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Gerrard

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Everything posted by Gerrard

  1. Asteria carefully examined the posture and mannerisms of the stallion in front of her, trying to determine the intent and validity of his words. She could find nothing that hinted to him telling a lie, but the mare felt that it didn't really matter either way, and it wasn't her place to assume anything like that regardless. "It would take something with more substance to have a perceivable effect on me. I am not sure if they think I'm beautiful, such a notion is highly subjective and up to the interpretation of each individual. Regardless, thank you for the words Sir Saddlesore. I appreciate that my presence is welcome in your presence," she commented in her usual robotic manner, the mare contemplating his comments on kisses as more objects fell on the floor. "I believe that our presence is costing this establishment a substantial amount of revenue in lost dishes. I think it would be in the interest of everyone if we were to leave the restaurant soon sir. I don't see a reason as not to provide a kiss, such a minor action does not constitute a commitment of any kind. Would you find it acceptable to pay the bill and leave the restaurant soon?" she asked calmly, the scarlet maned mare leaning in close to the stallion. She gently kissed his cheek and backed away from the table, seeming ready to leave the establishment that had been gasping at their expense for the entire night. After the kiss, her aloof expression remained unchanged, the mare still able to mask her thoughts behind her steely expression.
  2. Asteria slowly ate her portion of the dessert, allowing him to have the majority of their food. While she agreed to share the food with him, there was no agreement on the portion that each would have. In the event that he objected to her eating too much or too little, she was ready to apologize, the mare knowing that she could have been more clear on her request. Still, it would be rude to dwell on her thoughts, the unicorn placing her thoughts in the back of her mind as she turned her attention back to Saddlesore. When asked if she was alright, the unicorn blinked, almost as if she was confused. "Being noticed by others is not inherently bad or good. The choices taken by others when this occurs is what you should be weary of. They have taken no actions that cause any harm to us, at least that I am aware of," she replied in her usual manner, the mare basically impossible to disturb or anger. "Has our evening disturbed you? Is there something I can do to make you feel better?" she commented in her usual romantically clueless manner, the mare leaning in close to limit the number of other patrons that could hear her speak.
  3. As he hovered beside the pegasus, he was slowly beginning to understand the depths of her depravity. He knew strange ponies, one his best friends practically being a construct with her numerical view of the world. Regardless, depravity wasn't always a bad thing, the griffon smirking devilishly as he watched the water slowly fill the chamber. Gerrard fought back the desire to facepalm when she answered that she adventured when she wasn't adventuring. Clearly their mutual interests weren't exactly close, but he wasn't going to let that build a wall between them. "You must really like Daring Do. You put on quite the look, it could easily fool the untrained eye! Of course the all seeing eyes of Gerrard could never be fooled by any facade," he replied with a chuckle, playfully tugging on her tail. "In regards to the fandom itself, yes I have read the first book, one time. An intriguing start to an over arching ark, but I prefer to create my own adventurers. Why read a story when bards will tell tales of my own!" he cheered in an upbeat tone, exaggerating his exploits greatly. His idea of an adventure was firing a crossbow without hurting himself or anyone. A bit of hyperbole never hurt anyone, right? He could feel the water touching his paws as it basically reached about as high as it was safely going to be. The hybrid waited for a moment to hear any parting words from his pith hatted friend before they went on their dive for the surface. "See you on the other side, regardless of which place this gets us," he remarked a bit darkly for her, cackling devilishly as he tried to hide the fear that was welling up inside in his body. In a normal circumstance, this was a terrible idea, but this was about the only choice they had left. Gerrard took a deep breath and dove under the water, clawing his way quickly through the water, glad not to be hoofed when swimming.
