Chapter One: Wilderness

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#1 of Beneath A Star-Shattered Sky

Beneath a Star-Shattered Sky is the story of Vera, a bipedal gryphon, and Jezebel, a quadrupedal furred dragoness, and their journeys across the continent as Rangers - a dragon and non-dragon pair tasked with various contracts where speed across great distances are required: delivering of crucial governmental messages and various letters and small, non-fragile trinkets that those with the coin and wish to send across the continent-spanning Imperium of Drávunaría with greater speed than on foot, hunting bounties of the Crown, escorting important persons across great distances - whatever the occasion requires. Due to the nature of their shared employment, they are required to spend vast sums of time alone together in the wilderness; as such, despite of their radically different backgrounds and worldviews, they have become close friends and companions. But, under the surface, the desire for more between them threatens to boil over - a pandora's box that, once opened, could destroy - or reshape - everything they know and love.

Welcome to Chapter One! This is the rewrite of Jezebel that I felt warranted nuking the previous version so early into development! This one is going to be a hefty project - I can already feel it - and it's going to be released one chapter at a time! This is a love letter to some of the dragon (and gryphon) fiction that I used to read here on SoFurry when I was just getting into the furry fandom; some of the inspirations may be obvious, and others may not be so obvious. Do be aware that this is not going to be a purely story or purely smutty project - you are going to get both of them in spades! In addition, please be aware that this story features sex between a (bipedal) gryphon and a (quadrupedal) dragon. As such, even the chapters that themselves do not contain any adult content will still be marked adult for the sake of consistency.

In any case, I look forward to sharing future installments, and would love to hear what you think of it all along the way! Without further ado - enjoy!

(UPDATE: 6/24/23 - updated the thumbnail and some minor spelling/phrasing issues. I'm not gonna fiddle with this chapter any more, promise!)


Jezebel sailed through the air, aloft by the wind and suspended on a sunbeam. Even though she had a thick, luxurious, evergreen-palette coat of fur along her backside that became lighter the closer to her white, fluffy underbelly it was, instead of the sparkling, gemlike-scales that some other dragons possessed, she shone no less brilliantly. Her sleek, feminine, and well-shaped physique cut through the air like a blade made of obsidian, a true master of her craft and an ideal specimen in look and form. A pair of sleek horns stood out from the top of her head just above and between her fluffy, pointed ears that could swivel and move, but normally laid back against the base of her skull, also drooping back in a slight curve before curling out again at the ends to protect the nape of her neck from above. A pair of goldish-yellow eyes, protected with a clear secondary eyelid from the ravenous clawing winds of flight, tracked over the world, nothing escaping their notice. Her impressive wingspan - which was slightly longer than she was from snout to tail-tip - was comprised of feathers instead of the skin-and-bone her scaly counterparts possessed, matched to the same colors as her body. A dark, raven-colored mane of hair trailed down from the top of her skull, between her ears, and all the way down her neck before blending into the thick fluff along her backside. Behind her shapely haunches and powerful hind legs streamed an equally powerful and shapely tail that started thick at the base and grew thinner along its length that rivaled her head and torso. A large spade of long, white fur marked the tail-tip, streaming behind all else in the winds of sustained flight.

But, even as glorious as the day - and the joy of flying - was for the dragoness, she was not here in the air for the sake of mere enjoyment. Strapped around her neck, forelegs, her wing-shoulders, her thighs, and the base of her tail to prevent it from falling or throwing the balance of her weight off, was a flat, padded saddle. Attached to the saddle were three bags - one larger bag over each hip, filled with various letters, messages, and small, non-fragile trinkets that she had been tasked with delivering on this contract's run, top-flaps secured shut with a thick leather strap and a metal buckle. The third matching bag was filled with personal effects - mostly clothing, a journal used to keep track of their contracts and daily progress, a hunting knife, a water canteen, and some dried meat and hardtack - resting over her rump to prevent constricting movement and airflow over her tail. And seated atop the saddle in the small of her back, legs strapped to the saddle to keep them from disrupting her wings as well as to prevent falling or being shaken off in the event of sudden maneuvers, sat Vera.

