Holiday with the Hippogriffs
Gallus absentmindedly tapped his talons on the train bench he was sitting on. He was simultaneously filled with excitement and nervousness. Not that he'd admit to either. After last year's Holiday season, and the reveal that he was an orphan, Sliverstream had invited him to join her and her family for the three days of freedom celebration. He hadn't been sure of it, but when Silversteam practically begged him to come he'd agreed.
Now he and Silverstream were on a train heading for Mount Aris. Gallus was excited by the thought of actually celebrating a Holiday. Still he couldn't deny that he was a bit uncomfortable. Not that it was anycreatures' fault really. They'd all been quite nice. He just couldn't help but notice he was the only griffin on the train. Not that he should be surprised as Mount Airis was very far away, and most griffins wouldn't go out of their way to visit. It made him feel out of place.
"You nervous?" A cheerful voice asked. He broke from his thoughts to see Silverstream looking at him intently.
He scoffed. "No."
Sliverstream smirked. "Yes you are! You're digging your talons into the seat!"
Gallus realized she was correct. Sometime in his inner thoughts he'd gone from tapping his talons on the seat to digging them into the seat. He quickly stopped, not wanting to pay for the damage.
"I am not." Gallus insisted.
Silverstream gave him a side hug, which he allowed even if he felt incredibly awkward about it. "It's okay to be nervous! I totally get it! Just know that my family is incredibly excited to meet you!"
"They are?" Gallus swallowed. He hoped he would make a good impression.
Silverstream seemed to have read his thoughts as she said. "My family's gonna love you Gallus! Just be yourself."
Right. Just be himself. He could do that. Right? Before he had time to dwell on it the train came to a stop. "We're here! Come on!" Silverstream grabbed his front talon and began to run off the train, dragging him along. He imagined this was going to be a thing. Once they exited the train station it was a short walk to Mount Aris.
"This is where you live?!" He said, gaping at the giant picturesque mountain in front of him. He had known she lived on a mountain. Obviously, it was called Mount Aris. He just hadn't expected said mountain to be this tall.
"Yep. It's pretty great right?!" Silverstream replied.
"I mean it's okay." He retorted, not wanting to seem too excited. "It's a long way up. I'm glad we have wings."
"Me too." Silverstream giggled. They began to fly up the mountain. "Once we get there, we'll meet up with dad, I can't wait to see his face!"
Gallus nodded. "Fine."
It wasn't long until they reached the top. Gallus couldn't help but stare. The place was way nicer than Griffinstone. A huge archway made up of two pony heads carved out of rock, stood at the far side of the village. The houses were built into the trees with several large windows just beneath the canopy, and smaller windows up their trunks. Everycreature was gathered in the center of town. He had no idea which hippogriff was Silversteam's father.
"There he is! Dad!" Silverstream grabbed his talon and once again dragged him with her. This time it was to a cyan hippogriff with yellow eyes and a lighter blue crest of feathers.
"Silverstream!" The hippogriff greeted, hugging his daughter enthusiastically. "I haven't seen you in moons!"
"I missed you too!" Silverstream agreed, hugging him back. After the larger hippogriff put Silverstream down, he turned to Gallus.
"You must be Gallus. Silverstream talks about you all the time. She talks about all her friends but especially you." The older Hippogriff told him.
Silverstream looked nervous. "Dad!" He chuckled in response.
"Uh, nice to meet you...sir?" Gallus wasn't sure how they did things here. In Griffinstone it was perfectly acceptable to yell out 'Hey you!' and hope the griffin you wanted to talk to realized you were talking about them.
"No need for that. Call me Skybeak." Skybeak said.
"Right." Gallus clawed at the ground nervously. He followed Skybeak and Silverstream. He quickly realized they were leaving the village. "Uh, where are we going?"
"Home." Silverstream said.
"I thought you lived on the mountain?" Gallus frowned.
"I do, we have more than one house. Remember that book I read you last year?"
"The one meant for tourists?" He asked.
"That's the one. On the first day of freedom we celebrate in Seaquestria, to thank the Ocean for hiding us from the storm king." Silverstream explained.
