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** Prodigy: Reana's Tale**

Ch1. Birth

Darkness and warmth, it was everywhere in the beginning for the unborn gryphlet who only knew what those two sensations were. But that all changed in an instant as something completely new happened. A thought crossed her developing mind; a jolt of information that she had never perceived before and yet she knew what it was. That first thought sparked the powerful matrix of her brain, firing thought after thought that ignited the knowledge locked within her genes. That very first thought did so much for her and yet, as she became more aware of her own mind she realized the strange truth; that thought was not her own.

Whoever it came from was aware of her, enough so to ask her, "If it is warm and dark, do you think there is something on the other side of those feelings?"

She didn't know why she knew it but she knew that another's thoughts in her mind were not normal, "What do you mean? What is a side and who are you? How did you know I was here before I knew?"

"I don't even know who I am, or how I knew you were here, or what here even is, I just knew," the other set of thoughts replied, "I think I feel something, like we are in something that is touching other things."

The very notion of something else beyond that warmth and darkness intrigued the girl, "We have to find out more about them, about us too. What is this thing we are in that we feel these things through?"

"I don't know, it's like we are in something and they are in their things that are inside something else. It is dark though, I cannot see them," without warning the warmth around them started to change and the vessel they were in felt as though something else were pressing and quaking against it, "What's happening? Everyone else is panicking."

The last statement struck her as even more odd than before, "Everyone else? Are there others in this thing that holds us and how do you know what they are feeling?"

"I don't know, they aren't in our thing, but they are in the same thing that holds our thing. I just know how they feel for some reason,"_the other voice was growing frantic as the pressure on their tiny world was growing and a new sensation came into their awareness, _"It hurts! The thing is squeezing us too tight!"

The other girl was right, the pressure was way too tight but she failed to notice the other sensation, "Owie! Hey wait a moment, we seem to be.. to be.. moving? Yes, it's moving us somewhere!"

The fleshy tunnel, yes flesh was the word for the material around them, continued to squeeze and contract on their vessel as it pushed them down the tight compressing passage. The whole ordeal was painful and frightening to the girl, but something told her that it was a necessary event if they wished to expand their levels of awareness and sensation. The very idea of learning more about herself, about the other mind in her body, yes, the body was the thing that held them. No, it was not holding them, it was them; the body they were in was their body, the very link they had to the outside world and the very thing that kept them existing, kept them alive. The body was the part of them that felt the warmth and the pain of the tunnel as it continued to press and squeeze them out of the warm darkness that had once held them safe and sustained them. They were heading toward the great unknown beyond that safe place which both excited and terrified the girl. That unknown was what made her eager to escape their safe world of warm darkness, the limitless possibilities were hers to seize and experience as only a fresh young mind could. The other consciousness in her body didn't seem to be excited by the possibility of learning so many new things as the outside world promised. No, she was only frightened of leaving their warm safe home that had been their entire world for all their short time of awareness. The girl tried to comfort her sister, yes that word felt right for the other thoughts in her head, with a strange mental warmth she could produce for her.

The passage grew so impossibly tight around them for a moment before the warmth and darkness was replaced by intense brightness and cold all around them. She could feel something holding their body and move them elsewhere before they were plunged into a warm liquid that was half as deep as their body. Those soft things that had held them began to spread that liquid over the upper portions of their body and wash away the oddly scented coating on their body. Scent, the first new sense of the outside world, it was amazing to the small gryphlet. Scent was quickly set aside as her favorite sense as her eyes finally adjusted to the bright light surrounding her and sight came into existence for the pair of minds in the single body. First there were blurry shapes, then the color came to those shapes, those shapes started to become sharper and much more clear. There was a face looking down at them, a black muzzle laying beneath two beautiful blue eyes with red fur covering the rest of the head where two triangular ears were tipped with black as well. Words started to flow through their shared mind to try and put a name to the creature that held and stared at them. Fox, that was the word, this creature was a fox and it appeared to be a female, the opposite of a male, something was telling her that they were female as well.

"Oh, look at you! So precious with those black and white patches and those eyes," the vixen nearly squealed with excitement, "It's so strange, all the rest of the gryphlets are white with black or black with white, but this little girl is black and white. Very odd how she has both eye colors too. Oh, I wish I could take her home with me instead!"

_"Who is she? Is she our mother, you should ask her if she's our mother,"_her sister's voice chimed in her head as she came to realize that she was the one controlling the body.

Their tiny beak opened as she tried to talk to ask the question, but all she managed was a pathetic squeak that drew an amused giggle from the vixen. The gryphlet squirmed with frustration, flexing her white wings as she tried to move the correct muscles to control her beak.

"What are you doing? Talk already, we should be able to," the other mind wailed.

The gryphlet growled at her sister in her head, "Shut up, it's not as easy as it looks. We haven't learned how to do it yet dummy."

_"Well learn it, if you're so smart,"_the other girl spat back.

The girl in control focused her mind on controlling her beak and tongue for another attempt, "M-mommy?"

"Oh heavens no, your mother is still giving birth," the kind looking vixen turned and showed them a tigress with a rather bloated belly laying in a nest of pillows and cushions to keep her sat up with her legs spread, "See? You have a lot more sisters for her to bring into this world. Oh, but you are so unique and adorable!"

Both the gryphlet and the sister in her head stared with wonder at the tigress, her oranges were pale and her head was lacking the long hair of the vixen. The tigress' scalp was covered in short fur instead, much like the rest of her nude form. She was built rather slim, making the bloated belly look like a gargantuan growth on her body as a female feline of some sort raised another newborn from between the tigress' legs. The black furred feline carried what looked to be a silver reptile of some sort to a fresh wash basin to clean her off. The vulpine carried the girl and her internal sister over to the laboring tigress.

"Lady Emiria, this little one asked about you," the vixen smiled brightly as she settled the girl on the tigress nude chest, between her small breasts, "I thought you might want to see such a bright and curious little one, as you can see she looks quite different than the others."

The tigress huffed with her efforts, even as she focused so she could open her ice blue eyes to smile at the little one, "Hello my sweet little girl. Welcome to the world and welcome to our little island sanctuary of Taravan. You will find this place to be so very free and safe from any woes that the other worlds may experience. Here, with me, you will be protected by the guardian spirit of our island, and the guardian dragons. There is no reason to ever be afraid, for no one will ever make you do anything you do not wish to. You will know nothing but joy and love here."

The two girls both felt a warm wash of excitement well up inside of them at those wonderful words that they some how knew meant only good things. Something inside of the girl that controlled their body made her try again to move their beak and form the thoughts she wanted to project to the tigress, "Yo..y..you a-are us.. u.. our mommy?" She felt very accomplished with her question and a bit ashamed at the difficulty with which she had forcing it out of their beak.

"Why yes I am indeed your mother, little one, and you are my beautiful daughter," the tigress smiled with an expression that the girl could only guess was a mixture of love and something she knew to be called pride.

_"We have a really pretty mother, if she wasn't all full of babies to make her look so fat,"_her internal sister chimed in.

The girl gave a mental sigh, "We just met our mother and the first thing you think about is her looks? This is going to be a very hard existence with you in my head."

The hidden sister was about to make a retort but the tigress spoke again, "Such a pretty little bird needs a pretty name. How about Reana?"

"It's so pretty, is that name mine? Am I Reana, or is my sister Reana?" the tiny gryphlet seemed confused for a moment, as did the other voice inside of her.

Their mother looked at them with a bit of a perplexed expression before her loving smile returned, "Well, you, out here, will be Reana. We will call your sister in here," the tigress touched the girl's feathered head, "Will be called Linda. How does that sound?"

"My name is prettier than yours," Linda sang out in their head with the most irritatingly mocking voice.

Reana sighed softly, "She likes her name, even though mine is more lovely and sophisticated."

"Why do you even know that word when I don't?" the other girl demanded to know with a voice laden with accusation.

The outer girl gave a mental growl, "I don't know why I know it, I just do okay? Why do we know any words before we technically should have not learned any sort of language yet?."

_"Great, I get stuck in my sister's body and it has to be the nerdy sister,"_Linda huffed as best she could.

Reana ignored the remark and smiled at her birth mother, "What happens now that we are born? Do we go to a big house or some kind of school or something?"

"Well, you will have to stay around your sisters while I finish giving birth to the rest of them. There are quite a lot of them waiting for you to join them. Every one of you will go through some training, then you will get new families of your own to live with. I might have to keep you close to me though, since you are so different from your other siblings. It should be that way, so we will need to see what is going on that made you so different. Ester, please take little Reana and Linda over to the others. I think we have another dragon coming and Mister Shieldra has arrived, clean this next one and get her to him quickly so she opens her eyes to see him first."

The vixen nodded quickly and gathered the girl in her arms as the tigress began to push once more, "Yes Mistress. Come now little Reana, we shall go see the rest of your siblings while the Mistress and I tend to the newest arrival."

The girl tried to squirm and look over the vixen's shoulder as she carried her to a large area hemmed in by a short bit of fencing. In this area were dozens of other girls of at least a half dozen species, although most were not like her at all. Most of them walked on two legs and were anthro? That was the word rolling about in her head, but she wasn't quite sure the true meaning of it other than it meant the other girls of the other species; Fox, feline, rabbit, and even pachyderm, all walked on two legs instead of four like the other gryphon girls around. The other gryphon girls were different too, either being black with white markings, or being white with black markings. Those markings were all the same on both sets, just reversed in color. The black ones had a white tail tuft with white wing bands, three on the longer feathers, and white tear traces running down their cheeks. It was the same for the white ones, only their markings were black. Only the one girl with her sister stuck in her head was the odd patchwork of black and white that almost resembled an orca, or a terrible flesh golem made from parts of the other two types. Despite her efforts, Reana could not catch a glimpse of the new arrival.

"Did you see him?" Linda asked hopefully inside her sister's head, "Is he cute?"

Reana gave a sigh at her internal sister, "You see everything I do, we share eyes. If you didn't see him, I didn't either. Besides, what does it matter if he was cute?"

"I don't know, it just seems important that he is cute, I don't know why," Linda huffed her reply, "What do we do now?"

Reana commanded their body to turn around and look at the other girls for a moment before giving a mental shrug, "We meet our sisters and start to settle in I guess."

* * *

The air was warm inside the large formal house that was both home and office to the large brown gryphon that paced nervously back and forth across the main walk way of the living room. His deep brown coat nearly blended into the dark stained wood panel walls. In contrast, his company stood out like one big blue violet and white beacon sprawled out on the oddly long sofa. His feathered tail tuft flicked with a little annoyance at the larger gryphon's nervous pacing.

"Damn, Big bird, you look as jittery as a wet winged recruit charging into one of your battles. It'll be okay man, just relax already," Vertigo huffed as he relaxed on his friend's sofa.

