Confusion at its finest!
Enjoy! It is interesting, to say the least. :)
RW Abbey: Cavern Hole
This room is slightly smaller than Great Hall, but still of a size large enough to accomodate a great number of gathered beasts. A large fireplace is set into one of the walls, and there are a series of small tables and chairs near one end for beasts who are eating late, or simply prefer the smaller tables for their meals. Cushions and blankets have been set in one corner. A short flight of steps leads up to Great Hall, and along the walls of the stairs, going both ways, the word 'Redwall' has been carved into the stone.
Exits/Entrances:
[G]reat [H]all
[Ki]tchen
Oz is sitting here drinking some tea, a small break till the dibbuns are out of classes.
DoraRose enters Cavern Hole and looks around, eyebrows knitted, lower lip in the proscess of being chewed. All in all, she looks like a concerned young mouse.
Oz looks up and nods "Greetings Dorarose, how are you, look worried."
DoraRose attempts a smile, but she still looks worried. "I'm looking for Leon. Have you seen him? I'm...concerned about him. He...he ran into a rose bush..." she falters and ends awkwardly, blushing up to her ears. She clears her throught and asks again, "Have you seen him?"
Gwaihir comes down the stairs that lead to Great Hall.
Oz listens and frowns some, he sips his tea before answering, "He went to Ferravale, not sure how long he will be there, I know he is there as I walked him there, he didnt really say much, was pretty quiet."
DoraRose's eyes widen and she places a paw on her forehead. "I need to speak with him!" She now looks miserable and more concerned than ever. She doesn't notice the eagle behind her.
Oz frowns, he sits his tea cup down."Are you alright?"
Gwaihir looks at her "hello there...who are you, might I ask?"
DoraRose flushes an even deeper scarlet at Oz's question and goes to answer it, but instead of words, a small scream exits her mouth as Gwaihir adresses her. She flips around, then relaxes when she sees that his is just an eagle. Smiling at him, she answers, "My name is DoraRose Strongheart. Might I ask who you are?"
Oz finishes his tea and leans back in his chair, "Leon is safe where he is, no worries on that but I would not suggest going to Ferravale on your own."
Gwaihir says, "I am Gwaihir the Windlord, of the North."
DoraRose smiles absently at the eagle. "It's nice to meet you. Excuse me..." she turns and walks over to the badger, her face a little red from being miffed now. "Why can't I go to Ferravale on my own?"
Desotoe has been getting use to the guard, achallly hoping he can get them to go away soon, he stops by the door and watches the beasts inside quietly.
Oz says, "The roads are not totally safe right now, walking alone could be dangerous"
Gwaihir says, "hm, yes that 'tis true...with that gang of vermin slavers runing about..."
Desotoe listens quietly, he leans on the doorway, he doesnt speak he simply listens and watches.
Oz glances over at the door and folds his arms over his chest as he speaks to the others, "Do excuse me please." He gets up and heads over to the great hall.
DoraRose stands a little straighter, her blue eyes flashing slightly. "I can take care of myself. I have wandered alone in dangerous places for many a season. I have a sword and I know how to use it.." she goes to say more, but stops as Oz leaves. Turning to the eagle, she says, "I wonder what that was about?"
Gwaihir says, "hm...yes..."
Gwaihir looks over to the mouse "how did you come here?"
DoraRose mutters, "I was following a fox..." then she follows Oz into Great Hall.
In Great Hall...
Desotoe doesnt back up, he smirks slightly as he mutters "Not much longer..", He keps a close eye on him and steps back a little and sits, he smiles slightly "See I am behaving myself."
Oz looks to be getting upset, luckly for Desotoe he missed what ever the mubleing was, he glares at the ferret, "What was the mumbleing about?"
Desotoe ears go back, "Mumbleing?...oh umm..just saying tried, so I sat, ya know couldnt stand too much longer...." Ok now the badger is making him nervous again.
DoraRose arrives on the scene and takes it in in a glance. She crosses the hall in a few strides and and demands, "What's going on here? You!" she points to the ferret. "What are you doing to Oz?" she looks rather ticked off.
Oz growls low and goes to sit down in his chair.
"A fox? hm..." the eagle says as he follows Dorarose up the stairs. He then asks "hm? what is the problem Dorarose?"
Desotoe frowns, he looks at the mousemaid and answers her question "None ya bussiness, we just talking and he dislikes me...and I think I need to go..supposed to be helping with something."
DoraRose watches him leave, then turns to Oz. She still does not look very happy. "Who was that?" Oh, yeah. She's not happy.
WHUNK! Still groggy (no pun intended) from his little adventure with October Ale a few days ago, Zarok stumbles on the stairs and walks into the wall before entering. Rubbing his head, his eyes glittering randomly, he sits down on the floor with a WHUMP. "Hzzz....hi..." he mumbles to everybeast present. He gets the sense that something unpleasant just happened, but he's unsure of what it was...
Oz folds his arms over his chest, "Not a beast I trust, he is supposed to be helping find a group of slavers Tristan and his group went after, I have no clue if he has helped or not, he wants to be around Flicktail alot lately and Flicktail seems to be starting to trust him,I don't..he is up to something I think,that ands he has almost killed an abbey beast, course was before he came here and been staying...stilll."He looks at Zarok, "Zarok? You alright?"
DoraRose's jaws are visibly grinding, and her eyes are glinting perilously. She looks about to say something, but yet again she is interupted --this time, by Zarok. She turns to him and tries to wipe away her worry and anger --and fails miserably. "Are you alright?"
"Urrmm....yar...." Zarok mumbles. "Juzzzzzt..." he scratches his head searching for a way to put this into words..."headnotright," he suddenly blurts out in one quick breath. "Wot happen?" he adds after a moment.
