//------------------------------// // Teamwork // Story: The Ecstasy of Defeat // by AgentSnail //------------------------------// Eldon stared over a meadow in the noontime, looking at the slight shadow of what he assumed was smoke against the white of the clouds. A hoof touched his shoulder and he jumped, looking back at Roseluck with a slightly annoyed expression. "We're close, you know." She said, pointing across the expanse of openness at a distant tree line. "Those are the Whitetale Woods." Eldon peered into the sky again, looking at the trees and then back to her. "It's a long way to go, if we're so out in the open." "I was thinking the same." The mare replied, leaning her shoulder against a tree. Her wary eyes fell to Eldon, who stiffened suddenly and dove into her, pushing them both into the dirt. "What?!" She whisper yelled, pushing him away none too gently. Eldon didn't respond immediately, the feathers near the back of his head moving as his ears tried to take in what sound they could. He turned around a few times, looking through the darkened leaves towards the sky above, attempting to catch sight of whatever he was looking for. "You see that?" He asked, staying low to the ground. "Obviously not!" Roseluck whispered angrily back. "I'm pretty sure that was a griffin." He replied, cursing under his breath. Eldon crept back into the trees, pulling Cato along a moment later. "They're closer than I thought." "And we have to cross… that…" Roseluck trailed off, pointing across the meadow. "Shit." Eldon sat down with a thud, holding his head in his talons. "As soon as we go out there, we're screwed. I can't fly well enough, and I can't run at full speed with these cuts. Then we've got Cato, who I'll need to carry." "So we'll just distract them." Cato spoke up. "Just light a tree on fire or something, that'll get their attention." Roseluck and Eldon shared a look, before they both jumped into action. Eldon pulled out his flint, tossing Cato on his back as the three tore back into the forest. They moved quickly, making sure to keep themselves far away from the light that found its way to the forest floor. Eldon skidded to a halt at a dead oak that seemed mostly separated from others around it, and pushed his side against the trunk, keeping his visual profile to a minimum. He didn't need long to catch his breath, at least compared to Rose. But as soon as they were breathing normally, he took the knife from her outstretched arm, holding it out. "Worst case scenario, it looks like rain soon anyway." He said, grinning a little as he returned his attention to the tree. "Now, we're going to light this and run, and as soon as it really starts to put off smoke we'll make a break for it. Everyone got that?" He asked, his eyes flicking around the sky through the rather thick branches. "Go ahead." Rose replied, her eyes turned skywards. Cato gave a hum of approval. Eldon nodded, pulling up his talon to drag through the bark. It left a few divots covered with wood shavings, which he quickly scraped out and into his palm. He made a little pile at the ground and lit it on his first try, working through nearby sticks as he chained the new fire to the tree. The griffin picked up a larger stick, holding it in the fire as Roseluck pushed another over and stacked it against the tree trunk, watching the dry wood catch almost immediately. It was a good thing it hadn't rained for at least a few weeks, otherwise they would have been hard pressed to get a huge inferno going at all. Flames started to lick up the side of the tree and Rose tapped Eldon. He nodded, pulling the stick he was holding from the fire, watching one end of it burn. He started to light the grass, backing up as he did so. He looked across the clearing, his eyes meeting those of a little furry animal. He heard wing flaps, and with a thud, a griffin landed across the clearing. They stared for a moment, slowly backing up as the flames drew in closer. The little furry thing ran past, scared from its place by the griffin, and Rose took some steps away from the thing. "Don't get close…" She warned. Eldon wasn't sure why, it didn't look like it could hurt anything. Eldon lost focus, a growl echoing through the foliage. The soldier looked around, not keen on attacking with the fire and a chance of other threats. But he didn't seem to have much choice, as a big fucking furry thing crashed through the bushes behind him, swatting the soldier out of the way with its oversized paw. "Bear!" Roseluck screamed, tugging at Eldon's arm as he passed the flaming torch back to Cato. "That must've been it's kid, we gotta go!" The three turned and sprinted off, and Eldon looked backwards long enough to watch the bear hone in on the griffin as more soldiers joined into the fight. He focused on running, dodging between trees as they neared their original beachhead. Roseluck arrived first, and though Eldon knew he had superior stamina, the mare definitely had him beat in sheer ground speed. "Don't tire yourself out right away." Eldon warned. "It's a long way to those woods." "Oi, so long as you can keep up, we won't have a problem." She grinned back. "You sturdy back there Cato?" The larger griffin asked, watching his brother shoot him a salute. Eldon felt a pang of nervousness, followed by the cool feeling of adrenaline that was becoming a lot more common. Roseluck bent over and emptied her breakfast onto the ground. "You okay?" He asked, looking worried. "It's just the adrenaline." she replied, "I'm fine now." Eldon didn't question her; he didn't have the time. If she was sick and had trouble moving, then they would never make it out. Some part of him probably would've stayed even if that was the case. Rose took off first, and Eldon followed shortly behind. The trio broke from the tree line at a sprint, quickly