Whitetail Wood Things that go clank in the night! [Private - Gerrard]

[MudBug]

The sun was just starting to set over Whitetail Wood, bathing the area in a crisp orange glow that caught the attention of the local 'Night Watch-Mare' who liked to take care of the local nocturnal wildlife and make sure evening weather patterns were stable. You know just so the weather crew were informed! As the light started to eventually drain from the sky, she made her way out of her little tree-house home, kick starting the old water-pump that was starting to get on with age as took an eye full of the darkening sky. It was far too early in the evening for her, she should've slept in another hour or so to make up for falling asleep well into the dawn yesterday. She didn't want to end up diurnal after all!

Stretching out her wings and limbs, she felt her joints pop into place after sleeping in that overly soft bed again and made her way down to the base of her tree where the pipes leading down to the watertrough were. She'd had it installed after coming across a few thirsty animals in the past few months what with the frozen ponds...also it helped moisten any dried up lichen or fungi she came across. And ofcourse her segment of 'morning dew' that she had to work on. It was very busy time and she loved it.

Hearing the odd pop and wheeze of the pipes made her worry about how much they'd hold up, but for now she was more concerned about getting the first part of her work done for tonight as the sky turned from light violet to a deep indigo. Stars slowly beginning to fill the sky as Luna's moon raised higher and higher into to murky dark backdrop it lit up.

"Lovely..." She muttered to herself happily. "Now then! Let's check the pressure gauge!" Still talking to herself, ofcourse as she moved over to her little work area to check that everything weather wise was alright before going into the animal side of things. So far, the meadow that laid itself out infront of her home didn't seem bothered or filled with anything specifically. A few fireflies starting to wake themselves and float across the grass. Nothing that much.

Or nothing yet, at least.

[Gerrard]

The sky had quickly become dark and the evening would be out in full force in a matter of moments. The only other creature of note in the area was a griffon who had just got done installing a set of pipes for the pickiest of ponies around. The job was scheduled to be a few hours, but with her requests to avoid everything in the forest that was... living, he found himself running behind schedule. Faced with the option of flying back tomorrow to finish his last job of the day, or staying an extra hour to avoid another long flight, the dark colored griffon opted to stay out into the night.

In a few light wing beats, he found himself at the address of a pegasus who went by the the name of Twinkle. He figured she was probably in the process of falling asleep, the norm for most of the ponies out in the wilderness. When his keen griffon eyes spotted what looked like the form of a pony, his curiosity was piqued as he glided down to the ground in an almost completely silent manner. The faint noises of flapping wings filled the air as the stealthy hybrid let out a noise that was nowhere near matching his immense size. He quickly pulled up from his glide at the last moment and floated back up onto a tree branch in the shadows a few feet above the night pony as he spread his immense wingspan and looked down on the pony as she checked on her aging pipe system. A cursory gaze at the shadowy figure in the trees would reveal a creature that seemed far too large to be a pegasus, albeit the illusion of size granted by the large wings necessary to carry a griffon. A pair of night vision eyes would clearly see a normal sized griffon with a coat of darkest black and equally dark wings. His head was the only divergence from the color scheme as his silvery head feathers and golden eyes betrayed the long black beak on his face.

He absolutely loved to scare ponies, not out of a sick desire to assert his dominance, but just because he loved to see what surprised faces they made in the heat of the moment. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice as a few trace fireflies hovered in front of his dark face, casting light and shadows over his visage as he tried to loom over the pony. "Hello Twinkle. Any problems tonight?" he vaguely murmured as a guess before poking his head out of the shadows to reveal himself to the bat winged pegasus.

[MudBug]

Twinkle was nowhere near a large pony, she was quite petite actually and always had been, so seeing the small flicker in her peripheral vision of something notably bigger than her as she knocked the aged piping back into place ofcourse cause her to be a bit...worried. Ears flicking back partly as she stepped away from her post. Even being prepared by the shape of him up above the tree canopy, the clearing of his throat was still enough to make her jump ever so slightly, her smaller wings fanning in an almost startled manner as she peered up to the creature with a blink. Upon a better look, it was obvious that it was in fact a griffon...still, it was very intimidating and when she was spoken to she just had to swivel her ears around and stare at the creature with a perplexed look.