  4. Roleplay Type: World of Equestria Name: Aquaria Sirensong Sex: Female Age: Young Adult Species: Griffon Eye Colour: Rose Coat and Colouration: Aquaria has a white coat with tiger striping on her back that stretches down towards her extremities. The feathers on the front Aquaria's body are very dark near the top of her head and gradually lighten on their way towards her chest. Her wings, talons and beak are a dark shade of black. Her tail is long and thin, striped black and white. Physique: She is physically fit from her diving and swimming. Her muscles are lean and sculpted, the energetic griffon always on the move. Her limbs are more toned than her wings. She rarely uses her wings to fly. Residence: Aquaria lives in Baltimare, close to the ocean she loves. Occupation: Professional Diver and Lifeguard History: Aquaria was born into a caring griffon family on the outskirts of Baltimare. Her mother, Melody Sirensong, is a well known singer who entertains sailors and tourists at the seaside taverns with a voice that could only be described as hypnotic. Her father, Edward Sirensong, is a bard who shares stories with everyone willing to lend him an ear. He roams Equestria, telling tales of truly mythical and seemingly impossible creatures, giant, ship-eating creatures in particular one of his favorite topics to mull over with intrigued crowds. Aquaria grew up in the mostly pony town of Baltimare, the young hybrid one of the only members of her species in the city. She was often teased for her strange, even by griffon standards, appearance. When confronted with her strangeness, the odd griffon actually agreed with the ponies who hassled her, giggling at herself when presented a mirror as proof. Her strange reaction confused her classmates, and they eventually relented and accepted the young creature as an able bodied, albeit strange, friend. Her father had an insatiable case of wanderlust and spent long periods of time abroad while her mother was often engrossed in her work. She spent the majority of her time alone to her own devices and often went out of her way to make friends with everyone willing to hear her out, the young griffon always going out of her way to help others. When she managed to obtain time with her parents, the adventurous child listened in on many of the ballads delivered by her elders. She was immediately awestruck by the tales of great fortunes hidden beneath the calm seas just outside her modest home. She set out to be a diver and try her claws at collecting pearls, clams, coral, and of course sunken treasure whenever possible. Upon becoming an adult, her parents allowed her to follow her dream, the griffon taking classes and getting trained to become a professional diver. She immediately began scouring the ocean for her bounty on a daily basis, often ignoring the weather as she searched for treasure and adventure. On a particularly stormy afternoon, the young diver stumbled upon a capsized boat and rescued the pony who was driving the small vessel. She immediately learned that she could use her skills to help save pirates as well as 'recover' their lost treasure, the friendly griffon deciding to work as a life guard when she was between diving jobs. Aquaria learned that saving lives was a great way to make friends, even if her mouth to mouth resuscitation skills had a tendency to do more harm than good! Character Summary: Aquaria is an overly friendly griffon who means well enough. She loves to be around anyone who will tolerate her intrusions on personal space, the young diver loving to hug anyone within claws reach. She likes to make as meet as many new people as possible and will do almost anything to make someone her friend. Some people are turned off by such a direct approach, but the young hybrid figures that she just needs to try different strategies to befriend those people. Aquaria has learned from experience that being a lifeguard is a great way to make friends, saving people being a great way to start any relationship. Aquaria is a talented diver who knows all of the tricks involved in the retrieval of large items from the sea floor. She can hold her breath a long time, a positive side effect from training under water for so long. Aquaria is a great swimmer and is a more than capable lifeguard. For as good as she is in the water, Aquaria is prone to being distracted by the smallest of things, her ability to focus almost completely nonexistent when she has friends around. This has lead her to be forgetful about important locations and even fail to notice things that should easily be picked up by her senses. Her excessive swimming has left her flying clumbsy as best, and dangerous at worst, the young hybrid seeming to have poor balance out of the water. She dreams of finding something truly spectacular in the ocean. Aquaria hopes to find some lost piece of history and turn it into a museum. Aside from getting her name on some placard in a building of higher learning, the hybrid hopes to find magnificent treasures. While the money would be nice, she loves the thrill of the hunt even more, the diver loving to get new stories to share with her friends. She is a happy go lucky sort of person, the griffoness not usually thinking about things she dreads. Aquaria only dreads losing her friends and her ability to pursue her dreams. She isn't so much brave, as she is just oblivious to danger. She is scared of sharks though, or anything that vaguely resembles a shark, the diver getting that one concept pounded into her skull by her training. Picture: (Picture drawn by BrainedBySaucepans for me)
  5. Asteria blinked as the waiter responded in a genuinely surprised manner. The reactions of the patrons and host seemed to border on rude, but the mare did not verbally protest. She simply nodded in confirmation as he grumpily remarked that they were sharing. She could sense anger from across the table as the other guests inadvertently antagonized the angry stallion. Asteria waited for a moment and decided to do what she normally did conflict arrived. Her head turned to face Saddlesore as she leaned in very close to him. "I apologize if my presence here is causing you conflict. Please try to overlook your anger," she politely pleaded to the stallion before being presented her food. Asteria carefully examined the food with her fierce eyes as she inspected it for anything out of the ordinary. While she did not expect any defects, there was always a chance of error. Nobody was perfect and everyone had failings on occasion. Regardless, she found nothing wrong and carefully took a scoop of the dessert and slipped it into her maw while politely eating the food. In her usual manner, she displayed no outright response to the food. Asteria didn't like to influence the opinions of others, but it often made her seem even more robotic than usual.
