Canterlot Cooling their hooves [Ended]

[Tempest Rime]

Malediction didn't struggle too much as she and that delivery pony she'd been arrested with were led into the holding cells. They'd already been booked, and Mal had been thoroughly relived when there was no mention made of her psychological profile. She'd gotten off the hook, or perhaps the ******* that had arrested her had simply been bluffing. Either way, they were only being charged with misdemeanors, so a short stay in the jail was about it would amount to.

It was the first time she'd been in here, she reflected. Though she'd gotten into trouble more than a few times back in Trottingham, and she'd spent a few nights in the jail there, she'd managed to stay out of trouble since moving to Canterlot. Until now. Still, her records had no major crimes on them, and there was precious little to go on to keep her here long.

As she passed over the invisible line where the wards that prevented unicorn magic began, she stumbled momentarily. Most unicorns perceived these things slightly differently, and to Malediction it felt like in intense pressure in her chest. She gasped for breath for a few seconds, feeling as though she couldn't inhale, even though her breathing was not actually impaired. She focused on breathing manually, getting accustomed to the feeling as the guards shoved her and her witless companion into a cell.

The cell itself was a sterile, well-kept area, a far cry from the rather dingy cells she'd been in before. She wondered briefly if there was some kind of enchantment built into the place to keep it this clean, or if the guards were forced to clean it. As the guards left, they were left alone, save for a single guard sitting at a desk up the hall. The cells around them were dark, and Mal didn't spot anypony in them, but that didn't guarantee solitude, especially at this time of night.

She glared at Zephyr, speaking to him for the first time since their arrest. "Why'd they put you in the same cell as me? Doesn't seem to be a shortage of space. You know it's your fault we're in here, right? You and that scumbag unicorn totally messed up my game. I was just trying to get that stupid, self-righteous Pegasus angry enough to get herself into trouble."

[ZephyrBurst]

It was a frightening thing to be drug along by the guards. While Zephyr didn't struggle, his hooves reluctantly brought him forward. His ears and entire demeanor drooped the farther along he went with the guards. This was the first time, even counting his time as a thief, that he had been apprehended by any guards. There were a few close calls, but nothing a bit of quick hoof work and flying prowess couldn't get him out of. He thought back on the moment and wondered if he could have escaped had he not been concerned with keeping himself integrated with pony society. Probably not, the guards in Canterlot seemed a lot more organized than those in Manehattan.

The side chatter of the guards as Zephyr was brought along frightened him more. He couldn't clearly hear anything being said. Not that it mattered if he was the subject matter, but the atmosphere chilled him. He made an effort not to make eye contact with any of them. Upon taking a glance to the blue unicorn, he noticed she was quite upset. Couldn't blame her though.

As they were told their sentencing, Zephyr gasped at the mention of one week. He could lose his delivery job in Cloudsdale over this. Especially considering he was arrested on the job and with the very pony he was supposed to deliver to. That thought would have frightened him more, but it slid to the back of his mind somewhat, as the fear of just being captured by the guard had taken a bigger hold. The thought that they could possibly dig up his past was frightening. Before this, his records were perfectly clean, but the huge gap in his life up to a few months ago could be suspicious. He had no prior work or personal records and references. He had begun to think that losing his job was the least of his worries.

While being escorted down to the cells, the blue unicorn had suddenly stumbled and began breathing somewhat erratically. He stopped to look at her, wondering what had happened to her. He began feeling a bit concerned for her and then another worrying thought approached. Did they do something to her, and would they do it to Zephyr too? She seemed to get her breathing under control, that was a relief. He was about to ask her if she was all right when the two of them were shoved into the cell. The door slammed shut and was locked magically and mechanically.

As the guards left down the hall, Zephyr glanced around his new temporary home. It was surprisingly clean and not at all what he imagined. There was a single wooden table in room and two wooden chairs. So this cell was for holding two ponies then. He ignored any further contents the table might have and took his eyes elsewhere through the room. There was a problem that he immediately saw. There was only one bed. Perhaps as some cruel joke to make ponies fight over it and force one to sleep on the cold floor, or it was an oversight by the guards and they forgot. Either way, it could be a problem.

Zephyr's eyes brought him lastly to his cellmate, who at this time was glaring at him. Wait a minute, why were they both put in the same cell? Sure it was a two pony cell, but it seemed the other cells were empty. It didn't matter as those thoughts diminished upon hearing what Malediction said to him. The question was silly and she even blamed him for the cause of her being in this place. That was upsetting, after trying to keep her out of harm's way earlier, she says this to him. And to think he felt any concern for her well-being. There had to be some reason for this, but Zephyr's immediate answers hinted that he was angry, that and his returned glare.

