The Transformation of Alex.

“I can’t believe that fucking bastard could do that to us.   Is it even legal?”  Avery didn’t like to swear but these were exceptional circumstances.

The director blinked at the strong words and looked uneasy. He paced back and forth behind the desk and avoided eye contact with the gryphon.  
“Well it would in theory be possible.  Our town code gives an unusual amount of power to the mayor.  It’s just never been used that way before.   The sad truth is that if he did do it we wouldn’t be able afford to mount a legal challenge in time to help you.”

“What so I just hope that against all odds he loses the vote?  The only candidate against him was taken away in irons!  Without any opposition who will stop him?  This might not even be the worst. Who knows what stupid stuff he’ll do in the next term?”

“I know.” The director was hardly less stressed than Alex. “You would think that any candidate that was literally talking about taking the bread out the mouths of hungry children would be chucked out of the running, but the polls show that people will keep voting for him.   He words things so cleverly that most people don’t even get what he’s saying.  It all sounds almost reasonable. ‘ No free rides ’  ‘No such thing as a free lunch’.  Heck I would have voted for him if it wasn’t for the leak, and they are spinning that so fast that most people will think it was made up.”

“Why does he hate charities so much?”   Said Avery, wanting the directors thoughts on the matter.

“God knows.  Openly he says that helping people only makes them more dependant.  So logically getting rid of all the charities will strengthen the character of the people of the town.”

Alex soothed down his feathers, trying to stay calm.  “And if he does that then I will be homeless.”

“It won’t come to that Avery.” Said the director.  “We’ll make sure you have somewhere else to go.”

But Avery didn’t want to go anywhere else.  He loved the old house at the edge of town.  He felt at home as soon as he stepped into the airy hallway.  Everything about the old style suited him. Each room was a jewel box of architectural secrets. The high ceilings were ideal for him to at least spread his wings.  The panelled library with thousands of books that had been collected and donated over the years, and he had read so many of them that they were like a group of friends.  From the cool checkered tiles that he once played chess on with his great uncle, to the crazy angles of the roof, where he mounted his telescope and watched the stars he loved the whole house.    

Which is why he had inherited it.  His great uncle Maximus had left the house to him in a trust.  As a man who greatly valued charity, Avery’s great uncle had given away nearly all of the rest of his fortune, leaving only the house and a stipend for maintenance in the will.   The stipulation was that Avery had to raise at least $500 a month for the town’s charities and he could stay there for as long as he liked.   If for any reason not listed in the terms of the will Avery did not raise the money then he would have to find somewhere else to live.

In normal circumstances there was no danger of that.  Avery loved working with the charities, and never even came close to worrying about his ability to make the necessary money.  In fact Avery had been wildly successful in raising funds for food banks and animal shelters and all the other local charities, so it looked like the clause in the will would never affect him. Until J. Alex Digger started his campaign.   Even then it did not look like a threat until an undercover journalist from the Gallinville Talbot caught him stating flatly “Of course all the charities in town will have to go. There’s no place for them in my vision for Gallinville.”

If there were no charities inside the borders of Gallinville, then there was nobody to raise the money for.  The terms of the trust were definite.  No donation, no house.

After a day working with the charities Avery needed a beer. All day they had felt under the hanging sword of the likely appointment of the new mayor, and as the campaign progressed it was only likely to get worse.    

He rested his wings against the sun warmed rough wood of the doors at the back of the house and tried to unwind.  The beer was good and the courtyard was delightful in the amber evening light, but he could not relax.  His mind kept going over he words of the receptionist as they cleared up for the day.  “Why don’t you go speak to him?  You can be very persuasive when you want to be.”    

Alex could more than persuasive.   In truth it scared him a little the power he had sometimes. He could move ideas into people’s heads with an ease that disturbed him as much as it thrilled him.   He loved it when he was obeyed, but he always held on to his ability tightly.  He was very careful not to let stray words escape him, and people who did not know him sometimes thought his long pauses were because he was a little bit of a slow thinker.  Actually he was listening deeply and trying hard to make sure that he did not override what the other person was thinking.  It was too easy to say something as a joke and find the person following through with no idea that they had been altered this way.

For example  one of his friends who never used to like it now only drinks coffee. All because she had ran out of tea and to help them Avery happened to suggest they actually preferred drinking coffee.  Despite attempting a few times since, Avery never did manage to get her to change her mind once he had set it for her.   

