7

Morning came to the Abbey, and Rabsire woke up bright and early; about the same time as everybeast, he is an occasional "over sleeper". He was ready to go to Salamandastorn; he was mostly eager because he could use this as an excuse to get out of the construction group. He got out of his room and was merrily making his way to the Great Hall to get the letter form Rosabell. But when he made it to Loven's room he quietly tried to sneak by, but he was waiting for him, sitting in his armchair. "Well well this is a surprise; you're up, early." Loven had set his armchair so that it faced the door.

"Have you forgotten anything Rabsire? Did you leave your window open? Did you make you bed? Did you bring something for you to eat while you're gone?" he said sarcastically.

"Umm...actually ehehehe I got everything I need." Rabsire said scratching the back of his ear nervously as he tried to slowly inch his way away from the otter's room.

Skipper sat back in his chair with a look of mock surprise "Ha! Is that so?"

Rabsire dumbly nodded his head. "Well then," Skipper said with a wicked smirk "when you do get back I want you to go to bed and sleep right away. Believe me you will need all the rest you can get." even though Rabsire knew what was in store for him when he gets back he still shuddered at the idea.

"Rosabell is the letter ready!?" Rabsire called as he descended the stairs to the Great Hall.

Rosabel panicked knowing that she didn't finish the letter last night "What am I talking about I didn't even start it!" she thought to herself. "Wha-?" Rosabel said with a small gasp. There next to her paw was an envelope sealed, and signed with her signature. She scratched her head in confusion "I never remembered finishing the letter. Oh well I guess my memory isn't what it use to be." she thought to herself

"Yes it's right here Rabsire. Have a safe trip." she said handing him the letter.

Rabsire "Thanks old gel. Not to worry good ol' reliable Rabsire is on the job!" Rabsire said puffing out his chest.

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Rosabel mumbled as Rabsire put the letter into his pocket; gently though not wanting to crumble the letter up.

"Rabsire are you sure that you don't want Loven, or any other beast to go with you." Rosabel asked, with a tone of deep concern.

Rabsire froze for a moment at the mention of Loven, but quickly recovered "I needing help delivering a letter? Bwahaha nonsense!" Rabsire said slapping his side as he laughed "No...I think I can manage. Besides I don't want any beast slowing me down."

As Rabsire made his way to the North Gate, and met Methuselah on his way out "Ah Methuselah so glad to see you out of that jolly ol' stuffy infirmary. Now don't you worry your tail off I'm sure that Snowfur was probably just having a bad day wot wot!"

Methuselah nodded his head "Ya you probably right." He said unenthusiastically.

Rabsire frowned and puffed out his chest "Humph! Probably right? I should say not! Of course I'm right; a hare is never wrong wot! Now good day to you sir!" even though Rabsire and Methuselah were about the same age Rabsire has always been the one who either acted like an adult, a dibbun, or both at the very same time. "Well, good bye Methuselah. I'll be back soon." he said patting Methuselah on the shoulder. Rabsie got up close to Methuselah whispering "Methuselah can I ask you a favor?" Methuselah nodded his head "Methulselah please try anything to keep me away from Loven. I don't care what you do please that chaps gone insane I tell you. Why I think that when I get back he planning on making me build St Ninans church all by my lonesome at night, scattering all the tools here and there, and probably no breakfast, lunch...or dinner. I'm telling you Methuselah that chaps let all this power of being Skipper go to his head."

Methuselah was trying to hold back a smile. With a very serious look Methuselah responded "What Loven doing all that, how barbaric, and uncivilized. Don't worry I'll try."

Rabsire couldn't hold back his emotions and hugged Methuselah whispering "Thank you Methuselah, you are a true friend."

After Rabsire left and the sense of pity on Rabsire had wore off Methuselah had went to the battlements to think about what he just did. "Will this work?" he asked himself "What will Snowfur do when he gets the letter?" Methuselah snorted with amusement "Then again I know exactly what he will do."

"What will he do?" a voice called, it was Deyna. He came walking up to Methuselah and leaned over the battlements next to Methuselah.

Normally Methuselah would try to change the subject, but right now he didn't care "I think that he will read the first few sentences and throw the letter in a fire and tell us that he will refuse to bargain with a..." Methuselah paused "Fox." Deyna finished.

Methuselah took a deep breath and nodded his head "A fox. I guess that's all I am to Snowfur. Just a fox..." Methuselah said in a sad tone, as he flicked tiny stones off of the battlements and watched the fall to the ground.

Deyna knew that Methuselah was in a lot of pain, not physically but emotionally, and he wanted to help in some way. "Methuselah come with me." Deyna descended the steps of the was Methuselah sighed and followed.

