Chapter 6
Diathus stood at the bank of a great river and watched silently as it splashed wildly about, spraying her face with water as it continued down it's course, never once stopping. She knelt down, close enough that her paw skimmed the water surface. She sighed and turned to her eagle friend.
"Well, what do we do now? Do we go across, or do we follow the river's course?"
Skydrop shrugged nonchalantly. "Depends where the paths lead to, lassie. Shall Ah fly ahead and go look? It's much easier widout a hare on mah back, noo offense to ye, lassie."
Diathus shrugged back. "No harm done. I wouldn't like to carry any other hare on my back either. Go ahead, Sky. I'll stay here and wait until you come back. I'll just call if I need you. You know what I'll say."
Skydrop did a little hop skip before he took off, and while he did, he called out, "Ah willnae take too long, lassie. Krreeekaahh!"
Diathus watched as the eagle flew out of sight, then turned back to the river, watching the waves spatter on down its never ending course.
A few hours had passed, and Skydrop had still not returned. Diathus had tried amusing and entertaining herself multiples of times, but her mind kept drifting to her eagle friend and where he was. Sighing with impatience, she started skipping stones across the river. This idea didn't work because the current was too fast, so the rocks were carried away before they had a chance to 'skip'. Deciding the best thing to do was to stare, Diathus positioned herself on the edge of the bank and fixed her eyes on the river, not blinking once. She scooted back a bit once she saw the fin of something that looked like a pike. As bored as she was, she still did not want to battle a fish. Still extremely bored, the hare decided the follow the river herself. Skydrop was an eagle, so he could find her easily. Diathus grinned as she pulled a russet apple out of the haversack and started munching on it reflectively. She skipped along the river, her footpaws skimming the water's edge once in a while. The pike seemed to ignore her, and stayed back instead of following her. Diathus was enjoying herself immensely when she heard a small scream. Startled, she dropped the apple into the stream. It sunk to the bottom of the river like a rock, then the current began to push it down the river, getting it stuck between two firmly planted rocks. For a moment, all the hare could do was stare at it. Regaining her senses, She swung the haversack over her shoulder and ran alongside the river. The cry became louder as she ran further, and finally, Diathus saw it. It was a young harvest mousemaid who was desperately trying to defend herself from a pack of rats. A rush of hate ran through Diathus at the sight of vermin attacking a defenseless mousemaid. Forgetting everything else, the hare dropped the haversack, leapt into the battle, and started kicking out at the rats with her footpaws. Although she wasn't an experienced boxer, she also threw a few punches at them. The rats staggered back and stared at the hare for a while, as the mousemaid did also, all wondering where she came from. Seeing that there were only two creatures to beat, the rats charged again. Diathus crouched into a fighting position, ready to take down as many as she could.
Skydrop was very puzzled when he returned to the spot where he had left Diathus. He looked up at the trees, down at the grass, into the river, and basically walked in circle's trying to find the haremaid. The great eagle sighed and began following the river while still trying to find any signs if Diathus. He looked into the river again and saw the fallen russet apple, wedged between two rocks in the river. Immediately taking it as a clue, he started running along the river as fast as he could, completely forgetting he could fly. That was when he heard it.
"Eulaliiiaaa!"
Diathus groaned as she took a spear in her side. She had been looking back to see if the mousemaid was okay, and while she was doing so, a rat took the opportunity to stab her. Of course, the rat wouldn't live to boast about it, but it was the second time she had been taken unaware. She scolded herself mentally and sighed as she let out another cry, hoping that Skydrop would hear her.
"Eulaliiiaaa!"
"Krreeeeekaaahhh!"
Skydrop had arrived at the scene. He swooped down, and before any of the rats had time to react to what had happened, he had their leader in his clutches. The rats seemed to freeze, and Diathus let out a sigh of relief. The hare turned to the frightened mousemaid, who had obviously not seen an eagle, or any other type of giant bird, before. She cowered back as Diathus started towards her. The hare grinned friendly and extended her paw so the mouse could shake it.
"I'm Diathus. Nice to meetcher. Wot's yore name?"
