Flo's Challenge to me

[TheSongOfTheStars]

" I died again!"
896 words
'Dawn' occurred roughly eight minutes later, right after Viper found a sack to tie around Rusty's head.
Darkmoon knotted it with a rough finality to her movements and when she was finished, the bag was stretchd over Rusty's muzzle and forcing his ears down, leaving a strange impression of a blank fox's profile.

"I dn't lik dis," Rusty growled, his voice muffled by the fabric "Hw lng do I hve t wer it?"
"Forever," Aberdeena replied cheerfully "You're dead."
"Now take him away!" Timothy ordered, flourishing his scepter, then sinking back into the chair.
"To the dungeon?" Lily asked, grabbing Rusty's arm "Because really we should bury him, since he's dead."
"Nnnn!"
"Nah," Tim shrugged. He had lost interest in his first execution and was busily trying to rescue part of his muffin from Skipper's ravenous clutches.

"Oh my word what have you done now?" Rolland groaned as Rusty was marched in and forced to sit next to the doctor "Does the Queen know what you've done to her son?"
"It werf hr idea," Rusty muttered, the bag sucking in around his mouth as he spoke "Mm ded now."
"Wonderful, the Queen has gone rouge and executed her heir, Callie is not going to be pleased when she gets home."

As if on queue the door slammed and heavy sea boots trampled in the entry.

The "Royal Guard" charged into the front hall, innocent grins smeared across all their faces.

Callie looked up from wiping her boots across the mat, surprised to be greeted by such a cavalcade. Behind her, Martin leaned against the doorframe.
"Hey, Lily!" He greeted his wife "I though you might be over here. Where's Skip?"
"Playing with Tim." She took another step towards him, the innocent grin turning mischievous.
"Alright, what is it?"
"What?"
"You're up to something."
"No...?"

"Hey, Callie, Rolland wants to talk to you."
Darkmoon grabbed the ring-tailed captain and before she could protest, Darkmoon drug her off.
"I'm next aren't I?"
She nodded slowly and hooked her arm around his "Come quietly and it'll go better with you."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, I'll make sure the knots aren't too tight and I'll sneak you a muffin."
"Promise?"
"Promise."

Skipper was asleep midst a pile of muffin crumbs and Timothy was rapidly growing tired with his game. He'd eaten far too many muffins for a little weasel and his bedtime was approaching.
He tugged at Aberdeena's sleeves and the vixen leaned close to hear his whispers.

"What do you do when you're done being the boss of people?"
She smiled sadly down at him "You can't just stop, Tim, you're responsible for them."
"Oh..." His little ears tucked down "Can we be done with the game?"
"No. You've got two more trespassers to judge."
"Oh. What about after that?"
"Well, I suppose. But you have to promis to be a good boy for your mum."
"Ok," his ears pricked up and he straightened his back "Bring in ALL the prisoners! "
"All of them?" Shyshie asked poking her head in "Are you sure your majesty?"
"Yup. All of them."
"All right then."

A few minutes later, the four prisoners where marched in: Rolland still annoyed, Callie protesting loudly and struggling, Martin quiet and bemused, and Rusty still dead.
"I'm done," Timothy said "They can be free now."
"Thank you," Rolland snapped, straining against the knots "Honestly, Queen Aberdeena."
She laughed and shook her head "What about Rusty? He's still dead."
"Plf jst tk th bg off."

Timothy squinted down at the prince, then Rolland.
"Can you fix him, Doctor?"

"Just take the-"
A pleading glance from Viper caused him to pause, then sigh.
"Well. What did you do to him?"
"Cut his head off."

His paws finally free, Rolland pressed them to his forehead in frustration.
"I can't fix that, Tim. Can we please just take the bag off?"
"No."
"Fine... Where's his head, I'll sew it back on."

There where giggles from every corner, even from Callie, as Rolland went through the pantomime of sewing Rusty's head back on, untying the knot and pulling the bag off when he was finished.
"Thank you," Rusty gasped, looking around dazedly "It's hot in there."
"So wait," Martin said, as Lily began to undo the knotted sheets "Why where you dead again?"
"What?" Rusty turned towards his friend, eyes wide with confusion "What do you mean again? I only died once, right?!?"
He spun in a circle, glaring at all of them "Did something happen while I was in that bag? What did you do?"
Aberdeena laughed, standing up and catching her son by the shoulder "Nothing happened, Rusty, you only died once."
"Are you sure?" He raised a suspicious eyebrow at her "You're not just trying to throw me off are you?"
"How long did you have him in that bag?" Martin asked stepped back from his friend, nervous concern showing.
"Not that long," Darkmoon said, pushing her face close to the fox's and staring at him.