The huge gryphon gave a bit of a sigh, "I can't help it Vert, everything is about to change. I used to be free to do as I will to seek a mate, I even thought I would have found one by now. I failed to do so and I have a little girl coming home today. What kind of family life can this be for her with a father that is always off getting torn to ribbons to protect the realms from the scum that crawls out from every rock and crevasse. Always wondering if her only parent will come home this time."

"Oh shut up. You ain't alone, you have your mothers. Agrok and Tensaih would make some pretty kick ass grandmothers. They could easily take care of her when you can't be home, and they are each a dragon and a gryphon so what ever you bring home will find a match in them," the purple bird pointed out.

Raust stared at his old friend with a bit of a shocked expression, "What the hell is going on that you become the voice of reason?"

"You shoved your head up your ass," Vertigo replied without a second to think of his answer, "You went and did this before you were really ready for it, you have time before you are starting to be too old for a family. You had plenty of time to go out and play the field, mount some hens until you found one that fit right. Hell, you could have taken my advice and mounted some males and likely had a better chance of finding a good fit, but no."

The larger gryphon stared at his friend with a rather dry and unamused expression, "I'm not turned on by males."

"We'll talk about your other stupidity later, shut up and listen," The alien gryphon waved a foreclaw at the Titanian male, "Now, instead of planning this out like you do everything else, you acted like me and impulsively made this weird ass deal. Your dragon and gryphon seed donated to add more females to the island in exchange for one of the resulting daughters to raise yourself. I know what they do there, and I couldn't allow my seed to go there. But you were so hard up to be a father, you just went for it. Now you are going to be a single father who is off fighting a war most of the time. That, big bird, is where you became a dumbass and I had to take over as the smart one. Now, stop having second thoughts, it's too late for them now. There's a little girl about to come into this world to meet her daddy and see her new home, you owe it to her to stop doubting yourself and start being the man you usually are so you can be the best dad she could ever dream of."

Raust took a deep breath and stared at his foreclaws for a moment, "You're right Vert. I do need to suck it up and just do what I have to for this precious little gem I am about to receive. You sticking around to meet her?"

"Nah, you won't put out so I have a date, I'll stop by tomorrow. I'll stick around for those cookies Trixie is making though. Get going, you have shit to do," Vertigo waved him off with a wing as he slipped lazily off the couch to stalk the kitchen doors.

The huge brown gryphon shook his head and chuckled, "Well, here goes nothing."

* * *

Zessaiya Kaltier slipped through the shadows with ease, they were her element after all. Her lean body moved with such grace as to seem like fluid flowing over the brush as the humanoid phoenix stalked closer to the camp where her prey awaited her arrival. The only hard part of her travel was keeping her breasts from disturbing the brush. Her black feathers mingled well with her blue clothing which fit her more like markings over her breasts down under her loin cloth. The colors blending in more naturally with the hues of the night. Her dark vest covered much of her white belly so it didn't stand out like a beacon. As the shadow phoenix drew near her target, she reached out with that divine connection to the shadows to draw them in around her path. Some would have mistaken the abilities of her kind as magic, but those two forces were clearly very different things. Although the hen did have control over both, she rarely ever blended them. Her divine gifts were rather sacred to herself and her people, and to respect her culture and heritage, she had only ever cast shadow based magics to pass her classes back at Central Arcane Academy.

Zessaiya paused for a moment as she came within ear shot of the camp ahead. Something wasn't right, there were no sounds or the boasts of over confident brigands who thought they had lured in an unsuspecting maiden. They hadn't detected her, her arcane senses showed no detection spells about. The phoenix risked an extension of her senses into the camp to test for the souls of the living. The necromantic scrying revealed something she had never expected. Not only was there just a single soul out of the three she had arranged to meet, that single soul was one she knew very well. With a heavy sigh she broke her cover and used her shadow abilities to force the brush aside in an aisle for her to storm directly into the camp to assess exactly what the gryphon had done. Even as she stabbed him to death with the daggers her eyes imagined, she couldn't help but feel a familiar warmth in her belly at the sight of the great bird.

"You big sexy moron! I needed those fiends alive, this was a job! Not some pleasure trip to feed my supply of souls," she spat at the huge brown gryphon.

Raust only arched a brow at the phoenix as his tail tip flicked about slowly in his idle state, "They are still very fresh, and I am certain their souls have not been collected yet."

Zessaiya paused in her march up to the bird to look about at the bodies. They didn't seem to have any marks upon them. She knelt down next to the closest of the leather armored human corpses to examine it closely. The muscles had not yet stiffened with the onset of rigor mortise and sure enough there were no wounds or injuries of any kind on him. Her eyes shifted back to the gryphon with a suspicious glare, "How did you kill them?"

Raust smiled warmly at the hen as he produced a small metal case, which he opened to reveal three small crystal darts secured inside. The tips of those darts were ethereal, proving them to be arcane in nature, "A little something I picked up from Shadow. They are usually white, but they are charged with the souls of these poor saps so they show that pink color. I'm pretty sure you can identify who belongs where."

"I already know you wouldn't go to these lengths just to say hi, so what do you want paladin?" Zessaiya asked ask she looked over the odd devices. She could feel the souls struggling inside against their crystalline prisons. Something about that made her smile with a sadistic glee.

The gryphon gave a soft sigh, "Well, today is the day I go to pick up my daughter. I just felt the need to stop in and check with the closest of my friends and make sure I'm doing the right thing in this."

"I certainly hope you are speaking to more than just myself in this matter. I don't exactly feel that my views on life and social behaviors are properly stable for child rearing. And there is the whole necromancy thing as well," almost as if to prove her point, the phoenix began to strip her clothing to prepare for the spell work ahead that would restore the souls of the men and turn them into obedient puppets. To an outsider the scene would look odd, but the gryphon knew well why she was stripping down. Her species all gained a sensory ability tied to arcane spell casting if they developed a mage gift along side their divine elemental abilities. Zessaiya herself was cursed with extreme textile sensation. She would become so acutely aware of any clothing of any type on her body when she did fine tuned spell work to such an extreme degree that she would become too distracted to work.

Raust watched her with a bit more than a passive eye, although he made no mention of interest, she could feel his eyes as he spoke, "Well, I talked to Vertigo about it, as well as Shadow. I seemed to get two very different responses."

"Well, don't just sit there and stare at my ass, tell me what they had to say about the whole situation," The phoenix chided almost absently as worked her spells to transfer the souls back into their bodies, at least she thought it was the right bodies, she really had no care as it would work well for her employer either way.

The gryphon chuckled softly as he shook his head at the lovely mage, "Quit wiggling it about and it won't distract me so easily. Now, what Vertigo had to say was mostly that I should give up the wicked games of females and start seeing him instead. Shadow seems to think I may have been a touch hasty in making this decision before I had a real prospect for a mother for the little one to be adopted by, but I am as ready as can be to be a father. She went on to point out how I did this for love and for the Kehtzialan race. Despite being a single parent, my daughter is likely to know a better life than most with two parents would ever dream of."

"Vertigo can keep dreaming, I have dibs if you change from a paladin to anything less pure," she gave a snort at that while she worked, "I would listen to Shadow, if I had a dad like you. I probably would have ended up as your wife and reaping the sweet, sweet benefits. But, you have a lot of love to give and more than the financial means to make sure she never knows hunger. You have a lot to teach her too. Whether or not it was the right decision to do this and allow her to be born into a life with no mother is now irrelevant, you did it and now she needs you. As much as I don't want kids, I have to warn you not to fuck this up else I will be around to kick your ass."

The gryphon nodded to that as he sat quietly for a moment, "I know you wouldn't want to come with me to pick her up, but I would be pleased if you would come over tonight and meet her. You are an important figure in my life after all."

"What," Zessaiya nearly chirped the question in surprise, which only served to irritate her as she hated making any bird like noises. She stood and turned quickly to stare at the gryphon in disbelief, "You want me, the necromancer who's second strongest school is sexual magic, to come meet your newborn daughter? Raust, I am the embodiment of sex and death. I am everything that would traumatize a child and everything you should want to keep away from her."

The broadwing nodded to the dark hen slowly, "I don't think for a second that you will show her anything frightening or traumatizing, she is my daughter after all and I know and trust you to take care for and of her."

"I'm not making any promises on coming or not, I have to think about it," The phoenix rest her hands on her hips as she eyed the gryphon, "Will she be sleeping with you tonight?"

Raust shook his head, "No, we will spend some bonding time, but I want her to get used to her own room before I start letting her come curl up with me."

"Okay then, if I do manage to come see you both, after she goes to bed, as many times as you can give me. Deal?" She shifted to turn away from him and look back over her three new warm zombies.

The gryphon gave a nod as he got to his feet, "I think I can handle that. In the mean time, I need to get going. Good luck with your deal."

He didn't wait for her reply, so the phoenix let the arcane flows connect their thoughts for a moment as she bent over to a bit more suggestively than was necessary, to both examine the function of her nearest servant and to give the gryphon quite the view, "Good luck flying with that."

She let the link linger for what ever retort he might have, thinking it would amuse her to hear his attempt, "You realize I am going to Teravan right? It will be a chore to keep the ladies there from trying to tend that for me. If I don't fancy one enough to let them."

Zessaiya realized her folly as her eyes widened_, "I made it damnit! It's mine!"_ The Phoenix huffed to herself as she watched him go. She knew she had no choice but to show up and see if his scent held any other but that of his new daughter. Bastard used her own teasing to bait his hook and she swallowed it so readily. A slight shake of her head dispelled the thoughts of her missing out on her deal, she knew him too well to think he would shuck his fatherly duties for a random slut, no matter how pretty she may be. Still.. she just had to be sure.

* * *

The water spiraled around the drain in the bottom of the marble bath tub. The flows of arcane power wrapped around the lean frame of the gryph who stepped out of that tub. The spell combed through her snow white feathers to pull every drop of water from her body and leave both her feathered top and furred hips and legs completely dry. The avian moved to the marble counter to stare at herself in the mirror. Her vibrant blue eyes held a tinge of emotion she didn't particularly like. The warmth and gentle serenity she always portrayed in her eyes was tainted with a tinge of jealousy. That was a dangerous emotion for one who held as much arcane power and knowledge as she.

Shadow Kreitz, the pinnacle of arcane power and knowledge, felt that jealousy for the gryphon that had left her home before her shower. It was no secret that she loved the bird, but she was content to see him happy even with others as they realized long ago they just couldn't work with their limited time. She never expected the hurt and the jealousy in her heart at hearing that he was having a child, even if it was with someone he was not going to ever be mated to. Oddly enough, the mage was not jealous in the manner she would have expected. She would have to do something drastic to bring herself back under a controlled balance.

