Stoater and Commander: The Prologue

[Carrow]

Cerinus felt his stomach churn as Spender spoke. The ferret obviously didn't know that the mouse and the albino pine marten had at least one thing in common; that is, that they had both lost their mothers (though both the rodent's parents had died).

Though the jibe could not have been directed at him, it still hurt him quite a lot, as Cerinus had always been just that little bit closer to his mother than his father when they had been around, and hearing such barbs from that Spender's mouth made him want to rush him and floor the nasty, insensitive creature.

In the end, though, the wood mouse decided that this wasn't worth it in the slightest, not to mention that it would simply provide Spender with more ammunition to use against him should they ever (and he was rather hoping that this never came to pass) meet again. So he held his tongue and stayed where he was, though if Caden looked around, he would see the mouse shaking like a leaf. Much of his nervousness had disappeared now, it could be noted. So why was he shaking? It was because Cerinus wasn't really there at all: he had been transported back to the time of his mother's death by the aggressor's comment. She had been the last to go...

[spender]

Spender stuck his paw in his pocket, taking out a few cheese cubes. He tossed them into his mouth and chewed - on his paw. The cheese cubes were just a front of putting his paw towards his face. A quick bite, deep and hard - ow! - would do it just fine. He gnawed until he tasted blood along with the cheese, then spat his paw out and swallowed. Stage one of his revenge was complete. Now all he needed was a sympathetic ear...

Speaking of ears - Spender's flicked. Agh, it was that white freak pestering him again. The ferret scoffed at what he heard. What did he mean? Caden's voice wasn't the voice of somebeast who wanted to be left alone. It was the voice of someone confused and curious.

Well, well, well... he doesn't honestly know?

The ferret whirled around and placed his un-bitten paw on Caden's shoulder. The marten flinched, but Spender smiled - a sad smile - and shook his head.

"You don't know? Far be it from me t' tell you, then. I'm sorry, Whitey. You'll 'ave t' ask someone else. Surely whoever's been raisin' you ought t' know..."

Well, if the first insult had no impact, it was time to change tactics. Withholding important information about the marten's mother would rile him up good. Maybe then this party would get interesting. Send Caden on a quest of information-gathering against his guardian of all these years. Yeah. Maybe they'd get in a tiff! If whoever was taking care of Caden was here, that is. Spender looked around. He didn't spot any other pine martens - there was a female beech, but she was probably Elle's aunt.

Elle's aunt? Score!

Putting on his best sad face, Spender skirted away from Caden, clutching his bitten paw. The blood was still oozing from the bite marks he'd made in his pawpad. It hurt, but it should be worth it for this...

"E'scuse me, ma'am," the ferret said, bobbing his head towards Elle's aunt in the middle of a break in her conversation. "I wos talkin' t' your neice, an'... an'... that white pine marten, he bit me an'... she kissed 'im!"

Tears sprouted from Spender's eyes as he gazed woefully up at the horrfied marteness.

[Ladorak]

Caden swatted Spender's paw off of his shoulder, as per usual. "Don't ever touch me." he growled under his breath, listening now as Spender....summarily denied revealing what it was he had said. And what was that? Blood on his paw? What had he done? Hurt it? But wait.....he had bitten it...but why?

Eh this ferret was nuts. He probably wasn't all there anyways. If there was one thing Caden didn't want to end up doing....it was repeat his family's history. Aside from his uncle, they were all dead. He had to be the one to break the chain.

"Fine. Go choke on your cheese." he said as a parting shot, and turned to head back to Cerinus and Elle. Or....if Caden wanted Spender to choke on his cheese...a good solid thump to his backside should do that. The albino was tempted, but didn't follow after the ferret. "That jerk....at least he's gone now. Sorry about that....he seems very vaguely familiar to me, but I can't place him." Caden stroked his chin fur, trying to come up with where it was he had seen Spender before.

