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Naples
Sept 18, 2010 3:20:51 GMT -5
Post by Carrow on Sept 18, 2010 3:20:51 GMT -5
The first Carrow knew of any of this was when he spotted his fellow rodent leaping out from the crowds. He could only do his best to avoid Ladorak as the stoat swerved to avoid being hit. As it was, the wood mouse just barely managed to avoid being inadvertently struck by the mustelid. He had been standing quite close to the stoat and pine marten pair - just out of earshot of their earlier conversation, but close by nonetheless.
He had chosen to stick by Caden whilst they were here, but the younster's balance, or lack thereof, let him down. Afraid he was going to be hit somehow, the mouse took steps to avoid it, moving to his left as well. However, the street beneath his paws didn't really lend itself to such manoeuvres, and the result was that the Dibbun could not steady himself after he had moved. He tried to right himself to prevent anything else from occuring...
but it was too late. He'd always had problems with staying on his own two paws in situations like this, and this would prove to be his literal downfall. His body sharply corkscrewed, paws failing wildly as he made an attempt to save himself, but there was nothing more he could do. He fell to the ground, his unprotected back impacting with the hard surface. He let out a cry of pain, and lay still for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts.
The suddenness of it all struck Carrow as strange. Who was this creature who would attack a beast like Ladorak Fugate? What exactly did they want? He was unsure of what exactly was going on. All he knew was that as a result, his back was smarting terribly. The cobblestones had made things even worse, and his lower back had been hit harder than anywhere else. He shakily got to his paws, looking about him in bewilderment. what the hell did this beast want?
Caden had rushed forward and had grabbed the intruding rat by the throat. Good on you, Caden, Carrow thought; if I was anywhere near as courageous as you are, I'd be doing the exact same thing. All this had happened so fast, and Carrow was trying desperately to get it together, but he couldn't concentrate due to his aching back. He walked slowly over to the scene, keeping one paw on the stinging area, unable to hide the discomfort he was in, and eyeing Char with a look of intense suspicion. The mouse hoped that his fall hadn't injured him in any way. You never could tell with things like that, and it didn't help that he had something of a history of back problems either...
Selvis was soon at the scene as well. He'd been standing a little away from Carrow so had avoided any trouble. He'd been unable to save the mouse, as by the time he'd figured out what was going on, distracted by the new development, Carrow was already on the ground. The long-tailed weasel watched everything from a distance, slightly perplexed as to the rat attacker's motives. He was now on the other side of Char, and was studying the beast with a curious expression on his face - also trying not to pay much attention to the smell of manure that seemed to emanate from him. He looked over at his rodent companion. Carrow seemed to have taken that incident well enough.
A kind of quiet fury had enveloped the long-tailed field mouse at this point, and his brown eyes had darkened considerably as he looked at Char, unable to help smiling a little as he saw the creature held in Caden's grasp. For a young stripling, the marten was surprisingly strong. "What's this about?!," he asked, voice rising an octave. He wasn't afraid - he didn't really have much reason to be at this stage - just quite aggrieved by what had gone on. "What was that even for?," he asked desperately. Much like Caden, the mouse had interpreted this as an attack on Ladorak.... and he wanted answers. Fast.
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Naples
Sept 18, 2010 5:56:49 GMT -5
Post by spender on Sept 18, 2010 5:56:49 GMT -5
Zheep (for that was indeed the little monster's name; a barbaric sort to be sure!) at last popped his head out of the cart. He had a strong feeling that it was the very same cart from earlier in the day. Just his luck! It would have been that or the cobbles. Curse Char for forgetting they were doing the Rollicking Chicken, not the Corkscrew Cockerel! He would have to have Words with the rat, if he found him again.
Tumbling out the back, Zheep sat on the street and shook manure from his cape. He dusted off his helmet and set it back on his head at a jaunty angle, and proceeded up the street with an air of indifference, as if he were any other upstanding citizen.
