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The Cohen Icosahedron

Chapter 26

copyright comidacomida 2022

Through the manhandling of being forced face down on the floor, Kaiden's eyes drifted to Vetlyk; the way his head was pushed against the loose train of carpet he was facing his classmate, who alternated switching his weight from left to right and paw to talon; he was obviously uncomfortable with the situation-- though, by Kaiden's estimate, not quite as much as himself. Even with the large amount of weight pinning his head and the strong gripped talon encircling his waist, the young man somehow managed to find the voice to speak up, pushing the Viddin words out between clenched teeth. "I-- I don't want this, H-Hoklas. Please... please stop."

As if his prayer were answered, Kaiden felt the enormous bulk moving above him come to a stop. Unable to see the Holruk clearly, Kaiden couldn't really tell exactly how the enormous gryphon was positioned, but he was fairly certain he felt chest feathers on the back of his head, and a very, VERY thick sheath resting against the base of his lower back. Almost as if to tourment him, the gigantic Viddin rocked his hips back and forth, causing the gigantic protuberance to slide against him, hiking his shirt up so that the young man could feel the fur against his skin-- a few hot drops of slippery fluid accompanied it.

The Holruk's voice was almost chiding as he spoke, rumbling out the words in a condescending manner. "Why decline, Zfielt? You would earn more favor serving me as a Jiyjah than my son. If you are looking for influence, I am the obvious choice."

Kaiden tried to push his body upward but the iron-like talon kept his face smashed into the ground. "I... I'm not... interested in you-- or any political stuff, Sir. I... I love Vetlyk. I love your son."

Hoklas scoffed, and the young man felt the hot breath blast the back of his head. A moment later the pointed tip of a beak pressed against it, and Kaiden gasped as the Holruk ground his groin down more forcefully against the young man's hips; the contents of the gigantic Viddin's sheath was getting thicker and firmer by the moment. "Love? I am not talking about LOVE, silly Zfielt. I am going to test you and make certain that you will service my son properly. You will do this. You will please me, and then I MAY give my consent to let you become his mate."

Vetlyk took a step forward, his wings puffing out. "Holruk-- I--"

The Holruk paused, and Kaiden could feel his massive bulk shift slightly, likely turning to regard his son. "Did you say something, boy?"

Vetlyk looked down at the ground in front of his talons as he spoke in a firm tone. "He is good enough for me. He is the one I want."

Holkas' laugh reverberated through his body, and Kaiden winced in the way it forced the enormous body against him, very nearly taking his breath away-- he also felt the first several inches of flesh pour out onto his back; it was hot, slick, broad, and the barbs were already evident enough that the Human felt them drag across his flesh. Rather than address his son, the Holruk spoke to Kaiden. "You can hold yourself up with one talon, Zfielt... use your other to lower your 'pants'."

Despite the intense stress of the situation, or perhaps because of it, Kaiden's brain went to a safe space, marveling the Holruk's use of 'talon' to reference 'arm (the Viddin didn't have a word for arm) as well as the Viddin's navigation of the word 'pants', which had no equivalent in their language. Despite the order, however, Kaiden made no move to comply.

Vetlyk's father's voice turned icy. "Do not make me tell you again, Zfielt... remove them, or I will, and I cannot guarantee the safety of your sensitive, yielding flesh when I do so... my claws are sharp, and I have no intention of being gentle to one who does not obey."

Again, Kaiden failed to respond, frozen in place as he replayed his last two days a hundred times with each blink. How had he got to that point? Was he really going to be rutted by Vetlyk's father? There was no Xys-- would he survive it? He was snapped out of his mental marathon by his classmate's voice. "Do not do this, Father."

Despite the chaos in his mind, Kaiden didn't miss the fact that Vetlyk had NOT called his sire 'Holruk'. Apparently Holkas did as well. "You ungrateful hatchling... I am doing this FOR you. Any potential mate for MY son must--"

Vetlyk said something that Kaiden had only ever heard from him once and, at occurrence, they had been alone. "I love him, Father. Do not do this."

