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Post by Gingivere-Greeneyes on Oct 30, 2015 20:34:52 GMT -5
(Something in the spirit of the season! The premise is that Redwall is hosting a party for Halloween (which they suddenly celebrate) and everyone is invited; vermin, woodlander, warlord, soldier, giant predator, everyone! With your character's costumes, you can be as wild and imaginative as you want! Figure from Redwall's history? Great! Random animal species from anywhere in the world? Good! Fictional character in our human world that the Redwaller's should in no way no about? Even better! Go wild, get scaring, and have fun!)
A full moon hung over Redwall Abbey on the night of the Halloween festival. Pumpkins the size of badgers were strewn about on the lawns, illuminated by the light of several eerie-looking candles, and some sort of weird green sludge appeared to be glowing in the moonlight and oozing from the Abbey walls. The Great Hall inside was lavishly decorated with cobwebs courtesy of the local spider population, and several live bats that Father Cornelius had enlisted as entertainment had been persuaded to fly around the roof-space of the huge hall, occasionally swooping down and giving an unsuspecting guest a fright.
The big badger was organising everything of course; from live music to decorations to activities to the costume contest at the end of the night, though he was almost certain he was sure to win this last one. One of the dibbuns had came up the fantastic idea of a group costume, so now they were all lined up in a twisting way behind him, each holding up a section of a large green tube like thing Chinese-dragon fashion, which extended along the line of babies until it stopped in the form of a snake's head that appeared to be biting into the badger's own skull. They were supposed to be a dibbun-friendly version of Asmodeus, the legendary Adder of Mossflower woods (who was still very effective at scaring children to sleep).
Cornelius gleefully wrung his paws and giggled with anticipation, as he watched a small family of hedgehogs move away from the ticket stand where he was working. Nothing could be possibly go wrong tonight, and it was sure to be a night every creature would remember.
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Inside Redwall and down in Cavern Hole, a buffet table had been set up, adorned with only the finest from the Abbey's cook. Most of it was pumpkin themed, but there were the odd others with questionable ingredients, which the Friar had said were 'Halloween specials' with a mischievous glint in her eye.
A big muscular wildcat was standing near a bowl of pumpkin-punch, swirling his cup airily as he gestured towards his orange-dyed fur towards his conversation partner, a rather annoyed-looking hawk. All Kiostra had done for a costume was strap a dinosaur-like muzzle filled with teeth over her beak, and with her body covered in feathers, claimed to have gone as what the T-Rex from the Jurassic Park movies should have looked like (anybeast had yet to disagree with her).
"Ah yes, I hadn't quite expected anyone else here to be quite as acquainted with classic literature as I am you see," General Claudius was saying, "But surely you my dear, have read Rudyard Kipling's classic The Jungle Book? I have only gone as the most esteemed of all villainous cats himself, Shere Khan!" the wildcat purred proudly, trying his best to ignore the look of irritated fury on the buzzard's plastic snout. "You know who that is don't you?" he blinked in surprise, and was met with a nonchalant shrug of feathery shoulders. "My, haven't you even seen the Disney movie?"
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"Nobody's going to get this."
Daniel and Ryan had attended the party too (against the former's better judgement) and were now standing awkwardlly in the middle of Great Hall's floor as conversing parties mingled around them. Daniel had a blue tunic on, and a small plastic sword inside a fake belt, and Ryan was dressed in a vibrant green thing, topped off with a cap with a feather sticking out it.
"Sure they will!" Ryan said, nudging him and pointing to the tapestry of Martin the Warrior on the wall. "I mean, he's right up there isn't he? It's not like they don't know who he is. You look just like him too!"
Daniel looked up at the strong, powerful figure tapestry then back down at his own rather flimsy-arms. "Yeah, I still don't see it." he admitted with a nonchalant shrug. "I will say you make a good Gonff though. It's a nice outfit, very in-character."
"I know," Ryan smirked, fiddling with the feather sticking out of his cap, "Because I stole this feather from Tsaron to make it!"
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Post by Taurian on Nov 1, 2015 10:32:35 GMT -5
{I'm late but better late than never!}
Taurian, dripping from the rain and eager to get inside by the warm fire, careened into Cavern Hole, knocking into a large black bird.
"Oh, excuse me!" The bird said, turning his head, revealing his owlish eyes. The huge eyes squinted at Taurian. "You're in costume as Taurian Bullfang, aren't you! That's a lovely costume, Tarlya dear!"
Taurian shook her head and water droplets fell to the floor. "Pardon me, sir, but I ain't Tarlya." She made a sweeping bow, and stuck out a paw. "I'm Taurian Riverbull, at yer service. I's only just arrived, let in by that lovely maid Tarlya a few minutes ago."
