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 Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:10 pm
Today was not a good day to be Malcolm Lansing. Sure, the day had barely started, but it was already shaping up to be one of those days when the waker wondered if it was even worth getting up. He had never been a morning person, to be honest, and all this traveling wasn’t doing his hip any good. And the worst thing was he couldn’t even complain about the pain in his joint! For one thing, he was far too young to complain about hip injuries. Hip injuries were for old men. For another, his only traveling companion wasn’t up to listening to any of Mal’s complaints. Right now, Mal was tired, not very well dressed from the travel, and somewhat grumpy. Oh, and a little smelly as well. Taking a sniff at his clothes, he made a face. Sighing to himself, he looked ahead at his ‘companion’ who was trotting several yards in front of him, looking around with acute interest.
Aeron was a beautiful gryphon, that was for sure, but he had also been a bargain. The fact that he had maimed two of the people who caught him was certainly among the reasons, but other reasons for the sale price included the fact that the gryphon was wild-bred and wild-caught. Beautiful or not, he was still deadly without even trying. It had taken months before Mal trusted the gryphon enough to turn his back on him. And many, many wounds as well. At least now the gryphon was comfortable with him. Sure, Mal couldn’t ride, which meant more pain for his hip, but at least he didn’t have to wonder about being mauled by a gryphon!
The male gryphon stopped in the road, sniffing at the bushes. Or at least, that was what he looked like he was doing. Mal wasn’t sure if gryphons could actually smell or not. He had always thought that birds had a lousy sense of smell, but Aeron wasn’t exactly your typical house sparrow. For one thing, he was far bigger. Oh, and the typical house sparrow didn’t claw your arm off in an attempt to play.
And the ringing! Aeron’s original captors had attached bells to the sneaky gryphon, in hopes of hearing him sneaking up, and Mal had never gotten the damned things removed. As it turned out, Aeron liked the shiny, shiny bells and the noises that they made.
Speaking of noises… the gryphon stopped in the road and made a curious cooing noise back at his caretaker, as if he heard something far out of the range of weak human ears. Mal signed and reached for his rapier; he had thought that people would be less inclined to attack someone traveling with a gryphon, but nooo! Apparently, it marked him as a moneyed individual. Hopefully, he would be able to get rid of whoever was following before they attempted to attack. It was horrible what Aeron could do to a person.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:12 am
"well... according to this" Abna said squinting her eyes and turning the map she was holding over to the side. "there should be a town around here we can reach by sundown"
lowering the map, Abna ran her hand along the side of her face. brushing the thin strands of neatly matted blond hair away from her grey eyes, eyes that always seemed in a way, distant, as if her mind was not really there.
she rested them on a young White and red Griffin laying beside her, eyes closed in content, as the two travelers took a quick rest under one of the many tree's they had passed.
she sighed, realizing that the griffin was not listening to her. its not like he could understand anyway.
"at least I can get a bed at an inn or something tonight" she muttered to him.
placing a hand on her shoulder the she rolled it a couple of times. thinking she must have turned it wrong that morning while she did her daily practice. it was a custom for her to wake up early before the sun, every morning, and get ready for the Journey ahead.
but she could tell that the many days with out a proper shelter, mat and covering were starting to wear on her body.
blinking her half lift eyes slowly, Abna stared into the dancing leaves above her, watching them sway in a trance.
she should have been more careful, if Hermiscane had not come at that moment... they might have just taken her life as well as the good majority of her equipment they already had.
"I'm a traveler... I should have known better" she muttered, this time to herself.
the Griffin slowly opened his eyes and turned to stare at his master. they sat in silence for a long moment, a moment that was ended at the female traveler pusher herself to her feet and brushed off her warm blue traveling pants, tucked neatly in very used black boots.
"up up" she said to the Griffin, who was already getting to his feet as well.
gathering what assets she still possessed she twirled up her walking stick and started back onto the road
"day waisted dreaming get us no further in out dream"
though they had barely just started getting into there walking, when they were forced to stop again.
Abna blinked, standing cautiously back at before her stood a fully grown griffin, and a man with a hand on his Rapier.
normally she would not have minded, but they were in her path. she slid the bottom of her staff out to signal to Hermiscane to stop. something the Griffin did, slitted pupils eying the Adult intently.
she did not say anything, just stared, almost stupidly at the man.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:56 am
If Mal had been a stupid man, he would have relaxed immediately upon realizing that the person following him was a woman, on the basis that a woman couldn’t possibly be a danger to him. Luckily, he was not an absolute fool and had learned the hard way that there were quite a few women in the world who could---and would---kick his a**. Not interested in getting another butt-kicking, he warily eyed the newcomer, taking in everything he could see. He didn’t seem the least bit interested in her carnally; this was just the same sort of look that a fox gave a possible wolf.
