Shame

Everypony, Ruiz included, filed into the laundry room. With all of the washing done before sunset, the basins and washboard were stored away against the wall, leaving plenty of space for them to stand and look out the windows. In the shadow of the house, just as the moon was creeping its way into the sky, they could see something nondescript moving in the darkness over the cornfield.

Jed grabbed a lantern from atop a shelf near the door and lit the wick. Three sides of the housing were fitted with mirrors, reflecting the light in one direction, focusing it wherever he pointed the lantern. As he waved it out the backdoor, the family all saw what was going on. Three gryphons, all decorated in their black makeup, were flying around, swooping down over the corn and tearing up debris. The windmill that fed their water pump had been knocked over, obviously struck by one of the gryphons on their way in.

"Damn these ravens," huffed Jed, grabbing his slingshot and heading out the door. Sadie immediately began ushering Mintberry into the living room while Maria grabbed the lantern to act as a spotter for her father.

"Y'all best leave now!" shouted Jed, loading and charging his weapon. "I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit tonight!"

For his efforts, Jed was pelted with multiple ears of corn. He took aim at the nearest gryphon and loosed his first stone into the air. The rock zipped by the gryphon's neck, just barely missing his feathers. As he reloaded, another barrage of corn was lobbed in his direction, but one of the gryphons also pulled out a slingshot, striking Jed's shoulder with a rock.

Jed's next shot connected, striking the chest of one of the circling gryphons, though not with enough force to injure it, as it was only a glancing blow. In response, the gryphons all stopped with the corn, and a barrage of rocks fired from slingshots pelted him. But it wasn't just the stallion that was hit. Some of the rounds made their way to the house, knocking chips out of the window where Maria was standing, trying to take down the spotter so they could not be as easily seen.

Ruiz had seen enough. He returned to the living room, grabbed his slingshot from out of his belt, and left through the front door, making his way around the side of the house. By the time he came to the corn field, Jed was retreating to the laundry room, and the window had been broken, scattering the light from the lantern.

Ruiz wasted no time, scooping up a rock and launching it directly at the neck of the first gryphon he could identify as a target. It immediately faltered in its assault as it needed to restabilise its flight. Another gryphon looked at Ruiz, only to be struck across the beak with a second shot.

"What's the matter with yo-- GAH!!" shouted the last gryphon as Ruiz' third shot hit him. With a rock lodged firmly in his earhole, and more coming in from Ruiz with significantly more accuracy, he sounded the retreat.

One of the gryphons, however, the one Ruiz had hit in the throat, did not leave. He charged at Ruiz, grabbing him by the horn and punching his chest. Ruiz did his best to pull free, but could not. His injuries were too recent to allow him a full range of movement.

Luckily, Jed had recovered, and with a resounding strike, clubbed the back of the gryphon's head with a metal pipe. Unable to keep ahold of his senses, the beast stumbled off toward the road. For a brief moment, Jed considered striking once more to end the creature, but one look at Ruiz told him that there was something more important to take care of right now. He helped the goat back to his hooves. "Thanks for your help. I owe you for that."

"No, you don't," replied Ruiz, stumbling back toward the front of the house. He was quickly redirected by Jed toward the backdoor. "If anything, I owe you. All I did was draw their attention. You saved my life. I told you I didn't want to be even more of a burden."

Maria rushed out with the lantern, clearing their path and directing them both inside. "Hurry up," she ushered, "before they decide to come back."

Upon entering, Sadie was waiting for them. She had a cold wet cloth for the bruises she'd already seen on Jed, but Ruiz' bandages were stained red again. As she approached, Ruiz felt a wave of dread crash over him. "Now, didn't I warn you against pulling out your stitches?" she asked. "Go on upstairs and wait for me, and keep those bandages on and under pressure. I don't want to spend the whole night cleaning up."

Ruiz nodded wordlessly and slunk his way upstairs, returning his slingshot to his belt on the desk. He didn't want to risk even more trouble if Jed found out he was armed in his home. He especially didn't want to hurt Sadie any more than he already had by having a weapon while she was sewing his flesh back together for a third time.

She came in shortly after he did with the first aid kit. Before she'd arrived, Ruiz had moved the empty bowls from dinner on top of the dresser, pushed the nightstand back where she had it, and replaced the stool by the side of the bed. He was sitting on the stool, so as not to risk staining the sheets if the bandages bled through.

She sat down on the bed behind him and started taking apart the bloody bandages. "Hold still," she commanded, and though he tried, he was still a bit shaky. "Maria never did finish her introduction, did she?"

"I thought she had, señora?"

"I don't think she did. I'm pretty sure my husband put a stop to it before she could finish."

"Who was left out?"

She held him still. "Stop shaking. This will only hurt more if you don't sit still." He did his best, and he once more felt the needle pulling his skin together. "Well, for one, she has a brother. This was his room. He's out working away from home, but we have a photograph on the desk. But that's perhaps the less important part she left out, as you can't expect a photograph to speak with you."

"I think your son would be important, señora."

"He is, but I'm talking about the introduction. There was someone else left out."

"Who?"

With all of the wounds quickly stitched up, she began wrapping bandages around him. "She never told us your name."

"Oh. It's Ruiz. I'm no one important."

"You came to rescue both my husband and my daughter. I think they're important." She finished wrapping him up and closed the first aid box. "You need to go to bed, Ruiz. Even if you did want to leave as soon as possible, you'd just be sleeping on the side of the road. It's too late to be leaving, so you might as well stay the night. I'll come check on you when breakfast is ready. Sleep well."

She took the bowls off the dresser and closed the door as she left the room. Ruiz let go of his tension and found that he was exhausted, even though he'd only been up since early afternoon. He wasn't going to argue with her. Blowing out the candle, he curled up on the bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.