Tsaron's eyes widened further. Riverbull! A family of the Maelstrom! But that's only a story. "Pleased to meet you, Taurian. I am Tsaron Wisebeak, gatekeeper. In costume as a raven. Pardon me, but are you from the East, by any chance?"
"Aye. Raised by Rambrooks. I don't like to talk about it."
"Alright, m'dear. If you need a thing, just ask me. I hope you enjoy your stay at the abbey." Tsaron turned to go, but turned back to add, "Oh, if you don't mind, would you just say you're in costume as Taurian Bullfang? She's a cantankerous, pugnacious otter with an accent like enough to your own, so the character shouldn't be difficult. It's just that I was telling the story of Bear to the dibbuns the other day." Tsaron spotted Ryan in the crowd, and hurried off after him, shaking a claw and saying, "Get back here, you feather swiping fiend."
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Hiacynth stood in the corner, keeping to themself. Taurian spotted them, and waved. Oh please don't let that otter come over here, they thought, groaning as Taurian made her way toward them.
"Greetin's, Hiacynth! Lovely costume ye've got there!" The shrew nodded noncommittally, tipping their witch hat.
"Thankee, otter." They eyed Taurian up and down. "An I suppose yer old Taurian Bullfang o' the Maelstrom, eh?"
"Aye indeed, Hiacynth!" Taurian's eyes cast around the company, narrowing to slits as her eyes fell upon a fossa in a ratty cloak. "Would ye h'excuse me for a minute." The ottermaid stalked toward the fossa with menace in her eyes.
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Ferox had kept close to the door of Cavern Hole. She was surprised by the truce of the evening, and wanted an escape route just in case. Her eyes narrowed as an ottermaid marched towards her with violence in her pawsteps.
"What do you want, Otter?" She asked imperiously.
"Ye burn the place o' my kin, an' now ye dress as an otterfixer! Tis lower than Hellgates tae do that."
"You thynk Y dress as...'Rukky Garge'? That ys how the others here thynk Y am dressed. Y am merely worn from leagues of travel. And Y have never seen ye yn my lyfe, otter! Nor have Y seen lyve otters untyl Y landed on thys forsaken shore! How couldst Y have murdered your kyn?"
"The Ferox burned the Maelstrom. Your kin killed mine! Death to the Ferox!"
Taurian felt a blow to the back of her head, and she was out like a light.
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She awoke to a worried owl's face.
"Are you quite alright, Taurian?" Tsaron asked. "Took quite a blow to knock you out."
"I's fine. Why'd ye stop me? That scum burned the Maelstrom tae t'ground!"
"We were in truce, Taurian. Tis 'gainst morality to fight on the night of a truce. And here at Redwall, we carry no arms, we start no fights. We are peaceful, and expect you to respect our ways while beneath our roof. Now, there are a few people who wish to talk to you."
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{We could move the next part of this to a different thread; just to give a bit more backstory to Taurian and Maelstrom's history, the whole deal with the Ferox, all that good stuff.}
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Post by Jared Sandeye on Nov 1, 2015 20:06:49 GMT -5
A grim, sinister, and evil laugh echoed through the Abbey. Decked out in dark blue, a small hatbox in one paw, and a smooth black cane in the other, a young adult male squirrel crept creepily into the Great Hall. This was Jared Sandeye, dressed like the famous (and infamous) Hatbox Ghost.
Again, the squirrel gave a diabolical laugh, one that would have impressed the fancy specter himself, and put an amused smile on Martin the Warrior’s face. Jared couldn’t make his head disappear and reappear in the hatbox like the original ghost could. But he could still enjoy the fact that this was a costume he had always wanted to wear on Halloween. And this year, he had gotten his wish.
Beside him, his younger sister Madeline wore a flowing white gown, decorated with a string of red roses around her neck, and a diamond tiara on her head between her ears. She wasn’t any real character in particular, wanting to leave everything open to imagination. After some convincing from her brother, she finally gave in; this would be one of the few years that she would actually celebrate Halloween.
Her brother turned to her, and, seeing his sister dressed like a beautiful heavenly maiden, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She giggled with glee and kissed him back.
“I still don’t understand how you talked me into this, Jared!” Madeline laid her head on her brother’s shoulder, admiring his costume and playing idly with the roses around her collar. “Why in the world do you like Halloween so much?”
“Come on, Madi, this is gonna be great!” Jared replied, great ecstatic cheer in his voice. “This is the one day in the entire year where it’s actually OK to dress up as something different for 24 hours! Because Halloween is more than just a holiday: it’s an art!”