This lasted about twenty seconds, whereupon he grabbed a potato from a stall and booked it under everyone's legs. To his credit, not a single beast was bumped at he wove his way through their midst; such was the grace of a weasel!
If Willard possessed such similar grace, no one would have known it. The poor fellow stood completely dumbfounded by events. He could have sworn he saw something fall off a roof, but he hadn't seen where it had gone, what with Ladorak and Carrow falling over.
Seeing that Caden had the suspect under control, Willard set his jaw and slipped in front of Carrow. His chest thrust out and his shoulders set back, the weasel made it clear that no one would be knocking his shipmate over again.
"Elliot, make sure Cerinus is unharmed and able-bodied," he said. "Selvis, if the rat breaks for it that way, intercept him. Caden, I've got your back if he tries it this way."
Willard was giddy. He'd never felt like this before. It wasn't the attack, he knew that. He'd been in situations like this a few times, and though they had always been tense and exhilerating, he'd never... never felt so powerful. It was like the winds of the world were coursing through his veins at gale-force speeds.
He was, in fact, experiencing his very first sugar rush.
Char kept very, very still. He was a few years younger than Caden, and the pine marten was much bigger. And stronger.
Though Zheep and Char had both been speaking fluent Welkin, the rat now adopted a thick Calgarian accent and shook his head, paws up and open, eyes wide. He knew his lines by heart.
"Please, is a miss-take, I norra looking I'm going. Lost I my mother, she go a fruiting to shops to for foods. Supper very, very small, we all very hungry, you kind Jal, on from the big ships, you have foods sparing? Food sparing to me with sharing? No? I mother, I afraid she whipping me I get late. You kind, you very kind Jal, I go? You kind Jal my letting me go?"
He tried a nervous smile.
Molly hardly even bothered with him at the book store. This was one area she was most certain Spender would be absolutely hopeless. She left him unattended while she picked out a book.
The problem was, she didn't really know what interested Caden when it came to reading materiel. No doubt he had enough boring things like history books and books that instructed you on how to know what rope was what in the rigging... If she bought him one of those, it had a good chance of simply being a copy. No one liked copies.
She spent a fair amount of time browsing titles, but nothing came to her attention. In fact, she rather lost track of herself as she flipped through one particular book that had caught her attention. It was in Rosferian, but having spent a fair number of hours with nothing else to do in her previous employer's estates, she was able to follow along with the gist of things.
What a bookstore!
Deciding to purchase the book for herself, Molly resumed her task of finding something interesting for--hold on, what was that noise? It was like someone was being strangled... oooh! Excitement.
Further investigation revealed that the noise was Spender giggling. The ferret was rolling about on the floor, clutching his footpaws, as a tall, handsome mink read aloud from a book. Molly frowned at the mess Spender had made. Several books were strewn about around him, none apparently having enough pictures to hold his attention before he pulled another off the shelves.
She was about to scold him when the mink read the next passage.
"A poor beast, who had a termagant wife, after a long dispute, in which she was resolved to have the last word, told her, if she spoke one more crooked word he’d beat her brains out: 'Why then Ram’s Horns, you rogue,' said she, 'if I die for’t.'"
"BWUAHAahahaha!"
Spender rolled onto his stomach and slapped the floor with his paws.
"I don't see what's so funny about it," Molly said, sidling up to them. "Spender, do sit up and put those back on the shelf."
"Miz Molly, Miz Molly," he burbled, "can we buy this book!? Pleeeeeease! Ocean'll love it!"
The mink grinned, turning the cover so Molly could read: Joe Miller's Jests. Of course, she should have known. A book of jokes. If that rather offensive tripe could be called a joke...
"I'm not sure about throwing it in the water," the mink said, "But your little friend here seems to love it. I'd recommend it, myself."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Molly snapped. "I think something a little more tasteful, Spender, would be a better present."
"Oawwwww..."
"Tasteful, Jis Stoat?" the mink smirked. "Have you seen the book you're holding in your paws right now? Not something you'd want a stripling to read, surely."
