The great thing about Griffonstone being renewed is that everygriff was doing a lot better.
The bad thing about Griffonstone being renewed was that some weird people loved to show up and visit.
Tourists?
Okay so what if Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie came here and taught the Griffons friendship?
It was a one-time thing, but now, ponies and other weird things were showing up left and right to make a visit to the site as if it was some huge monument of history.
On the one claw, it was great for the economy and all that, but on the other claw, Gallus was getting tired of everycreature staring at the most boring objects as if it was made of solid gold.
Gold, yeah.
At least the tourism was bringing in more gold for everygriff.
But boy, some tourists were very strange-looking.
One of these tourists -though less awed by his surroundings- walked through a street. He was weird, sporting a canine-like body, with a long head and a very strange tail… Of course, everyone was now looking at him. After all, why would Ahuizotl be this far north?
Could they not conceive that he also had vacations -even if he did not take them too often- and that he liked to travel to colder regions?
Of course, not everycreature knew who he was or that he existed--especially in Griffonstone, and especially not Gallus.
What was this thing!?
Big teeth?
Tiny eyes?
A monkey tail with a hand at the end!?
And so tall… so very… huge… and muscular… and… w-what was he?
Gallus gulped as he stared at this monster that was just a few feet away. Was Gallus dreaming? Perhaps this was a strange dream. Mumbling to himself, Gallus slapped his face with one of his eagle forefeet and… was still wide awake.
Raising an eyebrow at the young griffin, the creature known as Ahuizotl gave a smile. “You seem confused,” He told him calmly. Waiting for the young one to speak.
THE THING WAS TALKING.
Oh of course it was, that was totally normal. Gallus really needed to get a grip.
“Uh, well uhhh… not to seem rude but… what are you, exactly?” Gallus asked while his feathery wings twitched nervously. No no, he had to be calm, yeah. Cool. Just have a normal conversation with a totally normal tourist. Yeah.
“Ah, that… You would not have heard of us, I’m a Tlapallanoc, although most of us don’t really leave Anahuac… You can call me “Ahuizotl”; it is nice to meet you.” He replied with a small smile.
He had to admit that the world had changed greatly in the long time since he had last left…
Gallus meanwhile was trying to wrap his mind around this Tlapananan
Uh
Tlapacanan
Tlacapa--
Oh forget it. Old Griffon was harder to say anyway.
Now that Gallus had a name for the thing--no, tourist, not thing-- in front of him, he relaxed a bit and steadied his posture, resuming his casual slouch.
“Right. I’m Gallus. Just a regular Griffon with… not much to do around here.”
“I see… Would you be willing to show me around? It has been a long time since I left Anahuac, much less came this far north.”
“Uh… suuuuuure. Got nothing better to do. Anything in particular you came here to see?”
“Not really,” He admitted, “I was hoping to come to a colder climate, and I’m sure you know more about the places to see here.”
Gallus awkwardly smoothed the feathers on the back of his head with one of his eagle feet and said, “Okay uh… well we recently got our first library, so yay? I mean, first like actual one and not just a half-broken building with ancient texts and stuff. Does… that sound cool?”
He tried to think of something not TOO touristy but still interesting to look at.
“Well, it does sound, as you say, “cool”, and it gives me an idea… Would you then lead the way?” Ahuizotl was wondering if the elders of Anahuac would be willing to partake in celebrating such a thing -after all, from what little he had heard, Griffinstone had definitely come down from what he remembered it to be in his grandfather’s time- as the first new library here...
Gallus led the way, glad that this new guy seemed pretty relaxed, despite having some creepy features. Yeah, Gallus shouldn’t be scared of people’s looks. Pfft, what was he thinking?
The streets of Griffonstone had slowly improved over the years. The houses were more clean and strong, and many of the roads were newly laid with smooth, clean stones. One of the first things they built together as a society now focusing more on harmony instead of greed was the marketplace. On their way to the library, Gallus and Ahuizotl passed through it. Since Griffons could fly, the marketplace was multi-story, and open-air, with various shops all lined up, and there was even a few small cafe’s.
“Oh uh, do you want to buy anything? This was one of the first things we built as a society together, y’know, after Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie helped us see the importance of harmony or whatever,” Gallus explained as he gestured to the marketplace with his forefoot, “Every so often another Griffon gets a hobby and starts selling his or her wares while another decides to take a break, so the shops rotate a lot.”
“Well, that is a good idea, and I should bring something back for those that remain back home.” Ahuizotl allowed himself a small smile as he looked at the market. Despite it being so large and built with flying creatures in mind, it reminded him of home.