Jared let go of Madeline and raised his hatbox and cane in the air, as if showing something unseen but at the same time marvelous to her. His voice was raised to a proud and awestruck volume, almost as if he regarded Halloween as a wonder of nature.
“Halloween…a tradition that spans the ages and dates back to ancient religious practices of the earliest civilizations. The entire idea of becoming something other than yourself for a day straight…that’s the beauty of it. Imagination without limits! Unhinged creativity! That, my dear Madeline, that is Halloween!”
“I remember Mom hated it,” she replied with a small giggle.
Jared put his arms down and sat down on a windowsill. “Yeah, Mom could never get her head around why Dad and Edoran liked it so much. She hated the entire scare factor of it.”
“Well, so did I!” Madeline exclaimed in slight protest.
Now it was Jared’s turn to giggle. “Yes, but you look so wonderful in that gown! Like something straight out of heaven itself! Oh, Madi, you should wear that all night! I swear, costume or no costume, this will be the best Halloween ever! Dad and Edoran would be so proud of us, and Mom would go crazy about our outfits!”
Madeline could not find it in herself to argue with the brother that she loved so much. She sat down next to him in resignation, grabbing his blue top hat and putting it on her head in a comical fashion. Jared gave her a broad smile. “That’s my baby girl!” He pulled her into a loving bear hug, then picked her up under her legs, carrying her like a gentleman.
“Come on, let’s go upstairs and join the others. We don’t want to be late! I’ll carry my hatbox on my tail. Let’s move!”
OOC: I failed to mention that there are little holes in the brim of Jared's top hat to allow his ears to stick out.
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Post by Captain Bigwig on Nov 11, 2015 1:03:00 GMT -5
Milling about in Cavern Hole, Dianthus didn't seem too keen on parting the buffet table. Some of the food, admittedly, tasted sort of odd - these "Halloween Specials" weren't what he was used to... But goodness, it was food! And he was taking advantage of the party by filling himself up for the evening. Maybe he could find a knapsack somewhere, to take some back with him on their trip back to Salamandastron.......
Dianthus hadn't ever been to a Halloween party before, but that hadn't discouraged him. Dressed in black from head to toe, complete with the mask and everything, he was meant to be Westley from The Princess Bride.
"I say!" he barked between bites, reaching up to itch under his mask, "this fabric is gettin' to me! But even though I'm irritated... there's no use satin around complaining! Hohoho!"
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Post by Margorr on Nov 11, 2015 1:20:46 GMT -5
Dressed in the long white flowing gown that Buttercup wears at the end of The Princess Bride, Lucerne snuck up behind Dianthus and slipped her arms around his waist. "Well, maybe I'll help you out of it later, Dianthus. How are you enjoyin' the party so far?" She asked, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
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Margorr stalked around Cavern Hole, sampling treats. The stoat was dressed in a fitted tux and a wide brimmed hat, and half his face covered by a white mask. He'd made his Phantom of the Opera outfit all by himself, and he was rather proud of it. Margorr had spent years learning how to sew, and had made his own halloween costume since he was a young child. He already had a thing for dressing up, Halloween just made it more normal.
Spotting General Claudius dressed as... a tiger of all things, Margorr made his way over there. He might as well get on the Generals good side for now.
"Ah Claudius. What a clever costume you have on tonight."
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Post by Captain Bigwig on Nov 11, 2015 1:36:08 GMT -5
Jumping a little when Lucerne slipped her arms around him, he grinned, ears perking up extra-straight when she bestowed the kiss to his cheek. Whatever he did to deserve that, he didn't know, but he hoped he'd do it again soon. Turning around to face her, he reached up to place his hands (paws?) on her cheeks, giving her a broad wink and a laugh.
"Goodness me, don't let the dibbuns hear you, wot! Anywho, this party is more fun than I thought it would be! These woodlanders really know how to get into the spirit of things! Ahaha, I guess you could say, it's so good, it's scary!"
Leaning down, he placed a small kiss on her forehead, reaching back to grab a cookie and waving it in front of her, prompting her to take it.
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Post by Beekeeper on Nov 11, 2015 2:06:17 GMT -5
Merry hopped about the Abbey in an ecstatic flurry, first from the many impressive pumpkins (which he tried to judge until deciding, and loudly declaring, that he simply adored them all too much to choose), then into the Great Hall to admire everyone’s fabulous costumes (and be sure he was seen in his own), down to Cavern Hole (and naturally, the buffet), and then right back up to make the rounds again! He simply could not bear to miss a thing, not at a party so delightful as this.
