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// Chapter Four: It’s a specific time on a calendar, right? 
// Story: The Third Nice Thing 
// by RadBunny 
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I had never seen Greta giddy before. It was a blend of surprise, annoyance, and amusement on my part at seeing her sitting on one of the rough wooden stools next to the counter staring at me with a wide grin.
A counter which I swore had my forehead imprint on it.

“Sooooooooooooooo?” She asked, tail swishing back and forth.
“What? Since when are you the Gryphon Princess of Love?” I muttered back, refusing to meet her amused gaze.
“Hey, you dropped the L-word, not me.”
This conversation was going to make me age ten years in five minutes, I could feel it.

“It’s-well I can’t say it’s nothing, can I? He’s just a nice guy, alright?” I sighed, glaring at her with about as much venom as Fluttershy’s bunny.
Bad analogy actually. That bunny could kill. Probably  has  killed.

“Nope. You can’t. I am surprised though.” Greta replied calmly, causing my feathers to puff up slightly.
“What? Why?”
Ok, why am I slightly offended at that? 

“Well, you’ve never really shown interested in guys. Or girls. Or anyone for that matter.” The gryphoness stated with a shrug. “I just figured you didn’t care.”

Ah, there was the typical Griffinstone candor.
I didn’t have any reply to that. It was true after all.

“You haven’t ever really  been  super interested in anyone till now, huh? Just SURPRISE?” Greta asked, causing me to nod. What else could I do? She had me cornered and figured out. At least more than I had myself, for the most part.

“Wellllll at least he’s a looker. An egghead, but easy on the eyes. I’d snag him before another does. But I guess you’re already planning that.”
I was now certain Greta gained her life force by making my feathers fluff.

“Well. Maybe. I’ll figure it out.” It was a lame reply, even by my standards, but was the best I could do. This was completely uncharted waters for me, in more ways than one.

“Just ask him on a date. It’s a pony thing, maybe used to be a gryphon thing too. But it worked for me and um….” Now it was Greta’s turn to blush.
“A date? Like, a specific point on a calendar? Oooh. No, like-I gotcha.” I refused to think I was this dense, but this entire conversation had my brain overheating. I knew what dates were. But to put them in context with Griffinstone, with  me  was new.

Greta’s eye roll was enough punishment for my stupidity as she waved a claw towards the door.
“No, like, go have fun doing whatever. Spend time together. Get to know him. That sort of thing. See where it goes. Besides, worked well enough for me. So that’s my advice. As the Gryphon Princess of Love.” She chuckled, hopping off the stool.

“Speaking of dates, I have just that now actually. Sooooooooooo good luck!”
And with that, my personal tormentor hopped happily out the door, leaving me to stew.

Thankfully, the sign was still flipped to ‘closed,’as I sat at the counter taking stock exactly of what my options were.
Option One: Continue on as though nothing had changed. That totally had served me well in the past (not)
Option Two: Go check on Gelvin at the doctors, or his library, and ask if he wanted to have lunch. Or something.

I wanted there to be an option three, where I didn’t have to deal with this. It wasn’t unpleasant, just...
I walked upstairs slightly, a wave of emotions rising up in my throat. With having friends, and actually  caring  it seemed to have unlocked a rather sappy part of me. I still wasn’t sure if it was a good part. It was just new.

I’d never admit it to anyone but myself, but the choices in front of me, and what they signified actually was rather frightening.

Greta was partly correct; I hadn’t been too interested in anyone before. A few ‘hey lets hang out’ sort of things, but nothing past superficial or passing interest. What she had missed, was that I had never had a male be interested in  me  before.
And why would they? Past me was rude, brash, unpleasant, and generally a pill.
In other words, a typical, unlikable gryphon, just like most 'griff's I had grown up with.

Apparently now, I was ‘likeable.’ And that thought, while strangely comforting, was also rather unsettling. I was still figuring out who I was; this new-leaf Gilda.

Did I want to be liked? No, that was a stupid question. Of course I did. But how much did I want  this  kind of being liked?
I didn’t have a way of dealing with these endless thoughts; only trying to see where they led me, and then just doing whatever came up.

What made it worse, was that I knew what frightened me, the cool, apparently- confident gryphoness I was.

For whatever reason, I couldn’t help but feel that wanting to rely on someone, to open up to another gryphon as more than a friend was ‘weak.’ It was a childish view; perhaps born from the years of not wanting to rely on anyone else. But I had seen where that got me. A bitter life with a dead-end scone cart. That had only changed when I let myself be helped, when I opened up, even a little bit.

My wings slumped slightly at that thought. I did need help, in this sense at least. If Gelvin was willing to be understanding, then maybe getting to know him wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe opening up to someone wouldn’t be the worst thing. I mean, it could go wrong, true. But, then if it did, then just try again?

That’s how I think it went anyway.

The emotions in my throat culminated in a painful squeeze in my chest as I walked back downstairs. Somehow, I had come from not wanting to ever rely on anyone, to wanting to.
If I listened to that small voice buried in the back of my head, I actually wanted to, very much so.

That fact had solidified my choice from the start; but it was frightening to me as to how much appeal that idea had. To have someone like that...

As I walked down the streets, I couldn’t help but sigh. I had gone from not wanting friends, to having them. From making faces at mushy romantic couples to whatever my position was now. Ok still not a fan of the super public mushy, so I had that going for me.

I felt my face feathers fluff though, as another unbidden but not unpleasant thought settled firmly in my mind.
I wonder how it’d feel to get a hug from him?

