Yay! 100k words!

To say that Gregory’s new house was a step above the rest of most of the houses in Griffonstone was the understatement of the millennium. Unlike most of the houses and buildings, the house that had been given to him was made of sturdy brick and stone, with actual tiles on the roof instead of hay or wood.

Located on the edge of a half acre of land, the house had two levels, with the first level a living area. The builders were very good at their job, he had to give them that. The first floor had a large foyer with a flat tiled stone floor that led down a very small hallway to the living room. The hallway itself had a mat that could be used for brushing claws, paws and, in Gregory’s case, shoes. To the left of the door was a closet which had not only cleaning supplies inside but a valet rod and a few custom made hangers for his clothes.

The small hallway led to a set of double doors which opened up onto a large living room. Said room was fully furnished with two large sofas, a custom made chair a table between them, built in shelves for books and any other belongings that might need to be stored there, a large fireplace which had carved depictions of the history of Griffonia from Grover to Guto on the inside of the chimney walls, and wall sconces for oil lamps along the walls. The large floor to wall windows looked out onto the yard which had been tended to by a few gardeners and had freshly growing grass coming up.

Adjacent to the main living area was a large kitchen, modern by Griffonia’s standards at least. There was a large gas stove and oven sitting to one side with a large set of doors next to it. There was a large counter and cabinets lining the walls. On the other side of the kitchen was a large teak wood table covered by a brown tablecloth. Around said table the workers had placed enough chairs for everyone moving into the home. When it became known that the house would be used by more than one individual, chairs were made for each of them that would fit them perfectly. Above the table was a large candelabra with actual candles. Spares for the chairs were kept down in the basement in case they broke or he had guests over along with an extension for the table just in case.

In one corner of the room was a large teak oak door which led to the downstairs basement. There, the workers had placed not only the spare chairs, but a wine cellar as well as a separate boiler room with a hot water heater and a furnace in said room. The furnace had pipes which were filtered and spread through the entire house to keep it warm during the winter months. For the most part, it was empty since not much had been added to it yet.

There was a hallway adjacent to the kitchen and living room which led down to the best bathroom they could have. To Gregory’s surprise, they had very decent plumbing and the toilets themselves were remarkably similar to ones he’d seen at home, only instead of a lever there was a chain he had to pull to flush. There was a separate room on the other end of the bathroom for a shower and a large bath, the hot water of which was heated by the gas itself, or in a pinch, the furnace.

At the end of that hallway was a large room where the entire walls and domed ceiling were made of tempered glass that looked out towards a gorgeous view of Griffonstone, the land below and, according to one worker, a great view of the ocean in the far distance. This was the room that had surprised Gregory the most, since he hadn’t really thought griffons would want something like that. For the most part, the room was empty except for a large custom chair for him, two large sofas facing the city and even a few perches for griffons to sit on.

On the other end of the hallway was a large staircase which led to the second floor. This floor had six large and well furnished bedrooms on each side, all identical. Each room had a large bed, a closet, a hamper for dirty laundry, a decent sized fireplace on the outer edge of the room, a table and mirror, a dresser and a closet for storage and another smaller room that had a toilet of its own and a shower and bath combo along with a sink and mirror. However, at the very end of the hallway was the master bedroom, which was a half spherical room with a large canopy bed with curtains around the bed and plenty of different covers. On the outer edge was a larger fireplace and beside the bed were two large oil lamps screwed into the wall. Each side of the bed also had an endtable with drawers. There was a large dresser to the left of the bed and a closet to the right, each of which had the clothes he’d vacuum sealed away before arriving on Gaia. Between the dresser and the fireplace was a large oak desk where Gregory had placed his laptop and the two extra screens he’d managed to bring with him to Gaia. Next to his laptop was the portable charging port which could be charged with solar energy, which Gregory had discovered could be charged faster in Celestia’s sun, and to a lesser extent Luna’s moon. He’d stored the rest of his belongings in a locked wooden chest in the closet since he couldn’t replace anything there, unless he managed to get to the Equestria Girls universe.

At one corner of the room was the master bathroom, which had a larger design than the bathrooms in the extra bedrooms, with a toilet, shower and bath combo, and a large double sink. Why the designers had made it like that, they hadn’t said, and he had only gotten knowing looks from them when he’d asked during the tour. He could make a guess, of course, but he didn’t want to assume, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

All he knew was that Gabby had been smiling the whole time they’d been examining his bedroom.

