Gerrard

Gerrard listened as Telki explained to the pair of males what events had transpired earlier that week. It was quite the story to say the least, getting chased around by a pack of coyotes, assuming of course that it happened at all. Then she tried to backtrack on her name, the griffon smirking devilishly as he decided what to do. He had a mare friend who was skilled in the use of telekinesis, and if Telki was a liar, she was probably even better at it than he could imagine. "Ahh, don't worry about some mangy ol' coyotes, griffons are supposed to be the kings of beasts, right? A good ol' roar will set them straight if they mess with us. You know I can be quite the intimidating guy when I want to be," he added quickly, his expression not the type to inspire courage in his friends. Still though, something about the mare bothered him, and he was going to put his talon on it soon. "Well, when I was in school, the kids called me spy. Nothing could escape my eyes," he explained, locking his keen yellow eyes on the mare for just a moment. "I'm sure your parents call you a less silly name. Probably something awesome like Flux Facade. Now that would be quite the name, don't you agree," Gerrard added as he slowed down his march. The trio was finally at the pipes they were supposed to extend, the griffon quickly examining the situation. The pipes had been tampered with, someone clearly diverting some of the water from the town at some point in the past. He said nothing though, and turned to face Colton, the griffon preparing to give the pair their directions. "Colton, space out the pipes across the ground with a small amount of space between them. Place the fasteners below each pipe they should be connecting. Telki, you have a bit more complex of a job to handle. I need you to use your magic to fasten these screws in. You can either use a screwdriver, or if you are really skilled at magic, I suppose you could just fasten them with the grip of your magic," he explained calmly to the pony, his words seeming to suggest that he already knew she was lying. It was almost like he was laying a trap out for her, the griffon fishing for a confession for no reason in particular. "Oh, it will probably be one go unless we run into complications. Here you go Telki, all the screws for the system," he commented with a neutral expression on his black beak as he fished out a nondescript container. He shook it, listening to the contents as if he could hear the amount of screws inside of it. "This should be more than enough," the griffon added vaguely as he held the container firmly in his talon. He made a motion to toss it, loosening his grip on the container as it looked as if was about to toss it to Telki. At the last moment, his black claw held onto the container, the lid popping off as a large cloud of prickly screws flew up into the air towards Telki. It was more than a normal pony would be able to grasp with their magic on the fly, but it was by no means impossible to deal with, the cloud of metal relatively condensed as it approached the mysterious mare. "Ack, my claws caught on the container, silly me," he added awkwardly as he watched the screws lob into the air with a nice safe arc. It would be rather funny if his hypothesis was wrong, but Gerrard knew from experience that pony names always meant something important.

Asteria watched the filly as she struggled to comprehend the words of the older pony. It seemed that the young 'knight' was having trouble with the information for one reason or another. It was possible that her youth and inexperience hadn't prepared her for the words of the unicorn, but the mare didn't want to write her off as uneducated, such an assumption only serving a disservice to the dark unicorn. Regardless of the reason for their disconnect, Asteria was a busy pony, criminal or not. Her client needed the delivery soon and additional discussion with the child was not advised if she wished to arrive promptly at her destination. "I must take my leave and deliver this product to my client. I will allow you to follow, but please do not divulge the identity of my client. Please respect their desire to maintain the secret formula for their product," Asteria commented with her usual big words, the mare not the type to assume someone was unable to understand her. The tall unicorn carefully advanced towards the rear of a building that had a large sign hanging over the front of the main entrance this store. It was impossible to determine what the store was from this angle, but a Canterlot native could probably identify the store as one of the famed ice cream shops from the silhouette of an ice cream cone. "Some products have a myriad of uses. While it can be used in medicine, it can also be used as in ingredient in cooking. It adds a distinct taste to the food it is applied to if used in specific quantities. Thirty bits is expensive, but this is enough of the herb to last a business over one month. It can be seen as an investment. By spending thirty bits on these herbs, the store owner hopes to make their product worth over thirty additional bits. If they succeed in doing so, they will have made more bits than they spent on this capital," she explained calmly to the young filly. The mare gave Fate a lesson in economics, a subject that the pony wouldn't probably know about, even if she did go to school. Even if the knight didn't know what the unicorn was talking about, one thing was probably clear. Asteria's voice never seemed to change, almost perpetually stuck on the same eerie tone. Despite saying a lot, the unicorn didn't mention anything about the store as she approached the back door, the black pony carefully opening the door with a keen use of her magic. The red aura grasped the door knob and carefully rotated it until the entrance was open to the the 'criminal mastermind'. The door revealed the kitchen area of some shop. A friendly looking white unicorn mare was carefully mopping the floor of the establishment, with a deft use of her yellow magic aura. As the door opened, she panned her head over to Asteria, her blue eyes widening as she spotted the cowled courier. "Asty! I'm glad to see you, I almost ran out of, you know what!" she commented in secret, giggling a bit. The store keeper seemed in good spirits, oblivious to the young pony who thought she might be a crime lord of some kind.

