//------------------------------// // Parenthood (30) // Story: Griffin the Griffin // by BlackWing //------------------------------// Parenthood We approached the dragon nest quietly, desperate to not wake the sleeping beasts. My sword had a full charge and gave off a very soft white glow. This didn't matter, as the light from the lava pools was far more than my blade could give off. Sneaking past the slumbering giants, careful not to touch them or make any noise, we flew around, looking for a possible target. 'Too big, still an egg, just a baby, I don't know how to take care of a baby dragon, I need one smart enough to talk, so they can tell me what they need. Too close to the others, not quite asleep, can't wake the whole nest can I? A group of three. No, no, and no, damn, come on. Where? This is no good.' I motioned to Gilda that there weren't any viable targets, so we began to move towards another area when we saw it. A dead dragon. Dragons are normally solitary creatures, so when the come together in such quantity in an area like this, they fight, and when they fight, they sometimes die. It's the reason dragons didn't breed out of control and take over the world, because they keep their own population in check. In fact, the entire animal kingdom does that, humans are the only ones who spread so far that the planet they live on can't feed them all. Nuzzled up next to the dead body of a green dragon was a blue one, looking to be a little taller than Spike, sleeping soundly. I flew upwards with Gilda so we could discuss it. "That little one down there. It's mom, or dad, is dead. Can't tell the gender, although given that it's more slender than Spike, my guess is female. It's about the same height, maybe a bit bigger. You wouldn't be adverse to adoption would you?" 'That's right, play her little heartstrings like an instrument. She lost her family, this dragon lost hers, emotional connection, it's all there. Gilda looked to be tearing up. I noticed it, and she suddenly put on a strong face. Yeah, you think you can hide your feelings from me? I know what you're thinking. Mwahahaa, I am so evil.' "I'm just glad we're not kidnapping." She huffed. Good enough for me. "I think she's quite charming, poor thing." Trixie knows what it's like to be alone as well. So it's settled, we take the blue dragon. "Then it's settled. We'll take the blue one, and Gilda get's to raise it." "I WHAT?" I slapped my claw over her mouth. "Yes, you get to raise it. Honestly, I think it would be good for you. You're the only one of us who doesn't have a partner. Trix and I have each other, Nadene has Maria, Etch and Growl have each other, you need someone. Maybe if you have some maternal instinct, you'll stop being so grumpy all the time." I teased. Gilda scowled, then had a smile come over her face. I could tell she liked the idea. then, she stopped smiling and looked at me again. "Alright, but if that's the way we're doing this, let's get one thing straight. She's NOT a blood farm. She's a living thing with rights and freedoms, and she's a part of this family. If she doesn't want to give you her blood, then that's her right, you got that?" She returned. "Loud and clear. I know I wouldn't want to be raised just to be eaten." I avoided saying 'like cattle', since I remembered Trix was there, and I hadn't told her about how humans treated equines. I wasn't planning to. "Well, go and get your new daughter. Trix and I have other business to attend to." With that, Gilda flew down and very slowly and carefully scooped the young dragon up in her arms, holding her close as she flew back to camp. The blue scaled child nuzzled into her neck feathers, appreciating the warmth that it could no longer get from it's dead parent. "Mommy?" She, (able to tell it's a she because of the voice) asked in her sleep. "Shh shh, I'm here. It's alright. Go back to bed. Meanwhile, Trixie and I had flown down to a dragon laying on the outer edge of the lava pool. It was a fairly big one, but it would have to be for this to work. "Okay, if it moves, we go invisible and find another one." "Got it Cap'n." Very, VERY slowly, I lifted one of the scales on it's back, drew my sword, and made a small cut. 'PleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaspleasePLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE stay asleep.' Blood started to flow from the incision, but it wasn't fast enough, I put my sword in a little deeper. Suddenly, it moved. Trixie and I held perfectly still. It's motion caused the scale to rip off, making the dragon yelp in pain. Trixie immediately, instead of making us invisible, made us look like a sharp rock. The dragon turned and looked at where we stood with anger, then annoyance. "Damn rock took my scale off. Now it's bleedin. Mrrrh, get it in the morning." His voice didn't boom, but was loud enough to hear clearly. I assume that's the dragon version of a whisper. He walked around in a circle a couple times, like a dog would, then laid back down, making sure to lay down farther from the 'sharp rock'. Both Trixie and I let out a breath we didn't realize we were holding. Sure, I could kill dragons, but here, we were surrounded by them. There's no way I'd be able to take on all of them. She dropped the illusion and we approached the spot we had opened up. To a dragon that size, it was nothing, but to us, it was bleeding profusely, and to me, it was a buffet. Trixie carefully floated out ten empty vials, collected the fresh, red blood in it, then stoppered them. My theory was correct. The dragon was alive, so it kept. I took a taste, making sure it was sour as it should be. I was about to go back for a second taste, when Trix patted me a bit, and when I turned to look at her, she shook her head no. I gave her pleading eyes, and with a sigh, she filled another ten, letting me get another taste before we flew off into the night sky. "There. We've got enough to last at least a year, that is if I don't get in trouble and have to chug it. I kind of want to get off of it, but at the same time, that kind of power would be a damn shame to waste given what we're going to do. I'm going to give these to Nadene. She'll be in charge of giving them to me. Knowing me, I'd just drink them all at once. You're going to keep one as well, just in case of emergency, like say a dragon shows up and I need to be able to cut it down." It was dawn before we got back to the Perch, Gilda was sleeping with the pony sized dragon curled up next to her, on a bed of my feathers. Everyone, including the cats down below, were sleeping soundly, save for Selma and the former Romak leader, who's name I learned was Tiras, who were keeping watch. I guess they had taken the time to talk to each other as well. I flew down to meet them. "Well you two, we're moving out tomorrow, are we prepared?" "We have stripped the trees in the area of their fruit. No tribe holds claim to these lands, and the animals can simply move to another location. The banapple and cinderfruit grow well here. I see now how you could feed us all so easily, given the abundance at this location." Selma mused. "About this, are you sure you want to do this? It will be dangerous, and in all likelyhood, many will die in the battles to come." "We are proud warriors. We are not afraid. Whatever comes shall come, and we will fight through it as we always have done. Should we meet our end by your lead, then we will still be better off than having starved. Surely we could make a new village here, but we do not forget our debts easily, and it would be wrong of us to simply send you on your way. We will fight with you for a better future. Then, one day, we, or our sons and daughters, or their children, or their children, will return to this place once again. Until then, we follow you, Griffin of the North Sky. You have already told us of your brothers and sisters who are bound. To us, they are already family, and we will fight for our families." "Good. Tell them to gather the supplies and wealth. At noon, we set out for Port Redstone." I flew back up to the top, just in time to see the blue dragon awake. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked confused before she began to sob. Gilda suddenly snapped awake at the motions. "M.. mommy? Where... where's mommy?" Oh geez, my heart... hnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg. "Shh shh shh, it's okay. Come here." Gilda wrapped her arms around the little dragon, trying to comfort her. "What happened to mommy? She fought that big meany and then she went to sleep, where is she?" Tears started flowing again. "I, I'm sorry, but, she..... didn't make it." It was hard telling her. I take it that her family was one of the rare ones in dragon society where the parents actually care for their children. I didn't know much regarding it, but it had been mentioned as a side not in a book that dragons guard their eggs until they hatch, then leave them to grow up on their own. Of course, the one time the mother tries to protect her young, she dies off. Freaking typical. And a big ol fuck you to you too nature. Her eyes shot open at the realization of what I was telling her, and she started shaking. "No, no, she's not, you're lying, you're LYING! Where is she!" She started to struggle, Gilda holding her in place. "I wish