You Got Mail....-Redwall Log
Redwall Log:
With:
Oz-Papa Oz and the Dibbun caretaker of Redwall
Zee- grumpy badger resident of the abbey
Rascal-Fox and…for now visitor of Redwall Abbey, maybe possible Resident one day
RW Abbey: Firepit
This is a small strip of land between the pond and the orchards which is bordered on one side by a portion of the Abbey's southern wall. This particular section, while well built and sturdy, is obviously much, much newer than the sections to either side of it. The ground is clear of almost all grass and weeds, and is somewhat uneven, still bearing deep ruts and impressions that have not yet been worn away by the rain. The center of this area contains a large firepit lined with flagstones and encircled with log benches.
Exits: [H]idden [G]ap under Wall, [O]rchards, [P]ath to Abbey Pond
Zee is by the fire pit this morning and seems in a good mood, well..fairly good mood anyways as he has a journal and a couple letters beside him. He also talked to some beasts to make sure someone else had a needed day off and to share some news.
Oz makes his way to the fire pit, no fire as its summer time but it’s still a quiet and out of the way area for talking. He stops in front of his Uncle "So..is there a purpose for you to have Sister Ginny, as well Sister Amber and Brother Tom to take over dibbun duties for today without asking me? And what is important to speak here for?"
Zee smiles "Oz...hello, just some news...bout Zinnia" He waits on a reply as he has another item close by, "Also...I made cake, a mellow crème one with strawberries on it, tis ya birth season after all, ya were born tis day one fall...well while back" He chuckles "Now not as long back as me so no feeling old yet, that be me job fer now. I am bout 18 seasons older than ya...was 14..ya older than ya brother and me birth season be near de end of winter time"
Oz at first seems worried, and then shakes his head" I don't always worry bout birthdays....but what news of Zinnia, is she ok? And who sent news Is she back at the abbey?"
Zee holds up a paw and then, oh yeah he can't see, "She be fine or least seems fine and no she not be ere' Ozzy, sorry but she sent a letter that came from a sea gull who gave it to another sea gull, and they gave it to an Owl than got it here early this morning and a journal as well, not read much just skimmed over it" He goes to pick up one of the letters, "I can..read it if ya want ta hear"
Oz sits down beside Zee, after making sure he is not sitting on anything and nods slowly.
Zee clears his throat and reads the letter in his paw" Dear friends, I am fine and happy. I am sorry I will not be returning to Mossflower as I have gone off to live with my soon to be mate Takeo . I can try and send letters when I can but the lands are far across the great sea, I will miss you all.Sister Zinnia" He finishes "It also seems she had some sort of....well visit or vision thing on Xander, that he would somehow or other get free and come home, though when wasn’t clear"
Oz listens as the letter is read and arches an eyebrow "Mate?" This seems to surprise him. He tilts his head " A vision from whom, does she say?"
Zee decides to cut him a slice of cake and offers some mint tea, "Here Ozzy...and well I will have ta look over de journal, does it matter? Tis a way ta know Xander will end up back home, I am hoping soon. I..." He sighs "I still blame me self for that day he was taken, me fighting not as good as it use ta be."
Oz takes the slice of cake and the tea. He takes a long sip and a nibble of cake "It’s good and do not blame yourself Uncle Zee....it was not your fault what happen that day" He changes the subject “So does anyone else know of the letters?"
Zee gets himself some cake and tea as he answers "No...just you and I so far, I will tell others but thought share the news with you first and as for that day Xander was in the woods...you were not there, so you wouldn't know. That foul wildcat took him...keep him captive and got away with selling him to some brother of his, I did learn that from a rat..but as to where he took Xander , that’s where the clues stop as beast were more concern with those Vikings at the time than paying attention to other things"
Oz nibbles more cake" Should tell Abbot Benar of the letter he would want to know, and try not to worry about Xander...least much, worry causes stress which is not good, for any beast regardless of age"
Zee sighs " Little hard not ta worry, he is still young...like almost novice age now as he was only 3 and a half seasons and it’s been....it’s been almost..it WILL be two seasons come beginning of fall..give or take a few days, he would be almost 6 seasons old now"
Oz is here talking with Zee, oh look they have cake and tea some reason, no fire though as its summer time still. He nods to Zee "I know how old he would be, I tend to remember such things uncle" He sips his tea
Zee has beside him a journal and a couple letters, and yes there is cake..strawberry cake and mint tea. He shrugs as he goes quiet and takes a long drink of his tea.
Did someone say, cake? With the early morning sun shining down upon him Rascal appears around the side of the pond, as if drawn by the smell and allure of the fabled Redwall cake. Today he is just wearing a white linin night shirt, one that conforms tightly to his stomach. Upon returning to Redwall the fox hit his vices of food and drink hard, both of which are in abundance at Redwall.
The fox stretches and yawns as he approaches, planting his fuzzy tail on a log and waving to them both, "For the love of all that is holy what are you both doing up at this ungodly hour." he says, scratching his chin.
Rascal is many things. A morning beast is not one of them.