Lastly, there was a late addition to the party, the outdoors barn, which was what Gregory called it, although it was more like a large well insulated storage room. It was still under construction, but from what he saw, it was going to be a large wooden building with a sharply slanted tiled roof, a few windows on the second floor which had storage rooms of their own, and plenty of room to store Gilda’s cart as well as a fully grown drake if need be. The majority of the floor was made of polished stone covered by soft straw which itself was covered by a soft black blanket that Daenerys could sleep on. For the most part, the main parts were done and Daenerys could sleep in it if she wanted, but she hadn’t yet, opting to fly around and find her own spot to sleep, or sleeping in the massive stables at Griffonstone Keep.

All in all, it was so much more than he could have ever expected from anyone. He’d half expected to be either living in the Castle of Friendship temporarily until he found a job and a house of his own, but this was far beyond anything he’d expected. Still, he was grateful.

It was the day before his planned Thanksgiving party, the twenty ninth of November. He’d moved in with Gabby, Gilda, Gracie, Gallus and Starlight Glimmer else two days after he was given the Colt Peacemaker and the drake Daenerys. Each of his housemates had chosen a room for themselves already. Gabby and Gilda had taken the bedrooms closest to Gregory’s room, with Starlight and Gracie grabbing the rooms next to them. Gallus grabbed the room next to Gracie’s. In only a day and a half, the shelves in the kitchen were filled with all sorts of foodstuffs. The same drake who was pouting a bit and ignoring Gregory’s pleas. Everyone else, including Garble and Smolder (who’d decided to stay at Gobbler’s Groggery for a bit until the plot of land they’d bought could be built into a tavern and inn, something they’d apparently wanted to do for a while) watched him with varying degrees of amusement as he tried to bond with the young drake.

Gregory sighed and lowered the raw steak in his hands. “I have no idea how those other humans did what they did,” he said. “I’ve tried everything I know. Bribing with food, soothing words, pets, so how did a bunch of cowboys become companions with drakes?”

“Why don’t you try something other than trying to tame a dog, dude?” Smolder asked, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. “She’s a lot smarter than that.” This got a laugh from the rest of the gathered folks. “Besides, it’s only been a few days since you two met. Give her a break.”

Gregory nodded and looked up at Daenerys. He walked over to her and put his hand on her side. She looked down at him, then exhaled and leaned down. “I think she’s just a bit jumpy from that,” he said, pointing to the barn. Looking up at her, he asked, “Is that why? Is the construction bothering you?” Daenerys looked at him and, to his surprise, rolled her eyes and snorted out a large amount of smoke in his direction. He coughed and laughed simultaneously as the smoke blew away in the gentle November breeze. “Hah! Okay, okay, point taken! Stop treating you like a kid, got it!” Daenerys’ smug look was all the answer he needed. Even so, he still held out the large slab of meat. “Here, though. On me.” She opened her mouth and he tossed it into her mouth. She chomped down on it and growled in satisfaction.

“I’m pretty sure she likes you,” Gabby said as she flew up and landed on his back, draping her arms over him and wrapping her hind legs around his midsection, something she’d done almost every day for the past couple of weeks.

“I think she likes you, too,” Gregory replied, crossing his arms as he looked up at Daenerys. “Isn’t that right?” Once more, the young drake gave him a sidelong glance before leaning close, then flicking her tongue out to lick not only him, but the surprised dark grayish blue griffoness. He turned back to Gabby. “And here you were freaking out over her.”

Gabby sighed and nodded. “Okay, okay, you win. She’s really a nice drake.” She looked up at Daenerys. “Sorry. I was just nervous.”

“Drakes are pretty calm most of the time,” Smolder explained. “If you get them pissed, that’s when you need to watch out. And they’re stubborn as fuck.”

“Hey, remember the time when Dad tried to shoo that one older drake out of the cave?” Garble asked, nudging his sister.

She smirked. “That was an adventure.”

“Sounds like a hell of a story,” Gregory said.

Smolder laughed. “It was!”

“It happened about a couple years ago,” Garble said, and everyone turned to face him. He had a grin on his face as he continued, “Dad was in the main room of our cave, going over some kind of paperwork. I dunno, I wasn’t really paying attention. Smolder was doing her princess tea party shit-”

Smolder smacked him upside the head. “And you were doing your poetry.”

Garble stiffened. “Hey, it’s beat poetry, you dig?”

“I feel you, my cool cat,” Gregory smiled, snapping and pointing at the beat poet dragon. “Anyway, go on.”

