The final pep-talk between Derean and DoraRose....will he survive? And then an argument between the Warrior and her brother! Cool :P
Woodland
The road is not far away, and here, the woodland is not so dense. Indeed, leading between the trees, off of the road and through the woods, is a path, wide enough to risk a cart. Indeed, you might see cart tracks upon the ground here. A wooden sign,, hanging from a tree branch, points along the path, into the woods. It reads; 'Mossflower Wodeland Market'.
Exits: [P]ath to [M]arket, [D]irt [R]oad
Derean the otter. DoraRose the mouse. Emyuil, another mouse.
It is midday in the Mossflower area, and the breeze is blowing strongly, making the rather warm day perfect for traveling and simply spending time outside. There is one, however, whose mind is not focused on such jovial things. Instead, this beast is creeping along the open grounds of Redwall Abbey, holding a kitchen knife in one paw and doing his best not to have anybeast ask as to where he is off to. Derean looks around as he nears the gate, then continues on through the gate, satisfied that no one has seen him, or as far as he can tell that is.
There was one beast, however, that saw the otter slinking around and is now very suspicious. And that creature is DoraRose Strongheart. Narrowing her eyes, she runs to the training yard and grabs her bastard sword with its blue cat's-eye pommel stone, then silently follows the otter, tracking him and thankful that her newly-made green hooded dress camouflages her very well.
For the moment, Derean has yet to notice any beasts following him. Being in the infirmary for as long as he had really took a toll on his awareness skills, though it could mostly be attributed to his increasing levels of apathy. Kitchen knife clutched tightly in his paw, he makes his way along towards Mossflower Woods, which had been his goal for a while now, but to see it there and to be heading that way made him shudder slightly.
DoraRose keeps to the shadows made by the spring trees, avoiding branches and piles of leaves to keep her steps as silent as possible. She covers the pommel of her sword with a paw to keep it from revealing her location as she follows the otter deeper into the woods.
Eventually, the otter stops in a clearing in the woods, staring down at the kitchen knife in his paws. Sighing, he slowly brings the blade up to his neck, closing his eyes as he does so. "Goodbye DoraRose..." He whispers, a tear tracing its way down his cheek. "I'm sorry..."
DoraRose appears out of the trees like lightning and grabs at the paw holding theknife, intending to jerk it back towards her and away from his neck.
The ploy works rather well, and Derean yelps in surprise as the knife is jerked away from his neck, but his instincts kick in, and as a result, his leg rears up, then snaps at DoraRose, not having even identified who had grabbed his paw.
DoraRose yells in slight agony as she gets kicked in the leg, and in response she goes to twist the otters arm around hi back and make him put his paw on the opposite shoulder blade....and hopefully drop the knife at the same time.
Now it is Derean to yell in agony as his paw is suddenly twisted behind him, making his paw loose grip of the knife and letting it drop harmlessly to the grass. His eyes shut, and he waits for the end, having assumed that the beast was hostile by instinct.
DoraRose goes to press her knee into his wrist and shove him to the ground, growling, "That really hurt, you stupid plank-tailed riverdog."
Derean growls as his face hits the ground, but then he stops for a moment. He knows that voice.... "D-DoraRose?" He asks, his struggles ceasing almost instantly.
DoraRose is not exactly in the best of moods, and so what little civility she has is hiding in some thicket somewhere... "Yeah, it's me, genius. What were you doing out here?!"
Derean's gaze darkens instantly, though this can't quite be seen in his current position. "You know full well wot I was doin', an' you should've let me do it!" He snaps in response.
DoraRose is at about the limits of her patience with this guy. "Why?! Not stopping what you believe is wrong is worse than the crime itself! I refuse to become what I hate!"
Derean growls. "Because it's more merciful t' just let me leave this world than t' torture me by forcin' me t' stay, alright?!"
DoraRose twitches with pent up frustration. Unfortuantly, it's basically an all over twitch, and so she accidentaly grinds her knee into the otter's arm. "Okay, fine! You wanna die? Alright, I'll help you!" She stands up and draws her sword, her anger almost hiding her pain and sorrow.
Derean is finally able to roll over, and the sight that greets him shocks him to the core. "W-Wot?" He stammers, trying to understand. "Wot are you doin' DoraRose?!" He demands, though a hollow feeling in his chest tells him all he needs to know.
