Spring Feastday [Open]

[lorki]

Soko walked slowly down the empty hall, most of the beasts where already out on the grounds, but she was taking her time getting there. She had been in a room, actually, one that she'd made a purposeful promise to clean... but she hadn't. In fact for the past week she'd gone through the large wooden door, locked it behind her and sat down on a wicker chair. She'd looked across the table at another empty chair, an empty bottle of vodka and shattered pieces of glass. She felt it would be wrong of her to wipe him away from this place, to destruct her memory of him- at least until she felt as if she had formed her own ideas. Soko's life had always been painfully simple. She'd been alone, she'd worked, she'd kept her head down. The complications of this new society were... trying. So, for one reason or another, she kept the room she'd sat in before with the Captain- the first place where she'd ever understood anything with complete certainty.

The sable blinked as she turned the corner and observes the grounds through an exit. It was lively, happy... loud. Quietly she wondered what made her so different from these beasts, but despite this a smile edged across her face. She inhaled the fresh air and chuckled at the ridiculous race that seemed to have started to get to the tables. Attempting to momentarily let go of her reservations, her endless thoughts, she quickened her step and headed to join them.

[Tirael]

Glancing away from the frivolities for a moment, Brush noticed Enon making her way to the tables. She seemed to be adjusting to reduced vision rather well. However, he wouldn't mention that to her. She didn't react well to others talking about it, though he imagined he would feel somewhat similar in her situation. He felt an odd sort of embarrassment that he'd escaped relatively unscathed.

"Hey," he said, falling into step with her. " They had arrived at the tables, and several creatures had already found their seats. Others milled about, searching for friends and family to sit next to, or else the food that looked the best. That was a difficult choice to make, however: the array of trifles, breads, cakes, soups, salads, pastries, pasties, and other dishes seemed endless, and deciding which to try first nearly impossible.
__________________________

Tirael only escaped being run down by jumping to the side. He watched with a wince as Saki's chair (and Saki, too) rolled headlong into the table. His laughter was forestalled by concern for the otter...hare? Otter-hare? H'otter? Shrugging mentally, the just-plain-otter was distracted by another figure exiting the Abbey building.

He waved cheerily, glad that Soko was joining the festivities. While the sable had become his friend, she didn't seem to be doing the same with most of the Abbeydwellers. Maybe this was a good sign. Getting up, he walked over to Saki. "You need help, sir?"

[Treble Tiderunner]

Skipper was seated at the head of the main table. He spotted a new arrival, he smiled and nodded at Soko as she slipped in. Every beast had been seated, the desert table picked up and food salvaged. Saki had not been injured, in fact the irrepressible otter-hare had been eating his way out of the mess when help arrived. Skipper took a quiet moment to himself to observe his crew. What else would they be called? After the death of the last abbot when he was a child, no beast had the heart to elect another. And when he became Skipper, it was soon apparent they depended on him as though he were Abbot! Redwallers and Ottercrew had come together under one cause. The Squirrelqueen had died in battle just recently, she had no successor. Just yet.

Otters, mice, moles, squirrels and even the badgerbabe, they were all his crew. He’d fought and nearly died for this—that they could have Redwall. So the forest could be safe for babes to wander again. But what was he to do now? He didn’t belong here, he belonged in Camp Moss. But how could he leave them with no real leader?

The old otter sighed, putting the matter aside. No time for that now, it was time for the feast! He rapped on the table with one heavy paw.

“We are gathered here today in celebration an’ memoriam. We celebrate th’ nameday of this season, an’ we remember those we ‘ave lost. A moment of silence please, for those brave warriors we have lost in this long war.” A silence fell over the tables, as beasts remembered family, friends who had died or been lost. Many shed tears. After a long moment, Skipper spoke again, unusually eloquent.

“Seasons thank and seasons blest,
You and I, friend, have earned our rest.”

He picked up a platter of perch (fished from the river) and passed it to the beast beside him. Immediately hubbub broke out, chattering amongst themselves and shouting across the picnic area. A squirrel stood, raising a tankard for ‘the Spring of Freedom!’

Skipper stood, excusing himself. He had caught the sound of knocking and now made his way to the gate. With the help of the gatekeeper (a sturdy hedgehog who had elected to avoid the feast), he hauled the door open to greet the sea otters and their leader. Skipp stepped forward, gripping Skipper’s wrist in a warrior’s shake. “You are late, my friend.”

[onewithnoname]

The One with No Name was lost. He was certain about this. He had traveled for the better part of a year, but had not found the Abbey. After consulting the book for the fourth time that day, he stopped and listened. Hearing the river, T.O.W.N.N. saw he was on the right track. Suddenly, the ears that had been raised on silence heard a clattering of plates, glasses, and just the general noise made by a large group eating.

Walking very slowly, the mouse pushed through a thin line of trees, to find a huge meadow, and in the middle of it, Redwall Abbey. It looked beautifully in the new spring light, the stones all sparkling. Looking at the gate, the One saw a group of beasts unlike any other he had seen before. They looked like otters, he was quite sure they were otters, but not river otters. Strange.

