"I think that's enough space, Eli." Sergeant Danburr said as he etched out a large circle in the snow.
Eli huffed and a white cloud appeared in front of his nose. He wiped away water droplets that formed on his whiskers. The weather was becoming a bit of an annoyance to the active mouse. He could understand being inside if it snowed constantly, but the season's squalls varied daily. It was always cold, that much was a given, but how cold it was always changing. One day his breath might freeze to ice upon his fur, the next his fur would remain damp and miserably cold. Each day was a game of chance that was quite wearing to play.
"I'm bally well shocked ye didn't punish those rascals frolickin' on the wall, wot." The hare sergeant had the appearance of a slender willow. He was tall and flexibly slim with long whiskers protruding from a foggy gray mouth. Danburr had a narrow sharp face with smartly pointed ears reaching the sky. He wore spectacles and stood tall with a similar snobbery as Sister Lilac. Danburr wasn't as prickly as the hedgehog but was certainly tight-lipped and by the book. He occasionally fell victim to the whims and immaturity of his subordinates but was the first to sober up and refocus everyone. He was an excellent choice as Captain Santain's second in command.
Eli chuckled at the uptight hare. "They're just dibbuns. I remember wanting to climb the walls when I was their age."
"An if they slip and fall?" Sergeant Danbur asked. Eli found that the quartermaster was more stringent about rules than his contemporaries.
"That's why I sent Dokkur to make sure they got down like they said they would." Eli smiled as he spotted his apprentice shuffling through the snow toward him.
"Ho Dokkur! Hurry up lad we haven't got all day!" Eli waived him over. Noticing the two beasts waiting for him, Dokkur hurried into a trot.
"Did "Firnen' end up heading to breakfast?" Eli asked with a wry smile.
"Something like that," Dokkur replied as he entered the makeshift circle. "I had t' do a bit of convincing. But they managed t' find their way down one way or another."
Eli barked a short laugh. "Scurrilous bunch those dibbuns are. They look up t' ye even if they say they don't. Makes it even more important t' have a soft paw when dealin' with 'em."
"What if they don't listen even if you ask them t' do somethin' ye know they shouldn't be doin'?" Dokkur asked his dark brows furrowing in questionable thought.
"Depends," Eli responded as he shifted the blunted training spear from one paw to another. "If they're doing something that could get them seriously hurt, such as playing with swords or running on the icy wall, it's your duty as a responsible adult to stop them from hurting themselves. If it's something like overeating their supper or touching a hot pan, then experience is often times the best teacher."
"Don't forget t' explain why what they did was wrong." Sergeant Danburr responded, with his paws held properly behind his back. "Between my twelve young'uns how I deal with them depends on what they did. But they always wanna know why they can't do certain things. I don't always get it right, but none of us ever do, wot wot."
Dokkur was quiet as if lost in thought, before nodding ferociously. "Aye makes sense. Jus' use the ol' noggin an try an make 'em understand."
"Good lad!" Eli smiled proudly at his apprentice, thankful he had decided to take the otter under his wing. "I knew I could count on you!"
"Now, let's start training." Eli clasped his paws together as Sergeant Danburr began to speak.
"Alright, lads!" The tall, sharp-eyed, and neatly combed hare began. "Remember the best rule in a fight is to strike your vermin foe before he strikes you. Your spears give you the bonus of keeping the vile scourge at a distance, you can control where the blighted beast goes without having to grab hold of him."
"What if you get too close and they cut the shaft?" Dokkur asked as he practiced thrusting the blunted spear into an invisible foe.
"You should never let vermin get a swipe on your weapon like that," Eli answered him. "It's possible when charging into a mass of beasts that one could get lucky but when it's a one-on-one fight if he gets the opportunity to cut your weapon from your paws, you've done something gravely wrong."
Danburr nodded his agreement. "Eli's right. It's possible but if it happens you must switch to your sword. It's far faster than trying to save yourself with what's left of your spear."
"Now assume a fighting position within' the ring, wot." Sergeant Danburr stepped out of the circle and allowed the two beasts to settle into a sparring stance.
