Princess of Beasts - Chapters Six and Seven (Patreon)

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Chapter Six

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Alakor padded down the wide, wood-paneled corridor, deep in the bowels of the largest ship he’d ever conceived of. He had been on airships before, but never one this size. Some of the scents, sounds, and experiences were similar. The smells of smoke and oil, of strange gases and chemical mixtures, air that somehow mixed fresh and stale in constantly shifting measure. The way the whole thing shuddered around them, sometimes. 

Some of the other snow gryphons hated riding on airships, and not just because they were usually confined to the grimy and cramped lower decks. Instead, it was some instinctual fear of a fall they simply could not pull out of it. Gryphons were creatures born to fly, and yet, if catastrophe happened, they’d likely be trapped inside, where their wings would be unable to save them. They’d plummet like everyone else aboard. 

Alakor, though, had never had such fears. Not because he held any misguided beliefs in the wonder and safety of technology. He knew well enough that the Golden Union had lost a number of airships recently, in the race to build them ever larger, ever faster, ever more powerful. No, Alakor’s lack of fear for the thing simply came from the fact that he’d risked his life in far too many other ways to worry about the idea of a damn airship falling out of the sky. As far as he was concerned, his odds of death were far greater earlier in the day, when people were pointing guns at his head, and other parts. That was the hardest part of his plan, he was certain. The rest was going to be damn relaxing by comparison. 

Besides, Alakor found airships fascinating. He knew little about them from a scientific sense, but that only made them all the more wondrous. The white gryphon had no idea no how such contraptions managed to stay aloft, much less travel across the world. Gryphons were not exactly taught the sciences and mechanics responsible for an airship’s flight. Then again, gryphons who served the Union were rarely taught much beyond what their masters needed them to know. Whatever the case, keeping one this size in the skies for years on end was truly a marvel.

He paused, staring down an intersecting hallway lit with a strange lamps, affixed to the ceiling in triangular brass fixtures. Alakar was not sure what fueled them. Some manner of oil or gas, probably. Or something even more advanced, he thought. The technologies and inventions of the fallen Empire were in some ways familiar to those of the older Union kingdoms, but many others were advanced enough to seem almost completely foreign. Rumors abounded about the Empire discovering new ways to generate energy with their great steam engines, and other more mysterious fuels and sources. There were even rumors that just before the war took its toll, the Empire had been close to truly harnessing electricity. For all he knew, this ship might be the closest to fruition those efforts came.

The gryphon clacked his beak in thought. The Golden Union’s successful conquest certainly wasn’t due to superior technology, or industrial prowess. Rather, it was fueled more by the ease with which the oppressed bought into all the hope they offered, flooding their armies with recruits early in the war. These days, now that the old Empire now belonged to the rulers of the Union, so too did its technology, and it’s knowledge.

At least…most of it. Alakor clicked his beak in thought, gazing down the hall. Signs pointed the way to storage areas and cargo bays, though he wondered what else was on board the vessel. To the best of his knowledge, few rank and file Union members had any inkling of just how impressive the Cataclysm truly was, and how mysteries. How important it was. 

Hell, Alakor only knew because he’d gotten exceptionally good at knowing when to listen in to which conversations, and just where to position himself at what times to do so. Most of his superiors saw him as little more than a well-trained animal, not to speak unless spoken to. How Alakor hated the denigration of it, the humiliation. Yet, it had served his purpose. He had learned about this ship, it’s crew…and over time, he realized that Union wanted it. The Princess was dangerous to them, to be sure, but to some of his superiors? The Princess was but a secondary concern. The ship, with its myriad secrets and mysterious technologies, that was the true prize. 

A shame then, for the Union, that they’d only ever treated him like a hound, barely even worthy of scraps from their table. Once, in his younger days, he might have blindly done as he was told like so many others did. He might have well have killed the princess while he had the chance, or let himself be caught, only to escape later once he’d cast light upon their darkest shadows and pried their most valuable secrets out of their grasp to deliver back to his masters.

“Move it, Bird.” The human named Amelia prodded his haunch with her rifle. “You haven’t gotten clearance to go that way. Keep following Sivik.” 

“Only looking, Madame Shoots-A-Lot.” Akalor tossed his head. “And please don’t prod me with a loaded weapon.” 