I was. Listen and listen very closely, because I won't say it a second time. Your mother is dead. She gave her life to protect you because she loved you. What do you think she would want you to do?" I really hope that this dragon wasn't too young for philosophy. "Um..... I.... um......." "Grif, cut it out, you're scaring her." Trixie knocked me upside the head. "Oh, right, sorry." I started rubbing the spot where her hoof made contact, giving an awkward smile. "The point is, she'd want you to move on and be happy alright?" "But, I'm all alone and....." "And that's where you're wrong kiddo." Gilda flew the little dragon down to the forest floor and passed her a banapple, the red striped fruit that was apparently a cross between a banana and apple, (Genetics, how do they work? Fucking miracles.) and passed it to her so she could eat while we all introduced ourselves. "I'm Griffin, I'm a griffin. This is Gilda, she'll be taking care of you from now on. Well, we all will be, but her mostly. This is Nadene and Maria...." At which point the slender cat scooped the dragon up in her arms and gave her a hug. "She's adorable!" She said while squeeing, rubbing her head all over her like cats do to things they like. The dragon looked like she was going to suffocate, so I gently removed her from Nadene's grasp. "Um, hello..." Maria responded. "The unicorn on my back is Trixie." "A pleasure to meet you." She said in a haughty tone. "This is Etch, and this is Growl, they're diamond dogs and eat gems, just like you." Etch gave a woof of approval while Growl.... growled unimpressed. He was pretty vacant from everyone, so this response was usual. "And we make up the Griffin Pirates. Then we have Selma and Tiras here, who are the leaders of the White Wind tribe. I united the Romak and Lemko tribes and helped them solve a food shortage, and I became their chief." At which point, the entire tribe of 37 cats gave a collective 'Hello' which startled the little dragon to say the least. After all, we were all really tall in comparison, with the exception of Trixie. The unicorn was walking on her own at this point, but she usually rode on my back, which gave her the impression of height. "And, what is your name?" "Um.... hi, um.... I'm Shimmer?" She looked around nervously, expecting another hug attack from Nadene, who was trying very hard not to glomp the little dragon. "Shimmer, that's a nice name. I can see why, since you have beautiful, shimmering blue scales." I complimented. Yep, best way to gain a kid's trust is compliment them. That and food, which, she had by the way, not touched. "Come on! You must be hungry. We don't have any spare gems right now, but we'll get some later for you. In the mean time, eat up! It's really good." At which point, I stuffed one of the fruits into my mouth. She did so as well, very carefully at first, before shoving the whole thing in and swallowing hard. "It, it's good!" She said with a smile, despite the tears still threatening her eyes. Poor kid. She just lost her mother. It's gonna take time. Also, there's a couple somethings I need to get out of the way first. "Alright, everyone else knows about this, but we haven't told you yet. I'm not going to hide anything from you. First off, Trix, give Nadene the vials." The unicorn levitated the glassware filled with the red liquid over to the cat. The dragon's eyes went wide again. "Is that......" "Blood? Yes, it is. You see, while not entirely accurate, you can think of me kind of like a vampire. Maybe once a month, I need to drink dragon blood from a still living dragon, or else I'll get really sick." Poor thing began to shake. I don't blame her. 'Hi, your mom is dead, we kidnapped you and are going to take care of you. By the way, I may or may not try to eat you sometime in the future. I'm sure we'll be best of friends.' Isn't exactly the best way to start off. "Don't worry about me Shimmer, I'm not gonna bite you. You see, I found another dragon, a really big one who got hurt, and I just took a bit is all. He doesn't even miss it. Now, I've got enough for about a year. You don't have to be afraid of me, although, considering what you've been through, I wouldn't blame you at all." "Why did you tell me? Wouldn't it have been better to just keep it a secret?" She asked. Smart kid. "It's because I want you to trust me, and the sooner you know everything, the better. Now, do you like magic tricks?" She nodded, somewhat happy at eating a banapple. "Well then, I've got a really good one to show you." "Everyone! Listen up! I've got something I need to show you all." My tribe looked to me, as did Maria. Everyone else knew what I was