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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 9, 2013 19:25:03 GMT -5
To say that had not gone well would be the greatest understatement since 'Discord is kind of a jerk.'
Lucky felt the wounds with one hoof. Close together; both flesh wounds, it seemed, no arteries or organs. Hopefully. Both were also fairly deep, and bleeding badly. Flint, meanwhile, was barely scratched. Feathers were slightly better protection against a cut than fur. At least he ruined that dumb jacket.
The pain was making it hard to think of another move. He knew the Griffon in front of him didn't have any compunction about killing ponies; he'd knocked one over a bannister inside a burning building for reasons not yet determined. He doubted the Griffon behind him was any nicer. Surrendering now would leave him at their slim-to-zero mercies.
On the other hand, he couldn't fight like this. One leg was starting to feel really cold, and he'd been injured enough to know what that meant. His wings still worked fine, but he didn't want to walk, run or kick right now, if his circulation picked up in that side the bleeding could get really bad. And that was if the pain didn't immediately drop him.
Gritting his teeth, Lucky lowered himself slowly to the ground and dropped the survival knife. He backed away from it, closing his wing over the stab wounds to try and hold in the blood. "Alright," he said coldly, standing as straight as he could with the injuries. "Let's talk."
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 9, 2013 19:48:58 GMT -5
Flint looked behind Lucky, probably trying to see whether the smaller griffon had a silent response. He then stepped forward to pick up Lucky's knife, keeping his eyes on the pegasus the entire time. Once it was safely in his hand, the griffon nodded towards the far corner of the bedroom, opposite the mattress.
"In the corner," he said. "'n try not to get blood on the floor."
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 9, 2013 20:05:24 GMT -5
"Wouldn't want to wreck such a lovely home," Lucky muttered, dragging his hooves across the room, taking his time. The pain was subsiding into a dull, low throb. He wasn't sure if that was good or not, but it made thinking easier. He still couldn't trust himself to pull off any daring, action-y escapes, especially not while surrounded. He'd have to distract them. Trick them. He'd done that kind of thing before, it as how he escaped the sky pirates over the Badlands a year or so back. Now if only he had a conveniently shiny, valuable trinket on him for them to argue over.
"I suppose it's too much to expect you've got some clean bandages around here?" He asked. "Or clean anything? I won't be able to tell you much if I bleed out."
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 9, 2013 20:23:30 GMT -5
After Lucky was in the corner, Flint handed the smaller griffon the survival knife, which was prompty tossed towards the far side of the larger room outside the door. He then flew into the bedroom, closing the door behind him before landing next to Flint.
Flint listened to Lucky, looking over at his companion after the pegasus had finished. "Do we have bandages?"
The smaller griffon shrugged. "Don't think so. Might have some dirty towels in the kitchen."
"Right. And we're not about to go out and get you bandages while you've got buddies watching the building." Two ticks of silence passed before the medium-sized griffon spoke again. "Who's with you?"
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 9, 2013 20:53:26 GMT -5
"I'll just lie here and stain your 'nice' floors, then," Lucky responded, settling down as best he could without pressuring his injured side. His mind was racing, at least as best it could given the circumstances. As he sat, he braced his good rear hoof against the ground - still sitting pretty normally, it just happened to be a normal position from which he could spring up if need be. Which they might realize if they looked closely and knew a fair bit about pony physiology.
"There's a few of us. Most are waiting to see if we come back, but one other guy got into the attic a while back. Not sure what happened to him, but if you don't know I'm guessing he's still there. But he's not your biggest problem. We knew he'd wait up. I'd say your biggest problem is what happens if I don't come back. Or did you think no one knew we were here?"
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 9, 2013 21:18:08 GMT -5
"When'd this friend of yours sneak his way into the attic?" Flint asked with heavy skepticism. "Dean's been here all day. Kept the door locked, didn't you?"
The smaller griffon nodded. "Probably woulda seen or heard 'em anyway."
Flint looked back at Lucky. "So you follow'd me here from the library, gathered up a posse, snuck someone into the attic past at least Dean, then later decided to sneak in yourself. Am I gettin' that right?"
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 9, 2013 21:32:58 GMT -5
"That is exactly right," Lucky deadpanned. "No offense, Griffon-who-up-until-now-I-just-called-Shorty, but you're not the most attentive. Wasn't hard for me to get this far. If you must know, I came here to look for him. I just figure he's in the attic because where else could he be? This was the only other place I couldn't see into from outside. But hey, don't believe me. See if I care. I'll just wait here and hope the guard shows up before I bleed too much." He shrugged nonchalantly.
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 9, 2013 21:45:28 GMT -5
"You got a lot of attitude for a pony who's bleedin' in the corner," Dean spoke, taking a step forward and pointing his switchblade at Lucky.
