Relaxing vermin [open}

[Shadess]

Shadowsleek starred calmly at the pine martin
"Im sorry to say my name is Shadowsleek, not weasel. What brings you here?" she asked, squinting slightly, she wondered if 'Rou' was a name short for anything, but that would be stupid to ask.

Shadowsleek glanced behind her at Tataroo and the otter, wondering if the plan was working, but for now she had to keep her mind of the martin.

The weasels head was full of wonderings, all she wouldnt ask.

[Wildrun]

Nodding his head once slowly, Tataroo acknowledged the pine marten with the words, "A pleasure, Madam." He didn't dare turn to look at Shadowsleek--she could handle it, and either way there didn't seem to be anything to handle...yet. Focusing his attention back to Noiss, Tataroo cast a sideways glance at Matecol. The big stoat jerked his head once to show he understood, then twirled around to face the crew.

Matey spread his arms wide with a smile and winked. "Whataya say, buckoes?" he asked the crew of stoats loudly. "Ya' happy ta' meet Mister Noiss and Miz Rou and Miz Shadowsleek?"

After a second of sharing a look, the crew roared enthusisatically, whooping and jumping as if they'd never been so thrilled. Matey laughed and grinned at Tataroo. "It sounds like they're all jubilant over it, Captain."

Tataroo allowed a sly smile to cross his face. "We should oblige our new friends, Matecol. How much room is there in the church? Madam Rou and Sir Noiss will need somewhere to stay." He didn't include Shadowsleek, as he knew she already had a small camp close by.

[lorki]

"Shadowsleek?" A grin crossed her face and she stared directly at the weasel for a long moment. "I will remember that." Her eyes trailed away from the weasel again as she thought over the question. The personal interest this weasel seemed to have taken made her quite uncomfortable. Finally she answered, eyes surveying the crowd around them. "I don't regularly tell my whereabouts to strangers, but your concern is quite... cute." She had, quite subconsciously, resorted to her defensive act of being... well belittling others until they were so annoyed with her they left her alone.

"A pleasure, Madam."

Her focus shifted back to Tataroo and allowed a small smile at his polite greeting, "Mine as well." She took note of the otters name, he slightly intimidated her which was not quite a rare thing but certainly not regular. However, as long as he appeared to be quite civil with the group she was slightly curious about him. Noiss.

The slight smile stayed as the crew celebrated, though she could see the staging of the enthusiasm. Rather then upset her, it put her at ease, she clearly dealing with an intelligent captain and those were much more enjoyable then the stupid ones. Another name, Matecol. She rarely missed the small mentioning of beasts, no matter their importance. Her fanged grin grew slightly.

[Shadess]

Shadowsleeks' skinned crawled and she crinkled her foot paw at the "cute" remark. Annoyance stinging threw her, and an angry remark balancing on her tongue, but she managed somehow to swallow it and give a sharp toothed grin.

Shadowsleek wouldn't be barbaric or girl thingy, (not that she was often) at least until she knew what the martins intentions where, and if Rou continued to call her questions cute.

The black weasel had a mind full of both worthless and important thoughts, some went far off the subject of her happenings.

Her thoughts were pulled back to reality as the cheers of stoats filled her mind and rang her ears. Then Shadowsleek decicded to hear what else was to be said.

Matecol was a different name, it had a ring to it. The stoat successfully cheered up the crowd and if she connected things right he was the one to lead the whole crew into a charge. Now she raked her brains and would half to remember his name, as of probably most of the crew of stoats if she where to get anywhere.

Stretching out her arms and closing her elegant brown eyes for a few seconds, she keep her small smile and swished her tail against the ground, as of she always did when she had nothing much to say.

[Swing]

The smile faded slowly from Tataroo's face, which took on a thoughtful expression. His black eyes flicked momentarily between Rou, Shadowsleek, Matey, and Noiss. Suddenly he appeared to have two new allies...one of them not entirely aware of what being allied with Tataroo would entail.

