A Feather and a Wink

By A. J. Skelly

“Would you move, you worthless bag of feathers!” I put my full weight behind the shove I give my gryphon, but it’s no use.

He’s rooted. He’s staring. Strike that, he’s pining. He’s literally wiggling his feathery eyebrows… at her.

My forehead slumps against Griff’s furry shoulder.

Heather Dewslip ambles towards the green, her regal gryphon following sedately on her leash like a good gryphon should. My head sinks farther against Griff’s warm fur. His lion’s tail flicks my back.

I’ve had the biggest crush on Heather for months, and it’s mortifying. She’s part fae; she can see emotion. Every emotion is a different color for her. She has to know my heart beats faster and my palms sweat every time she passes me. Who knows what color my embarrassed infatuation is? But to make matters worse, Griff also has a thing for her.

He has never been the model gryphon. We’re in the Gryphon Riders Training Course at Magik Prep, but it’s not going as well as I’d hoped. He can’t keep his feathered head straight any more than I can once Heather comes on the premises.

“Assemble!”

I startle. I hadn’t heard Professor Autun’s goat feet in the soft grass of our landing green.

I sigh. “Okay, Griff. Let’s try this again. Maybe you could show off for Heather instead of watching her the whole time and missing all our cues?” I pat his heavily tufted ear.

He growls low in his throat and ruffles his neck feathers. As I stroke his shoulder once more he kneels down and lets me hop up onto his broad back. I settle my legs in front of his massive wings and grip tight with my knees. My hands grip his ear tufts so I can steer my huge beast. We tried a saddle and bridle early on but found that we prefer the natural way of riding together.

“Today, we’re working on group maneuvers. You’ll practice with one assigned partner and work on flying close brushes safely before we attempt moving as a larger group.” Professor Autun pairs us off. I try not to fidget on Griff’s back. His gaze is still stuck on Heather.

“Ryder and Heather.”

A gasp freezes in my throat as Griff puffs his chest and swishes his tail. He’s thrilled. My stomach knots.

Heather sidles over on her gryphon, Sasha. “Um, I think your gryphon just winked at me.”

“Yeah. Sorry about him.” I pat him none-too-gently, reminding him to behave. “I think he has a crush on you.” I want to swallow my tongue as soon as the words leave my mouth. Her face tints the lightest shade of pink.

“That’s very flattering, Griff,” she tells my beast.

I gulp back my own emotions.

“I’m still pretty new to this type of flying. Sasha and I haven’t had a lot of practice with other riders. Can you walk me through it while we’re in the air?” Heather shrugs apologetically.

“Sure. I mean, we’ve done some of this, but not a lot.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” She gives me a sunny smile.

My heart lurches, and my cheeks heat. I heel Griff around into position and tug his ears to signal takeoff.

The wind rushes past my face, sweeping my anxiety and worry over my neon emotions with it. For just a moment, I tip my head back and close my eyes, letting the euphoria of flying exhilarate me to my fingertips.

Sasha caws behind us and playfully rushes past us.  Smiling, I nudge Griff and we take off after her.

We glide, urging our mounts close enough that their wings almost brush. Sasha is a little rocky, unsure of her movements in the rotation, but she seems to find her rhythm.

“It’s glorious up here in the sky, isn’t it?” Heather calls across a cloud.

I can’t help my answering grin as I look at her. “Beautiful.”

Someone shrieks behind us, and I crane my neck, trying to see.

“Dragon!”

“Dragon on the loose!”

“Oh, no!” I take a firmer clamp on Griff’s ears. “Someone from the Dragon Apprenticeship Class must have lost their beast again. How does Sasha do with dragons?”

“Ryder!”

My head whips around as Heather screams. A panicked adolescent dragon is heading straight for her. Flames shoot from its nostrils, its ruby wings flailing as it tries to correct its terrified flight.

Sasha rears and screams, frantically flapping her wings to get out of the way of the careening monster.

She’s not fast enough.

“Griff, go!” I put my heels to his flanks and yank on his tufts. We shoot forward just as the dragon crashes into Sasha’s chest.

Screeching and bellowing echo in the blue sky around us. The two great beasts go plummeting.

“Heather!”

She tumbles off Sasha’s back with a scream as Sasha’s tail tangles around the dragon’s horns.

“Move, Griff!” I shove his tufts hard downward to steer him after Heather’s falling form.

With a distressed screech of his own, Griff tucks his wings as I clench my legs, and we swoop.

Keeping my legs locked, I let go with my hands, trusting Griff to keep our trajectory.

Straining, I miss. Desperately I reach again.

“I gotcha!” I grip Heather’s arms, hauling her over Griff’s back.

“Ryder!” She gasps in relief as her hands lock around me. Griff rights himself and gracefully finishes his descent to the green.

“Are you all right?” I turn to her.

Heather blinks wide, purple eyes as she stares at me. “Thanks to you.”  She studies me as my palms begin to sweat. “This is the first time your aura has been one color.”

“What?”

“Your emotions—they’re always so clouded, I can’t ever tell what you’re feeling. But right now, you’re solid yellow. Relief.”  She smiles.

My heart accelerates.

“But now that there’s a smidge of pink… Would you like to go out sometime?”

A grin stretches across my face.

Griff will never let me hear the end of this.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A. J. Skelly is a writer, blogger, and lover of all things fantasy, medieval, and fairy-tale-romance.  As a former high school English teacher with a master’s in Creative Writing, she’s always been fascinated with the written word and has spent many years working with teenagers.  She lives with her husband, children, and many imaginary friends who often find their way into her stories.

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