Yipee, it's the weekend, and you know what that means? It gives me the power of, DOUBLE UPDATING! Erm, heheh. I love it. I was reading over the last chapters, and it seems that Taral is being put off as a guy. Well, she's not. She's a chick, and rather bitchy at that. Nih, Gabs'll have his moments too.

-O-

All afternoon, the two of us hobble over the wreckage, stumbling and hopping. It was fairly traumatizing whenever we came upon a body, smashed, burned, or just dead of shock. The first dibbon I found gave me a heart attack. It was horrible.

Gabs lifted me over a brick, and I blinked. There was a body on the far side of what used to be the courtyard. It was moving.

"Gabs! Look!" I say, elbowing the hare in the ribs and pointing.

He follows my paw, and starts to wander forward. I have no choice but to follow after him, for my arm is slung over his shoulder so I can walk.

As we near the beast, I realize something is horribly wrong with it. It had no lower half of it's body. The mouse, as it was, got up on it's elbows, then collapsed in a writhing heap of fur. It groaned.

I let myself fall on my tail, and scooted over to the dying beast. I looked at his face.

"Anzo?" he is my only friend.

Anzo looks up at me, and I look away, feeling a little green. Both his eyes are nothing more than two little pebbles in his sockets. When I gaze at his face, I can see burn marks and scorched skin and fur.

"W-who is it?" he whimpers.

"It's me, Taral," I put a paw on his shoulder.

"Good ole Tarry, I knew you'd make it... got caught in the fire, I did... then a great flaming beam fell on me... Taral... I can't feel my legs... why can't I move them?" he asks me quietly, the remains of his eyelids flickering, "I can handle it..."

"They're just... broken," I lie.

"I knew that beam sawed them off... no great loss, eh mate?"

I can see the pain on his burned face.

"Tarry... matey, can y'do me a favor?" he coughed.

"Yes?"

"Taral... we don't have time for this... we need to leave soon," Gabs murmurs behind me.

"Find the sword, please. If you don't, none of us will be at peace..." Anzo wheezed.

"Martin's sword? Why?" I breathe.

"Because, if it is not found, and that rat is slain with it, we will never get to go to Dark Forest... carry the sword of warriors past, Tarry... please..." Anzo closed his eyes, and his breathing became slower, "I stayed alive this long so I could tell someone... now that I have-"

"Anzo, don't talk like that!" I scolded, "We- we can find you a healer," I am begging by now.

The mouse chuckles, which turns into a fit of coughing, "Tarry, there's not a healer that c'n help me now, mate... I'm living on borrowed time... please, leave me to my rest..." he says after the coughing subsides.

I watch as his breathing almost stops, each breath getting shallower and shallower, then, he grins, and the next words he rasps are so low, I have to bend in to hear them "... Martin has chosen well..."

"What?" Gabs growls. Yeah, he's a hare alright... stupid big ears, "what do you mean?"

"Gabs, shuddit, he's gone. We can discus this later. We need to find the sword. Where would it be?" I ask as I am hauled roughly to my paws.

"Either in Cavern Hole, or with Cayla's body," Cayla is our warrior... er, was.

I sigh, and begin to look for the remains of the otter, then, something new dawns on me, "Gabs, almost everybeast was in Cavern Hole... when the abbey fell, they were still there... do you think-?" my reasoning is that the cavern is a cave, because it is, and just maybe...

"No. There's so many beasts down there, so many all breathing at the same time. It's been hours, too many for hope to be alive,"

"Oh," I sigh, my small rounded ears drooping.

"But, it was a good idea. I'll give you that," Gabs reassures.

-O-

Well, we did find the sword, alright, still gripped in Cayla's paws, right where she fell from the wall top. It was ugly. She had been smashed by a brick. All we found was her paw poking out from underneath with the legendary weapon. Much to Gabs' dismay, the hilt was a little crooked, and he went on and on about it, he just wouldn't shut his air hole. Then, when I stuck it in my belt, he went all batdirt on me, asking what I was doing with it.

"Why, I'm putting it in my belt, sand for brains," I replied smartly.

"Why though? You're a blighting vermin! And a weasel at that!" he fumed.

"Yes, and you're a woodlander, and a hare. Don't you love learning the different species?"I snarked, clapping my paws together.

