Here's a little story I wrote as a fan tribute for Lemondeer, featuring her gryphon Nyra swallowing an unlucky researcher.

Nyra belongs to Lemondeer. https://www.furaffinity.net/user/lemondeer/


Kane watched the water part beneath the bows of the Coral Explorer as the research vessel churned her way through the green waters of the north pacific. A stiff breeze had pushed up a small seaway overnight, spattering the sparkling water with a few creamy flecks of white. The ship, steel and 264 feet in length, ploughed through the waves effortlessly, thanks to twin diesels, making an audible crunch and hiss at each crest as she cleaved them at a respectable 14 knots. Although it was cool up on the bow, Kane didn’t want to miss the approach to the vessel’s final destination. On the horizon, a blue hazy outline signified the approach of a heretofore uncharted island, spotted only recently by satellite photography. Interest in this specific island stemmed from a new underwater volcanic hotspot the ship had been diverted to study. Ostensibly this was to perform geologic surveys of the seabed, however rumours among the crew suggested the real purpose of the mission was to chart the seafloor so the government could construct a new submarine base. Regardless of the mission’s true purpose, it was as exciting of an opportunity as any for the experienced crew of scientists and oceanographers onboard to get a first-hand look at an uncharted volcano.

Kane however, was aboard for different reasons. The ornithologist had little interest in geology, but a chance to explore an untouched island and catalogue its species had him lobbying for a spot on this expedition for months. It was not so much the size or environment of the island that interested him. There were countless volcanic islands to study all across the globe in far more accessible locations. This was different in that it’s location was at a crossing point of major oceanic currents, much like the Galapagos. While he didn’t want to get his hopes up, the implications of an untouched landmass in this region were thrilling to say the least.

His thoughts were interrupted as a bird rose up smoothly over the bow, riding the high pressure air pushed forward by the Explorer’s formidable superstructure. ‘Glaucous Gull, Latin name Larus Hyperboreus’ the ornithologist inside him catalogued automatically. Blinking, he chuckled to himself, realizing that he was likely the only person on board who noticed the bird, never mind knowing it’s exact taxonomy.

At this speed, they would soon be approaching the island. The ornithologist shivered, drawing his coat tighter around the shoulders and zipping it up to the neck. Looking aft towards the wheelhouse and seeing the majority of the crew huddled there away from the cold, he decided to duck below and grab a cup of coffee. Directly below the bridge was the observation lounge. Kane had been told by the ship’s proud captain that the Coral Explorer was the finest ship in the fleet, new, and state of the art in every way. After spending two days aboard ship steaming north, he could believe it. She was outfitted with every conceivable gadget and piece of equipment including two wet labs, towable sonar, ultrasonic imaging equipment, thermal and seismographic equipment, remote drones, a moon pool, two zodiacs, a state of the art computer suite and even a submarine. Even the coffee machine was top of the line, with a touch screen display programmed with myriad of different options. Shaking with barely concealed excitement, he carelessly picked one, tapping the display and waiting impatiently as the dark steam dribbled into a paper cup. Turning, he gazed out the front facing floor to ceiling windows, able to discern more detail now that they were closer. Only a few miles now he thought to himself.

In the middle of the room was a table with a touch screen integrated into it trimmed by a gloss mahogany border. Kane set his cup down on the edge and cast his gaze over the screen, which showed a summary of the ships position, speed, course, chart, and oceanographic readings. 14.2 knots. 2.3 nautical miles. At this speed the computer estimated they would arrive in 10 minutes. Kane tapped a window in the corner, and a magnified camera image of the island expanded smoothly to fill the screen. The image looked surprisingly clear, even optically zoomed to its maximum of 1200 percent. The island was rugged, jagged, as if it had formed only an hour ago, but dense vegetation and trees confirmed Kane’s suspicions that it had in fact been around for some time before being discovered. After a moment he felt the motion under his feet change as the familiar drone of marine diesels faded away to a quiet hum. A few more moments, and then the hollow clatter-clank of the anchor rode reverberated through the ship as the anchor was let loose.

………

Twenty minutes later, Kane was lowering himself into one of the Explorer’s two orange Zodiac inflatable dinghies. The ship would soon be heading back out to sea, resuming her mission to catalogue the seafloor, but not before dropping the ornithologist on the island to complete his own cataloguing. He’d be left in peace for two days, camping overnight before being picked up the following morning. Gingerly he swung the waterproof backpack containing his photography gear before stepping into the boat. The crewman at the helm (whose name Kane didn’t remember) wasted no time once the ornithologist had seated himself and gunned the motor. Powered by a 35-horsepower outboard, the 14-foot rib leapt through the water, pushing Kane back in his seat with surprising acceleration. Expertly they carved their way to shore, passing around the tip of the island and coming up to the beach revealed by satellite imagery on the island’s north side, where after a watery splash up the sodden volcanic sand, Kane and his gear were unceremoniously dumped in a pile.