He wanted to run to the building, but decided to enter a different way. Shuffling the things in his pack, he managed to extract a strangely colored bag-shaped thing with what looked like several pipes sticking out of it. Holding it under his arm, the mouse marched in the direction of the former fort, and began to play.

[Django]

Out beneath the green, leafy canopy of Mossflower Woods, Logalog Nik Lagdo led his Guosim shrews through the woodlands. He kept the pace with a paddling shanty, even though they were on foot. One young shrew came up next to him, his face dark.
"I don't see why we 'afta walk, Nik," he grumbled. "Th' logboats'd be faster, y'know." Nik resisted the urge to knock the younger shrew head over tail.
"I tol'ja, Ban, th' scouts 'eard somethin' about Fort N-- I mean, Redwall comin' back to its old self, an' there ain't no stream wot goes by it close enough." Nik explained, then added, "An' don't call me Nik!"
Ban, the younger shrew, ducked a swinging blow from his Logalog, almost smiling.
Just then, another shrew came running up to Nik, out of breath, but saluting smartly with his short rapier. Nik nodded to him, halting the rest of the Guosim for the report.
Catching his breath quickly, the younger shrew relayed what he'd seen and heard.
"Sounds like they're havin' a feast, sir," he said. "I 'eard lotsa merry voices an' I could smell some good food cookin'. I'm certain it ain't vermin, either."
Nik nodded, recalling similar reports from other scouts from the past few days. Smiling, he started up the shanty again, stepping high and happily. He'd heard the stories of the legendary Redwall, and had attempted some expeditions to the redstone house since he'd become Logalog, only to be turned back by reports of vermin overrunning the place.
“Come on, mates,” he shouted over the singing. “Let’s go meet some Redwallers!”
He was answered with rowdy cheers from every Guosim. He smiled, continuing the song as the east wall of Redwall came into view. Halting the procession at the wicker gate, he hailed the Abbey.
“Halloooo, Redwall!” he shouted, hoping the Redwallers could hear him over their merriment, “’Tis the Guosim shrews at yer doorstep! Be that a feast in yon walls I hear?”

[Skipper of Sea Otters]

Skipp stepped forward, gripping Skipper’s wrist in a warrior’s shake. “You are late, my friend.”


Skipper widened his eyes in pain as the other skipper gripped his paw. "Aaaahhh!" he let out, barring his teeth in pain followed by several lower, more murmured, moans. He jerked his paw away and started swatting at Skipper. Blade let out a loud laugh and slapped the Skippers shoulder. "Bahahaha! Don't mind Skip, Skip...One too many injuries makes em a little grumpy..."

"They do not...."

"Yes they do...So Anyway, we're a little late... Skipper tried to to walk on his own and ending up falling in the river and we had to fish em out with a Stick."

"They do not!!!"

"Do too...So after about day of getting him mended and rested, we headed back and took a detour to gather some food and ended up in a raven's camp, being held till their leader decided that Skipper was too loud and too much trouble to keep quiet..."

"Blade! Shut Up!"

"Can't hear ya skip...So they lets us go and we got here a little late cause whatever they gave Skipper gave him Diarrhea and we had to stop every mile for him and in his state...." Blade held a paw to cover one side of his mouth. "Its just a little bit difficult...."

Skipper took a hold of his crutch and swung it at Blade's head, sending him to the ground with an "Ooof!" and a thud. The Skipper muttered several curses at him. "I need food.....I need water....and I need Rest...." he said down to the land Skipper in a bit of a stressed tone. Several of his loyal crew eyed the Land Skipper, waiting for his response.

[Jakey]

Jakey had been in the Abbey for about a week. He was stunned at the sheer size of the place, the comfort and luxury of the building, and all the wonderful little things that he'd never really experienced before. Like a good home-cooked meal. Jakey was used to baked fish, and some of the dishes that the Redwallers prepared were really quite exquisite. Granted, the Abbey had not been quite the way it was when Jakey had first arrived. It had been much more... To be blunt, filthy.

Apparently, there had been a large battle, and the place was still newly freed from the occupation of the vermin hordes. Jakey was still sketchy on the details, but he had not pursued the history of Redwall. After all, the past was the past. The thing that bothered Jakey the most was the sheer number of beasts within the walls of the Abbey. It wasn't that he was shy or did not like meeting newbeasts, it was more that he'd never actually been around such a large crowd in his life. The sheer size of the population was daunting, and there were still many beasts Jakey had yet to meet. He had heard of a certain Skipper of Otters, and that was who Jakey was currently looking for.

It wasn't that he didn't like the other creatures, but Jakey felt more comfortable around other otters, and the promise of joining an Ottercrew filled him with anticipation... And joy. He fancied that his father had been in an ottercrew before his death, and envisioned the noble deeds that he'd done in his life. Mostly fantasies, but nonetheless, they filled the mind of the young otter, and he padded softly along, getting more and more wrapped up in the delightful imaginary world he'd conjured up. It was only when he saw a large congregation of otters up ahead did he realize two things.

