FSE

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Over a month had passed since that day and Lykan was slowly beginning to find himself again. For a while, he couldn't even enjoy the world around him with the crushing weight of his memories on his shoulders. But Lykan was strong, and he wouldn't allow himself to be taken down. So he made sure that even after everything he had lost, to still took in and admired the world around him. The beauty of the meadows on either side of the road, the sound of the wind... He smiled feeling a sense of serenity wash over him. In the past week, he realized something, that for his entire life he had always dreamed of seeing the world, of going to the Great City. And while this was in absolutely no way what he wanted, he was still getting his wish. After another day of Traveling along the road, he tried to keep his mind off things and focused on the world around him. He had never been this far from home and the scenery was starting to change in ways he'd never seen before, which was a pleasant distraction from his nagging thoughts. What really had him absolutely dumbfounded, was a tree that rested alongside the side of a tiny pond. It was a willow tree, but the vines of the willow hung upwards! instead of downwards! It was unbelievable! This was just one tiny example of things within the world Lykan had no idea existed.

Lykan reached into his traveling sack and pulled out the last of his bread, he'd need to stop at the next village or find a traveling merchant to get some more from. Thankfully, Tyvar left Lykan with a generous amount of coin. Tyvar said he couldn't begin to grasp the value of the amulet and that it was the least he could do. But Lykan was worried about one thing. Worried of the chance that someone might try to rob him, seeing that he was traveling alone. But the thing was, he wasn't worried about being attacked or having his things stolen. No, he worried that, if he was attacked, would his "curse" make him lose control again? Even if he was attacked he still didn't want to lose control again. So as he travelled, Lykan tried to see if he could control whatever strange power flowed inside him. However, he had no idea how to do such a thing and had no luck. However, he was quite actually very excited as he slowly began to learn how to control the strange sight he had. It was unfortunate that it was always pianful whenever he did so but he slowly learned how to control and consciously trigger what he deemed his 'Second Sight'. It was truly amazing, he looke daorund and saw the world around him through new eyes. The plants, trees, and any sort of living creatyre all shared this light within, while the world around them was dull and lacked such a light. What truly amazed him was that, in using his 'Second Sight' he could see things during the night as even with barely any light! That truly shocked him.

Traveling alone proved to be somewhat rough for Lykan. His entire life he's always been surrounded by others and the isolation was harsh. But Lykan had a strong will and kept on. He was very grateful that throughout his life he had been taught how to do things such as starting a fire or hunting for small game. As Lykan contemplated along the road, he didn't even realize it but for the first time ever since he was exiled he wasn't constantly ruminating on his thoughts and memories. A sense of relief washed over him as his mind was left at peace after a month of stress. Lykan let himself indulge in this serenity and took in the warmth from the world around him. Over the past day, he had left the lands of meadows and grass fields and the landscape transitioned into the Meadowbrink Forest. He saw the sunlight beaming on the road through the forest branches, the noise of the leaves rustling in the wind, and the songs of birds and other creatures of the forest. A feeling of warmth began to spread through his body, and it felt truly rejuvenating. It was so serene that he closed his eyes and let the feeling flow through him. The feeling grew stronger and stronger, and as it did, a white glow began to emanate around Lykan. He was completely unaware and just focused on this feeling flowing through him. He felt like a force was filled his body and soul with energy, he didn't know where it came from or what it was, and he just thought it was the hope within him becoming stronger. Though he didn't know at the time, it was much more than that.

*SCREEEECH!" Lykan jerked his eyes open hearing an ear-shattering screech. The feeling was gone and the glow immediately faded, leaving Lykan still completely unaware of what just happened. *THUMP!* The strange and loud screech he heard was quickly followed by the noise of tree branches breaking and then a loud thump. Lykan heard the noise coming from just off the merchant's path ahead. He continued forward, wondering what the noise was, and looked ahead. He saw movement but couldn't quite see what was going on. Right at that moment, he realized that perhaps he could use 'Second Sight'. He concentrated hard, and with determination, he winced as he felt a burning sensation build up in his eyes, which was followed by a bright flash and his vision had changed. He smiled to himself, proud that he was learning to control this power. If he could control that, maybe one day he could control whatever other magic was within him.

He looked out past the trees and was able to see figures moving about. There were five of them. He saw humans and some beast-kin, and it seemed that they were struggling with something. With his curiosity getting to him he got closer to the group and heard another ear-shattering screech. *SCREEEECH!!!* It was a beast of some kind! Were these some sort of hunters? He wondered, now even more curious to see if he could get a glimpse of whatever creature they were dealing with. After inching close enough he was able to distinguish some sort of net, and it was covering whatever beast they had caught. Now Lykan was close enough that he could hear the voice of the hunters as well as the wailings of the creature. "Bind the dam beast! Ya bloody fool!" "WATCH THE CLAWS THEY'LL TEAR GUTS OUT!!!" they were all bantering moving around frantically trying to secure the beast. Finally, after getting a better angel Lykan was able to see the beast. It was a griffin! He was amazed! Lykan had only ever heard stories about griffins before. At his home village, they would all go into a frenzy running out of their homes as maybe once or twice a year they would see a griffin flying in the sky. And now, he was seeing one up close! He kept getting closer and closer, wanting to see more of the beast. But, as he got closer, his excitement and joy dissipated, because he began to hear the noises the griffin was making. It felt like his entire body went cold. Pain... Fear... Rage, he could hear it in the noises it made. He didn't understand, but as the griffin writhed, trapped beneath the net it continuously let out terrible screeches. And as it did, Lykan swore that he could literally feel the pain and fear that the griffin was feeling.

"C'MON YA WANKERS! YA KNOW HOW MUCH GRYPHON HIDE CAN SELL FOR?!" The moment Lykan heard that his heart sank. These men were planning to kill this innocent creature. His eyes were glued to the poor beast writhing, trapped under the net. With each screech and desperate jerk of the beast, Lykan almost felt as if it were him trapped. He couldn't explain it, and he didn't understand it. But with these feelings building, something was triggered inside him... Something he couldn't stop. Before he realized it, his vision started to fade. A part of his consciousness fought back against it. But, there was nothing he could do and soon, everything went black.

...

Darkness... and Pain... Again. Though it wasn't as bad as the last time the pain was excruciating. But, there was a part of him, unlike last time, that he fought will an unbreakable will to maintain. 'Don't kill anyone... Please', a part of him asked.

...

"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Even though all the men were busy securing the griffin, they all clearly heard the strange bellow that echoed behind them. "What in the skies!? Sarja! We'll handle the beast, FIND OUT WHATEVER THAT WAS!" The leader of their group, a burly human commanded to a beast-kin companion. The beast-kin let go of the net and grabbed an axe, heading towards where the scream came from. He scanned the wooded area in front of him and swung his head around when he heard the sound of a bush rustle. But, before his head even swung around it was too late. "MPHH!!!" A single blow sent the beast-kin flying across the forest floor, knocked out with just a single hit.

...

"ONE MORE STAKE AND THE BEAST WILL BE LOCKED IN!" The human yelled out triumphantly, the beast had almost been completely contained, and with one final stake in their trap the beast would be completely helpless. The griffin was starting to get worn out and as the men kept tightening the trap it had less and less room to move. At first the griffin was driven by rage, anger, and fear. But now, the beast was losing hope and energy. A tear began to roll down the side of it's head while the men began to revel in their success of capturing such a powerful beast. "LOOK BOYS! IT'S OUTTA STEAM WE'VE GOT I---"

*THWUMP!!!!* The brute's words were cut off when a force slammed against him so hard it sent him flying across the forest floor, smacking him into a tree to which he just crumpled to the ground afterward, nocked out.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" The other men screamed in confusion when they looked up and saw their boss flung across the forest. The men tried to step away and prepare to defend themselves but when they tried to take a step they all stumbled down. Looking down at the ground they saw that vines and other foliage had wrapped itself around their feet and was slowly creeping up their body. "WHAT IN TH--- MMMFFFFF!!!" Crawling along the forest floor the plants moved like snakes, curling around the men's legs and eventually around their necks until they all passed out and collapsed onto the forest floor.

...

His mind was coming back to him, and slowly his vision along with it. Lykan walked closer, and closer, his vision focusing as he approached something moving a few paces from him. His vision focused enough and through blurred vision he recognized the griffin, still struggling beneath the net. Lykan didn't even notice but as he bent down the griffin stopped moving in just stared at him with a look of pure rage and fear. But... Then the griffin looked at the human, and then behind him. Confusion coursed through the beast when it saw three men collapse onto the floor. The griffin's looked back at the human and its eyes went wide as it saw that he removing the stakes! Fear and confusion coursed through the beast, not knowing what to think. Did the humans do this? One human bested five other men? With a predatory gaze, the griffin kept watching as the human bumbled with the trap, and after some failed attempts due to his failing consciousness, he removed another stake. This gave the griffon all the leverage needed to push against the trap and the rest of the stakes broke away. The griffon broke free of the trap and a feeling of relief, unlike anything they'd ever felt before rushed through their body.

He was losing consciousness again, but the moment the griffin was free from the trap he felt the same feeling of relief. A smile spread across his face as his mind gave out once again and he slumped onto the ground and passed out.

---

"Unnngg." Lykan groaned as he woke up. An ache rippled across his body, just like it did that time in the market square. He knew he'd lost control again, he prayed to the skies he didn't kill anyone. He opened up his eyes and moved his body around, wincing as he moved his body around. This was the pain he remembered from before, however, he also felt the pain coming from his legs, arms, and back. He twisted his arms and then looked at his legs as well. Along the underside of his legs and arms, he noticed scratches covered by dirt. 'Was... Was I dragged here?' He thought after seeing the scratches on his body. Lykan then realized that he had no idea where 'here' was and he swung his head up to look at his surroundings. The moment he did he was met with a sight that made his heart stop. Leering right at him with a predatory gaze just across the forest floor was a large, magnificent, and fearsome griffon. Lykan froze and just stared at the beast in silence, filled with shock, fear, and utter bewilderment. It didn't seem real, to him griffins were just something he heard of in stories, and now... He was face to face with one. Then, his body tensed up in shock at what happened next.

"Why did you save me human?" A strong and imposing feminine voice came from the griffin. Lykan's jaw dropped open and he sat there frozen in disbelief. 'The griffin... JUST SPOKE?!'

"You... You can speak?" He asked completely dumbfounded.

The griffin slinked forward closer to the human, "Of course, I can speak, human." She spoke powerfully, which combined with her fearsome body caused a twinge of fear to rise in Lykan's chest. She made her way closer to the human and cocked her head looking at him with a confused look on her avian face. "Why did you help me?" She repeated.

Lykan was left with a flurry of different emotions rushing through his body. Fear, awe, confusion, and then he looked deeper into the eyes of the fearsome beast and was lost in the beauty of her emerald eyes. He couldn't help back take in this spectacular beast in all of her glory. She had a brown-furred coat with cream-colored fur running from her neck to her stomach. The griffin had a respectable build with strong and toned muscles rippling across her body. Her entire body was furred, but she had two massive wings adorned with brown and white feathers. Her hind legs ended in scaled claws like a bird, but her front legs ended in large paws like that of a lion. Then once again he looked back at her face. She had pointy ears emerging from the back of her head and brown fur that ran along the edges of her face and then down the center to her beak. The center of her face was covered in the same cream-colored fur as the rest of her body. And then finally his gaze returned back to hers. Her beautiful emerald-colored eyes with their piercing gaze. 'By the skies she's magnificent' Lykan thought.

He didn't realize that he'd been staring at the griffin, but he was ripped out of his trance once he heard her speak to him again. "WHY DID YOU HELP ME?!" She asked strongly, desperate for an answer.

"I... I heard them, and I knew that they were going to kill you. And... I couldn't just let them kill you."

The griffin didn't move at all and just kept leering at the human. "Why would you care about me? Why would you go against your own kind?" She asked sounding almost annoyed, but also with a hint of confusion in her voice.

He furred his eyes hearing her question, "'My own kind?' he repeated. Those men were not 'my kind', they were brutes."

This was very confusing for the griffin. Back in her clan's territory, her kind was almost constantly at war with the humans and beast-kin. They hated each other and never in her life had she ever met a human or beast-kin that would ever put themselves in danger to save a griffin. So she was still suspicious, feeling that there must be some other hidden reason why the human helped her. When the human freed her from the trap she planned to attack and flee. But then she looked around, and her captors lay on the ground unconscious... Along with the human that freed her. She was about to run away but then a thought nagged in her mind. The griffins prided themselves on their honor, and even though the one who saved her was a human, a species she had always seen as an enemy, she couldn't abandon her honor. She didn't know why he saved her... But he did, so shaking her head in frustration she decided to drag the human away with her.

The griffin back up slightly, "What is your name, human?" The sort of annoyed/angered tone was no longer present in her voice.

He was still completely intimidated by her massive presence, "Lykan...".

"Who are you?" She asked. She was intrigued to know what this human was, someone who could defeat five other strong men seemingly with ease.

"I..." He was about to speak, and then he shook his head as he didn't really know who he was anymore. "I don't know. I have no home and I don't know what my purpose is anymore."

The griffin let her guard down and sat her haunches down. She didn't know why she was actually interested in what this human had to see, but for some reason she was. She couldn't explain the feeling, but unlike any other time she met a human or beast-kin, she didn't feel hatred for him. There was something about him... almost like an aura he had. "No home?"

He looked back at her. "I'm an exile. The people of my village cast me out."

'They abandoned their own kin?' The griffin thought. "Why?"

Lykan scoffed. "They made the right choice. Whatever I did back there when I helped you. I have no memory of it." She leaned her head back and squinted her eyes in confusion. "And the same thing happened before. In my village, I lost control of myself and... I ended up killing someone." He spoke with a solemn tone. "So to protect everyone they exiled me."

Neither of them said anything for a few moments, and then Lykan asked, "What is your name?"

"... Whitecrest."

He laughed and smiled, "A fitting name." He scooched his body to sit better, but when he did he winced a little from rubbing the scratches on his back and legs.

"I'm sorry... Human, it was the only way I could bring you here." She apologized as she saw the scratches covering his body caused by her dragging him along the forest floor. She didn't know why she was apologizing to a human. Why did she even care? It was so weird, the longer she spent with this human the calmer and calmer she felt. All the anger and hatred she had for him and others of his kind began to dissipate. Now, instead, a feeling of curiosity grew within Whitecrest. There was something that she still didn't quite understand. "How did one human best five other men? In what ways of magic and fighting have you been taught?"

He laughed at that, "Magic? Fighting? Never in my life have I once been taught magic or how to fight. At least, fight like a warrior."

"Then how?"

"There's something inside me, a power I can't control. I've never seen it myself, I've only seen and heard of the aftermath that it causes. An elder within my village, a healer said that I was cursed. Maybe I am." He ended off hanging his head down sadly.

"A curse?" She remarked, "A power that allowed you to best 5 other men is a curse?"

He never thought about it like that, "But that's not the issue, it's the fact that I have no control over it. What if I hurt innocent people?"

He jumped a little because she started to growl lightly, "Those men back there were *not * innocent."

"No... Come to think of it, the only times I have ever lost control was when someone was in danger." Hmm, this was something he had never realized, but it just made him even more confused about this 'curse' within him. "Well, aside from a few scrapes and bruises I am fine, thank you. I'm quite sure that if you left me there they would have killed me." Lykan finally stood up and stretched, at the same time Whitecrest ruffled her feathers and shook her wings, but when she did Lykan heard a strange screech from her. "Urgh!" She stomped with frustration. "Are you alright?" Lykan asked her. She responded by grunting in frustration and swinging her head away. "They got my wing. I... I can't fly." She stomped on the ground again. Lykan felt her frustration. "Perhaps we can find a healer, it is customary for every town and village to have one." Lykan told Whitecrest.

She looked at him with a bemused expression, "A healer? From a village?! I don't want any human or beast-kin laying a single finger on me. And you think that they would even help me!? A griffin!" She said frustratingly, to which he replied, "A healer is bound creeds, you are a soul in need and they are bound to help you." She furred her brows, "Creed? In my lands, there is no such 'creed', any human or beast-kin healer would sooner let me rot than help me."

"If I can find a healer that is willing to treat you, would you let them?"

She looked at the human and contemplated. She despised even the thought of allowing a person to touch her but she absolutely had to be able to fly. She was on her way to the Great City, against her wishes, but without the ability to fly, she wouldn't be able to make it in time. And without the ability to fly, she would be vulnerable. There really wasn't any other way. It pained her that she was instilling her trust in this human, but, in the back of her mind, there was a part of her that felt like she could trust him. Which was strange as she never would've imagined herself ever being able to do so. But then there was also something else nagging at her, "Why? Why would you help me more when you already saved my life? What do you gain?" She didn't understand this human. No human/beast-kin she'd ever encountered would ever do something without getting something in return. They were all greedy, deceitful animals who only seemed to care about their 'money' and territory.

"Gain? Well... Materially, I guess nothing. But I'm not doing this for anything. I imagine that if I was in your position if it were me injured, I would be grateful to anyone who could offer me help." Whitecrests eyes widened, this human was... intriguing. So unlike the others of his kind she'd encountered before. She kept trying to tell herself that this was all part of his intrigue plan. That he'll be taking her to a village to lead her into some kind of trap where she'd have no hope of escaping. Again and again she kept trying to convince herself of this, but every time she looked at this human,... 'Urggg' she thought to herself frustrated. 'Who in the skies is this human? and why did he make her feel like this?' "You already saved my life, Yet now you offer more? It is I, bound by honor, that owes you, not the other way around."

He scoffed, "In my village, I was always taught that we were all brought upon this land by the sky. We all are children of the sky. So we always treated each other as if we were family. I'm merely treating you in the same way." He said smiling back at her.

