Before the Storm

[Faolinthor]

Mossflower lay under a clear, blue sky. Not a cloud was in sight. A young, traveling otter knew better.

He slowly made his way through the trees, knowing that his friend was far behind him. This was only one of many contests the two friends held. Often, they would race each other to a particular destination. This time, they traveled to the legendary abbey, Redwall.

It started a few days ago, when they had passed another traveler who sang of the abbey. Keirdj decided they should travel there, and this invariably resulted in a race between the two friends. The moment they received directions, they were off.

Raen walked through Mossflower, humming the tunes of a variety of songs he had heard on his many travels. He stopped abruptly, and looked up. The skies were blue and cloudless, but a storm was coming. Raen would have no trouble making it in time, but he was not so confident about his friend.

Raen shrugged, and started once again, twirling his staff as he walked. Keirdj would be fine.

Eventually, he caught a glimpse of Redwall. Still holding his staff, Raen dashed toward the structure in a headlong sprint, nearly running into a tree or two on several occasions. Slowing to a halt, he stopped in front of the gates. After a moment's hesitation, he knocked on the gate.

[Lavender]

The day seemed to be one of those where the sky was cloudless from sunrise to sunset, a perfect showing of the beautiful pearly blue the sky was capable of becoming. But appearances weren't always what they seemed oftentimes. And this day didn't have very many beasts fooled with its clarity.

One of those beasts was the ottermaid, Lavender, who had lived in and around Mossflower long enough to know the different seasonal changes which occured in late winter. She had been out on the grounds late the night before and chanced to see the full moon, shining down upon Redwall Abbey. It's brillance had been almost hidden behind a hazy mist, though, which meant that rain was soon to come.

And though the sky had become this beautiful opaque blue when everybeast had risen in the morning, the sighting of the moon last night left few beasts in doubt of the impending rain. And now, as the day headed towards afternoon, a wind had kicked up, bone chillingly cold, which whistled through the trees in the orchard, scattering leaves here and there in eddying spirals.

Not many beasts were out on the grounds, especially now with that wind beginning to blow. However, Lavender thought she had better enjoy the sunshine while it was still around -- she had no doubt it would begin to rain soon. She had brought a book with her, from her room, a book she had been reading for the past week. It was a rather thick tome, if small, and was on a subject most beasts had no interest in -- herbs. Lavender had no trouble keeping it for as long as she wanted to -- there wasn't a demand for it from the other Abbeybeasts.

She walked slowly across the grounds, ignoring the wind which rippled across her body, causing her lavender blouse to expand and collapse alternately. She wore sandals on her footpaws, and didn't notice the cold nipping at her exposed paws. Her brown eyes were fixed intently upon the book in front of her nose, and she didn't notice where she was until she bumped into something solid.

Blinking, Lavender looked up from her book and felt amusement course through her as she realized she had just bumped into the door of the gatehouse, set just a few feet away from the tunnel which led to the main gate. She had done this many times before, but it never ceased to amuse her how lost she could become when she was reading. She shook her head slightly, smiling at her own clumsiness, and was about to turn back to her book, when there came the sound of knocking at the main gate.

Frowning slightly, Lavender marked her place in the book with a finger and headed down the short tunnel to the main gate. Once in the tunnel, her blouse lay flat again, conforming to its usual shape, away from the influence of the insistent wind.

"Yes, who is it?" Lavender called, raising her voice so that it could be heard by whoever was on the other side of the gate.

[Faolinthor]

"Yes, who is it?" Lavender called.

Unsure of how exactly to answer, Raen answered, "A traveler." What was there to say? He had never been to the place before.

Raen looked back, as the wind began to pick up. The storm was getting closer. It would only be a matter of time before the dark clouds appeared from over the horizon. Raen frowned slightly, wondering if his friend would reach shelter in time.

[Lavender]

OOC: Sorry for the post; my brain's not awake.

