FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A Friend Beyond

Sticks gasped as he stumbled into shallows of the sea where they met the shoreline. The remnants of waves licked at his toes as he crawled toward the dry sands of the beach. Each heavy panting breath brought back the memories of what had brought him here on this strange world, to a strange beach in a land which he didn't even know the name of. It had seemed like a good idea to the ferret when he first thought of it; stow away on a ship and see where it took him for new adventures. The onset of the storm that had thrashed the vessel around like a child's toy had forced the captain to call their navigation mage to take them to calmer waters. Never would he have dreamed that they would open a gate to another world to find those waters. Who would have ever imagined that same captain would be cross at the man who broke cover and grasped his hand to keep him from falling overboard into the storm churned waters. Surely that should have earned him a free ride to the next stop the ship was to make right?

Wrong. The only trip he got was over the railing after a good scuffle with the crew. Thankfully, they had waited until they were on the calm side of the gate or portal or.. what the hell did magic users call those things? It wasn't important. What was important was that he made it to land and needed to start the whole survival activity if he was to, well, survive! First thing on the list? Water, at least a bit less salty than that which soaked his blue T-shirt and jeans. His pink white nose twitched along with his cookie shaped ears as a gentle pattering sound stalked quietly alongside the faint fresh scent of unsalted water beneath the sounds and scents of the surf. So water was near by, next and most important on his list, his collection! A quick count of all his belongings came up with no lost items, although they were all quite soggy.

"Whew, that was close. I would have been lost if I had lost my sticks or that group of angry looking people marching down the beach," the last part of his own statement didn't sound right, especially with a group of strange and angry looking fellows walking down the beach.

They all seemed to be wearing bits of armor of various types; plate, mail, and leather. They seemed well armed for a day at the beach as well, but it wasn't too bad a situation. None of them had fire arms. They all looked human, mostly. There was something very off about them though. Each and every one had a complete lack of life in their eyes or expression to their faces. It was as if they were flesh and blood automatons of some sort, waiting for a command to change their pathing behavior. That concerned the ferret for only the briefest of moments before a smile spread across his lips and brightened his eyes in the dark brown mask of fur that surrounded them on his face. Real life npc's, a splendid chance to play a video game for real! But what kind of game was it, he had to find out by interacting with the group. His eyes scanned the pack of people to try and pick out the one who was issuing the orders. They shifted positions and gave the ferret a glimpse of what looked like a very stocky feline of some sort wearing robes that were adorned with feathers and gem stones in rough forms, reminding him of the less nature oriented shaman types. The thing's large clawed hand rested on the hilt of a heavy looking sword at it's hip. Beyond couldn't get a good idea of what type of blade it was other than the thick crescent moon shape of the scabbard. Yellow eyes glared at everything around the short black furred feline as it regarded everything with disgust. The panther like fellow did not seem the least bit friendly and when his eyes fell upon the ferret, Beyond felt his blood run cold. Perhaps this game was not the best of ideas after all.

"What is this pathetic being that stands before me?" the cat growled with a deep, gravely voice.

The ferret smiled at him and dipped his head, "Hello there. My name's Beyond, but some people call me Sticks. Who might you be?"

"You dare address a member of the great Bohrauk race as though you were an equal? Destroy this wasted pile of flesh. Do it slowly so I can hear that arrogant voice beg for death," the shaman snarled as the odd men all slowly drew blades and hefted axes to carry out their orders without question.

The entire pack moved with a single purpose as Beyond back pedaled quickly, "Now wait a moment, let's not be too hasty here. I was simply trying to be friendly- if you don't want me around I can leave."

The Bohrauk only glared at him as the men surged forward with no life in their eyes as they moved in on their prey like living zombies that had never felt the touch of undeath. The ferret's mind raced as he tried to gain enough footing in the sand to flee. He could handle his own in a confrontation, but these men were armed against his bare paws and there were a lot of them to boot. The first of his assailants reached him and made a savage swing with his broadsword. The ferret ducked the wild swing and lunged at his attacker with a full force punch to his face with all his weight behind it. Beyond ducked down quickly to scoop up a handful of sand and hurled it into the eyes of the next attacker.

The man nearly dropped his twin axes to grasp his eyes until the Bohrauk spat a single order, "Ignore it!"

Beyond was horrified to see the sand coated eyes focus back on him as if nothing were wrong. His stomach churned a bit at the very sight of the grains of sand mixing with tears on the surface of the damaged eyes. That momentary lapse cost him dearly as two more men surged around him, the first attacker finally recovering from the blow to his bleeding face. The ferret readied his body to attempt to fight back, even as he prepared his mind for what he felt was inevitable against such stiff odds. The still living zombie to his left made a move first only to stop dead in his tracks and crumple with a short crossbow bolt lodged in his left eye. The assailant directly behind Beyond was suddenly jerked back with what looked like a massive raptors talons engulfing his head as a mighty avian flung him back and lurched his forelimb forward again to snap the poor sap's neck. The remaining seven living flesh automatons paused to reassess the combat situation as what appeared to be a very large and powerfully built, male gryphon towered over all of them as he sat back on his haunches. To the male's right was a rather lovely and lithe female of a falcon base with twin modified hand crossbows strapped on her forelimbs.

A smile spread wider than the ferret believed his face to be, "Well now, you certainly make dramatic entrances don't you, old bird?"

"You still step in the largest piles you can find I see, crazy ferret," the huge broadwing gaped his beak in a grin that betrayed the amusement in his deep amber eyes.

A clash of blades caught both male's attention as the female had engaged the enemy during their exchange, "Boys, I hate to interrupt, but we still have some angry customers to deal with."

The male gryphon lunged quickly and tore the nearest man's shoulder to ruins with a single powerful swipe of his long sharp talons in a shower of blood and bits of tattered flesh. Beyond dodged a lunge of a dagger and quickly reached down to scoop up the first discarded weapon he could find, the broadsword that had been dropped in the first skirmish of the battle at hand. Out of the corner of his eye he watched what he thought was a gryphoness dance and whirl with the flashing glints of metal that were her very odd weapons that resembled a strange sort of hand scythe, giving the look of very large metal talons held in her forepaws, complete with a cutting edge on the inside edge of the crescent that was set on the handles in a sword like angle. It was a beautiful and deadly display as she danced around her foe's attacks and brought the razor sharp blades to glide effortlessly through the flesh of two victims at once; one to take a slash through his chest between his ribs and through his heart, the second caught the razor edge of the weapon across his throat to release a surge of blood with the beating of his heart. Clearly the lovely lady was certainly no delicate flower or damsel in distress.