Garble straightened up and continued. “Well, it was actually really windy outside that day, and this older drake just slammed into the outside of the cave, then tried to get in. Dad saw it and tried to gently shoo it.”

“The drake just ignored him!” Smolder interrupted with a laugh.

Garble was beginning to break down as he remembered the incident. “He just sat down in the entryway and curled up. Dad tried to push him out, but that drake didn’t budge. Blew a few passing breaths of fire at him, but he wouldn’t move. Mom was making dinner and came in to watch Dad just fail.”

“I wish we had one of those cameras that the ponies have,” Smolder was barely holding back laughter. “He was huffing and puffing so hard that smoke was literally coming out of his nose.”

“But that’s not the best part,” Garble said. As everyone listened closer, he continued. “After he gave up, Mom was all ‘Here, let me give it a try.’ And just like that, she walked up and just said ‘Hey, there’s an empty cave just a few steps near here where you can spend the night. Why not try there?’ And I shit you not, the drake just nodded, stood, and walked out.”

“I bet that pissed your dad off,” Gilda said with a smirk.

“He didn’t speak the rest of the night,” Smolder laughed. “Ah…I’m gonna miss living in that cave. I’ve lived there my whole life.”

Gregory still found that part of dragon culture unusual, especially since in the show it was shown that after molting, dragons were basically kicked out. However, when he’d asked Ember about it, she revealed that the tradition died after the humans had arrived and had actually spoken out against that. It had stuck around even after their sudden departure. Despite that, dragons did move out after a while, and the two dragons had decided that now was the perfect time. “Well, I can promise you that as long as you’re in Griffonstone, you’ll be treated well. And another bar? The griffons are seriously gonna be happy with that. Whatcha gonna call it?”

Garble and Smolder looked at each other with a bit of uncertainty. Turning back to him, Garble said, “We’re not sure.”

“Got any suggestions?” Smolder asked.

Gregory paused to think. A few names came to mind after a good minute, but one stood out. One from his favorite fantasy novel series. And since the author didn’t exist here, nobody could sue for copyright infringement. “How about The Green Dragon?”

Smolder raised an eyebrow. “Kinda on the nose, dontcha think?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he said, “but I think it’d be a big hit. You’d be the first nongriffons to open a business in Griffonstone, and it’d be a bar, to boot. I only suggested it because it’s a fictional bar in a book series I like.”

Garble shrugged. “I kinda like it,” he said. “It’s pretty cool.”

“Eh, why not?” Smolder chuckled.

Gregory felt soft feathers pressing against his cheek as a beaming Gabby nuzzled his face before finally climbing off and standing next to him. “I think Daenerys wants something from you,” she said.

Gracie looked up at the big drake, seeming to stare into her soul. She nodded. “I think she’s feeling a bit antsy about something,” she said.

Gregory turned and saw Daenerys lying on her stomach, looking over at him with her wings actually spread wide. He’d seen her flying a couple of times, and unlike dragons who flapped their wings and could hover, the young drake soared. She was a majestic creature even though she was apparently less than a year old and would grow to around twice her current size in another six months. He wanted to know what it was like to ride a drake like the other humans had before. He walked over to the young drake again, who followed him with her eyes. “Something up? You need something from me?”

She looked up at the sky, then with her front claw, she actually pointed up, then looked back at her wings and flapped them a bit, sending a bit of wind through the grass. “Looks like she wants to go flying,” Gilda shrugged.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Gregory retorted, grinning at her. “You get a cookie.”

“Bite me,” Gilda snapped back.

“Only if you beg me to, so don’t tempt me,” Gregory returned with a wink before he turned away from the now blushing and sputtering Gilda and looked back at Daenerys. “So, you want to go flying?” She nodded. “Well, if you wanna go, that’s fine.” Daenerys rolled her eyes in what looked to him like exasperation as she gestured her head to her back, then looked pointedly at him, then at her back again, then back. He raised an eyebrow. “Wait are you asking me to ride on your back?” She snorted in reply. “Well, if you’re sure, but if you really want me to, I’ll have to get that saddle. I’m not flying on your back without some kind of safety net.” Daenerys seemed to groan at this. “Hey, if I ride on your back without it, my clothes will rip, I won’t have a way to hold onto you very well and I’ll fall.” She held up her front claws. “Yes, you could carry me, but what if you need your claws?” He sighed and walked up, putting his hand on her cheek. “Do you think it’s that uncomfortable for you? Because if it is, I can try and get a new one made.” Daenerys just looked away and a loud sigh came from her mouth. She finally nodded, turning back to him. “Well, if that’s the case, I can try and find someone in town who can alter the one I have now or make a brand new one. For now, is it okay if we use the one we have now?” She snorted, but made a slight nodding motion. “Well, let me go get it and attach it to you.”

