The Den was a ecleptic place. Tucked away in the forest between Cipens and Tur, it was close enough to be within a day's travel of both cities, but off the road enough to be hard to stumble upon by chance. Tents were erected in a rough semi-circle under the shelter of the trees on the edge of a vast clearing. Opposite the city of tents and pressed up against the looming mountains sat the decaying remains of a mine.

Not a single member of the diverse group of traders and mercenaries offered them anything other than cautious glances.

“There are a surprising number of Mirans here." Shail commented in a hushed tone.

Donovan merely nodded as they walked from tent to tent, examining what the traders had for sale. Some sold exotic luxuries, and others offered magical assistance. Donovan was skeptical when he saw a sign offering wards that would bring the recipient luck. They finally found a vendor that offered a wide variety of different arrows, arranged horizontally by type and vertically by shaft tolerance.

He browsed the wares, impressed by the skill at which they were crafted.

“Can I help you, sir?"

A child's head popped out from deeper inside the tent.

“We're here to buy some arrows." Donovan looked around. “Are your parents here?"

“I run this and if you have a problem with that, then you can leave." A look of annoyance covered his face, one born from encountering the situation far too often. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, showing the numerous calluses and scars that came from hard work.

“No, no. I am perfectly happy to do business with you." He pulled the wrapped arrow out of his bag and showed the young fletcher. “I was wondering if you had any that were like this one."

The kid snatched it up and scrutinized every inch of it. “I have lots that are similar to this."

“I am looking the identical ones." He insisted.

“I can get you steel arrowheads with cedar shafts, but I refuse to work with gryphon feathers." The child handed the arrow back to Donovan. “They ask for too much and then fight over who has better feathers. Geese are better."

“It came from a gryphon?" Shail asked, masking her surprise without a twitch of her ears or tail.

“Unless this person came from a very, very distant land, yes it came from a gryphon." He looked between Donovan and Shail. “I think I know who it came from."

“Oh? Who?" Donovan wrapped up the arrow and put it back into his bag.

“I call her Jenna." The child smiled. “Jenara the trustworthy. She runs the courier service here."

“Where would that be?"

“Down in the dens. Just ask anyone and they'll point you to her." He pointed at the mine entrance.

“Thank you very much." Donovan nodded his head and handed over a few coins.

“At least we got some information this time." Shail said when they were out of earshot of the shop. “Unlike those two in Cipens." She lowered her ears angrily at the thought of the blacksmith and hunter who had done nothing but tried to con them of their coin.

“We'll see how reliable it is."

They went across the clearing and past what seemed to be a corral to the mine entrance. As they got closer, they noticed that it didn't seem to be a mine at all. Their suspicions were confirmed when they descended into the depths and found signs leading them to places that would've been more appropriate in a palace.

“Bath house, town center... It's an actual city down here." Shail murmured as they followed the signs towards the post office.

A skitter of claws and a squawk of warning made them turn just in time to step out of the way of a hurried gryphon who apologized profusely as he almost slid around the corner.

The further down they went into the tunnels, the wider the corridors became until they were wide enough to allow two carriages to comfortably travel side by side. It also became more populated the further they went, mostly gryphons who gave them nothing more than a passing glance. It was liberally lit with a mixture of lanterns and luxis, a rather common stone imbued with magic that glowed. It had no other use aside from a light source however.

“I'm impressed. I'm curious how they keep this so hushed though." Shail looked around with a look of pure amazement as she took in all the new scents. They rounded a corner and came upon a large room that was carved out of the wall and brightly lit.

Inside, a gryphon sat behind a stone counter, sorting parcels which were whisked away by humans and Mirans to other gryphons that patiently waited with satchels around their necks.

It was an impressive operation and seeing behind the scenes made him realize why this courier service had been unrivaled ever since its creation.

“Hello. How may I help you?" The gryphon behind the counter looked up when they stepped into the room.

“We're here looking for Jenara the trustworthy." Donovan replied with a smile even though it made him cringe to use titles like that.

The gryphons feline ears flicked slightly. “May I ask what the reason is? She is very busy."

“It's business. However, it's a private matter." He scanned the couriers, looking for feather patterns that matched the arrow.

