Revenge needs silence!! or The kitten finds out Oz's secret

From Redwall MUCK Wiki


RW Abbey: Badger Mother's Room


The room you enter is rather neat and almost spartanly furnished, quite a visual contrast if you entered from the cluttered Dibbun's room adjacent.  The warm red of the sandstone walls is the primary motif, broken in only a few places.  There's a small leaded glass window for light, a bed (rather massive, which might give one a hint at it's occupant) with a coverlet of brightly dyed and woven cloth and a small table with a chair; this is holding a small pile of books and papers, a candle in it's holder and a couple odd Dibbun toys that ended up there somehow.  The only real ornament in the room is a middle sized, carefully framed parchment: a charcoal and ink drawing of some group or family of badgers.

Exits: [Hall]way, [D]ibbuns' [A]rea

Contents:

Matthias and Methuselah Bells

Friends: Blisa the cat and Ferdinand the ferret. Oz the badger. Benar the squirrel.

Blisa is in a horrible, nasty, rotten mood. Ever since Thursday, when she found out that Ragg used to work for Stormfeather, she's been trying to plot how to kill him. Note the key word: TRYING. Ferdinand, who knows her very well, has been almost unceasing in his micro-lectures on forgiveness and love and how to be a good leader and yadda yadda yadda. She wishes he would /shut up/ and let her, y'know, plot her revenge. So, today, she has given him the slip (which is rather surprising...the ferret knows almost every trick that she can think up) and is now wandering the Abbey, curious and explorative. She gently pushes the door to the Badger Mother's (and Father's) room open and peeks inside, curiosity chasing the storm clouds from her face...for the most part.

Oz hears the door open, assuming its Leon he sighs, "Go away Leon, just leave me alone" He says quietly, he is laying down on his bed, a Sister Mary is caring for the dibbuns today, not that she choose to she was sort of made to, he sighs and looks at the wall, the only light in here is the oil lamp right now.

Blisa quietly pads over to the badger's side and looks curiously into his face. "Why don't you like Leon anymore? I thought he was our friend. And why do you have it so dark in here? Is that why you didn't realize it was me? Do you think Ferdy will find me in here? Your room is kind of hard to find."

Oz turns and faces the dibbun, "I..course I still like Leon, I just didnt want to talk to him today, talked enough last night." He sighs, he is not even sure what time of day it is, "Is it daytime or night time still and yeah its a little dark in here, it's ok dont need alot of light Blisa" He smiles softly, "Good to see you and you shouldnt worry your body guard"

Blisa wrinkles her nose. "If you like Leon, how come you want him to leave you alone? And of course it's daytime, silly badger. If you stay in the dark like this, you'll hurt your eyes....especially if you try to read." She crawls up into the Badger Father's lap and continues her stream of words. "I'm trying to plot my revenge on that stupid weasel, what's-his-name, Ragg, and Ferdy won't shut up about love and forgiveness and not holding grudges and being a good leader and stuff like that. What's the best way to kill somebeast?"

Oz frowns, "Why kill? Killing is wrong and Ragg is not evil, he even helped us a couple times with food and water in the cells, I remember" He sighs and lets the oil lamp be brighter and blinks a little moving away from it, "Do not think on killing, what would your father think?"

Blisa crosses her arms and hmmphs. "He worked for Stormfeather! That's why I need to kill him! He deserves it! He worked for Stormfeather! And I never saw him help us!" she pouts a little. "Why does everybeast bring Daddy into it?"

Oz sighs, "Beasts can change, Flicktail use to be bad and he changed and now is good and the protector of Redwall and I.." He frowns "I saw him help once, Ragg that is." He rubs his forehead as he has a small headache and looks around the room squinting some.

"What? What did Ragg do that helped?" Blisa demands, glaring callenging up into the badger's eyes, to upset to ask why he was squinting.

Oz backs up a little and blinks a little, "Blisa dear not so close ok...and he did bring food and I think he may of been one to give the abbey an idea where we were." He shades his face from the oil lamp light as he is right next to it now.

Blisa jumps down and faces the wall, her shoulders quivering. "But you don't know, do you?" she shouts, her paws clenched into fists as tears fall down her face. "I made a promise, alright? I promised myself that if I ever got out of there, I'd get my revenge! I can't kill Stormfeather, but I /can/ kill his cronies!"

