[Canterlot] A Misty Morning

[Dubstep]

Cydonia smiled softly as she rose from her bed, staring out the window as the day greeted her. Another perfect sunrise brought about by the Princess of the Sun. A thin fog had settled over Canterlot that morning, giving the near empty streets a lovely, yet almost eerie look to them. Today was another work day for the Hippogriff, but not for a few hours at least, which meant she had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the scene.

Heading down the hall of her upstairs, the lower half of her home having been converted to her workshop and storefront, Cydonia slid into the kitchen with a yawn and a smack of the lips as she brushed her mane from her eyes. Sifting through her cabinets, she finally found what she had been looking for. An old looking tin tea kettle and a couple of ceramic cup. Setting the kettle on to boil, she went on about her morning routine, brushing out the rat nests in her mane and throwing it back in a ponytail, brushing her teeth, all that stuff to keep you nice and healthy. Staring in the mirror though, a sigh escaped from the hybrid as she ran a paw across her scars. A constant reminder of her stupidity and why it mustn't be repeated.

The sound of the kettle whistling, at a boil, was enough to snap Cydonia from her little somber moment, back to a soft smile across her face, ready to start the day once more. After a little while, her sweet lemon tea was finally ready. Bringing the kettle and the extra cup with her, Cyd planted herself in a rocking chair on the porch of her shop and quietly sipped her tea. While it wasn't often that anyone was up at the crack of dawn, aside from Celestia herself, she always brought an extra cup, should a thirsty stranger come by to keep her company.

[Gerrard]

A deep yawn filled the air of Canterlot as a large griffon roamed the streets of the famous Equestrian city. A pair of slightly sleepy golden eagle eyes peered through the city, trying to make out the correct path to take on the slightly chilly morning. The silver head feathers of the hybrid rotated carefully along with his head as he aimlessly looked around town, the creature seeming a bit lost, something he was probably too proud to admit anyway. He grumbled lightly, his black beak barely moving as he took a seat on his haunches, the griffon slipping an equally dark claw into a large bag that was fastened around his torso. With a bit of searching, he managed to pull out an old map and looked it over, finding the map to be completely wrong as it listed buildings that were clearly not around. His eyes drifted off to the bottom corner before noting the date, realizing that the city map he was using was over twenty years old.

"This should be in the historical archives, not the public library," he growled in a disturbed manner, resisting the growing urge to shred the map that had lead him astray all morning. "I gotta find a pony in town to point me in the right direction, how embarrassing," he grumbled in a defeated manner, the griffon knowing how hard it was to find anyone in town at this point in the morning. He roughly pushed the map back into his bag before heading off into one of the residential districts in front of him. He needed to do a survey of one of the districts to check the quality of the pipe infrastructure, and the directions giving him were more than vague for the griffon. He glanced up and spotted a rocking chair moving at a leisurely pace, the griffon looking down as he approached the stranger.

"Do you know where the second district is? No,no, uh, I'm Gerrard, and may I inquire in your some help? Too formal, uhh, just act natural and they won't freak out," Gerrard thought to himself as he reached the steps of the stranger's porch. "Hello dear pony, may I ask for your help?" he asked, glancing up to see the hybrid rocking back and forth peacefully in her chair. His heart stopped, the griffon freezing in fear, already alienating himself before even looking at the local. "Err Griffon, err Hippogriff! Uh, let me start over, I'm Gerrard Grayfeather, and I need to ask if this is district two of canterlot. I need to check your pipes, err water pipes I mean!" he replied in a nervous voice, the confident black pelted griffon looking awfully red as he made a complete fool out of himself.

[Ciraxis]

At the same time, from other, far end of the street, two ponies emerged. One of them - a unicorn stallion - was wearing a long trench coat. The second one - a pegasi mare - was claded in armor, with pair of goggles hanging from her neck. It looked like they were arguing over something...

"Now, seriously Fire. Why armor? One could think you had enough of it when you were in active duty. I left mine in barracks when I quited the army and never looked back." said the Swift Squall with sceptical tone.

