The Soldiers' Heart (Bolts of Chaos TP....a little) or Wisdom from the Bodyguard
Sorry about the length...
Redwall Abbey Cavern Hole
Friends: Bastien the hare. Leon the mouse. Lason the wildcat. Ferdinand the ferret and Blisa the cat. Cera the ferret.
Bastien enters, his right arm in a sling and the bandage tightly around the upper arm, he slumps into one of the chairs and sighs stareing upwards and frowns.
Leon hears the sigh and looks over, he shakes his head and stands walking over to the hare "You shouldn't be out of bed, you need to rest after what you been through" He crosses his arms over his chest and waits for an answer from the hare.
A large figure enters the room and grumbles in a stony voice, "Hello Leon...Hello Bastien, what happened to you?"
Bastien looks at Leon and frowns"Why stay in thar..no one is helpfull thar and just hurt beasts, some who may not of been injuried had I not be afriad..had I done my job, I'm a failure, I failed..I wanted to run and hid not be on that wall"
Leon listens, "Guessing first time seen fighting or been in fighting..." He looks at Lason, "The abbey was attcked yesterday, the abbey won the fight and the rest of Marek's forces ran back to Ferravale...least thats are guess, Ferravale is still under the control of Marek, least for now"
Bastien frowns and closes his eyes, yesterday still very fresh in his mind as he shivers some, he shakes his head to clear a thought and his ears droop" ...Battle..hate it...fighting and..."
Lason nods, "Do you want me to take Bastien's place on the wall until he heals?"
Leon frowns, he looks Bastien over, "What he needs to do is go back to the infirm or..well maybe elsewhere bit more quiet, he has what called battle shock still beast can get it sometimes first time been in a fight and this was alot more than a simple fight"
Lason says, "The infirmary is packed, I've seen it...better to not hang around there if you have a poor tolerance for noise."
Bastien eyes snap open as he shakes his head, "No No No..Not the infirm, not thar!..thats where injuried from...the fight beasts are and..makes me remember.." He whimpers and shivers again as he shakes his head.."Beast died..and blood..and...." He gulps, yeah he is out of it.
Leon nods "Yeah I know, and I dont know all the details of what happen, who all was hurt...or worse." He looks at Bastien "Calm down and try and breath normally, your make yourself pass out"
Lason sits on a chair, barely understanding and not knowing what to do.
Bastien tries to but doesn't get very far in lessening his panic attack as he shivers uncontroled and closes his eyes mumbleing to himself.
Leon frowns and looks threw his healers pouch for an herb, he finds it and goes to the kitchen returning with some water as he stirs the herb in that and goes to help the hare "Drink this...please"
Bastien is breathing in and out, fairly short quick breaths and shivering, at first he refuses to drink what ever it is and then whimpers, he lets the healer hold the glass as he takes small sips and coughs a little, he sips a little more still shivering.
(A young adult ferret, dressed in the uniform of the Ferravale guards, has been sitting in a chair by the fire asleep with a white kitten on his lap for most of the morning. Ferdinand and Blisa (for that's who they are) spent half the night helpign witht he younger Dibbuns say calm and out of the way of the healers and wounded creatures. They woke up for breakfast and then were so eghxausted they took a nap. The ferret yawns and looks around, rubbign his eyes and wonderng what's all going on now. Where'd those creatures come from?)
Leon holds the glass and waits till the hare finishes the mixture before steping away, "That should help some, just try and relax and not move your injuried arm too much"
Bastien nods slowly, he is still a little out of it as he shivers a little still and stays silent now.
Lason asks, "Do you need help, Leon? The infirmary is overcrowded and everything."
Ferdinand is more awake now, and he stands, gently placing the sleeping Blisa in the chair, where she promptly curls into a little ball. The ferret quietly and carefully makes his way over to the little group. "May I inquire what'th going on?" he asks in a friendly way, trying to pick words where he doesn't show off his lisp.
Leon shakes his head, "No..I am fine and I know alot is in the infirm, some of the less injured beasts can leave if they wish and rest in the guest quarters, others need to stay. There is more healers than just me and for that I am glad and course Lorimis also knows healing and he helped treat beasts in the infirm too, and Oakenpaw showed up after a little while" He nods to the Ferret, "Big Battle yesterday"
Bastien coughs a little and frowns, "Me...failing, thats wot happen" He has relaxed a little more, but still has some shivering going on and his ears are still drooped.
Lason says, "If its any consolation, I did not do so well in my first fight either."
Ferdinand raises an eyebrow, then kneels beside the hare, deciding that his answer needed a response. "What maketh you think you failed?"
Leon decides to get the glass back to the kitchen and let the others talk a short while.