Vera was a gryphon who, unlike Jezebel, walked only on two legs when standing. She was smaller than the dragoness was - the top of Jezebel's shoulder was just above her collarbone. She had the coloration and appearance somewhere between the reddish-earthy browns and auburns of a golden eagle, and the lighter tans, beiges, and whites of a mountain lion. Her auburn-brown hair was long and draped past the shoulders before naturally curling slightly out in a featherish pattern. She possessed her own feathered wings, but her two-legged form was not suitable for flying like a dragon. Instead of a draconic muzzle, she had the gray beak of a bird-of-prey, something that seemed to interest the dragoness to no end. This made traditional expression-reading a fair bit difficult for others, but she did possess a pair of triangular, fluffy ears that Jezebel found delightfully expressive. Her green eyes stood out - a pair of emerald irises that nearly blazed in contrast to her already earthy, blazing fur coloration. Aged about twenty-five, she was well-shaped- certainly what others of her kind would consider conventionally attractive. Her forearms transitioned from her usual feathery fluff to almost scaly bird-talon-arms just below her elbows, dark gray and tipped with small, but sharp talon-nails. Her tail was like that of a mountain lion's - fluffy and subtly patterned with a ring just behind the white-colored tail-tip. And down all the way, hidden inside a pair of hefty, sturdy leather boots were her feline footpaws, complete with retractable claws.

She was bundled with a brown, hooded cloak around herself and wore both a pair of goggles and a set of cotton plugs for her ears to shield herself from the cold and howling winds that came with sustained flight. This protected her from the scouring wind of sustained flight - without the cloak, she would freeze enough to remain cold even after landing for the night; without the cotton plugs, she would soon go completely deaf; and without the flight goggles, she would not be able to comfortably use her vision while airborne - which would ruin much of the fun of flying dragonback in the first place.

Every time we make a foray out into the wider world, I'm constantly reminded of just how vast everything really is, Vera thought to herself as she and Jezebel flew high over a break in the trees, revealing a large, greenish-brown meadow splayed out like an unfinished canvas for a good mile or so, before the nearly endless forest resumed. Some leagues in the distance, the white-capped summits of the Avarstok mountains stood tall - silent, eldritch guardians that saw all and spoke of nothing; the cradle of the StoárstokRiver. The clouds well to the south were already billowing high, towering well above both rider and dragoness. They reminded the gryphon of giants reaching up to try to pluck the late-day sun out of the sky like a ripe peach, only to be hammered by some invisible barrier of high winds that hammered their heads into flattened, smearing trails. Their bodies writhed and twisted and rotated in a strange, beautiful, and alien display that Vera knew belied danger in its vicinity regardless of whether one was in the air or on the ground. Fortunately, they were unlikely to be hit with storms today, but it did mean they were going to have to wait until tomorrow to get to Kehmastral. She hated to delay getting there, even if they were about a day ahead of schedule, but she knew that Mother Nature could not be begged, bluffed, or negotiated with - when in doubt, the wilderness always won.

At that moment, as if by some unspoken acknowledgement, Jezebel, angled to the left and, with a shift of her tail like a rudder and adjusting her large, feathered wings in minute angles like a captain fine-tuning her sails into the wind, she turned herself and the gryphon on her back towards the mountains to the northeast - and the hidden Stoárstok somewhere between. The fine control that the evergreen-furred dragoness had over such large and powerful limbs never ceased to amaze Vera. Even though she had wings herself, the best she could manage was a controlled glide to the ground from on high. Fortunately, that was hardly a requirement, and distances that would take her weeks on foot alone, she and Jezebel could cover in mere days.

They continued onwards in a northeasterly direction for another fifteen minutes or so, until the flash of sunlight on the river dazzled their eyes, announcing its presence with a thin break in the trees. As Jezebel rolled harder to the side, putting them into a slow, descending circle, Vera took that as her cue to lay forward as far as she could and to hold on to the saddle. Now she had to be as still as possible - ascents and descents were the most dangerous parts of flying, after all, and the fewer distractions she could provide, the better. The low rush of air that had streamed around dragoness and rider during normal flight became a roar that rattled the tops of the trees below them, sending a flock of small birds fleeing in all directions like chaff in a tempest. At the exact moment Vera flinched, her body reflexively expecting them both to crash into the canopy and then into the ground, Jezebel leveled out with a few flaps of her wings, pulling out of the roundabout dive and slowing further. The water blurred underneath them as Jezebel suddenly furiously flapped her wings, bringing them nearly to a hover for a split-second over a small clearing right on the shore of the river quite suitable enough for a camp for the night, ringed in by a mix of tall, thin evergreens and dynamically-shaped deciduous trees.

Then, they dropped the remaining handful of feet to the ground. Jezebel took most of the shock with a few running steps, but Vera was sorely glad her legs were strapped into the saddle, keeping her in place. Once Jezebel had come to a standstill, the gryphon reached down to undo the straps holding her legs against the green dragon's sides. Fumbling with the straps, she let out a grunt of effort and exhaustion. Gingerly, she pulled one leg, and then the other one, out of the saddle. Then, dropping the hood to her shoulders, she pulled the cotton balls from her ear canals and yawned peculiarly for a second to pop her ears.