"That is none of your business!" Molly blushed, slipping the book under her arm, where the title was obscured. Spender's interest had been hooked, however. He stood and prowled around her, peering and tugging.
"What is it, what is it, what is it, I wanna see, is it for Ocean, did you find somethin' good?"
The mink was grinning hugely. Molly sighed and showed him the title. Spender stared. "Oh," he said. "Has it got pictures?"
"No," Molly lied. "It's a schoolbook. For Caden."
Spender blanched. "Can we get th'funny book? Pleeeease, Miz Molly? Not for Ocean if he don't want it, but I could get Elliot t'read some to me..."
Molly was about to decline again, when the ferret's face melted into this sagging expression that allowed the largeness of his eyes to take precedence over the rest of his features. A single tear dripped down his whiskers.
She caved.
Maybe Caden would like jokes after all...
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Naples
Sept 18, 2010 18:54:04 GMT -5
Post by Carrow on Sept 18, 2010 18:54:04 GMT -5
Carrow stretched slightly to test whether or not any further damage had been done, and was forced into arching his back almost fully as pain streaked up his spine. It was something that the mouse could definitely pawdle - he liked to think he had toughened up since the incident in the ground of Whistleminster earlier in the air - but he could not deny that it slightly worried him all the same. He stepped back a little, away from Char. Away from Willard... away from everybeast. He needed room to breathe. The rodent was usually good with tight spaces... but for some reason he needed a little more space to himself.
It was more the shock of what had occurred than anything else that was causing Carrow to act in this way. He was still getting to grips with the idea that some creature, intentionally or otherwise - young as he seemed to be - had taken it upon himself to try and hinder Ladorak. He listened to the rat's words. They were spoken in an accent that did not sound at all natural to the mouse's ears, and the creature's story didn't fool him for a second. He held his silence for the moment, however.
What was happening to him? Suddenly, the space that these Calgarian streets afforded seemed as though it was much, much less than before. It had become stifling for him all of a sudden, and it frightened the young creature to think he might be developing a fear of small spaces. How would he cope once they were back on board the Agamemnon? He tried to control the fear rising within him, and after a moment succeeded in calming down slightly. There was an odd sense of certainty within him that he somehow had not seen the last of this...
Selvis had playfully matched Willard's 'orders' with a smart salute, and a softly-spoken, "Yes, sir!". The long-tailed weasel was much more in a position to be ordering other beasts around. Quite aside from the fact that from even a glance others would assume him to be much stronger than Willard, the mustelid couldn't help but see this devlopment as a chance for him to try his paw at 'Ship's Corporal'. He knew he'd need to be able to deal with situations like this if he made the aforementioned rank, after all.
He felt his gaze inexplicably drawn to his mouse companion, however, and away from the statuesque rat that was still held in Caden's grasp. He'd be able to check the larger rodent if he tried anything, but he was much more concerned about the welfare of the wood mouse. Good grief, he thought, Carrow looks uncomfortable in his own fur. Whatever could be the matter with him? The mustelid detected a small grimace on the bewhiskered features of his friend. Was that it? Was he suffering from an aggravation of some sort?
He padded over to Carrow and crouched to meet the mouse's eyes, speaking softly to reassure him. "What's wrong, matey? You holding up alright?," he queried now, knowing the answer already, but wanting to make sure his friend would be honest with him. He knew that the rodent had the habit of passing things off as alright even when every other creature could see they weren't. The rodent could be awfully stubborn at times, and Selvis didn't want to see him distressed.
Carrow shook his head. "Not particularly... I feel like I'm being weighed down by something, and I can't tell what it is... and what's happened just made things a little bit worse...," he murmured, unable to hide his feelings of desperation. What was this thing? He'd never experienced it before, and it had shaken him almost more than he could bear. The long-tailed field mouse clammed up, unwilling to say any more... though he trembled slightly, scared about what this could mean. He was unsure what was happening. He felt control slipping from his grasp... just like before.
