** THIS ROOM IS BROADCASTING **
Admin shouts, "Kevarr has an announcement! Work on Redwall's dilapidated orchards is finally about to begin. If you would like to participate, feel free to bring your characters to the orchards. Page Posco if you have any questions."
RW Abbey: Orchards
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Verdant green has swept across the orchard, as thick, muddy water seeps through the ground below. Blooms and leaves, once dotting the mature trees are lessened as many now float forlornly in the water below. Trees mostly of the apple variety dot this area of the immense orchard, though others of almonds, peaches, oranges, apricots, walnuts and others are spattered throughout. Grass sprouts as if on a mad quest to break the surface of the suffocating mud and sludge that now covers its source of life, the sun. Soupy under the footpaw the ground almost becomes unwalkable, in an attempt to not turn an ankle, in the thickened sludge below.

Sunlight lances down through the translucent leaves and patterns arrive on the still surface of the standing water. The whole air of the forest is still and quite, much unlike what once was. Only a small contingent of color stands, marking what would have been a good harvest of fruit. Wildflowers, once scattering the ground, now lie crushed by floes of mud and silt. The death, mixed with the murky water causes a smell of death to emanate into the air.

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Exits: [F]ire [P]it, [Move] to another section of Orchards, [D]umble's [L]og, [A]bbey [P]ond
Contents:
Sack of Seeds(#80649)
Large Wooden Cart(#66789)
A bundle of Shovels(#87085)
With:
[IC] Trubby

Vantide drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Vantide has arrived.
Kestrel has arrived.
Digby has arrived.
Kevarr drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Kevarr has arrived.

The sun beats down merrily on the Abbey Orchards, a light spring breeze drifts through the trees and torn-down shrubs. Weeds have sprung up, dotting the Orchards with a sense of the wild, thorns and brambles make the once happy place seem a little more than desolate. Yet in all the chaos stands Posco, how slung over his shoulder, and a dirt-laced cap blocking him from the sun. To the far left, on the outskirts of the Orchards sits a large make-shift table, coved in drinks and light snack food, made for the dedicated workers who will move the eart of the Abbey on this fine day. In each part of the orchards Posco has laid tools, wheel barrows, and carts, all for the purpose of making the job a bit easier. He stands, waiting for other to show.

Kevarr has dressed down, though that isn't saying much, considering her usual neglect for wearing anything fancy or more than relatively clean. Unfortunately, her old clothing is somewhat sparse, but she's settled on a sleeveless shirt with minimal rips, a slight bloodstain on the collar, and patched slacks. The garden tools are given a curious glance.

Trubby isn't too long in coming, at least. The mole Dibbun scurries out from the Great Hall and into the orchards, grinning as he spots his idol. "Hullo, zurr!" he calls cheerfully.

A new arrival also appears. Vantide, the burly beaver female new in coming to the Abbey, is drawn by the prospect of work. She was always eager to help out honest creatures in their affairs. She waves to all those present as she appears, calling in a somewhat gruff voice, "Ahoy!"

Posco watches as beasts start to drift out of the Abbey, their wayward paths all meeting at the depressing orchards. However, the mole seems unaffected by his surrounding and gives an wave of his digging claw. His small eyes take time to study all the beasts that come in, glad for every one of them. "Burr hoy!" He greets them, tugging his snout (and giving a special wink to Trubby). "May Mrtun bluss h'all yurr whikurs furr comin'!" He says, giving a nod. "Tahday es gunan boi fur clearin' oop all thuss mess... weeds, en 'ee loike." He says, indicating a particularly big weed at his feet. "Iff yeh ba'int boi zure which es ah weed an' ah good plant, juss ask oi."

Kevarr's own whiskers twitch. She looks at Posco. "...I haven't the slightest idea. What do I do?"

Zaelia drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Zaelia has arrived.

Digby tumbles head-over-heels, his large ears flap as he "deer-jumps" through the thick foliage. The dibbun hare looks up through the grass, making his way toward the gathered group of beasts.

A little squirrel Dibbun scurries through the heavy weeds, constantly throwing glances over her shoulder to see if the two foxes were following her.

Darklett drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Darklett has arrived.
Soleil drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Soleil has arrived.
Rahier drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Rahier has arrived.
Kail drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Kail has arrived.

