[Everfree Forest] Crash Landing! [OPEN]

[Inkwell]

Inkwell nodded. "Sure thing, Cat," he says, rooting around in his bag for the appropriate paint. He found two paints that could fit the bill, Pearl and Eggshell. After a moment's deliberation, he decided that the former would suit her needs better, and he levitated it over to her. "Don't use up too much of it, though. I had to special order that."

He turned back to Ashton to see that he was busy piling quite a lot of things into the basket of the balloon. "Huh. Looks like we might not have room in there for you after all, Cat. I hope you don't mind flying next to us?"

And then a griffon showed up out of nowhere. Inkwell dropped his sketchbook in a panic, before hearing him talk and finding out that he was a part of Ashton's traveling party, too. "Oh! Hey there. Ash didn't mention he was traveling with another griffon! I'm Inkwell, and this is Cat Napper. We helped him get his balloon free and he offered us a ride out of here. You don't mind, do you?"

[Cat Napper]

Cat nodded. "Well 'course not! I'm not a freeloader y'now." After lying her painting down flat on the ground, Cat stood up and turned away from it. She draped her slightly wavy tail tip in the paint, and with a quick, cracking whip of her tail, she flicked it over her picture. "Alrighty, finished!" Cat grinned and looked down at her finished piece, drops of white were scattered over the sky and made for an absolutely perfect starry scene. "Should be dry in ten minutes or so, s'no biggie." She propped her finished work up against a stiff patch of grass and admired her work with pride.

"Ah, hm? Oh! Yeah, I'm Cat Napper." She grinned at the griffon, she loved meeting griffons! Fascinating, beautiful creatures! She'd love to draw this one, his feathers were such a magnificent tone. "I can fly, not a big deal. You've got quite the load there! I don't wanna be any added weight." Cat rolled onto her back with a sigh. "We leavin' soon I take it?"

[Pennwick]

"Dellios? I thought you had gone back or something when you didn't show up this morning." It would be good to have him around again. Not only was he more pleasant to be around than Lola it would help to have someone else who knew exactly what she looked like. "Its odd that neither of us have seen her though. Maybe she already made it to Ponyville. We got separated before I crashed. Maybe she though I made it through."

He appraised the amount of room left trying to guess how much space there was before turning back to Cat Napper and Inkwell. "All 4 of us should fit. It'll be a little snug though. Personally I think if I sat down anyway I might fall asleep. If you want though you could sit on top of the balloon. I don't think the weight would be an issue."

The fire was just embers now and the sun was barely visible over the tree line. He jumped into the basket and reignited the burner. He kept fiddling with the burner making sure things were all working. "Oh I almost forgot, this is Delios. He was with us at Rockwington and we hoped he could catch up with us."

[buxy]

"Nice to meet you both," Dellios gave a small bow to the two new ponies, observing them carefully. Artists, he noted, trying to sneak a quick glance at their work. Ponies were certainly proving to be far more intriguing than he'd ever given them credit for. "Doesn't trouble me a bit, I can see this isn't the easiest place to extract yourself from." He glanced around the forest before turning back to Ashton.

"I got a bit caught up in exploring," Del said sheepishly. "I completely lost track of when to meet you two, when I saw the balloon lifting off without me in the distance. I took off and have been chasing the two of you all this way. I was just about caught up to you when the balloon started to go down. I tried to help, but I might have done a bit more harm than good, I'm sorry." Del looked over the balloon, the damage didn't seem too bad, he hoped whoever they were aiming to deliver the contraption to wouldn't mind a few scrapes.

[Inkwell]

Inkwell nodded and smiled when Dellios introduced himself, turning his sketchbook around to show him the drawing of Ashton and his balloon that he'd drawn. "Pleasure's mine, Dellios," he said, approaching the balloon and gingerly climbing back inside. Sure enough, it was pretty roomy, though it would probably end up being a tight bit for all four of them if they all decided to get in together. Oddly enough, he wasn't all that embarrassed at the prospect.

