Author's Notes: I know, I know. Late. And it isn't even that good. Do you guys realize how much that sucks?

Disclaimer: I do not own Redwall in any way. It belongs to Brian Jacques.

Darwath's POV

"Good morning, Claw."

The fox gulped. "Sir?"

I licked my lips. "So what news from Fangface?"

"Oh, great malevolent being-"

"Get on with it." My patience was wearing thin.

"Uh, as you wish mighty lord of darkness and master of all-"

"CLAW!"

The fox lost his nerve and was quite frightened. "Fangfacepositionedtroopsallaround SalamandastronandsurroundedthemwithoutthemnoticingandheisreadytoattackatyourcommandomasterofallusmiserablebeingsButFangfacehasdecidedagainststtackingforafewmoredaysattheveryleasttotrainhismenbecausetheyaren'treadyforbattleyetcausetheyhaven'tfoughtforalongtimegreatDarwath."

I narrowed my eyes, clenched my fists, and the edges of my mouth twitched dangerously. "A little slower, Claw."

The fox gulped. "Yessir, as you wish. Fangface positioned troops all around Salamandastron and surrounded them without them noticing and he is ready to attack at your command o master of all us miserable beings. But Fangface has decided against attacking for a few more days at the very least to train his men because they aren't ready for battle yet cause they haven't fought for a long time great Darwath."

I shrugged. Truth was I was quite amused. Claw was still talking really fast, but a least this time around I understood him.

I tilted my head. So Fangface was hesitating, hun? Hum, maybe the rat has an IQ higher than 0 after all.

I yawned casually. "And? What else?"

"Not much…"

I creased my brow. "Oh? You know, I've been thinking… I'm bored."

"Sir?"

"I'm bored, Claw. Tired of all this. Tired of sitting on a throne all day, doing nothing. I want to fight again, I want to cut something… I want to kill." I stated, examining the claws on my left paw.

Claw gulped audibly. "I see, sir." his eyes darted to and fro. "Well… if they're nothing else… I'll be going now…"

I laughed harshly, starling the fox. "Trying to get away from me, Claw? Tsk, tsk, not good. No, not good at all. How are you supposed to be my second-in-command if you don't even trust me?" I demanded, sharpening my claws on the armrest of my throne.

Claw bit his lower lip. "Sir, I- I do trust you, I really do. It's just that… I… need to check on Tridenter! Yeah, that's it! Yep. So I'll be going now, if there's nothing else, sir." he replied hastily.

I let him leave the room without paying much attention to him, still examining my claws.

"Hum… been some time since I've killed anyone with these claws." I said more to myself than to anyone around me.

There was a sudden knocking on my door. A quiet, timid knocking. I felt my ears stand up. "Yes? Come in."

The door opened slowly with a soft creaking and a rat came in. His eyes grew wide when he saw me. Of course they did, he was amazed by my majestic structure.

"S-sir… I sorry, must 'ave rong room…I new 'rond 'here, dunno 'wher to go."

I blinked. Why couldn't rats ever learn to speak properly? "Tell me, what's your name?"

"Me name, sir? Clor. Aye, that be me name. Clor."

I nodded. "Clor. You do understand that there's no room for mistakes in my hoard, don't you?"

"Aye…"

"And accidentally walking into a warlord's room is a grand mistake, no?"

"Aye…"

I closed my eyes and rested my chin on my hands. "Which captain are you serving under, Clor?"

"M-me… be servin' wit Tridenter."

I opened one eye lazily. "Oh, so you're a sea rat, eh? Figures. So when did you join my hoard?"

"Eh…. 'ust a few days ago, sir."

"Oh, so you were one of those rats we found near the shore. I see." Then I fixed him with a stern gaze. "You disturbed me today, Clor. Not good." I flicked my favorite rapier from my belt and threw it at Clor.

Luckily for the rat, my aim was true and I did little but nick the edge of his right ear. He stood there like a statue, paralyzed for a few seconds, before he began breathing again.

I stood up. "I'm feeling generous today, Clor. Get out of here in five seconds and I'll spare your miserable life."

The rat nodded, squeaked, and dashed out.

