Obsessions ((OPEN))

[Cross]

Waist-deep in the water meadows of Mossflower river, Alykas Veer trailed her prized gold-hilted knives in the water behind her as she walked, washing them clean of blood. Her mood had grown pensive, which oft occurred after a kill.

The black and white stoat enjoyed the sense of balance achieved by purging the world of the imperfection, and had begun to reflect upon it. Nature was whole once more, which satisfied her for the moment. Besides, that otter hermit wasn't the loveliest sight she'd seen. She was doing the sighted world a favor.

Strolling slowly through the shallows, Alykas quietly observed her surroundings. This woodland was full of life compared to the desolate, dune-covered island she had once called home. Perhaps she could make her home here, and settle down. After years of running, she had to admit the traveling part was getting old.

Idly flicking her knives dry, she slid them back into the sheaths strapped to each thigh. She flicked her white-tipped ear in the direction of a noise, the rest of her head following a moment later. What was that in the distance? The bright sunlight reflecting off the water made it hard to tell if it was beast or plant. Either way, she would not allow herself to be caught unawares. Her heightened senses tuned in to her surroundings as she turned and continued on her aimless path through the water meadows. It was probably another crazed hermit, or even one of those Guerilla shrews she had heard about. Or it could be nothing.

Whatever it was, it was interrupting the perfection of her day. That was unacceptable. The imbalance of positive energy (her enjoyment of her successful kill and the pleasantness of the day) and negative energy (her sudden apprehension of this possible newcomer and the potential threat of a fight) was not sitting well with her. Some beast was going to pay.

[Promatera]

Today was a particularly bright day in Mossflower. The sun was bursting with light and bathing the forest in warmth. The whole forest seemed alive as birds twittered in beautiful bird song to each other. Along the River Moss, the water sparkled in the glowing sunlight and several young otters were enjoying the beautiful day. Not far from the bank, a lone mouse warrior garbed in a green robe was taking a short respite before she set off once more. Dandelion Darrel was approaching the end of her journey.

Redwall couldn't be that far off. Dandy had been travelling for a season and even though she did not quite know exactly where she was, her father had told her stories of the great abbey. She hoped she would be able to recognize some of the landmarks he had told her about that would mean she was close. Based on what her father told her, she should be at the River Moss, but Dandelion could not know for sure.

Reaching into her bag for some food, she pulled out a loaf of bread and brought out some fresh berries she had found that morning. Enjoying her lunch she kept her halberd, "Blitz" at the ready, just in case anybeast decided to try her.

[Sigurd]

"Stop!" A voice commanded from out of no where. "Lay down your weapons!"

Sitting cross legged twenty feet away was a fox. And, yet, the stoat would have know idea. His cloak covered his body, blending in with the environment. The Luminar Ranger readied his long bow, aiming directly for her head.

OOC: Bad post.

[Cross]

Two situations commanded Alykas' attention at once. She noticed some beast settling down in the woods a few hundred yards away, probably for an afternoon meal. And out of the blue a voice had spoken to her in a harsh tone.

"Stop!" A voice commanded from out of no where. "Lay down your weapons!"

"Either I'm hearing a ghost," the black and white stoat mused. "Or some beast is hiding from me." The former was unlikely. The latter was much more probable. No doubt the woodlanders here were masters of camouflage, which was why Alykas was having trouble pinpointing the owner of the voice. It couldn't be the creature settling down to lunch. He or she was facing away from the stoat. So it was definitely some beast else.

Assessing her situation, Alykas weighed her options, thoughts racing. She had no idea where this speaker was, or if he or she had a weapon trained on her, which was highly possible. Even if she managed to find the camouflaged beast, she was still waist-deep in the river, an unfavorable spot from which to fight. Surrender was the only viable option on paw, so she took it.

With a small smile, Alykas brought out her knives again, displaying them for all and sundry. But from her vantage point, she could have been the only beast there, besides whoever was eating lunch on the far bank. "Alright, I'm laying down my weapons," she called, walking slowly to shore. She found a firm, dry place on which to set the daggers and backed away, holding up her empty paws. Her internal balance was going crazy without her prized knives, but she'd rather lose them than her life.

