Chapter Seventeen
The two hares, one squirrel, mouse, and eagle were led through Mossflower Woods by Tidespark and his crew of otters. Diathus was very curious about Kintre. She showered the otters with questions, which they answered good- naturedly.
"Who's the leader of Holt Kintre?"
"Why, Kintre o'course, m'beauty!" A young otter named Springbud winked at the hare as she continued walking. "Her mum was named Kintre, an' so was her grandmum, great-grandmum, an' so forth. Lots o' seasons ago, Kintre's great-great-great-great grandmum founded our Holt, so we named it a'ter her."
Diathus nodded, then shot off into her next question.
"What's Holt Kintre like?"
This time, it was Tidespark who answered the curious hare's question.
"Oh, it's quite nice thar. Our Holt's by th'good ole River Moss. It's…oh, well, y'can see fer yoreself, m'heartie. We're here!"
Diathus looked around. It was like a huge clearing, various trees surrounding it. Pots, pans, and various pieces of cloth were lying around aimlessly. There was a large den where the otters lived, but it looked quite deserted. A babbling river flowed nearby, obviously the River Moss. The hare turned to Tidespark.
"Looks pretty empty t'me. Sure this is it?"
The otter chuckled and said, "Dun think I can tell iffen this is me home? All y'have t'do is call 'em out. Like this." Cupping his paws to his mouth, he hollered out loudly, "Kintrreeeee! 'Tis me, Tidespark! Brought some old friends back wid me, along wid some new. One o'em goes by the name of Tamar!"
Otters came tumbling out of tents, making their way to greet the home comers. But a dark brown otter ignored Tidespark and his crew, and slammed into Tamarillo, hugging him tightly.
"Tamar, y'ole bobtailed walloper, nice t'see ye agin!"
The hare laughed while trying to pry the otter off of himself, replying as he did so.
"Kintre, ye ruddertailed river walloper! Y'haven't changed a bit!"
The two friends began rolling around the floor, wrestling with each other as the others watched on in amusement. After much playful act, the otter leapt up from the ground and began brushing off her light blue tunic and navy blue jerkin.
"So now, y'ole rascal, whatcha come fer this time, eh? Vittles? Well, if that's what it is, then yore in luck. We was jus' 'bout t'have a late lunch."
Tamarillo laughed as he motioned to the rest of the crew to come forward. "Actually Kintre, I've come wid a friend. She wants t'get t'Redwall Abbey, an' on our way, we jus' happened t'bump into Tidespark." Tamarillo paused, then a wide grin spread across his face. "But vittles could be nice!" Grabbing Diathus's paw, he pulled her forward to meet Kintre.
"Kintre, this is Diathus, probably the prettiest hare e'er seen."
Miameep pushed Skydrop and Rosethorn forward as Tamarillo introduced them.
"The eagle is Skydrop, most commonly called Sky. He was Diathus's first travellin' companion. An' the mousemaid o'er there is Rosethorn. She's quite a growler, as I've been told."
The hare winked at the harvestmouse, who blushed in response. She had not forgotten the incident with the rats yet. Kintre just nodded and went about shaking their paws.
"Nice t'meetcher, all o'yer, I'm sure. Would y'like somethin' t'eat?"
A loud chorus of 'Aye's, from Diathus's group and Tidespark's crew, greeted the Holt leader's ears. She grinned cheekily as she led them all into the den.
"Well then come on in, we got enough t'feed Tamarillo from spring to fall, an' that's a lot, matey!"
After breakfast, Diathus and Tamarillo followed Kintre to the River Moss as they discussed certain issues.
"Redwall Abbey, y'say? M'brother lives there, name's Skipper. I'm sure Tidespark an' a few others will be willin' t'show ye lot the way. 'Ain't far from here, y'know. Now wot's this 'bout a weasel corsair?"
Tamarillo nodded toward Diathus, who began telling her tale rapidly, trying to make it short as possible.
"Well, y'see, Kintre, I was a slave aboard a ship called Carassan, an' Vermeng, the weasel corsair, was the cap'n. Well, one day, I broke free o' me chains an' tried t'escape, but we were in the middle o' the ocean, so I couldn't get anywhere. So I freed Skydrop, an' he helped me gain my freedom since I let 'im free from 'is cage. So 'e let me ride on 'is back an' we…well, he flew off. We met up wid Rosey, an' by lucky coincidence, sought shelter in Tamar's cave, an' met them. Though I 'ave t'say…" Here, Diathus rubbed her head ruefully. "the first encounter wasn't exactly pleasant. But we became friends."
