//------------------------------// // Ch. 5: Golden Reprieve // Story: Boreas' Gaze // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// Voices broke through the air. Yet, they rarely used words. Three different tones permeated the ears, clouding all thoughts. The body swam closer to the source of the hypnotic song. "Golden Grain!" A tidal wave rushed over the entire scene. There were some growls that sounded distant and warbled. When the observer regained their sight, their flippers were being held by Queen Novo. "That song..." The queen briefly glared at the water's surface above them before turning to look at her subject. "Those were the Sirens. They're one of the reasons why we must stay hidden in the depths. Please don't scare me like that!" The observer tilted in the depths. "But... we're not related." "Do not give me that caviar." Queen Novo hugged them tightly. "It's my job to look after the hippogryphs as a whole. That means all of you are my family. If even one of you perishes, I grieve." Slowly, the observer hugged her back. --- After swimming through several layers of a seaweed forest, they climbed several steps carved into a mountain. They did not even notice the sudden absence of water on their beak. Hunger drove them to clamp down on some clay ore, just to get something in their stomach. They flew over a few dilapidated houses, piles of nests, and small tug-of-wars. "Gylpher. Coffee. Now." A blade of grass danced around inside the father's beak. "Yeah, yeah." The observer grabbed the handle in their talon and poured out some hot, nasty-scented liquid. The larger gryphon gulped down the cup's contents and threw what little was left. With what felt like boredom, the observer caught the flying mug just in front of their face. They proceeded to drop it into a pile with several other mugs. "When are you going to do something useful with your life, son?" The observer glanced back. "When are you?" "Pah! Shows what little you know, cub." He kicked his chair over with a hind paw. "While you were off wasting your time climbing rocks, your mother and I actually did something worthwhile." "It's not a waste of time." The observer scratched the floor. "It gets me exercise and a better understanding of surroundings." "We're going to show that alleged princess that you can't win wars with scraps of loyalty and laughter." He put on a sash with a black unicorn's pattern in the middle. "What? But you said that's a war of ponies. You can't go joining a side just because it's darker!" The father and mother gryphon opened the door and marched out. "Mom? Dad? Wait!" The observer leaped and bounded toward the front door. Yet, it seemed to be getting farther away with each step. They felt like they were running through a room full of murky water. "When are you coming back?" --- Gylpher's eyelids twitched before slowly opening. At first, all he could identify were some soft, white leaves. He took in a deep breath. When he detected an unusual scent, he blinked a couple times. He jerked his head up, but was stopped by a couple rough arms holding his back. That was when he realized that the "leaves" were actually feathers. He stared at the daring eyes of the other gryphon in the bed. "Why are you in a rush to leave me?" asked Rukh. "So much for not being a succubus." Gylpher wriggled one of his wings free. "You're still innocent." She rolled her eyes. "And I was trying to break the ice." "Your suggestive tone of voice tells me otherwise." He looked deadpan. "I had a dream from your point of view." She pulled him back down a little. "You had one from my perspective, didn't you?" His eyes widened. "How did you know that?" "It was probably a combination of the connection between our souls and sleeping in such a close proximity." He turned his head ever so slightly. "Did either of our dreams actually happen in the past?" "I imagine the details were a bit off, but parts of them looked accurate." She ran her talons over his head. "You get bed-feathers so easily." "H-Hey!" He pushed her front limbs away. "As if you've never been a bit ruffled in the morning!" "If I ever was, I've long forgotten." She rolled over and sighed. "I'm no longer in the mood." "Shh! Don't say stuff like that." He looked around the room wildly. "Somebody listening might get the wrong idea." Her left wing whacked his face. "It was a joke, Tiger." Gylpher slowly pulled himself off the bed to the floor. He looked around the room. Various decorations with little in common were toppled against the walls. Most of it was too broken or dusty to identify. He massaged the back of his neck and breathed out. When he opened the bedroom door, some pony gasped before putting their hoof down. "Quartz?" Gylpher blinked. "Not that I'm displeased to see you, but what are you doing here?" Cold Quartz cleared her throat. "I was just going to see if you wanted to join me at breakfast." "Sure." He nodded, stepped out, and closed the door. "What about Rukh?" Quartz moved to indicate behind. "She'll find her own food." Gylpher waved his talon dismissively. "Maybe she'll even teleport there first just to spite me." "Oh." Quartz scratched her head. --- Guard ponies and other staff were in three lines in the mess hall. Those that had trays of rations ate in relative silence. Once they were done eating, they shoved their trays through a hole in the wall and left. It was about as factory-esque as the smith and practice fields. "Is it against the rules to talk here?" Gylpher looked around. "No." One of the guards ahead of him in line briefly turned his head. "There's just not a whole lot to talk about. We all know we're at war. No need to drill that into our heads." "Oh, I see." Gylpher went back to following the line one step at a time. --- After some slop and awkward stares, Gylpher set aside a few minutes to tackle the practice field. All ten of his practice arrows hit the round target 200 meters away, but none of them were on the bull's-eye. He spent about a minute and a half kicking the martial arts dummy. However, he underestimated how sharp his talons were when he went for a side scratch. The noise of the stuffing leaving the bag led to some pony asking him to leave. A couple guards escorted the gryphon to the dungeon cells. Two more of Sombra's soldiers had been captured. With a glint of Gylpher's power and three simple words, the prisoners were more than happy to remove their green-eyed helmets and take up Celestia's banner. Today, Gylpher's head felt fine. So... maybe six or seven commands in rapid succession is the limit I can manage right now? Rukh said the power would eventually embed itself completely. She said I wouldn't be able to turn it off when it's done. Will she be the only one I can talk with normally without worrying about giving commands? He briefly grimaced. Cheery thought. ---