Sandbar sat at his desk, anxiously tapping his hoof on the floor. He could feel eyes burning on the back of his head. He reached over, tapping Smolders desk.
“Hm?” Smolder hummed, raising her eyebrows a bit.
“Has Gallus been acting…odd to you?” Sandbar asked.
“Mmm…no. Why do you ask?” Smolder inquired, not tearing her eyes away from her book.
“He’s been very…starey today.”
Smolder looked up from her book, turning around to get a peak. Sure enough, he was staring. Well, more like glaring. His face was scrunched, and his brow was furrowed. If he stared any harder, he would bust a blood vessel.
“Geeze, he looks pissed. Did you do something?” She asked.
“I don’t think I did.” Sandbar said with a frown. He glanced over his shoulder, meeting Gallus’s gaze for a second. He quickly turned back around, a chill running up his spine. “I sure hope I didn’t upset him.”
Was Gallus going to attack him? No, he wouldn’t do that. Not without a good reason. Sandbar knew that deep down, Gallus was just a big softy. He was probably just…trying to start a staring contest.
“Do you want me to see what’s up?” Smolder asked. Sandbar shook his head.
“No, I wanna handle it myself. In fact, I’ll do it right now.” He said, puffing up his chest. Smolder stared at him for a second.
“...Are you gonna go?” Smolder chuckled. Sandbar put his head in his hoof.
“I got nervous.” He said sheepishly. He dismissively waved his hoof. “I’ll ask him later. When he’s less angry.”
Gallus walked down the hallway, his filled with thoughts. He felt a soft poke at his side, snapping him out of his trance. He looked up, noticing Silverstream.
“Soooo…” Silverstream said with a beam. He arched his eyebrow.
“What?” He asked. Silverstream nudged Gallus again, excitedly tapping her hooves.
“Did you ask Sandbar out yet?” She asked smugly. Gallus’s face burned red, and his feathers puffed from embarrassment. He stood up on his hind legs, covering Silverstream's beak.
“Not so loud!” He said in a hushed whisper. He looked around, making sure no one heard. He lowered his claw from her beak. “How did you know I was gonna…you know….”
Silverstream chuckled.
“Griffons and hippogriffs courting rituals are pretty much the same.” She explained happily. Right, of course they are. They are both birdlike. “I noticed you were doing the stare of love for the entire class. Do you think Sandbar has noticed yet?” She asked giddily.
“I’m not sure. Luckily, I’m planning on doing the entire ritual.” He boasted. Silverstream brought her talons up to her cheeks, letting out a long-drawn gasp.
“The full ritual?! That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard!” She squealed. Gallus shushed her again.
“Yeah yeah, romantic, I know. Just don’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone getting in my business.” He mumbled. Silverstream mimed zipping her beak shut.
“My beak is sealed.”
Gallus sighed in relief. Now that he’s finished with the first part of the ritual, he can move on to the next. Shiny objects.
“And then you divide by six.” Sandbar explained, gliding his hoof on paper. Yona tapped her pencil against her nose, her face lighting up.
“Oh, now Yona gets it!” She exclaimed. Her excited cheer was quickly met by loud hushes. Yona covered her mouth. “Yona must be quiet in library.” She reminded herself.
Sandbar chuckled to himself, going back to his work.
“Hey, Sandbar,” Gallus called. Sandbar looked up, seeing Gallus standing over him. He hadn’t heard him walk up.
Gallus’s arm was stuck out, his fist balled up. He opened his hand, letting small metal objects drop onto the table. They landed with a small ‘clink’.
Sandbar stared at them, his mind riddled with confusion. He looked up at Gallus, awaiting an answer.
“Ok, bye,” Gallus said, briskly leaving.
“What did friend Gallus give Sandbar?” Yona asked. Sandbar poked the items with his pencil, inspecting them.
“Rusty nails.” Sandbar stated, his face scrunched in disgust. He didn’t want to touch it at risk of infection. Was Gallus trying to get him sick? That didn’t seem like him at all. Yona cocked her head in confusion.
“Why would griffon give that?” She questioned.
“I have no idea.”
Sandbar walked through the cafeteria, holding a tray in one hoof. He balanced a sandwich and drink, careful not to drop it.
“Hey, Sandbar, over here!” Silverstream shouted, wildly waving her arms. Sandbar chuckled, approaching the table. He sat down next to her, placing his tray down.
Silverstream was grinning ear to ear, leaning into her claws.
“Sooo…anything special happening today?” She asked, her tail swishing happily. Sandbar took a bite of his sandwich, shrugging.
“Nothing that I know of. Why do you ask?” He asked, his mouth filled with food.
“Oh, no reason.” She giggled. Before Sandbar could ask any more questions, Gallus approached him.
“Oh, hi, Gallus.” Sandbar greeted with a kind smile. Silverstream let out a soft excited giggle.
Gallus eyed Sandbar, his eyes landing on his mane.
“Your mane is a mess,” Gallus stated. He leaned closer to the colt, nudging his hair with his beak. He quickly plucked loose strands from his head. Sandbar flinched with each pluck.
