3x3 Flighted Love

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither blushed slightly, shaking her head. "It was an easy kill. All I had to do was fly at it. She wouldn't have been able to get away." The gryphon saw hints of color on Avalon's face. The gryphon smiled at her friend. "I didn't mean that last part of what I said up there. You wouldn't do that, and I know it. But, hey, we've all gotta have a bit of fun, right?" Aeither carefully covered the doe, making sure nothing would steal the corpse away before she returned. "The next kill's for you. How long has it been since you've had a good meal?" the gryphon asked, concern in her eyes. She hadn't seen Avalon eat anything for a while. Either she wasn't watching when the wyvern ate, or he just wasn't eating. "The dragons haven't exactly been active hunters. Sometimes, I wish they hadn't found this place," Aeither confessed, staring at the ground. "It's nice and all, but the others just became lazy. They sit around in the sunlight most of the time. I guess it's because they're reptillian? I've heard that they can't always make their own heat. I don't get it-but I'm grateful that I don't have scales. Ah, I'm ranting again." Aeither shook her head with a sigh. "My point is that they depend on us too often."

[HomeForFlowers]

Trying to ignore the fact that Aeither noticed his blush, Avalon nodded along with what the gryphon said. Everything she said was true. The others had been depending on them too much lately. Although, unlike what Aeither though, Avalon had a different theory.

"They're just too well pampered," he confirmed. "I bet none if them have seen even a glint in gold in ages. Just watch, as soon as one them starts building a hoard, they'll all get off their butts and start working again. After all, hoarding is one probably one of the most powerful instincts in a dragon, besides the need to produce offspring and survive, of course." Avalon paused for a minute. Aeither didn't know what it was like to feel the compel to hoard, did she? Avalon never heard if a hoarding gryphon before, but who knew? Maybe she did feel the urge to hoard, maybe she didn't. Either way, Avalon didn't feel obliged to ask.

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither shuffled her talons in uncertainty. It was true that she didn't have the base desire to hoard. Besides prey, of course. Then again, that went with the desire to survive. "Maybe. Maybe they'll all become motivated. Maybe they'll all find mates in the other dragons, and then they'll start families." The gryphon sighed once more. "But I..." Aeither trailed off, her words fading away. The dragons will live happily with each other. With dragons-their own kind. But where does that leave me? The only thing I share with those other dragons is my food choice. I'm no dragon. I... I don't belong here, Aeither concluded in her head.

[HomeForFlowers]

The look of loneliness in Aeither's eyes told Avalon that he said the wrong thing. Why would he bring up the fact that all of the dragons had an internal sense to hoard? Of course Aeither didn't have the urge to hoard. Just bringing that up probably made her feel even more disconnected than she already felt!

Damn it, Avalon! Look at what you done! You've just further reminded her she's different. I better fix this before it gets any worse!

"T-That doesn't mean you can't have a family," Avalon sputtered in an attempt to brush over his past comment. "I don't know if anyone told you, but Jaron claimed to of seen a flock, or, er, pride of gryphons not too long ago. If you really want to interact with your own kind, then maybe we should go visit them. After all, we're family. Hey, maybe this is how we can get the group moving again! They wouldn't dare leave you behind. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to come with you." He didn't just make it worse, did he? It would of been horrible if he did.

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither shook her head. "Don't worry, Avalon. I know, you didn't mean to upset me. It's okay, though. I'm not angry at you." The gryphon pressed her forehead against Avalon's shoulder. "I understand that I'm different from the others, but I'm not sure if bringing me to other gryphons is the best choice. You and the others? You're my family. I grew up with you. A group of my own mind, though... I never would have known my of them. I'd be a stranger. I wouldn't want that to happen. Y-you understand, right?" Aeither cocked her head, gazing at her friend.

[HomeForFlowers]

Avalon gazed down worriedly at his friend. Did she really not want to see her own kind? Wasn't she at the least bit curious? What if that group of gryphons has her parents in it? Wouldn't she want to see them.

I guess not. I suppose she really doesn't want to see her own kind. Maybe she will someday, but for now, she seems pretty determined to stay with us.

With a heavy sigh, Avalon gave a weak nod.

"If you say so," he said warily. "But if you ever change your mind, let me know. That pride (or whatever you call a group of gryphons) won't be there forever. Give me a call and I'll be right behind you the entire time. If they give you a hard time, I'll make sure they have a month's worth of singe feathers."