Oz sighs and gets up to stop the dibbun from jumping up and down and it's not helping his vision any to see her jumping up and down, she was slightly blurry and now she is very blurry, "Please stop...his henchmen are long gone and Ragg has changed, I have seen it. You should never think on killing a beast, its wrong to take a life and wrong to have revenge, I know its hard, I wanted revenge on Marek but I had to clear my mind and maybe I can help you, my father, well one that adopted me..taught me something called medatation.." He blinks a few times and groans, headache.." Stop your..." He shakes his head.

Blisa stands still and sniffs, trying very hard to stop crying. "What does meditation mean? she wipes her nose on her sleeve. Eew.

Oz smiles as she stops, "Its a form of..relaxing and clearing the mind, it helps to..relieve stress or ill feelings, it has helped me some today with some..stress I have"

Blisa finally looks up at the badger, her brow wrinkled slightly. "What have you got to be stressed about? Are you okay, Oz?"

Oz frowns, "I..it's nothing for a dibbun to worry on" He goes to adjust the oil lamp again and jerks his paw back as he burnt it slightly, he glaces at his paw closely and holds it away from his face tilting his head, its only slightly burnt,mostly a little burnt off fur, "Well..that hurt, but it's fine"

Blisa frowns and goes around to try and get in front of Oz, gently tugging on his clothes. "What's wrong? Please tell me. I'm tired of beasts treating me like I'm not smart or like I'm a little bitty baby. Please tell me. I wanna know. You were one of my only friends in that creepy cell. Please tell me what's wrong."

Oz smiles "I am still your friend and that cell was horrible, I was there alot longer than you or Leon, you guys were there, what..couple weeks, try over a season in that place, and how he even captured me." He frowns , "But details are not good, I already got mad at someone else for, wasn't his fault I felt like I was reliving it, he was only worried about me and..." He sighs and lays down again "He knew...Zork knew and now he left and it's my fault" He gets tears and seems to care less what he mutters now, "My brother who knows where and I was the one that told him to leave, didnt mean too I was just upset and then Leon confirms my fear..." He closes his eyes, "Going to not be able to see snow..or anything, things are already blurry and can't see at night hardly..won't see at all soon"

Blisa forgets her problems (and what she thinks is a problem) and tries to hold Oz's paw. "I'm sorry, Papa. I didn't know. Have you told any beast? I'm sure DoraRose and Flicktail and some others would probably look for Zork. It'll be alright. Don't cry. Please. It'll be okay." she looks like she's going to start crying herself if she's not careful.

Oz shakes his head, "No, only Leon knows I am.." He sighs, "Going Blind." He finishes as he speaks softly, "And I don't know where Zork is, hard to tell by now"

"You should tell your friends." Blisa states matter-of-factly. "And I'm sure if you asked real nicely, they'll look for Zork. I'm sure he's fine. He's a warrior, right? They're usually pretty good at protecting themselves."

Oz manages a chuckle, "If any evil beast messes with Zork well....it wouldnt be wise to, no I am just afraid he may not come back and I would miss him"

Blisa thinks for a moment, then snaps her fingers (which is a new skill she has picked up). "Maybe if you sent a letter with each of the searchers, saying you're sorry and really, really want Zork to come back, maybe he will! And I can help you write it!"

Oz rubs his eyes, one cause of tears and another they hurt slightly, "I..that would be nice, if they find him he is not one to leave a trail thats easy to find"

Blisa claps happily and starts looking for writing materials...without asking. "You might have to help me spell some words. And I'll need more light. Oo! We could blindfold you, and then I could have all the light I need, but it wouldn't hurt your eyes!" A knock sound sounds from the door, and the kitten squeaks in a very un-cat-like manner and ducks under the bed as the knocker calls through the door, "Blitha? Are you in there?" Yes, ma'am, Ferdinand has found the runaway kitten. She's, like, doomed now.

Oz chuckles "I will not worry on the light...sunlight is alot brighter and.." He blinks "Who is it?" He calls out, it's not like the door is locked.

Ferdinand swallows. He didn't realize that this was Oz's room. He takes a deep breath and calls through the wooden door, "It'th me, Ferdinand. Ith Blitha in there?"

