Disappearing Dibbuns

Fort Ruddler Mission

The winter forest canopy rustled slightly, as if by a wayward breeze, as a squirrel wound her way swiftly through the treetops. There was a flash of sunlight on scarred, red-brown fur, and the woodlander paused just past the patdch of light on the thin, high pine limbs. Her bushy, rust-gold tail flicked abuot for balance when a fresh gale shook her perch, and then she was off again, her green-and-brown-mottled tunic masking her from view.

Riala Goldentail made her way swiftly down the tree trunk to the ground, gazing around at the bare, wind-swept clearing carefully. Yes, this was it - the last place the most recent dibbun to disappear from Fort Ruddler had been seen. The written order from Drill Sergeant Sandfur Dunerunner ran through her mind yet again as she studied the ground for clues.

"One by one the dibbuns of Fort Ruddler are disapearing. They cannot found anywhere in the fort or surrounding woodlands. You must find out who has taken them, why they were taken, and where they have gone."

Gold-brown eyes noted the scarred earth, disturbed by the tracks of many paws. A group of adults and dibbuns had used this clearing for an outing just the day before, and they hadn't noticed the absence of the mischievous, adventuresome otterbabe, Jadestream, utnil they returned to Fort Ruddler.

The squirrel walked silently around the clearing, looking for signs that somebeast had wandered into the woods without the rest of the group. Her searching gaze fell upon a patch of upturned leaves, glossy in contrast with the dull, weather-beaten leaves elsewhere. Riala crouched by the sign of a dibbun's careless passage, noting downy otterbabe fur shed on grasping brambles. This was the trail the dibbun took, all right...

She followed the trail's winding course through the woods, each upturned leaf and broken twig and scuffed earth shouting to anybeast who knew how to listen that somebeast had passed this way. The trail abruptly turned and widened- another creature or two, equally clumsy in woodlore, had joined Jadestream here. They were both dibbuns, as well, or at least very short- there was no sign of disturbance to the brush above Riala's waist. This trail was fairly fresh, too- the wind carried the unmistakeable, rank scent of ferret to the squirrel's nose. She froze, instantly alert. Although there were ferrets in Fort Ruddler, all the dibbuns that had disappeared were typical goodbeast species - a hedgehog, a hare, and an otter.

That meant this ferret was most likely vermin.

Riala quickened her pace, still cautious and carefully following the trail, but hurrying now. Every second was valuable in a situation like this. The sound of voices led the squirrel onward, and she took to the treetops for better speed and camoflague.

A scream, shrill and frightened- a dibbun's scream! - rent the air. Cursing under her breath, the squirrel picked up her pace, a red-gold blur in the leafless treetops. She halted behind the branches of a dense fir, peering through the dark green needles at the strange scene below.

There were the missing dibbuns, playing happily with a weasel, a ferret, and a fox kit. The otterbabe Jadestream rubbed her throat and looked at the foxbabe with her head tilted questioningly.

"Wazzat good, Whiteclaw?" she asked in her piping voice.

The fox filcked his red brush with a grin. "Yupyup! Now Stoneyquill try t'save ya!"

The gray-black-white hedgehog brandished a long willow stick that flopped about comically. "Leggo Jadeystreamer or I stick'n yon ferret wif m'verminpoker!"

"Arr, notta if'n I c'n stop ya!" the weasel cub growled.

The light brown leveret beside Stonequill looked at them both, then burst out laughing. "Wheeheehee! Lookit Stoney's swordthing! Hahahee!"

The hogbabe was struggling with his springy branch. It kept flopping from side to side uncontrollably, hitting everybeast and everything but the weasel and ferret. Soon all the dibbuns were laughing with wild, carefree abandon. It was nearly a minute before their convulsive hilarity subsided, leaving all the children collapsed grinning on the ground.

"Thissiz much better'n th' fort-thing!" the otterbabe exclaimed. "No sleepin' times, no big-beasts sayin 'do dis' or 'do dat' or makin' littluns take barfs!"

"Nobeast yellin' or sayin' 'go away'!" the ferretbabe agreed. "I like dis!"

Riala's gold-brown eyes darted to the nearby brush at the slight rustling of dry, fallen leaves. Tufted ears pricked as she waited, motionless, for the creature to move nito view. SIlently, cautiously, she worked her dagger out of its place in her belt, ready to fight if need be...

A lithe, dark-colored ferret stepped out of the brush, black disapproval on her scarred face. "Whiteclaw! Ketrin! Ragha! C'mere NOW!"

Ferret, weasel, and fox cringed, faces crestfallen and cornered. They dragged their footpaws as they made their way slowly to the ferret. The watching squirrel took this time to act. She scrambled to the ground and bounded to the Fort Ruddler dibbuns with all the speed and agility of her species. Gold-brown squirrel eyes met flat, red-black ferret ones, the air in the clearing virtually crackling with the tension between them.

There was little to be said in a situation like that one. The dark-furred ferret grasped the arms of weaselbabe and fox kit firmly, barking a sharp command to the ferretbabe. Riala turned silently away and herded the three Fort Ruddler dibbuns in the opposite direction, somehow sad at the irreversible ending of the little ones' unprejudiced play.