#fuzzhugs

A gift of fluff for @thegoldensoundtwice because she has had a rough few days and needs to be fluffed to death.

                A single pair of paws kicked and wriggled as its owner rolled around in her bed, trying to find a comfortable position. On her back, on her side, her front, her other side, no position seemed soothe her. The linen sheets and blankets eventually came loose and tangled together. With a frustrated sigh, the mouse left her bed and set about fixing the covers.

                Cornflower trembled slightly as her feet touched the stone floor. Though the summer days were suffocating and hot, the stone floor was frigid. That pair of slippers she had been putting off making seemed more and more necessary every night.

                Blankets and pillows alike hit the floor as Cornflower yanked the bottom sheet from the mattress and gave it an elegant flick before letting it waft back down onto the bed. Each corner was promptly tucked in tightly and all wrinkles and folds were smoothed down. Next came the second sheet, followed by a light blanket and a thicker patchwork quilt.

                Cornflower smiled as she looked at the hodgepodge of colors and patterns. She had sewn this blanket season ago when she was pregnant with Mattimeo, and it had seen many afternoon naps and sick nights.

                After she arranged the pillows (Matthias’ on the right, hers on the left), Cornflower returned to bed to face another restless night. Matthias had taken Mattimeo and a number of the other Abbeydwellers to the river for a week-long fishing trip. He had been gone four days already, but it felt more like four seasons.

                Feeling lonely, Cornflower reached across the bed and grabbed Matthias’ pillow. It matched hers perfectly, as it had been part of a wedding gift from the Sparrows. Mrs. Churchmouse had done the actual sewing, but the Sparra had provided plenty of feathers for stuffing. As Cornflower pulled it to her chest, she buried her face in it, imagining it was her husband’s strong but slightly chubby torso.

                Inhaling deeply, she could easily detect Matthias’ scent. It was a very earthy smell, like soil, bark, and damp moss. The scent was accompanied by a touch of chestnuts, but that easily could have been from all the late-night snacks Matthias snuck from the kitchen.

                Had Matthias been with her, he would have wrapped his arms around her and given her a kiss on the top of her head, and the absence of these usual affections made Cornflower’s loneliness worse.

                A sudden light caused Cornflower to lift her head from the pillow. The full moon had emerged from behind the clouds, sending its brilliance through the window.

                Leaving the solitude of the bed for the second time that night, Cornflower crossed to the window to draw the curtains. Looking up directly into the moon’s face she whispered to herself, “Please come home soon, Matthias. I’m missing you.

——–

                To the east of Redwall, about a day’s walk from the Abbey, there was a bend in the river where the current slowed to a lazy crawl. Willow trees crowded against the shore, forming a solid canopy over the heads of the creatures who had come to enjoy the gifts of the river.

                It was late at night, and many creatures had already gone to bed or were at least settling down. The otters were an exception, they were enjoying some late night fishing, forgoing rod and tackle in favor of their own paws.

                For the most part, the squirrels and hedgehogs were sleeping under the open sky or in the shelter of the willows, but Matthias was settling down inside a large tent he had brought, sharing it with Mattimeo.

                Matthias smiled as he listened to the sounds of enjoyment and celebration from the creatures of Redwall. He had originally planned a quiet fishing trip for himself and Mattimeo, but the idea seemed a popular one and he quickly had gained an army of followers.

                Glancing over, he saw that Mattimeo was already asleep. He hadn’t even changed clothes, simply collapsing onto his bedroll without a word. It was no surprise that he was exhausted after spending the day running around.

                Sitting up, Matthias reached over to his knapsack and pulled out a small box. He carefully opened it and pulled out its contents: a piece of cloth.

                The cloth was aged, but well cared for. The yellow had faded to an off white, and the blue flowers had smudged and lost a few stitches. Matthias brought the keepsake to his nose and smelt it.

                Cornflower had given him her favorite headscarf what seemed like ages ago. He had worn it as his warrior’s colors for a while, but soon came to treasure it too much to endanger it. Most days he kept it in its box on the top wardrobe shelf, but when he was away from Cornflower, he brought it out to remind himself of her and keep her close.

                The scarf smelled sweet; Matthias occasional snuck away some of Cornflower’s favorite lilac-scented perfume to spray on the soft fabric. As the soft fragrance filled the air around him, Matthias could swear he almost felt Cornflower’s head on his shoulder.

                The light from the moon suddenly filled the tent as the clouds of the day moved past the midnight orb. “Don’t worry, Cornflower,” he whispered as he gazed longingly toward the shining pearl on the blackened sky, “I’ll be coming home soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A gift of Christmas fluff for @thegoldensoundtwice 

*I DID NOT WRITE THIS, @fuzzhugs DID AND I SCREAMED AND MADE A LOT OF INCOHERENT SOUNDS THAT WERE NOT HUMAN. THANK YOU; I ADORED THIS SO MUCH*

The Winter Solstice was a time of celebration for Redwall Abbey. The first day of Winter was the darkest day of the year, but the Abbeydwllers chose to look optimistically at the bleakness, and saw the Solstice as a sign of returning warmth and comfort. Though the entirety of the coldest part of the year still lay ahead, the days would at least be a little brighter, a promise that Spring would soon arrive, accompanied by the flowers and foods the peaceful woodlanders loved so much. A tradition in Redwall was the giving of presents, gifts to greet the sunlight and spread a little happiness.

