//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Feathered Heart 
// by Demon Eyes Laharl 
//------------------------------//

“It is said that to acknowledge one’s ignorance is to acknowledge one’s wisdom. Never have the words struck me any truer than today. As most of you are aware, news of such surprising nature has reached this Kingdom: Equestria, our long-time ally, has discovered life beyond this world. A species called humans, an apex predator of their world.
                        
“I hear some cries from our Citizens. They worry that this new race shall change the balance of power we have with our Equestrian allies. They fear that these humans will give rise to untold opportunities, and not all of it for the better. They are correct. This discovery, this new species, heralds a change.

“I am not omniscient, nor can I predict the future. I am not armed with enough knowledge to even begin to guess what the future brings... but Gryphons! What I know is our history! What I know is our race! Even before uniting under one banner, we drove out the Cloven of the Sun and squashed the Elder Rams. United, we fought Equestria to a stand-still! We thrive today because our progenitors have made sure to pass an important lesson—that change is nothing but an opportunity to grasp. And we shall do the same!

“I have told our Negotiators in Equestria to gather as much information as they can. Let us find out more about this human race. Let us examine their strengths, their weaknesses. Let us extend the claw of alliance as a measure of respect to their power. And if, by chance, they shun us, then let them feel the terrible vengeance of our race! Let them feel our sharp talons, sharpened by stone, our beaks, hungry for blood – whether or not victory will be achieved, we shall proudly stand on all fours: For we are Gryphons!”


                        —Queen Molyneux
                        Address to the Kingdom, Fifty-Seventh Year of Her Reign
        



        
        It was the Fifty-Seventh Year of Queen Molyneux’s Reign, marked in the Kingdom’s history books that Equestria has discovered a new species. No one knew then whether they’d be new enemies or new friends.
        
        Not that it mattered to Gilda. Trudging through the frozen winds with hesitant steps, she had more important things to worry about. She always reminded herself that she was already in deep, that her savings were dwindling into nothingness. Even if she was back at home, in Aquilamra, the frigid northern city where she was born, she would not expect any financial support from her family. Her sire definitely made it clear when he wouldn’t even recommend her to the Wind Knights, stating she had ‘grown too soft to be a proper soldier’. 
        
        Oh, Ancestors, she wanted to hit him then and there. 
        
        Could she begrudge him, though? The first year she had arrived in the Kingdom after leaving Equestria wasn’t exactly a welcoming one. For weeks, she had to relearn everything that her mother taught her in regards on how to act like a griffin in the Kingdom. And no matter how well she behaved, no matter how proper her responses were... they knew she hadn’t grown up in the Kingdom. 
        
        An Equestrian griffin, they called her. No one dared to say it to her face, though... well, at least the older and more tempered griffins didn’t. The younger, more aggressive ones, though, thought they could get away with it. She responded as any Gryphon should: she went up to them and punched them in their faces. Needless to say, she got into a few good scuffles, earned a few scratches. She won most of her fights, which slowly built up her reputation and in turn, earned some measure of respect from the other griffins. 
        
        She found it somewhat funny, though. Back in Equestria, if she ever got into a scuffle with a pony, even minor and light ones, she would expect a Royal Guard to come knocking at her door. Here, though, she was cheered on. Loudly, even. 
        
        Thinking of Equestria made Gilda’s mind wander in regards to a certain pegasus. How many years since she lost Rainbow Dash? The question left a sour taste in her mouth. She did her best not to think of ponies. She tried to remove all associated memories regarding Equestria. Right now, she told herself to focus on one thing: to try and get a job. 
        
        She passed through a few more stone huts, a common residential place for anyone living in the North. The houses here were built from rocks carved out the mountain, carefully placed, reinforced and extended with every generation. They were primarily built to last in the harsh conditions. Understandable, considering this was the region where it almost perpetually snowed and had occasional bouts of hail.
        
        The way the city was built was a testament on how boring the North really was. It was just a stretch of frozen rock as far as the eyes could see, but it was… home? No, not even. She had grown up in Equestria, near a Gryphon settlement north of Vanhoover. She associated mostly with ponies. Culturally, she was neither Equestrian or Gryphon. She had lost her home and now was, essentially, a stranger in her homeland. 
        
        Thank the Ancestors the town rarely changed in all these years, though, as the town was almost the same as she remembered. She didn’t think she’d need more problems, like getting lost... well, most of the time.
        
