One of these Days

by Wrabbit

Chapter 5: Lager for Life

ONE OF THESE DAYS

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Chapter 5: Lager for Life

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~15 Aevum Illuminationis~

Marching up and down the meager ranks of her soldiers, Twilight nodded outwardly, but inwardly, she was cringing. Our ranks are far too thin to be of any use against anything more than a minor incursion. Sure, the earth ponies are sturdy, the pegasi fierce, and the unicorns powerful individually, but they cannot compare- Her dark, unflattering introspection were interrupted by the sedate clopping of hooves of an approaching pony. She turned, her light armor clanking, to find the only pony she knew of that sounded quite like her. “Celestia. We art thrice bless'd by thy presence. To what do we owe the honor?”

Celestia halted before her younger sister, and acknowledged the bows from the soldiers. “Season thy admiration, Sister. I come to thee to merely bend thy ear on a small, yet important matter of state. Hast thou a moment?”

Twilight favored her a smile that quickly vanished as she turned back to the troops, all stern commander once more. “Company dismissed! Return once more on the morrow for drill.” She returned their bows with a salute before turning back to Celestia, her expression still grim, but tinged with sadness this time. “Good soldiers to a one, but I fear for their future.”

“Thy vision again?”

Leading them both to a wooden rack, Twilight doffed her armor, setting each in its place until the dummy looked like an alicorn in purple chain and plate, minus the helm that she still held in one hoof. “Aye, but t'is more than that. I presume thou knowest of the latest disturbances amongst the drakes?”

With a nod, Celestia said, “T'would be the height of folly to ignore warnings so dire as these. That they didst not hold us in even the most mean of esteem as to shoulder us with their burden bespeaks ill of the plight of Equestria. Ere soon, we must take stock of our allegiances. We wouldst not want fair weather friends to become our downfall.”

Turning to her big sister, Twilight pleaded, “Then let me press more into service. Our forces hath dwindled like ne'er before, and what few we have are insufficiently trained to handle all but the meanest of forces. Not e'en the strongest unicorn couldst make one whit of difference on the outcome of such a battle. I am still confounded by this parliament! They seek to stymie us at every turn. Methinks they believe us to their enemy!” She threw her helm to the cobblestones in a fit of pique shattering the stone, but leaving the helm undamaged, save for a few scratches.

A golden aura of magic surrounded the helm, and flew it up to its proper resting place on the wooden dummy. “Calm thyself, dear Sister. Seeing thee vexed is their purpose and joy. To give them this satisfaction wouldst only encourage them to greater heights.” She nuzzled the lavender alicorn affectionately, reigning in her temper. “Thou knowest that they hold the purse strings, and are most miserly when a proposal holds no direct advantage for them. Their shortsightedness is their prison.”

“A prison that will cause all of Equestria to fall!” Twilight shouted. “This fledgeling nation, this grand experiment will fail ere two decades hath passed! Confound these ponies, they art enough to drive one to drink!” She gave a snort of disgust, and ruffled the feathers of her wings, flexing them for a moment as if she meant to take off, but changed her mind and folded them back.

Celestia kissed Twilight on her forehead, just below her horn, and let the younger mare rest her head against her broad chest. “I too, see the storm on the horizon, howe'er I fear it too late already to prepare. We shall do what we can with what few in parliament hath allied with us, but I fear it will be a mere sop to our consciences.” She appeared hesitant for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip, then added, “How goeth thy, er, Project with Nyx?”

Twilight's mood actually seemed to lift at the question. “Well enow. With the arcanificarum to assist, research hath proceeded with appreciable alacrity. I predict we wilt be able to test our theory soon, mayhap e'en afore trouble strikes.”

Celestia nuzzled the younger alicorn again. “Pray, have a care with this experiment, Twilight. Artifacts of this nature are no mere baubles, less so living artifacts.”

Twilight turned to her sister and replied, “Dear Celestia, I am always full of the utmost care and respect when dealing with primal energies. I am an arcanist, after all.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)
~2015 Aevum Illuminationis~

With a rough casualness that bespoke of her inebriated state, Ricochet threw her few, meager belongings into the only saddlebag she owned since leaving the Royal Guard. She was sure that she had heard something inside break, but didn't care. When the last bit of her life was packed into the half-full bags, she scanned the room and sighed. Am I actually sad to be leaving this dump of a town?