The gryph gave a sigh as she turned her blue eyes from her reflection to walk toward her bathroom door that lead her to her hallway. From there it was a simple turn to her left to head into her bedroom down the short and narrow hallway. The door stood open as always, she really had no use for the door to begin with since she lived alone and invasion of the head master's apartment was impossible. The apartment was nestled in the top of the tallest tower of the grand academy with no doors or physical windows leading to anywhere save her bathing room and bed chambers. The only way in or out was by gate and even those were warded against with the exception of those she set the wards to allow. To that point in her life, only one being had access to her home other than herself. Something about that fact made her black carpet seem so much more empty and helped to intensify the loneliness that triggered her jealousy. Her tail tuft swayed as she swept gracefully into her bedroom to seek her closet on the far side of her bed. The shock of her white form against the stone walls and the black carpet always caught her eye in the mirror over her dresser. A moving white body among the still white islands of her sparse furnishings.

The gryph stepped inside the walk in closet to look through her garments for what she would need for the evening. Most of her clothing was the same type of white robe that she would wear every day. They simply would not do for what she needed, instead her pale pink hand brushed those hangers aside until she found what she was after. The garment seldom found itself about her body, but when it did it certainly drew the eyes of nearly everyone in whatever room she entered. It was created to be revealing, and yet tastefully modest in what it covered. The soft silk was reinforced around the bosom to cup and offer her faux breasts to the world beneath the shielding fabric that stood above the main body of the garment like small gentle peaks. The middle wrapped tight about her belly to show off that lean frame while also letting her wings rest free of any binding fabric. The garment was one solid piece as that mid section fell into a high cut bikini bottom with a standard bikini back. She liked that more than the thong style for the balance of modesty and advertisement of the body. Pulling the garment onto her body took a bit of work as she had to slip her tail through the provided hole and fasten the buttons above the top of her wing joints to keep the garment firmly on her body.

Once she was clad in her specific garment, the gryph stepped out of her closet, giving herself another glance in the mirror directly across the room. Being white, the garment blended into her coat to make her appear nude on a quick glance. This brought eyes back to her when she wanted them upon her, perfect for what she needed. It was time for her to go and find both physical gratification and the humbling experience of surrendering control to another being with no power at all. The first helped her to ward off the feelings of being so flawed that she could not be a proper mate to another and the latter helped her bring her emotions back under control as it served to remind herself that she was mortal as well and could cope like any other being. With a soft sigh she moved to the head of her bed to take her smooth pearl shafted staff in her right hand. That staff was always by her side with the exception of her bathing time, though it held no power it was just as important to her as her own energies. The feather trailing from the white panted leather thong belonged to her step grandmother, the female gryphal mage that had taught her the very strong foundation of her arcane education. It would not do to be seen carrying the staff on such a venture so she let her energies flow and weave to the spells that converted the staff smoothly into a white silk sash that she tied about her waist.

Shadow gave herself a nod in the mirror before she cast her punch gate with such a smooth and subtle 'hand' that hardly a ripple disturbed the normal flows of the arcane energies around her. She let herself feel satisfied, but she did not let that grow into the more dangerous pride. The gryph stepped through her gate into the dark alcove next to the building she wished to enter. The odd bar on the planet Eiranis was of just the sort of reputation for her search to bear fruit. It was one of those private affairs, with no rules on modesty or sexual shame. It drew a reputation that drew in more dominant personalities with such things on their minds. She paused for a deep breath before stepping out into the street to make her way to the front doors of the bar. The front of the building was fairly common for twenty first century earth architecture, which was the state of the local technology. The glass door on the standard spring hinge lead to a small hallway with an identical door at the other end, both of which were tinted to be too dark to see through from the outside. There was good reason for that as the more amorous reputation of the place was well earned. Upon entering the establishment with it's low light and heavy scent of tobacco mixed with liquor, she was treated to the sight of nudity and even foreplay in the farthest booths. She paid no attention to that fact as she made her way to an empty table to settle down and examine the patrons around her. There were several species present in the bar that night, which was mildly surprising to the hen as most worlds at that particular level of technological and social advancement tended to be dominated by one species in any given area. The humans at the bar spared her an admiring glance, but the two men didn't seem interested enough to approach her. There was a jaguar near the booths where the two deer were nearing the true act of intercourse in their heated contact with one another, his stares were intense, but he didn't make a move toward her either. The female wolf near the entrance appeared to be rather interested with the roving patter of her eyes as they drank in the form of the pure white avian. She could have made an interesting partner, but something about her cliche appearance in her red flannel and ripped blue jeans. Shadow was positive she would refuse the disheveled falcon that was already rubbing himself as he stared at her. She came to humble herself, but that did not mean she wouldn't be selective about who she shared her body with. That particularly intoxicated individual was beyond her generous standards.

Much to her dismay, the foppish raptor stood and began to stumble his way toward her table. Shadow couldn't help but groan silently in the back of her throat even as she maintained her constant serene little smile. Just as the male rested his hands on her table and breathed his foul alcohol tainted breath in her face, the door opened to reveal another hen on the prowl, though this one was very different. The barn owl walked into the bar with such a confident, almost cocky stride that matched her near smirking smile. Golden yellow feathers made her easy to notice even with the light tan trench coat that rested open on her arms and shoulders. It was clearly there to preserve public modesty as she traveled to that social gathering place to find her prey, as the flashes of her white torso feathers that peaked through her over coat were broken up by the black leather corset and black bikini bottoms that awaited their release into the public eye. Her blue eyes connected with those of the gryph who was enduring the presence of the foul falcon to be polite, though it was clear she was not pleased with his presence. The new owl turned toward the table with purpose, causing her ample bosom to shake ever so slightly with each step until she was within range.

Once she reached the table, the owl placed her rather avian foot against the falcon's chest and shoved him back to land on his rump, "Lance, I told you when you tried to get in my pants that pretty birds are not for drunken cocks like you. She clearly doesn't want you around so get lost."

"Hea..danit Oro," Lance managed to slur out at the owl, "Thi one ain.. yers.. an' shes a bird like me, a sexy sexy bird... I gotta have her."

Oro narrowed her eyes at the falcon and firmly planted a chair between him and the white gryph, "This one belongs to me now, so go jack off in the bathroom or something to calm down. I don't ever want to hear of you bothering my pretty little hen again. Or mistress is going to have to show you what happens to those who harass her pets."

The drunken avian grumbled as he stumbled off toward the rear of the establishment, quite possibly to do as he was told. "Thank you, his aroma and lack luster advances were getting to be quite the test of my ability to tolerate hardship. I am uncertain how I feel about your proclamation of my status as your pet however, miss..?"

"Oro, but you call me mistress," the owl slipped off her trench coat, which was quickly caught and taken to be hung behind the bar by the male doberman that was serving the booths and tables, "Tonight you are my pet, or Lance will be back. Besides, you are obviously here to find some one to take charge and I just did. You may rest assured that there is no expectation of a prolonged ownership. Your body language betrays your disinterest in such."

The gryph arched her brow as she looked over the toned and fit frame of the dominant female before her. She was indeed a stark contrast to the vyrekai even if their outfits were quite similar. Oro was clad in shiny black leather that presented her figure and thrust her breasts to the eye of those who gazed upon her with an almost intimidating presence. Shadow's outfit made more of a coy and modest presentation of her form and features with the polar opposite white color and soft silk, "I see, you are correct to assume I wish no long term engagements with those I may meet this night. I am to wonder what makes you think I am seeking to have one express dominance over me?"

"The outfit screams sexual tension that needs release and brandishes about modesty at the same time. You're not a slut, but you have needs and they are too great to ignore. You were attempting to be polite to Lance instead of putting his filthy feathers on the floor like he needed. It wasn't out of fear, I didn't see an ounce of it in your eyes which says he was not a real threat to you at all." Oro gave a bit of a smirk as she leaned her elbow on the table to rest her cheek against her palm, closing distance between the pair, "You can handle yourself obviously, so that means you didn't want to present any sort of dominant face to the potential suitors all over the room. You, pretty little falcon angel, are looking for a master or a mistress for the evening."

Shadow was impressed by the shrewd observations, this was not a dull mind that only knew of sexual conduct and social posturing. The gryph did have a preference for males, however she was not at all displeased with an attractive female such as the one before her. Something caught her eye in the feathers along that arm though, there was a barely visible line of clipped feathers that was cropped flush with the rest of her coat. The owl was lacking wings because her particular species had evolved their wings back into arms when they became humanoid in form. She couldn't help the deepening of her smile as her eyes stayed firmly on those of the owl to let unspoken words of offering and acceptance flow between the two pairs of blue eyes, "I concede, I have come to sate my long neglected physical needs whilst I also tend to the need to have myself humbled lest I lose my tight control over my heart and mind."

"Good girl," Oro grinned quite deeply at her new temporary acquisition, "We start now. Mistress wants as perfect a performance as the body her birdy has to offer her. That means you must share and shed your burden with me now. Prove your obedience and trust to me before I trust you to serve me. As long as your heart carries that weight, you wont be fully into our pleasurable dance."

The white avian could only stare at her for a moment, not prepared for a demand so early, nor one of such a nature. Her mind struggled between the desire to sate herself with such a perfect partner and the instinctual protection of her deepest personal thoughts and feelings. After a few minutes of hesitation she gave a sigh and showed her first signs of trust in letting her smile fade, "I will share, Or- Mistress, But what I must say is not for the ears of those around us. There are secrets your people as a whole are not to know that are involved in my burden."

"Don't worry Angel, mistress Oro is more than willing to protect her pets. Jeffery, I need your back room for a private interview. That means private from you and yours as well," the owl called out to the bartender with a hard stare.

The heavy set feline gave a nod and waved them over. As both Oro and Shadow raised to their feet to head for the bar the orange tabby turned and pulled in a section of shelving behind him to reveal the hidden door to his store room. The owl lead her gryph pet toward the door and into that hidden store room filled with crates and barrels of various forms of alcoholic beverage. Oro herself took a seat on a barrel at the far end of the store room with one leg crossed. Her eyes looked darker and more commanding in the dim light of the bare bulb over head, "I want to see what you look like in a crouch so come crouch and rub your mistress' feet while you tell her what she needs to know. Beginning with your name."

"Yes mistress," The quick response and use of title surprised Shadow as she crouched on the balls of her paw like plantigrade feet. The angle of her crouch naturally gave a sultry pose as she was forced to balance with her legs parted. She took up the mostly avian foot of her temporary mistress and began to work her slender fingers over the scaly skin to massage them as best she could manage, "My name is Shadow Kreitz and the reason I need to be humbled is that I am a rather powerful magic user. A mage of the highest rank known as a Vyrekai. With such awesome power at my beck and call, I must keep my heart and mind under tight control else I can easily become cold and arrogant with such control over the world around me."

Oro only smirked at that as her pet worked on telling her what she demanded to know and her feet, "So you control god like power and wish to avoid a god complex. I can't say I have much belief in magic, but something is making you maintain this control over yourself so I will not question that. Even if you can show me, there are likely rules in place keeping it from the eyes of peoples that do not have access to such gifts. So tell me, what has you so off balance that you need me to help you remember you are mortal and subject to mortal hungers and whims?"

