Canterlot Academy Trials

Meanwhile, across the ocean and practically on the other side of the world…

From an overhead view on a map, the location that Odu and his gang were headed was known as Shé Chéng or the ‘Serpent City.’ An autonomous region near the Wukong Province that was relinquished to the ponies of Trottingham for a time before they left and allowed it to be independent. Since then, it has operated in many illicit substance rings that make for easy passage of pretty much anything someone desired.

Hence why they were here.

Once the boat stopped, Odu and some of his crewmates left it and started walking through the rugged port city that was filled with various creatures. Ponies, griffons, abyssinians, diamond dogs, monkeyfolk--they were all rough-looking gangsters and ruffians that you’d get into a fight with simply for gazing at someone improperly.

“...Seems like a safe place,” the panther man of Odu’s group commented, “So what are we looking for here, exactly?” He was dressed in khaki pants, a red suit, and had a beige fedora on his head.

“It’s simple, dear Gwin,” Odu responded to the leopard, “We’re here to gather more materials. Since our previous base of operations is now destroyed, we need a new supplier to aid us in exchange for a…rather hefty sum.”

“Sounds fun to me for sure,” the black jaguar she-cat commented. The sniper who carried her gun on her back; she wore a white bomber jacket and furred collar that clashed heavily with her black fur. “Just gimme the word and I’ll set ‘em straight, ya hear?”

“That won’t be necessary, Irina,” Odu chastised the jaguar’s lack of tact, “We’re simply here to gather support for our cause. Not to cause unnecessary bloodshed.”

Gwin simply chuckled as he pulled on the collar of his suit. “Now that we can agree on. Let’s get this done smoothly, yeah?”

Irina rolled her eyes, lamenting the fact that she wouldn’t get to shoot someone again. “...Fine. I’ll wait outside and keep watch over everything. You lot handle the chit-chatty stuff, yeh?”

The jaguar left the two tomcats and climbed on top of one of the nearby buildings. Gwin simply sighed as he gripped the top of his fedora.

“Dammit, man…do you really think she’ll be alright?” he asked with a hint of concern.

“Don’t worry yourself about such details,” Odu patted Gwin on the back and kept going, “We have more important things to worry about.”

Soon enough, after walking down the beaten cobblestone sidewalks filled with villagers of various species carrying fruit or selling food from stands, the two tomcats would arrive at a stereotypical club. Since it was daytime, it was rather empty for the most part. Only a few straggler patrons were there and either playing cards, smoking, drinking, or all of the above at various wooden tables throughout the room upon a soft, yet dull purple carpet. A stage was seen near the end of the room but it was closed off with a red curtain since there were no scheduled shows.

“Guess you made the right call to get us down here today,” Gwin commented, noting how it was a Sunday morning. “Not a lot of traffic here thankfully.”

“Of course,” Odu continued forward towards the other side of the building beyond the stage. Interestingly enough, nobody seemed to mind how far he was going and the fact that he was headed to a location that was marked for employees only.

Gwin reasoned it out rather quickly, “...been here before?” he asked with a flick of his tail.

“You catch on fast,” Odu noted as he led his partner into the door which let to a private showroom. “Indeed. I’ve shown my face around here once or twice in the past as I considered my options.”

“Aaaand…we’re out of options,” Gwin purred dismissively under his breath, “Well that’s just great, I suppose.”

Odu ignored the leopard’s comment as they both took a seat on one of the couches in the showroom. It was a small room with the same purple carpet as the main floor with four red velvet couches and a coffee table in the middle of them all.

Soon enough, a primate man--a gorilla in a teal tropical beach shirt and brown shorts--appeared from one of the nearby doors, and stood to the side with his arms folded. Moments after, a much smaller, more average-sized primate came out to greet them.

An Albino Capuchin man with a rare set of all-white fur. All he wore was a green camo-patterened tank top over a rather slim, but muscular build, as his fur covered up pretty much everything else. His voice was rather light, but still forceful in tone.

“...Odu, my man,” the albino monkey greeted the tiger as he dropped jumped over the couch to sit down. “Looks like you’re in need of my help, huh?”

“Of course Mr. Kim,” Odu took out a small list of items on a piece of paper, “...first--”

“At-tut-tut! One sec,” Kim interrupted him, “Sorry but I’m gonna stop you right there. I’ve got another customer who’s ahead of you.”

The tiger man tilted his head. “...excuse me? Who exactly?”

Just then, a young griffon woman came in through the door with another female griffon at her side. “...yo, Kim. Got my shit?”

“Yeah, Gaea hang on…” the monkey held up his hand and looked at Odu. “Gimme a bit, wouldja?”

With no other option, Odu simply sighed to himself. “...very well.”