//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Feathered Heart 
// by Demon Eyes Laharl 
//------------------------------//

When Gilda reported the slight confrontation between her and that brown-skinned human to Giraldi before she went off-duty last night, she had expected a warning of sort, written or verbal, the next day. What she did not expect was a visit to the Captain’s office, with Fortrakt in tow. Nor did she expect Giraldi and the Ambassador to be present. And even more surprising was that they were about to be given promotions. Judging by Fortrakt’s bewildered expression, he didn’t expect it either.
 
“Ancestor’s Past,” the male griffin invoked, as his eyes roamed on top of the wooden table of Captain Narada. On top were pieces of armor, separated into two groups. On Fortrakt’s side was a new shoulder plate and another pauldron. His eyes were gleaming. Gilda couldn’t blame him. That armor pieces indicated he was jumping two ranks. On the eagless’ side, though, was a pair of new metallic braces, a leather vest… and a simple metal chain. That last bit had her quiet, had her suspicious. A Command Chain was more than a jump in rank; it was a sign that the Kingdom wanted her as an officer, a potential leader.
 
“Stand proud,” Captain Narada, behind her table, declared. Both Gilda and Fortrakt immediately stood in attention as two pairs of griffins, one on each of the Captain’s sides, grabbed the armor pieces with their beaks and presented them to the two Guards. Before Fortrakt could grab his, Gilda spoke.
 
“Is this a joke, Captain?”
 
Fortrakt looked at her partner with a scowl, but Gilda’s eyes were squarely on her superior officer.
 
 Giraldi, who was standing beside Narada, smirked slightly. “Come on, Behertz. Don’t want your uppity team leader calling you ‘sir’?” he asked. He was quickly silenced when Narada gave him a glare.
 
“Is there a problem, Behertz?” the Captain asked, looking back at Gilda.
 
“Captain, I am simply confused why a slight altercation last night would lead to a rather”—Gilda looked at the armor pieces offered to her, then back to her superior—“lucrative promotion. It is completely unheard of, sir.”
 
The Ambassador chuckled, a deep, almost groaning sound that emanated from his lungs and throat. “Might as well tell her, Captain,” he said in a deep baritone.
 
Captain Narada looked at the elder griffin with a frown, but nodded afterwards. “Very well.” She faced Gilda and Fortrakt. “As of this morning, Ambassador Strenus received a formal apology from the human ambassadors for last night’s altercation.”
 
Fortrakt frowned. “But that was no one’s fault, sir.”
 
“Humans are a bit of pushovers,” the Ambassador clarified for the Captain. “A bit like ponies, really. They seem rather invested in making this ‘first contact’ work. Having spent some time with the humans in Equestria, I believe their logic on the move was to nip any potential problems that could pop up after the incident. So, they issued an apology.”
 
Gilda frowned. “That doesn’t explain the promotions, sir.”
 
“We were getting to that, Behertz,” Narada replied. “The apology comes with a good opportunity.”
 
“I talked with my human counterparts,” Ambassador Strenus continued for Narada, and the Captain, in turn, let him speak. “I suggested that to make sure the incident does not repeat itself, we would have the party involved… bond, so to speak.”
 
Gilda’s eyes widened. “Bond?” she asked, feeling the slight dread of what was coming.
 
“We’ve made arrangements with the human ambassadors, and they have agreed. You two are now assigned to guard the humans involved in the incident,” the Ambassador replied.
 
“We are to be cub-sitters then?” Gilda asked, her voice taking a more annoyed tone.
 
The Ambassador chuckled. “That was the proposal we presented to the humans. What better way to promote and foster friendly relationships than have the parties involved during last night’s altercation to come together and settle any misunderstandings?” Gilda scowled and her beak opened to protest when the Ambassador beat her to it, his eyes gleaming. “Of course, that was the story we gave them. Your jobs, Auxiliary Guard Behertz and Auxiliary Guard Gletscher, on the other hand, are to observe them.”
 
Fortrakt blinked. “What do you mean by that, Ambassador?”
 
“We need you two to spy on the humans,” Captain Narada clarified.
 
Gilda and Fortrakt looked at each other for just a second before they resumed looking back ahead.
 
“To spy?” Gilda asked.
 
“Yes,” the Ambassador replied.
 
“No offense, Ambassador,” Gilda began slowly, her tone forcefully even, “but am I to understand that in three years since these humans appeared in Equestria—three years you were there—me and my partner are being assigned on a job that should have been done already?”
 
“Behertz!” Captain Narada began, but the Ambassador’s left wing expanded slightly, signaling Narada to pause. She did.
 
“Young Behertz has a valid question, Captain. And to answer, while this may be hard to believe, those three years were not enough,” the Ambassador stated. He lowered his wing as he looked towards Gilda and Fortrakt. “The first year after contact, Equestria had readily invited the humans in their country, but they delayed. I later found out that they were taking precautions. I was told they were making sure that no diseases would easily spread from their homeworld to ours and vice versa, but, while I never voiced it, I suspected there was more to it. It was only during the year after that they finally start coming in through the portal the Equestrians made.
 
“They came under one banner called United Nations.” The Ambassador walked across their sights. “With the name and the numerous diplomats, one can hazard to guess that these humans each have their own countries, their own form of government, and a wide range of different cultures and passions. That tells me we are dealing with a complex species with outliers that go beyond any of the other species we have fought and befriended. Yet it still told us nothing.
 
“Granted, we have discovered some core similarities they all share, physical weaknesses and capabilities. However, if our history tells us anything, it’s that our enemies and allies constantly evolve to cover whatever weaknesses they have developed. And from what I’ve learned of these humans… they had constant practice on that end. They are not the biggest or strongest beings on their planet. Nor do they have the any sort of natural weapons or any magic. Yet they number in the billions.” He stared at them. “They are not to be trifled with.”
 
Gilda and Fortrakt looked at each other again. Ambassador Strenus was an old-fashioned griffin, whose rise to his position was not through politics, but by his stalwart reputation built by his many years of service being a veteran soldier and leader—and he was giving these humans very high praises. Gilda was not much for reading undertones, but Strenus’ words were clear—the humans were potentially worthy enemies that, if met in the battlefield, should be fought with as much strength as the Gryphons could muster.
 
“What I am asking is for you two to help the Kingdom understand these humans more,” the Ambassador said. “I have high hopes that an understanding will be forged, and your assignment can further that goal. At the same time, you can supply the Kingdom with knowledge to help us just in case everything goes sour. Will you accept?”
 
Gilda and Fortrakt took a moment, drinking in the old grffin’s words and request. With a solid bang, the two Guards saluted, with their claws to their shoulders.
 
Strenus nodded with a smile. “The Kingdom appreciates your service,” he declared. “Reap the rewards of your dedication, soldiers of Gryphon.”
 
Fortrakt moved first, removing his pauldron and replacing it with the metallic shoulder plate. He gave the securing belts a hard tug as his claws moved towards the second pauldron. Gilda removed her leather braces, grabbing the metallic replacements. Once she secured them around her forelegs, her claws shot towards the vest. She snapped her beak when the soldier presenting the vest came forward to help her, making him wisely back away as she finally wore the leather clothing without assistance. However, she would not touch the chain.
 
“Is there something wrong, young Behertz?” Strenus asked. Gilda looked at the Ambassador, his expression more curious than anything.
 
“I do not believe I will need a Command Chain for this assignment, Ambassador.”
 
Giraldi snorted, though only for a second before Narada gave him a look. Strenus just smiled. “Do you honestly feel that way, or are you afraid of shouldering the new responsibilities that come along with this Chain?” When Gilda didn’t answer, he continued, “Your new assignment will have you responsible for the safety of our guests. The Command Chain will assist you in that.”
 