  6. Asteria blinked and traced her crimson eyes across to the table to look upon the waiter. She paused for just a moment as she carefully thought up the appropriate words to speak to him. "Sir Saddlesore and I wish to share one order of Bananas Foster, if that is within the accepted parameters of this establishment," Asteria commented in her usual unchanging voice as she patiently waited for a response from the waiter. For one reason or another, any slight deviation from standard operating procedures always seemed to make the unicorn weary. It was clear that Asteria always preferred to avoid and minimize conflict whenever it was possible. The reasons behind he explicit motivation to do so, was still unclear. After placing their order, the black mare turned her attention back to Saddlesore, her fiery gaze looking him over again as she stayed relatively close to her date. "Are there any changes you wish to make to the order Sir Saddlesore?" the mare asking calmly as she shifted her scarlet mane to the side.
  7. Gerrard gulped silently, hoping that his silly suggestion wouldn't be their undoing. Regardless of his inner turmoil, the griffon maintained his confident facade, putting on a good show for his crazy partner. He had to wonder how much of her was bravery, and how much of her was insanity. No normal person would decide to nonchalantly make such a dangerous risk, but then again, normal people didn't often find themselves in such strenuous circumstances. The dark griffon did have to admit though, he did admire women who were bold and decisive. "She has a catch phrase? I need a catch phrase, something that sounds intimidating maybe! Yeah," he thought silently, failing to notice the large rush of water as it smashed into his form. He watched her get thrown across the room by the burst of water, her smaller frame unable to simply shrug off the water as he held his ground. He might have chuckled at their spectacle if they weren't in such a dire situation. "Yes sir!" he cheered, saluting the pegasus before flapping his large wings and hovering above the water as it started to empty out into where they were. "Now we play the waiting game!" he added with a grin, knowing it might take a minute or so to empty the water into their own chamber. He wasn't normally one for small talk, but the hybrid felt like this was as good a time as any to learn more about his eccentric friend. "When you aren't dodging arrows and swimming through shark infested waters, what do you do for fun?" he asked, curious to what she liked to do on the side.
  8. Asteria listened to him as he spoke, the mare nodding in her usual manner as her black ears took in all the information he had to give to her. The concept of eating for pleasure had been proposed to her in the past, an idea that seemed strange. While it was plausible that eating food was a pleasurable experience, especially considering what not eating felt like, the idea was a bit odd. Surely there were healthier was to seek pleasure, perhaps she could find one. "I believe that it would be an unfair statement to suggest that the cooking here is superior to the likes of Sir LaGrande and Lady Mild. They are not here to defend themselves, and without being able to hear their explanations and taste their products, there is no way for me to make an informed decision. Regardless, I understand that it is possible to gain pleasure from eating. Many appreciate relieving themselves of hunger, and it is only logical to do so. While my initial hunger is gone, I believe it could be sated further with eating. I do wonder though, is there another way for us to share in pleasure that would be more beneficial to my diet and exercise regime?" she commented, leaning in close as she gave him her attention. It was clear that she didn't fully grasp what she had explained, but it was at least a decent start. After pausing for a few moments, she glanced up into his eyes in what almost seemed like a private whisper. "Sir Saddlesore, if that is not possible, perhaps I could compromise and share a dessert entree with you? The caloric intake of half an entree would be acceptable. I believe that my journey back to Canterlot would be enough to shed the excess energy contained in such a meal," she commented, unsure of what the rules were on sharing meals. If it was incorrect, she didn't want to disrupt the other patrons by breaking some sort of unwritten rule. That of course would be disruptive, something her secretive moments were probably causing more of than they prevented.
  9. This is a great app, nice and concise! I'm gonna slip it over to SRPH. Keep in mind though that the character can't be so introverted that they can't be able to have interactions with other characters.
  10. Asteria nodded in agreement, surprised that he would agree to see her on such rare occasions. The unicorn speculated that he wanted to keep open the possibility of a future relationship, or that he stood to gain from seeing her again. The simple idea that he liked her around was probably too 'illogical' for the strange mare to fully grasp. While it didn't make much sense to simply see someone again for no particular reason, she didn't protest, almost seeming intrigued to find what motivated him. She always wanted to learn new things, even if she felt it was likely to be something of minimal value to her. The offer of dessert though, was one of the few topics she had a developed opinion on. While normally ceding her opinion for that of others, this was too important for her to be flexible on. "No thank you Sir Saddlesore. I can't justify the consumption of dessert in addition to dinner. The nutritional value of the food does not merit the amount of physical activity that would be needed to purge my form of the extra weight I could gain. I must therefore refuse the offer sir. You are free to order your own though, I do not mind waiting for you to finish eating," she replied in her usual robotic manner. One thing about her was perfectly clear though, Asteria evaluated everything, especially the food she ate.