With a curt nod the crewman backed off the beach, lowering the motor as he entered deeper water.
“See you in two days” he grunted, before roaring off back towards the ship once more.
As the whine of the motor faded away into the distance, Kane breathed a sigh of relief. Although he loved the sea, sharing a ship with a crew who viewed him as a distraction from their mission had not been a gratifying experience. At least now he’d have a chance at some solitude. From this vantage point, he could already make out the cries of many different bird species. Perhaps some of them would even be unique to this island.
After taking a moment to set his gear above the high tide line, he grabbed his camera and notebook and threw on an extra coat. Ten steps later he stopped to adjust his glasses and empty the sand from his shoes. Pausing to steal one last glance at his gear, he caught a glimpse of the Coral Explorer, already making her way back out to sea. Without a second thought, he shrugged off the view, relieved to see the ship go, and turned back to enter the woods. Little did he know it would be the last time he saw the ship or any of the crew again.

…………

Like an apparition straight from the annals of storybook legend, Nyra watched the intruders land upon the shore, clumsily stumping about on their two legs and moving several manmade curiosities up and out of reach of the ocean. Perched upon the apex of the island’s volcanic cone, the magnificent gryphon could still make out the details of the intruder’s hairless bodies and oddly coloured coverings (surely fashioned in an ill sought attempt to compensate for their lack of fur and feathers) with her sharp, raptorial eyesight. While unfamiliar with the newcomers’ concept of clothing, the predator’s sentient mind quickly grasped the two-legs’ need for it: they were weak, and otherwise unable to survive on their own. This would, by her standards, make them potential prey, vulnerable now that they’ve entered a foreign environment. Her environment. Her empty belly gurgled hungrily, as her mind pondered a potential meal.

As she watched, one of the intruders receded back into the sea, riding away on a brightly coloured waterborne machine. The other was now alone! Curiosity overcame her at this realization, her constantly active mind yearning to learn more. She stretched her wings, intending to fly closer, but paused as the faint sound of the boat’s engine became audible. With surprise she watched as it unexpectedly gained speed, moving rapidly away from the island now. As it reached the floating island offshore, she concluded that the two-legs’ were quite intelligent in their own way, and might be more dangerous than their clumsy, slow movements would suggest. Curiosity still ran headily through her mind and although somewhat tempered by caution, she decided to indulge herself. She wouldn’t do so without care however. Instead of flying, she would prowl the woods and take some time to observe the outsider before deciding whether to eat him. With a swish of her tail, she set her body in motion, disappearing silently into the trees with feline stealth.

………

Kane stumped uphill heavily, wishing he’d taken the time to leave some of the equipment in his waterproof rucksack behind. With each step his boots sunk into the mud a little bit with a distinct ‘skwoosh-schluk’ as he climbed closer to the apex of the volcano. It was rough going, and once or twice he’d stuck his tripod into the mud, using it like a walking stick to avoid falling. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he stopped to clean his sunglasses, and then stood up, realizing how dark it had gotten now that he was under dense tree cover. A chill ran down his spine. Turning, he looked into the trees, feeling almost like he was being watched.

“You’re being paranoid” he thought to himself. Yet there was no bird sound in the branches as there had been only moments before, only the rustle of leaves and pine needles from the breeze. In fact, he hadn’t managed to catch a glimpse of a single species to catalogue the whole way up the mountainside. Of course, it was just because of the noise he was making. Of course. Shrugging the feeing off, he began to climb again. After a few minutes he passed through a thinner spot in the trees, and the sun shone through again, lifting his spirits as he realized he must be nearing the edge of the treeline around the volcano’s base. He picked up the pace, eager to see the view from the mountain’s peak. Then, while stepping over a puddle, the toe of his boot caught a rock and he planted himself face first in the mud. Slowly, he got up, checking for pain as he wrenched himself back onto his feet.

“Fuck!” he swore, already feeling that the weeks spent lobbying to be allowed on this expedition had been a waste. Awash with disappointment, he surveyed his muddied clothes and equipment. Everything was filthy, including his camera, which had been around his neck when he fell. Checking the lens, he felt some of the disappointment lift; the cap was still attached. Gingerly he opened it, wincing at the gritty sound it made as it pulled off in his hand. He sighed with relief. The lens was still intact and had been spared from the muck. Then he pressed the shutter, and the camera clicked once before displaying a nondescript picture of the forest floor. Carefully he sat on a large boulder, placing his pack on his lap, rummaging for a cleaning cloth. After a few minutes he’d cleared away a lot of the gunk, although it was impossible to get all of it out of the camera’s nooks and crannies.
“Oh well” he thought to himself. “At least it still works.”

