FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part 1

He didn't feel like getting up, but he couldn't just lay on the gravel path all day. Strange images and thoughts flashed through his brain as the light-headedness slowly wore off. Horned women, short men and silver dragons faded from his consciousness as rapidly as they had arrived. His mind seemed as fuzzy as... a gryphon's arse. Yogoloth chuckled at that, in spite of how absolutely wretched he felt.

"Well, I don't know what information could be of use. It's been a great many years since any gryphons lived here.", Reinald spoke while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "You're seeking him out, aren't you?"

The disguised dragon looked up and met the human's gaze. He looked quite old, older than Marrus had been on the day he died. But although his face was more wrinkled, it was not as hard as Yogoloth's old friend. Reinald seemed burdened somehow; careworn, but not unkind. The hybrid supposed that a lifetime of hardship or a lifetime of wealth could make two people look very different. The same went for dragons of course, his mother's long life was carried in her scars, in her stride and in her eyes.

"Yes, but I knew he wouldn't be here now.", Yogoloth replied, the strength in his voice returning. There was no need to lie now, all he needed was a name.

Reinald considered that for a moment. "Well, if you feel up to it, why not come walk with me. I'll see what information I can find from the old archives."

It was as good an excuse as any to give his body. Yogoloth tilted his head down a little and pushed himself up from the ground. The small irregular stones that made up the path crunched like giant snow flakes underfoot as they were displaced by the hybrid's paws. It hadn't required as much effort as he'd feared, but to hell with keeping his flanks covered by his wings, he needed to stretch. Turning a little so as not to catch anyone accidentally, he closed his eyes and slowly spread his wings stretching them out wide.

Reinald took a step back and Ferden a step forward, bringing them both to the same range. Their actions were neither fearful nor threatening and Yogoloth merely took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the air on his hide and the light breeze in his wings. He half folded his wings, sunk his claws into the gravel path and shook himself a little. A few small stones were sent flying, but thankfully didn't hit anyone or anything important. With his wings now back against his flanks, the hybrid opened his eyes, and after a deep breath, realised he felt a lot better.

"Thank you again, Reinald. Lead on.", he said feeling more like his old self.

Reinald smiled and turned to Ferden. "I think I can take things from here. You don't have to keep your eye on me every time we get an unexpected visitor."

"If you say so, sir.", the pale wolf said gruffly as though in complete disagreement. Regardless, he fetched his axe, from its place leaning against the side of a nearby shed, and walked back the way he had originally came when Yogoloth arrived.

Without another word, Reinald started to walk back towards the manor house and the hybrid padded up beside him. The manor house was quite impressive, but clearly very old. Once upon a time, the stone bricks had been smooth and neatly fitting. But the years and the elements had not been kind to the dwelling. Vines and moss grew over much of it, kept barely in check, no doubt, by the grounds keeper or other staff that worked or lived here. Cracks and minor repairs were evident and gave the impression that the estate was once much more wealthy than it was now.

"I see that you're admiring my grand family home!", Reinald exclaimed with exaggerated pride. The sarcasm was not lost on the disguised dragon, but he had never before seen a more grand home in his admittedly short life. It seemed a little ingenuous to imply that this manor was anything other than grand.

"It is... impressive.", Yogoloth said diplomatically. Reinald smiled but otherwise added nothing more.

They reached the large oaken doors that Reinald had originally come through, and now he was closer, the hybrid could see the stonework in more detail. Although heavily weathered, the doorway was clearly framed with carvings of flying gryphons. Each one dancing through the air as though they were following the arching stone upwards to the apex. It had probably been quite beautiful once. Reinald stopped in the open doorway and looked back at his guest.

"I've been assured that gryphons found themselves most comfortable within the main hall in the past."

Yogoloth peered into the gloomy building. He supposed it couldn't hurt, he'd already come this far. After all, it was basically just a cave... with more light and a pair of doors.

Part 2

The disguised dragon's eyes adjusted rapidly to the gloomy conditions within the manor. There was a lot more light flooding in than Yogoloth had expected and he was forced to blink a couple of times as his head passed through a shaft of sunlight and made the mistake of looking up. Reinald walked ahead, spoke to the smaller wolf from before and gave him some inaudible instructions, before Conner walked briskly off through a door at the far end of the room.