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Naples
Sept 18, 2010 21:28:01 GMT -5
Post by bookity101 on Sept 18, 2010 21:28:01 GMT -5
Janey smiled at the striplings excitement at inviting a total stranger along for the afternoon.
"I would be delighted to come along Captain, and thank you lad's for the invite." She took Ellie's arm just moments after the others headed out down the road. Keeping a firm grasp on the younger beech's shoulder, she addressed her in Rosferian, on of the first languages the two cousins had endeavored to learn;
"Now Ellie dear, do tell me how in the name of common sense you became 'Eliot'?" Ellie sighed, knowing that this would come, but dreading on how to explain it.
"Well, it started back in the winter, when Aunty dragged me along to a naval ball, there I met Caden and Cer, um I mean Carrow, the mouse." She was still speaking in Rosferian, so if anybeast did happen to over hear, they more than likely would not understand.
"And from there, they kinda planted the idea of running away in my head, and I joined the navy as my "twin", Eliot." Here she pointed a claw to her Navy issue breeches. "We met Selvis in Ferlusa almost a month ago... and he found out about my double life because he was helping me with my Ferlusan and I kept using the female pronoun.. and I needed someone to tell who wasn't Carrow," Janey nodded. She had only just met the young mouse, but could understand that he seemed to be a bit fragile. In fact, several mice Janey knew where like that... Wait, what did Ellie just say?
"And I couldn't tell Caden.. especially not Caden..."
"Oh, why not him Ellie," The older beech turned to cock a brow at her cousin, but before the blushing beech could respond, the attack knocked every thought out of her head. The passerby that Ladorak had knocked into, had been carrying two large crates. The top most one fell on her paw. Jumping around in an undignified manner for just a moment, then she heard Willard shouting her name.
"Right, Carrow..!" Ellie would have run to her friend, but her paw hurt her to much. Because of that, she arrived just after Selvis. She watched the look in her friends face, and something was forming in his eyes that she didn't like seeing. Hobbling around in front if him, she placed both paws on his shoulders.
"Carrow, Carrow, Cer!" She forced his face up so he would look her in the eye. "I don't know what is going on in the little mousey brain of yours, but stop it." She smiled at him, gently chucking him under the chin. "Chin up silly, you can't keep seeing the world as half empty mousey." With another smile, she gently turned him around. "Now I'm going to check your back," She placed a careful paw on his back.
"Tell me where it hurts the most, and I'll do my best to be very gentle." With that, she began to slowly ran her paw over his back, careful to listen for any sounds of discomfort from her friend.
********
While Ellie took over with Carrow, Janey made her way over to the captain. They had the culprit against the wall, and he was talking... in the most deplorable accent she had ever heard.
"Oh really youngling." She strode over to where Ladorak stood. "If you don't mind Captain..." With out waiting for permission she bent down closer to the weasel, addressing him in Calgarian;
"Try that again weasel. That is a very heavy accent, only beggars on the docks use that on tourists. The truth this time if you would."
**********
Luxe smiled and snagged the table that had just been vacated by their shipmates. Pulling out a chair, he motioned for her to sit down.
"Well, if I choose this time, what type of ice cream would you like Zephyr?"
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Naples
Sept 18, 2010 23:22:38 GMT -5
Post by Ladorak on Sept 18, 2010 23:22:38 GMT -5
Caden felt a rage boiling within him. He had been penning up a lot of frustration over the past few weeks from his inability to use his good arm. Caden needed an outlet, and hadn't been able to take it out on Spender as he had wanted. This rat was the next best thing, and Caden's pink eyes started to blaze with a fire that had lain without stoking for weeks.
"What are you saying then Janey?" Caden demanded, tightening his grip once more on the rodent's throat. He was standing back, his longer limbs helping him stay clear of the short reach of the rat...and on top of that, his fist was still poised, ready to strike at the gut if this rodent tried anything.
