My Lion King Forum

Tess Churchmouse smiled broadly, unable to contain her joy. "Matti, I've been so worried! Where have you been?" she said, giving him a hug. She let go and gazed at him admiringly. "That was brave of you to stick up to Jack like that. Not many creatures have that kind of nerve."
She turned and nodded apologetically to Beleos. "The raccoon you just met is fairly new to our Abbey. His name is Jack, and he's a bully. I'm sorry for the way he treated you. Personally I would love to see him pack up and leave but the Abbot decided that he must stay here since he has no other home. Just try to stay out of his way and he won't bother you."


From her lookout on the ramparts, Constance could discern a small shadowy figure carefully picking its way through the thick foliage of Mossflower Woods towards Redwall Abbey. Although this lone female mouse seemed to pose no threat, the wise mother badger knew better than to let her guard down so quickly. She had endured too many battles to be so easily trusting of strangers. Still keeping her eyes glued on the old mouse, Constance ducked low below the parapets and watched the strange new intruder draw nearer.

Mattimeo sighed as he put his hands on his waist. "Alright then. I think we should get going to the tapestry room. Pretty sure my dad'll be there if any where." Mattimeo pointed out as he began to walk. Beleos chuckled slightly as he followed after the other young mouse. Mattimeo raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" Mattimeo inquired as he walked.

"Nothing, Nothing. Just that you sort of remind me of... a friend I once had. He isn't exactly alive right now, but he had the same personality." Beleos said as he shook his head. Mattimeo grinned slightly.

"So, tell me about where you are from. It's over seas, I know just that much." Mattimeo murmured. Beleos thought for a moment and smiled.

"I am from Carpe Diem Castle. It's kinda like Redwall except...bigger. I had to leave when the king sort of invaded and took everything that belonged to my family." Beleos said quietly, feeling his fists clench slightly. Mattimeo frowned now, and shook his head.

"Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be figuring out a way to get your home back?" Mattimeo asked as they arrived at a stair case and began to climb it. Beleos rubbed his head, feeling a bit irritated.

"I wanted to stay and fight...but Festus said that is not what my father, or my ancestor would've wanted. I have no clue why I was brought here of all places." Beleos explained. "Whatever the reason though, Festus told me that in the end the lands would be liberated from that tyrant." Beleos said with a slight annoyance in his tone.

"Of course he will fall. No tyrant goes unopposed. It's just a matter of time before he is defeated by somebody Beleos, and your father was confident that you'd be that unstoppable force." Mattimeo pointed out with a small smile. "I know a thing or two about the troubles of expectation you know." Mattimeo murmured as they got closer to the tapestry room.

Tess listened to Beleos' short narrative, awestruck. He had never told her that much! She decided that he was the type of mouse that only talked when questions were directed at him. So she asked, "So who was this...tyrant?" Surely he couldn't be another threat to the Abbey, she added to herself. In no way did she want their precious Abbey to be involved in Beleos' personal matters and plunge them into another terrible war with a dangerous warlord. Something nagging at the back of Tess's mind told her that they needed to stay out of this, for the sake of all the Redwall creatures.


"Halt!" Constance bellowed at the tiny creature when it was within earshot of her booming voice. "Identify yourself, mouse, and tell me what you're doing here." Constance continued. The mouse stood dazed for a second. Constance smiled to herself. The sight of a burly, fully-grown badger guarding the Abbey walls always shocked outsiders, who expected Redwall residents to be humble, peace-loving mice. This will show them that we aren't so soft, Constance thought grimly.

Beleos closed his eyes for a quick moment and he glared towards the ground when he opened them. "His name is Romulus the wolverine. He killed his brother Remus in order to get control of the throne. His choice of forces were horde creatures of course and they destroyed everything that showed a hint of resistance to Romulus's filthy claw." Beleos murmured, remembering vaguely the coat of arms of the tyrant. He felt like it was truly cowardly for him and Festus to be hiding here at an abbey for crying out loud, but Beleos was not one to be questioning Amadeus's will.

