User:Jetfire/A Fire in the Sky Book3

Paradigm Shift story universe

Works by Jetfire on Shifti

A Fire in the Sky: Book 3

Author: Jetfire

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This story contains adult content.

Author's note This story contains scenes with adult encounters and descriptions.

This is the second story following the griffon named Skyfire

A Fire In the Sky: Book 3 (Formerly Big Sky Country)

Sunday, December 31

Normally I consider myself to be an introvert; despite helping the local flock and other groups, I generally preferred my alone time. And after a week with the family, I felt I was ready for a long hermit period to recharge. But by New Years Eve, I found myself feeling antsy, yearning for a bit of company.

My initial plans for the new year had been an evening home alone, maybe with some chinese food and whatever movies caught my fancy. But as the sun set, I found myself too restless to stay home; I was surprised at how much I wanted company, feathered company.

Finally, I gave in and geared up. Flying across the city on New Year's Eve after sunset was risky with a high chance of fireworks, but I had to get to the only place I knew there'd be more griffons. I tried to follow the highways and avenues for the most part, the skies pitch black around me. Shortly after 8, I dropped down to Griffith's Roadhouse.

The place was already busy, its parking lot half full. I began to have doubts of my impromptu plans, since I certainly hadn't purchased a ticket, but before those doubts could crystalize, I made my way to the entrance.

"Sky! Welcome! Welcome! Happy New Year!" Gary, the owner of the place, greeted me at the entrance as I walked in. He was at the hostess stand talking to a human hostess. A quick glance around showed the restaurant and bar areas were packed, mostly with griffons and a number of human friends.

"Happy New Year. Thanks for hosting the party," I replied, shaking his offered hand. "Sorry, I know this is very impolite. I hadn't planned on coming out in the first place, and I'm afraid I didn't reserve a ticket. I can leave if you're full...."

"We are sold out, but for you, we can probably squeeze you in. Are you alone?" Gary smiled and glanced out the door behind me for confirmation.

I laughed and nodded, pulling out my debit card. "Yeah, it's just me. No Titans this time and my family's flown back east. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I was going to spend the evening home, but just felt the urge to be among feathered friends."

Gary started to refuse my offered card but I forced it on him. "That's fine, and perfectly understandable...." We were interrupted as the crowd started counting down. On the screens around the restaurant and the bar, fireworks were going off over a coastal city. 2024 had reached St John's and would soon be spreading across North America. Glasses clinked and some couples shared kisses, while most people resumed their activities.

"Enjoy your evening, and happy new year!" Gary said, handing back my card and receipt.

I skipped the restaurant and made my way to the bar and dance floor, chatting with familiar people along the way. I snagged a beer and stood near a table, listening to a live local band cover some 90's rock songs. The band was human and didn't seem to have any problems with a mostly griffon audience. They weren't as good as Alan, but they were better than any griffon I knew.

An hour later, I'd snagged a pool table and was practicing my shots and just enjoying the ambiance when I heard a familiar voice.

"Well, you're a beak I wasn't expecting to see," Cardi greeted me, tapping my tailed rump with a pool stick and making my shot go wide. "What are you doing here?"

I straightened up and stomped down the brief moment of frustration over the interruption. "Hi there. Yeah I hadn't planned on coming out, but decided to at the last minute. Thankfully Gary let me in." I left the cue on the table and gave her a hug, rubbing her beak with my own. "Sorry we didn't chat much; it's been a busy season. Thanks again for letting me use your nest."

"Any time at all. I take it the fam's gone now?" the cardinal griffon asked. She studied the pool table and started racking the balls back up.

"They left on Thursday, yeah. Been recharging home alone for the past few days, but decided I needed some proper feather time. Never realized how much I yearned for our weekend gatherings I guess." I moved to the head of the table and placed the cue ball, lining up my shot. I broke the balls, but none went into the pockets.

"Well you look good. Sounds like it was a good visit," she said, lining up her own shot and sinking the five.

"It was. Good to see them again, and without all the insanity and pressure I was under over Thanksgiving. Almost made me feel normal again." She missed her next shot, giving me a chance to go at the stripes. I went silent for a moment, knocking down two stripes before missing my third.

"How about you? How have you been?" I asked.

"Been well. Been busy. This is the end of the busy time of year for us, and Boxing Day is always insane. But things will start calming down now as we enter the dead season."

I nodded a moment, letting her take her shots. "Yeah, Bev says the same thing, though her store isn't as crazy as yours. She's at one in a small town in Ontario."

"Lucky her. Hope she does well through the lean months. We're still bouncing back from all the Covid madness and supply chain snarls. Not to mention the Changes."

"Yeah, she should be fine. Her store's really turned around this year from what I've heard." I took my shots but missed the last stripe. "She's getting ready to flip it to a new manager and is thinking of heading further east, to a town in New Brunswick of all places."

"Really? I hear it's beautiful out there, but way too small for me." Cardi went back to the table and started working through the last few solids, but whiffed on the eight ball.

"I don't mean to pry, but I noticed you didn't decorate for Christmas," I commented as I lined up my next shot.

"Yeah, I'm not really a holiday bird, at least not the Christmas season. I enjoy the lights and don't mind the decorations; but for my own roost, I'm fine leaving it as is." She laughed and continued. "I get enough decorations at work for a lot longer than most people endure."

I chuckled and nodded in agreement, "That's fair. Eight ball, side pocket," I said, indicating the easy shot. The ball clunked into the pocket and I glanced at the time. "We should have time for another round. I'll get the drinks if you rack them up?"

"Sure, rum and coke please."

We had time for two more rounds before the midnight hour. A few minutes before, we retreated to the dance floor and joined the crowd. We were packed tight in there, wing to wing. I instinctively kept my tail feathers tight together and did my best not to step on anyone else's tails. Screens around the room showed a clock ticking down while waiters and waitresses passed around flutes of champagne.

In the last few seconds, we joined the crowd in the countdown. At zero, "Happy New Year!" echoed across the building, followed by the clinking of glasses.

I downed my drink and looked hesitantly at the cardinal griffon next to me. She lowered her own glass and met my gaze.

"Well? What are you waiting for? An invitation?" she asked, setting her glass onto a table and pulling me in for a tight hug. We rubbed beaks as a kiss and turned the hug into a hesitant dance to Auld Lang Syne. I could feel the tenseness in her body, even as I enjoyed her closeness. In the back of my mind, I mentally ran the dates based on what I knew of her, and almost stepped away.

"Today was your rut wasn't it? Are you okay?" I asked, stumbling a bit from the realization.

She nodded and rested her head on my shoulder, letting me take the lead. "I'm fine. It broke hours ago."

Now that I was aware of it, I could sense it in her body language, the worn out tenseness I knew well. "I'm surprised you came out. You saw me when mine broke; I wouldn't be in any shape to come to a party after that."

"Yeah, I was tempted to skip it, but I'm not letting these cycles rule my life. Plus, it doesn't seem to hit me as hard as it hits you. Your cycles seem stronger than others."

"Lucky me," I mumbled. I realized my own heat was only a few days away. I also realized that between the alcohol and being so close to a male-mode griffon, I was feeling very Titan-like thoughts. Thankfully the song ended and I could break away from her, looking around to calm my hormones and resettle my thoughts.

"Hey! You can see the fireworks outside!" someone shouted from the front, triggering a small stampede.

We gathered in the parking lot with the crowd. The humans tended to shiver, having left their jackets in the coat check, while the griffons shook their wings out and relished the cold air and wing room compared to the hot box inside. A few kilometers away, the sky lit up with colourful explosions as fireworks went off over some park, followed soon after by the explosive booms. It wasn't the WestEd display nor the city's downtown display, but it was a nice show. I figured it was probably on the other side of the Henday highway; the ring road that went around Edmonton. It was somewhere over Saint Albert, the community just north of the city.

The fireworks colours seemed a bit different from what I remembered, until I realized the UV vision let me see a bit more than I was used to, probably unintentionally.

"Glad I'm not flying in that mess," I said. I hesitated a moment, then stretched my wing behind Cardi and hugged her.

"Yeah. Should be settled down by the time we leave," she said. She glanced at me, then slipped her own arm under my wing to return the hug. "They look a bit different from what I remember."

"The UV range we see. Fireworks are tuned to the human visual range, but we see more, so they have some more colours we aren't used to seeing," I explained, going through the reasoning I had just made.

A few minutes later the show ended and people started drifting back into the building. Some took off right away, or gathered coats to leave. Most got a new round of drinks and continued dancing.

We ordered fresh drinks (non alcoholic this time) and found a few friends to chat with. An hour or so later, we decided it was time to head out.

"Well, that's it. Good riddance to '23. Hopefully '24 won't be as crazy," Cardi said as we caught our breath outside. We shook out our wings and got ready to take off.

"I hope so, but we haven't been lucky yet. The 20's are certainly one for the history books. At least if any more craziness happens, it hopefully won't be on us."

"Good point. I think I've had more than enough as is."

We took off and climbed into the dark sky. It was late enough that there were no more fireworks going off, but the city still glowed with its normal lighting. We flew side by side in silence, lost in our own thoughts.

Without warning, I breathed in and started coughing, a bad taste filling my beak. I dropped a few metres and heard Cardi start coughing as well. The bad air cleared up as fast as we ran into it, but the bad taste remained, one of the strongest tastes I'd had since changing.

"Ugh, what the hell was that?" I asked as we recovered. We looked around but it was too dark to see anything in the sky. The river valley was a ribbon of darkness below us. Spitting with a beak was hard, but I was doing my best to clear the strange awful taste.

" It smells familiar. I think it was firework smoke and we were smelling the sulfur," Cardi said. She coughed a bit and spat. "Figures, we can barely taste chocolate any more, but sulfur is as bad as ever."

"Lucky us. Remind me not to go flying after Canada Day."

She chuckled and we continued heading south. Soon enough, her apartment tower was below us.

"You're welcome to come in if you want. Wash out the ash taste," she offered, though her tone was mixed.

"Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm almost home anyways," I politely declined. We were both tired and despite not drinking much since midnight, we were both still a bit tipsy. Part of me yearned to join her, but the saner part of my mind figured it was best to just get home.

"Sure. Happy New Year. I'll see you later."

"Happy New Year, Cardi." I gave her a wave as she dived down to her balcony, and continued my own way home.

Tuesday, Jan 2

On New Year's Day, I slept in late and woke with the remnants of a hangover. I hadn't gotten drunk, but I'd had enough to give me a buzz. I stumbled downstairs to get a drink and an aspirin, and spent most of the day just recovering.

Tuesday was the first day back in the office. Even though we were technically closed for the holidays, a surprising amount of emails and other tasks had built up. Combined with the usual time spent chatting with coworkers to find how their holidays were, it made for a busy day. The fact that I was mentally preparing myself for the next day added to the workload, but I was happy to get back into my normal routine.

On the way home, I dropped down at Intimate Pleasures, and was glad to see Amy working. I walked in with no hesitation nor hint of embarrassment.

"Happy New Years, Skyfire. How are you doing?" she greeted me. She was busy stocking some shelves.

"Same to you Amy. I'm doing fine, but I need to get some supplies for tomorrow. How have you been?"

"I've been good. Thanks for asking." As we chatted, I browsed the selection, grabbing a new vibrator to replace the one I'd broken last time, as well as a few tubes of lube. We were alone in the store."You left quite the impression on my sister and her wife over the holidays," I added.

"They are a beautiful couple. And I could tell the family resemblance. They were excellent listeners too, and very curious."

"Oh? Well I guess I did drop them into the deep end of griffon life. Bev helped me get through my rut among other things."

Amy nodded and eyed my selections briefly, wordlessly offering another tube of gel. I added it to my basket without questioning; I trusted her suggestions. "She mentioned that. I helped them out as best I could."

"You were probably better than I was at explaining all this. Thank you."

She leaned against the counter and looked me over. "So the fourth heat. How are you feeling?"

"Therapy time? But my session isn't until Thursday," I laughed, avoiding the question for a moment. "I'm anxious. The rut was rough, but I'm getting back into my routine which will help."

"Good good. From what I've been reading, you guys do seem to be getting a grip on your cycles. But you've always been one of the more extremes. Younger griffons seem to have less extremes than you've been experiencing."

"Yeah, I know. Lucky me." I set the basket on the counter and sighed. "It is good that others are getting the hang of it. Gives me a bit of hope."

"Hope is important. I do wonder if you have considered other options though."

I tilted my head curiously. "Other options?"

She hesitated, clearly not sure about what she was about to suggest. I tried to keep my expression neutral, curious. "Just say it, the worst I can say is no."

"Right, there is that. I'm just not sure if it is really my place to suggest it is all."

I reached over and took her hand. "Please. I know it's only been a few months, but you're one of the few people I'd trust on these matters. You may not be a doctor or a scientist, but you know as much as anyone down in Fort Parker, and you have enough distance to get some good perspective that I may not have. So whatever you want to suggest, I'll seriously consider it."

She seemed stunned for a moment at my admission. "Wow... uhm thanks, Sky. I'm honored. I didn't really think of it that way. I just want to help you guys... you gals... you."

"And help you have. From that first day before my first heat, you helped me in ways that I never thought I needed. There's a reason I've sent Cardi and others your way. So thank you. And please, spit it out."

She laughed a little, obviously stalling a little. "Well, this is a bit unconventional, but I want you to consider this option. I know you see yourself as an Ace, and you aren't that interested in sex with someone else, griffon or otherwise. But at the same time, I've seen some stories from other griffons that say their peaks have been more tolerable after they became sexually active."

I opened my beak to reply, then snapped it shut, thinking about what she was suggesting. "I... I hadn't really thought of that. I mean, the risks..." My hand drifted down to my belly with the thoughts. "I really don't want to become pregnant... or to get someone else pregnant. And no offense, but humans aren't doing anything for me any more."

She nodded and took my hand, lifting it away from my belly. "I know, and those risks are real. It's something women have lived with for generations, and something you're coming to terms with now. But unlike me, you have some advantages. Like you know for certain when you are absolutely safe. That period between your egg and the rut, they're almost positive you can't get pregnant. And despite appearances, condoms and other physical birth control methods do work for you guys as long as you are careful. Not all of you guys have been as celebate as you have been, and most of you are still not pregnant, so they do still work."

I squeezed her hand and nodded. "True, there is all that. Still, I'm not sure I want to take those risks."

"You have time. Your egg won't be until next week, so your safe week is coming. Think it over, talk it over with your friends, especially if there's someone who might be willing."

My mind jumped from my icy goddess to Michelle but I chased her away. Our friendship was too important for our small community for me to risk adding sex to the mix. Unbidden, Cardi came to mind and I had a harder time pushing her out.

"I'll think about it. It's a big step," I said. "And it may not even work."

"But it could work. You've shared your story with me, and one thing I noticed was how restrained you were through it all. I'm grasping at straws, but I do wonder if holding back so much is part of the reason why your cycle started so late, and why it swings to such extremes."

"And you think a good fuck will help balance me?" I asked.

She grinned, "It wouldn't hurt... Well, what you're packing down there looks like it should hurt, but the stories other griffons have said say it certainly doesn't. I look forward to hearing about it second hand when you're ready."

I nodded and started unloading my basket. "Sure, I'll think it over. Thanks.... Oh! On a somewhat related note, do you have any suggestions for breast pumps?"

"I wondered when you'd get around to that, given your issues." She started ringing up my purchases as she talked. "While we have some here in stock, you're probably better off going to a drug store and getting a more normal one. The stories I've heard seem to say most prefer a manual one. I'll get you a list once we're done."

I relaxed a bit and nodded, "Thanks. It's still a bit embarrassing to think of, but if it cuts down on the mess, I'll go for it."

She passed over the debit machine, while switching windows on the computer to do a search. "Yeah, your biology is curious. I'm eager to see what your kids are like. Seems like you guys can start lactating with very little stimulation, but you usually don't make as much as women do. For the lucky ones like you, the hormone swings at turnaround seem to put you into overdrive."

"Yeah, more than I really wanted to know. But thanks for the advice." I looked at the list she printed out and nodded to her. "Thanks for reals. I don't know where I'd be without your help."

"No problem. Try to have some fun, and I'll see you next time," she said cheerfully.

Wednesday, Jan 3

Wednesday, I woke up early, dreading the day. My fourth heat was due and I didn't want to handle it. I could feel a bit of the buzz building but something seemed different.

I made my breakfast and returned to bed, eyeing my aids, feeling a bit of an urge but not feeling the need like the heat usually brought on. By midmorning, I shifted to my home office and started working, mainly as a way to distract my mind from the worries and confusion I was feeling. Missing my heat was scarier than having it, since it implied the grenade pin had been pulled. Considering I'd never been with another griffon, I couldn't figure out how that could happen, and the worry that another aspect of our biology was showing itself distracted me through most of the day.

By the evening, I knew I had to get out and do something to better distract myself. I could feel some aspects of the heat building up in me, but I wasn't sure if it was real or wishful thinking. So just before six, I grabbed my gear and took off for the PoGo raid hour.

It was a windy, chilly day, with the sun just starting to set. Everyone outside was bundled up except me; my natural plumage had no problem with the wind, though I could feel the chill in my talons. My phone similarly wasn't really happy with the coldness; I could almost see the power indicator dropping, even with a heated case I'd picked up over Christmas and a link to my battery pack in my pocket.

I landed at the Pinecones statue, raising a flurry of fluffy snow. The rest of the raid crew waved to me, used to my appearance now, but surprised to see me.

"Hey Sky. Good to see you. We weren't expecting you this week," Ryan greeted me.

"I wasn't expecting to be here either, but I just had to get out of the house," I said.

He nodded and leaned in closer after a quick glance around. The kids were busy a short distance away, no longer as fascinated by the griffon in their midst. "Everything okay?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"I'm late," I replied quietly. His eyes widened in surprise; we'd been hanging out enough that he had a decent idea of what I meant. I continued quickly. "I don't know how or why. It should be impossible."

Ryan nodded again, "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I just need a distraction. I think... I'm hoping... it just slipped. It feels like maybe tomorrow might be when it happens. But I won't know until then, and until then, I need something to take my mind off of things."

"Good idea. Good to see you in any case, and I hope it works out." He gave me a quick hug and stepped away, glancing at his phone.

"All right everyone, we have a decent spawn this week, but it is chilly, so let's get going while the phones hold out," he announced to the group at large, getting us going as the event kicked off.

Thursday, Jan 4

The Icey God returned to bring back my heat, but he seemed less than pleased with how I had treated him a few weeks back. He stood back from me, arms crossed but with an obvious erection. I glared back at him, arms crossed as well, wings slightly spread. My own loins were moist and eager, but I wasn't going to yield to him.

"Well? You're already late. What the fuck are you waiting for?" I growled at him, matching his glare.

He didn't reply.

"Get over it. You're just a figment of my overactive libido. So let's get this started." I stepped towards him and he began to relax. He uncrossed his arms and opened them up to hug me. I pulled him in tight, feeling his shaft rub along my own. After a few moments of maneuvering, I felt him slide into me and I jolted awake, already feeling the heat gripping me hard.

As I recovered from my morning climax, I did a bit of a mental assessment. For a change, I was thankful to feel the heat grip me, mainly because it meant something else wasn't brewing somehow. I was a little concerned at the path my fantasy had taken, but pushed it to the side. Feeling satisfied for the moment, I slid out of bed and went down to get breakfast while my mind was somewhat clear. I loaded up with various supplies and retreated to my bedroom, already feeling the urges building again.

I didn't fight this round. Instead I knelt on my bed with a vibrator and started playing, doing a bit of teasing even as the yearning built up. When I couldn't resist much more, I pushed the toy in and clenched down on it, rocking as its vibrations shook my sensitive flesh. I fell forward onto my pillows, tender nipples rubbing the sheets and rode out the wave of pleasure.

I sighed softly and perched on the edge of my bed, wings slightly spread. I looked at myself in the mirror I'd gotten from Christmas, legs slightly spread in a view I was more used to. I pulled my eyes upward and noted my furry breasts were already bigger and felt heavier. Reluctantly I grabbed the box with my other recent purchase, the breast pump.

I had taken it out once and cleaned it thoroughly, but I hadn't tried it. I assembled it and hesitated, hating the idea but already feeling the need. I set it on the bed next to me and closed my eyes, beginning to rub my breasts, pinching my nipples and tugging them a bit between my fingers. I felt them harden quickly and felt a bit of wetness in my hands but a fresh need interrupted my plans. I shifted my focus to between my legs and started rubbing and pushing the vibrator in again.

"Fuuuuuckkk..." I groaned, falling onto my side on the bed as my shuddered, wings twitching weakly. I panted and rested, trying to recover. After the stress from the lack of heat yesterday, I didn't have much heart to fight it today.

When I recovered, I sat up and got ready to address my breasts again. I gave them another bit of a massage, then picked up the breast pump. I held it to my right breast and started pumping the lever. I felt the tugging on my nipple and winced a moment, but soon enough I felt a bit of relief, and heard liquid squirting through the tubes with the pumping. At first I was embarrassed by it, but after a bit, I found it relaxing. With the heat, I was still aroused, but focusing on it seemed to delay the urges. I had no real feel for how long to pump, but eventually the fluid seemed to slow down and it began to hurt, so I shifted to the other breast, and started on it.

By the time I finished, my chest felt significantly lighter, and my loins were tired of being ignored. I pulled the pump off and left it at the foot of my bed and started masturbating again, one hand squeezing my breast while the other rubbed between my legs. This time I didn't even need the dildo as a wave of pleasure shook my body, less intense then the other ones, but more thorough somehow. I moaned in pleasure and slumped down on the bed, dozing off without realizing it.

I woke up a few hours later, my stomach growling. I pushed myself out and did a bit of self assessment. I was still aroused with the heat, but the urge wasn't demanding attention. I squeezed my breasts and felt they were getting a bit bigger, but didn't need any more milking. So I decided the libido could wait but the stomach couldn't. I went downstairs and made a late lunch, making sure to drink a lot of fluids.

With a full stomach, I was surprised at how I felt. The yearning was still there; I was still deep in the heat, but I felt more in control. It would get me again, but I could choose when it fired. I decided I would hold off longer as I went back upstairs.

I picked up the milk container and tilted it, looking at the thick cream in it. I had no idea what was normal, but it felt like a lot even if it was only about a third full. I put it back on the bed, and turned on my phone, doing a bit of browsing while I felt in control.

I felt like I was getting near my limit, when a reminder popped up. I cursed and stared at my phone, remembering my appointment with Adam was that afternoon. There was no way I was going to be able to make it.

It shattered my focus and my libido broke through. I grabbed the vibrator and started using it again while trying not to think of the appointment I would be missing. I slumped back as I finished and fought to recompose myself; it was almost my appointment time and I knew I had to call Adam.

When I felt a little normal again, I placed the call. It was near my normal appointment time, so I figured he would be watching the phone and not with a client.

"Doctor Fullerton's office, Adam speaking," he answered.

"Hi Doc, it's Skyfire," I greeted him, using my new name.

"Hello Sky, how are you doing? Are you running late?" he asked. I could imagine him looking at the clock.

"You could say that. I'm sorry for the lack of notice, but I won't be able to make it today."

I could tell he could hear something in my voice. "I'm sorry for that. Is something wrong?"

"Something has changed. We... we're probably going to have to change my normal appointments.... You see, my cycle slipped."

He stayed silent for a moment, letting me explain. I could imagine his reaction easily. "So yeah, I've been fighting the heat all day, and it hasn't broken yet. Thursdays probably aren't going to work any more."

"Wow... I'm sorry," he said. "I must say, you sound good for someone dealing with that. From how you described your peaks, I expected you to be a lot more frazzled."

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, including my swollen nipples on my wet fur. "It's rough. Still rough. But I've tried a few new things this time and it seems to help. Not enough to go out in public, but enough to function a bit."

"Good, good. How about we talk about it next week? You won't be on a peak so we can keep your normal appointment for now."

I nodded and took a deep breath. I could feel the heat surging again, but I fought to keep it controlled. It felt like it would be the last surge this round. "That... That should be good."

"Good, I'll see you then.... " he paused and I could tell he was debating saying something else. "There is one thing. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to bring it up now, but I'd like to plant- err wrong terminology. I'd like you to try to give it some thought."

"Sure, what do you have in mind?"

"It's something I was looking into before the break, something to try and help your peaks maybe. And this slip actually may be a good thing.

I could almost hear the creak of his chair as he adjusted his position. "Well, one thing I've noticed about your peaks is that you always ride them out alone. And you don't seem to do anything but focus on the peak, whether it is the heat or the rut."

"I know. But it's hard not to focus on them. You don't know what it's like, how hard it hits your body and dictates what you need to do," I countered, getting defensive.

"I know, I know. But it's been seven times now, and your peaks are still crippling you. It's time to try some other things."

"Like what?" I asked.

"I really wish you were here..." he sighed, then continued. "I'd like you to try to plan to do something, something not focused on your heat or rut next time. Do a puzzle, play a game, do some baking, just do something other than focusing on your body and your libido."

I considered protesting, then reminded myself he was just trying to help. Listening to his suggestions and not dismissing them automatically was a tough lesson I'd learned in our earlier sessions.

"I could try that, but it's rough, and I'm not sure there's anything I could do to distract me enough. You have no idea how hard these make it to focus."

"I know, I know... " he paused again as he seemed to make a decision. "How about I help? This isn't something I would normally do, but in two weeks, when you're on the rut, why don't I do a house call for our appointment?"

I let out a sharp laugh, not quite believing what I heard. "That's probably not a good idea."

"We can talk about it next week, but I think it would be a good experiment."

"I'm not sure. It probably isn't a good idea. I tried something like that a couple of weeks ago. My family was here when the rut hit. I didn't even last the morning before I ran to Cardi's place."

"I see... That's fair. But it's not really the same situation. Going through that with a human family has extra stresses that make the experiment less valid. Especially since they aren't local, so they don't know what you've been going through."

I could feel the urges building again, and I started to rush to wrap up the call. "Sure, we can talk about it next week. It doesn't seem to be a good idea, but I'll think it over."

"Good, good. I must say, you do sound better than I expected you to."

"Thanks, but it's rough. I called right after I... I took care of things, so I had a bit of a respite. But it's nearly over, I can feel it building again. I don't know how much longer I can hold off to be honest."

"Well, I won't keep you any longer then. Take care of yourself, get some rest and make sure you eat and drink. See you next week."

"Thanks Adam. Sorry for not warning you earlier."

"I understand, don't worry about it. Bye Skyfire."

I hung up the phone and closed my eyes. My mind was spinning, both from his suggestion and from the rush of hormones I was fighting. One hand drifted down and started rubbing between my legs and soon enough I abandoned rational thought and was squeezing down on the dildo, seeking another release from the heat that gripped me.

Saturday, Jan 6

Our first official gathering of the year was held in a community centre on the east side of the city. I was running a bit late that day, so there were a number of people there when I arrived. I walked through the doors and paused, looking around at the familiar plumage and faces. A few turned and waved my way. All in all, we looked surprisingly good for a small group.

I spotted a familiar blue feathered griff and made my way towards her. Michelle was chatting with another couple, but her eyes lit up when she spotted me. The couple stepped away, letting her pull me into a hug.

"Happy New Year, Sky!" She greeted me.

"You too," I said, nuzzling her beak a moment before letting go. I unzipped my chest bag and pulled out a small gift. "And Merry Christmas as well. How was Elkwater?"

"You didn't have to get me.... Thank you Sky. Elkwater was... strange." She studied the small box for a moment before carefully slicing the paper with the tip of a talon. Inside the small box was an Amazon gift card. With how much we were ordering online, it was one of the safest gifts a griffon could get.

"The town's really changing, a lot less road traffic, but a lot more air traffic as you can guess. People aren't bothering to shovel their driveways much, and there's a lot more attention to the view above. It feels comfortable but strange if you get what I mean."

"I sort've do, I think, but I can only imagine it. My friends down in Parker have said similar things; that it's very much griffon focused now, which makes sense. How'd Brian handle it? Is he around?"

"He handled it like a champ, but it wasn't easy. He said it was really eye opening and he hopes to head back down to do some stories of a human in a griffon city sort of thing. He's around somewhere. I made him leave the camera at home today."

I chuckled and nodded, glancing around and spotting the reporter at the other end of the room. "Ah right, there he is. I'll catch him later."

"How about you? How were your holidays?" she asked, leading me towards the drink table. "I heard you caused a bit of a stir at Griffiths."

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, I only pointed them there, they came up on their own. But the holidays were good. Restful and stressful, but in a good way. Made me almost feel normal."

"That's good. Glad it went well for you." She paused and sighed. "My holidays were strange. It felt familiar but different. Maybe because I'm not surrounded by other griffs all the time gives me a different perspective, but the family back home felt different."