Vantide twitches her large bulbous nose around, glancing at the messy orchards. She seems to be trying to decide what to start with. There was a lot to be done.

Posco smiles at Kevarr and holds up a paw, he was just about to tell them what to do. Reaching into the haver sack that lays on the ground, the mole pulls out a large roll of paper. Taking this, the mole quickly sticks it a tree trunk, a few feet away. "Hurr now. Thuse boi 'ee plans furr tah'day. Soi hurr..." He points to a spot shaded with orange, "Es whurr 'ee currots wull go. Furst we'm must concuntrute on 'ee h'areas thut'll noid tah boi planted furst..." He claw moves from each colored aread. "Weedz en rock'll harve tah boi moved."

Kevarr scratches her head. She still looks rather bewildered.

Trubby seems to flush with pride under his pale fur as Posco pulls out the plans he had assisted with. The albino mole Dibbun puffs his chest out visibly, nodding vehemently with each syllable Posco pronounces.

Zaelia is rather quickly distracted, and as such the squirrel Dibbun climbs up the tree Posco was holding the plans over and watches from the foliage, chewing on one of her paws.

Rahier walks on up, catching just the tail end of Posco's speech. The major stands quietly next to one of the wheelbarrows, quite curious.

Digby scoots up beside the albino mole, his eyes flickering over to the plans. "Mm! Cawwets!" He says and nods along with Trubby. The little hare leans down, and plucks a little flower-weed from the ground, pretending it to be a foe. "Ack! Vewmin, no stand chance 'ginst, I, wot?" He says dramatically, throwing the plant to the ground. Digby stands up tall, obviously proud of himself.

Vantide also nods as the mole speaks, her beaversense telling her not to ask questions until he had finished speaking.

Soleil begins rolling up the sleeves on her tunic, readying herself for work, as she listens intently to the mole's plan of action. Still slightly unsure what to do she looks around to see what others are doing.

Kail just follows Rah. Yup.

Darklett has been leaning against a tree since his entrance. He's rolling Posco's mole-talk speech over in his head, making sure he didn't misinterpret anything. Well, he tries, anyway. He bites his lip, looking at the mole Trubby first for some kind of behavior to copy, as he would be the most likely to know what Posco was talking about.

Rodney has arrived.
Veronica has arrived.
Rodney arrives with: Veronica

Posco motions to the tools, his other paw still resting on the plans. He pauses, a bit distracted by all the beasts. The young mole had not expected so many to show! He lets a smile flicker on his features, and continues. "Thurr boi 'ee tools used tah dig 'ee tougher weedz out. Oi noid ah leader tah manage h'each h'area. Carruts, potatoes, corn, en beetz. We'm wull save 'ee udder plants furr anudder day." He says and nods. "Oi'll boi taking charge o' 'ee carruts. Each ares noids tah boi clear o' weedz en rocks." He saysm once again pointing at the tools. "Thun 'ee dirt noids tah boi tossed wid shovuls en hoes." He remarks, looking over to the bundle of long-handled tools. Letting his eyes make contact with almost everyone he nods. "H'any quesstions?"

Darklett nods, and rolls up the sleeves of his tunic to start up his assigned duties.
K
evarr lowers herself uncertainly to her knees. "Err." She seems quite out of her depth. "Just...show me what I'm supposed to be pulling."

Posco strokes his chin. "Hrumm... far as oi boi concerned, h'anythung. Thuse h'orchurds boi un'tended furr so long, oi b'aint trust h'any thung en hurr. We'm noid a few rows o' nuthung but dirt. But boi thurr ah herb-learned beast ah'mong us, juss en case?" He questions, peering out in the crowd.

Vantide leans against one of the trees, crossing her muscled arms over her chest as she seems to be pondering.

Rodney comes walking towards the group, leading Veronica by the arm, seemingly a bit distracted from the usual prodding and poking of plants that he usually goes about when in a garden. He steps up to the group and stands, looking around a bit, leaning on his cane as he appraises the situation. "So..." he says, slowly, mostly to announce his prescence.

Kevarr nods. "Err. So just drag it all out." She lifts her paw and digs claws that certainly weren't made for digging into the soil. After a moment's thought, she mostly retracts them, and then drags a furrow in the dirt.

