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Layers of Protection

Ithilwen laid back on Ceylon, resting her body between the gryphon's wings with her head nestled in between the rump cheeks and her legs dangling over her mount's shoulders. She was looking up at the sky through the breaks in the canopy as Ceylon carried her through the trail in the northern woods of the forest nation of Renam, contemplating what was next for her adventure.

Over the prior months she had traveled a great distance with the help of Ceylon in search for The Eye of the Cat, a gem said to grant her dominion over others by means of mild mind control. She wasn't the type to hypnotize an army or force others into crime on her behalf but being able to influence others was very useful when bartering or negotiating her way out of sticky situations. Her life would be so much easier if she could convince that merchant to part with some jerky for half price, or if she could trick that pirate lord into releasing her without having her pay a fine.

Yet, in the time she'd spent trekking from one end of the continent to the other, she had grown increasingly paranoid. As a treasure hunter, she had spent much of her time exploring caverns, chasing leads, excavating ruins, and collecting relics of all sorts along the way. She regularly was in possession of at least a half dozen enchanted items at all times, so the fear of being mugged or taken out by bandits was ever prevalent in her mind, even with Ceylon at her side, a gryphon that aided her in many ways.

Ceylon was something of a good luck charm to her, as the gryphon was able to detect danger in advance, could signal when someone was untrustworthy, and seemed to have unlimited strength when called upon in a fight. As long as Ceylon was kept happy and was properly cared for, she bestowed the best of luck upon her mount, Ithilwen. This had been tested many times in their travels, yet the closer to the Eye of the Cat they trekked, the more paranoid Ithilwen grew.

As far as the canine was concerned, luck had to run out eventually, and as fortunate as she had been in the months leading up to this leg of their journey, she was certain that the universe would turn the tides on her and take everything, as the purest law of nature was that everything balanced itself out eventually. No empires grow without eventually toppling, the most powerful mages have the shortest lives. Strength and power balance one another with weakness and age, none succeed without payment.

Yet, Ithilwen had enjoyed a rather lengthy journey with Ceylon and had never been steered in the wrong direction. Every conflict had been quietly resolved, every expedition resulted in some sort of reward for her, and she rarely failed to return to town with whatever gem or relic she had been sent to retrieve! The thought that her luck was on the verge of running out made her a little anxious, so she tried her best to find one event in her quest to find the Eye of the Cat that could be seen as negative.

The journey had started when she arrived at the southernmost point of Farragouth, in the jungles of the peninsula surrounded on all sides by the ocean. There, she discovered ruins that held three staves of Keran that she later sold in Uriel, which was closer to the northern coast of the nation, nestled in along the strait. From there, she had to take a boat across the sea to the pirate port of Kerolioa in order to better avoid InTamos, only to find that it was a mistake and she needed to go the long way 'round.

Most of her time spent in central and east Farragouth was just her travelling along the coast of the seas that separated Farragouth, Veneisse, and South InTamos, at least until she fell upon a dragon's nest filled with hundreds of the scaled fiends. This was after she found the Golden Dragon egg that, as it turned out, was able to influence saurossins of all kinds in much the way the Eye of the Cat was said to influence all. Once she had talked her way out of that mess, she was joined by Azuro and Darkoh, two dragons who wished to break off from the dragon's hive and help her on her quest.

From there, she continued along the coast until she made it to the nation between Farragouth and Renam. Veneisse was uneventful, aside from a battle she almost got dragged into between the Venesh and the InTamites. That could have been deadly, but once again Ceylon's power had helped her escape, and that was when Darkoh and Azuro parted ways with her. Evidently, the InTamites were known to have a problem with scaled kind, and the two dragons felt it was in the sake of honor to defend their kind. Ithilwen agreed, so they respectfully parted ways and she continued with Ceylon.

In that time, she noticed that her gryphon pet had been growing and growing. Back in Uriel, Ceylon was but the size of a large cat or small raptor, a perfect size to have sit on Ithilwen's shoulder. However, the farther north they trekked, the larger her pet grew. By the time they made it half way through Veneisse and were sidetracked by that battle with the InTamites, Ceylon was the size of a large dog! By the time they reached the northern border dividing Renam and Veneisse, Ceylon had grown to the size of a large pony or small horse! Ithilwen knew that her pet and companion possessed the rarest of magics, transformation, but it rarely manifested by growing. Usually, she just changed gender.

Finally, at that time wherein Ithilwen was laying on Ceylon's back with her head resting upon the gryph's haunches while the two trekked along the forest trail, Ceylon had grown to the size of a very large horse, perhaps even bigger. When standing next to her pet gryphon - now a mount - Ithilwen's face only came up to Ceylon's chest or rump; she had to hop up to see over the beast's back!

As the gryphon's haunches shifted and tensed up under her head, she felt a shadow pass over her that filled her heart with dread. Less than a second later, she saw through the break in the trees the image of a massive dark-scaled dragon soaring above. This dragon resembled the same one she'd convinced to let her go from the hive of dragons at the nest by the cliffs where she met Azuro and Darkoh, but it was hard to tell for sure based on the fact that she only saw him for a split second.

However, she found herself in a bit of a panic as her mind raced back to her time underground and all the things they were planning on doing to her once they found out she had the golden dragon egg. They had let her keep it, but the only reason she could think of that would have drawn the leader of the nest to her would be to retrieve it once more.

Ithilwen was not a woman who liked giving up things she had worked hard to attain.

She narrowed her gaze and rolled off Ceylon's body to land on her hind paws, where she quickly reached into the satchel to grab the egg. "If that dragon thinks he can take this from me, he's sorely mistaken!" She growled to herself as she cradled the relic under her arm.

Ceylon could sense that Ithilwen was upset, so she glanced back and chirped, one ear flopped in confusion. She was clearly worried about her rider, and mustn't have seen the shadow of the dragon.

"It's fine, dear. I'm just going to hide this egg. Do you think the dragons can sense its presence even when not in my possession, or do you think it's only active when I touch it?" She paused and flopped her ears back as she concentrated, trying her best to find out if she could recall anything from her prior adventures that would confirm her concerns about whether or not she could hide the egg.