[Sigurd]

"Now, drop them into the stream!" the voice commanded. There was no way she'd be able to quickly reach the weapons in the water. "Do it, or I will end your life!"

Not known to the stoat, he was directly in front of her, well, besides the number of feet he sat away. Selecting a ash shaft, he fitted it into the bow. Stretching the cord to it its longest, he closed his left eye to gain a proper aim.

[Promatera]

"Stop!" A voice commanded from out of no where. "Lay down your weapons!"

What was that? Was someone commanding her or someone else? Stowing away her food, Dandelion carefully walked further down the bank where she thought she had heard the voice. It was then she noticed a black and white stoat wading in the river just a little downstream from her.

"Alright, I'm laying down my weapons," she called, walking slowly to shore.

She did not like the looks of things. This vermin did not look trustworthy at all, but she was sure she had been spotted by her. She did not dare lay down her weapon now. In fact now she brandished it, ready to strike. Cautiously she moved closer to the stoat, pointing her halberd at her.

"Who goes there?!" she shouted proceeding forward.

[King Benon]

Uhtred had been in the topmost boughs of a large oak tree for most of the morning. He was sitting on a comfortably large branch surveying Mossflower wood with his pocket spy glass. The day's profound brightness allowed his field of vision to extend for leagues all around him. Almost at the edge of his visible range he could see Redwall Abbey's tall bell tower over the treetops, though that was all that broke the forest's canopy. He stowed his pocket spyglass to take stock of his surroundings.

Sitting below him and towards the stream edge a bit sat a female mouse warrior nibbling on her afternoon meal, glancing about, never allowing herself to be caught unawares. Her halberd sat close to paw.

A black and white stoat occupied the middle of the ever so promising water meadow. Uhtred had been journeying for quite some time, almost a season in this particular region, in search of a suitable place to found a new Sea Otter Holt. His trek upstream had led him to the expansive water meadow and he had aims to fully explore it and perhaps determine its viability as the new Holt site. He would have to wait for this confounded vermin to clear off however.

"Stop! Lay down your weapons!"

Uhtred's sensitive ears picked up the faint command, assuming it was not aimed at him, he began making his way down the oak with his climbing spurs, two arrows clenched in his teeth, hidden by his large floppy mustache. As he descended the tree trunk he noticed the stoat slinking from the water and depositing what he assumed would be the aforementioned weapons on the stream bank. He also noticed the warrior mouse whip herself into a battle stance and advance on the hapless stoat, though he knew it was not her that issued the order.

He dropped the final few feet to the ground and began advancing on the warrior mouse and stoat, his longbow in paw; one arrow on the string and the other arrow trapped against the back of the bow with the fingers of his aiming hand, spurs clicked together as he strutted over. He approached the pair, announcing his arrival on the scene: "Afternoon ta ye, marms. Who might I have the pleasure of sharing this fine summer's day with?"

As the two females glanced at his unexpected arrival, he took in his surroundings. His ears found his target first, alerted to the sound of an arrow being nocked and the telltale creak of a bow bending its cord to its full length; following his ears, his eyes found his quarry, in front of the stoat was a fully drawn longbow, though he could not see the beast that held it. Probably another crafty vermin: sable or fox or wildcat, they loved disguises and guile, never one to confront beasts honorably.

[Cross]

"Now, drop them into the stream!" the voice commanded. There was no way she'd be able to quickly reach the weapons in the water. "Do it, or I will end your life!"

Alykas' temper flared. Her odd-eyes narrowed dangerously as she waded back to shore and picked up the knives again. Who did this hide-and-seeker think he was? With a dirty look aimed at no beast in particular, Alykas gently allowed her daggers to splash into the water meadows. If they got rusted, there would be Hell to pay . . .

"Who goes there?!" she shouted proceeding forward.

