Hullaballoo! (all Creatures)

[Treble Tiderunner]

It was time for the hullaballoo. The older otters had directed “young Skipp” and his crew in the finer details, but the greater part of the festivities had been morphed into a celebration by all, a celebration of freedom. It was a year later, Redwalll was flourishing, and invitations had gone out across the land, inviting any and all creatures. Couriers had even found their way to Salamandastron, their new-found ally, and one squirrel had even taken it upon himself to travel south, in search of old friends who had travelled to Southsward last fall.

"Young Skipp" stood by a large drum, watching as a large crowd gathered. It was time to signal the start of the festivities. The grizzled otter motioned to Fogg, who raised his arms and beat enthusiastically on a large drum.

Booomboooombbddabboom.

As the echoes died away, Skipper spoke into the growing silence. "One year ago, we saw the freedom of Mossflower." He looked into the crowd, seeing a fox kit playing with an otter kit before both were shushed by their mothers. "Since then, we have seen the growth of Mosstown, and the restoration of Redwall Abbey! Today, we celebrate peace after many years of war... Welcome to the Hullaballoo!"

The otters cheered, joined by others as Skipper stepped down from the small stage. Now the season-long festival could truly begin.

[greek101]

Streamlilly really didn't want to be here. She didn't want to leave the 'safety' of the Abbey. She didn't want to be out where she knew there were creatures wanting her head, but she really didn't want to ruin the Hullaballoo for the rest of the creatures here.

But practically anybeast who was anybeast was going, most of the Abbey was going, and if she wanted to make a good impression on the creatures here, it would be better that she went.

So here Streamlilly was, wandering around the darker edges of the crowds among the trees, trying her best not to be in anybeast's way.

Streamlilly was really out of her comfort zone. She really didn't like big crowds, parties weren't her stung suit, she didn't have her weapons, and she really detested her clothing. She had been convinced that to set a good impression, she needed a change of wardrobe. So instead of her black leather outfit she wore a lavender cloth jerkin with some brown cloth platoons. She really hated how loose they clothes felt and how they seemed to make her tattoos stand out, but they were better than the dress that the others were trying to make her wear.

Wandering around the edge of the crowd, Streamlilly was trying to peer over the head of the crowd, they all seemed to be looking up at a stage of some sort.

Booomboooombbddabboom.

A drum? Streamlilly tried to peer over the crowd as they all quieted down. She couldn't see who it was, but some beast was standing on the stage prepared to talk.

"One year ago, we saw the freedom of Mossflower."

Skipper? Streamlilly wondered. Why did he stop talking? Everyone seemed to be looking at something that she couldn't see. Whatever it was it stopped quickly and Skipper continued.

"Since then, we have seen the growth of Mosstown, and the restoration of Redwall Abbey! Today, we celebrate peace after many years of war... Welcome to the Hullaballoo!"

The crowd cheered and slowly began to disperse. Streamlilly still stood awkwardly in the shadows of the trees. Yes, freedom. Streamlilly always felt a bit awkward when the other creatures began talking about the war. She hadn't experienced their war. She had been fighting a war by herself in her own world. They had their freedom. Streamlilly really didn't. Although she was away from the assassins for now, her tattoos never went away, and neither did the threat of being hunted.

But Streamlilly tried not to dwell on the fact. This was supposed to be a party right! You were happy at parties! Looking around she saw creatures dancing to music, playing games, drinking, eating, and chatting with friends they hadn't seen in years. It was a happy time! She was supposed to be happy!

While she was standing there, Streamlilly didn't notice the fact that a squirrel Dibbun was climbing the branch just above her head. She did notice him however when he suddenly landed on her shoulders.

"Ackk!" Streamlilly cried as the sudden weight hit her shoulders. Sure the babe didn't weigh much, but the sudden addition of his weight shocked her a bit. She stumbled about trying to find out who was on her.

"Stoppa movin' that way!" The little red squirrel babe chattered as he yanked hard on Streamlilly's ears.

