//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten, Ass-assins and the "normal date": Attempting Contract. // Story: Airship Mauled // by Darkonshadows //------------------------------// -???- There she was at a birthday party, my target was so calm and sure of herself. She’d be dead in the next few seconds. I held the blow pipe up to my mouth, once I exhaled I had better start running fast. She, wouldn’t know what hit her. “Coo…” I froze, slowly I turned my eyes to what had made that noise. It was just a sea turtle, I turned back to blow into the pipe and stopped. I looked back to the sea turtle that was just staring at me, what was a sea turtle doing up a tree and how did it even get up here? What’s more, why was it staring at me like that? I shook my head. The sea turtle wasn’t important, I had to get my target while she was out in the open! I went to breathe into the pipe when I heard a crunching noise, I stopped and turned to the sea turtle. A bit of the bark was missing from the branch I was on and the turtle had a cricket sticking halfway out of its mouth, which it inhaled fully. Okay, I was going to do this and stop thinking about how a sea turtle got this far onto land or up into a tree without help! Crickets couldn’t get this high up either, but that didn’t matter at the moment. I quickly inhaled and put my lips to the blow pipe, then a sharp cracking noise was heard. I ignored it and blew, unfortunately for me the angle of the pipe was straight up as I was falling towards the ground. - Snickers- The dart flew straight into some clouds that Fluttershy had rode on her way to Airship Mauled and it started drifting away with the unspent dart stuck halfway into it. “Coo…” Bug yummy, but love hurting being falling even yummier. Warn bad thing that want hurt lovers, but they no listen. No hurt lovers while I here! “Interesting, keep doing your job little guardian.” I like super winged kitty, she’s friendly and even feels cuddly! She has extra cuddly kin somewhere. “I’m going to get plenty of amusement out of watching this. No point in interfering unless I absolutely have to.” -???- I was paranoid, that sea turtle had caused me to fail what should have been an extremely easy shot on purpose. I looked around and I brought up my right hoof to aim a mounted crossbow this time. My blow pipe had broken when I fell on top of it. They were watching the parrot wielding that bow with the green string. She pulled an arrow from her tail mounted quiver and nocked it to aim at the target a decent distance away. The parrot didn’t look like she knew how to use the bow and was wielding it like a complete beginner. I didn’t care about the bow or the wielder of it, they weren’t my target. “Coo…” I froze, I looked at the sea turtle. It wouldn’t eat through the branch this time, I chose a really sturdy one for this... how did it even get up here this time! I glared at the turtle and it started to crawl away from me on its flippers squeaking with fear. Turning back to fire my crossbow, the arrow launched on a direct course for the green haired target with beige fur. It was going straight for her heart... only for the most absurd and impossible to predict thing to occur. Somehow, the parrot letting go of the string to the bow saved my target. Instead of flying forward, the arrow went spinning wildly backwards out of the bow into the air and that sent everyone scattering. Including my target. My bolt hit the tail end of the arrow, which spun on a new axis with the bolt stuck in it. Then, before I understood what was even happening, I saw the bolt coming straight back towards my face. I tried to dodge backwards, only the bolt caught the inside of my hood somehow and it lodged itself into the tree. I fell down and started to be strangled by my own clothing like a tightening noose. I was trying to figure out how in Tartarus did this just happen, or even if any of what just occurred was feasibly possible. It obviously was, because my clothing became a tightening noose around my own neck. “Coo…” I looked up to the sea turtle looking at the hood, it looked at me and saw my face. Said face must have been turning blue or purple by now because I couldn’t breathe. It tilted its head questioningly at my struggling form, before it moved over to where my hood was trapped by the bolt and started to nibble at the fabric. Several nibbles and a ripping sound later, I found myself slamming into the ground. I was then, somehow, hit with a huge wad of sticky tree sap that quickly stuck me to the ground. I was at least in a good position to watch the parrot try to shoot the target again, and she