Advent Of A Gunslinger

“...You gon’ hafta level with me,” he replied hesitantly, “I ain’t learned much in school ‘side from numbers and Hippogriffian history.”

Chang smiled and said, “Do not worry yourself. Not many realize this either. But yes. The Far East is known for four great inventions: The compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” Axel muttered with a dumbfounded look on his face, “And here I thought all it was known for was the tea in--ya know.”

“Ah yes. I personally consider tea to be the honorary fifth greatest,” Chang said as he raised his weapon over his shoulders, “Helps with concentration. Though I do admit to being a fan of espresso also.” He shook his head, “Anyway. We’re getting off-track. Just know that you have my full support in this travel. For this is far more important for you than it is for me.”

With the knowledge that the doctor was willing to assist despite not having known him for very long, Axel was at a loss for words. “Ah...well. Thanks, I suppose? Damn it’s like everyone’s tryin’a join in a posse...” He remembered the words of the nice cow that he had met, and realized that this was a major part of what she meant. “...Not that that’s a bad thing.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Chang encouraged him, “More eyes, ears, and legs out in a battlefield means greater effectiveness. There are some things that no warrior can accomplish alone.”

Axel nodded. “Yeah, that’s about right. Some jobs may require a bit’a finesse thatcha can’t wrangle all on yer lonesome. And I’ll admit...I’m mighty curious to see what yer home is like.” He hovered above the floor, and started to inspect the tools and equipment in the room with his eyes, scanning them all. “If yer this organized and know how’ta keep everythin’ in order, I can’t imagine how bad it must be where yer pa lives.”

The monkey doctor would return to one of his chemistry tables, and set the weapon down nearby where it leaned against the wall. He responded with a grave, downtrodden tone in response to thoughts of his father. “...You’ll find out soon enough, Lord Remington.” Chang then decided to quickly change the subject in order to lighten the mood and to get his mind away from those thoughts.

“...However, I noticed something just now.”

“Hm?” Axel asked, “What’s up?”

Chang’s tone was more positive now as he turned around in his seat with a playful smile on his face. “You inquired about me of your own accord. That’s quite the leap in stark jump compared to when I first met you. You hardly said a word to me.”

“...” Axel removed his facemask so that Chang could see his expressions. “...I ain’t got much left in this world,” he said with a frown, “Figured I’d at least keep close what I rustle up. Seein’ Tony lose his life like that...I saw the pain in Rosie’s eyes. The same sorta pain that I see in the mirror everyday. I...don’t wanna see no one suffer that pain no more. Ya hear?”

The smile slowly melted away from Chang’s face and contorted into a neutral, understanding expression. “Ah. I quite understand. She will likely be holed up in her room for a while. I recommend we give her some space before she recovers. Once she does, I think she will appreciate our support as we make our way forward.”

“Yeah…” Axel shut his eyes for a moment. “...Tony wouldn’t want me’ta go insane. That goes doubly so for his child. And what he said’ta me...I gotta make sure I fulfill his promise when I get the chance.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Chang continued, “My homeland is covered by a thick, dense jungle. It will be impossible for us to land and refuel, so we’ll likely have to stop partway near an airship landing zone and take a train the rest of the way.”

Axel opened his eyes. “Fine by me. I don’t mind ridin’ by train. Kinda takes me back, honestly…”

“Alright then. With that being said,” Chang got up from his seat with a beaker of a clear solution in hand, “I’m going to perform an autopsy on Mr. Giovanni. I’ll need complete solitude when doing so.”

“Understandable,” Axel turned and took his leave from the doctor’s office, giving his goodbye as he went. “See ya when we make port, partner.”

“Indeed, Lord Remington. See you then.”

At the same time, on the other side of the ship…

Celaeno had decided to pay a visit to a certain griffon that was on board her vessel. She arrived at the guest quarters and knocked on the door. “...Hey. Is Vido in there?”

Silence.

After a moment or two, the griffon would exit. “...I’m here, Captain,” he said quietly, unable to make eye contact. “Need something from me?”

“...You got a minute? I want to talk to you. Feel free to bring those files with you.”

The griffon replied with a silent nod, and went to gather the documents that he had been looking at.

Once that was done, he would meet with Celaeno in her room, and sit down in front of her desk.

