Honor for the Enemy

by Simon_oSullivan

Módrinn af hestvirdinginu

Móðrinn af hestvirðinginu (The wrath of the honorable stallion)

Trumpets echoed across the gigantic colosseum followed by the attending gryphons’ sudden standing up to get a better view. From his silver throne, Goliath grinned while tapping a short melody on one of the armrests. With a gentle leaning of his head towards his left, the gryphon king gestured a Manegol servant carrying a tray to come closer.

“You will see today, þegn Drakkar, that not only my military is trained to fight.” As soon as the Manegol trotted to his side, Goliath stretched his arm and grabbed one of the cups the servant was carrying. “Take the other one, þegn; a good drink goes great with a good fight.”

“Most appreciated, your Highness.” A brown magic aura enveloped the other cup before floating to Drakkar’s hoof. After giving a thankful nod to the servant, the unicorn turned his attention to the king. “You were saying that not only your military was trained to fight.”

“Every male and female goes through basic military training, which allows for some outstanding exhibitions.” The king rests the edge of his cup on his beak and takes a long sip. “It is rare, but refreshing to see a promising youngster taking down a veteran soldier in single combat. And having superb close combat expertise is a given on any high ranking officer worth their name.”

“You speak the truth, your Highness, but what is the motivation these soldiers of yours have?”

Goliath turned to face Drakkar, a baffled expression twisting his face. “What do you mean? What greater motivation and honor can there be than serving as soldiers of the most powerful nations?” With a swift gesture that threatened to spill some of his wine, the king pointed at Drakkar. “What is your motivation? You, who rides a bear into the battlefield, mauling enemy lines? Where is the stallion that stood in front of the most impossible of odds for honor and glory? Where’s the paragon of honor your folk are so proud of?”

Ignoring the king’s inquisitive stare, Drakkar closed his eyes as he moved the cup in small circles in mid-air. “There’s always something more, King Goliath. Some of us take longer to find out than others, and an unfortunate few never do. As a soldier, I never fought because I wanted to.” The unicorn’s calm expression slowly switched to a stern look that met Goliath’s. “I fought because I had to. Honor and glory are a given in most battles, but that’s not the reason I stand against an enemy.”

A loud huff escaped Goliath’s lips, shaking his head. “What has happened to you, Drakkar?”

“There are more reasons for me to come back alive than for dying heroically in battle, fighting until my body can’t take it anymore.” Drakkar looked down inside his cup, the wine shining at the few sunrays that lightened it. “Back in the days of old, I fought because there would be honor and respect for my family when I went to war, regardless of me returning alive or not. It was what they expected from me, and I was more than happy to deliver.” With a gentle shake of his head, Drakkar rested an elbow on the armrest and lay his cheek on his hoof. “Now I have a little nephew that looks up to me, even if I am seldom in the land that saw me grow. And, more importantly, I have a wife and two foals to support. I have to teach them the ways of the North, and I want to see them become ponies of honor.”

Goliath looked to his right, where the princess sat escorted by two gryphon soldiers and a Manegol servant that held a large fan that covered her face from direct sunlight. “I can understand that feeling of worry, but I have never cowered away from a battle.”

“You have the means so others can take care of your daughter, but even if I had them, I prefer seeing my foals slowly becoming worthy ponies.”

A growl escaped through the gryphon king’s gritted teeth, the metal cup getting slowly crushing under his powerful grasp. “Bear in mind, þegn, that despite being a guest of honor, I will never tolerate any mortal to question my skill in the battlefield! I have never been injured, or lost a battle for that matter, in my over fifty years of life.”

With a shrug, Drakkar took a sip from his own cup before replying. “Even the mightiest warlords can make a mistake, and the clumsiest warrior can get an instant of clarity that would allow him to mortally wound an obviously far superior combatant. It is rare, of course, but when you have others to take care of, you don’t risk yourself unless it’s really necessary.”

