Unlike many autumn mornings, this one did not come bearing a gust of chilling wind. The sun rose warm and bright in the clear sky, which many a beast would have claimed was the bluest they had seen in a long, long while. The birds, taking advantage of the beautiful weather, left the nests in which they had hidden in for so long from the cold rain and howling wind that often came with the cooler season. The songbirds were among these fowl, and they chirped at the height of their cheery little voices, flitting about in the blue, cloudless expanse above the tents of Bowfleg the Warlord.
A few early risers were already gathered around their cooking fires, talking amongst themselves and marveling at the gorgeous weather. Among the first awake was a small group of weasels, who quickly decided that four or five of the feathered creatures swirling above them would serve excellently as breakfast.
Bluefen, the sole daughter of Bowfleg the Warlord, ducked out of her tent and into the sunlight, stretching luxuriously. The ferretmaid yawned and smacked her dry lips. Making her way through the tatty, crowded tents, she reached the edge of the camp where a well had been dug. It wasn't a pretty thing, for a beast not far skilled in the art of masonry had laid the stones, and they sat stacked ugly and crooked atop one another. Some stupid beast had broken the handle off long ago, as well, and yet another had tried to remedy the situation by jamming a short stick in its place.
The only way one could draw water from the sad little well now was by pulling the rope and lifting the bucket up by paw, and it was this that Bluefen did. She dipped her paws into the cold water and sipped it, grimacing as she sucked in a little dirt as well. Those damn children had been throwing soil into the well again. She spat the debris out, making a mental note to ask Greenclaw to post somebeast nearby to watch for the heathens and give them a good beating should they be caught.
Setting the bucket on the ground next to the little well, Bluefen went off to get a fire going so that she could prepare her father's breakfast. He would be up in a short while, and she was expected to be there to ask him what he would like to eat when he did.
"Look out!!!"
Bluefen saw a weasel toting a bow sprinting toward her and waving a paw furiously above his head. She looked up to see what he was pointing at and let out a cry, leaping backward. A thrush thudded on the ground in front of her, an arrow through its chest.
The weasel put a footpaw on the dead bird and withdrew his bloodied arrow. He tossed the creature into a sack, then grinned at Bluefen. "Nice shot, eh?"
The ferretmaid didn't get a chance to respond, for the weasel's companions appeared from between the tents and began arguing with him about who had actually killed the bird. She shoved her way through them, leaving them to bicker over the little carcass.
As Bluefen headed back to her tent, more and more hordebeasts began waking. Writhing ribbons of smoke rose from more and more campfires as cooking utensils clanked and scraped against one another. The smell of cooking meat reached Bluefen's nostrils, and the wondrous scent of it made her mouth water. She passed by the tent of an old female rat who was boiling water in a pot and dumping chopped vegetables into it.
"Morning, Palgrin," she said.
The old rat looked up from her task and squinted at the maiden. She gave her a one-toothed smile as she recognized the ferret. "Ah, mornin', dearie. Pretty day, now isn't it?"
Bluefen agreed and continued on her way, stopping several more times to talk with other females as they began cooking. When she finally made it to her father's tent, he had already been awake for some time, and his temper showed it.
"H'where 'ave you been, girl?" he demanded, gasping as he leaned his bulk forward to glare down at her. "Lazing about, I be willink to wager!"
Bluefen stood on the bottom step of the dais under the purple pavilion awning in front of her father. She remained silent as he continued to scold her, waving his scepter about and jabbing it in the air to accent his words.
When the Warlord was finished, he slumped back on his throne, panting slightly; normally he didn't move so much.
"Is there something you would prefer this morning, Father?" Bluefen asked quietly.
Bowfleg narrowed his puffy eyes at her. "H'I'm de Warlord of dis horde, an' h'you will call me dadd!"
Bluefen curtsied and looked at the ground respectfully, not wanting to incur her father's wrath. "Of course, Lord."
Bowfleg tilted his head, the sound of a bird's happy, flitting tune having caught his attention. "De birds are out?" he said, sounding bemused.
"Yes, Lord," Bluefen said, looking up at him. "Is this what you would like?"
The fat old ferret grunted as he shifted on his throne. "Yiss, yiss. Bring me throsh."