"So is everyone alright? I can't remember what we were talking about before this. I guess our reasons for being here. The sooner I ship out the better I think. Anything to get away from that guy!" the marten hissed, his eyes growing dark now. "He doesn't live near me though. Probably some city beast...though his accent was more bumpkin than anything else." Secretly, Caden hoped that Elle was alright. He had wanted to get to know her better, but that had been interrupted by Spender's intrusion. He noticed Cerinus seemed to be in some sort of a daze, though didn't seem to be too badly shaken up.

"Those things he said about my mom....better not have been true." he said, shaking a bit from his contained anger. "But if they weren't well.....I guess I should whack him one on the snout...." it was clear that Caden's mother was quite the sensitive subject to him now, as he had learned snippets about her that he wasn't sure he liked. He knew Ladorak had said that she had changed....negatively but how? What was the truth about his mother?

"Oh sorry!" he said, coming back to reality and realizing he was thinking out loud. "Anyway hope you two are OK." he said, looking between them and hoping Spender didn't come back.

*************

Unluckily for Spender however, someone had been observing the whole thing. And while Montegu Sylver was preparing to head over to Ladorak, he passed right by where Spender was telling his fib. The weasel decided to act.

"Actually Jis, that lad bit himself. I was watching him the whole time. That kit in white did nothing of the sort. Do beg your pardon, the Right Honorable Montegu Sylver, at your service." he tipped his top hat at Elle's aunt. His title meant that while he was not a noble, he was probably on par with Knight status.

"You see if you look carefully at the bite marks you'll notice that one of the puncture wounds is a bit off center, definitely in line with that stripling's snaggle toothed incisor there." the detective noted, showing off his incredible sleuthing talents. His observation was second to none, and he could often divine things about beasts without ever actually speaking to them. "There's also some cheese on his wounds, and if you observe the white marten has no cheese, but this fellow here does. Finally, a good look at the albino's teeth will reveal a far more impeccably arrayed set of incisors, not crooked like this lad's. They seemed to be having some sort of altercation." he explained, looking down at Spender.

"While I know the guardian of the albino, I also know he is a decent kit and wouldn't do something like that, at least not in my experience. This one here though seems to have a penchant for picking fights and making trouble. The few bits of conversation I did catch between them were not pleasant. And as for the young jill kissing the white furred one...rubbish. They were just conversing, that was all."

To startle the ferret, the weasel brought his cane down suddenly in front of the stripling, thudding it mere inches from one of his footpaws. "It's not nice to spread slander lad. Just imagine if someone turned your own words against you, and claimed you were the one doing all those things. Ah but therein lies your motive." he said, having thoroughly spoken every last of bit of deduction he'd made about Spender and the situation now.

Giving the ferret a smug but stern look, he finished with a simple "None of those kits in that group did anything out of bounds. So your...daughter or perhaps niece is absolved." the weasel said, unsure if Elle was this marten's daughter or not. Possibly a ward but...he doubted it.

[bookity101]

Luxe nodded agreement with Hood's statment, breaking into his customary warm grin at the last comment.

"Yes sir, I am more comfortable in my smithy back home in Thorpe." He indicated his rather gaudy, to his eye's in reality it wasn't all that bad, outfit. "I was forced into these by a rather social conscious patorness of mine." He shook his head, rememboring Madame Gaylor's reaction to his first choice.

Luxe glanced around the room, noting some naval captains whom he had made swords for in the past, returning nods of greeting but not making a move away from Ladorak. After a few moments he turned to Hood again,

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but when will the ceremony be starting SIr?
*******

Elle came up beside Cerinus, placeing one soft paw on Cerinus shoulder in a comfoting manner. She had started at Spender's comment about Caden's mother, then was puzzled at his reaction, and Cerinus' reaction to it. Surely not the both of them were orpahns as well... were they?