Oz looks over at Dorarose, "I know whom the ferret attcked, but it may upset you....the ferret name is Desotoe."
DoraRose accidentily-on-purpouse ignores Zaroks wuestion. "Who did he attack?" she does not look like she wants to be messed with right now.
Gwaihir looks at Zarok "hello there..."
"Wot happen?" Zarok says a bit louder. He tilts to one side a bit, shakes his head rapidly as if to ward off flies, and sits up mostly straight again. "Why nobeazzzt HEAR Zzzzzzarok?" he finally snaps in frustration.
Oz looks at Zarok, "Just talking of a ferret, that you need to stay away from" He looks at Dorarose and frowns, "He almost killed...." He stops as if unsure,ok he is prepared for angery mousemaid if needed,.."Leon"
DoraRose freezes, her body rigid. She opens her mouth, coughs a little, then tries to speak...and fails. She tries again and manages to say, "What?" she looks like she doesn't want to believe it.
Zarok, if anything, has a more angry reaction. He knows that Leon and DR are friends, and thus he feels about the same rage towards the ferret as he would've if Desotoe had tried to take out DR herself. Even in his dazed state, he bares his fangs and snaps his jaws a few times. "Zzzzzzzzzzzzarok kill him?" he asks, although it's not entirely a question as it is a commital statement with a question mark at the end.
Oz says, "A couple weeks ago when Leon had an injury to his arm and the black eye, the ferret Desotoe was the cause of it, its one reason I don't trust him, even if it was before he started, so called helping us, which I am unsure of as well."
Oz says, "The ferret from my understanding is banished from Ferravale by the Chieftain himself, so Leon will not be harmed by him while there."
Gwaihir says, "Leon...hm...I have met him once or twice..."
DoraRose is shaking now. Looks like she might get angry after all. "I need to talk to Leon...please." she is trying to hide what she's really feeling --anger, pain, sorrow...and something else...-- but she is failing miserably.
Zarok's rate of breathing has increased significantly, his scaley flanks rising and falling as the anger and protective instincts kick in. Flecks of foam run down his jaws as his eyes glitter even more crazily. "Wherezzzzzzzzzzzz ferret? I rip out froat!" He looks very capable of doing just that right now--If he doesn't walk into another wall first.
DoraRose finally turns to Zarok and tries to sooth him. "No killing him right now. I have a funny feeling about him, and I want find out what's going on before he gets his just deserts." maybe the word play will get the dibbun to calm down...
Gwaihir says, "hm...well this ferret seems.../bad/...."
"But Zzzzzzzzzarok already /been/ to dezzzert," the lizard protests. "I /hatched/ there! I fight ferret for you, it an honor fight!" This may slow the mouse down in turn; he's referring back to lizard tribe traditions and such.
DoraRose seems to understand honor fights...at least, to a degree. "I appreciate you wanting to help me, I really do." she sighs and rubs her eyes. The war of conflicting emotions inside her seems to be taking a toll. "I don't want you to get hurt..." she doesn't seem to hear Gwaihir.
Tarpin pads into greathall from the main enterance, leaving little puddles behind him as he walks. He's soaking wet! He doesn't seem the least perturbed, however and makes a Bee-line for the stairs. He nods at the beasts in the hall and comments conversationally, "G'day. Bootiful weather, today." Then he reaches the stairs and begins hopping down, step by step.
Lizard honor fights are different. "If me don't fight, me coward," Zarok snaps. "An' norra true friendzzzzzzzzzzz." In the lizard caves, if a tribe member didn't fight to avenge their friend (living or dead), they would be publicly shamed and, in some cases, exiled from the tribe.Or executed, and most likely eaten.
Gwaihir moves over to the table "Dorarose, you said something about following a fox before we came in here...
DoraRose rubs her forhead. She looks tired. She also looks like she might start crying. Her feelings are taking a great toll on her.
Zarok lumbers unsteadily over and tries to lay his tail comfortingly on her shoulder, but it doesn't quite work because it's still a stump, still growing back after it accidently came off. He compensates by leaning his snout against her. "Izzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz okay...."
DoraRose sinks to her knees and wraps her arms around the lizards shoulders. She closes her eyes as 4 tears leak out and her shoulders begin to shake.
The circumstances are beginning to clear Zarok's clouded mind, and he hugs the mouse as he launches into an old lizard chant sung/hummed/buzzed in the ancient caves for countless generations. It's comprised entirely of wordless buzzing noises, an odd tune but somehow soothing, with the occasional clack of jaws or rattling hiss thrown in.
DoraRose buries her face in the scaley shoulder, crying silently as the lizard hums...or whatever he's doing.
Zarok's eyes darken with pity and the humming intensifies, rising in falling. In between these waves in the rising tide of the strange melody, he murmurs, "No badnezzz anymore...it gone...Dorrrrrozzzzzzzze mouzzzzzzzzze gonna be okiessssssssssssss,"
DoraRose wipes tears from her eyes and sniffs, then hugs the dibbun tightly. "Thank you, sweetheart." she whispers in a barely audible voice.
In one of his rare flashes of wisdom, Zarok says, both to himself and the mousemaid, "Not all honor fightzzzzzzz are with tooth and claw." Then he returns to his usual hyperactive, instinct-driven (partly anyways), enthusiastic self. "Youzzz welcome!"
DoraRose stands up, and picks Zarok up at the same time. Moving over to a chair, she sits down and places him on her lap. She stays quiet, just enjoying his company.
Unfortunately she won't have his company much longer. Conscious company, anyways. Whether due to the lingering affects of the (very) strong October Ale (said to be the strongest Oakspike ever brewed), mental fatigue at dealing with this stress, or just a quirk of instinct, Zarok's breathing slows, his scales gray slightly, and his eyes film as he slips into the comforting, warm void of slumber.
