Fortunately, the presence of the other griffonesses didn’t bother Grunhilda. She seemed to have relaxed after getting so worked up over that guy’s comments. Obviously, the jars with the cleaning oil were still there. So Gilda poured some of the smooth, rose-smelling oil over Grunhilda’s back and smeared it with her free paw. The white griffoness squirmed with a small squeak when Gilda massaged her back.

“Chill.” Gilda chuckled. “It’s just oil for scraping off the grime.”

She rubbed it between Grunhilda’s shoulders with her free paw and Grunhilda whimpered and shuddered, tensing up her muscles. Gilda chuckled again at her reaction. “Come on. Open your wings a little.”

Grunhilda mumbled something, but Gilda insisted. With a caring whisper, instead of a sharp command as last time. “Relax. We’re gonna take care of your feathers after we’re done with our bath. Come on, do you trust me or not?”

Grunhilda obeyed silently and that was good enough for Gilda. She took her time massaging that rose-smelling oil into the feathers and fur under Grundhilda’s wings.

Gilda’s mind wandered a bit while she did it. She couldn’t remember ever doing that for anyone else, but it was more fun than she had imagined. Such a nice feeling, touching another griffon like that. Much more one she cared for so much. It bordered on the sensual.

Grunhilda’s body was warm, even in the thick wet and hot atmosphere of the room. Gilda massaged the oil into her soft contour feathers despite that. Acutely aware of both the velvety softness and the strong muscles underneath.

Screw that! It wasn’t ‘borderline’. There was nothing not sensual about this! And the hot blush in her cheeks were a testament to that! Stupid sexy Grunhilda! Kneading the muscles underneath, urging the knots of muscle into relaxation was a lot of work on Gilda’s fingers. Getting the oil to agglutinate on the dirt was too. But her friend’s shapely form kept distracting Gilda – but she didn’t mind.

Worse, the way Grunhilda kept fidgeting and squirming while Gilda tried to massage the oil into her feathers didn’t help. It was kind of cute though. She supposed that Grunhilda wasn't very used to being touched, despite her clinginess. Which made sense… She never had close friends or even an adult that really took care of her, much less a lover once she was an adult.

Regardless, Gilda didn't stop and grinned at her friend, even if Grunhilda couldn't see. She was having way too much fun with Grunhilda's awkwardness and her own friskiness. “It feels great, doesn't it.”

But Grunhilda barely managed a mumbling response.

Gilda chuckled to herself and let her fingers skim over the feathers between Grunhilda’s shoulders, careful not to let her talons prick her skin too much. Her paws reached around Grunhilda’s chest and the former playfully rested her body against Grunhilda’s back.

Big Girl let out a panicked squeak and stiffened a bit.

“Chill, Grunhilda.” She said playfully. “Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a touch?”

“I can’t help it!” The other whined, and then mumbled something staring at the floor. The worst effort to hide one’s own discomfort Gilda had ever seen. So big, so awkward. It was impossible to keep from grinning. Much less from enjoying that giddy feeling Gilda hadn’t experienced in so long after she stopped seeing Dash. And had resigned to the fact that Greta was not into girls.

Anyways, she kept her mind in the present. Gilda laughed softly and had a naughty grin as she reached down over Grunhilda’s belly with her oil-soaked fingers. It caused the other to squeal and stiffen even more, while flaring her wings as far as they could go.

“Chill, you silly griffon.” Gilda warbled on Grunhilda’s ear.

As soon as she said that her paws slithered over Grunhilda’s flanks. She spread that nice-smelling oil as much as she massaged the other’s sides. Feeling very softly for the muscles beneath. And, with the dirtiest of naughty smiles, she let her paws slide forward to Grunhilda’s belly. Over the velvety fur, above her toned muscles, until Gilda found the soft mounds and her delicate nipples. She pinched it between her fingers.

Grunhilda squirmed and squealed helplessly while Gilda chuckled before pecking softly at the feathers on Grunhilda’s nape.

“You’re teasing meeeeee!” Grunhilda whined, looking back.

“You remember the two of you have a room, don’t you?” Gia’s voice startled Gilda out of her playful teasing.

Shit. She had forgotten the others were there!

Gilda coughed and she stole a glance around the room. Gia and Gertha were indeed there, and she hoped they didn’t see her blush. The former had her usual arrogant smirk and the other did her best not to giggle.

Gilda turned her attention back to Grunhilda’s coat and grabbed the thin and long, curved tool for scraping off the bathing oil. She didn’t tell Grunhilda anything, but the Big Girl seemed to have relaxed a little anyways.

“Sorry for teasing you…” Gilda told her softly, scraping the oil off her back with the tool. It was a bit rough, but she did it with slow and deliberate movements, as softly as she could. “You’re just too much fun!”

Grunhilda giggled quietly and happily tapped her forefeet at the floor before she settled to let Gilda work the oil out of her feathers. Gilda seemed to be doing it right, because Grunhilda stretched her back and raised her beak up with a relaxed moan.

Gilda was not an expert on the matter but scraping grimy oil from someone’s body plumage and fur hardly needed more than a basic common sense. It was rather satisfying too, the way one could push the oil and scoop it out with the… Whatever that thing’s name was.

