True Monster

	Winter, a time of bitter cold on the Titanian plains when all beings tended to stay in doors as much as possible other than the chores that kept life moving through those icy months. Shelby Robinson always thought of the winter as a bit of a monster when she was younger. Even the adults were afraid of that time and that time did all it could to make life miserable for everyone else. When she thought about winter, it reminded her of the kind of beast that her grand mother told her stories of. The male gryphal, savage beasts that were created by the foe of the creator of the gryph, which was the very species that Shelby was a member of. Her grandfather told her the stories of his father who never got to see his own father because of the male gryphal. He spared her no details on what they did to her great grandfather. She still had nightmares into her thirteenth year of life, but nothing like living with her father would give her. They were not a wealthy family, and her father was so very bitter about that. When he got bitter, he started to drink, and his problems became the fault of everyone else. Sometimes she wondered if the drink made his heart as cold as the winter storms.
	Shelby never felt bad about sneaking around outside of her permitted boundaries, especially after another one of her father's shouting blame sessions. That day had been one that came near violence, so she took an opportunity to sneak out her window and go join her friends for a round of exploration in the snow covered forest. Every last one of them were warned not to go out into the forest, they were close to the border with Grasolahn and the hunters often left traps to try and capture the gryphons they all lived with in Titania. That was beyond the normal wolves and bears that hunted the forests. The bears would be hibernating, but the wolves would be getting desperate. Shelby didn't care in the least, no wolf was as frightening as her own father. Given the choice the hungry wolves would have been a pleasant alternative. A smile spread across the gryph's face as she spotted her friends all gathered at the road at the edge of town. Chilty, the gryphon, was a cute little taperwing with the most dazzling array of tans, creams and auburn in his coat. Then there was Ryan, the strapping human boy with his blond hair and brown eyes that always held her attention so firmly. Sandra was the odd one in their group as a female gryphal, she didn't bring about the same feelings of dread and hatred that a male would have. The female gryphal were as much victims of the males as were her own people, perhaps even worse. They were designed to breed with gryphons, since the males were sterile, but they had to watch as those children were often twisted by a spell from their wicked master into the terrifying monsters that were the male gryphal. Shelby could not imagine the sickening feeling of having carried a child and hoped so much for their future, only to have them emerge as a blood thirsty killing machine.
	That was the only three of her friends she bothered to spend most her time with, the other four were constantly changing as they never really got along fully with everyone and the core group simply would not break their bonds to work anything out. Though there was a human girl amongst that ever changing extension that Shelby could not seem to shirk from their little clique. This really made her skin crawl as the girl had eyes on Ryan, making her a rival in the running for the boy's attention. Christina was her name, with those fiery red locks of hair bouncing at her shoulders in wavy curls. The gryph felt her stomach churn every time that sickening sweet smile crossed the human's face. She tried to ignore it as she smiled at Ryan when they all met. She needed this escape and she wouldn't let some little ginger bitch ruin it for her.
	“Hey guys, hi Ryan,” Shelby made very little effort to hide her blush as the boy smiled back at her, “Are we all ready to get this little expedition under way? I don't know about you, but I really need to get out of town for a little while.”
	She barely heard Chilty as Ryan put his arm over her shoulder, “I know what you mean, I heard your old man all the way over at my place. We were worried he was going to start breaking things, or even worse. Are you sure you're okay to be out here like this? I mean, he's not going to go hitting you because you ran off like this?”
	“Chilt, you already know my dad doesn't have the balls to mess with other people's kids so don't worry about it,” the gryph already knew what the gryphon was really worried about.
	Chilty tried to draw himself up in a proud and more threatening pose, mostly showing off for Sandra, “I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about you Shelb. If your dad tried to touch me, I'd just kick his ass.”
	“Like you kicked Burke's ass,” Ryan cut in to burst the tough balloon his friend had swelled for the female gryphal of the bunch.
	The gryphon deflated at the mention of his failed attempt to physically run off a rival for the eye of his female friend, “Shut up Ryan, I was sick that day and you know it. Besides, his dad is militia and taught him how to fight. That was totally not a fair fight.”
	“Knock it off Chilty, you know I hate it when guys show off,” Sandra shoved her admirer with a wing, “We have a forest to go get lost in, and if you noticed, without Burke.” The taperwinged gryphon laid his ears back and blushed a bit at the scolding by the lady he desired so. Shelby laughed lightly as she pressed into the hold of her handsome human friend to begin their walk out of town. The sound of her furs rubbing against Ryan's made her heart flutter in her chest. The sight of Christina walking alone filled the gryph with a smug satisfaction as well.
	The small group of young teens, eight in all even if Shelby refused to learn the names of the ever changing four, managed to make it to the edge of the woods before they ran into a rather large obstacle. Right there, coming out of the woods on the pat before them, was the hulking dark shape of the one person in their village that no one ever wanted to see. Of all the breeds of male gryphal, only one was ever fertile, and only one carried on after the death of their creator. Of the very few of that breed, the only actively fertile male, seventh generation to be exact, lived right in there village and was heading out of the woods right where they were trying to go. Shelby felt anger and fear as she looked up at those rusty red eyes, unable to think of anything but twin pools of drying blood that had come from her own family. She knew what a beast of such great size and strength could do with those serrated talons and equally serrated beak. Her grandfather told her all the tales of the gryphal and their cruelty. She hated them, hated this quiet male, despite having grown up with him in her village all her life and never seeing him harm a single soul.
	“E-excuse me, but you really should not go into the woods today,” the massive avian spoke with such a soft and gentle voice that Shelby felt it was an insult to gentle things for a killing machine to speak so, “I-I cleared some traps that were fresh, but I do not think I got all of them. The Grasolahn hunters have been rather active lately. The winter has been hard on the wolves too, they were even watching me work.”
	Chilty cowered a bit in the face of a male near three times his size, which infuriated Shelby even further at the black gryphal's existence, “Who the hell are you to tell us what to do, to frighten my friends like that? Go fuck off, you... you.. monster!” The gryph girl leaned down and scooped up a hand full of snow as the gryphal started to protest with his ears laid back like a frightened child. Before he could utter a single word, Shelby pelted him in the face with a snowball. The others joined in once she made the first move, pummeling the poor creature with as much snow as they could get their hands on while they shouted demeaning names and frequently called him a monster. 
	“Stop it! Leave him alone, he hasn't hurt anyone,” Christina cried out at her friends as she stried to physically stop them from throwing snow at the gryphal that made no effort to defend himself from mere children, “He's not a monster, he's really nice, stop calling him that!”
	Chilty gave a grunt and shoved the red head with his wing as she tried to grab and hold his forelimb. The girl tumbled onto the ground and sprawled out for a moment before she started to rise so very slowly. Ryan moved quickly to help the human back to her feet, which only served to fuel Shelby's anger and hatred. She reached down to feel through the snow until her fingers found a stone large enough to fill her hand. The gryph scooped up the stone and hurled it at the gryphal with all her hate and anger for both him and the red headed human. The black feathered gryphal gave a heavy grunt of pain as the stone struck him right over his left eye and split the skin wide open beneath his feathers to let the blood flow into his eye. Shelby gave a smug smirk as he staggered away with blurred vision.
	“Nice work Shelb!” Ryan laughed as the rest kept hurling snow at the fleeing gryphal and making sure they shouted their parting insults.
	The boy tried to put his arm around Christina's shoulders, but she shoved away form him, “Don't touch me you bastard.” The human girl started to follow the tracks of the fleeing gryphal, “You hurt him, he needs help.”
	“Aww, how sweet. Are you going to marry your pet monster too?” Shelby called out after the girl as she tucked herself under Ryan's arm instead.
