"True healing of a damaged heart can be as simple as offering your hand for that heart to rest in for a while."

Ivy closed the door to her session room and watched as Gabby and Gilda slowly walked down the hall together. Gabby was firmly huddled under Gilda's left wing, shaking and crying quietly into her friends' neck fur as they walked. They had just finished their latest session together and things had gotten pretty rough. Gilda paid close attention to her friend, warbling quietly and comfortingly, occasionally murmuring words of encouragement. This had been their sixth session, and it had been rapidly getting more and more apparent to Ivy that Gabby needed this desperately.

The poor hen had been traumatized by her father for several years as a hatchling, and then as a teenage hen. It showed in many ways as they did each session. Gabby refused to leave Gilda's side when they were in the session room. She would panic quickly if Ivy got too close, and second guessed her own words repeatedly whenever she spoke. Constant aversion of eye contact, repeatedly apologizing, frantic fidgeting, and many other signs that told Ivy a painful story. Any attempts at touch had to be initiated by Gabby and her alone, on top of this she would get flashbacks of her trauma very easily if Ivy asked the wrong question or prodded too deeply.

A whole list of trigger words had been rapidly collected that she now had to carefully dodge around when she needed Gabby to stay calm and push forward. She'd given a copy of the list to Gilda as well. The lion hen had seemed relieved just to have the paper to physically hold, let alone something to refer back on to help her friend. Some of the topics being talked about had very easily boiled Gilda's anger, but she'd done a good job of not taking over during the sessions.

It had taken three sessions alone just to get Gabby to not panic and attempt to flee the room. The extra doors and windows of Ivy's establishment had definitely been a good idea. Two of those sessions had taken place far from town, in a wooded park area. Ivy had also discovered she personally needed to do more cardio. Finding the hens had not been all that hard, but oof, they could get places a lot farther away and quicker than she could.

'As the crow flew' indeed.

As she read more up on griffons and their mental states, she had only grimaced deeper. Gabby was going to be among the hardest patients Ivy had ever worked with. Sure, she'd helped rape victims before, and knew how to work with them for the most part, but not griffon victims. The books she'd collected from the library had a scant few useful suggestions on how to handle the hens, and the worse part was that as she worked with them, she realized that not many of the options the books gave would help Gabby, thus Ivy was outpacing the previously collected information. It was a problem because now she was charting new territory.

With any new patient, this wasn't a very good thing to have happen. She'd been open and honest about it, informing the girls about their predicament, but the girls seemed to shrug it off a little too easily, unknowingly showing Ivy their ignorance on how troublesome that was going to be for Ivy. Gabby was tentatively coming out of her shell. Each session they broke new ground, however long it took, but with Ivy flying blind, things got tense. Ivy would never tell Gabby this, but the mare was personally horrified by the things Gabby had talked about. Her father was a truly dark individual that had cared for himself and his booze above all else. As a therapist she knew there were things in the tom's life that had led to him being that way, and part of her was morbidly curious about it. How had he gotten to where he was, and all those kinds of questions.

In the end however the curiosity had slowly burned away with her internal anger. Gabby had been hurt so badly and so many times. Griffon society was taught literally to turn a blind eye from other's problems. Gabby's own neighbors had apparently seen her getting abused on multiple occasions, and from her recounting of the incidents, they had simply scowled at her and closed the curtains to their homes. Even when she was outside and her father would drag her by her nape in his talons, the young hen kicking and screeching in terror as he yanked her back inside the house for "another round", as her father seemed to say, other griffons passed the crying hen by, acting as if she didn't even exist!

Gilda had clarified later that things in Griffonstone had improved since then, but Celestia help that tom in the afterlife, cause he was gonna need it.