“And just where do you think you're going, Missy?”

Turning to one of the absolute last voices she wanted to hear at this moment, she faced sheriff Tin Star, and by her expression, she obviously would be brooking no argument today. “Dinna try an stop me, ye daft poony. I know me duty, an I aim to see it through.”

Tin Star leaned against the door frame, casually blocking the way out. “Do you? Know your duty, that is?” He put a hoof to his chin and feigned thoughtfulness. “I seem to recall a deputy of mine being dishonorably discharged from the guards. Now what was her name?”

Ricochet grabbed the nearest object to her, which turned out to be an empty glass bottle and threw it at him in a rage. “Feck off, ye gobdaw,! Ye promised to never bring that oop!”

The bottle never even came close, shattering on the wall, well away from Tin Star. With a shrug, he brushed aside the accusation. “I reserve the right to use it if it will prevent you from doing something monumentally stupid... like you're about to do.” He looked to the shattered remains of the bottle and shook his head. “Can you even hit anything besides the bottle anymore? When was the last time you even picked up your bow? You're a sad, pathetic wreck, Ricochet, and the sad part is, you're less than half my age.” He walked over to her and held out a foreleg next to her, which she bumped into several times. “Look at this! You can't even stand up straight without swaying. If you had come to me like this looking for work, I would have thrown you in a cell and then chased you out of town the next day!”

Angrily, She shoved his foreleg away, staggering a few steps as she did. “I can handle it. I dinna need your pity, and I certainly dinna need your guff.” She pulled her massive longbow over to her from its resting spot against the wall, and used it to steady herself.

Tin Star poked her chest, sending the taller mare back onto her rump, bow clattering to the floor. Looking down his snout at her, he said, “You're right about one thing. You certainly don't need my pity; you get quite enough of it from yourself. But you do need a good, swift kick in the kiester so you can get your head unstuck from in there. Pity? No, you're in no danger of running out of that anytime soon.”

He looked around the room, taking in the many empty bottles that littered the space, the ever present aroma of alcohol and stale puke, the one-bedroom apartment that likely hadn't been properly cleaned since the mare had taken up residence, and gave a disgusted snort. “I wonder, does that filly you fancy know you live like this? Have you shown her any side of you beyond the party mare? Has she woken up next to you in this filthy bed, or-”

“Ye dinna talk aboot her like tha'!” Ricochet shouted, getting to her hooves unsteadily, but ready to give him the beating of his life, sheriff or no. “Ye leave Knighty oot o' this! Tha' filly has more good in her than a thousand o' ye! She doesn't do things like tha'! She deserves better than tha'!” She sat down heavily on her rump again, not caring about the ominous shattering sound coming from her saddlebags, nor the wetness fast spreading from them. “She deserves better than me,” she finished in a weak whisper.

Tin Star gave a lopsided smile. “Well, well, well. It seems even you have recognized how far you've fallen, if you realize that even a bat pony, of all of Luna's misbegotten creatures has more worth than you right now. The question then becomes, what are you going to do about it?” He turned and walked towards the door to her apartment above the jail. He paused at the door long enough to say, “I'll let you think that question over for a bit.”

Ricochet sat there, silent tears running down her cheeks. “Damn ye, ye bastard.” Unable to support herself any longer, she leaned against the hoofboard of her bed, banging her head against it repeatedly. The sound of the door creaking open further drew her attention to the only pony she dreaded seeing more than the sheriff.

“Were you honestly thinking of leaving without even saying goodbye?” Knightengale asked. Her face was an unreadable mask, but the slight crack in her melodious voice betrayed her emotions.

Unable to hold her gaze any longer, Ricochet's bloodshot eyes darted away in shame. “Aye. I thought-”

“No, I don't believe you were thinking; at least, not about me or anypony else who might be hurt by your leaving without so much as a 'see you later',” the aganippe answered for her.

Ricochet flinched from the raw hurt apparent in her voice. “Aye. Tha'.” She looked around for something to say, anything to cover the awful silence that pervaded the room like a living thing, seeking to suffocate the earth pony with sheer oppressiveness. “I- I couldn'a stand the thought o' leaving ye, but I couldn'a stand the thought o' saying goodbye even more.” She thumped her head against the bed again, this time hard enough to split the skin, letting a dribble of blood fun down her face to mix with the tracks of her tears. “Bloody coward,” she said quietly.