"Half the time it's just a dead weight. I mean...you can't fly very far in it don't you?" unicorn added with sly smile. He quickly dashed to the sidewalk, did a short wall run, and springed off it doing backflip combined with a pirouette. He landed and grined at her.

" You CAN'T pull something like THAT in the armor Fire, wings or not!" swordstallion was very complacent after that maneuver. "And I bet, that it makes you slower then dirt too." Squall added while adjusting his shades.

[Dubstep]

Cydonia had began to muse to herself, planning out her day's work. She had a bed frame to repair, as well as a chair to carve for a customer. Then there were the decoration orders. So much to do, and she was unsure where to start. Taking a long sip of her tea, Cyd was drawn from her thoughts by a voice addressing her. Sitting her tea aside, she smiled at the visitor, chuckling a little bit at how flustered he became from guessing her race wrong twice. She let it go though, no harm was meant by it. It seemed he was trying to hunt down where he was supposed to start his work

"Pleasure t'make your acquaintance, Mr. Grayfeather." she replied with a kind nod, "And yessir, well, close, this road is actually where district one and two separate." Finishing her sentence, the Hippogriff glanced down the road for a moment, taking notice of the couple that had came down an alley, before turning back to her guest, "Anywhere specific you're lookin for?" Cyd grabbed the second tea cup she had and poored some, "Tea?"

[tacobob]

"Well, Sir Squall, as you may notice, what I wear is not official Royal Equestrian Army gear. My proper armor when on duty is gold tinted and bears my badge which indicates my rank, which is First Lieutenant.", the red coated Pegasus stated proudly, "This armor was a a gift. It's Griffon forged, enchanted to keep me comfortable in nearly all types of weather, and very light, probably far less so than that heavy trench-coat that you have on, which if I may add, makes you look a bit like a flasher.", she added in a whisper and with a friendly wink, "Or at least the be-shadowed 'stranger' figure that graces nearly every other 'Neighborhood Watch' sign. We'll just need to get you a floppy hat.", she glanced around at the street signs hoping to find a proper hat store.

"And while I've never been a fast flyer, I make it up in endurance. And no....", she watched the unicorn break out into a small dressage display and could not help but place her right hood over her face in embarrassment, "I could do that, but no. If my father saw me prance about like that, he'd probably disown me, the 'Explorer's Club' would rip up my membership card, and I'd probably be forced to move in with my crazy aunt, Street. So. no. You're not going to see me do that. Ever.", she let out a chuckle and continued to follow the unicorn and stopped when what appeared to be an odd looking griffon stopped them along the way. She smiled politely and let the stallion do the talking.

Fire Walker, By Valkyrie Girl

[Gerrard]

"Thanks for being open minded ma'am," he replied with a smirk, her forgiveness allowing him to shed his inner turmoil. "Oh, right here? That makes things simple enough," the griffon adding in a relieved manner as he poked a dark talon at the road he recently crossed. "Thanks, I really owe ya for that, I could have been fixing the wrong stuff all day. Any way I can help you-" he commented pausing when he realized she had asked him to drink tea with her. "I just gotta find the pipe tree for this district and perform maintenance, making sure all of you... citizens have running water. With that water, you can make tea, and of course I can share some Tea with you, thank you," he added with a smile as his eyes drifted over to the tea on her table.

The griffon took a careful seat at her table and carefully picked up the cup with his nimble claws as he glanced across to the griffon pony hybrid. He took a sip of the Tea, sliding the drink down his stout beak as he tried to guess the flavor. Gerrard wasn't much of a tea drinker and had no idea what it was, hoping that she wouldn't follow up on his taste opinion. "So, you know my name, may I ask for yours? I like to meet all of the interesting citizens who live in my city, and I think you probably qualify as one," he explained in an upbeat manner, the griffon a bit of a contrast from the hippogriff. Gerrard was a relatively cleanly kept griffon, his larger frame showing no visible scarrings or markings, almost indicating a really peaceful life spent amongst peaceful ponies. Gerrard would never admit it, but he had gotten used to living in a world filled to the brim with pastel colored ponies.

