Griffin Tale

Chapter 9

Trouble Ahead

Yugi took a deep breath and peeked his head out of an alleyway. Quickly, he looked left and then right. There was no one in sight. "Thank god." he thought. The last thing that he needed right now was for someone to walk down and see him wandering through the streets with a griffin.

Harry had flown over the city, but being afraid that someone may spot them in the air, Yugi had suggested to land. They were now walking through the alleyway short cuts that Yugi knew.

Quietly, Yugi sneaked out. Then he turned and beckoned. "Psssst!" he hissed. "Come one, Harry."

Harry poked his head out of the alley. Looking around quickly, he began to walk through the cramped alleyway. But his large shoulders and wings couldn't fit through. He tried to shove his body through, but he was just too big. "Yugi?" he whispered. "I think I'm stuck."

"Oh great!" Yugi thought. "Just what I need." Yugi marched up to Harry and grabbed his large ears, pulling slightly.

Harry wriggled his shoulders and tried to spread his wings.

Yugi tugged again – harder this time. He pulled with all his might...and Harry popped out of the alley like a cork out of a bottle, slamming Yugi against a wall. Yugi shook his head. Then he grabbed Harry's paw and dragged the griffin around the corner just as a police car drove by on a routine patrol.

Across the street was the Draco Wash. Next to it was a warehouse where supplies were stored.

Yugi quickly darted across the street and opened the warehouse door. "C'mon!" he called.

Harry tried to follow. But it's always been known that griffins aren't very sure footed animals. The young griffin's paws weren't used to the smooth pebbled ground. He tripped and smashed into a nearby dumpster. Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" he groaned, rubbing his head.

"Just get you're tail in here!" Yugi hissed. He looked around, hoping nobody had heard the noise.

Harry quickly gathered himself up and dashed over to the warehouse. "You think anybody heard that?" he asked before smashing his head on the top of the door. "OW! OW! OW!"

Yugi groaned, "Clumsy animal."

Crazy Joe, who happened to be staying near the warehouse, peered out of his dumpster. "Who was that? Hey! Who's out there?"

Yugi whirled around just as Harry squeezed inside the warehouse. "Hey, Crazy Joe!"

"I thought I heard somethin'" Joe nodded. "Did you get that griffin?"

Yugi blinked, fearful that he had seen Harry. But being as dimwitted as he was, Yugi guessed that he meant Harry's brother. "Oh...you have no idea Joe."

"That's great! Well, gotta go. My shows on!" Crazy Joe popped back down into his dumpster. Lights were shining under the lid and out of tune music could be heard.

"Guess he got that old tv set fixed." Yugi thought. He then followed Harry into the warehouse and closed the door. "We're safe." he said, turning to the griffin. "For now..."

Inside the warehouse, Harry looked around. Next to some brushes and some cans of wax, he spotted a few crates of dragon soap.

"Hey!" he cried. "A bed!" He plopped himself down on the row of crates, twisting and turning to get comfortable. He grabbed a roll of bubble warp and put it under his head like a pillow.

"Oh, yeah. That's good." he said, smiling blissfully. "Oh, that's heaven, yeah. Oh, snuggly buggly wuggly."

Yugi cocked an eyebrow at Harry. This was a so called cold blooded Headfeathered Griffin that would sooner kill a human than look at one? Harry acted more like a harmless kitten than a deadly griffin.

Suddenly, Harry lunged at Yugi and began to lick him. "I love you, man!" he said, lapping his tongue over Yugi's face.

Pinned to the ground with the large creature standing over him, Yugi could only laugh as the gentle giant's tongue tickled him slightly. "Hey, cut it out! Ha ha!" he chuckled. "That tickles! Ha ha!"

"You're my new best friend." Harry said happily, licking Yugi's face like a love - struckpuppy.

"Please, Harry knock it off! Ha ha!" Yugi yelped, pushing the giant griffin back.

Harry got off of the small teen to let him up. He walked back to the crates, circled on them a few times and then settled down.

"Okay," Yugi whipped the griffin's saliva off of his face. "You wanna be friends? Fine. But we gotta lay down some rules. Rule number one – no snuggly buggly, whatever that just was!"

"You got it!" Harry said seriously. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Yugi nodded. "Rule number two, and this is the most important rule." The seriousness in Yugi's voice made Harry realise that this was truly important. "In the event, possibly, you know, you get hungry...you know, I've know some of the guys here for a long time, and my family works here too, and it would be a real mess if you -"

The golden griffin just rolled his eyes, "Don't worry. I'm not gonna eat anyone. In case you haven't noticed...I'm different from the other griffins." He sorted his make – shift pillow. "Let's put it at that. Leave it at that. Good night." He slumped down on the crates.

Yugi was confused. What did Harry mean by different? He didn't seem any different from the other griffins, apart from the fact that he was much nicer than them. "Define different." Yugi said.

Harry turned away from Yugi, "You'll laugh."

"I'm not gonna laugh." Yugi protested.

Harry didn't believe him. "Well, that's just what you say." Harry said. "And then what happens later is, you laugh."

"Harry." Yugi put a hand over his heart. "I give you my word."

Harry stared at Yugi for a moment. Seeing the honesty in the young boy's eyes, he knew Yugi was telling the truth. He sighed, "Okay. I'll tell you. I'm...I'm...I'm a vegetarian." Harry waited for laughter, but it never came.

Yugi just stared at Harry, puzzled. "So, that's it?" he asked.

Harry was shocked by this, "What do you mean, that's it? You're the first person I ever told!" As Harry spoke he became more and more agitated. "I'm so tired of keepin' it all a secret! And my dad will never accept me for who I am!" He once again slumped down on the crates, "What's wrong with me?"

Yugi saw the downcast look in the golden griffin's eyes. In those eyes, Yugi saw himself and his own life. Harry must have suffered similar problems to himself. Fitting in wasn't always easy when you were different. For Yugi being as short as he was for his age was a real downfall. "Nothin' is wrong with you, Harry." he said, stroking the griffin's head. "There's nothing wrong with being different. I think all griffins should be like you."

Harry smiled, "Gee, that's sweet of you to say."

Yugi shook his head, retuning the smile. "And stop blaming yourself for what happened. If you want to blame anybody, blame me. 'Cuz if I hadn't been out there in the first place none of this would have happened."

"Yeah, you're right. It was an accident. Nothing more." Harry nodded. His brow frowned. "Gee. If pop knew that, he'd ice you for sure."

"Ice?" Yugi said. Only a few creatures used that word and all of those creatures were from the Godfather's mob. Who was Harry's father any way? "What's he, like, the godfather or somethin'?"

"Yeah." Harry replied.

Yugi froze, "Whatcha mean, yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry said. "He is."

Yugi was paralyzed. The Godfather! Head of all the griffins! Harry's father was...Lino! Really? The griffin that was responsible for more human fatalities more than anyone else in the entire city!

"Hey, buddy." Harry walked over to Yugi, looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright!" Yugi thought. "I'm the one responsible for killing Don Lino's son! I'm a dead manthat's what I am!"