Reflection (Open)

[Elicia]

Elicia leaned forward against the fortress walls. She was up on top of them, wandering their length. She was alone, and glad for it. Her paw went to her cheek where Daily's claws had ripped into her skin. The hare straightened and touched her saber protectively, her eyes fixed on some vague point on the horizon. The sun was sinking in the sky, but she didn't notice.

It was a strange feeling, standing there inside the now-safe walls of Redwall Abbey just a little while after she had been standing in the chaos of a battlefield. Eli found herself wary and untrusting: this was too easy.

No, she thought. It wasn't easy. So many lives were lost. So many of the hares that I knew and grew up with fell. So many chances. She sighed, and half-turned to look down into the peaceful Abbey. So many of those blows could have been meant for me, and so many of them could have killed me if I hadn't been looking. Life was a precious thing, she noted. War took too much of it away.

She turned back to look out, away from the Abbey. She didn't want to stay still, she didn't want to go back to peace and quiet. Her footpaw tapped impatiently, and, though she told herself that she would adapt to peaceful times, her Long Patrol blood still pulsed hot and fast in her veins. She was not ready to make peace. She did not want to forget what had happened.

And why should I? We lost good creatures out there. Eli thought, her paw running over her cheek again and again. It was as unconscious an action for her as breathing as she stood there, watching the sun lower. At least she was alone. She had tried to pull herself away from those of the rebel forces who were celebrating, and those that were mourning losses. She had tried to find someone- anyone- who shared the same, breathless feeling whenever they remembered what had just happened. That same, breathless, horrified, terrified, feeling had been Eli's constant companion since the rebel troops' victory. Her paw ruffled the fur on her cheek gently, but she winced, remembering the marten's eyes as he had attacked.

She spun around fast as she heard approaching pawsteps. "Who's there?" She asked. She had been caught off her guard a little- Eli had not expected anyone to be walking the walltops at this hour except herself.

[lorki]

The loud voices were just about to start giving her a mighty headache. She'd given the celebration a decent attempt, she's smiled, congratulated, visited the injured and thanked them. She'd made the rounds she was expected to, but her mind was all but on the subject she was attending to. Her mind, in fact, was on a alcoholic ferret.

As soon as she'd seen a means for escape she took it, citing pain in her leg -which was, actually, a bit sore- she wandered away from the masses. She'd considered her options, the far corners of the grounds were empty but any beast could see her and wander over. Her room was barren and actually quite uninviting still. She remembered the place where she'd escaped to as a slave, and her mind snapped back to that ferret.

Feeling a bit ill with guilt, the small Sable made her way along the halls towards a stairway to the upper walls. Her mind was on anything but victory. She was questioning many things, mostly her ability to hold up to her title. She'd been told that Champions of the past were great Warriors that slayed any beast that threatened the abbey. While she wasn't too shabby with the sword, she couldn't help but see more that just an evil beast that ought to be killed. How could they see it as so simple? She felt as if she was stuck between living up to what these creatures expected of her, and living up to what she expected of herself. It was a painful predicament, being unaware of what is right.

She stepped onto the stone walkway of the walls and glanced out at the forest, she took a small step forwards and just as quickly as she did a voice asked, "Who's there?"

Soko jumped a bit, one paw went up over her heart, as if felt as if it had skipped a beat. She blinked towards Eli, who looked just as surprised as Soko felt. "Oh... Me," she said quickly, being ore obvious than she'd planned. "I was just.. needed some quiet, y'know?" It was a half-truth, but Eli was a full blown warrior, Soko assumed her feelings were not shared by this creature. "What are you doing up here?"

[Elicia]

Elicia stared intently at the Champion, trying to see if that was the real reason the sable had come up to the walltops. Eli's mouth tightened as Soko replied. She had a feeling that she had startled her, and didn't like it. Both her softer side and her warrior's instinct rebelled. A fighter should always know their jolly ol' surroundings. We place trust in Soko.... but I'm not really that scary, am I, eh? 'Tis not like I bloody well enjoy killin' vermin fer a livin'. The hare brushed the thought aside, and, as she did, her paw went to her cheek again.

