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**A Gryphon's Tail, Part VI

Of Things Long Past...**

The night passed quietly and uneventfully, but neither of the travelers got much sleep. Kira napped, briefly, happily cuddled up to her beastkin companion - but she awoke twice an hour, like clockwork, to scan the horizon for signs of danger. It wasn't that she didn't trust the panther's invisible magic, but... well... it was invisible magic. How could she trust something she couldn't see?

Still, her caution seemed unwarranted. A dozen times she stirred, and a dozen times her perimeter check came up with nothing. No sign of gryphons, beastkin, or even the elemental creatures that roamed the Peaks. She tried to temper her hopefulness, but she couldn't help wondering if the hunters had already given up the chase.

As for Rhaelyn, his restlessness stemmed from other sources. There were the inevitable aches and pains, of course - over the past few days he had been beaten, bludgeoned, crushed and mangled with alarming regularity. Even with the assistance of the potion he had been carefully rationing, he was... well, to say 'sore' would be an understatement.

To make matters worse, the hen at his side seemed intent on... complicating things. It was cold out, so he certainly had no complaints about the warmth of her body or the softness of her fur. Rather, it was her guilty insistence on 'helping' him forget his pain that was the source of the real problem.

Early in the evening she had been heavily implying that he might benefit from the same manner of oral first aid that she had provided in the past - and Rhaelyn had to admit that there was certainly some appeal to the offer. Of course, that was easier said than done, given the state of his genitals. Even the thought of getting an erection was enough to make the beastkin dizzy, and there were sincere doubts to Kira's ability to perform smoothly enough so as to not cause more pain than pleasure.

Oh, she had tried of course, but even the lightest fondling with her clumsy talons had been met with dizzying waves of pain when she inevitably bumped or brushed over the unfortunate male's swollen sac. After trying and failing for the better part of an hour, Kira had finally grudgingly admitted that they might be better off cuddling.

But that was, what, six hours ago? Eight? Ten? Rhaelyn was having a hard time keeping track of time, since Kira had still insisted on keeping one hand tucked down the front of his pants. It was... well, again, the warmth was nice. And really, her scaly fingers felt pleasant against his more delicate regions, now that he had gotten used to the feel.

The claws were a bit daunting, but the hen had lived her whole life learning how to use them without accidentally rending things to pieces - even in her sleep. That didn't stop her from occasionally kneading or squeezing over his nethers while she was supposedly sleeping, but she seemed alert enough to still her fingers at the slightest hint of a whimper from the male. Honestly, it was... pleasant. Soothing, even.

And arousing.

It wasn't JUST the fondling, though, or the warmth of her hand against his oft-abused genitals. It was the feel of her body pressed up against hers, and the almost constant thrum of her ragged purring. Even her scent was pleasant, now that he had grown accustomed to it - it was an odd musk, like that of a wild animal, but with a hint of fragrant spice.

It was enough that after failing to get any sleep for most of the night, his body had finally decided that he COULD in fact still manage to achieve an erection. It was something that he was certainly relieved to discover, but his gratefulness was strained to the breaking point by the end of the first hour or so.

Kira had noticed, of course - in fact, she had almost considered rousing the panther when she first awoke for a perimeter check and discovered that her hand was cradled about that rigid length. But no, he SEEMED to be resting peacefully, and she certainly didn't want a repeat of her earlier attempts to please him. So she settled for just keeping it firmly in her grip, giving it the occasional squeeze or stroke to ensure that he was having pleasant dreams - and to reassure herself that she hadn't done any permanent damage.

Unfortunately, the panther wasn't actually dreaming, although he was certainly pretending to. He needed some time to himself to sort out his thoughts. A lot of things had happened on his current adventure, and some of those things were... confusing. Well, one of those things. Okay, it was Kira. Still, it took him hours of mildly distracted pondering to actually admit that fact to himself.

Rhaelyn sighed softly, but he held his breath as the hen stirred beside him. After a few seconds she had settled again, and the panther had to suppress a shiver as he felt her talons squeezing gently about his achingly hard member. She seemed to nod off again just as quickly, though, and the male was once again left alone with his thoughts.

The gryphon was a conundrum. She certainly wasn't the first gryphon that he had met during his travels - not even the first 'civilized' gryphon - but she was somehow different from all the others. She was personable, of course - an odd trait for one of the feathered beasts. Funny, too. And smart, which was even more unusual given the rather dense nature of most of her ilk.

Then again, she was also somewhat unpredictable. Violent. Terrifying, even. None of that was unusual for a gryphon, of course, but somehow the hen's friendly nature and keen intellect made her lapses into violence all the more disconcerting. And the fact that he was more often than not the target of her violent outbursts was worse.

Sure, he could admit that the first time was justified. Maybe even the second. But at this point he was starting to wish that she'd just start biting him, or punching him in the stomach, or anything really - as long as it wasn't aimed at his increasingly useless kittenmakers. She almost seemed to be developing some kind of bizarre obsession with emasculating him.

