An Etch In My Heart
=Etch, Just after the Ember Incident=
"Kalth, I glad, see you. Fear, gone forever. Be free, like dream." Tears fell from the eyes of my wife, rolling down her short, thin muzzle.
"Please Malina, I go by Etch now. I am glad you are well, both of you." I ran my claws over the pom pom's in her fur, as well as rubbed my now ten year old son's head.
"Why?"
"It is the name the Captain has given me, and I find that I prefer it to the name those monsters called, with their whips and shackles. I go by what I wish, and while I am on this ship, that is my name."
"You.... speak..... refined?"
"I owe much to that 'magnificent bastard'. He taught me to read and write, to think. As much as this is a war ship, it's also a place of discovery, of science, and.... magic." I rolled a gem in my paw, one which glowed with the familiar inner light of magic, one which she immediately threw into her mouth with a crunch and swallowed.
"Now now, we can't be doing that. There are many things that are more tasty than gems, but you'll learn about that as well. For now, I think we should go see Griffin. We've spent a great deal of time catching up, I think we should go give him an introduction, and our respects, considering he's in the hospital now."
We walked down to the medical bay and found him laying in a bed on his back, with white silk sheets covering his lower half. He was scribbling.... something, on some parchment, and when he noticed the three of us enter the room.
"Etch. Good to see you. you've been fairly absent for the past week. I'm glad you found your family. Is this them?"
"This is my wife, Malina, and my son, Grog."
"Grog?"
"We were drunk when we named him."
"Ah." He looked at them curiously, tilting his head to the side.
"Well.... it's.... nice to meet you?" Something is making him feel awkward.... I just wish I knew what....
=Grif=
'His wife is a POODLE! Must. Not. Laugh. His son looks a bit like Growl though, just, mini.'
=Etch=
"You.... thank..."
"The phrase is 'Thank you.' dear."
"I understand the sentiment. It's the thought that counts. And You're welcome." The captain replied.
"Um......." My son said hesitantly as he looked at the captain laying in bed.
"Hey.... come on over, don't be shy." He slowly walked over and looked at Griffin intently, struggling to bring up his voice and ask what he wanted.
"I...... in the mines...... griffins were nice, other slaves..... snuck gems for me....... kept warm..... Many thanks. Can I..... pet you?" The captain's eyes seemed confused for a moment, maybe a little shocked, before he smiled.
"Sure. Go ahead." Grog walked over and put a paw on the captain's head, then softly rubbed his feathers before backing away with a smile of his own.
"Alright you little scamp. How about you head down to the mess hall with your mother, and tell Maria to I said to give you some clam shells. Oh, and be sure to use manners..... Never had sea shells before?"
"They're good. Like... salt water taffy... oh, you haven't had that either.... hmm..... we'll just go get some, you'll see."
"Actually, Etch, can you stay here a moment, I'd like a word with you."
After my family exited the medical ward, I walked up to Griffin, a bit nervous as to what he wanted of me.
"Etch, you've been with us for a while, and you're an important part of the crew. Do you remember what you said your reason was for joining us?"
"Well, one, I had nowhere else to go, but more importantly, I wanted to find my family."
"That's right. And, now that you've found them, that desire has been fulfilled. You've found your loved ones, still alive, and rescued them. And you have plenty of places you can go now, so now, what is your reason for staying?"
"I am loyal to you and your cause."
"Well, you see, the thing is, that's not enough. It's my cause, not yours. I'm glad you're here, and I'd like you to stay, but, as I always said, just so you know, staying with the crew has always been an option, not a requirement. You found your family, and I wouldn't want to get in the way of your happiness because you feel obligated to continue, just because you feel gratitude."
"Are.... you telling me to leave?"
"Not at all. I won't kick anyone off this ship unless they do something terribly wrong, and you've done something very very, right. No, I'm not telling you to go, all I'm doing is reminding you that if you want to, you can. I won't hold you back. It's just..... I saw how happy you were with your family. They've gone without you for what is it, nine years now? If you were to die, and they lost you again..... I'm just thinking about what would be best for them you know? In the end, it's your choice what you want to do."
"Well.... what would you do if you had children?"
He stopped for a moment and tapped his claw to his chin, opened his beak, then closed it and thought more.
"Well..... I'd try to keep going, but if it came down to it, I'd settle down. Raising my kid would become a priority. Sure, what we're doing is important, but there are others.... those who can keep going, even if we can't."
"Then that is what I'll do. I will stay on the ship for as long as I feel I can, but should the time come that I wish to leave, to be with my family and live in peace, that is what I shall do. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm done. Not by a long shot. I'll keep helping in any way I can, from diplomacy to teaching, I just wouldn't be on the ship anymore." At my answer, a tear came to the captain's eye.
"Etch.... always so loyal.... so thoughtful.... I know I seem unappreciative at times but..... if you do decide to go, I want you to know I'll be happy for you. You've come so far, accomplished so much. The whole reason you joined, fought, shed your own tears and the blood of your foes, you succeeded. You've done what you set out to do, and I'm happy for you. The goal of everyone on this ship should be to get to the point that they no longer have to be on it. You've done that, and I am happy for you. I am so happy for you..... and a bit jealous, but not enough for resentment. When I looked at your son.... saw his smiling face...... even though I'm in this hospital bed, I know, we're making a difference in this world. A single child who wasn't smiling before is now..... and that alone is a reminder to me that this is all worth while. I'll be honest, I was feeling really depressed before, all the sacrifices made, and starting to get tired of it, but seeing Grog, and Malina, and you.... all so happy...."