The Warlord's daughter quickly curtsied again and vanished among the milling hordebeasts outside of the pavilion.
* * *
A short while after conversing with her father, Bluefen came back and presented Bowfleg with a bottle of wine and a roasted thrush on a silver platter. He snatched the bird from her and tore into it greedily, leaving Bluefen to stand next to the throne with the platter and wine in her paws for when he wanted a drink.
As she waited for her father to wave a paw at her for the wine bottle again, Bluefen looked over to see the Warlord's gigantic bodyguard staring at her. He was a frightening beast, being taller than any living creature Bluefen had ever seen. He had thick, sinewy limbs and a barrel-like chest, and cords stood out on his neck even when he wasn't carrying Bowfleg about on his throne. Her father called him Wurgg the Spinecracker, and though Bluefen had never been present to see him crack anybeast's spine, she didn't doubt that he had.
Now, the giant was waggling his eyebrows at her and grinning. She rolled her eyes and looked away, accustomed to this kind of behavior from the males around her, for even though she was the daughter of the fat, ugly, wheezing creature lolling on the throne beside her, she was indeed quite pretty. Nobeast knew who her mother had been, but Bluefen had always assumed that she was very pretty as well, and had been forced to marry her father, for what sane beast would have done it willingly?
A rat suddenly appeared in front of the circular dais and prostrated himself, waiting until Bowfleg had swallowed his mouthful of thrush and ordered him to speak.
"The drums beat a message of warning," the rat said. "The runners should be 'ere soon to tell what of."
Bowfleg ripped another chunk of meat off of the thrush, frowning as he chewed. After a moment, he dismissed the rat and ordered Bluefen out, telling her to take the wine with her.
"H'it taste like salty h'water," he said, leering at his daughter as if it were her fault. "H'you tryin'k to poison me?"
Bluefen apologized for the wine, glared at Wurgg, who was still blowing her kisses and making all sorts of inappropriate gestures, curtsied at her father, and left. As soon as she was out of Bowfleg's field of vision, Bluefen let her brow drop and the corners of her lips curl. How she hated slaving for that old, fat, useless tub of lard!
"Something wrong, lovely?"
Bluefen had been so lost in hateful thoughts that she had almost run smack into the ferret Wildag, one of her father's most trusted captains. She glared at him. "If you'll excuse me, Captain, I'm in no mood to talk," she said, moving around him.
Wildag ignored the ferretmaiden's ill humor and fell into step with her. "You know you can tell me anything," he said softly, leaning closer to Bluefen than she would have preferred.
Bluefen moved away from him a little, shaking her head. "Nothing's wrong," she told him. "Really, I'm fine." They had reached her tent, and Bluefen tried to hurry over and duck under the flap to avoid further conversation, but Wildag cut her off by stepping in front of her.
"Whoa," he laughed, "'old on a bit. I want to talk to you."
Bluefen took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Captain," she said to him. "My answer still hasn't changed."
Wildag raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? An' why would that be?"
The ferretmaid went over to a washtub and dumped the greasy platter into it, saying, "For the same reasons I explained to you the last time to tried to talk to me like this." Bluefen froze as she felt Wildag's paws settle on her waist.
"Oh, come now, love," he breathed into her ear. "Don't be like this…"
Bluefen pulled away from him and stood with her back against the lantern post. "Captain, I would prefer that you keep your distance," she said, trying to keep her paws from shaking.
Wildag grinned darkly and took a step toward her. "Why? Because it isn't proper? Sure, there are rules, lovely, but rules were made to be broken, right?" He moved toward her again, but before Bluefen could say anything else, a sharp command rang out through the camp.
"Captains, report!"
Wildag looked over his shoulder in the direction that the voice had come from, his face the picture of displeasure. "That'll be Greenclaw," he muttered to himself. The Captain turned back to Bluefen, who was still staring wide-eyed at him with her back against the lantern post. "I'll finish with you later," he told her before turning and heading off to report to Lord Bowfleg's tent.
Bluefen made sure he was gone before picking up the wine bottle and ducking inside her tent. Sitting down on one of the cushions she had stuffed and sewn herself, the maiden uncorked the bottle and took a sip of the wine. She pulled a face and spat it out, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Her father had been right; it did taste like salty water.
