> Immortal Hunt
>  by SPark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Predator and Prey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The summer sun cast Princess Celestia's shadow upon the high alpine meadow below as she flew, the air washing over her wings having a cold bite to it despite the warm season. Moss and grass and low shrubs passed beneath her; then the still waters of a crystal clear lake reflected her silhouette as she flew over it. On an impulse Celestia glided down and dragged a hoof through the water, sending a cascade of ripples across the mirror surface. She smiled at her doppelganger image, while behind her the sky's reflection on the lake was dispersed into a thousand glinting shards.

She touched down on the shore near a steep slope where the lake's outlet stream tumbled down to a forest of mixed pine and aspen below. A gust of wind ruffled the grass and sent the aspen's leaves twirling, showing their gold undersides. Her mane and tail were unaffected by the breeze, flowing independently on some inscrutable cosmic magic.

There was silence for some time as Celestia stood, taking in the majestic wilderness around her, and waited. Eventually a speck became visible in the distance, a dark form framed against the pale blue sky. It swooped in from another angle over the valley rather than the lake Celestia had crossed.

As it drew nearer it became clear that the new arrival was a male gryphon. He landed in front of Celestia; a big, burly tiercel who only came up to her chin but was nearly twice as broad as her. He had tawny gold fur all over, with pale amber-gold eyes that gazed into hers with piercing awareness.

"Celestia," he greeted.

She gave him a small nod and a warm smile. "Garamond."

"It has been far too long."

"It has. I let duty occupy me more than I should, at times. I am... very ready to relieve some stress."

He chuckled, a deep almost rumbling sound. "I am sure. Shall we use the same safe word? Do you recall it?" His smile turned sly. "It has been a few years, after all."

Celestia snorted in amusement. "I may be ancient, but I'm not senile. It's still kumquat. Or a flare of pink magic, should my mouth be otherwise occupied." She grinned.

"And you are still incapable of treating even this seriously. You never change."

"Oh, I consider it, from time to time. You know I am even considering a romance? It would put an end to our little trysts if I did pursue it though, and the pony in question could never be as... exciting as you." Celestia punctuated those last words with a seductive turn of her head, her eyes half closed in a sultry smile.

"Well, I would not hold it against you if you did desire a more conventional lover." Garamond's smile softened a little bit, despite his raptorial beak. "But for my own sake, I will freely admit I hope you don't."

She chuckled. "Honest to a fault."

"With you? Always. But come, we can catch up and make small talk later. Right now I am eager to begin."

"I won't make you wait any longer, then. Give me five minutes."

"Two," he said, his smile widening. "And stay afoot."

"Hah!" Celestia tossed her head, a defiant look in her eyes. "You need such an advantage?"

"Well, you hardly want to actually escape, now do you?"

Celestia snorted, half-laughing, but didn't retort.

Garamond grinned. "Here. Let us be certain you don't cheat." He sat back on his haunches, lifting his clawed hands. Celestia watched in fascination. In all her long years she had seldom seen gryphon magic performed. It was always worth watching—so unlike the purely mental discipline of unicorn magic.

Garamond spoke; a short repeating chant in an alien tongue that made a faint glow hover around his claws. Then he uttered three sharp commanding words. Grass and small plants writhed to life all around him, glowing an intense red in the grip of his magic, and began to wreathe themselves around Celestia's barrel. The thin strands twined together into a seamlessly woven rope that bound her wings firmly to her sides.

"When did you learn plant magic?" asked Celestia, astonished.

Garamond gave her a sly grin. "I did not. I simply learned to refine my water magic to better effect. There is water within all living plants, after all."

"Clever," said Celestia, admiringly. "Very clever."

"But come, let our game begin," said the gryphon as he dropped back to all fours. "I will begin counting the seconds now. Go!"

Celestia turned and leaped; one long bound that carried her halfway to the exiting stream. Then she pumped her legs into a swift canter, the fastest pace she could safely go on such rough terrain. Garamond was right when he said she didn't want to escape, but she was hardly going to make catching her easy for the gryphon. That would take half the fun out of the game!

She descended downhill towards the forest. Garamond would be airborne, so if she could get among the trees she could hopefully use them to her advantage. The count was nearly up before she reached them; as she ran under the first branches she glanced back and saw Garamond take to the air.

