A/N: By a 2-1-1 vote (Lustig had a vote) the second chapter will be about the fox, and the third will be about the mouse, and the fourth will be about the mole. K? K, great. :) Than after that... I don't know whatever gets the most votes.
Then, the squirrel raised her paw again.
The elder looked across her at the rest of the group, hoping someone else would like to say something. After seeing nobody else wanted to put in their two cents, he sighed and looked at her.
"What?" he said, somewhat exasperated.
The squirrel noticed this and her lip quivered. "Sorry."
The elder, (not wanting to make another dibbun cry like last week), back tracked.
"No I'm sorry, I'm just... a little tired and grouchy. What would you like to say, little one?"
The squirrel looked a little better. "I just wanted to say I would like to hear the fox's story, please."
The elder gave it some thought, and turned to the rest of the dibbuns, who were sitting quietly.
"Would you all like that?"
Most of them nodded their heads, while some shrugged their shoulders.
"Not a very talkative bunch, are you? Alright. Our fox's tale begins out at sea, with the beautiful salt filled air blowing a soft breeze. The sound of seagulls squawking out in the distance was all that could be heard, until..."
CRACK!
There was an ear-splitting noise that filled the air as two ships collided with each other. The crews of each ship fell forward or backward. After a second of getting back on their paws, they were rushing toward the opposing ship, clashing with the opposite crew, and all having nothing but murder on their minds.
Slickfur, the rat captain of one of these ships, was hiding in his chambers, behind locked doors as his mates were fighting for their lives and their bounty, wich they had stolen from the isle of Samperta. He was sitting with a bag of jewels in one hand, and a poison covered knife in the second.
He cowered a little every time it sounded like someone was close by.
"Oh please Martin, I know I never prayed to ya before, but let me live! I swear I'll change me ways. I'll, I'll-"
"Oh, shut your fat gob."
The rat froze. His eyes were glued open wide with fear, and every inch of him quivered. The voice continued from behind him.
"This is most likely the twentieth time you've said this. I'm just guessing, but a coward like you would probably turn to prayer when a hardship like this faced you, correct?"
The rat moved his head to look behind him, and saw a female fox, sitting with a bow in one hand, an arrow in the other, and a calm but menacing grin plastered on her pretty face. The rat turned around to face his adversary, while taking small steps back.
"Do- Don't try anything! I- I'll gut ya if you try anything!"
"You know, for someone who commands a pretty nice looking ship, you sure aren't one of the feared pirates of lore like some are trying to make you out to be back on the mainland. Pretty disappointing, to tell you the truth."
She got up lazily and stretched her back, all the while smirking at the cowering rat.
Slickfur threw the bag of jewels at her. He even dropped his knife to the floor.
"Take the treasure, take everything, just please don't take my life! Please! Just let m-!"
In a quick flash the fox put the arrow to the bow and pulled it back.
"Where do you want it, the mouth or the eyes?"
"M-m-m-m-!"
"Mouth?"
"Wait, please! I-"
"Eye it is."
The arrow went, quick as lightning and possibly quicker, straight into the vermin's right eye, killing him before he hit the ground. She casually strutted over to her former 'adversary' (if you'd be kind enough to call him that) and easily yanked the arrow from the carcass's skull. She pulled off the eyeball, wiped off the blood, and re-sheathed the arrow back to her sack which she carried behind her.
"Um, excuse me."
The elder was taken out of his story.
"Yes, little one?" he tried not to sound perturbed by the sudden interruption.
"What does this have to do with her getting to meet with the group of others?"
"Hm? Oh, I was getting to that."
"Also, why would a vermin pray to Martin?"
"Well, who else would he pray to?"
"I dunno."
"Ok, let's continue."
The fox left the quarters with the bag of jewels. She had a small sword in her other paw, but saw she didn't need it. Her fellow crew mates had done the job of disposing of the others well. They found the remaining treasure hidden in another room down below, and they took off, leaving the former treasure hunting ship of the infamous Slickfur the Terrible behind.
The fox was sitting with a few of her mates drinking Shark's Tooth, and swapping stories about what they had done before they had joined the crew. There was Plugg, a fox who was a newer member on the ship, but was very skilled in combat and pretty easy to talk to, and Skabard, a stoat who was as likeable as he was ugly.
Plugg was talking about how he'd love to get a ship and crew of his own, when Captain Scab came in. The fox was tall, very lean looking, and his bright orange fur was well-groomed. He walked over and gave the fox a peck on the cheek.
"Easy, your embarrassing me." she said playfully as Scab chuckled.
"What me?"
"No, the invisible fox behind you. Yes you."
"Oh, you seem a bit grouchy. Was Slickfur a disappointment?"
"Yep. You were right to tell me not to get my hopes up."
"Aren't I always right."
"Only when I let you be."
Scab smirked, then looked over to the other two corsairs, who were sitting there awkwardly. "So mates, how much plunder did we get today?"
Before either of them could answer, the door opened violently as a rat ran in.
"Captain! There's somethin ya need tah see!"
The five went outside to see a giant storm coming, fast. The captain immediately started shouting orders to his crew.
"Lower the sails! Grab the-!"
The waves started hitting the boat like a moving wall, making the captain and most of the crew fall flat. The fox and Skabard both fell and started rolling towards the end of the deck. Both the captain an Plugg noticed this and ran over to help. Just as they were both to fall overboard, Scab grabbed hold of the fox's paw, while Plugg grabbed Skarab's.
