Post by isoba on Dec 19, 2006 22:30:55 GMT -5
Another scene in the ensuing Hawthorn "drama," and more delightful evidence of MUCK revival. Yar. <3
Burrowed Meadow
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Myrtle - Female Hawthorn chief
Blackbriar - Owsla Captain
Nightshade - Female Owsla officer; Blackbriar's mate
Bracken - A belligerent buck
Snowdrop - A Hawthorn doe
Coriander - Blackbriar's progeny (son)
Sunflower - Blackbriar's progeny (daughter)
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It's sometime in the early afternoon -- the warmest part of an otherwise chilly winter day, and the best time for silflay. Several rabbits are above ground, browsing what dull, tasteless fare there is to be had, while several does are huddled together, gossiping. Bracken is out on his own a little distance away, sitting on an anthill and keeping watch, apparently having placed himself as a sentry though he's not in the owsla. Slender ears swivel this way and that as he peers about intently, a relaxed but alert air about him.
The Captain can feel the cool air before he even gets above ground, and as he emerges from one of the runs his breath chills in a small cloud in front of him. Standing up on his hind legs for a moment and scanning the sky with his bright eyes and sniffing the air, whiskers twitching, Blackbriar chuffs lightly before moving away from the entrance run. He hasn't gotten wind of any of the problems that occured yesterday, but he's bound to eventually. His eyes rove over those rabbits anove ground and finding nothing out of the ordinary begins to silflay quietly. Seems that a good night's sleep has done the Owlsa Captain quite well -- lucky warren.
Not far away from Blackbriar, a small doe- one not among the small group of does huddled some distance away- pauses in a rather dreary stripe of sun to scritch rapidly at her ear with agile movements of her hind leg. Although the atmosphere of the afternoon was a rather languorous one, Myrtle had been on the alert all since awakening. Now she stood with whiskers fluttering, pawing at the grass and ducking down to nibble at the dry, unpalatable shreds only once every few minutes or so. After a length, she seems to grow slightly more at ease and bends to silflay more frequently, although her ears are still perked warily.
Eventually meaning now. Nightshade emerges from the same run only a few moments later, dark eyes immediately sighting her mate and bounding towards him. On the way, she catches scent of the buck from the night before, causing her to pause in place as she considers him briefly. After a moment of hesitation, the officer doe resumes her path to Blackbriar's side, nosing him gently for his attention. "Blackbriar?" The motion behind the captain catches her eye, revealing it to be none other than Chief Myrtle herself. "Myrtle-rah," she greets in acknowledgement, though it appears from her demeanor that she's more interested in speaking with Blackbriar for the time being.
Already above, having just finished her own silflay, Snowdrop is on her way to the barrow. The doe has a rather distracted look about her, however it snaps away the moment she takes note of the recent, and rather important, arrivals. Snowdrop's nose twitches, and she immediately drops her head, feigning a few nibbles at the grass. For the moment, it appears, there'll be far more to find of interest up here.
Bracken remains perched upon his lookout-post, content to keep watch for now. He notes the arrival of Nightshade, and the doe's immediate approach to Blackbriar doesn't go unnoticed, either. He smirks imperceptibly to himself as he watches them for a moment, then runs his paws over his peppered whiskers and returns to his self-imposed sentry duties, doing his best to appear uninterested in whatever they might be talking about.
He feels her approach before hearing his name, and Blackbriar turns his face to greet Nightshade with a light nuzzle. However much she's cool and collected, that doesn't mean he can't be a fuzzy nuisance if he wants to. An ear turns as the doe addresses their Chief, and Blackbriar smiles warmly at her, "Myrtle-rah," he echos softly with a nod, but turns back to Nightshade with his brow perked. "Yes?" he mutters softly, his dark eyes giving Nightshade their full attention; seems like something's on her mind. Bracken and Snowdrop only enters his periphery vision for now, but he'll be giving a lot more attention to the others soon enough.
Glancing at the run that Nightshade had appeared from only a moment before, Myrtle looks up at the sound of her name. The extraneous suffix tacked on to the end of her name was one she still wasn’t used to yet- it had been only too short a time ago when she had been plain old Myrtle. But she wasn’t simply Myrtle any longer, and that was that. “Hello, Nightshade, Blackbriar” the doe calls amiably, though she stays where she is. For now, she was perfectly content to remain where she was at; she was in no particular rush to interrupt the conversation between buck and doe. She focuses on preening herself instead. Tum-te-tum.
Glancing back towards Bracken once again before she speaks, Nightshade keeps her voice at a low murmur. "There's a buck who continues to spread propaganda about Myrtle-rah. Including speaking with our son," she mutters under her breath, tail flicking once in mild irritation. She says no names, but instead points the accused buck out by lifting her head and looking directly at him. Once she's sure Blackbriar's gotten the message, the officer moves to properly meet and greet her new chief. "Good afternoon, Myrtle-rah. I trust you are faring well in your adjustments to our warren?"
Snowdrop awaits the moment when it would be most discreet, and thens until the new chief is within the center of her vision, and there her plain stare remains for a few extended moments. It's soon torn away, and the doe returns to her silence, content to remain a silent participant for the time being.
Bracken conveniently happens to be gazing off in another direction as Nightshade fixes him with her gaze, and so he misses the exchange. Otherwise, he shows no signs of any intention to leave, even though he knows quite well that trouble will be coming his way in a moment.
