Griffons [Closed- apply in OOC thread]

[SonicRainboomGirl]

Heidiara Nobeli looked around nervously, standing at the Canterlot train station. A train had just rolled in, and the doors were about to open. She hadn't seen members of her own kind in a very long time, and she was about to embark on a serious quest. A quest where she would most likely have to handle injuries of all sorts- wings, legs, talons, beaks...

Heidi was a nurse in Canterlot, and a very successful one at that. She'd seen and dealt with injuries of all sorts. That's why some griffin had hired her, to care medically for everyone on their journey. Heidi knew that she was mostly prepared, but she wasn't eager to see anyone get hurt.

The train's door pulled open...

POSTING ORDER

1. SonicRainboomGirl
   
2. Gilda- Phil the Time Wizard
   
3. Falco Kestrelson- Bellosh101
   
4. Razor- ShadowWalking18
   
5. Miasma Vice- Apolline Allura
   
6. Zelda- Tacobob
   

[RarityDash]

Gilda wasn't really sure exactly what this was all about. All she knew was someone was looking to hire griffons, several of them, to pull off something or other. It really wasn't much to go on, but it had sounded shady enough to be intriguing. There was a chance it was something big. Big jobs could mean big profits, so Gilda was at least willing to lend an ear. Maybe, just maybe this would be that one lucky break she had always been hoping for. Then again, maybe once again she'd be strung along like a sucker and taken advantage of when all was said and done. Gilda had a spark of hope, but being an optimist had never really been her bag.

The train she was on was coming to a stop. Canterlot, huh? The ever classy capital of pony country? Gilda rolled her eyes at the site of the station. She had come a long way on this lead thinking it might be her break, but the more she thought about it the more it sounded like a scam. Maybe it was for something real, but she was probably gonna be roped into a flock of featherbrained squawkers all yammering about needing their fair share of the prize. She had been around long enough to know that if you get too many griffons together to feed in one place and all that any of them is gonna be left with is scraps. It's just how the world worked.

Nah, this was probably stupid. She had a weakness for stupid she supposed. Her mind flashed back to Pathfinder and the quest for that blasted helmet. Months wasted toiling away in that underground prison, permanent minor wing damage and for what? All so that ridiculous pegasus could take the prize back to this city and its pony princesses in the end? That's how it always was when she snuck her neck out, she turned up with nothing for it. It was the same with Dash; years of friendship, and for what? So she could be thrown out on her tail feathers like she was old news? Just because Gilda was too tough to get all sappy and pathetic about it didn't mean that kinda thing didn't stung... and coupled with her perpetual racing failures, even the luster of her fairly recent Iron Pony ribbons was starting to fade some.

She supposed that's why in the end she went along with it, stepping off that train intent to seek out this scheme whatever it may be. She was hungry, and for a hungry griffon there was some gratification even in those spare scraps. She didn't know what this was about or how stupid it ultimately would be, but you can't be a winner if you don't play. That was a fundamental rule as far as she was concerned. Scowling bitterly with those thoughts in her mind, not sure what she was getting herself into, Gilda stepped out onto the station and let her eyes find the first griffon they could spy. They landed upon a fairly unassuming griffoness with brown feathers. Gilda approached her.

[colour=#996699]"Hey you!"[/colour] she called out brusquely. [colour=#996699]"You're here about the thing, ain't you?"[/colour]

​

[Bellosh]

Any sane griffon would have outright rejected an offer to take on a job without knowing the particulars of what it was about. Let alone an advertised which vaguely warned of the possibility of danger and injury involved out in an unspecified wilderness. Falco Kestrelson was no such griffon however; he may be a sensible pawn-shop owner most of the time, but the inner child of his always craved adventure and excitement, and it sounded like this potential job would give him plenty of those things.

Leaving the Gems & Trinkets Pawn Shop in the good care of his family, Falco set out from Beakbreak City to Canterlot via airship. Bringing along only a backpack with a bare minimum of essential trekking gear, the part-time adventurer figured that wherever he was headed, he would either receive additional provisions from his employer or would get another opportunity to live off the land. In any case however, Falco didn’t expect he’d be heading off into a really hostile environment like Tartarus, even though he constantly made mental notes to visit that forsaken wasteland someday.

Even though Mr. Kestrelson had arrived via airship, his instructions were to arrive at the train station to meet the rest of his team. With any luck, he’d find out just what their job was too. After a peril-free pony taxi ride through the city of Canterlot (a place the griffon never really cared for, preferring the likes of the industrial Stalliongrad instead), a backpack-wearing Falco arrived at his destination on time.

One of the more peculiar requirements for taking on the job was that everyone applying had to be of griffon-kind. The middle-aged hybrid thought it a rather odd request, considering the relatively-small amount of griffon-folk in a realm populated by ponies. At any rate, all Falco needed to do was spy with his avian eyes for other griffons and he’d probably find his new teammates.