Ofcourse she stuck to the basics of what concerned her the most!

"Hello...how do you know my name?" She blinked at him as she took a few more steps back from her tree to get a better look at him, her webbed wings tucked gently to her side as she did. The idea of flying up to meet him half way hadn't quite made it to her mind just yet, but she was staring down a particularly big-winged Griffon, so instinctual fear had yet to subside completely out of her system. When she absorbed the question he'd brought up, her eyes focused yet again on the gurgling and twitching pipes attached to her tree before giving a light shrug to the Griffon. "Other than my pipes, nothing much..."

"...Why?" Twinkle wasn't one for skepticism a lot of the time but something about a strange creature just as the sun had set always struck her as odd, not that Whitetail was a dangerous area to be in. Not like Everfree. But...you could never be too careful about who you bumped into and in her experience, it was always healthy to be the tiniest bit apprehensive until you were completely sure.

[Gerrard]

The noise of him rustling through a bag for contents unknown filled the air as the large hybrid searched for something. As quickly as the noise started, it had vanished, only to be replaced with the loud clank of metal as something fell from his talons to the pipes beneath fim.

"How did I know your name? That is a great question. But a better question is what is my name," he replied in a dramatic manner trying to seem more frightening than he really was. The griffon spread his immense wingspan as wide as possible before jumping from his perch to the ground in front of the alarmed pony. As he presented himself to the pegasus, the griffon bowed politely, showing her his dark wings as he deftly retrieved his spanner with his tail and tossed it up in front of himself where he caught the heavy metal object with one of his black talons.

"I am here to... Attack... your pipe problems," he declared excitedly, using pauses in an attempt to disarm her. When he finished speaking, the griffon smiled and sat on his haunches. "You can call me Gerrard, and the University of Canterlot has scheduled maintenance on your system today," he explained with a grin as he explained how he might know her name.

[MudBug]

This guy definitely came off more....odd than frightening to say the least, the odd clank caught Twinkle offguard and she had to peer at the state her pipes might've been left in by whatever he had dropped - only to have the beast land in front of her. The weight of his landing almost making her bounce off of the ground before she regained her footing and peered at the odd fellow yet again, one for dramatics wasn't he? Or atleast one of those 'grandiose' types, like in Canterlot or Manehattan or something.

It definitely showed in how he fanned out his wings like that, trying to look like some show pegasi. Though he wasn't as obviously obnoxious as those ones were, those were the ones she couldn't stand at times and she had to blink a few times at the way he spun his spanner into his talons. Maybe he was a little obnoxious.

When he finally introduced himself and how he actually knew her name, she let out a small sigh of relief as a smile finally came to her face. Granted a little reserved at the attitude of this huge hybrid, but atleast she now knew she could trust him! That was something! Wings fanning out just a bit she offered a small nod towards the newly introduced 'Gerrard' with a thankful little expression.

"I was wondering when they'd send someone to have a look at my system, it's started to get a little jittery!" To make a point, to tried to turn the nozzle on the tiny tap overlooking the trough and was met with a thick, guttural sound from the depth of the pipes. Much to her disgruntlement. "See? Sometimes I can't even get any water from it and I know my resevoir is full...the barrels are settled at the top of the tree if you wanna look, I cover them up in case any animals fall in and uncover them when it rains so they can fill up again."

Turning the nozzle back to where it was before that thick, watery gurgling could get any louder and more on her nerves, she eventually turned back to Gerrard and rubbed the back of her mane and neck with one of her hooves.

"But there's no point having a full resevoir if my pipes won't even get it from point A to point B....sooooo can you fix them?"

[Gerrard]

"I was the only person in Canterlot who was willing to come out here. Most of my fancier contemporaries are only interested in working in bigger cities and I get stuck with all the bad jobs! I of course would choose this assignment regardless of the difficulty, not because of my low seniority at the office, but because I am a griffon of the people," he preached in a dramatic and firm sound voice as he clenched his talon firmly.

