private Road to Retribution (with Raven Rawne)

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

OOC thread HERE

 

It was a early afternoon in the small and isolated town of Appleloosa. After successfully completing and collecting the reward for a sizable bounty, Harley Wheels had made a stop over to have her Harley Davidson and her various firearms seen to and serviced.  She had already been to the bar and had her meal for the day and a few drinks, thus she was just laying on her bed, reading a book from one of her favorite series. 

 

"By the stars, I'm so bored" she mutters to herself, lifting her head up to the sound of nothingness.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

"Five thirty three PM... Took us long enough, Cider."

Gareth looked away from his timepiece and onto his companion, an earth pony called Hard Cider.

"Yeah, yeah, no need to get all worked up. I only got lost once, okay? It's my first convoy to Appleloosa... Besides, you could take the wheel yourself."

Gareth just eyerolled and said nothing. Boss was crystal clear - the new guy is driving this time, and he's babysitting him on what seemed like a road trip, albeit in an armored Marecedes L3000 truck loaded with Celestia knows what... Just another day in the office.

A sudden bump in the road broke the griffon from his musings, quickly accompanied with a flash of pain as he slammed his head into the cabin door, where normal vehicles had windows, but this rumbling oven had a steel plate with a small visor.

"Oww! Do you want to break the axle and lug this stuff on your back? Watch the road!"

The younger stallion shot a glance at his passenger, but decided to shut up. No point arguing with THAT guy...

Still rubbing his temple and holding back his irritation, Gareth resumed scanning the surroundings.

"Slow down for Money's sake, there's a small bridge ahead. Remember what I told you. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious when you approach, then stop a few metres before the crossing. Put in reverse and await instructions."

Hard Cider sighed. "Okay, mom... We're almost in the city dude, can't we just get on with it? I'm gonna boil in this armored coffin..."

Gareth shook his head as he put on his helmet: "No way kiddo, we do this by the book." Just a quick glance to make sure the G43 is loaded, and the griffon was outside, leaving the bored driver alone.

It took a moment to adjust to the sun and the cool afternoon wind, but Gareth was a pro. He looked around, seeing only rows upon rows of apple trees in every direction, and slowly walked to his inanimate saviour from the rumbling oven's belly. He hated those trucks...

"Okay, what do we have here..."

A wooden bridge, about 5 metres across a small channel, wide enough for a single vehicle. Nothing alarming so far. He came closer, now peering over the sights of his  Gewehr 43 carabine. The channel looked... normal. Just a glance underneath the bridge and it'll be all over.

"Hey, are you admiring the woodwork or what!?" Cider was hollering from the cab, head sticking from half open door.

Gareth turned around in a split second. "Get back inside you idiot! I'm taking as much time as necessary to make sure this thing will survive the weight of that... truck!"

Hard Cider was unamused. "Just hurry up already grandpa, I want to eat something before they close the tavern! Rule lawyer..."

*PIIING!* Something hit the driver's door with a loud metallic bang.

"Whoa, what the..." Cider looked around as the second round whizzed past his ear.

Gareth brought his weapon to bear, scanning for a target. Suddenly, silhouettes emerged from behind the trees and started shooting to the pair of guards.

An ambush. And they fell into it like schoolfillies.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Raven Rawne

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

It was then that Harley's ears perk up at the sound of shouting and gunfire.

 

"Finally, some action" she mutters to herself as she grabs her scoped FG42 rifle, her only firearm that wasn't being serviced and looks through the scope to see where the fighting was occurring. It was a fair distance away, while she could have easily taken a few shots from her room, there was really no telling whether or not she would hit any innocent ponies.

 

Cursing under her breath once more, she grabs some more clips for her rifle and makes a bolt for the door. 

 

As she drew closer to the firefight, it was worse than she had expected, with it erupting into near full chaos. She then decides to climb a nearby tree and use it's branches as cover and a perch to help her with picking off a few of the raiders from a safe distance.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Roxy Sparx

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

It could have looked better.

 

Once the lead started flying from both directions, Garreth jumped into the melioration channel he was inspecting a moment ago, peering out to take a shot and duck again. It seems Cider had enough luck to get back into the cab without getting one in the head, if the returning fire from inside was any indication.

