In Which One Batpony Meets Another

14 February 2014

15:39 GyroTech steps on all of inkys hooves

15:42 Inky takes to the air, nursing her smarting hooves. "Hey, watch it!"

15:46 GyroTech grabs onto her tail as she takes off and so dangles in the air.

15:47 Inky wasn't prepared to be lifting twice her weight and lets both of them fall into a pile on the ground.

15:49 GyroTech oofs as she tumbles to the ground on top of him. His legs are intertwined with hers in a pile.

15:55 Inky tries to disentangle herself from GyroTech without much success. "What's your deal today, GyroTech?"

15:58 GyroTech makes his best efforts to keep tbem tangled up, shifting to where his chest was against hers. "Im just sometimes kinda clumbsy" he says sheepily

16:03 Inky stares into GyroTech's eyes. "Oh really?" She stays silent for a few seconds, then boops his nose. "Well, I shall have my revenge!" she says as she starts to tickle him.

16:07 GyroTech continues to grin at her, scrunching his nose at the boop. He gives a confused look that busts into a hearty laugh as she tickles at him. He squirms about as she poked at his sentitive belly, apperently really ticklish.

16:09 Inky manages to untangle herself enough to add more legs to her tickling assault, now that GyroTech isn't actively resisting anymore. "You messed with the wrong pony, buster!" she says, laughing.

16:13 GyroTech sqeals and writhes about, laughing even harder as she tickles even more. He moves about so much that he completely comes free of her, wighling aboout on his back and flailing with his hooves.

16:17 Inky stands up, waiting for GyroTech's flails to die down a little, then flops on top of him.

16:23 GyroTech stop flailing about soon after her hooves retract. He breathes heavily, trying to catch his breath as she thuds onto him. He reaches up and strokes her mane gently.

16:26 Inky giggles as GyroTech ruffles through her mane, giving him some scratches behind his ears in return. She snuggles into the unicorn, feeling his chest rise and fall beneath her.

16:30 GyroTech lets his hooves drop to one side and gently tugs open her wing, stroking over it gently as he examines it. "You know, as much time i spent with lupine, i never got a chance to look at these wings. They seem so fragile, perfect for a cute mare such as yourself" he muses softly.

16:35 Inky 's wing twitches involuntarily as GyroTech pulls it open, before she relaxes it. "Careful with that," she murmurs. As he examines the soft skin stretched between the fingers of her wing, Inky tries to scratch Gyro's head with her wing-claw.

16:38 GyroTech gighles softly as he traces over the thin skin. "Dont worry, its been awhile since i accidentally damaged someponies wing." he states nonchalantly, leaning into her claw as she skritches him.

16:42 Inky tenses up briefly. "That was... the opposite of reassuring, Gyro." She 'hmmms' to herself. "I've always thought that feathered wings were strange. So many feathers that somehow form a contiguous wing, and if you damage just a couple it doesn't work anymore. Amazing, really."

16:50 GyroTech rubs his hooves iver the top of her wings heeling out the bones an claw. "It us kind of interesting isnt it? I remember one time when I was tried to preen a friends wing i broke a ciuple feathers and he was griunded for a week." He guves a little laugh. "He still wont teach me to do it properly." Gyro remembers how Lupine had cared for her own wings and leans up to start licking over inky's smoothing her fuzz and moistening the skin

16:56 Inky shivers and squeaks as Gyro licks her wing, reflexively pulling it away from the sudden sensation. "Eee! Warn me next time!" She lowers her wing back to its previous position. "...but you don't have to stop."

17:00 GyroTech snickers at her sudden jolt. "Well am i doing it right at least?" he asks hopefully before leaning up to attend to it once more, his tongue presding gently against the membrane with each lick.

17:05 Inky thinks. "Hmm. Not really. Your performance, while adequate, is fraught with technical errors." She giggles. "Don't just lick every which way, for one. You have to at least pick a consistent direction."

17:12 GyroTech gives her a nod of acknowledgement before starting over, this time making sure to keep his stroke consistent as he moves over the wing. With a free hoof he plays with her bun, giggling it all around.

17:17 Inky sighs happily and makes a sort of purring noise, her eyes closed. Her mane-bun is pretty messy, likely as a consequence of her doing it herself, though it still manages to be bun-shaped. "Hey, Gyro," she says, eyes still closed. "Who is this other bat pony, anyway? What'd you say their name was? Lupine?"

17:21 GyroTech gives her a little laugh as he explains, "Well...as I said, she's a close friend who happens to be a political exhile from the NLR. She's decided to move here." Gyro's speech is sporatic as he interupts through continued licks, eventually finishing much of that wing.

