The Physician, Part 1

Finally! The reason I've been a little quiet in the recent months: Years in the making, I can present you "The Physician"! A 22 images , 6 page comic staring Rein and Kessie, my physician sparrowhawk. Lucky as I am, Rein also greatly collaborated to this by creating the accompanying story. Enjoy!

If you haven't guessed it, it includes fun times between a bigger gryphon and an eager, smaller bird.

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The Physician

“God my back is just killing me!” Rein cursed in protest. He pumped his broad black and blue wings against the air before settling into a glide. His curved white beak grimaced with pain as the aching muscles reminded him of the last job he completed. He was a gryphon Courier, usually used for delivering packages but the last job had been a wealthy man. A fat and heavy man. 

Even carrying the weight of his satchels and harness was too much to bear. Every stroke of his wings caused him to curse once again. “I really hope this physician is as good as everyone says,” Rein said aloud.  

One of the other gryphon couriers at central distribution had noticed Rein’s very apparent pain and highly recommended an anthro hawk physician named Kessie. The courier had nothing but positive things to rave about Kessie, saying she was the best out of anyone he’s ever hired, and really easy on the eyes too. He could tell the courier wanted to say more, but he simply shrugged it off as if it were nothing. Curious and desperate for relief, Rein called Kessie that night asking for an appointment. As luck would have it, she had an opening for the next day. 

Kessie sounded nice on the phone and assured him that she could take care of his back pain. She even bragged about how she helped other courier gryphons and guaranteed relief for him, or his money back. Rein felt confident that she was the physician to see; especially since finding one on such short notice with experience in gryphons was difficult to find. He also had to admit that he was curious about her. An osteotherapist sparrowhawk? A bird of prey, with sharp talons, giving you soothing massages? Unlikely. But hey, why not?

A cool headwind stirred up, causing Rein to rebalance himself in the air. The currents were typically stronger near the shoreline and much harder to predict. He ruffled his feathers and glanced below, watching the quaint downtown buildings pass underneath. He had a general idea of where the office was located, but needed a closer look. The downtown beach area was not big by any means, and hopefully the office would not take long to locate once on the ground.  He tucked his wings into a lazy spiral and descended down to the street below.

The other people on the street paid him no attention as Rein landed lazily with a little jog. He usually liked to showboat a little with strong back thrusts of his wings, but he would risk pulling something else that pained him. He sat on his haunches and reached into the front satchel under his neck to pull out a slip of paper with an address scribbled down. 

“Alright, 202 beach street?” Rein looked around for a street sign and got his bearings. As he traveled around downtown, he passed many different humans and anthro animals along with the rare avian. Some recognized Rein as he was constantly downtown delivering packages to businesses. Sand from the beach blew around on the street as the wind kicked up and clouds began to roll in. Around these mountainous beach towns, late in the summer, near the end of a warm day, weather could change in an instant. He could smell the rain moving in, and picked up his pace. 

Outdoor restaurants began to take down their umbrellas and move people inside, taking shelter from the sudden storm picking up. Rein finally found the right street and hurried down it, looking for anything that mentioned a physical therapist. 

“Talented Talons, physical therapy,” Rein read out loud. It was a smaller building in a strip center with large bay windows decorating the front, in a smaller, cozier plaza. Reins ears perked up as the rain suddenly poured down. Not wanting to get all of his gear and feathers wet, he trotted his way to the door and opened it up, ringing the little bell above the entrance. He ruffled his feathers to be rid of the water droplets that still rested on his feathers and walked inside. 

“Just a minute!” A singsong voice called out from the back of the vast room. “Make yourself at home! I’ll be there in a second!” Kessie, he assumed. 

“Alright!” Rein responded. He looked around the open room, seeing the various exercise equipment resting on soft matts. There were exercise balls in an arrangement of sizes resting against a wall covered with mirrors. The winds howled outside and rain began to violently beat against the glass. 