Zaelia waves energetically at the two foxes as they enter, such that she almost falls out from her perch in the tree. Eep! The squirrel Dibbun clings to a branch with her forepaws, footpaws and tail dangling down. However, with the natural treesense of a squirrel, she seems to be in no danger.

Posco turns his gaze to Rodney and smiles. "Hoi, Zurr! You'm knuw ah gurt deal 'bout plants, oi do bah'leve?" He says, nodding. Posco motions him forward. "Moind iffen beasts ask yeh h'any questions they'm moight harve?"

Veronica follows at Rodney's side, looking about at the proceedings with a small frown. The thought of hard, dirty labour is clearly not very appealing to the vixen.

Rodney rubs his chin with his cane, looking at the mole. "Yes, well..." he starts, hesitantly, "I have mostly dealt with medicinal herbs, but I will help if I can."

Kevarr seems a little more confident. Well hey...she can rip up plants just fine. It's a little off center, as she has only one paw to work with, but she begins digging up the dirt.

Vantide shifts herself off the tree, grinning crookedly. This was the kind of work the beaver enjoyed. Pretty straightforward, too. She glances around slowly, "Can I 'ave some volunteers tah go to the other 'alf of the orcha'ds with me?"

Posco bobs his head and nods to the others. "Now thun, don' pelt 'ee poor beast wid quessions, juss iffen yeh rully noid help. Now thus, furr those beasts who'm don't loike dirt, You'm cin use toolz h'or wear sume gloves oi got h'over thurr." He points and then suddently remembers. "Hurr! H'almost furgot! H'o'er thurr boi 'ee table furr drinks en snacks, iffen yeh'd get ah bit famished..." He says happily and then adds. "Split up inta groups... carruts, potatoes, beetz, en corn. 'Ee group thut gets et's weeds pulled en rows done 'ee fastest, get'z ah deepur en evur poie tah share a'tween 'em."

Ringdell drifts in from the Abbey Pond..
Ringdell has arrived.

Kevarr makes a face at the mention of Deeper'n'Ever pie.
After watching Kevarr for a moment, Soleil makes her way near to the Marten and plops down in the dirt. She also begins pulling up anything resembling a plant, going at a little faster pace, having the use of both paws.

Vantide chuckles at Posco's last statement, "Well, that settles it! Everyone 'o wants tah 'ave some pie, cumm with me!"

Veronica looks to Rodney, "I'll remain with you, Rodney, if I may. This is all very confusing for me. I'm afraid I'm not used to affairs of such size."

Posco chuckles, knowing such things would not please the jill. He adds to her with a wink. "H'or 'ee dish o' thurr choice, iffen they'd purfer."

Rodney overlooks the beasts and the garden, doesn't seem too pleased to be digging in the dirt either, having mostly done library work in the past, though he hopes his position as expert will get him out of getting his paws dirty. He turns to Veronica, says, "Well... They seem to have enough diggers to go around. We would just get in the way there..."
"That's just fine, Posco," Kevarr murmurs. "I'm not really very hungry. Err...am I doing this right?"

Vantide heads over to the other section of the orchards, pulling up her sleeves.

Vantide has left.
Digby has left.

Soleil pauses in her work, wondering the same thing. She too looks up to Posco, waiting for the answer to Kevarr's question.

Posco goes up to Kevarr and smiles. "Hurr, thut boi foine, Mizz Kevurr..." He says and picks up two a long-handled spades. "But troi 'ee same thung wid thus, amkes et come h'out easier, an' yeh don' h'arve tah bend down!" He says happily, holding them out.

Kevarr considers the spade before she takes it with a soiled paw. "I...ah...err..." She awkwardly sets the blade of the tool into the dirt. "...Like this?"

Trubby pauses and looks around, then does what moles do best. Dig. Dibbun or not, with his large digging claws the young mole was able to remove weeds down to their roots with ease. Disregarding the tools, he sets to work.

Veronica nods rather emphatically, "Indeed. You make an excellent point."

Posco moves to gently position her paws in the right areas of the handle. "Hurr, thut boi gudd. Now thun, give et ah hard push."

