Generous Golden Griffon 'Gifts' (closed)

[Gerrard]

Celestia's sun leaned on the Griffon capital of Talonopolis on a scorching summer afternoon. The industrious city was bustling with activity, one of its cliffs exceptionally busy as a cowled figure trotted through the crowded streets on their way to the Equestrian Embassy. The figure deftly weaved through the crowded streets, not even tarnishing the attention of the businessmen who normally frequented the area. As quickly as the stranger had appeared, they were already at the embassy, the mysterious character standing in the presence of a goldplume, a member of one the three ruling families in the industrious nation.

The keen eyes of the griffon examined the shadowy figure before receiving a subservient bow from the cloaked stranger. A crimson glow enveloped the cowl of the stranger as they lowered their hood with a deft flick of magic. The thick fabric quickly lowered to reveal the stoic face of a black pelted unicorn mare. Her fiery eyes were locked on the ground in the most submissive of manners, her posture suggesting a clear familiarity with griffon culture as she dealt with the influential hybrid.

"I have acquired the item you requested. You were correct in your assertion that it would be a quick and painless recovery," she remarked vaguely, avoiding the details as she kept her discussion as secret as possible. The scarlet maned mare lightly shuffled her hooves as she patiently awaited his expert opinion. Whatever was going on, the courier seemed surprisingly used to the strange formalities in dealing with nobles.

A smirk crept across the maw of the griffon as she spoke, the hybrid lifting a golden talon off the ground as he eagerly awaited his prize from the solemn mare. "Of course, the stories of your exploits are not exaggerated. I expected you to arrive a few days from now, this is a welcome surprise. Hand over the artifact, we both know this is no place to store it. Your payment will be transferred into your account when I examine the object," he commented excitedly, the royal unable to wait for his prize as he spoke to the courier. "I apologize for my inability to fly. I understand the dishonor involved with you climbing down from your loft. Here is figurine Sir," she replied in robotically as she slipped a golden figurine out from beneath her cloak and presented it to the fancy griffon.

The object in question was a golden sculpture of the original head of the goldplume family. It was talon made and showed great age and craftsmanship. If one thing was clear, the item was valuable. This of course begged the question, where did she get it?

The royal examined her find and nearly squealed with joy, clearly impressed. "A thousand thanks Miss Stillheart," he replied quickly before flying off to the upper roosts. As quickly as the spectacle had begun, it was already over, the unicorn raising her cowl as she prepares to leave.

[RarityDash]

Gilda gave a sigh as she lied atop a vacant stretch of cliff overlooking the Equestrian embassy in Talonopolis, trying to take a nap. As she lied there, she couldn't help but find herself wondering just what she was even doing there? What exactly had brought her back to this stupid, annoying city. She had been born there, but many times had she left it behind. She had discarded it, rejected it, because Gilda wasn't a griffon who had any use for a "home". There was nothing to tie her to this city, nothing to keep her coming back. And yet, she invariably seemed to return. Now, even after her little adventure on the wrong side of the law last time she was in the city, here she was again. She couldn't rationalize it. All she knew is that she had wound up here once more.

That previous venture to the city of her birth was still fresh in her mind. It had started while she was chilling out by herself out on a cliff overlooking the city just like the one she was resting on now. She had seen a suspicious pony and ended up following her out of curiosity. Cue an exceedingly feather-brained scheme that put her on the continual run, until... because of that blasted mare, she ended up getting caught. After months of having to put up with the Aquelian Marines on the trail of her would be accomplice, she was then duped once more and thrown into prison along with that fool pony. Stupid, stupid months followed until the two of them were able to break for it, and though eventually that idiot Pathfinder managed to get her grimy hooves on what she was looking for, Gilda was rewarded with exactly nothing.