With a sigh he took a sip of water from his canteen and listened to the forest surroundings. Still, it seemed oddly silent, and the feeling of uneasiness returned. He cast a nervous glance back downhill, at the murky darkness of the thick woods he’d just traversed, getting the distinct impression it was staring back at him. After a moment, he turned away and slung one arm of his pack over his shoulder. He could also hear running water in the clearing ahead and was suddenly overcome with an urge to be back out in the open. At first, he walked briskly, and then as some primal terror gripped him he sprinted clumsily over the mud and rocks, falling twice more before reaching the clearing. Shaking, he looked back, seeing the path of broken underbrush and muddy footprints he’d left behind. There was nothing there. Reason returned abruptly, and he chuckled softly, mentally admonishing himself for allowing solitude to get the best of him.

Ahead was the stream he’d heard, although currently it was swollen almost to the size of a small river. The banks nearby looked as if the waters had recently washed over the brink, which would explain why the ground below had seemed so sodden. Below. He’d have to descend back through those woods again, this time in the dark as the sun was already low in the western horizon. He shuddered, trying to put the thought out of his mind as he stripped off his clothes and dunked them in the water in a half-hearted attempt to wash out some of the grime. The he washed the mud from his face and arms, gasping at the cold water. After a few minutes he stood up again, stretching and ringing out his clothes and marvelling at the beauty of the bare volcanic cone towering imposingly above him. If he couldn’t have a bird, at least the mountain would make a good shot for the National Geographic. Turning back to grab his camera, his gaze felt almost drawn to the dark forest below. He blinked, sensing more than seeing something in his peripheral vision. Dimly he refocused on the blackness. Something was there. A stifling presence, dim and unseen, like a ghostly apparition betrayed only by two dimly luminous eyes peering back at him from the blackness. Numbly, he stared for a moment before comprehending. Then his blood froze.

……………

If the two-legged creature was intelligent, it was hard to tell outside of his tools and technology. Natural cleverness aside, the creature possessed little to redeem itself, at least from Nyra’s perspective. Beady eyes and a hostile disposition paired with ineptitude in a natural setting did not lend to an organism likely to survive without the intellectual trickery of tool making. If anything, the lack of evolutionarily endowed prowess made him a perfect prey animal. After all, there were no horns, claws or fur to deal with. In fact, there was little on that scrawny body that would slow passage down a raptorial gullet. With his smooth, hairless skin, she suspected the two-leg would slide down her throat as easily as the fish and eels she used to eat as a nestling.

Nyra watched as he struggled his way through the underbrush before slipping and falling clumsily into the mud. She chuffed softly in discontentment at this, for the mud made the man less appetizing. Of course, much of it caked his protective coverings. With those non-edible articles disposed of, she was sure the live meat inside would make a tasty meal. She began to drool slightly at this thought, the svelte profile of her empty belly gurgling softly in anticipation of being filled. Carefully she stalked closer, watching with keen vision as he tenderly wiped the black object that had been around his neck with a square of soft looking material, smearing some of the dirt off it’s hard casing. Whatever the object was, it was obviously of some importance to the prey. A weapon perhaps? While she was tempted to strike now this thought gave her pause, and she decided to wait as the creature visually swept the forest, looked straight at her with unseeing eyes for a moment, and then began stamping clumsily uphill once again. After a moment however, he broke into a run, moving almost comically slowly up the hill. As he slipped and fell twice in less than a minute, she had to supress a laugh as any respect for the two-leg she’d had slipped by the wayside. Now there was just the hunt. Casually she loped up the hill after the intruder, easily keeping pace with his panicked scramble towards the light of the exposed mountainside at the edge of the forest treeline.

Watching the two-leg emerge into the open, she stopped at the forest edge. As he sat down by the banks of the stream, she had the passing thought that perhaps she’d underestimated him before. Surely to have run he must have known she was there…but now he seemed almost unconcerned by her presence. She cocked her head in curiosity and took a few steps closer to the forest edge, watching with interest as he stripped off the muddied coverings festooning his body and dropped them into the water, wringing them precisely with dexterous five toed paws. The more she watched, the more this creature seemed an enigma, yet despite his inconsistent behaviour, her hunger and his obvious edibility remained constant. Finally, she decided it was time to feed. In her investigation she’d seen enough to know he was food, and she flexed her muscles, preparing for the chase. Yet as she was about to spring into action the creature turned and caught sight of her, stiffening visibly. For a split instant she locked eyes with the intruder, and she could see his tiny eyes widen in terror as he comprehended just what was staring back! If he hadn’t known of her presence before, he certainly did now, and was paralyzed by it. She had all the time in the world. Casually she stepped out from the darkness, moving towards her quarry with ease, eyes keenly locked on her dinner.