17:25 Inky 's ears perk up, and she turns her head to look at GyroTech. "A political exile? What happened?" Gyro's obviously piqued her curiosity. Inky looks a little confused when the licking stops, before she realizes that he'd finished with that wing. She rolls over on top of him to present her other wing, scooting back to where she was laying before.

17:28 GyroTech 's face quivers a little at the question. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can discuss that...But she might tell you herself." His voice is sounded quite conflited." He giggles as he's presented with the next wing and reaches up to give her a peck on the cheek.

17:39 Inky lets out a long sigh of disappointment. "Pffffff. Lame. Well, then you have to introduce us soon! I really wanna meet her." She blushes faintly as Gyro gives her a peck. "Oh, you." Laying on her back now, she squints up at the clouds moving lazily across the sky. "This is a nice day, isn't it? I'm not awake for as many of these as I'd like."

17:47 GyroTech smiles brightly at her, "I think I shall, I hope you two get along quite nicely, even if you dont share all the same customs." He gives a breif hug before licking on her wings again. "Ya its pretty nice aound here quite often. Lupine is usually active during the day though. I guess she's adjusted already."

18:04 < GyroTech> how was the test?

18:05 Inky swishes her tail happily, with a barely noticeable pause as Gyro mentions 'customs'. "I've tried to change my sleep schedule, but it's hard. ...Actually, one of the problems is that I stay up too late reading way too often. Or early, depending on how you look at it. When I get really into a book, or researching something, time just slips away. So really my schedule just varies... a lot."

18:22 GyroTech tries to catch Inky's tail with his, curling his purple tail around it. He continues to moisten her wing as she speaks. "i sometimes get too involved with my work as well."

18:35 Inky bats at GyroTech's tail with her own, playing with it instead of letting it wrap around hers. "What was the last big project you did that you just couldn't put down?"

18:41 GyroTech cintinues to try and wrap it up. "Well...I was, not too long ago trying to design a clockwork engine as a safety feature for my flying machine. Its still incomplete so right now, if you stop powering it, you kind of plummet fast." He sighs in disappointment. He finally finishes grooming her other wing

18:45 Inky arches her back, stretching her wings out to their widest before folding them and lying comfortably on Gyro. "That's neat! So, a flying machine? I've read about some lighter-than-air airships that they have in Canterlot, is this like those?"

18:51 GyroTech gives a nervous chuckle. "If it was a lighter than air then i wouldn't have to worry about this failsafe. Its completely mechanical and will wear out even an in shape mud pony quite quickly." he hugs her tight snuggling into her.

18:53 Inky pushes a hoof into GyroTech's cheek, pushing until his head turns away from her. "Don't do that! That's not a nice thing to call earth ponies."

19:01 GyroTech grunts as she shoves his face away. His tail quits being so friendly as hes scolded. "I...well...sorry?"

19:07 Inky flicks her tail over towards Gyro's head, tickling his nose. "Just don't be mean," she says cheerfully. "Anyway, how does it work? Does it have wings and stuff?"

19:16 GyroTech sneezes quit hard as she tickles over his nose. "Well its pedal powered and spins 2 Contra rotating blades that pull it into the air a sail controlled by a handle controls the direction. The whole thing is made out if a magically enhanced composite i developed. It doesn't look like much cause i had to use as little naterial as i could for weight."

19:23 Inky is impressed. "That actually gets ponies off the ground? Amazing." She quickly pulls her tail away. "Also, gross! Don't sneeze on me!"

19:28 GyroTech 's ears fold back slightly as he admits its fault, "It does, up until a pony tires out...then it kind of just plummets...There are a couple ponies that git put in the hospital from that. Thats what this backup engine is for...but its way too heavy

19:35 Inky flats her ears a little too on hearing that. "I hope those ponies are okay..." She taps her chin. "Maybe if it could glide somehow, then they could rest without losing too much height? But I dunno how you'd actually make it do that."

19:40 GyroTech brings a hoof to his snout in contemplation. "Maybe...but : dont know how wed do that without interfering with its lift. Maybe just a parachute for now..." The unicorn falls silent and still as he thinks.

20:55 Inky stays silent too, staring up at the clouds slowly moving overhead. She raises a hoof to block the sun out of her eyes, so that she didn't have to squint against the light. After a while, she speaks up. "Gyro, have you ever been flying?"

00:15 GyroTech opens his mouth to answer before closing it again, realizing that his latest story of flight, him sprouting batwings would rouse suspicion. He settles for an older one. "Why yes. Ive taken my machine out for a couple spins but never for too long and its exhausting..." he sighs. "I would love to go longer"

08:19 Inky shifts her position, rolling off GyroTech so that she's laying next to him, looking up at the sky. A gentle breeze ruffles her dark purple bangs. "It's really something. Feeling the wind beneath your wings, seeing the ground unfold beneath you in the moonlight... You feel so free!" Inky makes a sweeping gesture towards the sky with a foreleg. "The sky is just so big and empty compared to the ...

