“You owe me some preening time," Gilda whispered as she sighed inwardly, her heart beating faster as she rubbed her feathers all over Marco. He in turn just stayed still, letting her rub herself all over him. When she paused, he turned to her, smiling.
“Preening, or ‘preening’, Gilds?” Marco asked, a little heat escaping his tone as he began to place soft kisses on her feathery neck. Gilda felt like she was struck with lightning.
“What do you think, Pet?” she whispered hoarsely.
His only response was more feathery kisses, and sometimes a little tongue. His hands moved in precision as well, one towards her neck, massaging it with his digits, while the other rubbed her sides and shoulders with practiced motions.
Oh, Ancestors. When did she become so lucky?
“Let’s get started then, shall we?” Marco declared as he stopped his ministrations. Before he could even move an inch, Gilda immediately pinned him down. The human looked at her, surprised, though his smile never left. “Okay, that’s just unfair to start our Round without an ROE.”
ROE: Rules of Engagement. Another acronym he picked up with his friends, Marines she had battled shoulder to shoulder with on different occasions. Bloody days of conflict, she somehow could not believe they lasted a year. Then again, she could not believe she would end up with Marco, of all… people, griffins? Instead of replying, she collapsed on top of her mate, pinning him down as she embraced him, tightly. She sighed in content when he didn’t hesitate and embraced her back.
“Gilda, are you okay?” Marco asked, worry weaving through his tone. His gentle hands moved along her coat, brushing ever so gently on her wings, making her involuntarily shiver. Ancestors, he knew where to touch her.
“It’s… nothing,” she replied.
“Yeah, nothing my ass,” Marco replied, making her giggle slightly. There was a time when ‘ass’ meant ‘donkey’ to her, and the memory began to form vividly in her head. “What?” he asked.
“Remember how we met?” Gilda asked.
Marco raised an eyebrow. “Uh… yeah. I don’t think I’m going to forget that anytime soon.”
“I kept wondering what would have happened if Fortrakt didn’t stop me.”
“Something that would be bloody and awful on my end, I’m guessing,” Marco replied with a wry grin.
“Maybe,” Gilda said, her eyes narrowing as a slight grin washed over her face, “only because you are so damn tasty.” With that, she lunged towards his neck, her beak nibbling gently as she let her tongue wash over the surface of his skin. Marco laughed as he struggled from his position. Gilda kept steady, knowing he would not be able to dislodge her so easily. That was until his hand reached the base of her neck.
Gilda yelped as her wings spread out at her sides and her body immediately and instinctually moved. That was all Marco needed. His arms moved and swept her forelegs, moved his knee up, giving him just enough room for him to reverse the hold. Gilda found herself facing upwards, pinned by the ‘physically weaker’ human. “Cheater,” she muttered.
“Anything goes in love or war,” Marco replied, smiling, before he began nibbling her neck.
Gilda sighed as she let her claws run over the back of his fur vest, enjoying the sensation of his teeth, tongue and lips on her feathers. Heat rose from her chest to her cheeks, a low groan escaping her beak as he began to move in circles before he let up. She blinked. “Why are you stopping?” she asked.
“I thought we could start our Round,” Marco replied. “Get ourselves good and ready.”
Gilda sighed. “Can’t we just do it human-style? Ancestors, I swear you’re more of a griffin than I am.”
Marco looked at her for a moment. Gilda could see his expression thoughtful for a moment. Sitting cross-legged, he said, “There is really something wrong if you’re actually skipping a Round and suggesting human-style foreplay. You do remember the last time we did that, right?”
Gilda looked away, the memory of the night coming forth. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“Gilds, you were lying in the bed, almost motionless, moaning as if you were under the influence of something,” Marco countered. “It was absolutely off-putting.”
“I enjoyed it,” Gilda muttered, knowing full well that it was a lie. It was one of the few things Marco had to adjust. He had told her once that female humans and ponies had almost the same mode of foreplay. Granted, the mares were the ones that initiated it, but both species share intimacy through soft gestures: kissing and touching. While Gilda enjoyed every bit of those actions as anyone, griffin biology acted differently for them. Male and female griffins got turned on by excitement and a bit of pain. That’s why every initiation of intimacy always started with a Round, which is a practice of two individuals sparring with one another to get the blood pumping. It was one of the few things that she was afraid of when they got into a relationship, thinking that Marco would either forgo this or underperform and leave her wanting. Thankfully, it was neither, and it was probably because of her.
