Chapter 42

The morning mists were just begenning to clear when Flasher awoke from her nest. She yawned, stretching her great wings and flexed her tawny talons. Another day, another hunt, another chance...

"Well, at least I have another chance to find another nest." she thought. Even though she had found her gem a long time ago, a small pearl, she had yet to find the perfect nest. The places she found were either too noisy, had too many insects, too exposed, too wet, too cold, too dark or already inhabited by other wild animals such as grizzly bears and other animals that she could not defeat without seriously hurting herself.

Sighing, she rolled up the wooly, warm blanket which she had found in the village, piched up her pearl, and kicked off into the sky. She would find her breakfast later...

The hare didn't stand a chance when Flasher leapt up on it. She sank her beak into its neck, and tossed it onto the fire. Sighing at her failed attempts to build a proper nest, she threw the remains onto the fire and watched as it flared, consuming all her efforts. "Well, at least this stealing attempt was successful." she thought to herself. Flasher unrolled her blanket, revealing a large dagger in its sheath. Suddenly, Flasher felt a sudden pull to the ruby gilded on the tip of the dagger's hilt, and she smiled at her earlier futile attempts to pry it off. "It has been forged into the metal by the humans, silly." She picked up the dagger and placed it next to her gemstone. "Now..., let's see how many things I have stolen from the Humans."

She began to count them and sort them into groups.

"One crossbow, twelve quality tin arrows, one great wool blanket, two - no THREE daggers, one anklet and two dynamite sticks. Oh, and the pearl."
In her isolation, Flasher had developed a strange habit of chatting to herself when she was alone. In her time when she still lived with her family in a flock, there was nothing she liked better than a good gossip by the fireside. Now the humans had killed and kidnapped most of them, except for her cousin Rondover, who lived in the ORDER. He claimed that the ORDER loved griffins and wanted to protect them, but Flasher wasn't so sure. She glanced up at the night sky, and tried to count the stars. "Was the moon a star or a gigantic, floating, glowing pearl?" She finished her dinner and fell asleep pondering that question.


Finally having enough of standing around, Skah made his way towards the stream that flowed past the mouth of their cave. The water was cold almost eternally as it flowed from the mountain peaks. He scooped some water up with his beak gulping it down. A flash of colour briefly entered his vision. Fish were common but he had trouble catching them, they were small and slippery. Skah slapped the water with his paw in irritation before stalking off down the rivers edge.

Ghost followed Skah at a distance before moving into the undergrowth a short way. The sound of the river could still be heard but now the sounds of the forest could also be heard. The call of a bird, the chattering of squirrels and the creaking of the trees. A mischievous idea occurred to Ghost then.

She settled into 'hunting mode' with ease, really it was not that much different to her normal behaviour. She stalked back towards the river, following Skah. She knew that she was putting in more effort than was necessary, as he wouldn't hear her at the best of times. She continued on like this, waiting for the opportune moment to take her friend by surprise.


Flocke left the opening of the den upset. His feathers drooped and he held his head low in sadness. It the midst of the night, he had forgotten that he, Skah and Ghost were separated from the others. He missed his old friends, but knew they'd want him to move on. He quickly went to catch up with Skah and Ghost.

He saw Skah slap the water, annoyed at something, before he walked into the forest. Ghost followed soon after, while Flocke held back for a moment. He looked into the stream where Skah had been standing, and looked for what might have upset him. All he saw was his rippled reflection peering back at him curiously. Just as he was about to leave, a fish jumped from the water and whacked his beak, knocking him onto his rump, before plunging back into the cold water.

Flocke sat stunned for a moment, before he laughed at the rude greeting. Standing up, he began chasing after his two friends again. He was vaguely reminded of his mother's white feather under his wing, as it rubbed against his side softly. He had grown enough now for the feather to fit snugly between his body and wing without being seen. Soon, it would be too small to keep there, but he'd come to that when it happened.

After a minute or two, he catches up enough to see Ghost stalking Skah from the shadows. He grins broadly at what he's about to see.


Gladiolus stalked through the forest, determined and unafraid of the world around him. His blood thirsty eyes didn't miss a thing- from the possum who instantly played dead at the sight of him, to the fox who slowly snuck away out of fear of the oversized cub.

And he was bigger than normal. However, it was obvious that the increase of size was slowing. Where once he looked like a monster against his normal sized sister, now he was only half a foot bigger than her.

As he walked, searching for a decent sized meal, his sister Tulip followed close behind. He no longer hunted for her, so she caught herself a few mice earlier to sustain herself.

Gladiolus did his best to ignore her. She was his sister and female, so there was definitely an instinct to protect her. However, he didn't like the feeling of familiarity and kindness at all. It had been strong when he was young, but now that they were getting older, he was finding it easier to ignore her needs. He was finally able to keep himself from hunting for her, but no matter what he did or thought, he couldn't get himself to tell her to leave or abandon her.

He sneered at his internal problem, glancing back briefly to see Tulip's curious gaze. She was too...innocent. He hated it. She was obviously weak. Too small, and too kind hearted. Without him, she'd be dead by now. He was the strong one, and she was the one that should have died. But his instinct got the best of him, and he helped a weakling live. Even when the time came when he could get rid of her, he wouldn't be able tokill her. All he'd be able to do is send her off, or leave her while she slept. It wouldn't be until they were apart for a good amount of time, before he'd be able to see her blood flow.

