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Alibra'Nok makes his way back through the woods, his companion nearby and their charge strapped to his scaly body with vines. The weight of the griffin is nothing to him and looking back he sees a faint trickle of blood oozing from Vex's flank onto his own, it is nothing life-threatening that he could gather.

As the sun sets behind the mountains, the woods are cloaked in darkness, but Alibra'Nok's eyes shine in the deep umbra in a reflective green hue, lighting up the night for him. He moves carefully over the untamed land, over tree roots or up and down hills, leading them safely back home.

As they break from the dense treeline, the overbearing presence of the woods suddenly lifts, and they enter a large clearing that forms a semicircle around a steep cliff face rising high above the trees before them. Alibra'Nok is glad to be home, and they descend into the small depression in the land around the cliff bottom and move toward a cave mouth, its entrance overshadowed by the limbs and roots of a massive willow tree that grows into the side of the cliff, acting to hide the cave entrance.

The cloaked figure stares at the sky, the stars reflecting off the lenses of their mask and obscuring their eyes. After a moment, they take off the mask, revealing a head of black hair that is still tucked into the back of their leather robes. The figure is female in appearance, with slitted draconic pupils, and she gazes up at the full and bright moon as it begins its arc over the horizon, adding to the light of the small clearing around them.

She begins to unfasten the robe she was wearing. "Take him inside, please. I'll be a moment. I can't stand these anymore," she says as she tugs the leather robe up off her body and drops it nearby in a messy bundle in the grass. She wore a short leather skirt that covers her hips, while a similar stretch of material binds her chest in tight, providing some modesty over her bronzed skin. While the swell of her breasts is small against her lithe fit physique, she also has scales, like a dragon, but only against the back of her shoulders and the outside of her thighs.

The dragon begins to cross the stream, but then turns back to look at her. "Ryalith, we should not linger. There's more than the griffin's life on the line," he says, watching her with a growing interest rising in him. It is too long since he has been in her presence, and the mix of Zymerian and Draconic features always intrigues him the most about her kind.

She nods her head and binds her hair behind it, before making her way to the water's edge, and finally into it. Ryalith then notices the eyes of the dragon on her, and fixes her own slitted gaze at him. Then she snorts and waves him away, "Yes, still blue scales and bright eyes, go tend to our guest." He smiles and nods his head before turning to proceed across the river, the water coming up to his knees and elbows. He proceeds out of it and into a cave, a soft smile still plastered on his lips. The vines of the willow trees brush over his scaly flank, as he passes underneath them, and slips inside the cave.

Ryalith crosses the river and dives under the water. The cool stream clears her body of sweat and lingering spores that might have rubbed off onto her, leaving her wet and glistening in the moonlight as she breaches the surface again for air. Throwing her hands side to side as she crosses the river she couldn't touch the bottom of.

She continues up the other bank towards the cave entrance, water cascading down her body as she passes under the willow tree. Ryalith feels a stiff breeze and briefly rubs her arms for warmth before proceeding onward into the cave barefoot. She is used to the rocks and unforgiving nature of the ground. Finally on smoother flooring and out of the wind, she makes her way over to the firepit.

With a pile of wood nearby, she begins to build a fire in a shallow pit, feeding logs and kindling into it while keeping an eye on the tunnel across the chamber for any signs of her companion and the griffin. She can hear the Dragon in the other chamber, moving and scraping his claws over the stones.

Ryalith made her own contact with rock, striking a sharp one against another stone, till a small spark shot off onto the kindling, setting it ablaze. She adds more to the small flame, growing it up into a roaring blaze that did well in illuminating the dark space under the earth.

The fire cast the large cave in its flickering flames and made Ryalith's shadow dance on the wall. She makes her way to the other two, once she was certain it wouldn't die out only pausing to gather a few supplies, stripes of cloth and leather to bind wounds, and salves and medicine to treat the injuries and infections

"Go and get some river water in that big pot of yours, Alibra." Ryalith asked, coming to settle near where the Griffin had been laying.

The Dragon turns to leave, and nods at her, his tail is still and low to the ground until he clears the smaller chamber, The appendage becomes much more animated, in the larger room, swaying behind him as his lumbering form begins to move quickly. Alibra'Nok made his way to the fire and the large cauldron near it, hefting the handle between his massive jaws. Ryalith watched as he hefted it up by his mouth and made his way out of the cave.