"Well, around here we're basically guests in human society, so we have to keep doing a lot of things we used to do. Down there, they're forging a new society with new norms. It puts us in an awkward place, but we'll work it out eventually I'm sure."

"Eventually yeah. It would be nice to find a spot to belong." She looked away then shook her head. "I hear you'll be leaving early today?"

"Yeah, my work's Old Christmas Party is tonight. Just a dinner at the Hilton downtown. I invited Cardi as my plus one, and she accepted. You would have been my second choice, but I figure she knows more of my coworkers and would be a bit more comfortable. And I wanted a second griffon around to spread the attention." My words started tumbling out faster than I could think as I tried to justify my choice. I hadn't realized how worried I had been about letting her know of my party choice.

She laughed and gave me a quick wing thump. "Relax. It's a perfectly good choice, and for good reasons. Goodness knows, I've been to enough staff parties that I don't mind missing one for a company I'm not involved with. Have a good time."

I relaxed and smiled back at her. "I'll try. Thanks. I should go find Brian and give him his gift. Talk to you later?"

"Of course. We've gotta plan the next few weeks after all. But that's for later. Enjoy your party."

After greeting Brian and a few other friends, I left the gathering and flew home. The staff party wasn't exactly a black tie affair, but I wanted to look a little better than I usually did for it.

I took a long shower and started preening, using towels and a low temperature hair dryer to dry off before brushing. The sun was setting when I felt my feathers and fur were presentable and I could get dressed.

My wardrobe was expanding, making my decision on what to wear a bit more challenging. I settled on a pair of black shorts, and a silky red blouse that seemed to work with my colouration. Jacques had sent the outfit to me as a Christmas present. While we didn't chat often, we did stay in touch and he said I was still a major inspiration for his designs. I dressed and started posing in the mirror. I had to admit I looked really nice, even if the blouse accentuated my breasts more than I was used to.

I strapped on my flight gear and tucked my ID card and a debit card in the holder. I didn't intend to bring a bag tonight as I intended to travel light. I adjusted the blouse, making sure my wings wouldn't bunch it up, and did a final bit of preening before heading out.

Cardi was working today, so we had arranged to meet at a park near the hotel where the party was going to be. I arrived a bit early and tried to relax, but found myself pacing in front of a bench.It was just a simple office party, a chance to have some fun with friends and coworkers and a bit of team building. But it was also my first real date in a long time, since before September. I was extra nervous considering what I was going to ask Cardi to do later on.

Both Amy and Adam's suggestions had been gnawing in the back of my mind. I would need to act on Amy's suggestion first, if I was to do it. Of the griffons I knew, Cardi was the only one I felt comfortable asking. So if tonight went well, I would be asking her for a second date that would go around the bases, and it made me extra nervous.

A rustle of feathers brought me back to the present, and I saw the familiar cardinal griffon land ahead of me. She had picked clothes that contrasted with her reds and orange colours; wearing a pair of navy shorts and a light purple blouse. In my eyes it made her quite handsome.

"You look great," she said, walking over to me. We hugged briefly, then separated. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not long at all," I said. "How was work?" I asked, shifting to a neutral topic.

"The usual. It's getting into the dead time of year, but the weather's good for the winter sports at least. It's giving me a chance to do a thorough cleaning before inventory at least."

"That's good. Bev's always loved and hated the winter months for just those reasons," I said. I held out my arm to her. "Shall we walk?"

She took it and we started walking towards the hotel a few blocks away. I nearly jumped out of my feathers when I felt her wing rub my own. I was still somewhat buzzing from the heat, and I knew her own heat would be coming soon. I stamped down the thoughts and sought safer topics.

"Thank you for coming with me," I said. "I normally just go alone, but I figured a second griffon would be useful to spread the attention."

"No problem. I've never been to an actual Office Christmas party. I hope it's as fun as the stories go."

I laughed and shook my head, "Nah, it's probably going to be a lot tamer than the movies and TV shows. It won't be much different from the griffon one we had before Christmas. Just more speeches about things that make no sense to you, and probably a higher price point for the gifts. And no trivia this time. I think it's just a dance planned."

She nodded and leaned against me. "Sounds like fun. And the meal of course. I'm starved."

My company had booked the Conrad room at the downtown hotel. It was a conference room located above the hotel's standard rooms, but below the guest suites. It gave a great view of the river and the downtown skyline from twenty stories up. We walked through the sliding doors and ignored the eyes that turned to us. I guided us to the elevators and waited for a group of guests to load up their luggage and leave before pressing the call button. It quickly became obvious that people were keeping their distance.

"Do you ever get used to it?" I asked quietly while we waited. "The staring and stuff?"

"Sometimes I do. Other times it bugs me. In the store, people are mostly used to me now so it doesn't happen as much unless someone new comes in. But here..."

"Yeah, I'm feeling it too."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened revealing a surprised man. He stared at us in shock as we separated to give him room to exit between us. It was clear he didn't want to at first. Before it got too uncomfortable, he stepped out and almost sprinted between us. We stepped into the empty car and I pushed the button for the conference room level.

"I wonder if they have roof access we could use to leave from?" Cardi asked as we waited for the doors to close. I shrugged my wings.

"Hold the doors!" a familiar voice shouted. Out of reflex I stabbed the Door Open button, hearing two people running across the lobby.

"Thanks Simon," Juanitta said as she and her husband slipped into the elevator. The four of us were filling the car without overfilling it.

"No problem," I said, happy to see some familiar faces. I pressed the door close button and it started going up.

"This is Cardi. She's been helping the GriffTech team with the GSL app, and other things. Cardi, this is Neets and Rob, two good friends of mine. They're the ones who hauled my tail back from Fort Parker."

"Good to meet you," Rob said, shaking her hand. "So you're the other griffon I've been seeing around the office."

"Yeah, I'm the one. But I haven't met many but the Griff team," Cardi said, giving me a side look.

I raised my hands. "Sorry, I never really thought to give you a tour."

She nudged me with a wing while shaking Juanita's hand. "It's okay."

I was saved by the ding as the doors opened. We stepped out into a small atrium with a coat check station and an entrance to the ballroom. I recognized a number of coworkers and their spouses already inside, mingling in the open area. My friends went to shed their coats, while Cardi and I went in.

I could feel eyes turn towards us and the room fell silent for a minute, but unlike most times I experienced this, the gazes were friendlier. I flicked my ears, hearing a lot of whispered conversations to spouses and other plus ones, explaining who I was.

Greg came over, grinning widely. I gripped his hand and gave him a back thump. "Hey Greg."

"Simon! Glad you made it. And you must be Cardi. I've heard great things about you. Welcome to our little shindig."

"Good to meet you. Sky's said a lot about you," she said. "Not all good, but always fun," she added with a wink.

Greg laughed and nodded, "Yeah, we've got a lot of stories. I'm sure by the end of the night I'll return the favour with some of Simon's stories."

"I look forward to it."

Greg excused himself for a moment and snagged a couple of treat bags from a table. "We'll talk later. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves. Here are some treats, and your drink tickets for the night. Have fun!"

"Thanks Greg," I said as my boss and friend was already wandering around to mingle more.

"Well, I'm going to go turn in one of these tickets. You want me to get you anything?" Cardi asked.

"I'm good. I'll get something later," I said. I watched her join the line at the bar, chatting with random people, and wandered over to the windows to look out. The view was gorgeous, showing the snowy city lighting up as the sun set.

"It's a great view," a voice said next to me. I recognized one of Rob's techs and her husband.

"It is. Admittedly I've gotten used to seeing something like it every day, but it's nice to see it without needing to work for it."

Her husband looked out the window, then leaned forward to look down at the ground. "You see this sort of thing regularly?" he asked, disbelievingly.

"Sure. I fly in to work every day, usually higher than this to get over the buildings."

He looked at me, then looked up at the skyline. "Wow. Isn't it tiring?"

"It's a good workout, but it's my only way to travel now. Can't fit in cars or buses easily, and I find it relaxing. We got some good muscles out of this mess, and we lost a lot of mass so it's easier to move I guess."

The tech nodded and I placed a name to her face; Mindy. "I never thought of that. Do you mind it?"

"Not yet. Give me a few more months or years and maybe."

"I can see why cars don't work for you, and it's not really the season for them, but have you thought about motorbikes?" her husband asked. I had no idea what his name was. His comment made me pause to think of it.

"I hadn't really thought of it, but I'm sure someone has," I said slowly. I wiggled my wings pensively, not noticing how they stared at me. "I don't see why it wouldn't work, aside from the weather and helmet laws and stuff. I'll have to look into that. I'm sure someone down in the griffon lands has been biking."

They nodded and drifted away while I did my own bar run. By the time my drink was ready, it was time to sit for the meal. We didn't have assigned seating, but I'd requested two stools for Cardi and I instead of the normal chairs. Rob and Juanita joined us, along with Greg's wife. Greg went to the front of the room to give a speech before dinner. While he wasn't the president of the company, he was one of the senior VPs, and the one most of us dealt with, so he tended to be the representative of the leadership at these events.

The room fell silent as eyes turned towards him. He took a sip from his glass and set it down on the podium.

"Good evening everyone, and welcome to our annual party. A chance to reflect on the year past and to highlight what's coming in the year to come. I know we're all hungry, so I'll try to make this somewhat quick since there are two people here that I'd hate to get between them and their food," he said, his eyes looking at Cardi and I. He winked and looked towards a different pair of people. "We all know how dangerous Tim and Jill were at the company BBQ after all," he said.

The room erupted in laughter and the poked pair grinned and waved. They were the smallest and gentlest people I'd ever known. Jill playfully started banging on the table and chanting "We want food!" with her tablemates.

When the room quieted down, he continued. "2023 was an excellent year for us. We finally closed the Brookside facility, completing our move into the Thompson Tower. We also expanded our customer base, with customers all across the province, and even a couple in BC now. With that, we were able to expand, adding a dozen new employees who have been an excellent addition to our teams.

"We also lost a number of people, through retirement, or from seeking greener pastures. Those losses are never easy, and we still feel them, but I wish the best for them."

"It's not all rosy news despite how I'd rather it was. We lost a few clients and had a few setbacks, but nothing we couldn't handle.

"Of course, last March, the world was rocked by the Titan's Step event down in Colorado. While it didn't affect us directly, it did shake us all. But life went on and we continued on business as usual.

"We should have realized that innocent time wouldn't last. It is a big world and the chances of another event happening near us should be remote. How wrong we were. This past September, the Fort Parker event happened, and we couldn't ignore that. It affected our customers directly. And to address the griffon in the room, it caught our Senior Tech, Simon Farrell." he nodded to me.

"That was a wrench in the works, to put it mildly. Our customers were directly impacted and we were affected. It meant a lot of adjustments, on Simon's part especially but for all of us. Speaking as a friend, I'm happy at how well Simon has handled this. I know it hasn't been easy, but I'm glad you're still part of our team. And if you need anything, just ask."

I felt my face warm from the attention, but I stood and waved a wing and a hand, turning to look around the room. It was nice to see and feel so much support heading my way.

"Thanks everyone. It has been challenging, but you've all helped me adjust, and I really appreciate it," I said, staying standing a moment longer before sitting back down.

"So yeah, the year was great for us, even if the end of the year was more chaotic than we're used to. But they say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And boy have we been putting out the lemonade.

"For this year, we have big plans, and the Fort Parker event doesn't really change them. It has given us some new opportunities. Opportunities that Simon has helped us identify and to take advantage of.

"First, there's our new marketing campaign, advertising our Phoenix backup and restoration services. If you've seen it, you will have noticed that Simon has allowed us to use his appearance as our mascot. Thank you for that. The campaign launched this week, and it's already exceeding our expectations. It's gone viral, with more views than we ever expected. And it's been generating inquiries from potential customers across the province and beyond.

"Which brings us to our next point, our growth potential. We reached all corners of the province last year. This year, we're setting our sights higher. We're hoping to expand into the territories up north, as well as across the prairies and deeper into BC. We've already had some inquiries from businesses in eastern BC and the Yukon, as well as western Saskatchewan. I'm not sure if we'll reach into Manitoba or the Northwest Territories this year, but we're aiming high."

He paused to let us give a happy cheer. It was an ambitious growth plan, but knowing our sales team and our tech team, I figured we had a decent chance of pulling it off.

"So, if anyone wants to visit the territories, speak to your managers. We'll have to be sending you guys up north sooner than you might expect," Greg continued when the cheers died down. He nodded towards a few people he knew had interest in northern visits.

"And finally, the unexpected, the lemonade if you will. We aren't normally a software company. But Simon, with his connections to the local griffon community, recognized some opportunities we were in a good position to act on. The Griff Tech team built the GriffRacer app on very short notice. It launched around Christmas and has been getting great reviews from the griffons, as well as earning us accolades from the science camp at Fort Parker for the data we've been able to share. I know Simon has more ideas for this team, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they bring out in the new year."

I resisted the urge to slouch down as all eyes turned my way again. Instead, I forced myself to sit up straighter and waved a wing again.

"So, we have exciting things coming this year. Thank you everyone, and enjoy the party!" Greg said, finishing his speech. He waved and soaked in the applause for a moment before coming back to our table. The wait staff started bringing out plates with dinner.

"Sorry to shine such a big light on you Simon, I know you've always preferred to stay in the background," Greg said, sipping his drink while we waited.

"It's fine. I'm getting used to being a center of attention. I don't like it, but I understand it."

He nodded and focused on Cardi, "And thank you for all the help you've been giving us."

"Sure, anything to help out the flock," Cardi said.

"It's good to finally see you again Simon," Greg's wife, Robin, said. "You seem to be doing well now. But I admit, hearing Greg call you a 'him' throws me off a little, considering how you look."

"It's not all good, but I'm doing better," I confirmed. "Still a lot to sort out. Like pronouns. Pronouns are something I'm still figuring out."

"Yeah, they certainly are, which does bring up another thing. How do you want to be addressed? My work's been stressing proper naming, and I don't want to be insulting. We've always known you as Simon, but I've heard you called Sky or Skyfire a lot too," she looked concerned and a bit confused.

I nodded, "Simon's fine, especially with you guys. That's how you know me, and that's who I am. But..." I paused for a moment and sipped my drink. "I suspect this is one of his last hurrahs. Skyfire is more and more who I am, and she's dominating my life. I'm coming around to her being me."

"Do you want us to call you Skyfire?" Rob asked.

I shook my head. "You guys especially, go with what you're comfortable with. For me at least, I'm finding it gives me a bit of continuity, a touch of the old me when I need it, when Skyfire's feeling like she's overwhelming me. Maybe later I'll want you to switch, but I'm not quite ready yet."

"When you are, let us know. I'm probably still going to mess up, but when you want to be known as Skyfire, I'll try to make the change," Greg said.

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it." I sipped my drink and shrugged. "As for pronouns, I still haven't sorted those out to be honest. Simon's a guy, but as you probably noticed, I tend to call Sky 'her'. Most other griffons I tend to call 'her' as well, but I'm not sure if that's right." I looked to Cardi for help.

"I have no idea. I've always been her, and still think of myself that way. I've heard some griffons are trying other pronouns, like 'zey' or 'thim' or 'hir', but a proper pronoun for us hasn't really caught on yet. So don't stress too much, call me whatever you want, as long as it's friendly. Just don't call me late for dinner."

We chuckled and focused on our meals. The waiters wandered among the tables, topping off water glasses and swapping out empty plates for the next course. To their credit, they maneuvered around Cardi and I with surprising ease, stepping around our tail feathers and reaching past our wings.

At the end of each course, Darlene took the stage and gave out a round of anniversary gifts, starting with the five year anniversaries. By the time the deserts were passed out, she only had two more to give. Greg and I exchanged knowing looks and left our deserts untouched. I wiped my beak and shook my wings to get ready.

Darlene gave us a slight nod as she returned to the podium. She waited for the waiters to finish handing out the deserts before she started. "As we all know, Innovative Solutions is twenty seven years old. So reaching the 25 year milestone is a big deal for us, especially since so many of our founders have moved on. To have two people reach 25 at the same time is even more impressive. But when you know who these two are, you'll understand it. They've been a fixture of Innovative for a quarter of a century, guiding us through the tough years and the growth ones. We all know them, know their doors are always open, ready to help and ready to listen to new ideas. Without them, Innovative wouldn't be anything like the company it is today.

"So without further ado, I'd like to bring Greg and Simon to the front, our first Silver Anniversary employees."

Greg and I stood up and walked to the front of the room, taking in the applause. Darlene and another coworker greeted us, congratulating us, handing over plaques and an envelope with our gifts.

"Congratulations. And thank you," Darlene said to me as she handed over my awards. I nodded back to her and turned to stand next to Greg, while photos were taken.

"I've already talked a lot. So you go ahead," Greg whispered.

"Thank you, Thank all of you," I opened. "Twenty five years... Wow. I never would have expected it. Greg and I joined a young start up in the late nineties as a couple of techs, fresh out of college. We figured this would just be a stepping stone to bigger things. We never anticipated that this would become such a big part of our lives.

"I've never had aspirations for management; I'm happy to let others handle that sort of thing. So instead, I've found myself settling into more of a guru role, which I am happy to have." I tapped the side of my head, "It's taken twenty five years to fill this up with all the quirks of our systems, and becoming a griffon didn't change that. I've always believed that information is meant to be shared. So if anyone ever has any questions, or just wants to chat, feel free to come over."

I spread my wings a little. "Of course this past year has brought about more extreme changes. And I can't begin to say how grateful I am to have had you all to support me. You handled my change better than I did. So thank you for everything, and I'm looking forward to another twenty five with all of you."

I waited out the round of applause, then stepped back to let Greg speak.

"You've already heard me speak a lot tonight so I won't say much. Especially since Simon said the important parts. Twenty-five years is an amazing milestone, and I'm glad to be sharing it with you. We've accomplished a lot and have developed an excellent working relationship. There have been challenges, but there have been some great successes. I too am looking forward to the next quarter century with you."

He grinned at me and waved to the cheering room. We returned to our seats and had our deserts. After the tables were cleared, the music was turned up so people could dance. I knew there was something I wanted to talk to Cardi about, but I distracted myself by talking to others.

Eventually, she overrode my reluctance and pulled me out onto the dance floor. For a rock song, Billy Talent's "Rusted By the Rain" was a surprisingly good song to slow dance to.

"Come on, you managed to dodge the other dances we did. It's about time you started getting used to some closeness," she said, pulling me in closer. She slipped one hand under my wing, pressing through my flight feathers. The other rested on my hip. I was tense as hell at first, and held my hands awkwardly before putting one on her side and the other on her shoulder. She led me in swaying in time to the music and I gradually relaxed. I knew my own heat was just past, which meant that her own heat was a week away. So anything we felt wasn't as affected by hormones. We swayed in each other's arms in time to the music, wings twitching a bit, only slightly aware of the eyes watching us.

Towards the end of the song, I leaned closer to her ears and whispered "Can we talk privately?"

"Sure," she said, starting to guide us towards the edge of the dance floor.

The song ended and we separated, but still held hands. People around us applauded and I waved a wing, my face burning with embarrassment under my feathers. She led me to a quieter corner, away from the main groups.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

I gulped and licked the edge of my beak, building up my nerve, bolstered by the wine and other drinks I'd had. "I want... Would you... Would you like to come to my place for dinner next weekend sometime?" I asked quickly. "Just you... You and me," I added.

"I would love to. I've got an evening shift on Saturday, but my Friday evening is clear. Would that work?" she asked, watching me closely.

I nodded, not trusting myself to say any more. She tilted her head quizzically. "There's something more you want too, isn't there?"

"There is," I said. "I.. I do have an ulterior motive in mind. Something Amy suggested, something that might help my extremes." How bad the heats and ruts hit me was well known in our little community and especially among my friends.

"That would be wonderful. What's her idea?" she asked.

"Well, she and Adam both have some theories that might help me. I can't take action on Adam's until my rut, but Amy's idea I can act on almost any time," I said, stalling a bit. I suspected she knew what I was going to say but she was making me say it.

"And what's her theory?"

"She suggested that I... Suggested that.... That having sex might help balance my extremes a bit. So... Well.... If you... If you are willing.... Friday would be after my egg so.... Well it should be safe." my words jumbled as I rushed to explain. "If you don't, that's fine. We can still just have dinner," I finished.

"I see," she said thoughtfully. I could feel my heart pounding as she held me in suspense. "As a theory goes, it's not a bad idea. We still don't know much about how our hormonal cycles affect us, so it's as good a theory as any."

I nodded, still waiting for her answer. She leaned forward and rubbed her beak to mine. "I'd love to come over for dinner. And for after, I may be willing."

Her answer was like a weight off my mind. A fresh batch of worries was lurking, waiting to drop, but my immediate reaction was elation. I returned her beak kiss and hugged her. "I'd love to host you. Thank you."

She tugged me back into the room. "Come on, let's have another dance. You need a hell of a lot more practice." I chuckled and followed her lead, able to enjoy the rest of the evening now that my big question had been answered.

Monday, Jan 8

I stared at the weather forecast in disbelief, trying to will more reasonable numbers to appear, to no avail.

"Minus fucking thirty," I growled, shaking my head. Temperatures that cold were not unheard of for the city, but we seemed to develop a collective blind spot to them, forgetting just how cold they were until they suddenly hit us again. A polar vortex was pushing down from the arctic, bringing the bone chilling temperatures with it over most of the country. The meteorologists were commenting about how some village in Nunavut was warmer than Toronto somehow, which didn't seem right..

I gave up staring at the screen and continued my morning routine, sipping a hot coffee while munching on a bagel. It had been cooling down as winter took hold of the region, but it had still felt within my capabilities. Flying back from the Christmas party had been one of the first times I'd actually felt cold, but I had brushed it aside as a side effect of the alcohol.

Yesterday, the high had only reached -18C, with a bitter north wind. I'd tried to treat it as a normal day, and flown out to pick up some groceries for the week and quickly regretted it. My hands were icicles, my wings ached and my tongue and nares were numb by the time I got to the grocery store, after flying much lower than I normally did. On the way home, I'd seriously considered calling a taxi for myself, but managed to make it back home intact. I still ended up cranking the heat up in the house to almost human levels to fight the bone chilling cold.

Today, it was already colder and it wouldn't get much warmer through the day. It made me carefully consider my options. It was tempting to work from home, but I had a GriffTech team meeting that was too important to skip. I could just sprint to the LRT station and take the train in, but the idea of squeezing into there was almost as scary as flying in the cold. With both options considered, I reluctantly landed back on 'flight'. Thankfully, a pair of mittens I'd ordered had come in, so my hands and forearms wouldn't be quite as cold. Everything else I would just have to endure.

Once I was done with my morning routine, I got ready to leave. I locked up the house and turned off the lights, heading for the backdoor. I strapped my phone on my wrist, though I wouldn't be using it; the cold would kill the battery faster than a drop would after all. I then tugged the woollen mittens on. In some ways they were like thick fuzzy woolen oven mitts that almost went up to my elbows. They covered most of the parts of my arms and hands that didn't have the downy feathers. When I was ready, I braced myself and stepped out.

The cold didn't quite hit me, but I certainly felt it more than I usually did. I felt my nares tighten as the air tried to freeze my nostrils. My skin tightened automatically, making my feathers puff up more, trying to trap a layer of heat near my body. I let the door close behind me, made sure it was locked, and took off as fast as I safely could.

Muscle movement helped keep my body temperature up, but it felt like it was a losing battle. When I got above the rooflines, the winds increased, a bitter north wind roaring down from the Arctic. I clenched my inner eyelids closed, and even partly closed my outer ones. The leading edge of my wings cut into the dense air, lifting me up, but it felt like they were stabbed with icy needles where the air cut through the leading feathers. I held my arms and legs tight to my body for extra warmth and focused on the downtown towers.

I decided today would be an exception from my usual habit of landing in the parking garage. Instead, I came down on the street outside our building. The cold and the early hour made sure the street was mostly deserted, so I didn't cause much of a stir. I sprinted up the stairs and slammed into the building, panting in relief as the hot air surrounded me. I tapped my card and pushed into the main lobby.

"Damn, Sky, did your fire go out? I can feel the cold wafting off of you from here," Robbie said.

"It almost did. I think we finally found my cold limits," I said. I didn't have teeth to chatter any more and sort've wished I did. I walked over to a heat vent and spread my wings, trying to soak in a bit more heat. My insulative feathers and fur almost worked against me now. I tugged my mittens off and tucked them into my chest pack. "I'm probably going to be landing on the street for the next few days," I added as I felt the heat seep in. I started brushing through my feathers, trying to push them back down after they fluffed up for the cold.

"No problem, I don't think anyone would blame you. I'm surprised you were still flying in this."

"So am I. That wind is wicked, and I usually love the winds. But I've got a big GriffTech meeting today so I had to come in."

"Well, hopefully it won't be as bad flying home. Take care of yourself."

I started towards the elevator, nodding to a couple of others who had come in. They held the doors for me; the rest of the building's workers were well used to me now, and had no problem sharing the elevator. "Thanks Robbie. Have a good one."

In my office, I spent the first few hours catching up from the weekend. There were no emergencies I could see in my regular work email pile, and the GriffTech side was similarly quiet. For the Edmonton flock, I was happy to see Michelle was on top of the cold snap, making sure the homeless griffons had a warm place to wait out the vortex. Our cold tolerance had made the winter relatively easy for the homeless griffons, at least compared to homeless humans; but even we had our limits. Thankfully, she had matters well in hand so I didn't need to help there, at least not right away.

By ten, it was time for the team meeting. The meeting room was full when I walked in. The two boxes of donuts I'd ordered were already decimated, and everyone was milling about. I snagged the last one from a box; a sugared cake donut, and went to the head of the conference table, nibbling along the way. By the time I was sitting and finished my snack, everyone had found their spots and were waiting.

"Good morning everyone. Now that we've had some time to process what's come in over the holidays, it's time to look ahead," I said, addressing the GriffTech team. "I'm sure you heard Greg's speech from the party, and you know this team is a key component for growth this year, so yay us."

I looked around and took in the smiles on the team's faces. We knew we had big targets and expectations to satisfy, but the team seemed eager.

"First, GriffRacer is a big hit, and not just here in Edmonton. We've got griffons using it all over from here in Edmonton, to Calgary and Medicine Hat, and all across the griffon lands and even down in Helena and Billings. CS is making a list of various improvements and alternate modes to consider, so development will continue, but it won't be our primary focus. Still if anyone has any ideas, please chime in. I'm especially hoping we can find some links to the Skyball leagues that are forming up."

I looked around the table and saw a few knowing nods and a couple people were jotting down some notes.

"Second, our next major focus is on the GSL app. It's proving to be a bit more challenging than we expected, but there's some good stuff coming from it. I want to bring a few more onto that project, either from this team or from anyone else, but we need to better define our targets. I'll meet with Marcel and Joanne this afternoon to get a better status update and to identify what we need."

I paused and smiled. While I no longer had lips to smile like they were used to, the team was used to recognizing my mannerisms, sometimes better than I did. "One thing to note, we do need a name for this app, and Sign of the Griffon Queen is NOT a valid option."

I saw everyone grin, with some laughing quietly as I started tapping off my talons. "One. It's way too wordy for an app name. Two. I don't want to get in trouble with April Wine, though from what I've heard they'd probably get a kick out of it. And Three, our target audience is sixty percent American; they wouldn't get the reference in the first place."

I chuckled with the rest of the room and continued. "So if anyone has any other name ideas, send them in and we'll see what we can settle on."

I glanced around the room again before bringing up my third point. "Finally, I want to start work on our third app as soon as possible. Techwise it is going to be a lot simpler, so I suspect we'll have the beta out even before the GSL app. Subject wise... it's trickier."

"This is an app idea I've been struggling with since before we formed this team. The subject matter is rather sensitive, and I wasn't sure if it was needed or not. But in talking with other griffons, there is certainly a lot of interest in it. I want us to make a Griffon Health Tracker."

There were a lot of knowing nods around the table. I mentally wished there were a few more women on the team, but like many development teams it was mostly male. "We'll have to work out the details once the team is set up. But be aware, if you sign up on this group, you'll be learning a lot about griffon biology, maybe more than you wanted. So if that makes you uncomfortable you can work on the other apps; we'll certainly still have a lot of work in both. Not to mention the other projects we have going on in the company."

"What sort of things would this app need to track?" Jim asked.

I did a quick assessment of the room while trying to figure out how to tactfully answer him. Some of the guys were obviously uncomfortable with the potential subject, but most seemed eager just to jump into a new challenge.

"Cycle tracking is one of the big things people have asked me for, both recording when the peaks happen and when they are anticipated to happen. Egg tracking goes along with that. With spring coming, we'll probably want to consider tracking molting patterns too. And we'll want to tap into Apple and Google Health data from the appropriate smartwatches to gather general health stats like heart rates and breathing rates especially while flying. A link to GriffRacer is probably lurking in there somewhere.