“And you think anyone would be able to defeat me, the son of Ares and half-brother to Phobos and Deimos?” Goliath hit his chest, a proud grin showing in his beak as a threatening glare focused on the unicorn. “My father brought me to this world so I could rule this land following his divine word! No mortal can match me in a fight!”

“You speak as if you have never experienced the pain of a broken bone or an open wound.” Drakkar’s reaction made the king laugh loudly.

“You finally get it, Drakkar. I am a demigod! My power goes beyond whatever you can imagine. It is why I allowed whoever could defeat me in a fight to marry my daughter.”

The unicorn blinked several times before being able to mutter. “Why would you do that? I am aware of arranged marriages, but this is nothing like that.”

”If there’s a way I can assure the strength of my descendants, it is by finding a mate that puts up a fight.”

“Even after you just admitted to be invincible?”

Goliath grunted. “Whoever wants my daughter as their wife will have to walk over me; and I’ll only allow that if they’re actually able to do it literally.”

The mutterings of the crowd became loud enough to prevent any sort of coherent conversation as the first contestant walked into the arena. Followed by a gryphon with a white toga, the huge earth pony walked straight to the center of the amphitheater. The lack of clouds allowed the sunrays to bathe Megin-gjarð, his eyes covered in the shadows his mane projected. The huge stallion moved his head to check the surroundings as the sand crunched under his hooves. All the attending gryphons looked down at him from their upper positions, sharing short sentences about the upcoming battle. An elder gryphon with a white toga greeted the stallion with a deep bow before reminding him about the rules of the competition.

Drakkar smiled from his seat, scratching his cheek before turning to Goliath. “This one shouldn’t take long.”

A devilish smile twisted the king’s beak. ”Of course it will; only the finest gryphons join this tournament. Your bodyguard, large and mighty as he is, has no chance against my finest warriors.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate Megin-gjarð, your Highness.“ With a proud smile, Drakkar finished his drink, leaving the empty cup on the armrest. “We are also strong fighters despite lacking your military discipline. My hǫfkarl is a veteran strongpony, earning the title of strongest stallion in Fimbulvetr the four times he joined the competition.”

Goliath shrugged, gesturing with his talon for the servant to return. “So he can lift large boulders; that doesn’t make him a worthy warrior.”

“In that case, let’s see what his rival has to say about it.”

As Megin-gjarð crushed the sand under his weight with his heavy hooves, the gryphon contestant flew over the arena, hovering with his wings fully spread to cast a shadow that covered the center of the Colosseum. With a sudden dive, followed by a powerful flap of his wings that scattered sand all over the place, the gryphon landed on his four, his bright red cap slowly falling over his shoulders and covering his body.

Megin-gjarð raised an eyebrow, scratching the back of his neck before speaking. “Giulio. I remember you from the feast last night.” He shook his head while letting out a short, rasping sigh. “I sincerely hope you have more to yourself than this show.”

“These are bragging rights, Earth pony.” Giulio clawed the ground with every step, his pompous cape moving to the gentle breeze. “And today I shall defeat the stallion that killed a hydra!”

“It fills me with honor, gryphon, knowing that my story has struck you to such depth.”

Giulio let out a short snarl, clenching his talons as the huge pony returned a roguish smile. “You are fortunate that I can’t just slice your throat open with the same claws I have ripped many apart.” With a quick gesture, Giulio took off his cape and hastily flapped his wings, creating a gust that made his piece of clothing fly away to the seats. “You might be able to stand a chance, but I am more cunning than any beast, no matter how many heads they might have.” The gryphon stood on his lion legs, closing his talons as he smiled once more.

Megin-gjarð raised his forehooves, standing on his hind legs in neighing position for a moment. After a few seconds, the huge stallion slammed the ground with both hooves, the thunderous blast reverberating throughout the arena. “Show me the steel behind your words.”

A devilish grin twisted Giulio’s beak, his tail playfully drawing circles in mid-air. “Ready when you are, Jǫtunsson.”

The stallion’s ears perked up in an instant as he stared at the gryphon with widened eyes. As Megin-gjarð leaned forward while showing a dire frown, his short, brunet tail whipped the air. Guttural growls escaped through his gritted teeth. “What did you call me?”