For a moment, Yogoloth just took in the interior of the building. He had been in civilised buildings plenty of times before, but they mostly consisted of taverns and inns and he had always been in his two legged form. It felt very strange to be inside such a grand structure and still be walking around feral. The dragon hybrid couldn't help smile a little to himself at the thought, no other dragon had ever walked where he walked now and he still wasn't technically breaking the ancient laws either.

He had expected there to be more furniture, but this wide open space had been left almost just that. There were old tapestries depicting scenes of nature, battle and various animals on the side walls. These were interspersed by the glazed windows which let in their light. Each of the windows sported a iron sconce above, each of which probably held a pool of thick tar oil. Yogoloth had seen simpler such fixtures before in taverns and they could easily be lit or extinguished as and when required. At this time of the day, their light was unneeded.

Two large doors led off to either side of this central room and at the far end there was a wide staircase that circled up and around the back. This then led to a balcony which itself formed part of a hallway that ran off to either side and out of sight. Below the stairs were a couple of smaller doors, the only such doors too small for a gryphon in the entire room. It had been one of these doors that Conner had left through earlier.

Along one side of this lower room there were a row of three slightly raised square platforms sporting thick red and brown rugs. They were perhaps a little over a foot high, a little wider than Yogoloth's body was long and about half as deep. Something about them drew the hybrid's attention and he slowly padded over to them to get a better look. They seemed to have no purpose and the rugs, although unusually thick, were quite worn and thread bare in places.

"Ah yes, feel free while I go dig up the old archives.", Reinald said making Yogoloth jump inside slightly. He had forgotten that the old human was there and turned to see him gesturing towards the rug nearest to his four legged guest. "Although, I cannot be held responsible if they are not as comfortable as they once were, the rugs had been in storage for as long as I can remember before today."

Suddenly Yogoloth understood, these were places for visiting gryphons to lay in comfort while waiting for what ever business they had. The height of the platform would probably mean that a resting gryphon would probably be at about eye level to a standing human or otherwise. The hybrid supposed that it would be much less intimidating to the other civilised races if they could speak at eye level to a resting gryphon rather than have them towering above in an alert stance.

"Oh, thank you.", Yogoloth said with absolutely no intention of settling down like some vast pet on an old, smelly rug. He leant forward and sniffed at the course yet soft fibres and his nostrils flared slightly. He couldn't exactly place the smell, but it wasn't exactly pleasant nor unpleasant.

"I'll not keep you waiting.", and with that Reinald left his strange visitor alone in the entrance hall of the manor.

The hybrid looked around at what little furniture there was to see. A few well crafted, padded, wooden couches were positioned against the side wall across from the gryphon resting rugs. He padded over to them and spotted a small table with a collection of strange figures on a square wooden board. He'd seen such things before in the various taverns and inns. Board games were fairly popular in most places that he'd visited, but he never really took time to try to learn the rules of the games he'd seen.

The disguised dragon found his attention drawn back to the gryphon rugs and he sighed as he slowly walked back over to them. Perhaps his father had once laid on these very stone ledges and lightly sank his talons into these very fibres. Yogoloth looked up and confirmed that no one was watching him and turned back to the centre rug. It couldn't hurt just to see how it felt.

One foot at a time he stepped onto the rug and the thick fibres felt strange on his sensitive paw pads. Not unpleasant exactly, but it was not like anything he'd felt before and so it took a few steps for his body to become familiar with the sensation. He turned a couple of times on the rug and then slowly settled down with his back against the wall, facing towards the door that Reinald had left through.

As Yogoloth's scutes and hide pressed against the rug he couldn't help but smile at the sensation. This was actually quite nice. He draped his fore paws over the edge of the stone platform and wriggled his body slightly, his wings settling further against his flanks. The disguised hybrid found himself sighing in contentment and felt more comfortable than he had in a long time. He dangled his tail over the far side, half closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feeling. Softer than grass, flatter than a cavern floor, warmer than sand, none of the dirt and debris... he suddenly held a new appreciation for the rugs.