"There is a male, one I love very dearly, the one to whom my heart does belong. We can never be together, though I know from his own heart and beak that he loves me just the same. But I hold many high ranking position that would be a life consuming career each on their own and he runs a mercenary guild of such size and strength that he has been unofficially dubbed the landless king by the peoples of several worlds. So we would never see one another to maintain any relationship," Shadow's eyes drifted down toward the foot in her hands as she felt that familiar pang of loneliness that haunted her after the parting she revealed.

The owl's head tilted with interest as she let a small hum of pleasure from both her foot massage and of her curiosity, "So you have been thinking of your unattainable love and need to be reminded that life sees no one as the deserving princess? Or perhaps your loins burn too hotly for his touch despite his busy status and you felt a twinge of anger at him for not tossing it all aside to take you in his arms? Tell me pet, what it is this boy doing to trouble you so that mistress must fix you."

"He did something that I wanted with him more than anything else in life. Something I could not even if I were his wife," Shadow shook her head gently as she fought the urge to clam up again, knowing that she needed to let these things out and that this seemingly non-judgmental stranger had a most wonderful reward for her if she did.

Oro slapped the barrel quite firmly to catch her pet's attention, "Don't look down, you show me your eyes and you share what you feel with me completely. I will not tolerate hiding of any sort. You're strong enough to be fearless, be strong enough to face this with me. I want a strong pet, not a sniveling coward quivering at my feet. If it makes you cry, I don't care, tough through it and prove your strength to me."

"He made a deal with a different friend to produce a vast litter of female children for her population to refresh their genetics. In this deal he gets to bring home one of these daughters to raise as his own. I got jealous of that," Shadow felt shame lance through her as her eyes welled up and threatened to drop tears of anger and sadness, those same eyes she held locked in the smiling gaze of her temporary mistress.

The owl smiled broadly and laughed softly, "The classic problem, his bun went in another's oven when it should have been hammered into yours with all your heated hungry tension. I can't imagine he could have found a more beautiful lady, but one with time to raise a child would seem more appealing I suppose. Don't worry, mistress will take good care of her sweet angelic kitty bird."

"You are wrong, mistress," The gryph held her gaze with a strong one of her own, "I wasn't jealous that he had them with another female, I am jealous of him for being able to have them. I hold so much power that it kills my eggs before they ever reach my womb. Despite his many brushes with such power and multiple massive physical injuries, he was left quite virile. Despite his potency, any seed he planted or will plant in my barren womb will never take root. I am jealous that he can and did have children when I cannot."

Oro's expression softened as she pulled her feet from her temporary pet's hands to slide off the barrel and take her in her arms to hold close. Shadow was confused by the change in gesture and demeanor. Most that she met that wished to control and dominate were rather unconcerned with the feelings of their partners, yet this owl was holding her in a caring embrace, "Easy now Angel, it isn't his fault and it isn't yours. You were given something else in place of the ability to spawn child after child. The fates didn't rob you, they protected you. You obviously have a very tender caring heart and you would tear yourself to pieces with guilt if you had a child you were forced to neglect with all the busy positions you say you hold. You would be no good to those that depend on you, as a professional, or as a mother. But fate has also given you the next best thing to your own daughter, a friend with a daughter who needs a mother figure. She will likely know you are not her mother, but you can easily be there when you can and offer her that place to turn when she really needs one. It sucks, but sometimes fate has to balance out the best it can. Like me, I found the perfect sexy hen to make my pet, but I had to show her a more loving side instead of what she wanted in the first place. Does this sour my prize? No, it makes you even more perfect, because you were that piece that filled that hard gap to match the best as it could be."

"I never thought I would find such a caring face in this seemingly seedy world of casual sex and domination," Shadow laughed softly as she held back to the owl, "I do hope this hasn't soiled the mood at all."

Oro pulled away to give her a wicked grin, "Not in the least, you are a very good girl, and you understand what you did and want to make amends. But you still need to be punished while also being rewarded. You will please me and you will be pleased in the process, but you will also do something after you leave here. This started temporary, but a good mistress takes care of her pets in every way. To do that, I can't just let you go and not return. You will come back to me, over and over again and you will tell me how that little girl is doing and how big she is growing. That way I know you made time to be in her life and at least enjoy being a quasi peripheral parent. Make sure his scent at the very least is upon you in our next session, Mistress is curious."

Shadow couldn't believe what she was hearing. This other hen was not just taking control of her sexual activity for the evening, she was presuming to take control of her life. She would have left if it had not been for the ache of her body to serve that beautiful dominant female, and the sound logic behind what she demanded of her. The only thing that was unsettling was the loss of temporary association and the demand that the role of 'pet' be in earnest. It took some thought, but all she could inevitably say to that sexy owl was, "Yes mistress."

"Good girl. Now then, we'll make use of you right here in this dank dirty room, that outfit needs to release my pet, immediately," Oro released her embrace and stood over the white avian with her hands on her hips.

The gryph kept her eyes up on her mistress as she reached behind her back to obediently unfasten the buttons above her wings. Her eyes went wide as she felt a small shard of crystal in her hands before she could tough the buttons. A look of painful remorse crossed her face as she slowly pulled the shard from behind her back to lay in the palm of her right hand. The glow made her heart sink even further as it was red, the color that marked an emergency.

"What the hell is that thing?" Her mistress asked with as much shock on her face as the gryph held.

Shadow sighed softly, "I am sorry mistress, but it is a communication gem that has found me. The red glow means it is an emergency, I cannot ignore this one." Without waiting for permission she let her energies flow gently to the gem to 'answer' the call.

_"Mistress Kreitz! It's the Tarsus capital! A massive arcane anomaly has appeared and is causing great damage to the city. We need your help!"_The message cut off before she could even identify the voice. That spoke volumes of the urgency behind the message. There truly was no choice, she had to tend to the crisis at hand.

"Damnation. Even the flows of magic themselves are rising up to keep me untended. Mistress I-" Shadow started to apologize but Oro cut her off with a finger on her beak.

"Go, people sound like they are in trouble. But the first chance you get, you come back and find me again. You will explain 'Mistress Kreitz' and I will have my truly magical birdy." the owl moved to the door and opened it to release her pet.

"Thank you Mistress," Shadow nodded and rushed along toward the door.

Behind her she could hear the exchange between her mistress and the barkeep, "So how did it go?"

"She has an emergency, but she belongs to mistress Oro now," the owl nearly purred.

Shadow didn't have time to think about any of that, she was needed and lives were at stake. She turned down the dark alley she had emerged from and cast her punch gate to leave that world and that universe so she could face the problem at hand.

* * *

Reana and Linda had spent some time talking with the other girls, although Linda's portion of the conversations were simply relayed through Reana as if she were holding the conversation instead. They seemed to be well liked by the elephant girl Sandra, the other gryphlets all seemed to be wary of them for some reason. Reana didn't seem to mind that though, as she was uncomfortable with being so different from her peers. Linda, on the other hand, was simply disturbed to no end that their feathery siblings wanted very little to do with them.

"What's their problem anyway? Are they afraid of the truth that we're better than they are?" Linda huffed in their head.

Reana did her best to hide her sigh at the sister in her head, "We are different and they are as young as we are. It bothers them a bit that we don't look like any of the other gryphons around here. They just don't know what to think. Give them a little understanding, like you want from them."

"Pshh, what ever. They can't even hear me anyway, you're the one who gets to talk with our body. They would never know if I was talking to or about them. So I don't see why I have to be nice. I can be that part of us that speaks the truth instead of saying what is socially acceptable," Linda huffed at her sister.

Reana had to pause and consider that small fact with the morality of her own conscience over letting her sister simply verbally brutalize everyone they met, "No, I can't just let you do that. It wouldn't be right and even though they wouldn't know, I would know. That is enough to make it feel wrong to me."

Linda was about to say something back when they heard their mother Emiria speaking to someone as she approached the little yard all the girls were mingling in, "Are you sure you can do this and not get attached? I don't want you showing up with all manner of emotional regrets. That would be hard on us both, not to mention the girls involved in this exchange."

"I can handle it. I already have my little girl to raise, the others are like cousins or something of the nature," A second voice, definitely male with those deep tones, "I just have to see what they look like, or it will forever haunt my mind."

The tigress gave a soft sigh as she came into sight, "Very well, here they all are. Some of the girls are from different fathers, but it is fairly simple to figure out which of them came from you. Girls! Some one would like to meet you, especially the silver dragons and the gryphlets."

"Who is it?" one of the humanoid cheetah girls spoke up. Her lovely brown eyes seemed to sparkle with wonder, making her look even more adorable than she had previously. Reana liked the look, Linda hated her instantly for being so cute.

"_That little dummy, it's sooo easy to tell it's our daddy! You should throw a rock at her spotty butt."_Linda huffed in their head as she tried to place them above the other girl in any way she could.

Reana felt a strong twinge of annoyance at her internal sister's insecurity, "We are not going to throw a rock at her because she's cuter than us. That would make us a sad bully and besides, being the cutest isn't all that important. Want to see this person that is supposed to be important to us and the dragon girls."

"I wonder if he's cute,is he cute? Can you tell?" Linda clamored about in their head like a frantic puppy trying to look over the edge of a tall fence.

Reana heaved a silent mental sigh, "We share our senses, you see what I see. If you can't see him yet then I can't see him yet."

No sooner had she issued her scolding reply, both Linda and Reana were rewarded with the sight of a towering feral gryphon. His feathers as dark brown as chocolate with striking golden amber eyes that caressed each little one with such a fatherly smile. Linda and Reana both felt a warmth inside like they had never known before as those eyes fell upon them with what could only be described as love and adoration. A look without judgment over their appearance in any way. Linda seemed to feel differently than Reana about that gaze, but they both wanted to stay under the warm caress of those amber eyes.

_"He's not cute, he's simply beautiful! I hope we get to see a lot of him!"_Linda practically sang out in their head.

Reana could only agree as a dream formed in the part of her mind that was not shared with Linda. She dreamed of settling in between those massive forelimbs in those soft feathers while those massive foreclaws, larger than their own body each, kept all the bad things away for fear of their terrible wrath. She wanted to wake up every day and see that handsome face look down upon her with pride. She wanted a family, something her own mind developed knowledge of with the opening base knowledge that they seemed to be gifted with. She wanted a mother and a father to love and to love them in return. Something she didn't think her internal sister thought about it at all. These thoughts must have shown in her outward expression as the big male looked over the children, because he reached down and scooped the twins sharing a body and held them up to his chest.

"Hey now, why do you look so sad little one? Miss Emiria is going to take wonderful care of you, and you will live so free and happy here on Taravan." His voice was deep, yet soft and soothing as a gentle crooning tune caressing the ears. There was a definite authority and strength behind it though, which spoke of a focused tenderness in how he addressed them.