“Ah, I see. Well, I will go ask if she's available at the moment. May I ask your name?"

“Donovan and this is Shail."

“I shall be back in a moment." The gryphon stood up and walked to the far end of the cave and vanished around a corner.

Shail and Donovan shared a quick glance and her attentive ears and wriggling nose told him that she knew something he didn't.

After a few moments, the gryphon came around the corner again and sat down again. “She sends her apologizes, but she will be unable to see anyone for quite some time."

“How long? We can wait." Donovan inquired, trying to figure out if the gryphon was actually busy or if they were unwanted.

“I'm... Unsure." His ears laid back against his head. “I do apologize. I have never seen her like this before."

“Well then. Thank you for your time." Donovan gave the gryphon a gracious nod.

“It was Jenara's feather." Shail told him when they were alone in a corridor.

“How do you know?" He asked, looking both ways down the long hallway to make sure they was no one in sight.

“Her smell was on the gryphon at the front desk when he came back. Same as the arrow." She shook her head with a look of shame. “I thought it was just a bird..."

He laughed and leaned up against the wall to consider their next course of action. “Some of them might get offended if you tell them that."

“I think they all would." She crossed her arms. “I think I can find out where she stays."

He gave her a nod. “Then let's get to it."

They started the trail at the courier cave.

“What's it like having such a great sense of smell?" Donovan asked as he followed Shail from one stone corridor to another.

“What's it like having a bad one?"

With a huff, he scrunched up his face and thought about how he would go about explaining his sense of smell. “Good point."

Jenara was a very busy gryphon. Shail followed her trail from the courier den to the bathing caves, then to the market square. It showed them the true size of the network of caves as the large tunnel open into a massive cavern that looked like someone has taken a small town and placed it underground. The stone city had just about every service you could ask for as well as an impressively decorated town hall with a small gilded dome that shimmered in the artificial light of the magical stones.

After several frustrating loops throughout the wide streets of the stone city, they gave up and went to to living quarters, located in a network of tunnels that branched out from the central hub. There, Shail picked up the gryphon's scent and traced it back to a single home, if the caves with doors could be considered homes.

“Should've done this to begin with." Shail said as she leaned up against the cold stone wall.

“At least it gave us a chance to look around the place." He looked towards the large door that Shail was certain led to Jenara's home.

They positioned themselves down the hall near the darker nook of another cave's doorway. If anyone saw them, they looked inconspicuous, but they could quickly duck away when Jenara showed up.

“It is incredible here. I have never seen so many gryphons at one time."

“Neither have I." He watched a Miran walk down the hallway and enter a room. “It's the most mixed city I've seen too."

“Isn't it wonderful?" She gave him a wide smile, showing rows of pearly, sharp teeth.

“A bit dismal, but it has its own charm."

Shail opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly ducked into the hiding spot. Donovan silently followed her, peeking out around the corner. A gryphon turned the corner a moment later and went straight to Jenara's door. She arranged a series of locks into a specific pattern to unlock the door then pushed her way through.

They waited a moment before they slipped out of their cover and approached the door.

Thud thud thud. It took a lot of force to get the knocks to reverberate through the thick wooden door.

“Who is it?" A feminine voice replied.

“Jenara the trustworthy?" Shail asked and pressed up against the door a bit. “My name is Shail and I need to ask you about something important."

The door creaked open a sliver and a predator's yellow eye with a black pupil looked out at them.

“One second." She grunted and the door started to open wider, revealing the inside with every inch it swung. The gryphon sat just inside, looking at them both with a cautious gaze. “What can I help you with?"

Her feathers were mostly a mix of brown and black and crowned with white. They ran down her head and neck and changed into fur midway down her chest. The fur was a solid black color and covered her body and legs. Her wings were perfectly groomed and the feathers were exactly what they were looking for.

“We were looking for information on people you supply feathers to." Shail asked bluntly.

“What for?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“We received a message from an anonymous party and your feather was part of it." She rummaged through the bag and retrieved the solitary arrow they had received the morning after the arrow.

It was an exact match with her wing feathers, though it seemed to be one of the much smaller secondary feathers.

“How are you so sure it's my feather?" She shifted a little and her wings ruffled slightly.

“We were told that your plumage is unique and rare." Shail smiled. “And quite stunning."

