Starting Date and Time: 23rd day of Mauven, 300 DM, Morning
Starting Location: Slightly south of Green Fall
CS URLs: Alya Eloen & Rilana Aurorime'

----

It was mid-morning, soon to be midday. The sun shone through a partly clouded sky, the light reflecting on the grass' morning dew. A wide dirt road cut through the grassy fields, heading south toward Ruby Banks. However the destination for the young half-elf which traveled, was not Ruby Banks, but the Mauven Tournament. Her bare feet were dirtied by the road, yet it seemed as though it didn't bother her in the slightest. Her long blue hair and her soft clothing swaying gently in the morning breeze. A small red wolf pup quietly trotted by her side, even so often it would weave between her legs playfully, but well timed as to not impede it's Mother's stride.

A pleasant, soothing song filled the quiet morning air, as the Elven girl played her flute. Each note carried in the wind, echoing out. It didn't matter if there was no one there to listen, all that mattered is her music and the peaceful atmosphere that she felt as she traveled. Every so often, a trading cart would pass her by, the trader greeting her. It seemed as though they all knew who she was. Calling her Alya or Echo. Of course they would know her, they were from Green Fall after all. As each trader passed her by, an overwhelming sense of calm fell over them, as if all of their worries had vanished.

In previous years, Alya would travel to the Mauven Tournament with her parents, but this year it was different. She traveled with her wolf pup, rather than her parents. Her parents had already arrived at the Tournament grounds before Alya had even started to travel, but this wasn't their decision to let her travel alone. She was the one who wanted it this way.

It was strange, winging her way over the meadowlands with no backdrop of icy mountains against the sky. It was even disorienting to the fey, who, in all her years of roaming, had rarely been out of sight of those steadfast landmarks. Something in her wished to alter the angle of her wings and speed north, homeward, but the talk in Ebonfort about the Tournament and its associated faire had made it sound too good to miss. At the very least, she reasoned, it would be prudent to connect with other animal handlers like herself.

Rilana tucked her gyrfalcon wings and dropped down towards the grass, stretching out her talons to take hold of a branch on a stubby, stunted tree. Clusters and copses of trees were scattered across the fields, the remnants of orchards and farms whose buildings had already faded back into the earth.

From where she was, the moon fey could no longer see the road, protected by the slight roll of the land, and as she released the branch and dropped down, she transformed back into her own shape, landing in a crouch in the dry grass. The slid her pack from her shoulder and let it fall against the base of the tree, and as the weight fell from her she realized just how tired she was.

She felt a flicker of thought at the back of her mind and knew that Khona was looking out at the world through her eyes. Feeling his thoughts was no longer quite as startling as it had been those first few weeks.

"Let me out."

The flight from Green Fall had stirred the gryphon inside her, and she felt his yearning to stretch his wings as surely as if they were her own. Rilana wished that his Mark had appeared somewhere she could actually see it on herself. She looked around to see if anyone was watching, not comfortable with being observed while performing magic that was still new to her, and concentrated.

Setting Khona free was easier than absorbing him as a Mark had been. Her skin prickled as the Mark disappeared and an ethereal blob of light seemed to rise out of her flesh like breath-mist, congealing and expanding into the six-limbed shape that grew more solid until Khona's shocking yellow eyes were peering down at her. He had no lips, but Rilana sensed that he was smiling.

It was tricky to keep her Familiar from flying too high. She wasn't sure she wanted travelers to see him from the road.

"Khona! Try to keep out of sight." He grudgingly complied, until a sound caught his ear-tuft and he turned his head. Rilana lunged forward to stop the gryphon, coming away with only a fistful of white fur as the cat-bird leaped up and circled over the hill towards the road, wings out-stretched as he looked for the source of the flute music.

"Get back here!" Rilana ordered, slightly flustered and a little worried as she raced up the hill after him.

Alya had decided to change her tone to a more energetic one now that it had just hit midday. Similarly to the way she performed her music in the Surly Stump, she started to skip down the road, doing the occasional spin. Her hair bounced as her bare feet propelled her. Her wolf companion followed suit, affected by the influence of the music, skipping playfully down the road with his Mother. Little did Alya know that a gryphon was headed her way, remaining oblivious to the incoming creature and druid.

