Cold as Night ((OPEN))

[Django]

"Sola.... Sola.... Wake up Sola. Its morning now, we can leave after you eat breakfast."

Sola yawned once, removing her knees from beside her head and uncurling her spine. She sat up, overcoming a wave of dizziness, and stretched languidly. "Mum, I was in the middle of a good dream," she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes. When she opened them, she saw the kind face of a black and white fox smiling at her, and a blush crept over her face.

"Good heavens," the rabbit breathed. "I'm sorry! You're not Mum!" She chuckled a little, scratching the back of her neck. Then the soreness arrived. She winced as her various injuries smarted painfully. "For the love of--how far did I fall last night?" Turning back to the vixen, she forced a smile. "Morning, Anise. You're an absolute charm, you know. I'd love a bite of breakfast."

[King Benon]

"For the love of--how far did I fall last night?" Turning back to the vixen, she forced a smile. "Morning, Anise. You're an absolute charm, you know. I'd love a bite of breakfast."

"You fell quite a ways, Sola. You had some nasty contusions, though they'll be fine after you've had a bite of breakfast. We didn't eat all of our cakes last night, so we'll have them this morning for breakfast with some honey." Anise set out the cakes from the previous night, and watched as Sola tucked in with a will.

Anise daintily picked up a small cake and began spreading honey on it with one of her small knives, making a wonderful presentation, as she'd been trained to do. She could almost here her mother and father telling her Presentation is everything

Anise looked over to her new friend, "Where do you want to go after breakfast Sola?"

[Django]

All Sola heard from Anise's reply was "cakes" and maybe "honey." Mostly "cakes." Spreading a generous amount of the sticky golden goodness on a pastry, the rabbit finished it in two bites, reaching for another one immediately afterwards. "Delicious!" she exclaimed, finishing her third. Though she couldn't eat quite as much as a hare, Sola had quite an appetite.

Anise looked over to her new friend, "Where do you want to go after breakfast Sola?"

The rabbit licked some honey off one paw, thinking for a moment. She never had any set destination in mind. Although, she had heard of some Redwall place once before. The food was rumored to be the best Mossflower country had to offer, and the hospitality was even better. However, she didin't know how kindly they would take to a thief such as her. Not to mention the fact she had little to no idea where Redwall was.

"Well, I never have anyplace to go, to be honest with you," the rabbit began. "But, ah, have you ever heard of Redwall? I've been thinking it might be a nice place to visit. If you're up for it, of course. . . By the way, do you know where it is?"

[King Benon]

Anise let out a musical laugh, a happy sound, one that would enchant and enthrall males of the imperial court. Her mirth was aroused by Sola's energetic eating habits, Anise loved it when another beast enjoyed eating food she had prepared.

"Well, I never have anyplace to go, to be honest with you," the rabbit began. "But, ah, have you ever heard of Redwall? I've been thinking it might be a nice place to visit. If you're up for it, of course. . . By the way, do you know where it is?"

"Haha, of course I know where Redwall is, I stop there atleast once a year to exchange goods, their gardens are without peer and their victuals exceed even that! I'd be delighted to see Redwall again, and I'm sure they'd love to see you." Anise smiled, thinking of the journey and final destination, and how absolutely delightful it would be to have a companion along the way.

[Django]

"Haha, of course I know where Redwall is, I stop there atleast once a year to exchange goods, their gardens are without peer and their victuals exceed even that! I'd be delighted to see Redwall again, and I'm sure they'd love to see you."

"Oh, well, I don't know about delighted," Sola murmured quietly. "But, I'm glad you've at least been there. I don't know how well a lone rabbit would be, uh, received . . ." Even though Sola of course meant well, she just could never be sure, if and when her thief persona came to light, how others would react. She suddenly felt a small pang of guilt for even suggesting Redwall, but it was too late now. She cleared her throat, getting her feet back underneath her.

"What do you say, doc?" she asked, her jovial mood returning. "Will I be able to stand without collapsing?"

[King Benon]

"What do you say, doc?" she asked, her jovial mood returning. "Will I be able to stand without collapsing?"

