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Ripple, the ignored ottermaid *sniffle*
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Date Posted: 17:20:02 03/21/04 Sun
In reply to:
Ripple Silentsplash the ignorant otter
's message, "Er, anti-climactic? Sorry, but.... What's that mean? I'm only 11 IRL!!!!" on 01:22:26 03/07/04 Sun
CHAPTER 23
As they neared the end of the path, the four friends squinted against the bright sun and rubbed their eyes which had become so acustomed to the darkness. Aubbress turned to the others, a delighted small lighting up her features, "We're almost there!! Soon we will be finally back at Redwall!" Jet, having never been to Redwall, asked in confusion, "Redwall? What in the name of flippin' scoff is Redwall?" Tarrow explained, "Redwall is where we live. Well, I don't live there, but I visit often. It's a big, beautiful, red-sandstone abbey. The best food and drink is there. I'm surprised ye've never heard about it!" The hare's eyes grew wide at the mention of food, "What are we bally well waitin' for, wot? Let's get on our bloomin' way!" Revin chuckled at Jet's enthusiasm Hohoho!! You'd do anythin' for one taste of proper food after what we've been living on." The travelers walked further into the woods, the sunlight filtering down through the trees leafy canopy, slightly warming their fur.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ashe and Senetta stood side by side in the sunlit orchard, awaiting their tasks. Soon Mother Diviniah at last read the list of the dibbun's jobs aloud, "Pikkel, you help Olaf Jugg with the beverages down in the cellers. Senetta, you and Ashe are small agile squirrels, meaning that you two will be left the job of harvesting the fruit trees. River, Stream, you'll go to the pond and help Skipper and Kipla to gather our supply of water shrimp...." As she read on, those read out already drifted away to their jobs. Senetta grabbed a basket and leaped up into an apple tree, where she filled her basket to the very brim with the very best ones. Ashe climbed easily up a pear tree and did the same. The sun rose higher into the sky as time flew by quickly. All of the workers wiped their sweaty brows and breathed heavily, but they continued to harvest the food without complaint. As the squirrelmaid bounded over to another tree, she took a small sip out of the beaker of cold mint tea that she had brought with her, "Whew!! This is hard work, but it'll be well worth it in the cold Winter seasons." She set down her basket of freshly picked peaches and placed them all into a growing barrelful, being careful not to bruise or squash them. She stared at them for a second, "The peach's are the best this season! All of them are sweet and juicy." Ashe smiled over at her from a cherry tree he was in, finally jumping out and pouring his basketful of plump red cherries into another barrel. He then walked over to her and looked at the deep blue sky, "It's getting close to noon, we need to get over to the belltower so we can ring the bells." She nodded, and they raced each other through the orchard.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As they continued to walk in the growing heat of the ever rising sun, Jet lead the others in a rousing song that he had picked up from a pare of traveling Salamandastron hares (or so he said),
"Ne'er afore had I dreamed,
of life so good as this.
We break camp in the early morn,
and recieve the suns first kiss.
Oh, for the life of a hare.
A brave Salamandastron hare.
All o' y' scoff stealin' villains,
when he's around beware!
Lock up yer vittles when 'e comes t' call,
'e'll each y' outta house and home.
An' ne'er let it be said at all,
there's a better beast with which t' roam.
Oh, for the life of a hare.
A brave Salamandastron hare.
All o' y' scoff stealin' villains,
when he's around beware!"
Laughing at the words, they marched regaly on, almost forgetting their growling stomachs. Tarrow and Aubbress both strongly believing that the hare had made the song up himself to entertain them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DING, DONG, DING, DONG!!!! The lunch bells rang out loud and clear through the crips Autumn air, and the abbeybeasts filed slowly out from wherever they had been working. Some of them wiped beads of sweat from their forheads with a kerchief, while others stretched their cramped limbs. Ashe and Senetta were among the last to arrive in Cavern Hole, after washing up in the pond. The food consisted of fresh wheat bread spread with honey, harvested just that morn by the Beekeeper (a rather stout mole named Burrlo), Nutbrown ale brought up especialy for the meal by Olaf Jugg, vegetable turnovers filled with leeks, mushrooms, corn and potatoes swimming in steaming hot onion gravy, and a huge apple pie with meadow cream for dessert, made from some of the finest green apples that Ashe and Senetta had picked. When Abbot Jerl finished saying Grace, all of them began to eat in ernest, filling their empty belly's with what had been so wonderfully prepared by Friar Derral and his helpers. After finishing her third turnover, Senetta commented gleefuly, "Mmm mm!! It's almost like a mini feast. Thank ye for working so hard on it, Friar Derral!" Then she took a swig of Nutbrown ale and returned to her eating, while the Dormouse blushed in delight at her complement.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After they had been walking along for at least another 10 minutes, the stretcher caught on a sharp, low tree branch. In just seconds, Tarrow, Aubbress, and Revin lay sprawled on the ground. Revin winced as pain lanced up his injured leg, and the two maids gasped in surprise and fright. Jet leaped over and helped them up, "My my, that was quite a bloomin' spill, wot!" Revin spoke through gritted teeth from his position on the ground, "Aye.... But now my leg feels like it was cut open with a sword, and just look at the stretcher!" They looked, and moaned in unison, "It's ripped t' bits, mates. Nothin' we can do." Aubbress sat on the ground next to the other squirrel, and sobbed heartbrokenly as the others sadly looked on, "Now what are we going to do? There is no other way to bring Revin abbey, and we can't leave him here!"
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