  11. She listened, finding it a bit hard to understand how friendship was an exception to the rule that everything operated in some sort of net sum of exchanges. He spoke of a pony named Gerrard, the unicorn blinking as he offered a deal where they spent time together in an attempt to determine their compatibility. Asteria listened to the final portion of his plea, the mare nodding, not as much in agreement but in a manner that showed she was listening to him. It would be rude to openly disagree with him that friendship wasn't simply an equation of losses and gains, but she wasn't here to debate with him. The unicorn decided to accept his premise as true for the time being, finding no way to prove him inherently incorrect anyway. "I apologize for trying to assert that my way of thinking was absolute. It is plausible that you are correct sir. In regards to Gerrard, I must disagree with your assertion that he is a close friend. I don't know any ponies named Gerrard, I know a griffon named Gerrard though. He is an irrigation architect that I am an associate of. We exchange services whenever necessary, I am not in a committed relationship with him at this time Sir Saddlesore. I am willing to expend my excess time with you whenever possible. I am not sure the practicality in doing so though, my work normally concluding in Canterlot. If you wish, I can come to your residence whenever my work brings me to this town and I am free of obligations afterward. Regardless, I will accept your terms and spend the rest of this evening with you. Thank you Sir Saddlesore, I will spend the remainder of this evening in your presence and finish my meal in accordance to your request," she politely remarked for him, nodded again as she continued to eat her food in her polite manner, her deft magic easily manipulating her utensils. The smiling was not much of a big deal to Asteria, the unicorn seeing many people express a wide variety of emotions and expressions on a regular basis. It seemed to her that his reactions were outside the norm for his usual responses, the stallion not normally expected to act so positively. She didn't have a baseline to compare to, and simply decided to say nothing about their surprise. Until she learned more about the stallion and spent more time with him, she would have to be ignorant of why his actions were so interesting.
  12. While it was true that some griffons were trained to not have proper emotions, Gerrard was clearly an exception. If he knew about her book, the griffon would state that he was just so tough that the shocks couldn't prevent him from feeling emotion! Of course, he didn't purchase the mind reading upgrade and was oblivious to her secret thoughts, the hapless plumber thinking about more pressing issues as they seemed to be perpetually pursued by water that wanted to give them an eternal bath! He listened to her explain that pegasi could control the weather, something that caused the griffon to roll his eyes in discontent. Ponies always seemed to think they had an answer for everything, their 'magic' traits always being a crutch that provided them the hubris to face their doom head on. While he had an ego, and a large one at that, the griffon preferred to avoid facing death in the face whenever possible. "Oh but of course. I'm sure you have all contingencies covered Lady Pathfinder. Please forgive my ignorance, perhaps I am undervaluing the individual element that resides inside of every pony," he commented, deciding to humor her and play along while she made her claims about weather control. He knew it was better to just go along with the brash claims of ponies, something that served to preserve the sanity of everyone involved. He paused when he saw the ghosts, the griffon seemingly unphased by them. Gerrard wasn't so much fearless as he was confused, the hybrid overwhelmed by all of the strange things that had been happening to the pair. "Well Pathfinder, it looks like this room is going to collapse soon and flood and I don't see any immediate exits. We can run deeper down this hallway and look for an exit, or we can wait back a bit and let the water fill up this chamber before we try to swim up through to the surface. What sounds more appealing to you?" he asked, offering her two options, only one of which seemed vaguely sane at all.
  13. Asteria could sense a great deal of tension leave his body, the stallion seeming more at ease now that her proposal was flatly rejected. She blinked, thinking over her words as he insisted that they should just be friends. While this may have been a more sensible option for the two acquaintances, she still was not used to such proposals. "May I ask what makes us good friends sir? What do I bring to our friendship? We are inherently selfish, and I simply hope I can bring enough things to you to merit the loss of your personal time. Is there something I can provide you, perhaps a verbal agreement of some sort. While not legally binding, I try my very best to avoid being a liar whenever possible. I can hope that you are the same Sir Saddlesore?" she asked, the mare probably a bit gullible to whatever he might say. Her keen eyes looked over the faces of the restaurant, watching the surprised faces around them as they gawked at the odd pair. "Is there something I can do for you to make a friendship deal acceptable?" the mare asked calmly, leaning in close to him, almost as if she were going to give him a polite kiss, the mare eagerly waiting for his response.