Eli nodded and sauntered toward his side of the circle. The mouse wasn't the best with a spear, which Dokkur had chosen to become proficient in. Thankfully Captain Santain had raved about Sergeant Danburr not only as a warrior but as a teacher. The hare was more than eager to teach the two Redwallers his skill and had been training with them ever since the Long Patrol arrived at Redwall.
Dokkur pointed his spear at the mouse's head, bending his knees and setting his jaw in resolute confidence. Eli felt light as he bounced on his toes and wooden leg. He didn't even think about his physical impairment. He often felt as if he had never even lost his leg. In the relatively short time since his peg leg was made the mouse managed to regain most of his range of motion. It had been immensely difficult, and he had spent almost a moon of sleepless, teary nights cursing the vermin who had taken his limb as he attempted to regain the freedom he had lost. Yet here he was as Redwall's champion training the next generation of warriors.
"Begin!"
Dokkur rushed forward intending to put his spear through Eli's head. The mouse pushed off his foot and glided to the side, his peg leg leaving a trail in the snow after him. Planting on the ground Eli slashed at the otter's back, hoping to cleave him hip from shoulder. Dokkur was a blur parrying the spear tip aside before thrusting the tip at the mouse's throat. Eli smiled expecting his overeager apprentice to go for the kill.
Eli stepped forward onto his missing limb. With a sudden and awkward lurch, Eli ducked underneath the otter's weapon as it caught the air above his head. Collecting his balance, he surged forward and pressed the blunted tip of the spear against the bottom of the otter's chin. A warm smile spread across his lips, as a shocked gasp escaped Dokkur's mouth.
"That's enough! Eli wins this round." Sergeant Danburr shouted as the two beasts lowered their weapons. Dokkur shook his head.
"You gotta stop doin' that Eli, I almost had ye!" Eli smiled proudly. He never told anyone but what helped him the most after his injury was sparring. He loved the hot blood coursing through his veins. Fueled by the anger he still held from that fateful night; Eli found he could push his body to its limit. Over time he discovered that he could still do most of what was possible before the injury, albeit the movements were much more taxing than before. However, his strange lurching gate caused by his peg leg gave the mouse an unparalleled advantage in a fight. His movements had been described as the sudden rolling and weaving of a ship being battered and broadsided by rogue waves.
"If you can land a strike on me or block me then you can do the same to any beast in Mossflower!" Eli clapped his young apprentice on the back. "You came close and did an excellent job blocking my first strike. You just left yourself a bit too open on the second."
"Remember Dokkur, you can't successfully attack Eli's head without leaving your lower body open for a counterattack, wot." Sergeant Danburr called from the ring. "I know you want to go for the kill, but having a bit of patience at the right time can mean life or death."
"How do I know what or when that right time is?" Dokkur frowned, as a disappointed light flashed in his eyes. "Both you and Eli want me to find a quick end to a battle and I just tried that. Am I doing it wrong?"
"Yer too slow riverdog." A biting voice snapped at the otter.
Dokkur's lip curled in anger as Sergeant Danburr's eyes narrowed at the peg-legged fox watching from the ring. Eli looked up into the sky and mouthed several choice words to keep himself from exploding. Corporal Bushby shuffled awkwardly in place beside the fox.
"Whadda yew know fox?" Dokkur spat. "Yer the slug who thought he could outrun a javelin."
Bloodclaw, as the fox wanted Eli to call him, sneered. His green kilt looked vibrant and full of life and he wrapped the red blanket from his bed around his chest like a bloodied sash. "I'm still faster than yer, blubbery hide! Ye barely blocked the mousie 'cuz yew've got two legs t' his one! Yew barely did it too 'cuz ye don't move yer feet like yew should."
"What do you want fox?" Eli asked. Just the sight of the fox sparked a flood of memories.
Bloodclaw's vile expression softened to one of childlike admiration and pride. "I got me own peg leg like yous an' I've walked around the abbey more times than I can count on me claws! Kin I train wid ye now?"
