Theá was happily munching on a piece of dried meat the older stallion, Powder Pick, had bought her. She had to admit, he was a pleasant stallion and someone she felt she could trust, even if he did know of her true identity which he, at the moment, did not. Still, she had enjoyed her time with the stallion in the week she had been in Woodswatch, walking around the streets in the hopes of hearing rumours, and spending the evenings in the tavern with Powder. She'd been beside him when he had talked to some other old stallion--a friend, she supposed-- and discovered that he was an old miner back in the days before the war. That explained the image of a boring, grey pick on his flank, she had thought. Theá found herself sitting with Powder in the tavern one afternoon after about a week of looking for rumours, during which she had found many, and could pin-point the location of this Silver Scalpel's base of operation. While it may have been easier for her to just sneak inside as a rat and stayed in the shadows to keep an eye on him, she found it more likely that a stallion such as Amaretto would get useful information. Especially since she expected some sort of magical protection, and since she knew she wasn't going to be able to break through it, or dispell it, without arousing suspicion. So getting somepony inside, to work alongside him and have him share his secrets... that was the best course of action. She would, and probably could, follow him inside. If anything then just in case he was discovered and needed protection. She was in the midst of getting her ear scratched when a familiar presence entered her radius. She perked up, curious puppy eyes darting every which way until they settled on the door. She jumped down from the bench she was on and darted towards it, Powder in her heels with a curious expression of his face. ------ Amaretto had finally arrived at Woodswatch. It had been something like seven and half a day since he'd left for this small backwater town with hardly more than three houses and a share pisshole. Or, well, that was what the pessimistic and grumpy part of his mind said. Even if he had reunited his family again he still found that some part of him was the stallion who would do anything for the safety of those he cared about, despite how gruesome and cruel it would be. He grimaced, not wanting to think about it, and shook his head. Thankfully, any further musing of his past, borderline monstrous, self was interrupted by the excited bark of a small dog. He looked down and saw a small blond puppy with large floppy ears, a pair of innocent eyes looking up at him. He knew immediately who it was, especially when those eyes seemed to change from dark to a clear green for just a moment. Regardless, he played the part and swooped her up in his telekinesis, scratching her ear for all it was worth as an elder stallion approached him. "That your pup?" He asked, nodding towards the dog held in Amaretto's magic. "She is. I've been looking for her for weeks by now! I live in a small town a few days travel up north." He sighed, setting Theá on his back. "I'm sorry, sir, if she's been any inconvenience. I... She's all I have left, and... You know how it is." Amaretto's voice had changed from its usually serious and no-nonsense tone to that of a stallion concerned for the well-being of someone he held dear, even if they were only a dog. He hadn't taken any drama classes, but he thought his act enough to fool just about anyone who didn't know him. It worked, if the softening expression on Powder Pick was anything to go by. "I see. Good to know that you finally found your pup. I've been feeding here the past week she's been here. And no, you don't have to pay me; she's been fantastic company, incredibly friendly and loveable. It's a great dog you have there." Amaretto smiled, nodding his head once. "Thank you. Anyway, I'd best get going. I have a fried who I think I can stay with 'til the morrow. Good day, sir, and thank you again." At the following nod from Powder, Amaretto turned around and headed the same way he'd come. At one point when they passed through an alley, Theá abandoned the shape of a dog and assumed the shape of a beetle instead, placing herself between his ear and mane, out of sight but at a place where she could speak to him without anyone else hearing them. As they walked, she told him of everything she had found out; where Silver Scalpel's base was (having been discovered by her due to the smoke coming from it, as well as the rumours and, when she had visited the surrounding area, the feeling of a familiar presence. She told him of the rumours that someone were pillaging graves (caught from some of the guards and other ponies who had to clean up after whoever it was). "Sounds enough proof for me," he grunted as he turned a corner, keeping his voice low. "Why don't you just tear him down?" "Disappearing corpses, smoke from a previously abandoned building, and a lower amount of bandits in the nearby area is no grounds for smiting him. I do not kill without due reason." Amaretto only nodded, turning another corner, the mansion Theá had told him about coming into view. "This is the place?" he asked, not waiting for a reply before he strode forward, though she did whisper her affirmative. The mansion was impressive, to be sure. Large and luxurious, even if it was clearly old and weathered. But still, it stood strong and proud, and undoubtedly with secrets hidden within. As he walked up to the front door, Theá whispered a few final words of warning and caution before she went silent, cautiously observing as he lit his horn, banging hard on the door with his telekinesis, making sure that it would be heard far into the old building and, hopefully, get the attention of this Silver Scalpel. [i]Come out come out, you bastard. The sooner you get here, the sooner I can expose you and have you smited, and I can get home to my family again.[/i]