//------------------------------//
// Chapter Five: A date with a destination 
// Story: The Third Nice Thing 
// by RadBunny 
//------------------------------//

I tried to not glare at Greta. I really did. But her wide grin as she leaned against the counter once again was making it very very difficult.

“Soooooo?” She asked simply.
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” I mumbled; I was going to put up a fight, inevitable defeat or not.
“Awww, you can’t keep juicy details from your friends. Just a bit?” Greta asked, making an exaggerated pouting face.
Since when did she become so invested in my love-life? But, joke or not, Greta was the only friend I had here.

I let out a sigh, plopping my head on the counter. Even her slightly-annoying questions didn’t dull the warmth that had refused to leave my chest.
“Well. I asked him. He said yes. There you go. Happy?”
Of course she wouldn’t be. But again, I had to try and put up a fight.
“Ok Gilda, that was a lame explanation even for you.” She retorted, giving me a playful and slightly annoyed glare.
“Well, I had to clarify it was a date, and you were right, it is a pony thing. I think he was checking to see if  I  knew what it was, honestly.” I explained.
“But yeah. Tooootally perked up when I asked him. It was adorable, ears up and fluffy. The genius then tried to hop into the air on his wounded wrist and ended up whacking my shoulder with his again….”
It took me a few moments, but I finally realized Greta was quiet, but looking at me with a very amused and happy smile.
“Wow. I didn’t know you liked him that much.” She murmured, not able to stop grinning.
“What? What did I-?”
“Well. First off, you got poofy, well, are  still poofy. Second, I’ve never seen you melt when describing someone, or anything for that matter. Three, when you said he whacked your shoulder, you got totally dreamy eyed. It was awesome.”

I wanted to pout. A nasty, annoyed, angry pout. But I couldn’t. Now that she had exposed every little thing that was going on, it was all I could to do  not  think about it all. Mainly how puffy I was getting.
 I wonder how his fur and feathers would feel if he was totally puffed-NO. BRAIN.

“It’s complicated. But yeah. I guess I do like him.” I muttered, a few of the thoughts from earlier buzzing back to the forefront.
“Complicated? You’re going on a date. If you like him, you go on more dates. If not, you don’t.” Greta replied candidly, raising an eyebrow.

“Ok that part isn’t. But for me it is. I’m not…I-how did you adjust so quickly? I mean, we all weren’t that social. We didn’t make friends much around here, and now?”
To her credit, Greta picked up on the general gist of what I was asking.
“Oooooh. That. Um. Well it’s super awkward at first. At least for me and Gilli it was.”

Gilli. Interesting name. But now I know at least.

“Even a hug was awkward. We were like, ‘do you wanna try this?’ And then, really glad we did.” Now it was Greta’s turn to melt into a happy puddle on the counter.
“All that from a hug?” I asked, my turn to raise a skeptical eyebrow.
“Uh huh. All that from touching shoulders?”
“Touche.”

“But yea. It’s awkward at first. But we all have to get back into that sometime. At least your guy seems understanding. If he likes you, just tell him. It’s what we’re good at. Being blunt if it hurts. Eh, usually.” Greta mused.
“Besides. Not like you can figure out adjusting without him. Doesn’t exactly work like that.” She clucked, suppressing a giggle.
“So, again. Good luck. I’ll be saying that often I think! But I mean it!” 

I stayed quiet, and something about my mood must have queued Greta in at least a bit more.
“Seriously. Just talk to him. I haven’t seen you be this happy, well, ever. Not even when your shop was going great or meeting your pony friends again. If he’s into you, then that means he wants to put forth some effort, right? So, just talk. Nothing fancy.”
“Nothing fancy, got it.” I mumbled, shaking my head before glancing up at her.
“Thanks Greta. Really. I don’t exactly have a limitless supply of friends I can ask for y’know….” I gestured in the air with a set of claws.

“Well it’s my duty as the Gryphon Princess of-”
“Please no.”
“We’re friends. It’s what friends do.”
“Better. Now I think we have to get back to work; I have a date tomorrow.”
I didn’t miss Greta’s giggle as I hopped up a bit faster as we continued to bake and fill orders. But, I didn’t care.
I had a date.
---  ---  ---  ---
Sleep didn’t come easily. Nerves or something. 
Must have been something I ate. Or if I was honest, I was totally nervous.

