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The Cohen Icosahedron

Chapter 7

copyright comidacomida 2021

The main landing sight for the Plateau Earth Unity Centre was located on a lengthy outcropping of raised rock which loomed high over what would have been a desert in Utah were it located on Land Earth. The majority of transportation on Plateau Earth resolved around travel to and from the different gateways, as well as a site at some undisclosed location where a small research and diplomatic base was set to interact with the highly enigmatic Ilsit.

The vehicles used by Humans for that purpose were small ultra light aircraft, selected because they could take off and over short distances. It made sense considering the runway in front of the Unity Centre, but also because larger aircraft could disrupt Viddin flight paths. That afternoon was the first time since arriving at the Centre on Plateau Earth that Kaiden had bothered setting foot out onto the runway, but they weren't there for long; Tral led him to a separate area reserved for the take off and landing of Viddin staff and students.

As they approached, Kaiden saw that another one of his classmates had just arrived. Kyt was the third smallest of the members of the study group, and usually the quietest. Prone more to focus on studying than interaction, the cheetah/owl hybrid was a bookworm in every sense of the meaning, and rarely ever spoke up unless addressed first. That afternoon, however, was a rarity. Trotting over in a way that would intercept their path, the Viddin, who was about the size of a large wolf came to a stop once he was directly in their way and addressed the two of them in the Viddin language, except for the final proper noun. "Hello classmates. May I inquire why you are outside at such an hour and heading away from the Centre?"

It was the Viddin standard to simply walk through someone if they were in the way; if you were larger then you had right-of-way. Tral, who, despite being enormous in size had never in any way given Kaiden an indication that he had one mean bone in his body. Rather than trample his classmate the much larger gryphon came to a stop and sat down, audibly 'thwump'ing his back end on the ground as he regarded the smaller Viddin. "Heya Kytskir. We're goin' out flying."

There was a strange social deftness with Tral's response that the Human didn't miss. Not only did Tral speak in English, but he also spoke casually-- up to a point. Rather than call Kyt 'classmate' he instead chose to call him by name; rather than use the shorter version by which he'd been introduced to Kaiden, however, Tral used his full name. The other Gryphon's soured expression indicated that he didn't miss the social play... whatever it meant. There were still aspects of Viddin culture that escaped the Human's understanding and perhaps that was one of them. Rather than try to figure it out, Kaiden instead added to the statement. "Tral and I were catching up on studying and we decided to take a break for exercise."

The feathers around Kyt's head reminded the young man of a Great Horned Owl from Land Earth and the feathers resembling horns rose inquisitively and he too switched to English. "Oh. I see. Considering your current trajectory, I would postulate that he intends to take you with him on a flight."

Tral didn't miss a beat. "That's the plan. We shouldn't be out too long-- still some more studying to do, after all."

The dialogue between the most casual and the most uptight (except maybe for Vetlyk) member of the study group was almost enough to give Kaiden whiplash but he acknowledged what Tral had said with a nod. "I've never really seen much of Plateau Earth outside of the Centre and Tral's confident that he can carry me around on a short trip."

Kyt blinked; his large eyes made the motion a little eerie, especially since he seemed to do it so rarely. "I see. That is a correct assessment; conceivably even a Viddin my size would be capable of gliding with a zfielt, but bear in mind that added weight can quickly tax even the most stalwart flier's stamina."

Tral ruffled his wings, both in a display of confidence and perhaps a hint of annoyance. "I've carried zofra further than I plan on going with Kaiden so don't go preening yourself bald with worry, classmate."

The smaller Viddin remained where he was for several more seconds before standing; his horn-like feathers lowered and he made a showing of stepping to the side. "Remember that having a zfielt on your back will not be like holding a zofra in your talons. Do not plan on rapid ascents and you will find the grade of your dives more difficult to flatten."

The fuzzy white tip of Tral's striped tail gave the back of Kaiden's thigh a gentle thwap in silent suggestion to continue onward. Even as the two moved further away from the Centre the larger Viddin glanced to the smaller one. "I've been flying for awhile now, Classmate. You don't have to worry about me."

