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Chapter 1

The wind was howling, driving the rain into the tightest cracks. Torrents of water rushed this way and that, everywhere, as far as the eye could see, nothing but water. It filled quarry and ditch, swelled lakes and bloated streams. It seemed that the whole world had flooded! The wind was warm and wet, all of the summer's beauty was being ripped, torn, squashed, and carried miles away. It must've been hell for the, bedraggled, soaking wet squirrel, clinging to the branches of a willow right in the middle of the storm. He was not having a very good time. The wind whipped the willows branches to and fro nearly sending the animal into the endless depths of dark ice cold liquid every time. The willow was not the tallest or most stable tree he could've picked but it didn't matter now, now all he could do was hang on. The squirrel's tail weighed him down, it was like being tied to a rock. He had been so proud the beginning of that summer when his bushy tail doubled in size, now it was a hindrance to his very survival! The willow tree was on the outside of a small grove of mixed trees. The only thing able to be seen now we're a couple treetops and a few floating branches and the coming darkness didn't help at all either. The squirrel looked up and nearly flew off the branch he was holding onto. He saw a dark figure ,darker than the water, coming toward him. He started panicking as it got nearer and poked it's head out of the water. It was an otter! She climbed up on the branch half in half out of the water. She didn't seem to notice that she was making the squirrel sink deeper into the water. She shook her head to get some of the water out of her eyes, then turned and addressed the squirrel shouting over the storm.
"Hey matey, gorgeous weather were having, aye?!"
The squirrel turned and glared at the otter, though she didn't see it because it was too dark.
"How did ye get out here, in the middle of this?!"
The squirrel still did not answer, he was spent and was trying to keep hanging on, he didn't have enough energy to talk too. Besides, he wasn't too sure how he got out there anyway. The otter looked behind her and quickly started trying to pry the squirrel off the branch. He started panicking.
"Leggo, leggo! Get off me!"
"C'mon, let go of the branch! There's a big tree comin!"
She was not able to get him off the branch in time so she ducked under the water. The squirrel saw the tree and let go of the branch he was hanging onto. He sank deep and quick, thanks to his tail, missing the tree by an inch. He tried to swim but only managed to wiggle around, he started to panic again when he felt strong paws grab and rush out of the water.
"Man, yore no light weight!"
The squirrel gasped, gulping in air. The otter was holding him over her head and still keeping her head above the water. She looked around for somewhere that wasn't flooded.
"We can head over to the tree that nearly crushed us, if we climb onto it we can hold onto it til this clears up a little." The squirrel was exhausted, he merely nodded but she couldn't see him so she was going anyway. She set out, the squirrel wasn't affecting her swimming at all, they got to the log in a remarkably short time. The otter threw the squirrel up onto the log, something squeaked and there followed a lot of shuffling, a clunk and some whispering. She tried to climb aboard but before she got all the way up she had three rapiers poking her. She got up quickly and held up her paws, showing they were empty.
"Aye, aye, hold hard there shrews, were friends!"
Most of the log was hollowed out, it was filled with shrews. They were feisty little things with bright colored headbands and each had a rapier, even the younger ones. They weren't too happy about other animals boarding their log and weren't afraid to show it. One shrew a big tough looking fellow poked the big otter with his rapier yelling and gesturing with his paws.
"What makes ye think we want other beasts comin aboard our boat, eh? Get outta here before I stick ye!" The shrew was bowled over when another shrew came through. He was much bigger than the other shrew, and he took advantage of it.
"Shut yore trap, Ferven, you ain't the boss here, besides she'd eat ye alive!"
The shrew turned and addressed her offering his paw and smiling nervously.
"I'm Logalog Duggan, yore welcome to stay on our log til this clears out, if ye receive any trouble about it just tell me who caused it and I'll throw him over board."
Logalog turned and gestured to a slumped figure in the corner of the boat.
"Oh an sorry about yore friend over there, he ain't dead jus knocked out, haha, he landed on one of our maids an she clubbed him! Tough liddle gel, name's ziggy, she'll fix him up if'n ye ask her."
Before she could introduce herself the shrew chieftain turned and walked away yelling out orders.
"Get some vittles to the new arrivals an get back to yore posts!"
A shrew came to the back of the log where the otter and squirrel had been settled. She brought them food and some cloaks to over up with. She was about the size of Ferven, and looked quite like him. The shrew introduced herself and gave Ziggy some bandages.
"Evenin, here's some grub, just open yore mouth if ye want a drink, I'm Fenna by the way. Here Zig put these on the poor squirrel over there."
She was a very busy shrew, always doing something. The otter ate the food she was given and set the small cloak on top of her head, then watched Fenna and Ziggy bandage the squirrels head and converse back and forth.
"It didn't take much to knock him, I tell ye one small knock and he was out, musta been exhausted.
"Well, this'll fix him right up!"
"When he wakes up don't tell him it was me who hit him, d'ye hear?"
Fenna chuckled and flicked Ziggy.
"Or what?"
"Or I'll knock your block off, that's what!"
"Alright, don't get yourself upset I was only jestin."
Ziggy stuck her nose in the air and turned on her heel, then she remembered there was no where to go. Instead, she sat down, grabbed a cloak and closed her eyes mumbling to herself.
"Huh, I wasn't getting upset. I was upset. That shrew don't know how to treat others."
The otter tried hard not to laugh at Ziggy, knowing it would just cause more trouble for Logalog. When Fenna had put the finishing touches to the bandage she came and sat by the otter.
"So what's your name, eh? Why were you hangin around with a squirrel? And why the heck was he out in the middle of this!?"
The otter sighed, she really didn't know about the squirrel but now she felt responsible for him.
"Well, I was supposed to be taking a lone vacation. I was having loads of fun in the storm til I saw him. He was hangin from a willow branch and your boat was about to crush him so I had to warn him" she sighed and continued "an he wouldn't let go and then I carried him to the log, he got biffed and now's the now. The shrew shook her head.
"You were in the water on purpose?! It's crazy out there!"
The otter shook her head.
"Not for an otter, it's great fun."
The shrew laughed.
"If you say so. So who are you?"
"Me? My name's Dawnbrook. I come from Holt Dunefalls."
"Well stap me whiskers, Holt Dunefalls! I thought it was only a legend. Such a peaceful place! I've only seen a few waterfalls in me life, but I hear the place is filled with them! The safest place on earth for an otter, if you ask me!"
"Ahh, yes makes me miss it but I'll return soon. I know the place like the back o me paw so I wanted to go explore what's around it. Then this storm blew in..........hope their not havin trouble back at the Holt.
Fenna got up and stretched, then shook her fur.
"Well, I gotta get vittles ready for the mornin. See ye at breakfast maybe."
With that she waddled off to the other end of the Logboat.
Dawnbrook snuggled into the cloak it was quite small, it being for a shrew, not an otter. She was soon snoring gently accompanied by many other outrageous snores. The storm dissipated until it was only sprinkling. And the temperature fell as everything that wasn't nocturnal fell asleep.