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Forging Rust

by Reserved Rodent

co-authored with AJH

Chapter Four

You're just mad you can't find your own nuts

When Rust walked out of the dimly lit tent into the weak light of the morning, he paused to let his eyes adjust.

Sid looked up in surprise at the naked rat. The fox's eyes roamed over the light gray fur, noting the many patches of red scattered across his body like rusted spots on metal. The Squire's eyes lingered on the stripes across the damp sheath. "R... Rusty?"

The rat reached down to grab a clean cloth and dip it into the bucket of water sat outside his lord's tent. "Hi Sid." Rust smiled over at the blushing fox as he started using the wet cloth to clean up.

Sid blinked a few times, forgetting the old broadsword he was supposed to be sharpening. "You're... naked, Rusty?"

"Aye..." The rat kept washing himself. "I know I'm not the first naked male you've seen. There were about half a dozen Squires in the barracks last night who were without clothes. When we were walking to breakfast there were at least three males headed to or from the showers with not a stitch of clothing on. I was under the assumption there was no shame in the male body around here." Smiling, the rat gave Sid a wink. "By the way, thank you."

The fox nodded with a chuckle. "True, I suppose. I'm sorry. And thanks for what, exactly?"

"You've nothing to be sorry for." Rust smiled as he rinsed the rag and continued cleaning his legs off. "The thanks was for making me curious about if I needed to be taking care of my lord's needs like you described. If I hadn't asked," Rust began cleaning his sheath and balls, "I would not have been aware it was something he wanted."

Sid resumed cleaning the broadsword of imperfections. "Ah..." a giggle escaped the fox. "And he... he's better now, I see?"

"Aye," The rat nodded, running the wet cloth up and down the crack under his tail. "We both needed it more than a little, I'd say."

Both Squires' ears turned a little red, and Rust cleaned the rag once more before finishing up scrubbing his legs.

"Lord Chase and I are planning on heading out on a mission soon, so I'm not sure when I'll see you next, Sid."

The smaller fox nodded gently. "I see... come back alive... won't you?"

"That's my intention, Sid. I still have that nice invite you gave me to make." The rat grinned and turned around before the fox. "Did I miss anything?"

Sid's jaw flapped a little. "N... N... No..."

"Good." Rust smiled and tossed the rag over the side of the bucket. "Thanks again. I hope I'm not making you feel too uncomfortable, though I have to admit, you look real cute when you blush." With another wink, the rat entered Lord Chase's tent.

As Rust's eyes adjusted to the interior light level, he saw the lynx standing naked by the table, looking over the map. With a laugh, the Knight glanced towards the rat. "Squire Sid, eh? Randy bugger, aren't you, rodent?"

Rust walked closer, a grin on his muzzle. "Hell yeah. For all the civilization and culture we've got, we're still animals underneath. I'm not ashamed to be attracted to sexy furs. Are you ready for your armor, sir?"

Lord Chase smiled wryly at the rat as he walked over to the armoring rack. "A little more decorum in your speech, please Squire. You're Knight material. And yes, I am."

Ears folding down, Rust walked over to the rack. "Sorry sir, I seem to slip up on that too often. I'll do better."

Lord Chase chuckled and patted the rat's shoulder. "You should of heard me when I was chosen as a Squire." The feline's accent thickened considerably. "E're gonna pick the light armour for dis run out t' forests."

The rat quickly gathered armor pieces that would give his lord the best protection without greatly harming mobility and stealth. "So there may be hope for me, it sounds like, sir."

"Aye maybe ha'ne chance to be like well'gespoken Knight mayhap." The muscular Knight laughed softly, and held his arms up for the mail shirt. His balls and sheath swung side to side with the movement.

Rust quickly and efficiently dressed his lord in mail shirt and loincloth, focusing on his work.

Lowering his arms, the lynx patted the rat's shoulder. "Es' gonnab' a good Knight if hen' do well."

Grinning as his left ear flicked, the Squire looked up into his lord's eyes. "And survive all the fighting that repelling this invasion will require. That's also an important part."

Rust's words got a chuckle from the lynx. "I never said it would be an easy life, Squire. You will be injured. I will defend you, and you me, we will become one unit. When you're ready, I intend to elevate you. But not until then."

The rat continued securing each piece of his lord's armor in place. "Understood, sir, I wouldn't want it to be any other way."