beginning the long journey across the meadow. The grass wasn't above shoulder level, and it felt nice against Eldon's talons and fur as he swished through it. By now, anything that could be a distraction was quickly used as one. "Cato, start setting this place ablaze!" Eldon yelled back, watching the griffin maneuver and begin to run the stick through the grass. It was dry, just like everything else, and quickly caught on fire, leaving a trail of blazing grass behind them. It made a direct arrow to their position, but Eldon knew that griffin eyes wouldn't miss such obvious movement anyway. He looked up, feeling a twinge of gratitude over the fact that he was much closer to the tree line. Eldon turned to look over his shoulder to a much less happy sight. Griffins. Not as many as he would have expected, but every one with the same focus on their faces. And they were all headed straight for him. The smoke had hardly even started to build. He ignored the cramp in his side and the pain in his shoulder, forcing himself to regain the distance he'd lost between himself and Roseluck. The trees neared, and so did the sounds of flapping wings. Eldon looked back again, planting a talon into the ground to turn as a griffin shot past his side. Wind whistled past his flank, proof of the tiny amount of space between the spear the griffin was holding and his flesh. He saw a lonely tree nearby and veered a little to the right. "Rose! The tree!!" He yelled, watching her turn herself to meet him halfway. Her hooves thundered next to him as they sprinted abreast, going past a tree with enough branches to screw up any dives that were in progress. They seemed to share the same thoughts as they targeted a new tree, the feelings of Cato shifting on Eldon's back going to the back of his mind. "Dodge right!" The larger griffin heard, obeying the action without any thought. By this time, anything with directional words was so ingrained into his head from commands in the mines that thinking about the order seemed a secondary task. A griffin swooped between the two of them, and they spread a few more feet apart for good measure. The soldier seemed to be indecisive about who to go after, but quickly decided on Eldon. He had a sort of rage in his eyes that Eldon had never seen, at least, not towards himself. Guards were always composed- well, sometimes they laughed and made merry while they were hurting griffins, but they were never angry. Eldon, despite the heavy breathing and the dryness of his throat, gulped. Eldon looked forwards, his mind working at any capacity it could. The griffin turned to stab at him but he slowed down, watching him fly past, his tail ablaze from Cato. Eldon built up his speed again, and the griffin waved off a few of his comrades, stopping momentarily to douse the flames in his mouth. Rose passed under another tree, with the land restricted griffin close behind once again. The griffin soldier peeled off a few plates of his armor, letting off a screech as he circled and dove. A berry flew off of Eldon's back, followed by several more as Cato yelled back. The griffin let a spear fly, watching it stick into the ground a few measly feet from Eldon as he pulled out a secondary knife. The soldier swooped and Eldon sped up, watching the griffin do the same. The elder brother slowed just as the enemy went to go past, but the soldier expected the move and barreled into Eldon's side. Cato went sailing through his vision as Eldon rolled, reappearing again before the kid disappeared somewhere in the grass. Eldon stopped rolling, out of breath and in pain. His arm felt mostly numb, and whatever other parts of him weren't hurt like crazy. He could take some solace in the fact that his arm wasn't broken, but not much. The sky stared back at him, and he tried to take in a ragged breath, but found the air had been knocked from him as well. His vision blurred as he finally managed to breathe. Eldon sat up, getting slammed back against the earth a fraction of a second later. He felt the cold metal of a knife against his throat, breaking the skin as a griffin above him pressed down and grinned evilly. "It's been too long." He said. "And, you know, I wanted to make this slow, make you really pay for what you've done. But now that I'm here, it sounds like a lot more fun to just get it over with. Eldon's talon gripped around the griffin's forearm, pushing it back for a moment before the griffin began to bear down again. He held his grin, easily overpowering Eldon's strength. It would have been harrowing if he wasn't abut to die. To think that even him, abnormally strong among the griffin population, stood no match against soldier strength. His other talon clawed at the face of the griffin, leaving a small scratch that erased the griffin's grin. "Fine." He said, flipping the knife around in his talon to a jagged edge. "But you just made things a little worse fo-" The griffin grunted as he flew to one side, rolling a few times before he came to a stop. Roseluck entered Eldon's vision and offered him a hoof, which he took. She had Cato on her back already, and they quickly sped off once again. Eldon looked backwards at the griffin, who had ended up with the air knocked out of his system. He stared their direction, his eyes no longer with what little tinge of sanity they had. Those were the eyes of a predator, with only one task in mind. The trio crossed the tree line, leaving the soldier behind. They didn't stop, the issue of conserving energy no longer something to worry about. Eldon fell in behind Roseluck, following her this way and that as she led them through around blobs of heavy foliage. She began to slow, and Eldon found himself thankful for the rest. When she finally came to a halt, they were looking over a small pond, completely shaded by trees. Roseluck