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 Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:29 am
The tall, brunette man was hunkered low to the ground, hazel eyes narrowed and fixed upon the young doe that picked her way quietly through the forest. She was healthy and plump, her ears flicking daintly as she picked her way through the forest, innocently unaware that she was being hunted. Loch had been busy with Ra'ael's training--as a hunter, his income had been dangerously low as of late. Time to see if raising that miserable excuse for a griffin had been a worthy cause...though Loch would never admit that he had grown fond of Ra'ael.
One of his gloved hands shot out with a silent signal; the deer froze at the sudden movement, her breath escaping in a soft wuff of surprise. A flash of steely talons from behind, and it was over with a single, bloody slash. The large, pink griffin opened his thick beak to scream triumphantly, rearing up on his lion legs, powerful wings beating at the air.
"Settle down, you idiot." Loch called, grinning at the offended screech he received. He rose from his crouch, moving quietly over to study the carcass. "Good--a clean break to the neck, didn't harm the hide at all." Ra'ael was patted firmly on the shoulder, and Loch fished around in his leather tunic to fish out a piece of dried meat as a reward. Ra'ael had certainly grown handsome in his age, the bright pink feathers fading to a alluring, darker color, the white rings on his ears becoming more predominant. Sliding his knife from its sheeth, Loch set to work on cleaning and skinning the doe. Ra'ael shook himself arrogantly, pacing to lay down underneath the shade of one of the many trees within the forest.
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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:20 pm
Ra'ael's triumphant screech had not gone unntocied. Neither had the delicious scent of deer blood. While Loch worked hard upon the doe, a little gryphon chick made her way proudly over to the scene of the attack.
She'd heard the screech earlier, and had ignored Liu's warning's and commands to return. Instead, the curious little female wanted to see who had made that noise. It was familiar in a strange sort of way - it wasn't a call Irysin recognized, but it was that of a gryphon.
Days of living wild (before she met Liu) did make the gryphon cautious, but inexperience caused the chick to wander upwind. Her scent was easily carried, informing all before her that another gryphon was near.
Slowing as the unfamiliar scent of man and beast, as well as dead doe, became closer, Irysin continued to ignore Liu's faint call. Churring, softly, the little black chick peered curiously at the scene before her. She stayed half-hidden in a bush, but just because her tail end was covered by plant, that didn't mean the rest of her was automatically hidden too!
Silly inexperienced gryphon chicklet.
Further away, much further, Liu couldn't help but be exasperated. Raising a gryphon was not an easy thing to do. Especially when the chick constantly wandered! She didn't listen, she was far from tame, and caused the girl massive headaches and continual frustration.
But what could be done?
Liu didn't often run through forests alone - not really. She carried a blade in her boot, but wasn't particularly accostomed when it came to using it. Her sheltered upbringing didn't allow for her to learn self-defense. Besides which, the peasant girl didn't have time to learn. As much as she loved education and books, she was usually running errands and helping her mother in the kitchen of the local tavern.
Thankfully, she'd never heard of dragons and monsters and evil creatures lurking throughout this forest. And anything she did hear . . well. . . the girl much preferred to chalk it up to drunken rumor.
"Irysin?" She called out, hoping upon hope that her companion wouldn't wander too far. Dodging through trees, pushing through plants and getting further and further away from the trail back to town was not Liu's idea of a good time.
The little gryphon heard Liu's call, but ignored it, flicking an ear non-chalantly in dismissal. No no. She wasn't returning yet. She smelled meat, and meat was good.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:06 pm
That big, fierce head of his snapped up at the sight and scent of the little chick, cruel indigo eyes fixed upon the youngling who, apparently, wanted to eat his meat. The young adult sprang to his feet, his large wings flared aggressively, as though he planned on scaring the insolent little brat back to wherever she had come from--
"Ra'ael." Loch's voice firmly drifted from where he was still working away on the carcass. Apparently he hadn't missed the appearance of the small female, either. And from the way someone was continuing to call--well, perhaps they were looking for the Griffin, or maybe they weren't. It wouldn't do for Ra'ael to scare the baby, either way.
