Housepets!

Hlaoroo wrote: Edlyn looks at the white viexn.
"Precious little, Sara. There were a few scraps of cloth, the clothes you were wearing, some bits of wood and a broken sword. We kept them all for you. I can show you them if you like."

"oh yes!" Sara's ears perked up, as the rest of the vixen almost jumped in excitement at the mention of the broken sword
"oh, erm, forgive me, mam. But I, erm, I would like to see them again" she muttered , face reddened from the embarrassment that was her childish reaction .

"I hope so, Owain." Brum answers, returning the mouse's hug. She finds it surprisingly comfortable, enjoying the feel of his lean body, firm but gentle and surprisingly tender, and his heart thudding in his chest so close to hers, and this close to the mouse she finds his scent to be somewhat heady. She pulls away from him after what was perhaps slightly longer than the hug needed to be and then looks around at the group.
"Well, we've dallied long enough. We should keep moving. We've still a long way to go if we're to make Appleford by nightfall."

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"Then see them you shall. Would you like them brought here or would you prefer to see them somewhere private?" the elderly mouse smiles at the vixen's exuberance.

Owain nodded after Brum spoke and, still feeling the Squirrel's warmth against his chest, he rose. "Best gi' th' cert a look ov'r." So saying, he checked the vehicle over, looking for damage and finding none as Peter returned from his game and the group made ready for the off.

"well" Sara whispered while slightly glance toward the bat who was with them, hoping he didn't notice "If I may, perhaps somewhere private would better" she said cautiously

"Of course." The abbess discretely excuses herself and Sarah from the bat, leaving him in the care of an older but still sturdy-looking mouse wearing the brown habit of an abbey elder who goes by the name of Brother Anyed.

Edlyn leads Sarah into the gatehouse and invites her to seat herself at the table while she opens a draw and pulls out a small bundle.
"Everything there, including the cloths and clothes is what we found on you when you were brought in, the sole exception being the twine we used to hold everything together. Would you like some time alone to open it or would you prefer some company?"

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Brum takes up position at the front of the cart with Rhys. "All right. Let's go. Owain, you're riding now like you promised. I won't take no for an answer because we'll need your paws working later on."

Despite himself, Owain conceded to his deal and got up on the cart to ride some of the way. He wondered about the suspension under his backside as the vehicle shifted over stones and into shallow holes in the track where rain had eroded the top. He watched Peter on the bow and arrow and showed the boy how to concentrate on drawing back for power. Without being able to fire the arrows there was little point in trying to go for accuracy. So power seemed the way to go.

After a short while Owain returned to scanning the forest as they went. Some of the tales he'd heard in the last few weeks before the Abbey spoke of creatures like the anweledig llwynogod* of the Marl. If it was his skill versus theirs he needed his full attention on them.

*invisible Foxes

Hlaoroo wrote:"Of course." The abbess discretely excuses herself and Sarah from the bat, leaving him in the care of an older but still sturdy-looking mouse wearing the brown habit of an abbey elder who goes by the name of Brother Anyed.

Edlyn leads Sarah into the gatehouse and invites her to seat herself at the table while she opens a draw and pulls out a small bundle.
"Everything there, including the cloths and clothes is what we found on you when you were brought in, the sole exception being the twine we used to hold everything together. Would you like some time alone to open it or would you prefer some company?"

"well.........some company would be nice" Sara smiled , eyeing the bundle with anticipation

"'Old up a mo," Owain said from the cart as they passed through a small clearing. The grass was growing long here and dry, the last rain having been a week ago. He dropped off the cart and started to examine some of the grasses and bushes on the edge. "Summat 'appen'd yere, wythnos... uh... week back'r so?" he said, showing them some snapped twigs. "Someone were scar'd 'nuff t'go through th' bush rather'n take th' path. Ah." He smiled slightly and reached deep into the bush. "Awch," he said, small cuts visible on his arm as he pulled a small clump of dirty white fur from the bush. "Answers th' who, eh?"