        She saw the recruitment hut, only a few steps away from her position. Its stone roof was draped with a banner bearing the Gryphon flag, a bloodied claw, imposed over the Northern colors of white and blue. She could see a few griffins coming in and out, some younger males cuffing each other lightly as they squawked with joy. 
        
        They must have gotten the jobs they wanted, she thought, her eyes narrowing. Stupid cubs. 
        
         She shook her head. Mentally squabbling about complete strangers wasn’t going to do her any favors. She took a deep breath before walking towards the doorway and pushed herself inside. 
        
        The interior of the hut was warm thanks to the controlled fire produced by firegems that surrounded the place. It also swathed the inside in a dark crimson glow, standard lighting for almost any Northern Gryphon home. Even back in her Cloudsdale residence, Gilda had kept the practice, much to Rainbow Dash’s annoyance. The pegasus had commented that the light intensity was too low for her to see clearly but for Gilda’s eyes, it was more than enough to go around. 
        
        Rainbow Dash. Gilda sighed, half-wondering what the pegasus was doing now. Remembering just brought a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She violently shook the memory out of her head. Her gaze turned red as she felt fire well up within her, intensifying her steps as she went straight to the recruiter, who was behind a standard grey old table. She grabbed her documents from her knapsack and placed it all on top of the desk before sitting down on her haunches. 
        
        The recruiter, a male griffin with black feathers and a coat of a lighter shade than hers, looked at Gilda for a moment before his eyes went towards the documents. It included her birth certificate (with her family bloodline tree), Equestrian documents that covered her absence from the Kingdom, and a letter of recommendation from her sire.
        
        “So you want to be a Guard, eh?” he asked. 
        
        Gilda internally sighed. No, she wanted to be a soldier, not a poor griffin’s version of it. She didn’t say that, of course, and instead, she gave the best fake smile she could produce and nodded. “Yes, sir,” she replied. 
        
        The male griffin looked down at the documents once more as Gilda shifted her hind legs a bit, trying to remain stoic and calm. The recruiter looked up and gave her a once-over. She tried to project the image of a strong, no-nonsense Gryphon that oozed with confidence she did not feel. She might have been holding her breath, she did not know. “It says here you were rejected from the Knights,” he advised. 
        
        Gilda internally grimaced, trying hard not to let it show on her face. “My… father believes that I am not yet ready for it.” 

        “Well, considering how long you stayed in Equestria, your sire may have a point,” the recruiter replied, nodding thoughtfully. His demeanor quickly changed though when he saw the look on her face and immediately dropped that line of conversation. “There are openings for the Auxiliary Guard units, but there is quite a demand for work in the mines. The pay is much better too.” 
        
        “No offense, but I’d rather be mail courier than a miner,” Gilda replied with steel in her voice. There was no way she’d be stuck digging inside an enclosed space. Even if she had to brave the frigid Northern wind, Grizelda Behertz was a sky-griffin at heart. No one would take the sky away from her.
        
        “Ah. Understandable then,” the recruiter advised. “Now, tell me, what do you have to offer to the Auxiliary Guard? Why should they take you?” 
        
        She blinked for a moment. Did he really just ask that? That line of questioning was something she’d expect a Pony to say, not a Gryphon of the Kingdom. Gilda’s eyes stared at him for a few seconds, letting him stew a bit as he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She let her claws rest on top of the stone table that separated them and her talons began to scratch the surface, creating uneven lines in their wake. The recruiter blinked, his feathers ruffling with discomfort before he nodded, eyes silently begging her to stop. 
        
        Gilda did. She let go of the stone surface and raised her claws to her face. She wriggled them slightly before blowing out the dust from her talons. “Well, am I in or not?” she asked. 
        
        The recruiter swallowed. He smiled. “Welcome to the Guard.” 
        
        The female griffin sighed. There it was. She was now a member of the Auxiliary Guards, and all it took was for her to ruin her claws. 
        
        Oh, yay. This is going to be fun, fun, fun, she thought with a roll of her eyes. 
        
        “Thank you, sir,” she said instead. She started to gather her things. “I won’t let you down.” 
        
        The recruiter gave a nod, bringing out a parchment and stamped on it, approving her application.  He began to hand it to her but paused, and then gave her an odd look. She, in turn, tilted her head slightly to the right, confused. 
        
        “Yes?” she asked.
        
        “Um, this has nothing with your recruitment, but what did you think?” 
        