DoraRose snarls slightly at him. "You want to die, and you've been asking beasts for weeks now to help you, so I'm giving you what you want." She pulls back and readies herself for the swing, secretly hoping he'll fight back and find the will to live in the process.
Derean's paw quickly finds his fallen knife, and it rises to block any swing that may be coming at him. "No!" He shouts in the process out of simple instinct, hoping the mouse isn't actually serious about this. He doesn't want to end up hurting his friend.
DoraRose's sword is bigger and heavier than the otters pathetic little kitchen knife, and unless he moves it, it's gonna get knocked to the ground again. "Why? You said you wanted to die; I'm just giving you what you want!"
Unfortunately, the otter doesn't try to move the knife, and the sword knocks the knife straight out of his paw, sending it to the ground yet again. "N-No," He protests. "Anybeast but you!" He is very unwilling to admit that he was actually afraid to die, but felt as though he couldn't go back now. Perhaps DoraRose is to be the one to prove him wrong.
DoraRose growls deep in her throat and advances, gently resting the swordpoint on the otter's neck. "Why not? I'm here; I might as well do it!"
This is the final break in the otter's willpower, and he instantaneously bursts into tears, speaking in between sobs. "F-Fine! I g-give up, j-j-just /please/ d-don't kill me!!" By now, Derean is literally sobbing openly, and he covers his face with both paws.
DoraRose lowers her sword and smiles sadly. "Why not?" she asks gently. "What made you change your mind?"
Derean responds through gasps of breath, his voice muffled an broken. "I c-can't let you g-g-go through th-that..." This small broken sentence is really all he can manage before he finally curls up into a little brown ball on the ground, his body racked with sobs.
DoraRose sticks the tip of her sword into the ground and leans on it, shaking her head sadly. "And yet you were willing for me to have to live with losing yet another friend? I have had so much loss in my life, I don't need anymore."
There is no more response for Derean to give now, and all he can do is lay there whimpering, his body shuddering as though it were a leaf in a gust of wind. The energy once contained in this otter is simply gone, replaced by anxiety and simple emptiness.
DoraRose sheaths her sword and kneels by her friend, gently laying a paw on his shoulder, not saying anything for now.
Derean flinches, curling up just a bit more at the touch. "I-I'm sorry..." Comes the muffled voice.
DoraRose nods and goes to rub his arm a little. "I know....I know."
Finally, his shuddering seems to stop, and he slowly uncurls, sniffing as he stares at the ground silently.
DoraRose smiles softly. "You ready to go back to the Abbey? We don't have to tell anybeast what happened out here today."
Derean finally sits up slowly, his reddened eyes looking up at DoraRose hesitantly. "B-But wot if nobeast wants me there because of how I've acted recently?" He finally asks.
DoraRose smiles a little coldly. "Then they'll have me to deal with. If they give you a hard time, tell them that you're my guest. Okay?"
Derean finally sniffs again, running a paw across his eyes and nodding. "R-Right...I-...I can do that..."
DoraRose smiles more and stands, extending a paw. "Then shall we go?"
Derean hesitates, then finally takes the offered paw, standing up. He stands there rather awkwardly. "W-We might want t' return the knife..." He mumbles.
DoraRose laughs lightly and nods. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea." She picks it up and tucks it into her sword belt, not quite ready to trust the otter with a sharp object just yet.
Derean offers a small smile, but it's quickly replaced by his usual sad look. "L-Let's just go..." He mutters, beginning to walk off in the direction of Redwall Abbey, shoulders slumped and steps sliding.
A change in the scenery...
RW Abbey: Entry--------------------------------------------------------------------
You stand on a grassy sward between two cottages. To the south you see a small, calm pond. To the north lies an open space where the Abbey has its feasts in the warmer seasons. To the east is the Great Hall, a massive structure that rises far above the abbey walls and is completed with large towers that pierce upwards into the sky. The main building is completed with a large, iron banded door that would allow one into the Great Hall.