During his stay in the Kingdom, Gilda and Fortrakt were assigned to Marco (and his two friends, though it no longer applied) as his Gryphon Guide, and with everything that had been happening at that time, she made it a point that Marco wouldn’t be unprepared if an enemy would come for him. Setting up sparring sessions with her, Fortrakt, and Reyes (a Marine friend of his that got stuck in the Kingdom as well), Marco exchanged his somewhat thin frame for the lither and more muscled look he was sporting now. Fortrakt even commented that it looked like she was actually setting Marco up for a relationship with her, protecting him from other griffins, making him the perfect match for her. He was right, in a sense. Gilda had inadvertently molded Marco to be someone for her: the time spent together had made their friendship bloom as he slowly acclimated to her tastes, and as a whole, the Gryphon culture.
It also didn't help that after Fortrakt brought it up, her imagination went really wild.
Gilda didn’t know if Marco had any inclination that way, and couldn’t imagine herself even asking him about it. What was she supposed to say? That she may had a claw in making sure that their relationship was viable? That she may have manipulated him to get closer with her? She had never wanted to take advantage of him, a friend who fought side by side with her, and now her lover whom she shared her present days with. And maybe that’s where her fear of him leaving was stemming from. This was his first time, after two years, that he was out of the Kingdom, out from under the gaze of the conservative older generation. Would he just up and run away at the first chance he got?
Gilda shook her head. She was being silly. Marco had a life in the Kingdom. A strong steadholt in the South that was slowly expanding, a small ranch in the East, and he even talked about investing in a mine from the North or investing on a trade or fishing boat in the West.
Still, the irrational fear lingered. She imagined a situation where Marco would just climb a train back to Manehattan, get a ride to the portal to travel back to the human world. She even imagined Marco telling her that it was over, that he could no longer stay with her.
So when Marco, after looking at her for a moment, replied, “Okay… forget about it,” she felt as if he had stabbed her heart.
“W-what?”
Marco stood up. “I have a headache. I think we should delay your preening until another time.” He walked back towards the tent, an action that seriously brought Gilda’s heart to her throat. Rushing towards him, she blocked his way.
“Marco, hold on,” Gilda called, only for her mate to sidestep her. She moved once more to block him. “Marco!”
Marco looked at her for a moment, his stone-faced look making her shiver. He held the gaze for a few seconds before it softened as he sighed. “Look, Gilda, something’s bothering you,” he began, “and I’m not going to ask. I’m also not going to wait while you shift your paws around.”
Gilda winced. Marco had used a griffin expression. He was serious. She looked down for a moment, her claw scratching the stone floor before she faced him. “I just… I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered. There was a moment of pause, before Marco burst out laughing, much to Gilda’s surprise and annoyance. “What?” she demanded.
“Oh my God, you are so cute,” Marco declared. Gilda blinked. “I wish Fortrakt was here. You are acting so girly it hurts!”
Gilda blinked once more, unsure what emotion to feel. As Marco kept chortling, heat rose from her chest to her cheeks, inflaming them. Her wing popped out, her body shifting, hoping to cuff him, only to be neatly dodged. She growled with frustration as Marco gleefully moved out of her reach, very much like Fortrakt. She long suspected that the bonding and training sessions between her partner and her mate had been nothing more than ‘How to dodge Gilda’s cuffing wing’.
“You are by far the most irritating human I’ve ever met,” Gilda declared.
“And you are being a worrywart for absolutely no reason,” Marco encountered. “Come on, where the hell is the no-nonsense griffin I fell in love with? Has she been permanently replaced with a wishy-washy griffin whose tail is stuck between her legs?”
The reaction was immediate. Gilda’s eyes narrowed to narrow slits as she felt her hackles rise. The heat of embarrassment gave way to thrumming anger in her stomach and chest. She noted that Marco’s smile was getting wider. He was manipulating her again, she noted absently. She was falling right into it, but she did not care.
“Full contact, no weapons” Gilda declared heatedly. “Five minutes.”
“Yes, dear,” Marco replied easily.
Gilda stared at him hard for a moment before she made a beeline towards the tent. On the side, she spotted her harness with her saddlebags on top of it. Rummaging inside, she grabbed her leather claw gloves and began to wear them. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Marco warming up, stretching his limbs, his face losing the playful (and irritating) smile he had earlier. Good, he was taking this seriously.
