No.
Jacko sat on the window sill, overlooking the twilit town of Blobstain. Its rock hovels, warehouses and imp shacks standing alike in an industrious haze. Nowhere was clear of the rythmic thumping of the the pinkish abomination which passed for ocean. Yet the Blob seemed to lull for a moment as Jacko's grip slackened. He nearly teetered out of the window, eyes wide. No sooner however did he jump onto the apartment floor, pouting pitifully up at Seraphimus' feathery head.
"Come again love?"
"No," Seraphimus restated. "I can't let that abominable cretin die like this... I know too much." Seraphimus' tail lashed in irritation as she clenched her beak. "And stop calling me 'love.'" Seraphimus uncoiled her wings, preparing to fly out the window. "Move aside, imp."
"Alrigh, look Oi know Oi was preachin' a migh'y fine speech theh with Lexxic and an' incredible opportunity for profit, but," Jacko pulled at his goblin ears, pacing between Seraphimus and the window, "You're still makin' your way into the maw of the Bloodwings, literally, --and I mean this in the literal sense, sheila-- literally the most violent drongos thes side of the blob! It's righ suicide theh's what it es!"
Seraphimus' headcrest flattened as she looked down at the goblin. "You 'literally' just spent the past five minutes trying to convince me that this was a good idea. Stand aside. I need to prepare for the journey ahead."
"Look, maybe it's not suicide, you're a righ powerful birdie, love, but statistically speakin--"
"--I've faced worse odds. Enough of this foolishness," Seraphimus made to brush Jacko aside with her claw--
But Jacko rushed into Seraphimus, burying his head in her neckfeathers, clutching around her like child.
"Wha--"
"Ya can't leave me love!" Jacko wailed, "By Petra's flame I--" Jacko looked up with teary eyes, "I swear on Petra's flame you're the only thing Oi need en thes life!"
"What in the name of, what in the Spring Havens are you doing?" heart palpitating Seraphimus just barely managed to restrain herself from tossing the sobbing goblin out the window, if only for the fact that--
that--
that Seraphimus had no idea! "Get your grubby fingers off me!" Seraphiums tore the goblin off discarding him like a snotty tissue, except she was clearly the tissue in this situation.
Jacko crawled up to the griffin's back paws, still sobbing, "Jest a couple o' hours, please! That's all I need; jest a couple more hours with you!"
Seraphimus placed a talon on the window seal, readying to jump with cat like grace, but
Grip!
Jacko seized Seraphimus' back paw with with vice like force, forcing Seraphimus to look back at his puddle filled eyes.
"Sheila," he sniffled, "You're sure this is what ye want?"
When Seraphimus didn't respond Jacko tried again. "Love, you're the prettiest, most amazing thing Oi've ever seen! Just a little more time with you is all Oi want! Thet's all. Oi see it in your eyes, you think Oi need you for some hair brained scheme, but that's not it! Oi jest--" Jacko sighed, looking towards the ground For a moment he was quiet and sniffling, wiping tears from his eyes (and nose) with one hand.
"Stay with me, love..." Jacko slowly released Seraphimus' twitching hind leg. "Es thet so much to ask? Jest one penumbral night, thet's all." Jacko wiped his nose on Seraphimus' limp tail.
Seraphimus suddenly broke out of her shock, yanking her tail back to herself, scraping snot and tears off of it with a cold talon. She only glared at the goblin.
"Oi..." Jacko stared into Seraphimus' eyes. "If, if it pleases you... Oi can even bring some of my mates oveh. Break the ice as it t'were."
At this point Seraphimus was beyond incredulity. Yet somehow more of it crept into her voice. "Why, for a windigo's breath, would I ever want to be in the presence of your... 'mates?'"
"Oi, well not thet kind of mate," Jacko chuckled nervously. "Oi mean like me buds, you know, fellow gobbos, my pals you know?"
"It was my impression that you didn't have any."
"Ah, true..." Jacko's murmurred, his ears falling.
