[h2][color=af9d80][b]Roger Falkner[/b][/color][/h2]

[color=af9d80]"Err, he's certainly strong enough, but, well..."[/color] Roger began to answer, [color=af9d80]"Griffins are extremely proud creatures and they're very picky about whom they allow on their backs.  I [i]should[/i] be able to convince Shortclaw to take you as a passenger, but it'll take some bribing."[/color]

Shortclaw would never allow anyone aside from Roger or Roger's parents take his reins, but it was possible to sway him- usually through food- to allow a passenger.  Still, sometimes the griffin was willing to put up with it even without coaxing.  He didn't mind transporting Velvetica, having evidently deducted her place at the top of the Lions' hierarchy.  In one instance, he had even been willing to give a ride to a woman whom Roger had met at a ball.  With Cadmon, however, Roger wasn't sure if he could pull it off without bribing the griffin with food.

[color=af9d80]"But you can be assured that if you need me, I'll have your back on this,"[/color] he assured Cadmon.  [color=af9d80]"Even if this Baron Bridger isn't actually mad enough to make good on those foolish threats, he can't be allowed to go around pushing other nobles and land-holders around."[/color]  He didn't really think that Baron Bridger would try it, though- Roger figured that the Baron was bluffing in hopes of coercing the young Cadmon into giving him what he wanted or taunting him into making a serious misstep.  Over the generations, dealing with over-entitled nobles such as this was a common problem that the Falkners faced, and if Cadmon's trouble were any indication, this wasn't going to go away just because they had been elevated to nobility.

[@The Otter][@HereComesTheSnow]