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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Oct 31, 2009 13:34:27 GMT -5
Sarin frowned when Fenrir swatted the cup. No, he should be polite and ask. He was then shocked when the cub said two words on his own and swatted the cup, almost knocking it out of Sarin’s paw. The red squirrel put the cup and Fenrir on the floor. He could see that the cub wanted to have his nourishment. So, Sarin let him while he talked to Nittles. The hedgehog spoke about how she had recently tried to find a Dibbun but to no avail.
“Don’t worry, he’ll turn up eventually. There’s only so many places that he can hide here,” comforted Sarin. He knew how Dibbuns could be.
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Post by Ioalus Rushtail on Oct 31, 2009 13:59:00 GMT -5
Fenrir mewed as he was placed on the floor with the cup and leaned into it, drinking deeply and hungrily from the cup. He closed his eyes as he drank, purring happily as he did. It wasn't long before the cup was half empty, then Fenrir lift his head and perked his ears up as he heard someone approaching. "Here's that milk you wanted, Nittles." Ioalus walked to the door, carrying a barrel over his shoulder. When he was ready to come in, he set the barrel down and ducked in through the door, bending his head to keep from hitting the ceiling. Smiling to Sarin and Nittles, he rolled the barrel over into a corner where she could access it. Fenrir jumped to his feet happily at the sight of his father. "DA! DA!" Ioalus spun, his head hitting a beam on the roof in surprise. He grunted and ducked again, putting his hand to his head as he stared at the cub running up to him. "By Falktor's fur! Fenrir! You're talking!" He knelt and picked the cub up, smiling as he hugged him close. "You're talking!"
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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Nov 2, 2009 9:15:54 GMT -5
Sarin soon heard the sound of familiar beast’s footpaws and smiled when he saw Ioalus carrying a barrel of milk. Nittles scurried forward and thanked the snow leopard, swooning slightly as she did so. She then rolled the barrel to the doorway and bade them farewell. Sarin then popped a piece of cheesecake into his mouth and put his forepaw to his mouth, indicating the snow leopard shouldn’t tell the hedgehog that he ate a piece of cake.
He then chuckled at Ioalus’s reaction. “I hope you don’t mind but I taught your young’un some basic words. He’s a fast learner. Just needs to speak more,” said Sarin, going over to the two snow leopards. He smiled. “There’s one phrase I haven’t taught him yet, which is thank you.”
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Post by Ioalus Rushtail on Nov 2, 2009 16:39:26 GMT -5
He held Fenrir close, both of the leopards purring happily as Ioalus kissed Fenrir's forehead. "I'm so proud of you, Fenrir." Fenrir grinned and nuzzled his father's cheek, purring. Ioalus smiled and looked over at Sarin as he walked over, then set Fenrir down and picked the squirrel up in both hands and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you Sarin. Thank you so much." Fenrir sat an watched the two, smiling happily as he saw his father's happiness. Thank you, they were saying it a lot. He cocked his head to the side and listened again, then concentrated. "T-taaaan-taaaaank yyyyyoouuuu. Tank you!" He looked up and grinned, watching as Ioalus looked down and smiled happily, picking Fenrir up too and holding both him and Sarin close.
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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Nov 3, 2009 14:43:54 GMT -5
Sarin chuckled and shrugged, as if to say ‘no problem’. He absolutely didn’t mind helping little ones learn how to speak. It was a part of life, just like death was. Plus, he enjoyed it when young’uns talked for the first time. Made life worth living and Sarin loved seeing the looks on their cute faces when they found out that they could speak. It made him chuckle. Then there were the parents, who became like fish and didn’t speak for a whole two minutes.
Sarin smiled when Fenrir attempted to speak the words, ‘thank you’. The cub instead said, ‘Tank you’. He was then a little bit shocked when Ioalus hugged him. He chortled. “It was nothing, Ioalus. I just thought that he needed to learn how to speak.
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Post by Ioalus Rushtail on Nov 3, 2009 15:11:40 GMT -5
He smiled and set Sarin down, stroking his son's fur lovingly. Both purred happily as Fenrir nuzzled his father. "I wanted so badly to teach him out there. Teach him everything he needed to know." He closed his eyes, holding his son close. "But every time I thought we'd have some time to ourselves, something else happened and I had to put it off. I'd begun to worry that he would grow up never speaking, living away from beasts like you and the others. It terrified me." He looked down at Fenrir, who mewed and hopped down from his father's arms and went back over to the milk, finishing his meal. Ioalus smiled softly and looked to Sarin. "I don't think there could have been a better place for us than here."
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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Nov 4, 2009 7:54:19 GMT -5
Sarin nodded sympathetically at Ioalus, after all, he had been in a similar situation. It was a good thing that they had come across this Abbey. The red squirrel wondered what would have happened if they hadn’t come across the Redwall. Ioalus might have died and poor little Fenrir may have been on his own. He may have gone to feral and attacked innocent and gentle beasts, not knowing that they were friend.
“Well, you’re here now. Time to stop living in the past. That part of your life, Ioalus. Look to the future,” said Sarin, patting the snow leopard’s paw. These two had been so much but the important thing for them was to now look to the future. The past would always be there but Ioalus had no need to dwell, it’d be bad if he did. Sarin viewed the past as a reminder of once was, a memento of sorts. But the future was the huge prize. It held so many possibilities.
