Brin couldn't believe how lucky she was that the vermin she was supposed to guide was getting into a fight. She held back a furious sigh. Samuel was a good-natured mouse and wasn't as quick to anger with the vermin as she was. He was a large reason why they were here. Although she loathed his decision she couldn't despise him for it. He had a bit soft heart which made him a loving friend. Although she knew her father would disapprove of his characteristic Redwall pity. Now she regretted not smacking some sense into that addle-brained mouse.
Brin struggled not to bolt ahead of Eli. She had been dining with the Greyfur brothers and had hogged most of the conversation. The ferret was driving her mad, every day it was a new insult or barb toward her or sweet old Mildred. All Brin had done was help in the infirmary and try to learn how to be a healer. But nothing she did was good enough for the ferret. Even if Sathe was an excellent healer, she was still a rude bully. Brin was irate that the vermin dared to lay a paw on Mildred. Even the evilest of creatures could tell when someone was trying to help them. But apparently, Sathe could not. The black-furred squirrel wondered if this was what Triss felt when she was a slave to Princess Kurda. Brin suspected there was very little difference between the two villainous ferrets.
Corporal Triloway and Sathe were shouting something into each other's faces. Brin was surprised at how positive the hare was around the ferret. Corporal Trilloway had been a well-received addition to the infirmary, Brin didn't think she'd last without him. Always willing to lend a helping paw, curious, and most importantly a positive force that rivaled Sathe's constant biting comments. The hare had received several verbal lashings that would've made even Cluny the Scourge blush. Each time he laughed it off to Sathe's silent fury. When Brin asked about how he could withstand such verbal assaults, he reminded her that he had heard far worse as a trainee for the Long Patrol. Brin's breath caught in her throat as Sathe slapped the burly hare.
"Corporal!" Eli shouted. "What's going on!"
Sathe turned to them with tears sliding down her cheeks. "Yew all want me dead!" Before she bolted out of the building.
"Come back 'ere yew wretched vermin!" Sergeant Nettlewhisk boomed as he charged past Corporal Trilloway.
"Come back, Sathe!" Eli called. "We can all talk this out."
"In the name of the Long Patrol, that lousy vermin scum shall not escape justice this time!" Sergeant Nettlewhisk called back toward Eli as Brin burst through the door.
"Eli the gates open!" Brin realized with a shock. Eli couldn't believe it either. Brin suspected that some Redwallers must have gone for a stroll around the abbey walls. Wixby the gatekeeper must have been in a rush to grab his noontime meal that left the gate open for anyone still outside.
Eli slowed to a stop a few paces in front of the old abbey doors. Brin did the same.
"Sergeant let the ferret go!"
The hare slowed and turned to look back at the mouse with a puzzled frown.
"Wot? Why in blazes should I do that? The wench struck me and Corporal Trilloway, I should be beating some sense intah the vile scoundrel."
"She can run off if she wants to. There's no reason for us to give chase if she does." Eli responded in a sober tone. "If she decides not to leave then we can deal with her. If she leaves, then we have nothing to worry about."
The hare slowed to a stop as Sathe got closer and closer to the main gate. He looked between Eli and the ferret as Sathe stood looking out at the rolling hills from underneath the distant stone archway.
"Hear me you ferret filth!" Sergeant Nettlewhisk shouted at Sathe as he swaggered about. "Ye bettah scurry back tah whatever bottomless pit yew crawled from; else I'll be givin' yer hide a proper thashin'! Yew hears me vermin!"
The hare received no response as he turned back to Eli and Brin and straightened out his tan jacket. At a brisk trot, he returned to their side as he wiped the amber-colored liquid from his whiskers.
"Best be hoppin' back inside 'fore we catch a cold, wot." Sergeant Nettlewhisk said with a smile.
"What about Sathe?" Brin asked.
"Let her decide what she wants to do," Eli responded as he followed the Long Patrol hare back into the great hall. "We'll be waiting."
Brin stepped back into the warmth of the Redwall's largest building to the sight of a forlorn Corporal Trilloway. About a score of beasts left their meals to see the next great incident with the vermin deserters. They were far enough away that they could still listen in without being intrusive.
"Before we go any further." Eli started with a tired sigh, noticing the growing crowd of Redwallers. "I want to know what started this mess and why."
"The vermin decided to run her mouth," Sergeant Nettlewhisk started as he tried to wring the drink from his uniform.
"Wot I did, mates, was I gave 'er a bit o' schooling, reckonin' she needed a lesson in manners, wot. But afore I could set her straight, Corporal Trilloway swooped in grabbin' tha vermin, and ran off. You both saw the rest."
"Why did she throw her mug at you?" Eli asked as a frown began to grow across his face.
