A Couriers Work is Never Done [Konstantin Volkov+Invited][Closed]

"That's why someone is coming with you on your way to Fillydelphia." The shopkeeper said.

Amity tried hard to suppress his emotions, just like he was taught. With a calming exhale he shifted his gaze back to the shopkeeper.

"Look Amber, I know you are perfectly capable of going to Filly and back, but y'know... I'd feel much better if someone tagged alone with you," said the shopkeeper. "And trust me, I think you'll like the guy. He is a stone cold dude much like yourself."

"I see," Amity said. "Just give me the package and I will deliver it to Fillydelphia unharmed."

The shopkeeper just smiled.
"You better not, 'cause this ain't some regular package. Slave, come out here!"
There was the sound of metal being dragged across the wooden floor as a filly moved into view.

Amity barely kept a straight face as his mind began to reel back in horror. But as usual, he stayed emotionless. This only got the shopkeeper to chuckle lightly.

For standing in front of him was a small blue unicorn filly bound by a metal collar that hung on her neck. Upon seeing Amity she hid behind the shopkeepers legs. Slowly she peaked around the legs of the shopkeeper to look up at Amity with big eyes.

Amity was unsure on what he should do next. He kept a straight face looking at the filly, but this just caused her to hide. Amity considered smiling at her but figured the moment had passed. He looked up and addressed the shopkeeper.

"You want me to bring her to Redeye." Amity said calmly.

The shopkeep suddenly grew a mischievous look on his face. "Precisely. I'm getting paid a hefty sum for this little filly. I don't know what RedEye wants, but who cares. You're getting paid, I'm getting paid, and your pal will be getting paid too."

Amity stood there unreadable as the shopkeeper continued to speak.
"Let's just say that you and your pal here will be getting 100 each. 50 for motivation, and 50 if you make it back alive." the shopkeep said slipping a bag of caps across the counter. "Also here's a little something for you encase you need to kill something." Then the shopkeep slip a small switchblade to Amity.

"I'm sure you'll do fine Amber, and don't think on skimping out on me. I have someone watching you." the shopkeeper said with a smirk.

Amity froze. Some... One..?

Just then the door swung open.

The sudden opening of the war-ravaged door revealed the imposing winged shape of what could only be a griffon.

For the most part, the individual in question fit the description of your average Gryph' to a tee. He had the sleek, powerful build of a natural predator, gleaming gold eyes as cold as the depths of the darkest abyss, and razor sharp talons on both front feet. But what did not fit was the creatures coloration and his expression. Where most Gryphons had white feathers, and brown fur, this one was a dark Grey with a shock of brown, and his expression, while still rather stern, was kept even and calm; almost serene in a way.

Large patches of brown feathers surrounded his eyes, highlighting the gleaming golden orbs, and his wings shared a similar patterning; the only gift his mother gave him. His claws and beak were a dark black.

He wore what looked to be an old set of worn leather armor, and the handle of some form of knife extended over the as of yet unnamed hired work's left shoulder. Judging by its ragged appearance, it had seen at least some kind of use recently.

On a bit of a random note, the gryphon seemed to be carrying something in a small pouch located on his right flank. It bulged out a bit with its contents, though whatever it was was secured quite well.

The Gryphon cast his gaze outwards now, eyes flicking about as he scanned the room carefully. It was as if he were looking for any possible dangers, soon enough however he began to advance forward towards the gathering of ponies at the counter. Just before he got out of range the Gryphon's tail shot out like a snake to shut the door behind him. It shut just a bit to hard.

*BANG*

Upon reaching the group the Gryphon gave them a once over, carefully taking in each one of them before speaking to the shop owner.

"Name's Kestrel, you hired me?"

Kestrel's voice seemed to match his appearance perfectly. It was a frigid, gravely, sound; rumbling up from somewhere deep in his chest and carrying next to no emotion with it.

Beneath his mask of composure, Amity clenched his teeth slightly. Of course the shopkeep would make sure I couldn't skip on him this time. Maybe stealing previously was not the greatest of ideas.

He shifted his gaze to the griffin who stood there and deadpanned at Amity in the same way that Amity did to him. It was like looking into a mirror. Not much was different about the two.

"Now see that!" said the shopkeep. "Keep that up and I might not even be able to tell you two apart."

