OH MY GOSH I"M SO SORRY!!!!!!!!! we were going to update sometime early last week!! but Billios was out of town and I didn't have access to the chapter to post it till like.. now... heh... so, if you think back to the last time we posted, it was on April 1st. so... happy April Fools??? --Hides from angry reviewers-- it was a real chapter, just.. not the end... not nearly... . anyways.. enjoy this one.. I guess that'll be possible anyways.. and.. please review, even if it is to rant you anger, heh..
Hey, what's up with leaving out my ANs?! You couldn't wait one day 'til I added them on? Sheesh, PH, if this is the way you feel about our partnership, forget sequels! --harrumph!--
And I don't know if I proofread this one for PH, so... if you reviewer guys see typos, let us know.
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In three days was when they would reach the abbey, at least that's what he was told. Rapp had been thinking, he needed to get out of there, he needed to escape and warn Redwall before the monstrous horde arrived. And then... he had to go get warrior help, he knew that the peaceful abbey would not have the force to fend off, much less defeat such a massive amount of vermin. He looked up to the orange and purple sunset fading into the horizon, tonight he needed to get out of there, it should give him enough time to get out of there and to Redwall at least to be able to warn the abbeybeasts before the warlord arrived.
But for now he must sit and wait and listen to the mindless chatter of vermin around him. Fortunately for Rapp the recent battles had taken a toll on their numbers and lowered them to around one hundred, so it would be easier to find enough otters to counter their attack. Though, it would take time to gather so many otters in one place in such little time, if only he could have someone else to leave to gather them... But such was not what was to be thought of now, he needed to concentrate on how he was going to get out of this vermin camp. There was a slight raise in the number of vermin around him when dinner was served hastily from the back of the cook's wagon. That was his chance, the more beasts around, the less obvious him missing would be.
Looking around he realized that they were slowing to a stop and gathering around the aforementioned wagon. Taking his place near the end of the line he waited until his guards started arguing over what was being served by the smells wafting through the air. Glancing about slowly he waited till no one was looking at him and he slowly edged out of the line and into the surrounding forest from where he took into the fastest run he could manage without leaving too many traces. Thankful for once about his dull lessons about scouting when he was but a pup. With urgency in mind and actions, he hurried to find the North Road that would help him make his way to Redwall. After about half and hour of running through the heavy overhead canopy, he stopped to climb a tall tree and look around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fated red building. But such was not to happen, because as far as he looked, all he could see was an endless expanse of green tree tops, with the occasional pond, lake, or stream. Sighing he climbed down and went on at a jog toward the direction he believed Redwall lay in.
"Gerrof Dildy!" Glaybo said angrily, swiping at the air around him and meeting the strong trunk of a tree. "Hey!" Glaybo reprimanded, rolling off the ground and glaring blearily at the darkened woodland.
"Dildy?" he questioned, thoroughly confused.
The trees around him, slightly blurred, were unfamiliar, and something was wrong. What was it? Something, or someone? Suddenly he realized that Skyborne was nowhere in sight, then the events of just an hour or so ago flooded his mind.
"Sky!" he called, staggering through the trees painfully, remembering the beating he had taken.
He pushed through the undergrowth, his weakness mocking his desperation as he struggled to glimpse the unmoving figure in the road. He finally broke free of the plants and stumbled up to Skyborne, falling to his knees beside his friend.
"Sky, Sky," he murmured, quelling the panic as he fumbled for a pulse.
A heart wrenching moment passed before he felt one; a very weak thub-dub. He whooped, then pulled himself to his feet and hesitated a moment, wavering, almost collapsing from pain, before he began to run along the road, yelling for help.
The young female badger stirred a pot of vegetable soup, tasting some and nodding in satisfaction.
"How's your ankle, Tom?" she called over her shoulder into the other room.
"Practically good as new," came the reply, and a few thumps later, the squirrel appeared in the doorframe, leaning on a crutch. "You should be Redwall's badger mother, Chrysan; you're ace at fixing things up."
"That's why they have the infirmary," she reminded him, scooping some of the soup into two bowls and placing them on the small wooden table.
"And how many young ones avoid the infirmary like a plague in itself?" the squirrel countered.
Chrysan chuckled and conceded.
"You have a point. Here, now, eat some of this soup. It's getting late, but I don't want to send you home with an empty stomach."
"You're as bad as my wife," he complained, "but you should be the badger mother, I'm telling you."
He sat down and started eating, watching her for a reaction.
"I don't know anyone at Redwall," she argued, joining him at the table.
"I may remind you that I frequent Redwall."
"And I'm a little young to be any kind of mother, don't you think?" Chrysan pointed out, eating her soup. "Nineteen seasons? And I like my life here."
"All the same, you would be wonderful. It would be an adventure."
"All the same, I'd rather wait for an adventure to come to me, if it's going to happen. I'm perfectly happy here."
Tom shrugged and they finished their soup in the gathering darkness.
"Take it easy," she warned him as he hobbled out into the starry night. "Don't try to climb all the trees right off!"
Chrysan stayed outside her little cottage, watching the stars move slowly across the sky. She was distracted by the sounds of a large number of travelers passing on the road next to her, but she ignored them, fascinated by the myriad of patterns in the heavens.
She jumped when she heard shouts up on the distant horizon, but settled down again. Vermin often clashed along the path, it wasn't anything to worry about, most likely. All the same, she kept her ear open for the familiar battlecries of "REDWAALL!" or "MOSSFLOWEERR!".
It quieted down for a while, and she was just settling back down when yells erupted from further up the path. Rolling her eyes, she headed back into her cottage, closing the door tightly to block out the battle noise.
She was cleaning almost an hour later when she heard a lone shout, followed by another, from the direction of the path. Curious, she opened her door and stepped out, jogging slowly to the road and looking along it. A lone otter was stumbling along the road.
"Help! Please!" he shouted.
"Come with me," she said quickly, running up to him and taking his paw.
"No! There's a badger, just down the road," he insisted, voice raspy. "He needs more help than I."
"Alright," she said. "My cottage is just over there, go inside and wait for us."
He nodded and they both moved. She ran until she saw the badger laying on his side in the path. Skidding to a stop, she knelt and hastily observed the damage done.
A jagged cut on his throat seemed to be the worst; breath whistled from part of it. It looked as if most of the cut hadn't pierced his windpipe, but there was probably still a fair sized hole. Landing on his side just barely saved him from suffocating on his own blood.
"Barely alive," she muttered, letting her eyes rove around for any other serious wounds as she mentally made a list of everything she would need.
She ran back to her cottage and grabbed a few things, shoving them into her bag and dashing back to the badger.
--dosn't come out from hiding--
--plots PH's possible punishments for impatientness--
Review, s'il vous plaît?