Ah, well...the plan was coming together wonderfully in his mind, the only problem to worry about would be the Redclaw horde and the army of that fox, Rein. Well, an agreement would be reached, of course. Whether it held water for long enough to successfully secure Redwal land mossflower...that remained to be seen.

Adressing Noiss, Tataroo asked casually, "Why do you carry that weapon about with you, Noiss? Are you looking for a fight?" He smiled as if the idea was a good one. "You must be brave."

[Maxodis]

Fatigue had begun to catch up to the young otter. It had been quite a while since he had last slept. It did not help matters that the bitter chill of the wind seemed to sap the energy from a creature. His back ached, his footpads were sore, and he was beginning to lose his focus. Blinking to remain awake, he took little notice of the events transpiring around him. It wasn't until 'pleasantries' were exchanged that he realized that a Pine Marten had seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Sluggishly, his mind worked to create a coherent connection of thought that would make her appearance more significant, but it made little progress. His focus was scattered at the feigned jubilation from the gathered stoats. He belatedly realized that he was still a part of the conversation at paw.

He then made an attempt to bring his tired mind back into focus. He listened to the words that were said, and, finding no significant meaning in them, gave up and allowed his mind to drift. He tilted his head back and observed the sky. It did not take long for a sharp breeze to detach a yellowed leaf from its unsteady perch and drift the fragile thing past his vision. His eyes focused on the leaf, following it as it was kept in the air by the slightest breaths of air. He watched, entranced, as those around him seemed to fade and blur away into background noise. The leaf began to close with the ground, slowing down, its lazy descent becoming more emphasized and dramatic, like an actor playing the part of a traumatic character in a play. Soundlessly, it drifted, pausing slightly before finally making contact with the cold, unforgiving, earth.

He jumped at the sound of his name, realizing that he was staring intently at the fallen leaf at his feet. He looked up sharply, dismayed that he had become so distracted that someone felt the need to address him to catch his scattered attention.

"...Are you looking for a fight? You must be brave."

Noiss blinked, startled that the crimson-garbed stoat was not calling his attention to berate him, but merely to ask a question. He smiled weakly to hide his nervous agitation as he quickly reviewed what he had heard to find the relevance in them. Within the same heartbeat, he realized that the stoat had uttered the word 'fight' in his casual comment. Immediately his mind was focused, fatigue forgotten. His posture straightened, and the pleased grin once again spread across his features. He responded enthusiastically.

"Aye, I am, actually." His eyes twinkles mischievously. "Are y' up fer a go?"

[Wildrun]

Tataroo seemed not to have noticed that Noiss had taken a brief trip to La-La Land. If he did, he didn't seem to mind. Matecol, who had been watching Noiss out the corner of his eye, raised an eyebrow at the way his Captain's question had apparently flooded the otter with renewed energy. And then the offer of a fight--"Are y' up fer a go?"

Today was a very double-sided day for Matecol, his frame of mind flipping every few minutes. Suddenly, Matey came back and smiled broadly at Noiss. He tipped his head in an appeal to Tataroo. "'Scuse me, Cap'n, mind if I 'ave a brawl wit' our new mate?"

Tataroo's eyes narrowed every so slightly, but held a jovial light in them. "I see no reason why not, Matecol. I would have been happy to spar with you, Noiss, but apparently my first mate is most excited. If you'll promise to leave him in one piece, I'm sure I wouldn't mind you two sparring."

Matey roared with laughter, clapping a paw on Noiss's shoulder. "'Ow bout it, boyo? Am I tough enough fer ya'?"

[Maxodis]

"'Scuse me, Cap'n, mind if I 'ave a brawl wit' our new mate?"

Noiss' grin wilted slightly at the alteration of plans. He's been looking forward to a bout with the crimson stoat, whose physical structure was of a level of definition closer to the otter's. Not to mention, he mused disappointedly, this taller stoat seemed to lack any sturdy weaponry. As this was to be a sparring match, Noiss would have to hold back significantly. He suppressed a small sigh, clashing weapons against another of significant strength was the most exhilarating part of a fight.