Edited March 28, 2014 by Doctortear

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither smiled, once again rubbing her head against Avalon. "Thank you... It means a lot to me that you'd do that. And thanks for trying to cheer me up, Avvy." Aeither stepped back after a few seconds, looking much more cheerful. "You know... maybe I'll think about it. After all, this may be my only chance."

I can't just give up the chance to see other gryphons. And if Avalon comes with me, maybe it won't be so bad after all. Aeither playfully pecked the wyvern's back. "We'd better get this doe back to the others. If you want to, we'll go for another soon."

[HomeForFlowers]

Smiling wasn't something Avalon did, but seeing Aeither crack a grin did bring a pleased snort out if him. It was always nice to see Aeither content. Her happiness was rather contagious. Seeing her being so bubbly made Avalon all the more better.

"Yes, we should get this back to the others, Avalon said as he padded towards the doe. "If it isn't enough we could catch another, if that's what you'd like to do, that is." Craning his neck towards the doe, Avalon crouched down and pick up the doe's neck between his jaws. The corpse dangled from his maw as he turned to face Aeither. The taste of succulent flesh tempted Avalon to consume toe doe then and there. However, he knew better than to eat the elk. After all, he needed to motivate the others to get working again.

Maybe a few missed meals will teach them a lesson. After all, they don't deserve to reap our prize if they're just going to laze around all the day.

Flapping his wings, Avalon began to go upward. The field where the others were wasn't too far away. Hopefully no one would try to steal Aeither's catch on the way back. Now. that would be a problem.

[EchotheWolf]

The gryphon nodded at Avalon before she lifted herself into the air as well. "They owe us a lot, you know. We're their two best fliers. The dragons need a wake-up call. Anything to motivate them, really!" Aeither called to Avalon over the wind. She flew overhead, picking up on some of the wyvern's tailwind. "Do you ever wonder how hard it must be for land-dwellers? If I wasn't able to fly, I'd most likely go insane!" Aeither remarked as she settled into a comfortable glide beside her friend. She was distracting him after all! Good.

[HomeForFlowers]

Avalon lowered his neck and leaned it towards his hind claws. Gripping the die with his talons, he wrenched it out of his mouth and raised his head once more.

Can't talk with my mouth full.

"Just because they can't fly," Avalon started as he licked his chaps. "that doesn't meant hey can't dream of flying. I know that's what I dreamed of when wa but a mere hatchling with wings too weak to lend me flight." Avalon could feel blood begin to drip down his talons. He felt the tingling sensation of blood oozing inbetween his claws. The urge to feast grew stronger with this sensation, but yet, Avalon held back his desire. After all, he was stronger than his instincts, right?

Edited March 28, 2014 by Doctortear

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither guessed that something was wrong. Avalon, though his words had no trace of angr or frustration, seemed tense. The gryphon odded, becoming silent. "Oh, hell," she muttered, finally breaking silence. During their flight, Aeither hadn't noticed dark clouds building up. Only when she felt a drop hit her beak did she realize that a storm was on the verge of breaking loose. "Maybe we should find shelter, Avalon. I-uh-can't fly very well in the rain. It weighs my feathers down, and the wind gets weird." As she finished her request, Aeither began searching for a cave, or anything that could provide shelter from the oncoming storm. "The others will understand if we got stuck, right? It wouldn't worry them too much, I hope."

[HomeForFlowers]

Just as Aeither mentioned the storm, Acalon felt several drops if rain hit his back. Lifting his head upwards, Avalon stared at the gathering grey clouds.

"Yeah, I doubt they'll worry about us for too long," Avalon agreed as he let his wings glide through the sky. Noticing that Aeither was already detaching for a shelter, Avalon tried to fasten his grip on the doe. He could already tell it was beginning to become mushy. Corpses decayed quickly. If it wasn't eaten or preserved soon, it would be worthless.

"Have you found anything yet?" Avalon asked Aeither as he glanced worriedly at the growing storm clouds.

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither felt her heart pound in her chest. Thank the stars! "Y-yeah, I've got something! Follow me!" The gryphon shifted her wings, flying quickly towards the cave she had spotted. As she neared it, Aeither's concntration was broken by the booming sound of thunder. She let out a yelp, becoming unsteady. As a result, she landed poorly, the air being forced out of her lungs as she slammed against the back of the cave. It's better than being in the storm, the gryphon thought to herself, slightly dazed from her poor entrance. She forced herself up, hoping Avalon didn't see her embarassment. "Avvy? We'll be stuck in here for a while... Which means that we'll have to eat that doe," she said, almost reluctantly.