When her memories failed to conjure any evidence of that, she started thinking of alternate ways to protect the egg in order to keep it. Could she bury it? Would it make sense to paint it and claim it was not the golden egg but a black egg? After glancing around to see if she could wedge it under the gnarled root of a nearby tree or something of that sort, she settled on something a bit deeper.

The relic was an egg, so in her semi-panicked she mentally linked it to a womb. To her, it made the most sense to slide it up into Ceylon and leave it there until the dragon left; only then would she retrieve it and be on her way. Ceylon had shown interest in swallowing it up in such a manner in the past - in fact, it was how Ithilwen first discovered the egg; her pet had consumed it via her tail maw and deposited it in her womb, forcing Ithilwen to slip her fist into her and pull it out!

Curious, she stepped behind her mount and lifted Ceylon's tail, sniffing lightly at the plump lips.

Ceylon was of course confused and unsure of what was going on, so she pumped her tail back down and chirped as she glanced back. Her eyes were darting around, unable to respond meaningfully.

"It's fine dear, I'm just checking something." Ithilwen assured the gryphon. After another deep sniff following her hoisting of the gryphon's tail, she sighed. "But it seems you're no longer in heat, so I highly doubt I could slip anything in past your cervix." She gave Ceylon's haunches a bit of a pat to let her know that she was done, yet didn't have much of a solution. She was holding the egg next to her own belly, though, and that gave her an idea, but it wasn't a good one.

The egg was quite large compared to her, thicker than any knot she'd taken, and literally solid as steel. There was no chance she'd be able to get it into her unless she somehow convinced Ceylon to work her innate magic while also conjuring up lubricant to ease it in.

While she struggled internally with herself, the shadow of the dragon passed over her once more. This time, he was lower to the ground and she got a brisk look at his body before he disappeared beyond her field of vision once more. She could see that it was a large dragon with black scales and a lighter gray belly, exactly like the one from the dragon's nest on the cliffs. This wiped away her doubt.

This was when she got into her more controlled state of mind. She knew that things were about to go sour, and she needed to think up a solution quickly without panic. Only then did it dawn on her.

"Sorry. I hope you don't mind." She said as she dove back under Ceylon's tail and started to rub the top of the egg against the gryphon's lips. This time, Ceylon happily raised her tail and arched her back, leaning into Ithilwen while bracing herself for whatever was coming. Ithilwen knew that she had to be quick, so she used her fingers to pry Ceylon's lips apart while still grinding the egg into her flesh until it popped in with ease, the passage already being well lubricated. She couldn't push it into the gryphon's womb, but she could keep it inside her birth canal at least until the dragon lost interest.

At least, that's what she was telling herself at the time. Right as she was wiping her hands clean of the bits of fur and subtle bits of lube, Ceylon arched her back and grunted to push the egg out. The very instant her lips dilated and expanded to reveal the blunt end of the egg, which was on its way back into her palm. She immediately pushed back, forcing it as deep as she could get it until it pressed up against Ceylon's cervix, so deep that Ithilwen's arm disappeared past the elbow with ease.

Even out of heat, Ceylon's depths were still plenty malleable and her walls were absolutely soaked with natural lubricants. In fact, Ceylon was so slick inside, that when Ithilwen pulled her arm out, her fur was soaked and dripping the viscous fluids all over. She had only a few seconds to marvel at this before the egg was pushed out once more, this time accompanied by a gush of silken fluid that soaked her chest. The lubricant made it hard to catch the egg, so she fumbled it a few times before pulling it into her belly and wrapping both arms around it.

"Sorry about that. Thought you'd take it." Ithilwen apologized to Ceylon, patting the gryph once more. Though she was still a little concerned about what she was going to do to hide the egg, she could tell that the only way it'd stay inside either of them was in the womb. If it remained in the vaginal canal it would just slip out or the pressure would make them push out. Wasn't often she had things pushed that deep into her, but she did know this to be true from the few times she'd played with other eggs.

In an act of desperation, she quickly grabbed the egg with her dry hand and used her soaked hand to slip up under her tunic to smear Ceylon's fluids all over her nether lips, prodding at her depths and soaking her inner thighs at the same time. She knew it'd be hard, but it'd be worth it, and Ceylon would heal her if it was too much.

That was one thing she knew would never quit. Ceylon would always heal her, and that had nothing to do with luck or happenstance. With that in mind, she found a nearby tree root and placed the egg down upon it, holding it with one hand while she squatted over it. When the bulb of its tip pressed against her, she immediately felt its girth against her hip bones, which told her there was no way she'd be able to pass it. She was certain at this point she would have to use her sly tongue in order to keep it.

A powerful roar shattered the skies as the black dragon flew over the pathway once more, his form barely above the tree line this time. Unlike the last time, however, the dragon quickly flapped and banked in the air to double back and burst through the trees, where he ended up a dozen meters down the path away from them. His body hunched over and his claws dug into the dirt as he growled and slowly glanced back to stare at Ceylon and Ithilwen both, pausing as he saw the gryphon as if he recognized her, but then shook it off immediately and turned to Ithilwen.

In an odd twist, Ithilwen noticed at the moment she went to stand that the dragon's roar must have startled her, because the egg had slipped up into her without her noticing, and was now resting comfortably in the wider berth of her canal where a knot would usually tie with her. When she stood, she felt it lightly shifting inside her, the scales pressing out against her most sensitive of regions. At the same time, Ceylon had lowered herself into defense mode, putting herself between the dragon and her.

"It's alright." Ithilwen assured her mount with a grunt. "He won't get to the egg now."

The dragon shook himself off and casually turned to look at the two of them, showing that he was easily twice the height of Ceylon and therefore many times the overall mass. He slowly blinked his dark eyes and smiled a toothy grin as he stood tall just beyond Ceylon's form. "So, Ithilwen, it seems like you've come quite a long ways since I allowed you to borrow the golden dragon's egg." He said in a deep yet caring voice. He didn't seem angry or aggressive, but still exhibited a confidence and dominance that kept Ithilwen and Ceylon on their toes. "But I think it's time we had it back."

