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>> Chapter Eleven

Seeking a Way
10

Dawn rose in a languid fashion, almost loathe to crest the tops of the majestic Silvertops and venerable Cetnes. It poured in a wealth of golden rays, washing out all other colors. The winds blew gently through the Guild valley, stirring up small wavelets on the pond. Here and there, a fish leapt—breaking the mirror-keen surface with its slick body, flashing like diamonds in the sun. This was a day that many Guilders threw open their windows and let the cool breezes aerate their stuffy rooms; no such luck this day. Barred and bolted, nothing was left to the winds; only a few windows and portals were left unclosed for circulation purposes.

“Come away from the window, Shyne.”

The little golden Phoenixgryphoness turned huge grey eyes towards their babysitter. Blaze reclined on a low couch in their parents’ living room entertaining Sular with a ball. “But Unca Blaze, I wanna go outside!”

Blue-grey Sular nodded empathetically. “Me, too! Momma and Daddy alwus take us out!” He looked up at Blaze’s orange face with a serious toddler gaze. “Why can’t we go?”

“Why?” Shyne echoed, perching on the sill, her lower jaw stuck out in a gryphonic pout. She had enough of her mother’s Vahazayi mobility to have it tremble.

Blaze sighed. He really didn’t want to have this conversation—he really didn’t want it! Coughing, he tossed the brightly colored ball to Sular, hoping to distract him, and thus his sister. The ball bounced off Sular’s tiny crest and rolled into their parents’ bedroom. I’m certainly not going in there, the scientific gryphon thought. What is theirs is theirs.

Suddenly, he had two very thoughtful-looking gryphlets in his face. They were large for their age, possibly due to their Vahazayi heritage, like most of their characteristics, baring their body shape. “Unca Blaze?”

The gryphon shook his head. “You have to stay here because your mother and father need you to,” he finally said, not exactly meeting their solemn glare. Sular snorted, clearly not buying the ploy.

“Momma and Daddy never keep us up here for so long! I. Want. To. Play! C’mon, Shyne-Shyne!”

Before he knew it, the Phoenixgryph twins where bounding over his head and over to the closed door. Scrambling upright, his feet entangled in the fabric of the couch, Blaze tripped and fell flat on his face, cracking his beak on an unprotected portion of the stone floor. Lights exploded before his eyes and he was out—cold.


The sight of the gryphlets had become so familiar that hardly anyone paid them heed as they ran through the hallways, screeing happily with their newfound freedom. They bounded down several long flights of stairs, their short legs making quick work of the steps, often tumbling in great gouts of laughter as they bounced unharmed. Into the Common Room they squeaked, rolling in a pile of gold and smokey-blue fur.

It was empty.

Shyne and Sular looked at each other in puzzlement. The Common Room was never empty!

Where were the Guilders, like Momma’s sisters, Aunties Luxie, Aura, ’reme, Kaalkitty? Where were Uncas ’clipse and Ary? Where was everyone?

Shyne was the first to sit on her haunches, a great fat tear forming at the corner of her left eye. Sular, being the elder of the two and feeling most brave, threw a comforting wing about his sister’s shoulders. “I want Momma!” Shyne howled; the tear landed with a splat on the stone floor, followed by another, and another. “MOMMA!!!” Without meaning to, she began to broadcast in mindspeech, doubling her howls.


Calypte hated clean-up duty. She’d done it before, during the meteor and hated it then, just as she hated it now. Yeah, but it had a more fulfilling purpose then, she reasoned. With a set of her jaw, she doubled her efforts and kept pushing the covered cart, laden with things she’d rather not think about. As she turned the corner, something touched the edges of her mind. “What the—?”

Abandoning the cart, the tigergryphoness trotted down the hall and peered about the doorway. Her ears went up and then back as she recognized Sular and Shyne Flurrith. What in the name of perdition are they doing down here? Shouldn’t Blaze be watching them?

“Shyne? Sular?” she called softly, so as not to scare them. Sular heard her first and turned his head; his huge grey eyes were filled with such fear that it literally washed over Caly. She darted in and scooped them both up in her arms, hugging them tightly to her chest. “Who left you here, babies?” she crooned, rocking them both until Shyne’s sobs began to calm and she started hiccupping. “Did mad ol’ Blaze fall asleep or find something to burn?”

Sular shook his head. “No-ooo, Auntie Caly. We left Unca Blaze inna room.” They did what? Lord, what clever buggers!

