The Number Game

BY;Lice mae Ramirez.

Laser and Razor, identical twin grifflets, busied themselves at the mouth of their cliff cave home while their mother, Rea rested in back, weary from last night’s patrol. With his sharp beak, Laser chose small stones and tossed them high in the air, then caught them deftly, until he tired of the game. His brother Razor leaned quietly over a layer of silt formed from the night’s rain mixing with the soft dirt deposited by the family’s sandy paws. He frowned in concentration, making marks with one of his talons. With all the authority of a professor, Laser sauntered briskly up to him, his wings tucked tightly to his sides. He scowled at the marks his twin was making.
“What is all that, anyway? Don’t you want to play?”
Razor glanced once in his direction, then back at his task. He said quietly, “It’s math that the trolls taught me. I could show you, it’s quite interesting.”
Laser watched over Razor’s wing and sat down. Selecting a ragged edge on one of his talons, he chewed thoughtfully, still watching his brother make more marks. A talon paring dropped on his figures and Razor grunted in disgust.
“Can’t you do that somewhere else? I’m trying to work this problem.”
Laser went to the cave’s opening and waved a claw at the bright blue griffin, Tempest, as he flew past. Gliding on an updraft, the warrior griffin returned a sharp salute to Laser, then vanished past Laser’s view. Bored, and wishing he could fly as well as Tempest, he huffed, “Why do you want to learn that, anyway? We should practice attacks, sharpen our beaks. We’re supposed to be warriors, not scholars. You waste more time with nonsense, do you know that?” He wanted to play and he was restless. Too much energy and too little space.
Razor ignored him and Laser flopped down, whining, “When is Mother going to wake up? I want to fly, play, oh - do something. Anything, but sit home and watch you scrape mud.”
Razor sat up and turned to his brother. “Be quiet, will you? I heard Mother talking to Father this morning when she returned. Intruders were in the Griffin Forest last night and she and Uncle Argon had to splash a few of the villagers again. She’s tired. Why are you so selfish?”
Paying no attention to the rebuke, Laser straightened up in anticipation, his crest feathers rising. “They threw the villagers in the ocean? You mean, they saw action last night?” He jumped to his feet and paced. “When are we going to have a chance to fight? I’m ready, you know.” Clenching his front talons and raking them through the air, his tail swatted back and forth like a snake, as he pounced on Razor, sending him sprawling.
“Stop it. Oh, now look what you’ve done.” He glanced at all his figures, blurred  from their wrestling. He groaned and flapped his wings with annoyance. “You know, I’ve been working on that one problem for hours. It’s ruined. I can only understand half of it now, because of you.”
He glared at Laser, who shrugged. At least he had irked his brother into noticing him. Perhaps now, they could play. “So? It’s useless, anyway.” He continued to goad Razor. 
The sound of wings flapping woke Rea and she raised one eyelid to investigate. Yawning and ruffling her feathers, she said in a tired voice, “What’s the problem, boys?”
Razor glared down at his ruined problem. He wouldn’t aggravate the situation with petty tattling; his mother was too tired to be involved in their trivial squabbles. He said as brightly as he could, without letting his anger show, “Nothing, Mother.”
She stretched again and went to her sons, scratching their crest feathers with her talons. In the distance, she spotted Argon heading for their cave and she quickly moved the boys to one side, out of the way. “Here comes your Uncle Argon. Now, you boys behave and be quiet.” She shot them a warning glance as the enormous black griffin flew in and landed, folding his wings.
He nodded at the boys and bowed to Rea. The figures in the mud caught his eye as he did so, and he paused for a moment, taking them all in. He motioned with a claw.
“Whose figures are these?” he asked, and Rea shrugged at him, having no knowledge of them at all.
Razor, almost inaudibly, squeaked, “Mine, sir.”
Argon nodded at him curtly. “Always room for a good tactician in our ranks, Razor.”
Laser muffled a snort.
