Author's note: Well hello there and welcome to another instalment of Hope. Hope you like it (heehee, pardon the pun)
I know there are rather a lot of scene changes, but the story has to be moved on, wot! If you're confused about anything you can, oh, I don't know, review maybe and ask me?
Heh, well anyway I'll shut up know as I see the evil looks I am getting from my characters (they want to get started you see, they are rather impatient)
Disclaimer: Not a brick, not a stone, not an acorn.
Lunch and visitors
It was eerily quiet as Honeysuckle padded through the woods. Not a bird sang, not a leaf rustled. The trees seemed to be holding their breath, waiting, waiting for…
Crack! She stepped on a twig, which snapped under-paw. She jumped backwards several yards and then realised what the sound was.
Stop being silly she told herself sternly You have a job to do.
On through the forest she went, paw on her bow, ready in case she saw something that could serve as food.
A sudden bird call caused her to look sharply up. On a branch of a tall pine, sat a woodpigeon, trilling happily to the morning sky. Honeysuckle moved without hesitation, pulling an arrow out and pulling the bowstring back.
Twang! She released the arrow and the bird fell. She reached it and picked it up, looking down at it with satisfaction. Lunch.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"I say, captain, you haven't seen that gel Honeysuckle anywhere have you?"
Captain Darnel looked up from where he was sitting. His mouth was dry and his stomach rumbling; he had not eaten for days and they were trying to conserve water. He felt weak and dizzy, the world swam before his eyes and when he stood, he would most likely fall over again. And he was one of the lucky ones.
"No Sarge, I haven't. Why, what's wrong?" Sergeant Flax looked worried and that in itself was unusual.
He scratched his head "Well, it's just that she was standing by the entrance this morning, on guard duty. Just before-" his voice faltered "just before young Whin died. And then," he continued, stubbornly not wanting to dwell on the death of the young hare "she was gone, just disappeared, wot. And it's…odd," he finished.
Captain Darnel felt around for his javelin and stood up shakily. "If I know that gel," he replied "Then there's only one place she could have disappeared to, wot."
"You don't mean…?" Sergeant Flax began.
"That's exactly what I mean, sir. The forest."
"But there are vermin groups out! Surely she wouldn't be so stupid…" Sergeant Flax sat down beside Captain Darnel, shaking his head "No, what am I saying, wot? She's young and perilous and we are all starving. Stands to reason that she'd think…"
The captain leapt up, clutching his javelin. "I'm going after her, sah. 'Tis too dangerous for a young maid to be out in the woods alone, when there are vermin about. Permission to leave, sah?"
The Sergeant nodded "Permission granted, captain and good luck."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
She had felled many birds and found many other edible plants, roots and berries before Honeysuckle felt that she had sufficient supplies to turn back. She was in a good mood. She herself had eaten a good many of the things she had found and had a full stomach once more. The sun was shining and the birds were singing and for the first time since Salamandastron had fallen, she felt happy. As she walked, she broke into a song that had been sung back at her mountain home.
'Hi there, you there, mister bee
why do you buzz so high over me?
To save your honey, mister bee
You'll have to fly fast to lose me
Hi there, you there, birds that sing
Tweet and chirp at everything
With sweet voices call and wings that fly
Carry you up into the sky
Hi there, you there Lady butterfly
Dancing, soaring high in the sky
What should trouble you, what should you care?
Winging your way on your own up there?
For all the creatures in the sky,
I do so wish that I could fly
Soar into blue up there with you
High up in the sky!'
She finished her ditty with a twirl and a double ear-clap and the birds in the braches above her flew away in alarm.
Suddenly, a cracking twig behind her brought her to her senses and she whirled around, paws fumbling to hold onto her supplies and reach for her bow. A dark shape suddenly appeared from the bushes behind her and knocked her to the ground. She screamed, but a paw was clamped over her mouth.
"Hush now," the other beast whispered "Or we're both deadbeasts."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ayila stared around, wide-eyed, at the place they found themselves in when they emerged from the (ahem) storeroom.
The walls were made from a crumbling sandstone. In some places it was red, in some dusty pink, in some, sunset ornage, in some, dark red. The walls were carved with strange markings and carvings which made her shudder uneasily as she looked at them. Though the place was well-lit and there were creatures with her, she felt like a small babe again, cowering from a nightmare. This place was evil and she didn't like it.