Caden's grip was tight, but not completely choking the rat off. Char would still be able to answer Janey...and Caden made sure of that. He had practiced on some of the tougher bullies of his neighborhood back home after all...he knew from experience how much pressure to apply to cut off their supply of oxygen, and how much to apply in order to hear them squeal and beg for mercy...though an answer to Janey's question would suffice. He had held plenty of rats like this in a choke hold over the years.
As far as he was concerned, this rat had attacked Ladorak...and he would pay if that was true. The stoat Captain, for his part, approached the albino and Janey from behind.
"What's this now Janey? My Calgarian is next to nil so...what did you just ask him?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Vanilla." Zephyr said simply, considering for a brief moment pulling out another chair and sitting down, but she took the seat Luxe had selected for her. He really was into this whole gentlemammal image wasn't he? She sighed, realizing she was adopting more of an aloof demeanor than she wanted.
Adopting a smile, the Assistant Armorer did her best to appear friendly, at least more friendly than she felt at the moment.
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Naples
Sept 19, 2010 2:45:03 GMT -5
Post by Carrow on Sept 19, 2010 2:45:03 GMT -5
Carrow suddenly felt a gentle paw under his chin, and his gaze was lifted against his will. The mouse didn't struggle, however, just let himself be led. His head was tilted upwards and he found himself looking into a familiar pair of eyes. Their gaze was comforting, and Elliot McNamee's gentle eyes stared deep into his own, holding him transfixed. He couldn't have looked away even if he had wanted to. The thing about Elliot was that he was very, very good at coaxing others into taking her advice... evn moreso than Caden, and that was saying something.
He sighed. "Yes... I know... I just don't really know what come over me just there. I felt like I didn't have enough room to breathe somehow. That's never happened to me before. I felt like my chest was in a vice and the air couldn't come. Maybe it's just a passing thing. I don't know... I can't know...," the rodent murmured softly. He was uncertain just what this attack he'd had could be attributed to. "More than anything else, that's what's worrying me..."
Selvis nodded. "It might have been a claustrophobic moment, Carrow," he responded gently, "but for now that's all it is. An inexplicable incident that's already passing, even now as I talk to you..." He had circled the wood mouse and was behind his back. His words were carefully chosen, ebbing and flowing with the grace of a confident speaker, his accented tones slowly rising and falling as he sought to soothe his friend into a more reasonable state. Gentle, coaxing cadences reached the mouse's ears, and he smiled slightly.
A soft yet involuntary yawn escaped Carrow's lips, and the weasel knew his plan was working. The combination of Elliot's gentle paws on his shoulders, his comforting gaze and Selvis' soft, steady suggestions were combining to lull the rodent into a more peaceful and suggestible state. He had not been prepared for such a tactic, and felt himself relaxing under the combined influence of the weasel and beech marten. "You... you really think so?," he asked drowsily, smiling at Elliot's repetition of 'mousey'. He really knew how to reassure a creature.
The pacified youngster let himself be turned to face Selvis. He felt the marten's paws run over his back, parts of which were beginning to darken from bruising. Selvis saw what Elliot was doing and knew that Carrow might be in more pain than he realised, so in order to keep his friend's mind from further distress, he crouched and looked right into his eyes, his paws on Carrow's shoulders and replacing Elliot's. "I know so, Carrow. This never happened to you before... so you don't have a history of it; makes it far less likely for it to happen again, of course."
Selvis knew the effect a calming pair of eyes had on Carrow, so he kept his gaze fixed on the mouse's. Carrow could now feel Elliot's paws running down towards the small of his back, and he began whimpering softly. "Ssssh... ssssh... it's alright...," Selvis assured him. "Think of something to keep your mind off the pain, and you won't feel it nearly as much. Trust me, mate. I've been in situations like this before, and thinking about your injury only makes things worse."