It was Kyt's turn to puff up. "I am worrying about Kaiden, not you, Classmate. You will hobble away from impacting against the ground, but his kind are not."

Kaiden raise a hand to wave farewell to Kyt, adding "We'll be okay. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything reckless. This'll be my first time flying with Viddin anyway so he'll have to go easy on me."

Kyt offered a courteous bow of his head before turning back toward the Centre, squawking over his shoulder in the Viddin language "I will look forward to your safe return, Classmates."

Tral spoke up before Kaiden could once they were alone again. "I know he means well, but he can be a real skakt."

Roughly translated to 'killjoy', the word 'skakt' was generally saved for someone who followed rules so closely that they did everything by the books with no sense of adventure or love of life. Although it might have been considered an insult for some, with respect to Kyt the statement actually made a lot of sense. Regardless, Kaiden made it a point to keep the peace. "Be that as it may, he's right. Like I said: this is my first time up in the air with a Viddin so please don't do anything crazy."

His companion scoffed, coming to a stop as he spread his wings majestically; it was a show-off move to be sure, but it was still impressive. "Kaiden, I am a Cawst'Kul in Sooshuh. I am a very good flier and I wouldn't do anything to put you at risk."

Although Viddin didn't have many team sports, one of the few organized events among the roosts was an almost ritualistic form of hunting called 'Sooshuh', of which Kaiden knew little about, except the entomology of the word was based on the onomonapia of the sound made when a gryphon was pulling out of a dive (soosh) and the sound of a grunt (uh). He didn't know what position a Cawst'Kul ha, but he did know the 'game' consisted of lifting prey animal into the air and passing it between those taking part in the event, then culminated in releasing the carried animal from high altitude, presumably to hit a target and dispatch the unlucky prey. The thought immediately made the Human pause. "Let's not discuss Sooshuh when I'm the one getting lifted into the air, okay?"

As if suddenly realizing the direction Kaiden's brain went, Tral came to a sudden stop or, at least, his front half did-- he ended up falling on his face when trying to stop himself. Looking up at him with his front end on the ground with his hindquarters still standing, Tral's face feathers puffed up in obvious embarrassment. "What I mean is, a Cawst'Kul is the position for the best flier. I won't do anything stupid. I promise... and I won't be trying to hit a target with you."

The reassuring, beaky grin didn't help matters but Kaiden still helped his classmate up, not that his meager strength helped much, nor that Tral actually needed it, but it was a gesture out of courtesy. Rather than continuing on, however, the Viddin simply sat down and began flexing his wings. That made the Human pause. "Everything alright, Tral?"

The Viddin looked back toward him, feathers puffing up anew and beak parting in a friendly smile. "Everything's great, Classmate! I get to go flying with my best Human friend today!"

Kaiden realized Tral was being smarmy. "I'm your only Human friend, aren't I?"

Tail lashing back and forth, the Gryphon's smile didn't not waver one bit. "That changes nothing."

Rolling his eyes, the young man glanced back over his shoulder toward the take-off area. "Are we going to go then?"

Tral folded his wings again and laid down. "We are. Hop on."

Kaiden paused at that, motioning toward the area where Viddin usually took off. "But... aren't we supposed to--"

The gryphon huffed. "If I wasn't carrying you? Probably... but I want to get some speed before jumping out over the drop... if that's alright with you."

Although the final portion of Tral's statement could have come across as patronizing, the overt human-like wink offered by the Viddin revealed it to match the big gryphon's usual sense of silliness. Hesitant, but willing to continue with the plan, Kaiden approached. "Okay... so... how should I go about this? I haven't... uh... done this before."

Tral's smile disappeared, replaced by an almost comically thoughtful expression. "I.... don't know. I mean... I've seen pictures of Humans on 'horses'... maybe something like that? How do you get onto a horse's back? Just do that."

Kaiden hadn't ever been on a horse so that didn't help a lot, but at least he thought he knew what Tral was suggesting. "Alright... I'll... uh... try that. Just... let me know if I'm... in the way of your wings or something."

