Shekra's diary, sixteenth day of our meandering journey.
Head hurts. Braggio got me drunk. Did I do the silly dance? I bet he got me to do the silly dance. Hate him, hate him, hate him. Ferrets. Who knows what they're thinking behind those fuzzy masks. Fuzzy masks…
Feeling a bit better now. Last night is coming back to me, and yes, I must've been dancing on the table again. Every beast in the ship's galley was smirking cheekily at me when I went to get some water. I can't handle my rum that well, if I'm honest with myself. I remember sometime past midnight, I went wobbling and swaying up to the forecastle to be sick over the anchor.
As I hunched up over the gunwale and tried to regain my balance, I heard something. At first I thought it was just some weird noise in the woods. I looked up, hearing it come from above me, atop the foremast crow's nest. After a while, I realised the noise was actually somebeast singing.
I don't mean singing in the ordinary corsair's use of the word. Not bawdy rhyming or drunken slurring. I mean somebeast was properly vocalising, actually caring about pitching notes musically, and using lyrics entirely unrelated to the consumption of alcohol or the spilling of blood.
It struck me that they were really good at it. That's saying a lot for a corsair. There isn't exactly a great amount of talent for the arts when you keep the company of seafaring marauders, arsonists and kleptomaniacs. It took me the longest time to work out who it was.
It was the stoat lookout, Redtail. While every other beast was asleep or playing pin the tail on the squirrel (sadly we haven't had a live squirrel in months), Redtail opens his voice to the sky and sea. Since it was so late, nobeast heard him. It was a haunting, enchanting melody. Where did he learn that? Why's he kept it secret?
I don't think I'll tell anybeast else. It'll be my secret too. It's just so unexpected; I want to ask him about it. It makes me wonder what his life was before he became a corsair. He's like me; he wasn't born into a seafaring family. He joined up of his own accord.
There's an unwritten rule that we don't ask each other about our old lives before becoming corsairs. I might break that rule though.
I suppose I'd better write this down before I forget; Bosun Jiboree came to see me. Claimed he'd dreamt of Redwall, though he doesn't even know the place's name. He said he can see it coming closer. I've never met anybeast with the Sight that wasn't a fox. I dismissed it as merely a dream.
I'm not sure why Jiboree of all beasts would have visions, he seems such a plain, plodding sort of uncle-figure to the crew when he's not making a fool of himself. Better keep an eye on him.