Gerrard managed a smile, even if the pony was messing with his fur and feathers. Most ponies kept a safe distance away and rightly so. He would have returned the favour, but decided against disturbing her hat or yanking on her dark dyed mane. "Well most anything would be better than death, but I agree with your guess," he added calmly, scooping a clawful of gunk off his drenched head feathers. The dark hybrid followed behind her as they ascended the watery path. When Pathfinder triggered the trap, Gerrard nearly fell head over heels as he tried his best to react to her quick movements. Gerrard may have the vision and keen sense of smell of an eagle, but it was clear that he had no idea how to apply them. He could smell the wood that she mentioned but had no idea what any if it meant until she mentioned it. "Ahh, I see. Lots and lots of wood down there. Run of the mill traps," he remarked with a loud cough as he tried to play off his fear. She couldn't see behind her, which was one thing he could appreciate, the griffon having quite the manly image to uphold. "So how do you propose we progress? Only one of us have a pith helmet to absorb arrows. I suppose we could trigger all the traps and dart through before they reset, clearly nothing could go wrong," he joked, offering his two cents to the adventure expert. He never thought it would be, but the irrigation architect found such stressful situations fun. In small doses of course!

Gerrard wouldn't go as far as dumpster diving, but he did enjoy the occasional sifting through junk piles and airship graveyards. He never found anything breathtaking, but did find quite a few trinkets of value. He saw the register open up dug one of his dark claws into his bag, the hybrid fishing out a small stack of bits. His keen eyes looked at the thirteen coins as he deftly stacked them into a tiny tower before pushing them over to the mare. The half bird was in good spirits as he looked her counter over, hoping she didn't mind him wasting a few seconds of her time. He was rather proud of his talons and took every opportunity to muse over them, the hybrid not seeing the opportunity that was right behind him. He paused for a moment, sniffing the air, the clawed creature smelling something that seemed vaguely similar to pony behind him. When Inkie welcomed the sleeping zebra, Gerrard turned around and saw his next unwitting victim. A devious grin spread across his maw as he carefully approached the zebra. Gerrard molded his face into the fiercest expression he could muster, contorting his brow and and opening his sharp black beak as his feathers puffed out menacingly. His talons opened to show off his sharp claws as he decided to test the bravery of the other patron. "Hello Sir, I believe that you are next in line," the griffon explained in a professional voice, doing his best to gently wake the zebra to frightening visage. He loved to scary ponies for fun, their responses weren't usually as favorable, but sometimes ponies enjoyed an honest scare.

Everything here seems to be in order. Nothing stands out as wrong or against the rules. I just need to check out a bit of information on what is acceptable in regards to music and equipment. Good application~

Asteria was completely quiet while her friend spoke. Her exp<b></b>ression was as stoic as ever as she stood before the two males. Whatever she was thinking, it was probably impossible to determine through her unflinching visage. "Ahh, allow me to demonstrate. Now you see, normally ponies would be scared to have a griffon claw out at them, but see Asty here actually--, " Gerrard explained in a sincere voice as he gestured lightly with his sharp black talons. He suddenly paused mid sentence and lunged at the pair of ponies, placing his claw at the base of her neck. Asteria didn't even flinch, almost as if the spectacle was routine. Logic would state that even if someone knew it was coming, they would probably flinch a little. Gerrard smiled and released the well dressed mare. "See, no fear," he commented proudly, puffing his chest out a bit as if he had accomplished some magnificent feat. Asteria blinked and looked across to Gerrard as if she were going to tell him something he already knew. "Sir Gerrard, it would be irrational for me to consolidate my position when you have no intention of hitting me. It is a waste of energy. I know that you won't hit me because you wouldn't want to risk damaging our relationship without gaining anything in return," she explained calmly to the pair with a completely straight face. Gerrard's exp<b></b>ression cracked a bit as he couldn't hold back his laugh. "She is a robot. There is no other explanation. She probably has quantified friendship in some way. Don't take points away please," he added with a smile as he playfully flicked her muzzle. Their relationship was a bit strange and it was unclear how close the pair was to one another.