“We… have some really nice biscuits at the uh… bakery,” Gallus suggested with a shrug, “It’s kinda our thing. Biscuits and special cakes. If you want a taste of “Griffon speciality” that’s the go-to thing.”
“Why! That sounds amazing.” The odd creature smiled. He looked at the young Griffon curiously. “You know, you can ask your questions without fear young one.”
“Well, err… what do you creatures eat?” Gallus asked as he led the way to the nearest bakery curiously, “We Griffons are omnivores.”
“So are we Tlapallanoc, so it seems that there should be no issue with that.” Soon enough they had arrived at a bakery.
“Hey, Gilda, order me two of the usual,” Gallus said as he tossed some bits on the counter.
“All right. Coming right up,” Gilda said as she turned to the side and picked up a paper bag in her lion-like tail.
“Thank you,” Ahuizotl nodded with a small smile, he had heard that name at some point, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind.
Gilda used her eagle forefeet to place some buiscuits and mini-cakes into the paper bag and handed it to Gallus over the counter.
“Thanks, Gilda!” Gallus said as he turned and walked over to an empty table with Ahuizotl.
The café was very packed, but since it had seats outside and in the upper floors outside, there was plenty of room to walk. Nevertheless, with all the ponies and Griffons milling around, it was clear that this place was popular. Besides Gilda there were four other Griffons working at the counter, and at least two more in the back baking more goods, and the wholesome smells of the baked goods filled the entire bakery, wafting outside into the air to draw more customers in.
Slowly, Ahuizotl began to eat once they were seated, letting out a small hum. He had to admit that he did enjoy Griffon cuisine.
Gallus chomped on a biscuit, enjoying the flavor.
“These biscuits used to suck before Pinkie Pie came and gave us baking tips,” Gallus recalled, “Yeah, these really helped change the economy, believe it or not. Having something worth selling was a good start for us all.”
“Ah, yes, those ponies are certainly something else.” Ahuzotl conceded, eating and enjoying it. “Is there something else you’d like to know? After all, it is not often that a Tlapallanoc travels outside our homeland.”
“Yeah, uh… are you tall for your species?” Gallus asked with a tilt of his blue, feathery head.
“You could say so,” The creature laughed slightly, “Some of us are… enhanced with magic, in order to properly guard the tombs of the Emperors of old. I am one of those.”
“You do what?” Gallus asked as he blinked in surprise and his wings twitched.
“I’m a guardian. Of course, I’m on vacation now, but the Elders were owing me a good few centuries of that,” He replied with a small chuckle, “Ponies especially tend to like barging into the tombs and taking various artefacts; my duty, as well as that of a select few, is to prevent that from happening.”
“Yeah well we don’t have artifacts around here anymore,” Gallus said with a wave of his lion-like tail, “We used to have this statue thing but it’s gone now.”
“Ah, yes, I heard of what happened. A tragedy, but I suppose Griffons are a hardy kind, and have come out stronger for it.”
“Thanks. We’re still learning the whole friendship thing but we are doing a lot better,” Gallus said as he finished his biscuit with a chomp.
“Yes, we Tlapallanoc still have much to learn about that, but I’d like to think we are going along.” Ahuizotl replied once he had finished his own biscuit.
“Do you want to keep eating or should I take you to the library?” Gallus asked with a wave of his eagle hand.
“Well, We could go, if you’d like. I am eager to see this library.”
Gallus nodded and continued the tour through the streets until they reached the library. It was a three-story building with doors on each level for Griffons to fly through, and at each set of doors was a check-out desk with a Griffon working there.
It was a round building with windows around the edges and bookshelves arranged in the center. It was open in the center of the second and third floors with rails protecting creatures from falling off but still allowing fliers to go to any level.
Ahuizotl walked along, looking at the round building. “Ah, yes, I can’t place a name to it, but it reminds me of something.” With a shrug he followed Gallus into the building.
Gallus showed Ahuizotl through the bookshelves as best he could, and they managed to track down a librarian to help. In time, Gallus quietly slipped away, letting the librarian finish.
“It was nice talking to you. I guess I’ll leave you alone now,” Gallus said with a wave of his forefoot, “Nice meeting you.”
“Same to you young one, safe travels,” Ahuizotl replied, with a small wave before returning to his tour of the library.
Gallus walked out of the building, contemplating the day. Although some tourists were annoying, others were pretty fascinating. The more Gallus thought about it, the more he realized that he wanted to know more about foreign cultures by meeting other creatures and seeing how they reacted to everyday things. Perhaps tourism and weird creatures wasn’t so bad after all.