A Plan Unfolds [Soko/Open]

[Treble Tiderunner]

Skipper of Otters was sitting in the large dining hall, which was conspicuously empty. A bandage spiraled up his left arm, controlling the bleeding of a long slice that came perilously close to his veins, but that was the worst of his multitude of injuries. Beside him sat his niece, Tampa.

"I'm glad to be out of there." Tampa said, finishing up her narrative of the two years she'd spent in the fort. She turned her attention to a sandwich of crusty bread and vegetables while Skipper mulled this over.

"You know, your friend Sokana made it out of the fort." something caught his eye and he made a beckoning motion. "She's here, in fact."

[lorki]

Soko had stayed behind as the plan to free the slaves was set in action. Many reasons accompanied her desire to stay holed up in the small room rather then to follow them. Beside the fact that she had no idea how to wield a weapon and would have been less than helpful during the escape she still felt slightly alienated from the rest of them. She had given blame for this to herself, it was her outburst that had ultimately given way to this feeling, but she told herself it would not last forever.

The more personal reason she held for staying behind was her uneasiness about seeing Tampa or River again. She had essentially abandoned them, disappeared without excuse and what was she to tell them now? Surely the tale about Vsevolod would not go over well and... Vsevolod. Guiltily she knew the most of her worry lay with him. It was morbid of her to worry he would be hurt while trying to kill those she now lived with, or keep the slaves she befriended from escaping, but she couldn't keep herself from it.

Tortured with worry and confusing thoughts she'd kept to herself, the true reason she had come here was all but forgotten. She'd avoided the others upon their return, and hadn't gotten up the courage yet to try to find Tampa or River. In fact even when she entered the dining hall she had expected to find it empty and was even slightly displeased to find it was not. Generally she came in to eat about that time, whens he wouldn't have to face many others. When she noticed who was sitting there her stomach curiously sank. Her happiness that Tampa was alright was overshadowed by her uneasiness about the conversation that was sure to come.

[Treble Tiderunner]

Tam looked behind her, curious as to who her uncle was motioning to, but having an inkling. Spying Soko, she looked relieved, standing up quickly, she caught the edge of the table momentarily to steady herself as a twinge went through her leg, but then she was hobbling as swiftly as she could to the sable. She’d only known her a short time, but Tam was one to appreciate the friends she had, no matter the length of friendship.

“Soko! You’re here! And in one piece!” Tam laughed, an ear-piercing, loud laugh that hadn’t made an appearance in almost two full years. “Wooohahhahoo! At least you found me ol’ Unc! Didja tell ‘im the prophecy?”

[lorki]

Soko's uneasiness faded and replaced itself with an odd mix of worry and happiness. Worry for Tampa as she stumbled and limped about, Soko quickly moved forward as well to catch the otter in a sort of careful embrace, both in greeting and to keep her friend steady. She was glad to see Tampa, to hear her, to know she was alright, also she was happy to see that Tampa had not suddenly gained some sort of reservation towards her, even with her having disappeared. She grinned through and nodded. "You're here too! Looks like... mostly one piece, huh? Who managed to get you?"

"At least you found me ol’ Unc! Didja tell ‘im the prophecy?”

"Uh..." Of course Tampa wouldn't be aware of the drama that had preceded her arrival. Too much drama, for Soko's taste. She had hardly talked with anyone since the day she arrived. Small simple conversations over food, a few words exchanged quietly with a few of the otters and some of others she'd met... nothing that could really be considered a conversation.

Not to mention Soko didn't exactly feel that bringing up the point that she may be their fabled champion would be taken very well just after she'd taken a hefty swing at their lifestyles and the way they thought about the world as a whole. But she didn't want to bring Tampa down, nor did she wish to start up the discussion again, Soko was different from them in so many ways... but she couldn't deny she had some bigger purpose in this, no matter how much she was attempting to dodge away from it. "...I havn't actually gotten the chance Tampa, things have been busy... with the escape and all."

[Tirael]

Laila sat a short distance away from the Skipper and his niece. She hadn't spoken once during the entire meeting, and to be honest she probably wouldn't. She had only come to distract herself from thoughts about Brend, who was still lying in the infirmary, floating between life and death. Unfortunately, Tam's story about things she had already experienced herself wasn't much distraction, and she had hardly even ended up listening. In fact, she didn't really notice that the otter had stopped speaking until her neighbor tapped her shoulder.

"Miss Laila. Miss," Fogg said to Laila. When she looked up, he said gently, "She's done. You want anything?" Laila shook her head slowly, then fell back into her concern again. The burly otter sighed; Laila had latched onto him as a kind of anchor, but despite his attempts to comfort her, she seemed beyond his abilities. She barely spoke, and when she did, it was only out of necessity. "I'll be right back," he told the shrew, and got up.