"I've already talked some of the ideas over with Legal, to figure out how to do this while limiting our own exposure. Among other things we want to make sure we don't keep any data; it will all be saved on the device or the user's cloud. Otherwise it opens a whole new can of privacy issues that we don't want to get into as a company.

"We also want to provide a way for griffons to send data to the scientists in Fort Parker, so we can build a bigger repository on griffon health in general. It would be voluntary and we'll probably reach out to some of them to figure out a proper exchange format and stuff."

Jim nodded, jotting down a few notes. "Sounds straightforward enough, and useful I'm sure. Once we get going, can you arrange for us to talk with a few other griffs? We have you and Cardi, but multiple points of view will help cover blind spots."

"Of course. Are you volunteering for this project?" I asked, trying to keep the surprise out of my voice.

"Sure. One of my goals this year was to take on a leadership role, and this seems to fit the bill well. I've got a teenage daughter who's also pulled me into this field by proxy, learning about various women's health apps."

I relaxed and nodded. "Great. Thank you. After the meeting we can talk more about the details and start hashing out some basic workflows. As for talking to other griffons, the best thing to do might be to swing out to one of our weekend gatherings. Anyone is welcome to come hang with us. I'll share when and where the next few are, and you can decide when you want to come."

Jim nodded and made a few more notes.

"And now, we still have some work to do on GriffRacer, so let's start reviewing that."

I tapped the keyboard and brought up a few Jira charts to move the meeting along.

Thursday, Jan 11

I let myself sleep in a bit later than normal on Thursday, anticipating what I was about to do. It was time for my fourth egg and I wasn't looking forward to it. I laid on my side on my bed, already feeling the twitching in my gut as the egg finished forming.

With a reluctant sigh, I rolled off the bed and went downstairs to prepare breakfast, not bothering to clean up, knowing what was in store for me. The spasms in my gut were getting stronger but still bearable.

I was just putting my mug in the dishwasher when a particularly strong spasm hit me. I gasped and grabbed the edge of the counter. I could feel a bit of moistness between my legs and knew it was time yet again.

Without wasting another moment, I raced back upstairs, but I wasn't quite fast enough. Another contraction made me stumble midway up the stairs. My vision blurred a bit with tears from the pain, making me blink rapidly with both sets of eyelids.

I reached my bedroom and crouched at the end of my bed, panting. I grabbed some towels I'd placed there earlier. I hesitated a moment, still dreading what I was about to do, cursing my new biology. Another contraction went through my body, and I could feel the egg moving in me now. I reached between my legs and slipped a taloned finger into my lips, carefully feeling inside me. My vagina was wet and quivering from the contractions. I could feel my cervix dilated already, anticipating the orb it was about to pass. I felt another contraction building and pulled my hand free quickly, bearing down on the orb.

This egg took about a half hour, though I didn't verify it until later. While it was happening, my only focus was on getting the mass out of me. The contractions came steadily, each one pushing the grapefruit sized egg further through my insides. Eventually I felt it bump against my cervix and catch a moment, not quite open enough for it. I winced in anticipation and grunted, crouching down lower and pushing hard with the next contraction. I felt the strain of the opening stretching and had a brief moment of worry that it wouldn't come out before I felt a wave of relief. My vagina stretched around the orb but the tight spot was past. On the next one, I pushed again and the orb was pushing through my vulva and then slid out.

I slumped against the bed even as the egg thudded into the towels, my thighs wet from the fluid that lubricated its exit. My insides still spasmed every few moments, pushing against something that wasn't there any more. I looked between my legs, and saw the egg I'd pushed out, still glistening but drying quickly. Its shell matched my colouring, some parts deep black, the other parts fiery red and orange.

Once my guts stopped spasming, I pulled myself onto my feet and stumbled to the bathroom. I took my time cleaning up, preening and otherwise making myself presentable. By the time I was done, my guts almost felt normal. I got dressed, eyeing the egg on the towels. It was dry and looked similar to the previous ones.

My post-egg routine was well established by now. I measured it and recorded it both for my records and to send to the teams down in Fort Parker. When done, I cracked it into a bowl and flushed the liquid part. The shell I crushed and tossed in the garbage.

My monthly burden handled, I set off for work and tried to put it off my mind, aside from what Cardi and I had planned for later.

The cold snap was still in effect, making the flight to work a chilly affair. I wasn't looking forward to flying to Doctor Fullerton's office, but it would be something I would have to do. I went straight to my office and closed the door, needing some alone time to settle into a work mindset, and to warm up.

After lunch, I pulled on my gloves and headed out for my appointment. It had warmed up a little through the day, but temperatures were still hovering around minus twenty, and the winds were still bitter.

I dove out of the cold air and landed just outside Doctor Fullerton's office. I quickly raced inside and headed for a heater. It was one of the longest flights I'd done since the vortex had hit the city, and I was seriously considering alternative options for going home.

I stepped out of the elevator into his outer office, a little surprised to see the door open. I was a bit early, but I went to the doorway, hoping to start earlier than usual.

"Hi Skyfire, come on in. My earlier client cancelled due to the cold. We finally found your lower temperature limits it would seem." Adam was at his desk reading something on his screen. He turned it off and got up to take his usual seat.

"Yeah, we certainly did," I said, closing the door behind me. "If I were lactating, I'd be squeezing out soft serve ice cream."

He looked me over, and I could tell he was thinking over the joke I'd made. I'd come up with it a few days before, but hadn't really been among anyone I could crack it with until now. He finally let out a little chuckle as I sat down.

"I did consider cancelling, but after last week it didn't seem to be fair. Especially with what we want to talk about for next week. But if you don't mind, I probably won't stay as long as we usually do. I want to get home before the sun sets and it gets colder."

"That's fair. So why don't we start with that. I take it you've been thinking about my proposal?"

I nodded, settling on the couch and getting comfortable. "I have. And you're right. When the peaks hit, I get stuck in my head. I focus on how my body is betraying me, and it gives it more power over me. It's a vicious cycle and I'm not sure how to break it."

"That said, I think I saw some cracks in it, when my family was in town. I mean, the rut did chase me out of my house to spare them, but talking to my sister did help me focus on something else and seemed to help put it off. It's just hard to explain what it feels like; keeping my focus off of it won't be easy."

"I know, but we aren't looking to win the war, not yet. But if we can win some battles and start giving you some more tools to reign it in."

I nodded, "In that case, I'm willing to give it a shot. It's not the only thing I'm attempting. My other... therapist made a suggestion that makes some sense to me."

"I see," Adam said, keeping his voice neutral, but I caught a hint of disapprovement in it. "What did Amy suggest?"

"Her theory is that my celibacy may be part of the reason my swings are so extreme, along with how long I resisted it when I first changed. So, it probably wouldn't surprise you, but she suggested I get fucked."

He winced at my language, though I'm sure he has heard worse through the years. "It's... not a bad theory. I'm not sure it is something I would suggest or encourage, but if it works for you, then great. I hope it isn't your only coping mechanism."

I nodded, "Yeah, I don't want that to be my only coping method, but I'm looking for anything."

"So, judging from your body language, I take it you have made plans already. Who's the lucky griffon? Michelle?"

My icy god flew through my mind and I chased him away while shaking my head. "No. Our relationship is too important to risk bringing sex into the mix. We're adults and all that, but our current relationship is too important to risk adding intimate complications."

"Right, so it would be Cardi then. I assume you've made arrangements?"

"I'm that obvious?" I laughed nervously. "I asked her last weekend and she said yes. No strings attached, no pressure. She's coming over for dinner tomorrow and we'll decide from then, but we both know my intentions, my desires, and why I'm asking."

"Well, you seem to be approaching it from a good angle. And remember, you can always say no. It's a big step to take, and you may feel like you are pressuring yourself into taking it. So if you decide you're not ready for it, just say no. I'm sure Cardi would understand."

"Yeah, just a bit of time pressure. We're aiming for my safe week, between the egg and the rut. If I don't do it this week, I'll have to wait another month. At the same time though, it'll be my first time this way, and I'm nervous as hell."

"Sounds like you are taking precautions at least. Do you know if Cardi is active?"

I paused and thought about my friendship with her. I realized I knew surprisingly little about her. "I don't know. I assume so; she is quite confident in general and seems very knowledgeable. I assume she's experienced but I didn't ask."

"I'm sure you'll find out tomorrow. As for next week, I'll leave it up to you to decide if you want to tell me about it or not. I wouldn't mind if you want to keep that aspect private."

I laughed and shrugged my wings. "I've kept nothing else from you, I don't see why I'd keep that from you. But thank you for the consideration."

"Right. So we have a lot to look forward to next week. But we still have this week to get through, and a lot of time to catch up on. How was your Christmas break?"

"In a word. Wonderful," I said. "A few rough spots here and there, but it was great to see the fam again, and they were so supportive. I was glad to have them up. And I was glad to expose them to a small dose of my world too."

"I heard about the Titans. Why don't we start at the beginning and maybe go over those rough spots, figure out why they were rough and what you could do to do better."

Despite my intentions, it was after five and the sun was setting by the time I left his office. We had a very active month to catch up on, and we'd barely scratched the surface when he decided to call it a day. I suspected he wanted to leave some for next week for the home visit to give us topics to focus on.

I paused in his first floor lobby to pull on my mittens. I could already feel the cold seeping in through the doors and the idea of flying home in it was less appealing. I made a decision and checked the transit map. I didn't want to squeeze onto a bus, but a train should be doable, just not during rush hour. Deciding I should kill a bit more time to let the crush pass, I looked up a Mexican restaurant near the train station and went for dinner.

I landed on the sidewalk just outside the door and ducked inside as fast as I could. I discovered that on top of the usual post-work dinner rush, this place was having a "Taco Thursdays" deal. A dozen people looked my way as I barged into the restaurant, looking larger than normal due to the fluffed up feathers and fur.

Instead of an airlock door, it had a hot air vent blowing down as you entered. I stood in the airflow for a moment, feeling it blow the coldness off, and tried to ignore the stares. Before someone else had to use the door, I joined the line, pulling off my mittens.

"Can I... Can I help you?" the server asked when I got to the head of the line. I'd been studying the menu while I waited, but my choice was obvious.

"This is probably going to be a bit messy, but I'll keep it contained, I hope. I haven't had tacos since...." I shook my wings a bit. "But I'm hungry. I'll have the three taco deal," I said. "One chicken, one steak and one ground beef."

The rest of the order went easily enough as we went down the line. Remembering my changed tastes, I urged them to go heavy on the jalapenos and spicy taco sauces, and soon enough I had my meal. The restaurant had a few sit down tables for eating at, and a higher table set up along the windows with stools. The regular tables were half filled, while the window seats were deserted. I headed over there immediately and could tell why; the windows were radiating the cold from the outside. Now that I was warmed up, I appreciated the chill, though I knew I wouldn't like it when I went back outside.

I stood at the window table and prepared to eat. The noise level of the restaurant had dropped noticeably, and the reflection in the window showed more than a few people were watching me curiously. It was something I was getting used to when I ate out. Everyone was fascinated with how griffons ate.

The tacos were double shelled, with a hard shell and a soft tortilla. They were loaded with meat, veggies, sauces and cheese. I picked up the first one and leaned over the container to make sure any droppings stayed contained. The hard tortilla crunched as I bit into it, my tongue pulling the chunk deeper into my mouth while lettuce, onions, tomatoes, peppers and ground beef dropped down. The spicy sauce and hot peppers hit my tongue nicely.

The noise level gradually rose as the interest was satisfied. For me, I was happy with how the experiment had turned out. The beak had forced me to change how I ate a lot of things, and while I loved Mexican food and had a lot of nachos, I'd held off on other old favorites. I was pleased I could easily keep tacos on my list.

I took my time eating, scrolling through Facebook between bites. I was clearly visible in the restaurant's window, and drawing some extra attention. The noise ebbed and flowed as more diners showed up. About an hour later, I was done. I ditched my garbage and recycling, and put my mittens on, bracing myself for the cold.

It was as cold as I remembered when I stepped out. I took another quick hop through the frigid sky to the LRT station. The rush hour crowds had died down, so I was able to land right at the door and walk into the warmth. I felt eyes from commuters turn towards me as I examined the route map, figuring out how I'd get home. Before changing, I'd used the trains occasionally, but never from this end of the city.

I bought my ticket and joined the dozen people waiting on the platform for the train. The platform was outside and somewhat exposed but they had heat walls blowing to take the edge off the chill, bringing it back up to tolerable levels for me.

The train rumbled into the station five minutes later. I saw the engineer's surprised expression in the front of the train and waved my wing to her. I picked a car near the middle of the train and waited for everyone to get on and off before stepping on board, pulling my wings tighter than usual. The car was half full, leaving me lots of options to stand. I moved towards the front and looked at the grab straps hanging from the ceiling. I used to use the straps, but now found them uncomfortably high. Instead, I grabbed two of the poles and braced myself, trying to take as little space as I could. I had to travel across half the city after all, so I would be on this train and a transfer train for a long time. The standing area was tighter than I was used to, but I did have a lot more luggage in the back than I had the last time I rode the train.

A warning chime went off, the doors closed, the train started, and I realized my mistake. I was facing the back of the train, when I should have been facing forward. It was the first vehicle I had gotten on in months, and my habits were rusty to say the least. As the train accelerated, I stumbled a little and spread my wings instinctively, even as I fought my new instincts that tried to make sense of the strange acceleration. Thankfully I got things sorted out before the next station, and without accidentally hitting anyone.

"First time on the train?" a man commented from a nearby seat.

"First time like this," I confirmed, shifting my stance to better handle the movement. I was thankful the train was electric, so the noise level was bearable. "Usually I just fly, it's just as fast and doesn't rely on other schedules."

"That must be nice. Why the train today?" he asked.

"The cold mainly. Even griffons have their limits it seems. Not to mention fur, feathers, wings and tail make it tricky to dress up in layers and stay flightworthy."

"That makes sense. I guess I never thought of that. I've seen you guys flying around a lot otherwise."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's a good perk we got with all the rest of the baggage we were given."

We chatted the rest of the way into the city core, until the train got to my transfer station. I briefly considered flying the rest of the way home, but the blast of cold that greeted me as I stepped onto the platform made me decide to stick to my initial plans. The second train wasn't crowded, so I was able to claim a similar position, this time at the back of the car facing forward so the forces were a bit easier to handle.

The rest of my trip was thankfully uneventful. When I got to the station near my home, I took to the air again and did the quick and chilly hop home. I made a mental reminder to try to take the train at least once a month or so, just to stay somewhat used to that sort of travel.

Friday, Jan 12

I busied myself in the kitchen, preparing dinner and trying not to think of what the evening would bring. I'd invited Cardi out, and she had agreed to come in after she got off her shift. The salad was a store bought Caesar, but the pasta sauce was home made.

I set the table, opening a bottle of wine and just making sure everything was neat and ready. I paced around the ground floor of my place until I heard someone on the stairs outside. I opened the door and greeted the cardinal-tiger griffon.

"Welcome! Thank you for coming," I greeted her, stepping to one side to give her room to come in. "I hope you didn't have trouble finding the place."

"No problem at all. I'm surprised you still have your lights up."

I led her to the dining room. "Yeah I've always left them up until old Christmas. But since Covid, I've left them up most of January. It just brings some light to the darkness."

"It's a good idea, and looks nice. Especially for a dreary winter." She followed me into the dining area and looked at the set table. "You know, it's usually the guy who gets the girl the dinner on a date, right?"

"I know that, what do you-" I paused and caught what she was implying, considering our plans for later in the evening. "Oh... yeah. Force of habit I guess." I mentally forced myself to switch my thinking, at least for the evening.

He laughed and leaned close, rubbing his beak along mine. "Yeah, we've got a lot of new norms to work out still. Not that it matters. It looks great."

I felt my body warm, feeling a bit confused and nervous. I hid it by retreating to the kitchen to prepare the plates. Cardi watched me leave, then started pouring the wine. We settled down on our bench seats, and a silence descended on the room.

"Not spaghetti?" he said, breaking the silence before it became uncomfortable.

I chuckled and sprinkled some parmesan on my own dish. "It was tempting, but no lips for suction makes it less fun. I've switched more towards macaroni and penne."

"You just need to practice a bit more. Our tongues are quite flexible after all." He winked and licked the edge of his beak, making my pulse increase again. "This looks and smells great."

We kept to safe topics through dinner, talking about GriffTech, some of the longer term plans for the local flock, and just how we've been adapting in general. I had the feeling he was doing his best to help me relax, something I really appreciated.

After the meal, I took my time cleaning up the kitchen, knowing what would be soon but not quite ready yet. I was washing the pots when Cardi came up and purposely bumped into me while dropping off the empty salad bowl. I jumped in surprise, dropping the pot into the water.

"Relax. Are you okay Sky?" he asked, using his wing to rub my back.

I closed my eyes for a moment to compose myself, then nodded, turning off the water. "Yeah, I am. I'm just... I don't know."

"You're as nervous as a teenager about to get laid for the first time. Which makes sense, I guess. Come on, let's go talk." He tugged my hand, leading me back to the living room. He nudged me to the couch while fetching the wine glasses and the half full bottle.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked once I'd sipped.

"I'm sure. I'm just nervous I guess. The wine's helping a bit."

"Well, enjoy it and let's talk, give dinner time to settle. What's making you nervous?"

I set the wine glass down and shrugged my wings. We were facing each other, sitting sideways on the couch. The words started tumbling out before my thoughts fully formed. "Well, us for one thing. We barely know each other, but I feel we've had a good friendship building, both to help the flock and for the apps and just in general. I'm worried this will change things. But at the same time, as I mentioned before, there are only two griffons in our flock I'd really feel comfortable asking this of; and I'm more scared to ask Michelle than you. If things go wrong in bed for some reason, souring your friendship would be bad, but with Michelle it could be disastrous for all of us. At least that's how I feel,"

He put a talon to my beak to silence my flood. "I figured it might be something like that. And I'm honoured you think that way. A little jealous that I'm your second pick, but happy too. Still, this that we're going to do, it's just sex. We're both adults, a bit hormone addled but still adults. We're going into this with our eyes wide open and our expectations clear. Our friendship won't break over a romp in the sack. Or on the sack I guess."

Cardi set his glass down and looked me over. "You aren't a virgin right? I mean, you said you haven't done it since we changed, but before?"

"No! Of course not!" I felt a wave of embarrassment go through me. "But I wasn't really all that active. It's been a long time since I was with someone else; it was basically a romp with a friend in University. Since then, I just haven't been that interested I guess. I self-pleasured and fantasied a bit, but in general I've considered myself an Ace; I just wasn't that interested in all the baggage and pressure being with someone else could bring."

"And now?" he prodded carefully.

"Now, as you said, I'm a bundle of hormones." Now that I was talking about it, combined with the buzz from the wine, I found my tongue was loosened. "After the change, I resisted the urges, even though they were quite strong. It wasn't until I left Fort Parker that I first relaxed enough to let my wet dreams do anything, and then it was just myself and my imagination after that. And Amy's toys of course. I half wonder if resisting so long is part of the reason my cycle is so offset from everyone else's. And also why my swings are so much stronger."

He shrugged and waited for me to go on. "That's basically Amy's theory and why she suggested this. It makes sense to me, as much as anything makes sense, but I don't know. No one really knows."

"I'm no specialist, and neither are they really. But it's as good a theory as any, and certainly couldn't hurt," he said. "Who knows, if we can settle your cycles a bit it might give some insight on how all of us are working now."

I nodded and gulped down the last of my wine before refilling the glass. I poured the rest of the bottle into Cardi's glass. "That's just it, I'm worried it could hurt. Not really physically, but that is a factor. I'm worried it might hurt our friendship... and I'm worried it might have other side effects." I put one hand on my belly.

He let out a friendly laugh and tried to quell it with a sip of his wine glass. "Ah right, the baby bomb issue. A lot of you guys seem to always have that on your mind. I guess it's only fair, you've only had to worry about it for a few months now. I grew up with it, and you do get used to it eventually. It never fully leaves your mind, but it's just part of you, something you keep in mind, but don't worry about otherwise. Granted, we don't have the pill to make things safer yet, but other things do work. And we certainly know when we're safe, compared to human women."

"Well, we're still guessing that this period is safe. Biologically it makes sense that we can't get pregnant right after the egg, but it's just theory really."

"It's a solid enough theory so far. There's always a risk, something we always have to assess. But it feels a lot less risky than human sex. Thankfully, sperm storage seems to be a trait we didn't inherit from our feathered brethren."

We fell silent again, while I processed those thoughts a bit more. I finally stood up and grabbed the bottle. "I still have one more. I think I'll need it. You want more?"

"Sure, whatever makes you comfortable."

When I returned with the fresh bottle, I noticed the sound system was on and Cardi was tapping on the remote controls. I refilled our glasses and set the bottle down. "What are you?" I started to ask, only to be interrupted by an upraised talon.

A few moments later, a song started playing and I let out a quiet laugh.

Let's talk about sex Baby,

Let's talk about you and me

Let's talk about all the good things

And the bad things that may be

He grinned back at me and took a sip. "Well, you heard the song. We've got all night, and a fresh bottle. Let's talk about it. Since you're the most nervous, ask away."

I sat back down and left my glass alone. I looked him over, admiring his red feathers and white furred chest. "Well, I guess it's probably obvious, but you have done it before right?"

"Many times, both ways, and with a human too," he confirmed, ticking off the count on his talons. "Not as often since I got up here, but you're not my first."

A couple of followup questions tangled up all at once. I finally managed to squeak out "Human?" while trying to figure out what I wanted to know.

He sighed, his wings drooping slightly. "Yeah, Craig, my old boyfriend. I changed when he didn't. We tried to make things work after I got back to Hat, but things were too different. We tried our best though. After my first rut, I wanted to feel like a woman again, and we tried it. It was okay, but wasn't really satisfying for either of us. It was probably one of the reasons we broke up, and I put in for the opening up here."

"Oh... I'm sorry," I said softly, not wanting to open an old wound any further.

He perked up and shrugged. "It's all air under the wings now. We've both moved on. Frankly, I don't think we would have lasted much longer together even without the change. We were an okay fit, but the differences were starting to build up."

"But you've done it with other griffons too?" I asked, eager to shift the subject. "How was it?"

He smirked at me and winked. "That would be spoilers. But it was good. Both ways. Sex as a guy was quite the experience."

"It was good? Even with how we're equipped?" I motioned to my own groin. I'd read a few reports about griffon reproduction and the barbed penisis, but the look and the thought of feeling it still threw me off a bit.

"Especially with how we're equipped. Don't get hung up by the human norms; we're griffons now. We may look like a hodgepodge of creatures, but we do fit together properly. Our penisis may look scary with human eyes, but they feel great inside and the feedback..." he shuddered happily and shook his head.

I glanced away, feeling a stirring in my own loins at the thoughts and wet my beak before continuing. "And protection? Did you wait for the safe week or what?"

"Despite appearances and expectations, the usual methods do work. Condoms are fine, just pick the heavier duty ones just in case and be careful putting them on. Cups and diaphrams also work for when you want to be a catcher." He saw a brief flash of confusion on my face. "You didn't think of that yet? I'm surprised Amy didn't suggest them."

I shook my head and sighed. "I've got so many blind spots. I never thought about female protection methods. Sex has always been about the condom for me. Or the pill I guess, but that's not an option for us."

He reached out and touched my belly. "Well, as griffons we're still young, we're still learning a lot. But you need to realize, you have some powerful equipment in here, equipment that works different from what you're used to. You've been seeing Adam, but have you been to a doctor since you changed? A gynecologist even?"

"No. Adam suggested I should find one, but it's been so busy and finding a doctor in general is a challenge nowadays, let alone one that is willing to work with griffons. I haven't been seen medically since the initial checkups at Parker."

"You really should. I'll give you the number for Doctor Bella Chase. She's local and willing to look at griffons. I've visited her a few times and she's good, and friendly; she'll make sure you're properly taught how to care for all of your new equipment."

"Thanks. I guess it's something I haven't really thought much of."

"To be fair, you haven't really had a reason to think of it; still, seeing a doctor isn't a bad idea, especially while we're figuring out how we work." He set his glass on the table and looked away.

I finished my own glass and noticed the bottle was empty. I knew it was the last bottle. I was still a little tempted to look for another. I also knew I was just stalling. I stood up and grabbed the empty bottle and glasses. "Can I get you anything else?" I asked, leaving the 'before' unsaid.

He stood up as well and followed me into the kitchen. "I'm good. How are you feeling?"

"Still nervous, but ready I think," I said, setting the glasses on the counter. He came up behind me, and I felt him squeeze my shoulders. Even though I was expecting it, I still jumped a little. I reached back with my wings, hugging him while my tail twitched a bit. I felt warm and not just from the wine.

"Come on, this way," I encouraged her, stepping away and heading for the stairs, turning off the lights along the way.

"You have a beautiful house," he said, looking around as we went up. I went into my bedroom first, moving to the side of my bed.

"Thanks, it's a bit awkward in some ways, especially now, but I like it. Lucked out and got it before the market went supernova."

"Lucky. You're probably paying less than I am too." He paused at the doorway, watching me. "Got any plans for the new year?"

"Thinking of getting a bathroom renovation. Take out the tub and make a bigger shower, one that can give me a better soak." I stood beside the bed, not sure what to do next.

He looked over at the bathroom and nodded. "I could see that. That would be nice." He waited in the doorway, looking back at me expectantly.

I gulped nervously and finally made a move. I loosened my belt and turned sideways, wiggling my hips as I pulled my shorts down. I stepped out of them, and stood there, naked in his presence, the first time I'd been naked among another griffon since Fort Parker. I pulled my wing back and looked over my shoulder at the cardinal griffon, lifting my tail feathers up. I was getting mixed signals from my loins, my vagina moist and my sheath also a bit swollen in anticipation.

Cardi didn't say a word. He stepped into the bedroom and closed the door needlessly. He licked his pink beak while working on his own shorts, sliding them down his tiger striped legs. He faced me, arms to his side, wings twitching a bit, letting me take him in.

It was the first time I really looked at a naked griffon, at least in this way. While nudity had been the norm down in Fort Parker, I had been fighting to keep my libido in check and avoided looking at others in that way. Now, my libido was off its leash and I drank him in.

Cardi was a handsome and beautiful griffon, with a figure that appealed to me in ways that humans no longer did. Since we flew almost everywhere, we tended to be muscular, especially in our chests, even with our breasts. The shape of his beak, his perky breasts, strong wings and arms, were all appealing. My eyes drifted lower, taking in his red plumage and tail, and the white, orange and black tiger pattern of his fur. Finally, I focused on the one part I'd been trying to ignore. My eyes followed a scaled hand down as he stroked his sheath, already clearly partly aroused. The fleshy shaft with the barbs still scared me a bit, but also made my loins moist. I gulped a bit, feeling my pulse quicken.

"Why don't you lie down and get comfortable," he suggested, taking a few steps closer.

"Shu-sure," I stammered out, turning away and focused on my bed, feeling a little indecisive.

Griffons had been developing many positions, mostly similar to human positions. Laying down on my back wasn't comfortable with the wings and tail feathers, but for the first time, I wanted to see him. I pulled my tail tight against my legs and sat on my tail feathers on the bed. I leaned back, bracing myself with my wings. My entire body was quivering in anticipation.

Cardi was suddenly next to me and I was intensely aware of his presence. He sat on the edge of the bed next to me and stroked my wings. I met his gaze and nodded. "I'm ready," I said.

"Almost," he said, suddenly shifting his position until he was straddling me. I had a close view of his white furred breasts, and his erect member, as well as a peek at his vulva. It was obvious we were both feeling it both ways.

I pushed myself up with my wings, and nuzzled his breasts nibbling at his nipples and making him gasp. He stroked my ears making them twitch, then rubbed my wings. It felt like we spent an eternity playing with each other, running talons through fur and feathers, nibbling and doing tentative probing with our talons and even our tongues. I felt like I was in the middle of my heat again with the amount of arousal I was feeling, yearning for him to get it on, but not quite ready for it at the same time.

After an eternity, he shifted position over me and I knew he was getting ready. He braced himself on the bed just above my shoulders and spread his legs a bit, his tail feathers spreading along with his wings. I glanced down past his breasts and saw his shaft, looking larger than I expected. I'd been pushing eggs out of my opening for months now so I knew it would fit, but it still seemed too big. My own shaft was somewhat hard from our foreplay, glistening on my dark fur. He glanced down as well and wiggled a bit, pressing forward, and suddenly I felt something pressing into my hot vulva. I gasped as I felt it sliding in deeper and deeper.

