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6

He found his way down to the hunter’s camp again - following the familiar scent of woodsmoke. Today, it seemed a little stronger than usual. The gryphon crept down from his lair, weaving through the small hurdles between him and the campsite. He hesitated for a moment when he spotted the flap to one of the tents open and the male crawled out quietly. His wing quivered at the memory of that arrow from days prior.

The gryphon did not want the hunter to spot him, so quickly turned and climbed up into the boughs of a tree. He watched quietly while the human collected a small satchel from the side of the fire pit before moving to rouse his companion from the other tent. They briefly exchanged signals with their hands before taking up their bows and quivers. And off they moved, wandering through the forest toward him.

His muscles tensed, talons gripping the branch as he peered down through the foliage at the two hunters. He didn’t make a noise and shied away as they moved under his perch. They only shared a hand gesture before continuing onward, oblivious to the creature hiding just yards above them. He watched them until their path wove up around the base of a large tree and they vanished.

These two weren’t heading to the river like they had been. His ears could just barely detect the faint sound of their footfalls. These were dangerous creatures. He became anxious for a moment as he considered that they might head straight for his lair. A small part of him wanted to follow and make sure they weren’t, but he didn’t want to risk blowing his cover until he was sure they were gone. So, he waited. The din of birds grew as the sun rose. He would have to be extra careful today.

Hunger stirred him into action and the gryphon turned on the branch and slowly dropped down to the forest floor. He surveyed his surroundings for signs that the hunters might be near, but could neither see nor hear them. The coast was clear. His attention turned to the camp once more and his ears perked up as he sniffed at the air. The smell of smoke smothered the odor of those tasty treats the hunters crafted, but if yesterday and the day before taught him anything - they had more. His legs moved quicker the closer he got, eyes scanning the camp for signs of those bundles of smoked meats. And when he spotted one, it was just on the edge of the fire pit facing him. It was a large satchel too. His lucky day!

As soon as his talons touched the packed earth of the human’s camp, he heard a sound from the tent across the pit. The female was awake. His attention drifted to the tent instead and he approached quietly. Before he could fully clear the smoky fire pit, the flap opened and a dreary-eyed face peered out. She brightened as soon as she saw the gryphon and slowly crawled out of the tent. He didn’t move.

Before she could get to her feet, his ears caught the rustling of something from off behind his right side. He turned to look just in time to see one of the male hunters step out from behind a tree and cut a cord. The line flew away with a loud snapping sound and then a rustling came from above as a large net descended. He swung to the side and let out a loud hiss as the net came down over his shoulder, draping over his wings as he flared them out in panic. The female wasn’t quick enough to duck under the gryphon’s wing as he whirled and landed roughly on her backside with just enough netting to entrap her as well.

“Gotcha! Jerod, grab the other side!”

The beast lurched forward and let out another aggravated hiss at his attacker, lashing out with a talon as the man moved to grab the end of the rope he cut free. Behind, the other hunter stepped out to grab up the opposite side of the net and tugged back on it hard. The gryphon stumbled wit a loud squawk, nearly falling on his face in the fire pit. The smoke burned his eyes and nostrils and made him recoil. The human female scrambled to get out of the way, but her foot snared up in the end of the net and she tumbled under the weight of the gryphon as he landed.

“Watch Alyssa! Get her out of there!”

The second hunter hopped over the edge of the net and tried to tug at the female’s arm, but the gryphon leaned forward and snapped at him with another loud hiss. He withdrew his hand wisely and reclaimed a portion of the net to try and restrain the beast better. He tugged back hard, boots skidding as the gryphon pulled at the net.

“Alyssa! Get out of there before he kills you!”

“Allen, stop! Stop! Don’t hurt him!”

The gryphon whirled to face the smaller figure trapped up in the net with him and lowered his head, beak gaping as another hiss emerged. His pupils pinned on her and he leaned into the cords of the net to try and get to the female. Any recognition he had for her gone as the cords of the net tightened up around him. Allen quickly tugged on his end of the net and halted his movement. He stumbled again and fell hard on his fore shoulder, cheek sliding roughly against the ground just a foot away from Alyssa’s bare foot.

“Quick, grab this rope,” Allen shouted to the other male as he tossed his end over. “We’ve got the beast now!”

Jerod was quick to move around the gryphon and tugged on it when the beast tried to rise. He looped the end of the net around a root and moved a moment later to help Allen draw the net taut before anchoring it to another root. Allen turned his attention to Alyssa, who was busy freeing herself from the net on her own. But, when he offered a hand to her she swatted it away and frowned at him.

“What have you done?!”

“What do you mean: ‘What have I done?’ We’ve caught a gryphon! A real, live gryphon!”

Allen grinned down at her and offered his hand once more.

“We’re going to be so rich!”

Alyssa hauled herself up and glowered at him. She did not recognize this person she called her partner. He touched her shoulder with that grin still on his face and turned to face the gryphon. Jerod was busy staking down the only part of the net they couldn’t loop over a root, but he shot a cheeky grin their way.

“Can you believe our luck?” Jerod thrilled. “And here we thought they had all been driven off or killed.”