As always.
Once the gloves were on, she immediately walked towards a clear space a few meters in front of the fire pit. She could hear crackle and popping sounds of the fire consuming the wood echoing in the cavern. She could hear the whistling cold winds from the outside. And she could hear Marco take deep breaths before he faced her. He also wore gloves, fingerless ones, and had white wrapping around his forearms. He pumped his arms around a bit, punching the air with his fists before he looked at her and nodded.
“Best two out of three?” he asked.
Gilda shook her head. “Just one.”
“Well someone’s in a hurry,” Marco teased. Gilda ignored it.
“And submission only. As much as I want to knock you out, I’m going to need you awake afterwards.”
“That’s my girl,” Marco replied. Gilda blushed.
“Shut up,” she muttered. Marco gave a last grin before his face settled into a neutral expression. His legs bent slightly lower than normal, his arms on the sides of his head. Gilda’s gloved claws began to knead the stone floor. After a few more seconds, she shouted, “Start!”
Usually, a Round would start with the two griffins charging, trying to get the blood flowing as quickly as possible. However, sparring with humans had shown Gilda that they didn’t normally favor such an aggressive ploy. Humans were, as a general rule, weaker than either ponies or griffins, a fact that many griffins thought would be their advantage. When griffins would spar with humans, their first reaction would be to overpower them. Humans, however, would prove that while lacking strength, they made up with agility, flexibility, and a sharp mind that when combined, were far more dangerous than pound-for-pound strength.
Gilda curbed her instinct to charge. She watched as his feet bounced on the balls of his heel, his eyes, unblinking as he looked at her. The griffin’s forelegs slowly moved forward. Marco, in turn, moved his right foot forward to meet her. They were just a few claw spaces away when Gilda attacked. Wings came in first, mostly as a distraction. Marco sidestepped and dodged as her claw flew out before he countered with a quick snap of his arm. He missed. Gilda immediately retreated and began to use the area around them to maneuver. Marco calmly and steadily shifted his body to face her, his eyes watching. She charged in again, this time jumping through the air with her wings spread apart, hoping to catch his shoulders. She almost did. Marco rolled in the ground as Gilda slid on the ground from the momentum of her landing before, turning around just in time to see Marco charging in.
Gilda easily spotted the fists coming at her. She dodged the first one before slapping the other one away with her claw, trying to take a few steps back. Humans were actually pretty dangerous to fight in close combat, able to bend their limbs to use the hard bones of their elbows and knees to their advantage, though it was their grabbing and holding techniques that would spell the end of a scuffle. Worst, griffins couldn’t take back steps faster than a human would charge. However, she knew Marco enough to bait him to charge forward before she forcefully tucked her wings at her side as she rolled at the last second, leaving her mate open enough for her to charge and try and ram him at his side. Amazingly, he sidestepped, either by luck or skill.
The blows came in. Quick sharp jabs came at her, hitting her head and side. Gilda, blindsided, responded by automatically weaving her head back and forth, up and down, hoping to dodge the unseen incoming blows. In an attempt to retaliate, her claw came out fast and high, impacting something solid. The incoming blows stopped coming. Moving backwards, she raised her eyes and saw Marco rubbing his jaw, lips forming a smile. Irritation welled up inside her, but she forcefully stomped it down. He was baiting her again to charge.
After a moment of staring at each other, Marco charged in. As he came into range, his knee came up, making Gilda automatically duck, expecting a kick. It was a feint. His foot stomped on the ground as his arms came in and encircled around her neck. Before he could fully lock his hold, though, she raised her forelegs, used them to try and push him off. It almost worked. Marco’s arms slipped right through, only for them to find a new target—her extended limbs.
Grabbing them just above her claws, Marco began to push back, forcing her to stand on her hind legs. Gilda squawked, knowing full well what he was trying to do. While, like ponies, griffins could stand on their hind legs, it left them clumsy and imbalanced. All Marco had to do was sweep with his leg and she’d be brought down on the ground. She tried to flap her wings, but for some reason, they wouldn’t respond. She tried to press forward, but Marco was using his whole body to resist her, his back straight and legs apart for stability.
