As Silverstream flew over her home land, she couldn’t help but think back to earlier when she unintentionally yelled at Sky Beak. She was consistently justifying to herself that it was a spur of the moment issue and that she was in a hurry to help Kyle, but at the same time guilt had been eating away at her.
‘I’ll make things right!’ Silverstream thought to herself as she looked all over for her father.
Several minutes of flying later, Silverstream found who she was looking for and descended towards him. At the moment, Sky Beak was talking with a few fellow hippogriff soldiers until the sight of his daughter broke his attention away from them.
“Silverstream? What are you doing here? I thought you wanted some alone time.” The older hippogriff asked in a relatively surprised tone.
“Dad...could I speak to you alone, please?” Silverstream asked while giving her father a look, making it clear that something was urgent.
“Of course dear!” Sky Beak replied before turning to the soldiers and saying, “I need some time with my daughter. Meet up with the others and I’ll join in with the search team later.”
The hippogriff soldiers saluted Sky Beak before taking off, leaving only the later and Silverstream to converse with each other.
“So go ahead Silverstream. What’s on your mind?” The elder hippogriff asked, giving Silverstream his full attention.
“Well, first I want to apologize for the way I screamed out at you earlier at the house.” Said Silverstream while putting a talon on her forearm.
“There’s no need to be sorry, Silverstream. I understood how upset you w-”
“Please! Let me finish Dad.” Interrupted Silverstream. “It had nothing to do with me being upset about anything. Because the truth is…...”
“Yes?” Sky Beak asked with anticipation.
“...I had already found the creature.”
The older hippogriff’s eyes widened immediately from what he just heard.
“You mean you found where our young friend was hiding?!? Why didn’t you tell me?!?”
“Dad please! Not so loud.” Silverstream said while she darted her eyes all over to make sure no one heard them. “Yes, I found him and didn’t say anything because I was the only one he trusted and didn’t want me to expose his hiding spot to the others looking for him!”
“Well where is he now? Is he alright?” Silverstream’s father asked while the two walked to a more secluded area.
“He should still be where I left him. He was pretty hungry earlier, so I gave him some of our fruit. I hope you’re not upset.” Said Silverstream as she embraced her father.
“Of course I’m not upset.” Sky Beak replied, returning the hug. “But I’m disappointed that you didn’t tell me back at the house.”
“I wanted to, but I had given Kyle my word earlier on that I wouldn’t tell you about him.”
Sky Beak released the hug before saying, “I take it this, ‘Kyle’ is the name of our young friend? But why are you telling me about him now?”
“Because he’s been separated from his father and wants to search for him. He still doesn’t trust any other hippogriff to ask for help, but I was able to convince him that you can aid him.”
Sky Beak was silent for a moment as a lot of thoughts were going through his head.
“Please Dad. Won’t you help him out?” Silverstream asked in an almost saddened tone.
“Of course I will, Sweety.” Sky Beak answered, causing his daughter to spout out a bunch of thank yous. “But where exactly is he?”
“He’s in the Harmonizing Heights. Come on, I’ll show you where he is.”
The daughter hippogriff quickly took to the air as the father did his best to catch up. As the duo were heading to Kyle’s location, Sky Beak couldn’t help but feel remorse for what had befallen him.
‘The poor lad...he must be terrified and probably has nowhere to turn to. I’ll do whatever it takes to help him. That’s a promise!’
---
Kyle looked at his wristwatch once again. It was hard to tell whether the time was accurate to where he was or not as the sun was completely blocked by dark clouds looming in the sky. The boy swore that if he stayed in the bushes any longer, he’d have to start calling it a second home. Of course finding a way home was one of his top priorities next to finding his father.
“I hope you’re okay Dad…” The boy said quietly to himself.
A few more minutes had passed before Kyle could hear thunder rumbling nearby and light raindrops began falling to the ground.
“Oh, great.” The young human responded in annoyance. It was times like these where the boy wished he had his rain jacket. Luckily the bushes provided plenty of cover so he didn’t have to worry about getting soaked too badly.
“If I get back home, I’ll never take raincoats for granted again.” Kyle said as he huddled himself up.