Falco’s plan didn’t take too long to succeed, observing one slightly out-of-place griffon female idling by the platform. The elder griffon didn’t know what to think of the younger hybrid other than the fact that she wasn’t Gerrard the Plumber. Bless Gerry’s heart thought Falco, but the blackened griffon wouldn’t stand a chance at all on a mysterious job like this. Before the adventurer’s mind could wander off, another griffon came up to the first and asked if this was a meet-up spot.

Indeed it seemed like it. [colour=#008000]“Boy, I know I’m here for somethin’!”[/colour] the curious griffon shouted over to the two others; [colour=#008000]“I take it you two have experience working in mystery oddjobs before?[/colour]

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor hated being in Canterlot. The city was too prestine for a capital, though granted he had not visited Talonopolis much as well, but still a real city needed....well it needed to be less shiney. All this white and gold could make a keen eyed griffon go blind on a sunny day. Worse it was full of ponies on the upper portions of hierarchy, and were total snobs.

[colour=#FF0000]'And ponies ask why I won't deliver things here unless the pay is good. All I can do to not give some of these rich snobs a good working class rump kicking.'[/colour] He thought as he flew down to the train station.

Razor was a bit skeptical of what this job he had taken would require. Still, though his delivery business gave him some decent money, he needed the feeling of adventure. To be like all the ancient griffons of the past who went out into the world and faced the wraths of nature and the world with only their claws and instincts at the ready. Besides, considering that only griffons were being asked to do this job it meant that the pay had to be really good.

[colour=#FF0000]'If you want a job done right, you pay a griffon to do it.' [/colour]He thoiught as he entered the designated train and looked around. He spotted three griffons, two females and one male. They seemed to be in conversation, and hadn't noticed him yet.

"[colour=#FF0000]Still....can't stay like that if this job is to go smoothly......might as well get this over with."[/colour] Razor said and made his way over. He could already hear the short jokes and comments. Razor dug his claws into the wood a bit, as just thinking about it made him miffed.

[colour=#FF0000]'Just stay calm.....and try not to let it get to you Razor.' [/colour]He thought.

[colour=#FF0000]"Hi. I guess you're all here for the same reason I am? Names Razor, a pleasure to meet you all."[/colour] He said, offering his claw out.

[Apolline Allura]

'Good freakin' job.'

Aposemati had taken it upon herself to fund this trip instead of letting Dyne give her one of those smug once overs she always did before sending her adopted daughter out on one of her little adventures. It was a lot better than giving the great dragoness the satisfaction of knowing she needed her help to set out and do her thing. Which at this moment amounted to little more than joining and initiating featherbrained schemes to get paid.

Such was the life for her though! Aposemati would trade it for nothing. Nothing at all.

A small blue-strapped suitcase was drawn over one shoulder, and her trademark white suit was pressed and clean. This gryphon was here for business. And business...

'All these gryphons. Great freakin' job.' she berated herself once more, resisting a serious urge to press her face in a talon.

...well, business would actually be better in this case without as many heads.

On the brightside, their meetup spot was probably one of the best places that could have been chosen. Aposemati was actually quite fond of Canterlot for it's selection of formal wear and the emphasis it's residents placed on style. Style and affluence. Two things that simply couldn't be topped in her book. Why live like the savage gryphons of legend if it means missing out on the finer things in life?

With this less-annoying tangent in mind, Aposemati smiled as she stepped to meet the gaggle of gryphons. Maybe they'd find something for her to sink her beak into. Maybe it was a large turnout for a reason.

"Can any of you cubs tell me who's running this show?" she mocked playfully. "I'm here to see a gryphon about a treasure."

[TheInvisiblePony]

Hugo was, first and foremost, intrigued by this job he had been offered. It was vague, other than its specification for griffons, but that just made Hugo ever the more curious. After all, how often does such an opportunity present itself? He figured the only reason he had been hired to begin with was his strength, considerable as it was. Word gets around when you make a living off of it, but regardless the griffon was happy to be included in such a select job.

...Okay, so maybe not exactly 'happy' persay... the job looked sketchy at best, which did ruffle his feathers, but there was little he could do about it. He had accepted the job and he was honor bound to see it through. So, when he was made aware of the meeting place at the Canterlot train station, he made for his destination as quickly as possible, given that upon being hired he was a good distance away from Canterlot.

Upon arrival (and a brief delight that he had arrived on time), it was not exactly difficult to see where this crew of griffons was, as a good five of them were gathered together. Or, maybe there were only five, he had no way of telling. Regardless of more joining, Hugo was unsure of how he would deal with such a large group. Most of his jobs required more solo work - be they academic in private or physical in public. Working with a group might be difficult, seeing as how Hugo was well aware not everyone was keen to his personal system of honor.

Upon walking towards the group, he caught one of the griffons mock about seeing a griffon and a treasure. So... any doubts were wiped away off the bat with that one. Figuring he should make his presence known, Hugo spoke up.

