Babel's Magic-Khadgar FanFic

Fledglings First Flight

Bristled fur as the griffon bowed it's head and Lothar placed a heavy yet comforting hand on his companions feathery skull giving the creature a friendly rub and earning a shrill noise of contentedness from the lion-bird.

"A, gryphon?" Fain walked around the creatures flank, studiously looking at how they managed a naturally occurring animal such as a half feline and half bird like the gryphon.

"Her name is Atiesh," Lothar beamed a smile at the woman as the griffon craned its neck around to the left and squared up with the much smaller Fain. Inquisitive about the fair skinned woman, Atiesh cocked her beak and nudged Fain's chest. Wide eyed and looking at Lothar for an answer, the King chortled and padded her shoulder where feathers grew and transitioned into tawny soft fur, "She likes to have her beak rubbed, go ahead, she likes pretty women."

A bloom of light blush spread across Fain's cheeks as she raised her right hand and wrapped barely big enough fingers around the underside of her solid beak and the biggest smile broke across her lips as Atiesh uttered a mixture of a coo and purr and Fain only petted her soon to be riding companion. Glad at the sight Lothar came up beside Fain and beamed a giant amused smile at the interaction.

"Very very good, I'm glad she likes you. Beautiful Atiesh isn't too fond of your travel companion today," Lothar looked back from the court yard and scoured when Khadgar was late still, "That boy I swear."

Fain with her hand still on the gryphon's beak turned her attention to where Lothar was, among some of the mulling about scholars outside the royal hall where Athrikus's female companions, sent to see her off under given orders but neither of them cared as they pursued the entertaining world they still resided in. Caught off by a nudge by the quite large gryphon Fain yelped, startled afraid of what the animal was doing.

"Ooof-" Khadgar grunted when Fain was tossed back into him forcing him to drop his satchel. Startled Fain jerked away and side stepped back beside the King alarmed at the mage's sudden appearance. With a grimace Khadgar gathered up his belongings giving the scowl to Lothar as he saw the disgusting smirk smeared all over his face while the gryphon let out a throaty noise like it was chuckling.

"She knows you're late Khadgar," Lothar spoke in defense of his companions actions, "You know she doesn't like to be late."

Khadgar clutched his bag tighter while Atiesh jostled her massive body and shook in grace with those vast wings only partially spread as she yawned and straightened her crop before settling back down.

"I was getting some items and making sure we were appropriately prepared to look through Karazhan and hope for some recovery," Khadgar informed the half grinning king as the mage walked past him and Fain, not paying the company on his mission any heed. Stopping in front of Atiesh, Khadgar took a deep breath and calmed down a little before the gryphon lowered her body so the man could sling his bag over and secure it with the rest of the saddle, "Spoiled rotten bird with a bad attitude like it's-"

"What's that Khadgar?" Lothar called out his friends grumbling loudly with a smirk.

"Nothing King Lothar," Khadgar jerked the buckle tight and turned around with a huff, "Shall we be off?" He announced giving into the inevitable of the next few hours on the beast with the woman he'd found himself wanting to avoid.

"Oh now he's behind schedule huh?" Poking an elbow at Fain, Lothar couldn't help his laugh as he shook his head and came up closer to his mage friend, "Here." Taking a sealed scroll from one of his hip satchels, Lothar tucked it in Khadgar's hand and nodded as the mage knew the inquiry he had from the day before. Taking a step back Lothar ushered Fain forward and gave her a comforting smile, "I trust you are ready?"

"Yes sir, Master Athrikus briefed me on everything last night and I'm confidant all if any fel still in the town's remnants will be controlled sufficiently," Fain gave a small nod and then bowed her torso down, "Thank you King Lothar for allowing my people to assist in matters belonging to your people. I am honored you chose to allow me to study the last known place fel was present in Azeroth."

Already up on the gryphon, Khadgar watched Fain bow to Lothar and felt a twinge of jealous sour his stomach but disregarded it. Lothar noticed how restless his friend was becoming and simply nodded to what the young woman said, "We hope you will share your knowledge of fel with our people and together we can find a way to stop Gul'dan." Guiding the attention back to their departure, Lothar offered Fain a hand as she slid her foot in the same foot hold as Khadgar's and she swiftly swung her leg up and over the broad creature's back.

Settling down in the crook of leather backing to the saddle and forward facing Khadgar, Fain squared up in the saddle, uncomfortable putting it mildly as she could feel the warmth of his body against her as it was inevitable that she slip so snuggly behind him in the beast's saddle. Atiesh slowly stood, rectifying to twice her height as she was knelt down to her owner. Lothar gave her a solid pat on the shoulder and looked up at the two riders, "Karazhan may be dangerous, take care Medivh didn't have any traps in the lower towers or rooms."

"Things will be fine, if anything comes up we will be swift to come back," Khadgar informed Lothar.

"Then be off boy, you should have done this months ago!" Lothar gave a thwack to Atiesh's romp and the gryphon spread her gigantic wings, muscles on every inch of the animal rippling as she crouched down and launched herself in one fluid moment into the air. Wings snapping downwards and lofting her even further up into the air, Khadgar felt the vertigo. He hated riding the beasts but that was replaced with a strange warmth as Fain's arms could be felt wrapping around his waist quickly.

Cinching her arms around the mage, she didn't care that there had been some effort put into avoiding him prior to this assignment, Fain never let her feet leave the ground before especially on the back of something she'd only discovered an hour ago. The ground grew further and further away and Fain could feel her stomach in her throat every time she attempted to look down at the landscape. Only making it worse the woman gave up and degraded herself into shielding her eyes in the mage's back which resulted in a death grip around his waist.

The movement of the gryphon's muscles even through the leather saddle was a sensation Fain wasn't adjusting to and the spell caster regretted when she recalled Lothar had said the flight directly to Karazhan is over an hour. Taking a shaky breath, though no one could hear it with the rush of air passing the beasts grand wings, Fain used all her might to ignore the flight and sought some sense of refuge in the back of Khadgar who only relaxed back into her and didn't say a word while Fain refused to keep her eyes open for her first gryphon ride.