  14. Asteria could tell that there was an obvious disconnect between them as the pair could not agree on. Instead of explaining herself more to the unwilling filly, the courier decided to simply accept her opinion as a valid possibility, as unlikely as it seemed. She had to pause for a moment, the mare not sure of the next course of action as she gathered her thoughts. "Perhaps you assertion is correct, forgive me for questioning your intentions," she commented simply for the filly, deciding to be less confrontative with the child. She watched the filly follow her advice and eat her food slower, clearly suffering less from the brain freezes when she did so. The young pony seemed to approve of the tip, even if she did not openly state it. When Fate thanked the storekeeper, the white unicorn giggled and waved farewell, closing her doors as she left the pair outside in the dark of the night. "I am glad that you found the ice cream to your liking. Does this temper your resolve to indict me for alleged theft," she asked, wondering if the filly still questioned her intentions. When asked about her alleged daughter, Asteria blinked and thought over how to respond to the obvious confusion in the filly. While Asteria normally didn't understand playful banter, she had heard this particular one from her friend before and understood the intent. "Lady Lemon was joking that you were my offspring. I have no children of my own, but she reasoned the only easy explanation of you being at my side was your identity being that of my child. The joke relies on the fact that it is very obvious that you are not my offspring," she explained in her usual controlled voice, not giving any hint that she was joking herself, something that basically never happened anyway. "Do you require an escort to a local destination "Lady Fate, Knight-Errant of the Destrier Order, Greatest Champion of the realm? While I know that you are a prolific individual, fatigue and darkness can serve as an equalizer when harnessed by unscrupulous individuals," she added, seeming worried for the young filly as the night showed no signs of letting up.
  15. Asteria patiently listened to his awkward rebuttal of her strangely thought out proposal. It was clear that he was having second thoughts when he backtracked from marriage to being friends in such a quick manner. Most mares would have taken such a move as an insult or a sign of lack of interest. Asteria of course kept that option open, but was wise enough to realize that she had said or done something that he didn't like. She paused for a moment to think over many different possible responses, the mare going with one of the less confrontative options as she spoke. "I apologize if I was too stern a negotiator Sir Saddlesore. I try to create mutually beneficial agreements, but I may have been selfish in my requests. If you are cancelling your offer of a permanent relationship, I will accept your judgement," she replied, apologizing for his seemingly frightened or confused removal of the offer. "You wish to be my friend, but do not wish to be bound by any contractual agreement? That may be wise because such agreements are not inherently flexible enough to deal with all of the intricacies of life. You are asking for my presences in exchange for meals in the future? I may be able to accept your terms when I have no pressing obligations abroad or at my residence in Canterlot. It is wise to wait for additional information on a potential suitor if you are expected to spend the entirety of one of your lives with the other. I can accept your terms, they seem very familiar to the terms offered by Sir Gerrard. Perhaps you two would be relatable enough to be special friends with one another," she suggested in her usual innocent manner, the mare clearly not understanding the specific use of the flowery term. The mare carefully started cutting her food as she magically manipulated her utensils. To an untrained ear, her previous statement may have come off as an insult, the mare seeming to insinuate things, or just be socially oblivious. Regardless of her intent, her perpetually stoic expression and unchanging voice hid her inner thoughts well as she stared across to Saddlesore with the fiery eyes he had liked moments earlier.
  16. She nodded as he spoke, understanding his words after he clarified them for her. "I see, your actions were transparent. Meaning that it was easy to see through them to see what you were actually trying to do. By this definition, it would seem that I have trouble seeing through glass, and I must apologize for being unaware of your intentions," she replied, accepting that it was obvious but she simply didn't understand for reasons unknown. It seemed that she always accepted blame for any misunderstanding, simply because she was wrong a lot, or just preferred to avoid conflict. When he went on to explain the terms of the deal for them being partners, Asteria nodded in her usual manner, seeming to understand the rules as he spoke. "To earn the title of your Very Special Somepony, it means I must avoid mating and having relations with other ponies. Is there a contract of some sort for this deal, it would seem unwise to sign any agreement without a proper description of the agreement. In exchange for this agreement, I would receive additional time with you at no expense? The contract would be binding at all times, but I would only be able to collect my portion of the agreement while we both had free time? These terms seem hard to agree to. If I could not spend time with other ponies, I would need to spend more time with Sir Gerrard, my griffon friend. His species is exempt from the pony only clause of your agreement, correct? Perhaps I can place a value on signing the agreement if I can quantify the value of spending time with you, and contrasting it to the losses incurred when I agree to forsake relationships with other male ponies?" she theorized aloud, not getting the point very well when she tried to mathematically determine if the agreement was something that she could benefit from. It seemed to be stressed further when she interpreted his words as permission to have relationships with non-ponies, something the open-minded mare did not seem against at all. She did not seem against or for his terms, the odd unicorn needing to hear a proper proposal before locking herself into an agreement like the business mare she was. "Marriages occur for the creation of offspring correct? I am unsure if I am willing to commit to the sacrifices required to have a child in the near future. Most of us are inherently selfish in some way, and I do not believe that I can afford the detriment to my personal goals that would occur if I were to create offspring. In addition to this, I would need to do additional research to make sure that our genetics were different enough to allow for a healthy child. I can not perform such an investigation on such short notice. It would be much easier to arrive at this conclusion if you were a member of a different order. While you are a different species, it is still possible that we both might share some deficient recessive genes," she explained to him in a bizarre manner, the mare seeming to suggest that she would prefer marrying the genetically different creature that was still compatible with her for the sake of any children. If it wasn't clear before, it was getting very obvious that this mare was strange and thought over ever possible situation, regardless of how unlikely they might be. Were the other patrons at the restaurant listening to their conversation, if so, things might start getting awkward for everyone involved.