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Post by Ioalus Rushtail on Nov 4, 2009 12:35:57 GMT -5
He looked down a little as Sarin told him to move on. He was silent for a moment, watching Fenrir as he curled up on the floor to sleep after filling his stomach. Closing his eyes, he sighed softly. "I don't know if I can move on, Sarin... I loved my wife more than anything in the world. I would have died for her if it meant our son would live." A tear rolled down his cheek as he looked down at Fenrir, who was now sleeping soundly. "She never even saw him. She never got to hear her only child's voice..." He put his head in his hands, trembling as he sat there, his eyes closed as tears rolled down his cheeks. This wasn't the first time he'd cried for his wife, not in the least. It still hurt to think about. The life she could have had with Ioalus and Fenrir, the happiness they could have given her. Instead, in her last moments she was betrayed by her family, killed by her brothers. He lift his head a little and stared at the floor as he spoke. "What did I do wrong... How did I offend Falktor so that he would take her from us like this?" His voice shook with the rest of him. It was a question he'd asked himself a thousand times before, but he'd never gotten any answer. He needed some kind of answer. Any kind of answer, or he'd never be at peace.
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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Nov 4, 2009 13:23:07 GMT -5
Sarin listened to Ioalus, feeling sorry for the snow leopard. He waited for Ioalus to finish. Different beasts had different ways of dealing with things. The red squirrel guessed that it hadn’t been long when his wife had died. Although it pained Sarin to see his new friend like this, he hardened his heart slightly. He had been down that road before and refused to be depressed. It was a long time and things could be undone.
“My people had a saying. We are like leaves on a tree. We cherish the time we have now. When the wind blows, some of us go with it, leaving behind a small part of ourselves. Some of us stay, remembering the leaves that left,” said Sarin, looking very distant. “It takes time, my friend. Cherish the time you have now, remember your wife but try not to dwell on her too much. She’d want you to be happy and look after her baby cub.”
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Post by Ioalus Rushtail on Nov 4, 2009 13:36:03 GMT -5
He listened silently to Sarin, closing his eyes as he took a shaky breath. He looked at Fenrir and gently picked the cub up. Fenrir stirred and mewed a little, but settled into his father's arms as he was held, the cub purring comfortably. "I just wish he could know her. Know what she was like." He closed his eyes, remembering her smile, her eyes. "She was so beautiful. Her smile alone kept me warm so many nights out there." He looked out the window, staring into the forest. Looking back at Sarin, he managed a hint of a smile before he looked down at Fenrir. "There's a lot of her in this little one. At first it saddened me, made me want to be alone a few times. But her voice seemed to call to me, tell me to care for him no matter what. And I did. I kept him with me at all times. I never let him leave my sight." He nuzzled his son gently and the cub purred a bit louder.
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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Nov 4, 2009 13:55:54 GMT -5
Sarin smiled. “See, you can remember her by telling Fenrir. And she did leave you a present to remind you of her: him. Through him, you can remember her. You can bring her to life again, in a way, through him,” said Sarin. He clutched his staff and smiled fondly at Fenrir. He was a good Dibbun but no doubt he’d turn into a mischievous little cub at some point.
“Come on, Nittles will have a fit if she sees us in here." Sarin exited the kitchens.
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Post by Ioalus Rushtail on Nov 4, 2009 14:19:22 GMT -5
He smiled a little and followed Sarin out, ducking through the door and stretched his neck a little as they entered the tall hallway. He was glad there were at least some parts of the Abbey where he could stand tall. He held his son gently, stroking the cub's fur as he slept. His son deserved happiness and Ioalus knew this place would give it to him. As they walked, he looked over at Sarin, wondering something about his little friend. "Have you ever been in love, Sarin?" The question was a little out of the blue, but it was something Ioalus wanted to know. He wanted to know if he was alone in his feelings of loss.
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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Nov 4, 2009 15:15:36 GMT -5
Ioalus’s question threw Sarin off a bit. He hadn’t been expecting that at all. He stood still, head down and then turned to face the snow leopard. He seriously hadn’t been expecting and actually gave Ioalus an unreadable expression. No one had actually asked him that question beforehand, probably because he himself hadn’t wished for that information to be divulged. He thought about it and came up with an answer.
“No, never. I moved around a lot so never had time for love. Why do you ask? said Sarin, turning on his footpaws and walking to the exit. For some reason, that question had slightly offended the red squirrel but he showed no sign of it. The prospect of falling in love was weird to Sarin. He knew why people did it – sort of anyway, but had never known how it happens.
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Post by Ioalus Rushtail on Nov 4, 2009 15:24:07 GMT -5
He blinked and stepped back, thrown off by the expression on his friend's face. Why had the question effected him so? He looked down, suspecting that Sarin had indeed fallen in love at least once, but he didn't push it since it seemed to touch a nerve in his friend. He continued along with Sarin, silent for the most part, then he asked something he hoped wouldn't be so sensitive. "How did you find the abbey?" He looked over at Sarin, kindness in his expression. He understood wanting to keep secrets and wouldn't press if Sarin didn't want to talk about it.
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Post by Sarin Bowleaf on Nov 8, 2009 13:36:45 GMT -5
Sarin sighed, somewhat tired with all this incessant chatter. It was good to talk, he knew that but there were times where he loved to lock himself in his room and have some peace and quiet. He was so oblivious to where he was going that before he knew it, he was outside the Abbey.
Sarin smiled at Ioalus. “I stumbled across it, like you did. The others had died or left to live in peace long ago and so I was on my own,” said Sarin.
[lack of muse, sorry]
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