Several things happened all at once. Khona snatched the shiny flute and the rusty direwolf pup jumped up to get it back, beginning a very one-sided game of tug-o-war. Not only was Khona strong, but he was also terribly stubborn, and his beaked face slung back and forth slightly as he tried to dislodge the indignant pup. He even lifted one of his front claws, the wicked black talons coming up in an attempt to knock Echo off.

But Rilana wasn't about to let her Familiar get away with this. Not only was he being exceptionally rude, unacceptable given how much time she'd spent teaching him to behave himself, but she wasn't sure how people in these lands felt about gryphons, or Familiars in general. Most people couldn't tell the difference between a Familiar and a pet at a glance.

The moon elf stepped close to the deadly raptor-cat and pinched his ear-tuft, dragging his head down sharply and forcing him to look into her eye with one of his own. He struggled briefly, letting out a protesting shriek. Rilana's face was stony and she produced a decent growl in the back of her throat.

[color=00aeef]"Let...it...go. [b]Now.[/b]"[/color]

There was a brief pause, but Khona averted his eye and the deadly beak opened, dropping Echo and the flute to the road. With one hand still clutched in the gryphons head-feathers, the druid eyed the wolf pup until she was sure he wasn't injured. Khona, embarrassed, flopped down to the ground, tail lashing against the dirt as he whined, a sound that was a cross between a bird squeak and a kitten mewl. His weight forced her to let go, but she still frowned at him crossly.

[color=00aeef]"I'm so sorry. He's nothing more than an overgrown magpie when it comes to shiny things. I think he liked your music too. Is your flute alright? I'll replace it if he's damaged it, the ruffian."[/color] She had thought to examine it herself, but had no intention of manhandling someone else's wolf pup to get it. Waiting for a reply, Rilana's cheeks had grown pink with embarrassment. Khona reached back and began preening his long wing-feathers, as though nothing in the world was amiss.