Holkas' scornful, singular squawking laugh extended. The sound make Kaiden shiver less than the feel of an incredibly large, slick, turgid piece of flesh begin to hump up against his back. "You will be a Holruk one day, my son... why would you think you would have the luxury of love? Trust me, little-Vetlyk; you will thank me one day for--"

Over the course of a split second, starting with Kaiden being pinned by an enormous weight, a piercing war cry hit him like a concussive blast just a little weaker than two Viddin colliding and, suddenly, the young man was free. Vetlyk's impact and the trajectory of the two carried them several feet away to slam on the ground. Although the young man was able to pull his shirt back down and sit on the floor, he was otherwise stunned at the resulting melee.

Surprisingly, Vetlyk had somehow come out on top, and was thrashing into the Holruk with his talons, swiping again and again in a way reminiscent of his altercation with Hahn but, as Kaiden watched his Takket tear into his father, Kaiden finally came to realize just how much Vetlyk had been holding back. What made it worse, however, was the constant screeches from his classmate being drowned out by his father's... laughter.

Kaiden knew enough about Vidden to realize the many ways they could move, but the huge Holruk surprised him with a twist of his hips and a repositioning of one talon. In a single, fluid, almost circular movement, Holkas had slammed his wing forward, buffeting Vetlyk upside the head. The larger gryphon's hips twisted, pivoting in such a way that it almost looked as though his paws had touched the ground before his back left it. A moment later, Vetlyk was on the floor, forced down on his side with his father's enormous talon pressing down on his rib cage. Even as he was pinned, Vetlyk lashed out with everything he could, but he managed nothing more than an occasional brushing of his wing against his father's head, accomplishing little aside disturbing the Holruk's feathery cowl.

The bloodthirsty rage continued but, controlled so carefully by his sire's immense strength, it accomplished no more than a hatchling's temper tantrum. Vetlyk's fuming came to an end when Holkas applied more pressure. "That is enough, Vetlylk."

Kaiden's Takket's pupils were pinpoints amidst his irises as he glared daggers up at his father. "You. CANNOT. HAVE. HIM!"

The Holruk, surprisingly, removed the talon keeping Vetlyk pinned. "Good. I have no intention of taking him."

Wary, Vetlyk hopped to his paws, circling his father slowly, warily until he stood between the larger Viddin and Kaiden. "You will NOT test him further."

In the same, dismissive way as most of his other comments, the Holruk fluffed his feathers out, appearing bored with the situation even as blood dribbled down from some of his shoulder feathers. "I never had a need to test him, Son-of-Mine. This was not about him being tested-- it was about YOU."

"I--" Vetlyk looked as though he was about to squawk out some kind of accusation but whatever he was going to say got stuck in his beak as he stared at his father, remaining between the massive Viddin and Kaiden as the Holruk circled around to return to his throne.

Kaiden was just as surprised when Hoklas spoke in perfect English. "I regret any discomfort this interaction may have caused you, Mr. Wilson. It was never my intent to inflict upon you any undue distress, but this was a necessary... undertaking."

Remaining behind Vetlyk, Kaiden adjusted his shirt, still feeling the slick precum from the Holruk dripping down his back. "I dunno... seems kinda excessive to me."

His classmate remained in a ready stance, wings half unfurled. "Nothing is excessive for him, Takket. He is the Holruk-- everyone else could easily be a plaything."

Holkas' eyes narrowed ever-so-faintly. "COULD, but is not, my Son. Rulers play social games on a different level than others. I was not about to let you accept a Human as your mate until I knew for sure."

Kaiden scoffed. "That I wasn't after power, or that you could get your jollies off by harassing me?"

One of the Holruk's eye ridges raised slightly, still speaking in English. "What an interesting turn of phrase. No, Mr Wilson... my regard for you is as unblemished as it has ever been when I selected you as my son's Human partner for the Unity Programme. I had not known when he had gone off to the Unity Centre that he would find a mate among the Zfielt, and understanding whether or not you were a passing fancy or a phase was important."

The Human folded his arms across his chest defiantly. "Vetlyk doesn't seem to be the kind of Viddin to go through 'phases'."

