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Legionaire is the kindest and most lovable of dragonwolfies I know of! I suggested him an idea for a story and, together, we built a most epic journey filled with struggles and romantic moments. What's so epic about it, you may ask? Why, it's Legionaire's looks that make it fantastic! xD

Oh, and also the fact that he's a mage hunter in this particular story, set in a medieval fantasy-esque universe. His job is to deal with a group of apostates that's been hunting packs of direwolves in order to replenish the reagents necessary for their potions. Together with Shy's help, a submissive yet loyal gryphon, Legionaire starts his quest to find the apostates and inflict justice upon them. Will the story end in the predictable way that starts to form in your head? Read and figure it out for yourself.

This story's protagonists are Legionaire, his feral gryphon partner called Shy, a feral direwolf that Legionaire rescues and names Onyx. It also features mild yet descriptive(and fulfilling!) sexual scenes such as hand jobs, anal sex, and enough foreplay to warm up the characters for the delights ahead :)

*I truly hope you'll enjoy it, and if you do, please show your appreciation by treating the kitty with the following: *

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Here's how Legionaire looks like:(Art done by Twistedhound from FA: ))

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Legionaire banged several times on the splintered door of a ramshackle dwelling. It looked as depraved as the people who lived inside--windowless, with thin walls punctured by holes big enough to let eyes watch through them. Or crossbow bolts.

Legionaire banged again, and again, regardless of the holes.

"Who's there?" A gruff voice inquired. "We're outta whatever you look for. Go downhill."

"I'll handle it," a smooth, rich baritone tone responded to the first. "Is just the gold blue eyed freak."

"Send him off, that one. Send him off before I turn 'im into a pretty fluffy rug--"

The door parted to reveal a young man in his early thirties with doe eyes, ruffled brown hair, and arms so thin Legionaire thought they'd fall under the weight of the crossbow.

"Is my dad, that," he thrust his thumb behind to the now closed door. "See what he does to me?" he stepped away from the door and from the hushed threats slipping through the holes.

"He's cautious, same as you." Legionaire raised an eyebrow. "But freak? Thought you bards travelled far enough to see more than just wolves like me."

"None with eyes of different colors and horns. What exactly are you, again?"

Legionaire sighed. He reached into the pouch dangling at his waist to summon a thin parchment. "Mage hunter, fifth branch. That means I deal with apostates--"

"That the templars should deal with. I know what the fifth branch of your order does. Looking after beasts, plants, trees and what not." The youth grabbed the parchment anyway and gave it a thorough look.

Legionaire turned his head to the side to cover his smile. Since when did rogues--bards, as this lot preferred to call itself-- bother with official documents, stamped by the same authority who chased them into the slums?

"Don't sneer. You might get a crossbow bolt in reply from them holes," the youth said before making the same gesture with his thumb.

Legionaire folded his wings tighter across his back and coughed to clear his voice. "Then give me something more than threats, boy."

He shrugged. "Like what?"

Legionaire reached towards his parchment, but the youth swung away from his reach.

"You sought us out. You know how this works," the youth said. He traded Legionaire for a coin pouch so bulged and heavy the youth's wrist twisted under its weight.

"You know why I paid you thrice the regular rate," Legionaire sneered.

The youth rushed back into the house without a second glance. When he emerged a moment after, a crumpled map rested under his armpit. He handled it to Legionaire, then fled back into the hideout.

"We'll shoot you down if we cross paths again," his voice burst through one of the holes. From an upper level, by the sound of it. How fast did he even climb up there?

Legionaire shrugged. Once the grime and the heavy scents of the slums gave way to boisterous crowds and cobbled streets, he slunk into a narrow alley to check the bards' map. Thin reddish lines and dots marked the sightings of the apostates Legionaire tracked. Relatives, perhaps even family to the bards who broke their oath to keep their doings a secret in exchange for coin.

He would've found them anyway, yet the map even showed the hills, caverns and gullies where these mages camped. They mostly kept to the base of the mountains, along the mountain range.

"Direwolves," Legionaire said out loud. The word was scribbled with jagged characters, yet the circles encompassing the territories of the packs looked flawless by comparison. One, two, three, four--too many to count.

Legionaire pocketed the map into the inner pocket of his burnt leather vest and stepped into a sea of people. The raw stench of humans filled his nostrils, yet a few sweeter scents still wafted through. One suave one belonged to a feline. Which species, Legionaire couldn't tell. Only that she was in heat, with at least three pursuers on her tail. Their sharp musk made Legionaire snarl, yet he kept striding forward, pushing his way through the narrow streets.

With each gate Legionaire passed through, the population thinned to a few richly clad humans and their entourage, to the straight backed guards who milled about. Legionaire smiled at a few, only to get glares and grunts in return. So much for human hospitality.

At least the gryphons were more forthcoming. Their shrieks flared to life when Legionaire stepped out of the spiraling stairway and into The Tower. A bland, stupid name that failed to reflect its majesty.

Rows over rows, columns over columns of nests filled the domed chamber. Legionaire squinted against the dapples of light piercing through narrow, gold framed windows. Try as he might, he couldn't make out the top. Only a patch of darkness, punctured by an infinite number of light beams. And, between the beams, gryphons. Most preened themselves, their necks hanging over the nests hewn into the marble itself to peek at their visitor. None flew down, not even Shy. Wherever he was, the gryphon stared at Legionaire just like the rest of his kind.

Legionaire's stomach knotted at that. They flew together the last time. Didn't he still remember him? Legionaire sought a speck of his starry rosettes or ebony feathers. He even tried to make out his name, etched into the marble underneath the gryphon's nests, encased in glittering mithril filigree.

"Saw you, smelled you, heard you. I chose not to pay attention to you."

The Whistler. A bald wretch, crooked of back and short as a gnome. His beady eyes were sunk into the hollow sockets of his bony skull, and his sallow cheeks sagged, as if life seeped from his gnarled body. He turned towards Legionaire, hung a handful of whistles within the confines of his flowing onyx robes, and smiled a crooked smile.

"Papers."

Legionaire gave them.

"Reason."

"It's in there. Apostates."

He waved an arm off and turned away. "Begone. Fifth branch doesn't need wings. Not when you have your own."

Legionaire covered the distance between them in one single stride. "I had a gryphon last time. I need a gryphon now. What's changed?"

The Whistler shrugged and unfurled the parchment again. He stood a little straighter, all of a sudden, yet he barely passed Legionaire's hips. "Ah, fifth branch. Why didn't you tell me? Leaving me to squint..." he thrust the parchment into Legionaire's groin, unfolded his robe and plucked a small whistle carved out of a dark, gleaming metal.

It made a sharp sound, thin yet pleasant. The echo reverberated through The Tower, three times, before one single gryphon flew down to heed its call. Shy!

The Whistler stepped between Shy and Legionaire, one finger raised as he tucked the whistle back among the million others dangling on the inside of his robes. "Greet, bond, leave. In that order," he said before returning to his racks and chests to sort out more whistles.

Legionaire's gaze shifted towards the Shy. A curt smile spread across his lips, making the gryphon coo and fidget in anticipation.

"I give myself to you," Legionaire said as he crossed his paws over his heart.

The gryphon responded by unfurling his wings and lifting a forepaw over the thick plumage of his breast. He chirped while Legionaire ran a paw through the lush feathers of his midnight breast, along the thin fur of his hindquarters, speckled with silvery rosettes, down a flank and towards a haunch.

Shy shuddered at that. His feathers bristled, and a soft chirp broke through his sealed beak as the gryphon turned around to conceal a speckle of pink.

Legionare retreated his paw. "Your turn I suppose," he said curtly.

Shy didn't loiter. His beak brushed against Legionaire's sides briefly before he began preening his ears. "Gah!" he cried when Shy nipped the tip of his left ear.

The gryphon squeaked and took a step back, blinking twice in apology. "I'm fine. You just took me by surprise with your--"

"Leave. Wasn't that the third step?" Came the Whistler's high pitched voice.