Meanwhile Gertha held one of the jars with the oil and grinned at Gia. “So. I was going to offer some assistance to the boss, but I think that she and her big girlfriend are on to something.”

Gilda gave her an annoyed stare and Grunhilda ignored the comment altogether. Gia let out a small chuckle before Gertha spoke again, offering the jar to the green griffoness. “Want some help?”

Then the mercenary girl deadpanned. “In a non-sexual and totally non-lesbian way?”

Gia gave her a knowing smile. “Would you have said the same thing to Gilda?”

“Probably not.” Gertha admitted. “I’m straight, but I’m ‘moneysexual’ first.”

Gilda rose an eyebrow. At least she was honest.

“Fair enough.” Gia gave a hearty chuckle and turned her back to the other griffoness. Gertha grinned and poured some of the oil on Gia’s back before going to work with her paws. She had a smile that almost made Gilda question what she had said earlier.

But Gilda wasn’t judging anyone there.

Then the lime-colored Gil entered the room and immediately frowned. “Why is it that everything in the northerner cities has to be so creepy? All I want is to take a bath and I have to be with you freaks!”

“Well, part of the reason is that we would need a team of pokeheads just to maintain the spells that would keep the water warm and not freezing in the pipes.” Gia explained.

“So, you rather share a creepy bathhouse with other griffonesses than pay a team of helpful unicorns that would be happy to help?” Gil pouted angrily.

“We don’t need them.” Gia kept her professorial tone. “We take care of our problems by ourselves. Our own ways. Besides, griffons are beautiful. I don’t mind staring at some cute, clueless griffoness while I’m bathing.”

Gil didn’t respond. She just grumbled something about living in the past and went to her own personal corner to pick up one of the small jars. “So, I just scrub myself with this stuff and rub it off? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of bathing?”

Gia groaned and stared at the ceiling with annoyance. “The oil will help you remove the grime and dirt before we bathe in the hot water. Then we will use bathing salts and soaps that, together with the hot water, make for healthier feathers, fur and skin. Not to mention it will cleanse our airways and relax our muscles. The cold bath helps your metabolism and will make it easier to tolerate the cold.”

“Whatever…” Gil grumbled, experimenting with the oil in her paw.

“Well, it smells nice too!” Gertha added with a happy chirp before she looked at Gilda. “Anyways… What about you, Gilda? Boys or girls?”

Gilda shrugged, focusing on her job of scraping off the oil out of the side of Grunhilda’s chest. “I never really thought about that.”

She whipped the tool to the side before she took it to Grunhilda’s plumage again. “Yeah… I’m cool either way. Had a few boyfriends in high school. Stayed with a few girls too and I was a lot into one of my friends in Griffonstone, but she was kind of straight. And married to a guy. It never went anywhere. At the same time the one I spent most time with was a pegasus mare.”

The stares the two of them gave her was the stuff comedy was made of. “What? I didn’t know about The Harpy or that pony stuff was bad for your health!”

“Anyways…” Gia growled. “You’re supposed to use ‘queen’ and ‘tom’. They are words for young females and young males of breeding age. It’s how Our Mother Harpy called us when she first created us.”

“Gee… Nevermind that… I’m surprised your Mother of Storms doesn’t get in your case for being bisexual…” Gil sat on the floor and awkwardly rubbed the oil on her other foreleg.

“I think of myself as open-minded.” Gilda retorted and nobody said anything further.

Gil did have a point, though. With that whole issue about bloodlines and griffon breeds, Gil’s comment made a lot of sense. But that didn’t seem to bother The Harpy. Not even in Ghadah’s time. Well, sure, they fetishized the Swordmaidens to Tartarus and back, but if they had problems with same-sex relationships, logic would dictate that they would have a problem with guys getting all excited about young females… Wrestling.

Even if Ghadah was into dudes, there were many of her sisters that preferred the other females. Huh… Did she ever see The Harpy ‘getting it on’? With the Emperor, yes.

Then Gilda blinked at nothing in particular as memories rushed to the forefront of her mind. Because she definitely remembered Her with the Emperor in megalomaniac orgiastic festivals, and also with Empress Geneviere and with their sons and daughters. And also, with the younger males that worked for the temple, and the Loremasters. And the Swordmaidens. Holy crap… No comment on that too.

“Hum…” Gertha interrupted Gilda’s thoughts while she kept to her job of massaging Gia’s back with that oil. She also gave Gilda a very uncomfortable stare. “That’s not really true, is it? I mean… Some of the pony stuff is just way too sugary, sure. And I’m not a doctor, but I can understand that it can be bad… But it’s not really that bad, is it? Also, ponies are chill with gay creatures. Does that mean that griffons have to be… Uh… You know…”

Gia fortunately seemed to be feeling like a Loremaster. “First of all, The Harpy doesn’t care if who a griffon is fooling around with, as long as they don’t generate mixed-blood cubs. It would be kind of stupid, honestly, to discriminate on potential good professionals based on their sexual preferences, or their gender.”

“But discrimination on account of one’s parents is cool?!” Gil growled at Gia from the other side of the room.