[colour=#ffd700]"Good day. I presume this is the group of griffons hired for a 'mystery job', so to speak. If so, I should introduce myself. I am Hugo." [/colour]

He spoke maintaining a rigid pose, hoping to remain as silent as possible. Job or not, he had a reputation to maintain. Although, as he sized up the group, he realized he had not seen this many griffons since his travels with his family. It was a change of pace, although he knew too little about anygriffon before he could decide if that was for the better.

On the bright side, his introduction was out of the way. Now, to wait for responses and newcomers.

[tacobob]

Zelda was abruptly awoken by the shrill sound of her alarm clock. While the desire to smash the shrieking metal and plastic beastie to bits and get another hour or two of sleep did cross her mind, she quickly decided it would be unwise, as she had a schedule to follow! As she rubbed her eyes, she glanced around the small room she was in and noticed the mess she had made during the previous night. As with many of her work-days, she started this one in frustration, which was shortly follow by inspiration, which lead to creation, and then a few hours stay at the 'Ponyland' night club for some heavy hydration. "Oh Frugga's Feathers, what's that smell?", she muttered to herself as she sniffed around for a moment before catching a whiff of herself, "Oh yeah, all that stuff lead to perspiration." Not wanting to meet a group of strangers smelling like the wrong end of a cave troll, the griffon quickly made her way into the bathroom for a quick shower. After making sure every feather was sparkling and her fur smelt like Geraniums mixed with Jasmine, she quickly dried off and threw some clothing on. After a quick breakfast, she locked up and left her apartment, still with a bit of toast lodged into her beak. She could at least eat and fly and hopefully make it to this little gathering on time.

"Oh Canterlot!", she thought to herself as she took to the sky. She had returned to the wondrous city after spending a few months in Rockwington. There were family matters to deal with, and an wedding. Once she was finished with all the drama her former hometown was willing to give her, she snatched up her things, hitched a ride on the nearest airship and was back in the city she loved so much before she knew it. As she munched on her toast, she flew around one of the city's oldest towers. If only she could have been there when the city was being built! What an honor it must have been! She had made it a habit of just wandering around the capital city when she felt uninspired and would always find her way back to her workshop filled with inspiration. Along with the architecture and the majesty of the city itself, she always found the ponies and other people who inhabited Canterlot were generally good company, and even was able to tolerate the upper classed and generally snooty members of high society as they were usually her best customers. The blacksmith, sculptor and all around artist quickly glanced away from the tower as she caught sight of the train station. She was to meet a small group of griffons for some sort of job. She remembered reading about a treasure, and while she could not care about the bits she may or may not receive for this job, she knew she would find a bounty of inspiration from what could be an adventure. A few of her Canterlot friends considered themselves adventurers and usually had some interesting story to blather on while at the local pubs, and while she considered spending all day and night at the forge as 'Interesting', it did not make for a good story. Hopefully once she was finished here, she would be the one to do the blathering for a change.

Once she got close to the station, she slowly made her way down to the pavement and let her feet do some work. She pulled out a small sheet of paper from her bag as she glanced around at the station signs. After a few turns, she found herself staring at a group of griffons that just had to be the group. "I'm assuming y'all are the group that's going to..er.", her eyes returned to the paper for just a moment, "Gabe-rott? Gaberott?", she had realized that was the first time she actually spoke the name of the place they were to visit. Sounded worse when she said it. During her travels, she had never met a Diamond Dog before, let alone visit their cities. When she was an 'itty bitty kitty', she had been warned to avoid wandering into their territories, or some crazy dog would drag her down, deep into their tunnels and make her work in their dreaded mines for the rest of her life. They couldn't all be bad, could they?

[SonicRainboomGirl]

Heidi watched in silent awe as griffons of all shapes and sizes introduced themselves. Some introductions were graceful, some brash, some simply fun. It was possibly the most varied group she had ever seen. The one with brown and lavender feathers looked very cool, and seemed not to care too much about anything. Apathy was a quality that Heidi never really understood, but perhaps she was just reading this griffon wrong.

The one next to her was wearing a bright yellow cap, something so bright and vibrant that Heidi had to feel quite a bit of hope. It just looked so incredibly cheery, an attribute Heidi could certainly self-apply. By the way he spoke, he was into oddjobs. Heidi had always admired those types, but just wasn't skilled enough to do it herself.

Next to him was a short, muscular griffon who looked pretty serious, maybe even a bit grumpy. She could cheer him up, hopefully. As a nurse, it was Heidi's job to lift everyone's spirits. As her Mum always said, the way to cure the body is to cure the heart! The griffin next to him, however, she wasn't sure what to think of.

The second to last griffin in line was Hugo, apparantely, and he seemed downright pleasant and neat. Another griffon was there too, in a beautiful red hoodie. Heidi liked anyone with good taste, and thought she would like her.