"I have your saddle ready downstairs. Meet you there."

Shy dipped his head in approval before flying out of The Tower in all of his ebony splendor. Legionaire followed him for a moment when the Whistler's croak reminded him where he was.

Legionaire turned to the spiraling stairway, then took a sharp left towards the barn adjacent to The Tower. He passed through several rows of guards and an equal number of doors before the barn keeper led him to Shy's pen.

"Tried ta saddle him, wouldn't let me," the boy in charge of the pen maintenance said. Dirt caked his face and tattered vestments, along with gryphon droppings on the lower parts of his shins and rough leather boots.

"I'll do it. You can take your leave," Legionaire said, a paw over his muzzle to muffle the heavy scents.

"No he won't. Stay here, boy. Watch what he does." The barn keeper's voice came from the side. He tilted his melon of a head when Legionaire snarled at him and pat his impressive girth. "You had one week. Now I give you three days because of yer looks, freak. If he ain't back--well, you know how this works."

He scraped something with a spindly quill on a scroll and left Legionaire alone with Shy and an inquisitive boy.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?" Legionaire hissed.

"But Master--"

"Isn't here."

The boy didn't loiter. He fled after the walking blob of fat that his master was.

Legionaire turned to face Shy. The gryphon had his ears perked and hackles raised. He took a few steps back when Legionaire entered the pen, shook his head when the door banged shut behind them.

"You don't have to be nervous," Legionaire cooed as he extended a paw towards Shy's gray beak. "If there is going to be a battle, I'll handle it. You just fly me there, just like the last time."

Shy snorted and fluttered his wings in the too small enclosure. A soft caw escaped him when grime smeared across his wing tips, and he tucked them back to his sides. His gaze shifted downwards when Legionaire's paw rested upon his beak.

"Well then, let's gear up and get you out, where you can actually stretch your wings."

Shy's tail flicked once, and a shudder crept through his body as his breathing picked up.

Legionaire's muzzle twitched with bewilderment. Then, the steady dripping of liquid upon the hard floor urged him to smile.

"You don't have to hide it beneath a stiff tail." Legionaire stroked Shy's white streaked forehead and fondled one of his ears while throwing curt glances at the pinkness poking between his haunches. "I've seen it already."

Shy raised his head with a surprised squawk.

"Inside The Tower. You were hard before I even touched you."

Shy grinded his beak and tried to curl his tail around his exposed length. That only made him moan, feign a thrust into his tail, and stumble forward as several jets of pre wet his belly and talons. He regained his footing before standing upright. His shoulders reached up to Legionaire's chin, and his head towered well above him. An impressive specimen, with an equally striking member.

The taut muscle bobbed up and down out of its own accord, the barbs flexed to their maximum width as drop after drop of pre wet the floor beneath them. Shy never mated, else he wouldn't have been here. Mated pairs belong in Eyries, whereas fodder such as Shy filled The Tower.

Legionaire snarled with disgust at the thought. Gryphons were still gryphons, regardless their height and coloring. Why should Shy never spend his seed? Because his plumes didn't match the auburn or pristine white of a Royal Gryphon?

Legionaire shrugged the thought aside and turned towards Shy. "May I take a look?"

The gryphon nodded his head. His tail lifted as soon as Legionaire padded towards his hindquarters to reveal his whole length. Legionaire swallowed the lump in his throat and kneaded his paws in front of his groin when his own cock stirred.

Only male gryphons nested inside The Tower. The female gryphons only filled menial jobs, too important to be risked on dangerous errands. Yet, whenever a female gryphon visited The Tower by happenstance--to deliver a message or let her desire to mate known--the males grew helplessly hard. Especially when the latter occurred.

It must have happened this morning, for Shy was so hard even a slight touch would send him over the edge.

Legionaire placed a paw on Shy's haunch. "May I..." he paused to lick his muzzle and take a deep breath, "touch?"

Shy didn't even flick his tail. He simply stood there, stiff, his muscles taut while his member created a small puddle of arousal at his feet. It bore the fragrance of youth, the tart promise of fertility, and emphasized a male's desperation to release the burden of seed.

Legionaire cupped his own member with a paw to keep it from lurching while the other ran down Shy's haunch. The gryphon squeaked and fidgeted, especially when Legionaire stroked his sack. The spheres were just a bit smaller than his fist, and felt warm and soft to the touch. Legionaire slowly descended towards the stretched sheath, feeling the hard muscle throbbing underneath the furred skin. It felt like tempered steel, throbbing and tensing at every stroke.

Shy lifted his tail. Every muscle in his body clenched, including the puckered ring of flesh resting above his perky sack.

Legionaire pressed his jaws together. Then, in one curt motion, he grabbed Shy's sheath, slid it back to reveal his whole length and squeezed just enough for Shy to crouch, thrust into Legionaire's pads and past them. His balance wavered when thin, muffled shrieks burst through the gryphon's clenched beak, and claws poked out to scrape at the floor as Shy practically wobbled from the sheer bliss flooding his body.

His talons curled, his wings fluttered, and his haunches rippled with the strain to keep back the essence trapped inside for one more thrust.

Legionaire growled over Shy's high pitched shrill. His own cock throbbed within the leathery confines of his leggings, so hard his knot threatened to spill. He clenched his jaws at that, then flattened his tail when Shy's thrusts became wild and erratic. He needed his second paw to hold Shy's cock, especially when it began to swell from the climactic throbs.

Legionaire allowed him one last thrust before he clenched his grip around the gryphon's thick base hard enough to hold him still.

Shy's cry died in his throat at that. His body froze, and Legionaire used the opportunity to knead along his length and rub his tapered tip with fast enough strokes to make Shy wobble under the might of his orgasm.

His cock pulsated feebly before unleashing one thick spurt, followed by several lesser ones. The warm goo splashed hard on the ground. Legionaire felt a few droplets staining his paws.

Gryphons that held back for more than a week always released the hardest, and Shy was no exceptions. Strong jets fled his rapidly clenching member, driving into the stone below like ivory arrows. Legionaire continued his strokes along Shy's length, doing his best to imitate a female's tight yet comforting grip. The smooth pads of his palms were soft enough, and Shy's own lubrication coated them in a slick enough layer to make Shy's first orgasm a memorable one.

Yet somehow, the screeching male deserved better. Legionaire cupped a palm around Shy's oozing tip. Warm seed splashed inside his palm, dribbling between his fingers. Shy pushed forth with a blissful cry, straight into Legionaire's clawing grip. Flared barbs brushed his pads, scratching them with slow, delightful rakes. Gryphons were notoriously sensitive where barbs were concerned, and the overwhelming stimulation had an immediate effect.

The gryphon crashed on his side, unable to keep his footing. Quick streams of seed left his cock, along with a long, drawn out screech. His crimson cock should have been spent long ago, but it still pulsated, unloading fresh reserves into Legionaire's kneading grip. He pressed and scratched around the hard rod, spreading the gooey seed from his small, oozing tip up to the thicker base and the hard balls perked above.

Shy tapered off with a final, climactic shriek. Even though his ivory essence created a big enough puddle to slip under the gate of the pen, Shy still came, his hind paws twitching with each feeble spurt.

Legionaire let go of Shy's shrinking cock to pat his haunch with a seed drenched paw. "You did good. No male should be so hard for so long. If lust clouds your senses again--"

Shy kicked his hind paws into the air before rolling onto his feet. His pink pads stepped right into his creamy seed, and the gryphon twitched them several times in a failed attempt to clean himself. He dabbed his beak at the sticky substance, yet that only smeared his essence all over his beak.

"Here," Legionaire said as he summoned a handkerchief from a chest pocket. "Stay still for a moment, will you?"

Shy stood still, yet he still stomped his hind paws. Once Legionaire wiped his beak, he grabbed his hind paws one by one to clean Shy's feet. If gryphons hated two things, those had to be wet feathers and grime filled pads. Legionaire chuckled when Shy spread and flexed his toes so that his hybrid companion cleaned every trace of gryphon seed.

