FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part 1

"Just hold still.", she said in exasperated tones.

"I thought you said it would be comfortable, that I wouldn't even notice it.", Yogoloth growled. The straps were not comfortable at all. Sure, he'd been more uncomfortable in the past, but the leather rubbing against his hide would probably leave him pretty sore after a while.

"You're supposed to have them made to measure. You're lucky I could even find a second hand harness that would fit you.", Natanii replied as she tightened a buckle.

"I already told you, it doesn't need to be able to hold anything, I just need to look the part.", the hybrid said more sternly then he intended.

Until now, Yogoloth hadn't needed to disguise his feral form with magic. But thankfully, the size difference between this and his two-legged form, didn't seem to make much difference to what he could manage. He needed to pass for a civilised gryphon as much as possible, but he wouldn't be able to fool another gryphon up close, nor anyone familiar with gryphons. Hopefully it was enough to make Lord Tylor, and anyone else on the estate, give him the benefit of the doubt.

He had sent Natanii a message a week or so ago and they'd met up at the gryphon bathing pond, where they'd cleaned the mud out of their feathers before. She had been very happy to see him again, Yogoloth could really get used to those sorts of welcomes. Afterwards, they'd talked idly about random things, about the places he'd visited, what she did in her civilised job, the people he'd met, what her family was like. But she didn't know what to say when he'd asked her if she could get hold of a civilised gryphon harness that would fit him.

It had taken the gryphoness a few days to find one fit for purpose and they'd agreed to meet up at the pond again. There had been another young gryphon at the pool when Yogoloth arrived, who had smiled awkwardly then quickly flown off. It had put the hybrid in a bad mood which, he was slightly ashamed to admit, he had been taking out on Natanii ever since she had arrived.

"Ow! Not so tight!", the hybrid almost yelped as the gryphoness tugged roughly on another strap.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake.", Natanii said dismissively, clearly not sorry at all, "We wouldn't want to spoil your good mood now, would we?"

Yogoloth began to growl and then caught himself and took a deep breath instead. He was getting angry with Natanii just because another gryphon had treated him badly. It wasn't her fault that most gryphons gave him a wide berth, or worse, attacked him. He still didn't really know what their relationship was either, and that put him on edge too. What ever it was, he didn't want to lose it and he'd just have to get control over his anger.

"I'm sorry, Natanii.", he sighed deeply, "There was another gryphon here when I arrived. He just flew off without a word. It still gets under my hide."

"I'm not a delicate flower, Yogoloth. I understand that people have bad days sometimes.", She adjusted another strap, took a step back and smiled, "But I appreciate the thought, just don't expect me to go easy on you either."

Now it was time for the magical component of the disguise, which was actually quite straight forward. Changing the colour of his hide and belly scutes from green, to the same dark brown of his ears and tail, was pretty simple. It was a pity he didn't have the power to grow fur as well. Shrinking his horns to tiny stubs came next and finally changing his lower fore legs and snout to yellow. It was a crude disguise at best, but it would have to suffice.

"We'll make a civilised gryphon of you yet!", the gryphoness manage to avoid a laugh but couldn't hide a smirk.

The disguised hybrid forced a smile back, hopefully the harness will do its job and show that, regardless of what he looked like, he was a civilised creature either way. Natanii looked suddenly thoughtful and her smile faded slightly.

"Look after yourself, Yogoloth. I hope you find what you're looking for.", she said before stepping forward and wrapping her talons around his neck and briefly nuzzling his mane.

"I will!", he said with exaggerated confidence as he squeezed her back, "I have to return this harness to you, don't I?"

She glared at him for a moment and then laughed.

"Yes, and you don't have a job to pay for any damage to it either."

"I'm a dragon! I could pay you for it no problem.", he said with a toothy grin. He really could as well.

Part 2

As the ground fell away beneath him, the disguised hybrid looked back and saw Natanii taking to the air as well. For a brief moment he thought she was following him, but instead she turned and headed off in another direction. Probably to one of the other towns she managed warehouses in. He'd done his best to remember all the details, dragons and gryphons alike are well known to have excellent verbal memories. But eventually all the new words and strange concepts began to give him a headache and he had to give up.

