Chapter 13 Times enjoyed.

"And all of you have all you need with you?"

"Yes mother. Including the extra emergency snacks, all prepared in specific manner each of us personally likes."

"And you are sure their house is safe?"

"Yes mother, and half of them are already dating, while the rest know well the limits of what is okay and what is not. Sheesh mom, you can stop worrying. We're only going to a sleepover with friends, not to some debacherous party leading to a battle to the death or an blood orgy fueled ritual sacrifice to summon something. Or both." Antheia commented to her sphinx mother, after she had confirmed the now sixteen year old sibling quartets preparations for the fifth time.

"I know, but you know that worrying about their children's comings and goings is a full time job for many mothers. And I'm personally starting to think that allowing you to read all those books about the occult rites of old may have been a mistake. And I'm not just saying that because of that one time you four almost summoned something with a glass of raw lemon juice, a gram of... special grass and five packs of square crayons formed in a circle." Hena said back, remembering one mishap her cubs once did.

"Well, we said sorry afterwards. And the summoning was not finished, so whatever was coming did not cross over to this realm of existence. Though it was polite enough to say 'bye', after saying something about 'peek ing orr derr." Hesperus added to the conversation, probably not wanting his sister to be only one to be reminded of their 'little mishaps' by their mother.

"Yes. All of you did apologize. After causing your father several early grey feathers, when he found his then eight year old cubs doing a ritual, while chanting 'all these squares make a circle' over and over again."

Before the conversation could continue further down the mishap-lane, a specific sounding knock came from the lair-door, which Hena soon opened telekinetically, revealing her mate Hermes, who indeed did have a couple of grey feathers on his head.

"Hello everyone. I take you rascals have everything packed by now?"

"Yes father. Mother made us all check four and a half times within the last fifteen minutes." Adlar said, with Yulthi nodding in confirmation with her brothers answer to their father.

"Well then, get going then before she makes you check them fifteen more times, and you have to travel at night." Hermes said with a chuckle, before he and Hena received hug from each of their young, who then proceeded to fly off to Wissen, while they still had some daylight.

"I would not have made check their backs fifteen more times... Ten at most..." Hena admitted, while watching her kids fly with no problem.
"I don't know why, but despite them being already sixteen, sometimes I still feel like it was just yesterday they were just learning to flap their wings to try and jump off my back."

"Maybe it has something to do with your apparent longevity and prolonged youthful peak condition of your body?" Hermes suggested, while setting aside a bag he had brought with him.

"Was that a polite way of joking about my age dear?"

"Well... You did indirectly save me from a life of slavery, when I was still a hatchling sucking on my mamas teat."

"Oh... Right... Indeed you were. Only these days you occasionally suck on mine." Hena commented with a small grin.

"Only when you allow it. Like when kids are asleep or visiting friends."

"Speaking of which, did you bring that set of ropes I asked?"

""Yes. Are you going to give me another 'thorough cleaning'?"

"Actually I was thinking of letting you have a 'free reign' on me, withing reason of course."

"Oh? Feeling extra frisky or just wanting to make most of the time our kids are away?"

"... A bit of both."

Meanwhile at Wissen housing district...

"Full house!" Yulthi called out happily while smacking a set of cards on the table at the friends room, followed by few mild groans of loss. A simple card game with friends, with matches instead of coins to avoid any bad blood. And parents ire...

"Darn, that's like the third win for you in a row. And you did not even use your magic eyes to see things."

"Mother made us all learn to keep it in control after we started seeing odder things. I'm still haunted by the visions of rice rising up in a global rice-revolution and ruling over the world after a blood soaked conflict..."

"Yulthi, calm down. Mom told you seventeen times that it is something that will not come to pass in this reality, after apparently 'making a call to her superiors for the sake of good nights sleep'." Hesperus comforted his now lightly shaking sister. The trauma caused by the visions must have cut deep...

