|
|
Post by Captain Bigwig on Oct 7, 2015 21:19:46 GMT -5
Dusk was settling in across the sea, golden rays of warm sunlight dancing over the calm waves. The weather had been clear, and the air crisp, but to the west, storm clouds were beginning to brew. A few stars were already starting to twinkle overhead, and the moon was in plain view. Dinner had come and gone just recently, and within the mountain, it was entirely likely hares were still munching and chatting, relaxing before another day of hard work.
But not Dianthus.
Truthfully, Dianthus did not mind watch duty. It was very nearly always peaceful - it was a rare, rare day a creature approached Salamandastron, friend or foe. And even though he'd prefer to be inside, chatting and joking while eating leftovers or dessert, the view of the stars from the sentry point wasn't half-bad. And at least he didn't have to do it alone! Imagine how dull it would be! Who would he torture with his jokes?
Looking in his comrade's direction, he gestured to the sky briefly before guffawing, "I say, what sort of fish live in the evening sky?"
Without waiting for a reply, he snorted, "Starfish! Wot? Wot?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Margorr on Oct 7, 2015 22:16:44 GMT -5
At first, Lucerne was a little annoyed she got picked to be on watch duty with Dianthus. She didn't know him well, and he had a reputation for telling terrible jokes. At least it was a nice night out, it looked like it was going to be clear too. Lucerne was excited about that, she could start looking for those constellations she'd been reading about. She looked up to see if it was finally dark enough for stars, but Dianthus' comment about fish in the sky snapped her attention to him.
She couldn't help but smirk at the punchline. She had to give him credit for being clever.
"Starfish hm?" Was all she could think to say. She chuckled a bit, then turned to face him. "That was a fintastic joke."
|
|
|
|
Post by Thrush on Oct 7, 2015 22:36:26 GMT -5
Truth be told, Frederick didn't really have a problem with being assigned watch duty for the evening. Gave him a chance to get some fresh air, and the evening didn't look like a bad one. He could already spot a few stars overhead, and the moon had risen; its pale light glimmered upon the calm sea. Admittedly, there were some signs of rather ominous-looking clouds in the west... It looked like rain was on the way, though Frederick wasn't sure when it would come. But aside from that, things seemed rather quiet. Salamandastron hadn't gotten visitors often...
All in all, things seemed to be rather routine, he thought as he scanned the area. Not that there was anything wrong with that. And he hadn't been assigned solo watch duty--oh, he liked some time to himself, sure. But being on duty with comrades made things rather better. Tonight, he shared watch duty with Dianthus Dancepaw (Frederick had heard tell he had a certain knack for jokes) and Lucerne Rifflerun. He didn't know either of them terribly well, honestly, but he supposed this was a chance to get to know them a bit better.
At Dianthus' comment, one of Frederick's long, black-tipped ears twitched. What sort of fish lived in the evening sky...? Before Frederick could so much as open his mouth, Dianthus gave the punchline. Starfish. Hah, of course. That was rather clever, actually... Then Lucerne piped up, saying that that joke was 'fintastic'. Frederick grinned.
"Clever, that," he chuckled. A joke popped into his mind just then. Well, now, he just couldn't pass it up. They may have been on duty, but surely there was no harm in a little bit of joking?
"I say... What do you call a fish that can perform operations?" He paused for just a second. "A sturgeon."
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Bigwig on Oct 7, 2015 23:10:39 GMT -5
It was nice to be on watch with hares that were all roughly the same age - some of the older fellows did get quite snappy whenever Dianthus tried to lighten the mood and joke around. Said it wasn't professional. Or just plain irritating. Lucerne's reply caught him completely off-guard, and he enjoyed the praise, but couldn't come up with a single thing to say in response, so he merely nodded his head in appreciation, and let out a chuckle. Her father was higher in rank than the rest of them, and Dianthus respected him a good deal. It was easy to see how the two were related.
Dianthus was even more shocked when Frederick told a joke, and when the punchline was delivered, he laughed his loud, gusty laugh that would certainly draw attention if they were in a more compromising situation.
"Jolly good! You two will do just fine. You know we're not actually on watch duty, wot? You've been enrolled in my joke lessons class! Lord Cyphel makes me hold classes out here because all the ruckus irritates him. Pfaw, suits me just fine. Fresh air really helps clear the mind, lets all those lovely jokes just float in..."
Taking a dramatic breath, he shut his eyes, ears twitching, unable to keep the smirk off his face.
|
|
|
|
Post by Margorr on Oct 8, 2015 0:06:53 GMT -5
Lucerne had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Frederick's joke out loud. This was work and she couldn't have too much fun, though Dianthus seemed to think otherwise. He was turning watch into a joke lesson class, which would probably be a lot of fun. Torn on how to respond to that, Lucerne removed herself from the situation to look out over the ocean at the approaching storm clouds. She really hoped it would pass quickly and not rain.