Ithilwen glanced over to Ceylon, feigning confusion. "What egg? We have no eggs here, and if we did, we'd have eaten it." She felt rather clever, having conjured that ruse so easily.

"Oh? That's odd, because I can sense it nearby." The dragon countered as he stepped up to her. "Very clever of you to hide it, but this would be a lot easier if you just told me where it was. There's a war going on between the InTamites and the Venesh, and as the leader of the Farragouth Dragons, I'd greatly like to use that very egg to, how do I put this, inspire the InTamites to lay down their weapons."

"Just how powerful is this egg?" She asked as she cradled her belly. From her experience, the egg could only control the weak-minded, and furthermore it wasn't all that effective. However, as she cradled her belly, the extra pressure slid the egg in deeper to have it lurch past her canal and into her womb, a motion that made her lightly whimper and shudder despite trying her best to resist the pleasure of it. Once she regained her composure, she looked back up to the dragon to see a grin on his face that spoke volumes. He saw what had happened with the egg slipping deeper into her, no point in hiding it.

Once again, he stepped forward to show his dominance, only now he was standing tall over Ceylon and Ithilwen, looking down at them with a glint in his eyes. "Lady Ithilwen, my name is Rokanoss; we didn't get properly acquainted when you were visiting the nest on the coast, but I feel I must explain a thing or two to you. First of all, I care deeply about my people; nothing matters more to me than the safety of all dragon kind. I also don't like violence if I can avoid it, which is why I'm so keen on ending any sort of war or conflict between the InTamites and the Venesh. It is of monumental importance that our kind be protected, both physically and in the minds of others. Subsequently, that is why I feel it is best for you to give up the egg without struggle. I do not wish to have to use force."

She stepped back behind Ceylon to cradle her belly again. The intense pressure of it pressing down against her G-spot had gone away now, but now she felt that permanently heavy sensation in her lower abdomen combined with a subtle sensation of discomfort as the egg remained cradled by her cervix, or so she presumed. Behind her mount, she figured Ceylon would protect her, but Ceylon only seemed to worry about preening her feathers instead of putting herself between Ithilwen and Rokanoss.

Seeing this, Ithilwen stepped up to be standing directly below Rokanoss' head, defiantly looking up at him while she contemplated using her geomancy skills to tie him to the ground while she and Ceylon flew away. However, she needed to use that silver tongue of hers to distract him before making such a move. "I regret to inform you that the egg is currently unavailable. I cannot retrieve it at this time, and as such you'll have to go back to your kin and help them in more traditional ways."

"And why might that be?" Rokanoss pressed as he lowered his head to her level. "Is it because you sat on it and can't get it out? Is it because you forced it into your womb and now it's stuck there? Don't worry, I have ways of extracting things from inside folks such as yourself." He leapt forth and pinned her to the ground with one of his massive front talons before she had a chance to blink, knocking the wind out of her. As he stood tall atop her, one of his claws pressed down against her chest, puncturing her green tunic to stab at her chest through the fur.

For a brisk moment, Ithilwen froze in place as she waited to see what Ceylon did, but when she glanced over to see Ceylon preening her feathers instead of leaping into action, that told her one of two things. Either she wasn't in danger from this massive, aggressive dragon, or her luck had finally run out and Ceylon was no longer going to be making effort to protect her.

She tried to focus her geomancy magic in order to get away, but was distracted when Rokanoss gently rolled his claw over her belly to grind against the egg inside. Gentle for him, but still pretty intense for her as she was far smaller than he and even a small amount of pressure pinned her down. She tried once again to conjure up the magic needed to tie his legs up and pin him down, but was taken by shock a second time as Rokanoss lowered himself onto his belly while still pinning her down, then proceeded to nuzzle that massive head of his between her legs with his tongue prodding at her loins!

Her eyes went wide and her toes curled as his thick tongue rolled up and down her lips, the tip prodding into her and gently dilating her depths. His head alone was almost the size of her whole body, yet his tongue managed to squeeze and taper just right in order to penetrate her. Its length plunged in and out like a tentacle, thrusting gently while also writhing about inside to caress her walls in every direction. Most importantly, she felt that, as he carried on, he was getting just a little bit deeper with his tongue prodding at her cervix and shifting the golden egg about inside her. This was what he meant by saying he had ways of getting things out of people; not a claw slash, but a sensual tongue-lashing.

This revelation made her clench up and squeeze her lips shut as best she could in an effort to force his tongue out of her. However, the added pressure served only to make his tongue press out onto her walls with increased vigor rather than force it out; Rokanoss had great strength and no amount of clenching was going to force him out of her, especially not when he was so much larger than her.

Furthermore, he still had his one front foot on her chest, pinning her down while his tongue invaded her. There was nothing she could do to actually force him off her and Ceylon wasn't showing concern, so Ithilwen decided to enjoy it as best she could. His tongue did feel wonderful, and she had subtly implied that she liked it rough when back at the nest so she sort of invited this upon herself.

Still, she wasn't sure what was going to happen next. Rokanoss was tongue deep in her while he leaned in and pressed his lips between her legs, nibbling and nipping at her during the whole ordeal. He didn't seem to want to hurt her, and in fact was glancing up at her every few seconds with his charcoal-black eyes with a look of concern as if he was worried about her pleasure and happiness as well.

It seemed, at least in Ithilwen's mind, that this dragon had no intention of harming her, but really needed that egg. Or wanted it. Either way. His goal was plain and laid out before him, and he was sure to put forth the effort to make it happen, even if that meant applying pressure to Ithilwen's belly as his tongue prodded at her depths and tried its best to loosen her up enough to allow her to pas the egg.

All the while, he kept grinding his palm against her belly while leaning in even more, writhing tongue slipping deeper as the thicker part of it pummeled her opening. As he pulled it out, he left her gaped amidst the sound of a squelch and a sputtering of saliva and gryphon lubricant escaping her.

