FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part 1

Natanii's wings seemed limp and her furry ears hung lower than they should. Everything she had held so much importance in seemed so foolish now. Had she wasted her life? She stared at the ground near her mother's nest and counted the small stones there.

"I know that look, dear. I felt the same when my time came.", her mother spoke kindly. But her situation hadn't been the same at all. Natanii looked up to meet her gaze, her rich green eyes mostly dry now.

"But you'd hatched three young by then. I've just wasted my time working and always just assumed I'd have time for a family. Where did it all go?"

"You've done so much for the colony, we've all prospered because of your work. The last thing I need is more grandchildren and great grandchildren.", she laughed unconvincingly. Natanii knew she was lying.

Natanii looked up at her mother's greying fur and tried to put on a smile. But it felt as fake as it was, and only made her feel even more alone. There came a time in every young gryphoness's life that she became an adult and could start thinking about raising a family. When she started producing eggs.

Gryphons had long ago realised that brooding over another's eggs, just for a few hours a day, was enough to prevent females from producing eggs themselves. Even so called stone eggs would trick the body in a similar way. Likewise, feeding young had the same effect. This was the way young gryphonesses could decide when to start a family or civilised gryphonesses could delay and prioritise their careers instead.

But just as a young gryphoness would begin to produce eggs, so an old gryphoness would eventually stop. Natanii had felt a little strange for over a year now, that usual sensation in her body that told her that she was ready sometimes never happened. There were no external signs of course, she had always slept with a stone egg which meant she wouldn't even produce unfertilised eggs. But she'd known something was changing. Yogoloth had been gone so long, if he had been here, perhaps they could have tried.

"I just feel like... I've failed in the one thing that any feather brained gryphoness can do.", she told the ground, unable to look her mother in the eyes anymore.

"How old is Yogoloth? Did you ever talk to him about hatchlings? You never tell us anything about him.", her mother asked slowly, a little too accusingly perhaps.

"He's... a little older than me, nearly seventy. He's never mentioned starting a family.", Natanii replied truthfully. Although seventy for a dragon was probably not even twenty for a gryphon.

"Well then! He's probably in the same situation.", her mother exclaimed unhelpfully. "You still have yet to introduce him, dear. Your father wouldn't have approved of all this secrecy, you know."

Perhaps not, Natanii thought, but he would have supported me and respected my privacy. She felt awkward as usual when visiting her mother, they had never been as close as she had been with her father. It still saddened her that he'd been taken when she had been young. But it was made worse by all the lies and half truths, she'd still not dared to tell anyone that Yogoloth was a hybrid.

"I told you before he was born in the wilds, he's not comfortable with colonies or towns.", she reminded her mother knowing full well that she had not forgotten. An old gryphoness she may be, but she still had her wits about her.

"Most unnatural for a gryphon to be so unsociable.", the elderly gryphoness muttered. "I'm sure if you'd have found someone more agreeable, you wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.". Natanii was almost physically staggered by the words.

"W- what!?", she almost squawked as the fur and soft feathers in her mane bristled. "I- I cannot believe you mean that!"

Her mother rolled her eyes and flicked a talon as if to dismiss her daughter's offence. "I'm just saying what we all think, dear. But it's good you've finally found someone who'd accept you. Does he even know about such matters?"

"Of course he knows!", she snapped automatically, her instinct rising to defend her mate. But in truth, she had no idea if Yogoloth knew that old gryphons stopped producing eggs. "He may be wild born, but that doesn't make him stupid! He's the best Shaper I've ever-"

"Yes yes yes, you've gushed about his magical skill before. Being born gifted doesn't mean you've got wits where it counts. It's probably best he doesn't come here, he'd only embarrass you no doubt."

Natanii opened her beak to defend Yogoloth again, her rage was almost palpable, but snapped it shut instead. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm late. Goodbye mother.", she quickly brushed her beak along a feather on her mother's head, there barest minimal preening that would not seem totally rude, and took to the air as quickly as she could.

She could have screamed into the sky, filling it with her rage, but she didn't. Natanii had felt like this before after speaking with her mother and knew how to control her anger. She was the most tactless gryphon she knew, even Yogoloth with his half-dragon say-it-like-it-is attitude, knew when he had said too much. By contrast, her mother was almost narcissistic, thinking that the colony revolved around her. Natanii felt like a second class gryphon, someone that her mother could never be proud of. Her wings were too plain, her taste in males was too strict, she didn't visit often enough, her work wasn't dignified.