“That is not how it is.” Gia almost sounded offended. “The descendants of hippogriffs poison us with bad things they inherited from the ponies.”

Gia sighed and her shoulders slumped. “When I went to Griffindell, five or six years ago, Lady Gwendolen made me sit with the other acolytes in a classroom. She lectured us on all sorts of stuff. From the culture we, as Loremasters, are supposed to enforce to stuff like food. We’re supposed to protect our language and inspire the younger griffons to dive beakfirst into our customs. No regrets, no second thoughts.”

Gia rolled her eyes. “Like… Really. Loremasters are supposed to be almost obsessive about bloodlines, traditions… How griffons were supposed to live and how they were supposed to be corrected if they failed. Well, lore. To put it simply. I always thought it was more annoying than effective and that maybe griffons only did what we told them because they were afraid of the consequences.”

Gilda didn’t get angry, but what Gia said rubbed her off the wrong way. Maybe because she wanted that whole thing to be real. But there was more! The griffons in Thunderpeak didn’t just follow because they were afraid. They believed her. Gilda managed to stir something in them. She wasn’t sure what it was, but Gia’s view of the whole thing was too cynical.

Heh… Gilda judging another griffon for being too cynical…

Nonetheless, she let the green Loremaster speak on as Grunhilda just chilled and Gertha paid attention while still helping Gia with the cleaning oil.

“But there was another side to her lessons. Lady Gwendolen told us, in detail, things about griffons. About how our bodies work. And sugar was one of the important ones. The catch was that she didn’t really have any proof of what she said. We were just supposed to believe her when she said that the pony food is bad for us. Particularly their overly sweet foods. Their grains. It’s not things you would understand, anyways. She spoke of stuff like chemistry and the biology of our bodies. Very particular minutiae of things even doctors and scientists in places like Canterlot University wouldn’t know about.”

“Wow… What sort of things?” Gertha had huge, worried eyes, looking from behind Gia.

“Well… How the pony blood that entered our bloodlines though the hippogriffs damages our bodies.” Gia gave an uncomfortable stare to the tiled floor and scratched at her neck. “But I can’t remember the details. I mean… I didn’t really pay attention. I felt like she was just filling us with bullshit arguments. That we were supposed to use and get others to hate the hippogriffs instead of, you know… Fucking them and making mixed blood cubs.”

“This is disgusting.” Gil cried from her corner, stopping from rubbing the oil in her chest. Also promptly covering her belly by sitting with her forelegs to the floor. “You are just looking for reasons to hate the ponies and the hippogriffs are your scapegoats!”

“Maybe… I don’t know.” Gia shrugged. “All I know is that Lady Gwendolen taught us a bunch of bullshit to convince us to that we needed to tell griffons ‘how to griffon’. Maybe it is just an excuse to hate the others for political reasons. I don’t care. All I know is that she had a thing for physical punishments that creeped me out.”

Before Gilda had time to question any of that. Or even to organize her own thoughts around the whole conversation. The old Loremaster that had talked to them outside practically came out of the shadows.

The whole room was shadowy, but not in a creepy way. They could see into the dark corners. They could see details. But, somehow, the old griffoness had entered the room when they weren’t looking and prowled, unseen in the shadows, like a hunter stalking her prey. Until she came out of nowhere. Right next to Gia.

Gilda gasped when she saw the angry blue eyes in the dark, but there was no time to even mention it. The older griffoness slapped Gia behind the head with a bunch of meaty green weeds like they were a weapon. It must have hurt, because Gia yelped with a jump and Gertha almost freaked out at the old griffoness coming out of nowhere from behind her too.

Then the Loremaster pointed the bunch of weeds at Gia and properly scolded her. “You would know had you paid attention as you were supposed to. Lazy and arrogant queens such as yourself are the reasons Lady Gwendolen is so fond of physical punishments! They make the mind strong and the body resilient.”

“Alright! Sorry!” Gia rubbed her nape with an annoyed grunt. “Did you just come here to tell me that?”

“No. I brought you this.” The older Loremaster showed them the bundle of weeds. “Do you know what this is?”

“A bunch of plants?” Gia deadpanned and Gilda really thought she should have kept her beak shut. And Gilda was right, because the older Loremaster slapped her across the face with a backstroke of her free paw. “Oow!”

“This is ailanthus.” The older Loremaster showed the others. “We have an amebiasis outbreak in town and this is going to protect you. As your Loremaster friend here would know had she paid attention to Lady Gwendolen’s lessons.”

Gia stared at the plants. A small bundle of weeds with small red flowers that Gilda could see from the distance. But Gia frowned and looked at the Loremaster, pointing at the little plants. “But Ailanthus…”

She didn’t finish, as the older Loremaster slapped her again.

“Alright… Alright.” Gia gave her an angry grimace. “Fine.”

The older Loremaster gave Gia a complacent smile and ripped a piece of the weed for her. Bent it before she offered it to Gia, who didn’t take too long before she grabbed and swallowed the thing whole. Gertha followed her example without question. Then the Loremaster turned to Gilda.

“Your thrall too.” The Loremaster reminded Gilda as she broke the little green stalks and pawed her a piece of the weed.