        Gilda blinked. What was this griffin going on about now? “Think about what?” 
        
        “Haven’t you heard the news?” he asked. When Gilda shook her head, the recruiter explained, “Equestria opened up some type of portal. They discovered a new species!” 
        
        Gilda blinked. For once, her mind did not revisit Equestria. She had been hearing word about the discovery of the new species. She even heard that the Queen’s Address to the Kingdom involved these new aliens. Gilda just shrugged and took back her documents and approval letter, muttering, “Maybe we’ll get to fight them.”
        



        
        There was actually more to the Auxiliary Guards than what Gilda had initially thought. She didn’t know whether it was because policies had changed or if she and everyone else were under the wrong impression, but she had expected to just be given an armor piece, get  assigned under a command immediately, and patrol the borders of towns. 
        
        The Kingdom, for whatever reason, didn’t agree. Under the collective training called ‘The Gauntlet’, Guards, Knights, and even the Talons (the main soldier body) recruits were put through almost the same training.  Most of the days, Gilda and the rest of the recruits would do exercises like flight dashes and ground sprints. They were meant to build up stamina and speed on both air and ground respectively. The rest of the week would be split between weapons training, making them use a variety of weapons ranging from the basic spears to the more advanced crossbows, and general education, which encompassed a range of lessons from basic hand signals to the command structure. 
        
        Ranks were mostly denoted by the amount and what type of armor was worn. Rookies usually received leather pauldrons. Climbing up, hardier armor, like metal plates, would be given. The idea was that with higher rank, the more competent the Gryphon was, hence was more valuable to the Kingdom. It also promoted a single message to any soldier: Get Better. 
        
        Gilda found it surprising that ranks of any of the three branches of the armed forces were quite interchangeable. She was even more surprised when in turn, this gave opportunities in advancing her career. If she merited it enough, she could apply for the Knights with a very good recommendation.  
        
        With that in mind, Gilda trudged through the training with utter focus. She made it a habit to always fly out at night after dinner, keeping her flying skills sharp. She went through drills, exhausted, but unrelenting. Superiors and trainers always kept reminding her that she hadn’t been raised in the Kingdom, that she was considered ‘soft’, maybe even unfit. She thoroughly proved them wrong. 
        
        After grueling months of training, she finally made Guard with a solid recommendation. They gave her two pauldrons instead of the usual one and it fed her motivation to continue her work ethic. When she was ordered to patrol through a snowstorm, she did so. When she was ordered to help out the miners in clearing out a rockfall, she did that too. She made herself a perfect Guard model, and the Kingdom, in turn, showed its appreciation: not even a year, and she climbed up high enough to receive a shoulder plate armor, denoting her rank higher than her fellow rookie Guards (who were mostly still stuck with single or double leather pauldrons). Granted, the pay still left much to be desired, but she was surviving with what was given to her. 
        
        After a year from being recruited, she experienced her first Rotation, a required Kingdom practice of trading warrior units annually to different cities with the purpose of seasoning them out. It ensured they would be adaptable enough to fight in a variety of towns as well as work with the local armed forces with as little friction as possible. 
        
        Her first Rotation had put her right in the heart of the Southern Farmlands, in the city of Tierra, which had almost perfect weather all year round to plant crops like grain, fruit and nut trees, and others. This was also the place that had the largest gathering of Kingdom-hired Earth Ponies that efficiently grew the bulk of the region’s produce, which in turn kept the Kingdom fed. 
        
        While she was glad to get out of the freezing sky of the North, this too-warm region felt very much like Equestria, with all the ponies present and the staple diet of nothing but seeds, fruits and breads. Worse, nothing exciting would ever happen in this region. Ever since her arrival, the only disaster she had encountered was when one of the earth ponies accidentally backed a cart into a ditch and couldn’t pull it out. 
        
        Most of her days were spent lazily patrolling the borders of Tierra. The rest, she was on the ground, making sure none of the Earth Ponies were slacking off. Today, she was keeping an eye on two stallions on their break as they began conversing about a race she had been hearing more and more lately. 
        
        “Have you heard? These humans are two-legged apes!” the stallion with a red coat and bale of hay cutie mark told his companion, a stallion with a yellowish coat and  scattered petals for a Cutie Mark. Both their mane and tails were of different shades of brown. 
        
        “Apes. Oh, Celestia. What are we going to discover next? Talking dolphins? So, what, do these humans like bang their chests and make monkey sounds?” 
        