He stared back at her, his ears held half-back.
"Alright, I think that's our cue to go home," Aberdeena pulled Rusty along by his shoulder "Darkmoon, if you don't mind I'd like to take a plate of muffins back to Terrimine."
"Sure go ahead- I'll get the plate back later."
"Thank you."
"Are you SURE I didn't die again??"

Aberdeena sighed.
"Come on Rusty."

[Ranger of the North]

Hahaha. Roland, 'King' Tim and the gang ^^ are great XD

[TheSongOfTheStars]

"Please... marry me."
503 words
The freezing snow drifted down through the tree branches, flake by flake trying to absorb the blood soaked into the ground. They encrusted Jade's still face and hampered down Vrell's whiskers, but his tears cut through the ones that touched his cheeks.
"Please don't give up on me. Not now, not after all this," he whispered, erratic puffs of steam gliding into the frigid air.
"After what?" She asked, her eyes fluttering open weakly "After betrayal? From both of us?"
"No, you never hurt anyone," his voice grew strained.
"But look who's on the ground and who's kneeling next to them. I just don't see any point, Vrell. I failed. What's left?"
"What do you mean what's left?" Panic began to inject his blood with a frantic urgency "Your family, Jade your friends. They still need you."
"No they don't," her eyes sank closed and a horrible stiffness began to set in the rest of her limbs "I failed all of them. But they'll be alright. They'll heal."
"You will too. Jade, please. You never failed anybody."
"I lost the fight."
"Jade every war comes with it's losses. One fight can be reversed."
"Lost it all," she whispered "The fight, the war, their trust."
"You- you just need another reason to fight. Another war to win. Jade please, just hold on, I know you can do it."
A sigh leaked out from her lips "If I just stop, if I just let go."

"It's not about you! It's about Jasmine and Lionel and the Empire and... and..."
"And you," she finished, her eyes cracking open ever so slightly "You."
He gripped her paw and raised it "Us. Please Jade, fight, you need to fight."
"Why?"

Why.
Why?
"I don't know, you need a reason. Something. Something, anything. Jade. I don't know but you have to fight."
"Why...?" Her voice faded again.

Vrell clutched her paw tighter and with his free fingers wiped away the snow from her face.
He shouldn't have been the one kneeling there next to her. It should've been Jasmine, Lionel, anyone else.
He just didn't know what to say.
"A reason..." something else followed after but he couldn't catch it.
"What? What was that Jade?" He leaned closer, cradling her head and pricking his ears "Say it again."
"You. Give me a reason."
"I don't know!" His mind was utterly and terrifyingly blank. What did she have left? Everything she'd ever know had been shattered between Jen-suk and her father.
"No. You. Give me a reason."
"What?"
"You. Reason."
"Me?"

A spark lit underneath her eyes "You. The reason. My fight."
He could feel the stirring of blood in her veins as she struggled to make him understand.
"Me be the reason? What do you mean?"
"You be my reason. My fight."
"I don't know what you mean."
"If... I... If we... survive.... Marry me?"
The words didn't fully register, but he answered immediately, desperate to keep her going, give her the reason she needed so much
"Of course."

[Ranger of the North]

Oh wow, that was a powerful piece! <3 I really want to know what happens next, like... does Jade survive? Do they really marry? Is Vrell glad, or does he regret his promise? gAh! Questions, questions smh XD

[TheSongOfTheStars]

I'm glad, I was afraid it turned out a bit cheesy.

[Ranger of the North]

I'm glad, I was afraid it turned out a bit cheesy.

Nope, not to me c;

[TheSongOfTheStars]

"THIS IS JUST BUSINESS!"
719
Coldly, Lionel eyed the door, his stick sweaty against his palm.
He'd been asked to come speak with his employer- no, ordered.
And it was that- the sharp, uncaring tone that the messenger had used when relying the message- that made his stomach quiver with nerves.
but he could not delay his entry forever and the sooner he dealt with the issue the sooner the cloud hanging over his mind could be resolved.
He gave three measured knocks against the door and was answered with a terse command to enter.

Master Hreth and Master Quive where both sitting at their desks. But Hreth had that distant look in his eyes, his expression blank while he stared towards the ceiling.
Quive on the other hand, directed every ounce of his attention on the otter as he entered and bowed.
"Lionel, we've called you here to discuss the two children- Adrian and Avery. You've been caring for them for how long now?"