Kaiden paused when Vetlyk's wings drooped slightly from their half-extended pose, and Hoklas chirped out a soft chuckle; it sounded almost benign. "I cannot expect you to know as much about my son as I do, Mr. Wilson but, rest assured, he can be flighty and mercurial. In matters of the state, as it relates to coupling, such decisions cannot be taken lightly, and I had to know that you were not a short term desire."

Vetlyk slowly folded his wings, his feathers finally starting to settle. The young Viddin's voice was stone cold. "He is not... and I will not let you try to convince me otherwise, Father."

The enormous gryphon plopped his rump down onto the ground, raising a talon in the air before him. "I, Holruk Hoklas Sakloslin swear on ancestors and descendants alike that I mean no harm to befall Kaiden Wilson. He is to be as family. I accept him as your mate."

* * * * *

The follow up discussion took far longer than the initial interrogation and staged 'sexual contest'-- at least, Kaiden liked to think of it as staged. The Holruk wouldn't have gone through with it based on what he'd said, but some part in the back of Kaiden's mind made him wonder; the mature gryphon's physical excitement, though tempered by age, certainly didn't seem to be all for show. He pushed the thought further aside as the three reclined together on a set of padded lounging sofas-- Hoklas on his own, with a second shared by Kaiden and Vetlyk. The Human enjoyed snuggling in next to his Takket, helping him get over his lingering concerns about the visit.

While the Holruk remained official and distant, his hard edge was tempered by polite interaction, leaving Kaiden uncertain exactly where they were at socially. That situation got worse when Vetlyk's father turned to the younger gryphon and stated in the Viddin tongue "Go and get your older brother, my son. I would speak with all three of you."

Vetlyk tensed up ever-so-slightly at that and, after a moment, he mumbled quietly to himself "He swore on the ancestors and future generations..."

Kaiden rested a hand on his Takket's talon. "I'll be fine. It's not like you'll be gone for long... right?"

Nodding, Vetlyk gingerly picked himself up off the lounging sofa to minimize the disruption to Kaiden's positioning, saying softly in English "I will be back soon, Takket."

The Holruk's feathery cowl puffed out slightly and he resettled his wings. "Take your time, my son... I have some things to say to Kaiden Wilson alone."

Vetlyk stared at his father for a full second longer than necessary before lowering his head, saying in a tightly reserved "Of course, Holruk'im." The Viddin shot one more look at Kaiden before trotting out of the room. Kaiden was, for the first time since arriving at the White Tail Aerie, completely alone... except for the Holruk. He honestly didn't know if that was a good thing.

Holruk Hoklas turned out to be a surprisingly easy-going Viddin, granted, he still had a certain 'above it all' air about him, but he was far less 'severe' than he'd seemed while in the throne room. By Kaiden's estimation, he seemed almost relaxed as he spoke. "I realize that your first impression here was less than ideal, Lakket'huu."

If 'Takket' roughly translated to boyfriend, then 'Lakket' was someone of great significance and importance, but one-step removed. Takket was more directly translated to 'second piece', and Lakket was 'missing piece', and it made Kaiden wonder why the Holruk had chosen that specific word. He was more focused, however, on the substance of the enormous Viddn's statement. "Yeah... it wasn't really that great. Getting raped isn't my idea of a warm welcome."

Hoklas ground his beak. "I can respect your reservations, and acknowledge that you may not hold me in very high esteem at this time."

Kaiden was honestly surprised that the royal Vidday almost sounded like Kytskir with the analytical statement. He wondered if his host honestly didn't realize just how negative an impression he had truly left. "That's one way to put it."

The Holruk turned his attention to the far side of the small, enclosed sitting room; although it was on the same level as the throne room, it was built into a section of rock, creating a den of sorts with a roof. It felt awkward to be alone with the gryphon who, less than an hour, seemed to be quite willing to rape him. The oddity was worse because Hoklas seemed easily as uncomfortable as the Human. "I am not about to ask that you do not report this, if you feel you must. The wrong-doing against you would warrant it."

Kaiden honestly didn't know if he felt better realizing that the Holruk knew what he did was wrong, or worse because the Viddin chose to do it anyway. "I still don't understand why you-- did all that."