“Oh, don’t shit your tailfeathers.” Amelia rested the rifle across her shoulder. “Safety’s on.” 

Perhaps if things went poorly here, he still would make off with a few of their secrets. Not for the Union, though. For himself, to sell to the highest bidder. Still, though…There was a part of Alakar that already ached to be a part of this ship. Just seeing the way gryphons were treated here, to say nothing of the other species? He’d never seen them all just…treated like friends, before. Like people. It was everything he’d hoped to see when he made his decision to disobey his orders, if he was caught. Witnessing it in person, to see humans standing up for gryphons? It was as if he suddenly that hole he felt deep inside himself, in the dark of night, sleeping on cold stone and worn blankets? All at once, he knew what was missing. Simple, basic kindness, as if he’d been left ignorant even of its existence. 

“You’re lucky, you know.” Alakor spoke up, glancing at the two female gryphons. The one named Lissir walked in front of him, while her sister took up the rear, just beyond his tail. Amelia was at once side, with the various gun-toting gnolls and va’chaak taking up positions all around him. “To live like this.”

Lissir glanced back at him, flattening her dark gray wings. “We’re lucky to live like exiles?”

Sivik spoke up behind him, picking up from her sister. “Yes, what exactly makes us lucky? To never see our homeland again? To be embargoed by this country, hunted down by that one, to live like outlaws and sky pirates?” 

Alakar warbled, offering each female an open-beak, perked-ear smile in turn. “From the way you all act, I should think you enjoy living like pirates.” 

“I sure as hell do.” Amelia laughed, patting the butt of her rifle. 

“Oh, so do I!” Sivik clicked her beak, but soon flattened back her ears, scowling. “But it wasn’t our choice. We were forced into this life. It was this, or chains.” She shrugged her wings, glancing away. “Or death, more likely. So yes, what luck!” She slapped her forepaw against the ground. 

Alakor only stared at her, unblinking. “I meant, you’re lucky to have a place like this. A home, where everyone calls you friend.” He let out a low, grumbling growl, glancing down at his ebony-smudged paws. “Instead of pet. Or worse.” 

Lissir swished her tail, brushing the gray feathers that tipped it across his beak. “Oh, that we are. But once, not that long ago? We had an entire nation that treated us that way. Now we’ve only an airship.” 

“Point taken.” Alakor nipped at her tail. “Though, outside your capital and your largest cities, I hear things were different.” When Sivik did the same to his own tail, he flicked it against her head, then followed Lissir as she started forward. “To much of the rest of the world, you were…” He trailed off, cringing as the movement of his hind legs sent a little twinge of leaden pain rolling through him. “Nevermind. Not worth arguing about.” 

“Agreed.” Lissir glanced back at him again, her ears splayed in amusement. “You alright back there?” 

Alakor glared at her. “Never better.” In truth, the gryphon’s testicles still ached, but he wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction of knowing that. “Besides, someday, once I’m used to free? Getting kicked in the balls by a human princess of an evil empire will make a great story for a tavern.” 

“And if you call the Black Star an evil empire around Nira, she’ll kick them again.” Sivik walked up alongside him, nipping at his haunch. “As will my sister and I, should you insult us again. Now walk faster!” 

“Thank you for the warning, then.” Alakor picked up his pace, trying to ignore the lingering aching sensation. “I apologize for my early misbehavior.”

Lissir turned a corner ahead of him, following signs that pointed towards Bay Seven. “Somehow, I suspect your apology has more to do with the fact we’ve been named your guards, and less to do with actual contrition.” 

“A little from column A, a little from column B.” Alakor offered them both a playful warble. “Though, you two do make an imposing pair. And I must admit, the two of you provide a far more striking, beautiful view than any window will offer.” 

“Oh, I see how it is. The moment we’re put in charge, you drop the insults and start trying to flatter us?” Sivik bumped her haunches up against him, though whether it was playful gesture or vague threat, Alakor could not tell. “What do you think sister, do you think he’s being truthful now?” 

“About you?” Lissir perked her ears, gazing back at her sister. She shook her head, sighing. “No, I’m afraid he must be lying, because you’re hideous. I, however, am so gorgeous I’m sure to fill his dreams and fantasies from now on.” Lissir shook her haunches, as if just to make her point. 