Argon raised one wing to lead Rea to the back of the cave. “A word with you, Rea, if I might. I have a small task for you to do.” He thought he was out of the boys’ earshot and continued, lowering his voice. “King Oberon requests that one of us return to the Griffin Forest this morning.”
He shook his head at Rae’s look of concern and lifted one claw. “No, no trouble, just a precautionary measure to assure Abby Thatcher that she is protected. We’ll need a quick perimeter check. A few of our elves are going into town to determine the pulse of the villagers. Too much trespassing is being done on the Brightwater properties and there’s no reason for it that we know of. Maybe they can find out something.  Abby is our senior mage, after all. It wouldn’t do to leave her stranded there with trouble brewing. We must defend our gate to the mortal world from the intruders.” Argon yawned and sighed. “Of course, I would go myself, but I have third rank testing this morning that can’t be postponed again. It would run into my fourth rank testing tomorrow.” He sighed again and shrugged.
Rae nodded her acceptance of the situation.
Argon put a talon on her shoulder and said, “It shouldn’t take long. I know you’re probably done in from last night. Insolent buggers, weren’t they? I’ll wager they won’t be back for quite awhile. You did very well. ”
A glance to her boys verified that they were listening, their ear tufts standing straight in the air, and their eyes riveted on Argon. She knew they hung on every word.
“Thank you, Uncle Argon. Of course, I’ll go. With all the rain we’ve had, it’s a wonder you can test at all. Perhaps you should speak with King Orion about the weather.”
Argon huffed. “I already have. The unicorns complained that the pasture lands are too dry. They persuaded the elven king to saturate the fields. It’s only for a few more nights, but it makes it hard for the students to perform landing qualifications. It’s slippery, but then, conditions aren’t always perfect in real battle, are they? Less of them pass, but the ones that do will be superior in adverse conditions.”
Moving towards the entrance, Argon hesitated for a moment to address the boys.
They stood at attention, red wings standing out brightly against the black and white variegated feathers. They were striking, and Argon imagined a formidable team in the future. “It won’t be much longer before both of you start your training. You should watch the testing.”
Laser stretched himself to his full height, straining so tightly that his feathers separated along his neck. “Yes, sir. I’m ready right now. I practice all the time. Can’t we start earlier?”
Argon chuckled at the fledgling’s anxious face. He patted Laser’s head, then Razor’s. “All in good time, sons. When you’re ready, your parents will know, and then you’ll be sorry you can’t remain behind and play. It’s all work from that point on, you understand. Stay young while you can. You’ll grow old soon enough. ” He grinned and winked at Rea, who nodded wearily, as they watched Argon leave.  
Laser scrambled to his mother’s side and latched onto one of her legs. “Can’t we come with you, Mother? We’ve never been to the Griffin Forest. We’ll stay close.”
Rea shook her head. “It’s no place for youngsters. Too dangerous. You’ve never entered the mortal world and you don’t know the area or the hazards. Our gate opens there in the ruins of Griffin Castle. Their oceans and forests have many different animals and mortals that may want to hurt you. You’re not old enough to go yet, but I will allow you to watch the testing. You can learn some tips from Uncle Argon. Won’t that be fun? I believe your father will be there and he can keep an eye on you two scamps.”
Laser dropped off of his mother’s leg and sulked. Razor stared, puzzling over how to repair his demolished problem. Rea knew he was lost in thought. “Razor?”
The young griffin bolted upright at the call of his name, blinking in surprise. ”Huh? Yes, Mother?”
Rea chuckled at his wide-eyed innocence. “I asked if you would like to watch the testing while I run an errand into the Griffin Forest.”
He nodded, more concerned with the figures that were lost to him. He was right on the verge of solving it. Shrugging, he left it behind. “Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to watch and see what we’re in for.”
Laser flapped his wings, lifting several feet off of the cave floor. “I’m ready right now. I bet I could pass that testing, today.” Laser flapped wildly, sending feathers flying, and growled with conviction.
