//------------------------------// // 22.1 First we Train, then we Fight // Story: Prey and a Lamb // by Lambs Prey //------------------------------// Yesterday might not have been so bad, but that of course didn't give any assurance as to the quality of the coming day. Your apple might be fine one day, but on the next you bite into it and get a mouth full of mush and worms. --- Prey had been woken by the ear gratingly loud alarm clock a few hours before the normal wake up time, (making it about about four am in the morning), for the three of them to blearily go and cover half a guard shift. Because of the lack of Night Guard recruits, combined with some being off sick after overworking, and another hoof full sent off by the Night Princess to answer the concerns of one of the very few Night Court petitioners, that left a shortage of Night Guards to cover this one shift. Meaning they had to cover it. Simply wonderful. So another three hours were spent standing in a dark corridor outside the silent nobles wing, blinking and trying not to yawn, before servants started filtering in with the rise of the sun. They were just in time to catch the tail end of breakfast, which wasn't a bad thing in Prey's opinion. It meant most of the Royal Guard's, Honey Topaz included, had already left the mess hall. Many of the few Night Guards (a misnomer in itself for their numbers truly weren't many), seemed to have the same preference, waiting until near the end before attending breakfast. But after the tasteless meal came the Night Guards training day, or T-Day, as it was so jokingly called. --- Prey carefully looked around at the assembled thestrals and hoof full of regular pony Night Guards in the gym, the social division between the two parties clear by the way they congregated into their own groups. 'Yep, the cultural differences and inherent racism didn't disappear overnight.' Gloom stood waiting, a little off to the side, their own little group further split off from all the others again. As Gloom seemed to be waiting for something to happen, Crimson and Prey copied his example. Prey was not looking forward to this. It was bound to be a pointless exercise which just further lowered his already sub zero level of appreciation for the Guard. Five minutes later, Starry Wing, a large unicorn in steel grey Prey hadn't seen before, and Quartermaster Carrot of all people walked in and snapped them to attention. Everything went down hill from there. ------ "Fly you lily livered, bat brained, scum sucking, Prench ponces!" The unicorn, named Cracker Smiles (a misleading name even by pony standards), bellowed up at the thestrals practising above him, flying through hoops and around obstacles suspended on cables from the ceiling. Cracker Smiles was apparently one of those iron hoofed drill Sargents you heard about in stories. Prey hadn't thought that someone as dumb as this actually existed. Yelling and screaming insults at you and your entire lineage accomplished very little, nor was it motivating. Well, maybe it worked on normal pony recruits in weeding out the mewling weaklings who'd run back home once they realised that being a Royal Guard wasn't all about saving damsels in distress and meeting Celestia. Or something to that effect. It wouldn't have surprised Prey. Ponies were stupid like that, stupid and soft and naive and blind. "You'll never be anything if you can't get those wings up! By the sun, I don't have wings and even I can see what you're doing wrong you bald winged reptiles, get those weights back on and keep flying! You can give up and crawl home to your caves in shame only once I say you can!" "And you," Cracker Smiles rounded on the thestrals running and working the ground portion of the gym, still fully plated up in armour as they sweated and grunted, "Don't think I don't see you slacking off! Are you trying to fail, is that it? My grandmare can lift heavier weights than that!" It was probably Royal Guard tradition to get shouted at by some drill instructor, a way to feel like you'd passed some tough test and were now all brothers in arms serving the princess. However if that were the case, it wasn't doing anything for the thestrals, although it clearly made them quietly angry. They weren't recruits, they were already trained fighters. They didn't join because of some misguided hope of proving themselves or earning acceptance from pony society. They were here because of Princess Luna, and that was the only reason. They only cared about not being a disgrace to her, not whatever Cracker Smiles or anypony else thought. They remained grimly quiet as they worked, aside from pants and grunts, not exchanging even a single word between themselves, in a sort of united silent denouncement of Cracker Smiles. '-the Royal Guard can go chew a fire fruit-' '-horn heads think they're so special-' '-they know nothing. I will not stoop to their level-' And so the thestral portion of the Night Guard sweated and groaned as they lifted weights and strained against each other in practice spars, silently simmering as they punched and kicked away at the training dummies. They would not bend, nor would they break. To snap back at him or demand Cracker Smiles stop was beneath them. Starry Wing was actually here to take part in the training day, running, flying, lifting weights, and grappling along with the rest of them. Whatever Carrot had come in here for at the beginning, he'd left not long after they all started getting yelled at and running laps. It was sort of fitting that such an abrasive stallion as the Quartermaster had come in with a kindred spirit like Cracker Smiles. "Come on Prey, you didn't even try on that one." Gloom sighed, breathing rapidly as he let the bar weight he'd been lifting with his wings clank back into place. "That's because I can't do it." Prey panted for the twentieth time, lying slumped on the floor. Prey was growing increasing aggravated with Gloom, who kept telling him to "Try harder," and, "You're not doing your best." But what did Gloom expect? Prey was a small weak runt with spindly limbs, who's body mass was mainly made up of wool. Did he suddenly expect Prey to be able to keep up with the full grown ponies running around the track or lift the same weight they could? That thestral over there was lifting weights that were heavier than Prey's entire body with one hoof. In Gloom's defence, he didn't actually know the first thing about training a non-adult, let alone a runt lamb. Perhaps Gloom's mental perceptions of Prey had been thrown off by his advanced mental capabilities, he'd subconsciously expected the lamb to be able to... Well, not match the rest of them, but somehow keep up in his own way or something. 