In the Dark

Chapter 4

Riccardo hurt. All over. Before, he'd just had his hurt arm throbbing, but after having fallen off of Taizong, his whole body ached in the way he would expect from having smacked face down into the snow. He had to imagine Taizong must have kept him warm, for he didn't feel as shivery as he felt he should have. Considering the storm must have lasted hours, he would have been exposed to the elements for a great deal of time. He owed his loyal gryphon some really good treats when they got back home.

He glanced over at the creature who stalked right behind the carriage now. At meeting the big round eyes, Riccardo smiled at his pet. Taizong picked his head up and made a soft 'hoot' sound.
Besides the gryphon, his horse tied to the carriage, Riccardo saw the fae throw a nervous look at Taizong. He was as skittish as the horse he rode on.

"He won't hurt you, you know," Riccardo promised the fae. "He's really very sweet."

Leon glanced warily at Riccardo and shook his head. "I'm not buying it," he said and looked to Taizong again. "He looks like he could kill me in a second."

Riccardo chuckled softly but cut it short at the splitting pain of his headache. He touched his fingers to his temple and rubbed as he closed his eyes. At this point, he was sure he wouldn't feel better until he'd had some blood. The little bit he'd had after the battle wasn't cutting it anymore. Maybe if he hadn't fallen off Taizong and laid in the snow for however many hours...

"Later coming anytime soon," Leon asked.

Riccardo opened his eyes and furrowed his brows. "What?"

Leon scoffed and looked away. "Said you'd take a bite outta me later. Wondering when that's coming," he said.

Riccardo frowned and glanced warily behind Taizong. He couldn't see them well thanks to the hulking form of his gryphon, but he knew Mahvash's people were around and their hearing was too good to not hear whatever he said to the fae. A vampire's big ears weren't there for nothing, after all. He had nothing diabolical he wanted to say, of course, but he didn't want the empress taking offense at the fact he didn't want to take a bite from the fae she seemed so proud to present as a gift. It was simply not diplomatic of him to do so. However, at this point, he wondered if it was okay simply to calm Leon's hostility towards him.

"I'm not... I don't... Just don't worry about it," Riccardo struggled.

"Kinda hard not to," Leon grumbled, staring straight ahead and not at Riccardo at all.

Riccardo frowned slightly, staring over at the fae atop his horse tied to the carriage. "You're not tied up," he noted. The horse might have been, but Leon himself seemed to sit freely atop the mount.

"Yeah, well, already tried running. You predatory bastards are all faster than me." He glanced over at Riccardo and Riccardo's ears turned back as Leon's blue eyes seemed to appraise him. 

"Could probably outrun you, though. You're a scrawny fucker. Is that why you ride a gryphon?"

Riccardo felt his cheeks burn with that comment. At 5'7", he also barely had any muscle over his thin frame to speak of. Leon was right: he was built best for the aerial team when his father so very much wanted another warrior beside him. "My size isn't up for discussion," he said, and sank deeper into his blankets, looking away embarrassedly from Leon.

Thankfully, Leon didn't seem to want to further their conversation - if it could be called one - and silence lapsed over them both.

The bumps of the carriage were hard on his hurt body, keeping Riccardo from drifting to sleep even though his eyelids were heavy. He stared out from the carriage at Taizong, watching the way his mount moved so fluidly over the ground. How could anyone be afraid of his handsome boy? While he didn't look at Leon at that thought, he was aware of the man out of the corner of his eyes, and after some time he realized he was flinching less from Taizong. Maybe he was put more at ease by the assurances than he'd let on. In the time they took to get to Jongvale, Riccardo was sure Leon would see the gryphon was nothing to fear. Then again, there would be much more to fear by the time they got there.

Riccardo wasn't looking forward to seeing his father, and his ears drooped low at the thought he was waiting for him. Either his father was still in Jongvale with the soldiers or he'd moved back home. Either way, he wasn't keen on the reunion. Despite the suffering that journeying over the snowy path brought his abused body, he suddenly welcomed every minute he was jostled. Unfortunately, the ride wouldn't last forever, and it was sooner than he would have liked that they reached the human settlement.