Eventually, however, he relaxed, once he realized that she was just as cautious as he was. Besides, Aeron didn’t seem unnerved at all. In fact… looking over at his gryphon, Mal realized that Aeron was quite relaxed, as he languidly stretched out on the road, leisurely blocking the way, watching the new red and white gryphon with apparent interest. Then again, Aeron honestly seemed to like other gryphons. Very social in his own special way. With a sigh, Mal took his hand away from the rapier, making the universal gesture for, ‘Look, I’m not carrying a big dangerous weapon’.
With an apologetic smile, he said, “Sorry about that; I didn’t expect to meet anyone out here.” Especially not a woman. They didn’t usually travel alone. Then again, she wasn’t traveling alone, really. She had a gryphon, which was quite enough protection provided that the gryphon wanted to protect someone.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:03 pm
It had taken an age and a half, it seemed, for the poison in her hands to heal, and her palms were still chapped and oozed pus. Therefore, she kept her hands wrapped when she traveled, so that her hands' appearance wouldn't distress the people with whom she did business.
She shifted her pack as she walked. Having bound hands made it diffucult for her to carry her payment for that last job, and so she had actually had to buy a sack to hold the valuable object. She carried this sack as though it held nothing of import, because that was the only way to carry anything on the road.
She knew that there was another small town ahead. There would be no buyers for her cargo there, but that was no matter. She had already secured the egg's buyer, and this was merely a delivery mission, payment upon intact delivery. She had no idea why anyone would want a griffin egg, nor how the owner of a small-time crime racket had come by one, but if there was a market for something, she was willing to supply it.
After rounding a bend she slowed her pace, having heard voices ahead. It was not her habit to walk into ambushes. However, it was not the habit of bandits to talk while attempting an ambush, so perhaps the danger was minimal. She hoped it was. Her hands' condition also made the use of a weapon difficult. She had been forced to strap her bow to her pack, because it was too painful to hold it in her hands as she walked, and so she was almost completely unarmed, for the first time since she was eleven. She didn't like the feeling one bit.
Steeling herself, she rounded the bend.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:08 pm
He obviously did not intent to be an immediate threat, Just a fellow traveling sharing the same road.
she slid her staff back, retuning it to its primary purpose, a walking stick.
Shaking her head softly she looked from the larger handsome griffin, back to the man.
"Nothing expected happens in travels, its good you have your guard up" she replied
Hermiscane fluffed his feathers a little, seeming to be excited to meet others of his own species.
Something Abna rarely saw him like, but it was a nice change.
The younger griffin chirped softly but still remained behind his traveling partner.
Abna looked again at the griffin, looking over the bells on his body. That was rather interesting, she had never seen something like that before. And it was pretty cute.
"Were are you traveling to?" she asked to break the silence, with really the only topic she knew well.
Only to be interrupted again as a second human figure came into her sight. This time a female
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:52 am
Having been spotted, she sighed inwardly and continued to meet the other two.
"Greetings, salutations, and all that," she said by means of greeting the others, a male and a female, both with griffin companions. It seemed the species would plague her until she made this delivery.
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:07 pm
Well, now this was a surprise… Mal hadn’t expected to see anyone at all, and now there were two young women on the same road? He had long ago ceased to believe in coincidences, and wondered if maybe there was something more to the pair than he thought. Once again, his guard was up although only minute changes in stance--- so he could see both of the others at the same time--- would tell the others.
He flashed another smile at both of them, trying to look as relaxed as possible. “Actually, I’m on the road to Xuan City. Business purposes, you see.” Well, sort of… if you looked at the situation in the right light, he had business reasons for being there. Of course, the real reason was so he could fraud his way into a noble family and then live in peace for a little while. But no need to tell the other travelers that. It wasn’t really any of their business anyway.
Aeron tilted his head to one side and finally stood up, sinuously stretching his wings out before shaking the dust of the road out of his fur. Most of that dust automatically gravitated towards Mal, in accordance to the laws of the universe that said ‘if anyone is wearing dark clothing, that clothing shall develop a gravitational pull that affects only light-colored dust’. Mal sighed and briefly brushed himself off, but gave up as he realized it was only making things worse.
