LVC: Terrace
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An unusual rock shelf along the mountainside has been transformed into a peaceful, outdoor haven, positioned about six meters up the mountain slope. The view is impressive, as the terrace overlooks the forested valley. One can see the stream sparkling across the colony's fields, and glimpses through the trees to the southeast reveal the colony's stone pavilion and popular soccer field. The terrace itself is lovingly made as a place for rest and relaxation: benches and wicker lounge-chairs are set in pairs or small groups near low tables, and tall oil lamps are lit when needed. Vines have been carefully trained over the wooden framework that covers the terrace, providing for a soothing green canopy in the warmer months -- but for now, the lack of green makes for a piercingly clear view of the sky overhead.

A simple, paneled wooden door leads [Into] the fourth level corridor.
Another doorway along the backside of the terrace leads toward the [Green]house.
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Much like the evening before, the Terrace seems to be a hot spot lately. Nice to see that it's getting some appreciation, and truly, it's the closest one can get to being outside without leaving the colony grounds, which in itself probably explains its popularity. Braving what could end up being a crowd, Jenny's back out here once again with Tim assumably close by, again just enjoying the peace and quiet one can find here. Some others seem to have the same idea.. Fiona for one is apparently enjoying the view, standing out upon its balcony and looking out to the ground and the trees beyond with the wind in her hair and a smile on her face.. This would also be one of Vaspian's few trips to this spot, and it doesn't take him long to see its appeal... "Certainly a pleasant view from up here," He mutters, though not really to anyone in particular.. A little further back but approaching is Eugene, who pauses upon seeing Mrs. Brisby being ushered on by an enthusiastic Cynthia, the two of them all smiles themselves.. The guardmouse is still a bit restless, but more energetic for certain reasons...

Angel follows along with Eugene, visibly nervous about the crowd but not flinching away as she might have in the past... with the help of several others, though especially Eugene, she's managed to open up a little and be less afraid of things... and she's also been talking more.

Violet is beginning to regret putting her little hideaway atop the terrace... sure, the view is nice, but the place is always so busy. She sighs at all the bustle below, and slides down a support post to the terrace proper.

Ranger grumbles in his mind. He huffs and puffs, and ever slowly climbs the rock cliff. His metal gauntlets dig deep into the rock side, and he lifts himself up inch by inch with only his forearms. "This.. *erf* kid.. *erk* had better be worth it" he thinks to himself. Higher and higher he goes, merging into the shadows ever so stelthily.

Timothy is standing next to Jenny along the balcony, an arm draped over her shoulder as he tries to impress her with his knowledge of celestial bodies, pointing out some of the stars that begin to peek out now that the sun has set... unfortunately, the crash course he took by reading a book on it hasn't quite had enough of a chance to sink in, so he seems to have a hard time remembering the names. "Well... I think that one's Ursa Major... I think... Or Venus. Heh."

Xavier, having arrived at the terrace early, as he often does after a long shift on duty, sits at the far end, furthest away from the door, and sprawled out on one of the lounge chairs. His ears remain flattened slightly, bit irritated that his otherwise usually 'quiet' place to relax at the days end has gotten considerably less quiet. However, he knows he has no distinct right to the Terrace, so he tries to pay it little mind. Trying to enjoy the 'company' around him as it were. Namely watching Timothy and Jenny, along with a few others he knows.

Terri is following what looks to be an interesting group. though she she does not know most of them she figures she can just ask them to help her find her way if the time grows too late. she is lost onto where she is but she wont let a small thing lick that ruin her great day of exploring the colony

For the moment Vaspian has his eyes on Jenny and Tim as well, a faint smile lingering while Jenny just grins, eyeing the stars as they form in the sky. "I see... Do you see the Big Dipper? Or what about Orion?" She's teasing, actually, though pretty content to have an arm around her, leaning slightly against Tim before looking to see Violet coming down towards where they're at, offering a wave as soon as she's looking their way.. Fiona takes her eyes off of things to watch the two as well.. The moment she sees Tim's arm around her she giggles. Seems the mouse is putting the moves on her. ;) Eugene keeps a paw in Angel's, just walking her carefully along so they don't bump into anybody.. He first sees Xavier sprawled out, smiling at the fellow guardsman. "You're looking relaxed there, Xav. Having fun doing nothing? ;)"

Violet blinks at the crowd, considering a hasty retreat. Jenny's wave gives her cause to stay, though, and she smirks a little at the sight of Tim's romantic side. Vi nods back to Jenny, and gives a covert thumbs up behind Timothy's back as she slips through the crowd to try and get alongside the railing. She inhales deeply once she's got a little breathing room.