Razor laughed at his twin as he crashed back to the ground in a pile of molting feathers. Laser snapped at him and he jumped back out of the way of the sharp beak. Rea managed to cuff both of them with one maneuver of her wing.
“That’s quite enough. Let’s go. Now, remember- I’ll go first and you two fly directly to the ground. No fancy stunts. If you have trouble, scream and I’ll help you. It’s very windy today.”
Razor nodded, thrusting his beak out of the cave. The wind slicked his crest feathers back. “Wind out of the south west, twenty miles per hour, higher in gusts.”
She nodded. Razor, always thoughtful and buried in his books, was worlds apart from his ‘action first, thoughts later’, brother. How could identical twins be so very different?
Laser scowled, refusing to be outdone by his brother, and said, “He doesn’t know all that. He’s making that up.”
Razor balked. “I am not. You see this string I’ve attached to the opening? Erastis showed me the angles that it blows at and how it shows the wind speed by the lift.”
Laser marched over, yanked on the string, and let it blow away in the wind. Razor squawked. Rea, impatient to leave, leapt from the opening and the boys were compelled to follow.
Approaching the testing areas, the twins hurried to keep up with their mother. Razor shot Laser a reproachful glance. “I’ll make another wind string. You don’t have to be so destructive. We don’t have to be interested in the same things. We’re two different griffins, you know, even if we look alike. It was a terrible thing to do.”
Laser looked chagrinned. “Sorry. I wanted you to play and it seems you’re too busy all the time. It makes me angry. I don’t know why I did that. I don’t want to be mean. I lost my temper. I’m sorry.”
Razor nodded and the hurt was forgotten as they marveled at the testing students diving to the ground, practicing emergency landings. They giggled and pointed to the ones whose landings were less than perfect.
Rea had left them to talk to Tempest, who was assisting Argon. With an air of exasperation, she marched back to her boys. “Well, it looks as if you’ll get your wish. Argon is taking the class over the ocean for dives, and your father is flying over the village in the mortal world, scanning for trouble. Illustra is with the king, so I’ll have to take you with me.”
Her posture slouched as if a heavy pack was hefted onto her back. She was tired and did not have the time to hunt down supervision for the twins. She gave them her most serious stare. “You both will remain next to the gate. One step, and you’ll be back into the Realm. You’re not to follow me. You can stay hidden in the ruins until I return. You’re both to stay put. Do you understand exactly what I’m saying or do I need to go over it once more?”
They mirrored grins, turned, and nodded to their mother. Laser danced a little spin as they started out for the gate, his first look at the mortal world.
    

Beaks pointed in all directions, as the two fledglings surveyed the new world around them. From their position in the large boulders of the castle ruins, they could view the ocean, as well as the forest beyond.
“I want you both to stay within this ring of rocks. If you spy anything unfamiliar, an unusual noise, intruders, well, anything that makes you uncomfortable, I want you to cross back into the Realm. Is that understood? Can you remember where the gate is? At one time, it was the tower of the castle. ”
Laser, hopping from one foot to the other in excitement, said nothing, but Razor pointed with a talon. “It’s right there, Mother. Ninety degrees from the rounded stone.”
Rea tipped her head sideways. He was exactly right. She nodded. “Good. Razor I’m putting you in charge of pushing Laser through in front of you, should the need arise. Gunny is on duty on our side of the gate, today. You know him, he’s Argon’s eldest trainer and he knows to let the two of you through without delay. Laser’s not paying attention to us or the discussion at all.”
 They watched Laser poke at a hermit crab, with one talon, totally oblivious to them or the conversation. Razor laughed at the crab poking back. “Alright, Mother.”
Rea, apprehensive of the situation, decided expediency was the better choice and flew out over the forest. She would accomplish this task quickly and be back before the boys instigated any trouble.
Laser hadn’t noticed her departure. He poked at the irritated crab again, then glanced at Razor. “We don’t have any of these in the Realm, do we? Where’s Mother?” His beak shot upwards, searching the sky.