Natanii ground her beak and pumped her wings harder, knowing full well that such exertion would cost her later. She had left her civilised job because of her growing age, every gryphon knew not to push themselves too hard once they became...

She swallowed involuntarily at the thought. She couldn't even think about it without feeling like a failure. She'd missed her chance at becoming a mother, raising hatchlings of her own, carrying Yogoloth's young. She felt the desire to keen growing in her breast and narrowed her eyes as she muscled it down. Crying wasn't going to solve anything.

Life wasn't supposed to be fair and she'd just have to enjoy it best she could. She got on with her brothers and other more distant relatives and had a wonderful set of great nieces and nephews who adored her. She'd already began to teach Shaping and Wrapping at the colony. Magic was something she was rather skilled at. Her time with Yogoloth has sharpened her skills with Low Wurm, which was something she thought every gryphon should become fluent in, not just have a passable knowledge of. The colony welcomed her warmly even if her mother didn't.

Yogoloth. She'd missed him so much while he'd been gone, she could almost burst with emotion at the thought of seeing him again. He was back, safe and he'd found his father! Natanii wanted to hear everything. But first she had to give Yogoloth the gift she had been organising for... well... it had been quite some time now. It was still early in the day, first light, and she could easily get there and message him. She wasn't prepared to go through this again.

Part 2

Although a gryphon landing just outside of Stone Haven was not an unusual event, Natanii still turned a few heads as she came down near the stables that backed onto the traveller's inn. She ignored the onlookers and smiled fondly at the building, as she often did these days. This was the place where she and Yogoloth had first met years before.

She chuckled at the memory, either one of them could have easily killed the other that night. But as it was, they had become mates instead. It always amused her how sometimes things just worked out on their own better than you could have ever possibly planned. Not everything was like that of course, but all the most important things in life just seemed to happen accidentally, for better or for worse.

It didn't look as though there were any gryphons there right now, however. They were either inside the inn, as the premises did have a large area for gryphons to socialise in, or out in the town itself. That was where Natanii was headed now, deeper into Stone Haven to get one more thing as part of her surprise for Yogoloth.

The cobbled street soon became busier as she turned into the town proper. Many different civilised races lived and worked here. Although gryphons were a common enough sight around Stone Haven, it was a busy port town, and as such, there were always plenty of visitors from overseas or further inland. So Natanii smiled and nodded at those who seemed to take more notice of her than normal and even got a broad smile from a young civilised tiger who still clung to his mother's leg for reassurance.

The buildings were mostly wood with a few of the taller buildings having partially stone ground floors to support the upper stories. Most of these two story buildings overhung the street itself, reducing the amount of sun that could reach the ground. Where she was currently headed, the buildings were a mix of decent residential properties, workshops and free houses. There were a few shop fronts here and there, but the area wasn't that well known to travellers and therefore escaped much of the traffic that the central areas enjoyed daily.

Although she avoided passing through the main market place and trading areas of the town, there were still a number of street vendors plying their wares. Fruits, dried meats and ready to eat pastries seemed rather popular. As were small leather goods, spices, cheap jewellery, parchment, inks, carved bone and wood figures and cloths in dozens of different colours. Peering eagerly at one stall, which sold smoked fish, was a familiar gryphon.

"Daragun! I didn't realise you were already back from your service!", Natanii exclaimed, embracing the startled patchy brown gryphon and preening a couple of soft feathers on his head. She pulled back a little and grinned, his shoulders still firmly in her talons. "Filling your belly more important than seeing your aunt?"

"Naty!", he almost squawked then took a deep breath. "You nearly made me moult a wing!", he looked back at the stall. "I was going to... send word right away, I swear! You just cannot get smoked trout the same anywhere else."

"You should have been born an osprey.", Natanii backed up and sat on her rump smirking. She didn't have all the time in the world, but it wouldn't hurt to catch up with her nephew. She eyed him as though studying him for a moment. "You look really well, fit and strong. Going to sign up permanently?"

??Daragun looked horrified. "Oh, no. That life's not for me. Don't get me wrong, it was satisfying and I feel great, made some good friends. But it's just too much... long term anyway...", the gryphon's hazel eyes looked a little awkward for a second and his ruddy brown wings fidgeted. "And I guess I was thinking about..."

"Looking for a mate?", Natanii finished.

"Well, yes!", Daragun laughed. "Is it that obvious?"

"It makes sense. You're old enough and you've had your youthful adventure now. Many a gryphoness would love to fall for a strong experienced gryphon like you."

"As I'm sure many a gryphon would love to share your nest for the rest of your days.", Daragun shrewdly deflected the topic away from himself.