Jezebel lowered herself down onto her belly, allowing the gryphon to slide off her right side and onto solid ground. Watching Vera do just that, then lean against her side for support to keep from falling over, she flashed a toothy grin. "Ah, seems my little trick took away your land legs, yes?"

Vera giggled almost breathlessly, trying to straighten her still mildly-swimming head. "It was a very dramatic landing; I will give you that!" she said, gently reaching out to pat the green dragoness on the top of her snout.

The dragoness's eyes sparked with a mixture of affection and amusement. "Oh? Dramatic? I'd hardly call a flyaround-landing all that dramatic... I am glad you enjoyed it, though."

Vera grinned back - at least, as much as having a beak would allow her to. "Highlight of the day," she assured the dragoness before cautiously sitting down next to her with a grimace. "Fuck me... If we keep up the long-flight days like this, I won't even be able to walk properly when we get down to Kehmastral tomorrow," she said in response to her inquisitive look.

Jezebel gave the gryphon another toothy grin, her slightly prominent canid-fangs flashing in the light. "Ohhhh? And what will the townspeople say of you, pretty bird? 'Oh, she shouldn't mount Jezebel so much.' 'Oh, that's what she gets for riding a dragon too hard.'"

Vera snorted a laugh out her nose and shook her head, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance. "Very funny Jezebel," she stated just a bit louder than she needed to for a mildly-sarcastic effect.

Jezebel's laughter hissed through her teeth slightly as she sat up on her haunches to loom over Vera and lightly rap her chin atop Vera's head. She was rewarded with an "Owwww!" from the smaller woman. "Ohhhh? Are you telling me that I can stop being a Ranger and become a jester? But what would happen to you, my little feathered friend?" she asked, voice dripping with good-natured humor.

"I'd probably be pinned under you for making an insolent comment," came the reply from under her chin.

Jezebel let out a pleased little giggle. "A prescient answer!" she said, before leaning forward to gently nose against the top of Vera's head, a pleasant rumble light in her chest.

Vera splayed her ears out to the sides and lightly chirred, a sound that Jezebel knew as an unmistakable gesture of enjoyment and happiness. Much like a dog couldn't help but wag its tail, the two-legged avian couldn't stop a chirr from bubbling up even if she wanted to. It was one of the many things the dragoness found so endearing about her. She basked in the attention for a moment, before suddenly glancing up at the dragoness, making eye-contact. "Oh!" she squeaked. "I've been sitting here complaining about how these flights have been wearing me out, and I'm not even the one having to do all the flying and carrying and such."

"Oh?" Jezebel asked, raising a brow slightly. "Are you offering to let me ride you instead tomorrow?" she asked, cocking her head slightly as another amused grin splayed across her muzzle.

Jezebel let out a huff of mock exasperation. "We both know that I couldn't even carry you to the river, let alone all the way to Kehmastral!" she protested.

Oh, but I wouldn't want you to go anywhere at all, the dragoness said within the safety of her own mind, feeling a flare of a fiery, warm something in her chest, just for a second. She stopped short of saying it aloud, because she felt that if anything, she might accidentally make Vera uncomfortable by saying something that sounded so unequivocally forward, joking or not. Instead, she just settled for a long, low sigh instead. "Fine, but if you don't mind getting this saddle off, it's making my skin itch."

Vera blinked. "Oh, shit! I'm sorry!" she quickly said, tapping a hand against Jezebel's chest in a silent gesture, asking to be given room to stand up.

Jezebel obliged, standing up onto all fours and taking a step back from Vera, lightly flaring her wings for a moment to help maintain balance. "Don't be," the dragoness said reassuringly as the gryphon approached her right side to begin fumbling with the various buckles on the side to loosen the straps looped around her foreleg and wing-shoulder. "I'm just going to be glad to finally have this off for the night."

Vera chuckled in agreement as she undid the loops completely before circling in front of her to do the same to the one around her neck. "I hear you! I think I'm going to take the chance to hit the river after we've got this off. I'd rather avoid going to Kehmastral tomorrow without washing up first." Dropping the undone buckle, she shifted towards the dragoness's left side, ducking under her wing, which Jezebel lifted to make it easier for her.

"Good point. The less time we can spend in town, the better."

Vera paused. "Wait, what?"

Jezebel flicked her tail self-consciously. "To be honest, I'd rather not stick around with prying eyes and judgements from people with more mouth than sense."