Amity just shifted his gaze back to the counter and grabbed the Switchblade with a hoof. He promptly flipped it open and spun it leisurely in his hoof. He looked the griffin up and down. He did not seem to bear and ties to the Syndicate. No markings, attire or weapons that he could associate with the SS.

Although the bag was quite the oddity. He brushed that thought aside though as he stared at the griffin again.

"Good Evening, Kestrel. My name is..." Amity paused. He wasn't going to tell him his name just yet. "-Amber Dusk."

And with that he flipped his knife closed and began to gesture the filly out the door with a hoof.

Kestrel tracked the movement of the two as they began to head off, but before he joined them he gave the shop keeper a quick grunt. The familiar sound of rattling metal could be heard as a small leather pouch was set atop the counter.

Kestrel silently swiped it up and secured in a free pouch on his armor. The deal having been sealed he turned and began to follow behind the filly and the pegasus that had introduced himself as Amber; a name that the gryphon greatly doubted was real.

The examining stare, hesitation in saying his name, and that little trick with the blade? He has seen that kind of behavior before...some-pony was nervous. Still the great leather-clad male was never good with words, he knew that he would not be able to get the reason why Amber lied, or why he was acting that way, out of him, and even if he could Kestrel did not really care too.

Amber seemed to be almost an exact replica of himself. Quiet, dedicated, and stoic. It was a welcome change from what Kes usually had to put up with; moreover, it was all the more reason to let the pegasus do as he pleased...within limit.

If Amber became a problem, Kes resolved to just kill him and finish the job alone. Till then, he would follow along, keep his beak shut, and keep his eyes peeled for any danger.

Amity and the blue filly quietly walked out of the small shop and stepped out into the town of Shattered Hoof. As Amity walked out towards the edge of town he noticed that the little filly just stood there at the front door of the shop. She didn't move and inch since they stepped outside.

Amity half expected the filly to run for the hills, but the look in here eyes made it clear that she knew that she would not be able to get away with such a thing.

Slowly Amity walked back to the filly and crouched down low so that they were at eye level. He looked at the filly with his usual blank stare. That is when he noticed the look in her eyes. It wasn't afraid or scared. It wasn't angry or sad. The filly just looked tired.

Even though he did not show it, Amity felt sorry for the filly. She had probably been through a lot by now and was just very tired of well - life. He knew that feeling.

Slowly he picked up the filly and placed him on his back, shifting his wings a little until he felt comfortable. He then took out two bottle caps out of his bag and offered them to the filly.

The filly's blue eyes lit up as she took the caps from Amity's hoof as began to tap them together, humming a little tune in the process.

With that Amity shifted his gaze back towards the end of town and began his walk to Fillydelphia. At least now he could keep an eye on the filly and keep her safe for the trip.

After all, that was his job.

Kestrel had kept quiet through the little display, barely offering a sideways glance towards the two as they had what could be seen as an affectionate moment. Flashes of memories of days long gone flashed in his mind causing the muscles of his face to tense ever so slightly at the sight of the tiny filly at play. Yet Kes did not let the time-weakened emotions get to him, he had felt them before, and there was no time for them now.

With barely any effort at all the Gryphon pushed the emotions away, letting his mind once more focus on the task at hand. "Ain't no time for feelings, got a job to do." He told himself mentally.


As the group made its way forward, towards the outskirts of town, the gryphon held back, keeping a nice cushion of distance between himself and the others. His eyes carefully flicked across the roads, alleys, and shadows of Shattered Hoof. So far nothing was stirring up trouble. The streets were filled with the usual assortment of ponies making their way about their lives in the Wasteland.

'Just another day in the Wastes' he thought to himself watching some random Pegasus purchase a few things from a street vendor.

As Kestrel, Amber, and the chained filly seem to slowly make their departure, far beyond their area of attention, a lone red hooded figure watched them. Cross Roads had spent little time convincing the shopkeeper he might need "extra" security. Sadly the shopkeeper assumed Cross Road's favored currency was money and now he was set in a position to track his target without arising suspicion.

Kestral stayed away from the others, offering many glances back but Cross might as been nonexistant for as much attention he drew. Once, he could no longer see the little group of theirs leave the horizon. Cross immediately set his course to a parallel path that stood on much higher ground as to watch their movements. Though he showed very little expression like the others, internally he was very pleased at how easy this task can turn out.

