Headline News part 2: snowball fights and flying lizards!

Sorry this took so long to post, All!

Oz follows the group outside and stays nearby to watch the dibbuns.

Shandar runs ahead of everybeast, and sets about making a snow fort. Just in case somebeast starts a snowball fight. Ahndia leads Sariel, and releases his paw to leap up into a broad crook between two branches of a tree. The perfect spot for sniping.

Reaper starts rollins a giant snowball to help Shandar. He may be older and hate the cold, but his love for snow forts and snowball fights outweighs his hatred for cold. Finishing with the large ball of snow he pushes it over near where Shandar is working "Where you want this?" he asks. Meanwhile Sariel grabs a low hanging branch and vaults onto a branch near Ahndia, brushing snow off with his tail which dumps onto Shandar from above "Sorry!" he calls "I didn't mean to!"

Oz watches, "Be carefull you guys." He doesnt get into building any of the snowfort, he simply watches as they play.

Shandar points to the center of the fort wall. "Right there. Thank-" She is cut off by the snow falling on her head, and she stands slowly, brushing herself off. "You /will/ regret that." She sets about scooping up snow into a pile, the 'blueprint' of the best snowball ever in her mind. Ahndia chucks some extra snow down, aiming at Oz, but her aim has never been any good, and it just lands in front of him. "Come join in!"

Oz smiles "I think I will just watch for now, not sure how much I could do, and never really have played much since I was a dibbun, may of been like one winter that was fun for me as a fibbun, cant say any other winter was too really fun"

(Sariel jumps to a higher branch... he's actually starting to get into it "Oh yeah?" The small squirrel retorts, hurling a snowball at the mouse, okay tossing is a more apropriate term, but throwing nonetheless.)

Reaper pushes the boulder over to where Shandar indicated, and sets about making ammunition, scooping up snow with his tail and quickly making pretty good snowballs stashing them inside the fort. He knows when a snow fight is gonna break out "We may not have had a ton of snow where I grew up, but we sure knew how to have fun when it did"

Shandar grins at the squirrel as she dodges, allowing the ball to make an indent in the soft ground. "Gonna have t' do better'n that!" Her snowball, no better or worse than any other- only better in her mind because of who it is aimed at- is done. She leans back and throws it up as hard as she can, aiming for Sariel's middle. "Take /that!/" Ahndia laughs, making a fine pile of snowballs for Sariel to use.

Oz leans on one of the trees, "Where I grew up, there was too much snow." He frowns slightly as if remembering something and shakes his head as if to clear it

Reaper keeps on making snowballs like a machine, tossing another to Shandar and throwing a second at Ahndi with his tail. "Gaah" Sariel mutters "missed" and hops down beside Ahndia letting the snowball miss him and throws one back. Then noticing, Ahndia's pile he smiles and looks like he's about to say something to her, and thwak! the snowball meant for her turns into powder as it cleans his clock sending him sprawling into a snowbank "Blarch! Nice throw mister otter!" He calls

Shandar adds a few more snowballs to the pile Reaper has made. "You laugh Ahndi, but you're next!" Ahndia decides that she may be better off higher up, and she pulls herself into a higher branch, dropping the newly-made snowballs down onto the pile in the tree. Shandar catches the snowball from her otter partner, and this one gets thrown at Ahndia. It catches the young squirrel as she's leaping for the higher branch, and she tumbles down. But she's learned quite a bit from watching Shandar fall out of trees, and she winds her paws and atil about a branch as she passes, jolting herself, but then she lands with a soft poof onto a snowbank. Shandar raises both paws. "perfect hit!"

Oz calls over one of the abbey sisters to help keep an eye on the dibbuns a short while while he slowly heads on inside, the sister makes sure the dibbun is ok as Oz heads inside slowly, walking staff in paw.

(Sariel jumps back into the tree to grab the snowballs Ahndia made "here" he calls tossing a couple to her throwing a couple more at the other pair. THWAK!! Reaper takes one in the face "Well, I hope that'll help clean my face" he jokes, diving for cover beind the fort, and throwing another one with his tail at Sariel "Not bad yourself kido." )

Ahndia sits up just in time to catch the snowballs from Sariel, and she throws them both at Reaper. One goes awry, causing Shandar to duck, but the other maintains a mostly accurate course. Shandar stands, only to scrape more snow together to add to the missile pile she is sharing with Reaper. All of her snowballs, as well as Ahndia's, are slighlty grey from their dirty clothes.Where in the name of Martin did they /get/ so dirty in the abbey?

SPLAT! Reaper gets clocked again, goodness he's off his game today! It's probably the dye. Sariel follows up with a couple chained at Shandar hoping that he finally gets a hit on her.

Ahndia jumps up, back into the tree next to Sariel, smiling broadly. "First direct hit I've ever gotten!" Shandar, distracted by Ahndia, gets hit in the side by a snowball, and she ducks back down,the others going overhead. She leaps back up, 2 snowballs at the ready. "You. will. Pay!" She whips them up into the tree, focusing all her slingshot skills into the throw.

