Your human and you - Gryphon half a chance

Two weeks.

I'd been trapped in this plush, well-upholstered, warm and comfortable hell for two weeks. I paused my contemplation, yawning, whilst I scratched myself then eased deeper into my cushion-filled basket, rearranging my blankie. Two weeks, or so. I hadn't really kept check, and each day was pretty much the same as I settled into a routine: wake up, food. Lounge around, food. Tease the locals, food. I was starting to get a bit pudgy, and it didn't help that whenever Gilda got back from… whatever it was she did - probably disemboweling small animals for fun and profit, knowing her - she did always take me for walkies. Not that I couldn't take myself for walkies. I just… still felt a bit self-conscious. I was, after all, butt naked, other than the collar, and it didn't really cover much.

Again, shut up.

You may think living a dog's life is awesome… and it kind of is, in places, but things do grate on your nerves after a while.

After a hard day of doing bugger all, I decided it was a good time to have a real, hard, solid sulk by contemplating how awful things were around here.

At first I thought it was the food that was the worst - cold meat jerky for every single meal gets really old after the tenth straight day - then I thought it was the nakedness. Naked isn't sexy, I felt like one of those mole-rats, just without the charm. But, after a certain amount of soul-searching, I decided that bathtime was the worst.

"Oh, look at him! He likes water, don't you boy? Who likes the water? Oo wikes water? Das a good boy!"

I turned around in a huff. Gryphons were large, vicious, bloodthirsty, apex predators able to rip, rend and tear the flesh from their prey in seconds with their razorsharp talons and wicked beak. They were grade-A scary.

Until they started baby talking.

"Oo's got a rubber ducky? Oo as? Oo as!" There was a splash, and something small and yellow floated towards me.

I did not want a rubber ducky.

I flicked it away. They flicked it back. This continued for a few moments, before I picked it up and stared, having realized what I was looking at: this was a duck. A rubber duck. A yellow, rubbery, faux waterfowl. True, it was made from neither rubber nor plastic, instead it felt like some sort of odd silicone, but… it was a yellow toy duck.

Inconceivable!

I squeezed it. It wheezed wetly. Looking on the bottom, I expected it to say 'Made in China'. It didn't, but I did a double-take at 'Made in Prance'.

"Oos own widdle ducky, huh? ...I don't think you're getting that back, Garnet."

The other gryphon - apparently Garnet, though I still couldn't tell one gryphon from another very easily - snickered. "I'll go find him some more toys once he's out. Come on, time to rinse him off."

...I take it back. Being towelled off and pampered by gryphons is the worst. Ugh. I collapsed into my bed and pulled the blankets over my head and closed my eyes.

Life was settling down to a strange, new level of 'normal', but even as my living conditions improved, I was starting to feel worse. As I closed my eyes to sleep, I found myself hoping I'd feel better the next day.

.oOo.

I didn't feel better the next morning, at all. I was feeling worse, much worse.

My eyes stung, my head was spinning, my throat was dry and everything ached. Groaning as I gained consciousness, I pulled my blankie over my head. Why was it so thin? Why was it so cold all of a sudden? Why was the light so bright? Why could I taste the colour yellow and why was I hearing green?

As I lay there shivering in bed, I heard Gilda stomping across her bedroom towards me.

"Daaaddyyyy!" I heard her cry out, distantly, "I think Dent is sick!"

Time passes strangely when you're sick. You wake up after hours, and don't realize time has passed. In my case, I figured out something had to have happened when all of a sudden it was dark and I was surrounded by ponies and gryphons - one of the ponies was a unicorn. I shied away from him, scared he was a slaver like the last ones from the desert. I clambered out of bed, but fell, a cry caught in my throat. I rolled, shaking, from fear as much as the cold. I curled up under Gilda, my Gilda, clinging to her foreclaws.

"Heelllpp meee!" I mumbled, then felt what vestiges of strength I'd had left leave me.

"Did you--?" Gilda asked.

"What's that, princess?" asked Abraxis, turning from where he was talking with the ponies and another gryphon.

"Daddy? I think he…" Gilda shook her head, fluffing her feathers out. "Naah. Daddy, what's wrong with Dent?"

"Well, it looks like he's sick, peach. Human distemper, probably from the filthy conditons those traders had him in. The kindest thing is--"

"No!" screeched Gilda, rearing up and spreading her wings. "No! You won't put him down!"