Suddenly, her head was being cradled against the smaller mare's chest, and a soft kiss planted on top of her head. “Don't you dare even think of ever doing that again, you hear me? Ever! You're not alone in this world, and there are ponies who care about you. Ponies who would miss you. Understand?”

Ricochet could only manage a quick nod, as she breathed in the comforting scent of the mare holding her.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Ricochet sat on her freshly made bed, nursing a mug of hot coffee, her gaze never leaving the bustling form of Knightengale, as the aganippe cleaned the room. She almost choked on her drink when the mare opened the widows wide to air out the room, leaning far out, and breathing in a breath of fresh air, unknowingly showing off her lean curves. “Why are ye doing all this, Knighty?” she asked quietly, not trusting her voice to rise in volume for fear of breaking again.

Pausing in her whirlwind of activity, Knightengale turned to her friend, and shook her head in amusement. “Nopony should have to live in filth like this. It's a wonder you haven't caught something from all this.”

The earth pony pulled a half full bottle of whiskey from under her mattress and waved it at her. “I'm thinking I was just well-preserved.” She pulled the cork out with her teeth and was about to pour a measure into her mug, but saw Knightengale standing there with a disapproving look on her face and a wastebasket held out. “Och, come on, Knighty! Just a wee farewell draught, please.”

“Rico, I know it can be hard to face the world without some sort of liquid courage, but I know too, that you're a braver pony than that,” Knightengale replied, waving the wastebasket insistently. “Besides,” she added as the recorked bottle was gently laid in the basket to clink against the other bottles already filling it, “You won't be facing the world all alone. I'll help you through this, even if it kills you.”

With a spreading blush, Ricochet replied, “Aye, wall, I dinna know aboot tha'. Personally, I'd like to survive it an all.”

Bundling up the last of the trash, Knightengale sat down next to Ricochet with a sigh, and surprised her by guiding the earth pony's hooves holding the mug to her own lips for a quick drink. “Thanks, I needed that.”

Ricochet took another pull from the mug, draining it of the last dregs and laid it on the table next to her bed. “There... there's something ye should know before ye decide to get too tangled oop in me mess, Knighty. It's how I came to be oot here and why I was booted from the guard.”

“I thought you said you left on your own,” Knightengale said.

“Aye, wall, I may have done a wee bit o' truth stretching there,” she replied. “I did leave the capital on me own, but I was booted from the guard for something terrible. I guess ye could say it really started the day I officially joined the guard...”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Casually tossing her duffel bag onto the lower bunk closest to the showers, Ricochet planted a hoof on it, claiming it for all to see. She looked over at the rest of the still-green recruits filing in, fresh from the training grounds and smiled at them. “Too slow by half, ladies! This one's all mine.”

“You just want that bunk so you can watch us shower from the convenience of your bed,” a blue pegasus said as she sashayed up to her and threw her own kit on the top bunk.

Ricochet closed the distance until their noses touched. “Aye, what of it, Cornflower?”

A yellow unicorn mare rolled her eyes. “Oh, get a room, you two.”

Cornflower put a foreleg over Ricochet's shoulders, though reaching up to do so. “We do have a room; this one!” she said proudly.

“Meine Güte ! Vat ist all dis kaffeeklatsch?”

All heads turned to the doorway to find the sergeant, a short, but muscular earth pony mare whose body and face was so covered in scars, it was difficult to tell that her original coat color was actually a drab olive. She ran a hoof through a close-cropped brown mane and looked at the assembled mares with the same disdain one might bestow on a smudge on their favorite tablecloth. She walked in, followed closely by a tan unicorn mare with a scroll and quill floating next to her in the air.

With a stomp, she pointed to the rank insignia on the sleeve of her tunic. “Vat are zey teachingk recruits zese days? You come to attention when a superior enters the room! Schnell!” she shouted.

The unicorn behind her shouted, “Fall in!” in a voice that would do any drill instructor proud.

Immediately, the new mares stood at attention in front of their bunks, trying intently to stare at nothing so as to not draw attention to themselves. The sergeant walked down the line of ponies, disgust clear on her features. “I ask for soldat, and zey send me half-trained foals!” She turned to the mare behind her and asked, “I did ask for soldat, didn't I, Korporal Paladin?”