"Well, I'm ready to go whenever you are!" he said to the others, before leaning back against the side of the basket.

[Cat Napper]

Cat fanned her wings to create a gentle breeze over her painting, quickening the drying process. After a few moments, she picked up her sketchbook again and slipped into one of her saddlebags. "Yep, I'm ready t'go!" She got to her hooves and looked up at the basket. Too tall for her to climb into easily, but when you're a pegasus, height is never an issue! With a leap and a flutter of her wings, Cat had nestled her little self next to Inkwell in the basket. "I don't take up much room.. but I'm tired. I think I'll just ride in here if y'don't mind?" Her jaws parted in a long yawn, blinking sleepily the filly knew she would be sound asleep by the time they were anywhere near civilization again.

[Pennwick]

"Right. Taking off." he called out before yawning himself. He turned the gas as high as it could go in order to clear the treeline before the wind blew them too much. His stomach lurched a little as he looked over the edge of the basket. He didn't want to think about falling again but the idea creeped up on him. He took a few deep breaths and turned away from the ground. 'I'll be fine. The weather is calm and Delios is here just in case. Pull yourself together.'

Still looking down at the ground made him uneasy. He instead tried to focus on the land further ahead where the wind was carrying them to. They were a lot closer to Ponyville than he initially though. He had assume he had crashed in the middle of the forest but it looked more like only a mile or two from the edge. He squinted trying to look at the town. He thought he saw some movement but couldn't make anything out with the glare of the sun.

He sat down in the basket and leaned up against the cargo. "Delios? Do you think you could watch for a bit? I feel like I'm going to fall asleep." He glanced around a bit. It looked like the Griffin preferred to fly alongside the balloon. Or perhaps they had jumped out during takeoff to increase lift. Either way they were no longer in the basket. "Er. Inkwell could you? Just let me know if we start falling or if the wind picks up okay."

((OoC: Buxy appears to be MIA again. I suggest pretending he's still there just flying alongside the balloon. If we get to Ponyville and we haven't heard from them we'll assume they went back to do one last look around Everfree for Lola.))

[buxy]

Dellios watched the ponies curiously, still a bit unsure of himself. He rustled his feathers as they hopped into the basket, unsure if he was ready to be in such close quarters with unfamiliar creatures. He had felt a bit out of place in the basket to begin with, having never flown by means other than his own wings, and in spite of the rush to keep up, had much preferred following in the air. He decided to take wing and fly alongside.

"I can keep an eye on things from out here if Inkwell watches the mechanics in there," Dellios said, wheeling close enough to the balloon to be heard, careful not to jostle the basket. "You certainly seem like you could use a bit of rest, Ashton. Take a nap, we'll look out for any signs of trouble."

[Inkwell]

When Cat landed in the basket right next to him, Inkwell looked a little flustered. Apparently he was a bit embarrassed at the prospect of sharing the basket. She pushed right up against his legs and lied down on the basket floor. Even before she said anything he could tell she was tired out again. "Heh. Fine with me," he said, waiting for the balloon to take off.

When it did take off, making the basket lurch off the ground, Inkwell felt a little anxiety, especially when he made the mistake of looking down. It made him shy away from the edge and bump into Ashton and Cat, but then he peeked over again and felt his fear change to exhilaration. He was flying, he was actually flying! Once again his pencil started flying over his sketchbook, starting the beginnings of a breathtaking aerial landscape.

"What?" he asked minutes later, pausing his work and looking back at Delios. "Watch the mechanics? I don't think I know how to do that." He especially wouldn't know how to do it if it demanded his full attention. But if he had to choose between finishing his drawing and preventing the balloon from crashing and killing everypony in it, he supposed he'd have to pick the latter.