But that couldn't be helped, nor was any fight perfect. Noiss cheered slightly, any combat was better than none.

"'Ow bout it, boyo? Am I tough enough fer ya'?"

Caught up in the tall stoat's mirth, Noiss found he couldn't help but feel jubilant again. It had been a few weeks since he'd last been in a sparring match, this would be a welcome return. The otter shook his paws to loosen them as he hopped from one footpaw to the other, limbering up. Halting suddenly, his shoulders tensed from a shiver of excitement running down his spine.

"Aye, y'certainly are tall enough, mate." he chuckled, ripping his polearm from its resting place with a swift tug. Noiss backed up a few paces to what he thought was a respectable distance, considering the circumstances. He blinked, and remembered on an afterthought, "T'first sur'ender?"

[Shadess]

Shadowsleek yawned once more, not much of a tall stander, she was beginning to get sleepy, but the words of the others brought her ears and eyes up,

if you'll promise to leave him in one piece, I'm sure I wouldn't mind you two sparring."

"or the opposite" she muttered, not exactly a fan of blood nor there only chance of getting into Redwall falling into pieces, yet this may be amusing, she loved watching tussles.

The weasel would be sure to take note of every move of Matey and Noiss, she wanted to learn there stradgies of fighting.

Shadowsleek leaned against the wall and crossed her legs to a more comfortable position
"good luck there you two, don't kill each other" she said with a small smile.

[lorki]

Rousalki smirked, seeing how she had clearly succeeded in her attempts to distance herself from the weasel. Shadowsleek may very well be smart to have an interest in Alki's whereabouts. And she seemed to be asking all the right questions. But no amount of inquiries would bring fourth an answer from the stubborn pine marten. However she had given them all her alias name and bluntly refused to give any further information- surely that would warrant some suspicious. Hopefully she had gotten rid of that thought quickly and it would not resurface.

She hadn't been paying much attention to the others until she noticed that a bit of sparring was about to start. She quickly backed up, moving both away from Shadowsleek and away from the area that seemed to have opened up in the middle for their match. She found herself shoved closer to the small group of vermin and Tataroo. She was not one of fighting- considering her skills in the area were little. But perhaps she could learn something by watching these clearly more experienced beasts brawl it out for fun. Her large tufted tail wrapped around in front of her footpaws to rest as she crossed her arms and tried to wipe the pleased smirk off her face.

[Wildrun]

Matecol grinned, patting his belt and unhooking it neatly. Looping it over itself, he meticulously re-buckled it, until it resembled a short, thick club studded with stones.

"T'first sur'ender?

Shrugging, Matey replied, "Dunno, mate, I was thinkin' we could go until one o' us was knocked off 'is paws, but yew cin chewse whichev'r terms ye' like."

...A half-smile was on the face of Tataroo as he heard Shadowsleek's comment and saw Rou settle down to watch the match--he, at least, certainly hoped the two didn't kill each other!

[Maxodis]

"Alrigh' then, mate. T'first sur'ender."

Noiss tipped an imaginary hat to the tall stoat, in a silent gesture of good luck. Not to be boastful, but his opponent would need it, scarcely armed as he appeared to be.

Rooted to the ground upon which he stood, Noiss allowed his anticipation to slowly build. He fell completely silent, unnervingly still save for the slight trembling as he strove to contain and harness his mounting excitement. His suppressed shaking quickly grew more violent, his paws twitching in agitation. This was by no means an unusual event, the young otter experienced rampaging excitement at every fight. The sense was addicting, he closed is eyes with no small amount of effort as he savored the euphoria. Every muscle in his body was tensed, but at the same time, strangely relaxed. There was no other sensation like it. It was for this feeling that the otter lived for.

The sound of his own rattling breath brought him back to reality. All at once his bottled up excitement faded. He became deathly still, muscles loosely tensed. He exhaled, and felt the chaotic aspect of his anticipation leave his body. Taking another deep breath, he focused once more, his excitement receding and focusing into a solid resolve. Slowly, he opened his eyes, observing once more his surroundings, focusing on the object of his conflict: the opponent. Quietly, belatedly, the easy grin once again spread across his features, though in light of his focused resolve, the innocent quality of it was clouded by an undefined emotion of a more sinister nature.