While it was unlikely that Fate was truly such a hero, Asteria had no evidence that proved the true identity of the filly. While it would have been easy to call the young pony a liar, Asteria simply decided to accept her word until the situation was more fully developed. It would have been rude to call Fate a liar, even if she was after all. Asteria's fiery eyes watched over the filly as she almost seemed to disbelieve the response of the mare. The older pony could easily see the disbelief wash away into pure suspicion as the filly seemed to doubt her words again. She could tell that her words were incorrect, something they usually were. It seemed odd to her that anyone could feel better when called a liar, but Asteria would have to investigate this response further another day. When Fate gave the receipt a bewildered look and tried with limited success to read the paper, Asteria decided that further clarification would be in order, especially when she retorted fervently. A normal person would have started to get irritated from her ceaseless accusations and denial of reality, but this unicorn wasn't exactly your normal adult. "Lady Fate, Knight-Errant of the Destrier Order, Greatest Champion of the realm. A receipt is a proof of purchase given out at stores for further documentation. If there is a defect, or you find your product unsatisfactory, the item and the receipt can usually be returned to the store and traded back in for it's original purchase price. That is the standard rule of item returns in Equestria, there are exceptions where necessary. One such being when the damage is caused by the buyer, or if the product is consumed to a predetermined level. Rosemary is an herb used in medicine or culinary endeavors. While thirty bits may be a lot, such a price is fair for such a large and heavy quantity of rosemary," she explained calmly to the filly. It was clear that Asteria wasn't very familiar with dealing with children due to her lack of vocabulary adaption to the filly she was talking to. When she spoke of a game, the black mare cocked her head to the side again, sending another signal of confusion to the young filly. "Game? I am not familiar with the game you speak of. Are you asking for me to play pretend with you? I have pressing business to attend to, but I would be willing to indulge you in a game of your choosing when I finish. My delivery is to be in secret, and to a client who wishes to remain anonymous. I am afraid that you may not follow me further unless you promise to maintain the confidentiality of my employer," she added, giving no immediate sign of her destination as her gaze remained locked on the filly. If anything was clear about the mare, it was that she was the type who would could disguise her mannerisms perfectly, when she chose to anyway.

Asteria stood before Ardent Fate in her usual calm demeanor, her tall body towering over the young filly as she patiently listened to her explanation. There was no immediate sign of tension in her body, the peculiar unicorn not seeming even remotely stressed as she was repeatedly interrogated and accused by the young 'knight'. If Fate spoke the truth, ice must have run through the veins of the mare to keep such a calm composure. "It is an honor to meet you Lady Fate, Knight-Errant of the Destrier Order, Greatest Champion of the realm. While I may be ignorant of your deeds and accomplishments, I trust that your exploits are all of great significance," she politely remarked, the mare doing a subservient bow before the young filly. It was unclear if she spoke truthfully, but for one reason or another, the odd unicorn did not deny the bold claims of the filly. The mare cocked her head to the side when the eager filly claimed to have caught her in a trap of declaring her guilt. It was her way of expressing confusion while she gathered her thoughts for an appropriate response. "While you did not explicitly state that I stole something, I have done no other actions that could be misconstrued as a crime. That is unless you have been secretly following me for more than a few hours. Beyond that time, I am unsure of how my actions may have been interpreted. My response was simply designed to address the only plausible action of mine that could be interpreted as criminal, it is not an admission of guilt. If you wish, I could notify a guard to verify your claims. I have a receipt for the object in question if you believe that I stole it," she commented calmly, her voice showing no sign of fear, anger or even concern as she defended herself. Her long black horn glowed a deep red as she deftly slipped a receipt out of her bag and presented it to the filly. The paper clearly stated "large rosemary powder container" and had the price of thirty bits on it, quite the price for an herb. The receipt seemed to follow the accepted style for an object of it's kind, nothing about it seeming wrong. The receipt even matched the name of the store that the item had been taken of. She seemed to have proof of her purchase, unless it was a forgery of some kind as well. Her story was plausible at least, but it was still up to the filly to decide it further.

Unbeknownst to the mare, Gerrard had picked through quite a few junkyards in his day, the griffon having no qualms about getting his claws dirty while fishing out a rare treasure. Junk was just potential treasure waiting to be plucked from the purgatory of being defined as refuse. He examined the spade closely and smirked devilishly, holding it firmly in a strong talon. "Well, I will gladly pay full price for such a marvelous tool, especially one that doesn't have teeth marks on it," he added jokingly, the black hybrid gently nudging the pony in the side with his elbow as he made a minor joke about ponies holding tools in their mouths. "But then it would be rude to deny your discount of ten bits. I propose a compromise of 13 bits! The reduced price of ten bits with a 30% tip for being such an amazing clerk," he added with a smile, the griffon apparently reverting back to his actual mannerisms as he started acting more jovial. The griffon was quite successful by the definition of most ponies, but was by no means rich. Regardless, he didn't mind paying a fair price. He wasn't stingy though, and would avoid haggling, simply out of fear that he might alienate himself from clients. He followed her back to the counter and waited for her response, his eyes drifting across the store as he did his best to focus on the deal at claw. He did have a job to do, even if it was getting rather dark outside. At least the mare seemed nice enough, his long black tail wagging a bit in anticipation of her response as he placed it on her counter.

