17. Wren
WREN
I turn my back to Talon and cover my eyes with my hands.
The rustle of clothing falls to the ground, and the sounds of his body changing makes me curious.
I can’t wait to see what his griffin looks like.
I am a tricksy Fae, and I peek through my fingers to watch the shadows behind me grow bigger and bigger as Talon shifts from man to griffin.
His tasseled lion tail brushes against my shoulder right before his giant eagle head nudges the back of my head.
“I’m guessing that’s a yes to turning around?”
There’s this ear blistering majestic cry behind me, and I cover my ears with a wince before turning to face him.
I suck in a breath and look up, up, up. He’s huge and magnificent. I never would have guessed that this was the size of a griffin. Perhaps his family just grows huge, but he’s bigger than what I expected.
I knew Griffins were bigger than a regular sized lion, but Talon’s the size of a house, his house. I just can’t comprehend the size of him.
My wings snap out, and I fly up and up to see him from above. To take in the span of his wings and the length of his body and the shape of his head. The sheer size of him is overwhelming.
“You’re magnificent.”
He eyes me, but he can’t talk in this form. At least I don’t think he can. We didn’t discuss telepathy. Not that I’m really comfortable with having someone in my head that’s not me, but for Talon, I’d do it.
He lets me fly around him, taking in every single inch of him. I even fly under his body to take in his furry underbelly, and he chuckles as I tickle his sides. His tail wiggles and his wings snap. He cries out.
“Catch me if you can,” I say, before sprinting backwards to watch him chase me.
He races across the field, then lifts off. Before I can even blink, he’s by my side.
“You are a lot faster than I expected, especially with how large you are.”
He chuffs and I just have to laugh.
I want to reach out and scratch between his eyes, but I have to wonder if it’s rude to pet your potential love interest.
Instead, we play chase and fly for hours. As soon as I get far away from him, he sprints closer and closer. He’s so fast, I wonder if it’s magic or griffins are just that fast.
I wish we could do this for days. It’s the most fun I’ve had in so long.
But soon he nods towards Hex proper to Main Street. I get his meaning and follow. He lands, tucking his wings in as close as he can to not touch the buildings on either side of the street.
Kids rush towards him, and even though he can’t speak with words, he speaks with actions and allows the children to play on him.
It’s the sweetest thing, and I have to wonder if he likes attention more than he lets on.
Does our grumpy griffin actually want eyes on him, or is he just sweet with children?
I want to watch him relax and let loose, and watching the children play and climb across his lion body is the best thing I’ve seen in so long.
Lark and Pike peek out from their house. They run over to us with Frankie, who yips and plays with the kids just as much as Talon does.
Lark looks up at me. “So you broke through the griffin.”
“I don’t know about that, but he’s amazing” And I hope we can do this again and again.
I look over to Talon, and he meets my eyes. I’m sure if he had something to change into, he’d shift and say something. We don’t have to have words to know what the other’s thinking about right now.
I’m pretty sure he’s telling me that he wants to do this again and again. And I’m here for it.
But the sun’s setting, and the kids disperse. Lark and Pike and Frankie leave us, and it’s just the two of us in the dark.
“I’m ready for that baking lesson,” I say.
He uses his paw and tosses me onto his back.
“You want me to ride you?” I ask.
He nods and lifts back into the air, and soon we’re at Wick’s.
Not to be selfish, but I hope he lets me in more and more as the days go on.