Seraphimus sighed. For some reason something compelled her to speak. She'd faced down snivelling criminals of all manner of pitiful walks of life. She'd smote ponies who had only ever felt comfort the shedding of blood and creation of trauma. She'd wiped the filth from this world for years without ever feeling obliged to entreat them to anything more than snide remarks. Yet, leaving this goblin, she couldn't restrain herself. Perhaps it was because she knew he would listen, and he would hurt, because he wasn't already gone. "You truly are a pitiful creature aren't you. You think you can stop me, yet you'll die here as street scum. Kicked from the ashes of your own holy city with nothing more than than those chaotic strips to call your own --a faulty attempt at pride-- probably disremembered by your own outcast clan. Any sane being would feel nothing but pity for you." Seraphimus aimed an iron frown at Jacko. "Pitiful," she spat.
She sighed, "I should leave before you give me any more reasons for me to put you out of your misery." The tall griffin once more turned to the window, perching upon the seal, ready to take flight, but something held her back.
"Sheila," Jacko murmured, getting up, his ears still flattened. "Maybe you think Oi'm no good... Oi guess I can see thet. Out heah, fur bloodin' and yobbin with low caste gobbos, scraping heaps together jest for paltry streeps. Et doesn't look terribly good. But mark my words: the flame of petra burns in my mind clear es stars.
"Back in Petra a fortune telleh told me thet. Oi wasn't gonna bring it up jest 'cause it seemed silly, but Oi reckon can't get much sillyeh then this." Jacko frowned. "Listen heah, Birdo. Oi may not look like much, but Oi got somethin big ahead of me. Thet fortune telleh, she saw it, told me I was destined for the stars. Most gobbos don't look deepeh than the prison, but Oi look for the context which the prison was buil' out of.
"Theah's something deeper under all this. Thet fortune telleh saw that. She may have been a crazy plinker, but she knew. Always talked about 'the Angels,' and circles with cycles and what not... Dragons, spiders, where did the gobbos come from? Where did they all really come from?
"Oi just wish you'd see." Jacko turned towards Seraphimus. "How can somethin so beautifully looking be so blind?"
Seraphimus sighed, looking away from the twilight city, reluctantly observing Jacko. She did see. What's more, she felt. Here was a race of beings ever optimistic, industrious, and devout-- even if only in some perverted sense of the word. Yet somehow they mantained this in front to an ever encroaching, hideously graphic three sided war that constantly threatened to destroy and enslave them. No creature deserved such a fate.
And here was one of individuals who'd stop at nothing to see the will of their might through whichever mischevious avenue presented itself. Someone who'd been squoze and twisted like a rag, but still just kept fighting. How could someone like this be expected to die to forces beyond their control? How... How could this be?!
Seraphimus was no stranger to unfair situations. She'd undermined, outmaneuvered, and outright decimated numerous criminals throughout Rhobredden while in the Right Talon of Verlaxion. What's more, she'd seen that the entire culture and the deity which it worshiped --which she worshiped- had been a backhanded fabrication that had cost her the very lives of those dearest to her... It made her shudder.
But somehow, someway, this was different. Infuriatingly different.
Seraphimus reobserved Jacko. Large pointed ears , big emphatic eyes, and a scattering of body hairs were the first things that stood out. But beneath the hair, surprisingly smooth skin, a... handsome? snoot, a-- what? Handsome?
Seraphimus shook her head. She'd expected to see a rounding from mouth to neck, but instead Jacko possessed a strong, pointed jawline. Robust, wiry muscles corded underneath his smooth skin. While impish, Jacko's frame was sturdy, well built, complementing his well proportioned hands. Jacko's body was clearly one used to hardships and rugged work --much like Seraphimus' own...
Did Seraphimus really just think that?
Seraphimus' rear legs buckled. She sat, grounded. She looked towards the throbbing pink ocean under the curveside shadow, lurking just outside Blobstain.
Sandwiches... Cheese Sandwiches...
"Sheila?" Jacko asked.
No response.
"Sheila?" Jacko put a hand on Seraphimus' shoulder. "Sheila?"
A part of Seraphimus wanted to shove Jacko's snot and tear stained hand brusquely off of her shoulder. But for some reason another part of her acknowledged its comforting presence. Somehow, she was actually less tense.