'Incompetent, foolish, moronic X'ausa'mak.' Prey angrily thought, breathing heavily. He'd told Gloom yesterday he couldn't do this 'T-day' nonsense. He'd told Gloom he was going to be disappointed, but the thestral just hadn't listened had he? Prey was a runt. It was that simple. A runt in a cursed body to be more precise, but a runt all the same. It wasn't a matter of training, or building up muscle endurance, or any such idiocy. Such things were a physical impossibility. In weight carrying, (backpacks filled with stones), Prey couldn't even waddle along with anything heavier than 130 pounds. Impressive for a runt lamb, but considering the average Night Guard could carry 400 pounds and jog laps around the track in full armour, (courtesy of their quadruple legged frame), it wasn't even a noteworthy achievement. Running circuits around the track while Cracker Smiles yelled at them, Prey was lapped multiple times by everybody. In the stop-start sprint, Prey came in dead last. Weight lifting was more of the same. He couldn't even reach the training dummy to punch or kick it. Nature had not seen fit to gift sheep wings, so the air track was also out. And Prey refused point blank to do the bench press. There was a magical training range next door, and that's where the few drafted Royal Guard unicorns left for half way through the session. No one missed them. But the only magic Prey had was runic, and walking up and announcing he could use that to get out of this exercise was asking to get thrown back in Dreverton. Inversely compared to Prey, Crimson, who was partaking in every exercises with the main herd of Night Guards, was doing quite well despite his wiry frame. He was keeping up easily enough, and even excelling in some exercises. After two hours of physical exertion, Cracker Smiles finally seemed to calm down and ordered them all to form up into ranks. Prey hung near the back, avoiding being noticed, although it wasn't really seem necessary. Cracker had already spotted Prey during the course of the exercises, and hadn't had a clue why Prey was there. Cracker's solution to the problem? Just ignore Prey and pretend he didn't exist. A welcome change from what Prey had been expecting. In the resistance, Prey had been one of Torment's favourite scratching posts during 'training' to demonstrate with. Most of the scars from her talons had faded over the years, but he still had a knot of scar tissue under his chin to remember her by. "Right you bat winged freaks, now that you're all nicely warmed up, next is weapons practice. Grab a dummy sword, spear, whatever and partner up. And I want to see actual practice, hear me?" Cracker Smiles shouted, as if he were talking to unruly children. "No hitting other ponies in the head, neck, from behind or in the guts. If I have to break it up because you couldn't fight cleanly, you'll be cleaning out the toilets using nothing but your tails as scrubbing brushes." Cracker threatened. 'Pathetic,' Prey thought, 'Just like Valour and the Solar Guards. They don't believe in hitting bellow-the-belt. The Resistance would eat you alive and spit out your bones.' Prey wasn't the only one with a dim view of Cracker Smiles. The thestrals didn't show it openly, but their furious dislike of the drill Sargent and his constant belittlement and disregard for the fact that they were already warriors was increasingly dominant in many of their thoughts. But Prey still didn't catch any real death threats in amongst there, even in the privacy of their own minds. Oh there were plenty of wishes for bloody vengeance against Cracker Smiles, and the average non-thestral pony would've been horrified to learn that they could even think that about another pony, but there was nothing real in any of their private wishes. If Cracker Smiles was dangling off the edge of a cliff, they would still help him up rather than stomp on his hoof. In their hearts, they wouldn't see him dead. It was the complete opposite of Prey's experience in the Resistance. If Cracker Smiles had insulted someone in the Resistance like this, unless that person was very far below Cracker Smiles on the ladder like Prey had been, Cracker would've been waking up with a knife in his gut. The only people who got away with spewing vulgar insults like that were the ones everybody feared. People like Snake, Razor, Stinger or Torment. No one dared challenged them. No one was that crazy. Alright, that wasn't quite true. A few new recruits had been crazy enough, but the instant and fatal retribution that fell upon them had been more than enough to discourage anyone else from making the same mistake. "Come on Prey," Gloom said grabbing him, not physically of course as Prey wouldn't have allowed that, and pointed him in Crimson's direction. "Go check with Crimson and see what you can do." Gloom ordered as the rest of the Night Guard started to partner up in silence. Some fetched the normal practice swords, wing blades, or spears from the racks, but others pulled out hammer hooves or a type of claw like weapon attached to the fetlock with short, retractable blades, which extended when you twisted your hoof just so. '-griffin claws-' Prey learned their name after quickly scouring some nearby thestral's thoughts. Aside from the fact that Griffins had four claws, not two, the name was certainly fitting for the hooked blades. Crimson had a practice wing blade on, just the one, and was taking a few practice swipes with it. The easy way he could swish the dull metal blade around gave an idea as to how proficient he would be with the real article. Prey plonked himself tiredly onto the floor beside Crimson, and just waited while Gloom went and got his own practice weapon, a spear. He came back with it gripped under one wing. Gloom got that kind of look as he looked down at Prey which said, '-should I really be doing this?-' He opened his mouth to tell Prey to stop sitting around and to go find a practice weapon, but Prey just looked at him, then at the heavy spear Gloom held, then down at his own small hooves. Then he slowly raised one eyebrow. "Good point." Gloom conceded. "Prey, do you wish me to show you how to fight?" Crimson offered hesitantly, evidently not sure if that was even a valid possibility. "No." Prey didn't know how to fight, and didn't want to. Prey knew how to kill. There was a huge difference in the mindset of that approach. Fighting implied fairness and equal footing, and such a thing didn't exist on the battlefield. Prey would lose a fight with a particularly aggressive toddler. However give him a knife and turn your head for a second, and he'd cut your throat and bleed you out before you could react. Although he'd prefer to use poisoned blowpipe and never even get close. But as stated, that was a very different mindset to what T-Day required. They were here to fight, not to kill. And Prey was a lousy fighter. '-follow the rules. Rules say everypony has to participate in T-days-', Gloom thought, but he couldn't really apply that to Prey. He'd tried to get the lamb to participate in the rest of the exercises and drills, and to Prey's credit, he'd only refused some of them. But it had been made clear to Gloom that getting Prey into anything even resembling fighting shape was an impossibility. It doesn't matter how many times you teach a rabbit how to pounce, it'll never be a wolf. '-actually, why am I even trying to get a foal into fighting shape? Doesn't that make me a bad pony?-', Gloom wondered. Other Night Guards had seen Gloom's dilemma, but they didn't really have any helpful ideas either, so they kept quiet, giving Gloom a few sympathetic looks. They wouldn't have overstepped their bounds by making a suggestion about a Guard under Gloom's authority anyway, but in this case, they couldn't have even if they'd wanted to. The rules said everyone must complete combat training, yes, but those rules were for full grown ponies. Prey was neither. That was the general consensus, so it was left up to Gloom to decide what he wanted to do with his runt lamb. "Crimson, you can go find another partner. I'll just...stay and see what I can do. Even if Prey can't pull off any of the moves himself, he can still learn the theory and about weapons. Might be he'll even learn something to defend himself with." Gloom eventually decided. '-that's a bad joke. A blind, half crippled thestral could hold Prey down with both wings tied behind their back while singing Old Yon' Farrow-', Gloom thought, already accepting defeat. "Alright Prey, you heard what I said. Even if you aren't going to use this, you still need to know the theory." Gloom paused, as if expecting objections. Prey did have objections, mainly because this was a pathetic excuse for fighting and anything he was 'taught' he wouldn't have used even if he could, as it would get him killed in a real fight. But if he objected, Gloom might order him back to running laps