"We're after another group of apostates," Legionaire said as he padded to the saddle rack. "Bigger than the last. Way bigger. That means thugs to keep their wagons safe, scouts to spot threats, trappers to track beasts." He grabbed Shy's saddle, a crude leather thing with short edges and no stirrups, and threw it across a shoulder to free his paws for the reins and three saddlebags.

"We can't fly above them, or around them, in case they have a gryphon or two of their own."

Shy protested with a squawk and a stomp of his forepaws.

Legionaire dropped his load on the gryphon's back. That silenced Shy, the weight of the third thing gryphons hated the most: a saddle to chaff their back raw. Legionaire had tried to sneak in a custom made saddle for Shy the last time, only to have the Whistler yell a load of platitudes at him.

"Better to sneak upon them on foot," Legionaire said. "You take care of the earthbound gryphons while I kill the two legged pests. Just like last time, eh?"

Shy stood still while Legionaire fastened the reins and strapped the saddle around his light gray belly. His ears twitched, his tail flicked from side to side, his wings tucked for Legionaire to add in the saddlebags. Once done, Legionaire padded up to his neck, to a violet gaze that sank and turned the other way around as soon as Legionaire entered his field of view.

_What's the matter?_Legionaire wanted to ask. His fingers flexed with the urge to grip the lush, silken feathers of his neck for a short moment before his arms fell flat at his sides. His tail curled between his thighs as he gripped the gryphon's reins to lead him out of the pen, out of the barn. Not even when blazing sunlight forced Legionaire's eyes to squint did Shy turn his head to face him.

Legionaire took his place on the saddle. He stroke Shy's nape once before he pat him on the neck to signal he's ready. With one mighty flap of his wings, Shy took off.

Lukewarm wind whipped at Legionaire's tucked ears and wings. The soothing breeze carried the soft scents of late summer, mixed with the stale ones wafting from the city sprawling below. The harder Shy flapped, the smaller the buildings below became, except for one. The Tower rose from the sea of grays, broad and white and defiant. Tiny speckles of color circled it--gryphons that were more earthbound than they thought.

Shy was one of them too. He stood in his nest, preening himself, only going out when somebody had need of him. And, what happened when that somebody wasn't Legionaire? Would they have let the horny male fly with a painfully tight erection, oblivious to his needs?

Legionaire's grip tightened on the reins. He did the right thing to relieve Shy, even if the gryphon had yet to come to terms with it. He was young, and the sooner he came to terms with the impossibility to relieve himself inside a female, the better.

He pondered upon that while the sun descended into the sky, swallowed by the Drakespine mountains ahead. The jagged formation blotted out the light, spreading a darkening gloom over the forests below. Legionaire caressed Shy's taut neck with soft strokes, urging him to bank towards the clearing on their right.

Once on solid ground, Legionaire jumped out of the saddle, fumbled for a cast iron pitcher and filled it to the brim for Shy to drink. The Gryphon chirped in gratitude and slurped the cool liquid, glancing at Legionaire curtly.

As soon as he was done, he flexed his wings, stretched, and motioned Legionaire to hop in the saddle by rolling his head to the left.

Legionaire shook his head. "Sky's too dark, Shy. We can keep going, but we'll only fumble aimlessly." He brought the crumpled map out and unfurled it in front of the gryphon. "See? We can cover two possibilities at most before the light is gone for good."

Shy dipped his head with a sigh and crashed onto his side. Legionaire took his cue and curled up next to Shy's chest, where Shy draped his front leg over Legionaire's chest. Shy's talons twitched, three wicked things as long and broad as Legionaire's palm, only infinitely sharper. Luckily, Shy removed his forepaw from Legionaire's lap to make room for his head.

The hybrid chuckled at that. "Damn swindler. Can't even sit properly without spoiling you."

Shy squeaked with glee and dug his beak into Legionaire's chest hard enough to make him wheeze. "Alright alright, I'll give you what you look for."

Which was scratching along his beak, strokes under his chin, ear fondling and brow brushing, in that specific order. Most gryphons fell asleep from the blissful ecstasy, but Shy only got hard. His hind paws shook restlessly, and he tried using the base of his tail to comfort himself. Made a pretty good job by getting himself slick, until Legionaire trudged to his hindquarters to grab his cock.

Shy tensed up and shot a string of pre onto Legionaire's lap. They stared at each other for a brief, tense moment before the gryphon released a keening cry and rolled onto his back.

"There's nothing wrong with searching for pleasure, Shy," Legionaire said as he began stroking the gryphon's cock with slow, enticing movements. "Females do it by going into heat. Us males have a deeper urge, one that can only be relieved through touch."

Shy's wings fluttered, and his toes spread slightly as the gryphon began to wiggle his hindquarters in an attempt to thrust into Legionaire's paw. "Only, you're a gryphon, with front feet too coarse and a tongue too small to accommodate..."

Shy perked up his head at that, and Legionaire waved him off with a shrug. "Nevermind. Just lay back and surrender yourself to the pleasure coursing through you."

If only he listened. As soon as his barbs flared, Shy rolled onto his feet and lowered his hindquarters close to the ground to allow him to mate Legionaire's paw as he would a female Gryphon.

Legionaire fell onto his knees, forming a shrinking tube with his fingers to accommodate Shy's tapered gryphon cock. When he sank his cock through the entirety of Legionaire's paws with a muffled shriek, the hybrid squeezed him and kneaded his cock through Shy's volatile orgasm.

This time, he didn't bother wiping the cum. Most of it clung to the grass strands below, and only a string marred Shy's belly. Legionaire wiped his paws on the lower parts of his leggings, then paused when his wrist bumped into his own bulge. He, too, was hard, but with nobody else to relieve him.

Shy?

As soon as Legionaire's eyes settled on the gryphon, Shy rolled his head away and raised a hind paw to allow enough room for Legionaire to cuddle.

All in due time, he thought while scratching at his bulge with one paw and kneading on Shy's padded toes with the other. His gryphon companion trilled softly, already asleep after his demanding orgasm. If only rest came to Legionaire just as easily...

When the light dabbed at his eyelids with stingy dapples, Legionaire didn't know if he slept or not. As soon as he cracked an eye open, his head pounded twice as hard.

Shy's beak blocked out the sun, along with the waterskin he held.

"You shrewd featherhead." Legionaire grabbed it, took a quick swig and squinted against the pain. At least Shy moved in front of him to blot out the sun. His beak lowered to the ground to slide bundles of food in Legionaire's direction one by one. "Got these out too?" Legionaire asked as he gave the gryphon a pat on his brow. "Always looking after me, eh? Now go hunt something yourself if you haven't. We won't eat again until we deal with those apostates."

Shy merely crashed on his side, a forepaw held over his bulging belly.

Legionaire chuckled as he slid dried jerky, cheese, ham and a hunk of bread out of the bundles. He ate in silence, glancing at Shy's poking while he preened his outstretched wing. The hybrid's own member stirred, in spite of his headache, sore butt and stiff limbs. He grew so tight, so fast that he wanted to slide off his leggings and relieve himself right here, right now.

A horrible idea, yet one that still lingered within Legionaire's mind while Shy glided over the hills and past a gully. Gryphons seldom trusted other species with their private bits. Although their intelligence matched that of a two legged being and even surpassed it in some cases, gryphons still clung to their pride and instincts. Shy only allowed Legionaire to pleasure him because of his namesake--or that's what Legionaire made out of it. The more he pondered on it, the farther the possibilities stretched, and the more his admiration grew for his feathery companion. Shy or not, it took a leap of faith for the gryphon to trust Legionaire. A significant one, even.

"Fly over that clearing," Legionaire yelled. Although it looked positively empty and devoid of any furrows in the ground left by wagons, Legionaire still insisted that Shy glided low enough to make sure. He made a mental note to cross it off the map, then urged Shy towards the flatlands sprawling ahead with a tug of the reins.