"I know brother, I know... But it still scares me to think how many other weird things are happening in some other realities or dimensions..." Yulthi started to think aloud, but was interrupted by a light smack up her beak by Antheia.

"Don't go down that line of thought sister. You'll just end up puking few buckets worth of vomit, and then all four of us have to hear it from mother again."

"Speaking of you respected mother, what do you think she and your father Hermes are up to right now?" came a question from a griffin youth present at the card game.

"Markus, is this an attempt to get us all in this room on some bet?" Adlar asked with a raised brow.

"Uuhm... Well, yes. Yes it is. Sorry, but my fathers habit seems to have caught on."

"You'r family's weird. And that's coming from us, who has a mom who is a literal guardian beast of sorts."

"Well at least you are only the first generation of so called 'oddness'. 'Aetherwings', right? Dad said his full first name is technically 'Mark XIX', and that the name is taken by the next similarly named descendant down the line when the previous name holder passes on."

"While your full name is 'Markus XV'. But if you want to talk about what is happening back our home... Well I think they're using our absence to have some 'adult-fun'."

"What level of fun?"

"Nooot thinking of that."

Back at the Sphinxs lair...

"HOLY-*********************************!!!"

That was all Hena could scream out as she squirmed on her bed, after nearly fifteen minutes of being teased by Hermes, while being tied up; front legs behind her neck, back legs tied together, followed by the remaining rope tied in a pattern on her body. Meanwhile her griffin mate looked quite satisfied with his work as he licked his beak clean of any sphinx fluids.

"I assume you enjoyed that dear?" Hermes asked as Henas squirming began to slow down and her breathing steadied enough to answer.

"Oh heck yeah I did... And you seem to be quite nice and ready to proceed to the main course. So how about you untie some of these ropes and fricking mount me like you own me? Unless you want me to break out of this bondage and proceed to potentially break your waist..."

"I think I'll just start opening some of the knots. The rope is a loaner."

Back at Wissen again...

"How about we don't think what our parents are doing when we are away, and try another game?" Hesperus suggested, desperately trying to steer the conversation away from their parents potentially having 'adult fun'.

"Sure thing. In fact I have this little idea for a card game that could use some testing." Markus said, sounding excited.

"Oh? Do you have any material of it with you?"

With a big smile, Markus proceeded to dig around his personal bag, finally pulling out sealed box. Inside of it were to sizeable stacks of cards, with a picture of a wooden door in one, and a pile of treasure in the other.

"Now then, allow me go over the rules. They might sound confusing, but hey, all card game-rule have confusing ones at some level. Now to start with..."

"PULL HARDER HONEY!!!"

"You got it dear!... Almost there too! Where do you-?"

"IF YOU EVEN THINK OF PULLING AWAY, YOU'LL SLEEP OUTSIDE!!!"

"Okay, an excellent point... Allrighty honey, I'll-"

"Kick down the door!"

"Okay, draw a card from the door pile again. And no need to yell. Some in the neighborhood might hear you."

"Sorry... Yes! I got and play right away a 'Plant Pot'. With it's defeat I'll reach the winning level, right?"

"Yeah you do. Unless someone has a card to play to mix the encounter up?"

"No..."

"Nah..."

"Nothing useful."

"Actually I have two I'd like to play."

"Okay then, hit it."

"I'll play 'Surprise behind the corner', which allows me to add a monster to any ongoing encounter. Which iiis... 'Irradiated Wyrm'."

"Seriously brother?! Did you hold onto the strongest monster, just to mess my win up?"

"Consider it as payback for ruining my class-species combo during the last round of this game."

"Ugh, point taken. No way I can take that down..."

"That... Was really an amazing effort of endurance from you Hermes darling... And you did not even ask for a recovery spell." Hena said, clearly being more than little out of breath, while petting her mate lovingly as he laid on top of her belly, snuggling against her chest fluff.

"Just wanted to give an extra juicy treatment. And I might have been motivated by your scent. It was quite similar to one that filled my nostrils back when you first got a bit more... Receptive.." Hermes commented back with a smile.