“What everyone calls you, Earth Pony. The rumors are well known across the land, and you are quite a legend.” With a powerful flap of his wings, Giulio took off, creating a dust cloud that covered his previous position. The swift tackle against Megin-gjarð’s left side made the stallion let out a short, barely audible grunt. Giulio fell to the ground with a loud oomph, only to see the large stallion stomping the ground and galloping to trample him. Another swoop of his wings lifted Giulio from the ground, creating another dust cloud that covered his swift retreat. As the large earth pony shook his hooves to move the cloud away, Giulio dove from the sky on top of Megin-gjarð’s back. The gryphon clenched his mane and pressed his lion legs against the stallion’s sides to keep himself from being taken down.

“Get off me, charlatan, and fight like the warrior you boast about being!”

The huge stallion bucked the air trying to throw the gryphon from on top of him. Giulio had held the pony’s neck in a strong grapple, his talons shaking as he used all his strength to try and choke him. Huffs escaped through the gryphon’s beak as he spoke. “Strong and big as a Jǫtunn, and I see you share their lack of wits as well!” Giulio jumped back and to the left, away from him to avoid a head butt, landing on the ground in front of the furious Earth pony. Even in front of the menacing sight, the gryphon didn’t lose the devilish grin. “Slow and predictable. If you are the best your kingdom has, this won’t be worth singing about.”

Megin-gjarð roared as he charged towards the gryphon, to which Giulio chuckled as he flew to his left to avoid the attack. The walls of the Colosseum trembled slightly as the juggernaut crashed against it, grunting and rubbing his right shoulder. Giulio’s smile vanished for an instant as the huge stallion turned to face him, a vicious snarl finding its way through his clenched teeth. “Shut your beak, gryphon!”

Giulio stared at the growling warrior before him, regaining his composure and taking a preemptive step back and bending his lion legs. “No pony gives me orders, half-blooded or not!” After speaking those words, he gryphon pounces forward, throwing a quick uppercut at the stallion’s chin that only gave an annoyed in return. The swift wing-over to the left allowed Giulio to move away before Megin-gjarð stomped right where the gryphon was a moment ago.

The heavy step of the huge stallion crushed the sand under his hooves as his ears kept folded back, hidden inside his mane. “The moment I get my hooves on you, braggart, will be your last; you have my word.”

“Your words have as much worth as your mixed blood, Jǫtunsson.” The stallion rushes towards him, a tackle that was again dodge with an effortless jump to the left from the gryphon rival. Giulio’s confident grin faded for a brief moment as a sardonic smile twisted Megin-gjarð’s muzzle.

From their seats, the attendants booed at the tasteless show. Giulio’s eyes moved to scan the public. “You hear them, big guy. I’m going to have to take you down the fast way.” The gryphon flapped his wings with swift motions, lifting a cloud of dust around him, speaking while taking an offensive stance. “Let me show you the rampant ferocity of the gryphon Pankration. You will end up more ravaged than you mother’s loin after taking the seed of the giants!”

Megin-gjarð’s legs shook as he lowered his head, eyes close shut and gritted teeth grinding with a barely audible rasp. When the stallion looked up at the gryphon, his eyes opened to throw the primal glare of a predator. His guttural scream boomed across the arena. “Ek mun drep þík!” After roaring the sworn oath, Megin-gjarð charged once more, crying in seething fury towards Giulio while raising a hoof. When the gryphon jumped to the left, the stallion bucked the ground and followed the gryphon, stretching his foreleg and grabbing one of his lion legs.

Giulio’s eyes widened as his face grew pale under his feathers as the iron grip around his lower half tightened. A loud roar rasped Megin-gjarð’s throat as he slammed the gryphon’s back against the floor, knocking the air out of his lungs. The impact had shattered the bones of Giulio’s wings, as well as breaking several ribs. His screams of agony intensified as the broken ribcage that had always protected his lungs until that moment were puncturing them every time he tried to recover his breath or keep on expressing his ordeal as loudly as he would like to. Giulio gritted his teeth as he tried to roll on the floor to try and get up, his broken wings uselessly hanging to his sides. His attempts to kick his lion leg free from the titanic grip were to no avail, as were using his talons to drag himself away from the fight.