“How so, Ambassador?”
 
Captain Narada was the one that answered. “You may not know it, but humans arriving in force have gotten a lot of soldiers talking. We’ve been having some increasing number of reports from the centurions and team leaders that the younger soldiers have been wanting to test the new species’ mettle.”
 
“Not only the soldiers, Captain,” Giraldi added. “Even among the populace, there’s been talk of wanting to wrestle with the intelligent apes.”
 
Captain Narada’s face scrunched with exasperation, but Strenus just roared with laughter. “Griffins will be griffins,” he said rather jovially. He chuckled a few more times before he shook his head. “Still, let’s not try and ruin this. Captain, if you would, could you announce that fighting the humans, or challenging them, would be grounds to confinement?”
 
Narada nodded. “Yes sir.”
 
Gilda closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath. When she was sure the Ambassador or the Captain would not speak, she asked, “So this Command Chain is just for show, to give me power to stop trouble before it rears its ugly beak?” 
 
“Also as a test,” Narada replied. “Someone had commended you, suggesting that you have potential as a leader.”
 
Gilda blinked. That was… surprising. Her mind solely began recalling names, potential griffins who had enough clout to have their commendation listened to. Captain Scipio sprang up from her mind, though if it was him, he’d have recommended her to the Wind Knights as he knew that was her aim. Other names were less likely. Before she could stop herself, she asked, “Who, sir?”
 
“Your sire.”
 
Gilda’s eyes narrowed. “That must be a mistake.”
 
“I assure you, young Behertz,” the Ambassador said, “Amalrich had sent the commendation. Your sire is strict, but not unfair. He recognizes your hard work, and reciprocated.”
 
Gilda looked towards the Ambassador, the Captain, Gireldi and Fortrakt. It seemed every griffin’s eyes were on her as she slowly, hesitantly took the chain and wore it around her neck. The griffins that presented the armor pieces fell back in line to Narada’s sides. The Captain stood on all fours and walked towards the Guards, nodding at both of them before giving them a salute. Gilda and Fortrakt did the same.
 
“Stand fast. Both of you honor the Kingdom,” Narada declared.
 
“Thank you, sir,” both Gilda and Fortrakt replied in sync.





Giraldi, Gilda, and Fortrakt exited the office, leaving behind the Ambassador, Captain Narada and her guards.  There wasn’t much ceremony afterwards, just Captain Narada wishing them luck before they were dismissed and the trio of griffins found themselves walking the smoothed stone streets towards the edge of the battlement wall. 

Gilda, for some reason, couldn’t feel anything but the cold steel of her chain around her neck. It felt unnaturally heavy, as if it was trying to drag her to the ground. Every ten steps or so, she’d look down at her neck just to see the chains were still there, half-hoping that maybe this was all just a dream.
 
“No matter how many times you look, the Chains are there, sir,” Giraldi declared without looking at Gilda or even pausing on his steps.
 
“Don’t call me that,” Gilda replied, doing the same.
 
“Can’t do, sir. You’re an officer now, and I’m just a lowly team leader,” Giraldi replied, cackle unmistakable in his voice. Gilda grumbled but didn’t look back, trying to avoid griffins walking in the opposite direction.
 
“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you, Giraldi?” Fortrakt ventured.
 
“What, having a younger upstart be my superior?” Giraldi chuckled. “Oh, Ancestors yes. Instead of having one more beak depending on me for direction, I get to lean on them instead. Such is a life of a simple soldier.”
 
Gilda dashed three steps before she turned, her eyes narrowing towards the older griffin. The two tiercel stopped on their tracks. “Are you really okay with this?” she asked, grabbing the chain with her claw. “You’ve been in the service longer than I was. If anyone deserves an opportunity, it would be you, Giraldi!”
 
 “Well, I don’t have a distinguished sire like you, Behertz,” Giraldi replied with a chuckle, only to wisely stop when the eagless’ eyes narrowed and her wings slowly spread open. He quickly bared his neck. “Sorry, sir. Just trying to make light of the situation.”
 
Gilda deflated. He was one of the team leaders she had known and respected. While she may have joked on occasion that his mild demeanor and the lack of flaunting of his position made him only slightly superior to her, it was just all in good fun. And now, he was deferring to her. It finally clinched it; the whole situation was real and there was no escaping from it. “Don’t call me that,” she muttered, defeated.
 
For a moment, there was silence. Fortrakt and Giraldi looked at each other, while Gilda stood there, looking lost. Fortrakt looked a little unsure before he mock-coughed, gaining attention from his two superiors. “By the way, Giraldi, where are we supposed to meet the humans?”
 
The older griffin looked at Fortrakt before nodding. They both walked to catch up with Gilda. “They are staying at the Winged Hall Inn. According to Ambassador Strenus, we’re supposed to meet them there in five minutes. The humans leased the place and posted their soldiers in front, so try not to start any fights.”
 
“No promises,” Fortrakt muttered. “If my partner and superior officer charges in, it is my duty as a lowly soldier to follow.”
 
Gilda raised her head, staring at Fortrakt. He kept his face still, tone utterly devoid of any emotion as they caught up with her. However, as she turned to continue walking, she could distinctly hear him chuckle softly with Giraldi. They weren’t going to stop making fun of the situation and they weren’t going to stop jabbing her with comments. Strangely enough, she didn’t feel mad at them—the opposite, actually. Maybe it was the fact that they were taking all this to stride or that they were still comfortable enough around her to make jokes—whatever it was, it somehow lessened the weight the chains seemed to have.
 
Crows, Gilda thought, what would the Ancestors say that I needed those two to cheer me up after a promotion?

As they approached the rampart Gilda gave the signal towards the Guards posted on the battlement. They signaled back a reply. However, as Gilda’s group approached, they seemed to do a double-take, and hastily bared their necks when they saw her. The eagless sighed. It would be awhile before she would get used to soldiers greeting her in deference. Her wings spread as she took a running leap through the crenel.
 
Narada’s office was on the sixth level, so naturally the party would be greeted by at least one aerial patrol.  She gave one a signal, and the patrolling Guards moved easily out of the way as they made it back all the way towards the third level without further incident. The three griffins aimed for a landing platform there and once their claws and paws were safely on the ground, Gilda studied their surroundings before she flexed her wings, folding them on her sides.
 
There were a lot of griffins and ponies on the third level—too many, actually. Gilda guessed that their presence was most likely because of the visitors staying here. The Kingdom rarely got visits from foreigners, with Equestria being the only one to visit every year celebrating The Armistice (with either a dignitary, be it a Duchess or Duke, or a member of the Royal Family, either the three Alicorn Princesses or the two unicorn Princes). The Zebra Nations were far too busy to deal amongst themselves and the griffins never really got along with the Diamond Dogs, a relationship that deteriorated further with the latter’s raids in Equestria. Add the fact that these visitors were also a newly discovered species, it was understandable why the third level looked as busy as it did.
 
Past a few more shops, Gilda, Giraldi and Fortrakt spotted the Winged Hall Inn. Its design was definitely griffin in aesthetic, using smoothed white stone walls and hard edges. All in all, it looked more like a small castle than an inn. As they approached, Gilda could see a few human soldiers posted in the front gate, their hands holding on those black metal tubes. They also seemed to have borrowed some wooden barriers that the Peacemakers used to cordon off an area, and made them into a temporary barricade that discouraged anyone from going in. 
 
