Survival Island

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing I'm only a former royal guard. However, I see what you mean. And I will say you should not mention any illegal activities around the Thestral, assuming you are talking about illegal activities of course. So, let me ask something a little more specific. How good are you in a fight?"

"I can defend myself if needed. And attack, if needed." Griff says. "Nobody ever expects a sabretooth cat to tear them up."

"Fair enough. I just think knowing which of us know how to fight will help when we do need to fight. Though your past is questionable, I don't see you as untrustworthy. I actually think I can trust you when the need arises."

Dusk then thought he should try talking to the wounded pony, and learn his name while he's at it. "Hey, um... you. How about you tell us a little bit about yourself, and your name while your at it if you don't mind."

Griff shrugs and silently says "I'm a mercenary" and then continues in a normal tone "...Ofcourse I know how to fight."

The raven hopped onto Rebel's hoof. Oliver hopped off of Wisp's back. "What are you doing out here alone? Didn't Griff some and find you? It's getting dark and there's no telling what is out here." He said, walking closer to her. He eyed the raven curiously as he spoke though. "When and where did that raven show up? It's quite odd, is it not? I don't really see any other animal on this island."

The pony coughed a little and said "Stream, Plasma Stream's my name. As to who I am, I'm a blacksmith from Canterlot, was looking at taking a quick vacation to Prance for a week; have a glass of wine or two, take a few pictures at some of the sights there, standard stuff. Course, it'd be my luck that it didn't turn out that way"

"Heh, I think all of us can say things haven't turned out how they were supposed to," Dusk said, "Anyway, how long have you been on the island, and how did you get hurt so badly?"

"For the first question, been here for a few days, for the second one, debris from the exploding ship hit me and caused most of the cuts, the broken leg was from stupidity a few hours before I found you guys" he replied

Rebel smiles at gently scratches it's chin with her hoof, ignoring the others for now as she simply pet the Raven. Her hoof was gentle and soft, and she had pet and owned birds before, so she knew exactly how to pet them.

After watching Rebel pet/scratch the bird for a fair amount of time, Wisp recreated the action. The only noticeable difference being on the opposite side. "Like this?" Wisp asked cautiously with just the slightest bit of nervousness creeping into her hoof causing it to barely quiver.

The raven looked annoyed, and used it's wing to slap both Wisps and Rebel's hooves away. It soon hops off of Rebel's hoof and flies away, towards the center of the island. "An interesting raven, is it not? It appears to not like being petted. Anyways, we should head back." Oliver suggested, turning around and beginning to walk off. A small smile crept onto his mouth. He knew that raven would be come back, and when it did he'd ask if there were any inhabitants on this island.

Wisp watched forlornly as the raven flew off, worry etched on her face at possibly making the bird upset or possibly hurting it. She was even about to fly after it when Oliver spoke up, and even then she still strongly considered it, but seeing how it'd just make everypony worry or risk going in search of her, Wisp decided against it.

Instead, she simply turned about as well, and moved to follow after Oliver, pausing only to see if Rebel was following as well.

Rebel just stood and walked with them, silnt as the grave and expression angry. She felt a bit peeved for losing the cute little birdy.

As they walked, Wisp's eyes wandered again, darting this way and that at the shifting scenery. Eventually though, she asked alout, "How long do you think we'll be here?"

"I find it surprising how easily you see me as trustworthy." Griff says to Dusk. "From years of experience, I wouldn't trust anyone unless they so-proved to be trustworthy."

"Well, I have years of experience on how to determine if a pony is trustworthy or not. I may not always be correct, but that's why I pay attention. If I spend enough time with a pony I can determine quite a bit on who that pony is. For example, you can fight, and I assume fairly well, yet you weren't a guard. Since most common criminals don't know how to actually fight, and most don't actually care about the well-being of others, like you have showed, I can assume you aren't a petty thief or some other piece of scum. Also, most of your transformations that I've seen have a larger focus on combat, like the sabre-tooth tiger and the shark. If you were a petty criminal they'd have a larger focus on stealth. So, combat is a large part of what you do, meaning you either have to be a guard or a mercenary, and you've already ruled out being a guard. ...So, convinced I'm a good judge of character, or is there something I missed?"

Dusk honestly felt a little smug at this. He had to admit it was fun to show off his talent of reading ponies that he spent years developing. Some of the reactions he got were priceless.

Griff sat with an open mouth out of amazement for a few moments before deciding to answer. "I.. yes, I am a mercenary, but I have unfortunately been wanted quite a few times already. Which is why I don't get along with the Royal Guard." he says. "But then again, I guess I won't have a choice if I'll be stuck with you guys on this island."

"True, but I think we'll get along fine. If I actually thought you'd be trouble, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. Not that I would've killed you, I just would be keeping a closer eye on you," Dusk said.

"And me?" Stream asked when he heard that.

"Well, your readings are amazing... But my past isn't." Griff says, slightly lowering his head.

"Hey, my past isn't all that interesting either. The only thing of note is being in the Solar Guard, but I wouldn't trade that for anything. Would I have liked to fight a dragon and win? Yes. Would I have liked to take part in an actual battle? Yes. But even though I haven't done those things, I've lived a good life, and we both have a lot of life left in us."

Once Dusk had finished with that, he remembered that Plasma Stream had asked him a question.

"As for you Stream, or Plasma, whatever you prefer, I don't know enough about you to make a good assumption. However, I doubt you'll cause trouble too."

Griff grins and chuckles. "Would you believe me if I told you that I murdered many others before?"

"Probably not. Though I can believe you've killed some ponies, I doubt you've killed anypony in cold blood, unless being an assassin is also part of what you do," Dusk replied, figuring he was exaggerating about murdering ponies.

Griff looks towards the sunset "...it all depends on what my payment is. I'll do just about anything for the right price."

"Ah, you're that kind of mercenary," Dusk said. This was a bit of information he'd take into account. Though Griff seemed good, it seemed money was a driving force for him. Dusk could not say he respected that, in fact he was against it. Still, they were stuck together, and they'd have to rely on each other to survive.

"Well, at least you get the job done. However, being a mercenary who'd do anything for the right price, why were you on the fishing boat with us?" He then remembered Plasma was there too. "Well, most of us," he added.