[colour=#8b4513]"Hello there, everyone, my name's Heidiara," Heidi introduced herself kindly, "But please, call me Heidi. We're supposed to get on a train..."[/colour] Heidi looked at a clock. The train didn't arrive for another twenty minutes. [colour=#8b4513]"But, we've got a bit of time. We should all introduce ourselves, I think. I guess I'll start. I'm a nurse at the Canterlot Hospital. I'm from Aquelia, like I suspect a lot of you are, but I haven't been home since I was very young. Oh, and yes, we are going to Gaberott. It's a, uh, rare jewel we're after. The Black Opal."[/colour]

[RarityDash]

One by one, griffon after griffon arrived on the scene to join them. Gilda eyed each new arrival scrupulously. She was very curious as to what kinda clowns she'd be competing for her scraps with. It was little surprise when very few of them came to leave a very positive impression. The guy who came after her looked reasonably tough, but was also kinda old, definitely past his prime; as such she was pretty sure there wasn't much that could be expected of him. Maybe he had been a tough guy in his heyday, but how many centuries ago was that?

Next to show was another male. A small male. Seriously, Gilda wasn't sure this wasn't a kid at first, but after looking at him a little closer, it was clear he was fully grown. She laughed at the realization. So a runt, huh? He'd probably be all too use to fighting for scraps and coming up short. Hehe. Short. Gilda chuckled again as she thought. Her attention was soon wrested away at the next arrival though. This one was a griffoness, and a brash seeming one. That was well and good, but she'd better be able to back it all up. No one liked a miserable blowhard who couldn't back up the big talk. It was hard to tell with this one, but she at least held possibility.

Following this griffoness, two more arrive, one male and one female. The male was huge, among the biggest griffon's Gilda had ever seen. Sure, that probably meant he was crazy strong, but brute strength could only get you so far. It's the clever griffon that wins, and this guy's introduction revealed himself to be some kinda straight-laced killjoy. Ugh. He was going to be a serious pain in the feathers, she could tell already. The last of the band, the female, was perhaps the hardest to place. The most notable thing about her was the mildly tacky green hooded sweatshirt she was wearing. As far as Gilda was concerned, there were worse crimes than a weird sense of fashion, but eh, it was something at least.

​

[colour=#8B4513]"Hello there, everyone, my name's Heidiara, But please, call me Heidi. I'm not sure who hired us, but apparently I'm supposed to facilitate this quest. We're supposed to get on a train... [/colour][colour=#8B4513]But, we've got a bit of time. We should all introduce ourselves, I think. I guess I'll start. I'm a nurse at the Canterlot Hospital. I'm from Aquelia, like I suspect a lot of you are, but I haven't been home since I was very young. Oh, and yes, we are going to Gaberott. It's a, uh, rare jewel we're after. The Black Opal."[/colour]

After all of them had arrived, the first griffon, the unassuming female Gilda had first approached, gave a little speech. So the destination was Gaberott, huh? The desert capital of the dogs. The prize was a famous gem of some variety. Black Opal, eh? Sounded valuable. Interesting. Less interesting was the griffoness speaking? A hospital nurse, really? How "cute". Yeah, this wasn't the most inspiring band of intrepid adventurers Gilda could imagine. No, she knew ponies tougher than this lot.

[colour=#996699]"So we got miss milquetoast nurse, some senior citizen, a height-challenged runt, a hot shot, a stuffy meathead, and... I don't even know what that's supposed to be,"[/colour] Gilda looked from griffon to griffon as she spoke, ending with her gaze on the last to arrive and her unusual choice of clothing. [colour=#996699]"What a fine bunch of squawkers to flock with. Starting to get a strong suspicion this is gonna suck."[/colour]

The brash griffoness gave a long sigh and then a shrug and shake of her head. "[colour=#996699]Gilda. Fearless trick flier, risk taker and general schemer. Don't get in my way. If all the job is is outwitting a bunch of featherbrained mutts and getting my claws on a gem, the lot of you aren't really needed after all,"[/colour] Gilda gave her curt introduction with a cocksure smirk, almost looking forward to seeing what kinda feathers she'd ruffle.

​

[Bellosh]

Slowly but surely, more griffons started to arrive at the train platform. Falco Kestrelson didn’t have much reason to devalue his new partners just yet. No, it was only fair to see how they performed in the field before casting judgment on them. However, something said by that Zelda gal irked him quite bit; [colour=#008000]“Gaberott? We’re going to Gaberott? Nothing in the paper I read mentioned anything about that place! If I’d have known that, I wouldn’t have bothered blowing money on an airship ticket here!!!”[/colour] Indeed, the infamous fastness of the Diamond Dogs was not too far away from Breakbeak City.

In due time, the ringleader of the group introduced herself as Heidi, who apparently was some sort of stooge for the true sponsor of the expedition. Mr. Kestrelson didn’t like that one bit; why the heck couldn’t that chap be bothered with coming down and meeting the group? Whoever he or she was, they didn’t know respect one bit. The pawn shop owner ignored a younger punk’s quip about his age, for at least she also had the smarts to figure that something smelled fishy too. Her name, Gilda, sounded a bit familiar, but the elder griffon couldn’t quite recall where he heard of her... maybe she was connected to Falco’ss honorary adventuring niece, perhaps?