"R-rosethorn." The mouse hesitated, then shook Diathus's outstretched paw slowly. "N-nice to meet you. W-who's t-that?" Rosethorn pointed a paw at Skydrop who was still staring boldly at the group of rats who were slowly advancing on the dangerous bird. Diathus's grin disappeared as she turned to the vermin.
"That's Skydrop; he's really friendly an' quite harmless, even though he may seem huge. Stay here, Rosethorn. I still got some trouble to take care of."
Diathus walked over to Skydrop nonchalantly, pushing past rat spears and swords.. "Nice to see you made it, Sky. What should we do with that rat in your talons?"
Skydrop averted his gaze from the rats and glared at the hare. "Lassie, Ah believe Ah told ye to stay at the river bank? Ye had me extremely worried."
Diathus grinned at Skydrop as she dealt the leader rat a stunning blow on the head. The rat let out a loud yelp and glared at the hare. "Not to be rude, Sky, but ye didn't say that. All ye said was that ye wouldn't take too long, an' ye did. So even if ye did say that, I have the right to come here an' break my promise, fer that's wot ye did. An' ye made me extremely worried also."
Skydrop's frown immediately turned into a grin as he batted Diathus's ear playfully. "Ah, yer a cheeky one, lassie, but Ah mus' say, ye have a point there. Noo, what should we do with these
vermin?"
Diathus's grin grew broader. "Stab the leader to death and roast him over a fire. We'll let the rest feed the fishes. They'll be good at that. That is, the ones that are alive once we're done with them."
The remaining rats, which were very few, looked around uneasily. They began backing up away from the bird and hare, just to knock into the mousemaid. Rosethorn tried scrunch her face into a mean scowl, and she let out a high pitched growl. The rats shrieked in fright and surprise and scrambled off, their spears and swords forgotten. The leader rat stared at his disappearing army and looked up at Diathus.
"Please, spare me!"
Skydrop let go of the rat and gave him a hard push. "We'll spare ye, but only because there's a wee mousiemaid a-lookin' an' Ah doant want to upset 'er. Go on noo, an' if Ah gan still see ye at the count of ten, I'll be goin' a'ter ye, an' let me tell ye, an eagle is much faster than a rat, ye ken?"
The rat nodded in fright and scrambled off. He was halfway gone even before Skydrop started counting.
"One.two.three.four."
"He's gone, Sky. No need to waste yore breath. That was a nice growl, Rosethorn. Even I was a bit scared." Diathus gave Rosethorn a small wave and led the great eagle to her.
"Rosethorn, this is Skydrop. I call him Sky, an' ye can too. Just don't call 'im eagle. He doesn't like that. Sky, this is Rosethorn, an' she's the wonderful growler who sent those rats off in fright."
Skydrop made a deep, awkward bow and grinned lopsidedly. "'Ello, lassie! Ahh, noo we 'ave two lassies. Do ye mind if I call ye Rosey?"
Rosethorn gave a small curtsy. "Rosey would be fine, thank you. Mind if I call ye Skydrop?"
Skydrop cocked his head and winked. "No at all, Rosey. Tell meh noo, 'ow did a pretty mousiemaid like ye get mixed oop wid those nasty varmints?"
Rosethorn gave a small shrug, and suddenly found great interest in the ground below her. "Well, er, you see, Skydrop, I er, live alone, so I came out here to gather, er, blueberries," Rosethorn pointed a paw at a blueberry bush that Skydrop had almost squashed when he landed. "but the rats started attacking me for some reason." The small mouse gave another shrug and looked up.
Diathus chuckled cheerfully and gave Rosethorn a considered light pat on the back, which knocked the wind out of the small harvest mouse.
"Ye live alone, ye say? Well then, wot do ye say to comin' wid us.on our journey?"
Rosethorn stared at Diathus curiously. "Journey? Where are you going?"
Diathus spread her paws out wide and shrugged. "I dunno, but we're going somewhere, right Sky?"
Skydrop smiled and spread his wings out in the same manner. "Aye, lassie, I couldnae 'ave said it better mahself."
Diathus giggled at the sight of Skydrop, but turned her attention back to the mousemaid. "So, Rosey, wot do ye say?"
Rosethorn smiled and spread her paws out wide. "Well, I say that I'm going with you, and you can't stop me!"
