The Fox..Again...Wait What Did Zinnia Just Say?
RW Abbey: Graveyard
This is a small natural clearing in the forest growth. Ancient trees tower over the area, arching over to make an interlaced roof on the clearing, keeping the area dark and shaded through the day and night. The floor is bare except for some small plants and forest mulch. As an entrance to this place, there are two large oaks that have branches that grew together to form a natural arch. At the foot of the largest one, between the roots, a fresh mound has been dug. In the clearing there are small patches of freshly turned earth, and rocks lining a few of them. A burial ground. In the shadows of this place, there is silence for the dead.
Exits: [O]pen [G]round
Zinnia is in the graveyard, she has not been here since Lorimis funeral, yes she was not here when her father had his, she was locked in a room, that she herself locked and refusing to come out and now after nearly 3 weeks she finally comes slowly into the graveyard and looks around.
She is not alone.
At least in the physical sense. Given a few days to recover from his ordeal Rascal is starting to look healthy again. His fur isn't as messy and his bandage is now small enough to be barely noticeable under his tunic. The red fox is trotting his way down the different isles of the graveyard, trending peacefully on hallowed ground while noisily chomping down a small basket full of grapes.
As it turned out, the Redwallers had food here! Fish, stew, grapes! Lovely grapes! Rascal LOVES GRAPES. He almost purrs as he eats, if he could of course, purr
Zinnia turns and glares at the fox and issues a low growl. She then finds the grave she was seeking and looks down at it. Normally a best be crying or sobbing now but she seems to not be and she seems to not be feeling anything right now as she reads the name quietly.
The fox had not been expecting the badger to growl at him. He had not been expecting the badger at ALL! And so he inadvertently inhales the grape in his muzzle, which leads to it becoming lodged in his throat just above the wind pipe. The fox gasps once, then twice. The grapes fall out of his paw as he attempts to beat his chest with his fists. He opens his mouth to call for help but nothing comes out.
Zinnia stands there and watches the fox, she then speaks in a flat tone “This is no place to..eat food" She shakes her head and stays where she is. Gee this be a interesting place for the fox to die, they could just cover him with dirt and be done with it
And doesn't he realize it! The fox frantically points to his throat, coughing and gagging. The skin under his red fur is turning rather...blue. He continues to beat at his chest with no avail. His eyes begin to roll upward as he collapses onto his knees and doubles over, his rump sticking up in the air in a most disgraceful manor as his face plants into the dirt.
Zinnia narrows her eyes, she starts to leave and then walks over to the fox and goes to slap him on the back a couple times to see if that helps him, she says nothing and doesn't growl, she just goes to try this and if it doesn't work...well, she will just walk away .
Such a nice person. She is clearly a beast of the abbey...
The fox coughs once, twice, thrice and the grape comes out freely. Rascal leans backward onto his haunches, taking a deep breath. He begins to cough again, his eyes watering. A single paw goes to pat the badger on the shoulder...or perhaps he just can't find her neck to throttle her for taking so long. It's not very clear which he is trying to do until he manages to regain his composure, "I...I'm alive! ALIVE!" The fox's eyes dilate as if given an almost divine revelation. "I saw...I saw my life flash before my eyes. It was unbelievably short...and involved a lot of gambling...and eating. And funny hats..."
Zinnia shakes her head, "Whatever..." She says in a flat tone and goes back to the grave she was at before and traces a name with her finger,=Zork Winters= and stares at the grave. But no tears come, she has forced them back so much they refuse to come now, no frown and just flat emotionless right now. Silent also, least for now.
The fox however is not to be denied his life changing moment! He gets up quickly and bounds after the badger. "B-but you don't understand! You saved my /life/ aside from my fuzzy tail my /life/ is my most precious possession! I am in your debt now! And a life debt must not be taken lightly!" The fox stands ridged, "What is your wish, just name it. You want a new coat, just name it. You want a bowl of stew, just say the word, you want a beast wacked, just point to where you want them buried. You want a new piece of furniture..." and he rambles on like so.