As her resistance crumbled, Marco began to push forward again. Gilda was now teetering over her paws, feeling vulnerable, a strange emotion as she was vertically towering over the human. A desperate idea formed in her mind. With nothing else to work with, Gilda grabbed the human’s arms, jumped up, placing her paws over Marco’s stomach and used his own momentum against him, flipping him in the air. Gilda watched as Marco landed on the stone floor, and surprisingly, staying down. Recovering as fast as she could, she was up on all fours before Marco could even get on his two feet.
Gilda charged and pinned him down. Mounting him, she began to roughly pin his arms with her claws, putting her full body weight on top of him as her beak dived in and out, roughly biting his neck without breaking the skin. A few seconds later, he tapped his pinned right hand on the ground, signaling a submission.
Gilda stopped, now aware that she was breathing fast, fire spreading throughout all her body. Her wings flexed upwards as she could smell his scent with hers, imagining the feeling of his heart synchronized with hers. Between her hind legs, the fire turned to an inferno, her lips demanding attention.
“Feeling better now?” Marco asked, smiling.
Gilda trilled angrily. She squeezed his arms harder. “You let me win.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied. He yelped when Gilda bit him roughly with her beak. “Hey! Alright, alright! I did.”
“I ought to demand a restart,” Gilda muttered.
“But you won’t,” Marco countered, smiling. “Because you”—andhe began to kiss her neck, making her shiver—“want something else.”
“I hate it when you can manipulate me so easily,” Gilda muttered as she gently began to nibble him, letting her feathered neck rub his shoulders.
After a gentle lick, Marco looked up and asked, “Me, manipulate you?” with an undertone of mocking in his voice. “Me, who is of a lower standing than you?”
Gilda rolled her eyes. “Let those old cranky conservative griffins talk. You proved your value to the Kingdom. And you are much more valuable to me. I love you, Marco Lakan.”
“And I you, Grizelda Behertz.”
Her muscles spasmed slightly. Fire stoked around her once more as she began to feel a very basic emotion, a need to do wanton acts, the unquenchable lust welling within her. His words, they affected her so much it was almost unfair. And Ancestors, he knew. He enjoyed basking on the results, enjoyed pushing her buttons. Yet… he meant every word. He loved her aggressiveness, would playfully build her up with teasing, and used all of his knowledge of griffin culture and practices to the most devastating effect.
All for her.
Gilda couldn’t keep the gruff out of her voice. “Still, it doesn’t excuse you for throwing out this Round. You need to be punished.” She nibbled at his neck again. “You can start by licking me.”
Gilda and Marco walked near the fire, the former settling on her haunches. She removed her gloves then slowly rolled on her back, her hind legs spread out as she showed Marco her wet griffin lips. He looked at it, satisfaction and fire in his eyes as he approached, almost hungrily. His expression, his lust, they stoked her fire even further. Ancestors, he wanted her. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. A satisfied trill escaped her throat as he laid on top of her, his mouth working around her neck, his fingers, oh Ancestors, his magical fingers worked right between her hind legs. A groan of pleasure escaped her beak as his nimble digits slithered in and out of her, her lips wetting as if trying to extinguish the inferno roaring inside her.
Marco began to build up speed, his lips and tongue moving faster and faster as a response to her increasing arousal. He rubbed his whole body on her, lowering as he kissed her neck, her chest, and stomach. His lips began to encircle her around her teats, teasing them before he brought them gently in his mouth and in a controlled pressure, nibbled them strongly, roughly.
Electrical current ran throughout her body, jolting her spine. Her moan got a lot louder, shriller. That diminished the sharpness of his bite, much to Gilda’s dismay. She squawked in protest. “No! Don’t stop,” she declared as she stared at her mate, who was looking at her with concern. “It was good pain. You’re doing good. Oh Ancestors, don’t leave me like this!”
Marco took a moment before he nodded and continued his ministrations. Another jolt of electricity worked its way around her limbs, leaving her wings expanded and sore, her limbs almost flailing. Pain was always a factor in griffin mating. Giving and receiving pain was a normal part of their intimacy, something that bothered Marco somewhat during the times they’d give in to each other. He may have come a long way, but he was always cautious in making sure he wasn’t overdoing anything, while Gilda in turn, made sure she would do the same to him.
His mouth traveled downwards, his lips moving on her lips, licking, teasing the outside. Gilda unconsciously let her claws scratch the stone ground, leaving shallow lines in their wake as she closed her forelegs around his head. Marco’s tongue began to rub on her clit, surrounding it, working it. Then, his tongue slowly began to worm its way inside her.
