To be a "Lesser" Creature in a World Dominated by Dragons (Open)

Servius Eirene Koinonia... a Manticore. The Manticore. The stuff of nightmares which plagued Human settlements throughout Pyrria. The feline predator visited the Humans at night, during the day, whenever he so pleased to fill his stomach. The bipeds were his favorite snack between more hearty meals. In his opinion, they were the greatest--well, second greatest--thing Shardas had ever created. There were so many Humans, much more than The Manticore would ever need in his lifetime. Aside from being the most delicious food around, Humans were quite funny. They seemed to have this ridiculous notion that they were a match for the apex predator. Servius actually enjoyed fighting the tiny creatures, toying with them before ending their time on Pyrria. Well, what cat doesn't like to play with their food?

Servius was wandering the edges of the vast territory that now belonged to the wretched Dragons, the NIghtWIngs. What could Dragons need with so much land? Was not the land they were born on enough? It certainly was for Servius. Unfortunately, The Manticore's home now belonged to them. Oh well, surely there was some unclaimed land somewhere for Servius to take--he just hoped it had a good supply of Humans. Today, he found himself near the border of the NightWIngs' original territory. To his disgust, the area he found himself in was a swamp. His pelt would surely become filthy by the time he got to dry land--and he had just cleaned it. Shardas had graced Manticores with wings, so of course Servius could just fly... but suppose there were Humans in this area? The feline could hardly take his prey by surprise if he came from the air. As he waded through the swamp, Servius looked for a dry place to sit.

Tori had gotten awfully bored in the SkyWings, and there was nothing she could do to give her recognition... At least for now. Some day, the Griffin thought, Some day, they'll realize what an asset I really am. Who doesn't love me? I'm nice! Of course, Tori Feza thought she was a kind little bird/lion hybrid. In reality, she was a little selfish...

Annyyyyway!!

Tori was stretching out her multicolored wings and was soaring off... Away, away, and off into the rogue lands! There was nothing to do in Peaceful Skies anyway... Oh, did she mention that? My bad. Being raised in this turf, Tori knew her way around. She could even remember times she spent with her family at certain places. That jagged mountain over there... That was where her brother, Ekizochikku, killed his first prey. And there, that meadow of long and flowing grass! Tori and her siblings played hide-n-seek or tag in there lots of times when they were mere babies. Good times, good times, Tori thought. Oh, and how could she forget her first mishap in that swamp? Just to get some more memories, Tori banked her wings and veered over to the dark place.

Wait. Was that a... manticore?

It was. A giant cat, wading around in the murky water. Tori wrinkled up her face in disgust as much as a Griffin could. She pitied the poor lion. It'll take ages to get that stuff out of his scales! Thinking she could lend a paw or talon, the female beast swooped down, creating a slight gust of wind. "Need help there, dearie~?" she called out to the manticore.

(A REPLY!!!!! <3)

The Manticore spotted a patch of dry land, an oasis in this wretched place. But before he could get there, a scent filled his nose, a shadow crossed his eyes, a forced wind brushed his pelt. He looked up, his tail lashing behind him, and around. There. A Griffin. A winged lion like himself, but only in body. It's face was that of an eagle... or some kind of hawk. A bird; did it really matter which? The female swooped past, talking as she went, which, for Servius, was the equivalent of fast-talking. And fast talking prevented him from being able to read maws clearly. The Manticore huffed, his dirty and water-logged pelt making him uncomfortable. He walked on through the marsh toward that dry patch of land, shook his pelt free of the muddied water--which only served to get that water on the parts of him that had stayed clean up to that point. Then he sat and waited for the Griffin to return, as she no doubt would, and repeat whatever she had said.

Ugh. Was this manticore... Ignoring her?! How dare he!! Tori was so nice! And pretty! Did he not see how she oh-so-gracefully flew?! The female took a deep breath. Okay... Let's not jump to conclusions. She forced a smile to form on her beak, and landed next to him, making sure to show off her pretty feathers. She studied the feline for a moment before cheerfully saying, "Hello!"

((Ugg sorry for cringey post... I'm tired :<)

The Griffin landed beside Servius. The Manticore turned his head to look at her as she did and read the words that came from her maw. Hello. Servius gave a light nod, his ears flicked as a breeze brushed the hairs of his mane across them. "Hello, there." he said, hoping he sounded friendly. Given that his pelt was filthy, The Manticore was hardly in a good mood, but he didn't want to seem unfriendly to this Griffin.

Tori tilted her head in a friendly manner, trying to give the largest smile a beak can give a Griffin. She wondered if it'd be weird if she just took a seat. Of course, that'd imply she'd like to talk-- which she was okay with, of course!! But what if the manticore didn't want to? This feline was bigger than Tori. If he didn't want to talk, he could either say it politely or express his intentions the hard and painful way. Tori tried not to look at his intimidating scorpion tail. She had to be careful if he wasn't really friendly... Even if his greeting was friendly, she knew it was common for beings to hide their real emotions.