In that instant, a blast of gryphon sent wafted up from between them thanks to the slime she'd collected from Ceylon prior in an attempt to hide the egg. As the scent billowed around the two of them Rokanoss pulled back and shook his head, taken aback. At the same time, he also licked his lips and let go of Ithilwen, which in turn let her scramble out from under her to go back and stand next to Ceylon, who was nonchalantly preening her wing feathers.

The two of them stood across the clearing from the massive dragon as Rokanoss kept sniffing at the air and licking at nothing; it was like he'd been blasted with chemicals or had a spell cast upon him as a distraction. This could have given Ithilwen and Ceylon the time needed to mount up and fly away, but Ithilwen remained curious about what had happened, so she stepped forward between the two quadrupeds, watching intently as her hands began to glow. She was prepared to use her geomancy to tangle him up in vines if it came to that.

"Everything alright?" She asked, eyes narrowed and ears flat to her skull. "Can I help you?"

Rokanoss huffed at the scent one last time before composing himself and standing back on all fours with his tail coiled around a nearby tree. He was focused, but not on Ithilwen. Instead, those charcoal gray eyes were trained directly on Ceylon, narrowed as if he were trying to decipher a puzzle. "No, this can't be right." He rumbled. "Ceylon? Is that you?"

Ithilwen was taken aback as Ceylon raised her ears and glanced up, reacting to her name being called. Rokanoss knew Ceylon's name, but that shouldn't have come as a surprise given the fact that Ithilwen spent a week in the hives that he watched over. Yet, here he was, surprised that it was in fact Ceylon, and he was fixated as if he was trying to rekindle friendship with an old acquaintance.

"Yeah, that's Ceylon. What's your point?" Ithilwen was confused by this.

But Rokanoss seemed to think this was something else. "No, not just any Ceylon. My Ceylon." He sniffed at the air and licked his lips free of the mess on his muzzle. "Long, long ago - before your time by a few centuries - I lived on the plains of Untheria ruling over the dragon tribe. A gryphon by the name of Ceylon that looked and -" He paused to sniff the air yet again - "Smelled and tasted exactly like that helped me put an end to the conflict between our kind and the gryphons in the north."

Ithilwen raised a hand to interject, as she was about to wonder how Rokanoss could possibly be centuries old, but then she remembered that dragons with elder blood in them could live that long, and often did so indefinitely until they were killed in battle or by disease. If Rokanoss was alive after this long, it must have meant he was well liked and healthy enough to not accrue enemies like many leaders. This realization made Ithilwen back down and return to Ceylon to listen to his tale.

"She and I became great friends over many years by unifying our tribes. She defied her elders for me and my kind, and remained defiant until she passed, decades later. I have since moved on, and have lived my life, but I've never had a non-dragon partner as passionate as she." He glared at Ceylon and cocked his head to the side. "And I would recognize that aura anywhere. Ceylon, how are you still alive after all this time? I watched you die!" He stepped in and lowered his head, snarling as plumes of smoke billowed out of his nostrils. "And why did you not-"

"Wait a moment here." Ithilwen said as she stepped up between Ceylon and Rokanoss, cutting the dragon off. "I think you're misreading my mount, here. Ceylon isn't hundreds of years old, and there are plenty of gryphons that look like this. I fear you may be gravely mistaken."

Rokanoss raised an eyebrow and grinned. "No, I'm not. Not about this. My eyes are keen, my nose can decipher the difference in smell between twins, and my tongue does not lie. That there is the very same Ceylon that I once courted over the golden plains of Untheria." He paused again and sat on his haunches, smiling. "Tell me, Ithilwen, does it not seem odd that your mount - once only your pet - can so easily change size and gender? That she seems to have a limitless amount of power but only when it's needed? Is it not strange to you that this gryphon appears to be an endless source of luck?"

Ithilwen glanced back at Ceylon, who was now sitting straight with her blue eyes trained on Rokanoss. She was no longer preening or acting casual, but seemed perturbed by what the dragon was saying about her. This caught Ithilwen's eye, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she turned back to Rokanoss to defy him. "I'm an adventurer, I find relics all over the world with vast power in them. This very egg that you covet apparently has the ability to influence the minds around me, why is it so strange to think a gryphon would possess such innate magic?"

"Indeed, gryphons are known for their magic, but I knew Ceylon for decades and we discussed many theoretical uses for transformation magic so I feel there may be more to this bird here. Are you familiar with the concept of unbirthing followed by rebirthing? With the proper application of magic while returned to a womb, youth could potentially be bestowed upon you. The cost was that you might forget your past life, as it rewinds your clock. I would bet my left wing that your friend there is the same Ceylon I once knew, but she may not remember me if the rebirth process took its toll on her."

This piqued Ithilwen's curiosity enough that she turned to face Ceylon while looking up and down her avian friend's body. She wasn't prepared to believe him fully, but he seemed sure of himself and his claims were in line with her experiences with Ceylon. "If this is true, and this gryphon here is potentially hundreds of years old, then why would she be spending time with me? Why would she bestow upon me her unending luck and power when she could be doing so much more?"

Rokanoss shrugged and huffed lightly, grinning a toothy grin. "I think you may be asking the wrong question. If this is the Ceylon I know from many years ago, then she has found a way to successfully reverse the aging process and has effectively become immortal; gryphons never live past one hundred years old. I think that, if you had that power within you, wouldn't you prefer to keep it to yourself by living a quiet life? Would it not make perfect sense to hide that and go on adventures with a friend rather than alert the lords and kings of the world of your unending power?"

Her jaw went rigid as she considered what Rokanoss was saying to her. He was entirely right, and he had no real reason to lie about it. Ithilwen couldn't think of any good explanation to make up such a tale, and as much as she didn't want to consider that she may have been duped by Ceylon, it was growing a bit more suspicious that a feral beast possessed such innate power.

In her time with Ceylon, things always just worked out no matter how foolish Ithilwen acted. She had put this to the test multiple times and somehow managed to always come out with whatever goal she'd been questing after comfortably in the palm of her hand. She never failed, and she never got hurt as long as Ceylon was nearby. Was there a chance that this gryphon was immortal? Was there a chance Ceylon was more than she seemed?