The black griffon listened to the mare as she introduced herself as Inkie, the hybrid nodding as his hypothesis was confirmed. When she gestured for him to follow her into the hardware section, Gerrard complied and thought over her introduction as they made their way to the other section of the store. "Ah, okay Inkie. You know, for having such a unique name, it does seem vaguely familiar for one reason or another, I just can't put my talon on it," he mused aloud as they entered the room. He was frozen in awe when his bright eyes spotted the walls of tools and other similar items. He hadn't seen such a collection anywhere outside of his native country, and had to take a few moments to glance over it all. Inkie then went above and beyond the call when she displayed every type of shovel that one could imagine. "You must meet dozens of... people an hour to get such a collection of stuff. I could use a snow shovel," he added with a smile on his black beak while she actually named off every possible variant of the tool, the griffon pausing while he chose the correct term for patrons in his mind. But when she presented the spade to Gerrard, a faint glimmer could be seen in his eyes. The inner magpie of the griffon rose to the surface as he carefully took the tool in his talons. Something about the tool captivated him, surely its utilitarian design, and certainly not the distinct shine that showed off it's quality. He held it firmly, and made some fluid shoveling motions before turning to Inkie, the griffon practically blushing a bit. When he realized he seemed like a child with a new toy, the griffon raised one claw to his beak and made a hearty coughing noise as if to clear his throat. "Ah, yes, this will do ma'am. May I ask what the price is on this beauty? The spade I mean," he asked awkwardly, the formally formal hybrid starting to make a spectacle out of himself. Gerrard hadn't actively searched through a pawn shop before, and he was starting to see why. It felt as if he could find anything he wanted here, and the griffon surely would go broke if he failed to resist the urge to buy every shiny object on the shelves. Hopefully Inkie would be merciful and only take him for the spade, not that he exactly would be bothered by either outcome.

It was just one of those days for Canterlot's resident irrigation expert found himself stuck with yet another terrible assignment. He had been assigned to perform maintenance on the pipe system of the city on an exceptionally cold winter night. Like all people who hate bad weather, he rushed out of Canterlot in an attempt to avoid the coldest hours of the night. In his rush, he forgot his well worked digging equipment. He now found himself wandering through a cold city, searching for a pony store that sold shovels. As the city faded into the darkness of night, the black pelted griffon spotted one of the few stores that chose to brave the poor weather. His keen yellow eyes read the posted sign as he shook his frame free of a thin layer of frost. "I'm fixin for a shovel, he thought to himself, a smirk spreading across his silver feathered head. He walked into the store and looked around the deceptively large store. He quickly realized that he would need an expert to find a specific object in a pawn shop. He breathed an audible sigh as he spotted a gray made at the store counter. The griffon switched gears internally and casually walked up to the storekeeper. "Hello Lady, Pie I presume? It is an honor to meet such a made in my time of need. Gerrard Grayfeather, alumni of the Royal University of Canterlot. I need a rare artifact and only you can help," he announced in a formal voice that seemed unquestionably from Canterlot. It was a bit strange though, the vaguely intimidating appearance of the griffon seeming to contradict his tone. He wore no formal attire aside from a well crafted bag that was firmly fastened to his neck. "Do you have any shovels or shovel related apparatuses," he asked in a less serious tone as he dropped the act of excessive formality.