It was one of the stupidest things she had ever gotten involved in, so Gilda was in no hurry to repeat it. So when a suspicious looking mare passed by underneath where she was loitering, she tried her best just to ignore it. A big part of her didn't want to get involved in anything this time... and yet, there was something about the mare passing closely by her down below that made her hard for the griffon to ignore. She was just extremely shady. She was a black mare in a dark coat. Her movements were suspicious, and moreover she was a wingless variety of ponies; those almost never wandered into the city just for kicks. Gilda couldn't help but watch her... and when a clearly very important griffon came to greet her, her eyes went wide. She had seen the guy before; one of the top members of the Goldplume family. What was someone like him doing here on the surface meeting some wingless pony in a dark cloak? Whatever it was, Gilda was pretty sure it wasn't legal. Unable to resist, she flew a little closer so she could hear the exchange.

The words spoken did nothing to dissuade Gilda of the opinion that this was a meeting that no one wanted overheard. The pony spoke without affectation and the griffon had a nervous excitement over everything he said and did. Gilda's eyes went wide as a beautiful golden figurine was revealed and passed from hoof to talon. So that was it, huh? Illicit artifact trading? The dark side of Pathfinder's trade, Gilda supposed. She chuckled and shook her head. How very curious. Her eyes stayed with the super valuable statuette. Oh how she wanted to just swoop down and take it from under the fool Goldplume's beak...

Gilda was an opportunist. She was committed to living life her way, which meant eschewing rules and being her own griffon. This meant she didn't have much of a place in society. Flight was the one thing she loved and the one thing she was good enough at to profit from, but flight shows and events for unaffiliated trick fliers were rare at best. As such, she didn't have a lot of money at hand most times with which to pay for things. This meant, she was stupidly susceptible when it came to opportunities to get rich quick. She didn't want to get involved in anything stupid again, but she couldn't help it. She needed to know what this shifty mare's game was. She flew down to confront her.

[colour=#996699]"Hey pony!"[/colour] she started loudly[colour=#996699]. "I saw that just now! Doing favors for ol' Goldplume there, are we? That must be real nice,"[/colour] she barked, getting close to the cloaked mare. [colour=#996699]"I think I'd kinda like to know where you got something that nice,"[/colour] she added with an abrasive huff.

​

[Gerrard]

The dark ears of the mare perked up from beneath her cowl as a rough sounding voice came at her from above. A pair of intense crimson eyes peered up from beneath the cowl to examine the young griffon. They coldly examined her frame and appearance for details and information. It almost seemed as if she were sizing up the thief or comparing her to some internal database, the odd unicorn not immediately speaking until she heard out the interested griffon. Her expression was as completely stoic as she stared down Gilda, the cowled mare showing no sign of fear from getting caught. She had either done nothing wrong, or just had ice in her veins, her exp<b></b>ression one of minimal interest. As Gilda mentioned Goldplume, the scarlet maned mare blinked her fiery eyes and cocked her head to the side as if she were somehow confused.

"I acquired the item from the Museum of Equestrian History in Canterlot. In regards to it being a nice favour, I am unable to speak on Sir Goldplume's behalf. I found the arrangement agreeable of course, I accepted the terms that he presented me," the mare answered in an almost defiant manner as her cold voice continued on in an uninterested manner. Something about her was strange, but it was hard to pinpoint the exact cause, her words seeming to undermine her secrecy she had undertaken just moments earlier. "Would you like to visit the museum, I am returning to Canterlot tonight?" she added in a strange manner, her voice seeming to betray her words as she stood before the griffon.

"May I ask for your name stranger? You don't appear to be a member of the Goldplume family. You may call me Asteria or any other moniker that you are comfortable with," she added in her perpetually monotone manner of speaking. Her gaze drifted away from the hybrid and examined their surroundings, this section of town surprisingly baron aside from a few guard ponies for the embassy. The nondescript white pegasi stood at attention their training and dedication to their craft apparent as they managed to maintain their statuesque postures.