Giving Nightshade the barest of nods, Blackbriar watches as she moves off to address their Chief. Satisfied that they are engaged in a conversation that he does not need to be a part of yet, his dark eyes slide to meet Bracken's figure on his little outpost. Hmm. Glancing around he notices the quiet Snowdrop, but considering she seems to be minding her business and he has his own to attend to, Blackbriar moves straight for Bracken. As he gets closer, the buck sniffs the air fervently and rises to his hindlegs and sits back on them. While he doesn't announce his intentions to all present, he does want to prove
a point to the other. "Seems we have a little problem, Bracken," he burrs gruffly, keeping his voice low but in a tone that demands attention.
The barest hint of a frown tugs at the corner of Myrtle’s lips- she hadn’t missed the look that had been exchanged between the two Owsla officers. She lets one ear flop limply over (swiveling the other in Bracken’s direction) and tilts her head so that she could pretend to work out a few chinks, perhaps brushing away a mosquito or some such pestilent vermin. There proved to be no need, however, for eavesdropping- for Nightshade herself promptly proceeded to approach. Myrtle dips her chin in acknowledgement to the greeting, her eyes serious. “Well enough, Nightshade, thank you. Is there anything the matter?” Myrtle knew, of course, what was the matter- or at least had a vague idea (if she hadn’t before, she certainly did now, as she watches Blackbriar move off out of the corner of her eye). But she wanted to hear it from Nightshade herself- an authoritative figure whom she knew she could trust.
Bracken perks an ear, then turns to face the other buck as he approaches, wearing a mildly curious (though far from worried) expression. He straightens his posture a bit and peers down at the captain from where he sits on the anthill, not bothering to come down just yet. "Sir?"
The painful truth, or the considerate lie? Nightshade hesitates before answering the chief's question, and figuring honesty is always the best policy when dealing with your chief, no matter how bad it is. Assuming a more proper stance for an officer, Nightshade shuffles her forepaws closer together. "I'm sure you are aware of the...reluctance by a few of the bucks regarding a doe being chief," she responds simply. "Captain Blackbriar and I are doing our best to quell any rumors and advocate full support."
There are indeed. Blackbriar stiffles an indignant snort at Bracken's indifference, but he can't help but wrinkle his nose in distaste. Flicking his ears forwards, twitching his tail behind him irritably, the Captain chuffs heavily again, "Don't act like nothing's wrong, lad," he nearly growls, pointing with a forepaw in front of him, "Get down from that ludicrious perch; you're no lookout officer, not if I have anything to do with it." He wholly expects the buck to end up in front of him and so doesn't bother to wait to begin his tirade, "I hear you've had some choice words about Myrtlerah, and neither she, my officers, or I will stand for it. If you continue in thie disgraceful manner I will see to it personally that you are escorted to one of the worst burrows I can find; or out of the warren altogether if you continue. I had thought you were a prime candidate to become one of my officers, but if you cannot accept your own Chief, then you are poor material indeed." Huff.
That it is, to be sure. Myrtle, aware of the hesitancy in Nightshade’s voice, cocks an ear as though to say she would have found out the truth sooner or later- better for Nightshade that she chose to divulge it now, rather than have the Chief find out elsewhere. Rather unexpectedly, the doe smiles appraisingly, allowing her ear to rise back up again into its proper upright position. “Of course I’m aware. How could I not be? A proper rabbit needs be deaf, dumb, and blind- and in tharn to boot- before missing out on a detail like that. Really, Nightshade- next time you get word of something like this, you should report straight to me.” As she finishes, she hears Blackbriar’s voice carry over in the brief silence that ensues- and this time, the words are distinct. It really gave no choice to Myrtle but to immediately approach the unfortunate duo, leaving Nightshade to follow as she would. This was her business as well as anyone’s. More so, in fact.
"I apologize, Myrtle-rah--" Nightshade cuts off as she, too, hears Blackbriar's words. Hopping gingerly along behind the chief as she makes her way towards the pair of bucks, content to remain quiet as the pair of higher-uppers in rank deal with the situation.
Bracken bristles his whiskers a bit, and, in no particular hurry, hops down easily to land in front of Blackbriar, looking him evenly in the face and not so much as flinching as the other goes on to deliver his speech. Again he straightens his posture, listening with a stoic expression and waiting patiently until his superior falls silent. "I was unaware that rabbits in this warren were no longer allowed to speak their opinions." He replies calmly, keeping his temper wisely in check. He seems about to continue when he notices Myrtle heading in their direction. He shifts his attention to the doe, and watches her approach, giving no formal greeting.
Snowdrop's ears swivel to the side, one eye fixating itself on the confrontation between bucks. Nothing quite like a little conflict to ruin her fabricated dinner. To that end, she abandons her tearing apart luckless grass blades, and sits up, no longer even bothering to hide her interest in how things play out.
Another is making her way out from the entrance hole, a yawn escapes the young rabbit while she stretches before sitting and glances around to see what might be going on. She blinks as she catches sight of a good amount of the colony here and is quick to move forward heading towards where her mother an father is to try and find out what might be going on.
His hackles bristling, Blackbriar nearly has to bite his tongue to keep from biting off Bracken's sorry face. "When a rabbit's opinion is insulting and borders niegh on rebellious, it is my duty as an officer to see to it that your sorry hide isn't planing anything stupid." Snort. "I'm rather dissapointed in you, lad," the Captain says, his voice low and final, like a father who's just realized his children have done something horribly wrong. The large dark buck is about to tell the other to get out of his sight, but an ear swivels as Myrtlerah and Nightshade draw near. Easing himself back down on all fours, he concedes to his Chieftain, "Myrtlerah, I apologize for my brisk behavior."