As far as they were concerned, there was a guardian angel watching over them

Amity was a tad bit irritated that the shopkeep had kept them so long, but showing it was not something Amity was willing to do. The sky began to darkened as the day was coming to a close. They had been walking beside the Canterlonian mountain range for some time now had not even stopped since their departure from Shattered Hoof. They were going to have to stop sooner or later, but Amity was determined on getting to Fillydelphia as fast as possible. He just knew things couldn't go smoothly, they never do.

The little filly had returned Amity's two bottle caps some time ago so that she could rest easily on his back. He scanned the vast wastes to their right and then looked left towards the mountain range. He contemplated his next course of action.

"Kestrel I think we should travel on the high ground," Amity said stopping to point a hoof towards the Canterlonian Mountain range.

"I think we will have an easier time keeping watch."

Hearing his name, and the suggestion, gave a curt nod and then loosed a sound that only one of his species could produce; a low rumbling mix between a growl and a grunt.

He glanced over the surroundings. Plenty of rocky crags, shadowy passes, and large standing stones about.

'Excellent ambush territory.' Kestrel though to himself.

Scanning the area a bit closer this time Kes located the mouth of what looked to be a at least moderately worn in trail. He gave a nod towards its general direction before speaking.

"Wait here."

Not waiting for protest the Gryphon pushed off into a slight run, spreading his wings wide, then took off. A few powerful flaps and Kestrel was fully airborne. He spiraled upwards, his powerful eyes focused down at the sun-scorched ground below; scanning for anything that could be perceived as a threat.

He was careful not to stray to far, nor fly to high. Otherwise he could compromise the safety of the Package, and that was not acceptable.

Cross Roads saw the 3 rise up and begin flying towards his location. Normally he would curse his luck but this was completely foreseeable and would have been more surprised had they not eventually decided on such an advantageous position.

The Griffon he spotted was even beginning to soar far above the mountaintops, scanning for any potential threats leaving Cross Roads with a dilemma.

He could reveal his presence now, or not, and later be marked as a hostile but from whichever he choose, would set the course for his involvement.

Even as the sun began setting, Cross Roads kept his hood on and approach the highest spot he could find, making sure he was contrasting against the sun and would be an easy spot for the griffon and pegasus.

He felt the wind breathe past his cloak and he balanced himself and stood proudly on the stone peak.

Amity saw the looming red figure and he was sure that Kestrel had spotted the hooded figure in the distance as well. He wasn't sure what was going on but someone obviously wanted to be seen. He didn't like the feel of this newcomer. How long has he been there? Or has he always been there?

Amity continued to think as he slipped into cover, allowing the shadows to shroud him and the filly. He didn't need raiders coming over while he was so poorly armed. He gently set the filly down on the ground and flipped open his switchblade as he turned to look at Kestrel who was flying towards the mountain range.

The gryphon had missed the newcomer on the first flyby, what with him still not fully visible. The next flyby yielded results though. With a jerk Kestrel's gaze locked onto the bright red of the newcomers cloak and his body followed his mind's silent command.

At first he just carefully banked, as if to start up another fly by. But just before he could start up another lap he swerved, flapping once, twice, three times as he propelled himself into a sharp, high speed dive towards the unknown individual.

A few dozen feet above where the newcomer stood Kes began to flap his wings again, extending his forelegs towards unicorn. This time his wings were slowing him down though, so as to lessen the speed and force of the impact to come.

If Kes hit his mark, and he usually did, he would end up tackling the individual to the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of him at least. That in turn, would allow him enough time to draw his weapon and press it threateningly against his targets throat. He would not kill him though, no Kes wanted a few answers first.

If, and only if Kes was able to pin the pony he would utter but one simple command.

"Speak."

The way his cold, gravely voice delivered the order left no doubt to the choice the pony had to make; Comply, or Die.

Of course things could go wrong as well and Kes would end up ramming into the ground at a rather painful speed too. But hopefully it would not come to that.

The griffon dived past Cross Roads, obviously hoping that such an attempt to bring down Cross but he had another plan in store to how this would play out.

As the griffon rose again to prepare for a second dive he locked eyes with Cross, each meeting each others gaze, neither giving any ground. Kes had a deep look in his eye, that which reached out like dark cold abyss. Cross had another, one that had the force of an indomitable will.

For a split-second, the two met on equal level. Each imagining how this would play out. But Cross had prepared for this.


As Soon as Kes dived (EDIT: IF HE DID) and it was too late to turn back.
Cross would teleport onto his back.

