FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The first thing Vera noticed, after recovering from being startled awake from the crack of a fallen pinecone striking a half-buried boulder, was how sore her neck and back were. At some point in the middle of the night, she had fallen asleep with her back sagged against the saddle and attached baggage, her head having nowhere to go but to sag forward. Quietly groaning through a closed beak as she gingerly stretched her arms and legs, she took a moment to take stock of her surroundings, cautiously soothing her sore neck-vertebrae with a rubbing massage. Her breath clouded in front of her with each exhale, the crisp coldness of the air giving every sound around them an odd sense of proximity and clarity.

The second thing she noticed was that Jezebel still lay across from her, separated by a dozen feet at most, curled tightly around herself. For all the gryphon knew, she still appeared to be asleep. A quiet smile touched her beak. Even though the events of the previous night still hung heavy over her head, she felt no ill-will towards Jezebel - it was not the dragoness's fault that Vera had chickened out at the last possible moment and inflicted emotional pain on herself like she had. And, besides, it was difficult in the extreme to find a mote of hatred inside one's heart for a dragon who was asleep, after all. She just hoped that Jezebel wouldn't hold a grudge._She isn't the type usually,_she thought quietly to herself, _but sex always complicates matters. She'd be well within her right to think ill of me._She swallowed the lump forming in her throat at the thought.

_ _ The gryphon shook her head as she stood, leaning heavily on the saddle for support. It wasn't useful to dwell on the topic in silence. While the intensity and rawness of last night's finale had faded into a dull mess, the confused, dissonant symphony of emotions remained. She and Jezebel not only had another day of flying ahead of them, but they also had to go into Kehmastral and perform whatever delivery or pickup they needed to while in town. They needed to stay focused so they could avoid spending longer in the tiny frontier town than they absolutely needed to - once they had put some leagues behind them, there surely would be time to begin to disentangle everything and make sense of it.

With a yawn, she dug into her saddlebag, pulling out her journal, a quarter-slice of hardtack and a few strips of dried meat.I'll need to see if I can restock before we leave town today, she thought to herself as she chewed on one of the tough strips of cured meat. Opening the journal and pulling out the lead pencil from the attached loop within to keep her from losing it, she quickly made notes to that effect. Once that had been done, she crouched beside one of the side saddlebags, methodically going through and reorganizing the various envelopes and letters. Fortunately, they were going to be losing one of the bags' worth - another pair of Rangers were due to stop by Kehmastral by evening on their way south towards Costa Regia. They would also be picking up about a half-bag's worth of new delivery to go on to Frontier, but every ounce of weight they could shave off their load, all the better.

Jezebel finally stirred, raising her head and yawning widely; its intensity made her squeeze her eyes shut and stick her triangular, draconic tongue out of her mouth, showing off all her sharp teeth. With a quick shake of her mane and ears, she uncoiled herself to stand up on all fours and stretch herself out. Padding over to Vera with a bit of hesitation, she gently brushed the gryphon's shoulder with her nose. "Good morning, Vee-vee."

Vera paused her sorting to gently lean against the furred dragoness's face with her own. "Good morning, Jez. I hope you slept okay... I'm just doing some last-minute logistics so we can avoid having to spend the night in town if we can help it."

The dragoness rumbled lightly, enjoying the closeness for a moment before breaking contact. "Mmmh, sounds like a wise idea," she said. With that, she settled down onto her haunches to begin her morning preening and grooming.

A moment of silence fell between dragon and gryphon. It was clear what was looming large in both of their minds, although neither of them seemed willing to broach the subject.

Yeaaah, she's angry with me,_Vera told herself as she picked up the last stack of envelopes needing sorting._I'd be angry with me too, in her position. This needs to be mended as quickly as possible. But how the fuck do I even begin to go about this?_She paused with a small sigh as she dropped the last envelope into the correct bag, before closing them both up and securing their straps down tightly._How do I even begin to explain this to her? A darker thought crept into her mind._And what makes me assume she'd even want to hear an explanation? As far as she could be concerned, I was just playing with her feelings. I wouldn't blame her one bit for not wanting to hear it. She'd be perfectly justified to think that I'm a shitty friend._She quietly sighed as she shook herself out of the stewing thoughts swirling in her mind, making final notes in her ledger, and then slipping it back into her bag.

Jezebel paused in her grooming, sensing the gryphon's disquiet within. "Is everything okay?" she asked quietly, eyes searching Vera's for any kind of answer she could find.

Vera flicked her left ear as she completely snapped back to conscious reality. Taking a moment to recognize the question being asked, she shrugged, before amending with an almost absent nod. "Yeah... Sorry. Just..." she paused, before deciding to avoid answering the heart of the matter with a white lie. "Just kind of running stock in my head. I'm going to need to replenish some supplies while in town - food and the like. I don't know if you have anything to do while in town, but if you do..." She shuffled her wings a bit. "I'd not worry about including me in them."