[HomeForFlowers]

As Aeither veered to the side, Avalon followed suit. With a mighty flap of his wings, he soared after her. The distant clapping of thunder did not break Avalon's concentration, but it must of broken Aeither's for as soon as the thunder boomed, a yelp of surprise escaped her. She must of been bewildered by the thunder since she her flight pattern suddenly became irregular. In fear that the gryphon might hurt herself, Avalon flapped his wings furiously as he followed Aeither who had just disappeared into the cave. Just as Avalon landed, he could see Aeither slowly picking herself up. With a little difficulty, Avalon gently threw the doe further into the cave as he landed softly on both talons.

 

"Avvy? We'll be stuck in here for a while... Which means that we'll have to eat that doe."

 

Avalon brightened almost immediately at Aeither's suggestion. Of course he wanted to eat the doe! It smelled delicious and he hadn't had venison in a while. The reluctance in Aeither's voice barely entered Avalon's mind.

"It's soaked," he said thoughtfully. "Unless you want soggy elk, I'd suggest letting it roast for a little while." Without another word, Avalon went to the back of the cave. gathered up a pile of stones and opened his maw. A jet of flames shot out of his jaws and ceased as soon as he closed his mouth. Avalon wandered back to the doe and threw the prey on the now hot pile of stones. A sizzling sound pierced the air as soon as the doe hit the stones. Settling himself down near the stones, Avalon glanced over at Aeither and nodded her over.

"Come sit over here," he offered as he motioned for her to sit. "I'm pretty sure the storm will be here for a while. We might as well get warm and rest while it passes us over. We're going to have to conserve our strength for later."

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither nodded, slowly regaining her breathing pattern. Now that her lungs and heart were back in her control, the gryphon stood up, padding over to Avalon. She looked at the fire, a himt of unease in her eyes. However, she let the bad memoroes slip back to the back of her head. That's where you belong, damn it Aeither let herself fall onto her haunches beside the wyvern. She had to admit, the fire was a huge help. Already, the gryphon's fur was becoming dry an warm. And that doe smelled delicious! "Thanks, Avalon," she whispered into the air, her fur brushing against the larger dragon. "You're not too cold, right?" The gryphon suddenly remembered that Avalon didn't have fur or feathers. She looked at the wyvern, concern in her eyes.

[HomeForFlowers]

Ah, warmth! Something Avalon was very comfort with talking about.

"Nah, I never get cold," he boasted pridefully as he puffed out his chest. "Unlike everyone else in our group, I seemed to have internal heat. My body is always warm and I do great in hot environments." Turning his attention to the burning stones, Avalon glanced at the door. He titled his head curiously as he examined it cook.The bottom of the doe that was touching the stones was roasting just nicely, however, the top side of the doe was staying completely raw.

If I had a spit, this would be so much easier.

Mumbling under his breath, Avalon grabbed the doe and flipped it over. His talons brushed against the hot stones, but he didn't seem to notice. Once he was done flipping, Avalon gave a satisfied snort and recoiled from the fire.

"It should be done in a few minutes," he commented, more to himself than to Aeither.

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither shrugged, resting her head on her forelimbs. "Thank the stars for Avvy and his fire," Aeither teased, trying not to look at the flames. Those leaping flames, smoke rising as ashes flew...

 

Suddenly, the gryphon was back in the forest. She watched the flames cover the once-green fields, burning everything in sight. Even her...

 

No. I can't think of them... Aeither made a quiet growling sound. "I got something in my eye," she lied, rubbing her tears away. She couldn't show sorrow, or a trace of weakness.

[HomeForFlowers]

Something was wrong. Avalon couldn't pinpoint what exactly was wrong, but he knew that something was wrong. Just a single worried glance at Aeither told him that something was up. Something in her eye? Something seemed oddly suspicious about that. Avalon couldn't outright ask her what was wrong. After all, he might of been looking into the situation to hard. Besides, he couldn't tell what was wrong so there was nothing for him to ask.

That doesn't mean I can't try to see if something is the matter.

"Are you okay?" Avalon asked as he craned down his neck to get a better look at Aeither. She seemed okay for the most part. Maybe there was nothing wrong and he was just being paranoid. Yeah, that was probably it.