Eli could feel his stomach bubble as Dokkur's face morphed into a wicked snarl.
"Who said you could train with us? Nobeast would be as stupid t' let a vermin mutt like yew anywhere near a weapon!" Dokkur spat, his voice trembling with fury.
"Eli did yew stupid riverdog! He said I could train t' be a warrior win I could walk!" Bloodclaw snapped as he stepped forward onto his missing limb. Eli had hoped to keep their agreement a secret. Even more, he hoped that the young fox would forget everything about it. He hadn't. Bloodclaw had, unfortunately, run his mouth to Foremole Grumm to the point the mole made him a pegleg similar to Eli's. The mouse was surprised that the stubborn old mole did anything for the fox. He supposed it was a way to keep the nuisance away and at bay. Even worse than the fox getting a new limb was the stupid whelp was learning quite quickly. Eli hated to admit it but the fox had regained the ability to walk in a few days, far faster than he originally did.
You never should've made this agreement! You should've let Dokkur strangle the vermin to death! An angry voice shouted in Eli's head. Dokkur turned to look at Eli with a betrayed slump. Eli opened his mouth but shut it when nothing came from it. He didn't want to defend the fox, not in front of his only apprentice. The mouse didn't even prepare a way to break the news to the young otter.
"Training you would be breaking one of the rules we've put into place regarding you vermin." Sergeant Danburr stepped forward, saving Eli from a difficult response. "Even if you weren't a vermin… you'd only hurt yourself and others, wot."
"That's not what Eli said!" The fox's voice cracked in desperation. "He said he'd train me once I could walk wid'out crutches! Now I can!"
"I said I would consider it!" Eli snapped. "And being an annoying twit who interrupts our training with your useless comments doesn't help your case!" Bloodclaw's hopeful expression faltered.
"You'd consider it!" Dokkur hissed. "You shouldn't consider anything aside from training me! Your apprentice! Not this lame, dark-hearted, fox!" Dokkur jabbed Bloodclaw in the ribs with the training spear, with a howl the fox collapsed to the ground clutching his injured side.
"That's enough Dokkur!" Eli shouted, ripping the spear from his apprentice's paws. The otter snapped his head to the side and glared hateful daggers at his mentor. Eli had chosen Dokkur because of his willingness to learn and his unshakeable hatred of the evil beasts that threatened Redwall. One of the more negative sides of the otter was his temper which could get out of control at times. Right now his apprentice was trembling in rage, Eli feared the beast was doing his best not to strike anyone else.
"Let's chat, my apprentice," Eli said with a monotone expression as he led the young otter away from the wheezing fox.
Eli drug Dokkur to the western wall, and as he did so he struggled to come up with the right words to soothe his scorned apprentice. When they were out of earshot of Sergeant Danburr, Corporal Bushby, and the fox, Eli opened his mouth to speak.
"I know this might sound bad." Dokkur wrenched free from his grasp.
"What the hell are you doing!" Dokkur shouted at Eli, only for the grey-furred mouse to shush him.
"You're going to train him? Our enemy!" The otter hissed so that only the two of them could hear.
"I never said I would train him! Only that he could watch and set up the spar-"
"He shouldn't be let anywhere near the guards! He's a murderer he admitted it when he found his way to our gates! And he's been a vile vermin monster since he's arrived!"
"He's just a stupid pup! Maybe a season younger than you are." Eli tried to bargain.
"Don't compare me to him!" Dokkur's face was a tear-covered blur. "I don't murder good beasts! I don't try t' hurt the innocent! I wanna protect Redwall and all my friends and everything good in it! I want to be as great of a warrior as you! I know I'm not there yet and I've been lazy with my training sometimes but please don't replace me with him!" Angry tears welled in the otter's dark eyes.