"Right. Wait, that means we're going underwater?"
"Of course!" Silverstream said.
Gallus was confused. "You know I can't breathe underwater right?" At this point they had made it to the beach. Hippogriffs were transforming into seaponies and entering the water. "I mean I know you guys can transform, but I can't."
"Don't worry, it's not a problem, just hold my talon."
Gallus did so. Silverstream touched her necklace and a bright light enveloped the two of them. It took him a moment to register what had happened. He had transformed, but not in the same way as Silverstream. The lower half of his body was now a tailfin, his talons had transformed into flippers, and his beak was now a snout but that was where the similarities stopped. Unlike Silverstream, the feathers on his upper half had not turned into smooth flesh. Instead they had merely become like that of a duck. Essentially waterproofing them.
"Wow! I've never seen that before! Cool!" Silverstream cheered. "Come on!" Gallus quickly found himself underwater and though he knew he'd be able to breathe he began to hold his breath on instinct.
"Well it's been a year since I've been in this form. Feels nice to go back every year." Skybeak said. Skybeak, like Sliverstream, had transformed into a seapony. He looked at Gallus and chuckled. "You might want to stop that."
Gallus nodded and did so. "Well you try changing species for the first time in your life and we'll see how to do."
He finally took in his surroundings. Unsurprisingly he had never been under the water. It was a lot clearer than he would have expected, with reefs, rocks, and various plant life all around him. It was pretty cool.
"Come on! My house is this way!" Silverstream said. He followed her, taking in the sights. Eventually they reached the village. Here the houses looked like giant lanterns, glowing with a soft pink light. In the center was a larger, more ornate house. Presumably where the leader lived.
Gallus didn't know how Silverstream knew which of the, as far as he could tell, idental lanturn houses was hers, but she found it and gestured for him to come inside. Gallus followed. The living area was small but looked nice. A coral table sat in the center, a light blue plant was placed as a centerpiece. Several large rocky pieces were near the ceiling. On the far left was a shelf full of various knick knacks, amongst other things.
"Silverstream!" A large female seapony with a yellow body and purple fins exclaimed hugging his friend. "Welcome home baby! It's been so long since I last saw you! Have you gotten bigger?"
"Maybe? I don't know, but I'm so happy to see you too!" Silverstream replied. Gallus felt a bit uncomfortable. This seemed like a private moment. Before he could get too nervous, Silverstream withdrew from her mother, gesturing to him. "Mom, this is Gallus!"
The yellow seapony chuckled. "Oh, so this is the Gallus you've been raving about. The one you think would look cute with his feathers in a ponytail?"
"Mom!" Silverstream exclaimed, seeming embarrassed.
"Oh right, you don't want him to know" The yellow seapony winked. She turned to him. "I'm Ocean Flow."
"Nice to meet you." Gallus replied.
Another seapony, this one about Silverstream's size, with a white body and teal fins swam into the room. "Welcome home sis!"
"Terramar!" Silverstream hugged the smaller pony. Gallus felt off. He wasn't sure why. He'd wanted to come. He'd wanted to spend the Holidays with Silverstream's family. Yet now that he was here, he felt... upset? Why would that be?
"We're all going to the celebration! Mom and Dad will catch up. They want to spend some time alone." Terramar told them.
Silverstream raised her eyebrows in a teasing way. "We're going. Don't do anything too drastic."
Silverstream and Terramar swam out the door. Gallus followed. Silverstream was talking to her brother. Catching each other up on what had gone on while they were separated. Gallus watched them, wondering what it would be like to have another Griffin to catch up with.
It wasn't long until they made it to the celebration. Seaponies were all dancing. Silverstream turned to him with a wide grin. "We made it in time for the dancing!"
Gallus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I don't dance."
"Come on! It'll be fun!" Silverstream told him. Before he could protest she had dragged him in amongst the crowd of seaponies.
"I'm not sure what to do." He admitted quietly.
