The evening was cooling down, and the sun had just settled behind the horizon. Still, a brilliant sky of pink and purple shot up around the western sky, turning the waters golden. Paws down, this is the prettiest time of day in Salamandastron. From the entrance of the mountain a tall healer strolls, his eyes wandering the landscape, though he doesn't say anything for the moment.

Can't let such a wonderful sunset be veiled behind a giant rock wall, eh? Eh? Heh. Darklett is not too far behind in coming, his paws, as per usual, shoved into his pockets. Casually, the lieutenant walks out of the mountain, breathing in some nice, fresh air. "Ah, Buck-o. Not many places you get a sunset like this, I'd bet my knives."

Buckthorn doesn't even look around as the other voice sounds. He simply smiles slightly, eyes on the crescent moon shining through the colorful sky. He rocks on his long footpaws, paws clasped firmly behind his back. "Oh, yeh'd be righ', Sah." He says with a nod. "What have you been up to lately, Dah'rk?" Buck inquires, finally turning his eyes to his friend.

Darklett simply steps up next to Buckthorn, smirking as his own paws still rest in his pockets, thumbs out towards the front, resting atop his belt. "Just been keepin' up with officer stuff. Had a nice long walk out here just the other day, actually, with that old rabbit Ender. He's an odd one, I tell ya..."

Buckthorn watches his friend for a while, his mouth still in that flat sort of smile. "Ah, s'quite relaxin', I'll admit." He says and looks off over the water. "Oh, yes, I think I've been 'round him once 'r twice. Not a bad bloke, is he?" Buck asks with dull interest.

Darklett nods twice quickly to Buckthorn. "He's a little odd, but I wouldn't say he's a bad beast at all. Got somethin' with foxes, though... I think I got an idea of what, too. Maybe something with his family. I don't know." He shrugs, and sighs, shaking his head clear of that little funk. "Anyway. How about you? What you been up to, Buck-o?"

Buckthorn takes a few steps forward, pausing and looking back to make sure that Darklett is following him. He starts again for the beach, eyes glued now to the foam-laced edges of the rolling water. "Family? More 'en likely... s'what it usually is." He admits with a tiny sigh. "Me? Work... long shifts an' hardly 'ny free time." The healer coughs gently into a curled paw.

Darklett follows, watching the rolling waves bring in the late tide. "Oh, come -on...- I don't even work that much. You volunteering for that much work?" He shakes his head and chuckles softly, following along with the other hare. "You need to just take time off for a while every day."

It is true that Buck has been working much more than his fair share. "Somebeast has to do it, Dah'rk. Sides... none o th' recruits seem t'be interested in healin'. All up in their stockin's ah'bout bein' fighahs. Hmmp." The healer complains. "I'm th' youngest healah th' mountain as. Jus doin' m'part." Buck walks until his toes brush up with the wet sands. "I don' have time t'take off /every/ day!"

"Now there can't -always- be stuff to do in that infirmary..." Darklett grins, catching up with the Buck and giving him a pat on the back. "There's gotta be -some- dead time in there, right? Go take a break then. Can't spend the rest of your seasons cooped up in that infirmary. Come out here more often, heh!"

Buckthorn waves a paw, not looking over at the other. "Believe me... wi' so many lil' fightahs runnin' around like you? I have plenty t'do." The hare says with a serious laugh. "I take breaks. For breakfast lunch an' dinnah. Well, not always lunch. But, close nuff." The hare clicks his teeth. "Don tempt me t'be ah bad pah'trollah! Takin' time off. Huh!"

Darklett rolls his eyes verrrrry slowly. "Haha. Yeah, okay, maybe us fighters keep you busy. But taking time off isn't gonna make you a bad patroller." He prods his friend in the side with a smirk. "It makes you a -sane- patroller! Now, if I ever catch you skipping lunch, I'm gonna drag you out here by your ears and whoop ya!" He chuckles, giving the buck a shove, and sprinting out the rest of the way to the ocean.

Buckthorn bends slightly at the prod, his ears splaying out and his eyes snapping open. "Oomff!" The healer grunts, clamping his paws to where he was poked. "I am very sane, I will have you know!" Buck says gruffly, squinting his eyes at Dark. "And you will do nothin' of th' sort, y'hear me? If I don' want t' have lunch then I'm not goi-" He's cut off as Dark shoves him. Buck falls back, landing on his rump in the sand. "Hey!" He shouts, looking cross. The large hare jumps up and starts off after his friend. "Explain... y'self... Sah!"

Darklett reaches the ankle-deep shallows of the ocean, and turns around, paws on knees and bent over, facing Buckthorn. "Explain myself?" He waits until the other hare is close, and darts off to the side, trying to avoid fierce punishment at the paws of a gigantic healer hare.