After an exhilarating bout of swooping with the bats, the little wren made his way back to Cavern Hole for another round of refreshments--party-going was, as always, a hungry and thirsty business. Having gobbled down a cookie or three and sipped up some punch, still perched upon the table, he straightened up and admired himself in a polished silver dish. Why, what a handsome sight he made, and his costume was oh so clever! He’d made it entirely himself.
From his own stubby tail flowed several long, outlandish feathers, fluffed and spread out into the air in something of a thin fan. About his body was fashioned an odd frame, like two thin letter S’s facing out away from each other, and strands of twine hanging down from a short bar that connected them near the top. Merryfeather puffed out his breast with pride at his reflection. He couldn’t wait to entertain everyone with his impressions!
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Post by Margorr on Nov 13, 2015 0:47:33 GMT -5
Lucerne smiles back at him, and lets go of Dianthus, accepting the cookie from him. She breaks off a small piece and eats it.
"What's scary is how good this cookie is! Hey, Dianthus, I bet if you go stand at the other end of the room, you can't catch a piece of this in your mouth. If you do, I'll take your night watch duty for the next week, wot."
She breaks off a small piece of cookie and shows it to him. "How about it?"
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Halloween had never been one of Tarlya's favorite holidays, but in the spirit of the season she dressed up anyway. This year, she decided to go as Belle from the beginning of the Beauty and the Beast cartoon. It was a simple enough costume to make, and she got to carry around a basket of books, though really she was using it to hoard snacks in. Making her way back to Cavern Hole, she found a little sparrow admiring himself in a dish. She found it rather adorable.
She made her way over to the little bird, and recognized him as Merry, though she wasn't sure what he was dressed as this year. He did look rather familiar though.
"Why Mr. Merry, don't you look dashing! Though, I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure what you're dressed as."
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Post by Captain Bigwig on Nov 13, 2015 0:56:26 GMT -5
Lucerne's dare made Dianthus scoff, waving a hand at her comically. Catch food in his mouth? That was practically his specialty! There was no way he could lose.
"Alright, you're on. But don't you go off giving me a bad throw to work with! A professional such as m'self requires the very best, wot!"
Rubbing his hands together enthusiastically, Dianthus weaved his way through the smaller creatures around him that were still trying to get to the table of food, until he had reached the other end of the room. Standing with a wide stance, he sent Lucerne a thumb's up, signaling for her to throw the cookie.
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Sitting in the corner, all by herself, was a little ghost. It seemed the ghost had found a rocking chair somewhere, and had dragged it into the quietest corner of the room, a small booklet in her wiry hands. The sheet she was wearing was a little ratty, and perhaps a bit too cream-colored to be a real "ghost", but the eye holes were big enough for her to see out of, and that was all that really mattered. Adjusting her glasses, Mildred let out a huff, scribbling down details of the night, eyes occasionally roaming the room, attempting to determine who exactly was in which costume.
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Post by Jared Sandeye on Nov 13, 2015 17:59:20 GMT -5
Reaching the upstairs common room, the Sandeyes found their best friends. Larina Skyleaf, Jared’s love interest, elegantly (and somewhat creepily) uniformed in a witch costume; complete with black pointy hat, a long bright-red velvet cloak with sleeves, a magic wand made up of a gray pebble on a thick birch rod, and a small empty cauldron that sat under her chair. Sitting beside her was Divan, who probably had the most unique costume of the group: he was dressed up as Papageno, the birdcatcher character from Mozart’s grand opera, The Magic Flute. He wore a green-and-brown cloth cap in the shape of a bird on his head, and around his neck was slung an authentic pan-flute, coupled with the squirrel's usual cloth suit.
Both were sharing a bench on the far side of the room, chatting about some obscure Halloween subject or other. As the siblings approached, Divan leapt to his feet to welcome them.
“Hey, guys! You made it!”
Jared put Madeline on her feet, who threw her arms around Divan. The young squirrel blushed furiously, but still found the courage in himself to hug her back. Jared took his hat back, dropped the hatbox on the floor under the bench, and sat down beside Larina, and they kissed each other on the cheek.
“So, Div!” Jared asked excitedly. “How are Papageno’s arias coming along?”
Divan turned around as Madeline let him go. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got them memorized!” He answered with strong enthusiasm. “They’re so much fun to sing! The German’s difficult to grasp, I know, but once you really understand it, learning is a cinch! Of course, I wouldn’t sing them if they weren’t Halloween-themed. But the opportunity will present itself soon, I’m sure!”