With a quick pull of his hoof, the stallion turned Giulio face up again, grabbing him from the plumage of his chest and lifting him from the ground to stare him in the eyes. “Pray to whatever gods you worship, gryphon, for I will send you to the lands of Hel with my bare hooves!”

Giulio shook his head, tears flowing down his cheeks as he reached his right foreleg with the left one, grunting as he raised it and pointed at the sky. The shaky limbs barely held themselves raised, but it was enough for the elder gryphon step forward and call the combat to a halt. “He has surrendered. The fight is over.” Megin-gjarð looked at the referee through the corner of his eyes for a moment before turning his attention back to the pile of broken bones and agony that remained of Giulio.

King Goliath got up from his throne, speaking over the crowd’s booing. “Not yet!” Next to him, an infuriated Drakkar had his attention focused on the large gryphon as the attendants ceased their complaining. “This is the best my kingdom has to offer? Giulio, you have insulted the prestige of this centuries-old tournament with your childish excuse of a fight! And I refuse to allow worthless warriors to take places of more competent contestants!” Goliath then raised his left talon, closed into a fist before stretching the thumb downwards, getting a collective gasp from the audience. “Megin-gjarð, you have my permission to kill your contestant!”

The large stallion nodded to the words before turning to face the referee, who took a step back and crossed his forelegs in front of his chest. “You heard him.”

Giulio’s strength had already faded away, his forelegs hanging to his sides just as his broken wings. His tears and muttered begs for mercy between short, quick breaths he was able to take without getting hurt didn’t seem to have any effect on the huge earth pony. With a fierce growl, Megin-gjarð stood on his hind legs, still holding the grip on Giulio’s chest. Despite the injured gryphon’s shake of his head, the hófkarl growled his enemy’s epitaph. “I am Megin-gjarð, son of Hǫgg Stálhǫfsson and Miskunn Varðadóttir. I have served in the armies of Fimbulvetr for over twenty years. And I won’t allow any creature, mortal or divine, to insult the honor of my family, much less a worthless braggart!”

Megin-gjarð pulled his free fore hoof back, grunting between his gritted teeth, his eyes piercing through the begging gaze of Giulio. With a loud roar, the stallion punched the gryphon on the left check with the rage he hadn’t been able to drive away. A loud crack made the referee’s eyes widen as Giulio’s neck broke and his head rested on his lifeless shoulder. Silence overcame the Colosseum as Megin-gjarð landed back on his four and let his former rival fall to the arena. The referee took as step to the side and gestured towards the huge door of the building, to which the stallion nodded and walked away, a sorrowful frown on his face.

-o-

On the royal box, Goliath’s clenching of the armrests had lightly damaged them. Drakkar remained motionless with a frown on his face, ignoring the servants and their wine offerings. With a loud growl, the unicorn threw the almost empty cup against a wall before getting up from his seat. “I refuse to watch this any longer!”

“þegn Drakkar, wait!” Goliath stood up from his throne, flying his way in front of the unicorn. “Neither of us is satisfied with this, but you have my word as the ruler of this land, that this mockery will not happen again.” Drakkar shook his head, but the gryphon kind kept talking to him. ”I am as insulted by this... thing as you are. This will not stand. In the meantime, please, take your seat. I will make them bring us some aged Falernian wine for us to enjoy.”

One of the gryphon guards turned to face the king, a scorned frown on his face. “With all due respect, Your Highness—” The menacing glare of the king forced the guard’s beak shut. Goliath spread his wings to their full span, the sunlight reflecting in his silvery plumage. “I-I will bring the wine myself. S-such a precious beverage should be transported with great care.”