instead, so it was better to stay silent and pretend to listen to Gloom's explanation. "Right, first off, this is a spear. Can you name its components?" ------ T-Day finally finished for lunch at two thirty. Everyone was tired and sore, having worked themselves hard, even in the face of Cracker Smiles. T-Day was supposed to be a weekly affair, but since the Night Guard was so understaffed, they really didn't have the numbers to cover the shifts while the other half trained. Nighthawk'd apparently had to juggle things very skilfully to get today to even happen. Prey was not complaining about this reduction in T-Days. One was more than enough, thank you. Speaking of a first time for everything, this was also the first time the ISND actually had time for lunch. But everyone was ravenous after the training day, so Starry Wing made it an order that they were to; "Make sure you actually eat something before going back to your shift. You're no use to Princess Luna if you can't even trot in a straight line." Before that though, came showers for everyone. They were all sweaty and smelly, so showers were more or less mandatory, even if it was still the middle of the day. Luckily, the gyms communal showers were just next door, and big enough for them all, as long as they weren't picky and squashed in. Prey found the furthest white tiled corner he could out of the way of flapping leathery wings and sullen thestrals rinsing themselves off, all of which were in a hurry to get out of the gym and eat something before returning to their posts. Prey only half succeeded in taking his own shower unnoticed, the sheer number of showers in use and all that hot water provided quite a bit of cover steam to hide in. But it only took one thestral to notice Prey, with his wool and ears plastered down under the stream of hot water, and then they were nudging the thestral next to them, mouths turning up in amusement. Prey's shoulders tensed up all by themselves, 'If one of them dares to start laughing...' Prey didn't like being the centre of attention, and he hated being the source of other people's amusement, but there was nothing he could do about it. So he pretended not to notice, secretly glaring at them all from beneath his soaked fringe of wool. '-like a cat-', '-that took a dip in the pond-', '-and just as angry-', '-almost makes up for this T-Day-', '-Gloom may Luna-', '-watch over you-', '-having to mentor such-', '-a young and amusing looking-', '-little foal, or lamb-', '-by the moon he's-', '-drying herself off, ah ha ha, all that wool-', '-looks like a giant dandy lion-', '-cream puff-'. Prey was very relieved when Gloom and Crimson finished up and they could leave. Not run away, just leave. ------ Prey pointed up at the cork board, "No, the paper on the left with the number eleven on its corner, yes, that's the one. The pony there is linked to the one over there on the scrap of yellow scroll. Pin the string between them." He instructed Crimson, who was much taller than him and could actually reach. Crimson reached up to the high position on the board (so about normal eye level for the pegasus), and stuck the pin in, "How do you know?" He asked once his mouth was clear to talk. "Know what?" Prey responded. "That this pony, Weaver Harp, is linked to the other one." "Because his profession is in procuring cotton cloth for shops, which means he would have met this other Dipper Star character." Prey said, as if it were obvious. Crimson looked from one end of the red string to the other, trying to see the link. Gloom joined him in searching for it. "I don't see it." Crimson admitted after a minute. "They're not in the same profession, and I doubt they're relatives either, unlike with Turf Apple and Apple Seed. So where's the link?" Gloom asked. "Dipper Star is a unicorn of middle upper birth, second son of Lord Himeler. Himeler recently filed a complaint with the Guard about his windows being vandalised. Weaver supplies curtains. Himeler probably told his son to get the damage fixed. Dipper Star either got the staff to get in contact with a supplier, or did it himself. Weaver could have easily met Dipper Star." Prey explained. They both had to stop and think about that for a minute to get it all in order. "That's quite a long shot..." Gloom said dubiously, "Why's it important anyway?" "And how did you know about the vandalism?" Crimson also asked in interest. "The vandalism report was one of those reports in that pile," Prey answered, waving his hoof distractedly at one of the shelves, "And it's not actually important. Not unless Weaver is also a dealer for salt." That was what they were currently working on, the second major task the ISND had been given at its creation. Namely, tracking down and stopping the salt drug trade taking place in Canterlot. It may have seemed like the ISND were skipping out on solving the riot problem, but they weren't. They'd done all they could on that front, and a plan was already in motion to put a permanent stop to that. There wasn't anything further they could do at this point, aside from waiting to see if the thestral teams managed to catch the riot instigators when they arrived in Coal Clack. So in the mean time, Gloom had started them working on the next case. Moon knew this one didn't look any easier to solve. "If Weaver were such an obvious salt dealer, I'm sure he would have already been arrested by now." Crimson said, but he was still considering the link on the cork board. Prey shrugged, droopy ears lifting and falling with the motion, "Perhaps, but that's why where doing this, because we don't know. I just saw a potential link and thought it best to put it up on the board so we don't forget. It might be important, although it probably won't be. But it might." "And that's the crux of it, isn't it?" Gloom muttered, "It might be important or it might not. We literally have nothing better to go on. All we've got is 'if's' and 'might's' and 'maybe's'." The Sargent wasn't exaggerating. The task they'd been given was absolutely huge. Stopping the illegal selling and distribution of unrefined salt didn't sound easy on paper, and the reality was proving that it was even more difficult than that. There were only three of them, how were they supposed to bring down this drug trade? "We've got nothing," Gloom said, starting to pace, "There's no suspects. No high level dealers have been arrested. We don't even know if there are any high level dealers because we don't know if it's all organised or individual. We don't know how they're bring the salt in, we don't know their distribution methods, we don't even have a clue about how many ponies are involved, or anything of any real importance." That wasn't Gloom just being pessimistic either, they literally had no leads. "We could question the convicted dealers again sir." Crimson suggested. "That won't lead anywhere." Prey said. "They were interrogated when they were first caught. All the information and tip offs they revealed have already been followed, not that it ever amounted to anything big. Maybe they knew a dealer, or gave their client's names, but after the Royal Guard followed up on those, that was it. It didn't lead anywhere further." Gloom said, or more accurately complained, still pacing back and forth. Prey didn't know where he got the energy to pace after T-Day. Prey himself was sitting on the floor resting his tired legs, (still no desks or chairs from the Requisitions Department). "The latest arrest was also more than a month and a half ago. Any information that Northern Light might give us is unlikely to be still relevant anyway. The situation is fluid and fast changing." Prey agreed. "Who is Northern Light again?" Crimson asked. "The convict who was arrested months ago." Prey answered him. "Oh. So he is unlikely to be able to tell us anything then." Crimson agreed. "If things continue like this, we might have to try visiting him in jail to interrogate him again anyways. We're a bit short on ideas here." Gloom sighed, coming to a stop and glumly reviewing the cork board again. Prey rubbed his ear as he thought about the task in front of them. Personally he didn't care if ponies poisoned themselves with unrefined salt. If they were stupid enough to take the stuff, then they could suffer the consequences. It wasn't even like the salt made addicts violent or dangerous. The only ones they were actively harming was themselves. Although it might count as being harmful to those around them. Salt drove addicts to steal or take money away from their families to support their addiction. The populace of Canterlot seemed to be aware of this salt existence, but in an abstract, far off sort of way. They all denounced the stuff, but that was about it, because no one really saw it as a threat. 