The Guard and the Chieftan have a chat... or The bullies get their just desserts....and this has nothing to do with food. Sorry.
This is kind of a continuation of the log where the bully/harasser got BUSTED [ http://rwmuck.limitless.org/rwmuck/content/oh-yeah-bully-just-got-busted ]. :) BIC:
FV:Town Hall:Chieftain's Office
This is an office where the Chieftain does some of his work. A large desk sits in the room and has varies important papers on it. A chair is by the desk and a window looks outside.
Exits: [H]olding [C]ell, [B]ack
Friends:Scioto the cat. Ferdinand the ferret and Blisa the cat. Raymond the wildcat. The bullies (huge male fox, female rat, male rat, male stoat, male weasel, vixen). Darkwatcher the fox. Dethwing the crow. Simon the squirrel.
Scioto sits at his desk, so far today has been a slow day which in his mind is good, he glances around his office as he sits in his chair.
A soft knock sounds on the door, then an exasperated sigh can be heard and a young female voice snaps out, "Oh, good grief, Ferdy! Daddy said to meet him here, and besides, I'm his daughter! I can go in and out however I please." This might not be exactly true, but Blisa thinks it is. She opens the door, stalks across the room and plops down on the floor in the far corner. Ferdinand sheepishly follows, a haversack on his back. Glancing nervously at his boss, he smiles slightly and gently places the haversack in his charges' lap, then goes and sits in a chair opposite Scioto. The kitten promptly opens the sack and pulls out drawing supplies.
Scioto looks up when he hears the voices and starts to say enter but doesn't get the chance as the door opens and he sighs a little, he nods a hello "Greetings" He says calmly.
Blisa looks up from her drawing and cheerily chirps, "Hi, Daddy. Don't mind me, I'll just be drawing. Ferdy doesn't trust any of the other guards with my safety." Ferdinand gives an exasperated sigh, the turns to the Chieftain. "Good day, Thir. At leatht, I hope it'th been a good day for you. Did you want to talk about thomething?" Like the ferret doesn't know...he's just trying to be polite.
Scioto waits till the ferret finishes and speaks. "Raymond, can be trusted..have you spoken to him on matters of the other guards or least the ones who have been troublesome? Raymond is the head guard after all and have there been any other problems with the small group thats been giving you problems?"
Ferdinand swallows. Scioto gets right to the point, doesn't he? "Uh...um..." the ferret can't hold eye contact and so looks at the top of the desk. "No, Thir, I haven't. I...I didn't think it wath nethethary to thpeak to anybeatht about them harrathing me..." he starts scratching an imaginary thing off the desktop. "Problemth? Do you mean before or after you found out about it, Thir?"
Scioto speaks further, "I know of the before as you have spoken of it, I mean the after, I am guessing its just the 3 or 4 thats doing it or had done it, am I right?"
Ferdinand nods slightly, still picking at the invisible object on the desk. "The rat hath left me alone, and her brother hath, too, but the other 4 are thtill bugging me." He looks up, worry suddenly creasing his forehead. "I'm really not ath worried about me, Thir, ath I am about Blitha. The alwayth thtandth up for me, and I'm afraid the'th going to get hurt. And they are doing it when the'th around more and more often. And the'th thtarting to have nightmareth about it."
Scioto hmmmms softly, "Maybe its time to have a long talk with them, to let them know if they keep doing this or if either one of you is hurt, they will answer to me and trust me, they do not want to answer to me, it will most likely not go well...for them"
Ferdinand smiles slightly and looks back down at his lap. "Do think it would help, Thir?" He starts picking at a snagged string, frowns at it, the draws a little knife and cuts it off.
Scioto says, "If they care about their jobs it will, if they dont they can leave as I can always get more trustworthy guards if needed"
Ferdinand nods and sheaths his knife. "They're all on duty right now, Thir. They're good fighterth, they're jutht mean." Blisa in the corner sneezes and hollers as she somehow knees herself in the face. Rubbing her cheek, she scowls, then forces a smile. "I'm alright, don't worry! Everything's fine!" scowling again, she turns back to her drawing and rubs the charcoal with a vengeance...and her sleeve. Oh, well. It can be washed.