His general understanding was that Natanii was in charge of three different buildings in three civilised towns. Each building held goods that other civilised races traded and it was her job to keep the goods stored if they needed storing or moved to another warehouse if they needed moving. Apparently there were a lot of logistics involved, what ever that was.

The gryphoness was clearly quite proud of the job which, because of the distances involved, would have required three people of the other civilised races to do. But measuring your own success by how well you do personally meaningless things for other people, just seemed odd to the hybrid.

Yogoloth measured his success on how much he'd improved as a hunter over the last couple of decades, or how his magical skills had developed. These were things that he had use of in his own day to day life. Moving rolls of cloth or sacks of food, that you cannot even eat yourself, between buildings, just seemed like a useless skill to have. But he couldn't deny that Natanii was a fine gryphon. Strong, intelligent, "successful", attractive and most of all, happy. He would love to go hunting with her one day.

Yogoloth turned his head to the side and spotted a distant shape in the sky, it took him no time to recognise it as a gryphon flying roughly in the opposite direction as he was. From this distance he couldn't pick out any fine details, but he knew it wasn't a gryphon he'd met recently. It turned its head towards him and tilted a wing briefly in his direction, but otherwise carried on in the direction it was going. After a moment's hesitation, the disguised dragon did the same and he realised that from this distance, even side on, he was indistinguishable from a gryphon.

He felt stupid for how happy that brief contact had made him. Sure, it was completely fake, and if the other gryphon had flown over, they would have realised that he wasn't a gryphon in no time. But for a moment at least, he knew what it like to be part of a greater community. He felt both comforted and lonely at the same time.

So he thought about Natanii, how she was proof there were gryphons out there who, under the right circumstances, could not only accept him for being a hybrid, but also befriend him. It was such an un-dragon-like thing to want, but he really did want to meet others in his travels. He felt a strange instinct to seek out connections, to develop relationships that he didn't really understand. It was obviously a gryphon "thing". As he grew and became stronger both physically and magically, he'd probably find the going easier.

It had not been a long flight to the Tylor estate and as the disguised dragon approached, the keep and surrounding lands loomed ahead. Thick forests enclosed the area from three sides, probably good hunting territory. The central stone manor was quite grand, but clearly in need of some repair and there were several smaller buildings dotted around it. But there would be one building in particular that the hybrid needed to find, a building that would be a little further out from the rest. Yogoloth searched eagerly for the gryphon stables that he knew the estate had.

Part 3

As Yogoloth circled the grounds for the first time, he noticed that many of the buildings around the manor were looking quite worse for wear. Some of them were clearly still used, but the estate as a whole had probably seen better days. To the south he had seen a couple of fenced off meadows of sheep grazing, oblivious to his presence. He resisted a minor compulsion to swoop down on them, after all, he had already eaten yesterday. He tipped a wing a little and circled back around to the north, away from the manor house and orchards of the west.

There he spotted a large structure a little way off from the rest. It was missing half of its roof, but the overall shape closely resembled those he'd seen when flying over Stone Haven. The disguised dragon brought his wings in a little as he flew in lower to get a better look. This was definitely the estate's gryphon stables, Yogoloth tipped a wing again and lined up his landing.

He came down as gently and as carefully as he could and quickly positioned himself so the stables were between him and the estate manor house. Although he would possibly have to speak with Lord Tylor at some point, if he could get away without doing so, that would be preferable. The hybrid trotted carefully towards the wooden building, it was looking very dilapidated. Many of the old wooden walls were rotting and even the large stone chimney was partially collapsed. The back door hung from its rusted hinges but was unusually large for a civilised building, easily large enough for a gryphon... or a hybrid. Yogoloth peered inside.

"Hello?", he spoke in the gryphon tongue that Natanii said was most common around this area. He tried accenting it similar to how she did, but there was no reply. He hadn't really expected one.