The otter nodded and grinned lopsidedly. She pointed a paw at Tamarillo's lance as she said, "I'm takin' it that Tamar here gave y'quite a large bump on yer noggin' wid his lance 'ere, eh?"
Tamarillo grinned sheepishly and said, "Well, 'tain't my fault! In the dark, Di here looked somewhat like a stoat wid long ears!"
Kintre chuckled and back-pawed Tamarillo in the stomach, but the hare was caught off guard, over-balanced, and toppled into the River Moss. The holt leader burst out laughing as the soaked head of Tamarillo emerged, a picture of mock fury upon his face. He began to shout silly insults at Kintre, which was responded by barks of laughter. Kintre smirked and made a move to haul the hare out of the water when her eyes fell upon a long, silver flash in the river. The otter's face immediately paled and her laughter subsided. Tamarillo had stopped shouting, his eyes fixed on the dorsal fin that was protruding from the water. It was a large pike, covered in silver scales. The fish's gruesome jaw was open, ready to sink into the hare's bobtail.
It was too late to haul Tamarillo out of the River Moss. Kintre hit the water gracefully with little sound and laid the pike a stunning blow on the back with her rudder-like tail to divert it's attention. The pike, who was about to clamp its jaw on Tamarillo, whirled around in anger and began attacking Kintre, the hare immediately forgotten. The otter leader was ready. She let the large fish get close enough when she slid off to another area of the river, leading the pike in a mad chase.
Diathus watched the two in fascination, temporarily forgetting about her fellow hare. Finally, at a polite cough from Tamarillo, Diathus pulled her dripping wet friend out of the water. The two stood at the river bank, watching as the otter and pike continued.
The pike bared its teeth at Kintre and charged forward, met by a heavy whack on the fin. He raced after the otter as she raced away and clamped his jaw on her ear. The otter leader growled and tried to get the pike off her ear. The large fish finally let go, ripping Kintre's ear off in the process. Ignoring the burning pain, the otter narrowed her eyes and charged forward, delivering the pike stunned as she batted him on the back with her rudder-like tail. Then she swam off gracefully while the large fish was still shocked and leaped out of the water.
"Whew! I tell ye, mates, that'un's tough! Ripped me ear off, the blackguard. Well now, Tamar ye ole rascal, ye doin' okay?"
Tamarillo looked up at the otter leader with a look of surprise and admiration in his eyes. The hare stepped forward and grabbed Kintre's paws, clasping his own on hers firmly.
"Thank ye, friend, ye saved me life, y'did."
Grinning, the otter rubbed her ear stump ruefully and said, "Aye, an' now ye owe me a new ear!"
Springbud and a young, feisty otter named Sprout, dashed over, worry printed clearly on their faces.
"Kintre, are ye okay? What happened?"
"Hah, does she look okay t'ye, Spring? 'Alf an ear, she 'as! Wot 'appened, marm?"
Smacking Sprout's ears non too gently and waggled her paw under his nose fiercely as she berated him.
"Less o' the marm, young sir, lessen ye want me t'keep callin' ye that." Pointing a paw at the River Moss, Kintre explained what had happened while Diathus and Tamarillo backed her up, or in other words, interrupted her.
"There was a pike in the water-"
"Aye, a big 'un!"
"But ain't the word, Di. 'Twas gigantic!"
Kintre whirled around and glared at the two cheeky hares angrily before continuing, hoping that they would be quiet.
"Then Diathus'n'Tamar an' I were jokin' 'round, an'…er…I back-pawed-"
"She back-pawed Tamar right in the stomach, an' then he lost his balance!"
"Righto, inter the water I fell, jus' cause I had said that Di here looked like a stoat wid long ears in th'dark!"
Although she didn't turn around, the otter leader's tail slapped both of the hares on the legs, hopefully silencing them.
"Who's tellin' the story 'ere, eh? Anyway, I pushed Tamar in, an' then I saw the pike about t'take a bite outer him, so I dived in an', t'make things short, started fightin' wid the pike. An' also t'make things short, I won, though I didn't kill him. But stap me rudder an' swipe me whiskers, the fish took off me ear, he did! Lousy pike, the outrage o' it all…"
With that, Kintre slumped off, muttering about pikes and ears, and Springbud, Sprout, Diathus, and Tamarillo all burst out into merry laughter.