Falco’s smiled faded as it was up to him to speak next; [colour=#008000]“Falco Kestrelson here; I run the Gems & Trinkets pawnshop in Breakbeak City, but I’m a part-time survivalist too. Two questions though; what the heck is a “Black Opal”, and why couldn’t our employer take the time to drop by here? The very least he or she could have done was to see us off.....”[/colour]

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor glared at Gilda as she laughed. She was laughing at him, he was sure of it. It got worse when she said "[colour=#996699]a height-challenged runt[/colour]"

'Height.....challenged....runt!' He thought, feeling his eye twitch with every word. He leaped forward and pointed a claw at Gilda, [colour=#FF0000]"Who are you calling a short tiny ant! I'm not short!" [/colour]

Razor snarled, but stepped back and took a deep breath, 'This is going to be a long treck.' He thought, rubbing his head as he felt a headache come on. That had been happening alot when he got angry.

[colour=#FF0000]"So get the gem. Outwit the mutts, come back here and get paid. Seems easy, so long as none of us do anything stupid." [/colour]Razor said, looking at Gilda slightly.

Razor looked at the rest of the group, pausing slightly and looking strangly at the griffon with hoodie on. Not often to see a griffon wearing clothes. In the end Razor made a very important observation. HE WAS SHORTER THAN ALL OF THEM!!!!

Razor twitched slightly at that, but strived to not let it bother him.......he would try anyway. Still, he could hear the laughing in his head. The mockery! It made his headache even worse just thinking about it.

[Apolline Allura]

"Be easy, boys and girls."

Miasma could see the tension taking root already. Apparently the height-challenged runt also had a short fuse. What a potent combination. The suit-wearing gryphon noted to keep herself away from that one, lest he be accessory to some horrible accident involving her along the way. Looking in the direction of the gryphon with the stupid looking vest, she replied, "We're getting paid. The employer ain't your momma, Kestrelson. They don't have to come here to give you a hug and a kiss in this business."

She looked over to Gilda, "Y'know, I don't doubt this group is all rookies, but show a little respect miss fearless trick-flyer. I bet I'm half your age and could kick that tail of yours in half of that number."

And on to Heidara. "I got no qualms about this. But is it really as simple as wrangling together a bunch of gryphons to head into these caves to snatch a jewel up and bail? If so, I'm gonna be pretty disappointed." she reached into her sport coat and pulled out the steel baton she had bought as her utility tool just for this adventure. "But only enough that I won't be dissuaded from going. 'Cash rules everything around me' and all that jazz."

[TheInvisiblePony]

Hugo looked around as the griffons he had been hired to work with introduced themselves. Notable, he payed attention to the nurse, seeing as she seemed in charge. Seeing as how she was in the medical profession, Hugo was beggining to suspect that the job this employer had planned wasn't exactly a simple task. His suspicions were confirmed when she mentioned the gem, but to that Hugo found himself even more concerned, though he didn't show it. Of course the job sounded shady, any job where the employer remains anonymous generally is. However, as a griffon who's been forced to play the anonymous role before, Hugo was always willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Now... well, now it sounded like he had been hired to be a jewel thief and it wasn't like he could just walk away. He had already accepted.

Before he could dwell on the subject much longer, the other griffons piped up. Namely, the 'Gilda' character insulted everybody present, 'Falco' questioned the lack of their benefactor's presence, the... short-one-whose-name-escaped-him acted defensively, and the last one, well, Hugo was still working out replies to the first few. Aside from some obvious pride (To be fair, Hugo had yet to see a griffon - himself included - who was humble) he actually agreed with her stance. Hugo sighed. He had been expecting the group to act a little more... professional, but that didn't seem likely at this rate. He also regarded the last griffon, the one who flew in after him, with an interesting eye to the green cloak. An interesting piece of clothing, he noted.

Speaking to most of the group in particular, but mostly just thinking aloud, Hugo piped up [colour=#ffd700]"So, quite the group gathered. We've got a nurse and a small flock... something tells me this isn't going be a cakewalk." [/colour]The more he thought about it, moral conundrum aside, the more he cracked a small grin. [colour=#ffd700]"Nothing like a good challenge. Besides, I've never been to Gaberott. Sounds like this might just be interesting."[/colour] He made an effort not to talk back to anbody present. Not only did he not want to sour any opinions of himself, he figured it would be just as rude to trade a comeback.

[tacobob]

The griffon let out a silent and mental groan as she heard Gilda. There had to be one in every group! The girl almost reminded her of her younger sister, all beak and no brain. In the olden days, the blacksmith would have simply given the young griffon a good whooping and that would have been the end of it, but these were gentler times, and she would have to gain these griffons' trust and friendship as opposed to beating it out of them. Even with the upstart already starting to give the others a hard time, she rather liked what she saw so far. She nodded her head as the elder male spoke. His name sounded familiar, so much so that it only took her a moment before she realized she had done business with him in the past. Not directly, but through one of her vendors. Her clients never seemed to be impressed with straight out armor and generally preferred their pieces to be adorned with the shiniest of gems, so she had to deal with outside sources for her gem needs.