The Human approached and slowly began working his way behind Tral's wings. The Viddin extended them, allowing Kaiden to climb up onto his back without pinning any feathers between human and gryphon. Once the young man had settled down he felt Tral's muscles tense and bunch up beneath him. "Settled on?"

"I think."

It was a strange sensation feeling an enormous body rise up and lift him clean off the ground, but the sensation only got more alien when his weight shifted atop a Viddin in motion. He was able to track each of Tral's steps based on which leg was moving and the change in balance as the gryphon moved forward. At first it was unsettling but, a moment later, the half-raised wings lowered, folding around Kaiden almost like a blanket. Although the feathers would do little to help keep him in place their presence created a strange sense of safety. A split second later, the young man realized that the wings wouldn't stay that way when they were in flight.

Tral began picking up speed and, as he did so, the shifting of weight changed along with his gait. While Kaiden would have assumed that the ride would have been more jarring, he was surprised to find the opposite to be the case; rather than focus on multiple points of contact impacting the earth in rolling succession, by the time Tral had increased to a sprint there was only the faintest sensation of his paws and talons touching the ground at all. Kaiden's scholastic mind knew that the flexibility of Viddin meant that their bodies could expand and contract with leg motions, meaning that their torsos remained relatively horizontal from shoulder to hip.

Unlike the rotary gait of big cats running full speed, the gryphons talons touched the ground at the same time, and so too did their paws. They were, after all, designed for flight, and that front-back motion of talons/paws, rather than the circular left-right-right-left of paw/paw/paw/paw gave them an increased final push when leaping from the earth and into the sky. That momentary tangential thought back to his learning completely disappeared from Kaiden's mind the very moment the ground disappeared beneath Tral and, before he realized what was happening, the Human found himself on the back of an airborne Viddin.

Once they were in the air the sense of anxiety over the trip was quick to disburse. Even smoother than Tral's front-back gallop, the gryphon managed to stay aloft with only an occasional wing beat. While the sudden feel of surging mass beneath him given upward and forward trajectory each time Tral's wings flapped, the vast majority of the time was spent in near-silent, smooth sailing through Plateau Earth's heavy atmosphere. What REALLY surprised him was what happened once they were a few hundred meters from the plateau; the air grew incredibly still. It was enough of a surprise that Kaiden even called out to his companion. "The wind! It stopped!"

Tral squawked out a laugh. "It's the updrafts from the desert... they're keeping us airborne and moving at the same speed as the wind behind us. This is one of my favorite times of day to make this trip. I'm glad you could join me on it, Kaiden."

They were apparently in no hurry to get to wherever it was Tral had in mind, and it gave Kaiden ample time to watch the scenery go by. While there were many points of high ground in the low desert around the enormous plateau on which the Unity Centre was located, his classmate was not heading toward any of them, choosing a more southeasterly direction and out into the open desert. Their altitude and heading afforded Kaiden an incredible view of the mid-afternoon landscape, complete with a herd of large mammals racing along the scrubland. They were hard to make out at such a distance but he wondered if they were large deer; it was a little too far south for zofra if he recalled correctly, but they were definitely large-- horse-sized, perhaps.

Everything on Plateau Earth was larger; it came from the heavier atmosphere and more oxygen, allowing for organisms to attain greater mass. Kaiden knew that there a decent number of differences beyond size for species between Land Earth and Plateau Earth, but he was willing to turn off the 'student' portion of his brain and just enjoy the ride. He didn't bother counting how long they were in the air, but, as he saw a large, lone plateau sticking up out of the desert before them, the young man had a feeling he knew that they were approaching their destination.

Although it was much further into the desert than the plateau that housed the Centre, the one ahead of them had a fair amount of greenery atop it-- possibly because it was a little lower in altitude, not to mention the small waterfall flowing down its western face, which assuredly helped. As they drew closer Tral banked slowly to the right and spoke back to Kaiden. "There's a clear space for landing but I have to come at it from the south. Hold on."

