Marcavian enters the crowded cafeteria with his usual stride, a few papers in one paw, a tray already balanced upon the other. Today's menu seems to be an assortment of fresh fruit, arranged in slices and, in a display of experimentation, in a few kinds of soups. The councilrat has dispensed with his robes today, having donned a purple vest with white undershirt. He ladles some interesting-looking soup into his bowl, picks up a few slices of apple, and moves on, shifting the papers under his arm. He makes his way to a table at the side of the room, gratefully plopping down in a chair and looking at the door, as if waiting for someone.

Julius enterd the caffeteria walking casualy along. He leaned havily on his cane, a habbit he had to take up since his injury, from a stagg. He wore his usual black tunic, and undeshirt but decded not to ware his cape due to the heat. He gathered himself a tray of fruit, and scanned the caffeteria for a familiar face. He spotted Marcavian, and hobbled over. Sitting down he said, " Ah Marcavian my good chap. How are you?" He noticed the papers and chuckled "It seems the office follows you everyware.Hmm?"

Xavier sits at one of the tables off to the side, his usual spot. Since taking a desk job in the guard house, he's taken up the habit of taking lunch a half hour or so early, to beat the rush, his choice in table keeps him out of the hustle and bustle of those arriving on the hour, allowing him to casually observe as he stabs at the stray food that still remains on his tray. His head raising occasionally as a new person arrives, watching their mannerisms curiously for a source of entertainment.

Cedric enters the dining hall, humming a tune to himself as he grabs a tray and picks out a selection of fruits and nuts for his lunch. He happily picks a table (that happens to be near Julius) and sits down. He sees Julius and another rat he's never seen before there, but he shrugs them off for the time being and starts nibbling on a berry. No point in interrupting their work/meal.

"Oh come on! Quit limping so much already! Back in my day, I swear they made mice stronger than this! Well... then again, they don't make rats like they used to either..." As his voice started to grow louder as he approahced the cafeteria, Zen huffed and puffed a bit as he seemed to be helping another mouse beside him. By the way Zen was walking though, it was obvious he himself was having troubles keeping on two feet! "Almost there Tim.. I.. told you I knew where to get food! You... wanted food, right? Or was it a nurse you wanted... Oh well, food makes people feel bette... yikes!!!" Finding that he had lost his ballence, he wobbles back and forth as... he bumps into table to table, ten eventualy bumps into the table Xavier's sitting at before getting his grounds again!

Timothy squeaks a little and tries to keep up, though his feet don't seem to cooperate very much. Judging by his grin, he doesn't seem to mind too much, though he does seem a little self-conscious having the other mouse doting over him. He chuckles a bit. "No, food is fine," he replies, leaning a bit more heavily against him from the exertion, perhaps causing Zen's imbalance. He shifts a bit to right himself, wincing when he puts a bit too much pressure on his lame leg. Looking up, he blinks and grins when he spots whose table they'd run into. "Hi, Xav," he greets with a smile.

Marcavian gives a brief look over his papers before plunging his spoon into his bowl and taking a sip of his soup, a satisfied expression crossing his muzzle. "Oh, hello Julius. Yes, I've got records to keep up to date. Never a calm day it seems." He makes to take another bite of his soup, when his eyes catch a few sights in rapid succession. First, they fix on the somewhat unfamiliar rat just entering the room with a jovial bound, then to a rat sitting alone not too far off, and then to the oddest sight of all, one strange enough to make him forget about the spoon lodged in his mouth. "Na wha..." he sputters, jerking the spoon out with mild surprise. "Now what is -that-?" he says again, cocking his brow at the strange mouse...carrying another mouse... bumping into every table... "May I ask, Julius, if you know what on earth I'm looking at?" He shoots at Julius, his eyes fixed in a stare at the two mice.

Julius to noticed the two mice. With an expresion of ammusmet, and interest he replied to Marcavian, "My dear fellow I believe it is two mice." He shot
Marcavian a grin and continued, "And it seems they are having trouble more or less with there equalibreum." He looked over quickle when he heard them collide with a tabe. "Oh dear." he chuckled even more ammused. Yet he was alsoe slightly concerned.

Gavin looks up from his platter of diced apple (with half a grape as the side) upon hearing Julius's voice. He frowns, tapping the paper under his paw and then snapping his fingers once in frustration, as though remembering something. He then winces at what he imagines to have been an unseemly display on his part, looks around sheepishly, and then dips his head back down to continue eating with one paw while making notations with the other. He breathes deeply of the relatively cool air of the dining hall as he works, relishing it over the stuffy heat of the workshops. After a few moments' consideration, he gets to his feet, leaving his platter, paper, and pencil where it is and quietly scooting out of the dining hall.