Asteria watched the pony as he thought over her words, almost seeming to question if she was speaking truthfully. While some might have scoffed at being thought of as even remotely lying, the odd mare remained as stoic as ever. She personally didn't mind, most people finding demeanor a bit confusing. Regardless, she was here to become a character, and as long as she stayed within the parameters described by Talkie, she assumed everything would probably work out well enough. When the character was described to Asteria, she listened closely, trying to find similarities and differences between herself and the pony she was to impersonate. Asteria was always honest, even when it hurt the feelings of others, granted she tried to frame her words politely, even if they were to crush the hopes and dreams of another. She had also determined that she was an extreme literalist, the mare always seeming hard pressed to grasp abstract notions like fear or love. And of course, her failure to understand common figures of speech always seemed to make others laugh, either at her or at her unusual interpretation on a commonly accepted idea. This character seemed like something she could emulate, having very few modifications to make to her responses. "I humbly accept your offer and hope that your belief in me will be fully founded in acceptable results," she politely added, doing another formal curtsey for Talkie, her elaborate white dress gently waving across her dark frame. When Talkie spoke of a Mister Grayfeather, Asteria turned her head towards the area that her friend had been waiting at. Before she could call him over, a black talon pulled back one of the curtains on the edge of the stage. The sharp claw revealed a griffon of darkest night, his from shrouded beneath a heavy set of feathers and fur. The only portion of his body devoid of such colour was his head, layered in silver feathers and accented with a pair of wicked looking eyes. He wore a strange bag that was fastened around his neck, its contents unknown. And as quickly as he appeared, the dark hybrid made his way over to the pair, Asteria stepping to the side of Talkie in order to give the griffon room to introduce himself. The winged creature had quite the intimidating presence, his methodical walk having an odd sort of confident swagger about it. He stood before the two ponies, his eyes drifting away from his friend and towards the director. "Hello Sir Talkie, I am Gerrard Grayfeather, alumni of The Royal University of Canterlot, esteemed member of the irrigation architect faculty. Perhaps you have seen my work, it is all over Equestria," he replied in a suddenly formal and upper class sounding voice, the griffon pointing a finger out as if he truly were some sort of fancy pants griffon or pony. When he finished speaking, he extended a talon for Talkie to shake, the odd griffon seeming nice enough, even if his appearance was a bit frightening. "I brought out Lady Asteria to your auditions in a hope that she could experience a wider breadth of activities. I hope that she hasn't bothered you too much, with her idiosyncrasies, she can be rather overwhelming at times. Perhaps I could give you a demonstration of how fearless she really is?" he added with a smirk, his professionalism slowly seeming to peel away as he gave the unicorn a sinister glance. "That is of course if you approve, Sir Talkie," he added, doing a light bow, the griffon seeming to represent himself as her manager. Something about the griffon did seem rather odd though, his words and appearance seeming to outwardly conflict each other as he stood defiantly before the two ponies.

Gerrard of course had nothing to compare this to, aside from the pleasant days he had to deal with in Canterlot. Perhaps it was slightly to his benefit though, unable to truly gauge how much danger they were in, the griffon wasn't initially too bothered, at least not until his head was dunked under water by his overeager pegasus friend. The architect took in a deep breath of water, hacking and wheezing a bit as he pulled his head back out of the water. "Normally people ask for permission before using others as stepping stools," he grumbled, the utterly drenched hybrid paddling his body over to a wall. He paused for a moment to clear his head, the Canterlot resident resisting the urge to pull her back into the water. After he reached the wall, he climbed up the rocky walls with his deft talons, his dark form completely drenched with water. After a brief pause, he shook his body violently, throwing water in every direction as he tried to dry himself off. As soon as most of the water had been dislodged from his fur and feathers, he quickly puffed up, his fur and feathers airing out and making him look more ridiculous than usual. "Coming," he grumbled, the griffon hopping off the wall and flapping his heavy wings to remain in the air, a light mist of water filling up the air as his movements dried him off. "Lead the way Miss Horsefly. I'm sure there is something down that passage, it seems to increase in elevation that way, the water is flowing towards us. Wait a minute, water is coming this way from somewhere else as well? That way leads to the exit, just don't fly into any traps," he commented in an excited voice, suspecting he had figured the way out of their prison. Regardless of if it was right, the water continued to slowly build up and challenge their presence in the cave. Gerrard could smell things in the cavern, but he couldn't make anything out with the wet horse flying in front of him. She apparently needed soap as well, not that he was going to say anything about it. "Path, there is uhh, stuff ahead, people or things, just saying," he warned, giving her essentially no idea what was waiting for them.

I look forward to seeing how this all turns out. Since you bring up the issue of weapons, let me give you my personal take on it. Weapons in general are frowned upon for obvious reasons, but there are always exceptions where it would logically make sense. Guards of course have weapons for the protection of themselves and others, what confuses me though is why she carries a weapon that isn't standard issue. Perhaps you can explain why her equipment deviates from the accepted norm? The main thing that worries people is when the object becomes the focal point of a character and defines them more than their personality. Much like in real life though, it is highly illegal for people to run around with their weapons blazing when they are off duty, (security guards in particular, police perhaps less so =P)

I looked over this application and I can see that you put a lot of work into it. That being said though, this forum stays as close to established canon as possible. Unicorns don't have weather magic because that is pegasus territory. The only time it occurred was with the alicorn amulet. That being said, you might have a better time defending it if you came up with a reason for him to have such a dangerous spell. It especially would not be allowed if your magic would be used against other characters. I would suggest coming up with reasons for his magic aside from being a wizard. This forum is more about character interaction than displays of power or showmanship. If you need tips or direction, just ask