"I'm glad to see you've made yourself comfortable.", Reinald said with a smile. The hybrid suddenly looked towards the source of the voice and for the second time was surprised to see Reinald looking his way. He was about to get off the raised platform but he'd already been "caught", so he might as well stay on the soft rug. If he had been a gryphon, then his eyes would have been about the same level as Reinald's, but Yogoloth's longer neck forced him to look down.

"Oh, yes. It is very comfortable actually.", the hybrid couldn't help himself from grinning slightly. He took extra care not to show off his teeth too much. Reinald opened a soft leather bound folder and flicked through a few pages.

"So, do you know how long ago your father was born?"

"About 85 years or so."

Reinald hummed to himself as he pulled one particular page from the set of loose leaves in the folder.

"Here we go, this must be him, FAR-a-sun? Fa-RAR-soon?", Reinald seemed to struggle with the pronunciation and Yogoloth reached a slightly trembling fore paw towards the paper. He swallowed.

"May I?"

"It's in quite an old script that was popular at the time. It's not in gryphon.", replied Reinald but he passed the page to the hybrid anyway. Yogoloth took the page, handling it carefully with his dew claw and peered at the small letters.

"Farasuun. Emphasis on SOON.", The disguised dragon felt a little smug as this script was exactly the same as one of the languages that his mother had taught him and that his father had taught her before. He looked back to Reinald and added cryptically. "I'm older than I look".

Part 3

Yogoloth read through the paper that Reinald had given him to look through. It was a Record of Hatching, the sex, the names of parents, the given name of the hatching and some basic information of where and when. There was even a basic description of appearance too. Dark brown fur in a flat colour across his body, brown eyes and yellow/brown beak and talons.

There was a note further down, apparently scribbled later, commenting on the wide range of colours that his growing feathers were taking on. Pale to dark browns and a few almost black. This was defiantly his father, his wings were very distinctive and all the other details fit. Yogoloth took a deep breath.

"Farasuun...", he breathed as he handed the parchment back to Reinald. The human took it back, put it back in the leather folder and fastened it up. Yogoloth placed his fore paw back on the rug and flexed his claws slightly.

"You've never met him, have you?", the old human said, almost a statement of fact rather than a question. The hybrid wasn't sure if he liked how easily these details were being put together, but he had to admire Reinald for being able to pry without making it sound like he was.

"No, but my mother told me a lot of about him. But names weren't... my mother's thing...", Yogoloth said awkwardly trying his best not to bend the ancient laws anymore than he already had. They just weren't made to account for hybrids who actually lived, only that they shouldn't be allowed to hatch in the first place. He seemed to repeatedly put himself into situations where he wasn't sure how far he could push them. This was one of those times.

There was a sudden but quiet growl nearby and the disguised dragon's eyes darted quickly down to see a large black dog standing a little behind Reinald. The creature had something wooden in its jaws and was cautiously growling at Yogoloth as he lay on the comfy rug. He wasn't about to disturb himself by getting up so he just growled even louder back. The long haired canine seemed unimpressed.

"Torruun! Stop that at once!", Reinald yelled affectionately as he too turned to the dog. The creature's ears fell a little and it ducked its head slightly. The sound of its master's displeased voice far more fearsome than the huge dragon/gryphon hybrid with all the claws and teeth. Yogoloth chuckled to himself a little.

"And what do you have here?", Reinald added as he reached down and snatched the wooden object from its jaws. It turned out to be a wooden mallet of some sort. "Where did you get this hammer? I'll be taking that."

Yogoloth actually laughed a little out loud at the exchange between the two of them and realised he not only felt physically comfortable but also mentally. This place was certainly unfamiliar to him, but there was something about it that made him feel relaxed and secure in some way. The dog jogged off up the stairs and vanished from sight.

"Well now you've met my family.", Reinald said with a sigh. Yogoloth suddenly realised that he had misunderstood something that the old human had said earlier. He hybrid had thought he had been joking about his home being grand, when in fact he was joking about it being a family home. He wondered if he had lost his mate or simply never found one to begin with. Such a large home with such wide spread lands was quite dragon-like in many ways, but the hybrid knew that the civilised races thrived on companionship.

