Brave Tin Soldier

[Bellona Littlebrush]

?The old warriors don't want you to hurt any more.?



Sailpaw never had the chance to answer.

?Leftenant, m?am!? Bell stepped back quickly under the awning to avoid the over-eager hare who nearly bowled her over. Fifteen good seasons on the lad by the size of him, but he needed to control that size better. Alabaster, his brother, had been more careful.

Careful and dead, though. The dormouse sighed as she watched the big mountain hare fall in her mind?s eye, scratching and biting all the way to Dark Forest.  Hopefully Gideon would last as long, or longer. Hares were perilous beasts and hard to come by.

?Aye, Giddy?? She leaned to the side to avoid a smack from his paw as he brought it up in salute. She hadn?t bothered to teach the recruits about saluting, but they seemed to think it necessary. Too many tales of Tammo and the Long Patrol, no doubt.

?Report, m?am!? he shouted, then dropped his volume when Bell narrowed her eyes at him. ?Er?s-sorry, m?am. Have t?hurry, though. Me an? Silvertail spotted a couple o? vermin headed this way. Prince Nashald?s scouts if I?ve me guess, m?am. Looked mad as toads in boots an? no? but a marchin? song b?hind.?

?Captain?? Bell asked sharply. Scouts could be a problem, especially now when they needed to rest and heal.

Sailpaw glowered at Damask. ?Weel, there?s a proper spy leadin? the enemy t?oor doorstep!?

?Captain, I?m like as to guess our friend has little to do with it,? the dormouse offered sensibly. Sailpaw needed to get over himself immediately. They didn?t have time for one of his temper-tantrums. ?Nashald?s had scouts following us since we escaped from the?main camp.? She?d almost said ?massacre?, but refrained. None of that mattered anymore. Not at all.

Sailpaw turned his glare on her as he stood and made his way to the edge of the awning. ?Fine. Start moovin? ev?rybeastie t?the bushes. Hide ?em as best ye can. An? Bell, tha one,? he jerked a claw over his shoulder at the minstrel, ?is yoor problem, aye.?

The burly squirrel stormed out, but to his credit he kept his voice down while directing Martin?s Shadow to hide. Relieved that he had listened, Bell moved to start taking down the awning. It was only then that she noticed Gideon still stood at attention next to her. The wooden soldier would get himself burned following such ridiculous decorum. Still, small things did make them happier ? more willing to fight.

Bell saluted back and offered her best imitation of a smile. ?Dismissed. Alabaster?d be proud.?

A grin lit up the young hare?s face and he bounded off to help move the meager equipment and supplies they?d cobbled together while on the run the past five hours.


?Miss Bellona?? Damask began hesitantly, hopping forward. ?Is there any way I can help??

The dormouse quirked an eyebrow as she knelt and focused on untying the awning. ?I think you?ve helped us enough, sir Robin.? She saw him wince out of the corner of her eye. All right, he knew he had done something stupid, then. She could be kind. ?You can?t fight and you can?t carry much. You?re better for surveillance. Now move out of my way.?

~ = ~ = ~

Ten minutes later, the makeshift camp appeared deserted. Bell watched from her vantage point in a maple tree as a rat, weasel, and fox came stumping in.

?Burnin? frog-spawn,? the rat swore, kicking at the remains of a hastily discarded bread ration. ?S?much fer a bleedin? fresh trail, Blacky, yew eejit! They been gone hours by the look o?em coals.? It had paid to keep the fire almost non-existent if only for the added value of throwing Nashald?s lackies off their tails.

?Tweren?t me own fault,? Blacky, the fox, sneered. ?Woulda been ?ere ages ago if widdle miss priss ?adn?t stubbed ?er pretty footclaws.?

?Oi!? the weaselmaid accompanying them growled. ?Yer the one who dropped the rock on me when yew were tryin? t?fish. Wot sorta fishin? uses rocks, anyway?!?

They continued to bicker and the dormouse breathed a sigh of relief. With any luck, they?d be off in the next few minutes after some false trail or another. The streambank they?d chosen as their camp was frequented enough by other forest-dwellers to have tracks aplenty leading every which way.

?If you don?t mind me asking,? Damask, perched on the bough above her head, began, ?why aren?t you killing those creatures? Surely you could take on three vermin? There are at least as many of your group that could fight.?

?And how much battle experience do you have?? Bell returned quietly as she rolled her eyes. Civilians. They thought everything revolved around numbers. ?Those?re scouts. Attacking them is like waving a red flag in Nashald?s face. We don?t want to be found. Those vermin will walk by, none the wiser to our presence. Stealth can match any sword in battle if wielded prop-?