"Ow, ow." Streamlilly felt the hard jerk on her ears and instinctively wobbled to the other side. "Who's up there? Ow, that hurts!"

"Likkle more..." The babe replied as he steered Streamlilly toward the left until Streamlilly's back slammed into a greased pole.

"Ewww....."Streamlilly muttered as she felt a slimy substance spill down the back of her shirt. The little squirrel babe took advantage of Streamlilly's pause in movement to grab the small bag of candied chestnuts that was attached to the top of the pole by standing on her head.

"Yumms!" The little babe replied as he settled back down on Streamlilly's shoulders, taking the reins on her ears once more. "Flicktail wants ta goes that way!"

"Whoa!" Streamlilly replied as she was yanked in another direction, bumping into many a creature as she was steered into the crowd. "Ow. Oh, sorry. Ooofff, Really sorry, ow. Okay, Flicktail or what ever your name is, can you get off please! Whooaaa!!!"

Streamlilly tripped over something and fell flat on her face. What she tripped over, she had no idea. All she knew was that Flicktail was still yanking at her ears as she spit out the clump of dirt that she caught in her mouth as she landed at somebeast's footpaws. Looking up nervously, Streamlilly struggled to identify who she had just run into with Flicktail jumping on the nape of her neck. "Letts ago! Flicktail no a want to stay here! Letss go!"

[Lucasaurusrex]

*OOC: Let's see what trouble Leaf Eye can get into now... And Rubbler. Is it ok if Rubbler is who Streamlilly crashed into? Rubbler has become less insane, not eating people, but still prefers to eat his meat raw, and gets insane in bad situations*

Rubbler winced as a young otter stepped on his foot. He saw she had a squirrel babe on her head, and chuckled, "Burr, you'm squirrely kit shant be h'on miz ottur's head. What ur you h'doin oop tere?" Rubbler plucked the babe up with one hand and placed him gently on the ground. "There'm yoo gu, little babe." Rubbler chuckled. He helped the young otter up, and patted the dirt off of her. "Oh, they'm babes h'always tryin' ta pluy. H'i hopem you'm is h'all roit."

Leaf Eye was just walking around the crowd. He had a scar where the branch had stabbed him, but it was not visible under his green cloak. He had been welcomed into Redwall, and had been living there, healing, and helping out all around. He had not gotten to know many animals, so he tried his best to integrate into the crowd. He saw no one to talk to, so continued stumbling about. He kept bumping into others, and stepping on feet. Where ever he went, a chorus of quick sorry's, pardon me's, and excuse me's followed. Eventually, he reached a food table, and recieved relief from the jostling dance floor. He poured himself some October Ail, hoping none of the others would notice. He had never tasted it before, being too young. He swallowed it, and held it in his mouth, tasting it.
He tasted nuts, of course. It was very rich, and a dark beer. Leaf Eye, not knowing what alcohol had tasted like, spit it out once he tasted it. Hopefully he hadn't spit on anyone. He poured himself the pink and foamy strawberry fizz, and gulped it thankfully. The taste of fizzy strawberry overpowered the alcohol, and he was thankful for that. He looked up, and realized he had spit on someone.

[Ivyrose]

Ivy had never been to a Hullabaloo before. As a matter of fact, no creature that wasn't a otter had ever been to a Hullabaloo before. She felt out of it, creatures she had never see before crowded the clearing. Never one to be particularly fond of beasts she didn't know, Ivy sought for a less crowded area. Creatures obscured her vision, and the noise from it all rang in her ears. Why did she leave Redwall? Where there were ones that she knew. Ugg... all this was making her claustrophobic.

Squeezing through rare gaps in the crowd, Ivy made her way to the edge of the clearing. Elbows jabbed into her ribs and her paws were trod on as she exited the great crowd. Spotting the refreshment table, Ivy made her way to it.

Maybe there were some friendly beasts to talk to there. She sure hoped so, even with all the crowd it felt lonely in a way.