'Surely not in our Canterlot!' Maybe out in those little mud towns, but not inside the peak city of Equestrian society. Prey was willing to bet there were many nobles and high class Canterlot ponies who were actually salt users themselves. Bored and jaded, they might easily be drawn in by the new and excitingly forbidden experience. 'Maybe just once', they thought, but then they were hooked. He said as much out loud to Gloom and Crimson. "Any signs we think we see are only the surface of the mire. Break the crust, and I guarantee it's a whole lot deeper and fouler than you thought. The Royal Guard only caught those who got careless. The careful ones are the real danger here." Prey said. Both of them considered Prey's words and agreed. "If this problem had been caught earlier, perhaps it wouldn't have developed this far." Gloom lamented sourly. '-the clans never had this sort of problem-' "Once evil establishes a hoof hold, it's almost impossible to rid yourself of it." Crimson quoted from somewhere. 'The clans seem to have a multitude of readily available philosophical mumbo jumbo for every occasion.' Prey noted bemusedly. "True Crimson, buts that's why the Guard's here. If it were an easy job, somepony else would have already done it." Gloom said, eyes still roaming over the cork board and its contents, looking for some small, infinitesimal clue that might suddenly give them some insight into this situation where they were essentially groping around in the dark. "I fear this will not be nearly as fast as the last case was sir." Crimson said quietly. "That case is still going on you know," Gloom commented drily, "We only arrested Turf Apple and Pebble Mill, there's still the problem of the riots." "The plan will work and they will be caught, it is only a matter of time sir," Crimson responded confidently, "But I fear this one won't be so easy." He finished dully, back to his usual tone. "We're merely stating the obvious here." Prey pointed out. He was going to say 'You're', but changed it to 'We're' at the last moment, because teamwork and all that. "Actually, let's do that," Gloom said, tufted ears perking up, "Let's do what we did with the last case and start from the beginning. Let's review what we know, and what we can do. What do we know about the salt trade?" Crimson jumped straight in, "Somepony is secretly bringing salt into Canterlot, and so far the Royal Guard have not been able to find the distributors." "Yes, a couple of small incompetent dealers are all we've been able to catch so far. And in the grand scheme of things, they're not important. So the question is, who are the big dealers?" Gloom said. He started pacing again as he continued sharing his thoughts out loud: "We have no leads. Surely this is unusual? Such a wide spread net work should be easier to track, shouldn't it? They have to sell it to make bits, so ponies are obviously buying it. These customers should be the weak link and the easiest to find. But they're not. Why?" "Perhaps it's like a pyramid. The distributors at the top only sell the salt to the dealers in the middle, and the dealers only sell to the customers at the bottom. And wear a mask, so the dealers never know how big the organisation actually, is or who they're really buying from sir." Crimson offered. Prey blinked. Surely this wasn't occurring to Crimson just now? All of that should've been obvious in Prey's opinion, it was basic common sense to hide your identity, so of course these salt distributors would've thought of it. "How big is this organisation likely to be? Any estimates Prey?" Gloom asked as he turned around for another pass. "Supply follows demand, and there wouldn't be a high demand unless there were enough ponies hooked on it and wanting more. So it's probably fairly big. But no ones really offered enough opposition to the salt boss in charge of this underground market, so for now they're content to keep it low profile and silently rake in the gold." Prey suggested, shrugging. "Underground market? Are they diamond dogs?" Crimson asked. "No, this is Canterlot. How would they tunnel through a city that is literally suspended off the side of a mountain by magic? There's no earth for them to work with." Prey told him. Although Prey supposed it was possible they were using the underground sewers, but it seemed unlikely. "It's just an expression Crimson. It means the same as saying; 'the Black Market'." Gloom supplied. "Oh. I understand now sir." Prey nodded, "I doubt they use a secret tunnel or anything like that. This salt distributor, or distributors, are probably just smuggling it in on every day items through the front gates. It's hardly like new comers are searched on arrival." He shrugged. Gloom turned on his heels and came to a halt in front of the map of Canterlot. The thestral studied it and all it represented. "So the big question is... What do we do?" 'If I cared,' Prey thought, 'Which I don't, you could just let me loose with one of the imprisoned addicts and I could read their minds to find out who sold the salt to them, and then work backwards from there up the chain of command. If I cared. And if I wouldn't be killed or imprisoned for using mind magic. Which I would be. So I won't.' "We could...go on patrol in the known areas. Don't go in armour, and you could wear a dusk pony amulet sir." Crimson suggested after thinking about it. Prey sighed, they were missing the glaring obvious approach here; "Why don't you just pretend to be addicts and get in with the dealers yourselves? Then come back, arrest them, interrogate them, find out where they came from, and then work your way up from there?" "That's...not a bad idea." Gloom conceded after a minutes contemplation. "Won't they know we're Guard's? They must have some method of avoiding the Guard." Crimson said. "Oh, almost certainly," Prey agreed cheerfully, "They certainly have some way of remaining undetected, so I'm sure they have some method for avoiding the Guard." "You don't have to sound so happy about it Prey." Gloom groused. "Does that mean we don't actually have a plan then sir?" Crimson asked. Gloom sighed, "It certainly seems that way doesn't it? But keep your minds open, perhaps we'll think of something later. Or maybe some new evidence will be found. Or possibly the Royal Guard will catch a dealer, or any number of other lucky breaks might occur. We will catch these ponies, it's just a matter of time and patience." Gloom said, firm in his conviction. '-an end must be brought to the spreading of this sickness. We will stop you, who ever you are-', Gloom told himself. Prey had his own thoughts. 