Coriander quietly hops out of the shade of a run with his ears tilted forward intently. A solemn, uncertain expression is on his face as he hears his father's harsh speech. The young buck rubs a paw down the bridge of his nose, his whiskers fretting up and down. What had Bracken done wrong? Coriander rather likes Bracken. He hops a bit closer, staying inconspicuous, testing the words spoken to decipher what the problem was.
Brushing aside Nightshade's apology with a wave of her paw, Myrtle arrives at the scene in time to hear Bracken's last phrase. She eyes him sternly, noting mentally that he had not used the proper addresse for a leader- heck, he hadn't even /made/ an addresse. Her voice is firm, though without a harsh grate to it as the Captain's had. "Blackbriar is quite correct, sah- rabbits here have free reign to say what they will, as you said, save only when that speech happens to be detrimental to the well-being of others. We are a civilized society, after all- tell me what's wrong, now." Turning her head sidelong to Blackbriar, she murmurs, "No! You've done no wrong, Blackbriar. Such 'brisk action' is precisely what we need."
Nightshade frowns at Bracken's response. As the familiar scent of her kits - really though, they're getting so big now they aren't much of kits anymore - Nightshade turns from the trio, grateful for the distraction, to approach the pair of them. "Coriander, Sunflower," she murmurs to each in turn. "Your father and Myrtle-rah are simply dealing with a small issue," she explains simply and disarmingly.
The captain's words are met with silence from the younger buck, along with a steady, and inescapably defiant stare. He turns to face Myrtle as she speaks, once again listening intently until she has finished before responding. He fights to keep his tone flat as he speaks, and with no small effort manages to keep his expression composed. "Well, I have no intention of being detrimental to anyone. But I'd rather speak my mind than swallow something that I think is wrong." He seems to try and go on for a few faltering seconds, but he knows there's nothing more that he wants to say that wouldn't dig him a deeper proverbial grave. He hesitates briefly, then simply turns and hops swiftly and silently away, not towards the burrows, but southward. This isn't going to blow over soon, he knows, and he doesn't particularly feel like staying around to be confronted and questioned by the rest of the warren, so he might be able to get a bit of solitude if he comes back later.
Snowdrop knows very well this isn't going to be the end of the subject, even as she watches Bracken's retreat. Shaking her head, the doe returns to 'grazing,' casually laying an ears back. Her gaze fleetingly lifts to judgingly regard the two growing kits, until she abruptly turns away and puts some additional distance between herself and the others. Nope, nothing more to see here.
Sunflower ears prick as her gaze drifts over her father and the other before her attention goes to her mother as she speaks. She nods while sitting back. "Hope everthing turns out alright." She offers softly to her mother, she remember's the other night and Bracken's feelings it seems to there new leader. Well to bad, he'll just have to deal with it. Her gaze follows after Bracken only guessing what he might be thinking at the moment.
He almost, almost follows after Bracken, but instead issues a gruff cough in the buck's direction before he returns his attention to Myrtle. "I suggest giving that one a good kick in the pants," Blackbriar growls indignantly, snuffling his paws in the cold grass. He takes a moment to glance around, realizing that two of his children are here; oh, yeah, right. He smiles tiredly but warmly at both of them, wriggling his ears and reaching out to nuzzle Sunflower as she's the closest.
Coriander leans to one side, looking past his mother at the two bucks and the chief. His mouth is in a taut frown for the proceedings. He flicks an ear towards his mother after Bracken bounds off and squints his eyes in annoyance and frustration. As his father turns his attention to Sunflower and him, he shuffles around to face him better and be a bit of a distance away. "What did Bracken do?" he asks quietly, no emotion in his voice. The young buck tilts his head, glancing fleetingly at the chief rabbit and then to Nightshade, who he recalls giving Bracken a rather hard look last night. His dark eyes then return to Blackbriar, although he doesn't quite mind who the answer comes from.
Myrtle watches grimly as Bracken exits, letting her ears and whiskers droop the tiniest fraction as she lets a minute sigh surface from her chest. She smiles at Blackbriar once the rogue buck was fully out of sight and earshot, allowing her previously tautened facial muscles to relax. “Don’t worry about it- there’s bound to be murmurings like that cropping up all over the place; we haven’t seen the last. I just wish they wouldn’t get so worked up on my account- it’s bound to happen again. But for now, Blackbriar, can you promise me just one thing?” Her voice takes on an inquiring lilt, and she tilts her head to one side as she awaits a reply.
"He was speaking poorly of the chief behind her back," Nightshade explains to Coriander, though she listens as best she can to the continuing conversation between Myrtle and Blackbriar. "So we had to make sure he wasn't planning on doing anything a proper rabbit shouldn't."
Sunflower ears perk and she nods to her mother, she half figured as much.. She grins at her father and gives him a nuzzle back. "Hello father." She's quick to slip right though as Myrtle speaks to him once more.
Seeing as how Nightshade answered their son's question, and after churring gently at his daughter, Blackbriar perks his brow at his Chieftain. He moves closer to her, huddling down as much as possible but being a large and floofy buck still manages to tower over her despite his efforts. He manages a smile, and nods, "Promise you what, Myrtlerah?"