Kyt's warning fresh in his mind, Kaiden gripped onto the thick fur of Tral's back, silently willing his classmate to remember that having a rider on his back could change his maneuverability. Fortunately, Tral was indeed careful in his course correction and the approach was completely uneventful. The gryphon came in for a landing on a large rocky shelf that jutted out from the plateau and there was ample room for him to get talons and paws down, wings folding protectively across Kaiden's lap as the ground welcomed them back. From there it was perhaps a dozen steps at a run, a dozen more at a half-hearted jog, and then Tral laid back down. "We're here. Your legs can carry you the rest of the way, right, Kaiden?"

Not waiting around for an answer Tral trotted forward, an almost eager glee written clearly on his face. The sense of expectation was contagious and Kaiden followed after taking a moment to get used to walking again. He stepped through a collection of coniferous trees trailing only a few steps behind his classmate and then stopped once Tral did; the foliage opened up revealing a clearing with a small, shallow pool of water and what appeared at first to be a natural overhang of rock. Beneath the overhang, however, was an obvious excavation site. The look of it made Kaiden pause. "That looks a LITTLE like a Viddin den, but it isn't... is it?"

Tral was immediately in show-off mode: that stance he took when actively pining for attention. "It took awhile to get right, but it's where I like to come to get away from it all. It's my own little get-away-hidey-hole."

Hearing the casual English turns-of-phrase linked together when spoken by a Viddin was humorous but the silliness of the situation wasn't enough to break Kaide's focus; there were solar cells present. As they drew closer the young man was able to get a good look at the hollowed out area under the overhang which included--- "Tral... is that a speaker system?"

The Viddin responded with a prideful squawk of affirmation, followed by a confident pose of success that was all too common for the large gryphon. He even went so far as to offer a humanlike nod of his head, accompanied by a "Yep!"

Kaiden was astounded, and for more than one reason. He took a step closer. "So.. solar arrays, and a speaker system. That looks like--" he paused mid-inspection when his eyes settled onto a handheld entertainment system console. "You have a Zoika TX-45?"

Tral trotted past him, giving the Human a faint bump with his withers as he walked by and into the burrow. "I traded for the Zoika... the solar cells I salvaged from the disassembly scrap pile behind Building Four and I got Zithing to connect it all and make it work."

The young man paused at the name; 'Zithing' didn't sound at all like a Viddin name and Kaiden couldn't think of any Humans whose name even started with a 'Z' in their class, let alone so alien. "Who's Zithing?"

Tral delicately pressed one of the buttons on the touch screen, which had numerous claw marks in it already. "Oh... Zithing is one of the Ilsit that was assigned to my family. He comes here with me sometimes to help out with stuff I can't do myself... you know-- 'manual dexterity' and all that."

Kaiden wasn't able to think of the last time a Vidin actually answered a question about the Ilsit, even one so simple as identifying one by name. He also didn't know that Tral's family had access to the reptilian race from yet-another-Earth; he knew that both Vetlyk's and Kyt's families had some assigned to them but hearing that another of his classmates had more than a passing familiarity with them was a surprise. Tempering his enthusiasm, the young man pushed forward, wondering just how much more information he could glean. "I thought only Vetly and Kyt out of our whole class dealt with them."

His four legged companion rotated his head very nearly 180 degrees to look back at Kaiden and offered a good natured beaky smile. "Oh... my family just doesn't advertise it."

That was hard statement to refute, but it didn't really tell Kaiden much. "Well... I mean, with Vetlyk's sire being an envoy and Kyt's parents both working at the Ilsit outreach centre I guess it makes sense with them, but why do you--"

Bunny-hopping in place with the aid of some half-hearted flapping of his wings, Tral eagerly and candidly provided the answer. "My sire helped with the transporting of supplies for the HOC and he said Dr. Cohen himself suggested a partnership between my family and the Ilsit since there weren't any other Viddinire available for introductions!"

Kaiden knew that each subspecies of gryphon had their own classification but he'd always gone the easier route of thinking of them all as Viddin collectively; Tral's statement, more accurately identifying his own subspecies the 'Viddinire' reminded Kaiden that he wouldn't be able to get away with the 'easy way' of doing things for long, but he pushed that thought aside and focused more on all of the new information that was at his fingertips. "Have you been to the outreach centre?"

