Author's Note

Before you all start reading, I just want to say thank you to Gilded Scroll and LIL DASHIE GRINGO for their constructive criticism, showing me what I've been doing wrong. If it wasn't for you two I would be making the same mistakes over and over again. I really needed that cold hard truth, so thank you. And a big shout out to NineTailBeastBall for helping me extend the chapter. And thank you all for your patience and support and remember to stay tuned for more chapters to come. And as always, keep on bronying on

Lessons of Defeat

Waking up here in Griffonstone was probably the worst wake up call you’ve had in your life. Turns out when the sun rises, just like roosters, the first griffons awake all screeching at once. Gilda was obviously used to it, as she snickered at you when you fell off the couch.

“Hey, button the beak, bird brain, or I’ll stick that thing on backwards,” you threatened, feeling your face turn red with embarrassment.

“Ah don’t be like that, they do this all the time every morning,” she said kneeling down to meet your gaze. With a snort, you got back onto your feet.

“Whatever... so what kind of jobs do you got here in this place?” you asked

“Whoa, whoa pipsqueak, first thing’s first,” she said as she poked your stomach a couple of times. “We need to get you some breakfast. Come with me,” she said tilting her head to the doorway. You rolled your eyes and followed her. Though, you gotta admit, you were a little famished and if you didn't eat enough of your vitamins and minerals today, your whole performance would be completely off balance.

Reaching the kitchen, you sat down waiting to find out what Gilda had to offer. You had a good feeling it would include meat, as griffons are clearly carnivores. You were right as in front of you, she gave you some slices of ham with bacon strips and sunny side up eggs and a glass of orange juice.

“Well don’t just sit there, eat up,” she encouraged. You quirk an eyebrow at why she's constantly acting friendly, but it can wait because right now, you were starving. You grab your fork and knife and dig into your plate of food. Not as efficient as the ones back home, but they did the job. Once you got done with your breakfast, it was time to head out and look for a position that fits your expertise.

“Alright, time to hit the road. I’m not gonna get anywhere in this place without a job. Gilda, what kind of jobs does Griffonstone have that can fit my skills?” you asked.

“Well, seeing how you did quite a number on those pervs yesterday, it’s obvious selling scones isn’t your thing...” Gilda said as she tapped her claws to her beak giving it some more thought. Her eyes went wide as she seemingly got an idea. “I got it! There’s a dojo here in Griffonstone that trains young griffons to one day...” she stopped before she spouted out whatever she was going to say.

You raised your eyebrow as she started blushing. “What? It trains them to one day do what exactly?” you asked.

“Nevermind that. Just follow me and I’ll show you where the dojo is. But I gotta warn you, the youngsters there are feisty. However, try not to turn them into mince meat, remember, it's a combat teacher's job to teach their students, not pulverize them,” Gilda explained.

“Okay, I get it. Just show me where this dojo is so I can apply,” you said, not at all nervous about what she said about the students. Gilda lead you outside afterwards and locked up the door to her hut.

The trip to this dojo turned out to be a nice 7 minute walk give or take. You could hear the sounds of the students and an older griffon grunting and what sounded like attacks being thrown and landed or blocked. You opened the sliding door, immediately stopping the two griffons’ sparring match.

“Who’s in charge here?” you asked and a griffon with the same color of fur and wings as Gilda, but his eyes were a sharp and shiny red color while his entire head was black. If you had to guess, he was somewhere in his late 30s and early 40s. No doubt this guy was probably the master of the dojo.

“You better have a good reason for interrupting today’s lesson, greenhorn,” he scowled roughly poking your chest. You made sure to keep your cool since working in a dojo matches your style.

“It’s simple really, I heard that this dojo was looking for an extra set of hands to teach these students. I figured I’d show up and whip these rookies into shape. Is that gonna be a problem, sir?” you asked, arms crossed.

