G'napa dismissed the boy with a wave of her hand and turned around, scowling as she narrowed her eyes at the marked map on the table inside her tent.

To hear that G'jalla was spotted in one of the villages at the edge of Corvos… and with kits of mismatched eyes to boot was definitely worth her annoyance at being woken up in the middle of the night. In the morning, she'll have to organize a group of her most trusted members of the tribe to retrieve the kits. G'jalla… well, she was more than unnecessary – already serving her purpose.

She smirked, leaning against the table on the outstretched arms and trailing unseeing eyes over the map.

To know her bet paid off, was a relief, honestly. With her son passing a few moons ago and another – wrong – boy taking over the position of the Nunh… her position was in question. Over the years, she trained the members of the tribe properly, but still… Without the incentive of following the tradition, all it would take was one more brat with a red eye being born and they would insist on its mother taking over. Again, as tradition dictated.

And G'napa definitely liked her position too much to let go of it without a fight. She spend most of her life first securing it, then keeping it – and if she had her way, she'll stay in her role until her last breath.

At some points, she already grew beyond nervous about it but she had her ways to deal with the… issues. When infuriating G'yalla – out of all possible, the worst, as rebellious as she was – gave birth to boy with red-cyan eyes… She dealt with her without missing a beat, fully intending to take over the boy's care and by it keeping her status of the leader. Raise him just like she did her own brat, keeping him docile and obedient. She found some amusement in the bitch's daughter so ridiculously determined to keep the boy – maybe sharpening her claws for her spot – but as the Garlemald moved in on Corvos, she grew distracted enough to let the stupid girl temporarily keep him.

Then, to learn that Garleans were sniffing about for anything to do with the ancient empire of the Allag… Had her nervous again. Securing a deal with Baldesion was supposed to keep her… bases covered. While still having her son at hand, the boy – G'raha – wasn't yet necessary. Stashing him away until required, just in case, seemed like the best option, honestly. Even if then she couldn't train him as she planned, males reached the breeding age around sixteen and she figured that if somehow not malleable enough, there were plenty of ways to make him compliant. When that idiot, G'jalla, insisted to go with the boy – that, she couldn't let happen, knowing the girl would have an unnecessary influence over him if allowed.

Learning that the kit perished at sea… well, at the time she wasn't very worried about that. Not until it seemed that there simply wouldn't be the next one… When birth after birth there was not one kit with red eye… again, she grew nervous. Finally, when one of the girls reported seeing G'jalla sneak out of the camp and she had the idiot followed, to learn of her working in the nearby village… she wasn't naïve not to figure out her plans in keeping it a secret. At first, she didn't care – figuring that getting rid of her would be only a relief… until the idea struck her. The girl's mother already proving to be capable of proper breeding, G'napa decided that maybe a daughter inherited whatever brought it about. And perhaps she had some… fun teaching the girl a lesson.

She didn't know, nor care why the red-eyed brats were, oh, so special – other than knowing it had something to do with a long-dead empire. That knowledge got lost long ago, leaving behind their tribe's traditions. Such brats always had a priority to the position of the Nunh – with the hope of spawning more of them as seemingly it became rarer and rarer for them to pop up. Once it did become apparent, a few hundred years ago if stories were to be believed and the first kit with only one red eye was born, their leader at the time decreed nothing was off-limits to preserve the Eye. They discarded the other tribe's tradition of getting rid of Tia's – as any of them could possibly spawn a proper kit. They discarded the silly notions of 'blood ties,' reasoning that it was an unnecessary limitation to breeding.

And even with all of that, the bloodline deteriorated over time to the point that for years her son was the only one left… until G'raha. And now, apparently, G'jalla's twins.

When the girl ran away, G'napa had a lookout sent after her… that came back with nothing. Eventually, she set up a reward for finding the bitch – on the off chance that her bet worked and whatever brat G'jalla spawned would be useful. But twins…? And boy and girl, apparently, if that kid was to be believed. Well, that was beyond rewarding!

They should be eleven now, so still at a pretty malleable age. Splitting them apart and training the boy would be easy enough… The girl would be useful as well – females reached the breeding age much later, true, but as her mother's example proved, that could be amended easily enough. A few years and she could set them up to breed with each other – that hopefully would work to secure her position to the end of her days… And who knows…? Maybe if the girl is more reasonable than her mother and grandmother… she wouldn't have to get rid of her after she served her purpose, but use her instead. Train her good enough, and she could rule from behind her back…

Grinning involuntarily and distracted by her thoughts, she didn't notice the sudden, strange sound behind her back and was completely unaware of no longer being alone until she heard an unfamiliar, deep voice with an irresistible, hypnotic note.

"Don't move or speak, G'napa," it said and she complied with a dreamy sigh, dying to hear more of it.

"At least she's alone," said another voice behind her, this one low and somehow soothing, but without that mesmerizing effect. She almost felt someone look over her shoulder at the table in front of her, but was unable to move or otherwise react. "Planning something late at night…? Figures… A map with a market position at the edge of this land, I guess… Want to bet that's the village you found my sister at, Snark?"