A short while later, there was another knock on my door. I just happened to be eating my lunch then. My eyes formed slits and I snarled softly. "It better not be Clor again, or else…" I muttered. The knocking persisted. Putting down a piece of bread, I cursed. The knocking continued. Forcing myself to stay calm, I granted permission to enter.

Shademask's POV

I knocked once. No answer. Of course not, at this time of the day, the warlord would be eating. I knocked again, and again, before the answer finally came.

"Come in…"

I calmly opened the door, entered, and kneeled before the fox as I always do. I could see Darwath's irritation.

"Oh, it's you."

He said no more. Truth be told, I was the only one in his entire hoard who could get away with banging on his door while he was eating. Ah, but Darwath was really going to be mad when I told him why I was there. But I decided to prolong the suspense by simply standing there, glancing at him.

His eyes darted to and fro. He picked up a half-eaten loaf of bread, tore off a piece with his other paw, and popped it into his mouth. He swallowed it, all the while keeping an eye on me. In the end, he couldn't stand it anymore and asked.

"Captain Shademask… why did you disturb my meal?"

I nodded. "Yes, for a reason."

Silence. Then, Darwath arched his eyebrows and asked, "And that reason would be…"

"The reason I disturbed your meal."

The fox blinked. Then he laughed. It was a nervous laugh, the one he only utters when he's trying to keep calm.

Darwath's POV

I wanted to strangle him. I wanted to skin him alive and then burn him over a raging fire. I wanted to impale him onto spiky rocks by pushing him over a cliff. But I couldn't. Shademask was an indispensable spy. No other was better. He could move unseen in broad daylight, stalk someone for months. To be perfectly honest, he even freaked me out sometimes. I'm scared he'll just pop out of nowhere and stab me in the back. For that reason, I tolerated everything he did. However, it would seem he took advantage of that. He knew he could get away with almost anything, and he pushed his luck for sheer amusement.

I smiled. "And… if you do not wish to discuss your reason with me, would you care to please leave?" Ugh, I said 'please'.

Shademask nodded. "Very well. You see, I was walking by and… well, I just wanted to drop by for a conversation. With you."

I nodded, all the while fuming inside. This beast drove me mad! "And…. what would you like to talk about, captain?"

"Not much, really. I'll be going now. Good-bye." The spy strolled away calmly. AS soon as he had shut the door after him, I stood up and threw my rapier at the door, imagining it was Shademask. The sharp blade buried itself deep into the wood.

Claw's POV

I poked at my fish. I wasn't really hungry. I didn't notice the ferret approach until his voice resounded in my ears.

"Good day, sir."

I spun around and dropped my fork, startled. The ferret glanced at me with cool yellow eyes.

Pulling myself together, I cleared my throat. "Uh, yes, good day, to you too, Shademask."

Shademask blinked. "So, what are you planning on doing this afternoon?"

"Uh…"

Shademask was a queer one. Unpredictable as well. One minute he's acting friendly with you, the next he's snapping at you like a rabid wolf. No sense at all. He struck just as much fear in the miserable hearts of the hoard as Darwath did. But no one ever dared mention that to the warlord. I'm so glad I'm Shademask's superior officer. But even if he called me 'sir', who knew what was going on in that ferret's mind.

Bladepace's POV

I couldn't believe I was lying on the cold hard floor when I could be in bed.

Darwath just sent me and my best men out scouting, for no reason whatsoever. Maybe he thought my men were getting lazy.

I was seated against a tree with my arms behind my head. I yawned softly as I observed my men. Some of them were busy escalating the tree while the others were setting up tents and trying to start a fire in this accursed rain. It sure was cold out there.

I looked up. Two weasels were wrestling each other. The sparring match ended when one of them fell off, breaking a couple of branches and unleashing wild laughter from his companions. I sighed. "What are you doing up there?" I shouted.

The weasel who pushed the other off gave me a toothy grin. "We 'aven some good 'ole fun, cap'n."

I nodded and took a swing of wine. "Well, that's fine, but keep it down."

"Aye, cap'n." he answered, still grinning.

I nodded. I decided to cut my troops some slack. The best way to get your troop's obedience is to be likable while still displaying power. And it sure was working for me. Taking another swing of wine, I wondered what old Deatheye was doing…

Author's Notes: Yes, indeed, Bladepace, what happened to Deathyeye? Mwahahahaha… ahem, please review.