Daragun had been away for many years working with a military company on behalf of the Namarian Steward Council. Not active service exactly, but there had most likely been plenty of hostilities to keep him busy. They had clearly worked her nephew rather hard too, judging from the tone he'd developed. He had never been a particularly lithe gryphon, but now he was quite a sight and would no doubt turn many beaks.

As such, he knew nothing of Yogoloth. "Well perhaps I have found someone?", Natanii said carefully, teasing just a little.

Daragun smiled broadly after a moment's pause. "You- you have! Oh Naty! I'm really happy for you!", the big gryphon hugged his slightly smaller aunt. "Who is he... or her...?"

Any nerves she would normally have felt at talking about Yogoloth faded. Daragun was such an open minded gryphon about things like this. Natanii wasn't even sure if he would be seeking a gryphoness or otherwise himself. He was so self confident and accepting of the others' personal tastes and fancies, it was both inspiring and heart-warming. But what would he think if he knew the whole truth about her mate?

"His name is Yogoloth. He's a feral... actually born in the wilds.", she laughed at her nephew's enthusiasm.

"Really? Oh, I bet he's rather a handful.", he grinned knowingly and then had to move away from the stall to allow a couple of civilised wolves to buy a big smoked tuna.

"Actually, yes.", she laughed. "I'm buying him a rug actually. He's been away for quite some time visiting relatives. It's part of a surprise."

"I cannot wait to meet him. Will you be visiting the colony later?"

Natanii locked her face into a smile, she could deal with the half truths later. "Not today, maybe tomorrow.", she replied as casually as she could. "But if I don't hurry now, I'll not get everything done I need today."

Daragun smiled understandingly, quickly hugged his aunt and preened a few of her feathers. She sighed in contentment and beamed as he released her. She wanted to be secure in Yogoloth's claws right now.

"Take care, aunt Nat.", Daragun grinned as Natanii scowled playfully. She wasn't at all fond of being called aunt, so as she turned down the street, she flicked her tail into her nephew's face. He just laughed and turned back to the stall to buy his trout.

Even prosperous civilised gryphons still hunted for most of their food. The cost of that much meat every day would be impossible for all but the most wealthy gryphons to afford. But a few civilised treats here and there were a very welcome addition to a diet consisting mostly of raw flesh. A whole chicken cooked with bacon and citrus fruits or a leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic, always went down well with Natanii.

Perhaps she could bring something for Yogoloth? He loved wild boar. A side of boar, slow cooked, with only subtle seasoning, might go down rather well. Natanii laughed to herself as she headed down the street and towards the trader she knew who dealt with gryphon rugs. Worse case, he wouldn't like it and she could east it all herself. How awful.

Part 3

The sun began its slow descent in the sky. It had long passed midday, but there were still many hours of light and heat left in the day. Natanii was panting heavily by the time she laid her eyes on the rocky hill that was her goal. She drew in her wings slightly and slowly started to descend. It had been a hard flight, but well worth it. She hoped.

As she approached the ground she pumped her wings hard but her hind paws still landed heavily on a grassy slope soon followed by her talons. The ground was baked dry by the sun and the soil had not been very deep anyway. But with the extra weight on her back, this was far better than the hard stone of the cliff where she was headed. Not long now and she could finally have a drink and rest.

Natanii trotted a little down the slope and towards the tree cover that bordered the rocky hill. She soon found the shaded cliff that she knew was there. The gryphoness smiled, took a deep breath and followed it up with a sigh as she entered the shadow cast by the rocks and a large tree. Further around the small cliff there was a dark opening into the hillside and she made her way into the much cooler cave.

Only a few months after Yogoloth had left in search of his father, Natanii had decided that she didn't want to be without him for so long ever again. So she set about looking for somewhere they could call their own. The gryphoness knew that her half-dragon mate would be unlikely to settle down completely, but having somewhere safe and secure, might give him somewhere to call home.

It would also be somewhere much more comfortable for them to spend time together. Away from the civilised races, away from other gryphons, with the benefit of being warm and dry in winter. Yogoloth was neither a conventional dragon nor a conventional gryphon. But she hoped that he'd like the idea of somewhere private and comfortable that they could share.

Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light and she set about unloading the rug that was secured between her wings. It wasn't especially heavy, no more than a young human perhaps. But the flight had taken her a few hours and she was now rather out of breath and thirsty from the heat of the summer sun. Perhaps she should have made the trip in the evening, never mind, it's done now.

