The Young and the Restless

Riverdale meets some new friends and continues in his quest to drum up enthusiasm for his ongoing construction project.

Participants: Riverdale, Turzel, May, and Kaeleb

RW Abbey: Kitchen

The door from the back path creaks open, admitting Riverdale's snout, followed by one half of his spectacles. He spots Turzel and withdraws his head slightly, bumping it on frame of the doorway. "Ooph!"

Turzel stirs her tea leaves into her cup, watching them swirl about. It's too hot for her to take a sip yet, but she is certainly patient. She looks up curiously in the direction of the noise. "Hello?" She sets her tea aside and steps towards the doorway.

Turzel grabs the door's handle to open it up fully.

Riverdale clears his throat and enters the room, carefully swinging the hem of his cloak so that it doesn't catch on the doorway. "Ahh... Guess the gig is up then..." He smiles faintly. "Thought I'd sneak in the back way, avoid the crowd." He smiles. "Ah, evening, dear."

Turzel brushes her paws down the length of her tunic, a grin deepening the already-present wrinkles in her face. "Evenin'," she returns, glancing outside quickly before the door shuts all the way. "Yes, there seems to be a questionable characters around." She pauses to chuckle. "Y'want some tea?" She gestures towards the area she was standing by before.

Riverdale shakes his head absentmindedly, then nods a moment later. "Ah, that, ah, that would be lovely, dear." He fidgets with his cane then walks into the warmth of the kitchen.

Turzel blinks at the apparent contradictory motion, but she's glad to prepare another cup. She does so, and then presents it to the squirrel in a friendly manner. "Careful, still hot," the mousemaid warns. She watches him for a moment, then wonders out loud. "What were you doin' out there? It's gettin' dark out..."

"Ah, ooh." Riverdale carefully adjusts and readjusts his grip on the cup then beams up at Turzel's question. "Well, come look!" He starts for the door, then turns. "Ah... but I'd like to grab a few walnuts first..." He casts his bleary eyes over the room, with its jumble of cooks and dishes.

Turzel nods. "Outside?" She shifts her weight to the side. "S-sure. I can't guarantee ya I'll be able to see anythin' out there at this hour... I don't have my glasses." She pauses at his mention of walnuts. "Oh, I don't think you'll have trouble findin' some!" The mousemaid picks up her tea and sips at it, relieved to find it at a comfortable temperature.

Riverdale sets down his tea and taps a young mouse on the shoulder. "Ah... pardon me, lad."

The young mouse, carrying a head of lettuce that's nearly as big as he is and wearing a look of frustrated boredom, looks irreverently up at the old fellow. "Eh?" he says, less than politely.

Turzel watches the interaction idly, gulping down nearly half of her cup.

Riverdale is oblivious to the insolence. "There were, ah, some walnuts here the other day... Would you mind terribly... ah, fetching me some?"

A middle-aged hedgehog overhears and pats the young fellow on the back. "Ya woul'n mind 'tall, woul'ya, Sawyer?" Sawyer looks up at her, eyes widening for a moment, then narrowing, deflated. "No'm," he mumbles into the lettuce and trudges off.

Riverdale nods his appreciation to the hedgehog, then waits, sipping his tea.

Riverdale taps his cane idly upon the floor.

Turzel expresses a satisfied smile as Sawyer dutifully walks away. She turns to Riverdale. "O-oh, why, I didn't catch your name.. Or maybe I did, but I tend to forget these things. I'm Turzel." She clinks her cup down on top of her saucer.

Riverdale watches the little mouse' retreat for a bit, then turns to Turzel. "Oh? Ah... Turzel? I'm called Riverdale."

Riverdale sips his tea.

Sawyer returns a moment later and raises both of his paws above his head. They're piled high with loose walnuts. "Heah go, Mis'er Riv'dale," he says, rather more chipper now that he's free of his culinary burden.

