Ascending Legends

[Dragongal]

The griffin cocked her head to the side before carefully taking the martin in her beak, then gobbling it down. While she did this, Arryn said, "Yeah. I used to bring some fresh hunts for her after she had cubs. That was when I came up here all the time, after Da died." The white griffin picked up the martin it had previously ignored, laying down so he could tear it into bite sized pieces. Once the matriarch finished eating, she nuzzled against Arryn again, and Arryn petted her in response. The griffin glanced at Dayn, before turning and squawking, prompting the white griffin to return and nudge Dayn for more attention.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn laughed before petting the griffin. "I would have never expected them to be so friendly." He carefully rubbed the griffin's feathers before scratching it at the base of it's neck. Experience as a wolf taught him certain areas that were hard to reach, and having another person scratch them for you felt like the greatest thing ever.

 

[Dragongal]

"Me neither. They're supposed to be extremely intelligent... think they can understand us?" The mother looked at Arryn knowingly, then nudged her again, with a little more force.

 

[BookWyrm]

"Probably." Dayn pulled out the rest of the game he had caught and tossed them around, letting the younger griffin wander about and eat whatever it pleased. "They say that the old Dragoons that I told you about spoke highly of the intelligence of the dragons they rode. I'd say griffins are right along par with them for intelligence."

 

[Dragongal]

The white griffin crooned and nudged him hard, knocking him into Arryn. Arryn laughed and said, "Smarter than some humans, I'd bet." Th mother griffin squawked at the white one, whose ears immediately lay flat as it lowered its head apologetically to Dayn.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn laughed as he reached out and rubbed the griffins head before turning to Arryn and taking her hands. "Maybe they think we're a good match." He leaned in and kissed her tenderly. "I have to agree with them." He wrapped his arms around her as they watched the griffins. "If I didn't think it would upset them I would shift and try to play with the young one."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn looked to the mother, whose head was under her hand, then back to Dayn. "Try it. I think if they see I['m okay with it they won't care."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn gave a concerned look, but in the end kissed Arryn's head before sliding out of his shirt and pants. It felt weird stripping down in front of the griffins, but he had to admit that it could have been worse if it was other people. He closed his eyes and shifted easily, his body now naturally going down on all fours before he opened his eyes again. He looked up at the griffins, though he made sure to keep some distance away from them just encase.

 

[Dragongal]

The white griffin looked at him closely before squawking quietly Arryn walked over to Dayn and petted his head, showing that she was okay with it. The mother walked over and sniffed him before deciding that he was okay and going back to cuddling Arryn. The white one walked over with bit more hesitancy before nudging him lightly. The young griffin that had left earlier returned, looking ovr Dayn with curiosity, though it stayed at a distance.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn was careful about upsetting the griffins, especially the matriarch. He appreciated the petting from Arryn, though he felt slightly jealous when the matriarch took her attention away. The white griffin was rather cautious at first, but in the end it walked over and nudged him. He gently licked it's face, causing it to jump slightly. Thankfully it didn't attack. And then the youngest one returned, though it made sure to keep a healthy distance away from him. <This is rather similar to Matthias, Kalie, and Theodas when they first saw me. I wish you could have been there for that. I still don't think they know how to think about me.> Dayn looked back to the white griffins before barking at it and pawing before dropping down into a playful stance, his tail casually flopping back and forth in a playful manner.

 

[Dragongal]

The white griffin cocked its head before hesitantly dropping into a similar stance, its lion tail swinging hesitantly - this was something new. Arryn sat down to watch, the matriarch laying down next to her, keeping a careful eye on the young ones. The young one walked over and laid on her other side, watching Dayn and the white griffin intently while the white griffin waited to see what Dayn was planning.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled before bouncing at the griffin, growling playfully as he ran around to it's side and bounced at it again. The griffin almost seemed confused. It jumped around, keeping it's eyes on him before squawking at him. Dayn ran around the other side before bouncing at it again. This time though when he ran he ran around and then took off a short distance, trying to get it to chase him.

 

[Dragongal]

The griffin turned and took chase, playing along with Dayn. Arryn called, "Dayn, love, don't fall, you have to watch the edge!"

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn turned and slid on the breaks, thankfully avoiding the edge before taking off back towards Arryn and the other griffins. The white griffin clicked it's beak as it gracefully turned in the air before landing and taking chase again. Dayn stopped, this time rearing up and pawing at the griffin before running around it. The white griffin gave chase and soon the two were running around, slinging snow and overall enjoying themselves. As Dayn turned he sped up, getting a good distance between him and the griffin before diving into a particularly deep snow bank, disappearing underneath the white powder. The griffin stopped, confused by the sudden disappearance of the wolf it had been playing with. Dayn waited until it got closer before poof, exploding out of the snow at a full sprint back to Arryn. The griffin jumped, squawking in surprise before giving chase again, chirping in a pleasantly happy tone.


