Griffin Tail

Seventeen: Plot Thickens

Wednesday, 30th March 1988 - 7:28am

   "This suuuuucks," Saiko whined as she slumped over Toryn's shoulders, playing with his already messy blonde hair.

   "Yeah, you're one to talk," her husband groaned as he carried her.

   "Clearly she hasn't seen early morning light in decades," Mortimer remarked from behind them. "The pair of you really need to get out more."

   "Hey now," Draegieur looked back from the front of the group. "No need to be rude, Mortimer—"

   "That'll be Mr Grimhilt to you, sir. Please have some respect towards your elders." Mortimer stuck out his chest as he walked - really not a grand sight to behold.

   "You realise Drae's like, at least a century older than you?" Saiko raised an eyebrow towards Mortimer. "He's like our little band's priceless antique."

   "We aren't a band, Mrs Scarper," Raine spoke for the first time since the five of them had left headquarters. "We're more of a squadron or military party."

   "Here I thought you were going to scald her for calling me old," Stilt made a saddened face.

   "She's not wrong, though," Toryn smirked. "Stilt's been around since before the war. He's probably the most valuable band member here in terms of experience in the field."

   "Am I being insulted or praised here?" Stilt folded his arms grumpily. "You really are making me feel old."

   "I wanna go back to sleep," Saiko whined again, using Toryn's head as a pillow. "Are we nearly there yet?"

"We don't even know exactly where we're going," Mortimer answered. "This whole mission has us left in the dark, really. I mean, we're relying on the fact that the Hunters will recognise us as 'Abnormals' and that they'll blindly lead us to their base. We're literally voluntarily walking right into their hands and risking our lives all in hopes that we'll be able save our comrades before 12am tonight."

"Maybe if I start a thunderstorm right here, they'll notice us sooner," Saiko looked over to Stilt with a raised eyebrow.

Stilt looked back at her but said nothing as he silently processed the woman's declaration.

"Oh lord, you're not serious are you?" Toryn frowned. "If we start making a ruckus, the humans will think we're exactly the monsters that the Hunters want them to think we are. That's not what The Resistance stands for."

"But this is so boooooring..." Saiko grumbled. "We'll never get anything done at this rate and we'll have to wait another five years for another chance."

Stilt stopped walking and faced the group. "So we can't go to the Hunters because we don't know where they are. We can't wait for them to come to us because they don't know we're here yet. Think about it, how do we get them to notice us without further ruining our already dodgy reputation?"

"We start a harmless mess somewhere and wait for the Hunters to show up," Saiko jumped down from Toryn's shoulders, much to his relief.

"No," came Raine. "We take advantage of another 'mess' and use our powers to fix things."

"You mean swoop in like some kind of superheroes?" Toryn frowned. "We'll probably still get the blame for starting whatever so-called mess we get wrapped up in."

"That won't be necessary," Stilt perked up. "We would much rather go to them than have them come to us, right?"

Mortimer frowned. "Yeah, but like you said, we don't know where they are."

"That's right, Mr Grimhilt. We don't. But I know some people who may. Come along, now then."

Mortimer stared blankly at the back of Stilt's head as he walked off, the other members of the group following shortly.

"Wait," Mortimer quickly trudged after Stilt. "Don't go marching off without at least hearing the group's opinion. This isn't a part of the Captain's plan. Where are we going?"

"Pardon me, Mr Grimhilt, but nobody else seemed to object. This is the safest plan we have so if you'll kindly follow me?"

"Where are we going?" He asked again.

"Visiting some old friends, Mr Grimhilt" he smiled. "They run a kind of stop-and-go sanctuary for Mages. It's hidden in plain sight. I'm sure you'll like it, Mr Grimhilt, don't you worry."

Mortimer frowned again, "'Stop-and-go'? I don't even know what that means."

"Well, Mr Grimhilt, I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

"You can stop calling me that now, Draygure."

   "It's Draegieur."

   "I'll just stick to Stilt..."

The walk to the 'stop-and-go' sanctuary was brief, however long it felt to Mortimer. It was strange for him to be wondering around in the streets in broad daylight, as opposed to lurking in the shadows and trying to stay out of sight. This whole mission felt off to him. He wasn't enjoying it. He would much rather be at home with his wife and baby, as far away from the green-haired old man as possible.

"This is the place," Stilt declared as he came to a stop in the middle of town. Of course he wasted no time in introducing the location.
As he opened the front door, a soft bell rang above his head. The group piled in, Mortimer at the back. The aroma hit him instantly - it was warm, there was a friendly atmosphere about the place. This was not what he and anticipated.

"Hello," came a boy with chestnut coloured hair and a kind smile. "Welcome to The Cup! My name's Danny, what can I get you?"

[HAHAHA YESSS PLOT THICKENS INDEED..! I mean...

[End of Chapter 17: Plot Thickens]

Also plz remind me to finish drawing Saiko on Toryn's head for the header image. Ahaha no pun intended.
Stay amazing xD