“What would you like to talk about, ma’am?” he asked.

“...I want you to tell me about yourself,” she said as she removed her hat from her head, “I may be the captain of this ship, but I’m an individual first and foremost. An individual that cares about those travelling with her. So if you’d like...please tell me about yourself.”

Vido was able to relax upon hearing those words. Would he finally be able to reconcile for the blunder he made when they first met? “...Alright. Well, as you know, I’m a pilot myself. I often give guided tours around the desert and various parts of the world. But...recently we came into a bit of a problem.”

“...When your ship got destroyed, right?” Celaeno asked with a heavy heart.

Vido looked down at the floor. “...Correct. That was the last thing I had left of my father. Now it’s…”

Celaeno placed one of her claws on his shoulder. “...I understand how that feels--what it’s like to lose something important to you. “

“...Really?” said Vido as he looked up and into her eyes, “You know what that’s like also?”

“Of course I do,” she replied as she pulled her claw back. “In fact, to be honest...can I tell you something about myself?”

“Go right ahead.”

She took a deep breath, and went on. “...I’m a coward. Someone who tossed away what she thought she wanted for the sake of an easy way out. I left my home because I was worried about what the King of Ornithia would do if I stayed friends with his daughter. So I accepted an offer he made, and never looked back.”

Vido tilted his head. “...What was the offer?”

Celaeno gestured a claw towards the floors, the walls, then the ceiling. “This entire ship. I took it because I didn’t want to face the music of my problems, and ran from them. As a result, I lost something very important to me--someone I cared about.” She sighed and rested her arms on her desk. “...She’s still alive, I’d hope. But I lost her because of a poor decision that I made. But you...you’re much braver than I am and lost someone important to you involuntarily. That...that hurts my soul. It’s not...fair.”

It was abundantly clear what she was getting at. The idea that someone could work twice as hard as her and suffer twice as much was proof that the world did not care who you were. Life was destined to be challenging, and oftentimes, unfair.

Despite that, Vido didn’t see it that way.

“...Maybe so. But I make the best of what I have. My new friends are there for me and I still have my mother. However…” he grabbed the files that he had brought with him. “I would still like to confront the ones that did this. Just to understand why.”

The bird lady’s feathers perked up. “...Hm? You know who’s responsible?”

“Somewhat…” Vido would then read off from one of the pages, “...’The operation in Griffonstone was a success. Possibility of making griffon slaves has increased. Their intelligence is so low that they won’t even bother fighting back.’”

Celaeno balled one of her claws into a fist, her body trembling. “...How ridiculous. Claiming that another species is inferior…”

Vido shook his head as he placed the file down. “...Perdon. But they’re not entirely incorrect. Griffons are careless, greedy creatures who wouldn’t realize when the feathers are being pulled over their eyes. It’s exactly why mama and I left that place. And I have a feeling that papa...was one of the ones taken in.”

The captain was stunned into silence. There were no words to describe how she felt in that moment, nor could she figure out what to say. “...I’m...I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Vido replied with a shrug, “All that’s left now is for me to keep working and make sure I return to my mama. Alive.”

“...I’ll make sure that happens, Vides. You deserve to live a happy life and I won’t let anyone take that away from you,” Celaeno thought to herself. Then she spoke aloud. “...You’re a good guy, Vido. Hopefully we can start off on a better page than before.”

“Agua under the bridge as they say,” the griffon replied with a smile, “After all, Remy needs our help as well and I’ll make sure he’s safe no matter what. This is his journey after all.”

“...Fair point. It’s going to take us a while before we get to our next destination, though. So we’ll need to prepare ourselves. Once we get there, you’ll have to take a train the rest of the way since the land is covered in a dense jungle.”

“Got it.” Vido got up from his seat, and gathered the files. “And if you need to talk about anything else, just let me know.”

“I will...thanks, Vido,” Celaeno replied with a small smile.

Back in Klugetown…

Rongu had finally returned to his home--about two hours later than what he had initially promised his wife.

“Alright...have to come up with another explanation,” he muttered to himself as he opened the front door, “Just need to…”

CHK-CHK!

Spitha was waiting for him on the other side with a shotgun pumped and aimed directly at his head.

“Talk.”