That thought was silly, though, since he realized that if she REALLY wanted to emasculate him, she had a dozen different ways to do it far more efficiently. In fact, that mere thought suddenly made him a little more nervous about having the hen's talons curled about his manhood.

The panther stifled a groan, one hand rising to rub lightly at his temple. All this thinking was starting to give him a headache - or perhaps it was just the lack of sleep. Or his injuries. Or the fact that he'd had an erection for what felt like hours now. Or, most likely, a combination of all four of those things.

Kira stirred again, and this time she lifted her head. Her beak gaped in a wide yawn, her eyes flicking open as she scanned the jagged horizon. After a moment she cocked her head, fixing one eye on the beastkin instead. The faintest smile slipped onto her beak as she took stock - he certainly LOOKED like he was still sleeping, and he certainly FELT like he was doing better.

She flexed her fingers against the male's nethers once more, absently trying to work the stiffness out of her knuckles without actually pulling her hand from his pants. Her talons carefully curled back about the handhold, and this time she dared to give him a few brisk strokes before she-

And the panther groaned, although he made an obvious attempt to stifle it.

Kira blushed, her grip on the male's length instantly loosening as she tried to feign innocence. Leaning in, she bumped the beastkin's chin lightly with her beak. "Oh, Ser Rhaelyn. Are you awake now?"

Rhaelyn snorted softly, his whiskers twitching as he half-opened one eye to peer at the hen. She was hardly a smooth criminal, but he decided to humor her anyway. He gave a very real yawn, his sharp teeth briefly bared before he murmured. "Mnf, guess so. Is it morning already?"

"Still a couple of hours off," Kira responded, her head perked as she made a show of scanning the heavens. Not that it really took an expert to deduce that much, given that the moon was still visible and the stars were still out.

The panther stifled another yawn, his eyes closed to slits as he folded one hand over them. "Hff... good, then I can... get a few more hours of..." The effort of speaking aloud seemed to redouble his weariness, and he yawned yet again just to emphasize that fact.

"W-... wait, Ser Rhaelyn." Kira seemed hesitant, almost shy, but not quite shy enough to actually pull her hand out of his pants.

"Mmn?"

Rhaelyn's eyes were still covered, but Kira took his inquisitive mumbling as a prompt for her to continue. "I, uh, just wanted to say that I'm... sorry."

"Hm?" The beastkin's fingers parted so he could peek between them, one ear slanting forward to fix on the hen. He was genuinely interested now.

"For, uh..." She hesitated again, which gave that little voice in the back of her head a chance to insist on aborting. 'Gryphons never apologize!' it shrieked. 'Take what you want, do what you want, and damn the consequences!'

Kira scowled, her beak clacking with irritation. "Oh hush."

"Excuse me?" Rhaelyn had uncovered his eyes, and his undivided attention was entirely settled upon the gryphon now. Well, ninety percent of his attention, anyway. At least ten percent was still distinctly distracted by the ache in his loins, but he was trying to shut that out.

The hen rolled her eyes to one side, averting her gaze. "Oh, um, I mean... er... I just wanted to apologize for, uh, attacking you."

Rhaelyn snorted again, but he didn't say anything. His hand settled back over his eyes, and he tried putting some serious effort into falling asleep.

It wasn't that he really wanted to be rude to the hen, but he was too horny, too achy, and far too tired to play along with her half-assed apology game. Honestly, he would have to be a fool not to recognize the pattern. First she would brutalize him, accidentally or otherwise, and then came the apologies and the promise of sexual favors. Then by morning, she'd be right back to teasing and taunting until she'd chanced upon another opportunity to tenderize him.

Kira frowned, bumping the panther's jaw lightly with her beak. "No, seriously. I am. It's just that, uh..." she paused again, studying the beastkin for a moment before she sighed. She absently stroked along his rigid length again, as if it somehow gave her the confidence to speak. "It's just hard, is all."

The panther groaned softly, absently wishing - and not for the first time - that the hen would find something else to do with her talons. "Mf... you're telling me."

She seemed to miss his muttered comment, continuing as if uninterrupted. "I just, uh, it's like there's this part of me that... well, there's a part of me that likes hurting people. And it's, um... it's really hard to ignore sometimes."

"Kira..."

"N-.. no, Ser Rhaelyn." Kira continued quickly, heading the beastkin off at the verbal pass. "I just, um... I have to say this. I just want you to know that I, uh-"

The panther rapped his knuckles lightly against the hen's beak, startling her into silence. "It's fine. You're a gryphon. I understand." And a brief pause, before he looked her in the eye. "You don't need to apologize."

"I-" Kira blinked, somewhat taken aback. "I don't?"

Rhaelyn pursed his lips, whiskers twitching as he reconsidered that phrasing. "Okay, no, you DO need to apologize for getting carried away during our sparring match, but you've just done that. So now, no, you don't have anything else to apologize for."

