An Unwise Stunt And a Kind Deed (October 3, 2005)

Background:

Night has fallen at the bank of the River Moss, about a half day's travel from Camp Willow. A group of Redwall Abbey Dibbuns have spent the past few days on a camping/hiking trip up to Camp Willow, with several of the Orderbeasts as their chaperones. One night, the dibbun ferret Lansing and his new friend, the batling Aldara, have a bit of fun. Or at least, one of them does, depending on how you look at it.


The River Moss
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Along this streach of the River Moss, the waters flow calmly on. As you peer into the waters of this great river, you are able to see the fish swimming around in slow circles near the surface of the water. Nearly all of the river surface is shaded, though at some parts a sliver of sun peaks through. The waters here are dark and clear, so you are able to see any trout or greater-sized fish near the riverbed.
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Exits: [S]hrouded [P]athway, [Ca]mp [W]illow, [E]ast to [S]hore, [U]p [R]iver, [W]est to Shore, [D]own [R]iver
With:
[ZZZ] Seth
[ZZZ] Racheal
[ZZZ] Nia
[ZZZ] Malli
[ZZZ] Xavius
[ZZZ] Jukka

Aldara has arrived.

Rather than sitting near the fire that has been set up, Lansing sits near the edge of the river bank. He can be seen occasionally sticking a toe or a claw into the river, only to quickly withdraw, as the water's pretty cold tonight.

Aldara has been around the fire, in a shouting/singing competition-- it's a bit hard to differentiate the two-- with another dibbun for the past ten minutes or so. That has become dull, however, and the batling is soon up on her feet, waddling about in search of something else to do. She shakes out her wings, stretching them out and tottering with them to either side of herself in a test of her own balance. Her noisy approach is easy to catch as she slowly comes up behind Lansing.

Lansing turns around, as his ears did indeed pick up Aldara's approach. He smiles a bit, and gives a little wave. "Hey, 'Dara."

Aldara hums lightly as she peers around the ferret, into the water. She folds her wings before replying with a chirp, "'Lo, Lansee!"

Lansing giggles, saying, "That was a lot of singin' back there." His voice sounds a bit strained. "Think I sang too much or too loud." That would explain his being by himself here until just now.

Aldara plops down aside him, grinning wide. "Ya. S'big voice! I won," she says with a haughty tilt of her head. Though, it's difficult to say if there was really any winner to that whole thing; but she's intent on believing she did. "Wh'ss'oo singin' bou'?"

Lansing shrugs his shoulders, idly stirring the water with the tip of a claw. "Nothin' much. I don' know all that many songs. Mos'ly just what Mama or Dad'll sing ta me sumtimes."

Aldara looks back down at the water as it is stirred, ears twitching ever so slightly. "Oh. I do t'same!" She shifts her seated position slightly before asking, "Wh'ssa son'oo know?"

Lansing umms in thought. "Don' know their names. Never asked Mama or Dad about 'em." And one could guess by the sound of his voice that he's not in much shape to sing. Even if he was, the young one would more than likely sound awfully sharp, anyway. XD

"Oh..." Well, Aldara would usually prod for a song anyway, but she gets distracted by a little twig floating in the water! Silly short attention spans. For a moment, she stares at it, then she looks back up at him. "Wh'ssa doin' by t'water?"

"Me?" asks Lansing.

Aldara nods several times. "Ya."

Lansing shrugs again. "Jus' looking at the water. Th' fire was makin' me feel a little hot."

Aldara mouths a quiet 'Oh,' then looks back down at the river. "S'cold?" she asks.

Lansing nods. "Yeah," he responds. "I might've gone swimmin' if it wasn't for that."

Aldara's brows go up, "Y'c'n swim?"

Lansing nods. "Uh-huh. Dad showed me 'ow. 'E said an ol' otterlady showed him how when he was a bit older'n me."

Aldara's nose crinkles, "Oh.. I can' s'im." She looks back down into the water, "Mebbe tha's why I don'ikes baffs." A twisted, disgruntled look is given to the river.

Lansing smiles a little at the batling. "I's fun," he says, then adding a caution. "But not if y'don't know how to swim."

Aldara sniffs lightly, "I t'inks I'll'eave'a s'immin t'oo."

Lansing shrugs once and replies to the batling with a smile still on his face, "An' I'll leave th' flying to you, when you can fly." Touche.

Aldara's crinkled-snout expression returns, frowning, "I'lla f'y soon!" she declares.

