Fowk Obligations ((Saxifrage, Open))

[Romulus]

It took a good half hour (and the intervention of pretty much all the senior officers) for the brawl to finally die down. Cordin nursed a bruised arm, grinning like a naughty child. He put his jaw back in place and shook paws heartily with Cadet Cade.

The corporal then found the three highlander hares, his roguish grin never wavering. He gave al three of them a good looking-over, rolling a previously-dislocated shoulder. Chuckling, he closed his eyes once. Too bad the fight had to end.

"I dare say there'll never be a bloody dull moment with you two 'round, eh, wot?" he remarked, golden eyes sparking with mirth.

[nikki]

"Ne'er at aw wi' this clan, Fuzzae!" Saxifrage crowed. He laughed as he tugged the twins into an embrace that was really more a headlock, looking over the mess hall with an air of satisfaction. "An' havnae we made a mess ay th' mess? hawhaw!" He hefted the younger hares off their footpaws almost by accident as he laughed at his own joke, ears perking as he watched a little cadet wriggle her way from beneath an overturned bench.

"Ho, Heart! Gie a guid accoont ay yerself, mah hen?" He grinned, wondering how the little rabbit had dealt with being unarmed in a sudden brawl; he hadn't really had time to monitor the cadets after all.

Heartsease straightened up, giving herself a good shake from ears to tail before fussily straightening her uniform, laughing at Sax's question. The maid's fur was sticking jauntily in all directions, something she made no move to correct, and a flailing footpaw (or thrown object) had apparently struck her cheekbone at some point, giving her speech a slightly muffled sound due to minor swelling.

"Don't you know a maid's got to fight for scones and scraps and fend off bad cooks and worse servers, sir! I've had worse scuffles over the last of elevenses. Whoops!"

She giggled as she slipped in spilled liquid of some kind or another, nearly colliding with an exasperated officer; she saluted with a quick wiggle of black-tipped ears before trotting over to the others.

"Sorry sir, the pond's all yours for skating!"

[tenor]

The twins were quite roughed up themselves. Their own fur stuck in odd angles from rolling about during the brawl. Lets face it, knocked over tables and good food was bound to get in fur. Both had been going about cleaning that mess up when suddenly they were 'hugged' by their Uncle, laughing out like two children despite their rather large sizes compared to the other hares their age.

"I dare say there'll never be a bloody dull moment with you two 'round, eh, wot?"

"Ne'er at aw wi' this clan, Fuzzae!"

"Ae dull day is nae good for ae grow'n Hare!" The twins cired out happily in unison, laughing more as they were lifted right off their paws and squirmed.

And like a switch, both of the twins froze up with the Cadet girl approaching. She was... the shortest Hare they had ever seen! Of course, having never seen a rabbit, they did not know that was what she was. Suddenly as if snakes themselves they squirmed to break themselves free of their Uncle's hold and were quick to the maid, one to either side, as she was done with the officer she had bumped into.

"Ah sae, Rasp, hae ye e'er seen such ae wee lass?" Lark began, pure curiosity across his face. Almost as if reading one anothers mind, they started to circle her, keeping her flanked between one another.

"Aye, Lark, but nae a wee lass such as this! How old dae ye think she be?" Rasp inquired to his twin, as if expecting the maid to brag of her age.

Bravely, or without care, Lark reached out to poke an ear. "Cannae say, but look! Her ears have nae grown in!"

"Daw! Such wee things! Though she has ae good food source, eh?" Rasp asked, tweaking her tail as he noted that her build seemed more.. pear like, versus a typical hare-maid's lean build. While it did seem, probably to others that they were picking on her - in fact they were being just inquisitive. This was quite natural to them. And the idea of boundaries was not something these two were... even aware of. Their Uncle and the Corporal all but forgotten in the brief moment of the maid.

[Romulus]

"Ne'er at aw wi' this clan, Fuzzae!" Saxifrage crowed.

"Ae dull day is nae good for ae grow'n Hare!" The twins cired out happily in unison, laughing more as they were lifted right off their paws and squirmed.

Cordin chuckled, rolling his shoulder again. His smile widened when Heartsease showed up, and the corporal gave a nod in greeting to the cadet. It rather looked like she'd been in the thick of things just as much as the three males had.

"Don'tyou know a maid's got to fight for scones and scraps and fend off bad cooks and worse servers, sir! I've had worse scuffles over the last of elevenses. Whoops!"

Cordin laughed, reaching out to catch her lest she fell, but she managed to regain her balance. He was about to say something when the twins wriggled out of their uncle's grasp and began to circle her. Cordin's smile dropped halfway, and so did his ears. Inquisitive or no, the corporal knew what made maids uncomfortable.