The bickering of the pony pair far behind him, caught the attention of the griffon, drawing his gaze away from his humble host. His keen eyes looked them over quickly before returning his gaze to Cydonia, the griffon guessing in his mind what her name might be.

[Ciraxis]

"I could do that, but no. If my father saw me prance about like that, he'd probably disown me, the 'Explorer's Club' would rip up my membership card, and I'd probably be forced to move in with my crazy aunt, Street. So. no. You're not going to see me do that. Ever."

"Sure, sure. I can't count times when acrobatics saved my hide. And speaking of hide...it's not like I wan't to wear anything besides my sword. Thing is, my back under the coat...don't look pretty. I rather to spare you the sight. And coat have many adventages, like, you know...pockets." they started to get closer to the wood shop. Swift gave a glance at the pair that was sitting in the porch. Griffon he know not...but the hippogriff...

"Fire...look." he spoke quietly, so only she could hear him "I think I meet this hybrid before, but I can't recall where. Can we stop for a moment and pretend we wan't to buy something? Maybe I will remember." he walked forward towards Cydonia.

"Morning. Is the shop open already?" Squall asked louder.

[tacobob]

The armored pony groaned, "One of the things I love about my fellow Canterlotians is that we do prefer to go outside fully dressed and in style, not bounce around town starkers like some wild animal.", she caught sight of the two griffons and studied them briefly. She had known a few during her lifetime and found them to be worthy companions. They tended to be hot headed, but also quick to defend a friend and incredibly gifted in combat, both with sword and claws. She noted the male was handsome, but rather short for his age, then again, maybe they were not all as impressive as her blacksmith back at the keep. The female on the other hoof, there was something rather odd about her. From the distance she appeared to be a typical female griffon, but the closer the Pegasus got, the better she could that there was something very different about her. "Buy something...uh...What sort of shop is this?', whispered as they got closer to the building.

[Dubstep]

"O'course! Helps to be open minded in a city like this'n. See so many different folks out and about. Quite the melting pot!" Cydonia said as she refiled her own cup of tea, still piping hot and fresh, the steam wisping around her snout as she took a long sip, savouring the bitterness of the tea, with the sweet hint of lemon that played on the tongue, "Ahhh. You do quite a respectable job then, Mr. Grayfeather. A lot of folks wouldn't want that kind of job. So much hard work. Why I remember one time back at the Gulch, one of the pipes burst and no one got to work on it for days, had to drag buckets from the reservoir to the house to just take a shower! Oh but where are my manners this morning! I really didn't give you my name, silly me." she said chuckling a little, sometimes she thought she'd lose her head, if it wasn't attached, "My name is Cydonia, but most around here call me Cyd for short." the hippogriff replied, finally properly introducing herself to the griffon just as two more visitors came closer.

"Oh, hmm..." looking up in the sky in response to the question, Cyd rubbed her snout and charted where the sun was at now, "Ah, not quite open just yet. Not much longer now though, if you don't mind waitin for a little bit, I can fetch a couple more cups and you two can join us for tea!" she answered with a kind grin to the two, "I could even grab a couple biscuits or scones."

[Gerrard]

"Yeah, melting pot I suppose," Gerrard replied with a chuckle, letting out a light sigh as he watched the steam on their drinks float about lazily. Gerrard liked the warmth of the drink, but wasn't too fond of the bitterness or the lemon, the griffon politely drinking it as not to offend her. "I find it respectable, some griffons think less of me for watering ponies though," he added with a laugh, clearly not too disturbed by the words of other griffons. "The job is too much work for most ponies, you need to be a griffon to get around Equestria to all the different work sites. You also need to be deft at using tools like a unicorn. You should try holding a blow torch with your mouth, not safe at all. Lucky for me, I have these nifty talons," he explained with a hearty laugh, explaining why griffons were good at his job, the hybrid wiggling his digits in a silly manner.

"You took the buckets and carried them all the way back? It's isn't too hard to fly back home while holding some buckets I suppose. If I'm honest though, I probably would have just bathed in the reservoir, so much less effort," he added with a laugh, finding her story a bit funny as he rocked in the chair beside her table. "Nice to meet you Cyd, I'm Gerrard, but of course you already know that," he added, the griffon seeming overly positive the entire time.