Kevarr is again somewhat at a disadvantage, having only one paw to work with. However, she compromises by setting the stump of her maimed arm against the top of the handle, and putting force on it with both limbs. Grunt.

Soleil transfers the dirt on her paws to her tunic, and reaches out for the other spade. The doe begins again with enthusiasm, digging out plants left and right with the new tool.

Zaelia has, during this time, repositioned herself into the tree. The mischevious tiny squirrelmaid drops from the branch in between the chatting Veronica and Rodney, giggling uncontrollably. Crazy dibbun indeed.

Posco stands up and claws his digging claw. "Thurr! Thut boi wunnerful!" He says happily, winking at Kevarr. "Sure you'm baint dune thus ah'fore, you'm two?"

Kevarr's ears flatten. "I have no clue what I'm doing. I've dug holes before...but not gardening." She shifts the dirt, then repeats the process.

Rahier collects his own spade, hefting the tool as if it were a weapon. Hee. The hare turns it downward, imitating what Kevarr's doing as a guide. "Why don'tcha get that'un, Kail?" Rahier grins, pointing at a nearby weed.

Soleil smiles encouragingly at Kevarr, "S'about the same, ma'm. Except with th'gardenin y'put seeds in after yuv dug th'whole."

Rodney starts as the squirrel drops down, taking a step back. "Huh?"

Veronica starts, but soon begins to laugh at the dibbun, "Perhaps this one will know what we should do. She led us here, after all..."

The whole mirage of beasts split up, hedgehog's squirrels, mice, and a rare vole or two start to work, each pull weeds and challanging other. Sudden happy shouts of "I can't wait to see your face when I dig into that pie!" and "Ho! Lookit this! I swear, this root grows right down forever, I'd imagine." The whole scene is busy and all the beasts work hard in the spring afternoon.

Zaelia seems to be considering this for a minute, then says, "We goa odder gahden an' elpa big rivadog!"The Dibbun apparently didn't know anything about beavers, and was thus comparing the one to an otter.

Posco busies himself, calling out encouragement to the others. He starts to dig, and digging it is! The mole hits the ground flying, both weeds and dirt shooting up into the air like fireowrks. He pauses every few minutes to move rocks.

Rodney gives the squirrel dibbun a bemused look, then turns to the vixen again. "Well... Shall we go see how the others are doing?"

Veronica smiles, "I go where you lead, sir Rodney." she replies.

Zaelia nods several times. "Goo', we go 'elpa dem!" The energetic one scurries off without waiting to see if they are following. Again.

Zaelia has left.

Rodney offers his arm, looking at his paws again from the comment. "Really... Just Rodney will do."

Rodney leaves with: Veronica
Rodney has left.
Veronica has left.

Posco stands up, very pleased that almost a whole row is done. The sun still shone bright in the afternoon, having moved very little. Posco's gaze went around the orchards and he smiles, glad to see so much has gotten done. He points. "Hurr! 'Ee beetz group boi almust done!" He says, and a few mice look up, waving happily.

Trubby pauses in his work, wiping his sweaty brow. He had demolished a good number of weeds already. "Burr, this boie hard wurrk," he comments to no one in particular before again going at the weeds with a will.

After a while, a vole patters up to Posco, a smile on his face. The beast breaths heavily and points back at his group, who all look over. "We... need... seeds!" He gasps out and smiles, leaning down on his knees. He points to the haversack full. "Potatoes, please." He asks, getting his breath back now.

Kevarr keeps on digging. She seems to be concentrated fully on the task at hand. While she's using a shovel, she's still managing to get herself covered in soil, mainly because her accuracy at shifting the loaded shovel is dubious at best.
Posco smiles, rolling his shoulders to get any stiff spots out. He scoots over to the sack, picking it up. Posco reaches in, fishing out two pouches, each reading 'potatoes'. He hands these both over, nodding to the vole. "Harr, yeh may boi 'ee winnerz iffen yeh keep 'ee pace!" He says and nods.

"Oh no!" exclaims Soleil as the vole request seeds. "We cahn't let th'potatoes win!" she calls out to the beasts around her. She returns to the earth and begins digging twice as fast and about as half as accurate.

A group of mice and a squirrel give a shout to Soleil's warcry and set to work, faster than ever. Dirt and weeds both are thick in the air, a din of chatter and encouragement can be heard above the general clatter of tools hitting each other, earth, and rock.