Razor shook his head. “She’s gone on her mission, and no, those are hermit crabs. They aren’t magical, but they do bite. We only have magicals, in the Realm.” Razor began to scrawl numbers in the white shore sand.
Laser made a face. “You know, Uncle Argon said that was tacky.”
Razor grinned at him. “No, he didn’t - he said a good tactician was welcomed in our ranks. There’s a big difference.”
Laser’s head bobbed up in alarm at movement in the forest and Razor turned to look. “It’s a rabbit. He won’t bother us.”
Laser watched the lumbering animal for awhile. It moved slowly along, nibbling at the grass at the forest’s edge.  “Are you sure? How do you know everything?”
Razor scoffed. “I don’t know everything. I read quite a bit, that’s all. You know, if you spend more time in the library…”
They both caught sight of a pair of squirrels chasing each other around a huge oak. Their nails scratched and skittered as they circled the tree in a mad game of tag. Laser took off, racing for the forest.
“Laser, come back here. Mother said to stay put, right here in the ruins. Hey, we’re not allowed in there.” Razor stood in annoyance, his beak agape and his crest feathers rising. He watched his brother vanish into the trees. He exhaled loudly and followed.  Moving as fast as he dared through the tangle of trees, Razor remembered to make scratches on the barks with his talons to mark his way. A great deal of noise in the distance alerted him that he was close to his brother.
“Let go of that squirrel”, he demanded. Horrified that his brother had a squirrel pinned by its tail, Razor grabbed his brother by the nape of his neck, pulling him backwards.
Laser let the terrified squirrel loose and whirled on his brother. “Why did you do that? I finally caught him. Boy, do they ever make a lot of noise.” He climbed back a few feet to the ground.
Razor growled at him. “Some griffins eat squirrels. You’re not hungry, are you? Why scare that poor creature half to death? Now, come on, we have to go back to the ruins before Mother arrives and finds us gone. We’ll be punished if we’re not there.”
Laser scowled at him. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
Razor huffed. “Fine. Stay here, by yourself. I’ll tell Mother she has to find you. She’ll love that, won’t she? I’m going back. Look how close to the road you’ve gone. We’d get in trouble, for sure.”
Razor had begun to walk back in the direction he had came from, when they heard low growls rushing towards them. From the underbrush burst two very large hounds.

                                    *************************

            Rea leaned on the warm stones of Abby Thatcher’s home, nestled at the far end of the Griffin Forest. A large bucket of cool water rested by her feet. Abby sat on the stoop, pulling weeds absently from her flower bed as she talked.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into them lately. For years now, it’s been quiet as a midnight breeze, then without warning, I have men shooting at my cats. The Brightwaters are very strict about prosecuting the trespassers, too. Thank the gods, Ursan owns all this property, or I would have been burned out by now. He’s dedicated himself to the protection of our gate, the ruins, forest, and of course, his huge horse ranch. He’s still a formidable mage, even if his wife, Sky, is uncomfortable with magic. At least she knows how important it is to the rest of us. He’s had his hands full lately with all this trouble we’ve been having.”
She threw up her hands in surrender. “I have no idea why we’re being invaded by idiots. But thank you, Rea. Thank you for reassuring me. Once the word goes around about the long swim to get back to shore, they’ll stop coming here. You know, Argon used to kill the people, but I made him promise to dump them in the ocean and give them a fighting chance to survive. Scaring them seemed to work better than a lot of people disappearing. Others would come in to look for them. Ah, enough about all that. It’s so lovely to talk with you. Now, did you say you had the sweet boys with you? I’d love to see them.”
Rae shook her head. “Yes, and I’d better get back to them before they wind up in trouble. Perhaps another time, Abby, when things quiet down. I promise I’ll bring them for you to see. I couldn’t find anyone to keep an eye on them so I have them sitting by the gate with orders to pass through, should something spook them. Gunny is right on the other side and I know he’ll pull them through should they have problems. ”
Abby nodded her agreement. “Of course. They’re much too precious to take a chance with. It’s the first set of twin griffins that I can recall.”