"Oh well EXCUSE me for looking out for anypony! How was I supposed to know that's what you wanted to do?! It's not like I can read minds!" He made a slight eye roll with that last statement. "And it's not entirely my fault we're in here! You JUST said you were trying to upset that other pegasus, which if I'm not mistaken, would have probably led you here anyway considering the reason they threw you in here. I'm not dismissing the blame, but you have yourself to blame too." The unicorn better not keep trying to lay all the blame on Zephyr, that was the most upsetting part of her snarl to him.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal wasn't about to give in on the issue. Admitting defeat was not something she ever did, even in the case of actually being defeated. That applied as much to verbal arguments as it did to a good scrap. "Well it's not like I could just TELL you with the guards already there, now could I? If it wasn't for your stupid package they wouldn't have gotten so suspicious. What were you doing, anyway, delivering it at this time of night?"

Her voice was raised enough that the guard at the desk blew a whistle, sending a loud, sharp noise through the room. "PIPE DOWN," he shouted, before going back to whatever paperwork he'd been doing.

Mal stopped shouting and hissed at him. "Now look what you made me do." She glared again and sat down. She began attempting to channel her magic, testing the wards. There was no visible effect, as the wards were far stronger than she, but she sat with a look of intense concentration on her face. The wards were incredibly well-made. Mal had actually been able to poke a few holes in the wards back in Trottingham with enough focus, but she might as well have been an earth pony in this place.

[ZephyrBurst]

(( OOC: Yay, I'm back, responses will be quicker now. ))

Zephyr was surprised again that Mal pushed the blame to him and used something in the situation as a way to do so. This mare was definitely stubborn and Zephyr couldn't figure her out. She seemed so hateful and resentful to everything. His expression displayed anger as he was about to answer her question when a loud shrill noise pierced his ears. Zephyr twitched, closed his eyes, and laid his ears flat to the side of his head.

As he reopens his eyes to see Mal, he was again about to answer her question when she lowered her voice and blamed the whistle blowing on Zephyr. He started to see that the whole conversation was going to go this route. Zephyr retorted and spoke in a low voice as he took a step forward. He wanted to make sure the mare heard him.

"At least the whistle isn't as bad as your screams." He grinned momentarily before changing to a more stern expression.

"And that stupid package is yours. I was delivering it that late because it worked well with my schedule tomorrow, which is none of your business. AND you had special instructions on there that if you were not present to receive the package, to just leave it on your roof. Which would mean it's fine to deliver any time." Zephyr sat back and thought about it. "At least I think that's what the special instructions said."

He returned his attention to Mal, keeping his voice low. "None of that matters anyway. Why would you want to upset the guards like that? Sure, I don't like them either. They're so... full of themselves." Zephyr put his weight forward, visibly frustrated. "But why do what you did? It makes no sense to try getting some random guard in trouble." Zephyr awaited the blue mare to resort to blaming him yet again.

[Tempest Rime]

"Those instructions," hissed Mal irritably as she snapped back to reality, "are because I stay open late and thus don't get up until the afternoon most days. Which incidentally, is also why I was out tonight. When somepony locks themselves out of their house at night, they don't like to wait until morning to get back in. And as for the guard, it's not like I picked that fight. You saw how they ignored me when I told them what I was doing out there. They had it in for me from the start. The least I could do is get back at them for it."

Mal spat through the bars, wanting to express her disgust but not wanting to make the cell filthy, just in case it was cleaned manually. "Besides, those stuck up pigs make me sick just knowing they're around. Their ilk only exist to restrict our freedom so that tyrant Celestia can keep control. Not that I've actually got anything against the Princess herself, to be fair. She's actually worthy of respect, it's the lawpony filth that mooches off her authority that I despise."

Mal sniffed and rubbed her head. "Ugh, these wards are so stupidly strong, who do they think they'll be keeping in here, Nightmare Moon? It's already giving me a headache just sitting here. This is gonna be the worst night ever!"

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr sat listening to Mal's story and rant with a bit of interest. She sure did talk a lot, though his ears flickered at various interesting points in her mini monologue. He wanted to interject at the mentioning of Celestia, as he didn't like it when other ponies put her down. He had nothing against the Princess, though he really didn't know anything about her. Zephyr stopped himself when Mal mentioned she said the princess was worthy of respect. Perhaps the mare isn't THAT crazy and out there then. Either way, he knew this was going to be interesting with her as a cellmate for the evening.

As she spoke of the wards and them giving her a headache, he thought back to a few moments ago when Mal had trouble breathing. They were probably connected. That would mean she was unable to use magic as well, which means she wasn't any threat to him. She had such a frail body, or at least it looked like it. He figured there wouldn't be any problems with her trying to provoke him, for whatever reason. He decided to leave the ward bit alone for now and focus on what she said about the guard picking on her. He did agree with her, but also wanted to focus on that for the moment, as they had some common ground there. If anything, it could make the evening a bit less of a hardship if they could at least get along.

