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Ah, the Paradise Salon. It was the place to have your gryphon groomed if you were among the elite. Many nobles wouldn’t even dream of taking their dear gryphon anywhere else, but perhaps they would have nightmares about it. Here, and here alone, dedicated groomers wielded scissors, sponges, soap, towels, and other cleaning implements to cater to the exclusive gryphon-owning society. Naturally, they were all highly paid. After all, they risked limbs when daring to approach someone’s battle gryphon while armed only with a fluffy pink towel. Normally, tips weren’t required. But, Aeron was a special case… he was a gorgeous creature, that was true, with a beautiful light tan hide that drifted towards a darker shade at his feet, tail, and head. His wings were barred in a manner that came only with wild-breeding. And that was the problem.

The male gryphon snapped at a sponge that had wandered just a bit too close and the material was quickly reduced to a few shreds of soapy cloth as he whipped his head from side to side. The bubbles around his beak gave the illusion of a mad-dog, only mad dogs were generally slightly smaller, not armed with razor sharp talons, and didn’t have a beak that could crush bones. He screeched at the groomers, wings spread slightly in an effort to get them away. How dare they touch him?! And with what?! The gryphon attempted to spit, not an easy task with a beak. That… that squishy thing had tasted absolutely disgusting! He was NOT a happy gryphon… Mal had taken his bells away and now this!

Just earlier that day, it had seemed perfectly fine to Aeron to roll around in the dust, giving his feathers a much-needed coating. And he had a delicious breakfast of raw rabbit. It had been wonderfully messy in Aeron’s opinion, but it hadn’t amused Mal, his food-provider. And then his bells had been taken away! And then Mal had left him here! All alone, to face the evils of sponges, soap, talon clippers, and towels. Ah, yes… the towels were the worst, as far as Aeron was concerned. Aeron narrowed his golden eyes at a towel that was coming dangerously close, clacking his beak in a warning gesture.

He didn’t trust those towels. Fluffy as they were, they were planning something…especially those pink ones. The other gryphons in this hellish place weren’t any fun either. They seemed perfectly content---content---to let humans do the grooming. Aeron snorted, blowing little bubbles from his nose. Humans, as far as he was concerned, weren’t worthy of grooming so much as a feather on his tail, let alone everything else.

What was the point of this anyway?! So far, the only things the people had done was throw water all over Aeron, making the gryphon even angrier than he already was. And cold, for that matter. Occasionally, he would attempt to preen his feathers and fur, but every time he looked away from the humans, they would just swarm back in! There was no getting rid of them! As Aeron made another attempt to preen his wing feathers, he happened to look over his shoulder and caught sight of another knot of humans.

Curious as ever, he watched with his head tilted to one side as all the humans, as one group, took a step back revealing a lovely dainty little gryphon. One that he remembered, actually. He trilled happily, recalling Sekhmet from an earlier occasion. She had been younger then, but so had he. It didn’t matter so much to him. He was simply pleased to find some sort of familiarity in this situation. Shaking himself off---and showering everyone with water---he cautiously approached the dark female gryphon, recalling that she was more dangerous than she looked. She had managed to touch one of his bells before, after all.

Sekhmet? Naturally, to the humans it only sounded like a curious sort of trill. Much to Aeron’s pleasure, it seemed that Sekhmet was just as unhappy with the situation as he was, albeit for different reasons.

One of the groomers took advantage of Aeron’s distraction and approached the gryphon from behind with a soapy towel. The quiet crackle of soap bubbles popping gave him away and Aeron whirled around in a rage, ready to deliver perforated death.

Unfortunately, he was defeated by soap. With all of his splashing around and shaking, soapy water had gotten everywhere, especially the floor. The gryphon slipped on the floor, squawking indignantly, his wings flapping helplessly.

Oh, yes, certainly. The human ‘gryphons’ were also much less feathery, in Aeron’s opinion. Everyone’s opinion, in fact, since it was more of a fact than an opinion, unless it was a very odd human. Or one who had recently been tarred and feathered. Even then, they were still much uglier than real gryphons and also stinkier.

Following Sekhmet’s example, Aeron carefully gathered his feet together and sat down gracefully, or at least as gracefully as he could while being sopping wet. There were still bubbles around his beak where he had destroyed the infamous sponge. He attempted to clean off his feathers a bit; it was only natural to want to improve his appearance while the gorgeous Sekhmet was around! Unfortunately, all his preening did was make his beak soapy and fill his mouth with the disgusting taste.