A cool chill seems to linger in the air, the stentch of rotting flesh.. a familiar smell for some.. rises slowly. *chkch* *chkch* the sound of metal and rock meeting echoes around. Louder and louder it gets, so loud now that it seems to shake the air about it. Suddenly a Huge form Rises and rears back its head! A black cape bellows out, revealing bones and metal and sharp pointy objects of death! It comes back, boasting ears like horns, and glowing yellow eyes. The cape slinks back to its master, wrapping around him. The creature, the nightmare, stands ever so tall.. its huge! slowly Ranger steps onto the terrace floor, for the first time. A forest of ragged sharp teeth grin back at the public and ranger extends one of his metal clad claws. "Tiiiiiiiiim" he Growls, "your soal is miiiiine". And as the cold words are spoken, out forth from its sheeth, does come an imense Sword! covered in dried blood. The beast, easily twice the size of justin, stands like a pillar of darkness, and lets the blade rest at its side.. ever grinning, and its eyes ever glowing.

Timothy hehs rubbing the back of his neck with his free paw. "Well, I know /that/'s the Big Dipper..."--he points; surprisingly, he gets that one right, but then /everyone/ knows that one--"Orion. Lesse... is he the one with the belt or the bow?" As for the others, he seems pretty much oblivious... though he might be wishing he'd noticed Cynthia and his mother, if he knew they had come to the Terrace. Noticing that Jenny has turned slightly, he offers a friendly smile and a nod to Violet as well. Or he would have, if she hadn't already slipped throught he crowd. He turns back to Jenny with a shrug... then his nose wrinkles a bit as a rancid smell catches in the wind. A cold knot forms in his stomach as he hears the voice rasp, turning and placing himself in front of Jenny. One look at his eyes, however betrays the fright in him. "No... I'm dreaming. Gotta wake up," he mumbles. He unsheathes his knife, though he knows how little good it will likely do him.

Jerald heads for the terrance just looking for a way to blow of steam. he carries only a single sword. and is wishing he brought a few more weapons to comfort him.

Xavier chuckles to Eugene, arching his back and stretching a bit, toes splaying as he does so. Almost as if flaunting his state of relaxation in front of Eugene. "Hey, I work hard in order to be able to do so little. Cut me a bit of slack, will ya?" he shoots to the guardmouse. His ears perk suddenly, and his brow furrows at the echoing sounds of metal on rock. Xavier's fur bristles, and he sits up, bolting to his feet as Ranger appears, immediately kicking the lounge chair aside, and drawing his knives from beneath his cloak, the only significant weapon he carries with him within the colony walls. "Timtohy, Run!" he shouts. upon hearing the low growled words of Ranger.

Terri sees ranger and sour memories of her past come to her but she does not know this rat and wants first to try and not judge but does not aproach him as there is great disturbance in the group opone his arrival and his words strick her to be on her guard

So many reactions, all stemming from the arrival of one being... Jenny is, and rightfully so, nearly frightened out of her wits, and the moment she realizes its him, she's tugging at Tim to try and pull him back and away, all the while with wide eyes and sunken ears!! - Vaspian's blinks, ears perking high in alert. Where did this beast of a rat come from!? Is this the one they've talked about??? - Fiona's look is equally dramatic, her soft face stricken with shock from the suddenness of it, lips parted. She's never seen him until now, but she knows from what she's heard and been told.. Seeing that Timothy is his target and seeing his sword being drawn out, she acts with suddenness and with energy in how she quickly goes to put herself in front of Ranger's path as an obstacle! "No!!! Tim, Jenny, get away!!" It's not long before Vaspian is also active, though all he can think to do is rush over towards Jenny and Timothy to try and reach out to grab them and draw them back inside, cursing himself inwardly for not being more alert Cynthia and Mrs. Brisby get caught up in the sudden arrival as well, and for a moment Elizabeth can only stare in shock at the horror that's come to the colony.... That's come for her boy!? "... Timmy! Run!!!!" - Eugene's good mood is spoiled by the audacious arrival of Ranger!!! How in the HELL did he get this close to the colony??? How DARE he come here!? With the situation as it is, Eugene's forced to try and keep Angel back, looking quickly towards her! "Go back inside, now!" He then calls for the others. "Everyone, get back inside from the Terrace! Go get help!!!"