From the other side of the orchards, one can tell their progress is going well. As weed piles grow high, a few beasts come around and gather the pulled weeds into the wheel barrow, in turn taking this to the cart in the middle of the place. A nice mousemaid comes from the other orchards with a tray of water glasses, offering it to any beast that wishes.

The voice grow thick as the progress gets close to done, it's an absolute race now, and the air seems to be brown and green, as the earth is turned upside down. Beasts jump up, scuttling off to the pond for water as the seeds find themselves in their new home. A hedghog gathers the weeds, running over to the wheelbarrow before sprinting back, going after weeds once again. The process is never ending, and the general atmosphere is one that Redwall is known for.

Kevarr seems to be the only one not racing. Her speed hasn't changed, and it's nothing remarkable, though she's not slacking. She seems fairly content with things.

Thirsty after working so hard, Soleil gratefully accepts a glass of water from the mousemaid. After a brief respite she returns the empty cup back to the tray and returns to digging. Almost done!

Rahier's done a decent amount, admittedly. No slackin' here, nuh uh. As the race heats up, he leans against his spade, wiping his brow and watching the race with a grin.

Posco passes out seeds to open paws, a whole group of jumping, laughing, pushing beasts infront of him. "Hurr! Hold on, zurr's en mizzes!" He says, as he hands out a couple more pouches. "Burr... now 'oo wantud 'ee corn?" He questions and smiles as a LP hare bobs up above the crowd. "Here, yeh great dirtdog! Pass the lil' things, me an' my group'll have 'em snug unner tha dirt ah'fore yeh cin blink, Sah!"

Finally at the end of the row, Soleil tosses the shovel haphazardly and sprints to Posco's side panting heavily. "Seeds, sah," she manages to gasp out in between breathes, turning to grin back at her group.

Vantide has arrived.

Posco looks into his sack and smiles. "Whut koind o' seeds fer yeh, Marm?" He asks happily, giving a glance by the hare at the happy group. They give up another cheer, excited.

Nizzen has arrived.

Turning back to the group, Soleil calls out to them, "What kind d'we need?! Sorry, sah. I cahn't remember!" she laughs, turning back to Posco.
Guest2 skips off to the Abbey Pond.
Guest2 has left.
Soleil room-pages, "Arg, I didn't intend the double 'turning back'. :P".
Posco laughs and pulls out some beet seeds. "Hurr hurr! Yeh gurt silly hare! Take thuse, an' plant 'em shallow, beets'll suffocute iffen they boi too deep."

Wandering through the orchards Nizzen comes skipping in. Her hat held in one paw and the other being sucked on she just stops to look around a moment.

Vantide arrives in the other section of the orchards again, heaving from hard labor but not wasting any time. As soon as Soleil is outfitted with her seeds the beaver strolls over towards Posco. "Ahoy! Mr. uh... mole, sah! We're needin' some seeds ovah in the orcha'd." She grins a little. "Got a nice pair o' 'edge'ogs 'elpin' me. Er, wot's left? 'Taters taken now, aye? An' the beets, too, and yew said ye got the carrots."

Soleil takes the seeds and sprints back to the group, tossing the multiple seed bags out to different beasts as she nears. "'Ee says t'plant em shallow...and hurry!" she encourages them, as she sets to work herself, a huge grin on her face.

Posco rummages through the sack, running out of today's planned seeds. Well, this was a good sign. He pulls out the seeds he was saving tomorrow, lettuce, strawberries, and celery. He takes these pouchs and holds them out, letting each pick out what they want. His own group takes the carrots and makes theirselves busy, working down each row planting a seed every few inches.

Vantide grins as she goes for the strawberries. "I always liked me a good strawberry," she comments before heading back, not losing time.

Vantide has left.

A assembly line of sorts forms, with one beast digging furrows, another sprinkling seeds, and a third covering them. One select beast runs back and forth from the pond carrying water to help the seedlings grow. Finally the beets are planted! Soleil spins in a circle with her arms wide and head tilted back before allowing herself to fall to the ground, lying flat on her back in the wet earth. "We're done, sah!" she calls out, exhausted.