"I understand." And then I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a hug. Sometimes, I forget that Griffin is barely into adulthood, and given his upbringing, is less mature than most. Inside, he's still just a child, who is looking for approval from others, saw something broken, and is trying to fix it in hopes of seeing someone smile at him, to tell him job well done. He tries so hard to make us all feel appreciated, because he knows how much it hurts to be scorned, even after all your efforts. "Now get better. We might be able to manage with Gilda in charge, but we're waiting on you."
An update!
I love this story. And just something I noticed in the last sentence, don't know if it was intentional, the We're is supposed to be We.
Grif needs to get healthy again, so he can go around and be a badass again
UPDATE!!!
Grif needs to be badass again, so please give him a new wing. He needs it. Because he never asked for this...
1302730 Yet he got it anyway
Grog, lol.
Right in the feels. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra_cry.png
Griffin is always badass! Even when it comes to drama dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra.png
"He was scribbling.... something, on some parchment, and when he noticed the three of us enter."
when he noticed us enter... what?
Etch is cool, that is all
wow...I feel sad now.
Crying moment over, I love etch and he reminds me like Dash the way he stays by Griffin. He fought against Growl earlier when they were in the jungle because Growl wasn't staying loyal to the group. I like the cast you created as they help examplify the main character in the story. Keep writing, and don't be afriad to put out short chapters here and there. We don't want you to over exert yourself.
... so... needlessly happy!!... lol.
Damnit, Griffin! Stop swinging around on the likability scale! I need to either hate you or love you, I can't do both!
As always, great chapter. Felt like I was taking a bullet to the feels.
Nicely done
1303301
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1302903 *BANG!* Right in the feels.....
Really, he was asking for it by attacking a homocidal dragon who made Masonry look like a Hawain Island. Sorry to say this, but he just needs to learn to play safe not charge in.
1303536 Up till that point, he's been under the delusion that he can't be defeated. Through careful preparation and planning, he's been able to win everything hands down. Just like people with car accidents, break ins, muggings, whatever. "It'll never happen to me. I can't lose."
1303544
And like all the deluded fools that make me want to hurl, in the end they do get creamed. I can't say I'm glad, but I do hope he learned a lesson in pig-headedness.
1303327 yes you magnificent bastard! teal'c is awesome
anyways good chapter blackwing, feelings were had
1303688 Insane clown possie (hope I pelled possie right). They hav a song called miracles where they talk about how the world is fully of wonders. Everything from comets to rainbows and shooting stars. There was a short lived meme where people took the line "Fucking magnets, how do they work?" and did captions and quoted it. Just thought you had made a reference to it.
P.S. If you look up "know your meme magnets" then you will know better.
1303962 Oh! yes. Then, I did in fact quote the meme. I was just unfamiliar with the acronym.
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Also...
1302903 Who says you can't love and hate a character? The best characters are all over the place on the likability scale, that's just who they are.
1303988
*cough*I'mJoking*cough*
And your image is a broken jpeg.
This was so touching...
I demand moar, my good sir/madam.
1303327
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Ah... a reality check.
efforts. "Now: Too much spaces
Seriously, as I was reading this, I was subconsciously ready to give you a thumbs up. Then I found out I already had.
My reaction.
I am currently reading through this and I have only 1 thing to say to all the references, ideas, the story line, characters, hilarity, and etc....
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1303555
You think Griffon learned a lesson on pig headedness.
We all know he is just going to go back to it on a smaller scale and on weaker oppenents. Thats pretty much what he learned.
1308697 Melting minds is my primary goal in life.
eeeeeeeEEEEEE!!!
omgod my heart~!
Too much DAWWW
and win!
SOOO MUCH WIN !
Almost... Caught.... Up... Must never... fall behind... again... *Passes out*
Touching chapter and a great one.
This story is beautiful.
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1306363 agreed.
1689759
This may just be one of the best chapters yet. Griffin' s still a kid inside.
Yo wing.
Aww... now I want Ember to die...
Snif snif I'm so happy wahhhhhh.
So... many things... Ember, die... no, wait....Aggh, Griffin, I give to you a "Get better soon or I will put you out of your misery" card.
1303544 BLACKWING! YOU SCORGE OF AN AUTHOR! I have always been one who was, for the most part, emotionless and untouchable. One of the few times I've ever shed a tear over a story was the Scootaloo scene in Ascended. A story YOU wrote! Now I find myself with another tear in my eye for some unknown reason when Grog was all like
I get it, as a fellow author that can see the threads of the omniverse your stories are pretty much like a movie that plays in my soul as I read. By the way are you still subconsciously doing it or are you actually aware of your gift? Anyways back to yelling at you. Why? Why did this affect me, I get Scoots by why this? By the way, I had to turn off Grammarly to paste that quote. It kept trying to fix the grammar and delete the "Unnecessary ellipses" and "Unnecessary comma in a complex compound sentence" whatever the heck that is.
EDIT:and then I finished the chapter and it happened again. Gah my eye burns so much right now! Do you have any idea how much it hurts for one like me to shed a tear?
5678179 really? I never shed tears when reading emotional fics........though I can't lie when I say 'THE FEELS OMG'
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6518222 Im pretty emotionless too now,usually only certain stories,movies,shows and such can even make me tear up honestly.Not gonna lie,I think I almost teared up at some point in this,don't remember,maybe when the granny died?Or at least got "depressed."My little Dashie was one of the few stories I've cried to,probably the saddest fic I've possible ever read.I can't recall all of the stories I've read that made me tear up(Dashie actually had me have more then a few tears)Derpyball was one of the first stories I read on here,really good,weird but good.Anyway enough ranting,On with the endless wake that is my sleep schedule,and to reading this to the end
Wholesome chapter 10/10 would read again (oh wait i am >:3)