Gilda had once asked, privately, how her lips looked like compared to a human’s. In the back of her aroused mind, she vaguely remembered trepidation of her mate’s answer. Surprisingly, Marco replied ‘Not that different’. He had even added that he was expecting something smaller and without a clitoris, which she thought was odd.
Her train of thought vanished when she felt that very same sharp pressure biting down on her clit. That was it. Her voice trembled as she felt her whole body convulse with pain that immediately turned to pleasure as she began to feel herself climaxing.
“Ancestors! Ancestors!”
There was a loud shrill trill that echoed in the cavern. Gilda’s back arched, her legs convulsing as she felt Marco’s warm fingers working in tandem with his mouth as he basically began to milk her lips for all its worth. Now… it was time.
Marco’s member didn’t have barbs. He had explained that human penises didn’t have that, and while their first time together in bed had been pleasurable enough, it lacked a certain something. After a week of experimentation (which left him exhausted), she discovered that they could either fashion some sort of covering around his member that would give it barbs or have him enter her after she had climaxed, while she was still sensitive from the stimulation. While both were very good alternatives, right now, there was only one course of action to take.
“Pet… Marco! Now! Put it in now!” Gilda declared between breaths. He immediately complied as she felt his member come inside her still-sensitive lips. More pain registered, transforming to pleasure once more as Marco steadily began to work a pace. In and out he went, her vaginal walls squeezing and groaning at the unstoppable pressure he was giving her. Colors burst in her vision, lights refracting from the tears that were forming in her eyes.
Oh Ancestors, she was climbing up the sky. She was flying towards the heavens.
“Faster!” Gilda muttered in a tight voice. Her claws found their way around Marco’s neck, squeezing him close to her. “Faster, Pet! Faster!”
Gilda squeezed her mate, her moans now muffled as she clamped her beak on his shoulder hard, earning a soft pained grunt from him. Hearing that, smelling him close to her, and his earlier words broke her threshold. Her beak let go of his shoulders as she screamed out loudly as she climaxed once more, bursting out like a dam. Marco grunted as well as she felt him climax inside her.
Gilda’s hind legs snaked his rear, making sure Marco stayed inside her as he did, her forelegs hugging him tightly on her body. Her beak nibbled ever gently on his shoulder and neck, each bite had him shiver and grunt as she felt him shoot his seed, his hips trying to escape her moving walls. His moan of pleasure slowly changed to a slight whine of pain and she could whisper to him, “Please hold on just a little longer. Oh, Ancestors. Marco, I love you so much.”
His only response was to hug her hard. It was enough of a reply.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Gilda woke up in the toasty warm embrace of the tent. Marco’s scent lingered, but her mate was nowhere in sight. Slowly making her way out, she spotted him tending the receding fire. He was now dressed more appropriately with a pair of dark pants and a black shirt. She felt panic rise from her chest, realizing that he was dressed and ready to go to Ponyville where he was to meet his contact, a friend he hadn’t seen in a long while.
Marco spotted her. He smiled. It put a little spark on her lips as the memory of their lovemaking overpowered her dreaded thoughts. Wanting to be near him again, Gilda approached the fire and laid down near his legs.
“We’re going soon, aren’t we?” Gilda asked.
“We can postpone if you want to,” Marco replied easily. “I’m sure Tara would understand.”
Gilda shook her head. “I’m going to miss sleeping in the tent, but we have a job to do.”
“That we do, Gilds, that we do.”
The lovers stared at the dying embers, silently enjoying each other’s company. It wasn’t until Gilda felt a familiar itching in her wings a few minutes later that she spoke.
“One of these days, we actually have to add some preening into our ‘preening’.”
For some reason, that got Marco to laugh.
Author's Note
For now, this story is marked as complete. Feathered Heart: Preening is definitely a side-story very much dependent on the main Feathered Heart story (link for those that haven't read it yet), and I will add chapters depending on how it'll go in the main story timeline.
Thanks to coandco for proof-reading, shira for adding more thoughts.
This was actually how the original Feathered Heart story was supposed to be. Clop, some griffin cultural exploration, all wrapped in an 8K worded one shot chapter. Of course, things had changed. A lot would say for the better. I hope you guys will enjoy this as a supplementary material.
Now, I go and write Gentleman for Mares. Later!