	Christina turned and glared at all seven of the remaining young teens, “I would gladly marry him over any of the crap excuses for men we have in this village.”  The human turned and continued on after the injured gryphal as she fumed at the other teens. 
	“Come on, we have exploring to do,” Sandra tugged at Chilty's wing, obviously annoyed with the posturing that was beginning to take place between her two female friends. The gryphon was quick to follow the female gryphal down the road. Shelby wanted distance between herself and her competition, so she tugged Ryan along to follow the two avians as they traveled the road out of town. As they walked, Ryan shifted his arm so that it was around her waist beneath her wings making her heart flutter in her chest.
	The other human boy, she never bothered to learn his name, piped up, “Hey, lets go see where that gryphal pulled up the traps. Shelby chased him off so fast, I bet they're still there!”
	“Yeah, then we can see what they look like,” Chilty agreed with.. was it grant?..., “It would be good for Sandra and me to see what these things look like so we can avoid them.”
	Shelby rolled her eyes, “Fine, I'll go with you. I can't let you get Sandra hurt with these stupid ideas of yours.” She turned her attention back to Ryan with a sweet softening of her voice , “You want to come with us and help make sure the birds don't get us into trouble?”
	The human boy smiled in such a way that caused a warmth to radiate from the belly of the gryph girl, “Sure thing Shelb. Wouldn't want the pretty one to get hurt now would we?” Shelby didn't say another word, she couldn't if she wanted to. Her cheeks were burning with the blush that only showed at her nares as she leaned against the handsome human. Chilty and Sandra both exchanged a grin and a glance at one another as they all walked. 
	One of the other four spoke up, a scrawny male gryph with ash gray feathers, “Hey, what if we don't want to go look at some dumb ass traps? We came out here to explore and find something cool.”
	“We didn't ask you to come, I certainly didn't. I came out here to meet up with my friends and go on an adventure,” Shelby replied with a bit of quiet venom to her words, “Besides, gryphon traps can be pretty neat in how they are made and what they do.” 
	Ryan held the smaller boy with a stern glare as he moved toward him, using his size to intimidate him, “The lady said she wants to see the traps, the gryphon and the gryphal among us want to see the traps to protect themselves. I don't care what the rest of you do, we're seeing the traps and if anyone finds out where we went, they wont find enough of you to know who you were.”
	“Hey Ryan, chill with the threats man, that's going to get us in worse trouble than this would,” Chilty grabbed hold of his friend and pulled him back away from the smaller boy.
	Ryan grit his teeth as the gryphon's superior size and strength were enough to gain control over him, even for a taperwing, “I'm sick of this little twerp always ruining everything because his twin sister gets scared. Why don't you just stay home and hump each other and save us the headache.”
	The male gryph growled softly as he started to lurch toward the human, his sister was quick to grab him, “Please Thomas, let's just go home. Please.”
	“Fine, let's go then,” the male gryph sighed and turned to leave with his sister to leave the group to their own agenda. 
	Ryan grit his teeth and started to move before Shelby grabbed his arm to pull him back toward the place the gryphal had been working, “Come on, it's not worth it. We have a forest to explore.”
	“Yeah, you're right, there are things to explore that are far more important than those two losers,” the boy grinned and kissed at her neck softly before he whispered into her hidden ear, “Like you.”
	Shelby felt a chill run down her spine as his words sent his warm breath wafting through her feathers with the suggestions those words carried. She didn't say a single word about it though, she just couldn't with her heart stopped in her throat like it was. Instead she just pressed against the object of her desire and began to walk down the road with their four remaining friends following close behind. The path of the gryphal was not hard to follow as the large heavy body of the beast cut quite a path in the fresh snow. Thoughts of the gryphal made the gryph's stomach tense with anger and disgust even under the warm embrace of her crush, or was he her boyfriend now? The thought made her wings shiver with delight as they walked on the path cut by the very beats she despised so much. The very idea of being Ryan's girl shoved every feeling of hate and anger from her gut to replace them with a fantasy of being in those arms and feeling those lips press to the edge of her beak. 
	Sandra tapped her on the leg with the tufted tip of her tail as she gave a soft whisper, “Cool it Shelb, your puberty is showing.”
	The gryph shot her female friend a hard glare before all the young teens began to scatter and examine the larger clearing where the gryphal had been working previously. The first sign they had found it was a decoy that resembled a wing and a tail from a gryphon. The brown feathers were not as glossy and full of life as those found on the female gryphal and the taperwing amongst them. Ryan and Chilty moved to hold the thing up so they could all get a good look at it. The design was simple and yet so lifelike that it made Shelby's skin crawl. The gryphon himself looked like he wanted to wretch as he touched the feathers, learning the truth before any of the others.
	“Th-they are.. real.. real wing feathers.. from the same wing,” Chilty's eyes seemed to lose focus as he made that revelation. All the other teens paused for a moment and managed to come to the same realization of what that meant, although some were slower to put the pieces together. The only way that could have been, was to either pluck a captive gryphon, or a dead one. 
	Sandra placed both forepaws over her beak, “By the Consorts! I wonder who it was and if their family knows what happened to them.”
	“Probably not, Grasolahn isn't big on reporting their misdeeds to us,” Ryan replied to the female gryphal with such a casual tone, it seemed like he was brushing off the fate of the forced feather donor. Shelby never seen him behave in such a manner, which sent a little chill down her spine. The odd behavior and feeling it gave her did little to cool the growing heat in her chest and her loins at the thought of him holding her tight. 
	Chilty didn't seem to like the dismissive tone his friend addressed one of his kind's demise with and spoke up, “Hey, don't be so cold about this man. That was some one's family member that just came up missing. It's not like it was a lost calf, for fuck's sake!”
	“Chill out, feather brain. We can't identify them and we sure as hell can't save them from their captors. What do you think we can possibly do?” the human asked with a bit of anger in his voice.
	The gryphon puffed up with anger as his crest raised to express his defensive state, “We could try showing a little respect for the dead! What the hell would you say if that was a human turned into a decoy over there?”
	“They should have been smart enough and strong enough not to get caught by Grasolahn hunting parties,” Ryan spat back at his feathered friend with such a cold look in his eyes that everyone took a step back, except Shelby, she just stared at the boy with disbelief. She had never seen such cold behavior from the boy, but it was surely a fluke. Ryan had always been so caring and nice toward her and their friends, he couldn't really be so heartless. It must have been the irritation at the two that left already, it had him feeling grumpy. 
	“Hey Ryan, let's just go over and check out the traps to the south while the others check north so everyone can cool off after all the crap that's already happened,” Shelby suggested with a little tug toward the north to get the boy to follow along with her. 
	The human gave a sigh before he looked down at the female gryph tucked against him under his arm, “Well, fine, that would probably be better than fighting amongst friends. Besides, a little alone time with you would be pretty good right about now.” 
	Shelby just blushed across her nares as she rest her head against his shoulder and walked with her crush through the flattened snow where the gryphal had been working earlier. Everywhere they could have looked were the remains of dismantled traps, many involved barbed snares or slings that presumably were set to throw sharp stones when triggered. They weren't afraid of any sort of dead-fall, they really wouldn't be effective on a flying creature. They did get to see the remains of a spring loaded mesh of branches with sharpened stakes meant to severely injure or kill the victim if triggered. Shelby couldn't help the chill that rolled down her spine at the cold hearted nature of many of the traps, for they were not all designed to be instantly lethal. Many of them were meant to inflict a wound that would cripple the target and leave them unable to reach help while they slowly bled out or succumbed to internal bleeding. 