Elle was about to voice this question when she noticed exactly where Spender was headed. Her free paw went to her mouth, hoping against hope that nothing bad would happen to her because of him. Little did she know that weasel jack that approached Bera was to be her rescuer. And since Bera seemed to thanking the Jack and moving away from Spender, and not towards Elle, Spender must not have been able to do much damage.

Elle turned to Caden and smiled.

"I'm alright, thank you Caden." She turned a concerned eye to Cerinus.

"What about you Cerinus?"

[Carrow]

Cerinus really was quite grateful to have Elle's gentle paw on his shoulder at that moment. The beech marten should have been able to sense that from the tension contained in that shoulder, the mouse was under more than a little bit of stress. It could not all be attributed to Spender's off-paw comment. In fact, the wood mouse was never the calmest of creatures, however he seemed to look.

Elle's voice seemed to lift the rodent out of his reverie. Fragments of memories had rushed through his mind all the while Caden and Spender's exchange had taken place, and he had stood transfixed, almost entranced, as they had played inside his head...

"...What about you, Cerinus?" The young creature started slightly, and his eyes, which had seemed fixed and glassy for those distressing moments, returned to normal, though they still looked a little distant. "Oh... er... I'm... I-I'm alright...," he replied in a shaky voice, even though it could be seen clearly that he wasn't completely himself.

Archie had done a lot for her charge, but she had little idea what dark thoughts often lurked inside his mind. The weasel jill had seen these troubles come to the surface at times when he'd been suffering from depression, but Cerinius had always been unsure about speaking to her about them. He thought about Elle and Caden, though. The former seemed very understanding, and the latter could relate. But did he really want to burden them with his troubles... even if they wanted to know what was wrong?

[Ladorak]

"Should be rather soon." the opossum Admiral commented, nodding slowly. "I think that presently we'll all be hearing the names of those receiving their commissions and getting their jobs back." Ladorak nodded at this, his whole essence filled to bursting. Any moment now....they would begin, and he would probably be the happiest ermine in the room, along with all the others returning to sea.

Presently, almost as if on cue, King Poynt III ordered the music to stop, and gradually, like a vectoring virus spreading throughout the room, the conversation hushed until it was limited to only a very select few, and they too were silenced once the King began to speak.

The fit ermine cleared his throat, and began to address the assemblage. Caden spoke into Cerinus's ear right as Poynt commmenced his speech. "Hey.....don't let striplings like that get to you." he said softly. "It's going to be fine...." he pulled back, and murmured something else, a bit crestfallen now as he settled in to watch the speech. "Besides.....it was my mother he was talking about anyway..." His brow furrowed, and he felt once again that great weight within him, that pit in his stomach as he could only wonder at what was true about his mother and what wasn't.

"Admirals, Commodores, Captains, assembled jills and jacks. I thank you all for coming out here tonight. As many of you know, I have ordered the mobilization of our Navy, in expectation of war against Rosferia....the self-styled Republic." there were many snickers and sneers around the room at this now, as the very notion of beasts governing themselves was lost on this crowd. Democracy was such a....backwards notion, found only in lands that were crazy like Mossflower. Democracies hadn't existed since ancient times, and all of those nations had been stamped out by rival nations led by a strong central ruler.

"As per strategy, our Navy will be divided into four primary fleets. The Channel Fleet will be tasked with watching Rosferia's west coast, and keeping tabs on the Ceres Fleet. The secondary fleet will be the Cobalt Squadron, and will watch Rosferia's southern coastline, carrying out operations in the Cobalt Sea and being matched against Rosferia's own Cobalt Fleet. The North Sea will be watched as well with a third fleet, and a fourth will be sent to start capturing some of the Western Mandates that belong to Rosferia, as we could always use more colonies" he finished, eliciting some chuckles here and there.

"Firstly, let us appoint Admirals to these fleets, and then work on the Captains. Command of the Channel Fleet goes to of course, the senior ranking Admiral on the list, Admiral Richard Howe." Most of the gathered officers applauded for the old fisher, he gave a few nods and was not in the least bit surprised. The 67 year old was being called back to service again, and had more years at sea than probably everyone in this room save for Hood. Speaking of Hood....