Dayn padded over to Arryn, his tongue hanging out as his panted from the exertion. He laid down in front of her, whining slightly as his sore body. <Probably shouldn't have pushed too hard, but that was fun nonetheless.>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn ruffled his fur with a big smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're enjoying this. I was worried you'd be bored. Do you have any time you'd like to leave?" The matriarch looked at Arryn, then pushed her head under Arryn's hand. Arryn looked to Dayn and said, "It's still your decision."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn rested his head against Arryn's lap. <As long as you are with me I doubt I'll ever get bored.> Dayn rested for a few minutes before shifting back and dressing himself again. "It might be worthwhile to get back soon. I love it here, but it does get dark quickly."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled and stood up, the griffins standing also. She gave each of them a final petting before turning to Dayn and taking his hand. "Good point love... with the skinchanger, I don't want to be in the woods after dark...." As they descended down the path, it started to lightly snow. They had just reentered the woods when they met up with Matthias, Kalie, and Theodas, the two humans panting while the elf seemed fine. "Arryn! We came to you as soon as we found out. O'Rourke was here, early this morning, he left before we even found out. It sounds like he went to Gilowitz. We didn't know if you wanted to follow or if you had a plan." Arryn looked up to Dayn with wide eyes, uncertain about what to do.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn's heart felt like it stopped suddenly. Gilowitz? He is heading to the church, I know it. This isn't right. I can't allow her to go back. I'm not even armed dammit! But..Dayn closed his eyes, finally happy to feel his heart beat. When he opened them again he looked down to Arryn. "I will stand with you in whatever decision you make love. This isn't your fight, this is our fight."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled a bit at his words, then looked to the ground. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, however, it sounds like it's just him, and... I need to know if those dreams I've had are right." A day's ride through the pass, if it was clear. Two days if not. Dayn would probably be healed by then. She didn't anticipate much fighting.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn squeezed Arryn's hand lovingly before looking to her and smiling. "Alright. Lets get back to the house, pack, and head out." Once they had returned to their temporary home Dayn stopped Arryn just inside the door and hugged her. "I know this is going to be hard love. I just want you to know that I am here for you no matter what happens."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled and kissed him. "Thank you, love." She strapped her sword onto her hip, even though she couldn't use it. She looked at Dayn, then hesitated, then gave him her old shield. "It's better than your buckler, bigger but not much heavier at all, it's solid steel , only the edges are silver coated - it shouldn't hurt you. Please... It'd make me feel better if I knew you had a good shield."





Over the course of their travel, Matthias and Kalie seemed to better accept that their friend's fiance was a lycanthrope and that he was alright by them. It was midday when they reached Gilowitz, the mountain pass opening to reveal the small town at the base of the rise. She looked around, her eyes catching on the dilapidated church. She held on tightly to Dyn's hand. "We should speak to the village elder first."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn looked off towards the church and glared, growling quietly before Arryn squeezed his hand. "Alright, lead the way. I'm right beside you." Dayn had almost protested carrying the shield back at the house. He didn't like the idea of using something that was silver. But, then again, it was Arryn's. She had several things that were silver, one of which was the ring he had given her during his proposal. Out of all of them though he could deal with that a little better than the others. Oh well, it made Arryn more comfortable, and it was a lot safer than his buckler. He had made sure to bring his bastard sword though, just encase. "What do I need to know about this elder?"

 

[Dragongal]

"He's old." "Don't forget, he's a superstitious asshole, too." "Yeah, that."Arryn led the way to a small cabin, knocking loudly on the door. An ancient man opened the door, bent over with age, but well dressed, clearly an important member of the society. His eyes widened when he saw Arryn. "You were told never to come back here - " "Because Sol didn't let you kill me? Because you cracked a deal and were scared of getting found out? Ha. Like your rules matter to me one bit. You wanna do this outside, or are you going to let us in?" The elder glared at the assembled group, then allowed them to enter his small, cozy and well-kept home.

 

[BookWyrm]

As Dayn stepped into the house he looked down at the aged man and growled before taking his place next to Arryn. He was more or less here to let Arryn deal with the situation. If he had to intervene, it would be on her behalf and could end up bloodier than if he hadn't. As they all filed into the room Dayn kept a note on where the others were. I don't trust this old man further than I can throw him.

 

[Dragongal]

The old man took his seat, glaring at them. Arryn leaned on the wall and said, with a slight smile, "I'm sure you remember what happened two years ago. You remembered me. Do you remember talking to anyone else? Namely someone... you've never seen? Who wanted me dead? I wouldn't lie now, I'm not in a forgiving mood, I'm afraid." Arryn smiled evilly. The old man glared and said, "No.""See, now, the problem is, I don't believe you." "That is not my fault." Arryn drew her dagger and moved closer to him and said, "You will tell me right now or I'll cripple you, then discredit you." The man looked at her, then at her dagger. "You're bluffing." Arryn spun her dagger around and cut deeply into the back of his hand. "Tic-toc, old man, I'm getting bored. Red would look nice in this room, don't you think?" "Fine! I did, name's O'Rorich or something, he said if I kept up the rumors he'd pay well, and he did! Are you happy?!" Arryn smiled. "That's all I needed to know."