08:19 Inky ... surface. It's easy to get away from it all up there." She lets out a wistful sigh, then giggles, running a hoof through GyroTech's mane. "Sorry, I got a little carried away. I don't mean to rub your nose in being grounded. But we're all different. I mean, you're a unicorn; you can do magic! That's as much a part of you as flying is a part of me. I'm not even particularly good at flying, ...

08:19 Inky ... really. Some pegasi seem to spend their whole lives without touching the ground once. But I couldn't imagine not being able to fly. Just like you without your magic, or an earth pony without their bond to the... earth, I guess."

01:45 Gyro shifts closer to Inky as she rolls off, his chest pressing against her body. As he listen he begins to sulk. Sure his magic was something that he missed, but his experience with flying he longed for again as well. ?Yes, flying under your own wings, the wind in my sails feels great?err I mean I imagine it feels great,? he quickly corrects. lets her continue before agreeing, ?Ya being without my magic is terrible. It just feels so hollow, though I?m not sure I believe the whole ?Earth magic? thing? he admits.

02:34 Inky tilts her head to give GyroTech a quizzical glance, but seems to pay his comment about flying no mind. She returns to staring up at the sky. "I mean, we have some magic too. Cloud magic, weather magic, like the pegasi-- Wait." Inky looks back at GyroTech. "Being without your magic? I didn't know that could happen, at least not temporarily. How did that happen?"

02:38 Gyro 's face flashes with regret before it goes blank into a poker face. "I...I um got sick one time and?...and it was so severe that my mgic quit working." He offers up unconvincingly, trying to think of a good lie but failing.

02:46 Inky seems to accept Gyro's answer. "Oh yeah! Now that you mention it, I think I remember reading something about diseases that can affect magic. They're pretty unpredictable though, being magic and all... I guess you're lucky, then. How'd you get sick, anyway? Was it on one of your adventures with Naisol?"

02:52 Gyro huffs in irritation and looks away as she brings up his adventures with Naisol. "No...she's only ever brought me on /One/ adventure, despite the fact that I saved her flank that time. I get so worried each time she runs of on those things. No...I got sick from one of my servants back in canterlot when I was growing up." His voice is full of irritation as he speaks

03:00 Inky laughs, patting Gyro's head with her hoof. "I hope the servant was okay. But speaking of Naisol, I dunno how you don't believe in earth pony magic, anyway. I mean, look at her! There's no way a unicorn could be that strong and quick. And having survived all that stuff the way she has? Or claims to in her stories, anyway? Earth pony intuition. It's subtle stuff, but it's there. If I'm lost in a ...

03:00 Inky ... forest with somepony else, I'd much rather it be an earth pony than any other kind!"

03:07 Gyro waves a hoof in dismissal, "Oh that servant? I had him executed for that," he says in an offhoof manner before continuing his response, "Well maybe...but I just figured earthponies had some genes or something for strength, though she does say she's een through alot. I probably believe about half of it." He drapes an arm around her as he continues, "Still, I'd rather be with somepony like you than most earth pones if I was lost. You could fly up and figure out where we are and I could watch you gracefully as you do so."

03:18 Inky bursts out laughing. "Pffhahaha! Good one," she says, taking his comment about execution as a joke. "But what if I couldn't figure out where we were? What if we had to spend the day out there? Er, the night, for you. Where would you find shelter? What would you eat? They have instincts for that kind of stuff that we don't. At least, that's what I've read. It certainly seems plausible."

03:25 Gyro groans and pouts as Inky begins to laugh, "Thats no fair, you were supposed to get all huffy and stuff and I was supposed to laugh." He then puffs his chest out proudly, "A night out there? I'd be fine, I've done my share of camping and stuff. The mountains around Canterlot are pretty cool places and I'd just eat what I paced for the trip," he boasts proudly.

03:28 Inky facehooves with her other foreleg. "No, the point is that you wouldn't /have/ anything packed. Camping with a tent and provisions is completely different from roughing it without any of that."

03:34 Gyro rolls his eyes still no fully convinced. "Well...I mean how hard could a shelter be to make? I can cut and work wood with my bare horn, and as for food, grass is usually plentiful enough, even if its fairly tasteless."

03:40 Inky sighs, then gives Gyro an affectionate noogie. "You're hopeless. But, you know, that reminds me. I've always wondered..." She gently touches his horn with her hoof. "What does magic /feel/ like? I mean like, to use?"

03:57 Gyro leans into the noogie, sighing as she plays with his mane. "Well...hmm..." he goes silent and places a hoof on his chin as he thinks. "Its a rush, a tingly feeling that originates in the horn and speads out through the body as energy flows out. It takes much concentration, and is exausting and exhilerating at the same time," he explains, not quite sure how clear he was being.