The pair remained silent as the Squire finished getting the Knight armored up, leaving only his head bare. When the rat stepped back to consider what to do next, the lynx nodded his approval. "I'll need a cloak to hide the armor, I think."

"Agreed, sir." Rust walked over and selected a medium gray one to blend in with both forest shadows and the rocky mountainsides.

The lynx donned it and flexed his arms and legs, feeling the armor protect snugly while leaving good mobility. "Excellent work, Squire. You may dress yourself in a moment. First though, kneel."

Rust's ears twitched as he tilted his head in curiosity. He knelt before the armored feline, carefully.

Lord Chase gently rested a paw on his Squire's head. With a clear, practiced voice, he stated, "I vow to protect you in battle, until such time as you join the ranks of the Brotherhood. I will tutor and guide you, and forge you into a better man."

The rat's posture, including ears and whiskers, perked up happily at hearing those words, but he remained silent in the moment, unsure what response - if any - was required of him.

The Knight took his hand from the rat's head. "Stand. Your service is official now."

Standing, Rust looked into his lord's eyes. "Thank you, sir. I am honored. I will do my best for you and watch your back."

Chase nodded and gestured to the rat's armor rack. "Dress, Squire. We have work to do."

While the rodent started getting dressed in his own light armor, the Knight grabbed a thin, one-handed sword as well as a bow with a quiver of arrows. After securing his weapons, the lynx - eyes always following his Squire - walked over to a large trunk and removed a small package.

Rust's ears followed the large feline's movements, but his attention was focused on making sure he got his own outfit right for the upcoming scouting mission in the mountains. Once the light armor was in place, a cloak similar to the one he grabbed for his lord was swept over his shoulders.

Finished dressing, the rat turned to face the feline.

In one armored paw, Lord Chase held out the package to his Squire.

Brows raised and his ears giving a twitch of surprise, Rust took the offered item. "For me to deliver before we go, or is this for me?"

"For you, Squire Rust, of House Lynx."

"Thank you, sir." Gloved paws carefully opened the package, revealing a simple jerkin - designed to go over plate armor - with the crest of House lynx on a red background. The rat ran his fingers over the design gently. "It's wonderful."

"It's yours." Chase smiled. "Wear it with pride. In time, your own crest will incorporate it. You're a Squire of House Lynx, be proud of that."

"I am - very much so."

Still smiling, the lynx patted his Squire's shoulder. "For now, put it somewhere safe. We go without sigil this day."

"Understood, sir." Rust walked over to the footlocker he kept in his lord's tent and placed the jerkin inside.

"Get two days of rations for the both of us in our saddlebags when you get the horses. I need to report our mission to council members, so meet back here after lunch with our horses ready to go, Squire. This afternoon, we go out to find a way to break the deadlock."

"Yes sir." The rat left the tent and turned to the stables. There was no sign of Sid during the walk past the tent the other Squire had been outside earlier.

The camp had grown busier since breakfast. Once outside the alley of Knight's tents, the soldiers and Squires were thick, moving about on different duties.

Two training circles were set up near the middle of the camp. Soldiers were working sword drills in the further of the two. The closer ring held Lord Richter, a panther, guiding Squires through similar exercises. Rust watched the drills as he walked past both circles, headed towards the mess tent. Seeing many of the Squires getting berated on their bad form made the rat feel better about his private practices with Lord Chase. There was still a lot to improve, but he was doing well enough to be in the upper third of the group he could see.

Since he had a mission to get rations for the trip and he wasn't entirely sure how long that would take, Rust did not linger watching others practice. He wasn't even entirely sure the mess tent was the right location to go for rations, but if it wasn't hopefully someone there could direct him to the correct location.

While firmly between normal breakfast and lunch times, the mess tent still saw a trickle of furs coming in and grabbing a meal. Although orderly, life at the camp had different furs on different schedules, so food always had to be available.

A hare stood, bouncing slightly on his huge footpaws at the start of the food service table, and smiled as the rat approached. "Good day, Squire. Needing some brunch, are we? We still have plenty of eggs, meat and fruit available, but Harry and Davis just nipped the last of the nuts, greedy buggers."

The long-eared fur laughed good naturally, which only doubled when one of the two squirrels sitting nearby threw a walnut shell in his direction, rapping him between his eyes. "You're just mad you can't find your own nuts, Kanin!" The squirrels were also laughing, so Rust got the feeling it was a long-standing joke between the soldiers.