  17. Seems well written. I like the changes and am sending it off for final review.
  18. She listened intently to the stallion, her ears perking up ever so faintly as he described himself as transparent. It was clear that she was confused again by his figure of speech, the mare being almost entirely literally minded. "Sir Saddlesore, you are not transparent at all. While your complexion may be reddening, I can not see through you," she commented simply as she leaned close to his face, changing her vantage point to verify her statement. "Perhaps I am simply misunderstanding the intent of your words?" she reasoned aloud, not wanting to call him a liar as she remained as agreeable as possible. Asteria listened as he professed his love for her, the mare nodding in her usual manner that indicated she was listening to him. "I see, Sir Saddlesore. I appreciate your presence as well. In regards to being asked out by stallions often, your words may be described as hyperbole. While I have been asked out on dates in the past, it is not very often. I believe that many may be intimidated by my presence, or simply looking for different qualities in their mates," she theorized aloud, the mare thinking over her words. The courier paused to think over her statement, deciding that she didn't not exaggerate her past experiences with others. "I have not had a very special some person of my own. What exactly does that entail?" she asked in a confused manner, almost seeming to think of it as a possible business deal or something similar.
  19. Asteria lightly cocked her head to the side, her scarlet mane shifting to the side as she watched his face redden yet again. She determined that it had to be related to nervousness in some way. While she was right, the unicorn did not realize that her 'promise' to remember was what caused his facial change. "Why does the face redden when one is nervous? Does it serve any constructive purpose, or is it something that has yet to be properly understood?" she commented in her usual non-assuming manner. The black unicorn blinked her fiery eyes when he spoke, the courier failing to understand his common figure of speech. "I don't know how happy I have made you? Perhaps I am ignorant to how I make you feel, forgive me for being unaware of your feelings," she apologized, seeming to try to avoid conflict. The mare seemed to operate overly passive for reasons unknown. Something about her was strange, the exact cause though, a complete mystery.
  20. She listened, the mare nodding as he explained that the likelihood of an ulterior motive was really low. "I see, forgive me for questioning the motives of our hosts. It was not my intent to alienate us from their efforts. I simply wished to understand why they would operate their business at a loss. You're clarification is enough for me, I will not delve deeper into their rationality. I am glad that my presence has helped both you and the restaurant. Is there any way I can repay your kindness?" she asked calmly, looking across to Saddlesore as she continued to politely eat her food. "What are my thoughts on the salad?" Asteria replied in her unchanging voice as she thought over a way to express her thoughts on the food. The salad meets all expectations of the food it advertises itself as. It's consistency is acceptable and does not lack in any meaningful way. As for the dressing itself, from the taste of it, I speculate that it is low in fat while adding enough substance to merit its own existence. It is a very competent salad sir, and I appreciate this offering of goodwill. Thank you for allowing me to share this new experience with you, I will try to remember it for years to come," she commented simply for him, Asteria turning her attention back to Saddlesore as she focused her intense crimson eyes on the face of her date.
