Stray Shot/Griff convo 4/30/17

>Griff looks at Mich, and nods.
"Sadly mah friend, yes...lots of crimes and...."
>He narrows his eyes, blinking.
"WAit...huh.....Stray was involved in a self defense case with a rapist?! What!?"

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>Griff pushs through the crowd and reaches Stray.
"OI! STRAYSHOT! YA BASTARD STOP WALKING LIKE YA AVE SOMEPLACE TAH BE!"
Stray Shot stops in his tracks, making his shoulder-slung crossbow clank as his hooves suddenly stop. His big ears perk straight up as he hears the familiar, but shouting, voice. He turns around and spots the birb with his companions, with the approach of the strangers in addition to a white pegasus mare approaching him clearly making him tense up a bit. The stallion has tired, faint dark lines under his eyes, but he gives his friend a genuine, small, smile. "Griff?" He says, tilting his head and eyeing Ade, Griff, and Black. "Y'alright?"
Stray glances at Ade again, having registered her question but not sure if she was asking him or someone else. When he was around Griff, he tended to let the griffon do the talking.
When Michael lay eyes on the orange pony known as stray shot, he was overcome with a feeling he had never felt so strongly in all his life, rage. Images of his blood drip down his muzzle and hoof flooded his mind. He could feel his heart beat in his healing cuts. Strays voice blared in his ears as an incoherent scream.
>Griff gives a kind smile to Stray, nodding.
"We should be asking ya that question." Griff says as he turns to the newcomer. "sorry missy, what ya looking for?"
>Griff takes a moment to slip out and hand Stray the note, whispering to him.
"Ah aint mad or nothin, just wanted tah ask ya why yer never mentioned this."
Stray Shot takes the scroll, a bewildered look on his face as he looks down the list. When his eyes go across his name and Zeeke's rows, Stray's face turns visibly white under his coat. Faint lines of muscle become visible under his short fur as he tenses up. The only thing that provides him any sense of relief is the fact that the remarks section noted that he was cleared and released. He grits his teeth together, looking up at Griff with an axious glance. He glances at the mare, wondering if she knew too, but her words quickly told him the answer. "I... H-how would I even bring something like that up...? 'Hey Griff, I killed this zebra raping my friend'." He says quietly to him, though his gaze does move to Addy with a hint of concern. It sounded like there was another pony in town who had just went through The Big Change. "W-wait... don't be sorry..."
"And... I didn't know how you would react," he adds to Griff
>Griff nods to the new pony.
"Well, this ere is where we past humans got thrown tah fend fer outselves, more then less anyways."
>Griff twitches as he hears what Stray had whispered, then quickly continues.
"BUUUUT MICH HERE WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHOW YOU THE ROPES!" He says, pushing Mich forward and putting an arm around Stray.
"He buddy lets go talk somewhere more private, eh?"
>Griff pats Michaels back.
"Show this lovely mare around town, anwser her questions! Me and Stray have something to take care of, thanks buddy!"(edited)
>Griff basically drags stray away as he waves at Mich and the pony.
"WE'LL MEET UP WITH YOU LATER!"
Stray's eyes stay on Addy, his ghost-white face turning to a slight blush as she forces an awkward smile, waving jauntily as if him being dragged by Griff was a normal occurance. His stomach tenses up and his ears fold back as he looks back up to Griff, tucking his tail between his legs
>Griff pulls Stray itn oa more secluded spot, sighing.
"Sorry about that.." he says, rubbing at the back of his head. "yer right...no idea how ya couldve brought that up, just wish ah had learned it from somethin besides a note."
>He leans dOwn, patting Stray on the back.
"Fuck man, ah was gonna say its nothin to be ashamed of. Stopping a criminal? ya really think ah would look down on anyone fer that?"
>He frowned slightly, looking down at the ground.
"But watching THAT happen to friend...damnit im an ass fer making ya remember that, cant be easy to get over...."
Stray Shot sits on his haunches in the spot Griff pulls him, casting his gaze to the ground with a frown, occasionally glancing up at Griff as the birb speaks to him. "Sh-she ran away from me afterwards..." he says as his frown intensifies and the pony's huge blue eyes glance up with a glassy gaze. "And the worst part is... he still raped her. I couldn't stop him." He sniffles a bit, rubbing his muzzle with a hoof as a shiver goes down his spine and he hugs his hindlegs against his chest with his forehooves. " He grits his teeth together, shaking his head as he looks past Griff at the jungle behind them, "I-I didn't want anyone to know... I wish I could just forget b-but..." he shakes his head again, "They don't stop, the nightmares" he softly says, his throat sounding tight.
>Griff leans in, giving Stray an akward, but obviously well meaning, hug.
"Ya tried yer best....thats all any of us can ask of others....."
>Griff sighed, pulling back, though he left a claw on Strays shoulder, looking him kindly in the eyes.