"Of course." Edlyn smiles, sitting at the small table with Sarah and sliding the package across to her.

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"Hmm. Any chance whoever was doing the chasing is still here, Owain?" Brum queries.

Owain took a breath and looked around. "Don' think so," he said, heading back to the cart as Peter looked through the bags for a salve, which he handed to Brum. "There's wat'r off away but no real berries for food. If'n anyone stayed yere, it'd be more t'ward the water." The greyfurred mouse, replete with little red trails of cuts along his ams, pulled himself back into th cart before they got back on their way.

With both eagerness and apprehension, Sara gently opened the bundle, revealing just as the old mouse said, a few pieces or worn cloths , the torn clothes on her back when she ran away, and among those, a hilt of a broken sword, its handle ornated with gold and silver details, running along up to what's left of its blade, as pure and dark and the moonless night.
Though clearly nervous, the vixen gently runs her palm along the sword, and a relieved smile shown in her distant eyes.

"All right. We'd best keep moving then." Surrendering her position to Calder, Brum hops onto the moving cart with the jar of salve and begins tending Owain's wounds.
"Tsk tsk. First your footpaws, now your arms. Pretty soon there'll be no room left on you for any new bandages." she teases the mouse gently as she works.

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Edlyn waits patiently. She watches the fox's expressions with interest but says nothing, not wanting to interrupt any memories that might be coming back to the vixen.

"Ni ellir ei teithiwr heb gael ychydig o doriadau." Owain said, before realising the others had no clue what he was saying. "Can' be a teithiwr...trav'ller wi'out gettin' a few cuts as me mam used t' say." He let Brum get on with it. She seemed to know what she was doing.

Kelly, noticing the mouse and Fox moving inside, decided to easily give the people watching him the slip... by flying to the other side of the abbey. He was still weary of the Fox, and the way she acted, it seemed almost like she did have a dark and sordid past of some kind. He used his keen hearing to listen for the distinct speech patterns or even heartbeat of the Fox in question, and eventually spotted them through a window. At which point he slips under it to easily listen in to what was going on inside.

"Thank you" Sara smiled brightly "As frightening as this blade is to me, the thought of never seeing it again horrifies me beyond word as well"

"You're welcome." smiles the Abbess. "Does the blade mean something to you then?" she queries, sounding interested.

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"Aye, but nor can you be a traveller if you're sorely wounded or feverish from infection." Brum replies.
"There. That should do it. How does it feel? I didn't do the bandages too tightly, did I?"

"I believe so mam" Sara replied "Though I don't know what exactly it is, there's something about this blade that feels familiar to me, like......an acquaintance, and......well, no it's nothing" she stopped mid sentence, smiling and shaking her head.

Owain checked, testing and flexing his arm as they went. "Tight bu' should be," he said appreciatively. "Sist'r Ev'lyn'd be proud of you, bach," he added, giving her a smile.

"I doubt it's nothing, child. In a situatino like this I believe it's best to follow every trail of thought to their ends no matter where they may take you. But these are your own personal thoughts and memories so I'll not ask nor expect you to tell me anything. Do the clothes or those bits of wood mean anything to you?" The abbess looks up and out the window as thunder rolls in the distance.
"It sounds like a storm is on the way. We ought to head for the abbey before it arrives. Unless you'd rather wait out the rain in here?"

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"Heh. Thanks." Brum smiles, packing away the supplies and rinsing her paws with a bit of water from a flask. She blinks and shakes her head a a droplet bounces off her nose and looks up in time to see a flash of light above the cart.
"Oh lovel-" KABOOM!
"A summer storm. Just what we need to ease the going."

"How far from Appl'f'rd is we, M'Cariad," Owain asked as the rain came down. "Might need t' find cov'r."