  21. His date blinked a bit and cocked her head to the side as he messed up her name yet again. He had a tendency to do so, the mare supposing that he kept doing so because he was nervous for one reason or another. Without knowing how to fix his ailment, she came up with a solution to his awkwardness. "Sir Saddlesore, if you wish to call me Beautiful, you may do so. I will not be offended if you call me the wrong name. I have read that friends call one another by nicknames as a sign of affection. Would this be an acceptable compromise?" she asked, trying to limit his awkwardness while her proposal was something that would probably only make it worse. While she was not the vain type, it might have been interpreted as such by the other patrons in the restaurant. When the free food was placed on the table, Asteria listened to her confused friend ask for an explanation. She heard out the waiter and waited for him to leave before making a statement regarding the food itself. "Thank you for the kind words sir, I am honored to receive your praise," she commented vaguely as he walked off, the black courier turning her attention back to him as she tried to understand the motives of the nice stallion who had just given them free food. "It is possible that he simply speaks the truth. Perhaps we are to give a tip to compensate for the free food? Or maybe it is a marketing strategy of some kind, relying on our presence or word of mouth to promote the company?" she speculated aloud, the unicorn mare clearly the type to think things through far too much. "Perhaps we should oblige the restaurant and accept their offer of free food and start eating," she speculated, Asteria carefully levitating a fork with her magic as she carefully ate her food like one might expect from a Canterlot pony. She of course didn't do it to show off, but in all actuality ate in such a way as to show respect for the restaurant she was eating at. She carefully savored each portion of the food and turned to face her partner. "Do you find the food satisfactory?" she asked simply, never speaking with hyperbole as if it were something to be avoided at all costs.
  22. Gerrard was glad that this mare wasn't the type who needed a great deal of personal space. Most mares either squeezed back just as tight, or simply squirmed free and stomped on his feet. The griffon was glad that there was another outcome, especially one that didn't end with a crushed foot or a grabby mare that wouldn't leave him to his own devices. He watched her scoop away the arrows, the architect scratching his head a bit in confusion at the spectacle. "Surely the arrows couldn't be worth the effort of carrying them around? Sentiment must play a role! Maybe she has a museum dedicated to all the arrows, with placards describing the exploits related to them," the griffon thought in silence, chuckling a bit at the absurdity of it all. She replied in the manner he expected, the griffon seeming to understand the thought process of the seemingly unpredictable mare. The hearty griffon didn't as much as flinch at her playful jabs, the hybrid used to giving and receiving them as exchanged banter with friends and strangers alike. "Yeah, I suppose it was quick thinking. Just let me wear your pith hat if I need to block any arrows with my head," he joked, deciding to not jab her back in the side. He was pretty sure he had done it to a pegasus who was flying, the black creature remembering someone crashing into wall. He couldn't remember the details, and decided to shrug it off, smiling a bit as he decided against needlessly hovering. Sure he could manage, but his large wings made it tiring to hold a stable position in the air without moving around. While he was not an expert in the supernatural by any means, Gerrard was an expert in water, and he had read of the infamous things it could do. "Well, you might wonder why someone would want water when they have ghosts. The answer is quite clear if you think about it. We managed to escape their clutches, unscathed as well! While their ghost things might be scary they are hardly dangerous enough to harm a large city, especially one with any amount of skilled unicorns. See, the problem with ghosts is that they lack substance, they lack speed, they lack determination! Water has all three with extra to spare," he cheered, clenching his talon and raising it for emphasis. "Have you ever see rain on a stormy night? You can see the clear outline of it as it pelts the ground! It falls so fast that not even the fastest pegasus can evade it. As for determination, water always gets to the ground, no matter the path it has to take!" he exclaimed with a smile as a drop of water fell from one of his talons and fell to the ground for Pathfinder to see, assuming she managed to keep her attention on him. He heard a light rumbling and turned his attention back to the pony, just in time to see her pull a brick out. His eyes widened a bit as the object seemed to instantly die of old age before his eyes. He didn't know a lot about magic, but this seemed like serious stuff, the griffon starting to feel even more worried about their prospects. The griffon had never studied Unicornia, opting to avoid as many history classes as possible in college. He went to Canterlot to learn about water, not some silly pony tales! If his dear unicorn friend was here though, she would probably give him a lecture about learning from the past to avoid making mistakes in the future. He flapped his claws like a mouth as he seemed lost in thought, thinking about his robotic unicorn friend,before the voice of Pathfinder snapped him out of his stupor. "Oh right, I will lead the way, stay by my side and I will protect you!" he cheered, extending one of his massive black wings and draped it over the shoulders of Pathfinder like a warm cloak of feathers. He took a few steps forward and saw something that seemed that seemed to defy reason. Amidst the decay and rubble of the secret passage, modern pipes seemed strewn about the area. He narrowed his eyes and looked the modern material over before gasping in horror. "Someone stole my personal piping! The audacity of it all! And probably using it to destroy Equestria and make me look bad!" he growled, showing Pathfinder one of the pipes that had his name engraved onto it in a fancy font. His loud voice made the room rumble slightly as the faint sounds of running water could be heard above the ceiling. Gerrard gasped and covered his beak, not wanting the already delicate walls above them to collapse before they could formulate a course of action.