Oz frowns as he knows that voice, he has to think for a few on just who's..."Rascal?" He tilts his head as he lowers his fork as he was about to eat more cake, he shakes his head" Talking and discussing a letter from Zinnia"
Zee had his eyes closed and right now is stressed, his eyes snap open when he hears the fox and glares at him, he gets his staff ready to wack the fox on the head, bur luckily he doesn’t he just sort of threatens..."Wot tis the meaning of sneaking up on us...ya almost gave me a heart attack! I am not ready ta die yet ya young whimper.....ugggg young beasts today." He snorts and shakes his head "And it be called up with de sun lad..a lot of beasts do that" He looks over another letter he didn't read yet and hmmms.
The fox let's out a whine, cowering under the threat of badger bludgeoning. "Now ain't that a fine and proper welcome for a poor half-starved stranger. Here I come having trouble sleeping, tired, hungry and cold, and you threaten to drive me off with a club!" Rascal crosses his arms, "I will never understand why badgers are considered woodlanders and not vermin. The nerve!"
Oz frowns,"Uncle Zee..I am sure he...is sorry, correct Rascal and where..exactly have you been all this time Rascal?" He shakes his head "And your welcome to have some cake and tea if you like. We were just talking...peacefully"
Zee mutters under his breath as he lowers the staff and snorts" Whatever...." He frowns, give the fox some of the cake?!..."Him...fine" There is plenty after all for one more beast so he cuts a slice and offers some tea "Here....and ya welcome..whoever ya be" Yeah he is grumpy right now, and stressed. "SO the fox lived here once or something?"
The fox nods his appreciation for the cake, "Thank you Sir Oz. It's nice to know that some badgers don't live up to their unfounded reputation of being drooling barbarians." He says with the last part directed at Zee. "I will have you know that I don't /live/ here so much as temporarily relocated here...until the angry tribe of shrews camped to the north decide otherwise..." The fox takes a large bite of cake before he replies again, "Or the eagles don't get me...again. I was..." The fox pauses, shaking his head, "Oh you wouldn't believe where I was anyway." Even before his slice is finished Rascal reaches for the entire plate of cake, slowly, so as not to draw attention to himself.
Oz listens as he folds his arms over his chest, "Why are shrews after you? And eagle?...No eagles around here that I know of, unless Thunderwing is around but he is nice...usually. Any news you have could be interesting, seems news is something to get this morning."
Zee keeps an eye on the fox as he finishes his own slice of cake and just stays quiet for now, he seems to be unsure of the fox since he has no clue who the fox is “So your here ta hide?"
"Hide is such a crude term, but essentially, yes." The fox takes the plate of cake, resting it on his lap. "I'm claiming sanctuary in the Abbey from a group of mongrel shrews who wish to tan my hide and probably eat my liver or something. Barbarians really." The fox cuts a small slice of cake, then sets it on the ground before attempting to eat the larger half. "The event with the eagle happened a while ago. I got back a few weeks ago but...well..." His voice grows distant. "I was helping with the gardening a while back, before the eagle took me, but now it's...it's silly really...but I just can't bring myself to be outside that long, ya know?" He tries to laugh it off and eat the cake.
Oz says, "Well if your helping with gardening, you would need to be outside. I am guessing your looking to help more...I tend to remember now, you were looking to talk to me and Zinnia, though Zinnia is no longer here it would seem she is elsewhere....." The next part is said quietly, he is still a bit surprised with what the letter said" With her...husband" Least he is guessing she is married by the time they got the letter.
Zee sighs , he is not watching the rest of the cake, only 3 slices of what could be 8 are gone, "Yeah she seemed happy and all, lest seemed so in the letter that bird brought here..some owl, got the letter from a sea gull, who got it from another sea gull"
The fox is silent for a while only because it is impossible to talk and eat cake at the same time. Muzzle full of cake he reaches for another slice before greedily gulping what he has already eaten down. "Wait, you mean to say that Zinnia...left the abbey order to run off and get married? How scandalous!" The fox begins to chuckle, then laugh, slapping his knee even at one point. His laughter abruptly ends, "I uh, mean, how how interesting. She will be missed." He nods his head once again, "And yes, I was hoping to find something indoors originally but that was more out of general laziness. Now it is something of a...necessity." He leans forward, almost curling into a ball as he eats, eyes occasionally glancing upwards as if looking for something.
Oz frowns “She didn’t leave for that reason, it just sort of happen...she was looking for Xander but didn’t find him it seems"
Zee looks ready to try and slap the fox, "Look ya...fox, be polite, me niece left ta find her son, went through a lot and seems to have gotten lost, some beast...badger named...umm" He looks at the letter "Takeo...or something helped her and they went to where he lives" He sits the letter down "Xander still needs found...even if thar be reason to believe he will somehow get home. I mean yeah yeah..when and how? Vision and all not even explained just oh he will get home...yep lot to go on...not"
The fox seems to curl further into a ball with fright, "Well don't take it out on me. It's your wayward family, not mine."
Rascal, master of saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time.
Oz face palms, he just shakes his head. If the fox gets slapped or bonked with a staff, not his fault.