Violet's nose wrinkles. "Did... somebody leave some cabbage and fish stew out here to go fuzzy?" She eartwitches as the clank of metal on rock reaches her, peering over the railing just as Ranger sweeps onto the terrace. She takes an involuntary step backwards, sudden enough to almost be a jump. Then she takes a very voluntary one, putting that much more distance between her and the monster, holding her nose. O.o "Yee... you... really... reek. Holy chrome... Couldn't you have at least /bathed/ before clattering up a mountain to threaten dire revenge?"

Kieran is on his way to the terrace after a long stint in the gym. His fur is still sweat-soaked in places, and he moves a bit slowly from exhaustion. Still, he's got that content feeling that only comes from completely exhausting oneself in a workout. He's hoping to enjoy the twilight on the terrace before heading on down to dinner and then back to his quarters. The fur on the back of his neck suddenly stands on end, however, before he reaches the door to the terrace, and he's not sure why. The hint of a smell--no, a stench--brushes his nostrils, and a lump of ice crystallizes in his gut. Unarmed, out of shape, and exhausted, the scout knows he's likely asking to get injured or even killed, but Ranger is here and the rat can't be allowed to roam the colony unchallenged. Plus, there might be civilians who need shepherding out of what will likely become a battle zone. He breaks into a sprint and practically comes flying out of the corridor, exhaustion forgotten, and nearly bowls over a small pack of mice in the process.

Ranger smiles with glee at the comotion about him, "my my" he hisses, "such a lovely welcoming.." But he perks at everyone pulling timothy away. "oh no you dont!" he barks, and *SWOOSH* his left hand twitches, sending a dagger spiraling through the air! It digs deep into the door of the terrace. *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* Ranger just marches foward, giving violet a nasty look, but he has no time for banter. To the small blond female rat, he snears, not slowing at all. "Out of my way" he says blandly, swiping a slow but large and muscular arm to knock her aside! He imediately recognizes, xavier, eugene, and yes even kieran. Ranger twirls his sword above his head, closing on the mice. "I knew you would be unprepared, but this.. this is pathetic!" he challenges. "You can't run tim.. and your friends can't save you.." his words pierce the air, battling both physically and psycologically against his many foes.

Timothy feels Jenny's tugging and nods, trying to keep his wits about him, despite his obvious fear. Slowly, at first, though with gaining speed, he backs away, then turns to run towards the doors, tugging Jenny after him. Ranger wouldn't be above using her as bait as well, he figures. He skids to a stop suddenly when he sees the knife suddenly appear in the door ahead of him. He bites his lip, looking around frantically. "Jenny, run. It's me he wants." With that, he all but shoves her towards the door, then without waiting, he climbs up one of the supports of the trellis overhead, trying to dissapear into the foliage, grasping his knife in his teeth.

Terri sees the syco rats attack and decides to attack. she rushes up to him with a hammer in hand hoping to at least distract him for a moment giving the others time to do something at least

Jerald enters the room after the dagger can be seen coming through the door to find out what is happening he then sees ranger charging and quickly runs to intercept. he draws his one weapon knowing he has to stop ranger noo matter what his ploy is

Xavier shrugs his shoulders, letting his cloak fall around his shoulders, and obscuring his form, hoping to give him an edge of surprise if he needs it. As ranger stalks forward toward the fleeing Timothy. "Despite what you think, this is -not- a welcomewagon!" he growls out, as he lets his feet slide out from beneath him, as he does a slide, aiming to intercept Ranger, and scissor kick the much larger rat's legs, before he has a chance to respond. One thing Xavier is, is agile, and is able to close the gap in the blink of an eye. Beneath his cloak, His knives remain readied, sure that large sword of Rangers will want to seek him out, and soon. Especially should his attempt to knock Ranger off balance fail. Seeing Timothy flee, is the last thing he thinks about before he brings the fight to Ranger, seeing the mouse moving as far away from ranger as possible, and for the moment, hoping another member of the guard, or colony can better secure Timothy's escape.