	Ryan eyed the traps with a real fascination, “These guys really know what they are doing, they even express their hate with the cruel efficiency of these things. They could be better, but they aren't, just so they can hurt their targets even more before death takes them. The Grasolahn are real artists of flesh rending.”
	“That's a little dark, are you feeling okay Ry?” the gryph girl pulled her desired male friend toward a fallen tree on top of a small little dug out path where the huge log rest on the tree it killed when it toppled some time presumably years ago. Something about it looked odd, no matter how natural it appeared, but Shelby just couldn't come up with anything about the spot that was wrong. It did provide a bit of privacy as they were out of sight of the others while they were down in that little walk way.
	Ryan smiled as he slipped himself around her to press her back and wings against the side of the dug out path with his own body while his arms wrapped around her waist, “I was just feeling pissy because of all those little whiny punks, but I can feel that draining fast now that I'm here with you.” Shelby felt her heart pounding in her chest as the boy pressed close and began to kiss softly at her cheek and neck. A warmth spread through her that she didn't recognize, but she knew she liked as his strong arms seemed to squeeze it out of some hidden place in her middle. She let out a soft sigh as she felt his arms loosen to let his hands caress over her fur lined coat to trace her fit frame. That elation started to fade into an uncomfortable nervousness as his hands drifted down to rub over her soft rump over the surface of her thick trousers. A sense of panic shot through the girl when his hands slipped up and down under her trousers to squeeze her rump directly.
	“Ryan, stop it, I'm not ready for anything like that,” Shelby pleaded, but Ryan ignored her request. His hands started to slide and seek regions that filled her with a sense of shame, fear, and anger. The gryph shoved her offending companion off of her with all her might, “I said stop!”
	The human boy looked angry, but that look faded quickly to shock as they both heard a snap behind his foot, like a string or cord breaking. Time seemed to stand still in that instant where stunned eyes met before time moved all too quickly for Shelby. The huge log, easily three times as thick as her body, came down on her with a sickening crash. The pain was immense as she felt her rib cage crumble under the weight of the log. A warm salty iron taste in her beak told her that blood had gushed from her throat on the impact. She wanted to cry out in agony and fear, but the weight on her chest pushed all the air out of her already and slowly started to crush her heart and lungs. Ryan was running and shouting to the others, but even if they tried to help all together, Shelby knew the truth; she was going to die there in the forest where they were not supposed to be. The log was far too heavy for the remaining kids to lift off her broken body and they had no way to carry her back to the village healer in time.
	“Shelby triggered a trap, guys she's going to die in there, we have to get back to the village, hurry! We need to get help,” the voice was familiar, but her anguished mind could no longer place it as she fought the pain of her injuries and the despair of knowing she was going to die so young out in the cold. The last sounds she would hear were the sounds of her friends all shouting and running away from her back toward the village. She closed her eyes and cried silently with no ability to truly weep for her lonely fate. 
	The sound of something driving into the log near her arm brought her back tot he present as her eyes slowly focused on a huge black shape looming over her, “Just hold on, I'll get you out of there. You're going to be alright, I promise I will do everything in my power to bring you home alive.” The voice, she recognized it and as her eyes came to focus on those huge rusty red eyes she felt her stomach churn. There standing over the log and heaving with all his might was the very same gryphal she had injured in the beginning of their forbidden journey. The creature she once seen as a demon looked like a black feathered angel in her eyes as his powerful frame flexed and slowly hoisted the massive log from her body before he shoved it over and away from the badly crushed gryph. But even as the weight was no longer on her chest, Shelby discovered she still could not breathe as her lungs had been collapsed, one of them possibly ruptured by the crushing impact. 
	The massive avian gingerly slipped his enormous left foreclaw and forelimb under her rump and along her back to support her spine before he lifted her from the dirt and snow. Her heart pounded in her chest as he lowered his beak to hers, certain he was taking advantage of her broken body. She nearly screamed in utter agony as he breathed hard into her beak and forced air into her damage lungs to allow her to take a single breath. It hurt so badly, but she wanted him to do it again for her as it allowed her to take a single breath on her own before they collapsed again. Shelby felt her heart and mind racing with several questions and sickening thoughts. Most important was why, why was this beast, this monster, saving her? Why would anyone save her after she injured them like she had, calling them such terrible names in the process? Why was this living killing machine taking such measures to save the life of one who had hurt him so? As she asked herself these questions, she was only vaguely aware that they were beginning to move as the gryphal hobbled along to carry her back to the village. Tears welled up anew in her eyes as he leaned his beak down again and breathed that breath into her lungs to give her another breath on her own and keep her clinging to life. 
	It felt like an eternity between each breath the gryphal gave her as he hobbled his way out of the trapped clearing, but she knew he was only taking ten steps before he held his beak to hers to give her that breath that allowed her to breathe. Each of those steps were an utter hellish pit of agony, but she held and even loved that pain as time went on as it meant she was still alive to feel that pain. Tears of guilt and pain combined rolled from her eyes to soak her feathered cheeks. Even with the gryphal's help, the girl was sure she was going to die. The worst of all of it was that she was clinging to life on the arm of the monster she had hurt. The only one fighting for her life besides herself, was the very being she had been taught to hate as a savage beast of the like that demons should fear. In that short time, every last thing she ever learned and knew about people and her own life was turned upside down. It was just too difficult to sort out while she was fighting for her very life against her grievous injuries. 
	Thankfully her mind finally gave up on consciousness and drew her out of the reality and away from all the pain. That loss of consciousness was not like she expected at all, however, it was not the simple black oblivion she had always heard about from soldiers and those who had survived accidents. Shelby was treated to a bizarre series of vivid dreams where she watched herself plucking angels from the sky to shove them down into the mud and puck of a pig pen where she clubbed them to death with the bones of their fallen ancestors. The Shelby watching felt the urge to vomit at the grotesque scenes before her even as the dream image she was watching felt that she was doing a wonderful thing for the world by destroying those things she hated so much. Every now and then, the angels would have the same face as the gryphal she knew was carrying her, breathing for her. The more the dream played out, the more she started seeing herself as a monster. 

				*			*			*

	It had taken nearly an hour for Kehzrick to finally reach the healer with his injured charge to the graying old gryph healer. The exchange was brief by social standing and necessity as even though he did not hate the gryphal, having him around made the elder gryph uncomfortable. He seemed confident he could save the girl and restore her to a functioning state by morning, so the huge gryphal allowed himself to be satisfied by that outcome. There was one last thing he expected and knew he would face by his involvement in the situation, despite being the one who saved the poor girl. The massive avian walked slowly toward his home on the edge of the village, not far from the forest. Kehzrick only made it half way home before the sounds of angry voices started rising behind him. 
	The gryphal stopped and turned to face the coming mob with a soft sigh, “I expected you all to show up sooner than this. I am surprised really.”
	“Silence beast! You think you can attack our children and get away with it? We've tolerated you for too long, but I think it's about time we seen what you really are, monster,” a tall male gryph snapped at him. The deep browns and grays mingled in his coat and made the hammer in his hand seem larger than normal. The dirty wool sweater may have been some blue gray color, but that was well stained away. He recognized that gryph, it was the girl's father and he had a rather foul reputation concerning his temper.
	Kehzrick shook his head to the claims made against him, “I would never harm any child, no matter what age. I was out there disarming Grasolahn traps in our woods and the group of kids came out together. I tried to tell them to stay out of the woods because the trappers had been there. They threw rocks at me and I ran off before the kids somehow set off a trap and got the girl crushed under a log. I pulled her out and brought her back to the village healer.”
