THUD! Logan landed hard on his front hooves and plummeted flat on his chest. "Ooomf!"
"Guh!" Ariel, Kepler, and Flynn collapsed all at once—with the latter's horn positively shorting out from overspent energy. "Whew...!"
"Cheese and crackers, Big Show..." Ariel hissed, struggling to catch her breath. "...did you eat most of the Gondola since we left the edge?"
"Oh hush!" Logan stumbled to his thick hooves, brushing the dust and sediment off his body. "You didn't wuss out this bad when you took the sleds over!"
"Dude..." Flynn gnashed his teeth. "We carried the sleds over first so we could practice for you!"
Ariel fell onto her backside. Fwoomp! "Why don't we just have Big Show gallop all the way to the Midnight Armory?" She panted, sweating. "That at least would flatten this piece of Urohringr out!"
"Oh hush..." Big Show marched over to where Seraphimus was restrained. "Yakkity-yak all you want. You're gonna beg for my girth when you need it."
Ariel fought the urge to vomit. "There's one thing I didn't need to live to hear."
"I meant for stomping the hell out of our enemies!" Logan gnashed his teeth. "Goddess on a bike, mare, were you foaled in the gutter?"
"I'd take a sewer over this anyday..."
"Frriends... Do not despairr overr the occasional..." Kepler sat up with his glasses hanging crookedly off his sweaty muzzle. "...bout of extrreme exerrtion. Ha-Haaaaaaa..." He winced breathily, rubbing his left wing. "Hrrrrmf... if nothing else, such frrivolous strruggle builds charracterr! Makes us... mrmmmfff... strrongerr..."
"The only thing strong in me is the knot in my neck," Flynn droned. He waved a limp hoof. "Fellow Heraldites... we finished transporting our fat asses across the ravine." His horn fizzled out as he closed his one good eye with a smile. "Until Rainbow Dash needs me... I'm calling it a night."
Fwooooosh! Wildcard landed and hoisted Flynn briskly up to his hooves.
Flynn's muzzle locked into a pained expression. "Oh buck me sideways..."
"Lemme guess..." Ariel smiled at Wildcard. "Rainbow needs him."
Wildcard nodded. He lazily attempted a gesture or two with one talon, then hoisted Flynn—carrying the smaller Heraldite over to where the hatched entrance to Darkreach lay in wait.
"What did he say...?!" Flynn stammered, his mechanical eye whirring. "I wasn't looking!"
"Errrr..." Kepler craned his neck to shout after him: "Something to do with... rrelieving a widowed elephant, I do believe!"
"The buck—?!" Flynn's voice cracked, and he was yanked like a windsock down into the depths of Darkreach.
"Keps...?" Ariel blinked at the wyvern.
"Ach...!" Kepler tossed his claws. "I am a loss to keep trrack anymorre! We must get him an operrational left limb once again!"
"Heh..." Logan fished around the sled Seraphimus was on. "...guess Flynn's gonna be super useful for the time being. Bet he feels like a lucky bastard."
Seraphimus' charcoal eyes narrowed on Logan's motions. "What—pray tell—are you searching for?"
"Wise turkey," Logan slurred, still rummaging. "I'm checking to see if anything's missing."
"Why... ... ...?"
"So I'll know if you confiscated anything while my friends were carrying my fat keister across the canyon."
"Do you honestly believe I am in any position to steal from you?" the griffin droned. "You're more foolish than I thought."
"And you're more of a bitch than I thought. But who's counting? Certainly not Keps. Lucky bastard was born in a sanctuary without females."
"I heard that!" Ariel's voice cracked from afar.
Logan winked at Seraphimus. "She heard that. Not that it matters. Ariel's only Diet Female at best."
"I heard that too!"
Seraphimus grumbled. "The only reason I'd steal anything from your pathetic supplies would be to slit my own throat." She spat. "But—sadly—you don't hold anything that sharp or useful on this wagon."
"See... you're doing it wrong," Logan droned, standing up to check the other sled nearby. "We're in a land of darkness, chaos, and even grimmer-darkness. If you try being that much of an edgelord, you'll just come across as 'average.'"
"Your pathetic attempts at levity are misguided."
"Pffft! Buck you, lady! I'm trying to keep myself sane! We sorta need the bald unicorn, so I can't just kick Flynn's skull in for my own amusement." Logan smirked over his shoulder. "I guess pissing the Hell out of you on a regular basis will have to do."
"The only Show you're Big at is displaying your banal trivialities before an uncaring audience."
"Hah! Nice attempt! See... you'll become tolerable yet." Logan gestured, then turned to face her directly. "However..." He glared with sudden menace. "...you so much as fall back into Miss Murder McShitpants and make a threat to Rainbow Dash... and I promise you... 'suicide' won't be too far away. I'll give it to you gladly at the end of my axe."
Seraphimus raised an eyebrow. "Is that an invitation?"
"A challenge." Logan said. "To see if you wanna last long enough to meet an end you could be proud of... or die at the hooves of a 'pathetic attempt at levity.' Choice is yours..." Logan marched casually back to their supplies. "Soon... we're going to go downstairs for a stay at Camp Darkreach. I want you on your best behavior... or you won't have your best spine. Are we on the same page?"