"Oh, right. Yeah, if we can get in a good afternoon of flying after drop-off, we should be able to have about... three days? Yeah, three days of margin - they gave us two to use in town and a third for weather-related detours. That should work okay, I think." Vera resumed fiddling with the buckles and straps on Jezebel's left side.

Jezebel nodded. "So that should get us to Frontier... when, about 10 days, 11 days from now?" she asked.

"12 days," the gryphon replied, before a minor awkward pause. "Uhm..."

The evergreen dragoness glanced behind herself to see Vera standing there a bit awkwardly. "What's wrong?" she asked, before shaking the mane out of her eyes.

Vera gestured to the dragoness's tail. "Uh, do you mind...?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry... Silly me." The dragoness hiked the base of her tail all the way up to let Vera have at the final saddle-strap wrapped around it, curling the appendage off to the side lazily. "So, as I was saying, 12 days should be plenty of time, although maybe taking two days instead of three to recoup might be best so we can give ourselves enough time to safely count on receiving our bonuses when we get to Frontier."

Studiously ignoring the fact that this gave her a view of Jezebel's hindquarters with nothing left to the imagination, she reached up to unlatch the final buckle and begin tugging on the looped strap. "Yeah... It'll be nice to get this run over with. A whole month to ourselves - and that's not counting our trip back to Fárstmeinster - so more like, a month and a half. Any idea what you plan on doing?"

Jezebel shrugged a bit. "I mean, I don't know. I'm sure my mother would like me to go and visit her again, but..." she trailed off, "To be honest, I'd rather not feel like I'm having to hide you away from her the couple times a year I go to visit her," she said, before flicking her ears in surprise as she felt the shift in the weight on her back, indicating Vera was done fiddling with the saddle back there, which Vera herself confirmed with a pat on her flank, before stepping back. With a shrug and then shake, the dragoness deposited the entire saddle assembly onto the ground with a relieved sigh, before shaking out the length of her mane. "Ugh, glad to have that off for the night."

Vera made her way to the saddlebags, pulling open the one with her personal effects and pulling out a cotton shirt, a new pair of cotton pants, a pair of socks, a set of undergarments, and a bar of soap. "I know you've heard me say it so many times, but really - don't worry about that. Your mother is still your mother, and just because she doesn't approve of..." she paused before saying "fraternizing with the enemy" out loud, but the implication hung in the air for a moment. "In any case. I know full well why you would rather not bring me along with on your visits - that would cause unnecessary frictions in the clan-nest, and I wouldn't stand to be the cause of that, as is." With that, the gryphon stripped off her cloak and began to disrobe in preparation for her wash in the river a mere hundred feet from their landing spot in the clearing.

Jezebel lightly huffed in frustration, but lightly nudged Vera with her nose. "Thank you for trying to reassure me, as always, pretty bird, but... I shouldn't_have to tiptoe with you around my mother like this. I _shouldn't have to excuse her judgements and aspersions on you, and the friction in the clan _shouldn't_be happening on your account." She paused for a moment. "Perhaps if we confronted it directly and I made it clear that I would cease to come and visit if they did not at least respect your presence at our banquet-table, and they could meet you in person, perhaps things could be different..." she mused quietly.

Vera felt a pit of ice-cold, silent cynicism shoot through her heart in response. Fat chance of that, she said to herself. The clan's reputation, station, and rank demand that people like myself remain perpetually unequal to them, even in appearance. Especially in appearance. What High Clan would invite a peasant - and a non-dragon peasant, at that! - to break bread with them at the table, after all? I may be considered a Ranger and afforded some small tokens of higher status, but I am still a mere commoner - I have no place in the halls of Clan Aeruthzqíra. But she did not say any of this out loud. After all, Jezebel surely was keenly aware of these political subtleties, probably moreso than Vera herself was, and it was in bad taste to douse a friend's hopes in such a frank manner. Wetting her beak as she sought a better way to approach it, she cleared her throat. "Well... It's worth a shot, I guess. You know my stance well enough, I think, on the chances of success... But if you really wanted to try anyway, I would agree to visiting your clan with you. I just do not wish you to be unprepared for harm to your standing within the clan that may happen on my account. Keep that in mind." With that, the gryphon turned tail to make her way towards the river, stripped and barefoot, tail lightly swaying low behind herself.