The gryphon considered that for a moment, her brow furrowed. Really, she felt like she should be relieved at being let off the hook so easily, but she couldn't shake a few nagging doubts. "Really?"

"Really," he sighed. He tried to add a note of finality to his voice this time, but he knew that the hen wasn't going to let it go. "Look, Kira, I've had some time to think about this, and I'm fairly certain I know what's going on."

Kira blinked again, her neck craned as she abruptly seemed to find a new fascination in studying the stars. "Oh?"

Rhaelyn glanced at the gryphon, suppressing a soft chuckle as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. His body protested, every muscle aching as he forced himself upright, but it was a sensation that he was rapidly growing accustomed to.

"I know that you have, ah..." he paused delicately, trying to think of the best way to put it. "I know that you have feelings for me, Kira."

"I do not!"

The beastkin eyed the suddenly defiant hen, a faint smirk gracing his lips. Apparently the stars had lost their allure already, because she was staring at him again. Still, despite her fervant objection, it had come far too quickly and far too forcefully for him to take seriously. "You do. You like me."

"I hate you!" She hissed, her eyes narrowed as she tried to look appropriately put-off by the panther's assumptions. It was hard, though, since she was doing her damndest not to blush. Had she really been so obvious about her fascination with the pantherkin? In retrospect, she had to admit that she had been rather ham-fisted in her approach.

Rhaelyn laughed softly, patting the hen lightly on the shoulder. "Yes, of course. You hate me so much that you flirt and look for excuses to feel me up at every opportunity. I mean, look-" He glanced down at his lap, where the hen's taloned hand was still tucked conspicuously into his pants.

Kira followed his glance, and this time she did blush. She was again thankful that her feathers and fur kept the heat of her embarrassment from being too obvious, but she opted to hedge her bets. With a twitch of her talons, she curled her scaled fingers rather unsubtly about a more vulnerable part of the male's swollen nethers.

The panther winced, one of his own hands quickly settling between his legs before the hen could start bearing down. Not, of course, that he could actually stop her if she had a mind to start squeezing. "N-... now hold on, Kira."

She drew in a deep breath, using the scant few seconds that her unorthodox tactic had bought to think of an appropriate response. There was, of course, the impulse to just start squeezing. She had done it before, after all, and it really did seem to be an effective way to get the panther to shut up. But, on the other hand...

"Sh-... shut up!" She blurted, her head cocked in what she hoped was a casually dismissive manner. It wasn't. "My interests in you begin and end with the contract I signed with the House fa Soren."

"Right, and the beak jo-" and the panther winced as, unsurprisingly, the hen's grip tightened ever so slightly. Toes curled, the beastkin shivered as he couldn't help but picture those claws wrapped about his kittenmakers. Still, he wasn't about to let the gryphon intimidate him.

"K-... Kira, wait." It took a concerted effort to keep the rising panic out of his voice, but Rhaelyn somehow managed it. "Look, you can squeeze my balls all you want, b-... but we still need to get this out in the open."

Kira set her beak, eying the beastkin for a long moment before she relaxed her grip. "All I want?"

The panther's ears were instantly slicked back, his thighs tensed as he very briefly considered trying to pry the hen's fingers off of him entirely. He knew better than to try, though. "If, ah... if that's what you want, but I'd take it as a personal favor if you wouldn't."

She rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. Her embarrassment was forgotten for the moment. "Tease. But fine."

Rhaelyn cleared his throat, his ears flicked forward now as he glanced down at his lap again. "Ah, and it would really make me more comfortable if you would, er... let go before we continue...?"

Kira scowled. "Don't push it."

"Right." He sighed, looking just a tad crestfallen, but it was hardly surprising. Now he just needed to tread lightly, lest he should end up singing soprano for the fourth time in as many days. "Well, ah, this is what I'm talking about."

The hen's scowl deepened, but her grip remained lax. "What is?"

"The, ah..." Rhaelyn gestured downward, but he kept his gaze on Kira's face. "Well, you're the one who started talking about gryphon courting rituals and the like. You, uh, forget that I'm learned in the ways of your kind."

Kira kept her expression carefully neutral. It was impossible to deny the pit that was forming in her stomach, though. "So what? I was just teasing you, you idiot."

"Of course," the panther replied, his tone just as even. "That's what I thought at first, too, but then I... ah... well, it got me thinking."

'Ugh,' the voice muttered in the back of Kira's head. 'More thinking.'

"Did you know that of the thirty-eight rites of courtship practiced by the different tribes of gryphons, thirty of them involve casual violence?" Rhaelyn winced again as the hen's scaled fingers twitched, but he continued once it became apparent that she was just shifting her grip. "And, ah... well, for most gryphons, violence without bloodshed is considered a sign of... interest."

Kira snorted, but she didn't say anything. Why should she? It was an absurd observation! And stupid, too, just like the beastkin's stupid face. His stupid, oddly handsome face.