Objecting would probably be a bad idea. Gilda just grabbed some more and pawed it off to Grunhilda. Big Girl giggled and thanked her before gobbling it up. She just trusted the Loremaster and Gilda decided not to test if the old griffoness would keep watching her until she took her medicine too.

Gilda bent the thing a bit more, the way the Loremaster had done. She broke the fibers and exposed their juices. They tasted bad, stringent, and sour. But they went down easily enough for someone that had to eat dirty rats once.

Finally, the Loremaster offered the weeds to Gil, who pouted at her. “Don’t make me make you swallow this. The cubs fear me well into adulthood for a reason. And I guarantee you will be happy you did as I asked.”

Gil was going to be a problem, wasn’t she? She took a few seconds pondering her options and Gilda took the time to examine the old Loremaster.

There seemed to be a recurrent theme of The Harpy’s Loremasters getting old and looking damn ‘healthy’. Strong muscles beneath her silvery-blue and white natural coverings. The lack of her traditional blue satin cape allowed Gilda a good look. And the older griffoness looked mature, but at the same time, every bit as strong and fit as Gertha who was an actual mercenary and did physical stuff all the time.

The Loremaster also moved with an eerie majesty and an almost arrogant dominance. Like she was the boss, and every griffon was supposed to know that. A very sharp and beautiful aquiline facial features that made her serious manners even more so.

Great… Next thing she knew, Gilda would have a thing for older griffonesses. Hopefully, she could keep it to Loremasters.

Gil put out her tongue with a disgusted ‘blech’, but she did swallow the leaves. After some reluctance.

“Let me see, child.” The Loremaster asked and gently reached with her paw, but Gil batted her paw away.

Then the older griffoness frowned and her paw lunged like a cobra to grab Gil’s jaw nonetheless and she took her time studying Gil’s face, while the younger one screeched and pulled back with a scared grimace.

“Don’t touch me, you creep!” She cried at the Loremaster who just stared back at her with an annoyed glare.

“I am not going to hurt you!” The Loremaster cried back at her, but shrill and aggressive. “You are belligerent as an unruly cub! I will treat you as one if I must!”

“Piss off, you creepy old coot!” Gil pawed at the Loremaster’s paw trying to reach for her again.

Grunhilda hid behind Gilda and, in all honesty, she just thought that Gil was making a scene she could have afforded not to. Gia gave an expressionless sigh at the scene and Gertha watched with a similar worried expression to Grunhilda’s.

The older griffoness made true of her words and grappled with Gil. With practiced ease, she controlled the younger’s forelimbs and grasped her jaw in a way that didn’t even let Gil scream. It was uncomfortable as all heck to watch, but Gilda supposed it was Gil’s fault.

The Loremaster closely examined her face despite the other’s angry glare, fiery pissed-off eyes, and helpless kicking with her hindlegs.

Gilda sighed. Was that really necessary? Seriously, so much drama. She had slid on her back to the floor with her wings open and kept pawing at the Loremaster’s stomach with her hindlegs to no effect other than making it an uglier tantrum.

“Where is your family from?” The Loremaster asked, with a critical stare before letting go of her jaw, but grabbing her foreleg.

“We’re all from Thunderpeak!” She whined like a child with a hurt ego, standing from the floor and trying to break free.

“Let go!” Gil cried right after but was powerless to resist when the bigger northerner griffoness pulled her hindleg and exposed her belly with her four little green nipples and her delicate fur-covered labia.

“Stop it!” She shrieked again, trying to regain her footing, and blushing so hard her face almost turned to a darker green than Gia’s while her tail whipped itself to her belly. She made so much of a scene that a pair of blue and gray griffonesses showed up at the door. They recoiled as soon as they saw the Loremaster examining the younger griffoness.

The older griffoness, with the same practiced ease as before, turned Gil on her belly and pulled one of her wings open to more screaming and protests, as well as angry scratching at the floor. But she held Gil by her nape with sure, strong talons.

“Ow! Let me go!” Gil protested again with her paws skipping on the wet floor.

“You are making this harder than it has any need to be. This is for you own good!” The other held her tighter and caused Gil to shriek again. That didn’t bother the Loremaster, though. “Do you feel any discomfort when you empty your bowels or your bladder? Are you aware of any deformity? Have you had penetrative sex? Was there any discomfort?”

Gil just screeched and squirmed more to no avail before the Loremaster threatened her. “Don’t make me examine you in front of the others.”

“Ow! Fine!” Gil screeched angrily. “You freak! There’s nothing wrong with me and I got laid with a guy a few times! It was nicer than you weirdo harassing me!”

“I am not harassing you, big baby.” She finally let go. “I am concerned for your health. It’s my job as a Loremaster, especially since you don’t have a mother and you lived in the south your whole life! Pony-educated doctors have no clue as to how proper griffons are supposed to be.”

Gil sat and closed her wings around her, staying against the wall, glaring comically angry at the other. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to take it as bad as her reaction was.