 

From what he could see, Garreth was facing multiple assailants grouped on both sides of the road. How they remained unseen until now, he had no idea, but the thick apple trees were excellent cover for their advance. Both guards were aiming at the bandits when they were changing position to another tree, when they were in the open, but despite their rather accurate fire, it seemed those bandits kept creeping closer...

 

Garreth emptied the first 10-round clip within minutes, which wasn't good news. He had just 4 mags for the G43, and 4 10-round clips for his Mauser c96 sidearm stuffed in his pouches and pockets. He couldn't miss a shot, but it was surprisingly hard to concentrate when you're being shot at...

 

"I just hope Cider's doing better..." - he muttered to himself before chambering the first round from second clip.

 

He wasn't. The moment Garreth emerged from cover to redouble his efforts at beating the ambushers, he noticed that the closest brigand was hugging the tree adjacent to the road from the truck's right. Unable to take him out, the griffon shot his companion a couple tree rows further and ducked just in time - a bullet scraped the crown of his helmet, turning it into a ringing bell.

 

"G-AAAAH DAMN YOU!" - he shouted, then shook his head and hollered as loud as he could: "ON YOUR THREE, FIVE METERS! GET THAT #%&@$*!

 

The only response he recieved was a hail of bullets peppering the channel's crest, forcing the griffon to keep his head low and wait till the shower of dirt and grass ends.

 

Then, a familliar sound, and most unwelcome too, considering the circumstances - a loud shriek of overbuedened hinges holding the truck's reinforced door, followed by the unmistakeable boom of a coach gun. And they didn't have one inside, so that means...

 

A loud splash to the right announced that one of the raiders jumped into the channel, cutting the trail of dark thoughts short. Garreth turned to face the adversary, slipping in the water and hitting the side of his impromotu trench with the left shoulder and discharging his weapon. The earth pony staggerred, luckily hit, allowing to put another, this time aimed, shot in his muzzle.

 

The lack of gunfire booming from the truck seemed to confirm his fears. For all it's worth, from now on, he was alone in this mess.

 

@

 

Maybe not alone. Garreth heard a distant sound of a rifle from the general direction of the town, echoing from the apple trees, the silent witness of this uneven battle. Soon another roar accompanied it, and a third one, forming a steady pace. The covering fire that kept the griffon pinned for the last minute or so quickly dissipated as the brigands apparently sought cover. The situation seemed to have improved a thousand times, if not fot the unmistakeable screetch of those blasted hinges, singalling somepony opened the cab door again...

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

The blue mare cursed as she fired off the last of her rounds towards the retreating bandits, and then as the bandits finally found cover and were retreating. She jumps down from her cover, collecting her empty shells and ammunition boxes, as times were quite tough as it was and salvaging what she could saved her a great deal of bits. She then hears the griffon cursing. 

 

Chuckling, she makes her way towards him, collecting what she could, she sees him and waves before finally reaching him. 

 

As she was still unsure about this new arrival, she knew he couldn't be too bad, seeing as he was fighting off the raiders, she kept her rifle at hip level, ready to fire if need be. 

"Need a little help there darling?~" she asks in a somewhat seductive yet serious tone.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

It stopped raining grass, that was a relief, but the sudden lack of deafening noise filling his muddy retreat allowed Garreth to pick a noise most unwelcomed - his truck was reversing, and fast. Unable to contain his rage any longer, Garreth stood up, exposing his upper torso above the channel's crest and took in the scene before him: the bandits were in retreat, not really caring for concealment anymore as they sprinted away. Some were shot on the run by the unknown sniper that scared them. But those were just details. What mattered is that he failed his task, as, formerly his, Marecedes-Benz was reversing as fast as the beast's engine allowed. Hard Cider was nowhere to be seen.

 

In a display of impotent rage, Garreth opened fire to the vehicle, hoping to cause something, anything that would make it stop. He emptied the rest of the second clip and loaded the third, but as he pulled the trigger, the weapon jammed. He caused no harm to the armored monstrosity, which turned around and zoomed out of view.  In absence of mortal danger or any further distractions, Garreth proceeded to unload his anger on the malfunctioning Gewehr 43, cursing colorfully as he forced the weapon to spit out the round and unjam.

 

"You piece of junk! You ALWAYS jam when I need you! ALWAYS!!!! I bet that old goat Q is having some sick entertainment in issuing us scrapmetal to defend ourselves!"