Reana took a deep breath as she snuggled into the warm feathers of the massive male. It felt like the kind of embrace she could imagine a father giving to his daughter, which wasn't entirely inaccurate in the given situation, "Well, we have seen our mother but only we gryphons have seen our father. Given what we heard on the your way up here, you won't be seeing us again and the other girls will never see their fathers. So, we won't have families, just the bunch of us in a big group of children. There will be no daddy to read to us, or make the monsters in our rooms go away. No daddy to make the monsters who are real people go away, or to read us stories that make us feel like a pretty princess."

_"What the heck are you talking about? How do you know there won't be any of that stuff? He's right here dummy!"_Linda practically flailed about in their head as she cried out to her sister.

The big male nodded his head to the little one, "Well, you're right. You probably won't see me again after this day, other than perhaps in passing. But don't think you won't have a family to care for you like you described. You are all going to go with families that fit you well and make you happy while keeping you healthy. I talked with your mother at length about this before I helped her make the silver dragons and the gryphlets here. I never would have allowed myself to take part in this if I was not certain you would be happy and loved. If I could, I would take you all home and raise one giant family, but Miss Emiria would be rather cross if I took such a portion of the girls the island needs. Only one will be going with me, and I will meet her next. I just had to see what you all looked like and I must say that I am impressed with how lovely you all turned out. Yes, even you girls that didn't come from me."

Reana just nodded, although her heart felt like it would burst when her biological father squeezed her gently in a warm embrace, "Oh wow, that does feel nice! Reana? Hey Reana, don't let us cry!" It was no use, the tears escaped to roll down their cheeks.

The big male looked down at the little girl and wiped away her tears, "Hey now. Listen, would it make you feel better if I stayed and played with you all for a little bit before I moved on to pick up the one who will be my daughter?"

The girls all seemed to perk up and gather about his legs pleading with him to do so. Emiria gave the huge gryphon a bit of a cautious look before she shook her head, "Fine, you can stay and play for a little while. But no one is to get attached, you're not going to be able to visit again."

"It's settled then, we play for a little bit then I go and meet my daughter." the big male settled the little girl down before he stepped over the fence into the swarm of children. The girls all gave their own different squeals of excitement as they charged the large gryphon. The game was a massive pile of small bodies pouncing on and trying to pin down the large male as he shook them free and bowled them over with very gentle foreclaws. It was utter chaos, and yet somehow he seemed to keep Reana and her unseen sister at the forefront of the game. No matter what happened in the fray, they were always either on his shoulders or between his forelimbs. Reana couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to have their father there with them even for that brief moment. It was inevitable that the game would end and end it did. The huge broadwing took a pounce to his chest from one of the other gryphons and feigned a powerful blow that knocked him on his back to be swarmed by all their sisters.

"Oh no! They got me!" Raust laid back and let his tongue hang out his beak in his best performance as a corpse.

Emiria cleared her throat, "That's it, you broke your gryphon, we're not giving you a new one. Come along now, we need to collect what's left of him so his little girl can take him home and fix him."

There was a chorus of "Awww!" from the entire throng of little girls. The big male gryphon chuckled softly and handed out snuggles and nuzzles to a few of the girls, including Reana and Linda's shared cheek. Linda didn't say a word as Reana stood their body up on the little fence to watch the gryphon leave with their feline mother. Their tail hung so low that the tufted tip lay in the ground to get dusty. Deep in her own heart, Reana prayed that she would see him again. She hoped that one day she could also go home with him, because he felt right. He was their daddy, truly and honestly, and he already loved them all. Linda finally spoke up as they stayed on the fence long after the male had gone, "You love him already don't you?"

"How can I not? He honestly is our father and he already cares so much for us. He is everything I could want in a daddy. How can I ever accept any other after knowing what a kind and caring person our real father is?" Reana replied with a touch of a sad tone.

Linda gave the feeling of a nod as her voice rang out with certainty,"We'll see him again, I just know it, then we can ask him to take us home. I bet he will too, he seemed to really like us."

_"I hope so, truly I do,"_Reana let them sigh and rest their chin against the posts of the fence to watch time roll by with hope for the future her sister was so sure of.

* * *

Raust walked with the tigress with a bit of a smile at his beak, "Every last one of them were truly adorable. I am glad you made me choose ahead of time, I would be not be able to choose if I were to have to pick now."

"I wish you wouldn't have offered to play with them like that. There is the risk that some may have grown attached and wish to see you again. You know that can't happen and why," Emiria huffed a bit as they passed the town square. Things were tame for Taravan, only a few instances of nude people walking about while not one couple was in the midst of passion around them. Presumably his friend had made sure to make things as clear and clean as possible for the passage of himself and the daughter he would be taking home.

The gryphon flipped his wings, exchanging a quick smile with a lovely humanoid jaguar that seemed to drink in his form before he responded to the female he was walking beside, "Oh relax. They had a bit of real childhood fun for a little while. You know as well as I that they will never have that again. They didn't fall in love with me, they just know a big silly bird came and wrestled about with them. So this little one, is there anything unique about her that I should know? Any surprises like that cute little blotchy gryphon chick?"

"I am uncertain what is wrong with her, but she is unique out of all the births of this type that have ever occurred in Taravan history. She speaks of a sister in her head," Emiria seemed troubled by that fact as they continued on to the presidential mansion. Much like the very simple wood homes that lined the stone roads, the mansion itself was unpainted wood, showing a bit of the graying that comes with sun and rain exposure. The two story structure had many windows along each wall facing the outside world as privacy and modesty were no issue to the people of Taravan, "The little one we selected for you is equally as unique as Reana. She looks similar to all the little dragon girls, but she is not the same as she was legitimately a paternal twin. I had Nothing make sure that the spell work that caused the arcane multiplication. There are those similar to her, but not the same, so you will never have to think of the one you grew attached to as a daughter doing the things we do here."

Raust gave a nod with a soft sigh of relief he didn't know he would feel, "That is good news indeed. So very thoughtful of you. Thank you for that." As they walked up the steps to the mansion doors, the two female servants on duty opened them quickly. Both were nude as they seemed to favor the usual Taravan fashion. Both were very lovely, though they regarded him with different levels of interest. The red scaled humanoid dragoness eyed the strong frame of the gryphon with a warm and inviting smile. The white humanoid gryphoness held him with a much more hungry gaze. The tan markings on her wings fluttering as she fanned lightly to send her scent his way. Even after he and the tigress had passed, the big feral male could almost feel those eyes groping his hind quarters so firmly in her mind. She was quite beautiful to behold as well, if he were not on an errand to pick up his daughter, he would have been off on a break with her at that first smile. But his paternal instincts were very strong, and the thought never even danced across his mind as he knew his little girl was already waiting for him.

"There is one thing we could not help that sets her a small bit apart from what we seen as normal Kehtzialan development. Nothing had to help her speech centers develop to ensure that she grew to naturally speak Titanian common. So she talks as well as a slightly older child, but she is still as clueless to the world and everything in it as a new infant," Emiria paused just inside the main foyer of the mansion, where nothing more than a marble table graced the room.

Raust nodded slowly to that as he paused and waited for her to open the door on their left, "I had expected as much. But I must also ask, is she, you know, like other Taravan children?"

She had to pause as her hand gripped the knob firmly, if she had been human her knuckles would have been white, "You mean is she sexually mature. Yes, and that is not by connection to Nothing. No, the guardian spirit No-one did not interfere either. That was simply something we could not prevent by virtue of her being my daughter. It is simply in her blood."

"Well, that can't be helped then," The gryphon nodded slowly as he kept his eyes on the tigress, "Just let me know, does she have the urges as well? I mean, am I going to have to fend off advances from my own daughter and chase off pedophiles that may be around our borders?"

Emiria felt a bit of a sharp pain lance through her heart at his words. He didn't mean anything negative about her or her culture, but it still sent a hot blade through her none the less, "We made sure that part of her brain did not yet develop. She is as innocent to the world as any child born from your females. Fending off the local pedophiles may be a possibility, she is quite beautiful for such a little girl. I don't mean that for personal interest or vanity either. I don't believe I have seen such a beautiful scaled being in all my life."

Raust gave a bit of a nod, "She takes after her mother then, good. Wouldn't want her looking as terrible as I do."

"I would have to disagree, I would certainly think she got her looks from the dragon blood that created her. You know how my blood reacts in the augmented breeding we participated in," Emiria corrected the gryphon before she turned little smile back at him, "I do hope this doesn't mean we have to stop practicing for the event that has already passed."

The gryphon offered his old friend a warm smile, "Why would we stop? Granted my visits to Taravan would slow down significantly, but I don't think I would stop until I find a full time mate."

"As it should be, you have a daughter to raise now. Even our culture puts our children before pleasures of the flesh. I do think we've had enough pleasantries, your daughter is waiting for you Birdie," Emiria spoke with utter sincerity, the warm smile on her face being genuine at the news of the gryphon putting the child before all else. She knew in her heart that she would never have to wonder if this daughter was going to be loved and cared for like she should. As the gryphon nodded his agreement, the tigress turned the handle to push the door open to reveal the room lit by the sunlight filtering through the light curtains. The room was some sort of formal gathering room with several plush chairs with a Victorian style upholstery in dark stained wood and red velvet padding. Sitting on the sofa was a very confused and bored looking silver dragon. Her tiny glistening ears perked at the sound of the two adults entering the room. Her eyes were hopeful, but for what, the gryphon could not guess. The girl was simply adorable, being slim with only a slight bit of the normal baby fat to her little glistening belly. Her body was covered in smooth scales of the purest silver he had ever seen, making each one look like a newly polished coin. Her head and back lacked any sort of horn, frill, spike, or spine. The only thing was a very small ridge along her spine where the scales arched a bit like the top most shingle of a roof. Her young head was a bit large on her growing body, while her muzzle was a touch on the smaller dainty side for the species to make her sapphire blue eyes seem so large and expressive.

Raust smiled warmly at the tiny shimmering girl as he moved close to her, "Hello there, do you know who I am, little one?"

"No, I don't know who you are, I don't know who I am either!" her shimmering ears folded back as she seemed to be upset by that fact.

The gryphon smiled as he reached down to scoop up the silver girl, cupping her in a single foreclaw while the other covered her glistening wings. She was no longer than three feet, with two of those feet being her tail, "Well, precious little gem, I am your father and you'll be coming home with me to live and play and have as happy a life as I can give you. Does that sound good to you?"

"Really? I have a daddy now? Can we play games, or with toys? Can I have a name too," The girl rattled off her questions almost as one word as her huge blue eyes held on to the gryphon as though he were some divine creature worthy of her adoration.