"Gel got her ears in a twist over a bit o' banter. Nothin' out of the ordinary, just the usual things said at suppah, wot."
"An so you were going to beat her, wot?" Trilloway asked.
"She's vermin, knows not but the edge of a blade, wot." Sergeant Nettlewhisk responded. "I know ye've got a tender heart for these brutes. But please don't let empathy fog your judgment. There's nothing but a dark shadow o' wickedness where a heart should be in that their beast. A simple vermin whelp doesn't become a horde's seer by accident, wot."
"Sarge, you struck her first." Trilloway snapped.
"And she struck back! She's fortunate I weren't carryin' a blade, else it'd be nestled in her throat!"
"Wot did ya reckon, ya blinkin' stone-pate numbskull!" Trilloway boomed as he surged toward the skinny hare.
"Watch your tone, Corporal! Captain Santain might be off on other business, but don't think he won't catch wind of you cozying up to the enemy!" Nettlewhisk hissed as he stared down the slightly taller hare.
"Enemy! Are you daft? She's, our friend. She's a fellow Redwaller!"
"She's no Redwaller she's a vermin scoundrel!"
"She's a ferret, but not a vermin! We've all fought vermin before and they're not like her!"
"D'ye have moss in yer ears! By the flippin' stars, she treats ye like a lowly slave, an she's threatened you and countless others!"
"Has she done any harm tah any beast?" Trilloway asked.
"It doesn't matter. Vermin who speak like that will-"
"Doesn't matter?" Trilloway's voice was a high-pitched squeak. "You cuffed her after you and Dokkur were natterin' about how much you wanted her dead! She's been helping beasts in the infirmary who want her slain since the day she stepped foot here! Even worse there's a mad beast who keeps singling her out which no beast seems to be concerned about!"
Brin felt a pang of guilt. She had first awoken from Herrik's attack and rushed to the restroom shortly before Sathe had been attacked. She was one of the first beasts to find the bloodied Trilloway and the petrified ferret. The attack had seemed like a nightmare from over a moon ago and she was a bit embarrassed to admit she had forgotten about it.
"Conrad's leading an investigation into our masked marauder." Nettlewhisk backpedaled.
"Conrad's a fool! He stormed in and left the room more of a mess than when he arrived." Trilloway snapped.
Brin was also embarrassed to admit that was true. She liked Conrad DuHoyt, he was an agreeable hare who like most all others of his kind was a handful in a good way. However, he was a bit too arrogant for a beast who couldn't make it into the Long Patrol, and he tended to act like a fool more often than not. His daughter Bramble was Samuel's star pupil and Conrad was devoted to seeing her succeed where he failed. He had bumbled into the infirmary half asleep and rummaged through every nook and cranny without any rhyme or reason. The hare had also been staunchly against the vermin since their arrival. His stance only hardened after being knocked unconscious by the searat and waking up to find his daughter had been playing with the two weasel kits.
"Then we'll just have tah bide our time until the vigilante strikes again." Nettlewhisk snapped. "If that cowardly ferret decides to come back!"
"Wot? Where'd Sathe go?" Trilloway's face lost all color.
"The gate was opened," Eli answered. Brin thought he would take the brunt of the hare's wrath, a noble but foolish endeavor. "We'll give her a choice. She could leave or come back and face the consequences of her actions."
"Are you flippin' mad?" Trilloway shouted. "She didn't start the fight! I started the blastin' ruckus
'cause I brought this dim-wit to the table."
"Watch your mouth, Corporal!"
"You're a maggot-bellied coward, Cedric!"
"Well, it looks like she hasn't made her decision yet." Eli's calm voice cut through the rising emotions as he stepped back from the window looking toward the main gate.
"Brin, could you go and persuade her to come back? We can apologize an' resolve this in a proper, civil manner, just like true beasts of honor." Trilloway asked with concern gleaming in his eyes.
Great. Now you're dragging me into this fight.
"Don't you move a whisker, Miss Brin. That vile wretch can freeze for all I care, wot. Her mouth's run her into this corner."
"She's terrified, you idiot! Her mouth is the only thing she has to defend herself with."
"She's evil you cowardly tosser! Vermin don't change unless they've got a knife pressed against their throat."
Brin looked between the two hares and then at Eli for help.
"Go talk to the ferret," Eli answered.
"Yer gonna let that wretch back after she struck me and Corporal Trilloway!" Sergeant Nettlewhisk snapped spittle flying from his mouth.
"You're a lying worm, Cedric!"
"Do you want me to tell her anything specific?" Brin asked unsure what she would say to Sathe and unsure if she wanted to be alone with her.
