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| Dibbun Dilemma | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 30 2009, 11:27 AM (87 Views) | |
| SilverRose Brighteye | Aug 30 2009, 11:27 AM Post #1 |
Level Two Poster
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The afternoon had been full of excitement. Basking in the warmth of the good weather, the dibbuns and their caretakers had been only too eager to play outside. There were no snowballs to throw, but there were certainly mud pies to be made, and little battles to be fought with terrible twigs. Some dibbuns enjoyed playing hide-and-seek, while others captured a caretaker's lap and sat beneath a tree for an afternoon story. Marabell loved afternoons with the dibbuns. It gave her a chance to get away from the infirmary and play with the high-spirited babes of the fort. Besides, she also enjoyed spending time with Jade and Avirly. Now normally, Marabell would escape the infirmary alone, but today SilverRose's daughter, Narika, had decided to tag along. Marabell adored the little squirrel, but at the same time, Narika could be a real trouble maker. She liked to pull pranks as much as the next dibbun, and she was unfortunately good at it. Marabell couldn't even count how many times she had walked into one of Narika's traps. How SilverRose always managed to avoid them, Marabell didn't know, but she hoped the mother squirrel would teach the shrew her trick! "Play with us, Bell, play with us!" two of the dibbuns cried. They couldn't seem to remember how to pronounce her full name so Marabell was happy with the nickname "Bell". It reminded her of the Methuselah and Mathias bells back at Redwall. Oh, she missed the abbey now and again. Maybe homesickness was also why she liked to play with the dibbuns. It reminded her of spending happy hours in the orchard or playing with the babes until the late evening. Marabell smiled to herself and chased after the dibbuns as they started up their game of tag. Narika, in the meantime, had joined a few other troublemakers. They had set up small forts using mud and were preparing themselves to siege their enemy's castle. No surprise Narika was the ringleader of her group, and she scooped up a ball and sent it hurtling right into the chest of a mole. The dibbun squeaked and toppled backwards into to arms of his 'comrades,' causing Narika to giggle and her friends to cheer happily. The mud fight ensued, and Narika knew very well that her mama was not going to be happy when she went home with dirty clothing. Oh well, she could just blame it on Marabell. The day went on like this with the dibbuns playing and Marabell, along with the other caretakers, running and playing with them. The shrew finally managed to break away from a group of babes, and she sat down with a grunt, using her apron to fan her face. She was only a few seasons older than the dibbuns, but good grief they could make her tired! She felt old sometimes! The shrew glanced over at the abandoned mud forts and the little dirty paw prints on the ground. She hadn't even noticed the mud fight and she almost groaned, wondering if Narika had been part of it. Great. She'd have to clean that little squirrel up before SilverRose saw her. As nice as the healer was, she could be a stickler about dirty clothes. Then again, Marabell couldn't blame her. Narika seemed to go through three pairs of clothes everyday! The shrew leaned back on her elbows and tilted her head to the sky so she could watch the clouds. She heard a plop beside her as a dibbun joined her little game. He was a small mouse, no older than four. He sucked on his paw and smiled at Marabell around his little fingers. The shrew smiled back then pointed. "What do you see?" she asked. The dibbun squinted his eyes and pointed at a big puffy cloud. "A fishy," he said around his paw. Marabell grinned and rested her arms behind her head. "I see that too. Hm, and that one looks like a hare," she said, gesturing to another. The dibbun giggled and pulled his paw from his mouth. "Or a bunny wabbit." Marabell laughed. "Aye, or a bunny, but don't you let a hare catch you calling him that!" Oh, she could only imagine how Teltoli would react if the dibbun ran up and called him a bunny 'wabbit.' The shrew giggled to herself and continued pointing out clouds with the dibbun. |
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~~ SilverRose Brighteye Kurosawa ~~ "The petals of a rose may be soft, but beware the thorns." ~~Marabell Ambersong~~ | |
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| Duran Swiftpike | Aug 31 2009, 11:53 AM Post #2 |
High Commander
