Off to War (Open)

[Tirael]

A number of Long Patrollers had gathered by the gates of Salamandastron. They laughed and joked as though today was any other day; if you hadn't been told, you might not suspect that they were leaving to fight a war.

Had he not been so skilled at going unnoticed in a crowd, Tirael would have stuck out like a sore paw. He looked apprehensive; unlike the hares, he hadn't spend the better part of his life training to fight. Having secured the supplies he needed, he stood aside from the rest, silent and waiting.

[Grath]

Aidan pushed through the crowd of laughing hares, one of a few who were grim-faced. "Come on, get lined up properly there." He moved a pair of recruits back into their marching order before moving on.

"Now, what did she say 'is name was? Tiral? Tinal?" He muttered to himself as he continued to look for the otter. "Blast, the otter's playin' at bein' a 'are, wot!" Just then, he broke out of a knot of younger hares, all the time reminding them to get in their places, and spotted the otter off to one side.

"Ye there! Is it Tiral or Tinal or Tiran?"

(yes. If it says open, post. If it says name - open then ask if you want to post.)

[Tirael]

"Ye there! Is it Tiral or Tinal or Tiran?"

Tirael looked up sharply. He was getting use to being addressed like this; it had already happened at least five times. "It's Tirael, sir," he answered as he stood. Unsure of whether to salute or extend his paw for shaking, he decided to attempt the former.

[Ox-eye]

Ox-eye had traveled for many days and nights, but had finaly made it back to salamandstron. It had been too many seasons since he had left, but he still remembered the day well. He had left during the night, without telling anyone, it was easier that way, well to him it was, he wouldn't have had to ask permission and then be denied to leave.

He had left to go traveling, he had grown bored of just staying in the mountain all the time, so he left and was now back. He wasn't exactly in the best of shape, he had been attacked by vermin a few days ago, he had managed to slay every last one of them, but had taken many wounds, which over the last few days had taken their toll on his body.

So leaning on his pike for support he made his way towards the mountain fortress. As got closer to salamandstron he could see that there was a crowd of hares gathered outside the mountain, so he pushed on towards them. He could feel he strength leaving, but he had to make it, his life depended on it. By the time he was spotted by the hares, he had covered most of the sand dunes and was in plain sight. When he saw some of the hares moving towards them he smiled, he would live to see another day and then he passed out through exhaustion and his wounds.

[Grath]

"It's Tirael, sir."

Aidan acknowledged the salute with one of his own. "Ye don' need to salute me, boy, I'm not yore commanding officah, Rosie is, wot!" His attention was drawn away, some of the hares were pointing out the open doors of the mountain, and a few of the younger ones were walking towards a wounded hare.

"Oy! Stop!" Aidan called, motioning for Tir to follow him, along with a few of the other hares. "Don' walk off without yore weapons, ever!" He scolded them. The young hares' ears wilted in embarrassment. "There could be a band o' vermin laying in ambush!" He continued. Smack.

"Ouch!" Aidan rubbed his head and glared at his sister. "Blooming insubordination, wot!"

"Don't call me Rosie." She replied calmly, lifting the front of the stretcher she'd dragged out of the mountain with the other paw. some of Aidan's hares rushed to take it as they approached Ox-eye.

"Tirael?" Roseleaf asked.

[Tirael]

"Ye don' need to salute me, boy, I'm not yore commanding officah, Rosie is, wot!"

Tirael was a little surprised by the captain's comment; hadn't he heard Enon tell that sentry not to call her Rosie? During the short time he had been at the mountain, he had picked up that Roseleaf hated it. His musings were cut short by the commotion that ensued around Ox-eye's arrival and collapse. Following Aidan, he examined the unconscious hare as the captain harangued the younger soldiers.

"Tirael?" Roseleaf asked.

He looked up hopefully at the sound of Roseleaf's voice; she would know what to do. "He's pretty badly wounded."