'So, our grand plan for now is wait-and-see. Surprisingly intelligent actually.' They were lacking a focal starting point, so waiting patiently while gathering more information was a valid idea, and probably what Prey would've chosen himself at this stage if he was in the Sargent's hooves. "Prey, cut another length of red string will you? This board still needs a lot of work." ------ "Someone's coming." Prey said, looking up from a scroll. "It's 'somepony', not-" There was a brisk knock at the office door. Prey raised an expectant eyebrow at Gloom, Crimson also looking up from his seat on the floor, surrounded by the slowly spreading stacks of paper. Gloom flicked an ear, "Come in." He called out. The door opened and Gloom snapped to attention as lieutenant Starry Wing trotted in, Crimson and Prey jumping to their hooves, "Sir." "At ease." Starry Wing ordered, letting the door swing shut behind him. "Yes sir. What can we do for you sir?" Gloom asked. Starry Wing trotted over and had a look at the cork board they'd erected rather than answering immediately, yellow eyes roving around the office, spying the pile of old rubbish that still filled the third alcove and the stacks of reports that they'd been working on the floor. "Why's there no furniture or desks? All Guard offices are supposed to be properly outfitted." Starry Wing asked. "My apologies sir, but we don't have any yet. I spoke to some of the Palace staff, but it still hasn't happened. I will rectify the problem straight away sir." Gloom quickly assured the lieutenant. "That's not your fault. I'll have a word with the supply depot and see if I can't get them to pull their hooves out and get to it." "Thank you sir." "Don't worry about it Sargent," Starry Wing said, waving it away, "That's not what I came to speak with the ISND about." Across from Prey, Crimson's wings perked. Starry Wing had said he was here for the ISND, not just Gloom. Their Sargent also caught on that this might be something a bit more serious, '-something that involves Prey and Crimson too this time?-' Starry Wing turned to fully face them all, putting his back to the cork board, "You spoke well yesterday Sargent Gloom. It doesn't really matter but I have to ask, who was it that devised your plan?" Gloom barely hesitated, "It was Prey sir." He answered honestly. '-sorry kid, but you should have been taking the credit in the first place-' 'Traitor.' Prey thought, but without much spite. It was annoying, but that was about it. It'd only been a matter of time anyway. "Prey huh?" Starry Wing said, his slitted eyes turning to the lamb. Prey didn't make the same mistake he'd made with Eclipse, and looked away and pretended he had trouble meeting the lieutenants yellow eyes. "Yes sir. We worked on it as a team, but credit for the idea has to go to Prey." Gloom affirmed. '-captain Nighthawk said the lamb wasn't just a normal foal. I thought I understood, but perhaps not enough-', Starry Wing mused. "Well done then Prey. I'm confident that your plan will bring results." He complimented Prey. "It was nothing sir, just a lucky idea that just popped into my head." Prey quickly said, trying to play it down. "Well it was a good lucky idea. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't, but keep sharing them." Starry Wing insisted. What could Prey do but politely say; "Thank you, I will sir." "Good," Starry Wing nodded, going back to Gloom, "There were actually a few other things I came for. The first is this." He unfolded one wing to reveal a brown paper folder he'd been keeping underneath and passed it to Gloom. "It's another possible case. Nothing substantial yet, but the situation might develop if it isn't just an isolated incident. Have a read of it, but it's unlikely to be anything." Starry Wing explained as Gloom flicked the folder open and read the front page. '-case reports, unconfirmed sightings...let's see, no victims or injuries, possible restricted magic, small farming village near the Everfree...but that's about it-', Prey gleaned from Gloom's thoughts as the Sargent skim read. "No problem sir," Gloom said snapping the folder closed, "I'll add it to the pile." That brought a chuckle from Starry Wing as he regarded the multiple stacks of papers set on the floor, "I take that to mean you have a never-shall-I-ever pile then?" He asked. Gloom blinked, then hastily corrected himself, "I'm sorry sir, that's not what I meant-" "It's fine Sargent, I know what you meant. Moon knows we're all busy enough already." Starry Wing waved him off good naturedly with a wing. "What with all the rush, things get forgotten. Which brings up something that needs to be corrected, Crimson Trace?" He called. "Yes sir." Crimson immediately answered, standing up straighter. Starry Wing pulled out a little square box, and from inside removed a small metal pin, crescent in shape and silver in colour. "It's come to my attention that in all the rush when you joined, you weren't given your proper rank of Private. You're not a recruit, so you should have one of these." Starry Wing said, stepping over and attaching the pin to the left shoulder plate on Crimson's shoulder. There was a small 'click' as it slotted into place. "Thank you sir." Crimson said, although it seemed more like an automatic response rather than genuine thanks. 'When he joined? Obviously Starry Wing's memory is faulty. No one joined anything, we were both forcefully press ganged.' Prey thought. At least Starry Wing had forgotten about him and didn't want to pin a rank onto his nonexistent armour. But Prey knew that wasn't all the lieutenant had come to the office for. "There's just couple more things and then I'll get out of your way and you can get back to work." "It's no trouble sir." Gloom assured Starry Wing. "Thank you Sargent, but perhaps Crimson should be the one to decide that or not. See, the question I've got relates to him." The Lieutenant said. Crimson and Gloom blinked in unison, then Gloom glanced at his pegasus subordinate and stepped aside, "By all means sir." He said. "How may I assist you sir?" Crimson asked, perhaps a bit perplexed as to what the Night Guard Lieutenant could want. Prey refrained from rolling his eyes, 'Obviously, it must be something to do with your ex-clan.' "Private Crimson," Starry Wing began formally, "I ask on behalf of Captain Nighthawk, who is working on behalf of Her Majesty, Princess Luna. As the only pony in Canterlot who's a member of clan Myrrdon-" Crimson's wing twitched, "-Exiled member," Starry Wing corrected himself, "You might have the best insight into what their response would be." "I can only do my best sir," Crimson stated stoically, "And their response to what sir?" "Princess Luna wants to meet with them in pony at the next clan summit on neutral grounds. They've left and gone into hiding, but if we extended an invitation to discuss their grievances, would they come?" Starry Wing asked. 