He was far swifter on the wing than she was on her hooves, it wasn't long before Celestia could hear his wingbeats overhead. The forest canopy prevented him from striking her at the moment but any open space would be perilous for her. She didn't know the forest well enough to avoid all those spaces; all she could do was run and improvise as things played out.

For a while the trees continued to hide her, her pace slowed as she picked her way through thickets. Suddenly she burst through a screen of shrubs and out into a small meadow. She pivoted and dodged to the side, seeking cover, but Garamond swooped down on her with a shriek and she was forced to swerve opposite into the open to evade him. He arced up and then dove again. Celestia spun and reared, bringing up her long sharp horn against his splayed claws. She felt it connect, a short, tugging shock, heard his eagle scream, and saw him wheel away and climb again. She couldn't see any blood, so the injury must be minor.

While he climbed again she raced for cover. She heard him diving once more just as she ducked under the drooping branches of a fir tree. His claws just scored along the top of her rump near her tail as she vanished into cover again. She cried out in pain at the fiery lines that erupted on her white hide but didn't slow her pace.

In among the trees again she weaved and ducked and leaped over low bushes, maneuvering as best she could through the dense forest.

She burst into the open again, teetering on the bank of a stream. She hesitated for an instant, then leaped. The water below twisted up in an unnatural column and grabbed her, tugging her down. She fell, half in the water half on the bank, with a jarring thud and a loud splash. Strange tentacles of water still clung to her, twisting around her hindquarters, invading her intimately.  She lunged forward, her own magic lighting up, solar heat trying to boil away the water. But she held back a little, for many reasons. She didn't want to set the forest ablaze, for one. This made it longer to make the water steam away, and before she could free herself Garamond was upon her, diving down onto her back, claws digging into her withers to get purchase. She bucked and kicked, rolling over to unseat the gryphon perched on her. They crashed sideways into the mud together, their entangled bodies thrashing about and sending grime flying in all directions as each sought to come out on top.

Celestia managed to loosen his grip at the cost of another set of bloody claw-marks,  much deeper ones. She stood up on her hooves but grasses, roots and vines rose up around her, joining forces with the river water to ensnare her limbs. They pulled her down again onto her back, coiling tightly around her form. She struggled fiercely but to no avail as more and more thick roots wounded themselves. Soon all four legs were firmly tied and several robust tree roots secured her neck as well. One even encircled her dock, pinning her tail to the ground.

Garamond loomed over her as she lay there, trembling at her helplessness, her once pristine white hide now splattered with mud and streaked in blood. His beak parted in an avian grin as his eyes swept up and down her disheveled form. "My, that was so easy one might think you wanted to be caught. How shocking."

She did her best to throw him a glare. Her captor's response was to laugh and move in to stand over her then straddle her prone form. "Nothing to say in response? Cat got your tongue? Well this particular cat has a very good use for your tongue. You ponies have such lovely, soft mouths. Let's see how good yours can service me."

He stepped forward until his hindquarters were over her head, and then sat down straddling her chest, his cock emerging just short of Celestia's muzzle. His talons grabbed her horn, pulling her head up just enough so that he could press the head of his shaft against her lips.

His other hand stroked her cheek, then stopped, claws just pricking beneath her chin. "Service me well, Princess, or I'll end this here and now."

She shuddered under him, her heart racing, her breath coming fast. She licked her lips, then parted them and let Garamond push his cock between them.

It was unlike any stallion's member. It was thick and long, but tapered towards the head much more sharply, and said head was slightly pointed rather than flat. The most significant difference however were the small barbs that lined the head. They were much like the barbs on a cat's tongue, not truly sharp, but stiff and scraping. She could hardly feel them as Garamond sank himself slowly into her maw. When he pulled back to withdraw, however, their presence were suddenly all too antagonizing; a painful, prickly, sandpaper sensation against her tongue and along the inside of her mouth.

Another shudder went through her at the sting, but she didn't flinch. Indeed, she steeled herself against the torment as her tongue caressed along the gryphon's cock, and her lips wrapped around it as he began to move back and forth. He sank in deeply enough each time to half-choke her and each retreating pullback made her wince at the scraping of his harsh barbs. But as she tasted the first hint of pre-cum, she moaned eagerly, and Garamond's grin widened. He thrust in deeply and didn't withdraw for some time, leaving Celestia unable to breathe. She trembled, her eyes rolling back, but her tongue still worked against his cock diligently. He finally abruptly pulled, making her choke out a whimper of agony. She lay gasping, trying to catch her breath, but he barely gave her a few seconds before he forced his cock into her mouth again, one hand still tightly grasping her horn.