[Ox-eye]

Ox-eye remained unconsciounce throughout the enitre ordeal, where the many hares who had spotted him where now gathered around him. While these events took place, he dreamed of his entire adventure, from the moment he left the mountain, all the way up to when he collasped. These events played over and over in his mind. He could see all the friends he had lost, the cruel vermins faces, the nurmerous battles that had happened, with friends being slaughted around him and not being able to do anything, these were the events that continued to play over and over again.

he wished they would stop, but he was powerless to do anything, he was forced to watch over and over again, this caused him unimaginable grief and yet the hares who found him had no idea what was happening to him as he lay unconsciounce. To the hares around him, it seemed as if he was having a fit, but instead he had brocken in a feaver, which was pretty bad, by the way he had began to sweat.

[Grath]

((Will we ever get out of here? Now they'll have to take him to the infirmary...heal him... and then they can leave. ><' I think we'll just drop him off for good ol' Dolly. Is that ok, ox-eye? Rosie cant really heal him here, and they cant take an injured beast with them. ))

"He's pretty badly wounded."

Roseleaf knelt on the opposite side of Ox-eye, across from Tir. "Yes, 'e is." She quickly examined Ox-eye, he was beginning to toss and turn.

"For sure some of those wounds are infected. He's probably collapsed from dehydration and blood loss, mostly. He should survive." She supervised the hares placing him on the stretcher.

"Dolly should be in the infirmary... be sure to tell her he needs willow tea and clear broth...careful!" She said the last word sharply as one hare nearly dropped the stretcher.

[Tirael]

"...careful!"

Tirael's paw shot out to help steady the stretcher. He watched as it was borne back into the mountain, and sighed as he thought of what could have caused this; in other words, who could have inflicted those wounds. Something in his mind clicked as he realized he would be dealing with much more of this when they reached the battle zone. It made sense to him that he had to go, helping to save the good as they fought to rid the world of evil. It was a satisfying revelation. He turned to Roseleaf, feeling as though he should say something. Before he opened his mouth, he realized he had no idea what to say, and he simply looked down, then at the sea.

[Ox-eye]

((thats fine, you guys go and leave Ox-eye with dolly, whos is dolly?))

Ox-eye remained unaware of what went on around him as he was born off in the stretcher. He began to toss and turn more violently as he began to see the aftermath of the last battle he had been in, being forced to watch as half of his friends were murdered in front of him, the scene would reply over and over again in his mind, the cruel faces of the vermin and the aganized screams of the beasts that were about to killed.

After a while he seemed to calm down as he began to see scenes from the good times, where he had enjoyed himself throught his life. He stopped tossing and turning, but the fever had gotten worse, causing more sweat to break out on his face. There was a brief moment when Ox-eye opened his eyes, he couldn't make out much, but what he could see was rocky walls on either side of him and he knew that their were hares either side of him as he was moving, to where he didn't know and then he passed out again.

[Wildrun]

((Where are ye' guys going to fight? I want to bring a new charrie into it, and i'm sure she'd be happy to help!

Mapel: A fight? No way!
Me: ..It's a fight over old manuscripts from, ah, Marshank?
Mapel: COUNT ME IN!
Me: ...^^"))

[Grath]

[[Dolly's a NCP healer-in-training]]

Tir seemed about to say something, but instead looked away at the sea. Roseleaf opened her mouth to ask why, but was interrupted as Aidan clapped his paws and exclaimed:

"Well, don' just stand there! Get back to t' mountain, we're still waiting on Enon and Sarge, wot!"

So Roseleaf instead said, "Come on," and led the way back.

[Tirael]

"Come on."

Nodding quietly, Tirael followed Roseleaf back through the gates and into the courtyard of Salamandastron. As the soldiers moved back into their proper places, he picked up and shouldered his supply bag. Trying to ignore curious glances from the hares, some of whom hadn't heard an otter would be joining them, he looked at the ground. To distract himself, he quietly asked Roseleaf, "Where are Enon and Sergeant...uh, the Sergeant?"

[Ashstripe]

A hobbling mass of green, brown and some other indistinguishable colours gradually made its way through the corridors towards the gate, the clinking of metal against metal, wood against metal and many assorted clinks and bops of the various collisions was as common as the rain with every step the would be hare took, as the trademark ears eventually made their appearance.