Jezebel watched her go, a perplexing mixture of emotions roiling within her. She kneaded the talons of her forepaws on the ground in a frustrated restlessness. What's wrong with me today? the dragoness asked herself. I'm all over the place. One minute I'm nearly-openly flirting with Vera, even though I know she'd clam up if I did that, and the next I'm dumping clan-drama on her head yet again. As good of a sport as she is about it, she doesn't need to hear about all the fractiousness in the Clan - that's what I came out here to get away from in the first place! She's right, though - it's hard to see how the clan would accept how Vera and I are now, let alone... She stopped the thought right there, before she could let it blossom and grow. In any case, I cannot - I will not - be a coward and let my mother hold my companionship with Vera hostage.

She huffed quietly, watching the smaller gryphon with an almost wistful appreciation as the two-legged woman waded cautiously into the river. I know that I will not be entering brood season for another few weeks, but... She flicked her tongue out, before growling, frustrated by still being able to catch hints of Vera's usually intriguing natural scent from the saddle and her bag. Hrggggph... Maybe I've finally gone stir-crazy, she finally concluded. I think I will need to make a private little detour when we get into town to take care of this. Kehmastral, like many towns across the continent that relied heavily on travel and trade, did have a nest-house that the dragoness could make use of. It would be a sore imitation of what it was she knew she really wished to have, but perhaps it would give her the patience to find the right time to begin to pursue the desire burning within her heart. I will need to ask one of the message-handlers to keep Vera occupied with business or a luncheon for an hour or two... maybe even incentivize them to do so with a bit of my share of the purse... It is rare enough that I need to use it, so I know I have more than enough. Although how would I be able to keep her from worrying over me? She flicked the fluffy tip of her tail back and forth as she pondered this, a watchful eye trained on Vera so that the river could not sweep the gryphon away.

Ugh, I could use a massage.

Fortunately for Jezebel, she didn't have to stew within her own thoughts for much longer after that. Vera dunked herself under the water fully for a few seconds, before quickly popping back up and wading out onto dry land. Still dripping wet, the nude gryphon quickly padded over to where the green dragoness lay, fur still heavy and waterlogged and her beak slightly chattering from the cold as the last rays of day slowly began to die, leaving the surrounding barky trees, the river, and even the ground itself in an early-evening gray pallor. The green dragoness found the sight incredibly amusing, although she also secretly, ravenously took in the gryphon's physique without her usual clothing to obscure or hide herself from the dragon's view.

Yes, very well-shaped indeed, Jezebel thought to herself, having to stifle the desire to lick her fangs at the sight. Vera was hardly the first gryphon she had seen in this state of unambiguous undress - one was not a family member in one of the High Clans without seeing an avian for a consort somewhere within the clan-nest, after all - but she had only ever seen mostly males and the occasional female one. Vera was the first one she could have said was in-between. Her fluffy sheath protruding from her groin, and her equally fluffy scrotum - a concept which Jezebel had found very odd when she first learned of it - semi-hiding between her thighs were definitely more on the masculine side of things, as Jezebel understood it. But her voice, the shape of her curves; the rounded mounds on her chest that Jezebel had learned acted like the rounded, but far more subtle teats between her own legs as well as attract a potential mate; and just her general aura, identity, and personality screamed woman to the dragoness. Even her scent had always seemed mostly like one she'd expect from a female - though she did know it became much more like a masculine scent the closer to the gryphon's entire abdominal region she went, a woodsy, natural pheromone that was just as earthy as Vera's fur colors.

And there was something about all of this that firmly nudged the dragoness's mind towards a fiery, savage desire that she felt within her belly and her bones.

If I could have a view like this regularly, to see, to feel, to hold to myself as I wish to, she said to herself, content to allow herself to indulge mildly in a bit of fantasizing in the safety of her private thoughts, I would be the happiest dragon in the world. Hell, I would feel as if I was as rich as the entire Court of Aróaztha!Now if only you'd let me put what that sheath holds to good use, pretty bird...

Jezebel let out a quiet, shaky sigh to cut off the thought before it grew out of control, curling all four of her paws simultaneously to try to suppress a physical response from the fantasy. She hoped the gryphon was too preoccupied to take notice, or else this could get uncomfortable for them both quickly. This was hardly the first time she had seen Vera naked before, or that she had had such thoughts as these before. But, having the added sense of mild stir-craziness on her mind as well, made the dragoness want to test the waters. "Rrrrrrrrf, how was the river?" she finally inquired warmly, watching as Vera pulled a towel from her personal sack to begin to try to squeeze some water out of her fur with.

Vera, it seemed, was as pre-occupied as the dragoness had hoped. She paused her toweling off to shrug slightly. "Very cold," she groused mildly.