Raust smiled warmly as he reached down to scoop up he little silver girl as she raised her little feral arms up to accept his hold as he brought her to his chest, "Hmm, yes, you do need a name then. Such a precious little gem should have a name just as beautiful as she is. Hmmm.. but not overly precious a gem to think she is too precious for the world, like a diamond. Not too mysterious or dark as a ruby or sapphire. Certainly not a beauty that demands other beautiful things to make it look so as an emerald does. No, this gem I hold here is far too precious for all that. You shall be a beautiful gem that is pretty enough to be recognized as beautiful, but quiet enough that those who truly see the real beauty inside will appreciate just how precious you are. You will be my little Amethyst. How does that sound?"

"My name is Amethyst? Wow, that's really pretty! Are you sure I can have that name?" Her sapphire eyes stared up at her father with a hopeful, yet troubled look. As though there might be some reason that she was not allowed to have such a pretty name.

Raust gave a soft chuckle as he stroked the girl's tiny silver head with a caring foreclaw, "I see no reason why you can't, it was my choice as to what name to give you, and I think that one fits just fine."

"He's right, it is a very pretty name for a very pretty little girl," Emiria smiled warmly to the little one and gave her wings a soft stroke. She was surprised to find them warm to the touch, since she knew the Kehtzialan dragons to be ice dragons.

Amethyst seemed to light up at that, even as her glistening ears folded back shyly, "Thank you miss. Daddy, do we live here or is there a whole new house that is just yours?"

"I get your meaning, Gem, We'll go home now. There are some people you'll likely see and even stay with when I have to be away with work. We'll get you settled int your room too," The gryphon chuckled softly as he shifted the girl to let her crawl onto his shoulder between his wing joints, "Emiria, thank you again for this marvelous opportunity to bring such a wonderful little angel into the realms."

The tigress smiled warmly at her friend and occasional lover, "Thank you for the chance to be a part of the process. Both for the fun of trying, and for these wonderful results. And thank you for coming to show us your beautiful light, little Amethyst."

The girl blushed and waved her goodbye from her father's back as Emiria watched on, feeling a little spark of pain in her heart. It was abnormal for her to feel such over the children she had for such a reason as she had shared with the gryphon. Perhaps it had to do with how vulnerable and dependent she was, or with the way the gryphon behaved about a lover and about the children as well. What ever it was, she felt for the first time like a foreign mother would watching her daughter leave to live a life she would never see. All the comfort she had was the knowledge that the girl would be loved and cared for. It would have to be enough.

* * *

Tira Milau landed lightly in the street outside the massive house that her good friend, the Lord and Master of the StarTalons mercenaries had built in anticipation of raising a family. The sight of the sleek and athletic taperwinged gryphoness caught more than a few glances from the locals, even as her softer built mate landed beside her. Both falcon based females walked side by side toward the gate that not only marked the edge of the property line, but the edge of Raust's mother's arcane shielding for their home. The cream colored hen turned her sky blue eyes up at the massive home as she and her light mocha colored mate paused at the gate to admire the structure. Clearly the guild master was determined to ensure that his family would never fear a lack of a home or for food to eat, even after his inevitable retirement and passing.

"Hard to think that if Raust ever were to accept our offer, we would be living here with him. As much as I love living in our quiet little cottage, the thought kind of makes me feel like a princess," Tilly Milau could scarcely contain her excitement at such a prospect. Her soft brown eyes dancing between her mate and the sprawling two story house. Tira glanced back at her lovely younger mate, letting her gaze dance over the dusting of brown along Tilly's spine before returning to take in the natural wood siding of the home designed to comfortably house no less than four generations of the Shieldra family.

Tira shook her head at herself as she reached out to open the gate, silently wondering why they had not elected to use the landing platform on the second floor, since the arcane protections were already tuned to welcome both her and Tilly, "I really don't like the idea of living in such a big house. I prefer the simple little home we have. But, I love the idea of catching that big brown bird for our own much more. We should leave him alone on that tonight though, we're here to meet and welcome his new daughter to her home and to this extended circle of his friends. Okay Tilly?"

"You don't have to remind me, you know how I get about children. I wont have time to think about such things, I'll be too busy spoiling the adorable little one," she gave the burgundy banded wing of her mate a bump with her own wing, which showed bands of pale caramel over her primaries. "We'll wait until we have him on alone time to convince him that we should stay together and make many more adorable little balls of fluff to love and raise together."

Tira nodded gently to her mate, "Who knows, maybe if we fit well with her, Raust will accept us as her mothers. That would probably end our stalemate."

"Tira!" Tilly barked her mate's name sharply as she turned to stare at her. "I love you with all I am, but don't you ever speak of any child like that, she is not leverage. We are going to be around her as much as we can and treat her like a momma would because she doesn't have one and needs some one to stand in. To teach her about being female and how to take care of herself while still loving and respecting those around her. Any lady in his life should do the same for her."

The gryphoness stopped dead in her tracks and flattened her ears, "Oh my, that is a very good point. What I suggested would have been exploiting her wouldn't it?"

"Yes, and that is something I wouldn't tolerate to a stranger's child, let alone the child of someone we care about so much as we do Raust. Our mate or not, he is as family." Tilly replied firmly to her mate.

Tira just smiled at her as they began to move again, this time right onto the covered porch of the large home, "Every time I learn something new about you, you just keep getting to be more and more beautiful." The elder hen sat back and raised a forepaw to knock on the door.

It did not take very long for the door to open and reveal the gape grinning beak of the big male in question, "Tira, Tilly! Please do come in, Amethyst is waiting to meet you both!" He stepped back inside to allow the two hens to pass. Something about how he towered over them always filled Tira with a bit of excitement. Perhaps it had to do with the size of the bird and what that meant in other activities they were well versed in.

"Thank you, we can't wait to meet the little darling. Tilly is practically bouncing with excitement!" Tira replied as she leaned up to give Raust a gentle loving nuzzle.

The huge broadwing chuckled softly as he returned those affections, "Well, she shares my enthusiasm for new life."

"You bet I do!" Tilly chimed in as she threw herself against the chest of the large male to wrap her forelimbs tightly around him in a human like embrace, "Oh where is she Raust? Please tell me she is awake and close by."

Raust smiled and returned that enthusiastic embrace with a touch more caution for his own strength, "Yes, and yes. Amethyst is right inside, waiting to meet the two of you. If you look, she's probably spying over the back of the couch."

Tira couldn't help but glance at the sofa out of curiosity only to find her friend and former mate to have been correct in his prediction. A tiny silver scaled head was craning over the back of the couch as the silver body stood up on the back to get a better view. The courier offered the girl a warm motherly smile and a gentle wave before she slipped inside the house to approach the girl, "Hello there beautiful little one. I'm Tira, a really close friend of your daddy's. Do you have a name you can give me?"

"I only have my name, I can't give it away! Then I wont have one!" The girl seemed confused and distressed at the notion of giving away her only name as though it were an object.

The taperwing laughed softly and moved closer to reach out and pick the poor girl up so she could hold her against her feathered chest, "Oh my goodness, I didn't mean that I was taking your name. No one can ever take your name, sweetling, giving your name means to tell some one what your name is. So, how about it, are you willing to give me your name now that you know what that means?"

"M-my name is.. A-Amethyst," the tiny silver managed to stutter out, "It is a pleasure to meet you misses Tira."

Tilly smiled warmly as she slipped up beside her mate to offer a gentle rub to the top of the little one's head, "Oh look at you! I wish I could be so pretty!"

"Am I really that pretty?" Amethyst asked with her tiny glistening ears laid back and a slight rosy tint beneath her scales to mark the edges with her blush.

Tilly nodded as she raised her forepaws up to transfer the girl to her forelimbs, "Just as pretty as your daddy is handsome."

"Oh jeeze, let's hope not. I actually want her to be my pretty little princes, not a tattered mass of scar tissue like me," Raust chuckled softly as he closed the door and joined the two ladies with his daughter.

Tira shot him a rather stern look, "Stop it! You will not degrade yourself like that in front of Amethyst! She thinks the world of you already, it wasn't hard to see that in the way she looked to you for permission and to keep her safe. What message does it tell her if her own hero hates himself like that? You don't have to be an arrogant ass who acts like he's better than everyone else, but take some pride in the one male who can show your daughter what a male should be like."

"Easy now Tira, it was just a joke. You know full well how I view myself," the gryphon tried to placate the lovely hen with a smile and a waving of his foreclaws.

Tira was having none of his playful banter with her concerns over Amethyst's developing self esteem, "It doesn't matter what you think about yourself, it's what you show her in how to treat herself by how you treat yourself. If you show her that you should never speak highly of yourself and hold yourself in high regard, then she will never see herself as anything positive. For heaven's sake, you can't just act like a soldier on the field anymore, you are a father with an impressionable little angel learning from you."

"You're right, Tira. I can't act like a big boy anymore, I have to be a man and show her what to expect from a male, and what to expect in herself," Raust and Tira both stared at one another in silence before Tilly broke that tense silence.

The younger hen moved right up and pressed Amethyst into her father's forelimbs to let both he and Tira see the distress in the girl, "It seems we all have some adjusting to do. Tira, as much as Raust shouldn't be so hard on himself, even in jest, you shouldn't be reaming him like that in front of Amethyst. That is her daddy and he is the world to her. It frightens her, any child, to see their daddy being yelled like he was a naughty child who just broke a priceless piece of art."

"I.. you're right Tilly. I let my emotions get away from me. I'm sorry everyone," Tira lowered her head as the shame of causing such distress in Amethyst struck her heart.

Raust was about to speak before Tilly collected Amethyst once more and spoke to her with a soft cooing tone to her voice, "Now you see, Amethyst? We have your first lesson; sometimes grown ups make mistakes too. They often mean well, like Tira just did, but other things run amok and get all in the way." She set the girl down and nodded for her to follow as she started to walk toward the hallway, "This is how we learn and grow inside, by making mistakes and learning from them. If you never make mistakes, you won't learn anything about yourself or the world around you because you will never try!"

"Okay, I'll try to try stuff," The silver girl followed the gryphoness down the hallway that was much the same as the front room, with the dark floor and walls, though there were several doors on either side spaced at a distance that suggested a fairly decent sized room was hiding behind each one, "Um, where are we going?"

Tilly blinked as she realized she was missing a piece of her puzzle and turned to look at the girl with a smile, "Why, to your room of course! I know your daddy well enough to know for a fact that you have toys waiting to be played with! It's the best part about being a kid, and taking care of children too. You get to play with all those wonderful toys! Now will you show me where your room is so we can find out what your daddy bought you?"

"Okay, that sounds like fun!" The silver girl perked up and followed along with Tilly, her silver ears folded back as it dawned on her, "I don't know which one is mine. I have just been curled up in the front room with daddy."

The hen frowned a bit at that news before she looked back down the hall and called to Raust, "Oh daddy! Which room belongs to Amethyst? We need to find her toys so we can spread them all out and play!"

"Right across the hall from my room, I know you are aware of where that is," he called back with a gentle chuckle chasing his words.