"Oh, is it now?... Think it will take dear? Did you perhaps hope to make me pregnant again? A little wish to see me bearing your cubs once more?"

"Weeell... A bit of all of the above. You had such a nice and kind aura about you during your last pregnancy, that it was easy to forget that your 'job' is to kill and occasionally eat unlucky trespassers failing at your test. Sometimes when they're begging for their lives."

"D'aaaww, how sweet of you to think that. Do you think this one will be multiple or maybe a single birth?"

"I don't care Hena. Even if you pop out half a dozen, I'd love them all no matter what. Even if you would threaten to tear my balls off, and do something violent to them, during delivery for 'doing this to you'."

"Please honey. After pushing out our four mischief making aetherwings, and some hunting injuries, I think I can handle the potential delivery. Perhaps even without threatening to do harm to my darling fluffball."

Six months, give or take day or two, later...

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!! I WILL F*CKING CLAW YOUR TESTICLES OFF, AND COOK THEM WITH ROTTEN ONIONS AND CARROTS, AND THEN MAKE YOU EAT THEM!!!! AND THEN MAKE YOU EAT THE RESULTING SH*T!!!!"

"Wow dad... You where not kidding... Mom sure curses a lot when given a reason..." Antheia commented, sounding surprised at the foul language coming from their otherwise properly behaving mother. All of them were currently sitting outside of the sphinxs lair, waiting confirmation from Vesalia that it was safe to enter. Rest of her siblings were still stunned from the sheer volume of the sphinx in labor.
"Was she this loud of threatening when we were born?"

"Oh yes. Only she was using even more directly violent threats in a more colorful language. Some of which still think was not from this dimension." Hermes answered, successfully hiding his nervousness.

"So how did you know they were threats dad?"

"It's all about the tone and intent of words. It's like saying someone 'wants to step, or, sit on you'. Some find it weird, some find it adorable, and some find it arousing."

"Please don't say stuff like that... Its just icky hearing it from a parent..."

Almost half an hour or so later...

"Oi! Hermes! Jobs done, and a mess cleaned. Its safe to go see the result of your fun time. Oh, and hearty congratulations." Vesalia called out to the waiting family, as she exited from the lair doors, carrying a heavy looking bag, filled with various doctor instruments.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to my work-room to check how much damage your wife did to my ears this time."

"I thought you had ear-plugs on, right auntie Vesalia?" Hesperus asked with a tilted head.

"Well kid, apparently your mothers vocal cords become extra, EXTRA potent when pushing out a little one. Plugs just barely made the swearing sound like loud conversation, instead of ear-murder." griffin doctor said back, before taking flight.

With a permission given, all five family members entered to see the new addition to the family, quietly. They noticed Hena laying on her side, very much out of breath, but looking very happily at something. With a glance, she noticed her family approaching.

"Hush now. Our new baby boy just went to sleep after finding a calming spot." sphinx whispered when her family came close enough to see their new family member. A healthy aetherwing cub, tiredly snoozing under its mamas warm chest fluff, hearing her calming heartbeat.

"He looks just so adorable..." Hermes choked out happily, while receiving a little snuggle from Hena. Their kids took their own look their youngest sibling with equally happy smiles.

"I think hes gonna be really potent in magics mom. Somehow I can just see it." Antheia whispered to her parents, as her eyes glowed lightly. Some manner of magical sensing of sort.

"I see. But don't fear that he is going to be a favorite of our family. I will always love all of you, no matter what..." Hena said with a motherly smile.

"Thanks, mother."

"And if anyone tries to hurt any of you, I'll bReAk them..."

"... Thanks?..."

Author's Note

Finally got this chapter done, after dealing with blocks, inspiration-issues and IRL things(like around -22 celsius at one time). Not helped by double-clicking mouse... Also gave a name for the this sub-group of griffins born with a magically potent parent on one side.

Let's hope I can get next chap done a liiiiitle quicker hopefully...