Coriander wrinkles his nose a bit and nibbles idly on a blade of grass, not really liking the explanation. Bracken seemed all right to him -- he wasn't even afraid of man noises! The young buck scratches at his cheek with a hind foot and swivels his ears upward, hoping to hear the chief's confided request.
“Be gentle with him.” Myrtle pauses for only a moment to await the expected reaction before continuing. “Yes, that’s what I said- do be gentle with him- them, please. I know that you’d like nothing better than to clout nimrods like that in the nose- and rest assured, you’re hardly the only one- but harshness will only serve to incite further bad feelings. Unless a physical confrontation should arise, don’t be any gruffer than circumstance requires. That goes for the rest of the Owsla as well.” She stops momentarily, watching the Captain easily through half-lidded eyes. “Do you understand what I’m asking?”
Sunflower gaze drifts from her father and Myrtle, she knows how father will follow orders he always has after all. Her gaze turns over to her brother, nose witching a few times.
His ears do perk in surprise, but soon a soft smile warms up his usually stern face. Blackbriar even chuckles quietly, nodding to the diminutive Chieftain. "Ay, I understand. I will do as you ask, Myrtlerah, don't worry about that. My officers will do the same, I vouche for my ranks." He nods an affirmative and chuckles again, turning then to Nightshade and his kittens -- though not really kittens anymore, are they? He rubs his nose to warm it a little, and as he notices his son's confusion he motions a paw to him, "Coriander," Blackbriar churrs, "Bracken said some very rude things about Myrtlerah," thinking perhaps his son was privy to those thoughts, "Things that no rabbit should say."
Coriander tilts his ears back and turns his head, not really knowing what to think. Bracken had made a fair point the other night -- no doe had ever been chief of the warren before. Surely there was a reason for that? If saying that was what had Bracken being persecuted, Coriander isn't sure he's too confident in the system. The young buck noses the ground, pushing little bits of dirt about while he considers. "I understand, father," he says after a moment. Perhaps Bracken had said something more malicious and he just hadn't heard about. Yes, that must be it. Although, Bracken had been so nice to him... Confused again, the Coriander furrows his brows, still not gazing directly at the elder rabbits around him.
A pleased expression crosses Myrtle’s face, and she claps Blackbriar heartily on the shoulder. “Good. That’s settled, then.” But apparently it wasn’t- after catching the look on Coriander’s face, the doe turns to him even as she had been about to turn away, a warm expression lighting her face. “It’s all right, Coriander. A murmur or two here and there won’t hurt anything- after all, Bracken’s hardly the only one who thinks as he does. I understand how he must feel- I would probably feel the same, were I in his position. It’s when he becomes sulky and grudging and close-minded that it really becomes a problem; do you see? I am the Chief here. If there is any problem /any/where, however small, it must be brought straight to me. I’m here to help, not hinder.” It’s easy to tell from the doe’s earnest tone that she means every word she says.
Sunflower nods a bit to what her father said, fully agreeing with him. No one should say anything bad about anyone, even more so the leader for that matter. So there hasn't been a doe for a leader yet, times change after all. Though she won't voice that idea here as it hasn't been brought up after all. She looks to Myrtle and smiles as she listions to the leader.
Chuckling at his Chieftain, Blackbriar nods in reply. He listens a moment when she speaks to his son, and to reassure him ruffles him playfully on the top of his head. The Captain takes a quick second to stretch his hind legs before nuzzling both Sunflower and Nightshade, loping off steadily towards the burrows. "Excuse me, but I have some rules changes to report," Blackbriar winks, twitching his ears once before vanishing underground.
Coriander scratches at his ear, and settles firmly on all fours. The chief's words made sense and he found himself rather liking her. After all, the young buck has no real reason to be prejudiced against a doe chief. His own mother was an officer in the owsla, for Frith's sake! He had been raised in an almost doe-centric warren. He smirks obligingly at his father's gesture of affection and nods towards Myrtle. "I understand," he repeats, more solidly this time. He tucks his insecurities away in the back of his mind and watches his father disappear into a burrow. "Excuse me." The young buck pivots and hops off to one side, settling with his ears resting on his back to silflay, lost in thought.
As Myrtle-rah speaks directly to her son, Nightshade simply sits back and provides moral support. Coriander's had months to listen to her, after all, and she feels having the chief talk to him one-on-one about Bracken and such related issues would likely have more effect on him. Hopefully, at least. Listening with alert ears, the officer doe practically heaves a sigh of relief as Coriander seems to understand, exactly as his words imply. Perhaps she hasn't completely failed as a mother.
Doe-centric? Perhaps not quite, but it was as close as it would probably ever be. Myrtle smiles down at the young Coriander, preening thoughtfully at one of her whiskers. As Blackbriar departs, the doe flashes a grateful grin at Nightshade and gives a final nod to the assorted rabbits scrounging about nearby before exiting herself. She was done with her silflay and had no real reason to continue staying on; besides, she had a lot to think about. The solitude and silence of her private burrow would be a welcome change from the hectic hassles of the daytime.
Sunflower watches her brother curiously a few moments and tilt her head as he moves off. Well at least he understood, more then she can say for some. Still she can see why others might say something, though she supposes it could be worse.
As the captain and chief depart, leaving Nightshade and her kits some of the few rabbits left aboveground, the officer turns to Coriander and Sunflower, nosing each of them affectionately in turn with a happy smile. "Come on. Let's go socialize with the others in the Honeycomb," she suggests, allowing them to file down the burrow before her.