managed to hit the edge of it this time. Not bad for a second shot at least. -Snickers- “Well timed distraction little guardian!” Happiness for praise! “Though you probably shouldn’t have saved him.” “Coo...” I didn’t like the face the love hurting being was making, it looked sad and colorful. “You know he’ll just try to kill your partner again.” Super winged kitty is big smart. “Oh he can definitely try, but he won’t ever be truly close to succeeding.” Really extra super big smart, I smart too with great bond to kitty! -Jade- “See Jacky, your luck isn’t so horrible and absolutely nobody got hurt!” I pat the parrot on the back for her first successful shot, may she have many more in the future. “You even hit the target.” “The bow is a bit unwieldly Jade and I’ve never used one before, but there’s something exhilarating about managing to hit the target on my first try.” As long as you were happy Jacky, today was your day after all. “The try that actually went forward that is.” “Oh, hey Snickers, what do you have there, a metal crossbow bolt?” I received a cooing noise from the ground bound turtle, Snickers held the bolt up at me with her flippers. I wondered why she wasn’t using her wings, but shrugged that off and carefully took the sap covered crossbow bolt. “Well okay then. Don’t know where you got it, but I guess I can hold onto it for you.” -???- Okay, long range was out, this time I was waited until night. I watched their festivities from the shadows and I learned which room belonged to my target. There was no way I could miss with a knife from point blank range while my target was asleep, I’d start as soon as everyone was in bed. I’d give them some time to really fall asleep and then I would strike. This place was weird. There’s the two crashed airships turned into buildings, a farm land that looks like it was trench dug out with someone’s face and a small pyramid. Why was this place even here? No matter, soon my target would be dead and I’d be paid what I’m owed. -Later at night.- The Witch’s Fare place was across from me, it was some kind of restaurant. Probably didn’t get many customers out here. Nobody was around out here, so I silently dropped down and darted for the door only to slam into something, causing my nose to make an audible crunching noise from the impact. Okay that hurt… I lifted a hoof and pressed it against the air. I slowly worked my way around the invisible barrier surrounding the campfire. A campfire that, I just realized, had never gone out for as long as I was watching these people. So even with a broken horn, the unicorn would be absolutely dangerous if I woke her up. She had to be the one that made that barrier to protect against ill intentions and I was here to kill someone. The barrier thankfully didn’t cover the front door of the restaurant. I picked the lock and stepped inside, only to stop immediately. I silently turned around, stepped back outside, closed the door and locked it back up. There was a chimera curled up and sleeping on a rug in the restaurant, if I had made one wrong noise I’d have been ripped to pieces. Why was there even a chimera in the restaurant?! What is wrong with this insane place that the sun priest was guarded by a freaking chimera! Okay, option two, go in through the roof to reach her room. “Coo…?” I jumped and almost made a loud noise outside the door, I strangled my own shout by covering my mouth with my hooves and turned to the turtle on the ground in irritation. If I had tried to take care of the chimera, then this insufferable, irritating, little shelled creature would have likely woke it up at the wrong moment. I went to go get my grappling hook, completely ignoring the exceedingly strange and eccentric sea turtle. -Snickers- Bad love hurting being still wanted to hurt love, I protect kitty of great bond! “Well little guardian, what will you do now?” Don’t worry super winged kitty, I big smart! “It appears he doesn’t think going through the front door will work and your plan to wake up Maries while he was in the room fell through.” “Hiss… coo… coo hiss coo!” Would friend super winged kitty help? “Oh, do tell…” Yay, super winged kitty was smiling, friends! -???- On the deck of the airship I opened the door that wasn’t locked, the fools. Anyone who could fly would have gotten in here easily. -Snickers- Door being open for bad love hurting being, not knowing that I big smart. Nose hurt, but big need for big smart. -???