Hlaoroo wrote:"I doubt it's nothing, child. In a situatino like this I believe it's best to follow every trail of thought to their ends no matter where they may take you. But these are your own personal thoughts and memories so I'll not ask nor expect you to tell me anything. Do the clothes or those bits of wood mean anything to you?" The abbess looks up and out the window as thunder rolls in the distance.
"It sounds like a storm is on the way. We ought to head for the abbey before it arrives. Unless you'd rather wait out the rain in here?"

"Going back would be fine with me mam." Sara replied happily"Though, may I keep these by my side?"

"I'm not sure exactly... A couple of hours maybe? Can't be too far. I think we should stop and wait out the storm though. There's a tarpaulin and ropes in the cart so we can rig up a tent." Brum answers, raising her voice slightly to be heard over a sudden gust of wind.

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Edlyn ponders for a brief moment. "All right. No one will say a broken hilt is a weapon. You may bring them with you." Standing up, he crosses the short distance to the door.
"Are you ready to go?" Out on the lawn, older creatures are already endeavouring to herd dibbuns through the big doors into the abbey.

"Re'kon y' might be right, M'Cariad," Owain replied, shifting off the cart and down to the floor to assist Peter and Brum in the setting up of the tent in the lee of the trees. "Few days back, told short version've the time a Fox sav'd me," he said, fixing the rope to one of the mooring stakes in the ground. "C'n tell it in full if'n you wants, whilst we wait?" He dealt with another rope as Peter drove another stake into the ground.

"yes mam, of course!" Sara said energeticall, hastily wraping up the hilt and other things back and carried everything in her arms as she headed toward the door

"Might as well to pass the time. Should we get a small fire going to dry us out?"

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Edlyn smiles as she ushers Sara out and across the lawn, pausing to help round up a few stray dibbuns before the rain hits. Just as she steps through the doors into the hall the rain arrives, flattening the grass and turning Rudy's fresh dug veggie patch to mud. The doors are shut behind the abbess and the fox, barring the rain from the warm interior of the Great Hall lit by a fire roaring in the fireplace and torches flickering in brackets on the wall. Rain hammers on the stained glass windows and streaks of lightning illuminate the stern yet kind mouse on the ornate tapestry on the wall with variegated light.
"This is turning into quite the storm!" Edlyn opines. "It's been a while since we've had a big one. Does anyone know a good story to distract us from the gloomy weather outside?"

"Jus' a small'un," Owain nodded. "an' some wat'r t' put it out if needed." He made a very small fire out of the worst of the wind and kept some wood dry for later before he began, sitting himself next to Brum and Peter.