The power was not reliable.   If Avery really wanted someone to change their mind, or if he tried to hard then it seldom worked.  It seemed inversely proportional to the amount of hope that something would work whether or not the transplanted idea would take root.   It made any glib reply particularly dangerous.   With a grim smile at the bottom of his glass, Avery reflected that at least he was never bothered by cold callers on the phone more than once.

After a long session of quiet contemplation, Avery went back inside his house.  The evening had become quite cool even through his coat and feathers.  He headed inward for some hot chocolate.   Even after his customary long hot bath in his claw footed tub,  his large bed felt cold and empty that night.

***

The crowd was chanting.  From Alex’s point of view what they were saying did not matter much so long as they were chanting for him.   “Alex for Mayor.” was peppered with  “Bring back the pride in Gallinville” He nearly had sacked the  helper that came up with that surprisingly popular slogan.  He was not a fan of that particular lifestyle.  The main thing was the crowd seemed eager, and whenever he spoke they cheered.  “Who will you vote for?”  He asked into the megaphone.   They shouted  “J Alex Digger!” as if answering had made them so proud.  “Who will be Mayor?”  “J Alex Digger”.    The lion grimaced a little.  At the start of the campaign, playing a crowd was both fun and exhausting.   After a while it stopped being fun.   But his advisors told him he was doing well in the polls.  Not least as now the opposition was literally on bail.   The charges of embezzlement had turned out to be legitimate after all and the old mayor was now facing a lengthy sentence.  Now Alex only needed the legitimizing few thousand votes and his success was assured.  Maybe he could give up doing Sunday rallies.

By the end of the day he was worn out.     His throat was sore and his feet ached and all he wanted to do was sit down somewhere quiet and not worry about politics for a few hours.

He decided to go for a drive.   His Bentley Brooklands Reboot was the perfect place to find a little quiet. Unless he was in a mood to burn rubber, its immaculate interior and virtually silent hybrid engine made for a wonderful feeling of insulation from the cares of the world.  After setting all his calls to his virtual assistant and the sound system to a pleasing classical piece, he let the power underneath him take him for a ride.  He muted his GPS, set the dashboard to minimalist and turned left and right at a whim and just let the mood and the music ease his mind.

The trouble with turning left and right at random is that eventually you make a wrong turn.  Alex thought he knew the area around Gallinville pretty much like the back of his hand. Following the narrow lane which he was sure was a through road he ended up in the driveway of a very nice manor house.

He set his car in reverse and suddenly all the music and serenity was broken by a hideous beeping  noise.   He was out of fuel and power.   He definitely would fire that assistant.    He picked up his somewhat battered phone.  It could do anything he wished a smart phone could do, except hold a day’s charge.  Normally it did not matter as it was always within reach of a charging field, but the car had been saving power so it too was out of juice.  There was nothing for it, he would have to knock on the door and hope somebody was in.  He felt a spot of rain strike him on the left ear.

As he approached he could make out the same classical piece playing that he was listening to in his car.  Somebody had good taste.

***

Alex was writing some letters when he heard the door bells chime.   Visitors without and appointment to his place were unusual.   He set the hand-made fountain pen down befor laying down the blotter and covering the watermarked paper.  Despite all the advantages of the modern age people were still flattered to recieve a beautifully hand written letter.    
He strolled slowly to the door, glancing at the mirror in the hall as he went by.  Everything was in order, and he answered the door.    “Come in.”  He said glancing at the lion.  As a rule he did not hold court the doorstep, he would speak to people on his terms, in the grey reception room.   The lion looked familiar to him, but he had not placed him just yet.

Somewhat stunned by the brusque command to enter, Alex meekly followed his host.   The gryphon was smartly turned out, and moved with authority.   The house had the atmosphere of a place that had been loved for centuries. Obviously old money.  

Avery gestured to an overstuffed leather club chair.  “Sit down.”  Without thinking, Alex complied.  He was in the fellow’s domain after all.  

“My car has ran out of charge.”

“I see.” Said Alex.  It had dawned on him where he had seen the lion.  It took a little self control to avoid showing the realization.   J. Alex Digger.  What were the chances?  He smiled thinly. Throwing him out would be childish, even though it would be understandable.  The next house was three miles away, and he could hear that it had started to rain heavily.  He noticed that the lion was awaiting more of a response.    