'Children of the sky', Whitecrest repeated in her mind, it was something that she was taught by her family and clan. Whitecrest just kept getting more and more confused because of this human. On one hand, she had always despised his kind and thought of them as beneath her kind. Merely an hour ago she'd been caught and almost killed by them because they desired the coin they could get by selling her pelt. By the gods that brought a fury upon her unlike any other. But then on the other hand, there was this human, who'd saved her life and was now offering to do even more, without asking for anything in return. "T-thank you, human..." Lykan smiled hearing her thank him, and it was the first time he heard her speak in a lighter and more calm tone. "Well, if we leave now, I believe that we can reach Hurkin, the next village along the merchant's path, before nightfall." This all felt so surreal, that Lykan would be traveling with this great big beast. However, he had to admit it excited him. The fact that he would be traveling with this beautiful beast was unbelievable. Lykan hoped that she would be ok with him asking her question, because by the skies did he have many.

---

They didn't travel on the road itself as Whitecrest wanted to stay out of sight from other henches. So they stayed close enough that they could still follow the path. As they traveled, at first it felt awkward. Lykan didn't know what to say, before today, he'd never seen a griffin so close up, nor did he even know they could talk! He had a thousand things to say but just didn't know how to ask. She had to walk slower than she would normally as Lykan's pace was slower than her own, but she owed this human her life, so she wasn't going to complain. So Lykan was stuck staring at her as they traveled, leading him to trip a few times as he was too focused on marveling at the griffin. Little did Lykan know, but Whitecrest would slightly crane her neck to the side, and could easily tell that the human was continuously staring at her. If any other hench looked at her like that she might have considered clawing their eyes out... But this human, well she wouldn't admit it to herself right now but she actually enjoyed the fact that the human was so bewildered by her. With every stride she took her tail swayed from side to side, it was mesmerizing. And as Lykan watched her tail, he began to focus on something else. With each stride she took, Lykan stared at Whitecrest's shapely haunches. There he walked behind Whitecrest, his gaze fixed upon her shapely rump and her tail swaying side to side almost leaving him in a trance.

"Ahhh!" Lykan's foot got caught on the root of a tree, causing him to fall to the floor. Whitecrest slowed down and looked behind her and giggled. "Perhaps if you spent more time watching your step rather than staring at me you wouldn't be tripping so much." She said in a playful tone.As Lykan stood up he was flushed with embarrassment, "S-Sorry... It's just that, it's almost hard for me to believe that you're real, right here standing in front of me. Griffins have always only been things of stories, a creature I would never get to see... But here you are, and you can speak! Would it... Would you allow me to ask you some questions?" He asked.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I am alive because of you, human. You may ask whatever you please." She said as he caught up with her, now walking side-by-side rather than stalking behind her. "Where are you traveling? Why are you traveling? Why are you traveling alone? Where are you from? Can all griffins speak!? And---", "Woah there! One at a time little human." She laughed as she was amused by his curiosity... This human was so much different than the other henches she'd encountered in her life and much different than the perception she had towards his kind. "To answer the first few questions, I am traveling as I must do so, well... It was supposed to be my brother however, he became ill so the task fell onto me. I am traveling to the Great City as is tradition. Once a year a member of many different clans of my kind travels to the Great City to convene and speak on the wellbeing of our kind and any other pressing matters. But that is the issue, while I left a wide window of time for travel to the Great City, it won't be possible for me to make it to the capital in time without flying." She ducked her head down, "That is why I pray to the skies that these healers of yours will be able to help me." A moment of silence fell between the two as he took in her words and she ruminated on the problems she now faced. "As for your other questions, I am from a land on the other side of the World Scar in the Red Mountains." Lykan was shocked, "The other side of the World Scar! That's months of travel!" She scoffed at him, "Not when you can fly. My travels from the Red Mountains have taken me three weeks." Lykan was amazed, "Three weeks...", he whispered, "That's incredible." He said as he looked at her, marveling at her wings. "They're beautiful," he said softly. She cocked her head sideways and caught him staring at her wings. She smiled, seeing the human being so enthralled with her was such a change of pace from the way other henches she'd encountered in her life had treated her. The area surrounding her clan's territory had been in turmoil for years, the relations between beasts and henches had spread thin and the interactions between the two were vicious. Whitecrest thought that all henches across the world were the same, and when she was captured earlier in this new land that only seemed to confirm her beliefs.

Whitecrest watched the human as he traveled beside him, she remembered him saying that he had been cast out from his clan and, she felt pity for him. No place to call home? Traveling the land alone? "Where do you travel human? Why do you walk the merchant's road?" She asked, intrigued to see what he planned. "Well, as a matter of fact, I travel to the Great City as well, though it could be a month longer until I reach the city. Pffft, I imagine it might take you a week by flight..." he shook his head and whispered, "Amazing... You know, I wish I had a great big pair of wings, like your own. I wonder what it would feel like to feel the wind flying up in the skies, to fly above the clouds, to feel the blessing of the skies themselves." He spoke as he looked up towards the sky through the leaves and branches of the canopy above them. "I will not lie, there is no greater feeling." Whitecrest replied, "Our gift of flight is something we hold dear to us. For a griffon, a life without flight is not a life at all."

Both of them silently tread forward listening to the rustling of leaves and brush. Once again Lykan looked up, "One day... One day I wish to fly, somehow I wish that I'll be able to feel it, know what it's like." He said smiling as he looked up. "We've heard that in the Great City, there are even knights that fly on the back of dragons." He scoffed and shook his head, "I could only imagine what that would be like." Next to her, she saw Lykan smiling as he looked up to the sky. Then suddenly, an idea popped up in her head... She shook her head trying to shake the idea as it was absolutely absurd, she'd never stoop to such a level. For a moment, a thought popped into her head of Lykan riding on her back, having this wish of his granted. 'No, no, no...' Whitecrest kept shaking her head. Her clan viewed such a thing as beneath them, they would never, ever do such a thing. And why would she even care?! He was a human. But then she looked at the Lykan again. He was... different, unique. Traveling the lands by himself, exiled from his home, and even after all of that he was willing to help her as if she were kin. Whitecrest kept telling herself that she would never stoop to such a level, but the idea lingered in the back of her mind.

...

Night had almost fallen, but just as Lykan said, they were able to make it to the village. Whitecrest stayed along the fringes of the forest while Lykan ventured into the town. Whitecrest took this time to analyze everything around her. Usually, she would just fly over villages, so she took the time to take in it all. It seemed so different from the arial view she would normally see, the strange buildings, the people, it was intriguing to watch the people coming in and out of the village from the merchant's path. This was a larger village than most, and it had a wall surrounding it made of large wooden spikes. On either side of the entrance to the village stood two guards dressed in simple gear.

Whitecrest waited there for a short time, and she realized something that truly shocked her. This was the fact that she truly trusted this human. She had no doubt in her mind that he wouldn't return. She had never had such faith or trust in a hench before let alone interact with them much. Any hench near her home territory would never have helped her, let alone give aid. Lying there in the forest she kept getting frustrated with herself and the honor she always bound herself to. Her honor stated that she owed this human her life, which was frustrating in and of itself that a human had to save her, but then also that she now owed this human. The thought she had earlier resurfaced in her mind, and unlike before she didn't immediately shoot it down and instead dwelled on it.

An hour had passed when Whitecrest noticed two figures emerging from the town's walls. She immediately recognized Lykan holding a torch, and walking beside him was a short and quite small beast-kin, and as they came closer she saw that the kin was a fox of some sort. At this point, night had fallen and it was almost completely dark out and it took some time for Lykan to locate where he'd left Whitecrest. However, Whitecrest noticed this and let out a low thrill, to hopefully help them locate her. When she made the noise the small fox beside Lykan yipped and stepped back in fear. Lykan said not to worry and spun around shedding the light to where Whitecrest was. They continued walking towards her and when the light finally revealed Whitecrest's body the fox beside Lykan stepped back.

"Don't worry, I promise she will not hurt you," Lykan spoke to the small fox. Now that she was close up Whitecrest could tell she was young. "She is a healer?" Whitecrest asked, looking over the small fox's form. "Well, the village has another healer, but they wouldn't come out here into the forest. This is Oria, a healing apprentice." Oria wasn't as shocked as Lykan was when she heard Whitecrest speak. Perhaps she already knew their kind could speak. "An apprentice?" Whitecrest looked from Lykan to Oria, "Do you even know how to heal?" She asked the fox with a slightly frustrated tone, she was desperate for any help but she was even more afraid now that this kin was just an apprentice. She was already skeptical of a normal healer, what about an apprentice? "I... I know how to heal, of course." Oria still seemed slightly nervous but still held her composure. Lykan gestured to Oria to approach Whitecrest seeing that Whitecrest lay down on the forest floor and hesitantly spread her injured wing out. Oria approached, kneeled, and looked at her wings, "Wow..." the fox said as she put her paws on the bend of her wing. "Can you tell me where it hurts?" She asked as she ran her hands along the edge of her wing. "... THERE," Whitecrest said, leading Oria to stop. Oria then closed her eyes and began to concentrate. About a minute passed by of complete silence, both Whitecrest and Lykan watched with interest as the fox sat there in silence. "It's merely a fracture, not broken," Oria said opening her eyes again. Whitecrest let out a huff of relief. "Will you be able to heal me, a griffin?" She asked hopefully. Oria cocked her head looking at her wing, "Of course, it is not different than healing any other." That was shocking to Whitecrest. "Once I begin, please try to stay as absolutely still as possible, alright?" Oria looked up at the griffin. Whitecrest slightly moved her wing so that she did not have to strain any muscles to keep it in reach of Oria and then nodded to the fox.

Again, Oria closed her eyes, placed her paws on the injured part of Whitecrest's wing, and began her work. At first, Whitecrest was worried as she couldn't feel anything, nor see anything happening. Then, slowly, she began to feel a warmth emanating from the area where Oria placed her hands. "Hmmm, you may feel slight pinches of pain, please, try not to move. Just as the fox finished talking, Whitecrest felt a strange shock of pain shoot across her wing. She squeezed her eyes shut and strained her muscles, forcing herself to stay completely still. From the side, Lykan watched as Oria tended to Whitecrest. But then, as Whitecrest began to feel pain from the healing, Lykan twitched his body and fidgeted a little as he felt an unknown source of discomfort spread across his body. He couldn't quite understand it and he swore that he was going mad, it felt like every time he heard Whitecrest wince in pain he could feel it as well. But then, Whitecrest's warbles of discomfort turned more relaxed, and as they did, the discomfort Lykan felt disappeared. The pain had subsided and instead, all Whitecrest felt now was a soothing warmth radiating across his wing. The feeling slowly began to fade away and then Whitecrest opened her eyes, seeing Oria leaning back. "Did... Did it work?" The griffin said almost with a desperate tone. "Yes, but I suggest that you don't fly for at least a day, unless you absolutely have to." Whitecrest let out a thrill of relief knowing that the healing was successful, it lifted her spirits tenfold. "...Thank you, healer." Whitecrest felt so strange, this healer and Lykan were so different than how she perceived all of their kind.

Oria stood up and smiled, and then she bowed to the griffin. Whitecrest didn't know if this kin knew her kind's custom, but bowing meant a great deal of respect to them. No hench in her lands would ever give such respect to a griffon, so it was fascinating and pleasant to see one do so. "It's too late to travel alone, I'll take you back," Lykan said to the fox. "T-Thankyou."

Whitecrest saw the two head back to the village and then past the wall. She craned her neck back and looked at her wing. She stretched it for the first time since it was injured and she let out a sigh of relief as the tension built up in her muscles dissipated. By the skies, she couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if she didn't fix her wing. No, what would have happened if Lykan hadn't saved her from those who captured her! Not only did he save her life from the poachers, but now he might saved her in a different way. Without him she would never have gone to a village to find a healer, and who knows if she'd have been able to find a healer among other beast-kin of the land. She wouldn't make it to the Great City and her clan would have no representative. Then her clan would be waiting for her. Who knows if they'd ever find out what happened to her. Whitecrest shivered at these thoughts, and realizing what this human had done for her, she shoved her pride aside and decided she was going to help Lykan.

...

Lykan returned to where he left Whitecrest, and sure enough, she was still there waiting for him. He smiled when he saw her and sat down, resting against a tree. "I told you it would work! Now you'll be able to get to the Great City in time, I'm glad." He smiled at her. She just looked back at him, the shadows around them danced as the flames flickered from the torch in his hand. They remained silent, but still, Whitecrest just stared at him with those sparkling emerald eyes of hers. He tiled his head, "Whitecrest, is everything alright?" As he waited for her to respond, she still just sat there staring at him, but right before he was about to speak again. "After everything you've done for me human, you haven't asked for a single thing in return... I cannot accept that, I cannot continue on without repaying you." He scoffed, "You don't need to worry about that, I don't expect anything in return, I am glad to help, truly." This human! What is wrong with him? No one in this world is so selfless! She thought to herself. "No, I cannot do nothing, it would bring me dishonor. So... I thought about it, and we are both traveling to the Great City, so what if I could help you? What if we travel to the Great City, together?"

His eyes widened and he leaned his head backward, "But... You said that you needed to get to the Great City soon." he chuckled and started speaking jokingly, "And if you don't remember I was not blessed with a magnificent pair of wings, you'd never make it in time!" She shook her head and chuckled, "No... Human, I would take you to the Great City..." He furred his eyebrows confused for a moment, but then he realized what she was implying and his eyes went wide. "You... You mean, f-fly!? As in, on your back!?" He was speechless! "Hmmmph... Yes human, you've not only saved my life, but you prevented my life from becoming a catastrophe, at the expense of no one but yourself. Allow me to return the favor so I can be free from this debt. I can take you to the Great City in a week, where for you it could take a month. And just earlier today, you said you wished that you'd one day understand what it feels like to fly... I could grant you that wish. So, do you accept, Lykan?" That was the first time she'd called him by his name, rather than just calling him 'human'. "Of course I accept!" He blurted out excitedly, which had Whitecrest chuckling. It also gave Whitecrest some relief, as she felt a growing sense of guilt building up as she hadn't repaid him at all for anything he had done for her, and now she could. "Well then, Lykan, I say that we get some rest, the healer said I shouldn't fly for a day but I don't want to stay still. So tomorrow we'll leave on foot and then the day after... We'll fly." She ended with a sly grin.

---

The next morning came around and Whitecrest awoke before Lykan did. She stood up, bent her front legs forward, stretched her backside high into the air, and spread her wings as far as she could letting out all the strain in her muscles. As she was stretching, she noticed something... I slightly sort of, ache. She stood up straight and the ache remained. She closed her eyes and shook her head in dismay, letting out a huff of frustration. She was hoping to avoid it for as long as possible, though she knew it was going to happen eventually. She had been praying to the skies that it wouldn't come until she reached the Great City. She walked forward as the slight ache remained. 'Ughhh,' there was nothing she could do about it. She was going into heat... "Curse the skies," she whispered out. If only she could've reached the Great City when she went into heat. There she would've had a plentiful choice of other strong, capable griffin that could have relieved her of such pain. But as she feared, her heat came along before she reached the city. But what could she do, it wasn't like she would bump into a griffin around these lands. She was just going to have to suffer through the heat without any relief, she'd never had to experience that before... She hoped it wouldn't be too unbearable.

...

Lykan awoke, and as his senses returned to him he realized that he didn't have any nightmares. He realized that it was the first time since he'd left his home that he'd gotten a night without being tormented by his dreams. He sat up and stretched out. Across the small clearing they'd created he saw Whitecrest pacing around, almost as if something was bothering her. "Everything alright?" Whitecrest was lost in thought and got a little spooked as she almost forgot that he was there. "...No... everything's fine." He didn't think much of it and just finished getting up. "Before we leave I'm going to head into town one last time to get some rations." "Rations?" She asked confused. "Bread and dried meats. I will be back shortly." Lykan said as he left towards the village.

...

Lykan returned with a small sack of food and then he also showed something else to her. Lykan held up a tiny vial that he called 'Mi'. Yet again Lykan had gone out of his way to get something for her. He said he got it for her just in case she was still feeling any sort of pain in her wing. It was a very tiny capsule, and when he opened it he told her to bring her beak up to it and smell it. Intrigued, she brought her beak up and took in the scent. "Yak! What a terrible---! Oh, what in the skies?" It was so bizarre! When the scent first hit her nose she jerked backwards as the smell was repugnant! But then, a moment later the smell changed! It was like eating something that tasted bad, but it left a good aftertaste. "What is this?" She asked as she brought her nose to take another sniff, jerking back as the initial scent hit her, but then relaxing as the smell improved. "Hehe", he closed the capsule. "It's meant to temporarily relieve pain. It's extremely helpful to mitigate extreme pain and to get rid of minor pain, temporarily of course. Plus, I wanted to see your reaction when you smelled it, and I got what he wished for." He ended with a smile as he laughed. She chuckled beside him and swatted him with her tail playfully.

They finished readying for the journey and they were finally off, heading to the Great City. While they left the village, Whitecrest felt the dull ache radiating across her loins had begun to dissipate. The 'Mi' really did work! She thanked the skies that Lykan had gotten that little gift, she would have some blessed respite from the ache of her heat. "Lykan, how long does the effect of this 'Mi' last?" "Well, usually the more pain someone feels the faster the effects wear off, so if you haven't been feeling too much pain I'd say it could last for a few hours. While that was nice to hear, she was almost hoping he was going to say a day, possibly two. She then wondered how much more of it he had left in that tiny vial. She didn't want to keep pestering him with such questions, but she hoped it would last a few more days. But in the back of her mind, she suspected that it wouldn't. The vial was so small she thought she'd be lucky if it lasted another day or two.

Across the land they walked, still walking off the road but close enough to let it guide them. But by the end of the day, they both knew that they were likely to come to the end of the forest where there would be much less cover. Lykan took this as an opportunity to appreciate the beautiful forest. He spoke to Whitecrest of the different types of trees, how different types of wood were better for different things. He spoke of his first time hunting, and how he learned how to make a fire. Whitecrest listened to Lykan, pleased to listen to the stories he told. When he spoke, she looked around the forest, and she took it in herself. She realized that everything she was seeing would have been something she'd never noticed flying. And it was right then that she realized that even though flying is wonderful, there were things that she missed when flying over. These forests were starkly different than those in the Red Mountains, which got their name from the red-flowered trees that spread across the mountain. If she'd been flying, she'd never have seen the forest as she was now, and it made her wonder what else she'd missed flying. She was shocked as this was the first time in her life that she'd ever thought about this. The flight gave her freedom many beings of the world could only dream of. But it could also leave someone missing out on some of the wonders of the world. 'How intriguing', she thought seeing how Lykan was able to bring this to her attention. Her behavior towards Lykan was completely different from when she first met him. She was cold, suspicious, frustrated, and held a strong hatred for any being who walked on two legs. But now, she spoke with Lykan playfully, laughed, and smiled. It was amazing what this strange little human was doing to her.