The green-furred dragoness glanced sideways at the bipedal woman, suspicion evident in her expression.She isn't telling me everything, that's extremely obvious. She considered trying to pry and push for the answers she was seeking but thought better of it._She likely still feels too emotionally raw to discuss it with me, and perhaps tonight or tomorrow, I will have better luck._She then paused, struck by another intrusive thought._Or perhaps she doesn't trust me or is too resentful to trust herself to not offend me,_she thought. That idea was truly disheartening; what was even worse was that she couldn't immediately discard the possibility as fictitious. Regardless, she decided it wiser not to push the issue. Drowning out the intrusive thinking with another wide yawn, followed by shaking out her mane, the dragoness assented. "Yes, I was concerned about that. I'm glad you are already on top of it. As for me... I do have one thing I probably should do in town, and it's probably better I not bring you along for that."

The gryphon scratched behind her left ear in thought. "Well, it looks like after we drop off the goods, it'll be a bit of a divide and conquer kind of day. With luck, we should be able to meet back up by mid-afternoon and we'll have a few hours' worth of flight time - more than enough to find a suitable place to rest your wings for the next few days."

Jezebel nodded soberly. She felt a bit of uneasiness about having to sit in one spot for a few days - particularly now - but she knew the dangers of pushing one's wings too far. Even if they didn't fail her in flight during the trip, strained wings could leave her grounded for weeks, if not months, and it would end any future prospect of continuing as a Ranger._I guess I can rule out her being resentful towards me,_the dragoness mentally noted. _And she's still professional, to a fault._She took it as an optimistic sign. "Well, that sounds like a plan. I'll let you finish up your preparations, then we can get the saddle on. I'm itching to get airborne."

Vera smiled, eyes flashing with amusement. "I'm practically done as it is," she said, standing up with a grimace as she arched her back, stretching her spine out. "Let me get my flight protection on and then I'll be good to go."

The dragoness chuckled a bit, lightly shoving on the gryphon's shoulder with her nose. "Go - enough tarrying as it is. We can talk all we want once we've landed for the night."

The gryphon chuckled lightly - while far more reserved and milder compared to her usual demeanor, it was a further encouraging sign for the dragoness. "Alright, alright, I'll stop running my beak already," she said, returning her notebook back to the saddlebag and swinging her hooded cloak around and over her shoulders. A slip of each arm in, and she buttoned it up around her midsection. Fishing into the pockets, she pulled out her flight goggles, which went up and over her head, hooking around the back around the ears. Keeping the lenses resting on her forehead, she pocketed the cotton plugs for her ears - those would go in just before they went airborne - and glanced around for a second as if forgetting something.Oh, right. My boots. Fucking hell, she thought to herself with a snort of disbelief. Slipping on her specially shaped socks to fit her footpaws, she then shook out her leather boots before slipping them on and cinching them down around her shins, pulling her trousers down over them. A final check determined that she hadn't missed anything else. She was ready to go.

Jezebel gave a few final nibbles to the underside of her wings, nestling a couple errant feathers back into place. She gave a couple of powerful flaps, bracing herself against the ground to prevent herself from moving backwards. Seeming satisfied, she half-folded them as she settled down onto her belly on the other side of the saddle from the gryphon, watching her expectantly.

Right then. Time to roll. Gripping under the edge of the saddle, the gryphon heaved, grunting from the weight. But she did manage to lift it slightly, and with a bit of help from Jezebel, she was able to get it to lie in place atop her back. Then came the time-consuming part - securing it around each of the dragoness's appendages to keep it secured while simultaneously not overdoing it and making it uncomfortable, if not outright painful for her to wear. It was something of an art moreso than a science, but thankfully both Rangers had a half-decade worth of practice, so it was only time-consuming. Eventually, however, the saddle was secured into place, and a test of movement confirmed it wouldn't impede her in flight. Satisfied, she settled back down to let the gryphon climb up into the saddle and secure herself. Another moment passed as she secured her legs into place and she inserted her cotton plugs to protect her ears, followed by a nod to the dragoness.

And with the spread of Jezebel's wings and a sudden_leap_, they were airborne again.

The pair of Rangers took the same general route out that they came in from as they climbed, circling to gain altitude above the wind-buffeted treetops. Once they had climbed back up with a series of furious wing-strokes, the furred dragoness angled to the left to head northwards, loosely following the river towards the towering peaks of the Avarstoks in the hazy distance - toward Kehmastral. The sun shone bright, cutting through the small haze of high-altitude clouds that wisped and curled like mare's tails; each ray of fiery light cast a gentle, golden pallor upon their eastern sides in a kaleidoscope of iridescent splendor that monarchs only hoped to replicate with all their ostentatious displays. The river ran its course - the blood-life of the earth itself, siphoned from the crowns of ageless peaks on an indomitable march to the sea. Its currents flowed in irregular, ever-shifting eddies and rapids that achieved a complex, harmonious beauty; like the fire-dance of no-longer-fledgling dragons about to set out on Journey, or the melodious, wild harmonization of a song played on an ensemble of whistles, flutes, beldrahn-drums, and the scalp-raising, bubbling chants from a village of throaty voices rising as one. The treetops swayed under the wind, rippling out in waves, passing along some dire message between each other in a flurry of whispers that mattered only to themselves.