As they approached, one of the human soldiers raised a hand. Gilda wondered if it was a signal of some kind. Then, she realized that she had no idea what their signals meant. A part of her mind wondered what would happen if her ignorance caused a misunderstanding that sparked some sort of conflict. Maybe as a regular Guard, the thought wouldn’t cross her mind so easily, but now… Gilda looked down at the Command Chain again. She had responsibilities now. Her actions would now be scrutinized. Once again, she felt the weight of the chain dragging her down.
 
As it turned out, she didn’t have to worry too long. The soldier explained his intent loud and clear. “Halt! Identify yourself!” he declared in Equestrian.
 
Giraldi took a step forward. He gave Gilda a look. “Let me take care of this,” he whispered. The eagless nodded. The older griffin turned back to face the human and replied in Equestrian, though with a much thicker accent. “Giraldi, Team Leader of Auxiliary Guards under Centurion Batz. I am escorting Sub-Tribune Behertz and Guard Gletscher, as per arrangements made by Ambassador Strenus and Ambassador Goldberg.”
 
Gilda tried to get to a relaxed stance, but when she heard the conversation between the two human soldiers behind the one Giraldi was talking to, she stiffened.
 
“Which one took down Marco?”
 
“He said the griffin was a female. You want to go check?”
 
“What? Shit, no way, dog. Don’t want to get the same treatment Flip-Boy got.”
 
The very mention of his name got Gilda to close her eyes as she reminisced about last night. She began to feel lightheaded and fire spread out from her stomach. The memory of his touch spilled forth embarrassment and anger she had yet to settle, even with a fitful night of sleep. Her mind began to wander, her imagination feeding her the brown human’s image pinned down on the ground, his eyes wide in fear.
 
“Gilda,” Fortrakt called, derailing Gilda’s train of thought. Her eyes snapped open and looked at her partner, now her subordinate.
 
“What?” Gilda asked.
 
“Your wings are stretching,” Fortrakt replied in a whisper. “Am I going to have to tackle you again?”
 
Gilda took a deep breath. She reminded herself that she was a soldier, now an officer of the Kingdom—she had to control herself. Giving out a sharp exhale, she shook her head. “I’m fine,” she replied.
 
Fortrakt looked like he was about to say more but Giraldi and the human soldier stopped conversing. The older griffin looked at Gilda, and she was mentally chagrined when he saluted to her. “Sir, you are cleared to go in. This is Sergeant Reyes,” Giraldi introduced, his Equestrian almost faltering with the word sergeant. “He’ll lead you to Lieutenant Nantz”—the older griffin had difficulty again in pronouncing lieutenant this time—“who will introduce you to your new charges.”
 
Gilda hesitated before she saluted back. “Thanks, Giraldi,” was all she said.
 
The older griffin nodded. As he passed, he whispered, “Good luck, sir,” and went on his way.
 
The soldier that greeted them took a step forward. “Sub-Tribune Behertz?” he asked, his eyes looking towards Gilda.
 
“Yes,” the eagless replied. Her eyes did a quick study of the human.
 
He looked a bit different from the rest of the soldiers; his brown-patterned uniform was slightly modified with cloth wrapped around his neck, yet somehow didn’t seem out of place. With further inspection, Gilda was finally able to actually look at the human’s face from this close without emotion running through her. For some reason, she found him neither wholly alien nor ugly. His face was symmetrical, facial structure quite similar not to only ponies but also griffins. The top of his head was covered with some kind of hat made of fabric (same color as his uniform) with a short brim. His cheeks were sharp, nose melding well in the center. He gave her a smile, his lips reminiscent of a pony’s (though smaller) while his teeth had a more predatory feature to them. His eyes, while not large, were fully ranged in emotion and alive. 

 Then there was his scent—somewhat sweet and not wholly unpleasant, which struck her as really odd. Even when ponies used griffin soaps, they still smelled like ponies. The humans just smelled… good.
 
“Sergeant Reyes, Third Marine Division,” the human introduced himself, ignorant of the thoughts running through her head. “Come this way, please.”
 
The collection of soldiers in the entrance gave way as Reyes led them in. A lot of them greeted the sergeant by his name despite his title (which sounded like a position of command). Granted, she had no idea how high the rank of sergeant was, so she kept quiet as she and Fortrakt were led towards the entrance of the Inn.
 
The first thing Gilda noticed was that the Winged Hall’s interior was very well-lit, with firegems burning brighter than usual. It was also a very sharp contrast compared to the outer Gryphon-based design. The inside was posh, painted in softer colors with a hint of silver. There were some small picture frames or paintings hanging around, while the windows were draped with curtains. Wooden furniture spread around, long benches and tables. Some of those tables had vases, though instead of flowers the ponies would use, they contained more practical polished and colored sticks. Other tables had simple griffin art like small stone sculptures.  The floor was covered with a very Zebra-styled carpet—a highly stylized flower with multi-colored flying petals in a red backdrop.
 
Sergeant Reyes walked the two griffins through the halls. Fortrakt looked absolutely amazed by the design while Gilda was less impressed; some of the hotels she had visited in Equestria were far more sophisticated. She was more interested in the human soldiers that passed, noticing quite a few of them no longer armed with the long metal tubes. They did wear elaborate belts, though, which held some sort of tool at their hips.
 
As they moved towards the stairs, Gilda found the silence a bit unbecoming. Thinking of taking a stab at fostering friendly relations, she said, “You have a lot of soldiers present here.”
 
Reyes turned his head for only for a moment, expression odd, before he continued looking forward, not breaking a stride. “We’re not soldiers,” he replied. “We’re Marines.”
 
Fortrakt blinked. “Wait, you’re not soldiers?”
 
“Nope. A proud Marine of the Corps,” Reyes answered, with his tone a mix of amusement and pride. The two griffins looked at each other, confusion evident in their faces, but remained silent as they passed through another corridor. A few steps later, Reyes stopped by a large door, opened it, and led them inside. 

Judging by the size, Gilda thought it was a conference area. She spotted the long rectangular table, usually located in the center, pushed at one side of the room. The room itself was divided into two halves, each with neat rows of chairs with a narrow walking space in the center. At the far end of the room, Gilda spotted three men, two in uniforms and the other in a formal suit, similar to what Ambassador Sternus would wear.
 
Reyes led them through the center. The three walked in a line file until they passed through the walkway. Gilda and Fortrakt positioned themselves, standing formally in front of the three humans while Reyes saluted. It was quite different from how the Gryphons did it, but the motions were similar. A quick snap of his arm, he raised his fingers to touch brim of his hat. It was actually quite reminiscent of a pony salute. Afterwards, the sergeant  introduced them. “Gentlemen, I have Sub-Tribune Behertz and Auxiliary Guard Gletscher.”  
 
The man in the suit went forward first, his arm extending. “Very glad to meet you both. I am Ambassador Goldberg.” Gilda extended her foreleg as well, grasping the human’s hand with her claw as he gave it a bit of a shake. He went towards Fortrakt next and both greeted each other the same way. “I am quite happy that both our races are taking necessary steps to make sure any misunderstandings will be stamped out as we build for a relationship that is mutually beneficial to all of us.”
 
Gilda blinked, half-wondering if all the humans were as wordy as their ambassador. Taking a neutral approach, she gave him a nod. “Of course,” was all she said.
 
The ambassador nodded happily, his smile somewhat infectious for Fortrakt who was sporting a similar grin (though not as wide, given the beaks). The human ambassador took a step back as the two marines stepped forward as well.
 