“Then go and bring it fast.” The annoyed frown on Goliath’s face slowly turned to a pleased smile as the guard took off and flew away. With a gentle tap on Drakkar’s back, the king gestured towards the seats. “I must warn you, though, þegn, that this wine is strong. A great reserve from my personal racks. Put it too close to a flame and it will light up!”

Drakkar smirked at the gryphon king as he let himself fall on the seat. “I would understand it if you were to warn me about how delicate a wine can be, but for us Fimbulvetrians, fond of mead and beer, to warn us about the kick of a drink?”

“I wouldn’t warn about it if it were a regular wine. One for rare occasions, but I am willing to share it with you today. We shall enjoy the strong beverage as the fight ends. You will not be disappointed, þegn.” Goliath folded his wings before sitting on his throne, letting out a soothed sigh. A roguish smile twisted his beak for a brief moment as he turned to face the unicorn. “Perhaps I could also call a couple gryphon concubines to accompany your drink and show?”

Drakkar’s ears perked up, his eyes wide open as he stuttered. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

With a loud burst of laughter, Goliath shook his talon. “Oh, come on, þegn, you’re an honored guest, and I’m sure you haven’t felt the firm yet alluring touch of a female gryphon.”

A disgruntled huff made its way out of Drakkar’s muzzle, shaking his head while frowning. “My wife does a fine job at that; I don’t need any other female.”

“Oh, but sometimes a wife isn’t on the mood or she simply won’t accept fulfilling certain fantasies.” Goliath put his talons together, tapping the claws with each other, still showing the lavish smile. “Not to mention the possibilities that the different anatomy may offer.”

“A pleased wife is a pleasing wife, your Highness.” A playful smirk formed on his face as he rested his head on the back of his seat. “It is obvious for those who pay attention to detail whenever a female has sex with her mate for different reasons. You can see the difference between the contempt of the one who just lies in the bed and allows herself to be done to fulfill her spousal duties. There are the ones that are only eager to mate because they want to have kids. You can see they want to, but they don’t put much enthusiasm in it; just get the job done.” Drakkar’s smile widened as he turned to face the king. “And then there’s that female. The one that knows she’ll lose her voice of all the moaning and screaming. The one that knows her body will fall down in the mattress in complete exhaustion. That female will tease her mate every now and then, and will drag him to the bedroom at the slightest mention of the willingness to have sex, if she doesn’t take the initiative herself.” Drakkar remained nigh motionless, showing a cheeky smile that screamed ‘guess which one of those three is my wife’ as the few female gryphon guards surrounding them muffled their approving giggles.

Goliath burst into laughter once more. “And I thought you weren’t one to brag yourself.”

“You boast on what you are good at. Being a good listener gets you further than most would admit.” With a shake of his hoof, Drakkar cleared his throat. “But returning to our previous conversation, since the offended party is Megin-gjarð, shouldn’t you be offering him the concubines?”

“Maybe he’ll get even more than that. You see, I expect greatness from my subjects, and those who prove their worth are encouraged to become breeders.” As the two following contestants flew towards the center of the arena. Goliath waved at them while still focusing on Drakkar. “For what I saw yesterday, I am sure there are a lot of females who want to bear the seed of your hófkarl.”

Drakkar blinked for a while, shaking his head in disbelief. “Is that even possible? Can ponies and gryphons actually breed?”

“I will not lie; I have never seen even one hippogriff.” Goliath stared at Drakkar, holding back a chuckle at her confuse gaze. “Hippogriffs are basically gryphons which have the lower half of a pony instead of our normal leonine one. But for what I know, they are mostly born from male gryphons and mares. I suppose it can work the other way round, but it’s never mentioned in any of the tomes of old.“ Through the corner of his eye, the gryphon king scanned the female soldiers, chatting with each other in a low voice, making measuring gestures with their hands. “It looks like the gryphon females are more than willing to give it a try, though.”