All the while this had been going on, Selvis had been passively listening to the ongoing ruckus. He could tell that Caden was pawdling the situation rather well, and this made him smile a little. The pine marten was rather good at commanding the attention of others. He didn't know of the mustelid's past roles, however, so simply put this down to a desire to see the perpetrator of this incident brought to justice. Janey had gone over to the scene now, as he could see out of the corner of his eye. The rat, whoever he was, didn't have a hope of, well, weaselling his way out of that particular situation.
The long-tailed field mouse smiled at Selvis, and immediately his thoughts turned to the weasel's charm and winning ways. This made his smile widen. The longtail had a knack for getting to the heart of the matter - just as he was displaying here - and he admired his can-do attitude and willingness to help others. These thoughts led him along to thinking of Archie, as he couldn't help but see more than a little of his guardian in his Ferlusan friend. He'd never noticed it before. Then again, Selvis had never had a chance to be this comforting.
Still staring into his eyes, the mouse spoke again. His voice was steady and low, not trembling once. "Think I might have hurt my lower back somehow, Elliot. It's sore all over, really, but it's down there that it hurts the most. I'm not sure what's happened..." He couldn't help but moan softly as the beech marten continued to run his paws over his back. "Yep... it's hurting a lot more down there...," he admitted. The sounds of the commotion nearby reached his ears, and he was sure that Caden was giving a good account of himself. For now, he concentrated on Selvis's bright eyes, reassured by the presence of his friends.
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Naples
Sept 19, 2010 18:00:21 GMT -5
Post by spender on Sept 19, 2010 18:00:21 GMT -5
"The truth this time if you would."
Char swallowed as best he could with Caden's paw restricting his throat.
Though he spoke Welkin with his friend, the rat was indeed Calgarian by birth and upbringing. Life on the streets didn't give one much of an education, but it did allow him as much time as he wanted to devote to learning both languages. Fairly confident that Janey was the only one of the group who knew the language, Char replied to her:
"I was not to harm the tall stoat, only to distract him. I am only the messenger. The message comes from my Lord Zheep, who wishes to welcome these new beasts. It was only a bit of fun..."
Char wrung his tail in his paws, and then, even though Caden wasn't constricting him as badly, began to make gagging and choking noises.
Willard was bouncing from footpaw to footpaw, like a prizefighter waiting for an opening. Selvis had ignored his orders! Willard did his best to ignore the longtailed's abandoning his post; they weren't on duty, after all, he reminded himself. He could get over it. It was just annoying; it was the very thing he had told the larger weasel just the other day. You want a job done... do it yourself! Now he had to watch both openings, in case the rat made a break for it.
He also felt rather humbled. Elliot's idea regarding the knowledge of languages was working exactly as he'd said it would. Without Janey's experience, they might not have been able to get a coherent word out of the rat, who had opened up immediately upon hearing her Calgarian questioning.
This was all so exciting! And scary. But mostly exciting. Was this what adventure was supposed to be like? Was he doing it right?
Glancing over his shoulder at Elliot, Selvis and Carrow, Willard felt an odd pang in his heart. He hoped the mouse was okay. If it took two beasts to check him out, it might be serious...
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Naples
Sept 19, 2010 22:33:59 GMT -5
Post by bookity101 on Sept 19, 2010 22:33:59 GMT -5
Ellie stepped back from Carrow, satisfied that he wasn't going to bleed to death any time soon,
"Well, you aren't going to bleed to death from this Mousey, you will be sore for a long time, and there is a little bit of blood from a scuff on the pavement, buuut." Reaching into her breast pocket, she removed a pawkerchief, gently pressing it to the small spot of blood, securing it by tucking the mouse's tunic tight around it. "There," She straightened, coming back around. "I'm no doctor, but that should be ok till somebeast who knows more than I about wounds and the like." A smile bloomed on her face when she saw the look of fear gone from her friends eye.
"You must've hit the road pretty hard to get that amount of bruising on your back.." With shake of her head and touch of sarcasm she said;
"Did you try to attack the ground or something?" Another smile appeared as she beckoned the both of them back towards the group. "We should join everybody else, as long as you are going to be ok, you are going to be ok... Right Carrow?"