The Human Outreach Centre or 'HOC' as it was more commonly known, was a division of the Unity Programme set up far away from the Unity Centre, organized specifically to provide humanity a chance to interact with the Ilsit. Even so, based on estimates about which Kaiden had only heard rumors, Less than 1 out of every 100 members of the Unity Programme had authority to visit the site, which meant that there were perhaps five Human staff there. Only once he started paying attention to Tral's meandering explanation did he realize that his classmate had a lot to say on the matter. "-- but, even so, sometimes they come back to our roost with my Sire, and they stay with us for awhile. My family actually works with three different hives!"

Even as Tral proudly posed once again, Kaiden's mind was tumbling with comprehension. He recalled hearing that Ilsit lived in a hive-like social structure. That didn't make them insects, of course, but their society was built with the big picture in mind with the whole being far more than the individual. That raised even more questions in the human's mind. He approached the Viddin and took a seat on a raised section of rock. "So... hives, huh? I guess they have a queen and everything?"

Tral poked at his entertainment device again and plopped his haunches onto the ground, rotating his head to look at Kaiden again. "Oh... no... I mean, not really. Sure, they have brood mothers and consorts. They're like the royalty I guess, but they aren't really 'kings' or 'queens', and almost all Ilsit breed, not just males and queens. Actually, they don't really seem to do much--- they leave that to the rest of the hive... and they don't have drones like ants or bees and stuff. Ilsit are polymorphic, you know... "

Kaiden nodded. "I'd heard that, yeah."

He kept himself from saying 'even more than Viddin', which would have been incorrect since Viddin had subspecies and were therefore not truly an example of polymorphism. Apparently, like some ant species, Ilsit, which were one genetically homogenous species, still came in multiple different forms, some of which could vary widely. Most of that, of course, was based on rumors that Kaiden had heard, but he had to know more. Fortunately, he didn't even have to ask as Tral volunteered it. "I've met a few different kinds of Ilsit. Zithing is the smallest kind-- he's shaped more like Humans than the others, but he's about half your size and has a tail and scales and a muzzle... not like Humans and your silly little jaws."

The Human just nodded, overlooking the incidental diatribe. "I heard that some Ilsit can get pretty small... but I guess they can get pretty big too, huh?"

Tral vigorously bobbed his head up and down to the affirmative, eagerly agreeing. "Oh yes. Very big from what I hear. My sire said that he met one that was four times bigger than him, which is really REALLY big because he's even bigger than I am."

The Viddin spread his wings wide to accentuate the size but Kaiden certainly didn't need the example; he already had a picture in his mind. "Some of the technicians talk about the Ilsit now and then... they say that some of them look like a creature from Human folklore called 'dragons'."

His classmate started nodding again, but slowed to a stop and the amiable expression on his beak slowly faded. "Humans really aren't supposed to talk about the Ilsit and-- oh-- and we're really not supposed to talk about them with you."

Kaiden felt a little bad about leading Tral on and letting him talk, especially since he already knew that their discussion was something of a taboo subject. Deciding that he didn't want to take advantage of his classmate any more than he had, the young man chose to relent. "That's okay... I know-- I'm just really excited to learn about them. I hope that the director will give us a chance to."

Tral issued a short, concise squawk of agreement, his head remaining stable with a far off gaze as if attempting to imitate an almost sage-like visage, but that melted away quickly enough when he reached out and tapped his entertainment device with the tip of a talon and music began playing. His tail started thrashing back and forth to the beat, and before long, his head joined in. Immediately changing the subject, the gryphon declared "Come on, Kaiden. We should dance."

Not exactly the most inclined to party, Kaiden was quick to decline. "No thanks... I don't really dance."

Tral didn't bother stopping his own movements, hindquarters rising into the air so they could bob counterpoint to both his head and tail. As he moved, the large gryphon circled around to face Kaiden. "Before today you didn't fly either. It's not hard and there's no one here to judge you if you have to learn."