Tira watched her mate lead the girl right to her room and disappear into the door in question on the right side of the hall, making it on the back side of the house, "Keeping her hidden behind you, forcing the world to go through you to reach her first hmm?"

"Of course, all the monsters in this world, real or imagined, will have to get through me to reach my precious gem. With every action I take and every breath I take, I will make sure she never has to fear anything in this world," The gryphon replied with a firm nod.

The hen arched a brow at her old friend and former lover, "And what about when you can't be here, or when you are hurt in the field? Who will protect her then?"

Raust paused and thought for a long moment as he pondered her question. Her tone had shown her genuine concern for Amethyst in those situations as the girl only really had her father. The male finally nodded to himself and looked her in the eyes, "She will have her grandmothers, Agrok and Tensaih, and she will have Trixie as well. I have no doubt she will be loved and cared for."

"I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to hear that you've put some thought into this. I was beginning to worry that you just leaped into this without any sort of plan," Tira replied softly as her expression softened and held the male with just as much of a loving gaze as when they were once a couple.

Raust gave a gentle nod, "Well, I didn't plan every thing through, but I did plan that much. I do find it strange though, I used to live for nothing more than a dream. Now that she is here, I live only for Amethyst now."

"Good, now you live for a reason and not simply to survive," The taperwing nodded firmly with her statement, "Perhaps now you'll make it a point to come home in fewer pieces."

The gryphon gave a deep sigh at that, "I wish I could say for certain, but that is outside of my control. I am unable to choose who I fight in the field or how they behave in said battles. Hey Tira, I know there's an elephant in the room, so lets just get it handled. I know Amethyst needs a female in her life to look up to. Would you and Tilly be willing to stand in until, if, the day comes that I find a mate to be her mother?"

"Raust.." Tira had felt her heart climbing when he started the subject, but that quickly fell with his words, "I can't really say no, but I can hold you to something in return."

The huge male tilted his head at the hen, "What are your terms?"

"I know how you feel about being our mate, you don't want to hurt me like before with wondering if you would ever fail to come home. But, damn it Raust, we love you. If we do this for you, we want to be in real consideration for the part permanently, at your sides. We want the chance to be her mothers for real." Tira said quite clearly with her eyes never leaving his.

Raust takes a slow, deep breath as they just stared one another in the eyes for some time, "Alright. Consider yourselves in the running. But know that if and only if I decide the odd position of two females with her father would be the best situation I can provide for my daughter. She is by far the most important part of every aspect of my life."

"I had no doubt about that, Raust," Tira smiled warmly to the gryphon as her eyes almost danced with the loving expression she held him with, "If you had been any different, we wouldn't love you and wish to spend our lives with you."

Raust nodded slowly, "I know, and I also know how much it hurts you to have to wait for me to return from the field. But this is really a conversation for another time. Right now, I need to catch up on what's going on around the old town. I may have things I want to take Amethyst to see or learn."

"Speaking of learning, I wish to be the one to teach her to fly. That way I can show her how to carry herself on the wing with dignity and the strength of a confident and beautiful female," Tira replied with a smile before she fell into the gossip of their old village where the pair had once lived together, and where Tira was living with Tilly.

Tira laughed lightly at the sudden shift in conversation as the big male shifted his position to settle himself at her side while she began telling him of all the usual town gossip; kids pulling pranks, the farmers fighting with the herdsmen, and even a bit of social scandal. Most of which involved a situation regarding the village elder's daughter and a member of the Titanian royal guard. Raust shared his tidbits from the field and the worlds beyond, most notably the colony the Ergetties and the world his own StarTalons had pushed the Bohrauk and their thrall back from. Somewhere along the conversation, the hen found herself under the big male's broad wing, pressed against his warm side.

Tira realized that they were getting a bit too cozy for the nature of their visit and cleared her throat before she gently raised herself to her feet, "The day is quickly leaving us. I really should collect Tilly and get us both home so we can clean up and have supper."

"Hmm, Tillly's cooking, I do wish we could come along with you, but there may be another friend along to meet Amethyst," Raust smiled and gave the lovely hen a warm nuzzle of his beak along her cheek as eh stood with her.

The female twitched her ear at him, "I never said we were welcoming company. As much as I would love to take Amethyst home with us and curl up with the adorable little silver angel, but I do have a beautiful lady of my own and I do wish a night in with her from time to time."

"Ah, I did not mean to imply that our invitation was a given, more to express that we could not even if the invitation was extended. I would never impose upon you or Tilly," The broadwing laid his ear tufts flat against his head as they began to walk together down the hall toward Amethyst's room.

Tira smiled warmly to the large male, "I know you would not. How about we make a deal? I'll talk Tilly into teaching Amethyst to cook like she does if you let her come visit with us to learn how now and again. Then we'll have you come over on your own now and again, but I want to see that lovely scaly face in my home between every visit you make. It's okay for her to have two in a row, but not you. Does that make sense?"

"That is very odd, what if I just wished to stop by and say hello between engagements?" Raust arched a brow at her.

The hen stopped walking and turned to look at the male, "Your quick visits never stay that way. One thing always leads to another and you reap the benefits of a mate without being one. Well now we trade for it. Every time you wish to do so, we get to feel the benefits of being mothers. To laugh and play while we teach little Amethyst about being an independent functioning female of her own choosing."

"That actually sounds more detrimental to yourselves and Amethyst, but I can understand your true wish and meaning. So, what about when I am forced to be away on duty, does that count?" the gryphon tilted his head at his friend and former lover.

Tira flipped her wings and moved toward the room once more, "Tilly and I will babysit Amethyst when you must be away, this is not up for negotiation.."

"Hey now, I know there are others close to me that I would trust with my daughter, I think she should learn from them too," he huffed a bit as he moved to catch up with her.

She paused at the door and nodded to the scene within, speaking quietly so as not to disturb the tea party taking place, "I am uncertain who is the happier among them. I know you'll want her to know your other friends and family of the heart, but I also know they can only be there sometimes. Tilly and I will always be here."

Raust had no real counter to that, all he could do is peer into the room and watch as Amethyst sat at the little white table he had purchased for her, settled with two dolls and one very relaxed Tilly seated directly across form her as they sipped 'tea' from their empty little cups. The scene was a bit odd with the human style furnishings playing a contrast to the pillow nest that was meant to be the bed for the little Kehtzialan girl. He knew he had much to think on as the world was forming for Amethyst and changing for him. All the lines of his friendships and relations were changing and would change to become more firm and defined in some places, and more blurred and less noticed in others.

* * *

Reana and her internal sister lay curled up with their odd elephant sister who seemed to like them for reasons that neither girl could figure out. Linda was not so pleased by the unwarranted friendship, but Reana herself decided to be pleasant to the girl. She knew they would have to make friends, though she was not certain as to why or how she even had any sort of grasp on the concept of friendship. Everything about their mental development felt off to the girl, as if she knew they should not just be growing knowledge like they were. It did not feel natural, much like their being in such a large group of siblings of so many species. Even the way they grew the knowledge was not equal, something was so very off as she was aware that she had a greater knowledge of things than her sisters. Even Linda seemed to know less that Reana and comprehend things far slower.

As it became clear that their elephant sister was asleep, the girl brought them up to their paws to pad off to the far end of their little yard and stare up at the triple moons, "Linda, are you still awake too?"

"I can't be asleep when you are awake, even though I am really super tired," there was a tinge of resentment in her internal sister's voice and the odd sensation that she would have struck her if she had her own body.

Reana winced externally at that reaction, "Sorry, I just can not sleep with so much going through my mind. Everything feels so wrong and I do not even know why it feels wrong. We have not seen anything else to make this wrong."

"Sure we did, we met him! He is different than the males around here, he looked at us all different and he actually played with all of us. It was really cool, not like this boring staring thing,"_Linda replied simply with the sensation of a shrug, _"Hey, Reana? How come you don't use words like don't, can't, and aren't?"

The girl blinked at her sister's words, "Well, I.. I just do not like the way they feel on my tongue or in my mind. They feel.. incomplete and crude."

"You're being a dork. These words do all the same as yours and they don't take as long to say. It just feels like you're wasting time for nothing," The internal sister made no secret of her distaste in her reply.

The girl in control of their body shook their shared head with a touch of sorrow, "I never expected you to understand. Despite this unnatural growing education we are receiving, I am quite aware that I am absorbing more than you are. Not because I am supposed to either. Somehow I know that even in the rules of our odd knowledge growth, I am receiving more knowledge than I should. I can not honestly begin to guess where it could possibly come from either."

"It is coming from me, and I know why you are developing so oddly as well. Unfortunately, it is beyond my ability to correct." Reana gasped as her field of vision was taken up by the curious visage of a rather young human boy with olive tan skin and curiously gray eyes. Again she was filled with the knowledge that these were strange traits, even as she had never seen or heard of a human before. Her mind could not release its hold on the wonder as to the source of this knowledge. The boy smiled and spoke again, "It is coming from me. Everything, your knowledge, your health, your safety on this island, the fact that having a sister joined and merged with you in such a manner. It is all by the grace of Nothing."

Reana tiled her head at the odd boy, his words strike a deep cord within her to cause an unease she simply could not shake, "You are responsible for what is happening to us? How is that even possible, there is no force that can do any such things as altering and fusing us like this."

"Yeah, something is really wrong with this weirdo. Look at him, he looks so silly. Just like one of the apes with no fur," Linda giggled in their head at the odd appearance of Nothing.

The strange boy placed his finger right on their beak as he gave the shared body a stern look, "You should not be so harsh to those you do not know, Linda. And as for you, Reana, there are forces you know so little about. Powers beyond comprehension for you at this time. I wield a great many, and they have come into play in your growth within Miss Emiria's womb. Unfortunately her request for your missing sister was the action that has caused your predicament. I kept her shielded from what my power does for all her children and that nudging of power caused your spirits to merge."

"You can hear Linda? That is amazing, and possibly unfortunate. But how are we gaining knowledge like we have been, and why am I gaining more than Linda?" The girl in control of their body replied as their eyes turned crossed to look at that finger on their beak.

Nothing gave a soft sigh as he shrugged his shoulders, "Of course I can hear Linda, I can hear every soul on the island that has attachment to Miss Emiria. But I am not sure why you learn so much so fast, all I do is open up my knowledge to all of you little ones and you absorb what you can. For reasons beyond even my comprehension you seem to absorb that information at a rate that is astounding even for guardian spirits such as myself. I suspect it may be the work of No One, he does like to grace a child with a special gift now and again."

"So I learn far faster than others? That sounds like it could be very good or very bad depending on what is going on or what I am doing in life. Do you have any idea why No One would give me such a gift," Reana asked with a flick of an ear tuft.

Linda, being herself, chimed in as well, "So Reana gets to use the body and learns really super fast, Did I get any gifts and what are they? I think I deserve something being stuck in her head and all!"