He hefted his weapon once more, twirling its weighted shaft once to remove any traces of the path's dirt from its blade. Quietly, he observed the weapon as it caught and deflected the light. He saw within its surface a reflection of himself that was almost alien, yet at the same time, natural. It was times like these that he felt an unusual kinship to the weapon. Through his resolve, he committed his being to the weapon, infused it with a portion of his soul. The weapon, in response, received that figment of its bearer and warped it, twisting his soul from something familiar to something more fearful. Such was the bond between the weapon and its bearer.

The otter began to twirl his polearm around his body. Though deceptively slow, the power behind the movement of the weighted weapon was defined by the soft whistling of air displaced by the path it cut. Footpaws still rooted to the ground, he shifted his stance, pivoting on his heels as he turned slightly away from the tall stoat. He brought the weapon to an abrupt halt in his left paw, the staff of the weapon parallel to his arm extended behind him. It was not advisable to charge an opponent whose weaponry was not apparent, but it seemed like a fun thing to do. He leaned forward briefly before kicking out powerfully into a reckless sprint as he brought the polearm about in front of him in a powerful horizontal slice.

[Shadess]

(sorry about all her flashbacks on a simple subject, but i needed to get them out XD)

Shadowsleek opened her eyes wide with pleasure, watching a good battle always got her interested and excited, well only if she was watching them rather then in them.

The one thing that got her mind remembering was how Matecol (or was it Matey? she couldn't tell much difference) didn't have much of a "sharp" weapon, just his belt looped over to a club, of course her fathers lesson hit her mind when she was as the Redwall creatures called young beasts "dibbun"

A small smile hit her face at the remembrance of her father saying to her in a grassy field on a summers day how any item can serve as a weapon, of course she had rolled her eyes and giggled "not slab o' candle wax dou!" then her father say with a small thought "well....you could stuff it down you enemies throat and give em food poisoning" Shadowsleek couldnt argue, and every item she said her father would always think of something to use it as. Sometimes she missed her father. Sometimes.

With a shake of her head she came back to reality and paid attention to the heating up battle.

[Wildrun]

Matey had been just he a moment ago--Matey, the joker, the crude first mate who was nearly always grinning or mouthing-off to an opponent. Now, however, Matey was balancing on the line staying Matey, or switching to the mind frame of Matecol.

His opponent was coming...

The polearm, that heavy weapon was slicing towards him, and Matey saw he could either jump aside or attempt to counter it. One would be a smart move, the other a dramatic one.

The stoat had always had a small flare for drama.

Bringing his studded belt-club around with punishing force, Matecol made sure the studded stones would connect with the oncoming weapon as he swung at it. The perfectly rounded pebbles studding the belt had been recently put in, and there was decent possiblity of them withstanding the smashing blow about to come. Matey gritted his teeth in anticipation of the connection...

CRUNCH-AM! There it was! The pebble had smacked the polearm squarely, and upon impact split and shattered, spitting fragments of rock left and right. Matecol jumped back and rocked on his heels, leaping forward again with his new momentum and swinging at Noiss's torso. The belt-club whistled through the air, the knot threatening to unwind itself with every slash Matey made. With determined, forceful steps, the stoat tried to advance forward...

...One thing, perhaps, the stoat and the otter shared in common; they enjoyed a good fight.

[Maxodis]

CRUNCH-AM!

Noiss was slightly taken aback by the violence in the stoat's parry. Not only did the shuddering impact manage to bring a complete halt to the momentum of the otter's polearm, it also sent painful vibrations surging through his paws, loosening his grip on the weapon. Flying shards from the exploded pebble cut into Noiss' arms, one whizzing dangerously past his eye. He grit his teeth as he rebalanced himself; it would not be advisable to attempt that again. The sudden counterattack almost caught the young otter off-guard. He leaned back to avoid the blow aimed at his torso, but still receiving a glancing blow on his shoulder. The tall stoat was deceptively fast.