Of course there was! The more Ithilwen thought about it, the clearer it became that Ceylon was hiding something. No feral beast just knew what to do in literally every situation. No feral beast had such absolute control over their magic. No feral beast would display such command over the world around her. Ceylon was intelligent, that was never in dispute, but the more Ithilwen sifted through her memories, the more clear it became that Ceylon wasn't just some feral beast.

"Ceylon, have you been hiding yourself from me?" Ithilwen asked through slitted eyes. She wasn't mad at her mount, but she did want answers. "If you have something to say, please say so now."

Her mount perked her ears up and nuzzled at Ithilwen, combing the curve of her beak through the canine's hair in an effort to preen. She chirped and trilled lightly as she always had, only pausing momentarily to glance over at Rokanoss to make sure nothing was happening.

This affection didn't answer Ithilwen's question, so she lightly pushed at Ceylon, putting a bit of distance between them so she could look the gryphon in her eyes. "Seriously, if you're more than just some feral beast, I'd be okay with that. In fact, I'd kind of prefer it! I could use the conversation on our long journeys." She waited for a bit with a hopeful smile, eager to hear words out of Ceylon's beak.

The gryphon did open her beak, but it was to yawn rather than say something.

"Alright then, good enough for me." Ithilwen responded, then turned to Rokanoss. "I fear you may be mistaken. Ceylon here is just a very intelligent gryphon with innate magical abilities. I'm sure she looks like your mate from many years ago, but this isn't who you think it is." She wasn't entirely convinced of her own assessment, but she spoke with confidence and strength so she almost believed it.

Rokanoss bowed at her, respectfully conceding. "Well, may I at least speak with her in our native tongue? It's a language we created that is a blend of ancient saurossin and ancient gryphon."

"Sure, if you insist. She barely chirps at me when I scold her. I highly doubt she knows some made-up-yet-somehow-dead language. Go for it. I'm gonna go sit on this log and chew some jerky." Ithilwen then flopped down on a fallen tree trunk that was covered in moss that lined the pathway. She motioned towards her mount, not sure how she would respond. "Go on Ceylon, you know better than me whether he's trustworthy or not." She then pulled out some jerky and crossed her legs, wincing lightly as the pressure shifted the egg inside her womb.

Ceylon glanced back at her and raised her ears to show curiosity before turning back to the dragon Rokanoss. She chirped and fluffed her plumage and shook herself off before hopping across the clearing to meet the far larger creature while Ithilwen stood by, watching her every move.

The large dragon's lips slowly peeled back in a grin as he flopped down onto his belly, front legs crossed on the ground before him as he started making a series of noises comprised of growls, grunts, chirps, whistles, and even a few barks, all with slightly different inflections to denote different words.

Ithilwen figured Ceylon would just hop forth and nuzzle or cock her head to the side, in some form of confusion, but that wasn't what happened at all. Instead, Ceylon bowed and gently eased herself down onto her belly with her front legs crossed in much the same way as the dragon, which drew Ithilwen's interest. Then, before Ithilwen could piece together what she was seeing, Ceylon started chirping and growling and barking and clicking and rumbling and trilling back to Rokanoss, using many of the same inflections that Rokanoss had used towards her.

They were having a conversation, and Ceylon seemed to be understanding him.

This couldn't have been right. This made no sense. As such, Ithilwen couldn't help but lean in closer and try her best to make out some sort of sense of what was going on before her.

As she watched, the two spoke back and forth in their made up language of chirps and clicks and growls, taking turns while appearing to be quite happy about all this. Ceylon spoke and ruffled her feathers as she smiled, then Rokanoss nodded and spoke before nuzzling at her. She pawed at him, he pushed her over, and the two of them kept speaking back and forth the whole time.

"No way." Ithilwen muttered to herself under her breath. Despite her being quiet, she still drew the attention of both Ceylon and Rokanoss, who both turned to look at her. She raised her hands and waved them. "Nevermind, carry on, I'm just gonna sit over here being woefully confused about this whole situation. You do you." She then tossed a small strip of jerky in her maw and started chewing. Her mind was nearly blown at this revelation, and she wanted to know more!

Both dragon and gryphon continued to speak back and forth, exchanging chirps and sharing trills at one another before they paused again to glance back at Ithilwen, as if to wander if she was paying attention. Then, after what appeared to be an affectionate exchange, Ceylon got to all fours and stepped over Rokanoss' front legs so she could nuzzle at his cheek and peck at his scales with her beak.

In response, Rokanoss raised one of his front legs to lightly press down on her shoulders as his claws raked through her fur and feathers. This was very clearly a courtship ritual, as Ceylon dipped her back and raised her tail up high, which gave Ithilwen a clear view at the moist black flesh of her vulva.

At this point, it probably would have been polite for Ithilwen to turn away or give the two some privacy, but she was still too fixated on this past that the two had apparently shared, and she wanted to see how they interacted without her involvement so she stayed in place with her legs crossed and eyes trained on her mount and the dragon Rokanoss, who glanced over at Ithilwen one last time with a sly wink before turning back to Ceylon and pressing his cheek to the gryphon's flank.

Ceylon then turned around so that her rump end was facing Rokanoss while she happily grinned and glanced back over her shoulder towards him. She spread her hind legs and arched her back once more, preparing herself for him in the most clear example of sexual presentation one could imagine. She wanted him, she was inviting him in, and she had no shame about that fact.

So Rokanoss rumbled and got to all fours, standing tall over her as he pawed at her lower back. He was so big compared to her that his belly wouldn't have even touched her spine if she stood beneath him. This would have been frightening for most, but Ithilwen knew that Ceylon was quite malleable when she wanted to be, and that comparatively Rokanoss wouldn't be too much of a stretch for her. At least, that was what Ithilwen thought before his massive shaft slipped out from within his slit!

She couldn't help but blush. His member had have been as long as she was tall, with its shaft bigger around than her waist. All in all, his cock was bigger than Ithilwen in her entirety, which helped to nourish some of her more outlandish fantasies. Still, she opted only to stand by and watch with her legs crossed while the massive dragon stepped over Ceylon and wrapped one of his front talons around her body, holding her in place while flexing his cock to get the right angle.