A flash of steel brought Beyond back to the rest of the world as he brought his borrowed weapon up to parry the blow with not even a fraction of a second to spare. The strike on his blade was heavy as the attacker was wielding a massive two handed blade of some mighty intimidating design that was certainly not created to give it's victims a clean cleaving death. The jagged edge of the blade was clearly designed to cause massive tearing damage to anything unfortunate enough to take a blow from that blade. He moved and dodged as quickly as his body would allow, thankful that the heavy blade was slowing his opponent down. The ferret finally noticed an opening as the man flung the sword back to prepare for a swing. He lunged and drove the point of his pilfered weapon through the mindless fiend's chest to destroy his vital organs. Sticks raised a foot and shoved the body of his opponent from the blade to retrieve his borrowed weapon before he looked around to assess his ally's situation. The huge male gryphon was having an easy time of fending off his foes, using the heavy reinforced leather harness to absorb a double strike from the twin axes of one opponent while his massive foreclaw made a very quick and skillful strike to the other man's chest. The speed that broadwing moved with was quite unnerving for the raw size and power of the creature wielding that speed and precision. The lethal strike was actually two strikes with one swing of his foreclaw, the palm striking the sternum and shattering the ribs with the natural strength of the beast while the talons raked through right after to tear the flesh and broken bones away with ease. Heart, lungs and other organs fell from the gaping hole in the mindless man in a grizzly show as they toppled to the sand and quickly became coated with the grains of the beach. The gryphon was not done with his attack however, as he used the momentum of his swing to turn his body and spread his right wing to drive the leading edge into the throat of the ax wielding man with a wet crack of vertebrae.

Beyond decided that his old friend was perfectly fine and turned his attention to the female, who had taken on the powerful feline that called it's self a Bohrauk, what ever that was. She seemed to be holding her own, but the shaman was holding equal ground against her as well. His heavy sword was unsheathed and swinging with fierce power against the nimble lady as she made light deflecting parries rather than trying to block his powerful swings. The ferret was able to see the shape of the wicked blade for the first time, much like a heavy scimitar with barbs along the spine of the blade that pointed toward the hilt. The quarter of the blade near the tip had a strait sharpened edge while the rest of the blade was serrated to give it a chopping edge and a nasty slashing edge. The blade was etched with a myriad of vines and arcane symbols that were cast in a different metal with a blue hue to it. The weapon was as ugly a tool of war as it was a beautiful work of art.

Beyond measured the bohrauk with his eyes and quickly lost faith in the broadsword's edge against such a sturdy foe. He quickly dropped his pilfered weapon and scooped up the big ugly two handed blade with a high wild swing. His motion was not a moment too soon as just before he made his move, the bohrauk had managed to shove the female back and began to cast some sort of lightning spell. The energy only sparked and sputtered in it's hands as the heavy blade tore through it's neck and severed it's spine in one clean sweep, decapitating the bohrauk completely. A few seconds after the kill, the big male gryphon finished off the last of his opponents with a skull crushing grip on his head with a single foreclaw.

"Got the bohrauk? Now that's an impressive kill, even as an assist," the gryphon tossed his final kill aside as though it were rubbish.

The female gave a snort at the big male as she re-sheathed her weapons along her sides, just under her folded wings, "An assist that didn't come from the one person on the field who should have been engaging the shaman."

Beyond finally had the chance to get a good look at the lady who had accompanied his old friend on the unexpected rescue and felt a bit of warmth in his cheeks. Even those who did not fancy a feral lady of any kind would have found themselves enthralled by the enchanting beauty of the creature that sat before him. Slender build with a light muscle tone that was not bulky in the slightest, although there was no question of the strength that coiled within that subtly sculpted sinew. Over that finely toned body was a luxurious coat of silky fur and feathers that seemed to shine and almost glow with health in sandy tans and a soft rusty red to mark her wing bands. Along her belly and up under her throat to her beak was a very subtle white patch that blended very well into the light sandy tan of her main body colors. That feathery coat ended at the 'elbow' of her forelimbs, where scaly skin took over down to her rather hand like forepaws. The scaly skin did not look tough at all, like the big male's, but rather it looked very soft and supple in a gentle tan that was much like her coat. His eyes reached back up to her face where her dainty ear tufts laid back half way as her odd eyes stayed firmly on the big male. Those avian eyes were an enchanting brown with a golden hue like pools of burnished gold.

"Yes, well, if some one hadn't attacked him before his men were down I would have been glad to engage the shaman," the large male gave a bit of a huff, "Besides, you're my premier assassin, you better be able to handle a Bohrauk shaman."

Beyond gave a smile at the huge broadwing, those deep amber eyes and massive coal gray scaly forelimbs were all familiar to him, "Easy now Raust, the lady worked hard today and I think she did a fantastic job saving my butt."

"What ever Romeo," The gryphon shook his head and touched the gold and silver insignia on the center of the chest piece of his heavy leather harness, "Guild Master Shieldra to HQ, we have confirmed bohrauk presence. Their scouting party has been neutralized, prepare preventative measures and extract our party of three."

The silver star glowed faintly behind the golden stylized gryphon that was reared up over it as a male voice sounded from it, "Counter units are already assembling on the staging grounds sir, but I think we may have an communications error. It sounded like you said three, but you only left with Scout Kenta."

"I ran into an old friend, I'm fairly certain my superiors will allow for the addition to my unit. Or is the word of the highest power within the StarTalons not good enough for you? We could go through proper channels and end up waiting for my approval, or I can okay my own decision now and you can do as you were told," the gryphon growled.

Kenta touched her own brass and silver insignia, a symbol of her lower, yet still fairly high rank, "That's Master Shieldra for, 'We picked up a stray we know to be safe,' we'll need extraction to get cleaned up."