Aeron looked at her with big soulful golden eyes and complained, They’ve been throwing water at me! I ought to look wet by now. You look… bored. And lovely, might I say… Give up a chance like this without flirting? Pfft… not Aeron! He snapped right back at her, keeping a wary eye on the groomers. They were still watching…

That was sort of rude! Couldn’t they tell when a gryphon wanted privacy?! He never could flirt when someone else was watching. It was just creepy, the way that some humans were always watching.

D’aww… Aeron had heard people make this noise several times before in his life, usually at fluffy creatures, such as kittens, puppies, and young gryphons, but he had never thought to make it himself. Not that he did, of course. He had a feeling that it would only injure Sekhmet’s well-deserved pride. Still, she was adorable when she blushed! More adorable, he corrected himself. He made a mental note to try to get her to blush more often.

Ah, but she was most beautiful in battle, of course, feathers ruffled, wings flapping, beak and talons ready to rip out someone’s intestines. This is precisely why he enjoyed watching her ‘attack’ the unlucky groomer who had come just a bit too close to the female gryphon. Really, most humans would have learned their lesson by now. Stay away from unhappy gryphons and avoid making them unhappy. Was it really that difficult to understand?

Too bad there wasn’t enough height in this stuffy place for flight. Few things could inspire awe like an angry gryphon heading straight for one’s face. But, Aeron would do the best he could in order to get outside. Standing up carefully, the gryphon half ran and half slid straight at the groomers, who quickly ran to the side. Say, this sliding thing was kind of fun… Now to get to the exit… he eyed it carefully, trying to figure out the best course towards that magical door. The groomers had clippers, but Sekhmet had a fully-loaded Aeron.

Unfortunately, it seemed that some of the groomers realized what Aeron and Sekhmet were planning. They would lose more than their jobs if these two gryphons were lost. They would be lucky if their jobs were all that they lost. Sekhmet, as they knew, belonged to one of the most influential women in the entire city while Aeron belonged to some mysterious lord.

Still, while the owners were nobles, it was difficult to believe that they could be more dangerous than the adult enraged gryphon in the same room, even if he was covered with water and soap. Aeron screeched a battlecry, the sort of challenge that could ring across mountains for miles and miles. With his wings flapping once again, he charged at the groomers around the doorway. Hopefully, Sekhmet wasn’t far behind. At least the floor wasn't so slick near the entrance.

Yes, this was a fun game after all! And, yes, it was simple. As was occasionally the case, the simplest plan was the best, as the pair released feathery gryphon wrath on the groomers, playing ‘human bells’ and spreading chaos as much as they could. Aeron snapped happily and eagerly at anyone who came too close. That was the nice thing about being a big male gryphon. Humans tended to realize that there wasn’t much of a chance of constricting Aeron’s wings and instead tried to focus on getting out of the way of his beak and talons. These humans did something even stupider though.

They tried to put their filthy soap-covered hands on Sekhmet! Now that annoyed Aeron even more than the pink fluffy towels did. The high-belled male deserved to be rolling around on the floor, Aeron thought savagely to himself. Glaring at all the remaining groomers and just daring them to come closer, the male gryphon sidled up to the door. He trilled right back at Sekhmet affectionately in response to her squawk, pleased that she was having fun. Humans could be such fun play-things…

That’s when he encountered something that a gryphon---even one who liked to hurtle around densely-packed rooms at top speeds while shrieking loudly---could not handle: a door knob. He blinked at the round thing on the door and attempted to shove the way open. Naturally, these weren’t easy push doors. Sekhmet and Aeron were hardly the first gryphons to attempt to run away during grooming. Nope, for these doors, you had to turn the little knob, something only fingers could accomplish. Normally, scratching at the door and trilling at Mal had always worked, but Mal wasn’t here. For a moment, Aeron shoved his head against the door before deciding that it just wasn’t going to budge. How rude! Maybe he ought to go take out his annoyance on those other groomers, perhaps see if they had any of those high-pitched bells that were oh-so-amusing.

Dim shapes beyond the glass caught his attention, however. Just a few humans walking around outside. Nothing too interesting, right? Their next actions were, to Aeron, extremely interesting, since one of them put a hand on the doorknob and opened it up. Apparently, someone was coming by to pick up their gryphon.

They got one big soapy wet surprise in the form of Aeron as he barreled over the unfortunate individual. Pushing his head against the door, he held it open for Sekhmet, a reflection of exactly what every gentleman ought to do for a lady. He trilled happily once more, inviting her to come with him.

