guilt, whose name he didn't even know. He knew this morning was going to come to a head; he felt as if were holding his breath, waiting for something to happen. Some sort of meeting was going to be called, and he had no real plan, and definitely no words of support. Every time he sat back to give himself time to think of a plan, he became overwhelmed with the entire situation and went back to physical work instead.
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Shune was at the counter washing her paws after having just rewrapped the bandages on Gem's head. She blinked her pair of big, brown eyes, red-rimmed and watery with fatigue. The young otter had refused to sleep, worried almost sick over her friend. She might have dozed off once or twice, though, at the bat's bedside, she wasn't even sure. Setting her paws flat on the counter surface, she looked down and sighed with a frown. She didn't pay Jasmine any attention until the fox spoke aloud, startling her in the quiet infirmary.
Blinking in confusion, she walked around the counter to Jasmine's side, looking blearily at the empty cot. Wringing her paws, she looked up at the fox apologetically. "I don't know! I'm sorry. I was with Gem the whole time... I guess Kussa snuck away. You know she does that sometimes..."
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Jamie was walking aimlessly through the abbey, disturbed by his lucidity. Thanks to Donato, he was still able to think clearly and rationally, and the buzz in his head didn't overpower his anger and grief. He wasn't sorry for what he said to Donato, even if in the back of his mind he knew he had channeled some of his frustration about the previous night into the stinging words. He didn't understand this abbey, these creatures, but even many of them took to arms when they needed, even they got angry at cold-blooded murder. But Donato? Pausing in a hallway, he hit the stone wall angrily, shaking his head.
Just when he was considering taking another trip to the cellar, the strange bat Kusaa appeared. Lifting his eyebrows at her, he was surprised to find her speaking to him, considering their last few encounters. Leaning against the wall with the paw just punched it with, he looked quizzically at the bat. "All right, then."
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:28 am
Where are you? ::He spoke in such a mock tone, echoing her words and twisting them, as he stood once more, pacing slowly around the veil, his silhouette's shape changing, shifting with every movement, every little exaggerated gesture: but those red eyes, those were unmistakable, set upon her all the way round::
Why, my dear, dear girl... after we dispensed the formalities last night over that head of grog... were you not the one to insist we came back to my place?
Or... is my memory just hazy? ::He cackled, twisting on the spot, shoving aside the curtains again to lean in upon her:: ...I certainly remember... driving my blade through that badger's arm like mulch...
Beheading that bat... ::He flexed his new cape wide open for emphasis::
... ::And leaning in slowly:: And that hare... your 'champion'... ::He grinned over that fanged muzzle, and then, laughing harder and harder, reared his head back until it was an almost feral, terrifying noise, swept himself aside::
Let me settle the matter for you... do not expect a rescue party flying across the hills for you... ::He took a large gourd, definitely something a little finer than grog as he poured the red liquid into a goblet of an otter's skull::
For soon, I feel we shall be on the move! ::He suddenly gestured to her with the goblet, before gulping back greedily from it, spilling it all over his face, down his tunic...::
I have my trophy, I have my prize... ::He swept his arms open again, approaching her... and as she'd see, and know, as he held the goblet above her, the red viscous liquid now splattered upon him wasn't wine::
::It was blood::
...Shall we drink... to my victory...? ::He cackled once more, the goblet held above her::
~~~~~~~~~~
::Jasmine sighed, rubbing her head between her paws... was she really so bad now she was snapping her fangs at the nearest dibbuns, and even her own assistants?::
::She gazed down at Shune, and shook her head slowly:: No, no... it's alright...
::It certainly wasn't::
...But Kusaa was in the same state Gem is now... if she's awake... we should see to her quickly... may you go fetch a Guard to let him know anybeast that finds her, bring her back here, Shune?
I think we've done all we can for those here at the moment...
::Jasmine tried to keep herself calm, and quiet... if only for the others in the room... Radaz had came into their abbey, and with a sweep of his cape, killed three of them... and spirited away two of the bodies...::
::She needed to know he hadn't claimed another, as she looked at the empty cot!::
::Martin only could know what had happened here!::
~~~~~~~~
::Kusaa kept herself to the shadows, it was of course her forte, but Jamie would be surprised, just how many intricatwe routes she could take without once being spotted by a redwaller...::
::But ever since he'd accepted her demand, she hadn't spoken, hadn't looked back apart from a gesture to follow... and they'd been going for a good bit now, up and up, scaling through the abbey... it was test of patience, one he probably wouldn't appreciate right now...::
::But finally, as they walked through the library of records, the bat pushing open a solitary door at the end, and through another room, that looked like an abandoned dorm, now filled with long-forgotten trinkets and seasonal items, there was another door::
I have been unconscious far too long. ::She declared finally, removing a rusty key from around her neck, her wings remaining in their closed cape position, twisting it into the lock::
I think we can both appreciate how action must be taken.