“Lieutenant Nantz,” one of the humans, male, with a hard-faced expression, cropped blonde hair, and sharp blue eyes, introduced himself as he extended his arm. Gilda shook it. He motioned the marine beside him. “And this is my second in command: Staff Sergeant Stafford.”
 
Stafford, another male, had a much softer face, his brown eyes smiling as his lips curved upwards. “Heyo,” he greeted. While he extended his arm, his fist was closed, surprising both griffins. They bumped fists together.
 
“Lieutenant Nantz is the commanding officer overseeing guard duties here in the Winged Hall,” Goldberg began. “He’ll get you introduced to  Mister McClain, Miss Fields, and Mister Lakan. You both will be in good han—claws,” he corrected himself at the last second, using the Gryphon term. “I would rather take you myself, but I seem to be quite busy nowadays. However, I do hope you enjoy your stay.”
 
Gilda didn’t mind. Diplomats, whether griffins or not, always seemed so busy. Instead of replying, she gave Goldberg a small nod. The ambassador gave a smile and left, leaving the two griffins with the three marines in the room.
 
Moments passed and Gilda half-wondered why they were still hadn’t moved. Assessing the three marines, she noticed Nantz was contemplating something. After a few seconds, he looked towards the griffins and asked, “Which one of you was directly involved in the altercation last night?”
 
Gilda blinked. “That would be me,” she replied. Nantz looked at her and she felt the force behind his stare. She stood her ground. “Is there a problem?”
 
“Yes. I’ll be frank, sub-tribune; I’m not comfortable with your presence here.” Gilda’s beak opened but before she could say anything, Nantz continued. “While Ambassador Goldberg maintains that this ‘improves relations’, I am uncomfortable in transferring three civilians from my care to yours. And knowing that a scuffle occurred between you and one of those said civilians last night concerns me even more. Now, I’ve heard good things from the Equestrian side; they say that Gryphon Soldiers are as professional as they. I’ve also recently heard that Captain Narada will be announcing that any aggressive griffin fighting any human will be punished. However, actions are considerably louder than words. If there is to be a repeat performance of last night, I will personally deal with the aggressor. Do we have an understanding?”
 
Gilda looked at the human for a moment. His speech was consistently neutral in tone but there was an undercurrent of a threat and definite harshness in his words. A part of her wanted to challenge him, establish who would be dominant. Another part toyed with answering with an aggressive reply but couldn’t find the necessary expression. She was spared a decision when Stafford spoke up next.
 
“What Lieutenant Nantz is trying to say is that we all want to clear out any misunderstanding and make sure there won’t be another incident like last night. We’ll extend a measure of trust, hoping whatever happened between you and Lakan will be out of both your systems.” He gave an easy smile. “We’re going to be fair though. If Lakan’s going out of his way to stir up trouble, please just report it to us, and not… well, take matters into your own hands.”
 
Gilda nodded, noticing that Stafford’s wording and tone had softened Lieutenant Nantz’s words somewhat, which made her suspect why two humans were together. She had seen some officers and centurions do the same when trying to motivate or order the soldiers under their command; one would take a more professional, harsher stance, while the other would be more understanding.
 
“Yes,” the eagless replied to Nantz, her head nodding. “We understand each other.”
 
“Good,” Nantz declared. His face softened somewhat. “I’m surprised Lakan had an altercation with a junior officer.”
 
“He does seem to have a knack of getting into trouble,” Reyes replied with wry tone. “And he was not drunk this time.”
 
Stafford chuckled while the two griffins looked at each other, somehow feeling they had just stumbled into a somewhat private conversation. The feeling didn’t last long as Nantz gave Reyes a nod. “Alright. Reyes, Escort Sub-Tribune Behertz and Auxiliary Guard… Gletscher, was it?” he asked, his Aeric accent somewhat thick. Fortrakt nodded. “Alright,” Nantz continued, and then looked at Reyes, “escort both of them to Mister McClain and company.”
 
“Roger that, sir,” Reyes replied, saluting. He turned and faced the griffins. “Come on, let’s get you started.”
 
As they passed through the narrow walkway but before they made their way out the door, Gilda took one last look at Nantz and Stafford, both watching them steadily as they left. They moved through the corridors of Winged Hall, completely silent until Reyes led them to the stairs, where he spoke up again.
 
“The LT doesn’t mince words and will be quite frank when talking to anyone.”

“LT?” Gilda asked. 

“Lieutenant,” Reyes explained. 
 
“Oh. Well, to be honest, I can actually appreciate that,” Gilda replied truthfully as they reached the top of the stairs that led to another hallway.
 
“However”—Reyes stopped and turned around, facing Gilda—“he was wrong about one thing. If you hurt Marco in any way, you’d be dealing with me first.”
 
Gilda’s eyes narrowed. “The way you word it seems a bit more personal,” she ventured.
 
“He’s a friend,” Reyes replied easily.
 
Gilda looked at the marine for a moment and gave a quick nod. Seemingly satisfied, Reyes continued their travel, passing through a number of doors before they stopped near the far end of the western corridor. The marine was about to knock on the door when his eye moved towards a corner. A contemplative expression crossed his face for only a second before he motioned Gilda to approach. The eagless, curious, followed.
 
Reyes knocked on the door. Behind it, Gilda heard the familiar voice reply, “Who is it?”
 
“Marco, dude, it’s me,” Reyes replied, a mischievous smile gracing his face. “Nantz talked to Goldberg. You’re clear man. No griffin bodyguards for you.”
 
One of Gilda's eyes widened raised an eyebrow. Reyes was purposely lying? Why?

“No shit?” Marco replied. “Holy crap. Chris, dude, I just dodged a bullet.”
 
“Great, Marco,” a masculine voice came from farther in the room, almost inaudible and flat in tone.
 
“Hot damn,” Marco muttered. “Hey, Reyes, want to come in? Or are you on duty?”
 
“I got time to spare,” Reyes declared, and then whispered to Gilda, “Hey, Behertz, stay in front of door and put your game face on.” The marine winked, smile now a full blown smirk. Gilda had stayed with Rainbow Dash long enough to spot a prank in the making and she too smiled. Reyes’ voice went back to normal volume as he asked Marco, “Why? What do you have in mind?”
 
“Well, I loaded up The Warrior to my laptop.”
 
Gilda heard the tell-tale signs of the door being unlocked. Reyes was already chuckling. Fortrakt seemed to have caught on what was going on because he whispered, “You humans have an odd definition of friendship.” 

When the door opened, Gilda saw him again, this time in more detail. Ebony black hair cut short, soft-looking cheeks and darkened lips, almost blending with his skin color. His brown eyes were smiling for a moment, until he saw her. His expression went slack for a second before they widened dramatically with… fear. Yes, the expression was the same as with ponies and griffins. The eagless felt some satisfaction knowing that he recognized her and in turn, feared her.
 
“Putang ina,” Marco muttered. His eyes wandered towards Gilda’s left. He saw Reyes, smirking. “Robbie, you stupid asshole.”

Robbie? Gilda thought, looking at Reyes.  
 
“You should have seen your face!” Reyes declared with a laugh. “Your eyes bulged out of their sockets.”
 
Chris came into view, expression curious. “What the hell is going on?” Marco replied by side-stepping and showing Chris who was at the door. The red-haired male blinked, looked towards Gilda, Fortrakt, Reyes, then at Marco. He chuckled. “Oh he got you, didn’t he?” he asked.
 
“My only friend, stabbing me in the back,” Marco muttered in a tone Gilda found reminiscent of the Senators and some Equestrian dukes. “Et tu, Reyes?”
 
“Great, what am I, then, chopped liver?” Chris replied with a shake of his head.
 
