If Sunny Rain felt like she was going to go stir crazy on day one, or two - time was hard to tell - it was nothing, it was nothing as time passed further. Despite the small crack by the window that allowed her light it was hard to keep proper track of the time. Nothing happened. Nothing changed.
She was afraid to kick at the door again. He had not hurt her or anything, not really. But his expression last time, it had been so full of promise of hurt if she had not been quiet. That gryphon was so scary.
She explored what she could see from that crack in the boards covering the window. It was hard during the day, the light too sharp for her eyes that were used to the dimness of the one room she was stuck in. At night it took longer to adjust to see through the darkness outside. Except when the Moon was out, then she could see better but not in clear details. Trees. Bushes. A path further down? Or was it a creek? Could look like movement in it, reflection of the moonlight? Grass. Oh tasty looking grass. Leaves, tasty leaves. She would even be happy to chew on the bark of the trees!
The gryphon, she didn’t like to think of him as her host anymore, had not been feeding her since the delivery of the stew. Had she angered him too much?
Sunny Rain had tried to chew on those stale, odd things that she had left in the bowl. Gotten even more chewy after being left like that. She did not like the taste or texture, still unable to put her hoof on what it could possibly be. She usually just managed a few chews on a piece before she gave up and just spat it back into the bowl. But whenever the hunger began stabbing into her stomach she would return to the bowl and try again. After a few tries she finally managed to chew a piece enough to swallow it without choking on it. It still disgusted her enough to not try more pieces after that. Getting something into her stomach was better than anything. To keep her strength up.
But maybe she should have stayed suspicious of such chewy, unknown foods. It did not feel like her stomach could handle it. Rumbling and disagreeing with whatever it was she had attempted to fight back her hunger with. Making her afraid of trying any more of the whatever it was. Probably some kind of weird gryphon food not meant for ponies and the gryphon just hadn't thought of that.
Sunny Rain tried to conserve her energy, to just lie down on the bed provided. Waiting, not sure for what. Trying to sleep through all the waiting. Waiting for food, for answers… for freedom. She was restless. She wanted to move about, to scream and shout and let it be known how unfair all this was. But that was not exactly the best way to conserve her energy, especially with as little food she had. She wanted her bags back so badly, thinking about all the rations she had packed for her trip, making her mouth water and salivate. Even those dry haybars that were so easy to pack and carry in big amounts but did not exactly taste like a daisy burger. But anything could do. She had never before tried to make through one day without one single meal before. How long had it been now since the stew was fresh? 3 days? 4 days? How long had she been stuck like this already?
The waiting was making her go crazy. This was not fair! What had she done to deserve this? At least the gryphon should try and explain himself. She was fine; she should be allowed to leave. At least allowed to get some eat!
Her head shot up from the bed at the sound of a lock clicking.
He was back.
***
The young pegasus mare stayed put on the bed. No screaming or running, no yelling or kicking. Good. He hated noise. The noise of blabbering voices, of chaos and disorder. Why did ponies have to be so difficult creatures in general? Always gave him an aching headache, made him want to break something.
She watched his every move closely while staying put herself. Good. No running around and risk breaking things. The room was a mess though. It had not been cleaned since he had left her in there the first time. Old vomit on the floor, the stew bowl with the leftovers half chewed and spat out. The used bucket. That was not good, but it was an evil he had to bear to teach the pony to be quiet, to stop being so noisy.
The gryphon’s eyes moved over the pony, she was a mess too. The gently pale pink coat was still a mess from her time in bed with the concussion, sweating and trashing about when needing to relief her stomach. The carrot coloured, curly mane was even worse of a mess. Did not even look like she had taken any time to at least preen her wings. The feathers standing out in all directions, possibly from the stress of being locked up like the way she was.
“Please…”
The sound made his eye twitch as he glared down at the pony. She had dared to speak up; after he had thought she finally got it. She flinched under his stare, her own eyes big and fearful, making rage build up inside of him. If she was so fearful, why would she keep break the rules?
“I… I just wanna go home… I’m hungry. Just, please, this isn’t fair… It isn’t fair….”
He stepped forward, rapidly, soon standing by the bed, looming over her. She flinched again, pressing herself up against the wall, kicking out her hooves to get away from him. A wing had moved up to try cover for her, she was expecting an attack. She was expecting right.
The puny pegasus wing was a pathetic shield against the talons of a full grown gryphon. He simply smacked it aside as he reached down, fast, to seize her around the neck. Making the pegasus gasp in shock. Not for breath, he was only holding her. Not squeezing. It was a first warning.
“Clean up the room…”
He hated to talk just as much as he hated to hear it. It hurt his throat from misuse, that hoarse growling he managed to make. It was no voice but simply a noise.
“Clean up the room and stay quiet.”
With that he let go of her. Keeping his eyes locked on her as he stood back up again. He had entered the room the same ways as before, standing up on his hind legs. To make it easier to move while holding something in his talons. He slowly backed away from the bed, eyes kept on her in case she would find the energy to try anything. As soon he was blocking the door again he reached out the hand he had been holding the gift he had come to bring her for being quiet for so long. Although she had broken the silence, he guessed she still needed it. A promise of more if she just followed the rules and did as told.
He saw how her eyes locked onto the lone carrot as he let it dump down onto the floor. Fresh from his garden, cleaned for any dirt.
With the delivery done he backed out from the door and closed it, locking it with a click.