"I'm sorry that had to happen to you and your people. I stand by what I say though. No tyrant goes unpunished for what he has done." Mattimeo pointed out as they entered the tapestry room. Matthias was standing there, looking to the tapestry of Martin. When he heard the children coming in, he turned and smiled.

"Ah, there you are Matti. Where were you?" Matthias said sternly with a raised eyebrow. Mattimeo smiled as he put his hands on his hips.

"I was ill dad, no need to get so worried. Slagar was a once in a life time maniac. Not like another one would come in the middle of the night and take me away." Mattimeo pointed out. Matthias sighed as he looked at the tapestry.

"I never thought like that Matti. The spirit of Martin protects you, as his sword protects Redwall. I thought you had a run in with Jack that turned ugly." Matthias said with a chuckle. Mattimeo frowned as he clenched his fists.

"That ring tailed rat couldn't lay a finger on me! He knows I would win if we got into a scrap, that's why he always backs off!" Mattimeo said as his frown turned into a wide grin. Beleos chuckled.

"Careful Mattimeo, overestimating yourself is just as bad as underestimating your enemy." Beleos pointed out.

[OOC: lol Romulus and Remus xD]

Tess laughed as well. "Beleos is right, Matti. Don't get cocky. Jack just doesn't want to fight you because he knows it'll give the Abbot a reason to kick him out!" She laughed again and gazed up at the tapestry of Martin in admiration. Such a brave mouse! How she would have loved to meet him....
Tess turned around and was shocked to see that the others had been looking up at the tapestry as well. She let out a surprised giggle. "Well I should probably go see how Aislin's doing. She should be awake by now. I'll see you all later then." She made an elaborate curtsy at the three mice before departing.


Rowan tore through countless halls, dodging and ducking anything that stood in his way on his way to the Abbey gardens. Everything was ablur to the young squirrel as he zipped past startled mousemaids and grumpy moles. I hope I'm not late, he thought desperately, narrowly avoiding trampling a baby bankvole in his mad hurry. Only too late did he turn a corner and realize that Tess was walking in the opposite direction directly in his path.
"ROWAN WHAT IN THE WORLD-" Tess cried.
Crash!
Rowan and Tess collided headlong and fell into a crumpled heap, dazed. After several minutes of seeing double, Tess was the first to recover. "Rowan, what were you doing?" she asked angrily as she tried to straighten her crumpled skirt. Rowan sat clutching his head as he tried to remember. "I...uh...I n-need to see Festus f-for my sword-fighting lessons." he said shakily as he struggled to rise as well. He wondered if the old mouse would be angry that his pupil was late on the first day. Tess twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Well you'd better hurry. You don't want to be late on your first day." she said, echoing his thoughts. Rowan nodded. "You're right, I should get going. See you later Tess, and sorry for bumping into you!"
Rowan was out of the room before Tess had even realized he had spoken.

Festus meanwhile had finished telling the story of Amadeus to an entire group of dibbons when little Rowan bumped into him from behind. Festus gazed at the sky, then turned to the young warrior mouse. "Ah boy, tardiness is something you should throw right out now because on the battle field your enemy won't wait for you." Festus said sternly. The dibbuns giggled and laughed at the fact Rowan was in slight trouble. Festus smiled as he looked back to the little ones.

"Alright little ones, go on and play. Rowan has to begin his training with me." Festus said quietly shooing the dibbuns away. Festus unsheathed a sword from the holder in his belt and handed it to Rowan. The blade was probably going to be moderately heavy for the young Squirrel, but Festus was just testing to see what level Rowan was already at before thinking of training him further. "Boy, I want you to come with me." Festus murmured as he lead Rowan to a rather large tree within the abbey garden. Festus smiled kindly to passers by, and slammed his paw onto the tree trunk, making several leaves fall.

"Here's the first test. You have to cut as many leaves as they fall. Begin." Festus ordered.

//

Beleos looked at Martin's tapestry with interest and Mattimeo looked to Beleos. Mattimeo got a really strange feeling emitting from the longtail. It was not like the strange evil madness that emitted off of Slagar. It was a feeling of harmony, and as if Beleos was at peace.