Eli felt a lump grow in his throat. Dokkur had looked up to the mouse since he was brought to the abbey. He had watched a vermin band slay his mother and father before becoming their slave for several moons. He had bravely escaped and wandered to Redwall where he was warmly taken in. Eli could only imagine the horrors the young dibbun had experienced, the mouse had tried speaking to him about it but the boy's eyes grew dark and his temper turned for the worse. Not all was bad with the otter, however. One evening while the Abbey was feasting the young lad had leapt onto a table and swore an oath to protect Redwall to his dying breath. Such courageous words from such a small beast had left a mark on many beasts, Eli included. After the mouse was appointed as champion of Redwall one of the first things he had done was take Dokkur in as his apprentice.
"I'm not replacing you, lad," Eli spoke softly, trying his best to settle the agitated otter. "The fox needs a task now that he's healthy again. I thought since he knows how vermin fight we can learn from him. To get an advantage in battle."
"By letting him train with us he's learning how we fight!" Dokkur snapped his dark eyes narrowing to points. "There's nothing we can learn from this fool! If there was we should be beating the information from him, not giving him a leg in hopes he can walk free again!"
"That's not my decision to make-"
"Then whose is it? Because beasts have and will continue to get hurt because we let this filth inside our abbey!"
"Nobody's getting hurt!" Eli snapped at his mentee.
"That's not true! I had to stop those vermin scum from bullying one of those dibbuns on the wall not even an hour ago! Sister Beryl's got her throat clawed out and Miss Mildred and Brin were both brained by a mad stoat! Conrads still got a bone to pick with that rat and now a heroic Redwaller is taking matters into his claws with the ferret!" Dokkur's eyes were filled with malicious wrath.
"Settle down lad!"
Dokkur ignored him. "Beasts are beginning to get sick and tired of this little game you and the Abbot are playing Eli! I'm telling you because I care about you and don't want to see you get hurt."
Eli pursed his lips. "Who wants to hurt others Dokkur? I will not stand to have Redwall torn apart by beasts blinded by anger!"
"Anger?" Dokkur spat in disbelief before jutting his face into that of the mouse. "It's not anger, it's justice! You're the one who preaches the destruction of vermin at all costs, you're the beast whose sole job it is to protect us from these vermin! You swore an oath when you took the title of Redwalls champion. It was an oath to Martin, to Esther, to Abbot Micah, to all of Redwall and Mossflower!"
Dokkur paused for a moment to catch his breath. His young face aged like a stone in the sun, stained with anger from generations of hostility and hatred. "And if you don't then someone else will. I made a promise all those seasons ago to protect Redwall with my life and to avenge my family. I know scores of fellow Redwallers who share the sentiment."
Eli's fur raised in horror. The otter's face remained an unchanging stone monolith. The young beast was deathly serious. The mouse swallowed before responding. "Don't do anything foolish, Dokkur. Abbot Micah's judgment is sound and I hope you can see it."
"Abbot Micah and your brother are dangerously foolish. I wouldn't dare hurt them, you know that. But we've given the vermin far too many chances." Dokkurs voice cut through the frigid air like a knife.
Eli's face twisted into a furious grimace before settling like the abbey's tranquil pond. Dokkur had a viper's tongue but he was hardly a threat to him or any Redwaller or any other beast. Stupid otter couldn't even strangle a crippled fox without getting himself caught. Something that Eli realized he was deeply disappointed in.
"Settle down child. You're acting like a spoiled dibbun." Eli sighed deeply. "You're not being replaced and you shouldn't feel threatened by the fox."
The fur on Dokkurs head remained on end but the huffing and puffing of his breath began to slow.
"Now," Eli's voice took on a more commanding tone. "I don't want to hear talk about my siblings or the abbot! If you are to become Redwalls champion then you are to follow the abbot or abottess even if you disagree with them."
Deep frown lines crossing the otter's face began to give ground. Eli knew that Dokkur had heard that line countless times before. Abbot Micah had proposed that the young lad spend some time working in the nursery or with the dibbuns to try and settle some of his rage, but Eli had refused. It seemed to him like a complete waste of time the otter was already great with dibbuns.
"I'm sorry if it came across that I was replacing or abandoning you. Never in all my life would I consider a vermin as an apprentice. But I do wish you had wrung his vile neck or at least clobbered him so he'd stay quiet for the rest of winter."