Gerrard looked over to the two approaching ponies, taking a closer look at them. He saw a crimson mare dressed in what looked like heavy armor and a more mutely colored stallion wearing much more casual garb. "Hello ponies, what brings you to district two today?" he asked in a jovial manner, gesturing with a talon for them to approach the pair of hybrids. "Oh, if I take anything else Cydonia, I'll have to start paying you for all the generosity. Oh, speaking of that, has your water been okay recently? If something is wrong, I can investigate it more thoroughly," he asked, getting a bit distracted as he turned his attention back to the hippogriff.

[Ciraxis]

"We wait." Swift said blandly "Tea? I would be greatful, but don't bother with the baked goods in my case. What about you Fire?" he asked his crimson colored friend. Then unicorn sniffed. "That tea...from Gallopocus Islands? No..." Squall sniffed some more "It's from mountains in southern Itaily."

This innocently remarks, while true served as the distraction. Thanks to his non transparent green sunglasses Swift Squall could examine both the shop and two creatures. The griffon was normal sized, no larger then Swift himself. His body was fit, but it was fitness of the traveler not the combatant, intelectual type who had to move a lot perhaps? The look of his claws displayed the history of working with water at the great precision. The hippogriff was a different matter. It was the muscular body of somepony who was well trained one day but fell out of shape due to the lack of exercise. Only the front legs showed some of this strength. There were also a three scars across hybrid left eye, work of the griffon for sure. The eye itself was dialated as the result of this. He was now even more sure that he meet her, but to deduct more Swift Squall needed to see this mare in motion. That's why he asked for tea - her, fetching the cup will be enough.

The shop itself was seeling the wood maded goods. Stallion could see some of the furniture by glancing inside. It was well made which was not surprising when one could see the Cutie Mark of the shopkeeper...and most evidently the maker, in one.

"I am Swift Squall, a swordstallion. And that friend of mine is Lieutenant Fire Walker from REA. Nice to meet you...?" unicorn introduce both of them, ending the sentence with meaningful pause.

[tacobob]

The red coated Pegasus nodded her head politely as her name was spoken, "We were just about to pop over for some breakfast, so tea would be nice, thank you.", she smiled warmly at the odd looking griffon and was surprised to see the girl had a cutie mark, and she knew from experience that griffons simply did not possess such a thing. She had always wondered why only a selective few members of the races that existed on this big rock they all called home had the odd ability to express their talents or personalities through a permanent marking on their flank. Ponies and Zebras had them, but griffons,dragons, diamond dogs and other races she had encountered before did not.

"Lovely shop you have.", she glanced towards the window and noticed all the carved and built objects, all made from wood. Now that she took the bait, she would most likely have to buy something for somepony she knew. She knew her father would be insulted by such a gift, after all he did have a small pile of wood-working (very dusty) tools in their shed. She went through a quick mental list of all of her siblings and her two sister in laws. Eventually she jumped to her list of friends. Who would need something wood-based? Finally her thoughts fell onto her old friend from Fillydelphia, Muggo' Ale. Surely he could use something from the shop! Pleased that she solved her 'mystery of the moment', she decided her next one would be to figure out what sort of creature Cydonia was, without being rude.

[Dubstep]

"Oh, my water's runnin just fine, thank you for asking, I think someone down the way had said something about their pressure bein low, but m'not too sure on that." Cydonia said in reply to Gerrard's question before turning back to the other two with a smile. It was nice to have some company for once. Oft times folks who walked by were too busy heading to their jobs or school to stop and chat over tea, which meant that most of the Hippogriff's mornings were rather quiet, "My name's Cydonia, Cyd for short, it's nice to meet the two of you!" getting up from her rocking chair, Cyd stretched out her forepaws and hindhooves, bones popping a bit as she did, "Well thank you, Lieutenant, I try to keep it up to standards. Two more teacups, comin right up! Excuse me just a moment." with a little bow to her guests, Cydonia retreated into the shop for a moment, back up the stairs to the kitchen.