Burrowed Meadow
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Myrtle - Female Hawthorn chief
Blackbriar - Owsla Captain
Nightshade - Female Owsla officer; Blackbriar's mate
Bracken - A belligerent buck
Snowdrop - A Hawthorn doe
Coriander - Blackbriar's progeny (son)
Sunflower - Blackbriar's progeny (daughter)
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It's sometime in the early afternoon -- the warmest part of an otherwise chilly winter day, and the best time for silflay. Several rabbits are above ground, browsing what dull, tasteless fare there is to be had, while several does are huddled together, gossiping. Bracken is out on his own a little distance away, sitting on an anthill and keeping watch, apparently having placed himself as a sentry though he's not in the owsla. Slender ears swivel this way and that as he peers about intently, a relaxed but alert air about him.
The Captain can feel the cool air before he even gets above ground, and as he emerges from one of the runs his breath chills in a small cloud in front of him. Standing up on his hind legs for a moment and scanning the sky with his bright eyes and sniffing the air, whiskers twitching, Blackbriar chuffs lightly before moving away from the entrance run. He hasn't gotten wind of any of the problems that occured yesterday, but he's bound to eventually. His eyes rove over those rabbits anove ground and finding nothing out of the ordinary begins to silflay quietly. Seems that a good night's sleep has done the Owlsa Captain quite well -- lucky warren.
Not far away from Blackbriar, a small doe- one not among the small group of does huddled some distance away- pauses in a rather dreary stripe of sun to scritch rapidly at her ear with agile movements of her hind leg. Although the atmosphere of the afternoon was a rather languorous one, Myrtle had been on the alert all since awakening. Now she stood with whiskers fluttering, pawing at the grass and ducking down to nibble at the dry, unpalatable shreds only once every few minutes or so. After a length, she seems to grow slightly more at ease and bends to silflay more frequently, although her ears are still perked warily.
Eventually meaning now. Nightshade emerges from the same run only a few moments later, dark eyes immediately sighting her mate and bounding towards him. On the way, she catches scent of the buck from the night before, causing her to pause in place as she considers him briefly. After a moment of hesitation, the officer doe resumes her path to Blackbriar's side, nosing him gently for his attention. "Blackbriar?" The motion behind the captain catches her eye, revealing it to be none other than Chief Myrtle herself. "Myrtle-rah," she greets in acknowledgement, though it appears from her demeanor that she's more interested in speaking with Blackbriar for the time being.
Already above, having just finished her own silflay, Snowdrop is on her way to the barrow. The doe has a rather distracted look about her, however it snaps away the moment she takes note of the recent, and rather important, arrivals. Snowdrop's nose twitches, and she immediately drops her head, feigning a few nibbles at the grass. For the moment, it appears, there'll be far more to find of interest up here.
Bracken remains perched upon his lookout-post, content to keep watch for now. He notes the arrival of Nightshade, and the doe's immediate approach to Blackbriar doesn't go unnoticed, either. He smirks imperceptibly to himself as he watches them for a moment, then runs his paws over his peppered whiskers and returns to his self-imposed sentry duties, doing his best to appear uninterested in whatever they might be talking about.
He feels her approach before hearing his name, and Blackbriar turns his face to greet Nightshade with a light nuzzle. However much she's cool and collected, that doesn't mean he can't be a fuzzy nuisance if he wants to. An ear turns as the doe addresses their Chief, and Blackbriar smiles warmly at her, "Myrtle-rah," he echos softly with a nod, but turns back to Nightshade with his brow perked. "Yes?" he mutters softly, his dark eyes giving Nightshade their full attention; seems like something's on her mind. Bracken and Snowdrop only enters his periphery vision for now, but he'll be giving a lot more attention to the others soon enough.
Glancing at the run that Nightshade had appeared from only a moment before, Myrtle looks up at the sound of her name. The extraneous suffix tacked on to the end of her name was one she still wasn’t used to yet- it had been only too short a time ago when she had been plain old Myrtle. But she wasn’t simply Myrtle any longer, and that was that. “Hello, Nightshade, Blackbriar” the doe calls amiably, though she stays where she is. For now, she was perfectly content to remain where she was at; she was in no particular rush to interrupt the conversation between buck and doe. She focuses on preening herself instead. Tum-te-tum.
Glancing back towards Bracken once again before she speaks, Nightshade keeps her voice at a low murmur. "There's a buck who continues to spread propaganda about Myrtle-rah. Including speaking with our son," she mutters under her breath, tail flicking once in mild irritation. She says no names, but instead points the accused buck out by lifting her head and looking directly at him. Once she's sure Blackbriar's gotten the message, the officer moves to properly meet and greet her new chief. "Good afternoon, Myrtle-rah. I trust you are faring well in your adjustments to our warren?"
Snowdrop awaits the moment when it would be most discreet, and thens until the new chief is within the center of her vision, and there her plain stare remains for a few extended moments. It's soon torn away, and the doe returns to her silence, content to remain a silent participant for the time being.
Bracken conveniently happens to be gazing off in another direction as Nightshade fixes him with her gaze, and so he misses the exchange. Otherwise, he shows no signs of any intention to leave, even though he knows quite well that trouble will be coming his way in a moment.