"The Cobalt Fleet will pass to Admiral Samuel Hood, and long time veteran and an excellent officer who has served me well for decades."

"Hey! Alright! Congratulations sir!" Ladorak said heartily, shaking the opossum's paw. At 69, Hood was one of the older Admirals in the room, but was in better shape than even Howe, and would form the "dynamic duo" as the two had come to be known over the years.

"Command for North Sea will go to Adam Duncan." The giant skunk (giant only because of his huge, intimidating girth and rather towering height for a skunk) folded his arms, receiving congratulations from those around him as well. The monochrome creature was 61, and almost a ten years younger than the first two who had been named, but still in his sixties.

"Finally, command of the Western Mandates expedition will be given to Admiral John Jervis, an officer I have always held in very high esteem." Jervis! Ladorak knew him by reputation. A very strict disciplinarian, but a highly competent and enterprising mink, partly feared, always respected. He was short in stature for a mustelid, and had almost a jolly look to him, but everyone knew about his real character. The mink Admiral was currently 58, his birthday having been a few days ago. Youngest in the group, though with much seniority under him.

"I am mobilizing this fleet, for two reason. One, because those dastardly Rosferians have executed their King." the room fell silent again. This was news to almost everyone here. "Yes....Augustine XVI has been executed by the mob in Rosferia, and this 'mobocracy' must be put back into its proper place! And second, their occupation of Eastern Mordenz severely disrupts our trade with Gradvar and the fertile lands around the Trine River. One of our biggest markets taken away from us without our consultation.....I think we need to at least go to our ally Gradvar's support and reopen that area to free trade once again. If Rosferia proves aggressive to our request to withdraw from Mordenz, then war will be a real possibility."

The King's words were all but true. Almost all opposition in Parliament had faded now. Even though they had been promised 15 years of peace, not a single one of them could stand by and watch as Rosferia plunged itself into "mob rule" as far as Welkin was concerned, and cut off one of their biggest markets.

"Thus I ask the Admirals to begin choose their Captains, posting them to ships, and getting ready for mobilization. As at present Welkin has 115 ships of the line, and Rosferia has 76. It should be an...interesting competition. Right then, enjoy the rest of the party. Congratulations to the Admirals, and best of luck to the Captains." Poynt's speech ended, and the band immediately struck up "Rule Welkannia", the national anthem of the Royal Navy.

Ladorak turned to Hood once more, who was holding a sword out for him to take. "What's this?" the ermine asked.

"Your promotion Fugate. You're stripped of Commander's rank and hereby promoted to Post Captain, effective immediately Turn in your Commander's blade, accept this new one, and....do get yourself a uniform with two epaulettes now." Hood said, giving him a wink as Ladorak just about exploded with glee. A sudden, numbing sensation came over him, and he was wracked with a very great, intense, burning desire to break out and do that forbidden of all dances. The War Dance. The secret mustelid dance of inner joy that had been suppressed in this century thanks to Welkin becoming "civilized", but it still boiled within him regardless, like a volcano about to erupt.

Solemnly taking the sword, the ermine undid his sword and pawed it over to Hood, exchanging it for the one of Post Captain. Running the sash around his waist, the ermine tied it at the back as Hood spoke. "Furthermore Fugate, you are being assigned to my fleet, with command of the 64 gunner Agamemnon." Ladorak's heart nearly stopped. Agamemnon!? She was a 64 gunner yes, so not as heavily armed, but she was known as one of if not the fastest ships in the fleet! On top of that, she had a reputation for holding her own in fights, and heavy hitter at only 64 guns. A SHIP OF THE LINE! Finally! His day had come!

Nearly fainting, and wanting to jump up into the war and commence the War Dance, the ermine grinned broadly, to which Hood couldn't help but break out into a grin as well, as he knew how long the ermine had been waiting for just such an opportunity.