“What’s with all the commotion?” a feminine voice called out and Tara appeared as well. When she saw Gilda at the doorway, she turned her head slightly, a smile and understanding gracing in her expression.
 
Gilda watched with some fascination as Chris replied Tara’s question without pause. “Marco’s just telling me that Reyes is his only friend.”
 
Marco, for a moment, forgot Gilda’s presence, turned and replied with a wry smile, “Come on, Chris. Everyone knows you’re not really my friend but my sugar daddy. I only stick around you because you’re rich.”
 
“Yeah right, Marco,” Tara said with a chuckle. “The way you keep staring at me, everyone knows you’re as straight as an arrow.”
 
“Arrows tend to bend once shot,” Marco countered.
 
“Yet only a woman can put the tension on your drawstring,” Chris declared.
 
“You boys always make everything sound so dirty,” Tara said, making Chris and Marco look at her with identically incredulous expressions.
 
“Look who’s talking,” Marco accused. “Chris and I weren’t the ones who made those really colorful comment in regards to the Nickelodeon Goo.” 
 
Fortrakt looked absolutely giddy seeing them interact, a contrast to Gilda’s expression, which was saying something considering she had more experience with dealing with races other than griffins. She looked at Reyes as the three humans continued their conversation and the marine just gave her a wide smile. 

“You’ll get used to it. Chris, Marco, and Tara have been close since their University days,” he said.
 
Gilda didn’t know what a University was, but she filed that information away for later use. And as the three humans who were now under her care became increasingly animated, she knew she had to get their attention again. Coughing loudly, as if to clear her throat, she got their attention. Chris and Tara immediately stopped, looking sheepish, while Marco cringed.
 
“Sorry about that,” Chris declared. “Come on in.”
 
“Dude, I still have time to shut the door and we can all make a run for it out the window,” Marco muttered.
 
“Marco.”
 
“Fine, fine.” With some reluctance, Marco motioned Gilda, Fortrakt and Reyes inside.
 
Gilda took one last look at the brown-skinned human before she entered the room, followed by still-chuckling Reyes (who slapped his arm around the still-annoyed Marco), and Fortrakt. The first thing the eagless noticed was the room setup. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was one of the more expensive suites. It had a small corridor as a receiving area which led towards towards a much larger quarters that served as a living and dining room. The interior designs were definitely something an Equestrian would think of, rich of wood and color, but there was something more.
 
Outside the balcony, Gilda could spot a few glints of sunlight reflected by what she could describe as large reflective mirror boxes with some sort of cords that ran inside the living room area. It was connected to a small rectangular grey box that had a small green light on top. There were more cords of different colors coming out of the box as well, one of which led towards a small light blue rectangle that was sitting on a couch, another connected to a grey box with some sort of lens, and lastly another to a tall black metal machine. The last machine had the unmistakable bittersweet smell of coffee emanating from it.
 
“We were in the middle of breakfast,” Tara declared, taking Gilda’s attention away from these human machines. She saw the humans were moving towards the round dining table. “Want to join us?”
 
Gilda and Fortrakt looked at each other, the younger griffin smiling slightly. One of Gilda’s eyes widened a bit. Fortrakt just didn’t look away. The eagless sighed and nodded.
 
“Sure,” Fortrakt declared as both griffins moved in to join the humans. Reyes followed but did not take a place at the table, opting to stand watching as Gilda shoved Fortrakt to sit beside Marco as she settled beside Tara who was all smiles. Fortrakt didn’t mind, giving the brown-skinned human a small grin as a greeting, which Marco returned with a toothy nod. The tiercel rubbed his claws together as they all sat down on the small pillow seats, saying, “I haven’t had my seconds yet.”
 
“Well, I hope you like cooked food well enough,” Marco said. He gave Fortrakt a somewhat crooked smile. “Um, I didn’t quite get your names.”
 
“Fortrakt,” the griffin replied, extending his foreleg with claw closed. Marco laughed heartily as they both bumped fists. “Fortrakt Gletscher. Call me Fortrakt. I prefer my meats fresh, but I don’t mind cooked ones.”
 
“Oh, okay, that’s cool. I’m Marco Lakan. Call me Marco.”
 
Fortrakt extended the same greeting towards Chris and Tara, who both followed suit, as they introduced themselves.
 
“Tara Fields. You can call me Tara.”
 
“Chris McClain, though just Chris, please.”
 
Marco hesitated for a moment before he extended his own arm towards the silent Gilda. Her eyes narrowed at his fist for a moment before she looked up. “Sub-Tribune Behertz,” she declared unemotionally. She then gave an acknowledging nod towards Chris and Tara. “I know both your names.” She looked back at Marco. “And of course, yours as well.”
 
The human immediately withdrew his hand and placed it behind his head. “Okay, I know who’s going to be the hard-ass,” Marco muttered. “Fun, fun, fun.”
 
Gilda blinked. The wording, the expression, it was something she would think or say. It was so utterly… normal, coming from an arguably very odd creature. Before she could think more about it, Tara declared, “Come on. Let’s eat before Marco starts another scuffle.”
 
“Yeah, yeah, blame it on the Filipino,” Marco mumbled. “Blame it on the minority. It’s entirely my fault.”
 
 Fortrakt swallowed his food with an audible gulp before he shook his head. “Wait, hold on. It was no one’s fault. Yesterday, I mean,” he declared. He earned a few stares. Fortrakt coughed. He looked at Tara. “If a male is being perverted, what parts of body would he grab?”
 
Gilda rolled her eyes. She knew what Fortrakt was trying to do, but otherwise stayed silent. She studied Tara for as the human answered.
 
“Um, boobs and ass,” Tara replied. When she got a confused look from both griffins, she clarified, “Chest area and the buttoc—rear area.”
 
Fortrakt smiled. “How about shoulders? Is touching the shoulders bad?”
 
“Normally, no,” Tara answered. “I mean, grabbing is usually bad, but shoulders are pretty much an okay area to hold.”
 
“See? Misunderstanding,” Fortrakt declared, pointedly looking at Gilda, who stared back at him with narrowed eyes. He ignored that and looked towards the three confused humans. “Shoulders are… um, not good areas for griffins. Yesterday was no one’s fault. So you shouldn’t blame Marco for last night.”
 
Marco looked at Fortrakt with some sort of admiration. “We were actually half-joking. They don’t actually blame me or anything.”
 
Fortrakt blushed. “Oh.”
 
“But whatever,” Marco said. He looked at Chris, Tara and Gilda. “You see this? I think I found my new best friend.” He extended his arm, palm open. Fortrakt extended his foreleg. Both shook hand and claw, the human smiling at him. “You are an awesome griffin.”
 
“Thanks,” Fortrakt replied, giving a smile of his own. 

“Well, glad you kids are doing fine,” Reyes spoke up, earning the attention of everyone around the table. “I gotta go back to my duties though, so play nice alright?”
 
“Hey, Robbie, hold on,” Marco called, his hand going over his hips. He grabbed something, what Fortrakt and Gilda could only describe as a small rectangle and threw it towards the marine. Reyes caught it easily and his eyes widened as he looked at it. Marco gave him a nod. “More of the same, though I added some extra stuff.”
 
Reyes’ fingers moved in a very, for the griffins at least, complicated and agile manner. “You taking advantage of my corporals again? Which one did you exploit into sucking your dick this time, Flip Boy?”
 