Although he stood at the Viddin's insistence he still didn't try dancing; he recognized the song as one of the oldies from his grandparent's time around the turn of the millennia but he didn't offer anything more than a tapping of his foot. "You can go ahead if you want but I--"

He lost the opportunity to object as Tral was immediately within his personal space, limber body moving this-way-and-that, bumping him from either direction and all but requiring that Kaiden move in response to it. At first it felt like an almost chaotic battering of bumps and shoves from shoulder, hip, elbow, and wing but the moment he tried to start anticipating his classmate's movements he realized that they were measured, specific, and, most of all, rhythmic. Before long he was able to clearly avoid further contact from the rowdy gryphon and Tral's beaky grin only widened. "And you said you couldn't dance... silly human."

What Kaiden was doing didn't exactly fit the description of 'dancing' to him but he had to admit that Tral had indeed managed to get him to react and, if he admitted it further, he was moving in time with the song. At that point the Viddin stepped back and continued his own form of four-legged dancing further away from the Human. For the last minute or two of the song Kaiden actually gave some effort into trying to move with more musicality and, despite his initial reservations he found it fun. As the song came to an end Tral moved to the side and laid down next to the stone shelf the young man had used as a bench. Kaiden took a seat next to him and steadied his breath. "I haven't heard that song in... like... years."

Tral didn't seem even slightly winded. "Oh, I have lots of songs... there were over two thousand in the Zoika when I got."

Kaiden smiled at that and the two sat in silence for many long seconds as he sought something to say that wouldn't direct the talk back toward the Ilsit. He took another deep breath, admiring the fresh scent of the mid-afternoon air flowing into the den from the large, unobstructed opening. The air on Plateau Earth outside the Centre always smelled like ozone and something else-- some kind of herbs. That afternoon he smelled that, but it also had a strong overlay of Viddin musk; Kaiden should have expected nothing less considering the fact that had just had a 'dance party' with his classmate.

The sound of an alert on Tral's data pad caught Kaiden by surprise. "I don't remember you bringing that with. Were you wearing your satchel during the flight? I would have thought I would have felt it against my leg or--"

Tral let out a clucking chuckle as he answered a message. "No... I have two data pads. I keep one here in case I sneak out."

Not only was 'sneaking out' against policy but it was also against regulations to have more than one data pad assigned to a student. Kaiden had absolutely no idea that Tral was such a rebel. Rather than call him on it, Kaiden decided to go easy on his classmate. "Oh... you DO, do you? And just what is this important message you're getting, hmm?"

The big gryphon responded directly and to the point. "I didn't respond to one Nittik sent when we were about to leave so he sent me another."

The reminder of the mastermind of the 'circle of carnality' pulled Kaiden back to the present. "What? Why? What did he say?"

It was obvious that Tral was fighting to maintain his composure through the humor in some private joke. "He said that I really need to talk you into showing me how well your hand works as a jiyjah."

Kaiden sighed; he should have known. "Why am I not surprised?"

Tral, who had just given into the urge to laugh, paused immediately. Apparently taking that as an actual question rather than rhetorical, he replied. "Nittik DOES love rutting, and it sounds like you left him wanting more."

The large Viddin followed the statement up with a squawking giggle-- it was hardly a dignified sound but, at the same time, didn't have the condescending air that it otherwise would have had it been directed at him. Rather than deal with the entire chaos that would have been talking about Nittik, Kaiden instead focused the discussion into something more specific. "You agreed to his plan regarding me, right?"

In response to the question his classmate spread his wings, widening his form without wasting the energy require to stand. "I did, and I am glad for it. Many of us have wanted to know more about Humans and rutting is a great way to do that... so long as nobody gets hurt, I mean... I hear all the time about how humans get hurt from that kind of thing."

Kaiden realized that his classmate must have been confusing emotional pain for physical but, then again, he rationalized, 'rutting' between a Viddin and a human could certainly result in physical injury. Pushing those thoughts aside, he tried to reign in the answer to something more direct and focusing on the pertinent part of Tral's answer. "Ah... so 'many of you' want to know more... right. And that includes you?"