Soon he started to rut her mouth, his thrusts accelerating into a rapid rhythm. His talons tugged at Celestia's tri-colored mane, now hanging limply in submission. Celestia could just barely manage a breath between each stroke. Her eyes were now watering as she struggled to please him, lips and tongue caressing in time with his strokes. Her hindquarters twitched also, as if beckoning her primal paramour to take his cock there instead and ease the burning desire that filled her.

The taste of precum was getting thicker on her tongue, the feel of his cock changed, growing harder, spikier and hotter as he drew near his peak. He groaned softly, and Celestia let out a muffled moan in response.

"Yes, my alicorn fucktoy, my prey, my pet, my captive. Yes... Your sweet, soft pony mouth is mine... all mine... ah..." His grip on her horn tightened and the pace of his thrusts further increased. Celestia struggled to breathe now but he didn't relent; he thrust again and again, and then once more as she writhed beneath him, nearly in panic, needing air desperately. Garamond crammed his member into her maw in one final vicious lunge and shuddered, his feline balls churning their creamy contents. Suddenly his bitter-hot seed flooded her mouth. She gagged, nearly choking, but then he was pulling back and the scraping barbs were a relief because it meant she could breathe again.

Recovering her vision, she was greeted by the sight of Garamond gripping his cock to aim it, the last spurts of his seed splattering across her face as she moaned and gasped for air beneath him.

Garamond sat panting too, and for a while the only sound accompanying the steady flow of the stream was their haggard breathing. Celestia recovered more slowly, her rib cage heaving for some time as she caught up to her breath. At last it returned to something close to normal.

The gryphon looked down at the alicorn with a smug expression on his face. "There. I have begun, in part, to mark you as mine. You look good beneath me, covered in my seed." His claw traced along her cheek, poking at various points to tilt her head this way and that, admiring his messy handiwork.

"Though it still leaves something to be desired. You are mine now, princess. Do you know how a gryphon male marked his territory in the old times?"

Celestia frowned faintly, finally finding words. "You wouldn't dare." Her voice was slightly hoarse.

Garamond rose, but didn't climb off of her. He stood with his hind paws still over her chest. "I would—indeed I will, dare anything and everything with you. You are mine, pony." As he said those final words Celestia was hit by a scalding spray of piss. She closed her eyes and lips tightly as the acidic yellow stream soaked her head to hoof, matting her tangled hair. She thrashed wildly against the vines restraining her as she hadn't while Garamond was taking her mouth, her body becoming a hot mess as the urine mingled with the mud and semen coating her.

Her horn sparked to life and Garamond tensed for a moment, then saw that it was gold rather than pink so he continued to empty his bladder onto the struggling alicorn. Celestia fought harder, her face frowning in anger, even outrage though her eyes were still tightly shut, the pee still soaking her face. Magic glowed, loosening roots and vines. She kicked harder, squirming beneath the gryphon. Just as the final bit of foul fluid dripped onto her, one hind leg tore free, then the other. Roots snapped and vines shredded, and in one convulsive motion she flung Garamond off her, her wings flaring wide, and she rolled to her hooves.

Celestia stood tall, facing him, her eyes slitted in outrage. "How dare you humiliate me so!"

He glared back. "I dare because you are my plaything, pony. Don't pretend you can challenge me. Ponies are a gryphon's rightful prey."

The alicorn bared her teeth in an angry snarl and launched herself at Garamond, horn first. A root, perhaps enchanted, perhaps not, tripped her and in a flash he was on her again. His claws dug ruthlessly into her sides, breaking feathers carelessly as they raked across a wing. Even as he clung to her with his forelimbs, his hind legs raked at her, leaving bloody marks across her hindquarters. She cried out and went still, panting hard. Garamond instantly grabbed her throat, claws digging in just enough to draw blood. "You are mine, princess. Don't try to escape again... or I'll just kill you outright." He made sure to punctuate those last words with a probing talon on her neck.

She stayed perfectly still, her whole body frozen in fear. Garamond kept his grip on her throat as he carefully stepped off of her. "Now roll over like a good filly. Onto your belly now."