Jezebel seemed to take it all in without fully perceiving it, turning the issue of weight around in her mind.I'm glad that Vera doesn't seem angry or mistrustful after what happened... But why did she respond like that? I was expecting some hesitation, sure, but that goes well beyond normal inhibitions. Something's wrong, and I can't even begin to guess what nerve has been struck. For as much as I know her, I know so little about her - almost nothing about what she was like before becoming a Ranger, really._She paused for a second, a quiet, terrible thought growing in her mind._Did someone hurt her in this way before? There has to be some kind of history here that I'm not privy to. I'm going to need to get some answers out of her, even if I have to pin her under my chest all night until she explains herself. I need to know what she is so scared will happen, and if it's something that can be overcome... Or if I should let it lie and learn to accept that my wish will never come to fruition.

That thought, more than any of the others, was the most depressing one for her to consider.It'd break my heart if I had no choice left but to leave Vera behind. There's nobody I'd rather share my nest with - nobody else would understand me for me as she does. They would care too much about what such status would mean for themselves, seek to garner my favor to their own benefit, and see me as a means of advancing their own ambitions to grow their influence among the High Clans and in the eyes of the Empress herself. Vera on the other hand... She clearly does not care for such things as wealth, power, or status; if anything, she either is afraid of, or distrusts such things, if not both things at once. She sees me for who I am and cares about me, not what I'd mean for her own ambitions; and that makes her alone worthy of my consideration. Who else but her has the right to try to stake a claim over my heart? I just want to see her for her - to fully understand her - and embrace her fully and refuse to let her fall out of my grasp again. If this situation tears us apart irreconcilably... I don't know what I'd do with myself.

Please, don't let this situation be irreconcilable, she begged the universe, hoping someone would hear and answer her silent, humble plea.

But I can't just do nothing and let her fall apart alone. And to know if I can do anything, I need information. But that can wait until we settle down for the night. There will be time enough, then. I can explain how I feel about her and ask her if she feels the same. And if so, what it is she is so scared of happening if we were to pursue it. The only thing she could ever do to make me want to stop pursuing her is that she does not feel the same, or that she cannot trust me enough to be willing to have help in extracting the insidious claws that have been hooked into her soul.

With a renewed sense of determined direction and confidence, the green dragoness flapped her wings with renewed vigor, eager to reach Kehmastral - the only thing between her, Vera, and the future, whatever shape it'd take.

Vera, meanwhile, appreciated the view in meditative silence. The wind streaming all around them, the truly vast view of everything, the hollowness of the sky - it all had a wonderful clarity-inducing effect on her troubled mind, even as she once again delved into the issue that hung heavy over her head like a thunderhead bearing down on herself.Why can't you just stop sabotaging yourself, Vera?_she asked herself, playing out the accusatory dialectic in her head once again._Why can't you just let yourself be happy? She knew the answer already.Because you're scared. You're confronted by a dragon, whom you've grown attached to, unambiguously showcasing a desire to further bind those attachments, and you're scared to death. Instead of doing what you know would have made you and her perfectly happy in equal measure, you had to go the route of cowardice. Why? What are you so scared of?

_ _ She sighed, muted by the wind and the plugs in her ears. This answer, she also already knew.You're afraid of repeating history. You've been down this road before and know damn well where it ends. And you promised yourself that you would never, ever do that to someone again. So, you selfishly decided that you didn't deserve to be happy. And not only did you sabotage your own happiness, but you also sabotaged Jezebel's as well in the process. Some fucking friend you are, Vera. What happened to the Vera who promised she would never let the fire die within her heart? What would your mother have to say to you about what you have done?

_ _ Her thoughts went silent for a moment. A sense of cold, piercing grief overtook her for a moment, making her body and soul vibrate in unison with a pain-inducing consonance at the purity of the emotion itself. After a moment, it subsided like a tidal surge that quenched itself, leaving a path of devastation in its wake. Slowly, piece by piece, the solution to the conundrum came into focus.If I wasn't so unwilling to discuss this with Jezebel beforehand, this whole situation could have been avoided. The responsibility to correct the harm it's caused as a result falls on my shoulders. If she demands an explanation, the least I can do is give her the truth. It doesn't matter if she doesn't take it well, if she judges and hates me for it, and if our friendship will come to an end - as well as our partnership as Rangers. She deserves to know, at the very least. Whatever comes after that, I will have to accept and carry on my conscience for the rest of my days, no matter how crushing a burden it could be. I love Jezebel too much to not give her the chance to understand and make her choices accordingly, regardless of how terrifying or painful it may be for me.

_ I must do this, even if it's the last thing I will have the chance to do for her._

With that, something seemed to click into place, sweeping away her anxieties and worries, replaced by a deep sense of calm acceptance. It was like she was looking down into a pool of soul so still and clear that she could not see the bottom through the brilliant reflection on the surface. She reached up and wiped the excess moisture on her tear-ducts with a thumb, one at a time, before closing her eyes and basking in the light of the blazing sun, utterly and completely existing within, and appreciating, the sense of respite provided by the infinite, omnipresent now.

And so they flew on thus to Kehmastral.