A thin crack of sun peeking over the Abbey’s walls shone through the gatehouse windows, bathing the pair of inhabitants in a soft, orange glow. Icicles hanging precariously from the edge of the roof sparkled brilliantly in the morning light, and the snow glittered like fine sugar. A batch of snow had fallen during the night, adding an extra foot of powder to the Abbey grounds. The moles would undoubtedly get to work on clearing a bath after breakfast.

Within the gatehouse, Cornflower finished buttoning her dress and started to step away from her bed to where her apron hung from a peg in the wall; a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and stopped her from movement.

“Matthias,” Cornflower sighed as she smiled at her husband’s antics, “I have to go get breakfast ready and then help prepare for the feast tonight.”

A celebration at Redwall was never complete without a feast: roasted nuts stored from the harvest, vegetables cooked, stewed, and grilled, more than a dozen different types of pie, cauldrons full of soups, no doubt prepared with some of the otters’ famous hotroot. Nobeast at a Redwall feast ever went away hungry.

Matthias continued to restrain his wife as he mumbled, still half asleep. “Don’ go. Stay’n bed. Keep me warm.”

In response, Cornflower turned around and gently placed a paw under Matthias’ chin, tickling him. The Warrior giggled in a most undignified manner and his arms fell away as he shook with laughter.

“Stoppit…stoppit,” he gasped between giggles, clearly enjoying the kind torment.

“Are you going to let me go?”

“Yes!” Matthias answered, still shaking and laughing.

“Good.”

Matthias watched his wife walk across the room and grab her apron from its place. After he saw her struggle trying to tie it, he quietly rose from the bed and approached Cornflower from behind, gently taking the cords and tying them securely. A scarf and a thick shawl were shortly thereafter added to her attire.

“Stay warm out there, Cinnamon Bun,” Matthias placed a kiss on her cheek. Cornflower blushed and giggled as her husband’s whiskers tickled her.

Matthias watched Cornflower march through the undisturbed snow toward the Abbey proper. When she reached the Great Hall, Matthias closed the curtain and dropped to the ground so he could reach under the bed. After pulling out a small chest, he opened it and removed a wooden tablet.

Embedded in the piece of polished wood were colored stones, collected by the warrior mouse during his excursions into Mossflower Woods. White pebbles collected from the River Moss formed the background, while shining blue rocks were arranged in the middle in the shape of a cornflower.

“O Cornflower,” he sighed as he looked at the gift he had made, “I do hope you’ll like it.”

A short dash across the Abbey grounds later in the morning brought Matthias into the Great Hall, where there was a continuous buzz of activity as creatures of every ages moved around, seeing to their daily chores and other tasks in preparation for the feast. Matthias himself was later set to help move all of the tables to their proper positions, but for now, he needed breakfast.

Matthias helped himself to a bowl of nuts that was set on the table he was seated at a slowly drag from a beaker of warm greensap milk. A small flurry of activity in the corner of his eye distracted the mouse from his breakfast. Where a moment ago had been no one was now a young squirrel, sitting patiently and watching Matthias.

“Hello there, Sam,” Matthias greeted one of the newer additions to the Abbey.

Sam chittered a little and tilted his head to the side. The young squirrel had grown quite a bit over the past year. He had grown almost a foot and had gained weight. Every day he was climbing higher and higher, no doubt giving his parents more than their share of fright. Still, Sam had yet to talk. The healers in the infirmary had examined him and could find nothing wrong, and Sam clearly understood what was said to him, so the only thing that could be done was to wait for Sam to decide when he wanted to talk.

“Where are your mum and dad at, little guy?”

Sam looked up and pointed at the ceiling. Matthias followed his gaze and say the bushy tails of Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel darting amongst the rafters, accompanied by several sparrows.

“Ah, decorating. I bet you’ll be up there with them one day, eh?”

Sam nodded proudly.

“You excited for the feast tonight? It’ll be your first, won’t it?”

The silent squirrel nodded again and pointed at the bowl of nuts.

“You want a nut? Sure.” Matthias picked up of the little delicacies, cracked it open and tossed it to Sam, who skillfully caught it and gobbled it up quickly before dashing away.

The team responsible for moving the tables was composed of Matthias, Constance, and about a dozen of Winifred’s otters. Basil was present, and acted as more of a drill sergeant than a guide. He was accompanied by Sam, who stood on top of the tables, mimicking Basil’s movements behind his back, much to the amusement of the assembled movers.