The boy continued to wait patiently for Silverstream to return. As he did, he looked at the fruit bowl and studied the various designs on it. He had to admire the craftsmanship put into it and wondered just what kind of culture the hippogriffs had. While continuing to stare, he found a symbol of what looked to be two jagged lines imprinted on the bottom of the bowl. The human couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about the design of said symbol looked awfully familiar.
Just then, a familiar pair of hippogriffs landed close by with the younger one of them saying, “Kyle? Kyle, where are you?”
“Over here.” The boy called out from his hiding spot.
“Ah, so our young friend is here.” The older hippogriff said as Kyle slowly exited the bushes, with the fruit bowl in his grasp as tiny droplets of rain hit him. He, however, remained cautious toward the older hippogriff’s presence.
“Kyle, this is my dad. Dad, this is Kyle.” Silverstream introduced the two.
“A pleasure to finally meet you Kyle, I’m Sky Beak.” The father hippogriff said with a warm smile, extending a talon forward. Kyle was skeptical about whether to return the gesture or not, but after looking at Silverstream and back at Sky Beak the boy felt he was trustworthy enough and shook the talon.
“...Nice to meet you as well, sir...” Kyle said in a slightly nervous tone.
‘He certainly doesn’t seem to pose any kind of threat. Well-mannered and civil. Perhaps a bit shy, but still polite; maybe he and Silverstream could get along quite well and become good friends.’ The elder hippogriff thought to himself as he broke the talon/handshake and said, “There’s no need to be alarmed. I realize how being in a new environment might feel unsettling. But from what I understand, you and my daughter seem to have already made a good connection with one another. Though if you don’t mind me asking Kyle, where do you come from and what sort of species are you?”
“Well, simply put, I’m not from around here. As I told Silverstream already, I come from a place called Florida, which is part of a country called the United States of America, on a planet called Earth. And I am what’s called a human.” The boy said, starting to open up a little more to Sky Beak.
“Interesting.” The male hippogriff said rubbing one talon under his chin and once more thinking to himself, ‘If what he’s saying is true, then he couldn’t possibly have any connections or affiliations with the remnant army! But then, how did he get here?’
“Oh by the way sir, I think this belongs to you.” Kyle said as he held up the fruit bowl towards Sky Beak. “And thanks again for the food Silverstream.”
Before Silverstream or Sky Beak had the chance to say or do anything, a loud whistle sound echoed throughout the area.
“THERE IT IS!!!” A voice shouted nearby and soon enough a group of hippogriff soldiers flew towards the boy and landed nearby. The human drew a wide eyed look at Silverstream, feeling betrayed.
“You brought him here so they could capture me, didn’t you?!?”
“No, I swear I had nothing to do with this Kyle!” Silverstream said feeling just as surprised to the sudden arrival of the soldiers.
As the soldiers drew closer to Kyle, they drew their weapons out. Needless to say the boy was filled with fear at the sight of the swords and spears pointing at him and clutched onto the fruit bowl tightly for protection.
“Dad, do something please!” The youngest hippogriff cried out while tugging one of her father’s forelimbs.
Feeling his daughter yanking on his leg filled Sky Beak with the right mindset and spoke in an officer like tone.
“It’s alright soldiers, the young lad is with me. I have this situation well under control so stand down.”
The hippogriff soldiers however didn’t react or follow what Sky Beak said and only continued to aim their weapons at Kyle.
“Did you not hear what I said? I told you to stand down!” Silverstream’s father said, beginning to lose his patience. Once again, his order fell on deaf ears as nothing. Not even the rain that was beginning to pour down a little harder deterred the soldiers' concentration on Kyle.
“STAND DOWN SOLDIERS!!! THAT’S AN ORDER!!!”
“On whose authority?” A voice called out from behind. The surprised Sky Beak turned around to see a gruff looking hippogriff with a dark gray body, a wavy black mane and tail with streaks of the same dark gray color as the rest of the body, and armor that clearly showed how battle hardened he was.
“Captain Flight?” Sky Beak questioned, before he quickly cleared his throat and said, “I mean, on my authority as lieutenant, sir!
“As I recall correctly Beak, you are currently on leave and won’t be on active duty for another two weeks. So no, you are not in any position to give out orders to any-griff. And I could have you demoted for attempting to act outside such jurisdiction.” Captain Flight lectured Sky Beak with a glare that would make any officer of lower rank dare not question back. The former then changed his demeanor to a more calm, collective state and said, “But your error is easily forgivable since you found the creature we’ve been searching for. Well done lieutenant. I will take it from here.”