about to do. "You may or may not know this, but I am not of this world. I am in fact an alien, who arrived here a few months ago, and took the form of a griffin. I am about to show you all what I really look like, so that there will be no confusion at a later time should I transform." I pulled the necklace over my head and held it in my claw. "Forma Versus!" Vision flicker, I'm on all fours in my human form. I get up, and look at the shocked crowd. "Now you all know what I look like. I assure you, it's still me, but I have taken my true form. Reverti." I changed back and then put on my gear. I wasn't sure how armor would handle my change in form. I didn't want to strangle myself getting caught in chainmail not meant for my bipedal form. "There, now that that's out of the way, pack your things, we're headed to Port Redstone!" The cats gathered up what they had, and we all began to head west, on the ground as we wanted to rest our wings. Gilda had, surprisingly, allowed the little dragon to sit on her back. She wasn't heavy at all, and fit perfectly in the griffin's backpack. It was warm, and it was safe. If she needed to fly, she could just close it up and Shimmer wouldn't be able to fall out. "That was a cool trick Mr. Griffin." She said, popping out of the backpack, which was adorable. "Just call me Grif. Thanks. I figured it out a while ago. This amulet is magic. Let's me expose hidden things by forcing them to take their true form, but it protects the wearer from the effect. I just take it off, say the words, and boop! Magic." "What's that sword Grif?" Ah, of course, kid is curious. All of them are. "Well, you know that big mean dragon that.... attacked your mother?" I don't need to remind the kid of her troubles, she had forgotten about them momentarily. "Yeah?" "Well, there was another mean dragon waaaaaaay up north, before the migration." "Yeah, I know, the badlands. I rode here on mommy's back." She deadpanned. Riiiiight, I forgot, she's not some hatchling, she's older than Spike, but about the same maturity. "Right, well, there was a great big mean black one that tried to eat me. And, well, it did. As it turns out, I have really sharp edges, so he died, and I didn't. That's how I originally got dragon blood, and why I have to keep drinking it. As for the scale, I decided there was no point in letting it go to waste, so I made a sword out of it." "But, why is it glowing?" "Well, that would be because another mean dragon attacked us, only a little while before we found you. I found out that I can make the sword hold magic, but only when I drink dragon blood. I got some in my mouth when I was fighting it, and discovered I could use magic like that. So, I just say magic words, and stuff happens. Here's a gem lamp. It works the same way. Trixie filled it, so now you just say magic words to make it work. Say, 'Lumen'." "Lumen?" She said it experimentally, as if expecting it to blow up. "Hey! It got bright!" "That's because Lumen means light. You said the magic words for light, which made the magic turn to light." "Oh, I get i. *hic*" She spouted a small bit of yellow flame, which caught the tips of Gilda's head feathers on fire. I grabbed another lamp. "Oh no! I'm sorry! Please please please don't hate me!" "Aqua." And a splash made my female companion both very wet and very annoyed. Her expression seemed to soften slightly when she heard Shimmer giggle. "And...." "Don't you even think about it Grif, I'm not having you turn into a puff ball again, I'll just drip dry thank you." Her voice, filled with malice. "Oh, alright, as long as you don't do the thing with the spider again." "What thing?" Shimmer asked. "Oh, Grif is absolutely petrified of spiders." Gilda laughed. "Well, then he might want to watch where he's walking." As I turned away from the dragon I was talking to, I saw, right in front of me, on a web, right next to my head, a spider. Not just any spider, a Hunstman spider. You know, the really friggin big ones?. It's underside was facing me, so it didn't see me. I backpedaled right into Selma, nearly knocking the old cat over. "Kill it. Kill it. Kill it. Kill it. Kill it." Gilda laughed, Trixie was cowering as much as I was, having a very poor impression of arachnids after our last encounter. Shimmer just rolled her eyes, took a breath, then burned the demonic bastard. "Heh, hehe, I have a new best friend." I muttered maniacally as I let Gilda go first, staying extremely close to the newest member of our family, perched upon her back. Dear Princess Luna If someone is a fan of yours, are they technically a lunatic? Sincerely, Griffin. Have some art by Carnelian And here's Nadene