Gabs made a sour face, and lifted his paw as if to kick me, then decided against it. He grumbled under his breath.

"We might as well get going..."

"S'pose so," I shrug.

"Allow me to correct myself, I might as well get going," Gabs shot me a murderous look.

I threw it back at him, and let my rounded ears flatten, "Oh no, you're not leavin' me behind, not a chance,"

"I can, you can't keep up with me, and I don't want to carry you," he said, crossing his arms.

"Gabs, I can walk, all I need is a cane of sorts, or a stick," I say, mimicking his pose.

Anger seethed from both of us, I could feel it coming off in waves. It made my bloodied fur tingle. At last, the hare gave in, and snorted bad temperately at me.

"Fine, but don't be expectin' me t'find you a cripple stick," he growled, before stumping away.

I narrowed my already beady eyes, and let my head swivel about, scanning for what I needed... aha! A rail from the steps going to the walltops! Perfect. Now, the thing was how to get to it...

After much swearing and growling, I managed to hop on one paw to the wooden rail, and got a hold of it. A few splinters threatened to slide under my pawskin, but that was fixed with a few plucks from my claws. Now that I had a cane, I could move better.

-O-

"Oh, I thought maybe you went and died in a hole," Gabs grumbled at me when I staggered back to the pear tree.

"An' I thought you might have tripped and impaled yourself on one of the spears." I hissed back, motioning to the pointed weapons stuck in the ground.

Once again, we were at a standoff, glaring and flexing our fur to appear bigger. Eventually, it was Gabs who backed down, typical hare, and went to work packing the things we had found. Bandages, fruit, a few cloaks that had been hiding in the still standing gatehouse, and a rose clipping. I noticed the little plant instantly.

"Why're we bringing along that?" I growl as I slide down to the ground.

"It's the Laterose. The only sprig I could find." Gabs says.

I sigh, and restate my question, "Why are we bringing it?"

"Because it'll die if we leave it, and we'll need it for safe passage to Noonvale."

"Noonvale? Really? Isn't that a little, unnecessary? I mean, really Gabs, this is more of a sentimental thing," I say softly, working a little to pronounce the huge word.

"Is not," Gabs snaps.

"Just plant it somewhere else around here, al'ight? The sun's setting, and we need to make camp for the night, to get our bearings,"

Gabs flicks an ear, and his shoulders drop a little, "I suppose..." he mumbles, "I just wanted to keep something from-" he breaks off with an odd noise.

I recognize this sound as a sob. Woodlanders, pft, always breaking down and crying over the silly little things.

Another hiccupy sound comes from the hare. I look to him, he looks a little dejected, I can tell he is trying to keep his emotions under control. But, this is really making my uncomfortable.

I steel myself, and place a paw on his shoulder. Such a woodlander move, "Gabs, it's going to be alright, I-"

"How do you know?" he bursts out, swiping my paw away, "it was your kind that did this!" he growled, waving his arms about.

I can clearly see a stream of tears matting down his bloodied fur.

"My kind?" I can feel my scruff bristling.

"Yes, your kind! If you hadn't come to Redwall, they wouldn't have come for you, and destroyed the abbey!" Gabs towered over me.

Oi, woodlanders, always looking for excuses so they aren't blamed. I never did anything, thankee very much, matter of fact, I came to the abbey when I was five seasons, and had been living there ever since.

"Gabs," I growl, bearing my mouthful of sharp teeth, "I had nothing to do with the rats. They came here on their own accord, and destroyed us because we resisted,"

"Now you're trying to blame everyone else! Ha, you're vermin through and through!" he scoffed.

"I never said I wasn't, Gabs," I say calmly, I can feel the tension draining, "Now, are you done?" I cross my arms, in an almost amused way, still managing to keep my stick under my armpit.

"Yes," he sighs, wiping his face, "sorry,"

"It's alright, I know woodlanders are... emotional."

-O-

'Emotional' ha. Tarry's hilarious. Srsly though, what was up with his temper tantrum? Weird... Oh well, most of my OC's usually break down and have a mental crisis sooner or later.

Oh, mah gawd, I drew a pic of Taral! She's so cute, I want to huggle her until she pops. You can find her on my dA account at Cosmic Brownie. I'm working on one for Gabby, and it's almost done, so, check every now and then to see.