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The Cohen-Kline Icosahedron

Chapter 14

copyright comidacomida 2025

Kaiden couldn't remember much about the nightmare that jolted him awake during the early hours of the morning but his heart was beating against his ribs and his breath was labored. It took a few seconds for him to get his bearings-- more than long enough for Nittik to slide over and press up against his shoulder, arm, and elbow, cooing softly with concern and rubbing his furred head against the side of the Human's comfortingly. "Are you alright, Kaiden'huu?

Hahn had curled up beneath Kaiden's head and the young man was using the Viddinis as a very supportive pillow, leaving his chin pressed into his chest. Turning slightly to regard the smaller of his two sleeping companions, Kaiden reached across his body to rub Nittik's head, whispering so as to avoid disturbing Hahn. "Yeah... just a bad dream."

Nittik moved to rest his head across the Human's bare chest, speaking quietly. "Your heart is still beating quickly. Would you like to talk about it?"

Although Viddin hearing was only marginally better than a human's, it made sense with his head resting on Kaiden's chest. Rolling to his side to put Nittik at his back, the young man shrugged. "I mostly forgot it as soon as I woke up... I think it had something to do with the airfield tower we were in yesterday."

His Viddian companion scooted up against him, splayed out so he could press his furred chest against Kaiden's back. One of Nittik's talons reached out and encircled the young man's wrist as a wing also moved to drape across him. "Then you do not have to be afraid anymore. You are awake now, and you have us with you."

It was a surprisingly touching and meaningful response from a Viddin who usually threw one-liners, wordplay, and casual dismissive statements with abandon. Nodding against Hahn's side, Kaiden whispered back. "Yeah... I know... it's early, so we should probably try and get more sleep."

Nittik's beak brushed against the back of Kaiden's ear, whispering back. "Good idea... just tell your heart to calm down now."

There was the witty comment Kaiden was expecting. He rolled his eyes and tried to avoid chuckling, but kept his response dour so as not to feed his companion's inclination to make everything a joke. "Not exactly something I have control over, Nittik."

The Viddian pressed more firmly against him, snuggling into his back before giving Kaiden's ear a light nibble with his beak. "There are a lot of reasons hearts beat fast, Kaiden'huu... if need be, I can find another reason to get it worked up and then it can relax naturally. Just say the word and I'd be happy to help you out."

The bulge against the small of his back was unmistakable. While the gryphon was incorrigible, it really did help the young man's mood and, at that point, Kaiden couldn't keep the mirth from his voice. "You're impossible."

Nittik's beak bumped Kaiden's earlobe. "Impossib.....ly sexy?"

Kaiden muted his chuckle. "You're not going to wake Hahn up, are you?"

The Viddin's voice came out with the hint of a purr as he began undulating his hips, his sheath rubbing across the Human's bare skin and leaving a streak of precum on it. "Would you like me to? I'm not sure he'd like me rutting you atop him if he were awake, but if he's asleep he can't exactly say no... though I have to admit, it's pretty hot thinking that there's a chance he might say y--ES."

The Viddian's voice cracked, increasing in volume on the last word as Kaiden fine-tuned the angle, arching his back so that Nittik's sheath pressed up against his opening, the contents slipping in with little resistance on the next playful thrust. The Human smiled to himself as he felt a hot torrent of Viddin seed warm him from within. Something Nittik had said to him during their very first intimate night together came back to him. "Just like a Human hug... just with more of our bodies, huh?"

Nittik let out a soft croon. "Well... Prirn isn't around to monopolize you this time, Kaiden'huu... and now I can see why he did."

Kaiden reached over and rubbed Nittik's talon still encircling his wrist. "It isn't like this is the first time we've done this, you know..."

The Viddin rubbed his forehead against the back of the Human's head. "This is better than when we first moved into the house back on Plateau Earth. That was rutting... this is like snuggling with bonus insertion."

Unable to help himself at the sound of the silly statement, Kaiden out-and-out laughed. Hahn sighed. "You know... you two were doing really well until Nittik said 'insertion'."

Kaiden froze, despite Nittik's continued movements against him. "Oh... Hahn? Uh... how long've you been awake?"

The Viddinis' beak parted in a wide grin. "Just a little longer than I've been 'up'." Hahn spread his legs apart, revealing his large member at full mast, only a few inches from Kaiden's face.