Then there was Gilda. To Ivy's immense relief, the larger hen was far easier to work with in each talk. Most of their personal sessions had been about her personal reactions to Gabby's memories she would recount, and Ivy would sit for hours, letting Gilda talk her way back to a state of calm. Gilda also brought up internal paranoias, doubts and fears, and questions about how she thought. Her sexuality came up a few times, mostly showing her insecurities over her standing on who and what she was. Her fears of outer judgment though, seemed high on her status of worries and Ivy was more than capable in helping Gilda see new perspectives, to help the hen reach more positive ones. Gilda was already pretty confidant in her sense of self, but needed some guidance on how to keep those feelings going when others outside her came into her space.

Ivy's head and ears drooped as the hens vanished from sight and she heard the door jingle, signaling their exit. She needed a cup of strong coffee, a long break with a nice book, and a comfy place to snuggle down. That session, Gabby had brought up one of her worst traumas with her father, where he'd invited othersto the house to take part. Gabby had grown so riled up in fury she'd completely destroyed the couch, slashing into it and snarling the names of all the toms she'd dealt with throughout that horrible day, and night, and the following morning.

Gilda had intervened when Gabby had looked at the nearby bookshelf with a surge of murder in her eyes, snarling something about "horrible toms, book shelves, contortion," Her talons had done this rapid twitchy movement that sent a primal shiver rocketing up Ivy's spine. Something about that little movement was the sign of a predator seeing prey and Ivy's pony mind had not liked it one bit.

The two hens had gotten in an honest to Luna brawl, right there in the session room. Gabby had flailed at the shelf, her claws out trying to shred the books and shelving units. She kept screaming obscenities about "trophy hens', lecherous old toms, whatever a "cum dumpster' was, while Gilda (as gently as possible) had gripped Gabby around her midsection with both arms, pinned her wings to her back, gripped the smaller female's nape in her beak, and tried restraining Gabby down to the floor.

After a two minute tussle of wings flapping, screeching, snarling, claw swiping, legs kicking, and one solid punch to Gilda's beak on Gabby's part, Gilda had successfully gotten Gabby pinned by her good arm behind her back. Both hens were crying, panting hard, and in Gilda's case, she was warbling and crooning loudly above Gabby, physically resisting the urge to nuzzle her friend, and repeatedly apologizing. Gabby had devolved into chest heaving sobs. Her claws scratched deep into the floor as the hen's eyes had scrunched tightly shut. Hard tears had streaked down her cheek fluff and peals of screeching rattled Ivy's windows, the hen roared her pain into the carpet several times, shouting about her fury at her father, his so called buddies, and the way she was treated.

Several long, painful minutes had drifted by while they cooled off, but eventually Gabby's crying had dissipated into hiccups and soft warbles, as her friend shifted her into a comforting hug. It was here that Ivy witnessed for the first time how affectionate Gilda could be, how much she cared for her friend. She'd stroked Gabby's nape just under her feathery pony tail, whispering gentle words to her friend and rocking back and forth rhythmically, holding the smaller hen in her big wings, even as Gabby buried her beak in the hen's neck and chest feathers, mumbling her words deep. She balled her fists up and slammed them down onto Gilda's chest a few times in muffled fwumps of fury, through it all Gilda endured. She then let Gabby go when the panic and fear rose up from being touched, and she was there when Gabby came sobbing right back into her embrace when she needed it.

Ivy had never seen griffons fight before, whether it be for dominance or something else, but it had been terrible to witness, and the scene had left the mare shaken up and her session room in pieces. The session had of course, immediately ended after that. Ivy had said her apologies for dredging up too much, and Gilda had done everything she could to comfort Gabby as the hen tried her best to shrink and hide under her friend's wing.

Ivy later learned after gabby had calmed down, what the home book shelf at her father's nest had been improvised into and she wrote several new trigger words and items on her and Gilda's lists. She also gained a new hatred for the deceased tom. She also later removed the bookshelf and replaced it with an improvised nest of blankets and pillows.

The couch had to be taken to Sofa's and Quills for extensive repairs. Ivy never charged for the damages, and Gilda was grateful for it even if she never said it aloud.