About ten minutes later, and with the help of Gabby, who seemed to be the only other being Daenery’s would allow to approach too closely, the two had the saddle on. Daenerys seemed a bit surprised after the saddle was attached. She stood and walked around a bit, moving and shaking her body. The saddle didn’t move at all, and Gregory noticed that there was no pained expression or one of discomfort on her face. After he retrieved some sturdy pants, thick gloves, a warm jacket and a pair of goggles from his personal supplies from Earth, he walked up to her. “Is it uncomfortable? Is it too tight?” In response, Daenery’s lowered her body so that Gregory had access to the saddle, giving him an expectant look. “I’ll take that as a no. That’s a relief. I seriously doubted that humans would design a saddle that would be uncomfortable for you.”

As he slowly and carefully climbed up the saddle, Gabby flew up beside him. She had a worried look on her face. “Are you sure you wanna try this now? It’s getting dark.”

He got into the saddle and found a strap that could be pulled over his body. Pulling the strap over and tying it securely to the saddle, he pulled the goggles down and tightened them. “We won’t be going far. Hear that, Daenerys? Not too far. When we get back, you can go flying on your own.”

Daenerys just snorted and spread her wings. Gripping a part of the saddle that looked like it was meant for holding on, Gregory looked down at the others. The dragons had their wings spread as did the griffons. Starlight even had a magical aura surrounding her and was floating in the air slightly, something she learned recently thanks to a suggestion by Gregory. “Are you guys planning on joining?” he asked.

When Daenerys looked down at them and snorted a bit, Gabby came and hovered beside him. “They’re all worried, and so am I,” she said.

“Well, I appreciate that,” he said honestly, and meant it. The various amounts of worry and concern on their faces was heartwarming and made him smile. “We won’t be going far. Hear that, Daenerys? Not too far. Just a trip around the block.” When Daenerys shook her head and made a grumbling noise, he leaned down and pat her back. “When we get back, I’ll take this off and you can go flying on your own. But they’re right, it is late. Just a quick flight.” She threw her head back and gave him a sideways glance before she let out what could only be a sigh. “Thank you, Daenerys.” Gripping the handles on the saddle, he put his feet in the stirrups. “Well…um…giddy up?”

With that, the drake spread her majestic wings and shot up into the air, making Gregory scream in fear and exhilaration as the ground fell away. All he could say as the straps around him tightened was “WHHOOOOOAAAA!!!”

His new house was the size of a dime in an instant and only growing smaller as the young drake flew up towards the clouds. With a final burst of speed, she began slowing. Gregory felt the rush of air through his hair and found himself regretting not throwing the hood on his jacket up. He felt suddenly weightless as Daenerys brought her wings to her side and began falling at an increasingly accelerated rate. “Hoooolyyyy shiiiiiiit!” he shouted, trying his best not to soil himself out of sheer terror as the ground came flying up towards the two of them. He watched in sheer horror as the Griffonstone Keep came up fast. “Pull up! PULL UUUUP!” he shouted.

Briefly, Daenerys looked back and he could swear there was a grin spreading across her face. However, at just the last second, she spread her wings and soared, sending Gregory slamming back into his seat as she began flying above the city. His fear was still there, but a wide grin spread across his face as he readjusted himself. “YEEEEEHAAAAW!” he whooped as Daenerys rose up into the clouds, moving faster than Gregory had ever gone even in Gabby’s arms. He lowered himself closer to her body just in time for her so do a barrel roll. “FUCK! Not so fast! You don’t want my throwing up on top of you!” he laughed as Daenerys straightened out and flew towards the Evertide Forest as well as Griffonville.

Despite her being less than a year old according to Ember, he was still surprised that Daenerys could fly so fast. The city was quickly behind him in a matter of minutes and the town below, which was lit up with candle and firelight from the houses and gas lamps lining the streets, glistened like a gem in the dark forest and farmland surrounding it. He could see a few griffons walking and flying around the many Houseoak trees and normal housing that made up the town. It hadn’t escaped his eye that Griffonville was very similar in some respects to Ponyville. Despite Griffonia once barely holding on, the aforementioned little townlet had actually been doing decently well, and now it was thriving thanks in part to business ventures between it and Griffonstone. Many griffons had moved there and the town was greatly expanding outwards.