Thankfully, I got enough sleep to not be a total mess the next day; then getting the first orders of pastries ready as Greta walked in.
“Wow. You look tired.” She quipped, helping stir some batter as I swept off the stone baking counter.
“I feel tired.” I grumbled in reply, not in the mood for any of her poking and prodding my psyche this morning.
“Don’t sweat it. I was a wreck before my first date. Seriously. I ate like a tub of those salted seeds that corner store sells.” The gryphoness chuckled.
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. Nervous-wreck and Greta didn’t seem to mix.
‘Totally. And honestly, what made it better, was that Gilli was even worse off. Who knows, maybe your knight in shining armor didn’t sleep at all!”
That was an amusing thought, actually.
“Well, I’m still here for a few hours, but thanks.” I replied sincerely. It still felt odd; putting ‘deeper’ emotion behind words, but it was nice.
“No prob. Let’s get this stuff made, yeah?”
-

Ok,  NOW  I was nervous.
I drummed my claws on a stone as I sat at one of two eateries in the town. I had of course not specified where to meet for lunch; stupid. But, there was only one main street, so that helped. I sat outside on a stone bench at the more widely-approved eateries, a squat basalt rectangular building that spat smoke out of a large chimney.
Thankfully, I spotted Gelvin as he limped down the street. His walk was a bit better; so that was certainly a plus. 
As he got closer, I couldn’t help but notice that despite having his features groomed and freshly-cleaned (total plus by the way,) he looked…tired?
Had he been nervous too? That’d be awesome.
“Hey Gilda.” He said, beak curling into a gentle smile.
“S-sup?”

Crud. Gilda 0. Gelvin 1. 
He simply shrugged his wings, sitting down at the same stone bench as me. There wasn’t a menu or anything, not here. A chalkboard inside where you paid listed the items, and then they’d bring it out to you. 
Fancy, for Griffinstone at least.
My thoughts distracted me from the other annoyingly-new emotion that had appeared at seeing the male gryphon make his way here. But now I couldn’t help but be aware of the warm butterflies that squirmed beneath my chest feathers.
Wait. Was he blushing?
“Want to order? Then we can chat while we wait?” He suggested, causing me to hop up in agreement.
“Sounds good.” I chirped, letting him lead as we walked inside.
Why was I so comfortable with this guy? I knew the answer of course…but I couldn’t help but be a bit afraid of what that answer entailed.

We both snagged a meat-pastry; fish wrapped with seasoned spice-bread. It was quickly becoming a favorite in the town for good reason. A heavy bit of fish mixed with spice in the flour that made your tongue tingle.
“So, how is business? I figure it’s doing pretty well, since I see so many of your creations around being eaten.” Gelvin remarked calmly. Despite his gentle tone, I could see his tail twitching, and his free claws drumming on the stone countertop. 
The nervous mannerisms actually set me at ease a bit. I wasn’t the only one possibly overthinking this whole ordeal.

Snapping back to reality where I had to actually answer his question, I nodded briefly after swallowing a bite.
“It’s been pretty good, yeah. Gretta helps a ton of course. There’s no way I’d be able to bake it all.” I replied, a strange weight in my chest lifting as we sat just talking, nothing fancy, just casual conversation.
Just like with my friends; I was being way too weird about all this. 
 Then again, kind conversation is a long-alien thing to Griffinstone. Maybe that can keep changing, bit by bit. 

“What about you? I know the library isn’t the most popular attraction yet.” I ventured to ask. I may not be the biggest reader, but the town needed a good library. 
 Especially so we can learn from the past and not repeat it. Maybe in a few years we’ll look back in distaste at how we acted. That’s a weird thought. 

His ears instantly perked up; and I felt a smile tug at my beak in response. 
“Actually, I’ve had a few regular individuals start to come by. I’m trying to renovate it, so maybe it won’t be so…ah…” The griffin waved his claws around briefly.
“Cruddy?” I suggested with a slight chuckle.
“I was going to go with rustic. But yes. That fits a bit better.” Gelwin added with a grin.
 Ok, those ears and that smile; really adorable. 

Now I knew he was nervous, because his green eyes darted to the mostly-eaten food before back at me, the griffin appearing a bit sheepish.
“After we’re done here, want to… I dunno. Walk?” He suggested, clearly apprehensive at my answer.
Not sure why. It sounded fine with me. Then again, he probably was expecting a snarky or ‘gryphon like’ response.
“Sounds good. I know they don’t like loitering here anyhow, so sounds like a plan.”
My words and the brief nod I gave him seemed to cause all his tension dissipate, Gelwin’s ears perking back up happily. 

I was becoming increasingly aware that until this point, I had not used the word ‘adorable’ in my vocabulary at all. Now, this griffin seemed to embody it.
 I’m really not sure how to feel about that. 


We both finished off the meal fairly quickly; new patrons promptly replacing the seats we just vacated. Gelvin paused to glance back to see if I was following, heading down the main street towards the edge of Griffinstone. 
“So, anywhere we’re going? Or just, y’know, walking?” I asked, perfectly comfortable with either answer. Not like I had a deadline to be back at the shop.

“Hmm. Bit of both maybe? I might have a place that would be cool.” He replied, glancing over to the nearby cloud-covered mountains briefly.

As we walked, a rather startling realization dawned on me as my claws and paws trotted over the cobblestone.
 I’m happy.
No worries. No doubts. Just…happy. 
The only time that I could relate to this was when I had hugged Pinkie and Rainbow, feeling my friends close.
This was similar to that. Not AS close, but the same sort of ‘everything is ok.’
I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I didn’t want the pleasant warmth in my chest to go away. 