[Pennwick]

"Don't worry. Its so simple a pony can do it." He pointed up to the burner above. Two ropes and a chain hung down from above. "If we're flying level then you don't need to do anything. As the air cools we'll start to drop a little so just tug on this chain for a bit." he indicated the chain up above with a small handle for gripping onto. He slowly got to his feet and bit onto the end sending a blast of flame up into the envelope. "Like that. But not too long or we'll end up going to high." he shut his eyes. He was really just mimicking back what Monty had told him when he first took him up. He let out a long yawn. "If we're going up too fast tug on the long brown rope for a few seconds and let some air out. Leave the short red one alone though." He sat back down again. "If we start falling or the weather gets bad let me know, I guess." he yawned again. "But it should be easy." his eyes flicked as he sat in a half asleep stupor.

[buxy]

Dellios smirked to himself at the obvious uneasiness the earthbound unicorn's obvious nervousness. The unusual looking mare seemed to have no problems with it, she was sound asleep. He caught a current and rode it above the balloon for a moment, taking in the landscape.

The forest was vast and dense, he couldn't figure out how they would manage to find Lola in all this. Their best bet, he guessed, would be to simply hope she caught sight of the balloon and caught up with them, as Del had on the last leg of their trip. The sky was incredibly clear ahead of them, hardly a cloud in sight for miles. The updraft petered out, and he drifted back down to the side of the basket.

"It looks like your job should be easy," Del called to Inkwell. "The sky is perfectly clear, you'll do fine. If you like, I can fly a little ways ahead and let you know if any unusual currents are in our future. You'd be able to work on your drawing a bit that way."

[Inkwell]

Huh. That sounded simple enough, Inkwell thought. "Alright, pull the chain to go up, brown rope to go down," he repeated. "I can do that!" He smiled and glanced over the edge of the basket, down at the landscape below. Instead of feeling vertigo, he was enraptured, absolutely enchanted with his bird's eye view. Was this what pegasi saw every day? What Cat saw every day?

The sound of snoring made him turn to look at Cat. Such a magnificent voyage they were going on and here she was, curled up in the corner, fast asleep. He chuckled and mussed up her mane with a hoof, then turned his attention to sketching out a landscape scene with lakes and the forest and mountains in the distance!

It took him a long time to get everything down to his liking, with the occasional interruption to tend to the balloon when he noticed the altitude changing. But other than that, there wasn't much to complain about. There was no trouble, no turbulence, no crashing into the trees. It was an uneventful trip, and if Inkwell couldn't sketch the landscape, he'd probably be bored.

Then another new feature entered his field of vision: Ponyville. Oh, he missed it so! He beamed and felt excitement welling up within him, making him shake Cat and Ashton on the shoulder. "There it is! There it is! Let's... oh horse apples, how do you land this thing?"

[Cat Napper]

Deep in a wonderful dream about apple pie and clover cookies, Cat shot Inkwell a venomous glare when he shook her out of her dream world. "What'dyou want, hm?" She groaned and stood up with a long stretch of her wings. "I'm nappin' 'ere.. oh would you look at that, we're home already." The little filly yawned and stood up on her hind legs to get a better look over the side of the basket. Ah, Ponyville. Such a quaint little place nestled up in the mountains, Cat had grown so fond of it! "How was your first flight Inky?" She asked, her tired grumpiness quickly fading away when she saw her friend's excitement.

She stretched out her wings and let the breeze ruffle through her feathers, such a wonderful sensation! She felt the urge to take to the skies then, but didn't really want to leave Inkwell here. It was adorable how much he enjoyed the view, poor land ponies couldn't experience something like this as often as Cat had. The pegasus had flown over the town so many times that she was completely used to seeing the world at this height.

"Ashton, Dellios, you both doin' alright?" She asked her other two companions, the griffon was flying in front of them on lookout duty and the poor unicorn they'd rescued was just beginning to doze off.

[Pennwick]

Ashton shook himself awake, whipping his still messy mane about. He hadn't been able to sleep exactly. More a light doze but he felt refreshed nonetheless. "No no no. I got it" He stood himself up and looked over the edge. "We're a little close. We'll have to land on the far side." He pulled the rope letting out some air and they very slowly started to descend.