She turns her attention back to the Griffin then, looking over the bloody battered body and feathers. Her hands running gingerly over his body for broken bones, or wounds hiding under his dense feathery chest. She thought he was a beautiful creature, and his fur was spotted like a leopard and the mix of gray and white all over his body. "You poor thing, you should have stayed away from this place..."

The Gryphon begins to thrash about suddenly, its movements uncoordinated and wild, though still bound by hand and foot. Forcing ryalith to step back and keep a safe distance. Once it begins to calm again, she circles around to Vex's back and looks him over, before attempting to treat his injuries.

"Easy, easy," she cooed, hoping to calm the creature, as she came to settle and brush along its neck softly "I have something that will help with the pain." The Gryphon breathes deeply, haggardly, though it seems to calm at her words, or simply the pleasant tone that came from her lips. Its movements slow as it focuses on her scent, though that clarity ends soon after, as he falls back into another fit of unconscious delirium.

Alibra'Nok returns, and places the cauldron over the firepit once more, pulling a nearby grate over it, so the pot didn't smoosh the fire beneath. He let the heat radiate off his green scales and basks in its warmth a moment, before turning to Ryalith as she approaches and dipped a towel in the warming water. "Bout time, what took you so long?" She really wasn't expecting an answer, as she headed back with the wet towels to begin cleaning the griffin.

The dragon narrows his gaze at her, before following behind. "Why are you so short with me, I thought you would have been happy to see me..."

Ryalith narrows her gaze and stops at the entrance to the Griffin's chamber, "Normally yes, but you don't usually barge in hurrying me off into these damned woods." Her tone has a brief hint of longing and sadness to it, though any retort he had she waves off. "How did you know where the Griffin was anyhow?"

Alibra'Nok shook his head, his gaze shifting away from hers. "I saw them flying overhead, and when I realized what was happening, I came to get you," he lied. He didn't want to have that conversation with her just yet. 'Willow is growing restless,' he added, changing the subject quickly.

"What does this all have to do with that damned creature?" She inquires, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and intrigue.

"I'm not sure, it's not out of the norm for him though, infinitely curious and angry." Alibra'Nok adds in a soft, thoughtful whisper.

"Angry with you, you mean..." Ryalith amends before flaring her nostrils and huffing at him

"Just go tend to our company, we need to be ready for what comes next." The dragon averts his gaze, a soft rumble deep in his chest, though he did not aim it at her.

Alibra'Nok went to sit near the fire then, his big lumbering form in the way anywhere else, watching as she headed back into the room with a nod, "Of course..." Ryalith said, letting her anger go, and finally releasing a soft displeasing tone, "I swear each time you return, you bring me more bad news."

"There is a lot of that nowadays, Zymerians are having to flee further and further south, to escape the Magewood." Alibra'Nok sighs softly, and continues "While the Griffin's are being pushed into the north east by the Wyvern, tensions are mounting all around."

"Where did the Wyvern come from?" She asks from the small chamber near the griffin, giving the Dragon slitted eyes a look with her own. As she began to prepare her supplies and head back inside Vex's chamber.

Alibra'Nok shook his head slowly, "I'm uncertain, it's possible Al'Azarra kept them at bay for a time..." He trails off in thought, before laying his head down. "Perhaps they lived on one of the smaller islands till now. Mother Maul, has a very large roost of Wyvern with her in the Razorbacks though."

"Mother Maul?" She asks in a quizzical tone, pausing at the entrance once more.

"She's a Big one, moved into the mountains a few full moons ago, and she's been breeding and eating, growing larger and adding to her numbers..." He trails off in thought and takes a deep breath in. "Won't be too long before they'll fan out again, at this rate they could take the whole continent for themselves in a decade, maybe less.

"'Azure's light...' At this rate the only safety will be in The Magewood." She spat at the ground to her side in disgust, "Can't you stop her?" She asks, turning her gaze back with a somewhat softened expression.

"Maybe, she's big," he muses softly. "But her hide is not as tough as she thinks, I could punch through it with my horns, I'm sure, and she would bleed out like any other beast.

"But?" She instigated, assuming there to always be one when talking with Alibra'Nok.

"But," he would continue, narrowing his gaze playfully at her, " I can't move quick enough to get past all her children, I can only take so much myself..."

"So then what? We just sit back and wait for the warm spring days of dark looming wings to haunt our every move.