"Oh, Riverdale?" The mousemaid lets the name be absorbed into memory, silently mouthing it a few times. "I'll try to remember that. I-I meet a lot of new faces here every day." She giggles quietly into the back of her sleeve at the thought of the aged squirrel being "new."

Turzel quickly plucks a walnut away, popping it into her mouth. "Mmf. S-sorry, was hungry, too."

Turzel chews on it thoughtfully.

"Be my guest, ah, Turzel." Riverdale gingerly scoops the remaining walnuts into a pocket in his cloak, then pats Sawyer lightly on the head. "Thanks, lad. Run along, now." He opens the back door and looks over his shoulder at Turzel. "Coming?"

Turzel swallows her last bite, looking a bit disappointed that there are no more treats available to her. She composes herself by wiping crumbs off her paws, and then rises slowly. Turzel heads off towards the squirrel. "S-show me what y'got."

Riverdale has a spring in his step as he steps outside to the path. He even swings his cane a bit, though only when the weight his off his right leg.

Turzel follows the squirrel or maybe she's only after the walnuts.

RW Abbey: Kitchen Path

Riverdale casts a fretful look at the dying light. "Must hurry..." he mumbles, proceeding quickly down the path. The sound of the cane's tapping echoes through the pleasant cool of the spring evening.

Turzel squints as she makes her way out the door. She breathes in the sweet smell of the various vegetation, but is careful to stay on track.

RW Abbey: Kitchen Gardens

Turzel treks on after the squirrel's path, feeling alert from her tea and refreshed by a cool evening breeze.

Riverdale continues apace, his gaze straying only for a moment to survey the neat rows of vegetables. He breathes in the sweet air with gusto, and an involuntary look of contentment warms his features. Without saying a word, he continues in the direction of the kitchen yard.

RW Abbey: Kitchen Yard

May sees the old beasts and tags along after them for something to do.

Turzel continues on. She is rendered by a bit of surprise at the arrival of the dibbun, but smiles warmly as she recognizes the tiny figure. "Hello there, young one. Out for a bit of a stroll?" She chuckles, slowing down to match May's footsteps.

Riverdale stops for a moment. He sips his tea, which he's been holding aloft rather precariously in his right paw, then stands on the path, breath coming in shallow gasps. He smiles at May. "Ah, hi there." He finishes his tea, and sets the cup on the ground.

May nods chewing on her dolls foot shyly, "Uh huh."

Riverdale murmurs, "... have to remember where I left it..." He shakes himself. "Well. Onward, ladies."

Turzel frowns a bit at the empty cup, but says nothing.

Riverdale moves towards the vineyards, gradually resuming his previous pace amid quick, worried glances at the sky. Getting a bit dark...

RW Abbey: Garden

Turzel hurries after the two, sensing the immediacy of nightfall.

Riverdale's excitement visibly increases as the little party nears its destination. He whips right through the garden, barely minding to avoid the plants, still in the early stages of growth.

May follows as best she can on her chubby little legs, dragging her doll through the dirt behind her.

Turzel gazes upwards at the sky, darkness beginning to shroud her rounded figure.

The grounds are in sight now, as is the frame of some kind of construction that resides there, dimly adumbrated by the twilight.

Riverdale hurries towards it.

RW Abbey: Open Ground

Turzel is the last one to make her way in, her breathing hoarser now as the pace is quickened. She squints, fighting off her blurred vision.

May bends side ways to look at the wood, holding her doll by the leg in her mouth, then bends to the other side to look at the pile of wood before asking, "What that for?"

Turzel cannot avoid splashing her feet in some mud, but does not appear overtly concerned about it. She stops to shake it off and then looks down towards the young mouse beside the pile of lumber.

Riverdale looks back at Turzel. His face is bright with excitement, but he, too is a bit winded by the pace of their little jaunt. "Ah... hoo... We're here, my, ahh, hoo... my dear." He leans forward, pressing the weight of his upper body into his cane and gasping (a bit) to regain his composure. He looks over at May, eye a-twinkle.

