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[Steel Samurai]

OOC: for the period of time between the post above and this, see the last few pages of reclaimiing the past


Steel picked himself up off of the ground. The princess seemed to be regaining consciousness. The scream of a gryphon sounded in the distance. Perfect timing. Steel readjusted the Princess on his back and ran off towards the Palace. He needed to act quickly. The large creatures would not stay long with all of the chaos going on around them. He reached the palace just as the last of the Prince's guard left, hurrying off to the closest gate. It would not do for Khuffie's army to find them like this, having slain the army meant to protect them. There. Kitsune and Ransom were in the doorway. He stepped quickly up to them.
"Come. We need to get out of here."

[Steel Samurai]

OOC: Come on guys.

Without waiting for a reply, Steel turned and ran back to the Gryphon stables. The princess was fully awake by now, and seemed rather put out at being gagged and tied onto Steel's back. He turned to look at her, and what one assumed was a small gasp escaped her mouth. The bandages were gone, and his eyes blacker than the night sky. He smiled at her surprised expression.
"I'm sorry for the temporary inconvenience princess, but I assure you, you'll have a fairly comfortable set of apartments once we return to the fortress." He stopped in front of the stables, which were actually more like nests on poles. The Gryphons seemed to be somewhat disturbed at the commotion around them. They spoke directly into his mind.
"Admiral Steeeel. Looonnggg has ittt beeen siiinncee yeeeeee have swooooppped wiiitth uuusss." Steel knew none of these Gryphons personally, but due to the telepathic communication possessed by them, the story of how he aided the Eagle Gryphon, king of all Gryphons, was known to all. He framed his reply in his mind, holding the words in his mind for only an instant before releasing them and moving to the next.
"And yet may I swoop with ye again." The traditional reply. "I have need of thy services, brethren. Passage for myself, the princess, and the two coming behind me to a small smithy in the north."
"Muuuuuch iiiiiissss ooooowed ttooooo yeeeeeee, Steeeell of the Shadoooowws. Gllaaadly shaaaalll weeee beaarrrr theeeeee and thiiinneee frieeeeends."
With nothing further to say, Steel unbound the princess and placed her on a gryphon, leaving the gag on. The bird/lion hybrid stretched forth its wings and flew before the girl had time to attempt an escape. Steel himself mounted the leader of the pride and they shot from the ground like an arrow from a bow, riding the warm air currents ever upwards. The journey would take some days.

[Ransom]

"Come. We need to get out of here."

Ransom nodded, yawning. It was getting late, and he could feel his stomach rumbling. Sleep and basic food needs didn’t come easily when you were involved in mass slaughter.
And ironically, Ransom still didn’t really know what side he was on.

Instead of proceeding to the stables with Steel, Ransom decided he would be of more use in the air. Luckily the palace roof, with its ridiculous number of turrets, tiers and decorative buttresses, was the perfect place to keep watch.

Crouched next to a devious looking gargoyle, Ransom lazily kept his eyes on the skies above the stable, keeping watch for any airborne hindrances.
The battle noise seemed to have generally died down to murmurs and the groans of weeping women and children. Occasionally, a clash of steel and/or a shriek of terror would pierce the night air, but Ransom knew this battle was over. The damage done to the Alliance was apparently satisfactory, and the labyrinth and that insane spear wielding bitch were finally going home.

Did he want them to be gone?

“Whose side am I on?” he asked the gargoyle.

He was met with silence and a predictable blank stare. Maybe he should just retire and become a gargoyle.

Ransom heard the screech of a gryphon and looked back at the sky. He strained his eyes. Yes, that hulking form was definitely Steel.

With a sigh, Ransom dived off the wall toward the gryphon, his enormous wings beating rhythmically through the air above the city.

Daylight started peeking over the horizon as he got higher, heralding the dawn. Definitely no sleep for him tonight.
He looked back to the palace and realised with a sigh that he had forgotten to wave goodbye to the gargoyle.

Edited by Ransom, 20 January 2008 - 04:40 AM.