Lykan kept talking for over an hour, sharing nearly anything he could think of with her. His family, his home, and of the festivals they held in their village. Intrigued Whitecrest asked more of these festivals. Lykan went into lots of detail explaining them and Whitecrest was very interested, never having heard of or seen such festivals. She'd never witnessed any others of his kind engaging in festivals. The way he described the kinship between those in his village was heartwarming, but it also made Whitecrest confused as to how people so close could have exiled one of their own even if he posed a danger to them. At one point Lykan realized how long he must have been droning on for. "Sorry," he chuckled, "I can get carried away when I talk." She smiled back at him, "I don't mind, it is a pleasant way to pass the time." She was truly interested in what he had to say, everything he told her about his kind was so different from the way she was led to see them. "But what about you? I've told you so much of myself, what can you tell me about your life? Your family?" He asked, intriged. "Hmm, well, I am the eldest born of my family. I have a younger brother and a very young twin brother and sister. My mother is the matriarch of our clan, which is why someone from our family is to be a representative of our clan in the Great City." Lykan looked at her with surprise, "Matriarch? Isn't that akin to a queen!?" "In a way, I guess you might call her something like that." Lykan felt so small, not just in size but in worth, here he was some random human from a tiny village next to a magnificent royal griffin! "By the skies! So you are a princess! You're royalty!" She let out a scoff, "No, we Griffin do not have such a thing. My family does have more influence towards the rest of our clan, but we do not treat ourselves nor our other kin like the hench rulers do." The tone of her voice became filled with disgust, "The hench rulers are dishonorable swine, they sit in their castles, their towers, and the feast like pigs wasting away, ordering others of their kin to do everything for them. No, we are nothing like that." "Sorry, I did not mean to offend you." She lost the frustrated look on her face and smiled back at him, "I was not offended, I feel it would be hard for you to offend me."

She continued to talk about herself, she spoke of the conflict between her clan and the henches that had been going on for, well she couldn't even remember... since long before she was born, that was for sure. Whitecrest's life seemed to be filled with so many extraordinary events. He felt so stupid now, thinking about the things he told her compared to what she was telling him. "Wow... I feel like you are so much more than I could ever be. You've done so much in your life... I'm envious really." He looked down at the ground and spoke with a depressed tone. "You shouldn't judge yourself based on the lives of others, and your life has just begun. Look at yourself right now, perhaps in the future what's happening right here can be a story you tell of your travels." He smiled and nodded his head, he realized she was right. He chuckled, "Cursed human befriends royal griffin... You know I like the sound of that." He said jokingly. She bumped into him playfully as they both laughed.

And so this continued on, both speaking of whatever came to mind, their lives, their desires, their troubles. Neither of them realized it but they were deeply enjoying each other's company. After traveling so long by themselves, they'd forgotten how great it was to be in good company. Before either of them knew, hours had passed and they were nearing the edge of the forest lands. They were leaving the forest lands and entering the grasslands. The trees grew more sparse, and the grass grew taller. No longer were there the towering trees of the forest lands, but short and skinny jagged trees of the grasslands. "Daytowards trees," Lykan said. He'd heard of them before and seen a few planted in a nearby village. They were an example of plant life in the world that held magic within them. Inside the trees there was magic which could warp their wood and bark so that their leaves were always facing the direction of the sun, leading all the branches to point in one direction. Very bizarre-looking trees he had to admit.

The day was coming to an end and even walking on foot they cleared a respectable distance. The sun began to set and they decided to set up camp in a grove aside from the merchant's river (a river on which the merchant's road was paved next). Both Lykan and Whitecrest took the opportunity to bath themselves in the cool water of the river. Whitecrest was also able to show Lykan her impressive ability to catch fish. He couldn't believe that she was able to catch fish without any sort of tool. She would just stand there, unmoving like a statue, and wait until the opportune moment... AND STRIKE! She jut her claws forward and pulled out her catch. She spent some more time catching some fish and was kind enough to gather some for him as well. Lykan had used this time to start the fire and had a small encampment going. "Why do henches burn their meat? I never understood." She said as she swallowed an entire fish whole. He laughed at the sight, "Hmm, perhaps for the taste? And eating uncooked food can make us sick." He spoke as he held a stick impaled with a few fish over the fire. "Would you like to try?" Lykan pulled one of the fish off the stick and offered it to Whitecrest. She put it up to her nose and took in the scent... It seemed, unnatural, the smell of burnt flesh was quite unsavory and to be honest she had no desire to know what it tasted like.

Whitecrest made a strange face after smelling the fish and leaned her head back and shook her head. "Haha! More for me then." But before Lykan had even taken I single bite of his fish, Whitecrest had already finished several fish, taking them one by one and swallowing them whole. "Do you never take the time to enjoy the taste of your food?" He asked right as he took a bite into his fish. "The enjoyment of food comes from the satisfaction of being filled. I enjoy the food I eat because it quenches my hunger. Not only that but..." She opened her beak wide and stuck out her tongue. He wondered what she was showing him. He saw her narrow tongue stick out and then retreat as she closed her mouth. "Our tongues aren't quite large."

Lykan was about to take another bite into his fish, when... FLASH. "Ahh!" He groaned and brought one of his hands up to his eyes covering them. "Lykan? Is something wrong?" She furred her eyes looking towards him. He brought his hand down and blinked his eyes a few times, looking like he had something in his eyes he was trying to get out. "Y-Yeah, that's just *sigh* something that happens every once and a while." He looked up and saw Whitecrest through his 'second sight'. "By the skies..." He said as he looked right at her. "What is it Lykan?" He continued to stare at her, it was like he could see the life flowing through and emanating from her body. Glowing trails of light flowed through her body, and around her, she had a faint glow. It was the same way he saw any other living being with his second sight, but seeing Whitecrest in this fashion was remarkable. "It-It's hard to describe. I've somewhat learned to control it, but sometimes it arises without prompting. But I have some ability, something I've called my 'Second Sight'. It starts with a painful burn in my eyes, and then a flash, and then for a short window of time I see the world with a completely different set of eyes. Right now, as I look at you... I don't see colors, but instead... It's almost like I can see... life, flowing through your body. Only things that are alive have this flow within them, everything else is dull and plain." Whitecrest had never in her life ever heard of anything such as this, what a remarkable thing. "Huh", Lykan huffed out a sigh as his vision returned to normal. "Do you believe this, 'sight', is connected in some way to your 'curse'?" He leaned back and scratched at his beard. "I've always thought so, they both occurred to me on the same day, and the pain that comes with both is similar. It's too much of a coincidence." How strange... Whitecrest thought. "I will say this, Lykan. While you may have not traveled the world, nor are you some sort of royalty, I will say that you are the most intriguing of the two-legged kind that I have ever encountered. I believe you are worth more than any hench 'royalty'. Her words struck a chord within him, and it left him speechless. "Wow... I don't know what to say. Thank you." On that note, and with nightfall upon them, they closed their eyes and went to sleep. However, Lykan had trouble falling asleep, as he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by excitement. For the next day... He was going to fly.

---

As the morning before, Whitecrest awoke just before the break of dawn and she stood up stretching her limbs and wings. She let out a huff of annoyance, as a dull ache reminded her of her heat. After Lykan gave her that strange substance, she was relieved of her ache for nearly the rest of the day. It returned later but she was distracted by the conversations she shared with Lykan. But it was back, and stronger now. Whitecrest groaned because she knew from here it would only get worse. She hoped Lykan would bless her with more of that strange substance. God, she prayed to the sky that it would last just a bit longer. So she waited impatiently for Lykan to wake up. Whitecrest had to find something to keep her mind off things for the time being. For one, she was going to get to fly again today. Granted it may have only been a day without it but she was already excited thinking about returning to the sky. And then the other thing, that for the first time in her life, she was going to have someone riding on her back. Whitecrest knew that some griffins in the world allowed the two-legged kin to ride on their back. She had been told that in the capital many griffins did. However, her clan viewed such behavior almost as taboo, something beneath them. That's why she was so hesitant to decide whether she was going to help Lykan travel to the capital. In the end, it came down to which she wanted to hurt more. Her pride, or her honor. And she knew that if she did not help Lykan, that she would never feel that her debt to him was repaid, and she would always feel dishonored. So Whitecrest decided that she would rather swallow her pride than dishonor herself. In the past, the thought of ever allowing a hench on her back was disgusting. But then Whitecrest turned her head and looked at the sleeping form of Lykan and as she thought about him riding on her back, she wasn't deterred. In her head, she imagined the smile on his face and the excitement he would feel as he felt what it was like to fly for the first time. To be honest, she was looking forward to giving Lykan the experience.

Lykan began to wake as he felt the morning sun wash over him. He propped himself up and looked out onto the river. There just along the edge of the water stood Whitecrest, her head bent down as she drank water from the river. He smiled as he watched her. As the morning sun shone upon her magnificent form, Lykan couldn't believe what a truly beautiful creature she was. Powerful muscles rippled across her form, those on her thighs and backside grabbing his attention more than the rest. He shook his head, it was rude of him to be staring at her in such a way. He looked back at her, making sure to keep his eyes away from her backside, and she dunked her head under the water and pulled it back out flopping her head and neck around to dry the water off her fur. She turned around and she smiled as she met his gaze. He heard the sound of water lightly splashing as she walked out and came right up to him. "Good morning Whitec--- oh!" Lykan gasped as he felt Whitecrest swipe her tongue right across his face, leaving a wet feeling across her as she licked. "Is that how griffins say good morning to each other?" He said as he wiped the wet feeling off his cheek while chuckling. She quietly hummed, "It can be, to others we are fond of." Whitecrest replied in a strange tone he couldn't identify. He was amazed because Whitecrest seemed like a completely different beast than the one he first met in the woods. "Think you're ready to feel what it's like to fly?" She said standing in a grandiose pose with her wings spread out and head held high. Lykan immediately stood up and replied with excitement and a great big smile, "Absolutely."

"Then let's not wait any longer."

...

Lykan gathered all his belongings within his travel bag and tied it tightly to his body, he wouldn't want to lose anything during the flight. "Lykan, before we leave, I was wondering if you could give me some more of that strange-smelling powder." "Oh... Sure, is your wing still bothering you?" Lykan said as he reached into a pocket, pulling out the small vial. "No, my wing feels perfectly fine. I just, I have..." She didn't know what to say, "My stomach is irritated, and... I wouldn't want it to affect my flying." She lied, not wanting to tell him what was actually bothering her. Whitecrest brought her nose up to the vial again, preparing for the initial repugnant scent. She shook her head a little, even prepared it was still such of powerful scent that she couldn't help but react to it. But then after just a moment, the scent changed to a much more pleasant scent. She would describe the initial scent as... something akin to horrendously bad breath, but then it changed to a scent like that of a flower. It would take a minute or two before the effect of the 'Mi' would kick in and finally, she'd get some relief from the ache between her legs. Lykan closed the vial and stashed it back in his pack. He looked back up and all of a sudden he felt Whitecrest place another lick across his face. "Hey! haha, is that also how griffins say thank you?" She gave him a warm smile and swiped her tail end across his face.

They were both ready and now there was nothing left to do but be on their way. Lykan was filled with excitement and nervousness. "So... how do we do this?" He asked timidly. As she'd never done this before she didn't know either, but how hard could it be? "Here," She kneeled on her front legs bending herself forward, which brought her back down enough so that he could just climb on. With excitement running through his veins, he stepped forward, and then with a slight jump he swung one of his legs over her and straddled her back. For the first time, Whitecrest was being ridden, something she swore she'd never allow anyone to do. She had worried that he might be too heavy, but she was confident in her strength, and after feeling his weight on her back she knew she'd still be able to fly. She tested it out some more by trotting a little and walking around. "Woah!" Lykan almost slipped off, but he stopped himself by wrapping his arms around her neck. It was weird to feel his weight on her back and his arms around her neck, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as she was worrying it might be. She craned her neck and tilted her head and looked back at him, "Well human, are you ready?" She said with a grin on her face. His heart was racing, "Yeah... I am." Her smile widened and then she looked forward preparing herself, and then she began to run.

Lykan held on tightly as she bounded forward, and after a few moments of running, she spread her wings out and slowly began to flap. Each flap of her wing got stronger and stronger, and soon he began to feel the air bouncing off the ground because of how powerful her thrusts were. She had to put more power behind her flaps with the added weight, but with one last thrust and a leap into the air. "WOAHHH!" Whitecrest and Lykan thrust off the ground and they were airborne. Lykan held on for dear life with his hands wrapped around Whitecrest's neck, her movements jostled him around quite a bit and he couldn't lie he was totally afraid of falling off. Whitecrest continued to climb the sky, but then when she'd gotten high enough she leveled herself and began to cruise across the sky, no longer needing to constantly flap her wings. She gave out a chuckle as she looked back and saw him with his eyes closed. "You can open your eyes now." She said with another laugh.

Lykan blinked his eyes open as he felt the wind hitting his face, but after he got used to it he finally looked out across the sky. He let out of breath of amazement as he looked below them. He felt a slight twinge of fear as he looked below them and realized how far away from the ground they were. She felt him grab onto her a little stronger when he did so. But even with that slight bit of fear, he was still feeling something he couldn't describe. He shook his head and smiled and looked out along the horizon. For as long as he could remember, whenever he looked up in the sky and saw a bird, or the rare times in his life that he saw a griffin flying above, he always dreamed of what it would be like to fly. This was something he'd never forget for as long as he lived. Whitecrest looked back at him in the corner of her eye and smiled, seeing that he was just bewildered as she imagined him being. Even though she had to put more energy and effort into her flight, she felt a warm feeling knowing that this experience was making him feel this way. "Amazing," Lykan spoke, loudly enough that it carried through the wind. She didn't say anything in return but she smiled. He continued to look out across the land. The view was unlike anything he'd seen before. Come to think of it, the highest he'd ever been off the ground was when he climbed a tree when he was younger. The tree was about the height of two village homes, and at the time he couldn't believe how high he was. But compared to how high he was now... He scoffed just thinking about it.

After some time, Lykan lessened his grip around Whitecrest's neck and relaxed slightly. It was then that he took it all in. He closed his eyes but this time not in fear. The sun shone down on him and allowed the warmth around him to spread through his body. As he did days before, a faint glow began to emanate from his body, and with it a feeling of calm and serenity washed over him. But with his eyes closed, and Whitecrest looking forward, neither of them noticed. However, Whitecrest did feel the same sense of serenity and peace spread through her body, she knew not where it came from, but she allowed herself to bask in the feelings. For some time, neither of them spoke. Whitecrest focused on flying and enjoying the sun across her body and the feeling of the wind under her wings. Some more time passed and Lykan's mind drifted off and he got to thinking, "Whitecrest... When did you learn to fly?" The sound of his voice shook her out of a sort of flight trance she had herself in, "Hmmm, I was seven or eight years old. Our wings are not developed enough until then to fly." "How did you learn? Did your parents teach you?" The question brought back the memories of the first times she tried flying. "It was my father who taught me. My mother usually had more important things to do as the matriarch, so my father taught me. Over a few days, I was able to cover some distance in the air, but it wasn't until two weeks of practice that I had my first real flight. And ever since then, there have been almost no days where I do not fly." Of course, the day before was one of the rare examples of such a day. "You know, I still can't help but envy you Whitecrest... Strong, powerful, and with the ability to fly! Even more, you're one of the most spectacular creatures I've ever seen in this world." Lykan's words struck Whitecrest. Her eyes went wide and she felt a sort of shiver run across her body. She blushed but thankfully he couldn't see her face, "Thank you... Lykan. But you shouldn't sell yourself short. I know that you are not your average person. I can feel it, just by being around you, I can almost... It's almost as if I can sense a sort of energy merely by being in your presence." Lykan leaned back a little, taking in her words. As he leaned back he ruffled his hands through her fur, he realized that this was the first time he'd ever got to touch her. He never would have thought that her fur would be so soft! With the stature of her character, he imagined that her fur would have been coarse and rough, but it was just the opposite.

"Hmph, well. No matter what I will always be envious of your magnificent wings and your ability to fly." She felt him drag his hands through her fur and it was strange. Never in her life had she ever felt the touch of another other than a griffin. Not only that but this was so alien, his fingers spread into and through her fur that made goosebumps run across her skin. When he stopped running his hands through her fur, she actually felt a twinge of disappointment, wishing that he would have continued. The rest of the day continued with the sound of the wind blowing as they flew. Whitecrest would land every so often in case either of them needed to relieve themselves, as well as to let her rest her wings. The sun had begun to set and usually, Whitecrest would continue flying even into the night, but she had tired sooner than usual carrying Lykan on her back. Lykan looked out across the land and saw that the landscape was beginning to change again. They were leaving the grasslands and entering the foothills of the Boreal Mountains. This was the part of the journey that Lykan had been dreading, as the temperature across these lands was colder than he was used to. Eventually, they'd have to travel through the mountain range themselves where they'd encounter frigid weather and possibly even storms. To prepare, he used some of the coin Tyvar gave him to buy clothes at Hurkin that were much better suited for the cold.