The unicorn paused for a moment, the mare thinking over the actions of her day. The 'criminal" oddly seemed open to the idea, the silent mare seeming to deliberate over the possibility that she actually did break the law. It would be rude to call the filly a liar, but since the black unicorn could not recall breaking the law, she decided that one of them was mistaken. "Lady... May I ask for your name? I feel that having a certain familiarity between us may relieve the tension in your body. You may call me Asteria," she explained with her usual calm demeanor. Her sudden shift in discussion was odd, the mare almost seeming to attempt to befriend the young pony. Was it all a lie? Was that even her name? It wasn't the most conventional of pony names. When Ardent spoke of catching the unicorn red hoofed, her head slightly cocking to the side as if to inform the filly that the made didn't understand the expression. "My hooves are black. Perhaps you are referring to my tail, which is a shade of red. It is an understandable mistake," she commented in her usual serious manner as she failed to grasp the obvious meaning of the expression. It seemed that the 'thief' was either ignorant of the saying or purposefully toying with her accuser. After listening to her accuser claim the mare had stolen something, she blinked after understanding the perspective of the filly. "Theft occurs when someone takes an object without properly compensating its owner. If you were observing me, you would have noticed that I compensated the owner prior to my retrieval of said item," the unicorn claiming to have actually bought the item. Her story was a bit strange though, if she did speak the truth, why did she take the item in secret. It seemed like her words created more questions than they solved.

Asteria's keen eyes watched the reaction of all three, the two producers opting to shrug off the entire event as the failing of someone, the source in particular hard to determine. She made no internal decision on that manner though, deciding to see how events would pan out before coming to any concrete conclusion of her own. When one mentioned that Talkie was broken though, her crimson eyes panned over to the paralyzed pony before her. It seemed that something she had said or done had managed to destroy his psyche, if only for a few moments. The odd unicorn internalized the chain of events and memorized them for future use and diagnosis, not that she believed it would be easy to replicate in the future anyway. When his stupor was broken with a laugh, the odd mare couldn't help but slightly cock her head to the side, seeming to search for another persepctive to view the situation before her. She listened patiently as the director showered in her praise, the well dressed 'actress' doing her best to understand what he was saying to her. He claimed that she had a great sense of humor, a praise that was almost never showered upon her, and the possibility of deceit entered her mind as a plausible explanation of his actions. He claimed that her responses were so strange that they were in fact funny and her mind processed his words carefully. Asteria had read that extreme deviations from the accepted norm could be viewed with laughter or disdain, so at the very least, his response seemed reasonable. "Thank you for the words of Praise Sir Buckman. Your unique perspective seems to appreciate my specific mannerisms. I did not intend to seem humorous, but if my actions have improved your day, then I am honored to have helped you in some manner," she commented in her usual tone, her expression as stoic as ever. If this unicorn was acting, she would have been the most skilled character actress to remain in character no matter what, even when her audition was over. "I originally applied for the role at the request of my friend, Sir Grayfeather, as a way to experience new things. But if you are formally requesting my work in your film, I will graciously accept it out of respect for your judgement. May I ask what role you have in mind sir, I don't believe that my actions were compatible with the character I initially applied for. I will adapt to your direction to the best of my abilities," she commented simply, almost being more agreeable when spoken to in less abstract manners.

Gerrard impatiently watched his friend as she seemed to rummage through an impossibly cavernous bag. He didn't feel it was appropriate to ask what matter of magic could contain so much stuff into a saddle bag, the griffon eyeing their hole as it slowly filled up with water. Lucky for the griffon, his love of diving for fish had turned him into a capable swimmer, not that he was exactly looking forward to treading water in watery tomb. He did remember practically drowning once when he went diving when there was a particularly fierce storm on the eastern shores of Equestria. After a wave introduced himself to a beach, he took it upon himself to avoid terrible weather and dangerous situations. Of course it couldn't always be helped, the griffon trying his best to simply escape the hole and move on with his life. The water was rising surprisingly fast, or at least it felt like it was, not that he could see anything. He heard Pathfinder mumble on about finding something, the hybrid unable to make heads or tails of her words when he was greeted with a rough match to his face. His pegasus friend had struck a match on his face, an unpleasant, but seemingly acceptable thing, at least compared to what he had done to her. With water already up to his waist, the architect took the lit torch from his friend and held it firmly in his talons, raising it high into the air as he illuminated the hole above them. The pair seemed to have fallen into a cavernous pit of sorts, numerous stalactites hanging from the ceiling above them as the pair seemed to have somehow gotten trapped in an under ground cave. "Uh, well this seems like it will take a long time to fill such a cave with water regardless. We should be looking for an exit somewhere. I would love to claw my way to the surface, but hard rocks would probably serve a bit too much resistance for me to make any progress," he sighed with an annoyed tone in his voice, the architect just wanting to get home. He would probably be more scared, but his familiarity with water and it's inner workings helped temper his fear for drowning, if only until it got serious at least.