That got a wry smile from the toughened otter who began to softly laugh. Eli couldn't help but chuckle as well.
"Ha, yeah. I royally screwed that up didn't I?" Dokkur whispered.
"Yes. Yes, you did." Eli responded with a laugh, glad that the brunt of the boy's anger was behind him. "If you're gonna try and slay a beast you gotta finish the job first, at least scare 'em so that he doesn't run his mouth afterward."
"Oh aye?" Dokkur asked with a mirthful grin. "Can't have a miscreant vermin runnin' about can we? Might as well let me spar with the maggot to beat all this nonsense of training from his 'ead, aye?"
Eli bit his tongue as hot iron coils began twisting about in his stomach.
Have Dokkur beat the fox t' death! Nobody would stop you, him, or Sergeant Danburr. He's a troublemaking villainous whelp. The world is better off without him! His inner rage roared.
"No," Eli responded after untying his tongue. "Abbot Micah would have both our tails. Besides I already used much of my good graces with the abbot getting you out of the dungeon. He didn't like it but I told him you merely misunderstood my orders."
Dokkur whistled a sigh as he rolled his head to the sky. "Aye can't believe ol' grey whiskers liked the sound o' that!"
"No, no he didn't," Eli smirked. "Said somethin' along the lines of you bein' a 'threat to our vermin friends.' I reminded him that you were following my instructions regarding the vermin and that you had no clue the fox wasn't involved with what happened with Sister Beryl. He still wasn't pleased but I got him to let you out on the promise that this was your first and final incident."
"Aye." Dokkur nodded thoughtfully. "Thank ye fer that an' for everything you've done for me the past few seasons. I'm sorry I spoke of your siblings a moment ago. It was wrong and I let my anger get the best of me."
Eli smiled and clapped his apprentice on the shoulder. Dokkur was honorable and a good beast, he always had been. It was only natural in the mouse's eyes, that he was angry at the sight of the beasts who stole his family from him. Eli could closely relate. He had been just like the otter when he was a dibbun.
"Apologies accepted matey. If the vermin is disrespectful again I'll end our little agreement, and if he gets violent…" Eli nodded at the otter. "Then you can silence him for good!"
Dokkur nodded, happy with a potential course of action that involved slaying the fox. "Aye well let's get back to sparring the rest of the guard 'll be here shortly."
"Aye let's do that," Eli said as the two turned back to the vermin and the Long Patrol hares, before opening his mouth to speak. "Remember, Abbot Micah and I have these vermin under control."
Dokkur nodded but Eli didn't think his apprentice heard what he had said.
Bloodclaw was sitting on his rear looking up at Sergeant Danburr. The hare was saying something Eli couldn't quite catch but was most certainly a reprimanding of the fox. Corporal Bushby leaned awkwardly against his spear glancing between Eli and his Sergeant. Eli felt the immature hare had embraced his task although he didn't like it. He hadn't complained about watching the eager fox, and the vermin hadn't gotten into trouble with him. Turns out the youngest member of the patrol was quite responsible and Captain Santain would be quite pleased.
"Oy, Sergeant!" Dokkur called as he trotted ahead of Eli.
"Eli said he'd watch the trickster. It's your turn to fight me!"
Sergeant Danburr shot a questioning glance toward Eli.
"Aye, Dokkur needs to train. You focus on him and I'll try t' talk some sense intah the fox."
"Ha! Ye might be a bit late sah. I already told 'im off fer interruptin', wot."
Eli chuckled. "Yes, well he'll learn to hold his tongue once I'm through with 'em."
Sergeant Danbur shrugged, his lean frame practically leaping from the ground. "Suit herself, wot. Be warned I don't think he's the most cunning beast who's ever graced our walls, wot wot!"
A nasty snarl crept onto Bloodclaw's maw. It vanished under Eli's withering gaze.