They each tried to pull the other up.
Crash!
The ship hit another wave. This one hit both Skarab and the fox, and Skarab was hit so hard he accidently let go of Plugg's paw, and was swept away, never to be seen again.
"SKARAB!" Plugg laid therefor a second in shock, but then came back to reality and helped pull the fox back up.
Crash!
Another wave hit the ship. Lightning flashed across a cloud filled sky. Everybeast was rushing this way and that. Plugg and Scab finally pulled the fox aboard, who hugged them both greatfully before getting up and assisting with getting things under control, along with Plugg and Scab.
CRASH!
This wave hit harder than the others, and it had enough power to turn the ship on its side. Any of the crew that was outside went overboard, along with the mast. The ship was going down, and the waters were pulling everything into its clutches. The fox was no exception as she went below water.
She did not hear the yells and screams of vermin as they struggled to stay afloat, nor did she see the once magnificent ship that her mate had captained fall to a briny hell. All she could do was feel the strength leave her body, feel the breath leave her lungs, and feel the ache of her heart as she saw Scab with closed eyes and unmoving limbs slowly drift away from her. She feebly reached out for him, but blackness clouded her vision.
The last thing she saw was Captain Scab, her friendly captain and loving mate, drift slowly away.
The elder looked around to see the dibbuns with sad or extremely shocked faces. With the exception of one... the squirrel.
She had a confused look on her face. Before she could raise her paw, the elder called on her.
"Yes?"
"What... what happened to them?"
"Well, the crew members that lived all actually have their own stories, you may have even heard of the infamous Plugg Firetail? But, we shall stick to the fox's story."
"Uh what do you mean by those who survived?"
The elder then realised he was talking to dibbuns. Why was he bringing up death in a story?
"Uh, on with the fox's story."
Blackness. The feeling of death, of nothingness surrounding every fiber of the being. No movement, no thought, nothing. The storm, the boat, Skarab, Plugg, Scabb... what else. She was there. But that's all. Everything before death, she couldn't remember. Had she died?
Her eyes opened to a blue sky, with a few small, white clouds sprinkled here and there. She tried to move her eyes or her head, but in doing so, her head throbbed so terribly that she thought it might have been it by log ram on oth sides. She felt awful all over, but was vary much alive.
She felt sand beneath her aching limbs, and a soft breeze that brought a little salty sea spray to her matted fur. The sea. The ship. Her friends. Her mate. Blackness.
'No!' she thought to herself. 'I must stop thinking of that.'
She tried her hardest to get up, but it proved useless. Anytime she strained her muscles to move, an immense amount of pain would shoot all over her body, making her fall back down in agony.
Just as she was going to try again, she heard a voice from behind her.
"C'mon. You can try harder than that!"
The fox froze as she heard footsteps walk closer to her.
"Oh no. I've gone and spoiled the surprise! Now what will happen!"
There was a pause, and the fox waited for whomever was speaking to do something.
...
"Oh. Nothing I guess. Well, that's a disappointment. It's not nice to disappoint you know."
The fox's eyes darted upward as she saw a mask looking down at her. It was beautifully painted, with a design of blues, reds, and purple. It resembled a snake scale pattern, only shaped like an otter's face. Then there were the two eyes looking from behind it. They were both wide and blue with what even looked like purple pupils, but that could've just been exhaustion, pain, and the sun playing tricks on her.
"Well, are you going to get up or lay there and die, because if you're not going to do either anytime soon I'll just leave. I mean after I leave what will happen? You'll just disappear. Not that I'd want to come back if you were to die. I mean, I don't even know your name. Mine is..."
The fox couldn't hear the rest of it, because at that time, the darkness she was trying to forget overtook her again, as she blacked out.
Before the elder could continue, the squirrel yawned. Most of the dibbuns looked tired.
"It looks like you all need your rest. Tis almost nighttime. How about tomorrow morning, if I have time, I can continue the story, or maybe start a new story?"
Most of them sleepily nodded their heads. As they left, the elder looked at the stars that filled the sky. He could remember a voice talking about them once.
'You know what I like to think the stars are? That they're a bunch of beasts that have died. Have you ever noticed you rarely see the same one twice? I think it's because they always get born again. Might explain that Redwall hero thing? You know, the spirit of Martin can only be heard by some beast in particular? Maybe Martin just keeps getting reborn again.'
'You dream too much, little one.'
'Maybe. That's what the others say, too. I just like to think that, maybe my family came back some how.'
The elder sighed. That mole was always full of hope.
"What's wrong?"
He was snapped out of his dream by the sound of a little dibbun's voice. It was the squirrel.
"Oh, nothing. Why are you still here, little one? Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"I guess. I just had one last question."
"Oh really, well what is it?"
"What's the name of the fox?"
"Well what's your name?"
"Hey I asked first!" the squirrel stamped her little foot in a putting matter, to which the elder chuckled.
"You'll find out the fox's name when we get to the part of the story where she gets a name. So, what is your name?"
"Lilyflower, but most call me Lily."
"Well Lily, I think you'd better go to bed. If you wake up early enough, you can get to hear whatever story we tell next."
"Really? Ok!"
With that, she ran back to her room. The elder tok a deep breath and started to relax in his old, comfortable chair, and a much lighter darkness took hold of him as he slept a peaceful sleep.
Well, I had originally written more, but then I decided to cut it, and put it in a later chapter. So, here's chapter 2. Not too good, but meh. :3 Read and review pwease!