“Looks like you got here just in time,” Kessie said with a little chuckle. Rein turned his head to look up at the anthro hawk approaching him. Her orange and brown eyes locked with his as she walked across the room. She wore baggy pants that loosely fitted around her tailfeathers and wide hips with a thigh sports bra covering her soft chest. Her bright yellow avian feet was covered with a slightly see through fabric that covered her soles. The bright lights overhead reflected off her polished black beak and autumn red crest feathers. “I assume you are Rein, right?” Kessie asked as she proceeded over to the front desk at the entrance. 

“That’s me! Thanks for fitting me in on such short notice,” Rein said and sat down at the desk. Even sitting on his haunches, Rein was about as tall as she was standing. 

“No probs! I actually had a cancellation today so it worked out perfectly. You’re my last one for the day! ” Kessie said. She sat down in her chair behind the desk and withdrew a clipboard before placing it down on the desk. “And you sounded pretty desperate anyways. Ill do everything I can! I promised your caracara friend I’d take good care of you! But first, some legal mobojombo,” Kessie withdrew a pen and sat it next to the clipboard. She leaned her scaled yellow elbows up on the glass table and rested the chin of her beak on her fist. “So, you said you were a courier, right?” 

“Yeah, started when I was a gryphlet, really,” Rein answered and picked up the pen. It was always difficult to write for feral gryphons, but over time he had managed to make the gryphon scratch somewhat legible, albeit slow. “I enjoy it. Especially around here where business is booming and the ocean weather is typically nice.” 

“Well you know as well as I do that it can change quickly around here! Just glad you didn’t fly through it. I mean I don’t mind the smell of wet feathers, actually love it, but other customers might not appreciate it as much”  Kessie leaned back in her chair now and watched Rein for a moment. Her big avian eyes seemed to study him for a moment before she rose from her chair. “And how did you hurt yourself?” Kessie asked curiously. 

Rein was powering through the endless amounts of questions slowly and took a moment to respond. “I was stupid and took on something I knew might be too much, but I already accepted the task and it paid really well,” the gryphon responded. He glanced away from the clipboard to see Kessie approaching his side now. Every step she took was smooth and articulate, like a dancer. 

“Yeah? What was the job?” She asked again. Kessie stopped beside him and leaned against the desk now, folding her arms across her chest. 

“Some rich guy wanted to go to an island 30 miles out and didn’t want to wait for a boat. He was, to put it politely, a cow,” Rein admitted. Kessie burst out into a screeching laugh and placed a taloned hand on top of reins head. 

She stood up from her desk and moved towards the bigger gryphon, laughing. “Oh you poor stupid thing! I mean, I understand doing shit for money, but you can't push yourself to that limit! You’re a courrier, not a freight plane! Now you’re stuck with me because of it, and a hefty bill,” Kessie said while idly stroking her talons through his neck’s fluff. Rein pulled his head away from Kessies hand, earning a chuckle from the anthro hawk. “What's the matter? I’m going to have these talons all over you anyways,” She pointed out.

“That’s true. Sorry! It’s just something that’s a little personal. Not a whole lot of people get to touch me like that, it’s just a little personal” Rein admitted. He finished up the pages upon pages of medical information and set the pen aside. “So, where do we begin?” 

“First things first, let's get you out of all that gear,” Kessie pointed to all the leather straps and pouches attached to his body. “I can't do much with those in the way.” Rein nodded with agreement and stood back up on all four feet. 

Kessie traced a talon down his side and found one of the latches, quickly making short work of it. The metal clasp clinked loudly as it detached from the harness. Kessie put the empty leather bag down against the wall near the door and started working the rest of them off. “I was going to tell you how to detach it but, it seems you’re familiar with it,” Rein said. 