The thirsty gryphoness spent a scant few seconds unrolling the rug on the ground before heading to the side of the cave where a crudely carved channel collected rain water and deposited it into a shallow basin. She drank deeply from the cool water, magic she had placed here months ago kept the water clear and prevented it from drying out.

The channel and basin had been here when she found the cave, something had certainly lived here before. But judging from the amount of debris she'd had to clear away, probably not for decades... if not longer. Perhaps, long before the civilised races settled in these parts, a young dragon had called this her temporary home. Even now, it would still take over two weeks by road for anyone to reach here on foot and there were no roads. It would have made a great location for a gryphon colony, if there had been space for more than just two gryphons or so on the cliff itself.

Natanii looked around the cave again, it was clean, dry and cool from the sun. In winter it got colder than she'd have liked, but it was better than being stuck outside. There was only one main chamber with only one way in or out. But thankfully it was quite large with enough room for perhaps five gryphons if they didn't mind cuddling a little. The gryphoness smiled, plenty of room for one gryphon and a hybrid, especially as they would probably be cuddling rather often.

She padded over to a shallow recess in the rocky ground where she had gradually piled up various animal hides and furs. It had obviously been a crude nest at some point, now it served the same purpose. Natanii sniffed at the bedding and then promptly flopped onto her side and rolled in it. The hides were surprisingly soft and comfortable and after all this time, they no doubt smelled of her rather strongly.

She wriggled on her back and kicked her legs up in the air, the hides cushioning her body more than adequately. This, and the gryphon rug she had bought earlier, were little luxuries than she was sure Yogoloth would approve of. Natanii decided to take a moment to preen her wings, although gryphons did not sweat like the civilised races, fur and feathers still got dirty and cleaning them was always rather relaxing.

More improvements could be made in time... she idly wondered how difficult it would be for the two of them to set up a stone heater here. That would be wonderful on those long winter evenings. The warmth of his body against hers, flickering flames and the smell of smoke. Watching the stars slowly course a path through the heavens from the safety of her mate's lair. Natanii eagerly drew a thin strand of magic from her pool and formed the required shapes.

"Come find me, I have a surprise for you.", she spoke clearly into the air.

She felt one of the shapes react to the sound and she quickly wrapped them all together and released them. Her heart quickened at the thought of seeing him again. The last three years had been harder than she'd have ever imagined.

Part 4

The distant sound of beating wings slowly roused the sleeping gryphon from her rest. She blinked a couple of times and felt the cooling air move around her. It had become dark outside and a light breeze gently played in the trees that stretched out away from the mouth of the cave. Natanii yawned and then her ears perked up as she remembered the wing beats half merged into a dream she couldn't quite recall.

"Natanii?", a familiar voice called from outside the cave. "Where are you hiding?", Yogoloth called again, he sounded both happy and intrigued.

Natanii quickly rose to her feet and gave her body and wings a good stretch. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, she'd just decided to rest amongst the hides and furs for a moment after her long flight. It wouldn't hurt to get comfortable and rest her eyes either. Then all she could remember was waking up now. She had obviously been far more tired than she had first thought.

"In the cave, by the cliff.", Natanii called out settling back down in the nest she'd created.

"What is this place?", the half-dragon asked as he poked his head into the cave entrance. His purple eyes almost glowed in the twilight, the few dark green scales on his head, almost black.

Natanii had planned on luring him into the nest so they could snuggle in comfort. But she wasn't prepared to wait a moment longer and leaped up from the hides to embrace her mate as he entered the cave properly. Fore legs, wings and necks all pushed together and wrapped themselves around each other and neither of them spoke for the longest time. They just held each other in silence, insect amongst the nearby trees combined with Yogoloth's post-flight breathing, were the only sounds.

"I missed you.", he whispered after a while, not prepared to let her go just yet.

"We're not so different then, welcome home.", she said quietly. She nuzzled her beak into the fur of his mane and delighted in his scent.

Time passed. "Are you... going to let me go? And explain this place?", he chuckled a little, not really making any moves to dislodge her.

Natanii smiled as broadly as her bird-like face could manage as she relaxed her grip just enough to look Yogoloth in the eyes. As she took a little more of him in, she frowned a little. "You're... thinner. Have you been eating enough?", she asked a little accusingly. Yogoloth laughed.

"Well, once I left my father's colony, I was eager to get back. I might have hunted a little less often than I would normally.", he smiled a little sheepishly. "So what is this place?", Yogoloth exclaimed, gesticulating at the cave with a fore leg.

