Of Ashes and Wind

Lionheart

"My father was the one who taught me how to hunt." With a few vines and branches, Phoenix managed to trap and cook a forest rabbit for a meal that night.

Whatever she didn't finish, she tossed to the gryphon.

After the fight with the serpent, the beast went to work pecking its way at the mid-section of the dead monster. Phoenix had wanted to look away in horror, but her curiosity and amazement led her to watch the gryphon pick out the monster core within the serpent. With a gulp, the gryphon swallowed it whole and a Phoenix could feel the hum of mana in the air once the gryphon approached the child once more.

Phoenix thought about salvaging meat from the serpent's corpse, but she thought against it after looking at the venom which still leaked from its fangs. She also took note that the gryphon hadn't bothered to take a bite out of the monster other than to defile it for its core.

Phoenix had followed the gryphon over the course of a week now, she didn't know where the beast was taking her, but trusted the gryphon none-the-less. They would stop by a river occasionally so that the two could drink and relax for a bit before continuing on their way.

He was the only thing so far that's helped out Phoenix. They came across a pack of winged-wolves but they were a cake walk in comparison to the horned-serpent they came across. The gryphon feasted on the carcass and cores, so Phoenix took that as a good cue to eat the meat.

Her right hand had healed up well, but her left hand still hurt to open close. Phoenix knew that she needed to see a healer. Or maybe get a potion like the one her mother had. The wounds at her wrist and leg were healing into scabs that Phoenix felt would turn to scars. She didn't know the plants and fauna as well as the woods back home and couldn't determine which could be used for proper medicine or even bathing.

Her mood dampened at the thought of her mother when the beast deemed it a good time to stop for the night.

Unlike the first tense night in the cave, the gryphon allowed the child to rest back on its downy plume and Phoenix was forever grateful for the beast. But Phoenix couldn't sleep that night, her thoughts wandering back to her mother and the rest of her family.

"My mother... her name's Valyria – named after a famed warrior known as Valkyrie. She's a wonderful cook and made the best pies." Phoenix smiled sadly at the thought of her mother, "She's a strong mage, my father told me that mama used to be a part of the royal court of mages."

The gryphon craned its head over the child, by the look in its eyes, the gryphon listened intently.

"You need a name, great beast." Phoenix sat up slightly and regarded the gryphon, "How about Sky?"

A low growl showed the gryphon was displeased.

"Talon?"

A scoff.

"Razor?"

Phoenix felt her form being pushed away from the plume while the beast looked down at her. She got the feeling the beast was trying to chastise her for the displeasing names.

"Beaky?" The child wore a shit-eating grin, she knew what she was doing.

The gryphon snapped at her, causing Phoenix to flinch backward. The beast squawked in a way that Phoenix knew it was laughing at her which only caused the child to sigh and stand with her hands on her hips.

"Your kind is intelligent..." Phoenix muttered while stepping closer to the beast, she patted at the fur of the gryphon's hind quarter while thinking hard about names. She thought about the gryphon and all the texts and books she's read about the beast. How majestic they were, noble in character, and ruled the skies above.

She looked at the gryphon's chest and placed her hand out which dwarfed in comparison to the beast's plume.

"Lionheart." Phoenix looked up at the beast.

For a moment the gryphon leaned its head to the side, as if pondering the name.

With a growl of approval, the gryphon nodded.

"Lionheart it is then." With a huff, Lionheart settled down for the night.

Phoenix leaned back on the beast. The thick forest floor was soft against her legs and the tall tree's above were a canopy which enveloped the forest into a further darkness. Phoenix was glad to have Lionheart with her. She had no doubt in her mind that his presence is what kept the more difficult monsters at bay.