A Bright Sunny Breakfast in the Woods

by Darth Plague

Is that the Sound of my Heart...

Thump...Thump...Thump...

Ludwig's heart beat manically as his right claw gripped a knife's handle tightly. Beside him was a silent stove with a pan on top that glistened with oil and sizzled slightly with residual heat. Cool air graced him through an open window in the room that made his sweat-drenched feathers shiver, breezing through a plate that was topped with food items such as bread rolls, cheese, jam and a smoked salmon that Ludwig had caught from a nearby lake and collecting their smells to create a delectable aroma in the room of a typical Herzlandisch breakfast. But for today, he wanted to do more.

For a moment he hesitated, feeling as if he he couldn't do it. His claws wavered as he began to put the knife down. But then he heard her hum in the living room and sighed. Atleast he should cut it if he wasn't gonna serve it. What's the worst that could happen. With that, his grip tightened again and he sliced open the piece of steak he had cooked that day; the first time he had ever cooked one himself. He was nervous how it would be on the inside but those fears would soon be dashed as inside the meat glistened sweetly. He sighed once more but this time with a more cheerful disposition and a smile graced his beak.

With that out of the way, he quickly began plating the dishes and headed out towards the living room, where his partner had been waiting for so long. He only hoped she hadn't become too upset with the extra amount of time he took to make today's breakfast. But as they both made eye contact with each other, their hearts mellowed simultaneously and a simple smile appeared on both their beaks.

"Ah finally! I thought you wouldn't be done for another hour. Mmmmm, that smells amazing!"

"Thank you, dear. I know you will very much like your surprise..."

Keeping her plate down in front of her, he gauged her reaction. Her smile and eyes both widened in delightful surprise at today's morning menu and drool has started to leak out of her beak. Ludwig smiled contentedly and sat down on the chair opposite to her with his own plate in front of him.

As the birds of the forest chirped out their daily songs and the morning dew from the rain last night cast a shimmering glow to the forest outside as they reflected the rays of the rising sun, the smell of rain and earth was carried by the blowing wind through their window; grazing their feathers which made them both shudder slightly.

The griffons slowly tore through their food, beaks munching and talons crunching, as the grey cloudy sky gave way to the morning crimson. Their house sat in the middle of an evergreen forest, a few minutes away from the edge of a small hill that overwatched a vast expanse of flat prairies, where thousands of bisons roamed in herds.

"Will you be going hunting today, dear?"

"If you want me to," he replied with no hesitation, "today we do whatever you want."

"Why so?" she asked with a puzzled expression.

"Have you forgotten? Today is our anniversary!" he beamed. The griffoness had a look that was a mix of shock and realization. "Really?! Today?!I can't believe I forgot! I am so sorry!"

"It is quite alright. You have been terribly busy and stressed lately. That's why I decided to cook something special for you today! As a great start to a beautiful day!"

"Oh, my love!" she exclaimed as she got up to give a loving kiss to her paramour. They both relished the moment for a while before they sat back down in their respective chairs.

"Well, I would love to go for a walk. I feel so trapped most days. Just like--" she paused, her eyes glazing over with a hint of dilation of the pupils, but it only lasted for a moment. "A-Anyways, we should get ready soon. I wouldn't want to go for a stroll in the afternoon heat."

Ludwig nodded, his smile shrunk a tiny bit but he didn't press her. This was their special day after all.

The forest was as magnificently lush as always and the verdant leaves of the trees besides them formed a perfect frame that captured the narrow path he would always tread for his daily tasks. So used to it was he that he paid no attention to it, walking through it naturally as if it was a mere pavement on the side of a road.

Instead, his focus was on his companion beside him. Her eyes acknowledged everything around her with a childlike curiosity, as if she was seeing it all for the first time. The chirp of small birds, their nests laden with eggs or hatchlings, the small animals that marauded alongside the path and sometimes even coming up all the way alongside them to nuzzle up to the griffon (who, as usual, gave them a nut or two as a reward), and the sounds of bigger animals far deeper into the jungle that seemingly respected the trail and never tried to cross them. The incessant noise of the morning critters and insects that lived in the hundreds of trees and shrubs and foliage created the perfect backdrop to it all.