04:12 Inky listens intently, her tufted ears angled towards Gyro. "Our cloud and weather magic doesn't feel anything like that. We just push the clouds around and kick 'em just right. I wish I could do magic like a unicorn myself, just for a little. There's so much I want to know!" A huge grin covers Inky's face; the opportunity to sate her curiosity always made her happy. "Like, like, does your horn feel ...

04:12 Inky ... stuff? What happens when you 'run out' of magic?"

04:24 Gyro angles his horn so that it was near her muzzle as he answers. "Its a pretty sensitive spot actually. I think it has to be in order to feel out the magic of the enviroment. Its actually one of MoonTears favorite spots to tease me with actually," he admits. "As far as 'burnout' is concerned, it just depletes the energy stores and leaves me weak, though one time I was out for a couple of days when I passed out from exhaustion."

04:31 Inky leans away reflexively as Gyro waves the point of his horn near her face. "Well, I sort of assumed it was magically sensitive, but you say it's more than just that?" She gets a crafty look on her face. "What if I were to just... lean in... and..." Inky gives Gyro's horn a quick lick.

04:50 Gyro shudders as a pleasurable tingling ran down his horn and through his body, and a smile flashes across his face. Gyro gives a little giggle of enjoyment and supprise. "I honestly didn't expect that of you. Are you sure you don't want any of my blood?" he offers coyly.

04:58 Inky blushes furiously. "I just wanted to see what would happen!" She laughs nervously. "And I guess I was right, too, about your horn. But I'm not going to feed off you just like that!" She boops Gyro on the nose. "Buy me dinner first."

05:25 Gyro rolls his eys. "Sure, you'll lick my horn but not feed off me. Still, I could go for dinner right now, wanna come with?" He stallion gets to his feet and nudges at Inky with his nose.

05:27 Inky stammers, obviously not expecting Gyro to take her seriously. "W-well, uh, I don't know. I'm new in town, remember?" She gets to her hooves, looks down and scuffs the ground with a hoof. "I-it's getting late. Early. You know. I should probably get some sleep."

05:30 Gyro smiles at her and tickles at her with his tail. "I know you're new, thats why I figured you'd like to learn a good place to eat. I promise it won't be anything fancy. Just dinner between friends." He inists, giggling at her flusteredness.

05:41 Inky looks up, meeting Gyro's gaze briefly before looking away again. "That... that actually does sound kind of nice," she says. Turning back to Gyro, she has a tiny smile on her face. "Okay, sure."

05:49 Gyro begins to lead the way through the town to a very familiar bar. "You know, with Dusk being gone...I wonder who currently runs the Rose and Fetlock," he mutters to himself as they walk. They're heading towards teh working district of the town, near the docks.

05:55 Inky walks silent for a minute or two, before working up the courage to speak again. "Sorry about earlier... I let my curiosity get the better of me. I imagine that was about as much of a faux pas as when you bared your neck to me." Her blush is just barely visible through her purple coat. "Also, uh, are the other ponies in this town as comfortable with bat ponies as you?"

06:03 Gyro laughs heartily and throws a hoof over her shoulder, drawing himself closer to her in his stride. "Oh, don't worry about it. I kind of actually enjoyed it you know," he teases, brushing up against her. "Still...you probably wouldn't want to do that to every other unicorn you meet. Wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea."

06:10 Inky leans into Gyro a little as she walks, her smile larger now. "You probably shouldn't try to clean the wings of every other bat pony you meet, either! Anyway, you never answered my other question."

06:18 Gyro gives a nervous laugh, and looks down at teh ground, "Well...I suppose Lupine has been here for ahwile without too much hassel, though we get lots of sailors around her who can be quite crass and superstitios. Most of the ponies don't say anything if they do mind."

06:23 Inky pats Gyro on the back. "It's fine. You can't win 'em all. Besides, if they really are superstitious, they'll probably be too scared to do anything anyway!" Inky makes a mock growl, revealing her pointed fangs. "Rawr!"

06:28 GyroTech perks up a little, grinning. "Ya I suppose so." He gives a fake scream as she growls before giggling. "Wouldn't want to anger somepony who'd drink them dry I suppose."

06:35 Inky giggles too. "Hehe, yeah. Although really, do you know how much blood that would be? That'd be over a gallon! There's no way I could ever drink that much at once. No, I have other, less violent ways of getting out of trouble."

07:18 GyroTech smirks at Inky, "Less violent ways huh? Whats your best tactic?" He asks as they arrive in front of an old looking pub. Pusing through the swinging doors, everything was worn but had a nice look about it. Gyro led the mare to an empty table.