The strange cowled mare seemed to near her destination, her tall body nearing an ice cream shop of all things. Crimson eyes peered up at the building, examining the closed restaurant, almost as if she were seeking entrance to it as well. Was it possible that the dastardly criminal was going to rob another store, even with an eager filly on her tail? Regardless of her intentions though, the strange unicorn paused as Fate seemed to demand her to stop. The cowled figure did not openly acknowledge the existence of 'knight' until she was faced down by the angry visage of the young pony. An awkward silence filled the air as the two stared across to each other. The tension in the air was palpable as the two stood, ready to act if necessary. The light humming of magic filled the air as a dark red aura enveloped her cowl, carefully lowering it to reveal her stoic visage. The odd unicorn didn't seem to have the face of a criminal, one might even consider her beautiful by some standards. And yet she stood there, her mere presence almost seeming the deny the words of young pony. Her expression made it unclear if she had no shame, or was genuinely innocent. If she was indeed a criminal, this odd figure was either fearless, or remorseless. Her expression was one of complete apathy, even when pressured to explain herself. Lucky for Fate though, when directly addressed, the odd unicorn seemed willing to speak. "I have committed no injustice today young pony. I must also explain that the use of deadly force is explicitly outlawed in all but the most dire of circumstances. If you wish to dole out justice to criminals, it wise to verify that a crime has taken place to begin with. The only crime I could be committing would be a failure to notify a guard about a child out after curfew, and I am not sure if I should follow through with such a course of action," she commented coldly to filly, her words seeming to lack no doubt as they tactfully shifted from point to point. The unicorn had the audacity to assert that Fate was the true criminal here, even after seeming to rob a store and eye up another. Something about the entire situation was amiss and the unicorn's unwillingness to accept Fate's judgement made the who situation more tense.

The black unicorn was sure to lock the valuable container of rosemary into one of the saddle bags that were hidden beneath her cloak. It was unclear what sort of magic the strange thief knew, but a keen eyed unicorn could determine that she had great control over her telekinesis, the cowled figure manipulating her bag and her rosemary in one swift movement without looking at the objects in question. The mare paused ever so faintly as she entered the cold Canterlot air again, her body not even shivering from the sudden drop in temperature. The loud announcement of a filly entered her ears, tempering her movements, if only for the briefest of moments. It appeared that she had heard the filly, her had panning about quickly, almost as if she were looking for the criminal or the source of the voice. It almost seemed as if she had the audacity to assert that the young filly was a liar or mistaken as she didn't even respond to her bold claims. She leisurely walked through the cold city, ignoring the presence of the small filly. The unicorn wasn't even trying to openly flee, her light canter showing no sense of fear or shame. Was she trying to challenge the young pony to some sort of fight, or did she not simply think the young pony was able to cause her any trouble regardless? The mare seemed to be headed towards the heart of the city, making no apparent attempt to find an escape route either. Perhaps the unicorn wasn't a criminal at all, but regardless, she ignored the order of the young filly and was acting extremely suspiciously as she left the filly to decide another course of action. The ponies of Canterlot seemed tucked away in their homes to avoid the poor weather, the best evidence to support this coming from the shy itself as sprinkles of snow began littering the city, slowing creating a blanket of white on the city.

The bright moon of Luna loomed heavily over the city of Canterlot on a cool winter evening. The celestial body did it's best to illuminate the dark city as it reflected the light of the sun onto the capital of Equestria, shimmering a thin coat of light over the city before it would eventually be overcome by a thick blanket of clouds. The cheerful city would quickly be plunged into a cold driven darkness as an impending snowstorm threatened to bury the city in a layer of frozen precipitation. The majority of Canterlot's citizens sought refuge in their homes, but like everything in life, there were always a few exceptions. A few strange characters wandered the city, gathering a few last minute supplies before the city closed up for the evening. If everything turned out well, there wouldn't be any, 'complications' to ruin the otherwise pleasant evening. A lone unicorn stood outside the entrance of one of the many stores in Canterlot, the commercial establishment having many murals of fresh produce layered onto it's modest walls. The unicorn was draped in a dark hooded cloak that was only outmatched in colour by her jet black coat, the seemingly cold impervious pony trotted into the store for reasons unknown. Her keen crimson eyes scanned over the shelves of the establishment as she quickly made her way to the rear of the store. The unicorn was quickly met by what seemed to be the store manager, a well dressed earth pony with no particularly outstanding physical features. The two seemed to speak for a brief moment and as quickly as their meeting had started, it seemed to end as her long black horn glowed a dark red. With a few deft magical movements, a small bag, of what could only be described as bits by the distinct jingling noise it made, was quickly transferred from her possession into the storekeepers as some sort of payment was made. Her gesture was requited with a simple nod from the clerk as she made her way towards the exit of the store, her intentions unclear as she nonchalantly looked over the shelves of the store as she made her exit. Before slipping out of the store and into the night, a quick flick of her scarlet tail was visible to the keen eyes of any watchful citizen as she swiped a large container of rosemary off a shelf and quickly tucked it back away under cloak as she took a few steps out of the store. It seemed as if she had stolen the valuable item with no regard to the person she had just paid off earlier. Was she not a thief, or was this mare just an uncaring criminal with no disregard for anyone?