	“Still that lying tongue, beast! The others told us what happened, the word of five youngsters against that of a monster holds great weight,” a woman's voice snapped from somewhere behind the gryphal. They were surrounding him, there was no intent on forcing him out of town. Kehzrick gave a soft sigh and lowered his head, he was prepared for this fate the moment he found the poor girl under that log. The loss of one monster to save the life of a young girl was more than a fair trade to him. 
	The villagers all hesitated, obviously afraid to attack the massive gryphal as their assessment of his prowess was not inaccurate. If the were to fight back, the avian could easily dispatch every last one of his assailants with ease. They really had nothing to fear, for Kehzrick would never raise his talons on anyone who was not an enemy soldier or attempting to harm another, not even to save his own life. He couldn't, that would have made him the monster that everyone accused him of being. All he could do to protect himself was to crouch down onto his belly and lower his head as the villagers, armed with household and garden tools, all converged on him and began to rain down blows upon his body. It would be a long process to beat the gryphal to death, his body was made to be naturally resilient against most forms of physical attack as his natural armor hidden along his flanks beneath his skin and the soft coat of feathers absorbed much of the impact from every strike. One of them must have brought a kitchen knife, because he felt it strike one of his boney plates and bend the blade against his natural armor. The pain he felt was dulled compared to what any other creature would have, thanks to being made to be a juggernaut on the battle field, but it didn't erase it as his body began to bruise and bleed. The hammer that the gryph had been holding was raining down onto his shoulders and wing joints, causing real damage that was effecting the bone and tendons of those important joints as the beating continued. Kehzrick never cried out from the pain, he was too strong for that, and he never hoped for any kind of rescue as nothing would stop such a mob. All he hoped for was to fall quickly under the hateful blows of the people he lived with for several years.

				*			*			*

	Shelby woke slowly in the low lights of the patient's quarters with a rather present dull phantom of the pain she was in earlier. What was more relieving to her was that she was breathing on her own. She had survived the accident, but she was hazy on how she managed to get back to the village, or to the healer's home. The gryph girl struggled to sit up in the bed as her ribs grabbed hold of her nerve all through her chest with a dull ache that made her groan with the effort. Some how the pain brought more clarity to her foggy mind. The memory of just how she was saved from the tree that had tried to end her life so early returned to her.  A deep pang of guilt gripped her heart as she looked around to see if the gryphal had stayed with her for the healing. “Hello?” The gryph called out into the empty room.
	“Ah, you're awake now, very good,” the elder gryph healer entered the room with a smile that was very sterile and clinical, “Be very careful, I have fused the bones in your ribcage but only just. Too much pressure or hard activity will break them again very easily.”
	Shelby lowered her hand to feel at her chest, only becoming aware of the bandages under her teal patient's gown when she touched them. The girl lowered her eyes to her feet beneath the heavy blanket, “Where is the gryphal that brought me in? Did he stay and make sure I was okay?” She noted her own change of distinction when she spoke of the bird that saved her life, as the term was not 'he' instead of 'it'. 
	“I am afraid that he and I have an understanding that caused him to leave you in my care and accept his fate. You see, my grandfather was savagely murdered by dryn gryphal and while I don't hate Kehzrick, I am very uncomfortable around his kind,” the healer moved to the girl's side and rested a hand against her abdomen to read the progress of her healing.
	Shelby felt ice shock through her veins as one key point of the healer's reply struck her heart and mind, “What do you mean by 'accept his fate'? He saved my life, there should be no fate to accept except maybe thanks from those with the heart to give a damn about me.”
	“Shelby is it? You see, you were brought to me after being hurt out where no one could see it and the one who brought you in was the same being that everyone has learned to hate as a member of a race of monsters. Hateful minds will latch on to one train of thought and reason out that your injuries were caused by your savior rather than your life being spared by his foreclaws,” the aging avian gave a soft sigh of defeat, “And your friends had returned before you and he had with a tale of being chased out to the woods by an inexplicably violent and blood thirsty male gryphal, more than likely to avoid responsibility for entering the woods in the first place.”
	The young teen threw the blanket from over herself to begin sliding out of the bed, “What, no! Why didn't you speak up for him? You could have stopped anything from happening, told the truth! Where is he, what's going to happen to him?”
	“I am afraid if you listen close you can hear the commotion of that blood thirsty mob, they already caught up to him and are likely working on savaging his body with what ever they can find to wield against the great armored bird,” the elder lowered his head in shame, “I can do nothing to help him right now, he wont fight them, else he will become the monster they claim him to be in the eyes of all, regardless of his actions being in defense of his life. They wont listen to me, and I am much to frail to fight them off. Being naturally tough and resilient is a curse in this hour, as they have been attacking him for two hours now, and they will need to attack him for several more before he succumbs to the damage they do to his body. A slow and painful death is what he is suffering as we speak, waiting for them to do enough damage to his body to finally be fatal.”
	Shelby felt her heart catch in her throat as she realized just what the healer was saying; the gryphal was trading his life for hers when he brought her back and he knew it. The girl threw the blanket aside and flung her legs over to plant her feet on the floor with a look that was both defiant and fearful, “No! He doesn't deserve that, all he did was try to protect us from what the real monsters were doing and saved me when we set off their traps. You have to stop them, now!”
	“Miss Robinson, neither of us are in any shape to do anything about what is happening. It is part of a horrible cycle that Mishaka started long ago and sadly this is the tragic end to that cycle of hatred and violence. Those people out there want blood and they will vent their hate of his kind until it is gone, regardless of who gets in the way,” the elder gryph tried to gently push her shoulders down to seat her back on the bed.
	Shelby gave an anguished cry as she shook free of his grip and pushed past him, “No! It can't end like this, it's not right, it's not fair! I have to do something, anything! He was there when I needed him, despite my hate. He needs me now, the least I can do is try to help, no matter what happens!” The gryph girl charged out the door as fast as she could manage after her intense healing. She didn't even bother to put on any shoes as she raced into the cold winter air, the freezing mud of the worn road bit at her feet as she charged on. It didn't take long to find the gryphal and the mob attacking him, the noise of the crowd was nearly thundering over the quiet village. She called out to the Consorts in her heart and mind as she charged into the crowd to shove her way to the wounded creature within the center of the mob. Her heart sank when she managed to break through to see what was left of the massive avian. He was a mess, his feathers and fur were more than a little matted with mud and blood from the countless small cuts left by the gardening tools the towns people had been attacking him with.
	There was a break in the surge of people attacking the gryphal as the closest seemed to tire and backed up a bit. The girl took full advantage of the small break to throw herself through the crowd to wrap her arms around the head of the massive bird with a shrill cry, “Leave him alone! He didn't do anything but save me!” Shelby turned her back away from the gryphal as he began to stir and raise his head to look at her in utter shock as she took her stand to protect him. The gryph was prepared to do what ever it would take to save the being that saved her life, even if that meant trying to fight the entire town for him. Many of the people around looked confused by what the girl was saying and doing as she dug her bare feet in and readied herself to use her bare hands against them. 
	“What the fuck do you think you're doing,” the angry voice sent ice down Shelby's spine as it was the one voice she could not resist, the one voice that could send fear into her very heart and hold her paralyzed under it's authority. Her father pushed back through the crowd, presumably to retrieve the pick ax that was clutched in his hand, “We already heard from your friends, now get your ass out of the way so we can deal with this piece of shit properly. What ever hold he has, he can't use it on you now.”
	She was petrified to face her father, he was the whole reason she was out there to begin with. His anger, his drinking, and his lack of restraint, it all made her afraid to be at home. Now she stood between him and the being he blamed every last one of his problems on and she already knew he was drinking that day. Her fear began to give way to a different emotion as her body began to warm again with the new feeling that released her from her paralysis. It was disgust, disgust in herself for nearly becoming just like him. He beat his disdain for everything into her, made her bitter toward most people and worst of all, made her hate the being that had saved her life when he knew it would likely cost him his own. Shelby just could stand it anymore, she couldn't stand herself and most of all, she couldn't stand the man before her that had created the entire situation.