Sarge was never one for travelling lightly, he didn't care if it was a brisk two-day journey to Mossflower or an expedition to unknown lands, he would take at least half his weight in supplies and arrows to simply compensate for what may eventually be; his fears were often wrongly found and half the time he had to dump half of his cargo at the very gates of the mountain. But Sarge was never one for giving up, he would try again until his legs or back failed him.

And fail they did, for no sooner then had he arrived out the gates did he collapse in a panting heap, much to the amusement of many of the hares. There was old Sarge, trying to be young and fit like a badger,

"Hoho! Lookit that! Sarge is travellin' a tad bit lightly today isn't he? Wot!" Came a rather sharp and smart assessment of the would be situation,

"Oh we go through this ever' blinkin' war! Sarge, y'can't carry a bloomin' badger to th' war can y'?" Berated a young exasperated maiden, one of Sarge's would be sub-ordinates who in some cases was more rational and wise then her superior,

"Pish'n'tush! I can carry two flamin' Badgers! Just watch! Ye'll see! Wot wot!" Sarge cried out defiantly from his new angle on the world - on his back, in the pile of his supplies.

[Tirael]

Tirael's question was answered as the Sarge seemed to spill out of the gates in a sea of objects he had on his back. The otter was too surprised to laugh; he hadn't expected an entrance so...undignified? That would seem to have been the mood as some of the younger hares berated the Sergeant, who was still on his back. Still looking confusedly at the older hare on the ground, he murmured to Roseleaf, "Does he always do this?"

[Grath]

"Pish'n'tush! I can carry two flamin' Badgers! Just watch! Ye'll see! Wot wot!" Sarge cried out defiantly from his new angle on the world - on his back, in the pile of his supplies.

Aidan hurried up to Sarge. “Oh, I say Sarge, y’can’t carry all that flippin’ lot!” He eyed the stuff hanging from various parts of Sarge’s attire, then shifted his gaze to Enon, standing behind him. The black squirrel shrugged, her own supplies fit into a pouch at her belt. “I could no’ stop yon hare. He’s absolutelyflippin’ determined to carry it, wot!”

"Does he always do this?"

“Oh, yes.” Roseleaf nodded. “Usually drops half o’ it at the bally gate, but ‘e always wants to be prepared.”

[Tirael]

"Well, he definitely looks prepared." Tirael winced as some unidentifiable article fell off the pile and clattered on the floor. Looking over, he realized that Enon had arrived behind the Sarge. Clapping his paws together hopefully, he asked, "Is that everyone then?" As apprehensive as he was, he also found himself impatient to depart.

((Sorry it's kinda short. Writer's block :/))

[Ashstripe]

"Pff.." Sarge blew a light sigh of exasperation, really, did everyone doubt his capabilities to this extent? He simply couldn't see the reason to doubt it, sure this incident was not unique and this was more or less the seventh time within the season; but this time would be different - he hoped.

"Can 'nd will, m'dear and m'chap!" The old hare feebly tried to bring himself to his feet simply by rocking back and forth on his back, his paws barely reaching the ground but his legs were lacking the strength to bring the rest of himself up,
"I say! Who wants t'elp ol' Sarge up then? Eh? Wot?" He cried out with growing urgency but still with an alarming amount of indifference.

[Grath]

"Pff... Can 'nd will, m'dear and m'chap!"

Aidan shook his head, if Sarge wanted to carry it, he would. The older hare was very stubborn, but eventually he'd have to drop some of the junk. "Ok, enough standing around, wot!" He clapped his paws, forming the small group up, again. "Lets go!"

"I say! Who wants t'elp ol' Sarge up then? Eh? Wot?"

Enon moved around in front of the flailing hare, reaching down to grasp a flailing arm and pull him strongly upwards. "Ah got ye, Sarge. Do ye want mah 'elp carryin' all that?"

Roseleaf picked up an outsized haversack and slung it on her back, then picked up her bow. Making sure her quiver was safe on her hip, she waved Tir forward with the bow. "Come on then, young'un, lets move."

[Tirael]

Tirael's heart leaped as he nodded. Picking up his pack again (he had dropped it while waiting), he checked once more that he had everything he needed. Satisied, he shouldered it and moved to stand where he thought looked right. He had never marched before, but he decided he would learn quickly.