"And, ah... and it would make sense that you might find me attractive-"

"Which I don't." She interjected.

He continued as if uninterrupted. "As you've said, you were raised amongst beastkin, and you haven't said much about your encounters with your own kind."

The hen rolled her eyes, her head tilted back as she couldn't help but look exasperated. "Ugh, don't even get me started on THEM."

"Exactly." Rhaelyn arched a brow, eying the hen pointedly. "Hence your obvious attraction toward me, instead."

Kira scowled again, "That's ridiculous! You're ugly and stupid and... and... infuriating..." She grasped desperately for more negatives to assign to the obnoxious beastkin, but she was having an awfully hard time thinking of any. "... and fragile... and I like your fur."

He arched a brow. "You like my...?"

The hen grunted, her eyes narrowed. "N-... no, I meant to say that your fur is short and dumb. I just, uh, you've got me all flustered!"

Rhaelyn chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "It's fine, Kira. I've seen other gryphons act exactly the same way, especially when they become enamored with someone."

Kira clacked her beak shut, eying the panther again. Was this somehow his fault? Had he studied gryphon courting rituals to subtly manipulate innocent, unwitting hens? Or, well, did he have some kind of magic that would explain her conflicted feelings?

The beastkin fidgeted a bit, growing a little uncomfortable at the prolonged silence. Kira was just staring at him now, and he was having no luck in trying to read her expression this time. "N-... not that I've had much first-hand experience, mind you, but this is certainly how The Queen acted when-"

"Wait, no, stop." Kira was agape, her head pulled back as she stared even harder at the panther. "You are NOT going to tell me that The Queen had a THING for you!"

It was the panther's turn to look sheepish now, his ears skewed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Swallowing hard, he murmured uncertainly. "Ah, well..."

"The leader of the Shardclaw Tribe," Kira sounded incredulous now. "Self-proclaimed Queen of all wild gryphons. The black cloud that rules the wastes uncontested from the Salted Plains to the Fire Peaks."

"Well, I did have to kill three of her hunters to prove myself." Rhaelyn offered, lamely.

"Huh." Kira sat up a bit, her wings ruffling as she considered that. "Wow, if The Queen busted your balls, then it's a wonder you have any left at all!"

Rhaelyn coughed, his ears twitched back at even the slightest THOUGHT of that beast having a go at his delicates. "N-... no, she didn't do THAT, but... ah..." He cleared his throat, trying to shake the thought of The Queen with her talons about his nethers. It was bad enough dealing with Kira's talons, and she was adorable. Well, maybe only semi-adorable, given the circumstances.

"But, ah, she DID almost break three of my ribs." The panther mused, patting his side. "And she almost took my ear off with what I'm sure she thought was a playful nibble."

Kira still seemed at a loss - even moreso now that she was trying to imagine The Queen trying to be playful. She had only glimpsed her once, and 'playful' was not an adjective that she would ever use to describe that creature. Horrifying seemed more appropriate. Or nightmare-inducing. But playful? Never.

"Hold on," she finally ventured. "Is that why she wants-"

"Besides," Rhaelyn continued hastily. "Gryphons are hardly the only ones who use misdirected violence to show their interests." And he gave a calculated pause, one ear twitching to angle toward the hen as he mused aloud. "Remind me to tell you about my first girlfriend some time."

Kira eyed the panther warily - was HE trying to change the subject? That was HER move! And she really wanted to know what was up with Rhaelyn and The Queen, now more than ever! But... then again... this new subject did sound rather promising. Especially if it had even the slightest relevance to her own conflicted state.

"Fine," she sighed. "So tell me about your girlfriends."

Rhaelyn clucked his tongue, tapping the gryphon's beak with one finger. "Just my first girlfriend. You hardly need to know about every sordid detail of my long and storied life, romantic or otherwise."

The hen rolled her eyes dramatically, but she bobbed her head in agreement. "Like I would even WANT to know that." That voice in the back of her head disagreed on that count, but she pointedly ignored it.

He smirked, but the panther didn't question her response. Ears slanted forward, he glanced down at his crotch, clearing his throat. "So, ah, can you... let go now?"

Kira snapped her beak shut, fixing one eye on the panther in an unwavering stare. "What do YOU think?"

"Hmf," he uttered a resigned grunt, but he didn't argue. "Fine, whatever."

"So come on!" She grinned, giving the panther the slightest squeeze. He winced and stifled a soft squeak, and Kira made no effort to hide her giggle. "Your girlfriend! Spill it, already!"

Rhaelyn snorted, squirming just a bit as he impotently pushed one hand against the female's wrist. It had absolutely no effect in getting her to ease her grip. "Nnnh... r-... right, well, my FIRST girlfriend."

Kira rolled her eyes once more, squeezing just a little harder. "Right. Your FIRST girlfriend. You unbelievable stud."