“I distinctly remember writing down 'soldier' on the requisition form, Sar'major,” Paladin replied.

“Zen zere must have been some mix-up. I see no soldat here, only vet-behind-ze-ears recruits so new zey sqveak like a mouse vhen zey valk!” the sergeant said. “Vat am I supposed to do viz zese?” she asked exasperatedly.

Paladin gave a small shrug. “The same thing you do every time the Quartermaster sends the wrong thing; make it work, Sar'major.”

The tiny sergeant facehoofed, dragging the hoof down her face. “Celestia, gib mir kraft.” She pointed at Cornflower. “You! Over here!” She pointed at the empty bunk nearest the door. “Korporal, you shall take ze schlafkoje above ze ozer vun. Maybe your presence vill keep zese barracks from turning into ein orgy.”

“Yes, Sar'major!” Paladin said with a smart salute.

Cornflower moved with alacrity, albeit reluctantly. When her gear was laying on her new bunk, the sergeant resumed her inspection. “Mein name ist Oberstabsfeldwebel Eisen Stück, but you may call me Sergeant Major Iron Piece, or as Korporal Paladin says, Sar'major; I shall reply to any of zose. I also reply to 'zat vitch' or 'die hexe', but you better be ready to back zat up mit die gewalt.”

Iron Piece stopped in front of one of the bunks and wiped a hoof along it and nodded in approval before moving on. “You vill note zat zis room ist clean enough to eat off of. You vill see zat it stays zat vay, or you vill be eating off of it.” She stopped again as she came to Ricochet, and despite the vast size difference, somehow made the larger mare feel small. “Zere vill also be no hanky-panky in mein barracks. Kein! Ist zat clear?”

“Aye, Sar'major,” Ricochet replied, gulping loudly.

Turning to the rest of the barracks, Iron Piece shouted, “I asked you all a qvestion! Ist! Zat! CLEAR?”

”YES, SAR'MAJOR!” the mares replied in unison.

Iron Piece facehoofed and shook her head. “Meine Güte , did zey teach you nozingk in basic?” She walked to the door. “I need ein bitter. Korporal, get acqvainted viz ze truppen.”

With the largest, small pony any of the mares had ever seen gone, their attention turned to the sandy brown unicorn with a white mane and tail, who rolled up her scroll, but kept it and the quill floating next to her. She smiled at them widely. “She's a peach, isn't she? For those of you wondering, my name is Corporal Paladin, your squad leader. You have all been lucky enough to be taken under the Sar'major's wing because you happened to show the most potential in basic. Unfortunately, you all also showed the most discipline problems, and she just loves discipline problems. I'm going to give you all a piece of free advice right now. Do not try her patience. She may not be allowed to beat you to death, but you'd be surprised what a pony can survive, and she comes from a very old school of thought on discipline. Positively archaic.” She walked up to Ricochet and smiled up at her and winked. “Mind you, I'm not much better.”

She walked back to the door, saying, “I'm going to collect my things now; give you fillies a few moments to kibbitz about what horrible ponies the Sar'major and I are. Try not to tear the room apart while I'm gone.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“You knew Dame Paladin when she was just a corporal?” Knightengale asked.

Ricochet smiled wistfully. “Aye, I knew the cuttie when she was just a wee bairn. Her family used to summer in Cowadonia. We would play hide'n'seek among the barrows all the time.”

Knightengale bumped shoulders with her. “Sounds like there may have been a crush somewhere in there.”

“Nae, though we did play postmare once or twice,” she replied. “Pally was- is a top shelf mare; deserves all the good in her life. She tried to help me, ye ken, but I was always a wee bit stubborn, ye may've noted.”

Putting a hoof to her chin in false thought, the aganippe replied, “Now that you mention it...”

“Aye, wall...”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“Och, come oon, Pally. Give us a break. We need a respite before the horror is upoon us.” Ricochet gestured to the gathered mares of their squad, all of whom tried to pretend to be giving the two a bit of privacy. Ricochet had told them that she and Paladin were old acquaintances, and they wasted no time in trying to get her to wheedle a pass for the night. She didn't like being used this way, and she liked using her friendship this way even less, but they promised to buy her drinks all night if she did, and she was aching to try ale for the first time.