Just as the gryphon approached the pair of travelers, Echo stopped and began to growl at it. Unfortunately for Alya, her lack of awareness caused her to lightly bump into the large creature that had appeared before her. She stumbled backwards slightly before bowing apologetically at the cat-bird. She hadn't actually registered that it was a beast until she looked up at it, since bowing had become second nature to her due to her usual clumsiness. She took another timid step back as she stared at the gryphon. It wasn't that she was afraid of it, she was just unsure about what to do now.

Khona, being a little larger than the average horse, remained fairly solid after the bump, though he did flare his rather glorious white and black wings and produce a hissy sort of noise.

"Ssskrawk!"

The huge beast turned his head to the side, lowing her beak and peering Alya with a large vibrantly yellow eye, the pupil widening and shrinking with apparent randomness as he looked her over. The set of his head changed with short, bird-like jerks, each motion accompanied by the hollow clack of his beak. This close, she would be able to hear the faint hiss of his breath through the nares hidden in his plumage.

The long feline tail undulated behind his hindquarters, adding to his calculating stance. One of his ear-tufts twitched and his neck twisted around to look down at the young direwolf, and he gave a chesty growl of his own.

"Play nice, Khona," Rilana admonished him, poking the gryphon in his haunch as she moved towards his front to find out what had captivated his attention. The moon fey was looking thoughtfully down at the dire wolf pup, wondering what it was doing out here all alone, when she reached Khona's head, and jumped when Alya came into view quite suddenly.

"Oh! I didn't see you through Khona's fat head. I hope he didn't frighten you." She reached up to grab a fistful of Khona's plush fur. He was just as smart as anyone, but he was just as unpredictable as any wild creature. She looked Alya over and was relieved to see that the girl, or was she a young woman? didn't seem to have gryphon-sized clawmarks on her clothes.

Rilana looked up and down the road, obviously a little nervous about being seen. "Perhaps we should be going..."

But Khona had other ideas. He had torn his gaze from Echo and was looking at Alya's flute. He clacked his beak and produced a shrill piping whistle that could have passed for a flute noise, if it had been played by someone who had never played a flute before. Then he pecked at it with his huge eagle-beak, trying to tug it from the musician's hand.

Alya took another hesitant half-step back as the gryphon hissed at her, it's mannerisms were beyond her understanding, thus causing her to feel a pang of fear. Echo, however, remained as bold as ever, continuing it's snarl at the large cat-bird. Alya glanced between the two animals, hoping a fight wouldn't break out.

She felt her body flood with relief when a woman's voice called out from behind the gryphon. But she flinched at the same time as the other woman when she came into sight. She eyes scanned the woman.. She was much taller than Alya, and also extremely beautiful. "Oh! I didn't see you through Khona's fat head. I hope he didn't frighten you." The woman said. Alya waved her hands in a polite, somewhat dismissive way to say that it was okay.

She noticed that Echo was still growling and snarling which caused her to furrow her brow slightly. She quickly looked at him before snapping her fingers. Echo immediately turned his head toward it's Mother before sitting on his hind legs as a dog would. It hadn't actually taken Alya very long to teach Echo this command. Dire wolves were smart, so it made things a lot easier on her.

She gaze quickly moved back to the gryphon as it made a shrill whistling noise, which she recognized as a flute note. She thought that it wanted her to play the flute for it, but that thought was forgotten when the beast pecked and tugged at the flute in her hand. Her grip tightened on the flute as she tried to resist the beast, but her strength was that of a small child's. The flute left her weak grasp, her arms still outstretched, she could already feel her eyes tearing up as the gryphon took her most prized possession.

Noticing his Mother's plight, he leapt up, grabbing the flute in his jaw. However he was still a pup so he dangled in the air as he gripped the instrument.

Several things happened all at once. Khona snatched the shiny flute and the rusty direwolf pup jumped up to get it back, beginning a very one-sided game of tug-o-war. Not only was Khona strong, but he was also terribly stubborn, and his beaked face slung back and forth slightly as he tried to dislodge the indignant pup. He even lifted one of his front claws, the wicked black talons coming up in an attempt to knock Echo off.