As the captain began making his way towards the human, Sky Beak asked, “Permission to speak freely sir?”
Captain Flight stopped dead in his tracks, but didn’t turn his head to look back. He was silent for a moment before saying in a firm, but fair tone, “As stated, you are not on duty Beak. But whatever reservations you are holding I suggest you disclose them now.”
“Well sir, to be direct, I was the one who organized the search party to look for him in the first place. Also, I do not think it would be wise to have this creature locked away, sir. He is an intelligent being, has shown nothing but civility both to me and my daughter and poses no threat or danger of any kind. It is clear that he is lost, is not from this world and could be the only one of his kind here. But if you’ll allow me, I’ll take him under my custody to learn more about him.”
“Under normal circumstances I’d agree to this.” Captain Flight replied before he turned his head sharply to look Sky Beak dead in the eye. “Except Beak, you seem to forget that I was the one who authorized the search for this creature in the first place. And the only reason why is because I’m not taking any chances of letting any potential followers of the Remnant get away. Thus, the decision falls unto me what will be done with the creature. And the way I see it, it does have the potential of being a threat to us. Which is why the creature will be kept under guard until Her Majesty returns.”
Ordinally in any other situation, Sky Beak would’ve felt intimidated by the captain’s gaze, but something within the lieutenant hippogriff caused him to remain firm as he replied with, “Sir, I must object. How does he have any means of being a threat to us? I mean look at him. He’s terrified, he’s far away from home, and has nothing on him that could be classified as a weapon of any kind.”
As Sky Beak was continuing to speak on his behalf to Captain Flight, Kyle could only stare at Silverstream’s father, whilst trying not to think about the swords and spears surrounding him.
“If he’s not a threat Beak, then why does he carry that item bearing the insignia of the Storm King’s army?”
“Because I gave it to him!” Silverstream answered before her father had the chance to answer.
The two older hippogriffs immediately turned their attention to the youngest with Sky Beak saying, “Silverstream, don’t. Let me take care of this.”
“Hold on.” Captain Flight said holding a talon in the air. “I want to hear what she has to say. What do you mean you gave it to the creature?”
“Well...sir…” Silverstream started, feeling nervous with how her dad’s superior officer was staring down at her. “...you see, he was hungry. So I went home and fetched that bowl with the fruit it had and gave it to him.”
Captain Flight returned his attention to Sky Beak with a cold stare.
“You kept that bowl in your household? Explain yourself, Beak!”
“It was something I acquired when we won against the Storm King’s army in Klugetown, sir. It looked valuable enough in the condition it was in and took it as a spoil from the battle.”
The captain continued to stare at Sky Beak silently for a few moments as the sound of thunder boomed in the distance, before the former said, “You are either very stupid or very foolish to think that keeping something once belonging to the Remnant is a good idea. And you’re lucky General Seaspray speaks very highly of you or I would order my troops to arrest you where you stand for being a potential spy!”
Sky Beak was about to protest more, but from the way the conversation was heading decided not to say anything else from that point as Captain Flight continued to stare at him, before turning back to Kyle.
“Now, as I said, this creature will be quartered under my jurisdiction until Queen Novo returns from her diplomatic trip to decide what will be done later. Wind Soar! Air Burst!”
Kyle recognized the names as a dark blue hippogriff and green hippogriff soldier pointed their spears away from him, saluted their commanding officer and said in unison, “Yes, captain!”
“You two are to escort this creature to the holding cells and keep guard over him!”
“Yes captain!” Air Burst responded stoically.
“With pleasure, sir!” Wind Soar said in a dark tone before looking at Kyle and said, “Let’s go, you. I’ve got a lot of questions to ask you.”
Kyle felt his worst nightmare coming true as the dark blue hippogriff (and frankly the last one he wanted to face) was coming right towards him. Wind Soar was about to draw his spear towards the boy, when he heard the captain’s voice say, “Soldier!”
Wind Soar turned back to Captain Flight and gave him his attention.
“Just remember, that he is not to be harmed in any way. If I find that he has, you’ll receive more than just a demotion. Am I clear, Wind Soar?”