*******
"Hmm? Oh" Janey broke eye contact with the weasel just long enough to address those behind her. "Forgive me, I forgot you wouldn't know... I asked him to tell the truth about what he was doing trying to trip you like that..." Her gaze swung 'round again when she heard the weasel talking.... A message... from a "Lord Zheep"?
"Well, then relay your message, in Welkin so they can understand what you are saying." She had switched to Welkin mid-sentence, so those around her should know what was going on...
*****
Luxe nodded to show that he heard her request, turning away to hide his smile at the fact that she accepted his attempt at acting as he had been taught. Padding up to the vendor, he quickly ordered two vanilla's, and soon was back at the table. Taking the seat across from her, he gave a smile of his own, and dug in, enjoying the taste of the ice cream on his tongue. After the first few bites, he decided to start the conversation;
"Zepyr, have you ever been to Naples before?'
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Naples
Sept 20, 2010 5:40:17 GMT -5
Post by Carrow on Sept 20, 2010 5:40:17 GMT -5
"No, I'm not going to bleed to death, thankfully," Carrow murmured in response, as his back began to flare up again. The pain came in waves, and the mouse was doing his absolute best to ignore it. He stared deep into Selvis's sparkling eyes. He saw a little of Archie within the longtail now, and it wasn't because they were the same species. Calmed and comforted by his gaze, even as his tender injured area was gently probed by Elliot, he concentrated on the weasel's eyes, and the warm smile that had appeared on his face.
He hissed in pain as the tail of his tunic was wrapped around his lower back, acting as a compress for whatever the beech marten had placed there. It had felt like a pawkerchief... probably was a pawkerchief, now that he thought about it. Keeping his eyes locked on Selvis, the rodent felt the pain recede as his thoughts turned to more cheerful things. He thought of how happy he was to be surrounded by good friends. He thought of how eventful the trip had already been. Most of all though, he thought of Caden, his pine marten companion and his best friend in all the world.
Indeed, the fear did seem to vanish from the wood mouse's large eyes. He was slipping into a more peaceful state... into what could perhaps have been called a light trance. This was definitely helped by the steady, unwavering gaze of his weasel companion. Another involuntary yawn escaped him. He was prone to being influenced by treatment like this, especially because the blue eyes of the Ferlusan weasel reminded him of his carer's gaze back home. He blinked owlishly, feeling a kind of tiredness wash over him.
"Yes... I suppose I'm going to be alright, Elliot...," he said distantly. "As long as I have two of you here, along with Caden, I'll be alright..." He trailed off. The next thing he sensed was the gentle patting of his cheek by Selvis. "Come on Carrow... come back to us... theeere's a good mouse...," he coaxed, smiling. The weasel had of course noticed the effect his gaze was having on the Dibbun, and while it made him smile to see the mouse so relaxed for once, he had to admit he was a little surprised, even despite what he had been told.
Carrow shook his head, the fog lifting from his mind as he regained control of his senses. He had a fair idea of what had happened. "Hmm... that's strange...," he said softly, glancing up at Selvis and shooting him a small smile. "Thanks for that. I really needed it you know. And thank you Elliot for doing what you could to help me. I'd say that'll just about do it. If I feel it needs to be looked at again, I'll let you know." He smiled at the marten as well, stretching slightly and coming out of his static position.
"Yes, how about let's go over and see how things have developed?," he suggested to the pair, clearly a little more like himself again. The long-tailed field mouse padded back over to the gathering crowd. He hoped he wouldn't have another panic attack, but knew that the chances of that were minimal at best. He didn't have a history of it after all. He found a vantage point and glanced at Caden, smiling at him, giving the impression that he was more than a little impressed with how the albino was pawdling things.