But Rilana wasn't about to let her Familiar get away with this. Not only was he being exceptionally rude, unacceptable given how much time she'd spent teaching him to behave himself, but she wasn't sure how people in these lands felt about gryphons, or Familiars in general. Most people couldn't tell the difference between a Familiar and a pet at a glance.

The moon elf stepped close to the deadly raptor-cat and pinched his ear-tuft, dragging his head down sharply and forcing him to look into her eye with one of his own. He struggled briefly, letting out a protesting shriek. Rilana's face was stony and she produced a decent growl in the back of her throat.

"Let...it...go. Now."

There was a brief pause, but Khona averted his eye and the deadly beak opened, dropping Echo and the flute to the road. With one hand still clutched in the gryphons head-feathers, the druid eyed the wolf pup until she was sure he wasn't injured. Khona, embarrassed, flopped down to the ground, tail lashing against the dirt as he whined, a sound that was a cross between a bird squeak and a kitten mewl. His weight forced her to let go, but she still frowned at him crossly.

"I'm so sorry. He's nothing more than an overgrown magpie when it comes to shiny things. I think he liked your music too. Is your flute alright? I'll replace it if he's damaged it, the ruffian." She had thought to examine it herself, but had no intention of manhandling someone else's wolf pup to get it. Waiting for a reply, Rilana's cheeks had grown pink with embarrassment. Khona reached back and began preening his long wing-feathers, as though nothing in the world was amiss.

Her eyes followed helplessly as Echo was flung around like a soft toy. She was also worried about the other woman, but that worry faded away when she saw her pull the gryphon's head down. The woman's strength must have been 'tremendous', as Alya would put it, to be able to pull down such a beast. She felt some confusion well up in her as she heard the pale woman growl at the creature. It didn't really sound like a noise that normal people could make. Of course, she obviously wasn't a normal person no matter which way you looked at her.

Alya sighed in relief as the Echo and the flute fell from the beak of the beast. Echo, thinking it was his victory, triumphantly brought the flute back to his mother. She squatted briefly, giving Echo a pat and taking the flute from his jaw. She quickly examined her flute, making sure there was no damage. Surprisingly, the flute was strong enough to withstand the ordeal.

"I'm so sorry. He's nothing more than an overgrown magpie when it comes to shiny things. I think he liked your music too. Is your flute alright? I'll replace it if he's damaged it, the ruffian." Alya looked up, back at the woman. She gave her a warm smile and a bow, to say 'Thank you' and 'Everything is alright.'

She suddenly remembered that she never introduced herself. Not that there had been a opportunity in the first place. She quickly rummaged through her leather bag, producing a sheet of parchment and a quill with ink. She knelt down to rest the paper on her thigh, quickly writing onto the paper. She then stood up, handing it to the tall woman.

"My name is Alya. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The half-elf's smile earned an easement of the strain in Rilana's face. The iciness in her blue eyes faded and she smiled in return. But nothing was said while Ayla dug out a sheet of parchment and gave it a scribble. The moon fey wasn't sure what to make of this, wondering curiously if there was some strange tradition she hadn't hard of before, or if perhaps the woman was simply a mute.

Taking the paper in her pale hand, she glanced at the words and then back up at Alya. The woman didn't seem to be expecting her to write back, so she took the whole thing in stride.

"The pleasure is mine. I'm Rilana Aurorime' and this is Khona. He's a gryphon, in case you've never seen his ilk before. They usually keep to themselves, which is probably good since they tend to behave like brats."

Thinking that his Mistress was adequately distracted, Khona had scooted a little further down the road and heaved himself to his feet. The front two looked like the cruel claws of an eagle, but the back looked like sturdy lion paws. He shook the travel dust from his wings, and one of the incredible long primary feathers fluttered to the ground. He flinched a little when Rilana called him a brat, the tip of his long fluffy tail giving a haughty twitch, and he reached out to bat at the feather almost nonchalantly, tilting his head back over his shoulder to gaze at the moon fey and utter a soft mew, as if to say 'You love me anyways.'

Offering the paper back, Rilana continued, unable to keep a small smile from her lips at Khona's antics. "And who is your direwolf friend? I have never seen a red one before. The packs around Frigmount tend to be all silver and grey like wraiths in the trees, with the occasional black."

Her body shook slightly, making an inaudible giggle. Although she didn't know much about gryphons, she could understand that they were quite childish considering recent events.