“You are not particularly pure, though you are mostly Shaddani. And your ancestors probably hail from the Beachhome region.” The other declared matter-of-factly. “There is a lot of Saddani in you and it was only your family’s proximity to the north that spared you a more maculated blood. You clearly had at least one hippogriff ancestor in recent times, though fortune favored you… You don’t seem to have inherited any of their malformities.”

“What is a Shaddani? Is that bad?” Gertha asked. She also nervously fidgeted with her paws and seemed to have asked more out of an attempt to ward of her own nervousness.

So much drama. Gil would be fine… The Loremaster didn’t even beat her into submission… Gilda had seen and experienced worse.

“The Shaddani line is one of the main griffon lineages.” Gia explained. “Plain’s griffons. From what is today Griffonland, Shoreland and Greenplains Holds.”

“Uh… Isn’t Griffonstone surrounded by hills?” Gertha raised an eyebrow.

“Locally. Yes.” The older Loremaster turned to explain. “But the bulk of the Griffonland Hold is comprised of fertile plains that extend to Greenplains, where ponies have most of their griffonian farms. You southerners simply don’t explore it correctly because you lost the irrigation system King Grover and his ancestors had built even before the Empire. You think that it is infertile and need the ponies to explore it. There is much you must learn yet, and I would suggest you pay attention.”

“The Saddani are the griffons that descended from the hippogriffs, right?” Gilda asked. “The ones that have the pony magic in them because their ancestors procreated with the hippogriff.”

“No.” The Loremaster said. “They are griffons that had been tainted by pony blood. Through the hippogriffs.”

“Oh no! Does that mean that I have to go away?” Gil asked sarcastically sad, but with the same angry scowl, still wrapped in her pretty lime-colored wings.

“Where would you go?” The Loremaster turned back to her. “Griffonia is to be the domain of the Mother of Storms. Like it or not. And She will claim all griffons as Her Children as it was meant to be since the dawn of time.”

“Yeah, right.” Gil deadpanned. “I’m leaving Griffonia for good. My dad and his caravan can take care of themselves.”

The older griffon lady smiled so condescendingly she might as well be talking to a stupid child. “What makes you think that you are free to leave, young queen? Your place is with your family, and in Griffonia.”

Yet, as they talked, Gilda joined the pieces in her head and moved towards the door. She kept her beak shut and frowned to herself.

“Okay. This just got a turn to the scary and I draw the line at telling me I can’t leave after some old creep insisted on staring at my lady bits!” Gil scowled and walked past the Loremaster only to see Gilda standing by the door.

“You can’t leave.” Gilda told her as seriously as she managed, letting her wings open a little. Gil stopped dead on her tracks and her jaw hung open. Gilda could see understanding in her eyes even as she reeled back and sat on her haunches. Still, she didn’t want to scare Gil. Just make her understand. It turned into an awful feeling, but at least she had gotten her point across. “You’ve witnessed The Harpy’s magic. You can’t go back to Celestia and tell her all about it. Much less tell her about me and where I am.”

“Sorry, Gertha.” Despite that, Gilda turned to the pink griffoness. “But that goes to you and your brother too.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining.” Gertha shrugged, unworried and with a serene grin. Gilda wasn’t sure if she simply hid it better than Gil but was convinced, nonetheless. “I wanted to work for you anyways.”

It mildly annoyed Gilda that Gia didn’t pipe in, or anything. All she did was stare with a bored expression until Gertha went back to her job. She could help a little! Maybe talk to Gil that it would be alright. That it wasn’t as bad as she thought. Geez!

But Gia didn’t and Gil’s eyes glistened a little. The one that did anything about that was the older Loremaster herself, sitting behind Gil and caressing the feathers behind Gil’s back. “It will be alright, child. I understand you are distrusting of us. But this is how griffons were meant to live. It may feel daunting and unpleasant at first, but you will adapt. You will learn. And you will feel free as you never have your whole life.”

Gilda couldn’t have said it better. The old Loremaster had just described Gilda to a tee. It was ironical… She had lost everything and at the same time she gained more than she had ever had.

Gil, however, didn’t seem to be very convinced. But what was she going to do anyways? As much as Gilda empathized with her, there really was nothing that could be done about the situation. Especially because Gilda wouldn’t let her screw everything up. Not after all she had been through.

As Gil returned to her place in the room, Gilda returned to Grunhilda. Only once she was next to her friend, she noticed the Loremaster had come with her. She turned to talk.

“I trust you are not going to make that much of a scene if I asked to examine you and your thrall…” She gave Gilda a restrained smirk.

“No, I don’t think that I will...” Gilda told her nonchalantly. “Doesn’t look like you would take a no, anyways.”

“Newcomers must learn how things work in this place.” The other explained, surprisingly understanding. “One of the things my ilk learns quickly is what griffons need, whether they like it or not. And how to give it to them, whether they want it or not. A bit of pain and shame now will spare her much heartache in the future.”

Fair enough. Gilda supposed that Loremasters were kinda like the representatives of The Harpy… The extension of her worldly presence. Like that Lady Gwendolen. She wasn’t going to complain.

“I’m… Uh… Healthy… I guess.” Gilda sat with her forepaws raised and looked away with a small blush while she stood a little on her hindlegs.