Scioto nods" We do need good fighters, tell them to start behaving them selfs or simply patrol a diffent area than them as cant all be in the same area of the village anyways"
Ferdinand frowns at Blisa, then sighs, deciding to not try to teach her manners right now. "Are you wanting to talk to them right now, Thir? Do you want me to be here for that? Y'know what, never mind. It'th none of my buithneth." Blisa has fineshed rubbing and now goes back to drawing.
Scioto raises an eyebrow "What? Has something else happen I need to know about?"
Ferdinand shakes his head. "No, Thir, other than harrathing me, they haven't done anything that I'm aware of, I jutht thought that maybe I thouldn't be in here while you talk to them...it, well, I don't know, it might go badly for me. Before..." he hesitates, swallows, then plunges ahead. "Before I came here, back where I wath born, I told thomeone about the creatureth there harathing me, and after they were repramanded, they came after me and....and beat me up. I think I would /die/ if thomething happened to Blitha, Thir!" He is now looking steadily into Scioto's eyes, worry and fear the most predominant emotions in his eyes. "If I wathn't here, they might think that Blitha told you, and tho won't do anything. But if I wath here, they would know that I told you, and...." he doesn't finish his sentence, and probably doesn't have to.
Scioto folds his paws on his desk as he debates what to do, "Do you think they..would harm her if they think only she told or be afraid to harm her?"
"Be afraid to. Abtholutely. You thcare them, Thir." Ferdinand says with definite certainty, with no trace of doubt. "They would never hurt her. Me, on the other paw...." he hesitates. "They might accidentally hurt her while trying to get to me, but they would try not to. I'm jutht afraid that if they hurt me, the'll go after them."
Scioto nods "Just so they dont still try and hurt you and she..gets involved"
Ferdinand nods. "Tho thould I not be here when you talk to them, Thir? I'll take Blitha to the pond or back home or thomething."
Scioto nods "Alright"
Ferdinand nods and stands. "I'll leave now with your permithion, Thir. Thank...thank you." he smiles slightly, then puts the haversack on his back and scoops Blisa up into his arms as she continues to draw.
Raymond peeks his head in as the two leave, he nods and looks to Scioto, "Sir.." He says and stands till he is told to sit.
Scioto nods, he looks at Raymond "You can sit, or stand its up to you Raymond."
Ferdinand and Blisa have been gone for a while before the murmer of voices can be heard again. The only clear words that are heard are, "I wonder why Scioto wants to see us?" before a large muscular male fox opens the door. And by large, I mean /huge/. Seriously, he can barely fit through the doorway. He flushes, and a look of panic enters his face. "Sir! Uh...I'm sorry, Sir, I thougth there was another halway before you're office, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir. Um...uh...." "Did you just enter his office without permission?!" a female voice harshly whispers behind the fox, and he turns even redder.
Raymond looks to the beasts that enter and folds his arms over his chest, he holds back saying anything as it is Scioto's office and not his, he waits to say anything and stands by Scioto now.
Scioto glares at the guards as they enter, "You will enter now and sit" He says in a tone of better listen now, "And it seems you have been causeing trouble with fellow guards, I frown upon this, explain your selfs now and not later" He waits for them to speak.
The huge fox gulps and manages to shove his large frame through the doorway and sits in a chair that was definitely not made for creatures his size. Next comes the female rat from the tavern, and upon seeing Raymond she gives a muffled shriek and looks sick. She sits in the corner. A male rat that looks strikingly similar to the first rat enters next, gulps, and sits beside the ratess. A male stoat with an eyepatch and a dim-looking male stoat enter next and sit down by the window. The last creature to enter is a beautiful vixen, who smiles dazzlingly and sits directly in front of Scioto. She is the one to speak, with a smooth, silky voice, "Trouble? We do not mean to cause trouble, Sir Scioto. Why would we want to do that? Sure, we might've chastised somebeast, but intentionally cause trouble? Surely not." The female rat looks even sicker with each word the vixen says, and the rat beside her (who is presumably her brother) is starting to look a little ill now, too.
Raymond keeps his cool, yes he can speak later no need to now, he places his paws behind his back and for now lets Scioto do the talking, it appears he will stay here.