“Oh, Gods,” Sivik chirruped laughter, trotting forward to swat her sister’s hind leg. “You filthy liar! We both know I’m the pretty one. Still, if he’s going to ‘fantasizing’ about either of us…” She shot Alakor a sidelong glare. “Better you, than me.” 

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re both worth fantasizing over.” Alakor rumbled a low, throaty purr. 

“Ugh.” Amelia dragged her free hand down her face. “He’s even worse than Jirril. You gryphons really gotta learn subtlety.” 

Lissir chittered her amusement. “I keep telling you, subtlety’s for humans. Besides, where would the fun in that be?” 

Alakor turned his head to gaze at Amelia. “I’d offer to fantasize about you, too, but I suspect my balls would not appreciate your retaliation.” 

A smile cracked Amelia’s otherwise stoic veneer. “You’d suspect right.” 

Alakor wasn’t quite sure what to make of her yet. It was clear the woman was fiercely protective of her friends, and her captain. That was certainly respectable. But beyond that, he couldn’t quite tell which of her descriptive threats were genuine, and which were simply bravado or some odd sense of humor. For now, he thought it best not to press his luck.

“So….if I may ask.” He tilted his head towards Amelia, waiting for her to allow him a question, or turn him away. When she nodded, he went on. “Are yourself and the Princess the only humans on the ship?” 

Amelia grunted. “That sounds suspiciously like the sort of question a spy looking to learn about our crew would ask.” 

Alakor flexed his wings. “I shall take that as a yes. I had heard the ship was mostly crewed by other species, but I hadn’t realized quite how true that was.” 

“Watch it, Spy.” Amelia jabbed him in the ribs, but at least she used her finger this time. “Nira might trust you enough to offer you our spare gryphon quarters, but if it was up to me, you’d be confined to a cell in the brig.” 

The white gryphon only smiled at her. “Considering that an hour ago, you were more inclined to put a bullet in my brain, I’ll call that a step in the right direction.”

Lissir soon came to a stop. “Here we are, Bay Seven.” She turned to the door, stretching a wing to brush her flight feathers across his beak, and head. Alakor scrunched his face, backing away. When he’d given her a little room, she retracted her wing, and grasped the large, brass handle with a forepaw. “Everything here is basically, retrofitted for gryphons. Granted, there’s not much in here right now, it’s just a spare room, but there’s bedding, a tub, and a latrine.” 

Sivik padded up alongside her sister. “The doors are large enough for gryphons, and the handles designed for our paws. With any luck, they’ll even fit you, and your ego.” 

Alakor clicked his beak, gazing not at the doors, but at both female gryphon’s haunches, and swishing tails. “Oh, I think I’d fit just fine.”

Amelia cleared her throat. “You know he was staring at your asses when he said that, right?” 

“I had an inkling, yes.” Sivik strode inside, followed shortly by her sister. “But it’s to be expected. Virgins can’t help but fixate on mating.” 

“I’m not a damn virgin,” Alakor said with an irritable squawk. The insult, old as it was getting, left the inside of his ears hot. 

“Oh, so your old masters have already bred you, have they?” Lissir turned back towards him, her ears splayed in gryphon smirk. 

Alakor froze, sucking in a breath. He quickly looked away, his belly twisting. “I’m…” He forced himself to reply, difficult as it was to suddenly find words. “Not going to talk about that.”

“Oh…” Lissir swallowed, her smug expression turning to one of contrition, ears drooping a little. “Perhaps we’ve all insulted each enough, for the moment.” 

Alakor strode past her, no longer in the mood for banter. “Perhaps so.” 

While his guards looked on, Alakor wandered around the room, awash in unwanted memories. A female gryphon flashed through his mind, white, but with a tail darkening to gray. She was nervous, just like he was. They knew each other, but not in that way. Not till they were ordered to, anyway. They both knew they’d probably never see each other again, after that. He was almost too nervous for it to work, but she helped him along. Better for both of them that way, no one wanted to have to drink the ‘medicine’ for those who had trouble. When it happened, it was over quickly, but they were made to spend a week together. To make sure it took. 

And then she was gone, whisked away, along with….

Alakor shook himself, wishing he could shake the damn memories out of his head. To think the Union would wonder why he wanted to escape them. Alakor forced himself to focus on his surroundings until he was able to lose himself in the moment again.