Yogoloth looked around, it was clear that no gryphons had stayed here for a long time. The building was split into two areas, this first room was smaller, perhaps a quarter of the building as a whole, and still had its roof. It looked as though it had been used partly as a storage space and partly as a leather workshop. There was an usually large, wide oven that covered most of the far wall. There wasn't much left of value here, some old tools, a bit of moulded leather and some lumber in a corner. Spiders were the only creatures that lived here now.

The disguised dragon's hide itched and he idly lifted a hind leg and scratched at his flank. His claws caught on the harness he forgot he was wearing and he stumbled slightly as his balance was thrown off. He righted himself and looked around at the harness and sighed. The flight had not been very long, but already his hide was slightly sore where the ill-fitting leather straps had rubbed against him as he had beat his wings. They were designed to be worn by furry gryphons too, not dragons who didn't even have the usual smooth protective scales.

His claws scraped against the flat stones that made up the floor as he headed through into the next, much larger space. The room could have held probably half a dozen gryphons and still have had space to move around. Here the roof had collapsed some time ago, the fallen tiles had been sorted into two piles, broken and unbroken, and stacked against the stone wall that formed the back of the oven from the previous room. Clearly some attempt had been made to clean up recently, but evidently nothing much had come of it.

The far wall was completely open and Yogoloth could clearly see the tree line to the west. It was quite pleasing to realise that it would have been trivial for the gryphons here to take to the air and hunt in the forest when ever they liked. The dragon's fore paw felt the stone ground dip down slightly as he moved forward and he looked to the ground. With the back of his claws, he brushed away the stray twigs, dirt and other debris to reveal a smooth recess carved into the slabs about half a tail's length across.

"Just like a dragon's nest...", he whispered under his breath as he slowly traced a claw across the shallow sloping stone.

Yogoloth looked up and sighed deeply, there was nothing here anymore, no gryphons to question. It looked like he'd have to head to the manor house after all. The disguised dragon took another deep breath and headed out of the stables. With any luck, they won't run him through the moment they set eyes on him.

Part 4

The green and brown hybrid's claws sank comfortably through the grass and into the soil below. He could have used the nearby cobbled path, but Yogoloth had always preferred the feeling of the naked earth beneath his leathery pads. He lifted his head up and got a better look at the manor house that he was heading towards. It was a wide, two story building made primarily from stone. Grey slate tiles kept the rain out and the windows proudly boasted some slightly irregular glass panes separated by a dark metal.

Glass was something that the disguised dragon had seen before, but to use shards of it in mere windows, seemed a little extravagant. The civilised races seemed awfully frail when faced with something simple like wind or rain. But never-the-less, Yogoloth could appreciate the value and expense of such a luxury easily enough, Lord Tylor was clearly quite wealthy, even if a couple of the windows were missing a piece or two.

The disguised dragon had decided to approach the manor house head on. Sneaking around would only make people suspicious when he finally had to talk to them. But Yogoloth still hadn't come up with a plan as to what he was actually going to say. The subject of what he was would need to be handled carefully, the ancient laws were very specific about keeping the existence of both dragons and magic secret from the civilised races. He didn't really know how the gryphons did it, for some of them to live so closely and yet keep the old laws secure, seemed like an awful lot of potential problems and stress.

That was not to say that the old laws had no flexibility. Yogoloth could have killed Marrus the day they'd first met and the old laws would have been obeyed. But although leaving him alive and allowing him into the secret world of dragons was... well... impulsive, it was not technically against the rules. At least meeting the civilised people on this estate was planned and he could probably just ignore questions and avoid answers. Perhaps he could say he was a rare sub-species of gryphon? Stranger things were rumoured to be true.

Yogoloth had reached the walls that surrounded the manor and gardens. The wall seemed more for show than defence as the main gates were wide open and the young hybrid could have probably jumped over the stony barrier anyway. The opening was wide enough for two carts to pass both ways and easily accommodated its strange visitor. There didn't seem to be anyone about, there was the distinct sound of an axe against wood and a dog barking playfully, but there was no one in sight.

"Hello?", Yogoloth called out in the trade tongue. The sound of chopping stopped and soon a young but well muscled civilised wolf came into view from behind a small wooden shed nearby.