Natanii settled down on her rump and looked around the darkening cave. There was still plenty of light to see by, although only because both gryphons and dragons had rather good eye sight. Suddenly she doubted herself and this whole plan. The idea of putting together a lair for her mate, so he would have a home and not feel the need to wander, now seemed very presumptuous. She fought down her nerves, he loved her, it didn't matter about the cave.

"I thought... this could be a sort of... lair for you. Just sometimes! You know, for us as well.", she had some trouble putting the concept into words. It all made so much more sense in her head. She watched Yogoloth as he suddenly looked around the cave in a new light. "Winter gets cold and I don't really like being so exposed outside. It's not much, I know, but the cliff catches the evening sun, although not the morning sun, and there's clean water..."

Yogoloth turned back to look her in the eyes. "It's wonderful.", he smiled and then grinned as he spotted the rug and padded over to it.

Natanii watched him go, simply happy that he was happy. He was such a strange creature and yet so wonderful too. She loved him before she even knew it. Yogoloth being back was like a hole inside of her being filled.

Yogoloth sniffed at the gryphon rug and quickly settled on it. The part of the cave that Natanii had laid it down in was not especially flat, but any bumps were clearly unnoticeable. Her mate simply sprawled out, smiling to himself, his legs and tail not even fitting on the rug. But the same would be true of any gryphon that did the same, the rugs weren't really meant for sprawling. She smiled and headed over to the hides and furs.

"If you want to stretch out and be lazy, this is far more comfortable... and large enough for two.", Natanii said as she settled in the nest, flicking her tail in his direction; intentionally a little high.

Yogoloth required no further promoting and padded over to his reclining gryphoness. He settled behind her, his belly to her back, as he always did, and wrapped a wing around her protectively, as he always had. The weight of his absence slowly lifted an she felt totally at ease. She hadn't exactly felt uneasy while Yogoloth had been on his journey, but he fitted into her life so comfortably, that she could probably cry right now purely from relief. She felt a little silly, but who cared, as long as they had each other.

Nothing further was said between them as they gently nuzzled and allopreened. Beak and snout buried in fur and feather and for the longest time they just pressed themselves together as tightly as they could. It was not a cool evening, but even that light wind could not be felt anymore. He had said the lair was 'wonderful'! Then it had all been worth it.

Part 5

It was strange to Natanii's mind. She knew Yogoloth's face so well, but as they lay in the warm nest of animal hides and furs, she couldn't imagine a face so alien to a gryphon like her. Yet he was so handsome and she had no idea how she had come to that conclusion. She wondered idly if there might be a little bit of dragon in her too.

Even though the sky was now pitch black, they had not slept. Both had been too excited at being together again. Yogoloth seemed to fall naturally into typical gryphon behaviour of silent and thorough preening and Natanii had eagerly done the same; although he had fewer feathers and much less fur than she did. So she had soon been able to lay on her back and simply let her mate take care of her. It was blissful.

His soft snout moved through the fur on her chest, that cute little patch of dark scales on the top of his head, shining in the dim light cast by the half moon. Even the keen eyes of dragons and gryphons struggled to see much beyond rough dark grey shapes under these conditions. She found her talons gripping the sides of Yogoloth's head and guiding his face to hers. She wanted to kiss him, but her beak wasn't designed for it, so she nuzzled his snout instead, his long tongue gently licking at the sensitive flesh around her beak.

"I need you. I want both of them tonight.", she whispered in his furry ear, one of the few features of his head that was entirely gryphon-like.

"What?", he asked sounding a little unsure.

Natanii had known that Yogoloth possessed two cocks for many years. Male gryphons and dragons only had one, so why he should have hatched with two, was a mystery to both of them. Normally his instinct was to alternate between them, appearing to have only one at a time. But he was not some simple beast, a slave to his instincts, he could reveal both at the same time if he chose to. There were so many things about Yogoloth that intrigued her, but she'd never asked this of him before.

"I know you can. You'd be repaying me for being away for so long.", she purred, the talons on one fore leg gently caressing his ear.

"I...", he started, his expression difficult to read in the darkness. But just as Natanii thought he might require more persuasion, and persuade him she would, he began to move further down her body. His snout brushing through her fur as it went, until she felt his breath against her most sensitive of flesh.

Suddenly her heart began to beat faster, her excitement preparing her body to be mated, just as she felt Yogoloth's tongue stroke the inside of her hind leg. She arched her back and hissed at the feeling. It had been far too long.

He started slow, his paws holding her hind legs firmly, stopping her from shifting too much. Her instinct to push against him, to meet his tongue, was strong, but he restrained her gently. He almost always took control like this... almost. He seemed to enjoy drawing out pleasure from her with every stroke, every gentle breath, every lick that intentionally fell slightly short. He was such a terrible tease and she loved him more for it.