Xavier had glanced down to prod at a piece of fruit on his plate, he hadn't eaten much of it, and he seems intent on making a mess of the rest. Not entirely sure if he's hungry or not. As Zen bumps into his table, he lets out a startled gasp, half expecting his tray to end up in his lap, and about to express his irritation with the mouse, that he now looks sternly at, until Timothy chimes in with a greeting. With a light sighed breath he nods and smiles to Tim. "hey there, Timothy... Been awhile..." he says before looking to Zen. "...Friend of yours?"

Cedric looks curiously at the two mice that entered, but decides to keep eating. While he eats, though, he keeps an eye on the two mice, wondering what could be up with them. He starts gnawing a bit on a nut when his eyes go wide. He quickly picks up his tray and takes it to the waste section and bolts to the door with the nut still in his hands. He gives the rodents in the dining hall a pleasant wave before darting out the door, clearly in a hurry for something.

Zen grins a bit and chuckles as he gets to his feet, but when he turns around, a quick gasp escapes him as his ears splay flat. The rat that was glaring at him did not look very happy at all!! "Er.. s-sorry! I.. uh... heheh... just helping a friend and..." Once he realizes that the two know eachother, he lets out another sigh of relief and then chuckles before glancing over to watch Cedric leave, his eyes then resting on Julius and Marcavian. He waves a paw, then slowly makes his way over to them, leaving Timothy with Xavier for a moment as his tail sways side to side slowly as he plots. "Erm... excuse me... but uh... You two look like quite important rats here, mmmyes?" A sly grin appears on his face.

Timothy's ears splay a little as well, and he laughs a bit nervously when he notices his irritation with Zen, though the smile makes him relax a bit. "Um, yeah, Zen's helping me get around after my run in with a Stagg." Paw gripping one of the table legs, he blinks then smiles a little as Zen runs off, tilting his head curiously for a few moments. Shaking his head a little, he looks back up at Xavier. "Didn't mess up anything did I?"

Marcavian puts his spoon down next to his plate, rising to his feet and walking over to greet the mouse...or at least stand over him. "I am Vehrune Marcavian, councilor and record keeper. Not to be rude, but it isn't often an unfamiliar rodent barges into the cafeteria toting around... well, a mouse who appears to be Timothy Brisby. Odd..." He says, absently stroking his chin at this sudden realization. "May I ask your name? And may I ask exactly what happened with young Brisby? He doesn't exactly look quite his usual self..." He motions for Julius to come over, a paw still stroking across his chin.

Julius sat up and hobbled over. He stood next to Marcavian, looking the newcomer over carefully with his yellow eyes. "Indeed," he began,"it's not evryday we get visitos especialy under such... strange circumstance." He put both paws on his cane and leaned forward a bit. He continued sounding cheerfull but with a hint of warning, in his voice, "Perhaps you should explain what happened? Especially since that is the son of a very important mouse."

Xavier cant help but shrug lightly and chuckle as Zen apologizes, before seeming to make himself scarce, leaving him with Tim for the moment "attacked by staggs? When did this happen?" he sounds slightly surprised. "and whats with you and making friends with the homicidal crazies?" he ribs a little. As Tim explains Zen' he looks up to the other mouse, now across th eroom and nods "Seems a bit... jittery... He suppose to be here?" he asks, looking down at Tim knowingly.

Zen's eyes widen as he looks at Marcavian, a slight grin growing on his face. He was originaly planning on stealing a slice of apple from him, but seeing he was part of the council... "Wow, really? I... You're just the person I need to see!" Seeing Julius and picking up on his warning, he blushes a bit and chuckles. "Oh, uh... He just got hurt is all. I'm helping him out... but anyways! My wife told me all about the council rats and how they kind of control things around here and... and... I need your help to help me help others.. uh.. help others!" He grins a bit and walks back over to Tim with a soft smile. "Or else... this could happen again..." After a few seconds of thinking, he coughs and makes a funny face. "OH geeze, I knew I'd screw up like that... NO, it's not a threat... Uh, I'm trying to be per... per-sway-sive however it's pronounsed." Yet again, his vocabulary... epic fails... Either way, he tilts his head at Xavier and smiles kindly.

Marcavian perks his brow again at Zen, clicking his tongue once or twice at his words. "Exactly what do you want our help -with-, mouse? The colony doesn't have resources to spare on idle pursuits." He says, looking up at Xavier for a moment. "Why is Mr. Brisby in such a state? And who are these people that will...help others?" As he says this he glances at Gavin out of the corner of his eye, brow still perked at him. "Yes? Do you need something? What do you have there?" He rubs his temple, sighing a little. "And one at a time, please."