He eyed her for a second, then grumbled faintly as he continued regardless of her sarcasm. "Yes, well, she was a girl I had grown up with-"

"Was she a gryphon?" Kira chirped, innocently.

"What? No, of course not." Rhaelyn scowled, flicking her beak. He winced as she gave him another quick squeeze. "Nhg... l-... look, do you want me to tell you about her or not?"

Kira relaxed her grip, sticking her tongue out the beastkin. Honestly, he was such a baby. Just as well, though - she couldn't actually see them, but it felt like his balls had swollen so badly that she could barely fit her talons around them.

He eyed her for another long moment, before finally continuing. "Right, so, as I was saying. She was a cheetah - the daughter of one of my clan's guards, I think. Her name was Raff-"

Kira snorted, "Raff? That's a stupid name."

Rhaelyn frowned. "It's short for Raffina."

"Still stupid." She wasn't jealous or anything. Oh no, of course not.

The panther rolled his eyes back, making the conscious effort to curb his tongue. He silently counted to ten, then continued. "So, her name was Raff, and she was almost the same age as me. Perhaps two or three seasons younger."

"So..." Kira drawled, listening raptly. But not raptly enough to stop interrupting. "Was she pretty?"

"Eh," he shrugged. "She was alright, I suppose. I mean, I don't know if you've met many cheetahkin, but they're built thin and lanky. All that running around in the flatlands, I suppose. Athletic, but it doesn't make for very generous curves."

Kira snorted, just a little bitter. "Well, curves are over-rated anyway. Too awkward."

"Er... right." Rhaelyn hesitated, suddenly acutely aware that he should be choosing his words carefully. "But, ah, yes. She was a tomboy. I'm not sure if it was because she wanted to fit in with my brothers and I, or because her father was a warrior-type, but she generally dressed as masculinely as possible. Short-cropped hair, breeches, leather vest. One of those stupid hats, ah... a cap, I guess?"

Kira tilted her head to one side, peering blankly. "I don't wear hats."

"Well, ah, right. Er, anyway, when we were young she was basically just one of the guys." Rhaelyn paused, thinking back on his youth. "She was actually always kind of a bully, now that I think about it. I suppose she didn't want anyone to think that she was weak or dainty just because she was a girl."

The hen quirked a brow. "And you went out with this girl?"

"Er, not right away, no." He pursed his lips, whiskers twitching thoughtfully. "But, ah, well we knew each other for almost forty seasons. We played together, we trained together, and somewhere along the line I suppose she developed something of a crush on me."

"Ha, what an idiot." Kira grinned. Honestly, how could someone fall for the panther so easily? Oh, uh, wait-

"ANYway-" he continued. "She, ah, I suppose she didn't want to break the illusion that she was a tough, no-nonsense kind of girl, so she didn't express her interests like a sane person. Instead, she started bullying me every chance she got."

"What," Kira snorted. "So now it's insane to push you around?"

Rhaelyn rolled his eyes back a little, but he didn't rise to the hen's bait. He wasn't going to give her an excuse to start emasculating him again - no more than she already had, anyway. "It was confusing at first. I started trying to avoid her, but she would just work that much harder at always being around me. Where ever I went, there she would be."

"Man, talk about clingy." Kira stuck her tongue out, wriggling a little closer to the panther. "Kind of pathetic, when you think about it."

"Er..." Rhaelyn hesitated again, then shrugged and snuggled right back. "Right. Of course. So, er, the more I tried to avoid her, the more frustrated she seemed to get. My brothers weren't any help, and my sister only seemed to encourage her, so eventually I decided to settle things myself."

"Oh yeah?" Kira grinned anew, her beak nestled up beneath the panther's chin. "So, what'd you do?"

The panther sighed, rolling his eyes a little - not at the gryphon, for once, but rather at his own stupidity. "So I challenged her to a fight."

Kira laughed, "You didn't!"

"I did." He groaned softly, absently rubbing his temple with one hand. "I was, ah... I suppose I must have been nineteen, maybe twenty summers at that point, and I had just finished training in hand-to-hand combat under one of my tutors, so it seemed like a good idea. My, ah, siblings certainly seemed to think so."

The hen giggled and snorted, trying her utmost to keep a straight face. "S-... so, ha... snrk... w-... what happened?"

He grumbled, eyes closed for a moment. "So there we are, in the sparring pit behind the Clanhouse armory with my sister and all of my brothers watching, and I felt pretty confident about it. Oh, she was fast, sure, but I was stronger and better trained. Or I thought I was, anyway."

Kira arched a brow, "So you lost, then?"

"Tch, that's an understatement." Rhaelyn sighed again, absently worming one arm beneath the gryphon to curl it about her body. She responded in kind by draping a wing over him like a feathery blanket. "So we warm up, we exchange some absolutely awful trash talk, and then she takes off her top - and all of a sudden I remembered that she was, well... I just suddenly became very aware that I was fighting a girl."

