Advent Of A Gunslinger

“...You smoke, Lord Remington?” Kora asked as she looked at the scruffy hippogriff.

“Not unless I’m havin’ a bad day,” he replied while leaning out of the window.

Fiona went on, “I see…well, we appreciate you both helping us out. I’ll have to hold a council with my fellow queens to figure out what to do next. Turns out a certain poodle woman leaked information to those junkyard dogs.”

Axel breathed some smoke out of the window and replied. “Do whatcha want. Just make sure they don’t live. Fer now, I just wanna get my sister somewhere safe. We can’t stay here.”

His she-cat companion already knew what he was thinking. “...You think they’d track us down here, hm?”

“Bingo,” he said, “Don’t want Fleche in this shitstorm no more. I already know exactly where we gon’ take her.” He then looked at Queen Floppyears and made a request. “Wouldja mind not tellin’ the public we were here? Kinda wanna keep things as clean as possible as we leave.”

“Of course,” the lab queen replied, “We’ll take it from here. I can’t imagine seeing one of my sisters in such a disgusting situation. But are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“I am,” Axel continued, “Soon as our folks are better, I’m droppin’ that bird boy off at his home and headed back to mine. Too much shit has gone down and we need’ta regroup ourselves.”

Since he was certain, the lab woman didn’t press the issue any further. “Understandable. If you ever need anything else, just ask for Queen Floppy, alright?” She then looked in Kora’s direction. “...Keep him safe, okay? He’s gonna need as many companions as possible.”

“You can tell just by looking at him, hm?” Kora asked.

“Well…something like that,” said the lab queen, “Let’s just say I wouldn’t be where I am without my fellow Queens. But that’s a story for another day. I bid you both safe travels!”

“Much appreciated!” Kora replied with a purr as the queen left. Then, she looked towards the direction of the infirmary. “...Here’s hoping they’ll be okay.”

About three hours later…

Well, it took a while, but soon enough, their friends would exit the infirmary. Stratus has suffered some minor internal and external bleeding and was patched up thanks to the magic of the Diamond Dog’s Court doctors. Vido had bandaging around his pelvis, but was able to walk without much issue.

“Ay, compadres…I’m back.”

“...Thank the heavens,” Kora muttered as she walked up to him and embraced him with a hug and a series of soft purrs. “I would never forgive myself if I let something so bad happen to you.”

Vido returned the gesture by petting her on the head with a claw. His beak slowly contorted into a forced smile. “Hmph…don’t worry about me. It was part of my plan the entire time. I knew you and Axel would swoop in and light them up like a beautiful fiesta.”

Fleche on the other hand…

She walked out. Slowly but surely, and kept her head down. Avoiding the others and trotting towards her brother specifically. “...I’m so sorry, Axel…”

“Don’t be.” As soon as the hippogriff looked at his pegasister, he put a wing around her to hug her. “...Glad yer okay. That’s all that matters right now.”

“Aye…I hope the others will be able to escape okay,” Fleche added, “But I suppose it’s up to the Royal Army now…” She looked over at the griffon and abyssinian and smiled. “...You’ve got friends, now, eh? Interestin’ fellers…”

“...Yeah,” Axel replied with a small smile on his face, “They ain’t so bad.”

Fleche managed to let out a giggle as she thought back to their younger years. “Ah. I remember back then. You hardly made any friends at the schoolhouse and tended to keep ta yerself. Ya only smiled when ya spent time with me or the twins…” The smile faded from her lips as she hung her head. “That was our baby brother alright…always a chancer.”

“This lil’ baby’s all grown-up now, sis,” he commented with a snort, “‘Sides…these folks here have given me a new perspective on life let’s say.”

“Gu dearbh--I can imagine,” she went on, “That griffon feller was so brave to suffer through such…vile cotton pickin’--”

Axel placed a claw around her shoulder. “Hey, hey…don’t get all worked up now. You need’ta rest. We can’t very well stay here, so we’re headed’ta someplace special.”

“Sounds good,” Fleche replied with a nod, “Though, lemme express mah gratitude to the boy as we make our way out…”

The group left the castle and traveled back down the road to Vido’s airship. Kora had made herself busy giving Stratus a lecture on why he shouldn’t follow others into unfamiliar territory.

Meanwhile, Fleche had mustered up the courage to speak to the griffon as she began to trot alongside him. “...H-howdy. Vido, yeah?”

“Si,” he replied, “You’re Axel’s sister, yes? Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

“...Flechette O’Courtland Remington,” she introduced herself, “But Fleche alone is fine, ya ken?”

Vido nodded and introduced himself in return. “Vido Montaña Magpie. Navigator, tour guide, airship pilot. The works. And think nothing of it, mija. Axel’s my close friend and I wasn’t gonna let his family be separated from him. I know what that’s like already.”

Fleche tilted her head downwards as she recalled what the hyena woman had said. “...She..she mentioned your athair--your father, yes? Do you think she…?”

Vido waved a claw downwards. “...You know what? At this point, I don’t care what happened to him. I’ve got bigger things to worry about in life and I’m sure he wouldn’t want me cha-cha-ing around wondering about his death. Besides…I’m more focused on getting your hermano his revenge.”

“Herman--oh. You mean my wee-brother,” Fleche meekly replied, “In our grandpa’s language, we say deartháir.”

“Interesting,” the griffon gave an invested nod. “Where was he from?”

“Shireland if you can believe it or not. Suppose ol’ Ax ain’t told you lot yet, eh?”

“Nope,” Vido said with a shrug as he continued walking, “I never found the right time to ask.”

“Well now’s the right time, laddie.” Fleche slowly became more enthused as the conversation continued. Their family history was something she enjoyed speaking of. “Our grandfather had the name Courtland and it was passed down to me. Hence O’Courtland.”

“Woah…so you all have titles?” Vido muttered in awe, “Que bueno! Hm--wonder if Axel has one?”

Fleche scoffed, “Tssh! Poppycock--I can tell ya that. It’s--”

Axel immediately interrupted them, stepping forward and uttering a resounding, “Don’t.”