Slowly, still shaking, Celestia obeyed.

"Good, good. Fold your wings in nice and tight, out of the way."

She did that as well.

"Also good. Now, lift your tail. Show me how eager you are for me."

Celestia hesitated, licking her lips, her ears laid back.

"Come now, little pony. I know you want me. Or do you want to die? It's one or the other, prey."

Celestia swallowed, feeling his claws prick a little harder as she did, and lifted her tail up.

"Good girl. This is going to be a lot of fun," he said as his free hand groped under her tail, claw tips just touching enough to let her know they were there. "Did you know, by the way, that I've perfected a spell to make ponies and gryphons interbreed? Oh yes. I know it's supposed to be quite impossible, but just picture it, actual hippogryphs, growing inside your womb. And as a bonus this spell greatly increases fertility, so I can sire not just one but multiple cubs in you!" His hand continued to rub her, feeling her juices coating and slicking his fingers.

Celestia whimpered, shaking her head ever so slightly. Garamond chuckled deeply, finally withdrawing his hand and moving into position to mount her, though his other hand remained at her throat. "Oh yes. My seed will kindle in you, making you swell with my young, no matter what you may wish, no matter what you may do. That is your fate now, to be my breeding bitch. What do you think of that, pony?"

Celestia whimpered again.

"Come, tell me you want it."

"I..." She bit her lip, a shiver going through her. She was breathing fast, almost hyperventilating.

Garamond crouched over her, his cock rubbing her rump, over the claw marks there. She twitched and whimpered again. He shoved her head harshly into the dirt. He lowered his own head down to hers, still gripping her throat, and whispered in her ear, "Tell me you want it, bitch. Tell me you want my seed in you."

"I... I... I do, I want your seed."

"And my cubs, say you want my cubs."

She twitched again, but said, shakily, "I want your cubs."

"Say you're my breeding bitch."

"I'm your b-breeding bitch."

"Oh good girl." He shifted even as he said it, lining his cock up with her pussy. "A good girl deserves her reward," he purred as he sank into her dripping, eager folds. That first stroke was wonderful, filling Celestia deeply, promising the fulfillment her body yearned for. But then he pulled out and she let out a cry of pain as his barbs scraped along her inner walls.

Garamond chuckled darkly at the sound. He thrust in again, hard and fast. Celestia gasped, then whimpered as he slowly pulled back out. He did it again, and again, setting up a brutal siege, retreating slowly then charging back into her gate, and she moaned and cried, her fortress body shaken to the core at each strike, her wings trembling as pleasure and pain shocked through her.

As he upped his pace, Garamond released his grip on her throat and grabbed her shoulders instead, using that grip to thrust harder into her. She only moaned louder, making no move to escape. Both were caught up in the intensity of the moment, the gryphon panting hard, eyes closed, not caring that as he pounded into the alicorn beneath him her filth was rubbing off onto his fur. Celestia still cried out with every stroke, her wings twitching and fluttering, her neck arched, her tangled mane falling around her face in lank strands, stained with sweat, semen, waste and mud.

With a low growl, Garamond nipped at the back of Celestia's neck, making her gasp. His breath was fast and harsh, and he nipped again, harder, hips pumping as he took her with primal fervor. Finally he slammed against her with a triumphant eagle's shriek as his feline shaft flexed its spines and pumped out its fertile seed into her pussy in a hot flood, spurting against her cervix, filling her womb beyond. She moaned beneath him as she endured its onslaught.

There was a long pregnant pause, tainted only by the sound of their strained breathing as they lay together in a sweaty stew, Garamond's cock still deep within Celestia. Eventually it softened and he pulled out, letting a stream of sticky semen freely flow down the insides of Celestia's thighs. She lowered her head and heaved a deep sigh.

"You make a very good breeding bitch," Garamond complimented, a hint of amusement in his tone.

Celestia looked back at him, her ears twitching. He was still atop her, pinning her, but he no longer had his claws to her throat. He shifted again, putting one clawed hand on her withers, and lifting himself off of her as he slid the other along her flank. For a moment she considered lunging to her feet, breaking free, but then his hand slid further, dipping beneath her, and she gasped softly. With great care, using the knuckles rather than the clawed fingertips, he caressed over her slicked, well-used folds. "Good bitches can sometimes get rewarded," he said.

