Door knocks were heard inside a humble house in the country town of Stratusburg. Upon hearing the knocks, a mare carefully made her way to the door, taking more than a few seconds to reach it, and upon doing so, she didn't open it and instead reluctantly asked who was the one knocking on the door.
"It's Dante..." Said a griffon with a low, raspy voice. The griffon had dark blue feathers and fur, save from a few black feathers and spots. He was covered in bruises and had bandages in several parts of his body, more prominently, flat wood boards wrapped on both of his wings and more bandages wrapping his wings to his body, covering his back and belly. No answer came from the other side of the door, so the griffon tried to be more specific. "The griffon… The investigator one..."
"The inves- Oh! The bounty hunter? You don't sound like him." The mare said, still with the doors shut closed.
˜Yes, the very same… I hurt my throat a little, it's a bit..." Dante heard the door creaking open but just a little, no more wide than a mouse to pass.
"Did you find my brother?" The buttermilk yellow colored mare asked with a sad tone. Through the small opening, she could be seen standing still, she had a somewhat crimson red, and rather short mane, she was looking straight ahead, gazing at nowhere with her almost white, light blue eyes.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't bring him back..."
"Why not? Is he okay?"
"He's… safe. But… he might not be back for a while. I'm sorry." The door closed before opening up again, this time completely as the mare slowly poked out her front outside. She wore a sad expression and kept gazing forward with her head still.
"What do you mean? Are you saying he can't leave? Did something happen to him? Did he say something?"
"He… It's hard to explain… He wasn't himself, no one in that town was. Well, except for… I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything."
"Are you… Sitting down on the floor?"
"Yeah, I'm resting a little." Upon hearing this, the mare carefully approached the griffon and moved one of her hooves towards him, until she bumped it on the wood plank of one of his wings, making the unaware griffon, who had his eyes closed at that moment, let out a small gasp of pain and instinctively jerk away from her hoof.
"I'm sorry, I suspected you were hurt but, that's a splint, isn't it? What happened? Are you gonna be okay? Did my brother… did this to you?" The started the sentence in a normal tone but quickly transitioned to a nervous and then worried tone.
"Yeah, uh… Probably, yeah… And it wasn't your brother, it was- You're blind. I just now realized you are blind. I feel stupid."
"Don't worry about that, what happened to you?"
"Long story short… A crazy unicorn blasted me high away into the air and I wasn't awake to avoid hitting the ground."
"Holy Sun! Did you go to the hospital right away?"
"Well, I was told a traveler mare took me there after she found me, so I suppose I went as soon as possible."
"How hurt are you? Shouldn't you still be at the hospital?"
"I'm still pretty beat but the hospital discharged me after my broken arm and leg fully healed. After two months without moving, they were pretty much already healed when I woke up."
"You were in a coma… for two months?"
"Yeah, sorry it took so long to get back to you, I came as quickly as I could. How are you holding up without your brother? I thought you were just an overbearing sister when we first met, I didn't realize you were blind. I didn't take you or the job seriously at first. I'm sorry."
"I- You- Are you… This is too much, I don't even know where to begin. Get out of the floor and come inside, you can rest here for a while and then tell me what happened without beating around the bush."
"I'm fine, if you insist I'll tell you everything, I just need a minute to catch my breath..."
"You can do that inside, on a soft couch, no need to stay on the cold ground." A few moments passed and there was no response. "Huh… Hello?" She could clearly hear the griffon breathing. "Mr. Dante?" It became clear, the griffon had fallen asleep.