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Jade often spent her days at the fort helping care for the young ones. It started because Avirly was often expected to do the job, and soon the vole had been begging for the otter to join her. At first Jade and the dibbuns had been apprehensive of each other. One of the reasons the otter had left her holt was because her childhood friends had started to have kits. Holding them and hearing them play had given Jade both joy and sorrow, as it always stirred up bitter thoughts about how she would likely never have kits of her own. The dibbuns of Black Arch were slightly wary of the otter because, for most of them, they had never encountered a blind creature before and were unsure of how to act around her. It was Laurel who actually broke the ice between them. On a particularly stormy winter day she settled the dibbuns down in the dining hall, set around Jade’s usual chair by the fire, and asked Jade to tell them a story. The otter had smiled and without hesitation began telling the tale of Mariel of Redwall. It took her three nights to finish the story, and by the end of it she had dibbuns sitting on her lap, resting against her footpaws, and lounging on the armrests of her chair. Today she could again be found doing what she and the dibbuns most enjoyed doing together: storytelling. Typically, on a day like today, Jade would attract a small bunch of dibbuns who were either hurt from their wild play in previous days, or those who were naturally not as wild as the others and would rather spend their time sitting with Jade beneath one of the apple trees in the orchard. They were never able to sit still, per say, or to sit quietly, but they sat, and talked, and played in less vigorous ways than the group that started a mud fight. One of the things Jade had been trying to do lately is teach some of the dibbuns to tell their own stories. She was having some difficulty explaining to them that she wasn’t looking for giant fibs about their own adventures, but for them to genuinely retell something factual that happened in an interesting and engaging way. “Well I swiped alla der pies from der winnosill w’out gettin’ seens! Den I took ‘em home an ated ‘em alla up by me self and me dad!” “Nonsense, Toliver, you can’t even reach the window sill they use for cooling pies on. Now I’m not looking for fibs—“ “Oh yeah? Well I took my mama’s jav’in an used it ta stab alla pies!” “Then how did you manage to carry all these pies back to your family’s room’s, hm?” “Hmph, I carred them one be one, Mizz Jade! Of curse!” “The word is “course”, Toliver, not “curse”. And after you got all the pies to your room, what did you do with your mother’s javelin? It must have gotten messy after poking all the pies.” “Why I lick’d it clean of carse!” “And what did your dad say about you using your mother’s javelin? You know you’re not supposed to touch it.” “Wha, who say me dad say anyfin about da pies?” “Oooh! Toliver you’re just a big fibber. I know you didn’t pinch all those pies and eat them too! You’d have been too sick to come play with us today!” Grinning happily Jade began to tickle the little squirrelbabe who had been telling such outrageous lies. Soon the other dibbus in the group were trying to help her and the entire thing quickly escalated into an all out tickle war. As the laughter slowly eased into giggles and the giggles at last died down, the dibbuns began to settle down against Jade. The otter had her back comfortably against the trunk of the tree, and as the last dibbun clasped her paws together and laid them neatly in her lap Jade smiled at them all. “Since Toliver only knows how to tell great big fibs—“ she tweaked the squirrel’s nose, “—I suppose I’ll tell you all a quick story about my mother when she was a little one, just like you. It was back at my holt, down in Southsward. . .” Jade’s story took about an hour to tell, and by the time she finished it her audience was rested and ready to play. Many took off and joined the others playing in the mud, but one young molebabe, Urthwell, stayed behind, snoring softly. He was seated in Jade’s lap and his head rested squarely on her chest. Chuckling warmly the otter wrapped her paws about the young one and closed her eyes, ready for a nap herself. Just as she was drifting off to sleep she heard the voice of Marabell as she played with the dibbuns. |
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High Commander of Black Arch Fort | |
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| SilverRose Brighteye | Sep 4 2009, 11:21 PM Post #3 |
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Level Two Poster