[RarityDash]

"I acquired the item from the Museum of Equestrian History in Canterlot. In regards to it being a nice favour, I am unable to speak on Sir Goldplume's behalf. I found the arrangement agreeable of course, I accepted the terms that he presented me,"

Gilda was kind of surprised to find the highly suspicious mare giving her a straight answer. Seriously though a museum in Canterlot? Canterlot was pony princess land and the dumb ponies had more of their little REA guards there than any other pony place. How would someone pick a museum in a place like that, even if they were good? Sure, maybe some would say the same about Talonopolis, and that featherbrained Pathfinder had successfully wormed her way into practically every museum in the city, but it nevertheless seemed like something that should be impressive. Gilda couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't stumbled upon yet another master at such things, but this one cold and motivated only by coin where the Pathfinder was motivated only by her overpowering madness. Whatever else, this pony was definitely someone dangerous. Gilda needed to play this right or she was bound to, yet again wind up in a world of trouble.

[colour=#996699]"How impressive,"[/colour] she said, nodding. [colour=#996699]"I take if your the sort who takes on a lot of jobs like this one, eh?"[/colour] she asked, not hiding her smirk.

​

"Would you like to visit the museum, I am returning to Canterlot tonight?"

This question was mildly surprising for a couple reasons. For one, this shadowy master thief was being a lot friendlier than most shadowy master thieves would be, not that Gilda have met very many. For another, it just seemed like quite the feat. Maybe the pony was looking for a fallgriffon, but stupid curiosity had Gilda nevertheless interested, so she opted to inquire only about the latter.

[colour=#996699]"Canterlot by tonight? How you managing that? It's quite the trip even on wing..."[/colour] she questioned, eyeing the shifty character with increasing suspicion. [colour=#996699]"Gonna snag a ride on some swift flying airship or something?"[/colour]

​

"May I ask for your name stranger? You don't appear to be a member of the Goldplume family. You may call me Asteria or any other moniker that you are comfortable with,"

Asteria, huh? Even the name was kind of dark and shady sounding. Moreover, Gilda wasn't sure what an Asteria was. Didn't ponies typically all have dopey, silly dweeb names like Sugar Snack or Sprinkle Dust? All the more confirmation she had run into quite the unusual character... which in turn just made her all the more curious about the ponies game.

[colour=#996699]"It's Gilda,"[/colour] she introduced herself with an indifferent shrug. [colour=#996699]"Gilda the griffon. Any other names I might have had, I've since left behind."[/colour]

​

[Gerrard]

The cold mare patiently waited in silence for a response from the curious griffon. It was strange that she would so openly disclose the information about her prior dealing, perhaps being blinded by arrogance or somehow having nothing to hide from the nosy griffon. Regardless of why, she had done so, and nonchalantly at that, the unicorn probing the slightly younger griffon. Her fiery eyes showed no immediate reaction to the remark of being impressed, the poker faced mare only intermittently blinking as Gilda hypothesized about her work.

Asteria paused and thought over her question. [colour=#996699]"I take if your the sort who takes on a lot of jobs like this one, eh?"[/colour] echoed through her mind as she decided to give a response that might satisfy Gilda. "I do take on many jobs similar to this one. My past experiences have shown that griffon employment is substantially more profitable. I find notions of preferential treatment irrational, and go where the bits are most plentiful. Is my response adequate, I hope I am not confusing you Lady Gilda," she responded formally, doing a similar subservient bow to before, her tall form still hidden away beneath her form fitted cloak.

When her idea of visiting Canterlot was questioned, Asteria blinked, realizing that she had been misunderstood. "I aplogize for the misunderstanding ma'am. Yes, I can catch a ride on an airship back to Canterlot. There is one scheduled to leave here every night at approximately twenty hundred. I could arrive there and it still would be dark outside. The museum itself wouldn't open for a few hours. Perhaps a 'tour' of some kind might be in order," she explained nonchalantly, her words suspiciously vague as her gaze drifted towards one of the spires that housed the airships. ''I believe that I can provide you a spot on the ship if you wish to accompany me," she added in a surprisingly generous manner. It was unclear if there was some sort of charge involved in the offer, but this unicorn didn't seem to outright make her declarations.