"Well, you do make a good point about that. The guards do throw their very misplaced authority around. I can think of a lot of times when they would..." Zephyr paused, thinking about a few times in the past where he a major fallout with the guards. His somewhat relaxed expression twisted to reveal anger and he stomped his right forehoof. "Well, it doesn't matter, but that red unicorn from before just..." He growls lightly. "He better hope we don't run into each other alone..."

Zephyr paused for a moment, looking down. He stared at the floor just in front of Mal's forehooves, thinking momentarily, before shaking his head. He thought on her comment about it being the worst night ever. Was she meaning the headache completely, or did it include him too? Zephyr didn't care for Mal's approval, but he certain didn't want the evening to wind up with the two of them arguing with each other. He wanted a more casual conversation with Mal, something to make the time pass easier.

"I can think of much worse nights than this." He arcs his right forehoof around. "A well maintained cell and they're going to bring us a meal later, at least I think I overheard something about that. The confinement isn't the greatest feeling, but this cell certainly beats sleeping in some dark back alley gutter, wondering where your next meal will come from, and who you're gonna have to take it from."

The thought of revealing such a thing to somepony bothered Zephyr. Letting on to his past life isn't something he wanted most ponies knowing, for fear of the consequences and possible rejection, should they apply. But he wanted to talk about his past, or at least mention it. The more he talked about it, the easier it always is for him to deal with his past. While Zephyr definitely didn't trust Mal, as she was very off in some mental way, at least to him. He felt he could trust her with something like this. She may be a vile pony, but he felt she would understand this kind of thing and would know that it wasn't something to share with anypony else.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal's gaze softened slightly, and she gave Zephyr a more thoughtful appraisal. He talked like he knew about living on the streets. And his dislike for the lawponies was a good indicator of that as well. "Yeah... well... at least on the street you can still do something about your problems. In here there's nothing to do but wait."

She sighed and gave him a quizzical stare. "You really got the worst of it, you know. A week in here... and you're a delivery pony. If I disappear for a week, the worst that happens is I miss a few customers. You're not even self-employed. Seriously, what were you thinking when you jumped in to protect me like that? It's not like she was gonna kill me, the worst that would have happened is some bruises, maybe a broken bone. I mean, look at me. I earned each and every one of these scars. I'm not afraid of one little pegasus." Her eye wandered to his wings. "Uh, no offense."

Mal walked over to the bed and tossed herself into it, staking her claim. She gave a mirthless, sardonic laugh. "Hah. This bed's nicer than the one I got at home. How's that for an ironic punishment. I bet the food's nicer than the slop I make, too. When I can be bothered to make anything at all. And this is what our taxes go towards. Locking ponies up in nice cells like these, and employing those douchbag guards. I swear, if I could develop my magic without living here I'd ditch this city in a heartbeat."

She shut her eyes for a few moments, almost appearing to have gone to sleep until they shot open again. "Do you really not feel anything from these wards? I mean, I get that you pegasus folk don't interact with magical energies the same way we unicorns do, but you've still got magic in you. Everything does. For example, you wouldn't be able to walk on a cloud in here, if there was one. Doesn't that make you feel any different at all?"

[ZephyrBurst]

With all of her responses and negativity toward him so far, Zephyr was quite surprised to see Mal lighten up her words and demeanor. What she said did linger in his mind as he had responded to her previously. He did enjoy the freedom he once had of doing whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted.

He thought it odd, due to her previous hostility, for her to say 'no offense'. "None taken." He had thought to add a bit in about the other pegasus probably being more talk than anything, but kept that to himself.

As she spoke of the ward again, he slowly extended his wings and glanced to his right one. He was glad they unbound his wings when the two of them were secured in here. "I didn't know that. Are you sure I wouldn't be able to walk on clouds still? I mean, I suppose that makes sense." He gave Mal a quizzical stare, much like the one she had earlier. He gave his wings a gentle flap and did feel something that was very off from the norm. "You're right, it is different in here. I feel more weighed down." He sighed. "I'm just glad that's all it is. Being in this for a week with a headache like you said you were getting would be unbearable I imagine."

He sat down and thought of her earlier question. "As for why I jumped in the way..." He pondered on it a moment and couldn't quite remember the exact reason he did that and sat down where he was. A few bits of it came up. "Well, you did say some really nasty things, but I didn't think it deserved what that pegasus was going to do. It seemed unfair and I'm sure she wouldn't have gotten in much more trouble than she did over it."

He paused a moment and got up from where he was sitting and glanced over to see if the guard had moved. He had not, and was still reading and doing whatever paperwork it was that he had earlier. Satisfied, he turned a walked a few paces toward the bed. "Even that higher ranking unicorn was about to throw a spell at you, he'd have gotten no punishments for it either. If I ever catch him... I'll be sure to give him a real reason to put me in here." He stomped a forehoof down on the cold floor, creating a fairly loud echo. The guard didn't blow the whistle again luckily, but he hit something against the wall to announce his self proclaimed dominance and shouted. "CUT THE NOISE!" Zephyr's ears laid flat and he glared in the guard's direction.

