03:15 PM

RW Abbey: Library
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The library is disturbingly empty of books and scrolls, and only a small fraction of the knowledge it should be able to hold is actually present and available for perusing.  The beautifully crafted windows are well cleaned.  Giving the library plenty of light during the daylight hours. This, combined with the room's high vaulted ceiling, causes a rather foreboding play of shadows in the corners and between shelves. The flagstones of the floor are cool and smooth, and echoes of clicks and thumps can be heard quite clearly when beasts walk among the mostly bare shelves. Brass lamps containing short, fat little white candles provide enough light for reading.

The world outside the high windows is dark. Flickering candles keep the library lit, and throw odd shadows on the walls.
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                        Exits/Entrances:
[G]reat [H]all         [M]ap [B]ookshelf       [B]ookshelf of [W]oodland [L]ore
[B]ookbinding [R]oom   [H]istory [B]ookshelf   [B]ookshelf of [B]iographies
                       [P]oetry [B]ookshelf    [B]ookshelf of [S]tories
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Silence, as usual, reigns in Redwall's library, save for the sounds of a quill sratching against paper, and maybe a few muttered comments. Flax sits at a desk near one corner of the room, carefully copying the latest book Keiran's given her to work on.

Opening the door quietly, this enters Major Jarril of the Long Patrol with a few scrolls under his arm and a book under the other.  Looking about he quietly makes his way towards a desk and carefully begins to place things down.

Harper wanders inpose A couple of minutes after Jarril has entered and gotten himself situated, Harper enters with his head lowered and a bit of parchment in paw. He studies it thoughtfully, glancing up every now and then as he directs his path toward the stacks. His eyes scan the bindings of books, searching for something. Finally his eyes alight on whatever it is and he reaches forward, plucking a book from the shelf.

Flaxpaw is really caught up in the copying, and takes a while to notice the other hares entering the library, but she does eventually look up when Harper reaches for the book, smiling when she sees who it is. She's still not quite caught sight of Jarril, mind half on the book and improving her script when she writes.

Jarril slowly opening the book, there are quite a few empty pages within the binder as Jarril eventually gets back to where there is a page near to the front that only has a quarter of writing placed down onto it.  Carefully opening a scroll with more writing the major sorts himself out and gently opens a ink pot before dipping a feathered quill into it and begins to make new scratching on the paper.

Harper is in the process of turning to seek out a table, tucking the bit of parchment in a pocket, when he sees Flaxpaw.He's grinning before he can stop it, and he lifts his paw in greeting, crossing over to her. "Flax. Hey." He slips into the empty seat next to her. He, too, has taken no notice of Jarril.

Jarril is glad that he's not being bothered as he looks at his notes again and carefully writes something down on the page, carefully describing his home in detail.

Flaxpaw points to the page she's working on. "look at this, Harp, this chap travelled all over before he settled at Redwall. And it says here that......." She's finally caught sight of Jarril, and her eartips go a little red. "um..it says...." She looks back to the book, trying to remember what it said exactly that she was so thrilled by.

Harper is in the process of leaning over, almost touching shoulders with the doe, when she hesitates. He looks at her with raised eyebrows, notices the ears tipped with red, and first confuses it as embarrassment over his closeness. He jerks away and looks around, and only /then/ does he notice Jarril. "Oh," is all he says.

Jarril hasn't noticed any of them at the moment as he's busy carefully writing down in a long patrol style of writing on the page, the tip of the feather making quiet scratching noises.

Flaxpaw looks back at Harper, still distracted by Jarril's presence, but trying not to show it too much. "Anythin wrong Harp?...like i was sayin, this chap was a real traveller, an this is his journal. I never knew things in these musty places could be so interestin."

Harper's ears twitch back and his eyes dwell briefly on Jarril, but in the end he shakes his head. "Nah. Nothing." He turns and leans back in to scan the page the book is open to. "What's it about again?"

Slowly but gradually Jarril brings on a frown as he comes to a point where he can't continue with his own notes or from what he had written with the mountain libraries and gets up.  Turning around, he starts to move about the library carefully, searching for a book that would give accounts of the abbey thirty five seasons ago, though after events he isn't sure he would find such a thing.

Flaxpaw's eyes follow Jarril's movement through the library as she replies to Harper. "well, some squirrel chap. he was a sailor for a bit, travelled with shrews an otters...an /he/ seems to have liked it. huh. bet they never tried to drown him. an then...he saw all sorts of places."

"Well. They didn't /really/ try to drown us," Harp counters, doing his level best not to notice the way Flax's eyes follow after the other. "Water wasn't so bad, anyway. 'Least it wasn't all salty like the shore."

Slowly not finding what he is after the major moves back to his seat and remains quiet in thought.  Leaning back in the chair, he gives his whiskers a stroke before slowly taking one of the parchments he has and dips his ink into the pot before writing down.  'Find out if recorder has records of Longears Fleetpaw and Starbreeze Fleetpaw's visit with the patrol before the mountain was lost to vermin...'  Placing the feather back into the pot the hare doesn't move for a while, thinking as he concertrates on a object in the room with his only eye.

Flaxpaw shrugs in reply to Harper. "no, it wasn't salty, it was cold." she sighs. "you're right, though, not their fault I fell in. Those shrews /were/ pretty enthusiastic, though. Interestin way of trainin they have." She looks intently at the parchment Jarril's written on...can't see anything from here, though.

Harper rather suddenly waves a paw in front of Flaxpaw's eyes, sounding somewhat less than amused. "Hey. Flax. Earth to Flax."

Jarril turns his head around and coughs slightly to the noise.  Getting up from his seat he walks over to their desk and bends down looking at the two.  "Will ya two be quiet."  Whispering as he turns to face Flaxpaw.  "Stop looking at me as though I am going ta fall in love..."  He turns his head back to Harper.  "And as for ya, get out of ya mood.  I suggest ya both get on with ya studies."  Clearly the major has had enough of the situation.  Turning around he makes his way back to where his table is and begins to clear up, closing the book in question quietly

Flaxpaw blinks at Harper's paw in front of her face, then really blinks when Jarril comes over, going a little wide-eyed at his comments, then watching him go back, drooping, and blinking furiously now, not in surprise, just to keep from crying in front of both bucks. She looks down at the table, voice dropping. "Sorry, Harp....didn't mean to..... 'scuse me." she gets up to go over to a shelf, back to the room.

Jarril clearing the table quickly, the buck pauses in his movements before heading out of the room completely, where he falls against the cold stone wall, closing his eye for a moment as he frowns.  Muttering to himself.  "Last season was so much easier, well that was a great way of doing that Jar old lad."  Not saying anything else he makes his way to where he sleeps in the abbey.