"Darling, it's for the best. He's really very sick, and--"

"No! He's mine! You gave him to me! I'll look after him until he gets better!" Gilda beat her wings in quick succession for emphasis, then took a deep breath and dropped to all fours. For a moment, she was silent, then added, "A-and i-if he doesn't, th-then he doesn't, b-but you gave him to me! You can't take him away!" Gilda bent down and, with one claw, snatched me up. She tucked me into my basket, and threw her own duvet on top of my blankie. "I don't care what you say! He'll get better! I know it!" Through my rapidly rising fever, I felt a claw gently tap my head.

"But…" Abraxis began, then he took a deep breath and sighed. "You are correct, my dear. I will do everything in my power to make sure he recovers but--" he shared a glance with the vets, who shook their heads, "--be prepared for the worst."

"I don't care what you say," hissed Gilda. She turned to me, putting one claw gently on my head again. "He's going to get better. H-he has to. I haven't shown him off to D-dash, yet. I h-haven't taught him any tricks or anything. He can't die. He… he just can't. Promise me, Dent," she whispered, leaning close. "Promise me you won't die."

I looked up at her, weakly, as the fever overtook me, and did my best to nod.

"Daddy, fetch one of those bottles they use on calves, would you? I don't think the ones we have for the foals or human pups are big enough. J-just put some cold water in it, would you?"

I could have sworn Abraxis' beak turned up at the edges, and he smiled indulgently. "Your wish is my command, princess. Rubin will fetch it." He nodded at the other gryphon who had been bathing me.

As blackness overtook me, I chuckled throatily. At least now, at the end, I would know his name.

.oOo.

The next few days were nothing but mad, whirling fever-dreams punctuated by brief periods of lucidity, wherein I was dragged outside and swiftly encouraged to 'do my business' - not that I needed much encouragement, I was so weak and sick I wanted to waste as little time as possible watering the flowers - before being carried back in again. It's not to say Gilda was rough, but she didn't waste time with mollycoddling.

They had medicine, herbs and whatnot, and they helped, but for the most part, things just had to run their course. My dreams were full of rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning. Strange screeches punctuated the air, I wondered at times whether this was what my Gilda sounded like without whatever magic filter had been put between my ears. There were odd flashes of cars driven by dogs, and cats flying planes. Houses melting like jello and trees growing out of crystals. Strange, snake-like beings with the heads of goats, wings of bats and all manners of mismatched parts… one in particular sauntered past wearing a top-hat, twirling a cane.

"Oh don't worry," he said to me, devouring a slice of cake in reverse, his accent strangely British and formal, "I'm not about to let you die. Besides, we both know you're not from here. You're close enough it'll make you really sick, but you lack something it needs to take a real hold. It's just giving you a wicked fever and these amazing hallucinations. Thank you for them, little Denty-poo, I do so enjoy fever dreams. Ta-ta!"

Of all the insane visions and madness my boiling brain was subjected to, the walking pile of animal parts was the craziest. Surely, even in a world as mixed up as this, nothing that strange could possibly exist.

.oOo.

When my fever finally broke, it was midnight. Well, without a clock, 'midnight' means 'the time of the night when every normal person is asleep and it's as dark and as cold as fuck'. Though that last bit was almost definitely the sickness speaking, it certainly was nippy. I decided it was midnight.

I shivered, rubbing my arms. My skin prickled with cold, and the last vestiges of fever. Everything still ached, but… I was feeling permanently lucid. Weak, but lucid. I was wrapped in something very warm, soft and feathery. It took me almost a minute to figure out that I was actually wrapped in a Gilda. The gryphoness had dragged me to her bed, snuggled up against me, and wrapped us both up in her wings and blankets.

Now that I thought about it, I had fleeting images of receiving beakfuls of water and mushy food… I wasn't sure if they were real, but I could believe that whatever had really happened, it had been something equally tender, or at least functional. In her own strange way, she loved me. Despite everything they'd done to me, these gryphons loved me. Like we humans loved our pets. Thinking about it, what had happened to me was probably karmic justice for getting Roxxo snipped… and for not letting him eat from the table.

Feeling decidedly introspective, I eased myself out from her embrace and sneaked out of the room. Shivering, I made my slow way through the house until I reached one of their odd little squat-toilet things.

I could have used hers, but… she'd not given me permission. Or something. I owed her for taking such good care of me. Shut up.

Once there, I did my business and wiped myself off as good as possible, washed off my hands and body as quickly as I could - the water was cold, and it made the night air even colder, but quite frankly I stunk - then made my way, shivering and shaking with every step, back to my mistress' bedroom.

I squeezed in through the door as quietly as possible, but Gilda was a gryphon. Her eyes watched mine silently as I snuck across the floor. Before I could sneak into the bed, she snatched me up and pulled me to her in a hug.