Ivy spotted a squirrel and walked up to him. She wrinkled her nose as he picked up a cup of October Ale. Watching him take a gulp, she poured herself some Strawberry Fizz.

Ivy was shocked at what the squirrel did next. After tasting the ale, he spit the whole mouthful all over he footpaws. He didn't even look up to see where he spat. Ivy stared at her paws in surprise, jumping away from the spray. The squirrel poured himself some Strawberry Fizz then looked up to see her shocked face.

[Lucasaurusrex]

Leaf Eye blushed in embarresment. "Sorry... It was a bit... dark." "Is there anything I can do..?" he asked. He looked down and saw the horrible mess he had caused this poor squirrel. He grabbed some moss lining the table and wiped up his mess, all the while murmering, "Really sorry, won't happen again. I didn't expect the taste. I'm very sorry." He placed the damp moss back down upon the table, stretching the other mosses a bit longer to help cover up the damp one. He scuffled his feet on the ground, sheepishly saying, "I'm really sorry about that."

[greek101]

Streamlilly found herself looking up into the eyes of a older, very muscular, and battle worn mole. He looked very intimidating and Streamlilly was sure that he would be very angry after she tripped over his footpaw.

Looking back down a the ground, Streamlilly waited for the beating that she was sure was to come.

But it didn't....

"Burr, you'm squirrely kit shant be h'on miz ottur's head. What ur you h'doin oop tere?"

Flicktail twittered as he continued to pull on Streamlilly's ears. "Shea helped me get these chestnutters! Nows we a gonna go that way! Buts we got ta go!" He replied with a hard jerk on Streamlilly's ears.

Rubbler plucked the babe up with one hand and placed him gently on the ground. "There'm yoo gu, little babe."

"Awww.." Flicktail muttered to himself as he was put on the ground. "Moler be no fun..." Suddenly his little ears twitched as he heard a new song start to play by the little band that was playing on the stage. "EEEEEEeeee!!! Da squrrriely twirl!!" Flicktail rushed off as quick as a a flick of a squirrel's tail.

He helped the young otter up, and patted the dirt off of her. "Oh, they'm babes h'always tryin' ta pluy. H'i hopem you'm is h'all roit."

Nervously Streamlilly smiled. "Oh, yes...I'm, I'm all right." Reaching a paw to her neck and pulling it back to reveal it covered in slime, Streamlilly shuttered a bit. "Sticky, but in one peice.."Looking down and away she continued. "I hope I didn't hurt your footpaw sir, I didn't mean to run into you..."

[Ivyrose]

"Sorry... It was a bit... dark. Is there anything I can do..?"

Pulling out a cloth from beneath her tunic, Ivy joined the other squirrel in mopping the mess up. The fact that there was ale all over her footpaws didn't trouble her. Growing up in the forest makes a creature less fussy about messes.

"It's all right. Accidents happen. Don't fret, I'm fine." After wiping all the ail her cloth could hold, Ivy sought out a source of water to wash it in. Searching around the refreshment table, she grabbed a jug of water and poured it over the fabric. Once it was clean, Ivy resumed scrubbing.

"Really sorry, won't happen again. I didn't expect the taste. I'm very sorry.

"It's all right," she repeated. "It happens all the time." Even though incidents in which one squirrel spits ale one another isn't exactly common, the statement might calm the squirrel's nerves.

I'm really sorry about that."

Ignoring his last apology, Ivy wiped her paws on her tunic. Stowing her cloth away, she greeted him warmly. "Okay, now that that is over," Ivy nodded toward the remnants of the spilled ale, "My name's Ivyrose. You can call me Ivy."