Clearing his throat rather loudly, Cordin stepped between the twins just as they were making another circuit around Heartsease. He stopped them with his elbows on their shoulders, leaning against them as he would two posts. His firm stance held them in place. They may be big, but that was obviously not an issue for the corporal. He then grinned at the rabbit maid.

"Ho, Braveheart," he hailed. "A jolly good afternoon t'ye. How's me heartstrings bloomin' well gettin' along, wot?" He winked at her good-humoredly. He did like coming up with nicknames for the eager cadet. "Allow me t'introduce me new associates." He jerked his head at each hare twin in turn. "Larkspur an' Raspberry. Lark and Rasp for short, doncha know? These two bloody brawlers be the nephews t'our very own Saxifrage."

[nikki]

"Ah sae, Rasp, hae ye e'er seen such ae wee lass?"

Heartsease blinked at the hare twins, looking back and forth between them as they circled her. Some of the hare cadets had been curious over a young rabbit, naturally, but none had approached quite like this.

"Aye, Lark, but nae a wee lass such as this! How old dae ye think she be?"

"Eh? Well, I'm fifteen...." She took a step back from one twin, pausing as she nearly collided with the other.

"Cannae say, but look! Her ears have nae grown in!"

Said ears shot straight up at that - were they trying to insult her?

"I'm a rabbit, they're supposed to be--"

"Daw! Such wee things! Though she has ae good food source, eh?"

"YEEP!"

When Rasp tweaked her tail, Heartsease let out a startled squeal, leaping straight up and kicking out. Hard little footpaws slammed straight into the hare's gut, flooring him; the rabbit managed to land on said footpaws, if a bit awkwardly, and scurried a short distance before turning to face them, bristling with indignation. Before she could say much, though, Cordin stepped between them as Rasp rose, and she looked up at the adult hare as he spoke.

"Huh. Rasp means 'to abrade', doesn't it?"

This was said thoughtfully as she smoothed her fur - for a moment every inch the proper warren child - and then grinned at Cordin, ears perking up again.

"Awfully well, haha, looks like a beast can get paw to paw lessons even at a meal, isn't that so! Bit of cheek around here I suppose, but what can you do? Say, do you think we could go another few rounds with spear and halberd later?"

After that one kick, the maid seemed willing to ignore the incident. Saxifrage laughed, ambling over to the twins and leaning down to give an exaggerated whisper.

"Ah hink 'at means yoo've bin dismissed, mah lads." He grinned, watching little Heart chatter to Cordin. "Yon maiden thaur prefers dashin' sandy corporals. Whit will ye dae abit 'at?"

He was stirring up trouble and he knew it. Something told him that this was going to be entertaining.

[tenor]

The blow from the maid startled Rasp as he hadn't expected any form of retaliation. It did not help her statement of being a rabbit seemed to keep both the twins a bit dumbfounded on the topic. A rabbit? Really? This was a rabbit? With Cordin between them to keep them from circling any more, the twins at least had a brief moment to recover (as Lark had been laughing relatively hard as his twin was dealt that hefty blow).

"Allow me t'introduce me new associates." He jerked his head at each hare twin in turn. "Larkspur an' Raspberry. Lark and Rasp for short, doncha know? These two bloody brawlers be the nephews t'our very own Saxifrage."

"Huh. Rasp means 'to abrade', doesn't it?"

Cordin would be able to feel the sudden tension that rose from Rasp at that, his ears perking to stand straight a moment before his eyes hooded over. Lark was only laughing more at it by this point.

"Ah, button it, Lark!" Rasp snapped, but it was not so much in irritation as it was embarrassment at the moment.

"Nae mah fault th' lass has a guid bit a brains tae 'er," Lark teased back as if sensing his brother's distress. "Since when has a guid jibe ever bothered ye?" Lark did throw in, and noted his brother's silence on the matter. How odd...

"Say, do you think we could go another few rounds with spear and halberd later?"

At Heartsease's question to the elder hare, Rasp perked a bit, noting that.

"Ah hink 'at means yoo've bin dismissed, mah lads." He grinned, watching little Heart chatter to Cordin. "Yon maiden thaur prefers dashin' sandy corporals. Whit will ye dae abit 'at?"

That did not help matters at all as Rasp tensed up once more, eyes darting to the Corporal in thought. Lark however found this quite humorous. "Ah hink nae," Lark admitted with a laugh. "Th' Corporal may be 'dashin' but lets face it, our looks are better than his an' we're still growin', ye know." This was all explained to his uncle at a normal level tone versus his uncle's whisper, and full of both pride and confidence in that manner.

