Another Day, Another Journey

[Lucky Charm]

"Nice to meetcha, Tanner," Lucky said, smiling brightly as he went to the indicated chairs. This was going better than he'd hoped - directions and a chance to tell a tale! Yesterday had its ups and downs, he decided, but today has been a good day. He couldn't even feel the stinging in his side as long as he didn't think about- Ow. He winced, but he was facing away from Tanner when it happened, so he didn't have to spoil that part of the story.

"Where to begin," he wondered aloud after settling down in the chair. "I haven't really had time to rehearse this... Well, yesterday I arrived in Royal Rocks just a bit after sunrise, nice and early. My original plan - as much as you can call one action a plan - was to go stop by the city on my way to Trottingham to check out the rumors I'd been hearing of a mysterious building showing up out of nowhere, just on the outskirts. That has to have a story attached, y'know? But when I got to Royal Rocks, I saw a pair of ponies advertising a 'miracle drink' to make Griffons fly faster.

"Now I'd never seen those two in my life, but when I heard their names I could have sworn they were familiar, so I went to check it out. I figure they must've spotted me and thought another pony would help with their act, because they called me up on stage and offered me a sample. Also a bag of bits if I said it was good stuff, but they weren't as loud about that part. I'm not one for con acts, but never let it be said Lucky Charm is afraid of trying something new, so I took a swig of the bottle.

"I'm not sure what it was they brewed up, but I think they must have found a way to keep sugar liquid and cool, because I haven't been that hyperactive in years. For about a minute I was zooming around, chattering on like crazy, and that was when I recognized the names: Flim and Flam, a pair of con ponies who sold some awful cider at my old hometown. I didn't remember at first because I only heard about it secondhoof, I was out when it happened. When I said as much - loudly, and ten feet above everygriffon's heads - I guess it burst their bubble, because they suddenly discovered they scheduled to leave town at that exact moment. That was also the moment the sugar rush wore off... with me still in mid-air." He rubbed his muzzle, wincing at the memory. "That hurts about as much as you think it does."

He decided here was a good point to pause and give Tanner a chance to comment, under the pretenses of catching his breath after talking for so long. It'd also give him a chance to ask any questions he may have.

[King Tidal Wave]

Lucky didn't get the chance to share his entire story in one go, however. Partway through, another griffon touched down a short distance from the house, walking up towards the porch before spotting Lucky. He was much older than Tanner (though he still seemed younger than the griffon next door), but with the same brown feathers. In fact, there was somewhat of a resemblance between the two.

"Who's this?" the griffon asked, stopping right in front of the porch.

"Oh, sorry. This is Lucky Charm. Lucky, this is my father, Cobb."

The older griffon glanced over at Lucky, showing skepticism if anything.

"He's from Royal Rocks. On his way to Trottingham."

"Walking?" the older griffon asked flatly.

"Well... no. He was actually just explaining how he ended up here."

The griffon continued staring at Lucky for several seconds, his head craning to get a better look at the pegasus's bandages. "It's getting a little late, isn't it?" he asked, speaking to Tanner while keeping his eyes locked on Lucky. "I'm sure Lucky has somewhere he needs to be. We wouldn't want to keep him from getting back to wherever he's staying."

Tanner kept his beak shut, looking at his father for a second before turning to see how Lucky was going to respond.

[Lucky Charm]

Lucky seemed to have caught the subtle hint. Without missing a beat, he slid off the rocking chair and nodded politely at the older Griffon. "Guess I am losing the last of the daylight," he agreed amiably. "I'll just find someplace to camp that's not on anygriffon's field. Worst comes to worst, I bet there's a low-hanging cloud somewhere." He didn't especially like the idea of flying up to the clouds while injured, but he could do it.

The Pegasus hopped off the porch and turned to face Tanner. "Thanks for the directions," he said. "I'll come back sometime with a bit more light, tell you the rest of the story. Maybe by then I'll even know how it ends," he added, grinning.

[King Tidal Wave]

Tanner frowned somewhat as Lucky got up to leave. "You've got everything you need to sleep outdoors in that bag? I mean, it sounded like you ended up in the valley rather unexpectedly. You're sure you've got food and everything? Light? Something to make shelter?"

Cobb had almost reached the door when Tanner began speaking, but stopped to give his son a look. Not really a mean look or a questioning look, but just... a look. "I mean, I would feel rather bad if we sent you away to go sleep on the dirt, especially if you don't have any food."

Cobb had his talon on the door handle, turning it at a snail's pace while Tanner spoke. "You could stay for dinner. It wouldn't be any trouble."

"Your mother wasn't expecting a guest," Cobb stated.