Larina leaned in close to Jared, laying her head on his chest and flirtatiously stroking his cheek with a finger. “Never in my life have I understood how you boys love Halloween so much. But I guess you have your reasons. There’s really no reason to argue, is there?” As if to prove her point, she snatched Jared’s top hat from his head, despite his mild protests.
“Hey, give that back!” He cried out playfully, reaching for it. But Larina had already stood up and backed away from his reach. “Come on, love, Madeline’s already taken it once today! I don’t need this hat getting stolen any more tonight! Your Mother made it for me, remember?”
The girls were giggling as they threw the Ghost’s hat around like children. Divan tried to catch it before Larina, but ended up tripping over Dianthus, as the hare set himself up to catch the morsel of food that Lucerne was about to throw to him. Papageno immediately recognized his mistake and straightened himself up, and helped Dianthus do the same.
Meanwhile, Jared was playing along with the girls’ childish antics. He ran back and forth, jumped and dove, hopped up and down, sneaking and creeping, trying to catch his hat, but to no avail. Eventually, the three tired themselves out, and collapsed in an exhausted heap on the floor, laughing their tails off. Divan joined them, tackling Jared to the floor and putting his bird hat on his friend’s head. Jared pulled it off with mock disgust and returned it to Divan. He turned to the beautiful ladies with a wide happy smile on his face.
“Now, may I please have my hat back? I’m not called the Hatbox Ghost for nothing, you know!”
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Post by Gingivere-Greeneyes on Nov 13, 2015 19:25:27 GMT -5
"Speaking of whom..." Daniel said with a sly smirk, as he saw the gatekeeper approaching them fast with comical hopping motions. "I think you have some explaining to do, they doesn't appear to be in much of a mood to appreciate creativity and history knowledge."
Ryan shot an unphased glance at the approaching owl, and rolled his shoulders at his friend. "Ah well, the great Gonff always was unappreciated in his time." And with that, he winked and gave a quick salute to Daniel, before taking off as the owl approached they were standing. "Oh come on sir!" he pleaded, as he tore around the hall. "I'm in character. You didn't even know it was missing!"
Daniel put a paw to his mouth to stop obvious laughter. How could such a rebellious and confident mouse have ended up as the best friend of the quietest creature in the Abbey? He watched the hunter and the hunted until they were out of sight, and he looked around, suddenly finding himself stranded alone in a big crowd of animals he didn't know. Great.
Immeadiatley he began gravitating towards the walls and the corners, and he was about to find a stool and stick there until he noticed that another mouse had the same idea. He smiled to himself, for despite being covered by a sheet, the form of Mildred the Recorder was noticeable anywhere to him. He had always rather liked her growing up, where others had found her boring and stuffy. Organised, intelligent, and living among stacks of books was exactly how Daniel wanted to be when he was older.
"Good evening Sister Mildred." he said politely with a small nod, walking over to her and sitting down on a stool. He wouldn't talk further if she didn't; he didn't want to disturb her writing process.
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The wildcat and the hawk engaged in a few sentences more of tense conversation, before the former noticed a familiar presence and turned around to greet the stoat assassin. "Ahh, you too Margorr, you too!" he shouted with a powerful slap to the stoat's back. "At last someone 'cultured' to talk to."
Kiostra's grip tightened around her perch on the table. "You have five seconds to get out of my sight."
The wildcat's face tensed into a forced patronising smile that hid his sudden wave of fear, "Err, quite." he smiled, with a slight incline of the head. "Oh, Margorr!" he said suddenly, turning away and leading the stoat off. "Have you tried the punch yet? These woodlanders cook up the most delectable food, I must say."
The buzzard scowled after them, but then shrugged and took off from her perch. She soared around the ceiling rafters for a bit among the bats, until her sharp eyesight picked out another bird, a wren, conversing with an otter. Thinking it was better company with no company, she slowly glided down and perched again on the table edge near the two creatures. She nodded in agreement with Tarlya.
"Yes I think so to. Nice design." she nodded simply.
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Post by Beekeeper on Nov 14, 2015 23:06:26 GMT -5
If anything, the otter’s compliment only served to puff Merry up even further. He opened his beak to reply, but was cut off by his own surprise as an enormous raptor swooped down towards them. When she perched peacefully nearby, though, he relaxed again. The wren didn’t expect trouble here, but it always paid to be aware of any larger birds in the area (he knew there was at least one owl about, too).
“Well thank you kindly indeed, my fair otter!” he said. “And to you as well, lovely buzzard!” Merryfeather extended a wing and gave each creature an exaggerated curtsy with a little flourish. “But is it not obvious? I am, of course, the ever-talented lyrebird!”
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bye!