Still, given their circumstances, both in the home and outside of it, Ivy had supported their idea of moving somewhere...nicer. Somewhere the girls wouldn't be so harshly judged for their interest in each other. Somewhere they could be themselves and not have to question if their neighbors and fellow griffons weren't going to constantly harass them. Ivy had also given them directions and a business card to a couples/sexuality specialist in Canterlot who could help Gilda and Gabby with their budding relationship if they needed or wanted support there.

The two hens had blushed and looked away from each other, but Gilda hadn't turned the info down, so it was a step in the right direction, Ivy hoped.

As she sat at her desk in the room over from her destroyed session room, She looked out the window and watched the hens as they walked towards the train station. Gilda was still holding Gabby close, and saying stuff to her. Gabby had her head leaned in against her friend's neck feathers, eyes closed with a sad expression on her face.

But Gabby's tail of all things, said all Ivy needed to know, to reassure the mare that the sessions were genuinely helping.

For both griffons, their tails were gently entwined together, the fluffy tufts brushed against one another as they walked away.

Gabby knew she had help now and she was reaching with both talons for the offered help.

Gilda gently closed the door to their apartment and slid the lock into place, as Gabby quietly prowled her way upstairs without a word. Lifting her claws up to her head crest, Gilda ran her claws over the feathers gently, trying to calm her frayed nerves as she smoothed them back into place. She was a little frazzled by the day's events, but for some reason, she was also smiling. Her heart was fluttering lightly in her chest as she watched Gabby reach her own bedroom door, and the smaller hen looked back down at her.

A small and fragile smile, but a true one, graced her beak, before Gabby disappeared inside. Gilda sighed in relief and went into the kitchen, and slumped in a chair at the dining room table. Her wings drooped to the floor and she dropped her head onto her crossed forearms. Gabby had, for the first time during their train ride back home, cuddled up against Gilda, under her wing, and didn't pull away. She had burrowed close, occasionally nuzzling her beak into her friend's side fur and warbling quietly as she rest her head on her claws. Gilda had even gotten a couple short moments of preening to Gabby's nape without the smaller hen jumping or flinching away.

It had felt wonderful. Amazing how a few moments of vulnerability and trust in one another could open worlds of joy and comfort for those who needed it. Gilda felt like a dehydrated flower that had been given water it didn't know it needed. Just being able to lay next to Gabby on the train, close and intimate, had sent her heart leaping from it's cage in absolute elation.

The trips to Ponyville were long, taking up most of the day to get to, do the session, and return home, but getting Gabby to go to each session was easier than Gilda had thought they'd be. She seemed to genuinely want the help, as long as Gilda went with her, and as an added benefit the therapy had also been helping Gilda figure stuff out about herself.

The first thing she'd learned, was that she hated being judged by others. She already knew this about herself, but it took actually hearing the words come from some one else, to fully realize what it was doing to her mental state. It really bothered her that other creatures opinions of her meant so much to her, especially after she'd told Gabby that she didn't care about such stuff. She really did, and she wanted to fix that. Gilda craved approval and recognition as an individual, and to lose that from her peers, was something she feared. To change this, she had to get a different perspective on her reactions to external influences.

Ivy had been that new perspective. She'd not so much pushed the topics, but with a deftly placed inquiry, the topics shifted to what needed to be said, and Gilda liked how deceptively helpful the sessions were. Ivy was capable of coaxing out the really important stuff, the real reason they were there at all, out of her patients without doing much. A lot of it seemed to simply be repeating the statements Gilda or Gabby would say, but phrasing them as questions, to reaffirm the subject matter, and from that simple touch, the flood doors of truth would burst open of their own accord.

More than once Gilda found herself simply talking about a troublesome topic without even realizing Ivy had gotten her to do so. It actually amazed Gilda how powerful Ivy's influence was on the hen and she started taking a liking to the mare for her skills.