The two hares, one squirrel, mouse, and eagle were led through Mossflower Woods by Tidespark and his crew of otters. Diathus was very curious about Kintre. She showered the otters with questions, which they answered good- naturedly.
"Who's the leader of Holt Kintre?"
"Why, Kintre o'course, m'beauty!" A young otter named Springbud winked at the hare as she continued walking. "Her mum was named Kintre, an' so was her grandmum, great-grandmum, an' so forth. Lots o' seasons ago, Kintre's great-great-great-great grandmum founded our Holt, so we named it a'ter her."
Diathus nodded, then shot off into her next question.
"What's Holt Kintre like?"
This time, it was Tidespark who answered the curious hare's question.
"Oh, it's quite nice thar. Our Holt's by th'good ole River Moss. It's…oh, well, y'can see fer yoreself, m'heartie. We're here!"
Diathus looked around. It was like a huge clearing, various trees surrounding it. Pots, pans, and various pieces of cloth were lying around aimlessly. There was a large den where the otters lived, but it looked quite deserted. A babbling river flowed nearby, obviously the River Moss. The hare turned to Tidespark.
"Looks pretty empty t'me. Sure this is it?"
The otter chuckled and said, "Dun think I can tell iffen this is me home? All y'have t'do is call 'em out. Like this." Cupping his paws to his mouth, he hollered out loudly, "Kintrreeeee! 'Tis me, Tidespark! Brought some old friends back wid me, along wid some new. One o'em goes by the name of Tamar!"
Otters came tumbling out of tents, making their way to greet the home comers. But a dark brown otter ignored Tidespark and his crew, and slammed into Tamarillo, hugging him tightly.
"Tamar, y'ole bobtailed walloper, nice t'see ye agin!"
The hare laughed while trying to pry the otter off of himself, replying as he did so.
"Kintre, ye ruddertailed river walloper! Y'haven't changed a bit!"
The two friends began rolling around the floor, wrestling with each other as the others watched on in amusement. After much playful act, the otter leapt up from the ground and began brushing off her light blue tunic and navy blue jerkin.
"So now, y'ole rascal, whatcha come fer this time, eh? Vittles? Well, if that's what it is, then yore in luck. We was jus' 'bout t'have a late lunch."
Tamarillo laughed as he motioned to the rest of the crew to come forward. "Actually Kintre, I've come wid a friend. She wants t'get t'Redwall Abbey, an' on our way, we jus' happened t'bump into Tidespark." Tamarillo paused, then a wide grin spread across his face. "But vittles could be nice!" Grabbing Diathus's paw, he pulled her forward to meet Kintre.
"Kintre, this is Diathus, probably the prettiest hare e'er seen."
Miameep pushed Skydrop and Rosethorn forward as Tamarillo introduced them.
"The eagle is Skydrop, most commonly called Sky. He was Diathus's first travellin' companion. An' the mousemaid o'er there is Rosethorn. She's quite a growler, as I've been told."
The hare winked at the harvestmouse, who blushed in response. She had not forgotten the incident with the rats yet. Kintre just nodded and went about shaking their paws.
"Nice t'meetcher, all o'yer, I'm sure. Would y'like somethin' t'eat?"
A loud chorus of 'Aye's, from Diathus's group and Tidespark's crew, greeted the Holt leader's ears. She grinned cheekily as she led them all into the den.
"Well then come on in, we got enough t'feed Tamarillo from spring to fall, an' that's a lot, matey!"
After breakfast, Diathus and Tamarillo followed Kintre to the River Moss as they discussed certain issues.
"Redwall Abbey, y'say? M'brother lives there, name's Skipper. I'm sure Tidespark an' a few others will be willin' t'show ye lot the way. 'Ain't far from here, y'know. Now wot's this 'bout a weasel corsair?"
Tamarillo nodded toward Diathus, who began telling her tale rapidly, trying to make it short as possible.
"Well, y'see, Kintre, I was a slave aboard a ship called Carassan, an' Vermeng, the weasel corsair, was the cap'n. Well, one day, I broke free o' me chains an' tried t'escape, but we were in the middle o' the ocean, so I couldn't get anywhere. So I freed Skydrop, an' he helped me gain my freedom since I let 'im free from 'is cage. So 'e let me ride on 'is back an' we…well, he flew off. We met up wid Rosey, an' by lucky coincidence, sought shelter in Tamar's cave, an' met them. Though I 'ave t'say…" Here, Diathus rubbed her head ruefully. "the first encounter wasn't exactly pleasant. But we became friends."