Boma has meanwhile made his way over the top of the colony, having made pretty good time, considering he tailed Ranger to the colony. Initially, to merely see what the other rat was up to so close to the colony. His ears perk, as he hears rustling of leaves in front of him, coming just from below, where the terrace is. Suddenly, as Timothy makes his way up to the top of the Trellis, he finds himself suddenly nose-to-nose with the familiar fiery red eyes, that gleam and glint crimson in a very familiar way. "MMmmmmm Now this, is a surprise." he growls to the mouse, his bone mail rattling slightly as he shifts, claws gripping the cold rocks and earth-covered stone. Save for the gleam of his eyes, others may not entirely notice the black rat quite yet, having been intending to remain hidden and watch, having not been expecting to meet Timothy as he did.

Jenny blinks... "What??... NO! I'm not gonna just leave you alone so he can -" But she's suddenly shoved out the door! "Timmy!!!!" While she's busy trying to get back in, Tim's suddenly climbing... - Fiona might have the resolve, but she simply doesn't have the kind of strength that Ranger obviously has. Though she seems to have quick enough reflexes to bring her arms up for protection, she's smacked with quite the grunt coming from her, hitting the ground in a painful looking manner and sliding lightly.. Still, she only winces a bit, trying to push up a little, looking back and seeing Timothy starting to climb. - Vaspian looks that way as well, then back towards the one stalking them, growling, while Mrs. Brisby is also suddenly putting herself in Ranger's path despite Cynthia's attempts to stop her, standing boldly and shouting despite her fear at the Ranger! "Leave my son alone, you monster!" - Eugene only has his sword at the moment, but it'll do. Heading to where Tim went climbing, he quickly shouts toward his mother. "Get OUT of here, NOW!!!" He suspects Ranger might try to cut Tim off, so his priorities seem to be to follow the younger mouse...

Violet backs up even more as Ranger sweeps past her. What's she going to do, bite his ankles? Actually, the thought crosses her mind, but given how he smells, she's afraid he'd taste worse. "That's what I like about sewer rats. The witty banter," she mutters. Her best hope is to try and distract him for a second or two, so as she darts for the door she tries plunging her knife into his trademark evil cloak, with intent to pin it to the floorboards of the terrace. She certainly doesn't wait around to see if it works, though...

Kieran ducks as a throwing dagger goes sailing over his head and sinks with a chunk! into the door. He snarls a bit, remembering just how fond Ranger is of his damn daggers. Briefly, he considers attempting to yank the dagger free and make use of it, but he knows how strong Ranger is and that his effort will be futile. Doing his best to herd the mice into the relative safety of the corridor, he watches the battle and Timothy's attempt to escape up the trellis. This gives him an idea. He rushes over to the guardmouse. "Sir, I can help keep Ranger occupied down here--I can't climb that trellis as fast as you. You should escort Timothy!"

Ranger snarls. Xavier's coming for him quickly, he needs to act fast. Noticing mulitple opponents closing in on his position, ranger decides staying put is a bad idea. With a mighty grunt he Leaps high, his cloak tearing on the dagger, and coming off from his torso! His huge bulky muscular form hits hard near the terrace door. He turns and gives a nasty glance at Kieran, "dont try it" he snears getting his energy back. Timothies going high, it'll make grabbing him a chore. Judging the situation though, he thinks it might work in his favour. With another bound ranger digs his claws into the terrace side, and begins the persuit of his prey, pausing a bit as he notices another dark form ahead of him. "Boma" he snarls, "I dont have time for this"

Timothy nearly looses his grip when he spots Boma's red eyes not more than a pace or so away from him, his own ears folding back... however, he comes to his senses quickly, scrabbling the rest of the way onto the trellis; he'd rather deal with Boma than Ranger, anyway... Not sparing him more than a glance, he runs sideways away from both of them along one of the long and slightly narrow beams holding the latticework up, just in time to be out of Ranger's immediate reach as he follows suit. /Must've teamed up this time.../ he thinks angrily.