When he finished his nonsensical speal, Gerrard chuckled and decided to look over his client. His golden eyes looked over the pegasus, taking in her dark coat and strange wings. He wanted to comment, but decided to hold off until appropriate.

As she explained her situation, he nodded in understanding, seeming to follow her words as she showed him the pipe system. "Well, my last client devoted almost all of my equipment, but I think I can repair your stuff with my limited resources. To get started we need to get to your source and work backwards. "Want a lift to your water source," he offered with a smirk as he extended his keen talons towards her for a grab if she wanted one, the griffon knowing that most flyers wanted to move under their own power.

[MudBug]

Twinkle thought that this guy, this Gerrard, liked the sound of his own voice just a bit too much and she couldn't help but find it just the slightest bit amusing as much as she found it arrogant as well. But it was enough that he was here to help her with her pipes that she could overlook such things, for now and just focus on the task at hand. Whilst ignoring all the speals.

"Well it's nice to know somepony cares about the little workers!" Was 'somepony' even the correct term of phrase to use with a griffon? She didn't know. What she did know and notice was him checking her out and she couldn't help but roll her eyes good naturedly, like she hadn't had that before! Snickering ever so slightly as he held out that talon of his, she simply spread out her little webbed wings and gave them a small flap.

"No thanks! I can get up there just as dandily as you can, mr Gerrard!"

With a healthy flap of her wings, she took off from the ground, the sound of skin beating against the air in lieu of the soft flutter of feathers as she drew herself to the top of the tree where her barrels were. Floating there happily in a lackadaisical manner as she waited for the 'pipe worker' to follow her up. Her bright pink eyes one of the brighter parts of her features, sticking out like a pair of saucers in the dark night as they watched the griffon from up high. And awaited his company.

[Gerrard]

He had heard rumors of bat ponies with fangs, fuzzy ears and webbed wings, but decided to ask Twinkle about her partial condition when he was done working. When she mentioned somepony was looking out for her, the griffon nodded, deciding to address her comment. "Someone does care about the little people, " he announced excitedly, using words that didn't contain pony.

Gerrard flapped his large wings and followed the little pegasus as she proudly declared her ability to fly. "Okay, lead the way sparky," he commented with a smirk as he gave the pony a pet name. She darted away, the slow flying pipe worker making his way through the crowded forest of trees. The loud flapping of his feathered wings filled the air as trace black feathers scattered in the air. He slowly weaved through the trees and caught back up with her. "Where is it," he asked calmly as he scanned through the darkness for the metallic shimmer of a metal pipe.

[MudBug]

Sparky? She'd have to comment on that later. For now she sat where her barrels were and watched as the main, juttering pipe from beneath the barrels dripped and leaked onto the branches settles below. It was getting very old and the way it shook definitely showed that as she moved a hoof to gently jostle it and was reciprocated with that loud gurgling sound echoing from the depth of the pipes yet again. She was starting to get a little more thankful that this griffon was around now. Goodness knows she knew too little about this.

When he appeared in a fluster of black feathers, Twinkle had to blink and pointed at the pipe to answer his question. It sad beneath a rig with two thick barrels topped with a plank of wood with a mouth handle for getting it off easily during the rain - both barrels were half full do to the constant drip of the pipes that seemed to have been going on consistently for a while now. The pipe was half-hazardly held together with aged bandages in order to keep them together and keep them attached to the tree. Looking from the pipes to Gerrard, the pink eye'd pony pointed to the pipes again in a slightly defeated manner.

"See? You think it could be it getting too old or something?" She asked trying to fool herself into thinking she was smart enough to know about something like plumbing. She honestly had no idea what was wrong with the pipes, it was probably why Canterlot had experts for situations such as this - so ponies and other creatures that had no idea could actually be helped from their plight.