After a couple of minutes, the woodworker returned, still bringing a few snacks, just in case, "There we go! I brought out some scones in case anyone wants some." sitting the tray of snacks down, Cyd went about quickly pouring Swift and Fire each a cup of tea and holding them out to them, "Here you are, feel free to have a seat and chat, I'll be sure to open shop soon so if there's anything you want I won't hold you up."

((Since I don't have art of Cyd yet, the best way to get a basic idea for what she looks like is to compare her profile description, and the art of this other Hippogriff, Orlando))

[Gerrard]

"And I am Gerrard Grayfeather, Irrigation Architect from the Royal University of Canterlot. It is an honor to meet you Sir Squall and Lady Firewalker," the griffon replied to the two ponies, getting out the chair and doing a polite bow before them. "I'm glad to hear your water is working correctly, seems like I just have to do some minor repairs. I have to finish my maintenance today or they'll throw me in the dungeon," Gerrard chuckled in an upbeat voice as he stretched his large body out, no audible creaking coming from the younger hybrid's body.

As soon as Cyd had entered her home for additional supplies, Gerrard cocked his head to the side, a bit perplexed has he tried to understand what the odd pair were doing here. "I don't think either of you are qualified to check out the irrigation of Canterlot. What brings you two out here if I may ask?" he inquired in an almost concerned manner. The griffon was by no means a fighter, one of the few in his family who avoided the military life, but always wondered what it was like to be in the military. He figured he was probably too proud and stubborn to take any military orders, especially if it meant fighting someone. The worst injury that came in his line of work was the occasional spray of hot water or of wretched septic leaks.

(from what I have read about hippogriffs, their front is eagle/griffon, and their back half is horse http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/28600000/Hippogriff-mythical-creatures-28620890-700-679.jpg Just my two cents)

[Ciraxis]

"Irrigation Architect? That's responsible function. From University? I guess your came with a student's exchange, isn't it Mr. Gerrard? And quite while ago, you don't have accent anymore. Anyway pleasure is mine as well."

When Cydonia left to fetch some cups Swift studied her movements carefully. When hybrid disappeared behind the door unicorn turned his head slightly towards the Fire.

"She was not in the military." he said quietly to her "Self trained I guess, propably a former mercenary just like I used to be. Skilled with swords, her walk is clear in that regard." Squall shared his observations with Fire. He rubbed his chin with his hoof.

"That simplifies things somewhat. I meet four of her kind in my sellsword days. Now it's just a matter of figuring out ,which one of them she is."

"I don't think either of you are qualified to check out the irrigation of Canterlot. What brings you two out here if I may ask?"

Swift's eyebrow rose at the questiion.

"And you are thinking right. What gave you such idea? We were just having a friendly walk in the morning, Fire and I haven't seen each other in three months." stallion then saw a familiar glint in the griffon eye."You curious, aren't you?" Swift said, and it was not a question. It was a statement. Before Gerrard could answer Cyd returned with the tea and scornes.

"Here you are, feel free to have a seat and chat, I'll be sure to open shop soon so if there's anything you want I won't hold you up."

"Thank you." Swift Squall said simply. He took a sip before he asked. "Why you use rocking chair Cyd? You don't look like a pensioner."

He knew that a question was a little rude, but Swift really needed clues about when he meet her. She herself was completly oblivious to the fact, he assumed that the meeting was short...but such was all his encounters with a hippogriffs.

[tacobob]

"She is very pretty, but I'm not sure what sort of crea..person she is. Never seen a griffon with a cutie mark or hooves before.", the mare whispered. She had considered herself a worldly pony having traveled to distant lands and even faced more than a few strange creatures during her time, so she felt somewhat foolish as she did not know what Cydonia was. When the not-griffon returned, Fire Walker had found herself a seat by then. She graciously accepted the teacup, "Thank you once again.", she liked her tea without any fussy sugars or milk, so she drank it slowly and listened to the conversation.