The gryphoness puffed her chest visibly at the compliment. “Why thank you." Her tail flicked out from behind her body, showing them its feline look. “However, I do have quite a few clients and I don't really check what they're used for."

“That's unfortunate. Would you happen to have a list of people you supply them to?" It was a long shot, but they always tried to easy, honest method before resorting to other options.

“I don't and I doubt I would hand it over to you if I did. They don't call me trustworthy for no reason." She glowered at them.

“I wasn't insinuating otherwise." Her ears pinned back submissively. “Thank you for your time."

They left the gryphoness and found their way to the market place, where they bought a hot meal from another gryphoness.

“How do you think she cooks?" Shail asked as she watched the gryphoness hobble off with a tray in one paw stacked with dirty plates.

“I'm sure she can cook things with enough effort. Kitchen is probably massive to let her move around without burning her tail." He watched with interest as well.

They waited for the gryphon to disappear back into the kitchen before speaking.

“I think we should look into the contract more. Figure out what who the target is and try to trace the web from there." He paused to take another spoonful of stew. “Can you go back to your contact tomorrow and get details on it?"

Shail nodded. “What are you going to do?"

“I'll stay in Cipens and get another horse so I can sniff around a bit more here."

“Alright. Then I'll leave tomorrow morning." She tilted her head back a bit and spooned some stew down her muzzle. “What kind of sniffing?"

“The legal kind for a few days."

“That's no fun." She muttered.

“That's why I'm sending you off while I do it. We'll have some fun when you get back." He smiled over the table at her.

“Good. Detective work is getting boring." Her ears perked up and he could see the tip of her tail wag just under the table.

“Let's head back to Cipens and call it a day." They scraped up the last of their stew and left a silver coin for the gryphon before finding their way out of the caves. By the time they reached the stable they had left Ciem, the sun was halfway between its zenith and the horizon.

The trip back to Cipens was full of discussion. They went over every minute detail of that day. Donovan was glad that he wasn't alone in the feeling that Jenara was a lot more selective about who bought her feathers than she let on.

“She's prideful. She's not going to sell them to everyone who wants one, especially if what the child said is true." Shail said what he was thinking as they rode through the forest towards Cipens.

“Which means she probably knows the person we're looking for." He replied.

Her arms squeezed lightly around his stomach and the snout on her fur tickled his ear as she rested it on his shoulder. “What are the chances she keeps a neat list on her bedside table?"

“Probably the same chances we have of having a sit-down talk with whoever the target of the contract is." He reached his hand over and stroked the top of her muzzle.

She heaved a happy sigh and closed her eyes. “Well... One of us has to stay optimistic."

“I'm just being realistic." He moved his hand down to where her arms were wrapped around his midriff and put it over hers.

They reached Cipens just in time to bargain for another horse and have Ciem put up in the stable before they went back to their rented room. Both of them went through their nightly rituals, ensuring their equipment was in pristine condition, before slipping under the covered and drifting off to sleep.

I must escape my home.

Donovan was at home again. He was sitting on one of the couches inside his familiar living room. The same sense of overwhelming dread hit him. A resounding crack made his heart jump as he turned to find the source.

Bit by bit, a crack was traveling down the wall to his left. It inched its way until it hit the floor where it forked like lightning and continued to travel. Pieces fell away from the wall, shattering onto the floor or vanishing into the pitch black void that had replaced the rest of his home.

Piece by piece the room disappeared and got consumed by the darkness. The dread that ate at his mind was joined by pure panic as his safe bastion of light vanished.

Freedom. Free!

Donovan's entire body shook as his eyes snapped open. His heart pounded in his chest and the sound of its beat in his ear made it impossible to listen for whatever was haunting him. It took a few minutes to get his breath under control.

Safe. Perfectly safe. There weren't any uninvited guests in the room.

The moment he turned his head to look at Shail, pain raced across his temple. Sharp, throbbing daggers relentlessly attacked his head, piercing the softest parts. Massaging his forehead with his fingers and painfully biting his lower lip kept him from crying out in pain.

Where are you?

The phantom voice faded so quickly he wondered if he had imagined it.

He managed to go back to sleep when the pain receded and the dream became nothing more than a fading nightmare.