"That is going to grate on my nerves." He glanced back to Mal, softening his expression somewhat. "I don't remember exactly what I was thinking, but I couldn't just let that happen. You're a terrible and vile pony from what I've noticed so far." He pointed a hoof toward her. "But what you said had some truth. And I can respect that you don't hide your opinions." He sat back down a few paces away from the bed and eyed a sheet at the edge of the bed. Before the two of them turn in, he planned to take that. She can have the bed he decided, but he wanted some barrier between himself and the floor. "Even if it makes you look bad, you don't seem to care what others think of you. It seems there are very few ponies out there who are unwilling to be themselves all the time."

[Tempest Rime]

For just a moment, Mal felt very sad. She wasn't quite sure why, but she knew hated feeling this way. It was weakness. Pathetic. She just barely managed to blink back tears before her expression hardened again, angry now that he had provoked such an emotion in her. "L-like you even care," she snarled.

She sat up and glowered at him. "Well you got what was coming to you. Looking out for other ponies doesn't lead to anything but trouble. Maybe next time you'll think about that before you jump to help somepony. Even in the best case it's just a waste of time. And I'm not going to pay you back for your trouble. In any way. You got that? I didn't ask for any favors. I want to be very clear about that."

She harrumphed and scooted away from him. "And if you DARE try anything funny, I'll show you something a unicorn horn can be used for that isn't magical." She waved her head around threateningly. "One little headache isn't enough to keep me down. I could bear this as long as I needed to, so don't go thinking I'm easy prey." She gave Zephyr an accusing glare.

[ZephyrBurst]

Just when the situation seemed to calm down between the two and the evening seeming to go in a more positive direction, Mal shifted to her usual cold tone that Zephyr had come to know. It saddened him when Mal accused him of not caring, it stung a nerve. When it came down to it, he truly didn't care. What she said after sitting up, saddened him even more, and he disagreed heavily. He couldn't understand why she fought that the way she did. It was when Zephyr was able to help others that he felt the most fulfilled. Zephyr's first urge was to retort in anger and contempt toward Mal, but as he thought about everything that had happened so far, he felt sad for her. He felt compelled to befriend her even more, or at least come to an understanding with her. He figured her vile thoughts and opinions must stem from her lack of any real friends.

Her accusation and backing away hurt him as well. He wanted to at least get her to understand that he meant no harm to her. Zephyr took two paces closer to her, and spoke in firmly. "You're in no position to threaten me. Out there, you may have your magic, but in here, you're nothing but a frail unicorn, scared and backed in a corner. I'm much stronger than you and in here, you're weakened. I don't have to even think you're easy prey, you ARE easy prey!"

He took a small step closer and softened his expression, being only a couple paces away now. "But I have no intention of harming you. There's no reason to blame you for me ending up in here, my actions brought me here. As for stepping in the way, I did that simply out of kindness for another pony, but you keep thinking that everypony is out for themselves! I never expected any returned favors." He thought back on Max and how he didn't give Zephyr away even after he had nearly broken Max' leg. "I've seen even the worst of ponies extend help and understanding to others."

Zephyr sat down where he was to present a less threatening stance and quickly continued so as not to be interrupted. "But I'll think about it from your point of view. I have nothing to gain by hurting you in here. If anything, all it'll do is get me even more time in this horrible place. That aside..." He felt no need to keep a certain aspect of his past a secret from her. "I don't steal from and hurt ponies anymore to get what I want." He kept his sitting position, wondering how the flow of the conversation would change this time, if at all. Zephyr was intrigued by this confusing pony.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal snarled angrily. "NO! You... you... conniving, insulting jerk! You're underestimating me! I may not be heavy, but I'm quick and I'm tough, and I'll do whatever it takes to defend myself!" She scooted back into the corner as she spoke, betraying her exaggerated bravado with her fear-driven body language. "Whatever it takes!" She barely managed to keep her voice to a furious hiss.

"You're nothing but a stupid foal. Anypony will help you if doing so helps themselves. That doesn't mean squat. They'll backstab you just as quick if it'll benefit them more. Everypony claims they want to be your friend, but they're all vipers, waiting to strike when you turn your back." She snorted irritably and fell silent.

If only she could use magic in here. At least then she'd have a way to vent some of her emotional energy into physical form. Without that release, she had no idea what to do about her burgeoning rage. This stupid pegasus was driving her crazy. At first he'd seemed like somepony who might understand the way the world worked, but now he was going on trying to convince her to believe in the inherent goodness in other ponies and telling her he was motivated by nothing more than kindness? At least coming from some soft, upper-class snob that sort of naïveté was to be expected, but coming from somepony worldly... it just made Mal feel sick.