She turned to tell Rose as much, only to find her preoccupied. She seemed to be staring at nothing, and muttering under her breath. Ayila nudged her.
"Rose? What is it?"
But Rose didn't answer; she seemed to be having a conversation with a beast that wasn't there. This frightened Ayila more than the wall carvings. It was perhaps because of this that she was louder than she intended when she said "Rose! Snap out of it! What's the matter?"
They halted and the others stared at the two maids. Skipper seemed about to say something, when Foremole Deeper shushed him "Shush 'ee zurr, ee maid be having a visheon."
It seemed so, for a few seconds later Rose blinked and shook her head. She smiled uneasily and turned to Mother Tamlin.
"I have just been visited by Martin the Warrior," she said.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ade woke to pitch blackness. Literally. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face. There was no sign of the…creature who had knocked him out, for which he could only give his heartfelt thanks.
He tried to scramble upright, only to find that his hands and feet were tied. Cursing, he went for trying to sit up and only just succeeded. He blinked and looked around, finding that it wasn't so dark as he first thought.
It wasn't as deserted either.
As his eyes adjusted to the light (or lack of it) he saw a crouched form in the centre of the room. They were putting twigs, moss and dry leaves down in the recognisable form of a fire. When finished, they sparked to stones together expertly and the kindling feed hungrily. The flames leapt up; red and orange, blue and yellow, illuminating the creature who had captured him.
As he saw her features, his mind reeled with horror. What had happened to that beast to make her like that?
She saw his face and let out a burst of laughter. She approached him, holding a stick with a burning spark one end. He flinched as she brought it close to his face. She giggled again and blew that spark out, letting the stick drop to the floor.
"What have we got here then?" Her voice, was not rough and grating like he had imagined it, it wasn't high-pitched or interspersed with giggling either. It was surprisingly soft and gentle, in a sharp contrast to her face.
But she is mad! He thought, wildly She must be!
She appraised him carefully and then turned away, muttering to herself "An otter. Otters like good, hot food. Nice food, to fill the stomach, don't they my dear?" She turned back to him and held out a steaming bowl. When he hesitated, she grinned and scooped a bit out herself. She gulped it down. "See? This is not poisoned food, not bad food. Dhalia would never serve bad, poisoned food, would she, my pet?" She turned her gaze to the fire again and hurried back to it. "Fire is dying down, the fire mustn't die down, otherwise its gets cold and dark. Youngbeasts don't like cold darkness, eh?"
As she chatted away to herself, Ade reached a tentative paw down to the bowl she had left. He sniffed it carefully and let an expression of ecstasy pass over his face. It was piping hot shrimp 'n' hotroot soup-an otter speciality.
He began to wolf it down, not paying any attention to his captor. She was watching him with a surprising expression of motherly concern on her face. As he finished, she came over and took the bowl away. He watched her warily as she busied herself over on the other side of the cave.
When she came back, he yelped with fright and began to pull on his bonds. She tutted and slit them through with the sharp knife she had produced. "Youngbeasts, always jumping to conclusions. You're like that, aren't you my pet? I can never get a word in edgeways. Now hold still, otter and let me look at your back."
She turned him round. His back was scarred with angry, open wounds from the slaver's whips. She picked up something from the pack she had brought over and dabbed it on the wounds. He jumped with surprise at the sudden coolness, the relief from the fiery pain that they gave him. His captor…Dhalia, nodded approvingly and bound them in a clean bandage.
"Now, my dear," she said, when all this was finished "You sit down by the fire and tell me all about yourself. Dhalia doesn't get any visitors anymore, does she my pet?"
-Gasp- Who is the strange creature that has attacked Honeysuckle? What will the Abbeybeasts say about Martin's visit? What and who is Dhalia (and who is she speaking to?) What has happened to her face? Will Mossflower ever be free again? Will Tess ever stop leaving so many cliffhangers?
Who knows?
Okay, I know this isn't my best chapter (in fact, it's probably my least favourite) but I promise I'll get the story going soon.
And any guesses as to where the Corim have set up camp? Put them in your REVIEWS.