“I'm going to take the Mamore pass. Should only take a day to reach Loten." Shail filled him on what she was planning just in case something happened. “I'll talk to the point of contact and get some more information. I'll be out of there in a day, then another day to travel back."

“Okay. Don't eat Ciem." He put his hand on his horse's neck as he led him out of the stable and away from the other horses who were all panicked.

“That would be more trouble than it's worth. Where else would I find a horse to ride?" She accepted his help to get into the saddle. “Anyways, not enough fat on horse meat."

Donovan wasn't entirely sure if she was being serious or not. “May the moon guide you." He normally avoided phrases that were based off of spirituality, but it was the normal goodbye for Mirans.

“And may the stars guide you." She replied and leaned over in the saddle to press her snout against his head, supposedly exposing her neck to his jaws. He could never imagine it being effective for humans, but he allowed the gesture nevertheless.

“Be safe." He gave Ciem's flank a pat to send them on their way.

“I'll consider it." She snapped the reins and settled into a trot.

Donovan briefly considered getting another hour or two of sleep to make up for the interrupted night he had. He stood there rubbing his eyes for a moment and discarded the thought. All the pieces were already in place. The sooner he found out what game they were playing, the better it would be.

He packed up his gear and loaded up his new horse, a dusty gray that had a dubious linage, but was vetted by the stableboy. He trusted the words of the boy more than the man who owned the stable.

The Dens looked different from the previous day. Some stores had packed up and gone, some were in new places, and new ones had sprung up. He found the child from the day before.

“Told you I would be back." Donovan said as he picked through the arrows. “Do you have any crossbow bolts?"

“Not a big enough market to be worth making them." He replied from behind the rows of quivers. “Though I can make them if you want."

“Then I would like to order... Fifty bolts. Steel head, willow shafts, and..." He was tempted to go with what he was used to, but an idea nagged at him. “And half gryphon feathers, other half can be geese."

“That can be arranged. I do expect half of the payment up front." He scribbled on a piece of parchment. “It's going to be... Ten gold."

“When can I expect it to be done?" Donovan asked as he counted out eleven gold coins.

“I can have it done within a week." The child's gaze was fixed on the shimmering coins in Donovan's palm.

“Ten gold. I'll be back in a week to pick them up." All eleven gold clinked nicely into the undersized hands of the shopkeep who eagerly counted them.

“This is eleven." He offered one of the valuable coins back to Donovan.

“I know." Donovan set the extra coin in his palm and gave it a pat. “I only use the best products."

With the order placed, he explored the Dens again, picking up pieces of gossip and observing the denizens. From what he gathered, the place had started as a gold mine, but funding dried up when the miners found nothing. The entrances were sealed off when 6 miners broke through the floor and fell to their deaths in the cavern that was now the central hub. A few gryphons heard of it and worked with a small clan of Mirans to reopen the mine and widen the tunnels.

As more and more gryphons gathered, it quickly became the biggest hub for gryphons. When they realized their needs for more precise hands, they welcomed outcasts in exchange for work and it eventually became a haven for people who had nowhere else to go.

Donovan couldn't imagine making it his home, but he understood the allure of the place.

After an hour or so of exploration and gathering information, he spotted Jenara hurriedly walking down the street. She looked suspicious, occasionally glancing behind her as she weaved her way down the road.

He took it as a possible lead and tailed her from a good distance. People should always be this easy to follow. A grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.

The gryphon turned the corner and disappeared with a flick of her tail. Donovan sped up his walk and peered around the wall. To his surprise, she hadn't gone into a dark alley to conduct whatever business she was on behind a trashcan. Instead, she was sitting in front of a small market stall talking to a Miran.

He could barely hear their conversation from the corner.

“-- Asking about an arrow with my feather on it. What have you been up to?" Jenara peered down at the lanky, black and white fox with a questioning gaze.

“I told you everything, Jen. I was hunting." The fox replied, leaning with his elbows against the stall.

“I know you were hunting, but I can't help shake the feeling that you were doing something else at the same time." She ruffled her wings and sighed. “Don't endanger yourself by getting tangled in things that involve people like that."

“I know. Don't worry about me, I'm not sticking my paws anywhere dangerous." He reached up a hand to scratch under the gryphoness' chin.