"Gate coming up," A new voice replied in a soft and gentle tone, quite undeniably female with a hint of wisdom in the confidence of the voice.

The ferret watched in awe as the very air sparked at a pinpoint with a bright blue-white light that spread and tore a hole in space it's self to reveal a rather lovely garden on the other side. He knew at once where that huge lawn with well kept and uniformly cut grass was, simply by the presence of the massive two story house sitting in the background. The dark brown painted wooden structure was easily large enough to comfortably house the next four generations of the gryphon family that lived within. The house was very familiar with the windows only existing on the top floor and the large flat spot on the roof over the library for flying family members to land upon. The garden on the other hand, had changed quite dramatically since his last visit. The koi pond just to the right of the double doors was not present, nor was the white painted gazebo that sat in the center of the stone walk that ran from the house, right up to the portal they were standing at.

Kenta and Raust both stepped through the gate casually, since it was a normal means of travel for them, the ferret found himself distracted by an interesting glint of metal. The bohrauk's beautiful, yet vicious blade lay in the sand next to his feet. Without a thought, Beyond reached down and grasped the handle of the weapon and raised it to test the grip. The leather wrapped handle was oddly warm against his palm as the weight of the steel resisted his call and tried to return to gravity's will. The weapon was a little on the heavy side for a one handed blade, but otherwise it was very comfortable in his grip as the ferret gave a few test swings. It was a bit of a fight to overcome the shaman and his never had been dead zombies, a trophy of such a scuffle was not too much of a stretch of any rules in his mind.

Raust, the large male gryphon, eyed the blade in the ferret's hands, "A fine trophy of a close shave. Keep what you kill and what have you, but we can't let you have that, at least not for a few hours. Bohrauk often curse their weapons, so I will have the mages in the family go over it with a fine toothed comb for you. You can visit with the rest of us while they work, sound good?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a grand idea to me," Beyond smiled at the two avian warriors as they gave a nod and stepped through the tear in space.

He quickly followed behind with his prize cradled in his arms, finding the strange sensation of adjusting to an ever slightly different gravity and atmospheric pressure to be a bit unnerving. Beyond was just not used to hopping from world to world like he was walking down the street, although that would have been quite the fun ability to have. He could either find many a mischievous prank to pull, or he would move about so much he would make himself sick. Either way, it would be an endless source of fun for the ferret to have such an ability. His hand stroked the blade in his arms absently as he let his eyes turn about the huge garden in search of the mage who had given them a way to the gryphon's home. It was only when he turned back toward that tear in the fabric of space that found a silver scaled dragoness sitting behind them. Her form was very lean with a lovely shape to her feral form that flowed gracefully to her hornless head that held the two sapphire blue eyes that regarded the bunch warmly.

Beyond smiled at her and dipped his head, "Thank you for the path home, that place was not very fun when all was said and done."

"That is kind of you, but I am afraid I am not the one who opened that gate for you," the dragoness tilted her glistening silver muzzle downward toward her left, "You owe your gratitude to my granddaughter, Reana."

Beyond followed the angle of her nod to find a rather small, white gryphlet sitting next to her hind leg. The child stared back up at him with the most dazzling emerald green eyes, accented by the black tear tracts that framed the outer edges of her cheeks. That black also graced the tuft of fur on her tail tip and made three bands on her wings. Those intelligent emerald eyes stared up at him from above a charcoal gray falcon's beak that matched her forelimbs and rather hand like foreclaws that he knew to be referred to as forepaws by the local gryphons. The ferret smiled down at the gryphlet as he knelt down to give her tiny head a pat.

"Don't touch me, you have blood on you and I don't want to try and get that out of my feathers. I am fine with any sort of generic child greeting you wish to bestow upon me once you have cleaned yourself up," Reana looked away for a moment and talked into the empty air, "Momma, daddy is home with Kenta and a friend, but everyone has blood on them from some sort of scuffle."

Raust turned to look at his old friend with a chuckle, "She's using magic to send a message so Kaaryn can get the other two girls in line before we come in. They aren't allowed to attack daddy with snuggles and play bites until the blood is washed off in the bathing chamber. Oh, momma, this is Beyond, an old friend of mine from before your resurrection, Beyond, this is one of my mothers, Tensaih Shieldra."

"A pleasure to meet you ma'am," the ferret bowed graciously to the dragoness, his newly acquired blade held against his chest.

Tensaih dipped her shining silver head in return as her sapphire blue eyes focused on the blade, "Like wise, good sir, but I must ask what the story is behind that weapon."

"Oh, this," he asked as he looked down at the Bohrauk's sword and holding it tighter, "I picked it up after we took care of a pack of roughians lead by some Bohrauk character. Quite the unfriendly bunch, the lead kitty went and lost his head by the end of it. Your son there said that some magicians about the house could look ti over for me and make sure it's safe to own."

"We prefer to be called mages, not magicians, neither of us will be pulling and rabbits out of hats any time soon. Reana and I will look over your prize while you lot bath however, you may find it easier if I do this," she reached out a taloned finger and touched his head to let a warmth race through his body all at once.

The ferret found himself less determined to clutch the blade to his chest and more trusting of the dragon to hand her the sword, "That was rather odd. For some strange reason that touch made you seem more than safe to hand my new sword to."

"Yes, that was the compulsion to protect the sword from anyone else and distrust those who seemed interested in it," Tensaih replied absently as she wrapped the blade with so many protective spells that it glowed faintly before she took it from him, "Go get a bath kids, we have work to do in order to make this safe for you to carry."

"You boys go on ahead, I'm going to visit Saiyele for a moment," Kenta announced before she sauntered off toward the large house.

Raust cocked a brow after the female, "You know, Callista is off with her mother and father today, she doesn't like it when you visit him alone."

"Jealous one is she," the ferret cocked his ears forward with interest at the exchange.

Kenta looked back at them, "She can get over it, I'm not out to steal her fifteen year old boy toy. You should also stop staring at my tail in front of Reana and Tensaih."

"She's a hard gryphoness to read isn't she," Beyond looked back to his large friend.