She originally thought the small male was in fact a child, but quickly changed her mind the moment he spoke up. He was just so cute and tiny, she just wanted to dress him up in little baby clothing and push him around in a little carr..The griffon shook her head and quickly removed herself from such odd thoughts. “Focus Zelda.”, she mentally commanded herself before she started to get anymore silly mental images in her mind. He was small, but in pretty good shape, so if they needed someone to be silent and quick, he would probably be their griffon of choice.

Zelda was planning on being friendly to the members of her group, but that would not stop her from having a little fun with Gilda. “You want to flock with us?”, The green hooded griffon cooed as gingerly as she could, “Maybe later sweet-beak. Just want to see what we’re all up against and learn what this ‘Black Opal’ is about. I’m guessing it’s either a really important magical device of sorts, or just something of sentimental or monetary to our employer. Not like that’s terribly important.”, she noticed the other male was looking at her hooded sweatshirt and with a friendly wink, she lifted the bottom of her clothing up just a little bit to reveal what appeared to be the ends of a chainmail shirt. “I’m not looking for a fight, but if it comes down to it, I will be ready. As for Gaberott, I can barely pronounce it, let along tell you all that I've had any experience there. Only met one Diamond Dog before and while 'Lady' is sweet girl, she's about as dumb as a bag of hammers. If they're all that way, this should be easy-peasy."

[SonicRainboomGirl]

Heidi was beginning to garner first impressions of her fellow adventurers. This Gilda chick seemed very suspicious and judgemental, two qualities Heidi couldn't stand. Heidi also did not appreciate being called "milquetoast" and wasn't going to take any other griffon's slack. At least she had guts. Falco seemed like a nice enough fellow, and Razor didn't seem so bad either. He was clearly a bit hot-headed, but Heidi wasn't too pleased with Gilda either. His reaction was pretty reasonable.

Miasma seemed to simply care about cash. Heidi had no issue with that, Miasma could be quite useful. However, her powerful attitude made Heidi a bit intimidated. Zelda and Hugo were very polite and seemed to have no issue with Heidi. Perhaps she could make friends with them, or at least ally with them on this journey.

[colour=#8b4513]"It's nice to meet you all. M-Miss Gilda, I'm quite far from milquetoast! I'd say first impressions aren't everything, but you seem quite rude! Please don't test me on this journey, we have to deal with eachother this whole time. Also, don't insult your fellow adventurers. Everyone else, follow me. Our train is here."[/colour]

Heidi turned and led the way towards the open door of the train.

[RarityDash]

Gilda kept her cool as the others started to respond to her. The short male had the smallest fuse it seemed, going off in a fiery rant; it was clear Gilda had struck a sore spot with him. Hypersensitive about his height? That might actually prove amusing. He was definitely a hothead and she would be remembering it. None of the others gave quite such an extreme reaction. The other two males in fact were too passive to even challenge her it seemed. She supposed it figured given one was past his prime and the other was probably just there for his muscle.

The other females all proved to be interesting to varying degrees. The young hot shot griffoness definitely seemed full of herself and quick to spout her mind. Gilda kinda appreciated that spirit; she didn't appreciate her insinuating that she was old though-- she was quite far off from double her age. The hooded griffon went for somewhat playful teasing, twisting Gilda's words around. That spoke to a certain sharpness. Perhaps despite her questionable fashion sense, she was okay. Either that or she was gonna be the one grating on the nerves the most of the bunch. For now she just brushed her off.

Finally there was the nurse who had summoned them, who challenged Gilda's claims directly. Apparently this nice nurse had more backbone than Gilda would have assumed. She even went so far as to call Gilda rude and basically tell her to play nice. It was almost cute. Maybe milquetoast wasn't the right word after all. Either way, she was all kinds of ridiculous.

She shook her head as she looked at this mare. [colour=#996699]"What are you my mother?"[/colour] she questioned in a harsh yet amused tone. "[colour=#996699]Hate to say it, lady, but I left the nest quite a ways back. It's my choice and no one else's if I wanna behave and play nice with the other children,"[/colour] she added mockingly. [colour=#996699]"Ain't nothing you can do at least."[/colour]

[colour=#996699]"Of course, don't you be getting the wrong idea that I'm over the hill like this guy, kid"[/colour] she said stepping toward Miasma to address her now and pointing at Falco. [colour=#996699]"I'm an athlete in her prime and I got all the confidence I could fly circles around any of you."[/colour]

She gave a shake of her head and a small laugh[colour=#996699]. "'Course squawking like this ain't gonna get us nowhere. We gotta catch a train, don't we?"[/colour] she said dismissively as she started toward the train door, ready to board.

​

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008000]“Hey lady, hold up a second,”[/colour] Falco Kestrelson sternly cried out as Heidi started boarding the train; [colour=#008000]“You haven’t answered any of my questions yet! What’s the Black Opal, and why isn’t our employer here?”[/colour] The elder griffon could put up with all sorts of characters, but one of the things he wouldn’t put up with was question evasion. If Heidi consistently refused to provide straight answers, then Falco wasn’t too sure if he’d want to remain on this expedition.

