Bane

Disclaimer: See chapter 1. As for the fledgling's name in this chapter, we decided to name him - Kieryn.

Chapter 7

Firefox watched as the female gryphon collapsed from her wounds before he exited the tree line. He had his bow ready and an arrow notched in case any clansmen still lingered. With a blood-path mage and the Blood Bear Clan in the area, he wasn't taking any chances.

The remnants of the half-destroyed ritual lay obscenely next to the body of the female. The fledgling huddled next to its critically wounded mother, shivering in shock. There was nothing Firefox could do for the pair until he made sure the area was secured.

The young mage crept warily closer as he moved silently towards the pair. He scanned the countryside as he searched for the closest ley-line and tapped into it as he cautiously spread his magical essence over the area using the magical boost he received.

Suddenly a loud guttural cry erupted from an over-hanging out cropping of rock as a pair of Clansmen surged forward. Firefox wasted no time as he fired off one arrow, and then another. His first arrow wounded one while the other grazed the second.

Pulling more magic from the nearby ley-line as he threw his bow aside, the young mage showed his training by shouting out a blasting spell, augmented by both the magic from the ley-line and his former training.

The wounded clansmen with an arrow in his chest went down and stayed down. The other tried to get back up as he pulled an arrow out of his thigh, only to be knocked back by another blast of magic.

'Great,' he mused. 'Firefox why don't you just hang a sign out: 'I am here. Come and get me'.'

Only after the pair were down permanently did Firefox turn his attention to the gryphons. The female was still unconscious, while the fledgling hissed and threatened him with beak and claws. Its fledgling wings stirred up the debris that had been churned up by all the fighting around them.

:Easy there, little one. They are gone. I won't hurt you or your mother: Firefox mentally chided as he batted away flying rocks, dirt and debris, hoping speaking mind to mind would help calm the poor thing. The gryphons he knew had the ability for human speech, but this was a wild gryphon, so it would be more natural to use mind-speak.

One could not lie in mind-speak and it was the fastest way to get the little one to trust him. :I don't know if you can understand me, fledgling, but we need to get your mother and you out of here. Those who hurt you will return once these two fail to report back.:

He walked slowly forward with his hands empty and in plain sight as he projected calming thoughts and the need to protect the pair.

The fledgling stopped as the teen moved closer, eying him with distrust. Firefox calmly projected images, of himself searching for herbs for an illness that threatened his people, when he found them. He only wanted to help.

:No! Bad man hurt!: shrieked the fledgling. Firefox inwardly winced at how young the fledgling's mind speech was.

:Please let me help. She will die if I don't.:

Slowly the fledgling moved away from its mother hissing out threats and ready to pounce should the young human appear to be a threat.

Firefox reached the female and knelt beside her. The poor thing was unconscious from blood loss and shock. He frowned as she didn't look good.

Carefully he examined the wounds as he continued to talk softly, worry lacing his voice. :We have to go from here. They'll be back. Is there a cave or a shelter nearby? Your mother, the poor thing, will need healing. I can't very well leave you both here with such bad men in the area. No telling what they'd do.:

The fledgling hissed as he looked around for the threat before he moved away and headed towards the outcroppings. Seeing none, he broadcast :Cave this way, human.:

Carefully, Firefox used his magic to levitate the female and nodded. :Lead the way.: he answered back with relief. The communication barrier is now out of the way. He just prayed to the Goddess that the female would make it.

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In a small cave not far from the attack site, Firefox lowered the female onto the sandy floor.

He quickly went through his small traveling pack for herbs and bandages then carefully removed the arrows. All the while, he kept up a running dialog for the fledgling. Once he was knew that the female would be alright for the moment, he turned his attention to the fledgling. :I need to see if you are hurt. Then I'm going to go and get us some food and cover our trail.

:I cannot lie - your mother isn't in the best shape. If she lives the night, then she has a chance. Stay here. And if you see a snowy owl hanging around, he's a friend.:

:Not hurt. Do not want you here. Not safe. Humans are bad. Not hurt night flyer: the fledgling agreed.

Firefox sighed as he moved towards the mouth of the cave. He had his work cut out for him.

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The young, white-haired sixteen year old mage was worried. It had been two days since he found the wounded gryphon family. The female had yet to regain consciousness and her continued health was worrisome. The wounds in her wing and legs were as clean as he could make them, but they were now showing signs of infection.

That night Firefox knew that the female was definitely dying when he felt a surge of power coming from the mountains far north of their location. It could only mean that the blood-path mage had succeeded in his ritual. It would only be a matter of time before he would discover what type of ritual that thrice-damned mage used.

Telling the fledgling was another matter.

Firefox was extremely worried. The fledgling was only tolerating him at best. He wasn't sure how much the little guy understood about what was happening, but was thankful that they were able to communicate via mind speech, as he could with Hedwig and Godric.

He knew that gryphons were highly intelligent magical creatures. They could not only use magic, but also were familiar with the mind arts. Some of his teachers back in the Vale were gryphons.

