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 Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:15 pm
It was a very nice day outside. Perfect, in fact, for a griffin-chick to do some dozing. Maybe, even, to do some cloud-watching. Or maybe go and see what his mother was doing, or..oh! If that black-striped female was around, maybe she would play with him. That one was always nice. And sometimes the big black fellow that came around would let the young griffin practice jumping over the adult as he slept.
....Well, there was plenty of time for everything, of course.
But right now, he was spending time with his daddy, out in the rolling waves of grass outside Xuan City. His daddy's human was with him, and so was another human that looked like daddy's human, but wasn't. Granted, at the age the griffin was, all humans pretty much looked the same to Amin. Sometimes he could tell if it was a female person...except for that one that always confused him....
Kalei watched with an affectionate pride as his son lounged about in the grass, occasionally squawking at the chick when he wandered - well, rolled, really - too far off. His son really was the favorite of his two offspring, although he couldn't say he had really gotten to know his baby girl before she had been given away. Amin was the newest little happiness in the male's life, though, and more than made up for the absence of his daughter.
Though, his other chick had apparently taken to look more like him. Amin, with his sandier color and blue eyes, looked very much like Kalei's mate. Hm...he wondered where Ma'at was...
Well, the griffin hoped that Amin would start using his wings for what they were made for, soon. He wanted to take his boy flying!
-----
"Huh...are all chicks this playful at...Amin's, age?"
The strange name rolled off his tongue with more ease than before, but it was still odd. Iris had said it was an Egyptian name, but it had never been in Dante's formal training to learn said ancient language. Hm...well, he was quite lucky to have the sandy-colored chick at all, really.
Whether it had been out of brotherly affection - haha, right - or just a gesture of goodwill that most likely had been the doing of his little brother's fiancee, he really was happy to have a fellow of his own. As much as Dante liked Eranthe, the female griffin was really more Norene's pet than anything else. A very gentle, loving, and beloved pet, but a pet. Dante rather wanted a griffin whom he might actually be able to fly on.
...Yes, ride so he could fly. What was so wrong about wanting to fly?
The prince grinned when he noticed his younger sibling's scowl. "What?"
"Kalei was more of a coward at Amin's age. He wouldn't 'play' or do anything relatively normal for a kid. He just followed me around."
"Hah!"
Deste snorted at his brother's bemused expression. Bah. Points for Dante's intuition, the man's betrothed had been the one to suggest giving his griffin's offspring to Dante. A gift of thanks, mostly from the female half of the pair, for getting the ex-thief out of that tight spot months back after everything had happened.
What he was doing out here in the country with his brother though, Deste hadn't a clue. It had been the elder prince's betrothed who had urged the two men to step out, and take their griffins for some...'bonding time?'
Bah. Norene was probably planning something.
It did get him out of the city, and give him some time to think, however. His wounds from the ill-fated 'party' weeks ago had healed, but his state of mind had not improved very much. In all honesty to himself, he was worried, and almost paranoid that the b*****d was somewhere around there, watching him. Which, in all likelihood, was the case.
Shane had told him he needed to relax, and had prescribed several very Shane-like methods to do so, most of them involving....
Bah.
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:59 pm
It was indeed a fine day-- a fine day for flying, that was, in the case of one particular griffin and her 'brood'.
The sight of her was something lovely, so far as griffins went: a delicate sillouette moving against the blue sky without effort of any kind. The white feathers on her back held a pearlescant sheen against the sunlight, the scarlet stripes along her sides were almost alive with fluid, sweeping movement, and her black eyes shone like lit charcoal. True to her name, Amaterasu seemed the epitome of celestial grace--
"... 'Amako, can we take a break soon? My skin is starting to burn a little..."
Well, maybe not quite the epitome of grace. After all, it was hard to look regal with a child clinging to her neck like some oversized monkey!
"Please?" the girl begged feebly, weariness already prevalent in her thin voice. Judging from the tiny size of her (regardless of the fact that her body practically swam in an overlarge gray tunic), she couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen years old: a delicate, almost fragile looking thing... with skin so pale that it nearly matched Ammy's feathers! Her hair wasn't much better, it seemed, a long (and somewhat weathered looking) braid that wasn't quite white... maybe a pale straw yellow or silver tint? Why, if her eyes had been black instead of reddish pink, one could've thought her the griffin's own chick!