	The girl clenched her fists as she glared at her father with the same hate he held for the gryphal behind her, “Fuck you! This is all your fault for being a drunk , violent idiot. If you weren't drinking today and shoving me around, I wouldn't have had to sneak out to get away from you. If you hadn't taught me to hate male gryphal like you do, I would have trusted him and stayed away from those traps. I never would have been crushed like I was.”
	“Shut your beak and move girl,” the elder gryph growled as he drew back his arm and swung the pick ax right at his own daughter. 
	Shelby closed her eyes as the shock held her in place until she felt a warm liquid splatter against her face. Her eyes opened to show her the most unexpected sight; her father's hateful swing had met with another target that had intercepted it's arch. The warm splatters against her face had been the blood from the gryphal's massive foreclaw as he caught the point of that pick through his palm. Amazingly enough, that foreclaw gripped tightly around the pick head and the shaft of the handle so hard that the steel bent and the wood splintered, “You can attack me for being what I am, my kind have more than earned this, I will not fight back. But you will NOT harm another for your hatred of me. Especially not one I have already saved once.”
	“Damn it girl! Look what you've done now, we had him down until you got in the way,” her father moved to back hand her, but a deep growl from the gryphal announced how bad of an idea that was. Before his arm could swing, the massive avian slammed the curved top of his beak into the elder gryph's chest with frightening force. 
	A voice cried out with anger and shock, “It's attacking Jeffry!” The crowd surged once more with an angry cry just as the gryphal caught Shelby in his massive foreclaws to bring her beneath his chest and neck so that his body shielded her from the vicious blows delivered by the crowd she had no way to escape. The vicious shocks against the heavy frame protecting her shook all the way to the gryph beneath that powerful bulk, but worst of all they struck her heart more than her body. She had done this, with her hate, her lack of care for authority, and with her own fears. Tears began to escape her eyes and soak her cheeks as she was now witness to the savage reward the gryphal was receiving for saving her life. No, the savage hatred that he had likely been subjected to his whole life.
	Shelby grasped tight at his feathers and pressed her face into them as she shuddered with her sobs of guilty sorrow and regret, “I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please, get up and fight, please!” Her pleas went unanswered as the gryphal focused on protecting her and keeping his body just so that he would not crush her when they finally managed to damage him enough to be fatal. “Consorts! Please! You can't let this happen, you can't let hate win and claim such a kind heart!” A vicious blow struck the bird in the head and nearly knocked it from over her. Some how, he grunted and held his ground to keep himself between her and that blood thirsty crowd that was blind to what they were attacking. The girl didn't want her life any longer, she wanted to turn back time and die under that log to stop the attack on the being that had turned out to be a gentle giant. 
	“Get off him you brainless cowards,” That accent, old earth Scottish, the voice, Shelby recognized it as the smith, William. There were sounds of scuffling and flush striking flesh that did not shake the gryphal's body. The avian struggled to raise himself briefly as hands suddenly grasped her and pulled the girl out from under her savior. She could see the blood on the ground, all from the very being that had protected her, William wasn't alone. His wife, several hands from the wheat farm and the farmer himself had arrived and were struggling to fight off the crowd, though they were horribly outnumbered. 
	She was handed off to be supported by Christina who held her arm over the back of her own neck to carry her away, “Come on Shelby, we have to get out of here! Daddy and the others will get him out, I know it!” Her words were cut off by the sounds of bodies hitting the ground as the crowd managed to subdue the would be heroes. Some one had gone off to fetch more weapons to use against the gryphal's massive form and now axes were being handed around before they started to rise and fall against his flanks. The heavy natural armor stood firm against them, but how long would it be before one hit a gap, they chopped through that boney armor, or they swung around it? Shelby pulled away from Christine and struggled to stumble toward the wounded gryphal, screaming out his name mingled with begging cries for the crowd to stop and leave him be. She knew she was watching the gryphal die and she was powerless to stop it. She felt the need to be there with him so he wasn't along amongst all those hateful and angry faces. Her frantic scramble and the lightly healed injuries made it difficult for her to make her way to the fallen avian. Her feet refused to find grip in the freezing mud as the girl fought hard to reach the gryphal's head and hug tightly at it. 
	All she could do was make sure that he was not alone with nothing but hate raining down upon him in those final moments of his existence. Christina must have felt the same for she did not try to stop Shelby, only trying to free her father from the people who held him as the gryph held the gryphal's head in tears as she tried to comfort him while his attackers were still beating him to death. She knew she might get hurt for being in their way, possibly even killed as well, but she couldn't leave him there alone. Just when she had surrendered hope and began to pray for the gryphal to just die to end his suffering, cries started coming from the crowd once more, but not the same angry cries, no they were cries of panic. When the gryph raised her head to see what was happening, she nearly vomited at the sight of the terrible wounds in the still living gryphal's body. It took a moment for her grieving mind to register what was going on around her. A small band of people were beating back the crowd with great success. Did William and his cohorts manage to get free and attack the assailants again? The flash of a set of bars caught her eye as the tall humanoid jaguar struck down two people in the span of a second with one solid punch and a spinning kick. The uniform, the insignia, the sheer number of people they were beating back with ease, the answer finally struck her battered heart. They were soldiers, defending the gryphal! What was more, they were the elites of the Titanian military; The Queens Own Talons. Even en mass, the villagers were no match for these dangerous men and women. The onslaught was finally over.
	Shelby held tight to he gryphal's head and buried her face in his cheek, “It's over Kehzrick, it's finally over, we can get you help now, just hold on please. Just hold on and don't die!”
	The wounded gryphal struggled to raise his head as his breathing was beginning to slow and looked at her through half opened eyes, “A-are you.. o-okay? You're.. n-not hurt?”
	He didn't care about himself at all, he just wanted her to be okay. Shelby's heart couldn't take any more and just shattered in her chest as the gryphal slipped from consciousness to barely fight for his life. The girl wept over his head as she held tight. She could hear the jaguar speaking to his superiors over his insignia's communication enchantments, “It's Commander Tilen, we have a situation here and we need immediate medical and martial support. Our Siegebreaker is down and fading fast, we wont be able to join the engagement.”
	A voice sounded over the insignia to respond to the commander's report, “Oh shit, what happened out there?”
	“Don't know quite yet, all I know is a mob of villagers were attacking him when we showed up,” the jaguar knelt down to pull Shelby away from the gryphal so his other human soldiers could try their best at stabilizing their fallen comrade. A new pain rippled through her heart as she soaked up the news about what the gryphal was and what he was now unable to do. Without the seigebreaker support, the soldiers out there fighting to protect her and all the realms from the Bohrauk would have yet another disadvantage and likely lose even more out there on the battle fields away from everyone they knew and loved. Her stomach lurched as she leaned forward to purge what little she had in her belly.
	That voice returned once more, “Hell, how many dead and how many wounded? The Consorts know those people are no match for a large male gryphal.”
	“Hey kid, just take it easy and try to calm down. It's going to be okay,” the commander turned his attention back to responding to that voice, “Only Kehzrick is down, and I advise you to never hold those thoughts of him harming any civilian for any reason other than protecting other people. He wouldn't hurt a fly to protect himself.” 
	The other voice was quick to respond to the retort, “Yes sir, sorry sir, the assistance you requested is on the way.”
	Commander Tilen looked down at Shelby as she struggled to stand with the nausea brought on by her realizations of all that she had done that day, “Where do you live girl? While we're answering questions, what is your name and what happened here?”