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr was taken aback by her statements and was lost on what to say. In nearly all of his encounters with others, it was just as Mal had said. But Zephyr had seen unexpected generousity from other ponies. What bothered him just as much was how she kept backing away. Now in the corner with no where to go. He knew approaching her would definitely provoke her to strike. Though he wasn't frightened of anything she could do without her magic, he still wanted to avoid it. He stood, with his mouth hanging open somewhat, listening to the mare's angry words.

He took one more step forward, putting him within reach of the bed. Any closer, he knew, could possibly frighten her enough to strike, and he stopped there. Zephyr kept a soft tone, or at least as well as he could. This mare was scaring him somewhat. "You talk big, but you're still backing away as if I have the intention of hurting you. And I say your opinion is wrong! Not everypony is like you..." Zephyr paused a moment and fully took in what he had said on a whim and kept going with that tangent. "I bet that's what it is, isn't it?! You're just like what you despise!" He took another small step forward without realizing it, putting on a slight tone of anger.

"Would you do that? Take advantage of somepony?" Zephyr stopped there as he was lost on how to say anything else that wouldn't come off as overly insulting. He only wanted to understand the mare better, and he simply couldn't believe she was all bad. Zephyr wanted to use himself as an example of change, but figured it only make her despise this whole situation more. He glared at the scared and angry mare. There was no where else for her to back off to anymore. He felt for her and thinking about it all, he couldn't blame her in this awkward situation.

[Tempest Rime]

"Of course! Nopony else is gonna look out for me, why should I look out for them. Only difference is I don't pretend otherwise. I don't make friends with ponies and then stab 'em in the back. If I'm gonna stab you, it'll be in the face, and I'll give you the opportunity to run away first. That's more than any self-proclaimed 'friend' would do for you." Mal sounded somewhat proud.

She actually seemed to relax a little bit, in spite of Zephyr's continued advances. "Besides, I'm not greedy like most folks. I couldn't care less about money or material possessions. That trash just weighs you down in the long run. Ponies like that are just enslaving themselves by chaining themselves into the system. The only thing that really matters in the long run is..." She trailed off, giving the pegasus a skeptical look. "Well, it doesn't matter. Either way you're still screwed over by those who latch onto the power of their betters. I don't know how the Princesses can stand for it."

She didn't take her eyes off Zephyr, but for the moment he still seemed to care more about persuading her than in actually fighting. Besides, if he did try anything he'd only be proving her right. She shook her head, dismissed the thought, and glanced at the floor. "You..." she started softly, the anger in her voice dissipating. "You can take the bed if you want. I don't, um. I don't really need it."

[ZephyrBurst]

He couldn't believe Mal was offering him the bed at first, but in giving it more thought, it wasn't all that surprising. His gaze softened again, though he wondered what was going on with this constant mood roller-coaster. Zephyr shook his head in response. "No, you can take it. I've slept in much worse places and the floor is only a bit cold." He eyed the sheet on the bed. "I just want this." He lowered his head and opened his mouth, ready to take the sheet off the bed, but stopped and brought his eyes back up to Mal. Zephyr froze a moment and thought about what it could mean for the mare if he didn't take the sheet either. The floor would be uncomfortable, but he wasn't lying when he said he'd seen worse, and thought on the upside of that.

He lifted his head and took a short step back. "Well... you can have that too." Zephyr was pretty sure the mare would simply say something angrily again or accuse him of trying to get on her good side, but stuck to what he had set out to do now.

Zephyr stared at Mal and sat down, then began to respond to what she said before offering him the bed. "You're right... about ponies not needing all these possessions..." He thought about what was going to happen to him after he was let out, and sighed.

Mal was somewhat right, this wasn't the worst night ever, but it sure was turning out to be a really terrible one. His thoughts on how everything was about to get worse, wouldn't leave. "Now I'm even more glad I don't have much of anything." He turned around and began walking away from the bed, speaking more with his head down. "I'm not going to have this delivery job anymore and I'm going to lose my home."

He stopped a few paces away and plopped down to the ground. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now, but it looks like I've got a whole week to think about it." He lowered his to the floor. "I just don't want to go back to how I was before..."

He didn't want to think about these problems, not in front of this unicorn. She didn't care about any of this and probably wished he would shut up. He had to get this off his mind for now. Zephyr poked his head up and glanced back to Mal, speaking softly. "What is the only thing that matters? I'm honestly curious what you think about that."

[Tempest Rime]

"Oh don't give me that pathetic self-sacrifice act. If you don't stand up for yourself and ask for it, I'm not giving it to you." She sounded somewhat reproachful, but the earlier bite to her words was missing. She sighed. "What matters isn't the things you have, it's the things you can do. Personal prowess. That's one thing they can't take away from you. Well," her hoof went to her eye, "they can, I mean... that's the whole point of incarceration. Mutilation isn't something they generally go for, though."