[Lucasaurusrex]

Rubbler chuckled, "Oh, Oi'm been h'in steecky'r siduations tehn that. Oh, Oi'm wunt bother you's h'with moi old tails. They'm happen lung h'ago." He stared off above the otters shoulder, remembering back to that day. So many bees... "I haters bee's..." he murmered more to himself then the otter. One of his eyes glinted red, but turned back blue as he stopped thinking about bees. "Oh, h'I've ben awful unpoliteful. H'I nud tu intradace meself. H'oim Rubbler, doant a'member anee lost naime. Hoiw aboot h'your nam?"

Leaf Eye replied, "My name's Leaf Eye, you can call me Leaf. Nice to meet you Ivy."

[greek101]

Rubbler chuckled, "Oh, Oi'm been h'in steecky'r siduations tehn that. Oh, Oi'm wunt bother you's h'with moi old tails. They'm happen lung h'ago."

Streamlilly tried to give the mole a week smile, but he wasn't paying attention. He was looking over her shoulder, lost in his memories. This wouldn't have worried Streamlilly so much, but the longer the mole stayed that way, the redder one of his eyes got.

"I haters bee's..."

Streamlilly tensed, preparing herself for if the memory's power was too strong for the mole. She didn't want to cause a ruckus or injure this mole in anyway, but if he was going into bloodwrath, they might have a problem.

However, it didn't seem like she was going to have an issue as the mole's eye slowly went back to it's original color.

"Oh, h'I've ben awful unpoliteful. H'I nud tu intradace meself. H'oim Rubbler, doant a'member anee lost naime. Hoiw aboot h'your nam?"

Trying to relax, Streamlilly forced a week smile. "No, you aren't being impolite sir, I was. I'm Streamlilly." She said nodding her had a bit.

[Ivyrose]

"My name's Leaf Eye, you can call me Leaf. Nice to meet you Ivy."

"Nice to meet you too Leaf," Ivy replied. Her eyes ventured to the treetop, swaying in the breeze. Songbirds sang their sweet songs and a crow cawed in the distance. Was it a crow or a raven? Ivy thought. It seemed to far away to be a bother, though, and she tried to ignore it. Ivy regretted leaving her bow and arrows back at Redwall. Even though they might scare creatures, they made her feel secure.

Shacking her head as is to banish her thoughts, Ivy's attention snapped back to Leaf. Flicking her tail, Ivy spoke, "So what brings you to the Hullaballoo on this fine evening?"

[Enon // SoMtW]

Long seasons ago, a one-eyed squirrel had left Mossflower country, and traveled south. She was hesitant, and walked slowly, often stumbling on unseen or misjudged hazards in her path. Walking beside her, patient through her trials and quietly taking her impatient tirades and turning them away, was her friend. They didn't speak of feelings, then. Feelings were foreign to the black squirrel, and the brown one was content to leave them as they were.

They had spent several seasons in the land of Brush's birth, hosted by his parents, the king and queen of Southsward. Enon had mellowed, though she was still prickly and brash, she learned to get along in the elegant courts of the south, and had even been coaxed into wearing dresses at times. Too often for her taste, but the look in Brush's eyes when he saw her in them made her feel special, so she bore them.

However, both had been itching to travel again when a squirrel arrived to invite them back to Mossflower. Enon had joyfully put her traveling tunic back on, only feeling slightly hesitant about leaving. This time she walked with her old swift grace, her confidence returned. Nothing could stop her now.

The black squirrel reached for Brush's paw, tugging him through the crowd to watch an archery contest. Her thumb tapped against the staff in her other paw as she watched wistfully.

[Lucasaurusrex]

Leaf Eye smiled, "Eh, didn't have much else to do. Anyways, I needed to get out of the red castle. I'm not used to being stuck in one place for so long. I needed to get out in the woods, and be free with the birds and the trees." At this Leaf Eye sighed. He continued, staring at a raven, "I envy the birds. They have the freedom of the sky, where here we are stuck to land. When I'm older, I'm going to fly. Somehow, I'll do it." Leaf Eye looked at the ground, hoping she would not laugh like everyone else he had told. He had stopped sharing his dream after everyone kept calling him Feather Head...
Back at the other side of the party, Rubbler responded to the otter, "Strem Leeli. H'thats'a vury noice name. 'Ave you eevur seen a strem leeli? H'they'mre very noice.