"Aye well, get back to training, will ye?" Eli snapped back as he sauntered up to the sitting fox. Instruction from Sergeant Danburr correcting Dokkurs form echoed from over the mouse's shoulder. Bloodclaw sat with his legs folded in front of him like a little dibbun being told a bedtime story by the abbey's resident badger. He leaned back and forth trying to look around Eli who stood in front of him blocking the view of the sparring that was set to begin momentarily. Redwall's champion looked down at the pitiful vermin trying to form kind words for a beast that part of him despised.
Taking a shaky breath Eli forced himself to remember that the fox was quite eager and very curious. Yet Bloodclaw was still a vermin both in flesh and in thought. Dokkur was right, Eli still had a duty to protect the abbey from threats both present and in the future. He hoped to die a miserable wretched death if this fox he had a paw in inspiring ever became a warlord, and Eli knew that was the crux of the problem. His pride told him he could train this pathetic cripple into the greatest warrior Mossflower had ever seen. Eli had succeeded without a teacher and with no understanding of where to start aside from wanting to walk normally again and yet he achieved a title that very few normal beasts had ever done. This fox, as much as he hated to admit, had potential. Eli had little doubt in his abilities and the fox seemed to be interested. Perhaps he could be a warrior? If only he were a bit more docile.
However, his mind and the world around him said that would be a terrible decision. Vermin were evil, rotten to the core. From the youngest babe to the oldest, gray-whiskered and wrinkled vermin are to be handled with extreme caution for one's safety and punished severely as needed. They were the ones who took his leg and his sister from him. They were always the ones to slay good beasts and attack the innocent. Eli knew he was putting the proverbial sword into the paw of the beast who had slain Esther if he trained the fox. He could swallow his pride for that. Unfortunately, Eli was the one who had stolen Bloodclaws leg, and although his pride and his sense were at odds he knew in his heart that he was responsible for the vermin.
The grunting and clacking of wooden weapons sounded from behind Eli as two parts of the mouse argued over what to do with the fox.
Responsible? You're not responsible! The stupid beast was gonna attack Dane's holt! He would've slaughtered kits if you didn't stop him. Eli's mind screamed at him.
But you are still the one who crippled him. Eli's heart responded softly as a snowfall. You took from him what was taken from me. You know better than any of the torment he's going through.
He didn't lose his sister you did! What would he ever know of such pain? He was a violent vermin wretch as lowly and as dirty as a marshfly! You regret not slaying him because you're a coward and a fool! You have a duty to protect Redwall, you have a duty to protect Samuel, yet you would throw it aside for a fox! Eli's conscience roared in frustration.
Esther would be compassionate to him. Redwall should be compassionate to him. The Abbey is home to good beasts and the values that make them good, and you are a protector of Redwall's values as much as you are a guardian of the beasts that adhere to them. He came in need of help, and Redwall in its goodness promised to help and protect him. If you slay him or let him suffer then you're attacking the heart of Redwall! Yet help him and you will fulfill your duty to the Abbey and yourself! Eli's heart soothed his troubled head.
He is not a good beast he will never be! Ester was a fool! She trusted that vile vermin and led her whole family into his trap! She lost her life and nothing can bring her back! You survived because you slew him. For all of her hopeful and loving ideas, she was still slain! She left you and Samuel because she believed in these evil creatures!
He never will be good if you don't believe he can be. A beast who loses his heart is dead, but one who keeps it will never die. Esther believed there was good in vermin to her dying breath. She might be gone but her heart still lives within you and Samuel. If you reject the fox you reject her and she will pass from you like the morning mist.
She died in vain. Eli's mind whimpered in sorrow.
She will have if you don't help the fox. Eli's heart spoke softly, cutting through the grief.
"Why are you crying?" Bloodclaw looked up at Eli with the confused look of a child.
Eli snapped back from his thoughts. He looked at the fox before looking at Corporal Bushby. The hare raised a concerned eyebrow at the mouse. Eli wiped at his damp cheeks with the back of his paw.
"Nothing. I was thinking of someone who would've liked you."
"Yew Redwallers are weird," Bloodclaw responded flatly. Annoyed Eli tapped at the fox's knee with his peg leg.