Seraphimus merely snorted. She glared off past the edge of the mesa. "A book with such a page deserves burning."
"Cute. But you gotta work on your delivery."
"Infidel..."
"Mrmmmf... See what I mean?"
And now, we proceed to see a path, however dimly, to a griffon's redemption - and the first signs of a new Ship? I suggest calling it Seragan.
Hey, maybe Sera will someday make a good teammate!
...oh, who am I kidding? This is the universe's most deadly turkey we're talking about here!
Well, there goes my sides
Seraphimus is talking to one of them instead of preaching/cursing loudly at them. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Or in Rainbow's case much further and a wingflap respectively.
Here's hoping Sera continues to trash talk this much even after her eventual shift to ally.
Also how old is Flynn?
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Seragan at this point would be like Eljunbyro-era Roarke and Josho having a relationship
I find it hilarious that they had more trouble heavy lifting Big Show over, than the giant psycho turky baster made of dense alien metals.
Poor Ffllynn. When all you are is a can opener, everything looks like a tin.
I like that Seraphimus seems to be able to hold a somewhat "normal" conversation, now. It's one step further down the road to make her an ally.
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I ship it !
So what would one call a ship between Logan and Seraphimus? Logaphimus or Seragan?
At least she's attempting banter. It's better than incoherent rage or cliche attempts at sowing discord. Besides they got Discord now for that bit. Seraphimus wouldn't be able to keep up.
So, how long before Dash gets her prismatic ass in trouble? We thinking two chapters? Three?
No rest for the Magical I guess Show and Sera are getting along swimmingly it seems or as swimmingly as could be expected anyway.
Nice to see Seraphimus is talking to them instead of screaming.
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....I honestly got nothing to say..
By the end of this I'm going to need a tally from AFC on the number of times she's said infidel.
On a related note, how worn are the keys on your keyboard IC?
Sera's developing quite a repartee with Big Show.
I predict a sort of Fluttercord style friendship, where eventually she'll have a chance to escape or kill Dash, and she won't because she values her vitriolic friendship with Big Show.
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
Heck, it'd be worth it to see Seraphimus redeemed just so we could get an unlikely friendship between her and Logan going. The wordcount for this volume would probably increase by 100k just from their bickering.
I wonder who is on catbird bathroom duty. How exactly is that gonna work? Probably won't be fun for any of them. Especially since she'll probably still be strapped to the sled.
Come on, guys, standing around and talking at the entrance of a dungeon is practically throwing a bone to the eldritch guard dog. Remember what happened at the Doors of Durin?
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We should pool together and order him an IBM Model M. The things are legendary. Of course, that would require knowing his address...
Somebody better add that one to the Infidel Counter
Seraphimus and Logan are on the way toward being "those two guys."
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And I'm joining you on the Seragan bandwagon, those two would be
adorably terrifyingterrifyingly adorablehilarious together.Also, "Seragan" almost sounds like it could be a title in this series, if only it began with a vowel.
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Well, time to get the bleach!
vevmo.com/sites/default/files/Shot%20Gif%20_0.gif
You're not her type, Logan; she's Rainbowsexual.
... I see Logan and Seraph are getting intimate.
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IC certainly can't call book 11 Eragan though; pretty sure there'd be a trademark issue.
By now Sera must have noticed the state of the world she is on. She has been awake long enough and should have spotted the curvature of the plane. I hope this has, if not convinced her that there is an element of truth, at least weakened her absolute belief that the Herald are lying about it.
Damn, I really start to like Logan. He knows how to handle Seraphimus and his policy is on point as well.
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Of course. I bet she will be converted by trash talking with Logan and can only stay on their side for as long as he continues to slam her verbally. Think of it as an abstract version of Rainbow's element. My Little Trash Talk - Bickering is Magic. Or something.
Now everyone is on the mesa.
Hopefully we're gun get airshipping soon!
Careful Big Show. A little bit more sass and people will start thinking you actually like Sera...
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Seragan huh? I can see it, once Seraphimus stops being 'sorta-suicidal sorta-homicidal sorta-overzealous catbird of Verlaxion'.
However, even if the ship is not meant to be, Logan and Seraphimus are totally going to be frienemies in the future. I can just feel it.
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That's...actually an entertaining mental picture, thanks.
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Cinderella Castle, Magic Kingdom, Orlando. Look behind the soda crates.
Everyone is going on about Seraphimus and Logan and I don't even know which half of that ship would be more distasteful.
Wait what? Don't tell me this is a broad hint that we should have been reading the wyvern with a Scottish accent all this time.
Great writing as always mate, humouristic character interaction is as fun as always
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I am under the assumption that it has already happened off screen while WC was up above.
You know Kepler's beat when its hard for him to wax eloquent on the benefits of something.
New favorite line.
This.
This is perfect.
So much for never splitting up... here's hoping they don't regret it.
Aww was that banter at the end there?
Sera and Logan are awesome to see interacting with each other. They bounce insults off each other very well.
Gawd, Big Boi, that is NOT an image I needed.
...also you'll have to get Ariel a choker first. I'm sure with enough angst and roleplay she'll come around~
100
Usually I’m a man against filler, but I really like the Sera interactions
Logan projecting Katara in the last few paragraphs.
The most Hot Topic of all Hot Topic's.
Big Dad Logan takes no shit.