✯ — having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness

when one was blessed with wings, they were expected to fly. however, the feeling of the air rushing through her wings had flooded her heart with fear, not the love of freedom. once you had fallen out of the air from your wings failing you, you tend to no longer trust that part of yourself. epione kept quiet about her fear of flying, after all, who would listen to a gryphon who couldn’t even fly?

throughout their travel, epione kept quiet and close to her older brother’s side. her unique appearance differed greatly from her brother’s regal colours. rich browns and reds, while she had been a light cream that had been separated by a piebald mutation.

with her brother’s words, her attention was drawn towards him. however, she had never responded. epione never really wasted her words, she found it unnecessary. she would rather listen than just talk. however, by the sign of her brother’s excitement, the half-blind gryphon could easily tell that they were at their destination.

the rosebloods. she knew nothing about them, but she did like the name. it was lucerys who had suggested them, and of course, epione simply went along with it. she would never want to be separated from her sibling, and god forbid if they ever would. she depended on him greatly. for guidance, protection, decisions.

“gaomagon emā naejot brōzagon hen naejot zirȳ, lucerys?” with her head titled to get the best view her eyesight could offer, the smaller creature had stayed behind the obviously larger one. she didn’t know how they would react, and nervousness was apparent in her inconsistent flicks of her lioness tail.

✯ — blossomed by the lovely stars, the forget-me-not of the angels

✯ — having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness

epione was never one to attract too much attention, she had always allowed lucerys to do that. she used to be a lot more outspoken when she was younger. her voice used to echo throughout the trees, but after the acciden, she barely spoke to anyone.
dad wasn’t happy with a daughter who couldn’t even fly.

with the approach of a small creature, epione was instantly intrugued. she’s used to see deer and rabbits, but this seemed to be a new creature. lucerys had quickly answered ludia’s question, making epione loose her interest rather quickly. it never took long for her to memorize a face and connect the name to it. lydia had already been stored in her brain, including her size and chirpy attitude.

next that had greeted them was also of feline origin. however, this one was bigger and had been decorated with spots that never seemed to connect. he had been introduced as the leader, or pharaoh. however, there was something in his gaze that seemed more interested in them than she would have liked.

epione couldn’t lie, gryphons were powerful. however, fighting was something she could no longer do. lucerys,on the other hand, would be the perfect warrior. he loved battle, like it was a simple game fledgling would play. he didn’t seem to comprehend that battles could be fatal, that there will always be loss on both sides.

with her talons moving awkwardly, the half-blinded gryphon had sent a glare towards lucerys. his judge was not appreciated. she did not want to be closer to these strangers. unlike him, she would not be able to escape fast enough if they became hostile. the piebald had dipped her head to the group, low to show respect like her mother had taught her. respect was always important to gryphons.

the next to appear was a lion, a greyed pelt and yet a more youthful look to him. with everyone introduced, their profiles were quickly placed into her mind. who to be more wary of based on the first interactions and who she could come to if ever needed.

“i simply need rest. food is not required for me.” she was much smaller than lucerys, and always struggled when it came to eating properly. she simply justified it with a lack of hunger. she wanted to treat her wings in privacy as well. epione didn’t need a whole bunch of strangers figuring out that a creature designed for flight had been ruined. it was only her close family who had known, and she had always carried some herbs to help soothe her aching and scratched up wings. long periods of travel where she couldn’t properly care for her wings required a few hours of maintence.

✯ — blossomed by the lovely stars, the forget-me-not of the angels