It had been quite some time since this hybrid creature and his gryphon lover had finally moved in together and.. ahem, broke in the house after taking it slow the first time. This creature had finally started taking a liking more to cooked items and enjoying life indoors more and more.
Even though he had become more relaxed with things and actually walking upright more and more, he had not lost any body tone or even showed an ounce of fat gain. Most who had been successfully taken from the feral state to becoming more civil beings, well.. they usually gained an unnatural amount of weight. Some even died after having to go through such changes. Then again, most were forced to do so in a very short amount of time.

Moving from the very state of not being able to be touched, let alone seen, to walking upright and being extremely close with someone with very few regrets. That was the kind of creature he had become.
Unlike most, it had been a long exhausting road, and now he was sitting in front of a fire on winter days waiting for Aubri to return while reading novels or fixing clothes that had been ripped or something odd happening to them.
Today, he had told Aubri to meet him at the park after his classes were finished for the evening.

Sitting at the park bench near a small fountain, the one-eyed creature sat cross-legged in a proper fashion reading his book, listening to the sound of the water and birds evesdropping on his shoulder to stare at the words most did not understand.
He was actually wearing a nice polo shirt with black cutoff pants. Despite the heat and a few youngsters whining or being noisy, he sat silent and still like a statue... that was until there was a funny part in the book or turning the page every few minutes.

And in typical romantic style the gryphon came from class, stopping at the gardens and getting permission to pull a nice little arrangement, carrying it with him toward the park. He was practically dancing and skipping down the road and even doing very brief little gliding leaps. For while the gryphon used to be stout and a little... okay he was pudgy at best, now it was more toned thanks to constantly being active... and not just in that fashion that instantly comes to mind. Running around with Dracul was quite a workout, even if the two of them often spent time in the home there were plenty of times where he wondered if he'd ever stop moving.

Finally entering the park and spotting his hybrid partner Aubri slowed his pace to a more graceful walk and tuned everything else out aside from Dracul. With a huge grin on his beak if that was physically possible he came right up to him, sat down beside him on the bench on his good side, wrapped an arm around the hybrid's shoulders, and held the flowers out for him. "These are for you." With a quick glance at the book he smiled even more. "Hope I didn't just interrupt you at a good part."

Without even glancing over to the left at the gryphon, Dracul wrapped his arms around him and made a quick motion of pulling him closer and into an unexpected kiss.
Smiling lovingly at his other half, he makr ed his place in the book, closed it and took the flowers gently and sniffed at them deeply... Well okay a little too deeply as he made a funny face or two for a few seconds before sneezing several times.
Chuckling at himself, he sat back embraced his gryphon once again.
"How was school?"
He said with a gruffy voice, still barely used even at home, but most of his actions were often easily guessed as Aubri had been around long enough to know most of what they meant.
And yet, even with his voice being so gravelly and such, it was easy to know that he was very pleased with this times arrangement and even more so now that Aubri was here with him.
"Come, tell me about it as we walk."
He grinned, placing his book in a pocket and scooping up the arrangement and holding Aubri's hand to encourage him to come. A nice walk through the small wooded area is usually just the thing to relax anyone after walking in the painful sun like Aubri had.

Aubri gladly took his hand, getting up and following him as he started walking. "Indeed, it was an interesting day but not as interesting as it could have been. Certainly not as fun as a nice long day spent with you either." Even the most uneventful day was worth talking about to his love. Quality time spent together, even the most trivial subject could become interesting providing the right response or emotions from your partner. What you felt was boring could be very interesting to others. "Well I think I've gone on long enough about my day, how was yours?" And where should they go for dinner, what should they do this evening, so many things always on his mind when it came to the hybrid beside him now.

Smirking and nodding as Aubri spoke, he pulled his hand up towards his mouth and kissed it a couple times and pulled him closer gently. He still had moments where he was a little bit too rough, and had been trying his best to be gentle, especially with Aubri. Most things he had tended to be a bit harsh, but Aubri seemed to create a sense in him that said to be very gentle. To Dracul, Aubri was like fine china ware, very fragile compared to a log... to say the least..
"Well, my day was fairly interesting.. Cleaned the house, bought a new book, came here and waited for you..."
He pecked Aubri on the cheek lightly/teasingly.
"And now I'm here with you right now..."
He kissed him in the same manner closer to his mouth each time.
"And now it's even better."
This time he kissed him on the beak and looked him in the eyes with his one.
"And I mean that no matter what."
He smiled widely and continued the walk since they had seemed to stop.

Aubri loved how gently Dracul would hold his hand, touch him, how he could always find time to sneak in a kiss. This time he was getting in several little ones while they were still walking, before the halt that involved a stronger one. "Mmm, perfect day for me too. Every minute I get to spend with you is so wonderful, especially walks like this." The feeling of nature was more comforting for both of them really. Dracul had been so used to it, living for years in the wilderness. Sure he had gotten used to their home but it was always a relief to get back outside. And as for Aubri, it was more of a calming influence compared to the hectic school or anything like that. His time as a monk always left him wanting that sort of solace.