I clenched the comforter under me, and dug my claws into it, fighting the orgasm I was on the edge of. Cardi seemed to sense my resistance a bit, and began to pull back, and I realized what the barbs on our shafts meant. I felt them slide in my moist tunnel, not painful but lighting up sensitive flesh. I couldn't hold it any longer and let out a screech, shuddering as the orgasm washed over me.

Cardi held his position for a long moment, half in me as I spasmed under him. He was breathing hard as well, somehow managing to hold back his own climax. When the crest of the orgasm had passed, he pushed in again and I felt myself tighten up on the hard shaft. He pushed in and out a few times, before pushing in deep, pressing hard against me, pinning my own hard member between our furry bellies.

"Better than the toys?" he gasped out, looking down into my eyes.

"Gods, yes," I gasped back, panting hard, feeling my pleasure building again in ways I hadn't experienced before.

He pulled back and thrust in hard again. This time he didn't hold back, and I felt his shaft throb and pulse a bit and he let out his own screech of pleasure. I echoed it, climaxing again. I even felt my own member twitch and wetness spread on my belly.

He twitched a bit more, then slumped down on top of me. I hugged him and nuzzled along his beak, both of us panting hard, nipples tingling. I clenched on the shaft still buried deep in me, getting used to the sensation. It still felt strange to me, but it felt nice in ways I hadn't expected.

"Fuck...." I moaned softly.

He nuzzled me again and slowly pulled back. I shuddered, feeling the barbs rubbing in me, not quite enough to tip over again, but still feeling surprisingly nice. He slid out and rolled over to one side.

I weakly sat up and pulled my wings together so I could roll over onto my side and face him. I looked at my belly and saw the wet spot on my fur, my own shaft slowly calming down. Below that, my vulva twitched a little, glistening with wetness that was spread over my thigh fur. A bit of thick white fluid, similar to what stuck to my belly fur, dribbled from the lips.

"We need new toys," I said, shifting my focus to the red griffon next to me.

Cardi laughed and played with my nipples as we faced each other on the bed. "We certainly do."

I reached over and pinched his own nipples and rubbed his breasts. "I wasn't expecting that... Damn... Wow..."

"I take it, you liked it?"

"It may be the hormones talking, but I probably wouldn't say no to going again... But not right now."

He giggled and shifted his hand to stroke my shaft. It twitched and began to harden. "Good, I'm too close to heat to go again right away. Maybe closer to the rut but not today. A shame you don't have protection yet, I'd love to show you both ways. Maybe next time."

"Next time. Fuck, I've got so much to learn. What do I do with all this?" I asked, looking down at my groin.

"Nothing for now, unless you really want to. Later, just wash. A cloth with soap and water is enough around your pussy. No need to wash inside; our bodies can handle that naturally."

I nodded a bit and closed my eyes, trying to stabilize my breathing. "Okay, that's not so bad." I reopened my eyes and flicked my ears, while sliding my hand down his side, tracing the fur-feather line. When I reached his loins, I rubbed his own labia, feeling the moist lips there. "And I'm not turning in my Ace card... but I could get used to this a bit."

He gasped a little and licked his beak before licking my beak. "I wouldn't expect anything else from you. I hope this helps."

"It certainly didn't hurt," I said, rubbing harder, slipping a talon in. He shivered and twitched his wings, squirming to give me a better angle.

With how aroused we both were, it didn't take much more for me to tip him over the edge. It wasn't as intense as our earlier activities, but I saw and felt him gasp and shudder from my stroking and probing.

Now that the action was done, I could feel fatigue setting in, along with a euphoric afterglow. We kept cuddling and petting. When I felt I had a little bit of energy back, I got up to turn off the lights. Cardi watched me from the bed as I assessed what we did. I ached in ways I'd never ached before. My loins were sticky and I didn't care for now. The comforter had tears where talons and claws had dug in. I was glad I had planned on it getting damaged; it was an older comforter that I was going to throw out if I needed to. I flicked off the lights and got back on the bed, looking at the shadowed griffon mass next to me.

"Thank you," I said, giving her another beak kiss.

"Rest well, Sky." she replied, nuzzling and stroking me in return.

Saturday, January 13

I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep and slept in late the next morning. When I finally started to wake up, I was confused. I could sense a presence next to me in the bed, hearing their steady breathing. Once my brain got into gear, I remembered what was going on and relaxed a bit. I opened my eyes and saw Cardi still in deep sleep, her tongue hanging out of her beak a bit. I glanced at the clock to see it was half past eight and decided to keep dozing.

A while later I heard her breathing change and opened my eyes. I saw her blinking and yawning. Her wings stretched out off the bed behind her. Her yellow eyes blinked a few times before she focused on me.

"Good morning," I said.

"Morning," she replied groggily. "How are you feeling?"

I took a moment to consider my answer and how I felt. "I'm feeling... good. A bit sticky I guess, but no regrets."

She smiled and nuzzled me. "Good good."

"How are you feeling?" I asked, stroking her side. I glanced down and saw we both had a strong case of morning wood.

"I'm feeling great." She stretched her wings again and sat up a bit, looking down and seeing what I was looking at. "Four months on and I'm still getting used to that of course."

I giggled and daringly reached down to rub it. "Care to do something about it? I'm still safe."

She chirred softly and nodded, flicking her ears. "I wouldn't say no, if you're ready for it."

Now that I was thinking of it, I could feel my loins warming up to the idea. This time I decided I wanted to be on top. I pressed against her and started to climb over her. She quickly realized what I had in mind, and after a brief tangle of wings, tails, arms and legs, she got herself laid out with me straddling her thighs.

"Feeling experimental?" she teased as she propped herself up with her wings. She wiggled to get comfortable on the mattress while I faced her, reaching down to help wake her morning wood.

"Something like that. I wrecked my feathers last night, figure it's only fair to make you mess yours up," I teased, stroking along her hardening member.

"Good thing I know you have a good grooming set I can borrow," she said, rubbing my breasts and making my pulse quicken. One advantage of our wings was that we could use them to prop ourselves up while leaving our hands free for other things.

We didn't do as much foreplay this time. When it felt like we were both ready, I braced myself on her shoulders and lifted up so I could slide closer. I looked down to make sure we were lined up and hesitated for a moment before lowering myself down. I let out a happy moan as I felt the thick shaft slide into me again. This time I was in a better position to look down and see it filling me. It stretched my opening, not quite as much as the eggs did, but more than I was used to.

I lifted myself up a bit and let out a louder moan as I had the sensation of the barbs rubbing inside me again. Cardi echoed my moan and twitched a bit as she tried to move with me. I hugged her and nuzzled as we rocked and before long, I felt her tense and then release. I let my own climax happen as well, and let myself slump against her.

Some time later, I felt her nuzzle me, helping me refocus. It had only been a few moments. I rubbed her shoulders and sighed happily.

"You okay?" she asked, rubbing my wings a bit.

"Yeah, just taking the moment." I finally lifted off of him and slid back. "But the moment is past, for now. I'm starved and I need to get cleaned up."

"Yeah we both do. It's your place, you go first."

I slipped off of her and stood up. I caught my movement in the mirror and turned to examine myself. My feathers and fur were a mess. The fur around my belly was matted down with dried cum and other fluids. The fur of my thighs and groin were similarly messy with dry and wet fluids. I cupped my breasts and shook my wings a bit. "Damn, I'm a mess."

"Yeah, we're messy when we go all out. But it's fun." Cardi sat up on the edge of the bed, watching me. She flicked her own wings and watched me and my reflection. I didn't think she realized she was rubbing herself, her fingers slipping into the opening between her legs. It was making my own shaft harder..

I decided it was best to get going before hormones got the most of us; I knew Cardi was only a day or two away from her heat, in the prime danger zone. I quickly went to the bathroom, grabbed some spare brushes from the cupboard and tossed them into the bedroom onto the bed.

"Here, you can do some preening while you wait," I suggested. "They're new ones, left over from the first session in October."

I closed the bathroom door and started running the water in the tub. I brushed my beak, while contemplating how much time I wanted to take cleaning up. While I wanted a bit of a soak, something my bathroom didn't really support, I decided a quick wipe was more in order.

I stepped into the bathtub, feeling the water pool a bit around my paws. I used a cloth to soak the fur on my belly, loins and thighs. I lathered in some shampoo and rinsed it out, feeling a bit of arousal, but not enough to feel the need to take action on. As I washed off my vulva, my mind briefly considered what was deeper in. I pushed those thoughts to the side before I started spiralling; there was nothing I could do about it now.

I finished up and towel dried as fast as I could. I wiped up the bathroom counter and set up a few fresh towels and cloths for Cardi, grabbed my brushes and stepped out.

"All done, feel free to go in if you want," I said. "There's fresh towels there for you. Just leave them in the tub and I'll get them later."

We swapped rooms and I started brushing out my fur and feathers. I felt clean and presentable before she was done. Without getting dressed, I went downstairs and started preparing breakfast.

"Mmmmm, breakfast with a view," Cardi said, coming down the stairs. She had pulled her shorts back on.

I flicked my tailfeathers to one side and wiggled my wings. "I needed a bit more drying time. I'll dress later. What do you feel like for breakfast? I've got bacon, toast, Eggos, yogurt and fruit. Oh and eggs I guess."

"Bacon without eggs sounds good enough for me. And some yogurt," she said. I stepped to one side to give her room to get to the coffee machine. "Your eggs are beautiful."

I looked at her, then at my first egg. "Thanks. So are yours," I said, remembering her egg in her condo. Having another griffon comment on the egg seemed less embarrassing then having humans comment on it.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked as I cooked. Naked bacon cooking was safer when you had a layer of fur and feathers to protect you; though I did my best to keep the splatters down, not wanting the grease to wreck my fur quality.

"I'm feeling good," I said. "No regrets, and it felt really nice. Some nagging worries that will probably keep going until my next heat, or my next egg, but nothing I can't handle."

"That's fair. I won't say it goes away but you get to know your body one way or another. We should get in the habit of using protection in any case. Practice using condoms and a diaphragm. Doctor Chase can fit you for one if you ask."

"Do condoms make it feel different?" I asked, loading up the plates. We moved to the dining room to eat. .

"A little, but not as much as you would expect."

We ate in silence before I brought up the next thing I was curious about. "You know why I asked you to do this. Amy thought it would help my peaks and you know I've complained about how bad my peaks are. But I don't think you've ever really described yours. How do you handle them?"

"The first few were rough; they caught all of us by surprise of course. But mine don't seem to be as bad as yours. I don't know if Amy's theory is right, because I was active, or if it's because of other reasons."

"The late November and December ones, I had to work through. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get through the day, but I found them easier to handle. I had to work so that gave me something else to focus on. There were some close calls, and my temper was shorter than usual, but I got through it."

"Sounds like Adam's theory might be stronger than Amy's," I said.

She nibbled on a crunchy piece of bacon and nodded. "Most likely. Both have merits, and I don't mind helping experiment."

I chuckled a bit and nodded in agreement. "Any more tips?"

"Tips? Oh yeah! Well, let's see.... First, take the edge off. Give in to the heat or the rut when it first surges, get it out of your system a bit. That will help with the rest of the day. After that, keep busy, keep your mind on other things and you'll have a stronger base to fight back against the hormones. And finally, invest in some maxipads. Both for the heat and the rut."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Maxipads?"

"Yeah, they're surprisingly useful. We don't have periods any more, but I had some left over, so I used one for my last rut and it was surprisingly useful. Just a bit of extra padding around the sensitive parts, and it helps hide what's going on down there. Give it a shot and you might be surprised."

"Thanks," I said, making a mental note. The Simon part of me had a typical male reaction to the idea, but he knew he was losing ground.

"So what are you doing today?" she asked, shifting topics.

"There's another round of tryouts for the skyball team at Commonwealth," I said. "I'm not trying out, but I'll be there for support."

"Nice. Wish I could go. Sounds like it will be fun."

"Yeah, it should be. Thankfully the polar vortex moved along. It's only in the teens."

"Only," we laughed at the idea of that temperature being comfortable.

We cleaned up the kitchen, bumping into each other more times than needed. Neither of us were looking for more action, but the contact was a nice tease. Once my place was back in order, she started putting on the rest of her gear.

"Thanks for everything," I said as she prepared.

"It was my pleasure. I'm looking forward to you repaying the favour in a week or so," she said, winking at me.

I felt my face warm, but the promise was very appealing. "I'm looking forward to it. Just let me know when."

"Oh I will. But don't expect a home cooked meal like you did. I'm a mediocre cook at the best of times."

I laughed, "Don't expect that too often from me either. This just felt like a special occasion."

She stepped up to me and nuzzled, beak to beak. She teasingly pinched my nipple. "Oh it was special."

I laughed and pulled my wings forward to hug her, then pushed her away. "Get going before we need to clean up again."

"Fine! Fine. Have fun Sky."

"Thanks, try to have fun as well, if you can."

I let her out the back door to my usual takeoff spot. I stood on the porch and waved as she took off. She circled overhead briefly then set off towards her condo.

Over the next hour or so, I stripped the bed and hauled the towels and sheets down to the basement to wash. I puttered around the house, cleaning up and just stewing in my thoughts and feelings over what I'd done. I had some worries and concerns, but I eventually decided I had no regrets.

Monday, January 15

Around 9:30 in the morning, I had a gap in my schedule. I'd caught up with all the reports and updates from the weekend, and my team meetings weren't until ten. With Cardi's advice still ringing in my ears, I decided to take action before I got cold paws. I made sure my office door was closed, set up a notepad to scrawl notes down, and dialed the number she'd left me.

"Riverside Medical Services, Doctor Chase's office, Mandy speaking. How can I help you today?" the receptionist answered after a few rings.

"Good morning," I said, suddenly feeling nervous. "I'm Simon Farrell. I'm looking to book an appointment. A friend of mine suggested Doctor Chase to me."

"I see. Are you already a patient with a Doctor here?" the receptionist asked.

I shook my head, "No, I'm afraid not. Until recently I hadn't seen a doctor in decades, and my old family doc is back east."

"Right, I'm sorry, but Doctor Chase isn't taking new patients at this time. But we can add you to her waiting list. Or I can suggest other physicians you could try."

I wasn't surprised to hear that; the strain that the health system was under was well known across the country, but the governments didn't seem to want to do much about it but pass the blame around.

"Sure, I would appreciate it," I said. "But I don't know if there are many doctors around here who could help me."

"Is there something wrong?" Mandy asked. I could hear the concern in her voice. "If you are ill or injured you should go to the hospital. Or check out a walk-in clinic in your area."

I let out a nervous laugh, "No, nothing's wrong with me. At least nothing that I need addressed right away."

"Okay, that's good," she said, clearly relieved. "What sort of medical services are you looking for? A family doctor? A diabetes specialist? Senior care? Pediatrician or something else?"

"I guess I'm looking for a family doctor, or a general practitioner or whatever it's called. But I need someone who's knowledgeable about griffons. That's why Cardi suggested your office to me."

"OH! You're a griffon? Just a second..." Through the connection, I heard a rustle of paperwork and some rapidfire typing on a keyboard. "You said you don't have a family doctor at the moment, right?"

"I don't. He's still seeing my parents back in Ontario, but I haven't seen him since I was in my teens. Haven't seen anyone really, other than the tests they did on me last September."

"Okay, well that makes it a bit trickier. Doctor Chase does have a full schedule, but she wants to help as many of you griffons as possible. Normally she'd do it as an advisor in conjunction with your family doctor, but since you don't have one...." Mandy fell silent as she continued typing rapidly. "Could you hold for a minute?"

"Sure, I can wait," I said. I leaned back on my ball-perch, stretching out my wings to brace against the wall as generic hold music took over. I tapped my mouse and skimmed Outlook for any fresh emails, but nothing urgent was waiting.

"Are you still there?" Mandy asked. "I have Doctor Chase here. What did you say your name was again, and how do you prefer to be addressed?"

"Simon Farrell," I said and paused. Somehow in the past few months, I'd never really thought about the honorifics I wanted to use. "Anything works, I guess. I'm sort've used to Mister of course, but it's not the most applicable any more. You can call me Simon, I don't mind." I stopped myself from suggesting Skyfire; I suspected her position in our community would have pushed me to the front of the list, but I didn't want to use her for favours.

"Certainly, Mister Farrell. Doctor Chase would like to speak to you. Please hold."

The hold music kicked in again, but only for a minute. A new woman's voice was on the line. "Good day, Mister Farrell. I'm Doctor Bella Chase. I understand you're looking to become a patient of mine?"

"Yes, or to at least get some checkups I guess, and some advice maybe."

"Okay. Please understand my patient load is already quite high; but I am becoming one of the few griffon specialists in the city, so I'm trying to help your kind where I can. Is there anything in particular you are looking for, or that you need right away? Are you pregnant?"

"Pregnant? No! No I'm not," I said, hoping the hint of worry didn't show in my voice. It had been an active weekend, but it should have been safe. "I don't need anything right away. I'm feeling fine, all things considered. I'm friends with Cardi, and she suggested you, mainly because we-I'm becoming a bit more active, and, well I don't really have the background to fully know what I'm doing, or should be doing."

She let out a pleasant laugh. "That is understandable, and I can see Cardi saying that. And don't feel bad, all of you griffons tend to need some lessons on how to properly care for your new bodies. I'll pass you back to Mandy to schedule an appointment. I think I have some openings next week, so she can see where we can fit you in."

"Thank you, Doctor Chase. I appreciate it."

"No problem. I'll see you soon."

After a brief moment on hold, Mandy was back on the line. "Okay, we have some openings next week, on Wednesday or Thursday. What times work best for you?"

"Wednesday afternoon if possible," I said quickly.

"That is doable. How does 3:30 sound? It would take about an hour for a first appointment."

"That's fine," I confirmed, then gave my contact information to make it official.

"Right, looking good. You said you don't have a current physician. Have you had any sort of checkup recently? Especially since you changed?"

"I was in Fort Parker, at the Flying J. So I was one of the volunteers in the early days. I'm sure they have my records there."

There was more tapping, and I heard some subvocalized mumbling. "Great, we can work with that. When you show up, we'll have a permission form for you to fill out to request their records. And if you'll allow it, we'll share our findings with them to add to the griffon health databases."

"That's fine, I've gotten used to sharing a lot with them. Anything that might give a clue about what happened to us, or at least make sure we stay healthy. Is there anything I need to do before I arrive?"

"Nothing special. You can eat and drink normally, no need to fast. We'll probably look to take various samples to help establish your baselines, and to compare with what was gathered last September. And clean between your legs; Doctor Chase will be doing a thorough checkup."

I felt my ears warm and pressed them back in embarrassment. It made sense but I still wasn't used to thinking like that. "Sure, thank you."

Mandy made a few more taps on the keyboard. "You're all set. You should be getting a text and email reminder shortly, and you'll get another the day before. See you then!"

"Thanks again... Got them," I said, seeing the notice pop up on my phone. "I'll see you then."

Thursday, Jan 18

My icy goddess was back and I welcomed her with open arms and wings. We floated in a cold dark starlit void. I could see her clearly despite the apparent darkness we were in. My nipples tingled and my shaft was already hard in anticipation. She flicked her tail feathers a bit and motioned towards me, her wings spread to show her plumage more clearly. I needed no further invitation.

The distance between us vanished and she was in my arms. I rubbed my paws along her legs, feeling my sensitive shaft against her fur. We rubbed beaks, breasts pressing together while I hugged her.

I shifted my talons down to her furry hips and squeezed them, pulling her in closer. I was all in this time, shifting my grip to stroke her sheath a moment even though it was dormant. One thing I'd learned over the past few months was that even during the peaks, when one sex demanded all the attention and focus, it could still feel nice to give the other some focus.

She chirred in agreement and rubbed my arms, her beak nuzzling at the base of my neck, her talons gripping my shoulders. I stroked lower, finding her opening already moist and quivering with arousal. I stroked her clit briefly before my own urges took over.

I shifted my grip to her hips and pulled her closer. I pushed into her hot, wet tunnel and felt it tighten around my shaft. I still had no real knowledge of what this felt like from the male griffon side, but I knew what she was feeling now and it seemed to intensify my imagination.

I pulled back a little and the barbs on my shaft flared, intensifying the sensations. The goddess shuddered in pleasure as well and squeezed harder. I gripped her harder and pushed in deeper, feeling her own sheath press against my belly fur. All too soon, I felt our bodies tense and my shaft throbbed, releasing in her hot depths.

I woke up suddenly, my body still tense and shaking with pleasure, panting hard. I was lying mostly on my side, and I could feel my morning wood was still hard. I couldn't see anything in the darkness, but I felt the other side of the bed and could tell there was a wet spot there. The rut was here and it had taken its first payment.

I groaned, my mind getting into gear. I pushed myself up slowly and slid off the side of the bed. I fumbled for the light and squinted at the sudden brightness. Able to see now, I could see a large wet spot on the side of the bed, and a similar spot on my belly. My shaft was still hard, but not yearning for attention.

"Okay, here we go again,' I grumbled to myself. It was early, but more sleep was impossible now. Instead, I started reviewing my plans for the day. Satisfying the initial urges was done. I would clean the sheets later but for now, I went to do my usual morning routine, washing up my fur and doing some basic preening.

By the time I was done, I could feel the urge building again, but I refused to give in to it. The throbbing of my shaft was hard to ignore, not to mention how swollen and hard my nipples were. I swore they were growing as I watched, but I knew it was just my imagination.

Instead of giving in, I forced myself to continue my routine. Starting with getting dressed. Cardi's advice echoed in my memory as I looked at what I'd set out the night before, a fresh change of clothes and a pack of pantyliners. I opened the packet and unwrapped one of them, fighting some leftover male squirminess; I wasn't even using it for the designed purpose, but many griffons had reported they did help.

The other new thing in the pile was something I had ordered but not used. Since the change, I had been going commando, wearing no underwear under my shorts. My old boxer-briefs certainly didn't fit any more, and the initial offerings from the designers just didn't seem right. The basic griffon underwear was designed as panties. Since our sheaths were only sexual and not used otherwise, it made some sense; but my formerly male mind had a hiccup over wearing panties. I'd finally broken down and ordered a set of cotton 'granny panties' in anticipation of my next rut and heat.

Griffon panties were a little different from regular human ones. They were basically the same, but they had more give in the front for the sheath, while still covering my ass and pussy. I pulled them on, the fabric squishing my fur a bit more than I was used to. I could feel the cotton rubbing my member, making the arousal harder to ignore but I still fought it. Instead I slipped the liner in and placed it in the front so it added a bit of protection. I pulled on my shorts and stood up, looking at myself in the mirror. Knowing what I was looking for, I could tell my shorts were tenting much more than usual, but for others, I doubted anything was particularly visible.

I shifted my attention upwards and rubbed my furry breasts. My nipples were swollen and visible on my larger orbs. I cupped them in both hands and pinched the nipples between my fingers. The feeling made me moan and nearly made me cum again. I let go quickly and grabbed my top, pulling it on over my head. I tucked a couple of absorbent pads over my nipples for the inevitable leakage, and inspected myself in the mirror. I looked fairly normal, especially considering how ruts usually made me feel. My body had a tenseness to it that I thought I could see, but overall I felt normal.

I forced the feelings my hormones were giving me back, and went downstairs to make breakfast. After eating, I felt better. The urges were a constant distraction in the back of my mind, and in my shirt and shorts, but I felt a bit better able to control them. Using Adam's advice, I went to my office and tackled some work. Technically I was 'off' for the day, but there was always stuff that had to be done, especially when you had been with a company as long as I had been.

By lunch time, I felt reasonably good. I'd been fighting the urges all morning and been mostly successful; the pad in my shorts was wet from the few times I had to give in and 'rubbed one out', but I'd resisted the urges to go full out. I knew I would have to review all my work later, when I was in a saner state of mind. I left my office and made my way downstairs to the kitchen. As if it could tell I was taking a break, my libido roared for attention. I did my best to keep it reigned in, forcing myself to prepare a proper lunch. It was just a bowl of canned stew, yogurt, an apple, some sweets and a glass of juice. I treated it like a six course meal, making sure to savour each bite and doing my best to not think about what was happening down below.

After lunch, my restraints were weakening.Most tellingly, the padding over my nipples was getting wet and heavy, on the verge of falling out of position. Knowing Adam would be coming over in a few hours, I figured it was a good enough attempt and retreated to my bedroom. I stripped off my clothes and checked the pads. They were wet and stained but holding up well enough, especially since this wasn't the type of flow the panty liners were designed to handle.

I gave in to the urges and retrieved some of my toys. I relaxed on the bed for a somewhat quick but intense play session. I tried to ignore my swollen cock and instead played with my nipples, getting my talons annoyingly wet. I also used a vibrator and played with my pussy. It didn't fully 'wake up', but the feelings were still strong and drove my arousal to higher levels. Finally I switched toys and slammed my swollen shaft into the lubricated toy. It only took a couple of thrusts before I came, feeling the pulsing through the toy. I slumped back on the bed, panting hard, sated for the moment.

After recovering, I sat up and set up the breast pump. My chest was feeling really heavy now, and I didn't want to be too swollen when Adam showed up. I took my time, pumping each breast and trying not to get too aroused from it. I was only partially successful. Like last time, the container was only about half full when I was done, and I was more than ready to fill something else. I grabbed the toy and unloaded into it yet again.

I sighed wearily and looked at the results. The rut was still gripping me hard, but I had some respite now. The toy meant I was less messy than the morning routine had been. I set the pump and toys to one side and got dressed, putting in a fresh pantyliner and breast pads to hopefully handle the rest of the day. It was tempting to leave everything as it was and go back to work. Instead, I took them to the bathroom, dumped the milk and gave everything a good scrubbing so it would be clean for later. I had no doubt there would be a later soon enough.

Getting back into a work mindset was difficult, especially with the rut demanding attention. Nonetheless, I buckled down and picked up where I had left off.

Like the morning, the focus certainly helped. I had to pause a few times again to relieve myself, but I managed to keep the worst urges in check. I'd just done another paw-off break, relying on the liner to hide my release, and was trying to pick up where I'd left off in the report, when the doorbell rang. I jumped in surprise, wings flaring out and feathers fluffing up in a protective manner. A glance at the clock showed it was just after three.

"Shit, already?" I growled, trying to calm myself. The doorbell rang again, and the nest doorbell app pinged for attention. I ignored it, knowing who was there.

Instead, I stood up and ducked into my bedroom to check my appearance. I was presentable, the padding keeping everything somewhat contained. I ran my talons through my head feathers and licked my beak briefly as the bell rang again.

"Coming!" I shouted, heading down the stairs. I opened the door and found Adam standing there. "Sorry, I lost track of time, in a good way. You surprised me," I greeted him.

My head doctor stood on the porch, bundled up in a heavy jacket, a toque and mittens. I realized that while the cold snap had broken, it was still in the negative teens with a wicked windchill. Very nice for a griffon, but still rather bitter for regular humans.

While I was studying him, Adam was studying me. He took in my appearance, but didn't comment on it. "No problem. I expected you to take some time. I half expected you to tell me to leave."

"I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind. But overall, this one seems to be going better." I remembered my manners and stepped aside. "Please, come in. Take your jacket and boots off if you want. I think it's warm enough." I checked at the thermostat, having remembered to turn it up the day before. After Christmas, I'd added a 'human guests' setting to the program to bring the heat up to more tolerable levels.

Adam stepped in. While he shed his outerwear, I closed the door and opened the closet and offered a hanger to him. I motioned for him to have a seat in the living room while I settled on the padded bench I used as my main seat now. The urges were building again, as if sensing I was more distracted.

"So, how are things going?" he asked. He took out a small pad and a pen and set them on the arm of the chair he was in, but as usual, he wasn't writing anything down.

I tried to relax as best I could despite the tidal wave of hormones I was feeling. Despite my role in the local griffon community, I normally considered myself an introvert. Hosting company was difficult for me on a good day, and this wasn't a good day.

"I'm doing okay. The advice is helping," I started.

"Good. You are looking good," he encouraged me.

"Well, I did give in around lunch time, but mostly I've got a grip on things." I said. I continued from there, describing how the morning had gone and how the rut was hitting me. By the time I finished, I could feel the urges building again, and since I had company I didn't feel comfortable rubbing it out. I was squirming on the bench, trying my best to stay focused on him.

He noticed my discomfort and brought it up when I finished. "How are you feeling now? Do you need a moment?"

"It's... rough," I confirmed. "Things are building again, but I want to push it. It should be getting near the end now, maybe if I can push through it, it will fade naturally."

He looked doubtful, but nodded. "If you feel that way. If you need to do anything, please just go do it. I understand what you are fighting, even if I can't fully comprehend it."

"Thanks," I said, trying to hold as still as possible. Every little movement I made seemed to agitate my sensations, feeling the pad and my fur against my aroused cock, and my heavy breasts with their sensitive erect nipples. I preyed desperately that the pads would hold out.