 

Finally, after some persuasion, the reviever moves and ejects the round onto the grass and loads a new one without incident.

 

@Roxy Sparx

 

 

 

"Need a little help there darling?~" she asks in a somewhat seductive yet serious tone.

 

Startled by the sudden appearance of another pony, and seemingly out of nowhere too, Garreth jumped and turned around. Fortunately this time he wasn't holding the trigger, discharging would be even more embarassing.

 

"Wha? Oh yes! Right, um, could you bring that truck back? And it's driver too, in one, unbloodied piece?" - he smiled broadly, clearly not yet realising the full extent of what just happenned here.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

She nods "possibly, but it will take time to track them" she says then bends down to look at one of the dead raiders and curses "Bloody Hell!" she swears and kicks the corpse "I'll definitely help you get your truck back, these raiders have been hounding the town for months now, usually small things like cattle rustling, extortion and the sort, but they've resorted to Kidnapping these days" she says and picks up his Gewehr 43 and inspects it "how often does this thing jam up?" she asks as she then places it on its side and begins looking for more ammunition and spent shells as well as firearms to salvage fro. "I am a little knowledgeable on these things, but the gunsmith back in town is a personal friend of mine, so she'd be able to help better" 

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Roxy Sparx

 

Garreth said nothing as the strange mare replied to his inquiry. He was still processing what happenned, and the adrenaline was slowly losing it's grip on him. He didn't object when she took his carabine and inspected with practiced movements.

 

 

 

"how often does this thing jam up?"

 

A sudden question brought his attention back to the present.

 

"I, uhh, it's not really the gun itself, but rather the ammunition. Q loves to buy expensive guns, but then he has to cut corners on ammo and other gear to balance out the expense. He's our quatermaster, you know. Old as dirt. Nopony even knows his real name these days, Just that stupid inicial from "quatermaster". Like it's some action novel..."

 

Only then did he take a more thorough look on the mare, who seemed to become preoccupied with scavenging the "battlefield".

 

"That rifle... Are you the one who's been shooting these... individuals... from out there?" - he pointed towards the town as he finished his sentence. He then picked up his own rifle and affixed the bayonet. For what purpose, he had no idea. It just felt natural. Only then did he move from his spot towards the nearest corpse, figuring out he could help the mare pick up whatever supplies these mooks had on their now deceased persons.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Harley nods shortly "Yeah, think I'm getting rusty though, my aim's not as good as it used to be" she says as she bends down to pick up some ammunition "Yeah that'd do the trick" she says and smiles at him "Sometimes it is better to get a cheaper yet more reliable gun than a fancy, less reliable one" she says then shakes her head "Where are my manners, name's Harley Wheels, but most ponies just call me Harley or Harls, pleasure" she says, sticking out her hand to be shaken, "Oh and do what you can to find anything salvageable, my friend gives pretty good bits on empty shells and cartridges that can be re-used, same with any firearm you can find"

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Roxy Sparx

 

 

Garreth apprached the nearest corpse when the mare spoke.

 

"If that's rusty, then I'm not sure if I want to see sharp." - he cocked his head in the body's direction. Poor guy lost his hat... along with most of his head. Not a pleasant sight...

 

 

 

"Where are my manners, name's Harley Wheels, but most ponies just call me Harley or Harls, pleasure"

 

"Garreth. I wish I could say it's a pleasure too, but, you know, with this mess and all... Still, thanks for the save. I bet they would jump on me if not for your timely intervention. Most appreciated." - as he proceeded to shake the mare's hand, a sharp flash of pain made him wince a bit, but he returned the gesture and only then looked at his right arm.

 

 

 

"Oh and do what you can to find anything salvageable, my friend gives pretty good bits on empty shells and cartridges that can be re-used, same with any firearm you can find"

 

"I'll keep that in mind. Oww, didn't feel that one a second ago." There was a hole in his uniform, and upon closer inspection it seemed a stray bullet glanced his arm. Nothing too alarming though. A cursory glance on his other features proved that he seemed otherwise uscratched, albeit his pristine grey uniform was a mess: aside from the bleeding hole in the sleeve, his jacket and breeches were in mud and grass, same with the open paw cavalry boots. Even though his black main belt seemed intact, the ammo pouches were askew, same with the gun holster. The flapping black tie and previously white dress shirt that now was anything but, completed the dismal display. Then he rememebered about the helmet and removed it to take a look at it too - just a few scratches - and put back on again.