The sun had not yet reached the peak in its pre-ordained march through the hollow sky when they arrived. Kehmastral was a small, wooden town built into the southern flanks of the Avarstoks, a road running down from the mines further up in the mountains and another arterial road running east-west through the town proper. Instead of an earthworks or masonry wall to surround the town and protect it from the ravages of the wilderness, it was ringed around with debranched pine logs that still held the bark on it and were rough-hewn at the tops to form spears to prevent climbing over the makeshift wall. Behind these rudimentary defenses was a network of several dozen wooden buildings of various sizes and footprints, although the southern end of the town had most of the shorter, smaller buildings - giving it an almost lopsided feel. The roofs were covered in wooden shingles that looked like a crude imitation of dragon-scales, angled sharply to protect against the deep snowfalls of winter. A couple of the largest and most ornate buildings had several layers of roof, separated from each other by additional stories, giving an imperious feeling to them. Kehmastral - trading artery and settlement of metallurgic mining - awaited.

Without a word, Jezebel angled south and made a wide circle to shed altitude and speed. Sensing the familiar, rising flutter in her stomach that marked a descent, Vera leaned all the way forward and braced herself against the saddle. She trusted Jezebel to execute as close to perfect landings as one could expect, but it was better to be safe and rendered foolish by one's own abundance of caution than to learn the expensive way why caution was, in fact, the best policy. To Jezebel's credit, she did not attempt any dramatic stunts like flying just over the treetops, instead only dropping below a safe height once they entered the large artificial meadow roadside that served as a place to camp for those who couldn't afford to stay in town - and a take-off and landing zone for dragons. By all accounts, it was a perfect, by-the-book landing; perhaps it was spurred on by the fact they were now in view of civilization, or perhaps the green dragoness was not in the mindset for playing around.

As soon as they were grounded, Vera quickly undid the straps holding her in place and, with a bit of impatience, hopped off Jezebel's back before she pulled off her flight-glasses and her ear protection to stow them in her personal pack. She pulled out the pocket-sized pouch of metal coins from the bag, before opening it so she could give a counting. Every little bit of time they could shave was a little bit of extra time they could use to get back out into the wider world more quickly. "Jez, how much are you going to need to spend while we're here?" she asked, looking up at the dragoness, who had quite comfortably decided to settle down onto her haunches, lightly panting from the exertions of landing.

Jezebel considered the question. "Well, I will need to cover the entry fee for the nest-house, as well as... purchase some of their services," she remarked with a self-conscious shuffle of her wings. "Since I am a bit... restless, it might be a good idea."

The gryphon didn't even blink at the mention. "Alright, so that's what.... A half-crown entry, and four - no, five - for services rendered?" she asked, calculating in her head. "You should also get a hot meal while we're here; nothing to gorge yourself on, but enough to enjoy and to help keep you from needing to go off hunting when you should instead be resting your wings." She thought for a second, before adding, "And of course, that also means a bowl or two of tea... so would seven crowns work? Is there anything else you need to get that I can't get while I restock? Anything at all?"

Jezebel nodded amicably, lightly touching her nose to Vera's left shoulder. "I would actually like it if you could get a stationery set, including pen and ink, while we're here. Once we get to Frontier, I'd like to write mother a letter telling her to expect me to arrive with an... honored guest. That is, if you still plan on visiting my home with me," she said with a thin smile of amusement.

Vera scratched the base of her right ear, seeming mildly confused. "I mean, all that sounds like a plan to me... but why buy it here and not once we get to Frontier?"

"The ink here is cheaper," came the reply.

She shrugged. "Alright, so seven crowns for you... and I'll pick up letter-making materials. Anything else we're missing?"

Jezebel shook her head as she stood back up onto all fours, her tail-tip twitching with mild impatience. "Nothing that I can think of. Let's go drop off our delivery and stow the saddle."

Vera counted out the proper amount of money that they would need, before slipping it into her pocket. With that, she placed the money-pouch back into her personal effects-bag. "Alright - let's roll."

With that, dragoness and gryphon made their way across the meadow and onto the road just outside town, side-by-side. Once they made it to the gate, they were waved in without a second of hesitation. After that, it was only a couple minutes before they found the northbound arterial path and turned to follow it. Every time they passed by a dragon on the street, or who was entering or exiting the various shops, they were greeted with a neutral, cautious nod, and more than one curious glance directed at Vera; after all, it was not all that common to see a gryphon in this part of the continent. The buildings became larger and more ornate the further along they proceeded, clearly proportioned to be compatible with dragons. The sheer amount of workmanship and labor that this part of town had required surely must have been truly impressive. Vera tried not to think about it too much.

Fortunately, before long, they made it to the large, central square that was the centerpiece of the northside of town. Opposite the granite-tiled plaza stood the largest building in town - city hall. It rose four stories tall, the walls white with plaster and a ring of slanted eaves and layers of tiled roof stacked upon one another - giving it a grand, castle-like appearance. Between City Hall and themselves was a polished granite fountain that ringed a shallow pool of water. A ring of white jets of water shot up well above their heads before falling back to the pool in a dull roar.