"Would you mind indulging an old man for a moment?", Reinald said reaching a hand a little towards Yogoloth. The disguised dragon moved his head away until his long neck formed an S-shape.

"You... want to touch me?", the hybrid asked a little cautious and a little confused at the same time. Reinald frowned a little awkwardly and went to move his hand away. Yogoloth hadn't been able to detect anything remotely magical in the area since he'd arrived, his attitude softened a little and moved his head forward again. "If you must."

Reinald smiled and slowly placed his fingers and palm on the end of disguised dragon's snout. The hide there was soft and warm and the human couldn't help but grin a little as though a child might with a long promised toy. His fingers began to rub gently between Yogoloth's nostrils and the hybrid breathed out letting the air blow against the curious fingers.

The rub soon turned into a light scratch and moved around his snout to the disguised dragon's fluffy brown ears. Yogoloth wasn't sure whether to be deeply offended at being petted like some sort of simple beast or to just enjoy the attention like the simple beast he was. The latter choice eventually won out and by the time Reinald's other hand started rubbing under his chin, the hybrid had closed his eyes, partly to fully enjoy the feeling and partly to help resist a strong urge to pur.

"Some creatures can change the colour of their hides to blend in with their surroundings. Is that what you can do to make yourself look more like a true gryphon?", Reinald said casually. Any desire to pur was immediately lost in Yogoloth's throat as he opened his eyes.

"What...?", he said, still slightly distracted but also slightly nervously.

Part 4

Reinald's hand moved and started scratching a little harder at the scales on top of the disguised dragon's head. Although very tough, each scale still transmitted the feeling through to the hide beneath. Yogoloth wanted to pull away and deny that he was disguised, this human was far too sly for the hybrid's liking. But somehow he didn't feel threatened and he couldn't even remember the last time he'd been treated as well as this... actually he could, it had been a few years after he'd met Marrus.

"I assume that your mother could change colour as well?", Reinald continued.

Yogoloth couldn't tell if the human truly believed that his hide could just change colour or if he was giving the strange creature in his entrance hall a good excuse for how he could do it. The more and more he spoke with Reinald, the more and more he started to respect him. It seemed a fairly reasonable idea though, the hybrid had seen such creatures himself, some kind of lizard that could blend in with its surroundings to evade predators.

"Yes, I got it from my mother.", Yogoloth said, not even lying.

Old estates like this dated back centuries, and although the buildings would have been infrequently rebuilt, the libraries, treasures and the families themselves would have remained for even longer. The disguised dragon could only imagine how much time this lonely human had probably spent reading about all manner of subjects instead of spending it with a mate or raising young. It was not a surprise that he had a vast pool of knowledge to draw from.

The scratching moved up and back to the hybrid's mane and he leaned forward a little to give Reinald better access. Yogoloth felt no shame in this, he wasn't ever going to visit this place again and he didn't know anyone here. Reinald's other hand moved to the other fluffy brown ear and began to rub around the base of it. The disguised dragon clenched his throat, stifling another pur, good god he was starting to get aroused. His eyes flicked open and he reluctantly pulled his head away, out of the humans grip.

"I... I should be going.", he said, managing to get control of himself. Yogoloth quickly climbed to his feet but was careful not to damage the rug with his claws in the process. Reinald sighed subtly and smiled.

"Thank you for humouring me. I suppose I have one last thing you might want to see before you go. If you'll wait here, I can see If I can find it?", Reinald said slightly cryptically.

"Sure.", Yogoloth glanced at the main doors that lead outside and was happy to see that they were still wide open. He wasn't sure if they would normally be left open at this time of year or if they had left them open to make him feel a little more comfortable. Either way, it was still light and he could easily spare a moment longer. Reinald walked towards one of the smaller doors at the back of the hall, swiftly pulled it open and descended the stairs beyond.

Again, Yogoloth was left alone in the spacious hall. He flexed his paws against the rug, looked down and was tempted to settle back down and get comfortable again, but he really should head off after Reinald got back. So the hybrid padded off the platform and went to have another look at the board game across the hall.

