Chapter 14
Something has been bothering Glen for a while now. She couldn't explain it, but there was something about this whole thing that has been bugging her. She couldn't quite put her paw on it. Deciding to ask someone else about it, she went down to Birch's room. Seeing that she wasn't busy, Glen knocked on the door, upon which the abbess said to come in. Glen slid into the room to find Birch lying down on her bed. Quickly composing herself, Birch sat up and motioned for Glen to sit down. Seating herself on the edge of the bed, Glen decided to respectfully wait till Birch spoke to her first. "So, what brings you here today Glen?" asks Birch.
"Well, you see Birch, sommat's been bothering me lately, but I can't put my paw on it."
"Oh?" said Birch in curiosity. "And do you have any idea as to what this may be?"
Glen shook her head. "No, but I think it has to do with Wyatt and when he still out in the woods with Darkslash."
Birch shook her head. "You know, I too have been wondering about our strange guest. Let's go and check that note he gave you before you got injured."
"Alright, let's go take a look at it!"
Abbess Birch rummaged through a drawer next to her bed, and came up with the note that Wyatt had written when he was with Darkslash in the woods. Looking over it, Glen and Birch found what they were looking for. The line wrote, "Darkslash told me that I'm in Mossflower country, but I'm not too sure. How could I be in a place that I've only read about in a book?"
Both Birch and Glen looked at each other. Why hadn't they seen it before? Excusing herself, Birch ran off to the infirmary to get the book from Wyatt's bag. Getting it without any trouble, Birch raced back and slammed it open on the bed. Going through the pages, she looked till she found what she was looking for. In the back, was some information on where Wyatt had come from, but there was very little of it. Birch decided to see if Wyatt had anything else that could be of use. Going back to the infirmary, she took another look through his bag, stopping at some kind of folded-up piece of paper, she took a swift look at it. Smiling, she went back to her room to show Glen what she had found.
Wyatt and Darkslash had awoken at the same time that afternoon. And they were given some great news when they did. Sister Elm had taken a look at their injuries and was noticed that their injuries from when they came in where doing better than expected, they would be able to get back to normal life in a month. Darkslash was happy with the news, Wyatt was a bit saddened by this. Sister Elm saw the look on Wyatt's face and asked him through Darkslash what was the matter. Wyatt shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have been away from home for a long time now. I don't even know how time goes between here and where I'm from. I only hope that they are not worried about me.."
Sister Elm looked at Wyatt, sorrow etched into her face. Her heart went out to him, a lone creature in an unknown land, with hardship and sorrow not far behind. She decided that asking further would not be a wise thing to do. Turning to Darkslash she told him of what the infirmary had planned for the two of them. He shuddered visibly, but said that he would go through with it. Wyatt was slightly puzzled by this, seeing that he didn't fully understand what was going on, he decided to sit back and see it out. When a few old otter wives came, Wyatt was a tad bit confused. Sister Elm held a conference with the otters. "You see here, these two beasts have not moved from those beds in weeks, and are starting to smell a bit ripe. Would you mind helping me in bathing these two beasts?"
The otters looked at each other before one of them asked, "What about that odd-looking beast there?"
Sister Elm looked towards Wyatt for a second before realization dawned on her. "You're right, I should ask him first. Good thinking!"
Sister Elm walks over to Wyatt, and asks the question about bathing. "A bath? Uhm, well, although it sounds wonderful, there is a slight problem with me stripping down and getting into a tub of water."
Sister Elm looked a bit puzzled. "Oh, and what problem would that be pray tell."
Wyatt looked over at Darkslash before telling her, still communicating through Darkslash, "Well, you guys might have fur to cover up any, uhm, vitals. My people don't have that. I would have to get into something from my bag, a certain piece of clothing to be exact. Would you mind getting my bag for me?"