“Not a problem.   Once it has stopped raining, I’ll run out a charging cable and you’ll be back on the road in a few hours.  I take it there is nobody expecting you any time soon?”

Alex thought for a moment.   His campaign staff were not going to expect him until 9 am Monday morning, and with a slight pang he realise that there was nobody else who really cared where he was.   Sure he had people who would vote for him, but actual people to come home to just didn’t exist for him right now.  He felt a strange feeling of loneliness in his chest, but it passed quickly.  “No, I, ah, don’t have anywhere I have to be right now.”

“I bet.”  Said Avery, before nearly biting his tongue.  “I bet you drink tea.   Would you like some tea?  I usually have a cup or so at about this time.”

“That would be nice.”  Nice?  For a person who made a living out of riproaring speeches, for some reason the ability to form eloquent sentences seemed to be eluding him.   “Please.”    The lion expected Avery to ring a little bell. Perhaps a maid would deliver it to him.  He was surprised when the gryphon replied with “Very well. Follow me.”

Through the turns of the house, Avery lead Alex to a small but immaculate and well equipped kitchen.  He gestured to a solid old pine table and bid the lion be seated on the wooden chair beside the just off cool stove.  “Sit there and make yourself comfortable.”   Avery set about his ritual for making tea, and hunted down a biscuit.  Not the really nice cookies, he had yet to resolve how he felt about the lion yet.

The bone china mugs tinkled as he stirred them with an old silver tea spoon.  Now was the time for a conversation.

“I know you.” Said Alex, successfully sounding civil. “You are the Mayoral candidate  J Alex Digger.”  

Alex puffed up his chest and used a well worn line. “My friends call me Alex.”

Avery fixed him with a brief stare over the steaming edge of his cup.  “Your friends.  But what should I call you mister Digger?”

Something brittle broke inside Alex’s chest.  In a second he realised that he did not have any true friends. “You may call me Alex too.”

Avery divined that despite his public persona there was something desperate about the lion.   A vision of him tied up and whimpering his name flashed before his mind’s eye, and he coughed a little.   Avery was curious where that idea had came from.   Turning the ranting lion into a simpering pussycat would be a waste. Besides that would take at least a week.

“Well Alex, here you are in my kitchen drinking my tea.   All without the faintest idea that you are about to make me homeless.”

“What?!  Whatever do you mean?”  Alex’s heart rate spiked.  Was he in danger from the powerful gryphon?  

“I’m sure you don’t mean it personally.  But then you are not great at thinking through the small details.  They tend to be a bit of a blur to you don’t they?”

“I still don’t understand what you mean.  I’m not sure I like your tone either.”  Alex was a lion after all.

“Calm down and drink your tea. And I will explain.”  Said Avery.  He noticed that the lion followed even that instruction obediently.  The feeling of power was quite exciting, but probably misleading. 

“I saw the Talbot recording.  You openly admitted your vision to do away with all charities in Gallinville.”

“I don’t see how that could affect you of all people.  This is hardly a poorhouse.”

“I think you will see you are quite wrong, Alex.  The running of this house is intimately involved with a charitable trust.”

Alex did a mental calculation.  The crafty gryphon must have been creaming of thousands from the town charities to pay for the upkeep of this place.  They definitely had to go.  “So your game is making money out of charities?”

The gryphon gently put his cup down.  A better educated man than Alex would have realised that was the equivalent of taking a jacket off before a fight.  Avery flexed his fingers.  There was too much on the line to be foolish. He would be patient. He would not beat the lion.  He would not spank him within an inch of his life.   He smiled at the thought and Alex had no idea what he was thinking about.

“Oh no. I’ve no wealthy sponsors willing to throw me money for grubby future favors.  I can’t afford a five hundred thousand dollar luxury car.  It’s just that I live under the terms of a very peculiar will.   If I don’t raise money for the town’s charities, then the house will be flattened and a woodlot planted in its place.   The clauses are unbreakable. My great uncle was a very determined and legally savvy gentleman.”

Alex felt the sting of Avery’s words.  He felt embarrassed to have assumed that the noble gryphon was like him.  He felt momentarily ashamed, and then angry.   “Do you know why I hate charities?  Because they make people weak.  Look at yourself.  Living off your inheritance.  One word from me and it will all go away.”