Beleos meanwhile stepped back in shock as the image of the black rat ran through his mind again. Matthias looked over at Beleos in concern. "What's wrong Beleos?" Matthias asked quickly. Mattimeo quickly walked to Beleos's side, in case he fell over.

"That black armored rat...won't leave my mind. Every couple of minutes the memory of that nightmare flashes through my mind..." Beleos said rubbing his head with an irritated look on his face. Matthias rubbed his chin, figuring that this might just be a sign from Martin himself being expressed through the Longtail.

"What are you talking about?" Mattimeo asked with slight confusion. Beleos waved off the question.

"I think I shouldn't talk about it. I'm sure Matthias will tell you." Beleos murmured as he began to make his way out of the tapestry room, and towards the staircase that lead to his room.

"I'm sorry Festus..uh... Captain. Sir!" Rowan blurted out, rubbing his nose gingerly with a paw. A few of the dibbuns giggled, making him blush even harder. His first day and he was already making a complete fool of himself!
After the young ones had left, his trainer led him to a large tree a short distance away. Rowan listened to Festus's instructions with growing dread, and his stomach tightened at the perspicacity of what he had to do. He gulped. His first test! This was his chance to prove to everyone what a great fighter he was! Rowan could feel his paws sweating and gripped his sword hilt tighter. He could feel the hot, relentless rays of the sun beating down on his back. "I'm ready." he said with a determined look on his face, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.


Tess continued walking to the infirmary, her head lost in the clouds, so she was surprised when she suddenly came face to face with the familar wide doors. After hestitating briefly for a second, the young churchmouse knocked softly and went in.
It was quiet as usual in the Redwall infirmary. Tess carefully picked her way past beds occupied by injured or sick sleeping animals. Finally she arrived at Aislin's bed. The kitchen fieldmouse still seemed to be sound asleep. Looks like she hasn't woken up yet, Tess thought with a disappointed frown. Quietly she tip-toed back the way she had come toward the infirmary doors.

Aislin looked around at the fire and the destruction. Her eyes widened at all the dead creatures sprawled onto the ground. She quickly made her way towards one of the corpses. "Miss Cornflower..." Aislin said sadly kneeling down. Aislin felt like crying, but there was no time. She stood again and began to run towards the grand door of red wall. If she stayed here any longer she'd suffocate from all the smoke.

The young mouse maiden stopped at the great door when she noticed a black armored rat standing there. The red eyes of that rat flashed through his helmet and Aislin couldn't help but be afraid. The rat quickly made his way towards her and picked her up by the collar of her dress.

"Let me go you rascal! Let me go!" Aislin cried, struggling in the rat's grip. Aislin looked down at one of the rat's paws and noticed that it was made of iron. She gasped as she noticed the rat was about to strike her with the claw when he suddenly dropped her and howled in pain. Aislin looked to why the rat had stopped and she felt her heart skip a beat.

Stabbed in the rat's back was a blade of silver, reflecting the moonlight with great intensity. The rat snarled as he began to dissolve into nothing and eventually Aislin could see who had rescued her. All she saw was a mouse in white robes with the hood over his head.

"M-Martin? Is that you sir?" Aislin asked quietly. She heard the mouse chuckle as he too began to disappear, but as he disappeared everything around her came back to life. The fires died out, the creatures stirred about, and the sun shone on her now happy home once more.

Aislin woke with a start, looked to the ceiling of the infirmary. She rubbed her head and felt a bump as she stood. "I should be more careful I should." Aislin murmured quietly to herself. Aislin sighed as she walked out of the infirmary after speaking with the nurse. She had to pay more attention in the future.


//

Festus watched as Rowan swung his blade at the leaves. He already noticed how much difficulty the boy was having because of the heaviness, but he still just observed. After awhile had passed and he took note that Rowan was exhausted he took the blade from the young squirrel and put it back in it's sheith. "You did enough, and quite well might I add. I can safely say you aren't exactly ready to hold a blade yet. We have to build your strength before handing you your weapon." Festus commented with a nod.