First, he had no idea where he was. Completely and utterly lost, Jake cursed himself mentally for not remembering the paths in the Abbey. The second thing was better news, and that was the fact that there were several otters up ahead. One of them could very well be the skipper Jakey was looking for. The odd thing was that the group of otters was a mix of both small and large creatures, the largerbeasts unlike any otters Jakey had seen before. He figured that they were probably sea otters, and for a minute he wondered what they were doing so far inland.

Unsure of what to do, he watched the otters converse, one of the larger ones cursing and swatting the others around him. More than mildly confused, Jakey stood uncertainly in the shadows, head tilted curiously. He decided to stay still in the shadows, waiting for somebeast to notice him, rather hoping they would. If they didn't, he could at least follow the group of otters to a place that was more familiar to him, from which he could go back to the quiet sanctuary of the rooms. From there, he could figure out how best to make his introductions to the Skipper, whenever he managed to find him.

[Django]

"Honest to goodness, we're gettin' more creatures by the minute," the young black squirrel murmured to herself as she brought a large tray of tarts out to the feasting place. Setting it down, she glanced over at the front gate where a large group of sea otters had just arrived. Their leader was speaking to Skipper. Flicking her tail, the squirrel shrugged to herself and went back to the kitchen. She gazed around at the ancient sandstone walls, a smile on her face.

This was where she wanted to be. In the kitchen everyday doing nothing but cooking was her life's dream. Alne Nikta, for that was the squirrel's name, was an expert cook. She took pride in each of her dishes, and went out of her way to gather old Redwall recipes that had been lost during the time the great Abbey had fallen. She'd also added her own recipes to the meager collection she'd scraped together. It wasn't much, but other otherbeasts seemed to like most of them. And, she knew they'd be happy as long as they had food, anyway.

She began to stir a caldron of soup. Shrimp and hotroot, a favorite of the otters'. Smiling, she hefted the thing onto a cart and rolled it out to the grounds.
"Skipp, I brought the-" she stopped, noticing that the big otter was still speaking to the newcomers. She smiled and rolled the tray out, leaving him be. There were plenty of other otters she was sure that would want the soup anyway. She stopped the cart by one of the wooden tables and turned back to go to the the kitchen, but was stopped by a sound coming from beyond one of the wicker gates.

Clambering to the top of the east wall, she peeked down and saw a large group of shrews standing in front of the gate. Most of them wore colored headbands. Alne's eyes widened. She had never heard of the Guosim, so she couldn't know if they were friends or enemies. Leaping down from the wall, she ran back to the grounds to tell someone what was going on. She wanted to go to Skipper, but he was still busy with the other otters. She looked around, spotting Tampa Tiderunner of the ottercrew. Racing to the otter, she curtsied politely before rushing into her explanation.

"There's a crowd o' beasts ouside the east gate, miss," she said. "Looks like about a score or more o' shrews. Wot should I do?"

[Treble Tiderunner]

Skipper viewed the other with amusement barely concealed. “Wot ‘appened to ‘Mah crew is used at pain?’” He didn’t get his answer, however, as Skipper began an argument with his first mate.

“I need food.....I need water....and I need Rest...."

Skipper merely quirked an eyebrow, most beasts would probably slam the door in their faces, he figured. The two were immature and squabbled like children, but he knew they were unstoppable when it mattered. “I’ve been keeping’ tabs on ye, there was no need for the play-by-play, Blade. Come in, we’ve been waiting for ye.”

Just then, a high, keening sound began. Skipper looked past the gathered sea otters to find the source of the noise. It was a mouse, playing a comical looking instrument. He was about the speak as the creature grew closer but a voice spoke behind his elbow.

“Bagpipes! Enon stepped forward to greet the creature as Skipper remembered himself and ushered the sea otters in. As they went past, Skipp followed them with his eyes, until he caught sight of an unfamiliar face in the shadows. “Can I help you?” He asked the young otterlad.

“Can I see them?” The one-eyed squirrel asked the mouse. “I haven’t seen or heard bagpipes for ages.”

"Honest to goodness, we're gettin' more creatures by the minute,"

“Good thing we made extra.” Fern remarked, catching Alne’s comment in passing.

"There's a crowd o' beasts ouside the east gate, miss," she said. "Looks like about a score or more o' shrews. Wot should I do?"

“Shrews, y’say? I haven’t seen shrews since I was a babe. The GUOSIM left these parts of Mossflower while I was young…” Tam followed Alne back towards the east gate. They peeked over the wall together.

“Oy! Is that the GUOSIM I see?” She called down, targeting a young shrew who rather carried himself like he was in charge.

[Django]

Nik craned his neck to look up at the two faces peeking over the walls. He smiled friendly-like and raised a paw in greeting.

“Oy! Is that the GUOSIM I see?”

"'Tis the Gousim indeed, marm." Nik replied. "Mind lettin' us in? We'd be much obliged to ye." He thought for a second, then added. "Me name's Nik Lagdo, by the way."
"'E's our Logalog!" Ban, the younger shew piped up.

Alne was so excited. She'd never even heard of these strange shrews called Guosim. They looked intimidating with their colored headbands and rapiers. Her big tail twitched in curiousity and excitement as she looked to Tampa expectantly.
"Shall I let 'em in, miss?" she asked, ready to dash down to the gate and fling it open.