'Called it.' Prey thought. Crimson opened his mouth, then closed it again, his tail twitching restlessly behind his back. "Sir..." Crimson began slowly, "I'm not sure that would be a good idea to expose Princess Luna to..." He trailed off, muscles in his jaw working as his hate of his clan warred with the desire to give the Lieutenant an honest answer. Starry Wing patiently waited. "Sir, I don't think the clan would attend. But if Princess Luna wanted to discuss a treaty with them personally... Then it's possible that they would at least send a representative, but only to speak with Her Majesty, nopony else." Crimson eventually answered. Starry Wing nodded, not looking surprised, '-that's unfortunate, but it seems like Nighthawk was right that they want nothing to do with us-'. Only then did it occur to the thestral that perhaps that might've been a bit of a personal question to ask Crimson with an audience present. Even if there were only two other witnesses, one of whom already knew everything, but the other was Prey. '-ahh, the lamb's still just a child, so he probably doesn't get the context. Anyway, they're all in the same squad-', Starry Wing thought, foolishly dismissing it. Starry Wing knew Prey wasn't just a lamb, in fact he'd thought as much not five minutes ago, but in the passing moment he'd forgotten about that. Which was perfectly alright with Prey. He didn't like the Lieutenant, too nice and good at his job as second in command. The less Starry Wing noticed, the better. "I hope we won't have to call on you in this regard again in the future Crimson, but I hope if there is a need I can consult with you?" Starry Wing asked. Starry Wing was a superior officer for one, and perhaps more importantly, a senior clan member for another, "Of course sir. I will serve Princess Luna in any way I can." Crimson answered simply. Starry Wing nodded firmly, just once, "Good." His attention shifted to Gloom, and the pleasant smile came back. "I have some news that you might find quite a pleasant surprise after all the hard work the ISND's been putting in recently, Sargent." Prey wondered if thestrals had to practice smiling without showing off any fangs before they rejoined pony society. It was probably a habit they had to quickly adopt. Prey had practiced smiling himself, but not in the mirror of course. A smile was a useful tool, and there are so many things that could be hidden behind a good smile. "There has been an unexpected change in our cross Guard schedule with the Royal Guard. A duo of squads who were supposed to be out of Canterlot tomorrow no longer need to go. Meaning there's some extra breathing room to go around, so two squads get a day off tomorrow. Congratulations, yours is one of them, Sargent." Starry Wing announced. "Thank you sir, but we don't mind staying to help. Everypony is under a lot of pressure at the moment-" "And we're going to be under a lot of pressure for the foreseeable future," Starry Wing cut Gloom off, "Which is why we're sending squads for their days off whenever we get the chance." He explained, thinking; '-Tarturus, the Royal Guard only usually work four twelve hour days a week, the Night Guard is supposed to at least get one day off. It's only fair-' Gloom hesitated for a moment, but he realised that Starry Wing wasn't doing this out of any favouritism. The Night Guard was supposed to have a mandatory day off every week, but so far since its creation, they'd had very little opportunity to do so. '-actually, I don't think I've had more than one day off since I came here from my clan-', Gloom realised. "Okay sir, thank you sir." He accepted. "It'll do you good," The lieutenant said with a tired smile, then his eyes switched to the other two, and when next he spoke, it wasn't as Lieutenant Starry Wing, but as Starry Wing from the clans, "Crimson and Prey haven't seen how Canterlot lives yet. It would be a good idea to show them and to learn a bit yourself. We are all still newcomers here." Gloom bowed his head, "Yes sir. We will talk about it later." He said, acknowledging Starry Wing's order. "Then I'll take my leave. As you were." Starry Wing said, back to Lieutenant mode. Prey hid the scowl he wanted to direct at Starry Wing's back as the Lieutenant left. 'He's trying to use positive reinforcement on us. He entered on a high and he leaves on a high, trying to influence us to subconsciously be happier next time he's in our presence.' Starry Wing had started with good news, praising Gloom, then given them more work, the other case file. Then he'd shown Crimson kindness, promoting him, followed by asking Crimson a difficult question about his clan, then told them all good news, (the day off tomorrow), before leaving. Starry Wing hadn't needed to be nice. Crimson would have been promoted to the correct rank eventually, and Starry Wing would've given them the case file and asked his questions regardless. Yet he'd done it this way to purposefully not appear domineering despite his higher rank. 'Sneaky,' Prey thought as the door closed. The Lieutenant might not even have been doing any of it on purpose, maybe that's just the way he was, but Prey was still going to hold it against him. "Well..." Gloom said after a pause, "That's some good news. Unexpected yes, but hardly unwelcome." "Sir, I... We, that is to say, me and Prey, don't know anything about Canterlot." Crimson said. "Then this'll be a great opportunity for all three of us, because I don't really know anything about how ponies live here either, outside of the Guard of course. So don't worry about it, this isn't some sort of test, it's just a day off." Gloom told him. "Yes. One thestral, one runt lamb, and one exiled pegasus, all wondering around the capital of Equestria, seat of unicorn power, full of nobles and elitists. I'm sure it'll be wonderful." Prey commented cynically. "Prey. Canterlot is not like whatever it is you seem to think. Princess Celestia has ruled here for millennia, it's the city of equality." Gloom snapped at Prey, quite sick of the lambs attitude, '-I thought we were getting past this-' "You said you haven't been in Canterlot outside of guard duty either, sir," Prey pointed it out, "So how would you know?" "And neither have you," Gloom responded curtly, "So expecting the worst will only mean you see the worst." 'You're in for a big disappoint,' Prey thought, 'Ponies are racist. They follow their Sun Tyrant in that regard, and we're in the middle her capital city, Canterlot. To top it off, Canterlot's filled by her chosen of chosen, the cream of the crop, the new Unicornia, unicorns. There will be nothing but disdain for us tomorrow if we venture into the city.' "How about going to some other town outside of Canterlot?" Prey suggested, looking for an alternative. He'd only been into Canterlot when either passing through to the train station, or going to Tulip Bed's house, but that was more than enough to make him despise the place. For a brief moment, Prey could read that Gloom was half tempted. The Sargent wasn't blind to the public perception of Luna and her Night Guard despite he himself being far removed from having any interaction with the average civilian. (Arresting people didn't count as interaction). "No, the Lieutenant suggested Canterlot, so we'll stay in Canterlot." Gloom decided. ------ Gloom sighed and poked his food tray, "Pass the pepper would you?" He said. "To your left." Prey said. Gloom blinked and looked down at the pepper shaker placed just beside his hoof, "Oh." '-again? He's done that twice in a row now. Sneaky lamb is sneaky-', Gloom thought. "Then again, it's hardly a surprise given what we eat." Gloom mumbled to himself as he started to liberally grind pepper over his plate. It was pasta kernels, the type that could be boiled by the pot full, before being sloshed out onto serving trays with grated cheese and hay tossed over it. The pasta wasn't cooked all the way through, and hadn't been drained properly for that matter either. Is was probably one of the worse meals that the mess hall had served up since Prey'd gotten here. Actually, the surrounding ponies thoughts showed that this meal was one of the less desirable meals served full stop. Prey, after the customary pause to sniff and triple check his food for poison, started wolfing it down without complaint. The surrounding thestral Night Guards in their corner of the mess hall picked half heartedly at their own trays. Crimson himself looked like he was struggling to summon up the motivation to eat more than a few forkfuls. 'Well he's going to get even thinner if he doesn't.' Prey snorted to himself. If the pegasus wasn't going to finish his food, Prey wondered if he'd let him have it. Gloom looked at Prey eating with something like resignation, '-like the kid said, food is food, heh?