Rea beamed and agreed. “We tried to see if another set of twins were born to the griffins, but mine are the only ones we could find. We even asked the elder Blood Dragon and he shook his head. Anyway, as I was saying, I’d better…”
Her voice trailed off as both she and Abby felt a twinge in the magical security net. There was trouble in the woods again. Rea immediately took off and Abby went inside and barred her door. Magically protected, Abby, Ursan Brightwater, and the griffins could feel when any breech of the tightly woven web was broken. It only activated when someone with malice and evil intentions entered. Abby watched the fire red griffin clear the trees through her window, and wrung her hands.
Rea circled the trees and spotted two teenagers at the edge of the forest, dog leashes in hand. ‘The boys.’ She panicked and diverted to the ruins.

                                                ***************

The grifflets reacted instinctively to the threat. Razor spun and headed for the cover of the forest, then slipped and fell into a hollow trunk of a large tree. He began to dig his way further inside. Convinced his brother would be right behind him, he shouted, “Laser, dig in with me. Come on.” Hearing no response, he turned around, fully believing Laser was following him.
He saw a drooling muzzle inches away from his beak. The hound’s yellow teeth and harsh breath caught him by surprise and he flattened himself as far back as he could, not daring to close his eyes which was what he wanted to do so badly. Its jaws gnashing and snarling made Razor gasp and begin to breathe in short rasps through his open beak. He struck the hound’s nose with his talons, sending the dog into a yowl as blood dripped into the hollow. It infuriated the hound and he alternately dug with his large paws, and then reached in to grab the griffin. Razor struck again, aiming for the eyes this time. He missed, but he did manage to open up a large cut down the hound’s muzzle, ending with the nose which was beginning to show signs of shredding.
The hound backed off and pawed wildly at his nose, now covered with blood. A sharp whistle was heard off in the distance. Then, to Razor’s relief, the beast bounded away. Breathing rapidly, his heart clearly thumping in his chest, Razor froze, not wanting to make a move to attract the hound back, but he worried about Laser. Where had he gone? He swallowed hard and tried to listen over his pounding heart. Perking his ears up, he held his breath, listening intently. He could hear nothing. Slowly, he crept forward, his claws ready in case of an ambush, but the hound was gone. He was terrified to leave the safety of the hollow, but called for a fairy. Minutes later, Rose, a light pink fairy fluttered by the hollow’s opening.
“Please, this is Razor, son of Domino and Rea. I’m a griffin and I need my family. Help me, please. We were attacked by hounds. I can’t find my brother. Can you summon the griffin, Argon?”
The fairy buzzed around, surveying the situation, then without a word, shot into the sky. Razor clutched at his beak with his talons. He had to find Laser. ‘Think, be calm, work it out, and think logically what to do.’ Taking a deep breath, he concentrated. There were two hounds, he remembered. One chased him into the tree, so the other one must have chased Laser. ‘Oh, why didn’t he follow me?’
Sharp eyes examined the forest beyond the tree. Nothing moved and he hazarded a few steps into the forest. He searched the ground for tracks. Laser had run for the ruins. Slipping from tree to tree, following his marks, he made it to the edge of the forest and could see the ruins, but no sign of a hound or Laser. He screamed as he saw the shape of his mother overhead.
She dropped to the ground and clutched him to her chest. “Where is your brother?” she asked anxiously, and Razor shook his head.
Argon flew through the opening, followed by Rea’s father, Shylock. They landed beside her. She looked about frantically, then said, “Laser is missing. There were hounds.”
 Argon paced. “Now, Razor, tell us what happened. The fairies alerted me and I responded immediately. You were right to contact the fairies. Now, don’t be frightened. I would love to eat a hound for lunch, and I will once I catch him.”