Raust gave a snort, "She is quite easy to read, you just have to know the variables within range. She will flirt and show off a bit, except when there is company she feels the need to defer reverent respect for, such as my mother, or in front of children, such as Reana."

"Ahh, that makes quite a bit of sense when you put it like that. Shall we head to the bath so your wee ones can welcome you home," he smiled and gestured toward the house.

The big gryphon nodded in return and started to walk slowly toward the house, "One other thing, Kenta is not a gryphoness."

"She's not? What do you mean by .. OH! So um, when did 'she' make the change," Beyond tried his best not to sound offensive, after all, he had no hatred of those who were born the wrong gender for their minds and souls.

Raust sputtered out a huge laugh, "You are so very far off the mark, my friend. Kenta was born female and very happy to be female at that. No, she is not a gryphon at all, but a very similar species. She's what is called a 'gryphal'. Mostly the females exist any more, the males were mostly sterile and had no desire to mate in the first place."

"So, how did they manage to get little baby gryphal if the males were not interested in mating," the ferret asked as he struggled inside to understand how any living thing could possibly have no desire to enjoy such a fun activity as sexual interactions, "I mean, they had to spread some how, and if they weren't mating to make more of their kind then things would end rather quickly."

The gryphon opened the back door for his friend, letting him enter the rather large kitchen. Beyond walked right in to the dark stained wood and black polished granite adorned kitchen. To his left was a wall lined with cupboards over a long counter that wrapped around the corner of the wall farthest away from him. To his left was a rather large, stained oak table with matching chairs lined along it's sides. He didn't bother to count, but he was certain they were no less than a dozen along each side. Somewhere at the far end of the counter was the doors that lead to the large cold storage chamber with the wash sink near by.

"Hi Daddy! Me and Trixie are making lunch for everyone," a very cheerful, yet very soft voice came from the direction of the counter.

The ferret turned his head to follow the large gryphon's gaze to find the smallest little silver dragon he had ever seen, "Hello there Amethyst, what do you and Trixie have for us today?"

"Um, well, we have sandwiches, with spiced rolda, lettuce and tomato," Amethyst struggled through her words as she noticed Beyond and tried to hide herself behind the silver vixen that stood next to the counter where the tiny dragon sat.

Trixie, whom the ferret presumed the vixen to be by the process of elimination, rested a gentle hand on the the little one's back to help comfort her as shyness caused her to wilt a bit. The vixen was shorter than he was by near an entire head and she was much leaner to match her smaller height. If she had breasts to speak of, they were small enough to be hidden by her baggy black cover all style uniform. Her brown hair was tied back in a loose braid that ended between her shoulders.

"You boys get cleaned up and stop terrorizing my little assistant. I'll get her calmed down and prepared to meet you in the mean time," the tone Trixie used was harsh and did much to hide the soft and sweet sound of her natural voice.

Beyond suspected that she used her natural tone with the children and in private with her closest companions. What ever the case, his presence was making little Amethyst nervous and that was just no fun for anyone. He wanted to be remembered as fun 'uncle' Sticks, not the big scary ferret monster. The ferret took on the tall task of looking friendlier than he normally does, which was quite harder than one would think for some one who just looks friendly to begin with, and waved goodbye to the tiny dragon. Raust pushed open the double swinging doors to let him into the huge front room of the massive home.

The ferret was mildly familiar with the room, but it had been so long since he had been there, some things had changed. The strangely shaped sofa and love seat were familiar, with the extra wide seat cushions that allowed a gryphon to sit behind people sitting on the outer ends of them. The same old black canvas covered the seats, providing a surface that was resistant to talons. Beyond thought it would be fun to jump on those extra sturdy sofas, but he refrained from dashing off and doing just that. His eyes drifted over the black lacquered coffee table, along the red and gold patterned rug beneath it. His eyes drifted up the fireplace with it's dark wood mantle, above which hung a painting of the Shieldra family. The painting had both grandmothers, between them was the mother and father of the bunch, consisting of the big brown male and a rather small looking female with a silvery gray plumage and a pair of rather colorful wings. The aide and two of the three children he recognized, but in the arms of the aide that crouched before the parents was a third gryphlet, much like the little white with black one, only in reversed colors with dazzling amber eyes. The whole bunch was gathered together in the gazebo with just a hint of the garden showing around them.

Beyond thought the big male must have a heart of iron to withstand the warmth of those three little ones when he needed to keep them in order. That female was rather lovely though, a fine catch for his dear feathered friend. He hoped he could meet her in person. A bit of movement on the sofa's caught his attention. There on the extra long seat of the sofa was the lovely falcon face of the silvery female, her amber eyes down on the squirming black and white ball of feathers that surely have been the third gryphlet. The little one had the same lion shaped hind quarters as her father, but the elder female had the hind quarters of a jaguar, complete with slightly darker silvery gray spots. Her wings were a different color than the rainbow hues of mostly warmer colors in the painting, her wings were now light pinks and greens with a splash of blue.

"Why hello there! You must be the lady of the house," the ferret bowed with a smile, making quite a bit more of a show of the gesture than it called for, "It is a fine pleasure to meet you, and might I add, fine taste in your selection of male specimens."

The gryphoness blushed at her nares as she held tightly to the squirming youngster, "Oh, I do not really care for males in that manner. Linda, please behave."

"Well, how is it you are here with a male as a mate if you don't care for them in such a manner," the ferret asked with a rather puzzled look on his face as he tried to grasp the entire concept.

The female was quiet for a moment, clearly very shy about the situation, and just about everything if the ferret were to take a guess, "It is, complicated. He is special, the exception that proves the rule of my desire for females. Something about him makes me feel complete and I simply feel as though I help him function in some way. Linda, please calm down, this is very rude and inappropriate."

"I wanna hug daddy," the black feathered gryphon child snapped back as she struggled harder against her mother's grasp.

The huge male shot a hard look at the gryphlet and snapped with all the command that lead armies of mercs to goals that most nations could not achieve, "Linda! Your mother said to calm down, now stop it. If you want to treat her so badly, I'll return the favor by tanning your hide up one side of this house and down the other. Am I clear on that?"