"Thinkin' about th'fight, marm. I don't-" She cut herself off and turned to look out from the walltops again. She didn't want to seem like a coward or a bloodthirsty rampager or anything bad in front of this one. She didn't want to be seen as cruel or weak. Where's the medium, she wondered. Where's the in-between?

Eli surveyed the landscape again, her back straight and rigid. She didn't like war, didn't like death, but could not stand the almost looming time of peace that seemed to be inevitable. She was a Long Patrol hare. She was born to serve as a regimental officer. It was in her blood- the same blood that had refused to cool all her life long. It was hard to believe that the services of the Long Patrol would no longer be needed in a battle such as the one they had just ended for a long time. It was going to be hard to return to Salamandastron.

"How're ye enjoyin' the celebrations, eh?" Eli's voice was distant. "I take it ye wanted t'get away from 'em, no?"

[lorki]

Eli's stare unnerved the sable a bit, she felt as if there was off thought behind it that she wasn't picking up on. Goodness knows, she hardly picked up on anything these creatures tried to project towards her.

"Thinkin' about th'fight, marm. I don't-"

Soko calmed, her eyes turned away from Eli to glace over the walls onto the forest. Eli had cut herself off, and Soko assumed she knew the reason why. How could one ever be comfortable with killing? Surely this truth was just as apparent in Eli as it was in herself. Some could get past it easier than others, she supposed.

"How're ye enjoyin' the celebrations, eh?" Eli's voice was distant. "I take it ye wanted t'get away from 'em, no?"

The question didn't sound as if it was asked in interest, more like out of politeness. Soko understood, it was not the subject on either of their minds. "I did," Soko sighed, putting her paws against the stone and leaning over the wall a bit to stare at the expanse of forest. Her throat swelled with words that wanted to be spoken, she'd kept so much from all of the woodlanders, for fear of their limited acceptance but now it was battering at her mind. After a moment of battling with her senses she couldn't help but speak.

"You know... when I escaped from here, I didn't really escape at all. A ferret, a Captain, he let me go. He smuggled me out and he..." She paused, her eyes shifting in the direction of the ruins he had brought her to, the home he'd told her of. "He wasn't... evil."

She paused, staring blankly out at the trees- bright green with spring leafs. She shouldn't feel so disappointed in a victory, or so disgusted by the celebration. After a few moments of silence she added, "I think he must be dead now, it has been upsetting me."

[Elicia]

Eli was brought back to the walltops by Soko's voice. She thought for a moment on the captain, then on Daily- the marten that had accosted her. Both sounded like the sort of beast that, in another life, she could have called friend. But that would have been in another time, another place, another age. Daily had seemed like he wanted to get away from killing- wanted to get away from his brother. This captain seemed like he wanted to take the side of the rebels.

But he hadn't, and Daily hadn't run.

They had stayed with the side they were on, and in Eli's mind, a few redeeming qualities did not outweigh their cowardice. "I understand 'bout th'Captain, marm. The chap that gave me this," She touched her cheek gently. "He wanted t'run. His brother seemed to have coerced and bribed him into fightin'. But 'owever much good the bastards do, I can't bloody well forgive them for putting up with th'evil system. They had a chance t'stop fightin', and they didn't take it. Th'marten- he introduced himself t'me. His name was Daily." Eli looked away from Soko and down at the ground. "Daily M'koro."

Sensing how harsh her words were, Eli sighed and changed the subject. She did not want to upset the sable, who seemed just as worried about the matter as she herself was. "At least th'food is good, I suppose. But I can't get over all th'beasts celebratin' and congratulatin' each other down there when there're good, perilous fighters that have fallen." Eli got the feeling that the champion was reluctant to share her feelings on this particular matter with others, and, to be honest, she did not know Soko that well. It surprised Eli that the sable would have said anything at all to her, let alone have a conversation. This creature was the champion; Eli was just a soldier.