They'd continued along the merchant's river the entire day, and as the sun finally set along the horizon Whitecrest descended, landing along the edge of the river. Lykan could already notice the temperature change. "Must be nice having all that fur to keep you warm," Lykan said as he hopped off her back. "Hmm, I guess your right. But you henches do have the nifty ability to use your hands to create fire. The only way someone of our kind can create fire is with magic, and not many of us are vernans (mages)." Lykan began setting up their little encampment while Whitecrest took a dip into the water. "Are there any, 'vernan' griffin in your clan?" Lykan wondered. "Oh of course! Our clan's shaman is a vernan, and in the ranks of our warriors, we have a few as well. It's fascinating, they each have the ability to wield magic, but all in different ways. Our shaman is like Oria, he is our healer. But then the warriors use magic differently. One traveled to a faraway land, and when he returned he came back blowing fire out of his mouth like a dragon! And then another can manipulate water. I remember once when I was young, our clan's shaman read my soul, and he told me that magic did flow through me, but not in the way it did for others. Long ago I accepted the fact that I would never be a wielder of magic. For me, my fighting prowess and strength are all I need." What interested Lykan was how she said their shaman 'read her soul'. "What did you mean by, 'read your soul'?" He asked very interested. "Do you henches not have such a ritual?", he shook his head, "Hmmm, well in our clan, when a griff reaches a certain age they are read by the shaman. Through this, he can see into their soul, feel the magic that flows within them and the strengths of their character." "Wow... I wonder if I could find such a reader in the Great City, perhaps they could shed light upon the fate that has fallen onto me." If only he could have some answers, maybe then he'd know what he needed to do.

While Lykan began to start the fire, Whitecrest waded in the waters of the river and caught whatever fish she could. After eating they both rested themselves on the ground and Killian looked over at Whitecrest. He looked at her, lying there with her eyes closed and wings tucked in. He still couldn't get over how enthralled he was by her, he wasn't lying we he said earlier that she was the most spectacular creature he'd ever seen. Lykan smiled as he looked at her one more time before he as well, closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.

---

Another night passed and the morning came about, the sun crested over the mountain range and spread across the valley. Whitecrest had awoken a bit earlier than usual as she had been disturbed by uncomfortable and frustrating dreams. When she woke up she let out a heavy groan. Her heat had taken full effect now and Whitecrest was beginning to feel the full effects of it. She woke up practically panting. In her dreams she was constantly met with frustration as in the dreams she was always just about to find some way to relieve the burning ache in her loins, but she was denied every time, leading her to groan and stretch out in frustration. The ache had gone from just being a nuisance to almost painful. She walked away from their encampment, and as she walked she used her tail as a fan, flapping it up and down to flush some cool air against her nethers trying to cool the burning ache she felt. Whitecrest didn't know how she could deal with this heat! At this point, her heat might even affect her concentration and her ability to fly! She would definitely need some more of the 'Mi' today. Whitecrest was just looking for any way to deal with this ache! She strutted right up to a tree and jumped up with her front legs, stretching along the height of the tree like cat. She took her claws and dug them into the bark of the tree. Whitecrest arched her back, spread her wings out, and scraaatttcched her claws against the tree, leaving massive scratch marks across the tree. "Hufffffff", she panted and lolled her tongue out of her mouth as she raked her hands across the bark, just trying to find any way to release the tension in her body. She slumped back onto the ground still panting slightly. "Grrnnnnn" she groaned as she walked back to their encampment. Walking back, her frustration dwindled slightly as she saw Lykan walking about, preparing for their journey. As she continued forward Lykan looked up as he heard he approach. "Good morning Whitecrest." He said with a beaming smile. When she saw his cheery disposition she felt a warm twinge travel across her body. She returned the smile and walked over to him, unknowingly swaying her body and swooshing her tail around. Her smile got bigger and then as she did the days before she opened her beak and swiped her tongue across his face. "haha, seems like I might have to get used to that", Lykan chided. But unlike the days before, instead of stopping after a single lick, Whitecrest continued. Her heat was affecting her in ways she didn't realize, and it led her to be more... affectionate. Again she swiped her tongue across his cheek and then one last time across his neck. But with this last lick, it was as if she wanted to actually taste him, she pushed harder against the skin of his neck and took in the taste of his skin... She didn't even think about what she was doing and just completely let her body take over. It was exciting. "Woah there, extra friendly today huh?", Lykan said chuckling. But white crest didn't back away, "WOAH!" he gasped aloud as he felt Whitecrest laying the weight of her head against his chest. He fell back onto the ground with a *UMPH!* while Whitecrest fell as well, with her head resting on top of his chest. "OOF! Extra friendly for sure!" He heaved with the heavy weight of her head and neck over his body. Lykan chuckled lightly, and as she rested against him, he got a feeling, he didn't know how to describe but he felt like she wanted him to run his hands through her fur. Hoping that his gut feeling was right he reached his hands up to her head and began to slowly rake his hands through her soft fur.

...

Whitecrest didn't quite know what she was doing, she wasn't thinking much and sort of just let her body do whatever it wanted. So she just slumped right onto Lykan! She closed her eyes and hummed, enjoying the contact of another against her fur. It had been so long since she felt the warmth of another's against hers, and feeling it she wished for more. In her head, she wished that Lykan would just reach out and begin to touch her. The day before she remembered the way it felt when he spread his strange fingers through her fur, it was so unique and unlike any sort of attention she'd had before. And then, almost as if Lykan could read her mind, she felt him place his hands on her head and slowly spread his fingers across the crown of her head.

...

Lykan heard a strange noise emanating from Lykan's chest, and after a few moments of scratching his fingers through her fur the noise grew and he realized she was purring! He let out a sigh, glad to know that he wasn't overstepping any sort of boundaries and that she was enjoying this. Methodically he pushed his fingers into her fur, providing both a scratching and a messaging sensation that had Whitecrest's entire body go limp with relief. The weight of her body on top of his was starting to get uncomfortable but he knew he could tough it out a little bit longer. Lykan decided to change it up and moved his hands from the top of her head, placed his thumbs along the inner tuft of her ear, and began to rub them in circles. "Mmmmmm", Whitecrest's eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she let out a loud and long hum of pure satisfaction. Lykan looked at Whitecrest's face, inches away from his own, and he felt a great surge of happiness seeing her in a state of complete relaxation and serenity. But he was reaching his limit and he really needed her to get up so he could take in a full breath of air.

"Huhhh... Whitecrest, you know us humans... *huff* we have this strange need to breathe air, and I can't quite breathe any longer with you on my chest." She immediately opened her eyes and got up off of him, "I...Sorry", Whitecrest had been brought back to reality and after realizing what just happened she felt a twinge of embarrassment wash over her. Why the hell did the touch of a human make her feel so good? And how did that even happen? Lykan coughed and laughed as he dusted himself off and stood back up. "No need to worry, I just wasn't expecting that." She was somewhat baffled with herself. This sort of behavior was completely unlike her, and even more, it was with a human! Instead of one of her own kind. She kept on repeating in her mind 'he's a human', almost like she was trying to make herself feel like it was strange how she was acting with him. But she kept thinking about it, and it didn't feel strange or taboo. Instead, it felt comforting and soothing, and a part of her didn't want to be truthful with herself, but also slightly arousing. Before any more thoughts could pop up in her head she decided to change the subject. "You almost ready to leave? The sooner the batter, as the faster we get through the mountains the less likely we'll run into a storm." She was right, and especially for him, someone who wasn't equipped with a natural fur coat, he wanted to get through the mountain range as absolutely fast as possible. Thinking about it he praised the skies that Whitecrest was here with him, as without her it would have taken days, maybe even weeks, to cross the mountains. But with her, she would likely soar through the mountains in just a day! He imagined what it would have been like traveling by himself and shivered just at the thought. "I'm ready whenever you are."

But before they could leave, Whitecrest had to get more of the 'Mi', without it she feared that she might have trouble concentrating while she flew. So she had to come up with another lie... "Um Lykan, I was thinking. Whenever I fly in colder weather, the joints of my wings can become tight and ache slightly. Could you spare some more of the 'Mi', I wouldn't want to have to stop along the way because of my wings aching." She thought that was a pretty decent lie. "Oh well, yeah I wouldn't want you to be in pain, but I gotta tell you this is the last of it we have. So are you sure you want to use it now?" 'Curse the skies' she thought to herself, she knew that tiny vial wasn't going to last as long as she wished. Hmm she didn't know what to do... But really thinking about it they couldn't afford having to land in the mountain range if she needed to out of exhaustion or just because she couldn't concentrate on flying anymore. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to have to stop in the mountains, this will make sure we cross it today." He nodded his head agreeing with her, that was the last thing either of them wanted. He brought the vial up to her beak and she took in the scent. As before the initial scent was powerful, and though it was still an unpleasant smell, it was strange as she was glad for the smell. Even though it was repugnant, she knew that smell meant relief... Relief for the burning and aching between her legs that had her mind thrown into chaos. She inhaled the scent and then noticed with each inhale the scent became weaker and weaker, until finally, she could barely detect it anymore. "Well, that's that," Lykan said stuffing the empty vial into his travel pack. "You ready to go?" He asked her. She nodded and bent her front legs down. This time he tied a simple rope around her body so that he could hold on while flying to make sure he wouldn't fall off. He asked multiple times if the rope bothered her, and though she could feel the rope it wouldn't affect her flying. So with that, she began to warm up by walking around the wilds and when she felt ready, Lykan grasped tightly and she sprinted fast, and when she gained enough speed she pushed hard enough with her wings and they were off, flying across the Boreal mountains.

...

The flight had been going well, Lykan was again completely flabbergasted by the view, even more beautiful than during the flight the day before. The vast evergreen forests, the canyon where the merchant's river traveled through the mountains, and then at one point during the flight, he cursed to himself, swearing that near the absolute limit of his sight he saw a dragon. It was surely possible, but he almost couldn't believe it! "Whitecrest, have you ever seen a dragon up close before?" He wondered. "Hah! Seen? I've more than just seen a dragon before I've met several! They were around the same size as myself and just like my kind they could speak as well." His eyes went wide, "What?! Your size? And could speak!", He was shocked! The stories of dragons he'd heard before made them seem to be massive beasts bigger than a house that would terrorize villages of faraway lands. "Most dragons are around the same size as myself, but there are some of the ancient bloodline that roam the world, some say that the the king of the ancient bloodline still lives and that he rivals even the size of a castle!" Lykan had trouble even imagining such a beast. "What were they like? The dragons." "To be honest, they were much like my kind, prideful, honorable, powerful... But the dragons were more... Blunt, rash, forward, they didn't seem to have any barrier to what they would say or do. They would usually speak their mind regardless of the consequences." He almost found it hard to imagine a dragon to be a tame civilized creature. Lykan felt that he had been living completely cut off from the world! How could everything be so different than he had been led to believe?!

"I never realized what was really out there in the world. And I can't believe I'm about to say this but... right now there is a part of me, a tiny part of me that is almost glad that the skies have landed me with this fate. While my life before was perfect, and I still am devastated that I was forced to leave my home... I can't help but feel excited." Up until this point in his journey, he'd never seen it as an opportunity, he always saw it as a misfortune or a punishment. But now, he saw that he was going to get a chance to see the world and everything it had to offer. "I'm glad as well", Lykan looked down at Whitecrest as she spoke, "As the skies brought you to me, Lykan." She looked back at him in the corner of her emerald eye with a sincere smile. He returned a warmhearted smile, that was something else, if none of this happened, he would have never met Whitecrest. She was strong, skillful, beautiful, and with a good heart. Lykan also began to realize the more and more time he spent with her, the more he began to see her in a different way. He'd find himself staring at her, at first he just said it was because he was so enthralled with her exotic nature. However, he began to realize that he was marveling at her beauty. He closed his eyes and imagined running his hands across her fur. He smiled as his imagination played out a scene in his head. He ran his hands all across her fur, and as he did he imagined her making that beautiful noise she made, like a pur, by the skies he enjoyed hearing her make that sound. Lykan continued to play out this daydream, and he then thought of something new... What it might like to feel her touching his body. That thought brough up the recent memory of when Whitecrest had been extra friendly with him in the morning and gave him licks across his face, and then under his neck. When it happened, he couldn't help but feel like it was almost sensual, but he dismissed it as normal griffin behavior. However, as he indulged himself he began to wonder what it might feel like if she explored more of his body with her tongue. Lykan jerked himself out of his daydream, as he'd realized that he was taking it a little to far and was ashamed as he felt a slight strain in his trousers. He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts out of his mind.

He was just starting to notice, but as they flew deeper into the mountains the temperature began to drop significantly, and Lykan could feel his fingers starting to go stiff. Based on what Whitecrest had told him, they probably had about an hour or two before they got through the danger zone of the mountains, where storms could hit at any moment. He cupped his hands over his mouth and began to breathe warm air, trying to warm himself up. "Ack!" Lykan flinched as he felt the tell-tale burn in his eyes. "Everything alright?" Whitecrest asked. "Yeah... Yeah, just my eyes." His vision readjusted and he looked out at the mountain range and realized that through his second sight, the grey clouds that surrounded them in the sky were less visible, almost like he could see through them. He was taking his time marveling at the mountain range below when he looked in front of them and squinted. He held his breath for a moment and blinked his eyes, not sure if he was really seeing what he was seeing. "Whitecrest." Lykan said sternly, in a strange tone that immediately got Whitecrest's attention, "There's something ahead, and it's coming towards us." Immediate Whitecrest locked her head forward, scanning the cloudy sky in front enough, and after a moment she noticed it too... A dark spec, and whatever it was it was getting larger. Both of their heartbeats began to beat faster. They had no idea what it was, if it was something like another griffin, or possibly something else. But... They both felt something, a sort of feeling, and in the back of their minds, they knew whatever this was... Wasn't friendly.

Whitecrest tilted upwards and began to gain altitude, and as she worried the growing spec in the distance ascended as well. She was going to have to fight. But her heart sunk... She was carrying Lykan on her back! How could she possibly fight without risking throwing him off? Whitecrest almost began to panic, she didn't know what they were going to do."Lykan! Now might be a good time for you to try and use the power of this curse of yours!" He heard her words and cursed under his breath. In two months of trying he hadn't been able to control the power, and it seemed to only manifest itself in the more dire of situations. Whitecrest knew from their conversations that this was a longshot, but if this encounter went south those powers of his might be the only thing that could save him. "Lykan! You need to hold on as hard as you can do you understand?! I don't care if you think you're going to choke me, hold on as hard as you can!" He nodded and wrapped his arms around her neck, holding on as if the underworld was trying to rip him down into its depths. They both looked forward and the black spec had finally gotten close enough that they could see a figure. While Lykan had no clue what this creature was, it only took a moment for Whitecrest to identify the creature. "An underfiend!" Whitecrest seethed through her teeth. What was an underfiend doing here!!! It was small, black, with sharp fangs and massive eyes. It flew irregularly, flapping its jagged wings fervently.

'Only one?!' Whitecrest thought to herself. Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as she thought. But she was still worried because she knew that underbeings rarely traveled alone. Seeing this lone demon flying by itself, was eerie and caused a shiver of fear to run through her body. If she moved just right, at the perfect moment, she could grab the demon in her claws and rip it apart before it even had a chance to move. "Lykan... HOLD ON." She spoke sternly. The impish devil merely a thrusts in front of them. "RAHHHHH!!!" Whitecreast screeched out, pivoting her wings causing her body to tilt upwards, allowing her to reach her claws under her. Luckily, her skills and instincts served her well and she was able to grab the black demon avoiding its massive teeth and serrated claws. "REEEEEEEEEEEE---!!!!!!" The creature of darkness let out an ear-piercing screech that had Whitecrest and Lykan temporarily go deaf. But with a strong pull of her arms. "ARUGHH!" She tore the vile demon in half and dropped its horrid body below her. As it fell, its body began to turn to black smoke, trailing as it continued to fall until its body completely disintegrated and vanished.

Lykan felt a relief travel through him and he let out a massive sigh. "Thank the skies..." However, Whitecreast was sure it wasn't overf. "NO! NO! They never travel alone! LOOK AROUND! WITH YOUR POWER OF SIGHT! ARE THERE ANY MORE?!" She frantically looked around them, trying to see if she could spot any more of the creatures of darkness. The sense of relief instantly left him, and he too began to frantically search the skies around them. Behind them he saw no glow, nor below, nor in front of them. He looked up above them, but he couldn't scream fast enough. "ABO---!!! AHHHHH!" Lykan threw his arm out and hurled his forearm against the body of the demon swatting it away before it could land a hit on either of them. "DIVE!!!!!!!" Lykan screamed, throwing his arms around Whitecrest's neck again. His stomach dropped as he felt her angle downward and descend at a frightening speed. He couldn't count how many he saw, but there were several of them, all descending upon them fast. They were no longer silent, now that they had revealed themselves and as they dove down behind Lykan and Whitecreast they howled screams of horror. They needed to think of something, and think of it FAST! Soon enough Whitecrest would have to level out or else they'd collide into the side of a mountain. Lykan's hands had gone numb, the cold completely inebriating them and making it harder and harder to hold on.

The ground below came into view and they had no choice but to level out. Even though Whitecrest would normally be able to out-fly the creatures, the cold and extra weight had exhausted her and she couldn't fly as fast as she normally could. Whitecrest was panting, her mind solely focused on thrusting her wings as absolutely hard as she could to try and escape the demons. But for how long? Her wings were beginning to ache and soon enough she couldn't possibly fly as fast as she was now. The ugly vile creatures were getting ever closer, and once they finally got to a certain range behind them. *BLUURG!*. Lykan heard a repulsive noise, almost like the noise someone would make if they were throwing up. He twisted his head back and his eyes widened and his heart sank as he saw a ball of flame heading right at them.

*SCREEAAAAAA!* Whitecrest screeched a noise of pure pain as she felt the ball of flame collide against her thigh. At the same time, Lykan's eyes rolled in the back of his head as he felt pain radiate across his leg. But he barely focused on that. As the only thing flooding his mind in that very moment, was the noise that Whitecrest had made. The noise of pure pain and terror, and the noise accompanied with knowing that she had just been hurt... Tipped him over the edge. Just moments ago Lykan's hands had been nearly frozen from the frigid air around them, but now it felt as though they had caught on fire, along with the rest of his body. The anger within him began to rise, and along with it a feeling of unrelenting burning and pain. The feeling grew stronger, and stronger, and stronger, welling up inside his body, until he couldn't handle it anymore. Lykan threw one of his arms behind him and pushed all of the pain and burning raging across his body through, and out of his arm. "RAHHHHHHH!" Lykan roared, and an indescribable pain ripped through his arm as he felt a power surging through it. *SHNK!* A shockwave exploded from his palm that echoed across the mountain and from the shockwave a burst of bright white light shot out behind them colliding into the underfiends and obliterating them in the blink of an eye.