-o-

Megin-gjarð was sitting on the bed of his room at the Colosseum barracks. The candles on his table had almost worn off, and the weak flames struggled to light up the place. The stallion drowned a sob as he wiped his water eyes with a small towel, pressing it against his face and massaged his forehead. With drooped ears, Megin-gjarð stared idly at the reflection the moonlight let on the room’s floor. There was a knock at the door, causing him to raise his eyes to it and speak with a soft yet blunt “I don’t wish to receive anyone right now.”

A female voice replied from the other side. “It is I, Gorgon. I brought you wine and fruit.”

His ears perked up in a quick twitch, slowly turning around towards the table and resting his weight on the sturdy oak chair next to the table. A tired sigh escaped his muzzle before saying “Come in.”

The door opened to allow Gorgon to come in. The female gryphon carried one end of a silver platter filled with several pieces of fruit and two plain, silver cups with her right talon, resting the other end against her lion hips. Her free foreleg was holding a vase that she kept on top of her head. Despite standing only on her hind legs, she used her wings to flap around to keep her balance. As soon as she left the platter and the vase on the table, Gorgon fell on her four, letting out a pleased hum while stretching. “Ah, much better.” The gryphon whipped the floor with her tail before turning to the stallion. “I didn’t see you with the others. I expected you would be cheering with the rest.”

“I needed to be alone.”

Gorgon raised an eyebrow at the sorrowful pitch in Megin-gjarð’s voice. She pushed the door closed with her lion legs before flying her way on top of the table. Her hind legs were slightly spread, but her talons rested between them, covering herself. “What has happened?” Her attempts to look him in the eyes were thwarted by his constant turning away, yet the still reddened eyes were obvious from her distance. “You’ve been crying.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Gorgon.” The stallion got up from his seat, but the gryphon grabbed him from the tail.

“I thought I made clear last night that I don’t want secrets with my breeding partners.” Despite the topic she was talking about, her tone was stern and inquisitive.

The stallion shook his head. “If I am to be a breeding partner I should be able to control my emotions.”

“You killed a gryphon without breaking a sweat; you aren’t weak, so calm down about that.” Gorgon moved towards him, giving his tail a gentle pull for him to return to his seat. With a begrudged grunt, Megin-gjarð nodded and let himself fall on the sturdy chair. As he reached one of the apples on the platter, Gorgon began pouring themselves some wine. “I don’t know how things are where you live, warrior. Here, though, crying doesn’t necessarily show weakness. I have seen even King Goliath cry, if only once.” Gorgon offered Megin-gjarð the filled cup, who stared at her with a raised eyebrow. “The queen’s death was a hard blow for the whole kingdom, but it was much harder for Goliath. He refused to marry again out of respect to her.” When she finished serving both ups, she sat on the edge of the table with her lion legs crossed one on top of the other. “So you see, there are reasons we expect everyone to cry for. In fact, you would most likely be ill regarded if you didn’t.”

Megin-gjarð nodded, his eyes focused on the wine inside his cup. “I can understand Goliath. My father never married again after my mother died.”

Gorgon’s tail fell flat on the table. “I’m sorry to hear that. When did it happen?”

“Right after giving birth to me.” Megin-gjarð put the cup aside, pressing his hooves against the sides of his forehead. “I… only know her name and her voice. I don’t even know what she looks like save for some descriptions, but I never got to see her.”

“How can you know her voice?” Gorgon stared at him with a raised eyebrow, putting her own cup aside as well and taking a more comfortable position.

“I just remember her singing a lot. I have blurred memories, because… I don’t know, I can’t explain it because I don’t understand it myself. I guess she sang a lot while she was pregnant, and I got her voice stuck in my head.” Megin-gjarð turned to Gorgon, who was staring at him with a condescending look on her face. His voice felt as if he were drowning a sob. “I don’t know how, but if I were to hear her singing, even if I have no idea what she looks like, I will point at her and say ‘that is my mother!’”

Gorgon looked away with a saddened frown. “So that’s why you reacted that way with Giulio.”

