Run, Run, Run, As Fast As You Can

Dragon

 "I... I can't saddle that one," the stable elf stated, fear morphing his features. 

"Perhaps you should choose another one," Sora said gently.

With a slight frown on my face, I looked at the griffin, and shook my head. He couldn't be that bad. Sure he looked ready to attack at the slightest provocation but they wouldn't keep an animal that was useless, the elves were too practical for something like that. 

I opened the door to the stable and walked in, shaking the stable boy's hand off when he tried to stop me. When I was all the way in I turned around and shut the door tightly behind me. Showing the griffin my back was deliberate. If it had never met someone who wasn't afraid of it, me teaching it right off the bat that I wasn't afraid was going to work in my favor.

Turning to look at the griffin I tried to keep my voice calm and steady while still being firm. "You and me are going to come to a little agreement," I said reaching out to pet the griffin. 

He let out a quick, shrill, screech and snapped at my hand. I pulled my hand back quickly to avoid the strike before swatting him on the beak. I'd never seen an animal that looked so shocked. It was as if nobody had ever really punished him for misbehaving. 

"None of that now," I chastised as I reached for him again. 

He was unhappy about it, but he let me put my hand on his neck. 

I stroked him lovingly, "That wasn't so hard now was it?"

"Rosie," Sora said from the other side of the door, "you need to come out now. You managed to choose the only griffin that might try to kill you."

"He's not so bad," I said reaching up to scratch between his eyes. He leaned into the touch happily. 

"Go get her," Sora commanded the petrified stable boy who was looking at the scene unfold with just a hint of awe. 

He turned to look at her with wide eyes but slowly undid the latch and walked in, latching the door behind him without taking his eyes off the griffin. 

As soon as he was in the pen, the griffin started to chase the stable boy around, flapping his wings so he was standing on two legs, trying to rake his front claws down the stable boy's back as he ran. 

"Stop," I commanded the griffin firmly as I got between the two.

The griffin shrieked again but fell to all fours and started pacing as he looked at the stable boy. 

"Go get his tackle and give me the bridal," I told the stable boy as I looked at the griffin. 

I didn't have to be looking to know that he scrambled out of the pen as fast as he could. 

"That was not very nice of you," I told the griffin disapprovingly, "If you ever do that to me your going to end up dinner. If you ever do it to Princess Sora," I shook my head, "I'd hate to see the repercussions."

The stable boy handed me the bridal with shaking hands, "Here y... you go Alpha." 

"How do you put this on?" I asked him without taking my eyes from the suddenly more upset griffin, "And calm down or he's not going to listen to me when I tell him not to make a snack out of you."

He grumbled something in another language unhappily but started telling me how the bridal worked and the best way to get the strap behind the griffin's head. I followed his instructions carefully as I put the bridal on. 

When I was done I held the reins and told the stable boy to put the saddle on. He audibly gulped before taking the saddle over to the griffin and placing it on his back. 

The griffin jumped a little and tried to snap at the poor elf, but I jerked on the reins and pulled his face toward me. 

"Leave him alone," I told the creature glaring. 

He blinked at me a few times with wide eyes and if he was human I would say he was trying to look innocent. 

The elf hastily did his job before stepping out of the pen quickly. 

"You be good now," I told the griffin sternly, "I don't want to see you attacking anyone else. What's his name?" I asked still looking at the griffin in the eyes. 

"He was never named," Sora said looking into the stall, "elves do not name creatures unless they are tame; because you were the one who first managed to get him to calm down enough to put his tackle on it is your right to give him a name."

I looked at him thoughtfully, "I'm gonna call you Dragon, then. It seems to fit you."

Dragon ruined his appearance of fierceness by rubbing his head on my back, asking to be scratched again. 

"What is going on here?" another elf asked harshly as he walked in. 

"Awan," Sora said giving the man the traditional greeting, "This is King Alpha Rose Pixie McFea, she is learning how to ride a griffin today. I told her that she could choose any of the griffins and she chose this one."

"Which one?" he asked suspiciously. 

I swung my leg over the back of Dragon and pulled myself into the saddle. 

"Princess Sora," I asked, "would you mind opening the door for me?"

Sora obliged and I nudged Dragon out. 

Awan looked like he was going to have a heart-attack.

I did the elfin greeting with him before speaking, "I call him Dragon."

The elf started to rant in another language before looking at Sora, "Princess, you should not be letting anyone learn how to ride on an animal that is not yet broken."

"It is okay," Sora said cocking her head at him, "she seems to be doing just fine. Helki will you fetch Ray for me?"

"We also want a griffin that will follow the two that we already have. I want to tie the packs to it," I instructed, watching the stable elves scramble to do as I asked, 

Helki, the stable boy Sora had been talking to, went into the stall that Sora had been standing at before, and pulled out an almost all gold griffin. 

Sora climbed onto the griffin and started to walk her out the door. 

Another elf that I didn't recognize brought the white griffin that I would have chosen if I hadn't seen Dragon. He held out the lead rope and took my backpack before shoving it into one of the saddle bags. 

"His name is cloud," the elf mumbled quietly as he took the lead rope back and tied it to a loop on the back of the saddle. 

"Thank you," I said with as smile before following Sora outside. 

There were two bracelet looking things clipped onto the saddle in front of me. Guessing that they were to keep me in the saddle if Dragon decided to be a bad boy I pulled them over my wrists and tightened them as best I could. They had a long enough string attaching them to the saddle that they didn't get in the way of anything. Quite convenient since I was riding a griffin that hadn't been ridden before and I was an amateur. 

"Alright," Sora said looking back at me, "lift your feet up."

I did as she instructed, letting out a small scream as the movement made Dragon jump into the sky.

"It is okay," Sora said bringing her griffin up next to Dragon, "you will be fine. Now, use the reins to point him in the correct direction. 

"Do you know where the HMH I grew up in is?" I asked, deciding that paying a visit to my HMH was going to make this a whole lot easier. 

Sora nodded and redirected her griffin. 

A loud, mournful howl sounded in the air as I turned Dragon to follow Ray. 

I winced at the sound, "Sorry, Eros," I said into the night air, "I'll be back soon, I promise."