Tussock Terror Part One

Not all is well in the town of Tussock. Why the name Tussock Terror? Cause something Terrifying is going to happen later on! But like all good stories we need a bit of build up to give the juicy bits meaning. Plus its' been forever since Tussock had some RP.

Each character is an npc. Vannon played the fox, ferret, and hare. Raziel played Will and the shrew.

Found out later that the name William has been taken by another player already. I changed all the occurrences of William to Will. Please let me know if you find one I missed and I will change it.

Things are quiet in the small town of Tussock, and the sun is just starting to set, bathing the quaint little place in a red-orange glow. The miners, farmers, and business beasts are all packing up for the night, with a number heading to the town's little inn. The place is by no means fancy, and is in fact a little rough around the edges, but it's a warm, comfortable place to spend the night. Off in a corner of the common room, by himself, a small black mouse sits drinking a warm mug of cocoa, and idly spinning his pickaxe by the handle. It's been a long day...

The day becomes even longer as a flood of miners bursts into the inn. It is a common sight by now to see the inn's filled with workers from the mines. After all it's easier to rent out a small room rather than buying a house in town. The workers come in hooting and shouting. Among the group that comes in are a fox, a cat, a couple of hares, a ferret and other various beasts that do not mind spending their days deep in the earth searching for precious metals.

Will the mouse is not pleased by this development. He likes things nice and quiet; to relax after a long day in the mines. But every day, it's the same. These ruffians come in, make a mess, and ridicule the poor little mouse as he tries to drink his cocoa. A small frown forms on the beast's muzzle, and he squints at the crowd of new arrivals. No more. If it happens again, William is going to SNAP.

A group of beasts breaks off from the others, making a bead line for the black furred mouse. "Will!" Cries the youthful gold furred fox as he approaches, he is flanked by a copper furred hare and a pot bellied brown ferret. Each of them have a level of soot and dust covering their faces and arms. The fox grabs the mouse firmly by the shoulders and pats him on the back, "Nice to see you again Will-iam. Ordering cocoa again?" The beasts take their seats at the table. The ferret smiles mischievously and laughs, "Don't know how ye stand that rubbish mate. Ale be good for the heart you know." The hare nods in agreement flagging down the waitress to place their orders.

Will glares at the other beasts as they approach, but apparently they don't get the message. The never have, so it's not like he's truly surprised. The mouse speaks up, quietly commenting, "I-I-I don't like a-ale."

The waitress, a heavily overworked shrew who looks like she may pass out at any moment, comes over. "What do you want...? Let me guess. Ale."

The fox smiles broadly, "Aye! And some kindo fish if you have it." The ferret and hare both nod in agreement. They order their respective plates, fish for the ferret and a bowl of salad for the hare. The fox nudges his mousy companion in the side after he orders, "You and your co-coa." he snickers, "I hear the boss is lookin to promote someone soon to fore beast. Think you might be up for that Will?" The big bellied ferret snorts in laughter, "Right, can you imagine Will here shouting out orders? He can hardly shout across the table!"

Will frowns, and squeaks. "I'm a h-h-hard worker, Clarence. I g-get done soon enough that I g-get to l-l-leave early!" Really, the mouse does work far harder than these beasts - he has to, to make up for the difference in physical size - this is not a line of work the mouse is naturally cut out for.

The waitress-shrew nods as she takes the orders, and shuffles back to the kitchen. "Aye, it'll be right out...."

The ferret snickers at the mouse's difficulty to produce a simple sentence. "Yeah, right. You keep telling yourself that Pipsqueek." The fox rolls his eyes at the ferrets comment, the hare merely remains neutral, drumming his paw across the table. "Are you aiming for the fore beast job Clarence?" The ferret chuckles to the fox's inquiry, "You betcha. Who else is he gonna hire? You Max?"

Will is slightly relieved that the other beasts are talking among themselves, and not bothering him for the moment, but the mouse still directs his dark, beady eyes to each of them in turn. He can't take it anymore. Day in and day out, working with these witless, slack jawed, unmotivated imbeciles. Someone has to do something. Something drastic...

Max crosses his arms at the ferret, "...I bet Will-iam would make a good fore beast. He just has to work on his speach inped...inpedim...you know, the stutter." The hare nods again in agreement, "Darn right Will. You are grown beast now. Speak with conviction." Clarence however only shakes his head, "Sure, root for the runt."

Will gives a small, imperceptible twitch of his eye, and gives a small, insincere chuckle. "Yes, it's a p-problem. B-b-but I'll get over it e-eventually. Once I'm not so s-s-st. S-str..." The mouse gives up, and takes a sip of cocoa.

Clarence laughs, pounding his fist onto the table, "If this is the best competition you guys can muster, then I think it's pretty plain who is gonna get the job." The hare snickers as the fox merely shakes his head and rubs his eyes, "Ye are hopeless Will." The trio fall silent as they wait for their meal to arrive. The fox not wanting to hear the ferret brag and the hare not wishing to see anyone argue.

Will disagrees. Strongly. And for once, the little mouse actually gets angry enough to say something about it. "Y-y-you can't even do your own job, C-c-clarence! How could you hope to be f-forebeast?! You sl-sleep through every shift!" The mouse isn't all that much louder, but his tone is quite upset, and his paws tremble as they hold his mug of cocoa.

The effect the mouse had been wanting is probibly lost on the ferret who simply shrugs off Will's first attempt at standing up to himself, "And yet I'm the one who gets the most pay. Out of the lot of ye, I'm the only one with the brains for it." The fox interjects, "Hey! I can do the job just fine. I'm pretty sharp myself." The hare nods, "I would hate the responsibility. All those beasts under your beck and call, all depending on you, not worth the effort I say." The three beasts continue on for some time, completely ignoring the timid little mouse.

Will sits patiently, watching the other beasts converse, slowing filling with rage. It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair. He stares down at the mug in his paws, the cocoa still steaming. He waits for a lull in the conversation, before piping up again. "C-clarence? Clarence!" He want's the weasel's attention.

Will throws the steaming cocoa at the ferret's face.

The ferret tumbles backward clutching at his eyes, yelling curses and ranting about pain, hot cocoa, and his eyes. The hare merely stands there in shock, still processing the event in his mind. The fox however is instantly at the ferrets side shouting, "What the bleedin heck is wrong with you?!" Max shouts loud enough to garner the attention of all the beasts in the room. Heads turn, eye brows are raised, and mouths hang open in shock as they realize not just what happened, but who did it.

Will simply sets the mug back down gently on the table, and takes his coat and pickaxe from the back of his seat. Before striding out of the tavern, his head held high. "G-good day, C-c-clarence."