Any gryphons running around free in the city would be conspicuous, actually. Not that Aeron really cared. It was dark out, so most humans ought to be inside anyway. If they weren’t, and they encountered Aeron and Sekhmet, they would soon wish they were. Aeron was curious about what exactly Sekhmet had done to the male and was wondering if she would show him on the next human male that annoyed them…

He trilled his pleasure as Sekhmet affectionately rubbed his neck and he returned the gesture by running his beak through the feathers on her wings, smearing some soap bubbles on the sleek black feathers. Oh… well… it didn’t diminish her beauty or anything. He gave a gryphon chuckle at her words, a noise that sounded like a series of clicks and clucks.

“I don’t know. I think it makes me look… distinguished.” He struck a pose, holding his head high, ignoring the fact that he was slowly dripping water and soap on the ground. “Oh, fine, I’ll get rid of it… what do you say to a midnight run through the fountains?” It would be cold, but that was perfectly fine with him. By this point, he was entertaining little images of himself and Sekhmet all nuzzled together, keeping one another warm. It was, in his opinion, a very sweet image. Most others would have agreed with him, except for the part where he offers her the heart of some creature. He had heard somewhere that hearts were considered ‘special’.

“Perhaps a hunt afterwards?” he suggested hopefully.

Aeron wasn’t quite sure how things like this were handled among humans. The human he knew best, Mal, never seemed to seriously court anyone. Oh, he would playfully flirt with women, but he would always back away quickly enough if they seemed to be interested in an actual relationship. It confused Aeron, but human activities tended to do that. Oh well. As Sekhmet’s tail drifted across his beak, he gently bit on it and gave it a soft tug.

He padded a few steps down the street before sniffing at the air and looking around. Yes… he remembered this area. He and Mal had wandered all over the city, it seemed, when they had first moved here. Aeron had a good memory for a gryphon. In the Outside, he had been able to remember every little watering hole, every little nest, every delicious hunting spot. It was an important thing to do out there.

In here, it served a valuable purpose as well: it allowed him to woo Sekhmet. Once he knew where he was, the male gryphon proudly led the way, his head held high despite the water and soap slicking his fur and feathers back against his skin. Why shouldn’t he be proud? Sekhmet was following him! That alone was worthy of pride, he felt.

Several blocks away, there was a verdant paradise, hundreds of plants carefully arranged to entice the eye. It was some sort of little court, but Aeron didn’t particularly care what it was. Humans did things like that. Gryphons cared about the here and the now, and, right now, he thought this place was pretty. No doubt, dozens of gardeners had slaved over those plants, pruning them, carefully shaping them, watering them, and keeping them free of weeds. Too bad they couldn’t keep them free of gryphons as well. Right in the center of the court, was a grand fountain. At the top of it, a small stone gryphon appeared to be leaping from the water sprays, like some sort of weird dolphin. Water lept in the fountain, and he became increasingly aware of the soap on his feathers. He nipped playfully at Sekhmet’s tail once more before bounding into the water, heedless of the damage he was doing to those plants along the way.

Go around them? Pfft… only humans did that!

While moles, gophers, squirrels, and various other creatures were widely regarded as menaces to gardeners everywhere, these animals couldn’t come close to the disaster that Aeron and Sekhmet unleashed apon the innocent vegetation. Leaves were ripped asunder, roots were upturned, and flowers were shredded by the pair. Oh, the inhumanity!

Aeron splashed his wings in the water, trying to get rid of that obnoxious soap film. As Sekhmet had warned him, it was starting to dry, and that was just nasty. Stupid humans, trying to get it all over him… didn’t they know that the best thing to coat feathers in was dust?! It kept the biting insects away, and it confused humans. It was perfect. Even though he had already covered himself with water, he still let out a squawk of theatrical outrage as Sekhmet splashed even more water all over him.

Well, he would show her what splashing was really all about! Once again, he flapped his wings in the water, this time trying to direct it all towards the female gryphon.

It occurred to him that Mal might go back to the salon. Would he be worried if he didn’t find Aeron? Aeron gave this due consideration. Nah. Mal was smart for a human, which, by Aeron’s measure, meant that he didn’t always do stupid pointless things, and he was bound to figure that the gryphon could handle himself. After all, he was a wild-borne gryphon! In a big city.

…

Ah well, Aeron would find his way back. But not before playing with Sekhmet for a while. And finding something shiny for her, of course. Females liked shiny things.

“Why were you in that place anyway?” he asked curiously, wondering if Sekhmet had done something bad to end up in such a hellish place as Paradise Salon.