Buckthorn patters along the sands, the little particles flying up behind him. "I'll get yah f'tha', Sah!" He shouts, making a dive at the hare in the shallows. He doesn't anticipate the dart to the side, and Buck tumbles and rolls head over heals in the water. "Arrgh!" He shouts in a water-filled mouth, coming to a stop.

Darklett doubles over in laughter at the sight of the buck taking the vicious spill. "Hohoho! Ha!" He closes his eyes and stomps a few times on the ground, grinning -quite- widely. "That must taste -terrible.- You alright?" he asks, shoulders still bouncing in laughter.

Buckthorn simply sits in the water, his ears slicked back and her eyes narrowed to slits. "I hate you." He grumps, letting the gentle waves crash pointlessly into his back. He doesn't even move to pluck the broken seashell from between his ears. "I can't get up."

Darklett blinks. "You can't? What do you mean you can't get up, you big ol' furball?" He chuckles, still laughing from before. "C'mon, just 'cause your pride's broken doesn't mean your legs are!" He bounces back and forth on his toes, smile widely crossing his lips as he hops a few paces closer to the hare.

Buckthorn snuffles and watches the sea water drip from his whiskers as another wave rocks him gently. "No, m'feet are submerged in sand." He explains in a defeated mumble, pointing a paw down. "Horribly sticky stuff. Like ah suction, y'know." Buck says with an annoyed twist of his snout. "But leave me if y'must. I 'pose crabs will like a healah hare feast."

Darklett laughs even harder at this. "Oh, that -would- be great. Leave you out here all by yourself... Haha! Alright, fine, you big grump." He trots towards the other hare, still chuckling. "Here, I'll help you up." The lieutenant extends his paw downwards as he bends over, grabbing the buck's arm to try and pull him upright.

Buckthorn nods and rolls his eyes, acting very much like his grumpy old self. Of course, when the opportunity presents itself, Buck seized Darklett and yanked as hard as he could, rolling away so the other could get the full impact of the water. "Hah!" He shouts.

"ACKbmmlllf!" Darklett is yanked downwards to the sea and wet sand, giving a yelp of surprise as he's suddenly grounded. His face buries itself in the sand, and a big wave even chances to come to completely and thoroughly soak the lieutenant hare at the precise time. Quickly, he tries to scramble to his footpaws, wiping at his face and spitting out sand and water. "Peh! Peh! Owch, you overgrown bag of... Peh!" He charges at the buck, but he's still half-blind and wiping at his face. So he's barely even going in the right direction, heh.

Buckthorn scrambles back like a crab, his face in a full blown (and very rare) grin. "Hah!" The other says again, looking very amused. "Serves you righ', y'stiff ol' officah type!" Buck yells, ceasing his crab-crawl as he realizes that the other isn't coming right after him. "What... y'sayin' ole Buck can't 'ave 'ny fun, huh?"

Darklett spits out a few more grains of sand, wiping at his eyes, a good portion of his face still at least partially covered in sand. "Bah!" He has no answer for that, and charges right at the healer hare, leaping out and trying to tackle him back down to the water... Of course, he's laughing all the while.

Buckthorn's eyes are currently closed, feeling free from the threat of the blinded fighter. "Tha's righ'! F'once, ole Buck is th' one on top! Th' King prankster, an' all that! Why, th' recruits are gonna have ah'nudder thin' com-" He's cut off as his eyes open and catch a... flying hare. "Ahg! No!" Buck shouts, barely getting into mid-crawl before he is caught by the tackle.

Darklett promptly goes to pin the healer down like a wrestler, even giving him a small headlock (nothing too hard to choke him, though, of course) and pushing all his weight down. "Gotcha, haha!"

Buckthorn finds himself being pressed down into the damp sand, his head solidly locked up. "Ack! Dah'! Hey... cud id ou'!" He mumbles, spitting out a mouthful of sand. The hare struggles, but he can't budge.

Darklett laughs maniacally, rolling the buck to the side a little to make sure his head is turned to the side, and not face down, heh. "Nuh-uh! Not until you call me the winner!" He grins, putting a few extra pounds on the buck for just a couple seconds to keep him pinned, and letting those up to return to his previous amount of pressure. "Come oooon."

Buckthorn takes a few gulps of air, his eyes turning up to glare at Darklett. "I'll do nutin' o' th' sort! Y'let me up righ' now, y'hear me?" He demands, wiggling underneath the other. "Y'cheeky lil'... hrrrmp!" The hare wilts sudeenly, letting the water float around his half-submerged body.