He carried a sturdy looking axe over one shoulder and wore nothing but some leather leggings and a pair of worn but sturdy looking boots. Chopping wood was obviously hard work as his pale grey fur was matted with sweat and he was panting slightly. The lupine's amber eyes regarded the strange gryphon silently and Yogoloth kept himself side on so his wing covered as much of his naked hide as possible.

"I'm grounds keeper Ferden, what's your business here, gryphon?", the question was worded carefully, neither friendly nor aggressive.

"My name is Yogoloth, I want to speak with Lord Tylor."

"MASTER Tylor will be busy with the trade ledgers, I'd wager.", the wolf's emphasis on the word 'master' was less than subtle. "What is it regarding?"

"It's regarding the gryphon stables, I want to speak with him directly.", Yogoloth felt his patience running out.

He wasn't very comfortable in this leather harness, he wasn't very comfortable talking politely to civilised folk and he wasn't very comfortable with this axe wielding wolf getting in his way. The grounds keeper slowly swung the axe down, rested its head upon the earth and turned his own head slightly away from the disguised dragon.

"CONNER!", he called out to the air before turning back to Yogoloth. Soon another slightly smaller wolf, with darker fur came jogging into view. He wore a set of simple off-white woollen clothes. He looked at the strange gryphon and then to Ferden. The larger wolf spoke again.

"Go tell master Tylor that a gryphon called Yogoloth is here to speak only with him. You might as well fetch Nigaal and bring your kit while you're that way.", he said casually and Conner ran off towards the manor house.

"I suppose master Tylor would want to meet any gryphons who came this way. I'm sure he won't be too long, if you'll wait?", the wolf said without taking his eyes off the peculiar gryphon. Yogoloth had to admire the wolf's confidence, but he was growing to dislike him very much.

Part 5

Ferden could tell when a situation wasn't right, and this weird gryphon arriving as it had, didn't seem right at all. He would be the first to admit that he wasn't an expert on gryphons, in fact, he tried to avoid them as much as possible. But this 'Yogoloth' gave him a bad feeling and he wasn't often proved wrong when he decided followed his gut. Never-the-less, he would give it fair chance and see what it had to say, but he was in no mood for pleasantries.

Yogoloth stared back at Ferden in silence, the two of them hadn't spoken a word since Conner had left to find Tylor. The disguised dragon had decided to give the groundskeeper his best predatory stare. But the axe holding wolf just shifted his position fractionally, as though slightly uncomfortable, and simply stared right back. This one was going to be trouble, the hybrid thought.

It wasn't long before the manor's main doors opened and three figures stepped out into the sun. Yogoloth looked away from Ferden and recognised one of them as Conner. He was no longer in his woollen clothes, instead he wore a leather cuirass and leggings. The figure on the other side was also clad in leather armour and seemed to be some sort of feline. Between them walked an unarmoured human wearing dark brown breaches and a well-fitted white linen shirt. The hybrid assumed that this well dressed, grey haired, middle aged man must be Tylor.

As the three of them approached, the disguised dragon realised that Conner and the feline, who he assumed must be Nigaal, also wore crossbows on their backs. This was what Ferden must have meant when he told Conner to bring his 'kit'. Were they were expecting trouble from him? Planning to cause trouble? Tylor looked at the strange visitor with a slightly concerned look on his face and briefly stroked his neatly trimmed beard.

"You are not a gryphon.", he said simply. Conner and Nigaal took a couple of steps away from each other and Ferden's body seemed to tense up in physical readiness.

He should just fly away... now. Forget all of this foolishness. They were onto him and were going to attack in just a few moments. If he took to the air now, he could tear off the harness and just keep flying until he was miles away from here. Yogoloth could feel his heart beating frantically in his chest, he could even feel it throbbing in the flesh of his ears. His breathing became erratic and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. Backing away a couple of steps he opened his mouth wider and tried desperately to pull more air in but he couldn't seem to do it. He couldn't breathe.