With a burst of speed, Daenerys flew quickly towards the Celestial Sea, leaving Griffonville far behind. She flew close to the treetops, reaching down and grabbing a few of them. Gregory was nervous that she’d get tangled up so he said, “Be careful! I’m not wearing a helmet!” He could practically feel her eye roll, but she did fly up a bit farther, letting go of a large clawful of treetops.

After about five or so minutes, the two passed the beach and she flew up towards the clouds again. Soon they were over the ocean and flying towards a part of the cloud cover which had a break in it. When they reached said break, Gregory saw the sun in the west shining down onto the glistening Celestial Sea below. She stopped and hovered, looking back at him with a surprisingly expectant look. He looked back at her with confusion. “You wanna do something?” he asked. She snorted out a large puff of smoke, then opened her maw, closing it. “You wanna breathe fire? Can you do that yet? She gave a growl and a slight nod. “Alright then. I’ve always wanted to say this!” He pointed to a small cloud nearby. “Dracarys!”

He didn’t even expect his nerdy moment to be understood by Daenerys, but to his shock, Daenerys turned and faced the cloud. The air from behind him became warm suddenly. The warmth passed through the air around him and out of the corner of his eyes he saw her scales light up with a bright orange-yellow light. She opened her mouth and after hearing a strange rumbling coming from her chest and throat, a large blast of bright yellow fire came shooting out of her mouth, blasting the cloud apart into its respective atoms and molecules. He watched this in complete awe, then whooped again. “Well done! Very well done!” Daenerys looked back, looking like a child who was pleased with herself. “You did really well! But it’s time to go back home.” Her expression changed and she looked a bit upset.

Before he could say anything, the shadows around them began to change. Turning, he watched in awe as the sun began moving down at a remarkably faster pace. The sky changed from the normal colors of sunset to the dark blue of a night sky. He watched as the waning gibbous moon rose just as fast. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought that there was a dark blue glow around said celestial orb. He grinned at the sudden change from day to night, then looked back at Daenerys, only to see her purple eyes glowing slightly as they reflected in the moonlight. “Well, now it’s really time to go hooOOOOME!”

She turned in the air and flew straight back towards Griffonstone. The cloud cover returned, meaning the moonlight also vanished. Gregory clung more tightly to the saddle, gritting his teeth. “I hope you can see better than I can!” he shouted over the din, “because I’m trusting you!”

The flight back for him was a lot tenser than before due to his lack of being able to see anything other than the nighttime lights coming from Griffonville and Griffonstone. Ten or fifteen harrowing minutes later, he felt her lowering herself slowly towards a large house that was lit from within. As soon as she landed, he forced himself to relax, only to feel a pair of feathered arms wrapping around him and trying to pull him up. “Hold on, Gabby,” he said as he fumbled with the straps.

“Guess again,” a deep gravely voice said in his ear.

He turned to find himself staring into the glaring eyes of Gilda. “Gilda?? What are you-?”

“Just shut up and unstrap yourself, you dweeb,” she interrupted him.

Knowing she was being serious, he nodded and undid the straps. He was lifted up into the air by the griffoness and brought down to the ground. Once she let go, his legs gave out and he collapsed onto his ass, looking up at the stern face of the griffon. Her glare had only increased as she approached. “Hah…hah…what’s up? Did…hah…something happen?”

Grabbing him by his hoodie, she pulled him close so her beak was touching his nose. “You’ve been gone for a half hour, you fucking moron! Gabby was so worried she went flying after you!”

“Gregory!” a worried voice called from above. The two looked up to see Gabby flying down, looking fairly winded as she landed. Gilda let him go and shoved him aside, only for Gabby to tackle him. This sent the two tumbling onto the lawn, Gabby clinging to him. “Don’t scare me like that again!” she shouted, burying her face into his neck.

Gregory felt the poor griffoness trembling, so he held her close in his arms. Calming himself down, he took a few deep breaths and said, “I’m sorry, I lost track of time. It won’t happen again.”

He heard the door to his house open and a few others joining them. He felt a warm furry presence kneeling down next to him and he looked up into Starlight’s eyes. She looked more worried than she’d ever been. “You alright?” she asked, floating up a large glass of water to him.

“Just a bit winded,” he said as he took the water and gratefully drank. “Aaah…thank you, Starlight.”

“Dude, that drake is fast,” Smolder’s voice said from behind him. “She shot off like a bullet.”