Xavier's eyes widen, as Ranger seems to 'disappear' from in front of him for a moment. He shifts onto his back, as he slides to a halt, just bordering where Ranger had been standing. Beneath his cloak, Xavier lays his fighting knives on the floor, and crosses his arms, drawing out two perfectly balanced coated black throwing darts out of the underside of his bracer, and throws them upward at the airborne Ranger. All movements happening in the blink of an eye, his cloak unfurling upward as he throws the darts. His paws instantly drop back down to his knives, as he rolls to the side, preparing to lunge again when Ranger lands.

Jerald sees ranger and boma but not ever have seeing boma decides not to attack em yet only to attack ranger. he jumps up to bring his sword down on rangers head and if that dont work to draw his attention he thinks he will climb the damn terrace to chop this freaking guys head off and or any other limbs needed.

Boma's eyes glint as he glances upward to the Leaping Ranger, his teeth showing and gleaming slightly in the faint moonlight as his gaze meets Rangers, eyes glaring brightly for a scant moment. He knows that Ranger knows he's there, and decides there's no point holding back any further, it's time for a little fun. He stands upright, as Timothy begins to run along the edge of the Terrace's framework. "Ohhh no time to play?" he growls as he sprints toward Timothy, his footpaws scrabbling as he slides now and again. For the moment, he's not sure why Ranger is here, but he fully intends to make sure his 'brave little mouse' is not hurt in the process.

Terri runs along side timmy even though she has no clue to who he is she is just full of rage and anger saying to ranger "you coward you pick on the helpless why would you do such a thing" and with that she tosses her hammer at his head

Jenny, at this point, is stuck, only able to watch as the situation gets out of her reach and her point of view, the same for Elizabeth, Cynthia, and Vaspian, the lot of them unable to stop him from making his way up.. Fiona pushes back to her feet, staring up to where the rat is/has climbed/climbing... Eugene didn't need to be told twice, as he appears to already be well on his way to the top, only to realize that Ranger's just below.. Getting up top, he sees the situation for himself... Can things possibly get worse?... With a growl, he pulls out one of the few daggers he has strapped to his belt as a side measure. "And we don't have time for you, so just go away or die!!" He HURLS the dagger down toward Ranger, but doesn't wait to see if it hits... He's off and racing to catch up with Tim, who now has Boma chasing him as well. He looks tense, and his weapon's drawn, but in this moment, he simply doesn't know whether to see Boma as another foe, or a potential ally... For now, he just chases after, shouting on ahead. "Don't stop, Tim, just keep moving!!" He finally looks back, expecting Ranger to be in hot pursuit at any moment..

~Damn it all to hell!~ thinks Kieran, face contorted into a vicious snarl as Ranger goes sailing past him and starts clambering up the trellis. He wants to get up there and aid Eugene, but he knows there's little enough chance of that: one and a half paws are hardly conducive to fast climbing. Instead, he turns his attention to safeguarding the civilians still on the terrace. "Inside! NOW!" he barks at the assembled mice, trying to get them all to a semi-defensible position. Given Kieran's lack of weapons, he'd likely only get in the way of Eugene, Xavier, and Jerald anyway.

Ranger growls as timothy further gets away from him. *THUP* *THUP* *THUP* Ranger becomes a virtual pin cousion! His armor takes most of the hits, but some make it through. He glares up at his Prey, and the aiding rodents. His ears perk and he catches Jerrald hurtling towards him. Reacting quickly Ranger grabs an orb from his belt, and crushes it in his palm! the reaction is a huge cloud of fog that quickly envelopes him, obscuring him from view. The fog trails out, and begins consuming the surrounding landscape. The scrapping of metal against metal can be heard. Ranger must be on the support beam Timothy used to escape. It's getting louder, but the fog keeps ranger hidden from view. Louder, and louder, quickly, like finger nails against a coufin trying to get out. Scrapity scrape.. a golden glow begins in the fog, as his eyes pierce its thickness!