…………

Kane suddenly felt very stupid standing alone in his underwear next to a pile of clothes sodden with freezing ice runoff on a strange island as he watched an unbelievably large shadow emerge from the forest without a sound. Yet the feeling was quickly forgotten as the most beautiful creature he had even seen paced gracefully into the clearing, looking at him with big, golden brown eyes that betrayed a surprising intelligence. As his muddied thoughts finally reassembled themselves among the slow recession of utter shock and disbelief, Kane tried to see the creature through an appraising eye. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, more like something from a storybook than a real animal. The closest thing he could think of would be a…gryphon? No…it was not like a gryphon. What he was seeing was a gryphon! He felt a giddy rush of excitement at this, realizing that he’d just discovered a new species!
Quickly he scrambled for his camera, snapping a few pictures as the creature eyed him with curiosity. Through the viewfinder he could see the intricate details of feathers and fur. This was definitely a real creature, not a figment of a heretofore frustrated imagination. As it cocked its head curiously to the side, he switched the camera to video mode, the motion reminding him how important the footage would be. Without it, no one was likely to believe him! After taking a moment to fit the camera on it’s tripod, he took a step back, wanting to observe the creature with his own eyes.

Now that the initial giddiness of seeing such an animal had worn off, he had an opportunity to study it a little closer. It took a step closer to him, approaching casually but deliberately. As he watched the motion a chill ran through him. Intellectually he realized that this animal was quite large and did not seem to be afraid of him in the least. It was not this logical deduction that struck fear into his heart though. It was the way the creature moved. It was like a lion…and an eagle, a combination of the sleek fluidity of feline motion and the sharp, alertness of a bird of prey. This animal was definitely a predator, and it didn’t take his knowledge of natural science to deduce that it was easily capable of killing him if it wanted to. In fact, the longer he looked, the more he became convinced that it was a perfect predator, combining the speed and strength of a big cat with the brutally efficient beak and gullet of a raptor. This creature would as adept as either of its natural cousins whether hunting from the air or the ground. Slowly, he backed away as it came still closer, disdainfully pushing his backpack and clothes to the side before stopping next to the camera and nudging it curiously. After a second, it refocused its eyes right on him, less than ten feet away. Caught in its gaze, he didn’t dare move a muscle.

…………

This man with his black box continued to perplex the gryphon even as she stepped into clear view, expecting him to run like any sensible prey would upon sensing her presence. Instead, he pointed a black box at her, shakily standing and pushing a small button on its top surface. Her sensitive ears heard each click as the shutter snapped shut. ‘Ca-chunk!’

‘Why doesn’t he run?’ she wondered under her breath, watching him obliviously fumble with a three-legged stand for the box as she stalked closer. Carelessly nudging the pile of clothes and equipment separating them aside, she approached closer. Now the two-leg seemed more afraid, and he took a few short steps back as she approached. Briefly she paused to inspect the camera, comprehending what it was for after seeing the image of the surrounding landscape flashing on its tiny screen.

Curiosity sated, she turned back to her dinner, seeing the fear in his eyes now that they were close. Slowly she approached, circling him. Although lean, he appeared appetizing now that his protective shell had been stripped away. Her belly rumbled ravenously at the thought of this tender meat slipping down her gullet, and she began to drool heavily. Greedily she licked her chops and nudged the two-leg sharply with her beak, testing his consistency before eating. She grinned happily, standing over the man now with outspread wings.

…………

“Ah!...stop!” Kane exclaimed in surprise as the creature nipped at him. At his words, it tilted its head to the side, eyes surveying him with a hint of what he interpreted as surprise. He backed away some more, stumbling over the uneven ground in an attempt to distance himself from the predator. He didn’t run though, and instead faced the gryphon. Years of study had taught him to face a predator in a threatening situation. To do otherwise would be dangerous to say the least!

“Aren’t you going to run?” the gryphon asked, in a taunting voice.
Kane’s jaw went slack from shock for a moment. Never in 30 years of studying birds had he heard one of his subjects talk back…negating parrots, and some corvids of course. Unlike the birds, this response was intelligent. Mocking! His knees felt wobbly from the spontaneity of it all. The events conspiring in front of him seemed almost hallucinogenic. After all, a creature as extraordinary as this couldn’t be real, could it?

The surreal sensation halted abruptly with the disgustingly warm, slimy feeling of the gryphon’s drooling tongue audibly slathering his chest and face with a long, slurping lick, reminding him that in some cases truth is even stranger than fiction.

“You…you can talk?” he sputtered lamely, his normally sharp mind unable to come up with anything more in the heat of the moment.