"Just dance! There's no wrong way to do it!" She encouraged him. Together they spun around. She twirled in front of him. It was awkward at first, but soon enough he found himself swept up by the music. He stopped thinking and just moved.
Silverstream beamed at him. "Yeah! That's it!" She began to copy him and he smiled back. It was a lot of fun, but all too soon. The music stopped.
"What's happening now?" He asked.
"The whales are going to sing for us." Silverstream said. Gallus raised an eyebrow at this. When the whales began their song, he found himself taken aback. It was a beautiful series of hums. At least that was the best way he could think to describe it. Low and mournful, yet happy at the same time. It was like no singing he'd ever heard. He let himself fall into it. It was serene.
Eventually the whales did stop singing. The dance music began again. Gallus raised another brow. "Is the dancing going on all day?"
"Yeah, and the whale singing will happen every hour or so. Not every Seapony arrives at the same time, so they try to make it available often." Silverstream explained. "Never mind the dancing now! Let's go make some shell necklaces!"
"Shell necklaces?" Gallus said skeptically.
"Yeah, first we gather a bunch of little seashells!"
The seashells weren't too hard to find. They were scattered all about the ocean floor. Terramar joined them at some point. He and Silverstream began looking together. Apparently Silverstream was trying to find shells of a specific color. Everytime Terramar found one in that color he'd give it to her. Gallus wondered how nice it would be to have someone willing to do things for you without needing to be paid.
He wasn't going for any specific kind of shell. He just gathered as many as he could, or all shapes and colors. Once they were done, Silverstream lead them to a table, where a number or seaponies were already hard at work on their necklaces.
Silverstream handed him a string with a needle. He looked at the pile of shells in front of him. He picked one up nad attempted to push the needle through it. It shattered. He frowned and tried again, only to have the same result. He was getting frustrated, but he kept going, No shell was going to beat him! Yet shell after shell broke. Just as he was about to give up Silverstream interrupted.
"How's yours coming along?!" Silverstream asked. She saw the pile of broken shells. "Yikes."
"I'm bad at this." Gallus sighed.
"It's okay. You're just being too rough. Seashells are delicate. You have to be gentle. I'll show you." Silverstream grabbed his talon and began to guide him. He had to admit, she was right. Her gentle guidance made where he'd gone wrong all too apparent. Eventually he figured it out and finished about half the necklace alone.
"Here!" Silverstream said, handing her the necklace she'd been making. All the seashells were a yellow that matched his eyes. "I made it for you."
He smiled, and put it around his neck. "It's nice." He said. "You can have mine if you want?"
His own shell necklace was not nearly as nice in his opinion, but Silverstream didn't seem to care as she happily placed it around her neck.
The rest of the day went much the same until dinner. They would dance, listen to the whale songs, talk and mingle. Gallus wasn't the most social of creatures but he was having a good time. After all, no one was yelling at him, and he wasn't alone in the cold. Occasionally he'd see Silverstream parents having fun too. Especially dancing. He got the feeling they didn't do that together often.
Eventually things calmed down and all went into their houses to eat. The coral table had now been set, although Gallus wasn't entirely sure about the menu. The fish oil tea was good, but the kelp chips weren't really to his taste. As they ate, Ocean Flow spoke up. "So Gallus, how are things going for you?"
"Well I don't have any schoolwork and the celebration has been fun so far. A little too much dancing for me though." He replied.
"So what's your home like?" Terramar asked.
Gallus frowned. "Can we talk about something else?"
Ocean Flow, seeming to sense this was a sore subject, tried to change the conversation. "So, what do you think of Seaquestria?"
"It's pretty, things are full of life, and the seaponies have been nice.' He replied. He wasn't great at explaining how he felt about things, but that seemed to be an accurate statement.
"We're glad you're having a great time. If you get homesick, feel free to let us know what we can do to make you comfortable." Skybeak said.
Gallus pushed away his plate suddenly, not feeling so hungry. "Trust me that won't happen."
The family seemed to sense they'd said something wrong. The air was awkward for a few moments before Silverstream broke the silence. "I'll show Gallus the guest room."
