... I feel like Rip Van Winkle ...
Disclaimer: All lateness belongs to... erm... us. Although, to PH's credit, she gave her stuff to me just under a month ago and I didn't put my stuff in it until now. --ducks--
yeah, don't think you can blame it all on me --. anyways, sincerist apologies... we WILL finish this thing. we don't have the heart not to... anyways, enjoy.
With little sleep and much improvisation, Chrysan managed to keep the pair alive. She'd not worked with major battle wounds like these before, so she guessed and measured and hoped everything would work.
Fortunately, it did.
After many months, both boys were nursed back to full health and were completely grateful for Chrysan's miraculous appearance and service. Both claims were firmly countered by Chrysan with a wave of her hand and her trademark dismissal:
"I just happened to do the right thing by accident."
"Well, you were a life-saver," Glaybo argued for the hundredth time, licking his plate clean of the pie she'd just served them.
"Glayborian Clarazfordwinkle!" Chrysan said sharply, snapping him with a dishtowel.
Glaybo dropped the plate with a yelp, letting it clatter to the table as he jumped to his feet and spun around.
"Heavens, Chrysan!" he said, rubbing his shoulder furiously where she'd struck him.
Chrysan kept drying off the bowl she washed and smiled sweetly.
"Did you enjoy the pie, gentlemen?"
"It was spectacular," Skyborne asserted vehemently, carrying his plate to the counter.
"You could say that," Glaybo said slowly.
He darted out of the way before the dishtowel found him again.
"But I would say it was totally and completely glorious," he added quickly, holding his hands out placatingly.
"You would, wouldn't you," Chrysan muttered.
"Chrysan," Skyborne said quietly.
The change in tone made both of the joking pair look at him.
"Yes?" she replied.
"We're leaving," he said. "Within a day or two."
"So soon?" Chrysan gasped.
"Soon!?" Skyborne cried. "We've been here for a season and a half! We would have left sooner, if Glaybo's leg hadn't taken so long to heal."
"Hey, hey," Glaybo said defensively, "your throat took forever too!"
"Not as long as your leg!"
"You weren't put upon by a score of armed vermin!"
"You weren't – "
"Boys!" Chrysan reprimanded. "Stop arguing! I declare, you two are making me swear off being a mother..."
"Don't do that," Glaybo said. "Poor Skyborne would be beside himself with – oof!"
Glaybo's sentence was never finished as he was caught between the fists of both badgers.
It didn't take long for the vermin horde to realize they had an escapee. So shortly after the discovery of Rapp's departure, a skilled tracking group was sent after him. They had received orders to find him immediately and set up camp somewhere and wait for the horde to catch up soon. From there they would send the four younglings into the abbey with the instructions that they had been receiving from Chillaxe the last few days.
Ashbreeze watched Rowen fiddle with his tri-cornered hat while they sped forward through the underbrush to keep up with the others. So far the whole deal with invading the abbey and working to fit in with the dwellers there seemed like it would be a piece of cake. And it also suggested adventure, new experiences in new exciting places, offering special knowledge not yet known to the young creatures.
The only thing they lacked now was alternate identities. Thankfully they could pass Roann off as Rowen's older sister, as she was an inch or two taller than him at the time being, much to her pleasure. Though the subject of their new names had yet to be solved, they had resolved to ask the otter what some normal woodland names were, and were actually planning to do so the next time they saw him.
Almost a day later they weren't disappointed with the retrieval crew, they were found camping out and waiting for the horde as they were told. Upon arrival, the four babes went to stand around the newly recaptured fugitive, asking him of typical squirrel and mice names. Not wanting to think about his failed attempt at contacting someone, he was more than happy to help the little tykes. And after much thought and decisions, the new names were decided.
Ashbreeze would be known now as Tragg, Rowen as Peter, Roann as Annalee, and Daisy as Lacie. They were mostly happy with their new names, because with a new name, comes new adventure.
The next morning showed three small squirrels and a small mouse standing next to a towering wolf in the cover of the forest outside of the giant redstoned abbey. Today was the day that 'Tragg, Peter, Annalee, and Lacie' were to depart from the horde and blend in with the abbey society, learning what they could and reporting it back to Chillaxe whenever necessary.
Whispering a few last words the wolf ushered them to the gate, to which they paused for a moment and gained their new composure of innocent babes who were lost on the road. Ashbreeze, of course, led the small group and knocked boldly on the broad oak gate.
Shuffling and voices were heard on the other side, and soon a tired, yet alert otter poked his head over the battlements. He inspected the group for a moment before hollering down to the courtyard.
"It's alright! It's just four dibbuns!!" Of course, this raised a few eyebrows, but they opened the gate non-the-less and let the four kids in.
Baylor came down the battlements in a half-jog and came up to the group with a cheery grin on his face.
"Well dibbuns, come on an' eat some brekkist wid us and over that y'c'n tell us your story." They agreed to his terms and followed him into the great hall, noses ablaze from all the delicious scents wafting from the kitchen. Just then Friar Beauregard came out of the kitchen pushing a big cart full of delicious looking food, the hare let several of the young adults set the table while he went back to the kitchen, his long hare ears trapped in a tall chef hat.
The skipper watched as the dibbuns eagerly dug into the food that was being set out infront of them, with nary a trace of table manners, he winced.
"Mizz Bryony! Over here if you would! I do believe we 'ave some guests that you might be I'nnerested in!!"
In response to his beckoning, Abbess Bryony hustled over to the now crowded table. Turns out that many of the Abbey dwellers were quite curious about the new comers, as would be expected.
"My, my, who do we have here?" She sat down on the opposite side of the table from them. "And what might your lovely names be?"
Ashbreeze signaled the others to halt in their food frenzy to look at her while they gave their answers. However, he didn't have to worry about Lacie, as she was already staring at the abbess in admiration.
"I'm Tragg, this is Annalee and her younger brother Peter, and that's Lacie. Who're you?" He stated bluntly then continued eating again, catching the exuberant abbess off guard, Skip just gave a wry smile.
Bryony tried again.
"When you're done, we'll have to introduce you to the rest of the dibbuns, you can all play together out in the gardens. You'll have lots of fun playing games and socializing."
Mutely, they casually shrugged. Sighing, she waited until they had seemed satisfied with their feeding frenzy and noticed that Lacie had somehow attached herself to Bryony's habit, looking up at her with big eyes.
"You're pretty." She spoke quietly and bashfully, the Abbess smiled and bent down to give her a hug.
"You're very pretty too!" Lacie's face lit up in a huge smile and she lightly tugged on Bryony's habit.
"Can we go play now?" Bryony nodded and turned around and called.
"FLIBB!!!" Soon a young otter came barreling through the hallway being chased by a flustered ottermaid.
Stopping in front of his Abbess he answered her with a gasping 'yes?'. She turned around and introduced him to the four new comers and asked him to take them out to the play area. Agreeing, he grabbed Annalee's paw and dragged her after him toward the garden, the others following behind.
The ottermaid sighed and gave the Abbess a look she clearly did not notice.
"That boy..."
Updates henceforth shall rely utterly on PH (try not to groan too loudly) because I am working furiously to get my chapters typed up in the very near future. --gulp-- I'm hoping I succeed, because it will bug me to death until I do.
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