Coping with senility

[Rasthur Grassrunner]

How Rasthur had ended up in the cellars during his many strolls(Rants, to be more accurate), around the Abbey was anyone's guess. He had his paw along the wall as he so often did and was mapping the area as best he could; every nook, cranny, depression, scratch or the slightest change of texture was a landmark for the grey fox.

Even the sudden drop in noise levels went unnoticed by him, all he could hear was the steady stream of rants that he mumbled aloud as if there was someone who really had the time to hear him out. The air was cooler and he could feel the sandstones tell a different story about this area. Rasthur furrowed his brow quickly, this couldn't be right, last he checked, winter wasn't due for a while...Come to think of it, what was this wall doing out in the Gardens? His paw should have met with shrubbery by now. The fox sniffed the old stale air, this certainly wasn't what he was after, never in his life had he inhaled such an unpleasant breath. And he had been present at a tribal bonfire after a raid.

"Blasted Abbey...No structure..." The rants weakened, or at least even Rasthur had tired of his own senility. None the less, he continued his pace, his makeshift walking stick had yet to find any obstructions and his paw still had the wall; Never mind the fact that he couldn't recognise some of the marks that he felt, it was probably one of the many side effects that came with age.

Wood...A grey paw met with old ashen wood. Metal...Tree's don't have metal...Do they? The world that he once could see must have changed drastically whilst he had been deprived of his sight. Whiskers twitched and a small wry smile developed, there was something with a sweet scent down here, something he had yet to become fully accustomed too.
"Ales...Cordials..." Rasthur smirked to himself, of course he knew where he was going.

[Rocky]

Rocky was feeling an urge for a drink. The young male otter decided to travel down to the cellars. He wanted to try some alcohol, even though he was too young. He trudged over to where the wines were kept. He peered left and right. He grabbed a cup that was close by.... Odd. He uncorked the barrel, and the smooth red liquid quickly filled his cup. HE sipped it. "Good..." He said. He walked back, still drinking the wine. As he was walking, he heard faint rants. He decided to check it out. He followed the sound until they grew louder. Soon, in front of him, was a greying fox, walking. Looks like he was lost. Rocky walked over to him. He put the liquid on the ground. "Heyya Rasthur!" He ran over and clapped him on the back. "How ye doin'? Ye lost?"

[Rasthur Grassrunner]

The fox stiffened, he was not used to such physical contact without the intention of causing pain. He nearly snarled at the one whom had dared to cause him to drop his train of thought, he would have to start his rant all over again to find his place.
Ye lost? Rasthur snorted lightly, lost, indeed! What a ridiculous notion! How could he be lost? He knew his way around, he didn't need help from anyone, the cracks and textures were his map and his paws were his eyes. What else could he possibly need?

Of course, the otter had reason to believe that, he was after all, blind and had never even seen the Abbey, all he had was his rather limited imagination which failed to produce a little more then a wall with a darkened red hue. The blackened cloth which concealed his eyes creased slightly into a frown, he was going to tell this upstart otter just how lost he really was...But his whiskers twitched again, slowly at first, but it became increasingly noticeable.

That aroma... He could smell it much more clearly now, it was apparent on the river-dog's breath,
"Nevermind that, wot're ye drinkin' lad?" He almost snapped in reply, it was only with a quick reminder and a bite to his tongue that he remembered he was trying to conform with these Abbeybeasts, no matter how odd their mannerisms and traditions may appear.

[Rocky]

Rocky was completely caught off guard. "Er... Wot I been drinkin'..." He muttered. Rocky tried to conceal his breath. He wasn't against going to another barrel and drinking ale, but that would tip of Rasthur that he'd been drinking something. Rocky looked left and right, then at his feet. "I...er..." Rocky didn't know if he should tell Rasthur. Since the wine he drank tasted somewhat of rasberry flavored, Rocky lied to the blind fox. "I... I've been drinking rasberry cordial... Sir..." Rocky then smacked himself in the head. The cellarhog doesn't brew rasberry cordial! Only Strawberry and some others! Rocky knew he'd be compromised. Maybe Rasthur would believe the 'rasberry cordial' line. Rocky looked at Rasthur, taking a slight step back.

[William]

(Room for one more?)