Hoklas gave a light kick with his hind legs, adjusting how his body lay against the lounging sofa so he could focus more directly on Kaiden. "The weight of leadership requires strong wings to hold aloft, Mr. Wilson. The crosswinds of demands are not easy to navigate, and require many course corrections. If anything, I would like you to know that, were I to have had other options, I would have preferred to have made positive first impression rather than what you were forced to endure."

Kaiden appreciated the sentiment, but he also didn't buy it. "You're the Holruk. I'd think that you can make whatever impression you want... and you went for the 'dirty old man perv bird' one."

The strange 'snrrk' sound that emerged from the Holruk almost sounded like he got a bug stuck in his nares while flying. It turned into a laugh. "True."

The Viddin with whom he shared the lounge seemed completely different than the stoic, hard-nosed iron-taloned despot he had encountered in the throne room-- the simple act of laughing completely changed his demeanor, which seemed to have relaxed even more since Vetlyk departed. Kaiden wondered just how common it was for the Holruk to find unironic humor in something; he seemed almost as dour as Sokkas. "What's so funny?"

The Holruk continued to smirk like an idiot, but he still managed to somehow sound above it all when he spoke. "There are many differences between Viddin and Humans, Mr. Wilson. Fathers of noble lineage have the right to question their sons' choices in a mate, just as mothers may question their daughters'. I did not press my claim to the right for your sake, and that of the friendship we are developing with your kind. I find you intriguing in the way that one might explore a riddle... and forcing anything from you would be like having the mystique ruined by being provided the answer."

There was something in the admission that helped Kaiden feel better-- a little. "So you ARE interested..."

Hoklas maintained the honestly, speaking bluntly. "More by what you represent than who you are, Lakket'huu."

Challenging the indirect answer, Kaiden asked in a straight forward question "If Vetlyk wouldn't have stopped you, would you have... rutted with me?"

Hoklas' initial response was only an expression-- it was almost the exact same one the young man had seen Prirn make when the Viddinur insisted on trying broccoli when he saw that Kaiden liked it. The expression was not a pleasant one, and was followed up quickly thereafter by a succinct "No."

Kaiden took that as an opportunity to press for more. "Then... what would you have done if he hadn't stopped you?"

The Holruk spoke cleanly and simply, staring off in the direction his son had departed. "I would have lost my interest in you, having found you unworthy before even needing to test you, and then told my son that you could remain his partner, but that would be the extent of my permission insofar as a relationship went."

The Human, despite his fear in the moment back when he was pinned beneath what had, at the time, felt like a very eager Viddin, somehow couldn't refute the statement, which was spoken with the finality of fact. Instead, he pushed a different direction. "And what about what I might have wanted? What if I wanted your son to be my mate?"

Holkas' feathers puffed up slightly and he ground his beak in consternation. "You are an intelligent young man, Mr. Wilson-- I would have separated the two of you and attempted to appeal to your intellect with an explanation, much like I am doing now... although, I will admit, I much more prefer to apologize for my actions earlier than to explain to you why you may not be my son's mate."

Kaiden, again, had to accept that at face value, but he wasn't completely placated. "If you know he cares for me, and that I care for him, why isn't that enough?"

"My son is infatuated with you, this much is true... but he has never before been willing to stand up to me, which means that his interest is far more than just on the surface. You have taken his fancy-- something I feared no male or female would be capable of doing. He is not a Viddin who takes his responsibilities lightly, but he also does not enjoy being so weighed down by his filial obligations. He cleaves a tight course through a storm, I fear... but in you, I see its eye. You bring him ease and comfort. For someone like my son, that is a rare treasure."

Kaiden was pleased to hear such praise, especially since it was spoken more as fact than any apparent attempt to endear. Somethinh about it didn't wholly add up though. "You can tell all that by just spending an hour with me?"

Vetlyk's father gave a succinct, affirmative click of his beak. "I can, yes. I see the way he is around you-- and how he presented himself after acting out against me. Once he was willing to admit to himself that you are more important to him than I am, he was willing to do whatever it took to keep you safe... and, once he no longer cared what I felt when it came to you, his posture changed dramatically. I am pleased to see his load lighten."

The Human wasn't sure what to make out of the candid discussion. "You... aren't upset that he chose me over you?"