The older griffon growled as he considered his choices. “If you think you're so confident with teaching my students, then prove it by beating my best pupil in a match!” he demanded

You were never one to back down from a challenge. And if he was sending out his best fighter, then that just means you have something to look forward to. You prepared yourself as a young griffon about the same height as you took on a fighting pose in the center of the dojo. You walk to the center and face him, arms crossed.

“I won’t hold back, so prepare yourself,” he warned with a straight face.

“Ready when you are,” as you also took a stance. You could tell that this griffon had a sense of honor unlike the jerks you met and asses you’ve kicked yesterday. If he’s as honorable as he appears, that means he’s not lying about holding back.

As he rushed forward, you barely had time to block the kick he delivered to your side. You gritted your teeth as you endured the pain. You returned fire by delivering an uppercut, but he backed up with a quick backstep.

Not bothering to say a single word you caught up to him and a swift exchange of punches and kicks began. He landed most of the blows on you, but you weren't a slouch either. As the fight progressed, you ended up covered in scratches and bruises while he had a few bruises on.

You paid no attention to the dojo master who was probably smirking from watching you struggle. However the struggle soon makes a huge turnaround as you started to wail on him until one last high jump kick sent him flying 3 feet off the ground and then slammed him down hard, knocked out. You stood there, still covered in bruises and scratches, breathing a little heavy.

“I gotta admit...” you breathed heavily “...you were definitely one of the best opponents I’ve ever fought... I don’t think I’ve come across someone with that much power... However... there are... a few problems... with your skills as a... fighter...”

You turned back to the frustrated dojo master, who was still having a hard time processing his top student’s defeat. To be honest, you don’t blame him, his star pupil probably hadn’t lost in years.

“Well, a deal’s a deal,” you said wiping your forehead. The dojo master grumbled as his pride made it harder to look you in the eye. “Before you even think of backing out on the agreement, you should consider what a bad example you’d be setting for your students,” you added.

“Oh alright!” he conceded after gazing around the watchful eyes of his apprentices. “But you better show up early at 5AM in the morning or I’ll throw you out of here, no questions asked, YOU GOT IT?!”

You nodded, not even bothered that he was yelling in your ear. With this job, Griffonstone was starting to feel more like home.

It’s been 3 weeks since you landed the job at the Griffonstone dojo. Taking your position very seriously, you gave the students a real tough workout with all those laps around Griffonstone, sparring matches and giving them tips on how to improve. After seeing how you took down their toughest classmate, they weren’t going to question your authority.

You still continued to live with Gilda and learned to tolerate her smug attitude. Sometimes, if the owner of the dojo has a bad day or if you had a bad day, the two of you would spar. Of the 13 matches you had with him, 4 of them were wins which means of course, you suffered 9 losses. He was definitely on a different level than any of his students, which makes sense since he trained them.

As you bonded with Gilda over the last few weeks, she introduced you to Greta and Gabby who were some very special friends. You learned quickly how energetic and cheerful Gabby was, quite rare for a griffon.

It was hard for you to believe that Gilda was just an acquaintance at first, now she you weren’t afraid to call her your friend. When you weren’t busy working at the dojo, you would kill time enjoying scones together, but even though you enjoyed it, it was hard show it considering you hardly ever smile at all. In fact, you can’t recall the last time you smiled, let alone smirked.

“So how’s the dojo treating ya, pipsqueak?” Gilda asked with her usual smirk.

“It’s fine, but that old bird is really starting to tick me off. I’ve been getting my ass kicked more times than I’ve been kicking ass. It’s like I’m doing something wrong,” you replied, looking down on the ground.

“He’s a seasoned veteran, squirt. You can’t expect to win every battle. It’s good that you’re accepting that you lost, but sooner or later, you’ll have to admit you’re weak. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and unless you accept that you’re just naturally weaker than him, you’re not going to improve,” she argued.

You slammed your fist on the table from hearing that, causing Gilda to jump a bit. “That’s a load of crap, there’s no way in hell that I’m this weak! I trained every day since I was a small child to make sure no one would ever cross me! Even kids twice my height thought twice before messing with me!”

