Chapter 8:
Gallus's New Plan
The Young 3 had landed next to a water well and were able to catch their breath from the ordeal. Smolder has landed in a water trough, Gallus has his back against a barrel with a moose head on his noggin and Ocellus rode a unicycle while balancing a pole and wearing the damaged painting on her neck.
" What kind of sheriff's office is that?" asked Ocellus.
" I don't think that was the sheriff's office. I mean Saloon Griffons, Gambling. Seems to me we have entered a Saloon Club by mistake," said Smolder as she kicked the spittoon of her foot.
" Well, Sheriff's Office or Not. This place is my kind of place," said Gallus as he pulled the moose head off of himself.
" Ummmm, guys a little help, please?" asked Ocellus, trying to pry the painting off her head.
" Hold on, Ocellus. We got ya," said Smolder as she and Gallus tugged on the painting.
As they tugged, the painting was ripped off but Ocellus, Smolder, and Gallus fall back in different directions. Gallus and Smolder fall back one way. But Ocellus fall back another and knocked into someone. The young Giraffagriff looked to see Silverstream standing there with her brother Terramar.
" Well, looky here, Terramar. Three young griffons. You guys sure are a little far from home aren't ya?" joked Silverstream.
Ocellus looked at Silverstream with a glare as Terramar laughed.
" Ah, now there's the Hippogriff we want to see. We just want to have word with your dad about this," said Gallus.
Ocellus presented the bank notice and laid it on the barrel. Silverstream and Terramar took a closer look at the notice.
" What's that?" asked Silverstream.
" Yeah, what's that?" asked Terramar.
" Oh, come on, you and your father have left this at our place," said Gallus.
Silverstream knows where this is going and said " Wai-whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. The place went bankrupt, remember, your home is history,".
Gallus and Smolder both glared while Ocellus looked a little lost before she looked at her friends.
The two Hippogriffs started to walk away as Terramar said " Don't guys get it?".
" Wait, Silverstream. Just tell your dad to give us two weeks and we'll have exactly sixty bucks in prize money-," said Gallus trying to reason with them.
" Um, didn't you hear what my dad said? You guys only have three days to pay or be on your way. And sixty bucks doesn't cut it," said Silverstream interrupting.
" And seeing the number of money on the notice. You guys are gonna need about 750 dollars," said Terramar as he investigates the notice.
" Um, Gallus that's a lot of money. Where are we gonna get that much?" asked Ocellus to Gallus.
The other two griffons were a bit lost, but then Smolder said " May I suggest that Gallus should to probably pull right out of his ear?".
" Watch it, Smolder! I'll think of something," said Gallus glaring at the smirking Smolder.
But then suddenly the sky above them begins to darken and thunder rumbled overhead. Storm clouds started to block the sun while relaxing griffons gulped their spit down. Even the griffon at the post office froze from what he's doing. He sounded a little surprised when he said " Rico,".
" Rico," said Silverstream in amazement.
The sound of thunder woke up Skybeak and Ocean Flow from their nap and looked to the flies that stopped flying and muttered " Rico ".
The wind began to howl as a large dust cloud headed towards the town. The Young 3 looked at each other when a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky. Gallus, Ocellus, and Smolder moved out of the way as the dust cloud rolled into town. Skybeak and Ocean Flow started coughing from all the dust and Skybeak gripped his hat when it nearly blew off his head. Gallus, Ocellus, and Smolder hugged the ground as the high winds blew over them.
When the wind and dust began to settle down, a black Hippogriff stood in the middle of town. He snorted as the sky started to clear up again.
" Whoa, guys. Who's that?" asked Ocellus as she stands up.
A fly buzzed by Rico, and like a kung fu master, the bounty hunter grabbed the fly by the wing and shushed it. The fly cringed and muttered " Sorry".
Rico lets the bug go and it quietly fluttered away. Terramar watched the fly flew away and was amazed at how quiet it was.
Silverstream walked over to the Young 3 and said " Don't you guys know a hero when you see one?".
Then she said as she yelled in Ocellus's ear " Huh? That's Rico...the best dang bounty hunter on this side of the Pecos,".
Skybeak laughed as he heads over to Rico and his quarry.
" Well, I could guess from here to tomorrow. But I don't know how you do it, Rico," said Skybeak.
Rico lift his catch off his back and tossed him into a porch.
" Where's my money?" asked the bounty hunter.
" Boy, you sure have the taste for money. But I got it all here for you," said Skybeak as he paid Rico full.
Rico gripped the money tightly.
A smile appeared on Gallus's face as he said " Hey, look. The Sheriff is giving him free money,".
" Oh! Gallus, he gave that guy money because he caught a bad guy," said Smolder getting the feeling that another crazy idea is about to happen.