"Once again, I am uncertain why he would give you such a gift. He may see something in you that would benefit greatly from having such a gift, or he may have just wanted to see what would happen," Nothing's eyes stayed on Reana's, although both girls could tell that his gaze had shifted to Linda before he spoke again, "But you already have been given a gift you better learn to cherish and embrace with all your heart. Being that she is in control of your shared body, Reana is clearly the more powerful and dominant soul. If you were not protected as you are, her soul would have cannibalized yours already and you simply never would have existed. Although I am not sure if that was compassion or part of some agenda he is not sharing with us. No One is fickle at best."

Linda cringed within their shared head, "Please don't eat me Reana!"

"I shall do my best not to, but I believe it is beyond my control. Nothing, can you tell me more about the.." she blinked their emerald green eyes as the boy was no longer before them with no sign or memory of how he had vanished before their eyes. Her words trailed off in shock, ".. gryphon?"

He was no longer present, but his words whispered at the back of both their minds, "He is not ours, not of our world, we spirits can not effect him without the permission of the Consorts. Divine politics that I should hope you never have to tangle with. Now, Reana and Linda, you should sleep and prepare for the lessons you will learn here on the island."

Reana was about to protest but her eyes grew so very heavy without warning and before she could speak, both her and Linda had fallen into slumber. Though ever in her dreams did Reana see two gryphlets, one white with black markings like the other gryphon girls, and the other a twin of reversed colors. Both girls playing happily with that big brown male that had revealed himself to be their father. Curling up between those huge forelimbs to rest and listen to his stories as they fall asleep. Those dreams felt so comfortable and right that all worries in her heart melted away.

* * *

Zessaiya closed her eyes as she let the water of the shower head above her wash over her beak and face to slowly dilute and rinse away the feather shampoo in the hot rivers it made over her chest as the flow was parted by her breasts. Her hands raised to stroke over her feathers and press the water deep between them as she caressed her own lovely athletic frame with purpose. She was so very aware of her own beauty and relished in every ounce of it and every heated moment of lewd pleasure she could gain with such a body. Her affinity for sexual magic only made every second of a lover's embrace thrice as pleasant as the energies released filled her with arcane power. She used a small portion of the extra power she had gained with the gryphon to hold back the rest of the shower heads in the glass chamber so she had reason to feel her own form as she rinsed those soaps and the soils of a rather long intense intimate dance away to leave her with the clean scent of the lavender shampoo. She rarely admitted any emotions, but she had never felt shame in admitting her emotional draw to the mercenary lord. That emotional attachment fed her to a much greater degree when they came to the embrace she hungered for than if she had gone to a stranger, a pretty body with a face she would not care to remember. Her mind fell back into the fresh memories of every touch and hold and caress of their evening together. Their mingled scent was so heavy upon her when she woke that she feared leaving a trail in her travel to the bathing room. Not that she ever felt any shame in carrying the scent of a worthy lover, most especially the scent of the bird that held her that night, but the situation was different. His daughter was in the house and though she was asleep when the shadow phoenix had arrived, she dared not present her with that scent if she woke before the hen could depart.

Zessaiya had intended to meet her, and being HIS daughter made her feel a need to display proper respect that she often cast aside for convenience or the less than pleasant entertainment for the hen. Not that she was truly malevolent in nature, she was quite often the necromancer many pointed to for the sake of proving that they could be good people and protect others with their arts. She just had a touch less concern for others feelings when it came to her own entertainment. Her primary schools of magic were harsh lessons in how short and necessary joy was, and just how fleeting and fragile life itself was. Even for a phoenix like herself that would rebirth so many times before she had her final shadowy blaze. Her hands moved as her mind did, caressing over her toned belly and down over those trim perfectly curved hips that accented flawlessly into her toned rear. She lacked the plump hips and thighs that the boys seemed to claim they wanted and lusted over. That was fine with her, she felt she was perfection in her fit frame and she certainly found no lack of suitors interested in what she had to offer. Say what they might, she knew what the boys really wanted and she was loath to even consider ruining that with decay and undeath as a litch. No, the sacrifices were too much for her to take that extra power and immortality. She was a top notch adept and a perfect avian goddess in her own eyes.

She gave a sigh as she turned the water off and stared at her reflection in the glass of the shower chamber, "If you are so perfect, vane little slut, why have you found yourself with the rest of the hens pining over the perfect mountain of gryphon?" There was no answer to her question, she already knew what the problem was. They were too different in what they were and wanted to be in life. She had no trouble with the idea of settling down and being a monogamous wife, it was the deeper part of such a life that her beloved wanted that she was not fit for or willing to become. As her thoughts rolled through those differences in their end goals for a family life, the shadow phoenix exited the shower chamber to seek the towel shelves. The soft velvety texture of the rough finished black marble felt so wonderful beneath her scaled feet as they carried her right up to the shelves cut right into the marble tiled wall. The soft white cotton towels awaited within the nook of the shelves, promising her the warmth of their embrace as they would strip most of the moisture from her feathers. Zessaiya gladly selected one of the larger towels and embraced herself with the absorbent warmth while her mind continued to mull over the problems of opposing emotions and instincts.

The phoenix knew that the little girl she had come to meet would mean the end of a wonderful thing she had in her life, and yet she was pleased to know that the tiny obstacle to her happiness was indeed alive and present. It was not that she had any sort of dislike for children, she was simply not mother material, very impatient when things were not flowing in her chosen direction. She was simply far too sexual a being to be the sort of role model she would want any girl or boy to look up to as well. Her beak was too foul, her disregard for others was not something she wished to see any child pick up, and every aspect of herself made her feel more that she was nothing any mother should be.

As her mind took such depressing turns, her blue scaled feet moved without conscious thought to carry her outside those heavy double doors and to her right to begin walking down the hall, "My god, how can anyone like a bitchy slut like me after they get their thrill? Maybe I should be better, but then would I truly be myself at that point?" The phoenix blinked at the door before her, completely taken by surprise to not only be standing at the door but opening it as well. Her amber eyes fell upon the odd minty greens and powder blues of the girl's room, somehow finding relief that the gryphon had avoided pink for his daughter. She had a touch of trouble locating her among the pillows and blankets that made up her bed, but the shining silver tail gave away the child's position. Zessaiya had no desire to enter the room and approach her, she simply leaned against the doorway to hold her towel in place and watch the little one sleep while her mind raced over what she was seeing and what it all meant for her and the bird sleeping down the hall.

She is so small and vulnerable, hard to imagine she will be a massive frost queen like Tensaih. Soft, weak, and pathetic.. and yet so beautiful and peaceful. It is so infuriating to be caught between all this. You ruin everything I could have with your poppa, but I find that I want you to be safe and happy too. I should hate this girl, but why do I-

"What are you doing here at Amethyst's room?" the massive foreclaw clasped her shoulder firmly just as his deep voice filled her ear with a harsh whisper.

Zessaiya felt a pain inside she had never thought she would feel at his words and his tone. This was a father protecting his young from a potential threat, she was a potential threat to him. The phoenix opened her beak and voiced precisely what her mind and heart felt, "How dare you use that tone with me? After we have been together for so long, you honestly treat me as though I would harm your daughter?"

"I know you so very well, I know what you are, and I know what she may very well cost you. If I am wrong, I am very sorry, but can I honestly afford to be right?" The gryphon replied with a touch of sorrow in his voice.

She clamped her beak closed and jerked her shoulder away from that foreclaw to begin storming down the hall toward the front room, "You're right Raust. Fuck you, but you're right. She is a problem for me in so many ways, the least of which not even being that she spells the loss of what I was able to keep with you. You'll need a mother for her and I doubt any girl you decide on for her sake would be willing to let us carry on like we do. I certainly am not good enough to raise a child, I honestly know I am not. I lack any motherly instinct and if I were such a fuck face as other necromancers can be, I could easily expunge such a fragile little life. Let me tell you the truth, bird, I could never do that to her. Watching her sleep I know what she means _about_me as well as for me. Thinking about her makes me doubt myself for the first time in my life I can not see myself as anything good."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean you can't see yourself as anything good," Raust asked as she came to his door and shoved it open roughly.

As she entered the master bedroom to seek her clothing, the phoenix hurled her towel at the gryphon to glare at him while tears honestly escaped her eyes. "My self esteem you idiot. I am the kind of trash I would never want my daughter to be like if I were forced to have one. I treat people like toys, I fuck anything that I find pretty, I throw fits when things don't go my way, I treat happy emotions like they are some kind of illness, and I don't even value life. I could never be a mother, I just could never love a child like I should, and I could never be the kind of woman a little girl like her should ever know."

"Zessaiya, no," the massive avian tossed the offending towel aside to reach out and pull the weeping hen into his powerful forelimbs for a comforting embrace as her tears fell for the first time since he had known her, "I won't lie to you and say you do not have those things going on, but there is so much more to you than that. Sure you treat people like crap, but then when things really come around and it comes time to make a decision about stopping some truly twisted fuck, or just watching things unfold, you're right there like I am putting those cute half bird human feet right where they are uncomfortable."

She buried her face into those soft feathers as she held tight to the strong, firm foundation of his muscles, "The part that hurts the most about me, that makes that statement bullshit, is that even you felt I would do something so fucked up as to hurt her. The one person I honestly love with all my heart and even you are afraid I would hurt her. I had hope for myself until that. I would never hurt your daughter Raust. I may not care for children like most, but I would never ever hurt your little girl and I would die to protect her form any other threat. I know that I am utter filth of a monster, but I am a monster she will never have to be afraid of because I could never hurt you like that."

The bird had no words, there simply were none to fight what she felt. Every tear that stung her eyes was born of the truth about herself and about the entire situation. They just held one another until she felt tiny scaly arms wrap around her leg and a soft sweet voice kissed her ears with such a loving tone, "Don't cry Miss Lady, it will be alright. Daddy is here, and he will make everything alright, somehow he always will. He's daddy, he makes everything better."

"Of course he will, don't you worry about me though. I'm a big tough girl, I can handle a little sadness, I just need a friend now and again to help me in the really tough parts." she knelt down to scoop up the the young silver dragon in her arms and held her to her chest as she moved out of the grip og the gryphon, who was showing his trust in letting her carry the girl off. "You know what we really need to worry about? Breakfast, I am really hungry and I bet you are too!"

Amethyst nodded her shimmering head enthusiastically, "Uh huh! I am really super hungry!" The girl showed no recognition of the phoenix' nudity, proving just how innocent and untouched by social teachings she truly was. It was somewhat saddening to her to think how much the girl would learn to be repulsed by, just because society as a whole did not like it.

Okay kid, you caught me in a soft moment, don't get used to this with me of all people. I am every damn thing I said I was and probably worse. Not that you will ever have to worry about it, just don't get attached. I can't be your mother but I will die for you and your father if need should arise. I promise to protect you if you need me.