In the center stood a dark pedestal, atop which stood an imposing statue of a dragon that Vera recognized as the Aróaztha Dynasty's founding matriarch, Verzthálu the Conqueror. Unlike Jezebel, whose form was largely that of a Common Dragon, the statue depicted the Imperious Dragons that made the Aróaztha Dynasty so recognizable. With a slightly more angular, thinner muzzle, thicker fluff that brushed out against the cheeks, proportionally larger necks, and strangely curved horns, they struck an imposing, intimidating form. They lacked wings - Vera was unsure whether they were capable of flight at all, but most whispered that some of the Old Magic still resided within their line, and they merely chose not to fly because they saw it as beneath themselves. Their bodies were longer, almost slightly serpentine in quality, giving their legs a slightly thicker, stockier appearance. Like Jezebel, however, they were covered from snout to tail tip in thick, luxurious fur. The sight always made the back of Vera's neck prickle in a thrill of awe and fear. After all, a dragon whose Clan-Nest was valued by other dragons for their cunning - high praise indeed among those already infamous for their high levels of intelligence and manipulative expertise - was a dragon she'd be best-off to never encounter.

Jezebel jolted her out of her stupor with a gentle brush of her nose against the base of an ear. "Are you okay? You've been staring at her like you've never seen a statue in your life." There wasn't any exasperation in the tone, but she did sound like she was mildly impatient.

Vera looked over her shoulder and up to meet the dragoness's gaze. "Oh. Uhm... yeah. I'm fine. I..." The words died in her throat. She had wanted to say something, but realized how pointless and obvious it was. She dropped her gaze. "Yeah, alright. Let's go."

The dragoness snorted in amusement, shaking her head as she looped around to the gryphon woman's left and they, as one, crossed the grand plaza, headed straight for City Hall. Entering through the truly massive, dark-oiled, solid-wood double doors, they found themselves in a good-sized entry courtyard with marbled tiling that reflected a mosaic of sunlight through the windows above the door. A large, mahogany desk sat in front of the alabaster wall across from them, upon which the massive flag of the Imperium was hung, outstretched, the field equilaterally trisected with royal purple on the top and bottom and a white stripe in the middle. The golden Imperial crest - a pair of stylized, Imperious Dragons coiled into a cornucopia that crossed their tails, a serifed, equilateral cross in the center, and five stars cradling the crest itself from below like a nest - blazed in central prominence, below which the phrase_"Disprákhna Itharrn, Unjítve."_ Vera didn't know much of Imperial Formal, but she knew that phrase by heart:From Disparate Peoples, We Are United.

Between this wall, and the desk, sat a silver-scaled dragoness who towered over a short, green-scaled bipedal reptilian man just on the merits of scale alone, sitting on her haunches as she was. At a first glance, she reminded Vera in many ways of Jezebel - similar size, build, and shaping, for starters. Her glacier-blue eyes weren't even looking in her direction, but the gryphon could tell that intense gaze that belied a dragon groomed to wield power - and used to exercising it - was there. The gryphon silently noted that whether here in Kehmastral or in the Courts of Aróaztha, this dragon would certainly be noticed for her graceful appearance - no, she was downright_attractive_ in appearance, and Vera knew that if she weren't in such a small town with such poor prospects, the line of potential suitors would fill one of those grand ballrooms Jezebel always spoke of and she longed to one-day see. Her horns weren't as sharp as Vera's, and her features were slightly lither, which told the gryphon that this dragon likely had recently come back from Journey in the past year or two at most. In fact, the more she looked at her, the more she was reminded of her first impressions of Jezebel some seven years past.

The silver dragoness pored over the pages of an official correspondence of some kind in silence, her tail-tip twitching occasionally in the air behind herself. The shorter reptilian man, who Vera realized was shorter than even herself by a good half-foot or so, stood there at rapt attention, fidgeting in place nervously as the seconds ticked on. He reminded Vera of a school-bound child who had been called to the headmaster's office for some ill-defined act of wrongdoing, who now awaited judgement and punishment to be meted out in equal measure. That gave her pause. Was that an accurate assessment, or was he merely just a normally nervous person?

After a moment, the silver dragoness reshuffled the document, placing the pages back into the right order with a firm nod, before laying them flat, smearing a glob of semi-liquid wax from a miniature, candle-heated caldron at the head of the document, before firmly tapping, and then pushing down, her Clan's seal-mark into the wax, leaving behind its impression. "Very well, everything looks to be correct and in order. If you'd be so kind as to take this to Mother's - sorry - the Governess's chambers for her final review..." she trailed off expectantly. Her tone was definitely not what one could consider harsh, but it had the slightly cold edge of someone who gave orders and was obeyed with haste, with no allowance for deviation or error. A bit inexperienced, sure, but considering her apparent age, that was to be expected.

The bipedal scalie bowed at the waist. "As you wish, Madame," he said with the shift of expression that clearly revealed relief. "By your leave." With that, he straightened back up and scurried off to the right, behind the corner of the alabaster wall and down some hallway unseen from where Jezebel and Vera stood at the desk.

Seeming satisfied with this reaction, the Governess's daughter shuffled her draconic wings, flaring them slightly before folding them back against her sides again. With that, she turned her attention to Jezebel. "Ah.... Jezebel of Aeruthzqíra. What an unusual, but not unwelcome surprise," she stated, bowing her head slightly in respect.