"Ivy literally grew on me, heh." Gilda murmured with a grin. "Why are ponies always able to make puns of their own names so easily?" She chuckled and burrowed her beak deeper into the crook of her foreleg. The warmth was lulling her into a calmer state, and she subtly started purring.

She rest there for almost an hour, sort of lapsing in and out of consciousness as sleep fought to drop her into dreams right then and there. She let the sounds of the house dance around her as she relaxed. The drip of the sink that she always said she'd fix but never did, now maybe she wouldn't. It wasn't an actual problem as she thought about it, it was an assumption that such a tiny thing was a problem. The groaning of the support beams in the walls, was now more like a soft murmur in her ears, and the wind outside pushing against the kitchen window acted like a casual creaking conversation heard from far off.

Moments of simply listening are rather nice, Gilda hummed in thought. I should do this more often...

Gilda would have probably drifted off to sleep right there, had she not been nudged into wakefulness by Gabby. The hen had snuck downstairs and gotten right next to Gilda. So calm was the larger hen that she'd subconsciously mingled the paw padding sounds, the creak of the stairs, and shuffling of Gabby's feathers right into the house's natural noises. Gabby was holding a small stuffed green and purple dragon plush, held in the crook of her good wing. That plushie prodded some part of Gilda's memory, but she couldn't place where she knew the dragon from. Gabby was rubbing at a sleepy closed right eye with one hand and looking at Gilda with the open left eye.

"Hey, I didn't wake you did I?" Gabby mumbled.

Gilda waved her talons in a back and forth motion. "Nah, I was just resting up for a moment. I was only here for--" Her eyes found the nearby clock and she stopped talking. She'd being resting at the table for two hours!? Her head crest drooped a tad.

"Uh...okay I didn't think I'd been here for that long." She slouched a bit and stared at nothing in particular. "Maybe I was more tired than I thought."

Gabby lowered her gaze, shuffling her wings. "Was it cause we fought?" The plushie shifted in her wings grip, the head flopping to the side as if personifying Gabby's question.

Gilda frowned, and stepped a little closer, noting that Gabby twitched but didn't back away. She dared to get close enough that Gabby and her were a foot or so apart. "Gabby, don't worry about that, that wasn't your fault." She chirped a little loudly, making Gabby actually look up at her instead of the floor. Gilda smiled but in a sympathetic way. "You're going through some really hard memories, reacting how you did today was natural, or so Ivy told me. We have to let you come to terms with...all that stuff, in your own way."

Not exactly the best way to phrase it but Gilda was drowsy and not in a mood to really try for accuracy. She knew Gabby liked it a little blunt at times. Nothing to hide from, that way. Gabby seemed to understand and nodded. "Okay, still, I'm sorry for punching you..."

Gilda blinked and then subconsciously lifted her claws to rub at her cheek. "Its fine, I certainly didn't expect it, but you have one hell of a left hook." She blushed and went to say more, but Gabby's stomach suddenly growled in protest and the hen seemed to come back to her senses. She laughed gently and walked past Gilda, setting her dragon plushie on the table before hopping up into the seat.

"Oh, um, thank you. Could we maybe have dinner? I fell asleep in my nest, woke up a few minutes ago and ah, realized how hungry I was..." Gabby blushed and covered her beak with her left hand and looked at the floor again. Her chest fluffed up a little as she fought to continue. "You um, your cooking is really good by the way, and I like it." She eeeped out with a tiny squeak.

Gilda subtly tilted her head a little at the compliment and blushed in return, she opened her wings a bit, warbling gently. "Th-thanks, Gabs, that means a lot to me. You um, want anything specifically?"

Gabby lowered her claws and shook her head. Her smile slowly increased as normalcy returned to the conversation and her neck feathers relaxed more. "N-not really, would it be okay if you surprised me?"

Gilda grinned, gaining her usual mojo back. "Oh? That's giving me a lot of power, I might make something spicy!" She turned around and walked to the fridge, opening the door and peering in to see what they had for options. Hmm, the fridge did need restocking, but she could work with what she saw, maybe a meaty stew. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Gabby's gaze roaming over her body and she purred confidently.