"How in Verlax's sleety nostrils can this be happening to me?" Seraphimus murmured.
"Huh?" Jacko leaned closer to hear.
Seraphimus glanced at Jacko, but turned swiftly back before he could make eye contact. The idea of seeing his face, why was it making her face burn? She'd already felt all these emotions, she thought she was done with them, and yet... Seraphimus didn't know whether to accept or reject these feelings. Instead she focused on the ever incessant, nauseating sound of the Blob.
Eventually, her beak unclenched. "Tell me about this supposed fortune teller."
"Heh," Jacko chuckled, "aint you bein' a little nosey askin' me that? The deal was--"
"Tell me," Seraphimus inhaled and snarled, "Tell me about the fortune teller!"
Jacko took a step back. "Woah theah, what even is it with you? Shouldn't you be flying off to your friends by now?"
Seraphimus' headcrest drooped and her head shortly followed resting on the window's ledge. Quietly, breathilly she said, "Tell me about the fortune teller."
"Sheila, are you okay? You know the deal..."
Seraphimus was silent, then she sighed. "If you reveal what you know about this fortune teller then perhaps, perhaps..." Seraphimus gave one of her signature glares to Jacko, "I may stay here for an hour before I go to prepare to meet Rainbow and her companions."
"Sheila, do you really mean that?"
Silence... Eventually...
"Yes," Seraphimus decided.
Jacko's tear stained mug broke into a wide grin. "Righ, let's seal the deal b'fore you change your mind then!" Jacko spat on his hand, holding it out to Seraphimus.
Seraphimus spat into Jacko's hand as a show of good faith.
"Eh, close enough Oi reckon." Jacko grinned as he hopped up onto the the window seal beside Seraphimus. "Now, wheah do I begin?"
"Preferably as close to the middle as possible," Seraphimus droned.
"Righ," Jacko smiled. "Now, as you know I used to live in Petra. 'Course that didn't last long, but that's besides the point. Point is is that even before my doubtful ears came into this heah world there was gobbos who was questionin' the stories of all the other Gobbos, eh?
"Took me a good long while to find 'em though. Live in a part of Petra that's damn hard to find jest cause it's so far buried under branches an' pipes an' factory lines an' all thet crap. Far hidden from Queen Arvil, I suppose. The say they're Drug Bloodahs, but they aint really, and I guess thet was my first clue somethin' was up.
"I came down one day, and I got a tip that I was lookin' for a certain kind a drink, see? That's when they asked me for the password, but I just knocked the guards around a little and--"
Seraphimus scowled at Jacko.
"Well don't give me that look, love. Thet's what I did!"
Seraphimus continued to scowl. A little rosily now. She scowled harder.
Jacko flinched. "Righ, so maybe I didn't exactly knock 'em up. But the very next burnin--"
"Burning?" Seraphimus asked, trying to distract herself.
"Righ, forgot you don't know anything-- er I mean, lack information on our glorious culture," Jacko cleared his throat. "We gobbos keep track o' the time using the great flames of Petra. Every twelve hours the lights of Petra manifest and go blaze burnin' bright, right? Then the next we turn em' down. After all, how did you think us Gobbos knew when to sleep?"
"...You don't?"
Jacko laughed a great (small) belly laugh. "Good one, love! Hah! True too! Once knew a stock bloodah who had a very erratic sleep schedule. He was the one who was givin' me all the tips, and I owed him somethin' fierce. Probably should've figured--
"The fortune teller?" Seraphimus interrupted.
"Oh of course, righ righ. So I got past the guards on the second try, and I found fortune teller only a little after that. Let me tell ya, never seen anyone so old as she was. Silver hair hangin' out her ears 'till it met the ground beneath the city. Still impressively lively too, claimed to have been an explorer beck a ways ago, and I believed her. Had a collection of skeletons, some of which didn't look too different from you, sheila."
"Right," Seraphimus nodded. "And?"