Lykan almost went limp, but he fought with every fiber of his being to stay conscious. "LYKAN!? LYAKN!? WHAT HAPPENED?!" Whitecrest yelled out in fear, still flapping furiously, not aware that the demons had been wiped out as she didn't even want to risk looking backward which could slow her down. "T-T....They're... Gone?" Lykan said, in disbelief. He was talking so quietly Whitecreast couldn't hear him over the noise of the wind blowing through her ears. "WHAT?!" She screamed again. "They're gone." He said just loud enough for Whitecrest to hear, causing her to swing her head around, and she couldn't believe it! He did it! He used his power! She began to laug and let out a roar of frustration and jubilation. "YOU! You used your magic!?" She yelled out to him. But he was losing himself, with little strength left in him he couldn't even reply. "C-Can't... can't hold... on." With a sense of urgency, Whitecrest immediately began to descend, making sure to do so as smoothly as she could. They wished that they wouldn't have to land in the mountain ranges but they had no choice. She flew down to a valley between the mountain ranges, finding a patch of land where the trees wouldn't block her and as she was about to land Lykan's energy ran out and he slipped off of her, falling into the brush below. "LYKAN!" Whitecrest screamed as she landed.

...

"Lykan!... Lykan!... LYKAN!". He groaned, opening up his eyes, feeling aching pain across his entire body. But in his arm, well he didn't feel anything, it had gone completely numb. His eyes fluttered open and the blurry world around him came into focus. "Lykan! Are you ok?!" Whitecrest was right in front of him, as his body was laid up against a tree. "I... I think so, but I can't feel my arm." Both of them jerked their heads to the side as they heard a devilish screech from off in the distance. She looked back at him with a desperate look on her face, "We can't stay here! You have to get back on me!" Even though his body was aching, and his mind still jumbled, he winced as he stood up. Whitecrest quickly bent down, and though he struggled slightly he was able to get on, even with his right arm completely numb. He was fighting both to stay conscious and to just hold tight enough not to fall off of Whitecrest's back. Once he was firmly on, well... as firmly as he could manage, Whitecrest began to bound through the forest floor. She knew that if they flew out of the forest the fiends would surely spot them immediately, so she prayed that sticking to the ground could buy them some time. Desperate shrills of terror echoed in the sky behind them, the sounds of the screams seemed to be the manifestation of pure terror and fear. Whitecrest ran as fast her her limbs allowed her, but with each stride she took Lykan was being thrown around on her back, causing pain to shoot across his aching body. Fighting against the pain, and fighting just to stay conscious Lykan held on. But the sounds only got louder and louder, and before long Lykan looked behind them with dreary eyes and noticed several dark figures encroaching towards them. Lykan tried to will the energy into his body, into his soul, in order to replicate whatever sort of magic he used earlier even though he had no idea what he did or how he did it. Nonetheless, he tried to focus energy inside him, but the only thing that came was pain. And just from trying to use his power, he began to lose consciousness again. There was truly nothing he could do, but watch as the disgusting impish creatures flew ever closer to them. Whitecreast ran desperately, even though she couldn't even feel her limbs anymore, it was a true testament to Whitecrest's determination and willpower that she was even able to continue running with a massive burn on her thigh that burned through her fur and even some of her flesh.

Both of them had reached their absolute limit, Lykan was mere moments from passing out again, and Whitecrest was only going to be able to take a few more strides before her body gave out. The screeches of the demons grew louder, and louder, and then----! "UMMPHHH!!" Whitecrest's limbs gave out, and she tripped over the terrain beneath them throwing Lykan off her back and falling onto the forest floor. Whitecrest summoned every inch of willpower left within her to stand and fight, even if she could barely move. She looked back with a look of fury and fear but... An unknown feeling washed over Whitecrest, she didn't know how to explain it as her body was being wracked by so many feelings. But as she looked behind them, she saw several underfiends... They landed on the ground and then just stood there, several strides behind them. And they just stared at Whitecrest. Her heart was still pounding and she looked over at Lykan and saw him lying just ahead of her, laying down unconscious. She darted her head back to the demons and still they stood there watching them. She was expecting them to charge forward at any moment, and she stood there for what felt like an eternity, watching... waiting. But nothing ever happened. 'What were they waiting for!' Were they torturing her? Did they know that they had them and were just torturing their last moments?

Whitecrest's breath stalled for a second and her eyes focused on a demon as she saw it move its arm up and push it forward. She watched the demon with wide eyes, and then when it reached its hand out, she saw that as it extended it past a certain point, black smoke began to fume up from its arm. It dragged its arm back making a disturbed noise, and with that, they turned around and crept back into the forest. 'A... A holy ward?' She whispered out. Back in her home territory, the shaman of her clan said that there was a 'holy ward' around their land, which protected their lands from dark beings that escaped the underworld through the World Scar. She never thought about it until this moment but, how did other beings of the world protect themselves from the underbeings, they must have holy wards as well! Was that what just happened? She thought that they were playing some cruel trick on her... but perhaps they literally couldn't pass.

These thoughts would have to wait, she remembered that Lykan was lying on the ground not too far from her. "L-Lykan?..." she hobbled over to him, her limbs barely keeping her upright. Standing over his body she let out a sigh of relief, seeing his chest rise up and down. Though it seemed the underbeings weren't going to be bothering them for the time being, she didn't want to take any chances and decided that they needed to travel as far away from the direction where the imps crawled back into the forest. Being a griffin, Whitecrest had an astounding sense of direction and would make sure they would stay exactly where she wanted them to go. But Lykan was out cold, and she did not want to drag him across the forest floor and hurt him. So after countless failed attempts, she finally nudged under his body and got him sprawled across her back. She was going to have to be very careful with each step she took to not shake him off her back. And though her limbs still burned and she felt like collapsing onto the ground, she struggled to walk forward with Lykan on her back.

...

Whitecrest's head began to bob, the ordeal had taken a serious toll on her, and it didn't help that she had been flying for hours beforehand. She fought herself to stay awake, but she knew that before long she was going to collapse, she just hoped she could bring them far away enough from the reach of those vile creatures. At this point, her body was walking by itself, she was barely conscious anymore and she didn't even hear the noise coming from in front of her. Out from the brush she walked like an undead beast, out of the thicket and into the clearing that was the merchant's road. Whitecrest didn't even realize where she was, and even more, she didn't even realize the massive encampment bustling with hundreds of people. "M'LADY!" A voice from the camp screamed. A tall armored stag yelled and pointed to the edge of the camp as he saw a griffin walking out with a human on its back. A fairly tall female lizard wearing white robes with gold along the edges (the same robes Mother Oars and Oria wore) began to walk toward the griffin.

It was just then that Whitecrest's hazed mind finally realized the presence beside her, and as she saw two blurred individuals walking towards her she shuffled her body, immediately moving to face them in a fighting stance. When she moved, Lykan's body slipped off her body and slumped onto the ground. "M'LADY!" The stag threw his arm in front of the lizard, blocking her from continuing forward, "THIS GRIFFIN IS NOT ONE OF OUR OWN! IT COULD BE DANGEROUS, GET BACK!" The stag rivaled Whitecrest's fighting stance with one of his own, but Whitecrest then noticed that Lykan's body had fallen off her back, and she immediately stood just over his body to protect him. "THE BEAST IS PROTECTING IT'S MEAL! WE MU--!", The female lizard through her arm up in front of the stag, "Oh hush now you are the most paranoid person I have ever met... The human is still breathing... Cerberos, sheath your weapon." She said calmly. And against his judgment, he listened to her command. The female lizard slowly approached Whitecrest, her arms reaching out to try and calm Whitecrest showing her they meant no harm. "Can you hear me, griff?" The lizard spoke calmly. Whitecrest looked at her with fury in her eyes, barely comprehending the words she said with her mind so fuzzy. "I can feel it, I can sense you are in pain, I can help," she reached her fingers around her neck and pulled on a necklace, and when she pulled it out of her robes she held it out to Whitecrest. Whitecrest's vision was still blurred, but as she looked forward she noticed the necklace. It was a symbol of the half-sun, and she'd seen the same necklace being worn by Oria, the amateur healer who fixed her wing. With this, Whitecrest devoted everything in her to the hope that these were good people, unlike nearly every other hench she'd ever met. Her eyes fluttered and her body finally gave out, and she slowly slumped onto the ground beside Lykan.

...

In her sleep, Whitecrest sensed a painful ache across her body. But then the pain spiked, only to be replaced instead by a calming warmth spreading through her body. From there on her sleep was peaceful and painless. It took her a few hours but she finally began to regain consciousness. Her eyes cracked open and her senses came back to her. Before thinking of anything else, she looked around trying to find Lykan. A great relief fell upon her as across from her Lykan lay sleeping on some sort of small bed. Whitecrest then took in their surroundings. They were both inside a large tent, and she then noticed that they weren't alone. Behind them, there were other cots with others on them. Some were sleeping, while others were awake. She immediately hung her head low, as if that was going to help her massive body from not being noticed. Voices began to grow from outside the tent and they were getting louder. "--It pleases me that say we suffered no casualties. Go, tell the Warden he'll surely be glad to hear as much." "Yes M'lady". Whitecrest's ears were intently listening and her eyes focused on the direction of the voices. A hand reached into the tent and pulled aside the curtains. Whitecrest's eyes squinted and though her memory was foggy, she knew that she'd seen this female lizard before. The lizard gazed around the large tent, and then she finally scanned over the area where Whitecrest and Lykan were. "Ah! You're awake." The lizard approached Whitecrest with a smile. But she was still cautious, still not understanding what was going on here. The lizard noticed her hesitation and put her hands up, "I mean you no harm griff... do you speak the common tongue?" Whitecrest's ears flickered, and she nodded her head. "I've come to check on the human, please... may I?" Whitecrest looked back at Lykan, and then back at the lizard. After a moment of thought she nodded her head. The lizard bowed and then walked up to Lykan, kneeling next to his body. She closed her eyes and placed her claws across his chest. "You, you are a healer?" Whitecrest spoke. "Is it not obvious?" The healer said with a chuckle. "My name is Sheen of the Glade, but you can just call me Glade." 'Sheen of the Glade?', it sounded more like a title than a name. "Is he going to be alright?" Whitecrest said looking deeply at Lykan's sleeping form. The healer didn't respond and just kept her hands over Lykan's body. But then she took them off, "I... Yes, I believe so." The healer spoke cautiously, and her tone and pause worried Whitecrest. "What is wrong?" Whitecrest asked. Glade just kept looking at Lykan and her mouth cracked open, but it took a second for her to speak. "I... I can't heal him." She said which caused Whitecrest to worry more. "Can't?! What's wrong with him?!" She blurted out. Glade hovered her hands over his body, "Well, he has some pretty bad bruises but other than that nothing. But... Healers can heal bruises. Yet... There's something that is... different about him, and though I tried... I couldn't heal him." Whitecrest was glad to hear that the only injuries he had were some bruises, but the fact that Glade said she couldn't heal him was frightening, she said he was 'different', what did that mean? For a few more moments the lizard stared at Lykan's body but then shook her head. "I assume that you were attacked by underfiends, yes?" Whitecrest confirmed her assumption, "Hmmm, unfortunate for you both. But that is why we are here as well."

"I don't understand, what were they doing so far from the scar, and I thought the merchant's path was safe from such evil. " Whitecrest spoke, as nearly all travelers knew the merchant's path was devoid of any underbeings. Whitecrest felt ignorant, not realizing that there must have been a holy ward and it wasn't just by chance that the path was protected from the demons. "... and who are you all?" Glade removed her hands from Lykan and stood back up facing Whitecrest. "We do not know much, yet. However, we were sent from the Great City to investigate. A traveler said that they spotted an underbeing near the merchant's path, just a single one but still, no underbeings have ever been seen on the road. Many in the city said that it was a waste to send so many of us just to check on something that was seemingly unheard of. But thanks to the wisdom of our Warden we came, and as we traveled we encountered more and more travelers speaking of sightings of the creatures. Then before long, the sightings turned into attacks and even deaths. It seems that in the time it took for us to travel here, the underbeings grew in number in the area." Glade walked closer to Whitecrest and kneeled next to her, "We don't know why or how they were able to come onto the path, but they are being driven out as we speak. Now, in which direction were you traveling?" "The Great City." Whitecrest replied, "Well, then you will be safe whenever you choose to leave, the demons are contained to a small section of the path from which you came. We can give you food, water, and shelter for as long as we are here and you wish to stay." So strange, this lizard was treating Whitecrest like a civilized being, rather than a beast like the henches of her lands. "And there's another thing", the lizard reached into a small bag at her side and pulled out a round, red, glossy-looking stone. "Here, eat it," Glade said. Whitecrest squinted her eyes, "A rock? What is it?" Glade laughed, "It's called candy, well, it tastes like candy. What it is... Well let's say it will help with a certain issue I sensed when I healed you. Whitecrest cocked her head confused by what the lizard meant. Glade looked down and chuckled, "It will help calm the... Ache." The lizard ended off with a cocked eyebrow. A blush of embarrassment washed across Whitecrest's face and her ears flattened. Whitecrest had forgotten about her heat, with everything that had happened. And even though she couldn't feel it much now, she knew that it was just the effects of their ordeal and it would come back. So she took the strange rock into her mouth and swallowed it. "Do you have 'Mi'?" Whitecrest wondered. Glade seethed through her teeth, "By the skies of course not! It would be blasphemy for a healer such as myself to ever carry such a thing. The candy I gave you should last for a day." Glade stood up and started to walk away. "Lykan, what's wrong with him?" She wondered looking at him. "The human? I don't know, I've never felt an energy like his. But though I couldn't heal him I could sense he is a mage, and by the strain I sensed within the energy of his being I assumed he most likely overexerted himself when using his abilities." She was silent for a few moments, "I've felt the energies of hundreds, thousands of other beings, and I've never felt an energy like his." She paused again but then started walking out of the tent. "He should be waking up soon, I'm sorry but I must go griff." She said as she walked out of the tent.

Thoughts raced around in Whitecrest's mind, this had been one of the most chaotic weeks of her life. This journey of hers was only meant to be a simple trip to the Great City, nothing more. Yet it had become one where her life had been in danger multiple times. Her ears shot up as she heard shuffling across from her. She smiled, 'At least there was one good thing that has come from this trip' she thought to herself as she saw Lykan move around. He let out a quiet groan before blinking his eyes open. He stared up at the roof of the tent until he finally regained his senses. His head flopped to the side where he saw Whitecrest lying down. "Whitecrest!" He shot up right as he saw her but a quick jerk of his body had him groan out from the pain. He tried to ignore it as he propped himself up with his arms, "Are you ok?". He truly cared for her and the only thing on his mind in that moment was if she was alright. "She snorted and smiled, "Yeah... Yeah, I'm ok." He breathed out a sigh of relief. And then it finally hit him, "Where are we?" his head quickly darted around the room, "Who are these people?" She looked around as well, looking at the few others in the tent. "I don't exactly know where we are, but these people are from the Great City, they came here because the underfiends came onto the merchant's road." Lykan had never heard of such a thing happening, the road was supposed to be protected from the demons. "YOUR LEG! Is it alright?!" He asked worried, remembering that she had been seared by the flames. Whitecrest hadn't even thought about it, she rolled over revealing her thigh, "I, I don't even feel anything anymore." They looked at the place where she'd been hit and were hocked. "It's completely healed! Well, you have a pretty big area without any fur but I don't see even I single hint of injury." She swung around trying to look at the area better, "NO FUR?!" He laughed as he saw her twisting about trying to get a better look at her leg. "That's really what you're worrying about? The missing fur instead of the fact that part of your flesh had been seared off?" He said laughing. She huffed out, "Hmmmphh, we griffins take great pride in our appearance." She finally stopped trying to look at her leg and resided to resting down, laying down closer to the cot Lykan rested on.

"So... What know?" Lykan asked laying back down on the cot and staring at the roof of the tent unseeingly. "Mmmmm, a healer spoke to me and told me that we would be free to stay with them as long as they are here. She even said that they were willing to supply us. But, even though I truly would want nothing more but to lay down and sleep for as long as my body would let me, we've been set back a few times, and showing up to the Great City late could make my clan look bad. If possible, I would want to leave as soon as we could." Lykan nodded and hummed an approval, "I understand, but there is one thing I absolutely must do before we depart." She looked up at him and heard a grumble from his stomach, "Hah... I just really need to eat."

...

A short while had passed until they both came out of the healer's tent. They had heard all sorts of sounds coming from outside and when they finally saw everything they were amazed. A small encampment had been set up on either side of the merchant's road. They were all soldiers! All of them wearing armor with the Great Citie's insignia brandished on it: A Phoenix, the undying bird. But as they continued walking through the camp, Lykan's mouth practically hit the ground as walking in the camp was a wolven soldier... Riding a DRAGON. He just stared with his mouth open in utter shock. While Whitecrest was not shocked at the sight of a dragon, what she was shocked about was just past the dragon there was another griffin! With a rider on its back! And the griffin had a saddle on its back! Like some feral animal! And what made Whitecrest even more shocked was that it had some sort of harness wrapped around its head attached to the saddle. How could such a proud beast ever allow another to defile its body with such things? Both of them continued walking through the camp with astonished looks on their faces. Lykan kept turning his head around to look at the dragon, he was almost giddy with excitement seeing a dragon up close for the first time.