He studied me for a long moment, then looked around the living room. "So, I know it's still early, but I can see some adaptations you've made here. How's the place working out? Got any plans for the spring?" he asked, segueing into safer topics.

I nodded thankfully and dove deeper into my house plans, both what I had done and what I was planning to do. Nothing was really baked in yet, but I'd been building up a list since getting home last September.

An hour or so later, I felt like I was so tense that I wouldn't need the bench to sit on any more. Even talking and breathing felt like it would set me off, my whole body yearning for a release I wasn't giving it. I figured the rut had to be almost over now, but I had no idea if it would fade with a whimper or demand a release. Adam was watching me carefully and seemed to sense how close I was to my limits.

"You've done a fantastic job today, considering it's only your fourth rut, and the first one you've tried to control," he said.

"Thanks, it's been rough," I said. If I still had teeth, I would probably have been clenching them. But if i still had teeth, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

"I know you've said you gave in to it a few times already today. Don't see that as a failure. You've made major steps today, even if it still feels like it controls you."

"Yeah, I know that up here," I said, tapping the side of my head. "But down here, it feels like it's fully in control." I carefully motioned around my chest, not touching anything.

"Right, but it's a start. You're basically in the throes of an intense adolescence. It takes time to sort those out, and you have the added wrinkle of a competing hormonal cycle.In any case, I think it's fair to give in now. You put up a good fight. The next one will go even better. For now, give in and let your body settle back into normal."

I wanted to resist, but decided he was right. I nodded my thanks and stood up, freezing for a moment while struggling to contain my reactions. The movement rubbed my hard cock against the padding and nearly set me off.

"Should I step out?" Adam suggested, seeing my discomfort.

I shook my head quickly, struggling to contain things. "Nuh-no. I'm good," I stammered out.

I limped to the stairs and almost pulled myself up with the railing, trying to use my legs as little as possible. I could feel Adam's gaze on my feathered back all the way up.

In my bedroom, I dropped my shorts and underwear as fast as I could. The pad was wet, but I didn't care. All I could focus on was the dark barbed shaft that was screaming for attention. Somehow I managed to keep my mind long enough to get a toy, and was quickly pumping into it for release. The release came quickly, but did little to calm the roar.

I slumped back on the bed, panting, yearning for relief. While my cock was recovering, I fondled my breasts through my shirt, feeling their heft and the dampness of the pads. All too soon I was ready to go again, shooting into the toy eagerly.

By the third round, I finally felt the roar fading away. Exhaustion washed over me as the rut finally released. I groaned weakly, letting the toy fall onto the bed. I ached all over, especially my cock. I knew I had more to do, but for the moment I just had to rest.

I didn't quite fall asleep, but I did zonk out for a few minutes. When I came back to my senses, I sat up and knew I had one more major chore to do. I pulled my top off and tossed it to the side, along with the pads. I started setting up the breast pump, when I heard noise downstairs. I remembered my guest.

"You still here, Adam?" I called out.

"Of course. Just taking care of some paperwork while I was waiting. How are you doing?" he called back.

"It's broken. All over but the cleanup," I confirmed.

"Good. How do you feel?"

"Exhausted. Holding it in that long was a challenge, and it took revenge."

"Understandable. Do you want to talk about it more now, or wait until next week, back in the office?"

I considered the offer. I mostly just wanted to finish up and go to bed. At the same time, I knew this was probably an opportunity that wouldn't come again, even if he came back for my heat session.

"Part of me wants you to leave.... But I think it would be better for us to have a little chat before then. Just to cover things while it's fresh, and to give you a better understanding of what we're going through," I said.

"Of course. I can wait until you're ready."

I looked around my room. It was an embarrassing mess. I looked at myself, naked now, my fur and feathers a mess, my breasts swollen and aching to be emptied, my cock softening and almost back in its sheath. Despite all that, I made a rash decision.

"Come on up. We can talk now," I said, deciding before I got cold paws.

I heard him move downstairs to the base of the stairs. "Are you sure?"

"Not really. But I'm willing to do it. Just to warn you, I'm not the most presentable right now."

"Of course. After what you went through, I can't imagine how anyone would be presentable."

I heard him move to the base of the stairs and could imagine him looking up. "Are you sure?" he asked again.

I sighed and nodded, wanting to get on with this. "Yes, I'm sure. Get up here before I change my mind."

I picked up the breast pump and pressed it to a nipple and started pumping. I sighed softly in relief, feeling the tug on my sensitive nipple and the pressure easing as the cream was pulled out. From downstairs, I heard Adam slowly coming up the stairs. He paused at the top, looking around, but not able to see in the bedroom yet.

"Come on in. First door on your left," I encouraged him.

"You sure you want to talk now? I could still wait downstairs," he replied, not moving from the landing.

I sighed and squeezed my breast, deciding it was too full to shift yet. "Yes, get in here. You should see this if you want to know everything that griffons are going through."

He finally appeared in my doorway. I saw his eyes hit me, and quickly look away.

"You've seen most of this before," I teased him lightly. "I just wasn't actually using these when you saw them," I added, hefting my breast.

"I suppose, but context matters a lot," he said. I saw his nose wrinkle, taking in a scent I couldn't really smell. He didn't comment on it, instead shifting the topic as fast as he could. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted. And full. But mainly exhausted," I confirmed, keeping him in my gaze.

"And you always feel like this afterwards?"

"More or less. I'm trying to muscle through this one."

He looked at me and forced himself to match my gaze. "And it's common for all of you?"

I sighed and switched the breast I was pumping. His eyes went down to follow my movement, and he visibly reddened.

"From what I can tell, I'm close to one of the extremes. I can't imagine anyone who has it worse, but most of us don't seem to get it this rough. The lactation, it hits a lot of us. Maybe a quarter of us get it on both male and female peaks. Many get it on the female peak, and apparently it can be triggered pretty easily even off peak. Everyone's eager to see what the chicks are like to see how this all fits together."

"You seem to be taking it well, considering."

I shrugged my wings and sighed. "It's the eighth time for me now. Fourth rut, but latest peak. I'm starting to realize this is me now, like it or not."

He nodded in agreement. "It's a good mindset to get into, as long as you are learning to bring it under control."

We chatted for a bit longer. I finished pumping and gathered up my stuff to clean up. He stepped to one side. "So do you just pour that down the drain?" he asked.

I nodded, doing just that. "I do. I hear there is some interest in griffon milk in general, but it's not something I even want to think of. We're people, not cows after all. Or chickens for that matter."

"Chickens? You mean people want your eggs?"

I shuddered and nodded. "Yeah, the eggs. There's another grey market for those too. I can't imagine how or why anyone would want to, but people will be people I guess. I'm just glad I'm not desperate enough to even need to consider those options."

"But there are some who are that desperate?" Adam asked

"Sadly, yes. Bills have to be paid, and too many of us lost our jobs for one reason or another. As far as I know, no one has officially admitted it, but it does happen. And Edmonton is an expensive city, even if you don't need as much heat as you used to."

I could see the gears turning in Adam's head. But he also left that topic alone and moved on. "So what is your normal routine at this point?"

"At this point? All I really want to do is sleep for a year. But I know I have other obligations. Cleaning up is important. The toys and pads help make it less messy, but there's still a lot to do. A good preening helps too. I often wish I had someone else around to help with that. Most importantly though, is to get something to eat and drink."

"I can only imagine. Is the heat similar?"

"Slightly less messy, but just as intense, if not more intense."

I looked at my brushes and decided that I could wait a bit longer. I made another abrupt decision and left the bathroom, still completely naked. Adam followed me downstairs after a moment of hesitation.

I took out a jug of juice and poured a big glass. I set it on the counter and grabbed an apple. I intentionally positioned myself next to the sink, the egg obvious on the windowsill beside it. Adam followed me and finally noticed it. I saw his eyes dart between the egg and me.

"So that's yours?" he finally asked.

I nodded. "My first. The rest I dispose of right away."

I could see him pondering the implications and mentally debating if it was something he had to address or not. I decided to shift the topic first.

"You're the first humans who've really seen me like this. I mean, my family saw a hint of it last month, but I spent most of it at Cardi's," I said. He nodded, waiting for me to continue.

"So if I'm going to be trying to go through this in public, is there anything you noticed about me?"

He tilted his head, obviously confused.

I tapped my beak near my nares. "The nose doesn't work so well any more. So is there any smells I should be aware of for example? I saw you wrinkle it upstairs, so something is noticeable."

"Oh! Right!" he exclaimed, getting what I was implying. "Smells? Well, you do have a scent about you in general. It's not unpleasant, but it is different. A bit hard to describe really and I've mostly gone nose blind to it."

I nodded and waited.

"As for today? Yeah there are a few new things. You smell more... masculine I guess. Like a teenaged boy who hasn't been showering as much as he should be. But not that strong."

"So you're saying I don't need to bathe in Axe Body Spray?"

"Gods no! That should be a war crime!" he laughed. "It's noticeable, but not bad. A bit exotic even. There's another smell I'm not sure how to describe. I think it's related to your cream maybe. But also nothing unpleasant or anything."

I relaxed a little and bit into the apple, tearing a chunk off with my beak and pulling it in with my tongue. Adam fell silent, watching me. It was probably the first time he'd seen me, or another griffon, actually eat.

"Good, that's good to know. I worried a little how this would seem to others."

"You're perfectly acceptable. Nothing socially bad as far as I'm concerned," he agreed.

We were silent for a few moments as I finished off the apple, core and all. The seeds weren't exactly healthy, but as long as we weren't eating an orchard's worth at once, they were fine.

"So how do you feel today went?" he asked.

"It went well," I affirmed quickly. "I made a lot of progress, at least from the rut end. How about you?"

"It was an eye opening experience. I'm glad we did this, though I don't really want to make a habit of it."

I chuckled and nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't want to make it habitual either. Though, the heat is different...."

"Of course. I'll come out here in two weeks, if you want me to."

"Please. It did seem to make a difference. And I'm curious how the opposite will work."

He nodded. "I'm curious as well. The rut, while it's not something humans experience, it feels similar to adolescence in many ways, close enough to draw some comparisons. The heat though, we know it in other animals, but it's an unknown for humans. Seeing how you handle it will be good."

He paused for a moment, "That is if you want me to be here. I am a guy. Would me being here make things more difficult?"

I started to object, then stopped and considered his question. In the end, I decided my first impression was right. "No, it shouldn't make any difference," I said.

"I mean, when the heat has me, I certainly want a male... but I want a griffon male. As I've mentioned to Amy, humans don't do anything for me any more; neither males nor females."

"I see. That's something I hadn't really considered, though it does make sense. Is that a common thought pattern in your experience?"

I shrugged my wings and sipped my juice. "I haven't looked deep into it. Amy would know better. But in my experience it seems to be the case. Sure there are a lot of mixed couples out there; but the divorce rate is high, even when they have kids involved. I'm an entirely different species now and my standards and expectations are just different now."

"So if I had been a woman when we first met, would it have made a difference?"

"That's a good question... and I don't know how to answer it. Now, I don't think it would make a difference. Back then? When I was trying to hold onto my masculinity and my humanness with everything I could, you being male may have helped."

"A lot of food for thought. But I could use some real food, as could you. Is there anything else you'd like to bring up for this week?" he asked.

I shook my head and we started walking to the door. "I'm good. Thank you for the house call."

"No problem. It was very worthwhile. We'll do it again in a couple of weeks for your heat. After that?"

"After that, we'll play it by ear. I might be ready to go out in public with it by then." I started to open the door before I remembered his cold weather gear. I quickly turned and opened the closet instead. He noticed my misstep but didn't comment on it.

"It's something we can talk about later. Have a good evening Skyfire. I'll see you next week."

Once he was ready to go out, I opened the door for him. It was dark now with just the hint of leftover daylight in the sky. The cold air that wafted in felt heavenly. I flicked on the porchlight and resisted the urge to follow him outside, remembering my state of dress at the last moment.

We shook hands and he darted out to his car. I stood in the doorway long enough for him to start up and pull out, waving good-bye as he left. Once he was gone, I closed the door, reset the thermostat and debated what to do next. To my surprise, while I could feel the fatigue from the rut, I wasn't as tired as I usually was. I knew I should finish my preening, but instead went back to the kitchen to start dinner. I figured after eating that a night flight would be nice to unwind before bed.

Wednesday, Jan 24

I left work just after three for my appointment. The clinic was on the eastern edge of downtown, near the river as its name indicated. It was a six story building located in the boundary zone where the denser centre of the city began to give way to suburbia. I landed in the parking lot near the entrance and headed in.

There was a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy on the first floor, and a lobby with a parking kiosk and elevators to the upper floors. I was studying the building directory to figure out where I had to go, when the elevator dinged. I glanced over to the opening doors, and saw another griffon coming out. She looked surprised to see me as well.

"Skyfire! What are you doing here?" she asked, stepping out and coming over to hug me.

"Just a doctor's appointment, probably the same as you. But not exactly the same," I said, greeting her back. "Hi Adriane. How's the little one doing?"

She nodded and stepped back, a hand going to her belly. Three months in, she didn't really show yet, but she was a regular at our gatherings, so we all knew she was expecting. "She's doing well, as far as we can tell. I don't really feel all that different yet. So are you?"

I raised my wings in denial. "Oh no! No no! This is just a checkup, I'm not pregnant or anything," I said quickly, hoping to head off the rumour mill. "Cardi suggested it might be a good idea in general, and Doctor Chase managed to fit me in."

Adrian laughed and nodded. "That's fair. You've got a good one. She's one of the best in the city, in my opinion. Granted this is the only real griffon clinic in the city so far, but she's still the best."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I better get going, before I'm late."

"Fourth floor, hang a left. See you later." She waved her wing and headed out.

I waved as well and pressed the elevator call button to resummon the car. I looked around, seeing a few people looking away, but it seemed griffons weren't uncommon around here.

On the fourth floor there was a small lobby with short halls in either direction. I turned left and saw a double set of glass doors with the clinic's name on it, along with numerous doctor names including Doctor Bella Chase. I walked through the doors and waited for the receptionist to look up.

"Mx Farrel I assume?" she said, looking up. She seemed a little surprised, but gave me a knowing smile. "We've been expecting you." She set some papers on a clipboard and set it on the counter. "Could you please fill this in as best you can, and Doctor Chase will see you as soon as she is available."

"Skyfire is fine," I said, "But I get the feeling you already knew that." I added, taking the clipboard.

Mandy smiled and nodded. "I thought I recognized your name when you made the appointment, but you weren't making the connection. We try to keep track of the local griffons, and you are rather notable in our community."

"Yeah, I didn't really want to use that position to jump the line. Thank you for seeing me."

She smiled and went back to her computer. I noticed that the waiting area had a number of stools instead of the usual chairs. There was an older couple sitting in the regular chairs, but they paid me no attention and I left them in peace. I perched on one of the stools as far from them as I could get, and started filling in the paperwork. I had to haul out my card wallet to find my ID numbers. I left the clipboard on the counter and returned to my stool, killing time on my phone while waiting.

"Skyfire? Doctor Chase will see you now," Mandy said. She stood in the doorway leading to the rest of the clinic.

I followed her to an exam room that was big enough for me to fully spread my wings. It had all the standard doctor office devices, including a bed with a paper covering, and a stool suitable for griffons. I took a seat and waited.

A few minutes later, the doctor arrived. She was a brunette, in her mid thirties and that was about all I could tell at first glance. She had a thin folder that she set on the counter next to the sink.

"Good afternoon, Simon. Or would you prefer Skyfire?"

"Eith-" I started to say then stopped myself. This was more of a Skyfire situation than a Simon one. "Skyfire would be good."

"Is it?" she asked, taking a seat so we would be at eye level. "You seemed to hesitate."

"It's something I'm still getting used to, even after all these months. I didn't even pick the name, but it stuck. But I've got Adam to talk those issues out with."

"Adam?"

"Doctor Fullerton, my head doc. I've been seeing him since the fall."

She nodded and seemed a bit relieved. "Excellent, That's one piece of advice I don't need to give. I'll leave your head to him, and worry about your body." She picked up the folder and ruffled the papers, pulling out a page. "First, if you don't mind, could you sign this form? It is a request form to get your records from Fort Parker. I don't really need them, but it would help provide some continuity in your health records."

She offered it over, and pulled out a second page. "And this is a permission slip that would let me talk about you with the experts down there, and to share anything I find about you. If you don't sign it, I'll only report on your health records which would be limited to doctors directly dealing with you."

I shrugged my wings and scrawled my name on both pages. "If it might help us, I'll let you share anything."

"Thank you Skyfire. I do take this responsibility seriously. If I notice anything abnormal, that is, abnormal for griffons, I'll let you know first."

"I appreciate it. So uhm, as I mentioned, I haven't seen a doctor since my teens basically. What do I need to do?"

She switched to a simple notepad and scrawled down some notes. "For now, we'll just chat, go through your health history both before and after the event. After, we'll need to do a health checkup and we'll take some samples to run tests on. I'm sorry, but some will be uncomfortable, but they are necessary. Future appointments should be faster unless something happens."

"I understand. And I think I know what you're implying." I squirmed a little at the thought. "That was one test I passed on when I was down in Parker. It was one aspect of the change..., the event, that I was in denial about, until I couldn't deny it any longer."

"And now?" she asked, pausing her writing to watch me closer.

I took a nervous breath and met her gaze. "Now, I think I'm ready for it. I'm certainly not in denial about it any more, but there's a hell of a lot I don't know about it."

"Well, let's start with the easy stuff first, your pre-Event life and health. Where did you grow up? Any health issues?"

Thinking back to Simon's life was strange. It was so different from what I was now, I found it increasingly foreign to my new life. We spent a good half hour digging into his life, from the places he grew up, to the illnesses and other issues he had. While I hadn't seen a doctor in decades, I still had taken care of my eyes and teeth at least. So Simon had regular cleanings and checkups, and got too many fillings and a few root canals, along with glasses.

"So yeah, last September, I guess I was in okay health for a middle aged guy who mostly worked a desk job. I'd never been tested but I did have some diabetes signs that I was ignoring, in denial about. Beyond that, I was fine."

"Well, that's not something to be ignoring, but that's in the past," she said, adding a few notes. "As far as I've heard, you all got a health reset and diabetes and cancers and other issues were all cleared up. You should watch your diet regardless, so you don't fall back into that trap."

"That's fair, and my diet has changed. A lot more fruit and veggies than I used to have. I find they're often handier to eat than sweets, especially since I lost my sweet tooth... literally."

She chuckled and flipped to a clean page. "You joke, but some of you have quite the sweet beak too. So good that you're eating healthier. Since the change, how have you felt? Any problems that you've noticed?"

"I've felt... well fine I guess. Lots of problems, but not health ones, mostly adaptability problems."

"That's good, and common. So no aches or pains? Stiff muscles or aching joints?"

"None, well a few when I've gone on extra long flights sometimes, but that's just exercise exhaustion, not any body problems. I've felt stronger than I did before."

"How about the recent cold snap? Any problems from that?"

I laughed, "Once again, only adaptability problems. I picked up some big gloves, mittens actually, so my hands were more protected. And I ended up taking the train a few times when the cold seemed too much for even me to bear."

"Good, good. I've heard a few of you have had some issues with frostbite after that snap. I'm glad you stayed on top of it." She jotted down a few more notes before moving on to the next topic.

"I sense you're skirting around something, how about your cycles? How would you describe them?" she asked

"Hell," I said. She paused and looked up. "They're rough, almost crippling, lasting most of the day."

She looked pensive and made a few notes. "I see. I take it you mean both the rut and the heat?"

I nodded, "Oh yeah, it doesn't matter which way. When it hits, all I can think of is my loins all day. It's worse than puberty."

"I'm sorry it's so rough for you. Could you describe them to me? Have you noticed any changes since the first ones?"

"Sure. Is it any easier? A little maybe, but it's still rough." I took a moment to gather my thoughts, then started going through what my first heat was like and the first rut. I held nothing back, mentioning my mental partner, as well as the recent experiments I'd been trying based on Adam and Amy's advice.

"Okay, yeah, that is a lot to handle," the doctor said, looking at her notes. She seemed to be struggling to figure out where to start. "So your ice goddess, have you seen any griffon like them in real life?"

"Nope. I've looked a little, but she's unique. When I first saw Michelle I saw some similarities, but the differences were quickly apparent. My mental partner, she's more like an Articuno than any real bird I've seen."

"Arti- the pokemon?"

"Yeah. I've been playing it for years, so they were on my mind a bit. Guess my subconscious decided to give me a unique partner to match my somewhat unique appearance."

"Right, well I've got more questions, but I've got another thing to ask of you. The specialists have sent out the word that they want to learn more about griffon cycles. Especially griffs that exhibit more extreme cycles."

"Sure, what do you need?" I asked.

"They would like regular blood samples, to get an idea of how your hormones and your body change through the month. If they can find the key chemicals, they might be able to start developing some things to help you."

"Things like birth control? Or just heat control maybe?"

"Birth control is probably years away, if not decades away. But yeah, heat control and rut control might be something that could happen earlier. Still years probably, but more likely."

"That would be nice. What would you need? How regular would you want the samples?"

"We have a clinic downstairs where the nurses are used to dealing with griffons. Or if you would prefer somewhere closer to home or work, I could look for another spot that's closer. As for how often, probably once a week, ideally on the day of your peaks if you are up for it."

The idea of going out during a heat, or a rut, was terrifying. I nearly objected, but Adam's advice held my tongue. "I can try. It'll be rough, but I did leave once during the rut, so it's not impossible."

"Great. You mentioned you lactate too? We'll want to get samples of that too. We can give you containers to fill and bring with you."

"That won't be a problem. I've started pumping so I have a lot available. Simon doesn't like it of course, but I'm coming to terms with it. Book me at your clinic downstairs, it's not that far out of my way."

She jotted down a few more notes. "Thursdays right? I'll let them know to expect you and to expedite your visits. It shouldn't take long. If you can, call when you're coming in so they know to expect you."

"Any other samples you want?" I asked, mentally coming to terms with being a science experiment.

"Well, maybe a few more actually, but we'll give you containers to fill them the day off, and probably only for the first month, until we get a full cycle of samples. We'll want a urine sample and maybe semen samples if you can provide them."

I felt my face warm a little, but it seemed a reasonable request. "That should be doable most of the time. Maybe not during the heat but we'll see."

"Of course, whatever you are comfortable with. Now, let's go to a bit more comfortable subjects and take some basic stats." She motioned to a scale and started taking my measurements. I mentally converted the metric sizes to compare them with the ones taken when I first changed.

"Weight's almost the same, maybe a bit higher," I noted. "Glad I'm not any shorter at least. I lost too much height as it was."

"That matches what I've heard from other griffons. You're bulking out a little, but not too much."

She wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my upper arm and started pumping it up. I watched curiously, not sure how good the readings would be with my feathers and down, but she seemed to know what she was doing. After a lot of pumping, I felt it tighten around my arm and start squeezing through the plumage. She jotted down some readings and released the pressure.

While she was close to me, she started examining my head, peering into my ears, and shining a light into my eyes. She had me blink both ways, then had me open wide. When she was done, she filled another page with notes.

"So far, you're well within what I've noticed with other griffons, so I'm assuming you're healthy. I'd like to schedule both an eye test and a hearing test for you, but there's no rush for it. We just want to establish baselines for you."

"That's good to hear. In for a penny, in for a pound. I take it, you know some folk who can do those tests?"

"Certainly, this entire clinic is pivoting to specialize in griffon health. Mandy can help you book appointments on the way out when we're done."

She put the pad down and gave me another look. She retrieved a folded up robe from a shelf. "This is the part where things get a bit uncomfortable. I'll have to ask you to strip and put on this robe as best you can. It'll cover your front."

I chuckled and started opening my blouse. "The top I don't mind exposing. I think I sort've started the topless theme here in the city long ago. But I guess you'll need more?"

"Yes, you'll need to remove your shorts as well. This is the part of the visit you wouldn't be as familiar with."

"To be fair, all of this is unfamiliar with me," I said, standing up. I folded up my top and left it on the counter with my bag, then started to undo my shorts. I was still going commando, only using the granny panties when I needed to for the peaks. The doctor turned away to give me a little bit of modesty.

"When you're ready, get onto the exam bed. For now you can just sit up on it, and I'll ask you to lay down later when we need it. We're still trying to figure out what equipment works best for you guys."

I nodded in agreement, and decided to pass on the hospital gown. There was a light sheet on the exam bed, so I sat on the bed and put the blanket over my lap and hips.

"I think I'm ready." For the first time, I felt a little self conscious about my appearance, but I pushed past those feelings.

She turned back around and looked me over. "Right, I'll be doing a few more exams. Changed people got a health reset, but that doesn't mean you still aren't at risk for cancers and other diseases. So we'll check you early, get used to what is normal, and hopefully if anything abnormal develops, we'll catch it early."

"No problem. Do what you need to do," I said.

"First, we'll do a breast exam. I'll go through how you can check yourself regularly as well," Doctor Chase said, putting on a set of gloves.

I tried to relax as she approached me. She started on my left breast, squeezing and massaging it, and feeling all around it. I had a habit of zoning out during dentist appointments, and I was quickly able to slip into this zen-like state while she worked. I barely noticed when she shifted to the other side to examine the right one.

"All good," she proclaimed, going back to make some more notes. "Excellent shape I'd say, and good reactions. I'll include some pamphlets on self exams for you to take home. Basically, when you milk yourself, you should feel your breasts. If anything feels different, call me right away."

"Ugh, I still hate that that's a thing I do," I grumbled, looking down and smoothing the fur on my chest a bit. "It doesn't seem right."

"There is probably a reason for it, but we won't really be able to tell why until you have kids. The current theories are that it's a way for both parents, or any griffon, to nurse a young hatchling. Assuming you will lay an egg, you wouldn't necessarily have the normal body cues to tell you have a new mouth to feed. So instead you're basically always primed for milk to feed a hatchling. There may be other cues we don't know yet, but the hormone shifts of your cycles do seem to be a trigger."

"Lucky me." I sighed and shrugged my wings. "Not like I can do anything."

She nodded in commiseration and looked back to make sure the door was closed. She unwrapped a tray with some metal instruments on it. "Next, we'll need to do a pelvic exam. Both your penis and vagina. You can stay seated for the first part, but at some point I'll probably need you to lay down. Face down or face up, whichever you're comfortable with."

I nodded again, and lifted the sheet away. I leaned back a bit and found the bed was just far enough from the wall for me to comfortably use my wings to prop myself up. I spread my furry legs and flexed my claws, trying to relax and not think of what she was going to do.

She gave me another long look before stepping closer. "Your plumage and fur are in excellent shape. I'm glad to see you've got a good preening routine."

"Thanks. It's one of the lessons I learned quickly down in Parker. And one of the first ones I taught when I got home."

"Good, keep it up. And thank you for making that video. I've used it to teach more than a few griffons how to better care for themselves."

She finally stepped close to me, looking down at my groin. I tried to relax as I felt her touch my sheath, squeezing it and stroking it. I felt it reacting naturally, and soon found my penis swelling out of it in its dark barbed glory. It was obvious it wasn't the first one she'd examined. I couldn't help but shiver a little as she stroked against the barbs briefly.

"Good reactions, and nice and clean. You'd be surprised at how many griffons I've had to teach how to clean this," she said, letting go and letting me relax. "Even former guys have needed the reminder. You said your rut was last week?"

I gulped and nodded, trying to urge it back into its furry home. "Yeah, I'm almost exactly midway between them today."

"And any problems getting it up?" she asked as she turned to prepare her equipment.

"None, not normally. Other than during the heat. But even before or after, I don't seem to have any issues."

"Excellent. Okay, this will be new to you. Just lean back a bit and try to relax. Someday we'll figure out a proper chair with stirrups for you guys, but for now we'll make due. This is a speculum, a device to help me check inside of you. It may feel a bit cold."

I closed my eyes and tried to enter my zen state as she came in. I felt her latex covered fingers over my labia, and twitched as she pressed her fingers into me. It was quickly followed by the cool metal of the tool pressing in and spreading my vagina open. I focused on the ceiling and just tried to relax and not react as she did her checks.

"You're doing great," she encouraged me. "I'm just going to reach in for a bit and feel around."

I nodded but didn't look down. The tool was pulled away and I soon felt the fingers slide in. It felt strange as she felt and pushed deep into my vagina and felt my cervix. An eternity later, she pulled her hand out and I let out the breath I was holding. I heard the snap of latex gloves being pulled off.

"Excellent once again. You're in fine shape, Sky. Any problems with your eggs so far?" she asked, disposing of the gloves and picking up her pad to make more notes.