It took Lionel a moment to count back all the years, to go back when he found that shivering pair of children beneath the shadows of an alley.
"I believe it's been seven years now, sir."
"Seven years," Quive repeated slowly, looking thoughtfully at his paws.

There was an infuriating deliberation in the hounds tone, he was building up to a point. A point Lionel was sure to dislike.
"Master Hreth, you told me that the children where meant only to stay a week before going to the orphanage, correct?"

"...Yes," Hreth replied vaguely, never once his eyes lowering towards the one he was speaking to.
"And these children, whom you have no legal authority over, spend the majority of their time in our facility's kitchen. A workplace, directly beneath the Empire's care no less. That is no place for a child, no matter the circumstance."
Quive let the sentence dangle, hoping that the ottercook would supply the rest.
Lionel clicked his staff against the ground. Daring him to finish what he had started.

"Then there's also the matter of the squirrel, Achran, who Master Hreth placed under your care as a favor to an old friend. The friend- Silver MacThatch- was supposed to return to claim the boy after a month or so. It's been six years if I'm not mistaken. Time perhaps, to let him go."
Hreth nodded.

Lionel gritted his teeth, his stomach turning over.
"Sir, perhaps you should state yourself clearly to a simple cook."

With false patience Quive smiled "These children are a distraction and quite frankly a disgrace to our school. Achran is extremely disruptive during training and the younger two are under constant threat of being injured. It would be much better and much safer if they where taken to the orphanage. They would have a significant chance of being adopted into complete and caring families."

Lionel stared at his stick, at the shavings that sprung up beneath his claws as he gouged the wood in frustration.
"Sir. If I am not mistaken this is not your choice to make."
Quive looked towards Master Hreth "We've spoken on this before."

"Yes... They need to go..."

"What if it's neither of your decisions? I'm the one who's cared for these children. I and Freeta. We have decided what's best for the before, we should-"
"Perhaps I was not clear!" Quive slammed a fist against his desk, standing bolt upright. "Those children will leave!"

Lionel's breath grew short and though he didn't show it the way Quive did, he was just as angry.
"Why now do you choose to turn your attention towards Adrian, Avery, and Achran? They where never your concern before. Unless... some personal agenda has shown that you'd be better off without a few orphans in the kitchen."

"This is just business!" Quive bellowed "Nothing more and nothing less! Those children need to be gone by tomorrow or else!"

Lionel looked between the elf and the hound, anger rising up like a deep cloud and obscuring reason.
"Or else what, Hreth?" He shouted back "Or else what? You fire me?"
He threw down his stick with a clatter that made Hreth flinch. His whole body shuddered and swayed as he glared up at his former employers.
"I QUIT! HOW'S THAT FOR BUISNESS?!?"

[TheSongOfTheStars]

"Did you steal my tart?"
825 words

Lionel was slouched over on the couch, enjoying a few moments off his paws between breakfast and lunch, when Mei-li stormed up silently behind him. He felt the blazes of her anger rather heard and didn't look up.

"Did you take it?" Her voice was low, but grating in barely contained emotion.
"Take what?" He asked, reaching for his stick as he realized that his brief rest might be soon over.
"My tart."
"Your what?" He looked over his shoulder at her in surprise.
"My tart," she repeated, then with a growl she sat down next to him "I made four tarts this morning. I gave the first three to Lyra, Ariel, and Yia. The fourth was for me.... Well I left it to cool up on the shelf while I finished up with watering the flowers and when I came back-"
"It was gone."
She nodded and sighed unhappily, slouching into her seat with arms crossed.
"Why where you cooking? You don't usually bake anything."
"Because I wanted to eat a tart but didn't want to bother you with making one or go buy one, so I made it."
"Well, I can make you a tart," he offered, smiling a bit "It doesn't take that long."
"But I want it now."
He sighed a bit and spread his paws out helplessly "I can cook, love, not do magic."

For a second she looked crushed, the creases beneath her eyes puddling up with tears, then in the next second she was on her paws grinning.
"Let's just go buy one, come on."

"Come on, what do you mean come on?"
"Come with me," She tugged at the stick, trying to pull him up "Please? It's going to be at least another hour before you need even think about starting lunch."
"I know, but-" he pulled back from her "By the time we've walked down and gotten one I can have a whole batch in the oven."

She sighed and tipped her head to one sigh with reproval stamped across her face.
"I know you can, but I don't want you to have to cook just for me."
"But I like to cook for you, Mei."
"Oh... I come on, it'll be fun. Let's go for a nice walk. Just us."