Giving Nightshade the barest of nods, Blackbriar watches as she moves off to address their Chief. Satisfied that they are engaged in a conversation that he does not need to be a part of yet, his dark eyes slide to meet Bracken's figure on his little outpost. Hmm. Glancing around he notices the quiet Snowdrop, but considering she seems to be minding her business and he has his own to attend to, Blackbriar moves straight for Bracken. As he gets closer, the buck sniffs the air fervently and rises to his hindlegs and sits back on them. While he doesn't announce his intentions to all present, he does want to prove
a point to the other. "Seems we have a little problem, Bracken," he burrs gruffly, keeping his voice low but in a tone that demands attention.
The barest hint of a frown tugs at the corner of Myrtle’s lips- she hadn’t missed the look that had been exchanged between the two Owsla officers. She lets one ear flop limply over (swiveling the other in Bracken’s direction) and tilts her head so that she could pretend to work out a few chinks, perhaps brushing away a mosquito or some such pestilent vermin. There proved to be no need, however, for eavesdropping- for Nightshade herself promptly proceeded to approach. Myrtle dips her chin in acknowledgement to the greeting, her eyes serious. “Well enough, Nightshade, thank you. Is there anything the matter?” Myrtle knew, of course, what was the matter- or at least had a vague idea (if she hadn’t before, she certainly did now, as she watches Blackbriar move off out of the corner of her eye). But she wanted to hear it from Nightshade herself- an authoritative figure whom she knew she could trust.
Bracken perks an ear, then turns to face the other buck as he approaches, wearing a mildly curious (though far from worried) expression. He straightens his posture a bit and peers down at the captain from where he sits on the anthill, not bothering to come down just yet. "Sir?"
The painful truth, or the considerate lie? Nightshade hesitates before answering the chief's question, and figuring honesty is always the best policy when dealing with your chief, no matter how bad it is. Assuming a more proper stance for an officer, Nightshade shuffles her forepaws closer together. "I'm sure you are aware of the...reluctance by a few of the bucks regarding a doe being chief," she responds simply. "Captain Blackbriar and I are doing our best to quell any rumors and advocate full support."
There are indeed. Blackbriar stiffles an indignant snort at Bracken's indifference, but he can't help but wrinkle his nose in distaste. Flicking his ears forwards, twitching his tail behind him irritably, the Captain chuffs heavily again, "Don't act like nothing's wrong, lad," he nearly growls, pointing with a forepaw in front of him, "Get down from that ludicrious perch; you're no lookout officer, not if I have anything to do with it." He wholly expects the buck to end up in front of him and so doesn't bother to wait to begin his tirade, "I hear you've had some choice words about Myrtlerah, and neither she, my officers, or I will stand for it. If you continue in thie disgraceful manner I will see to it personally that you are escorted to one of the worst burrows I can find; or out of the warren altogether if you continue. I had thought you were a prime candidate to become one of my officers, but if you cannot accept your own Chief, then you are poor material indeed." Huff.
That it is, to be sure. Myrtle, aware of the hesitancy in Nightshade’s voice, cocks an ear as though to say she would have found out the truth sooner or later- better for Nightshade that she chose to divulge it now, rather than have the Chief find out elsewhere. Rather unexpectedly, the doe smiles appraisingly, allowing her ear to rise back up again into its proper upright position. “Of course I’m aware. How could I not be? A proper rabbit needs be deaf, dumb, and blind- and in tharn to boot- before missing out on a detail like that. Really, Nightshade- next time you get word of something like this, you should report straight to me.” As she finishes, she hears Blackbriar’s voice carry over in the brief silence that ensues- and this time, the words are distinct. It really gave no choice to Myrtle but to immediately approach the unfortunate duo, leaving Nightshade to follow as she would. This was her business as well as anyone’s. More so, in fact.
"I apologize, Myrtle-rah--" Nightshade cuts off as she, too, hears Blackbriar's words. Hopping gingerly along behind the chief as she makes her way towards the pair of bucks, content to remain quiet as the pair of higher-uppers in rank deal with the situation.
Bracken bristles his whiskers a bit, and, in no particular hurry, hops down easily to land in front of Blackbriar, looking him evenly in the face and not so much as flinching as the other goes on to deliver his speech. Again he straightens his posture, listening with a stoic expression and waiting patiently until his superior falls silent. "I was unaware that rabbits in this warren were no longer allowed to speak their opinions." He replies calmly, keeping his temper wisely in check. He seems about to continue when he notices Myrtle heading in their direction. He shifts his attention to the doe, and watches her approach, giving no formal greeting.
Snowdrop's ears swivel to the side, one eye fixating itself on the confrontation between bucks. Nothing quite like a little conflict to ruin her fabricated dinner. To that end, she abandons her tearing apart luckless grass blades, and sits up, no longer even bothering to hide her interest in how things play out.
Another is making her way out from the entrance hole, a yawn escapes the young rabbit while she stretches before sitting and glances around to see what might be going on. She blinks as she catches sight of a good amount of the colony here and is quick to move forward heading towards where her mother an father is to try and find out what might be going on.
His hackles bristling, Blackbriar nearly has to bite his tongue to keep from biting off Bracken's sorry face. "When a rabbit's opinion is insulting and borders niegh on rebellious, it is my duty as an officer to see to it that your sorry hide isn't planing anything stupid." Snort. "I'm rather dissapointed in you, lad," the Captain says, his voice low and final, like a father who's just realized his children have done something horribly wrong. The large dark buck is about to tell the other to get out of his sight, but an ear swivels as Myrtlerah and Nightshade draw near. Easing himself back down on all fours, he concedes to his Chieftain, "Myrtlerah, I apologize for my brisk behavior."