The Pegasus nearly spit out her tea when the stallion make the remark about the rocking chair. 'How Rude', she thought to herself as she managed not to spray the group with her hot beverage. One of the few pleasant experiences she had was rocking away on her grandfather's old Mahoof chair during the late evenings at her parents house. Sometimes enjoying a cup of tea, or detailing her latest adventures to her little sister who would be sitting by her and demanding another story about her 'Fuzzy Brown Prince'. When she sat in the rocking chair, she felt as if her beloved grandfather was with her. This would not do and she certainly would not be doing anything if the male griffon decided to slap Squall silly for a moment. No pony mocks a chair that rocks! Still, she knew while her friend was a bit eccentric, he was no fool and probably had some clever plan of some sort.

[Dubstep]

Returning to her own seat after handing out the tea, Cydonia let out a happy little sigh as she settled back into the chair. It was clearly a well crafted chair, a keen woodworker's eye could see it was literally made from one piece of wood, oak to be precise. The wine red cushioning on the backrest and seat of the chair was expertly sewn as well. It was quite the masterpiece. Upon Swift's odd and a little impetuous question, the hippogriff couldn't help but snort lightly, a pensioner? "Oh, no, not a pensioner, hehehe." a giggle escaped her as she held her paw up to her snout, "No no, my mentor made this chair for me a good while ago, when he finally felt that I had become a master woodcrafter." her eyes were filled with pride as she said that, running her talon softly across the armrest of the chair.

Taking another sip from her own cup, it was Cyd's turn to question, albeit not as rude of a question, "So what brings you two out this way this morning?"

[Gerrard]

Gerrard paused, thinking over the words about his accent. "I have been living in Equestria for six years. I was lucky enough to get into the student exchange program. Usually most exchange students actually go to the flight school in Cloudsdale, but I was an exception, my education requiring me to go to a college in Equestria, the gryphons not exactly keen on farming. In fact, some look down on me for helping you all water your cities. The griffons who know about what I do, say I water ponies for a living, not exactly a term of endearment, That's okay though, I'm not huge into fighting, and I like the peaceful life in Equestria, no need for me to battle or fight anyone," Gerrard explained, the hybrid glancing over his own body, not seeing any noticeable scars, something rare among griffons.

"Gifts from old masters always hold a great deal of sentimental value in addition to the clear physical value such a masterfully crafted item. It is also a certificate of acceptance of sorts, a sign that someone has faith enough in you to give you their finest of works simply out of the pride they had in you. Cherish it, never let it go, no matter the price," Gerrard remarked in a dramatic manner, the griffon balling his talon up and holding it close to his heart as he spoke in a sincere, but clearly exaggerated manner. After holding it for a moment, he opened his talon and returned it to it's proper place.

Upon hearing Cydonia ask what brought the pair to her shop this morning, a nefarious smirk spread across the full blooded griffon's face as he decided to stir the pot a bit. His eyes drifted over to the hippogriff as he tried his best to look sincere, the dark griffon always having a bit of a problem doing so. "Apparently they are lovers who have been separated for over three months. They were on a walk to rekindle their inner fire and ignite a long dormant romance. They came to your store, hoping to find gifts for one another that they might both mutually enjoy. In a strange sense of the notion, they want you to be their match maker, are you up to the challenge my fellow hybrid," he mused aloud, the griffon making extremely broad and baseless claims about their relationship as he tried his best to embarrass them. He wondered if you could see the blush on the already red pegasus.

[tacobob]

"Huh?", Fire quickly swallowed another sip of tea, "Wait...No...", while it had to be difficult, the mare's red cheeks appeared to shift into a darker shade, "We're just friends. I've only known the good sir here for a few months. and I'm sort of seeing another guy...Sort of..It's complicated.", she rubbed the back of her neck with her free hoof, "Sir Squall is here is from Fillydelphia and I thought considering both of us had free schedules today that I'd show him around town and get some breakfast.", she grinned, "That's not a date. Just hanging around, right?", she glanced over at the stallion before turning back.

