And Ending Better than Expected- Casper

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Fri, 03/08/2013 - 06:40

Heya Everybody!

So, a while ago, if you all can take a moment to remember this far back X), there was that blizzard! Casper, the older brother of Shandar, wandered out (Mostly because there was nothing else too do and he was going crazy having to stay inside). He took forever returning. (And that was my fault because I practically forgot about him XP. My apologies!) So! Here is what happened.

OOC: Below is the description of one of the characters in this story- there are many- but she is the main one. (Besides Casper, of course.) :)

Lahki- 8 seasons, Field mouse, female- Lahki looks the definition of ‘fun.’ Her short, easy-to-care-for fur is a plain grey, her long whippy tail a peachy color. Her overly large ears are covered in ‘peach fuzz,’ and her small nose is pink and wet, her whiskers long and slightly curled at the ends. You can see just the ends of her large white front teeth. Her dress is short, swishing about her knees, a pretty yellow color- the kind of yellow that you see and that immediately makes you think of spring. The soles of Lahki’s footpaws are tough from walking about bare-pawed, and her claws are short and cared for. Her bright eyes are a livid blue, and full of life.

-Somewhere in Mossflower Woods-

The first visitor is the breeze. It sweeps in, engulfing Casper’s senses with the smell of the outdoors. His whiskers twitch, and his eyes crack open slowly. The second visitor is a quiet call- “Mum, he’s awake!” “Finally. I was wondering if he’d ever!”

The dried-grass pillow under his head crackles as he raises his head. A gentle paw pushes down on his chest, applying just enough pressure to make him lay back down. If he wanted, he could resist- stand up, fight his way out- but the pressure doesn’t seem forced- more like a suggestion, “maybe you shouldn’t be getting up, Son,” rather than “where are you going, Mouse?” His eyes open all the way, and from his position in bed- hold on a minute. A bed? Walls? And, oh man- Casper pushes himself up hurriedly on his forearms, leaning back. He gasps, wide eyes roving around. A group of mice, a family? One keeping the dibbuns out of the room, the adults and a few mice- his age, perhaps?- standing near him. Four walls, a doorway leading to somewhere. The little window is open, flowered curtains fluttering in the wind. And yes, a bed, with a blanket covering him. A wash basin on a table to his right, under the window. The smell of woodsmoke and pine needles, the sweet scent of baking.

A young mouse, maybe about 2 seasons, escapes the teen by the door and toddles over, hanging on the edge of the bed. She grins happily, the first to break the awkward silence.

“Who’re ya? Ya’ve been ‘sleep f’r days!” One of the adults, a cheery, plump mouse lady, leans over and scoops up the dibbun. “Don’t mind Tala. I’m Marley, mother o’ the household. I bet you’re quite hungry. Lahki, help the lad up and bring him into the kitchen, will you?”

Marley escorts the other two little ones and Tala from the room; the rest gradually follow. One remains. She curtsies to Marley at the request, and grins at Casper once the room holds only them. “I’m Lahki. Guess you figured that out. Welcome to the Tealera house!” She giggles. “ Well, suppose Mum’s gonna want to see you soon- she’s the one in charge, no matter what Pop says. So up you come.” She reaches for Casper’s arm, intending to help him out of bed.

Casper’s entranced. Never has he seen a dress so bright, and never have eyes seemed so captivating. Especially blue ones. Only when Lahki takes his arm does he come down to earth and realize that he’s still full of unanswered questions. “But...Um. Ok. I’m Casper!” Lahki flashes him a smiles again as she takes him through the door, following the smell of fresh bread.

-The Tealera household Kitchen-

To the left, against the wall, is a modest oven, steam rising from a large pot. Wooden cabinets and shelves ring the walls. In the center of the swept, hard dirt floor is a table, surrounded by mice scurrying about- setting the table, getting underfoot, cooking. A mouse about 5 seasons comes in carrying a babe, followed by Tala and her two friends. “Marley, all paws have been washed!” He declares as he sets the babe down in a cradle near the large fire. Marley waves a spoon in acknowledgement. “Good! Soup ‘s almost done.” Tala shoves one of the other dibbuns, vying for a seat, and the shoved one bursts into tears. Tala scowls an elder mouse picks her up and sits her in his lap. “Now then, Young Tala. Be nice to your siblings.” The elder warbles.

Lahki points out beasts and gives their names to Casper. “The one with Tala is Granda. Tala’s siblings are Lavi and Sam. Granma is over there, setting the table. Pop is...out gettin’ wood for the fire, prob’ly. You already met Mum- Marley, over by the stove. My brother is sitting next to Granda- see, with Sam?- His name is Rees. My cousin has Lavi in his lap- He’s Benj. Auntie is setting the table with my older sis. She’s garunteed to bat her lashes at you- don’t be put off by it. She does it to everybeast. Oh, and her name is Tanera, but she’ll rip your throat out if you call her that- so Tanny is her name! Other than that, she’s very nice. I think that’s everybody...”

Casper stares, awed by the number of beasts in the room. And they all manage to be related, too. Wow.

Lahki leans forward to get a better look at her charge’s face, and laughs. “Cummon. Let’s get a seat by the fire before the others do. Those are always the warmest. And don’t worry- you’ll get to know everyone soon enough.” Casper gulps and nods, sliding into a lovely, warm, wooden chair.