	The girl broke into tears as she recounted the events of the morning up until the point that the jaguar and his men had arrived to seek the gryphal, “I'm responsible for all of this, because of my fear and hate. I was too afraid to speak out about my father, and I hated the gryphal because of the stories and fables my grandparents told me. Now he saved my life and might lose his for it after I split his brow open. I don't think I deserve this life he saved.” 
	“Don't sell yourself short kid,” The commander gave her shoulder a squeeze, “He felt the need to save you, I trust his judgment. Now go home, I don't think anything you did is a chargeable offense except maybe the stone to the eye. I doubt Kehzrick will press the charges on that one. Don't worry about your father either, he's got some pretty heavy charges he's facing. Go home, get something to eat and rest up. If there's anything else you need before you go, now's the chance to tell me.”
	Shelby felt the dull ache in her ribs, although her hand covered an even greater ache in her chest, “Would it be okay if I visit Kehzrick if he pulls through?”
	Tilen turned and started to walk away, causing her heart to sink before he stopped, “I think he would like that, to know you were not harmed in the whole incident. I'll have some one inform you of when he can have visitors.”
	The girl only nodded to the jaguar's back as he walked away. Shelby watched him until he disappeared into the fray of those being arrested and those turning themselves in for their involvement. She recognized the old healer working on the damaged body of the gryphal before she could turn and walk home, avoiding seeing anyone. Once she was there, the girl started some water to make herself a soup for the night. Something caught her eye and pulled her attention away from preparing her food. It was something she once thought beautiful and nearly perfect, but the change in her perception of that once beautiful sight mesmerized her. The gryph simply let her knife fall from her hand to the cutting board as she turned and faced the mirror to slowly approach her own reflection. The image she once thought there was so much wrong with, because she felt it was the image of perfect beauty. Now, it was the most vile thing she could ever imagine herself laying eyes upon. Every perfect or near perfect point of symmetry and perfect blend of colors to bring the eye in to her finest features were now the very image of everything that was ugly and wrong in the world. The angel she once seen in the mirror had been unmasked and now she could only see the monster that tried to hide behind that beautiful mask. 
	Shelby felt the tears in her eyes once more as she scooped up the nearest object she could reach to throw right into the mirror, shattering the reflective glass and breaking the age old taboo of bad luck. The girl turned away from the shards that littered the floor to try and absorb herself in the task of chopping the vegetables for her soup. The sharp blade of her knife sank into the potato under her hand with ease, but the ease of the task couldn't fight back what was coming. She was only half way through when a slow salty rain began to fall upon her cutting board. The knife slipped from the limp fingers before the girl sank down the counter to hug her knees to her chest, despite the aching pain it caused her, and finally just broke inside.

				*			*			*

	It had been three days of living alone with her self loathing and depression before she heard any word from anyone. She hadn't been able to bring herself to eat and she had manged to smash every mirror in the small house. The knock on the door took her by surprise, as she had forgotten that anyone would come to see her in her depression. Not having eaten left the girl feeling weak and fatigued as she stumbled a bit to answer the door. It was Commander Tilen, from the gryphal's unit, his feline features showed little concern at her condition. Given who he was and what he did for a living, that visual presence of little concern was probably a sign of deep concern.
	“Shelby was it? You look a bit thinner than I remember, but Kehzrick is awake and able to have visitors. You can see him now, although you will have to share the time with another as she wont leave his side,” the jaguar offered his hand to assist the girl in a show of Titanian manners to escort a lady to her destination. Shelby only nodded and reluctantly placed her hand in that of the elder male. She did not move to grab a coat against the bitter cold, instead she simply faced it with her dull gray plain dress on. Her house was just as cold as the winter air as well as she felt she did not deserve the comfort of a fire or warm clothing. The jaguar seemed uneasy with how cold she felt when he took her arm in his to lead her toward the old healer's home. Her eyes stayed on the ground before her as her wings sagged a bit behind her, as did her tail, a sure sign of her shattered state of mind. The officer kept giving her an odd look as they walked. 
	“Shelb! Hey Shelb, wait up,” the voice was familiar, but somehow the haze of her depression and general confusion over the events of the past few days she just couldn't connect it to Sandra until the female gryphal caught up to them so she could see her face. “Have you heard yet? So many people were arrested for the attack on the male gryphal that they are bringing in state hired aide to keep things running until the trial is done.”
	The gryph girl blinked at her female gryphal friend, “They arrested everyone? But, wouldn't the authorities believe the masses of people telling a similar story?”
	“Not when the authority figure in charge of the investigation witnessed the events first hand and managed to snag a few witnesses who told the truth and fingered every last towns person involved,” Tilen pointed out as he paused, “You girls go on ahead, I think you need to talk before you get there. I have something to call in and handle anyhow.”
	Shelby looked from the commander to the female gryphal, very clearly not wishing to be around any of her old friends after the part they supposedly played in the attack on the gryphal that had saved her, “I don't think I want any of those people around me right now. Not after they told everyone that the one who saved me was the one who hurt me.”
	“What? Shelby, we never said anything of the sort,” Sandra looked rather stunned as she stared wide eyed at her friend, “Chilty and I went back to my house, but everyone was already gone to town so we stayed there. We wanted to get help, but Ryan said we couldn't do anything and that you would already be dead before anyone could get to you.”
	The gryph looked away from the gryphal as she started back toward the healer's house as her bare feet began to grow numb against the cold snow covered ground, “So you just left me there to die alone while you went and put your paws all over each other? You let the rumor spread that the one who had the strength and the heart to save me after what we did to him was the very one who attacked me? I should gash your neck open with a broken stick or a sharp rock, it would be fitting for a twisted monster like me.” 
	“We didn't do any such thing, Ryan said he would get help, so we went back to my place. Ryan said he had it handled, what else were we supposed to do?” Sandra spat right back.
	Shelby felt herself growling, a hot anger boiling inside her to chase away the cold that had pierced to her core, “You could have NOT betrayed the gryphal that saved my life and just took the punishment instead of trying to get him killed for us choosing to go out where he warned us not to go. You knew god damned well he didn't chase or attack us out there.”
	“Did you not listen to what I just said? Chilty and I didn't talk to anyone but Ryan, we went to my house,” the female gryphal stopped at the healer's door step to glare at her gryph friend.
	Shelby felt a hot coal smoldering in her gut as she absorbed that information, “That bastard manipulated it to cover his ass. Look, I need to go in here and see the gryphal, they might let you in, but they might not. Either way, we'll discuss this when I get out.” Sandra only nodded her reply as the gryph girl knocked on the healer's door. 
	After a short wait, the door opened to reveal the elder gryph wearing a warm smile, “Ahh, Shelby, and young Sandra, welcome to my home. I have a patient inside who would be happy to see you. Please, come on in and we'll get you in to see him, just follow me.” The two girls looked at each other before they stepped inside the healer's home and followed him into the house. The elder gryph lead the two young females to the larger back room on the ground floor where a set of double doors lay waiting to be opened. “You go on ahead and have your visit, I have some cleaning up to do. Just go right on in, they are expecting you.”
	“Thank you,” Shelby felt off saying such to the healer, but it was the only thing she could think to say before she reached out to grasp the door knob and give it a turn. The latch made a slight grinding click as the loose door swung slowly inward from the anchored door. She took a moment to gather herself before she pushed it open enough to see the massive avian resting upon the bed. It was a sobering sight to see just how bandaged and splinted he was with one wing having been mended and his entire middle bound under bandages to protect the healing flesh beneath. His eyes slowly drifted open as he shifted his head to look at the two young females. Shelby felt her blood run cold as she absorbed the sight of his swollen right eye. The girl didn't even register the other being in the room until she moved to hold a towel filled with ice against his eye when he winced at the motion. 