"Probably…" that deep voice again, but not as hypnotic now. "Anyway, she's yours, my prince. I guess, most of the others should be asleep… Maybe some guards to think of… Well, I'm going to look around and compel everyone to gather in the middle of the camp, okay? We don't know how many of them there are… and I'm assuming that there are some kits to think of… and maybe others who aren't happy with how this tribe was run… I and Ares, we are going to find that out – but that will probably take a bit… so take your time, my heart."

"Don't mind if I do," a positively evil chuckle right behind her send a chill slithering down her spine. "Not that it would be necessary with what I have in mind for her… but I did miss seeing the effect the previous time, and Damon says that for her… he upgraded it. Anyway, do remember I want this tribe gone, my beast. Whoever had hand in her… ideas, you can have them."

"Your wish is my command, my hearrrt," this time that deep voice was downright terrifying, rumbling with a raspy growl, then followed by a quiet sound of the flap of her tent opening and closing.

"I'm not going to lie and say it is a pleasure…" she heard right before a hand fisted in her long, brown hair and pulled her head back. If she could, she would gasp when her eyes met a pair of red eyes positively roiling with fury even as the handsome face reminding her of G'yalla and her daughter seemed relaxed enough, but with a smirk that froze the blood in her veins. "…but in a way… I guess it is," he raised his dark-red eyebrows slightly as his eyes trailed over her face. "My whole long, long life I've wondered why I was sent away alone… Countless stories I've made up to somehow… make sense of that and most of them make it my fault. While… thanks to you, I missed knowing my sister… And what you did to her after that…" the flame in those fiery eyes blazed higher as his plush lips thinned in a line and he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then his expression went slack for just a second and his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly as he tilted his head perhaps a bit… curiously and whispered something incoherent. "Now, you'll indulge me, mortal," the fury was still there… if the eyes now somehow nearly missed the… she wasn't sure what, but his gaze grew more cold and calculating. "With all the information about this… atrocity, I got so far… I find one thing interesting, I admit. Why insist on sending… G'raha alone?"

"So his sister can't influence him to take over," she said outside of her will, blinking as her body simply… wouldn't move otherwise.

"I see…" he hummed and seemed to consider something. "So… whoever – whichever female born a boy with the Eye… ruled?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "He was my insurance for when my son would stop being useful."

Crimson eyes narrowed further as understanding flared in them and the fury grew… inhumane.

"His mother… Their mother…" he whispered and his fingers tightened in her hair painfully. "Her passing wasn't natural, was it?"

"No," she replied involuntarily. "Couldn't let her take over… she would ruin everything. Same as her daughter."

"Congratulations…" he said slowly, letting go of her hair and backing away with an expression of disgust on his too-familiar face. "…of all the mortals I… we met so far, you certainly seem the most repulsive," then he looked around and almost with consideration rubbed his chin. "I've changed my mind, Raha… For her, I think we need something better. And… to make sure nobody stumbles upon her and cuts her punishment short. I'll need a moment to prepare something fitting…" he closed his eyes and his expression went slack again, and when he looked at her again, he bared his teeth at her with a silent snarl. "You… killed my mother. Had my sister… raped by our… f-father… and her kits… What did you plan for them…?"

"Train them and eventually have them breed with each other," she said slowly, fighting each word as they had the fury in those ruby eyes reached a completely new level. "If the girl is better behaved than her mother, keep her as a next, fake leader… if not, discard."

"He's right…" the man whispered and the disgust on his face was palpable. "…you do deserve something… permanent. The whole of this place… by dawn would be a memory, bitch. None would even remember that this tribe existed… But you, oh, you'll stay here… You'll live… regretting each and every second of it, I promise you that. None will find you and put you out of your misery… I want you to know that. To be sure of that. I'll have my lover compel the very aether around here to turn everyone away – so there won't be any hope for you. You'll live… every excruciating moment of your sad excuse of a life, knowing there will be no end to that… This, I swear, for every single person your sick ambition harmed," he took a deep breath, then his expression went utterly still and a slow, terrifying smirk tilted his full lips. "We're ready…" he neared her again, then leaned in and whispered something incoherent against her ear.

"Enjoy the rest of your eternity," he added, right before all she knew was pain and madness.

Kind of numb inside, but satisfied, G'raha left the tent, then turned around and whispered another spell, rendering it invisible as long as the… thing he left behind lived – which, as Damon promised, would be the rest of the existence of this star.

He wasn't in a hurry as he joined his lover at the center of the relatively small camp. Senri's expression was quite bored as he leaned against the pole near the biggest campfire, lazily cleaning his claws of the half-dried, visible strains of blood. A disappointingly small group of mostly kits and a few adult Seekers stood at the opposite side of the campfire to his beast, their expressions utterly devoid of will or any hint of awareness.

"That's all of the… innocents?" he hummed, looking over them before stopping next to his mate and when he looked at him with raised eyebrows, Senri simply shrugged, then pointed toward the place of their arrival.