        “Actually, from what I’ve heard, they talk mostly in Equestrian.” 
        
        “What, really? That’s odd! Did we meet these species before? Have we taught them our language?” 
        
        “I don’t know. All I know is that these humans are quite technologically advanced!” 
        
        Gilda rolled her eyes before she noticed the darkening sky. Hearing enough, she cleared her throat, grabbing their attention. “Sun’s coming down,” she declared. “Finish up your work, or the Steadholder isn’t going to be pleased.”  
        
        “Yes, ma’am,” the stallion with the red coat said. 
        
         “Slave driver,” muttered the other. 
        
        Gilda rolled her eyes again before she spread and flapped her wings. With a great push, she launched herself upwards, higher and higher, passing through a few clouds and dispersing them with her air streams. The wind moved around her as she expertly manipulated it with her feathered appendages and banked to the left. After a few seconds, she saw a garish square building made from stone and wood – the barracks.  Aiming for it, she folded her wings and dove towards it.
        
        With the wind hammering her feathered face, she thought back on the conversation she just heard. These humans… 
        
        She had read the speech from Her Highness, of course. It was just the standard welcoming message to an established race: are we friends or are we enemies? It was a pretty generous offer, considering that there was almost no information regarding these humans. Usually, the Kingdom would test their mettle first. So far, though, she hadn’t heard if these bipedal apes had replied, and it’d already been a year. 
        
        She hadn’t given them much thought, but under the orange sky and with the previous conversation in mind, her mind began to wonder. Maybe they would get to fight the new species; after all, if someone still hasn’t responded to an invitation of friendship in a span of a year, it surely must have been a sign that they were rejecting it, right? And if there was going to be a fight, she wondered how the Gryphon Kingdom would fare in against them. 
        
        What did she know of them?
        
        First of all, humans had superior technology. Gilda snorted though. If anyone but a pony said so, she’d be inclined to believe it. For ponies, anything beyond a spear was already superior technology. Zebra Nations had already surpassed them in terms of alchemical weapons and tools, while the Gryphon Kingdom were experimenting rapid-fire crossbows (though from rumors, they were near deployment). The only real reason why Equestria could afford to be behind was because they had the most minimalist conflict between themselves and other nations; the former because ponies were born to be almost non-confrontational and the latter because no other nation wanted to anger the long-lived alicorns who could control heavenly bodies at will.  
        
        Though even without the presence of the Princesses, Gilda had to give due credit to the ponies. Conquering Equestria was pretty much a logistical nightmare. They had enough pegasi numbers to manipulate the weather, making any invasion, either by the sea or air, a bloody uphill battle. That was the reason why the two nations fought to a standstill back when they were at war. 
        
        Secondly, bipedal apes… Gilda had seen apes, and smelled them too. She had no idea how these humans would look, but if they were a bit like the apes she knew, it’d be an easy battle. The animals were big, alright, but lacked mobility. They couldn’t even fly! And while there were a lot of egghead griffins claiming that the animals had some form of intelligence, but she severely doubted it. 
        
        All in all, information regarding the species was still lacking. She had no idea how the Gryphon Kingdom would fare, though she knew if it came down to it, they’d win. Griffins were stubborn that way. Besides, the way the ponies described them, they sounded really dweeby.
        
        She spread her wings, slowing down her descent long enough to land safely on the soft earthy ground. She made sure the area was clear (something that the Gauntlet had taught her) before she slowly relaxed and folded her appendages to her side. Gilda ran towards the barracks, hoping she was early enough to grab some fresh meat. There was no way she’d be beaten by her squad and get stuck again with bread and soup again, not after last night. 
        
        When she was a few more claw paces from barracks, she saw the wooden door open up revealing three griffins moving outwards. Two of them wore shoulder-plates, breastplates, and complete leg braces and metallic claws, denoting at least six or seven ranks higher than her. However, it was the one in front and center that caught her attention – a male griffin with light blue, almost white feathers blending well with his pale brown coat. He wore no obvious metallic armor, but instead had leather-like clothing wrapped around him, neck, sides, and underbelly with strategically placed metallic greaves. Around his neck was a chain made of white metal with blue pearls and feathers weaved around it.  
        
        She immediately stopped, moved to the side and banged her enclosed claw near her shoulder and at the same time exposing her neck in deference when they approached. 
        