"Of course you will. Here, drink this." Anise tossed Sola the pouch of mead she had been drinking from throughout the night. "Its spiced honey mead, a soldier's brew; keeps you awake, alert, and alive. My father used to carry it when he went on campaign, to give to his troops. It wasn't uncommon for an injured beast to march for days after losing a paw if he used that stuff carefully."

Anise swept up all of her belongings and threw dirt over the remains of their fire, she was ready to head out. She held out a tiny paw to Sola, to help her stand.

[Django]

"Of course you will. Here, drink this." Anise tossed Sola the pouch of mead she had been drinking from throughout the night. "Its spiced honey mead, a soldier's brew; keeps you awake, alert, and alive. My father used to carry it when he went on campaign, to give to his troops. It wasn't uncommon for an injured beast to march for days after losing a paw if he used that stuff carefully."

Sola took a tentative sip. Her long drooping ears suddenly sprang up, adding a full two feet to her height. Her fluffy cotton tail vibrated against her rump, and she let out a whooping giggle, taking another swig. "Goodness!" she cried, giggling again. "What's in this brew?"

She shook herself, forcing her ears to drop below her shoulders once more and trying to still her wagging tail. Taking Anise's paw gratefully, the rabbit pulled herself up, wincing as her injuries protested. But she was able to stand it, surprisingly.

"Heavens above," she breathed, her smile wrapping twice around her face. "You're an absolute wonder, Anise!" Just then, her blue cameo slid out from under her shirt where she'd hidden it, dropping to the forest floor. Letting out a surprised cry, Sola snatched it up and dusted it off lovingly. She tucked it carefully into her bag and smiled sheepishly at the vixen. "Sorry, it's . . . very meaningful to me." She cleared her throat again. "After you, my fearless leader!"

[King Benon]

"Goodness!" she cried, giggling again. "What's in this brew?"

Anise laughed happily as she replied, "Oh its a family recipe, a little of this and a little of that."

As she helped Sola to her feet, a blue jewel tumbled from her shirt onto the loamy Mossflower soil, the rabbit quickly snatched it back up and stowed it "Sorry, it's . . . very meaningful to me."

"Its absolutely beautiful, Sola." Anise said, almost apologetically, her eyes alight with the short glimpse of the beautiful stone. She knew how valuable it must have been to Sola, just as her few jewels were precious to her. Each passing minute revealed more and more about her new companion, lending credence to her hypothesis that this lone rabbit was more than just a circus beast. But that investigation could wait, for now they had an adventure!!

She cleared her throat again. "After you, my fearless leader!"

"Oh Sola, I'm hardly fearless, but forward we must go I suppose." Anise said as she strode off, making sure Sola was able to keep pace not too far behind her. Anise would lead the two to the spring she found yesterday and then follow the stream as it ran into the River Moss, and following the Moss south, they would reach a ford and then follow the road to Redwall. How exciting! she thought.

[Django]

"Its absolutely beautiful, Sola." Anise said, almost apologetically, her eyes alight with the short glimpse of the beautiful stone.

"I know," Sola replied quietly, patting her bag to reassure herself. Her precious cameo would not fall to the ground again! The carved image of her parents was so lifelike and special to her that dropping the trinket in the dirt was almost as awful as pushing her real parents over!

"Oh Sola, I'm hardly fearless, but forward we must go I suppose." Anise said as she strode off, making sure Sola was able to keep pace not too far behind her.

"I was just thinking about that," the rabbit said, following the vixen with only a mild twinge of pain in her leg. "We should work on your fighting skills, my dear. I had a feeling the other night when you first approached me, you seemed uncomfortable holding a weapon. That's not exactly a good thing for a lone girl out in the big bad woods. Perhaps a few lessons in knife-throwing are in order, yes? I learned a marvelous knife-throwing technique during my days in the circus. If you're not up for it, that's perfectly alright. I merely wanted to offer you the opportunity since we'll be spending so much time together."

[King Benon]

"We should work on your fighting skills, my dear. I had a feeling the other night when you first approached me, you seemed uncomfortable holding a weapon. That's not exactly a good thing for a lone girl out in the big bad woods. Perhaps a few lessons in knife-throwing are in order, yes? I learned a marvelous knife-throwing technique during my days in the circus. If you're not up for it, that's perfectly alright. I merely wanted to offer you the opportunity since we'll be spending so much time together."