He helped her along several times whenever her claws or talons became stuck within the shrubbery, or soothing her when a noise from afar scared her witless. Her heart pounded with excitement and fear but she knew as long as he was with her, she had nothing to fear.

"I am so glad you decided to come with me today. Usually, you are pretty adamant on staying home or near the cottage. What changed your mind today?"

She looked at him with a contemplative expression, as if not entirely sure of the reason herself. "Well...I had a dream last night," her words came slowly.

"Oh? And what sort of dream was it, my dear?"

"It's a little hazy. But I suppose dreams are after you are awake. Well...in it, I was a Queen. The ruler of a small kingdom. But as small as it was, it's wealth was big. It's people lived contently and while the army was tiny, it was professional and well trained. The buildings glittered like gold. My lands were like a small oasis of prosperity within a vast expanse of decay."

"I was waving a claw to my people from the balconies of a grand palace. My attire was not a simple tunic but a bejeweled silken dress and a robe. A crown lay seated on my head. I can remember myself smiling."

"Besides me, there were...figures. I cannot remember. But I felt their kinship and knew they were family. So there I was, standing besides these silhouettes and greeting my subjects."

Throughout the story, he could see her serene smile become more and more morose.

"Well, that sounds like a lovely dream indeed. I still don't see how that made you venture out today."

"Well...its because what happened next that haunts me. For me, it was the clearest part of that dream," she continued as a shudder passed through her. His own feathers shivered slightly as a gust of wind passed by.

"As the ceremony was ending and I bade farewell to the griffons down below, in the corner of my eyes I saw something horrifying. The decay that surrounded my kingdom was seeping in from the edges. I could see it slithering through the roads and bridges, entering houses and doing Boreas knows what to the inhabitants. It's speed was erratic, as it sped and slowed every few seconds. It felt like it was taunting me. in the back of my mind, I thought I could see eyes peering back at me from the fog. Scarlet eyes of anger and rage."

"Then, as it reached the very gathering in front of the palace, I saw it engulf the griffons. I heard them screaming. Shouts of help filled the air. I stood there helpless, as if trapped within my body unable to move or help them. Help my own people."

"And then...it was all over. The cries quietened, the pleas silenced. From within the ethereal fog, I only heard one thing--"

Before she could continue, she suddenly lost her footing and almost slipped into a nearby stream when Ludwig caught her in the nick of time. Holding her in a bridal carry, he peered over her with a worried look. She peered back with enlarged eyes and big blush across her brown feathers.

"Are-are you ok?"

"Y-yes I am fine, d-dear. You can l-let me down n-now," she managed after a few seconds to catch her breath.

"Oh I don't know. You still look a little startled. Perhaps I should carry you like this until we reach our destination," he smirked.

"Oh har har! Very funny. No, seriously, I am fine."

"Alright. Whatever you say," he finally obliged but not before giving her a long and sensual kiss and resting his head on hers. He loved the startled look she had that quickly turned into a loving one.

"I love you," he intoned.

"I love you too," she concurred.

With another quick kiss, they were once more on her way; this time minding every step they took.

Soon, the path opened up to the prairie with a panoramic view where dozens and dozens of bisons roamed and grazed at their leisure. Many could be seen crowding around a common watering hole. The herds of females were seen separate from the males, as it was during the non-breeding seasons.

Ludwig began to make up a camp while the griffoness stood at the cliff edge, gazing down at the herds.

As it was midday by then, they decided to have some lunch before the hunt. While eating, the griffon remembered her dream. Sitting on the cliff, watching the herds graze below, he decided to ask her once more.

"So...about your dream."

He saw her face visibly wilt in the shadow of his question. But, before he could change the topic, she carried on.

"After the fog consumed the crowd, all I could now hear were...growls. Angry growls. The eyes within still glared at me but now they were given voices and a body. I could see them start to come for me."

"I turned to the griffons around me in reflex but I saw there silhouetted muzzles not facing me. Instead, they stood gazing at something behind us. I turned around as well and saw...saw that the guards had already fallen to this decay. Their eyes too turned a crimson orange as they glared towards us. Towards me. Then they began to walk. And then they began to growl. And then--and then--"

Her body visibly began to tremble as her eyes closed. He moved in to wrap his wings around her smaller body as he tried to comfort her. They both sat there in serene silence, soaking in the sounds of the forest on one side and the grazing of the herds on the other.