"Fabulous day, isn't it?" Tori said happily. "I'm Tori. What's your name?" She was about to put 'hon' at the end of that question, but... Well, I already rambled about how the manticore may want to fight.

The eyes of the predator watched the maw of the Griffin as it moved once again to form new words. Fabulous day, isn't it? and then, I'm Tori. What's your name? Servius looked ahead at the swamp around them. The day, if only in the early stages of life, was indeed nice. But their location... not so much and Servius wanted to leave as soon as possible. The air should be a little warmer now, although there was still the matter of filling his belly. Humans are easier to catch if you attack from the ground. "I suppose it is, for now. It'll be warmer later.Tori? I am Servius Eirene Koinonia. What brings you to this swamp?"

Servius? Tori thought. Sounds rather... Intimidating. I wonder if I can just call him Servie? Tori was still eyeing the much larger species warily, so she decided not to ask. Being crushed would make a perfectly good day... Not so perfectly good. Would Manticores even attack upon getting angry? That seemed to be the stereotype nowadays, that these large cats were ruthless and hotheaded. Tori didn't know if that was true, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out through a little science experiment.

"Oh, this swamp?" Tori glanced around. For a second she forgot why she was here. Then she felt a prod inside her mind as she realized the surroundings looked so familiar. "Oh! Oh yes, I was just here to get some memes memories. I have some gorgeous childhood history here." Tori fell silent, thinking. "And you?"

(Reminding self to post today)

The Griffin seemed a bit nervous to be so close to The Manticore, and rightly so. Servius could hold his own against any race with his strength alone, be it a Human, a winged cat, a bird, even the Dragons. This Griffin wouldn't be so difficult to dispatch if he needed to. Soon, Tori was speaking again and the eyes of Servius watched her maw. She asked of his reason for being at the swamp. The Manticore's stomach growled and clawed at him, leaving an empty feeling, a pain. He likened it to one's claw being pressed against one's skin, but not enough to break through. And this sensation, this pain moved about like ripples of water, only to suddenly be pulled down to collect at the bottom of a bowl. Servius ignored these pangs for as long as he could while speaking with Tori, but now instinct demanded he answer its call. So, The Manticore responded accordingly to the Griffin's question and stood, turning so he was facing the direction he had been headed in before. "I came here to hunt. Not here, exactly, but there is a Human settlement nearby."

((Sry for short post, I haven't been in a posting/writing mood ;-; )

Tori tilted her head at the sound of a human settlement. Humans? She didn't dislike humans, but she didn't particularly love them either. She was rather neutral. She could hunt, though... Tori tilted her head at Servius as he stood and turned around, back to the direction he was heading. "Would you like help?" she asked. She could hunt, yes, but she wasn't a fabulous expert. With a jolt she was suddenly afraid. Would the manticore assume she didn't think he could do it? "If you.. want it, I mean," Tori added quickly.

It didn't occur to the feline until after his backside was facing Tori, that she might respond. And so her question went unanswered. By the time The Manticore had thought to turn around, the Griffin had already added something, so his gaze fell on a closed maw. For a moment he looked at Tori, expecting her to reply to him. When she didn't, he went on his way, stepping off the island and back into the swamp. A shame, since his pelt had almost dried. Servius veered off to the right so he would end up in the forest before he got close enough to the village to be spotted.

The small 8ft Griffin watched the other two Lesser Species from her perch in one of the swamp trees, the scent of rotten leaves and old mud masking her smell quite nicely. As the manticore walked away she wondered, why didn't he reply? She scanned her recent memory of the short conversation, analyzing each thought and came to a conclusion. The manticore was deaf. It was a simple conclusion, really, and she wondered if the other griffin was just too dense to figure it out. Well, that was her problem now, Itazura never liked proud creatures, and that griffin was obviously full of herself. She didn't particularly care, but she knew that pride gets you killed in this cold world.
Great, now I'm getting melodramatic, The tiny griffin huffed, and decided to follow the large manticore, she had nothing better to do. He also would be fun to play a couple tricks on. Yes that isn't quite an intelligent idea, she knew, but she had a secret weapon that most would think was a liability. She was small. It came with being a hatchling at the age of eight. Most monsters in this world were perpetually large, much to her displeasure, honestly its as if Shardas thought everything circled around being large. In her mind, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And no matter how large you are, sickness can easily kill you within a matter of weeks, even days! That was another card to play for dear Itazura.
Pushing her thoughts away she focused on following the very large feline. Deftly leaping from branch to branch like an overgrown squirrel with a deadly sickness in her deceptively small talons. She didn't have much worry about getting harmed for her little tricks. One strike of a talon across the manticore's eyes and he was a goner. She hoped it wouldn't come to that but due to her...extended visit...in the Rotten Forest, she never blindly followed optimism. Her bird-like eyes flickered between the cat and her path through the treetops, as they both continued on the path of the manticore to the human village. She would let him eat before pestering him with tricks and traps. She knew never to get between a predator and his prey.