“Just because I’m a ‘poor’ Asian means I have to exploit your desperate corporals? Come on, Robbie,” Marco declared with a laugh. “You know I’m doing this as a service for all the brave young men and women, though only mostly men, of the Corps. Marines so far away from home the only entertainment they have is whatever Hustler and Jugs magazine they brought with them? Nevermind the fact that none of you will ever receive”—and he enclosed his fingers, jerking his hand up and down—“dirty-ass jack-off letters from Susie Rottencrotch in the near future.”
 
Chris’ face scrunched in utter confusion and exasperation. “Susie Who!?”
 
Reyes laughed, hard, at Chris’ question. He gave Marco a small smile. “If I could adopt you as a marine brother, I would. Except you’d be some stupid-ass POG who’d bring his sissy gear everywhere, so maybe it’s a good thing I can’t.”

“POG? Sissy gear?” This time, it was Tara’s turn to ask. 
 
“And pray tell who’s the sergeant that brought his Gameboy?” Marco countered, ignoring Tara’s question.
 
“A Sony-droid like you isn’t going to hold that against me,” Reyes replied. He looked at the rectangular piece once more. “You made sure that none of the guys here will have moto-tats or anything, right?”
 
“Positive,” Marco answered.
 
“Alright.” Reyes looked at everyone at the table again. “See you guys. Behave.” He left.
 
Gilda felt a headache coming. She finally had an inclination why the Ambassador seemed to have a hard time getting a read on these humans. She looked at Chris’ and Tara’s faces as they stared questioningly at Marco, who seemingly found the amusement of ignoring them. If they were just as confused as she was on the earlier exchange, how would she do any better?
 
Crows, Gilda thought. The overwhelming feeling was slowly crushing her. Everything was coming at her too fast. A Command Chain, spying on the humans, her lingering anger at Marco… how was she going to proceed with this assignment?
 
“What was that you gave Sergeant Reyes?” Fortrakt asked. 

“Porn,” Tara muttered. 
 
Before Gilda could ask what that was, Marco answered, “Hush, you dirty-minded minx,” sticking his tongue out at her. He looked at Fortrakt and said, “That, my cool, new griffin friend, is a USB Drive. It’s a device that stores information like pictures, books, videos and music.” 
 
Gilda perked up. That small device could store all of that? Her mind flashed through the images of a large paper developed from cameras, a book, a film reel and a phonograph and she couldn’t see how that would fit inside something so tiny. Fortrakt didn’t seem to believe it either because he asked, “Really? Something that small?”
 
“Yeah,” Marco replied. “Technically that thing just stores the information… but you know what? We were about to watch a movie, I can show you how it works. Maybe you’ll understand better.”
 
“I’d like that,” Fortrakt grinned.





Gilda yawned, scratching her bare shoulder as she finally packed her rucksack with everything she had from this room. Her headache was still persisting and the new developments were not helping. 

When they reported back to Narada, she advised Gilda and Fortrakt that they were now moving in the Winged Hall Inn. Ambassador Strenus had advised her that the human ambassador found some free rooms where the two griffins could stay. The Captain was also busy, swamped with written complaints in regards to her announcement earlier that day so she also told Gilda that whatever report the sub-tribune had, she could put it in writing and submit it tomorrow. 

The parchment, laid in front of Gilda, was still blank. Strangely, it was not because she was lacking on any material to write about (which she could make do). Normally, the initial report would have been minimal. It was just the first day, nothing more than an introduction, meeting and greeting. Yet she had learned a lot of things just by spending one day with the three humans. It all began with that video Marco had prepared that morning. 

The Warrior, a human film that centered around the lives of two human brothers. It was a bit of an eye opener in so many levels, not just because of the film, but how they were able to watch it. 

The box with lens was a more advanced projector, only instead of using film, it was connected to that light-blue rectangular human-machine. Marco had tinkered with it a bit, unfolding it while Fortrakt was looking from behind him. The tiercel had an awestruck expression (which if memory served Gilda correctly, never left Fortrakt’s face for the whole day). When asked later, her partner could only describe the machine as some sort of ‘magical window’. Marco also connected black boxes to it, which he explained were speakers, something Gilda had not expected to see in such small sizes. 
 
Curtains were drawn before the movie played. Gilda could only describe it as… clear. Very clear.Usually, she’d have expected some sort of fuzziness around the sides of the film, maybe some black spots. And considering how small the speakers were, she was again surprised on how smooth and clear the sound was. 

The film itself showed a lot of the human world called ‘Earth’. It also explored a lot of instances of human social interactions while it also dived a bit of their culture. Gilda could still barely believe what she saw—cities of towering buildings made of rocks, glass and lights. They had ‘cars’, which were chariots with some sort of self-propelling machine and if to be believed, ‘airplanes’ that could travel faster than griffin aircoaches and transport large groups of humans in the air.  It also showed that human culture was vaguely a strange mix of social ponies and warriors like the griffins.

Most of the humans in the film spoke in Equestrian, which humans actually called it ‘English’. Gilda found it particularly odd that both languages were arguably identical, with the exception of a few expressions. Fortrakt had asked a few questions, which Marco answered readily, but most of the time they all stayed silent as they watched the story unfold gearing towards very physical and exciting duels as the two human brothers collided and the story culminated into such an emotional end.
 
 There was also a few particular scenes that gave her some sort of insight on how they waged war. One of the brothers was a marine and the movie did show a glimpse of fire and a metallic vehicle that looked like a larger version of a pony tank. There was not much, but In the end she concluded that Fortrakt seemed to be correct on his assessment: humans did seem to specialize on close quarters combat. 

Gilda’s mind went back to the final combat of the two brothers. She cringed when she remembered Marco’s words in regards to one particular scene where one of the brothers received a dislocated shoulder. Most griffins wouldn’t be able to stand up with that, let alone continue fighting, yet the human showed they could. If she had to guess, it was most likely due to the human’s bipedal nature and the way they expertly coordinated their bodies in combat.

They moved with agility I’ve rarely seen, Gilda thought. Reyes’ finger coordination, the way they twist their bodies in subtle notions...

Gilda swiped the air with her right claw, trying to remember how the humans used their arms to push their enclosed fists forward against their enemies. The words of Ambassador Strenus came back to her. 

‘They are not the biggest or strongest beings on their planet. Nor do they have the any sort of natural weapons or any magic. Yet they number in the billions.’

Constant practise. Their bodies are very flexible. They can wrap their limbs around you while they also have hard areas like their fists, elbows and knees to use as weapons, Gilda thought, tapping her feathered neck. She concluded that maybe the humans weren’t as weak as they looked. 

Marco had informed them that he had hundreds of more movies and even invited Fortrakt  (and by extension, Gilda) to watch with them. Her mind went back towards the film. If just one of them had a veritable fount of information in regards to human society, what more insight would she gain by viewing more? 

While Gilda was thankful of her luck, she had almost refused. There was some part of her that didn’t want to accept Marco’s invitation. Her blood still pumped hard when she pictured the brown-skinned human. It was so strange. She had never had someone get under her skin so deeply or quickly. Not even the crow-begotten pink pony mare, the one Gilda had held responsible for breaking up her friendship with Dash all those years ago, had her raising her hackles this much. However, a more rational part of her remembered that throwing out such an opportunity was not only stupid but it was also treasonous. 
 
Looking at her faceless parchment, she began to gather her thoughts. There were so many things to write about. And there were more days to come. Deciding  the night wasn’t getting any younger, Gilda closed her eyes for a moment before her claw grabbed a quill and began to write.





The next day, Fortrakt and Gilda were guided to their new rooms, unconnected but found in the same area and level. They were modest dwellings that were definitely more comfortable than her bare quarters. Gilda now had a room with a bed, a bigger closet, and her own bathroom. The two griffins didn’t have much time to unpack as the trio of humans were needed out towards the fields outside Arnau. They explained that they were asked to look at griffin lands and agricultural workings to see opportunities that could be made with trade.
 