[Gerrard]

Gerrard followed Twinkle through the dark forest, the griffon hearing the pipes before he could see them. He was glad to be at the pipes, knowing his day would be over as soon as he dispatched this last problem. As soon as he took a moment to take in the situation though, a sense of dread overcame him as he realized what he had to work with. The barrels were working like a makeshift water tower which was okay for small operations out in the middle of nowhere like this. He personally would have used the local waterfall for water, but thinking of having to cross paths with the crazy nature pony was enough to get him to completely disregard that plan.

"I personally wouldn't have used wooden barrels for your reservoir, but it is still within legal requirements I guess. In regards to the pipe though, you need to be more responsible with it. Patches should only be used to hold you over until an expert comes by. This pipe looks like it has been dying for months now, you can send a message to your local city for repair and an expert is sent out to help. If you wait for an architect to come by and do routine maintenance, this will happen," he explained, lightly scolding her as he reached behind the barrels and twisted some sort of hidden switch that immediately weakened and stopped the gurgling. This particular part of the system worked, and the griffon turned to the strange pegasus as he decided to give her a little lesson on how to keep her system online.

"Behind this water source is a valve that can shut off the water, it works by just blocking the pipe, easy enough I think," he explained as he unscrewed the pipe in question and yanked it out. Water lightly leaked out of the 'injured' pipe but quickly stopped as it ran out of water. He couldn't see very well in the dark, but it was clear as day for him what had gone wrong, the griffon rubbing his black talons around the neck of the pipe and showing his sharp claws to the pony. A thick layer of brown rust was on his talons, indicating that someone had installed an iron pipe of all things. "Iron rusts dear, whoever set this up didn't know what they were doing. You want copper, it doesn't rust and it doesn't contaminate your water. It also is mildly antibacterial, so you probably wont be getting sick as much. A second rate repair pony will use iron because they don't know any better," he explained, digging through his greatly depleted saddle bags until he managed to find the correct pipe.

"I would suggest going head hunting for whomever set you up, iron pipes can cause sickness in some situations, rust doesn't taste very good," he explained while fastening the pipe where the old one was at. He was quick with his talons, able to go through the movements without even thinking, his years of experience measuring up to simple muscle memory. In a matter of moments, it was fixed, the griffon flipping the valve back open as he went to watch her reaction. "Now we can rush back home to see if it works, or we can check the entire length for problems, he commented with a light yawn, the dark griffon looking back at her before realizing he technically didn't answer her question. "Iron gets too old for water very quick," he commented with a smirk as he gave the pegasus a second look to make sure she had bat wings.

[MudBug]

Twinkle would be lying if she said she understood anything of what was being told to her, kind of just staring at Gerrard as he spoke but atleast trying to politely keep up to touch with the conversation so she could make note of what exactly was wrong. She could tell by the tone in his voice that she'd made atleast a multitude of mistakes that was why everything in her piping system was going to pot. Deteriorating for months??? Is that how long this had been going? Raising a hoof to worriedly rub at her cheek as she hovered there, wings fluttering away frantically with the continued sound of webbed skin beating against the air.

However before she could even get a word in edge wise, he continued to explain whilst he worked which kind of left the pegasi stunned and unable to say anything whilst she just followed and watched him as he worked...whilst giving him space, ofcourse. Nopony liked having someone lurking over their shoulder whilst they worked, even if it was out of interest or curiousity. It could get old very fast.

When he was done, she blinked owlishly at the griffon as he question was finally answered, she did indeed have batwings still and they continued to keep her aloft when she didn't land on a tree top every now and then to give them a rest. Right now she was hovering. When she stared at the pipe system for a moment or two she offered the tiniest of shrugs to Gerrard.

"We can have a look if you want," She started. "But I think it was mostly this part that needed fixing....then again I have no idea about half of this stuff, I mostly deal with the weather charts and animals around here, so all this is a little over my head." This was WAY over her head more like, she barely knew anything about this stuff. She'd felt like she was watching the factory ponies all over again during her internship, she never did understand the exact science behind those snowflakes.