While Mal was attempting to get rid of some of the dust, Aeron had other things in mind. Once he was done shaking himself off, he approached the smaller red-striped male, clearly interested in the younger male. He cooed curiously as he stopped a few feet away, peering at him with intense focus.
“Don’t mind Aeron,” Mal finally said, realizing that the gryphon was no longer standing where he had been. “He likes other gryphons.”
“So… where are you two bound?” it seemed like a good question at the time.
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:31 pm
Abna did not answer that question at first. her attention slowly and smoothly moving from the new girl, to the larger Griffin that was taking a curious interest in her own Griffin. though not entirely trusting other peoples Griffins she didn't move against it.
Hermiscane blinked a couple of times seeing as the Adult approached him. striding forward a little as well, though not leaving his masters side, he stretched his neck out, a rolling chirp escaping his throat as he greeted the larger Griffin.
"anywhere thats forward" she answered finally. though she did not expect everyone else to know it. she often found that a filly question to ask her. it was a question she used to ask herself all the time. only to come to the same result "I'm a Traveler."
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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 12:33 pm
She considered how to answer the man's question. Certainly, she couldn't say, "I'm a sometime murderess and oft-time thief on her way to make a delivery of a stolen griffin egg." That wouldn't go over particularly well, she assumed.
The griffins' close proximity made her a little uneasy, but not as uneasy as the soft tapping sound emanating from her pack. She hoped very hard that it was not what it sounded like. There would be no fee for her to collect if the damn griffin hatched before it was delivered. Her contract stipulated that the egg must be delivered unbroken.
"Ah...I'm bound forward, likewise. Only, I fear I must move forward with greater haste than you two are currently making."
It was too late. She heard a distinct cracking sound from her pack. There was certainly money to be made selling young griffins, but she had never dealt in livestock. She didn't get along with animals particularly well. It was one of the many reasons she had left home. She couldn't stand to be surrounded by her sisters' pets.
A high-pitched trilling cheep came from her pack and she swore. Now she was not only discovered by these two travelers, but she was now in charge of the keeping of a baby griffin until she could sell it at the best possible price. Travelers not being notorious for carrying great amounts of wealth, these two were not prospective buyers, though they obviously had a penchant for griffins.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:20 pm
It seemed a little odd to Mal that these two would be moving on without any idea of where they were going. Alright, not just ‘odd’. The word he was looking for here was ‘stupid’. People didn’t just wander along roads and hope to come along a town; they had to plan, especially if they traveled with large animals like gryphons who needed food on a regular basis. Admittedly, only one of the girls---surely, they couldn’t have been over twenty--- had a gryphon, but it was still a valid point in Mal’s mind.
“No offense; I’m not looking for anyone.” In his experience, the only people who traveled along roads without marking out a path were those on the run, especially if they had something very close to run from. He frowned a little and tilted his head to one side as a curious cheeping rang out in the air, following a few cracking noises. Normally, he would have assumed that it was just a bird’s egg cracking, but this was far too loud. Really, really loud. Like it was a big bird egg. And it was close.
Aeron lifted his head as soon as he heard that noise and trilled curiously at the girl, the one who wasn’t traveling with a gryphon. Or, at least, an old gryphon. Not that Hermiscane was old at all, but at least he wasn’t covered with egg shell and fluids. Since he had absolutely no concept of personal space, Aeron walked very close to the one carrying a gryphon egg and sniffed at the pack, ignoring Mal.
By the time Mal had noticed, Aeron was already invading the poor girl’s personal space. “Aeron! Aeron, leave her alone, will you?” he grabbed the bell collar and pulled.
It didn’t seem to have any effect on the curious gryphon, except he lazily snapped his beak at his owner.
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 12:14 pm
Sere, for that was her true name, sidled away from the griffin called Aeron subconsciously as she removed her pack from her shoulder to confirm that the dreaded sounds she had heard were, indeeed, emanating from within. Naturally, because the gods had never been on her side, they were, and a small, slimy black thing with red eyes peered out at her from under the flap.
Sere could feel her face turning dark crimson, as though she had been caught stealing. Actually, no. Were she caught stealing, as had happened once or twice before, she would not have reacted other than to smirk and incapacitate the person, under the usual circumstances, but there were not usual circumstances by a long shot. Her hands ached all of a sudden, as though warning that this was not a good omen.
"Aeron!" she snapped, picking up on the griffin's name, "Back off."