The darkening clouds actually reminded her of a joke, and she sat there quietly chewing on her lip before saying it quietly.
"How can you tell which rabbits are the oldest in a group? You look for gray hares."
|
|
|
|
Post by Thrush on Oct 8, 2015 23:37:01 GMT -5
Frederick kept his gaze on the coast, scanning for any unfamiliar beasts coming toward the mountain or ships on the waves. He wasn't sure what the odds were that there would be any visitors to the mountain, but... Well, joking around a bit or not, they were still on watch duty. Not that there was any harm in a bit of joking. Oh, he knew that some of the older hares weren't terribly fond of it... But there was a time and a place for such things, just as there was a time and place for seriousness, and Frederick didn't see much harm in trying to help watch duty go by a little quicker. It wasn't as if they were neglecting their assignment, perish the thought.
His whiskers twitched at Dianthus' reply; Frederick tried to keep a straight face, but a chuckle slipped out regardless. Joke lessons class and fresh air, indeed... The young hare glanced toward the west for just a moment, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Truth be told, he didn't much like the look of them... But perhaps the rain wouldn't be bad. It could pass them by, as well, he supposed. Then Lucerne quietly told another joke--he was actually a little surprised by that. Even so, it was rather funny, and he found himself laughing quietly. You look for gray hares...
"I'll have to remember that one," he murmured.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Bigwig on Oct 8, 2015 23:52:00 GMT -5
Everyone was a bit quiet after Dianthus' rambling, and he was attempting to formulate his next great joke, aware he had left things a little awkward. In the back of his mind, he was pestering himself about how irresponsible he was behaving - if he were caught goofing off in such a manner, he'd surely be scolded or punished. But he had such good fortune of being on watch with two younger hares such as himself! And it was no secret Dianthus, while friendly and outspoken, was out of stock in the "good friendships" department. When Lucerne spoke up, telling her gray hare joke, Dianthus' eyes widened at the brilliance of it - they were hares! Old! Gray! As in fur! Hilarious!
"I say," he managed, placing one paw over his heart as he lowered himself to one knee, looking up at Lucerne sincerely, though with a comical nature, "My dear Miss Rifflerun, your humor is absolutely... harelarious."
He shot Frederick a funny look, wiggling his eyebrows.
|
|
|
|
Post by Margorr on Oct 9, 2015 0:10:07 GMT -5
"What's not hilarious, Mister Dancepaw, is how th' three of you are slackin' off on duty."
The stern voice of Major Rifflerun cut into the lighthearted atmosphere as he approached the watch. Lucerne laid her ears back and felt her face grow hot. Of course it had to be her dad. She stood up and saluted him.
"Sorry about that, Sah. Just trying to make watch a little less dull."
Boggs scowled at her, and waited for the other two to respond. He'd come out to tell them that they could come in if it started raining, but now he wasn't so sure he wanted to be that lenient. He took his job very seriously, and expected the same of otherbeasts. Especially Lucerne.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Bigwig on Oct 9, 2015 0:25:45 GMT -5
At the sound of Major Rifflerun's voice, Dianthus' face surely would have turned a bright red, had he not any fur to hide his blush. Leaping back up to his feet, he spun around and faced the Major with a hefty, and perhaps a little overly-dramatic, salute. Setting his jaw and giving a sharp exhale through his nose, he brought his hand down to his side in a tight fist, and looked pointedly past the Major, rather than at him.
If you took a picture of him now, he'd certainly appear to be a fine soldier...
"Sah! Terribly irresponsible of me, sah! I won't give you an excuse, I was being a fop, sah, and distracting everyone. I don't intend to continue, sah."
Goodness, did he feel like a fool now. Rather than amusing his comrades, he got them in trouble. For some silly jokes! To be fair, if told in any other setting, surely even the Major would have thought they were funny... Still, he was glad it wasn't his dad getting mad at them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Thrush on Oct 9, 2015 14:38:13 GMT -5
To Frederick's surprise, Dianthus put a paw over his heart and dropped to one knee in front of Lucerne. The young hare watched, not quite sure what to make of all this. Dianthus was gazing up at Lucerne, though Frederick couldn't help but wonder if this was another of Dancepaw's (in)famous jokes. At least, he didn't strike Frederick as looking terribly serious... Frederick's silent musing was soon confirmed as Dianthus spoke. Lucerne's sense of humor was...harelarious. Jolly well done, that! The pun was enough, but what really did the trick was the look that Dianthus shot Frederick, complete with waggling eyebrows. He couldn't help it. Frederick began to laugh--only to abruptly halt as a stern voice cut through the still evening air. That could only be Major Rifflerun. And the older hate certainly didn't look amused...
<i>...Blast.</i>
Frederick immediately snapped to attention--back straight, shoulders back, chest out, arms at his sides. A wave of embarrassment washed over him, though the young hare schooled his face into a carefully blank expression, keeping his gaze locked on a point just above Major Rifflerun's head. He swiftly saluted the Major.