“Of course!” the gryphon responded in a surprisingly smooth, feminine voice (considering the savage depths it emerged from!). Looking up, Kane could see the inside of the gryphon’s mouth and the movement of her tongue as she spoke in a clear, well-articulated voice.

“It’s not as hard as you make it out to be!”

Kane shuddered as she ran a razor-sharp claw the size of a fencing sabre delicately up his chest, imagining it skewering him as muscular talons crushed the life out of his body.

“Wha…what are you going to do to me?” he stammered nervously, almost unable to look into the predator’s beautiful eyes as he realized her intent. A wave of dismay and regret washed over him even before he finished uttering the words, already knowing that somehow, despite this beautiful creature’s intelligence and charisma, he wouldn’t be getting out of this alive.

“I’m going to eat ya, silly!” she said in an almost dismissive voice, as if it was a foregone conclusion.

Kane blanched, inwardly cursing himself for being so stupid.

“But wait-“

“If I were you, I’d run” she interrupted, rolling over his dissent like a steamroller over a tin can.

“I don’t dismember prey who provide a good hunt. I’ll even give you a head start.”

“Please…you’d be eating someone who’s self-aware. A sentient being!”

“That opportunity is something I only offer once!” she snapped, jaws clacking shut just inches from his face.
At this he flinched, and began to run, not needing to be told twice after being presented with such a horrific incentive to get away. Desperately he made for the nearest tree line, hoping to get into the shelter of the forest before his “head start” was up.

……………

It wasn’t often that Nyra showed any kind of mercy towards her prey, if such treatment of the two-leg could even be called mercy. At the very least she’d offered him a second chance at life, even if it was a feeble one. Of course, this wasn’t done for the prey’s benefit. While some of her animal prey would’ve stood a decent chance of escaping if given such latitude, the two-leg wouldn’t be getting away so easily. This was simply a means to prolong the thrill of the hunt. Thus far the two-leg hadn’t provided any chase at all, a fact which proved a major disappointment to the gryphon. She was tired of her normal routine; Grab and gulp seldom left any opportunity to play with her prey. With his sentience, the allure of teasing this one was irresistible!

After letting a moment pass, she leapt to the chase, keen eyes, hearing, and sense of smell set to the task of weeding out the prey from his hiding spot in the woods. Now the time was up! She leapt into the air, enormous wings beating the ground with great gusts of wind as they lifted her skyward with ease. From the air she traversed the clearing in moments, a far cry from the long seconds of exertion it had taken the two-leg to cover the same distance. Skilfully she landed at the edge of the clearing and bounded after her prey, both seeing and smelling the trail he left behind. Leaping over stumps, rocks and fallen trees she tore through the forest, approaching her quarry with great speed. She could already hear his feeble efforts to escape, just a few hundred yards ahead now. Drooling with anticipation she panted up a small hill, adrenaline pulsing vitally through her body as she cleared its apex with a flying leap and descended upon her prey with outstretched talons!

…………

Wild terror of a kind not known to the human race for generations lashed its way through Kane’s body as he was slammed off his feet. He had to get up. He was going to be eaten! He scrambled desperately on the ground, trying to regain his balance, to run. In a moment of pure survival instinct, he almost believed that he could get away. Yet, as he glanced behind him his knees went weak and wobbly as he saw the predator’s outstretched talons reaching for him. Then there was a violent jerk, followed by nauseating vertigo he was hoisted skyward, hanging upside down from the gryphon’s talons as they took to the air!

For a few seconds the sight of the trees slipping effortlessly by and dwindling to pinpoints below was almost enough for him to forget his predicament. He was flying in a way no one ever had! The feeling only lasted a few short moments as the freezing wind reminded him how high they already were. Temporarily he gave up trying escape due to the precarious nature of this lofty position, instead waiting for the gryphon to land. As it turned out, he had only a few seconds to wait as they once again approached the clearing. During the descent Kane had the passing realisation that his camera was still recording. Perhaps someone will see my demise’ he thought grimly, before being dropped carelessly onto the grass in a heap.

Now was the moment to act, if he wanted to live. With a rush of adrenaline, he sprung to his feet. Before he’d taken two strides, the predator was on him again, batting him off his feet with an effortless swipe of her talons. The blow knocked the wind out of him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Is that it, two-leg?” the she asked, voice tinged by a palpable air of disappointment.

Bruised and battered, it was all Kane could do to get to his feet before the she knocked him down again.

“Come on! Get up! I’m not nearly ready to devour you yet!”

Grimacing with pain, he got up onto his knees, looking at the gryphon. She circled casually around him, walking with the smooth, swaying gait of an apex predator.

“Please…” he begged hoarsely, still gasping for breath.

“I had such high hopes for this hunt” she continued mockingly.

