Aiedaeil looked around frantically. The little hatchlings and adolescent Griffi's looked at him suspiciously, completely unaware of the inner turmoil inside the prince's head. One job! he shouted angrily at himself in his head. Father gave you one command, one duty. 'Protect the young ones from danger that might befall them. And you have lost one of the babes!'
The Griffi's vision started blurring with angry tears as he remembered the feeling of helplessness he had suffered when he had been looking for his family in the smoldering wreckage that he had once called home. Pawing away timer, shoving away rocks, he had squinted through tear-blurred eyes in hopes of finding any life- anything at all. He was still quite young at the time, barely being able to talk to his people in their native tongue. Aidaeil wouldn't have escaped the total destruction if not for his mother, though he could recall little about her. All he remembers are wide, kind eyes, strong, clear voice, and responsible demeanor. She had shoved him off into a small tunnel; probably made by some burrowing animal. She had done so quickly, without pausing for even a beat as she heard the battle cry of dozens Nytekrie swooping down from the dark treetops upon the small clan.
He had hid there as he listened to the tortuous sounds of his friends and family being attacked, tortured, and stolen away. It went on for hours; the terrible ripping sound as flesh was torn from bone, the pounding footsteps that thudded two feet away from Aiedaeil's hidden head. There was the occasional whoosh of flame as it roared up to the sky, seemingly perfectly fine with burning living Griffi's. The young prince- though he was too young to know his royal heritage- couldn't grasp how anyone could kill so many without skipping a heartbeat or slowing down.
Aiedaeil shook his head frantically to clear his mind of the hated memory. Of course, now he knew that not all of his family had died; about fifty paces away was his father, head held high as he led his tiny clan down the unreliable mountain, maneuvering them so they could avoid steep falls or dangerous slopes. Elysian's feathered wings fluttered as he hit a loose rock. The young prince sighed; he knew that the band of adults- only about fifteen, most of whom he didn't recognize- could've flown down the treacherous mountain instead of risking the descent. And they would've, if not for the babies unable to fly and too big to sit upon their parents backs.
The hatchlings! Aidaeil resumed his frantic search for the lost babe. It was a runt of a boy, in the eyes of most Griffi's. He had little remarkable traits, save for the tips of his ice wings were deep red instead of orange, like the rest of his wings.
Just as the prince was about fly up and tell Elysian that he had lost one of the hatchlings, he spotted something that almost made him abandon his cold stature and leap for joy. There, turning behind a large rock jutting out from the mountain about a hundred meters away, was a small orange tail. It had been there only briefly, but the image was imprinted of Aiedaeil's eyelids. He abandoned his post, muttering quickly to a responsible looking teenager to watch the babes, before flapping his powerful wings and soaring into the sky.
He knew that he had an important mission, but the Griffi couldn't help but savor the feeling of the wind flowing through his wings and ruffling his fur. He snapped his tail about in the air, determining which way the cold wind was blowing, then altering his posture to more easily ride the air currents. He swooped close the ground, his back feet sometimes brushing the stone.
Aiedaeil had only flown for twenty seconds before he reached protruding rock. He landed softly, batting his wings vigorously to slow down. He snuck a peek behind him, where the procession of Griffi's was slowly making its way down the monstrous beast that was the mountain. Everything seemed normal- nobody had noticed his disappearance.
The prince trotted forward at a moderate pace, not wanting to scare to small hatchling. When he rounded the corner though, he was not greeted with a bright orange babe looking slightly scared- instead, he found himself staring into the beady eyes of an intimidating Aurleon. |