Oz calls out "You can enter." He hates to see a worried bodyguard and it's not like him...or the kitten, can hide away in here all day anyways, he is sitting up again and looks around for paper and something to write with, then again Blisa probablly has that, he clears off a desk and blinks at a picture and holds it out to look at him and smiles a little as he puts it on another shelf nearby.

Ferdinand opens the door and glares at the few hiding places in the room. "Alright, Blitha. Reveal yourthelf." The kitten groans and crawls out from under the bed, the paper in her paws slightly crumpled, an ashamed look on her face. The ferret crosses his arms. "You had me very worried, young lady. Why do you have thome of Thir Othz'th paper?" She cuffs the floor with her foot. "I was gonna help him write a letter."

Oz speaks "It is alright, she can have paper and help me a little, and she is safe in here, not to worry, me and her was just chatting about some things"

Ferdinand narrows his eyes, then nods and relaxes. "Would you like my help? I'm good at writing letterth....many have thaid that y writing ith the betht they have ever theen."

Oz chuckles, he rubs his forehead, there is more light now but he decides to let it stay, Blisa needs the light right now.

Blisa smiles and tugs Ferdinand over to the table. "Yes, please help, Ferdy! We're writign a letter for searchers to carry to Zork so he'll come back!" she scrambles up to the tabletop and gets ready to write. The ferret smiles and does as he is bid. "What ith the letter thuppothed to thay?"

Oz sighs, he shrugs "I don't know. don't know where Zork would of went, maybe North or...in the woods"

Blisa blinks. "But what does the /letter/ need to say? I think you should say that you're sorry and you want him to come back."

Oz nods "Yes something along those lines and maybe mention" He frowns, "Well maybe I should mention that,I don't know..not even told anyone else..yet, well Leon and..Blisa so far"

Ferdinand glances up. "Told her what?" Blisa looks down and writes, "Dear Zork" on the first piece of paper in her little stack.

Oz doesn't answer that, he accidently let it slip what Leon mentioned, "Nothing"He mutters, "Not your concern"

There is a knock on the door and then Benar sticks his head inside, "Oz... are you in here?"

Blisa looks up, aghast. "Papa Oz! Ferdy needs to know! I'm not suppossed to keep secrets from him!" Her words die in her mouth as Benar sticks his head in. She slides off the table as Ferdinand stands, letting the squirrel have the chair.

Oz sighs, Blisa was fine, and Ferdinand was simply looking for the kitten so it made since, he at first seems to not want to answer Benar at all and stays silent as he looks over at the ferret and kitten by the desk, he frowns as it's a little hard to see them but it's fine and the oil lamp makes a good amount of light, more than he wished to have right now, but it was needed for a letter, he clears his throat finally "Yeah..I am"

Benar asks, "Secrets?" he asks with a smile as he moves further into the room, "What secrets would those be Blisa? You are right no one should keep secrets amongst friends." he looks at Oz and makes his way over toward him."

Blisa keeps cool and smiles brightly. "You'll have to ask Oz." Ferdinand sits on the floor and thinks, then begins to write on a piece of paper. The kitten peeks over his shoulder, then begins to copy whatever he is writing.

Oz sighs, "None of your.." He frowns, "Fine..I had a, may as well say forced chat with Leon, I could of easily opened the library door and moved him, but choose not to, I put up with a quick exam from the healer and then came here and sorry for not being out of the room today had some...wanted time alone"

Benar sighs and stops by Oz then hugs him tightly, "Was it about your eyes Oz? You know ... if you need stronger glasses there is no shame in that." he smiles then reaches down to pat Blisa's head and smiles at Ferdinand too, "Have you two been keeping our papa company?"

Oz sighs, "It would do no good Benar, Glasses wouldnt help prevent whats happening, what...will happen in maybe a season or less he..he doesnt know when"

Blisa lays her ears down as her head gets patted, btu she decides to not get upset about it. The two young ones nods and continue writing, though Ferdinand is mostly paying attention to what the adults are saying.

Benar frowns at Oz for a moment then realisation dawns, "You mean you are losing your sight completely? Oh Oz that is terrible news."

Ferdinand raises both eyebrows and purses his lips. Ahh....so that's why Blisa called it a secret. That makes sense...