Razor snuggled his head into Rea’s chest, then stepped back to relate the story to the adult griffins. Shylock took off right afterwards to spot the hounds.
Soon after, Erastis and Tannis, two elven princes walked through the gate. They nodded at Rea. “We heard you needed help. We know this forest, and we can heal anyone who is hurt. Show us where the trail starts, Razor. We can track them on the ground.”
Razor nodded and pointed to the marks he had left on the trees, earlier. Erastis grinned and patted the grifflets rump. “Good job, Razor, you remembered how elves mark the trails. I didn’t think you were paying any attention to us when we showed the grifflets how to leave tracks in the woods. Don’t fret now, we’ll find Laser.”
Razor followed the trail back to the griffins that were waiting for Shylock to return. Argon glanced up at the elves. Tannis spoke, “The tracks head towards the ruins. There’s a lot of blood, but thankfully, it doesn’t appear to be from a griffin.”
Razor held up his talons, which were covered with dried blood. “I ripped at the hound that was after me. His nose was bleeding the last time I saw it.”
Rea gasped and looked towards the ruins. Argon shook his head and turned, ready to fight, when a tall black horse cleared the forest on the other side of the large rocks. He relaxed when he saw it was Ursan Brightwater. Ursan was one of their mages and owned the entire property of Griffin’s Gate. He dismounted. “I felt the breech in the security web. How can I help?” He looked concerned.
Argon walked over and Ursan held the reins tighter as his horse, Black Magic, tried to bolt away from the formidable griffin. Argon spoke, “Rea’s boy, Laser, is missing. They were to wait in the ruins, but left to chase squirrels.” He made a disgusted face and rolled his eyes. “Hounds showed up and chased the two boys. Razor is here - he hid in a tree- but Laser is missing. They’re identical twins. Perhaps you could ride the road to town, see if you can spot anyone with a grifflet tied up.” He glanced at Rea, trying to lower his voice so not to alarm her.
Tannis walked up and shook hands with Ursan. “I’ll ride in, if I can borrow this fine horse of yours. You might be more helpful around the ruins since you know them so well.”
Ursan nodded and Tannis mounted the horse and headed towards the road. Ursan walked over to Rea and stroked her wing. “Don’t worry, Rea. He has to be here, somewhere. I’ll check out the ruins. I know them like the back of my hand. He might be hiding.”
Razor looked up with curiosity as he scratched franticly in the dirt. The adults ignored him, thankful that he was preoccupied and not under foot. He stared down and tugged at Erastis’s pant leg.
The elf squatted down beside him. “What is it, Sport?”
Razor pointed a talon at the dirt and Erastis nodded. “Yes, very good. I see you’re working on the math the trolls taught you.”
Razor shook his head. “No, check my figures, Razz. Make sure I did this right, please? They have to be absolutely right. ”
Erastis bent low again and Rea clucked with impatience. “Not now, Razor. Can’t you see we’re all trying to find Laser?”
The elf nodded that all the problems were correct. He’d humor the small griffin, if only to keep him calm. Razor began to tug at his mother, who pushed him away with her beak. “Not now, Razor” was all she said, and began to pace back and forth, distracted.
Razor began drawing a large square in the dirt and the others watched as Shylock landed, back-winging and throwing up a cloud of dust. He shook his head and said, “Whoever they were, they’re gone now. No sign of men or hounds. I have the fairies checking all the underbrush, and the wood sprites checking the tree branches. Laser has enough flight in him to get to the lower branches if need be. We’ll hear from them, shortly. I’ve circled the perimeter and nothing is bobbing in the ocean, either.”
Rea kept herself from keening at his words, although she felt the loss and panic rising in her chest.
Ursan came back, brushing off his hands. “There are tracks where they left the forest, but with this wind and the dry sand, they’ve been wiped out past the forest area.”
Razor pointed to the square he had drawn. “There. He’s there.” Razor’s voice was high and shrill, demanding that they listen to him.