"Hey, Skipp, got a moment?" he asked as he sat next to his friend. Without really waiting for an answer, he went on. "I just can't figure out what to do for that poor shrew...her heart's eatin' her from the inside out." Poor Miss Laila.
__________________________________

Tirael was serving a brief stint as a kitchen helper, having been shooed from the various volunteers and helpers in the infirmary who demanded he take a break. Not having anything else to do, and not feeling like being alone, he decided to try food-serving. At current, he was pouring drinks for those still at the table. Of course, this provided him with reason to be around to hear Tam's story. Not that he would need one; he could simply have sat with his 'family' and listened like everyone else in the room. But it felt...weird. Having been Tampa-deprived for two years, it didn't feel normal that she was back. He didn't know her as well anymore.

And that feeling was terrible.

Reflecting on this, he went about the table, doing his job with whatever consciousness existed in the back of his mind as he thought. Looking up for a moment, he realized he had come up to Tampa and Soko. He hadn't talked to either much since they'd made it to Camp; he was still trying to reconnect with Tam, and he assumed everything had been too much of a disaster with Soko, that she wouldn't even give him another chance. Now wishing he had noticed what he was walking into, he mumbled, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt..." Holding up a jug of cordial, he asked, "Thirsty?"

[Treble Tiderunner]

"You're here too! Looks like... mostly one piece, huh? Who managed to get you?"

“I don’t know.” Tam shrugged, she hadn’t exactly been looking ‘round while she was imitating a child’s hoop toy.

“Prophecy?” Skipper was eating the crusts of Tam’s sandwich, a small thing like supposed ownership wasn’t going to curb his appetite.

"...I havn't actually gotten the chance Tampa, things have been busy... with the escape and all."

“Well now’s the time!” Tam latched onto Soko’s arm and, well, she didn’t drag her, although that had probably been her first intention. More she kinda tugged a little before requiring to lean on her arm to make it back to the table. Sitting down again, she mock-glared at her uncle and snatched up her mug of strawberry fizz before he could get that too.

"Hey, Skipp, got a moment?" he asked as he sat next to his friend. Without really waiting for an answer, he went on. "I just can't figure out what to do for that poor shrew...her heart's eatin' her from the inside out."

Skipper looked from Fogg, who should be in the infirmary himself, to the shrew. “Well, I dunno.” He said slowly… this kind of thing was really not his department, he worried more about the physical health of the inhabitants of Camp Moss. “Ye should ask Tir or one of the other infirmary healers. Mebbe give ‘er a cot or somethin’ near ‘er loved one?”

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt..." Holding up a jug of cordial, he asked, "Thirsty?"

“Tirs!” Tam waved him to a seat. “Sit! You need rest.”

She nipped the cordial and poured it in her empty mug.

[lorki]

Soko stepped carefully after Tam, otherwise she would have toppled forward as the otter seemed to spring into a faster pace to reach the table. She glanced around at the others there as another otter had taken away Skipper's attention for the time being. Tirael appeared, she read his uneasiness, it almost matched hers. She should make a point of apologizing to him, perhaps an attempt to explain her reason to him too... not now, though, and not here.

"Hi, Tirael." She offered, she didn't ask for a drink, although eatign had been her only purpose in coming to the dining hall... Oh well.

She waited, next to an eager Tampa for Skipper to finish his conversation with Fogg. She attempted to think up how exactly she would put this... 'Well the hallucination of a mouse told me to come here and you are suppose to arm me with a big grand sword, weather you trust me or not- unlikely!' No... even she couldn't muster a mental chuckle for that one.

"Skipper..." Should she apologize for her outburst? Was she sorry? No, of course not... she figured it would be better not to drag the conversation out with false words. After all, they would all come around eventually... her and them, they would have to. "The reason I came here -I mean that I knew to come here and had to come here- is because when I was at the fort I had a dream about a mouse and -I know it's crazy just let me finish- the mouse told me a riddle."

She paused, glanced to Tampa then back to Skipper, "And when I told Tampa and River and Griff about it... well Griff, that old mouse from the fort, he said it was important, and that since the riddle mentioned Camp Moss I should come here as soon as possible and...uh...getasword" She mumbled the last bit of her tale, unable to really believe she would be taken seriously, let alone that he would believe her, and even less likely was the idea of him gladly arming her, a sable in his camp, with a sword.

She waited anxiously, not even glancing about to see the reactions of the others.

[Tirael]

“Ye should ask Tir or one of the other infirmary healers. Mebbe give ‘er a cot or somethin’ near ‘er loved one?”

Fogg considered this a moment, then nodded slowly and got up. "Aye, I suppose it's the best I can do for 'er. Thanks, Skipp." Going around the table, he gently escorted Laila to the infirmary.
________________________________________

“Sit! You need rest.”