Coriander quietly hops out of the shade of a run with his ears tilted forward intently. A solemn, uncertain expression is on his face as he hears his father's harsh speech. The young buck rubs a paw down the bridge of his nose, his whiskers fretting up and down. What had Bracken done wrong? Coriander rather likes Bracken. He hops a bit closer, staying inconspicuous, testing the words spoken to decipher what the problem was.
Brushing aside Nightshade's apology with a wave of her paw, Myrtle arrives at the scene in time to hear Bracken's last phrase. She eyes him sternly, noting mentally that he had not used the proper addresse for a leader- heck, he hadn't even /made/ an addresse. Her voice is firm, though without a harsh grate to it as the Captain's had. "Blackbriar is quite correct, sah- rabbits here have free reign to say what they will, as you said, save only when that speech happens to be detrimental to the well-being of others. We are a civilized society, after all- tell me what's wrong, now." Turning her head sidelong to Blackbriar, she murmurs, "No! You've done no wrong, Blackbriar. Such 'brisk action' is precisely what we need."
Nightshade frowns at Bracken's response. As the familiar scent of her kits - really though, they're getting so big now they aren't much of kits anymore - Nightshade turns from the trio, grateful for the distraction, to approach the pair of them. "Coriander, Sunflower," she murmurs to each in turn. "Your father and Myrtle-rah are simply dealing with a small issue," she explains simply and disarmingly.
The captain's words are met with silence from the younger buck, along with a steady, and inescapably defiant stare. He turns to face Myrtle as she speaks, once again listening intently until she has finished before responding. He fights to keep his tone flat as he speaks, and with no small effort manages to keep his expression composed. "Well, I have no intention of being detrimental to anyone. But I'd rather speak my mind than swallow something that I think is wrong." He seems to try and go on for a few faltering seconds, but he knows there's nothing more that he wants to say that wouldn't dig him a deeper proverbial grave. He hesitates briefly, then simply turns and hops swiftly and silently away, not towards the burrows, but southward. This isn't going to blow over soon, he knows, and he doesn't particularly feel like staying around to be confronted and questioned by the rest of the warren, so he might be able to get a bit of solitude if he comes back later.
Snowdrop knows very well this isn't going to be the end of the subject, even as she watches Bracken's retreat. Shaking her head, the doe returns to 'grazing,' casually laying an ears back. Her gaze fleetingly lifts to judgingly regard the two growing kits, until she abruptly turns away and puts some additional distance between herself and the others. Nope, nothing more to see here.
Sunflower ears prick as her gaze drifts over her father and the other before her attention goes to her mother as she speaks. She nods while sitting back. "Hope everthing turns out alright." She offers softly to her mother, she remember's the other night and Bracken's feelings it seems to there new leader. Well to bad, he'll just have to deal with it. Her gaze follows after Bracken only guessing what he might be thinking at the moment.
He almost, almost follows after Bracken, but instead issues a gruff cough in the buck's direction before he returns his attention to Myrtle. "I suggest giving that one a good kick in the pants," Blackbriar growls indignantly, snuffling his paws in the cold grass. He takes a moment to glance around, realizing that two of his children are here; oh, yeah, right. He smiles tiredly but warmly at both of them, wriggling his ears and reaching out to nuzzle Sunflower as she's the closest.
Coriander leans to one side, looking past his mother at the two bucks and the chief. His mouth is in a taut frown for the proceedings. He flicks an ear towards his mother after Bracken bounds off and squints his eyes in annoyance and frustration. As his father turns his attention to Sunflower and him, he shuffles around to face him better and be a bit of a distance away. "What did Bracken do?" he asks quietly, no emotion in his voice. The young buck tilts his head, glancing fleetingly at the chief rabbit and then to Nightshade, who he recalls giving Bracken a rather hard look last night. His dark eyes then return to Blackbriar, although he doesn't quite mind who the answer comes from.
Myrtle watches grimly as Bracken exits, letting her ears and whiskers droop the tiniest fraction as she lets a minute sigh surface from her chest. She smiles at Blackbriar once the rogue buck was fully out of sight and earshot, allowing her previously tautened facial muscles to relax. “Don’t worry about it- there’s bound to be murmurings like that cropping up all over the place; we haven’t seen the last. I just wish they wouldn’t get so worked up on my account- it’s bound to happen again. But for now, Blackbriar, can you promise me just one thing?” Her voice takes on an inquiring lilt, and she tilts her head to one side as she awaits a reply.
"He was speaking poorly of the chief behind her back," Nightshade explains to Coriander, though she listens as best she can to the continuing conversation between Myrtle and Blackbriar. "So we had to make sure he wasn't planning on doing anything a proper rabbit shouldn't."
Sunflower ears perk and she nods to her mother, she half figured as much.. She grins at her father and gives him a nuzzle back. "Hello father." She's quick to slip right though as Myrtle speaks to him once more.
Seeing as how Nightshade answered their son's question, and after churring gently at his daughter, Blackbriar perks his brow at his Chieftain. He moves closer to her, huddling down as much as possible but being a large and floofy buck still manages to tower over her despite his efforts. He manages a smile, and nods, "Promise you what, Myrtlerah?"