Lansing meant well in saying that, and so he clarifies. "I'll be the firs' ta cheer for ya when ya do." He stands up and looks toward the river, and mischief slowly creeps onto his features.

Aldara nods several times in response, "Ya!" Once he stands up, she slowly does to. She looks down at her feet, and kicks a small stick into the water.

Lansing starts to take a few steps back, still facing the river. He starts to look determined.

Aldara squints out at the river, trying to find the stick she just kicked out. She looks back at Lansing, brows raising. "Wh'ssa doin'? She matches his backward steps with a few hops of her own.

Lansing then suddenly breaks into a run, then leaping into the air as he shouts "Wheeeee!". His shout is followed by a 'SPLASH!'. After a second he surfaces, the water up to his shoulders as he screeches a hoarse "Yeeeek!" about as loud and as well as any bat could. His voice then drops very quiet, growing increasingly louder and more rapid as he sloshes his way out of the river, and sprints for the fire...ripping his shirt and pants off on the way. XD "..Cold....cold...cold...cold..cold..cold, cold, cold, coldcoldcoldcoldcoldCOLD!!!"

Well, the batling was certainly not expecting this! Aldara's eyes follow him, widening as he dashes towards the river edge. She holds up a wing to shield herself from the resulting splash, peeking back over it just before he screeches. Ears pricked high, the little maiden watches as the drenched ferret scrambles past her, tearing the clothes from his back. After a moment of watching in quiet bewilderment, Aldara is bent over with shrill, uncontainable laughter.

Lansing is too busy trying to warm himself, or perhaps hide his total embarrassment, to snap anything back at Aldara's laughing. That, and he's in the middle of a nice scolding from the adults for his stunt while they drape a dry blanket over his furry self. His only words are the same as before, as he shivers and his teeth chatter almost uncontrollably. "..C-cold, cold, c-c-cold, c-cold.."

Aldara is still buckling with laughter, slowing her walk towards the fire. "Tha... hee-hee! Tha'was t'--hee hee hee--" She goes into another fits of giggles, drowning out her ability to finish the words. Even as the adults scold, Aldara's laughter rings on. She flops down nearby, rocking side to side and back and forth with mirth. "Hee hee hee! Tha'was t'funntiest-- heehee--" The maiden spreads her wings wide sharply to the last word, "Evar!" And then she rolls back again, giggling.

Lansing's teeth still chatter. The blanket his only raiment at the moment, he wraps himself up in it tightly. He keeps repeating the same word, but progressively slower. "..Cold.....c-cold.....cold.."

Aldara's laughter trails, though a sickly large grin still remains. She creeps closer to the ferret, her expression dimming slightly, "Hee-hee... Y'kay?" she asks.

The young ferret chatters, "..Th-think so." He frowns, not looking all that happy. "..Feel r-real dumb, though. Shouldn'a tried. N-now the other dibbuns might try it, too, wh'n they can' swim. "

Aldara shakes her head several times, grin returning full force. "_I_ ain'gonna t'y... I don'anna be dump too!" She sits back, giggling. "T'at'as funny t'ough!"

Lansing has stopped shivering by now. A paw of his reaches out to the fire, while the other keeps the blanket close. He doesn't know whether to laugh or not. It obviously wasn't that funny to him. Still, he asks, "..Y'think so?"

It sure was funny to her, but that's pretty obvious to just about the whole camp. Maybe surrounding forest residents, too. Like Lansing, Aldara reaches out to feel the warmth of the fire, if only to copy him. She pulls it back while nodding, "Uh-huh." The batling grins.

The ferret withdraws the paw, securing the blanket with that paw while reaching with the other now. "Hmm.." he says, looking a little thoughtful.

Aldara's ears twitch, her expression still bright with the earlier mirth. Her eyes trail back towards the river, looking herself to be a tad thoughtful. "Wh'ssit... Wh'ssit fun? A'fore t'water. 'Ike.. f'yin'?"

Lansing hmphs a bit, but it's actually with a little smile. "..Kinda," he replies, "..but don't tell nobody. Don't want th' other Dibbuns trying that..they migh' not be so lucky."

Aldara frowns a little, still looking at the river thoughtfully. "Oh," she says in a quiet voice. "Kay! I'un tell no'uns!"

Lansing withdraws the other paw, and just keeps both tucked away in the blanket. He sits there quietly, blinking a bit hard as his eyes now focus upward. He blinks a little again. The young ferret is trying to get a look at the stars again, but the light of the fire makes that pretty much impossible. "Can't see th' stars from here," he remarks.