"Aye well we're the ones feedin' ya, aren't we? An' you seem t' want to learn how we fight. I think interrupting beasts and callin' them names is a bit strange t' me don't ye think?" Eli responded with the countenance of a father scolding his son.
Bloodlcaw frowned. "You're the beast starin' intah the distance and cryin'. That'd be weird in a horde, why can't it be weird here?"
Eli sighed. He didn't have the patience to explain how Redwallers acted to the fox.
"Win kin I start sparrin' like those two?" The bright orange fox asked.
Eli turned his head to see Dokkur and Sergeant Danburr energetically fight. They kicked up snow and frozen bits of dirt as they charged, parried, thrust, and swung their spears at one another. White clouds puffed from their mouths as they momentarily took a moment to rest, each keeping their guards up as they waited for their opponent to make the first move. With a grunt, Dokkur charged toward the hare. A smile graced the two beasts' faces as they continued their battle.
"Can ye walk?" Eli asked, turning back to the fox.
"Yeah! I kin almost run too! Mildred doesn't want me t' slip on any ice but I try t' run through the abbey's halls when no beast is lookin'." Bloodclaw responded proudly as he popped upright.
"What do you think Corporal? Is he as fit as a fightin' hare?" Eli asked the patched brown and gray hare.
"Ha! Rotter's nothin' close to movin' about like we can!" Bushby responded with a hint of devilish pride. "But he kin walk about well enough, though the blighted devil looks like a drunken crab, wot!"
"I'm better than you could ever be with just a leg hare!" Bloodclaw snapped as an embarrassed look crossed his face.
"You're right lad. But I hope I've never got t' worry about learnin' t' walk again. Ye seem t' make it more bloody difficult than Eli does, wot." Bushby responded.
"It's not easy, yew long-eared oaf! Ye kin barely stay up on two legs, on account ov ye spillin' all o' your vikkles last suppah! An' who are ye callin' a lad? I'm as old as yew are!" Bloodclaw shot back with a bit of venom in his voice.
"Don't get yer tail in a bind fox, just a bit o' jest, wot," Bushby responded by putting his paws up for peace. "Yew vermin bloody well love t' taunt every other beast here, yet ye can't take a dashed wink of it when it comes back your way!"
"Bushby's right Bloodclaw," Eli said, smoothly inserting himself into the conversation. "You shouldn't mock others unless you want someone to mock you in return."
"It's not my fault beasts are ugly. Some beasts have a big nose and small eyes and they look at me all funny like." Bloodclaw crossed his arms like a furious dibbun. "Besides I wanna be a warrior they just wanna keep being ugly."
"I haven't met a fox that didn't scare the flippin' bark off a tree, wot." Bushby ribbed. "An' I doubt any beast here would disagree with me, wot wot."
"Stop bickering you two." Eli sighed as he rubbed at his tired eyes wanting to cuff the fool. "Remember Bloodclaw I'll only let you shadow me if you're on your best behavior."
"I am!" The fox pleaded. "I've cleaned me room, an waited in line fer suppah, an even let them wash me kilt! What more do you want?"
"That's not enough fox! I want you on your best behavior permanently! That means no cussing, no insults, no goading others into fights, and always say please and thank you." At the moment Eli didn't realize how much of a badgermum he sounded but Corporal Bushby stifled a laugh. The fox looked crestfallen, he had already done so much.
"But I'm trying," Ruddy said as if he were on the verge of tears. "An I don't wanna leave without training wid yew. If I leave before then I'll never be a warrior!"
"Then try harder!" Eli snapped, his frustrations with this pitiful fool finally boiling over. "You interrupted my training with my apprentice to insult him for no reason aside from your selfishness! Yet you think I would let you join us? You're lucky I don't throw out our agreement because of that!"
Bloodclaw cringed under the mouse's withering glare. Remember Eli, believe he can be good! His heart cried. Eli struggled to come up with the next few words as his heart and mind battled for control.
"I-I want… you to be… my page." Eli panted as anger and humiliation coursed through him.