No trace of bipedal activity either.

They flew towards the mountains afterwards, to check the evergreen woodlands. The harsh noon sun bore down upon the duo, making Shy pant and forcing Legionaire remove his burnt leather vest and tuck it inside a saddlebag.

"Let's land and rest. This is direwolf territory, and where we'll most likely find our quarry."

Shy kept flapping his wings while his gaze scanned the forest below.

"Shy." Legionaire tugged the reins, hard enough to make the gryphon shake his head and squawk his displeasure. "You flew enough. You need water, rest, and a full stomach."

He shrieked, then flapped his wings harder and faster to gain enough speed for the wind to howl past Legionaire's ears. He flattened them across his skull before leaning into the saddle, his thighs squeezing Shy's flanks for balance.

What has gotten into him?

Before Legionaire could think of an answer, his stomach sank at the narrow dots that spilled into a clearing. Shouts, cries, and harsh incantations burst into the wind, followed by the dreadful howl of a dying direwolf.

The apostates!

Shy and Legionaire shared a curt glance. The gryphon clacked his beak and dove forward before Legionaire even had the chance to utter a word. His chest slammed against the saddle from the increased velocity, and his vest flew from a jerking saddlebag.

It all lasted a few thunderous heartbeats. The ground rushed towards them, too fast for Legionaire's liking. He squeezed his eyes shut and snarled as blood froze in his veins. For a moment he didn't breathe, hear or see anything. All he felt was Shy's taut muscles underneath him, along with the wind whipping at his nape, ears and exposed torso.

A curt jerk, followed by a few wobbling steps roused Legionaire back to his senses. The hybrid jumped from the saddle, heaving from the sudden descent. His temples throbbed with renewed vigor, and he had to swallow several times to keep his morning meal down.

"What did you--why did you..."

A gryphon's keening cry cut through his stutter. Sharp, too high to be Shy's. That was why he dove. To seek the shelter of the trees.

"Keen eyes, dear feather," Legionaire said as he hugged Shy's neck. "Did they spot us?"

Shy shook his head and released a soft squawk.

"Good. That's good. Remember what I told you. No flying."

They both looked in the direction of a thinning howl, ears perked, tails raised, their postures stiff and ready for battle.

"Those wolves are getting massacred out there..." Legionaire realized he said that out loud when Shy's head buried into his stomach, his cheeks rubbing against his silvery fur. "I'm going in by myself. Don't even dare follow me," Legionaire added as he dug his muzzle into Shy's feathery brow. "You'll only get yourself killed by magic you can't fight against.

The gryphon stiffened. He raised his head, his violet gaze bearing down upon Legionaire as he unfurled his wings and shrieked his challenge.

Legionaire's paws grabbed his beak right away, and squeezed it tight enough to seal it. "You want that gryphon to ambush us? Hells!" Legionaire growled.

Shy released himself from his grip with a swerve of his head. This time, his gaze drooped, and so did his wings.

Legionaire sighed. His paws sought the gryphon's chin to rub it with sensual strokes. "Stay here. I mean it. If I need your help, you'll hear my call."

Shy's panting lessened to soft huffs, yet his poise remained taut, rigid. Stricken by either fear or doubt.

Legionaire let go of him when another wail of a perishing direwolf shook him. He grabbed his dagger belt from a saddlebag, fastened it around his waist, then dashed in the direction of the commotion without sparing Shy a second glance. Seeing his eyes one last time meant uncertainty, something which might spur the gryphon to interfere in a battle already won by Legionaire.

But at what cost?

He took in a deep breath, then blocked out every scream, every growl, every sound but for the thumps of his paws upon the hard packed ground. In that near perfect silence he felt his magic thrumming in his chest, pulsing three times for every thud of his heart. Some of it trickled through his body in the form of soft tingles. Legionaire needed a surge for what he was about to do.

He pressed his paws together, then urged his magic to flow into the tiny pocket of space between his pads. The sensation overwhelmed him. It felt like liquid fire running through his arms before it became a coldness so deep and piercing Legionaire fell to his knees.

The wind picked up around him, stirred by the vast amount of magic washing through Legionaire. The ground rumbled, the trees sprouted an efflorescence of budding flowers and light green leaves. Only, Legionaire had no need of any of the four primal elements. For the battle ahead, he had to use the fifth.

It took all of his strength and willpower to keep his elemental powers in check, to mold them together and funnel his magic into the pads of his palms. It was an arduous task, to keep magic still in one single spot, one that Legionaire had only done once before.

Like the last time, the rich yellow of his pads, plumes and horns faded to a stark silver, as did his left eye. His vision clouded in that one, and no amount of blinking washed away the surrounding haze. The lesser his sight grew in his left eye, the sharper the temporal displacement bubble he erected around himself grew. It rippled like heated air around him, and every insect, fallen leaf or dust mote that pierced it froze still.

Legionaire got back onto his feet, his breath soft and steady. He would feel the drawback of the immense amounts of magic he channeled through himself later. For now, a group of apostates awaited its demise.

Legionaire started with a scout propped against a tree, a bald man in his late thirties who held his crossbow between his legs while tearing at a haunch of meat with crooked, yellow teeth. He didn't even make a sound when Legionaire touched him on the shoulder to freeze him in time before slitting his throat.

No blood spilled, not even a droplet. The man remained like he was when Legionaire froze him in time, bent over, his bony fingers still clutching his morsel despite the thin crimson line parting his neck. His half lidded eyes still watched the bloody spectacle ahead, unaware that, as soon as Legionaire's magic depleted, he would die.

For that reason, Legionaire had no time to waste. He burst into the enemy's midst from behind a tree, oblivious to the crossbow bolts frozen in midair, or the owners of the swords that charged him. Once their tip passed through his bubble, they fell limp, as did the ones who held them.

Legionaire didn't even bother slashing their throats. He dashed straight to an ashen robed apostate who recited the chant of immolation at an earthbound direwolf. The ground swallowed his limbs almost entirely, leaving him at the mercy of the spindly youth with flowing auburn hair. The direwolf's fur caught fire in the same moment Legionaire ended the caster, followed by pained howls and shrieks.

The same sounds came from everywhere around the thicket. Too many dying wolves, too few wailing humans. Legionaire dashed back and forth, freezing both direwolves and humans when he happened upon them. He would tend to them. Heal them all once the massacre ended.

His magic resources caved in first, right when he stepped into the clearing where three thugs piled up direwolf bodies. The apostate leaning against a cart squeaked at the sight of Legionaire and stretched his hand forward.

Too late, and too slow with his chant. Legionaire unfurled his wings and flapped once to augment his pounce, daggers forward to sink into the apostates' chest. The thugs turned around, alerted by the gurgles of the apostate drowning in his own blood, and charged Legionaire at the same time.

He sidestepped the first, planted a dagger in his right lung before punching the second straight in the face. He stumbled back with a hoarse moan, his feet tangling with the third thug's. They both fell in a heap of thrashing limbs and swinging daggers, their eyes wide with terror.

The third managed a squeak before Legionaire's dagger kissed his delicate throat. That was enough to alert the gryphon circling far above. It dove through the air with a maddened screech, falling like a golden arrow.

Legionaire's heart skipped a beat. He had no place to hide under the wagons, and the trees closest to him were at least one hundred feet away.

Too far for Legionaire's shuddering limbs and limp wings.

He froze as he stared at the gryphon. No trace of magic thrummed in his chest, and no bow rested nearby to shoot the damn bird down. Why would apostates even need a bow when they had magic to tailor to their specific needs?

Legionaire gave up on trying to summon magic he didn't have and raised his arms in front of him to brace for impact.

A second shriek filled the skies, harsher and deeper than the first. Shy?

Legionaire blinked back the drowsiness from his eyes, trying to distinguish the two stains of color wrestling under the cerulean sky. They clashed with each other, broke off, only to crash into each other again.