The others came out and in their own unique way either asked if he was okay or berated him for being an idiot. He admitted that flying around on Daenerys for so long was a stupid thing to do, and promised everyone there that not only was he okay, but he would be more careful in the future. When he stood up after recovering, with Gabby still clinging to him, he walked back up to Daenerys who was watching the scene as she lay on the ground. She rose to her full height as he approached. He stopped and looked up at her glowing purple eyes. There was something in her expression that he hadn’t seen there before. Some kind of patient anticipation. As her tail curled around her, he said, “Daenerys? Is something wrong?”

Slowly, she leaned down, looking deep into my eyes, her own glowing slightly brighter. Gregory watched her with fascination as the world around him began to dim. Gabby clung tighter to him, but he put his hand over her claws. “Gregory?” she asked worriedly.

“It’s alright, you can let go,” he said, giving her claw a reassuring squeeze. Turning to her, he smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

Gabby looked up at Daenerys, then back at Gregory. She sighed, then climbed off of his back. He turned back to Daenerys, who locked him in her stare. He felt himself being wrapped up in her tail and lifted up so they were face to face. All he could hear now was her breathing, deep and rumbling. He looked deep into those eyes, barely blinking. They brightened more, and suddenly there was a bright blue flash. The sounds of the world came back to him just as Daenerys lowered him back down.

Confused, Gregory looked up at the drake, who by now was looking up at the sky longingly. After a few seconds he sighed, then walked over and pulled off the saddle, pulling it away. The moment it was off of her, Daenerys spread her wings and launched into the air, heading east.

Gregory looked back at Gabby, Gilda and the others, who were watching him expectantly. He bit his lower lip, then exhaled slowly. “Well…I don’t know about you all, but I could really use some sleep. That flight took a lot out of me.”

Gabby was immediately by his side. “You do look tired,” she said in understanding as she put a wing on his back. “Let’s go.”

“You’d better tell us all about what just happened tomorrow morning!” Garble said.

Gallus looked a bit concerned as well, but did his best not to show it. “Heh, I wanna hear it too.”

“Same here,” Gracie said, sounding curious.

“Sure, I’ll tell you guys all about it at breakfast,” he said.

Smolder and Garble both looked at each other, then back at Gregory. “Well, today’s been interesting,” Garble said, “but we should get back to the Groggery. My sister and I promised that we’d help with the post sunset rush.”

“Have a good rest of your night,” Gregory said as both dragons spread their wings and flew away. Looking back at his new housemates, he held up his hand and smiled. “I know you’re worried, but I’m fine. Like I said, I’m just tired. I’ll be alright after a good night’s sleep.”

“You’d better be,” Gilda said, “or you and I are gonna get physical.”

Despite how exhausted he was, he couldn’t help but give out one more zinger. “Why Gilly Suit, who knew you wanted to get into my pants that badly? You’re a naughty girl.”

She flipped him off, blushing a bit but smirking at him. “Just go to sleep before I strangle you.”

“Which head?” he retorted.

He turned around flipped the sputtering griffoness off as he and Gabby left the others and headed inside. The two walked up the stairs and headed into Gregory’s room. To his surprise, his fireplace had a roaring fire in it and the room was cozy warm. Too warm for the clothes he was wearing. He stripped off his jacket, boots, goggles and the thick jeans. He collapsed onto the soft bed, only to feel a presence climbing into bed beside him. Looking up, he saw a worried looking Gabby staring at him. “I’m really fine,” he said.

She shook her head and moved closer. “Please let me stay here tonight. Please? It’ll make me feel better.”

There was such a need in her eyes, a desperation, that Gregory hadn’t seen before. She looked like she was about to cry. He took a deep breath, exhaled, then nodded. “Just for tonight,” he said as he moved over to give her more room. “But I’m really fine.”

Gabby didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She’d passed out immediately after she’d said her peace. He watched the mail delivery griffoness sleeping. The worried look on her face was still there. Not liking to see her like that, he put his hand on her forehead and stroked her feathers. She visibly relaxed and curled up. Taking the covers, he put them over her. After brushing his teeth and changing into a pair of flannel pajama pants and a thin green and gray long sleeved shirt (both of which he’d gotten from Costco before arriving on Gaia), he climbed into bed, and closed his eyes, letting the exhaustion overwhelm him.

As he fell asleep, his last fading thought came in Emilia Clarke’s voice. “What kind of word is Dracarys anyway…?”