“Good. I don't want to be the one to tell your mother about your death. She'd pluck me alive." Jenara chuckled and churred.

“She would never do that." He gave her beak a gentle tap and stood up straight as another Miran approached. “Work calls. I'll bring some venison over for dinner."

Jenara stood up and stepped aside as the customer browsed the butchered meat that was hanging on the stall. “Okay. I'll see you then."

Donovan quickly walked away as Jenara came towards the corner he was hiding behind. He headed back to the central market square and lost himself in the stalls. Despite his original intentions, he caught himself browsing jewelry.

“If you're looking for something for that wolf you were with, I would suggest sapphire. Maybe aquamarine." The familiar voice made his heart skip a beat.

“You scared me. Can I help you, Jenara?" Donovan turned to face the gryphoness who had gotten very close very quietly. He blamed the noise of the busy market.

“It might be easy to tail me because of how much larger I am, but you forget I am a predator." She paused and turned her head, giving her feline ears a flick. “It's rude to eavesdrop."

“How could you tell?" He gave up the act. It rarely worked well to continue a compromised lie.

“I heard you breathing. Though, it was your attempt at quieting your breath that gave it away. I turned the corner and saw you leaving. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out." She sat down and peered over Donovan at the visibly annoyed merchant. “Come with me."

That was not the response he had expected from someone who had just caught him snooping around. He followed the gryphon out of curiosity.

“What exactly are you?" She asked when they were clear of the noisy marketplace. “Not everyday you see a human and a Miran working together professionally."

“We're..." He paused and juggled a few choices. “Mercenaries, for lack of a better term. We take various jobs as long as it pays well."

“So, assassins." A bit of venom coated her words.

“Rarely. We guard caravans, supplement town guards, train militia, and once in a while we eliminate people who cause trouble. Hell, we'd clean taverns if they paid us more than other contracts."

“I see..." She didn't seem convinced by his explanation. “Do you take any job?"

“No. We get enough contracts to allow us to avoid unsavory ones." They neared the edge of the cavern where the tunnels branched through the stone. “I'm sure you have preconceived notions about about me, but the only people I've killed are criminals that would've gotten the gallows if they were taken alive."

“And what about their rights to a trial?" She led him back down the familiar residential branches.

“We're usually hired when more... Diplomatic attempts fail." Donovan's more logical side questioned the safety of following a gryphon that he was on less than friendly terms with into a secluded area. “We actually avoid assassination contracts if we can."

“I'm going to trust that you're someone of good moral standing." She pushed her door open and held it open for him. “I'm also going to rely on the fact that I'm fairly bigger than you and you're hopefully unarmed?"

“Not entirely." Donovan rolled up his right pant leg and removed the small dagger that was strapped to his calf. He took the sheathed blade and set it on the ground next to the door. He chose not to tell her about the other blade that he kept in the small of his back. Though he doubt that a parrying blade would be very effective if she decided to attack him. “And I'm going to trust that you aren't luring me into your home to kill me."

“Why would I bring you here? I would've taken you to the abandoned branches." Jenara walked through an archway and led him to what he assumed was a dining room. She fumbled with a large lantern that looked specially designed for gryphons, adding the warm light to the blue hue that was already cast by the crystals embedded in the wall. “I'm here to get answers and hopefully give you some as well."

The table that the lantern sat on was quite tall, but not so much that it was unusable by humans and mirans. Three chairs were pushed in under half of the table, leaving the other half open to gryphons.

“I like that idea." He looked around, admiring how the room was setup, but also noting the exits and where they appeared to lead to.

“Please sit." She nodded to the chair at the end of the table and sat herself down opposite him.

She must conduct a lot of business with humans and Mirans. Donovan thought to himself as he pulled the chair out from under the table and sat down in the surprisingly comfortable cushions.

“The fox I was talking to is named Noble, though he is probably the furthest you will find from actual nobility. He is a hunter and a butcher. He's also a bit of a troublemaker." She paused for a moment and tilted her head side to side trying to figure out what to say next. “I wasn't exactly truthful when we talked yesterday. Noble is the only one that I give my feathers to, that's how I knew it was him."

