Sixclaw
Chapter 35
THE FLATLANDS
After a dropship ride through a blizzard that seemed to come straight out of Hellgates (Hell is cold), Sixclaw and the remnants of her attack squad finally landed at the Skullian base camp. As they exited the transport, they were met by several heavily armed Skullians, one of whom was One-Eye.
"Welcome back! Wait, where's Crabfang?"
"He's gone." said Sixclaw. "He was dying anyway, so he stayed behind to arm the bombs. Crabfang died a hero."
One-Eye clenched his fists and stared at the ground. "Dammit…" he muttered. The big cat then turned around and walked away, his back hunched over as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
Sixclaw kind of felt bad for the warlord. He had sent his best friend on a mission that ended up getting him killed. Suddenly, she realized that someone was gonna have to tell Red the bad news.
LATER…
Red handled the news that Crabfang had died quite well, merely remarking "He died historic. That's the only way he would want to go out."
Sixclaw gave Red a hug, and turned to leave. At the exit, she turned back. "Are you sure you're gonna be OK?" Red nodded, and Sixclaw left.
About halfway back to one of the mobile barracks that served as the troop's sleeping areas, she noticed movement on top of a snowdrift. As it turned out, it was One-Eye.
The warlord was spread-eagled on the drift, a silver handgunin one paw.
"Hey Sixclaw."
"How did you know it was me?"asked Sixclaw, approaching him.
"I have my ways."
"You really are a maniac."
"I take pride in it!" said One-Eye, a grin twitching at the corners of his face.
They sat in silence for a minute, before Sixclaw asked One-Eye a question. "Where do you come from?
Sorry, but I'm kind of curious."
"It's alright."said One-Eye. "I'll tell you, but only if you do the same."
"Deal." said Sixclaw.
"I was born in the Southswardian Utopia, which is anything but. After a couple years, my mother kicked me onto the streets. Then my sister found me, and took me into her crime family, which is where I met Crabfang. After about three years of robbing, killing, and trafficking, my sister and I go into a spat, which is where I lost my eye. Crabfang and a few people that were loyal to me got me out of the city, and into Fort Skull. Shit happened, and here I am." said One-Eye. "How about you, Six? Where are you from?"
"I was brought up in enemy territory. My family was all killed in various ways. My sister died of sickness, my parents from a car accident, and my brother in the war. After a period of excessive drinking and things I would rather not think about, I decided to join the military because I had nothing else to live for. You know what happened after that."
"Huh," said One-Eye. "You were a junkie, right?"
"How did you-" Sixclaw was suddenly cut off by One-Eye.
"I was in the drug business! I know all that there is to know about the beasts that bought our products." said One-Eye. "Also, I was too. A blood junkie."
"What?" asked Sixclaw, her head tilted in disbelief.
"It's a feeling. A need to cut, stab, shoot. To punch through rib cages, to..." One-Eye trailed off as Sixclaw leaned on his shoulder, carefully avoiding the spikes that adorned his shoulder pads.
"One-Eye?"
"Yes Sixclaw?"
"I'm glad I know you."
One-Eye let out a grin. "Me too, Sixclaw. Me too."
Alright, so I decided to take a page out of Waycaster's book, and start doing review responses. Here they are.
Grey: Tancred is a formidable opponent, but he is not the most powerful. That category goes to… well, you'll find out later. Also, Blackpaw is still kinda innocent. I mean, it's a reasonable question to ask XD
Waycaster: Magic has been a driving force for a lot of major events in Redwall history. It stands to reason that it would be in the madness that is this book. Pallpelt and Tancred… We haven't seen the last of them. Wow, I can't believe that someone actually found that reference. Good job!
Keva: Leadership comes with a lot of responsibility. It can be a major source of stress in one's life. (It's no wonder that One-Eye and the Dragon queen are completely crazy!) Yes, Crabfang's death is sad, but sometimes it's death that gives a character meaning.
Sebias: She will have to learn that stuff. It's gonna be… Interesting to say the least. It really is a bittersweet chapter, even for me.
R&R!