"If you decide to accompany me, I will be at the northern air dock, I have a spire to climb and I believe you would prefer flying to the top regardless. If not, may you have an acceptable evening and farewell," she politely added as she trotted off towards the spire she spoke of. It would be a little while before her flight would leave, and it seemed like she would be lounging about in the sky until then. If Gilda wanted more information, she would need to be more specific, the unicorn not one to disclose very much extraneous information. That of course was a risk, both characters seeming to avoid any direct mentions of illegal activity for one reason or another.

[RarityDash]

"I do take on many jobs similar to this one. My past experiences have shown that griffon employment is substantially more profitable. I find notions of preferential treatment irrational, and go where the bits are most plentiful. Is my response adequate, I hope I am not confusing you Lady Gilda,"

"Heh. Nah, makes absolutely perfect sense to me. Seems to me like that's the only sensible way to operate with this kind of work," Gilda said, nodding to the mare.

This shifty unicorn hadn't disappointed yet; this mercenary attitude was exactly what she would have expected from a master thief for hire. The one thing about the pony that did striker her weird was the manner of address? Lady Gilda? Was she serious? That was just ridiculous. There was nothing about her that called for formalities, especially from a shady thief. This was an easy thing to correct though.

"It's just Gilda though; I'm certainly no flapping Razorclaw or anything. I'm just a griffon who happens to have a certain interest in nice things like what you gave that Goldplume fool back there," she said, smirking excitedly.

​

"I aplogize for the misunderstanding ma'am. Yes, I can catch a ride on an airship back to Canterlot. There is one scheduled to leave here every night at approximately twenty hundred. I could arrive there and it still would be dark outside. The museum itself wouldn't open for a few hours. Perhaps a 'tour' of some kind might be in order. I believe that I can provide you a spot on the ship if you wish to accompany me,"

This sounded promising. Sneaking on board an airship, arriving in that pony capital with hours left to "tour" this museum and take what she wanted... it sounded like a great setup. This pony really knew her stuff, she supposed. If nothing else, this sounded like it'd be a fair amount of fun. Gilda was nothing if not eager to see where it took her.

​

"If you decide to accompany me, I will be at the northern air dock, I have a spire to climb and I believe you would prefer flying to the top regardless. If not, may you have an acceptable evening and farewell,"

"Heh. I'll definitely say I'm intrigued," Gilda said, trying not to show too much interested. She wanted to keep her cool in front of this professional criminal.

"I'll give it some thought. Perhaps you'll see me again when you get up there..." she added in a cool voice, stretching her wings and lifting herself up off the ground. "Either way, see ya around, pony."

​

[Gerrard]

Asteria listened to the approval of the younger griffon, completely silent as Gilda seemed to agree with her own cold views. Usually there was some dissent fro from her associates, Gilda being an exception, at least until she complained about her moniker. Asteria blinked her crimson eyes while maintaining her static posture, the odd mare seeming to formulate a response.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding Gilda. I prefer formality, but I will adapt to your request to respect your wishes," she explained in her ever static voice, the unicorn still seeming perpetually disinterested in everything.

She examined the griffon one last time as she thought of replying to Gilda and her quips about other griffons. "I am not qualified to make assertions about the familial relations of anyone. Thank you for the information about your family status, I will try and remember it for later reference," she explained in her usual awkward manner.

Asteria peered up into the sky, her eyes wincing from the light as she seemed to measure something. "I wish you great fortune in your futures endeavors Gilda. I anticipate the next plausible crossing of our paths," she politely remarked to her acquaintance with a most peculiar set of words.

When finished speaking, the unusually tall made headed off into the distance, quickly scaling the tower before having to wait for the arrival of her transportation.

[RarityDash]

"I apologize for the misunderstanding Gilda. I prefer formality, but I will adapt to your request to respect your wishes. I am not qualified to make assertions about the familial relations of anyone. Thank you for the information about your family status, I will try and remember it for later reference,"

Gilda glanced at the mare a moment. She wouldn't have ever expected a master thief to be so formal. She supposed everyone had their reasons though. Playing up the formalities likely took this pony far. If she mostly worked for clients like that Goldplume, it was probably pretty smart. The rich and privileged loved being buttered up with reverential words. They probably wouldn't take to hiring some pickpocket who acted like she was in charge. Playing up the status thing was probably a good way to keep her employers satisfied. That didn't mean she needed all that for just some nobody griffon like Gilda though.