“It were th’ prynhawn... uh, aft’rnoon o’ a mornin’ like this,” Owain said, indicating the rain outside, “an I were dyin’. A Gwenci... uhm, sorta like a tall, riv’r Ferret ((Weasel)) call’d Glandow’r’d been makin’ a bad name f’r ‘imself near a village call’d Rhiwabon an’ me?” Owain grinned with embarrassment. “I were young, bold. Stupid. I says I’ll deal wi’ ‘im an’ ‘is gang. No plan, no tactic, jus’ deal wi’ ‘em. So I go where ‘e’s known t’ rob’n kill ‘is targets. This is not long aft’r I found m’village gone y’see? Wasn’ sure on th’ I was still ‘ere for. Anyhow, we meets. We fights. I make sure ‘is last victim’s gonna be me, see? But, as ‘m there, bleedin’ on th’ baw... dirt, losin’ m’sight...” He sighed. “D’cided I di’n’t wanna die. Di’n’t reckon I ‘ad much choice, like, though. ‘Specially as the only face tha’ showed in m’ wat’ry an’ filthy eyes were Oren, y’know? Like tha' fruit I mention'd? 'S a vermin as he's put it. A Fox. I comes ‘round an’ I’m in a cave inna woods. M’ wound’s bound – y’ c’n see it if’n y’want?” He pulled up the side of his tunic and a scar can be seen on his side where a sword has gone point in. Peter made a sound. It sounded exactly like ‘yuk’. “An’ ol’ llwynog... uh, Fox, steps forward an calls’ ‘imself Geraint. ‘E must see ‘ow I’m backin’ off as ‘e chuckles and says ‘ow I’d never ‘ave woken if ‘e’d want’d to eat me an’ ‘e wouldn’t’ve wait’d three days t’ do it neith’r. 'e said ‘e’d trav’ll’d all th’ pathways a beast could an’ ‘e’d come to an dealltwriaeth... uh, way of thinkin’? ‘e leans in close, lettin’ me see ‘is eyes an’ says it. Nature, ‘e says whilst finishin’ off ‘is food – tha’ looks a lot like a certain long Rat, nature is a tyrant. Then ‘e sits back. I ask ‘ow I’m still alive an’ ‘e says ‘e’s used some ‘erbs and mosses an’ powd’rs from places ‘e’s been an’ smiles an ‘orrible smile full o’ teeth as ‘e says ‘e knows it odd, a Vermin what ‘eals bu’ ‘e’s at peace. Still needin’ time, ‘e says, t get me blood back I can’t trav’l so ‘e keeps me there, ‘elpin’ me back t’ life. An’ I notice some days where ‘e goes out an’ comes back... wi’ bruises. Or ‘e can’t sit prop’r. Each time I ask ‘e says it’s not m’trouble. I got t’ r’cov’r.” Owain sighed. “One da’ I follow ‘im. Down to ‘river. ‘E sits there, fishin’. An’ three loc’l lads, Dau... two Badg’rs an’ a Mouse come up. Ask if’n ‘e’s not learnt from th’ las’ time. Not learnt tha’ ‘e’s no’ welcome there. ‘E says nothin’, even when they say some foul things ‘bout Foxes.” Another sigh. “E’en when they take th’ pieces’f wood. E'en when they ‘its ‘im. ‘E does nothin’. ‘Cept say ‘e unnerstans and forgives. They ‘it ‘im again. An' again. Tha’s when I ‘eaded down, sent ‘em packin’ wi' their faces bruis'd an tails 'tween their legs.

"Geraint wasn’t ‘appy. Not at all. ‘E grabb’d me an’ ‘auled me back t’the cave sayin’ if I could fight I ‘ad to be able t’ travel so’s I could. ‘E said ‘e couldn’t save me from my nature like ‘e was tryin’ wi’ them boys. ‘E said they would’ve got bored’ve it, ‘itting ‘im all the time wi’out ‘im reactin’, see? An’ they’d stop. Nature t’ ‘urt might change to that of nature t’ ‘eal, like it ‘ad with ‘im. But MY nature, ‘e said, was to always put m’sel’ b’tween innoc’nt an’ ‘arm. I can’t ‘elp it. An’ that, ‘e says, is why Nature’s a tyrant. It tells us ev’rythin’ we’re gonna do an’ lets us ‘ave no choice. A fight’r ‘as t’ fight. A vermin gotta be Vermin, an abbad.. gotta be an Abbot. Nature commands. An’ nothin’ll e’er change unless y’d’feat yer own nature,” Owain looked to Brum. “What you think’ve that, Brum, M’Cariad?”

Sara quickly followed everyone inside, just enough to have a few rain drops to hit her on the way in. As the door closed behind them, the vixen wondered if the stranger she met earlier made it inside, or if she really wanted to be in the talking distance with him again. Regardless, she found what she thought was gone for good , so that's great!
Without even meaning to, the vixen found herself smiling sheepishly at the hilt again, while leaning against a corner of the wall.

"I think it's horrid. Why would three woodlanders attack an innocent creature?" Brum asks. "I think you make a good point though. It's certainly easier to follow the path that appears made for us than to forge our own. But I think forging one's own path can be a good way to show individuality and at times strength of character." The squirrel peers out from under the tent at the churning tree tops for a moment before pulling her head back in.
"Well, I don't think we'll get much further tonight. We might as well make ourselves comfortable here." she opines.