Soon that tongue began to push between her folds and deeper inside. Her body shook gently as the pleasure began to rise and she hissed quietly, clenching her beak tight. The waves of ecstasy washed through her body and left her a little breathless, but he didn't stop, if anything he became more eager. There had never been any doubt in Natanii's mind that her mate enjoyed giving her pleasure like this.

Yogoloth's tongue did not stay in one place for long. It moved further in as though exploring her depths and then retracted and moved lower down towards her tail hole. The feeling was not alien to the gryphoness, and it was even more exciting because it confirmed what he was going to do. Natanii grinned around her beak, nestled her head into a soft wolf skin and closed her eyes.

He pulled back and Natanii took the opportunity to roll onto her side, both her wings stretching out together. They extended slightly beyond the nest and onto the cooling stone floor of the cave. She flicked her tail out to give Yogoloth better access and looked over to him with what she hoped was an encouraging expression. But he didn't need any more encouragement as he stepped over and mounted her.

Natanii found herself panting gently as she felt Yogoloth's scutes press against her haunches and flank. She opened her eyes just enough to see his head come to nuzzle her neck. His teeth gently nibbled at the fur and feathers of her head and her eyes closed once again in bliss. She felt him push gently against her rump before shifting back and forth a little. Natanii felt a little nervous, but she had no reason to be, she had always felt safe with him, she trusted him completely.

Yogoloth bit down on one of her ears and she gasped in shock. Then he pushed forward and his well lubricated cocks penetrated her at once.

Natanii cried out in a mixture of pleasure, pain and a little surprise. The stimulation of her body was almost too much to bare. She had been as ready as she could have been, but it had been quite a while. As she became a little more aware of her senses, she realised that Yogoloth hadn't even pushed half way. She was suddenly overwhelmed by how full she felt... by how claimed she felt.

Natanii was a strong gryphon, confident in her own abilities and prepared to stand alone against those she felt needed to be opposed. But she also sometimes felt the need to be able to let all that go. To not have to be strong, to not have to watch her back and be on her guard. Yogoloth made her feel both safe and feminine. With him, she could let all her guards down and just let him take the lead.

He began to thrust again, his breath deep and controlled. Natanii knew that he was keeping control of himself for now, going slowly at first. She arched her back, still laying on her side, and one of her wings and a fore leg wrapped around his shoulder and neck. He was bigger than she was, but not so much that they couldn't be face to face as they mated like this. She pushed her beak into his mane, as his head lowered towards her, and cried out again as he almost double hilted himself inside her.

Her sex felt like it was on fire, she felt so sensitive to his long smooth strokes. She'd worked herself up over the last few hours, days even, that not even her short nap had dulled her desires. Now he was claiming her as his own and she welcomed it. She felt another orgasm begin to rise up inside her. Like a tidal wave of sensation, it crashed over her and she half hissed, half screeched into his mane. She buried her beak there, hoping to muffle the slightly embarrassing sound even just a little.

Yogoloth kept his rhythm and continued to mate her deeply, his cocks both stimulating her in different ways. Even with his natural lubrication, she felt those soft barbs rub aggressively inside her tail hole. The pressure was even greater than normal because he was penetrating her simultaneously. In her carefree youth, she'd once been with two male gryphons together; brothers. It had been great, but this was so many times better, because it was her beloved mate and he alone that was responsible.

Natanii clenched her beak again as another orgasm ran through her and her body contracted rhythmically around her mate. It was enough to send Yogoloth over the edge into his own climax and he cried out. It was a high pitched noise, part roar, part something else, that she'd never heard him make before. He gripped her tightly with his fore paws and shook gently as he emptied into her. For quite some time, they were both lost in the feel of each other's bodies.

Part 6

Although the sun had yet to rise, the sky had slowly brightened from darkest cobalt to brightest azure. The birds had begun their light conversations in the trees, down from the hill that hid the cave. Their chatter carried up to the sleeping gryphons, causing Natanii to wake from her blissful slumber. She felt a familiar weight on her flank and found one of Yogoloth's fore paws wrapped over around her chest. The other was under her head and neck, creating a comfortable pillow. His claws retracted, his breathing slow.

The gryphoness wriggled and stretched against the shape of his belly and chest scutes, careful not to wake him. She wanted to feel his presence a little more, she'd missed the sensation. Turning her head around, she looked back, and suddenly grinned nearly laughing out loud. Yogoloth's head was resting against a mottled deer skin, his tongue hanging slightly from his jaws, a dark patch of drool leaving a dark wet mark on the pale hide. One of his furry brown ears twitched a little, but he remained fast asleep.