Diathus stood at the bank of a great river and watched silently as it splashed wildly about, spraying her face with water as it continued down it's course, never once stopping. She knelt down, close enough that her paw skimmed the water surface. She sighed and turned to her eagle friend.
"Well, what do we do now? Do we go across, or do we follow the river's course?"
Skydrop shrugged nonchalantly. "Depends where the paths lead to, lassie. Shall Ah fly ahead and go look? It's much easier widout a hare on mah back, noo offense to ye, lassie."
Diathus shrugged back. "No harm done. I wouldn't like to carry any other hare on my back either. Go ahead, Sky. I'll stay here and wait until you come back. I'll just call if I need you. You know what I'll say."
Skydrop did a little hop skip before he took off, and while he did, he called out, "Ah willnae take too long, lassie. Krreeekaahh!"
Diathus watched as the eagle flew out of sight, then turned back to the river, watching the waves spatter on down its never ending course.
A few hours had passed, and Skydrop had still not returned. Diathus had tried amusing and entertaining herself multiples of times, but her mind kept drifting to her eagle friend and where he was. Sighing with impatience, she started skipping stones across the river. This idea didn't work because the current was too fast, so the rocks were carried away before they had a chance to 'skip'. Deciding the best thing to do was to stare, Diathus positioned herself on the edge of the bank and fixed her eyes on the river, not blinking once. She scooted back a bit once she saw the fin of something that looked like a pike. As bored as she was, she still did not want to battle a fish. Still extremely bored, the hare decided the follow the river herself. Skydrop was an eagle, so he could find her easily. Diathus grinned as she pulled a russet apple out of the haversack and started munching on it reflectively. She skipped along the river, her footpaws skimming the water's edge once in a while. The pike seemed to ignore her, and stayed back instead of following her. Diathus was enjoying herself immensely when she heard a small scream. Startled, she dropped the apple into the stream. It sunk to the bottom of the river like a rock, then the current began to push it down the river, getting it stuck between two firmly planted rocks. For a moment, all the hare could do was stare at it. Regaining her senses, She swung the haversack over her shoulder and ran alongside the river. The cry became louder as she ran further, and finally, Diathus saw it. It was a young harvest mousemaid who was desperately trying to defend herself from a pack of rats. A rush of hate ran through Diathus at the sight of vermin attacking a defenseless mousemaid. Forgetting everything else, the hare dropped the haversack, leapt into the battle, and started kicking out at the rats with her footpaws. Although she wasn't an experienced boxer, she also threw a few punches at them. The rats staggered back and stared at the hare for a while, as the mousemaid did also, all wondering where she came from. Seeing that there were only two creatures to beat, the rats charged again. Diathus crouched into a fighting position, ready to take down as many as she could.
Skydrop was very puzzled when he returned to the spot where he had left Diathus. He looked up at the trees, down at the grass, into the river, and basically walked in circle's trying to find the haremaid. The great eagle sighed and began following the river while still trying to find any signs if Diathus. He looked into the river again and saw the fallen russet apple, wedged between two rocks in the river. Immediately taking it as a clue, he started running along the river as fast as he could, completely forgetting he could fly. That was when he heard it.
"Eulaliiiaaa!"
Diathus groaned as she took a spear in her side. She had been looking back to see if the mousemaid was okay, and while she was doing so, a rat took the opportunity to stab her. Of course, the rat wouldn't live to boast about it, but it was the second time she had been taken unaware. She scolded herself mentally and sighed as she let out another cry, hoping that Skydrop would hear her.
"Eulaliiiaaa!"
"Krreeeeekaaahhh!"
Skydrop had arrived at the scene. He swooped down, and before any of the rats had time to react to what had happened, he had their leader in his clutches. The rats seemed to freeze, and Diathus let out a sigh of relief. The hare turned to the frightened mousemaid, who had obviously not seen an eagle, or any other type of giant bird, before. She cowered back as Diathus started towards her. The hare grinned friendly and extended her paw so the mouse could shake it.
"I'm Diathus. Nice to meetcher. Wot's yore name?"
