Rehabilitation(restart from last post)

[roland]

"The question, old man, is if you ever wished you still had family." he smiled a little and cracked his paws.

"Me, of course I don't need family." but everyone in the room could tell he was bluffing.

[Ashstripe]

((Best make a profile and get it approved first eh?))

[roland]

(done.)

[tSoMtW]

[Aye, but not yet approved, eh? ;] ]

[skipper]

(hes approved, post away!)

[Skipper of Sea Otters]

(( So the real question is...Are you Approved... ))

[tSoMtW]

((He is. He just needs to post his profile. Unfortunately, Skipper of Otters, I'm afraid you'll have to have it approved before posting, eh?))

[Ashstripe]

((Ooo-err crowded thread. Moving along.))
Ashstripe smiled weakly, did he wish he still had a family? What kind of question was that? Was the answer obvious? Not to Ashstripe. That was a part of his mind that he had walled off long ago, a forbidden zone that he hadn't touched in years.
"Y'don't say?" Ashstripe was unconvinced and hinted at that quite strongly, he continued pondering his little conundrum carefully. The thoughts were old and painful in startling contrast to the memories before, they were pleasant, a dream and this was the reality. That was all gone, here he is now. A Badger Lord of the legendary Mountain, probably one of the last of his kin for all he knew.

His answer came slowly and with uncertainty, "All the time.." He muttered, not a day went by that he didn't reminisce no matter how much he denied that to himself.

[roland]

"You miss your family, eh? I can't say as blame you. Family...its something hard to replace." The awkward young badger turned away, a little embarrassed by his forward nature.

"I always....I always hoped that I would find another family one day."

[Ashstripe]

Ashstripe grunted a light 'hmph' in response,
"Wouldn't we all like another, lad. Wouldn't we all." He flicked another piece of charcoal and a bit of the chipped stonework into the fire, which rose slightly in appreciation, thanking him for sustaining its existence a little while longer.

"Tis strange..We assume they will always be there. Until they are taken." He muttered, cursing his own foolishness at not cherishing every moment, once a moment is lost it may never be reclaimed. He realized that now.

[roland]

Truely, the point wasn't lost on the strange badger. He nodded his head slowly, and cracked his back.

"At least I had revenge for my loss." He mumbled softly, his tongue thick as he listened to the older badger cursing and mumbling to himself. Quietly, he rose and, after a moment of internal conflict, lay a paw on the bigger badger's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to bring up anything painful."

[Ashstripe]

A small brief grunt was all Ashstripe could muster in reply, he was going to say, 'I be not a sir..', but thought better of it. The presence of the younger badger's paw on his shoulder was sudden and disgruntling at best, but he also sensed the sympathy behind the gesture so he decided to lower his shield of stoicism and fierce independence to allow himself something that he had been denied, mostly by himself for a long time; affection, sympathy. Something he had not felt since the loss of his daughter during the war, he never did acknowledge her completely, even after all these years.

"I-...Thank ye.." He eventually muttered, somewhat to break the path of the thoughts that flew in his head.