The regal, distinctive, appraising gaze of the elder Viddin settled on him. "I need say this only once to anyone, Mr Wilson, including you: when you have found a mate among any other, it is your duty to do anything and everything you can to make that a reality. I am PLEASED for my son, Lakket'huu... and pleased for you... AND pleased for my family. There has not been this much inspired living and strong feelings in this clan since the passing of Vetlyk's mother-- my dearest mate."

It had never really clicked for Kaiden-- maybe it had something to do with his impression of the Vidday patriarchy or maybe just being distracted by so many other topics that he had not heard a word about Vetlyk's mother. His classmate had spoken often of his father, and had mentioned siblings a few times, and yet the few times he brought up his 'dam' it had always been past tense. Although Kaiden knew that Viddin sensibilities weren't the same as those of a Human he still winced inwardly when the words escaped them before he could second guess his curiosity. "What happened to her?"

Hoklas didn't meet the young man's eye, staring past the floor with a far off gaze. The enormous Viddin gave a faint flex of his wings, followed by a few arrhythmic taps with a talon on the lounging sofa. "A disease. Several of our family suffered from it when it swept through the aerie. I have spoken with your scientists about it-- they do not know for certain, but believe it may be what your medical experts called 'Frounce'... your people can treat it, but we couldn't. It, sadly, was not a clean death. She suffered... greatly."

When Kaiden first met Holruk Hoklas he saw a formidable being of majesty and power but, alone in the lounge, he saw an old bird, looking back at his life, focused on something his immeasurable power could not control. The lingering fury that the young man felt tempered slightly with sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear that."

In response to the condolences, Holkas' body language firmed up again and he met Kaiden's gaze. A moment later his features softened again and the Holruk let out a long sigh. "I am the Holruk of this Aerie, and of all Vidday. I do not have the luxury of joining others as they mourn. I believe it set a good example for Vetlyk, but I realize that he does not forgive me for being unable to provide the comfort my family needed. It is... difficult to carry another in flight when one's wings are weakened."

Kaiden couldn't deny that the ruler of the Vidday had a certain beauty to his word choices-- turns of phrase obviously native to the Vidden, yet he seemed to transition them well into English. Despite his earlier reservations about the huge gryphon, Kaiden slid over to join him on one lounging sofa. "You haven't mourned the loss of your mate?"

Hoklas was quiet for quite some time, staring down at the floor with his far-off gaze. When he did speak, it was back in the Viddin tongue, softly. "In a way, yes.... but, at the same time, not entirely. I mourned as much as I could considering my position, but far less than I should, considering what she meant to me."

"Why?"

The Viddin ground his beak, snapping his gaze up to look at Kaiden, almost as if it were an unspoken challenge. "The life of a Holruk places the needs of his followers ahead of himself. My second and final mate, Vetlyk's dam, was well loved by the White Tail Aerie and the Vidday. Her loss was felt by our entire people, and they required an immovable mountain to create a lee against the battering winds. As the Holruk, that was my duty. It... also gave me something to do-- someone to be in the absence of my... of..." his voice faltered.

Kaiden was astounded when he saw tears well up in the gigantic gryphon's eyes. Slowly reaching up, he rested a hand against the back of the Holruk's gigantic talon. "I'm so sorry..."

Hoklas ground his beak again, giving his head a faint shake and offered a terse chuckle. "Now I can see why Vetlyk can be himself around you."

The nonsequitor threw Kaiden for a loop. "Huh?"

Strumming the claws of his free talon on the stone portion of the lounging sofa, Holruk Hoklas clacked his beak several times and switched back to English, seemingly recovered from his momentary emotional crack. "There is a... calmness about you, Mr. Wilson. You do not have the hard edge common among our kind. Though we well know how dangerous humans can be, my kind's fear of yours is overt. You do not play the political games as we do."

The Holruk's assessment of the situation seemed a complete and total mirror to his own impression: he was much more fearful of gryphons physically and considered them much less trouble socially and politically. He believed himself to be a good student, but he began to wonder if he knew less about the Viddin than he realized. "I don't want to be any kind of threat-- physical or otherwise."