Zinnia may be listening or may not be, it's hard to tell as she just places a paw on the grave and just stares at it quietly, for the longest time she stands there unmoving and the only movement the wind causes, she finally speaks in her flat emotionless tone, "What I want...you can’t give me....”
The fox passes his gaze from the badger to the tomb stone. "I see..." Rubbing his fuzzy chin the fox begins to pace around the grave, arms folded behind his back. "I' afraid resurrection is a bit out of my skill level." The fox taps his paw on the ground as he comes up to the grave from the other side, resting his chin on it almost like a sorrowful wide eyed puppy. "Surely there must be something I can do to repay you though! I'm thankful! Really! I don't want to be in his possion...whoever this is...relative I'm guessing?"
Zinnia listens and then turns to look at him, yeah she must be totally losing it to say the next few words, "Stab me...I won't cry for help or anything." Said in an eerie calm tone. WAIT what?? Did she just say..isn’t she supposed to go somewhere...ummm.
Anomen walks in about this time and catches what was said and frowns, he has no clue who this fox is, or what was said before this but he now gets himself in-between the two and glares at the fox, "Yeah do that and die on the spot fox!"
The fox's ears stand strait up. Then narrow back to flatten against his skull. For once he seems at a loss for words. Especially after the squirrel enters the mix. Then his eyes narrow and all humor leaves, fleeing the terrible scolding look he gives both beasts.
Arms folded behind his back the fox side steps gently around the grave and approaches the squirrel, then keeps approaching until they are muzzle to muzzle, then he leans forward, like a school teacher peering at two unruly students. First to Anomen then to Zinnia. With little warning he turns promptly away from either beast without saying a word.
Zinnia blinks "Anomen?" She asks slowly, seeming a little surprised he is here, but then surprise leaves just as fast. She stares back at the fox quietly and is silent, so silent.
Anomen glares at the fox "What is going on here fox?" He said demanding now. “Whats this about stabbing?"
The fox seems to pause and sigh. "Of course you only heard that part." He turns and points to the grave in front of Zinnia, "Ask that fellow. I'm sure you can piece it together from there." The fox turns to leave, his debt repaid in his own mind. He may not be able to bring a badger back to life, but he can alert others to the need of getting help to one that isn't dead.
Zinnia just stands there and watches the fox leave.
Anomen walks over to the badger maid “Are you ok Sister Zinnia?”
Zinnia shrugs, she looks down at the ground not really answering him as she stands quietly.
Anomen frowns “Why did you say stab to him?”
Zinnia looks up at him slowly and answers flatly “Cause I did…ok.”
Anomen keeps his frown, “I..don’t think Zork would like to hear you say something like that.”
Zinnia just walks out of the graveyard “Leave me…alone” Her tone has no emotion at all, and said in a whisper as she goes off towards her room.
RW Abbey: Recorder's Room
This is a moderately sized room. A small bed sits in the corner; it
is nothing special and has obviously been repaired once or twice.
The mattress is comfortable, but not particularly thick. The sheets
are standard and one blanket is folded up at the bottom of the bed.
There is a small desk in one corner, which is covered in parchments,
some stacked and blank and others scattered and used. Next to the
desk, a low bookshelf lines the wall. It is filled with old-looking
tomes, no doubt records past bound and ordered. A small trunk sits
at the foot of the bed, and it is locked. There is a single window,
no more than a slit of a thing, six inches wide at most, and it
spills a sliver of light into the room during the day. A flowerpot
sits on the narrow windowsill.
Exits: [Hall]way
Anomen follows her “Sister Zinnia wait!”
Zinnia gets to her room and slams the door in his face, a click is heard…clearly she just locked the door.
Anomen frowns as he steps back away from the door and then speaks loud enough for her to hear him” Sister Zinnia please listen, your friends want to help you, please let someone help you”
“No one can help me go away!!!!!” She yells loudly and then goes quiet as she lays down and pulls the covers over her head, silent she lays there and soon falls asleep
Anomen sighs outside the doorway and then after a short while walks off elsewhere in the abbey.