On the average day, the tables were left scattered around the hall, but for the Solstice feast, they needed to be arranged in a rectangle following the walls of the Great Hall. Moving the tables into the proper formation took several hours, and by the time he was finished heaving and hauling, Matthias felt sore in his arms and shoulders. With nothing to do until the feast, he settled down against the warm storm near one of the many fireplaces and took a nap.

When Matthias awoke, he saw Cornflower and the other kitchen attendants setting the tables for the feast. Some of the ladies were truly impressive: Saffron and Jenny were carrying stacks of plates taller than they were. Matthias helped by carrying several rundlets of elderberry wine, setting them at the ends of the tables. As he work, he saw Constance moving around the hall, setting the candles and braziers alight, filing the voluminous hall with a warm light.

Not much later, the guests from Mossflower began to arrive and the rest of the Abbey slowly wandered down to the Great Hall, and soon every place was filled.

Matthias was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t any fish to be served. Sometimes the otters managed to break the ice on the pond and haul up a few trout or salmon, but the ponds frozen armor proved too difficult to penetrate.

At the beginning of the feast, Abbot Mordalfus stood and said the traditional grace for the Solstice feast.

“Fur and whisker, tooth and claw, all who enter by our door. Nuts and Herbs, leaves and fruits, berries, tubers, plants and roots, we give thanks this Winter night and welcome back the Spring-time light.”

Followed by a collective ‘amen,’ everybeast dug into the mountains of good with great gusto. Matthias soon lost track of all the different dishes he tried. As the evening wore on, his head began to spin with the amount of elderberry wine he had consumed, and the effects of mild inebriation started to appear. When intoxicated, Matthias became rather giddy, laughing at everything and behaving with a silliness that belonged to much younger creatures.

At the end of the feast, Matthias sat in the corner with a few other enthusiastic consumers of wine, laughing at nothing, but most of Matthias’ attention was directed toward Cornflower, who scurried around the Great Hall, taking dishes down to the kitchens where they would be washed the next morning.

Longing for bed, Matthias stood up on wobbly legs and stumbled over to his wife.

“C’mon Cinnamon Bun, let’s go home.”

Cornflower blushed at having her private nickname spoken so publically. “Just a little longer Matthias, I’ve still got dishes to take away.”

“Saffron  an’ Jenny can handle it,” Matthias insisted, “let’s get home.” Without waiting for an answer, Matthias scooped Cornflower up and hoisted her over his shoulder, carrying her home in a manner most undignified.

“Matthias!” Cornflower flustered, but knew it was next to useless to struggle against her husband. “Matthias, I can walk just fine.”

But Matthias continued his journey out of the Great Hall as his friends hooted and hollered from the corner, laughing at the couple.

Outside, Matthias was pleased to find the moles had finished clearing the snow from the path to the gatehouse, making his homeward journey that much easier. Cornflower, meanwhile, had ceased her resistance, resigning herself to being carried home like a sack of potatoes.

Once the gatehouse door was shut and locked, Matthias gently placed Cornflower on the bed. Cornflower sighed as she stood up and changed into her pajamas.

“You are such a goof, sometimes.”

“And you love it.”

Cornflower did not deny it and focused her attention on adjusting her nightgown.

After the couple had climbed into bed, Matthias reached down and pulled out the small chest. “I’ve got something for you.” He removed the mosaic cornflower and handed it to his wife. “I know it’s not very good, but I made it just for you. You’ll always be the prettiest cornflower anyway.”

“O Matthias,” Cornflower pulled her husband into a hug, “I love it.” She rose and placed the gift on the fireplace mantle before returning to bed. “I have something for you to.” She opened her nightstand and pulled out a piece of fabric, handing it to Matthias. He looked at it and immediately recognized it as a small duplicate of the tapestry, at least the portion that had Martin the Warrior.

“It’s beautiful,” Matthias said. He placed his wife’s present aside and kissed her. Looking at her with a silly grin, he asked, “Want to play Warrior and the Princess?”

“No,” Cornflower said in a quiet voice, blushing, “there’s something else.”

Matthias could see Cornflower looked nervous. “What is it sweetie? Is something wrong?”

“Not wrong, no, it’s just…”

“You can tell me anything, Cornflower. You know that.”

“Well…we’re…I’m going to have a baby.”

Matthias was dumbstruck. “What…you….we” he sputtered, surprised. “We…has baby?”

Cornflower nodded. “I realized about a week ago.”

“That’s great…wonderful!”

“You’re not scared.”

“Yes I am,” Matthias answered proudly, “Scared, confused, worried, overjoyed, excited. I’m everything.”

“I’m not sure that I….” Cornflower’s voice cut out as Matthias kissed her again, and anything else she had to say was halted.

“My,” Cornflower gasped, ears turning red. “What was that about the Warrior and the Princess?”

“Hush dear,” Matthias said, placing a finger over his wife’s mouth, “not in front of the baby.”

Iiiiit’s that time again guys! So this prompt is a bit different and will be a bit of a challenge but I think everyone will enjoy it and have fun with it. Your mission this week guys? It’s this: The events surrounding the naming of the Matthias and Methuselah bells.