Riverdale sways a bit on his feet.

May straightens back up and looks over that the adults, "Yous okie?"

Turzel blushes a bit at May. "Why, we're fine." She darts her eyes to Riverdale, noting his similar condition.

They must look a sorry bunch indeed, gasping and swaying after such a short walk. Riverdale waves a consoling paw. "Yes, yes, little one. Ahh.. hooo. No need to fret."

Riverdale straightens, then walks to the pile of lumber. There's a rectangular frame resting in the grass nearby, clearly in the early stages. The squirrel knocks the lumber with his cane.

Riverdale says, "This, my dear ladies, is the Squeearf!" The look of pride that accompanies this pronouncement is completely out of proportion with the sorry assortment of half-assembled logs.

May picks up an arrow from the archery equipment, "Lookit this! My daddy can shoots them real good! Can you do that?"

Riverdale frowns, seeing he has already lost the dibbun's attention.

Turzel adopts a worried expression. "N-no May, put that down, please."

May drops the arrow and skips over to the Squeearf. "It has a funny name. Squeearf! Hehehe! Squeearfs Squeerf! I like it!"

Riverdale's face practically casts shadows it lights up so much. "You do?" he says with unrestrained delight. First beast who's said that, though he'd never admit it.

Turzel, sensing that imminent danger of pointy objects being handled by the tiny creature has passed, turns her ever-squinting eyes to Riverdale for an explanation. "Squee...arf?" she murmurs.

May nods rapidly and giggles, "Yeah. It's nice," she pats the wooden frame like one would a pet.

Riverdale stands close behind May as she inspects the frame. "It will be a, ah... special kind of cart." His voice is a kind of mystified whisper. "You, ah, you know what a cart is, little one?"

May nods. "Yep. I seen one afore," she holds up one finger, "I think I maybe rided in it. I was very little. More little then I am now."

Turzel creates a half-circle around the work area, slight bafflement written on her face.

"Well, you're quite big now, ah, little one." Riverdale stands near May, tending her curiosity like one would tend a delicate flame, as if he's worried that the slightest gust could extinguish it. He folds his paws across the top of his walking stick, then looks up at Turzel. "So, ah... Miss Turzel. You haven't told me what you think."

May looks over at Turzel, "You like it too, huh." she beams at the old mouse.

Turzel cocks her head to the side as Riverdale addresses her. She steps closer to him so she is within better earshot, for her own sake. "Oh, why, I think you're off to a good start. S-so you do this for a livin'?" She questions this before nodding down at the dibbun.

Riverdale puckers his lips for a moment and gives a brisk shake of the head. "Ah... long ago, I did a bit of carpentry, but, ah... No. Never for a living."

Turzel appears quite bewildered at his response. "R-really, now? So what's it for?" She asks this with a genuine tone in her voice.

Turzel feels like the question was a bit rude anyway, so she tries to reword it. "I mean, wh-what gave you the idea for it?"

Riverdale looks pained, but this fades quickly. "When I, ah, woke up, I just... there it was. In my head, as if it wanted to get out... Ah..." He reaches a paw behind his head and scratches, a bit confused himself.

May smiles at Riverdale, "You like it, huh. That's why you're making it?"

The older mousemaid sustains her perplexed emotions at Riverdale's reply. However, the presence of May's innocence soon gives way to warmth spreading across her face. She replies simply, "It's wonderful, Riverdale. I-I mean, it /will/ be wonderful."

"I suppose that's why, young 'un. 'Cuz I like it." Riverdale winks at May. He chews his lip for a moment and nods vacantly at Turzel's remark.

Turzel crosses her arms, her attention still fixed on the duo. She half-grins, but questions still swim about in her head. "Riverdale, you plan on going far with this?"