Rokanoss then leaned down and started growling in the gryphon's ear, nibbling at her neck, and nuzzling her cheek as he snarled and bucked his hips. His cock tip spewed a thick yet clear liquid to soak Ceylon under the tail, and he took only a few minor thrusts before finding his mark. Once his tapered tip found the gryphon's vulva, he bit down on her neck and arched his back to force as much of himself into her as he could in one motion.

Though the penetration looked painful - and gave Ceylon a visible bulge in her belly - Ithilwen was not surprised to see that Ceylon took it well. She chirped and gape-grinned back at Rokanoss as she leaned into him, grunting and gyrating her hips to gently ease herself down his shaft. Before long, that massive knot of his was pressed against her lips, forcing a mixed concoction of their combined fluids - lubricant and precum - to dribble down the underside of his shaft and into the ground.

The very moment he got as deep as he could, he pulled back and started bucking into her like a stallion. His powerful haunches flexed and tensed up with every motion as a deep rumbling growl reverberated from deep within his chest. Saliva drooled out his mouth to cover Ceylon's neck feathers while he bit down once more, clamping his jaws around her to hold her in place as he increased pace.

Ceylon continued smiling as she looked back at him, gaping her beak ad chirping lightly every time he thrust into her only to have each chirp turned into a grunt. She pushed back and undulated her spine in time with every one of his motions until he gave her that one final thrust that slammed his hips flush to hers. He let go of her neck and roared as she trilled and fluttered her wings beneath him, falling to her chest with a dumb look on her face and tongue lolling out.

Rokanoss erupted flame into the sky before clamping his gob shut and gently pulling out of her at the same time. His semi-erect cock slid out of Ceylon and drooped to the ground behind her, leaving a trail of slimy, pearlescent seed in a puddle behind her.

Then, like a gentleman, he stepped back and buried his snout underneath her tail to lap at her folds, cleaning her and plunging his tongue as deep as he could to get every last bit of it. All the while, he kept one eye trained on Ithilwen, grinning at her while working on Ceylon's lips. When he finally finished, he gave the gryphon a peck of a kiss beneath the tail and patted her on the haunches to tell her to get up.

Almost instantly, Ceylon hopped back up to all fours and shook herself off, happier than she'd been in weeks! She chirped and danced around, hopping from two feet to the opposite two while digging up the ground with her claws. She turned and gave Rokanoss a nice nuzzle to his shoulder and flank before turning and skipping her way back to Ithilwen, speaking that hybrid language of chirps and growls to Rokanoss before rejoining her rider.

Ithilwen remained confused about the whole situation, and while she was completely okay with letting Rokanoss have a go at her gryphon, their little 'conversation' had her fighting with dozens of questions about Ceylon. Questions that would have to wait until Rokanoss left them. She needed to see what was going to happen next before deciding how she would proceed.

"So what's next?" She asked as she stroked Ceylon's moist neck feathers. Her eyes remained trained on Rokanoss to gauge if he was going to make any further moves. "And what just happened?"

The dragon shook himself off as his cock slithered and shriveled its way back into him. He grunted and grinned as he crossed the pathway to stand tall next to Ithilwen and Ceylon. "Well, you'll be happy to know that your companion has convinced me to let you keep the Golden Dragon's Egg, at least for now. She tells me you're on a quest for the Eye of the Cat, which can be found along the northern shore of Renam, so you have only a few days left before you reach your destination. At that time, I will be returning and asking for the dragon relic back so I may use it to ease the InTamite dragons."

"Okay, that's good and all, but-" Ithilwen started en route to asking him about Ceylon.

But Rokanoss wasn't done talking. "She also tells me you're a wonderful companion, and that she has been helping you out because she thinks you deserve it. I say, you're the luckiest canine this side of the Yelfritian borders. Don't ever take her for granted." He then patted her once on the snout, spread his wings, and leapt into the sky after bursting through the trees to fly away before she could say another word.

Once he was gone, Ithilwen stood there with her jaw hanging open and eye twitching, one hand up and the other resting on her slightly distended belly. "I have so many questions." She said to herself.

Ceylon could see she was slightly upset, so the gryphon nuzzled at her and preened her hair.

"Oh, no, you don't get to be all cute and cuddly and innocent anymore, Ceylon. I know you're smarter than you let on. I saw your little conversation with Rokanoss." She scolded her mount. When she saw that it made Ceylon upset, she immediately retracted her statement and pulled the gryphon into a hug. "Sorry, I'm just so confused right now. I don't know what to think, and though I'm not in shock, my world view has definitely taken a bit of a beating. Come on, I don't think I have any more travel in me for the night. Let's set up camp and call it a night."

Her mount cocked her head to the side and flopped an ear, confused. She then wagged her body to bring focus to her back as if she was saying that Ithilwen could ride her.

"No, I know. I just don't feel like I should be doing anything significant. It's time to sit down, enjoy some food, set up a campfire, and call it a night. No, I don't care that there's still two or three hours of light. No, I don't care that you'll be doing all the walking. I'm done, at least for now. Come on, it's time to set up camp. If you can speak the common tongue, now is the time." She pointed a finger at Ceylon, and waited for an answer. When none came and the gryphon only looked guilty yet confused, she sighed and hopped over the log she had been sitting on to make her way off the path and towards a nice little clearing where she could relax. Ceylon followed.

She had not had the best of days thanks to Rokanoss' little revelation.

During the creation of the bonfire, Ithilwen mostly kept to herself, percolating her many questions inside her mind to decide just what was going to happen next between her and Ceylon. She didn't know how she'd go about prodding for information without being rude or making accusations, so she instead kept her mouth shut while Ceylon curled up next to the fire and she tossed the final logs onto it. The egg remained inside her, but it had been resting within her womb for so long she had grown to accept it and no longer focus on it except when she pressed on her belly and she felt its shape within.

Rokanoss had brought up so many things that Ithilwen couldn't help but wonder about. What was this rebirth process? How old was Ceylon, really? Could she speak? How intelligent was she? If she could speak, what had she said to the dragon to make him mate with her and so abruptly leave?