Flint put a hand on the smaller griffon's shoulder, gently pushing him back. "Tell Bolo to search the attic." Dean snarled at Lucky before turning and exiting the room, the door shutting behind him. "Last chance to give an honest answer."
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 9, 2013 21:58:08 GMT -5
Before he answered, Lucky lifted his wing and took a look at his wounds, which had gone worryingly numb. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle. At his best objective guess, from those first aid classes he took, he'd suffer minor blood loss if he pushed himself (which he would) and possibly infection from the uncleaned wounds. The minor blood loss would be a problem - he'd feel fatigued and that might slow him down - but he still had some time before that kicked in.
"Fine. Honestly, I just got one thing to say," Lucky said seriously, glancing up over Flint's head for fraction of a second. "Don't look up, dummy." He didn't wait too long for a reaction: His rear legs braced, he pushed off immediately. It was a desperate gamble that he'd confused Flint for just a moment, but that one moment would be all he needed to slam his forehead into the Griffon's. Then he could go for the knife and... then Flint would be on the ground and he'd have a knife and he could work with that.
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 10, 2013 1:44:10 GMT -5
Flint didn't fall for Lucky's trick, but avoiding the charging pegasus was another thing. The griffon failed to dodge away from Lucky, and soon found himself about to collide with the incoming pegasus. However, instead of getting hit by the full force of Lucky's forehead, Flint managed to grab onto the pegasus with both hands, using his strength to keep him in place. After a moment of struggle, the griffon pulled back his neck and slammed his skull into Lucky's with a headbutt of his own. He then tossed the pony into the wall, leaving him with his lower half laying on the end of the mattress.
"Bad move," Flint said, walking over and pulling the door open. "Dean, Bolo, you can stop searchin'. Twerp's alone, and he wants to be taught a lesson."
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 10, 2013 2:54:06 GMT -5
Lucky had had his bad days, but this one had to hit the top twenty at least. Thankfully the mattress cushioned the fall to his injured side, but impacting the wall was not fun. Still, his head also had its fall cushioned (by his jaw - ouch) and he was still thinking fine. Well enough at least to see an opportunity. Flint had dismissed Lucky too early, but only by a little. He didn't have long.
Lucky kicked off the mattress - for once luck was on his side, as it cushioned his hooves enough to make no real noise. Probably one of those springless things. This time he hovered in the air and darted forward at Flint with a solid rear buck aimed at the back of his head. But this wasn't just another attempt to knock him down; hopefully that would still happen, but he was really using the Griffon as a surface to kick off of for a head-start.
Pushing both his legs and his wings to their limits, he might get just enough force to break through the real target: The boards on the window. Despite his injury, there was enough adrenaline rushing through him that he could do just that. Once he was outside - if he got outside - he could fly away. They wouldn't chase him into the open air, with witnesses all around. It might not be enough, but the boards really didn't look very solid. They had probably been hammered on more to cover the hole than to serve as a reinforced defense. He would just have to hope they were as rickety as they looked.
After all, if this didn't work then he'd smash head-first into wooden boards and be far too dazed to ever fight back or even roll with the punches when these Griffons started wailing on him. It was literally his last chance. So just before he dived, he offered one final, silent prayer to the Princesses that, just once in this afternoon messed-up, he could be Lucky.
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 10, 2013 14:51:02 GMT -5
Lucky's buck hit its target, sending an unsuspecting Flint face-planting right into the floor. The pegasus springed off of the attack, flying straight towards the boarded up window. With all his force Lucky was able to break through the boards, but the impact left him in an incredible daze.
He was lying in the alley outside the house, his vision swimming and his head unable to tell up from down. Trying to walk would collapse him after a single step. Flying would crash him back to the ground after ascending less than a foot. Lucky wasn't going anywhere until his head cleared.
From inside the house Lucky could make out bits and pieces of Flint's voice. "... ...-side. Bro-.. ..... -the window- ..."
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 10, 2013 16:56:59 GMT -5
Lucky couldn't be sure at that time what was worse: The pain from his side, where he'd been stabbed; the pain from his front, where he'd smashed through the boards; the pain in his body all over, which seemed to have just sort of happened over the course of the last few minutes; or the fact that in his current, dazed state it all sort of blended together into a big haze of pain that composed most of his world now.
He knew he had to leave, but he found he could barely stand. His wings wouldn't obey him, or if they did then they'd gone numb and he couldn't tell anymore. Blackness crept into the edges of his vision, and he knew somehow that he didn't have much time left before... before something happened. Something he didn't want. He had to get away, had to hide...