"R-rosethorn." The mouse hesitated, then shook Diathus's outstretched paw slowly. "N-nice to meet you. W-who's t-that?" Rosethorn pointed a paw at Skydrop who was still staring boldly at the group of rats who were slowly advancing on the dangerous bird. Diathus's grin disappeared as she turned to the vermin.
"That's Skydrop; he's really friendly an' quite harmless, even though he may seem huge. Stay here, Rosethorn. I still got some trouble to take care of."
Diathus walked over to Skydrop nonchalantly, pushing past rat spears and swords.. "Nice to see you made it, Sky. What should we do with that rat in your talons?"
Skydrop averted his gaze from the rats and glared at the hare. "Lassie, Ah believe Ah told ye to stay at the river bank? Ye had me extremely worried."
Diathus grinned at Skydrop as she dealt the leader rat a stunning blow on the head. The rat let out a loud yelp and glared at the hare. "Not to be rude, Sky, but ye didn't say that. All ye said was that ye wouldn't take too long, an' ye did. So even if ye did say that, I have the right to come here an' break my promise, fer that's wot ye did. An' ye made me extremely worried also."
Skydrop's frown immediately turned into a grin as he batted Diathus's ear playfully. "Ah, yer a cheeky one, lassie, but Ah mus' say, ye have a point there. Noo, what should we do with these
vermin?"
Diathus's grin grew broader. "Stab the leader to death and roast him over a fire. We'll let the rest feed the fishes. They'll be good at that. That is, the ones that are alive once we're done with them."
The remaining rats, which were very few, looked around uneasily. They began backing up away from the bird and hare, just to knock into the mousemaid. Rosethorn tried scrunch her face into a mean scowl, and she let out a high pitched growl. The rats shrieked in fright and surprise and scrambled off, their spears and swords forgotten. The leader rat stared at his disappearing army and looked up at Diathus.
"Please, spare me!"
Skydrop let go of the rat and gave him a hard push. "We'll spare ye, but only because there's a wee mousiemaid a-lookin' an' Ah doant want to upset 'er. Go on noo, an' if Ah gan still see ye at the count of ten, I'll be goin' a'ter ye, an' let me tell ye, an eagle is much faster than a rat, ye ken?"
The rat nodded in fright and scrambled off. He was halfway gone even before Skydrop started counting.
"One.two.three.four."
"He's gone, Sky. No need to waste yore breath. That was a nice growl, Rosethorn. Even I was a bit scared." Diathus gave Rosethorn a small wave and led the great eagle to her.
"Rosethorn, this is Skydrop. I call him Sky, an' ye can too. Just don't call 'im eagle. He doesn't like that. Sky, this is Rosethorn, an' she's the wonderful growler who sent those rats off in fright."
Skydrop made a deep, awkward bow and grinned lopsidedly. "'Ello, lassie! Ahh, noo we 'ave two lassies. Do ye mind if I call ye Rosey?"
Rosethorn gave a small curtsy. "Rosey would be fine, thank you. Mind if I call ye Skydrop?"
Skydrop cocked his head and winked. "No at all, Rosey. Tell meh noo, 'ow did a pretty mousiemaid like ye get mixed oop wid those nasty varmints?"
Rosethorn gave a small shrug, and suddenly found great interest in the ground below her. "Well, er, you see, Skydrop, I er, live alone, so I came out here to gather, er, blueberries," Rosethorn pointed a paw at a blueberry bush that Skydrop had almost squashed when he landed. "but the rats started attacking me for some reason." The small mouse gave another shrug and looked up.
Diathus chuckled cheerfully and gave Rosethorn a considered light pat on the back, which knocked the wind out of the small harvest mouse.
"Ye live alone, ye say? Well then, wot do ye say to comin' wid us.on our journey?"
Rosethorn stared at Diathus curiously. "Journey? Where are you going?"
Diathus spread her paws out wide and shrugged. "I dunno, but we're going somewhere, right Sky?"
Skydrop smiled and spread his wings out in the same manner. "Aye, lassie, I couldnae 'ave said it better mahself."
Diathus giggled at the sight of Skydrop, but turned her attention back to the mousemaid. "So, Rosey, wot do ye say?"
Rosethorn smiled and spread her paws out wide. "Well, I say that I'm going with you, and you can't stop me!"