Aldara's eyes turn from the river, up to the indicated sky as well. She squints in attempts to see, though is affected by the fire's light as well. "T'ey nah's b'ight as ye'terday," she observes. It's beyond her to think that the fire light would cause their disappearance.

The ferret says, "Might be able to see th'm if we go away from the fire, but.." He shivers just a tad. "'M still a little cold."

"Well.. iffa can' see'ta stars, anna cold.. t'ey come t'us!" Aldara declares before promptly standing up. "'Ey! Lansee w'ansa see'oo! C'm ou'!" she commands skyward, stomping her foot soundly. She steps back a bit, blinking away the glare from the fire, and hops. "T'ere'ey are!"

Lansing stands up, watching Aldara curiously. He wraps the blanket tightly around himself before walking over to where she is, and looks up along with her. He smiles again softly. "I c'n see them, too."

Aldara bounces happily at 'commanding' the stars to come out, grinning widely with this power. She nods, "Ya. S'petty." She stares up at them for a long moment, but is soon interrupted by an undeniable force of a yawn pulling her maw apart. It's reasonable that any dibbun be tired after a day of travel and youthful play, and the batling's no exception. "I t'ink'm gonna g'back t'fia." she says, waddling off towards the said direction. Aldara seats herself by it, then sprawls out on her back, and is soon lulled further by the dancing flames.

Lansing then realizes a little problem he brought on himself with his little stunt: this blanket is probably going to be his 'clothes' until his shirt and pants dry off, whenever that is. The ferret doesn't seem to mind all that much though. He follows Aldara back to the fire, and curls up on one of the sleeping pads relatively close by, at just the right distance that the flames don't gradually scorch him. "'Night, 'Dara."

Aldara's wings close around her, twiddling her toes close to the toasty fire. An ear twitches towards the ferret, and a sheepish smile pulls across her face, "Ni'ni', Lansee." She snuffles quietly, drawing her wings tighter about her in the chilly are and shuddering.

Lansing just lays there, staring into the fire for a few moments before turning over, the flames making it hard for him to see at all now. He curls up, actually feeling pretty comfortable now.

Aldara rolls over from her back and over to her stomach, nose crinkling as she realizes she's rolled right onto a dusty patch of earth. Sitting up, she spies an empty bed close by, and flops onto it. Realizing the lack of a blanket to go with it, the batling attempts to roll the edges of the bed pad over her feet before laying back down. Once again, her wings wrap about her, and she attempts sleep again. However, the night's cold sends chills down her; and that bed isn't cooperating with staying rolled over her exposed feet.

Lansing's head raises as he looks over in Aldara's direction, and he notices her struggle to sleep and keep warm. The young one looks down at the ground for a moment or two as he ponders in his mind. He slowly sits up, then stands, walking quietly over to the batling, and stops a pace or two from her, standing over her and watching.

An ear quiver's in the young ferret's direction as Aldara reaches down and once again curls the end of the cot over her feet again, and returns to her curled position. Snuffling, she tucks her wings around her and rests her head upon a wingpaw in the process. Content with wrestling herself into sleep, she doesn't seem to notice Lansing yet.

Maybe it's because the young ferret thinks Aldara is asleep, and thus believes himself to be the only one awake here in the camp, for him to feel no shame in what he does here. The blanket comes off and, with it still warm from the fire and his own body, he drapes it lightly over the batling, careful that none of the corners or edges get too close to the flames. Before anybeast (including Aldara) can look long enough to see him without any clothes on at all, the ferret slips away into the dark. He shivers slightly, wrapping his paws around his body as he disappears from the sight of those near the fire.

As soon as that blanket is pulled atop her, Aldara makes an effort to look up and about-- only to see no one close enough to thank for this deed. With a crinkled nose, the batling pulls the blanket tight around her, sighs and curls up yet again. This time without the need to bother with wrestling the cold.

A minute or so later, Lansing appears by the fire again, on the side almost opposite from where Aldara sleeps. The young one is wearing his still-wet clothes as he sits near the fire to help dry. But interestingly enough, the ferret isn't shivering from the cold. In fact, he doesn't look miserable at all in such a condition. He even has a smile on his face. And so the ferret remains here like this, until he feels he's dry enough to return to bed. He has no trouble fighting the cold in going back to sleep....Maybe, just maybe, the young one has more than just the flames keeping him warm.