Alex blinked and suddenly he was on his back on the cold tiles of the kitchen floor with a taloned hand gently gripping his throat like a well behaved bear trap.  Avery took the empty cup from the stunned lion’s weak grip and set it down.   Got up close to the lion, beak to muzzle and stared at him eye to eye.   The silver grey eyes of the Gryphon seemed to consume him.   “Do not mistake my lifestyle for weakness. Why do you hate charity?   Tell. Me. The. Truth.”

Words fell out of the lion’s mouth.  How his violent father had picked on him. How his beaten mother had been evicted from the refuge. How he had been let down by the orphanage. How he had seen that the only way to survive was to put himself first.  How he had been blackmailed as a young man.  How he could never trust anyone.  A dam of pain inside him broke and words and tears flowed freely out of him.  Secrets he had never shared with anyone just came out.   He had no idea when the gryphon had picked him up,  but it was nice to be leaning against his soft yet muscular chest.   Mantled by the gryphon’s wings he felt safe for the first time in his life.   He was so spent he was asleep by the time he was slipped under the gryphon’s covers.    

After setting the car outside to charge,  Avery retreated to the drawing room to reflect on all he had learned.  It was very late at night when he went to his room to check on the lion.   With the relaxed face of the deeply sleeping, Alex looked much younger, cute almost.   Alex left him sleeping and decided to camp out on the sofa.

***

It was very early the next morning when Avery brought Alex his breakfast in bed.   The tray was full of his favourite foods, and it rested comfortably over his lap.    “You just eat that while I use shower. ”   

Alex was very hungry so tore into the breakfast.  He was a little surprised to see Avery strip himself down and hop into the en suite shower of his room.      The gryphon was utterly unabashed by soaping himself down thoroughly while the lion ate breakfast.  Alex admitted to himself that he really did find the gryphon very sexy.    He had made an excellent breakfast too.

Avery dried himself of equally unselfconsciously  and began to dress himself.   Quickly he was once again his usual immaculate self, and he took away the lion’s empty breakfast tray.   He made no note of the bump under the sheets.

Avery had disappeared into the depths of the house by the time Alex was out of the shower.   The gryphon had obviously got Alex’s spare change of clothes out of the car, and left it neat and ready for him.   

Alex gave Avery a lift into Gallinville in the freshly charged car.  It really was a pleasure to drive him.  They chatted about this and that like old friends.  As they pulled up in front of the Charity headquarters, Avery turned to him.   “You’ll be okay.  Remember the announcement you have to make.”  And with a smile Avery shut the car door.   He wondered what kind of a day Alex would have. 

Avery was having quite a pleasant day.    Donations had been good, and he’d acquired a long sponsorship deal with a tinned goods manufacturer that meant the food bank would be much better off for a respectable time to come.  He was feeling quite pleased with himself until the director asked him to come into the office.  

“I think you should hear what J Alex Digger has got to say, as it affects you too.”   Avery’s heart sank.  So close.  It would have been too much to have hoped that he could have implanted a lasting change of heart over a chance meeting.

The director played the recording from the morning press meeting.   Alex stood at the podium and genuinely smiled at the camera.  “Some of you may have heard the recording made by the Gallinville Talbot.   So you may think you may know my position on charities.  It is true that I talked about my vision of doing away with all charities in Gallinville.”

There was a murmur amongst the gathered journalists and the cameras flashed.

“The thing about our visions is they change as we learn more.   Yesterday I learned that my motivations were not as pure and impersonal as I had thought they were.   The truth is I had been very badly let down by some so called charities when I was younger, and now it looks like I will have the power to do something about it I wanted to take the direct route.   I believed that if something causes pain, get rid of it.    It was pointed out to me by somebody wiser, that sometimes it is better to fix things than discard them.  So I have ordered a review of the charities in Gallinville.  So far I must say I am impressed with their work in this town and I strongly suspect I will see no reason to remove any of them.”  

The journalists muttered and the cameras flashed.   

The Talbot journalist questioned him.   “Is there any reason for this change of heart?”   

Alex smiled.   “As a journalist you must know that we learn new things every day.”  And with that he left the podium.

