'Dis is not de vacation I had in mind, eh...'

Josef slunk through the undergrowth, his body low to the ground, bearing careful mind to the blue of his uniform jacket. He had first thought to take flight above ground in the trees, but in the knowledge he was being tracked by expert flying hybrids, he thought better of it, and instead stuck very low to the ground cover, also being very mindful of the scents of the flowering shrubs and low-hanging bunches of sweet-smelling fruits.

The Gryphon Kingdom was all too well-known to the cat. Ruskinian natives, his people, steered well clear of conflict with them. Brute strength and all too familiar feathery shadows were the things Josef hated most. His father, Anatolius, had lost an eye to one of these beasts before, and his grandmother had lost her life to one. He had steadfastly refused to come along with Vee-Jay and the rest of the team when the Gryphon Kingdom extended its greeting outwards, but, being one of her own now, he had found himself unceremoniusly dragged aboard the transport plane by his own tail. It had not been his finest moment, not if the growing smirks of the others had said anything.

A growl rumbled in the cat's throat and he stopped short.

Vee-Jay, or Velindra as he had taken to calling her; one out of respect and the other out of perpetual annoyance; was nothing short of thorough. He and the others had been allowed a small respite of exploration before she had made her tactical error on the Council's floor. In this respite, he had sought refuge amongst the shrubbery, clearly not liking the place they were visiting. In his ongoing observation, now that VJ was on the run with Benjii at her side, he had willingly become separated from Terrence and Antony. By choice, of course. He and Antony didn't see eye-to-eye still, and Velindra did her resolute best to attempt a fix of that by forcing them to work together at any given time. It was a temporary hotfix of the situation at best. At least she was trying. Oliver never did...

At the thought of the Folf, Josef's ears pinned back. He was in the past, he chided himself silently, and the past deserves to stay where it is - buried...

Something skittered up ahead. Movement, and a shadow cast across the way. Josef ducked, the sudden movement ruffling the huge overhanging leaves above him. He silently swore, concentrating on slowing his breathing and staying stock still, ears alert and open to any sound in the area. He could just make out the nearly silent walk of a large creature, hearing claws, larger than his own, tapping lightly against the pebbled ground and breathing, just so, just quietly, in the air. He inched slowly forward, his tail slowly shifting from side to side.

And then, all too suddenly, the tapping stopped.

Josef's ears twitched. There was no breathing, no claws and nothing which sounded like the beating heart of whatever it was that had walked ahead, pathing, trying to find him as he stalked in the undergrowth. Josef knew from experience any sudden moves could be his last. He lowered himself back to the earth, breathing so slowly, so quietly. There were no wingbeats in the air, nor any breeze or birdsong in the trees above him he realised. The area itself had gone completely silent.

The cat waited. A few minutes at first, then stretched that to ten. And then twenty. After half an hour of still silence, Josef inched carefully forward, exiting his underbrush canopy to the path up ahead. Ruined stone archways, like the ones in House Dyrewing's section of the Island, stood forlorn, mossed over and broken by the sands of time. The cat looked behind him first, then above, before slinking out of the bushes towards the nearest half-arch that leaned oddly straight towards the sky.

"Odd..." Josef's voice was low. "I could have sworn I-"

It happened in seconds. A clawed hand snaked out, gripping his shoulder, whirling him around and slamming him directly into the stone. Josef snarled, baring his claws and fangs, ready for a fight...until he realised just what had grabbed him. His head jerked upwards into the annoyed, yet slightly curious eyes of a very large and powerful Gryphon femme. Josef's brain caught up with just two things - one, he was all alone, and two, she could easily clove him in two with the heavy polearm she bore. Abject fear was an understatement for the cat. Complete and utter terror would have been more the case.

"You track like our best skygliders and yet possess no wings at all," she rumbled, her beak to his now-trembling nose. She studied his uniform, scrutinizing every detail. Her gaze grew ever harder as she caught sight of the patch on his right arm. "You are with the spiny one, are you not?"

Josef nodded defiantly, despite the fact his tail and fluffed-up pelt gave away the fact he was scared utterly shitless.

"I am Feyla, First Daughter of the House of Ibisyn," the gryphon rumbled, lowering herself to Josef's eye-level. "And you are out of your territory, Ruskinian."

'...and dere's de nudge, Kastarakov. She knows you're a Ruskinian, she's taller dan you, AND she can clove you in half with de polearm...' Josef thought as he swallowed audibly. 'New plan, yes? Feign de innocence like de Folf taught you...den piddle self and engage in de RUNNING!'

Halfway into what he thought was a cunning plan, Josef would learn running from a four-legged earth-bound Gryphon was a very bad idea...

~**~

Josef's always been kinda full of himself. His talents as the DSF's own ranger are unmatched (even by Antony). He hails from a part of the mainland that has constantly been at war with the Snowfell Gryphons - West Ruskinia. There is no love lost between the snow leopard and the Gryphon species as a whole. If he had his way, he'd exterminate the lot of them. So when Velindra fucks up and saves the life a non-sentient Gryphon, guess who's opposed to the idea of getting her out of it?

You betcha. Josef ain't too thrilled about now having to help VJ get off of Premaria Island alive. Worse still, he and Antony still have an ongoing grudge against each other. It's very well-hidden in VJ's presence, but then they're alone, it's a battle of the dominant alpha felines. Josef is the firstborn son of Anatolius Daniil Kastarakov, Head of the Blizzard Clanship of West Ruskinia. Antony is the firstborn son of Master Swordsman Francois Jean D'Callais, of the Concolis Clanship of South Ariyx. When Oliver recruited them, he ensured they stayed at odds with one another, a fierce apex predator rivalry that landed the team in many a scrape. VJ meanwhile is trying to mend the rift the only real way she knows how - by forcing them to work together regardless of their attitude problems.

Needless to say, a few of their missions get ugly. Just like this one's about to.

~**~

It's not a mistake - Josef's tail is much longer than most other normal snow leopards from Ruskinia. It's something of a mystery in his genetic lineage. But he does possess kinks in its spine, old injuries that really did not heal at all well, but are there simply for comedic timing mostly. That and I rather enjoy drawing him all fluffed up and terrified like this. It makes for a very nice change to his usual 'I'm not scared of anything!' attitude.

And I'd be lying out my arse if I didn't say I laughed myself stupid drawing this. All of the DSF have weaknesses. Josef's just happens to be anything larger and faster than what he's used to back home XD!

DSF: ORIGINS Literature and Character Design: Lieutenant Josef Anatolius Kastarakov & First Daughter Feyla of House Ibisyn belong to Victoria S. Rodda, 1991 - 2015