Coriander wrinkles his nose a bit and nibbles idly on a blade of grass, not really liking the explanation. Bracken seemed all right to him -- he wasn't even afraid of man noises! The young buck scratches at his cheek with a hind foot and swivels his ears upward, hoping to hear the chief's confided request.
“Be gentle with him.” Myrtle pauses for only a moment to await the expected reaction before continuing. “Yes, that’s what I said- do be gentle with him- them, please. I know that you’d like nothing better than to clout nimrods like that in the nose- and rest assured, you’re hardly the only one- but harshness will only serve to incite further bad feelings. Unless a physical confrontation should arise, don’t be any gruffer than circumstance requires. That goes for the rest of the Owsla as well.” She stops momentarily, watching the Captain easily through half-lidded eyes. “Do you understand what I’m asking?”
Sunflower gaze drifts from her father and Myrtle, she knows how father will follow orders he always has after all. Her gaze turns over to her brother, nose witching a few times.
His ears do perk in surprise, but soon a soft smile warms up his usually stern face. Blackbriar even chuckles quietly, nodding to the diminutive Chieftain. "Ay, I understand. I will do as you ask, Myrtlerah, don't worry about that. My officers will do the same, I vouche for my ranks." He nods an affirmative and chuckles again, turning then to Nightshade and his kittens -- though not really kittens anymore, are they? He rubs his nose to warm it a little, and as he notices his son's confusion he motions a paw to him, "Coriander," Blackbriar churrs, "Bracken said some very rude things about Myrtlerah," thinking perhaps his son was privy to those thoughts, "Things that no rabbit should say."
Coriander tilts his ears back and turns his head, not really knowing what to think. Bracken had made a fair point the other night -- no doe had ever been chief of the warren before. Surely there was a reason for that? If saying that was what had Bracken being persecuted, Coriander isn't sure he's too confident in the system. The young buck noses the ground, pushing little bits of dirt about while he considers. "I understand, father," he says after a moment. Perhaps Bracken had said something more malicious and he just hadn't heard about. Yes, that must be it. Although, Bracken had been so nice to him... Confused again, the Coriander furrows his brows, still not gazing directly at the elder rabbits around him.
A pleased expression crosses Myrtle’s face, and she claps Blackbriar heartily on the shoulder. “Good. That’s settled, then.” But apparently it wasn’t- after catching the look on Coriander’s face, the doe turns to him even as she had been about to turn away, a warm expression lighting her face. “It’s all right, Coriander. A murmur or two here and there won’t hurt anything- after all, Bracken’s hardly the only one who thinks as he does. I understand how he must feel- I would probably feel the same, were I in his position. It’s when he becomes sulky and grudging and close-minded that it really becomes a problem; do you see? I am the Chief here. If there is any problem /any/where, however small, it must be brought straight to me. I’m here to help, not hinder.” It’s easy to tell from the doe’s earnest tone that she means every word she says.
Sunflower nods a bit to what her father said, fully agreeing with him. No one should say anything bad about anyone, even more so the leader for that matter. So there hasn't been a doe for a leader yet, times change after all. Though she won't voice that idea here as it hasn't been brought up after all. She looks to Myrtle and smiles as she listions to the leader.
Chuckling at his Chieftain, Blackbriar nods in reply. He listens a moment when she speaks to his son, and to reassure him ruffles him playfully on the top of his head. The Captain takes a quick second to stretch his hind legs before nuzzling both Sunflower and Nightshade, loping off steadily towards the burrows. "Excuse me, but I have some rules changes to report," Blackbriar winks, twitching his ears once before vanishing underground.
Coriander scratches at his ear, and settles firmly on all fours. The chief's words made sense and he found himself rather liking her. After all, the young buck has no real reason to be prejudiced against a doe chief. His own mother was an officer in the owsla, for Frith's sake! He had been raised in an almost doe-centric warren. He smirks obligingly at his father's gesture of affection and nods towards Myrtle. "I understand," he repeats, more solidly this time. He tucks his insecurities away in the back of his mind and watches his father disappear into a burrow. "Excuse me." The young buck pivots and hops off to one side, settling with his ears resting on his back to silflay, lost in thought.
As Myrtle-rah speaks directly to her son, Nightshade simply sits back and provides moral support. Coriander's had months to listen to her, after all, and she feels having the chief talk to him one-on-one about Bracken and such related issues would likely have more effect on him. Hopefully, at least. Listening with alert ears, the officer doe practically heaves a sigh of relief as Coriander seems to understand, exactly as his words imply. Perhaps she hasn't completely failed as a mother.
Doe-centric? Perhaps not quite, but it was as close as it would probably ever be. Myrtle smiles down at the young Coriander, preening thoughtfully at one of her whiskers. As Blackbriar departs, the doe flashes a grateful grin at Nightshade and gives a final nod to the assorted rabbits scrounging about nearby before exiting herself. She was done with her silflay and had no real reason to continue staying on; besides, she had a lot to think about. The solitude and silence of her private burrow would be a welcome change from the hectic hassles of the daytime.
Sunflower watches her brother curiously a few moments and tilt her head as he moves off. Well at least he understood, more then she can say for some. Still she can see why others might say something, though she supposes it could be worse.
As the captain and chief depart, leaving Nightshade and her kits some of the few rabbits left aboveground, the officer turns to Coriander and Sunflower, nosing each of them affectionately in turn with a happy smile. "Come on. Let's go socialize with the others in the Honeycomb," she suggests, allowing them to file down the burrow before her.