As I stopped outside the doctor’s office, I stared at the ground, as though it was a certain shade of pink smiling back at me.
I would never. Ever. Tell Pinkie Pie that.
Or Rainbow. Definitely not her either.
I paused, actually sitting down at thinking about my friends, and how we had left things.

A hug.
The sobering thought that made my feathers lie flat again was the realization of how little friendly contact I had ever received. Hugs, or anything. Gryphons didn’t naturally have friendly contact much. Family or otherwise. Well, some did, but not mine. It was ‘hey, you’re grown up, go get the world!’ and that was it. Among some friends, sure, but those had been few and far between until recently.

Romance was as about as polar opposite to Gryphon culture as it could be, at least currently. There were past tales of how to woo females, and vice versa, back when the Empire was prospering. Tales of Gryphon knights, approaching the father to ask for permission to court his daughter.

Now, when it was barely starting again? Not much at all remained of that, other than books.
Which Gelvin probably had read, egg-headed as he is. That was a thought, and not an unpleasant one.

Finally pushing through the doors, I meandered to what I assumed was the receptionists ‘desk.’ And by desk, I meant a very rough table with some files and hastily scrawled notes.

I was saved from asking the rather bored-looking gryphon which room Gelvin was in as said gryphon walked, or rather, limped, through the door.

“Thanks doc. I left the bits on the counter- oh, hey Gilda.” He called out, green eyes looking my way as his head tilted slightly in curiosity.
Maybe I was still flustered; but that head tilt was adorable. I didn’t find things adorable. Did I?

“Erm, hey. I was-erm…” I replied, tongue promptly deciding to tie knots in my mouth.
“I wanted to see how you were doing.” There. Finally said it.
Oh, and my reward for such was a blush?

Awesome. Totally getting the hang of this.
“Really? Well, thank you, just a simple bite. Some nasty stuff on the wound to keep it clean, and a bandage, and here I am.” He added, then glancing to his wrist.

“Oh. And some sticks and tape to help the sprain heal.”
I nodded, finally gesturing to the door.
“Can we um, talk?” I asked, and I swore I saw the reception gryphon roll his eyes.
 Hey dude. I’m trying! 

Gelvin nodded, limping carefully outside with me. I didn’t want to make him walk more than necessary, so finally just sat down a short ways from the clinic. Grass had started to grow among the cobblestone streets once again, so there was a nicely placed small grassy clearing.

The other gryphon sat down as well with a huff, favoring his injured limb.
“So, talking?” He ventured to ask, that adorable inquisitive look once again returning to his features.
“Yeah. Um.” There were a dozen ways I could say this. Maybe time for Griffinstone bluntness?

“Would you like to grab lunch or something tomorrow?”
I didn’t think I’d ever seen a gryphon perk up faster. His ears flicked upright, and I could see his feathered cheeks fluff outwards a bit.
“Like just to chat, or?” He asked, seeming a bit curious and cautious.
“No- well, yes. But like, a date. Thing.”
 Smooth. As. Ice. 

A wide smile was starting to edge onto Gelvin’s features, and he was doing a very poor job of hiding exactly how happy he was right now. Not that I minded of course. It felt amazing that spending time with me would cause such a reaction.
I can do that?

“I didn’t know griffins had ‘dates.’” He added, still seeming a tad cautious.
“Well, that’s how Greta ended up with her gryphoness. So, I mean I know it’s a pony thing? Or used to be a gryphon thing? So, I thought….”
 Smooth ice is melting. Uh oh. 

Thankfully, the thoughts and nerves that had started to spin around in my mind all settled when Gelvin chuckled. His green eyes met mine as his simple words calmed them all.

“I’d love to. So, noon tomorrow? Or whenever you’re free for lunch?”
I nodded- possibly a bit too fast as something in my neck cracked.
“Noon sounds good, Greta helps cover part of tomorrow, so that’s perfect.” I managed to say without too much pausing.
The happy grin on Gelvin’s face was making me feel a bit happier than I was used to. Was that how it was supposed to go?
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow then? I have to get back to the library. And rest this shoulder.” He added, glancing at the wound with a bit of regret.

I slowly stood up, nodding briefly.
“Sure thing. I probably need to get back to the shop as well.” I added, seeing him stand up as well, probably to fly back home.
As the gryphon bunched up his frame to hop in the air, his bad wrist buckled. This promptly made him very acquainted to my shoulder once again, as he tripped onto the ground with hiss.

“Erm, sorry. Thought I’d be able to just hop off and fly away. So much for that” He grumbled, leaning heavily on me momentarily before successfully hopping into the air.
“Oh, don’t be.”

My eyes widened in horror- about the same time his did in surprise. I had not meant to say that out loud.
“Hmm. See you tomorrow Gilda.” He chuckled, slowly soaring towards the library.
My face was so hot I thought the cobblestones and grass would burst into flame.

The thought kept repeating, not helping the matter at all either.
I have a date. With a guy. Who is actually interested in  me . This was a different kind of confidence and personal boost I had never felt before.

That aside…
How in the world is this going to go?!

Thankfully, I didn’t care too much about the last part, not yet. Aside from making a fool of myself, it had been a success.
Of course, I had no idea where to go from here.

First? Defend myself against Greta when she got home with dozens of questions.
Then I’d hide under my blankets as I replayed my accidental words over and over again.
‘Oh, don’t be.’

What made it infinitely worse? I totally meant it.