One fell, without as much as a screech. Legionaire spread his wings, fluttered them to gain momentum and jumped forward. He managed a short glide before his wings froze and his muscles clenched, so tight Legionaire let out a hoarse cry.

The crash didn't even hurt. The searing pain surging through his body washed everything away. It made his head spin and his chest tighten to the point where Legionaire's breath left him. Colored dots speckled his vision, then everything turned black.

Squeak, squeak, squawk.

Legionaire perked an ear at the soft sounds, only to wince when something gently nibbled on his ear. A shudder crept through him at that, and with it, raw pain.

"What is it...who is...the wolves, the wolves," he rasped, his throat tight and dry.

Something pulled him against a too smooth and warm surface, then a blanket of feathers draped over his frame. Dark, with navy hues emphasized by the vermilion sun overhead. Just like Shy's.

Legionaire cracked an eye open, wincing as he leaned forward to grab hold of the gryphon's forepaw with trembling fingers. It slipped through his feeble grip, and he crashed back onto his side.

Shy let out a gentle coo, and folded his wing tighter against Legionaire's body. The blessed warmth soothed his taut muscles, calmed his shivers and made his headache more bearable.

"Shy, the wolves," Legionaire said once his sight became less blurry. "Have to save them, heal them, tend to their wounds." He fell onto his fours and broke through the feathery sanctuary and out into the field of slaughter. Legionaire's muzzle contorted at the heavy scent of the dying mixed with the salty reek of too much spilled blood. Tears welled on the corners of his eyes due to its potency, yet he wobbled forward despite Shy's harsher calls.

So many dead. The pile of bodies was at least three feet high, and that didn't count the dismembered corpses sprawled across the crimson hued grass. Some singed, others half buried into the ground by magic, one entangled in vines so thin they bit straight into the flesh.

"I could've saved them," Legionaire murmured. His gaze hovered to the direwolves hacked by man made weapons. The glistening human guts drying in the lukewarm air made Legionaire gag. It was a grisly sight, yet the wolves weren't mutilated, unlike the ones killed with magic. Their hide was punctured in places, yet they retained their majesty in death, and made sure to surround themselves with disemboweled humans before giving in to their wounds.

"Needed more magic. More potent magic. I could've saved them."

He rubbed his eyes free of the tears and planted a fist into the ground for leverage.

"Squeak, squeak," came from behind.

"A moment, Shy. The survivors. They need--"

The gryphon shrieked, rolled onto his feet and lifted a wing to reveal a bundle of pitch black fur. Hope welled in Legionaire's eyes at the blessed sight. He hurled himself forward, flapping his wings for balance as he staggered towards the lone direwolf.

The hybrid crashed by his frame and turned over the bloodied pieces of linen marring his fur. Beneath each one throbbed a gash, a cut, or a laceration. How deep they ran, Legionaire couldn't tell. Only that the direwolf had punctured ribs, a gash across his spine, and several bloodied scrapes.

He cupped his face in his palms to hide his trembling smile, took a deep, whimpering breath, then turned to Shy to caress his feathered cheek. "Good. You did good. But keep him warm, and press a paw on the wounds that gush out blood. I'll go--"

Shy caught Legionaire's list with his talons.

"There's others. Others that we have to heal."

A mournful hum burst in Shy's throat as the gryphon shook his head. His gaze drooped towards the direwolf he rescued, and his body followed. He curled around the direwolf, one wing outstretched to shield it from the chilling gusts of the evening.

Legionaire sank to his knees when a freezing jolt spiked through his frame. He suddenly felt numb, empty.

Purposeless.

He didn't even save one. Shy did, just like he saved Legionaire by tackling the enemy gryphon.

Legionaire licked his muzzle, gritted his teeth and circled Shy to scan for any major wounds. Apart from torn feathers on his wings and chest and a rake that ran the length of a haunch, the gryphon looked fine. Legionaire stumbled on a hind paw on his way to the saddlebags, his paws outstretched, ready to fumble for ointments and healing salve.

There were no saddlebags weighing Shy's back.

Legionaire blinked again to make sure, then scoffed when he remembered how Shy got his wounds. He fought a gryphon, after all. Why would he go into battle with saddlebags to hinder his flight?

Magic, then. It had to be magic. Only, Legionaire couldn't even keep his footing, least recite the proper chant while funneling enough magic to empower it. He wobbled for several more steps before his faltering strength urged him to lean against Shy's belly, his feet tucked between the gryphon's warm haunches.

"We can't stay here," Legionaire said. "There is no shelter. Only corpses, and soon, Nightprowlers to feast upon them."

His stomach sank at the thought, but his features remained hard. "You'll have to carry him, Shy. Up to the woods, or inside a cavern if you find one."

He pet the gryphon's beak when it inched towards him. "Where did you get the cloth?"

Shy thrust his beak towards a human corpse clad in torn clothes. "Any chance to find our camping spot, saddle and saddlebags?"

He squeaked and shut his eyes solemnly.

"No matter. You already did so much for me," Legionaire said, then ruffled the gryphon's nape feathers. And I couldn't even keep you safe, he thought, but said, "We better move. Sun's almost dead."

Legionaire grabbed the direwolf with Shy's help, then carried him towards the gryphon's back where he rested him upon his belly, paws dangling across Shy's flanks. It looked ridiculous, for a direwolf to straddle a gryphon, but it was the only way to accommodate his impressive bulk and keep him comfortable. Legionaire placed a paw on the direwolf's head, closed his eyes and slipped a sliver of magic, along with one word: Sleep. The most basic of spells, and the most effective.

"I'll keep him steady," Legionaire said to Shy when the gryphon's gaze sought his. He wrapped an arm across the direwolf's frame, then nodded. "You just walk."

Shy didn't walk. He limped from the broad gash in his haunch. Legionaire winced with every step his feathered companion took, yelped whenever the direwolf released a pained moan. In the dark, his blood encrusted hide looked no different than the smooth fur on his belly. The difference resided in the touch. Dried blood made his fur coarse, jagged, harsh to the touch.

And that's how his back, haunches and flanks felt from all the blood he had lost, and kept losing. Legionaire pressed his paws on the areas that felt slick to the touch, making the direwolf thrash his limbs and whimper.

Shy squawked his concern as well.

"Just find us that cavern, Shy," Legionaire said, and the gryphon obeyed.

His limp worsened to the point where Shy's whimpers molded with the direwolf's. Yet still, he pressed on, head held high and wings tucked tight against his sides as they slinked through an endless amount of trees and their boughs. When the ground began to slant ahead, Shy stopped.

Legionaire curled his arm tighter around the direwolf to keep him steady. "Why did you stop?"

Shy twisted his neck to dab his beak at his wound and released a mellow squawk.

Legionaire's blood froze in his veins. He relied on finding a shelter for the night. How else was he supposed to look after a dying wolf and a crippled gryphon out in the open, with only a trace of magic left?

"There's Nightprowlers in these woods. Dusky boars, other packs of direwolves that may not take kindly to the one we rescued," Legionaire said.

Shy's tail went up, and so did his wings. Protesting? Against Legionaire's logical remark?

"You're hurt. I'm exhausted. Our only survivor is dying." The direwolf's breath grew labored and sporadic. His paws grew colder, his tail limper. "The only thing that will see us safe is a shelter, one that we can shield with a bonfire at its mouth."

Shy conceded with a curt dip of his head, much to Legionaire's relief. City gryphons never faced danger on the ground; they flew away from it.

"While earthbound, you always take shelter," Legionaire emphasized. "Fighting ground predators on their turf earns you more than just a limp leg."

Shy grinded his beak in irritation, but took the blow to his pride. Better now, from somebody who cared about him, than die by the side of an ignorant human.