07:33 Inky looks around the pub, admiring the decor. "Nice place." Taking a seat, she gives Gyro a feisty grin. "Check this out." She opens her wings, reaching their thumb-claws up to her hair bun. With some concentration, she manages to pull aside her hair and extract something from inside the bun. Folding her left wing, she brings her right wing in front of her; stuck on the claw at the midpoint was a ...

07:33 Inky ... mostly spherical ball of white a bit smaller than a baseball. "It's compressed cloud."

07:36 GyroTech takes one of the menus from the side of the table and hands it to her, already knowing what he was going to order. The menu was your standard pub fair as far as she could tell. THe unicorn grabs the ball with his magic and levitates it over. He prods at it and inspects it. "Hmm...I've never actually gotten to mess with solid cloud before. How does this help your escape?"

07:49 Inky spreads the open menu in front of her, glancing through it. Gyro can feel that the ball has a little give to it, and has a bit more mass than its weight would indicate. "Well, I can't really show you completely," Inky says as she takes the ball of cloud back, holding it between her front hooves. "But I can sort of demonstrate the principle." She pulls her hooves apart, and the ball expands with ...

07:50 Inky ... them, doubling in size. "There's enough cloud in here to fog up most of this room for a minute or two. Plenty of time to make an escape!" She compacts the cloud again, back to its former size. It her takes her some effort to compress it again. "It's a pretty neat trick I figured out when I was on weather duty back in Slate."

08:18 GyroTech watches curiously as the cloud expands out, mesmerized. "That would be a pretty neat trick to see. I suppose if I turn up my charm to strong and you catch yourself, you could always deploy that and run away," he teases, with a flirtatious smile on his face. The waiter comes to take their order and Gyro gets a mug of Hard cider and a msuhroom burger.

08:24 Inky orders a mushroom salad and her own hard cider. "I haven't had mushrooms in a while, actually; ate them all the time in the north." She spears the ball of cloud with her wing and carefully replaces it in her mane. "Don't kid yourself, Gyro. You're cute, but not that cute."

23:43 Lupine as the ponies order their meals, the waiter goes back into the kitchen. Soon, the drinks are being served, by...a bat mare? "Ah, there you are. Two...hard ciders." She seems to be a bit zoned out, not recognizing GyroTech immediately. Must have been a long day.

23:47 GyroTech huffs loudly and begins to make a fuss as he inspects his mug, doing a repeat of their first meeting. "Madame, I think you're cheating me here there should be at least another two ounces in this glass."

23:48 GyroTech huffs loudly when she doesn't seem to recognise him. So he then makes a fuss as he inspects his mug, doing a repeat of their first meeting. "Madame, I think you're cheating me here there should be at least another two ounces in this glass."

23:49 Inky glances at Lupine as she takes her drink, then does a double take. "Thank- Hey! You're that other bat pony Gyro was talking about!" Her face lights up with excitement, and she extends a hoof in greeting. "Hi! I'm Inky!"

23:51 Lupine blinks as she moves to inspect the glass. No way she would make that mistake! "I think you're-" She blinks in recognition, a smile creeping across her face as she moves the glass back to GyroTech. "Gyro! Oh it is so good to see you!" She then giggles as she meets...another bat pony? "Oh! Um...hello!" She smiles shyly, taking the hoof and shaking it.

23:55 GyroTech lets his face mellow as Lupine recoginizes him, laughing loudly. "Good to see you to Lupine. I'm not sure Moon Tear has yet forgiven me for that last incident, but I'm glad to be back anyways." He gestures a hoof towards Lupine, "Inky, this is Lupine, Lupine, Inky."

23:59 Inky shakes Lupine's hoof vigorously as GyroTech introduces them. "Nice you meet you, Lupine! It's been so long since I've seen another one of us!" She looks at the drinks Lupine brought and the uniform she was wearing. "So I guess you work here, then?"

00:02 Lupine nods to Inky, a grin on her face as she is so glad to se another. "Yes. I am...a barmare, here. GyroTech...can tell you about...it all. She looks to a stallion at the bar, who nods slightly as he takes over for now. "Umm...may I...sit with you?"

00:04 GyroTech makes sure he's the first to scoot over as Lupine asks, "Yep, feel free to take a seat with me...err us." He says excitedly. "Well...I dont know if I can tell her /all/ about it, I left that liberty up to you Lupine."

00:10 Inky eagerly leans forward onto the table as Lupine sits down with them. "So where are you from Lupine? And what brings you out this far?" Inky runs her words together in her excitement, speaking perhaps a little too quickly.

00:14 Lupine blushes slightly as she takes a seat. It wasn't all that busy, so she can easily have her shift taken. "Well...I'm..." She looks down slightly. "I have to be away from home, for...compllicated matters. I...have to wait for now...until my family can take me back." She gives Gyro a look, as if begging him not to say much more of the matter.