"Oh Sola that would be wonderful. I was absolutely terrified of using the sword. I am perfectly proficient with my little blowgun, but in close quarters my sword might come in handy and I'd love to know how to use it. Maybe you could train me a little when we stop each day. We've still got a ways to go yet."

Anise led the two down the stream bank as it widened and deepened, with other small rivulets running into it until it was a nicely sized stream with a bed of smooth little pebbles. The stream ran around the base of a tall ash tree, and a rare vine crept up the trunk. Off of the vine grew some beautiful purple and white flowers. Anise stopped, and called Sola over:

"Sola, come here! Look at these beautiful flowers, they are some of my favorites!"

[Django]

"Oh Sola that would be wonderful. I was absolutely terrified of using the sword. I am perfectly proficient with my little blowgun, but in close quarters my sword might come in handy and I'd love to know how to use it. Maybe you could train me a little when we stop each day. We've still got a ways to go yet."

"Marvelous!" the rabbit exclaimed. "I haven't had a good spar in years, you know. The last time was when I stayed with the Guosim shrews. Have you heard of them? Darling little things. Rather feisty, though. They gave me these gorgeous hook blades while I was with them. Their chief had traded for them not far from my home in the east, actually, which I thought was both coincidental and intriguing. Once I got used to the things, however, I felt as they'd been made for me. That's what happens when you're paired with your right weapon, Anise, that emotional connection. It comes even before the skills. In fact, the emotional connection even makes gaining the skills easier, when beast and blade are one. Of course, the emotional attachment isn't always needed, as in the case of . . ."

Sola continued to ramble on until they came to the river delta. She didn't even notice the tree in the middle of the current, and she would have walked right past it had Anise not halted and called to her.

"Sola, come here! Look at these beautiful flowers, they are some of my favorites!"

The brown rabbit sidled up to the vixen, peeking over her friend's shoulder to view the delicate flora. Her brown eyes shone as she gazed at the pretty flowers, tempted to pluck one. "Ooh," she murmured in awe. "Gorgeous!" She paused, flicking an ear in confusion. "Um, what, pray tell, are they, exactly?"

[King Benon]

"Gorgeous!" She paused, flicking an ear in confusion. "Um, what, pray tell, are they, exactly?"

"Well Sola, I've never actually found its real name but I call them Violet Creepers. They're magnificent little flowers. If you prepare them right, the powdered flower flesh is a magnificent spice and the dried petals from the flower make a wonderful medicinal salve." Anise picked the flowers, her delicate paws working quickly, after years of practice the precision required for picking these flowers came easily to her small paws.

Anise took off her huge spectacles, clutching them in her tiny paws, and looked at Sola, embarrassed by her display of herbalist habit. "I'm sorry Sola, our going might be slow, I get distracted by the abundant flora and I usually pick them. If we don't make good progress you can hurry me up..."

[Django]

Sola was riveted as Anise explained the various uses for the pretty flowers. It made Sola want to learn more about the healing arts. She knew how to staunch bleeding and stitch up a wound and all that, but she also knew adding a salve made from plants made all the difference. She watched the delicate procedure of plucking the flowers and was again tempted to pick one for herself.

"I'm sorry Sola, our going might be slow, I get distracted by the abundant flora and I usually pick them. If we don't make good progress you can hurry me up..."

Sola laughed at the vixen's embarrassed expression. "Oh, don't be silly," the rabbit replied. "I'm in no rush if you aren't, honestly. Besides, I'd prefer slow going, seeing as how my injuries are still sore." Redwall could wait. Sola wanted to spend time with her new friend. Imagine, a vixen and a rabbit traveling together. It was unheard of in most parts of Mossflower. But Sola liked Anise for going against the norm. Not all foxes had to be deceitful murderers or thieves.

"Do tell me more about your flowers, Anise!" Sola said as the vixen finished gathering the pretty flora. "I'd really love to learn more. You know, I don't know a thing about the forest foliage beyond what its name is. Rose, daisy, tree, etcetera. That is the extent of my knowledge."