Bastien frowns "I..I am head guard and" He frowns "I was scared and..and panicked and couldnt fire off any arrows very good, I am supposed to be brave and be able to give ou..out orders but I couldn't" Tears show up now. "And maybe less would of been hurt I..if I had done my job correctly, but I failed, I wanted to run away and hide, but I knew I couldnt but its what I felt like doing" He closes his eyes "The..blood and beasts dieing and...it got to me and then a rat almost sliced my chest,he got my arm but I should of payed attention and didnt"
Lason falls silent, realizing his story was mundane in comparison.
Ferdinand purses his lip and shakes his head. "That ith not failing. How many battleth have you been in? If thith wath your firtht, then you did better than I did. I actually did run off."
Bastien frowns, "First battle..never been in even a small fight before and this..this was like a small horde and there was arrows, and blades...fire and.." He whimpers again.
Ferdinand nods wisely. "Well, you did much better than I did in my first battle. I ran away and hid in a haystack. My inthtructor had to come find me. He wath nice, but my father wathn't....um...." he hadn't meant to mention that. Nuts. "My instructor altho told me once that true bravery ithn't in not being afraid. True bravery ith in doing the right thing, even when you're terrified."
Bastien frowns, he is listening and alot calmer now, "I wanted to run like said but..didnt run,but still I should of been more....I mean someone else had to command the guards,I..I couldn't d..do it, my father probabally never panicked in his life"
Ferdinand raises an eyebrow. "Oh, I don't believe that. He wath probably panicked and terrified during hith firtht battle, too. You didn't run when you wanted to...that ith true courage."
Bastien tilts his head as he listens "It..showed courage when I..I stayed?..I stayed cause knew should and...that..That if I ran, may of caused the other guards to be a little, I don't know...not being sure wot ta do, me staying probablly gave them some...maybe hope, I dont know, I am also lot younger than father was when he was head guard, I am only 9 seasons old...well 9 and 1/2."
Ferdinand smiles. "Yeth, you thowed courage in staying, and if it emboldened the other guardth, then even better. And being tho young meanth that the elderth here in Redwall thee potential in you."
Bastien listens carefully and finally nods "I..guess, sometimes I wonder if I am good at my skills, I dont even know if the two arrows hit any beast, one may of hit a rat I..I don't know, I have never killed a beast or even injuried one"
Ferdinand nods and sighs heavily. "I have killed more beathtth than I care to remember, all in thelf defenthe. The wortht part ith when you thtart to get numb." he rubs his eyes and sighs again.
Bastien blinks "Numb?..Wot's that mean?"
Ferdinand scoots a footstool over to beside the hare and sits on it. He laces his fingers on his lap and stares at the floor. "It'th where you thtart to not care about the creatureth you're killing, what they're nameth are and if they have familieth. It'th when you slowly die inthide, until you are completely numb, and can kill without....without hethitency, without caring. It'th....it'th terrifying."
Bastien frowns, "I..I would never want to be like that, wot..never ever, I don't even like the idea of killing." He frowns "I know my Father use to..to hate all vermin spieces, but he slowly started to trust some of them and learned they were not all evil like he thought, I alway t..try to give beasts a chance when meet them, try and see if they are friend or foe"
Ferdinand smiles slightly. "We good vermin apprethiate that." he sighs and rests his head in his paw. "I don't like killing, either. Every day I have to battle with the numbneth. I think you can win, if you fight hard enough...and if you have thomething you care about, even if it'th like family..." He glances over at the chair where Blisa is, appearing to still be asleep.
Bastien nods "I have friends, no like...close family, not anymore"
Ferdinand looks up at the hare. "I'm thorry. What happened?"
Bastien answers "My father, he died right before last fall happen. I had ran away and found out from a letter sent to the Long Patrol, where I was supposed to be but I only stayed like couple days and left and I was only 5 seasons old and stayed in a nearby sea town, one of the long patrol hares who would check on me brought me the letter" He frowns "Father died in his sleep, from some injuries he got, see he didnt let a healer know of them and by the time he did it was too late to" He brushes away a tear "Too late to help him"
The look on Ferdinand's face is one of compassion. "You are fortunate. At leatht your father thtill loved you. My father hated me thince I wath a Dibbun..." he swallows and looks down, suddenly ashamed for no apparent reason.
Bastien frowns "Why would he hate you, why hate your own dibbun?"
Ferdinand shrugs. "He ith the Cheiftan of my home village, and I...I can't talk right. He and almotht all my thiblingth and my mother mocked and thcorned me. I wath alwayth thmall, and they thought that I wath weak. Father told me that he withed I had never been born on more than one occathion. My greatetht friendth were the thervantth and my fighting inthtructor."
Bastien listens as the ferret speaks "Well you have alot of friends now and beasts that respect you, and thats good and I will be a friend too if you need more"
Ferdinand smiles slightly, yet brightly. "Thank you. I would like that. Maybe, when I go back to Ferravale, we can thend methageth by thparrow every few dayth. I don't have a lithp when I write!" he chuckles, happy to get at least part of his story out and off his chest.