"Oh, what now?!" Alykas demanded, whirling to face the newcomer. A yellow-furred mouse was advancing, halberd in paw, and by the look on her face, she wasn't fond of Alykas' presence. Great, now there were two beasts who wanted her head. Was a peaceful walk in the woods just too much to ask? "Who goes there?" she repeated scornfully. "An innocent stoat who was just out for a nice stroll. That's who, Miss Sunshine."

"Afternoon ta ye, marms. Who might I have the pleasure of sharing this fine summer's day with?"

"Oh, for--Is every beast out and about today?" Alykas snapped, whirling on the otter. "And why on earth is every beast after me?! I haven't done anything to any of you!" All hope of regaining balance was lost now, unless the stoat figured out a way to kill all three creatures without them killing her first. She was weaponless and backed into a corner, so to speak.

((This thread is off to an interesting start, that's for sure.))

[Promatera]

"Who goes there?" she repeated scornfully. "An innocent stoat who was just out for a nice stroll. That's who, Miss Sunshine."

"Shut your mouth you disgusting beast!" she shouted back in anger. No beast would talk to her like that especially not a vermin. She hated vermin. Every last one of them. Her mood quickly changed from calm to seething rage. "Another word and you'll find yourself on the end of this spear!"

"Afternoon ta ye, marms. Who might I have the pleasure of sharing this fine summer's day with?"

Quickly she turned facing the otter. "Who are you?" she responded with a glare. She had never seen an otter before and did not know what to make of them yet. There was so much going on it began to worry Dandelion. She had never been used to so many strangers, except when they were at the other end of her halberd.

[Sigurd]

"Mouse, throw you axe in the river, as well!" the voice rang out, as an arrow shredded by her ear, nicking it a little. The ash shaft was well-smoothed, and fletched, with a iron arrowhead the size of a mouse's paw, but razor sharp.

OOC: Sorry if that's powerplay, and short post.

[Cross]

"Shut your mouth you disgusting beast!" she shouted back in anger.

"I'll tell you what's disgusting," Alykas snapped. "Your treatment of a guiltless, wandering soul." Her paws clenched into fists, the stoat plotted out just how she would end the life of this mouse.

"Another word and you'll find yourself on the end of this spear!"

"I bet you say that to every beast you meet, Grumpy," Alykas shot, crossing her arms. "I get the idea that you have the advantage over me, so why don't you take your own--" She was cut off by the voice that rang out above her own and the arrow that whizzed past, nicking the mouse's ear and disappearing into the water a few yards away. Obviously, the hidden assaulter was an archer.

((Figured we might as well keep to the same order of who posts before who.))

[Promatera]

"I'll tell you what's disgusting," Alykas snapped. "Your treatment of a guiltless, wandering soul."

A vermin guiltless? That was impossible. No vermin ever had their paws clean of anything. Dandelion was quite sure that this beast was probably busy planning how to kill her just now. Well the stoat was too late. Dandelion was already planning that.

"I bet you say that to every beast you meet, Grumpy," Alykas shot, crossing her arms. "I get the idea that you have the advantage over me, so why don't you take your own--"

"Mouse, throw you axe in the river, as well!" the voice rang out, as an arrow shredded by her ear, nicking it a little.

Dandelion let out a short gasp as something sharp grazed her ear. To Dandelion this was a sign of war. The warrior within her soul began to pound the surging anger she felt into a concentrated taste for vengeance. Whoever shot the arrow had just given her their death warrant. However, she would have to be patient. The beast who fired at her was no where to be seen.

Too angry to even respond she reluctantly did as she was told, carefully placing her halberd into the river. As she did so she also slipped a sharp rock from the river into her sleeves. Her warrior instinct told her that the rock could come in handy.

Turning from where she stood to face the bank she cried, "I have done as you have said, now reveal yourself!"

In a concealing tone, Dandelion asked the otter, "Did you happen to spot the beast?"