Gabby caught her looking back and immediately looked away with a blush and light little whimper. She drummed her claws on the table and tried to act normal but it completely failed. Gilda paused and thought back to something Ivy had suggested she try in one of their previous one on one sessions that might help Gabby gain some more confidence.

"Gabby?" She said quietly, now looking back into the fridge. She reached for some meat on the lower shelf. purposefully lowering her front and elevating her rump. She swished her tail to and fro, and purred more when she saw Gabby started staring again. "You ah, do know it's okay with me if you look at me like that, right?"

Gabby sucked in her breath and barely whispered. "...W-what?" she looked away and covered her face with her claws trying to hide her increasing blush. "I w-wasn't trying to--"

"Gabby." Gilda said again, watching as Gabby peeked from behind her claws. Gilda then stood back up and set the meat on the cutting board and pulled a knife out of the block, slowly and carefully slicing into the red chunk. "I said...it's okay if you look at me like that." She paused in her slicing and felt her own blush increase. Gilda let her feathers fluff up and her wings opened slightly. She tilted her head to the side so she could see Gabby, watching her with wide eyes. "I um, I actually like it when you admire my body."

"EEP!"

Gilda watched as Gabby's wings both rapidly extended to their full length and her neck ruff popped out completely. Gabby's face was red as could be, and the hen opened her beak and closed it, desperately trying to get words out but failing hopelessly. "I-I-I wasn't...you can't just come out and--GILDA!" Gabby shrieked and clenched her claws into fists at her sides, She hissed as Gilda giggled and went back to her cooking.

Gilda said nothing, and merely focused on her work. She pulled more foodstuffs from the fridge, and set a pot on the stove, the whole time, she dipped her front end, fluttered her wings, and sashayed her hips. Occasionally she'd stretch a leg a little farther then was necessary, allowing Gabby a peak at her teats lower down her belly. As she was doing so, she heard subtle little gasps, 'oohs', 'o-oh my's' and even purring come from behind her.

Gabby was certainly enjoying the little display. When Gabby couldn't hold back and chirped loudly in approval, it made Gilda look back. Gabby had covered her beak with her claws in shock and had looked shocked at her reaction, she then then quickly hid behind a wing. Something in Gilda twitched in the primal part of her being and for some deep reason, Gilda just knew she was actively starting a courtship dance for Gabby. Judging bythe smaller hen's reactions, she was hitting all the right buttons. She purred loudly without even meaning to and spread her hind legs instinctively. Gabby suddenly chirped again in reply.

Maybe I should lift my tail so she can get a full view of my--A loud choked gasp cut her thoughts off and Gilda looked back, that gasp hadn't sounded like a good one.

Gabby was no longer in the now spinning chair anymore, she was bolting for the stairs.

"OOOhhhmygodsiamsosorry! Igottagotothebathroomi'llberightback!" Gabby practically wheezed the words out in one breath as she disappeared in the weirdest crouch/waddle/prowl Gilda had ever seen, up the stairs faster then she probably should have safely with her previous injuries.

Gilda blinked in confusion for several seconds, the stirring ladle held aloft and dripping a few times in her talons as she stared in confusion after Gabby. She looked to the chair as it toppled over, a small puddle of clear liquid staining the sitting spot. "What, what just happened--" Then her beak nares flared as a new smell assaulted her senses.

The scent that now permeated her beak was NOT from the cooking food. She felt her own wings explode out right along with her own neck ruff. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd done to Gabby.

"Oooooooh...uh, o-oops?" She said aloud.

The food was momentarily forgotten as Gilda peered around the kitchen wall to the upper landing. "Um, s-sorry Gabby!" She yelled.

Gabby made no intelligible noises from the bathroom, but Gilda could hear a few of the noises she was making and it made her wing muscles tighten harder, knowing what Gabby was...taking care of.