"You know Methuselah; I know exactly how you feel." Deyna said as they walked across the Abbey lawn toward the pond "You probably feel confused, depressed, and out of place right now am I right?"

Methuselah's pace slowed down "You can say that." He said his heart sinking faster and faster.

When they reached the pond Deyna stopped, and put his arm around Methuselah "Yes I know exactly what that feels like, you want to know what made me feel better though?"

Methuslelah looked at Deyna curiously "What?"

Deyna got an evil smirk on his face "A nice swim." he said pushing Methuselah into the pond.

Methuselah's head popped out of the water "Why did you do that?!" he said.

"How do you feel?" Deyna asked; the grin was getting larger and larger.

"Wet and cold!" Methuselah answered in a surprised and angry tone.

Deyna nodded his head satisfied at the results "Good, now you don't feel sad anymore do you?"

Methuselah got out of the water shaking himself off, he looked to Deyna and returned the grin "Your right. I don't feel sad anymore."

Methuselah was going to go back inside that Abbey so that he could change out of his wet clothes, but Deyna said that there was a good breeze outside today, and that he wanted to talk to him, despite being wet and cold Methuselah sat down next to Deyna under the tree that was close to the pond. "Methuselah, there's something wrong with you. Not about what you said to me about how you think you aren't fitting in, something different."

Methuselah said nothing; he didn't need to tell Deyna that he was right, he knew that he already knew. Deyna nodded his head slowly "Methuselah, I'm sorry. But also in so many ways I envy you; you started your life in a good place, but I was brought up in a place where of death, sorrow, and misery were always there to greet you in the morning, in the afternoon, and just when you are about to go to sleep. But I also can't help but feel sorry for you too." Deyna fell silent for a minuet, waiting for a response from Methuselah.

Methuselah sighed and stared at the sky letting the breeze hit his wet neck, but still said nothing, so Deyna continued "So what are you going to do?" Deyna asked.

For once Deyna got Methuselah's attention "What do you mean?" Methuselah asked.

Deyna shut his eyes and thought to himself for a moment "You seem distressed, so what are you going to do about it?"

Methuselah was blinking a lot, he was trying to hold back from crying "I- I don't know." he said.

Deyna scratched his chin "Well then what have you been planning to do...no that's not a good question. Methuselah what do you want to do?"

Methuselah leaned back against the tree "Run." he said "Just run. No map no destination, just run. Run to a place where there is only happiness, where my troubles can't follow me. But, I have no where to run, because I am already at the place where I want to run to. But my troubles have followed me here."

With that Methuselah got up, walked to the pond, and jumped in. Methuselah was a good swimmer, but seeing that he was raised by otters that only made sense.

Deyna sat and watched Methuselah, every time he came up for air he would just go back under water. Methuselah was taking Deyna's advice, but it wasn't working this time. He knew what he had to do "But do I really have to?" he thought to himself. When he gave up he came to the surface and started to float on his back, but he still wanted to be alone.

He watched the clouds fly over him, and the birds fly across the Abbey. It was very peaceful. "Deyna?" Methuselah called "What would you want me to do?"

Deyna looked to Methuselah then to the ground watching the wind play with the grass "What ever you think is right. Methuselah I raised you since you were little, and to me I consider you as my son, whatever you think is the right thing to do I will support you, and if I can, I will help you."

Methuselah walked back to the Abby and said in a low and barely audible tone "I think it's too late for that."

Deyna stayed at the pond and continued to think his own thoughts when his privacy was interrupted by Friar Dill, who was carrying a small plate of scones "Deyna. I saw you sitting here by yourself and I...well, I made you some scones...if you want any."

Deyna reached over to the plate and took one "Alright, I'll have some."

Dill set down the plate and sat down beside Deyna. The two remained silent as they ate the freshly baked scones. "It's not fair." Deyna said.

Friar Dill looked curiously at Dyena "I beg you pardon?"

Deyna ignored Dill and looked all across the Abbey seeing if he could find Methuselah. "Oh your looking for him, aren't you?"

Deyna snorted in anger but didn't say anything to Dill. "Deyna, can I ask you something?" Deyna nodded his head.

Dill lowered his head, sighed, and looked back up at Deyna "Why did you keep him? Why did you raise that fox?"

Deyna shook his head in disappointment "You know as well as I do Dill. He was an orphan and he couldn't take care of himself."

Dill nodded his head "Yes, yes I know. But what I'm trying to ask is why did you continue to raise him? Surely he could have left and taken care of himself a long time ago!"