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There's a few moments silence when no one comes forward with a story before a mole puts his paw up.
"Beggin' 'ee pardon, zurrs an' marms. But if'n nobeast 'as a story loike, then why don't we'm be 'avin' a riddle contest? We'm b'ain't 'ad one o' those fer a gurt long toime, no we 'aven't."
"A riddle contest! A wonderful idea! What would we do without good old mole logic?" Edlyn smiles. "Standard rules, I think. Who'd like to answer the first riddle?" A chorus of "Me!"s and raised paws arises from the dibbuns gathered around.
"Now, now, everyone. I think it only polite that our guests should have the opportunity go first, don't you?" This suggestion is met by a chorus of "Yes, Mother Abbess!" from the dibbuns who look eagerly around to see who the guests are.
"Sara, why don't you come closer to the fire and the warmth?" Edlyn invites. "Would you like to answer the first riddle?"

"'S'fear, Brum bach," Owain said, looking out of the flap. "When they's told they needs t' fear summat an' meet one that don't make them 'fraid?" He shrugged. "They 'ad the pow'r an' didn't know th' responsible way t' use it. Think their folks gave 'em wha fer." He gave Brum a smile. "An' yer right 'bout stayin'. Soakin' out there."

Hlaoroo wrote: There's a few moments silence when no one comes forward with a story before a mole puts his paw up.
"Beggin' 'ee pardon, zurrs an' marms. But if'n nobeast 'as a story loike, then why don't we'm be 'avin' a riddle contest? We'm b'ain't 'ad one o' those fer a gurt long toime, no we 'aven't."
"A riddle contest! A wonderful idea! What would we do without good old mole logic?" Edlyn smiles. "Standard rules, I think. Who'd like to answer the first riddle?" A chorus of "Me!"s and raised paws arises from the dibbuns gathered around.
"Now, now, everyone. I think it only polite that our guests should have the opportunity go first, don't you?" This suggestion is met by a chorus of "Yes, Mother Abbess!" from the dibbuns who look eagerly around to see who the guests are.
"Sara, why don't you come closer to the fire and the warmth?" Edlyn invites. "Would you like to answer the first riddle?"

"oh erm...." Sara was surprised when her name was called , not expecting to be invited into anything with others, still , she gave a smile and approached the fire "I.....I don't know if I could, I don't know much , well, about anything" she said sheepishly.

"Fear... It's a powerful driver... And the only way to combat it is education. Creatures fear what they don't understand... Fortunately there are other motivations equally as strong. Love. Friendship. Kinship. Vermin, slavers, they don't understand these. They understand only greed and fear. But without understanding love, friendship and kinship they can't appreciate what they have. It doesn't satisfy them and they want more. And their need for more and fear of losing what they have turns into desperation and serves only to increase the cruelty to which they're willing to subject innocent creatures to maintain or increase their position and their hold on what they have." Brum observes wisely, staring at the flames.
"What I don't understand is why. Why do they go so wrong in the first place? No one is born hating. Every creature is born innocent and ignorant of the world. So why do their parents who raise them perpetuate the greed and the fear by instilling it in their young? Is it, like you said, because of their nature? Because of how they were raised? And if that's the case, can we change their nature and break the cycle?"

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"It's okay. That's part of the fun of riddles. Learning new things and looking at things in new ways. Would you like to give it a try? No one will think any less of you if you don't get the answer. Or if you decide not to participate. It's entirely up to you."

Owain put an arm around Brum's shoulders and gave her a slinght hug of reassurance. "'S on a lotta newidynnau... uh, um... things, M'Cariad," he told them, "Parents'r only part've it. What they sees and does is there too. Bu' th' parents - the good'uns like you'd be - try t' show that violence is an answ'r if'n needed bu' nev'r th' one t' look fer. An' things CAN change." He chuckled. "Look a' me. Few days back I were a wand'rer. Jus' a trav'ller. Now? Thinkin' I got a place." He showed her half a grin as Peter set about getting provisions out.