Posco throws up his paws as the other beasts finish up split seconds after Soleil's group. "Burr! We'm harve ah winnur!" He shouts, smiling. "'Ee beet group winz!

Kevarr continues digging quietly without looking up.

Posco points over to the table, sporting a huge pie. "Et boi all yurrs." He says to the group, bowing to them.

Sitting up, Soleil's eyes widen at the sight of the pie. It is huge indeed! "Oh, I think we cahn manage t'share it!" she laughs. Slowly she picks herself up off the ground and heads to the table replenish herself, weary but happy.

Trubby decides to take a little break. The little mole Dibbun leans against one of the orchard's trees, breathing heavily to get his wind back.

Posco calls for all the beasts to take a break, today's orchard activities were done. The place looks spectactular. Fine rows of plowed dirt lined the area, the weeds around the apple trees were gone, leaving a nice cover of grass. Posco smiled at the progress, it had barely taken mroe than three hours. "Gudd wurk!" He says happily to them, and the groups goes off to the table to share an early dinner.

Kevarr leans the shovel against a tree, but she does not seem at all inclined to join in on the eating. Instead she plants her back against the same tree and crosses her arms.

Posco lets the other beasts go rest but he wanders back over to Kevarr. The mole swee[s pff his hat and smiles at the jill. "Hurlo, Mizz Kevurr. "Gudd day et wuz, got more done en oi plannud." He says, nodding. He gaze flickers back to the cheerful beasts. "Oi do bah'leve thut Redwall's guttin' back on et's feet!"

Vantide returns, huffing. "Whoo! Ow's that fer a bit o' 'ard work. Still, I reckon we'll be 'avin' a nice batch o' strawberries next spring!"

Kevarr nods quietly. "It's a good start."
Regaining his breath, Trubby agrees heartily. "Burr, et iz indoieed."

Posco paws the end of his snout, brushing off the crusted dirt, a medal of hard work. "You'm h'ok, Mizz?" He inquires. "You'm noid sume wadder?"

Kevarr shakes her head. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm just thinking."

Posco looks up at her, tyring his hardest to read her looks, although, moles are not very good at this... And besides, thats very hard to do with this particular jill. "Care tah talk 'bout et?" He asks gently, trying not to sound as if he's pushing her.

Kevarr glances down at Posco. "Not particularly. It's not very interesting. Go enjoy that pie."

Vantide joins the otherbeasts at the makeshift table and enjoys the picnic of sorts organized there, chatting heartily with those gathered there.

Posco doesn't move to leave. "B'aint madder whethur et boi interestun, iffen you'd loike tah tell sume'un, thun yeh shuld." He says with perfect mole logic. Posco moves to a soft area of grass, inviting Kevarr to sit beside him. "C'mon mizz Kevurr, you'm cin trust oi."

Kevarr slides to the ground next to Posco, crossing her legs under her. She lifts a brow. "You're reading too much into it. I was just being contemplative for once." She rubs her dirty paws on her slacks.

The hedgehog brothers turn to Vantide, their smiles no less impressive than before. "'Lo, yeh o'ergrown otter! What brings you here?" They ask in a fit of chuckles.
Vantide grins at the two hedgehogs, taken by their simple manner. She chuckles as she replies, "Good food 'an an empty belly!" And so it would seem, the way she was going at the food.

Posco pulls a frown. "Hurr... you'm boi sure, Mizz? Oi know yeh tah be much deeper en h'any beast oi know, no madder how yeh act. H'always hiding yurr feelings... b'aint gudd, but you'm do et furr 'ee h'abbey." He say, nodding.
Kevarr snorts. "I do it for myself. But no, I'm actually feeling rather good." She eyes her rather sloppy digging. "You need to show me more about how to do that. Like when you were putting the seeds in."

The hedgehogs jump and laugh, looking to each other. "Whad'ya think 'appened to 'er tail, mate?" One asks the other. The other peers over at Van's tail and snorts. "Got ran o'er by ah run'way cart, I'd imagine!" He says trying to surpress a fit of laighter. The first 'hog peers over. "Did it hurt, Miss?"

Posco chuckles and nods, letting the subject drop, and the new one come in. "Dig en garden? Whoi, oi'd luve tah teach yeh. Nuttin' more relaxin' thun gradunin'. Clears yurr moind." He says, tapping his digging claw on his skull.