"Seems… she did a great job brainwashing them," his lover scowled, turning his pale eyes to the group. "To my disappointment seems your… sire passed a few moons ago, seemingly out of exhaustion. As much as I hoped to sink my claws into him, I guess, that bitch panicking over lack of any kits with the Eye born, rode him into grave early, with the help of others… having most of the females in near constant heat," he sounded matter-of-a-fact as he said it, but G'raha could feel his temper spiking under the surface of the ice of his eyes. "Many of them… didn't make it out of that, but they refused to quit. This place, Raha…" he looked away, working his jaw furiously and taking a deep, steadying breath.

"I know, Snark," he whispered, pressing against him and wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against Senri's collarbone, feeling him coil his arms around him in turn and rest his chin on top of his head.

"What do we do with them?" after a long pause, his Warrior said softly against his ear.

"We'll take them to your tribe, Senri," he replied without opening his eyes. "If Ares doesn't mind, compel them and the Condor tribe, that they were always a part of it. And here… I'll make all of it disappear, but if he can as well leave the compulsion to have anyone who stumbles into this clearing turn away, I would appreciate that, love."

"I can do that," his lover said, delicately nuzzling against his ears.

"I know," he replied with a humorless chuckle, tilting his head to rest his cheek against his lover's chest. "But I want this compulsion to last for the rest of eternity, my Snark… as long as she will."

His mate was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"What did you do with her?" he finally asked, rubbing his big hands over his back. "Same thing as with Diva?"

"No," he said quietly, raising his head and meeting his lover's ice-blue eyes as a slow, bloodthirsty grin spread his lips. "Something much more… creative. Apparently, Damon learns a lot… from your exploits as 'Fandaniel,'" he wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully, watching his Warrior's too-pretty lips tilt into a smirk. "He said that what you did with Maran… got him inspired. So he combined both her and Diva's fate… and made it permanent. So long no one kills… it, she'll enjoy that state until stars blink out of existence. Hence, it's better to have Ares handle the compulsion," he added with a sigh, again resting his cheek against his mate's chest.

"Raha…" he whispered, then choked and tightened his arms around him.

"Hmm?" he hummed, closing his eyes again and enjoying his lover's scent… marked with the tang of copper, but still no less pleasant.

"…nevermind," Senri sighed, rubbing his chin against his hair. "Ready?"

"Mhmm," he took a deep breath, then slowly pushed back from his mate's embrace and looked up in his face, then watching the slight hint of worry in his lover's eyes, he sighed and wrapped his hands around his cheeks, pulling his tall Warrior down until their foreheads met. "Snark… I'm fine. No guilt whatsoever, I swear. This… had to be done, my beast, and if I got some… satisfaction out of that… I do not regret that," he whispered, feeling his mate's temper… and worry slowly melt away. "She… and the rest of them more than deserved that. But… I'll have one more request for you, my heart…" he trailed off, opening his eyes and meeting his beast gaze.

"Anything, you know that," Senri purred, smoothing his hands over his shoulders.

"I want… everyone to forget my name is… G'raha," he said slowly, holding his lover's confused stare. "I don't… owe them anything, and like I said… I want every hint of this place… and people, gone. From now on, I'm simply… your Raha, okay? Make them think – all who know me – that it was always like that… please?"

"Like I always say…" his lover chuckled, then pressed a tender kiss on his forehead. "…whatever you wish, my heart… is yours."

"Thank you," he sighed, then steeled his back and pulled back, turning toward the silent group of Seekers. "Let's get it over with… I'm tired, and can't wait to get back to our nest."

"It was a long day," his lover agreed, brushing his hand over his back. "Ready whenever you are, my prince," he added, moving to stand next to him and similarly, looking over the group.

G'r… Raha exhaled slowly, then tightened his jaw, closing his eyes and prompted by Damon's quiet words, whispered another spell, his sensitive ears barely twitching at the sound of everything around them – the tents, campfires and everything in the clearing other than the one, now invisible tent – collapsing and disappearing in into the ground. When he next opened his eyes, it was all gone as if never there in the first place and he sighed with relief. Turning his gaze toward his mate, he involuntarily smiled when Ares winked at him, then cleared his throat and whispered something barely audible, setting the requested compulsion in place.

In mere few minutes, they gathered the survivors and left that cursed place, leaving nothing and no evidence behind of the Gryphon tribe's existence. And by dawn, when he settled down inside his mate's embrace, Raha exhaled softly in relief – knowing that at least they freed their world of few more monsters.

And his grandmother… well, he did hope, she enjoyed her punishment – and deciding that after they wake up, he'll talk with his sister and tell Jalla of everything… he went to sleep with a smile, genuinely feeling a weight – that settled over his heart when he learned of all of this – fall, leaving him feeling lighter.

His beautiful beast was right… nothing felt quite as satisfying as restoring the balance.

Note:

After some consideration - and quite honestly getting more than a bit few up - this is going to be the last chapter I post on this website out of all of my stories. If you do like to follow my works, you can find me on AO3, under the username Endless_Crimson_Dream, otherwise thank you for your time so far, and do hope you enjoyed it [I wouldn't know, since yeah... absolute lack of feedback over here]

Cheers!