"Apologies, sah!" He replied. "It won't happen again, sah!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Margorr on Oct 10, 2015 0:29:26 GMT -5
Boggsorly continued to scowl at the three, even after they'd all apologized to him. He folded his hands behind his back and looked each one of them in the eye before speaking.
"I should hope it won't happen again. I am here to remind you that you are on watch until midnight, rain or shine. I don't care if 'tis thunderin' and lightinin', you're going to sit here an' make sure nobeast threatens the safety of this mountain. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sah!" Lucerne replied. She didn't like the idea of being out in any sort of bad weather, to her knowledge such watches were permitted to return in if the weather got particularly bad, but she had to listen to the Major. She felt a little sorry for Dianthus and Frederick too. She felt that her continuing to joke around was what led them to being caught by her father in the first place.
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Bigwig on Oct 10, 2015 23:45:11 GMT -5
"Yes, sah!" Dianthus echoed, voice firm, eyebrows furrowed. He really didn't like the sound of that. Getting fur wet in the event of rain - especially hard rain - was difficult, and one almost always ended up with a cold anyways. Those clouds in the distance were still a ways off, but if they had several more hours until their watch shift ended... They could very well likely get soaked.
Feeling guilty, he considered asking if he could stay out on watch while the other two went inside if it started raining - he did start it, anyways - but he assumed the Major wouldn't go for it. Who could possibly want to invade the mountain in the rain in the middle of the night, Dianthus couldn't fathom. It seemed a silly order, but if this was the Major's form of punishment, it certainly would do the trick.
'This is what I get,' he thought broodingly. 'I know I'm supposed to take this stuff seriously... Yet I still goof off! Sabres and scorpions, maybe it'd be best if I just shut my huge trap for the rest of the watch.'
|
|
|
|
Post by Thrush on Oct 11, 2015 21:59:40 GMT -5
"Yes, sah!", Frederick replied, still keeping his gaze fixed on a point just above Major Rifflerun's head. He was careful to keep his expression neutral--even if his heart did sink a little at the Major's words, he was a hare of the Long Patrol. And he was determined to act like one. Besides, there was the Willoughby name to consider. ...Admittedly, being on watch duty in such weather hardly sounded pleasant. But the young hare decided to keep his mouth shut. It wasn't his place to question a superior's orders, and he certainly didn't intend to start doing so now, of all times. He wasn't the only one who'd earned the Major's scowl, either. Doing that could land more than him in further trouble, and that wouldn't be at all fair to Dianthus or Lucerne.
Midnight was some time away... And Frederick wasn't entirely sure what the night would bring. Those clouds to the west did look rather ominous, but they were also quite far away. Perhaps the rain wouldn't start until after their watch had ended? Admittedly, he wasn't sure what the odds of that were, but he could hope. But if they did get rained on... Well. He supposed that the Major intended them to learn a lesson from this--to take their duties more seriously. ...And Frederick could have stopped it. True, Dianthus had been the one to start the jokes, but the blame didn't rest entirely with him. After all, Frederick himself and Lucerne had rather egged things on, hadn't they?
|
|
|
|
Post by Margorr on Oct 11, 2015 22:32:53 GMT -5
"Hmph. Very well then. Carry on." Major Rifflerun nodded at them once, then turned around and headed back off into the mountain. He knew those young ones would probably be back to goofing off again, but he hoped the lesson would be there. His job was done though. He had to report to Lord Cyphel anyway to discuss the new recruits training schedule with him.
Lucerne sat back down as soon as her father left. She was trembling a bit, both from shame of being caught, and nervous as how the other two on watch would react. She wanted to apologize, but there wasn't much to apologize for, other than goofing around. She supposed that would have to do. "I'm sorry, Frederick and Dianthus. I shouldn't have been messing around while on watch."
|
|
|
|
Post by Captain Bigwig on Oct 11, 2015 22:43:29 GMT -5
The moment the Major turned and left, Dianthus let his shoulders relax, watching him leave with a pained expression. What a mess he'd made. He sincerely hoped the Major wouldn't go gabbing about the incident - the last thing he needed was other higher-ups picking on him. Especially considering, unlike Lucerne and Frederick, he wasn't born into this. He chose this. He had no history here, and the last thing he wanted to start off was with a string of flub-ups.
Ears twitching as Lucerne sat, he observed her, and felt bad she was apologizing. Didn't they realize it was his fault? Chewing his bottom lip for a moment, he placed a gentle paw on her shoulder. He attempted to sound sincere.
"Buck up, chap. We all know this nonsense was my fault, wot? With my shenanigans, and impressive jokes, I had you so enraptured in the lesson, we did get a bit... carried away. I, ah, I deserve to be the one stuck out in the rain. Not you two."
After a moment of thought, he added under his breath in a lighter tone, "But if your dad needs a lesson on lightening up, you know who to point him to."
|
|
bye!