"That makes sense," Jezebel remarked with a small chuckle. It was only mid-spring, after all, and the mountains were still slowly shedding their snowpack that was not destined to become a high-altitude glacier. After an amicable silence, she decided to proceed. "Hmmph. My legs and tail have become rather sore since we've landed for the evening. Once you are no longer sopping wet, I would dearly appreciate it if you could give me a massage, otherwise I fear my legs will cramp come the morning." It wasn't a total lie - she was worried about her legs cramping - but it was not from the strains of sustained flight. The reasoning isn't what matters. All that matters is setting the stage, she thought to herself.

Vera didn't even pause to consider if Jezebel had perhaps been meaning or intending something else with that turn of phrase. "Oh! Yeah, I can do that. Last thing we need is your legs cramping while we're in the air... But after tomorrow's flying, we're taking all three extra days to recuperate."

Jezebel rumbled pleasantly, eyes half-lidded in contentment, and perhaps something else. "Deal." The speed at which the gryphon had agreed to do that was mildly surprising to the green dragoness, but the logic she had presented in her decision meant that perhaps she wouldn't wait for her fur to air-dry and dress herself again before starting. At least, that was the hope.

Vera nodded, squeezing the last droplets of water out of her tail that she could, before brushing the fur back into place with the towel, setting it over the saddle to dry, and circling over around Jezebel's left side. "Alright, let's see what's going on here..." she remarked, lightly tapping her side.

With a pleased wiggle of her tail-tip, the furred dragoness happily rolled onto her back, shuffling her wings out of the way, once again leaving nothing to the imagination. Just below her tail was her anus, marked by a subtle hole in the fur through which the flesh - which was a muted, near-black shade of pigment everywhere it was visible on the dragoness - was visible. Trailing up from there, almost between those splayed hindlegs in this position, was her genital slit, which had a mammalian, moundish quality to it, ever so lightly thicker the further up to her groin it went. And then, right at the line between belly and groin, were a single pair of teats whose shape while rounded into mounds like one might expect. However, they were small and subtle enough to just stand out from her fur, the small, fleshy areolas that rested in subtle, smooth bumps standing out in contrast to the whiteness of the fur surrounding it.

Jezebel wished to crow in triumph - even as she lay there quietly, inviting the gryphon closer with her change in posture. Her hope had panned out; this was going to work perfectly. She could already feel her heartbeat skyrocketing and the air becoming thicker in anticipation. She forced herself to calm down as much as possible. Now would not do to slip up; she needed to move slowly and carefully if she were to truly be able to sink her claws past whatever barrier lay in the gryphon's mind that kept her always just out of reach. Stretching out her hind leg closest to the gryphon - who had moved closer, now crouched just next to the joint between her hip and her waist - she flexed and then curled the prehensile, talon-tipped hind-foot. "Rrrrrr, thank you very much, Vee-vee," she crooned warmly.

The gryphon smiled warmly in return as she gently grasped the hind-foot from underneath, gently placing her thumbs into the pad of the foot. "Don't worry about it - it's not a problem," she replied, another one of her wonderfully-sweet, gentle chirrs rising into her throat from the depths of her chest. Gently rubbing her thumbs in slow, deliberate, firm circles, she dug into the muscles and tendons of the foot and began to massage it. It had been a little while since she had been asked to give a massage, but she certainly had not forgotten how to check for tension and then the best method to relax the flesh, whether muscle or tendon.

Jezebel reacted immediately and viscerally - laying her head back, she squeezed her eyes shut and let out a low, drawn-out croon of delight. Oh gods... I've forgotten how good she is at this, she thought, as stars faintly danced in front of her eyelids. Hrmmf, I do love a partner who is good with their talons, she mused with a light snort of amusement. As the attention was lavished onto that sore, tense foot in the gryphon's hands, the dragoness practically melted, her mind beginning to turn down far less rational and sapient avenues of thought, feeling, and reaction. She was lost enough that she barely registered when the gryphon hesitated after she accidentally poked the center of the foot with her thumb-talon a bit too hard.

"Oh, sorry," Vera said quietly, folding her ears back slightly in contrition.

"Don't stop," the dragoness softly insisted, her voice sounding far-away, truly bewitched by the wonderful sensations bestowed on her and the even-more entrancing thoughts swirling around in her mind.