She looked up at the ceiling. "Look at it like this. You're a delivery pony right? I mean, who knows what tomorrow will bring, but for tonight you still haven't been fired yet. But is that all you are? I make keys for a living, sure, and that gets me enough money to stay warm and dry in the winter, and it keeps me fed. But that's not all I am. I..." She trailed off again. She hadn't really put a lot of thought into this line of thinking before, and it made her a little uncomfortable. She did her best not to show her discomfort.

"I'm a magician. I mean, I'm not formally trained, and I can't actually muster up more than your standard levitation spell, a few lock-picking tricks, and my green fire. There's... something off with my... well, with the way I manipulate magical energy. I can't cast normal spells. But the way I... uh." She paused. Trying to explain it in laymans terms was rather mind-boggling. "Ugh, well the point is, I'm trying to learn to expand my magical repertoire. I'm trying to do things with magic that are completely unknown... even if that may only be because Celestia's government deemed the knowledge too dangerous to teach."

Mal sighed again. "Anyway," she said, trying to shift away from the awkward topic, "what about you? Don't you have something else that motivates you, aside from transporting packages to strangers?"

[ZephyrBurst]

Repe... twa? Is that what she said? What's a magical repe-twa? Zephyr put it in context and figured it had something to do with her knowledge of magic. Thinking about it made him forget for a moment that Mal sounded nervous in what she was talking about.

"That's a good question." He dug at the floor and looked down a moment. "I've actually given it some thought before. When I was younger, usually my only concern was finding my next meal while avoiding those types." He pointed a hoof to the bars. "I would..." Zephyr paused and sat back on him rump, bring a hoof up to his chin in thought. "Well, you're right, delivering packages was never on my list of things I wanted to do. I'm only looking to be happy, I just haven't quite figured out what it is that does that yet." He put his hoof back down, making sure to look to Mal's eyes.

Zephyr's tone lightened up. "I'm good at taking things from ponies without them knowing and if I need to, I can fight well." Zephyr made various gestures as he spoke, sometimes looking away along with his gesture. He could quickly tell this isn't what Mal meant, and he frowned a bit while his ears when back. "Well uh... I didn't have any real schooling for flying or anything, but I can fly really well. I think I might even be better than most pegasus at it, and I really love flying! I just haven't found anything that goes well with that." Despite the subject matter, Zephyr kept his tone light. For some reason, he felt at ease telling Mal about some of his troubling past and lack of proper education.

Zephyr stood back on his hooves and made a moderate pace back toward the bed. "And I'm just trying to be kind in letting you have the bed and sheets without any fight. Why does everything with you have to be so..." As he looked into Mal's eyes, he could tell she was not amused. Zephyr pinned his ears back, but his expression didn't follow through with his ears. "... Okay yes! I do want the sheets, but I'm simply choosing to be nice here. Would it hurt you to just accept a single act of kindness without some mean comment?"

[Tempest Rime]

Mal glared. "Mean? I'm trying to give you some helpful advice. If I wanted to be mean, I wouldn't have offered the bed in the first place, let alone try and give you advice. This is me being nice. And before you get all weepy, it's not out of some pathetic altruistic spirit, it's just because we're stuck in here together, and this night will be a lot less miserable for both of us if we can manage to get along. It's just enlightened self-interest."

Having cleared that up, Mal stood up and attempted to levitate the sheets off the bed without thinking about it. "Here," she said, as nothing happened. She took a moment to realize her mistake. "Uh, I mean..." She reached down and pulled off the sheet manually, slightly flustered. "There," she said when she'd managed to get it off. She was so used to having magic for menial tasks that she felt especially awkward getting it off without it.

"I guess we got a lot in common. We both got a lot of raw talent without the training to take advantage of it. We both know the 'joys' of getting kicked around by the law. Heh, next you're gonna tell me you're an orphan, too." She snickered. "Seriously though, we really are shining examples of our kind. A unicorn who wants more magic and a pegasus who wants to get better at flying. Hah!"

Mal looked at the bed. Without the sheets, it seemed significantly less inviting. It was already chilly in the cell, who knew how much colder it would get. Maybe Zephyr was actually getting the better deal with the sheets. Sure, the floor would be hard, but he wouldn't be cold. She couldn't just let him trick her like that. "Uh, you know," she paused, nervous at what she was about to suggest. "The bed's not that small, we could sh-" She paused again, the word caught in her throat. "We could, um... s-share the bed." She glanced away to hide her embarassment. "I, uh, I mean, provided you can keep your hooves to yourself!"

[ZephyrBurst]

The longer the evening went on, the more insightful Mal appeared to be. He would have to remember to apologize for his last comment to her. Zephyr realized he was only interpreting Mal as being mean or hurtful. He had seen it happen when it was directed to him, and he was beginning to see the mare in a better light. Though she was still crazy in his mind.