        The center figure was Captain Cipio, the Commander of the Gryphon Forces in the South Region and a son of a Kingdom High Lord. He had introduced himself to everyone that rotated to his unit in a manner that she would remember forever: he took down three overly-aggressive and overconfident griffins, who were thinking that he was just given his rank because of his family and noble title, with two moves. 
        
        It wasn’t just his skills, but also his attitude. Captain Cipio ran a tight unit and treated all of his subordinates, whether just Knights, Talons, or even Guards, equally. He would take time to listen to concerns, though he had warned them that wasting his time was tantamount of spending a good amount of days in the brig. Strict but fair, he was a model Gryphon Commander. A solid Captain. 
        
        “Captain Cipio,” she greeted. 
        
        Cipio took a note of her before stopping. “Making trouble, Behertz?” the Captain asked with a slight smile. 
        
        “No sir, just making sure the ponies don’t get too lazy,” Gilda replied. 
        
        “Carry on then,” Cipio replied, banging his own shoulder with his claw, his neck stiff and straight.  She didn’t mind. He was, after all, her superior. 
        
        The sky was darkening when she ran to the barracks. Going straight to the mess hall, her throat gave a satisfied trill when she noticed that there was still meat being served. 
        
        Today seemed to be a lucky day for Gilda. 
        




        Gilda raced through the air, encircling the large city below. Her sharp eyes darted left and right, trying to cover as many angles as possible. It was Fifty-Ninth Year of Queen Molyneux’s Reign, three years since her induction to the Guards, and her vigilance and disciplined work ethics had finally paid off as she finally earned her second shoulder plate and a pair of leather foreleg braces. She was also Rotated to the Capital City of the Gryphon Kingdom—Arnau.
        
        The majestic capital city was built to be a stronghold, even more enduring than the Western Port Cities, the first line of defense for the Kingdom. Arnau was carved from the side of a mountain, taking generations of careful planning. It was built with ten levels, each elevating uphill, surrounded by thick and strong ancient stone walls. If anyone was foolish enough to fly up without proper clearance, they’d have to contend with the patrolling guards or be shot down by the newly deployed rapid-fire crossbows.
        
        The roads inside the city were split into two pathways. The main central road took the most direct route upwards, cutting through levels with an inclining smooth road. However, during battle, these roads would be blocked with heavily reinforced stone walls, forcing any invading army to take the longer, circling road towards the top. Even then, they’d have to contend with the well-placed checkpoints along the spiraling road—palisades using thick steel walls as their gates. 
        
        Defense wasn’t the only thing in mind when the city was built, though. Functionality was also part of its building process. All flight passages and roads from the different regions all led to Arnau, making it also the biggest trade capital of the Kingdom. Whether one was looking for precious gems and metals from the frozen mountainous North, fruits and nuts from the rich farmlands of the South, a variety of fish of the West, or even the game herds of the plains of the East, any proud Gryphon would tell anyone—Arnau had it all. 
        
        Gilda remembered visiting the Capital City once as a cub. Her mother had brought her there before they made the travel to the Western Ports to go to Equestria. She remembered marveling at the splendor of its city walls, the patrolling Wind Knights. She remembered her mother, who told her the city was proof that the Gryphons can do anything. Even now, many years later, the image wasn't tarnished. The city was well-maintained, both structurally and socially. There were still some cases of violent outbreaks, though it was lower than expected, especially coming from a city where the majority living there were griffins.   
        
        Of course, that wasn’t to say her transition was easy. After living more than a year in the idyllic Southern Farmlands with minimum demand for work, Arnau felt like a wake-up call. Patrols were far longer and she had additional duties like goods inspector, Peacemaker (which was basically a civil officer that knocked out griffins before they could start anything stupid), and even had a brief stint as a help-claw at the palace. She even spotted the Queen for a few brief moments. Yet, she trudged on for weeks, and before she knew it, the busy city life became routine.
        
        Until they received the news a week back. 
        
        “Gilda!” 
        
        Gilda glanced to her left, spotting her partner, not of her choosing. It was another Kingdom policy: any soldier with a high enough rank and armor would be assigned a partner of lower ranking. It had something to do with efficiently training rookies by giving them more experienced griffins to work with. She wasn’t a big fan of that particular policy. 
        
        Her partner was a fellow Northerner named Fortrakt. He was quite younger than she was and had only earned a leather pauldron last month, which he wore proudly on his left shoulder. His coat was the same shade as hers, though his feathers were darker. And like any younger griffin, he thought he’d endeared himself to his new superior partner by trying to invade her wingspace. She’d promptly responded by slamming him through the table, hard. 
        