Making matters worse, that hotshot griffoness refused to back down on her trash talk. It would have been one thing to call Mr. Kestrelson a senior citizen in jest and leave it at that. It was another thing entirely to outright make bold claims concerning his supposed reduced abilities. Sighing, Falco realized that he’d eventually have to give this punk a lesson about the advantages of old age.

[colour=#008000]“You may not think I look like much these days kid,”[/colour] Falco dismissed Gilda’s quips as he boarded the train; [colour=#008000]“But remember that youth and ability will never be a match for experience and treachery.”[/colour] Glaring at the young griffoness further, he added; [colour=#008000]“And don’t forget kid that I was commanding Aquellian marines as a sergeant before your dear old mama taught ya' how to fly, so maybe you oughta’ watch what you say to your elders.....”[/colour]

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor was glad to be heading out. The sooner this job as done the sooner he could leave the company of the griffoness that he felt sure was going to torment him the entire way.

[colour=#FF0000]"Finally."[/colour] He said as he entered the train and took a seat. He sat near the edge of the cart, wanting to stay far from Gilda.

[colour=#FF0000]"I don't really care who the patron is so long as they pay up." [/colour]Razor said as he sat down, [colour=#FF0000]"though I do want to know what the plan will be to get into the mutts city and getting out without being caught and chained up like a pack mule."[/colour]

He took another look at the gathered griffons and made some notes on a possible plan of action.

[colour=#FF0000]'The big one and the elder can act as a distraction and a head on attacker if we get into a scrap. Gilda can be the decoy.'[/colour] He thought, as he thought on the strengths and weaknesses of the other griffons and what role they could perform.

[Apolline Allura]

Miasma shook her head. What a motley crew she had ended up joining.

If anything, she'd enjoy Gilda's spunk. Smirking at the other gryphoness, Miasma followed her right on into the train without another word. Observing the group would be the most fun she could have had, short of a physical confrontation on this trip.

[tacobob]

The blacksmith studied Gilda as they made their way onto their train, “You definitely have a flyer’s build, but I’m guessing your unique personality was probably the only thing that kept you out of the Aquellian Peacekeepers. What a pity."she removed the gear from her back and placed it in the proper section near their seats before she quickly scooted down onto a seat near the elder male, hoping she could get at least one interesting story from him during the slow ride towards their destination. While she had intended on light conversation, and even read a few chapters from her book, she probably would find it far more interesting to hear what Falco and the others might want to talk about once Nurse Heidi was finished going over the debriefing, or would she even be the one who did this?"

As she got comfortable, the griffon pushed her hood down, "I'm going to assume all of you have at least some basic training in survival,", she nodded at the former Marine, "While I'm not part of the R.E.A, I have trained with some of Pegasi, along with my predecessor back in Canterlot. Oh, and before, I forget, the name's Zelda."

[SonicRainboomGirl]

(I assume that TheInvisiblePony is gone? Well, okay then)

Heidiara had hoped to make friends. Gilda was driving her slightly batty, but she'd give the griffoness a few chances before judging her character. Perhaps it was just a bad day for her, and that much Heidi could forgive.

[colour=#8b4513]"I may not be your mother, Miss Gilda, but I'm your boss for this trip. Don't test me, please. I don't have to be disagreeable."[/colour]

She turned next to the curious, Falco Kestrelson, and decided it was a good idea to explain the entire mission to all of them.

[colour=#8b4513]"Alright everyone, listen up. We are looking for the rare, expensive, beautiful Black Opal. We're going into the territory of the Diamond Dogs because there is said to be opal lined inside of canyons near where they live and they will help us get them cracked open. Our employer is a wealthy investor, a pony of very high standards who could not make it today because of a business obligation. Any more questions?"[/colour]

Heidiara was trained to remain to stay cool in difficult situations, but she suddenly realized how frustrating this journey would be and sighed. Hopefully she would still get along with the other griffons.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#008000]“You may not think I look like much these days kid, [/colour][colour=#008000]But remember that youth and ability will never be a match for experience and treachery. [/colour][colour=#008000]And don’t forget kid that I was commanding Aquellian marines as a sergeant before your dear old mama taught ya' how to fly, so maybe you oughta’ watch what you say to your elders.....”[/colour]

Gilda laughed. Finally she had gotten a bite from the senior griffon of the flock, and he didn't disappoint. She grinned and shook his head. So he was military? How perfect. Gilda really didn't have much respect for the Aquelian military, especially not recently. Last time she was lucky enough to enjoy the esteemed company of Aquelian Marines was during the Pathfinder ordeal and it had lead to several months in an underground prison.