Ryalith furrows her brow, before moving to begin treating Vex's wounds, using a mix of herbs and bandages to help the creature heal. It was a slow process, she had to be careful not to rouse Vex. Gingerly she begins wiping away the blood on his fur and feathers as she treats and binds the wounds on his flank, smearing the concoction liberally, and presses the large medicine laden leaf onto the grooves made out of the Wyvern's claws, that were in Vex's flank, earning only a brief whine from its beak.

She sighs in relief, knowing that it would take some time for the creature to fully recover, before turning her attention to that broken wing with a frown. Ryalith kneels at the Griffins back once more, well away from his claws and beak, and begins to feel along the wing for the break. "Help me will you, Alibra? '' She says to the dragon, causing him to rise up and pad his way over to her.

The Dragon sits at the entrance, his head bowed to fit his four horns under the entryway before slipping inside once more. "Do you want me to hold him?" he inquires, planting a paw on Vex's chest as she nods.

"Yes, do that," she whispers back as she goes to tend to the Griffin wing and draws in a sharp breath. Alibra'Nok presses his weight gingerly as he sees Ryalith move to grasp the broken bone. "Do you know what you're doing?"

He trails off as she grasps Vex's wing and suddenly snaps the inner radius bone back into place, causing Vex to thrash about and squawk in blind pain. He awakens and looks around, his eyes heavily dilated, showing the back of his eyeballs to them as he stares wildly. Alibra'Nok looks down at him and holds him still with his big green, clawed hand. Vex begins to fade again, "You'll be just fine, just..." Alibra'Nok stops and realizes the griffin has passed out again. Allowing Ryalith to fashion a splint for him, using a vine and a couple of thick limbs, cut and measured for these purposes, though she didn't think it would be for the griffin.

"There, maybe we should tie his wing to his body again?" She asks curiously, only receiving a shrug from the wingless male standing over the two of them.

"I suppose, can't say I know much about that subject..." he says before turning back to head into the large open chamber.

"Wings? That's your blind spot, eh?" She looks at him quizzically as she begins to collect the bloody bandages.

"I don't exactly fly," the Dragon says in a soft jesting tone, before moving to grab a bundle of thick rope from the wall for her. "Just fashion it to his belly, he probably shouldn't move it for a bit."

Ryalith does just that, fashioning the wing down nicely and neatly to Vex's back before wiping the sweat from her brow. "There, let's let him rest a bit. I'll try to give him water and food when he wakes up."

"Just remember it will be another day or two before those mushrooms work out of his system..." The Dragon was going to continue until the growl from Ryalith's lips stalls him.

"You intend to leave now? And leave me with this mess?" She asks pointedly, moving up to give him a poke with her claw-like fingernail.

"I intend to keep you both safe, I can't do that here..." The Dragon says, his tone rising in frustration with her. Though it is only matched by her own intensity.

"Keep us safe? Ha! I laugh at that notion, Alibra." She says, her tone growing sharp toward him.

The Dragon finally raises his head and puffs his chest out in a prideful manner, which does little to dissuade his companion from her ire. "I won't be long, and your safety is all that matters to me." He says, turning away to head out of the cave, leaving her to growl at him and kick a loose stone in his direction.

Ryalith stands there for a few moments before charging after him once more. "Stop!" she says with a displeased look. He turns to face her, half expecting her to strike him with her tone. But she softens it and adds, "I'm sorry, just be safe, yes?" She lets out a soft sigh as she plants her small hand on his massive chest. He is over three times her height, and an old one for his kind, but still young and snappy like her. "Don't disappear for so long this time..."

Alibra'Nok stands there in silence for a moment before nodding his head and turning away once more. "Keep to the area, I'll be back in a few days..." he says, causing Ryalith to smile.

"That's such a lie. It's always a few days. Don't make me wait another month for a visit from that scaly mug of yours," she says in a more cheeky tone before turning to head back into the cave herself. Pushing long willow vines aside as she made her way back into the warmth of the fire-lit cave.

Alibra'Nok watches her go and hangs his head a moment, sighing softly. His maw opens as if he's going to say something, but he remains silent. He knows she worries about him, but he can't help but feel at fault for her ire. The dragon slips back into the woods and promises himself he won't be gone for too long this time. After all, he doesn't want to disappoint their new guest either. With these thoughts in mind, he quickens his pace and disappears into the foliage, leaving only the sound of his footsteps and the rustling of leaves in his wake.