"Nuh-None yet," I said, taking a moment to recover my voice and calm my pulse. "Uncomfortable as hell, but not as bad as the peaks." She nodded, continuing her notes. "Do you want one of them?" I asked.

"That won't be necessary. Fort Parker's overflowing with griffon eggs as is, and honestly, that's probably not an aspect of your biology they want to mess with."

"Oh," I said, unable to hide my disappointment, even though I wasn't sure what I was expecting.

She put the pad down and took my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I know this is all new and strange for you; it's strange for all of us, but you griffons especially. We're doing all we can to help you out, but it takes time to figure out. It will probably be years before we'll even be able to start trials on things to try and adjust your biology. But it has to start somewhere, and the information you give us, well, the information you give them, will help."

"I know, I know. Hell, I gave a similar speech to my family over Christmas," I said. I tapped my head, "I know that up here, but that doesn't mean I don't wish there was something to help make things easier."

"Just be careful and watch for official notices about what is safe and not safe for you to take. Stay away from the internet witchdoctors, and only take officially prescribed drugs if you have to take anything, Advil, Aspirin and Ibuprofen seem safe for you guys at human doses, but avoid most over the counter stuff in general."

I laughed and nodded "No worries there. I wasn't in the habit of taking anything before all this, and I'm not eager to start now, but it is a bit tempting."

"Right, in that case we are almost done, aside for one thing. Sex, or rather, sexual protection. You said you are active?"

"Barely," I confirmed. "I wasn't all that interested in it before, and while the hormones said one thing, I didn't expand my social game in that direction, at least not until a few weeks ago."

"What changed for you?" she asked.

"A suggestion from another friend, who's been trying to help me handle the peaks. She thought 'getting fucked' might help."

"And did it?"

"The jury's still out. That's also when Adam suggested distraction therapy as well to manage the peaks, and the rut last week did seem a bit more tolerable, so I don't know."

"How active have you been? And in what ways? Did you use protection?"

I thought back briefly. "Just once. We timed it during my safe times, after an egg and before the rut. I was the female. Her own safe week is this week, so we're hoping to do it again soon, the other way. We didn't use protection, though I know we should. That's why I'm here. "

"Yes, you should. Aside from pregnancy, you should still keep in mind the risk of STDs. Those buggers may not have figured your biology out yet, but it's bound to happen eventually, and you don't want to be the first."

"That's part of the reason I called you for the appointment. Cardi encouraged me to get The Talk from an appropriate person."

Doctor Chase laughed. "Well, good on her. As for The Talk, it sounds like you're pretty well informed, so I'll go over the basics and you can ask for more details as needed."

She went to a cupboard and pulled out a box of condoms. "We'll start with the simpler side, your male aspect. Condoms are your best protection. You're still basically human sized and your extra properties don't get in the way that much. Are you familiar with them?"

I nodded and took the offered box. "I got those lessons a long time ago, and the demos with the bananas. And I've used them before."

"Good, I'd suggest you practice alone a few times. Get used to taking it out of the wrapper without damaging it and putting it on just like you're used to. The sheath and shape are a bit different but not enough to prevent them from working. When you're shopping, check for the thicker ones, just to better handle your barbs."

"Gotcha," I said, my ears burning a bit. I set the box next to me and waited as she rummaged in the cupboard for a few more things.

"For your female side, things are trickier. As I implied earlier, we're years from the pill being feasible. Even IUDs are probably a long way away. We suspect they would work for you, but your egg cycle does complicate things. The last thing we want is for you to push the IUD out in an egg and thus lose your protection."

"I'll take your word on that. I don't think I even know what an IUD is."

"An IUD is an Intrauterine device; a small thing we keep in your uterus and it basically stops ovulation. But your eggs complicate matters in there so we aren't even thinking of trialing those yet. Maybe in a year or two when we know better."

"In any case, I'm sure you've got enough on your plate as is. So yeah, as far as female protection goes, chemical means are out, but physical ones are still feasible and relatively low risk. When used properly with condoms, your pregnancy risk is very minimal. It could still happen, but as long as you are careful, you shouldn't get pregnant."

She presented a latex cup-like device to me, but didn't let me take it. "This is a diaphragm. You apply some spermicide to it and insert it in yourself when you expect to have sex, and it should protect you. I'll have to fit you for one, to make sure you get one that fits properly, and then you'll be all set to go. Like condoms, you'll want to practice putting one in and taking it out. As you can imagine, it's a bit trickier to do right, especially with your talons, but it is possible. We've got a device, a plastic stick basically, that you can use to slip it in and out easier, or you can just use your hands."

I flicked my ears nervously, still feeling some embarrassment about the discussion, but listening intently. "Okay, what do you need to do?" I asked.

She set the diaphragm to the side and put on a fresh set of gloves. She rolled over a tray with more silicon rings on them. "I'll put these in, and check the fit on each one, to tell which covers your cervix the best and doesn't feel uncomfortable. You should barely be able to tell it's in there when it fits right."

"Right, do what you need," I said.

She smeared some lube on her fingers and the middle ring. I gulped nervously and looked up again, trying to relax and go back to my zen place. I spread my legs for her and leaned back. Soon enough I felt her push something in and start wiggling it around. I tried to relax but couldn't help but tighten up a little. It didn't feel like my toys but I could tell something was there.

"Just a bit big I'd say. I'm going to try another one," the doctor said, gently tugging on it.

I soon felt her pushing another one in and wiggling it into position. I peeked down and saw her looking closely between my legs, one hand actually inside of me. It was a bit disconcerting. She pulled her fingers free and felt around my loins, pressing down on my sheath and hips.

"That looks like a better fit. Can you get up and walk around the room a bit? Let me know if you feel anything strange about it."

I pushed myself off the exam table and took a few steps, focusing on the feelings in my vagina. If I focused really hard I could sense something in there, but I barely noticed it otherwise.

"Do some stretching, flex, crouch, do the splits. It shouldn't move in you," she encouraged me.

I followed her advice and started doing more movements, wiggling my tail and lifting my legs higher than I usually did. When I was done, I hopped back onto the table and spread my legs again.

She crouched before me and slipped a freshly lubed finger in again. I felt her press and wiggle in there. She finally hooked her finger and pulled the device out. "No movement. Excellent. This is your size. We'll want to check your fitting regularly. For humans we normally advise every year. For griffons, we're not sure yet. Since you're laying eggs, we'll probably want to check more often, at least until we learn more. Maybe we'll plan on a fitting check every season to start."

"If that's what it takes. Damn, my body is high maintenance."

She chuckled and nodded, "That it is, especially if you want to short circuit your biology. But it's not really much more than you've already been doing. As we learn more, we can probably stop doing as many tests and exams in the future."

"Thanks, Doctor. I hope that will be the case. So, what do I do with that exactly?"

Doctor Chase handed me the sheet to put over my groin and went to the door. "Give me a moment to get some supplies, and then I'll teach you. I won't be long."

While she was gone, I peeked at the top page of the notepad, but while her handwriting was surprisingly legible, the terms were unknown to me. I looked around the exam room and debated Facebook scrolling. Before I could get to my phone, she came back in. She had a tube of something, a plastic stick with hooks and notches on the end, and a plastic container. She set them on the table next to me, and opened the container, showing a latex device similar to what she'd shown me earlier.

"Right then, this is how to use them. Diaphragms, especially with spermicide, are effective forms of birth control. Not so great at STD protection but still better than nothing. You should still use condoms as well. You can put this in up to six hours or so before you think you might have sex, so you could set it up before the start of your date and be ready if things go well. If it's been awhile you might want to refresh the spermicide before the actual act, but otherwise it should be fine. Just make sure to take it out within twenty four hours."

I nodded slowly, listening intently. She tapped the pamphlet she'd brought in as well. "It's all explained here. Read it when you get a chance, and feel free to call if you have more questions.”

"As for sex itself, you don't need to do anything during the act. Afterwards, wait about six hours or so before you take it out. That will make sure the swimmers are taken care of. If you do multiple rounds, you should squirt in more spermicide before the next round. Just squirt it onto a finger or two and reach in to spread it over the device without taking it out.Any questions?"

I shook my head, "No, I don't think so. Not yet."

"Good. Now let's go over how to put it in. You might want to stand up now, and maybe lift your leg. That's what most griffons have told me is the easiest way. Pick up the stick and the diaphragm, this end up. Pinch it closed and hook it on the end like that."

As she spoke she motioned for me to follow the instructions. I picked up the plastic stick and the latex device, finding the nubs to squeeze, feeling the springiness of the rim of the device. After a few attempts, I managed to get it positioned.

"Now squirt some spermicide onto it. Not too much but enough to coat it thoroughly. Spread it over the diaphragm. Be careful with your talons."

I flipped the top of the tube open and squirted a bit in. I spread the clear gel over it, trying not to think of what I was about to do.

"Now to put it in. Prop a leg up and try to relax. Slide it into your vagina and press it towards your tail as far as it can go. Give it a little twist to remove it from the stick and try to nudge it into place just above your pubic bone. Then pull the stick out."

She watched me expectantly, as I lifted a leg onto a stool. Its purpose was obvious to me now, as it was just high enough to spread my legs without being too uncomfortable. I looked down and hesitated a moment, before reaching down and spreading the lips of my vagina a little. I lined the stick up and slid it in, until I felt it bump into something deep in me. I twisted the stick until the diaphragm was released and tried to nudge it into place.

"Now CAREFULLY, reach in with a finger and check the positioning. Make sure your cervix is covered. Your talons do make this trickier, but once you get used to what it feels like it should become easier."

I pulled the stick free and reached in carefully. I tried to use the back of my talon and finger to tell where it was positioned. I found the hard bony ridge and made sure it was in place, and that my cervix was covered."

"How does it feel?" Doctor Chase asked, putting on another glove.

"I think it feels okay," I said. I stayed still while she leaned close to look and feel inside.

"It looks good. Take a few steps around, get used to it, make sure it feels okay, then we'll practice taking it out."

I followed her advice, doing another lap around the room. I couldn't feel it at all within me. I returned to the stool and put my leg back up, waiting for the next instruction.

"Take the stick and turn it around. You'll want to slip the hook end in, and snag the front of the diaphragm and gently pull it out."

I slid it in and wiggled the stick until I found the device and got it hooked. "This seems like it could be messy," I said as I pulled it out, partly to distract myself.

"A little, but not as much as you'd expect. You shouldn't remove it until hours after the act, so most of the mess should be dried up or otherwise absorbed by then. Of course, if you're using condoms there shouldn't be any swimmers anyways, but multiple layers of defense certainly doesn't hurt."

I put my leg back down and held the items in my hands. She nodded to the sink. "Wash them both in warm soapy water, and dry them carefully. Use a mild soap and that's all you need. Store it in the case, and it should last you a long time."

I washed them carefully and dried them with some paper towels. She handed me the container for me to put it back in.

"Just make sure you inspect it before each use. Hold it up to the light and look for any openings or damage. If it is damaged, don't use it. You can pick up a new one at just about any pharmacy, just use the code on the container to get the right size."

"Thanks, Doctor. It... It's a lot to take in all at once, but I appreciate it. It certainly eases a lot of the worries I've been having."

"Good good. You can get dressed again. We're almost done I think, but I'll send a phlebotomist to get your blood samples, and give you containers for the rest. We can take a urine sample today too if you can supply one."

"That I think I can do. But I'm not sure I could do a semen one," I said, grabbing my shorts and pulling them on. I decided to leave my top off, folding it out and stuffing it into my chest bag. .

She laughed and started packing up my folder. "No worries, we'll wait until next week for that one. If you can."

She got a bag and started filling it with everything she was giving me, including various containers to fill for my next trip out. "So next Thursday should be your heat. When you think you can handle it, come out here and go to the clinic on the second floor. They'll be expecting you any time during the day, between nine to nine. If you can, fill the urine cup when you get out here, or just before you come out. The semen one just get the day of, when or if you can. If you can't, that will be fine.

"The diaphragm and the tool, you know about. The spermicide you can get at any pharmacy in the contraceptive aisle. Condoms you can also get there as well.

"Finally, here are all the pamphlets about everything I talked about, a guide for being a new griffon and your new sex. I know you're already well informed, but go through it anyway, and make sure you're familiar with it."

I took the bag when she offered it to me and started squeezing it into my chest pack. When I was zipped up, I shook her offered hand. "Thank you, Doctor Chase. When do you want to see me again?"

"Let's pencil you in a month from now, just to go over what you've been through, and to make sure everything is going well. Then we can probably schedule the follow up for April and every three months after that. I know you said you have no intention to get pregnant, but if you do think you are, call immediately and we can do some tests to confirm it, and give you advice on that."

"I really hope it doesn't come to that. I may be becoming more active, but that's a grenade pin I really don't want to pull."

"Right, understandable, but nothing is perfect. That said, even with protection, I would suggest not having sex with someone when you or they are on their peaks, just to be safe. Those tend to be when you guys are the most... unrestrained, and likely the most fertile, so it's best to err on the side of caution," she explained, choosing her words carefully.

"Yeah, good idea. I'm certainly not intending to do anything like that."

She handed me a cup. "There's a bathroom just outside, on the right if you can fill this. I know it can be tricky but it is doable. When you're done, come out, and go to the desk you passed on the way in. Joanne will be ready for you to take a blood sample."

"Thanks again, Doctor. I appreciate you taking me on, and teaching me so much."

"Happy to help. Future appointments won't be this long of course. Have a good evening, make sure you practice, and have fun. I'll see you next time."

We left the exam room, and I spotted the bathroom. The rest of my visit was uneventful, the blood draw happening surprisingly easily. The phlebotomist clearly had a lot of experience with griffons.

I stepped out of the elevator, my head spinning with all the information I'd been given, and my chest pack heavy with my new supplies. I paused in the lobby, glancing at the Shoppers, and decided I might as well finish the list while I was there. No one gave me a second look as I entered the store and found the 'family planning' aisle. I took my time looking it all over, both the male and female supplies, mainly familiarizing myself with what I might need to get. Doctor Chase had given me both the box of condoms and the diaphragm, but I still needed to find the spermicide. I picked a tube and scanned the shelves a final time, before deciding I'd reached my information limit for the day.

I grabbed a drink and snack as well, paid and stepped outside. It was late in the afternoon now, and traffic was picking up as the downtown core emptied out. I took off and landed on the roof of the medical building to have my snack and just watch the city end its day. The roof itself had a landing area for griffons marked out, but no building access. When I was done, I stowed my trash in my pack and headed home.

Friday, January 26

On Friday afternoon, Greg called me down to have a chat. We often had informal chats at the end of the week, just to unwind a bit, review what was going on, identify any rough spots and figure out what we needed to do. This time, I could tell there was something different, though I couldn't tell what.

Purely by coincidence with the layout of our floors, Greg's office was almost directly below my own. So the view from his windows was basically identical to the one I was used to from mine. If our windows could open, I could literally have jumped out and dropped down to see him. Instead, I had to take the stairs and weave my way through the C-suite halls to his office. His door was open, and I could see him looking out the windows, his back to me. Our usual pair of end of week beers from a random local brewery were on his desk.

"Hey Greg, how's it going?" I asked, flicking my tail feathers clear of the doorway before using my wing to tap the door shut.

"Afternoon, Simon. It's going good," he said, turning back to face me. He walked around his desk and sat down in a comfortable chair.

I grabbed the bottles and settled down on the padded bench he'd added to his office after I'd returned. I popped the tops off, and handed him a bottle while studying the beer.

"PickAxe brewery? I've heard good things about them," I said.

"Yeah, they're from up in Fort Mac. Jimmy brought back a case when he was up last week," Greg said.

We sipped the beers and talked about the flavours for a bit. Contrasting griffon tastes to human tastes had become one of our ice breakers.

By the time the beers were gone, we'd moved on to company business and had mostly wrapped up our weekly debriefings. I could tell Greg still had one topic on his mind.

"So, we're making plans for the spring and summer travel seasons, trying to figure out who to send where," Greg said, finally getting to his main point.

"How are things looking? Get many takers for the territories?" I asked. I suspected I knew what he was getting at.

"Too many it seems. We'll have our choice to send up north, and out east."

"But how about down south?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Calgary, Lethbridge, even Hat, we're good.... But, there's some reluctance for the other areas. Which is a challenge because our ad campaign is drawing more interest from there too. We've got a few potential customers making inquiries."

"Understandable. So far lightning hasn't struck twice but we just don't know. So you want to get me back on the road?"

Greg nodded and took a sip of his beer. "Not right away. But yes, we want to make you more mobile. Not just to cover the griffon territory, but to use you for other roles in the field."

I smirked a bit, flicking my tail. "There's a tradeshow you want me at?"

"Possibly. We're not sure yet. And we're not sure how mobile you are."

"And therein lies the rub," I said. I thought it over for a moment. "Well, gear isn't an issue; we can always FedEx it to wherever we need ahead of time. But for me personally, yeah. If the weather is decent and I have enough time, I can fly almost anywhere in the province within a day or three I think. But that would eat up a lot of time.

"They're working out some better ways to give us some griffon public transit. I think they're hoping to have a semi-regular schedule from Calgary to Hat and down to Parker and Billings. The Edmonton line is only running weekly, so I might as well fly."

"What if we hired someone to drive you? Get you in the general area quick and you could fly from there?" Greg suggested.

I shuddered and grimaced. "If we're really in a pinch, I guess we could do that. But I'd really rather not. Most vehicles are not made for griffons. Riding in a van to get back here last fall was one thing. To do it regularly, is not something I'd look forward to."

"Right, so what do you propose we do?" Greg asked.

"Try to schedule around the limitations," I said while an idea nagged at the back of my mind. "And maybe give me until the spring, once the weather warms up. There might be a few more options then."

"Other options? LIke what?" Greg asked.

I shrugged my wings. "I'm not sure. I've been hearing things, but I need to do some research. I don't want to get your hopes up yet. But one way or another, I'll figure out how to get down to our griffon customers."

Greg got up and retrieved another pair of bottles. "We can work with that. I'll make up the list and keep seeing if we can find any more volunteers to cover it. One of the issues of course, is since you're the beak of the company, we've actually seen a spike in interest down there, so we need more down there than we normally would."

"Enough to hire a local griffon?" I suggested. I'd been hinting at wanting another beak or two in the company almost since I got back.

"Possibly. We'll certainly consider it if the right resume shows up."

We chatted a bit longer about some work matters, before wrapping up the week. I grabbed my gear from my office and took off for home, a bit of leftover sunlight guiding me. Griffon transportation options were at the forefront of my mind. Flying was fine for moving around within the city, but for going somewhere more than a hundred kilometers away, it was less useful. While we were technically bipedal, fitting into human seats on buses, planes and trains wasn't feasible; our wings and especially our tails got in the way.. Some companies had started offering bus services for griffons, but they mainly went from Calgary to Medicine Hat and around the griffon towns. Edmonton had a run a couple times a week, but the timing wasn't really good for business purposes.

What I had in mind was something that had gained interest before the snow fell. There was one method of travel that we could handle with very few modifications. The main challenge was getting appropriate safety equipment, something that the early adopters were just ignoring.

When I got home, I started looking up motorcycle licenses. Most bikes you rode laid back, which wasn't good for us. But there were a lot of motorbikes that you rode leaning forward. It left plenty of room for our wings and tails.

I quickly discovered I wasn't the first to go down this path. There was a long list of "Griffon compatible" bikes and trikes on various griffon reddits, along with their pros and cons. The main holdup was a certified griffon-helmet, but a couple of manufacturers were supposedly in the final stages of designing one; they'd been working on Titan compatible helmets and had pivoted when griffons came out. I bookmarked a few threads and bike models to look into later, along with some notes on how to get a license and learn to ride a bike. Before last fall, the idea of riding a motorbike had been far from my mind. The closest I'd ever come was when I had ridden a friend's skidoo as a teen, and promptly ran it into a sapling. There had been no damage but I'd been content to restrict my driving to four wheeled vehicles. Now, riding a motor bike or a similar vehicle was certainly appealing.

Saturday, Jan 27

I should have realized sleeping in on this particular weekend would be a lost cause. Shortly after eight, my phone was buzzing for attention. I tried to ignore it, but as soon as the buzzing stopped, it started again. I grabbed it from the bedside table and answered.

"Good morning, sleepy head. Happy birthday!" Mom cheerfully greeted me.

I groaned and sighed. "Morning mom. Thanks. You forgot the timezones again."

"What? No I didn't. I waited to call. It's almost noon after all."

I double checked the time to verify it. "It's just after eight on a Saturday morning, mom," I corrected her. I didn't bother pointing out that her 'almost noon' was actually just after ten, her time. I slide off my bed and stretched out a bit, shaking out the sleepiness.

"Oh right. I'm sorry. Happy Birthday anyways. Do you have any plans for today?"

"I don't know. Nothing much," I said, lying a little. I did have one big thing planned, but it wasn't birthday related and certainly not something to be shared with a parent. "We've got a griffon gathering today. Just a hangout session out on the river, since the cold broke."

"I see. Well, you should do something for yourself at least. Especially after the year you've had. It's a new beginning after all."

"I know, I know. I'm basically turning thirty again I guess. Or whatever they guess our ages were reset to."

"Make sure you do something in any case," Mom said.

"Of course. Love you."

"Love you too."

I hung up and sighed. I was too awake now to go back to sleep so I headed to the washroom to get ready for the day. Through the rest of the morning, a few more birthday greetings trickled in. Most were automated birthday 'greetings' from business loyalty programs, usually combined with birthday coupons. Bev and a few cousins and friends gave me birthday greetings on Facebook, but Facebook itself was relatively quiet; I made sure most of my settings were private so it didn't trumpet my day to the world.

Shortly after lunch, I began to pack up my gear for the day. The griffon weekend events were slowing down, but we were trying to have one every other week at least. This week we were gathering at the Kinsmen Park on the other side of the river from the Legislature. It was just a picnic and hangout session, since the cold had mostly broken.

I hesitated in my bedroom, looking at the closed container on my dresser. As I'd hinted to mom, I had other plans for later in the evening. Cardi's egg had been earlier in the week, and we were both eager for the chance to 'return the favour' from a few weeks before. I wasn't sure if it actually helped control the heats and ruts, but it certainly didn't hurt.

Since it was Cardi's safe week, I probably didn't need to bring everything. On the other hand, I knew she'd been a little disappointed that we hadn't been fully prepared last time. It certainly wouldn't hurt to be properly prepared, just in case.

My heart pounding a bit with a mix of nervousness and embarrassment, I dropped my shorts and retrieved the diaphragm. I'd practiced it a few times since getting it, wearing it for a few hours in the evening, but this would be the first time I might actually need it. I applied the spermicide as instructed and tried to relax, propping a paw up on a stool to slip it in. The process was almost anticlimactic when it was done. I crouched and stretched a bit to make sure it was in position, and couldn't really feel it.

I added the tube of spermicide and a few packs of condoms into my go bag, and got dressed again. I was almost out the door when my phone chirped with a message from Cardi.

Sky. Do you have a few moments to review some GSL videos with me? I'm at home.

I stared at the message in confusion. The request in itself wasn't that strange. We'd been going cross-eyed reviewing GSL videos to get the ideal angles to pick signs for the app. But doing it now of all times felt strange. Especially since we'd be meeting up afterwards for dinner and more.

Realization dawned on me as I finished the train of thought and I beak palmed. After the gathering, our thoughts would be shifting to different subjects. We certainly would not be in a good headspace to be analysing videos. Doing it now would give us enough separation to hopefully do the job well.

I locked up and took off, heading right to her tower. A short time later, I landed on her balcony and tapped on the glass patio door.

"Hey Sky, come on in," she called from the kitchen.

I slid it open and made my way in. Her place was a bit messier than usual, but not unusually so. She was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher. I admired her red plumage from the living room.

"Sorry for the short notice. The team found a few new vids and sent them to me last night to review. I was going to wait until later, but realized tomorrow might not be the best time to do that," she said. She seemed a bit distracted as she told her story.

"It did catch me a bit by surprise. Really I don't think the teams stuck on us. We could probably have held off until Monday or next week sometime," I said. I made my way to her dining room table where her tablet was set up.

"True. I just don't like putting things off, not when we can finish it now," she said. She tapped a quick message on her phone before turning the screen off. "As is, waiting almost a full week for tonight has been torture."

My wings and tail lowered a bit, and my ears pressed back, griffon signs of submission and embarrassment. "Sorry to make you wait. I've been as eager for this as I'm sure you've been. But I also wanted to be fully prepared with it, and I didn't see Doctor Chase until Wednesday...."

She came up behind me and nuzzled me, hands going over my shoulders and cupping my breasts. I felt a surge in my loins and a strong desire to skip the day's gathering. "I'm sure you have, and I'm glad you waited. Why don't we get started."

It took me a moment to remember what she wanted to do. She let go of me and sat on the bench next to me, a wing rubbing against my own. She retrieved the tablet and brought up a few of the videos.

Almost immediately I could tell something was off. There were a few new videos, but many were ones we'd already gone over and reviewed. And the few new ones that were available, didn't really add anything. The GSL app was a struggle as we tried to better define what it was going to do, but nothing we were going over now would change it much. At the same time, Cardi seemed extra distracted, often checking her phone when she thought I wasn't looking. I might have chalked it up to pre-rut nerves, but it felt different.

Before I could call her out on it, she got a new message and seemed to relax. She didn't say anything in particular, but when we finished the latest video, she turned the tablet off.

"That's enough for today," she announced. "We've got a - gathering to get to after all."

I noticed the curious hiccup, but couldn't call her on it. She all but shoved me out the patio door and followed me soon after. We flew north, using the legislature and the river as our guide.

The number of griffons in the sky made it easy to spot our gathering. Many were throwing balls back and forth and just doing some impromptu skyball practice. Excitement was high for the launch of the league. Down below, there seemed to be more humans around than I was used to. We had a lot of allies, but random folk had trailed off as the temperature dropped. There were a number of heat stations set up, along with a lot of cars and trucks in the parking lot. I recognized Michelle's blue feathers talking with her cousin near the middle of the crowd.

We waved to friends and came in directly, picking a clear spot near some concrete picnic tables that had been cleared. A suspicious feeling began to form in the back of my mind as I took in the crowd below but the pieces didn't quite click into place in time.

The moment my paws touched the icy concrete, Rob and Juanita popped up from behind a few griffons, rolling out a Happy Birthday banner. "SURPRISE! Happy Birthday Sky!" the crowd shouted.

I wordlessly waved my thanks, taking in the crowd more. I recognized Greg and a few coworkers now, as well as Ryan and some of my PoGo crew. "Thanks everyone, good to see you all," I called out, acknowledging the group. It was strange to see three aspects of my life colliding like this, but not too surprising.

Cardi followed me to the table, where someone had brought out a slab birthday cake. It had white icing with red and orange highlights, and a black and red Happy Birthday Skyfire! on it. A cartoon griffon was on it next to the lit candles. The crowd gathered around me and started singing while I stood in front of the cake, trying to ignore the pictures being taken, and Brian filming the event from the side.

"Make a wish," Cardi said when the singing thankfully ended.

I froze for a moment, trying to think of something and drawing a blank. Feeling all the people waiting on me, I ended up just wishing that the year to come would be calmer than the year past. I took a breath and blew, not sure how it would work with a beak instead of lips. Thankfully they were just using a "3" and "0" candle. It wasn't my real age, but no one was all that sure what our real ages were any more. The flames flickered and went out.

I made the first cuts into the cake and passed out a few slices before Michelle and Rob took over. I retreated a bit, getting more congratulations along the way. I caught Cardi's eye and flicked my wing in a come here motion. She guiltily came over.

"So who blabbed?" I asked. "And whose idea was it?"

"It was Michelle's," Cardi said quickly. "Though maybe it was Rob too. I'm not sure. They just needed me to stall you for a bit so they could get everyone together and set things up."

"I knew something was up. I should've realized it," I grumbled.

"Are you mad?" Cardi asked, looking worried, especially for her role in the deception. It made me realize how new our friendship was.

"No, not at all. I don't really publicize my birthday, but I don't mind the surprise. Most of the time I just leech a few free dinners around town and call it a day."

She relaxed and looked a bit relieved. "Oh good. I worried I'd messed up there for a moment."

I gave her a quick hug and nuzzle. "Not at all. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I hope you don't feel bad, but I didn't get you a gift."

I giggled softly. "You didn't? Did you forget our plans for tonight?"

She eeped and pushed me away gently. I chuckled and moved back to the crowd to mingle. Thankfully most of the guests didn't have gifts either. Only my closest friends slipped me cards when we had a private moment together. Everyone else, I assured them that all I wanted was their company. Thermoses of hot chocolate and coffee and tea were provided, along with hotdogs cooked on skewers over the propane heaters. It was obviously a party thrown together at the last minute, but no one minded. Everyone had fun and that was the important thing.