Kevarr continues to wipe her paw on her clothing. "I was always led to believe it was some mysteriously difficult skill."

Posco pulls out his seemingly never ending supply of hankerchiefs and hands it to Kevarr. "Hurr, use thus fur thut durt." He says and then shakes his head. "Gardunin' b'aint boi hard, no zurr!" He says with a snort of laughter. "Oi'll teach you'm how. Thut zound noice?"

The beaver's grin widens. "Ho yes, it was vurry painful! Not a bit fun to get yore tail run over by a rogue caht, no it ain't, by my rudder!"

Kevarr's ears perk. She accepts the handkerchief, but, with only one paw, the process of using it to clean her paw is somewhat difficult. "Aye, it does." This sounds rather quiet and appreciative. "So...I want to make sure I'm understanding all of this. You dig a hole in the ground. You get all the plants you don't want and the rocks out of the way. And you put these seeds in, and cover it up?"

The Hedgehogs explode in laughter, falling on the ground and rolling around. "Ho ho! Yeh bet she has tah swim in circles now, mate?" One hoots out, wiping tears from his eyes. The other sits up, and nods. "Oh yes, but it makes it easier fer her tah eat!" He replies. The other sits up too, still laughing a bit. "Harr! Why is that, matey?" He inquires, pushing for the punch line. The other pulls a grave, serious face. "'Cause, she makes the fish dizzy an' they drown!" He says with a cackle and the two fall over each other, laughing it up.

Posco nods and smiles. "Hurr, thut boi bout et. Save waterin' an' making sure yeh plant thum en gudd soil." He says and then points out a claw. "Oh! An' 'ee bigger 'ee seed, tha deeper down et goes."

Kevarr sighs. "I wish I'd managed to figure this out earlier. I'd have dug the gardens myself."

Vantide doubles up, grinning and guffawing uncontrollably. Between breaths, she manages to hoot out, "Hohoho, yore too much, haha!"

Posco shakes his head holding out a paw. "Hurr, you'm noidn't. Leave thut tah thus mole..." His eyes flicker down to her stump and he chews his lip, seeing what a problem it is for her to do simple chores. "Hrrmm..." He wonders, not at all meaning to be rude by staring.

Kevarr seems too distracted by her own discovery to notice Posco's interest in her maimed arm. "Maybe, but it would have been better." She muses quietly. "It gives me something to do anyway. Do all of the gardens need this done in the same way?"

Posco blinks and looks up, shrugging off his thoughts. "Wull, thurr boi mure importunt thungs tah do..." He says, looking over at the crumbling walls. "Burr, ah trip tah 'ee qurry boi en order..." He thinks aloud and looks across to the freshly plants rows. "Thu'll last us 'til wintur, Mizz Kevarr. Us Redwullers did gudd tah'day."

"I've got more than enough time on my paws to do both," Kevarr murmurs. "The quarry? I suppose. Though I know less about rock digging than I do gardening."

Posco looks at his digging claws, almost doubting their power. "Hurr, moi ol' h'uncle 'twuz en excullunt rockmole... oi'll troi moi best, Mizz. But oi shuld go 'lone... beasts say et boi dangurous country out thurr now'dayz." He ponders this in a pause, shrugging. "May'haps you'm culd plant 'ee herb gardun... oi'm sure Rodney 'as sume seedz."

"That's why you shouldn't go alone," Kevarr corrects. "There's a decent number of beasts here who have been there. They could go with you."

Posco nods, smiling. "Yuz, oi 'pose yurr roight. T'will boi fun, may'haps..." He says hopefully, yet the undertone of his voice was thin. He did not like the stories that came out of Mossflower wood. Posco fumbles, trying to figure out a good way to put this. "Errmm... Mizz Kevurr? 'Cuse oi furr boin' brash... but whut 'arppened to 'ee paw?"

Kevarr blinks in surprise. "Err." She looks down at the mentioned appendage. "...Well, I lost it, obviously." She fake smiles. There's no feeling behind it. "It was my head or my paw, so I think I took the better end of the deal."