A snarl ravaged its way out of Megin-gjarð’s muzzle. “That worthless braggart. I knew what he was trying. Do you want to make me angry enough to make mistakes? Mock my lack of speed or how I can easily break.” His hooves trembled at the contained anger. “But dare to question the honor of my mother by insinuating she mated with a Jǫtunn and I will chase you tirelessly and trample over you until you stop breathing!” Gorgon moved her talon on top of his hoof, caressing it as she looked for his eyes on his lowered head. “I’ve heard them all. The ones that said my mother was seduced by one, the ones that said she was taken by force… all of them! And all because of me!” Letting out an exasperated growl, Megin-gjarð buried his head between his hooves. “Because when I was ten, I was already as tall as an adult, and when I joined the training when I was thirteen, I was already taller than anyone in the whole kingdom. I even outgrew some of the bears!”

Gorgon jumped down the table, resting her talons on his head and pulling it against her puffed, feathery breast. The stallion turned to embrace her waist the same way she was wrapping her fore legs around his head and caressing his mane. “Let it all out, warrior. There is no shame in crying for that, as there is no good in holding such burden to yourself for so long. Don’t think of those rumors without foundation, but in the pride she must be feeling from seeing what you have become.” Megin-gjarð looked up at her with a curious gaze, his watery eyes barely visible among Gorgon’s chest feathers. She returned him a broad smile. “You, who can take down the mightiest of beasts without the need of armies. You, who punish those who wrong the honor of your family with all the strength of your hooves.” Gorgon caressed Megin-gjarð’s head and mane, moving her talon to his ear, grabbing it and giving it gentle rubs with one of the claws. The stallion let out a short chuckle before moving away from her, his ear tingling, to which the gryphon laughed loudly. “Looks like I found one of your soft spots!”

Megin-gjarð wiped away the few remaining tears between embarrassed chuckles. “I… I don’t know, really.” He turned to face Gorgon, who was staring back at him with a roguish grin. “W-what are you smiling for?”

“Oh, nothing.” Gorgon walking around him, swooping her wings to propel herself and, with a gentle hop, landing on his shoulders. With a swift move, she grabbed both his ears as she wrapped her lion legs around her neck. Though the stallion attempted to shake her off at first, the gentle caress of the leonine paws on his chest and the rubs of his lobes soothed him, letting his head fall back on Gorgon’s lap. The gryphon giggled at Megin-gjarð’s silly smile. “I have to be honest; I never thought I would be able to ride a male’s shoulders, but this is quite fun.” She lowered her head to nuzzle his snout, the lion paws caressing his chest, yet giving light scratches with their claws. Gorgon moved back towards his ear to give it a tender nibble when she looked down and gasped. “By Ouranos’ severed scrotum, is that yours? All of it?”

Megin-gjarð opened his eyes wide, grabbing the table and dragging the chair to hide his lower half under it. “I-I’m sorry, I just—”

“Oh, no, you won’t!” Gorgon jumped down from the stallion and walked her way towards the table. “I have to see that to see if I didn’t get tricked by the lighting.” Before moving under the table, she turned to face Megin-gjarð with a scolding look. “And don’t try to stop me! Breeding partners, remember?” The stallion nodded with intensity as Gorgon winked and dived her way down under. “I wasn’t fooled by the light, after all. My, Eros was very generous when he made you!”

Megin-gjarð covered his face with both hooves to hide his intense blush and a proud smile. “Well… I… am glad you like it?”

“I will definitely need to bring some supplies for when we mate, but this looks more than fine.” The gentle touch of her talons made the huge stallion shudder. “Now that we’re at it, let me take care of this for you.”

Megin-gjarð, chuckled, biting his hoof to muffle a moan. “I’m not one to complain, but I have yet to finish the tournament.”

“Don’t be a fool; I said you should show the steel behind your words. And you did that when you beat Giulio with such ease.” Showing a teasing smile, Gorgon looked up at him from under the table. “Consider this a taste of what awaits you if you win. An extra motivation, if you want.” She then turned her attention back to what had caught her interest. “And now, time to tame the beast.”

Author's Note:

Only translation required for this chapter.

"Ek mun drep þík!" : I will kill you!