|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 2, 2009 22:37:46 GMT -6
Enon used a stick almost as tall as she was to assist her up the last dune. With an almost uncharacteristic grin, which twisted the right side of her face and its heavy scar, she raced down the hill, heavy tail low and putting her weight in her heels to avoid overbalancing in the deep sand and steep slope.
Racing into the sea, she turned in the waves and laughed, splashing up spray as she danced a bit of a jig in the ocean. Her pack lay in easy view, and her bow and arrows in easier reach. However, her daggers remained with her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tirael on Mar 2, 2009 23:35:15 GMT -6
Brush looked about from the top of the dune. He closed his eyes, enjoying the salty air, which he hadn't smelled in years. Opening his eyes, he looked off into the distance, where Salamandastron dominated the shore. When he had been younger, he had often thought of going to see this mountain; now that dream was fulfilled, but for a purpose far more important than simple exploration.
His reverie was cut short by the sound of Enon's laughter. He smiled as he watched her cavort about in the water; it looked for all the world as though she had come home. In truth, she probably felt like she was. Still smiling ruefully, he waded in near her, savoring every sensation. After a moment, he said, "Wow...no wonder you missed this place." He felt his old explorational spirit rise up briefly in him again; he remembered why he had left home before. Maybe someday, after all this was over, he could finish what he had set out to do years ago.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 3, 2009 21:17:29 GMT -6
"Wow...no wonder you missed this place."
Enon sobered as he approached her. “I have a lot of memories by the sea.” The black squirrel was in up to her waist, and she started wading out. She smiled sort of wistfully as she looked back over her shoulder at Brush. “We need to gather driftwood. Come on.”
They had been traveling for almost two weeks now, and the mountain was in view. Every place on this beach was known to her, and while she and Brush were better acquainted, Enon was still a very private squirrel. Dropping a log of driftwood about as wide as the width of her paw and several feet long on the pile she was building, she touched her scar.
This place was particularly familiar.
[[ooh, now what? ^^ I’ve set it up for a little share not-so deep secret time, if that’s ok?]]
|
|
|
|
Post by Tirael on Mar 3, 2009 21:26:57 GMT -6
“I have a lot of memories by the sea.” The black squirrel was in up to her waist, and she started wading out. She smiled sort of wistfully as she looked back over her shoulder at Brush. “We need to gather driftwood. Come on.”
Brush agreed; the sun was setting and the sooner camp was set up, the better. Gathering driftwood from the surf and shore, he soon had a good armful to contribute to the pile. Setting it down, he began to place the pieces of wood into a more effective firewood arrangement, setting aside the damp pieces to dry. As he did this, he said, "So, memories. Any in particular you feel like divulging?" He hoped this was subtle enough; he had picked up on how closed-off Enon was, and he had been hoping for a chance to get to know her beyond shallow conversation. Despite how little he knew of her, he could tell she was a singularly unique squirrel.
[[Not-so-deep-secret-sharing-time...go. ^^]]
|
|
|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 5, 2009 0:11:16 GMT -6
"So, memories. Any in particular you feel like divulging?"
Sitting by the fire that had quickly grown from the dry wood, Enon started preparing a meal. It was simple, and eventually as she worked, she started speaking.
“This is where Ah faught mah last battle wi’ t’Long Patrol.” Enon placed the roots in the fire and set aside the leaf-wrapped fish they had caught that morning. She looked up at Brush, placing her head on one side in an unconscious gesture, so more of him came into the view of her undamaged eye.
“That morning we lost quite a few hares. Guid ’ares, many never lived to see sunset. It was a bloody and angry red day.” She paused, paw coming up to cover her facial scars. “I almost died too. Roseleaf fought and fought for my life and others. She went on for almost seven days with little food and water and no sleep before collapsing. That’s how bad it was.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Tirael on Mar 5, 2009 0:30:35 GMT -6
That morning we lost quite a few hares. Guid ’ares, many never lived to see sunset. It was a bloody and angry red day.” She paused, paw coming up to cover her facial scars. “I almost died too. Roseleaf fought and fought for my life and others. She went on for almost seven days with little food and water and no sleep before collapsing. That’s how bad it was.”
