Home Not Sweet Home

by CitreneSkys

Lonely

Perched atop a broken piece of plywood, Gallus watched the griffons of Griffonstone mingle among the streets. Well, less mingling and more growl and hiss at each other for being ever slightly annoying.

His wing was still bandaged to his side, snuggly tucked away. It still ached every once in a while, but it was healing. Causally, he hopped down from his perch, his talons scraping the top of the stone streets.

The streets were unusually packed, many griffons were shoving past each other or getting caught in air traffic. Loud squabbles and shouts were heard from miles away, and Gallus flatten with disappointment. He really didn’t want to deal with any of this today.

Sighing, pushed his way past the crowd, ignoring the growling of adult griffons. He could care less right now.

Bumping into a dark griffon made him hiss, looking up at the griffon definitely. The older griffon’s eyes narrowed, disdain shown in his eyes, but promptly turned away from the blue griffon. Gallus gave a mental sigh of relief.

“Ugh,” Gallus grumbled, the noisy streets giving him a migraine. He decided to take a detour, ducking into one of the alleyways. He ignored the claustrophobic feeling he got when enter the dark alley. Instead, he turned left, going down the narrow passageway.

He found this detour a few months ago, ever since Gabby had shown him the library. He was determined on finding a faster way to get there, and low and behold, he found away. Since it was such a small place, he didn’t usually use this passage.

Right now, though, he needed to get away from the streets. The darkness of the passage made him uneasy, the walls clinging to his feathers. He pushed back the feeling, picking up the pace. The remerged into the sunlight, its warm rays hugged his body. Shaking out the cobwebs, he made his way over to the broken down library.

Sitting on his haunches, he leaned against the statue of King Grover. It was quieter, even with the number of griffons wandering around doubled. Relishing the silence, he plucked one of the books off the shelves.

It had a maroon leather cover, gold embroidery sewed onto it the make a pattern of the griffon. There was no title, but the book was pretty old, down to its dusty pages and lack of a back cover.

Opening the cover, Gallus blew the stray bits of dust and dirt away, clearing the first page.

He began to read to himself.

---

Aniya proved to be a formidable opponent. Her bones were tough as steel and could let out a roar that could shake the ground for miles.

But Grover was not fazed. He had dealt with these monsters before, and the cyclops was no different.

“Beast!” he cried, drawing a long sword. “You shall halt in your tracks and surrender before I have to take matters up.”

Aniya growled, fury shown in her one eye. She was not backing down from a fight. Holding the Idol of Boreas in one hand, she struck at the new king. Grover ducked, letting the claws barely scraping the tip of his feathers.

Letting out a war cry, Grover and his army charged. Swords were drawn, attacking the creature. Anirispa shook the ground with a mighty roar, using her claws to take out half the army.

Griffons fell like rain from the sky, crashing onto the ground. Feathers of white, grey, and black all withered in pain and confusion, leaving the young king standing alone in the battle. Aniya let up a roaring chuckle.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen...” she hissed in with amusement. Her eye narrowed onto the king.

Grover held her gaze, determination in his eyes. He pointed the sword towards the sky, screeching.

“You will never win Aniya!” He growled. “I, King Grover, has to power of the Griffons beside me, and even though they might be down, I will not falter. You will stand down, and give back our rightful item. The Idol of Boreas is not yours and-“

“Please. Stop. Monologuing.”

Gallus slammed the book shut, setting it back on the shelf. He hated that book and everything it loved. “I thought I could get through that horrid novel, but I was proven wrong. Why is the army so weak!? I swear to the stars if I can’t find another book that isn’t a blatant copy of every book I’ve ever known, I’m going to riot. Gabby how can you- oh.”

He turned around, reminded that Gabby wasn’t with him this time. His feathered ears drooped. Gabby was fun to talk to. Talkative and funny, now in her place was empty silence along with distant griffon bickering. He looked up to the sky, seeing a pale orange streak across the blue. It was nearing sunset, he better get to shelter soon.

Sitting up, he stretched his legs and wings, letting his joints pop. Gallus left the open library, his talons stepping along the streets of Griffonstone. His bandaged wing ached, having been cramped up on his side forever.

Avoiding the griffons still outside, he ducked back into the alley, going down the narrow space. Instead of turning left, he turned right, his talons leading him to his next sleeping place. He hadn’t gone back to his old alley in days, and if he was honest with himself, probably never.

Ah well, he thought, I was thinking about moving anyway.

That was a lie.

He lied to himself.

The trapped feeling that consumed his body lingered in his head as his struggle through the narrow alley. His chest tightens and sweat beads dripped down his face. His wings were pushed against his body and brushed against the walls. Cobwebs caught in his tail and feathers, and he swore he felt a spider crawl on him momentarily.

The feelings were finally washed away as he stepped into the fresh air. The alley had lead to the edge of Griffonstone, the ground breaking off into a cliff. Shaking himself of dust, he leaned over the edge. It was a long way down, only seeing dead trees rocks. A small branch grew out of the cracks, ending with shrubbery leaves.

Eh, good enough, Gallus shrugged.

Carefully, he climbed down on the rock ledges, feeling the wind brush against his face. Placing a talon on the thick bark, Gallus laid his body on the branch. It felt sturdy, and he already didn’t have to deal with the claustrophobic feeling, being an open space. Watching the stars shine as the sun sets across the horizon, he smiled a little. The view was at least pretty.

The feeling subsides as loneliness settled in, overtaking him. Sighing, he settled onto his new sleeping branch, watching the sun fade out, leaving the world in darkness.

Comments

[Pete100]

He turned around, reminded that Gabby wasn’t with him this time. His feathered ears drooped. Gabby was fun to talk to. Talkative and funny, now in her place was empty silence along with distant griffon bickering. He looked up to the sky, seeing a pale orange streak across the blue. It was nearing sunset, he better get to shelter soon.

Aww, he misses gabby.