DRAFT ONE
SERINI DESCENDED THE STAIRS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE HIVE. Like the hives of desert bees, hanging from cacti, the gryphonesses' hives were bulbous coming to a narrower nib at the bottom. On its outside, cut right into the packed red dust and clay that made the foundation of the hive, was an intricate maze of stairways. The stairs were for the men, whom didn't have a gryphon to call upon for flight. It was odd for a gryphoness, like Serini, to be using the stairs, but she felt it was important to keep her legs fit and strong. She'd seen too many gryphonesses fall prey to wyrmwraiths because they couldn't run away fast enough.
Needless to say, her gryphon was close. She was a gold, flying somewhere above the hive and the corporeal cloud that the hive hung on. Her gold feathers would be glinting in the sun as if they were made from metal. She was just on the edge of where Serini could mentally feel her. The gryphon had spent its entire life bound to Serini. Both gryphoness and gryphon got radically stressed when they were too far apart for too long.
But Serini didn't like Sashini too close when she was carrying the scythe. Strapped to her back, over the top of her dust robes, was an over-sized scythe. The blade was retracted. It appeared as an elongated staff. Almost like the spears that gryphonesses used in sky battles.
the scythe whined again in Serini's head.
"We'll see," Serini stupidly said aloud. Thank Goddess there were no gryphonesses nearby to wonder why she was talking to herself. Curse that man that put you in my hand! Serini thought.
"He told me never to wield you." Though truth be told he told me you were a gift not a burden.
"I don't want power."
Curse the man who gave you to me! Serini thought again. She'd been thinking that a lot lately.
As they drew closer to the ground, below, the air was mixed with sand. The lower castes lived here, mostly men and unkempt women, at the bottom of the hive. The foot traffic on the stairs grew the closer she got to the bottom of the hive. Men, mostly, climbed and descended the stairs. Many with their gryphletts, male gryphons, perched upon leather gloves on their arms or sitting on their shoulders. Pathetic birds with only two scaly legs not made for walking. Female gryphons could fly and stalk on he ground equally.
The hawkslingers, as the males were called, wore little more than loin cloths, leather gloves, and shoulder pads for their gryphletts to perch on without their talons digging into their flesh. Most of them were fit from running up and down the intricate stair maze that wove around the hive. They didn't have the luxury of flying on gryphonback, not unless their gryphlett was in heat. They wore their hair long and delicate, adorned with as many gryphon feathers as the gryphonesses would give. The hawkslingers only purpose was to appease the gyrphonesses. They could be helpful in a fight. They had some fire in them. Their gryphletts could sometimes form fire feathers. Other than that they needed to impress the gryphonesses. Hopefully the Gold.
Here, the stairs dipped under the bulk of the hive. Like desert bees, the gryphonesses' hive was bulbous-shaped, coming to a narrow nub at the bottom. The rest of the hive hung above her. Here the stairs were adhered to the side of the hive rather than being carved into it. Below the wood of the stairs was nothing by sky, further below, the sand.
The desert stretched as far as anyone could see. In the distance, just close enough to make out, was the bulbous shape of another hive. Serini, personally, thought the Gold allowed that hive to be built much too close. But her Gold felt that if women couldn't work together the world is truly doomed.
Most of the hawkslingers that walked by were intent to get where they were going, but this one stopped. He discretely looked her up and down — Serini had noticed. It was disrespectful to for a hawkslinger to look upon a gryphoness as an object. It was blasphemy! This hawkslinger had fallen prey to too many lower-class women. Women that got off on being submissive. No true gryphoness would ever!
"Looking?" The hawkslinger asked almost inaudibly. It was not customary for the man to make the first move. Serini could see how this could be appealing to some women — a kink even. She found it appalling!
"You have a lot of work to do before you could be worthy to lie with a woman like me." Serini snapped.
Then Serini had noticed her mistake. This man could barely help it. Most the hawkslingers had their gryphletts perched upon them. This man's gryphlett was no where to be found. Discretely, she tried to look towards the skies. She was expecting to see a giant hawk-like gryphlett flying through the sky, large enough for a man to ride and large enough to mount a gryphon. Maybe it was flying above the solid clouds. This hawkslinger's gryphlett was in heat and Serini immediately felt sorry for the way she'd acted.
"I'm sorry, brother." Serini said.
Serini had understood. Or at least she thought she had. Serini's gryphon had taken a mating flight before. She'd felt the power of the need, the heat of the moment. Her sisters had always said that for men it felt like that moment of need, when the cavern inside was being filled. It felt like that moment, but ten times more intense. They'd always told Serini that men could almost not control themselves when in heat.
Serini noticed that he was wearing a longer loincloth than most. One that had flaps that hung down the front and back, which was customary when a man was in heat. Apparently they grew appendages when in heat. Suddenly, without asking for it, Serini felt a wetness, a heat, within her. A dormant need seemed to awaken. No, she thought. Where men felt heat intensely for about a week twice, sometimes three times a year — women could feel it at any moment.
The hawkslinger looked confused. His hand had moved, holding something below his waist. Serini would have punched the man if this were happening in the upper levels. Men weren't so open with their need on the upper levels for fear that they disrespect the Gold or one of her Court. Serini wasn't part of the Gold Court, but still, this man's need was confusing his principals.
Serini took the moment to break the awkwardness by simply walking by him. She wanted to say sorry, but she felt that if she spoke anything to the man her heat would try and reach for his again. She could feel Morning Sun, her silver gryphon, nearby. The mental presence grew the closer the gryphon flew towards Serini. No! The scythe. Serini said, trying to gain some composure. She felt her gryphon bond getting further away.
Serini hurried towards the bottom of the stairs. Underneath the nub of the hive the stairs were built into a dock with an open end. Men were repelling down the deck to the sands below. Serini watched, checking to make sure that all of them had gryphletts perched on them!
Below, there was a herd of centaurs waiting to be mounted. Poor hawkslingers had to ride those landbound beasts through the desert. Serini wasn't sure what these men were going to do. They definitely were going hunting, judging by the leather armor they wore and the bows and arrows. Likely, they were lower caste men, Reds, unmated. The pryde only gave unmated Red men small rations. Many of them band together to form small city-states of their own within the pryde.
Serini watched as all the men, quite expertly, repelled down the rope, some landing perfectly upon the backs of their centaur mounts. Once they were all mounted, about 15 men, the leader yipped and they were off, kicking up clouds of sand in their wake.
Once the deck was unoccupied, Serini descended the last steps and stepped up to the deck. Now was the perfect time. The herd of ruckus centaurs would attract Serini's prey. The scythe hissed. Serini imagined, that if it could, it'd be frothing at the mouth. Serini could feel the scythe imposing its hunger upon her. Her stomach growled.
Gryphonesses wore more clothing then the men. Serini was in a traditional desert robe which deflected sunlight and retained most of her body's moisture. It was silver to match the color of her caste being bound to a silver gryphon. There's a shawl section of every gryphonesses' desert robes that wraps around their neck, like a thick scarf. Serini unraveled this now, revealing the slit in the back of the robes.
A gust of wind whipped by. It was perfect. Serini let her long blond hair fly behind her, now that it was unwrapped from the shawl. She also stretched muscles in her back which caused two vestigial wings to unfurl! She spread the wings, working out the kinks. It had been so long since she opened her wings. The feathers were gossamer and iridescent, like an insect's. As the sun shone on them they reflected light in a thousand rainbow colors.
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