Silverstream stood patiently in the front of the classroom, eyes scanning over the gathered crowd of human and pony foals filing into the room and taking a seat upon the plush carpet in front of her. The children were far cuter than they had any right to be, their faces filled with awe and eyes brimming with curiosity at meeting a new and (comparatively) exotic creature. She loved children, and it took a great deal of willpower to keep from fidgeting in excitement. Her niece, however, Tidepool, was much less enthusiastic about the crowd. Preferring to hide behind the thick curtain of her aunt’s mane and the height of her withers.
Scanning the room one last time to make sure everyone was situated and attentive, Silverstream swiveled her head behind her and gently bit down upon the scruff of her niece. Pulling the nervous fledgling away from her concealed roost, she set them down between her forelegs and sat back on her haunches.
“Greetings! So first things first, my name is Silverstream and this is my niece Tidepool. We’re here to teach you all about how to safely interact with us Hippogryphs. Do you all have any questions before we start?”
A few seconds of silence ensued before a single hand shot up from the crowd.
“Yes, you there, what would you like to ask?” Silverstream inquired, pointing out to the child.
“Umm. Do you want to be called Mrs, or Doctor? My mother gets upset about that,” The human boy answered.
“And what’s your name?”
“Jeremy”
“Well Jeremy, you can just call me Silverstream. Are there any other questions? No? Well then, let’s get started!”
Giving Tidepool a gentle pat on her back, Silverstream bent down to whisper into her ear. “You’re doing good, just let me know if you’re getting too nervous okay?”
“Mhhm,” Tidepool nodded, their head shaking just a bit from all the eyes fixated on them.
“For our first point on hippogryph safety: never ever put your hands, hooves, or other appendages near a hippogryph’s beak! Our beaks are designed to catch and eat fish so they’re very sharp and they can cut you really bad if you’re not careful,” Silverstream emphasized the words by craning her neck back and displaying the wicked hook of her beak. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tidepool beneath her mimicking the motion.
The crowd was mostly enraptured, although Silverstream did spy a few kids who were a bit put off by her raptorial beak. Clearing her throat, the hippogryph continued. “This is especially true around really young hippogryphs. Since we hatch from eggs, our chicks have an instinct to nip at anything that comes near their face. Like how baby birds open their mouths whenever their parents are at the nest. Usually, they’ll just give you a bruise, but some are strong enough to pierce your skin or worse.”
“I did that when I was younger. I accidentally bit Aunt Silverstream’s wings when I was a fledgling. It’s still a bit embarrassing,” Tidepool murmured, hiding her face behind her wings as she scooted between her aunt’s forelimbs.
“Yup! Tidepool was a biter when she was young, I still have a scar on my wingtip from when that happened. So make sure you don't put your hands near a hippogryph’s beak! It can be painful if you don’t follow that rule.”
Silverstream took a moment to clear her throat before continuing. “Since this is a mixed classroom, these next points are probably known by the humans in the class. And those are that you should never try to ride a hippogryph without their permission. Nor should you startle or make a hippogryph feel unsafe while you are behind them.”
“Much like the ponies here in the classroom, we hippogryphs can get scared when someone crawls on our back without our knowledge. If you get bucked off when we get scared, you could get seriously hurt. Especially if you try climbing on an adult hippogryph, we can fling you quite hard.”
“Also like ponies, we instinctively buck our hindlegs at threats behind us. If you sneak up from behind and spook us, you could end up breaking bones or worse if we hit you in the right way. If you’re approaching one of us from behind, just give us a sign you’re there before you get too close.”
“Any questions before we move onto our final segment?”
This time another human hand shot up, this one belonging to a young girl. “I’m Avalyn, and can we ride a hippogryph while they fly? I’ve always wanted to fly.”
Silverstream’s heart melted at the sweetness in the girl’s voice. “Well Avalyn, the answer is yes! The hippogriff will need a safety harness for you to ride on, and they’ll have to pass a test to allow riders. But if you find a hippogryph that’s passed the test, has riding gear, and you have a parent or guardian with you. You can ride a hippogryph!”
“Awesome! Thank you, Silverstream!”
“No problem Avalyn! Does anybody else have anything to ask before we move on to our final section?”
After a few brief moments of silence, Silverstream wetted her tongue and continued speaking. “Lastly, it’s important to be careful around a hippogryph’s front legs. As you can see from me and Tidepool, we have some really sharp claws there,” she explained as she lifted a limb for emphasis.
“This is likely familiar to the ponies here in the room, if you bump into our forelegs we might reflexively kick at you. Which can result in you getting cut really badly in the worst-case scenarios. Bad enough that you’ll have to go to the hospital, and have scars for the rest of your life. So please, please don’t goof around any of our legs.”
Glancing over to the clock, a jolt of panic raced through her mind. “Oh shoot we’re running out of time here. So, I’ll just touch on two more things and we’ll be done. First, don’t go touching a hippogriff’s wings without their consent. That’s a big no-no, as the pegasi in the class can attest. And lastly, if a hippogryph bows their head before you, that means we trust you, and this spans across all hippogryph cultures. Now that’s all the time we have for today, but I’ll be back next Wednesday along with a whole bunch of other species when the Safety Faire starts. I hope to see you all then!”