Paladin looked at her sternly, but the earth pony knew her well enough to see the resolve wavering in her eyes. The unicorn always went along with her ideas, even if she was reluctant. “We have an early day tomorrow, Rico. The Sar'major wants to start drilling right away, and she was singularly unimpressed by the looks of the girls earlier. The only reason we aren't out on the field right now is because the first day is traditionally one of rest, and she is big on traditions.”

Ricochet smiled at the opening provided. “There, ye see? A day oof rest! What better way to rest, than in the pub? Come oon, Pally. I'll even buy you a drink or two.”

Paladin chewed on her lip, clearly torn.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“She eventually gave in; she always had a soft spot for me, ye ken,” Ricochet said with a smile. “Mind ye, she really had nae use for drinking, and opted to stay in the barracks. Looking back on it, tha' may have been a mistake on her part. Being out oon the town for first time since joining the guard, we went a wee bit barmy; lost track o' time. We didn'a get back until well after soonrise.”

Knightengale winced and hissed in sympathy. “I'm sure what kind of impression that made on the Sar'major.”

Ricochet nodded sadly. “Aye. Being that it was Pally what gave us the passes, she took the brunt of the Sar'major's anger; though I think she was hurt more by the disappointment in her eyes than the physical punishment or revocation o' privileges. I know I was when Pally looked me way.” She was silent for a moment before adding, “Cut right through me like a knife made o' ice. I felt aboot as tall as a snake in a wagon rut. Mind ye, it didn'a stop it from happening again.”

“Love at first taste?” Knightengale asked,

“Nae,” she replied, surprising her friend. “Could nae stand the stooff. Mind ye, my first taste was tha' weak Spellgrade swill. I would sooner use tha' to clean the latrines, than drink it. Weak, heavy oon the berries, and nae bite to it. Nae, it was'na until I discovered a pub what served proper ale from Cowadonia.” The earth pony sighed blissfully. “Now there's an ale to start the marning! Rich, bitter, thick enough to slice; t'is truly a drink of the alicarns!”

Knightengale playfully bumped shoulders with her. “I'm starting to feel like 'the other mare' here.”

“Och, Knighty. Before ye ask for tha' position, you should hear the rest o' the story.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Paladin walked beside Ricochet, Cornflower, and three other guards, wondering how she got wrangled into this. “Now, we are going to be back in time for reveille, right?”

Ricochet slapped the unicorn's shoulders boisterously. “Dinna fash yourself so, Pally. We take care o' our own.”

“That's what worries me,” Paladin replied in a sotto voice.

Cornflower draped herself halfway over Ricochet's back, allowing the larger mare to carry her in what would normally considered a shocking public display of affection, but meant little to either of them. “Oh, calm down, and pull the stick out. It's okay to let your mane down now and then, you know.”

“Aye, we're here to celebrate your grand promotion, Pally! Ye deserve it after all the hard work ye put in,” Ricochet added. “It's not everypony who's invited to join Princess Celestia's personal guard by the Princess herself, ye know. If there were ever a better reason for a celebration, I never heard o' one!”

“Let's just keep the drinking to a minimum. I have to get up before the sun tomorrow,” Paladin pleaded.

Ricochet looked at her like she had grown a second head. “Now where's the fun in tha'?”

It turned out that Paladin's fear weren't unfounded. While they could only get her to drink a total of three pints that whole night, the rest of their group were on their fifth, and Ricochet her eighth when the trouble started.

While nicely buzzed, Paladin was still in full grasp of her faculties, and was looking for a way to end the night, but every time she tried to bring it up, one of the mares would order another round. I need some time to think and clear my mind. “If you ladies will excuse me, I need to visit the little fillies' room,” she said, scooting back her chair to stand.

“Better hurry up before Rico drinks your ale again!” Cornflower shouted after her.

With a good-natured smile and a wave, she wandered off (if a bit unsteadily) to find respite. While she was gone, an equally drunk stallion wandered up to the table, and put one hoof on it, leaning over Ricochet. “How's about a kiss, Darlin'?” he asked, breath smelling strongly of whiskey.

“How's about a punch in the nose?” Cornflower asked, pulling Ricochet a little closer to her.

A lecherous grin spread across the stallion's face. “You two together?” he asked.

“An' what if we are, ya great pillock?” Ricochet replied.