"Alright feel free to ask us for anything. Really." Ocean Flow said.
Silently Gallus followed Silverstream down a short hall. "Sorry, I didn't tell my parents about your home situation. Seemed like something you wouldn't want everycreature to know." She admitted.
"You're right about that. Even if it does lead to this kind of thing, I don't want anyone to pity me." Gallus replied.
"Hey, my family would like you either way!" Silverstream said. They reached an open doorway. Inside was a single bed and matching bedside table, both made out of coral. Gallus swam inside and lay down. He just wanted to sleep. "Gallus?" Silverstream said.
"What?" He responded, trying not to sound upset.
"I'll save some kelp fritters for you." Given he hadn't liked the kelp chips he didn't think the kelp fritters would appeal to him, but she didn't need to know that.
"Thanks." He sighed.
It took him a bit to sleep. After all, falling asleep underwater, even if you knew you could breathe, didn't feel easy. He felt kind of bad. Silverstream's parents were just trying to be nice. It wasn't their fault he'd grown up in griffinstone.
He wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep exactly. Just that the next thing he knew he was abruptly awoken by an excited Silverstream. "Come on! Get up! It's day two of the the freedom celebration!"
He groaned. "Fine."
When he got to the living area it was to find Silverstream's family all eating breakfast. A plate with two kelp fritters was clearly meant for him. He gave Silverstream a smile, sat down and began eating them.
"Good morning Gallus." Ocean Flow said.
"About last night." Skybeak added. "We don't know what we said to upset you, but we're sorry."
Gallus shrugged. "It's not your fault." The kelp fritters were still not the most appetizing thing to eat, but he could definitely say they were better than the chips.
"Today we go back to Mount Aris!" Terramar cheered.
"It's been awhile since I've been up there. It might take some getting used to." Ocean Flow chuckled.
"I'm sure you'll do fine," Skybeak reassured her.
"It's the best part of the three days for freedom! Getting to see you in hippogriff form and dad in seapony form I mean!" Terramar beamed.
Soon enough breakfast was down and they all began to swim back towards the surface. It wasn't just them either. It seemed every seapony there was doing the same. He slowed a bit and waited for Silverstream to notice. Once she did she slowed her own pace to match his, just like he'd hoped. "What's up?" She asked.
"I was just wondering what Terramar was talking about at breakfast. Why is seeing your parents in their second forms exciting?" He asked.
"Oh that's easy. You see Gallus, when the storm king attacked we used a magic pearl to change into seaponies so we could hide from him. Once he was defeated we could return to Mount Aris and restore it to its former glory. Some of us took to that easily, but others had gotten so used to being seaponies that it felt weird to live on land. So they decided they wanted to live in the sea. My father has always been proud of his Hippogriff heritage, so when he got the chance to live as one again, he was more than ready. My mother on the other claw, wanted to remain in the sea. It was hard for my parents to decide what to do. Eventually they came to an agreement. She would live in the sea, and he would live on the land. So it unusual to see them in their other form." Silverstream exposited.
"Wow, that was so easy to explain." Gallus deadpanned.
Silverstream giggled. "Okay, maybe it's a little complicated."
They reached the surface and he held Sliverstream's talon. She touched her necklace and they changed back into their 'normal' forms. Well normal for him anyway. "As fun as seeing underwater was, I'm glad to be back in my own body."
"Huh, did the air always feel this heavy?" Ocean Flow asked, now in the form of a female adult hippogriff with a yellow body and purple crest.
"You'll adjust soon enough. In the meantime if you feel the need for me to support you I don't mind." Skybeak told her.
"Thank you, but I'm sure I can walk just fine." Ocean Flow told him.
The hippogriffs all began to head for the back of the village. Gallus turned to Silverstream. "Where are we going now?"
"To the harmonizing heights! There will be sky dancing and a wind song! After that we'll go back to the village for an aerial routine, and then we'll have dinner in the refreshment tent." Silverstream told him.
"Great more dancing." Gallus rolled his eyes.