00:17 GyroTech leans up against Lupine, getting very comfortable with her infront of the other bat pony. He however does not quite get her message to stay silent and adds on, "Ya...its a shame that you being out here means you might not be able to take the throne because of your exhile."

00:22 Inky nods as Lupine talks. Her ears perk as Gyro mentions the word "exile". "That's right, Gyro said earlier that you were some kind of political exile." She also does not quite pick up on Lupine's discomfort with the subject. "What's this about a throne?"

00:24 Lupine facewings as GyroTech blabs all about her. Well, at least he didn't go into WHY she was exiled. "Well...there is no throne. Gyro...is being delusional, again." She frowns slightly, but the waiter comes with food, and even gives Lupine a glass of wine. "I am...a noblemare, Inky. Perhaps you have heard of...the Wingate family?"

00:37 GyroTech seems a little stunned as she denies owning a claim to the throne. "But...what? I thought you told me you were heir to the Noctanian throne?? He frowns at her and takes a large swig of his mug of cider. ?They make great wines too.? He chimes in.

00:39 Inky furrows her brow. "Hmmm... I have heard of it, but I can't recall why." Her ears droop a little as she reveals her lack of knowledge. "Sorry, my Noctanian history is really rusty. I know more about Equestrian history at this point!"

00:40 Lupine takes a sip of her wine, frowning as she listens to GyroTech. "You really need to...check your facts, Gyro. There is no...throne. And besides...why would an exile be an heir...to this non-existant throne?"

00:43 GyroTech groans but drops the subject instead turning back to Inky. "Is that why you refused my blood? Because you don't really know Noctanian traditions and your tiny town isnt that assocaited with it?" Gyro turns to Lupine and nudges her. "Inky there seems to think letting one of yall feed is an extremely intimate act." He snickers a bit.

00:50 Inky reddens and takes a deep swig of her cider before responding. "I know what I was brought up with! And I know our traditions! ...I think. I haven't been in Notania for five years. The whole blood thing... ...it's /complicated/, okay? It varies. Sometimes it's done for ceremonial reasons." She doesn't look too enthused about having to explain this.

00:52 Lupine reddens as well, knowing what sort of ceremonies she was talking about. "Inky...there are families that have different opinions of...how blood should be treated. My family...well, they beieve that it is a delicacy, as well as...a gesture of trust. To offer yourself to another is...like saying you wish to be...friends."

00:58 GyroTech just looks confused at the pair of ponies as they debate the intracaies of blood feeding, waiting for them both to quiet before asking, "But which tradition is right?" He clarifies a couple of seconds later, "That is...I'm supposed to be an emisary so I kind of need to know that."

01:02 Inky crosses her hooves. "Neither. Different places and families are going to have their own ideas about it." Her frown is replaced by a thoughtful expression. "I guess... you need to learn what each of them believe, so you don't accidentally offend anyone? If being an emissary means what I think it does."

01:04 Lupine nods in agreement with Inky. "Yes. This isn't a free ride...GyroTech. You have to learn the different customs and nuances...of Noctanian culture. And yes...many of them WILL be offended...if you offer yourself for feeding. You must know them...as well as their preferences."

01:10 GyroTech huffs loudly, "But I thought this was supposed to be easy, why can't yall just homoginize or something like those back in Canterlot. There everything is well defined..." The unicorn trails off and then pouts adding, "Like frowning on those who choose to work with their hooves isntead of joining their society."

01:16 Inky rolls her eyes. "Canterlot is a single city, Gyro! Noctania's a country, albeit a small one. Even then I doubt Canterlot's as homogeneous as you claim. And didn't you say that the slums were different?"

01:18 Lupine narrows her eyes as she slaps GyroTech upside the back up his head, using her wing to make her point. "You're such...an uppity pony. Do you want Lotus...to tell your mother about your behavior?"

01:25 GyroTech rols his eyes back, "Well sure the slums, but high society is all homoginized and thats who I'd be dealing with." The unicorn winces quite hard as he's slapped, and smirks, "Well if she does it probably means I'll never have to go back to Canterlot and I can just stay here with you." He presses closer, resting against Lupine now.

01:28 Inky blinks and slinks down in her seat a little at the display of violence, taking another draft from her mug. She tilts her head at how Gyro reacts to the slap by getting closer to Lupine, instead of backing away. "Uh... I'm confused. Who's Lotus? What exactly is this emissary position anyway? Why would you go back to Canterlot?"

01:33 Lupine lets out a very low growl, getting really tired of GyroTech and his shenanigans. "Look...you are stupid to think you're going to just be with...high society. Part of your job...is to be familiar with ALL of Noctanian culture, not just the 'noble' class. Should you let...your pigheadedness get in the way..." She shoves GyroTech away, looking back to Inky. "Be careful...with this one."