The blanket of snow is replaced with the vibrant greens of spring. Newly sprung flowers and young shoots dot the path. They hold a promise of color and enhancement. The earth is relatively dry here, and the soil rich for growing, but muddy patches of dirt still can be found. Many Abbeybeasts can be seen tending to the gardens, though some are content with just being out and about, enjoying the warmth of the virgin sun and the pleasent weather. Dirt pawprints are tracked upon the clearing's surface, serving as witness to the fact that the majority of Abbeybeasts are caught up in the "spring fever." Most will will do just about anything, or make any excuse to be outside, eager to watch as spring colors emerge in scraggly clumps.
Exits/Entrances:
[G]reat [H]all [C]limb to the [R]amparts [A]bbey [P]ond
[Ga]te [H]ouse [Leave] through the gates [Open] Ground
[C]hampion's [C]ottage
It is late afternoon when DoraRose and Derean make it back to the Abbey, considering it had been mid-afternoon when they had left anyway. Derean's steps and slumped shoulders make him look more like a shambling zombie than a living creature, but at least he's alive in spite of what had just happened.
Emyuil is waiting in the entryway, sitting in the grass, and he doesn't look up as the two beasts enter.
DoraRose enters, following the slumped undead-monster-imitating otter into the Abbey. When they get inside, she hands her sword and the kitchen knife that is tucked into her sword belt to a guard, suddenly suffering from a splitting headache. Seeing her brother, she restrains from putting a paw to her temple and smiles at him. "Hey, Emyuil."
Derean literally continues on even though DoraRose had said something, not even noticing Emyuil by this point. Instead, he continues on a straight course for the Great Hall, not quite wanting to speak to anybeast at the moment.
"Where were you?" Emyuil says coldly, without a trace of a smile. "I was worried."
DoraRose sighs and rubs her forehead. "Oh, nowhere, really. Just keeping Derean from, y'know, doing something he'd regret later. I'm sorry fro worrying you."
Derean simply continues to shamble along, completely oblivious to the fact that his name had been mentioned.
Emyuil doesn't seem satisfied and his eyes flash. "Don't just disappear like that. I was seriously scared, 'rose. These are dark times."
DoraRose glares at her brother, but keeps her voice calm. "I'm sorry. I didn't have enough time to leave you a note. I'm sorry. You seem to forget that I'm a warrior, too. I can defend myself." Okay....so much for staying calm.
"I haven't forgotten," Emyuil says darkly. "But you seem to forget that you have a family back home. You can't just go around coming THIS close to throwing your life away every other day. You should settle down."
DoraRose stiffens angrily, her blue eyes flashing. "Excuse me? How dare you?! For your information, this is the first time I've been outside the Abbey for weeks now. And how dare you think you have the right to tell me what to do? You are not my father, nor are you my husband! And I have settled down; I live here now!"
Derean simply doesn't even acknowledge the conversation as though he can't hear it, and instead just sits there at the pond, staring at its surface.
"I'm your _brother_" Emyuil growls. "And every time I turn my back you end up getting yourself half-killed. The only reason you haven't left for weeks is because you got the living crap beat out of you and it's taken you nearly this long to recover!"
DoraRose shouts back, "The reason I haven't left was because I had no reason to! I leave when I perceive that I have a need to go! I wasn't half-killed this time, was I? No, I wasn't! The only other creature I saw out there was Derean! I was perfectly safe!"
Again, Derean makes no movement and says nothing to indicate that he had heard his name a second time. Instead, he just remains motionless, as is quickly becoming his job it seems.
"How do _you_ know you were perfectly safe? There's raiders _everywhere_, 'rose," Emyuil says frustratedly. "I keep killing them but there's always more." It seems that his resolve is quickly being broken by his sister's fury.
"BECAUSE NOBEAST ATTACKED ME!!" DoraRose has the rapt attention of everyone who is outside. "I was preoccupied by Derean and his problem; ti would've been the perfect opportunity to attack me! But was I? NO! Now lay off me, alright?" She is so upset that she's saying things she wouldn't normally be saying. Great. Just great.
"So maybe you got lucky," Emyuil says in a low voice. "But I guarantee if you tried it again, something would've happened. What the hell WAS Derean's problem, anyways?" he demands.
DoraRose bares her teeth in an almost feral snarl. "Don't use that kind of lanuage with me. And why don't you ask Derean? I won't betray a promise....not even to you." And she runs off towards the pond, intending to hide somewhere until sundown. Then she'll go crying to Leon.
Thanks for reading!