Kira giggle-snorted again, but the panther ignored her as he continued with his tale. "So there she is, topless, bouncing around in some kind of savannah-fighting martial arts stance, and I can't stop staring at her chest. All of a sudden, I just couldn't even remember why I was fighting her - and then I had an erection."

"No!"

Rhaelyn muttered, his hand draped over his eyes now. "Yes. And she knew it. Hell, everyone knew it - my brothers and sister both. So, ah, I'm stammering, trying to cover myself up and talk my way out of the fight, and she's grinning like a Cheshire-"

"A what?" Kira furrowed her brow. She wasn't familiar with that term.

"A Cheshire, it's-" Rhaelyn paused, abruptly off-track. "It's, ah, like an innately magical kind of feline beastkin that- no, look, it's not important. She was grinning wide, alright?"

Kira grinned, too, bobbing her head a little. "Right, okay, so then what?"

"So then she shrugs, and offers me a handshake like it's all water under the bridge," he mused. "And at that point, I was grateful to accept. Anything to get my siblings to stop laughing at me."

"Oh," Kira sounded a little disappointed. "That's it?"

He grunted, "I wish, but no. So I'm shaking her hand, which left me with only one hand on my crotch - and THAT hand is busy trying to cover up my first public arousal, not my balls, and that's just how she had planned it."

The hen gaped, both brows arched. "She didn't!"

Rhaelyn snorted, "Oh yes, she certainly did. She stepped back and punted me right between the legs. I, ah, don't really recall the specifics, but my sister tells me that she hit me so hard that I lifted right up off the ground. She was, ah, wearing these plated guardsman's boots too, so I really felt it."

"Aww, you poor kitten." Kira crooned, trying her damndest not to giggle again. She tried to caress the panther's poor balls sympathetically, but even that light touch was enough to make him wince in pain. Or maybe he was wincing at the memory.

"And, ah, that was that." Rhaelyn groaned. "I was out. I mean, ah, I've been told that she actually kicked me two more times before I passed out, but I honestly don't... ah... well, I don't remember that. I just remember the first kick, and then a blinding pain, and then waking up in the infirmary a day later feeling like my balls had exploded."

"But they hadn't?" Kira purred, her ears perked with rapt interest.

"Er, no," he uttered, eying her warily. "Of course not. I mean, er, I still have them, don't I?" He cleared his throat, toes curled lightly. "But, er, she was there at my bedside, and oh-so-apologetic about the whole thing. She explained her feelings to me, and apologized a thousand times, and- ah... well, we started seeing each other not long after that."

Kira considered the story for a moment, one brow quirked. "She didn't get in trouble? You're, like, a noble or something, right? And she was a servant's daughter?"

Rhaelyn snorted, "Oh, no, she didn't get in trouble at all. It turned out that my siblings had covered the whole incident up to, ah, 'protect my honor'. They told everyone that it was a training accident. That I had been practicing with polearms and I had accidentally nutted myself."

Kira worked her beak for a moment, sounding out that word to herself. Nutted. That was a new one, and she added it to her arsenal of terminology. "And, what, that worked?"

"Well, there were certainly some... questions, but my family didn't want to press the issue. It was far too embarrassing." He grunted, eyes rolled once more in an intensely familiar gesture of exasperation with just a touch of disgust. "Although my mother did forbid me from ever touching a polearm again. She was worried that I might not be able to give her heirs."

There was silence for a moment, other than Kira's renewed efforts to keep herself from giggling. She finally spoke up again, though, bumping her beaktip against the beastkin's chin. "So, uh, you two went out after that? How'd that work out?"

Rhaelyn smirked, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Just how you would expect it to, I suppose. She was, ah... aggressive. We were just of age, and full of lusts and emotions, so it was a very... physical relationship. My studies actually started to suffer, given how often the two of us were- nf..."

Kira relaxed her grip, realizing that she had started reflexively bearing down on the male's genitals once more. Her tone even, she forced herself to ease up on the male's plums before prompting him once more. "Please, go on."

"Er, w-... well..." The panther panted softly, his free hand draped over the gryphon's own. "Nf... th-... that's it, I suppose. It was an odd mix of, ah, sex and abuse. She seemed to like the cycle, and I... well... I was just happy to be having sex."

"Oh, I'll bet you were." Kira snorted, barely curbing her bitter tone. "So, what happened? Are you still seeing each other?"

"Oh gods, no." Rhaelyn sounded almost aghast at the idea. "Ah, I mean, no. We grew apart over time and, well, my parents eventually started to catch on. There's only so many ways that you can try to explain why your youngest son is constantly limping - riding accidents, sparring accidents, muggings, low-flying birds - my sister even took credit once or twice, to cover for Raff."

Kira rolled her head to one side, audibly working a crick out of her neck. "Did she? I mean, ah, did she actually kick you too?"