She caught one particular word the griffon had said, and decided it would be her opening, "Hybrid....I've seen all kinds of people during my travels be it ponies, zebras, dragons, griffons and what I thought was a mummified sea pony, but it was just a hoax...But..er...", she glanced down at her cup, "I was curious and all...And I'm thinking of the most polite way of asking this, and I know if I don't, it will bug me for months...But..eh...", she looked up at the girl, "What exactly are you? I thought you were a griffon, but you have hooves. I know this sounds rude, and you've been so kind..", she trailed off.

[Ciraxis]

"Sir Squall is here is from Fillydelphia and I thought considering both of us had free schedules today that I'd show him around town and get some breakfast.", she grinned, "That's not a date. Just hanging around, right?"

"...Right." this one word sounded more like a growl then an answer. They were...just friends. Swift knew well that Fire had a crush on their good pal Dunder. She wouldn't even look at the unicorn that way.

Swift allowed his sunglasses to slide down on his snout a little. He did things like these rarely, for he disliked direct eye contact, but Gerrard needed a lesson.

Swift gave the griffon an angry glare. It was a stare trained to deal with criminals, sellswords and other rabble-rousers without starting a fight. Even the toughest melted before that glare.

"You fairly quick to jump into false assumptions Mr. Grayfeather." Squall said slowly and clearly, all the while pinning a griffon to his seat with intimidating look of his emerald eyes.

"One can wonder, did you lost some of so famous Aquilian honor durning these six years? No wonder, with so many nobility in one place the air is just reaking with falsehood and deceit. One can't help but to start to tell a little lies here and there...isn't it Mr. Grayfeather? Really most of time I am myself ashamed to be a Count." swordstallion finished and readjusted his shades so they hid his eyes again. The griffon looked sympathetic enough, but that should give him a lesson about trying to embarass a strangers.

"Hybrid....I've seen all kinds of people during my travels be it ponies, zebras, dragons, griffons and what I thought was a mummified sea pony, but it was just a hoax...But..er...", she glanced down at her cup, "I was curious and all...And I'm thinking of the most polite way of asking this, and I know if I don't, it will bug me for months...But..eh...", she looked up at the girl, "What exactly are you? I thought you were a griffon, but you have hooves. I know this sounds rude, and you've been so kind.."

"What? You didn't knew? Well I guess now it would be best to let Mrs. Cydonia explain it herself. After all, what can I know about being a..." he shruged and gave a chuckle.

"And belive it or not Mrs. Cydona...I wanted to confirm something. I can't tell you what just yet, but I think it will be soon enough."

[Ciraxis]

{OOC: Ignore this. Unnecessary double-post cose of my lack of focus<mumble, mumble>}

[Dubstep]

The Hippogriff couldn't help but to giggle at Gerrard's interjecting answer, and even more so at the two's reaction. It was clear that there was some sort of truth behind the answer, at least on one front, if Swift's reaction was any sort of indication. Unrequited love is one of the hardest things anyone ever has to deal with. She silently hoped things would turn out good for him, "Oh my heheh. Well I'm sure I could find them something, even if they aren't really 'lovers'." she said with a smile and a joking wink at the two. Cyd always was one for a little ribbing here and there.

Tilting her head at Fire's question, she was taken a little by surprise. She knew that there weren't very many Hippogriffs in Canterlot, at least not that she had met, but it was a little surprising that somepony from the REA had never seen one, perhaps they didn't get many Hippogriff volunteers? And being mistaken for a Griffon too? She had figured the fact she had a snout and not a beak would have given it away. Oh well, she smiled politely as she went on to explain, "Well, ma'am. I'm a Hippogriff. My mother is a griffon and my father is a pony. I suppose there aren't too many around Canterlot then?" Swift's statement however, was more odd than Fire's question of species though, confirming something? What could he mean by that?

[Gerrard]

The griffon smirked as he listened to the pair tell their stories, finding something a bit off about them that he just couldn't put his claw on. It quickly snapped into his head and Gerrard had spotted an inconsistency in their stories, a smirk creeping across his face, a friend of his having family in a certain practice. "Objection!" he cried, pointing a talon at the pair, finding something amiss with their story. "If you have only known each other for a few months, how can you have been apart for three months. That makes no sense! One of you is lying," he explained as if he were a defense attorney. "Ahh, if only I were a lawyer, that would be fun," he mused aloud, chuckling at his own silly display.