Vantide has finished with her meal. She wasn't trying to be nosy, per se, but couldn't help but overhear some of the conversation. Still, she does her best not to interrupt or acknowledge that she was eavesdropping as she plops down against one of the trees in the orchard, drowsy from a hard day's work and good food.

Posco nods slowly. Actually this thought had been in his mind for a long time. The question had rolled over in his mind and had finally jumped out of his mouth. Though Posco stopped and his memory flew back to his old Mole tribe. "Hurr... wull, y'see... thurr wuz this mole back at moi ol' home... Grubbs his name boi... wull, lost 'is diggun' claw as ah dibbun... But they'm made him ah noice wooden 'un, an' it wuz jus' as gudd as h'any o' ours." He says nodding at certain places in the story. "Wull, oi've seen et boi quiet ah buthur tah 'ee, an' oi jus' though may'haps oi culd make 'un o' those furr 'ee?" He asks, letting his eyes glance back at the stump.

Kevarr shrugs. "Ah, well...I had a rather nice one. A hook. I lost it at Ruingate though. It's probably in a scrap heap or melted down by now. It's not as bothersome as it looks though. I mean...you get used to it. Hell, I can climb still."
.
Posco smiles and nods. "Wull, iffen ye'd loike ah hook, ahgain, Oi'll gladly make et, but jus' tah tell yeh, oi cin make it look jus' loike yurr ol' paw!" He says, sure of his craftsmenship.

Kevarr's brows lift. "...Just like my old paw?" She sounds skeptical.
Posco smiles, bobbing his head. "Hurr, ju's bend yurr udder paw loike et wuz ah hook." He urges her, doing it with his own to show her. "'Ee hook'll boi ah hook, yut stull look loike ah paw."

Kevarr does curl her paw as Posco requests. One brow raises higher than the other.
Vantide has left.

Posco smiles and he studies it for a second. Nodding he removes a length of string from his pocket. "Hurr, oi do bah'leve et can boi done, Mizz Kevurr. Wuld you loike thut?" He inquires, holding the string in his paw, waiting for her approval or wahtever it may be.

Kevarr looks thoughtful. "Well...it would be a nice thing to have again."

Posco smiles and nods, holding out the string by it's lenght. "Oi'm glad tah 'elp, Mizz." He says, his voice cheerful at his idea being approved. "Errm, may oi take ah measurement, Mizz?" He says, nodding to her stump.

Kevarr shrugs and lifts her arm, holding it out straight for Posco.

Posco takes the string and lightly wraps it around the top of the stump. The mole marks where it starts to overlap with a pinched claw on the string. He lets it come away from
Kevarr and he nips the pinches spot neatly with his teeth. Letting the extra fall down in his lap he holds out the string. "Hurr, 'zact soize, mizz! Et'll fit perfectluy." He says with a tug of his snout. He pockets the string and smiles.

Kevarr looks curious as she lowers her arm. "What will you make it out of?"

Posco thumbs back towards the entry, "Hurr, oi 'arve left o'er wudd frum 'ee gates. an' o'courze oi got 'ee bust en strongest wudd for 'em. Thut should do noicly, you'm think?"
Kevarr nods. "...Aye. That would work."

Posco pats his belt. "Oi's got some nut oil thut'll do ah wunder furr et. Yurr paw'll be smoother thun h'anything, oi cin 'agine. 'Course, on 'ee ensoide o' ee hook oi'll make et ah tad more rough... furr traction you'm know." He says, running these ideas through his head. Posco stop and looks at Kevarr. "'Ow boi yurr famoily? Oi've been so busy, ba'int 'ad toime tah see 'um. Shame too, thut Kesturul boi such ah noice lil' lass!"

Kevarr shrugs again. "They're doing well enough. Heh. Better than ever, I suppose."

Posco nods in agreement, utterly running out of things to talk about. He pushes himself up and bruishes the bits of grass that have clung. "Wull, oi shuld boi gettin' o'er tah clean oop." He says, glancing over at the dying picnic. He smiles and offers a paw out, to help Kevarr up is she wants it.

Kevarr shakes her head at the paw. "I'll stay out here a while longer. Good evening, Posco."
P
osco tugs his snout to her, returning the goodbye. "H'arve ah noice day, Mizz Kevurr. Thankee furr 'elping!" He says and turns, walking away across the abbey grounds.