The young man jumped in surprise as a huge talon gently closed around his abdomen, pulling him significantly closer to Haklas. His heart sped up for a moment as flashes of the 'test' a mere hour earlier replayed in his mind but, within a matter of seconds he realized that the closeness was not of 'that' variety, and the Holruk adjusted his position on the sofa slightly, providing Kaiden more room to lounge against him.

Letting out a long sigh, Hoklas clicked his beak in agreement. "Of course not, Mr. Wilson... you are a fine member of the Unity Programme and you wish to see Viddin and Humans and all other Zfielt live peacefully together. This is a good thing, and I hope for the same... but it is a long way off... far to the future before we know one another well enough for that. But you... here... right now-- your vision of the future and love of learning and getting along; the fact that you understand us but do not know us well enough to judge or critique-- I believe that is why my son can be so happy when you are around."

Kaiden felt a little flush of warmth flow through him, and didn't mind the extra gentle squeeze of the talon still encircling his midsection. He wasn't about to completely lose focus however. "I can judge and critique enough to still hold this afternoon against you-- the Viddin way or no, for Humans, what you did was NOT okay."

The statement seemed to take the Holruk aback; he paused for a moment before a faint quick of a smile hit the edge of his beak. "Ah yes... of course. It is... as you Humans have a term for-- 'my cross to bear'. I have apologized, and will continue to do so. My actions have caused you discomfort and distress. I recognize this, and take responsibility for it. I realize that you did not accept the position into which you were placed in no fault of your own in any way save the love of my son. I regret that you should be inadvertently punished for that, as such emotion with regard to Vetlyk is rare."

Hoklas' statement read like some kind of official statement and Kaiden was willing to look past all of it except the last part. "What do you mean by that? Love for Vetlyk is rare? I find that hard to believe."

The Holruk leveled a gaze at him that weigh heavy, not just by his years of experience, but by the severity of his statement. "Whether you believe it or not does not make it any less true, Mr. Wilson."

Kaiden was willing to challenge the enormous gryphon on that point. Hopping off the lounging sofa, he turned to face down his Takken's sire. "Why would Vetlyk be unlovable? I certainly love him."

Hoklas stared at Kaiden with a critical gaze, as if trying to figure out if the young man were lacking common sense. "I already acknowledged your love for him, and noted that it was rare. I am simply saying that there is a difference in love for an equal and obedience or devotion to a Holruk. It is possible to find a Viddinich without spots, but if you do and wrongly assume that no Viddinich have spots then you are a fool... and you do not strike me as a fool, Mr. Wilson."

Kaiden hadn't met many Human politicians until he'd joined the Unity Programme but he did remember during his occasional run ins that they rarely spoke in a straight line. While Hoklas was much more direct, the young man quickly realized that the older gryphon was perfectly capable of talking in circles, relying on HIM to make the leap of logic. "So... you're saying that you think there are Viddin out there who would confess love for him just because they're interested in the power a Holruk has?"

The Holruk clacked his beak to the affirmative. "I have witnessed it-- both with my father, and personally."

The words were out of his mouth far faster than it took his brain to stop him. "Well... you have nothing to worry about from me, at least."

The statement got an all-out cawing laugh from the gigantic Viddin; it was powerful enough that Kaiden could feel it in his bones. Despite the awkwardness of the interaction, the sound was genuine... and infectious. Before he knew it, the young man found himself laughing too. Ultimately, he took a seat back down beside the Holruk, and didn't flinch when a huge talon came to rest across his thighs like a throw blanket. "On many levels, I have nothing to fear from you, Lakket'huu. You care for my son... and he for you. Such a treasure is rare among the Holruk-- I know this from experience."

Vetlyk's father grew silent again after that, his pupils turning to pin points as he gazed off seemingly into the nothingness. Slowly, tentatively, Kaiden reached out a hand to press down onto the warm, scaled talon on his lap. "You mentioned Vetlyk's mother... your mate? You loved her?"

Hoklas let out a deep breath through his nares-- not quite a sigh, and not quite not a sigh. "Desperately. She was my second mate-- both times were arranged. The first and I got along well enough; we had three offspring before we went our separate ways. Her family got what they wanted with an addition to our lineage and she was off to seek other pursuits-- two of the hatchlings survived til fledging and so I had an heir."