“But that was just…dull! Really, did you even try?”

“You don’t have to do this!” Kane appealed pleadingly.

“No, I don’t” the gryphon admitted.

“But I want to” she said with another swipe of her talons, this time slapping him face first into the grass.

A hollow sense of hopelessness welled inside of him, as he realized this was the end. He’d lost, even when given a fighting chance.

Now he felt something hard nudge his ribs. Then the talons flipped him onto his back, cutting and scraping him badly in the process, before pinning him to the ground by the shoulders. Shakily he looked up, squinting upwards as the sunlight went dark. As his vision came into focus he saw the gryphon standing over him, blotting out the sun with impossibly huge wings. Even in this state, prone on his back staring into the bright eyes of a massive predator, he couldn’t help admiring how beautiful she was. From this position, he could feel her power and strength, and even smell her wild, almost alluringly feral breath as it gusted warmly and wetly over his face. Looking into those big, cruel, gorgeous eyes his heart ached amorously, overwhelmed by the proximity of this beautiful, predatory beast! Even the sticky sensation of warm saliva dribbling on his face and chest as she drooled over her meal failed to break his stupor.

“You’re so…beautiful” he slurred softly, unable to tear his eyes away.

The gryphon bowed her head almost daintily, feathers ruffling perhaps in a blush of some manner at the compliment and nudged him appreciatively with her bill. Kane allowed himself to smile slightly at this rare moment of tenderness seeping through the hard demeanour of the apex predator. His grin faded though, as it was met by hers, which was far more ravenous. Then she licked her chops.

“And you’re sweet, but it’s not getting you out of this” she replied, with dismissing toss of her head.

“…but unlike my normal prey, I’ll offer you a choice. Would you prefer to be swallowed head, or feet first?”

Kane balked at this latest choice, reeling at the suddenness of his descent down the food chain from the safety of civilization to food for a domineering predator.

“Is this just a sick game to you?” he asked, feeling anger now that he had passed the point of desperation.

“How can you expect me to choose the nature of my own death? Have you no empathy at all?” he shouted, belting the words out in anger so forcefully that his voice began to go hoarse.

She shrugged nonchalantly, unfazed by his temper tantrum.

“I supposed it would be better for you…I could swallow you down in little chunks if I wanted to, you know.”

Kane’s stomach churned uncomfortably at this latest suggestion as he recalled the visceral violence that occasionally befell rodents unfortunate enough to fall prey to the raptors it was his job to study. He’d seen rats torn in two by captive hawks more than once as they bolted down their food as fast as they could, and this creature was certainly capable of doing the same thing to him. Of course, the same hawks often swallowed the rodents whole too, depending on their size. In comparison to disembowelment, this treatment seemed almost gentle.

“I suppose feet first would be more palatable” he finally conceded, before uttering a sardonic chuckle as he realized the irony of his words.

“A wise choice” she said, flexing her talons and claws against the ground.

A wave of instinctual fear welled up inside his chest at the sight of her flexing muscles, and he was overwhelmed by an urge to escape. Yet some shred of reason kept him rooted where he stood. Resistance at this point was likely only to end in a painful death. At least now he was being offered some shred of mercy.

“Aren’t you gonna run away?” she asked teasingly, spreading her wings to either side as he instinctually backed away. Now she blotted out the sun, towering over him like a spectre of death, so close that he could smell her wild breath and hear the disgusting churn of her ravenous gut. He swallowed dryly, willing his legs to move, but the intense stare of her bright, luminous eyes and the dark, slimy insides of her bill (visible in flashes as she spoke) kept him rooted in place, trapped by some kind of sick fascination, unable to tear his gaze away from the horrible, terrifying, alluring sight unfolding before him.

Then, she was on him, pinning him to the ground with her talons in a terrifying blur of motion. Her jaws opened, descending down towards him. As they approached, he could make out the pale flesh of her tongue as it swept downwards before disappearing in a curve into the slick folds of her dark gullet. A gust of moist air washed over him as she ran her tongue delicately over his stomach, chest and legs, licking him with several slow, sensual slurps. He squirmed at her warm, slimy touch, flinching as she bathed his body in thick, viscous gryphon slobber. It did little to deter her tasting however, as her talons still pinned him firmly to the ground by the midsection. After a while he gave up, leaving the gryphon to do her teasing without protest. Besides, in a way the predator’s gentle slurps felt good, almost like a warm therapeutic massage. Were it not for the prospect of imminent death, he might even enjoy it.