Riverdale says, "Oh indeed, Miss Turzel. Ah... As far as it will take me. I'm too... too old now for the sort of, ah, travel I want to do." He taps the end of the cane on the blueprint, lying on the ground. "But this," he says, "will let me do it. That's... that's part of it, any road..."

May wanders back over to the archery equipment, because she's 1.5 seasons old and more importantly it bothers the adults.

Turzel soon becomes distracted as May deviates from safer grounds. She shuffles over to her as quickly as she can, looking back at Riverdale. "Oh, hold on. May--n-no, we don't touch those. They're not ours."

Turzel leans down to swoop May up in her arms...

May pouts, "My daddy lets me."

Turzel shakes her head. "He's not here. C'mon now."

Turzel motions at May to be lifted up.

Riverdale shivers. "Getting dark." He peers skyward and shivers again.

May pouts more, but follows the mouse away from the arrows and target.

Turzel is cloaked in more shadows, and Riverdale's work becomes dimmer and dimmer to her. She manages to make her way back towards him with the dibbun in tow.

Riverdale is lost in thought, running the end of his walking stick back and forth along the near edge of the frame.

May tugs on Riverdale's clothes, "Hey, it's bedtime mister. You got go to sleep now."

Turzel feels the stimulant effects of her tea begin to wear off, and the emerging darkness helps to usher in sleepiness. "Riverdale?" she asks, trying to snap him out of his trance.

Turzel asks, "Ready to go back?"

Riverdale stops and looks down at the dibbun. "Y-yes, dear. I, ah. I suppose you're right..."

Riverdale continues to look at the Squeearf, nevertheless.

May exclaims, "Time to go inside!"

Riverdale says, "I think I may stay... ah... Just a bit longer."

Riverdale shivers again. The daytime heat has fled quickly.

Turzel is pensive as Riverdale does not yield to their requests, despite the nighttime cold. Her maternal instincts tell her it's time to put May to bed, so she prepares for their imminent departure. "Sure?" she asks again. "Y'look freezing."

May tugs on the squirrel's cane, "No! Time to go in! If you don't I'll tell on you."

Riverdale nearly falls as the dibbun grabs the cane from under him. This succeeds in stirring him from his enchanted trance. "Ah! Yes... I... I suppose you're right, little one." He turns towards the Great Hall, but casts a backward glance at the frame. "Still... I... I can't help thinking it's a... a special kind of thing."

May nods firmly, "Yes I am. Squeearf it'll be there in th morning an then you can play wif it again okie. Now we go inside an go sleep."

Riverdale looks mournfully over at Turzel. "Ah... Bit bossy for such a little one, eh?"

Turzel reaches out to pat the old squirrel on the back, simultaneously motioning to lead May along with them. "Oh, well, t-thanks for showin' us." She bites her lip in order to not think about a chilly breeze which dances at her fur. She chuckles. "She reminds me of myself at that age."

Riverdale says, "Let's hope she turns out better."

May smiles, "We go inside now?"

Turzel glares.

Turzel exclaims, "Movin' along!"

Riverdale says, "Lead on, young 'un."

May spins about then skips off to the door of the Abbey leading to the dorms.

RW Abbey: Lower Dormitory

May, Riverdale, and Turzel come in from the yard.

May says, "Up stairs."

Riverdale excuses himself politely. "I... ah... I must go check something at the library." His face creases into an expression of benevolence. "You sleep well. Ah... both of you."

Riverdale touches a paw to his head. "'Night, Miss Turzelf. Ah, ... and to you, little lady."

Riverdale ers, "It is Turzelf, right?"

May waves, "Ok. Night!"

Turzel yawns, covering her mouth. She nods nonchalantly to Riverdale, and then shakes her head. "N-no, no. Well, good night." She does not bother to correct him.

RW Abbey: Great Hall

Riverdale walks in, angling for the library. His face is clouded with drowsiness, and he shivers, as if he's just come in from the cold.