"She always makes more than enough. It'll be fine," the younger griffon contended.

[Lucky Charm]

"I wouldn't want to impose-" Lucky began, only to be cut off by a rumbling sound that was either a distant earthquake or his stomach reminding him that he'd skipped lunch today in the hopes of having breakfast tomorrow. "...but as it happens I didn't have time to buy all my supplies for the trip," he admitted. It wasn't the first time he'd run out of food on a hike and wouldn't be the last, but he wasn't about to turn down a dinner if it was offered. "If you're sure it's no trouble, I'd be happy to stick around for dinner."

Mentally he braced himself for a chilly reception. He knew he wasn't totally welcome, but at this point he'd get kidnapped by pirates again if it meant they'd feed him.

[King Tidal Wave]

Tanner looked over at his father, waiting to see what he'd do next. "I'm not quite comfortable with a stranger in my house," Cobb spoke. "Especially given recent events."

"I think that we should show some hospitality," Tanner responded. "And that saying he can't sit down for a meal with us is rude."

The older griffon let out a long sigh, seeming to admit defeat. He then pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Tell him to wipe his feet."

Tanner waited until his father was out of earshot before saying something to Lucky. "I think he'll open up once he gets to know you. My dad can be a bit leery." With that Tanner stepped into the house, beckoning Lucky to follow him inside.

The interior of the home was simplistic, but homey. There was a living room with a fireplace, some chairs, and a few end tables. On one of them was some cluttered notes and a stack of textbooks, all of which seemed to have something to do with either economics or business of some sort. There was also a checkered green sofa, and Lucky could see a door frame on the far end opening to a dining room.

On the walls were some framed photos, a set of which seemed to have one of each member of the family; five in total. Only two of them stood out, one of which was of another male griffon. He resembled Tanner in a few ways, but a bit older and wearing a naval uniform. The other was of a female adolescent griffon, quite a few years younger than Tanner. The two mismatched photos seemed like they had not been taken alongside the other three.

"Mom," Tanner called in the direction of the dining room, "We're having a guest for dinner."

"Who is it?" a female griffon's voice responded.

"A pony from Royal Rocks. His name is Lucky Charm."

"We're having fish. Did your friend want me to set out a salad?"

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that," Tanner muttered. "Um, is a salad alright?"

[Lucky Charm]

Lucky smiled in response to Tanner's advice. He'd definitely met worse folks than Cobb - three of them just yesterday, in fact - and knew firsthoof just how hard times could make others hard. If Tanner believed he'd warm up, then Lucky was happy to give him that chance. He followed them into the house, taking in the decor.

He noted that somegriffon here was a student of business. Was that to maintain the farm's finances or maybe hoping to get a different job? He'd have to ask about that. The photos interested him even more. He recognized the naval jacket right away (he would not be forgetting what those looked like anytime soon) but their mismatched appearance caught the eye most of all.

He was drawn from his thoughts by Tanner's voice calling out to his mom, who called back. When he spoke to Lucky, the Pegasus smiled in response and answered "Salad would be great right about now." When he'd first left Equestria he'd been upset by the eating habits of omnivorous or carnivorous races, but that was five years ago. While he had no intention of ditching the vegetarian lifestyle himself, as much as anything because his stomach couldn't handle it, he wouldn't have any trouble sitting at the table. "Hey, who are those Griffons in the pictures?" He asked. "Brother and sister of yours?"

[King Tidal Wave]

"Salad's fine, Mom," Tanner called before turning back to Lucky? "Mmm? Oh, yes. Those are my siblings. Warden's in the Navy, First Fleet. Don't get to see him very often, but he told us he was part of that big battle over Royal Rocks. Must have been exciting."

"Rosa died a long time ago. And of course there's me, and my folks," the griffon said, referring to the other pictures. "Been living in this house most of my life. A lot quieter than Royal Rocks, but nothing to complain about. Certainly beats the dormitories."

[Lucky Charm]

Lucky considered telling him that, in the Pegasus' limited experience, battles tended to be just as much terrifying as exciting, but thought better of it. Instead he latched on to the last word. "Dormitories?" He repeated, glancing again at the textbooks. "So those are your books, then?" Come to that, he did say 'most' of his life, not all.

Now he thought about it, Lucky didn't know a lot about business. The basic concept seemed to be managing money, employees, products and so on, but that was about the extent of his understanding. This might be a good chance to get a better idea.

[King Tidal Wave]

"Right, those are mine. I'm a student up at Royal Rocks University. I would be up there now but the school ended up taking a lot of damage during the battle. Last I heard they still weren't certain when repairs were going to be finished. So for the time being they've cancelled classes, which is why I'm down here."