“Well, tough guy, if you think you’re so strong, then how about facing off against me, or are you too afraid of getting your ass kicked by a girl?” Gilda challenged with her usual smirk.

“I’ll make you eat those words. I’ve had no trouble with raising my hands against a girl once before, this won’t be any different,” you said through your teeth.

“Oh I think it will. From what I can tell, the girl you beat was probably a pansy compared to what I can do. Now finish up your scone and follow me. I know of a place where we can duke it out.”

You rolled your eyes and allowed Gilda to lead you away from all these prying eyes. You cracked your knuckles, already fired up and wanting to take her down. Gilda, as usual, keeps her cool and doesn’t even give you a second glance. You on the other hand felt your rage slowly building up.

Watching as she continued to keep her cool, you made the first move rushing over to punch her in her calm face. Unfortunately, Gilda easily stepped to the side, causing you to lose your balance for a brief moment.

“Would you calm your shit, we’re almost there,” Gilda said, before smacking you in the face. You once again fell to the hard ground, almost too ashamed to get up. Once you did get up, your glare on Gilda intensifies, but she still remains unfazed.

After a few more minutes of walking, you and Gilda arrive at some battle arena and two other griffons were already duking it out. You realized that the two griffons fighting were actually two of the three perverts who tried to spy on Gilda. And it looked like they had just finished their battle in a double knockout. The other griffons laughed at the silly excuse for a fight, but all you did was scowl.

After the fight, the two knocked out griffons were carried off the arena. Then, Gilda flies over and lands on the now unoccupied arena and you followed her lead.

You just couldn’t find the capability of cooling yourself off, completely blinded by your rage and hubris. Gilda took her fighting stance while you took yours. Not wanting to give her the chance to attack, you ran up to her, preparing the first punch.

Gilda sees it coming, but doesn’t move. At the last minute as you threw it, before it reaches her face, she tilts her head to the side, grabs your arms and throws you over her shoulder. You slammed to the ground hard, but got back up quickly. You threw a roundhouse kick to her side, but she ducked and sweeped your legs, causing you to fall again.

She grabs you by the neck with her claws and holds you up in the air in a stranglehold. You countered by doing a backflip kick, causing Gilda to stagger and try to keep her balance.

You go to deliver an uppercut and it connects, but as was sent flying into the air, she flaps her wings and soars back down, landing behind you, barely touching your back. You turn to deliver a left hook, but she dodges by ducking and turns around, smirking at you.

“I thought you said you were strong,” she gloated, getting under your skin. You could hear your little audience begin chuckling as well making fun of you.

“Pah, come on, Gilda, finish him! He can’t even stand up right, let alone throw a good punch or kick,” one griffon said.

“Yeah, tear him apart, he's nothing but a giant cream puff,” another griffon called out.

“He's the one who beat up my boys? Now that’s embarrassing,” this older griffon said. Gilda frowned at the noisy spectators, but quickly returned her attention as you got back onto your feet still as frustrated as ever.

“You’re angry and unfocused,” Gilda sighed. “Your damaged pride is causing you to thrash about mindlessly like an unrestrained animal. Unless you calm down, the humiliation will only continue.”

You held your head as Gilda gave you another lecture and it only clouded you even more. Without thinking, you rushed in recklessly and threw so many punches and kicks, you couldn't keep track of them. Gilda expertly dodges and blocks all of them and then in one swift motion, she counters you with a sharp punch straight to your face, almost breaking your nose. The last punch you threw only grazed her cheek.

Your body felt heavy and your vision was growing blurry, not to mention your nose was bleeding from that last punch. Despite your condition, you could still hear the jeers and laughter from the three jerks as you fell to your knees again.

Defeated and humiliated, you didn’t protest as Gilda brought you back to your feet, wrapping your arm around her neck. It hurt you even more that you could still barely see and had to rely on the griffon to lead you back home.