Jezebel mirrored the gesture. "Celis of Skalizthmíra," she politely rumbled. "I take it then that you have completed Journey and become a dragon in full. My congratulations... And yes, I don't plan on hanging up the saddle anytime soon, if I can help it," she said, before glancing out the corner of her eye at Vera, who flicked her left ear in acknowledgement without speaking up or taking her eyes off the silver dragoness.

This glance drew Celis's attention to the bipedal woman. A momentary flicker of surprise struck her face before a grin of amusement mixed with something else replaced it. "Well, then... You never told me you found yourself a bird, Jezebel," she remarked with an interested flick of the tail, gaze fully focused on the gryphon. Said gryphon resisted the urge to back up at the intensity of the stare like she was some small rabbit cornered by a wolf.

Jezebel nodded pleasantly, although her gaze sharpened cautiously. "Oh, you mean Vera?" she asked, her own eyes keenly trained on the younger silver dragoness. "I'm afraid you're quite mistaken, she's not from the Guild. I've been flying runs with her for almost five years now - and she is a highly-valued friend and companion." There was almost a slight bite to the end, certainly to communicate to the younger dragoness that she should choose her next words with more care.

The governess's daughter was undaunted by this insinuation. "Hrmmf, perhaps I was mistaken. But how could I not be? A bird as pretty as she is, wandering the countryside, when she could just as easily be the crown jewel of the Court of Aróaztha... Who would believe it?" she asked with a small huff for effect.

Jezebel narrowed her eyes in anger. While Vera had casually mentioned in the past that she had been subject to this kind of behavior from dragons with more ego than sense - hell, joked about it on more than one occasion - she'd never had one so blatantly begin to make those kinds of moves right under her nose, and in her presence no less! A flash of both protectiveness and perhaps even possessiveness took root, and she prepared to make a cutting remark to communicate the depths of her displeasure.

Vera cut in before she had the chance to do so. "You flatter me, dragon," she said with a small chuckle, before shaking her head. "But I'm a peasant among peasants - the halls of the likes of... well, anyone, really... are beyond the realm of what I am fit for. Besides, how could I have the chance to take in the splendor of our wonderful continent from the halls of a palace?" She cocked her head.

Celis snickered, catching the surprise in Jezebel's eyes at what the gryphon had to say. "Hrmmf, truly an injustice... But most certainly a solvable one, I assure you. Even without grooming by the Guild, a pretty bird like yourself could find herself in a much better standard of living with a fair bit of ease. An assistant one could be pleased to have by their wing and not merely just a glorified scribe is something many a dragon would go to much further lengths than you could imagine to - acquire."

Alright, whelp. This has gone too far already._Jezebel stifled the furious growl she desperately wanted to make and smiled tightly as she draped her wing over the gryphon's shoulders in equal measures of protectiveness and possessiveness, as if to say,_Don't get your hopes up. This one is mine. "That's wonderful, Celis. Unfortunately, we still have a job to finish - I'm sure once Vera considers a career change you could try your talons at convincing her the merits of being under your t-" she cut herself off from saying "tail," before sighing and rolling her eyes, "tutelage." She kept her voice even and pleasant enough, but Vera could feel the fury threatening to boil over, and she realized with a mild panic just how delicate the situation truly was shaping up to be.

The silver dragoness's eyes darted up to meet Jezebel's, anger flashing within them as her grin died. There was a handful of seconds where they stared each other down, before she mirrored Jezebel's smile - cold and thin. "Well, of course. I do suppose the time for pleasantries has passed. Now, what can I help you with?" She refused to break eye-contact, unwilling to yield.

The evergreen dragoness was unimpressed by this display of bravado. Matching that cold smile with a slightly exaggerated grin that flashed her fangs, eyes cold and angry, she raised her head slightly and let out a rich, derisive growl that trailed on for a good thirty seconds - a gesture that caught Vera's attention immediately -effectively a thinly-veiled threat, a display of dominance, and an insult, all rolled into one gesture. She had only seen her use this exact gesture twice in the better part of a decade together. The first time was back when they were still in apprenticeship, when one of the larger, older male student's ego had grown too large for his wings and thought he could make an advance where Jezebel had clearly shown an active disinterest. That one had ended in violence - Vera remembered, because she had to undergo, under the guidance of a draconic nurse, what in effect became an impromptu crash-course in dragon first aid after the fact. It also caused a lot of concern with the educators and administrators on account of Jezebel's reputation, rank, and status, although Jezebel had seemed strangely relaxed about the whole thing - thanks in large part to the fact she had resolved it to her satisfaction.

The second time had been when a cohort dragon had decided in her infinite wisdom to try to insult Vera to her face while she and Jezebel were banter-bickering back and forth about - well, Vera couldn't even remember_what_, exactly. She assumed that she had insulted her to try to put the gryphon "back in her place" or to defend her perception of Jezebel's honor or something; the exact reasoning was muddy, but Vera had, at the time, taken it on the chin as the intent was not malicious. Jezebel had taken a fair bit of umbrage at this and decided she was going to_correct_ this error of judgement. That one had not resulted in a stare-down, but it had been out-of-place enough to make Vera toe the line of fight-or-flight.