Timothy doesn't need to be told twice to keep going; he hears someone rather large behind him and at this point he doesn't really care which of the two it is... but he can already see that he'll run out of trellis soon...

Jerald is suddenly surrounded by smoke pushes with his feet away from the wall thinking it is some type of gas meant to affect his eyes he then runs towards timmy trying to stay between ranger and tim. while heading he remembers he seen kieran and yells to him "kieran you armed if not head to my place i keep a few personal weapons there pick em up for me would just head down to the second level then go south"

Xavier springs to his feet, as he rolls back onto his front, and immediately begins to scale the trellis after returning his knives to their sheathes. Hoping it will support his weight. He's nimble and agile while climbing, able to scale the trellis easily after years of climbing trees during scouting tours. Of course, he's well behind when it comes to scaling the trellis. Especially considering Boma and Ranger are already up there. He pushes through the lingering artificial fog, letting out the occasional cough as the fog tickles his throat, as he makes his way upward.

Boma's feet slip on some loose rock and soil, as he sprints across the ground that makes up the colony's 'roof' On more than one occasion slipping enough to bring him down to one or both knees, as he slides before being able to regain his gait, doing a pretty good job at not losing his gait between brief moments when his footing fails. Of course, this gives enough time to Ranger to closet he gap behind Timothy, as the mouse begins to run out of road. "That mouse, is mine!" he howls, almost screams at the top of his lungs. Sounding extremely upset that Ranger, seems to have it in for the mouse that Boma has grown attached to, and perhaps, even lays some claim over, in a disturbing sense. He doesn't slow, at least not willingly, his cloak billowing out behind him, his sword and eyes gleaming in the moonlight, as he storms toward Ranger, and ultimately Timothy.

Fiona's finally back up again, but is a bit behind now as far as getting to where she can help.. She stands along the balcony again, trying to follow the others up above as they run. "God. What do they want!? Why're they after him!? Why can't you leave us alone!!??" - Eugene runs hard along the metal beams, but sure enough, he sees the smoke billowing, stopping and spinning around towards its source... They're running out of room to run... Feeling the situation grow worse by the minute, he finally SNARLS his frustration! "God-DAMN YOU!!!" As he sees the glow of his eyes, the mouse suddenly charges in towards the smoke, letting out a cry as he just LEAPS towards them, glaring intensly at those eyes as he readies his sword to bring upon the Ranger, come what may, his own body disappearing into the smoke!

The glow of ranger's eyes gets brighter. Smoke billows around him and he charges foward like a Locomotive, never stoping! He tucks his arms around his armored body, his skull head tucking in a bit, bracing for impact. The HUGE black form seems to come forth with BLISTERING speed! even in rangers older age, and even with all that equipment on, he still boasts intense velocity, his main trait! Eugene is first in his way, Ranger just PLOWS at him, not moving his limbs, just moving foward, NOTHING is getting in his way, not now.. its too important! Range sees tim and slides down! one arm comes out to scoop him up the other lauches out a ball of tangled string. The ball opens up into a net, aimed at Boma. Odd that ranger didnt use a dagger. He looks for a quick escape, seeing if tim is indeed in his grasp, before pulling out a grapple hook, twirling it above his head...

Timothy finally runs out of trellis, his claws digging in to stop himself from going over the edge... but he underestimates and slides over the edge anyway, dangling from the trellis by his forepaws... He looks down and gulps--he seems to have managed to run off one of the few places where the trellis extends to the balcony and the drop below! He grips the trellis with all of his strength, trying to swing himself side to side to try and climb back onto it... when he suddenly finds himself in someone's grasp! It takes a moment for him to register, but the hugeness of the rat and the foul stench confirms it; he struggles, trying to get out of Rangers grip.

Jerald seeing the mouse being over taking and captured he is quick to persue and is not going to be easily shaken this time.

By the time Xavier makes it to the top of the trellis, it's too late, Timothy is already snug in Ranger's grasp. "Let him go, Ranger!" he growls. as he slides to a stop rather precariously on the beam, nearly toppling from it in the process. He keeps his distance, not knowing what Ranger might do to Tim if provoked enough. Not knowing Rangers motive, or interest in the mouse.

