Distractions ((Open))

[Django]

He did this often. Because he didn't like to feel weak. He let his past catch up to him far too often. He felt so weak when he let those memories flood his mind, paralyzing him. He hated it. He hated what had happened. That he had let it happen. A real warrior wouldn't dwell on the past. A real warrior would get over it, already.

That was why Django was out on the abbey grounds at half past midnight, clad in a simple tunic, bandages around his paws and hind feet, holding his prized yew staff. A consistent THWAK! could be heard as the mouse landed a blow on the tree he was using as a dummy. Each strike distracted him, kept him from remembering, helped him feel strong again.

He liked feeling this way. Powerful. Courageous. He felt like a warrior. Like Martin. Spinning around with his stave, he struck the tree so hard he could see dried bark snap off the trunk, fluttering to the ground in a miniature cloud of dust. It had been a dry summer. He wondered if autumn would bring rain.

Stepping back, he had to catch his breath from his exertion. He had started training around eleven. It had only been an hour and he was already tired? With a low growl, he brought the staff back and struck the tree again with as much force as he could muster. A resounding CRACK echoed off the ramparts. Django paused, berating himself. Why was he so weak?

Today had not been a good day for him. Everything he'd tried to do had gone wrong. From schoolwork to chores to even speaking coherently. That coupled with the fact he hadn't been sleeping well for almost a week had set him off. He needed to blow off some steam, try to forget his stupid mistakes today, and try to forget those blasted memories. But the latter was an ongoing trouble.

Django turned away from the tree, gripping the staff with both paws. He let out a curse and whirled around, ramming into the tree with his weapon. He then got into a rhythm with his strikes, the noise of the staff as incessant as a drum beat. He didn't really care if he woke some beast up. This was his time. He needed this. He needed it so much.

((Guh, my characters are so emo sometimes. DX Sorry about this, guys. I just wanted to write something.))

[T-Bone]

Shad hadn't slept a wink last night. . . Well, maybe a little. But still! He was awake now, and he was fairly sure he had stumbled upon the wee hours of the morning. Not that it made much of a difference to him; after all, he would invariably fall asleep sometime around midday as he did every day. And besides, this way, he would get breakfast sooner. Breakfast sounded good. But now he had to wait. . . Stupid wee hours.

The darkness was hard on the eyes of anybeast walking about at such an hour, but the effect was furthered on Shad's eyes, thanks to his ability to not see things clearly at all. In fact, all he had with which to navigate was his hearing and his memory, the latter of which wasn't all that great in the first place.

Thwak!

Oh, look, an interesting sound...

Thwaktwak!

...Come to think of it, you couldn't really look at a sound, interesting or no...

Thwakthunk. . . whop!

...What would sound look like?...

Crack!

...It probably wouldn't be very colorful...

"[censored]! "

...Oh, look, a different sound!

Shad didn't know who was cursing, but from what he could gather, somebody really didn't like that tree. The interesting sounds continued for a while, and the otter wandered closer to them. As he approached, they seemed to grow louder, indicating that he was closer, and his eyes discovered the vague image of whoever was causing all the racket, but he still could not tell who the heck was so angry at the tree.

Shad waved energetically at the staff-wielding tree-mugger. He wondered if the beast in question would notice him, but just for good measure, Shad called out rather obnoxiously. "Can I assume yore in a snit?"

[Django]

Django was preparing himself for a complicated move in which he would leap into the air and hit the tree with both his staff and a kick. He took some steps back, got his staff into position, and charged at the tree. He was actually in the air now, all his focus on the tree. He was gonna do it. He was--

"Can I assume yore in a snit?"

Django yelled out in surprise and mistimed his hit, crashing into the ground instead of the tree. Landing with his knees in his ears, he untangled himself and sat there, glaring up at the intruder. A lone otter stood several yards away, looking rather oblivious.

"Inna snit?" Django repeated irritably. Oh, if only the otter knew. "Shore, I s'pose ye could say I'm inna snit." His tone suggested the otter leave in the next few minutes, lest he wanted to become Django's new tree.