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Marabell stayed on her back and watched the clouds for a bit longer. Her mouse friend, Perwillis, was quite good at the game. Every few minutes or so he would point out another picture to the shrew that she had never even thought of before. What she saw as a broom, he made out to be a mole balancing a pole on his nose. What she assumed was a sparrow actually turned into some sort of sea monster to Perwillis. For one so young, he had quite the imagination. Marabell started pointing out another cloud, but he had jumped on it already with an idea of his own. The shrew finally gave up and just rolled onto her side, letting him take charge of the game. It was much more fun to listen to him anyway. She considered herself rather creative, but obviously this dibbun had a much more talented spark. "Dere's a fox," Perwillis said, pointing to yet another cloud. Marabell looked up at it and smiled. "You see a lot more in those clouds than I do, little one." Perwillis glanced at her and shrugged. "I wike the pictuwes," he mumbled then stuck his paw back in his mouth. Another thunk sounded beside them and Marabell looked over at a small squirrel. The little maid curled her tail around her footpaws and looked up at the sky. She was a couple of seasons older than Perwillis, and often one of the quiet dibbuns. "Do you want to play our game?" Marabell asked sweetly. The maid blushed and tugged at her small apron. "W....what are you playing?" she whispered. Marabell grinned. "Just pointing out pictures in the sky. Hmm, what does that one look like?" she asked pointing at a rather puffy cloud. The squirrelmaid stared at it for a few moments then bit her lip. "Oh dear, I don't know if I'm good at this game. I don't-" "A snake," Perwillis supplied. Both beasts looked at him in surprise. Marabell tilted her head and asked in a curious voice, "that's quite a fluffy snake." Perwillis stared at her as if she was daft. "Dat's cause he's cuwled awound a twee and he's weawing a fluffy coat!" This time Marabell couldn't hold back the laughter. She giggled and rolled a couple of times on the ground. An imagination indeed! Who ever heard of a snake wearing a coat! Her laughter made her squirrel friend smile while Perwillis seemed to frown. He saw up and stared down at Marabell sadly. "Why you laughin'?" he asked. "Oh, I'm not laughing at you," Marabell said, dabbing her eyes with her apron. "I just think it's so funny to think of a snake wearing a fur coat! Now go on, tell me more." The game went on like this for nearly an hour. More dibbuns joined in, though all of them seemed interested in what Perwillis had to say. It was when he finally grew tired of the game and went to play another one that the other dibbuns felt bored as well. Marabell watched them go then turned her attention to the squirrelmaid, Lily Twitchtail. The red maid was only about seven, maybe eight. She'd come to Black Arch with her father. Marabell didn't know him personally, but she had grown a bit attached to Lily. The dibbun was shy and she found comfort more with one-on-one situations than in a big crowd. "Have you been having fun today?" she asked. Lily nodded and played with her tail a bit. "Yes, Miss Jade told us a lovely story. She had us try to tell one ourselves." "What story did you tell?" "Oh," Lily blushed and shook her head. "I...I didn't tell them anything. I don't think they'd like my stories." "Well you’ll never know unless you try," Marabell offered. The shrew sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I used to feel the same way, Lily. Who would want to listen to me? But there's always going to be someone who wants to listen. I bet you could make up some interesting stories." "Maybe," Lily replied. She shrugged then settled for watching the other dibbuns play. Marabell looked over at the orchard where Jade was resting. A wide smile crossed the shrew's face. The otter looked so peaceful, especially with the dibbun on her lap. Unfortunately, evening was nearing and Marabell knew they needed to get the dibbuns in for supper soon. She dusted her paws and stood up before patting Lily on the shoulder. "Any time you have a story, Lily, I'd love to hear it." She winked at the squirrelmaid then wandered over to Jade. While a few more of the dibbuns finished up a game of tag, the shrew crouched down and gave the otter's shoulder a gentle shake. "Jade? Oh Jade? It's almost time for supper. Do you want to help me round up these little terrors?" She said it in a joking voice. She truly loved the dibbuns, even if they did like to pull pranks on her. While Marabell woke Jade, Lily went off to watch the other dibbuns play. |
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~~ SilverRose Brighteye Kurosawa ~~ "The petals of a rose may be soft, but beware the thorns." ~~Marabell Ambersong~~ | |
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| Duran Swiftpike | Sep 7 2009, 10:46 AM Post #4 |
