Why Did Ya Run Away Lass?

• • • And its my hare Flint! He is a private, a fighter in the LP, but has been missing in action for the past 3-4 seasons, almost a year! In this log he gets company after being alone for so long ***

The swamps, one could get lost in this dark and slimy place. A lot of water, if one not careful quicksand. Mud and moss, rocks all over and fallen dieing old tree logs. Its not a place to feel welcomed at all.

Celina had walked most of the afternoon and into the night along the beach and then went towards the dunes. She would sleep for a couple hours and then wake and walk some more. In her half asleep mind she only noticed a little that the ground was sort of like mud, and that her foot paws would sink sometimes.

Unlike the hare maid others are wide awake and have been watching her since she came into the edge of the swamp, they been watching her the past hour and now they edge closer. The shapes, 4 of them, seem to blend in with the night and they carry tridents in their furless wedded paws and make odd, strange noises as they try to talk among themselves.

Celina stops and her ears perk, then droop as she catches movement and backs into a moss covered rock, she gulps “W..W..Who is there?” She is alone, her seagull friend stayed on the beach and slept, something she should of just done.

She is answered by the arrival of two tall toads, and two more step up behind her as one croaks..”Fur one*croak* nottas be ere’…traspasss on toadlands*croak*” They hold up tridents and go to try and surround her.

Celina gasps and backs up, she bumps into one of the toads and frowns. She gets out her dagger and stands in a fighters pose, “Back off ya slimy things!!”

The toad in charge only laughs and the laugh just sounds wrong as he jabs forwards with his trident, “Fur one..nottas talk back*croak*”

Celina ducks the trident and slices at the toads arm, she drops after this and slides under one of the other and bolts “Help me! Some beast..any beast!!”

A toad is sliced across the throat and croaks loudly as he stumbles backwards onto his buddy. His buddy uses the trident to get him off and sadly finishes sending him to the dark forest. Three toads remain and give chase “Get the fur one*croak* Place in hole of no escape*croak*!”

And the hare maid's calls are answered by Seaweed, her gull friend, he may be small but he can fight very well and he has a beck and small talons on his foot paws he uses on one of the toad’s ugly face!

Celina smiles “Seaweed I am jolly well glad ta see ya!!” She turns to look at the toads and frowns and tries to move faster only to fall once into the swamp waters and stands slowly, her foot paws are slimy so she takes off her boots and manages to run better, she frowns as those boots were a you just turned 7 seasons now gift.

The toad screams and croaks loudly as the beak of the seagull leaves holes in his chin and face, but even with blood flowing he still goes to swing his trident at the bird to knock it from the sky and if he succeeds he will proceed to stab down at the bird.

Seaweed flaps and caws loudly, he then is head and falls sideways and onto the sinking mud, his feathers get covered in slime and he goes to try and flap upwards but its short lived as he feels pain and then nothing as the trident sinks into his chest and kills him almost instantly.

Celina smile fades as she watches this..her friend, since childhood, dead.”Noooooooooo!!!!” . She seems to growl and suddenly charges at the toad and slices with her dagger back and forth and even tries to bite the toad on the arm.

The toad is surprised at the hare maid sudden change from fear to brave, he gets stabbed in the chest and arm, and bite on the arm. He uses the trident to try and slam it into the hare maid's head to knock her out.

Celina doesn’t care right now, her friend was killed by this toad and she wants revenge “Die Slime!” She stabs the dagger in his neck a second before the trident’s 2nd blow knocks her out cold and she slumps to the ground.

The toad lets out a weak croak and falls over dead, a dagger deep in his throat. The other two grab the hare maid by the foot paws and drag her deeper into the swamps and place her into a cage they lower to the bottom of a hole, they croak to someone unseen “Getta fur out*croak*..the n back up*croak*.”

The figure of a thin hare in a torn uniform appears, he gets the hare maid out and frowns, he hates obeying these things but he has the past 3-4 seasons. He backs up and checks the hare maid over quietly and sighs, he will have to wait till she wakes up and maybe see why and how she is here.

The toads take the cage and raise it, then they place bars back over the hole and stand guard a short distance away. A couple dozen toads are in this tribe.

• • • A couple hours later ***

Celina groans and opens her eyes to look around, she rubs a bump on her head, its sore but otherwise she seems to have not suffered any long term damage.

Flint speaks “Hey lass ya awake, please tell me that is a blooming patrol around lass.” He looks hopeful.

Celina jumps slightly and frowns “I..no, I was by myself and well with…” She gasps and then tears come “Seaweed..the..they killed him!” She starts sobbing now.

Flint doesn’t know this hare maid, he does know she is just barely out of dibbun seasons and goes to hug her, if she allows and frowns “You and another hare were alone..w…why?”

Celina shakes her head, she is glad for someone to hug her right now “He was a seagull and..and I ran away from home, but..but now I wish I didn’t I want to go home now!”

Flint pats her on the back”That..could be a problem lass, I been here 3-4 seasons now, stupid toads be good at hiding captives, well ones they don’t feed to something…seems they find me entertaining or something…why did ya run away lass?”

Celina frowns “They don’t understand me..or..and didn’t understand my friend Seaweed, they always yelled at me for every little thing I did that was wrong in their eyes..” She frowns, she now misses her mom and dad and knows they may be over protective and strict but rules are there for keeping one safe and they only wanted her to learn discipline and manners. She sinks to her knees and hugs her knees to her chest and starts sobbing again.

Flint frown “My name is Flint…” He just keeps it at first name for now”

Celina frowns, her eyes tearstained “ Celina…” She frowns and suddenly hugs the hare and looks ready to pass out from lack of sleep and being worn out from the fight.

Flint sighs and looks up as croaking shows the toads will sleep soon, but one, one always stayed guard. He sits by the hare maid, “Let’s hope they look for you and find you maybe, or least someone jolly well does. Not ta worry, I may of given up on getting out of here but I think I have a reason to try again. We WILL get out of here lass, not to worry yourself.” He has some hope in his eyes for the first time in a long while.

Celina snuggles close to the older hare ends up falling asleep, tears under her eyes.

Flint watches her and also ends up falling asleep shortly after she does, he keeps a protective arm around the young maid as he sleeps. He will protect her if need, how he isn’t sure yet but he will do his best to make sure there toads don’t do any more harm to the hare maid, least while he is here he will protect the maid.