The tiny figures seemed to be made from a combination of dark metal and wood, intricately shaped and carved to resemble warriors and war animals alike. The pieces were lined up with a lighter wooden set at one end and a darker set the other. Like two armies, they faced each other in silence, waiting for the order to attack. Eventually, the sound of boots against stone drew Yogoloth's attention in time to see Reinald struggling ever so slightly with a large flat object wrapped in a slightly discoloured white cloth.

"This is the one. Something I think you'll like.", the old human said as he placed the object down. It was perhaps about four feet high and three feet wide and Reinald leant it against the wall a little off to the side of the gryphon rugs. Yogoloth padded over to it cautiously, his curiosity beginning to build.

"What is it?", the hybrid asked as he settled on his haunches a little way off from it. Reinald merely smiled and then pulled the covering off to reveal a framed painting. A painting of a human and a gryphon.

Yogoloth barely noticed the human at first as his eyes were drawn to the gryphon's wings, they were his wings. This was a painting of his father. If the hybrid hadn't been sitting down already he would have probably fell backwards onto his rump anyway. He was seeing his father for the first time in his life.

Part 5

The disguised hybrid's brown and yellow head tilted to the side slightly as he studied the painting. The gryphon shown was covered in thick brown fur, the same colour as Yogoloth's own mane and his beak and talons were a muted orange. Yogoloth tried to figure out what his father must have been thinking at the time it was painted, the expression on his face was one of humour and possibly mischief. But he also saw a lot of love in there too, a protective, brotherly love for the human who was partly in his grasp. The young human, probably a teenager like his father, was quite familiar too.

"You... you knew my father?", the disguised dragon finally pulled his eyes from the painting and turned to Reinald.

"Oh, good heavens no. That was my grandfather, although people often say that we looked very alike in our youth."

Of course. Yogoloth often forgot about the short life spans of the civilised races. His short sixty four years would be a whole life time for a human, and he wasn't even really an adult himself yet. He turned back to the painting and felt his heart pump a little faster beneath his hard chest scutes. The young dragon often assumed that if he ever managed to see his father, it would be because he had found him in the flesh. He had never thought that there would be a picture of him wrapped up in an old bit of cloth in some basement somewhere.

"So...", Reinald began, using his telltale prying voice. "How many more centuries are you likely to live for?"

Yogoloth was starting to get less and less surprised at the sudden jumps in knowledge that the old human was making. He laughed and shook his head in amusement.

"Fine, tell me why you think I'll live for centuries and then I'll show you something you might like.", the hybrid turned to Reinald and smiled.

"Ah... for that, I'll have to tell you about my grandfather.", the old human said as he sat himself down on the nearby gryphon rug. Yogoloth settled on his rump a short distance away and waited.

"Back when my great grandfather was lord of this estate, he maintained the gryphon stables well. There was an older gryphon couple who nested there. They were not lodgers, not pets, not staff. They were family and they all worked together to make the estate a grand place. As it happened, my grandfather, Gregory, was born at around the same time that the gryphons themselves hatched an egg. I now believe that this gryphon was your father, my grandfather only ever referred to him as Far."

"Anyway, they became fast friends. Far learned to walk first, it was easier on four legs I suppose, and then he helped my grandfather do the same. They learned the spoken word together, they played together, they protected each other, learned to read and write. Gryphons, humans, all the civilised races grow at about the same rate, although gryphons do tend to live a little older in the long run."

"They shared many a secret, confided in each other, cried when they could share their pain with no others. So when your father met someone, while out couriering small packages, my grandfather was a little concerned when his friend couldn't tell him anything about her. The secrecy was... out of character for his friend. Far took a serious, evasive tone when ever the subject was brought up. In many ways, the same as you do when the subject of your mother is brought up. My grandfather recognised that this mystery female made your father very happy, so he chose not to pry."

"For you to know our old local dialect, both spoken and written, even better than I, proves you were here at the time to learn it. The secrecy that surrounds your mother is the same as the secrecy that surrounds your father's mysterious lady friend, that seems unlikely to be a coincidence."