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High Commander
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“Mmm. . . why yes, this is the most delicious shoreside soup I believe I’ve ever tasted. . . What?” Jade’s eyes slowly opened, and for a short time her mind was muddled as it tried to decipher if she was on the beach with Jelal, Lorna, and Avirly, or if she was beneath a tree in the orchard with a dibbun asleep in her lap. Slowly she realized she had been dreaming of the previous day’s seaside adventure, and that the sound of Marabell awakening her was current reality. As the blind otter sat up, the young mole Urthwell rolled out of her lap playfully. He had been awake for a few minutes and was merely enjoying the downtime. He was about to trundle off and go back to playing when Jade reached out and neatly grabbed the back of his tunic. “Hold on there, Urthwell. You heard Marabell. You seen any terrors that need to be rounded up?” “Hurr, yessum Miz Jades, oi’ll ‘elp yeas!” “Good, now hold still for a moment. . .” Gracefully Jade rose to her footpaws, then walked over to the dibbun. Smiling she picked him up and easily placed the small mole on her shoulders. “There we go! Now you be my eyes, Urthwell, and help Marabell and I gather everyone for dinner. And if you lead me into an apple tree I’ll dump you in the rain barrel!” The young dibbun laughed madly as he wrapped his paws about Jade’s head, and as the otter bowed to Marabell and let her know they were ready he nearly toppled off, which apparently made it all the more fun. |
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| SilverRose Brighteye | Sep 7 2009, 09:49 PM Post #5 |
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Level Two Poster
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Marabell giggled to herself and scooted back as Jade came around. She had heard the tail end of Jade's words, but paid them no mind. Apparently the otter had been dreaming about something quite spectacular. The shrew glanced over her shoulder at the dibbuns, giving Jade some time to rouse herself. She spotted most of them pretty easily, but sometimes she had to squint to find a dibbun hiding behind a tree or under a mud fortress. Fortunately Narika wasn't anywhere near the mud, though the maid's clothing was still dirty. Marabell shook her head with a sigh and turned back around at the same time that Jade rose gracefully to her footpaws. The shrew chuckled at Urthwell as the dibbun was slung up onto Jade's shoulders. "Thank you for helping me, Urthwell, Jade. Hopefully we can get these whipper-snappers into the keep before they scatter." The shrew picked up her skirts and ran alongside Jade, her bright eyes wandering to the dibbuns. A few caught her gaze, and immediately squealed and darted off in a different direction. Marabell sighed loudly. Oh this was going to be fun. "They're escaping, Jade!" she called and darted forward. The shrew wove around the dibbuns, picking a few up and tickling their noses when they protested. When she had two, she would hurry and push them into the keep before darting after another pair. Narika evaded her at first, but the maid suddenly decided that chasing the other dibbuns was much more fun. She ran around, actually helping Jade and Marabell gather up the little ones. Narika giggled and accidentally bumped into Jade when she tried to snag Perwillis's tunic. The squirrel squeaked then blushed. "Sorry, Miss Jade," she said then wrapped her arms around the little mouse. While he squirmed and protested, Narika hurried him back towards the keep. It was when they were pushing in the rest of the dibbuns that Marabell decided to take count to make certain they had caught everyone. The shrew brushed a paw across her brow and ticked off which dibbuns she and Narika had caught together then tried to recall which ones Jade had gathered. A slight frown settled on her muzzle and she glanced at Narika. "Narika, did you see Lily Twitchtail at all?" The squirrelmaid shrugged. "I don't think so. Why?" "I didn't see her go in...and hmm..." she started counting again then called to Jade. "Jade, Urthwell, do you know which dibbuns you got inside?" Something wasn't adding up right. She knew who had gone outside, but she was a couple of dibbuns short, one being Lily. The maid had been playing with some of the other dibbuns, or at least watching them, the last time Marabell had checked. Someone else was missing, but she wasn't certain who was gone. Perwillis was inside....Urthwell was on Jade's shoulders. Narika stopped at Marabell's side and glanced around. The sun was setting now and shadows lengthened across the inner walls. |