	Shelby didn't recognize the female gryphal, but she was certainly the most beautiful example of the species the girl had ever laid eyes upon. She was lean and very fit with a smooth muscle tone that spoke of strength and agility while keeping her figure so very feminine and not the least bit masculine like some of the stronger broadwinged female gryphons could get at times. Her feathers and fur were so silky and glossy with health and careful grooming. Her main body color was a sandy tan, almost tawny like a lioness, with cream colored wing bands and under belly. Her eyes made her seem so very exotic, being of such an odd tone of golden brown, they looked like twin pools of burnished gold. Those eyes held such a loving concern for the wounded warrior, Shelby wondered if she wasn't an unnamed mate to the huge male. The gryph did not know who the female was, but Sandra clearly did as she stared with wide eyes at the elder hen tending to the male gryphal.
	“Shelby, that's HER,” the younger female gryphal whispered to her friend, “That's scout Kenta of the StarTalons!”
	The gryph didn't know the face, but she knew the name, “Oh shit, what is she doing here?” The scout was a living legend to the female gryphal, and a heroine in waiting to the rest of the alliance. Her skills in combat and infiltration were second to none. She only lacked a great noteworthy victory to secure her place as a legend in the pages of Titanian history. And yet there she was, nursing the very male that had nearly given his life for the gryph that had injured him early in the day of his attack.
	“Easy Kehz, don't try to move too much sweetheart,” Kenta held the ice pack against the male's swollen eye as she gave a tender stroke down his cheek and along his neck, “You need to heal up so the Shieldra kids can come see their big uncle Kehz.” 
	She felt a cold ball of shock in her stomach as the name sank in, “The Shieldra kids, as in Lord Raust and Lady Kairen Shieldra?”
	“They don't like the titles, But yes, Raust and Kairen Shieldra, he has been a good friend since my days in training, and she has been close since she arrived on Eldarohnd. I've known their children all since they were born and they have simply adopted me as their 'Uncle',” the huge male leaned his head into the soothing cold against his eye, “Shelby is it? I have to ask if you are okay, you were not injured further in the altercation with the mob?”
	Shelby stared at the gryphal in disbelief as she shivered a bit from the cold, “Are you serious? You were almost killed and you're worried about me? What did I do to deserve such concern? I wasn't even nice to you, all I did was throw a rock at you and bust your brow open, I called you such hurtful names. Why do you care if I live or die? Why did you try to trade your life for the life of some terrible little bitch? You were never the monster, I was and you were willing to give your life to save my miserable skin. You didn't even fight back when you could have easily destroyed that entire mob. Why would you waste your life saving me, I'm a worthless, selfish little bitch that can't manage to do anything but hate everything.”
	“Shelby, you are shivering, please come to me and I will explain everything,” the huge gryphal struggled to draw himself up as Kenta moved to help him as if she knew that was the only way to keep him from hurting himself. 
	The gryph girl hesitated as she looked back to her female gryphal friend who only shrugged back to her. They didn't need to speak, which was an ear mark of their real friendship, but Shelby got the message. He saved her, twice, and took a hell of a beating for it. The likelihood of him hurting her was very slim, especially with the scout present. The girl moved slowly over to the gryphal, her icy feet dragging along the floor as she shuffled to him. Her body was so cold, she could feel his body radiating heat at arm's length. It was so pleasant and inviting to the near frozen gryph, making her body neary beg her to nestle into those warm soft feathers. The gryphal shifted, causing himself a bit of pain for moving his injured body to pull her into his chest and neck with one of those powerful forelimbs. The warmth of the kind beast spread through her feathers and skin to restore her core temperature slowly while he held her in a tight embrace. Shelby couldn't help but to fall into tears again as she held tight to the gryphal's neck. She was lost again, with no one but her single friend and the kind being she had been taught to hate for all her young life. Everything she knew to be proper and good turned out to be wrong and horrible. To make matters worse, she didn't even know why he spared her life to become lost in the situation she was. 
	Kenta gave the large male a lick on his beak before she moved back to let him hold the gryph against his strong chest to give her warmth and comfort, “Shhh, it will be okay, Shelby, I will help you warm back up and see about a coat for you for when you leave here. But, to answer your question, I saved you because it was right. You were hateful and caused me harm, but you didn't really do anything that would have warranted your death. Even if some one had just attacked you to simply cause you injury, I would have stopped that as well. The best way to fight what you are, is to be what no one will even let you believe you are not. I can't help that I was born a monster, but I can help how I feel and act. I was born a monster, it doesn't mean I have to be a monster. Only a monster would have been able to sit there and watch you die beneath that log.”
	Shelby leaned back, pressing his forelimb back as she did to look up at him for a moment, only to punch him right in his cheek with all her might, “How dare you! Don't you ever call yourself a monster! The other gryphal were monsters, but the females are not, and if your breed is like you, then you couldn't possibly be monsters either. Don't give me that 'everyone says' crap either. It wasn't a monster that saved me in a moment of kindness, it was an angel acting on his true nature. The only monster out there was me, born innocent and fed lies to become just like the monsters that spawned and raised me.”
	“That is why I saved you in the first place,” The gryphal pulled her back into his warm chest to keep feeding her that life giving heat, “You are young still, and you have a much greater chance to learn and grow away from what others tried to make you. These images they try to project onto every member of a species don't hold up so well when faced with those of my kind that still exist as opposed to those who once lived. I wasn't just saving you from the trap, I was saving you from the ugliness they tried to plant inside of you before it became you.”
	Shelby buried her face into those warm soft feathers as she tried to hide the tears she felt edging at her eyes, “Why didn't you try to save yourself from those people attacking you though? You saved me, then you laid down and almost tried to die by their hands, when you could have easily demolished every last one if you so chose to do so.”
	“I did not raise a talon to those people because they could not fight back if I countered their attack. It would have been nothing more than cutting down frightened people for trying to defend themselves and their families. Self defense or not, I would have been the monster everyone accuses me of being if I raised my talons to common folk, even to save my own life. The life of a monster for the life of a young girl is quite the fair trade indeed,” Kehzrick replied as the gryph's body finally warmed back up in his embrace.
	Kenta touched the gryphal's shoulder and cleared her throat, “Kehz, you need to get your rest, I'll see the girls out after we find Shelby a warm cloak to protect her against the cold.”
	“Very well, I will be right here when you get back,” The huge gryphal smiled and leaned his neck out to give the female gryphal a tender nuzzle as he released his hold on Shelby, “You go and take care of yourself now, Shelby, I didn't save your life for you to toss it away like you just did.”
	The gryph nodded slowly to the huge bird, “Yes sir, I will do better to care for myself, I promise.”
	“Good, now come along then, a warm cloak and a whole new day awaits you. I may ask your assistance later on in moving my things to Kehzrick's house,” Kenta nudged both girls along with her wings as she spoke.
	Sandra blinked a bit as she moved out the door with her friend and her idol, “Move your things to Kehzrick's house?”
	“Yes, I can no longer leave him alone, so I am moving in with him to make sure no one touches him again and to give him the love and care he is missing in his life,” Kenta replied as she checked a closet for any sort of warm garment she could wrap the gryph in. 
	Shelby felt a shock of cold run through her veins, “Wait, did you bother to ask him if he wants to be your mate? What if he's looking for some one else who is more than just pretty to look at?”
	“I assure you that he is fine with it. We have known one another for a long time now and he is one of two I trust to tend my cycle, so holding me as friend in such an embrace is nothing new. He is the kind that will never feel he is worthy of asking me to be his mate, because of the image of himself put in his heart by all those who hate him. He also is not so weak that he would accept out of desperation and lack of self esteem. If he doesn't want to enter into mateship with me, he will say no,” Kenta was gentle in her reply, but there was a stern undertone to her soft delivery. 