::She opened the door... and as Jamie might have remembered the bat's seemingly ridiculous arsenal of weapons, now, he was brought to the hoarde itself: a large room, where the walls were literally COVERED with weapons of all shapes and sizes, from the most standard pike, to the most curiously shaped sword, all instruments of Kusaas' curious design...::
::The strange forge held the supplies needed enough to make them, and at the heart of the room, where a blazing furnace sat, a figure framed by the flames looked to Jamie, not quite the badger he was, with his right arm now ending just beyond the elbow, swathed in almost enough gauze to make you believe an arm was still there underneath...::
::But the terrible wound did nothing for the badger's intensity, as Sideswipe's look held murderous contempt... his defeat, and the loss of his arm did nothing to quell the fury he felt upon the fox for what he'd done...::
...We're here to plan what must be done, to eliminate Radaz, once and for all. ::Kusaa declared, standing forward::
And we invite you to join us.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:34 pm
After Radaz's first ludicrous remark, it was abundantly clear to Eula that she couldn't expect the disgusting black fox to offer her any kind of useful information, though she didn't really know what else she should've expected. So, even as the fox went on, Eula turned her head away, trying to ignore him as she tried to think about what had happened again. She knew she would be able to remember more... she just didn't know how long it would take, especially since she didn't have a clue how long she'd been unconscious. Although she comprehended what he said to her, and felt a twinge of despair in her stomach, she tried not to take anything he said to heart. Why should she believe anything he said?
When he drew near her again with his goblet, she turned to him with an annoyed look, as if she couldn't really be bothered by his ramblings. What did catch her attention though, was his mention of them leaving. He wasn't trying to go back to Redwall? But that wasn't right... he had to have some kind of reason to return to the abbey, why else would he have been there in the first place? Eula couldn't believe her capture was his goal; that was completely useless. Besides, he didn't even know she existed until he was already at Redwall. Although tempted to ask to see if he would offer some kind of explanation, she was more determined to be aloof of his attention.
Looking then again at the substance he had slopped onto himself, and taking into consideration Radaz's previous displays of cannibalism, she knew immediately what it was. Stomach turning, she turned away again, trying to block Radaz and this whole scene from her mind; though the choking incense and being tied up were making it incredibly difficult.
---------
Shune was still wringing her paws as Jasmine spoke, turning to look around at their patients before looking back up at the infirmary fox with concern. Despite Jasmine's assurance that the others were taken care of for now, the young otter was obviously reluctant to leave, if even for just a few minutes. Sighing, she gave in and nodded grudgingly. "Okay, but I'm going to come back really soon, all right?" And with one more worried look in Gem's direction, she left the infirmary.
Shune rolled down the sleeves of her habit as she walked out into the chilly morning, turning down a hallway and jogging up a staircase to the walltops. She generally avoided going to the walltops, especially with all the restrictions lately, but there were a lot of others outside working now and it didn't much matter. She might only be eleven, but even she knew that asking a guard to drag Kusaa back to the infirmary was futile. At least half the guards were afraid of the bat, and even those that weren't would never be able to get a hold of her anyway.
But she still did as she was told, walking up to a vaguely familiar mouse guard and informing him of their situation with Kusaa. Just like she expected, her request was met with a disbelieving raise of an eyebrow, and a less-than-enthusiastic assurance that he and the other guards would do their best. With a friendly smile, she thanked him, and turned to leave the walltops and return to the infirmary.
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Jamie was not feeling terribly eager at following the strange bat off, but what better plans did he have? While the Long Patrol hare wasn't easily fatigued, this random trek through the abbey was tiring. He hadn't slept in over a day, had been in a fight the night before, and had just had a mug and a half of some very strong ale. But he went along anyway, interest piqued. Why would Kusaa ask him, specifically, to go along?
When he was brought into the forgery, his eyes wandered about the room, taking several minutes to weave his way around before he even bothered to ask what Kusaa's motive was. As a Long Patroller, he was of course very interested in weaponry in all forms.... he had even done a bit of his own smithing, decently, too. But he could never hope to have such accomplishments as these, neither in quantity nor quality. Pivoting then, he set his sea-green eyes back to the bat. "Did you have a plan in mind?"
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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:17 am
In the kitchen now, Donato was washing his face and talking to Jude. "Jude, um- if you see Julia...."
"I'll talk to her." He shrugged dismally. "But I'm sure she's heard about everything by now." He really wished she hadn't. Whoever she heard (or overheard) the news from, it probably hadn't been broken to her gently.
That thought didn't cross Donato's mind; he was just glad that he wouldn't have to see Julia's reaction to the news that Eula and Whisper had been killed and Gem knocked unconscious. In a tone of immense relief, he replied, "Thanks, Jude," and left.
When he reached the nursery, he looked for Sister Ernestine so he could start pouring out an apology for leaving her in the lurch, but stopped in the doorway when he couldn't find her. Seeing Tannia, he walked toward her, confused. "Hi, Tannia. ...What's going on?"
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