"This is different! We'll be dancing in the air!" She said,
He was about to playfully retort when they passed under the large wall at the back of the village. The view was stunning. A lush green landscape with trees and a river running through it. None of this was what caught his attention though. No it was the fact that the landscape seemed to be singing. A chorus of bell-like notes filled the air around them.
The Hippogriffs didn't hesitate, with the strange music of unknown origin already provided, they flew into the sky and began dancing. Gallus realized Silverstream had been correct. The sky provided opportunity for many moves the water didn't. Some circled each other in flight, others dove and rose. It was a sight to behold.
Not that he got to behold it for long as Silverstream took hold of his talon and quickly joined in. This time he didn't pause. He simply began to dance right along with her. They swirled through the air around each other. She gave him a daring glance and glanced downward. He smirked back and together they dove down until they nearly touched the ground. Just before the would crash they swooped upwards still swirling around each other as though caught in a windstorm.
They continued like that. Simply moving in whatever ways they felt like, until both of them were exhausted. Gallus landed and Silverstream joined him. "Okay, that's enough dancing for today." He gasped. "Any more and I might have a heart attack."
Silverstream laughed, and they continued to watch the other hippogriff's dance. The chiming bell like tune had become something more over the time they'd danced. Listening to it now, it sounded triumphant. "So this is the day you celebrate the storm king's defeat?" He asked.
She nodded. "You have to understand. The storm king was taking control of everycreature around, and we were next. The only way we could think to stay out of his grasp was to use the magic pearl to change into seaponies. That meant abandoning everything we built here. We missed everything about it. We couldn't get too loud, or too noticeable, or else we'd be found. We made the best of it, but we were in a constant state of emergency. So when he was finally defeated and we could take out lands back, it was amazing! By that point many of us had resigned ourselves to remaining seaponies the rest of our lives. It's inspiring really. A sign that no matter how hopeless things seem, they can get better."
Gallus wished he was that certain. Griffinstone had been a hostile environment for centuries and it didn't seem like any griffin cared about changing it. Well maybe Gabby, but the mail carrier seemed to be alone in that.
"What's on your mind?" Silverstream asked.
"Nothing important." He replied.
Before Silverstream could pry any further, a griffin blew a trumpet. Skybeak spoke up. "And now everygriff, it is time for our best flyers to put on a show!"
Everygriff cheered and all began to head back to the village. Gallus used the opportunity to walk off before Silverstream could ask any questions. She did catch up to him eventually but she seemed to have realized he didn't want to talk about it. Everygriff gathered in the center square.
The show began with all five hippogriffs, including sky beak, bowing towards each other. Then they crouched. Everyone waited in anticipation. They spang up simultaneously and quickly fly up at great speeds. They reached a certain height, then hovered in the air for a moment before quickly diving down, just before they hit the ground they flew off in different directions, moving back around to different positions in their initial line up. They weaved in between each other as the moved higher and higher, finally, when they could barely be seen, they went into a another dive. This time just before they hit the ground they swooped up and righted themselves lightly flapping their wings as they landed.
Silence for a moment, then everygriff began to cheer. The hippogriffs bowed. Skybeak screeched in triumph. "And now to the refreshment tent for the feast!" Cheer followed this statement as they all began to head in a direction.
"So what did you think?" Silverstream asked as they headed towards the tent.
"Color me impressed. That was easily the best part of this celebration so far." Gallus said.
"Aww come on, you know you enjoyed the dancing." She teased. ;
"And you know I'll never admit to that." He replied. They chuckled and made their way inside the tent. This feast was much more to his liking. The entire table was covered in various fishes, some fried, some in a chower, and some smoked. The drinks were salmon juice. Gallus wanted everything, so he piled his plate high.
As he ate he took in the sight of all the hippogriffs. All from different families talking and enjoying themselves. It was a heartwarming sight, but it also made him feel sad. Not only would such a thing be unlikely in Griffinstone, but he'd never really gotten the chance to experience anything like it. He couldn't help but wonder what his life might have been like if his parents hadn't left him. Would they be happy like that? Or would they be just as miserable as many other griffin families?