[King Benon]

Uhtred watched the events unfold before his very eyes, wondering why two beasts in such a predicament could possibly be sizing each other up at a time like this and not cooperating to rid themselves of a menacing hidden vermin. He would shake his head at all the bickering if not for his efforts to not betray to the floating phantom longbow his inner thoughts:

**all that commotion**

In a concealing tone, Dandelion asked the otter, "Did you happen to spot the beast?"

Uhtred replied to the yellow mouse loudly, loud enough so that their tormentor could hear, "Nay marm, I daen't know where our tormentor happens to be hiding!" He then dropped his voice to a hiss out the side of his mouth, hardly more than a whisper, "I daen't see th'beast marm, only his weapon. Unless my eyes deceive me, he's right in front of yon stoat. Yew doesn't float, and ash twigs daen't grow in straight lines from yew boughs, so we're facing a longbow archer. I've a belt knife that I'd like ye to toss to our stoat friend, me paws are occupied at the moment."

As he hissed his thoughts to the mouse, he sidled closer to her, so that she could hopefully reach his belt knife. He moved his paws only a fraction of an inch, adjusting the angle so he could crouch and shoot his arrow at the longbow at the most opportune moment. As he got as close to the mouse as he dared, he kept his eyes locked straight ahead on his floating longbow target, he whispered from the corner of his mouth, "Lassy, remember, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Mebbee we can break yon beasts bow or drive him off, help me'n the stoat now. Ye can have 'er after."

[Cross]

Alykas glared at the otter and the mouse, her sensitive ears pricked to listen for the invisible foe. "I do wish you'd include me in your little conspiracy over there," she spat, her odd eyes ablaze with anger. "I'd rather fancy not dying today, too, you know."

Scoffing to herself, she returned her eyes to the woods, letting out a stream of profanity under her breath. The stoat branded this unseen attacker as a coward. Even she would show herself to her victims within a reasonable amount of time. She didn't play with her food the way this character did.

((Sigurd said to go ahead and post. And sorry for shortness. This is all I could come up with for now.))

[Promatera]

Uhtred replied to the yellow mouse loudly, loud enough so that their tormentor could hear, "Nay marm, I daen't know where our tormentor happens to be hiding!" He then dropped his voice to a hiss out the side of his mouth, hardly more than a whisper, "I daen't see th'beast marm, only his weapon. Unless my eyes deceive me, he's right in front of yon stoat. Yew doesn't float, and ash twigs daen't grow in straight lines from yew boughs, so we're facing a longbow archer. I've a belt knife that I'd like ye to toss to our stoat friend, me paws are occupied at the moment."

Dandelion nodded absently. However, the thought of arming a stoat was alarming. How could they trust such a character?

As he got as close to the mouse as he dared, he kept his eyes locked straight ahead on his floating longbow target, he whispered from the corner of his mouth, "Lassy, remember, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Mebbee we can break yon beasts bow or drive him off, help me'n the stoat now. Ye can have 'er after."

The otter was right. Right now the archer had them in their paws. Their next moves had to be subtle or else they could all be in serious trouble.

"I do wish you'd include me in your little conspiracy over there," she spat, her odd eyes ablaze with anger."I'd rather fancy not dying today, too, you know."

If that hidden creature were not here that stoat would have no head to speak with. Such insolence! Now she had to help this creature? Dandelion just wanted to reach Redwall and here she was stuck in a hostile situation with vermin. She shook, just the thought of vermin was revolting.

Her eyes ablaze, Dandelion turned her gaze to the otter as she snatched the knife belt and threw it at the stoat. The vermin could catch on, they are all a sly bunch.

[Cross]

Alykas heard the knife whizzing through the air and caught it deftly, her eyes still trained on the woods. Without even thinking, she whirled, hurling the knife into the trees with deadly accuracy. She had barely seen the 'floating bow' before throwing the weapon straight at it.

As soon as she threw it, she ducked underwater, searching for her gold-hilted knives. They had floated a little ways away, but she snatched them up in seconds and resurfaced, guarding her throat and torso with the short blades as she came up. Had she killed the unseen foe? Or merely angered him? The otter and the mouse weren't dead yet. That was somewhat of a good sign.