And there it was. By sheer, dumb luck he had landed mere feet from his salvation. A stinking barrel previously filled with horrid trash and currently filled with the stench of a barracks full of soldiers with bowel irregularities had never looked so beautiful. He tried to walk toward it, but crashed on the first step. His hooves would barely hold him, and somehow moving them had become a difficult task indeed. But however tempting it was to just give in to the darkness, he could somehow feel that what followed it would be much worse.
Whether it was determination or nameless terror that drove him, even Lucky could no longer say. All he knew was that he had to get into that barrel. Hoof by hoof he pulled himself forward, dragging his hide along the ground for what felt like an eternity. Finally, somehow miraculously before the return of the Griffons, he had pulled himself inside, but as he looked back he saw his downfall: He'd left a trail of blood leading right to him.
No! Panicked, he did the only thing he could think of: He huddled into a ball. But the motion seemed to tip the barrel, causing it to roll slightly before stopping on his weight. His mind slowly unfogging, he knew what he had to do. Much like the little balls they gave hamsters to roll in, as he moved, the barrel moved, rolling resolutely in one direction until it bumped against what he sincerely hoped was the alley wall and not an unusually solid Griffon chest that sounded like a wall.
Looking out again, he could see only darkness; the entrance to the barrel was either blocked or hidden in some deep shadow. But he could hear talons scraping on the street. They were coming. They hadn't found him yet, but they still might. Lucky Charm, suddenly feeling very undeserving of the name, didn't dare to even breathe, let alone move. He could only shut his eyes and pray within his mind that he lived long enough to regret this stupid mess he'd gotten himself into.
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Post by King Tidal Wave on Nov 11, 2013 17:27:31 GMT -5
The scraping sound of griffon talons got even closer, passing by Lucky before coming to a stop. A heavier set of talons could be heard not long after, stopping much closer to the pegasus. Lucky could hear the anxious, muffled sound of Dean's voice a short distance away. "I don't see him. There's his blood but, did he fly off?"
"The barrel." Bolo's voice was much closer to the barrel, and Lucky could feel a set of talons grabbing it right after he spoke. "Wasn't over here a few minutes ago."
The opening of the barrel was suddenly spun away from the wall, and Lucky was roughly dumped out onto the street. Not a moment later Bolo had him pinned down with all his weight, his hand pushing the side of Lucky's face into the street. The pegasus could see Dean running his talons through his head feathers, letting out a deep sigh of relief. "Okay... now what?"
"Kill him!" Flint's voice could be heard at the other end of the alley, the griffon rapidly approaching the three. "Longer this punk's alive more trouble he causes. We get rid of this pest now."
"What, we're gonna just kill 'em here?" Dean asked. "And hold onto the body 'til we can get rid of it?"
Some silence passed amongst the griffons, Bolo continuing to press Lucky's face into the street. "No," Flint finally spoke. "We feed 'em to the wolves. Tonight. Bolo, knock 'em out." With that Bolo lifted Lucky's head, pulling it back before smashing it into the pavement. And then darkness.
Lucky's next conscious thoughts were of him experiencing an odd weightlessness. It was dark, almost pitch-black. He had been put back inside the barrel, and it seemed a lid had been fastened to it to keep him inside. And the barrel most certainly wasn't grounded. In fact, it felt like it was... plummeting! Plummeting towards the earth with Lucky still inside it.
If Lucky wanted any hope of surviving, he needed to break out before he hit the ground. There was no way of guessing how much time he had left, but if the pegasus didn't act he'd find out soon enough.
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Post by Lucky Charm on Nov 11, 2013 18:30:49 GMT -5
What woke Lucky up was when his head unexpectedly bumped against the top of the barrel. Or was it the bottom? Side? He couldn't tell, the stupid thing was round and it was dark and wait why was he floating?
As his other senses began to return, he could hear the loud sound of rushing air outside the wooden barrel. Being a Pegasus, he did not take long to decipher that: He was in freefall. Judging by the volume, it wasn't very fast yet, but gravity worked quickly. Panicked, he scrabbled around inside the barrel, only then remembering the last few moments before he was knocked out. They must have dropped the barrel. Where? Over the edge of Royal Rocks? Well, nopony would survive -that- fall. He didn't think a dragon would.
Finding one end of the barrel - he didn't really care which - Lucky slammed his rear hoof into it. He tried for both, but one seemed oddly sluggish. The wood refused to budge, though. He kicked again, and again, growing more and more desperate, but still it didn't give. He pressed his front hooves against the other end for stability and kept on bucking. Even then it held fast, and he was reduced to praying aloud to whatever Princess could hear him. "I swear, if you help me through this, I'll never take your names in vain again. I'll go back to Equestria! I'll help rebuild, I'll fight, anything!" But there seemed to be no divine intervention coming.
Was it even weakening? Were the nails giving? He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't tell how long he had to live. Desperate terror drove him and he kept on kicking, knowing every failure cost him precious seconds, maybe the last he would ever have...
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