grinned over at him, her expression wavering just a little before she lunged over and hugged Eldon. "We…" She stopped to breathe, "We made it." She whispered. "Equestrian territory." Eldon felt a buzz of excitement go through his system. They'd taken all the problems of escaping, the trackers, the fighting… and stayed standing. Eldon returned the hug, hearing the mare let out a slight squeak as he squeezed her. When he broke it off, she was just as out of breath but her mood hadn't dampened. A talon went part of the way around his neck, as did another around Roseluck's as Cato decided to join in. "We did it!" He exclaimed. "I knew you could do it, Eldon! I knew it!" Eldon let his flank hit the ground, gazing out over the stable surface of the pond. He leaned his head over a few inches, looking at his own reflection. He was bloodied and bruised, and as the others joined him he realized that neither had escaped the same fate. Dirt covered his features, contaminating every feather, every hair. He slid off his saddlebag. He wrapped his arms around Roseluck and Cato and hopped forwards, pulling them into the water with him. Rose let out a surprised scream, before they plunged into the pristine water and broke the perfect reflection. The water wasn't deep; it was shallow enough that Eldon could touch the bottom with his paws as he kept his head above water. "You jerk!" Roseluck exclaimed, splashing him with cold water. Eldon shivered, knowing that he would have to get out soon. Stupid snowmelt. Most of the shivers were probably from the adrenaline wearing off, but it was still cold water. Eldon chuckled back at the mare, quickly scrubbing himself down with his talons as a shivering Cato pulled himself onto Eldon's head. "Hey, you're clean now, you should be thanking me!" He replied, grinning like an idiot. "Yeah, well I'm also cold." She shot back, pulling herself from the water. She shook herself a second later, turning around to look at Eldon. "Also, you didn't see that." "What?" "Me shaking myself off." Eldon got out of the water and shook himself, sending water in all directions. "How come?" "Because it's not… it's not something ponies do." "You just did it though." He reminded, pointing at her. "Yeah, but it's… it's like something an animal would do, and we're civilized." She said, looking away. "Whatever you say." Eldon replied, shaking himself off and flinging water all over. "It works pretty well." "Hurry up, they could follow us in here…" She trailed off, looking around. "We shouldn't celebrate yet." Eldon stuck Cato onto his back, sliding the saddlebags on as well. "Fine. But they won't follow us into the woods. The thing that makes the Griffin army formidable and tough to fight is the fact that they force enemies to fight on their terms. I guess the other part is that there are tons of griffins anyway." "And that soldier was even bigger than you." "That too." Eldon replied. "But as long as we're in here, they'll try to wait us out. It's not like that matters, though, if we're in Equestrian territory now, which sounds awesome to hear myself say." Eldon did a little hop, jostling Cato around. "I'm probably the most sore I've ever been, but I've still never felt so good." "I know what you mean." Roseluck replied, grinning as Eldon continued to hop around happily. "Those days in the cage, I never thought I'd end up here, with somepony like you." "What do you mean, like me?" He asked. Roseluck shook her head, giggling. "Nopony could have done what you did, and not given up. You're not what I envisioned when I thought about somepony to save me, but you've more than fit the job description." Eldon grinned, returning to his happy pacing. "Thanks." He said, fluttering his wings as he hopped into the air. Roseluck muffled a laugh, pretty sure she had never seen him so overjoyed. "God, I feel like I could do anything! I feel so alive!" He slapped his saddlebag back to the ground, pulling open a pocket. "First resolution: I'm never going to feel this hungry again." He muttered, shoving talonfuls of food into his mouth with abandon. "Don't make yourself sick, Eldon." Rose said, sitting next to him. A different thought came to mind. "Do you even chew?" "Sometimes I bite things into smaller pieces." He replied, tilting his head upwards and swallowing. "Oh, that's so good." He passed some beef back to Cato, and continued to eat. With no transition at all, he stopped and returned the bag to his back, looking over at Rose with a grin. "I can't say that I'm not excited to see this town of yours." "Oh, I never told you anything about it!" She exclaimed, quickly mapping a pace as she trotted along. "We've got to go to this place called Sugarcube Corner! The mare there makes the greatest cupcakes! And then there's the Apple family, that grow the best apples around. I tell you, if I gain twenty pounds when we get back, I wouldn't be surprised." "You hungry?" Eldon asked, flipping open one side of his saddlebags again. "We have a fair number of berries left. There's some meat too, if you've changed your mind. You seemed to like it enough." She rolled her eyes, "I'm not really that hungry…" yet as he stopped she hardly waited before she dug in. She quickly became almost ravenous about it in the same way Eldon had moments earlier. It was probably something about the idea that they didn't need to conserver their rations anymore. If anything, they had waited a bit too long to eat them. To tell the truth, the fact that they were even close after three days, even if he had been trotting for most of it, was astounding. The weather was perfect, the ground hard to track across. He'd found this mare and she'd given him food, a place to stay after it was all over… And for the first time in a long time, he felt full. It seemed as if for once, luck had been on his side.