//------------------------------//
// XIX 
// Story: We Are Born From The Mist 
// by NeverEatTheLemonsAlone 
//------------------------------//

Light filtered in through the gaps on the now-boarded up window. During the night, a pair of burly gryphons had come to the room in which Hurricane and Star slept, quietly sealing the freezing entry and allowing a modicum of warmth to build. Thus, when Hurricane woke, it was in much higher spirits than when she had gone to sleep. She yawned heavily, rolling out of the bed and landing with half of her four hooves on the floor. Her chin joined them in short order before she managed to pick herself up. From the angle of the light, it was early morning, Hurricane’s favourite time of the day. Why not explore some?

She quietly opened the door, glancing fondly at Star one last time before the entryway softly clicked shut again. She’d hardly made it more than ten paces before her nose was assaulted by something that smelled like perfection. Following the scent like a dog, she was led into the inn’s large common room, which was currently populated by a large variety of different gryphons. Hurricane marveled; she had never seen so many in one place at one time. They were a naturally reclusive species that kept to themselves, so to seeing them like this held some fascination for her. She admired them as warriors, and if her watering mouth was anything to go by, as chefs as well. She trotted over to see what was being served.

Oh.

Whistling casually and drawing numerous rather odd looks, she left the building, only seeing fit to nearly vomit once she’d already left. That was most definitely a pig carcass on a stick. That was absolutely a pig carcass on a stick, roasting over an open fire.

After several minutes of deep, calming breaths, she managed to rationalize it. Plenty of species of sapient creatures consumed strange things. It was simply a dietary necessity, and she had to think of it as such for the duration of the time spent here. Ponies had plants, hippocampi had coral, the changelings of the Wandering Empire had raw emotion, the draconequui had…well, nocreature really knew…and the gryphons had meat. 

Putting a smile back on her face, she began walking again, ending up in the market that they had originally landed in. Now that she was neither winded from long flight or worried about a swordpoint at her throat, she could appreciate the place. In contrast with the majority of what she knew of the gryphons, there was nothing warlike about this place. 

Merchants stood behind their stalls, hawking whatever they were selling to the passersby. The gray cobbles were flat and smooth, countless generations of gryphon talons smoothing and pounding the surface until it was almost glassy. What truly made it different from any other market she’d visited in the past, though, was what lay beyond the town. 

In one direction sat the vast bulk of the mountain, inhospitable and gray, a stern watcher over the small but bustling village. The other direction was the truly amazing sight, though. A panorama of land swept out before here, stretching far into the distance. With the eyesight of pegasi, she could make out, in the far distance, the closest peaks of the Sleipnir range, miles upon miles to the south. Beyond those mountains, she knew, lay Equestria. 

“Enjoying the view?”

She jumped with surprise, prompting a chuckle from Asger, who’d quietly walked up beside her. His head gazed similarly across the landscape before him, ceaselessly roving. It seemed as though he wouldn’t speak again for a time, and Hurricane found no qualms in this. For the moment, she was content to simply watch the world roll by before her.