The cold chased most of the humans away within an hour, and the gathering shifted to a more normal griffon gathering, with us mainly hanging out, chatting and seeing how people were doing. I wasn't sure if I was just becoming more aware of it, but the number of pregnant griffons seemed to get higher every time we gathered. I hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come for all of us.

I was snagging a final piece of cake on the ground when Cardi found me. She glanced around to make sure we were alone, though it wasn't really needed. I was pretty sure most of our friends suspected something by now.

"I'm going to head out now. I've got a few more things to take care of today. Catch you later tonight? Say around six for dinner?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then."

"Right. Anything in particular you want for dinner? I'm not that great a cook, so it would be DoorDashed. And don't make me pick; it's your birthday."

I laughed a bit. "Fine, fine. Thai would be good. Beef with extra spice."

"Perfect. See you then."

I waved and watched her take off, circling over the group before heading southward.

I hung out for a bit longer before deciding to take my own leave. I accepted a few more birthday wishes and said my farewells before taking off. As I climbed up out of the valley, I tried to decide what to do next. Flying home and waiting didn't really feel right. I looked towards downtown and made my decision. I headed for the ICE district where the NHL arena was. They still weren't allowing griffons into the arena itself, but we were very welcomed in the side businesses, especially the casino. It wasn't my preferred spot, but it was one of the handiest.

Griffons weren't very common at the casinos, but we weren't exactly uncommon either. I'd visited most of the ones around Edmonton at least once since September, a few more than once. The one in Rogers Place was surprisingly busy for a Saturday afternoon; I realized later there was a game scheduled for the evening.

I withdrew some cash and headed for the tables, feeling all the eyes focused on me as I went. The Blackjack tables were busy, so I had to wait for a few hands before a spot opened up in the middle of the table. A pit boss saw me step up to the table and retrieved a stool for me while the dealer changed my cash into chips. The players around me seemed a bit nervous, visibly sliding further away from me. I kept my wings and tail in as tight as I could to stay out of the way.

The first few hands were uneventful, but helped relax the crowd, when it was clear I knew how to play about as well as they did. The pit boss came back with my playercard and a couple of slips of paper.

"Welcome back, Simon. And Happy Birthday," she greeted me, handing the card back. "Here are some match bets to celebrate."

Hearing my old name from a stranger made me pause. My old friends and family tended to call me Simon, but almost everyone else knew me as Skyfire. "Thanks. And you can call me Skyfire, or Sky. I haven't gotten around to updating my card yet," I corrected her. It gave me a strange feeling, but felt more correct now.

"I'm sorry. I can update your account if you want?" she offered.

"If it's not too much trouble." I handed back my card to her and refocused on the game.

I was used to drawing a crowd when I played; people were just fascinated by us. So the table was surrounded by spectators, curious with how I handled the chips or carefully tapped the felt to signal for cards. When I got a good hand, I tended to get excited and spread my wings or tail a bit without realizing it, which always caught my neighbours by surprise when they were bumped by limbs they weren't expecting. On the really good hands, I'd often let out a happy screech that would turn all eyes towards me. I generally didn't care.

By five thirty, I was up by a hundred and decided that was enough. It was tempting to stay longer, but the table was cooling off, and I had to get to Cardi's place. I cashed in the chips and headed out. I found a bank nearby to deposit the cash, then took off.

For the second time that day, I found myself landing on her balcony and knocking on the glass door. I slid it open in response to her greeting and walked in. She'd been busy in the afternoon. The apartment had been cleaned up and everything put away. The table was set with some lit candles, but no food yet. Soft music was playing on her music system. The occupant was nowhere in sight.

"Cardi?" I called out, looking towards her bedroom while closing the door behind me.

The bedroom door opened, revealing the cardinal-tiger griffon. All she wore were her dark shorts, and she'd obviously been preening almost as much as she had been cleaning. She leaned against the doorframe and took me in.

"Happy birthday. I hope your day has been going well so far," she said, flicking her ears.

I chirrred softly and nodded, "It's been very pleasant. And feels like it's about to get better."

She giggled and stepped into the room, walking slowly up to me. I took in the sway of her hips and her breasts, the slightly extended wings and flared tail, and felt my body reacting, my pulse quickening, my nipples hardening and my cock beginning to swell in my own shorts. I almost wished I wasn't going commando.

She stopped in front of me and stroked the side of my face. I returned the gesture and we just silently watched each other for a moment. Finally she broke the gaze and went to the kitchen. "DoorDash should be here any minute now with dinner."

"Good, I'm starving. Picnic hotdogs are an okay lunch but not all that filling."

"True, and we are planning for an energetic evening." She retrieved a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses.

I blushed under my feathers and led the way to the bench-couch, where we sat, face to face. She popped the cork on the bottle and poured out a couple of glasses.

"So, you had an appointment with Doctor Chase?" she asked.

"A couple of days ago, yeah. She managed to fit me into her schedule. And to schedule me for a weekly vampire visit for the next little while."

"I thought she would. Your peaks are some of the hardest I've heard among us. Speaking of which, how was the rut? Did Amy's advice help?"

I sipped the wine a bit and nodded, "I think? Adam's advice might have been more useful. And your advice. The liners certainly made things less raw in the end."

"Good, good." She sipped her own wine before going on. "Did she go over anything else with you?"

I laughed, feeling the warmth of the alcohol spreading through me. "We went over everything. And she got me all geared up and then some. I've also been practicing a bit, but, well, tonight will be the first test of course."

"Of course it will. I'm looking forward to it." She glanced down at me. "Did you bring everything?"

I reflexively tightened my groin, feeling a hint of the diaphragm in there. "Yeah, I brought it all. Put it in before I left home..." I suddenly remembered the instructions for the device and beak palmed. "Crap, I put it in way too early."

She giggled and squeezed my thigh. "That's okay. You can check it before we do anything, and add more spermicide.... If you want to do it that way. My rut is tomorrow after all, and you're probably just coming online, fertility wise."

I hadn't really thought about it fully like that. It might have been the wine affecting me, but I chased my doubts away. "We'll see how the night goes. But if we both use protection, I'm willing to risk it."

"Sure...." We were interrupted by the buzz from her building's door system. She got up to let the delivery driver in, and a few minutes later he was at her door. He did a double take, seeing the two griffons, but recovered quickly.

Over the next few minutes we unpacked the food and spread it out on actual plates. We set up the table and took our positions at opposite ends. I snapped apart the pair of disposable chopsticks while she made use of a fork.

"I'm still amazed you can actually use those," she said as we dug in.

I laughed and clicked the sticks together. "It's a bit trickier with the talons, but it isn't too bad."

"If you say so. I couldn't even use them without talons."

"Do you want to learn? I could try to teach you," I offered.

She flicked her ears and smirked. "Maybe next time."

We chit chatted through the dinner, staying on neutral topics for the most part, though she did pry a bit more into my usual birthday habits. All in all, it was a more relaxed session than last time. Admittedly, I was in a better headspace this time, now that I more or less knew what to expect.

After cleaning up the dinner plates, we retreated to her couch-bench with the wine. Part of me wanted to chase her right to bed, but I kept him in check, content to relax with a friend. Neither of us worked the next day, so we were in no rush. She turned on the TV and picked some disaster B-Movie on Netflix; something about black portals appearing all over the place and luring people to the other side.

"I hear Hollywood is trying to make a Change movie," she noted after a while.

"Only A movie?" I asked incredulously.

She laughed and cuddled against me, a hand rubbing my breast. "Ok, I'm sure there's more than one. They're just trying to figure out how best to show the results."

I nuzzled back and nodded. "Yeah, Titans and Griffons aren't exactly budget friendly. Maybe they should make dwarves or elves or orcs or something."

"I'd assume they'd hire actual Griffons and Titans, at least for the after scenes. Only CG they'd need would be for the change. And maybe for their main character. Unless they decided to do a custom race, then maybe they'd use those."

She paused and considered it a bit more. "Do you think those races might actually be possible?"

I rubbed her back a bit, rubbing at the base of her tail. "Who knows? Until last year, none of this was possible. So maybe we will get Elves or Aliens or something this year."

She chirred happily and pressed harder against me. "Yeah, I guess those could be possible. Wonder if they would be herms too?"

"Chances seem good for that. Seems to be a theme so far. I wonder when it would happen next?"

"In March of course, that's when the Titans happened. So I guess we have two more months to wait."

We gave up on the movie and switched to a different one, a post-AI war movie where they were chasing down the rogue AI using mechas that linked with their pilots. It was much more watchable than the first one. We cuddled while watching it, enjoying the cheesiness while finishing off the wine. By the time it was over, I was a quivering bundle of excited nerves, and I suspected Cardi was in a similar state. In hindsight we probably shouldn't have waited so close to her rut, but we were ready now.

I cleaned up the bottles and glasses while she turned off the tv and lights. I hung up the dish towel on a rack in front of the sink and watched her make a come hither motion from her bedroom. I retrieved my bag, and killed the kitchen lights and followed her in.

Her bedroom was fairly basic. A queen sized bed with some well worn blankets and pillows, suitable for nesting. It had two bedside tables with lamps, both on at the moment. The closet was closed. There was a padded bench at the foot of the bed, perfect for sitting on, pulled out just far enough to accommodate the tail. A six drawer dresser also had a large mirror. The top of the dresser was pretty clear, with her phone and flight gear, and a few other miscellaneous items. It lacked the array of perfumes, makeups and other items common for a woman. There was a small jewelry box that was closed. I couldn't remember her wearing any jewelry since I met her.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked as she unbuttoned her shorts. She wiggled her hips and fluttered her tail as she let them drop.

"Better than last time. A lot better prepared," I said. I unzipped my bag and took out a few condoms. "And yes, I've practiced a bit."

"Good, I hoped you were ready. I know it's my safe time, but I prefer to use protection anyway, just to be safe." She retrieved a familiar container from the side table. She propped a leg on the bench and started rubbing herself a little before slipping her own diaphragm in. It made my pulse quicken. I unbuttoned my own pants and dropped them, showing my own shaft already aroused.

"It's a good idea, especially to get used to. And in case we want to do more."

She licked her beak, looking down at me. After a moment, she tossed the tube of spermicide my way. "Speaking of which, you said you've been ready all day. You should probably refresh your protection, before we get too busy."

I blushed and pressed my ears back a bit, knowing she was right. She moved to the side on the bench and I joined her, smearing a fresh amount over my own protection while being well aware of her closeness. She watched me and I could see she was hardening as well.

When I was done, she reached over and stroked my own hard member, her talon going up against the barbs. I shuddered in pleasure.

"So are you ready?" she asked.

"More than ready," I confirmed.

She pinched one of my nipples and giggled, retreating to the bed. She turned off one of the lamps, and hopped into bed, rolling over onto her back while watching me. Her wings squirmed a bit, adjusting the pillows and blankets to support her.

I motioned to the other lamp and she shook her head. I took a couple of condoms and climbed onto the bed next to her. I rolled over on top of her, straddling her legs and looking up at her. She watched me, chirring softly in anticipation.

I started by rubbing her legs a bit, digging my talons into her thick striped fur. I could see she was as aroused as I was, her cock swollen, but also her vulva quivering. When I got closer, I stroked over her opening, eyes watching her as she quivered. I stroked over her shaft as well and paused, leaning back and grabbing the condom. Putting one on with talons was trickier, but not impossible thankfully.

Once I was 'dressed', I continued exploring Cardi. We'd explored each other the last time, so it was familiar territory. At the same time, there was something different I couldn't quite explain. Maybe it was because I was in the guy role this time and more in the driver's seat. Cardi did her own part as well. As I worked up her body, she started rubbing my head, scratching my ears and brushing my feathers. Her paws rubbed against my legs as well. I nipped at her breasts once I got up there, making her gasp happily.

Soon enough we were rubbing beaks. Her hands squeezed my own breasts, pinching my nipples and making them harder. I fluttered my wings a bit and adjusted a bit, my hard cock rubbing against hers with only the latex of the condom between us.

"You ready?" I gasped out, realizing I might not be able to hold back as long as she had. I hadn't had that much practice, even before becoming a griffon.

"Of course, as soon as you are," she replied, nuzzling back.

I slid back a little and double checked the condom and lined up between her legs. I held there for a moment, holding just at her entrance. It almost tipped me over without doing anything. I teased her nipples a bit more from that position before bracing myself over her. I pushed in hard, feeling her tunnel open for me. I felt her squeeze down tightly on my cock, but it was moist enough for me to slide in easily. I pulled back and had my first real experience of the barbs; even with the condom, they still caused a flare of pleasure with my movements. It nearly made me cum right away.

"Fuck!" I gasped out, clamping down hard to hold back, panting hard. I held my position, not sure I could hold back if I pushed back in.

Cardi giggled and reached up and stroked my own breast, pinching a nipple. "Incredible isn't it? It caught me by surprise my first time too."

"I've done this before... Hell! I've been doing this manually for months now. But this... fuck."

"Well, don't stop!"

In response I pushed back in again. Knowing what to expect, it was a little easier to hold back, but only just. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back for long, but I was determined to hold as long as I could. It was a battle of wills between us, and I'm pretty sure I lost first. I pushed in hard and felt my cock spasm. I let out a happy screech, a sound a human could never make. The cardinal griffon shuddered under me.

We held our positions for a long moment, just savouring the feelings. I nuzzled and licked her beak gently while feeling her squeezing on my hard cock. She stroked my sides and nuzzled back. "So was it worth it?" she asked.

"Fuck yes. Damn, I forgot, what about your neighbours?"

She giggled and kept rubbing. "Thankfully, we have really thick walls here. I mean, I've heard their activities, but only just. Human hearing won't hear a thing."

"I hope so." I reluctantly pulled out slowly, shivering a bit. I glanced and was relieved to see the condom was intact. I pulled it off and set it to the side.

"Of course, since you are properly prepared, you can find the real fun of being a griffon now," Cardi said. She was rubbing my sides, getting lower. Suddenly, her hands stroked over my shaft, then below it, finding my pussy and making me realize how wet I was.

"Now, it's my turn," she giggled. I lifted myself off of her enough to let her grab the other condom. It was obvious she was used to using them as she slipped it on her own member.

We wiggled a bit, adjusting our positions though I was still on top. I had a strange dual feeling of being tired, but also eager to get more. Soon enough she was positioned against me. I slid onto her, feeling her covered shaft enter me. It felt a little different from before, but just as much fun. I squeezed onto it and rocked. It didn't take long for us to tip over again, and she made sure I felt the pleasure of the female climax again. I was sure the screeches we made could be heard across the entire building.

Once I could, I pulled free and rolled onto my side, panting hard. My body was quivering with pleasure. "Fuck," I gasped out. "Just.... wow."

She cuddled me and nodded. "Yeah, it's something isn't it? And the Titans have even more. I can't imagine what they've got."

"They've got their pouch stuff too. I think this is plenty enough for me," I said. Weariness was starting to spread as I came down from the double high.

She took her own condom off and retrieved mine, leaving them on the table for later. "Nice thing with protection, it's a lot less messy.... Mostly."

I glanced down at my groin. My fur was wet and sticky in places. The last time had been a lot messier, but this wasn't entirely clean. "Yeah, I guess it can wait until morning."

"Since we used condoms, we could take the diaphragms out now. But it's good practice to wait until morning, just in case. Sex is messy after all. Best to get into good practices early."

I nodded and cuddled with her. My energy levels were dropping fast. Finally, I reached back and killed the other lamp, plunging the bedroom into darkness, lit only by the city glow coming in the shaded window.

"Night Sky. Thanks," Cardi whispered.

I leaned closer to her and nuzzled. "Night Cardi. And Thank you."

Sunday , Jan 28

Movement next to me woke me up. I opened my eyes in an unfamiliar bed, with the unusual sensation of someone next to me. My heart began to pound and I got nervous, until my mind clicked into gear and I remembered where I was. I blinked and got Cardi into focus. She was still fast asleep. The room was dark with a hint of dawn. I looked around but couldn't find a clock.

I tried to get back to sleep, but now that I was awake, sleep eluded me. My body was still tingling a bit with left over feelings from the night before, mainly a combination of memories and a bit of morning wood.

Next to me, the red griffon twitched a bit, still deep in sleep. I reached over and stroked her face a bit. She chired softly in her sleep and settled deeper into sleep. Looking her over, I realized her cock was fully erect again even while she was asleep; more than just morning wood. I stared at it in the dimly lit room, feeling my own loins begin to moisten. Something nagged at the back of my mind and I stayed still, trying to bring it back.

"Fuck, the rut," I mumbled under my breath. Today was her Rut. I stared at her, realizing this was the first time I'd seen another griffon during her peak. I found myself watching her closely as she subconsciously handled the rut. She twitched in her sleep and grunted softly. I yearned to stroke her shaft, to help her get a bit of relief, but it didn't feel right to do. If I was honest with myself, I wanted to climb onto that cock and ride it all morning.

She spasmed on the bed next to me and cum shot out, hitting my belly fur and breasts. Cardi sighed happily and settled back into a deeper sleep. I looked down at the mess and sighed softly as well. "I guess I deserved that," I mumbled.

I carefully slipped off the bed, trying not to disturb the other griffon. I yawned and stretched silently. Cardi slept on; and I felt a pang of jealousy. I padded out of the bedroom and started cleaning up. I also pulled out the diaphragm and washed it off. After four months I was finally getting somewhat comfortable with the idea of having things inside me.

When I left the bathroom, I saw a sleepy cardinal griffon standing in the bedroom doorway. She rubbed a breast with one hand, her cock still hard.

"Mornin'. Did I wake you?" I asked, trying not to look down. I knew she was in her rut and it seemed to be causing a reaction in me.

"No, not really. I think you know what woke me," she replied. She sighed softly and forced her hands to her sides. "Waking up is usually the worst. Takes me time to wrangle things under control."

I indicated the wet fur on my front, "I could tell. You've already gone off once."

"Oh?... Fuck. I'm sorry."

I giggled and waved my wing dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It was partly my fault. I saw it com- I saw what was going on and didn't get out of the way. Honestly I was sorely tempted to help it along. But that didn't feel right."

Her hands twitched, obviously yearning to do something, but being fought. She considered what I just said and nodded. "Thank you for the consideration. I'm not used to someone being around for this, especially not waking up with them."

"It's new for both of us. I do sort've hope we might have more opportunities."

She nodded and flicked her ears. "So do I. But that said, I give you permission to help me out in the future, at least manually."

I gulped and nodded, "Thank you. And if we find ourselves in the other direction, you have the same permission. And just to warn you, it was tempting to jump you in another way. Not quite a heat, but the urges were there."

I slipped past her and retreated to the kitchen. After a bit of searching, I got some coffee brewing and toast toasting. I munched on a banana while waiting for her to get out of the bathroom.

When she came out, she was obviously a bit more composed, her hardon partly relaxed. I offered a mug of coffee and otherwise kept away.

"How are you feeling?"

She shrugged her wings and sipped the cooled coffee. "A bit better. I'm still feeling it. Gods, I want to jump you and ravage you on the table. But I've got it contained."

I nodded in agreement. "Honestly, part of me wouldn't say no to that idea. And I'm not even on the heat. Should I leave?"

She took a deep breath and considered it. "No, not yet. Unless you want to, or need to."

"I'm good. I'll have to go home soon but not right away. But as tempting as it is, we should probably avoid a Round Two... or would it be Round three? Round four?"

She giggled and nodded in agreement. I decided that decreasing the temptation would help. I returned to the bedroom and pulled my shorts back on. She got dressed after I did, and we lingered over breakfast, talking about a variety of things. We even did some more video reviews, but it was obvious that Cardi's attention wasn't on topic. I was impressed that she seemed to be easily resisting the urges. I also noticed that while her breasts were swollen, she wasn't leaking. All in all, it made me a bit jealous.

By lunch time, I could tell the strain was getting to her. It was getting to me as well. It was one thing to have things to do and to be interacting with new people steadily, like her job entailed. Obviously when you were with another griffon most of the time, and didn't have as many distractions handy, it was harder, even for the easier peaks.

Around noon, I stopped the latest video and started gathering my stuff. "I'd love to stay longer, but I have a long list of chores I need to do back home today," I said as an excuse.

Cardi seemed more than a little relieved by my escape. "Of course. Thank you for the company," she said, starting to straighten up the room.

"Thank you for everything," I replied. I strapped on my gear and pack and got close to her. We hugged briefly and rubbed beaks. "I'm honestly looking forward to the next time."

She giggled and nodded. "So am I. And it's not just the rut talking."

We went to the patio door and I stepped out. It was chilly but sunny out, and the cold air was refreshing. I stretched my wings and climbed over the railing. We rubbed beaks a final time before I fell off backwards, flipping over in mid air and headed home.

Wednesday, January 31

Long range mobility had been high in my mind since Greg and I talked on Friday. I'd heard some griffons had picked up bikes and motorbikes before winter set in, to varying degrees of success. Helmets and other protective gear were our main problem; our heads just didn't fit the normal ones. Four months later, some companies were starting to offer some custom made helmets. Some of the work had been started for the Titans, but when the Griffons happened, they pivoted. Feeling ambitious, I placed an order for a griffon helmet and some other gear. With the backlog, it wouldn't be in for a few months, but at least I was on the list.

The next challenge to tackle was the legal one. I'd never been interested in a motorbike before, so I just had a Class 5 license for regular vehicles. Motorbikes needed a Class 6. Getting one wasn't too difficult, if you had a Class 5 to start from.... but I'd given mine up a few months ago for an identification card; a card that wasn't completely correct but at least had my griffon picture on it, and my sex listed as "X". Now I would have to convince them to give me back my old license even though I couldn't drive most Class 5 vehicles.

On Wednesday, I booked an appointment and flew to a registry office downtown. The office was moderately busy when I showed up. I got a number from the kiosk at the entrance and settled down to wait. I saw a lot of people watching me curiously, and a lot of whispering going on, and tried to ignore it. Finally my number was called out.

I went to another kiosk desk on one side of the room. There were some chairs in front of it, but not ones I could sit at. Since they had arms, I couldn't even flip them around to sit at. Instead I knelt on it to bring myself down to the worker's level.

"How... How can I help you?" the agent asked, obviously surprised to see a griffon in front of them.

I set out my new ID card, my passport and a few other items with my name on them. "Hi there. This is going to seem a bit strange, but I'd like to restore my driver's license."

He blinked for a moment, not looking at the cards I provided. He was clearly having trouble processing my request. "Your driver's license?"

I nodded and prepared to be patient. "Yes, my driver's license. I had it before, but after, this." I flicked my wings out and shook them a little. "I thought I wouldn't need it any more and voluntarily gave it up for a new ID card. In hindsight, it turns out I was a bit rash in my actions; I should have just updated it."

"But you can't drive!" the agent said. I saw a few of his coworkers glance over and watch us curiously. I wondered how long it would take before I would have to escalate my request.

"I know, technically I can't properly drive a regular car or truck. Hell, I can't even fit into the seats any more. But I can drive a motorcycle. Not all of them but a surprising number of them. In order to do that legally, I'll need a Class 6 license. And to get one of those easier, I'd like my Class 5 restored."

"Uhm right. I guess that makes sense...." He finally took my paperwork and started typing on his computer. I suspected he was mainly working automatically.

I waited quietly while he worked, doing a lot of typing and clicking. The screen was angled so I couldn't see anything, so all I could do was wait. In the end, he didn't look happy with what he found.

"Okay, Mr... Miss.... Mx Farrel. It does look like you're within the window to restore your old license. There will be a service charge and some more paperwork but...."

I tilted my head and waited for him to go on. Finally I prompted him. "But?"

"But... I'm not sure I should renew it for you."

"And why shouldn't you?" I asked, keeping my tone as neutral as possible. I knew I had to convince him to get anywhere, and getting frustrated would do me no good.

"You're a griffon! You can't fit in a car, let alone a driver's seat. Sure, technically you've shown you know how to drive, but it was all before. Now...."

"Now, I know I can't. Not a normal car at least. And I'm not looking to drive one. I'm just asking for my license to be restored so I can more easily get a license I can actually use. I've had a license for twenty some years now, I know how to drive, I just need a card to recognize that."

"RIght right..." the agent seemed unconvinced.

"Please, go check with someone else, if you want a second opinion. I don't mind," I gently urged him, giving him an escape route.

He was obviously tempted to ignore my suggestion, until he realized it was the perfect way to punt the problem. He excused himself and went to a cubicle to talk to someone. Had I strained, I could probably have listened in over the ambient noise. Instead I just relaxed and tried to look as harmless as possible. The person he was talking to stood up and looked over to me. I waved a hand to them and they went back to their intense discussion. The pair moved even deeper into the government space, visiting someone with an actual office at the back of the room. They were there for a long time, and I suspected that calls were being made.

Finally, the agent came back with another person. She was obviously someone who was in charge. I stood up to greet them, even though we were still separated by a plexiglass screen.

"Mx Farrel, I'm Assistant Director Vance, in charge of this office. I must say, you're giving us quite the dilemma."

"I'm sorry for any problems I'm causing. I'm just trying to make things easier for me later on. I'm probably not going for my Class 6 until the spring, but I figured restoring my old license would be easier now."

"It would be, in some ways. And it also shows we may have some problems in the future with regards to those licenses too. But that's a problem for tomorrow. As for the current concerns, well, I guess you could say it's mainly a logic problem. Or a moral problem. Technically speaking, there's nothing disallowing your kind from having a Class 5 license, or a Class 6 or any other type of license. And in fact, most of you still have your old licenses, even if you aren't using them. We haven't had it happen here yet, but I've heard many of you have also just updated your licenses for your new bodies. So, practically speaking, there isn't a reason we couldn't restore your old one. As far as the government is concerned, you proved you were allowed and capable of driving in the past. And your new bodies don't technically disqualify you from that."

"Right, so what's the problem?" I asked, a little bit of my growing impatience slipping into my voice.

"The problem is if we should allow this to happen. A license gives you the implicit permission to operate a motor vehicle out in public. Even though you physically can't operate one; not without extensive modifications that probably don't even exist yet."

"If it helps, I do promise I won't try to drive a regular vehicle any more. I'm just looking for a way to make sure I'll be able to legally drive a motorcycle as soon as reasonable, without needing to go through the graduated steps again."

She studied me while thinking, drumming her fingers on the top of the cubicle wall. Finally, she made her decision. "Go ahead and do it. As far as the rules go right now, there's no reason a griffon can't drive a car legally, as long as they passed all the tests. And Mx Farrel has certainly done that in the past. If the Minister has a problem with it, then the government can change the rules appropriately."

The agent nodded and sat back down and started typing. I relaxed and nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Keep in mind they may decide to change things in the future, but for now, we'll follow things as written. Good luck on your cycle tests."

I laughed, "I've barely started down that path. I ordered a helmet and went for my old license. I still need to get an actual bike and learn how to ride it, and I won't do that until the snow's gone."

"Good idea. Have a good day, Mx."

She retreated back to her office, and I knelt back on the chair to wait. Soon enough, my three month old ID card was going through the shredder, and I had a new temporary license. "We used your photo and signature on record since you updated it recently. This temporary license is good for 30 days. If you don't get your proper license in that time, contact us," the agent explained.

I packed up my wallet and flight bag again and nodded my thanks. "Great, thank you for all the help. Sorry to be a pain."

He chuckled and shrugged. "Just part of our duties. Have a good day."

Thursday, February 1

In the predawn light of my dreams he met me, floating in the dark skies in all his glory. My loins were moist and I was more than ready for him. He was equally prepared for me, his shaft already erect and glistening in the ambient light of the dreamscape. I had a moment of guilt, thinking of Cardi, but lust pushed those thoughts away.

We floated into each other's arms and began to cuddle, squeezing breasts, nibbling and nuzzling and drawing out the moment. I had my hands on his shoulders while his own hands slid down my sides, our wings slightly extended and pressing together. He gripped my hips and I tensed a moment in anticipation; I could feel his hard shaft against my own sheath. He wiggled a little more and he was between my legs, filling my moist opening.

I clenched down on him and he held his position for a moment while we cuddled a bit more. And then he pulled back a bit and pleasure flared from my loins as his barbs slide along my sensitive flesh. I gasped and panted, barely holding back my climax as he pushed back in and started thrusting. Having experienced the real thing had certainly enhanced my dream experiences. All too soon, I gave in, letting the waves of pleasure wash over me. As I gave in, he released as well, his shaft throbbing as he let go deep in me.

The climax jolted me awake, my entire body quivering from the pleasure. I laid in bed, panting hard, my loins quivering. My nipples rubbed the sheats, hard and tingling as well. Sleep was certainly out of the question now.

"Fuck," I groaned weakly, not moving much. I opened my eyes and in the dim light, I saw 7:42 on the radio alarm clock I used. Heat number five had arrived.