Then again, they had fought for the same side. They had attacked to take back what used to- and should always- belong to the forces of good. There was at least some similarities between them, that much was clear.

[lorki]

"He wanted t'run. His brother seemed to have coerced and bribed him into fightin'. But 'owever much good the bastards do, I can't bloody well forgive them for putting up with th'evil system. They had a chance t'stop fightin', and they didn't take it."

The comment made something catch and hold in Soko's throat. Her thoughts were no longer with Eli, or the words she was speaking. She was thinking of herself as a child- Slave to the fort and enemy to the slaves. She was thoughtful of Vsevolod as well- the captain she'd feared, who only hours later she witnessed crying on the ground in the ruins of a childhood home. But Eli's logic was the same as his- they must be punished, the pain and the violence was their fault.

"From their side, I'd imagine the evil system extends a bit farther over to our own. I don't well think that so many beasts choose to be evil. I don't think they see it that way. Evil is subjective." She paused, recalling the moment she'd walked into the hidden camp moss- she recalled her anger and her outburst at being judged as a threat. Were she a less level headed beast, such torment could have easily brought on a violent act. She had yelled and slammed doors- more or less her equivalent of throwing punches. "Any battle has two sides- not one. And if both kill just the same, which one is better?"

[Elicia]

Eli stiffened as Soko spoke. "Marm, I'm a Long Patrol hare. I fight for what's right- for th'freedom an' the right of goodbeasts. We speak of good an' evil so easily, and ye ask which side is which." Soko probably hadn't thought of the fact that Eli had been born and raised in Salamandastron; the she had lived her whole life around the Long Patrol; that her sense of duty would never be swayed by anything. "Evil is not subjective. When one beast chains up another, then that beast is evil. When one beast takes away the life and the liberty and the freedom and the happiness of another out of pleasure, not necessity, then that beast is evil."

Eli shuddered, staring at Soko intently. "Not one o' the beasts here kills for sport. What I saw out there- those were vermin, killing because they liked to. Those martens? They 'unted hares exclusively. They went around t'kill innocent hares just because they had a bad history with them. That, miss, is evil." Yet, as she spoke, Elicia couldn't help but notice that most of what she said applied to her side as well. She couldn't think that those on the other side- the side she had always been told was evil- saw her as the evil one. Eli had been promoted in the Long Patrol because of her sense of duty and of her performance. She did not want to think that, perhaps, through another person's eyes, she was rising in the ranks of an evil system. That was never what she had fought for.

"There's always goin' t'be opposition," Eli said softly. "And there's always going to be bloodshed. But- still- how could ye think that, maybe, we're on the wrong side? We don't oppress them, they are bloody well violent towards us. We would leave them alone if they weren't so- so..." She couldn't find the word for what she wanted to say, and glanced up at the champion. "We would leave 'em alone."

[lorki]

Soko listened, as Eli began the sable's ears flicked back a bit, surprised by the intensity the hare suddenly felt. But then again, Eli was right in assuming Soko had forgotten the ranks for the Long Patrol. Perhaps, Soko though, duty is what made such a vicious cycle possible. Soko knew how difficult it was to live without taking sides, even with her skepticism and guilt she still found herself standing on the walltops of Redwall Abbey- she was on their side. What sort of beast would want to live in such uncertainty, it would be much easier to fight and die and at least be accepted by one side or the other... and certainly easier for a squirrel to join one and a fox to join the other.

"Not one o' the beasts here kills for sport. What I saw out there- those were vermin, killing because they liked to. Those martens? They 'unted hares exclusively. They went around t'kill innocent hares just because they had a bad history with them. That, miss, is evil."