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~~ SilverRose Brighteye Kurosawa ~~ "The petals of a rose may be soft, but beware the thorns." ~~Marabell Ambersong~~ | |
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| Duran Swiftpike | Sep 12 2009, 11:39 AM Post #6 |
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High Commander
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Jade tickled the molebabe one last time as she swung him off her shoulders and sent him inside to dinner with the rest of the dibbuns. As Urthwell trundled obediently off she heard Marabell ask which dibbuns she had brought in. The blind otter readily named them as Urthwell hung back to help. “And let me see. . . did we round up that rouge squirrel Toliver, Urthwell? I’m trying to remember if he was one of that rowdy bunch we sent inside early on.” “No Miz Jades, that’n bunch waz ee made oop o’ all mousers, it was!” “Hm, thank you Urthwell. Off to dinner for real this time.” Keeping calm, Jade moved to stand beside the shrew. “You don’t think we’re missing a few, do you Marabell?” Jade’s voice was level as she spoke, but in the pit of her stomach a knot of worry began to form. A million thoughts raced through her mind, each a simple explanation of why the two young ones were not on their way to the dining hall with the others. Perhaps they were playing some game and hiding. Perhaps another fortbeast had already taken them to dinner. Perhaps they were with the others and she and Marabell had miscounted. Perhaps. . . |
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| SilverRose Brighteye | Sep 13 2009, 02:09 PM Post #7 |
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Level Two Poster
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"And let me see. . . did we round up that rouge squirrel Toliver, Urthwell? I’m trying to remember if he was one of that rowdy bunch we sent inside early on.” “No Miz Jades, that’n bunch waz ee made oop o’ all mousers, it was!” “Hm, thank you Urthwell. Off to dinner for real this time.” Marabell frowned deeply at this revelation and watched Urthwell go to dinner. So Toliver hadn't gone inside either? She glanced down at Narika and went to ask the maid if she'd noticed the dibbun's departure, but Narika just shrugged. She couldn't remember seeing Toliver either. Marabell sighed under her breath and reached down to pat Narika's back. "Why don't you go on and join them for dinner? Your parents will be wondering where you are." Narika, who was a rather bright child for her age, frowned. "But I want to help you and Miss Jade. Why didn't Lily and Toliver come back?" she asked. Marabell touched her head, trying to shush her. "I'm not sure, but we're going to find out. They're probably just playing hide-and-go-seek, or they found something interesting. Not to worry, Narika." The little squirrel didn't look convinced, but she spotted her mother out of the corner of her eye and knew it wasn't wise to stick around. With a sigh, she turned on her footpaw and ran to dinner. Immediately, Marabell began to wring her apron with her paws, her eyes wide in concern. She was glad that Jade knew how to keep calm because she was certainly ready to start panicking. The shrew cared about the dibbuns so much. While she knew the fort was a safe place, for the most part, she could only imagine that something terrible had happened to the two little dibbuns. “You don’t think we’re missing a few, do you Marabell?” "I...I don't know, Jade." Marabell glanced around and frowned as the shadows lengthened across the courtyard. Night would soon be here. "Lily was with me most of the afternoon, but she left when I went to wake you. Maybe...maybe they went inside early." Though that didn't seem likely. Lily liked being outside and Toliver, from what she remembered, was one of the dibbuns who didn't like going to dinner when he was having fun. The shrew walked around in a circle and lifted her eyes to Jade. "What should we do?" Should they get help? Should they just start looking? Oh, why did bad things always have to happen when Marabell was around? |
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~~ SilverRose Brighteye Kurosawa ~~ "The petals of a rose may be soft, but beware the thorns." ~~Marabell Ambersong~~ | |
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| Duran Swiftpike | Sep 22 2009, 08:05 PM Post #8 |
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High Commander
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((Wooooooo, sorry I haven't replied in a bit! Internet down, then a big exam that demanded my attention. Tomorrow is my crazy day due to youth group, but I'll get a post up here as soon as I can't. I haven't forgotten this thread! Thanks for being patient with me, Silver.)) |
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