Brush listened sympathetically to her tale; he had seen his own share of skirmishes, both before and during his time in Mossflower, but he had never seen anything quite like what Enon was describing. He didn't miss the way she turned her scarred eye away from him as she spoke, but knowing she would take it poorly, he said nothing. Instead, he maintained a calm, engaged face as he ransacked his mind for the right thing to say. Obviously, he couldn't claim to know how she felt. As she wrapped up and he hadn't come up with the thing to say, he had to improvise on the spot.
"I can't honestly say I know how you feel, so I won't, but I am sorry. With any luck, what we're here to do will keep those who don't fight, the young, the peaceful, from having to go through that." He gave her a look of ( what he imagined to be) reassurance. The whole trip, he had felt like there were no 'right words' to say to Enon, but he was at least getting better at not saying the wrong ones.
Or so he hoped. Traveling with only someone who doesn't like you is hardly pleasant.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 7, 2009 21:58:19 GMT -6
Enon remained silent a while. “That’s why I am returning.” She raised her head, placing the fish in the fire as she did. “It was drilled into me at the earliest to do the right thing.” She smiled, a genuine warm smile, with just a touch of wryness. “Though I’m sure this is not the way my mother had in mind.”
The black squirrel passed a water skin to Brush, taking a sip from one of her own. “What about you, Brush? What is your history?”
|
|
|
|
Post by Tirael on Mar 7, 2009 22:27:25 GMT -6
“Though I’m sure this is not the way my mother had in mind.”
He returned her wry grin; his chosen life was somewhat at odds with his more privileged background.
“What about you, Brush? What is your history?”
He had hoped she wouldn't ask; it wasn't that there was something he didn't want to say, it was that there wasn't much to say. Taking a swig from the water skin, he thought a moment and then began. "Not much to say, really. I'm from Southsward. My uncle was the king, and I was fourth in line. Well, it didn't seem like I was ever going to be king, and I wasn't sure I wanted to be anyways. I wanted to see the world, find places more exciting than Southsward. So, I left and went wandering. I was actually heading for Salamandastron when I happened upon Mossflower, and when I found out what was going on there, I knew I needed to help. So that's where I've been."
It was a history decidedly empty of the trauma and sadness in Enon's, something that occasionally made Brush feel like it illegitamized his being considered somewhat seasoned as a fighter. His parents were still alive (he presumed), his home was not a warzone, his life was not a cycle of tragedy. For someone who believed much of your strength came from overcoming adversity, he felt as though he hadn't had much to overcome. It wasn't long before he felt like changing the subject, so he said, "What is Salamandastron like, anyway?" Maybe this would get her talking, really talking.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 22, 2009 20:15:54 GMT -6
"Not much to say, really. I'm from Southsward. My uncle was the king, and I was fourth in line. Well, it didn't seem like I was ever going to be king, and I wasn't sure I wanted to be anyways. I wanted to see the world, find places more exciting than Southsward. So, I left and went wandering. I was actually heading for Salamandastron when I happened upon Mossflower, and when I found out what was going on there, I knew I needed to help. So that's where I've been."
Enon considered this information. Come to think of it, there certainly had been a bit of family resemblance, though she had not really had much contact with the royal family during her time in Southsward. “I spent a winter there. Your family and homeland where peaceful and in one piece when I left.” She thought back to her own childhood, thinking that if her parents where alive now and someone had seen them more recently she would have liked news. "
"What is Salamandastron like, anyway?"
“Sal-a-man-das-tron.” Enon sounded the word out, lengthening it, as if turning it around, studying it. “Th’ mountain o’ th’ fire lizard, laddie buck! ‘Tis a bloomin’ fortress, a sanctuary. Th’ guardian o’ the sou’western coast, the barracks o’ many a hare, and the home and throne o’ the mighty badger lord or lordess, wot!”
Enon removed the food from the fire, distributing it between her and her companion. She chewed a bite of fish and swallowed before continuing. “Its wonderful.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Tirael on Mar 22, 2009 20:29:16 GMT -6
“I spent a winter there. Your family and homeland where peaceful and in one piece when I left.”
This news relaxed Brush slightly; his little biography had made him wonder how his homeland was. However uninteresting it might have been to a roving soul, he still missed it, and his family. At least he might be able to visit them again and not find them all murdered and booted off their throne.
“Its wonderful.”