However there was no point trying to cry over it now, best to deal with everything else and see if it was up to code....though it was apparent that after this little meeting, she might have to rethink her piping system altogether if this is how bad she let it go. She would have to be much more diligent in the future. Gesturing him to follow she followed the piping system back, this time at a much more casual pace to make sure for anything out of sorts along the length of the transporter pipes.

[Gerrard]

Gerrard figured that just about everything was in order, but that didn't mean he couldn't check for blockages along the way. Without the sophisticated tools used on fancier city pipe systems, the griffon was forced to do a bit of old fashion checking. He lowered his head close to the pipes and carefully held one of his wrenches in his dark clutches while he looked over to the pony. "Some ponies have asked me what it's like to be a griffon, and I can never really explain it aside from going over every reason why I think I'm awesome. But instead of talking about myself today, can you sate my curiosity and explain the bat wings get up? I was under the impression that bat ponies were a fairy tale for foals. You aren't a bat pony though, are you?" he asked in as nonchalant a manner he could manage while tapping the pipes to see if he could detect water inside.

He paused and gasped while checking the pipe, almost seeming to have found something else dastardly waiting for him inside. After a moment of awkward silence, he blinked and crossed his arms and sat on his haunches. "Story time," the griffon announced excitedly, as he looked across to the pegasus and expectantly waited for her life story. The reasons for his gasp were only known to him, the griffon just wanting to trick another reaction out of her before being treated to a hopefully awkward section of story time with Twinkle.

[MudBug]

Twinkle was trying to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary when it came to the pipes, but seeing as she wasn't really an expert when it came to them it was a bit like staring at a blank chalkboard and expecting to find the sum in its dark green recesses and it was a little embarrassing for the nature pony trying to find the driving point of the pipes. Because so far she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary....downside of not really being a professional in this area. However his question, the one she'd been waiting for honestly, struck up and she peered curiously at the griffon as he spoke.

Curious one wasn't he? Not that she could blame him, her wing did kind of make her stick out like a sore thumb at times...or well...most times honestly, sometimes it she was just the tiniest bit self concious of going into huge towns or cities with these.

"Well-" When he gasped, she had to pause and join in the awkward silence as she watched him. But instead of explaining, she got him sitting there, fueling her curiousity over what'd had him so momentarily frazzled...but it seemed that was going to wait until she'd explained her wings. With a slight roll of her eyes she landed on the top of a tree and fluttered her wings slowly for emphasis.

"...Well you see, I'm not a bat pony, I'm technically still a pegasus...I just happen to have bat wings." Okay that was a bad explanation. "It's a long story, but it mostly involves a spell backfiring and my dad being stuck as a fruit bat for several days...apparently some of the magic passed on before I was born and...yeah! Bat wings!"

Again, she flapped them for emphasis, the gentle sound of skin against the wind briefly filling the space between them with sound.

"It isn't really any different from regular pegasus wings, at least that's what the doctors told me when I was younger, they just take different kind of care." The dark blue pony looked over her wings as she tucked them gently to her sides. "It's a lot easier than preening."

Finally she looked back to Gerrard with that look of curiousity returned, the faint expression of worry in her features.

"Now uh....what was with the gasp...?"

[Gerrard]

Gerrard raised his brow as she went over her unique condition. It seemed too good to be true but he had heard of crazier things happening. The griffon pondered over her assertion for a moment with a talon on his chin as a thought came to him. "Maybe that is why griffons have cat butts," he replied in a jovial manner.

When she flapped her wings, he gently poked the skin of the wings to see that it wasn't an illusion. When she mentioned that they didn't need to be preened, he cocked his head to the side. "But preening is the best part," he remarked with a scrunched face as he dug his beak into his dark wing and plucked out a large loose black feather and carefully placed it into her mane.

When she mentioned the gasp, the griffon blinked and looked back at her in a confused manner. "Oh, I just wanted to see if you would make the same face as when I arrived. You weren't nearly as worried as earlier. Everything in your pipelines seem to be in order, I would suggest you scheduling some preventative maintenance in the future though," he explained with a grin as he got to his feet and got ready to move.