 

"Guess I'll get to it then, grab whatever can be sold from these jerks."

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Harley nods "Well they won't be able to use them, so why not?" she asks and shrugs "Just missed a few is all, nothing a few rounds at the range can't fix" she says, scooping up some shells and inspecting them "they're getting better though, and getting better equipment, but where are they getting the bits for it? This sort of ammunition and these firearms aren't exactly cheap" she says, then notices his wince "You ought to get a look at that wound, I'll do it once we  get to town" she says then curses "Which can take a while, I left my bike in the shop"

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@

 

Gareth sighed: "I guess you're right... quite a trek once we gather all that stuff..."

 

Since the introductions were over, the griffon got back to looting his assailants remains, fishing out ammunition, weapons and whatever seemed like could be sold. Harley was right,  they didn't seem like some half starved degenerates robbing ponies to survive... For once, their clothes were mostly in good shape, they had watches, pendants or other things that could turn a profit if they needed bits, and, yes, those guns weren't exactly cheap, or old for that matter. He couldn't say much about ammo though, since he just used what he was issued with and never really got to know which brands were good.

 

"Look at thaaat..." - he whistled after rolling another corpse in it's back, revealing what must've been a BAR... before it's huge owner bent the barrel when he dropped dead. "Well, maybe your friend will give us a fair price for scrap." The gun landed on a small pile of looted items in the middle of the road.

 

Minutes passed in silence as Harley and Garreth were scavenging on separate sides of the road, until they finally decided they picked the place clean.

 

"Okay, we have the gear. Soo, what now?" - he asked a bit confused, looking at the pile.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Raven Rawne

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Harley spits on the corpse "This is bad news for the town, seeing how much more advanced they are getting now" she says and eyes the pile  of ammunition and fire arms "Well thankfully the town is only about 2 klicks away, but with the weight of all this stuff, it could take twice as long to get back" she says "but first, we should actually go through what we found, and separate them into piles of what we want to keep, what we want to sell and what should just be left for scrap" she says as she sits down,cross legged at the pile and begun sorting through the junk. 

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Roxy Sparx

 

"Hmm, alright" - the griffon nodded. Thankfully he calmed down already after what was by far the worst fight he was in his whole life, and regained the ability to think rationally. He'd rest his carabine against the nearest tree in order to avoid fouling the mechanisms, suddenly remembering that the cleaning kit was in the truck, as most of his posessions... Then he removed the helmet and tossed it near the pile, upside down, figuring it could do nicely as a bowl for spent shells and such. His neck was starting to ache from the weight anyway.

 

"I guess we can put the small things in it, it'll be a bit easier to carry that way." - he explained as the steel bowl made a tiny crater in the dirt.

 

One last thing before joining Harley in the labour of sorting through their loot, Garreth made, a somewhat comical given the circumstances, attempt to srtaighten his clothes and remove at least some of the now dried dirt which dotted his uniform.

 

"Damn, this will be hard to wash..." - he muttered to himself, oblivious to the futility of his attempt to regain a presentable look. After deciding that things are in the correct places and he can't do anything about the stains, he mimicked Harley's cross-legged position across the pile and started to rummage through it, tossing spent shells into the helmet, all kinds of clips and ammo next to it, and asking Harley where to put various items if he couldn't tell which grup they belong to.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Harley looked up too see what Garreth was talking about and nods "Good idea" she says as she continues to meticulously inspect the things she picked up from the pile. She then looks up to see that the sun was soon to set and curses "Buck! looks like we're camping out tonight, You any good with foraging?" she asks as she scoops up what she could, "We best find some sort of shelter, the raiders get even braver during the nigh time" she says, cursing once more under her breath as she notices that her top had actually been torn right above her cleavage line, which was showing quite prominently now. "I know of a small cave, we could hide out in, follow me" she says, leading the way.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@,

 

 

"Buck! looks like we're camping out tonight, You any good with foraging?" she asks as she scoops up what she could, "We best find some sort of shelter, the raiders get even braver during the nigh time"

 

 

Garreth looked up from what looked like factory fresh Colt revolver in his claws and noticed the sun was indeed rather low. He habitually consulted his wristwatch: "Seven thirteen? Time flies when you're in mortal danger... Y-you say we're staying out of town for the night?" - he was taken aback by the proposition, but didn't have any better ideas. "I don't know really, I haven't really camped since summer camps in school... been a while, you know, but I'll try to be of use."