Meeting them outside the Winged Hall Inn, Fortrakt and Gilda began to guide them towards the Southern Gate. Tara had brought out some metallic tools and a blank booklet made of white human paper (Tara called it a ‘notebook’) and strange writing tool (which she called a ‘pencil’), advising that she was doing a survey of the place. Chris simply had one of those magic windows he called a ‘tablet’. Marco, though, looked like he was ready for battle. He brought a small pack that strapped around his shoulders that made soft clinking sounds every time he moved. Around his waist was a belt that held a lot of familiar tools, but miniaturized. It included a shovel, a hammer, and what looked like some sort of pickaxe. The two males wound up sticking together. Marco explained that he’d be at the fields collecting samples while Chris talked to the steadholders and farmers there, while Tara opted to go to places with higher ground.
 
Gilda had Fortrakt stay with the two males, though she agreed that they’d change shifts after an hour. The eagless spent the better part of that hour helping Tara move her tools to specified spots. The human was absolutely specific on where she wanted to work and had a perfectionist attitude that reminded Gilda very much of her half-siblings. Fortunately, the human wasn’t as overbearing.
 
The usually talkative woman was quiet as she worked with her tools. The only time she spoke was when she’d recite numbers out loud, writing them down on the notebook. Gilda assumed they were measurements, but didn’t ask. 

“Oh, God,” Tara suddenly declared, making Gilda alert. The eagless looked around. Was there something she missed? 

“What?” Gilda asked. 

“I’m so sorry,” Tara replied. Gilda looked at her. Tara sighed. “I was giving you the silent treatment, wasn’t I?” 

Gilda relaxed. “You were busy. I understand.” 

“Really? Oh thank God. I swear, I’m not snubbing you or anything, I just tend to stay quiet when I’m working.” 

Gilda nodded. “I really can’t begrudge you for being a hard worker, if my career was any indication.” 

“What’s it like,” Tara began, “to be a soldier?”

Gilda looked at her. “Why do you ask?” 

Tara adjusted her tool again, a three legged metallic construct with what looked like a pony spyglass on top. Tara was moving her fingers on what looked like an adjustment dial in the said spyglass. “Well, its a little silly but I’m trying to figure out the appeal of it. Chris told me he had wanted to enlist in the Army when he was a kid. Then we have Marco who was quite quick to befriend the marines with us, so I...” 

Tara fell quiet, once more absorbed in her work. Gilda found it funny, but remained quiet as the female human worked. The eagless found herself thinking back on Tara’s words though and realized she may have given out information in regards to human armed forces. Before she could explore it further, she spotted a griffin taking flight. It could have been Fortrakt. 

“Tara,” Gilda called. 

“Hmmm?” was Tara’s reply. 

“Fortrakt and I will be changing shifts. Please stay here either until he arrives, or I do, alright?” 

Tara nodded and went back to look through the spyglass. “No worries. I’ll be here,” she replied, writing down on her notebook once more. 

Gilda took off into the air, approaching the waiting griffin that did turn out to be Fortrakt. “I left them over at the western fields,” the tiercel declared once the eagless was in hearing range. “Marco’s got a lot of glass vials and is taking samples of everything. Chris was talking to the steadholders and some of the earth ponies, using his magic tablet to record everything.” He paused. “Did you know that his magic tablet can also take pictures? Humans’ve got really cool stuff.”
 
“Maybe you can ask your new best friend to teach you how to use them,” Gilda replied. She pointed towards the south-east area. “Tara’s over there, near the small creek. She’s got some sort of spyglass.”
 
Fortrakt blinked, his eyes staring at where the direction that Gilda was pointing at and nodded. “Yes, I see her,” Fortrakt said. He looked at Gilda. “And you know what? Maybe I will ask him how their stuff works.” And he took off, leaving Gilda to shake her head as she followed her partner’s directions and moved towards where Chris and Marco were, though not much of a hurry as Fortrakt was.
 
Gilda sighed. Her thoughts went to Marco. She knew she was going to have to confront the human at least one more time before she could clear whatever anger she still harbored for him. Hopefully it would be much more peaceful than their confrontation two days ago. She also found it rather silly that she was holding onto a grudge for so long, considering how the humans had explained that Marco meant nothing sexual by his touch. She also thought back on how amicable both were yesterday (they hadn’t tried to strangle each other, for one) and how Marco was the first to extend his hand towards her. Fortrakt’s words came back to her. She was definitely acting like a stupid cub. Maybe it was time to sheathe her claws?
 
Her train of thought vanished when she spotted Chris, a bit far off, running through the fields. While that wasn’t so strange, her eagle eyes saw the very clear panicked expression he had. With one broad and strong stroke, she raced forward through the air. As she came into range, she folded her feathered limbs to her sides, making her dive down fast and hard. The eagless landed with a slight forward momentum, making her slide towards the red-haired human, who for a second, looked at her fearfully until she spoke.
 
“What happened?” Gilda demanded.  
 
“Sub-Tribune!” he exclaimed, gasping. He pointed behind him. “Marco! Help. Him!”
 
“Crows,” Gilda cursed as she flapped her wings upwards, creating a small dust cloud in her wake. In the air again, her eyes scanned forward, trying to see what the stupid brown ape gotten himself into this time. After a few seconds, she saw him, surrounded by two griffins, encircling him in a pincer situation. Marco was holding something in his hand,  some sort of metallic stick. He kept shifting his legs, his neck moving, trying to keep the two griffins encircling him in sight. And was it the sun, or was he bleeding?
 
With a whoosh, she rocketed towards the surrounded human. She was too far away to prevent one of the griffins from finally striking him. She watched as he dodged the claw, bringing his arm holding the stick upwards, hitting the griffin hard on the head. The force was pretty strong, judging by the way the griffin immediately snapped away, but then the human made a mistake: his eyes were on the retreating griffin, not the one sneaking behind him.
 
Marco got pinned down, face first on the floor. The griffin on top of him grabbed a hold of his neck with its claw, a move that called for the opponent’s submission. Relief washed over Gilda. The griffins he was facing weren’t looking to kill him. All the human had to do was expose his neck, admit defeat. However… her stomach suddenly felt heavy as she realized that Marco might not know that. He wasn’t a griffin. He was a human. 

Marco forcefully continued to resist, arching his back as if to try and get the offending griffin off. All that accomplished was annoy it. In response, it raised the other claw, going for another blow that would have connected to the back of the human’s head if it wasn’t for Gilda’s timely arrival. 

Gilda grunted as she felt the impact of the slam but was not shaken. Momentum was on her side, and judging by the way the other griffin easily gave way, mass as well. The force was enough to dislodge the offending griffin off the human as a surprised feminine croak escaping the air. 

The griffin was an eagless, Gilda realized as she pinned the attacker down. The sub-tribune’s claw grasped the other eagless’ neck. For a moment, Gilda thought there would be more resistance, but once the eagless’ eyes strayed towards the Command Chain, she immediately exposed her neck in submission.
 
Before Gilda could ask for the eagless’ anything, a masculine scream filled the air. Her eyes widened as she turned her head and looked behind her. She expected, feared even, the other griffin hurting Marco. She was sure she would see him pinned down again, fighting uselessly against his opponent. It was such a surprise for her when she saw Marco on top of the downed griffin, instead. What was more shocking was the fact that the griffin was spouting apologies in Aeric, panic coloring his voice.
 