Wind Soar didn’t answer back right away, but after looking at Air Burst for a few brief seconds, he reluctantly looked his captain in the eye and said, “Yes, sir.”
Captain Flight wasn’t convinced of Wind Soar’s response, went up to him and said, “You’re trying my patience. I said, Am. I. Clear?’” Putting a huge emphasis on the last word.
“Yes sir!” The dark blue hippogriff answered back in a more soldierly conduct.
“Good.” The gray hippogriff said, returning back to where he stood earlier. Wind Soar and Air Burst then carried out their orders and started to direct Kyle with their spears. As the rain continued to pour, the boy nimbly moved where he was ushered, but not before he was given a push by the blunt side of Wind Soar’s spear to hurry up.
“One last thing! Except under my orders, the creature is to remain in his cell and no other hippogriff is allowed near him! Understood?” The captain asked the two soldiers.
“Yes sir!” Air Burst and Wind Soar saluting before concentrating back on their task. As they led Kyle to where he would be confined, the boy did his best to cover his head with the fruit bowl.
“I’ll take that!” Said Wind Soar as he snatched the bowl from Kyle’s hands, leaving him at the mercy of the rain. As he passed by the other soldiers, the boy could only look down as he held his arms together tightly from both the cold and pure anxiety he was feeling. Air Burst felt pity for the boy, but had his orders to carry out and continued to lead him to his destination.
After the human and two hippogriff soldiers were out of his sight, Captain Flight turned to the other soldiers and shouted, “Every-griff else, DISMISSED!”
It didn’t take long before Captain Flight, Sky Beak and Silverstream were the only ones left. The captain gave Sky Beak a cold hard look.
“I would’ve thought by now Beak that your previous attempt with trying to reason with an unknown creature would’ve given you better judgement, but I guess that lesson wasn’t hard enough for you. Or did you simply forget?”
Silverstream’s father immediately recalled back to what the captain meant and gave him a stoic stare back. “No...I have not forgotten, sir. Nor will I. But I know this boy is not who you claim he is. There’s no record of any creature like him existing in Equestria and The Storm King himself couldn’t have created him. It would be in the best interest to learn about him and perhaps help him return from where he came from.”
“As before, that will be left up to the queen’s discernment when she returns. Now I must be off. I have a sea search to conduct.”
Captain Flight began walking in the opposite direction of where Sky Beak was facing. He only took a few steps, before saying, “A few more things Beak. Since General Seaspray isn’t around to vouch for you, I suggest you throw out any other items in your household that could hold connections to the Remnant. I’d hate to find his faith in you misplaced. And you’re lucky that I chose to spare the creature instead of ordering my soldiers to finish him. He may very well have valuable knowledge that could benefit us, even if it is not related to The Storm King’s army. But next time, I may not be so merciful to any other creatures I find. Good day...lieutenant.”
Spreading his wings, Captain Flight took off to the rain filled skies until he was nothing more than a speck in the distance. Sky Beak stood quietly as rain pelted against his feathery body.
“Dad?” Silverstream asked, breaking her father out of his dazed state. “What’s going to happen to Kyle?”
“Like Captain Flight said. Queen Novo will decide what is to be done with him when she returns from the Crystal Empire.”
“But we can’t just leave him in jail! He’s afraid and needs help!” The younger hippogriff said, dreading what might happen to the human.
Sky Beak was lost in a state of discouragement. He desperately wanted to help Kyle, but at the same time he couldn’t risk doing it without consequence.
“I know. But this is out of my talons and the captain’s orders are final.”
“But...but…”
“I promise you…” Sky Beak began before placing a talon on her shoulder. “...the queen will hear us out when she returns and I’ll do everything I can to convince her of the boy’s innocence. But for now, I need you to be patient and not do anything rash that could jeopardize Kyle’s safety. Can I count on you to do that?”
“Mmmhmm…” Silverstream nodded, feeling her eyes getting watery.
“That’s my girl. And don’t worry, our young friend will be fine. Now let’s get back home quickly and dry off from this rain.”
As the father and daughter hippogriff made their way back home, Silverstream couldn’t help but think that the worst was yet to come for the human with various situations playing in her mind.
“Stay safe Kyle…” She said, whispering to herself.