Soko's eyes snapped back to Eli, that statement was all-inclusive. But as Soko opened her mouth to point out that 'Vermin Hunter' was a job title within their very community, she noticed Eli's expression change and soften a bit. The hare knew just as well as she did that, when examined closely, the black and white lines all faded to shades of gray- and that was a bit of a sickening realization.

"And there's always going to be bloodshed. But- still- how could ye think that, maybe, we're on the wrong side? We don't oppress them, they are bloody well violent towards us. We would leave them alone if they weren't so- so..."

Soko sighed, "Oppression can be subjective too." She muttered, having been a slave for twenty years, she hadn't always though that Slavery was oppression at its finest. However, being nearly stabbed and chased off by the second woodlander she'd met in a place that had been to described to her as righteous and just because she was an assumed threat and something to fear... that had been damn well oppressing too. If nothing else, Soko could sympathize with the hordes- she still felt uncomfortable with some of the Redwallers, certainly the hordesbeast at least always felt... included."And... no beast wants to be alone."

[Silas]

In the waning light of the day, the wind stirred the foliage quietly, a faint whisper in tribute to the fallen beasts that now lay in the earth once more. Aside from this, everything lay still in preparation for the night to take over in its enveloping shadow. But, seemingly when the whispering wind had faded, there came another noise, a hoarse raspy throat gasping for breath. Heavy footfalls stamping upon packed soil made their way to the wall.

A fox, carrying a heavy burden, came into view of the wall, breathing hard as he stopped to look upon the wall. Voices came to him from the wall, and the wind whispered to him of the fallen beasts, but he took no mind yet. He had to hurry, or else the wind will have one more soul to carry across the plains to the Great Sea.

"'Ey! Open the gates!" He shouted up at the wall, seeing two beasts near the ramparts. Though as soon as his call left his dry throat, his eyes grew wide as he identified the beasts as hares. Hares, atop the walls of Fort N'Tashi!

The fox was too tired and too encumbered by his burden to move away again without being followed or attacked by these woodlanders. It seemed impossible to him, inconcievable that the Fort would even be touched by the paws of woodlanders ever again. But sure enough, there they were, atop the wall and perfectly at ease, with him in range of just about anything they'd like to slay him with. The fox stayed put, holding up his burden upon his shoulders, still taking in breath like a landed fish.

"Well..." He panted, "Who knows, they might... might serve us supper, instead..." He said to nobeast in particular, standing tall and proud, displaying his muscled frame and intricate tattoos in the failing light, glancing to the walltop at the woodlanders.

[Elicia]

Eli turned as she heard a shout, leaning over the edge of the walltops to see the fox better. "What business have ye with Redwall Abbey, fox? If ye have come seekin' Fort N'Tashi, 'tis no more! Ye have come t'the wrong place if'n ye seek t'do harm." She lowered her voice to speak to Soko.

"There is a beast for ye. If'n his intentions are peaceful, we'll jolly well let him in. If they aren't, then I bet I can make 'im leave right fast enough." The fire was back in her eyes, and it was clear that she would have rather killed the fox on the spot. For years and years she had been taught that foxes and weasels and rats were vermin, and that they meant no good to peaceful folks. But now, after that battle, Eli stayed her paw. Soko was right, she thought, turning back to look at the fox. No beast, even vermin, deserves to be completely alone.

Eli forced a small smile, staring down at the fox. She wondered whether he was a mercenary, as he had a strong, proud air that she could sense from even up on the walltops. If he was good, then he might be admitted to Redwall, despite the fact that many were still suspicious of foxes and the like. For Soko's sake, she would at least give this fox a chance!

[Silas]

"What business have ye with Redwall Abbey, fox? If ye have come seekin' Fort N'Tashi, 'tis no more! Ye have come t'the wrong place if'n ye seek t'do harm."

"Harm?" The fox called back, his very words sounding dry in the cooling air of the evening, "I only harm those who try to harm me. If you wish to do so, here I am... But-" He coughed twice, straightening back up before he could lose balance and fall over, "But let it be known that I seek healing, not harm." He glanced up at the wall in defiance, beginning to feel the many bruises and cuts he had sustained while running, though some of them were not easily caused by trees and bushes.