“Yea, I know. And you wanted to go make camp over in the valley instead.”

Jerod and Allen carefully picked their way around the gryphon as they eyed their prize. Alyssa would have felt hurt, but she was more pissed off than anything else. As she rose, Allen came over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and glowered at him.

“You know, you have as much a stake in this as we do. And when we get this beast back to the town, we can finally afford that little cottage you wanted.”

“I don’t want it,” she stated.

“What do you mean?” Allen asked. “Thought that was all you wanted?”

“I-I don’t want it now. And certainly not if you are going to sell him to do it.”

“Do you want to go back to living in that alley?” Allen reminded her. “Going to be hard raising a family in the street.”

Jerod looked to Allen as he tied off another rope around the net, securing the gryphon to the ground fully. “We still have to get it back to town.”

“Right.”

Allen moved around Alyssa and leaned over to inspect the huddled form of the gryphon. The beast hissed and strained against the net as the man leaned over, talons and claws scratching furrows in the soil.

“Let’s make sure the beast is secure and then head out to the river to prep the boat. Aly, you should come with. We could use your help.”

She frowned. “You two can go work on it yourselves. I can’t believe you two are doing this.”

Allen scowled right back and advanced on her. “You’re coming with.”

She stepped back and held up her hands defensively. When he grabbed her by the wrist and tugged, she lashed out and punched him right in the lip. In that moment, the gryphon shifted under the net, pulling at the rope just enough that as Allen stepped back, he stumbled over the cord and fell with a grunt. Alyssa would have felt proud of herself, but fear welled up inside. There was no telling just what kind of retaliation she would have to expect. As he crawled to his feet, Allen shot her a dirty look and took a step forward, fist clenching.

“Damn. Just let her be, Allen.”

He looked from Alyssa to his friend. “Fine. We’ll take care of this ourselves.”

When his eyes fell on Alyssa again, he lowered his voice. “Fine, Alyssa. You stay here.” He stepped in a little closer. “But if you so much as cut a cord on this net…”

“What?” She scrutinized.

“Come on, Allen. She’s not going to do anything.”

“We’ll be back this afternoon. Why don’t you go make yourself useful and get some more firewood.”

Allen ducked into their tent to collect his bag and a few parcels of meat before joining Jerod. He cast one last glance at Alyssa before turning to stalk off toward the river. Jerod cast a sympathetic look her way, but followed suit. She looked over to the gryphon and let out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding. But when she took a step toward the net, the gryphon flexed against the cords and hissed out. Any trust the creature had was most certainly gone. All she could do was watch mournfully. What else could she do? The look Allen had given was enough to let her know that the man she thought she loved was no more. He could damn well leave her alone out in these woods. Or worse. And now her newest friend didn’t see her for anything more than dangerous and untrustworthy.

She backed away from the netting shamefully and slipped into their tent to gather her things. When she emerged, the gryphon lifted his head to watch her. He seemed to have calmed down. She slung her pack over her shoulder, collected her bow and quiver, and looked at the gryphon once more.

“So, they think I won’t do anything.”

Alyssa drew her boot knife out and came at the gryphon again. She let out a consoling noise to the trapped beast as he struggled under the cords and quickly found one of the loops that Jerod had tied off to a nearby root. She started to saw at it. The cord was tough, gnarled and knotted all along the length before it made up the netting. This was made for trapping large creatures like bears, so it was durable. But, she managed to sever it with a few short hard drags with her blade. The gryphon stopped moving as he watched her, hissing with displeasure. She moved to the next cord, mindful to keep an eye on the gryphon as he started to struggle against the net. There was no telling what he might do once she cut him free.

“Stop what you’re doing, Alyssa.”

She peered over the gryphon at Allen, who had his bow out and an arrow knocked.

“This isn’t right, Allen.”

“Aly, we have a chance here to become rich and famous. No more struggling to survive. No more cold nights.”

Alyssa matched his step as he moved around the gryphon to try and line up his sight on her. He wouldn’t dare harm his catch in spite of her. She watched her step around the cords of the net. The gryphon’s attention had turned on Allen now and his struggles renewed.

“There aren’t many gryphons left in the world, Allen. What do you think will happen to this one if we bring him back?”

“It’s just a beast, Alyssa. Who cares?”

She saw a gap alongside Jerod’s tent that could be her escape route. But, she knew Allen was a good shot with a bow. And he didn’t seem like he was going to give up his quarry even if it meant taking her out of the picture.

“So, you’ll just shoot me if I don’t let you do this?”

Allen glowered at her. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. Think about everything we could do with the coin from bagging one of these.”

She backed upward the gap and eyed one of the cords tied off to another root. Allen was circling around slowly. The gryphon flexed his talons and leaned into the ropes to try and snap at him, growling out. Alyssa spun and ran for the gap just as Allen let fly with his arrow. She felt the wind from it as it zipped over her right shoulder and lodged in the roots of a tree. She wove her way down toward the clearing where she caught her first deer. She knew that he would chase her, but hoped that he would be too concerned with his prize.