Rasp, however, had other ideas and would drop down to get out of Cordin's hold, slipping up to Heartsease. His earlier confidence seemed taken down a peg, eyes exploring her as if cautious to either physical or verbal reaction to him being close to her: "Hey, ah, ye use polearms tae? Mah brother an' Ah are just learnin' an', weel, mebbe we could practice some time together? Mebbe?" unlike Lark who was taking his Uncle's teasing in stride for the moment, Rasp seemed to have taken it a bit more seriously... and did not like that. His speech manner was missing the mockery it held just moments ago when he was working with his twin, replaced with slight fumbles as he seemed to stress words as if he was struggling on which would be best to pick.

This did not go unnoticed, however, by his sibling who arched a brow, ears tucking back curiously. "...why are ye talkin' like 'at, Rasp? Th' girl's kick knock what sense ye did hae it out ye?"

[Romulus]

"Good form, Braveheart," Cordin commented as Rasp got to his feet again. "Smooth motions, wot? But I dare say your landing could use a bit of work. Nothing that can't be jolly well learned in time, though, eh, wot?" That kick had been exceptional, actually, especially considering how small Heartsease was compared to Rasp.

"Awfully well, haha, looks like a beast can get paw to paw lessons even at a meal, isn't that so! Bit of cheek around here I suppose, but what can you do? Say, do you think we could go another few rounds with spear and halberd later?"

"Rather," Cordin agreed eagerly. "The ol' blade's been bolly well beggin' me t'take her for a spin, wot?" His golden eyes flicked to Rasp and Lark as the one twin got quite irritated and the other only laughed. Who'd spit in Rasp's lunch, eh? A knowing smile spread across the corporal's face.

"Ah hink 'at means yoo've bin dismissed, mah lads." He grinned, watching little Heart chatter to Cordin. "Yon maiden thaur prefers dashin' sandy corporals. Whit will ye dae abit 'at?"

The corporal in question tossed his head back and guffawed loudly, slapping a paw to his forehead. He leaned against Lark as Rasp scurried up to the maiden and tried to redeem himself. "Good God, man," Cordin exclaimed through his laughter, paw moving up to his prominent brow, golden eyes flashing. "Dashin' sandy corporal indeed!"

He pushed off from Lark--though not nearly hard enough to harm the dark hare--and wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. "Oh, aye, haha! Little Braveheart is bloomin' head o'er heels for me! Didn't ye flippin' know that, Rasp?" he guffawed again, doubling over with laughter and leaning one paw on a nearby table. He straightened and punched Saxifrage playfully on the arm, grinning from ear to ear. "Bloody cheek, ye ol' codger!"

[saxifrage]

"Good form, Braveheart," Cordin commented as Rasp got to his feet again. "Smooth motions, wot? But I dare say your landing could use a bit of work. Nothing that can't be jolly well learned in time, though, eh, wot?"

"Yes sir, especially if overgrown leverets keep abrading away at my patience!"

Heartsease was grinning as she spoke, though, good humor restored - and doubled when the Corporal took her up on the offer, giving a joyful little wiggle of her ears.

"Right then! When are you free? Seems I haven't any lessons today myself, though I'd awfully like to work with Lieutenant Sersea again. D'you know, I do like that two-pawed blade, not so well as my spear but a maid can have more than one weapon I should think; is there a special proceedure for cadets to get hold of weapons they don't already own? Of course, I do need to learn quite a bit more before actually carrying the beast...."

She broke off as Rasp approached, eying the hare with some trepidition.

"Hey, ah, ye use polearms tae? Mah brother an' Ah are just learnin' an', weel, mebbe we could practice some time together? Mebbe?"

Well, that seemed harmless enough. She eyed Rasp a moment longer before nodding.

"Well, all right, I suppose that'd be just fine. Might be good to work with another learner. Might have a bit more experience than you but I'm not used to other polearms, Cordin... Corporal Dorchester there... has been helping me with it...."

She gave the two adult hares a quizzical look over at Cordin's merriment. After a moment she caught on, and her ears dropped, the little maid's expression a bit flustered.

"Er. Well Corporal Dorchester is an awfully nice hare and I admire him quite a lot but I don't think--"

"Dornt think he'd notice ye?" Sax broke in over the maid's protests. He was grinning even at Cordin's punch, reaching over to give the smaller hare a light shove. "Cheek yerself, mah wee heartbreaker! Though per'aps that's whit yer wee braveheart is aimin' tae be wi' these cadets at 'at...."

[tenor]

"Well, all right, I suppose that'd be just fine. Might be good to work with another learner. Might have a bit more experience than you but I'm not used to other polearms, Cordin... Corporal Dorchester there... has been helping me with it...."

Rasp's ears perked at that, his mood generally seeming a bit better. "Ach, that's just fine! Ah'm a fast learner sae I'll catch up in nae time, Ah'm sure!"

"Oh, aye, haha! Little Braveheart is bloomin' head o'er heels for me! Didn't ye flippin' know that, Rasp?"

"Er. Well Corporal Dorchester is an awfully nice hare and I admire him quite a lot but I don't think--"

"Dornt think he'd notice ye?"