Nittik ended up being right about the best way to get his heart to calm down was to turn its quickened beat from fear to excitement. An hour later, for the second time since nightfall, the three of them settled into a restful sleep as a pile of feathers and fur.

* * * * *

The morning wake-up call came in the form of Hahn groaning, accompanied by a mumbled comment in Viddin of "Not now, Kalsig... I wanna sleep more."

Kaiden opened his eyes, catching a humanoid reptilian shadow on the inside of the tent in his peripheral vision as a little voice spoke up in the Viddin tongue. "Come, iss'Hahn, breakfast will be ready soon and you cannot sleep all morning."

As Hahn stirred, Kaiden's head bent at an odd angle, forcing him to sit up; he noticed that Nittik was already awake, but perfectly content to lay across his lap. The smaller of the two Viddin was also the first to acknowledge him. "Good morning, Kaiden'huu. One hour until we are supposed to be out on the trail."

The entire roost knew it was the day for a nature hike, and that thought didn't escape Kaiden either. "Right." He paused, rotating at the hip to glance back at Hahn, who was still half-laying down, eyes narrowed as a huge yawn escaped him.

Kalsig had his full back against the sleepy Viddin, trying to push him into a standing position, straining as he did so. "It. Is. Time. To. Sta--aaaaa!" and he fell over as Hahn finally stood.

Kaiden hastily dressed while Kalsig admonished Hahn for being lazy; Nittik, in the meantime, simply lounged in the corner, beak propped up on a talon as he watched Kaiden appreciatively. The Viddian didn't say a word until Kaiden glanced his way and their eyes met. "I love watching your soft skin flex and stretch when you move."

Nittik's growing arousal was perfectly visible from the angle Kaiden was looking and he rolled his eyes with a laugh as he began buttoning up his shirt. "Yeah? Well put that away... we have breakfast to eat and you wouldn't want to burn it near the fire."

Letting out an indignant squawk, Nittik stood up, shaking out his feathers. "Well it is a good thing I don't plan on mounting the campfire, because that will NOT happen."

Hahn, who had finally shucked off the last of his sleep, began crowing with laughter, pausing only long enough to make the word play in English. "Why not? That would be 'hot'!"

Kaiden smoothed out his shirt and, with a sigh, moved to the tent flap. "And, now that we've started the day with wordplay, I think we're safe to join everyone for breakfast. Hurry up-- we have our hike ahead of us!

Everyone was already out of their tents, gathered around the firepit where the Ilsit were busily preparing breakfast; they were putting the finishing touches on it, just as Kalsig had noted. Joining the rest of the group, the Human was greeted by a chorus of "Good morning, Kaiden'huu!"

Smiling, Kaiden took a seat by the cook fire, offering pats, scritches, and nods to the various Viddin. With Hahn finally joining them (accompanied by another yawn), the young man got down to business. "Today is our nature hike day. We have a few kilometers to cover, and I want to get where we're going by noon so we can have a lot of time there before hiking back. It'll be well worth it."

Kytskir rotated his head vertically almost ninety degrees so that his left eye was almost directly under his right eye. "Yet you still have not told us where we will be going today, Kaiden'huu."

The Human nodded. "That's because it's a surprise, Kyt, and I want it to stay that way, thanks."

The Viddin got into their usual chorus of talking over one another as the Ilsit began to distribute breakfast; from what Kaiden could manage to decipher they all had their own impression of what he had in store. Vetlyk was of a mind that Kaiden had some impressive view of a valley or high peak for them; Nittik guessed that it was probably some out-of-the-way landmark; Tral thought that the hike itself was the entire point; Sokkas conjectured that it was probably 'a human thing'; Hahn chided that they were going to get to see that 'Sasquatch thing' people talked about.

In the end, Kaiden refused to budge on his plan to keep things secret, but he did give them a small hint. "Technically, you're all right--" Glancing toward Hahn, whose feathery crown had started to puff up, the Human quickly added "--except Hahn. No Sasquatch." The Viddinis' plumage immediately deflated.

Once breakfast had concluded the group in its entirety gathered up, looking to Kaiden for guidance. Vetlyk stepped up beside him. "Just tell us where to go, Kaiden'huu."