((A bit short. Sorry.))

[T-Bone]

Shad chuckled. Well, he had found the noisemaker, and apparently, it was a mouse. A mouse who couldn't hit the broad side of a tree.

"Inna snit?" Django repeated irritably. Oh, if only the otter knew. "Shore, I s'pose ye could say I'm inna snit."

Shad offered a paw to help Django up. "Well, wot did it do?" he asked cheerily, glancing at the tree. "I'm shore it didn't mean ye any 'arm." In his mind, there was no reason anybeast would need to go about, mauling trees. Except for the sake of fun, of course.

The mouse's tone didn't register in Shad's mind as something to take note of. He carried on with his blissfully ignorant smile. Presently, he was much more curious about this angst-ridden mouse, who, by the sound of his voice, couldn't be much older than Shad.

((No worries. ^^ Same here.))

[Django]

Django took the proffered paw and stood, blushing indignantly as the otter seemed amused with his fall. Well, if the otter hadn't shown up at such a bad time, then--

"Well, wot did it do?" he asked cheerily, glancing at the tree. "I'm shore it didn't mean ye any 'arm."

Django resisted the urge to scowl, even though his expression wasn't all that happy, anyway. "No, i'didn't," he muttered, picking up his staff. "Didn't do nothin', but since I don't got some beast t' spar wid at this hour, it'll 'af t' do." And if you hadn't so rudely interrupted me, I would have made that hit perfectly, he thought, but he kept this to himself.

Even though it was dark, Django could make out the otter pretty well. He was tall, muscular, clad in a blue tunic and trousers that had seen better days. Django always felt short next to otters. He knew it was just because of the species difference, but still. This otter also wore a seemingly permanent smile. What could he be so perky about at this hour? The mouse had a distinct feeling he'd seen this otter plenty of times around the abbey. Usually outside.

"Wot's yore name agin?" Django asked bluntly. He didn't think he'd ever gotten this otter's name, but maybe he had just forgotten. Either way, he wanted to put a name to a face the next time he found a spot to practice. Another beast to avoid being noticed by.

[T-Bone]

"Wot's yore name agin?" Django asked bluntly.

"I'm Shad," the otter blurted happily. He couldn't easily make out the mouse's face, and he didn't really recognize the voice. So, he returned the question. "An' yore name's?"

He only half-way listened to the mouse's reply. Shad was already onto another subject -- names were kind of boring. "Now, wot were ye sayin' about nobeast t'spar with?" This was his real question, but more words were escaping his mouth, and he couldn't really stop them. " 'Cos I got time an' energy, but, er, not one o' those big sticks. Couldn't really use 'em too well if'n I did, though. I'm not very good at usin' weapons, besides my sling, Clark. But I can box with ye if'n ye want to, 'cept I'm prolly outta yore weight class, an' it's kinda dark outside right now. Say, why're ye lookin' t'spar this late anyways, eh?--" Had the mouse not interrupted, Shad might have continued for eternity.

[Django]

"I'm Shad," the otter blurted happily. "An' yore name's?"

"Django," the mouse replied. "Most beasts call me Jan." He felt a little better that the otter hadn't given a surname. Django always got a little self-conscious whenever some beast had a really nice last name, because he didn't know his own.

"Now, wot were ye sayin' about nobeast t'spar with?" This was his real question, but more words were escaping his mouth, and he couldn't really stop them. " 'Cos I got time an' energy, but, er, not one o' those big sticks. Couldn't really use 'em too well if'n I did, though. I'm not very good at usin' weapons, besides my sling, Clark. But I can box with ye if'n ye want to, 'cept I'm prolly outta yore weight class, an' it's kinda dark outside right now. Say, why're ye lookin' t'spar this late anyways, eh?--"

"Shad," Django said sharply, stopping the otter's rambling. Boy, did this creature talk a lot. "I'm jus' out 'ere cos I can't sleep." Speaking of sleep, had this otter been doing just that before Django's tree-pummeling woke him up? One ear dropped back as the mouse quietly murmured, "Sorry if'n I woke ye, by th' way." Was that why Shad was out? To come tell Django to quiet down.