Sister Elm nodded and went to get Wyatt's bag from the chair next to the door. Bringing it over, Wyatt used his good hand to go through it. After rummaging trough it a bit, he came up with an odd piece of clothing. Upon further inquiry, Sister Elm learned that it was 'swim shorts' and that he would like to have the privacy to change into them, out of sight from everybeast. Sister Elm nodded and after helping Wyatt from his bed, led him over to a part of the room normally used for emergencies that had a thick blind to keep beasts from seeing what was going on. Leaving him to change, Sister Elm went over to the otters and told them that he had to change before getting into the tub, and suggested that they bathe Darkslash who was going nowhere on his leg. After assisting him into a tub of hot scented rosewater, they started to scrub him down. After they finished scrubbing Darkslash down, they dried him off with some soft barkcloth towels. About this time Wyatt was done getting changed into his swim shorts. He was led to the tub, which had new, clean water put in. Getting into the tub, Wyatt sat on his haunches and let the otter wives get about their task. Seeing that Wyatt was in his swim shorts, it made the job easier for them all. Being careful with his injured arm, they carefully cleaned his arm, and scrubbed his back, and front. Finishing the job well, they assisted him in getting out, dried him off, and got him back to the place where he changed earlier. Wyatt changed in privacy and then returned to bed.
Glen had been looking at the piece of paper that Abbess Birch had brought back with her from her trip to the infirmary. This was what she needed to know a bit more about Wyatt; she had to use her translation pages but she soon had it translated for her and Glen to read. It was an identification card, used in wallets, but this one was not in a wallet. On it had some info on Wyatt, these were, his age, weight, place of current residence, and where he was from in the world. Glen turned to Birch, a slight grin on her face, "Well, it seems that his note is correct. He is indeed from a place far different from ours. But how did he get here? That's what I would like to know."
Abbess Birch scratched her nose, which was a tad bit itchy at the moment before answering. "Well, there is really only one way to answer that question now isn't there?"
Glen was slightly puzzled by this. "And what is that, I'm a boiled frog if you know."
Birch smiled mischievously before answering, "Well you boiled frog, we have to ask Wyatt. Who else would know how he got here than him eh?"
Glen finally got it at this point. "Oh, I see, well, let's go and have a visit with him then. Let's go!"
Both Glen and Birch then left the room, carrying the things that they had borrowed from Wyatt's bag earlier. Upon entering the room, they noticed that there was something different from the last time they were in there. Birch went over to Sister Elm and asked her what has occurred lately. Upon hearing that she and a crew of otter wives have scrubbed both Wyatt and Darkslash clean. Birch smiled; at least they were clean from their ordeal in the woods. Walking up to Wyatt, she had a conversation with Darkslash translating between them. "Wyatt, I was wondering about something and thought that you could help. Would you care to try helping me?"
Wyatt listened intently, having nothing better to do he agreed to helping her. "Splendid!" exclaimed Abbess Birch. "Would you mind being asked a few questions about yourself and where you come from?"
Wyatt was suddenly interested to the extreme. "Alright, what do you want to know about me?"
Birch got out some parchment and her quill, sat down at the bedside table and said, "Well, I would like to know what you are exactly, and if you wouldn't mind, tell me about where your from."
Wyatt sat up, using his left arm to lean on slightly. "Well, me, I am a male human being. And I come from a town called Union in the state of Maine. Any other questions?"
Birch nodded and asked Wyatt, "Maine? Where's that? Is it a country?"
Wyatt shook his head. "No, Maine is a state, but it is part of a country. One of the strongest countries in the world, or at least, the one I'm from."
Birch shook her head in amazement. "So, if I was to assume that this truly was something from a book, that someone over there knows about us?"
Wyatt smiled disarmingly and said, "I don't even think that the author even knows that it truly exists, he meant it to be a children's book, but lot's of people from all age groups read it."
Birch looks a bit puzzled at this. Surely he didn't mean that others of his kind might know, and yet never been here? Wyatt saw the odd look on her face and said. "If you would like, that one book in my bag is one of a series of books."
Birch looked Wyatt straight in the face and said, "And how many more books in this series is there pray tell"
Wyatt looked innocent as he said, "Well, let's see here, there are currently fifteen books made, the one in my bag being the fifteenth book written. Why? Is something wrong?"
Glen looked Wyatt straight in the eye. "No, nothing's wrong. Just wondering."
Wyatt looked straight back at Birch's eyes as he said to her, "That's alright. Well, what are we going to do now?"
Abbess Birch looked out the dark window. It was late, and she needed her rest. "Well, I say that it is time to sleep. So, I will see you tomorrow morning for another lesson. Until then!"
Wyatt managed to mutter a clear 'good-bye' before both he and Darkslash, fell asleep.