"I'm not letting go until you admit defeat, haha!" Darklett keeps the buck pinned, but... Hmm. He's not resisting anymore. "...Buck-o?" He shakes the other for a response a few times. "Hey."

Buckthorn rolls his eyes, his head turned away from his friend. He feels the shake and hears the words, but the hare is determined not to present himself as game for the playful hare.

"Hey... Buckthorn." Darklett doesn't sound like he's having too much fun. He can't see his face, and all. "C'mon, don't play around." The lieutenant gets up off the buck, and goes to roll him over. "Buck-o?" he repeats the name, his voice going a little bit quieter, almost scared.

Buckthorn doesn't even make a grunt as he's rolled over. His eyes are closed up until the point where his face is right under Dark's. Suddenly his eyes snap open and his lips part to send a spray of seawater up at his friend. "M'all righ'... save for th' fact I've got near three hundred pounds o' dead weight lounging up on meh."

Darklett's paws are trembling as he rolls the buck over, his face creased in worry. After that, his face is still creased, though rather in worry, it's more like contempt. The water splashes up in his face, the lieutenant barely closing his eyes in time for the salty seawater to splatter his face. "Ha... Haha. Very funny, Buck-o." He forces out a smirk, and gets up off the buck... Not until he gives him one last shove into the sand again.

Buckthorn lets his tongue roll out of his mouth, the nasty taste of sea salt still lingering in his taste buds. "Aw, c'mon." He says, giving a tiny grunt as he's shoved into the wet sand again. "Dah'rk..." He mumbles, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head. "Well, so much f'me tryin' t'be more fun. Next time I'll stick t'my borin' ol' self."

Darklett reaches out a paw to help the hare up. "Aw... I'm sorry. You're much better when you're having fun, you know? You just scared me for a second there, heh! That's all!" He reasons with the other hare, that forced smirk turning into a genuine smile. "Look! I'm over it. See?" He does a little jig, before re-extending his paw to help the other buck to his footpaws.

Buckthorn huffs out, eyeing the other for a moment. "No no. You convinced meh. Ole Buck is borin' an' that h'aint evah gonna change. Don' go back on it now!" He says stiffly, taking the paw and propping himself up and standing on his feet. The hare sighs and turns to the mountain without another word.

Darklett watches Buckthorn go, his ears folding over briefly. "Hey. You were having plenty of fun before! I mean, until you had me convinced I drowned you... But still! That was funny! I'm just the sour one, here. Yeah, all me!" He chases after him, trying to catch up.

Buckthorn walks slowly, making it easy for someone to catch up who wants to. "I wont hear ah'nothah word of it, Lieutenant. Besides, I should head back to work. No time for dilly dallying, wot wot!" The hare says in a commanding tone. He keeps his eyes and ears forward, taking stomping march-like steps.

Darklett finally catches up to Buckthorn, but slows down and stops, frowning guiltily as he watches the buck go in. "I was just worried, Buck-o." Slump. That sucked. "Come on. Let me get you a drink, maybe!"

Buckthorn shrugs and pauses. "I heard th' leverets call me ol' boring an' stiff nosed Buckthorn th' othah day. Can't disappoint th' young'uns, can we?" He says without a smile, the sea water still dripping down his chin.

"No, no, the leverets don't know anything!" Darklett decides all's not lost now, and chases after him again. "They only think you're boring 'cause you do your job right. Doesn't mean you have to be like that all the time, though!" He reaches the buck's side, and grins up at him. "Let's go have a drink, come on."

Buckthorn clears his throat, takes some time to roll his eyes, and turns to the other. "Exactly. I do mah job righ'. So might I ask what you are complainin' ah'bout?" The buck wonders out loud. He studies his friend for a moment, that thin frown still on his lips. "Fine. One drink." Buck finally gives way. "But only /one/."

Darklett shrugs. "My complaint is you treat your whole life like it's your job, Buck." He says this with a genuine smile up at the other, heading right on into the mountain. "Let's go pester Neville, eh?" He grins, and pats the healer on the back.

Buckthorn's fists curl up and he has a flash of an angry look about him. "That is because my job /is/ my life, Darklett. What else is there, huh? I wouldn't even /be/ here if my brothah hadn't died! I came here for /him/. He was a good pahtrollah, Dah'rk. /He/ had ah wife... an' he was /gonna/ be ah fathah. I have nothin'. Nothin' save th' patients tha' come in for /my/ help." He says, though the voice only boarders being annoyed. The healer steps into the mountain, without another look to the dark sky.

Darklett stops again, watching Buck disappear into the mountain. Guess this calls off the drink. The lieutenant takes a few slow steps towards the mountain, eyes cast to the sand, then the rock floor of the mountain. Yeah, definitely feeling bad about -that.-