"Yes daddy.." the girl turned stone still as she seemed to shrink in on herself, lowering her head and flattening her ears.

The gryphoness nuzzled Linda softly, "Raust, you do not have to be so harsh with the girls, you know I feel bad when you are."

"I'm sorry Kaaryn, but I will not stand by and let them walk all over you because your heart is too kind to punish them. They should be so lucky to have a mother who loves them so much, rather than a strict witch of a guardian who would never let them have any fun or explore life and all it's wonders," Raust shook his head firmly.

Beyond felt it best to step in, even though there wasn't really any glimmer of a family dispute, a lighter mood was always in order, "Hey now, how about I take your big fella to the shower and we get cleaned up so the little one can greet her dad eh? Then everyone can be happy."

"I believe you have the best idea, old friend," the male gryphon gave a slow nod as he turned toward the hall, just right of where they had come out of the kitchen.

The ferret wrapped an arm over the broad shoulders of the huge gryphon, "I always have great ideas."

"Uh, usually most of half of the time," Raust gave a crooked grin as he lead his old friend down the long hall, the same old dark stained wood walls and hard wood floor made up the long corridor, dozens of doors spaced a good bit apart, making the rooms seem quite fair in size.

On their journey down the hall, two spots caught the ferret's eye and piqued his curiosity; the office where the gryphon did his administrative work had no door, and the one door with no lock or knob that remained closed as they walked by. It ate at his mind to wonder why there was no door on an office that held important documents. It was even more maddening to try and guess what might lay behind the mysterious knob-less door. What secrets could the gryphon possibly be hiding behind such a strange door?

Maybe he would ask his old friend, or perhaps find a way to sneak in to discover the answer to such a grand mystery.

His wandering mind was pulled back to the present reality when the gryphon turned the corner at the end of the hall. When Beyond rounded the corner to join him, the great bird sat before a pair of heavy oaken doors that bore heavy iron handles and equally heavy hinges. A huge foreclaw pushed them open as if they weighed nothing at all. What they revealed stunned the ferret as he was met with the darkest room he had ever seen under any illumination. The walls, the floor, and even the ceiling of the vast chamber were covered in black marble. The surfaces above his feet were polished to s smooth shine, while the floor beneath his feet were hewn in such a finish that it felt soft beneath them, and yet offered extraordinary footing. Along the left wall was a huge glass chamber that held many railings and pipes to dozens of shower heads. If one were to stand in such a shower chamber with it on, they would have felt the water streaming onto them from every possible angle. Surely it must have been designed to defeat the gryphon's water proofing for quick bathing. The ferret turned his gaze off to his left to discover what appeared to be a large stage set about two feet above the floor with the velvety hewn marble making steps up to the surface that wafted gentle tendrils of steam, betraying the true nature of the structure as a huge bathing pool.

Raust padded over to the steps and stepped up to wade into the pleasantly hot waters, "Well, strip down and come on, we're guys, nothing to hide and it will be faster to bath at the same time."

Beyond gave a grin and began to strip off his old clothing, having enjoyed the previous swim, he was not fond of the itchy feeling the salt was giving his skin beneath his fur. He was aware of, but not disturbed by the contrast in their physique. The loss of clothing revealed the ferret to be strong, with a subtle sinew and a bit of a rounded belly to him, while the gryphon was showing every sign of his active and strenuous profession with a well toned body of powerful, yet not overly bulky muscle. The water had matted the normally fluffy feathers down and revealed just what kind of definition he had. Beyond had always considered his friend a handsome fellow, that opinion was only reinforced when he witnessed the great bird in the state that was the same to the gryphon as being naked was to the ferret. The water revealed something else too, scars, the gryphon's form was riddled with them and the feathers and fur were no longer hiding them. It was strange to Beyond to be able to read the story of pain and sacrifice that had been etched into the very body of his old friend. One scar stood out above all the other smaller slash and puncture wounds. It was a very large scar that started at the bottom of his keel bone and wrapped over his right shoulder to end just before the working muscles of the gryphon's wing joint. The pale white/pink skin was three fingers wide and the ferret had heard of it before, since it had nearly claimed the very life of the gryphon. He had never witnessed the scar first hand before, never had he appreciated the scope of the devastation his friend had suffered that day so long ago.

"By the gods man, I had no idea how close we came to losing you back then. That had to hurt so bad," Beyond couldn't help but reach out to touch the scar, as if contact would erase that horrid moment from history for the both of them.

The gryphon gave a soft snort, "It wasn't the only time I found myself on the shadow dragon's door step, but it was certainly the most famous and most eventful. And yes, that hurt like hell, good thing I was unconscious at the time. The recovery was a real torturous experience."

"Well, the bright side is, death wasn't strong enough to take you that day, bet you walloped him good," the ferret gave a toothy grin at his friend.

Raust shook his head and chuckled softly, "The ones who were supposed to take me if I died were my mothers, I couldn't bring myself to try and whoop them if I wanted to."

"Hmm, this is a bit awkward, what we need is a good subject change," Beyond suggested cheerfully.

As if on cue, the double doors opened for a brief moment and Kenta slipped into the bathing chamber before closing the doors behind herself. The ferret watched her for a moment before he ducked a bit into the water as it became clear that she was heading right for the bathing pool. The female gryphal tested the water and began to gingerly wade into the water as she let her body adjust to the temperature. She did not seem to notice the two males as she slowly sank into the water and let the warm liquid seep into her coat and take the natural fluffiness out of it.

"Ah, as much as I hate to bother a pretty lady, there are two males currently making use of the bath," Beyond blushed softly as he curled up on himself, not normally the shy type, something about this particular female made him want to appear decent, as if her elegance and manners needed to be matched.

She eyed him for a moment as she stood out of the water with her sleek and lean form being revealed as more athletic than she looked with her coat being fluffed, unlike the gryphon, her body was pristine with not a single scar upon her, "Stand up and let me see."

"I beg your pardon," Sticks stared at her blankly as the shock of what she said washed over him, keeping him still for what was probably the only two seconds of his life that such a thing had or would ever happen.