-' He thought, sighing and taking a mouthful, '-at least the pepper helps it go down, even if I now feel like I've got to sneeze-' Prey abruptly shoved his meal away and ducked under the table. '-what's he? Oh, Topaz Honey-', Gloom realised, looking up. Sure enough, the overly friendly Earth pony mare was halfway to their table, the same familiar cheery smile brightening her features. "I don't think Prey likes her very much." Crimson opinioned, quietly enough that it didn't carry. "I don't think Prey likes anyone." Gloom said tiredly, although he did chuckle a bit. "Prey likes his family. Even if he never says it sir." Crimson said. Gloom hadn't been expecting that as a response, "Huh...Alright, I'll rephrase that. I don't think Prey likes anyone who isn't family." Gloom agreed, standing to politely greet Topaz. "Topaz Honey. Are you well?" "Good evening Gloom and Crimson, and why yes, I don't think I could be better." "That is good." Gloom agreed distractedly, obviously still caught up in his thoughts. '-wait-', Gloom winced, '-the kid's father died. Maybe that's why he's so angry. How could I forget? I should cut him some more slack-', Gloom reprimanded himself. He winced again as his eyes alighted on Crimson, who was exchanging a gravely serious greeting with a grinning Topaz. '-and Crimson. Geez, I haven't been helping either of them deal with that-', Gloom thought, '-...ponyfeathers. I'm not the right pony for this job-' "Aww, again? You sure he's not hiding under your wing?" Topaz Honey joked to Crimson. "Prey may be small, but he would not fit under my wing." Crimson answered seriously. "Hmm," Topaz humphed, seemingly a bit put out that her plans had been foiled again, '-I'm going to enlist help next time. That foal is in desperate need of a good hugging-' "It was nice to chat, but I should go and eat something now before I need to get back," Topaz made a face, "Even if it does taste like a wet sponge. Do you think that's Cook's secret ingredient? Wet sponge?" She asked in a conspiratorial whisper. "I have found no sponge as of yet in my pasta," Crimson said with a slow blink, "And little pasta either for that matter." He added after a second thinking about it. Topaz laughed uproariously, and probably would've slapped Crimson on the back if they'd been sitting on the same side of the table, so instead she just wished them a good evening and a promise to catch, "That lamb next time." And waved them a goodbye. "Great, now we've got to catch Prey again." Gloom sighed to himself. '-ha! Catch prey, like some kind of hunter-' "I'll save you the trouble." Prey grumbled, appearing from nowhere and sitting back down, grabbing hold of his half finished plate of pasta. "Oh. Well never mind then." Gloom shrugged, mind still thinking about what he should've been doing, and unthinkingly taking a forkful of pepper laden pasta. "Gha!" Gloom coughed hoarsely, hastily making a grab for his cup. ------ That night, back in the lantern lit bunk room, Gloom decided they were going to do something a bit different from the usual 'show-and-tell'. Gloom announced as much outloud. "I've decided we're going to something different tonight from the usual show and tell." His grand decision was met with two pairs of eyes that merely blinked slowly at him. Not to be deterred, Gloom forged on, "The last few nights talking about something we learned each day hasn't really been working out, so we're going to mix it up a bit. Tonight, let's try sharing a riddle each." "A riddle? I am not good at riddles sir." Crimson said dubiously. "That's fine, I doubt any of us are," Gloom shrugged, "But lets give it a go anyway. It's just for a bit of fun." "Then how about we just go to sleep instead? That's also fun." Prey suggested. Gloom ignored him, '-I'm too tired after T-Day to think of anything else, so this is what we are going to do-'. Gloom wasn't the only one with sore muscles left over from Cracker Smiles training day. Prey doubted getting up tomorrow was going to be a fun experience for any of them. He really didn't want to wake up with cramp. "I can't think of one. A riddle I mean." Crimson stated. "I'll go first then," Gloom decided, "Just let me think...Umm..." When the silence started to drag, Prey muffled a cough. "Hey, it isn't as easy as you'd think, just give me a minute." Gloom protested, scratching at his chest scar. '-I suggested we do this, so why can't I think of any? Think, think, I must have heard one before that I can share-' "Since you're having trouble finding a riddle intellectually challenging enough for us, sir, why don't I go first with something simple?" Prey suggested sweetly. Gloom didn't rise to the bait, "If you can think of a good riddle, then by all means go ahead." He said, waving for Prey to proceed. "As you wish, answer this; what flies when it’s born, lies when it’s alive, and runs when it’s dead?" "That's tough." Gloom told him. "Giving up already? Or would you like a hint?" Prey asked innocently. "Let us have a chance to think." Crimson objected. Gloom and Crimson both sat quietly on their bunks, or in Crimson's case on the bottom bunk under his top bunk, and tried to think up an answer to Prey's riddle. "I don't even have a clue." Crimson was eventually forced to concede. "Is it a... type of bird?" Gloom guessed. "No." "How about a letter sent by magic?" "Still no." "Err...A bee, no wait, a fallen leaf?" Gloom tried. "Nope." "Then I have no idea. Your riddle is too difficult Prey, how about something easier?" Gloom asked, a tad frustrated at his failure. Prey rolled his eyes, but didn't protest and just launched into the next, easier, riddle, "What has two ends but no start?" "Wait, aren't you going to tell us the answer to the first riddle?" Crimson protested. "Doesn't that take the fun out of it?" Prey asked, "What's the use of a puzzle if someone else gives you the answer?" "Somepony." Gloom automatically corrected. "Not a pony." "Alright, fair in this instance." Gloom conceded. "What was the answer?" Crimson asked again. Prey tossed one ear over his shoulder in a show of open disdain for Crimson's want to be given the answer, "The point of a riddle is to figure it out for yourself. Even if you can't figure it out immediately, you save it for later." Prey told him. "I think we're starting to take this a bit too seriously, we're only sharing riddles." Gloom put in, '-kid takes his puzzles very seriously it seems-' "Well it's your loss," Prey shrugged, "What flies when it’s born, lies when it’s alive, and runs when it’s dead? The answer is a snow flake." He explained. Crimson and Gloom both thought for a moment as they examined the riddle again now that they had the key. "I wouldn't have gotten that." Crimson decided. "I don't think I would've either, that was a hard one. What was that second riddle you had?" Gloom asked. "It wasn't a very good one, I think someone else should have a turn." Prey waved it off. "No, come on, I'm interested now." Gloom insisted. Prey held back for a second, then shrugged, "Okay. What has two ends but no start?" He repeated. The other two both went silent again as they pondered on his riddle. Prey could of course see all the possible answers that Gloom was thinking through, and Crimson's mental walls even thinned, enough that Prey was able to actually hear a thought from the Pegasus; '-string...?