Lavender recieved a reply to her query quite quickly, as whoever was on the other side of the gate called back, "A traveler." Now that she thought about it, Lavender realized her question has been a bit odd, as it surely would have been a traveler anyway, but there had been an off chance it would be someone else. Like the Skipper of Otters, or somebeast as important. Not likely though -- Skipper hadn't been to the Abbey in some time.

Lavender blinked suddenly, realizing she was still standing there, keeping the creature outside the gates waiting on her. She didn't stop to apologize though, but merely laid down her book and went to the gate, to lift the bar. It wasn't an easy task, but it could be done, with the right leverage and if you knew what you were doing.

Lavender left the bar fall into the grass on her right side, safely away from her book. She then pulled open the right hand gate enough to let through whoever was out there.

[Faolinthor]

OOC: Your post was fine.

Raen watched as the gates open, just enough for someone to enter. Assuming he shouldn't rush in, being a complete stranger, Raen stepped toward the gates, but not entirely through, so as to see who was behind the gate.

It was an ottermaid, a few seasons older than Raen, with auburn fur and brown eyes, that reflected deep thought.

Extending his free paw, Raen introduced himself, "Hello. My name is Raen Loch. This is Redwall?" Raen rebuked himself in his mind for asking such a question. Of course this was Redwall. He put on a smile, attempting to act as if the mistake had never occurred.

[Lavender]

The traveler on the other side of the gate turned out to be a male otter, who looked quite young, though surely not much younger than Lavender herself. The ottermaid's eyes skipped up and down the otter very quickly, acquainting herself with his clothes, a simple dark tunic and matching pants, and his face. He was also carrying a white staff, which curved slightly at the end. Lavender was slightly intrigued by this object, as she had not seen a young beast carrying one before. It was almost always an old beast who walked about with a staff clutched in their paw.

But perhaps he was one of those beasts who could fight with a staff, and if so, then the staff was quite different from the ones old beasts toted around. Lavender had never really gotten the hang on fighting with a staff -- they were always too long and unweildey for her. That was why she preferred her bow -- it was simple and easy to use.

Lavender blinked, realizing for that, for a second time, she had drifted off into her thoughts. She had been getting better about not doing that when she was speaking to somebeast, but today, her mind seemed to be elsewhere every few minutes. She saw that the otter had extended his paw, and was now speaking to her.

"Hello. My name is Raen Loch. This is Redwall?"

He smiled, and Lavender quickly returned the expression, hoping that Raen hadn't noticed her drifting off into her thoughts. She held out her own paw and shook Raen's, clearing her throat slightly.

"It's nice to meet you, Raen. I'm Lavender."

She then stepped back and motioned to the rest of the grounds through the gate.

"And yes, this is Redwall," she said, casting a fond glance around. "What little you can see from here," she added. "Come on in, I'll see to the gate, and then I can show you around, if you want."

[Faolinthor]

Raen nodded, and stepped in, looking around at every detail. He took an instant liking to the place. Perhaps coming here was not so pointless after all.

To his right, he noticed a book laying on the grass. Raen had never been taught to read, but he found the idea fascinating. To communicate without saying anything seemed an odd concept to him.

Placing a paw on the red stone, Raen wondered about the abbey, and its history. He had always heard that Redwall had a long, great history.

Curious, Raen asked, "How long has Redwall been?"

((Sorry for the post. I'm not much up to writing, lately.))

[Lavender]

OOC: That's alright, I haven't been up to it much either. Schoolwork's been draining everything away.

The otter nodded at her words and stepped into the grounds past her. Lavender didn't notice his eyes go to her book lying on the ground as she was now busy pushing shut the gate she had opened, and bending to lift the bar back into place. However, this wasn't as easy as it sounded, for the bar was suddenly alot heavier than it had been when she had lifted it from the gate.

Lavender managed to get half of it off the ground, puffed a little with effort, but could move it no farther. It seemed to be catching on the grass, or something else that was preventing her from lifting it to replace it on the gate.

"Raen," Lavender puffed at last, giving up on hauling the bar to the gate, and letting it fall back to the ground, "do you mind helping me with the bar?"