Sensing the growing danger of the situation, Vera decided to step in and snap the tension herself, hoping it would disarm the situation. "Right. We have a delivery we need to drop off with Gareleth," she stated, with far more confidence and calm than she felt inside herself. "We just need to sign in on that, and then we can get out of your scales." Catching Jezebel's surprised glance, she looked up at her from the corner of her eye and shook her head.

It worked. Celis's eyes darted towards the gryphon with a mixture of surprise, offense, and then mild panic when Jezebel did not chastise the non-dragon for speaking so far out of line, tacitly endorsing it. For just a moment, she seemed truly flustered, but to her credit, she regained her composure quickly. With another thin smile, she bowed her head slightly. "Right. Of course. If you would fill out... here," she said, sliding the sign-in document, tapping the first empty line with a talon. She glanced up from the gryphon, who had reached for the pen in the inkwell and now was filling out the line - names, date and times, purpose of the visit, and so forth - to Jezebel, who had continued to almost glare her down, making her flinch and avert her gaze again.

After a moment of scribbling with the pen on the paper, Vera set the pen down within the ink-well again, before sliding the document back towards the gray-scaled dragoness. "Thank you very much," she said, politely dipping her head and nudging Jezebel lightly on the shoulder. "We'll be out of your scales now."

As Jezebel turned her tail, truly done with the interaction and wishing to get Vera out of there as quickly as she could, the silver-scaled dragoness grinned ominously at the gryphon. "Oh, not to worry," she said casually, although there was that predatory_glare_ in her eyes that made Vera feel a thrill of fear, followed by a lick of the fang for effect.

Doing her best to keep from revealing how unsettled she had become, she quickly turned on the heel of her boots and took quick steps to catch up with Jezebel again as they headed around the left of the desk to the hallway around the corner. Jezebel gently looped her wing over the gryphon's shoulders again protectively as they made haste.

Once they were around the corner and out of earshot, Jezebel growled in disgust. "Change of plans. We're meeting out by the fountain once we've done what we must, not in here. I do not trust that scaly, lecherous_whelp_ to leave you alone in any room with her, public or private," she spat, each word a dose of venomous rage. Her tail lashed side-to-side behind herself.

Vera shivered in agreement. "Yeah..." she said, fighting a bit of a nauseous feeling in her stomach. She had to agree with that logic. It wasn't the first time another dragon had made such insinuations or even outright propositions to Vera before, but unlike with Jezebel, they certainly were not extending their claws as such because of any genuine affection. And they_certainly_ didn't dare to do it so brazenly in Jezebel's presence - that level of audacious_entitlement_ was new to her, and that was what frightened her. Someone who felt they could get away with that brash of a move would not have her well-being in mind, or any consideration for whether Vera held any mutual interest, for that matter. One of the many phrases she remembered from growing up came to mind.Valued for our beauty, adaptability, versatility, and a docile demeanor?_She snorted in disgust and shook her head._What a sick joke.

The furred dragon took notice, pausing to glance down at the gryphon under her protective, half-outstretched wing. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, concern emanating from her tone and expression as the gryphon's grave expression dissipated most of her anger within an instant.

The gryphon quickly nodded. "I'll be fine. Just...." she trailed off, letting the obvious rest of her sentence hang silently between them. "Let's try to take care of business as quickly as we can. I think a hot meal and a glass of mead will do me right." She didn't want to dwell on this, as there was no real remedy possible for what had happened, except exercising stricter caution and avoiding escalations at all costs.

Jezebel snickered a little bit. "Alright, but only one glass for you, little birdy. I don't want to have to pin you to my back and parade you out of town in the most embarrassing manner possible." It was probably wiser to let the subject go than to push it, she decided.

Vera let out a quiet giggle at that - a truly promising noise to the dragoness. "Oh, come on... That was the most well-earned parade of shame, and you know it! I mean, who gets to put 'drunk a dragon under the table,' on their list of accomplishments?" she says with an expression of pure amusement. "Besides. He was being -unsubtle about the size of his ego, and I wanted to check it. Poor bastard didn't know what hit him."

Jezebel seemed like she wished to argue, but then relented with her own giggle. "Okay, fine. You get a pass on that one. But I swear that you try that again, I am going to bar you from having another drop of mead for the rest of your life."

And with that, they continued onwards.

"Heyyyy, Jezebel, Vera!" a voice boomed from the back of the correspondence room, before a black-scaled dragon with cerulean eyes and deep purple spine-framed frills came almost waddling up towards them from between the giant baskets full of various deliveries, both incoming and outgoing, the moment they entered. The sight always made Vera struggle not to laugh, and she suspected that was half the reason he did it in the first place. The other half of the reason for his odd gait had to do with the fact that he had webbed paws - built for hunting underwater. The one thing she found quite different about him from most other dragons was his truly friendly nature towards everyone, dragon or not. It made him a very likeable person, and really the only thing that made Kehmastral worth it - beyond the ability to have a warm bath, hot meal, and a glass of mead after weeks on the road.