Amity was observing Kestrel and the red clad figure from afar moments before they met. He knew there was something strange about the mysterious figure. Who just wears a full body cloak? Amity might but that was only because he had something to hide.

The same went for the red clad figure. When the figure disappeared in a flash of light Amity mind instantly calculated all probable situations. He came to one conclusion.

"Of course it's a unicorn." Amity muttered.

Nudging the little filly awake, he wasted no time to grab her with both fore hooves, and with a single flap of his wings, silently bound of in the direction of Kestrel and the newcomer.

He unlatched his switchblade as he landed a bout 50 feet from them. Bounding up the mountain was hard, but it wasn't nearly hard enough to tire Amity the slightest.

He set the filly down behind him and gave her two caps again as he clenched his teeth and observed the two have at it.

Kes frowned mentally as upon missing his target, easily quelling the urge to let his face show the disappointment. Yet he was amused at his opponent. He was quite fast, most would have been eaisly tackled and pinned by that attack. But not this Unicorn, no, not he.

For a while Kes just hovered silently in the air, wings flapping just enough to keep him airborne, gaze locked with his opponent. He could see the fire in the unicorn's eyes, that glorious blaze of willpower burning as bright the storm of nuclear fire that consumed the Wasteland all those years ago.

Gaze still locked with the, as of yet unnamed, unicorn's Kestrel let himself down slowly. His rear paws touched down first, naught a single sound audiable as they did. Next came his talons each clicking lightly against the hard stone that made up most of the Canterlonian mountains.

Feet firmly on solid ground, Kes tucked his wings back against his side and stood silently, looking the unicorn over; making note of places that seemed like weak points. In his peripheral vision he could see Amber sneaking about. He didn't shift his gaze for a moment though. To do so would alert the unicorn, and that could end messily.

'Your move Stranger.'

Kes thought silently, muscles tense and ready to pounce at any moment.

Cross stared at griffon with great bemusement. Only a second ago he seemed much more cocky.

The sun was beginning to set and he spoke to griffon in a thick low tone.

"You attack anything, then everything is a threat". But the gryphon only continued breathing. "You weren't meant to spot me, your employer has little faith in you and even less faith in pegasus".

Cross then lowered his hood, revealing his red eyes and green mane.
"Its getting dark soon, we should rest or fight, its entirely up to both of you" He mentioned loudly.

Amity sat back in the shadows. He wanted to ask the unicorn some very important questions. But he withheld keeping a close watch on the little filly playing with the two bottlecaps.

With a hoof he silently spun the switchblade in his hoof as he lay in the shadows.

Amity waited to see what Kestrel was really capable of. That was of course if he choose to fight or not.

But for now Amity watched the little filly use her magic to play with the bottlecaps. Amity sneaked over to her and quieted the filly pulling her closer to him so that she could fully understand what was going on without the need of being told so.

Kestrel weighed his options for a few silent moments; neither his face, nor his gaze betraying his thoughts.

Finally he spoke, voice just as cold and grevely as ever.

'Let's move'

Apparently, perhaps fortunantly, Kestrel did not feel like fighting at this point in time. Nope he just wanted to get moving, the sooner this job ended the sooner he got paid.

The gryphon backed down. Cross knew he would choose to do so, but he wasn't under any false impression that the bird wouldn't be easily provoked. As the sun stepped down over the horizon, so did Cross.

He went down to blue filly and the grey pegasus and looked at both of them but only offered a warm smile to the filly.

He looked over the pegasus, and decided he trusted this one even less. Still the air cooled, and Cross felt the tension from the day's tracking relieved.

"Cross" he stated with a stern tone.

Amity defiantly knew when he was getting the cold shoulder. He had not known if he had done anything wrong at this point. But he kept his face as still as stone.

"Amber." Amity said after taking into account Cross's Attire and appearance. He didn't seem to have any weapons so Amity could confirm anything tying him to the SS with weapons.

He held out a hoof as the filly let the two caps back into his hoof.
"Next time...-" Amity stopped.

"Seasong!" The filly said. Humming that same tune she had sung the entire trip.

"-...Seasong, please be more careful when we are trying to hide. I don't want to have any future problems that might get messy." Amity said standing up to meet eye to eye with Cross.

"But I see that won't be a problem."

Amity raised an eyebrow at Cross. He still had no leads onto why he was getting these reactions. So Amity decided to just play it neutral as always and keep his words and expressions to himself.