After many hours had passed, the sun disappeared over the horizon, and a darkness fell on the clearing to give the surrounding forest a spooky vibe, Ithilwen finally turned to her sleeping mount and started her carefully constructed line of questioning.

"Okay, Ceylon. This is how it's going to work. I am going to ask you a series of yes or no questions, and I want you to answer by nodding or shaking your head. Nodding means yes, shaking your head means no. Do you understand?" To her surprise, Ceylon sighed heavily, rolled, her eyes, and nodded. "Aha! Okay! So you do understand my language. Okay, so lift your left front talon."

Ceylon chirped and raised an eyebrow, then raised her left front talon, as commanded. She then chirped, somewhat angrily, before narrowing her gaze and shaking her head.

"Fine, fine. Okay. So you understand me, you know what nodding and shaking your head mean. Are you able to speak in the common tongue, like me? Or only that weird chirping and barking language shared between you and the gryphon?" She waited for an answer, but Ceylon just stared at her before chirping once. "Oh, right, not a yes or no answer. Uh, can you speak my language?"

She shook her head and whimpered a bit.

"Could you at one point?" Ithilwen asked, and Ceylon nodded. "So you could! So you're sentient, like myself and Rokanoss and everyone else?" Another nod. "Then why haven't you let me know this before?" No response. She hadn't asked a yes or no question. "Right, right. Can you teach me your language so we can speak better?" This was given a shake of the head. "Okay, makes sense. I can't chirp or trill or click like you can. Uh, are there any other methods of communication you can use that I can understand? Knowing you're not just some silly yet cute creature sort of changes our dynamic."

A grin slowly spread across Ceylon's beak as she gaped it. "Well, I can use telepathy." She said, her voice silent yet broadcast loud and clear into Ithilwen's mind."

Ithilwen immediately stood up and raised her hands in shock and frustration. "Really?! All this time you can use telepathy and you never once thought to tell me!?" She started pacing as her vocalizations grew deeper into a growl. "You just let me think you were some pet, a mount. No smarter than your average ulokar. Smarter than a dog, sure, but this? Why didn't you just straight up tell me that you were sentient?" She demanded, growing angry.

"You never asked." Ceylon responded respectfully.

"Why in the world would I ask? I met you on the streets of Klyneth rooting around in the trash! You were the size of a kitten! Why would I think you were anything more than an animal?" Her voice had raised and was on the verge of yelling now.

Still, Ceylon remained calm and sage like. "Have you ever been pampered before? Had a master to take care of you and feed you and satisfy your every need? When you found me, I was searching for an enchanted ring in that trash, but when you arrived I could sense that you had found it already. I was going to tell you I was also an adventurer, but you started petting me and I lost it. Been wanting to tell you for as long as we've been together, but the appeal of being pampered was too much to give up."

"Ceylon, we've been together for a year! If you did that for a month or something I'd understand that! Why didn't you just tell me? It would have saved me so much stress wondering about whether or not I could rely on you! All this time I figured you'd abandon me if I messed up, or if I stopped tending to your pleasure! This changes everything!" Ithilwen's tone had metered out, and she was now more focused on the future rather than the past. "So what's next?"

"Next, we go and find the Eye of the Cat, so we can give the golden dragon's egg back to him and move on with our lives." Ceylon explained before laying her head down on her front talons. "But for now, you're right, I think it's time for sleep."

Ithilwen scoffed at Ceylon, growling gently at the gryphon. "Oh no, we are not done yet here. You have so many questions to answer!"

"Sorry, but I am tired. You get one more question, then it's sleep time so we might have a head start on tomorrow. One question, I will answer honestly, then we sleep. Nod if you understand."

She narrowed her gaze and growled a bit, but conceded with a nod. "Fine. Let me think of what I want to ask." She requested. After a minute of silence, she settled on the one question that she felt could potentially help her out. "That rebirthing thing that Rokanoss spoke of. How does that work, exactly? And as an extension of that same question, would you be able to do it to me?"

Ceylon's eyes opened as she smile. "How about I just give you a demonstration and you can see for yourself? Rokanoss loosened me up quite a bit, so there will be no problems with you fitting." She grunted gently as a spurt of her arousal sputtered out from under her tail to soak into the dirt. "So go ahead, we'll make this work, and you'll see."

"W-wait, right now? Like, before we sleep?" Ithilwen sputtered, not sure if she was ready.

"Exactly, yes. It will be the best sleep you ever had. Just, strip down and in you go. I will use my magic to take care of the rest. You'll awaken feeling refreshed, as if you were ten years younger!"

That did sound quite appealing to Ithilwen, so she hesitated mere seconds before slipping out of her clothes. She folded up her tunic to the side and put her boots next to it, then rubbed her hands as she looked at Ceylon. "So how do I go about doing this?"

Ceylon rolled over onto her back and spread her legs to reveal her plump, ebony lips. She was drooling from within them, as her folds were soaking wet and there was a steady stream of thin, silken fluid soaking emerging to soak her rump. "Like I said, dive on in. If you want to have extended life, then go ahead, return to my womb and I will give birth to you once more as a youthful woman!"

"Alright, I guess. I've heard of stranger rituals needed to grant power." She agreed as she stepped around to straddle Ceylon's tail. "I won't lie, I've fantasized about this before."

"About what? Being inside me?" Ceylon asked, then followed it up with an answer. "Don't worry, I know all about your fantasies. I can practically feel them myself as you have them. One of the many problems with being both empathetic and telepathic."

Ithilwen got down onto her knees and grunted lightly, as the position had shifted the egg around inside her, which reminded her of its presence. Still, she didn't let that distract her as she gulped and pressed her palm up against Ceylon's pussy, getting soaked in the process. When she slipped a finger into the gryphon's slit, she pulled out to see that her fluids were thick and viscous; so thick, in fact, that it looked and felt more like a strand of slime than natural lubricant. "Someone's excited." She joked.