Kaeleb stands by the tapestry, caught in quiet contemplation. Feeling a slight breeze he turns just as the old squirrel arrives. The otter nods to the old one. "Evenin'," he says. His brows knit. "You look cold, sir. You all right?"

Riverdale gives Kaeleb a vague smile. "Yes, lad. Ah, thank you... 'Was just showing some ladies around the grounds."

Kaeleb smiles slightly. "Very well, then. Would you like some help to wherever it is you're off to?"

Riverdale's pace slackens as he nears the library. "I... No, no. I just have a bit of reading to do." He pauses. "And, well, to, ah, to be honest, I can't seem to sleep." He appears embarrassed.

May arrives from the Staircase.

Kaeleb moves closer to Riverdale, offering a small bow. "My name is Kaeleb. I'm, well, pretty new here." His eyes turn to May as she steps in and his smile grows broader. "Hello there, little one."

May acts shy cover her face with her doll, "Hi."

Riverdale stands where he is, awkwardly. "Ah... pleased to meet you, Kaeleb. Truth be told, ah... I haven't been here much myself. Any road... not, ah... while I've been awake." His eyes dart over to May. "Shouldn't you be in bed, young 'un? No, no. Don't you try to hide."

Riverdale hastily turns back to Kaeleb, knowing he has no command over the little imp. "I'm called Riverdale, lad."

May scurries to the kitchen giggling.

May returns from the kitchens looking confused, "Mama's not in there."

Kaeleb chuckles airily at the little dibbun's departure and arrival. "Still so young. Full of energy." He looks towards Riverdale again. "Pleased to meet you, sir. Are you sure you're all right?"

Riverdale says sharply, "I'm fine!" He raises a paw, then says again more softly, "I'm fine. Yes." He smiles apologetically and points to the library, "Just... I must... I have some work to do."

May says, "He's tired an needs to go sleep so he won't be grouchy no mores.""

Kaeleb's eyes widen and he takes a small step backward, a little startled by the elder's outburst. He bows again, then slips his paws into his pockets. "My apologies, just concerned," he says quickly. The otter watches May a moment. Then he grins cheerfully as he crouches low so as to be on her level. He seems quite awake for such a late hour. "Perhaps you should lead him to bed, then? Books can wait, yes?" He offers the dibbun his paw. "What might your name be, little miss?"

Riverdale says, "Good night, Kaeleb. Little one."

May turns away shyly, "May."

Kaeleb looks up over his brows and nods. "Sleep well, Riverdale. It was good to meet you."

Riverdale smiles brightly, his eyes moist, with fatigue and affection. "Good night, little May." He bows to Kaeleb. "I... I'm, ah, sorry for shouting. I am, ah, not myself... lately."

Riverdale goes into the library, cane scraping along the ground beside him.

Kaeleb returns his gaze to May. "Well, little May, I am Kaeleb. It's a pleasure." He straightens, watching as the elder takes his leave. The old one seemed troubled, but he thought better than to press him further. Perhaps he should get to know the creatures here a little more first before attempting to be compassionate. Then again, maybe not. He wasn't sure; all he knows is that it's better to be in out of the dark and the cold and amongst friendly creatures than to be lost somewhere outside, unexpecting of the inherent dangers there. He runs a paw through his headfur and sighs. "This might not be so easy after all..." he mutters.

Brother Jullian comes down the stairs, not very pleased with being up at this hour. He spots May right off and scoops her up. The mousebabe squeaks in surprise then laughs seeing it's her father that's picked her up. "What have you been told about running off young lady?" the brother asks tired after a long day. "To not do that?" the little one asks grinning impishly the whole time. "Your mother wishes to see you, something about a bath you missed if I remember right." he carries the not sulking babe up the stairs.

Kaeleb finds himself alone in the Great Hall once more. The young otter quietly whistles to himself, turning back to stare up at the tapestry, wondering...