Boma lets out another furious growl, as Ranger takes up the mouse, sprinting down a more stable incline toward where Ranger stands holding timothy. His eyes widen, as the ball is tossed toward him, and suddenly springs into a net, he makes an attempt to leap the netting, slashing downward with the flat of his sword, pushing the netting downward, and trying to keep from tangling within it. The move works well, his momentum helping considerably. His original intent was to plough into Ranger, taking the larger rat, and all with him to the terrace floor, but his stunt of aerobatics has rather thrown him off, instead, leaving him to bowl into Xavier, as he's not given time to course-correct by the time his feet touch down again, especially not on the unsteady footing. All the while, a furious bellering echos out. "I'll find you Ranger! That boy is mi..." -CRAHS- as both Xavier and Boma hit the terrace floor sending lounge chairs and the like flying everywhere.

Eugene's blade comes down, but in the smoke, his aim is off... He feels it strike only the Ranger's armor, neither hearing or feeling himself hit flesh... Then a sudden rush as something big and fast smashes into him... All that's heard is a loud groan as Eugene is slammed against.. In the smoke, it's hard to see where he's falling, but worse, it's hard to say if he even landed on the beams with all the clattering and padding of feet on it! What can be seen, and what Xavier and Tim might notice as he ends up in Ranger's grasp is Eugene's sword coming out of the smoke and starting to tumble, clanging against the mountain's rocky surface as it spins and dives for the ground far below! Did he fall too!? - Fiona only has time to get out of the way as Xavier and Boma come crashing back down into the Terrace... She tries to keep her sights on Ranger and Tim, but seeing the small sword fall has her attention, and for a moment, she fears the worst. "Oh gods, no!" Elizabeth, by hook or crook has forced her way back into the Terrace, with Vaspian trying to get her to come back, she steers clear of Xavier and Boma and quickly races for the balcony, spotting her son and his captor above!

Kieran grabs for Mrs. Brisby as she leaves the relative safety of the corridor and misses. His attention is suddenly snared by the mouse-sized blade that comes clattering and clanging down the side of the mountain. The scout searches frantically for the sword's wielder and is both relieved and frightened when he doesn't see Eugene anywhere. The fog up at the top of the trellis is thinning, albeit slowly. Kieran makes a break for the trellis, hoping to get up there in time to help *somebody*--with Ranger up there now, he feels almost safe in leaving the civilians behind. "Stay. HERE," he shouts as he passes Mrs. Brisby and leaps onto the trellis. He doesn't get as much height as Ranger, obviously, but it's still a little less that he has to try and climb up one-pawed.

Ranger grins, prey in hand. He twirls and twirls the rope, and gazes back at the group. "You're mine now" his hisses to timothy. He tosses the rope out into the trees, ready to leave, but not before looking back at the group and giving a nasty salute. "Thanks for the kid! I'll take REEAAAAL good care of him.. HAHAHAHAHA!" the cackling echoes throughout the woods, as ranger swings down, and dissapears into the shadows. His grip tight on tim, the metal claws bordering on breaking skin.

Timothy's eyes widen as he spots Eugene's sword clatter down the side of the mountain. "Eugene!" he shouts, fearing the worst. He also hears his mother, spotting her running towards them. "No Mom! Don't!" He continues to struggle until he feels Ranger's grip tightening, squeaking from the painful pinpricks threatening to break his skin.

Jenny's also forced her way back in, but only in time to see Ranger as he makes off with.. "Timmy!!" She cups her muzzle in both paws! The same can be said for Cynthia, who comes dangerously close to drawing off the Terrace when she reaches out fruitlessly for her brother! "Come bacK!!!" Mrs. Brisby backs away, slowly...For a moment, her eyes seem glazed, panting.. What'd she just witness?... Cynthia's head turns towards their mother, ears folded back and tears in her eyes, trying to stop from sobbing.. Elizabeth looks to her... Then back out, before suddenly turning around... She suddenly just starts to make a run for the door, racing out of the Terrace, leaving Cynthia upset, but.. confused.. "Mommy...?