Just as she asked, Raen spoke to, asking how long Redwall had been around. Lavender wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead and glanced about the Abbey, deciding to answer Raen's question as she waited for him to help her with the bar.

"A very long time," she said quietly, her eyes skimming over the red sandstone which usually would've been glowing in the sun. However, there was no sun, since the storm was still fast approaching. "Longer than many beasts can recall."

[Faolinthor]

((OOC: Cursed education--always draining the life out of students. ;D))

"Oh," said Raen, "Sorry--of course." He quickly walked over to the side of the bar opposite of Lavender. He lifted the bar part of the way, finding the same problem as Lavender had. He pulled harder, and, to his surprise, the bar broke free of whatever it was that was holding it down.

At the same time he thought about Lavender's response to his question. Redwall was an old abbey, yet it seemed to be in good condition. It must have--

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of thunder in the distance. Raen's mind went immediately to his friend. That squirrel should hurry. Realizing he had drifted off into his thoughts--rather uncommon for him--he continued to lift the bar to replace it.

[Lavender]

OOC: Yes, it loves to do that. =D

"Oh, sorry--of course."

Lavender smiled faintly at Raen's apology, which hadn't really been needed. He came to help her with the bar and she murmured, "Thank you," as she helped by lifting her side. They tugged for a moment or two, as the bar was still stuck on something in the grass, and Lavender stumbled a little sideways once the bar had freed itself.

She and Raen lifted the bar safely into place on the gates, and Lavender was grateful to release her hold on the heavy piece of wood. She blew out her breath quietly, then turned and bent to pick up her book from where she had placed it on the grass. She noticed that Raen seemed to be off in his thoughts, and hesitated a moment before she spoke.

"Well, now that that's done... how about a tour 'round the Abbey grounds?"

She had just spoken when thunder rumbled threateningly overhead, and a chill wind swept over them. The storm was picking up speed. The sun was still shining, though, and Lavender thought they might be able to get a quick tour in before the storm broke.

"Unless you'd rather just ahead inside now," she added, leaving it up to Raen to decide.

[Faolinthor]

Raen judged the time there would be before the storm finally hit, and the time it would take to complete a tour of the grounds of a place Redwall's size.

"I think we could fit in a small tour, if that's fine with you," he said.

He thought about the book Lavender carried. He wondered if she would be willing to teach him to read. Then again, he hadn't really thought about how long he would be staying. Would he even stay long enough to be taught? He left the thoughts be, as he awaited Lavender's response.

[Lavender]

OOC: Sorry for the delay. =) And sorry so short; I couldn't think of much. :\

"I think we could fit in a small tour, if that's fine with you."

"It'd be my pleasure," Lavender said with a smile, which was quite true. She loved showing off Redwall Abbey to newcomers. It was a beautiful place, and certainly one to be shared.

"How about we start with the orchards?" she said and turned to her right, heading across the grass towards the pond and the clumps of trees where the ochards began.

She glanced back at Raen as she walked, considering him for a moment, then decided that making conversation would make this tour much more pleasant.

"So, Raen," she began, turning her gaze back to the pond and orchards ahead of her, "where in the wide world do you hail from?"

[Faolinthor]

((This one is rather short. And sorry for the wait; life demands too much of me. ))

Raen observed the orchards. They were nothing too unfamiliar, but were--in the words of the mind of somebeast other than Raen, though the word inexplicably came to his mind, nonetheless--splendid. For one reason or another, he had taken a liking to Redwall the moment he caught a glimpse of the sandstone walls.

"So, Raen, where in the wide world do you hail from?"

"Originally, from Green Isle," he started, "though I travel a lot, and haven't been home in seasons."

He thought about his home. It had been--as he had told Lavender--seasons since he left. Perhaps he could return sometime, but for the moment, he would stay at Redwall. He and his squirrel friend never stayed in a single place for very long. Eventually, the two would move on to another place. Though, this time, he thought to stay longer. Redwall was much nicer than most places he had traveled to, and the creatures were certainly friendlier.