From the way Lissir described it as a spare room, he’d expected something akin to a storage closet, connected to a small bathing chamber. Instead, he found himself roaming a voluminous cargo hold, so spacious he could have taken to his wings. A few light fixtures on the otherwise barren walls provided gentle illumination. There were no portholes or windows, and he was not sure how close they were to the ship’s outer hull. Alakor turned a slow circle, letting out a low coo of approval. While it was true the room was mostly empty, for Alakor, that was a benefit, not a drawback. 

“This is huge!” He turned back towards the females. “Have you other prisoners you’re putting in here with me?” 

Lissir shook her head. “Just you.” She tilted her head. “Bigger than the Union gave you, I take it?” 

“The Union usually kept us in a small barracks, at best, often with a half dozen gryphons in each room. Hard to sleep without bumping someone else.” He ground his beak a moment, turning away. “I think those who guard the palace now get better quarters, but…I’m not sure. And since I was a spy, I sometimes got a room to myself, on missions. But even that was…cramped, at best.”

Amelia wandered around at a distance, though it was clear she was keeping an eye on him. “I’ll admit, that sounds like shit. I know you gryphons aren’t exactly bashful, but I’d think even you’d want a little privacy once in a while.”

Alakor simply nodded, spotting a large, rectangular structure in the corner. Layers of sky-blue blankets and gray sheets were piled atop it, along with a small mountain of cushions and pillows. “Is that someone’s bed?” He padded towards it, calling back to the three females. “I suppose they’ll be coming to move it, yes? Do you suppose your Princess would let me steal a pillow or two? And maybe a blanket to spread on the floor?”

Lissir walked up alongside him, her voice soft, her head low. “Alakor, that’s…” She glanced back at her sister, who shrugged her wings, then returned her gaze to the male. “That’s your bed. Those are your blankets and things, now. Those were brought in here for you.” 

“R…really?” Alakor swallowed, coming to a stop at the side of the bed. “I’ve…” He reached out, then hesitated, his ebony-smudged paw hovering above one of the indigo cushions. “Never had a bed, before. Not…not a real bed, anyway. Not like this.” 

The idea that this was his, that even an enemy here got a bed, with blankets, with pillows? Between that, and the painful memories he was still struggling to forget, it was more than Alakor could take. His throat tightened, and his eyes burned, threatening tears. Alakor wanted to think that it took more to earn his loyalty than a damn bed, but when, in all his life, had he even had that? He stumbled back a few paces, never even touching the cushion. A weakness rushed through him, fueled by emotion, and a strange sort of sudden uncertainty. His hind legs wobbled, and he flopped back onto his haunches. The gryphon sniffled, wiping away a few stray tears with the back of a forepaws. 

Gods, he thought, what was wrong with him? Alakor liked to think of himself as so much stronger than this. All his adult life, he’d served the Union as spy, an enforcer, even an assassin, whatever dangerous missions were required of him. He and the other snow gryphons suffered their masters’ abuses and mistreatments, and still held their head high and their wings mantled in pride. The worse they were treated, the stronger it made them, or so he told himself. He’d clawed his way up their ranks, earning their trust, taking their callousness and cruelty in stride, in search of a chance to free himself from all that. So what was it that finally left him on the verge of sobbing like a lonely, frightened little fledgling? 

A bed. A gods-damned bed. 

Alakor wiped his eyes again, then set his forepaw back down. He dropped his head, staring at his own front paws in desperate attempt to focus on anything else. He sure as hell didn’t want these pretty pirate sparrows to see him crying over something so foolish. Sure, he might he might have teared up a little when the princess booted him in the cargo pouch, but even for a gryphon, that was to be expected. Simpering over a damn bed was something else entirely. The very idea of it was so humiliating it churned his belly, yet still he found himself blinking back tears, and struggling to swallow down the stubborn lump in his unpleasantly tight throat. Besides, how could he present himself as a potentially indispensable member of their crew if-

“Alakor?” Lissir settled on her haunches alongside him, her voice soft. When he forced himself to meet her eyes, he found confusion etched across her features. Her ears were cocked at odd angles, her head tilted, her dark gray crown feathers lifted around her head. “You…really never had a bed, hmm?” 

The white gryphon shook his head once, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself. 