Finally taking heed, Ammy affirmed the statement with a soft growl, making certain her passenger had a tight grip before banking to descend. The grassy field below seemed perfect to rest in-- but wait a moment...
"A... Amako?" the girl spoke again now with a bit more purpose, and raised a bleached hand to shield her eyes from the blinding sunlight. It only improved her vision slightly, but still... "Are there people down there?"
It surprised Ammy that her keen hadn't detected them before-- but sure enough, they were there... and not only a pair of two leggers, but a duo of griffins as well! But no matter. They seemed benevolent enough, and her poor child was withering in the harsh sun; they'd just have to make due and share the place!
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 9:52 pm
Heh, if Norene was planning something, it must be truly special to send Iris out on a 'keep-them-occupied' mission.
...though she didn't know exactly what it was she was supposed to do. Except drag both of the men off shopping should they get bored with the outdoors.
For the first time in a rather long time, she rode on the back of a large, red-and-white griffin, who was pumping his wings more for the desire to possibly see his little black-and-white girlfriend than for his owner's mission. Kalei's mate, the light-colored and medium-tempered Ma'at, flew just behind them. Iris figured that bringing her along would allow for some bonding with her son if nothing else. Sekhmet was at home with her brood, no doubt plotting the next time she would make sure Aeron was the poor soul charged with the task of keeping the little bundles of joy in line. Goodness, if Iris got any more griffins in her house, she'd likely have to buy another.
She had her dark hair pulled back to keep it from getting any more 'upset' than it had to in all the wind, but the speed at which they were flying probably meant that her attempts would do little more than make for a mess to untangle later. Oh well. Glancing down, she scanned the dotted landscape for their target. Unsurprisingly, she saw nothing. It was strictly Elrok's sense of smell that the woman was relying on, because all Norene gave her was the fact that they were out on the countryside and that she needed to make sure that they stayed out for the rest of the afternoon. The sudden request had been a little surprising, admittedly. If she hadn't already been in a good mood it likely would have irritated her - the Nefretiri girl had things to do today, after all. Namely, meet with her father and brother to discuss some new investment that the patriarch was interested in...
...she had an idea of what it was, but no matter. It could wait.
Iris squeaked a little as a sudden decent jostled her from her thoughts. "Easy, Elrok," she said to the griffin as he headed t'ward earth just a little too zealously. He pulled up a little, coo'ing in response as Ma'at gave an indignant squawk at the sudden departure of her flying companion. The forms of Kalei and the two men...and, soon after, the little dot that was Ma'at's chick...became distinguishable against the contrasting green almost immediately as they moved in. She smiled. Cute little thing, Amin was. Of course, everything was cute from up there. All tiny and....cute?
Movement in the sky caught her eyes. Iris looked up to see what looked to be another human-griffin pair approaching from the opposite direction. Thankfully, it was not an enormous dark bird, so she had little to worry about. Of course, her family had tried to tell her that she had little to worry about anyway, but...they were not there to meet that man. They had no idea.
She shook her head.
Elrok pumped his wings lightly as he became closer and closer to the earth, touching down gently about twenty yards away from the small group. Ma'at did not land so far away - instead, she chose to move in much closer, likely scaring Amin half to death. Ah, well, it was nothing Ma'at hadn't done before.
Iris dismounted and patted Elrok on the head, before moving forward to go meet the others. The striking creature followed, but looked around carefully. Was....Eranthe here? He smelled her...
...oh, wait. That human was here, the one with her scent.
The griffin's steps slowed, and he seemed to physically droop a little. All in all, it was an absolutely pitiful sight. This had to be some sort of trickery! Why, his owner would never trick him...she must not have known that Eranthe would not be here. Yes, he should have known better. The scent of Kalei was much stronger than that of Eranthe. Dead give-away. Alas....
He sighed a little. At least the little one was here to play with.
Ma'at strode quickly t'wards her mate and chick. Nevermind those two humans - they were never of any interest anyway. Especially the mad-looking one. She let out a fond trill as the brisk walk turned into a sort of trot, blue eyes locked on her little one. He got more and more adorable every time she saw him. And he was so smart! And so handsome. So perfect...
Biased? Probably.
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