He tried to keep his eyes peeled for any signs of Lola down below. He squinted. Even if the morning light wasn't casting odd shadows around town it would be hard to pick out a single griffin down below. Even at this early hour quite a few ponies were moving about down below further distracting him. A few even appeared to be looking up at the balloon. Though from this distance he couldn't tell for sure.

It only took them a few minutes to clear the town and reach the far side where Ashton again pulled on the rope, speeding their decent. "It's all just controlling the air. Less hot air means less lift. So we drop." The balloon kept falling and as they touched the ground Ashton gave another tug letting out a long wheeze of air. "Okay. We shouldn't float away if you two jump out now."

He paused a moment. He should really keep looking for Lola. Assuming she made it out of the forest it would probably be a lot easier for a pony to find a griffin than a griffin to find a pony. That is assuming the pony didn't have a balloon. Maybe he should stay with it? And he had to thank these two properly as well. Perhaps a gift? "Sorry." he said as he leapt out of the balloon himself. "I would like to thank you but I really should be looking for..."

[Tempest Rime]

"Ashton!" A piercing call interrupted him. Lola had spotted the balloon on its approach and finally made her way to rendezvous with them as they landed. "Fantastic, you managed to make it into town, I was considering organizing a search party for you. You know, I wandered all over that blasted forest after we were separated, and I didn't see a single interesting creature. I guess the stories about that place are all rubbish."

"Oh and Dellios is here too, how marvellous." She turned to the other griffin. "I'm glad to see I didn't put you off the thought of traveling. It's good to have another griffin around, you know, just earlier I was having a discussion with a rather naive earth pony, and in my irritation I accidentally used a hunting metaphor. Talk about a faux pas."

She glanced over the other two ponies. "I see you've picked up a couple of cohorts as well," She smiled pompously and addressed them directly. "Good morning, I am the Lady Lola Silverbeak, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She gave a gracious nod to the strangers.

[buxy]

Dellios didn't hear Cat call to him, he'd already spotted Lola and had whisked ahead of the balloon, banking around her and dropping to the ground beside her just as the balloon settled onto the ground.

"I got caught up a bit in my... well, my meal, back in the desert," Dellios said rustling his wings against his back. Truth be told, he'd felt more than a little uncomfortable surrounded by ponies, unsure of how to conduct himself. He was relieved to be back in the company of another predator. "I saw the balloon from a distance and spent the entire trip trying to catch up. I had just barely caught up to you when the balloon went down, I couldn't be much help, unfortunately, but I did gather where it landed, at least."

Dellios stepped aside as Lola made her introductions, before clearing his throat and slipping into the engrained protocol of introducing the newcomers. Lola may prefer to break the mold, but Del had his place in society engrained in him from birth. Beaten into him, in some cases. "This is Inkwell," he gestured to the pale unicorn first. "And his companion Cat Napper. I believe they are both artists, though I can't say I've learned much more about them."

[Pennwick]

"Miss Silverbeak." Ashton turned as he heard Lola's voice. At first it was a relief to see her again but...

As soon as she opened her beak he couldn't help but feel she was, once again, again talking down to him. He wasn't sure if it was what she was saying or how she said it but to him it sounded like ponies were something lesser. Her kindness and courtesy just seemed artificial to him. Maybe he was just tired and she really was sincere but at the moment he just felt worn out.

"There was a bit of a crash. I repaired the damage." was all he offered. He was glad Delios had covered introductions. It saved him the effort. What came next was really up to Lola. He would like to stay in Ponyville for a bit long. Perhaps fall asleep in the balloon and see if he could get together enough bits to pay to take the group out to a meal but they were on the verge of falling behind schedule. He could just as easily sleep in the balloon and then perhaps mail a gift to Cat Napper and Inkwell. Either would work but the second might be the best to go with.