- I entered the room. Since the door on deck wasn’t locked, the door to her room wasn’t either. There lied the sun priest curled up in her sheets. Sleeping on her right side, her heart was exposed for me to stab at. As I got closer I smelled the stench of fish, just what I expected from an Abyssinian. Fish lovers the lot of them. I slid my knife from its sheath carefully, watching the rise and fall of the blankets and the gently breathing shaped beneath them. I lashed out with my knife in the dark and a squelching noise was heard, the blanket started to become heavy with fluids. I wrenched my knife free of the suddenly still form and wiped it on the bed. The dark red of blood, yes this was an easy mission and I would soon receive my pay. I quietly made my exit, my mission was accomplished. -Five minutes later- “Excuse me.” I immediately turned and fired at the voice. The crossbow bolt stopped in the air an inch from the beings face, the orange eyes were glowing with the shape of ankhs in the pupils. Lion body, wings and a pony face, it looked familiar. “What was that in aid of?” There was no magical glow, the hoof mounted crossbow bolt just floated there. I tried to turn and run, only I found my body unable to move. “I’ll give you the use of your mouth so you may answer my riddle.” Oh no… I just shot at a sphinx! Wait, why was it here… the pyramid, of course! It lived next to the sun priest’s home. “Get my riddle right, I’ll let you go… in that direction specifically and only that direction. Get it wrong and… well… you won’t get it wrong now will you? That sun priest was my friend I’ll have you know.” I swallowed loudly, my body trapped in the Sphinx’s power as she approached me with a slow gait and wicked smile. “Here’s my riddle. I’m almost blind and my true sight is my big ears, I hang upside down, feed on bugs and spend lots of time in caves filled with your fears.” That… didn’t seem so bad really, what’s the catch? “What am I?” “A bat?” She smiled so coyly at me. It seemed too… simple. I guess Sphinx’s weren’t as dangerous as many think they are. “Very good, correct even. I am a sphinx of my word, you are to go in that direction for a while and eventually you’ll be able to go in a different direction.” She released me from the grip of her power and I ran. -Sekhet- “Off to Barely Bearable Woods, maybe I should have warned him about the drop bears...” Chuckles audibly spilled from my throat. “Nah, he’ll be fine.” -Snickers- I play kitty of great bond dead. Love hurting being be leaving, I come out from under blankets! I super big smart, need hug super winged kitty later. -The next morning, Fizzle- “Jade… ugh… where is she?” She got up before I did, I’ll check her room. Opening the door I saw that Snickers had made a huge mess on Jade’s bed. “Snickers, bad turtle dove!” The shell shivered a bit and I heard a whining noise. “Yes, she’s been a very bad turtle. Help me clean up the fish and the catsup she spilled everywhere under the blankets.” Jade had come up to me carrying some cleaning supplies with her, she shook her head as she looked at the mess. “Fish and catsup... if you wanted a change of diet, you could have just told me little buddy.” “Coo…” Whined the turtle cutely poking her head slightly out of the catsup stained shell, I could swear I saw a faint hint of a smirk on her face. “Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up Snickers.” Having picked up Snickers, Jade walked to the door and stopped to turn to me. “Fizzle, dump all the ruined fish into the bucket and toss it out into the river. Mom will take care of the sheets.” “I’m making potato stew tonight.” As soon as mom said that, I had to watch as Jade almost gave herself whiplash from turning after her mother. Jade’s tail was now waggling like a dogs and it was so adorable to see that sudden bright smile on her face. I snickered at the sight and rubbed up against her before I went over to the bed to start throwing the ruined fish into the bucket. “I swear you’re more cat than me Fizzle and I’m the Abyssinian here!” Her words got me giggling and before we knew it, we were both laughing. It was good for things to be back to relatively normal. “Yeah and I’m the Ornithian that’s never been to Ornithia… whoa, what happened here?” Looking into the room Jacky saw the mess and looked at us curiously with her purple eyes. “Anyway, the extra mattresses worked. No painful beak to the floor for me this morning, mom really knew what I needed!” “Yep, mom chose her gifts wisely. Snickers somehow got into a bottle of catsup and smeared it and a lot of fish everywhere randomly all over the bed and then wrapped it up in a blanket.” It seemed Jade was considering something. “I now have to clean my naughty buddy off. Quick question, how do you punish a sea turtle dove that’s done something bad?”