Whoah. Uh, in a sudden burst of inspiration, I've actually completed this fic, so I can tell you with utmost cercainty that there are two more chapters. Yay!
Thank you Clouded Horizon and Lobuck Ashbreeze for your reviews!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything from Redwall. I do, however, own Sinew's song in the last chapter. Don't steal it or I'll sic Chillaxe on you! (if you dunno who Chillaxe is, go read Revenge of the Wolf : another Redwall fic my friend and I are writing)
A hawk, Kreeah, maneuvered through the charred trees, wondering vaguely why there wasn't a creature in sight. He wasn't very hungry, so the thought didn't worry him; he was merely on his way to visit Salamandastron, and Urthstripe –a good friend of his.
Out of the night stillness, he heard a song wavering. Curious, he easily changed his course. When the song stopped he still could not see anybeast. He heard a raised voice and, without warning, broke out into a clearing.
His keen eyes took in everything around him and, within seconds, he screeched his war cry and rushed down, intercepting the arrow a hair's breadth from its intended victim. As Sinew bellowed for an attack, Kreeah's fearsome beak ripped the arrows out of Lenzon's paws and sliced the cords.
He struggled for a firm grip on the squirrel as the vermin rushed him from all sides. Suddenly, he took off into the starry sky, just barely avoiding a formidable battleaxe that had been raised against him. Sinew raged and yelled, but the Hawk was out of arrow range, making its way over the trees.
He whirled onto his second-in-command, a fox.
"I want full strength now towards that badger. We have to kill him. If I kill a badger, many glories will be bestowed upon me..."
He trailed off, eyes glazed in dreams of splendor, not noticing the fox's salute and "Yes, sir".
Lenzon was, allowably, frightened as he was borne off above the treetops to some unknown destination. He, in the course of thirty seconds, had gone from being tied to posts and being sure his life was over, to being clutched in the claws of a fierce warrior hawk and being sure his life was over.
The hawk took Lenzon far away from the vermin camp and set him down carefully in a hollow. Lenzon almost passed out from the pain; it felt like every bone in his body was broken, in addition to the searing pain in his four paws where the cruel arrows bored holes in them.
They had scabbed over some during the flight, but were still oozing nastily. Lenzon tried not to think of if he would ever use them again. He watched the bird warily as it smoothed its feathers.
"Are you going to... eat me?" he asked, coughing a little.
The bird let out a laugh that sounded much like a screech.
"Haha! No, no, little tree-mouse. I save your life, you remember?"
"Well, yes, but--"
"What your name?"
"Lenzon."
"I'm Kreeah. Good, good. I take you to fire mountain; longears fix you up good. Sleep now. We fly at sunrise."
Without another word, the hawk tucked his head under his wing and went to sleep. Lenzon tried to follow his example, but the pain and adrenaline flowing through his system wouldn't let him. He lay in tortured half sleep, unconsciously watching the movement of the stars until the sun finally came.
Kreeah woke instantly and completely at dawn, nudging Lenzon gently and startling him from his little rest.
"You think you ride?" Kreeah asked curtly, almost amusedly as Lenzon tried to stagger to his knees.
"I-thought so," he said through gritted teeth.
"Little tree-mouse, silly tree-mouse. Relax, rest. I carry you to fire mountain. Try to make self better, don't lose life fire."
Lenzon nodded and crumpled again, losing his balance on the branch. Instinctively, he sunk his claws into it, but then cried out in new pain as he realized his paws would no longer grip.
Kreeah wrapped his talons around the squirrel's ravaged body quickly and lifted him into the air once more, before he fell to his death. Lenzon closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, feeling lightheaded as the ground rushed down and he soared, higher, higher, faster, faster.
The days dragged on for Courage – each day full of worry, fear, dread, and a sense of responsibility. Mara stayed the same; her personality never wavered. She was stubborn and mischievous, a trait which constantly aggravated the already harried young badger. He found himself snapping angrily at her, though he instantly regretted it every time.
Mara, however, had a curious habit that never failed to evoke a laugh from Courage, even when he was in his most anxious, or most upset moods. Whenever he became too harsh, Mara would scrunch up her tiny nose and bare her teeth in mock rage, cutting a sight so ridiculous, that Courage could not fail to laugh every time.
Mara loved it when he laughed. She would pause whatever she was doing and cock her head, smiling a little. When she smiled, his heart melted. More than once, as he cut through the woods, heart pounding and listening with all his might, he wondered why she had to go through this.
He only hoped he could make it to Salamandastron in the end.
Expect another chapter on Saturday, and the last one on Sunday! Also, I'll be starting a new fic once this one is done; a Fairy Tale. Please R&R on it!
Please review on this one, too. --smile--