As Khona moved a little down the road, Echo decided to follow him, intending to play now that they've established some sort of truce. As one of the beast's feathers fell to the ground, the small wolf pup pounced on it, thrashing it around with one end in his jaw. The excited pup ran up to Khona and stared at him before running around in circles, feather in mouth. After making a few rounds, he promptly dropped the large feather before pouncing playfully onto one of Khona's large claws.

Alya watched cautiously as Echo went to play with the cat-bird, but her focus moved back to Rilana as she spoke. She accepted the piece of paper back before writing her response on the back. After some quick writing, she offered the paper to the taller woman again, with a slightly embarrassed smile. Mostly regarding the last sentence.

"His name is Echo and I am his mother. As I am told, red dire wolves are unique to Green Fall... I have to teach him how to hunt, but that is not going very well."

.

As Echo moved closer to him, Khona sat up and watched him, un-moving except for his eyes and the occasional twitch of the end of his tail, which he curled around his front feet. He kept his wings tight to his back, so apart from the black raptor-beak, he appeared very catlike in posture. He seemed to be watching Echo's antics with a certain amount of snooty disdain, because dogs were idiots obviously, but when Echo pounced on one of the talons sticking out from under his tail he pawed back at him, lifting himself up to his feet again, his wings unfurling slightly. While the pup was distracted, he reached around and pecked at Echo's tail, giving it a tug with his beak. He never spoke, of course, but he gave a burbling chirrup that, apart from anything else, seemed to indicate good intentions.

Rilana took the paper back and read it quickly, automatically offering it back as she replied. "Well I'm pleased to meet an uncommon wolf. Training wolves takes a lot of patience because they are smart enough to constantly test you. And a dire wolf can be especially strong and protective. I train animals where I'm from. I was in Ebonfort to deliver a war-horse to one of the Lord Knights, but I'm on my way to the tournament. I heard that it's not something to miss."

A puff of dust on the other side of the hill hinted the arrival of more travelers and Rilana pursed her lips a little. "If you don't mind, could we move off the road? I'm a little nervous about Khona meeting too many strangers at once." She whistled through her teeth and the gryphon glanced up. "We could talk a bit more about training if you like."

It occured to her that she was the only one talking, but that didn't really bother her. She took a few steps down the hill where they could rest in the shade, out of sight of the road.

Unfortunately for the young pup, he wasn't expecting retaliation in the form of a large paw. It didn't have much force behind it, but for a small pup, it was enough to make him roll off the gryphon's foot. As he recovered from the 'attack', he felt something clamp down on his tail. A loud 'YIP' echoed out. Aside from the initial shock, it didn't hurt as much as Echo thought it would. He turned around and growled at the cat-bird. However, it wasn't overly aggressive.

Alya took the paper back when the woman handed it to her. It really was a pain, not being able to speak, but they'll get around it somehow. Hopefully. What surprised her was that this woman was going to same way as her, and she was an animal trainer on top of that? That's great!

When the woman suggested that they moved off the road, Alya looked behind her, seeing the puff of dust that would be an incoming caravan. She nodded before letting out a loud whistle through her lips. Echo's ears perked up. He turned around quickly and sprinted back to his mother. Alya nodded again, smiling when the tall woman suggested that they talk about training.

She quickly followed after Rilana, taking a seat in the shade. Echo promptly jumped onto Alya's lap, making himself comfortable. She wondered what the woman was going to say about the training. She knew it'd be difficult, but she needed to do it no matter what.

The moon fey's soft tread was hasty as she hurried the greyscale gryphon off the road and down towards the shady copse of sweetgum trees. The prickly seed-balls littered the grass like the lime green heads of tiny morningstars sized for pixies.

Once under the shade, Rilana kicked a few of the sweetgum balls out of the way. Reclining languidly like some kind of royalty, Khona settled himself down with his back paws tucked under him and his black-skinned talons stretched out in the grass. He glanced around for a few moments but his eyes gradually closed, ear-tufts tucked loosely against his head. They only opened briefly with the moon fey settled down, leaning against his as much out of confort as a way to keep him from getting up to cause trouble.