Yogoloth felt his legs going numb and they began to weaken. There was something seriously wrong, it felt like his whole body was breaking down. It must be something that hadn't formed right in the egg, something inside him that hadn't developed properly. He'd been living his entire life, flying the skies and hunting the forests, never knowing that there was something wrong with him, just waiting to fail.

He was vaguely aware of the human waving off the other two, walking forward and saying something, but he couldn't focus properly, his head was becoming fuzzy. The day they first met, Natanii had been surprised that he was strong and healthy, and the ancient laws implied that all hybrids were sickly and never developed correctly. They'd been right all along, it had just taken time for it all to catch up with him. He was dying.

The disguised dragon's breathing became more ragged, he began to feel light headed and had trouble balancing. He lowered his already shaking legs down and felt his belly scutes rest on the gravely ground. Yogoloth couldn't even feel his wings anymore and just accepted that he was going to die like this. He'd not done everything that he'd wanted to do with his life, but the young hybrid felt he'd been pretty lucky to have had the chance to live to begin with. He hoped Natanii would find someone to settle down with, he got the impression that she was quite lonely at times.

Part 6

Yogoloth's breathing had eventually calmed and his frantically beating heart had slowed. Both were still working harder than they should have been, but he didn't feel as though he was dying anymore. What ever had happened to him was over, he was still alive. The feeling had come back to his legs and wings and he became aware of voices.

"... similar to my grand father..."

"... some kind of disease..."

"... no... from his work in the militia..."

There was the sound of booted feet jogging and water splashing on the ground. The prone hybrid opened his eyes and realised that he'd tucked his head under a wing at some point. He lifted the wing and carefully turned his head around towards the voices and sounds of movement.

Tylor was speaking with Ferden, the pale wolf no longer had his axe but he still watched Yogoloth with some suspicion. The feline, Nigaal was nowhere to be seen and the sound of running was coming from Conner, who carried a wooden bucket and seemed to have misplaced his weapon as well. Conner didn't seem to share the same attitude as Ferden and smiled gingerly as he placed the water bucket down nearby on the gravely path.

The hybrid's mouth did feel quite dry and a drink might help to clear his head. If they'd wanted to poison him, why not just run him through while he was... well, what ever it was that had just happened. So he pulled himself forward slightly, reached his long neck towards the bucket and drank greedily. It was unusually clear and quite cool, but he didn't disapprove as he rapidly drained the lot.

"How do you feel now?", Tylor said with a hint of genuine concern.

"I'll be fine.", Yogoloth said, not knowing if it was the truth or not, as he shakily got to his feet. He looked down at the now empty bucket and quickly added, "Thank you."

Tylor smiled and looked back to Ferden who was still standing nearby watching the two of them. He hadn't moved much closer, but what little distance the unarmoured human had covered, told the recovering hybrid that he wasn't in any immediate danger from them. He felt confused and slightly foolish to have collapsed like that. What ever was wrong with him, he had to find out as soon as possible. Yogoloth quickly ran his magical senses through his body, but found nothing out of place. Once he had finished here and could unravel the magic locked up in his disguise, he'd be able to give his body and more thorough examination.

"Ferden said you were asking about the stables?", Tylor said after looking over the hybrid, "I'm afraid the stables haven't been in use for many years."

"I wasn't looking to stay, I... don't sleep in stables...", Yogoloth began awkwardly, not sure exactly what best to say and not exactly feeling himself either. "Master Tylor, I was actually seeking information."

"Good grief, please call me Reinald. Goodness knows I've been trying to get Ferden here to stop calling me Master Tylor, but he's as stubborn as wolves get.", Tylor laughed slightly, clearly not used to talking with a creature that was so much larger than he was.

"That's fine, Reinald it is then."

There was an awkward pause before Reinald spoke again.

"I know it might be considered rude, but you're not like any gryphon I've seen before. I was wondering...", Reinald trailed off a little, clearly eager for answers but not wanting to seem pushy. Yogoloth took a deep breath, he might as well just jump straight in.

"You were right before, I'm not a gryphon. But my father was, and I think he was born here."