01:43 GyroTech turns to Inky with a grin. "I'm supposed to represent Lupine here and the rest of the Wingate family among the nobilty since --" The unicorn gets cut off by Lupines growl and being shoved. "Well you never told me that. He crosses his hooves and glares at Lupine. "Can I join your side of the table Inky?"

01:53 Inky looks back and forth from Lupine to Gyro. "I, uh. Okay?" She scratches her head. "The emissaries, or delegates, representing Equestrian cities are supposed to represent the interests of ALL of the ponies living there. Now, often this ends up not actually happening for various reasons, but it's what /should/ happen. If your position were to be like that, but for an entire country as I understand ...

01:53 Inky ... it, that would be a hefty responsibility. You wouldn't just have to represent the Wingate family, but all of us?" Her forehead. is wrinkled in thought. "I still don't really understand what you would be doing. There's no precedent for 'appointing' representatives of countries like this."

01:55 Lupine shakes her head again. "I'm...sorry, Inky. I should have clarified. Gyro is to represent...the Wingate family. But...we expect him to understand that there is much more to our country than just the nobility. We are merely servants of Noctania, and we expect ponies to understand what that means."

02:04 GyroTech appears just as stunned as Inky as Lupine explains what he's supposed to do. "Oh, so is that exactly whats going on? Is all of your family away or something?"

02:18 Inky sips from her mug. "Oh. That makes sense! They're doing you a favor, Gyro, letting you represent them instead of sending somepony themselves."

02:27 < GyroTech> Probably needs a repost from me huh?

02:27 < GyroTech> GyroTech appears just as stunned as Inky as Lupine explains what he's supposed to do. "Oh, so is that exactly whats going on? Is all of your family away or something?"

02:27 Inky sips from her mug. "Oh. That makes sense! They're doing you a favor, Gyro, letting you represent them instead of sending somepony themselves."

02:27 Lupine nods in ernest, sipping from the glass and smiling to Inky. "Exactly. Anf no, my family is not away, GyroTech. You just have...to act like a Wingate would."

02:33 GyroTech to eat at his burger. "Ahh, so I'm supposed to convince any and every pony to let me suck their blood?" He teases, sticking his tongue out at Lupine. Gyro turns to Inky, "you never did tell me where exactly you came from?"

02:41 Inky looks grateful for something else to talk about. "Oh? I thought I mentioned it earlier, but I'm from Slate, a small mountain town. It's pretty close to the border. I'd always been fascinated with Equestria, and around five years ago, I left Noctania to come here and find out more about it!" Her ears perk up as her natural exuberance returns. "Now that Princess Luna is back -- /that/ was a big ...

02:41 Inky ... surprise -- I've heard there are more of us here, but you're the first I've actually seen, Lupine."

02:44 Lupine smiles meekly, glad to be off this sore topic. Why does GyroTech have to be a pain about this? "Oh, you're from...Slate? I've heard of that town. Very nice...ponies, from what I hear." She then starts to enjoy her wine, taking tiny sips. "Mmmm...but yes, there are more of us, Inky. We just...tend to hide our features in public." She lowers her voice. "It makes ponies skittish."

02:49 GyroTech snickers at Inky's energy, "So of course, instead of going to the capital you come out to this quite town? Well, I suppose it does have alot of intereting culture." Gyro shoots Lupine a grin, "At least I wasn't afraid of Lupine when I first met her." He throws a hoof around her shoulder, "I knew she was a good pony from the getgo."

02:54 Inky digs into her salad. "It was nice enough," she says over a mouthful of mushrooms. "Not very imaginative, naming it after the slate quarry, but whaddya gonna do." She sticks out her tongue at Lupine. "Oh, pshaw. That's no fun, hiding who you are. That makes it seem like something they /should/ be afraid of!" Inky looks at Gyro. "This isn't the first place I've been to, silly. I've lived in ...

02:54 Inky ... Equestria for five years, remember?" She pushes some salad around her plate. "I /do/ really want to see Canterlot, though..."

02:56 Lupine blushes softly as she looks down, a bit ashamed of her shyness in public. "Well...remember that...many ponies don't care for our kind. At least...enough of them think we are demons of Nightmare Moon." She frowns again, finishing her glass. "But Canterlot is very nice. I have some family...there. And the fun to be had..." SHe smiles faintly.

03:01 GyroTech gives a hearty laugh at Lupine, "Well you /are/ a demon of Nightmare Moon--" The unicorn quickly bites his lip and a look of remores crossed his face as he realized what he'd just let slip. He gives another laugh to play it off. "But Canterlot...its nice enough I suppose. I like it out here better, no interference form ponies."

03:08 Inky waves a hoof dismissively. "Ah, see, I was here before Luna came back. I was used to not worrying about that. And besides, I've only been run out of a town after that /once/." She chuckles at the memory. "For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to do it at night, so it was easy to give 'em the slip." She rolls her eyes at Gyro, and gives him an intentionally toothy grin. "Watch out, ...