So chastising the griffin probably wouldn't have any effect, but it gave her something to scowl at other than the baby griffin which looked at her so entreatingly. She had no food to give it other than the hardtack-like bread she carried with her when traveling, which she was certain would disagree with the thing's digestive system. It disagreed with the digestive systems of most human beings, the creatures by which it was intended to be eaten.
She put the flap down and secured it with clumsy fingers. Now she had to hunt, if the thing was to stay alive long enough to make it to the next town, where she would be selling it. As soon as it was enshrouded in darkness, the chick let out a piteous mewling more like that of a feline than an avian beast.
"You are an annoyance," she muttered to the griffin, yanking the flap of the pack open once more and sitting abruptly by the side of the path. She was not incognizant of her audience, but she was left with very few choices. Perhaps she ought to just cut her losses and offer the chick to the nosy griffin Aeron.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:56 pm
Abna lingered back at the other two dent with the new issues that seemed to have arrived.
eyebrow cocked still from the girls explanations on her Journey, though it was none of Abna's business, she was a bit surprised that the girl would admit that openly to complete strangers, especially ones with large griffins.
indeed, Abna's first impression of the girl... was that she was not a very bright human being.
Curiosity draw Hermiscane forward, hearing the little chirps, something that reminded him of his sister when they where hatchings, a sound he had not heard in quite some time.
chirping as well he mimicked Aerion and strode right up to the girl, pressing his beak up to the pack.
Abna did nothing, lifting her staff up and leaning it on her shoulder and hitched her backpack up and watched the ordeal, very aware that there was a Griffin Chick in the girls pack.
"make that a stolen chick" she said, correcting the girls earlier statement.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:34 pm
Does Abna read minds? Sere was only thinking about answering about a stolen griffin egg.
"Excuse me."
Sere glared at the griffin chick and at the other two before lifting the creature clumsily from the pack, leaving the soiled and useless pack on the ground, and stalked away, holding the chick like she had seen her sisters hold their silly pet cats. It wasn't a long walk to the next town, and she might be able to make it in time to find someplace to sleep which didn't have roots or stones. A bed would be very nice. And a hot bath. Once those things were taken care of, she could see to getting rid of the chirping thing in her arms, which was covering her with slime.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 11:58 pm
Well, actually, chastising Aeron did have an effect, just probably not the one Sere was hoping for. The adult gryphon spread his wings in a rather dramatic manner and hissed at Sere, not at all pleased with her reaction. He even reared up a little on his hind legs for effect, in hopes of scaring her off. No one just snapped at him! He snapped at humans and made sure they lost fingers! Well, at least he used to… he was aware that whenever he did that, Mal would refuse to feed him and there wasn’t anyone else willing to give him food. Besides, Aeron was also aware of the younger gryphons. He didn’t want them to get hurt. Slowly, he calmed down once more, glaring at Sere. He hissed once more, and his feathers smoothed into place.
“Don’t mind him,” Mal said just a little too late. “He just does that to impress people or to scare them away.” By this point, the man had taken up leaning against a tree, looking at the little scene with amusement. Well, well, well… this was unusual. It didn’t take a genius to spot what had been happening or at least make a rational guess at it. People didn’t usually travel with gryphon eggs, at least not single people. No, those eggs were too valuable to be left to just one person to guard. Maybe it was stolen, and maybe it wasn’t. Either way, it wasn’t any of Mal’s business, nor was he interested in making it any of his business.
His gryphon, on the other hand, was. His feathers smoothed down more, but he kept glaring at Sere. Every now and then, he clacked his beak, but he didn’t do anything else. The gryphon seemed to be mostly bluff rather than stuff… still, he didn’t stay focused on Sere for long, eventually turning his golden-eyed gaze to the little gryphon in her arms. His tail swished in an agitated fashion and he looked at Mal.
“What do you want me to do?” Mal demanded, knowing full and well that his gryphon could not understand him, nor could he understand Aeron. It simply made him feel better talking to Aeron, which was probably some sign of a mental illness. “It’s none of our business, Aer. Although…” he scratched one cheek slightly, wondering when the last time he had shaved. “… are baby gryphons like baby birds? Like… do they eat the regurgitatat… thrown up food from their parents?”
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Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:12 am
(*head desk* T__T I'm so sorry,
thats what i get for replying when i can barely stay awake. I guess i was just reading in the quotes. -_- I'll fix it when i get home from work
damn it.
I'm sorry)
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