Lissir clicked her beak, turning to stare at the assortment of blankets, and pillows. “You know, where I grew up, we didn’t have beds like this, either. But we had mats woven of discarded feathers, pillows made of stuffed animal hides…the sort of thing our ancestors used, long before the Empire folded us into their so-called civilization.” She gave a little cooing noise, opening a wing. “But I’m guessing you didn’t even have that.” 

“A wooden floor, usually. Or the dirt, the grass. Or another gryphon to lay against, whether I liked it or not.” Alakor unsheathed the tips of his retractable claws, idly scratching at the floor. “Slept in a human-style bed a time or two, on missions or travels, though most places we’d stay wouldn’t have something that would fit me, anyway. And if they did, the Handlers usually told me to sleep outside, or with the horses, or what have you.” 

“I suppose…” Lissir spoke slowly, as if she was carefully choosing each and every word. “When you believe, with all your heart, that your enemies control an army of evil monsters, it is…difficult to see those species as anything else. Even when they’re on your side, or you’ve raised them yourself.” Just as slowly, Lissir stretched her wing and gently laid it across his back. “Anyway…you’ve a bed, now.” 

Alakor tensed as the female’s wing settled across him. It was a comforting, intimate gesture among gryphons, not unlike a hug. He’d certainly shared such comfort with other snow gryphons before, but never with those he once considered enemies. Under other circumstances, in his duties as a spy, he might drape his own wing across an enemy gryphon as part of an effort to secure their friendship, their trust. While Alakor knew it was possible that Lissir was doing the same to him, he did not sense any deception in her touch. She was simply offering him comfort in a difficult moment. 

“Thank you.” Alakor swallowed again, pressing his own wings to hers in gratitude. He closed his eyes, and if only for a moment, savored the solace found beneath another gryphon’s wing. 

*****

Chapter Seven

*****

While Alakor collected himself under Lissir’s wing, her sister Sivik strolled past them. Sivik’s ears were flattened, and Alakor could not begrudge her any suspicion. Despite Sivik’s expression, her voice was soft. “This isn’t entirely human style. Their beds are usually too soft for gryphons, you’ll sink into it or just flatten it too much after a few nights.” She pulled aside some of the blankets, revealing the sturdy wooden platform beneath, and the layers of woven feather mats lining it. “So this will support your weight, but also provide comfort beneath all the other blankets and cushions.” 

“It looks very comfortable.” Alakor bowed his head to the other female. “Thank you again.” 

Sivik patted the many, thick, warm-looking covers. “It gets cold in here at night, especially when we’re at altitude. You’re descended from arctic stock, so you might be comfortable just laying on top. Otherwise, the blankets are warm, and…well…” She chuckled, setting her paw down. “I assume you know how blankets function, even if you’ve never had one.” 

Alakor managed a little smile. “I do, yes.” 

“Why don’t you show the crybaby bird the shitter?” The human’s voice rang out behind them. “Then we can leave him to cry about his fancy new bed without being so embarrassed for himself.” 

Alakor glanced back at her, grinding his beak. He didn’t much like being called the crybaby bird, but he supposed he’d said far worse to them not long ago. Plus, for all he knew, she might well actually be trying to give him some private time to let him deal with his emotions. She didn’t exactly seem the sweet and soft-spoken type, after all. That was fine with him. 

“Yes, you said there was a latrine nearby?” Alakor nudged Lissir’s wings once more, thankful for her comfort, then pushed himself up when she eased it back. “And a bathtub?” 

Lissir stood up next to him, turning around. “It’s the same place as ours, Amelia. Lead the way, will you?” 

“Right.” Amelia waved him forward, resting her rifle over her shoulder. “Let’s go, Snowballs.” 

“You know,” Alakor said, padding after her. He still wasn’t pleased with the nickname. “The more you call me that, the more I wonder if you aren’t hoping for an up close inspection of them.”

“Oh, sure!” Amelia flashed him a wicked grin. “But you ain’t gonna like what I do when I get my hands on ‘em.” 

“Perhaps not.” He watched her shift her rifle as they walked across the room. “You know, they make straps for those.” 

“Nah, the Ebony Ranger’s my gryphon riding gun. It secures into the side of Sivik’s saddle.” Amelia padded the gun’s butt. “Long as I’m stuck watching over you, though, I’d rather have it on me.”