His campaign assistants were somewhat thrown by his announcements.  “You will lose some support by this change of direction.”  They grudgingly admitted that he was still reasonably certain to get the required number of votes.  Alex listened with half an ear.  He kept thinking of the Gryphon.   He had to go and see him.
 
As soon as the day’s business and meetings were wrapped up he tracked down Avery.    He was stopped from entering the office by the substantial receptionist.  She knew who Alex was and used every scrap of the power of her office to delay him.   After commanding him to sit down she rang through to Avery on the intercom. Sorry to disturb you Avery, but there’s a, gentleman ,” she spat out the term as if it were an insult, “here to see you.  Are you too busy to come down?”  She said hoping that Avery would give her the power to send the lion packing.

“It’s quite all right Sally.   Tell him I’ll be down in a moment.”   Sally conveyed the information and proceeded to ignore Alex in the most obvious way possible.  She had heard them talking about the lion’s remarks during the week, and she wanted him out of the office as soon as possible.

Avery appeared quite soon after the call. “It’s okay Sally.  He won’t be a problem.”  And with that he went outside with Alex.

Once outside Alex’s heart started to race.  He felt a bit like he had a crush on Avery.  The gryphon looked good. Too good.  He inspired visions of shared beds and shuddering ecstasy.     While he still could hide his excitement, he hopped into his car.  “I thought you could do with a lift back, seeing as I drove you in.”   

“Very kind of you Alex. However I would like to drive, as that will be okay?”  It was quite fun messing with the lion’s head.

And with that they swapped places.   Avery smoothly drove the powerful engine up through the traffic until it was heading out of town.  “Are you up for a real drive?” he asked.  “Always.”  Said Alex.
 Taking a left instead of a right Avery headed away from his house and opened up the car until it really began to move.  Even with the high tech materials the car was quite something to maneuver well at high speed but it was thrilling to drive.  He loved the feeling of so much power in his hands.  He glanced over at Alex.  The lion was enjoying being his passenger very much.   Alex wondered if he had inadvertently overdid things yesterday.  He slowly eased the speed down and began to head back to his place.

“Time for us to go home Alex.”

Alex woke from his dazed state as the car slowed down. He shifted his jacket to unsuccessfully hide the erection that had appeared without him noticing.   It saved him a little embarrassment that it had gone down by the time they arrived back at Avery’s house.  The unspecified need hadn’t.  His nuts ached.  It was political suicide to get a piece of hooker pussy before getting elected too.   He was no doubt going to spend another evening playing with himself over fantasies of the gryphon taking him.  He looked at Avery, glad that the gryphon had no idea how he was the star of the games in his mucky imagination.  He flushed under his fur.  This was unusual, disturbing and exciting in a way that just would not be denied.  After all he hadn’t been turned on by a guy since, oh.

The car crunched over the gravel drive.   It was time to go. 

“Come inside Alex.”  Avery asked with that irresistibly sexy voice.  Alex just had to comply.

“You enjoyed the ride?”  Avery asked as he entered the hallway. 
“Very much.”  Too too much.  He wanted to be ridden by the gryphon until he forgot his own name.
Avery did not seem to be noticing the unexpected burning lust building up in the lion.    He placed Alex’s keys on a dish on the hall table as they went into the depths of the house. 

Alex meekly followed the gryphon to the back of the house.  The sun streamed through the French windows and illuminated polished a mahogany bar.   Avery poured himself a small brandy.   “I’d offer you one, but then you’d have to stay the night.”

“Yes!”  Said Alex.  “No. I’m not. I...  I don’t know.”

Avery gently put down the decanter.   There may be trouble ahead.  It would be best to meet it head on.   

“Do you have anywhere you have to be until tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Do you feel pressured by me in any way?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Avery took a quick gulp of the brandy.  Fortune favours the brave and all that.  He moved from behind the bar with his usual grace.  With the skill of years of experience, he kissed the lion deeply, counting his heartbeats as the feline melted into his arms, kissing him back reflexively.  He drew back and wrapped his masculine scented wings around the lion and held him a moment gazing into Alex’s tawny eyes, just watching the thoughts behind the mask.

 Alex whimpered feebly. “I’m straight.  I can’t.”

Avery stroked the rough fur of the lion’s mane stroking downwards.  “No my little lion.  You’re clearly not.  You are gay.”

The words were like a shot of fire through Alex’s veins.   The conflict inside him was crumbling away.  