Kaiden took a moment to add things up. "But... that wasn't Vetlyk's dam?"

The Holruk huffed. "No. I had a son and a daughter before Vetlyk. They were both taken by the same disease that took my beloved mate-- the one I had wanted to be with until my last breath was taken from me... sadly, she was taken first."

That brought up another question. "So... Vetlyk wasn't technically your first heir?"

Hoklas clicked his beak to the affirmative. "Correct. While the eldest hatchling is often the successor, it is not always the case, but so it was in this Aerie-- either of Vetlyk's elder siblings would have become Holruk before he. They were both raised for it from the day they fledged. Vetlyk was given a much more free upbringing without all of those worries. I loved all of my offspring, but I especially loved my second mate-- I would dare say I will not find a love like that again in this life or any other."

The two sat in silence for what felt like ages; Kaiden wondered just how far Vetlyk had to go to retrieve Haklys. Still, the discussion had been started, and the young man was invested in understanding more. "When did you meet HER?"

The gigantic gryphon behind him chuckled, patting his thighs gently. "I met her on the day we were united by our families-- another arranged mating for the benefit of two aeries. We both approached it with an intent to do our duty for the sake of our people... and yet... sometimes, such as with you and my son, it is possible for love to take root and grow in... challenging soil."

Kaiden let that sink it before rephasing. "So... the two of you were told to become mates and you did so because you were told, but you ended up falling in love because of it?"

Hoklas laughed again. "BECAUSE of it? Oh no, Mr. Wilson... I would say IN SPITE of it. In the beginning, we could not STAND one another..."

The next however-many-minutes were spent in story after story from the Holruk, spoken in bittersweet reverie as he regaled Kaiden with a partly humorous, partly infuriating retelling of all of the ways he caused her agitation and all the ways she wanted to make him pull out all his pinfeathers. Over the course of the tales, however, the young man was able to tell that those little moments of indignation and frustration only did more to highlight just how much he loved and missed her. When Hoklas finally fell silent, it was punctuated by a warm, saline droplet falling onto the Human's arm.

Looking up, Kaiden could see that the gryphon had shed a tear. A second fell to join it. Not really knowing what else to say, Kaiden simply rubbed the Holruk's talon gently. "I can tell you miss her."

Despite his earlier gruffness and dour nature, Vetlyk's father responded quite differently than Kaiden' had expected. Issuing out a soft huff followed by a low pitched 'caw', the Holruk inquired "Is it that obvious?"

Hoklas took a moment to compose himself, removing the talon from Kaiden's thighs so he could rub at the wet feathers of his face. Rumbling his craw, the Holruk regained a much more regal demeanor. "What I mean to say, Mr. Wilson, is that love is a rare and amazing thing. It is to be protected and nurtured. I expect you to give everything to my son, and he is to give everything to you. While at least one of you is able then neither of you are to do without, and if you both should find yourselves unable, then you are to let me know, for you are family."

Kaiden was surprised at just how much heart shone through the rather official statement. "I... uh... okay."

The Holruk's voice lowered slightly with a hint of severity to it. "Viddin, as you are well aware, do not follow the ways of the Humans, Lakket'hu, but my son is learning. I expect excellence from him, and he does so from himself. He will learn how to treat a Human mate, and I trust you to teach him."

The young man smiled. "I will."

Kaiden got a light shoulder bump from the enormous gryphon; the smirk seemed comically out of place on the venerable gryphon's regal beak... almost Hahn-like. "And, should my son ever disrespect you or fail to value you in any way... do not count out this old cock's interest. I may be willing to bless his choice now that I know he is willing to fight for you, but I am not too old to appreciate the charms of an appealing, intelligent little Zfielt such as yourself... Kaiden."

It was the first time he'd heard the Holruk use his first name by itself. Despite the formality with which the venerable gryphon had previously spoken, the casual-yet-insistent statement that included a rather direct expression of interest was enough to cause Kaiden to pause. Before he could respond, however, Vetlyk and Haklys returned. The Ilsit, as usual, was ready with a reassuring statement, speaking aside to the younger Viddin with him in a deadpanned tone. "You see? Perfectly fine. Kaiden has not been eaten."

It was going to be a long two weeks.