She gently nuzzled at the base of the ear and Yogoloth began to wake. He slowly stretched and yawned his jaws wide, purple tongue curling up. His ears fell flat as his wings ruffled, until he finally opened his eyes and licked his snout a couple of times. His ears perked up as his eyes focused on her.

"Morning.", Natanii said, her gentle nuzzle turning into a casual preening.

Yogoloth looked at her for a moment, a gentle purr rumbling sleepily in his chest. His face was a little difficult to read until he yawned again and nuzzled back. "Morning fluffy rump.", he said.

Natanii smiled and pushed back against her mate. What a silly pet name he'd given her, as accurate as it may be. She didn't dislike the name or anything like that, it was sweet, in its own way. But all of her was fluffy, the name implied it was her rump that Yogoloth appreciated the most. Natanii knew it wasn't true, of course. Many a time they simply talked with no mention nor attempt at anything involving her rump at all!

"So?", she asked, unable to prevent a little excitement creeping into her voice.

"Hmmm?", he rumbled dreamily, blinking the sleep from his purple eyes.

Yogoloth was hardly at his best in the morning. Natanii laughed. "Your father? You sent word that you'd found him, but I'm dying to know the details."

Yogoloth grinned and extracted himself from his gryphoness before stretching his wings out in the small cave. There was just enough room to extend them fully, more or less. Natanii rolled a little onto her back to watch him, waiting for the story. Her own wings spreading out a little but staying within the confines of the nest of animal skins. Yogoloth looked down at her for a moment, smiled and told her everything about his journey.

Natanii listened as he told her about the long flight across the ocean between Namaria and the Gretish Nations and his brief stop at the inn he used to meet Marrus in. She sat up and took a drink from the small cave pool, as he spoke of the vicious winter when he had to take shelter in a small cave and chase off a strange pale beast. The gryphoness preened her wings, still listening intently, as Yogoloth spoke of the territories inhabited by the various lizard-like people that he had flown through during his search.

Then a mixture of excitement and concern as she was told about her mate meeting another hybrid; a female. "So, tell me about her.", Natanii asked carefully. She was certain she had nothing to fear, Yogoloth loved her as much as she loved him. Besides, he came back to her, didn't he?

"Well, Lenela's a little bigger than me, brown and scaly. Her wings are mostly dragon-like, but with a few feathers on top. Her legs are rather gryphon-like... she has a beak too... she's not like me at all.", Yogoloth spoke with enthusiasm, seemed to think for a second and then his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, we became Sky Brother and Sister. It's a dragon thing. Nothing more than that went on between us."

Natanii laughed, attempting to make light of her concerns. "I know that! I've heard of Sky Siblings before too, in one of the stories we learn at the colony about the Scarlet Feathers."

Natanii settled back down in the nest as Yogoloth continued his story from his position on the gryphon rug. He pawed at it gently with his pads as he spoke about his father. His age, his wisdom, his wings, his family, now Yogoloth's family too. Then of the effect his father's age had on his mind. It could have broken Natanii's heart.

"But, you got to see that he'd led a long and happy life.", she said rolling over on to her flank and giving Yogoloth a kind, understanding look. He sighed a little and smiled.

"Yes. I... don't like to think about it.", Yogoloth said before moving on.

After a few days, Yogoloth had given his farewells to the colony and had headed home. Lenela had stayed behind to deal with her own business. The thought of her eventually visiting worried Natanii a little. But she reminded herself that it was just an innocent thing, maybe she wouldn't visit after all. Natanii shook the thought from her head, why shouldn't Yogoloth be visited by his adoptive family?

Finally, he told her about the attack at the Tylor estate. Until now, Yogoloth had been rather tight lipped about his civilised friends. Natanii understood his concern, the Ancient Laws didn't directly cover the behaviour of hybrids. Were they considered dragons or gryphons? Dragons were explicitly forbidden from interacting with all but gryphons and gryphons were explicitly encouraged to form bonds and connections. But the Tylor estate? Reinald Tylor might not be well respected in Stone Haven, but he was still a man of wealth and no small amount of contacts. An influential friend indeed.

"I'd heard they'd recently reopened the old stables there.", she smirked a little. "A coincidence?"

Yogoloth chuckled. "Perhaps my appearance inspired Reinald's interest in gryphons to grow a little."

"But this human friend of yours? Apples?"

"Well... he's a little more than a friend...", Yogoloth corrected a little sheepishly.

