Meet the Warrior and the Healer's babies

Redwall Abbey:Loft.

DoraRose, LilyMoore and Caleb, who happen to be mice. Zarok the monitor lizard. Oz the badger. Emmit the shrew.

The loft is not quiet at all, but it noisy in a good way...the twins are grwoing up fast, and are laughing. Their mother, DoraRose Strongheart, is beaming as she plays peek-a-boo while towering over them. Every time she moves her hands away from her face, the babies laugh aloud, making her smile even more.

The loft door practically explodes open, banging against the floor as it swings suddenly and violently on its hinges as it recieves lizard traffic. Zarok incoming! The young monitor runs to DoraRose. "Hiya auntie!" Then his eyes lock on the Dibbuns and the dark twin portals widen in his face. He's been busy with his new Abbeyschool career and hasn't gotten to meet the Dibbuns yet. "Hatchlings!" he yelps excitedly, pattering over to where they lie, trying not to seem scary.

LilyMoore wails in fright as the door bangs, and her mother picks her up and soothes her. "You need to come in here more carefully, Zarok." DoraRose's daughter quickly quiets down, and she gets set back down on the bed for more games...this time with a tiny mirror for each her and her brother, on a little stand that keep the reflective surfaces above the babies. DoraRose laughs lightly. "They're not hatchlings, dear, their babies. Mice don't hatch from eggs. But, yes, these are my babies. The female is LilyMoore and the male is Caleb."

"Sorry, Auntie," Zarok says. "'bout th'door." He trots to the bed and pokes his snout over the edge. "Hiya Liliezz, Ca'eb!" he says excitedly. "I'm Zarok!......does you like fisssh?"

The babies catch sight of the lizard and have 2 opposite reactions. Caleb whimpers, and LilyMoore chortles. DoraRose laughs. "It's alright, Zarok. And the twins can't answer you yet. They're too little. Wait a little bit...they'll be able to talk soon. So how are you? I haven't seen you for awhile."

"I beez good, I go to Abbeyschoolz now!" Zarok states proudly, puffing out his chest a bit and, under his vest, making his sixclaw branding ripple somewhat. From the way the words pour out of his mouth it seems he's been bursting to say them to DoraRose for practically for-EVER.

DoraRose wraps the little lizard in a huge embrace, almost motherly pride making her smile broadly. "Oh, that's wonderful! Are you learning alot? I do hope you're doing what the teachers tell you to do."

Zarok hugs DoraRose back, grinning. "I learning lotza stuff--Like faces of d'moon, an' what plants'r'bad t'eat, an' maff, 'n stuff..." He laughs raspingly. "I do what they tell me unless what they say isss dumb," he says matter-of-factly.

DoraRose narrows her eyes at the monitor. "How do you know what they're telling you to do is dumb?"

"'cos it iz," Zarok says happily.

He had to leave, so this next part is later...got no clue how much later, but whatever...

Redwall : Gatehouse proper.  :)

Oz doesn't come in here very often, but once in a while he does. Today he is looking for something that was brought here few weeks ago, he sighs and finally finds it, a white colored staff a mouse could use, oddly the staff is made of metal, not all wood like most, he sits down holding it for a while before muttering, "This belongs..elsewhere, put away somewhere"

The door to the loft opens, and DoraRose comes down the ladder, the cradleboard basket thing on her back. She smiles at the badger. "Well, hello, Oz. That's a lovely staff...a bit small for you, but nice, all the same." She looks out the window at the dreary sky, then sets the cradleboard on the floor, leaning against a locker. The twin baby mice stare solemnly at Oz, very curious, indeed. Their mother drags a tub full of water and some golden stuff over to a chair and sits down in the chair, reaches into the water, and pulls out a long straw braid and begins to plait, getting more straw out of the water as needed, letting the braid fall back into the water as she slowly makes it longer. "Are you alright, Oz? Do you want to talk about something?"

Oz looks up and offers a smile "Greetings Dorarose, oh the staff it belonged to Maxtor I am placeing it elsewhere for safe keeping" He glaces at the dibbuns and smiles "Your dibbuns look to be doing well, I am sorry I have not came to see them and the one time I did guess it wasn't the best time to. I am doing well, better than the last time I saw you."

DoraRose smiles gently and continues plaiting the straw. "I'm glad you have something to remember him by. I am so sorry. Benar told me. I understand, at least a little." She glances at her children. "Would you like to hold them now?"

Oz lays the staff down for now and walks over "I guess...something came over me when you first handed one of the dibbuns to me that day, Maxtor was half a season old when I found and adopted him, a little older than my...son my mate and I had, this all many seasons ago before i even knew of Redwall or Mossflower even, a story for another day unless I have told it before." He smiles then, "I will hold one now, if allowed"

DoraRose lets the braid of straw drop back into the water and gets Caleb out of the cradleboard and hands him to Oz. "Here. I hope he doesn't cry."

Oz carefully holds the dibbun and smiles, he has held lots of dibbuns so he is use to it,"Greetings Caleb" He says softly as he looks down at the small dibbun.

Emmit pokes his long, proud nose in, "Hello, there you are. I've been trapasing around all over looking for you. I'm supposed to give you lot cordial."

DoraRose cocks an eyebrow. "Um, thanks. Please, come in." she smiles and starts braiding the straw again. "Does cordial have alcohol in it?"

Oz glances at Emmit as he comes in, he carefully rocks the dibbun Caleb, "I am not really thirsty right now"

Emmit chuckles, "No madam, its just fruit juice for the most part, madam."

Emmit give a cherry cordail to Dora Rose.

DoraRose accepts the cordial, then sighs as LilyMoore starts crying, and that, of course, spurs Caleb to start fussing. Taking the male mouse and putting him back into the cradleboard, she puts the board onto her back and turns to go up into the loft. "It was good to see you. Thank you for the cordial and for the visit. Would you mind putting my tub back where I go it from, Oz? Good day." she hastily exits, before the babies go to full-out vocal extremes.

Thanks for reading!