Gilda walked rigidly back to the food with firm steps, and held her forehead with three claws and grit her beak as she stirred the stew.

"Dammit...I totally ruined that moment..." She grumbled and smacked the counter with a fist. "I was trying to relieve her stress not increase it!" She hissed.

Gilda stared at the stew for a second, watching the bits of meat and veggies float in and out of view, before she blinked in a moment of realization, "Huh, I guess I relieved something...heh."

Then she immediately slapped her forehead. "Gah! That was terrible!"

A heavy screech of pleasure broke through the bathroom door and reached Gilda downstairs. The hen blushed as hard as she could. "ah shit...I am never living this down am I?"

The answer was another screech of muffled pleasure from upstairs.

Maybe I can die by drowning in stew...Gilda thought as she hid her red cheeked face in her wings and claws.

Dinner had been awkward, but also not unpleasant. Gilda had finished all the prep work while Gabby took a quick shower and freshened up. When the two re-met back in the kitchen, eyes were averted and wings fought to stay at their owners sides for several long minutes. Gabby cleaned the chair, wiped down the table, and then sat back down. Gilda poured two bowls of the stew and reaching the table, slid one bowl over to Gabby, murmuring another 'sorry' before sitting across from her and blowing on her food.

A slurp here, a slurp there, the occasional glance at each other, immediately following by looking away quickly.

Gabby swallowed her fifth or sixth bite, and then smiled. "It's um, it's really good."

Gilda nodded and replied a little too quickly "Oh! y-yeah, I uh...added pepper?" She stared at her bowl in a moment of serious confusion.

Brain, what the hell was that?

Gabby feigned surprise, picking up her spoon and slurping the liquid. "O-oh? Nice touch, I um...I like pepper, it's...not salt?"

Gilda blinked a few times and quickly slurped up another bite, "Mm hmm!"

....Yeah shit was awkward.

The two hens continued to eat in silence for a time, before Gabby tried again. "S-so...uh, its Sunday tomorrow, are you gonna open the bakery?"

Gilda set her spoon down on the table and nodded slowly. "Uuuh yup, I kinda need to, gotta make more bits and all, right?" She quickly felt her worry spike as Gabby quirked a brow. Gilda held up her claws defensively "N-Not to say we are low on bits or anything, we most certainly aren't! I just...it's...the correct answer to...your..." Gilda lowered her gaze and flexed her claws a few times. She sucked in a breath and let it out, she hated this stupid tension. Griffons walking on eggshells around each other felt like a horrible metaphor for their species but damn was it currently accurate!

"Okay fuck it, I'm sorry I did that you, okay?" She said bluntly.

Gabby blushed very brightly, but nodded. "Um...kay."

Gilda stood and grabbed her bowl, walking to the sink and placing the bowl under running water. She gripped the sink with both hands and flexed them. "I just, I felt confidant about doing that sort of thing, ya know?" Her tail thrashed back and forth frantically. "I just figured...It felt right! We had a bad day, mostly, not all, and we needed something to take our minds off the stress, right?"

Gabby was quiet, and that didn't help Gilda's stress levels at all. Gilda stared out the window and ran her claws through her neck fur. "I mean, I've never done that sort of thing for anybody! So it was all on the spot, now that I think about it, my moves probably weren't that good, which means it wasn't a good courtship dance to begin with--"

"I liked it."

Gilda kept talking, her voice picking up and cracking slightly. "I mean doing that sort of thing? It scares me, okay?! I probably broke so many mating ritual rules, are there even rules for a proper courtship dance? I don't know! what if I--"

Gabby stood and walked closer. "Um, I liked it, Gilda. It wasn't--"

"What if I did some taboo movement that males are supposed to only do!?" Gilda flailed her arms in the air frantically. "Is that even a thing? Female to male dance moves for mating?! Does it send a bad message? Grover's balls! If I did do that, I don't even now what movement meant what! She whipped around intending on Begging Gabby to say something, anything!

And promptly lost her voice as Gabby snapped her claws out and clamped Gilda's beak shut.