Julius nodds in agreement with Marcavian. He noticed the pakage Gavin had bt it could wait. His ears percked when he heard about staggs. "Wait did you say staggs." He then loked at Marcavian shaken and said, "It is as we feared." He leaned even more heavily on his cane remebering old wounds.

Gavin looks to Marcavian, nodding in deference. "Please forgive my interruption, sir; I wish only to deliver Mr. Maximus's order." He nods and pulls back one end of the cloth bundle to reveal a relief of a snake's head carved out of chocolate-brown wood. Continuing on, he reveals the rest of the item, pulling the cloth completely free. It is a cane, obviously fashioned with great care and competence, though it lacks the complexity of design that a master-level carpenter could produce. The body of the cane is of a wood the color of honey, bearing the luster of a double coat of varnish. The tapered tip is capped with brass, brushed to a matte finish which contrasts nicely with the shininess of the body. The head of the cane--the snakehead--bears no finish, instead sanded to extensive smoothness, as it would be the part of the cane most often handled. Gavin hefts the cane with one paw, demonstrating to Julius where the point of balance is. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, he holds the cane out to Julius with both paws. "Er, walnut for the head, oak for the body, as specified, Mr. Maximus. It is simple work, sir, but it should be quite sturdy and up to the task of daily use. I hope it meets your satisfaction." He wonders to himself why male deer would be cause for concern, though he of course does not ask aloud.

Xavier chuckles lightly to Tim. "Seems the blood thirsty ones have that habit for you. SHould be careful" he says with a smile before pushing back his tray. He too looks up at Zen as Tim does and nods. "yeah, you can say that again." he chuckles before pushing back his chair and nods. "Well, I aught to get back to work..." he says as he stand sand ruffles Tim's headfur. "YOu be good alright?" he says as he turns to head back to the guard house and his desk.

Zen grins a bit and chuckles. "Oh, well... we just need help finding a safe place is all... I have a group that's willing to help you and others in the area... Um.... you can concider us your feral friends, if you will... Hehe..." Turning to Julius, he smiles and nods his head. "Yea, those stagg rats... we can help! See? If it wasn't because of us, you would have lost poor Timothy!" he then smiles and waves to Xavier as he leaves before grinning and gently hugging Tim. "See? We're friendly, just want to help! We'll fend for our own and help you! Even give those mice coming here a place to stay!

Timothy nods a little. "Yeah... I try, anyway. Not always successful, tho..." His ears splay a little, though he nods a bit. "Aww. Okay. I'll talk to you later, then..." He watches Xavier depart before looking back over to Zen, blushing at the attention he seems to be attracting.

Marcavian turns to face Gavin for a moment, giving the cane a once-over before nodding. "Yes, that's...well crafted indeed..." he says, turning back to look down at the mouse. "Staggs... Let us hope this is nothing more than a random attack. I'm still not inclined to believe they are anything more than a ragtag collection of brigands. At any rate, I can bring up this issue with the council, though I'm fairly certain there is an area in the valley we can relocate you and our new, umm, 'feral friends' to that is safe from any Stagg." He looks over to Timothy, eyes trailing after Xavier as he departs. "Now, it looks like you might need to be off to the Infirmary before too long, Mr. Brisby. I suppose you owe...say, what is your name, mouse?" he says to Zen, perking a brow. "You owe this mouse your life at any rate, it seems, Brisby."

Julius took the cane admirig it. He gently, felt the head peace and then wraped it back in the cloth. "A fine work of craftsmanship.", he said. He then looked at Marcavian and noded, "Yes, we should bring this up with the council. You forget, one of those brigands nearly killed me."

Gavin shuffles away, smiling shyly at the compliment. As he goes, he murmurs "Staggs..." to himself, as though seeing how the word sounded in his own voice. Something about it makes his brow knit in concern. He sits back down where he was before, across the dining hall, tucking into his food and resuming his notes.

Zen grins as he holds his head up proudly. Feral Friends was actualy taking off the ground! His tail flits as he's asked what his name is. "Zen Malori Fetcher's my name! Heh, and thank you so much! I can't wait for this to get off the ground! ... and erm.. Tim into the infirmary..." He shivers as he says infirmary... "I don't like that place, but.. sure!" He grins as he starts to help Tim towards the exit. "Well, it was real nice talking with you, but me and my friend here have to torture room to go to!"

Timothy meeps as Zen helps him back towards the exit; he hadn't gotten anything to eat, but it sounded like Zen had other plans...