“Why didn't you just tell us?" Donovan asked, regretting his decision to send Shail away.

“Because I wanted to talk to him first. He is a good liar, but I've grown up with him so I can spot them. When I talked to him today, he wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling me everything either. He's not a bad person, so whatever message you received with the arrow wasn't from him, he was just the messenger." The gryphoness paused another moment to give them both time to think. “What was the message anyways?"

“I don't have it on me, but it said 'Don't take the king's contract.'" He realized that she had no idea what the contract was. “The contract was one that we were suspicious about. It paid far too much for the assassination of a dangerous dragon. That is why we were here poking around."

“I guess I was wrong about you two."

“Always glad to break preconceived notions. Shail is meeting her contact to figure out who the target it is and what exactly his crimes are. We are always hesitant to accept contracts from too high up in the government since we like to keep our political stance neutral."

Jenara's ears flicked and she turned her head to look towards the foyer. A knock came from the door a moment later. “Ah, he's here. I will be right back."

Donovan watched her leave and heard voices from the hallway. A moment later, she returned with a lanky fox Miran in tow.

“Noble, meet Donovan." Jenara said to the fox while she moved to block the archway. “Please, sit."

“I wasn't expecting anyone else." Noble played it off amazingly well, but his stance was tense. “Pleasure to meet you, Donovan."

Donovan stood up and offered his hand with a smile. “Pleasure to meet you too, Noble."

“Good thing I brought extra." The fox hefted the large bundle that was tucked under his arm and used the other to take the offered hand with a firm handshake.

The gryphoness started to nudge along the fox's back, searching for something. She found what she was looking for and lifted his loose-fitting shirt with her beak, pulling a dagger that was haphazardly tucked into his waistband. “We won't need this, Noble."

“I will get dinner ready." Noble smiled at them both and ducked through another archway.

When he was out of sight, Jenara turned to Donovan. “Sorry for surprising you like this. I just want to make sure you aren't going after the wrong person. He is getting himself tangled with something and I want to cut him out of it."

“I would prefer if this whole thing wrapped up without anyone dying. I think this will be a good opportunity to get some answers."

They kept the conversation light while Noble prepared dinner. Jenara managed to clear up the secret of how her new business managed to become so successful in such a short time. The smell of cooking meat wafted into the room, giving them both something to look forward to as they swapped stories. Noble returned with a tray loaded with one large plate and two smaller ones, each loaded with slabs of venison and a side of mixed vegetables.

“Thank you, Noble. This smells delicious." Jenara gave the Miran a gracious nod.

“My pleasure, Jen." The fox distributed the dishes and took a seat.

They are in relative silence, savoring the delicious meal. Watching the gryphoness eat reaffirmed to Donovan that he was in a poor position if their hospitality was a ruse. Her beak sliced the meat better than the knife he had in his hand, tearing chunks of her large serving and swallowing them without chewing. The Miran used a knife too, but his sharp canines dripped red juice. Even though he had a small dagger, he was still the least armed person at the table.

Jenara finished last. She picked up a large cloth napkin in her paw and cleaned her beak of the meat juices.

“That was delicious, Noble." She set the napkin down on the table. “But I think you know that this isn't just a dinner."

“I am well aware." The fox delicately placed his silverware on the plate and pushed it away from the edge of the table. “How can I help you, Donovan?"

“You'd actually be helping us both." Jenara added.

“A few days ago, I got a message attached an arrow so I've been looking into it. I tracked the feather to Jenara and she believes you delivered it." He started, carefully watching the fox's reaction.

“Noble, it's in your best interest to not lie to me." Jenara interjected. “If what Donovan told me is true, you are getting involved with something you don't want to be."

“And if what she told me is true, you are just the messenger..." He paused. “And the only one she gives feathers to."

“That is true." The fox sat back in his seat and twirled his spoon deftly in his black and white paw. “But it's not like you can control your shedding. Not to mention that kit who enjoys plucking you occasionally."

“It's molting." Jenara huffed indignantly, purposely ignoring the second half of what he had said.

“Whatever it is. What I'm saying is that even though I'm the only one you give feathers to, I'm probably not the only one who has them."

Donovan hadn't considered that possibility, but what Noble was saying didn't seem completely truthful. “I guess that's a possibility. You're just the most likely suspect when compared to the kit."