"I knew you'd make it, Dent. I knew it."

I tried to say thank you, but I was still too tired, so I did the next best thing, and tried to just purr. It didn't really work, but I think she got the message, and she held me closer. As I drifted off to a much healthier, more normal sleep, she chirped softly to me.

Just as warm, loving darkness took me, I heard her say, "By the way, you talk in your sleep."

Wait, what!?

.oOo.

Morning, when it came, passed me by. I didn't wake up until early afternoon.

I wouldn't have gotten up yet, either, but nature was calling hard and fast again. I wrapped my blankie around myself for warmth, then snuck through the grounds again until I found the facilities. When I came out, it was to a small crowd, featuring both Abraxis and Gilda.

"See, Daddy? I told you he was smart."

I froze, shivering. The next few moments would secure my fate.

"Hmm, I see. Well, my darling, I am glad to say I was wrong about putting him down. I don't know how he managed to escape the distemper for his entire life until now, but I am glad to see he survived it. I think, though, you should help your wandering pet back to bed. He's still got a lot of recovering to do."

Okay, maybe the next few moments.

"But Daddy! He knows how to use--!"

"Gilda, he is an animal! They can be trained to do very simple jobs, but nothing more!"

Dammit.

"But Daddy, I heard him!"

Abraxis sighed, then stared at me. "Okay, then, Dent. My daughter says you talk. Of all things. Say something. Speak!"

This was it! Finally a chance! I opened my mouth.

"Ooo oo ee ee aa aa!"

I clapped my hands over my mouth, wincing, eyes wide. Well ting, tang, walla walla bing bang.

Abraxis sighed. "Very droll, though I do appreciate a lightening of tensions. Take him back inside, Gilda dear, before he gets sick again."

"Humph. Come on then, Stupid. Thanks for embarrassing me you dweeb."

.oOo.

Back at Gilda's bedroom, Gilda tucked me into her own bed. It seemed I'd either been mostly forgiven, or she was just making sure I would get better. She was, however, still angry with me. That hurt, for some reason.

"Why did you have to do that to Daddy? I know you can talk, Dent! I've heard you mumbling when you're asleep! Or…" she sniffed, wiping an eye, "or is it just you… copying us?"

She looked deep into my eyes, and I found myself seriously cursing my muteness. I tried to tell her I just couldn't speak, but whatever had caused my muteness was more powerful than I had first thought, and now that I was pushing it, I found I was having trouble giving any sign that I understood her. With great difficulty, fighting my own body every step of the way, I tried to shrug and point to my throat. It came out as a spastic whirling of arms and a wriggle.

"You can't talk at all, can you?" Gilda sighed and turned away. "Of course you can't. No matter how smart they look, they're just… beasts."

Dammit.

I gave up, and as I did I felt the blockage drain away. It wasn't merely stopping me speaking, it was stopping me communicating. Consciously at least. I buried my head in her chest-fur, wiping tears. Why did this curse have to be so… complete?

"Oh it's okay, Denty, I forgive you. You didn't mean anything, did you? You just wanted to impress me."

I nodded, I really had, just not in that way. I opened my mouth and let forth a muffled stream of babble. I shrugged my shoulders, freely now it wasn't an attempt to chat. It was slowly getting easier to fight whatever influence - let's face it, spell - I was under, but it was far from gone.

"I'm here for you, Dent." Gilda stroked a claw through my shaggy mane - it was getting unkempt, despite the attention it was getting from various mares around the place - then buried herself into bed next to me. "We'll get you through this. We'll get you all better, precious. But for now, sleep, okay? Just sleep. I... I'm glad you're getting better." She leaned closer, and then in a voice so quiet I almost couldn't hear, whispered, "I love you."

Shock was not a powerful enough word. This gryphoness was all tough cookies and slap-slap on the outside… but I was seeing the inside. Gently, I reached over and pulled her closer. She snuggled closer. I don't know if it was the hormone changes or the illness or what, but I was feeling really rather… calm. And happy. Stockholm Syndrome, maybe, but I wasn't missing paying bills or rushing to work, or any of the one thousand and one annoying, shitty things I'd had to do every day in my old life. I wasn't missing them at all. I was missing my friends and family, sure, but it wasn't like I'd had much time for them anyhow.

And these gryphons weren't… evil. They were powerful, strong, arrogant… just like humans, really, and to them, we humans - or whatever humans in this world were - were just animals. They didn't see anything they'd done as violence, they saw it as necessary because they cared for me.

Man, this was messing with my head… all I knew for sure was that Gilda - big, tough, rude Gilda - was a softie, and she loved me.

I closed my eyes, and slept again.