My submission for the Aspect of Balodius Event over at Winsdonde (http://windsonde.deviantart.com/).
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Jha figured he couldn't avoid the masquerade dance. He had dreaded the dance ever since he became an adult, but Tulkiina insisted he attend. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy dancing, it was that he didn't think he'd enjoy dancing in front of other gryphons. He also needed to come up with some sort of mask to wear. He commissioned something simple to be carved out of wood and he painted a simple design on it. Quite dreary to be honest.

Jha decided to visit Cotuil before the dance and show her his mask. Lucky for him she is a lot more creative. She giggled when she saw his pitiful mask and offered to make it a little more festive. She fastened some of her very own feathers to the mask with twine and beads, and couldn't resist putting some beads in Jha's "beard". He had intended on going to the dance with Cotuil, but Braenwyen arrived and insisted on having "girl time", whatever that meant, while she helped Cotuil get ready. Jha left to snag some food before the dance.

The dance itself turned out to be quite fun. He had the chance to meet gryphons from the other aeries in a relaxed setting. Most memorable was probably Emese, whom he danced with, another vulture gryphon from Grandesque. She was quite lovely, and to his surprise, knew the steps to one of his favorite dances. You would have thought they had practiced together.

Jha never got a chance to dance with Cotuil who was awfully hard to identify amongst all the masked gryphons. When he did find her, she looked like she was enjoying herself, dancing with a fox-masked gryphon on the other side of the clearing. He decided not to bother the two, a slight pang of jealousy overwhelmed by happiness that she looked so joyful at the social gathering. ...But he'd make certain to sit next to her at the feast.
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Jhator and Art © Me
The lovely Emese © D-butterflywolf (http://d-butterflywolf.deviantart.com/)

Mentions:
Cotuil ©  nashoba_hostina
Braenwyen ©  shadechristiwolven
Mal (fox-mask gryphon) ©  ulario