((Gah . . . So . . . Short!!))

[Promatera]

This was it. Tonight was the night Leander would leave the abbey. He had promised himself for years that if his parents never returned by the time he came of age Leander would leave the abbey himself. Tonight was that night. Clutching his mother's sword in paw, Leander slipped from his bed in the dormitories. Making hardly a sound he wrapped his cloak over his shoulders and made the trek for the side gate. As he wandered the dark, empty halls of the abbey memories of the time he spent roaming the halls came rushing back to him. It was tough to stomach, but this was the last time he would be going through these halls for a while, maybe even forever.

The final thought made his shudder and he did his best to push it out of his mind, but it lingered. It took far longer for Leander to reach the gate then he thought it would, but now it no longer mattered. Once he went through the gate everything would change. Placing a shaking paw on the gate, he realized he was only separated from the outside world and the abbey by a wooden door. Taking a deep breath he put his paw towards the lock. This was it.

No. It wasn't. His paw fell from the lock and he slumped against the gate with a thud. Tears began to form in his eyes. He just couldn't do it. He had promised himself he would leave the abbey, but he had always held it off for as long as possible. Tonight was the night, but like a coward he chose to stay. Disgusted in himself Leander slowly dragged himself away from the gate and back towards the abbey.

At the corner of his eye, a mouse and an otter were speaking with each other. Why were they up so late? Rubbing out the tears in his eyes, he decided to investigate. Having been on the receiving end of several pranks, he knew to look out for suspicious signs such as this.

"H-hey! W-what are you two doing up so late?"

[T-Bone]

Shad shook his head vigorously. "No, I'm out 'ere for the same reason as ye," he chuckled, "Can't sleep." There really was nothing else to it. His dreams had been okay, but he bored of them and woke up. After tossing and turning in his bed for a good hour, Shad simply got up and began wandering around the abbey. Turns out, there was nothing to do at the Abbey at midnight.

Shad opened his mouth to speak again, but -- praise the Lord -- he was interrupted. Another voice joined the conversation. "H-hey! W-what are you two doing up so late?"

Naturally, Shad spun around immediately and waved energetically at the voice. "I'm bored, an' he's inna snit!" he shouted joyfully. Somehow, Shad had recognized the voice as that belonging to Leander. The otters had met maybe once or twice before, but really, they weren't even proper acquaintances yet. Leander wasn't easy to talk to; he was of the quiet sort. Maybe Shad would finally get to exchange more than a three-word sentence with him. Maybe, after that, he would get to meet even more beasts!

It seemed everybeast was out and about at this hour.

[Django]

"No, I'm out 'ere for the same reason as ye," he chuckled, "Can't sleep."

"Right then," Django replied. Well, at least he hadn't done something else wrong today. But he'd still been pretty inconsiderate, now that he thought about it. Banging on trees at half past midnight. He could've woken up the whole abbey. At least his mood was improving, slightly. Though his rump was still sore from hitting the ground wrong.

Shad made to speak again, and the mouse had to resist cringing. Oh, great . . . "H-hey! W-what are you two doing up so late?"

That wasn't Shad. Turning at the sound of the voice, Django noticed another otter standing near the south wicker gate. Was every beast awake now? Was it because of Django--

"I'm bored, an' he's inna snit!" he shouted joyfully.

Both the spotted mouse's ears dropped back in embarrassment. He shot a glare at Shad and then turned back to the new otter. He couldn't tell exactly who it was from here, but he knew he'd heard that voice before. What was that otter's name? It started with an L, right?

"Did I wake ye?" Django called. He really should be more quiet with these late-night angst-ridding sessions. He might consider a few laps around the ramparts for next time.

[Promatera]

"I'm bored, an' he's inna snit!" he shouted joyfully.