"One day, your father returned from one of his many flights. All my grandfather could do was be a shoulder for him to cry on. For a while, he just held your father's furred head in silence. Your father said, that he had done something terrible, something that might haunt him forever. Something he simply had no choice in. That he had to leave, had to fly far away from it all and that he would miss his best friend, his spirit brother, dearly. That day was the last anyone saw of him."

Reinald had reached the end of his story and Yogoloth felt a knot in his heart. He had always known that his father had left his mother, she had never been shy about admitting that. But neither of them had ever known that it had cut him so deeply. That abandoning his dear dragoness had been such a painful wound to bare. The hybrid wondered if things would had been different, if his father had known that the very eggs he brooded that one time, were his. However, it did not do well to dwell on what might have been.

"Thank you, Reinald. You made a young... gryphon very happy.", Yogoloth gave a slightly tight lipped smile. He rose to his feet and padded over to Reinald, the old human got to his feet but the hybrid still towered over him. He placed a single clawed paw onto Reinald's shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes.

"There are things in the wild places of the world, the darkest corners, the highest mountains, the deepest jungles, that it is not the civilised people's place to know. That, I cannot change. But I do owe you for what you have done. But you must not speak of these things to others.", Yogoloth said, with more than a little authority in his voice. Reinald nodded a little uncertainly and that was all that was really needed.

Yogoloth took a few steps back and smiled slightly. He slowly spread his wings for the first time in Reinald's presence and reared up onto his hind legs. At the same time he tugged at the magic that held his disguise in place and the shapes began to unravel. Clawing at the air and opening his jaws in a silent roar, the hybrid's brown and yellow hide turned back to its natural green and his horns sprouted from the back of his head. The whole display was enough to make Reinald take a step back, his eyes wide in awe.

As the hybrid's fore legs began to drop back down to the stony floor, Yogoloth grabbed the strands of magic that were unravelling in his body, reformed them and his disguise reasserted itself. As he landed, his hide was once again a mixture of brown and yellow and his horns had shrunk back down, hidden by his mane.

"I should be going now. Thank you again for your time, Reinald. I'm not sure how I could really repay you."

Part 6

The hybrid paused on the brink and looked back into the interior of the hall. As much as he had achieved everything he had come to do, and more, he still felt like lingering a little longer. Perhaps it was the knowledge that his father had once walked these very halls, or perhaps there was a temptation to look at the painting one more time. But none of these things got him any closer to actually finding his father, if he was even still alive. Now he had a name, Farasuun, and it was the last piece that he needed.

All that remained was to gather up all the pieces and revisit his mother's lair. His brows furrowed slightly at the thought, it probably wouldn't be so bad this time round. Regardless, he had plenty of time, as Reinald had said himself, he would live centuries to come. The old human had followed the hybrid to the large doorway and now watched in silence as Yogoloth's rich purple eyes scanned around the hall one last time. He would remember the comfy rugs, the beautiful painting, the expensive furniture, even the board game. Visiting this place would be remembered for years, decades, to come.

"Ah, I see you found my great grandfather's old Xiangqi set. Something he bought on one of his many trips seeking trade routes to the west.", Reinald said as he watched his visitor's gaze move around the great hall.

"It's very... interesting...", Yogoloth replied and then suddenly his brow furrowed again, his ears perked up and he turned to Reinald. "Wait, what did you say it was?"

"Oh, just a chess set my grandfather bought back from one of his trading missions in one of the more distant realms."

"No, did you call it Xiangqi?", the hybrid said a little excitedly. The strange word had been lodged in his mind for nearly four years now and he'd always assumed it had been the name of a person. Now, after he had given up on ever finding out who they were, he'd discovered that it was just a board game. Although, that would make perfect sense considering who had asked him if he knew it. "Do you... know the rules? How to play?"

"In fact I do. The game had been a minor pass time for me and my grandfather."

"Could you teach me the rules? Is it quick to learn?", Yogoloth asked a little more timidly than he'd have liked. The old human merely smiled, walked to the board game and pointed to a small empty table nearby.

