A fresh recruit

[Sigurd]

Faffub loped through the forest, watching around. He heard of this 'ghost', and wanted to see it himself. Hanging on his belt was his badger forged straight sabre, passed down from generation to generation. Finally, the young hare's plush cream fur was starting to blend into the environment. Patches of tan popped through the creamy white fur of the warrior bard.

In his paws, he held a harejo, he had recently made, discarding his last instrument, which was far to heavy, and sluggish. Tuning it, he coughed a few times, and started a little ditty, with his Highlander accent.

"Och, far away from haw'm, meh bonnie!
Och, far away from haw'm, meh bonnie!
Och, far away fer' meh!
So, Ah' pick up mah' claymore!
An' Ah' punch mah' neighbor!
Swig a flask o' rum...
Then Ah' run, like tha' lightin'!
Past tha' gates of yonder of mightin'
Badger Lairds, and Badger Ladies, and stuff my grub in pockets!

Och, far away from haw'm, meh laddie!
Och, far away from haw'm, meh laddie!
Och, far away fer' meh!
'Cuz I run like a breeze!
Och, Ah've gotta sneeze!

AAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOOOO!

Now, Ah turn a new cheek!
And make sure mah kilt ain't let out a leak!
Now where is this ould badger laird ghost!
O' ould Brock'ree's descent!"

He ended his ditty, still looking around. Pulling out a kerchief, the hare wiped his nose from his horrendous sneeze. "Och, Ah've got to watch mah' sniffles!" he murmered to himself.

[Cooper]

Cooper Sandusky was on another recon mission about Mossflower on behalf of the MossGuard. He enjoyed the opportunities he was given to travel around the country, afforded to him because of his general familiarity with the area and beyond. Also, he liked working alone. Cooper was not a loner, necessarily, but he was fearful of becoming too close to anyone. His past, his business, his secrets, were his, and his alone. He could be social with others, meet new beasts and have a good time, but he was interested in close friends. His time away from the MossGuard, on his own, helped him with those goals.

He'd left the previous afternoon, and since then things had gone as expected. The Wood was calm and quiet and he'd not run into any vermin. Thus far he'd only encountered a pair of otters traveling to Redwall for a visit. Soon after he'd seen them, he'd loped back around and made his way back to Brockhall, the Guard's secret headquarters. A dagger was twirled carelessly in his paw as he walked along, thinking about what he'd have for supper upon his return.

A nearby sound made him stop, taking the dagger by the hilt, focused and steady. His long ears stood alert at the unmistakable sound of rustling underbrush; a creature was walking through the Wood nearby. So close to Brockhall, his initial reaction was that it must be another member of the Guard. Right up until the singing. No member of the MossGuard would draw such blatant attention to themselves so close to Brockhall.

He was too far away to hear the majority of the song, but finally came upon the scene just after the sneeze to hear the last verse. The accent was foreign, no Mossflower beast, but he couldn't immediately place it either. Sheathing his dagger, he leaned out from the cover of an oak to get a look at the noisy creature. A hare! Not what he'd been suspecting, especially with that accent. Although suspicious of why he was wandering so close to Brockhall, it was not in the hare's nature to approach a stranger with a weapon in paw. Instead, he stepped out and waved his arm to flag down the other hare.

"Oy! What brings you out to the middle of nowhere, my friend?" Cooper asked, in a friendly enough tone. Although clearly curious, he tried not to sound suspicious.

[Sigurd]

Turning to see the hare, Faffub grinned. "Och, meh' laddie, I can say the same thing fer' ye'!" he replied, letting the harejo fall down, slightly. Looking at the instrument, he nodded. "Och, I'd be a-needin' a better instrument, meh' laddie! I think my ancestor, Bosie McScutta left his ole' violin in Mossflower, somewhere. he was mah' grand-mum's great-grandpop's grandfather!" he said, to more himself, than anyone else.

"Och, well, Ah' heard a wee' tale aboo't a ghost in tha' woods, and he sounded like a badger laird, and after journeying to Salamandastroon!" he said, in his heavy northern accent. "And, after ole' Laird Ashstripe left, or gone missing, Ah' thought maybe I could convince this wee laddie to take up tha' mantle!" he said, tuning his harejo. "Tha' hares of yonder mountain are farma's now! I joined the Long Patrol fer' a short time, but, och, being a seargent of farma' beasts ain't rewarding, me laddie, ye understand?" he asked.

OOC: I don't think that's bad, if I just say he;s been sergeant for a little while, because Ash hasn't been on for a year, and i realized this might make a good plot. I tweeked Faffub's age, making it more appropriate.

[Cooper]

If Cooper was surprised to see a hare, he was even more surprised to hear the creature's accent. Despite everything, he was still a little suspicious of what another beast was doing so near the MossGuard's secret headquarters. The sandy-furred hare's eyebrows raised as the other hare spoke, looking really confused. "So you're... lookin' for an instrument... in Mossflower Wood?" he replied slowly, incredulously.

When the other hare continued, Cooper realized he was speaking - although still rather cryptically - of Rewhane. When the other hare mentioned Salamandastron, he grew uneasy, casting his eyes down. Cooper didn't recognize, nor did he have any memory of, the hare in front of him, but it still made him nervous that he himself would be recognized. Even so, when he started referring to the Long Patrol soldiers as "farmas" he seemed mildly offended. "They're not... they're not farmers," he mumbled, thinking of his family back at the mountain; thinking of the friends he lost. They certainly had not died from the dangerous life of a farmer.

Desperate to change the topic, he brought the conversation back away from his home, back to talk of the badger. "An' where did you hear of a - what did you call 'im - a ghost? And why are you looking for him here?" Cooper didn't truly see any harm coming of this hare hailing latterly of Salamandastron, looking for a badger. What did concern him was his knowing exactly where to look.

[Sigurd]

OOC: It's a northern accent. Hope you could tell. I'm using Bosie as an example. And, I think that Salamandstron growing domestic might be a fun plot. But, if I'm doing anything wrong, just correct me.

"Och, no, meh' laddie, Ah' h'ain't looking for yon instrument, though if'n Ah' found it, Ah' would love to have it!" he said, nodding his head to himself. The hare stood a little higher than his sandy friend, and as he looked down, he slowly shook his head.

"Och, meh' laddie, the hares are farmas more so!" he said, now stern. "Laird Ashstripe varnished a while back..." he said, slowly shaking his head. "Not much to do on yonder mountain... So, I heard the tales of yon ghost, and Ah' said to meh'self, "Och, a ghost laddie? Ah heard a tale of a ghost once, but the kicker was it was a Badger Laird!' so I resigned from yonder mountain, and traveled here, in search of a Badger Laird! I figured a good place ta' start was some ole' badger house! Och, yes, that was it, made by Badger Lairds years ago!" he said, wiping his nose with a green and plaid kerchief.

"Och, so meh' laddie, what are ye' doing in yon woods? Looking for the guid Redwall h'Abbey?" he asked, patting his lanky stomach, remembering his time there.