But neither of them seemed to notice as William silently stole into the cellars behind them. Breathing the cool air deeply Will smiled. Grabbing a mug off one of the barrels he poured himself some red wine. Smiling he wafted the liquid and sighed. Redwall wine always made him feel relaxed. Weaving his way through the halls of barrels he stopped as he heard voices. Wondering if he'd be followed he slowly crept his way toward the voices. One he could recognize as Rasthur, it was impossible to mistake that foxes voice, the other sounded pretty worried. Peaking out from behind a low barrel Will surveyed the scene. Smiling slightly he stepped out as slowly as he could behind Rock, standing just behind him, holding his mug with a smile.

[Rocky]

(The more the merrier!


Rocky took another step back and he bumped into William. He closed his eyes tight. He turned sharply and stared at William. "Oh... Sorry, William... Hope I didn't spill your--" He stared back at Rasthru "--wine..." Rocky smirked. Man! He can't keep his mouth closed! Now everyone's gonna know his secret. He tried to get Rasthur's mind off of what Rocky drank, so he changed the subject. "Rasthur! Look who's here! William!" HE said. He backed up a step so he was next to William. "How goes it, Will?"

[Rasthur Grassrunner]

((Yes indeedy.))

"Raspberry cordial?" Rasthur wasn't really sure of what to make of the notion or whether or not the young otter was lying to him; bluntly put, he really didn't care either. He almost smiled at the delayed answer but kept his scowl strong, obviously he's concerned himself with something. Out of habit, his ear's twitched as they always did to sudden noise, the slight scraping and thump of paw hitting the stone floor was not lost on him. In a place where sound, let alone light, seldom entered.

Did he impose such a terrifying image to the river-dog? Unlikely, after all, Rasthur's fangs of war had fallen out long ago, he was down to a feeble shadow of the proud Grassrunner he once was.
"So that's wot yer Abbey beasts brewin' 'ere eh?" He inquired lightly, he was going to have to tip toe around the fact that he found the smell of the drinks here to be, insatiable.

The Abbey Champion was here? Perhaps the two shared a similar line of thought, or perhaps he chanced to notice the fox straying off the path he so often took. Wine...The old fox smirked, the idea of William being a drunkard was near hilarious by his terms.
"How goes it?" Rasthur mimicked slowly and haltingly, as if trying to verbally process the words that he heard, but really his shattered mind was finding this rather amusing.

[Rocky]

"Yes sir... Rasberry cordial, sir." Rocky said. He whispered to William, "Don't tell Rasthur the cellarkeeper doesn't brew rasberry cordial... please." He then looked back at Rasthur. Rocky wasn't exactly 'scared' of the fox, he just didn't know what the fox was going to do. He regained his confidence and walked back over to Rasthur. "So... Rasthur... How'd you end up here?" Rocky asked. HE figured that Rasthur was lost, but Rocky didn't want to go all out and ask again if he was lost, in case it angered or made the fox sad. "Did you come down for a drink?"

[William]

Smiling slightly at Rock as he spun around Will idly traced a finger along the rim of his mug. He listened to them talk for awhile, taking a small sip of his own cup. His raised a eyebrow as Rock mentioned Raspberry cordial, he wasn't aware that the cellar keeper had made a new drink. He was even more confused when Rock told him not to tell Rasthur that it wasn't real in the first. Looking strangely at him he looked past Rock at Rasthur, seeing the small cup next to the fox. His smile widening he looked from Rock to the cup, just smiling, he could recognize the look of red wine even in this dim light. "I'm done fine, thanks for asking both of you. What brings you both down here on this fine day?"

[Rasthur Grassrunner]

Sir? Such etiquette was lost on Rasthur, whom felt such titles were a waste of breath. Though he wasn't against the idea of the young grovelling before their elders and revering them, so he couldn't really complain. Had he been many seasons younger - it would have been a different story altogether.

"Raspberry cordial then? I wa-...would...like t' try some." Again the fox replied slowly and haltingly, as if he was speaking in another language entirely, in a sense he was. Adding in little tweaks to his tongue was something he wasn't liking, but could bear for the sake of existence here.

With a scowl Rasthur received the question from Rocky in his own way, was this river dog questioning his ability to travel around the Abbey?
"What are y' sayin'? Eh?" He almost snapped in instant reply, elegance and courtesy forgotten. But the rest of Rocky's message allowed him to calm himself slightly, there was no mockery in the otter's message - his paranoia hoped so at least.
"A drink? To be sure lad." Rasthur smirked lightly, "I'd like to try some of that cordial." A smile formed inwardly, proud of himself for stringing the polite words together so fluently.