"You've been with her since she started in the infirmary. Whatever you think is best." Eli responded with a wave of his paw.
Trilloway and Nettlewhisk began barking profanities at each other as Brin bolted through the door. She couldn't tell what was being said but knew she wouldn't want to hear it.
Brin crunched through the icy snow scrambling to come up with the right things to say to Sathe. She figured the right words would be on her tongue when the time came. The snow between the abbey hall and main gate was partially cleared by the multitude of beasts that had decided to enjoy the beautiful, yet bitterly cold winter's day. Brin knew that they were in for a cold winter but much like every other beast she was surprised at the constant melting and freezing that happened every day and night. The snow had been nice the first few days. Now it was becoming an annoyance to clean the snow off her boots and find an open fireplace to dry her clothes. They were still almost a moon out from the midwinter feast and the heart of winter had yet to pass.
The hares' shouting disappeared as she walked closer to the main gate. Sathe remained unmoving from where she stopped. A soft discord of noise came from the ferret and Brin realized in a short time that she was sobbing.
Brin crept up behind Sathe who was blind to her presence. Brin gently touched her cloak and Sathe whipped her tear-smeared face toward the squirrel. For a moment Brin thought the ferret would strike her. Sathe didn't but continued to cry before wiping her eyes with the back of a cloaked paw.
"Whaddaya want squirrel?"
The fur on Brin's neck rose. Sathe's biting tone didn't seem to change depending on her mood.
"Corporal Trilloway explained what had happened." Brin started with a tremble in her voice. "Now he and Sergeant Nettlewhisk are at each other's throats."
Brin's deep brown eyes spilled over with compassion. "I'm sorry about what they did Sathe. You don't deserve any of that."
"They all hate me; every beast wants me skewered!" Sathe snapped, turning toward the black-furred squirrel.
"I don't hate you."
"Yes, you do! You think I'm a monster. A worthless vermin who should be slain." Sathe choked on her words and began to sob once again.
"I don't-" Brin began before falling silent.
She didn't like vermin and despised them at times. But what had happened to Sathe was wrong, wasn't it? Redwall used violence only as a final measure against the evil beasts that plagued Mossflower. The ferret certainly seemed to fit that description. Sathe would've struck Mildred if she wasn't there, and she had threatened almost everybeast she had run into. Brin had heard from Egbert how Captain Santain had bravely subdued the vile seer who would've butchered both her and Mildred. Although admittedly Brin thought it was more of a one-sided affair. What she didn't understand out of everything was that Sathe had fought to stop the mad beast from killing Sister Beryl, and she had warned them to leave right before he attacked.
"I don't like how you talk to others, but I don't hate you."
"Yes, you do! You blamed me for Herrik! You think I was going to kill you or Mildred but I'm not!"
Brin opened her mouth in a wide 'o'. "I never said that! You're the one who threatened Mildred and Corporal Trilloway."
"They deserved it!"
Brin fumed at the ferrets' lies and her lack of empathy toward other good beasts. Her father had been crippled fighting a savage horde over a season before she was born. She had watched Esther Greyfur be murdered by a vermin who cackled with glee before he dug his blade into her stomach. Dane was right when he told them vermin are heartless and selfish creatures. Brin had watched Sathe chastise little Minerva with the same biting words she used on everyone else. The sweet little babe had smiled at her, far too young to know what kind of monster was holding it. But Sathe's expression had changed to one of contentment and even compassion. The few times Brin had seen the two alone, Sathe appeared to be joyfully playing with the squirrel babe. Albeit Sister Lilac thought the exact opposite.
'One is a ferret; the other is a squirrel. Never in Redwall's history has something like this not ended in death and heartbreak.' The hedgehog had reminded her. Brin knew many beasts including her parents shared that line of thinking. But Trilloway seemed to think she was a good enough beast to fight his superior. Why?
Brin shook her head. "They're the only beasts in Redwall who look past all your antics. They've stuck out their necks on your behalf. Even now Trilloway's fighting Sergeant Nettlewhisk because of what he did to you."
Sathe looked back towards the Abbey's main doors. Brin was certain she was imagining the two hares fighting over her. She sniffed before cracking an inkling of a smile.
"They're both fools."
"You're a fool, Sathe!" Brin snapped and pointed an accusatory claw at her. "You treat everyone like they're beneath you! Like you're the greatest beast alive, but you're not! You're too prideful to admit that you need others! And you bully everyone who tries to help you!"
"They want me flayed!"
"What Cedric said to you was wrong. But how is it any different than what you've said to other beasts who want to help you?"
"Because I haven't hurt anyone!" Sathe yelled at Brin who fell silent.