	Sandra smiled and touched her friend on the shoulder, “Aww, Shelby, that is just so sweet and romantic. She's coming to save him from his own shattered heart!”
	“Well, she better take good care of him,” The gryph girl was shocked by her own twinge of jealousy. She wasn't attracted to the huge gryphal, but it didn't take long for her to realize that she was attracted to the type of person he represented. Kind and gentle to those he met, unwilling to harm those who could not put up a fight, and strong and brave enough to fight the ones who wished to harm others. He was a bit more timid than she thought she would like in a male, but it was endearing in that he needed some one to care for him in an emotional manner so he did not fall into his own pains and fears.  Shelby felt a bit of an uneasy smile in her heart as she grew so much in such a short time, to realize that what she once viewed as a monster, a vile being to be harmed when possible, would become her perfect image of what a man should be. 
	Kenta cleared her throat and gave Shelby a hard stare, “I will take perfectly good care of my bird, but I must stand up and say what he doesn't have the heart to even allow himself to think. He almost gave his life to keep yours intact, so don't waste it. Go out and live as long and happy as you can and make something of yourself. That doesn't mean you have to be some great hero, or historical figure of our time. It means that those who know your name and who you were will look back upon your life and smile fondly to have known you. That is the best way you can repay him for what he has done for you. That is all I have to say, your life is yours, so go on and live it now, we wont be watching you. What has been asked is all on your own morality and initiative.” The female gryphal produced a heavy cloak from the closet she was examining and tossed it to the gryph, “You better get on your way, you have a new lease on life to sort out.”
	“Thank you for the cloak and the advice, but most of all, please thank him for saving me from my own life,” Shelby replied before she slipped the cloak around her shoulders and turned to head for the front door of the healer's home with Sandra close behind. The gryphal girl paused once to look back at her idol, still unable to believe she had spoken to them at all. Kenta had wasted no time in returning to the injured male. 
	As soon as the pair were outside Sandra shook herself out with excitement, “It was KENTA, we actually talked to Scout Kenta! This is.. and she's so nice too!” 
	“Well, yeah, she is a normal person Sandra, and I didn't hear you say much to her in there. Are you sure we talked to her, or was it all me? Besides, she wasn't here to see us personally, we just so happened to involved with the situation that hurt her lover,” Shelby prodded her closest female friend with a bit of a playful smile, just a glimmer of the old Shelby returning to life. Although she felt a twinge of shame at feeling that touch of jealousy as she mentioned the female gryphal as the lover of the big male. It wasn't that she was attracted to him, but rather what he represented in a male. He was strong, kind in heart, gentle, caring towards others, strong enough to stand up for others, and very selfless. The gryphal displayed everything she ever could want in a male, inside the body of the being she had been taught to hate all her life for being everything wrong with the realms as a whole. Everyone that should have been right in her life was wrong, and the ones who should have been wrong, were now right. 
	The female gryphal gave her a light shove with her wing, “Oh don't be such a bitch, we were both there!” The girls shared in a laugh and continued walking through the village, not really knowing or caring where they were going just as long as they shared one another's company. They had made it half way to Sandra's house when a familiar figure stepped out from behind a corner to block their path.
	“Hey, there's the two prettiest girls in town, I was wondering what happened to you since they said some one rescued you from that tree,” Ryan flashed that dazzling smile, but after the recent events, it only made Sandra feel uneasy, and inspired a deep smoldering rage inside Shelby.
	The gryph girl clenched her fists tightly as she tried to keep herself under control, “Yes, I am alive, no thanks to you. Kehzrick saved me and even helped me breathe until he got me to the healer, before you set him up to take the fall for my accident.”
	“Yeah, see, I had to make a choice about that. Some one was going to take some serious shit for that, and there was an opportunity to use it all to get rid of that thing as well. I chose the skins of my friends and myself over the life of a mon-”the human boy never finished his insult as Shelby erupted with rage and slammed her fist right into his mouth with a mighty lunging strike that bowled the lad over and dislodged a tooth.
	The rage still burned in her eyes as she backed away from her victim, “Don't you ever call him 'it' or 'monster', or anything but him or Kehzrick. In fact, don't even call him that, filth like you has no business speaking such a good name. To trade the life of an angel for that of a demon is not a fair trade in the least. So stay away from me from now on, or I'll knock the rest of your teeth out.”
	Ryan growled as she spoke, staring at his tooth with an insane rage that drove him to his feet as soon as she finished speaking, “Think again, bitch, it's not for you to decide. I'm the man, and I will tell you when I'm done with you!” He took his turn to lunge at her swinging his fist toward her chest where her injured ribs would surely not weather the strike well and quite possibly collapse her chest once more. That blow would never land as a flash of scales and feathers intercepted the human to send him sprawling on his back once more, gasping for breath this time.
	“Don't you talk to my friends like that, and don't you EVER try to lay a hand on either Shelby or Sandra again,” the young male taperwing turned back to the pair of females to make sure he had made it in time to keep them from harm. Shelby never thought about the fact that while a taperwing was smaller than a broadwing, they were still larger and stronger than humans. 
	Sandra gasped and screamed out a warning, “Chilty, behind you!” The gryphon wheeled about to face the recovering human once more as his hand now held a large kitchen knife he must have had hidden under his belt. Shelby felt an icy fear rushing throuhg her veins, though it faded quickly as the gryphon and the human squared off in their tense little stand off. Beyond the two males, she spotted the yellow hide with black spots that belonged to Commander Tilen approaching in the distance at a run. Just as Ryan made to lunge with that knife at Chilty, the jaguar raised and hurled one of his twin axes. The weapon whirled through the air and struck the boy in the back of the head, luckily for Ryan it was the butt of the ax head that made contact and drove him from consciousness rather than life.
	“Damn, I missed,” Tilen gave an irritated snort as he closed the distance and retrieved his ax, “Now I'll have some extra paper work to put this imp through a trial. Anyhow, Robinson, I pulled some strings and avoided the youth home for you. That does, however, mean you'll be staying with me until such time as you are legal to be on your own. Gather your things and take them to Darkfeather's house, Scout Kenta and Siegebreaker Kehzrick will look after you until I return from this engagement. We may not have our breaker, but we are still queens own, we have a job to do. Dismissed.”
	Shelby stared dumbfounded at the jaguar, she had no clue she was even up for the youth home. Before she could make any response to object or make any inquiries, the commander turned and picked up Ryan by his belt to carry him off for processing with the local law enforcement. Chilty and Sandra both moved to either side of their friend to press close and offer her their warmth. She had no idea what life would be like under the strict rule of a hardened military officer, but he had seemed to actually give a damn about her thus far. She had her friends near by as well, though she had no notion of how far away the jaguar made his own home. He did walk to the village, so it couldn't have been too terribly far. 
	“Shelby, everything is changing all a sudden, but we wont, at least not in the way that is important,” Chilty nodded firmly, “We'll always be your friends, and you'll always be part of this little family we have together. Maybe, maybe without the stupid selfish aspects, our little group can become something so much better you know?”
	Shelby gave a nod to her friend, “Thank you Chilty, you were a real man today. I think this is a new beginning for all of us, now that we have finally beaten the true monsters in our lives. That gryphal saved us all, and for that, we can never thank him enough.” The three friends shared an embrace, remembering the good times of their past era as they looked forward to what challenges these changes would bring about, all they knew was that they now had a much better chance to find who they were, thanks to an angel wearing the skin of a monster.