“I’ll prove it to you. Repeat after me everything I say, unless it isn’t absolutely true for you.”

“I find you sexy.” Avery smiled gently and ran his fingers through the lion’s fur.

“I find you sexy.”  Alex stroked the feathers of the gryphon with a feeling of lust and wonder.

Avery’s hands moved lower. “You make me horny.”

Alex followed suit. “You make me horny.” That was certainly true.

On feeling the undeniable heat and swelling Avery whispered in the lion’s ear. “ Therefore I am gay.”

“Therefore I...” The compulsion was unbreakable.  “...I am gay?”

Avery let go and stepped back, to a small whimper from Alex.  Time for the final push. “Clearly.  now repeat these and we can have some real fun. ‘I’m getting more and more aroused.’ ”    Avery dragged a wingtip gently under the lion’s chin, down his front to his straining clothing.  

Alex had no choice but to state the truth “I am getting more and more aroused.”   

“We should get undressed.”  Avery stripped off the few articles of clothing he wore at the office, and the lion almost drooled with lust.

The room seemed to heat up as Alex repeated. “we should get undressed.”  Alex managed not to tear off any buttons only by virtue of the quality of his tailor.

***

That night Alex did an admirable job of warming Avery’s bed.   Avery reflected on the sleeping lion.  He could see a smile still on the relaxed feline’s face.   He patted him gently so as not to wake him.  Once he got over his brittle repressions, the lion was a very sweet and eager bedmate.  Perhaps he would one day be ready for some more adventurous games, but for tonight it was enough for them both to enjoy each other’s warmth.   He wrapped a wing over the lion and slept very well.

He woke early next morning to the most delicious dream.  A sexy lion was pleasing him with a skilled dedication that approached worship.    He rose back into awareness as he saw that the dream was true.  He patted the lion’s bobbing head and ran his fingers through the fur between the lion’s ears as Alex sucked and licked.

“You really do have an aptitude for oral. You know if you ever get bored of making speeches, you could still make a reasonable living with your mouth. Ahh yes.   Keep that up and you’ll definitely get my vote.”  

Alex slowed in his ministrations and stopped.   “I’d forgotten! I am supposed to be at a meeting at 9.30!”

He rolled out of bed and leapt towards the shower.  Avery followed him, glad the designer of his house had made sure that the shower was big enough for the gryphon to spread a wing.  There was  easily enough room for two in there.

Under the streaming water  he calmed Alex down.  “Relax. There’s plenty of time.  It’s early yet.” They soaped each other up and down pleasantly,and only stopped before they got too distracted because then Alex really would be late which would never do.   Avery respected punctuality.

Over breakfast they discussed the ramifications of Alex coming out as openly gay whilst running his campaign.  Avery grinned.  “Oh you silly lion. Didn’t you notice your fans?   ‘Bring back the pride to Gallinville.’  Half of them already think you are gay, and want a piece of your butt.  The rest just don’t care.    Of course there might be a few noisy idiots who want to attack you from that angle, but if you like I could fix them for you.”

Dimly aware of the menace behind the friendly offer, Alex laughed. “No, that would be too cruel.  Besides I want you all for myself.”

Avery declined a lift in to Gallinville, as he had a few errands to run, so Alex kissed him quickly.  The lion was rewarded with a friendly pat on the ass that sent him on his way with a spring in his step.  At work the campaigner’s day seemed to go on and on.  After his announcement yesterday his ratings had actually improved.  Despite it being a good and productive day, he couldn’t wait to get back to Avery’s beautiful home.   He detoured by his smart apartment to pick up a change of clothes and a hopeful toothbrush. As he looked around at the expensive decor he realized that he had not really been living there. There was nothing of him in the place, no personal pictures, no art he had chosen.  It was the very opposite of the well loved gryphon’s home.  Although the apartment was well decorated it had all the soul of a cheap hotel suite.  He wouldn’t miss this place at all. 

  He wondered if it would be too forward to ask if he could move in with Avery straight away, but by the end of that evening the decision was made.  By the end of the month he was both mayor and living with Avery.   The more they got to know each other the more they found they liked each other.  The gryphon taught the lion some new things about himself and the sex only got hotter and more intense, but their relationship grew beyond mere lust.  

It did not take Alex long to decide that from now on he would warm the wonderful gryphon’s bed every night.