" So who else is out there?" asked Rico putting the money in his saddlebag.
" Well, Rico. the only varment left, is that low-down, good-for-nothin' Alameda Slim and his gang," said Ocean Flow as she glared at the wanted poster.
" Yup, he's a Griffon Rustler," said Skybeak as he rips the poster off the wall.
Rico took the poster and asked " So, what's the bounty for this guy?".
" Seven Hundred and Fifty Dollars," said Skybeaks.
Gallus's eyes widened at the sound of it and got a new idea. A smile grew on his face and Gallus said "Guys, I got it!".
" I don't know if we should still do that Fair Idea, Gallus, we don't have much time," said Ocellus, thinking that Gallus might want to still do the fair.
" Forget the fair, I got a new plan. Why don't we go nab that Alameda Slim and used the reward money to save the shelter," said Gallus.
" You know I think it might just work," said Ocellus starting to like the idea.
" What do you think, Smolder?" asked Gallus.
" I think that is a sensible idea," said Smolder sarcastically.
" Heh-heh, I knew you'd love it," said Gallus, not getting the sarcasm.
" Don't they have sarcasm in where you come from, Gallus?" asked Smolder.
" Oh, come on, Smolder. Wake up and smell the scent of heroism. It's a perfect plan," said Gallus as Smolder walked around him.
While the Young 3 are talking amongst themselves, Rico told Skybeak and Ocean Flow " Well, if I'm gonna catch Slim. I'm gonna need a partner,".
Hearing those words, Silverstream gasped in glee and thought this might be her chance.
" Terramar, did you hear that? Rico needs a partner to help him catch Slim. You know what this means?" asked Silverstream in excitement.
" Um, what exactly?" asked Terramar not getting what she's saying.
" This could be my one chance to finally become a hero," said Silverstream with a squeal.
" But Silverstream, catching an outlaw is a big job. Besides, do you even have what it takes to be Rico's partner?" asked Terramar thinking that it's ridiculous for Silverstream to be partnered with Rico.
" Only one way to find out," said Silverstream as she rushed her brother and herself behind to the three grownups as Skybeak begins to think about it.
" Hmmm, a partner. Let me think, something tells me you'll need a fast partner," said Skybeak.
" See? Rico needs a fast partner, like really fast," said Terramar to Silverstream, proving his point.
" But I'm fast. Watch this!" said Silverstream as she ran real fast through town a few times before stopping next to Terramar.
" See?" said Silverstream proving her point.
" But then your partner will have to go for days without food or water," said Ocean Flow.
" Pfft, I could do that," said Silverstream.
" But Silverstream, going for days without food or water is pretty risky. You'd hardly go for days without food and water," said Terramar feeling concern about his sister.
" Terramar, I've been doing a lot of exercises. So I could do it," said Silverstream as she started to do push-ups trying to prove her strength.
" Let's not forget being stealthy and sure-footed for any terrain," said Skybeak.
" I'm stealthy and sure-footed. Watch," said Silverstream as she started to tip-toe around and jumped onto the roof of the porch. Terramar facepalmed from Silverstream's shenanigans.
But Rico caught sight of Silverstream and asked " What about her? What's her name?".
" Huh, oh...Rico, meet Silverstream, she's quite fast but quite a bit of a handful," said Skybeak as Silverstream came next to him and Ocean Flow and gave a pearly white smile.
" Hmmm, I think she'll do," said Rico.
" Well, suit yourself, Rico," said Ocean Flow, seeing how Rico was willing to put up with Silverstream's brash behavior.
Silverstream gasped when Rico puts a saddlebag on her back. Then Rico puts the wanted poster in the bag before turning to follow Skybeak and Ocean Flow.
Silverstream looked to Terramar with a squealed and said " Terramar, can you believe it? I'm Rico's partner, I've become Rico's partner, I'm finally Rico's partner,".
" Whoa there Silverstream. There's one more thing you'll have to do if you wanna stay being Rico's partner," said Terramar.
" What's that?" asked Silverstream.
" You gotta make sure you don't do anything skittish like doing that crazy kung-fu thing. Be mature," said Terramar as Silverstream nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile back with the Young 3.
Gallus is still trying to convince Smolder, but she wouldn't have any part of it as she said " Oh, no, no, no, no, no,".
But Gallus looked at her with a grin, but Smolder remained rooted with her decision and said " There's no way in heaven or on this world that a bunch of kids can catch an outlaw,".
" She's got a point, Gallus. I mean how are we even going to catch Slim?" asked Ocellus thinking Smolder may have a point there on the plan.
