Woodland Encounter Part 2

It is a few hours later in the evening from the time when Talen's bag had been stolen, and now the otter sits in the same spot he had sat before the whole thing had happened. Darkness has fallen over Mossflower Wood, and Talen had stoked up his fire so that he could keep away the chill and dampness in the air. He stares quietly into the flames, eyes intently watching them flicker and dance and hearing the soft crackle as the wood is slowly and greedily devoured. Occasionally, he pokes at the fire to keep it going, ears perked and alert for the sounds of anyone approaching. The otter thief, whom Talen had chastised then given food to, seemed to be fast asleep in the tent at the moment; Talen had allowed him to share his campfire, and had also let him use his tent for the evening. The young otter wouldn't be doing much sleeping as it is, anyhow...he had much too much on his mind.

Simon rests with his back against a nearby log, his unfocused gaze meandering over to Talen once he's sure that the otter thief had gone to sleep. He looks visibly tired from the activity of the day, but can't seem to bring himself to sleep. He still doesn't trust the thief, for one, and for the other... "Mm, not that I miss the abbey, but I sure wouldn't mind an honest bed sometimes."

Talen perks his ears upon hearing Simon speak, and he glances over at him for a moment; he had also allowed the mouse to remain in his company since he had helped him in retrieving his stolen goods from the thief. Chuckling lightly, the otter prods at the fire with his walking stick, gaze turning back to the fire. "Aye. Never been to th' H'abbey meself, but I c'n unnerstan' wantin' t'sleep inna honest t'goodness bed fer once. Not me, tho..." he replies in a quiet voice. He grins. "I been out 'ere so long, oi think oi wouldn't be able t'sleep widdout hearin' th'crickets chirpin' and th'wind blowin' through the treetops. Guess I gotten used to it, oi suppose."

Simon mms softly, leaning his head back. "I suppose there's that," he replies. "The abbey... well, it's nice enough for somebeasts, I suppose. No place for me, though." He frowns a bit and nods over to the tent, "Think we can trust our 'friend' over there to not cause any more trouble?"

Talen gives a brief glance at the tent where Furis sleeps. "Aye," he answers, without much of a thought..."I ain't never met an h'otter that I couldn't trust me life with." He nods matter-of-factly, "And I've met plenny o'otters, mate, believe you me. We may be a lotta things, but one thing I c'n say widdout 'esitations..." He turns his gaze to Simon, "We is th'most trustworthy beasts ever t'walk the paths o'Mossflower wood. I think I'd even go so far as t'say that I'd trust me other leg to a fellow h'otter." He pats the space over his heart with a paw. "Sometimes, y'just gotta let yer intuitions guide ya and not put too much thought inta things, mate." He continues to lightly stoke the fire, going quiet for a few moments as he does so. "Mind if I ask ye why ye decided t'leave the H'abbey? From wot I 'ear, it's a wunnerful place..."

Simon sighs a little. "It's... complicated. Let's just say it's not the same place for me anymore." He raises an eyebrow and quirks his muzzle in a lopsided grin. "Mm, if you say so. It's a lot of trust to put in a stranger, 'specially with a first impression like that." He shrugs. "The otters at the abbey were good folk though, so I guess there's that."

Talen seems to think over Simon's words for a moment or two, a thoughtful look crossing his gaze. "Aye, it is..." he replies, in agreement. "But y'gotta try an' put yerself in th'boots of another, 'specially one like Furis. Somebeasts do some pretty crazy things when they're starvin'. Y'gotta think about those times when you were at yer lowest...did th'thought sometimes cross yer mind t'do things y'normally wouldn't do in other circumstances?" The otter gives a light shrug of his shoulders. "Plus, I think I got sorta like, a sixth sense, kinda..." he grins. "Oi c'n tell iff'n it's a goodbeast or a badbeast. Entuishun, I guess somebeasts call it," he chuckles in amusement. "Plus, if worse came to worse, oi c'n look after meself. My footpaw wasn't always 'urt like it is, mah mousey friend...." Talen grins.

Simon scratches behind his ear a little. "Guess that makes sense; he did seem a lot more cooperative when you gave him your food. Thanks for the apple, by the way." He peers over at Talen's injured footpaw. "What happened to it?"

Talen nods, and winks to Simon. "Aye, he did, didn't 'e? It's all in 'ow ya treat others, mate. If y'show em a bit o'compassion an' understandin' for their plight, most o'the time they'll show ya th'same respect in return." The otter grins lightly...."-Most- o'the time. There -are- somebeasts who deserve a good tail-bruisin' and face-smashin', I admit." As the mouse thanks him for the apple, Talen gives him a dismissive wave of his paw, "Aw, twas nothin', I saw you were a bit 'ungry too. I don't got a lot t'call me own, but oi got no problem with sharin' wot oi do 'ave." He pokes a bit at the fire as his gaze falls back to it. As the question is asked about his injury, the otter's eyes noticeably narrow just a tad, a brief, steely look flickering within the aquamarine irises. He is quiet for a short awhile, apparently mulling over his response. Finally, he utters a single, hushed word. "Pirates."