Selvis, meanwhile, was thinking of how his stare had affected his mouse friend. He knew then that he'd have more luck in helping his companion the next time he was in a low mood. The weasel was quite coercive anyway, but he thought that his new-found skill would help things even more. He jogged over to Willard. "Sorry about that," he murmured, knowing that the least weasel disliked his so-called orders being disobeyed. "I had something more important to do, though," he said pointedly, looking over at the long-tailed field mouse. "Anyway, it doesn't even look like it was needed. Caden's doing perfectly fine by himself, see?"
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Naples
Sept 20, 2010 8:53:57 GMT -5
Post by Ladorak on Sept 20, 2010 8:53:57 GMT -5
Ladorak sighed, thinking this over. "Lord Zheep?" the Captain shook his head. "It's not a name I recognize. As far as I know, King Ferdinand has very few vassals...and this 'Zheep' isn't one of them." he said skeptically. "The sound a weasel makes being the name of a lord? Not likely."
He motioned for Caden to let him go. "We're wasting time, and I need to be on my way to Sir William's. Just let him go Caden. I'm sure it was some sort of misunderstanding or some dibbunish game...the lad looks to be barely ten after all." were the stoat's words.
Caden gave the rat a final dark look, before roughly shoving him against the wall again to release his grip. "You got lucky..." he muttered, turning away from Char. Stupid Calgarian speaking...Calgarian. Why couldn't he speak Common? He clearly could. An idea suddenly formed in Caden's mind.
Ladorak was frowning at the albino. "Caden! You didn't have to shove him again..."
"Sorry..." Caden said, flattening his ears against his skull. "I..." had a sudden flare of anger? Wanted to protect you? In the end, Caden could not come up with a solid answer, but lifted his head to speak again. "Ladorak, why don't we go and find this Lord Zheep? I'm sure you can't take ALL of us to a diplomat's house right? I'd love to go with you...but having all of us along might complicate things...so I'd rather stay with my friends. I'm sure we'll be OK."
Ladorak appeared surprised at this suggestion by Caden, but gave his ward a small smile. He had to admit, inwardly he was worried about Carrow. The mouse seemed to have a low pain threshold, or at least a higher tendency to injure himself. It brought back those old concerns about what Carrow would do in battle...whenever they did enter into such a conflict. Life at sea wasn't always stopping in ports and working to make the ship serviceable after all.
"Very well Caden, if the others concur. I have to admit you have a point. I can't very well show up on Sir William's step with a gaggle of striplings in tow can I?" he commented, chuckling at the thought. The albino nodded, and turned to his companions.
"What do you say guys? Want to check out Naples on our own?" he turned to Char, who seemed to either have been trying to slink away or otherwise wasn't moving much. "And you! Take us to this 'Lord Zheep'...if you can manage that." Caden had his own reasons for wanting to seek out this mysterious character, and not only that, he had seen Carrow go down out of the corner of his eye.
It had increased his anger and might have led to that last burst at the end. If they were lucky...maybe they could treat Char as their prisoner, depending on who this Zheep was. Caden wanted to do some shopping as well, both for Ladorak's Birthday, as well as Carrow's...he knew he might not be in port again for awhile. Let Ladorak pawdle the diplomacy...he would be good at that after all. Caden wanted to explore!
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Zephyr dipped her spoon into the vanilla, beginning to eat. She studied Luxe for a moment. Was he eating vanilla because he too liked it? Or was...he simply eating it because she had ordered it? She wasn't yet certain if Luxe was trying to impress her, or was simply being himself.
"Naples? Yes...I've traveled here before, a few times. Haven't been in over five years though." she explained. Ever since before he last voyage. "Must have been around...six...maybe seven years since I've been here?" she said, looking down at the ice cream as she stirred it, raising it up to her lips at last. "How about yourself? First time in Calgary?" she asked him. She took him as the type that had probably never ventured out of Welkin. Blacksmiths had no reason to travel beyond their home forges so to speak.
"Not much has changed. Ferdinand was on the throne even back then." she commented afterward whilst waiting on his response.
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