Scioto looks at each beast, "Someone has informed me...that you guys have said and done some mean things to Ferdinand and not just recently, for a while now and they thought I should be told so it doesnt happen again or I may be replaceing some guards and I rather not replace guards, so..do expain yourselfs"
The jaws of all the guards drop slightly...except for one. The ratess Jumps up and shrieks, "I KNEW IT!! I knew Blisa would tell! But did you listen to me?! Of course not!!" She starts to cry, and her brother stands up and places a paw on her shoulder, but she breaks away and rushes to Sciotot's side. Pointing an accusing finger at the vixen, she shouts hysterically, "It was her idea! She told us that joining her in making fun of Ferdinand would get us into higher positions as guards! It was her idea! I swear!" Her brother begins to nod vigorously. "Yes, it was! Honest!"
Raymond ears go flat on his head, "You will not shout in this office and things of that matter will get no one promoted, more like de moted or least ya should be all demoted but that decsion is not totally up ta me." He stops and looks at Scioto to see his reaction and stands a little taller and more at attention now.
Scioto takes a deep breath, he stays oddly calm "I do not care whos idea it was, if it keeps happening all of you will be out of a job, I will not have this sort of thing happening among my guards, you all need to work together and Raymond is right I have the final say so in what happens or dont happen to you and weather you keep your jobs or you dont, I do know you are good fighters"
A voice comes from the door. "And don't think you can get away with anything when their backs are turned. They aren't the only ones watching." Darkwatcher stands cloaked in the doorway, essentially inviting himself in and leaning casually against the wall of the room. "I saw you doing it and I have eyes everywhere. So don't just be wary of our dear friend the Chief's beasts..._Nothing_ you do will be hidden from _anybeast_. This is not a threat...it is a statement of fact. Watch yourselves. You won't be the only ones who are doing so." Meanwhile a cough and sneeze from the back of the room reveals that Simon had been here for quite some time, but hadn't said much until now. He must've slipped in past the troublemakers. He's been writing furiously and the sudden noise was a reaction to the unexpected appearance of Darkwatcher. He angrily strikes out a few lines on the parchment he holds arrayed in his lap and begins again after re-inking his pen.
At the sight of Darkwatcher, the female rat, already on high nerves, screams and faints. Her brother hollers and rushes to her side, checking to make sure she's alright. The stoat frowns as he thinks, which for him is a Herculean task. "So....we /shouldn't/ pick on others?" The vixen, looking around wildly, manages to stutter out, "Tha--that's not true! We--I'd--I would /never/! Right?!" she turns and whacks the huge fox on the arm, and he jumps. "Um....uh....y--yeah, sure, um....I thhink...." the eyepatch weasel, meanwhile, is busy trying to explain the situation to his friend the stoat. It doesn't seem to be happening.
Raymond crosses his arms as he stands there, he would say more but a knock on the door and a ferret peeks in "Your needed in the tavern Raymond" The wildcat nods and shakes his head as he heads off, Scioto can handle the rest of the meeting and update him later.
Scioto growls low and raises his voice" Enough!" Yeah he probally echoed in the room as he looks at the beasts there and doesnt nod to Raymond leaving, yeah he knows he left but he is focused on the trouble makers, " You lie vixen" He says and looks at the fainted rat and takes a few calming breaths, "I should think of a fitting punishment for all of you."
"Can I give a few suggestions?," Darkwatcher says innocently, his eyes clearly stating that his few suggestions will leave few survivors. Yeah, he's acting a bit, but why not? He hasn't played the enforcer in quite some time...Behind his mask, he grins evilly, even though nobeast can see it. "Yeah, conefaces, what he said. You lie. And somebeast go whack that idiot of a rat before he gets stepped on." Simon meanwhile is writing furiously, recording every last bit of this in fine, curling script.
The weasel wines slightly, covering the stoats mouth roughly. "Aw, Sir, please don't punish me matey 'here. 'E's not the brightest beast of us, 'e didn't know what 'e was a-doin' was wrong. And that thar vixen threatened the 2 of us and them rats. We was scared, Sir! Well, at least me and my matey were..." The vixen starts to edge towards the window, panic starting to flood her face. "I'm not lying, they are! Honest!" The hulking fox nods hesitently. "Uh, um, yeah, she's right, these squirts are lyin'. Yeah..."