“mmmh…you taste better after being run in a bit” she observed, temporarily ceasing her licking and bringing her massive jaws within inches of his face. As she spoke, a long string of gryphon drool dribbled its way from her beak, landing on his face with a sticky splat. Lying flat on his back, mashed firmly into the grass and staring directly into the sultry abyss of the gryphon’s drooling maw and breathing in her moist, feral breath, his body shuddered violently as he felt an unexpected rush of terror, tinged by excitement. He let loose an involuntary gasp of surprise, temporarily forgetting the gravity of his situation as it raced through his anoxia dulled mind, melting away reason and fear as he stared into the depths of his doom. Of her throat.

“Just…get it over with” he moaned, beyond caring at this point. At the very least, he had the privilege to be eaten by the crowning glory of his career. He could live with that.

………

Nyra surveyed her prey below, hunger now making itself known within her empty belly with a gloopy ‘glurgle’ of churning acid. Having tasted and tested him to her satisfaction, she was confident he’d make a satisfying meal, and his weak struggles had long gone limp. It was boring. He was boring. Feeling tired of this prey, and the game of hunting and teasing, she switched the raptorial gears of her mind to feeding, now aching to stuff this living meat down her gullet as quickly as possible.

The two-leg’s beady eyes widened as he perceived this change in her demeanour, yet he was given less than a second to realize the full extent of the impetus her gullet would be placing upon him in the near future before her beak grasped him by the ankles, hoisting him upside down into the air.

………

Kane grasped in pain as her sharp bill clamped down with a vice like grip, wrenching him violently upside down into the air. Here he was, dangling like a hapless fish from a heron’s beak, about to be eaten alive!

With practiced ease, the predator swung her beak upwards, tossing her meal skyward such that his fall lined up with the gaping curve of her beak. For a brief moment, time seemed to stop as he hung in mid-air, suspended above the gaping chasm of a raptorial gullet, nothing more than a morsel of food about to be gulped down greedily and irrevocably! The moment of weightlessness only lasted a split second though, before gravity once more carried him down to earth…into her gaping jaws. He landed on her tongue with a wet ‘slop’ sliding in her mouth up to his waist before the tightness of distending flesh absorbed his momentum entirely. The slick, carnal warmth of her mouth was shocking, and outside the realm of anything he’d ever experienced before, warming him to the core, almost as if he was soaked to the bone by her slick, gooey saliva.

………

Nyra bobbed her head in appreciation as she snatched her prey from mid-air, finally getting a much-anticipated sense of his meaty weight as he slumped haplessly into her beak, distending the stretchy crook of her neck slightly as she got him in. Happily, she ran her tongue over her prey, greedily slurping up his succulent flavour and soaking him in her spit, to better lubricate his passage down her gullet. He squirmed slightly at this, pressing her neck feathers out slightly with his kicking feet and shuddering with each teasing lick. Wanting more, she raised her head and gave her jaws a series of quick jerks, pulling in with her tongue as she did so. He wriggled even more at this, puny arms grasping at the sides of her beak as she crammed his rump past the hard edge of her jaws.

…………

Kane felt his body wracked by a series of uncontrollable convulsions as he was tossed ruthlessly back into the predator’s ravening mouth, stuffed downwards against his will. He scrambled for the sides of the gryphon’s beak as he felt his feet pressed into the tight confines of her eager throat slipping further inwards with each greedy toss of her head. All around him he was assaulted by the sultry squish of flesh on flesh as her mouth and throat stretched to accommodate him, making an audible saliva soaked ‘ulch….ulch…ulck’ with each toss of her jaws. Hopelessness overwhelmed him as her tongue writhed up past his belly and under his chest, soaking him in gryphon slobber as he slipped ever further into the steamy darkness of her drooling maw. His arms burned now from the pointless exertion of attempting to fight her highly effective use of gravity and inertia to gobble him down! Already he could feel his strength fading as the blood heat of her body wore away at his muscles, and the greedy suckling of her slurping tongue kneaded him into submission. Then he felt, more than heard a feral moan of pleasure work its way up from her throat, vibrating his legs and torso as her tongue slurped its way up to his face, leaving no part of him un-slathered. He sputtered, pulling upwards with the last of his strength. The gryphon however, seemed to be enjoying his taste and was wholly unsympathetic to his attempts to escape.

…………

Nyra relaxed her gullet muscles, raising her head again and working her jaws and tongue to coax her meal the rest of the way into her beak. Then, with a small toss and two snaps of her chops she jerked his upper body past the bottleneck of her jaws, drooling even more copiously as she revelled at the sensation of having his full weight on her tongue for the first time. He gave a few more wiggles, finally losing his grip on her beak as he slid down the slick length of her tongue on his belly, leaving nothing but an extended hand visible from the outside as she closed her jaws. With a swish of her tongue, she got this inside too, before sealing her jaws shut around her food. She closed her eyes. Her gullet now looked slightly distended from the outside, as part of the two-leg’s long body was already pressed inside. Rolling him inside her mouth with her tongue, she got him in a comfortable position for swallowing, before eons of established instinct took control. Finally, she raised her head and gulped blissfully.