“I told you, you’re not the first courier gryphon I’ve worked with. I know you all wear these all the time, even outside of work.” Kessie removed the rest of the bags and placed them to the side. She began on the main harness now, detaching the leather straps that hung on his broad shoulders and down to his hips. “They’re comfy, they’re nice, but sadly it starts to wear away the feathers around these places. Especially sad for someone with such brilliant plumage such as you!” Kessie complimented. 

The anthro hawks' nimble fingers ran along the matted and rumpled feathers where the harnesses usually sat. Rein could not help but let out a gentle trill and ruffle his feathers, earning a grin from Kessie. “There’s a list of vitamins and oils I can recommend to keep your feathers from deteriorating quickly.” Kessie let Rein step out of the harness and hung it up on the wall, where anthros would normally hang their coats. “There! Muuuuuuch better. Free feathered, as gryphons should be!” Kessie clapped her hands excitedly and walked past him to the center of the room. “Alright! First things first, let's get warmed up.” 

Rein walked out onto the matts layering the ground as Kessie retrieved a rather large rubber exercise ball. She rolled it over to him and stood up straight. “So, what I’m going to have you do first is lay on your stomach on top of the ball, like this,” Kessie sat on her knees first and then pressed her belly on top of the forgiving, air filled balloon. She rolled forward until her hands made contact with the ground and stretched her legs out behind her. 

Reins' eyes drifted across her body to the “V” shaped chestnut brown tail feathers twitching and fanning out to keep her balance. The cream white underfluffies ruffled as her oversized tail feathers fanned out, then twitched left and right, spreading a rather rich scent of cinnamon and nutgmeg and met Reins nares. The gryphons mind spun gently from the comforting smell filling his lungs. Not to mention that the smaller bird had a wonderful, full shape, soft and chubby with a vast amount of downy fluff spilling out of her clothes, yet, underneath all those feathers, she had a strong build and solid muscles, as she was flexing to keep her balance. 

“You got that?” Kessie said, snapping Rein back to reality. “Oh yeah, yeah got it,” He responded in a half daze. Kessie grinned and rolled off the ball as easily as she had got on. She motioned for him to do the same. Rein lifted his front talon and proceeded to mount the ball, easily standing above it with all four feet on the ground. 

“Ok. Now rest your belly on the ball and lift you hind legs in the air. Don’t worry, I got you!” Kessie said to reassure him. Rein did as instructed, and put all his weight down on the ball. The large gryphon rolled forwards to plant his forefeet firmly on the ground, legs and wings flailing about to try to balance himself. Kessie grabbed one of his rear legs, and held it out straight. “There we go! Just like that,” She said while running talons up and down his upper thigh. Reins eyes widened as she touched him so close to his privates, and looked back at her cautiously. Kessie seemed to pay him no mind, and held his ankle firmly in one hand while the other rested on the center of his outer thigh. He had to admit, it felt nice with her talons rubbing through his fur. 

“Now gently stretch this leg as far as you can, then bring it in. If you feel a light burn, that’s a good sign!” She instructed. Rein began to bicycle kick his leg slowly as her talons guided him, holding him at certain points. After a minute, he could feel a gentle burning sensation in his hips. “You feel that?” 

“Actually, yeah. It burns a little, but it…” Rein was cut short as Kessie suddenly pressed down on his thigh and pulled his leg out. A loud pop echoed in the room as a mixture of sharp pain and sudden relief shot through Reins spine. His upper limbs went numb for a second, causing him to plant his head on the ground, beak open in a sharp gasp. 

Kessie laughed and rubbed up towards his tailbase, firmly pressing at the center of his spine. “Phew! That was a big one. I bet that felt great, didn’t it? That was one hell of a big knot you got there! You’re going to be sore for a few days, but you’ll see!” The hawk teased and slowly let that leg down. Rein wheezed in response and let out a loud sigh of relief. 

Once the sudden shock of the whole situation subsided, Rein tested his leg for a moment. “Actually, yeah! Already my lower back feels better,” Rein complimented and lifted himself up on his talons once again. 