The adult griffin shook his head irritably, clacking his beak with disdain and irritation before tucking his wings firmly against his sides. He sat, long neck propelling his head forward aggressively as he stared at Irysin with little more than animosity. The hunter was satisfied that the arrogant Ra'ael would obey, expertly slicing off a small strip of meat and rising to his feet. The baby was hungry, it seemed--and if he could hold her still long enough, perhaps he'd find out if that girl really was looking for it or not.
"C'mere pet. Got something nice for ya..." The hunter's husky tone was casually amused, apparently having gone through a similar process before. Ra'ael was as bad-tempered as they had come--a curious little hatchling would be a walk in the back in comparison.
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:51 pm
At Ra'ael's intimidation display, Irysin did shrink back amongst the bushes. She wasn't stupid, she did know that gryphons larger than she could be . . . a problem. Naive about many things, yes, but she had to fend for herself for awhile at the beginning. She'd learned that not every gryphon she met was friendly.
Ears back, the violet eyed chick looked appeasingly at Rae'el, offering a subdued murr. She didn't want his prey, not really. She just wanted to see what was going on. She'd been right about there being another gryphon in the area, and fresh meat.
But perhaps she wasn't out of luck yet. Before the chick turned tail, an offering was held out. Was that for . . .for her?? Uncertain what to make of it, Irysin glanced cautiously at Ra'ael, and then curiously up at Loch.
She knew Ra'ael wasn't happy with her presence, but the offering of food was slowly overpowering her logic. One step, then another, slowly the little black chick untangled herself from the bushes and crept closer to Loch. Her violet eyes occassionally drifted over to Ra'ael, her body language suggesting she was being as meek as possible.
She didn't fear Loch, or his offering. She'd had enough experience with Liu to know about being hand-fed. Liu temporarily forgotten, Irysin gave a curious churr at Loch's feet, tail twitching in anticipation.
Treat? She hoped so!
Liu, on the other hand, was still picking her way through the woods. Ugh. The little scamp of hers caused nothing but trouble! "Irysin? Come on, we need to get back." If only the cub could understand - it would surely make her life a lot more simple. The black gryphon knew her name, that much Liu was certain. But coming when she called?
They were still in the process of working out the details.
((I'll drag Liu in to the scene come next post. ;P ))
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:30 pm
((xD She's adorable, honestly. Poor little Irysin.))
Ah-ha! So his threatening potential had been recognized by the ball of fluff. Ra'ael twitched his tail, satisfied that he was the dominant one in this situation. Loch honestly had to refrain himself from throwing something at the big-headed griffin. The chick wasn't doing any harm, and, if that disembodied voice was looking for her, it'd be best not to send her scurrying off into the forest. Ra'ael's ears swiveled forward aggressively, and he settled himself down on his haunches, beak clacking quietly to show his displeasure. Loch was his man, and that was his meat...but he shut up when said man shot a nasty look in his direction.
"That's a girl." The hunter crooned softly, biting back a chuckle at the hatchling's shocked reaction. Sinking cautiously to one knee, Loch offered the strip of meat to Irysin, holding firmly to the top bit so if she snapped out, he wouldn't lose his fingers in the process. She seemed meek enough, but the man wasn't fooled by outward appearances anymore. Ra'ael had pulled a fast one on him more times than he could count...
Speaking of the large, pink griffin, Ra'ael had swiveled his head around at the sounds of someone approaching. The irritating little hatchling was forgotten immediately, and, looking remarkably more like his lion half, the creature stalked towards the trees. He puffed himself up , his wings flaring half-open as he settled underneath the shadows, apparently waiting to pounce on whoever was unfortunate to come strolling through.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:50 pm
((Haha! Ra'ael makes me laugh. x3 *offers him a Better-and-Holier-Than-Thou Crown and matching Scepter*))
She kept her ears back, out of fear and uncertainty, but her eyes were only on the offered meet. Ra'ael was completely forgotten (for the time being) while the little chick stared thoughtfully up at the meat. Should she take it? Head tilting to the side, violet eyes sparkling with interest, in flash she'd snapped the tid-bit out of Loch's hand.