Her attempt to use magic to remove the sheet was humorous and Zephyr had to fight back a snicker. He had seen unicorns use levitation magic almost without thought. It seemed to come as second nature to them. Seeing Mal attempt to use it and fail was a rather humorous sight, and he let the sheet fall in front of him, simply listening to the mare. He couldn't help but smile when she took a guess with her orphan comment. The smile, he was sure, would give enough hint to the mare that she had actually guessed it. There didn't seem to be any point in mentioning it at that moment. He was so used to the thought of being an orphan, that it usually didn't bug him, this moment being another of them.

Her offer wasn't what he had thought she would ever think to suggest. It caught him offguard, though it wasn't a bad idea. The floor was cold and hard, the air was cold, it just made sense. He stood at the side of the bed, giving a slight grin. "Oh please Mal." He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You're a very attractive mare, but..." Zephyr paused and rubbed his mane in thought. "But uh... I lost my train of thought..." He brought his hoof back down and returned his look to Mal. "It doesn't matter. I've got no intentions beyond keeping warm for the night."

The thought of sharing a sleeping place with another pony would normally have made Zephyr nervous. It meant being vulnerable, but Zephyr had an understanding of Mal, or at least he thought he did. He knew enough that she wouldn't try to bring any harm to him during the night. The idea seemed solid. "... Okay, we'll share it."

[Tempest Rime]

"Attractive?" Mal attempted to glare at him, but it was spoiled by a small, involuntary smile. "Here, maybe this'll help." She reached up and brushed her mane over to the other side, so the disfigured side of her face was clearly visible. Of course, now her mane fell over her good eye, effectively blinding her, but she figured she didn't really need to see at the moment anyway.

"How do you like me now? Hah." She laughed sharply and climbed blindly back onto the bed. She pulled the sheets up and gestured in the direction Zephyr had last been in. "Well come on, climb on in. I don't bite... gently." She grinned and lay back. She quickly realized that she wasn't actually the slightest bit tired yet.

"So..." She started, but realized she'd run out of the usual things she would talk to ponies about. He hadn't argued or made issues out of most of it, so she'd run out much faster than she usually did. Now she wasn't quite sure what to talk about. She just sat there blindly and let the awkward silence continue. "Um, you still awake?"

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr stood staring at Mal, he was pretty sure he caught a glimpse of a scar when she had panic'd earlier that evening, this confirmed it. Though it was worse than he thought. He wasn't sure what she was trying to do by revealing the scar in the way she did, but it certainly didn't take away from what he was staring at. To him, it revealed more about her experiences and hardships in life, which Zephyr could respect. He had scars of his own and knew each one had a story behind it.

His near trance was quickly removed when the mare had asked if he was still awake. He shook his head and brought his focus back. "Oh uh, yes, sorry." A soft sigh escaped. "I'm not that tired, but I'll try not to move about so much while you sleep."

Before lifting himself onto the bed, Zephyr straightened his forelegs and pushed his body back, lifting his rump in the air, and extending his wings fully. He grunted lightly and let off a satisfied low sigh during his stretch. Afterwards, he placed only his forehooves on the edge of the bed. "You're still very attractive." A grin slipped through, though he only meant it as a simple compliment and nothing more. He pushed down with his forehooves and lifted himself on the edge of the bed and rolled onto his back, just next to Mal. The bed was indeed big enough for two, but he found that his side had still made contact with hers. It didn't matter, Zephyr figured he might as well enjoy having a warm body close by, rather than worry about upsetting the mare.

Due to the silence, Zephyr figured he would confirm what Mal had taken a guess at earlier. "You guessed right about me... I'm also an orphan. My parents left me on the streets of Manehattan when I was a foal, so I learned to take care of myself. I honestly can't remember their faces, like it matters. I obviously didn't need them anyway." Zephyr hadn't displayed much emotion in what he said. The thought of being left alone by his parents seemed normal to him at this point. He paused a moment and became curious. "What happened to you, how did you lose your parents? I mean... if you feel like sharing that is."

[Tempest Rime]

Mal had almost relaxed her guard, but at the mention of that incident, she stiffened and turned away from Zephyr. "I don't." She said sharply. He wasn't actually trying to accuse her of anything, so she tried to push the thoughts of that away. She tried to steer the conversation away from that. "After they... um, well, I wandered into the forest. The Everfree. That's where I got this." She ran her hoof over her scars.

"There was a manticore. I was such a stupid, weak, pathetic, little filly. I could have prevented it if I'd struck first. But I hesitated, and it clawed my eye out. Funny, that actually gave me the focus I needed to strike back and kill the monster." She spat the word. She had no love of monsters. "It took me days of blundering around half-blind and bleeding before I wound up in Trottingham. By then there was nothing they could do, even restoration magic couldn't help once it had already begun to heal."

She pushed her man back over so she could see again, covering the scar. "So that's one lesson I've learned well. Never hesitate to defend yourself." She closed her eye for a moment, and her thoughts immediately went back to her parents, screaming. Mal shuddered. "You're lucky. I wish I couldn't remember my parents."