[greek101]

Back at the other side of the party, Rubbler responded to the otter, "Strem Leeli. H'thats'a vury noice name. 'Ave you eevur seen a strem leeli? H'they'mre very noice.

Streamlilly looked down at the ground. Streamlilly, yes, it was her nice name. The name she was born with, but the one that is still so strange to her.

Trying to remain relaxed and keep on Rubbler's good side, she swished her rudder on the ground. "Ummm...Yes, I have seen a stream lilly before. Yes, they are very pretty flowers...."

What she said was not a lie. Streamlilly had seen an actual stream lilly before, she remembered her father bringing one home one day. It was a beautiful white flower. Her mother had placed it in a bowl of water and put it on the table. It stayed there for almost a complete season it seemed like.

But the memory hurt, it hurt a lot. Pushing the thought out of her mind, she looked around, trying to keep her thoughts busy on something, anything else. Unfortunately, as she looked around, Streamlilly was lost among a mass of faces. She didn't know anyone that she could see, wait ... no ...

The black furred squirrel! Her guide! What was her name.... Engh... Enn... Enon! That was it! Tirael mentioned her name a couple of times!

"Oh, there is a friend of mine." Streamlilly said to Rubbler. "Enon!" She called out with a wave. It wasn't that she hated Rubbler or wanted to be rid of him, she simply wanted more company that she knew wouldn't be triggered emotionally by a single word and could possibly cause a commotion.

[Django]

((Sorry. I hope this isn't double posting! I had to delete my last post because of some big mistakes. [Sorry, Ivy!] so, if you have to delete this one, too, I'd understand.))

Django loved parties. Or he did now, anyway. Living with his father in the woods made for few and far-between parties with two guests maximum. But this Hullabaloo was amazing. So many beasts gathered in one place, enjoying each other's company . . . it was pure bliss to the young spotted mouse. The sound of the drums was still ringing in his ears as he weaved through the crowd, chatting with a few beasts he knew. He generally kept to himself, though, simply wanting to drink in the flow of excited energy emanating from everyone around him.

Soon, however, he needed a real drink, and he located the refreshment table, breaking off an engaging conversation with a dibbun about the tastiness of candied chestnuts versus fruit tarts. The talk had made him hungry, so he'd probably get a snack, as well. As he filled a cup, he noticed two squirrels chatting nearby and smiled. More beasts enjoying the Hullabaloo.

So absorbed was he in getting a drink and enjoying the atmosphere that he didn't realize someone coming up behind him. His or her elbow rammed into the spotted mouse's ribs, causing him to topple onto the table and spill the entire contents of his drink on the ground on the opposite side of the table. He dropped his empty cup and reeled back, gazing in shock at the unrecognizeable creamy confection that now covered his green tunic.

"Oi, can't a mouse get a snack without wearing it?" he shouted, half-joking. He was in too good of a mood to truly be mad. He turned around to find the beast who'd bumped him, shedding his outer tunic and hoping his white undershirt would not suffer a similar fate.

[Tirael]

In a way, it almost felt like the Hullabaloo had been thrown just for Brush and Enon. He certainly thought it was a great welcome back to Mossflower; after all the enforced refinement of Castle Floret, he'd been eager for some more casual fun. This festival certainly fit the bill--even after all the wandering he'd done, he'd never seen so many things to do in one place. It was almost paralyzing, the amount of choices they had of what to do.

"Enon!"

If he hadn't been jostled slightly a moment beforehand, Brush might not have even picked up the call amidst all the other noise of the crowd. As it was, he'd been enraptured in his own thoughts, as Enon apparently was with the archery contest--she didn't seem to have noticed. Laying a paw on her shoulder, he said, "Enon, some otter's calling you. You know her?" The otter obviously knew Enon, whoever she was.