They turned and stared at the little griffin seated in the dirt. He met their stares with wide intelligent eyes. “I worked all the figures, you see?” He pointed to the scratches in the dirt.
Argon narrowed his eyes. “Son, this is no time to play.”
Razor shook his head frantically, stood up and ran to Argon’s side, beseeching him to listen. “No, I’m not playing. Laser can only fly about fifteen miles per hour. Not like you, Uncle Argon. You’ve been clocked at eighty miles per hour, faster in a dive.”
Argon shrugged with impatience, mantling his wings in frustration.
Razor swallowed hard, intimidated by the famous griffin, but insisted on telling them what he knew. “He left from right here, see the tracks? The wind is blowing at twenty miles per hour. Laser can’t fly higher than the tree branches without getting all tangled in them, so he was about seven feet off of the ground. I’m hypothesizing that he may have been moving a bit faster with that dog after him. Adrenaline and all that, right, Razz? You taught us about all that.”
Erastis nodded and shrugged, not knowing what Razor was up to.
Razor moved to the square picture. “These are the ruins. Factoring in the wind, allowing for direction and gusts, and considering Laser’s weight, adding the thrust of adrenaline at the height I believe he was flying, that would put him right here, or around here - within three feet of my margin of error.” Razor flattened his crest as he tapped a point on the roughly drawn map of the ruins.
Argon scoffed. “Preposterous. We can see right through that area, boy. Nothing is there. It’s empty. Do you see Laser? There isn’t anything there, so stop wasting precious time with that nonsense.” He sneered, but Ursan walked up and examined the dirt picture.
He turned, one hand to his chin and pondered over the ruins. Closing his eyes, he remembered the castle keep when it was whole and thriving. There was something about that area. He knelt and asked Razor a few questions, then stood up. “Wait. Razor may just be right. There’s a hole dug near the seawall, there. I’d forgotten all about it. It was a privy, once. It’s not very big, though, but large enough for a small griffin to fall in if he was moving fast and tripped over the little ledge around it. I clearly remember one being there.”
Erastis and Argon turned and looked, then ran off in the direction Ursan indicated. A small hole was there, but was too dark to see into. Dug deep into the floor, it was almost eight feet deep. Ursan conjured up a bright fairy light.
Everyone peered down to see the black and white back end of a grifflet, his tail flagging back and forth, signaling for help. Laser was making a hollow whining noise, as he was wedged into the hole about four feet down, his beak pressed tightly shut. Ursan reached in, Erastis holding his legs, and extracted the dazed Laser from his prison. Filthy, and dangling a broken wing that the elf immediately began to attend, he shook his head to clear it.
Rea ran to his side, preening his crest feathers, huge tears splashing on him. “Thank the gods. Laser, talk to me. Are you alright?”
Laser looked down. “I was stuck. I couldn’t move or cry out. My wing hurts so bad. I don’t know how I ended up in there. I was heading for the gate, but I couldn’t keep up the air speed. I stopped for a moment to get a running start. Then, I looked back. I didn’t know what happened to Razor. I thought he was behind me. There was a terrible dog with big teeth… when I started to take off, I tripped over this rim of rocks.”
Ursan stroked his head. “Relax, Laser, you’re alright now, thanks to your brother.”
Argon looked at Razor, amazed. He strode over and gave him a little bow. “Razor, I seldom apologize, but this talent you have with numbers, well it’s brilliant. As soon as I return to the Realm, I’m going to make it mandatory training for all my fighters. If we can find our fallen comrades sooner, think how many more could be saved. Using this marvelous physics technique means a faster recovery and medical help before it’s too late. I’m proud of you. That was remarkable. Absolutely remarkable.”
Razor flushed with the compliment and grinned at his brother. Laser grinned back through his dirty scraped face and said, “Do you think you can help me learn that, Razor? I don’t think it’s tacky anymore. Being stuck facedown in a privy, well now, that’s tacky.”

                                      Thnks ....to your time.....have a nice day.!!