Kenta sat on her haunches and folded her forelimbs over her chest, "Get your wet naked butt out of the water so I can see. How hard is that? You're staring at me when I am in a state that is the same as being naked, make the trade or I'll have to kick your soggy ass back into your clothes and out of the bathing chamber so I can clean up."

"You certainly are a fiery lady aren't you," the ferret chuckled softly as he stood from the water, revealing his plump belly and his sheath protecting his male bits over his orbs.

The female gryphal gave a snort, "You have no idea how fiery I can be sweetheart. Sheath on the twig and a couple of berries. You look much like a male gryphon would normally. That will do, I don't need any further analysis."

"Well now, let's get this muck off ourselves so we can visit with the girls and Kaaryn," Raust chuckled softly at his old friend as he reached for a small shelf set in the side, out of view if one was not in the pool already.

Beyond gave a little laugh as he sank back down, "Right then, can't be keeping the little ones all tucked away and bored, it is just insufferable to keep children from playing!"

"Then hurry up and scrub down so we can get going," the gryphon tossed the bottle to him before he started to lather the soap into his feathers.

Beyond caught the bottle with ease and poured some of the liquid soap into his hand before she began to scrub down his own fur. He noticed the red tendrils of blood that rinsed away into the water, and the bubbles that floated on top drifted toward the far end of the bathing pool where it disappeared under the wall. It was a fascinating sight, but he had to clean up, there were gryphlets and a baby dragon to meet and play with. Who else would know how to have fun but wee balls of scales, feathers, and energy? As he dipped down to rinse the soap from his fur, he noticed that Kenta had slipped over to the gryphon and was pressed against his side, gently scrubbing at his feathers while he returned the favor for her. It was very rare, if ever, that the ferret felt that icy jolt of uneasiness shock through his veins, but there was just something that he could not ignore.

"Ah, Raust, did I not see the plump belly of a healthy pregnancy on your mate," Beyond asked with an uncharacteristically serious tone.

The gryphon nodded slowly, though he did not move away from the lithe female that was now under his wing and running her paws over his powerful chest and flank, "Yes, Kaaryn is indeed carrying a fine litter of three. The girls are so very excited to be big sisters when they come out."

"SO what are you doing with such a lovely female gryphon snuggled up in the bath," the ferret crossed his arms over his chest with a bit of a huff, "You may be a friend, but that just means it's my duty to knock you silly when you need it. This behavior under the beak of your pregnant mate certainly seems to call for it."

Raust sighed softly, "It's not like that, my friend. Kaaryn is a full on lesbian, she has no physical interest in males, but I had the kind of heart hers longed for. She allows me females to sate the physical urges she can only tend in extremely rare cases. I, too, am understanding of her need of another female and allow her any female she desires. Kenta just happens to be crazy about the both of us. If it wasn't for the political bullshit that some group is pulling, she would already be with us in a triad."

"I see, well now, you are one lucky buzzard then aren't you? But, I must know, what garbage is that group pulling to prevent you from having a complete loving circle together," Beyond asked as curiosity replaced the small anger he had felt just a moment ago.

Kenta growled softly as she pressed her soapy form against the sturdy frame of the gryphon, "Raust is a political figure that a great many in the political arena are not pleased to see there. He started and stays in touch with the humble roots of the less wealthy people, and that makes him dangerous to those who make their way in life by exploiting us simple folk. The specific problem we face is the fact that I am eight years younger than he is, the fact of our meeting and being in the lower range of when he could mature, they suggested that he was molesting me. To come together would only act as proof to what they say, even though he was just a big sweetheart that was protecting me."

"That does sound quite a bit like this big lovable ball of feathers. Ah, the protecting you, not the molestations, at least not until you were both older," Beyond smiled warmly at the more touching portion of the tale, "He is a good fella, you've made a good choice for your secret beloved. If ever you need some one to vouch for your decency, you know you can always depend on me. I wouldn't even have to make up anything, so it really is the best kind of statement!"

"Well, I would never ask anyone to lie for me, ever," Raust replied before Kenta whispered softly into his ear, resting against him and holding tight, "I hate to do this, but when you're done washing, Kenta needs a little alone time with me. I'm sure the girls will be more than enough to keep you busy until we get back. Towels are near the door, Trixie should be waiting with some fresh clothes by now."

The ferret grinned broadly for a moment, until he noticed the more than amorous look in the female gryphal's eyes, "Ahem, right mate. I'm cleaned up. If you need a moment, I'll give it to you."

"Thank you, old friend. We shouldn't be too long," the gryphon gave a nod to the ferret as he held the female gryphal nice and tight, letting him catch a glimpse of a tear rolling slowly over her wet feathers cheek.

Beyond stepped out of the bathing pool, letting the water drain from his fur for a moment at the top step before he stepped out and down the steps to the floor. He was pleasantly surprised to find the texture of the floor to be just right so that it felt soft to his feet, and did not become slippery when it was wet. The ferret looked about for anything that resembled a towel rack or a closet so he could dry himself off.

The huge doors of the bathing chamber opened just enough to let the silver vixen slip inside with a new uniform and a towel in her arms, "Hey, ferret, I have some clean clothes for you, a towel and a brush too. Use the brush or you wont like where I store it."

"Aww, now you're just making promises that you wont follow through on. So mean of you," he grinned at the vixen, who was clearly less than impressed with his playful response.

Trixie's expression never changed as she dropped the clothes and gripped the brush tightly, "Turn around, grab your ankles, and spell run."

"Tempting, but you look busy. Maybe I'll just get dressed and use that brush in grooming instead while you take care of your business," Beyond suggested with a smile.

The silver vixen held the brush out to him, "Good choice. I'll be helping Amethyst put out the meal in the front room so the whole bunch can snuggle and play while everyone eats. Don't make Kaaryn uncomfortable or I will stomp your balls in."

"I really wouldn't take fun in making her uncomfortable, that just wouldn't be very nice," the ferret replied as he bent down to pick up his new clothes before he took the brush from her with a smile.

Trixie growled softly to herself as she just shook her head and turned to leave the bathroom with an irritated swish of her tail, "I'm surrounded by jackasses."

