The Last Paladin of Highmoore: The Legends of Valoria

Chapter 6 & 7

Chapter 6 - The Lion Hawk

Alec stirred in his sleep to a strange, low-pitched rumbling that vibrated his chest. He shifted to his side in an attempt to ignore the noise, but the rumbling grew louder and this time he felt a warm pressure on his chest along with the vibration. Alec lazily opened a single eye and strained to look down at what was upon his chest. It was hard to make out in the dull light, but what shape he could make seemed to be that of a cat's paw.

"Weird, I did not know I had a cat." He murmured sheepishly to himself as the eye he had opened, closed and he began to drift back to sleep. He lay there for a moment with no idea as to what was going on about him.

"Mweerp reep reep." The odd noise with the brushing against his cheek was enough to cause Alec to bolt upright; frightening whatever it was that had been next to him. He caught a glimpse of a tail flitting through the air as the creature leapt under the bed. Alec quickly jumped to the other side of the bed, drawing his sword and lit the lamp by his bedside. Lowering the glowing orb to the floor, Alec readied his sword to thrust as he crouched down to peek at the creature.

At first, he saw nothing of note, just darkness but as he pushed the lamp forward, the veil of darkness shifted and he could make out the slightest sign of feathers. He pushed the lamp just a little bit closer and confirmed his footing before reaching out to prod the creature.

"Mweerp mreep kreep." He could hear the creature chattering at him. He tried to get a better glimpse of it but sensing no malicious intent, he began to speak to the small bedtime intruder softly.

"Hey little guy, let me get a look at you." As if understanding, one of the feathery arms moved revealing the shoulder joint of a wing and a pair of hind legs. A tail belonging to a large cat also appeared. Alec leaned his head to the side and saw the head and neck of a baby hawk peer out at him.

"Mreep?" The creature chirped at him again and Alec felt as if immediately that the creature was his to protect. He lowered his sword and instead reached out a hand toward the creature. He touched the tip of his fingers onto the flank of the baby and scratched gently across the fur. The rumbling sound from before started up again and this time he recognized it as a purring sound similar to that of a cat. He smiled as he stroked the creature's flank some more. The purring intensified and the baby brushed its head against his arm as he did so.

Alec examined the griffet carefully; its large intelligent brown eyes, its white and brown head and white feathered neck gave way to its tan fur. Between its shoulders sprouted two large jointed wings filled with bright brown, gold and white threaded feathers. Alec followed the baby's body down to its front and back paws, seeing that all four were massive for the size of the baby. They resembled those of a jungle cat. Alec followed the rest of the body down towards the tail, which ended in a whip like a lion.

Withdrawing from the bed, Alec backed away slightly and motioned for the baby to come out from underneath his cot. The creature followed the motion of his hand and eventually he had coaxed it into leaving the underside of the bed entirely. Alec sat down and the babe jumped onto the bed and lay next to him with its head and paws resting on his lap. Alec gently stroked the creature and scratched it along its neck. Instantly, he felt overwhelmingly drawn to the creature as if it were his own child.

He sat in silence for a moment and looked down to the creature, which looked back to him with a fierce intensity within its large brown eyes.

"I need you to stay here for a moment and be good, alright?"

"Brrrr reep breep." The Lion Hawk responded.