The path was one that Kaiden had traveled over a decade prior when he was out in the wilderness with his dad, but it was one he remembered well enough-- that, and he'd double-checked on his data pad to re-familiarize himself with it before they left the Centre. He motioned to the hill off to their right "The trail we're taking goes up into the mountains-- you can see it from here."

The hike was easier than he remembered, possibly because he was no longer a kid. Then again, the company of his Viddin Roost likely helped the time pass as well. The footpath was not particularly wide, but Sokkas managed to walk on one side, nimbly stepping across the uneven round; on his other side was Tral, using his wings for balance as he moved along the side of the rise in an almost mountain-goat manner. Once Kaiden had pointed out the path, Vetlyk, as usual, moved to the head of the group and led the way though, the Human noticed, the Vidday ever got too far ahead, and often paused to look back at him; he was fairly sure he saw the faintest hint of a smile on Vetlyk's beak every time their eyes met.

Nittik, for the most part, stayed with the party, though he spent most of his time in the air circling around and occasionally making slow flyby swoops. After the fourth such maneuver, Vetlyk called up to him with a screech in Viddin. "Stop showing off! If you do that again I will throw a rock up to intercept you, Classmate!"

Nittik very abruptly came in for a landing toward the back of the group. Kytskir, who had been trailing along with the Ilsit behind Kaiden slowed his pace to let Nittik catch up and the Human clearly heard the Viddinek state. "I told you, Classmate. Vetlyk dislikes not being able to fly just as much as everyone else, even if he is not as vocal about it. Best not to provoke him."

Kytskir, for the most part, seemed content to stroll along toward the back of the group, focusing on anything and everything all at once, occasionally commenting aside to Nittik about the many items that drew his attention. Nittik seemed to weather his classmate's interest in just about everything; every time Kaiden looked back, the smallest Viddin of the group was trudging along with determination, but obvious displeasure at being grounded. Hahn, on the other hand, was a completely different matter.

Unlike the rest of the roost, Hahn had dismissed his displeasure at being grounded, focusing instead on springing here and pouncing there, moving about as if he had springs on his paws and talons, not focused on anything in particular and, in general, seeming entirely upbeat and tuned in-- a far cry from his slow-to-start morning. Kaiden honestly expected him to get on Vetlyk's nerves, but it was Tral who ultimately called him out. "Hahn... classmate... do you HAVE to act like a hatchling?"

The Viddinis frolicked past the much larger Viddinire, smacking him in the beak with his tail as he pranced past. "Have to? Nope. It's an active choice! Come on, Tral-- the weather here is beautiful! The only thing that would make it better is--"

Sokkas cawed out from the other side of Kaiden at Hahn. "Being able to fly?"

There was something elegant in the way the Viddinich was able to rain on a parade and, as usual, his surgical strike with the perfect comment did the trick, immediately getting Hahn to calm down. In most circumstances Kaiden would probably have had a reproachful word or two for the dour, black-clad Viddin, but Hahn's almost comical upbeat attitude had been causing obvious displeasure among other members of the Roost. Realizing that everyone could probably do with a pause, Kaiden came to a stop and called out. "Alright... let's go ahead and take a break for a bit, everyone."

Without Prirn around to keep an eye on time, Kytskir apparently had taken it upon himself. "Will we still arrive at our destination in a timely manner, Classmate?'

Kaiden checked the digital timer on his mobile comm. "Yeah. We have about three hours until noon and we shouldn't have that much further to go... we're making GREAT time."

He hadn't realized until that moment, when the entire Roost seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief just how much the Viddin had been focused on trying to meet his expectations. He felt simultaneously prideful and remorseful that they'd be so intent on not disappointing him. Tral plopped down with an audible thud next to him, raising a wing to provide him some shade. His comment, as with many of the ones he spoke without thinking was quite blunt. "I do not think I have ever smelled you so strongly before, Kaiden'huu."

Freezing in his attempt to dig through his backpack, Kaiden slowly looked up at Tral, who had bent over so that his beak was right next to the young man; as the Human stared, the Viddin took in a few quick sniffs. It was obvious that Tral wasn't objecting. Smirking, Kaiden reached up to push the beak away. "I think the reason for that should be obvious, Tral. It's not easy to bathe when we're out camping."

The large gryphon grinned goofily. "That's okay. I like the way you smell."

Nittik chortled. "Considering he was with me and Hahn last night, you mean you like the way he smells with our seed all over and inside him?"