"Mah own nightmares never go away. Ya cant forget yer mistakes Stray, but you cant let them consume ya either. Ya did what had to be done in the end....ya cant hang on tah what ya did wrong like that....but you can learn from it, work tah make sure it doesnt happen next time."
>Griff sighs, shaking his head as he looks down.
"Ah dont even fuckin know why they gave me tha note... look...err....what she say when ya tried tah find er afterwards?"
Stray Shot slowly and reluctantly at first, returns the hug, but Griff soon feels the pony's hooves tightly clutching the birb. Griff can hear muffled sniffles from Stray Shot as he wets his feathers with a few tears, sliding his face up to look up at him. "Th-this isn't fun anymore, Griff... I k-killed someone, and stole stuff, a-and everything's trying to kill me!" He whimpers and buries his muzzle into his feathers again, muffling his voice when he says, "I just wish I could go home..."
>Griff hugs the pony back, his own face sad.
"Stray....im gonna tell ya a secret....ya not a bad pony. not a bad PERSON. "
>Griff sighs, and flops his axe onto the ground with a thud.
"Ya ever wonder where one of us got themselves a fine ass weapon of war and thick leather armor like i did? Well ill tell ya. Me and those twelve others that i came here with? We broke into a Canterlot Smithy in the middle of the night and stole them, we stole all sorts of things, then took a train out of town."
>Griff pats Stray on the head, feeling himself shaking a bit along with Stray.
"Only seven of us made it here alive stray, only seven of us.....all of the others left, they blamed me fer our idiocy of walking here. maybe they were right....."
>Griff looks down at stray, feeling some tears in his own eyes.
"That werepony....was one of em....fuck me stray, i left one of them to turn into a monster. This was NEVER fun Stray, never. I wish it was just a fun little land of ponies and friendship and shit, but its not. Its not and all we can do is try and band together an fucking try an LIVE."
>Griff chuckled, wiping at his own eyes.
"All we can try and fucking do it live....Live and do what we can to make sure others can too..."
Stray Shot keeps his face buried in Griff's feathers, but his oversized ears swivelled right at him as he speaks. He leans his chin on him and looks up with sad eyes as the griffon tells his story. It made his stomach tighten, but it also made him feel at least not so alone. He had heard about the werepony situation, but had no idea that Griff knew any of them. "Th-that's horrible..." he says in a depressed manner, thinking about the deaths of ponies making the dangerous trek to this town. "I'm sorry, Griff," he says weakly, finally letting the Griffon go and wiping his puffy red glassy eyes with a hoof. "Y-you didn't deserve to go through something like that... No one deserves any of this! Coca shouldn't have been raped, Zeeke shouldn't be dead, and all those ponies you were with who's guts we saw strewn all over the swamp didn't deserve to be eaten..." He says with with a soft, but indignant, tone. He leans against Griff. "Y-you're right... We have to live. For all those people that can't now..."
>Griff nods. patting Stray again.
"Yeah..." He clears his throat a bit, looking off to the side "Well...uhhh....i feel....better?"
Stray Shot suddenly chuckles awkwadly, but heartily. After having let all that out, and talking with Griff, he actually /did/ feel much better. He looks up at him with a small, but hopeful smile, sniffling and wiping his nose with a hoof. "H-heheh... So do I," he says, taking a deep breath that made his chest feel lighter. He scratches the back of his neck with a hoof, his smile turning sheepish. "Well... Now that that's over with..." He looks at the note again. "Why did they give you this?" he asks curiously
>Griff shrugs.
"Aparently they think, because i aparently have a reputation of it, tht ill do something tabout it....."
>GRiff sighs.
"And the damn bastards are right, i think i know the first stwp we need to do....but first."
>Griff puts a claw on Strayr shoulder, a determined look in his eyes.
"We need to find you yer old marefreind. ya cant just hope ya never run itn oher again Stray, and she probably shouldnt a been left alone after that anyways..."
Stray's temporary lighthearted demeanor was quickly replaced by an apprehensive expression. "I don't think sh-she wants to be around someone like me anymore..." he says quietly as his tail tucks between his legs
>Griff gives Stray a soft smile.
"maybe she doesnt, maybe she does. but yah never gon know if ya dont talk to er, and ya never gonna be able to move on until ya know...."
>Griff looks off to that side, realizing the irony of him not following his own advice.
Stray begins to slowly nod as Griff speaks, sighing as he eventually relents. "Your right. I just don't want her to hurt anymore..." he says softly, trailing off and going silent for several seconds before looking up at Griff again. "Griff?" He asks
"Yeah Stray?"
"It's horrible out there," Stray says, glancing at the nearby swamps, "But... I think I'd sleep better if w-we could try to stop more ponies from dying. So... when you're goin' out again f'that reason, I wanna help." He says, looking up at him with an even expression
>Griff smiles, patting Stray on the back.
"Thanks, Means alot tah have someone i can count on like that man."