Smiling, Rust shook his head. "I actually need to get some rations for an upcoming mission before I get my next meal. I was not sure if I got those here or elsewhere."

"Ah, dried meat and fruit, hard bread and water skins. I can get you those." The hare's left foot started tapping the ground. "How many in the party and which Knight is in charge?"

"Lord Chase is heading this mission. Just two days for two furs."

"Very good. We will get those packed up right quick for you, Squire." The rabbit gave Rust a quick nod, then turned to the mouse who was setting a basket of apples on the serving table. "Martin, can you fix up a two-day bag of rations for one and a half sharp teeth and one that isn't picky. List them for Lord Chase when you log them."

Rust's ears twitched. "One and a half sharp teeth?"

"Absolutely, Squire. I'm glad you asked. You'll have to sign for your lord when Martin brings the bag, so best you know what you're signing for. You - you're a rat. Not that you don't know that, I should think, but because you are, you are not limited in what you eat. A young, healthy male like you will devour just about any kind of food. In fact, you are a healthier Squire when you have a good mix of kinds of food. Thus, you are the 'one that isn't picky'. That way, Martin knows to pack enough for one fur who gets jerky, travel biscuits and some fruit. Since he's a fellow rodent like you, he might try and slip you a little cheese, or maybe not. Depends on how hungry he is himself, maybe."

The rabbit gave Rust a wink, making the rat smile at his humor.

"Now, Lord Chase is a wonderful feline to have on your side, but he tends to be on the overly tall and strong type. You yourself might have noticed this, with having to look up above your head to meet his eyes. The entire package is great to have fighting for you on the battlefield, but takes a little different consideration when packing food. He's 'one and a half' because, well, he needs to eat more than furs your or my size do. It's a rough estimate of what he needs on a daily basis to keep from shrinking down to your or my size."

Rust smirked and shook his head at Kanin's wink this time. "Is 'sharp tooth' because he's more of a meat eater?"

"Well said, Squire. It lets Martin know to avoid the leafy salads he might pack for myself."

"That makes sense." Rust nodded, ears flicking as several conversations continued further inside the tent. "I had not had time to really give much thought into what all would be required to feed such a diverse group as we have here."

Kanin grinned and gave the rat a pat on his shoulder. "It's rare a young Squire gives much thought to anything other than surviving training. Just be careful who you let know you're pondering things like this. Some will think it means you need to train harder. Others might think you need to be trained in working out all the details of getting enough food to the camp."

Chuckling, Rust shook his head. "I suspect that would make me easy prey for getting knocked around in weapons practice."

"Oh, you still get to do both, but you do get the gist of it, Squire Rust. It looks like Martin is just about ready for you. Why don't you go over to that podium so he can show you where to sign for receiving the rations?"

"I will. Thank you for the assistance, Kanin." Rust gave the hare a smile and walked back behind the table to the rear entrance of the tent. He passed multiple barrels and stacks of crates holding food yet to be set out. The variety of smells made the Squire start to feel hungry, while the labels on every container showed just how much effort went into making sure food got used before it spoiled.

The short mouse reached the podium a few steps ahead of Rust.

Martin was quick and efficient, silently verifying the order before taking the quill and adding the information accurately to the ledger. He dusted the paper to dry the ink, before politely handing the quill to Rust and pointing quietly at the line so sign.

"Thank you," Rust said to the mouse as the smaller rodent dusted the rat's signature.

Martin smiled and gave a polite nod before scurrying off to get food ready to restock the serving tables.

The rat gave a parting wave to Kanin as he headed out of the mess tent towards the stables.

While Rust had taken note of the large structure where the horses were kept when not in use, he had not yet made it all the way there. It lay on the edge of camp, although still within the wooden walls. The place was usually downwind, although there were enough warriors in the camp it was hard to find a location anywhere within the walls that could be said to have fresh air.

As he approached the area, Rust noticed the wall on the other side of the stables held several targets for archery, so marksmanship could be practiced without having to leave the camp.

Squire Sid was at the range, firing his bow at several of the targets and doing a decent job. The range was not vast, but as Rust paused to watch, it became evident that the fox was pushing himself to fire quickly, but with hard pulls that would slow him down and wear out his arms faster. He seemed to be working his muscles hard, while still trying to maintain a good aim. That said, it was rare that his aim suffered. He did not hit the bull's-eye continually, but he did hit the target close to the center most times.