“That's fair. I was hunting north of here with the arrows." He stopped the spoons hypnotic twirls and set it down next to his fork. “Caught two rabbits and a wounded doe. Actually, it was three rabbits. I ate one during the trip back."

“Good hunting in that area?" Donovan asked, trying to coax anything useful out of the fox. Outfoxing a fox. The thought almost made him chuckle.

“No better than any other spot to be honest."

“The area around my home has some of the best hunting that I've seen." Jenara shot him a questioning glance that he brushed off.

“I don't venture past the mountains. I've heard that things get less friendly for Mirans the further out you go."

Donovan didn't respond and let the awkward silence stretch out a bit. The gryphoness gave him another look and he replied with a smirk.

“Something wrong?" The fox asked, unaware that he had done anything wrong.

“I haven't told either of you where I live."

Jenara growled at the Miran. “I told you not to lie to me."

Noble held up his hands defensively and splayed his ears. “Nothing I said was a lie. I only assumed he lives beyond the mountains because that's where the majority of humans live."

Jenara brought her beak within inches of the fox's face and pinned her ears back threateningly.

“I didn't lie to you, Jen." He sighed and tilted his ears submissively. “Stuck between someone with a political agenda and a gryphon who doesn't realize that the kit she promised to protect is all grown up. Not sure which one is worse."

“I am definitely worse." The gryphoness clacked her beak. “So tell us what's going on."

“For the record, I only lied about the assumption." He chuckled and pushed Jenara away with a furred hand.

“Duly noted." She leaned back and ruffled her wings impatiently.

“Okay. Before I went on my hunting trip, I was approached by a human. Refused to give me a name, but offered a few coins to deliver a message. He let me read it and I thought it seemed innocuous enough so I agreed. The arrow seemed aggressive, but he told me that it was to save a life."

“Told you he was just the messenger." Jenara turned to Donovan and gestured at the fox with a wing. “So you don't have to kill him."

For the first time since they met, Donovan noticed that Noble wasn't completely composed. His ears flicked nervously, forcefully held in place, but occasionally betrayed by his emotions.

“Good thing you convinced me otherwise." Donovan played along with the joke, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair a bit.

“Donovan is an assassin among other things." She held herself up and puffed out her chest. “So I guess I saved your life."

Noble looked at Donovan as if he were asking for confirmation. He only replied with an ambiguous shrug. “So how did your relationship come about? Not often that a gryphon takes another species under their wings."

“Me and his mother were friends when he was a kit. She was always busy so I spent a lot of time with him, keeping him out of trouble and keeping his healthy. By the time I reached adulthood, she was old and Noble was only getting into more trouble." Her ears drooped sullenly. “She helped me set up the business I run and the only thing she asked for in return was to take care of her only kit."

“Jen is practically my littermate, she was around for as long as I can remember." Noble smiled and gave the gryphoness a gratuitous nod.

“That's quite the story. Always good to have someone you can trust like that." Donovan looked between them and couldn't help but notice that Jenara looked a bit... Disappointed, if his basic knowledge of how to read gryphon emotions was to be trusted.

“Do you have anyone tucked away somewhere?" Noble asked, relieved that the interrogation was over.

“I do. Jenara met her yesterday." He waved his hand in her general direction.

“You two are together?" The gryphon went wide-eyed and nearly jumped in surprise. “I thought you two were just working together!"

Noble switched from Donovan to Jenara, then back again. “What am I missing?"

“She's Miran. A wolf, I believe." Jenara explained to the confused fox, looking to Donovan for any corrections.

“Yup. Shail is both a personal and professional friend." He nodded.

“That sounds like an interesting story as well." The gryphoness tilted her head to the side and flicked an ear.

“Well... It's a long one and I think I've taken up enough of your time." Donovan gave them both a gracious smile.

“We always have long discussions after dinner. Anyways, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested about how an assassin became partners with a Miran." Noble laced his fingers together and leaned onto the table. “That is, if you're done interrogating me."

“I'll continue that later, but for now, I think I have what I need." He considered where to start his story. As his memories and thoughts started to organize themselves, he wondered if Shail had learned anything interesting on her mission.