"Well, ya might've guessed, she wanted to tell my fortune. Now at first I wasn't so up for it, but she told me some stories about some old gobbo or somethin' named Ilirilda or somethin', and there's nothin' I can't resist more than a good creation myth. Then she told me the world was dyin', and not even the flames of Petra could save it.
"Not entirely sure what she meant by that. It's a lot for one gobbo to wrap 'is head around it all, but what she said next really got me. She told me the flames of Petra burn in my head. She told me the world wasn't destined to die, and --she was very specific in this-- told me that I had a big part to play in that.
"Now personally, I think she was just playing to the tune of my ego --and I do like thet-- but it got me thinkin, and well... Maybe I thought a little too hard, all it did was get me here afteh all. But I've got a plans, big plans!"
"Hmm," Seraphimus nodded, "Would you happen to know the name of this fortune teller?"
"Thet's the thing, love, I never got her name."
Seraphimus frowned.
"Sheesh, birdie, I know it's hard to believe, but would you stop givin' me thet look!"
Seraphimus sighed. "Very well, I believe it is time that I uphold my end of the bargain." She cleared her throat, "does this place have anywhere resembling a decent place to rest? I grow weary."
Jacko looked like he was going to oppose such a lackluster option, but he ultimately said, "Well, I know there are some blankets 'round here somewhere. Reckon they're about as dirty or clean as any other blanket in Blobstain; aint many goblins that care about cleanliness heah."
"They'll have to do. I forgot my own accoutrements."
"Righ," Jacko retrieved some blankets and a pillow from a crevice, laying them on the slipshod ground next to the window.
Seraphium grimaced as she lay down upon them, slipping a talon between the pillow and her already snot stained feathers. She had enough time to reminisce on her regrets before Jacko fluffed another stained, rag like blanket over her. Surprisingly, it was just big enough to cover the entirety of Seraphimus' body.
"Will uh," Jacko pressed his sharp fingertips together and apart and together again, "will that keep you warm enough, love?"
"It will suffice," Seraphimus closed her eyes.
For a while, there was only the periodic thrum of the pink ocean, and the presence of two creatures in the rusted room. Seraphimus breathed deliberate, deep breaths, almost as if trying to enter a meditative state. Meanwhile Jacko watched, lost in thought, as he sat on the existing bed which he was now beginning to realize was exceedingly dirty.
Minutes dripped by.
Then, very slowly, very carefully, Jacko slid off the bed, doing his best to wipe the dirt from his clothes and skin. He proceeded to remove the crusts of tears from his snout, the grime from his hand, and did his best to straighten his appearance. He moved to door, hand reaching towards the handle, but then, he paused.
Seraphimus was breathing raggedly now. Her face betrayed no emotion except stoic, moderately annoyedness, but under her covers her talons and claws twitched erradically.
After a moment's contemplation, Jacko slowly walked towards the makeshift bed. A moment's more hesitation, and finally Jacko decided to nestle against Seraphimus' neck over the covers.
The second Jacko's foot touched Seraphimus' cover she awoke. But Jacko didn't seem to notice her sudden lack of dream-movement. A part of her squirmed internally as Jacko slowly, slowly laid himself down against her neck, but after minutes of stillness, she felt peace. Both goblin and griffin entered a calm peace against one another.
Seraphimus did not take Jacko in her arms... But she did not push him away either.
For Seraphimus, there was that same physical comfort she'd felt before... The same one that had been frozen oh so long ago. The one she'd failed to appreciate while she had it.
Jacko was tempted to simply call himself satiated to be so close to the cat bird he'd taken a liking to. But, what gobbo ever took a liking to a beast? No it wasn't mere satiation, there were glowflies slowly twining in his mind.
For a time, the thrum of the blob beat in sync with Seraphimus' heart, with Jacko's breaths. There was a closeness, a connection, a melding of bodies as feathers and skin felt each other in soft embrace.
Peaceful time drifted by, eventually Seraphimus managed to flick a decent chunk of her cover over Jacko's body.
"Soo..." Jacko said quietly, "is this really happening, sheila?"
Seraphimus made a soft, soothing cooing sound. Dreamily, "Please, call me Sera."