[colour=#996699]"Well, good for you! Want me to give you a medal or something?"[/colour] she started dismissively. [colour=#996699]"I'm sure it must have felt really special getting to tell other griffons what to do."[/colour]

​

“You definitely have a flyer’s build, but I’m guessing your unique personality was probably the only thing that kept you out of the Aquellian Peacekeepers. What a pity."

At theses words from the hooded griffon--who went on to name herself as Zelda--Gilda just shrugged.

[colour=#996699]"Pfft. Peacekeepers? Nah, I'm not one for any kind of lame, over-inflated flight team. Same goes for Equestria and those puffed up Wonderbolts all the dumb ponies think got it all. I'm not after any of that. I'm cutting my own path to the top,"[/colour] she said with perfect certainty.

​

"I may not be your mother, Miss Gilda, but I'm your boss for this trip. Don't test me, please. I don't have to be disagreeable."

Gilda groaned at the response she received from the nurse. More stern "play nice now" talon wagging. Gah, what a total killjoy. It wasn't cute anymore. Of the lot this was going to be the one who got under her feathers the most. She could tell for sure now.

[colour=#996699]"Have it your way, mum. I'll do my best to play well with the other children for now. Wouldn't want to upset your fragile ego by stepping out of line,"[/colour] Gilda responded rather mockingly, giving an exaggerated shrug and a decidedly smug smirk.

​

[colour=#8B4513]"Alright everyone, listen up. We are looking for the rare, expensive, beautiful Black Opal. We're going into the territory of the Diamond Dogs because there is said to be opal lined inside of canyons near where they live and they will help us get them cracked open. Our employer is a wealthy investor, a pony of very high standards who could not make it today because of a business obligation. Any more questions?"[/colour]

The nurse went on to explain more about the operation. Gilda nodded along, half interested. When the griffoness was done, she gave a sight and opened her beak.

[colour=#996699]"So we're not even stealing it? The dogs are helping us?"[/colour] she started, surprised by the detail. [colour=#996699]"What do we need so many for...? And why griffons? Has to be some kinda danger involved to want to assemble a flock like this. Sounds kinda like there might be something you're not telling us here, nurse?"[/colour]

​

[Bellosh]

Heidi’s answer didn’t placate Falco Kestrelson at all, mainly because she deliberately didn’t provide a name for this pony investor. It also disturbed him that a pony would only desire the services of griffons; either the anonymous equid felt that ponies shouldn’t do hard work, or instead had some twisted fascination with the hybrid-race. Either way, it unsettled the glaring griffon;[colour=#008000] “Uggh, and I suppose this pony-friend of yours wants to remain anonymous, do they? Let’s get one thing straight missy; the moment something goes wrong because of information you withhold, I’m outta’ here! You understand?”[/colour]

Or perhaps Mr. Kestrelson would ditch the group earlier than that, if Gilda’s unending insolence kept up its pace. [colour=#008000]“I already got all the medals I need,”[/colour] Falco dismissed the punk, rolling his eyes before suddenly smirking; [colour=#008000]“But I’ll be happy to receive one from you if I need to bail you out of a scrap. Heh, who knows how many times I and my over-inflated flight team had to save some useless punk’s skin back when I was in the Corps.”[/colour]

Now that the elder griffon took a seat on the train, he gave a return nod to Zelda as she mentioned her credentials. She was no military material by any official stretch, but at least it sounded like Zelda knew plenty of ponies who were. Assuming she really was skilled in survival, Falco guessed that she’d make a good impromptu subordinate should things go wrong; [colour=#008000]“Well, nice to have you here Zelda. Perhaps you can tell some of your stories on the way to wherever we’re going; heh heh heh... I always like good stories.....”[/colour]

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor rolled his eyes, [colour=#FF0000]"Of course. Some wealthy pony doesn't want to get his hoof dirty so they hire us. This guy better pay good and not give us any lip."[/colour]

Razor lounged back on his seat, taking the whole thing for himself, [colour=#FF0000]"So is there anything else we need to know? Cause to me this seems like an easy job, whats the catch? For once I'll be in agreement with Gilda here, something seems fishy."[/colour]

Razor stretched his wings and claws and shifted his posistion on his seat to get more comfortable, rolling his eyes a bit as he noticed the anatgonism in the group already. This was going to be a rather short trip if it continued. He gave it an hour tops before Gilda said something to have her thrown out the train.

[colour=#FF0000]'Calling me short. I'm not short.'[/colour] He thought. He hated being called short!

[Apolline Allura]

"Great Celestia, are you all rookies or something?"

From her spot well out of the way of the others on the train car they had all filled, Miasma stood up and began pacing the aisle turning her head to each gryphon lamenting the anonymity of the mysterious pony who had set up the score. "Money gets promised. Job gets offered. Employer screws us? We walk. Simple as that. Curiosity killed the cub, y'know. We know what we gotta do, so lets do it, eh?"

She turned around at last, having reached the end of the car to face the others. Her gaze moved over to Heidara.

"...when it's over though, lady, I'm gonna find out if this employer of yours has more work. No one doesn't have just one hoof in one pie to hear about a jewel like the one we're hunting."