"I...liked it." Gabby murmured after a moment. Gilda finally heard her and blinked in surprise.

"Mu iid?" Gilda muffled. Gabby giggled and let go of Gilda's beak.

"I did." Both hens blushed and shared a moment of peace as they looked in different directions and shuffled about. Gilda went to speak but Gabby beat her to it. "It was genuine, I could tell you were doing each move with purpose, you might not have known what you were doing, but um...you wanted me to watch..."

Gilda's eyes widened more as her beak slowly opened. "Y-yeah, Yeah! Yes I did!" She laughed shortly "Ha! My courtship dance worked?"

Gabby titled her head to the side and nodded. "Yes?"

Gilda laughed more and did a little hopping pitter patter dance in place. "Ha ha! I did a proper mating dance!" She lifted her head up and warbled excitedly to the ceiling. Gabby felt her enjoyment of the scene before her rise, as she watched her friend slowly come to a stop, and blink in confusion as her mind caught up with her body.

Gilda suddenly furrowed her brow and looked at her feet, like they'd personally insulted her. "Wh-why the fuck am I so excited about this!?"

Gabby clapped a paw over her mouth as she fought not to laugh. Gilda looked so perplexed by her own actions. The bigger hen flapped her wings several times in energetic confusion, fighting back her smile. "I don't get it, what is this? I...I wanna keep dancing!" She hissed and then flared her wings open to their fullest. Here eyes found Gabby and a weird sensation traveled over the smaller hen. That gaze...there was something primal about it. Gilda was staring at her with the eyes of a griffon who had found something...shiny. Gabby watched in rapt attention as Gilda puffed out her chest feathers, strutted in place, and then...chirped several times in a strange musical pattern.

Gabby's muffled giggles died in her throat as it happened. Those odd sensations returned full force. She sat up straight and cocked her head at Gilda almost comically. Both hens felt something they'd only rarely experienced bubble up in their chests. Primal Urge. Gilda chirped the same notes again more confidently, and stood, slowly drawing her wings up and circling Gabby.

Gabby in turn felt a deep need to return a reply to the strange noises and movement. She lifted her head up, trilled, warbled, and chirped back several of her own musical notes in rapid succession and Gilda's reaction was immediate. The bigger hen repeated her chirps with more energy, adding a few of Gabby's notes to her little song, and then Gabby responded, mixing Gilda's in as well.

The understanding of the situation was known to the hens, but lost in the moment. They both knew what was happening, and neither fought it.

Closer and closer the two hens circled. Their eyes never leaving one another's as the songs mixed, and became one. Their wings brushed against each other and sent electric sensations slipping down their spines, and a little voice in their heads screamed to keep going. That what ever this urge was, it was RIGHT.

Another shared song note, louder, extra energetic, and more in sync. Closer they drew to one another.

Wing primary feathers entwined and grasped together like long talons, another song, even closer, so close to being right.

One more song, now sung at the same time, their heads tilted to the ceiling, chins inches apart, as their talons reached up and closed together with a mirrored set of claws, the two hens breast feathers blended in a mixture of color as their chests pushed into one another.

The song slowly, and gently fell away to be claimed by silence, as their beaks lowered, passing by their counterpart in almost perfect sync, to brush softly, tender as snow falling to the forest floor, against each other. Deep vibrations were sent over to one another as their throats emitted heavy purring. Eyes opened, they gazed into each other other silently for several seconds before Gabby leaned forward and Gilda opened her mouth in confusion as their synchronicity suddenly broke.

"Gabby what--"

...

...

...

There are no words that Gilda knew she could use to accurately describe how beautiful a first kiss is. If ever there were a pure and perfect thing in their world, that was deserving of being protected and never tarnished, Gilda would forever claim after that night, that it was Gabby's kiss.

Author's Note

Such is the way of love, to always be in trapped an unsolved puzzle we seek to understand, but it is in being lost, that we unlock love.