Zee stands and glares at the fox, he goes to do just that, hit him on the head with the staff he uses to walk with. Not enough to kill or knock out, but enough to certainly cause pain. He gathers up the letters and the journal and goes to leave “I am gonna find Benar now...yes I be sure he would like some news and would be much better company!" Yes grumpy badger, the grumpy badger then storms off......to go elsewhere, far away from the annoying fox.
The fox's body goes ridged, his tongue sticking out and tail poofing as he is bonked upside the head with a staff. He slumps backward, his legs still wrapped over the log. "I deserved that..." He says weakly
Oz tilts his head towards the, "My suggestion is ....keep your distance from my uncle a few days, just be luckily you’re not an enemy...that would of hurt much more"
"Duely noted..." The fox struggles to sit up, still seeing birds buzzing around his head. "Charming fellow wot?" Rascal shakes his head clear, "It's just like that dream I had the other day. The Redwallers invite me down to the great hall for a great festival. Then they bonk me over the head, tie me up, and cook me for dinner. Or the one where the shrews offer me up as a sacrifice to an eagle...those were horrible but I tell you they were not near as horrible as the dream I had this morning."
Oz frowns "Welll...I do not think you have to worry about anyone ...well wanting you as dinner, not in the abbey anyways, maybe elsewhere. Not here though." This next part could be looked at as good or bad, depends on how the fox feels on it, Oz is simply being nice and feeling bad since Zee...hit him with a staff, he gets a small piece of cake for himself and scoots the rest....half a cake...towards the fox "Here....try to feel better"
The fox takes the cake, eating it slowly. His gluttony subsided now that there is no one around to chastise him about it. "Thanks. It's just...this dream was worse than all the others. Even the one where the Redwallers hung me upside down like a pinata and beat me with sticks until candy fell out. Even worse than being eaten alive by a two headed eagle and its chicks. Now, this one takes the cake." The fox pauses, looking at his cake. "No pun intended."
Rascal then continues, "You see...in this one. I died. Nothing fancy, nothing gruesome. I just...didn't wake up one morning. And...no one cared." The fox tries to laugh but his face looks serious, "Life went on. Beasts went back to their work. Parties came and went. And life just...happened without me and no one seemed to care if I was there or not." Rascal looks up at Oz, tears are beginning to well at the bottom of his eyes, "The hardest part is, is...I have the sinking feeling that if that if I did just...stop being here...that the dream would come true."
Oz can't see tears, but he has a knack for knowing when one's tone of voice changes, even if mildly changes, he is quiet before he finally speaks "Rascal...I am unsure what beasts here think of you, I am unsure what I think of you...but I do know you’re not a threat to anyone, you’re not a threat to the abbey and I have no clue WHY shrews are after you, perhaps if you honestly explained that,...you could be better helped. I also know you can be very helpful around the abbey, if you tried to be. Harvest is coming up, but not sure that’s...the best area to let you help, hmmms I wonder where...."
"Perhaps the kitchens have need of a skilled food taster. I am certainly getting plenty of experience at it here." The fox's jovial attitude returns. He pauses in feasting to clutch the sides of his stomach. "I certainly /look/ like I have experience at it."
Oz speaks "I am not sure the kitchens would be good, Friar Lacota would dislike that idea, but some hard work could do you some good...maybe speak to Benar, he has been busy lately I know..what other skills do you have?"
"Nothing I would admit to in an abbey." Rascal laughs, "I made my living as a card shark and a gambler. I can read, I can write, I...know how to make a camp fire. I caught a fish...once."
Oz hmmms, "Maybe you could....or maybe not, I will have to think on the idea for a bit first. Reading and writing is very good skills to have, a camp fire is not needed till it’s cold and we rarely have one in the abbey, sometimes here at the fire pit at times...we roast apples in the fall at times and maybe tell stories"
The fox leans back on the log, swollen with the cake that is now all but eaten. "You Redwallers and your food. I swear I've eaten more in the last month than I have in two years." Rascal throws his arms behind his head and just...relaxes. This moment lasts for all but two seconds before the fox leaps to his feet again. "Well, thanks for the advice, and the cake. I should head in...you know...to..." avoid the eagles he almost says but instead just replies with a smile. "Got to get something to wash all that cake down, you know? Heh."
Oz listens "No ale...water or greensap milk will be best, and maybe as I said speak to Benar on an idea of possible job to do, to keep yourself busy..." He stands and dusts his tunic off “Maybe....I will think on you helping with classes, making sure they do well in reading and writing can be...difficult since I cannot see...counting I can teach, shapes and colors thanks to some wooden shapes someone made me..I can do. I know by heart the charter...the ways of the abbey and its history, so that’s not hard...I can even ID some herbs by smell and touch"
The fox stops in mid stride. His eyes bulge, and his tail wags as he leaps at badgers feet. "Really? You mean it? Rascal can be useful somewhere?" His tail begins to wag even harder, creating a small wind storm behind him as it thumps against the log.
Oz steps back so he is not knocked down and smiles at the fox "Yes...somewhere, I am sure of it. I will put in a good word for you if Benar needs one, now I suggest you speak to him as well and then get back to me alright. I need to talk to Zee some more on that news from Zinnia....and Rascal, do try and behave my friend" With that he he goes off to find Zee.
