Dust your paws of it...

[Hyacinth]

The day was quite still, so barely a ripple could be seen to mark the surface of the Abbey Pond. An otter, as large and muscular as his kin tend to be and maybe even more so, crouched at the edge of the water. His dark brown brow was furrowed as deeply as the fields he'd been working on this morning. He hestitantly reached a dirty paw to the water and shivered, though not unpleasantly, at the cool, wet feel of it.

Oakrudder could hear the water singing to his bones. He felt drawn, even from the Abbey, to the waters of the great River Moss. He could even feel a slight pull towards the sea, though he had never seen it. However, all of these instincts to be one with the water were not enough to overcome the feeling of slimy dread which had crawled into his stomach, never to leave.

Oakrudder stared at his reflection, and beat the soft earth with his heavy, clever tail in frustration. Why did it take this long every time?

[Rocky]

Rocky had just been enjoying some shrimp and hotroot soup-- A favorite of otters. Rocky had even put some of this rare pepper in it that was extremely hot and it burns your skin. He accidentally spilled the whole contents in his soup while he was conversing with another abbeydweller. He didn't notice how much pepper went in the bowl, so he had some, thinking he added just a little bit. As soon as he swallowed, his throat felt on fire. HE even spilt some on his fur, so his skin burned. He charged out of Great Hall and ran towards the pond. He noticed an otter there and decided to show some of his own skill. As he ran towards the pond to soothe the fiery sensation, he ran and leaped over the otter, while doing a perfect somersault, and he landed in the pond with barely ripple.

He surfaced again and swam towards the other otter. "Hello, Ah'm Rocky." HE said. "What's your name?" He asked. He held out his paw for a pawshake.

[Hyacinth]

Oakrudder gaped a little, watching the ease with which the other otter swam both with appreciation and not a little jealousy, before extending out his own paw.

"Hello to yerself, mate. I'm Oakrudder...How's the water? I mean...er..." Here Oakrudder trailed off into silence. This was going to prove to be awkward; how to explain that he couldn't simply check for himself?

[Rocky]

"Nice to meet ya, Oakrudder." He said. "My full name is Rockrudder. Rocky's my nickname. I use that more often." He said. "Now... About the water..." He trailed off a bit. "Why don't you come in and try it yourself." He said as he tried to pull Oakrudder in the water.

[Hyacinth]

Oakrudder blanched, his eyes wide with panic. He tried to pull himself away, but his footpaw slipped on the soft earth and he fell face-first into the Abbey Pond. Floundering wildly for a few moments, his limbs and tail soon remembered what to do and he swam smoothly to the surface. His head broke the water, eyes blazing and teeth bared.

"What in hellgates were ye thinking, ye rock-brained, rotten-ruddered buffoon?" Oakrudder demanded, swimming over to Rocky and giving him a shove on the shoulder. The all-consuming fear had itself been consumed by anger as hot as shrimp 'n' hotroot soup. Oakrudder had even forgotten he was in the water.

[Rocky]

"Ey! Watch it!" He said dangerously."It was meant for fun." He added emphasis on the word "fun". "Anyhow, don't push me again." He said. "What, are ye an otter that's afraid of the water?" He asked.

[Hyacinth]

Oakrudder narrowed his eyes at the other otter while slowly treading water. It really did feel so natural, that he'd forgotten his fear entirely. Not his anger though.

"Mayhaps I am, and ye'd best shut up about it, or I'll push ye again!"

[Rocky]

"You better not push me again..." He growled out. "Or Ah'll dunk ye this time!" Rocky began to swim to the edge of the pond. He held a paw out to the other otter. "C'mon. Get up and out o' the pond." He said.

[Hyacinth]

Oakrudder hesitated. The cool water had begun to cool his rage, and although it still felt good, small tendrils of apprehension were starting to regrow. He clenched his jaw against it, took a breath, and dove down to the bottom of the pond. He dragged a claw along the settled silt making it cloud up around him. He set his footpaws firmly on the floor and pushed up, his sleek head breaking the water next to Rocky.

"Alrighty, mate," he said, clasping the other otter's paw. "Let's get out and dry off in the sun."

[Rocky]

"Aye, sounds good." He said as he hoisted the other otter from the pond. Rocky walked into the gatehouse and grabbed two towels. He tossed one to Oakrudder. "Ah'm gonna call you Oak, from now on." He said. Rocky started to dry himself with the towel. "So why do ye hate the water?"

[Hyacinth]

Oak nodded, "Oak'll be fine, mate."

He snatched the towel out of mid-air and began briskly rubbing down his fur. Once finished, he folded the towel and sat on the lush grass, placing it beside him. He stared at his footpaws for a few moments before speaking.

"I'm afeared because...well...when I was still a dibbun, there was an accident...ye see...my brother..." Oak's voice trailed off, and he continued to stare at the ground. This wasn't really something he spoke about often. The pain of losing his brother coupled with the embarassment of being frightened of water was still too raw to handle.

Oak curled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them pensievely. "What about you, mate? I've not seen you here before. Where do ye come from, and what brings ye to the Abbey?"

[Rocky]

Rocky listened to the story. When Oak trailed off, he kind of got the drift that something may have happened to his brother.

"What about you, mate? I've not seen you here before. Where do ye come from, and what brings ye to the Abbey?"

"Oh, I come from all over. I'm a wanderer." He said. "I come to the abey just to set aside fighting. I've been fighting for a really long time. I know I may be young, but I've been fighting since I was 9 seasons..." He said.

[Hyacinth]

Oak gazed at Rocky ponderously with his warm amber eyes. Times were hard, and vermin rampant throughout regions in Mossflower Woods and to the north, but having to fight from the age of nine seasons when one was basically still a dibbun was unthinkable.

"Are ye a sea otter then, mate?" Oak asked. He knew that sea otters were particularly fierce. They'd need to be, he thought. The idea of the cold, heartless sea with its unbeatable waves made him recoil on the inside. He'd also heard stories about fearsome beasts such as giant fat "seelies" which swam better than otters and great toothy sea serpents. That's not to mention the hordes of pirates which roamed the waters, looting and plundering and killing indiscriminately.

[Rocky]

"No... Well, not fully. Half river otter... Half sea otter. My father was a sea otter. My mother was a river otter from the highlands." He said. "I don't like the sea... Too many dangerous things out there... Eels...Sharks..." Rocky trailed off. "Too... weird... Everything in the sea is... different.." HE started. "Not to mention corsairs and whatnot... They'll kill and plunder just for the hell of it..." He said. "In fact... I'm going to be traveling to the sea after my stay at Redwall... Ya know, go check it out..." Rocky looked at the otter next to him. "You could come if ye like."

[Hyacinth]

"Me?" Oak asked incredulously. He'd often done a bit of wandering around Mossflower woods, but had never ventured so far west as to reach the ocean. The idea of it made him shudder visibly.

"I'm not sure, mate. I wouldn't mind doin' a bit of travel and gettin' a look-see at the land, but the sea...I'm not sure I can handle it. It's not the vermin, mind. I can hold my own. But the water...the waves...I can barely manage yon pond!"

Oak looked at the ground feeling ashamed, again, of his fear, then looked up to see what Rocky's thoughts on the matter were.

[Rocky]

"Ah, ye don't have to go swimmin' in it! Ye could just travel with me down to the sea!" He said. "Ah've never really been in the sea before... I've seen the sea, but... It looks rough at times... I've seen many ships be capsized..." He said.

"So... Do you want to come with me? OR not?"