[EchotheWolf]

"I..." Aeither sighed, shaking her head. "No, I'm not okay. I've been thinking of a lot of things. Some things I know I have to do. Others, some things I never wanted to think of again. My... my parents. My real parents. I never told you about what happened before the dragons found me. Um... do you want me to tell you?" The gryphon looked at Avalon with a trusting gaze. Somehow, he knew something was wrong...

[HomeForFlowers]

Ah yes, of course, that made sense. When Avalon mentioned the gryphons earlier, she must thought of her parents. That made complete sense, no wonder she was worried. Although, the worry in Aeither's voice still rang out clear. What was she not telling Avalon?

"Only if you want to," Avalon assured his friend. "If it's too difficult, then you don't have to tell me anything. If you want to tell me, go ahead, but if you feel like stopping in the middle, then I'm fine with that."

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither nodded, tapping the stone floor with a talon. "It all happened when I was a hatchling. We lived in a beautiful forest, my parents and I. There were a few other gryphons that stayed with us for a while, but they always left in the end. Anyways, I was sure that I'd live out the rest of my days in the beautiful forest. But... obviously, that wasn't the case. There was.. A fire had started sonewhere in the forest. I smelled smoke, and I went to warn my parents. I flew to their favorite hunting spot, but they weren't there. By the time I got back, the whole forest was ablaze. It was so hot... I couldn't breathe without choking on smoke. Soon, my mother found me. By the haunted look in her eyes, I knew that... that my father hadn't made it. She whisked me up, then tried to fly me to safety. While she was flying, she must have inhaled too much smoke. When we were away from the fire, she was already doomed. I watched her die as she fought hard just to whisper. She held me in her wings, even as she took her final b-breath. I-I was... so alone..." Aeither began to cry softly, hanging her head as the floor became damp with her sorrow.

[HomeForFlowers]

Avalon was speechless. He had no idea what to say. He knew that her parents must of been separated from her, but this is not what he expected. How could she of lived with herself for so long? How could she even stand to live with dragons if she was terrified of flames. Hell, how could she even look at Avalon? He was more attached to fire than the rest of the group. He was a beast of fire. He bathed in the glowing orange flames and longed for heat to lick at his sides. How were they friends, let alone not hate each other? Although Avalon knew there was nothing he could do to change the past, he had to comfort Aeither somehow. With slight hesitation, Avalon brought one of his great wings around Aeither and draped her underneath it in an attempt to comfort her.

"I'm... sorry to hear that," Avalon said, his voice unsteady. "I had no idea that was what happened. If I knew, then I...." Avalon trailed off. If he knew she was scared of fire, he wouldn't of associated with her. In fact, he would of tried his best to keep his distance from her. They would of never become friends in the first place. Avalon knew this but he said nothing. After all, now was not the right time to mention that.

[EchotheWolf]

As if by instinct, Aeither shifted to the side, pressing herself against Avalon, crying into the crook if the wyvern's wing. The gryphon had obviously kept her emotions bottled up, never talking to anyone about them. But now that she wasn't hiding anything, the rush of emotions were let out. "Th-thank you, A-Avvy..." Aeither managed to choke out between sobs. This is kinda embarassing... Nobody's seen me cry. I thought I was strong, but now here I am, crying into a wyvern's wings.

[HomeForFlowers]

It was a rather odd mix of emotions Avalon was feeling as Aeither began to cry in the nook of his wing. On one hand, he felt absolutely dreadful. The poor thing, must of struggled with these feelings for a while. It must of been hard to just let them all out. On the other hand, Avalon felt awkward. What was he suppose to do? Just sit here until she either cried herself to sleep or pushed him away? What would he do if he had to relieve himself and she was sleeping in his tear stained wings? What if the fire got out of control? These conflicting emotions were what kept Avalon silent. He said nothing as his friend continued to cry. What could he say? He couldn't change the past and he wasn't sure if anything he could say would fix the problem at hand. So Avalon stayed silent and comforted the crying gryphon.

[EchotheWolf]

Aeither stopped crying after some time, instead becoming very silent besides her breathing. After a few minutes of pure quiet, the gryphon spoke up. "Avalon. If you tell anyone about that, I'll kill you. This stays between us," Aeither demande, nestled under Avalon's wing. "Um... Thanks, though. For doing this, I mean..." Aeither smiled slightly, nuzzling Avalon's side.