She licked her lips as he continued to caress, rubbing teasingly near her clit. Then he brushed over it lightly and she let out a whimper of need. She was so worked up that even that tiny touch was electrifying.

"Still unfulfilled, my prey? Perhaps I'll do something about that." He rubbed her clit a little more firmly, pressing the sensitive, swollen nub. Celestia moaned helplessly. "You like that? Shall I continue?"

Celestia whimpered again.

Garamond halted, simply holding his smooth-scaled finger against Celestia but not moving. "Well? Shall I?"

"Y-yes."

"You don't sound like you mean it."

Celestia licked her lips, hesitating. "Yes, please."

"Ah, I do love to hear you beg, princess." He rubbed again a little bit, and Celestia moaned blissfully. "Roll over," he ordered, and Celestia eagerly rolled onto her back. He smiled down at her and rubbed his finger again against her clit. "What would you do to earn your release, pony?" he asked. "What would you promise me?"

"Anything," gasped Celestia, as he continued to slowly stroke her.

"Anything?" Suddenly there were claws prickling over her clit, touching the sensitive flesh there. Celestia froze. "Anything at all?" He stroked a claw delicately along the top of her clit's hood, and she shuddered at the feel of that sharp point in her most sensitive place. He ran the claw up further, to her lower belly, and dug in all of them as he left the bare, flushed skin of her pussy. She gasped as the claws drew thin lines of blood just below her navel.

"What if I wanted to truly hurt you, pony? Would you let me, if I pleased you? Would you be my prey in truth if you got what you wanted? Would you?"

Celestia moaned in fear and arousal. "I..."

"Would you? Would you really promise anything?" He turned his hand again and rubbed the knuckle against the bloody scratches he'd just left, smearing blood on his fingers and over Celestia's white coat, before dipping the bloody appendage lower to brush her clit once again.

Celestia squirmed and let out an agonized, needy whimper. "Yes! Stars, please!"

"Show me that you mean it, then." Garamond abruptly stood, then reared up to balance on his hind legs. "Come, kiss my foot, prove you will submit yourself to any indignation, any abasement."

Celestia rolled over but did not rise, crawling instead to Garamond's feet where she assumed a crouched posture, her hind legs gathered beneath her, her front legs kneeling, and bent her head to kiss his footpaws.

"Ah." He let out a long sigh. "You have no idea how beautiful you are, there at my feet, marked as mine, with my seed and your blood mingled on you. Kiss my foot again, pony. Tell me that you'll do anything I ask."

"Anything," breathed Celestia, and obeyed, kissing his foot once more.

"Now stay there." Garamond slid one hand to his crotch, rubbing between his legs. His member was limp still, but he curled his taloned fingers carefully around it and urinated on Celestia again. The stream was smaller this time but just as scalding, splashing directly onto her face. She closed her eyes but otherwise stayed still, suffering the humiliation, her body trembling faintly, her pussy throbbing with renewed need.

He shook off the last drops and approached his nostrils to take a deep sniff of her. She stunk to high heaven with his seed and piss, and this greatly aroused him. With a smile he said, "Come, I think I desire one... final round. See if that lovely mouth of yours can get me ready to take you again."

Celestia rose just enough to nuzzle at his crotch, running her muzzle against the furred sheath that held his member, dipping at times to attend to the sack beneath it as well. She lapped at him too, smelling his deep, musky scent as she did so. Eventually his cock began to harden and emerge once again. Celestia licked and nuzzled at it until Garamond stepped back and dropped back to his haunches. He then lifted his hands, gesturing and speaking another spell. The roots around her came alive again, writhing around her hooves, lassoing her and pulling her about. In moments they had her on her back once more, her hind hooves spread wide, exposing her pussy. It winked an invitation.

Garmond brushed his claws over her dampened folds, making her shiver, then he moved to mount her again, lining his cock up with her entrance. He slid into her slowly, easily, and she moaned shamelessly.

He crouched above her on three legs, and reached back once more to rub carefully at her clit even as he pulled his hips back and began to take her. Her cry was half of pleasure, half of pain as she felt his barbs within and his fingers without. He thrust slow and steady at first, while his hand stroked her private parts in tandem, and she twisted and writhed under him. Then he increased the pace, and nipped at her throat as he bent over her.

