Shame

After a quick inspection of the barn with a lantern, Ruiz was satisfied that the damages were minimal, and decided to go back to the house. He didn't have the materials to repair the screen on the back door, but he knew where to find a bucket and brush. Besides, it was more important that he remove the blood stains from the floor before they soaked into the boards and became more permanent.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one that thought so. On his trip inside to collect the key, Jed had woken everypony up to help aid in the cleaning. His reasoning was that, if they all worked together, it would take half an hour, but one pony doing it all alone would give up their whole night, and having the whole family start a little late was preferable to having Sadie out of commission for the whole day.

Mint was in the utility room, scrubbing up the trail that led from the living room to the back door. Most of it was undoubtedly from the gryphon, but the hoofprints made it very clear that some of this had come from Ruiz. As he walked through, he lifted his injured leg, so as not to drip or leave prints where she had just finished scrubbing, or to leave a new trail to add to her workload.

Sadie was handling the living room floor, and Ruiz swallowed hard when he saw just how large a puddle had been left when he had cut two holes in the gryphon's skull. For its perceived small size, his brain had drained all over the wood, leaving a rather gruesome puddle.

"Over here, Ruiz," called Maria. She was sitting on the couch with the first aid kit in front of her and a towel over her lap. "Come, have a seat."

"Before you drip anymore," added Sadie.

Ruiz quickly made his way to the couch, where Maria immediately moved his injured leg over the towel. If he was going to drip, it would be easier to clean the towel than it would be if he had bled all over the furniture. She began dabbing at the wounds with a soft cloth. It was not so much a single cut, but a series of small cuts. His skin was more akin to a sieve in this scenario than a large gash. Since all of the cuts were perpendicular to his leg, they were more likely to heal properly than they were to kill him.

"You're going to be okay, Ruiz," she smiled, wrapping him in a bandage. "What happened out there?"

Ruiz relayed the story, leaving out the gory details. Rather that saying that he stabbed the gryphon in the house, he "dealt with him." Rather than caving in the skulls of the other two, Jed "finished them off." And of course, all homophobic remarks were removed. After all, Mint was just in the other room, and could hear him.

"How did you know they were coming in? asked Sadie when the story was finished. "Jed didn't hear anything until your scuffle in the living room."

Ruiz nodded. "I was having trouble falling asleep, señora. I had a lot on my mind, and it was bothering me, so I took a walk around the cornfield to clear my head. I spotted them coming in."

"What had you stressed out?" asked Maria. She looked genuinely concerned, as she knew that the last thing he had done before going to bed was talk to her.

"It was nothing, really, señorita. It's not anything to worry about."

"If something's bothering you, we should talk about it," she insisted. "Was it something I said? Something my family said?"

Ruiz shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "No, really, señorita, it's fine. I already feel bad that your mother and sister had to wake up and clean up the mess I made, I don't want to cause any more trouble for you tonight."

Their heads all shifted as a loud boom was heard in the distance, like the explosion of dynamite somewhere off in the desert. "That has to be Jed with the explosives," nodded Sadie. "I hope he did that safely, and it wasn't a mistake."

"I deactivated it as best I could, señora," nodded Ruiz. "If it went off, it's because he re-armed it. I'm sure it was intentional."

Sadie took a deep breath and went back to her scrubbing. It was clear to Ruiz that she was worried about her husband, but he'd already done all he could to make her feel better. He hoped that Jed knew what he was doing with those things, because they were dangerous.

Mint walked through a moment later and made her way upstairs. She had been given the easiest job, and had finished first. She didn't say anything, just walked upstairs and closed her bedroom door.

"I'm sorry," Ruiz bowed his head. "I didn't mean to upset her. I'm sure señor is fine, just a bit tired and dusty."

"I'm sure he is," added Maria. "We're all a little tired and cranky right now, given the situation. I think she'll be fine after breakfast."

"None of us are upset with you, Ruiz," assured Sadie. "As much as we all want to go back to bed, you're not standing in the way of that, nor are you the one responsible for what happ-- Well, you are a little bit responsible, but I mean that in the best way."

Maria closed up the first aid kit and stowed it away, ushering Ruiz to follow her. Sadie was almost done with the floor in the living room, and While Ruiz would have been happy to finish up for her so she could go back to bed, he was curious to know what Maria wanted from him.

He sat down on the inside of the door as directed. While his earlier assessment that the screen could not be replaced was accurate, he would hold the edges in place and provide a firm backing with his good hoof while she taped the hole shut.

"I really did mean what I said earlier," she said, tearing off a strip of tape. "If you want to talk, or I've offended you somehow, you can always talk to me. I want to help you, but you have to tell me how. I don't want to keep guessing."

As she placed the last of the tape, Ruiz nodded. "I appreciate the offer, señorita, but I don't know if I even can be helped. The truth is, something you did earlier did bother me, but I don't know how, or why. One moment, I was just mildly uncomfortable, and the next, this dread just washed over me, and I don't know how to explain it any better than that. If I could at least figure out where it came from, I could talk to you about it, but I can't place it. I'm sorry, señorita, your offer is most generous, but I cannot accept."

She sighed. "Well, if you ever figure it out, you know where to find me." She pulled him into a hug, and the intense dread washed over him again. Any lethargy he had felt a moment ago suddenly disappeared as his heart began to beat harder and faster. "Goodnight, Ruiz."

Shit.