Annual Hearth's Warming Hunt
Gallus had to fight every single urge in his mind to sprint full-speed to his dorm room. No, speed would not avail him here. He was being hunted, eyes everywhere. Running would only draw attention.
He had to be careful, quiet, and deliberate. Can’t be out in the open for more than scant few seconds at a time.
‘I just need to get to my dorm-room. If I can just get to my dorm-room, I can hold out for the rest of the night.’ Gallus thought to himself, poking his head around the corner of the school’s hallway.
Seemingly clear, Gallus rounded the corner, but made the fatal mistake of not checking every corner as he rounded around the next turn in the halls… And coming face to face with one of his pursuers.
“Hi, Gallus~!” The pastel pink menace in front of him crooned, eyes half-lidded as she held a green sprig of mistletoe between them.
A shot of panic went through Gallus as Silverstream gripped him by the scruff of his chest with her free hand, pulling him in. He knew that he would not be able to overpower her, so he was left with no recourse but to surrender himself to her mercy and pray it would be over quickly.
The last thing Gallus saw was Silver’s beak making cartoonish kissy noises and closing in.
—
Ignoring the branding of multiple pink lip-marks on his face for now, Gallus returned to his mission of finding sanctuary in his dorm-room before the night was over.
This time, he would not repeat his mistake. He peeked behind every corner, listened behind every wall, checked behind him every other second.
However, during one of his moments of surveillance, leaning his ear against the walls of the school, a strange thumping sound at the other end of the wall grabbed Gallus’ attention, forcing him to stop for a second.
This momentary distraction proved his downfall as the thumping only got louder and louder, and Gallus could feel the vibrations on the floor increasing in intensity, until…
SMASH!!
Gallus was thrown back onto the floor as the wall he was leaning against exploded into rubble. On the other side of the school’s new doorway stood a young Yak lass with a manic grin and a sprig of mistletoe tied to her horn.
“COME TO YONA!!” Yona shouted, already leaping through the air on a direct collision course with the prone griffon.
“NO, YONA, NO!!” Gallus pleaded on deaf ears, but was soon silenced by Yona’s puckered lips slamming into his face.
—
Now sporting a healthy amount of brown lip-marks to complement their pink sisters, Gallus had officially forwent the practice of stealth and gave in to his primal instinct of running like hell for his dear life.
‘I’m almost there!’ Gallus thought, holding onto the vain dream that he might come out of this with some dignity still intact. ‘I just need to hurry-’
Alas, it was not to be, for because he had abandoned caution in his desperation, he had failed to notice the innocuous length of rope placed in the center of the hallway, something he only took interest in when the rope snapped shut around his ankles as he passed by, lifting him up by his legs with a surprised and very undignified SQUAWK!?!
From above, a serpentine shadow descended from the rafters of the school, swooping down in front of Gallus on bat-like wings like some terror from a nightmare.
In the light of the hallway, the shadows gave way revealing the draconic Smolder, a predatory grin stretching ear to ear as she held a sprig of mistletoe between herself and her upside down quarry.
“The huntress captures her prey…” Smolder boasted, slowly stepping forward, relishing the look of pure terror on Gallus’ face as she descended. And to the victor go the spoils.
A sharp cry of “OH, COME ON!!” echoed along the hallways of the school, along with the faint sound of smooching.
—
A bevy of orange lip-marks had joined the party on Gallus’ face, now beginning to overlap with the pink and brown marks that predated them.
Caution had failed him, speed had betrayed him, there was only one recourse left for Gallus.
Hiding in the school’s broom closet like a little baby.
But Gallus could care less about the embarrassment of his most recent tactic. All he cared about was preventing any further humiliations.
“Screw my dorm-room, I’ll just sleep here tonight!” Gallus said to no one, triumphantly.
And no one responded. Or rather, a young light-blue changeling who, until a few seconds ago, was disguised as an innocuous broom responded.
“This is a really nice hiding spot.” Ocellus offered with a friendly smile, sidling up next to her closet-mate.
“Yeah, they’ll never think to look for me here.” Gallus said, allowing himself a small slice of pride.
Pride that deflated like a whoopie-cushion as realization seeped in.
With a panicked scream, Gallus smashed his way through the broom closet door, desperate to put distance between himself and the ravenous monster he was trapped with.
WIth an absolutely adorable giggle, Ocellus shapeshifted her lower half into a serpentine tail, making her resemble a hybrid between a changeling and a lamia. Making good use of her new tail, she shot it forward and ensnared Gallus with it, coiling it tightly around the fleeing griffon as he fell to the floor.
“Come here, Gallus~” The adorable monster practically sang as she dragged the poor soul to his doom, Gallus pathetically dragging his claws against the floor of the school, whining as Ocellus prepared her lipstick.
—
Finally, sanctuary at last! Gallus could hardly stand on his own legs as he fumbled with the door to his dorm-room. As he entered, his face a rainbow of pink, brown, orange, and now a lighter shade of blue than his usual royal blue plumage, he barely managed to get within the first few feet of his abode before collapsing on the floor, breathing a sigh of elation and relief.
“Freedom…” Gallus cried. “Sweet freedom…”
“Ahem.”
Gallus looked up and dread filled him all over again. He thought it was over. He thought the nightmare was finished.
There stood Sandbar, his loyal friend and confidant, holding a sprig of mistletoe as he cocked his head and gave Gallus a bemused smile.
“Did you forget that this is my dorm, too?” Sandbar asked, innocently.
Finally, Gallus just… gave up, letting his head fall limp against the carpet of his shared domicile. “I surrender…”
Sandbar chuckled as he laid down on the floor next to Gallus, cozying himself up to his warm feathers.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Gallus.” Sandbar said, affection and love in his eyes as he leaned down and gave a kiss to the top of the Griff’s head.
The first of many kisses that night.