The druid was much relieved and felt a weight lift from her shoulders as the distant chatter and rumbling of travelers on the road grew briefly and then faded away without incident. Rilana sat cross-legged in her traveling leathers. The hides she wore were the pale tan and gray of reindeer, a strange hue compared to the deer and horsehide more common here in the south.

She swung her heavy pack into her lap, inspecting the loosened string of the longbow lashed to the outside, and lifted a brow. She had been sure to sit close enough to trade the piece of paper back and forth with Alya.

"So, you said you are wanting to train him to hunt, but there are a lot of different ways a wolf can hunt. What kind of game? The first three or four months of age are a crucial time for pups. If you don't expose him to the idea soon, he will grow too old to learn easily. You will need to not only give him rules to follow, but teach him to look to you before he acts. It's good that you call himself his Mother. Wolves who grow up without a strong leader will decide to lead themselves, and that is when they can become dangerous." There was a reason dogs existed, after all. The druid eyed the pup thoughtfully. "Teaching him without speaking will certainly be a challenge. But I know a deaf Chillborn man who runs his Moon-sledders with only whistles and hand-signals. It can be done."

All this time that they had been 'talking' to each other, Alya had never noticed how strange her apparel was until she sat down. Usually, hunters wore mostly brown clothing, but her clothes were mostly gray and pale tan. Alya concluded with the thought that it must be normal to wear that kind of clothing where Rilana comes from.

The longbow seemed a little intimidating and she hoped that she wouldn't have to learn how to draw that. She's tried to pull a shortbow once before, and she couldn't even pull the string past her forearm. To pull a string like the one on the longbow that Rilana had, would definitely make her arms fall off.

She scratched the back of her head thoughtfully as she considered what Rilana had said. Echo was already at least four or five months old by now, which was worrying because the first three to four were crucial... Although, Echo was very responsive to the commands that she had taught him a few weeks after she had become his mother. Echo hadn't shown any signs of independence since she got him, other than his habits of wandering off to chase something. But she was sure that it would happen someday, which worried her. He might become dangerous..

She brought out a new sheet of paper, scribbling onto it before handing it to Rilana.

"Echo was already about five months old when his parents died. I'm sure they would have taught him some form of hunting. He still learns quickly, since I was able to teach him some signals within a few weeks. Also, I don't think you should try teach me how to use a bow.. I can't pull the string."

The druid read the paper and passed it back, smiling as she patted the longbow, moving the pack off her lap as soon as she had a chance to pull out some dried raspberries and eat a handful.

"Don't worry. I was just checking it. Why don't you show me what he can do? Then we can go from there." There was no sense starting from scratch if she didn't need to, and it was important that she know if there was something she actually needed to un-teach the half-elf.

Listening, Khona cracked an interested eye and his tail gave a random flop. Turning to the gryphon, Rilana grinned. "I might have to use you as an example in a minute."
He didn't look pleased, and lifted his beak huffily.

Alya sighed in relief when she was told that she wasn't going to have to use the bow. She nodded at the fey in compliance. She clicked her fingers creating a sharp noise, which woke Echo from his light nap. He hopped off his mother's lap before sitting in a upright posture on his hind legs. Alya pat him briefly as she fed him a small piece of dried meat from a small pocket in her leather bag. She considered her 'return' command, but it wasn't helpful that Echo was so close by. Hopefully Rilana had remembered that she did that command earlier. Or perhaps, this will work..

She took out another small piece of dried meat from her bag, She held the meat close to Echo's nose before throwing it a few meters away. Following the scent, he pounced on the piece of meat, promptly consuming it. Alya then let out a sharp whistling noise, calling Echo back. His ears perked up and he rushed back to his mother's side. Truth be told, Lyle helped her teach these commands to Echo, but she was quite proud of their progress.

She sat back down on the grass, giving Echo a good pat, causing his body to relax. She nodded with a smile at Rilana to indicate that that was all she had taught him.

The druid and the gryphon watched silently while the mute half-elf and the dire wolf performed their brief repertoire of tricks. Rilana's soft smile was encouraging. Alya seemed to be a small and rather unassuming person, but there was something in the..yes, Motherly way she lead Echo that the moon fey found adorable. Khona, on the other hand, gazed over the top of his black beak with a certain amount of disdain. Raptors and felines were both known for their arrogance and pride. Perhaps the only creature more likely to shuffle their wings in a scoff as he watched Echo bound around would have been a dragon. Luckily for everyone there weren't any of those around.