He let out a long sigh, feigning resentment of her pestering while a frown spread out across his whiskers.
Suddenly downcast, Mei was about to turn when she caught the tiny curling of his mouth.

"Alright, I'll come."
Her face lit up again and she helped him stand before fetching jackets to ward off the autumn's brisk air.

Judging from her eagerness to have her desired pasty, Lionel expected Mei to drag him through the streets as quickly as his crippled gait would allow, but instead she let him choose the pace, apparently more pleased she'd convinced him to accompany her than excited about the tart.

But eventually they found their way to a small bakery where Mei-li again dragged on, unable to decide on what exactly she wanted.
For the first ten minutes Lionel tried to help her choose, but eventually he had to sit down and could only watch the agonizing process.

"Alright, I think I've gotten what I want," She walked up to him, a package in either paw and one tucked under her arm.
"You got three," He said, standing up "You're not going to eat all of them at once are you?"
"No of course not," she laughed, holding one out to him "That's for you and the other one is for Jon-tai."
"Ah, I see," He accepted the package and in return offered her his paw "You ready to go home?"
"Sure."

They unwrapped their treats as soon as they left the bakery, Mei tearing into hers as if she hadn't eaten in days.
Lionel watched her from the corner of his eye while savoring his own at a slower pace.
"How is it?"

She held the tart away from her face, disgust screwing up her coutanance.
"It's aweful!"
"Really? Mine tastes fine... here let me have a bite."
She broke off a piece and handed it to him.
"Huh, seems alright to me."
"Well then you can have it," she sighed her shoulders slumping.
"Oh, Mei-li, I'm sorry," he folded his tart back up and reached for her paw "Today isn't working out quite how you hoped is it?"
"No," she laughed a bit, but it was hollow mirth "At least I got you to take a walk with me."
"I'll walk with you anytime, love."
She smiled, this time with a genuine warmth beginning to show "Thanks Lionel."

They walked in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other's company.
But eventually Lionel perked up the conversation once again.
"What are you going to do when you get home?"

She shrugged, still smiling "I'm going to find who took my tart and I'm going to kill them. "

[TheSongOfTheStars]

"Who am I? "
803 words
The hedgehog teacher looked over her lists, then frowned slightly back down at the squirrel boy.
"Luke, it says here that your last name is Trevoiant."

He glanced up quickly from sneaking a peek in his lunch pail.
"Yes, Mam."
"Well, is that your name?"
"Yes, Mam."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Mam."

She sighed and folded up the paper "Alright, I'll check with your parents about the mix-up later."
His little ears tucked down in confusion.
"But that's my name, Mam."
"Luke, Trevoiant is an otter's surname. We'll straighten it out after class."
"But that's my name," Luke protested faintly while his teacher bustled after a pair of trouble making raccoons who had burst in from the yard covered in scrapes and bruises.
---

Luke had decided that he didn't like school very much by the end of the day.
He supposed the letters and numbers part was alright, if a little confusing, but he didn't like sitting still for so long or being jostled by the other children.
He had decided that he wasn't going to come back while packing up his lunch pail when his father came through the door.
"Hey, Lukey, how was it?" Wilkes crouched next to his son and helped him fold up the handkerchief that had held his jam sandwich.
"I don't like it."
"Oh, is the work hard?"
"It's okay. I just like being with you better."

The hedgehog teacher looked up from the papers she'd gathered from the students at the end of the class and noticed the otter.
"Sir, may I help you?" she asked, slipping out from behind her desk.
"Oh, I think we're good," he stood up, smiling "So, how'd Luke do?"
"Luke?" a look of mild horror crept across her face "You're Luke's father?"

Wilkes nodded, his smile twisting sideways ever so slightly "Yes, is there a problem?"
"Your name is Trevoiant?"
"Correct," His voice grew somewhat testy "Why?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry," she shook her head "I didn't realize that Luke... I mean I didn't know he was..."

For a second Wilkes' face drew down in a sharp scowl, causing her to cease her stuttering.
"Anyways, I'm sorry, I thought there was a mix-up with the names.
"It's alright," his smile returned "It's not the first time."
"I'm very sorry.... um... Luke did very well, he did his work nicely, but he was a bit shy."
"Well, hopefully that'll wear off."

"Can we go home now, Dad?"
Luke tugged at Wilkes' sleeve, his ears tucked plaintively downwards.
"Alright, you got your stuff together? Good."