A fine day indeed, having nearly tripped and stumbled into the cellar only further served to amplify his enjoyment of the day.
"Why would any beast be here? To wet yon parched throats." He replied rather politely to William, he was getting the hang of this etiquette thing.

[Rocky]

Noticing the slightly puzzled look on William's face, Rocky whispered, "I'll tell ye later." Rocky then went stiff when Rasthur said he'd wanted to try Rasberry Cordial. Now he was in deeper than before. "I'll...uh...Go get you some...sir." Rocky said then ran around the cellars silently, checking each barrel, just in case the cellar keeper did brew Rasberry Cordial. No barrel was there. "Uuuh..." Rocky muttered to himself. He had an idea that may work, but probably not. There was a rasberry wine barrel sitting close by him, not the one he had taken from before, but a different one. He grabebd a cup and pulled the stopper out. The sweet, red liquid poured out into the cup. It came out too fast, the cup was overfilled and Rocky dropped the cup while trying to put the stopper back in the barrel. "Not good!" There was wine all over the floor. "Er... William! Could you...uh...give me a hand, please?" Rocky called out. The wine finally stopped flowing when the stopper was jammed inward. "Uuuh..." He scooped up the cup, there was still a bit of wine in it. Rocky was not having a good day.

[William]

William chuckled as Rock scuttled off into the maze of barrels. Taking another sip of his wine he looked back at Rasthur, nodding at his comment, even though he couldn't see. "True Rasthur, sometimes its best to just come down here and get a few drinks to take your mind of the world for awhile." Turning his head as Rock's voice called out his name. Humming quietly he walked off and followed the sound of his voice. But his eyes widened as he turned the corner and almost slipped on the wine spilled on the floor. Grabbing a barrel next to him he was able to stop himself from falling, but his cup went flying over a few barrels. Looking at Rock and the mess he had made he raised an eyebrow. Waiting for him to explain himself.

[Rocky]

While cleaning up some of the mess, Rocky caught a figure almost slipping out of the corner of his eye. William. He turned and looked at William and started to explain, "Er... It all started when I came down for a drink... Everyone talks so good about it and I wanted to try some... Well... I'm 17 and uh, not of proper age to drink wine... I didn't think anyone was down here, but when Rasthur noticed my breath... I er... Lied to 'im. I said I had Rasberry Cordial." Rocky cut off and passed William a mop, and motioned to the floor and mouthed the word: Sorry. "Anyway... Redwall doesn't brew Rasberry Cordial... And Rasthur wanted to try some... So I trundled to the rasberry WINE and was goin' to mix some rasberrys and water in it... Then the cup overflowed, the wine spilled out everywhere... And that's where you come in..." Rocky half-smiled, half-smirked as he stared at William. "And I uh... Can you er... Send this out to Rasberry? I uh... Sorry, Rasthur." Rocky rolled his eyes at his stupid mistake, then he handed William a cup filled with wine, slightly watered down, and with Rasberry's in them. "I'll uh... Clean this up..." He said as he stared at William and gave him a look like, 'Please don't turn me in'.

[William]

William just stood still as Rock stammered about his problem that had been brewing for the past few minutes. Although on the inside he was laughing, he was sure not to show it until Rock had finished talking. Smiling he just shook his head as he took the cup.

"Rock, Rock, Rock...When will you learn to just explain your thinking, works better then lying your way into a deeper and deeper hole. I honestly don't think Rasthur would mind, but you'd be right to assume that I do, but because of this situation I think I can pass it off as you learning your lesson." Chuckling he patted Rocks shoulder. "Just don't do it again until your 18, then Ill come and have a drink with you if you want."

Smiling at him again he walked back toward Rasthur, still chuckling slightly as he handed him the special drink. "Here you go Rasthur, the new Raspberry cordial."

[Rasthur Grassrunner]

"Indeed." Rasthur was all too familiar with trying to escape the pressures of reality and the cards that fate had dealt him. He couldn't quite hear much more than a murmur of what Rocky had said, not that it mattered for the clang of the cup against the stone floor managed to drag him from his train of thought.

"So much for peaceful." He muttered to himself in disapproval. Again the murmurs persisted and then footsteps came towards him. Wasn't otter smell...But William's voice, mingled with slight chuckling. A drink? He reached out with his free paw and wavered around slightly until it had found the top of the cup. Being careful not to snatch it, Rasthur raised it to his lips, it lacked the same aroma as the previous drink and the chuckles from William did little to ease his wariness.