"Mm? Oh, ah... well," He seemed hesitant to talk about that, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth at his side. "No, not until after she, er, started trying to cover for Raffina. She, ah, claimed that it was to make the cover story more plausible, but really I think she was just trying to scare off the arranged suitors that my parents kept setting her up with."

"But, ah, anyway, it all fell apart after the winter festival in aught-seven." He paused briefly, leaning down to lick lightly over the gryphon's beaktip. It was a carefully calculated maneuver, intended to keep her from reacting negatively - after all, he had already drawn a distinct connection between her tendency to squeeze every time he mentioned sleeping with Raffina.

Kira practically swooned, but she managed to keep her giddiness internalized. "Y-... yeah? And, uh, what happened?"

Rhaelyn chuckled, "I think we had stopped by the hot springs - it was cold, and the magical springs in Karash are popular during the winter months - and I suppose I had said something stupid."

"No way. You?" Kira uttered, her expression deadpan.

"OR maybe I was looking at the other topless girls a little too much," he continued without pausing. "Raff was always a little self-conscious about her figure, since she was more muscle than curve." And a wince as Kira subconsciously bore down again - apparently any talk about 'curves' was one of her hot buttons, too.

"Nf-... ah-... s-... so, whatever the reason, she found an excuse to get me alone and squeeze my delicates until I was nearly crying-"

Kira grinned, "Hey, just like I-"

"AND," Rhaelyn continued, talking right over the giddy gryphon. "Then she apologized for over-reacting, and wanted to 'make it up to me' with sex-"

"Hey," Kira's eyes were wide now. "Just like-"

"SO-" the panther continued unabated, brow arched as he eyed the suddenly blushing hen. "She dragged me off to my bedroom at the Clanhom estate and we, ah, well you know."

The panther paused for breath, and Kira gleefully seized the opportunity to interject. "So you could still perform after that?"

Rhaelyn snorted, his ears twitching. "Not very well, no, but it's amazing how swiftly the libido bounces back when you have a willing femme straddling your lap."

"No kidding," she smirked. She didn't even sound annoyed this time, instead finally shifting her grip from his aching balls to his equally aching member once more. The panther groaned, not exactly relieved by her sudden change in mood.

"R-... right, so, uh... it turned out that when she had spent ten minutes squeezing my balls, we hadn't been... nf... nearly as... ah..." He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling particularly... vulnerable. "Well, it turned out that it hadn't been as private a place as we had thought. A member of a rival clan had seen it, and the rumors started flying."

"Aw," Kira actually sounded sympathetic this time.

"Yes, 'aw'." Rhaelyn frowned. "My parents heard about it remarkably swiftly, and they burst into my chambers to confront me about it, and-" A pause, a sigh, and a roll of his eyes for emphasis. "So there I was, groaning in pain and pleasure with Raffina mounted atop me, and-..."

"Well," he murmured solemnly. "Long story short-"

"Too late." Kira grinned. She was quick to amend, though, as she saw the panther's expression darken. "But I don't mind. It's been a great story!"

"Hmf, right, well... long story short," he continued. "As you said, she was the daughter of the servant, and I am of noble blood. She was banned from the estate, her father was fired and blacklisted from working at any Clan-approved establishment in Karash, and I was forbidden from ever talking to her again."

"Aw," Kira uttered again. She was conflicted - on the one talon, she was happy to know that she didn't have more competition to deal with, but on the other talon she had to admit that it was a rather sad end to the panther's first love. Or, er, his first lust. Whatever.

"And you never saw her again?" she crooned.

He snorted, "Of course we saw each other again. Her father moved away - to, ah, Forgetown I think - but she was a grown woman so she stayed in Karash. My parents had threatened to disown me if I continued seeing her in secret, though, so eventually I had to... well... I had to sit her down and give her 'the talk'."

The hen frowned a little. That sounded awfully ominous. "Er, yeah? And how did that go?"

Rhaelyn closed his eyes lightly, hand set right back against his temple once more. "How do you think? I'll tell you, though, it was a valuable learning experience. That was the first and last time I ever tried to give 'the talk' to a girl wearing boots with heel irons in them."

Kira snickered, patting the male's crotch fondly. "Aw, you poor kitten." She didn't sound particularly sympathetic, this time. More along the lines of amused and patronizing.

The panther sighed, one ear twitching with faint agitation. "But, well, it was a good thing in the long run. It encouraged me to begin traveling abroad, since there was little tying me to the Clanhome in Karash - honestly, I was happy to get away from the ridiculous and embarrassing rumors that were circulating."

Kira snickered a little harder, "Sure, ridiculous and completely unfounded, I bet."

He chuckled softly, a little amused himself - but his ear still twitched a little in faint annoyance. "Mmn, right, well... ultimately it was a good thing. I became an adventurer. Met like-minded individuals. Made a name for myself."

The hen arched a brow, head lifted and neck craned as she set herself beaktip-to-nose with the panther. "You mean you've actually managed to go on adventures without getting yourself castrated?"