“Don’t cut them off!  I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please!” the tiercel begged. His feathers were ruffled and his tail twitched while he repeatedly bared his neck, signalling submission. The human wasn’t giving any indication that he was accepting the griffin’s surrender. There was something lethal in the way Marco looked at the downed griffin. He was… chanting in Equestrian and another tongue, tone low and quite menacing.
 
“Sige, gumalaw ka, punyeta ka. Just give me a good goddamned reason.”
 
Gilda didn’t know what was worse: the death glare the human was giving, or the fact that his hands were right between the griffin’s hind legs. Judging from the increasingly panicked shouts and pleads, Marco was probably holding a blade or something sharp against him. The tiercel was scared out of his mind. 
 
There was a rustle as she saw an increasing number of earth ponies and griffins appearing, apparently trying to figure out what was the commotion. She gave a signaling squawk, earning an attention from one of the griffin guards, probably assigned on another field. It was another eagless who looked like a complete hatchling with only one pauldron to denote her rank. When she saw Gilda, armor and command chain, she immediately saluted and bared her neck.
 
“Yes, sir?” she asked hesitatingly.
 
“Get the Peacekeepers here. Now!” Gilda ordered.
 
“Yes, sir!” And she flew, leaving Gilda to sigh. 

The Guard came back a few moments later with a good number of Peacekeepers in tow. Gilda immediately ordered them to detain the eagless she had pinned and the tiercel (who was crying freely at that point) for questioning. It took them awhile with the latter, though, as Marco refused to let him up. It wasn’t until Chris had come back and whispered to Marco that the brown-skin human relented.
 
Once the two griffins were sent away, Gilda approached the two humans huddled together in a somewhat isolated area. Gilda spotted some fine crimson lines along one of Marco’s arms. There was some bruising appearing on his face and unwounded arm, and though Marco looked exhausted and panicked, he seemed to be okay. 

Curiously, her attention was on the small shovel Marco was holding. Chris was sitting beside him, patting his shoulder and asking the brown-skinned human if he was okay. She noticed the red-haired human holding the black metallic stick that Gilda recognized as the weapon Marco had been using before it was dropped when he got pinned from the back.  
 
“What happened?” Gilda asked gently.
 
Marco looked at her for a moment but stayed silent. Chris was the one that answered. “Marco and I were taking a break when those two griffins approached us.”
 
Gilda nodded. “Then?”
 
“Does it matter?” Marco muttered, his eyes on the ground.
 
Gilda looked at him sharply. “Yes it does. The Peacekeepers are going to question those two griffins. I need to know what happened.”
 
“Goldberg’ll spin this one against me anyway,” Marco muttered, shoulders shrugging.
 
“No he won’t,” Chris replied, his voice surprisingly hard. “It wasn’t your fault, Marco. At least, not this time.”
 
Marco answered with a short snort. Chris looked back at Gilda. 
 
“Well, they were speaking… well, your language,” Chris continued. “When I told them I didn’t understand, they said in English, ‘Fight’.”
 
“It was ‘You, me, fight’, actually,” Marco corrected. “Pretty bad English, really.”
 
“Yes, well, not every griffin is well-versed in Equestrian,” Gilda muttered with a bit of heat coming out of her reply.
 
“Really?” Marco looked at her. “You and Fortrakt seem to speak it well.”
 
Gilda sighed, not wanting to explain that her knowledge in Equestrian stemmed from growing up in Equestria, or the fact that Gletscher family was more known in the less cold parts of the Northern Region with lots of ponies that helped them grow barely just enough food to minimize importation from the Southern Region. “Nevermind that. Come on. Those two griffins will be questioned soon and we need to have your story, your side ready.”
 
Marco looked at the eagless for a moment, his eyes steady before he gave a short nod. “Chris said ‘No fight’, turned his back on them, and they swarmed at him.”
 
“And that’s when you became suicidal and attacked them with just this,” Chris finished, motioning the stick he was holding. “Honestly, Marco. What the hell were you thinking?”
 
“Hey, they came at you with their claws out! What was I supposed to do?”
 
“You could have called for help! And when did you even start deciding on carrying weapons?” 

Marco looked at Gilda for just a second before he went back to looking at the ground. “Two days ago.” 

Both Gilda and Chris looked at Marco for a moment. The latter recovered first. “Okay, but still, just a stick? There were two of them! With sharp... thingies! I mean, of all the stupid, idiotic things you”—and Gilda watched Chris ranting on, using his arms a bit, driving the point home on how he felt Marco’s actions were absolutely brainless. Marco just gave his friend a roll of his eyes and ghost of a grin.
 
Gilda’s mind blocked everything out as she pictured the scenario. If what Marco said was accurate, then she realized what had happened. Two griffins, probably those stupid and brave enough to ignore Narada’s announcement yesterday, came to the two humans looking for a fight. They couldn’t speak Equestrian well and Chris probably made the mistake of speaking in simpler terms. ‘No fight’ was most likely misinterpreted. The two griffins thought that Chris was claiming that he was too strong for them and they weren’t worthy of fighting. Turning his back on them must have exacerbated the situation further, flaring the griffin’s tempers and making them think that the human was giving the message that they weren’t even a true threat.

“Okay, I can make a report about this,” Gilda suddenly declared, cutting Chris’ tirade short. She looked at them both. “Captain Narada announced yesterday the new policy of disallowing any aggression between griffins and humans. While this was likely another misunderstanding, they still started the fight. Both of you will most likely be cleared of any wrongdoing.”
 
Chris sighed, shoulders sagging. “Oh, thank God.”
 
Gilda looked at Marco. She expected some sort of relieved expression to cross his face, but it remained blank. “You did a decent job holding them off,” she declared. “And to defend a friend. I may have misjudged you.” 

Marco looked at her. “Yeah. Thanks,” he replied unemotionally. 

Gilda could only nod. For a few seconds, the three were silent until the eagless pointed towards the shovel. “Okay, why that?”
 
Marco blinked. He looked at the eagless direction of her talon and replied, “Oh. Um… well, I lost my baton and this was the only thing I could reach. I kinda just… threatened to cut that griffin’s... well, sac, with it.”
 
“With a shovel,” Gilda muttered, sounding doubtful.
 
“Well, I remembered my brother sticking a spoon in my neck, tricking me to think he held a knife. Back when we were stupid kids,” Marco said with a shrug. “I thought it could be the same.”
 
“But how sure were you that it was going to work, though?”
 
“I didn’t. It did work, though, right? Guy was speaking in griffin language, so I didn’t really understand.”
 
Gilda looked at Marco. For a moment, she said nothing. The next, she was laughing. It only confused the human further as he looked towards his red-haired friend, who just shrugged.
 
“What?” Marco asked the eagless.  
 
“With a shovel,” Gilda replied, shaking her head with disbelief. “With a small crow-begotten shovel, you made a fully grown tiercel cry for his Ancestors. It wasn’t even a war shovel! Unbelievable.”
 
“Okay, seriously, what?” Marco asked, anger coloring his voice.
 
“You’re not bad, Marco Lakan,” Gilda said, a small smile gracing her face. “Not bad at all.” She shook her head again. “With a shovel.” And she continued laughing.
 
Tara and Fortrakt arrived a few minutes later. The younger griffin looked curious, but when he saw the wounded Marco, stayed quiet until they were able to bring the humans back to the Winged Hall. The wounds weren’t deep or bad enough to need a Magus Knight, but still needed treatment, which Marco got when he was checked by a human medic. Only after Marco was all patched up did Fortrakt ask what had happened.
 
Gilda explained.
 
Fortrakt laughed harder than she did.