 

 

"I know of a small cave, we could hide out in, follow me"

 

 

"O-okay, I'll follow you. Just let me gather this stuff first, alright?"

 

Garreth dashed for his carabine and slung it across his chest using the leather strap it was equipped with. Then he extended his left wing to make a cradle shape and proceeded to load anything left on the ground onto it. Soon he had to support it with his left arm and load with the right one, which caused him some pain. He picked the full helmet last and so encumbred he proceeded to follow the mare to the cave she mentioned earlier, while inadvertedly looking around for any sign of the bandits. She did mention they creep out at night, right?

 

Once they marched a bit into the orchard, Garreth decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to start some conversation. She did save him back then and allowed to tag along when she could just scoop the best gear and walk back home...

 

"Sooo, uh" - he started, hesistantly - "What brings you to this scenic, and as it turned out, bandit ridden, neighbourhood?"

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Harley chuckles "Well you could always stay and guard the site while I forage?" she suggests and nods, collecting what she could before it would have become too cumbersome for her to carry. As they begin walking towards the the cave she knew of, her ears swivel and flick at his question "Honestly? Work, I'm a bounty hunter and the town is one of my halfway stop overs. I've already completed the bounty I was on, and was getting kind of bored, so this little firefight served well, plus now I know exactly who has been terrorizing the town" she says as she soon finds the entrance to the cave "We can use wood from some of these rifles as wood for fire until I come back" she suggests

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@,

 

 

 

"Honestly? Work, I'm a bounty hunter and the town is one of my halfway stop overs. I've already completed the bounty I was on, and was getting kind of bored, so this little firefight served well, plus now I know exactly who has been terrorizing the town"

 

"A bounty hunter? I never thought ponies did such things for a living... I am, was, a security guard in one of Manehattan's private security companies - "Lockdown Security". The owner just named it after himself..." - Garreth rolled his eyes at the last remark. It was a stupid name alright.  "After what happenned today, I'll be lucky if I find work as a mate in one of the cargo ships..." - his voice trailed off as the thought sank in.

 

Luckily, the cave Harley mentioned showed up just before them - a small hole in the red sandstone cliff, just enough for a pony to walk in in height and wide enough for three ponies to walk in at the same time, give or take. The area around seemed barren, save for some dried vegetarion. Fading sunlight illuminated the cave's inside, but just barely. They went inside and dropped their stuff a bit further in. The cave was cool and dark, so Garreth had no idea if it's the only chamber. The echoes weren't enough of an indication as far as he could tell.

 

 

 

"We can use wood from some of these rifles as wood for fire until I come back"

 

"There are some dried leaves and sticks outside, but nothing to sustain the fire for any length of time... I think I saw some rustbuckets that wouldn't turn much of a profit..." - Garreth was unsure how Harley wanted to start the fire anyway, but she was a bounty hinter, so maybe she new some tricks. He reached out in near darkness on the cave and produced two coach guns which clearly saw too much abuse in their life.

 

"Will these suffice? Oh and I'd rather unload them, wouldn't want a surprise..." - the griffon quickly checked if the guns were loaded, and one had shells in both barells. - "Maybe we could use the powder in some way? Tear a shell open and ignite it..." - with both guns held under the right arm, he squinted at the shells in his left claw, trying to figure out how to make a fire out of them.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne, 

 

Harley nods "It's an old, dying profession. I became one after I had escaped from my slavers when I was younger" she explains, and nods once more at his suggestion "I'm not sure igniting gun powder on an open fire would be such a good idea" she says but then takes the old coach guns "well there are some wood on them, and they should suffice until I get back" she says as she begins tearing the guns apart using some of her magic to ease the process, "she then uses her magic to ignite a spark and start a small fire" she then shoves a Winchester rifle towards him "Keep watch, any raiders come near, shoot them, same goes for any animals, we can eat them and use their fur for warmth" she says as she gets up "I'll be back shortly" she remarks before leaving.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@,

 

 

 

"I'll be back shortly"

 

...and then she left. Garreth looked down on the Winchester she gave him, lights dancing on the metalwork from the small fire. Must've been all those blows to the head. Failing to figure a unicorn could make sparks...