Rhaelyn chuffed softly, exhaling against the gryphon's beak. "I'll have you know that I've saved the world. Twice, even. Three times, at a stretch."

Kira chuffed right back, skepticism practically dripping from her voice. "Oh yeah?"

He frowned, his hand gently pushing the hen's head back down to his chest. "I have. Even with your minimal education, you must have heard about the war against Queen Cygna. The Bitch Queen of legend? Scourge of the north, flayer of men, and necromancer without peer?"

The gryphon stuck her tongue out at the panther again, but she happily settled her head back against his chest. She decided to humor him. "Sure, it was a really big deal. But that was, what, twenty seasons ago?"

"Twenty-two," Rhaelyn nodded. "I was only a novice geomancer back then, but I was part of the elite team that was integral in bringing her down. Myself and six others."

Kira snorted, "I heard that was some alleycat." She paused as she wracked her brain, ears perked thoughtfully. What had his name been? It was something stupid... "Oh, right, Saga. He's got all those dumb stories about how he stopped the Bitch Queen's armies. They sell them in all the beastkin cities."

The panther curled his lip, looking genuinely irritated for a second. "Don't you DARE mention his-" And a forced pause as he drew in a deep breath. Once again, he found himself silently counting to ten. "Yes, he was there, but he... ah... wasn't the only one. I was there as well. It was a team effort, with each one of us playing a vital role in our success."

"Well, why don't you tell me about it?" Kira still sounded skeptical, but the beastkin certainly seemed passionate about it.

"Ah," Rhaelyn hesitated. "N-... no, that's a long story, and... hf... I really am tired." He yawned, ears twitching back a little as the desire to sleep came back in full force. How long had he been talking, anyway?

"Aw," and this time it was a sound of genuine disappointment. Kira licked lightly along one edge of her beak, her eartufts flicked forward. "Well, did... um... did Raffina help you save the world?"

"Mmm?" The panther's eyes were closed now, but he clearly hadn't had time to actually fall asleep yet. "No, ah, I hear that she served admirably in the military efforts against the Bitch Queen, though. Joined some mercenary troop dedicated to wilderness scouting or some such."

"Then who...?"

Rhaelyn opened one eye, stifling an exhausted sigh. He really was tired. Very tired. "Hff... ah... well, there was me of course. And, ugh, Saga. Don't let the stories fool you, he's not a hero, he's just a thief. And... hm... well, there were others, but they came and went."

And a pause, as he looked to the gryphon - and a sigh as he saw that she was still paying rapt attention. "There was Al, our archer. And Garant. I, ah, never got to know him very well. I think he was a warrior from one of those sabertooth tribes from the hinterlands. Mm... and there was Gale, she was our healer, and Nocht - he was her mate."

"What did he do?" she queried, quietly. Her voice was barely a whisper, and her eyes were lidded. It was obvious that despite her enthusiasm, the panther's weariness was beginning to grow contagious.

"Mm... assassin. They were always an... odd pair." Rhaelyn yawned, his ears twitching back a little. "A shame. He, ah... didn't make it. And there was Veridia, of course. She was... well... she was something. But that's a story for another time."

"Mm-hm?" Kira licked along the other edge of her beak now, smiling a little as she glanced downward. She was barely listening now, her attentions wandering as that little voice in the back of her head reminded her of something. "Um, Ser Rhaelyn? D-... do you think that I should... do something about that e-rekt-shun-" and a pause as she resounded the word out in her head, repronouncing it with greater proficiency. "The, mmr... erection... before you sleep?"

The panther sighed, his hand draped over his eyes to block out the world. Honestly, he would like nothing better than to let off a little pressure, but he knew that any attempt at... ah... release would just keep him awake and in more pain than he could tolerate right now.

"Mnf... Kira, that is an absolutely awful idea."

"Oh...?" She seemed crestfallen at the rejection.

Rhaelyn peeked from between his fingers, his whiskers twitching as he couldn't help but notice her hurt tone. "Er, I mean, I'm too tired and in too much pain to even... hf... any effort to 'handle' my problem would, ah, well. It would be quicker to just punch me in the balls."

Kira perked, grinning just a bit. "Well, I can do that too!"

And he stifled a groan, his hand moving to lightly caress the hen's beak. "No thank you. Just, hf... just... can we cuddle for one night? I promise, I'll make it up to you."

"Mf, you better!" she muttered. But she smiled, and she didn't even protest when he not-so-subtly tugged her hand from his pants. She just curled her forelimb about him instead, her eyes closed to slits as she settled comfortably against the panther.

Rhaelyn smiled softly, eying the gryphon for a brief moment before closing his own eyes as well, blissfully drifting off toward a blissful and only slightly-troubled slumber. Yes, this was certainly something he could get used to. He just... what would his Clan think...?

And just as suddenly, he was awake again. Sleep had eluded him. He... had a lot more things to think about, now.