"Did I wake ye?" Django called.

"A-ah hush!" he gestured with his paw to keep there voices low. Now that he was standing in front of the beasts Leander could tell it was Django and Shad. He had seen both of the beasts around the abbey, but they were too rambunctious for Leander. Not caring to decipher what a 'snit' was, Leander addressed the issue presented.

"T-thankfully I c-coudn't hear you two beasts, in the d-dormitories, but you must be c-careful!" he spoke in a quiet tone, but his stammering was very prominent. He hoped they hadn't noticed. He was also still feeling sentimental about failing to leave the abbey. Rubbing his eyes he could still feel traces of tears.

[T-Bone]

"A-ah hush!" he gestured with his paw to keep there voices low.

Shad wasn't paying attention just now. He was busy glancing around, hoping to find more beasts to talk to. Leander was generally too quiet for Shad's liking, and Django was much too angry to talk to. Was a talkative beast too much to ask for?

"T-thankfully I c-coudn't hear you two beasts, in the d-dormitories, but you must be c-careful!" he spoke in a quiet tone, but his stammering was very prominent.

"Why?" Shad asked a bit too loudly. He caught himself and ducked his head a bit, asking more quietly, "Why?" as though the whisper made the last time quieter. "I don't think anybeast can 'ear us from 'ere." After all, they weren't that close to the dormitories, and what with the white noise created by the wind up there, it would be hard for anybeast to hear them. And if history proved repetitive, Brother Trunn would be snoring away like he'd swallowed an angry wolf. . .

[Django]

"T-thankfully I c-coudn't hear you two beasts, in the d-dormitories, but you must be c-careful!" he spoke in a quiet tone, but his stammering was very prominent.

Django relaxed a bit. There were two creatures woken from their beds, but he hadn't woken either of them. That made him slightly less worried. And the more the other otter spoke, the more Django tried to remember his name. Linder? Londer? Lander? . . . Leander! That was it. The otter who stuttered a lot and chewed on his whiskers.

"Why?" Shad asked a bit too loudly. He caught himself and ducked his head a bit, asking more quietly, "Why?" as though the whisper made the last time quieter. "I don't think anybeast can 'ear us from 'ere."

"Aye," Django agreed, his mood improving by the minute. Shad was pretty amusing to watch. "If'n somebeast got woke, they'd be up by now." Especially with all the thwacking sounds the mouse had been making earlier. However, something was bothering him about Leander's presence.

"Wot're yew doin' out an' about, ennyway?" he asked, leaning on his staff.

(('Tis not the best, but I suppose it'll do.))

[Promatera]

"Why?" "I don't think anybeast can 'ear us from 'ere."

"Aye," "If'n somebeast got woke, they'd be up by now."

"Er... I s-suppose so..."he replied meekly rubbing his temples.

"Wot're yew doin' out an' about, ennyway?"he asked, leaning on his staff.

"Nothing!"he shot back rapidly,"er...n-nothing...I was just...f-fixing t-the l-lock on the g-gate." His stammer was getting worse, but he put on a brave face to avoid letting on anything. He tried to laugh to ease the tension, but it came out as a nervous cackle.

[T-Bone]

"Wot're yew doin' out an' about, ennyway?" he asked, leaning on his staff.

Shad nodded his head in understanding. That was a good point. Why was Leander doing? He didn't seem like the sort of beast who was too energetic to sleep or was prone to attacking unsuspecting trees. In fact, Leander seemed to Shad like the sort of otter who would prefer sleeping at night to wandering about.

"Nothing!"he shot back rapidly,"er...n-nothing...I was just...f-fixing t-the l-lock on the g-gate."

Shad stared at Leander incredulously. "Yore fixin' the lock. . . at midnight?" He squinted suspiciously for a moment. The next instant, he was dashing toward the gate. Hardly a moment had passed when his voice echoed from the gate. "This lock ain't broke!"