        Thank the Ancestors he learned his lessons fast. Even more so when he was actually decent company. 
        
        “Gilda, crows take it, let me catch a breath!” Fortrakt called again, his tongue  lolling.
        
        Heh, what a hatchling, she thought as she descended and perched on a crenel of the fifth level wall. Fortrakt followed afterwards, keeping a respectable distance. She gave him a smirk. 
        
        “What’s the matter, Fortrakt? Can’t even do a double fort-run without a break?” 
        
        “Stick your head in a cave,” Fortrakt muttered breathlessly. 
        
        To be fair, fort-runs, a practice of simultaneous ground and air dashes,  were exhausting. This was especially true for most Northerners, sky-griffins who were more enduring in flight than ground travel. However, she wasn’t going to tell him that. “Only when you stop being a cub,” Gilda replied, before she smirked and added an insult, “cub.” 
        
        “Not all of us have shed our down feathers,” he rebutted. Gilda rolled her eyes. She wasn’t that old. 
        
        “Do you want me to drop you from here, cub?” she asked, facing him with a smile. “Because you know how hard I dropped you on the ground that time. Don’t think I can’t do it from the air.” 
        
        “Yeah, whatever you say.” 
        
        Gilda smiled just for a second before it faded. She took a deep breath and looked at the horizon. A web of paved roads from all regions converged as they approached the city. Spread in rows and columns down below were yellow fields of local farmlands, tended by small figures, like ants. Gilda couldn’t identify if the figures belonged to  ponies or griffins. Nor did she care. Right now, her eagle-eyes settled towards the Western Region. 
        
        “No matter how hard you look, you won’t be seeing the humans. I heard they’d be arriving three days from now.”
        
        She looked at him for a moment before shifting her gaze back at the horizon, she replied, “Don’t remind me.” 
        
        The news just came in a week ago. The Gryphon Ambassador had sent word from Equestria that the humans were willing to build trading relationships between the two species and wanted to visit the Queen personally to start the negotiations.  
        
        And only after three years of silence, she thought. 
        
        Five days ago, the High Lords and Ladies convened with the Her Highness and after days of silence, they announced that they agreed to warmly welcome the new species in the Kingdom. They even planned a feast. Game meats, pigs and even chickens were being brought over from the Eastern Plains, and grain import increased from the South. Bakeries all over the kingdom were gearing up and preparing for a mass production of bread. 
        
        All in all, Arnau became very busy indeed in the last few days, even more so for Gilda. After the patrol, she and Fortrakt were to report to the Eastern Gates to inspect the goods coming in, making sure nothing illegal was being smuggled under their beaks. And with all the cargo coming in, it left her exhausted enough that she couldn’t even enjoy her after-dinner flights. 
        
        All because the walking and talking apes were visiting. 
        
        “So, you’re one of those ape-haters?” Fortrakt asked. 
        
        Gilda sighed. Was she? She couldn’t tell, truthfully. Maybe annoyed, more than hate. For one, she was so sick and tired of these humans. She had heard nothing except ‘They are coming’ and ‘Wonder what they look like’. As more news came in, her opinion was unwavering. The fact that these humans are only extending their, well, whatever their claws were called, now, well after the Gyrphon Kingdom extended theirs three years ago, meant they weren’t taking them seriously. 
        
        “These humans have probably traded all the good stuff to those Equestrian dweebs, probably leaving the junk for the rest of us. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have all my feathers fall off than accepting sloppy second-kills from the ponies.” 
        
        “Well, they are coming.” The guard shrugged. “And we’re going to greet them too.” 
        
        Gilda just growled. 
        
        Fortrakt smiled. “I can’t wait to see you in a dress uniform.” 
        
        “Well, you can keep hoping,” Gilda declared. “Later, I’m meeting with the captain and see if I can get a leave of absence.” 
        
        “Yeah, that’s not going to happen, Gilda,” Fortrakt replied. “You’ll probably get us booted up front. Maybe the captain will have you nibble some ape’s rear, eh?” 
        
        The female griffin’s wing snapped out to try and cuff him, but the male griffin just launched away, laughing. 
        
        Crows take him, Gilda thought before she shook her head and launched after him. 
        
        It was Fifty-Ninth Year of Queen Molyneux’s Reign, three days before the human’s arrival.