"Good to see you as always, Gareleth," Jezebel remarked, her voice echoing Vera's sentiments of amused endearment. "They still have you working the sorting room?" she asked, tail lightly swaying behind herself. "I thought they'd have you promoted by now for sure."

"Oh, you know me... They'd try to put me at a desk, and I'd eventually snap out of utter boredom. Leastways I can have the pleasure of talking to you when the higher-ups see fit to send you this-ways." He paused for a second or two, before getting to business. "You's a bit ahead of schedule, as always... I take it that time will be of the essence, as per usual?" he asked good-naturedly, scratching behind his ear with a hind-claw for a moment.

Jezebel nodded pleasantly. "Yes. You know us well. The sooner we can wrap up, the sooner we can get out of here. Speaking of... do you mind if we drop the saddle here for a couple of hours? We both have some business in town we need to take care of, and that'd give you a bit of time to make sure we have as much of whatever is outgoing to Frontier as you could manage to find for us."

Gareleth shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not," he assented. "Though if you can leave it out of the way, that would be best. I'd rather not have anyone tripping over it if they decide to show up unexpectedly."

"Of course," the green dragoness remarked with a good-natured chuckle, glancing back over her shoulder to see Vera already starting to loosen the straps holding the entire arrangement of bags and saddle firmly to her back. The gryphon made quick work, as per usual, and in just a moment, the saddle came off, whereupon Jezebel picked it up with her teeth and slid it over into the corner by the door. With that, she shook herself out and shuffled her wings with satisfaction.

Vera crouched down and opened the bag of the mail to deliver to Gareleth, pulling the small stack of envelopes and a couple of small parcels to drop onto the table between the three of them. "Should be everything - I verified that myself this morning before getting here," she said with a flick of her ear.

"Thorough as always," the black-scaled dragon remarked with a good-natured chuckle, before pausing, his forepaw atop the stack of envelopes as he prepared to drag and drop them into a basket under the edge of the table. "Are you doing okay, Vera? You seem a little bit less chipper than usual," he inquired, glancing between dragoness and gryphon with a sense of mild unease.

Vera brushed a bit of hair out of her face. "Oh! I'm doing alright. Just feeling a bit run-down is all. Lot on the mind lately, been flying long hours. Looking forward to the little break we have coming up soon." She smiled lightly after-the-fact, but she wasn't sure how genuine it looked.

Gareleth nodded, sliding the delivery into the basket with a singular sweep of his paw. "Well, as long as you try to avoid burning yourselves out, yeah? I will loathe the day I show up to work and realize you both aren't going to be coming through anymore."

Jezebel chuckled. "We'd make sure to at least have the decency to write you a letter, Gareleth... And write you again every time we cane through to visit."

The black dragon nodded affably, a pleasant little rumble in his chest. "That would be appreciated. In any case! You have business to attend to, I have mail to sort and check on your behalf. Go on, don't let me hold you up any further! Just try to get back before we close shop for the evening, so you have time to get going on the next leg."

Vera nodded, hopping back from the table onto her heels, before once again heading for the saddle. With a flurry of unstringing straps and low mutters to herself, she extricated the bag of personal effects from the saddle assembly, revealing the straps of a backpack. Slinging it over her shoulder, she stood back up with a nod. "Good seeing you as always, Gareleth. We'll be back in time," she promised, before glancing at Jezebel expectantly.

Jezebel nodded in silent acquiescence, and, bidding Gareleth goodbye as well, followed Vera back out into the large, open corridor. Once again taking up on the gryphon's left side and draping her half-unfurled wing over her shoulder, she escorted her out of City Hall with purpose, ensuring to keep her companion out of sight of unscrupulous eyes the entire time.

From there, it was a short stint southward towards the middle of town on the street they had entered, until they reached a two-story, relatively modest building with an oddly home-y feel to it. Vera knew that building by sight. "We're here..." she said quietly, to which Jezebel nodded the affirmative with a small sigh.

"I can take the crowns into my neck-pouch," the dragoness offered, tapping her chin against the small, string-secured pouch she wore around her neck. "That way you don't have to deal with..." she trailed off, letting the rest of that thought go unspoken.

Vera agreed, flitting her ear slightly. "Yeah. That might be wise, to be honest," she said with a small shrug as she dug into the pocket on her cloak to pull out the agreed-upon amount. "Alright. I'll meet you by the fountain in front of City Hall in three hours, right?" she asked as she gently pulled open the pouch and stuffed in the coins, before pulling the string tight again to close it securely.

Jezebel rumbled pleasantly, brushing her nose over the gryphon's right ear. "Three hours it is." Pulling back reluctantly, they both turned to head towards their respective destinations. After a few steps in that direction, however, the dragoness paused and turned her head back towards the gryphon. "And Vera?" she called back across the street.

Vera paused mid-step herself, looking over her shoulder and the pack with a mild sense of unease, before turning around again to face the dragoness. "Yeah?"

"Stay safe."

Vera gave a slow nod in silent agreement, not trusting herself with any reply as an ominous feeling settled within herself once again.

And with nothing further to be said between them, they continued in their respective directions, as the sun climbed into the peak of its unseen roost.