They climbed the hill slow; so slow that the dapples of silvery moonlight grew brighter and the howls of direwolves harsher. One particular deep howl reverberated in Legionaire's chest, and made his ears bend due to its intensity. A Nightprowler challenged it with a screeching roar, also too close for comfort. One of the felines could dive upon Shy from a tree at any time, and kill both the gryphon and the direwolf before Legionaire even unsheathed his daggers.

"There," he said as he pointed at a pitch black opening into a rocky formation. Shy already increased his pace to flee into the cave, forcing Legionaire to stride in order to keep up. The cave's mouth was too narrow for all of them, yet Shy pressed onwards when another Nightprowler roar burst through the forest.

"Wait while I--just wait!" Legionaire barked.

Shy didn't wait. He strode through the cave's mouth, unaware--or ignorant--to the direwolf resting on his back. Shy's burden swayed for a curt moment before it slipped to the side with a thump and a yelp. Legionaire crouched by the direwolf, his eyes narrow as he listened to the pitter patter of gryphon talons against slick rock.

"Shy, come back and help me," Legionaire called. "You can't expect me to carry this direwolf by myself." The beast stood at least four feet tall--if it stood, that was. While splayed on the ground, the direwolf seemed bigger, bulkier, and more than impossible to carry into the depths of the cave.

"Shy!" Legionaire shouted. He got the cries of several other direwolves in reply. His name was well earned, if mere howls and roars urged the gryphon to abandon them both.

"We'll see this night through," Legionaire whispered to the whimpering wolf. "Just don't die on me." He slid his paws into the fluffy fur of the direwolf's neck and caressed it with sensual strokes. A fingertip on his nose found it dry, and warm, the sign of a building fever.

A sigh escaped Legionaire. The direwolf had better chances if Legionaire went out there to collect certain herbs, yet healready had to enhance his eyesight with the little magic he had left to barely make out the outline of his surroundings. If a predator happened upon him...

Legionaire went to the cave's mouth instead, traced its shape in the air with a finger, then created a curtain of flame to seal the entrance. The flickering tongues barely reached up to Legionaire's torso, but it was all he could muster. The expenditure already made his head spin and his knees buckle under his weight.

"This is nothing," Legionaire growled through clenched teeth. "I had worse. Way worse." Just like the direwolf in front of him.

Without Shy's help, Legionaire had no choice but to turn him flat on his belly and pull him by his haunches through the narrow, winding corridor. It bulged ahead, enough to allow Legionaire to stand upright and for Shy to curl in a dry corner. Legionaire didn't even face him. He just pushed the direwolf a few more feet until the gryphon draped a wing over him.

"It's one thing to be shy, and another to be a--"Magnus stopped before the word fled his muzzle. "I erected a flame curtain that will last until the first ray of light."

The gryphon opened his shuddering beak, then shut it before taking cover under a wing. Legionaire settled in front of Shy, his back rested on the smooth, undulating wall. "Keep the direwolf warm. His life depends on it."

A muffled squeak burst from the depths of Shy's wing. His tail curled across the same wing that wrapped around the direwolf, and his haunch shifted to cover the direwolf's lower belly.

Legionaire's lips twitched with the faint trace of a smile. "I would do that, if the damn thing wasn't so big."

Shy protested with a sharp squeak.

"You're right. Broader wings make better blankets. Just don't change your mind and abandon him again."

Silence.

Legionaire's stomach knotted at that. That was a cheap shot, one that Shy didn't deserve. The hybrid trudged closer to the gryphon. He hugged his neck, then stroke his lush feathers until Shy rested his head upon Legionaire's lap.

He shivered, and his eyes raced back and forth every time a ground predator cried out. For a gryphon of The Tower that seldom ventured into thick woodlands, spending a night on the ground must have been a terrifying experience.

Every fiber of Shy's body rippled with vivid tremors, and every muscle of his grew painfully taut. No matter how often Legionaire stroke him, Shy wouldn't let go of his fear.

Legionaire grabbed the gryphon's head and settled it gently on the bare rock. "Give me a moment. Have to check on your wound."

He went on all fours and shuffled up to the gryphon's hindquarters, where he traced Shy's gash with a paw. At least it stopped bleeding without showing any signs of infection. Legionaire released his pent-up sigh and caressed the gryphon's muscular haunch. "It heals nicely, and with an extra layer of salve to speed it up..."

Legionaire trailed off when his gaze fell upon Shy's sack. He looked at the trembling gryphon, then back at his masculinity. What if...

Legionaire swallowed hard, then slinked a paw past his haunch and through the narrow gap of his tail.

Shy perked up, and Legionaire tensed when he cupped Shy's furred spheres. The gryphon's tail swatted at Legionaire's wrist once, twice, and his wings shifted in their sockets, but otherwise, he did nothing to stop him. Shy wanted this. Needed it, as proven by his poking, eager member.

Only a couple of strokes along Shy's dark furred shaft, and his gryphonhood filled Legionaire's paw in mere seconds. Legionaire groped it, fondled with it to make the barbs flare and Shy coo his bliss. His haunches spread in unison with his toes to allow more room for Legionaire, who snuck in a second paw to fondle the gryphon's sack.

That was Shy's weak spot. With the combined caress of both Legionaire's paws, the gryphon's hindquarters already jerked with his climactic ascent. Legionaire's breath picked up as he squeezed Shy's base between his thumb and palm, and masturbated him with the rest of his fingers. Five strokes later, the gryphon's orgasmic cry fled his half parted beak. His member jerked, then shot several spurts in quick succession before it shrunk and fled into his sheath. Even so, it was more than enough to cover both of Legionaire's paws in thick gryphon essence.

He licked it off, despite Shy's unwavering gaze. Its thick consistency made it somewhat hard to swallow, yet its bittersweet tinge stimulated Legionaire's senses to the point where his own member throbbed with the need for release.

Legionaire's fingers itched with the urge to pull it out, jerk off, and sleep, yet the prospect of a more painful headache didn't appeal him the slightest. He curled besides the direwolf when Shy spread his wings for him, rested his chin on top of the direwolf's forepaw, and fell asleep before he knew it.

A cold shudder roused Legionaire to his senses. He gasped for air as he rolled onto his bottom, blinking back the drowsiness from his eyes. His chest loosened a moment after, yet his heart still pounded in his chest, his temples still throbbed as if they would explode.

The fire curtain was down, and Legionaire already paid its toll. Too harsh for such simple spell, and definitely scary. His head still whirled from the shock as he gathered his feet underneath him and walked to Shy's head.

His gryphon companion slept soundly. His paws jerked, his toes spread as he kneaded at the ground. Whatever he dreamt, it involved a better dream than what Legionaire had, for his erection glistened from the pre slipping past his tip.

Legionaire knelt besides shy to caress his cheek until the gryphon rumbled with contentment and cracked an eye open.

"I'll go gather some herbs. Do not leave, no matter how hungry you get."

Shy's head slumped on the ground as soon as Legionaire let go of it. A soft trill rippled through his half opened beak, yet it only confirmed Legionaire's suspicion. Shy was so dazed he probably understood nothing of his instructions. His member continued to flex and brush against the direwolf's tail, shooting thin strands of diluted seed.

Legionaire left the cave with a most bothersome erection. He scratched his bulged knot, but that only served to enflame his lust. It had been weeks since he last spent his seed. Too long.

Masturbating wasn't part of his morning concerns, hard as he was. The direwolf faded away with each passing moment, and if it woke up before Legionaire returned...

The hybrid stretched his numb limbs, flexed his wings, and took off with several maladroit flaps. The air was still laden with moisture, and the dew clung to his feathers like the sticky spider cobwebs littering the forest below. Legionaire squinted at the ruddy furrows on the horizon, then scrutinized the forest for any trace of a ground predator. The sun had yet to rise, and Nightstalkers caught most of their quarry at early dawn.

Luckily, Legionaire encountered none, despite his proximity to the mountains. He flew from bush to bush, unearthed every Dewcap mushroom he came across, until he formed a neat bundle of healing herbs and mushrooms. His stomach growled like a vicious beast on the way back, and hurt more than his pounding temples. Yet how could he stop and eat when the only surviving direwolf depended on his timely return?