“W-well, lead on then. Or rather, keep leading. If you’ve got an idea at least.” 
 Did my voice just hitch? 
“Can do.” Was the calm reply, a pair of green eyes glancing over to me briefly.
“You alright?”
I nodded hurriedly; not a lie. I was ok. Whether I was better or worse than ‘alright’ I wasn’t sure yet.

“Yeah, I’m good. So, adopted by ponies? How does that work, if it’s not too sore a subject though.” I asked, genuinely curious. Could be a simple thing or a pretty nasty event. Maybe I was a bit too blunt or forward with that question…
Thankfully, Gelvin simply shrugged with a slight smile still on his features. The fact he looked over to me every now and again while talking still took getting used to.

 But with those eyes, I’m getting used to it preeeeetty quick. 

“Not a sore subject, not anymore.” He added with another shrug.
“Not sure if parents died or just didn’t want me. Don’t remember them; but I do remember two ponies taking me home. They raised me until I could hold a job, and then set out on my own.” 

Gelvin paused, glancing over to me with those emotion-saturated eyes of his.
“Ponies give until it hurts. That’s something griffin’s don’t do, I’ve discovered.” 
What could I say to that? I simply nodded, it was true after all.
“Raising me was taking a toll on them. Both in a financial sense, and social. So…I told them I could make it on my own, and left. I still keep in contact now and again though.”

Apparently I was staring, because the gryphon’s face fluffed slightly, looking away for a moment.
“Well. Maybe a bit sore still. But hardly a sob story.”
I shrugged my wings, still musing over his words.
“Still, thanks for telling me. Not often I get to learn about another gryphon.” 
He nodded, then glancing over to me briefly.
“Friends with ponies? How did that happen?”
Well, fair is fair.
“In a nutshell? Had a friend from when I was a chick, she helped me gain my confidence. Didn’t see her for years, but then I totally blew it when seeing her again. I was a real jerk, and didn’t talk to her for a while. Then a few months ago, they visited, and I had to choose.”

I sighed, looking down at the cobblestones as I saw Gelvin glance at me curiously.
“I could either have saved the greatest treasure Griffinstone had ever held, or save my friends. I chose them. I'm still figuring out if it helped them more, or me, to be honest.”

The fact Gelvin simply nodded filled me with relief. I wouldn’t have trusted many, if any other griffin to have such a reserved reaction.
“You chose internal wealth rather than external. That’s something gryphons are slowly learning.” He mused.

On seeing me stare, his face abruptly turned pink, feathers fluffing outwards in embarrassment.
“W-what?”
I couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“You are such an egghead.”
Seeing his feathers flatten ever so slightly, I gave his good shoulder a gentle nudge with a fist.
“Never said that was a bad thing.”
And cue the ears perking up. Awesome.
“So where are we heading to?” I continued, now that we had reached the edge of Griffinstone’s walls.

“I was wondering if you wanted to see something cool. It’s a section of caves in the nearby mines.” Gelvin explained, looking over to me briefly. He seemed rather cautious of the whole idea.
“If not, it’s cool. I get the whole ‘follow a strange griffin into a mine’ thing. Or if it’s just not interesting….”

I simply raised an eyebrow, walking over and giving his bad shoulder a very gentle poke.
“You aren’t that threatening, besides,  it sounds rather cool. I haven’t ever been to the mines.”
It took quite a bit of self-control to not laugh at the look on Gelvin’s face. The poor gryphon seemed halfway between upset at my ‘not threatening’ comment, but at the same time wanting to jump for joy.
 Did…his eye just twitch? Uh oh. I think I broke him. 
Apparently he settled on the jumping for joy half of his conflict, because a wide grin spread across Gelvin’s features.
“Really? That’s….I’m glad. Not sure if you’ll like it though.” His ears flattened ever so lightly.
I simply shrugged, following as he aimed towards a path that meandered to the nearby base of the mountain. 

“I’ve never been to the mines; so just checking out a new place sounds cool.” I replied, not wanting to douse his enthusiasm. For all I knew, it could be a pretty rock he wanted to show me, but exploring the mines sounded pretty neat. They hadn’t been used for years, ever since Griffinstone slid into the slum-like environment it had become, and was now climbing out of. Maybe now we could start mining metal and gems again, get some trade going…
Aaaaand this is why Grampa Gruff wanted me on the council. Those ‘young ideas’ he grumbled about. Smart old featherhead….

“It’s not too far away; there’s plenty of entrances, and I’ve got a pack with some supplies as well.” Gelvin explained as the path took us through a field of elbow-high golden grass.
“Supplies?” Now I was slightly curious.
“Y-yeah. I like exploring the mines, and it’s not very fun if you don’t have light or food, or water for that matter. There’s plenty of entrances, so getting lost isn’t too big a deal, but why take the chance?”
Can’t argue with that.
“Well, off to the mines we go. Pretty cool idea for a date….”
Aaaaand I said that out loud.
 
My embarrassment was wiped away instantly as the biggest smile lit up Gelvin’s features, ears perking up again with a definite blush on his cheeks.
Points for me. He’s so easily flustered…
Ooooooh that could be fun.