The Loremaster touched her neck as though she searched for something underneath the skin. She also took a good look at Gilda’s more private parts. Then she pulled Gilda’s beak up a little, catching it in a talon. “Ever had any diseases of note? Pregnancies?”

“Not that I know of.” Gilda just let her have her way. “Are you gonna tell me about my ancestors too?”

The Loremaster let go of her beak and gave her a smug smile. “I will tell you that you are as healthy as most griffons in the south. But you are sorely lacking in physical preparation. I would assume you are lacking mentally as well. But I suppose that Lady Gwendolen will take care of that, given your special position.”

“I get the feeling that everyone knows more than I do about myself…” Gilda growled, returning her paws to the ground, sitting more comfortably. “It’s annoying.”

The Loremaster gave a good hearty chuckle. “I understand the feeling. I felt exactly the same when I made my way to Griffindell and met Lady Gwendolen. Although, it was worse because I was much younger than you are.”

She gave Gilda an approving grin. “Know that you are the best Shaddani specimen I have ever seen. You are so pure you are essentially an Astrani. That would explain Aya Harpyia’s interest in you, as well as your abilities. It may also be the reason you are ‘special’. You have outstanding grounds from which to build up, Gilda. Remarkable, especially for a griffon that was born in the muddy bloodlines of the Griffonstone region. More than that, what makes you important is your willingness to cooperate.”

Fair enough. It was easy to accept that as a truth and Gilda was more than willing by that point.

Then the older griffoness turned her attention to Grunhilda who blinked at her with the typical dumb stare of expectation. After a few seconds of carefully examining her face the Loremaster spoke, still carefully reading every little detail Gilda couldn’t see. “Your stories reached me before you did, but details are not particularly precise. What did she do in Griffonstone?”

“You can tell her, Grunhilda.” Gilda told her friend.

“I cleaned the floor in an office. When I was in the orphanage I just studied with the other cubs and didn’t do a whole lot.” Grunhilda explained obediently, raising her forelegs, and exposing herself when the Loremaster cast her stare lower. Didn’t even blush.

It was a sight. Grunhilda wasn’t just big. She was strong and her Amazonian muscles showed that. But at the same time, she kept that silhouette that made the female griffons look so damn sexy. It stirred all sorts of naughty thoughts and feelings in Gilda. That she didn’t exactly reject. Big Girl had been trying to get her attention for a while anyways, hadn’t she?

A small smile formed in her beak at the sight of her little nipples. Big Girl was hers after all, wasn’t she?

When the Loremaster was done, she patted Grunhilda on the head and grinned at her. “Thank you, Grunhilda. You are a very beautiful Nartani. Such a nice young lady, and so responsible too. Congratulations.”

Then she turned to Gilda. “She is younger than she looks and bound to become even stronger. She is also a proper loyal Nartani. Very good thrall. Loyal and dedicated.”

“Wait.” Gilda’s smile vanished, replaced by a concerned stare. “Younger than she looks? I mean... How young are we talking about here? Creepy young, or young but not so young that she shouldn’t be doing… Things?”

The Loremaster laughed. “Don’t worry, she’s an adult. Old enough for the Griffonian authorities to kick her out of the orphanage, hmm?”

With that the Loremaster went her way to see Gertha and Gia. Gilda raised her paw and caressed Grunhilda’s neck, all the way to her jaw. Grunhilda smiled back at her, and Gilda offered her one of the small jars with the oil. “My turn now, right?”

“Okay!” Grunhilda gave her an even bigger grin and promptly grabbed the small ceramic jar. The floor was a bit sticky with the oil, but that was meant to be scrapped off anyways, so Gilda laid on her belly into a comfortable position and kept watching Gil. The lime griffoness didn’t seem very happy. She was uncomfortably, and thoughtfully, minding herself and her fur and plumage, alone in her corner.

The Loremaster went to talk to Gertha and she was almost adorable, fidgeting with her own fingers and talking with the older griffoness. Unfortunately, Gilda couldn’t understand what she said.

Then Grunhilda sat behind her and propped herself over Gilda’s back, reaching for her shoulders. That position, with Grunhilda’s soft weight over her back, made Gilda’s heart skip a beat. The oil, once Big Girl poured it over her back, was soothing and refreshing in the hot room. But once Grunhilda put her paws to work… It felt like melting under her touch to the point Gilda had to suppress a moan, letting her head hang a little.

“Am I doing this right?” Grunhilda’s voice reached Gilda while her strong fingers dissipated away all the tension in her muscles and the oil seemed to seep into her soul.

“It’s wonderful, Grunhilda.” Gilda sighed contently.

Meanwhile the Loremaster examined Gertha. She pawed at her belly and caused the mercenary to blush fiercely. But despite Gil’s earlier tantrum, it didn’t seem like anything other than professional interest. She even talked to the other in a low voice.

Was Gertha a Shaddani too? Not really important, but she was curious. At the same time, Grunhilda’s caressing was incredibly distracting. Her massaging! Oh, those strong fingers of hers! Was it intentional, the way Grunhilda shifted her weight on Gilda’s back? Along with her touching, that did weird things to Gilda’s imagination.