Simon blinks and his ears fold back a little. "Pirates? What'd they do to you?" he asks, some of his former anger flashing over his expression.

Talen remains silent for a time; he stares down at his satchel during this time, obvious conflicting emotions flickering upon his features. Finally, he replies, his voice hollow and subdued despite the thorny topic. "Oi grew up on th'coast," he starts..."Not quite sure 'ow I got there t'be honest, I 'ave no mem'ry of me parents at all. Oi guess you could say oi raised meself." A bit of pride enters his voice upon revealing this fact. "At least, oi think oi did, oi c'n just go by wot oi remember, mate. Mebbe it's better that oi don't remember...y'know, in case somethin' bad 'appened to me parents. An' mebbe this way, there's still that chance that they're out there somewhere. Aye, it's prolly a very slim chance, but a chance nontheless." The otter gives a small sigh, before continuing...he occasionally prods at the fire with his walking stick to keep it going, the flicker of the flames reflecting within his eyes as he speaks. "Oi guess y'could say oi 'ad a run-in with a group o'pirates who didn't take kindly t' me bein' near their camp."

Simon's ears perk up as he listens intently to the otter tell his story, curling his tail in front of his crossed legs. "I've only heard of pirates from Abbey lore about Martin the Warrior. Guess they don't come this far inland." He shivers a little. "The stories are enough, though. How long ago was this?"

A rustling comes from inside the tent, and the infamous otter thief slowly makes his way out of the tent, rubbing his eyes and giving a rather large yawn. With his hood and mask both down, it is very evident that he is a good bit younger than either Simon or Talen for that matter. In fact, one would have to wonder why he is out stealing anything at all. The moment he sights Simon and Talen, he freezes momentarily, not quite knowing what to say to either of them.

Talen gives a light sigh. "Well, t'be honest, mate, s'not that unusual fer pirates t'show up around 'ere...depends on where they land, really, an' 'ow bad they're in need of supplies. There's only so many beasts t'kill an' plunder from on th'coast...once they're all gone, then th'pirates move farther an' farther inland, destroyin' wutever's in their path..." The young otter frowns, biting the inside of his lip as he thinks over this information. "S'unfortunate, but...wut can ye expect from pirates?" Before he can really relay the story of how he'd been injured to Simon, Furis awakens. Talen turns his head, glancing back at the younger otter as he emerges from the tent. He offers the other as friendly a smile as he can muster at the moment despite the topic of discussion. "Well look 'oo it is...if it ain't the greatest apple n'cheese thief in alla Mossflower Wood!" he jokes, giving the younger otter a wink.

Simon doesn't like the direction Talen is headed with his talk of pirates coming further inland, but before he can inquire further, he sees Furis emerge from the tent. He glances meaningfully at the staff next to his side before fixing Furis a warning look, then grins a bit at Talen's grandiose greeting to the thief.

Furis winces a slight bit at the greeting from Talen and the rather obvious look from Simon, and he scratches the back of his neck a touch awkwardly. "Aye, that's me!" He says, though he doesn't quite sound that proud to admit it to the beast that had just helped him instead of letting Simon beat him senseless. Finally, Furis just sighs, his shoulders sagging. "Look, I'm sorry 'bout wot happened sir. I usually don't steal from other otters, but.." He shakes his head slowly. "I got desparate.."

Talen gives Simon a knowing grin, and as he sees him eyeing his staff, he raises a paw in a similar gesture as before, though not nearly as sternly. "No need fer that, mate," he chuckles. "Oi think our friend 'ere 'as learned 'is lesson." As Furis speaks, Talen gives a shrug and a dismissive wave of his paw. "Aw, no need t'apologize, wut's dun is dun, y'can't change th'past. But y'can change what ya do from here on in." He smirks lightly, "An' ya doan 'ave t'call me 'sir' either, mate, I ain't yer captain. I'm just a traveler, like you. Yer makin' me feel like yer granpappy." The otter gets slightly more serious after a moment..."Oi c'n unnerstand th' position you were in, mate, which is why I didn't treat ya as harshly as I could've...an' why I didn't sic th'vicious blade o'Simon th'Warriormouse on ya..." he grins, giving Simon a playful wink. "E woulda chopped ya inta pieces an'thrown ya in th'river if it were up t'him, ain't that right?"