Tral leaned over and sniffed Kaiden again. "Nah... I just like the way Kaiden smells, rutted or not."

Kaiden realized in that moment that he was definitely getting used to being around Viddin; it wasn't that long in his past that such a discussion would have embarrassed him horribly. Instead of complaining, telling them off, or shutting down, the Human just shrugged and, with a smirk, finally found what he was looking for. "Thanks. I'm glad I'm not offending anyone with my stink."

While the Roost seemed to appreciate his answer, what really improved their mood was the huge plastic bag with jerky he presented to them. Fortunately, Kaiden had learned before they left for camping that Viddin liked the texture of jerky and Ilsit liked the taste-- it was a win for everyone.

* * * * *

Even with their break for a snack taking longer than Kaiden had planned, the group managed to arrive at the end of their hike earlier than planned, which worked out well since it meant they'd get to stay longer. The Human was all smiles as he crested the final ridge, providing an amazing view of the forested valley beyond. The view was exactly how he remembered it, and he was glad that he had a chance to see it again, and include his Roost on the trip... but that wasn't the only reason he brought them so high into the mountains.

Kytskir, as one of the more observant members of the Roost was the first to notice the two irregularly shaped ponds a few dozen meters down the hillside. "Kaiden'huu... the pools down there... are they steaming?"

The Human smiled. "Yeah... those are hot springs."

It was a topic that he'd discussed with them a number of times on Plateau Earth. While there were supposedly the same geological formations on the Viddin's native world, it seemed that the habitats of Viddin did not often intersect the most active geothermal areas and none of his classmates had ever experienced one. Once the realization sank in and memories of his stories flooded back the gryphons wasted little time stampeding toward the pools. Kaiden had done his research beforehand, having spent time there with his dad and, since then, verifying that the geological activity hadn't created any significant temperature shifts that could heat the water to dangerous levels.

Less than five minutes later Kaiden, the Viddin, and the Ilsit were all lounging in the geothermal hot springs. It had been years since he'd last had the opportunity to enjoy one and that, coupled with a lack of bathing opportunities made the afternoon a blessed experience for himself as well as a novel first time one for his companions.

There were three pools in all, with the widest also being the most shallow and the deepest taking up the least amount of real estate. Nittik, Hahn, and Kytskir were in the former, along with the Ilsit drones, while Sokkas and Vetlyk were in the mid-sized one along with Hassag; the deepest pool was occupied by Tral and Haklys. Kaiden spent the afternoon transitioning among the three pools, enjoying everyone's company and celebrating the final afternoon of their field trip with his entire group.

The Viddin bathed with verve, splashing through the water and fluffing up their feathers enough to send sprays of water into the air, creating scintillating, dancing rainbows. Zithing, Kalsig, and Sogig spent their time in the water splashing about, dancing among the shallows and alternating between submerging, and launching themselves up into the air, launching up high enough to come splashing back down like whales breaching. Of all of the group, Hassag was the most subdued, 'slithering' through the water, not unlike an alligator, using his tail to create forward motion as he floated just beneath the surface with only his eyes and snout peeking above the water.

The afternoon passed quickly with an overall sense of levity and celebration. Kaiden had hoped that their field trip to the airbase would be educational, but he'd also wanted their camping trip to be memorable, and he was glad that the trip to the hot springs had done just that. Despite how easy it was to be distracted with the air of relaxation and vacation-like atmosphere, he was also careful to keep an eye on the sun, remembering that they still had a hike ahead of them to return to camp.

He called an end to the festivities while the sun was still a thumb's width from the horizon, getting out of the water before starting to dry off. "Come on, guys... it's a few hours until sundown and we have a bit of a hike ahead of us."

Sokkas' follow up comment was an immediate mood killer. "The return trip would faster if we could fly."

Kaiden finished dressing, turning around to gaze at the dour Viddinich, pointing past him. "That's why it'll only take a few hours, Sokkas-- flying is exactly what I plan on you guys doing."

There was a large amount of confusion among the the Roost, but Kytskir was the first to catch on. "Oh! The hot air above the spring coupled with the strong winds going through the valley below should create enough lift for flight!"