?Tulach Aaarrrrd!? Sailpaw?s harsh battle cry resounded around the clearing as he sprung from the lower branches of a nearby oak and charged the scouts. For a moment, the vermin stared, then they scattered, fur bristling fearfully. They hadn?t expected a fight. The cowards were just watchers.

?There are, of course, many different opinions,? Bell gritted as she bounded to the edge of the limb and leapt off, landing neatly in front of the fleeing jill. She pulled out her dirk and sliced open the vermin?s throat in one smooth motion. The weasel?s muzzle wrinkled in a snarl as she grabbed for the rapier at her side, then she took notice of the gash. Surprise registered for a moment as her legs gave way and she fell, clutching at her slender neck. The dormouse moved on.

Sailpaw was dealing with the fox while Gideon faced off against the rat. ?Gerraway!? the vermin cried as he swiped at the hare. Gideon blocked the vermin?s cudgel with the haft of his axe and grinned broadly.

?Cannae d?tha, laddie!? The young woodlander chuckled. This was his second battle. How could he be so flippant already? ?What woould the Cap?n say??

Bell?s jaws clenched together painfully tight she hurried forward. Flippancy plus inexperience plus cornered vermin never ended well. Half her ear had been the price to learn that lesson. The dormouse dodged around behind the rat while Gideon distracted him with increasingly obnoxious taunts.

?Ooo! Tha how they teach ye t?fight, laddie?? the hare demanded. ?Shoor an? t?tell Ah dinnae think much on yoor ? argh!? Gideon nearly dropped his axe as the rat?s cudgel crushed his paw.

?Aye! That?s how they teach me t?fight, longears,? the vermin growled, suddenly full of bravado. He swung again, taking the recruit?s breath away as the cudgel connected with his side. ?Don?t got no trainin? fer takin? out babies, that?s all. On?y givin? yew a chance t?think yer winnin?. Heheheh ? egh!?

?Don?t talk to them,? Bell told the gasping Gideon as she withdrew her dirk from the rat?s back. ?They never say anything worth hearing.?

She wiped the blood from her blade as she walked over to where Sailpaw was picking over the fox?s corpse. A sad day, indeed, when woodlanders were sizing up vermin weapons, but anything with an edge could help at this point. The other members of Martin?s Shadow cautiously approached from the bushes and trees. Now if only they would go back to hiding for a bit.

?Captain, sir.? The dormouse could feel her ire simmering just below the surface as she addressed her incredibly stupid friend with cold formality. ?That wasn?t the best move, sir. Those scouts?ll be missed, sir. Wouldn?t it?ve made more sense to let them pass, sir? Because now we need to run, sir. And we?ll have to make it to the Broad Stream and on before they?ll let up, sir. That is the territory Nashald?s claiming now, sir. Should I-?

Sailpaw held up a paw, the tiniest grin creeping onto his face. ?No? afront o? the dibbuns, Bell. Ye c?n lay int? me with the ?sir?in? an? the like later, aye? In the mean while, ye brought oop a fine point, we need t?be moovin? along. Oh, an? fine work with tha rat, Giddy.? He inclined his head and smiled roguishly at the wounded youngster who bucked up at the praise. ?Had a glance while this fox was givin? me a bit o? trouble an? ye looked like ye had him t?the end there. Shame the Leftenant stole the kill froom ye.? He laughed again, but sobered when he noted the aggressive tilt of Bell?s ears and the set of her jaw.

He might feel invigorated after an easy battle, but some creatures did not. Especially when they?d seen a perfectly foolish hare get beaten while trying to follow his captain?s example.

Before Sailpaw could reassert his levity in the face of grim times, a flutter of wings and a worried trill intervened. ?I?m afraid we?re going to need to leave, Miss Bellona.? Damask ruffled his feathers anxiously. ?Now. I took to the skies when the battle began and sighted another scouting party just one clearing over. They seemed a bit perturbed when they heard all the?shouting.? He looked everywhere except at Sailpaw.

?As I was saying, sir?? Bell let her tone soften as she remembered the young creatures surrounding them and looking to Sailpaw for leadership. ?The Broad Stream??

?O, aye! T?the Brooad Stream!? Sailpaw stood tall, claiming the fox?s hatchet for his own. ?Who knows, Bell, we might even find a beastie or two willin? t?fight fer oor cause along the way.?

?Fates willing, sir.?