During the eighth quiver since Rust started watching, Sid's arms began to shake slightly from exhaustion, making his aim suffer - even slowing down his pace failed to help. The orange-furred Squire decided he was doing no good after the fifth miss, so packed up and trudged away from the range. Sid's ears were drooping and he rubbed his arms as if to massage them. When he caught sight of Rust, he gave a tired grin. "Squire Rusty."

"Hello again, Squire Sid. I see you've been working on your archery some more." The rat smiled as the smaller fox reached him. "You look exhausted."

Sid shrugged. "Just worn out. I've been pushing myself so I have better pull strength and more endurance. If I'm going to be a bowman, I need to be a real good one."

"I commend your dedication, but are you going to be able to do anything else your lord may want? The day isn't even half done yet."

Sid giggled. "I've got lunch to recover. I'm sure that my enthusiasm will return with a good meal." The fox tilted his head, looked at the saddle bag slung over the rat's shoulder and let out a whine. "Going somewhere? You just got here. Did Lord Chase let you go?"

Smiling Rust patted the fox's shoulder. "He hasn't kicked me out. As I mentioned earlier, we're headed out towards the mountains. I shouldn't be gone too long."

The fox blushed at his own forgetfulness, stuttering, "Oh, yes. Sorry. I was... distracted at the time..."

Rust smiled knowingly. "I'm off to get the horses ready to go... well, see what I need to do to get them ready for right after lunch. I don't think I should take them to the mess tent with me."

With a shake of his head, Sid turned around to walk to the stables. "Come on, Squire Rusty. It's not that hard to do, but I should probably go with you so that you don't do too much."

The rat easily kept pace with the fox. "What do you mean? I'm just planning on making sure I know where they store Lord Chase's tacking and -"

"See, there you are already trying to do too much. If you get assigned as a stable boy, you'll get introduced to the system. As a Squire sent to get the horses, you just tell those assigned here what you need, who the Knight asking for the stuff is, and when and where you need the mounts. The most work you need to do is sign for it. They're supposed to take care of everything, including the rations you appear to have gathered."

"Oh. But I'm able to take care of doing these things for Lord Chase myself. I don't see why I have to make other Squires or soldiers do work I can do."

"As a Squire, you are expected to take care of your lord's needs, it's true. But unless he assigns you to take care of the stables, you need to also be available to do other chores."

"But he told me to get two days of rations when I got the horses, and to have the horses ready at the tent after lunch. So I am supposed to be getting the rations and horses ready."

Sid paused just outside the stables and turned to look up into the rat's eyes. "So he told you to let the good lads working in the stable know they needed to include two days' worth of rations when they got both of your horses ready, plus when and where to have them."

"Or he told me to gather the rations and get the horses ready and have them there then."

"So he specifically told you to saddle the horses yourself?"

The rat paused to recall exactly what he was told. "That was not his words, but he told me to get the horses."

A gray-furred wolf Squire walked up, brushing a few bits of hay from his bare chest fur. "You two going to quarrel like you're married or tell me what you need so I can get back to work?"

Sid looked at Rust, which made the wolf also glance at the rat.

"I've been told to get two mounts for Lord Chase."

The wolf rolled his eyes. "So I heard. You got the rations yourself, it looks like. Squire Sid is correct, by the way. We would have taken care of that, though you aren't the first Squire who thought they had to do it all themselves their first time. Would you like to carry them over to the log book or can I take the saddle bag off your hands?"

"I'll carry them to the book." Rust said glumly, as the fox beside him giggled.

The wolf shrugged and led them to a book very similar to the one in the mess hall. The wolf did not take as much care with drying the ink, nor was his penmanship as crisp as Martin's had been, but the entry got logged and Rust's signature added.

The wolf then took the saddlebags, slinging them over his shoulder. "Your mounts will be ready, Squire. They will be at Lord Chase's tent at one."

As they walked out of the stables, Sid gave the rat a grin. "See, you make things too hard for yourself. There will be plenty of times when you are required to do all of the work for your lord. But the Brotherhood is structured to make some things easier, as well as keep everything moving smoothly. Don't give yourself extra work if you can help it, or you may not be able to get everything finished you need to get completed."

Rust grinned and patted the fox on the shoulder. "Your argument would hold more strength if you hadn't worn yourself out in archery practice before taking on helping me."

"Quiet, Squire Rusty, or I won't want to sit with you while we eat."

They both chuckled as they walked to get some lunch.