For the first time in a long time Kaiden gave Tral a moment's pause and the human could have sworn he saw a faint hint of red appear the huge gryphon's nares. Regardless, his classmate lumbered on full speed ahead in the conversation. "Of course 'me too', Kaiden. I do not know a lot about humans but I think you would make a fine kawkikik, and I am eager to see how your body works."

That was as fine an introduction into the topic as Kaiden could have hoped for, but one thing still struck him as odd: Tral had no trouble whatsoever with the hens. At any given time he had his choice of at least four-- any of whom would easily accept an invite to his nest and, in fact, often threw themselves at him, going so far as to inviting him back to theirs. It made sense since he was part of an influential family and a fine specimen of his breed; any of those hens would love to have him as a mate-- especially a long term one. That brought the Human to his question. "If you're so interested in me then why go through all this trouble? Couldn't you have just said so? I figured out of anyone in the class that you'd be the one who's most likely to be direct."

Tral still wore his beaky smirk. "You mean other than Nittik, right?"

The pure casual calm with which the Viddin spoke the words caused Kaiden to crack up laughing. He tried three times before he could manage to say "Yeah... I guess so!" between laughs.

Rather than answer his question directly, Tral stood up and took several steps closer, laying down again until his enormous head came to rest down in Kaiden's lap. The gryphon looked up at him as he spoke. "I know that Human ways and Viddin ways are different, classmate. You also said you're overwhelmed with the thought of so many Viddin being interested in you-- Humans don't handle those things in the same ways as we do... even I know that."

"When I--"

Tral continued speaking over him, not letting Kaiden interrupt. "You're a good person, Kaiden Wilson. You're a good study partner to us all. You try to be a good friend to us all. You're good at keeping us in line and you are good at listening when we need help. You're good at giving that help. What you aren't good at doing is being a Viddin, and that's okay because I think you're more special for being you."

It sounded as though Tral were trying to either wax philosophic or else try his best at doing a custom monologue like one that would appear in a teen romance flick. Yet, despite his meandering best and try-hard dialogue, Tral's words were still somehow genuinely touching. "Thanks?"

The gryphon preened the fabric of the Human's trousers. "You're welcome. But what I'm getting at is that, unlike all of the other Viddin in our study group, I think I understand what you're going through more than the others."

That statement made Kaiden pause. He rested his hand down on his classmate's feathery neck. "What do you mean by that exactly?"

Tral, even during his candid discussions apparently had difficulty not boasting. "Well... I'm sure you've seen all the hens that follow me around all the time..."

Kaiden kept his response simple and without judgment. "Yes... they'd be impossible NOT to notice."

His classmate let out a long sigh. "I know what it's like to be desired, Kaiden-- especially for one specific thing without thought of anything else so I promised myself that we'd spend today studying and doing other things-- you know... things other than what everyone else wanting your time is after... and that I'd let YOU decide when we rut."

Tral had been doing SO well up until the final sentence, but Kaiden realized he couldn't give the poor Viddin that much trouble... but maybe just a little. "WHEN we rut, or IF we rut?"

His classmate was so surprised by the question that he actually raised his head, feathers all over his face puffed up with what looked like confusion. "You mean there is still a question of 'if'?"

From anyone else it would have sounded conceited, or at least entitled but when coming from Tral it just sounded par for the course. Letting out a laugh, Kaiden leaned forward and hugged the Viddin's huge head. "Well, let's get back to the Centre and finish up our homework, and THEN we can figure out what happens next."

Tral-- silly, lovable, often-dense Tral bobbed his head in confirmation while standing. He smacked the 'off' key on his entertainment device with his tail and made his way toward the exit to the den. There were many things Kaiden admired about the largest of his classmates and his simple, straight-forward mindset on most things offered a breath of fresh air compared to the machinations of Nittik. A few other rather large sized 'things' that were admirable about Tral were almost eye-level as he followed his classmate out. Kaiden had to admit that the confidence Tral displayed had true merit; the gryphon was right by that point that it being a matter of 'when' and not 'if'.