She strained against the vines and roots that held her bound, her back arching, her wings flaring wide. Pain wracked her, making her cry out, but pleasure was also with it, building, pushing it aside. Yet the pain was just enough, just too much, to smother the pleasure and halt it from going over the edge. So she shuddered repeatedly, her wings flailing, her head thrown back, on the edge but unable to reach her peak.

Garamond stopped suddenly, buried deep within her. She twitched, then gasped as he rubbed the smooth knuckle of his clawed hand over her clit repeatedly, pressing firmly. His cock was within her, unmoving, and her inner muscles clenched and twitched around it. Her wings flared wider as the pleasure built rapidly now, the pain of his barbs no longer holding her back.

He made a low, rumbling, almost chuckling sound of approval and nipped at her throat again, lightly. Then he lifted his head and said, "Yes, come for me, pony. Come for me, my bitch, my prey. Come!"

Another shudder went through her. She was on the very edge now. She clenched harder on his cock, wanting to come, wanting to obey, to do anything he said, and desperately needing the release that was so very close. Then at last she cried out, a short, sharp, "Ah! Yes!" Her body spasmed beneath the gryphon as her orgasm crashed over her, her pussy twitching around his cock.

And in that ultimate moment Garamond bit down hard, his raptorial beak cutting swiftly and cleanly through Celestia's throat. She couldn't even cry out again, all she could do was thrash her wings, her whole being giving a second spasm. Garamond held on by sinking his claws deeper into her flesh. Rivulets of red spurted from the newly inflicted wounds. Celestia jerked like a madmare as her mind was overwhelmed by the sharp assault; Garamond, still sunk within her, thrust again, swift and hard, seeking nothing but his own pleasure from her bloody body, and within seconds he released her neck to roar his triumph, pumping a second load of seed deep within the alicorn princess who lay beneath him in red ruin, the ground all around her stained with blood.

When he was done he lapped at her throat, further soiling his facial fur in crimson as he tasted the blood there, then smiled and stepped back, pulling free of her. Her form stayed sprawled on the forest floor, lifeless.

The golden sun above seemed to brighten imperceptibly, and little tongues of shimmering sunfire flickered over Celestia's stained coat. The light gathered around her, the fire flaring higher and brighter, until Garamond had to turn away from the solar inferno and press a hand against his face, shielding his eyes from the intolerable glare.

Then it faded and he turned back, seeing Celestia standing there once again white and pristine, every trace of what she had just endured erased. She stretched her wings wide, then folded them and heaved a huge sigh.

"That was just what I needed. Thank you, my friend."

Garamond grinned. "It was quite definitely my pleasure. My always-amazed and delighted pleasure. The chance to indulge such grisly instincts is not something I take for granted."

Celestia chuckled, a warm, throaty sound. "Indeed! Perhaps my immortality is a curse, since long life has made me grow rather bored of the ordinary. But it does have its advantages. And I do not take you for granted either. A partner for such acts who is as discreet as you are capable is also rare indeed." Then she shook her head wryly and added, "Though I must admit that I will never quite understand your obsession with territorial peeing."

"And yet you always let me do it."

"Of course I do! The rest is more than worth putting up with it, especially as the sun's restoration cleans every trace of it anyways. Though I am always a bit sad I won't have scars to remember this by. They would be nice on the more stressful days. I could feel them and re-live this a little bit... But ah well. Somepony would remark on them, no doubt."

Garamond just shrugged. "No doubt. I suppose it will be another year or two before we can meet again?"

"Unfortunately that seems likely. Equestria has been rather... tumultuous lately and all signs point to that chaos continuing for some time yet."

Garamond sighed. "Very well. Patience is not my greatest virtue, but there's nothing for it, is there?"

A sly smile crossed Celestia's face, and she said, "No, there's nothing for it. But tell me, do you think you could take another, oh... two days or so off from your duties back in Gryphonstone?"

His eyes widened slightly. "Yes, of course," he said eagerly. "Does that mean...?"

"It means, my friend, that I have three whole days off this time. I would like to recover a bit this evening, that was quite intense, but I do believe that by tomorrow I will be once again ready to play the part of prey."

"I could not summon another erection if my life depended on it tonight," said Garamond with a wry smile. "But tomorrow... There is nothing I would like more than to be your hunter once again."