A/N: Oh yay! My little challenge worked! I now have three great reviews (and reviewers)!
CompanionWanderer: Ooo goodie! I was hoping you'd review some of my stuff. You're absolutely right; Reepicheep deserves more fanfics than he's got at the moment. I'm glad you liked the name I picked for his mother; I was afraid it might not sound...Narnian Talking Mouse-ish enough. :-) No, I didn't come up with the name "Peepicheek"; he's part of Reepicheek's little band of mice in PC. I just thought "hmm...what's to keep them from being brothers?" and did just that. I don't know if the dryad was his nurse or not, but don't worry; she'll be coming into the story soon. And yes, I'm including the "waves grow sweet" verse in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!
Miniver: Reepicheep being the real Dawn Treader? I completely agree with that! Reep is such a cool character, isn't he? It's sad that hardly anybody writes about him, because you're right; he does have a lot of potential. Which is why I'm doing something with him. I'm so glad you're liking this! Hope you like this next chapter!
TheTrueReviewer: Yeah, sorry the last one was so short. But I'm glad you think this is a good idea! And don't you worry; there's going to be plently of hints and foreshadowing and lots of other good stuff coming up soon. I hope I put enough foreshadowy stuff in this chapter for you! (I'm glad to hear my writing is somewhat decent.) :-) Hope you like this next chappie!
Thanks so much for all your support; it's what keeps me going! I love you guys! Read, enjoy, and review!Chapter 2: Mortal Combat
Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter East…
He half-closed his eyes and softly hummed the lullaby to himself. He'd never known what it meant, but the mere memory of it sent shivers down his spine and filled him with a strange mix of restlessness, hope, courage and a deep urge for adventure. He wanted more. He wanted to explore and discover; to boldly go where no mouse had gone before. He wanted…to run away and go on a quest! Yes, that's what he would do. Surely his family would understand. Without another thought about it, he crawled out of bed (taking care not to wake his brother), took his tiny, wooden sword and crept noiselessly from the room.
He was soon out of the burrow and into the grass and undergrowth of the forest floor. He took a moment to climb up an old tree stump and get an idea of his surroundings; he was, after all, a very young mouse (he was only seven), and he had never been allowed to venture far from the threshold of his home without someone to watch him. He raised his nose and sniffed the air for any sign of predators. Fortunately there was no scent of that, but there was something else; a damp, heavy, throbbing kind of scent that he couldn't recognize. There was no wind, and the cool air was thick and deadly quiet. He looked up but all he could see was a patch of starry sky among the treetops. If he had been older, he would have known these were signs of a midsummer night thunderstorm approaching.
But he gave it no more thought; he was impatient to start off on his journey. He climbed back down and began making his way downhill through the tall grass towards the unknown, thicker part of the woods, where it was darker and wilder and ripe for adventure.
He went on for about twenty minutes or so, and then his quest began to get more challenging. The grass and weeds got thicker and less friendly the further he went, and made him trip and stumble more than walk. Great gusts of cold wind began to whip up, making the grass bend and sway and the huge trees creak threateningly above him. The forest became pitch black, and it was only because of his sharp night-vision that he was able to see where he was going. He shivered and looked up at the patches of sky again; but the bright Narnian stars were now hidden behind great, dark, sinister clouds that churned and rumbled in anger. His stomach fluttered with excitement…or was it nervousness? Maybe both? He couldn't be sure, but he was certain of one thing:
"Now the adventure is really beginning." He smiled and let the feeling wash over him, then gave a thoughtful frown. "All I need to do now is find a dragon or a monster to slay, or find a maiden locked up somewhere, waiting to be rescued. Or maybe I'll discover…"
KA-BOOM!
His stomach jumped as a sudden crack of thunder shook the air; and two, fat drops of rain splashed onto his nose. He swallowed hard but he shook them off, raised his head again and challenged the sky.
"It'll take more than a mere thunderstorm to stop Reepicheep the Fearless!" he squeaked defiantly. He drew himself up, brandished his sword and continued forward.
As the storm set in, however, he began to wonder if this "quest" of his was such a good idea after all…
A/N: Dun, dun, dun... :-) Things should be getting exciting soon. Again, chapter 3 is written and ready for posting, but I won't until I get some more reviews! I like reviews. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :-) Plus, they help me meet other cool people on FF! So come on; you know what to do!Still engaged in mortal combat with my stupid writer's block...gosh darnit...