“I should think wielding it while flying is all the more reason to put a proper strap on it.” He glanced towards Sivik, trailing at his side, but she only shrugged her wings. “At least that way, if you dropped it in flight-”

“If I ever dropped it in flight, it’s because I just got shot.” Amelia laughed, shaking her head. “Then I got a bigger fuckin’ problem than losing my gun.”

“Fair enough.” Alakor looked Sivik over as they neared the edge of the room. The saddle and associated harness she wore looked over very high quality. The straps were all thick, sturdy but heavily padded. The buckles were all placed in such a way as to avoid digging into her at any point. “That looks comfortable.” 

Sivik lifted a wing, looking herself over. “Hardly even realize I’m wearing it, anymore. It’s all custom-fitted.” She flicked a wing towards her sister. “She’s got one too, and so do the boys. We’ve quite a few, really. Some for saddles, some cargo, others to carry weapons and so on. I’m sure your people wear similar.” 

“We do, though a lot less thought has been put into making ours comfortable. A few of the saddle harnesses are profoundly uncomfortable on purpose, to keep you in line.” He shook his hind end, hissing. “Especially for males.” 

Amelia laughed as she came to a stop at a door. “Ooh, can you imagine the look on the boys’ faces if I tried to put a saddle like that on them?” 

Lissir grinned. “I think Malaresh would literally eat you, if you tried to strap his balls into some kind of disciplinary saddle.” 

“I wonder who that would be more awkward for?” Sivik giggled, nudging Amelia with her beak. “You, or Malaresh?”

“Malaresh.” Amelia rubbed Sivik’s ear. “Grabbin’ a dragon by the nuts would just be fun, for me.”

Alakor froze. “A dragon?” He flattened his ears back, wings tight to his body. A chill trickled down his spine, and into his hind paws. “You have a dragon on board?” 

“…Oops.” Amelia made a face. “Not really supposed to let that slip, but you’d know soon enough. He’s not on board, right now, though.” 

“Technically,” Lissir said, lowering her voice. “He’s not exactly part of the crew.” 

Sivik clicked her beak. “It’s complicated. If you ask him, he’s here because he owes Nira and her family a favor.” 

“Of course, he’d also tell anyone who listens that the ship should belong to him.” Lissir tossed her head, swishing her tail. “Just because he’s a dragon.” 

“A dragon.” Alakor slowly swung his head around, gazing at each of the three females in turn. “A full size dragon? Or one of the little-”

“Bigger than you,” Lissir said, her voice flat. “And with an ego to match. Still, he’s one of the family, whether he likes it or not.” 

Sivik grinned at her sister. “The same could be said for us.” 

Alakor ground his beak. He’d been watching their ship for weeks, yet he hadn’t seen a dragon leave the vessel at any point. “I’d heard you were in contact with one, but I…didn’t know he was actually part of your crew.” 

“He’s been gone a while.” Lissir stretched a wing forward to preen it. “Sometimes he comes and goes on his own. He’s supposed to be returning with supplies soon, actually. That’s why we’ve been drifting in and out of this persistent cloud bank the last few weeks. It’s where it was decided we’d meet back up with him.” 

“Wonderful.” Alakor growled to himself, muttering under his breath. He lashed his tail, his earlier anxiety returning to grip his belly with cold fingers. “Don’t know how I missed that. Must be slipping, too focused on my plan to do my job. That’s exactly the sort of thing I would have been expected to report, were I intending to return home. This might be a problem for me. Maybe for all of us.” 

“You’re babbling, Snowballs.” Amelia shifted her grip on her rifle, then sighed. “Tell you what. You tell us what the hell you’re muttering about, and I’ll put this away. Deal?” 

Alakor glanced up, beak parted in amused smile. “You’re just looking for an excuse to give your arms a rest. But very well.” 

Amelia stowed her rifle on its holster at Sivik’s side, buckling it into place. “First hint of you causing trouble, and I’m-”

“Taking it back out, and blowing something off of me, got it.” He waited until the three of them were paying him their full attention, then gestured with a paw. “You should know, that we don’t get along with dragons.”

Lissir flexed her wings. “Dragons don’t get along well with anyone, in my experience. I know, historically speaking, dragons and gryphons used to fight. But Malaresh and Jirril get along just fine.” 