Glad that he had been invited to be a part of...well, this, Tirael sat down next to Tam. He barely noticed as she took the jug and poured a drink for herself; why in the world would he care about cordial right now?

"Hi, Tirael."

Smiling nervously, the otter replied, "Hey, Soko." Huh. If Tam only knew what had happened a week and a half ago. Soko seemed to have gotten over it, or at least wanted to, and that relieved Tirael somewhat. Them talking would have to wait, though; she was saying something bizarre to the Skipper. While he didn't distrust Soko with a sword, it struck him as very odd that she would have had a dream like that. It also made him wonder if there was a reason he'd been so ready to trust her when he'd found her wandering about the woods. Was he supposed to have been? Had something, or somebeast, planned it that way?

Feeling as though the various conks on the head he'd received in his life were starting to take their toll, he couldn't resist a question. "Well...there are a lot of swords here, did this mouse mention anything more...specific?" If there was any chance helping her could improve their chances of friendship, he was going to do it.

[lorki]

"Well...there are a lot of swords here, did this mouse mention anything more...specific?"

Too specific, Soko thought unhappily. Her glance shifted to Tirael and she tried to remember. It had been weeks ago, when melting snow and rain dripped through the slave shelter and dripped into the bucket beside her head. That was the first time she'd seen it, red pommel stone, plain and simple but still impressive on its own... it didn't need to look fanciful to be stunning. The mouse had held it then, while he talked to her and gave her the confusing riddle...

But there had a been a second time as well, she had gripped in in her paw, even though that had been a dream. She had smirked in front of N'tashi, chuckled at him even, demanded his respect and been courageous... She had held the sword, never used it, never even thought to... but she'd held it.

"In a dream... I know this is odd... In a dream I saw N'tashi and... I had the sword, I was holding it and talking to him. It was as if He'd had the dream before, he thought I was the mouse but when I wasn't-" She paused, glanced down at her own paws, not unsure, simply in awe of the reality, "He knows who I am, he knows it's me now. Not the mouse."

She didn't mention that she'd ended up feeling compassion for the poor hysterical stoat, feeling guilty for tossing him into such a panic, and finding that she had no desire at all to take his life. Her compassion seemed to be quickly becoming her downfall, she'd thought that these beasts were like her... No, they were kind, all of them. They did what they thought was right, no one could ask them for more than that, Soko simply felt a connection to the other side as well. Her mind drifted over Vsevolod as it often did, he was kind too, in his own way. He too was simply doing what he could to survive, what felt correct to him.

Perhaps it was not a fixable situation... the least she could do was keep it from getting worse, and to do that she would need that sword and the position that came with it. Her dark eyes caught those of the Skipper. Had she ever felt so lost before? She waited again, trying her hardest not to think any more.

[Treble Tiderunner]

"Skipper...”

The aforementioned otter turned from his conversation with one anxious otter to face three pair of concerned or anxious young eyes. He noted that Tir and Tam sat around Soko, they seemed to have taken her under their wing. He’d meant to do something for the young sable, talk to her or something, but he’d been busy and she kept to herself. “Yes?”

“The reason I came here -I mean that I knew to come here and had to come here- is because when I was at the fort I had a dream about a mouse and -I know it's crazy just let me finish- the mouse told me a riddle."

A mouse telling riddles. In dreams. Skipper knew only one mouse who would do that, in fact only one creature ever did that. Martin, the warrior of old and ancient times. He couldn’t lay claim to any dreams himself, but he’d been raised on those stories and the belief that someday he would chose a champion in dreams and Mossflower would be free. He glanced at Tampa and Tirael to gauge their reactions as Soko went on.

"And when I told Tampa and River and Griff about it... well Griff, that old mouse from the fort, he said it was important, and that since the riddle mentioned Camp Moss I should come here as soon as possible and...uh...getasword"

"Well...there are a lot of swords here, did this mouse mention anything more...specific?"

“Well, it sounds to me as if this Griff was right, you did have an important dream. From maybe Martin the Warrior?” He asked, saying the last part as if he was sure of the answer, and it wasn’t really a question. “But Tir is right, and I want to know too. Did he mention anything more specific? Or show you?”

"In a dream... I know this is odd... In a dream I saw N'tashi and... I had the sword, I was holding it and talking to him. It was as if He'd had the dream before, he thought I was the mouse but when I wasn't-" She paused, glanced down at her own paws, not unsure, simply in awe of the reality, "He knows who I am, he knows it's me now. Not the mouse."

Skipper sighed, more from general accumulated weariness than the conversation, though he felt that as if it emphasized the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He rubbed his face with one paw, running against the fur in an attempt to keep himself awake. He’d been putting in a lot of extra hours with various things. He stayed silent a moment longer, considering every aspect of this and its implications. Finally he spoke, looking Soko in the eyes.