They were directed to a tent at the front of the camp. Inside, there were several armored knights, most of which were human, along with Glade and a tall armored Stag. But standing at the front of a tent, adorned in gold-lined and decorated armor unlike anyone else was a tall bird-kin. "Ah warden, these are two victims from the attacks, I spoke to you of them earlier." The bird-kin looked up at them, an eagle Lykan noticed, and by the skies, this 'warden' was an impressive character. Standing over six feet tall and clearly well-built and with that piercing gaze that rivaled Whitecrest's. "Hmm, and why did you bring them here? If they are healed they are free to food and drink, but then they should leave." The deep-voiced avian said as he looked back down at some maps spread across the table. "Yes well... there was something else, and I thought you might be able to get a different perspective. The human", she gestured towards Lykan, "I can sense something, strange within him. You know how long I've been doing this, and in all these years I've never felt such an energy before." The eagle looked back at Lykan and squinted his eyes, "Come here human..." With hesitation, Lykan slowly sauntered across the tent over to the fearsome-looking eagle. He watched as the man took off one of his gauntlets and proceeded to place his massive clawed hand across his chest and closed his eyes. "Glade, I do not sense this energy you speak of, perhaps it was related to the attack from the underlings, though I---" The eagle stopped mid-sentence and cocked his head and widened his eyes. Lykan felt the eagle press his hand harder against his chest. "It feels like... Like it's changing, doesn't it." Glade said, to which the eagle said nothing in response. Lykan was confused beyond belief and starting to get a little frustrated, "Changing? What is? Can someone explain what is going on here?!" Lykan blurted out. After a few more moments, the eagle released his hand from across his chest and looked at him. "You are a mage, I can feel it inside you. What magic are you proficient in?" The eagle asked him with a strong voice, "I... I don't know, I can't control it." The eagle squinted his eyes, "You can't control it? Explain." Whenever I use my magic, I usually have no memory of actually using it, I just wake up after the fact." But then Lykan remembered, "Except... Yesterday, I still don't understand how I did it but I used my magic to destroy a group of underfiends chasing us." "What can you do with your magic?" The eagle said looking back at the maps. "The only thing I can remember is a bright white light, and white flames expelled from my hand. Oh... and I can, I don't know how to explain it, but I also can see... Life." The warden immediately looked up from the maps, looking at Glade and then back at Lykan. "What do you mean?" He said, for the first time with a tone of interest in his voice. "Uh, there are times when it happens randomly, but I've learned to control it over the past month. But my vision completely changes, I don't see things in color, but instead, I can see life. Or at least that's what I've noticed, as anything that is living has these strange wisps of light flowing within them, where as anything that isn't living does not."

The eagle looked to Glade and then back at the human. "Human, where do you travel?" He said standing right in front of him, "Uh, the Great City." The eagle slowly nodded, "Well human, I give you this" The eagle handed him a coin, but it was unlike any he'd ever seen before. "This is a token to the Great Ward, where the finest mages of the world reside. If you wish to ever discover more of your abilities, to understand whatever it is that transpires within you, go there. Give them this token and tell them The Warden of Feathers gave it to you." Lykan reached out and took the token. The coin was of silver making and brandished on one side was a golden feather, and on the other the insignia of the Great City. Once Lykan took the token into his hand, the warden sat back down and returned to his duties. Lykan couldn't believe it... Ever since he left his home, he knew that he was making his way to the Great City to find some way to 'fix' whatever was wrong with him. But a thought always lurked in the back of his mind yet he always suppressed it. How in the skies was he going to do that? It was a thought that would sometimes surface in the back of his mind, but he'd immediately ignore it, fearing the reality of his situation. But now... Now, in his hand he held something... Hope, and more than that an actual course of action; a path for him to follow. "T-Thank you... *huh* Thank you." He repeated. The armored eagle didn't look up, seemingly engrossed back into whatever matters he was busy tending to. "Lykan, is that correct?" To the side of him, Lykan heard a female voice speak, and looking he saw the healer, Glade, he heard her be called. "There are very pressing matters we must tend to so if you'd be so kind as to leave the tent we'll have one of our guards take you to a place where you can eat, drink, and stock up for your travels." He nodded politely and along with Whitecrest they left the tent following a guard.

As they left the tent, the Warden looked back up, and in his mind, he repeated, "Can see life..."

...

"I don't think I've ever seen a griffin with your build before, from what land do you come from?" The soldier that was walking with them asked Whitecrest. He was a wolf, with white fur, a moderate build, and simple iron armor with a sheathed blade at his hips. At first, Whitecrest wasn't going to dignify the wolf with a response, but she remembered that these henches weren't like the ones from her homelands. "I come from the Red Mountains, from across the scar." Her reply had the wolf look back at her, "Across the scar? I didn't know Griffins lived on the other side. I guess that explains why I've never seen a griffin like you." He said as they continued, walking past all the other soldiers around. But Lykan now began to notice not only soldiers, where at first he had seen no one else but now he saw what looked to be common folk. "Who are these others here?" Lykan asked looking around. "They are mostly folk affected by the attacks, like you two. We provide them with what they need as their lives have become displayed through the attacks. Thankfully, the area invaded by underbeings does not reach any inhabited areas, but it is still something that must be dealt with as swiftly as possible." Lykan nodded his head in affirmation, and in the back of his mind, he kept wondering how the underbeings could invade the road, as none ever had before. "There," Lykan and Whitecrest looked ahead, the wolf pointed to a large gathering of people around some tents, "You'll be able to get food, drink, and possibly some other supplies there, now if you'd excuse me there are other matters I must attend to." The wolf said walking back in the direction they'd came from. A faint smell took Lykan away from his thoughts as the aroma filled his senses. Taking in a great breath he got a good whiff of a pleasant aroma of fresh food. A smile spread across his face, the smell reminded him of home, coming into the house after a day of work to his mother's freshly made cooking. Trying to soak in the moment as much as possible he closed his eyes and took another big inhale, the smell was great, it smelled like---. "Oof!" "Raargg!". Lykan opened up his eyes as his chest collided straight into something. "Ah... I'm sorry I-", and once Lykan saw what he'd bumped into his mind and body froze, leading him to stand there with a foolish look of shock on his face.

Standing right in front of him was the dragon he'd seen earlier. "Raaah! Watch where you are-" The dragon spoke with a strong, and majestic feminine voice, but just as he did she stopped speaking mid-sentence. Lykan's eyes widened and he tensed up a little more as she leaned in closer to him. "Hmmmmm", he heard her hum, and he swore that she was sniffing him. Just then, Lykan heard a slight noise from behind him, like a growl. And he cocked his head to the side and saw Whitecrest with her head bent down in a menacing manner looking at the dragon next to Lykan. The dragon looked towards Whitecrest and raised an eyebrow and smirked, "This one smells good, is he your rider griff?" She said with a coy tone. That caused Whitecrest to raise her head up, "Rider? I'd never be reduced to being a mere device for a hench to use, he is my companion." The dragon backed her head away from Lykan and chuckled, "Hench? We don't hear that word often, I assume you are from across the scar then? Uncommon even within the Great City." Whitecrest didn't reply, merely just a huff which caused the dragon to laugh again. Now that she'd stepped back and his mind had anchored itself again he was able to take in the mythical body of this gorgeous beast. She had blue-ish gray scales along the top of her head and down across her back and tail, and her underbelly scales were all light grey. Across her body there were sections of scales that were a light blue color, adding a bit of uniqueness to her look. She had light blue webbing along her jaws, a trail of hair running from the center of her forehead to her neck, and a beautiful pair of ivory horns. Lykan noticed that had the same eyes as Whitecrest, not the same color as hers were like sapphires, but instead, they shared the same sharp gaze. Like a hawk, a predator that was about to pounce on its prey, and the look of those eyes had Lykan both intimidated and amazed.

"Hmm, not a rider? But he has flown with you, yes? And without a saddle or harness? Daring you must be human." When she addressed him as she finished her sentence, she spoke differently, it sounded almost like the tone someone would use if they were flirting with another. It was so strange because right after he'd bumped into her, she swung around in frustration. What caused her to change? And why did she say that he smelled good? What in the skies was that about? "Perhaps I'll see you again, human." The dragoness said before she swung around and walked away, and as she was walking away she looked back at him and narrowed her eyes and grinned, and flicked the end of her tail against his neck. Whitecrest let out a quiet growl at that which caused the dragoness to let out another chuckle. "...Uh, wow. What in the skies." Lykan huffed out. That was the first time in his life he'd even seen a dragon up close, and by the skies, she was fearsome, magnificent, and beautiful. And even more, it even seemed like she was fond of him, for whatever reason.

Whitecrest's feathers and fur were standing on end, she didn't like that dragon one bit. How she asked if Lykan was her "rider", but what bothered her more was the way she behaved toward Lykan. It just rubbed her fur the wrong way, how friendly she was acting with him. But something she said made her think, Lykan could have very well fallen off of her when they fought the day before. She couldn't believe that she was considering this after just speaking about how much she was against it, but... she wondered if there was any way they could get some gear that would allow Lykan to hold on better when he flew with her. "Lykan," She spoke quieter than usual, "It just occurred to me, but yesterday you could've fallen off when we were attacked..." Her ears flattened, "And what happens if something like that happened again? Perhaps we should see if we can get some gear that could help you hold on better." "Are... are you sure? What about what you just said to the dragon? And you've told me your clan looks down upon such behavior?" She rolled her eyes and looked at him with a playful grin, "I care more for you than I do for my pride, Lykan." He smiled at her words, "Thank you, Whitecrest. I will admit there were times were I feared that I was going to fall off, so if there is some way that is comfortable enough for you, I would be greatful." Whitecrest lifted her head and ears up again, smiling back at Lykan. "Oh! That dragoness had a saddle! Perhaps she could help." Lykan blurted out. But the moment Whitecrest heard Lykan mention the dragon her ears flattened and she let out a grumble. Lykan was too focused on thinking about what to do that he didn't notice Whitecrest's reaction. "So we can eat, get a full stomach, and then I'll find the dragon or their rider and see what I can do." Whitecrest flicked her tail, hoping that he'd end up running into the rider before the dragoness. "Hey! I remember seeing another griffin here, maybe it would be nice for you to speak to another of your kind after so long? Maybe that's what you can do while I try and find some gear." Her ears perked up and her eyes widened, he was right! It had been quite some time since she'd seen let alone talk to another griffin and it would surely be nice to. And then she realized that she could possibly find a mate here! But... The thing was that Whitecrest could barely feel the ache of her heat. That strange rock Glade had given her worked very well to mask the ache of her heat and she didn't feel any drive to find a mate.

...

Lykan and Whitecrest both enjoyed a pleasant meal and good company. Most of the others there were soldiers, but there were also some other travelers. Lykan finally got some better insight into the capital city, as before he'd only heard about it from Mother Oars, who was very cryptic with her explanations, and then from Tyvar, who embellished all of his stories. One of the soldiers, another human, said that he was born in a small village in the middle of nowhere. When he came to the Great City he couldn't believe it, buildings unlike anything he could ever imagine, statues several times larger than a house, and then the most shocking of all was the amount of different species within the city. The soldier said that for months he kept being introduced to new species, ones that he didn't know existed. He pointed across the table to another soldier, and when Lykan saw him well... He'd never seen his kind before. The human laughed saying he had the same reaction. The soldier he pointed to had the qualities of a feline but clearly wasn't. Not to mention he had an extra pair of ears! That was an interesting sight indeed. All of this only excited Lykan, to get to see new kin, new magic, and new parts of the world, he was truly looking forward to the path that stretched out in front of him.

After they finished their meals, Lykan told Whitecrest that he was off to look for the dragoness or her rider, and again he was oblivious to the sour reaction Whitecrest had, but she tried to shake her mind off of it. So Lykan went off asking around where he could find the dragon, and Whitecrest snooped around looking for other griffins. Lykan had asked a few soldiers before he finally found the dragon's encampment. He came up to a grouping of large tents and described the dragoness to a guard so that he could tell Lykan where she was. The guard pointed to the furthest down on the left and Lykan strolled until he reached the tent and entered. He brushed aside the drapes causing the outside light to temporarily flood the room. "Ugh Mordo, I thought you said you were helping w-" Lykan let the drapes close behind him and stared at the dragoness sprawled out in the tent as she spoke. But she stopped speaking as she noticed who it was. "Oh! Not Mordo," The dragoness twisted her body, stood up, and walked over to Lykan, "The human from earlier, why might you be here human?" The dragoness came closer to Lykan and as she walked closer he felt his chest tighten up and his heart beat faster. "Hah... Umm, I came to ask for a favor." He said speaking with a hint of nervousness in his voice. His body tensed up again as she came up right in front of him, and this time he clearly could tell she was smelling him. She let out a chuckle, "So strange, you seem different than other humans, or other bipeds" She kept speaking as she began to circle him. "What is your name, human?" She asked in a mischievous tone. "Lykan, my name is Lykan." She continued circling him "I am Kayda." She said and stopped once she stood in front of him again. "Well, Lykan, we dragons don't really do 'favors'. But tell me, what is it you're looking for." Lykan's body was still tensed up out of nervousness and awe. "I saw you with a saddle and a harness, so you have a rider? Well, yesterday when we were attacked, I nearly fell off several times. I was wondering if there is any way that I could find a saddle or harness, anything to make flying safer."

"Flying gear? With the griff that boasted about how she'd never let anyone ride her! Hah!" The dragoness said while chuckling. "I have plenty of coin," Lykan added and threw a bag filled with coins onto the table." "Hmmm," she hummed after seeing the bag, "With the amount of coin you have I'm sure that someone would be willing to spare a backup set of flight armor." Lykan closed the bag and smiled, "Really!? Hah! That's great, do you know where someone who might be willing to sell thei-." Lykan was cut off mid-sentence as the dragoness walked back up to Lykan, but this time she went up right in his face, leaving only a few inches between them. "Uhhhhh", Lykan stood frozen. "Now then, no need to be so hasty! You see my rider and I do have a spare pair of flight gear, and I believe we might be willing to part ways with it." Lykan was confused with how close she was to him, but nonetheless hearing her say that was great. "Really! Well, how much coin? Name your price and I'll--" Yet again Lykan was cut off by Kayda, "Shhhh, we can worry about that later," Lykan heard her let out a faint growl as the grin on her face grew, "Because there's something I want, more than I desire coin. And I'd be more than happy to sell the spare gear for a cheaper price if you can give me what I want." She was so close to him that he could feel her warm breath hitting his face, "Uhh, well, sure. What is it that you need help with." Lykan said, not even thinking about what he'd just agreed to. "Hmmhmmhmm," she let out a strange thrill, and her ears and tail flicked around. And then she began to move forward again! "Uh... What are you-" and then Lykan shot his eyes wide open and felt his body tense up even more than it already was as he felt Kayda place her tongue right under his neck, dragging it slowly across his flesh. Completely unprepared for this Lykan didn't know what to think, but he immediately felt goosebumps across his entire body. He didn't have much more time to think as all of a sudden Kayda began to press into him harder. "Ahhh!" Lykan yelped out as he was pushed to the ground with Kayda right on top of him! And even more, she still had her wet, long tongue pressed up against his flesh. Lykan felt almost lightheaded and still didn't understand what was happening. "W-What are you d-doing?!" He blurted out, "ah!" he felt her move her tongue across his neck and then down underneath his shirt and across his chest. Lykan's head was almost spinning, 'Is this... Is this actually happening?!" he screamed out to himself in his head. Lykan was oblivious for a few moments until he began to realize what she meant when she said she wanted something. 'A-A dragon. wants THIS?! FROM ME?!' His head spun as the thoughts in his head and the electrifying feeling of her warm wet tongue traveling across his skin had him utterly lost.

Kayda stopped slathering her tongue across his neck and Lykan felt the cool air against the trails of saliva she'd placed on his neck. And once she stopped he felt the tension in his muscles relax leading him to let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding and slumped his arms and legs against the ground. Though he was still lost, he realized that he'd enjoyed that more than he realized and missed the feeling of her tongue against his skin. He was about to look up at Kyda, wondering what she was doing when all of a sudden, "HRRRKK!!!" Lykan's muscles tensed up again and he jerked his head forward as he felt Kayda press her snout right against his crotch. He met her predatory gaze with his wide eyes, and she stared back at him with her muzzle nested between his legs against his crotch, and she had a massive grin on her face. "So human... do you think you can help me?" After she spoke she dragged her tongue across the growing bulge in his pants. "Uhhh!" Lykan went light-headed and his mouth hung open letting out a moan but he didn't say a word, and instead he just slowly nodded his head. And Kayda, once she saw this thrilled with excitement and Lykan watched intently as he saw her take her tongue and maneuver it underneath the waistline of his pants.

Lykan's chest heaved up and down as he started to breathe faster and faster, still in shock. But he felt her warm wet tongue touching his skin again and felt a burst of excitement rush across his chest and his manhood became fully erect before she even reached it with her tongue. Slowly, almost antagonizing slow, she pushed her tongue further and further, it was like she was toying with him! He looked down at her with desperate eyes as she drew ever closer, and she was staring right back at him. Oh, she was playing with him, teasing him, going ever so slowly, and she reveled in watching him squirm. She was going to have fun with him, and the fact that she'd never mated with any species other than a dragon before made it a little more exciting. She still couldn't describe why but for some reason she felt a strange and strong attraction to this little human. And she was curious and excited to see what he could do.

Lykan's breath caught in the back of his throat and he tensed up as her tongue was about to hit its mark. He lay there, teeth clenched, eyes squeezed shut, and toes curled as the suspense and nervousness was driving him mad. Just before Lykan was going to blurt out some plea to Kayda, she thrust her tongue forward and before he even knew it she'd curled a fair amount of her wet tongue around his throbbing member. "Haaaaah!" Lykan's eyes shot open and he let out a gasping moan as the feeling of Kayda's warm, wet, and now squeezing appendage coiled around his cock. Lykan flexed all of his muscles and craned his back as the sheer amount of pleasure almost had his head spinning. This reaction had Kayda more than pleased and it made her release a sort of muffled growl of pride. Lykan's eyes rolled in the back of his head and he stretched his legs out as the vibration from her sent him to an even higher state of ecstasy. Just this initial stimulation seemed to bring Lykan so much pleasure it was intriguing to Kayda, but she hoped he wouldn't pop too soon and let her down, this was just the beginning.