When the angry unicorn stared him down with a fierce gaze, Gerrard went wide eyed, if only for a moment. The hybrid returned a glare of his own, his eyes naturally fierce looking. He paused and glanced down, Gerrard smirking slightly as he thought he could see the reflection of Squall off his own well polished beak. "Honor is rather subjective, I see myself as very honorable. I never steal and I pay my taxes to the government. I apologize if my light hearted jest punctured your thin skin. What would you like me to mend your injuries with? A bandage, gauze, a wooden carving, or a bit of dignity? Hmm?" he replied, the griffon not one to be intimidated, knowing all the tricks that went along with it.

Gerrard listened to the hybrid explain her origins, the griffon smirking slightly at the story as he speculated what to say"Alas, ponies are drawn to the hidden charms that all griffon have. We do give the best hugs after all, right Cyd?" Gerrard teased, playfully poking the hippogriff in the side as he glanced back to the pair. "Normally hippogriffs occur when a pony or griffon settles down in the foreign region. Not exactly a wide selection of griffons around here, only a few others and myself. I'm too busy right now for a serious relationship," he explained, his words a mixture of truth and comedy as he explained a bit further for the unsure pegasus.

[tacobob]

"Really?", she glanced back at the stallion, "I've known you for almost half of year? Wow.", the Pegasus took a sip from her mug as she pondered all that had happened over the last five or so months, "Time really does fly by. It just seems like yesterday when Dunders and I were helping you with your little house issues. Did I tell you little Wind got her cutie mark?”, while Squall had yet to meet her, Fire Walker had spoken often about her younger sister in the past. “Got it shortly after we last saw each other and before I was dragged up north to deal with some drama. Which has not been helping my social or love life..Which reminds me, once we're finished here Sir Squall, there is something I need to tell you.".

She turned back to the Griffon and Hippogriff, "I do apologize, it's been a rather rough last few weeks or so, and it's still too early for me. Brain is not working properly at the moment.”, she studied her own reflection in one of the windows and could not help but smile, “One of the things I love about life in general is that you can travel the world and assume you’ve seen everything, but then discover something new just by wandering around in your own hometown. So Miss Cydonia, I was wondering. I have a very good friend of mine in Fillydelphia who owns this bar, and when I say ‘bar’, I mean a proper one, old fashioned with character and style. Not some silly ‘themed’ bar with overpriced novelty drinks, or some rave club that plays music so loud you can’t hear the person you’re standing next to. This is a bar that’s been there since day one. Passed through the family and such and is all very er...woody. Could you recommend something from your store that I could get for him? And you do ship, right?”

[Ciraxis]

" What would you like me to mend your injuries with? A bandage, gauze, a wooden carving, or a bit of dignity? Hmm?" he replied, the griffon not one to be intimidated, knowing all the tricks that went along with it.

[colour=green]"By Celestia, what is this guy's problem? Is he always that kind of jerk? Does he really want to prove he's a douche?"[/colour] Swift thought.

[colour=green]"Thank's but I won't take the offer from someone who was obviously not hurt...in either way. And the honor is something more then just obeying the law."[/colour] Swift said quietly. That talking about..wounds, even in figurative sense was not pleasant.

""Time really does fly by. It just seems like yesterday when Dunders and I were helping you with your little house issues. Did I tell you little Wind got her cutie mark?”

[colour=green]"Tell me about it. I got pretty busy myself. Robbery of ancient magical artifacts, fighting against bunch of ninjas, wresling with giant alligator, preventing..ah nevermind... - you know, the usual stuff. And don't remind me about about the renovation, I had to hire another group because Bubble accidently showed up and scared them off. Superstitions...thankfuly all work was done just before winter. I still need to take care of cellars but at least mansion don't look like bats nest anymore."[/colour] unicorn grumbled.

[colour=green]"Wind? Well finally. I guess she will not torment you about help at getting it anymore. And what her Mark would be? Come on, don't hold that for yourself Fire."[/colour]