[Inkwell]

Inkwell watched as the basket got closer and closer to the ground, everything on it magnifying until it surrounded him. "Woohoo! Home sweet home! The flight was amazing, Cat! I kind of want to be a pegasus now!" He scrambled out of the side of the basket and tumbled onto the ground. Once he was out, he made a show of inhaling the fresh air around the town. "Oh, you're going to love it here, Ashton! Everypony's so nice and welcoming, and then there's a great library and restaurant and bakery-"

That's when Inkwell saw another griffon, a majestic, colorful creature who carried a great sense of dignity about her, easily as much as Rarity, if not more. When she introduced herself, Inkwell found himself bowing almost out of reflex. "Pleasure to meet you, milady!" he said. "I'm Inkwell, and this is my friend Cat Napper. We were looking for inspiration in the forest when we found Ashton and his balloon." He smiled and put a foreleg around Cat, beaming with pride. "All too happy to help!"

Then he realized that Lola and Delios had made references to the dietary habits of their kind. That's right, he remembered. Griffons ate... meat. His smile twitched, and he chuckled a bit nervously. Now why would he do that? It's not like either of them would just kill an innocent pony like that, and Ponyville had had griffon visitors before with no problems at all.

"Don't suppose either of you are interested in taking the tour?" he asked them. "Or perhaps you'd rather just continue on to Canterlot? I've never been, but my sister says it's a wonder."

[Cat Napper]

Upon landing, Cat managed to scrape up enough energy in her sleepy little body to climb out of the basket, not without difficulties though. "Ponyfeathers.." She silently swore, falling onto her rump after the third attempt to climb out, and at last seemed to realize the fact that she had wings. Laughing at herself with a small facehoof, she fluttered out with ease and alighted next to Inkwell, picking up her hooves briefly as she began to get used to standing on solid ground again.

With a little look of awe in her gaze, the second griffon she'd met that day showed herself, and what a magnificent creature she was! The little filly grinned and smiled, dipping her head slightly and respectfully to her when she was introduced by first Dellios and then Inkwell. "Yes of course, pleasure to meet you Miss Silverbeak! It's not in a pony's nature to abandon somepony who needs help, of course Inky and I offered a helping hoof. It was nothin' really, we're very happy to have been helpful, and it was very nice meeting all of you." Cat grinned and gave Inky a friendly nuzzle, listening to him offer a tour to the three of them.

"You all do seem like y'got more important matters to attend to," Cat said, as something about them made her feel almost inferior to the two griffons and the unicorn she'd rescued. It was a slightly uncomfortable feeling, nothing she couldn't deal with for the sake of being polite to her new acquaintances. "But, like Inky said, feel free to stick around and see what Ponyville has to offer! We'd be honored to show you around town, if not now some other time." She nodded to them, knowing they'd probably not show interest in their offer, but hey. Might as well be friendly either way, right? It's never fun being somewhere new and not feeling welcome.

[Tempest Rime]

"Hmm, artists," Lola said, sounding slightly disappointed. Not that she had anything against artists per se, but they were hardly the sort of people she generally made any effort to associate with. "Well, you have my gratitude for your assistance in getting my associates out of the forest intact."

"As for staying or continuing on, I haven't quite decided what I want to do myself. On the one claw we're all quite exhausted, and we are certainly deserving of a rest after all this. A one day layover wouldn't be too terrible. On the other claw, we've already lost a day of time in this little misadventure. It's possible we could even have been to Canterlot by now." She let out a sharp sigh, the first physical indication she'd given to her current state of fatigue.

"As for showing us about town, I'm afraid I'll have to pass either way. I'm sure your little town is quite delightful," she said, sounding unconvinced, "but even if we do elect to stay, we're in no fit state to properly enjoy such a tour. You understand." She looked back to Dellios and Ashton. "So, what are your opinions on the matter? Shall we rest, or push onward?"

[buxy]

Dellios supressed a smirk at Inkwell and Cat's reactions to Lola's arrival. It was becoming clear to him that ponies had no sense of class structure as griffins did, faced with someone who was raised to consider herself better than many around her brought out an almost involuntary deference. He wondered for a moment what a society without a rigidly defined hierarchy was like, and made a decision for himself.