"As you can see I've been trying to keep myself busy. At the very least I don't want to have forgotten everything by the time we get back."

[Lucky Charm]

Lucky nodded. "Yeah, the war hit the city pretty hard. But when I was there yesterday the rebuilding seemed to be going pretty well. Everygriffon's pitching in one way or another, even if it's just by opening up their businesses and trying to get life going again." He paused. "Well, almost everygriffon. Close enough." Some of them, after all, preferred to be burning down libraries for obscure but self-evidently malign reasons.

"I don't know a lot about business," he continued, switching topics. War was an uncomfortable subject for him. "A friend of mine in Manehatten says a lot of it is numbers, predictions and stuff, but she didn't exactly give details. What exactly are you studying?"

[King Tidal Wave]

"Finances, and a little economics. Mostly the monetary side of things. I suppose there's a bit of guessing to it, but what's most important is making sure your guess is educated. Wouldn't want to invest in something you know nothing about."

"Dinner's ready, Tanner," came the voice from the dining room.

"We'll be there in a second," the young griffon answered. "Yes, good to hear the city's getting back on its feet," he spoke, leading Lucky into the dining room. On the table was a loaf of already sliced bread, sitting next to a stick of butter and pitcher of water. There was already a full glass and silverware at four of the seats, as well as a plate of fish and potatoes at three and a bowl of salad at the other.

"You must be Lucky," spoke a griffoness already in the room. She had dark brown feathers and was older, like Cobb. But she seemed a lot more welcoming than her husband had been. "I'm Fern, Tanner's mother. Do you two know each-other from school?"

"Lucky's actually passing through," Tanner answered, pulling back a seat and sitting down. "On his way to Trottingham."

"Visiting relatives?" the female griffon asked.

[Lucky Charm]

Lucky smiled a winning smile. This was going much better! "Actually it's more of a business trip," he answered, settling down in one of the seats. "It is now, anyway - kind of a funny story. See, I'm an explorer by nature, and I like to keep my ear to the ground for word of anything new and interesting to see. I heard a rumor, don't know if you've heard it, about some kind of mysterious structure showing up on the Bay Lachance peninsula, completely out of nowhere. Some sort of temple, apparently, and it has the local Hippocampi spooked.

"I was gonna check it out anyway, but while I was passing through Royal Rocks I met this Griffon called Shoal. He just happened to be putting together an expedition to that exact temple, and after I impressed him with my fearless insanity - long story - he offered me a job. Doing exactly what I was going to do anyway. It's times like that I know why my parents named me Lucky."

He stopped, grinning sheepishly. "Heh, sorry, I just sort of launched into a ramble, huh? Didn't mean to talk your ear off." He liked telling stories, but one of these days he'd have to learn how to not tell them at the slightest provocation.

[King Tidal Wave]

"An explorer," Fern repeated. "That must be very exciting. Though I hadn't heard anything about the bay in a long while. Did you know anything about this, Tanner?"

The griffon shook his head no.

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure what you find will be very interesting."

Cobb entered the room halfway through Fern's dialogue, silently grabbing a chair at the head of the table and sitting down. He kept his eyes on Lucky giving him... well, another look. The kind he had given Tanner, not really saying anything other than that he had his eyes on the pegasus.

Fern sat down after her husband. The griffoness began cutting into the fish with her utensils, her son and husband following suit. "Do you do any work for museums or magazines?" she asked Lucky. "Sharing any of your explorations with the world?"

[Lucky Charm]

Lucky noticed the look Cobb gave him, of course. It wasn't exactly subtle. His response was a cheerful smile that could be taken to mean he had nothing to hide, or just that he was a cheerful pony. Both were true.

He turned his attention back to Fern after munching a bit of the salad (wonderfully fresh - this time of year they must be well into the harvest) and answered honestly. "Now and again," he said, shrugging a bit. "Not so much museums, but a fair few magazines like to run a pony interest article and I see a lot of interesting things. Once or twice I've even written a piece for a travel book - let me tell you, you've never seen moonlight until you've seen it in the desert. Shame how the climate tends to ward folks away, it's actually pretty nice if you're dressed for the weather."

He paused for a while to eat some more of his dinner and comment on it being delicious before continuing. "The problem with contributing to museums and such is that by the time a freelancer gets to any ancient ruins the actual archaeologists have already been over everything with a fine-toothed comb, sometimes more than once. Combine that with no formal training in history or archaeology and they usually aren't interested.

"I do sometimes find something worth showing off, but half of that I end up keeping as a souvenir. Like this," he added, gesturing to his necklace of runestones. "Probably my favorite piece."