Bastien smiles "Maybe...I am not sure I will be one of them that goes ta help get Ferravale back or not....but yeah messages back and forth be good"
Ferdinand stands, looks at Blisa, then frowns slightly and sits back down. "The'th been thleeping an awfuly long time. I wonder if the'th thick..."
Bastien looks over "I dont know, maybe..check on her, why would she be sick?"
"I don't know..." The ferret stands and goes over to pick up Blisa. She sighs in her sleep as Ferdinand checks her, then frowns and carries her back to his footstool and sits down, layign her down on his lap. "The feelth warm...the doethn't get thick all that often, and when the doeth, the crieth alot."
Bastien frowns "Maybe let a healer look at her"
Ferdinand nods. "Good idea. Wake up, Blitha. C'mon, time to wake up..." he starts to shake her, and she wakes up whining. "Ungh...my head hurts, Ferdy! I'm cold. Why did I have to wake up?"
Bastien stays close as he looks around, "I could go find her father...ummm where ever he is, saw him during the battle"
Ferdinand frowns slightly. "Well, let'th have a healer look at her firtht." And who happens to be passing by but a Novice healer! Okay, that's just weird. The mouse comes over and politely inquires, "Do you need a healer?" the ferret guard nods. "Would you pleathe check her? I think the hath a fever." The healer nods and bends down. "Let's see, shall we?"
Bastien watches and waits to see what is said, he stays quiet so the healer is not intrupted.
The healer finishes his check up and nods as he straightens up. "You're right, she does have a fever, but I think it's just a cold. Come by the Infirmary if she gets worse. I'm afraid I must hurry away. Good day." The Novice dashes off to the kitchen, leaving a very worried Ferdinand to try and figure out what to do for his sick charge.
Bastien says, "Well..That was quick"
Ferdinand nods as he cuddles the moaning Blisa, who now also appears to have a headache. "The healer wath probably getting food for the patientth in the infirm. Hey, what time ith it, anyway?" A crowd of creatures is passign by rigth at this moment,and a kindly grandmotherly mole answers, "Hurr, it bees teatime, young furret! I'm surprised nobeast told yurr!" Before she can say more, she is swept along with the crowd, into Great Hall.
Bastien makes a face "Tea...gross, I dont like tea its...leaf jucie in..water"
Ferdinand smiles slightly. "Yeth, that doeth thound rather dithguthting, doethn't it?" Blisa tugs on the ferret's shirtsleeve. "I want some tea..."
Cera rushes down the stairs and to the doorway, seems she was not welcomed or maybe she just is in trouble, a guard is behind her and just about grabs her as she dives under a table "Get back here ferret!"
Blisa whimpers, and her bodyguard sets her in the empty chair they were sitting beside and stands up, holding out both arms. "Hey, hey, what'th going on here? I am the bodyguard of the Cheiftan of Ferravale'th daughter. What happened that gave you two the idea you could dithturb her when the hath a cold?"
Cera hissses at the guard, either guard she is not in the mood right now, the Redwall guard shakes his head as he gives an answer, "She was with those horde beasts" The ferret snorts "Shut up, what if I was I didnt hurt anyone" The guard is mad now "Ya tried to steal from the abbey" Cera rolls her eyes "Blah blah blah..." Se eeks as she is grabbed and pulled out, she bites the guard HARD on the paw.
Ferdinand shouts and goes to grab the younger ferret, aiming to pry her teeth out of the Redwall guards' paw. "Maybe they threatened her to steal! And you! Let go! I have teeth too, y'know!" Wow. Real mature, there, Ferdinand.
Cera lets go and glares at Ferdinand "Back...offf" She hisses
Ferdinand glares back. "I'M trying to help you! I remember you being a thweet young lady! What happened to you?"
Cera crosses her arms over her chest and then looks at the floor, the Redwall guard hmmphs loudly "Your problem now" and stomps off, yeah been a bad day for him too.
Ferdinand kneels down to look the young ferret in the eye. "I thee your thtutter ith gone. I am glad. Why are you tho angry? I will lithten. I promithe." Blisa peeks over the arm of the chair she's curled up in. "He's very good at listening. And he /always/ keeps his promises."
Cera rolls her eyes, she is upset and then frowns as lets tears start to flood down her face as she then starts to sob uncontrolably.
Ferdinand goes to give her a hug and he starts to murmur gentle, kind, compassionate things.
Cera growls and goes to kick him hard in the leg, not bothering to see if it connected or not she goes to run back to the entry, she doesnt get very far as she comes back in and snorts, she frowns and goes into a chair, curls up and cries herself to sleep.
Ferdinand frowns and lets her go. Great. Now he has two Dibbuns he's worried about. The ferret sighs, then leads the sick Blisa to the Infirmary for some medicine.
Thanks for reading!
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