………

Exhaustion, combined with an overwhelming disorientation as he was tossed about by the gryphon’s tongue forced Kane to give up and allow Nyra to swallow him without opposition. She opened her throat. He felt himself lifted upwards once again, as the darkness loosened below him. In concert, the gryphon’s tongue surged upwards, pressing him into the roof of her mouth, the compression in tandem with gravity squeezing him inwards along with much of the drool and sultry slime surrounding him with a wet squelch, followed by the fleshy ‘glurk’ of contracting throat muscles as she swallowed. He could feel the slick walls of her gullet pressing in on all sides as her flesh squelched slimily in on him, forcing him down her neck whole. The last thing he felt of the outside world was a warm pressure against his frozen, aching hands as her gullet closed in upon them.

………

From the outside, Nyra’s neck undulated slightly as her throat muscles instigated the peristalsis needed to squeeze her meal down her gullet. Her feathers bulged out now as her prey was shoved unceremoniously down her throat with an audible ‘glk!’. Slowly, a long lump slid down the curve of her neck as she swallowed, pushing her feathers out slightly as it went. She shivered in satisfaction at the sensation of the food in her neck being squished tightly downwards, taking some pleasure from the feeling of gulping down a whole, living prey!

………

Kane felt his progress slow as his descent reached a portion of the gryphon’s gullet that was more horizontal than vertical. Her throat became even tighter here, as it pressed around the bend into her predatory body. He shivered, not from coldness but from carnal violence of being ingested alive, helpless to stop his descent into the ravenous depths of a massive predator. All around him he could sense his captor’s hunger, including the slow suck of his body slipping against the slick gullet walls, the disgusting squish of a saliva and slime slicked throat engrossed in the act of swallowing, the gentle throb of her heart beat and excited gusts of her breath from above (aided by an avian windpipe conveniently placed separately from her gullet), the overpowering aroma of her wild breath, wetly permeating what little air had been gulped down with him…

………

The lump in Nyra’s throat approached her chest and slowed, appearing now as a taunt out-bulge of feathers at the base of her neck. Feeling her prey becoming lodged in her throat she raised her head again and swallowed hard. The tightness in her throat was almost painful as her muscles contracted forcefully around her food. Spreading her wings for balance she stood on her hind legs and swallowed again, and again, using gravity to aid her gullet as she gulped as hard as she could. Her neck moved rhythmically with each audible swallow, appearing to undulate as peristalsis ulked convulsively along its length. Finally, with a slight sucking sound the meat in her neck began to slip downwards once again. Now her prey moved effortlessly through her lower gullet, squelched along by the impetus of one final lazy swallow. Nyra grinned greedily, sighing with relief as she felt Kane slip downwards, towards the aching depths of her eagerly waiting belly. Her ribcage swelled almost imperceptibly as her prey passed through it, before reappearing as a slight bulge in her underbelly. She shivered in pleasure as the prey delightfully filled her stomach, comfortably sagging it down with his substantial weight. She licked her chops, revelling in how he filled her completely and enjoying the squirming sensation of his struggles from deep within.

…………

Disoriented, and on the edge of blacking out Kane was dimly aware of pain as the predator’s gullet crushed the air out of him, convulsion after convulsion never seeming to end, assaulting him with loud gulps and the squelch of flesh on flesh driving him ever deeper into the slime-soaked depths of the monster’s insides. Then, finally his environment loosened as he was squished through Nyra’s stiflingly tight throat into the somewhat more accommodating confines of her belly with a wet splash of slime and digestive fluids. Her flesh distended outwards under his weight, and he could feel the stomach’s muscles kneading him and conforming to his shape entirely, bathing him in a frothing, sticky soup of gurgling slime and digestive juices. He thrashed with all his remaining might, already feeling a slight burning as she began digesting him. Struggling against the slick walls of her belly proved fruitless however, and after only a few minutes of anoxia tempered wriggling he succumbed to her entirely, losing consciousness and going silent within her.

……………

From outside, all that remained of Kane was a heavy slump in Nyra’s belly as she laid lazily on her side, distended stomach churning with frothy sloshing and gurgling as it converted her recent meal into the nutrients needed to drive her predatory body until the next hunt. With a satisfied yawn she tucked her head under her wing, falling quickly into a warm slumber.

Just a few feet away, Kane’s camera continued listlessly recording video on a tripod filming the sleeping gryphon until the battery ran out. Several days later the footage would be found by the Coral Explorer’s crew. Nyra slept soundly, knowing the resulting search for the creature that ate two-legs would ensure her a full belly for days to come.