Previously on LW:
The gryphon (who scared Aiden when he was twig-hunting) was captured by strange enemy men in the woods...
Chase insists on trying to free it, so Aiden comes up with a plan! And Hailey improves the plan, because she enjoys not being dead.
~~~

Chapter 10

Chase and I crawled through the undergrowth of the forest, getting closer to the bound animal. When we had gotten as close as we could while still staying hidden, we stopped. Chase counted to three minutes, while I watched the camp. There were no sentries, but five men kept watch around the fire while two others, sitting near the tents, played a game with what could have been dices.

"Alright," Chase said. "Aiden should be back, now. " He had gone to tell Autumn of our endeavor, and was supposed to go back to our previous spot.

The happy whistle of a bird joined the more ominous sounds of the forest.

"He's ready," Chase told me.

"What kind of bird is that anyway?" I asked.

Chase laughed. "A lark."

"Is that supposed to be funny because of his last name?"

"With him, probably."

We inched forward. The gryphon rose his head as best as it could and watched us through the branches.

"Don't worry, buddy," Chase whispered, though I doubted we were close enough for it to hear. "We're here to help." He slipped a knife out of his boot and left the cover of the trees. I remained behind, as per our agreement, and looked out for anyone approaching.

Chase rested his hand on the animal's flank. I could only see his shadow, but I knew he must be whispering something to the animal. It surprised me that Chase suddenly seemed so attached to this gryphon, since he wasn't really an animal person. I guessed anyone would feel reassured by an animal whose first reaction was attacking all that moved. Not.

Chase started sawing at the ropes, which snapped one by one. The gryphon remained obediently still. At least, with its beak bound, it couldn't make too much noise. I looked back at the men around the fire, who were oblivious to our presence. So far so good.

Someone stepped out of a tent and stretched. I frowned. This wasn't a man. He was just a boy, not much older than us. He turned towards the men at the fire, and I held my breath, hoping they wouldn't turn their heads towards him -and us- but they paid him no attention.

Chase crawled forward to reach the ropes that restrained the gryphon's forelegs. The animal half-opened his wings, straining his feathered head against the remaining ropes. Chase tried to calm him, while remaining as flat on the ground as he could. My attention snapped back to the men at the fire. None of them even looked up. The men playing dice? They looked half-asleep and hadn't moved. I breathed a sigh of relief, before remembering the newcomer. My eyes searched for him. His feet hadn't moved either, but his head had. He was staring right towards us.
Unconsciously, I flattened even more on the ground, wishing I could somehow warn Chase without attracting more attention to ourselves.
A lark whistled, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God Aiden had seen the boy as well. Chase froze, putting is hand on the gryphon's neck. It seemed to understand the danger, because it stilled, tucking its wings back.

Near the tents, the boy took a few steps back, and grabbed a long staff. One of the men playing dice rose his head, said a few words to him, and laughed. The boy huffed, but the man resumed his game.

I had hoped the boy would relax, but it seemed to have guessed something was wrong. His long stick pointed towards us, he padded closer to the gryphon. I stiffened. Near the fire, some of the men were watching him. One of them said something in a taunting tone. The boy didn't react.

Chase realized he was running out of time. He threw his arm out and slashed the another rope. Only one remained, but the stranger had spotted him. Instead of raising the alarm, the boy froze. He threw a quick look over his shoulder, and lifted up his hand to his face, almost as if he was scratching his chin. My eyes had gotten used to the dark, though, and I was able to see what he had really done. He had put a finger in front of his mouth, in the universal sign for 'Shhh'.

Ignoring the gryphon and the boy pressed against him, he walked past them and looked into the forest. He thrust the butt of his stick, which was actually a spear, into a bush. A lizard scuttled out. The boy's shoulder dropped.

One of the men around the fire called out to him. He answered defensively, still in their unknown tongue. The men laughed, then turned back towards the fire and took no more notice of him.

The boy sat down where he was, barely two yards away from me, and just a little more from the gryphon. He drew his dark wings around himself for warmth and whispered something I didn't understand. Neither Chase nor I moved.

He tried again. "I am friend. Want... help." I managed to hear.

I couldn't tell if he wanted to help, or if he needed ours, but since he hadn't sold us out, I was willing to believe his first claim. That still didn't mean I trusted him or understood his motives, though.

Chase looked at him, and raised a finger to his own lips. The boy nodded, and turned his attention back to the other outlanders. Meanwhile, Chase crawled forward a bit more and cut the last rope. The gryphon nudged him with his head, and Chase tucked his knife back in his boot and carefully slipped off the rope that held his beak shut. The gryphon tried to rise, but Chase pressed on its back and he stilled. My boyfriend turned to me, and gave me a thumbs up. The strange boy looked in my direction, and his eyes widened as he spotted me behind thick clumps of ferns.

I ignored him, hoping my presence wouldn't make him change his mind about helping us, and turned my attention towards the spot where Aiden would be looking at us with his sharp archer eyes. I quickly opened and closed my wings, flashing my white feathers. Even if the men outside has been looking in my direction, they wouldn't have understood what they were seeing - a trick of the forest, perhaps? - but Aiden recognized the signal.

He fired an arrow - just like the one he had demonstrated after our first encounter with the gryphon. It flew past high enough that only one of the men looked up, then hit a tree behind them, on the edge of the clearing. The tree blew up, sending branches and splinters flying. The men let out surprised shouts, but I was already speed walking away from my hiding place. I was going back towards where Aiden had been, and Autumn and he must already have been walking towards me. I had no doubt we would meet in the middle, but I was more worried about Chase following safely with the gryphon in tow. Hopefully the strange boy wouldn't choose this moment to reveal the gryphon's escape.

"Hailey!" Autumn was breathless as she came into sight. The two peryton were right along side her, and Aiden soon reached us as well. We could hear shouts from the clearing, but vegetation hid it from view.

"They're running around grabbing their weapons, but since they have no idea where we are they're assuming a defense position right now," Aiden told us. "Is Chase coming? And who was that weird kid?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Chase should be right behind us. The gryphon was pretty well-behaved."

"Of course," Autumn said. "Gryphons are extremely smart. It must have known he was here to help."

Someone came crashing through the undergrowth. "We're here," Chase said. The gryphon was right by his side. "We shouldn't stick around, now."

"Do we go north, then?" I asked, though I felt our chances of stumbling upon the outpost were slim.

"As much north as we can without seeing the sky," Chase said.

Autumn produced a small object. "You guys really thought I'd go out exploring a strange forest without a compass?"

"You're a genius," Aiden praised.

We walked past the clearing, giving it a wide berth, and kept on. Cold and fatigue should have made our limbs heavy, but willingness to get as far from these strange men as possible boosted us forward. We couldn't take to the skies while still in their line of sight, and it would be much harder to find a suitable camping spot from the ground. It looked like we had no choice but to spend the night in the forest.

-----------
Looks like the gryphon won't be eaten by the scouting party after all!
What are your thoughts on that strange guy?

The beautiful cover you can see at the top was made by @CalypsoHuntress ! :) This chapter is dedicated to her!

See you all next Friday!