Something has been bothering Glen for a while now. She couldn't explain it, but there was something about this whole thing that has been bugging her. She couldn't quite put her paw on it. Deciding to ask someone else about it, she went down to Birch's room. Seeing that she wasn't busy, Glen knocked on the door, upon which the abbess said to come in. Glen slid into the room to find Birch lying down on her bed. Quickly composing herself, Birch sat up and motioned for Glen to sit down. Seating herself on the edge of the bed, Glen decided to respectfully wait till Birch spoke to her first. "So, what brings you here today Glen?" asks Birch.
"Well, you see Birch, sommat's been bothering me lately, but I can't put my paw on it."
"Oh?" said Birch in curiosity. "And do you have any idea as to what this may be?"
Glen shook her head. "No, but I think it has to do with Wyatt and when he still out in the woods with Darkslash."
Birch shook her head. "You know, I too have been wondering about our strange guest. Let's go and check that note he gave you before you got injured."
"Alright, let's go take a look at it!"
Abbess Birch rummaged through a drawer next to her bed, and came up with the note that Wyatt had written when he was with Darkslash in the woods. Looking over it, Glen and Birch found what they were looking for. The line wrote, "Darkslash told me that I'm in Mossflower country, but I'm not too sure. How could I be in a place that I've only read about in a book?"
Both Birch and Glen looked at each other. Why hadn't they seen it before? Excusing herself, Birch ran off to the infirmary to get the book from Wyatt's bag. Getting it without any trouble, Birch raced back and slammed it open on the bed. Going through the pages, she looked till she found what she was looking for. In the back, was some information on where Wyatt had come from, but there was very little of it. Birch decided to see if Wyatt had anything else that could be of use. Going back to the infirmary, she took another look through his bag, stopping at some kind of folded-up piece of paper, she took a swift look at it. Smiling, she went back to her room to show Glen what she had found.
Wyatt and Darkslash had awoken at the same time that afternoon. And they were given some great news when they did. Sister Elm had taken a look at their injuries and was noticed that their injuries from when they came in where doing better than expected, they would be able to get back to normal life in a month. Darkslash was happy with the news, Wyatt was a bit saddened by this. Sister Elm saw the look on Wyatt's face and asked him through Darkslash what was the matter. Wyatt shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have been away from home for a long time now. I don't even know how time goes between here and where I'm from. I only hope that they are not worried about me.."
Sister Elm looked at Wyatt, sorrow etched into her face. Her heart went out to him, a lone creature in an unknown land, with hardship and sorrow not far behind. She decided that asking further would not be a wise thing to do. Turning to Darkslash she told him of what the infirmary had planned for the two of them. He shuddered visibly, but said that he would go through with it. Wyatt was slightly puzzled by this, seeing that he didn't fully understand what was going on, he decided to sit back and see it out. When a few old otter wives came, Wyatt was a tad bit confused. Sister Elm held a conference with the otters. "You see here, these two beasts have not moved from those beds in weeks, and are starting to smell a bit ripe. Would you mind helping me in bathing these two beasts?"
The otters looked at each other before one of them asked, "What about that odd-looking beast there?"
Sister Elm looked towards Wyatt for a second before realization dawned on her. "You're right, I should ask him first. Good thinking!"
Sister Elm walks over to Wyatt, and asks the question about bathing. "A bath? Uhm, well, although it sounds wonderful, there is a slight problem with me stripping down and getting into a tub of water."
Sister Elm looked a bit puzzled. "Oh, and what problem would that be pray tell."
Wyatt looked over at Darkslash before telling her, still communicating through Darkslash, "Well, you guys might have fur to cover up any, uhm, vitals. My people don't have that. I would have to get into something from my bag, a certain piece of clothing to be exact. Would you mind getting my bag for me?"