Vera frowned quietly, but she continued, shifting her attention down to the lower muscles and tendons and ligaments above the dragoness's ankle. She must be really sore or something... I've never seen her react so strongly to my massages before._She flicked her ear as she gently fondled, squeezed, prodded, and rubbed into the tense calf muscles that flexed and relaxed under her steady touch. _In fact, now that I think about it, she's been rather restless all evening, moreso than she has been recently, at least. There's no way she has entered her brooding season - that would be unmistakable - my nose isn't as sharp as hers, but even I couldn't miss that. She silently shook her head, grimacing at the thought. Just focus on the massage, Vera. If she seems odd in the morning, you can ask her about it then. Stop crucifying yourself on the whys, wherefores, what-ifs, and might-be's. Focus on the task at hand. Realizing she had worked all the way down the dragoness's thigh to the base, she pulled her hands off before standing up with a grunt.

Jezebel was momentarily half-roused from her trancelike state. Opening her eyes halfway and seeing Vera standing up, she grinned lightly. "You've gotten better at this," she stated, her tone almost a teasing accusation.

Vera cocked her head a bit. "No... I don't think I have. I just think you're particularly tense and sore.," she replied, her eyes flashing with mild suspicion.

Jezebel remained undeterred. "Mmrh, I suppose you're right... Either way, I do hope you plan to get the other leg too," she said with a snicker, laughing at some punchline that she knew would go over the gryphon's head.

Vera side-eyed the furred dragoness for a moment, but she finally nodded her head. "That was the plan." What has gotten into her? This behavior is highly unusual. I can't quite place my finger on why, but I know that something is up. Why wouldn't Jezebel just tell me? She shares everything else with me. The gryphon shrugged to herself. I don't get it. The gryphon stepped over her tail, minding her foot placement to make sure she didn't step on it instead by accident. She flinched and froze as, suddenly, she felt that muscular appendage wrap around her calf, stopping her midway, a foot still on either side of her tail.

"Hrmmf, where are you going?" Jezebel asked with a pleasant rurr, seeming to practically glare at Vera through half-lidded eyes from the intensity they held alone, though it was decidedly not anger that shone from those yellow irises. "You can massage me just fine from here."

Vera stood still above the dragoness, staring back with a sense of growing, self-conscious awkwardness. "Why?" she asked, her tongue suddenly feeling dry. Jezebel has gone stir-crazy, Vera realized, as all the pieces suddenly clicked into place within her mind. I might be a bit dense sometimes, but even I know what a come-hither look is! A mild note of doubt crept into her mind. She isn't actually trying to convince me to... Is she?

Jezebel let out a wicked giggle and dug the tease in a bit further by licking her fangs, utterly unrepentant. "Can't a dragoness ask for the luxury of being able to more easily watch a pretty bird work her over?" she asked sweetly, shuffling her wings for effect.

Vera's ears and cheeks heated up wildly in reaction to this as her ears folded back. She was sorely glad that her fur prevented it from appearing as a blush, even if it really didn't matter. She realized her breath had caught in her throat as the air seemed to become just a touch thicker and her heart leapt into her throat. That is a hell of a way to phrase that, Jez, she thought to herself. And to be honest, it was incredibly flattering - not to mention highly effective if seduction was in fact the goal - to be spoken to like this, at least if the effect it had on her was to be trusted. With a small sigh, the gryphon settled down, straddling the base of the furred-dragoness's tail cautiously. "You drive a hard bargain, O Mighty Dragoness," she said, trying to cut the rising tension of competing feelings rising inside of herself with a bit of humor. She grasped the base of Jezebel's right thigh with both hands and began to massage it again much the same, doing her best to try not to think too much about how close she was to the dragoness's groin. She started to work up the leg slowly, letting out a small sigh and trying to work past her confusing aroused feelings that the dragoness was clearly trying to draw out of her.

The dragoness let out an amused, but pleased rumble in her chest in reply as she gently arched her tail to drape it comfortably over the bipedal woman's right shoulder, using the fluffy spade to gently brush under her chin for a moment. "Good bird..." she crooned, trailing off with another toothy, suggestive grin. _I can tell that you are interested in me, pretty bird... No need to be shy about it,_she said to herself with another flare of triumph in her chest as she picked up on the shift in pheromones that confirmed the desired effect was happening to the gryphon. She wished to indulge in her desire-fueled impatience, to push on the smaller gryphon's back with her tail, to grasp with her forelegs, lock her thighs around Vera's hips and let their instincts take care of the rest - but she refrained. More than anything else, she wanted the gryphon to mount her of her own volition - the ultimate luxury in this situation. This was a hell of a hunt, and it would not do to abandon all patience if she wished to truly sink her claws into Vera.

So, in the meantime, she bided her time, basking in the growing flames of her lust, delighting in the expert fondling along her leg and the truly fantasy-worthy sight of the gryphon straddled over her tail, the reddish flesh of her hiding length starting to show through the slit of her swollen, firm sheath. It all made the air hot and thick that demanded heavier breathing and a drove her heart a-hammering as she became intoxicated with a near-frustrated arousal of her own.