Simon peers carefully at Furis as he apologizes; he still has a few reservations about the otter, but he seems sincere enough to take at his word. He seems to relax and smiles a bit. "Not much for the blade, I'm afraid. Probably would've given your noggin a few hard thumps though. Speaking of, hope you're doing better now?"

Ruefully, Furis rubs his stomach, nodding. "Aye, I'm doin' a lot better," He says, though Simon and Talen have yet to see a smile from the young otter. "An' I don't think I'll be able t' change wot I do anytime soon," He continues, his gaze shifting to Talen again. "I've got nothin' else t' do t' keep meself fed an' alive, so unless ye c'n figure that out, I'm afraid I 'ave no choice."

Talen visibly relaxes as Simon's mistrust of Furis seems to be easing up a bit and he is able to have somewhat of a normal conversation with him. Turning his eyes back to Furis, Talen listens intently to the other otter speak, his attention focused on him. "Y'always 'ave a choice, mate. Always. Don't let anyone ever tell ya otherwise. Don't let yerself talk yerself inta that sorta nonsense, cuz th'more ya tell yerself that, th'more ye'll start t'believe it." Talen grips his walking stick firmly with a paw as he pokes at the dwindling fire, attempting to get it to strengthen a bit more. "-Ev'ry one has th'ability to change, Furis." He points the staff at the other otter, attempting to make a point. "It's just a matter of whether or not y'wanna put forth th'effort necessary t'do it. Like, fer instance, I c'n always change my mind about lettin' ya stay here an' continue t'travel with me..." he grins a bit. "That is, if'n ya think ya c'n handle it, o'course."

Simon nods a little to Furis; he suspected it'd still smart but he hadn't really been trying to injure him that badly either. As for the rest, he nods in agreement with Talen, but remains quiet otherwise.

Furis hesitates for a moment, trying to process all of what he had just heard, and then it hits him, and his eyes widen. "Y-Ye wot?" He stammers, barely able to believe what he had just heard. "W-Wait, why would ye want t' keep me around after I tried t' take yer stuff?"

Talen gives a shrug, and a smile to Furis. "Why not?" he responds, simply. "All of us 'ave done things in our lives that we regret, aye? That doesn't mean ya gotta be punished for it. Like I said, mate, I unnerstand yer position an' where yer comin' from. This ain't my first go-round, heh. Yer a bit rough around th'edges o'course, but...t'be honest, I 'aven't 'ad someone t'travel with in a long while, and I think th'company will do us both good. As long as ya keep yerself outta trouble, that is." He chuckles. "One c'n only talk to th'trees an' rocks fer awhile before one starts questionin' 'is own sanity, haha." The otter gives Furis a wink. He glances over to Simon as well. "Ow bout you too, sir Simon the Warriormouse? Ya up for a little travel? Unless ya got someplace ya need to be, o'course..."

Simon chuckles. "Other than away from the abbey, I didn't have any particular destination in mind. And it'd be nice to have company... All right, I'm in."

This leaves the final decision down to Furis, and quite frankly, he can't really believe anything he's hearing. His gaze shifts between Simon and Talen, his expression one of absolute surprise. "I-I s'pose I can't refuse," He says finally, now feeling a tad bit more awkward for standing there by the tent and talking to the two beasts sitting at what now looks like a very inviting fire.

Talen looks from Simon to Furis, then back again, and a wide grin crosses his muzzle. He twitches his whiskers, obviously pleased at the moment. "Aw, I'm glad t'hear it, mate! Oi 'aven't 'ad me own crew in a few seasons, an' it's good t'be among goodbeasts like yerselves. Trust me, findin' vittles is alot easier when ya multiply yerself by two. Sure, ya gotta share wut ya find, but eh...s'better than not findin' anything an' starvin', aye?" He does notice Furis standing near the tent, and he gives the ground a hearty thump with his rudder. "Well, don't jus' stand there freezin' yer whiskers off...'ave a seat by th'fire, while it's still goin'!" The otter chuckles, nodding towards another log that is set a short distance away from the flames. "Take a load off, we're not headin' out til th'morning anyways."

Simon chuckles, Talen's good mood rubbing off on him. And it did sound more fun than wandering around in the forest alone.

Furis hesitates at the invitation at first, but he finally walks over to the apointed log, sitting down with a sigh of relief as he holds his paws out towards the fire. He had to admit that sitting at the fire was far better than standing over by the tent. "Thank ye, s-..uh..." He stops for a moment. "Thank ye Talen," he finishes, looking away from the otter and at the fire. There could be worse ways the situation could've played out, but..Talen reminded him a lot of his father, or at least what he could remember of his father, which wasn't saying much. Furis can't help but chuckle to himself for the first time in a while. Maybe this would turn out to be a good thing, and he could actually have something of a family for once.