Sister Elm nodded and went to get Wyatt's bag from the chair next to the door. Bringing it over, Wyatt used his good hand to go through it. After rummaging trough it a bit, he came up with an odd piece of clothing. Upon further inquiry, Sister Elm learned that it was 'swim shorts' and that he would like to have the privacy to change into them, out of sight from everybeast. Sister Elm nodded and after helping Wyatt from his bed, led him over to a part of the room normally used for emergencies that had a thick blind to keep beasts from seeing what was going on. Leaving him to change, Sister Elm went over to the otters and told them that he had to change before getting into the tub, and suggested that they bathe Darkslash who was going nowhere on his leg. After assisting him into a tub of hot scented rosewater, they started to scrub him down. After they finished scrubbing Darkslash down, they dried him off with some soft barkcloth towels. About this time Wyatt was done getting changed into his swim shorts. He was led to the tub, which had new, clean water put in. Getting into the tub, Wyatt sat on his haunches and let the otter wives get about their task. Seeing that Wyatt was in his swim shorts, it made the job easier for them all. Being careful with his injured arm, they carefully cleaned his arm, and scrubbed his back, and front. Finishing the job well, they assisted him in getting out, dried him off, and got him back to the place where he changed earlier. Wyatt changed in privacy and then returned to bed.
Glen had been looking at the piece of paper that Abbess Birch had brought back with her from her trip to the infirmary. This was what she needed to know a bit more about Wyatt; she had to use her translation pages but she soon had it translated for her and Glen to read. It was an identification card, used in wallets, but this one was not in a wallet. On it had some info on Wyatt, these were, his age, weight, place of current residence, and where he was from in the world. Glen turned to Birch, a slight grin on her face, "Well, it seems that his note is correct. He is indeed from a place far different from ours. But how did he get here? That's what I would like to know."
Abbess Birch scratched her nose, which was a tad bit itchy at the moment before answering. "Well, there is really only one way to answer that question now isn't there?"
Glen was slightly puzzled by this. "And what is that, I'm a boiled frog if you know."
Birch smiled mischievously before answering, "Well you boiled frog, we have to ask Wyatt. Who else would know how he got here than him eh?"
Glen finally got it at this point. "Oh, I see, well, let's go and have a visit with him then. Let's go!"
Both Glen and Birch then left the room, carrying the things that they had borrowed from Wyatt's bag earlier. Upon entering the room, they noticed that there was something different from the last time they were in there. Birch went over to Sister Elm and asked her what has occurred lately. Upon hearing that she and a crew of otter wives have scrubbed both Wyatt and Darkslash clean. Birch smiled; at least they were clean from their ordeal in the woods. Walking up to Wyatt, she had a conversation with Darkslash translating between them. "Wyatt, I was wondering about something and thought that you could help. Would you care to try helping me?"
Wyatt listened intently, having nothing better to do he agreed to helping her. "Splendid!" exclaimed Abbess Birch. "Would you mind being asked a few questions about yourself and where you come from?"
Wyatt was suddenly interested to the extreme. "Alright, what do you want to know about me?"
Birch got out some parchment and her quill, sat down at the bedside table and said, "Well, I would like to know what you are exactly, and if you wouldn't mind, tell me about where your from."
Wyatt sat up, using his left arm to lean on slightly. "Well, me, I am a male human being. And I come from a town called Union in the state of Maine. Any other questions?"
Birch nodded and asked Wyatt, "Maine? Where's that? Is it a country?"
Wyatt shook his head. "No, Maine is a state, but it is part of a country. One of the strongest countries in the world, or at least, the one I'm from."
Birch shook her head in amazement. "So, if I was to assume that this truly was something from a book, that someone over there knows about us?"
Wyatt smiled disarmingly and said, "I don't even think that the author even knows that it truly exists, he meant it to be a children's book, but lot's of people from all age groups read it."
Birch looks a bit puzzled at this. Surely he didn't mean that others of his kind might know, and yet never been here? Wyatt saw the odd look on her face and said. "If you would like, that one book in my bag is one of a series of books."
Birch looked Wyatt straight in the face and said, "And how many more books in this series is there pray tell"
Wyatt looked innocent as he said, "Well, let's see here, there are currently fifteen books made, the one in my bag being the fifteenth book written. Why? Is something wrong?"
Glen looked Wyatt straight in the eye. "No, nothing's wrong. Just wondering."
Wyatt looked straight back at Birch's eyes as he said to her, "That's alright. Well, what are we going to do now?"
Abbess Birch looked out the dark window. It was late, and she needed her rest. "Well, I say that it is time to sleep. So, I will see you tomorrow morning for another lesson. Until then!"
Wyatt managed to mutter a clear 'good-bye' before both he and Darkslash, fell asleep.