I laid there for a few moments, letting the pleasure fade. It didn't entirely disappear, but I began to feel somewhat normal. At the same time, my loins seemed to realize I was awake, and they wanted something other than the fantasy satisfaction.

I resisted the urges for the moment, reaching out to turn on the lamp and sitting up in bed, facing the mirror. I inspected myself briefly. My feathers were more frazzled than the usual 'bed head' appearance I had.My nipples were hard, visible from my dark fur, though my breasts didn't seem much bigger yet. My fur was also a mess, especially around my loins. While my sheath was almost invisible against my fur, my vulva was moist and my labia were engorged. I couldn't see it but my clit felt as hard as my shaft would normally be.

"Fuck," I groaned again. I ignored the urges and stood up, retreating to the bathroom to clean up a bit and hopefully cool the heat I was feeling. It was a struggle, but I tried to bring up the advice I'd been given and focus on other things.

I felt a little better when I returned to my bedroom, having washed and preened a little. I then did something I rarely did during my peaks... I got dressed. The granny panties came out again with a panty liner, and I had to admit it felt better against my vulva. I even pulled on a top, tucking in some pads to handle leakage.

Once I was dressed, I went downstairs and got breakfast and prepared for the day.

I technically had taken the day off, but I needed something to focus on. So after eating, I retreated to my office and logged in and started digging into some of my ongoing projects.

By noon, I was near my limits. I was mentally exhausted from focusing on work and trying to ignore my body. Through most of the morning, I found myself squirming in my seat with varying degrees of success.

Before going down for lunch, I retreated to my bedroom and stripped off my shorts. A few urgent minutes later and I collapsed on the bed panting, a wave of pleasure washing over me. I rested there for a time, savouring the moment of normality when the roar of the hormones had been silenced by the climax,

When I was ready, I redressed myself and went downstairs to make lunch. Over lunch, I considered what I had to do. Adam was scheduled to do a house call in the afternoon. But I also had to go out for the blood draw at the clinic as well. I'd gone out last week so I knew the process at least. With how I was feeling, I decided to tempt fate. I sent Adam a message to call me when he had a chance.

He called me back shortly after one, and seemed a bit concerned.

"Hey Adam," I greeted him, stretching my wings a bit and standing up from the computer. I'd gone back to try and work, but I could feel the urges building again.

"Hi Skyfire. I'm planning to leave shortly. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. I... I just wanted to suggest that we shift back to your office. I know you prefer to meet there."

He paused for a moment, obviously processing my request. "Are you sure? Is something wrong? Did your heat change?"

I let out a quick laugh. "I wish. Heat's hitting me as strong as ever.... But I think I've got a better grip on it. Leaving the house like this, it scares the shit out of me. But I think I've made progress, and I can do it. I have to "

"You have to?" he probed gently.

I sighed and nodded, though he couldn't see it. "Yeah. I need to get a grip on this damn roller coaster. I can't keep losing two days a month to my fucking body. And I have a medical appointment as well. Just the blood draw."

"Right, I remember you mentioning that last week. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Focus seems to help, but I've been doing computer work all day. It's all mental stuff. I think I need to do something more physical. A good flight would help."

He sounded a bit doubtful, but gave in. "Okay then. I'll wait for you in the office. See you later this afternoon."

"Thanks Adam. see you then."

I killed another hour or so on the computer. It wasn't really productive work. Finally, I gave up for the day and retreated to the bedroom. A quick session helped take the edge off the heat. I could tell it was near breaking, but it was still building; I had no idea how it would finally break if I was away from home. I briefly tried to get Little Simon to stir, but while I could get a little harder, ejaculating was impossible; the clinic wasn't going to be getting a semen sample from the heat. The milk sample, on the other talon, was trivial to provide. I pumped myself as dry as I could, and filled the container they provided. The rest I flushed.

I packed my bag, geared up, and left.

Like at Christmas, I found flying did help take some of the edge off. The flapping of my wings did cause my top to rub my sore nipples more than I would have liked; but the physical exertion helped offset the desires of the heat. Outside, the skies were clear and chilly, but not too cold; enough I could feel it in my nares and on my talons, but not so much that I was uncomfortable. I reached Adam's office just before our appointment, and headed right up. His door was open when I entered.

"Come on in Sky, we can start right away," he greeted me from the inner office.

I went right in and took my bag off, setting it down carefully next to the couch. I fluttered my wings and tail a bit before sitting down in my usual place.

"Sorry about the short notice about the change. I decided at the last moment. I hope it didn't cause you any problems."

He leaned back in his own seat, crossing his legs and clasping his hands over his lap. "Not at all. These appointments are for you. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible with them. So how are you feeling?"

I took a moment to consider the question.

"I'm okay I guess. The flight helped. The heat's still got me strong, but it should break soon."

"Well, you seem in surprisingly good shape considering. Though I'm a bit surprised you're wearing a top."

I glanced down self consciously, more concerned that I was leaking and the pads had slipped. The front was dry.

"I'm wearing it for practical purposes, but I probably should have left it off. The contact is... frustrating. I'm not sure if this was a good idea or not."

He nodded, "Well, go with whatever you're comfortable with. How is the heat today?"

I adjusted the top a little, reaching in to check the pads. I could tell there was a bit of moistness to them but they seemed to be holding well. I decided to leave it on.

"It's hard to describe, I guess. But trust me, it's almost as bad as earlier heats. The techniques we discussed do seem to be helping a lot. Still, now that I'm sitting down, I can feel it rebuilding."

We talked about it for the rest of the session. All through it, I forced myself to sit still, doing my best to ignore the feelings in my loins. Adam could clearly see my discomfort, but I did my best to not draw attention to it. Towards the end of the session, he tried to make me address it.

"How do you usually break your heat?" he asked.

I looked away nervously. "Well, as you probably suspect, I usually have to... well have to masturbate. Climaxing is how I can tell it's broken, at least the previous times."

"And if you don't do that?" he asked.

I shrugged my wings and crossed my legs again, squeezing nervously. "I'm not sure. I never tried not to."

"Well, you know where the washroom is, if you feel like you need to...."

"No no, I should be fine," I quickly said. "I should be able to make it home at least, even if I need to go the long way."

He seemed unhappy with my answer but let the subject drop. "So do you think you can keep coming with your heat and ruts?"

I nodded, trying to sound more certain than I felt. "I have to, if I want to get a grip on these. It's still exhausting, but practice will help."

"When's your appointment at the clinic?" he asked.

His office didn't have any visible clocks, so I checked the time on my phone. It was almost five. "I just need to call them before I head out. They can fit me in pretty much any time. I was planning to call them when I left. It's just a blood draw and dropping off a few samples."

"Well, it's pretty much the end of our session. Is there anything else you want to talk about this week?"

I shook my head and stood up, grabbing my bag. "No, I think it's a good point for this week. Thanks Adam. I appreciate your help."

We shook hands and I left the building. Before taking off I called the clinic to give them the heads up. A half hour later I landed in the parking lot. It was getting dark, but it was still busy, with people visiting the after hours clinic or visiting the drug store or other stores. I went up to the second floor and checked in.

I settled in to wait on a bench in the waiting room. A few humans and griffons were there, but I ignored them. The damn heat was at its peak and I was yearning for a release. I especially avoided looking at the other griffons in case it was enough to make me give in.

"Skyfire? We can see you now," the nurse announced.

I followed them into a small office, similar to the one Doctor Chase saw me in. I unpacked the container of milk and set it on a counter, and waited.

"Hi again, Skyfire. How are you doing?" Doctor Tompkins greeted me. He had seen me the previous week.

"I'm okay, considering. It's been a long day, and I'm eager to get home," I said.

"Right. I'll try not to keep you for long. You're on your heat, right? How's it going?" he sat across from me and opened my folder to take notes.

"As usual. But I'm handling it. I brought some milk in. But a semen sample isn't happening."

He looked up and took the milk sample. He jotted a few notes on the bottle before putting it down. "Thank you. We'll get this off to the lab, along with the rest as usual. Did you have any problem getting this?"

I laughed and shook my head. "I dumped more than that into the toilet after." I glanced down and sighed. My nipples were pressing harder against the pads in my top, making my breasts more prominent than I was used to. "And I'll probably have to milk out just as much when I get home."

He followed my gaze briefly before looking away. "Right, well then we won't keep you long. The phlebotomist will be in shortly and then you're free to go. Thank you again for doing this."

"Anything to help out. I just want to get this damn curse wrangled."

He grimaced a moment and finished a couple of notes in the folder. He then excused himself and the other technician came in. We didn't talk much as he felt among the feathers of my upper arm and found a spot. The blood draw happened quickly and I was free to go.

The heat wanted a release so it could finally rest, but I pushed on further. I stopped at a taco place for a burrito to go. By the time I got inside with my dinner, I could barely turn the house alarm off. The bag of food went on the counter while I stripped off my top. I stumbled upstairs and finally found the relief I'd been putting off for so long.

I fell onto the bed, one hand between my legs, pressing my moist vulva, stroking my swollen clit. Despite how on edge I was, I didn't come immediately. A few moments of rubbing finally tipped me over. Instead of pleasure, waves of relief spread over me. I laid on the bed for a long time, panting a bit and unable to do much else. Eventually I rolled over and got my dinner, finishing off my day.

Wednesday, February 14

As a long time Ace, Valentines Day just wasn't a thing for me. My new relationship with Cardi aside, I just never really got relationships. I had many friends of all sexes, but I'd never really had an interest in getting close to them. Even for my high school prom, I'd gone out with a girl friend from my clique of friends, just to have a partner. I can't even remember if we kissed.

Wednesday started like any other day. February to date, had been pretty normal, for my new normal at least. The egg had been uneventful, I'd seen Adam and visited the clinic. And since it was my safe week, Cardi and I had met for some fun over the weekend.

So I was caught by surprise when an office runner knocked on my office door just before lunch. They were carrying a fruit bouquet, and a box of chocolates. Confused, I had him leave them on my desk. I plucked a strawberry off the bouquet while opening the card. The front of the card read Happy Valentine's Day with a pair of cardinals on the front. It was all I needed to know who it was from. Inside, there was a hand drawn cardinal, and a short message. Call Me.

I held the card for a long moment, unsure what to make of it. I certainly didn't feel like I wanted to get into an actual relationship; I felt we were firmly in Friends with Benefits territory, but a Valentine's gift seemed to imply something else. I was unsure if I wanted to encourage it, discourage it, or just brush it off.

Ultimately, I closed the door and made the call. Cardi answered after a few rings, obviously at work.

"Hey Sky. Happy Valentine's day. Did you get it?" She greeted me, sounding cheerful.

"Hi Cardi, Happy... Valentine's day," I replied, a little hesitant. "I did get it. Thank you. It's beautiful."

"Great. I know it's probably a bit unwieldy to fly with, so don't worry about saving any of it for me. Feel free to pass it around the office," she said, her exuberance coming through clearly.

"Thank you, I will," I said. "I certainly wasn't expecting it."

She finally seemed to pick up my uncertainty. "Right, I know you weren't. I wasn't planning it until yesterday myself. I know we aren't a couple, but all things considered, I felt like I wanted to do something. And to be honest, I liked the idea of being the one to give the gift for a change."

My head was still spinning, trying to figure out a way through this forest I found myself in. "Thank you, I... I didn't get you anything."

"I wasn't expecting anything. Well, that's a lie. I'm hoping I can expect your company for dinner tonight. Say the Spaghetti Factory at West Ed for seven? Then we can go home for some fun if you get what I mean." I could almost see her wink through the phone. "I've got an evening shift tomorrow, and I know your rut is tomorrow."

"Sure," I accepted, caught up in the flood. "I'll meet you there?"

"Perfect! Looking forward to it. Bye Sky!"

I lowered my phone, not sure what exactly had happened. I munched on a couple of strawberries from the fruit bouquet, half tempted to call her back and cancel. Instead, I convinced myself that it was alright, and had to admit, I was looking forward to it. I didn't like the reminder that my rut was tomorrow, but it was what it was, and did mean our evening was a bit freer than a normal weekday evening might be.

I snacked on a few more berries, and went back to work, trying to focus as best as I could. As she suggested, I disassembled the bouquet and left much of it in the kitchen for the rest of the office. The chocolates I kept for myself.

The office emptied out quickly by the end of the day. We were very flexible with our work hours, so most people took the opportunity to leave early to get ready for a special dinner and/or a special evening. Normally, I would be one of the last to leave on Valentine's Day, having nothing planned. But this was not a normal year for me.

I shut down for the day around four thirty, and claimed one of the bathrooms with a preening kit I kept in my office. I did a thorough brushing, and wished I had a change of clothes. Cardi had booked our dinner at West Ed, which was almost the opposite direction from home. While I could wing it home and get there in time, I didn't really like the idea.

So I made due and shortly before five, I was winging it across downtown, heading to the large mall. Below, traffic was thick, deep in a midweek rush hour. The skies were grey and overcast, but nice otherwise, and not crowded at all. I saw a half dozen griffons flying around, some heading to the mall like me.

I landed near the Asian market and weaved my way through the crowds to the mall itself. I still attracted attention when I was in crowds, but most people didn't give me a second glance now. Once I got to the mall itself, I stopped at a mall directory, trying to think of what I wanted to do next. I had about an hour to kill before she arrived, and I wanted to have something ready for her, but I was drawing a blank.

Ultimately, I decided you couldn't go wrong with chocolates. Purdy's was packed full of men and a few women getting last minute gifts like me, to the point they were limiting access to the store. I joined the line and debated seeing if Rocky Mountain, Lindt or maybe one of the cupcake shops was any less busy. The line was moving steadily enough that I just waited it out.

By the time I got into the store, it was obvious it was well picked over. The workers had been run off their feet all day, barely able to keep products on the shelves. Empty brown boxes were stacked near the cash, waiting for a spare minute to be broken down. I considered my options, and picked up a box of mixed chocolates, and headed to the cash. The cashier didn't even react to my appearance; she just totaled up my purchase and offered the debit terminal to me. It wasn't until my scaly hand tapped the card to the machine that she actually looked at me, and jumped in surprise.

"Oh wow!" she said, fumbling the receipt.

I chuckled and plucked the receipt from her hands. "Cupid's arrows seem to work on griffons too. Have a good evening."

Wanting to do a bit more, I made my way down to the Lego store. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I had a rough idea. Well aware of the stares from the kids, I started checking over the minifig options on the customizer machine they had. I found a helmet with a beak, along with a pair of angel wings, and used them to make a couple of custom griffon minifigures.

I was all set when she sent me a text saying she was there, coming in from the market. I went to the second level and spotted her coming down the corridor. We met each other midway and hugged.

"Happy Valentine's day, Sky," she greeted me.

I offered the box of chocolates with the minifigs tied to it with a ribbon. "Happy Valentine's Day. Sorry, it isn't much, I wasn't expecting to do anything."

"Aww, how cute. You didn't have to do anything." She tucked the small box into her bag and hugged me again. "But thank you for the thought."

We hooked arms and turned around to head for the escalators, wings pressing together. "I'm sorry, I'm probably not the best date. I've never really done Valentine's Day before."

"Don't worry, it's just dinner with a friend. And maybe some benefits later if we're up for it. It doesn't have to be special."

I stopped next to a kiosk and looked at her. There was a hint of desperation in her voice that I wanted to clear up. "Are you sure? This doesn't really feel like it's just a dinner."

She sighed and stepped around to face me. "I... I guess you're right. It's just, it's the first Valentine's Day in a long time when I haven't been in a relationship. Carl always wine and dined me, and Nick before that, and before that....The thought of being alone tonight, was bringing me down."

I nodded my head. I knew of her old boyfriend and how they'd been a couple for years before the Change. "You should have mentioned something. I admit, I'm sort've new to all this, but we could've made plans earlier. And not needed to do a last minute reservation at the mall."

She nodded and hugged me. "I know, and I'm sorry if this is making you uncomfortable... It's just... well, I had a bit of a revelation as I was thinking about this. It's usually the guy who gets the gifts for the girl. The guy who takes the girl out for dinner, and all that stuff. But I'm no longer just the gal. And you're certainly not just the guy any more. So I decided to shake things up a bit, see how it goes the other way."

I flicked my ears and pondered what she said. It certainly made sense. It also revealed some of Simon's ways of thinking that I hadn't even considered. "You're right.... I hadn't even thought of that, but it makes sense. I don't know if that makes griffon dating easier or trickier."

She giggled and cuddled against my side. "It's a thing. It'll probably be years before we shake off all the old human sex-habits too, if we ever do."

We held our position in the busy mall for a moment, enjoying the company while people moved around us. Finally she stepped back and looked at me. "So are you sure you're okay with this? I know we aren't really a couple, but I would certainly enjoy your company tonight."

I hooked my arm around hers again and gripped her hand. "And I would love to be your company for the evening." I motioned towards the escalator. "Shall we go claim our table?"

BRBN Street was completely packed, with lines outside of every restaurant and people being turned away. We waited in line, and finally sat down at a table by 7:30. At least all the restaurants knew how to properly handle griffons now.

"Pick whatever you want, this one's on me," Cardi encouraged me as we studied the menus.

"Are you sure? I don't mind going Dutch," I said. This place certainly wasn't a budget breaker; maybe half a step above East Side Marios; but I wasn't used to having someone else pay for my meals. It wasn't a date thing; it was just the habit from being a bachelor for decades.

"I'm sure. I'm the one who invited you out after all. Guess that makes me the guy tonight," she confirmed.

My ears pressed back in embarrassment and I glanced around quickly, but the restaurant was way too loud for anyone to hear anything.As it was, I was doing my best to tune out as much of the noise as I could for my own sanity.

We placed our orders and soon had some wine and bread in front of us. I sliced the bread while she poured the wine out. We lifted the glasses and clinked them together.

"To a beautiful friendship," she toasted.

"May it last a long time," I finished, and sipped a bit of the wine. "Thanks for everything you've done. Not just with me, but for the flock here," I added, feeling the first bit of warmth spreading in me.

"I'm glad to be helping. We're all in this together, one way or another."

Dinner was nice, especially for a mall chain restaurant. It wasn't my preferred Italian place, but for a spur of the moment reservation on one of the busiest restaurant nights of the year, it was acceptable. We chatted on a variety of neutral topics while we ate. It felt strange letting her pay while I stood next to the table, so as we left, I pointed at the ice cream place.

"At least let me cover dessert. Something to settle the wine and the pasta," I suggested, twitching my wing to the ice cream place at the end of the hall. It was almost nine now and the main shopping areas were starting to wind down, but the restaurants were still doing booming business, including the ice creamery.

"I don't know, I'm pretty full, and it is chilly out there," she said slowly.

"And we've got a long flight home ahead of us," I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the line.

The line wasn't too long, so we got to the front pretty quickly. I got us a couple of chocolate cones and we stepped to the side. We ended up watching people watching us eat the treats as the Valentine's rush finally started to trail off. I tried to focus on the ice cream and not on my body. I was well aware the rut was coming fast, and the wine we'd had was also having an effect.

Eating an ice cream cone was something that wasn't all that different between griffons and humans. It was a lot of licking at first to get ahead of the melting dessert, and then nibbling the cone at the end. The main difference was the angles; griffon tongues didn't really extend far enough out the front of the beaks, so we tended to lick ice cream while holding it beside our beaks. That did tend to leave the sides of our beaks stained with icecream when we bring it in too close.

When we were done, Cardi plucked the paper napkin from my talons, and wiped my beak. I giggled and returned the favour. It turned into a brief nuzzle, beak rubbing beak, before she stepped back.

"Shall I escort you home now, my lady?" she asked, giggling and bowing slightly.

"Certainly. Lead on, my dear," I replied.

We left the mall at the ground level, coming out on the road between the mall and the parking garage. It was completely dark outside, with a fingernail sliver of the moon in the sky not providing much light. We took off, climbing out of the gap and into the night sky. It was refreshingly cold out, with a bitter wind I could feel in my nares.

I hated flying at night; the darkness made everything look different and it was nearly impossible to spot anything around you. Flying in the city helped a little, as the streetlights gave me a grid to follow, but it was still annoying. We set off southward, aligning ourselves with the Stantec tower and the rest of the downtown. I knew Cardi was flying near me, but she was almost invisible in the darkness.

A long flight later, we landed in my driveway. I took the lead, unlocking the door and motioning for her to enter ahead of me.

"Thank you for the dinner, and the evening," I said, heading for the kitchen. I filled a couple of glasses of water and offered her one.

"It was a nice one. Maybe next year I'll think about reserving a table earlier," she said, sipping the water. "It was a lovely evening."

I nodded in agreement and we were silent for a moment, sipping our drinks. She made the first move.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, obviously hinting.

"I'm buzzing," I admitted. "Between the wine and the coming rut, I'm wired."

"I see...." She put the empty glass on the counter next to the sink. "In that case, I should probably get going...."

I blocked her path to the back door. "It's late, and it's dark. Why don't you stay?" I suggested.

"Are you sure?"

I stepped closer and gave her a hug. "As you said earlier, I'm taking tomorrow off for the rut, and I believe you said you had an evening shift. So we have the night."

"If you want to..."

I nuzzled my beak into the side of her neck and up through her feathers. My body was quivering in anticipation. "I'm certainly willing. Meet you upstairs?"

She nodded and ran her talons down my folded wings. "Sure."

We separated and she headed up the stairs. I left the glasses by the sink and turned off the lights and made sure the doors were locked. My heart was pounding in anticipation.

In the bedroom, I found she had already stripped off her clothes, leaving them folded on my dresser. She had taken a plastic travel case from her bag and was preparing her diaphragm. I stood in the doorway and admired her, taking in her perky furry breasts, her strong wings and legs, and her semi erect penis. I knew she was only a few days past her heat, and I was about to hit my rut. It was probably the riskiest time I could be the male in our coupling, but I knew she liked to be prepared.

I moved deeper into the room and unbuttoned my top and pulled it off. My shorts came off soon after, and I could tell her eyes were on me.

"Oh my, Skyfire's wearing underwear now?" she teased me playfully.

My ears flicked and I glanced down, meeting her gaze. I was wearing a pair of cotton black griffon panties. They were practical, but not as bulky as the granny panties I'd started wearing for the peaks. They were cut like women's panties, but with extra space in the front for the sheath.

"Jacques sent me a few pairs to try and give feedback on," I explained, pulling them off. My own penis was half erect in anticipation.

"Well they look good. He does great work. Are they comfortable?"

"Very," I confirmed. I gathered my clothes and piled them on the dresser next to hers. "I actually sort've forgot I was wearing them to be honest."

"Nice. maybe I should have you order some for me."

I opened a drawer and found my own diaphragm case and took it out. My body yearned to just get it on, but I took my time preparing the device. Cardi moved to the end of the bed and propped her paw up, fingering herself a little before slipping it in. It made my own shaft swell harder.

"You know, we seem to be coming here more often to have fun," I said, stalling a bit while trying to keep my own arousal reigned in.

She finished inserting her device and stroked her own shaft briefly as she straightened up. "I know. Is it a problem?"

"Not at all. I don't mind. I... Well to be honest, I think I prefer it. No offense, but I worry about disturbing your neighbours when we're at your place."

"Understandable. But you shouldn't be worried. I've hinted around, and no one has heard anything. Or at least they aren't acknowledging it."

I nodded and moved to the bed, propping my own paw up. I stroked my labia a little, finding myself already quite excited. The diaphragm slipped in easily.

"That's good," I said when I was done. "And I certainly don't mind you hosting. I was just going to say, maybe we should consider doubling up our supplies."

She retrieved a few condoms from the bedside table and looked at me. "Doubling up?"

I flicked my wing to the dresser where the two containers were sitting. "So we don't need to carry them with us all the time. Diaphragms aren't that expensive. So if you wanted to get a second one, you could leave it here. You've already got a set of brushes here anyway."

We climbed onto the bed facing each other. She nodded, using a talon to circle my hard nipple. "That's a good idea. Next chance I get, I'll try to remember to pick up another one."

I began to chirrr happily, and returned the favour while wiggling closer to her. The time for conversation was over. It was now time for action. Encouraged by the wine-buzz, it didn't take long for happy screeches to echo through the house, multiple times.

Thursday, February 15

The icy goddess returned early in the morning. This time we were on a snow covered plateau, high in some random mountains. Some of the mountains were smoking, hinting at some barely hidden volcanism.

I barely looked around as I approached her; my arousal evident between my legs. She stopped me a few steps away, giving me a cold glare.

"What? Are you jealous?" I countered, glaring back at her. "You're just a figment of my imagination.

She glared back for a moment before relaxing. She stepped forward and we embraced. The fantasy continued as usual, but something seemed different. As I slipped into her, letting the rut proceed, I felt myself cum earlier than expected. The goddess's eyes widened in surprise before she faded away and reality came back into focus. I saw a red form in front of me, a different pair of eyes watching me. I twitched a few more times, feeling my hard shaft being squeezed by something else.

The pressure eased, replaced with a stroking along my member against the barbs. It sent more waves of pleasure that helped wake me up and get my mind into gear. I groaned softly and finally focused on Cardi.

"Morning. How yah doing?" she asked, still stroking.

I groaned again and sighed. I touched the wet spot on my chest and the sheets. "I think you can see. Fucking rut. What a mess."

"Want me to stop?"

I sighed and looked her over. I nuzzled her briefly, feeling the urges building again. Her own body was obviously receptive to what was going on. Every part of me wanted her to keep doing what she was doing.

"Please," I reluctantly said. "Please stop. I really should get up... get out of bed."

She stopped and rolled away enough to slide off the bed. I watched her stand up, taking in her furry form. It did nothing to soothe the heat in my loins. She started combing her feathers and fur a bit, cupping her breasts, obviously knowing what it was doing to me.

"Fuck," I growled and looked away. I rolled off the bed as well and stood up, picking a blank spot on the wall and trying to calm my body. I heard her leave the room, giving me space.

A half hour later, I was cleaned up and dressed. I made my way downstairs where Cardi was preparing breakfast.

"How are you doing?" she asked again, flipping some bacon in the frying pan.

"Better, I guess. Still a pain in the groin to handle."

"I noticed. I hope you didn't mind, after last time...."

I nodded and snagged an orange. "Yeah, we did agree we would let each other do that. It caught me by surprise is all. The goddess wasn't too happy about it either."

She smirked at me and started filling the plates. "Well, that cocky bitch will just have to learn how to share."

"That she will," I replied, grabbing some coffee and following her to the table.

After eating, she picked up the conversation. "I think this is the most I've ever seen you wear, at least around home."

I glanced down. I'd put on my shorts over the granny panties, with a liner. The liner was helping with the rawness from my swollen cock that just wouldn't go down. I was also wearing a top with pads over my nipple to handle any leakage there as well. My breasts were already swollen larger than normal, but not enough to need a pumping yet.

"Hopefully my new distraction routine will work. I normally didn't bother, but since I'm trying to focus on other things...."

"How's it working?"

I shrugged my wings. "Jury's still out. Seems to be good."

She started gathering the plates. "RIght then, so what are your plans for today? Do you want me to leave?"

I closed my eyes and considered the situation. "You don't have to yet. I was just going to try to do some work and just get through to the afternoon. Then it's off to see Adam.

"You could stay if you want. We can go over the GriffTech projects, brainstorm some ideas and stuff. Or figure out something else to do. Something unrelated to the rut of course."

She giggled, "Aww, but understandable. Sure, let's see what we can do."

We kept busy until noon. The rut was a constant presence at the back of my mind, and Cardi's presence was both a help and an awful temptation. By lunch time, I was a quivering mess of hormones, and my loins ached from being constantly hard.

While Cardi prepared a quick lunch for us, I escaped to the bathroom to freshen up. The pad I was using was wet and sticky from a few releases I'd made through the day, and my breasts were heavy with the milk. I took care of everything as quickly as I felt I could, and rejoined her downstairs for the meal.

"I know you probably don't feel like it, but you've been handling things excellently today," Cardi commented as we ate. "I know your signs, so I saw a few things.... Even so, you hid things well."

"Thanks," I said, not sure what else to add.

"Well, get out of your head with this, and you'll be fine. You're doing great. That said, I do have to head home and get ready for work."

"I know. Thanks for spending the morning with me. I have to get ready for the clinic and to visit Adam too, so it all works out."

She got up and hugged me from behind. My pulse quickened and I rubbed her arms, leaning back to rub back.

"Good luck today, and we'll talk later. See you later."

"Thanks again, Cardi. Have a good day."

I escorted her out the backdoor and watched her take off. The cool air felt nice and I took a moment to enjoy it while watching her flap away. Eventually I headed back in, mentally preparing myself for the rest of the day's battles. The fight was challenging, but it no longer felt so impossible.

 End Book 3 

Preceded by: A Fire in the Sky: Book 2

Paradigm Shift: Griffons

Succeeded by: A Fire in the Sky: Book 4