The slamming door marked her final exit and made the ferret grin and chuckle to himself. He liked her, she was fun to poke at with her pretending to have a hot temper. The ferret decided that he would have to return to his old friend's house again in the future, if for nothing else than to tease Trixie some more. For the time being, he felt it was a good idea to dry and groom himself before trying on the clothes that the vixen had brought. A quick rub down with the nice plush blue towel that was left for him left his fur just barely damp and just right for a good brushing. Beyond set to work on the brushing with the focus of a person who just wanted to be done with a task. Once his body and head fur were all brushed out, he rubbed his palm over his head fur to make sure it was nice and comfortably mussed up. The clothes that the vixen had left turned out to be a very standard uniform from Raust's mercenary guild, a loose fitting long sleeved shirt and a nice comfortable pair of pants, both of them black as pitch. They weren't as comfortable as his well worn clothes, but they were comfortable enough. Once he was dressed, beyond marched his way to the heavy doors and pushed them open to step out into the hall. It was tempting to go exploring the house, but from what he knew, most of the rooms were the same and quite empty.

The ferret found himself with only one promising course of action, if he wanted any kind of fun to come from his travels within his friend's home. There were definitely people in the front room, and they seemed friendly enough. The little black gryphlet, Linda was it, seemed as though she was just itching to play all kinds of fun games. Beyond made his way down the hallway with a skip to his step as he neared the living room once more where Kaaryn was laying with a much more well behaved Linda. The little silver Amethyst was busy setting out food, giving a friendly wave as if her task had made her forget to be shy. The ferret was pleased to see a more relaxed smile on the girl's face, so much so that he stopped and placed his paws on his hips and grinned at her.

"Well hello now, this is a much better angle to see you from," he said with his trademark smile, "Such a pretty little thing too, sleek and slim, with such perfect silver scales. Why on earth would you want to hide such a sight from the world like that?"

Amethyst stopped and sat back on her tail as she taped two fingers together, one on each hand, while she replied nervously, "Well, I get picked on a lot because I'm smart and I like doing chores. I'm afraid new people might be mean to me too."

"That's not right at all, who cares if what you find fun is what others find boring? As long as you're having fun, it's a good thing to get things done I say," Beyond stepped closer to give her scaly head a soft pet, which he found to be surprisingly warm and soft to the touch, "Being smart isn't bad either, it's best to be smart. It let's you know more about the world and what can be fun, and what is too dangerous to really be fun. I'd never call you names for being smart or industrious as you are, unless you knew I was playing and weren't getting your feelings hurt. Then it's all in good fun between friends."

The silver girl smiled at that and all but pounced onto his chest to hug him tight, proving to be a very loving and affectionate girl once she opened up a bit. It was really a very heart warming thing to see the girl being so mindful of others in taking care of everything she could, even when she was afraid of her company. The ferret did have to wonder about her strange warmth, it didn't seem right as he knew the race of dragons that his old friend was breed from were a form of ice dragon. He would have expected an ice dragon to be cold to the touch, not so warm and almost like suede in texture with such shiny scales. His eyes shifted to the colorful gryphoness who tilted her head for a moment until she realized what he was wondering about.

"Amethyst is not ill, Kehtzialan dragons have a cold core for their freezing breath, so to maintain it, their bodies expel heat. They very much enjoy warm weather by taste as any other creature, but their cold tolerance is quite a bit stronger than yours or mine," Kaaryn explained with a gentle smile to her little gem.

Linda let out a squeal of laughter, "Ame's got a hot butt!"

"Linda, that's not nice, apologize to your sister please," the gryphoness urged the black feathered youngster with a very gentle tone and approach.

The girl looked as though she were going to ignore her mother all together so the Beyond cleared his throat, "You know, I hate to interrupt fun times, but it isn't very fun for Amethyst for you to be so mean to her. Seems like you should be sticking up for your sister instead of picking on her. You have a really nice and pretty mum there too, you should be just as nice back to her and listen when she tells you something. She could be a real monstrous beast of the disciplinarian, but she's been nothing but sweet and kind so far as I have seen."

"Are you giving your mother and Amethyst a hard time again," the stern voice of Trixie came from behind Kaaryn as the vixen stepped around the couch with a hard stare at the black feathered gryphlet, "You know full well that your father gave me permission to hand out the punishment that your mother doesn't have the heart to, just to keep you from walking all over her. You want to test whether I'll swat your fuzzy little butt, or you want to show your mother the respect she deserves?"

Linda laid her little ear tufts back and tucked her tail between her legs, "Sorry Trixie, sorry momma, sorry Amethyst."

"Hey now, no need to go getting all sour faced over things," Beyond chimed in, "We need to get everyone all bonded back together again, and nothing does that better than a good round of play time, or games! What do you girls say? You ave any toys to play with? We'll all get together and have a good time playing."

Kaaryn smiled as she watched the two girls scamper to a chest near the fire place to start pulling out their own preferred toys. Linda seemed to prefer blocks and balls, things that required building or physical work to play with, while Amethyst favored dolls and a small plastic tea set. The pregnant gryphoness tilted her head at the ferret and smiled.

"You seem to handle children well, have you ever thought of settling in with a nice lady and having some of your own," she asked with a little nervous smile.

He noticed her focus of conversation was not on herself, a shy tactic that he'd seen in others before, "Well, no, I'm too busy traveling the world.. and having fun where I can find it. Settling down seems too.. stationary for me."

"That does sound like an interesting life. I don't think I can do that though, I'm way too boring," the colorful gryphoness blushed softly and the ferret could swear she started turning colors similar to those of the couch she was laying on.

Beyond smiled warmly at her and waved off her self degrading claims, "Oh pish posh, you can't be all that boring if you managed to catch the eye and the heart of old Raust. He's an exciting fellow to know and even more exciting to travel with. A boring person couldn't possibly keep up enough to reach a mutual knowing and affection with such a bird. You certainly aren't boring in appearance."

"Oh no, I'm not exciting in appearance, I'm just a flashy colorful hen that is little good as anything but a show bird," her nares darkened with a blush as she wiggled a little back into the couch.