"I'd like to see a bit of Ponyville, if we have the time. The crash set us a bit behind schedule though, didn't it..." Dellios scratched the back of his head, trying to remember when, exactly, they were supposed to deliver the balloon to Canterlot. He smoothed his feathers down over his forehead, adding, almost to himself. "If we don't have the time now, I could always make a stop on my way back to Talonopolis."

"I don't suppose there's someplace we could get a decent bit of rest, is there?" Dellios turned to Inkwell and Cat. "I'm used to long distances, but plowing through all the way from Bareback Gulch has me exhausted." He stretched his wings for effect. "I'm sure Inkwell and Lola could use some rest as well."

[Pennwick]

"We're due in Canterlot tomorrow evening." he offered. "If we stay here we would need to either travel during the night or leave immediately in the morning." Traveling at night was something you generally avoided in the Raptorclaw area but in a balloon in Equestria? He wasn't really sure. "As for rest I think I'll be fine. For a few hours anyway." Actually he felt like he could lie down on the grass at his feet and fall asleep easily but wasn't sure if Miss Silverbeak would settle for such accommodations. He briefly wondered how soft clouds were and yawned.

"Oh, You're right Cat Napper." he turned back to the ponies. "I should get your address. I'm going to be staying somewere in Canterlot or Ponyville and it would be good to stay in touch right? Maybe I'll be able to stop by?" He turned to the balloon to find a pen and paper before remembering that both of them carried sketchbooks and his things were probably buried under a great deal of clutter. "I don't suppose I could..."

[Inkwell]

Inkwell could tell by the tone of Lola's voice that she wasn't particularly impressed by his profession. He did his best to keep his ears up and continue smiling despite his disappointment. Still, the fact that she expressed her gratitude made it a lot easier to do so. "You're welcome, milady. It was the least we could do."

Delios mentioned that Inkwell might need some rest, which made Inkwell look himself over. He did feel a bit tired, but probably not ready to sack out just yet. Even so, it looked like the three travelers were all set to handle matters themselves, and Inkwell felt superfluous to the proceedings.

"Well," he told Cat, "it looks like they've got everything under control. What do you say we go home and put the finishing touches on our work, huh?" He put a hoof on Cat's shoulder and smiled at her.

[Pennwick]

Ashton returned to the balloon and, after a little rummaging, managed to find his design book and a stubby pencil. It would work.

Cat streched out her wings and let Ashton know that she lived in a apartment complex on the far side of Ponyville. She also told him that Inkwell lived there as well so if he ever wanted to stop by it shouldn't be too hard to find them.

He closed his book. "Thanks again. I'll try and visit but it might be few weeks before I get settled. Though maybe I'll stop by Ponyville to sell some things. Who knows?"

He turned back to the griffins. "If you two want to rest go ahead. I'll just take time to make sure none of my tools got broken. Perhaps we can leave this evening then. Otherwise we should leave now. Either way make a decision." Maybe he was being pushy but since they had already weighed the options and stated he could go on it was really up to Lola. Sitting and thinking about it was just wasting time.

[Tempest Rime]

Lola frowned and considered the options for a moment before nodding decisively at Ashton. "Well, while rest would be welcome, I'm certainly capable of going onward for a bit longer, and we have already lost a good deal of time. Let's push on to Canterlot. We shouldn't have any further issues along the way, and... well, the accommodations are certain to be a bit better up there. Besides, if we rest now we'd be flying by night, which just invites a host of extra complications, none of which we really have the time for."

She looked over the balloon. "And the balloon is prepped and ready now, it would be inefficient to pack up and set it back up later on. Mister Inkwell, Miss Cat Napper, I must bid the two of you farewell, and thank you again for your assistance. Now come along, lets get this rig back in the air, the shining city awaits!" She pointed a talon towards the mountains, where Canterlot itself was already visible. Even Lola's disdain for art couldn't completely suppress the natural awe the city inspired. It must be quite a feat of architectural engineering, even with all the unicorn magic they had to aid in its construction.