(Sariel is nailed and plummets from the tree, a good 25 paw drop landing in a snowbank. "Sariel!" Reaper calls running over to the snowbank "You okay buddy?")

Ahndia gasps, just as worried as Reaper. She slides down the tree trunck easily. "Sariel! Shandar, how could you!" Shandar is at a loss. "What? I'm...I'm sorry, Sariel, didn't mean to make you /fall/..don't be mad, Ahndi. How many times have you or I fallen out of the tree because of the other?" Ahndia scowls.

(Sariel makes no move "Sariel! Sariel What happend, bro?" Reaper asks. Sariel makes no answer still. Reaper starts tearing apart the snowbank to find him.)

Up above, in the treetops, a certain reptile slumbers in the fork between limb and trunk of a tree that still retains some leaves.

Shandar scurries over, tossing aside armfuls of snow. Ahndia joins in, snow flying around everywhere. "Sariel! Sariel, cummon. Oh, Shan, no more throwing things like you used to. I don't think you even /need/ your sling."

"uuugh, t'wasn't the snowball" Sariel moans "Thought I saw mom and lost my balance." He groans and tries to sit up but collapses again, it was a long fall. " Reaper clears the area around him of snow, "You alright little brother?"

Shandar's attention is attracted by the statement about his mother. She climbs up into the tree, where he fell, and surveys the area. Ahndia crouches and takes his paw. A small crowd of beasts have gathered around them, and Ahndia shoos them away, sending them to go and find her mum. "Get Mummy- Odira. She should be in the infirmary."

"No no, Ahndi I'm fine, no doctors please. Don't need to worry anyone else." Sariel succeeds in sitting up this time much to Reaper's relief. "The snow broke my fall" Sariel says, "I was just dazed from the surprise"

The noise awakens the reptile above, and his eyes unfilm as he gazes down to the orchards. Knowing/hoping that the snow will cushion his landing, leaving his perch, he leaps out from the tree into empty air...

Reaper sighs with relief "You sure there's nothing hurting? I have some skill as a healer if you need it" Sariel finds himself reluctant to let Ahndi's paw go.

Ahndia nods uncertainly. "Mkay. Well, we should probably get you propped up anyway. I dont think ya broke anythin', but you're most likely bruised. And mummy has some stuff for bruises."

(Sariel looks a little frightened "Bruises don't matter a lot to me, can I just breathe a bit?")

Shandar climbs down carefully from the tree. "I dont see anything, but we should let the guards know t' keep a lookout f'r her. And of course Flicky is gonna hafta know." Ahndia looks at her friend and nods, giving Sariel's paw a gentle squeeze as Odira comes through with the crowd trailing behind her. The tall squirrel shoos them all away. "Cummon now all- You all know enough to give a beast some space." The crowd, knowing how Odira works, disperses and doesn't come back. She kneels next to her daughter. "How're you doin, young sir?"

Falling...WHUMP! Plumes of white as Zarok lands in the snow at high velocity, right in the middle of things. Dazed somewhat, he shakes his head and waits for the world to stop spinning, eyes flashing crazily.

"Thanks, Ahndia" he says squeezing back "I'm okay... just a little rattled." Reaper stays near the fallen squirrel but gives Ahndi's mother room to work "Do you need anything ma'am?"

Shandar, standing apart from the rest ofthe group, does not get hit with snow, but Ahndia and Odira are now coated in it. Ahndia is startled by the crash landing, and Odira, startled as well, narrows her eyes, long bush tail flicking back and forth irritatedly. She recognizes this dibbun, even if she has not talked to him before. "Master Zarok. Care to explain your reasoning behind leaping out of a tree and thinking that you shall get away with it?" She's reprimanding him, but mentally, like most healers do, she's also looking him over for wounds. She shakes her head. "I will be fine, Mr...." She doesn't know Reaper. "And you should probably come to the infirmary, young squirrel. I know nothing is broken, the snow made sure of that, but other things could be wrong. And I won't know out here."

At the reprimand, Zarok backs away, goes into a crouch, discreetly splaying his claws out slightly and tasting the air with a quick flicker of his forked tongue, a sudden blur of black in front of the young monitor's head. "sss....No."

(Sariel sighs at the thought of the infirmary "Do I have to ma'am? I'm fine, really." He stands up to show it... and immediately collapses again "Okay, okay I get it." Reaper offers a paw "Here bro, let me carry you" Reaper picks the young squirrel up andstarts heading off to the infirmary."you alright, zarok?")

Ahndia hurries her pace to stay in step with Reaper, near Sariel's head. Shandar comes up behind her, wrapping a paw around her friend's shoulders. Odira reaches a paw out to help up Zarok. "Cummon, you too."

Zarok rises of his own accord, claws still extended just a bit, tense, before he follows the rest, occasionally weaving through trees or around bushes and snowbanks, but always returning to trot in the wake of the group.