About time that stopped being awkward. So, Gilda decided to just enjoy it. She turned to look at Grunhilda with the corner of her eye. “Doing a great job there, Big Girl.”

Grunhilda giggled and continued her efforts. Even more when Gilda opened her wings to let her reach the feathers and fur underneath. Soon Grunhilda’s paws found their way over Gilda’s haunches and doing a fine job of oiling her fur. Then Gilda turned a little on her side and lifted her hindleg, showing her friend her chest and her belly.

Gilda almost laughed at the way Grunhilda stopped and stood a little back with a cute blush.

“Come on…” Gilda blushed a little too but encouraged her friend with a wink.

It was a bit awkward at first, but Grunhilda’s paw caressed Gilda’s chest with the rose-smelling oil and it was as nice as Gilda imagined. Wide and somewhat heavy strokes over her feathers. Much better when Grunhilda’s oily paws reached Gilda’s sensitive belly.

Grunhilda blushed fiercely, though. Her trembly paw passed over the little bumps in Gilda’s belly. She took her sweet time feeling them over. Gilda would be lying if she said that it didn’t feel nice. Much more from a griffon she had become so close and intimate with.

Letting Grunhinda explore was kind of cute too. Doubtful that she had ever done anything like that before. But that wasn’t the place nor the time, and when Grunhilda’s paw got a little too close to her thighs, Gilda stood leisurely and Grunhilda retrieved her paws like she had done something wrong.

“Hey, we’re bathing right now…” She spoke softly, as sensuously as she could with a wink. “We’ll do that later.”

“Oh…” Grunhilda blushed even deeper. “Okay…”

Gilda stole a glance at the others… Gia had a soft smile, oiling the feathers on Gertha’s neck and Gil blushed fiercely, while the older Loremaster caringly did the same over her chest from behind. None of them paid attention to Gilda and Grunhilda.

They were essentially by themselves. Thus, Gilda let a small smile and drew closer to Grunhilda, rubbing her beak softly on Grunhilda’s, despite the big one’s panicked gasp. Gilda held her nape, though. Didn’t let her recoil. It had been a long time, but it was as nice as the first time when Gilda felt the soft rasping of her beak on another’s. Then that giddy sensation of nibbing at another’s feathers, as she did afterward. It was the sort of feeling that made one feel alive, and she was just happy Grunhilda relaxed. Much more when Grunhilda reached with her paws and caressed Gilda’s shoulders. She didn’t really know what to do, but clearly enjoyed it.

It ended too soon. But that was part of the game, and Gilda distanced herself a bit. She quickly thought of something naughty, and haughty, probably silly to say. Sure Grunhilda would like it. She spoke softly, into Grunhilda’s ear. “Gonna claim you tonight…. But now you got a job to do.”

Grunhilda gasped. Almost squeaked along with her increasingly deeper blush. But before she could say anything, Gilda showed her the scraping tool. Grunhilda grabbed it with happy excitement and nodded, all excitement. “Okay!”

Gilda sat, as calmly as she could with all the giddy and horny thoughts in her head and let Grunhilda do her job of scraping the oil from her fur and feathers. Meanwhile, it mildly amused Gilda to see the giddy smirking on Gia’s and Gertha’s beaks when the former teased the other playfully dancing with a talon around Gertha’s nipples and nibbled at her neck.

Seriously… That was supposed to be a non-sexual, friendly hygiene thing! Even Gil had relaxed, sitting in front of the Loremaster, carefully and warmly infusing the oil into the older one’s chest and shoulders with her own blush and half-hidden smile.

It was hard to complain while Grunhilda ever so softly nibbled at her nape. She worked with the scraping tool along Gilda’s shoulders and forelegs too. She was a bit awkward with it, both the nibbling and the tool, but Gilda found both pleasurable, nonetheless. Getting the oil off with the dirt was an amazing feeling.

Seeing the old Loremaster teaching Gil how to use that thing was cute too. The younger one didn’t seem to be entirely comfortable with the whole situation, but she also seemed to have accepted that there was no way around it either.

“Hum…” Grunhilda called her softly, putting down the scraping tool. “I think we’re done…”

“Cool.” Gilda stood and stretched her neck. “Let’s try the water.”

She couldn’t say that the metal tool did a great job of removing the oil from her feathers and fur, but it helped in scraping off most of the dirt and grime. Which she supposed was the thing’s goal, after all.

Grunhilda looked at the others, though. “They’re not ready yet…”

“They can catch up. Come on.” Gilda beckoned her with a gesture.

They went under the arching doorway into the pool area. Steam went into their nostrils, and it was almost uncomfortable with how humid and hot the whole room was. At the same time, it smelled marvelously of something citric, though that initially made Gilda and Grunhilda cough. They made their way to the poolside, and it turned to a refreshing feeling of easier breathing, as though the scented steam had cleared her airways.

It was a rather nice feeling, and Gilda stopped a few steps from the pool. She closed her eyes and took a few seconds to draw in the air and appreciate the sensations. Head held high and a deep breath. The scents made her think of clean things. Only a few seconds later she noticed Grunhilda mimicking her. She thought it was cute.