This little guy had been preparing for his first flight when the family had been attacked. What a horrible way to celebrate such a mile-stone in a young gryphon's life.

The first thing Firefox did after setting up camp in the cave was to hunt and scout out the area. He managed to bring back a small deer for food. He took only a small portion of the meat for himself and gave the rest to the fledgling who devoured it. Firefox saved the liver and heart, which he ground up into a slurry to try to feed the female, but she wasn't having any of it.

The young mage made a small living area for himself to one side of the cave, giving over most of it to the pair of gryphons.

He built a small but well protected fire out of the way, taking great care by ringing large stones around the pit. He knew from living near gryphons that fire and feathers are a bad mix. But the season was turning chilly and he needed the warmth. He then set mage lights around the gryphons for their.

Outside the cave Firefox set about making sure they would not be found by the Blood Bear Clan, or worse, that thrice be-damned mage. He left clues for anyone from the Vale to find him, using scout signs in the forest where only his people could find them.

The fledgling watched him cautious, distrustful eyes, staying close by his mother. Firefox made sure not to make any sudden movements to startle the young gryphon as he moved around the cave. He always spoke his intentions before he made any moves.

The young mage realized he could've just left the pair and continued on his way. But the fledgling was too young to leave alone. Thus his dilemma.

However, Firefox needed to find out what that blood-path mage was up to.

If what he remembered from Celin, the Ghost Cat Shaman, wild gryphons were sometimes used for Great Rituals, all of them dark. The mother and the fledgling were probably bonus catches. That they left the fledgling alone told Firefox they probably were going to sell the youngling to slavers. Gryphon body parts had their many uses.

He also realized it was fool-hardy to move against an older mage that followed such a dark and twisted path without someone as backup. So Firefox decided to sit tight and wait.

It was late afternoon and Firefox had just returned from foraging in the forest. He'd brought back a couple of small tree climbers. One for the gryphon and one for a stew he would make later.

:Why?: came a very young, confused mind probe.

This was the first time since the day of attack that the fledgling had started a conversation before Firefox. He would explain carefully to the silent and ever watchful fledgling what he was doing as not to spook a reaction. Most of their conversations to were stilted and uncomfortable.

Firefox stopped sorting herbs and berries by his small fire and looked up at the fledgling. Godric gave a small chirp from his rocky perch overhead.

:Why what young one?: Firefox asked patiently. If there was one thing he had learned from both of his fathers it was patience. He knew sooner or later, the fledgling would trust him enough to start asking questions on his own.

:Why you help us? Me?: Confusion and distrust still colored the child-like mind speech.

:Because it is the right thing to do. Gryphons are wonderful beings in their own right. I have several that are my teachers and friends.:

:Bad mans. Hurt male protector. . . Hurt nest protector,: the fledgling stated firmly. :Humans bad. You human not bad. Why?:

Firefox sighed and dusted off his hands as he stood and stepped closer to the prone fledgling, and squatted to its eye-level. :You're right. Those were bad men. They want your parents for evil. But not all humans are bad. I'm not bad. At least I would like to think I am not.:

The fledgling hissed and backed away. :You not bad. Care for me. Care for nest protector. Chase away bad s. . .:

:It was the right thing to do. Bad men destroy forest. Chase away game. Must protect forest. I'm called Firefox of the k'Valdemar. What is it you are called, little one?:

:Firrrefox? K'Valdemarrr?: the young gryphon repeated in confusion mentally sounding out the new words. : Kieryn.:

:Kieryn. Good name. I know a gryphon that goes by the name of Kelvren. He is one of my teachers.:

The rest of the afternoon, Kieryn and Firefox spoke mind to mind, learning about each other. Slowly the fledgling lost its mistrust in Firefox, but was still quite easily startled if the young mage made an unexpected move.

Towards the setting of the sun, Firefox felt one of his wards go off. Godric chirped and flew off his perch. The young gryphon tensed as Firefox reach for his bow.

:Stay here. Care for nest protector. I need to see what's happening.:

Kieryn gave a low keen as he moved closer to his mother. :Will protect.:

Casting a notice-me-not spell, Firefox moved silently among the rocks to where his ward had been tripped. He pulled back his bow string just in case it was the Blood Bear Clan return.

He didn't put it past them. He had left the pair laying where they had fallen and not gone near them after checking to make sure they were quite dead. It hadn't taken long for the carrion feeders to take care of the remains.

A call echoed off the stones. Firefox blinked and relaxed as the call was repeated.

He checked to see if he was alone before returning the call.

A rush of wind came over head and Firefox looked up to see a very familiar set of wings. "Kelvren."

A majestic gryphon landed on the ledge over head as Firefox straightened from his position behind a boulder.

"I hearrrd you werrre in trrouble, young sssstudent of mine," Kelvren said in the typical human/gryphon speech.

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A/N: We wish to thank you all for the wonderful reviews.

Until next time - GF and The Frau