"That was great!" the moon fey congratulated when Alya signalled the end of the demonstration. "He listens to you well. It wont be hard to get him to respond differently to different sounds, if you wished. Now, here's what I would try next...."

She leaned forward to pay Echo's ears gently as she talked, and as the afternoon slipped by she carefully detailed a training regimen for a young direwolf who was expected to hunt. She had advice for Alya for instilling a consistent recall, ensuring that Echo would return to her side even in the direst (pun intended) circumstances. Rilana told her how to make training dummies and how to train with them, how to get the pup to bring game back to her rather than eating it himself, and how to build an atmosphere of learning with Echo so that Alya could go on to training him beyond basic hunting if she wished.

"Don't ever stop training. Even if he has the commands down well, it's important for a creature as smart as a wolf to have a job to do, and it will continually reinforce your position as his Mother. When he is mature it will be easier for him to forget. Also, it would be wise to get him some kind of collar that can be seen from a distance if you're going to be taking him hunting. You don't want another hunter putting an arrow in him thinking he is just a wild wolf."

At some point Rilana had paused to rummage in her bag and find a waterskin and some of the fresh rations she had picked up in Ebonfort.

Alya smiled warmly as Rilana praised their demonstration. She didn't think that what they were doing was too impressive, but it was great that her and Echo's hard work has been noticed by someone. That someone being a seasoned animal trainer.

As the moon fey gave her advice and taught her methods of teaching Echo, she scribbled onto a new piece of parchment which she had brought out from her bag. Looking up and nodding every so often to signify that she was still listening. This woman was brimming in knowledge as one would expect, but the way she relayed that knowledge made it easy for Alya to grasp. As Rilana finished teaching her, Alya realized that she had run out of ink for her quill. Thankfully the lesson was over.

She nodded again at the fey's last piece of advice, it was something that was easy to remember so she didn't need to take notes on it. She wondered what color collar she should get for Echo. Maybe one that was blue like her hair? That would stand out pretty easily on his red coat.

Alya had noticed that the sky had begun to darken and that it may be good if they made camp here for the night.

The hours crept on into darkness, the night coming on warm and peaceful. Rilana helped Alya set up a small camp for the night and both women with their furry friends settled down for the night. When morning light broke over the hill, Khona was gone, watching the world through Rilana's eyes. She was careful to Mark her Familiar when no one else could see, the process still new and a bit unsettling.

Together, they made their way to the tourny grounds before bidding each other farewell.

Skills
Animal Husbandry: 5
Observation: 3
Musical (Flute): 2
Leadership: 2
Song Weaving: 1
Dancing: 1
Bodybuilding: 1
Socialization: 1

Knowledge:
Animal Husbandry: Command (Sit)
Rilana: Clearly Stronger than a Gryphon
Contact: Rilana Aurorime'
Rilana: Gryphon Companion, Khona
Animal Husbandry: Frigmount Dire Wolves are Silver, Grey, and Black
Rilana: Animal Trainer
Animal Husbandry: The First Few Months of Wolf Training are Most Crucial
Animal Husbandry: Wolves Without a Leader Will Lead Themselves
Animal Husbandry: Training Without a Voice is Possible
Animal Husbandry: Command (Ready)
Animal Husbandry: Command (Return)
Animal Husbandry: Reward Good Behavior
Animal Husbandry: How to Make and Use Training Dummies
Animal Husbandry: Never Stop Training

Other
N/A



Skills
Teaching: 6
Animal Husbandry: 5
Leadership: 5
Socialization: 3
Observation: 3
Familiary: 1
Aerobatics: 1
Wilderness Survival: 1

Knowledge:
Animal Husbandry: Gryphons are Quite Stubborn
Animal Husbandry: Gryphons Don't Like Being Pulled by Ear Tuft
Contact: Alya
Alya: Mother to Echo, Red Dire Wolf
Animal Husbandry: Green Fall Dire Wolves are Uniquely Red
Echo: Orphaned at Five Months
Wilderness Survival: Setting Up Camp
Familiary: Marking When Unseen
Teaching: Teaching a Mute

Other:
N/A