One thing's for sure, Noiss mused, retreating a few paces as he readjusted his grip on the polearm. This one doesn't disappoint.

He set his footpaws solidly in the ground as he grasped the shaft of his polearm near the opposite heads. Deftly, he deflected or avoided the concurrent flurry of attacks. Despite his solid stance, he found he was being driven back. Wielding the polearm like a quarterstaff, he found himself overcome with glee. Such ferocity, such recklessness! It wasn't often that the otter found an opponent with such qualities, who fought in a manner not unlike himself. Fights such as this did not always end well.

Observing the stoat's movements, he waited until immediately after deflecting an attack before he countered. Surging forward in a flying tackle, he thrust the polearm ahead of him, grasping the shaft parallel to his shoulders. If he couldn't wield his polearm to its full efficiency, then at least he could change the situation so that neither of them could.

[Wildrun]

Matecol had time to glimpse Noiss flying at him, take a half-step back, and snarl something incomprehensible as the otter sent him flying. Leaping back up immiedately, he raised his belt-club high, and found himself pressed in close quarters with his opponent. His face twisted into a scowl--at this range, he couldn't use his weapon without risk of smacking himself in the process.

Smart otter. He knows how to fight.

For a brief moment it had looked as though Matecol had been winning, and now the tide had been swiftly turned against him. Noiss had the advantage, and knew it. Matecol attempted to duck around and put space between them again, only to find the polearm held out and blocking his attempt at evasion. The scowl twisted further, but the stoat's eyes burned fiercly. The last group of oters he had encountered weren't nearly as good warriors as this one. Challenges were far and few between--it was exhilariating to clash with them.

An idea flashed into his mind, and he acted on it, bringing his paws together and grasping the knotted end of his belt-club. If he couldn't use a weapon, he at least had a buffer.

[Shadess]

Shadowsleek easily got bored and tired of things easily, so it wasn't long before she just wanted to get the fight over with, after all, they weren't fighting for anything in particular. The black weasel looked at her long sharp nails, and relived how dirty they where. She remembered in her younger days she would take a dagger under them and flick off the dirt, not caring if the dagger mad eher fingers bleed. How stupid and disgusting she was! Slowly she began to absently trace the rugged brick lines on the church while deep in thought.

[redclaw]

At the edge of the forest around the clearing a small rat crouched. He was looking at the seen at the church, taking in all that was going on. He saw about four-score stoats, gathered about a duel. He ran back several feet, to were a massive wildcat waited in the shadows. Zarek Redclaw, wildcat warlord, grabbed the puny rat by the neck, drawing him close. "What did you see tiny one," he said in a sinister whisper, "tell me all."

The rat gasped it fright, answering quickly, "Lord, I saw the stoats, the ones who attacked us before! They are watching some fight I think!"

Zarek dropped the rat to the ground, an evil grin on his face. "Come," Zarek said to his horde, "we will march out to them. With a show of force, they shall quickly surrender and join us. If they do not, kill them all."

With a roar, the Redclaw horde burst from the trees. Zarek was at there lead, almost 1000 well armed and bloodthirsty vermin behind him. Around him the guard ran, pikes forward and shields up. A yell of, "Redclaw! Redclaw! Deathhhhhh!" came from the tightly packed horde. Zarek laughed as he charged, blood lust building up in side him. He was so carried away with the desire to kill he forgot about the "recruiting plan."

[Vikenti Whitedeath]

Merce Whitedeath had been walking in the woods when he had run into Lysistra Darkmoon. Lysistra had been traveling without her gang, for they had run into a store of ale and were "held up" for a while. To tell the truth, she liked traveling by herself more. The gang's members were not the brightest eggs in the nest. She and Merce and taken an instant liking to each other, and were already deep in their plotting. "There is one thing we have to take care of before we carry out our plans," said Lysistra as the neared the church the planned to stay in for the the night.

"An what might that be lassie?" asked Merce.