'Until then...' he thought cruelly. Until then, he'd let the weakling tag along.

While he searched for someone strong. Someone he could fight to prove that he was strongest. Someone he'd kill. He knew that griffin was out there somewhere... He just had to find him.


As Skah moped his way down the river his returned to the day when the others had left. He didnt think of it often, but he was sad that they had left. Especially Shiny. The young chick had reminded him of himself, it was a rare connection that he had made. Lost in his thoughts Skah didnt sense Ghost or even Flocke trailing him.

Ghost was glad when Flocke caught up with them. He stayed out of her way, as shd knew he would. She hoped his presence would drive the message home even harder for Skah. For if truth be told Skah not only had lost some of his strength but also his keen senses from being cooped up in the cave.

Ghost turned briefly to Flocke catching his eye hoping he understood her intentions.


Flocke sees Ghost's glance and gets the slight feeling that she wants him to pounce Skah too. He widens his eyes at the thought, not sure if that's a good idea or not. It was one thing for Ghost to pounce Skah. It was something completely different for Flocke to pounce him too. Where Ghost was Skah's closest friend, Flocke was still trying to get Skah's approval.

He had accomplished that a bit during the winter and the months before-They were definitely closer than when they had first met. But he was still unsure about whether or not they had crossed that invisible line of friendship. Even if it had been barely crossed, attempting to pounce Skah seemed like a sin. He'd be attempting to walk on eggs without cracking them, and he wasn't very positive that he could do that.

He wonders if maybe he read the look wrong. That, maybe, Ghost meant for him to do something else. Perhaps she wanted him to stand back instead? He points to himself, then to Skah in a silent question.

'You want me to pounce too?' A small part of him begged for him to be wrong. Though, strangely enough, a bigger part begged for him to be right. Walking quietly, so as not to draw attention from Skah, he waited for Ghost's silent approval or denial.


Winter Recap

Larimar, at first, had welcomed winter. The wind ruffled her feathers and the cooler air bit at her skin, thrilling her more than it hurt. As the seasons changed, she did as well. Her fluffy green down started to fall. (This she welcomed even more. It was impossible to preen that stuff!) She hit her growth spurt a little later than the others. It was a huge relief, finding out she wasn't going to be short her whole life. They had become proficient hunters. It looked like they were going to be fine...

But winter went on...and on...and on...The winds became stronger, throwing her around when she went outside. The prey disappeared. It was almost impossible to hunt. Greed once again overtook her, and she returned to that shameful habit of hoarding for a while. Her growing feathers looked awful. At least she was so concerned with survival that she couldn't dwell on how ugly, thin, and gangly she was. Shehated sharing a stinky den with everyone. She started to hate sharing anything. Her bright, beautiful, and self-centered world had become a living hell.

Just when she was ready to give up on it all, spring began to arrive! Her feathers were shedding their coverings, becoming sleek and full again. These new ones were bigger, stronger, lighter, and provided much better camouflage. Hunting was a little easier. Still hard for her, but not impossible. Skah, Ghost, Flocke, and Flaw had all pulled through. Things were starting to look up for Larimar.


Present

"Hey," Shiny prodded his friend, blinking as he rose from his place in the den. The other cubs were all gone. He felt a twinge of guilt for not helping them hunt, but he and Larimar were both still tired from their failed attempt last night. "Larry?"

"Don't call me that anymore!" Larimar snapped, rolling over so she was no longer facing him. She glanced back over her shoulder, her emerald eyes glittering with annoyance. "My wing still hurts. I'm not going out."

Shiny frowned. She's so irritable now. He'd done his best to keep a cautious but optimistic mood during the winter. Larimar, however, hated their predicament and showed it in everything she did. He hoped she would return to her cheerful self with the warmer weather and easier life.

Sighing, he stretched each wing and leg in unison, preparing for a new day. He was no longer a helpless ball of fluff, but he knew he wasn't fully grown yet either. These new feathers were earthy brown, a shade darker than Matoskah's, with small spots of white. The darker primary feathers were still coming in, but he knew they would look wonderful when his plumage was complete.

He unfurled his wings, almost hitting the wall of their den (it seemed so small now that he'd grown). "Wow!" he cried in utter astonishment. "Aren't these amazing,Larimar?" he asked her, carefully pronouncing her entire name this time. "We look like new griffins!"

"I miss the color." Larimar winced as she fluttered her own wings. "The old ones were so bright and...pretty before."

Shiny noticed her left one was still a little crooked. It was a bit worrisome; the wound was so old there was no hope of fixing it now. He didn't mention it, though. It would just give her something else to complain about.

Larimar's new feathers were a solid cream color with a lighter belly and darker wingtips. Shiny thought they looked much prettier than his. Larimar did, too, but she wasn't going to admit it. Shiny had embraced this change. Larimar loathed it.

Why couldn't things have stayed the same? the pale cub wanted to wail. We were doing so well. She felt kind of bad for being such a jerk lately. Now how would she ever earn Skah's respect?