The offering was too large for her to eat all at once, though she certainly tried to inhale the whole piece. As it was, Irysin had to settle with shaking it in half, her beak helping to slice through the raw eat.
Now this was a meal! Churring happily, Irysin's tail flicked back and forth as she gobbled up her snack. The black one wasn't at all shy and didn't scurry away from Loch at all. Humans didn't scare the black one - she'd been given no reason to fear them, and being with Liu only further sealed her feelings.
As she ate, Liu was edging ever closer.
The woman wasn't sure how much further through the brush she should go. Her clothes kept getting tangled, and she kept snapping twigs and tripping over hidden roots of trees. If she didn't find Irysin soon, she'd have no choice but to turn around. It wasn't as if the little chick would know how to get them back home!
"Irysin," the girl called, offering a whistle. So much for training. . . After running into Alder and Isilde, Liu really had chatted with a few of the local trainers. They gave her some handy advice, but it wasn't easy getting Irysin trained.
It was going to take a lot of time and work.
Putting her fingers to her lips, the girl gave a sharp whistle, similar to what she'd heard Isilde do. The result wasn't nearly as effective as she'd hoped.
Following where she'd last seen the gryphon cub bolt, Liu was much to preoccupied with her thoughts than really taking notice of who (or what) was around her. Through the trees, she thought she saw some sort of dead animal, and was that a person?!?
Oh thank goodness! Maybe she wasn't as turned around as she first thought! Maybe they'd had seen something? Pushing her way closer, the woman gave a friendly call to announce her presence. "Haven't seen a gryphon around lately, have ya?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:45 am
((Ra'ael: u_u -preens and disdainfully accepts both Crown and Scepter-
Oh lord. xD Like he need an even bigger ego. xDD))
One brow lifted with concern as the hatchling all but sucked down the first piece, making a note to offer smaller bits next time. Didn't need to choke the poor babe by mistake! Fishing another strip from the carcass, and readjusting his grip on the knife, Loch cut the chunk of meat with deft expertise. Those too, were offered to the little griffin--until the whistle caught his attention.
Oh-ho, so the chick did have a parent. Good. Less trouble for him then, eh? "Hoy," He called back lightly, gesturing almost dismissively to the black hatchling. A woman, then? Didn't surprise him; Isilde had raised her griffin just fine, as far as he knew. "I think this belongs to you--"
A sharp cry suddenly burst from the large male who had been lying in wait, half the shriek of an eagle, half the booming roar of a lion. Ra'ael had leapt forward, his wings flared wide, blocking the young woman's path. His ears were pricked forward almost curiously--his movements, though aggressive, didn't seem to be threatening towards her. It was almost as though the big male was simply seeing if he could frighten her.
Loch had snapped to his feet, absolutely snarling with rage. "Ra'ael!" A sharp snap of his fingers was enough to make the griffin back off, shaking his head irritably. With a reproachful clack of his hooked beak, he haughtily tucked his wings against his sides and stalked to the side, his tail lashing with displeasure. Growling, the hunter tucked his hair behind his ears--it was long enough that he'd need a tie for it soon.
"Apologies." He tipped his head forward and shook his head ruefully. "He's not an evil-tempered brute, just a bit..." Ra'ael had his white-tipped ears pricked slightly from his chosen spot underneath a tree, examining one of his talons as though he hardly cared what those stupid featherless creatures were doing. "...Stupid." Loch finished, offering a surly sort of grin in the big male's direction.
"The name's Loch," He introduced himself casually, sheathing the knife back in the hilt attached to his hilt. "She yours, then?" He nodded idly at Irysin. "Pretty. Certainly more polite than that brute over there. Hope he didn't scare you." Loch added as an afterthought.
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