He landed in front of the cave, then shuffled through the darkness up to the bundle of feathers and fur. Shy now sprawled on his back, his paws scratching at the wall while his tail swished from side to side. The direwolf began to shiver without the gryphon's warmth, and froth deposited at the base of his lips.

"Poor thing," Legionaire cooed. He dropped the bundle to collect the cloth patches covering the direwolf's wounds. Only one scabbed. The others bled enough to form a puddle around the wolf's frame.

One puddle differed from the rest. It pooled at the base of the direwolf's tail, coated half of it and colored his pucker an ivory white.

Shy's seed.

Did he--in his sleep?!

Legionaire shrugged off the ridiculous thought and milled the plants on the ground besides the direwolf, using only his paws. The resulting paste had a thick consistency, with traces of stems, buds and petals clinging to it. Legionaire smeared it over the direwolf's wounds, crude as it was. It would hold back infection and accelerate the healing of the wounds.

He applied the rest to Shy's haunch. Unlike the direwolf, the gryphon shrieked, trashed and even lashed out with his beak at the offending limb.

"Easy there," Legionaire said. "I lost two hours of precious sleep to prepare this salve. Thank me by at least standing still."

He did. Mostly. His haunch kept jerking every time he sprawled his wing to preen it.

"Done." Legionaire drew back and sighed. "Now go hunt us something."

Shy cocked his head and snorted at the command.

"Or stay around when this beastie wakes up. I'm sure ground predators and gryphons get along just fine."

Shy squawked his displeasure and slapped Legionaire's shoulder with his tail on the way out.

Damned, lazy bird, Legionaire thought, and smirked when Shy squeaked his apology and clacked his beak several times. Gryphons couldn't smile, so they did that instead.

Once that pesky featherhead was out of the den, Legionaire's focus shifted on the wolf. He had to wake him up, sooner better than later. Magic induced sleep drained the body instead of healing it, and the direwolf had had enough of it.

But first, Legionaire crouched besides the direwolf and slipped a figment of his magic into him, then recited the chant of unity. Creating such artificial bond made Legionaire's hackles bristle with every word he spoke, yet he had no choice in the matter. The direwolf had to heed his words, consider him a friend, even a member of the pack, bipedal as he was.

He ended the chant with a solemn voice, placed a paw on top of the direwolf's broad forehead, and said, "Wake up, Onyx," in honor of his rich, coal black coat.

Onyx' eyelids twitched, then cracked open to reveal sparkling, deep brown eyes. His flaccid tongue poked out of his muzzle to wet his nose before his head turned towards Legionaire. His ears perked, his head tilted, and his eyes regarded him with magic-enhanced knowledge. It was as if...

"We're part of the same pack," Legionaire said.

Onyx' features hardened as he rose onto his shaking limbs, his tail erect. Although wounded and battered, he towered above Legionaire, his poise demanding respect.

Legionaire froze still while Onyx inspected him. His muzzle ran down his face, he nibbled at his ears, and his tongue poked out to dab at his crotch once. Then, he raised his head and circled Legionaire, sniffing at his nape and pawing at his tail several times before they stood face to face again. Not even a whimper left the direwolf's muzzle.

He had the piercing eyes, the poise and courage of an alpha. Nothing less.

Legionaire blushed at the realization. His ears flattened, and his tail lowered a bit when faced with such impressive specimen.

Onyx sniffed at his wounds, poked his tongue to lick off the salve.

"Don't do that," Legionaire said as he covered his muzzle with his paw. "It's a healing poultice. Helps you recover faster."

Onyx nodded once before releasing a soft whimper. His front paws latched onto Legionaire's shoulder, then his bulk followed. Legionaire crashed under the alpha's weight with a yelp, his paws scratching at Onyx's jaw while his tongue dashed all over Legionaire's face. Onyx' soft moans softened Legionaire to the point where tears welled on the corners of his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Onyx's neck, and pulled him tight against his chest.

He wanted to promise Onyx they would rebuild his pack. To ask him if his mate perished, if he had pups hidden in a den. All he managed was a drawn-out moan as he hugged his unfortunate companion.

When Onyx began to wriggle and whimper in his grip, Legionaire let go of him. The direwolf turned around, looking towards the entrance of the cave.

"Don't go out there," Legionaire murmured. "Not yet, not before you recover."

He took a step towards it anyway, then another, and another before he backed down to crouch and snarl at the intruding Shy.

The gryphon froze, his feathers bristled. He dropped the haunch of deer he held on his beak to unleash an ear piercing screech and swipe his talons forward.

Legionaire lunged forward to grab Onyx' haunches when the direwolf prepared to lunge at Shy. "Shy, back down. Onyx, stand down. He's a friend. You're both friends," Legionaire said.

Onyx wiggled out of Legionaire's grasp, still snarling at Shy as he took several steps back. The gryphon seemed unfazed. He kept his beak aloft, squeaking veiled threats.

Legionaire used the moment of distraction to grab the deer haunch and present it to Onyx. "The gryphon hunted this for you. Grab it and eat it."

Onyx sank his teeth into the juicy meat and fled to the opposite corner of the chamber to sit down and eat.

A stone lifted off Legionaire's heart. "You did good, Shy. Better than I expected."

The gryphon beamed at the praise and rubbed his cheeks against Legionaire's chest, humming.

"Give him time to heal, and then he will...we will..." Legionaire trailed off while he fondled Shy's ears. They will what? Forget about Onyx while they returned to The Tower? To have Onyx roam without a mate for the rest of his life while Shy continued to carry ungrateful humans upon his back?

He had one more day left to decide, and the sharp glances between his two companions didn't make it any easier.

Until Onyx padded forward to place the half eaten haunch at Legionaire's feet, his tail wagging and his eyes bearing into his. Legionaire grabbed the morsel, throwing glances to both of his companions, before petting Onyx between the ears. "Thank you. I'll go and--"

Onyx slipped past Legionaire's and padded towards Shy, his tail still wagging. Legionaire's breath stuck in his throat when the Gryphon bristled, and exhaled sharply once Onyx didn't find offense in that. He rubbed his neck against Shy's, licked his beak several times and trotted towards his hindquarters. Shy rose at that, his body stiff, his tail arched inwards to protect his privates from Onyx' inquisitive muzzle.

Until his tongue brushed against Shy's sheath. A visible ripple of delight washed through the gryphon's frame, and his hindquarters buckled against the warm, slick onslaught. Legionaire's grip hardened around the bloody piece of meat he held, yet not nearly as hard as he grew. He went to rest it in a corner, away from his two companions. Although they seemed to get along, food always sparked conflicts. Better take away any distraction, and leave them to...

Legionaire sealed his muzzle with a paw to muffle his chuckle when Shy's paws scraped at the floor for purchase. He fluttered his wings slightly as a rippling hum built in his throat. He was so sensitive down there, and Onyx practically lapped at the gryphon's enlarging cock.

Shy moaned in delight. His back arched to allow his hindquarters to shove forward, straight into Onyx' muzzle. The direwolf was taken aback by the sudden thrust. He jumped away with a whimper, went to Shy's head to give him several reassuring licks, then returned to the gryphon's stiffness.

This time, Shy's thrusts didn't surprise him. Onyx padded to the gryphon's side, besides Shy's haunch, and snuck his muzzle under his tail. His tongue rolled up and down Shy's flexing member, wrapping around it for the briefest of moments before fleeing into Onyx' muzzle.

Such tantalizing touch drove Shy crazy. His hindquarters stiffened from the overwhelming stimulation, and claws poked out of his hind paws to scrape at the floor for purchase. He was close. So close that Legionaire tensed up and grabbed his own member in anticipation.