"I'm glad the Foremole was able to make you a leg and I'm happy you've learned how to walk on it." Eli struggled to spit out.
"But that's not as important as living like a warrior. You have to act like a good beast if you want to be trained to defend them and I'll only train you if you're to protect the innocent." Bloodclaw accepted the mouse's scolding with a glum but understanding expression. Eli was thankful and surprised he didn't continue to argue.
"Now you still want to be my… shadow, correct?" Eli asked.
The fox nodded with the same sheepish child-like expression he wore when Eli first spoke to him in the fox's room.
"Then you'll apologize to Dokkur and Sergeant Danburr for interrupting," Eli stated as the sparring behind him slowed to a halt.
"But-"
"No buts! This is the only second chance you're gonna receive!" Eli snapped. The mouse turned as the soft crunching of snow announced the hare and otters return to the conversation. They both were covered in sweat and Dokkur wore a smug smile like a knitted scarf. Eli looked back at the fox who could only stare at his feet.
An awkward silence held the frozen air between the vermin and the woodlanders.
"Well, fox?" Dokkur asked. "You've interrupted my day enough. Haven't you got anything t' say?"
Bloodclaw squirmed like a worm on a hook, looking everywhere but at the otter. Eli cleared his throat. Of course, he won't apologize. He's just another vermin.
"I'm… sorry." Ruddy's voice was barely audible.
"Look at me when you're apologizing, wot!" Sergeant Danburr snapped, his thin lips curled into a tight frown. "And wot are ye sorry for, wot?"
The fox whipped his head toward the hare and otter. His green eyes burned with a spurned fury. "I'm sorry fer interrupting yew."
"And?" Eli added.
Bloodclaw rolled his head about not wanting, or knowing, what more to apologize for.
"An' calling ye names." The fox managed to say. Eli could hear the exhaustion and humiliation in his voice. For all the mouse knew this could have been the first time the fox ever apologized.
"Ha! Vermin's got as much heart behind it as a bloody viper! I don't accept!" Dokkur snapped.
"Hold on Dokkur, you're not free from any charge either," Eli responded.
"What did I do? He interrupted and he's the beast that started all of this!"
"You hit him in the ribs after he called ye a name." Eli turned his frustrated glare toward his apprentice. "You're not a dibbun and he didn't pull a blade on ye, there was no need to strike him."
"He started it an' if you didn't-" Dokkur started with a furious growl.
"I offered him this opportunity because I believe it's best for all of us!" Eli shouted at the otter who was taken aback. "He wants to be a warrior, and if he can prove that he's willing to try and be good then why shouldn't I let him join us? Seasons, he could teach us a thing or two about vermin if a real threat shows up at our gate."
Dokkur's face was a mix of confused fury. Even Eli was surprised that he was defending the fox but knew it would be wrong not to. Just because he didn't like the vermin didn't mean he had to be cruel. It was something he knew he had to work on.
"Apologize Dokkur! Or else you're through with training for the day!" Eli snapped after a prolonged pause.
The otter's dark face scrunched in disgust, Eli could see that he had hurt him.
"I'm sorry ye've gotten weak ribs. Next time I'll remember to act gently around those made of wet sand!"
"Dokkur!" Eli roared. The otter's face lit up in horror, even Sergeant Danburr's brows raised in shock. "Try again!"
"I'm sorry I hit ye in the ribs." The otter managed to spit out. He didn't look at either Eli or the fox. "Now kin I continue to train?"
"You may," Eli responded, gesturing to the two beasts to proceed. The otter's foul look remained as he turned around, Redwall's champion head pounded in protest, yet his heart remained firm.
"Kin I stay an' watch?" Bloodclaw asked, looking longingly at the two beasts as they began to fight with fervent intensity.
"Keep yer mouth shut and stay out of the way." Eli hissed. Bloodclaw nodded before silently sitting in the snow like a child, looking on as if he were gazing at something just beyond his reach. Eli could feel his emotions pulling him down a raging rapid toward a bitter doom.
Yay another Ruddy and Eli chapter! 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!