You sat quietly on the couch, having finally managed to calm down. Gilda came in with a look of sympathy and brought you a warm bowl of soup.

“Here, eat. You’re gonna need it,” Gilda urged. You looked at the bowl and picked it up without a word. You took small sips from the bowl, not even bothering to pick up a spoon. Normally Gilda would’ve made a joke of such an action, but you were obviously upset.

“You have no one but yourself to blame for this defeat due to your half-assed hubris. Either accept it or you can just mope like the sore loser you are,” she said. You still didn’t respond and just silently ate your soup.

You could only imagine your predicament for tomorrow and you weren't looking forward to it one bit. No doubt those griffons were going to exploit your defeat to ruin your reputation at the dojo. You gripped the bowl tightly in your hands, still taking small sips.

Seeing how her words weren’t getting through to you, Gilda just left you and headed to her room, slamming the door shut. A few more minutes later, you finished the soup and took it back to the kitchen and into the sink before heading back to the couch and just laid there.

‘Damn it all... What happened to me? All of that training, all of that hard work... flushed down the drain by that single punch she got me with. It just doesn't make sense, I should have had her dominated from the start! I’ll get her next time. I swear on my grave I’m NOT going to lose to her again!’ you thought.

With all this frustration running through your mind, you couldn’t bring yourself to fall asleep as the hours went by. Soon, it was midnight and you were still wide awake.

You got up from the couch and and quietly made your way towards the front door. You open it up little by little, making sure you didn't wake up Gilda. Once it was open wide enough to slip out, you stepped out and closed the door slowly before running off into the pitched black streets.

Your eyes adjusted to the darkness just fine, so it was easy to navigate. You walked back to the same area where you suffered your loss to Gilda. Gripping you fists tightly, the voices of the other griffons filled your head. You became so angry, you slammed your fist onto a boulder, then grunted in pain.

You shook off the pain and hit the boulder again, this time with your other fist. It still hurts, but you continue to punch the boulder and added a few kicks into the mixture. You grunted and growled, feeling the sting from hitting the boulder.

“I thought I might find you here,” you heard the all too familiar voice say from behind you. You turned around and saw Gilda. You glared at her before turning around and clenched your bruised and bleeding fists.

“What the hell do you want now? Come to give me another lecture?” you asked. “Because if you are, go ahead, just get it over with so I can train more.” You prepared another punch, but then she grabs your arm.

“What good will it do if you damage your fists and legs? You think that’s gonna solve anything? No!”

You cringed as she touched your bleeding fist and then took you back to her hut. Although it felt more humiliating to be dragged back, you got a little too drowsy to even care anymore.

“I presume there won’t be any nighttime detours?” she asked as you arrived back at her hut. You didn’t say anything but just nodded before entering.

Gilda treated your hands, dabbing some disinfectant on the cuts and then wrapped them up in bandages. It stung a little, but you bared with the pain.

“Why do you do this to yourself?” she asked after she was done wrapping your hands.

“Why does it matter anymore? I’ve officially become the laughing stock of this damn town and to top it off, I’ve even lost faith in my own two fists and legs...” you replied quietly as you stood up. “Now I’m too ashamed to look at myself in the mirror. I don't even know who I am anymore.”

“Sounds like all you need to do right now is a little soul searching. You're doubting yourself, which kinda makes sense. Get some sleep, maybe you’ll find the right answers you're looking for.”

You were stumped, unsure how to respond and decided to just do what she said. You were actually tired this time. You didn’t bother putting up a fight with it, though you highly doubt your dreams would bring you any joy.

You fell asleep pretty quickly and began to dream, only this felt more like a nightmare. One by one, the hardships you’ve suffered throughout your life were coming back to you and hit you like a ton of bricks.

From all the times you were bullied and then the humiliation you suffered after Gilda creamed you in today’s match. The laughs were all flooding into your head, growing louder and louder until finally... you screamed.

“SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE ME ALOOOONE!!!!!!” you shouted, silencing the laughs, but you still felt broken down and... sad. You dropped to your knees and slammed the ground with your fist.

You saw how you always solved such issues with your fists. “Why? What did I do to deserve this treatment? Why am I so weak?!”

Whether or not by coincidence, each memory was worse than the last. Tears began to flow out of your eyes and when one tear fell to the ground, a light shined brightly from right in front of you. You looked up and see a silhouette walking towards you.

“Because you're letting your frustration and your pride cloud your judgement. You lose your temper, you lose the fight,” the silhouette called out. You recognized that voice right off the bat and gasped.

“Coach, what the hell is going on here? How did you find me?” you asked.

“Your whining and screaming lead me,” he said deadpanned. You blushed in shame and embarrassment. “Now you listen good, son, because I only got a short amount of time before I have to leave to train the rest of the my students.”

You weren't sure what he had to say, but it was better than listening to all those voices laughing and making fun of you.

“Now, from what I can see, you lost. And you accepted it, that's a good thing. Defeat is a harsh life lesson to take in, but it makes you into a man. But if I do my homework right, which I always do, you can't accept the fact that you were weak. It's not the training that made you weaker, it was that damn pride and anger that probably stood in the way. I'm right, aren't I?”

You refused to answer that question, but he wasn't gonna tolerate your silence. “Answer me right the fuck now!”

“Alright already, you're right! But I don't want to be weak! How are people ever gonna take me seriously?” you asked.

“Well, maybe you'd have better chances if you didn't act like such a tough guy and treat other people with more respect, you wouldn't have this problem. There are other ways for a man to get his point across other than throwing punches at people! Do you even know what you’re turning into?”

“W-What?” you asked.

“A goddamn bully, that’s what. That ain’t the boy I took in and raised as my son! You need to get your priorities straight and the way to do that is to admit your own weakness. It's a hard truth to live with, but it’s the truth nonetheless. Believe me, I got my ass beat a few times too, but I embraced my weakness so that I could grow and learn! Now you have to embrace your weakness too,” he said.

“What weakness?”

“You’re insecure. You always worry about what others think about you, so you try to establish that you're the so-called head honcho, the top dog, the big boss. If you show even the slightest of weakness, you bottle up emotions and try to dominate the situation through pure violence,” he answered.

“How can I do that when I’m the laughing stock of the town? They won’t even listen to me anymore! Can’t I just beat the shit out of them for-” you said before getting cut off.

“Sure, but you’ll be nothing more than a thug who’ll be hated by everyone. Ask yourself this: what's more important, doing what's right for others, or making an even worse reputation?” he asked. “You ask yourself and do what you think is best. You fought your own battles before, you can do it again.” After he explained the situation to you, he walks up to you and gives you the biggest hug you’ve ever been given in so long. Even if it wasn’t real, it still felt nice nonetheless. “Now go make your coach proud, I’ve got faith in you just like I've always have been.”

You once again woke up the squawking from the early griffons and jumped up, panting heavily and then got dizzy before falling back down on the couch.

“Damn it, why do I get up so fast?” you asked yourself, grabbing your forehead.

“Feeling a bit calmer now?” Gilda asked.

“A little bit,” you replied. You sat yourself back up slowly and sighed. “Gilda... I need to get something off my back and I need you to listen good for me, okay?” Gilda sat on the couch next to you, patiently waiting for you to talk. You took a deep breath and swallowed your pride when you finally told her.

“You were right, I was weak. I still am. My pride and anger got in the way of everything I worked hard to become the sorry excuse for a combat specialist I am now. I guess the reason why I act so tough is because... I’m actually insecure and didn’t like being judged in the wrong way. Gilda... I’m really sorry,” you confessed, looking away.

Gilda was quite impressed at your confession, you never apologized to her before. In fact, there was never a time you apologized to anyone in your entire life.