Scioto narrows his eyes, he growls yeah he is at the point where he is past just a little angry, he watches the Vixen, "Vixen if ya DARE leave.." He don't finish that sentence and looks at Darkwatcher for ideas, hmmm is that wise?
"Then I'll use you for target practice," Darkwatcher promptly finishes. "Or I'll set my bird on you." He whistles sharply and Dethwing flaps down from the roof, where he'd been waiting for just such a signal, to the windowsill, cawing harshly and his eyes gleaming wickedly. He flaps his wings several times and a few black feathers drift into the room. "Dethwing," Darkwatcher explains casually, falling into the role formerly played by his brother, Vladmir, "is a very, very hungry bird. He eats only a special kind of food. Can you guess what that special food is?..." He turns to glare at all the troublemakers. "Any of you numbskulls? Come on, _think_ for once in your miserable lives, my little dorklings."
For once in his life, the stoat gets something faster than the creatures around him. "Um, er, creatures that pick on other beasts?" The weasel and male rat look sick, the male fox looks shocked, and the vixen looks desperate. The ratess is still out like a light, so she has no response to this statement. The female fox swallows, then draws her scimitar and dirk. "N...no. Never. I'm....I'll not..." she faces the bird and the mercenary, and tries to keep Scioto in view, aswell.
"He eats liars. He eats bullies. He eats weaklings. And how? Piece...by piece...by piece. First...he nibbles your eyes out so you can't see. Then he bites through your ligaments so you hang limply like a scarecrow as he works his way from the tail...to the footpaws...up to the head, leaving vital organs for last, so you're still alive as he nibbles you into your grave," Darkwatcher says, savoring the horrific effect of his words on the shocked vermin. As the vixen draws her weapons, the only reaction from this 'stone-cold' mercenary is one raised eyebrow, and a paw on the hilt of his dagger, Darkrunner. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he says softly.
The vixen gulps, her haunting golden eyes flashing back and forth. The weasel stifles a scream, and the stoat's face lights up as he says, "Hey, er, I was right! That don't happen very often." The female rat groans as she starts to wake up, and her brother drags her to a corner and starts gently slapping her with a shaking paw. The big hulking fox lays a paw on his claymore hilt (forget the fact that it's too big to use in this room) and takes a step toward the vixen. "Uh, er, maybe we oughta just take it." she shakes her head, tears forming in her eyes. "No, I...I can't. I just can't. I'm...I'm sorry. I do love you." she throws the dirk at him. He ducks, but gets sliced on his shoulder. He frowns. "What was tha...that....f...f...for...." he stutters, and the muscles near the cut begin to twitch. And the twitching spreads.
Scioto's ears are flat on his head, he makes a couple long claw marks on his desk as he is getting annoyed at this, he looks at the beasts in the room, yeah too peeved to say anything right now.
Darkwatcher's daggers are out in an instant and he bellows, "NOBODY MOVE! GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR OR I SWEAR I'LL GUT YOU ALL HERE AND NOW! D'YOU LOUSY LAYABOUTS HEAR ME? DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND _GET DOWN_!" He twirls his daggers, totally ready and willing to use them on anybeast who _dares_ defy his shouted orders. Dethwing flaps quietly to his partner's side and croaks raspingly before his wicked talons flash into view.
That there fox don't need to holler twice. The rats, both of whom are wide awake now, scream and rip off thier weapons, throwing them on the floor in front of the mercenary and fall flat on their faces. The stoat and the weasel do the same thing, except that they dive under the desk, too. The male fox is convulsing so badly, he falls over as foam starts to form at his mouth. He gives one last jerk, then lays there crookedly, blood tinging the foam pink. The cut on his shoulder is a disgusting green, with green marks following the blood vessels for about 6 inches in each direction. The vixen swallows again. "I can't get punished. I...I just wanted beasts to like me. I...I'm sorry..." and with that, she cuts her thigh with her scimitar, and immediately started to show the same signs and symptoms as the other fox.