"Put that table near one of the rugs, and I'll see what I can teach you."

Yogoloth looked at the small table, it only had a single leg at the centre and a broad base. So he simply tilted his head sideways, picked it up in his mouth, careful not to scratch it with his teeth, and carried it over to the gryphon rugs. Reinald winced slightly at the sight of the old table being carried so aggressively and precariously, but decided not to say anything. His guest wasn't exactly the usual sort of guest and couldn't be expected to conform to these sorts of subtle notions. How had he expected the four legged creature to carry it anyway?

Reinald carefully carried over the board and the wooden, pewter pieces to the new table as Yogoloth settled down onto the rug. It was clear to the old human that his visitor appreciated the comfort, and he wondered if his guest been in many places before that catered for gryphons. The half gryphon was a mystery that no matter how much the human uncovered, there was always a little more to question. He couldn't imagine what sort of creature had colour changing hide, retractable horns and claws and lived for hundreds of years. But they were out there, gryphons knew about them and wouldn't talk about them. And they could produce eggs together. Perhaps these mystery creatures were like horses to the gryphon's donkeys, and this strange creature was a hybrid, just like a mule.

Regardless, he had a new pupil to teach how to play chess. He seemed quite an intelligent creature, so hopefully this wouldn't be too painful... for either of them. With any luck, the large predator wasn't a sore loser. Reinald set up the board with the pieces in their starting positions. He had always preferred the symmetry of this version of chess rather than the local variety.

"Ok, this is how the pieces must be set up, each side has five Soldiers, they can only move forward one point at a time like this.", Reinald moved one of the small pieces. "Once they cross this river, they can also move sideways like so. But they can never move backwards."

Reinald continued explaining the basics, his new pupil would not be able to retain all the rules in one sitting, but as long as they could get the basics in, he could jog his memory as time went on. At least, that was the old human thought. As it happened, Yogoloth absorbed the rules like a sponge, and although he lacked any of the usual tactics, he never needed reminding of anything once he had heard it once. It was rather remarkable, perhaps this was a gryphon trait or perhaps something he got from his mother.

"Although I can read and write various languages, everything we learn is through the spoken word. Our histories, our teachings, everything passed down from mother to hatchling for generations. I suppose it's only natural for us to be able to easily retain things we hear when we're concentrating.", Yogoloth smiled. Reinald moved a Soldier and then the hybrid frowned. "You've just hobbled my Horse's leg..."

"Soldiers can move sideways once they cross the river, remember."

"Yes, yes I know.", Yogoloth growled slightly. "I just didn't... see it."

"You don't advance your Chariots soon enough either. Move at least one within a few moves of starting a new game."

"That doesn't help me now you've cornered my Horse and destroyed my Catapults...", he growled a little more. Reinald had long since realised that the growls were nothing to actually worry about. He rather liked this gryphon hybrid, perhaps he could be persuaded to return for another session another time.

"At least you've got your Elephants and an Advisor guarding your General well enough."

"That won't help me once you bring your other Catapult and your Chariot to bare... you've pushed me right into a hopeless defensive position, AGAIN. I just cannot seem to glance at the board and understand it as a whole. It takes me too long to absorb it all.", Yogoloth seemed more frustrated with himself than his opponent.

The rules were easy enough to remember, but it was such a complex game, once you got a few moves in, that there was no chance to learn it all in one day. The hybrid thought that even a year might not be enough to master it. Finally Yogoloth realised that he wasn't going to win this game either, even after six games, he'd yet to come even close. He gently knocked his General over and conceded another game. Reinald simply smiled, not because of the victory, but because of the progress his pupil was slowly making.

"It is getting late.", Reinald conceded himself. It took a moment for him to find the right words, and even then they came out a little awkwardly. "If you fancied, you could stay the night at the stables, here on the estate. I understand that the stables are hardly fit for purpose anymore. But you said that you don't normally use them anyway."

Yogoloth actually quite liked the idea of that, to sleep in the very stables that his father had been born and raised in, it seemed... quite appealing.

"I would like that, but first, one more game.", he grinned at Reinald in a slightly predatory fashion.