The ferret was not willing to accept her low self esteem, she seemed like a nice girl to him and she had a place with his friend and his lovely children, she should have known how sweet and beautiful she was, "Bah! Your colors are quite well blended, a perfect mix of flashy and bland in all the proper places to keep one's eyes civil. Unless they are a real disrespectful person. Well, then you have a rather large mate to handle that for you."

She just blushed darkly at her nares as the girls both converged on the ferret, wanting to each dominate his attention. Amethyst wanted to play with her dolls to play house, and Linda wanted to build things with her blocks. Beyond quickly diffused the squabble with a fun idea that put both together. He made Linda the architect and construction crew that was building the house for the doll family. He gave a glance to their mother to see a smile on her beak as the girls were playing together in a much closer fashion than normal. He felt a little extra warmth in his heart as he helped the girls play together without fighting and arguing. The dolls weren't really his thing, but he was able to manage to play with them for Amethyst, which seemed to please her to no end. That only brought a wider smile to his face as the girl really needed a new friend.

It seemed like an eternity before the gryphon himself returned to join his family as they all started to settle down and just relax, sharing small stories of daily gossip and misadventures they had during the time since Raust and Beyond really crossed paths to spend time in one another's presence. Mostly he learned the amazing and heart breaking tale of Reana's discovery and mastery of magic that cost her a social standing and caused others to bind her power out of fear. It was odd to him, but he was starting to look at the girls more and more as nieces than the scamps of his old friend. Amethyst had curled up in his lap the whole time and cuddled against his belly for him to stroke her back softly. He still couldn't manage to keep still, bouncing his legs lightly. Amethyst didn't seem to mind as she just rested her head against his chest.

The ferret coaxed the girl to move when Reana and Tensaih returned with a handsome young hippogryph behind them. He had the same brown as the gryphon, which the ferret had already learned was his father. The darker coat really made his burgundy tail and his sapphire blue eyes stand out quite a bit to give a striking appearance to the rather lean male. He struck Beyond as a scholarly or artistic type, there just didn't seem to be anything muscular or athletic about him.

The younger male opened his beak and the voice that came out was so very soft and kind in tone, "Hello, you must be Beyond, or Sticks, as I have been told. My grandma Tensaih and sister, Reana, have asked me to help make something to go along with their project they have been working on for you."

The elder dragoness stepped forward to hand the ferret a long, white cloth wrapped bundle. Beyond felt the weight of that bundle and cocked a brow as he already knew what it had to be. Amethyst and Linda did not, and crept right up to his legs to try and get a better look at what their guest was getting. Kaaryn managed to call them back with a single call to them, both behaving much better with their father standing right in the room. As he unwrapped the bundle, the cloth fell away to reveal a beautiful black suede finished leather scabbard with silver stitching along the edges. The shape was perfect for the weapon held within and the strap that was anchored to the top and bottom of the scabbard was clearly meant to strap the ornate blade across his back. With the curve of the sword, it would make for a very smooth draw. Beyond took a breath and wrapped his hand around the hilt of the blade to draw the weapon to see if he could feel any difference in it after the mages had worked on it. Everything felt normal, the weight, the patterns along the rather well polished blade, and that warmth that seemed to come from within the beautiful and terrible bit of craftsmanship.

Reana spoke up when he took a nervous breath with pride shining in her emerald eyes, "We took the liberty of completely stripping down all the Bohrauk spells to avoid any traps or curses. We started from the ground up with the enchantments on the blade. We added quite a few for you, though not enough that they will turn a farm hand into a legendary knight. To start, it will never dull, rust, break, or melt. There is an energy blade woven right into the edge so that it will cleave spells, ghosts, spirits, magic barriers, and all manner of incorporeal things. To add to that, so long as that blade is within six feet of your person, it will protect you from mental attacks, like suggestion or full mind control. Within the same radius, the sword will disrupt illusions enough to make them rather easy to detect. There is also a bonus added to the blade that is quite unique and would have cost as much as some nations have in their entire treasury."

"Oh," the ferret raised a brow as his curiosity threatened to devour him, "Please go on, you have my full attention now!"

"Well, we thought it would be nice if daddy's friends could visit more often and you did seem to get into trouble this time," the rather young girl explained, sounding far brighter than some, well, most adults that he had met, "I tied an activated punch gate to our garden, right to the gazebo. All you need to do is think about the garden and say our family name. The gate will only last a short moment, five to ten seconds, depending on your proximity. It will give you an easy means to stop by and see daddy, or a quick escape to find asylum or medical assistance if you need it."

Beyond slid the sword back into it's sheath to kneel down and hug the girl tightly, "This is truly a grand gift you've given me. I can't thank you enough for all this."

"There's more," Raust grinned at his old friend, "I figured you needed new places to go causing trouble and finding new sources of entertainment upon, so I informed my gate mages that you are to be allowed to pass freely to where ever you like to go. Mind you, the welcome on the other side hinges on the people who live on said world you are walking into. You do have a quick way home now, if you should find the welcome to be far from your liking."

His eyes lit up like a child on any given gift giving holiday at the news of the gryphon's personal gift, "Now that is something I never would have thought I would ever have. It is most tempting to start trying that out strait away, I mean, there are so many worlds with so many places to explore and people to meet with all kinds of cultures and games to play!"

"If you wish to do so now, I wouldn't hold it against you. Your things are safe here until you come back for them, and your clothes should be ready when you return. You can keep that spare uniform either way, gives you a bit of a ninja look," Raust turned his grin into a crooked smirk.

Beyond grinned so broadly, one would have that his head in danger of falling in two before he turned and moved quickly to the front door of the large home. He didn't bother with a good bye, goodbyes were sad and this was not a sad occasion, not by far! No, he would be back soon enough, and often enough with such gifts at his disposal. Raust followed his friend to the gate and stopped to watch as he skipped merrily down the main street of the town the gryphon had built with his mercs. Heading off on limitless adventures without even bothering to ask where the gate terminal was located.

Kaaryn stepped up beside her mate to watch as well, quiet for a long moment before she spoke, as was her manner, "You turned a ferret loose on the entire multiverse with an infinite reset button. Did you leave yourself a way to track him?"

Raust just smiled and gave his mate a loving little nuzzle, "Of course not! Where's the fun in that?"