“Just fine?” Amelia folded her arms. “I think everyone knows that blue parrot and the big, black lizard have fucked more than a few times.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” Alakor shifted his weight, uncomfortable. “I meant, snow gryphons, and dragons. One of the Union’s first major acts, early in the war, was to send snow gryphons out to track down the Dragon Lords who ruled the Empire’s provinces. The Union warships and hunting parties later, but first? It was snow gryphons. My parents’ generation helped kill and capture an awful lot of those Dragon Lords and their kin. Your…Malaresh, he may very well have a grudge against my people.” 

Amelia scowled, scratching her cheek. “Far as I can tell, Malaresh has a grudge against just about everyone involved with the Union.” She held her hands up. “Now, I never heard him badmouth any snow gryphons…hell, never even heard of snow gryphons, till today. And he gets along with the girls and Jirril as well as anyone, so…Well, Nira wouldn’t let him incinerate you without good reason, so I wouldn’t worry about it.” 

Alakor just stared at her, trying to keep his beak from dropping. “Perhaps you mean well, but that is far less comforting than you may have intended.” 

Lissir set her forepaw atop his own. “How about this, then? I think he’ll understand, when he realizes why you’re defecting. But if not?” She patted his paw. “You’re our prisoner, which makes your safety our responsibility. I promise you, we won’t let the dragon do you any grievous harm.” 

“Thank you.” Alakor bowed his head to her. “That puts me…” He blinked, lifting his head again, crown feathers lifted. “Wait, grievous harm?”

Sivik warbled her agreement with her sister. “Well, we’ll keep you safe, if we must, but if you start insulting us again, and making jokes about mounting us all the time, we might accidentally leave you two alone and let Malaresh knock you around a bit before we come back.”

Amelia laughed, flashing the male gryphon a wicked grin. “Or you’ll hit it off with the dragon, and you’ll be the one who ends up getting mounted and fucked.”

Alakor blinked, a smile cracking his worried veneer. “Perhaps so. Never been with a dragon. Could be one way to win his trust, I suppose.” Then he blinked, wincing. “Wait, how big is he?”

Amelia shrugged, then made an impressive indication of size between her outstretched hands. “About like that, I suppose.”

“I meant his body!” Alakor stared at her, wide-eyed. “And how do you know?”

“Yes, Amelia!” Sivik turned her head towards the human woman, grinning, her ears perked. “How do you know?”

“Oh, please.” Amelia waved off the female gryphon. “When you walk around, and sleep, without pants, sooner or later someone’s gonna see it.” She turned back towards Alakor. “So you want us to show you the shitter, or not?”

“I’m not so sure when you put it that way.” Alakor chuckled to himself. “Very well, then. Go ahead.”

“S’right through here.” Amelia went to the large door, outlined in white. She used both hands to push down the gryphon sized handle, and it swung open on oiled hingers. “Come on.”

Alakor let the three females go in first, then followed them inside. The room beyond was much smaller, yet still larger than he’d expected. A great, hammered copper tub sat at one side of the room. A small staircase, sized for gryphons and complete with woven traction pads, led to the top of the tub. Another descended inside it. Copper pipes running along the wall connected to large faucets with oversized handles. One was painted blue, the other red. 

“You have plumbing?” Alakok’s beak dropped open. “In the damn cargo bay?” 

“Certainly do,” Lissir said, striding past him. She swished her tail, and its feathers brushed across his beak. “This thing was built for the Imperial family, you know, and all their ministers, guardians, and so on. There was no expense spared.” She waved a paw at the tub. “They probably expected the Imperials to have an entire flight of gryphons on board, considering the number of these down here.” 

Lissir turned away from the tub, padding across the room to another copper fixture. This one was a long sunken basin in the floor, with a large, open drain at one end, and a single, faucet-like structure at the other. Lissir flicked her wing open to point at it. “I’m guessing you know what this is?”

Alakor, to his dismay, did not. “Is it…for washing just your paws?” 

The two female gryphons shared a look, and both erupted into warbling laughter. Sivik shook her head, cringing. “Oh, if you wash your paws in that, do not even think about touching us afterwards.”

“Oh.” Alakor flattened his ears back, embarrassment heating his beak. “That’s the latrine, isn’t it.” 

“It is.” Lissir giggled, glancing down at the sunken basin. “Never used one designed for us, hmm?” 