And then, he released, without as much as a shriek. Onyx lapped up some of the gryphon's seed that squirted out of Shy's cock with every throb. Most of it hit the floor with audible splashes from the sudden force of the jets, forming several slithering rivulets. They surrounded Onyx' paws, causing the direwolf to stop his treatment and jerk his feet to get rid of the sticky substance.

Legionaire laughed. Not only at the sight, but at Shy's expression, with half closed eyes and drooping beak as he panted from the overwhelming orgasm. He tried to take a step forward when Onyx placed a forepaw on his haunch, but his stiff limbs tangled. He lurched forward, flapped once, and crashed on his chest with a surprised squawk.

Tears blurred Legionaire's gaze. His stomach ached from his raucous laughter, so hard he bent over and sprawled his wings to keep his wobbling form from toppling over.

His mirth suddenly came to an end when Onyx let out a series of mellow whimpers. His forepaws were all over Shy's back, and his hindquarters pumped his raging erection straight into Shy's haunch. Legionaire didn't even have time to gasp. He lunged at the direwolf before Shy recovered from his climax-induced stance.

He grabbed Onyx by the neck to pull the whimpering direwolf away, in spite of his forceful tugs and protesting growls. "Don't mount him. He's not one of your kind, my dear. He won't understand, nor like it," Legionaire whispered for Onyx' ears only. "Leave him to recover while I give you what you look for."

Onyx' hopeful gaze rose to meet Legionaire's. The direwolf released a soft whine, then began wagging his tail furiously.

"Indeed. I'm the one who cares for you. I'm a member of your pack. The gryphon is just our mutual companion," he said while leading Onyx to the far corner of the cavern. Words soothed him, words helped him understand their bond. The more Legionaire spoke, the more Onyx whimpered in anticipation.

It must have been a while since Onyx last mated, for his ruddy member swelled so much his knot threatened to burst from his sheath. Strings of pre already shot from the blood engorged tip, and Legionaire didn't even touch him down there. If he allowed this horny beast to thrust inside Shy's pucker, a gryphon that had never mated before...

Legionaire brushed the thought aside by putting on a toothy grin for his horny companion. "You're the alpha, Onyx. My alpha," he said while stroking the direwolf's neck. "Your desires are mine to fulfill."

His desire already leaked on the floor as Onyx' member began to jerk and release thin strands of aqueous cum. His whimpers raised a pitch higher as the direwolf tackled Legionaire's hips with his forepaws, his dewclaws sinking into the seams of his leggings.

"Not that fast. A moment please...I didn't even..." Legionaire stuttered, as if Onyx still heeded words. His lust addled mind needed only release, and he hoped to obtain it by thrusting into Legionaire's thigh and pelt the hard leather with thin strands of seed.

Legionaire rolled his eyes at the surreal situation. He took a deep breath, slid down his leggings and fell to his fours, his butt clenching in anticipation of the direwolf's ruddy baton.

Onyx didn't take long. He shifted his position behind Legionaire, wrapped his forepaws around Legionaire's loins and staggered towards his cavity.

Legionaire felt Onyx' hot, slick meat pumping against his thigh, sliding across it and down his butt cheeks, towards...

His breath caught when Onyx' tip pierced him. It stretched Legionaire good, and the vast amounts of seed he already spilled lubricated him instantly with hot direwolf essence. And he was thrusting so hard, so fast! Legionaire's wings shivered in their sockets from the sudden elation coursing through his taut body. He tried clenching around Onyx' stiffness, yet it was so slick it slipped out and in before Legionaire even blinked.

Onyx pressed his chest against Legionaire's back and squeezed his haunches tighter against Legionaire's hips for leverage as he pumped him full of direwolf cock. Legionaire grinded his teeth at the prospect of being taken by the alpha, slammed his chin into his chest to prepare for...

He yowled, so loud his throat stung. In his eagerness to mate, Onyx plunged in the entirety of his member inside Legionaire, up to his swollen knot. He paused to loosen a jet of seed inside him, then drew back for a second, harder stroke.

Legionaire's own knot popped from his sheath out of its own accord as he came, harder than ever, without even being touched. His eyes narrowed as stars speckled his vision from the might of the looming orgasm, and his tail jerked upwards to allow the direwolf complete freedom over his butt.

Onyx groped Legionaire harder, and the hybrid felt the climactic shivers of the direwolf rippling through his haunches. He was close, yet not closer than Legionaire.

He shifted his weight onto his left arm to grip himself with his right paw. The comfort of his pads around his pulsating member urged him clamp down upon Onyx' member, hard enough to almost hit his peak. Legionaire squeezed his knot at that, milking the rest of his length with his padded fingertips. He was so close. Only a stroke more. Just one more.

Onyx gave it to him by plunging his knot straight through Legionaire's stretched pucker. It filled him to the brim, and the jerks of the direwolf's cock inside Legionaire made him squeeze his eyes shut and clench his jaws at how overpowering his bliss was.

Legionaire burst in the same moment, unable to hold back a moment longer. Onyx' rock hard tip dabbed at Legionaire's prostate with every throb, sending ecstatic ripples through his rigid form, down his loins, through his pulsating member. He crashed on his chest whilst squeezing his cock, his muscles suddenly weak but for the one he milked repeatedly.

Legionaire began to pant as soon as his climax subsided a notch. His senses returned, numb as they were from the most overpowering and taxing orgasm Legionaire ever experienced. He rubbed his bleary eyes with his clean paw, then yowled at the mess he made. A puddle, almost as broad as Shy's, and his member still jerked to release occasional, delayed spurts.

Legionaire winced and whined at every single one. Every spurt urged his abused muscle to knead at Onyx' taut member, to remind him that his alpha still came.

Legionaire chanced a look back to see the direwolf sprawled upon his back, huffing and wagging his tail as he spilled his load into his mate. The warm trickles of seed slithered down Legionaire's thighs, or dripped when Onyx unleashed a stronger jet. He had so much in him, that Legionaire's muscles grew raw by the time Onyx slipped his flaccid length out of him with a satisfying squelch.

He began licking the seed off Legionaire's abused hole, whimpering with glee.

"You're my alpha," Legionaire said breathlessly. "There is nothing I'll ever deny you."

For now, his alpha was content in lapping off the mess he made, much to Legionaire's delight. His soothing tongue made him wag his tail furiously and his cock to jerk and spill any remaining droplets of seed. And Onyx didn't stop at that. He thrust his muzzle into Legionaire's hole, making his eyes widen in surprise when that too smooth tongue slipped through his pucker and into his sensitive depths. It alleviated any trace of soreness, any source of discomfort from their brutal yet overwhelmingly delightful mating.

Legionaire trudged away from the mess they made once Onyx finished his duty and crashed on his back to face the bleak ceiling littered with stalactites. A grin spread across his face when Onyx' muzzle filled his vision, followed by his wet slurps across Legionaire's muzzle. He tried to kiss him in return, but the direwolf was as lovely as he was fickle. One moment, they kissed, the next one, he crashed upon Legionaire's stomach with a great sigh. His muzzle stood inches from Legionaire's, and his brown eyes bore into his.

"I love you, Onyx. Enough to forsake everything I have, everything I am, for you." Which wasn't much to begin with. His job shattered Legionaire's heart into a thousand pieces. For every animal he rescued, a thousand more died. And for what? To let them fend off for themselves while he flew Shy back to The Tower? To sit on his nest, alone and hopeless, until one of the bipedal races had need of him?

No more.

Legionaire smirked, and Onyx whimpered and cocked his head at the hybrid's sudden mirth. "What do you have in mind?" his playful brown eyes seemed to say.

"For us three to escape where no bipedal race will ever find us."

Onyx assaulted Legionaire's muzzle with endless licks. Amidst the slick warmth of his mate's tongue, Legionaire realized that his way was the only way he, Shy and Onyx could be together.

****

So, how was it? Good? Great? Because I have a sequel in the works that continues with Legionaire's plans to grant Shy freedom and help Onyx rebuild his pack.