"Ye gods, I can't watch this," Darkwatcher says, shaking his head in disgust. Flash! Flash! A throwing knife thuds into the chest of each of the poisoned beasts. "Scioto...you should be a bit more careful in who you recruit. Just sayin'." He shakes his head again before he drags the stoat and weasel out from under the desk one at a time by their tails, planting them firmly on their butts in the middle of the floor before chucking each of the weapons onto Scioto's desk. "Now," he says, growling low in his throat, pointing with the dagger in his left paw to each of the surviving vermin, "You're going to drag those two worthless carcasses out of here before they attract flies. Dethwing will follow you and kill you each if you try to escape. Should you manage to leave here without giving my fine, feathery friend a reason to slaughter you, you will then promptly proceed to the graveyards. There, using only your bare paws, you will dig two separate graves. One for each of these slobs. Then, when that is complete, you will stand in the graves with the bodies without filling them in until we decide how to proceed from there." His daggers flash in the light. "And don't try anything. Because you'll fail. As will your miserable hearts."
Scioto watches the two rats to make sure they dont rush off, he looks at Darkwatcher and raises an eyebrow, ok Darkwatcher is just a little creepy even for him, he clears his throat, "Raymond needs to know of this and as far as I am concern..any of you to not end up dead as well may be out of a job, unless you can state a very..VERY good reason to keep them!"
Dethwing caws emphatically and flaps his wings to punctuate Scioto's statement.
The rats and the stoat say not a word, but the weasel salutes (though he knows better than to stand up) and says, "Sir! Please don't fire my friend, Sir! He's the dumbest creature that done ever lived! He don't know no better! Just keep him as the lowest rank as possible and he'll be fine, Sir! That's all I have to say, Sir!" His fellow guards just sit there and stare at him, mouths agape.
Scioto glares at the small group of trouble makers and sighs, "Why..why do I have to deal with this" More to himself than anything.
The four guards salute and stand. The stoat picks up the vixen, and the other three work as a team to drag the huge fox dude out the door. Soon they are gone, leaving the poisoned scimitar laying on the floor.
Darkwatcher's eyes stay narrowed as Dethwing hops out the door, following the impromptu undertakers, jabbing their rumps with his beak ever now and then to keep them moving. "Ah, finally, some peace and quiet," Darkwatcher mutters as he stoops to grab the poisoned blade. He glares at it, then snorts contemptuously and snaps it contemptously with one swift jerk of his guantleted paws. "There we go. " He chucks the pieces out the window.
Scioto groans and places his head in his paws and just stares at his desk before looking at his door, hoping nothing else is to be dealed with today.
"Well, that went well. As if," Darkwatcher mutters, and the mercenary snorts as he tears off his faceguard/halfmask with one paw and stows it in his belt.
After a little while, voices can be heard, and soon Ferdinand, carrying Blisa, appear in the doorway. "Daddy!" the kitten coos as she slides down from her bodyguard's arms, and she circles the desk and hugs him. The ferret nervously glances at the creatures in the room. "Ith everything...alright, Thirth?"
Scioto allows the hug but still just sits there in his chair behind the desk, he doesnt answer just yet on what happen in here.
"Is now," Darkwatcher says finally with a sigh. "And Scioto may be a 'sir' but I ain't. No need t'be formal. Just another beast making his way through this mudpool of existence, yea'?" He sighs, twirls his daggers before sheathing them each, and leans back against the wall, arms crossed nonchalantly. "Hope those miserable louse-headed guards get my knives back. I hate having to get new knives."
Ferdinand swallows a little and decides to not ask about the knives. He crosses his arms and mutters, "None of us guards have lice..." then sits down and leans his head on his arms on the desktop. Blisa leaves her father's side and hugs the ferret tightly. He slips one arm down and hugs her back. "It'll be okay, Ferdy. You'll see. No worries!"
Scioto sighs and clears his throat, "Ok, Darkwatcher can get an update later on..well" He rubs his forehead, "Lets just relax now and, yeah relax is good"
Darkwatcher walks out. "Better make sure Dethy doesn't actually kill 'em," he mutters to himself, his brow creasing in annoyance. "See y'all later."
Scioto nods and slowly stands, "Maybe...the pond?..To relax rest of the day"
Blisa jumps up and down excitedly. "Yay! Goody!" Ferdinand smiles and takes her paw, and they head to the very relaxing pond area. A peaceful end to a not-so-peaceful day.
Thank you for reading!
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