Tess spun around when she heard the mousemaid get up.
"Aislin?! You're awake!" she cried, running up to greet her friend. Her smile faded when she saw the disheveled state she was in. Aislin looked like she'd had a rough night, and she was shaking badly as though she'd just woken up from a horrible dream. Tess put a consoling paw on her shoulder, noticing as she did so the clean white linen strip that had been wrapped around her head where the bump was.
"Aislin, are you alright?" Tess asked gently. She was impatient to know the truth about how she had sustained her injury, but she decided that could wait. Right now Aislin's health was far more important.


The least Rowan could do was nod to Festus. He handed over the sword only too willingly from his aching paws. He had underestimated its weight and swung too mightily during his first few tries, leaving him with barely enough energy to strike out at the leaves towards the end. Now his paws felt like lead, and were stiff, red, and swollen.
Exhausted and breathless, the young squirrel put his paws on his knees and panted heavily, sweat rolling down his brow and onto the clean autumn grass. He needed a bath. At least I proved himself a capable fighter, he thought wearily. That would be something to tell the others in the Abbey when he got to see them again.

Aislin smiled slightly as she rubbed her head once more. She was still feeling a little under the weather, but she was glad that Tess had so much concern for her. Aislin walked so that she was alongside Tess. "Yes Tessy, I'm fine. Jus' got a bump on me noggin. I should be more careful I should." Aislin said, her accent slurring her words slightly.

The mousemaid remained silent as they made their way down the stairs towards the tapestry room, to get to the kitchen. Aislin knew that Beleos was the one that caught her when she fell. She felt terrible that she probably worried him sick. When Aislin entered the the room, a chill ran down her spine as she saw only Matthias and Mattimeo standing before the tapestry of Martin. Mattimeo turned and quickly walked towards Tess and Aislin.

"Hey! Aislin! Are you ok? I heard you really hurt yourself." Mattimeo asked quickly. Matthias chuckled slightly.

"Easy Matti. She might still be a little off balance. What happened Aislin? All we found was broken fragments on the ground." Matthias explained. Aislin adjusted her apron and twirled her fingers around the strings of it uncomfortably.

"I accidentally slipped and grabbed onto the table for support. The table couldn't support my weight so the vase fell on my head. It hurt much, yes it did!" Aislin murmured, a little embarrassed. "Then that long tail fellow came in, and kept me from falling to the ground he did. Where is the lad so I can thank him?" Aislin asked looking around the tapestry room.

"Went to his room I think. He's really odd." Mattimeo said quietly. Matthias looked at Mattimeo sternly.

"It's not nice to judge Matti. If you've lived his life, you wouldn't be so perfect yourself. You are protected by the walls of the abbey, and the spirit of Martin. He doesn't have those blessings." Matthias said as he gazed at the tapestry of Martin once more.


//At Grimclaw's Camp//

The rat general let out a loud burp and pat his stomach with his left hand. The rats had really produced a fine meal, and he made note not to kill any of them today. He stood up in his war tent and walked out of it, gazing at the sky. He smirked as he looked at the orange and purple coloring of the clouds, indicating the setting of the sun. "Okay Boys! Now that you've finished your meals, it's time to explain the complete plan in detail once more! I will be taking some of you with me in disguise into Redwall, I earn their trust, and wait till they go to sleep. After that, I'll just open the gates at night when the fools are asleep, and signal the other group to coming in! By morning, Redwall will be ours!" Grimclaw said with a smirk, picking his teeth with his iron claw.

The old mouse just happened to be behind a tree, listening in on the plan and she frowned slightly. This was not good, not good at all! It was good that she went undetected, so she made her way away from that encampment. [OOC: This next part is a continuation of what LA posted]

The old mouse maiden made her way slowly towards the gates of Redwall, noting the badger's aggressiveness. She chuckled slightly, as she remembered another badger she knew with the same if not much worse temper. The old mouse maiden looked up at Constance as she yelled orders at her. "It is not nice to bark orders dear badger mother! I merely ask for entry! Would you question such a feeble old mouse maiden like me?" She then chuckled slightly. "I am Sardy Longtail!" The old mouse said, answering the question regardless.