"This smells...Different." Rasthur replied slowly, keeping his slight surge of rage in check. Did these two seek to jest with him? How should he take such a notion?

[Rocky]

"Thank ye, mate." Rocky said to William. The chuckles from William did little to make Rocky's day better. In fact, they actually made him feel worse about himself. William was probably right. Rocky should've just told Rasthur the truth, after all, Rocky barely knew the fox, only passed him a couple times, probably. Ater finishing cleaning up the mess, Rocky walked out to where William and Rasthur stand. Rocky decided to be out with it, "Er... Rasthur... I lied to ye... I drank wine..." A part of Rocky actually felt proud of what he was doing, "I'm sorry i lied to ye... I was afraid you'd tell an elder..." Rocky said then walked closer to Rasthur and held out his paw, "No hard feelings, eh?" He tried to smirk, but just laughed. He started to think of everything he had done, between the mess, and making up a ridiculous "rasberry cordial" Rocky's chuckles eventually turned into laughs. "I... Heh heh... Sorry... Ha ha." Rocky couldn't hold it in, he just burst out laughing. He laid a paw on Rasthur and held another on hsi gut, since his gut felt like it would burst. "Funny, eh, William?"

[William]

Will smiled and ran a finger around the edge of his cup as Rasthur was puzzled about the drink. He knew it was a bit mean to do that to him, but he was sure that Rock would explain it to him soon enough. Looking over his shoulder he smiled more, he was right as Rock came over, his head hung slightly. Keeping his face as straight as he could as Rock stammered to Rasthur he took a sip of his drink. But as Rock started to laugh he barely managed to stop spluttering out his drink. Smiling at Rock as he lowered his wine he chuckled, glad that Rock seemed happy to come clean.

[Rasthur Grassrunner]

The fox raised the cup to his lips whilst Rocky confessed, taking a brief sip and nearly spitting it right back out in sheer shock - but that would destroy his image. Instead, he opted to swallow it forcefully as he processed what had been said, it appeared that his fears were ill founded. Typical, Abbey beasts lack the mindset for such things, he mused with a slight smile to the laughter that came after Rocky's confession.

Tell the Elders? Whatever gave the lad that idea? He could care less for such petty restrictions, let alone enforce them. Rasthur winced noticeably as he felt the unexpected paw meet with his shoulder, he thought better of brushing it off. After all, what was he so wary about? He had lived here for a good few seasons without ever coming to harm on behalf of one of his hosts.

Rasthur smirked slyly, "Y'got nothin' t'be sorry 'bout lad...Except for bein' a pore liar." He sipped his drink again, finding it not quite as exceptional as what he presumed it to be; though that might of been a side effect of Rocky's cover-up.

"Then again, 'tis in your nature." His expression somewhat resembled a smile, or at least as close as it was going to get without being a smirk.

[Rocky]

A smile? Was that a smile on Rasthur's face? All that smile did was add to Rocky's laughter. "Ah, Ah'm a pore liar, y'say?" Rocky said with mock astonishment. After mulling over the thought of what Rocky did, Rocky soon realized that Rasthur was right. This added more laughter. More laughter came out from Rocky, until he felt like he was going to burst. Soon, the laughter subsided to a mere chuckle. Rocky straightened up and asked, "When was the first time you had a drink, Will? How 'bout you, Rasthur?" Rocky didn't know if Rasthur would remember, seeing as how Rasthur probably served in many hordes, and probably drank so much he can't remember. "If ye remember, that is."

[William]

(Sorry for the wait >.<)

William couldn't help but join in Rocky's laughter as he laughed with him. He was indeed a poor liar, especially a poor liar after confessing to both of them. If he hadn't Will doubted if Rasthur would have figured it out.

Looking up at Rock he took another sip of his wine as he thought back to his time in the slave mine. "If I remember correctly it was just a little while before I fought my way out of the mine. It was the guards time to freed the prisoners bread and water. But for some reason he put strong ale(I'm going to guess the equivalent of Scotch.) in my cup." Rolling his eyes slightly he smiled. "Being the first liquid I had drunk that day I downed it all in a few seconds......Yeh, that didn't turn out well the next day when I woke up."

Chuckling slightly at the memory he looked at Rasthur, guessing it would be early in a horde like that.