“Is that what you want? To be come our champion?” He held up a paw to forgo any questions, demands, guesses. “Because that is what Martin is choosing you for. Once you take up the sword, it is incredibly hard to put it down. Or so the stories say.”

[lorki]

“Is that what you want? To be come our champion?” He held up a paw to forgo any questions, demands, guesses. “Because that is what Martin is choosing you for. Once you take up the sword, it is incredibly hard to put it down. Or so the stories say.”

Soko had never had any dreams of power and greatness, never any illusions of grandeur. She'd had no ability to even think up such things until lately and even now she couldn't pull herself away from others problems. But, that had always been Soko, since being a slave she'd had nothing of her own to lose, she'd always been like an empty shell, leaching aspirations from others. Why was it that a timid creature such as her had actually wanted for so long to kill N'tashi?

Easily that was answered. She had never wanted that. Just like she had never really wanted to escape and never really wanted to rebel. She'd only ever taken what was in front of her at the time. Did she want this?

She blinked, looked quietly past Skipper to glance at Tampa and Tirael. Suddenly a thought sprang to mind, a reminder of something she'd forgotten, something she did want.

She smiled slightly at the older otter and nodded, "That's why I came here. We'll have to find out how true those stories are."

[Tirael]

Tirael watched quietly as Soko and Skipper talked. What the sable was saying seemed unreal, but it also seemed familiar. The otter racked his mind for whatever it was he wasn't quite remembering, but as with most things like that, it remained elusive.

"That's why I came here. We'll have to find out how true those stories are."

"I could help with that." After a brief pause, he continued, "I've read through a good amount of the historical records saved from Redwall. If I'm remembering right, there were some stories like that..." Shrugging, he said, "It might help us figure out where we go from here." Offering Soko a hopeful glance, he settled back a little, glad to be out of the spotlight. Besides, activity in the infirmary had taken a sharp downward curve, and stress had quickly turned to boredom; reading about Redwall's happier past would be a welcome job.

"Ooh, and that looks good," he said quietly as he stole the remainder of Tam's sandwich. Biting it happily, he turned to defend his capture as he ate.

[Treble Tiderunner]

"That's why I came here. We'll have to find out how true those stories are."

“Good.” Skipper nodded and sat back, scrubbing a large paw over his face. He was tired. Tirael spoke up and he listened, searching his mind for a memory that eluded him.

"I could help with that." After a brief pause, he continued, "I've read through a good amount of the historical records saved from Redwall. If I'm remembering right, there were some stories like that..." Shrugging, he said, "It might help us figure out where we go from here."

Feeling as if he’d won a major battle, Skipp finally remembered. “Good.” He repeated. “I know where it is.”

"Ooh, and that looks good,"

“Hey!” Tam and Skipp said, both protesting. As Tir turned from his father to fend off a grab for the sandwich, Tam leaned across Soko for a swift grab. “Hah!”

[lorki]

“Good.” ... “I know where it is.”

Surprised by the otters willingness to go along with her plan, and to hand her this power she took a moment to process the information. Unfortunately, before she could even figure out a response a sandwich battle seemed to have begun. She tilted sideways to avoid the initial attack from and on Tirael, and then quickly leaned backwards, nearly toppling back onto the floor as Tampa reached over her to retrieve the meal. Goodness, as if these beasts didn't eat enough.

But she found herself smirking all the same, no, Soko did not feel at all at home amongst them, but she figured with time things would change. But that lead her to another thought...

"Skipper... Do you think it will be alright... I mean we shouldn't ask some of the others I don't want to..." Get screamed at for being a fake or a vermin or an evil N'tashi captain in disguise? He would get the jest of it, she hoped. "Well, I guess that doesn't matter much though, does it?" She murmured, glancing past the otters to the doors, her mind wandering over the possible reactions a sable warrior could warrant from the beasts here.

[Tirael]

“I know where it is.”

Tirael barely noticed as his sister retrieved her sandwich (that is, the three or four mouthfuls that were left of it) as he turned sharply to look at Skipp. "You what?..." He hadn't expected his father, of everyone living at Camp Moss, to know something like that. At least that dealt with one problem, though if the old stories had any similarities to the one they were playing out now, getting to the sword wouldn't exactly be easy, either.

"Skipper... Do you think it will be alright... I mean we shouldn't ask some of the others I don't want to..."

Soko's nervousness triggered Tirael's empathy once again. She didn't deserve this mistrust; he had never thought she did, though he knew he couldn't simply condemn those who still didn't quite believe she wasn't waiting for the opportunity to report back to N'tashi. And yet he couldn't do anything for her aside from treat her normally; seeming overly trusting would just patronize her and drive her away.