"My thanks," she murmured quietly. "I suggest we all disappear now." The stoat slid her knives into the straps on her thighs and once again submerged. Though she was no otter, she was a pretty good swimmer. But, considering the water meadows were so shallow, she ended up scrabbling along the river bed as she went.

Her paw hit something, and a big bubble escaped her mouth as she tried to cry out in pain. Glancing down, she discovered the mouse's halberd. Grabbing it, she continued along her way. However, the water meadows were big, and she had barely made it halfway across to the other side before she needed air again. Hoisting herself to the surface with the help of a dead, half-submerged tree, the stoat hefted the halberd in her paws. With a satisfied smile, she kept low to the surface of the water, searching for the other creatures.

((Sorry for posting before someone. I just wanted to keep the action going.))

[King Benon]

After Alykas had thrown Uhtred's knife and made a dive for the water, Uhtred loosed his arrow at the bow, and not looking to make sure it made contact he threw himself behind a stout tree, waiting. He watched the stoat take to the water and surface almost halfway across. He hissed at the yellow mouse, "Yon stoat's procured your mighty spear marm, might be'oove you to retrieve it."

((OOC: sorry for shortness, class starts tomorrow))

[Promatera]

The stoat had no trouble catching the belt and in a seamless movement tossed one of the daggers straight into the bush. Then in a blur she dove into the river. Wasting no time, the otter followed through with a flying shaft. Dandelion suddenly realized that out in the open she was a perfect target. She decided to follow the stoat into the river and jumped. Beneath the water she swam to the spot her halberd should be, but it was oddly missing.

Surfacing, Dandelion kept her head raised slightly above the bank where she heard the otter trying to get her attention.

He hissed at the yellow mouse, "Yon stoat's procured your mighty spear marm, might be'oove you to retrieve it."

Dandelion's temper flared. She turned and saw the stoat holding onto a branch from a submerged tree. In her paws was her birth right. This stoat was about to learn how merciful death could be after she was through with her. With all her might, Dandelion pushed off in the direction of the stoat, clutching the stone she had picked up tight in her paw.

[Cross]

Alykas saw the mouse coming towards her and grinned, gripping the halberd. Noticed it missing, had she? The stoat noticed the look of murder in the mousemaid's eyes and didn't need to wonder what might happen next. She briefly considered her options, but the mouse was closing in. She didn't have much time.

"Ah, you again," Alykas murmured, grabbing the hilt of one knife. "It seems you dropped something in your haste, my dear. Is it important?" Laughing, she twirled the weapon in her paws. She took a deep breath and dove beneath the waves again, using one arm to swim while using the other to carry the halberd. Reaching a shallower spot, she stood, a mocking smile crossing her black and white face.

As she unsheathed a knife, Alykas vaguely wondered why she'd even grabbed the halberd in the first place. Was it out of spite? Was it because she'd bumped into it and picked it up on instinct? The stoat honestly didn't know. But she wasn't about to give it up. Her adrenaline was pumping from the episode just a few moments ago. Was she ready for a fight? It was highly probable. Maybe she just wanted to see what this mouse was really made of.

"Want it back?" she called cynically, keeping her stance low and wide in the water. "Come and get it, sunshine!"

[King Benon]

Uhtred watched the two beasts get confrontational, much to his dismay. He needed some answers, and he didn't want to risk anybeast's death that could give him answers instead... or before if the case came down to it. He cast his gaze into the forest, finding nothing he crept out, and retrieved his knife and arrow.

He straightened up slowly, feeling in his back a slight tightness from him having held the bow at full draw for so long. He knew his joints would be giving him trouble that night too if he didn't settle down a bit, but that didn't look to be possible. When he looked back to the two beasts, they were approaching each other: the mouse with fists clinched and the stoat twirling the halberd. He exhaled in exasperation, and strode towards the two beasts, his spurs clicking dangerously as he walked.