Burrows and Badgers, Battle of the Barricades

The crew of the Sloop 'Tranquility' sat on the abandoned barricades, swinging their legs and taking it in turns to swig from a couple of bottles of rum, nearly all talking in unusual drawls as they were discussing their day .
"Am I right in being thinking that we were due an easy first mission?" Jayne Korncobb, the shrew warrior growled from under his knitted hat.
"That be our thinking," his capatin, Mal Ratholds, a tall and slender Pole Cat looked out over the village from his vantage point, "a nice, easy, job. In, loot, go."
"Not quite how we were envisioned it," Zoe, his first mate Otter took a sip and passed it on.
Inara, the courtesan/assassin mouse, sat up from reclining on an upturned barrel, "Handsome warband we were against, all very classic types. Led by a 'Mr. Toad', the local landowner, thinks he's something, that's a criminal cover if I ever heard one. Muscle in the form of a hulking great armoured badger, with a sword bigger than he was. A middle-class water vole that identifies as a rat. A mole zealot waving some ancient dishcloth, claiming it as a religious relic, and some poor stoat/weasel cannon fodder they pushed along to go first."

River Taan, the group's mystic newt, looked up from her recumbent position on a settle propped on one barricade, "The weasel burned so easily."
"River," her brother, Shhimon the warrior looked aghast, "you're not to play with fire. See what you've done to her!"
"I'm rightly thinking she was always like that," Mal grinned back.
"My fire isn't different to his," she waved a flipper at the shrew, who was busy cleaning his cavalier.
"Cept your's don't jam after two shots!" Jayne, the shrew, grumped.


"While you lot were taking target practise, I be being a little more active and moving up the village to be bringing the fight to them," Mal grinned.
"While I had to keep you safe, as usual!" Zoe interrupted


Inara looked at Jayne, "Your shooting, my shooting, her fire, we all took that stoat down."
"Can't help feeling he was put there on purpose," Shhhimon mused, passing on the bottle without drinking.


"I be right in thinking he was just being a distraction to allow that there badger, vole and mole to get in amongst us!" Jayne drawled, passing the bottle on to Mal, who suspiciously wiped the neck with is sleeve.


Jayne looked grumpily down at Vera, his gun, "That badger was closing in on us real quick like, just my luck Vera jammed."
Shhimon the Newt looked at the Shrew, "that's why you were backing away quickly."
"Arrows were bouncing off that heavily armoured tank of a badger." Irana interjected.


"My arrows did bite on the vole instead though," Irana added.


"We all started backing up," Shhhhimon added.

 Jayne shuddered, "I was rather upset, Badger leaping the fence and getting in my face and all."


Mal looked at the shrew, "While you were busy, we was facing down the mole and Mr. Toad, who had circled back to meet us, tough fellas, like."
Zoe looked on, "not so tough, when you are hitting over the barrels."


Inara looked at Shhhimon, "you were dodging the badger, I was being attacked by that vole, think it took umbridge to me putting arrows into him, I had to keep backing away."


"That there mole, took a few swings at me," Mal passed on the bottle, "so instead I threw a goodly few knives at him."


Inara shrugged, "Having a vole attacking at you while you try to shoot him, not so fun when you have no blade to defend yourself!"


"Was awful upset when your brother was knocked down," Jayne looked at River, "he ain't yet cut out for heavy fighting like."

 
"Mole took a frightful disliking to you Captain, leaping them barrels, " Zoe drawled, " but I was a silencing Mr. Toad"


"Ratty finally succumbed to my arrows," Inara added, "thankfully we didn't have to dig him a trench in the vegetable patch!"

 
"Not to be outdone by you, Sergeant Washburn," Mal added, "I gladly took down that Mole."


"With that, only their badger was standing, and then hightailed it to safety, left a fair few coins behind for us" Mal grinned. "Scored us a few shiny pennies for taking down Mr. Toad too. Guess the locals weren't as keen on him defending them after all."
"We gathered enough pennies to hire our own Priest," Zoe added.
"Why do we need to be doing that? A sloop is no place in the kingdoms for a vole of the gods." Mal frowned, "at least the local moneylender was grateful we were here."
"Someone has to keep you on the straight and narrow while I conduct my legitimate business," Inara added.
"If it helps, he brought on supplies," Jayne put in, "plus there's something about him, The Goatherd Brook knows his way round a few weapons I imagine."
"He did say he hadn't always been a priest," Shhimon added, looking at River,, "so glad you found someone to patch me up, otherwise I would be a weakend newt."
"That wasn't hard, just pointed out how upset we all would be if he didn't" the mage added.
"We made a fair few pennies from that town, the postmaster gave us lots to go on, plenty of jobs in the neighbourhood." Inara continued.
"Plus the quartermaster's stores gave me a few items, you might need this Inara," Zoe reached across and slid a knife to Inara, "to make sure no vole tries to harm you 'gain."
"Most important like, the gunsmith fixed and improved my Vera," Jayne cuddled his gun.
The gang sat, watching the sunset, as they passed the bottles round.