After another moment, Vera stopped the massage, unable to ignore Jezebel's ever-increasing horniness. It was apparent in her moderately-heavy breathing that had quickened over the last minute or so. It was apparent in the symphony of shivers and tension in her body that the gryphon could feel through her legs and the tail she straddled. It was apparent in her blazing irises that remained locked onto the gryphon, and her unmistakable expression. It was apparent in her nethers, her genital slit relaxing and slightly parting, revealing the shine of dark, slickened flesh. It was even in the very air around them, the dragoness's own earthy pheromones - strong enough to be picked up by Vera's admittedly weaker nose - filling the air and mingling with her own in interesting, enticing, and tempting ways.

She knew what she was expected to do - and it was both an exhilarating and terrifying prospect to consider. With a slow, shaky movement, she cautiously placed her hands onto Jezebel's belly, giving small, unsure, circular rubs. "Uhm.... I don't know how to go about asking this, but... Did you want me to... actually... do this with you?"

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Jezebel savagely crowed silently. She could feel that sense of victory growing stronger and more concrete by the second. She wanted to give the final push, to demand that Vera fuck her already, but again, she stayed herself. There was only one final thing to see - one final little test. "I'd adore doing this with you..." she trailed off, before continuing softer, "but only if you want to."

Vera furrowed her brow slightly, clearly tempted by the open offer. She considered the option, rolling it around inside her mind to view it from as many angles as possible. Sure, a dragon and non-dragon mating with one another was heavily taboo - it happened, but it was rare outside of the Guild of Consorts' business, and especially not looked favorably upon when manifesting in this manner. But what was the harm in doing it if they both were very clearly wishing to do it? And, out here in the wilderness, with nobody else around to see them or stop them - who had to find out, anyhow? We could actually do this... Vera thought, shifting, and tensing ever so slightly as she prepared to continue, only for the cold, cynical perception of her logical mind to overpower her overwhelming desire to give in to Jezebel's encouragement. Yes, you could do this, Vera... But what right do you have to think you should?_She sighed shakily, almost as if struck with grief, shaking her head lightly. _No... I have no right. "... I can't. I shouldn't. I don't know what I was thinking." She quickly slid off the dragoness's tail to the ground, hoping that putting distance between them would stop the roiling feeling in her stomach. "I'm sorry."

Jezebel had held her breath in rapt anticipation, a flutter of savage joy and delight rising in her chest as Vera tensed and seemed ready to agree to set aside the misgivings the dragoness knew had held their claws deep within her mind for so long and finally indulge herself as she should. But this feeling of delight very rapidly became confusion when Vera slid off the side of Jezebel's tail and crossed her legs firmly, curled up against her abdomen as if in pain, back turned to the dragoness. This was followed immediately by realization and followed by a searing flare of a deep mixture of hurt and sorrow. "Are... are you okay, Vera?" she asked timidly, rolling over to sit on her haunches as her heart dropped as if it were suddenly made of lead. The confidence and teasing encouragement of the past several minutes had been killed cold and dead, thegryphon having slipped out of her grasp once again. No! she raged silently within her mind. This wasn't supposed to happen! This is all wrong! What happened? Did I do something wrong? Did I push too hard, too fast?

Vera's shoulders and wings shook, and with a prickling sense of horror, the dragoness realized that the gryphon was breaking down into uncontrolled sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Jezebel. I thought for a moment that I could actually... I wanted to... But I can't. I'm so, so sorry." The bipedal gryphon's vision was swimming, the painful anxiety so tightly knotted in her stomach that she feared she was going to be sick.

"It's okay, it's okay..." the furred dragoness said gently, trying to convince Vera, even though they both knew it was not.

Vera clumsily got to her feet, padding towards the saddle, almost like she was in a drunken stupor. "I ... I need some time to think... Maybe some sleep... I don't know anymore. I don't know anything anymore," she said with a sniffle, digging through her belongings in the dark.

Jezebel nodded unhappily. "Do what you must," she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

Vera did not answer.

The sky had gone dark, and the stars were beginning to march out from behind invisible clouds. With a sigh of frustration and unfulfilled longing, Jezebel lay onto her side, coiling around herself. Her desires still burned within, but she ignored it. I need to fix this in the morning, she told herself. I should have known better. With that, she slowly retreated into the recesses of her mind, hoping to find some little refuge where she could hide away from the howling, ice-cold wind of hurt she felt within herself.