"erm , well" Sara smiled sheepishly as she sat down closer to everyone else "I'll try me best"

"All right. Good luck! So, Sara, tall I am young, short I am old. What am I?"

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"Yes, but that's not quite the same as changing from being a slaver or murderer to being a good creature." Brum points out. "But I'm glad you've decided to call our abbey home." she smiles. "If you went wandering without me I think I'd miss you and your funny accent."

At that, Owain laughed brightly, sitting back and playfully slapping Brums' arm. "Bu' Brum, bach," he said between guffaws, "my accent's norm'l. 'S ev'ry'un else talks odd!" He concentrated and tried a local accent, failing to get anywhere near it as he said "People do talk like this, do they?" Drawing it out to make sure he used all the letters.

Now it's Brum's turn to laugh.
"Only when they're drunk. Owain! Only when they're drunk!" she teases. "Say, Owain? Could you teach me some of your language please? It's sounds really pretty and I'd like to know more about it."

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"Correct! Well done!" The abbess looks at the next riddle on the scroll that's been given to her and addresses it to the next creature in line. Soon the room is divided in two - those who solved their riddles correctly on one side and those who'd gotten them wrong or given up on the other to watch the fun. Before long it's Sara's turn again.
"Round two, Sara. It's a trickier one this time. You own it but rarely use it, yet other creatures use it frequently. What is is? Um, bluh. Sorry, my mouth is getting dry. Ah, thanks Skipper!" The abbess takes a swig from a goblet of elderberry cordial that the otter has passed her.
"Let me try that again. Sara. You own it, but rarely use it, yet other creatures use it frequently. What is it?"

Owain sat back for a moment and thought. "Gallaf bob amser yn ceisio, ond yr wyf nad oes unrhyw athro m'cariad. I c'n try but I'm no teach'r, m'cariad." He shifted forward slightly. "Mae'r rhain dyddiau diwethaf, gyda chi, wedi bod yn y gorau o fy mywyd. Yr ydych yn werth mwy na'r holl thywysogesau yn yr holl deyrnasoedd Rwyf wedi teithio. Rwy'n dy garu di.*" He took a breath. "Bas'c'lly it says 'ow, in all me wand'rings, I've only recently found true worth. True value." He looked her in the eye. "Said 'ow tha' made me feel. So... o'd we start?"

((*These last few days, with you, have been the greatest of my life. You are worth more than all the princesses in all the kingdoms I have travelled. I love you.))

Hlaoroo wrote: "Correct! Well done!" The abbess looks at the next riddle on the scroll that's been given to her and addresses it to the next creature in line. Soon the room is divided in two - those who solved their riddles correctly on one side and those who'd gotten them wrong or given up on the other to watch the fun. Before long it's Sara's turn again.
"Round two, Sara. It's a trickier one this time. You own it but rarely use it, yet other creatures use it frequently. What is is? Um, bluh. Sorry, my mouth is getting dry. Ah, thanks Skipper!" The abbess takes a swig from a goblet of elderberry cordial that the otter has passed her.
"Let me try that again. Sara. You own it, but rarely use it, yet other creatures use it frequently. What is it?"

"it's erm....." Sara thought long and hard about the riddle. She didn't have much at all, let alone something that she can give someone else to use more than she needed it. she was about to give up when it came to her
"it's..........my.........name ?"

"Well, I already know 'hello' is 'bore da', right? So how about 'how are you?' and 'I'm fine.' and things like that?" the squirrel suggests.

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"Correct again! You're good at this, Sara!" Another round of riddles thins the crowd again until there's just a few creatures left standing.
"Get this one right, Sara, and you may be in the running to win this contest." Edlyn smiles.
"What can you break simply by saying it's name?"