Ahead of the others Kes was already blazing a trail. Once again he had fallen into his old habits, walking along silently, eyes scanning the terrain for anything out of place.

Every so often he would flex his wings, stretching out the muscles a bit, keeping them at the ready.

'Simple jobs are ever easy.' he thought to himself, going over the contract he had signed and the most recent...addition to its boundaries; a certain unicorn by the name of Cross.

So the old colt didn't trust Kes or his pegasus companion? Smart, Real smart. Thinking like that might keep the old colt alive a bit longer. After all trusting folk like Kes could get you robbed, killed, or both out here in the Wastes.

Glancing upwards the gryphon made note of the Sun's position. Two hours. They had two hours to find a place to camp for the night. In all honesty Kes wasn't looking forward to it at all. He still didn't trust the others and, if the gryphons skill at reading folk was still accurate, they didn't trust him.

'Going to be a long night' he thought, clicking his beak.

Cross observed his new companions very carefully. The Gryphon gave very little away but Cross picked up every silent cue, he wasn't about to leave anything to chance.

The sun was pouring down, and aside from the occasional sound from the filly, the group traveled in silence, neither of them allowing Cross walk from the back.

'I just need an opputunity to earn their trust', he thought, 'would make this task so much easier'

He continued on, his travels giving him advantage over the mountaneous terrain, but proved worthless compared to having wings in this situation. Still he was not about to ask for help from the likes of these two.

Several hours faded away, the gryphon hovered above his position as he started to make his way but then nearly stumbled. A rock had fallen away and revealed a small secluded cave chamber.

"We stop here" Cross was glad for this chance, if anything was in that chamber, it'd be a fine time to test the mettle of his "friends".

He turned to them and eyed them very carefully, the Gryphon struck him as even more heartless than a feral ghoul and the pegasus wasn't so much better, showing bouts of what some might call paranoia.

Cross would normally consider such a match, one made in hell. But when it came to slaughter,'...these two would be perfect...'

He awaited their answer as their eyes swept over the chamber. However, when their attention was drawn he looked at the Filly on Pegasus back and smiled when he saw she had already fallen asleep for the day, a luxury only she could afford. Under his smile he silently mouthed, "soon..." with no volume whatsoever but the other two couldn't have possibly have noticed his lips under his hood

[OOC] AS a side note Cross, Amber is incapable of sustained flight due to the condition of his wings. He is only able to use his wings in a sort of 'assisted leap' if you will.

Something didn't sit right with Amity. Why would that Shopkeep send three couriers one a mission to deliver one filly? Either the shopkeep really did not trust Amity, or the unicorn had other motives. The latter seeming much more likely, but the former being understandable. People tend to be like that around Amity, showing extreme distrust because he takes no action on taking sides. But that was just the wastelands for you. Many of it's inhabitants worked only in one direction.

'You scratch their back, they knife yours.' Amity thought to himself.

He eyed the cave. Of course there would be something in there. He would take this opportunity to get some answers from the unicorn.

Amity flipped open his switchblade and placed it in his mouth before he used his wing in an assisted leap into the cave. Amity only planned on using the blade to protect the filly, Kes and himself.

Kes kept up his veil of stoic silence, choosing to just calmly unsheathe his weapon, gripping it firmly in his talons, and rolling his shoulder a bit. If there was going to be something inside it would be better to be ready to meet it head on.

On the other claw, Kes was not an idiot. He was not going to charge blindly into the depths of some unknown cavern just before nightfall with nothing but a rusty knife and his wits.

Looking around for a moment, the bird managed to find a small piece of rock that had been chipped off a nearby boulder. Its surface was smooth from years of weathering, and it would serve nicely for what the gryphon had planned.

Taking the stone in his free 'hand' Kes chucked it into the darkness then slid into a battle-ready stance. His ears were focused forward, carefully listening for anything that did not resemble the sound of stone on stone.

As soon as the other two came around to entering the cave, he followed up behind them and casted a light spell and tried to shine up the caves but the others were in his way.

He was starting to worry, he was loosing these two fast, and what brought greater concern was his vulnerability in such a small area, especially if the cave went further than he could see.

Preparing for the worst, Cross levitated a rock to use on whatever crawled forth.

Thinking back, Cross began to let himself get spotted. He grinded his teeth, knowing full well that a mysterious guardian would have passed alot better with this pair than a shady hitchhiker.