[MudBug]

With a shrug, the bat-winged pegasus just watched Gerrard. "I dunno, I just think feathers might get in the way a bit, imagine the molting and such!" She personally couldn't imagine it seeing as, well, she'd never had feathers to begin with. Granted, she'd always imagined what they'd be like, as much as she bashed them she imagined them to be soft and fuzzy. Like her parents wings were when she cuddled underneath them. Still, shrugging from her thoughts she awaited the answer to her last question.

Oh. Well. That was relieving to say the least, Twinkle looked over the pipes with a small smile and a slight sigh of relief as she started her way back with the griffin, hopefully in toe so she could keep up the conversation as they traveled back. At his honestly at trying to 'shock' her again though, the pegasus did have to roll her eyes ever so slightly, this griffon certainly did like having the shock value didn't he? Did it help his ego or something? Maybe she shouldn't have thought like that, after all he did help her quite a bit with her pipes and she was more than grateful for it.

"Thanks for coming to have a look at them." She started, briefly hopping on a branch to gift her some lift as she casually glided over the miniature canopy Whitetail's small forest provided. "Would there be any place in Canterlot to schedule something like that?" Eyes still on Gerrard as she sank down past the trees finally and landed at the base of her own, the night sky in full swing of its inky blackness as the light of the stars and the moon lit it a crisp white-blue colour.

[Gerrard]

The hybrid chuckled as she mentioned the molting, the griffon never feeling like it was a problem. As a griffon, he was very used to shedding and molting, his body recycling things on a usual basis. "Well if you ever want a griffon feather pillow, just send me a letter and I'll hook you up. Just remember that griffon feathers are larger and firmer than a normal one," the architect half joked as he traced a claw through his fluffy and comfortable chest feathers.

When she asked where to go for an appointment, he blinked and dug through his bags and pulled out a business card that had the address of the appointment office. "Just drop by or send a letter asking for a meeting with a professional. I can put in a good word for you if ya need some assistance. Always willing to help a pretty mare, even if she is a bit, batty," he remarked with the worst joke ever, the expert somehow managing to be pleased with his attempt at humor.

[MudBug]

Larger and firmer than regular feathers? That'd make sense. Given the size of him his primaries would obviously have to be much larger to match the weight of his body. Made complete sense to her and the thought continued even as she landed with a soft 'thump' of her hooves meeting with the grass, huh, she was getting better at those. She'd have to make a note of that! As she approached her tree again she checked on the tap and smiled at the lack of prominent gurgles that no longer resonated from its depths! Huzzah! Her smile could hardly be contained and when she'd turned to thank him, she was met with a...business card? Blinking she gently pinched the tiny card between her forehooves whilst peering at the griffon curiously.

For the sake of her sanity she was going to....ignore the joke. Granted she did kind of just stare blankly at him for a bit for it before finding herself snickering to herself, it was a little funny but it'd been the umpteenth time she'd heard it in her life.

"I'll keep that in mind!" She chimed happily. "Thank you again for your help, wasn't really what I'd expected tonight but it definitely set me up for a clear mind for work." That was a point she should've probably been getting ready for that.

Though that was something....

"You're good at night flying right....?" The last thing Twinkle wanted was for Gerrard to get lost, calm as Whitetail was Equestria still had its dangers.

[Gerrard]

Gerrard watched the graceful pegasus gently land on the ground as she inspected the pipes. He could tell she was satisfied with his work, something the confident griffon expected because he 'knew' he was a great mechanical artist.

His mental self congratulations were interrupted as the mare shook him back to reality. "Am I a great night flyer," he thought to himself with his usual arrogant self view as he examined the dark pony. "I can navigate my way home to Canterlot on the other side of the mountain by the stars," he explained with a smirk as he glanced up to get his hopes dashed. The thick canopy of trees above him blocked out the stars, rendering him almost blind beyond a few inches. "I uh could make it home if I escape here," he explained with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.