Feeling as if he were the proudest mustelid in the room right now, Ladorak nodded, shook Hood's paw, and spun about, looking for Caden. Now where had that kit got to...aha! Over there! Making a beeline over to the ground, the new Post Captain was grinning from ear to ear. "64 guns. Fastest ship in the fleet. Say hello to the new commanding officer of the HMS Agamemnon!" he said, standing before the group of kits now and looking down at them.

Caden brightened upon seeing his guardian coming over. "Hey! That's great! Congratulation!" he said, once again suppressing the urge to add "dad" at the end of the sentence. "Oh Ladorak, this is Lady...." he said, stressing her title, but in a good way "Elle McNamee, and Cerinus." he said, moving in between the two of them and showing them off with this paws.

"Yes, quite! Cerinus I have met already, and well Lady McNamee." he said, giving her a little bow. "Nice to meet you." He wondered if Caden had found Elle or Elle had found Caden. Either way they made a cute pair in his eyes.

Caden suddenly snapped out of his daze about his mother. "Oh! This is Ladorak Fugate.....my guardian." he said, hoping neither of them would think it strange that an albino pine marten was being cared for by an ermine.

[Carrow]

Cerinus took in Caden's words silently, smiling a little and nodding, though he still felt a little disconnected. However, the voice of Poynt brought him back to reality, and he clasped Caden's paw in a solid gesture of friendship. "Thanks for the advice, mate."

Moments later, the smile on his face had grown considerably. Ladorak was looking rather pleased about something. The mouse could see the ermine clearly, smiling fit to burst. Then it hit him. Of course, of course! He had been right all along, and his greatest hopes had been well-founded. Ladorak was indeed one of the creatures who had been here to take command of a ship!

The mouse's eyes brightened, and he turned to face his new friend. The new Post Captain seemed a trifle busy now, understandably, so the rodent would have to wait before telling him his request. But he could wait all night if he needed to, for with Caden and Elle now in the picture, and Spender out of it for the time being, he was finally beginning to relax and enjoy himself.

"You must be quite proud of yourself, sir" Cerinus said to Ladorak, before turning to Caden and murmuring into his ear, "and you're real lucky to have a creature the likes of him taking care of you. I hope to see you with me when we set sail, whenever that might be." He checked himself - it wasn't exactly a foregone conclusion after all. "That is, if he even accepts me."

[Ladorak]

Caden almost recoiled as he felt Cerinus's paw wrap around his own, but he quickly realized the mouse was only looking for reassurance and thanking the marten, so he gave a small squeeze back just to say "no problem" and continued to listen to the ceremony. As "Rule Welkannia" played in the background, the patriotic tune building to a real crescendo, Caden could hear Cerinus whispering in his ear now.

He was....lucky? Was he lucky? He had lost his mother at a very young age, and had been raised a rat nurse who for the most part had told him very different things than what Ladorak had been telling. It was almost a year now since he had come here, and he had spent much time soaking in Ladorak's mentality and his way of doing things. At first he had been resistant to change, almost violently so, but seeing that it was getting him nowhere, the marten had adapted over time.

He wasn't bitter after all...he only been taught to be bitter by Helandria. But now that she was dead and out of his life, he found that there wasn't much to be bitter about. He could barely remember his mother, and his father he couldn't remember at all. He was still very uncomfortable due to not being sure about the sort of mother he had really had, but at the same time he took....actual joy in living with Ladorak too.

So yes....Cerinus was probably right. Caden was very fortunate to be in Ladorak's care, and not Helandria's. The two lifestyles had been very different, contrasting sharply with each other, and yet here was now. An albino struggling to find acceptance and fit in. What was that last bit about Cerinus sailing with him!?