  23. She watched the confused waiter vanish off into the back of the story, the scarlet maned mare turning her full attention back to Saddlesore as he spoke to her. She nodded as he spoke, the mare not doing this as a way to show agreement, but as a way to show that she is paying attention. The concept of agreeing with someone was just a thing that might happen on occasion, the unicorn not feeling a need to match up goals and views with others. It was not out of a sense of superiority, but to the contrary, the courier feeling that no views or opinions had any more true merit than another. "Your opinion on food is graded on a three tiered scale. It seems to make sense that food is graded on a multiple scaled system simply because there are many things about it that can affect you. My presence improves the third criteria for you, I am honored to help you in any way possible," she remarked, the odd mare staring across to him as she thought over his grading scale. It wasn't her place to question his own scale, the mare deciding on what her own was as she remained at his side. "You won't mind if I explain my own criteria I judge food by, will you? I first rate the sanitation of the food in an attempt to avoid to food poisoning. The second criteria, is the nutritional value of the food itself. The third criteria is the temperature change in my body that will be caused by the food itself, if any. The last meaningful criteria is the amount of time and effort required to consume the food itself," she explained in her usual robotic sounding manner.
  24. Asteria paused, thinking back to her many years of schooling. The Librum Dextarius was mentioned in passing by many of the novels she had read, the unicorn never actually getting a chance to read a hard copy of the often cited book. It was referred to as essentially the guide of how to be a good person in the service of others, or at least that is what she had been told. The filly didn't seem to be lying about the contents of the book, granted all works of literature were up for some sort of interpretation. The courier paused, thinking over an appropriate response to her seemingly warped view of reality, the dark coated pony not wanting to come off in an offensive manner to the suspicious filly. "Lady Fate, Knight-Errant of the Destrier Order, Greatest Champion of the realm, I believe that you may benefit from a broader interpretation of the guidebook. "While it likely states charitable deeds that should be performed, they are meant to be performed by the knight, not for the benefit of the knight. A knight lives to serve the realm, not be served by the realm. While the book might state that feeding the hungry is virtuous, I don't think it is something that is meant to be forced upon others, especially for your own benefit. You are the expert who has read the entire guidebook though, so I will refrain from questioning your familiarity with the book. Please find it in your heart to forgive me if I am wrong," she explained calmly, trying to be objective, even apologizing in the event that she was somehow wrong and the filly was correct. Asteria waited for a response from the filly, but noticed she was too engrossed in enveloping all the ice cream she could get her hooves on. The older mare opened her maw to warn the filly about the brain-freezes that accompany fast eating of cold foods but she was too late, Fate already succumbing to one. "A 'cold-stimulus headache occurs when you cool the roof of your mouth too much in too short of a time. Slower consumption of the food or allowing your mouth to acclimate to the temperature change will minimize the swelling and contraction in your mouth that causes the pain," she explained in a rather scientific manner, the odd mare seeming to be well schooled in a variety of fields. It seemed to beg a question about the odd mare though, in what areas did she lack, the tall courier surely not a flawless pony! The storekeeper watched the entire spectacle and giggled as Asteria tried to explain what a brain-freeze was to the filly. It seemed unlikely that Fate would have any idea what Asteria was talking, the black unicorn not one to assume others were dumb or less educated than her. It of course would be rude to do so and the unicorn didn't want to insult anyone if it wasn't necessary. "Well kids, it's been fun. I'm closing up shop about two hours ago! Make sure your daughter doesn't get into any trouble and tell her father I say hi," she joked while handing her the payment for food, winking playfully at the courier as she shooed them out of her shop and back into the cold Canterlot air. Asteria waved goodbye before the door was locked behind them, the older mare pausing as she thought over her next course of action.
  25. Her keen eyes looked his form over, the odd stallion seeming more excited with each word she spoke. She thought over the inevitable conclusions to this string of events, the mare weighing the costs and benefits of each in her mind before deciding to move along with their date. The dark unicorn nodded as she listened, her gaze drifting over to the waiter as he approached their table. "If you find the meal satisfactory, I will accept your judgement and order the same meal as you, grassloaf served with hay fries," she replied politely, wondering what sauce could elicit a feeling of love. It seemed that it was probably another figure of speech that was not meant to be taken literally, something she had a bad habit of doing. "I will love the food? I imagine that you use the word love as hyperbole to express how much you like the food. Am I to believe that it is the pinnacle in culinary creation? That is quite the statement to make. I imagine you are only referring to the taste, but how do you quantify such an abstract notion like taste?" she asked, in a seemingly serious manner. Was it possible that Asteria was not joking in the slightest, the mare viewing the world through some strange prism?
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