Seventy First Friday Flash: The Great Eggscape

Rimotar had never been so scared in his life before. A biting beak of death was only feet away from him, ready to snatch him away even if he relaxed for a second. To make things worse the egg he had stolen was definitely hatching.

Another part of the egg shell fell away. Rimotar inched forward with one eye on the mother griffin that appeared to be resting just outside his rock overhang. He peered within, a small front paw shot out and scratched his face quite badly.

“Ah!” he shouted. He was bleeding from three places now.

The tiny griffin busted out of the rest of the shell. It snapped its jaw and scratched at the ground, squealing as it did so.

“Shh!” hissed Rimotar with his finger on his lips. It was of little use, the mother was shifting her weight to have a look.

Scrambling, Rimotar had only one option, he covered himself in the gooey remnants of the egg. The mother looked in with her big head, the baby griffin crawled out. Rimotar followed suit. Hoping the covering would disguise him as one of her own.

The mother griffin sniffed the baby griffin, satisfied it nuzzled its head against it, crooning as she did so. Next she went up to the slowly moving away Rimotar. Rimotar paused. She sniffed him and then looked at him with its big eyes. This was it, Rimotar's mother would discover his mutilated body later and that will be end of him. The griffin moved in closer and rubbed her head against him. Rimotar found it oddly comforting.

Rimotar wondered if she didn't see him as a threat anymore or that she wanted him as a snack for her young ones. The thought made Rimotar shiver in dread. The baby griffin came over and yapped at her feet. Squawking she grabbed them both and took them up to the nest, just in time to see that the other eggs were hatching too.

Rimotar edged away, trying to escape, but she was a sharp one and pulled him back. For almost a day Rimotar suffered many more scratches and bites and having to eat raw meat because the mother griffin was expecting him too was not something he wanted to relive.

Then the next morning one of the babies leaped for freedom, and the mother went after it. Seeing his chance Rimotar went for it. The other two squawked in protest, but their mother was too far away to hear.

Exhausted from the climb up the cliff face Rimotar collapsed under a bush for shelter. For the next couple of hours Rimotar caught bits of sleep as the mother griffin came searching for him minutes at a time. She didn't want to leave her young ones alone for too long.

After an hour of stumbling and resting Rimotar eventually crashed through the kitchen door of his family home.

“Rimotar! My baby!”

“I love you mum.”

She hugged him tight. “You are never leaving the house again!”

“I don't plan to.”

“And mom, it's true, I can use magic.”

“Your father won't be pleased.”

“I know.”