“I—want—Mah-maaaaaa!!” Poor little Shyne collapsed into a fit of hiccups, so badly that Caly had to put Sular down to thump her on the back with a careful taloned hand.

“Shh, it’s all right, sweeties. Auntie Caly will take you to Momma and Daddy.” Great, where’m I gonna find CP anyway? Taking Sular by the hand, she decided the best bet was to head on up to the Administration floor, since that would be the most likely of places to find Crystal, if not Muse.

Cradling Shyne in the crook of one elbow and Sular holding onto the other hand, Caly abandoned her cart and ascended the staircase. It wasn’t that bad of a trip, she reflected; the Flurrith children were decidedly well-mannered and quiet, with exception going to Shyne’s soft hiccupping. Taking the turn about the corner, Caly saw the light in the library entrance on. Hoping that perhaps Eclipse would be in residence, she tapped lightly on the inside corner, sticking her head around. “Heyla?”

“Who is it?”

A few seconds later, the bespectacled form of Eclipse appeared before her. Red eyes widening when he saw the sorry state the twins were in, the black gryphon liberated Caly of them both. “Where’s Crys and Muse?” he asked her, soothing both of them with emerging paternal instincts.

Caly shrugged. “Damned if I know. I was pushing dirty rags to the laundry room when I heard Shyne crying. Found them both in the Common Room, scared and alone. Sular told me that they ditched Blaze.”

Bouncing the twins, Eclipse raised an amused eye ridge. “Is that so?” he chuckled appreciatively. “Well, I’ll take them to their parents, Caly. Thank you.”

The tigergryphoness shrugged. “That’s ok; I like the little fluffballs.” With a wry smile, she turned tail and disappeared down the stairwell.

“Uncle ’Clipse? Can we see Momma now?”

The bibliophile purred and stroked Sular’s tiny white crest. “Of course we can kiddo.”


Tser’s office was large—large enough for the velvetwyrm by herself. With almost a dozen people now populating it, the spaciousness soon seemed but a faint memory. Those nearest the door turned when Eclipse popped his head in. “I’m selling a pair of lovely Phoenixgryphs—anyone interested in purchasing them?”

Crystal’s head shot up from where it was bent over a map, luminous raptorine grey eyes huge. “Where did they come from!?” she exclaimed, shoving through bodies to her soul brother and children.

“MOMMA!” Sular and Shyne squealed happily, throwing their dexterous paws around her neck, nuzzling into her warm breast feathers. “We was lookin’ for you, Momma,” crooned Sular. “Shynie got skeered.”

Shyne pouted and threw an evil glare at her brother. “I did not.”

“Did too. You was cryin’ in the Big Room.” He turned to his mother, nodding proudly. “I saw her.”

Crystal’s eyes narrowed and she glanced over at Eclipse. “The Common Room? What were they doing there, bro?”

Eclipse shrugged. “I got them off of Caly. She said Sular told her they ditched Blaze and she found them there.”

“They did what?” Muse rose and padded over, plucking his son from Crystal’s grasp. “Whyeverfor?”

Sular’s white crest flicked and he stared up into his father’s face solemnly, and then looked around at the other pairs of eyes watching. “He was soooooooo bor-ing, Daddy! We wanna go outside!”

Muse sighed and exchanged a long-suffering look with his mate; Crystal merely shrugged. Tser saved them: “We’ll meet at dinner. You two go and amuse the kids. They deserve it; none of this quarantine is their fault, don’t let them suffer for someone else’s wrath.”

“Thank you, Tser,” Muse and Crystal chorused and exited, taking their offspring with them.

Once they were gone, the room collapsed into laughter. “Oh, those twins!” Lux crowed, wiping her iridescent eyes with the back of her hand. She patted her slightly expanding abdomen with the other, glancing at her mate in the doorway.

Tser chuckled, then her velvet face grew sombre. “For the children, we have to figure a way to cure this.” She pointed to a large dot on the map, marked Elven Nations. “‘Yea’ or ‘nay’—what say you?”

“We go.”

“Aye, let’s get what’s ours from them.”

Tser eyed each of them in turn, looking at Lux and Eclipse. “Can you speak for them?”

Lux nodded. “They agree that it’s the best course of action.”

“It’s settled then; we’ll prepare a small party for a voyage to the Elven Nations. Have Crystal contact Kalaki when she gets a chance, Illucian.”

Copyright 2002, Crystal Shekeira. All Guilders are © themselves. The Gryphon's Guild is trademarked to Tserisa Supalla. All other names, places and events are © MH. Do not alter, copy or distribute.

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