Soon, he felt her breathing stabilize and gave her a soothing kiss on her forehead as he preened her soft onyx black wings. The griffoness leaned against his chest, nuzzling him underneath his beak. A few squirrels scampered up to the duo. Ludwig was about to throw some nuts to them when got an idea. He wordlessly hovered them in his claws in front of her. Getting the hint, the griffoness took them from him and threw it to the naughty little intruders. A smile was on her beak.

"I am so sorry. I did not know the dream would be so...vividly horrifying. I shouldn't have asked."

"No no, it's alright. I don't blame you. It's just that...it felt more than a dream."

"What do you mean?" he asked with a raised brow.

"It felt more real. Like I was reliving some memory buried long ago. I don't know why but whatever it is, it made me feel like I shouldn't be alone today."

"Well, do not worry! No slimy fog will ever harm my darling ever again! They would have to go through me, the deadliest hunter in this forest!"

Ludwig flashed a confident smile and winked at her, as he unclasped his rifle from his sling belt and posed as a great hunter on a nearby log of wood. It had the intended effect as the griffoness laughed aloud at her mate's theatrics. "Oh, my savior! My darling hero! How honored I am to receive your protection!" she replied in jest.

Continuing his act, he leapt from the log and tenderly grasped one of her claws, giving it a little respectful kiss. "Of course! Such a lovely dame as yourself; why, the honor is all mine!"

The tension was broken and the couple spent the rest of the afternoon hunting all varieties of game, even partaking in a bit of fishing. By the time they returned, the sun had begun to set. Ludwig spent some time stashing his gear. As he was keeping his coat on the chair near his desk, it knocked over a piece of paper from the desk. Picking it up, he gave it a cursory glance once more as his talons clenched and wings flinched slightly. Before he could do anything else, however, he heard her beloved's call and kept the letter where it was. Taking one of the fish he had caught from his bag, he began to fillet it.

The griffoness, on the other claw, had just come out of the bath and began to cook the fish once Ludwig had finish filleting. Meanwhile, he decided to take a bath himself. Venturing out to the river where they would usually bathe, he dipped himself slowly as he got used to the cooler temperature. Washing himself carefully, he heard something. Far far away, his trained ears could faintly hear booming sounds. Unperturbed, he continued his act of cleansing before deciding it was enough and began to head for home; before turning to look behind him one last time.

His eyes did not miss the pinpricks of bright fiery light in the distance that flashed for a second before disappearing into smoke, a booming sound accompanying them that faintly rang in his ears.

The dinner was as tasty as it usually was, Ludwig being the great cook that he was, but the taste was doubled by the fact that they were both tired from the today's activities. Outside their home, the day's auditory panorama was slowly being switched out with the night's soundscape as owls, the croak of some frogs from the nearby river and the ever present critters that seemed to sing all day and night long.

But in the comfort of their warm and cozy cottage, the two lovebirds simply enjoyed their moment eating and drinking, then moved onto singing old songs and Ludwig playing a bit of guitar by the fire. They ended it with a slow dance as they both moved to the tune of an old romantic song that played from an old gramophone, touching their heads together and singing along as their eyes spoke to each other wordlessly.

Just as the song was about to end, there was a soft knock on the door that startled them both. The griffoness looked at Ludwig with a confused stare. He, in return, only looked at her melancholically. With a claw, he played with her short, orange feathers that contrasted beautifully with the rest of her black plumage. He kissed her sweetly, which surprised her but as the moments passed, she melted once more in his claws and returned the kiss.

He wished this moment would last forever, or atleast for a while longer. But the knock came again and this time it was fiercer. Pulling back from her beak, he simply said, "I love you..."

With that, he tore away from her and went towards the door to answer it. Opening it and realizing what the source of the knock was, he was neither shocked or surprised but simply wore an unambiguous expression.

Behind him, he could hear her call out to him:

"Who is it, Glitterhoof?"