Disclaimer/Summary(now I have an excuse for this being insanely long- mwahahaha): The characters of this fic and their separate tales all belong to my pal Kelaiah, since I wrote this as a little surprise for him.

In my story "Arawolf Beechclaw, Sueslayer Extraordinaire," in which a horde of Mary Sues attack Redwall Abbey, we mentioned (I say we, since it was Kel's idea in the first place) that the Marlvixen Lantur had a Sue daughter, who had typical angsty, tragic beginnings. Plus, Kelaiah invented another Sue (also featured in said tale, as well as his stories "Redwall and the Haunted Mansion" and "Linwe Seregon Swifteye"), a beautiful squirrelmaid who is Song's twin sister. In some of the dialogue which he wrote, more of her past is revealed, and he mentioned that she was driven out of Southsward by Kel's Redwallish alter ego, a ferret of the same name.

So, I was really bored in math class (pointless for my future career, by the way) and started writing this little one-shot... what would happen if his two Sues met each other? Enjoy!
(The many little paragraph breaks indicate alternating points of view.)

-One Night In A Storm-

The beautiful squirrelmaid stormed across the plain, her normally serene face twisted in fury. Her fur was a deep jet black, almost blending into the surrounding night, with little crimson streaks beginning to show through it owing to her mounting anger. Her scarlet eyes burned like twin embers, lighting up the rain-lashed darkness, for all around this squirrel the elements echoed her rage.

A fox maiden staggered through the tempest, the downpour plastering her unusual pelt flat against her slim, shapely body. Twice she was nearly knocked down by the howling winds, and only just managed to keep her balance. Blinking water out of her striking purple eyes, the vixen ran on desperately through the night.
The squirrel was untouched by the wind and rain, although the storm continued to intensify with her wrath. Lightning slashed across the skies, forming brief, blinding halos over her head. That ferret! That common-born, dirty vermin! He would pay for what he had done to her, oh yes, he would pay... Revenge blazed from her eyes and roared in her heart.
Fighting to stay upright against the torrential rain, the vixen paused as she saw two red flares up ahead, quickly moving closer. A panicked thought crossed her mind. It was the slavers, bearing torches; a mere thunderstorm would not stop them recapturing her! She clenched delicate, scarred paws in defiance. She would never be taken back! Using all of her inherited skills, the young vixen crouched down and melted into the wind and rain. Not even her violet eyes were visible as whoever-or whatever- it was came closer.
The squirrelmaid peered hard into the darkness ahead, and gave a dainty little gasp of surprise. No other beast but her would have been able to see the creature there, motionless despite the storm. Her anger faded, and she ran forward, calling. "Don't conceal yourself from me, friend. I'm not here to hurt you!" Although she could tell by now that the animal was a fox, a 'vermin,' the squirrelmaid held a policy of giving everybeast a fair trial, regardless of the stereotypes of their kind.
With a soft growl of surprise, the vixen materialized and stood regarding the squirrelmaid. Around the two creatures, the keening winds stopped, and the rain lessened and died away. Dark thunderclouds were chased away by a gentle breeze, allowing moonlight to shine down upon the strange meeting.

For a few moments, nobeast said anything, each looking the other over. What an odd tree-rat, the vixen thought. Weren't her eyes red a moment ago? Now they're such a beautiful silver...

The squirrelmaid was also surprised. "I've never seen fur like yours before, friend," she said, her voice soft and melodious, as though a song perpetually lingered beneath its surface.

The vixen smiled shyly, revealing perfect, snowy white teeth. "Nor yours," she murmured, watching the squirrel's fur change slowly from red-tinged black to a dusky shade of cream.Her own pelt, though, rivaled it in wonder. Patches of fiery red, common in any vulpine but in this case unusually bright, faded into streaks, splotches, and swirls of blue-gray, white, and darkest jet.
By the time she confessed, "I'm half Marlfox," the squirrelmaid had already figured it out.

"Don't worry, friend," she said with a smile. "I'm not one to condemn a beast because of birth- it's our actions that determine who we really are. Now if you'd like, we could camp together for the night. I'm sure you know some great stories!"

Briefly, the vixen turned away and stared out into the night, tears beginning to trickle down her face. Her voice quavered as she replied, "Not great ones, friend, not full of love or happy endings... but stories all the same."

The squirrelmaid stepped forward and laid an arm around her shoulders. "It sounds like we've got a lot to talk about. Come on, let's get a camp started and some food in our stomachs!"

Firelight flicked across the travelers' faces as they finished their meal; a simple affair, but quite tasty owing to the vixen's spectacular cooking skills. "Would you like to tell me now?" the squirrelmaid asked gently. Her new friend sat up, the previous sadness in her violet eyes replaced by determination.

"I was born at Castle Marl," she began, choosing to stare into the flames rather than at her companion. "My mother, the Marlfox Lantur, fell in love with a slave. She and her kin were forbidden to 'dishonor' their bloodline by mixing it with that of ordinary foxes, but...

Well, they met in secret a few times, and eventually Mother managed to get him a job as one of her personal servants. Her mother, the High Queen of the island, was not pleased, but Lantur made a show out of whipping him or treating him badly when she came near. When I was born, my father was very angry. He hated the Marlfoxes, except for Lantur, and he wanted a son who would someday rise up and overthrow the ruling family. One day,- I remember it though I was barely a season old- he convinced Mother to let him hold me, and before she could do anything he'd pulled out a knife and was about to slit my throat. Mother saved me; she threw me off a cliff into the lake. Somehow, I washed ashore, and ever since then my life has been terrible.

When I was barely two seasons old, I was nearly killed and eaten by a tribe of rats; and after escaping them I was captured by a band of slaver foxes, who whipped me, starved me, and mistreated me in horrible ways. I ran away, but..." She broke down in tears, her sobs mingling with those of the squirrelmaid.

"Th...that's just like my life!" she wept. "I grew up on Castle Marl too! When I was just a babe, I was brought there and forced to watch my parents murdered. And all the vixens were jealous of my natural beauty, so they had me whipped and tortured all the time. One of the males, Mokkan, fell deeply in love with me, but I was far too pure to give in to his advances. In a fit of anger, he had me thrown into the lake, where I fought off the ravenous pike and made my way to land. After a season or two, I-"

The vixen cut her off. "I think I remember you! The little slave with the colorful fur, always singing to the other captives."

Smiling through her tears, the squirrelmaid nodded. "Yes... it was to give them hope, though I myself had none."

"Hope..." the vixen murmured as she rose from her seat. "What a strange thing that is... everybeast tries to take it away from us, to beat us down into the dust, but it can never truly leave...it is always there, in our hearts, our minds, and in our very souls."

"Where are you going, friend?" the squirrelmaid inquired. "Don't you want to stay here for the night? I can sing for you..."

The vixen gave a small, sad smile. "No... I want to find my mother, tell her I'm still alive. It was wonderful to meet you, though- to find someone who cares."

With a sigh, the squirrel nodded and stood as well, dousing the embers and packing away her things. "Same here, friend. I'm bound for a place called Redwall Abbey, and I guess I'd better be on my way too. And if I meet a certain ferret on my travels... so much the worse for him."

Vengeance flared in her gaze before she smiled once more, waving as the vixen padded off and was gradually swallowed up by the shadows.

The squirrelmaid, with a last sad glance over her shoulder, continued on her journey; as once again, it began to rain.

-Fin-