A gasp of disappointment came from Lykan when he felt Kayda uncoil her tongue from his rock-hard cock and out from under his pants. His eyes fluttered and he looked up to see what Kayda was doing. He saw her stand up and for a moment he was seized with fear that he'd done something wrong. She walked to the other side of the tent and lay down in a large cushion-like bed and she narrowed her eyes looking back at him. She didn't even say a single word, she didn't have to. That look on her face, those predatory sultry eyes had his heart fluttering with nervousness and unbelievable excitement. He got up off the floor, and as he moved Kayda watched him like a hawk with a lustful gaze. Stepping up next to the bed-like cushion he heard her speak. "Take them off." She said, and the way she said it, she wasn't asking.

In his head, Lykan still didn't truly grasp what was happening. In his life he'd only ever been with humans, he knew that there were interspecies relations, but he'd never imagined relations between beasts and people. But in the moment, this was the absolute last thing that was on his mind and he didn't care in the slightest. As by now his mind was entirely consumed by desire and the exotic passion Kayda was promising. There was a bit of hesitation in his movements, but regardless he steadily began to remove his garments. Kayda watched on with the faint hum of her draconic thrill filling the room. Once she saw him remove his shirt, she was pleasantly surprised to see a well-chiseled form, a form she'd normally come to expect only from a trained soldier. She tried not to show it, but her excitement was rising. Her claws dug into the cushion beneath her and the end of her tail flicked back and forth. Her eyes widened when she finally saw him begin to remove the last of his pesky clothes, underneath her prize was waiting.

Lykan pressed his undergarment down and, "Gahhh..." He let out a gasp of relief as his throbbing cock was finally released from its painful prison. His cock flung out and he stood there silent, his eight inches visibly jerking with arousal. Kayda felt her mouth water as she saw his unique human cock hanging in the air between them. "My, my, my," She said as a great big smile stretched across her scaled face, and between her legs she felt her arousal twinge with excitement. While Lykan's member was not as long as a dragon's might be, it was girthier, and it didn't taper off to a point like a dragon's did. And... well, she noticed earlier when she had her tongue wrapped around his cock that it was harder than a dragon's, oh by the skies she felt excitement rushing across her body imagining what it would feel like to have him pounding her as hard as he could with that hard cock. Gosh, she shivered in anticipation just thinking about it. "Lay with me... human." She said, her words flowing out like honey as she looked at him with lidded eyes. This time, without any hesitation he kneeled and climbed onto the large cushion. He began to crawl closer to Kayda but then she stopped him, holding him back with her tail before she curled herself around and brought her snout right up against her ear. "I didn't finish what I started." She spoke lightly, and as the excitement began to well up within him again he felt her push him back onto his back.

Lykan looked back up and his mind froze, 'This... This is a sight to behold.' Sprawled out on a cushion lay Lykan, completely prone and utterly naked, his impressive human shaft stood proudly in the air, still jerking from his uncontrollable excitement. But then, resting right between his legs Kayda, a beautiful dragon, eyed his manhood with a devious grin. Though before she only got a momentary taste of his flesh, she still could taste the remnants of him on her tongue. She stared at his cock, her claws clenched against his thighs with excitement, oh she NEEDED to taste him again. At first, she had the pretense of teasing the human again, slowly dragging her tongue across his member, slowly bringing him to beg for more. But she couldn't, and instead, she opened up her maw and sunk her entire mouth over his human cock, instantly taking his entire length in her maw.

Lykan opened his mouth to gasp, but nothing came out. He felt her entire wet smoldering maw engulf his entire dick and the sheer intensity of pleasure made him see stars. But the thing was... She wasn't done yet. Her tongue slowly crept out of her mouth and quickly found the two orbs hanging beneath Lykan's member. And without pause, she slathered his balls with her warm tongue. "Ohhhhhhh... By.... the....SKIES" Lykan had never, ever in his life ever felt something like this before. Hearing the pleasured moans from Lykan only spurred the dragoness on, encouraging her to explore the strange orbs beneath his cock even more. Lykan grasped the sheets while Kayda kept her mouth planted firmly against the base of his cock. She took in everything, the intoxicating scent of a male, a strong, virile male... She still couldn't understand why she was feeling like this with a human! But she didn't care! By the gods, she wanted to take everything he had to offer. His scent, his taste, his moans, she wanted it all.

After a healthy amount of time tending to his two orbs, she finally decided to change pace and began to bob her head up and down. "Uhhhhhhhhh" Lykan threw both of his arms up and grabbed his hair and pulled back, pushing his hands through his hair as he was fighting against a wave of unrelenting pleasure. "Kayda, oh my... Kayda... This." She smirked to herself, she liked hearing him say her name, and she rewarded him by taking her tongue and coiling it around his dick. "AHH!" It was almost too much for Lykan! The combination of her bobbing her head and the squeezing of her tongue. His fingers and toes were constantly curling and flexing, his head thrashing around while Kayda held her paws firmly against his thigh and chest, holding him still. The heat of the moment took over Lykan, and he let go of any nervousness or worry. He threw his hands up and immediately began to caress Kayda's fearsome and unbelievably magnificent face. The feeling of scales against his hands was a surreal experience. This was one of his first experiences with a dragon. And by the skies what an experience it was. He threw his head back again and let out a long moan when Kayda moved her coiled tongue from the base of cock and curled it around the head of his cock and began to squeeze with her tongue. "T-this can't be real" he wheezed.

"Oh... Oh..." He began to gasp out again as Kayda started to let out a low growl. The bobbing of her head, the squeezing of her tongue, and the vibration of her throat... It was too much, beyond too much. A warmth began to spread across Lykan's body, and he knew that he was rapidly reaching his peak. His peak was coming, and it was coming stronger than he'd ever experienced before, and it was going to hit hard. His breathing picked up and his heart began to beat faster. "Kayda, I-I'm gonna!" She took the hint and began to work even faster, leading Lykan to jerk his head in shock. He put his arms back down against the sheets and squeezed as hard as he possibly could as his peak was approaching the threshold with unbridled fury. But then something pushed him over the edge before he even knew it, Kayda extended her tongue, keeping some of it coiled around the base of his cock, and the rest coiled around his balls and she squeezed lightly.

"HRRRRRK!!!!" Lykan arched his back as he felt the floodgates starting to burst...

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Lykan screamed, he literally lost his vision and saw stars as Kayda brought him an unbelievable height of pleasure. "NGGHHH" Lykan shot rope after rope of his thick human seed into Kayda's awaiting maw. But it didn't stop! He just continued to release his seed into her mouth, he felt like his soul was being sucked right out of him, giving her more than he'd even thought was possible. And she made sure to take every. last. drop. With her tongue coiled around his spurting and throbbing cock, she took her tongue and slowwwwwly squeezed his cock from the base to the tip squeezing out every single drop of seed he could give her. And she continued to wring the cum right out of him. His body jerked, a flaming passion wrecking his mind and body as he spilled his seed out into Kayda's hot wet maw. After what seemed like an eternity, Lykan's spurts began to slow, and with a few last spurts, his cock finally stopped its furious release. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaa," his mind was hazy, his body numb, and he let out a grunt and squirmed a little when he felt Kayda take her tongue and squeeze his cock from the base to the tip one last time, getting the last few drops he had to give. Kayda welcomed Lykan's seed, the taste was intoxicating and it sent her head in a whirl and had her vent aching in anticipation and excitement.

After Lykan's cock finally gave its last jerk, his body flopped back onto the cushion and he lay there panting. She kept his member in her mouth for a few more moments, relishing the feeling of having a male in her mouth. Lykan felt her open her mouth and he looked down at her. His eyes went wide and he stared at her with a dumbfounded look on his face as he saw Kyla's maw wide open with his cock resting atop her tongue. She hummed out a chuckle and closed her mouth around his cock again. "Unnnnnggg" he moaned as she suckled his oversensitive member while bringing her head back. Eventually, she pulled off of his dick and it flopped back onto Lykan's stomach. Then they both just lay there, Lykan was still coming down from the height of his orgasm and his head felt light and fuzzy. He let out a hum when he felt Kayda begin to sensually trail her tongue along his abs. She traced the outline of his abs with her tongue, intrigued by his different physique.

'This human better not think that they were done' Kayda thought to herself. The effects of her foreplay combined with her strange attraction to Laykan had set her mind ablaze. Everything around them had completely vanished, the only thing that existed in her mind was the throbbing ache between her legs and her need to be FUCKED.

A small wince escaped Lykan's mouth, feeling a light scratch against his thighs. He looked up and saw Kayda grasping his thighs a little stronger than normal. But then he met her gaze again and his heart skipped a beat. Kayda stared at him, almost like a statue except for her chest rising and falling, and those eyes. She was a predator, and she was looking right at her prey. "Human..." she said in a low voice, "You better not think that we're even close to done here," and then a growl began to thrum in the back of her throat.

Even though Lykan had just hit his peak, Kayda was beginning to reignite the fire within him. Understanding that Kayda had her needs as well, and his intense desire to fulfil them, he willed energy back into his body. With the combination of his reinstilled energy and his desire to please Kayda. "Hrrrrrrrrrr", Kayda almost furred her eyebrows in confusion as she heard what seemed to sound like Lykan's attempt to growl. But before she had any more time to think... "Raaahhh!" Lykan flashed forward and before she had a chance to stop him, he'd pushed her on her back! A human pushed her like it was easy! A feeling of uneasiness flickered in the back of her mind as this position of being on her back was new and she didn't know how she felt about it. She was about to try and roll back over before... "RAHHHHHHH!" Kayda kicked her strong legs out, flapped her tail against the cushion, and thrust her head back and eyes wide open. Her eyes unfocused and rolled slightly in the back of her head because as she was paying attention to the new position she was in, Lykan had positioned himself right between her massive thighs and took his two hands and without hesitation, spread her draconic vent wide open.

"wow...." That was all Lykan could say. There he was, laying down, in bed, with a dragon... spreading her pussy wide open for him to see. Immediately the scent of her arousal bombarded his senses, and he drank it in. He took in a large inhale, and the scent flooded his mind and sent shivers across his body, bringing his arousal up even more. Regardless of his peak merely minutes ago, seeing Kayda's glistening lips and smelling her intoxicating scent made his member reach full mast, and again it began to throb angrily from the need to release his seed again.

Though Kayda still wasn't exactly sure about this position, she lay there still, shocked by the strength he exerted and aroused by his actions, a powerful male asserting himself in such a manner made her scales tingle. A fire had grown within her, and her chest rose and fell with her increasing breaths. She was lying there, waiting, tortured with anticipation! 'Oh you little brat...' she thought to herself, he was doing exactly what she had done to him earlier. And just as she did he was going to drag it on just a tad bit longer. A warble of relief escaped Kayda's scaled lips as FINALLY, Lykan began to move his fingers, and he circled his fingers along the edges of her pink, swollen lips. He took this time to completely take in her magnificent intimacy. Her blueish-grey scales were sleek and shining with the juices of her arousal which made it extremely easy for Lykan to spread his fingers around. The scales converged into the wet pink flesh of her draconic lips, and nestled right at the apex of her vent Lykan saw a pink nub. After circling her vent with his fingers a few times he took one of his hands and lightly brought it across the surface of her clit. "TTTSSSSSSSSSSSS" Kayda hissed out and squeezed her eyes shut. Lightning bolts of ecstasy burst from where Lykan brushed her sensitive nub. Lykan grinned triumphantly, proud to know that he was pleasuring her as she pleasured him.

By now, Kayda was beginning to completely forget about their position, and what was truly unique was the attention Lykan was giving her. Never before had she ever been pleasured by fingers before, and those fingers... Oh, they made her claws and neck curl. His fingers were magical, every move around her lips sent shivers across her body. But his ministrations, while they made her feel eye-clenching levels of euphoria, she needed more. Kayda had to fight through the haze of lust and pleasure to speak again. "Grrrrrrrrr..." Lykan slowed down as he heard... and felt Kayda growling. Twisting her head she looked down at the human who in turn looked back at her. "Human, you dare teas-- ARRRHHHHH!!!" She slapped her paws and tail with great force and let out a growl when she was cut off mid-sentence by Lykan shoving two of his fingers into her aching depths. "Hnnnnnnnng" Her claws curled and her tail unconsciously coiled around Lykan's leg and squeezed hard. 'This smug bastard...' Kayda was in a whole different world now, she couldn't understand how two small fingers could bring her so much pleasure, but she didn't care, she was above the sky allowing the strange exotic digits to wiggle into her depths. Finally, Lykan had pushed his fingers as far as they could possibly go into her snug and heated cunt. When he bottomed out her body tensed and Lykan felt a strong squeeze against his fingers that had his raging cock jump with excitement. It felt so exotic, having his fingers shoved deep inside the desperate cunt of a dragon. She was beyond unbelievable... soft like velvet, but strong and able to squeeze his fingers hard, and wet... very wet. With his bounding excitement and his desire to push the limits of her bliss, he started to curl and then twist his fingers, rubbing along the walls of her tunnel.

Immediately Kayda responded by kicking her legs and throwing her head back, and she lay there with her head upside down, lazy eyes, and her tongue hanging out. It was truly a sight to behold; a magnificent, strong, prideful, and fearsome beast being treated to such levels of pleasure she dropped any sense of pride or modesty. Again, a rush of pride ran through Lykan's breast and gave him the courage to continue, but even stronger. So without further waiting not only did he continue to curl his fingers and swirl them within her clenching snatch, he began to rhythmically pump his two fingers in and out. Kayda's eyes went blurry and she started to let out a soft growl, but it was a noise that portrayed absolute and utter bliss. By the skies Lykan loved that noise, he wanted to hear more. So he picked up the pace and pumped his fingers even faster, and now he kept his two fingers locked in a curled position so he was constantly rubbing along the roof of her pussy. And he got exactly what he wished for. "Uhhhnnnnnnngggg" Kayda moaned out over and over again. A constant groan with a louder "unh!" each time he mashed his fingers deep into her.

By the skies! Lykan's excitement was bursting out of him, he couldn't help it and it just made him start to pump faster and faster. And... he kept increasing his pace, it was almost like he felt something building up inside of him. He tried to focus on this building sensation when... another sensation filled inside of him. He slowed down only for a split moment as all of a sudden he felt a slight burning sensation spread across his vision and then a bright flash. He was so engrossed in the moment that he didn't feel the pain that usually accompanied his second sight, and he was a little disappointed that he was interrupted by such a thing. But, when his vision returned to him and he looked down in front of him, any hint of disappointment left him instantly. He continued to pump his fingers, but he was looking at Kayda's body with his mouth agape. Her beauty was not lost, not one bit. He looked at her body, and he saw waves of glowing light traveling across her body, and it was a beauty he could never describe. And something he noticed... well, was that when he looked at her nether region the glowing was even brighter! He smiled in confused amazement at what he was seeing and went to refocus completely on Kayda.

The entire time Kayda had been none the wiser to what happened to Lykan for a brief moment. She was lost in an endless sea of crippling pleasure, her body rendered limp and her mind in a haze. She had a tell-tale lazy smile across her scaled snout. Lykan's fingers were like electricity, every time he moved, even just a little, inside her bolts rippled across her spine and made her head fuzzy. She was panting even harder now, and Lykan was pumping fast and hard, just as she liked it. But there was something like an itch inside her, and every time he pumped inside her cunt he just barely missed it and each time he missed it then turned into an ache. She was about to maneuver her body hoping that it would cause him to start mashing his fingers against the spot, but before she could... "RAAAAAHHHHH!!!" She squeezed her massive dragon legs, almost crushing Lykan between them as her mind went blank and her body screamed out in ecstasy. Lykan had, on his own moved his fingers ever so perfectly that he began to bombard the area where she aching inside. "Unnnnnnngggg" she hissed out in rapture.

Lykan didn't quite understand what this glowing was, but all he cared about was making sure Kayda didn't stop squealing and warbling with pleasure. He focused on her nethers and watched the glowing of her beautiful body. As he continued to rub his fingers against her walls, any time he ever saw a spot where the glow became stronger, he would shift his attention to that area... and the reaction he got was amazing. "HISSSSSSSS" *SLAP!*, Kayda seethed through her teeth and uncurled her tail from around Lykan's leg and slapped it against the cushion hard. She dug her claws into the mattress and caused the linen to rip as she dragged her claws across it. Her eyes were furrowed and clenched hard, and her body was at war with itself, constantly contracting and relaxing her muscles from the overload of stimulation. Every time Lykan seemed to touch her in just the right place. She kept thinking she had reached the peak of pleasure, but each time the feeling only grew stronger, and stronger, it was almost too much for her. "HAH HAH," Kayda was panting vigorously and her entire body was shaking. Seeing Kayda, a fearsome and powerful dragon squirm helplessly because of his touch was unbelievable. He loved every moment, watching her tail thrash about, her exotic dragonic warbles, it was all amazing.

Kayda's mind and body were under constant assault and she never had even a moment to rest before Lykan hit another sweet spot. She started to jerk uncontrollably, the onslaught of stimulation overtook her completely and she was singing moans of ecstasy and writhing without end. And he never stopped! Never before had she ever felt this! Lykan kept hitting the right spot every time, maneuvering his fingers inside her now-flooded steaming vent. At one moment he would be rubbing his fingers right against her sweet spot, and then just as the stimulation began to level out he would start hammering his fingers in and out of her, smashing repeatedly against a new sweet spot. Her eyes were unfocused and her mind was in shambles. She was brought to a whimpering mess from two fingers alone. Her entire body stiffened as Lykan repeatedly smashed his fingers inside her, each rut making her see stars. She was finally nearing her release, and by the way that her vent began to undulate against Lycan's fingers... he could tell. As he sensed her impending climax, he looked back down at her one last time, and without thinking, he dove his head forward and placed his lips around the pink bud of flesh nestled right between the top of her lips, and he immediately began to suckle on it.