"You okay?" A voice broke through his thoughts. He turned to see Terramar looking at him in concern.
"Oh, I'm fine. It's just nice to see everyone together." He half lied.
"I totally get that. It's nice to have the whole family on land, just like it was nice to have everyone in the sea yesterday." The young hippogriff said.
"About that, Silverstream told me about your home situation. So like how does that work? Your father lives on land, your mother in the sea, and you, what, just go between them?" Gallus asked.
"Yeah, Silverstream does too. It was hard to adjust to it. For the longest time I thought I was going to have to choose what I wanted to be. It really got to me, I felt like I had to choose between my parents. After they were told about the way I'd been struggling, they made sure to tell me that I could do whatever I wanted. They would love me no matter what." Terramar explained.
Gallus felt a bit sadder. "Must be nice."
"You sure you're okay?" Terramar asked again.
"Fine. Don't mind me." With that Gallus set to work on the fish in front of him, successfully stopping any further conversation. It was a lot better than the kelp was. Better than the fish oil tea too. It wasn't hard to lose himself in the taste of fish so he wouldn't have to think about other things.
Some time later the chatter of many hippogriffs talking was silenced but Skybeak tapping his talons on a stein of salmon juice. Everygriff gave him their attention. "My fellow hippogriffs today is the day we celebrate our freedom from the tyranny of the Storm King! For years we had been trapped underwater, unable to move freely between the land and sea! But no longer. A toast to the defeat of the Storm King, may he never darken our doors again!"
"To the Storm King's defeat!" Everycreature, including Gallus himself, echoed. Then they all drank from their steins. The salmon juice was just as delicious as he'd expected. The party started to wind down soon after that. Silverstream lead him to her house, which was larger than the one under the sea he noted, and he started to head towards the rooms.
"Gallus? Are you sure you don't want to play trivia with us?" Ocean Flow asked.
He wanted to. Oh did he want to, but it would be rude to intrude on their family time right? It's not like he was a member of their family. He feigned a yawn. "I'm actually pretty tired. Lots of dancing you know?"
"That's understandable. Good night Gallus." Ocean Flow said.
Gallus paused on the ladder leading to the loft. He'd never had a motherly figure tell him good night before. It felt really nice, but also strange. He smiled lightly. "Good night."
Despite the fact that he had been faking earlier, Gallus didn't find it all too hard to go to sleep this time. The loft was comfortable, and napping was one of his hobbies after all. Just as yesterday he was awoken by an excitable Silverstream. "Come on! Todays the best day!"
Gallus found himself being dragged out of the house. Everygriff was heading in the direction of the shoreline. Oh. He frowned. He remembered this part of Silverstream's Holiday. It was where everyone partied together on land and sea. Where he'd first learned what a cousin was. He slowed, feeling unsure. Silverstream paused. "Gallus? Are you okay?"
What was he supposed to say? Even though her family had been nice, and he had been having fun, he couldn't get his mind off his lack of family? That seemed rude. Horrible. Here they were, being the nicest host he could imagine, and he still couldn't just be happy.
"Yeah." He lied. "Fine."
Silverstream didn't look like she believed him, but she knew better than to push. "Come on! We're having a picnic!"
She led him to her family, father on the shore, mother in the sea, a picnic blanket spread out just a bit further back, enough so the food wouldn't get wet. Gallus was about to question how Ocean Flow was supposed to get to it when Terramar picked up a plate of kelp fritters and handed them to her. Oh right. Of course.
Despite one parent preferring land, and the other the ocean, it was clear they were a family unit. They loved and cared about each other, seeming closer than any griffin family he'd ever peered through the window at. It made him happy to see, but at the same time filled him with a deep sense of loneliness.
He shook it off and joined them on the blanket. He could hear them talking to each other, but the words didn't register. He couldn't help but look at the number of families laughing and playing together. Passing food to each other instead of telling them to get it themselves, sharing a ball between them with no one trying to hog it, have genuine conversations with each other instead of yelling.