Caden's large ears perked up, and he looked over at the rodent. "Hey wait...sailing with me? You planning to join the Navy too?" he asked. "And if who accepts you? Ladorak?" Caden looked up at the ermine now, who had caught most of what Caden had said.

Nodding, his eyes never once lost that shine. "Ohhh I see. So that's what Cerinus is doing here. Is that so lad? You seek to join the Navy? How old are you?" Ladorak guessed that "Carrow" was around Caden's age, but couldn't be quite sure. Maybe he was already a stripling, and maybe not. Maybe he was still in "dibbun" status.

[Carrow]

Cerinus blushed. He had certainly not been expecting his request to slip out from the lips of another creature, but he didn't mind at all. It was out in the open now, so he'd just have to follow up on it and see where it led him.

The softly-spoken wood mouse piped up, his brown eyes still bright. Hopeful, too. "Yes, sir, I am indeed seeking to join the Navy. I'm twelve years of age. I understand it's obviously not going to be a walk in the park, but I'm a creature that needs even the slightest thrill or adventure in my life, which is why I even came here, I have to admit."

He spoke to Caden then. "Oh, I thought you should now. I have a nickname back home. It's 'Carrow'. I don't mind being called it at all. In fact, you can call me anything you like, so long as it's not late for breakfast!" The rodent smiled at Caden, warming to him now just as he had done with his guardian.

So there. The request was out. Now he waited to hear what the new Post Captain would think. Rejection wouldn't break him - he'd been subjected to too much in his young life to fall apart at relatively small things like that - but the ermine could see clearly that from he way he raised his head to meet his gaze, and by the light that shone in his eyes, that the youngster's heart was set on it.

[Ladorak]

"Twelve?" Ladorak asked, stroking the white fur under his chin. "Yes....same as Caden, though he turns thirteen in May. Now technically, thirteen and over can join up, twelve must wait. If you have a birthday the beginning half of this year, then you should be fine and if not well...." the ermine thought for a moment. How best to proceed....ah yes! Of course! "We could always change your birthdate around a tad for the records." he said with a wink. "So long as you plan on being thirteen this year, I have no problems with it." he said sincerely.

"Now then....as for needing some thrill and adventure...it is most definitely that...but...." he knelt down now in front of the mouse, placing a paw on his shoulder. "It can be a lot more. A rigorous routine. Up at the same time everyday, and being quick and fleet of paw. Obeying orders to the letter, and doing your job rapidly, though not so much that you'll mess up. Every jack is vital onboard the ship. The slightest mistake could mean the whole ship is compromised, and thus we take our jobs very seriously. It is a great responsibility for young and old alike. My job is ensure that everything runs smoothly, and final authority rests with myself. It is a lot of work, but not so much that you'll collapse. You get down time as well, and you can get paid quite big dividends. Every member of the crew is entitled to prize money when we capture a vessel, and you can make a small fortune for yourself off of this alone." the ermine smiled now, tightening his paw just a bit, but more in a reassuring manner.

"One thing is for certain though. You have to be absolutely sure about this. It will be the adventure of a lifetime....I promise you that. But it is responsibility too...do you think you can pawdle that son?" he asked of Cerinus, searching his eyes with his own.

Caden meanwhile, had moved back over to Elle as Ladorak was giving his spiel. "So....don't think I caught your reason for being here. Obligations to a social life?" he asked, curious as to her motivations. Was her aunt just here for fun or what?

*********

Montegu Sylver meanwhile brushed past the stripling, not particularly interested in what, if anything he had to say. He had seen Fugate move over to the group of kits, and did intend to catch up with him in order make a request. "Say Fugate!" he spoke up, then noticed that the ermine was preoccupied. Well whoops.

The gentleweasel stood by, a short distance away, paws upon the silver top of his cane. He could be patient....and as it turned out driving force to accomplish this was rather quite burning. It was something the detective normally didn't do. A life of adventure on the high seas after all? He never would have pictured it had it not been for this whole war business. That...and a certain other something as well...