They where both quiet on the short walk home. Wilkes first attributed his son's silence to a long day doing new things, but when he noticed how the fluffy tail dragged along the ground he wondered if it was something else.

As soon as they came through the front gate, Luke shoved his pail into Wilkes' paws and bounded up the single tree in the yard.
Wilkes sighed and set the pail down on the front step, before hauling himself up into the branches alongside the young squirrel.
He supposed it was only natural that Luke felt secure in the tree, he only wished he could relate.
After managing to angle himself into a relatively secure nook between the branches, he waited for Luke to start.
It took several moments for the words to build up inside the boy and burst out, but they came out in their due time.

"Why can't I just stay home?!? You're smart! You can teach me!"

"Because," Wilkes reached through the leaves for Luke's shoulder "There's a lot to learn out there and I don't know everything."
"My teacher doesn't either."
"True, very true. But she's there to help you learn."

Luke sighed, unable to find argument with that statement.
"Is it going to school that's bothering you, or the name mix-up?"

"Why couldn't you and Mom have adopted another otter, so other creatures wouldn't get confused."
"Oh.. Luke.." for a moment Wilkes' throat tightened and it took several hard swallows before he could answer evenly "We adopted you because... that's how it was supposed to be. We where meant to be a family."

"But... If you and Mom had real kids then you wouldn't have gotten me."
"Oh, no, no, no," he'd rehearsed the answer many, many times over, in the middle of the night staring at the ceiling.
"Listen, it wouldn't have mattered whether or not we'd had kids, you'd still be part of our family. This is how it's supposed to be. You, me and Mom. Nothing that could have happened or will happen can change that, you hear me?"

For a moment the little boy stared intently at his paws then looked up, a grin of pure relief spreading across his face.
"I hear ya."

[TheSongOfTheStars]

"Since when did Disney add this?!
506

Darkmoon leaned back against the porch bench, fanning herself with her hat. She'd shed her usual pants and vest for a light dress.
Shyshie was sitting on the floor, enjoying the coolness of the tiles while trying to focus on her book.
She gave up after a few paragraphs and climbed up next to her mother.

"It got hot, didn't it?" Darkmoon said "It was really windy the past week. Now we've hit a calm."
"Maybe it'll rain."
"I definitely hope so."

They where distracted from their conversation by a familiar figure letting himself in through the gate.
"Hey Stepstone, you melted yet?"

"Not quite. You two?"
"We're getting there," Shyshie groaned "I want lemonade."
"You drank the last of it for breakfast."
"I know, I want more though."
"I think you'll survive on water. You want anything to drink, Coe?"

"No thanks, I'm alright," Coe leaned against the wall and looked over towards the neighboring house
"By the way, did you notice the little dragons Martin put up along their front fence?"
"No? What dragons?" Shyshie looked in the same direction "There weren't any dragons when we took a walk this morning."

Coe looked down and shuffled back a step "They looked exactly like the one crawling up your plant pots."
"What?" Darkmoon bolted to her feet, at the same time pulling Shyshie away from the pots "Coe, that thing is alive!"
Shyshie squeaked, but not in fear, and tugged out of her mother's grasp "It's a dragon!"
"Careful!" Coe stopped her before she could scoop up the little reptile "It may bite you."
"I don't think it will," She grinned up at him, slipping the tiny creature onto her fingers "It doesn't have any teeth. They eat berries."
"And how do you know that?"
"Lily told me about dragons. These ones eat berries."

"AY MUM!"

Aberdeena looked up from her paperwork, squinting in annoyance.
"What is it Rusty??"

"C'mere!"

With a sigh she set down her pen and walked out onto one of the castle's many balconies. Rusty stood in the middle, craning his neck upwards.
"What is it?"

"How long have we had dragons up on the ramparts?
Aberdeena stared up "Those have never been there."
She turned to her son, a frown on her face "When did you do that?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you. What did you do?"

"I didn't-" Rusty cut himself off as one of the dragons crawled off the ledge and fell crosswise over his face, it's tiny wings flapping over his ears.

"Muuuuuuummmmmm...."

"Don't. Move."

Gingerly Aberdeena snagged the thin tail and lifted the dragon into the air, off of Rusty's face.
It squeaked and curled around her wrist.
"MUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM"

"I think it's fine," Aberdeena unwrapped it from around her wrist and it flew away with a hummingbird buzz.
"But it's a DRAGON."
"A little one."
"But they're everywhere!"

Aberdeena frowned "Well. They must've been migrating when the winds hit and they where blown off course."
"But.... what... what do we do?"
"We wait for them to go home."