The ferretmaid got up and tossed the bottle outside her tent; some other beast would be happy to find it. She went over to a wicker basket in the corner of her tent and pulled out a bundle of cloth containing some meat from the bird that she had served Bowfleg earlier. She had cut a fair-sized chunk from the fowl for herself, knowing that her father would be too consumed with his own hunger and greed to examine the bird first. Bluefen took a bite from it, wishing that the cloth had kept it a bit warmer. As she ate, Bluefen listened for any sign of Wildag's return, so that if need be, she could slip under the back of the tent and escape.
Licking her lips and sucking any remnants of the meat from her claws, Bluefen went over to her washbowl and rinsed her face and paws. When she was finished, she left her tent and began wandering through the camp, as she did everyday until the light began to fade, the time which Bowfleg would be demanding another meal.
Females were cleaning up from their cooking and scrubbing cooking utensils as their mates lounged about with their paws resting on their full bellies, chatting with one another about how they wished every day could be like the one they were enjoying now. Young ones dashed in and out of tents in a game of catch-me-if-you-can, giggling uproariously until their mothers and fathers yelled at them for being noisy or in the way.
Watching two youngsters wrestle over a rosy apple they had found in an unguarded sack, Bluefen couldn't help but laugh as one tripped the other and landed right on top of the fruit, completely squashing it. The pair, a stoat and a weasel, looked up at the sound of her voice, and grinned as they recognized her. Forgetting the apple, they began chasing her and trying to snag her trailing apron strings. Bluefen found herself laughing and squealing like a little girl as they grabbed at her and tried to trip her, but neither of them was quick enough to do so. The ferretmaid bolted at breakneck speed around a tent, the two young ones hot on her heels. It wasn't until she slammed right into the beast's back that she saw him. The pair that had been chasing Bluefen slid to a halt and stared fearfully at the creature as he turned around to face them.
He was a tall, sinewy ferret, with the fiercest eyes any of them had ever seen. Purple and green dye was painted across his face like lightning bolts, and his teeth were stained a glistening red. Round his neck hung a necklace of teeth and claws, and on his left paw he wore a chainmail gauntlet. He scowled threatening at Bluefen, who had been knocked down when she cannoned into him.
It took her a moment, but the maiden eventually found her voice. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes wide and locked on him as she got up and dusted herself off. "I didn't see you, there."
The male suddenly looked over Bluefen's shoulder at the youngsters blinking at him. "What're you two thick'eads gawpin' at?" he roared at them, making Bluefen start.
The stoat and weasel kicked up dust as they took off running like madbeasts.
When he turned his attention back on Bluefen, the maiden paled. "Are you the one that Captain sent to set up my tent?" he demanded roughly.
Bluefen shook her head. "No."
The big ferret's brow darkened. "Then where's the beast who's supposed to be doin' it?"
"I don't know," Bluefen stammered under his dark gaze, completely puzzled.
The look the male gave her then made it obvious that he believed she didn't possess an ounce of brains. He turned his back on her as a scrawny rat with a tent tarp in his claws tapped his shoulder.
"Well, where in Hellgates have you been?" he snarled at the unfortunate creature. "Get that tent up, sharpish!"
Bluefen was about to make a run for it when the male turned back and snagged her by her wrist. She yelped and tried to pull away, but the bigger ferret hauled her close to him.
"Bring me wine, girl," he growled, "and meat. Hot, fresh meat." The ferret released her and Bluefen dashed off among the tents with no intention of bringing the fearsome newcomer anything.
When she had gone, the ferret whirled back on the hapless rat as he struggled to set up the tent as quickly as possible. "You still haven't even unfolded it yet? Hellteeth, I'll do it myself! Give me that damned tarp!"
Yay, another Outcast of Redwall fanfiction, this time, from Bluefen's point of view! I'm sorry that I haven't submitted anything in such a long while, and I hope that this makes up a little for my absence on the site. Like many have said before, Bluefen is not out of character here because she never had any character in the first place. As for Swartt, you can see that I left him as the a-hole that he's always been, so no problems there. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and please know that whether I continue this or not will be based on the number of reviews I recieve, so please click the green button. ^^
~Orion