“Good! Now for the other leg. This time I’ll give you more of a warning,” Kessie said with a little chuckle. “I just like seeing the reactions of my patients for the first time! I couldn’t resist.” She walked around to the other side and patted his thigh, telling Rein to lift that leg up. They repeated the process again. First, stretching the leg several times to get it warmed up, and asking if he was ready. Rein nodded, and Kessie pulled sharply. Another crack echoed in the room, and Rein let out a huge sigh of relief.  “There we go. Not so bad, huh?” 

“No, not at all. Much better actually!” Rein commented. 

Satisfied, Kessie let the other leg go and took a step back. “Good! Well get off that ball and lay down on the mat,” Kessie commanded. Rein stood up on all fours and sidestepped away from the ball. Kessie kicked it away and sat on her knees before patting the soft black mat. “Down boy! Who’s a good boy?” 

Rein’s tail wagged but his nares blushed. “Come on. You know that’s not fair,” He commented, while lying down on the mat as commanded. The gryphon cleared his throat and forced his tail to remain still. 

Kessie smiled and reached forward to rub both of his cheeks with her hands, working talons up to the inside of his perky pointed ears. “Again, I couldn't help it. Not often I get canine gryphons like you. It's too much fun! Relax! That’s what this is all about after all,” Kessie said as bubbly as ever. She removed her talons from his face and began to rub his royal purple chest, making her way down to his belly. 

Rein naturally moved to his side and lifted a leg, eyes half closed as he already felt much more relaxed from the bird’s touch. Kessie grabbed his hind leg again and stretched it high in the air. “Ok! Same as last time,” Kessie commented and ran her talons up his inner thigh. Rein lifted his head to look at the hawk, noticing her catching glances at his exposed purple sheath and balls. It had to be something she was used to seeing, especially being in the profession that she was in. Yet, her smile was wider than usual, and her eyes glazed over for a second as she seemed to stare at them for a second. Rein opened his beak to say something, but then a talon traveled down to press right at the crotch of his inner thigh, right against his sheath. Reins bright blue eyes widened. She seemed entertained by the whole deal. Could she be coming on to him? 

Everything quickly disappeared as she forcefully pushed his leg back towards the ground, hand near his crotch keeping him on his side. Rein gasped as another soft pop resonated off the walls. His head fell down to the ground as his whole body tensed up, then fell limp. He let out a loud sigh and closed his eyes, facing away from her. “There we go! Man, you weren’t kidding. You were tense. Poor gryphon,” Kessie commented. 

Reins eyes half lidded as the attention felt good, but he could not help the tingling sensation he felt in his more private bits. The gryphon felt his sheath throb and balls jerk, causing his nares to blush. Maybe she did not notice it. He lifted his head slightly to glance at her, seeing her eyes in the same shape as his was. She was admiring him, slowly running her talons up and down his thigh. “Does that feel good, big boy?” She questioned in a sultry voice. “Yeah, really good actually. A lot of pain at first, but…” Rein said as Kessie released his leg. Rein tested it for a moment, stretching it out and noticing the absence of pain and tension in his lower back. “It's so much better already?” 

“I told you! I'm the best around,” Kessie bragged with a confident smile. She ran her talons down his thigh, glancing across his belly and began with the other leg. Reins bright blue crest feathers stood on end as she massaged the inner thigh. There was no hiding the blue tip peaking free from his sheath now. “Alright, once more,” Kessie said and repeated the process. Rein took a deep breath and let her work, until the other pop resonated out. The big gryphon sighed and curled his toes. 

“God that’s amazing. How did you learn to work with gryphons?” Rein asked. Kessie waved him off with her talons and stood back on her feet. “Oh just a little anatomy study. Nothing more. You aren’t that different then us anthro bird folk. Well…” Kessie trailed off for a minute and laughed. “Never mind. Ok! Next step. Let’s stretch those muscles back into place!”

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To be continued in Part 2