 

"Nice gun." - he said to himself, then unloaded the tube magazine. Ten rounds. Time to look for s'more... Garreth reloaded the rifle, unslung the Gewehr from his back and placed both against the wall, but within arm's reach as he looked for some more rounds for the Winchester.

 

Something stirred outside, causing the griffon to instinctively reach for the G43, roll around on his back and point the gun at the entrance.

 

Silence.

 

Garreth propped himself on his wings and got up, then slowly moved outside. It was nearly dark but the barren neighbourhood offered no cover for anypony who would want to sneak on him, so that was a relief. Figuring out it must've been the wind, since there were no tracks he could see or any other signs of life, the griffon scooped some sticks and leaves to add to the fire and went back in, while keeping an eye on his surroundings.

 

Once the fire took his modest offering, Garreth resumed the quest for Winchester ammo. He found a bandolier with 40 rounds in it, and unloaded 3 rifles for 34 rounds total, then reloaded his rifle to full capacity -15 rounds. Now that he had some more spares, 69 exactly, he sat by the fire, both weapons within reach, and started thinking on his next move.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

 Moments later, Harley arrives back, and deciding it would be best to somewhat announce her presence so he wouldn't accidentally shoot her. She knocks softly on the wall "It's just me Garreth, I've got some more stuff for the fire and food stuff" she says as she slowly walks to where the fire was and sighs as she gently places the things on the ground before sitting down and then curses "Great, 'm soaked and this to is ruined" she says then looks to Garreth "do you mind if I uhm..."

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@,

 

Hearing the familliar voice, Garreth relaxes a bit and shouts back: "Come on in!"

 

Once Harley made her appearance, he noticed that somehow she got herself completely wet, despite tha arid environment...

 

 

 

"Great, 'm soaked and this to is ruined" she says then looks to Garreth "do you mind if I uhm..."

 

"I-I uhh, sure, get those clothes dried, no problem. Maybe save some water so I could clean my arm a bit, eheh?" - he chuckled a bit nervously, feeling his crest rising up slightly. "I'll take watch by the entrance and you make yourself comfortable." - he picked up both weapons, not really sold on the idea of leaving his issued carabine, despite being low on ammo, and headed to the cave entrance. Once there, Garreth detatched the bayonet from the G43 and rested it against the wall, then put the Winchester next to it, an only then did he lean on the entrance wall, partially obscured by the rocks, both weapons within reach. He tried to look up the time but he couldn't read it in this dark. Resigned, he looked around, taking in the dark surroundings and listening for any signs of life other than the mare inside the cave.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

 "Thanks" she says as she waits for him to go to the entrance of the cave before stripping off her soaked and torn up top, She sighs and starts making a mixture of herbs and berries, one for eating, and one for healing. "Garreth, the blue mixture is a poultice, put some on your arm so that the wound doesn't get infected" she calls out to let him know about it before she curled up next to the fire and covered herself with her tail. She wouldn't have really minded if Garreth would see her in the nude but she didn't want to risk temptation not yet anyway.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@

 

A couple minutes have passed, and Gareth got a bit accustomed to the low light environment. The world outside their hideout started to have some rudimentary features, illuminated bleakly by the crescent moon. He thought about scrubbing the dirt off his clothes with the bayonet but decided against it, since it would both make noise and make him easier to spot than when he just sat and stayed immobile. The temperature dropped noticeably now that the sun was out, so Garreth pulled up his legs and hugged himself with his wings to keep warm.

 

Upon hearing Harley call out to him, he stirred and called back: "Thanks, I'll make sure to use it. You okay there?"

[Sphinx-Ara 3,553]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Harley nods and smiles "Yeah, just a bit cold," she says with a small shiver, she was secretly hoping that he would come over to her and cover her with his wings, but that was wishful thinking "I really ought to be more careful when I rush out like that,  "and you're welcome,. I needed some for my own wounds, so thought I'd make enough for the both of us, all quiet on your front?"