It was one thing when he saw it in ponyville. Ponies were biologically very different from him. It made their actions feel distant. Hippogriffs on the other claw were very similar to him. Their front half was eagle just like his. That made it all too real to him. It made it all too easy to picture himself in that situation. With a happy family who cared about him. It was too much, and suddenly he found himself running from the celebration. He could hear Silverstream call after him, but the words weren't clear. He was too lost in his own thoughts. He didn't stop until he'd found a desolate stretch of beach.
Now that he was alone he allowed himself to start crying. Crying about the fact that he didn't have parents. That he was alone in the world. That his parents might even be alive, and just didn't care enough about him to bother raising him.
"Gallus?" A voice broke through his sobs. He recognized it as Silverstreams. He quickly tried to compose himself.
"Silverstream, what are you doing here?" He asked.
"I was worried about you." She replied.
"Don't be, you should be having fun with your family." He replied, hating how bitter he sounded.
"No, Gallus. You need me right now." Silverstream told him.
"Just go already! Just because I'm having a problem doesn't mean you have to get involved!" He yelled.
To his surprise Silverstream yelled back. "Yes it does! I'm your friend, and friends help each other with their problems!" She took a deep breath and calmed her voice. "Gallus, please, I want to know what's wrong."
Gallus sighed. She did have a right to know. "I've been enjoying myself mostly. It's just that Griffinstone is so different from here. Aside from a few outliers, no one helps each other unless bits are involved. Families fight all the time, and the closest thing we have to a celebration is griffins trying to be nice over a meal and failing. It's all so wonderful here."
Silverstream simply stared, waiting for him to continue. "And seeing all the happy families here, it just makes me wonder what life would be like if I had parents! I'd like to think they had a good reason to orphaning me, but knowing griffins they just didn't want to be bothered!" He found himself sobbing again. Silverstream wrapped her talons around him and he nestled in her hair.
There was a moment of silence before Silverstream spoke up. "If your parents did abandon you for no reason, then they didn't deserve to be parents. I'm sorry your homelife is a wreck, but you know, we're going to Headmare Twilight's school for a reason. To teach others of our kind about friendship and love. Any change starts small, and if you change for the better, others may follow. If anyone can improve Griffinstone it's you."
Gallus smiled lightly. "You really think so?"
"I know it." Silverstream nodded.
Gallus pushed away from her, leaving her talons on his shoulders. "Sorry for ruining your Holiday."
Silverstream looked shocked. "You didn't ruin anything. I understand, and I'm sure my family will too! If you want to tell them?"
He sighed. "I probably should."
The two of them made their way back to the celebration. Gallus spotted Silverstream's family easily. They were all looking in his direction, sincere concern on their faces. He sighed again and joined them.
Nothing was said for a moment, then Gallus finally spoke up. "I'm an orphan. I don't have any family at all. I'm so sorry. I've been having fun, mostly, but there have been moments when I just can't stop thinking about how nice it must be to have one. I didn't want to say anything, because you've all been so nice. This is your Holiday, and I didn't want to ruin it with my silly emotions."
"Silly? Nonsense." Skybeak said.
"Your emotions are completely valid. We don't think anything less of you for it." Ocean Flow smiled.
"Yeah, and you didn't ruin anything. We can still have fun, and if you ever need to talk we'll listen." Terramar told him.
Skybeak approached him. "It was very brave of you to share this information with us. I promise we will do our best to support you."
Silverstream smiled at him. "I told you they'd understand."
A warm feeling was in his chest. He smiled. "Thanks."
If he remembered correctly, Queen Novo was supposed to bring gifts later today. He wondered if she brought them for guests. Of course it didn't matter to him if she did. Looking at the kind faces of Silverstream's family he knew he'd already gotten what he wanted.
Author's Note
This was a lot longer than expected. Anyway, when I got this year's Jinglemas prompt I knew what I wanted to do. Gallus goes to Silverstream's home and ends up struggling to have fun.
I wanted to explore what being an Orphan in a hostile environment might do to someone. I'm pretty proud of how this turned out. Hope this meets your expectations Anonymous Browser.