Ceylon writhed in place as her pussy winked at Ithilwen, forcing more of the thick lubricant out onto the base of her tail. "Still a little needy from before. Rokanoss truly awakened something inside me and now I want more, hence my eagerness. Stop talking, dear, and get in me."

"Okay, okay." Ithilwen conceded as she scooped up more of the lubricant and smeared it all over her arms. For that brief moment she felt like she was on a farm, helping some cow give birth. That feeling quickly passed, however, as she got a proper whiff of the aromas that were billowing up out of Ceylon's depths, her own arousal was quickly triggered.

Deep down inside her, Ithilwen didn't want this to be a sexual thing now that she knew that her mount was as smart as she, but the revelations made her curious to test the gryphon's limits and try new things. With that in mind, she took in a deep breath and gently inserted her hand into Ceylon, her balled up fist popping in between the lips with ease. After grinding about and pumping gently, she slipped a second hand in and took a moment to enjoy the sensation of silken flesh squeezing and caressing her before she pulled out and spread Ceylon's lips to expose her cherry pink flesh inside.

"What are you doing?" Ceylon prodded as she flopped her tail. "Kind of hard to take you inside me if you're too busy staring. Trust me, the quicker you do this, the better it is for both of us!"

Ithilwen paused and shrugged before making another move. "Well, if you say so." She agreed as she leaned in and forced both her fists in at once. As her knuckles grinded past Ceylon's opening, the gryphon arched her back and pushed into her, loins tensing up and loosening intermittently. "Is this right?" Ithilwen asked as she forced herself in to the elbows with her snout pressed against the avian's plump clitoris.

Ceylon's clit winked and her depths squeezed Ithilwen's forearms together. "Yes. Yes indeed. Now slide your head in before I use my tail to shove you inside me; don't worry, you'll be safe in there. You will be able to breathe, and my flesh will expand to allow you no matter how much you squirm. In fact, I insist you squirm a lot, feels much better that way."

"If you insist." Ithilwen said with a shudder. The smell and taste of Ceylon's flesh was quite pleasant, but she knew that already. In an odd way, knowing the avian was sentient took away some of the taboo and Ithilwen couldn't help but feel a little odd, yet the allure of flesh smothering her was too much to deny. Eager, she dug her paws into the dirt and angled herself down so that the thick black lips of her gryphon were distended and parted directly ahead of her.

Ceylon's pussy was so soft and so stretchy that Ithilwen could see right inside with ease, even as she pushed forth and felt the lips dilate to swallow her up a few centimeters at a time. The walls were quite well lubricated and the flesh was so stretchy that she thought Ceylon might have been part snake. Regardless, the concept of gaining ten years to her life was an appealing one and the fantasy of being completely inside her mount was one she'd dreamt of for years.

Mare, gryphon, dragon, it didn't matter. She wanted to feel what it was like to be inside a beast.

So she leaned in and rotated her shoulders, squirming and parting her arms ahead of her to loosen up the canal to prepare it for her body. In a sudden lurch, she felt the flesh of Ceylon's pussy lips slide over her shoulders and squeeze around her breasts. Then, in another quick series of shifts, she felt the flesh seem to extend and suck her breasts in to squeeze her nipples against the fleshy walls of her cavernous pussy. The sensation of silken flesh caressing her nipples was short lived, as a split second later she felt Ceylon's tail press up against her rump and force her in with one sudden movement.

Her whole body shifted inward, sliding past the cervix to curl up inside the gryphon's womb, walls quivering and squeezing in motions to help gulp her down. As the final lurch took the last of her form, she curled up and ended up resting on her rump with everything dark around her, where all she could see was black and all she could feel was flesh encapsulating her. Since she was inside, she could hear the churn and gurgle of a nearby belly accented by the rapid throbs of heartbeats pumping blood to the soft, pillowy mounds that cradled her.

She was happy. She was safe. She was comfortable inside her mount. And, to her shock, she could in fact breathe. She had no idea how that was possible, yet as her chest heaved she felt the refreshing sensation of fluid in her lungs!

Wait, fluid? That couldn't be right, yet it was. Ceylon's walls had secreted so much fluid that it filled in every gap between Ithilwen's fur and Ceylon's inner flesh, and her attempts to breathe inhaled it into her lungs, yet she didn't choke or cough like she would have, normally. In fact, she felt at peace, like she was drifting off into a sleep. Or, more precisely, she actually was drifting off into a sleep, and she was having a very hard time holding back the fatige.

As the flesh shifted around her and Ceylon rolled onto her side next to the fire, the gryphon's telepathic voice came to her once more.

"So sorry for this, my dear Ithilwen. I'm sure you understand that I can't have people knowing my secret, and though I can sense that you'd never reveal me willingly, I know you well enough to know that your brash nature might result in it happening by accident. Don't worry, your life will not end today, I am not consuming you, but I am taking some of your life's energy through absorption. You truly will be a decade younger when I give birth to you once more, but you will not remember today's events as anything more than a dream. In fact, you may forget it entirely, just like any other dream."

Ithilwen tried to struggle, but was finding herself too complacent to worry about it. In her heart and soul she knew that Ceylon was right, and while she would have preferred to continue knowing all about this, she knew that it was for the best that she maintain the status quo. It did hurt to know that Ceylon didn't trust her with that knowledge, but it was also true that such a secret was not safe with her despite her loyalty. She wasn't exactly known to be the most humble or quaint when bragging in town.

Ceylon knew this, Ithilwen knew this, and it made sense to put layers of protection in place to protect oneself, whether that be protecting the dragon's egg or one's true identity.

"Again, I am sorry, but I promise I will make it up to you. I will remain by your side until our quest is complete, and if we see one another in my next life, I will join you then, as well. You've proven yourself to me, and thus you'll live as long as I, now that I've infused you with my magics. It will all be worth it, you'll see. For now, I sleep, you sleep, and in the morning we'll arrive at the caves on the north shore, where you will finally find the Eye of the Cat." She assured.

As the gryphon laid her head down, she began to purr, an act that reverberated through her entire body and vibrated around Ithilwen's form. The canine would have pleasured herself to it, but was struggling to stay awake and quickly slipped into a dream that she couldn't discern from reality.