Brush, who had been trying to imagine Salamandastron according to Enon's descriptions, looked up at this. It didn't sound like the Enon he believed he had come to know over the past few days; apparently, Salamandastron was very close to her heart. Well, if it broke through to her, it's probably a nice place, he thought. Besides, amazing or not, it had something that made it beautiful to any Mossflower rebel: a large, well-trained army of hares dedicated to the protection of good and, more importantly, the destruction of vermin.
"And you think this Lord, uh...Snowpaw? will help us?" It was a pointless question, he knew. After all, she had been asked it multiple times by various beasts. But he still could not help but ask, what with his curiosity now irreversibly raised.
[[Meh...weird ending, but whatever.]]
|
|
|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 22, 2009 21:57:43 GMT -6
"And you think this Lord, uh...Snowpaw? will help us?"
“Lord Winterpaw.” Enon corrected, her smile hinting at a laugh. She smoothed her face out, suddenly looking worried. “Though if you call him Snowpaw…” She trailed off. The silence stretched, and Enon watched as Brush’s face went through a cornucopia of emotions. Finally, her face contorting, she burst out in laughter, enjoying the joke she’d played.
“No…uh..he’ll definitely help.” She finally gasped, still chuckling.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tirael on Mar 22, 2009 22:14:54 GMT -6
“No…uh..he’ll definitely help.”
Brush simply stared at Enon as she dissolved in helpless laughter. She was rapidly becoming a completely different squirrel from what he saw as Enon. Not that that was bad; after all, he hadn't heard her laugh until now. It was a nice laugh, too, one that was good to hear. He then realized that that could be why it was so pleasing: it was so rare, so significant. Deciding to indulge the feeling, he said nothing until she began to recover her composure.
"Then at least this isn't a pointless venture," he said as if her giggling-fit had never happened. He didn't want to make her self-conscious by pointing out what he had thought about it, and not knowing what else to say, he just went on with the previous conversation. "Anything in particular I should know before we get there?" He had no intentions of making a fool of himself before a badger lord and his army; Mossflower needed their help, and they wouldn't follow an idiot, even if Enon supported his cause. At least, he couldn't bank on it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 22, 2009 22:53:29 GMT -6
"Then at least this isn't a pointless venture,"
“Nothing is ever pointless, laddie.” Enon said, sober now.
"Anything in particular I should know before we get there?"
“Lets see…” Enon considered this as she polished off the remains of her dinner. “Not really. We’ve gone over it all before.” Adjusting the havvysack behind her, she lay back and looked up at the stars. Recognizing a few, she pointed them out before falling silent once again.
“Life as a young’un was simple for me. Peaceful like.” Enon broke the long silence. “Sometimes I wish I could go back. But nay. Too much has happened. I’ll never be that carefree again. I’ll always be a warrior.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Tirael on Mar 23, 2009 22:03:31 GMT -6
“Sometimes I wish I could go back. But nay. Too much has happened. I’ll never be that carefree again. I’ll always be a warrior.
Brush sighed, staring at the stars as if expecting them to tell him what to say. He had heard of that affliction before, something far worse and far more painful than any war wound. For all her reservedness and detachment, Enon seemed to have the heart of a simple beast, one that would take gladly to a life of honest work and good company. He sighed, hating whomever it was that had precluded such a life. "You know," he said after another long pause, "You may not be carefree, but you don't always have to fight. We fight to make the world safer, better for those who won't have to fight. After years pass and battles end...maybe you can join them. You won't forget what happened, but it doesn't have to take away what you've always wanted."
Having made his point, the squirrel settled down a little more deeply into the sand. He hoped that Enon wasn't the only one listening; somewhere, somehow, he hoped that fate had heard him, that it would make a life for his friend, that she would be paid for all she had done. After all, she clearly deserved it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treble Tiderunner on Mar 24, 2009 0:05:33 GMT -6
"You know," he said after another long pause, "You may not be carefree, but you don't always have to fight. We fight to make the world safer, better for those who won't have to fight. After years pass and battles end...maybe you can join them. You won't forget what happened, but it doesn't have to take away what you've always wanted."
Enon turned this over in her mind a while, watching the stars wheel to new positions. Brush usually had the answer to things, she was discovering. Even if it came in an unexpected package, one a creature would ordinarily discount. Enon turned to her side, eyes closing. Tomorrow they would be at Salamandastron. Tomorrow she would be back where fate had declared her home.
"Good night."
|
|