-' "Rope." Gloom suddenly guessed. "Yes," Prey told him, "Although I suppose string would've also been correct." He added. He didn't look at Crimson, but he caught the Pegasus's wing twitch out of the corner of his eye with satisfaction. "That wasn't too hard, better than the last one. How about you Crimson, can you think of a riddle?" Gloom asked. Crimson blinked slowly as he considered it, "There is one I have heard before. One good riddle, I mean. Here it is; what eats forests and and drinks rivers, gnaws mountains to stubs and can devour the mightiest warrior and spit out naught but dust?" Crimson's words jarred in Prey's ears, catching him completely off guard, "A Hungry Thing." Prey gasped, not realising he'd spoken until both Gloom and Crimson looked at him questioningly. "A what?" Gloom asked. Prey's jaw snapped shut and he quickly schooled his features into boredom, "Nothing, wrong answer. The correct answer is supposed to be time, isn't it?" "Correct. That didn't take you very long." Crimson said. A faint frown appeared on Gloom's brow, "Is there something the matter Prey?" He asked. Prey realised he was nervously tapping at his bed covers and stilled his hoof. Normally he would never have let such an obvious tell slip through, but Crimson's riddle had thrown him off kilter. Unfortunately, Gloom just so happened to be looking at Prey's hoof when he stopped tapping, thus creating another obvious give away he should've noticed. "Is something the matter?" Gloom repeated, but more insistent this time. Prey knew he had to give the Sargent something or else Gloom's slight concern might grow into bothersome genuine concern, "It's nothing that you need to worry about, Crimson just caught me off guard and I thought of something else." "Oh?" Gloom commented. "A wolf," Crimson blurted out. Gloom quirked an ear at Crimson, "Pardon?" "Prey's scared of wolves. He think he thought I meant a wolf, I think. With the riddle, I mean." Crimson awkwardly explained. He blinked and only then seemed to realise that he perhaps shouldn't have shared what he thought Prey's fear was out loud, "I...shouldn't have said that." "Forget about it." Prey scowled, secretly grateful for Crimson's unintentional save. He hadn't even needed to come up with an excuse himself, Crimson had already dived in and made a mess of it for him. Crimson really was like a young child when it came to interpersonal relationships. Thinking, or rather hoping, he had something figured out, and then making a social blunder with what he thought he knew, without realising until it was too late. Crimson looked relieved at Prey's dismissal of his mistake, or as relieved as Crimson ever looked, "My apologies Prey." He said. "No no, Prey is scared of wolves?" Gloom asked with interest, and perhaps a touch of amusement too. Maybe because the lamb who always acted so tough and complicated was actually had a mundane phobia. Actually, that's exactly what Gloom was thinking, Prey was uniquely qualified to testify to that fact. "Timberwolves." Crimson emphasised, with a glance to Prey, obviously unsure how to proceed in this situation. Should he explain on Prey's behalf since it was he who'd let it slip, or should he shut up and keep quiet? "Timberwolves," Gloom repeated, "Okay, I can see how those things could be scary. They're creepy and vicious, but if you know what you're doing they're not really dangerous." Prey had been looking to quit the conversation as soon as possible, but Gloom's words were almost offensive in their inaccuracy, "Not dangerous? Are you sure we're talking about the same monsters here? Magically animated wooden husks, green eyes, night vision, the ability to reassemble themselves, travels in packs?" He asked flatly. "I can promise you Prey that they're not as dangerous as you think." Gloom told him in a misguided attempt to reassure the lamb, secretly a bit amused but still doing the right thing. "If my memory's correct, clan Childara haven't lost a single pony to Timberwolves in living memory, and we've had to fight a lot of monsters. As long as you're careful Prey, Timberwolves aren't dangerous. Scary maybe, but not dangerous." Gloom insisted. "Sir, they are dangerous. Prey explained his fear to me. It was quite rational." Crimson spoke up. Prey didn't remember ever saying he was specifically 'afraid' of Timberwolves, he'd only commented that there were lots of things that scared him. "What do you mean?" Gloom asked, "They're really not. They're not that fast, and all you need to do is fly up out of reach and you'll be fine..." Gloom trailed off as he seemed to finally remember he wasn't talking to another thestral. Prey said flatly to Gloom, forcing the thestral to meet his eyes as he spoke each word, "I've already had this exact conversation with Crimson. I'm small, weak, don't have any wings or magic, and am probably very tasty. Timberwolves are a serious threat to me. Maybe not to you, with your nice pair of wings, but from my vertically challenged point of view, Timberwolves are definitely dangerous." The mood had turned sour. Gloom's ears didn't exactly lower, as from his point of view it had been an honest mistake, but he still bowed his head and apologised, "I'm sorry Prey. I didn't think about how it might be for you." Prey sniffed and turned away on his bed, "I'm going to sleep now." He announced, daring Gloom to contradict him. Gloom didn't, he just awkwardly told Crimson that, "There's no point in continuing anything further tonight." And wound the alarm clock before wishing them, (or rather Crimson), a good night. Prey wasn't actually really annoyed, but since Crimson had started the facade about Prey being frightened of wolves, Prey'd just gone along with it to change the topic. Besides, it'd provided a convenient excuse to pretend to be offended so he could cut the nights pointless activities short so they could go to sleep. Actually, so the other two could go to sleep. Prey was tired and sore from the training day, yes, and Crimson delayed them further by running through his warrior kata, (albeit a bit less vigorously than usual by dint of the aftereffects from T-Day), but eventually it was just Prey left awake, feigning sleep in the darkened bunk room. ------ Carefully, Prey let himself down off the side of his bunk onto the floorboards, letting his weight evenly settle. He paused to listen, then silently began sneaking towards the bunk room door, picking his way between the dark outlines of bunk beds. Upon reaching the door, Prey double checked Gloom and Crimson were both asleep, then reached into his wool and slid out a tightly folded length of paper that'd been hidden up tight against his skin. It was the list for Lemon Pink. It'd been a chore to write it unobserved in the office, but not too difficult. It was safer and less conspicuous than meeting face to face again with his servant. Carefully, Prey slid the note under the door crack, so just the edge poked out on the far side. Lemon Pink knew what to look for, and during her nightly rounds as a palace maid would pick it up before morning. He wasn't worried about someone else reading the note even if it was found. It was written in code, one he'd created himself during the mindless years of Dreverton. He doubted anyone but one of the two alicorn goddesses could crack it. That's how confident he was in it. It was an entirely made up language, which wasn't even based off Equoish, or Zebrican, or Griffonian, or any language or alphabet that he knew of, something Prey was quite proud of it. It didn't read the standard left to right, or even right to left, but started in the middle of the page and spiralled. In place of letters or numbers were just tiny symbols, all of which had at least one interchangeable partner character, and many fakes ones meant to mislead. As it stood, there were only two people in the world who could read this language. Prey and Lemon Pink. He was confident that if anyone else did find it by accident, they'd just throw it away as the mad scribblings of a child. Satisfied that the strip of paper was securely placed, Prey snuck back to his bunk. However, Prey still didn't turn in for the night, despite his tiredness. He didn't have time for sleep, the runic array wasn't going to study these gold bands itself. The comforts of pillow and blanket, however delightful and tempting, would have to wait. Prey still had work to do. ​---I---