The otter nodded and grinned lopsidedly. She pointed a paw at Tamarillo's lance as she said, "I'm takin' it that Tamar here gave y'quite a large bump on yer noggin' wid his lance 'ere, eh?"
Tamarillo grinned sheepishly and said, "Well, 'tain't my fault! In the dark, Di here looked somewhat like a stoat wid long ears!"
Kintre chuckled and back-pawed Tamarillo in the stomach, but the hare was caught off guard, over-balanced, and toppled into the River Moss. The holt leader burst out laughing as the soaked head of Tamarillo emerged, a picture of mock fury upon his face. He began to shout silly insults at Kintre, which was responded by barks of laughter. Kintre smirked and made a move to haul the hare out of the water when her eyes fell upon a long, silver flash in the river. The otter's face immediately paled and her laughter subsided. Tamarillo had stopped shouting, his eyes fixed on the dorsal fin that was protruding from the water. It was a large pike, covered in silver scales. The fish's gruesome jaw was open, ready to sink into the hare's bobtail.
It was too late to haul Tamarillo out of the River Moss. Kintre hit the water gracefully with little sound and laid the pike a stunning blow on the back with her rudder-like tail to divert it's attention. The pike, who was about to clamp its jaw on Tamarillo, whirled around in anger and began attacking Kintre, the hare immediately forgotten. The otter leader was ready. She let the large fish get close enough when she slid off to another area of the river, leading the pike in a mad chase.
Diathus watched the two in fascination, temporarily forgetting about her fellow hare. Finally, at a polite cough from Tamarillo, Diathus pulled her dripping wet friend out of the water. The two stood at the river bank, watching as the otter and pike continued.
The pike bared its teeth at Kintre and charged forward, met by a heavy whack on the fin. He raced after the otter as she raced away and clamped his jaw on her ear. The otter leader growled and tried to get the pike off her ear. The large fish finally let go, ripping Kintre's ear off in the process. Ignoring the burning pain, the otter narrowed her eyes and charged forward, delivering the pike stunned as she batted him on the back with her rudder-like tail. Then she swam off gracefully while the large fish was still shocked and leaped out of the water.
"Whew! I tell ye, mates, that'un's tough! Ripped me ear off, the blackguard. Well now, Tamar ye ole rascal, ye doin' okay?"
Tamarillo looked up at the otter leader with a look of surprise and admiration in his eyes. The hare stepped forward and grabbed Kintre's paws, clasping his own on hers firmly.
"Thank ye, friend, ye saved me life, y'did."
Grinning, the otter rubbed her ear stump ruefully and said, "Aye, an' now ye owe me a new ear!"
Springbud and a young, feisty otter named Sprout, dashed over, worry printed clearly on their faces.
"Kintre, are ye okay? What happened?"
"Hah, does she look okay t'ye, Spring? 'Alf an ear, she 'as! Wot 'appened, marm?"
Smacking Sprout's ears non too gently and waggled her paw under his nose fiercely as she berated him.
"Less o' the marm, young sir, lessen ye want me t'keep callin' ye that." Pointing a paw at the River Moss, Kintre explained what had happened while Diathus and Tamarillo backed her up, or in other words, interrupted her.
"There was a pike in the water-"
"Aye, a big 'un!"
"But ain't the word, Di. 'Twas gigantic!"
Kintre whirled around and glared at the two cheeky hares angrily before continuing, hoping that they would be quiet.
"Then Diathus'n'Tamar an' I were jokin' 'round, an'…er…I back-pawed-"
"She back-pawed Tamar right in the stomach, an' then he lost his balance!"
"Righto, inter the water I fell, jus' cause I had said that Di here looked like a stoat wid long ears in th'dark!"
Although she didn't turn around, the otter leader's tail slapped both of the hares on the legs, hopefully silencing them.
"Who's tellin' the story 'ere, eh? Anyway, I pushed Tamar in, an' then I saw the pike about t'take a bite outer him, so I dived in an', t'make things short, started fightin' wid the pike. An' also t'make things short, I won, though I didn't kill him. But stap me rudder an' swipe me whiskers, the fish took off me ear, he did! Lousy pike, the outrage o' it all…"
With that, Kintre slumped off, muttering about pikes and ears, and Springbud, Sprout, Diathus, and Tamarillo all burst out into merry laughter.