​

"I wish you great fortune in your futures endeavors Gilda. I anticipate the next plausible crossing of our paths,"

Gilda just nodded. "Yeah, cool," she said. "See ya," she said before taking to wing.

She flew about for a while after that before heading toward the northern air dock. There was no way she wasn't getting in on this, after all. Eventually, she found a spot to wait and watch for just the right moment to make her reappearance.

​

[Gerrard]

Asteria stared up into the sky one last time as if to verify something before she decided to leave for Canterlot. The stoic mare presented her paperwork to a griffon guard who seemed familiar enough with her to not even verify it. "I have a guest who may be arriving soon. She is a female griffon and might request me by name or description. Please grant her passage if possible," she vaguely explained to the guard.

For one reason or another, she didn't speak the name Gilda, either respecting the privacy of her guest or simply respecting the anonymity of another 'thief". The guard nodded, his keen eyes locked on the staircase that funneled the flightless to the airship. Asteria took a steady step onto the deck, examining the vessel while she waited for their departure. A handful of nondescript ponies and a few elderly griffons hopped aboard, everyone seeming ignorant to the motives of the dark individual among them.

[RarityDash]

Gilda watched from a safe distance as the pony secured passage on the airship. It seemed curiously normal. Asteria presented some paperwork to the guard who didn't even bat an eye. How odd. Surely this shadowy thief couldn't be transporting herself legally? Maybe the document was a skillfully made forgery. Perhaps instead the guard had been paid off in advance. it was impossible to say for sure, but it reasoned just watching the mare move that there was something dubious in it all.

After a few minutes, Gilda swooped in and met the guard. She wasn't entirely sure how to approach him, not knowing if he was on the level or not. She didn't want to make any trouble, especially not since she'd been on the wrong side of guards before. As such, she walked up to him slowly and gave a nod. "Hey. There was a pony. A unicorn. She was gonna get me passage on this thing."

The guard gave a small nod and ushered her right in without event. Gilda was somewhat surprised how easy it was. She had been expecting herself and the pony to have to do a lot of sneaking to get on board. Being able to waltz right in. There she was greeted by the sight of the passengers--a handful of ponies and a number of mostly older griffons. She supposed there wouldn't be a lot of younger griffons making use of a passenger airship. This was her first time ever getting on one. It seemed odd to use such a cumbersome thing to get around when you had wings on your back, though looking at it now, Gilda was pretty sure she understood. Using something like this, a griffon could get safely from one city to another without having to exert herself. No need to make frequent little stops to rest your wings as you tried to fly half across a continent all on your own. You could just sit and sleep on the thing if you wanted.

Gilda made her way through the ship until she saw her. She gave a nod as she approached Asteria. "Heh. Guess I'm in. I decided this would be worth my time," she said with an excited smirk.

​

[Gerrard]

Asteria blinked as Gilda appeared, the cold unicorn showing no reaction at all to her entrance! It was almost as if she didn't want to acknowledge her presence to the few strangers who could overhear them. Asteria ushered Gilda into the unicorn's private quarters, closing and locking her door with a deft use of her crimson magic aura.

"I'm glad to hear that you are willing to spend your free time on the arts. While the museum is obviously pony slanted, I believe that you will find a wide variety of cultural artifacts of the many species that exist in Equestria," Asteria commented in a cold voice that almost didn't seem to believe her own words. The unicorn stood up from her bed and walked in front of Gilda before drifting her eyes back to her bed.

"Would you like to take a seat? And what would you like to do before the museum opens? The nightlife of Canterlot is much more active than you might imagine," Asteria replied unusually. She had avoided calling her friend by name, and now seemed interested in going to the crime scene in broad daylight! She was either the most diabolical and brazen thief around, or she just wanted to look at art.