"A------------------------RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!* Kayda roared so loud it was sure to have been heard across the entire camp. She contorted her body, twisting her neck and arching her back while her entire world was utterly consumed by maddening pleasure. Inside her vent, Lykan felt incredible strength squeezing his fingers desperately, undulating from the base of his fingers to their tips. But Lykan still didn't stop, with his mouth still placed firmly against her pleasure nub and fingers still deep within her, he kept suckling against her clit and jamming his fingers inside her. Kayda kept her back arched and her body was continuously strained itself, her muscles almost felt like they were on fire but it only added to the impossible pleasure she was feeling. And when Lykan went from suckling against her click to assaulting it with swipes of his broad tongue, she thought she might pass out. And all the while Lykan was receiving a generous amount of Kayda's intimate nectar. He lapped up as much as he possibly could while still keeping his mouth over her clit, while the rest poured all across his chin, down his neck, and pooled on the cushion beneath them. The taste of her juices was sweet, salty, and with a hint of almost a burnt flavor, and Lykan couldn't get enough of it. He mashed his face even harder against her lips as he removed his fingers from within her and instead sunk his tongue as deep as he could reach to collect as much of her exotic nectar as he possibly could. When he invaded her walls with his tongue, he still felt her clenching, and the feeling made him think what it would feel like with his dick inside her instead.

Kayda's mind was in pieces, completely dismembered by Lyman's otherworldly assault on her steamy cunt. Eventually, her walls slowly ceased their rhythmic clenching and her strained muscles finally gave out, and she flumped onto the cushion with a loud *thump!*. When she fell back down, Lykan leaned back and removed his head from between her legs, and for a few moments, a glistening string connected Lykan's lips to Kayda's shimmering pussy.

Her head hung off the edge of the cushion while her tongue lolled out of her mouth. Her eyes were unfocused, her mind foggy, and her body brought to the absolute limit. So they both just laid there in the aftermath of her release, her limbs numb and pussy still tingling. And then after what felt like an eternity her mind finally reasserted itself and she spoke.

".... W- *huff* what, was that?" She asked, but didn't even have the energy to move her neck to look at him as she spoke. Lykan still sat down between her, and he squinted his eyes slightly as his second sight began to waver off, and everything returned to normal. He took his hand and began to caress Kayda's thigh, contemplating everything that had just happened. "How... how did you-. Is this how all humans mate?!" She was in disbelief, if this was how humans and other bipeds mated, then she had never truly mated before. Lykan was able to keep Kayda at the highest peaks of pleasure at every moment, and he never wavered. It was almost too much, she never had a moment to even think because Lykan kept hitting her sweet spots that forced her mind into a haze and allowed ecstasy to ripple through her. He left her in a constant state of complete pleasure. She didn't know that a feeling like that could ever have existed. "Well... No, no I don't think so." Lykan responded as he rubbed his hands across her massive thigh, totally engrossed in the majestic nature of her form and loving the feeling of her powerful muscles. He thought he was the luckiest man ever, to see a dragon in such a state.

Kayda felt relieved hearing him say that because she feared she had always been missing out on this amazing feeling. But no... just as she thought, there was something about this human! She didn't understand! From the second she saw him she could sense something, something inside made her gravitate towards him. Then he was also able to bring her to heights of pleasure impossible for her to imagine that left her body still tingling. Who was this human?!

Though Lykan was thoroughly pleased with his performance, he felt all jittery and couldn't ignore the painful strain in his loins any longer. Kayda let out a gasp and finally found the strength to crane her head forward and look at Lykan, unprepared for the bolt of stimulation she felt. She looked down her body hazily and huffed out a breath seeing Lykan kneeling between her legs, holding his impressive cock in his hand, and now rubbing the underside of it against her slippery mound. She let out a squeal unlike anything Lykan would expect from a dragon while he circled his throbbing cock around her lips. And then he moved slightly and began to rub the tip of his cock around her clit, providing a heavenly sensation against his glans that had his body tingling. And Kayda just rolled her head around and moaned while he messaged her pleasure nub with his hard tip.

"Hnngggggggg..." Looking up from the erotic scene between their legs he met Kayda's gaze. The look on her face said everything. Gone was the ferocious leer in her eyes, gone was the terrifying beast, and in its place... A needy, lust-ridden dragon with the need to have her cunt pounded until she passed out. Lykan looked down as he held his cock between her swollen lips with wide eyes, truly realizing the fact that he was about to fuck a dragon. And with one last exhale, he maneuvered the tip of her cock along her lips, making sure to press down hard to stimulate her the entire way, and once he finally was aimed directly at her entrance... He slammed his entire cock into her with one quick thrust.

---

Whitecrest walked around the camp, she swooshed her tail out of frustration. She had gone to look for the other griffins at the camp, but after looking around and finally asking a guard. He told her that the griffins were all out in the field. Apparently, the dragons and griffons took turns with their duties, and the dragons were currently resting while all the griffins were out. Just her luck... She was praying, hoping that she could find a griffin. A strong and worthy griffon who would help her with her heat. Honestly, she was desperate and she didn't know whether she would have been able to control herself and might have just let the first male that wanted to mount her. Though she was filled with frustration along with the unbearable ache between her legs, in the back of her mind she thought that perhaps it was a good thing. As she might have stooped so low as to let an unworthy griffin mate with her due to her desperate state.

She continued walking through the camp and tried to push her frustration aside. But no matter how hard she tried there was no way she could push aside the ache in her nethers. Nonetheless, she tried to focus on finding Lykan and just getting out of the camp, she didn't want to delay any longer, especially now that she knew the other griffins would not return soon. She also wondered if Lykan had been able to acquire the gear they were looking for. She was still apprehensive about allowing something that was seen as degrading by her clan to be placed on her. But every time she thought of that she remembered that she was doing it for Lykan. She'd grown to care for him, and after what he'd done for her, the time they'd spent together, well she grew a connection to him and she was willing to do it to make sure he was safe. Even if it meant swallowing her pride and wearing a saddle.

In front of her, she saw a grouping of tents and stables, and when she saw a dragon resting in one of the stables she knew she'd found the right place. Lykan was most likely here somewhere, she just had to find him. She just started making her way forward, when all of a sudden her ears shot up as she heard a loud roar come from the furthest tent to the left of her. She looked around and looked at the other dragon that was resting in the stable, he craned his neck upwards but after a moment just flopped his head back down. She also saw a guard acting as if everything was normal. Regardless of the reactions from those around her, she couldn't help but make her way to the tent, curious as to what happened. When she finally made it to the tent, she didn't hear anything. There was a slight crack in the drapes of the tent and she brought her head forward so that she could peek in. At first, she didn't see anything, and then she angled her head so that she could look around the tent, and when she saw figures in the tent her body turned to ice.

Her beak gaped wide open and her eyes widened as far as they could, because laying down between the legs of that dam dragon they'd met earlier, was Lykan!!! completely naked. A torrent of emotions crashed onto Whitecrest and her mind exploded, she couldn't even think. And all she did was stare on without moving a single muscle as she watched Lykan and the dragon. After a few moments of silence, Whitecrest finally saw movement, and her eyes were locked onto Lykan as he moved. She saw him press down slightly on the dragon's legs and when her legs moved out of the way Whitecrest couldn't help but let out a gasp as Lykan's large human cock was revealed to her. Her ears began to ring and she felt a tingling sensation across her body, and this sensation ran down her spine and then concentrated in her nethers, making the ache she was tortured by even worse. Her fur and feathers stood on end, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Whitecrest felt... she didn't know what she was feeling. She felt almost angry, angry at the dragon and even at Lykan! But then... then she also felt, aroused. She watched as Lykan held his cock in his hand and placed it against the dragon's lips and started pressing it into her lips. Seeing and hearing the reaction this got out of the dragon made Whitecrest's heart pound and blood pump to her nethers, and she could literally feel her cunt throbbing between her legs. While she saw and heard the dragon, she was more of an afterthought. Her eyes were locked on Lykan, watching every single move he made without blinking. Her gaze became transfixed onto his manhood and looking at it she felt almost lightheaded from the surge of arousal that rippled through her.

What the hell was happening?! Why was she feeling like this?! She was a griffin! He was a human! Why did the sight of him like this fill her mind with jealousy and arousal?! And he was lying with a dragon! A BEAST! By the skies, she'd never think of such a thing happening, never would even have considered it to be something anyone had ever done! But at the moment, watching Lykan move his cock to the dragoness's clit, and hearing the dragon squeal in pleasure... By the gods, she felt a furious jealousy towards the dragoness that was being treated in such a way when Whitecrest had been struggling for days with her heat. But what made her jealousy stronger than she'd ever felt before, was the fact that it was Lykan who was giving her this treatment. But... WHY?!

Her mind was swirling, but she began to realize it. She didn't realize it because she never thought she could feel this way for someone of his kind. Her eyes widened as she realized that... this entire time they'd been traveling together, she had grown strong feelings for Lykan. The way she woke up and licked his face, that was not normal. And the fact that she was willing to go to all these lengths to make sure he was safe. She didn't realize it then, but she was attracted to him! He was strong, courageous, unique... and the way he treated her, not just her but the way he saw everything amazed her. And it felt like a stab in the back seeing him pleasing this dragoness in ways that she now wished he'd do to her.

So as she watched on, she allowed her mind to wander and pictured herself lying on that bed with HER being pleasured. She shivered and started to breathe faster, she imagined herself laying down while Lykan rubbed that hard member against her desperate sex, and just the mere thought of it almost made Whitecrest groan. But thankfully she gathered herself, almost having forgotten where she was. While she had been lost in her daydream, the dragon had said something but she didn't hear her. A moment later Whitecrest saw Lykan shift. He moved his legs slightly, and then she saw him take hold of his cock and begin to drag it across her lips heading lower. Whitecrest's heart began to beat faster and faster, realizing what Lykan was about to do. She breathed out long and heavy breaths, her body stiffening up watching him move ever closer and then once Lykan angled his tip right at her entrance, he paused. Whitecrest froze, not even breathing as she watched Lykan. And then... "RAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Whitecrest dug her claws into the ground the moment she saw Lykan THRUST forward with a powerful thrust, plunging his entire cock into the depths of the dragon.

---

Lykan slammed his hips down against the dragon, instantly sinking all eight inches of his raging cock into her wet depths. His hips slapped against hers and his skin met her scales. Kayda roared out in pleasure and stretched all her limbs out feeling her passage filled completely by Lykan. It was the best thing she'd ever felt before, he was so... hard and filling. She couldn't control herself and began to squeeze down on his cock, utterly obsessed with how rigid his member was.

"Hahhhhhhhhhnnngggg" Lykan flopped down across Kayda's chest, reveling in the impossible tightness and warmth of her velvet walls squeezing his member. And there they laid for a moment, Kayda basking in the feeling of having a big hard cock filling her, and Lykan the feeling of his member being entirely surrounded in heavy tight wetness. As they lay, Lykan felt Kayda rest her claws against his back and curl her tail around his leg, squeezing it. Lightly she scraped her claws against his back, causing a hint of pain as she left scratch marks against his back. But the feeling made Lykan squeeze Kayda and had his cock throb in her depths. Then he heard her say, "F-*huff* FUCK ME." she panted out desperately.

Both of them had completely lost any sense of the world around them, which led them to both be unaware of a pair of eyes and the sound of panting coming just from outside the tent. Lykan looked up at the dragoness as he plunged deep into her passage and then stayed there with their hips connected. For a moment they just lay there, both panting heavily. Kayda then craned her head up and looked straight back at Lykan and written across both of their faces were looks of utter lust. Lykan didn't even think about it and dove his head forward, mashing his lips against Kayda's. She'd seen bipeds do such a thing before and in the heat of the moment it felt incredible, and as she felt his lips against her scaled snout she pushed her tongue out and pressed it passed his lips. Lykan moaned as he felt the strange sensation of Kayda's massive wriggling tongue inside his mouth, but the feeling excited him so much his cock throbbed several times within Kayda, causing her to moan in their kiss.

Lykan had decided they'd been still long enough and slowly drew back out to continue his thrusting, all the while still keeping his lips pressed against hers, appreciating the exotic feeling of her long tongue exploring his mouth. And quickly he started pounding his cock in and out of her, both of them moaning into each other's mouths. Lykan eventually moved his head back and gasped for air having gone slightly lightheaded needing to breathe. Kayda rested her head back down on the cushion and looked at Lykan face above her riddled with pleasure. She curled her paws over her chest and made face pleading him to continue. Seeing this Lykan felt his heart pound faster and excitement flood inside him. He angled his hips so that he could slam against her cunt even harder and reach even deeper inside her. Kayda let out a never-ending groan, and every time he bottomed out inside her she let out a loud grunt. "HNG! HNG! HGN!"

Kayda didn't understand how such force could come from a human, every time he crashed back into her it had her seeing stars. Every last bit of her was filled perfectly by Lykans cock. He was so hard that she could feel the veins of his cock and the shape of his tip message her insides. And Lykan could feel every last ridge of her tunnel as it constantly hugged his cock. The warmth inside her was unbelievable, and it increased the surging pleasure radiating across his cock. His member had begun to throb angrily inside her, and any time he bottomed out within her he stayed there for a moment to roll his hips against hers. Kayda's walls had begun to rhythmically clench down on Lykan, encouraging him to release his seed deep into her depths. Both of them squealed and moaned uncontrollably, Lykan's thrusts had become erratic but even more powerful, and Kayda's tail and limbs jerked around ferociously. A warm sensation began to spread from both of their nethers across their bodies and flooded their minds. And with three final dominant thrusts, followed by a final slam back into her pussy they both opened their mouths, clenched their eyes shut and howled out as their orgasms hit like a tidal wave.

"HNNNNGGGG!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

Lykan's vision went blank and his mind shattered as he felt his cock throbbed furiously. He fell upon Kayda and hugged her body with a death grip as he felt his cock spurting a torrent of his thick cum into her belly. But... something popped up in Lykan's mind, and as he felt the earth-shattering pleasure of his release, he imagined that it was Whitecrest beneath him and that he was cumming deep inside her instead. The thought made Lykan's head explode

Kayda nearly blacked out as she felt a similar mind-shattering orgasm. At one point she held her mouth open as if she was screaming but the pleasure took away her ability to make any noise. Euphoria encompassed her entire body, and from her spasaming cunt radiated a burning pleasure. Each time her pussy undulated around Lykan's cock, and each time he spurted out another rope of warm cum. Each squeeze of her pussy was accompanied by an explosion of bliss across her body, and each time it was followed by a new deposit of thick spunk. With his cock and cum inside her she was filled more than she'd ever been before. Her walls continued to wring the cum out of his throbbing cock, and soon enough some began to slowly drip from her vent.

Both of them continued to hold onto each other tightly as they felt the methodical pulsing of their orgasms. But slowly Kayda's passage began to cease its clenching, and Lykan let out a few final spurts until he was drained completely dry. And as they both fell from the orgasmic high they shared they both went completely limp. Lykan fell on top of Kayda and her wings were splayed out along with her neck and tail.

Lykan rested there with his cock still planted inside her vent. Every few moments he felt Kayda squeeze her vent once more causing him to grunt from overstimulation. But he didn't dare move, the feeling of being in her embrace while having his member inside her with his seed was too good. Lykan didn't even realize but Kayda had wrapped her claws around his back and had clenched so hard she broke through his skin, causing him to bleed slightly. But it was more than worth it.

He lay in the tent and didn't let a single thought penetrate his mind. 'What if the camp had heard? What if someone saw them? I just had sex with a dragon!' Nothing... Not a single thing went through his mind except for warm pleasure and serenity. If not for Kayda he would have most likely fallen asleep right atop her, but he opened up his eyes when he felt her claw tap against his shoulder. When he looked up he saw her looking back panting, but then he noticed that on her claw there was a tiny drop of blood.

Until that moment Lykan didn't even quite realize that there was a mild pain radiating from his back, and seeing Kayda's claws and remembering how hard they held each other he put two and two together. He huffed out a chuckle and rubbed his hands across the muscles in her legs. "Don't worry about it," he said giving her a lazy smile.

Though he wished he could stay there for eternity, he moved his hips and began to pull out of her vent. "Hnnnnn" both Kayda and Lykan groaned as he pulled out of her vent. Finally, he pulled out his semi-hard cock, and following it a generous trail of cum spilling from her swollen vent. Kayda groaned in disappointment, as all of a sudden a feeling of emptiness filled her nethers, missing the feeling of being filled so completely.

Lykan then fell back onto the cushion and stared up at the roof of the tent. "Wow. So, um... did I hold up my end of the bargain?" He asked playfully. Kayda smirked and just chuckled in response. He took that as a 'yes'. It was just then that he remembered why he'd even come here in the first place, and then he also thought about Whitecrest... He remembered that for a moment, he imagined that it was Whitecrest beneath him! And when that thought entered his mind it felt like his heart exploded. He didn't know what to think about that.

He wanted to just lay there and relax, but he cared much more about Whitecrest and meeting back up with her, so he stood up and groaned. "Why do you worry Lykan? There is no need to be hasty, come... Lie down a rest." Kayda said. Lykan chuckled and turned around the look at Kayda, but before he could speak he looked back down at her and was left speechless seeing Kayda stick her tongue inside her vent and lap up his spunk. "hah... woah" he whispered. "Though I wish I could stay here, I must return to Whitecrest. I agreed that we would leave as soon as possible." Lykan said while he put his clothes back on.

Kayda hummed in response, she wished that she could have more time with this strange and alluring human. "I understand... Well, once you find your companion, you can return here and I will have the spare set of flight gear ready for you." He walked to the table, picked up his coin purse and looked back at her. She smirked and craned her head back down and made sure that he was looking directly at her as she took her tongue and dipped it back into her pussy again. He looked at her wide-eyed, and he saw her remove her tongue from her pussy and brought her tongue back into her mouth and gulped. "No need for that, you already paid in full." She said raising an eye suggestively.

"A-Are you sure? You said flight gear is worth a lot! I don't care about coin and I--" she cut him off by shushing him. "What you just did, was worth more than any amount of money you could give me." He smiled and looked down abashed, which boosted his pride he had to admit. "Go human, find your companion, bring her to the stables and you will find me there." She ended off with a warm smirk and a flick of her tail. With that Lykan grabbed his coin purse and attached it back to his side and took one last look at Kayda as he left the tent, thinking about what had just happened as he set out to find Whitecrest.