Smirking and releasing Aubri's hand to wrap his arm around the gryphon's shoulder to keep him close, he enjoyed the slight breeze blowing by them.
He had to admit, it was quite relaxing inside the house and almost too easy to become lazy and forget about things and sleep all day. So Dracul always tried to find things to keep himself busy, like cleaning house for instance. Doing laundry, and even learning how to cook, yes one of these days he will surprise the gryphon instead of having to always go out to eat.
"I am glad."
He simply spoke, still smirking and looking ahead.
During the time while he waited, Dracul had found a underbrush area that would be perfect for a little picnic or something, and he wanted to show Aubri... That is if he didn't forget about it this time and walk right on by.

Aubri took a moment to glance around as he held on to Dracul a little tighter. Once in a while they would draw a few looks but nothing serious. If anyone did have a problem with them they were too big to really confront, not that the gryphon cared what others thought. "Mmm, so where are we going love? You always take me to the nicest places." And that included their home, a place Dracul picked out himself for them to live in together. The gryphon would be the first to admit he never pictured himself staying in such a grand place, but then again he never pictured himself with such an incredible loving partner that he'd do absolutely anything and everything for. His time in the monestary was all but forgotten aside from a few core values they left him with... vows of poverty clearly not being among the ones he took.

Doing nothing more than smirking, as if ignoring the question, he kept walking. Though it was hardly apparent that their speed was slowing down quite a bit.
Motioning for Aubri to quiet down as a couple passed by and the hybrid's ears twitched about.
Stopping abrubtly and moving so swiftly into the bushes, it could either be thrilling or frightening how fast he could still move.
In the brief moment he had been standing there and then disappeared, he had let go of Aubri was fast it was like he melted away.
But alas, he was only hiding in the bushes and was waiting for Aubri to come closer for a better look.

Dracul was always so impressive, especially with his speed and flexibility and... well... other things that were of a more private nature. The gryphon smirked as best he could as he looked to the area where his hybrid partner had disappeared, sneaking closer and searching for him. He was so good at that, probably why he was so great in the wild... or at least one contributing factor. "Heh, every time you do something like that it still impresses me. Almost seems like magic, now, where'd you go this time?" he mused, creeping into the bushes and watching out for any surprises or obstacles.

Without much effort, Dracul had manged to hide his tall form in only an instant. once he had been accused of having trained under a ninja, but no such live around these parts... or even in the states period.
As the gryphon came slowly after him, he grinned and circled around behind without being noticed.
Then without warning, the hybrid popped out from behind his lover, grabbing around the shoulders, cupping his beak and quickly pulled him down into the clearing below all of the bushes.
The only down side to being so tall and fast, sometimes he moved too quickly and couldn't control his landings. This was one of those time where he landed too harshly. However, he used himself as a cushion for Aubri.
Looking at the gryphon in a goofy manner, mainly to hide his slight discomfort, he let go of him, licking the side of his beak in the process.

Now some might be a little put off by the fact that Dracul was able to so easily wrestle him down after sneaking up on him, especially if they had their mouth/beak held in the process. Not Aubri, he actually loved it from his hybrid. It was fun to keep that predatory nature alive in him, to have that sudden rush of knowing just how easily he could do anything he wanted. And yet every time yielding that control and letting them remain equals, or to just have a little planned "predator and prey" fun. After the landing and the lick Aubri rolled over and tried to give a quick lick of his own back to the talented hybrid, enjoying the nice little opening they had all to themselves.

Dracul smiled and rolled onto his side and stared at Aubri, taking in his unique features. Even when Aubri was.. well.. chubbier, he was still gorgeous in Dracul's eye, and even more so now that he was slimming up thanks to Dracul always being on the go and relentless energy.
"What do you think? Neat little area yeah?"
He smirked after recieving the lick, watching the others eyes to see what kind of expression he might reveal.
Afterall, Dracul secretly based most things he did off of the expressions of others. This was especially true since he, for many years, did not understand english at all and only guessed what they were feeling or thinking.

"Very neat, you know I often wonder how you find all these places but I love it when you do." All Dracul needed to read from Aubri was an expression of love, admiration, and glee. Life would be so boring without Dracul. The gryphon would probably be about five or six hundred pounds laying around the school dorms, the kind of kid that you knew had a lot of muscle but was clearly overshadowed by twice as much fat... or the kind you'd see walking down the hall and you'd have to turn sideways just to let him pass. Least that's the way he pictured it... probably an exaggeration especially considering how spacious the castle was.

The overweight part might have been true, but way too overexaggerrated.
"Well, I guess my instincts tend to get the better of me sometimes still.. Hard to believe since I'm such a puppy dog for you."
He smiled, rolling onto his stomach closer towards Aubri and running his fingers lightly against his gryphon's arm.
As the pain in the hybrid's back was easing up at a steady pace, his energy was beginning to head back to him for a secondary rebound that would either cause more mischief or other activities.