"I've done everything you beasts asked and it's still not enough!" Sathe choked back a sob. Brin saw childlike vulnerability in the ferret's dark eyes. "People want to hurt me, and I'm scared. I don't trust any beast and there's nothing outside of this abbey for me."
"I don't know what to do." Sathe's face twisted into a mournful grimace before she wailed and fell to her knees.
Brin knelt alongside the ferret; she couldn't find the words to comfort her. Redwallers were known for their wisdom in discerning right from wrong. But Corporal Trilloway was right, there had been more than enough violence between the two groups since the vermin had arrived. Sathe's attack, the constant verbal barbs from the woodlanders and vermin alike, the fighting between the crippled fox and hare. The longer Brin thought of it the sicker her stomach became. Sathe might be mean, but she wasn't heartless. She was just a beast in need that Redwall had purposely turned a blind eye to.
Martin save us! What fools we have been! Brin began to cry as she pulled Sathe into a hug.
"I'm so sorry Sathe. We've done a rotten job protecting you." Eventually, the ferrets crying turned to whimpers. "If it means anything there are still beasts who will want you here."
"Who?" Sathe managed to blubber out.
"Trilloway and Mildred. They both can't stop talking about this incredible ferret who's the best healer they've ever seen! They will fight for you and embrace all you've thrown at them because they care about you."
"Did Mildred-" Sathe began, there was a slight quiver in Sathe's lip.
"She was a wreck after you left. Abbot Micah saw what had happened and was going to have Eli toss you out. Mildred pleaded against it saying that she had made a mistake and that you just found out how damaged your paw is. She still cares about you, Sathe."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Sathe wailed as Brin hugged her.
"An' I want to help you. Samuel wants to help you. Abbot Micah, Shmoopy, and Sister Beryl, none of them want to be your enemy."
Sathe wiped her nose with the back of her paw.
"I'm scared Brin." Sathe couldn't keep the shaking out of her voice. "I'm so terribly afraid."
Brin wiped her eyes and took Sathe's paw in her own. "I know and you shouldn't be. We've done a poor job of taking care of you, but you must be able to trust us. I promise I'll be there if you need it, but only if you promise to be nicer to Trilloway, Mildred, and everyone else."
Sathe sniffed to stop crying. "Aye, I promise."
"Wonderful." Brin's heart filled with joy. "Now would you like to return to the Abbey?"
Sathe wiped her nose. "Yes. I would like to."
Brin stood and began to slowly lead the vermin back into Redwall. Sathe took a few hesitant breaths as she followed. The two beasts walked in silence both trying to collect themselves and wondering what the future held. Brin was happy she convinced Sathe, but a small part of her worried that this was just a trick. Vermin were tricksters and her parents had warned her about their deceitful ways. They would tell her the story of Aaron Steelstripe and how even the mightiest of warriors could be fooled by the most unassuming of vermin. Oh, how much she wanted to hug them both! Unfortunately, she couldn't. All she could do was wait to see if Sathe would change, or if generations of hatred would prevail once again. But now Sathe had to face Eli who stood waiting at the entrance to the great hall.
"Sathe," Eli's authoritative voice was gentle. "I'm sorry for what happened."
Sathe lifted her raw eyes to meet the mouse as he continued. "What Cedric said was wrong and I'll be sure to let every beast under my command know that it will not be tolerated."
"But" Brin's sigh of relief caught in her throat. "You still threatened Corporal Trilloway and struck him."
Sathe struggled to find the words. Her stomach twisted into knots as the threat of being banished from the abbey was far too terrifying to consider. Brin's mouth instantly went dry, but she held her tongue.
"He explained that it was a misunderstanding, but Sergeant Nettlewhisk didn't agree." Eli's eyes narrowed at the ferret.
"Corporal Trilloway was adamant and explained all that was said at the table. I had to separate the two beasts before things got out of control, but you can't take back what was said or done."
"But they-" Brin began to protest but Eli held up a paw for silence.
"I know all that happened. As wrong as it was you still hurt Corporal Trilloway so I want you to apologize."
"What about Sergeant Nettlewhisk?" Brin asked.
"I told him that if he wants to continue sparring then he'll have to apologize to you and Corporal Trilloway as well." Brin turned and smiled at Sathe to see a wave of relief wash over her.
"You will do so by the end of the day," Eli said, opening the door to the abbey and ushering them inside. "I assume Brin that you'll see that it's done?"
"Of course, Eli! We'll head to the infirmary right away."
The warrior mouse smiled at the two of them. "Wonderful I was planning on stopping by. I need you to show me where I can find that fox."
I gotta get one more chapter out after this before I vanish for a while again. I hope you enjoy!
As always please let me know what you think and what I can improve on. Any and all feedback is appreciated!