((Sorry, that's all I got. *shrugs*))

[Django]

"Nothing!" he shot back rapidly, "er...n-nothing...I was just...f-fixing t-the l-lock on the g-gate."

"Yore fixin' the lock. . . at midnight?"

Django agreed. The mouse may have some strange nocturnal habits, but couldn't fixing a broken lock wait 'til morning? Leander was up to something, and it definitely wasn't fixing locks. Shad sprinted over to the other otter and inspected the door as Django watched in amusement. Maybe he should hang out with Shad more often. He had a way of lightening the mood.

"This lock ain't broke!"

The only thing surprising about that was that it wasn't a surprise. Django ambled over, twirling his staff. Poor Leander looked so nervous. But what was he doing out here in the first place? And why was he trying to lie about what he was doing?

"Whatcha really up to, Leander?" the mouse asked casually. He didn't want to frighten the otter, who seemed on the verge of nervous collapse. But he simply wanted to know.

[Promatera]

"Yore fixin' the lock. . . at midnight?" He squinted suspiciously for a moment."This lock ain't broke!"

"Whatcha really up to, Leander?" the mouse asked casually.

Leander turned to Django. Should he tell them that he planned on leaving the abbey and failed to do so because he was too much of a coward? No of course not! Their questioning was pounding down on Leander, they were trying to break him, but he would not crack!

"N-nothing," he responded again a bit more forcefully. "I-I just like to er... explore t-the grounds at night!"

[T-Bone]

"Whatcha really up to, Leander?" the mouse asked casually.

Shad was by the mouse's side in an instant, waiting for Leander's repl--

"N-nothing," he responded again a bit more forcefully. "I-I just like to er... explore t-the grounds at night!"

Shad looked at Django and shrugged. Clearly, Leander was not going to relent. Then, he had an idea. He turned back to Leander, a smile creeping onto his face. "So, where d'ye wanna 'splore next, then? The Belltowwwwerr. . .." Shad trailed off, regretting what he had just suggested. If Leander said, "Yes," that would mean ascending the tower. And Shad did not do towers.

He cleared his throat, correcting himself before either of the other two could speak. "The p-pond?" Hmm. . . Well, that didn't come out right. Maybe he should try again. "The south. . . gate?" No, that wasn't-- "Mossflower!" Maybe it would just be best to stop talking. . .

"Salamandastron!"

. . . No such luck.

[Django]

"So, where d'ye wanna 'splore next, then? The Belltoww_wwerr. . .."

Django raised an eyebrow at the otter. "Shad, I don't think--"

"The p-pond?"

"Shad . . ."

"The south. . . gate?"

"Shad, seriously--"

"Mossflower!"

Okay, now he was just being ridiculous. "Shad!"

"Salamandastron!"

"Shad!" the mouse snapped. Could this otter even hear himself? Or did his mouth just keeping talking while his brain went someplace else? "I think Leander's got someplace in mind t' explore if'n 'e's out an' about." Turning back to the otter in question, he added, "Where ya off to, then?"

((Bleh!! Short. Not feeling inspired tonight, guys. Sorry.))

[Promatera]

((OOC: It's fine Jan! XD Inspiration is not always there 100% of the time))

Shad turned to Django and the shrugged. It looked as though he was in the clear for now.

"So, where d'ye wanna 'splore next, then? The Belltowwwwerr. . .."

"Shad, I don't think--"

"The p-pond?"

"Shad . . ."

"The south. . . gate?"

"Shad, seriously--"

"Mossflower!"

"Shad!"

"Salamandastron!"

"Shad!" "I think Leander's got someplace in mind t' explore if'n 'e's out an' about." Turning back to the otter in question, he added, "Where ya off to, then?"

"O-oh! Er..." Leander paused as he quickly tried to think up some sort of destination. He hadn't realized that these creatures may want to actually get to know him.

"T-the ramparts!" he burst, "the ramparts yes! I was just about to go there, but then... the lock and...yeah."

The ramparts? That was the best he could come up with? Oh well, he had to follow through with it now.