This application is pretty good Bello~ I normally would say that making a chief, or a boss or a royal type character would be frowned upon as a general rule of thumb, but I think it is very easy to make exceptions for the zebra tribes. I would be a bit interested to hear more about her husband though, I find it strange that he would only be mentioned in passing. He is the father of their four kids after all. Were there any diplomatic reasons behind the marriage, or was it simply two people from differing tribes who liked each other? What were here parents like? Was her mother such a great leader that Zeti feared that she wouldn't live up to her mother's reputation? What did her father do, and is she like him in any meaningful way? Is that where she got her prankster side?

Asteria was probably the most patient mare in all of Equestria, her stoic face unflinching as she watched Talkie wrestle internally with his desire to escape the apparent trap he had fallen into. She waited for further direction, her keen eyes locked on the stallion as he seemed to require time to regain his bearings. The black mare watched as he exited the room and apparently bashed his head against the wall in frustration. When he returned, her expression was completely the same as when he left, no look of surprise or confusion on her face as she internally speculated as to what happened to him. The well dressed pony was not one to make assumptions, but the apparent red mark on his face seemed to beg a question about the current state of his mind. It was obvious that Talkie was lying, but Asteria was not the type to make claims on incomplete evidence. She listened closely to his direction, the mare taking in the orders as best she could. He wanted to see hardship and regret and as an actress, it was her job to give the director what he wanted. "Yes, I understand sir. You wish for me to be the medium between you and the emotion described. I will gladly fill that role to the best of my ability," she added, pausing for a moment as she looked over the two directors and Talkie. Asteria seemed as apathetic as usual, her long black horn glowing a deep red as a small mirror was levitated into the air between the unicorn and the directors. With just a few nimble movements, the mirror was positioned in such a way that the movie ponies could see the reflection of Talkie. His expression seemed to be one of sadness and regret. His expression was clearly breaking down and reflecting his inability to handle the situation. "Is this satisfactory sir? As an actress, it is my job to locate and distribute appropriate responses and reflections. I believe that this is a wholehearted and authentic, do you agree?" she commented, in a serious voice, the black mare not understanding that she was the one who was supposed to be acting.

While his intentions were interpreted wrong, the tired hybrid was too out of it to understand his mistake and simply assumed that Falco understood. Gerrard sprawled out on the 'bed', spreading his limbs out in every direction while he let out a sigh. "Yeah, it comes from being dehydrated. Can I have some water before I go to sleep too, please," he replied with the best pouty face he could muster, the goofy griffon failing miserably at doing so while he contorted his face awkwardly. "Uhh, aside from that though, I can't think of anything else," he added with a yawn, the dark griffons maw opening widely as his eyes got heavy. Before any further response could be made, he was already asleep, tired from his day of work and failure.

Her keen eyes tracked the movements of Talkie as he tried his best to internalize and rationalize her bizarre response. While others might try abstract responses to get noticed, this couldn't be farther from the truth for the black mare. She found such concepts abstract and her lack of proper socialization only further exacerbated her ability to properly express herself. While she could determine from his body language that Talkie was lying, or at least nervous, the unicorn politely made no reference to it as she positioned herself on the stage. "I believe that I understand your direction. You wish for me to express the concepts of relief and joy simultaneously. Joy can be characterized as outward show of pleasure or delight. Relief is the easing of pain or distress. I can attempt to do both at once," she explained calmly, her originally alluring voice never seeming to change in tone or inflection. It was starting to seem as if she truly was an automaton of some kind and his direction was outside the bounds of her programming. "Thank you for providing me an opportunity to express myself at your direction. I feel that my responses may not be satisfactory, but I genuinely appreciate your patience in dealing with me, a person ignorant of the inner workings of your industry. I will be additionally relieved if I find that my presence has not substantially detracted from your reputation," she commented in her usual deadpan delivery as she gave another polite bow before all of the critical ponies. As soon as she had started, her display was over. While it was clearly not the expression anyone would be looking for, it was technically the most time efficient and exact response the strange mare could devise.