As the fox shifted back up to his full height, the burden on his shoulder moved with him, letting a hood fall back from the shapeless form, revealing itself to be another beast, a weasel of sorts. His nose was bloodied and his eye was swollen, but the most concerning thing was an injury at the back of his head, his fur split away like ripped cloth, and dried blood had made a distinct line down his head. The fox shifted his weight again and put the hood back on the weasel, growing impatient with the hare.

[lorki]

"There is a beast for ye. If'n his intentions are peaceful, we'll jolly well let him in. If they aren't, then I bet I can make 'im leave right fast enough."

Certainly, the sable thought, a bit begrudgingly, but only because we've just had that conversation... She leaned over the wall, looking intently at the fox. He didn't look like much of a threat, if anything he looked exhausted and what was that thing he was carrying...

"But let it be known that I seek healing, not harm."

Soko raised her eyebrows as the fox pulled back the cloth to show a new creature. Two injured stranger... quite possibly unwelcome. But, Soko wasn't going to let everything she'd head about what Redwall would be fly out the window. They'd told her it was open, they'd told her it was peaceful. While she knew the two outside the gate might not feel so welcome, she was still determine to allow them in. She glanced momentarily at Eli, who looked awfully fired up for such a laid back situation. A slight scowl crossed over Soko's face, perhaps at Salamandastron they chased off every passing vermin, but Soko knew that the abbey was different... because she was in a position of power.

She waved towards the fox, "I am Sokana, Champion of this Abbey, please be ready to surrender any weapons at the gate. I'll be down to see that you get it."

She glanced at Eli to see if she would follow along, but was quick to turn and start down the stairs. It would be cruel to keep the injured waiting.

[Elicia]

Eli rolled her eyes briefly at Soko's frequent glances, but kept her attention mainly on the two creatures down below. She would begrudge no creature healing, not here at Redwall nor at Salamandastron or anywhere, and these two seemed to need it. But she was justified in her anger: she had had friends and companions cut down by foxes, and the pain of losing good creatures did not leave Elicia easily.

I can only imagine wot it feels like for M'Lady. Eli thought to herself. Or Aidan. T'give the orders, t'lead the charge out there, knowin' full well that many will die... that is something that I bloody well won't learn until I'm then an' there an' I have done it, eh? And it's a jolly lark if'n Soko expects me t'forget my mates that were killed.

But she didn't object as Soko spoke to the creatures, and did not object as the Champion started down the stairs. Eli glanced once more at the newcomers, and then set off to catch up with Soko, moving fast so as to reach the gate quickly.

"'Tis fitting, eh?" Eli asked. "That a Long Patrol hare and the jolly ol'Champion of Redwall should welcome a fox and a who-knows-what into the blinkin' Abbey?"

[Silas]

((Apologies for the late post))

Ghost looked up to Soko as she spoke to him, offering only a grunt in reply, feeling his own injuries slowly catch up to him as the weight of the beast on his shoulder pressed him towards the ground. As Soko disappeared, the fox took a few experimental steps towards the gate, still ready at any moment to hear an arrow or a slingstone whistle from above and relieve him of his burden. However what struck him at that particular moment was the mere suggestion of parting with his sword, a famed and feared heirloom of his clan, and leave him defenseless against an army of woodlanders. He couldn't hold it against them to take precautions, though. He imagined that others similar in appearance to him probably made quite a bad impression on them.

The fox stepped towards the gate at a slow, careful speed, avoiding objects that might cause him to drop onto the ground, rather painfully. He didn't even know if he would want to get back up again afterwards, anyhow. He glanced upwards once more at the main gate of the Abbey, looking along the ramparts as well, privately wondering what lay in store for them on the other side. He hoped that it would be worth the journey...

If only we had not gotten into that stupid fight... Ghost thought wearily, watching the gate with tired eyes.