" Look, all I know is that Alameda Slim is a rustler, which means he likes to steal griffons. So all we have to do is follow this chuckwagon to a griffon dive and when we get there, …," said Gallus explaining his plan as he walks around the chuckwagon.
" We'll blend right in with the other griffons and let Slim come to us," said Ocellus explaining the rest of the plan.
" Exactly," said Gallus with a smile.
" Um, one problem. We don't even know if this chuckwagon is even going to a Griffon Drive," said Smolder.
Ocellus then heads over to the hauler of the chuckwagon and asked " Excuse me, sir. Is this wagon going to a Griffon drive?".
" Yes it is, young lady," said the Hauler as he looks on ahead.
" Looks like it is heading to a Griffon Dri-," said Ocellus, only to be shushed by Smolder.
" We're not following this wagon and that's final," said Smolder standing firm.
" Oh, come on, Smolder. It'll be fun," pleaded Gallus as he nudged her.
Smolder took a moment to process what happened and asked " Gallus, did you just hit me?".
" Kinda," said Gallus as he nudged her again.
" Well, stop it," said Smolder with a growl.
" Why?" asked Gallus teasefully with another nudge.
" Because I don't like it," said Smolder starting to get mad.
Gallus poked Smolder a few times before making her follow his talons and then used his shoulder to knock her back a little. Smolder fell on her haunches but her tail tip landed in a mud puddle. Smolder began to get really angry as she turned to the male griffon who caused it.
" Oh, not the tail in the mud," said Ocellus covering her eyes.
" What? What about the -," asked Gallus in confusion as he turned to Ocellus.
But he got his answer as Smolder charged at him and knocked him off his feet. Gallus grunted when he landed in a mud puddle and was covered in it. He lifted his head from the ground and glared at Smolder. Swiping the mud off her tail, Smolder checks to see no mud until Gallus ran up with a growl and shoved her down back.
The two started growling at each other before butting heads together.
Seeing the fight getting started, Ocellus tried to calm it by saying " Okay, look. Violence isn't going to solve this. Why don't we take a deep cleansing breath and -,".
But it was ignored when Gallus and Smolder came charging up to her and crashed into her. Ocellus yelped in surprise from being sandwiched by her two friends. When she was able to escape, she slinked away and let the two deal with the problem themselves. Smolder used her wings to distract Gallus before tackling him to the ground. Gallus glared up at Smolder while she stood over him and repeatedly shoved his head back down in the mud.
Terramar saw the commotion and was excited about it and said " Hey, look! Mud Wrestle,".
Then he was covered in mud from the fighting. Silverstream laughed at the whole thing when some mud spattered on her saddlebag.
" Hey, hey! Watch my saddlebag!" said Silverstream wiping the mud off with her tail.
The sound of the fight was heard from inside the sheriff's office and Skybeak, Ocean Flow, and Rico looked to see what the commotion was. They saw Gallus kick Smolder off of him before the two were at it again.
Skybeak, Ocean Flow, and Rico were weirded out by this as Skybeak grabbed a rope and said " What in tarnation is going on?".
Gallus and Smolder circled each other as they prepared to keep it up.
Smolder glared at Gallus and said " Gallus, for the last time. I will not be roped into this scheme of yours,".
But it turned out that all three of them would be roped as Skybeak tossed a lasso over their heads.
' Come, on you three! Come, on!" said Skybeak as the Young 3 tried to fight against it.
" Dagnabit!" said Skybeak as he tied the ropes to the chuckwagon.
When he finished tying the Young 3 to the wagon, he looks to the griffon of the wagon. The griffon looked to Skybeak as he said gesturing to the Young 3 " Hey, you there. Take care of these kids. This town is clean,".
" Wow! Free Kid Griffons, What a country!," said the Griffon in Chinese with a smile.
The Young 3 gasped as they are pulled along. Though it wasn't how he planned it, Gallus smiled and said " Well, not exactly what I had in mind but this will work,".
" Well, it doesn't seem to work for me," said Smolder complaining as they are being pulled along.
Rico and Silverstream whinnied as Silverstream said " Adios, Familia,".
" See you, soon Silverstream," said Ocean Flow.
" And take care of Rico, now," said Skybeak.
Silverstream and Rico by the Young 3 as Silverstream looked at them with a smug grin. As they soon turned down different paths, Silverstream shouted " Hasta la vista, you guys! Whoo-hoo,".
Author's Note:
Hey, everybody, this is Dinoman213 and I have news.
I'll be putting Griffons On The Range on hold because I will be considering in having a partner.
If any of you out there have seen the rest of Home On The Range, then send me it through PM Messaging.
And whoever gives me one of the scenes in complete details next Sunday, I will be delighted to have you as a partner, and who knows it might be...
You.