03:08 Inky ... Gyro, these two demons have you outnumbered..."

03:12 Lupine laughs nervously, glad that Inky thought it was a simple slur. "Yes...be careful, Gyro. I wouldn't want us to have a heated discussion again...do we?" She smirks, baring a single fang at the unicorn.

03:17 GyroTech gives another giggle as Inky playfully threatens him, contorting his face into one of mock. "Oh No, keep away," he jokes before laughing again. Gyro goes silent and shrinks back as Lupine bares her tooth at him. He gulps and yes, and says "Of course, Lupine."

03:22 Inky raises her eyebrows and glances between Lupine and Gyro at their odd behavior, but quickly disregards it. "Speaking of Nightmare Moon, Gyro, does this town celebrate Nightmare Night? I actually quite enjoy that Equestrian holiday..."

03:29 Lupine grins as she turns back to Inky. "Oh, yes! I love...Nightmare Night. So many costumes, and...so much candy!" She licks her lips at the thought of candied apples.

03:32 GyroTech thinks back to October of the previous year. "Yep, they do. I've only been through it once here, but it was pretty elaborate. Man all those Spripies really got into it. One group pulled into port and basically took over the docs with decorations and stuff. That party was wild."

03:32 GyroTech continues, "I went and Mareneto! My costume was excellent, I had a seamstress back in Canterlot make it."

03:36 Inky smiles at the sight of Lupine being happy. "Great! I was worried you wouldn't like it, since you don't seem to like ponies being scared of you." Her ears twitch when Gyro says 'stripies', but she doesn't comment on it.

03:38 Lupine frowns again at GyroTech, this time slapping his cheek a bit harder. "Watch your tongue, Gyro!" She glares at the pony, as though ready to do something. "I...I can't believe you, sometimes. Times like these...I wish I left you at the mercies of your mother, at the party."

03:45 GyroTech doesn't notices Inky's discomfort and speaks some more. "Those zebras seem more superstitios about yall than the rest of equestria. I saw a stripy dressed up just like one of yall, scaring all the young childeren." The unicorn winces in pain as he's wacked even harder, the blow leaving a red mark under his fur. "Hey, quit being so mean, I havn't said anything bad," He insists. "Please Inky can I slide on over there instead. This mare's a meany."

03:46 < GyroTech> "Hey, quit being so mean, I havn't said anything bad," He insists. "Please Inky can I slide on over there instead. This mare's a meany."

03:50 Inky stuffs her face with salad so she doesn't have to answer immediately. Finally, she says, "I already said you could sit over here. But you should really not call zebras that. I'm sure they don't like it." Her curiosity quickly takes over, though. "Are there many of them here? I've only ever seen two in all my travels."

03:55 Lupine frowns as she hears that Gyro is once again missing the point. "Fine...I don't want to deal with you, anyways. Pig..." She then plays with her empty glass of wine, looking over to Inky. "There are...at least a few in town. One of them...is the resident alchemist."

03:57 GyroTech slides under the table and settles down next to Inky, his tail brushing up against hers. "The majority of them that we see here though, are sailors. This is a busy port and we get alot of business from Zebrica, so we see them come and go all the time." The unicorn plulls his plate accross the table and finishes up his meal.

04:00 Inky 's eyes sparkle with excitement. "An alchemist? Nifty! Where do they work? And I will have to visit these docks someday soon." She downs the last of her cider and sets to work cleaning up the last bits of salad.

04:02 Lupine giggles as she focuses her attention to Inky, making a point to ignore GyroTech. "Oh, you just have to...follow the smell of the sea. It...isn't that hard to find, Inky."

04:05 GyroTech flags down the waiter, "Your best glass of wingate wine please, for Lupine here, and refills on our cider please." He turns his attentions back the group, "Ah Xolani is a good friend of mine, she lives up the road a ways. She's patched me up on more than one occasion, such a nice mare."

04:08 Inky rolls her eyes, her mouth full of salad. She tries to say something when Gyro orders her more cider, but it just comes out as a 'mmmph', and the waiter's already gone. After she gulps down her mouthful, she huffs lightly. "I wasn't asking about how to find the docks, silly, I was asking about how to find this alchemist! Xolani's her name?"

04:10 Lupine nods slightly, smiling as she takes another sip of the good wine. "Mmm...yes. Her name is Xolani. And she is a very good...alchemist. I can give you her address, if you'd like, Inky."

04:12 GyroTech nods emphatically. "Xolani is a very cute Zebra mare who ask me out once, Kind of like Lupine here. We're still pretty good friends. No need for an address though...We could just go drop in on her. I bet she'll patch up this wingmark real quick."