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr could tell he hit a nerve with the question, and opted to drop it, especially considering she had also changed the subject somewhat. He started to notice a pattern, any time he mentioned something that could be rough to deal with, she seemed to snap at him. She had quite a lot of these it seemed, much to Zephyr's dismay.

Zephyr had a bit of anger behind his words, and he pushed himself up, lightly thumping against Mal's back as he did so. "You're right, they're not worth remembering. Not worth my time considering they would just leave their own helpless foal alone in a big city!"

He turned and looked to Mal, who was still turned away from him. Her ear caught his attention, part of it was missing. He wondered when that happened, and thought about asking, though he figured a question about a wound like that was sure to ignite another snarl from her. An even weirder thought raced through his mind as he looked at her. He thought to reach a hoof over and graze over her broken ear. He had started to when lost in that thought, but quickly remembered he said he wasn't to touch her. That was a silly thing to say, he thought, in hindsight.

Instead, there was another question that circled through his mind. He was so confused by what she meant, he needed her to clarify. In a concerned tone, "Earlier this evening, you whispered something to me... You said 'No good deed goes unpunished'. There was another word after, but I can't remember it. What did you mean by that?" The statement seemed so illogical, though Zephyr knew he wasn't that great at understanding words and articulating sometimes. (( Post referenced ))

[Tempest Rime]

Mal stiffened when Zephyr bumped into her, but she didn't comment. This was a terrible idea, she thought. How was she going to get any sleep when she was so nervous around him. What had he said? His parents weren't worth remembering. "That's not why-" Mal started, but she quickly changed her mind, she didn't want to think about that.

Fortunately, he brought up another topic. "What do you mean what did I mean? It's just a saying, and a fairly appropriate one too. You tried to jump in and help me out, and for your attempt at being good you just got tossed into prison. And Don Juan... uh, w-well, I was just trying to be insulting. It's a, um, literary reference. He was a stallion who w-was, um, well, he was famous for getting into trouble because of, uh, his love of the ladies."

Mal was growing quite embarassed. "I mean, I was just trying to offend you, 'cause I thought that maybe that was why y-you decided to help. It's a kind of a derogatory term, it's not because I was thinking of, um, doing anything like that."

[ZephyrBurst]

Geez, this mare really thought the worst in everypony. He couldn't be mad anymore, it was already past, though he did want to clarify. He was still sitting up, looking down to Mal. "I wouldn't accuse you of trying that, you don't sound too interested anyway." He kept his tone casual to hopefully keep the mood passive. "And it was never on my mind when I hit that pegasus. And in here... I mean I've stolen a lot of things from others but, I would never uh... well..." Zephyr's tone changed to reveal a bit of frustration. "What's the word?" He growled lightly. "I have trouble explaining what I mean a lot of times... forget it."

He finally laid back down, trying his best not to bump Mal at all, he still had to make contact with her side however. It was going to take forever to fall asleep, he wasn't tired, and he felt intrigued by this mare. There was so much he wanted to talk to her about. Finding another pony with a similar past was relieving, and though she was cold and distant, he still felt a kindred connection on some level. The word he was looking for had finally swerved its way into his mind, his ears shot up, though he stayed laying back. Zephyr knew that constantly moving about would be a bother and rather liked having another pony close by.

"Ah! I wouldn't try anything funny..." What Mal said earlier in the cell came back. So that's what she meant, it went over his head earlier, and he assumed she meant something else. "because I respect you." There was a word he had never been able to use. Though now that he had said it, he wondered about the response. It seemed every time anything could be considered a compliment, she snapped at him, though he caught her grins at his 'attractive' comments.

[Tempest Rime]

"I don't? Uh, I mean, of course not. Not here, at least," Mal said, not really thinking about her words. "I mean, there's that guard watching and this headache is kinda screwing with me, you know. I'm just cold, is all." At that, she gave up on personal space and pressed herself against him. Immediately she felt warmer, as she'd almost been falling out of the blanket in trying to maintain space between them.

"I mean, when I end up spending the night in the forest I usually just start a fire. Not pyromantically, I mean, the fire I conjure is cold and doesn't actually work like normal fire, it'd be counterproductive to conjure it up for heat. But it's not hard to start a little fire if you know how, just using levitation magic and friction. I hear it takes a lot more effort if you can't just levitate the spindle, but it's still possible. You ever live out in the forest? It's way better than dealing with all the jerks you get in town. Nopony bothers you, and if you know how you can live out there indefinitely. There are sometimes monsters, but that just makes it more exciting, and who cares if you beat up a monster, anyway."

She finally stopped rambling and considered his compliment. It wasn't extolling some false-virtue or weakness that was commonly perceived as a positive trait, nor was it a comment on anything superficial like her appearance. "I... respect you too. Um... thank you." She was not used to receiving compliments, and was even less used to receiving compliments that she didn't find demeaning.