Deyna was silent for a second "Yes, I don't doubt that he could have left and taken care of himself, and I don't know why I continued to take care of him. It's just that I had a feeling about him. A feeling that if he stayed here he would become good. He did; and it seems like the right thing for him."

Dill finished the last scone and picked up the plate, and as he was walking away he stopped and asked Deyna "How sure are you that making a fox, who is both feared and hated by almost all woodlanders is a good thing for him? Personally I don't think that that's fair."

Methuselah slipped through the doors of the great hall, still soaking wet. The dibbuns and the older children were eating and talking about this and that. But when Methuselah walked through the doors the whole room fell silent. Everyone at the table eyed the fox with both fear and curiosity. He walked down the Great Hall making a making a wet taping noise with his paws as he made his way to the stairs. Kip looked at Methuselah as he walked by her "He looks so sad, I wonder what's wrong with him?"

One of the mice looked at Kip "Who cares how that fox feels? All I know is that he is getting the floor wet." The mouse got out of his chair and yelled at Methuselah "Hey fox I hope your coming back and cleaning this up, cause if you aren't you're going to be in trouble!" The other dibbuns gave a cheer of approval, and started barking out random insults as Methuselah walked by.

Kip couldn't tell if it was the water but it looked as if Methuselah was crying. When Methuselah went up the stairs Kip got out of her seat and decided to follow him. But just as she made it to the stairs he was coming back in new clothes with an old rag, and started to clean up the trail of water he had left. The whole time the dibbuns were mocking him, laughing at him, and taunting him. Kip stared from the stairway in amazement knowing that she too did that as a dibbin, but only until now, seeing what Methuselah had to go through day after day, she felt bad for doing all those mean things to him. But the thing that amazed her was how well he took it. If she were in his position she would have probably scolded the dibbun's, but he didn't.

She learned in Abbey school that a vermin's eyes sere hard, cold, and empty. But Methuselah's were soft, warm, and friendly, yet sad, very sad. When Methuselah finished cleaning the floor he went up the stairs to his room. Kip walked up to Methuselah's room and tapped lightly on the door "It's open." Methuselah replied in a low scratchy voice.

Kip walked through the doorway slightly cautious because of the scary stories the children say about Methuselah; like how he keeps a huge sword above his bed that he uses to slay woodlanders outside of Redwall while everyone's asleep. Although she knew that the stories were complete nonsense she made a quick glance above his bed, and saw no sword.

Methuselah sat up and looked at the dormouse and scratched his chin "Hmmm your names Kip right?"

Kip nodded her head, slightly surprised that the fox remembered who she was. Methuselah wiped his eyes and shook out some water that was in his ears "Well come in, I won't bite you. But I'm sure that's what you have heard though am I right?"

Kip nodded her slowly head again as she walked through the door way expecting Methuselah to be offended. "Mr. Methuselah?" Kip began, but was interrupted "Please, Kip no need for formalities; you can just call me Methuselah."

Kip sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. Methuselah thought that the other children had put her up to insult him more, but he was a bit taken back by what she asked him "Methuselah, why do you take all those insults so calmly?" she asked.

Methuselah was so taken back by her question that he needed some time to gather his thoughts. "Well Kip, I've lived in this Abbey for some seasons now, and for all those seasons that I have lived here being mocked, ridiculed, and insulted has just been a part of my life that I have accepted. Yes it was hard, and I will admit it still is, but I know that by doing something will just make things worse. You see all the dibbuns are afraid of me because I'm a fox, and foxes are suppose to be evil, back stabbing, no good thieves. But then I came along. In a way I think they are all testing me, trying to find the thing that bugs me the most, so that I will say something and they can go to their parents and say I hurt them or something like that."

Kip started to cry, then hugged Methuselah "Methuselah, I'm so sorry. I was one of those beasts that made your life miserable, even though you are one of the nicest people that I know, you have always helped me when I really needed it when I was young, and I replayed you with insults. I'm so sorry."

Methuselah also hugged Kip "There, there. It's alright, I forgive you."

Kip rubbed her eyes and sniffed a few times "Really?" she asked. Methuselah smiled and nodded his head. Kip got off the bed and ran to the door way; when she made it the stopped "T-Thank you Miste...I mean Methuselah."

Methuselah said nothing, he only smiled, because if he opened his mouth he would probably start crying, but not tears of pain, or sorrow, but tears of joy. At this very moment, Methuselah felt truly happy; the same way he did when he saw the forest in his dreams before it was burnt down.

Once Kip left and shut the door behind her Methuselah lay back on his bed staring at the ceiling thinking about the forest in his dreams, then a thought his him that made him shudder "Was that dream just a dream, or was it a vision? If it is a vision is it a vision of my past, or...my future?"