The Human grinned. "I checked with one of the aerodynamicists and cross checked with an atmospheric scientist-- the weather, temperature, and barometric pressure this afternoon will be perfect for it. Haklys won't be able to get enough lift, but everyone else can-- even Tral should be able to at have favorable enough conditions to glide down into the valley. After that, instead of hiking down the mountain, you can just walk around and meet the Ilsit and me at the bottom of the trail."

Vetlyk's crest rose as he cocked his head to the side. "But... you will not be coming with us then."

Kaiden nodded. "I know... but I want you guys to enjoy yourselves, and it's been awhile since you were able to take to wing. I'll be able to see you all back at camp. It's okay."

The Vidday's beak closed with an audible click. "You are more important to me than flight, Kaiden'huu. I appreciate the sentiment, but--"

The Human interjected. "No. I went to a LOT of trouble to plan this, and I don't want you sacrificing your happiness in some stupid display of selfless love."

Vetlyk's beak opened then closed, then opened again before he managed to say "I--"

Kaiden knew that the gryphon would definitely sacrifice the opportunity if given the chance, so he wasn't about to let that happen. "Fly. Now. Haklys will keep an eye on me while you go have some fun and I'll see you at the bottom."

Tral's hindquarters flopped down beside Kaiden. "But part of the fun of this trip is spending time with you, Kaiden'huu."

Out of everyone Kaiden had expected to object, Tral was not one of them. Fortunately the Human had a good argument. "Tral... you and Sokkas get to spend time with me tonight. Go enjoy a little time on wing and we'll be together again before you know it."

The himbo gryphon's beak parted in a silly smile. "I DO like being in the air..." he leaned forward, his voice lowering as he switched over to English to whisper. "...almost as much as I enjoy being in you."

Chuckling, Kaiden gave him a light shove. "You can do both. Go take this chance to fly while you can. I'll meet you down at the bottom of the mountain."

Each of the gryphons gave Kaiden a fond farewell; Vetlyk and Sokkas touched their foreheads to his; Hahn touched his cheek with his beak and imitated a kissing sound; Kytskir simply offered a nod of his head and a rotation of his wings in a Viddin bow. Nittik wasted not time at all, taking off into the air and circling around while he waited for the rest of the roost to get into a more favorable position to launch themselves over the hot springs. The Human smiled to himself at the joyful sounds of Viddin who had spent far too much time on the ground finally getting back into their element.

Haklys bumped Kaiden from the side with his snout. "It is a fine thing you do for your classmates, iss'Kaiden."

The young man reached over and rested a hand on the dragon's forehead. "They're more than my classmates, Ystys... you know that."

The Ilsit Major chuckled, laying down on the ground. "That I do, Lakket... now climb upon me... I may not be able to take you into the sky on wing, but I can carry you down the mountain nevertheless."

Kaiden hadn't realized that he was as tired as he was until that moment and, though his first inclination was to decline, he found himself unable to argue, and graciously accepted the ride. Surprisingly, Haklys also encouraged the Ilsit Drones to climb up as well, leaving only the Major and Hassag to make the trip on foot; if the Greater Drone was displeased with being left out he did a good job of hiding it.

The return trip down the mountain went faster than the climb, partially due to the assistance of gravity rather than fighting against it, but also because Haklys' sure step meant that he didn't have to be particularly cautious on the slope. There were a few times when Hassag cut the distance on a switch-back or two by sliding down the slope using his tail for balance. Whe Kaiden estimated his trip down the path against the time it'd take the gryphons to circle the mountain he had estimated that he'd make it to the bottom right around the time the Viddin were passing by but, due to the speed at which the Ilsit navigated the hike they ended up waiting nearly ten minutes.

The trip back to the camp was scarcely ten minutes, at which point the Drones immediately went to stoking the remnants of the fire and starting preparing the food. Their final dinner of the trip was a simple one and took little time to cook-- or, perhaps it was just as likely that time time passed quickly because everyone was reminiscing about their day. Kaiden had a huge smile on his face as his classmates spent their time recanting their personal experiences including the hike, the hot springs and, of course, their time in the air. It made him feel good that he was able to do such a thing for his friends.

To close out the night, once dinner had been distributed, Kaiden brought out his final surprise. Out of all the times he'd tested the Viddin enjoyment of pickles he'd come to a few different hypotheses about why it was they liked the prepared vegetables-- the pickled eggs the prior night had been the first test and, as they gathered around to see his newest offering, Kaiden brought out the second and final one: pickled herring.

They went over well.