Oz frowns and nods slowly, fine now more knows but he is ok with that he needs friends right now more than ever, "By winter...most likely" He then is silent and adds, "And one beast that needs to know has left and...I fear it's probablly my fault for snapping at him as I did, I didnt mean for him to..leave for real,"

Benar asks, "WHo has left?" he frowns, "Zork?" he hazards a guess frowning worriedly, tail dancing from side to side as he considers the implications of this."

Blisa looks up and nods, a little too happy for the moment. "Ferdy and I are helping Papa Oz write letters to send with every member of the search party so that Zork, when they find him, will know that Oz is sorry and wants him to come back." Ferdinand smiles and nods, then goes back to composing the letter.

Oz frowns "I am not worried for his well being so much as...he is a good fighter, but I know not where he would go or if he would allow himself to get into trouble cause of this, don't want him looking for battle."

Benar says, "I am sure he has just gone up to Ferravale or maybe down to Brockhall Oz, I am sure he will be home soon you will see.""

Ferdinand and Blisa go back to their letters, and are quiet.

Oz nods "I am sure he is fine but,..I didnt mean to yell at him and feel terrible when he was trying to help me and he was worried about me..I am going to need all the friends and my brother during this time and.." He sighs "I will try and not feel helpless and worthless"

Benar shakes his head and lays a hand on Oz's arm again, "We will all be here for you Oz, you'll see, do not fear that we will leave you."

Oz frowns, he does his best to hold back any tears, he is one that doesnt show tears, he will cry but once he is by himself, "But..I am going blind what..what use will I be.." He has tried to not think this, Leon said he still be dibbun caretaker and would do good..he wipes an eye a little, "Things are blurry now some and at night I may as well be blind already, light hurts my eyes a little, somewhat less now and its hard to see unless something or somrone is close to me, I..I didnt want to tell anyone at first"

Benar squeezes Oz's arm, "just because you are going to be blind does not mean you will not be able to help Oz. Mother Cregga was blind.... Recorder Simeon was blind as well...."

Blisa looks up, looking like she's about to cry. Ferdinand wraps his arm around her and squeezes, listening more closely now.

Oz shrugs, "A recorder...how...and Cregga.."Yeah he has heard of them, he goes to pull away from Benar.."Get away.." He mutters and then relizes what he just said, "No..I'm sorry..d..d.ont go away, please don't" His vision gets blinded by tears, he lets them come and doesnt seem to care, he isnt sure they are still in the room even any more.

Benar says, "Hmnmm maybe he wasn't recorder... I think he was a herbalist... but he is famous in our works for being wise and noble and aiding the abbey in times of need even with him being blind."

Blisa stands up and walks over to the badger to hug him. "It's okay, Oz. I'm right here. It'll be alright." A few tears escape her eyes, and she quickly wipes them away.

Oz reaches out to know Benar is there and goes to hug him, he smiles as Blisa hugs him, "I am...glad for friends being near me and staying, I just hope Zork comes back soon, he..he should be told that I am going blind"

Benar says, "He will be back soon I promise, I'll talk to the Abbot, see if we can send out some bird messengers to look for him""

Blisa raises her paw. "Not until we've finished the letter!" "Here," Ferdinand holds out his letter, in its royal looking script. The jist of the letter says that Oz is sorry and wants his brother to come back, and would feell lost without Zork. "All it needth ith your thigniature."

Oz squints, great..ok he can still write but has to tilt his head some before he does so, once done he steps back, he sighs "According to Leon, forgot which now, one eye is in worse shape than the other so..part of the trouble guess"

Benar nods his head and frowns, "Well we will do what we can to help you Oz and to see that you are able to carry on with your duty."

Ferdinand smiles a little. "And tho will Blitha and I, until we leave to go back to Ferravale."

Oz nods "I..have my staff, the one I used when my knee was brothering me and most likely will when its colder, I can remember how far to different rooms as well,..just will take getting use to"

Benar nods his head and frowns, "Well Oz we will do all we can to make it easier foryou"

Blisa yawns and curls up. Ferdinand sighs, then scoops her up into his arms. "I need to take her for a nap. Good day. I hope you do better thoon, Othz." and they slip out the door.

Thanks for reading!

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