It doesn’t take nearly as long as Casper thought it would to get everyone settled down and seated. Lahki’s father comes in carrying a large basket of extra logs for the fireplace. He sets it down, gives Marley a kiss on the cheek, and sits in the remaining empty seat. And thus, supper begins.

A loud chatter rises as platters are passed around. Lahki continues to chatter in Casper’s ear.

“Mum’s the best cook anywhere, but she learned everything from Granma, so I guess that makes Granma the best cook! Here-” She hands Casper a large plate with apples on it. “Pop made baked apples. So yummy! We made a lot so eat as much as you like! We cook the most at supper, then keep the rest for the next day. Breakfast and dinner is mostly just when you feel like it. Mmm, this soup smells so good!”

Lahki’s chatter is cut short by Marley shouting over the din. “Can you not all be quiet?” The noise subsides, Rees saying something that makes Benj laugh, and Marley gives him the evil eye. “Thanks so very much. We have a guest tonight, for those of you who were outside.” Tanera’s head twists around to look at Casper, and true to Lahki’s word, she smiles sweetly, fluffing her fur and winking. Marley clears her throat to get the girl’s attention. “So. Maybe you all wish to be polite and listen to him?” Casper shifts awkwardly in his seat. His voice is hard enough to find with Lahki watching him, but it seems to have run off completely with everyone staring at him. Once again, Tala saves him from the silence.

“Wha’s ya name?” Granda silences the dibbun with a slice of sticky baked apple. Casper chuckles. “I’m Casper. Thanks for...um..having me?” He doesn’t know how to phrase that. All he remembers is being out in the blizzard, falling down. Did he get up? He can’t remember. “I guess I mean thanks for saving me.”

Auntie laughs. “You got that right, Laddie! Thank Benj. ‘E’s the one that found you.” Benj grins broadly, wrinkling his face-fur. “No problem! /I/ should apologize. Nearly fell on top o’ you!” The two boys explode into laughter. Casper feels himself warming up to this family. They’re funny. They’re kind. They’re- well, Lahki is pretty. And they’re good cooks! Rees takes a bit of mushroom and leek pastie, drenched in gravy. “Mmm. Well.” He swallows loudly, and the dibbuns giggle. He scowls at them and wipes his mouth with the back of his paw, earning a tap on his wrist by Marley, before speaking. “Do you mind tellin’ what you were doing? I mean really- out in the storm and all. What’s near here but here, anyways?”

Casper coughs harshly and sips some water, offered to him by his new friend Benj. Tanera looks put out she didn’t get to it first, and Benj rolls his eyes.

“I was out to get something for my little sister. She-” Tanera perks up at the mention of a sister. “Oh, how sweet! How brave of you to go out in that weather for her! I bet she’s very cute, especially if she looks anything like you!”

Lahki laughs. “Tanny, let him /talk/, for goodness sake! He doesn’t need you interrupting every few minutes!”

Casper grins thankfully at Lahki. “She does look like me. We used to live in Mossflower Woods, like you all.” This time it’s Sam who interrupts. “Where da ya live now?”

“Redwall Abbey. I-” This statement is met with a large shout, and every mouse in the room starts talking to his or her neighbor. Lahki latches on to Casper’s paw. “Oh, can I please go with you when you leave? We've all heard about Redwall, but none of us have ever gone! It sounds so dreamy in Granda’s stories! Please, Casper?”

Casper starts with a smile, then a giggle, then a loud laugh that hurts his sides as he hears the reaction of the family to Redwall. “Of course you can! You can all come! The Redwall beasts would love to have you all!”

Lahki, still holding Casper’s paw, appeals to her father. “Pop, can I go? Please? It would be so much fun! I could go with Casper tomorrow, and the rest of you could follow, maybe the day after, and-” Pop waves his paws in the air. “Enough, Enough!” He chuckles. “You can go m’dear Lahki- and whoever else wants to go may, too.” This, also, is met with lots of noise. Lahki gives Casper a big hug, making Tanny glower and Casper blush. Benj grins at Rees, excited. Marley bangs her fist on the table. “Silence!” Lahki releases Casper, and all attention is directed at the mousewife. “/Thank/ you. Casper? I never got to hear the rest of your story. Do tell.”

Casper clears his throat. “Hm. Thank you, marm. Well, as I said, I was-” He decides to make this dramatic and interesting. “-bravely forging through the dark woods for my sister. Our poor parents, alas, killed many seasons ago by the cold-hearted Vladmir Stormfeather. Our old home lies not far from here, I should think. I went, foregoing all caution and thought of my safety, into the storm. I traveled through the winds, through the heavy snow! My limbs grew weary, and my eyes became leaden. Eventually, I was felled by a tree root! The dastardly thing, I fell over it, and no longer had the energy to climb back up!” Here he stands to take a bow to their applause, and then promptly sits back down and takes a huge bite of rye bread with his soup. Tanera is crying.

“Oh, your poor sister! How worried she must be! And how brave! How dashing, to go out in weather like that for her!”

Marley tosses a napkin at the maid. “Aw, wipe those peepers, Tanny. You’ve no cause to be crying, girl! Sheesh!”

As the rest of the house bursts into laughter at the face Tanny makes at her mother, Casper leans back and takes a long swig of his water. This could’ve ended a whole lot worse- What a story he now has to tell his sister!

Some of you have probably seen me around with Lahki- expect to see more of her around the abbey! And yes indeed, I will probably by spoofing her whole family soon. X) What a pain.

Well, thanks for reading! :D

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