Good Intentions

Ocellus was humming to herself as she trotted down the hall toward the cafeteria. Despite her complaints about leaving Gallus's side the energy and joy he had filled her with never had subsided. A quick shower and cleaning of her shell had been a relaxing opportunity to linger on all the excitements and pleasures of the past few days. With a smirk and spring to her step she nudged open the door and stepped past into the mess hall.

As expected the place was filled with ponies, the morning approaching midday having many students dropping in for their breakfast needs. Gallus too was where she had expected him, sitting exactly where had been the day before, feasting on his food in the same fashion, though this time without two mares cradling his sides obnoxiously. Instead it was Silverstream, she was sitting opposite of him and seemingly the two were in some form of discussion. The changeling felt a pang of conflict and even guilt rise up in some part of her mind, she could no longer ignore the unavoidable reckoning. She approached slowly, giving her mind the time to formulate words, while also reaching out with her senses to gauge the emotional state of her friends.

Just as she came to halt at the table and both occupants tilted their heads to look toward her she reminded herself that what she and Gallus had done had made them happy and fulfilled, which made it all the more frustrating when the emotions radiating from the hyppogryph were far from kind, as if she had any right to complain after everything she had put Gallus through. With a half forced smile she spoke.

"Hey Gallus, Silverstream, mind if I join?"

To her satisfaction Gallus eagerly replied first, lacking non of that warm affection she had grown used to.

"No, you really should, love. You would be better at explaining things to Silverstream than me."

Silverstream raised an eyebrow as she met Ocellus's eyes and picked up on the tone of Gallus's words. It send a bittersweet wave of amusement down the Changeling's spine as she witnessed the sharp glare become muddled with confusion and concern. It was not as though she wanted to make her friend unhappy, she reminded herself as she took a seat beside Gallus and glanced between the two.

"Me and Gallus spend last night discussing relationships, including your recent fight with him, and we came to the realization that there needs to be talk between us three to assure that everycreature is getting, and giving, what is needed to make the others happy."

She could sense the tension in her friend grow, but simply leaned into the strong gryphon's side for reassurance before continuing "He felt insecure because you wouldn't allow him see any other creature, but not deign him worthy of laying with either. You can't do that to a big gryphon like him, he needs to be given an opportunity to feel liberated and in control."

She could feel the hippogryph grow frigid and tense at her accusations, and the unspoken help she had provided to solve Gallus's insecurity. With a huff Silverstream overcame her initial shock, for all her aloofness she was not dense, or keen on being pushed around.

"He never voiced any such concerns around me, no qualms waiting on laying with me till you came along and stole him." Her gaze moved over to Gallus, meeting his eyes equally sternly "Do you know what she did? Impersonate me to seduce you? No different from Chrysalis."

The moment she voiced that name the tone in the Cafeteria shifted abruptly, Ocellus felt a surge of guilt that transformed into righteous anger instantly and trough her connection to Gallus inflamed his instincts equally. In the blink of an eye the gryphon had smashed his claw onto the table and shot up to face the hippogryph down, gritting his beak at her.

"Don't you EVER call her that again! She apologized for it, and didn't mean harm, she was just trying to fix up OUR disaster of a relationship. For her part, she is right." Gallus took a deep breath before sighing, the initial flare of anger dissipating as sanity returned to him, though still too engaged in the moment to take note of the countless ponies around the room who had taken a distinct interesting in their discussion. "Maybe I never voiced my concerns outward but I should have, I was so pent up I couldn't help myself with Smolder and see where that got us... maybe if we listen to Ocellus's advice this could work out."

Ocellus was sitting back in quiet victory, she hated to admit it but there was a certain sense of smug pride in seeing her mate come to rescue, a reassurance that he truly did love her more than this stuck up pink prude. This time she didn't correct herself as she bared her teeth, what Silverstream had said was far worse an insult, and one that proved the animosity she had felt went both ways.

This moment of reflection was finally broken when Silverstream found her words again, still staring down the love of her life with increasingly faltering anger, looking like a deflating balloon as her speech went on. "So you KNOW what she did, and you still trust her word over mine? She STOLE that from us, our first time, our romantic connection, and turned it into some tryst of pleasure. And you don't mind, don't care, you would rather...." Finally the air left her, the body slumping backwards in exhaustion as she closed her eyes.

Moments later she spoke again, "First Smolder, now her, stupid stupid me." when her eyes opened again they glistened with tears, and to Ocellus's amazement she felt a twinge of sympathy as the pain bled from the creature into her, but not enough to break through her anger. Gallus was no less effected, and finally let go of his angry glare. "No, you aren't stupid, I am the fool who thought he could be the way you wanted, for love's sake alone. But I can't, I NEED this." He would lean into the changeling still sitting beside him, nuzzling the cute creature with overflowing affection. "And if you can't accept this then I should have been the one to break up with you."

Ocellus could sense the shard of ice inside her former friend's heart, but the hippogryph had been to worn out by the last few days to even flare up again, simply meekly watching her two friends cuddle before her eyes. She gulped something down and pushed away her tray of food. "We both can be stupid and fools..." She finally simply muttered and got out of her seat. "I need some time to think."

As Silverstream began to walk out of the cafeteria, many creatures around watching her with a mixture of confused and sympathetic expressions as Gallus finally took notice again, turning his mind from the affectionate snuggle he had shared to watch after her. Ocellus could feel the sympathy and pain bleed from him now, sensed in him a rising desire to act, to prostrate himself before her for forgiveness. And with steely resolve she threw herself back into his chest, nuzzling against it as she voiced a warm murmur. "Don't worry, she'll come around, but I think I owe my love for standing up for me, and I think I heard something about need..." She sensually ground her lower form against the gryphon, feeling his body tense up at the increasingly familiar sensation of her affection.

It did not take long for any desire to chase after Silverstream to be replaced with much more base visions of pleasure, and for the two to retreat back to Ocellus's room so she could oblige his needs.