At this point Lark had a paw clamped over his mouth as he was laughing, tears being brought to his own eyes. Even for not knowing the female cadet, he had no problem jumping in on a good time! That and his brother's odd reactions to all of this was, in his opinion, all the better! Rasp's ears were tucked back, unamused by all of this.

"Well if he hadnae noticed ye yet, miss, 'en that's his loss Ah say!" Rasp stated a bit firmer than he intended, crossing his arms over his chest.

Oh, Lark couldn't resist: "But ye sure noticed 'er, huh Rasp?" The comment made the younger twin fluster up again, reaching up to play at the base of his ear, which only served for Lark to laugh harder.

[Romulus]

"Cheek yerself, mah wee heartbreaker! Though per'aps that's whit yer wee braveheart is aimin' tae be wi' these cadets at 'at...."

Cordin laughed, keeping his balance despite being shoved by the giant hare. He sniffed imperiously, paws on his hips. "Taught th' gel everythin' she jolly well knows, wot!" the corporal proclaimed. He winked roguishly at Heartsease, tall ears dropping to half mast comically. "Didn't I, wee one? Lesson learnt, eh, sweet thing?" He guffawed a third time.

As Rasp was--quite deservedly in Cordin's opinion--teased by his twin, the sandy corporal stepped up to Heartsease, clearing his throat to indicate he wasn't jesting, anymore. "Seein' as how ye think you're bolly free t'day, I dare say we c'n cert'nly go a few rounds, the young rogues included. Nothin' like a flippin' good spar wot, wot?" he said, a charming smile on his face. "But, b'twixt you an' me . . ." He leaned closer, one paw covering the side of his mouth as if he were telling a secret, though his tone of voice lowered only fractionally. "My bloody money'd be on you durin' the lesson, eh, wot? I doubt those two characters've got a lick o' bloomin' weapon-sense b'tween them."

((Sorry for lateness and mild shortness. Also lemme know if that was confusing and I can change it.))

[nikki]

"Taught th' gel everythin' she jolly well knows, wot!" the corporal proclaimed. He winked roguishly at Heartsease, tall ears dropping to half mast comically. "Didn't I, wee one? Lesson learnt, eh, sweet thing?" He guffawed a third time.

Heartsease giggled along with the hare, tipping a black-tipped ear toward him.

"And taught me to jolly well use it too, eh?"

She giggled harder at hearing the hare slang in her own voice before aboutfacing to look at the twin hares, ears up straight.

"Corporal Dorchester really is quite a good teacher and awfully nice as well. I mean, everyone I've worked with at the mountain has been extremely helpful, you see, so I'm sure you'll be able to get up to speed as well. Of course if you think you can take me on." She closed one eye as she spoke, tipping her head to one side. Then Rasp's words caught her attention, and she looked more directly at the young hare.

"Well if he hadnae noticed ye yet, miss, 'en that's his loss Ah say!"

"Loss as far as getting kicked across the room, you mean?" She tilted her head the other way, sizing him up. "Happy to do it again at any time, any time you care to rasp away." She twitched her ears at him severely, though she was grinning.

"My bloody money'd be on you durin' the lesson, eh, wot? I doubt those two characters've got a lick o' bloomin' weapon-sense b'tween them."

"Oh I don't doubt that. Maybe we can knock it into 'em a bit, might do them some good!"

Saxifrage chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"An' a braw auld barnie it promises tae be! Let's keep up our proper Lang Patrol welcome fur those wee rogues!"

[tenor]

((SORRY. The levels of sorry and forgetfulness. x_@))

"Loss as far as getting kicked across the room, you mean?" She tilted her head the other way, sizing him up. "Happy to do it again at any time, any time you care to rasp away."[/]

Rasp perked at that, not at all offended at what had happened it seems and grinned brightly. "Really?"

"Seein' as how ye think you're bolly free t'day, I dare say we c'n cert'nly go a few rounds, the young rogues included. Nothin' like a flippin' good spar wot, wot?" he said, a charming smile on his face. "But, b'twixt you an' me . . ." He leaned closer, one paw covering the side of his mouth as if he were telling a secret, though his tone of voice lowered only fractionally. "My bloody money'd be on you durin' the lesson, eh, wot? I doubt those two characters've got a lick o' bloomin' weapon-sense b'tween them."

"Oh I don't doubt that. Maybe we can knock it into 'em a bit, might do them some good!"

Lark perked at that idea, grinning brightly. He could get behind that! However the faux whisper made his eyes narrow and left ear tick a bit. "Ne'er know, mebbe we'll show ye what for." Though both blinked over to their uncle as he spoke, grinning brightly to that. "Think we can handle 'at, Rasp?"

"Och aye, Ah think we can handle 'at Lark."[/b]