A Second Chance (Redwall Fanfic)

Acorts! ... or ... (Nuts!)

Timballisto was expecting, with his luck, to see someone who was going to hand him over to the village before, but instead he saw a familiar face. He whispered so that none below could hear him. "Amber squirrel queen?"

"Yes, it's me," Amber said, whispering back. "I've been watching for some time now… my squirrels are elsewhere, so we had better make this look good, had we not?"

Timballisto nodded his head, not sure what plan the older one had. The mouse called up to them. "Good day to you squirrel… would you please bring the young scamp down?"

"Why should I?" Amber asked, lifting T.B. off the branch. "Tell me one good reason why I should help you?"

"Look… tree climber… I know that we mice don't tend to get along with you, but really, that young one needs to come down to the ground before he gets hurt," the mouse said. Timballisto wriggled a bit and grabbed acorns from the tree, something that Amber hadn't expected him to do and began to chunk them at the mice.

"Hey…" Amber said to him, raising an eyebrow. 'I expected you to be able to use more common sense then this…"

"I am not going with them, I am not, I am not!" T.B. commented, anger in his voice.

"Did you always have a temper like this as a Dibbun," she asked, suddenly surprised by his response.

"I learned from Martin… I think!" T.B. stated. He then mumbled under his breath and stopped struggling. "See… Martin got frustrated a lot. I was actually the one who lost my temper with him."

"T.B.!' Amber said, shaking her head. She then glanced down at the mouse. She then spoke so that the beast below could hear. "I don't think my friend here would like to go with you."

"I wonder exactly why a pretty squirrel maid would be calling herself a friend of a mouse," came a sudden voice in her ear, causing Amber to spin and nearly drop Timballisto.

The squirrel queen glared at the one she considered important to call her, of all things a squirrel maid. The male squirrel was right in her face, which made her leap to another branch to get away from him, only to crash into another one, which made her angry. The male squirrel who had spoken in her grinned mischievously.

"My name is Damwin," the squirrel said, making sure those below could hear him. "You're a stranger to these parts. I know for a fact that I can recognize all the female squirrels from Mosstown and around."

"Ohh… let me guess, your one of those charming gentleman who tries to sweep the females off her feet?" Amber snarled at him, glaring as she did so. "Well, I am not one to be charmed by such guffaw! Not with the tragedies I've seen… or do you take me for a moron."

"What's this about me taking you for a moron?" the squirrel asked, lowering his eyebrows. "I never said that."

"Fine… you took me for a damsel in distress," Amber said, setting T.B up in a tree limb where he could easily reach more acorns.

"Well… aren't you?" the squirrel said, only to have her lunge at him to knock him senseless, yelling the name of the abbey as she did so.

"Ohh… I wouldn't have said that if I were you!" T.B. said, chucking acorns at the other squirrel. "See, Amber squirrel queen is a warrior and isn't someone to mess around with! Calling her a damsel in distress… hah! She fought against Greeneyes army as did I! Redwall!

The mouse called up from below. "If this is some tactic of the Abbey to keep it from becoming part of the town, it won't work!"

"Burr aye, aye thinking they actually be Abbey beasts…" muttered a molemum, coming up, having scooped Dinny who was waving a claw at the whole scene and wanting to fight too.

"Who asked you?! Moles have no common sense! The Abbey only has those elders there!"

The molemum just shook her head and muttered something about a young hedgehog also being there, to which a hedgehog snapped at her. "My son would never have gone to that Abbey place ever! I taught him right that they believed in a bunch of superstitious nonsense!"

Soon, those below them were quarreling about the whole situation of what had happened to the young hog. No one really knew, except the moles, which just shook their heads at all the nonsense. Timballisto was about to throw another handful of acorns when he was yanked up from behind by another squirrel.

"T.B.!" Amber said, not happy that her mission wasn't going as successful as it was supposed to. Because she was distracted three more squirrels were able to pull her off the squirrel Damwin, who was nursing a cut lip.

"Sheesh… if I had known you could fight… I wouldn't have said what I did… apologies for not fighting back…" the squirrel commented, a glint of mischief still in his eye. "See… my da would have skinned me alive if I had hit you, for though a warrior you be, you're still a lady."

"Warrior!" one of the squirrels commented, holding onto Amber tighter. "As if a female could be a warrior."

"And this scrap is nothing more then a Dibbun!" the one holding T.B. chortled. This caused Timballisto to suddenly twist around in his tunic and bite full force on the squirrel's paw, causing him to let go. Unfortunately, this was a bad thing, as the mouse found himself falling towards the ground.