The stallion looked back and shouted, “Hey guys! We got us a bunch a fillies that need to learn what being with a stallion is like!”

Ricochet tilted her head to either side, eliciting loud cracking sounds, as a grin spread across her own face. “An' ye think ye can do tha' with tha' wee bairn's dork ye got flopping around, do ye? I seen more impressive wedding tackle on a bunny rabbit.”

Naturally, no stallion would take that from anyone, especially not as inebriated as this one was. The swing he took at her was not unexpected, indeed, was even welcomed, but not when Cornflower jumped in the way of it, laying her out flat. That was all it took for Ricochet to lose all restraint. She picked up her chair and smashed it over his head, breaking it into splinters. That seemed to be the signal the whole bar was waiting for, because an instant later, there was not a pony in the taproom not involved in the melee.

Ponies fought each other, regardless of allegiances, fighting just to fight. The only exceptions were the five soldiers, who fought like a unit as they had been taught, and the barmaids, all of whom had taken cover behind the bar as if defending a rampart. During the brawl, one pony was sent flying towards the jakes where Paladin was just finishing up, and was wondering what was going on to make such a ruckus. As she was reaching for the door, the pony sent flying slammed into a table, which landed against the door, both blocking it quite effectively.

It didn't take long for the Night Guard to come in, clubs swinging, taking out all comers indiscriminately. When the last pony went down, they rounded up all of them, barkeep and serving wenches and all, taking them to jail. Paladin was found several minutes later, and freed from her prison, but given her circumstances, was released on her own recognizance.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“The rest o' us were nae so lucky,” Ricochet said. “Cornflower had to see the healers to clear oop her dooble vision. Had to pay a pretty bit for it, too. She blamed me for tha', too. She was a right feisty mare in the sack, but quick to lay blame, especially if she could land it oon soomepony other than herself. I took the chimera's share oof the blame for the fight. Sorta built oop a reputation for it, ye ken. The others just got a reprimand and some KP. I... I was droomed oot for good. Dishonorable discharge. Actions unbecoming a Royal Guard.”

“For a bar fight?” Knightengale asked, incredulous.

“Nae. For crippling tha' stallion what hit Cornflower.” Ricochet winced at her friend's gasp of surprise. “Bloke couldn'a pay the healers to fix it, so all me savings, meager as they were, were taken to pay for compensation. When it didn'a measure oop for the expenses, they figured they'd be better oof withoot a can o' piss like me. All rank and privileges revoked. Only reason I could hang on to me bow was because it was mine, not issued.”

Knightengale pulled her in for a hug. “Oh, Rico...”

Tears flowed freely once more down the earth pony's face. “Tha's why ye should stay away from me. I'm a walking disaster area. Everything I touch turns to roadapples in me hooves.”

Knightengale responded by cradling the mare in her forelegs, and whispered soothing words to her, as their tears came forth. After a few moment, the tears slowed, and both ponies regained control of their breathing. “What are you going to do now, Join up under a new name?” the aganippe asked.

“They'll nae have me, and too many in the Guard know me face to try tha' blarney,” Ricochet replied sadly. She sighed and reached over to pick up her bow, which was leaning against the wall. “I dinna know what to do, Knighty. I canna go back, and I canna move forward withoot knowing where I'm going.”

Knightengale laid a hoof on top of the earth pony's, which was holding the bow on her lap, giving it a gentle, yet firm squeeze. “Wherever you go, Ricochet, it won't be alone.”

Author's Note:

Well, after taking all comments into consideration, I think I'm going to leave out the pictures altogether, unless I feel especially inspired, if only so that I can get back on a weekly update progress. It was a difficult decision to make, but after considering how the story is being written, I think it's for the best so that the readers don't have time to forget just which pony is which, and to be perfectly honest, I'd rather write the story than draw it. Ponies just aren't my forte when it comes to artwork. Now, if this story were about anthro ponies, it would be a different story.

Comments

[morhdd]

Hooray for frequent updates! I liked the art, but I won't complain about more story. You write engaging characters.

[SolidFire]

Well... I guess my first comment on this story will be my sadness at seeing the artwork being forgone. I really liked it and thought it added to how it all went together. I'm finding myself having to go look at the cover art all the more so that I can recognize characters. But so far I love the story. I waited a long time to read it for... some reason or another that I can't remember, but I knew it would be worth it.

~SolidFire