Natanii chuckled, despite being a truly feral half-gryphon, Yogoloth seemed to fall fairly easily into civilised gryphon behaviour. It was common enough for mated pairs of civilised gryphons to have a mutual 'friend' who joined in with their recreational fun. Or for mated males to have a male friend who they would be very close to. Natanii had slowly grown out of such youthful behaviour, but she wouldn't deny it of her mate. Although literally a little older than she was, he was technically far younger.

"That doesn't answer my question.", she smiled knowingly.

Yogoloth was a gryphon, but he was also a dragon, and like a dragon he had quite a temper. Though he'd never directed it at her or even at anything else because of her, she still gave it the healthy respect it deserved. Natanii could sense the rage inside of her mate as he'd told her about what happened. The injuries his friends had suffered and the injuries he'd inflicted to get the information he now possessed.

Perhaps if she had been one of the civilised races, and not an experienced predator, she would have felt a little uncomfortable at what Yogoloth had done. Instead she just felt a little conflicted. On the one talon, there were laws to follow and authorities to inform. They should be the ones handling this, experts, officials, investigators. But on the other talon, Yogoloth was feral, wild, untamed by any but the most basic laws. He had the right to punish those who'd hurt his friends. To get revenge where Apples could not. To hunt his chosen prey.

"I'm going to find them.", Yogoloth didn't need to explain what he was going to do once he had found them. "I'm heading into Stone Haven tomorrow to gather information. There are a few other things I can do as well."

"You should visit Apples first and see how he's doing."

Yogoloth seemed to consider this for a moment. "But I'd have to leave right now, visit him, sleep until just before morning and then change just as dawn approaches.", he stood and nuzzled his snout in Natanii's feathers. "I'd rather spend more time with you."

Natanii was conflicted yet again, but for very different reasons; it lasted only a moment. "I have to head back to the colony before nightfall anyway. If you head out now, we can meet back here once you're done in Stone Haven."

Yogoloth smiled broadly at her and pressed his snout against her ears and then her neck. She rose to her feet, stepped closer and pressed against him as they turned an affectionate nuzzle into a full hug.

"Please be careful.", she whispered in his ear before adding a little firmer. "Don't force me to come and save you again."

Yogoloth pulled back and chuckled. It seemed to Natanii that the anger and pain of what happened to him out in the wilds a few years back was just a memory now. He turned towards and cave entrance and took a few steps before stopping. The sun had not yet come around enough to shine onto the cliff yet, but the trees beyond were bathed in light. It looked beautiful out, the cave was probably deceptively cool.

"I always am.", and with that, he trotted fully out onto the cliff and took to the sky. The back draft of his wings forced warmer air into the cave and Natanii caught the scent of the forest below. Her feathers ruffled and then quickly settled.

Natanii sighed slightly to herself. She really did have to head back to the colony for tomorrow to teach some of the hatchlings a few things about magic and maybe tell a couple of stories. Although if she hadn't, she might just have told Yogoloth that anyway. She could see in his eyes that his instincts were pushing him to act in defence of his friends. Besides, she really loved the little group of hatchlings that she'd taken under her wing, like they were her own.

She took a sharp intake of breath and let it out slowly as she felt a pang of regret. Like they were her own. The old gryphoness turned a little and rummaged through the hides and furs of the nest and soon extracted a smooth round stone. It was actually rather hard to notice amongst all the animal skins and the bumps of the rocky cave floor. Holding it a little awkwardly with one fore leg, she hopped a little and out onto the shaded cliff.

She settled on her haunches and gently turned the stone in her talons, peering at it curiously in the midday light. It was made from a pale soap stone, smooth and completely hollow. There was a faint seem around the middle where the two halves had been fused together with magic long ago. A little smaller than a gryphon egg, it had been given to her by her mother when she'd been much younger. Part of becoming an adult gryphoness and going out into the world. So she could delay having a family until she was ready. A family of her own... that now she would never have.

She reached into the stone and magically unsealed the seem. Slowly opening her talons she let the stone egg slip from her grasp. Natanii watched as it rolled off the edge of the cliff and bounced against the slope below. It struck a few bumps on the way down until it met a larger rock and cracked open. The fragments of the shell disappeared out of sight and into the undergrowth of the forest.

Another deep breath and she spread her wings out wide. A breeze caught her feathers and she closed her eyes, face pointing into the light wind. It didn't matter. It really didn't. She smiled a little and took to the air, tomorrow she would be surrounded by little hatchlings all eager for lessons and stories. That will just have to be enough.