There was far more to the room than only the pool, even if it occupied most of the room. It was a large rectangle with another door to the next room closed with a heavy wooden door. Round pillars made of colorful painted stone surrounded the pool and held hefty torches that provided a comforting and dim light. Covered openings in the floors made sure the air flowed properly, leaving the hot air inside.

Speaking of colors, the walls were colored in reds and yellows with wavy white lines in between. Nothing particularly detailed like the painting in the steakhouse back in Canterlot, but a nice display of colors and shapes that gave the idea the room was the hot area of the bathhouse.

“This is a nice place!” Grunhilda piped, turning to look at Gilda with a smile.

“It sure is. Has a nice feel to it. Come on.” Gilda smiled back at her.

While Grunhilda ran, jumped, and belly-flopped into the hot water, Gilda walked down the stairs into the water. It was initially unpleasant, but she got used to the hot water soon enough. It was a bathing pool, large enough for more than twenty griffons, and deep enough that the water was a little under her shoulder. Almost perfect for bathing.

Small bowls floated in the water with bricks of black soap. Picking one up, it was a bit rough and smelled more like dirt than flowers and other stuff soaps usually smelled of, but it made a lot of froth. The remaining bathing oil just went away with it.

“Hey, Grunhilda. Come over here.” She called, holding one of the black soaps and the other obeyed, immediately sitting with her back to Gilda.

Gilda started scrubbing the other’s back with the black soap and caused her to giggle. “It feels nice!”

“It’s supposed to help remove those annoying and itchy feathers and fur!” Gilda explained happily, scrubbing the other’s back with the soap. “Not to mention all the bugs that get in.”

She took a second to look at the soap. “I think it kills bugs, or something.”

Gilda had a huge grin in her beak, rubbing the soap over Grunhilda’s head when she heard the nervous splashy tip-tapping of a griffon coming from the room before the pool. It was the inn’s owner, the not-quite-that-fit griffoness. She ground to a stop by the pool’s edge and held her paws nervously, staring at Gilda and Grunhilda.

“Lady Gilda, I am terribly sorry!” She whined in a way that almost made Gilda feel bad. “My youngest is… Not the brightest!”

Oh. That… She grimaced a little, stopping her attentions to Grunhilda to tell the other griffoness it was okay. Grunhilda wasn’t even that upset anymore, after all. But the griffoness was too nervous to notice that neither were angry about that anymore. “I’ll get you his hind here if you want to punish him!”

Did she really say what Gilda thought she heard, or was she too high on her own horniness? “Hum…”

“I really don’t approve of what he did!” The griffoness spoke again.

“Thaaaaat’s not really necessary…” Gilda finally told her with a grimace and trying to be as not-awkward as possible, given the other griffoness’ proposition. “Just… Ah… Tell him it wasn’t cool.”

“I will…” The other still gave Gilda a concerned stare, strumming her talons together until she beamed with a sizeable grin. “Can I count with your presence in our celebration?”

“Celebration?” Gilda’s eyebrow raised. All she wanted was to relax for a night or two and then be on her way to Griffindell. In her mind, the closer she remained to the border the more danger she would be in. And she wasn’t even talking about Princess Luna. Some Justiciar or whatever was bound to catch her trail and reach her in that place.

“Well, not really a Celebration…” The griffoness became anxious again. “It’s uh… Madam Gelinda asked us something to help you and our new brethren under The Harpy feel welcomed to the North.”

Gilda frowned. “Wait... I thought that the caravan came here regularly.”

“Sure, they did!” The griffoness let her head tilt a little to the side and frowned with a confused smile. “But I was led to believe that the authorities decided to let them go because they were with you. Bound for Griffindell. In important business.”

Oh… That whole corn syrup kerfuffle didn’t as smoothly as it had seemed. Gilian probably threw her name in the conversation… Well, that was to her benefit, so she should go with it. “Yeah. That’s true.”

Man… Someone messed up bad with that stupid corn syrup. Could’ve gotten all of them into some deep shit. Heck… A few might even end next to the dude hanging by the entrance if Gilda didn’t agree that they were going to work with her. Was that fair? Over some stuff that she was sure most griffons in the north didn’t even like anyways?

It is what I commanded. I know what is better for griffons. The more they try these poisons, the more they enjoy them. It poisons the mind as much as the body. Thus, I commanded that they shall have none of it.

Welp, fair enough.

“So, you will join us?” The other griffoness asked again, hopefully.

Then again… It was a pretty safe place. With a decent law enforcement and those monster-hunting griffons were bound to give a lot of grief to any pony stupid enough to make trouble in their town. And she has been running almost non-stop since that whole mess in Griffonstone. It might be a good idea to stop for a bit and really allow herself to relax. Allow herself to be pampered a bit. After all, she wasn’t just some loser dweeb anymore.

That was the doorway of the nicer things in life, calling her in.

“Sure.” Gilda concluded with a shrug and a small smile. “We’ll be there once we’re done here!”

“Great!” The inn’s owner cheered. “I’ll make sure my boys bring the best caribou available!”

Next Chapter: Venom of Venus Pt. 2 Estimated time remaining: 20 Hours, 29 Minutes