A/N: I wrote this chapter in 2015 apparently, and never uploaded it. I tried to clean it up and fix the formatting but I can't seem to get the layout how I want, so oh well.

I don't know if I'll pick up on this story again any time soon, but it seems a shame to just leave the chapter written and unused, so here we go.


Vrel and Ivelleos were excited today.

They had met up with the rest of the patrol on their way back to Salamandastron, and soon Ivelleos would see the great mountain in all its splendor. And Vrel would see the mountain haremaidens, in all their splendor.

After Jennings grim words, Vrel was worried to ask about Redwall again, so he had been pestering the hares on their own home, and they were more than happy to oblige.

He also asked about "Uncle Ginny's hut", but no one knew about that.

Of Salamandastron, the hares told him that it was as tall as the sky itself, said to once be the home of a dragon long ago.

They told him the rich history of the place, of Badger Lords and heroic hares come and gone. They spoke of the wonders of the forge-craft that all badger lords learned, of the catacombs and caves buried deep beneath the mountain, and of course they spoke of the current Badger lord, Tellius, who went to battle in glistening full armor and wielded a warhammer whose head was the size of most grown beasts.

Vrel of course wasn't terribly interested in most of it, save the most exciting bits, but Ivelleos listened intently, his eyes gleaming and his quill flying as he tried to write down each and every word in a small journal he had aquired from Lieutenant Forrel. Of course, transcribing what the hares were saying was already difficult enough as they often spoke quickly, but he had to do it while in full march and handling the journal, quill, and inkwell.

The result was a blotchy, sorry looking mess of a book, and a ferret who looked like he had just fallen into a blackberry bush.

As they stopped for lunch, Ivelleos slipped off to a nearby stream to wash up the ink from himself, staying just close enough that he could hear the hares voices on the wind. Though he couldn't make out what they were saying, he would know when it was time to go.

He first scrubbed his robes as best he could, though they would be forever ruined, having been torn and stained already from traveling, even before the ink spills. He then hung his robes to dry and washed himself off as well.

When he was finished, he leaned back against a tree at the waters edge and began going over his messy journal, trying to salvage what few legible bits remained, and cursed his luck. Though he did find some enjoyment in this travelling, he was certainly looking forward to visiting Redwall and seeing their extensive library. The thought of it all made the ferret quiver with excitement, piles and piles of books and histories, old crafting recipes, alchemy, history, maybe even ancient journals from beast hundreds of seasons ago!

Ivelleos was lost in these thoughts when Vrel came around the tree and let out a greeting "Hey, Leo, whatcha doing out here?". The ferret snapped out of his trance and looked up at the squirrel "Oh, just daydreaming I suppose. Care to join me?" Vrel nodded and sat down next to the ferret, leaning back against the tree as well.

They sat in silence for some time, just staring at the stream as the water rushed by. Finally it was Vrel who broke the silence by saying "How long do you suppose we've known eachother?"

Surprised, Ivelleos looked over and said, "Well, we met just outside of that little city, Mirkatar. That had to have been, say, three moons ago, maybe four. Why do you ask?"

"Just thinking about that day. We're so far from home. At least, I am. I don't even know where your home is. We don't really know anything about each other, and yet, I still trust you with my life. Like the brother I never had." Vrel looked at Ivelleos, and sighed "I keep wondering if that rat and stoat felt anything like that. They were living creatures too, I wonder how long they'd known each other. I wonder if the other two attacked me out of a sort of need for vengeance against their comrades killer."

Ivelleos nodded in sympathy and replied "Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. It shouldn't matter though. The two you killed attacked you, and Goldflower, first. And you let the other one go when he was no longer attacking." The ferret gave a comforting smile, "Don't think too hard about it."

"I only let him go because you came along, Leo. I'd never killed a beast before that day… I'm fully trained and skilled in dozens of battle techniques, but the only time I ever even drew blood was because I accidentally hit my father on the snout with a practice blade. But when I felt that rush of combat, all I could think of was kill, kill, kill… When you came up, I said that stuff about him being a murderer, and how he might just go hurt someone else, and I really believed that too, but… I don't think that's the reason I wanted to kill him…" Vrel's voice broke, and his eyes began to water for just a moment before he cleared his throat and continued; "I still believe it, but I didn't care for it as the reason to kill him. I was going to do it just because I wanted to.

Ivelleos was concerned. Despite their time together, this was the first time he had seen Vrel truly sad. The only thing other time he had seen Vrel even remotely upset compare to this sadness was when a pretty otter maid told the squirrel to buzz off and boil his head. The ferret didn't know how to react, so he just placed a comforting paw on his friends shoulder.

"Leo, I think I enjoyed killing them. I don't know why, but it terrifies me. I grew up on stories of heroes who went out and killed their enemies for the good of all peaceful beasts… My adopted father himself slayed an uncountable number of evil beasts, but… I've never heard of anyone but those same evil beasts actually enjoying the killing. I always heard it was hard for them. One of my fathers comrades even openly wept during his battles. I didn't feel anything like that, all I felt was a desire to pour blood on the ground. What kind of a beast does that make me?"

The ferret had no reply.