Alakor shook his head once. “Generally, we were given a pit dug in the ground. At best. Or told to just…” He scrunched his face behind his beak, waving a paw. “Go use the field nearby. So I…” Alakor slunk a few steps closer, staring at the odd, elongated bowl set into the floor. “Just…go in there?” 

“Basically.” Lissir waggled a paw over it. “You just squat over the basin or…stand, since you’re male, I suppose you’ll stand over it if you’re just pissing. When you’re done, you use this lever.” She pushed the faucet’s white-handled lever down, and soon, a steady flow of water poured it. It rushed through the basin, and into the drain. “Till it’s clean again.” 

“Fascinating.” Alakor watched the last of the water drain away, then lifted his head, lashing his tail. “Which…is never a word I expected to use to describe a latrine.” 

“Just be grateful someone took the time to consider how things work for creatures with four legs, instead of two. Mind you, the water tanks for this deck, while large, are still finite, so don’t waste it.” Lissir turned away, returning to the door. “Well, that’s your tour. I need to go and find the Princess.” She glanced back at Sivik. “If you think you can handle him alone?”

“She ain’t alone.” Amelia thumped her thumb into her chest. “She’s got me.” She followed Lissir out, and as Alakor wandered after her, pointed back to the main doors. “And a small army of gnolls and lizards out there with enough firepower to put down a dragon, let alone a gryphon. I think we’ll be fine.”

“Yes,” Alakor said, making his way towards the bed. “I assure you, I’ve no intention of causing trouble. Considering how little sleep I’ve had recently, I may just flop onto that lovely looking bed and pass out.” He warbled to himself. “At least until someone brings me something to eat, and drink. Or tells me I’m allowed to leave the room.” 

“I’ll ask the Princess and Rog to let us know where you’re allowed to roam.” Lissir paused to shake a single, half-unsheathed claw at him. “Under guard, of course.”

“Of course.” Alakor crossed the expansive room as the females headed for the exit. “I shall await a chance to gaze upon your various beauties again, then.” 

Sivik gave an irritable chirrup. “You’re horrible.” 

Amelia just glared at him. “You’d better be including me, in that.” 

“Oh, certainly.” Alakor bowed his head, chuckling. “So long as you’re playing nice, I’m happy to extend you the same compliments and pleasantries.” 

The three females left the room, closing the doors behind it. While Alakor did not hear any locks or security bars clicked into place, the rest of the armed guards waiting just outside made it clear he was not supposed to leave. That was fine with Alakor. So long as they brought him food soon, the gryphon was content just to have a little time to relax, and test his new bed. 

Alakor went to the edge of the bed, staring at it. There were more blankets and cushions than his entire flight of gryphons had to share, back when he was part of a group. Hesitant at first, Alakor reached out and set his paw atop the bed. With all the woven mats, padding, and blankets, he couldn’t even feel the wooden support platform beneath it all. The gryphon moved forward, lifting a hind leg up to set his back paw onto the bed. Still, he hesitated, half expecting one of his old handlers to pop out of some secret chamber and starting screaming at him. 

Animals don’t belong on the bed! Get to your stall, bird! 

When no such person emerged, Alakor stepped up onto the bed. Once atop it, he turned around in a tight circle, then did so a second time before flopping down onto the bedding. The hidden wood creaked under his weight, but showed no other signs of distress. Though it was likely designed with smaller gryphons in mind, he was certain it could support him. 

Alakar brushed his paw back and forth across the blankets. They were soft as silk against his pads, softer even than his own feathers. They were a far cry from the coarse, bristly blankets that the Union occasionally provided. And most of the time they weren’t even given that much. Alakor stretched his foreleg, grasping one of the cushions. Like the blankets, it was mostly a pale sky blue color, with a single layer of silvery lace edging it. To Alakor, it looked like the sort of pillow royalty would use. If this was what they provided prisoners, here, he could only imagine the sort of unfathomable opulence Princess Nira must live in. But for Alakor, this was splendor enough. He pulled the pillow closer, and lay his head down upon it. 

Alakor perked his ears as he savored his newfound comfort. Everything was going according to plan. He’d survived his first meeting with the Princess, and learned the identities of those he assumed were her most loyal protectors. And, he’d taken the first step towards ingratiating himself as part of her crew. 

Alakor smiled. 

So far, so good.