Lysistra looked around as if someone was following them and said, "Alastor Erial, a stoat. He wants to kill me, because some of my friends killed his parents."

"Don't worry," said Merce proudly, "I can take care of the stoat. Merce Whitedeath has never met a beast who could beat him!"

Suddenly, Merce and Lysistra dropped to the ground, by the church where they planning to stay a group of vermin stood. "There must be a brawl party go'n on!" said Lysistra surprised. Both of them gasped as out of the trees ran the massive Redclaw horde.

"Lets hope they don't see us!" said Merce, "there is a lot of them!"

[Wildrun]

((Hmmm, since Maxeh is still missing [man I miss that guy! ], I suppose a diversion to keep the thread going is needed.

To Maxeh, feel free to step in whenever, buddy. We all miss ya' here. ))

Towards the bac k of the mob, one of the smaller stoats was having a probelmt seeing the fight. By the sounds of appreciation and betting that was going 'round the crew, it must be a good one, too. Scowling in his frustration, the stoat looked over his shoulder to see if he might be able to scale some of the branches in the trees not far away, to have a bird's eye view of the brawl. As his eyes wandered absently, a vague idea of the ideal perch in his mind (stoats are not notorious for their climbing skills, after all, and did not happen to know much about trees in general), a darting form caught his eye, and he focused on it. As the shadowy figure dashed away, he managed to register that the figure was a rat.

Wot is 'e doin' 'ere? the stoat thought absently, scratching behind his ear with one claw and shading his eyes to peer up to the taller tree boughs with the other. Humpf, maybe 'e's got all scared now 'cuase Matey's prob'bly winnin' that fight...Humpf...Why could that ratter see the fight when I can't e'en git a good look? Not fair, that's wot it ain't...bah...

Another movement in the same area once again caught his eye, and this time the shadow was much bigger than a rat...

The stoat's mouth dropped open. His eyes grew round as dinner plates, and he shrieked, jumping up and down and whirling around on his heel to attempt to shove past the stoats in front of him. He was awarded a few smacks upside the head for his eforts, and finally, raising his voice in a shrill panic above the jeers and laughing abd catcalls, "Cap'n! 'Elp, 'elp, someone git the cap'n! That wildcat's back!"

In the inner ring of the group of stoats, watching the fight with mild intrest on his face, Tataroo's head snaped up. With blurring speed, he shoved through the ranks of his saliors and singled out the panicky stoat, shaking him hard by the shoulders. One word came out, the burnign black eyes locked on that of the hapless crewbeast:

"Where?"

Babbling incomprehensibly (possibly somethign about trees), the stoat pointed into the trees. For a moment, no one moved as they watched as Tataroo's eyes locked on one rustling bush...

...and then the roaring Redclaw army burst through the foliage and swamped the area.

Tataroo flug the crewbeast aside, drawing his scimitar in one quick movement. "Turtle formation!" the captian roared, crouching as if ready to lunge into the oncoming ranks.

The stoats moved immiedately, weapons bristling on everyone. A rectangular shape formed out of the bridled mass of pirates, Mateycol and his opponent, Noiss, enclosed in the middle. Those stoats with shields lined up a rank behind the archers, raising their sheilds to form a roof over all but the first three lines of pikesbeasts. The archers crouched low, pulling their bows out crossbow-style, aiming between the legs of their comrades so to shoot the legs of the enemy. The arrangment had turned the crew into a solid square of wood and steel, looking from the sky like a war-ready box-turtle...

---

In the very center, his paws still bound by his own belt-rope, Mateycol suddenly noticed the change in surroundings, and the light in his eyes created by the duel slowly died out. Seeming exasperated but unsurprised, he sighed, shrugging eloquently at Noiss. "I'm afraid we'll have to finish this another time, sir," the first-mate said, carefully extracting his paws from their stuck position. "You see, a much bigger enemy has arrived. I hope you don't mind giving a force of vermin their blood-and-vinegar."

The hypocrisy of this statement went unfounded, and Matecol twirled the belt-club slowly in his hand...