“A-Apology accepted, pipsqueak.” Gilda said, still feeling surprised. “But I don’t think I’m the only one you need to apologize to.”

“I know and as much I hate the idea, I have to do what’s right. Those pervy griffons might have got what they had coming to them, but I suppose there were a few alternative routes I should have pursued,” you said rubbing your neck and closing your eyes tightly.

“Okay, did that punch of mine convince you or did something happen in your sleep?” Gilda asked, smirking and quirking an eyebrow. Another first for you is that you actually chuckled at the question.

“Long story short, my coach talked some sense into me in my dreams. Son of a gun even hugged me in the end. It was only a dream, but it felt so real,” you said, unaware that a tear had fallen from your eye. That was until Gilda wiped it away with a single talon.

Other than your changing personality, the morning continued on as usual with Gilda preparing breakfast. Of course part of you was nervous about the possible gossip you would have to deal with today at the dojo. But you were gonna swallow your pride and face it head-on like a man... for both you and your coach’s sake.

So far as you were walking to the dojo with Gilda, no one was laughing at you. But they still gave you cocky smiles, judging you like you were a weakling. You rolled your eyes and kept on walking until you reached the front of the dojo.

“This is it, no turning back now. Well, wish me luck, Gilda,” you said before going inside.

As you expected, the master was in the middle of teaching his students a few offensive tricks while having the others do either push-ups or sit-ups. You wondered if they were aware of your fight with Gilda yet. It would be a surprise to you if they didn’t know. Unfortunately, that turned out to be just wishful thinking as they finally took notice of you. But it was the master that gave you lip… or beak in this case.

“You've got some nerve showing your weak hide in my dojo! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t toss you out and deny you entry for the rest of your miserable life!” the master said.

“I’m not going to stop you, but I will make one thing clear. To you and to anyone I trained, and in some cases… pushed around,” you said, looking at the students. You took a deep breath, holding in your anger when facing their confident smirks that are mocking you.

“For those of you that I pushed around, I just want to say sorry. I admit, I was an asshole for tossing you all around like a bunch of rag dolls and I apologize for what happened at our first meeting a few weeks ago,” you said, turning to the three pervy griffons. “I probably should have handled it in a different way by maybe talking things out.”

“Hah, listen to this guy, he’s pathetic! Maybe that bimbo Gilda knocked a few of his screws loose during the fight,” one of the lecherous griffons gloated.

“Say what you want, but I’m sticking by what my coach suggested I should do,” you said remaining calm.

“That's MASTER to you, Mr. Skin and Bones and I don’t recall giving you any advice!” the master snarled.

“I was actually talking about my old coach from back home. I won't go into specific details but he told me to make a choice on what was more important to me.”

“Psh, I say you’re full of crap. Why even bother giving us that cheesy apology? We already know it’s just a facade to hide the fact that deep down, you’ll always be weak and you will never... be... one of us!” one of the other griffons said.

“SHUT UP!” shouted another griffon. This one was a female and you can tell that she was pissed at everyone right now. “If you guys can’t accept that he's trying to earn your trust and acceptance, then maybe you should get your high-tailed asses outta here now! I swear, you boys are worse than he was!”

You smiled at the griffon who had stood up for you and called out the others so boldly. But what she says next surprises you.

“Are you guys that scared of having your tails slammed by the master that you won’t even speak out your opinion?” she asked. Nobody else seemed to be wanting to speak. You were at a loss for words when you take a look at the master, who was ready to blow. But then, the three perverts spoke up.

“No! Not this time! It’s time for you to-”

“SILENCE!” Everyone all turned to the dojo master, absolutely livid. “You were stupid to show up to my dojo and confess about being a weakling, but you really screwed things up by turning my students against me! I won’t tolerate these actions any longer! Prepare yourself, weakling, you and I are going to have a little match!”

“...Challenge accepted.” Though you were determined to fight, something told you that this wasn't going to be an ordinary rookie vs master fight. It feels like you were going to be fighting... for higher stakes.