He ran his claws through Sandbar's mane, smoothing it out. “There, you look good now.” Gallus quickly flew off, puzzling Sandbar even more. That was unusually affectionate of him.
Sandbar looked at Silverstream with a perplexed expression.
“What was that about?” He asked. Silverstream let out a gleeful giggle.
“I have noooo idea.” She beamed. Sandbar arched an eyebrow. He felt as if she were lying.
Gallus peaked from around the corner, his eyes fixed on Sandbar. Now for the fourth part of the ritual. Pouncing.
He crouched down, his tail swishing back and forth. He followed Sandbar’s movements. He was talking to Ocellus, making him the perfect target. And they were outside? Wide open spaces were perfect for pouncing.
Gallus adjusted his back paws and pressed his wings against his body. He sprung into the air, arms out and ready to grab.
He landed on top of Sandbar, emitting a yelp from the colt. Gallus slammed him into the grass, pinning one hoof to the ground. Sandbar squirmed in his grasp, kicking the air.
“W-woah, hey!” Sandbar shouted, kicking his hind legs. Gallus grabbed his legs, pinning them to the ground. Sandbar froze, staring into Gallus’s eyes.
“Hi?” Sandbar croaked out.
“Meet me at the treehouse in 20 minutes. Come alone.” Gallus instructed. He let go of Sandbar, dashing off into the air.
Sandbar laid on the grass, staring at the sky. Ocellus stood over Sandbar, her face riddled with concern.
“Are you okay?” She asked. Sandbar pulled himself up, his body now aching.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He rubbed his back. “Gallus has been acting weird today.” He added on. Ocellus frowned.
“Oh? What has he been doing?”
Sandbar rubbed the pain out of his shoulder.
“Well first, he was glaring at me in class. Then he gave me rusty nails. Then he plucked my hair out during lunch. Now this? I don’t know what’s gotten into him today.” Sandbar complained.
“Are you going to talk to him about it?” Ocellus asked. Sandbar looked in the direction Gallus had flown.
“I guess I have to now.”
Sandbar walked up the spiral staircase of the clubhouse. Just as Gallus asked, he was alone. He made it to the top of the stairs, seeing Gallus standing on the balcony. He stared into the forest, not noticing Sandbar’s presence.
“I’m here, just like you asked.” Sandbar announced. Gallus nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly turned around and let out a shaky breath.
Gallus knelt on the crystalized ground, his eyes squeezed shut. He opened his claws, revealing a large feather. Large enough to be held in both claws. The feather was blue with speckles of yellow across it. Sandbar stared at the feather.
“...Thanks?” Sandbar said. He wasn’t really sure what he was meant to do with it. Gallus peaked his eye open. He noticed Sandbars' perplexed expression. A frown spread across his face.
“Is that a no…?” Gallus’s voice cracked. Sandbar blinked.
“A no to what?” He asked with a head tilt. Gallus got up from his bowing position.
“I’m asking you out.”
Sandbar blinked again, his face heating up.
“You are?” He asked in disbelief. Gallus stared at Sandbar as if he had two heads.
“Haven’t you noticed my courting ritual?” Gallus asked. Sandbar tilted his head and squinted his eyes.
“Your what?”
Gallus let out a long drawn sigh.
“It’s a traditional griffon courting ritual. First, you’re supposed to give the creature of your affection ‘the eyes of love’. It shows that you only have eyes for them.” He started. “Next, you give them shiny objects as a gift. Do you know how hard it is to find something that isn’t made of crystal around here?! The nails were all I could find on such short notice.”
Sandbar slowly nodded his head. “Then, you have to preen their feathers. Since you don’t have feathers, I went with your mane. It seemed more practical.” He ran his claws across his head, mimicking styling hair. “Then, you have to pounce on them to prove how strong you are! No one wants a weak partner.”
“And lastly, the feather. The feather…” Gallus trailed off, now hyperaware of Sandbar's gaze. “The feather is special. I spent months growing this out to impress you. Usually, a griffon gives this to them as a final step.” He said bashfully.
A blush spread across Sandbar’s face. All of this effort just to ask him? He couldn’t help but laugh. Gallus shot a glare at him.
“Don’t laugh!” He exclaimed defensively. Sandbar wiped a tear from his eye.
“No no, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just…I’ve never seen this much effort put into asking someone out.” Sandbar giggled. Gallus cocked his head.
“Well…what do ponies do?” Gallus asked. Sandbar sat down next to Gallus, leaning onto his shoulder.
“Ponies usually just ask.”
Gallus glanced down at the feather in his claws. He scooted back and thrust his arms out, holding out the feather for Sandbar. He squeezed his eyes shut, not bearing to look Sandbar in the eyes.
“Will you go out with me?” He squeaked out. Sandbar chuckled, taking the feather from Gallus.
“Of course I will.” He tucked the feather behind his ear.
Gallus’s fluttered heart in his chest, a large grin spreading across his face. Sandbar nudged Gallus with his head.
“Come on, let’s go tell the others.” Sandbar said, walking off. And with that, Gallus happily followed.
