//------------------------------// // Chapter Six: Counseling intervention due to snow // Story: Stream of Silver, Heart of Gold // by RadBunny //------------------------------// “Alright y’all, that’ll do it for today. B’sides, don’t want y’all to pull a muscle craning those necks to look out that window.” Applejack chuckled, half the class sheepishly looking at their desks. “So go on, enjoy it all!” The silence erupted into excited chattering, the entire class pressing up against the classroom window to take in the sight. The first snow had started falling a few minutes prior, and the ponies and other creatures alike hadn’t been able to stop looking out at the white fluffy signs of winter. They had a break period next, and then lunch, which would give everyone a chance to go out and frolic in the new weather. As everyone crowded against the glass, Gallus found his limbs turning to lead. On examining the snowfall outside, something inside of him had started to churn. Something felt off. I need to get out of here. Looking down, Gallus saw his claws were starting to shake, and even one of his rear limbs was starting to tremble. “Hey Gallus? You ok?” Silverstream asked, eyes shining with worry as she walked over to him. Must. Get. Out. “I’m-I’m really not feeling that good actually. I’ll be back later. C-cya Silver.” He stammered, making his way to the door and then quickly jogging down the hallway. A strange panic rose in his breast as he struggled to find somewhere to go- anywhere that would relieve the strange fear that threatened to consume him. A few twists and turns, and the gryphon found himself in the one place he had actively avoided the entire school semesters. But it was also the only place he knew nobody would walk into unannounced. Outside the door was a ‘Open- walk in appointments welcome!’ sign, and the gryphon quickly dashed inside and shut the door. “Gallus? Well this is an unexpected-whoa, are you alright?” Guidance counselor Starlight Glimmer asked, eyes wide in surprise. Gallus promptly flopped onto a nearby plush seat, waving a set of claws. “Y-yeah. Ok, no. Just…give me a bit.” He whispered, staring at his shaking claws. Ten or so minutes passed, Starlight having looked over the notes she had on Gallus more than three times, and was now looking at the rest of her schedule. To say she was surprised was an understanding; until now she thought Gallus was allergic to even the idea of counseling. But ten minutes ago, the gryphon had literally sprinted inside her office and flopped onto a chair, pale and shivering. For the past while, he hadn’t looked up at her, only stared at his claws and curled up tighter on the chair. “I’m-I don’t know how to say it. Something is wrong. I don’t know what though.” Gallus muttered, wings drooping at his sides. “Maybe best to see if it happens again. Can you open the curtains?” He asked, Starlight now more curious than anything. She got up and drew back the thin blinds; made to obscure the outside but let some light in. Almost instantly, Gallus’ eyes shrank to pinpricks, his claws starting to shiver again. “O-ok. This sucks.” He hissed, head shaking slightly as Starlight closed the blinds. “I see the snowfall, and I start shivering. Just before coming here I was afraid. I don’t know of what though. I don’t feel like that now. But I can’t stop this shaking.” He explained, or tried his best to. “The snowfall…Well, Gallus, remember that nothing you say to me will leave this room unless you want it to, alright?” Starlight clarified before continuing. “I think I have an idea of what this is, but you need to hear me out, ok?” Seeing the gryphon nod, Starlight sighed. You poor thing. How hard was Griffinstone on you Gallus? “In short? You’re traumatized. Something about the snow is causing the reaction. Sometimes you can know what it is, other times not. I’ve read of ponies starting to shake like a leaf, even though they feel totally normal just because something in their subconscious was reminded of that trauma.” Starlight explained. “You don’t have to tell me anything Gallus. But if you see snow falling, or anything else for that matter, and this is the reaction? That’s my best guess.” Gallus was quiet for a minute, and when he looked back up Starlight’s heart ached. The usually sarcastic and confident gryphon looked scared. “Why now?” He whispered, shaking his head. “If I had to guess? Hmm. Honestly Twilight would know more, but I won’t get her unless you give me the ok.” Starlight mused. “You’ve been at the school for a little over two years, give or take, and during that time, it’s been an adjustment. As stressful as it must have been, I’d have to guess that you’re in a better environment than before. Am I wrong?” A simple shake of the head was enough of an answer. “So, it’s taken that long for you to process everything that has happened before hoof-erm, claw. When we’re in the middle of something, we sometimes don’t realize how bad it really is, until afterwards. After the event, however long, maybe we then learn of how horrible it was, and then it weighs on us. I certainly can relate to that aspect of it.” She admitted, prompting a raise of an eyebrow. “You? Seriously?” Gallus asked, prompting the pony to sigh. “Gallus, I did some really stupid stuff, some really bad stuff before meeting Twilight. It’s not a secret in the slightest, but I’ll leave out the specifics. I didn’t realize how bad it all was until later. When that realization happened, I shook like a leaf for an hour, and it took two tubs of ice cream and plenty of reassurances from Twilight to snap me out of it.” Starlight sighed. “What I’m saying, is that in the moment, it didn’t seem like it was that big a deal. Afterwards, when I learned new things and was able to actually process what I did; that’s when it all came crashing down.” She then gestured to the gryphon. “I think that’s what is happening to you. You’re finally doing ok, and now you can begin to process everything else that has happened, whatever it is. I’m here to listen, or offer advice, or whatever you need.” Gallus nodded slowly, not able to find any flaws in her thinking. Things had been building for a while; from confiding in Silverstream, to the strange surge of anger when fighting off the Timberwolves. And Silver knows of course. She just doesn’t want to push me. Maybe… He opened his beak- having an idea of what to say, but the words just stopped short. “Can I come back with Silverstream?” He asked quietly, prompting Starlight to nod. “Of course. I should be free now, but can work something else in later if needs be.” “Thanks St-erm, Miss Starlight.” “Just Starlight is fine Gallus, see you soon.” Gallus nodded, standing and opening the door- And saw a very concerned hippogriff sitting off to the side, her eyes meeting his briefly. “You really didn’t look good, so I got worried.” Silverstream whispered, toying with her claws. “You doing ok?” Gallus almost said the usual response; ‘Yeah. Sure.’ Or any other utterance he’d use. Instead, the gryphon shook his head. The warm tension in his throat threatened to clog his words, but he simply gestured to the door. “Not really. But that’s what I was coming to find you.” He admitted, a dam of emotions breaching as Silver wrapped him up in a hug. The thoughts that but a few minutes before had seemed cold and untouchable now threatened overwhelm everything else. “You just-you make me feel safe. Can we talk? Starlight isn’t that bad actually.” Gallus admitted, taking a deep breath as Silver gave him a final squeeze and followed him through the door. Starlight didn’t say anything, but the genuine smile on her face was enough to put Gallus at ease, at least a bit. As they sat down, Gallus gestured to Silverstream briefly. “Starlight, can you-what you told me? Too much for me to explain at once.” Thankfully the counselor obliged, giving Silverstream the abridged version of what she thought ailed him. To Silverstream’s credit, she simply shrugged her wings and nodded, not seeming surprised in the slightest, only concerned. Gallus then didn’t say anything for a time.. Instead of voicing everything, the gryphon realized the hardest part was admitting to himself what he was about to say. He felt more comfortable sharing it all with just Silverstream, but somehow having Starlight validate instead of ridicule things seemed to help more than hurt. “I’m-I think I’m only now starting to realize how hard things were.” Gallus said slowly, looking at his claws. Is the roof leaking? Why is there water falling under-oh. It took him a good few moments to realize the source of the tears, and he definitely didn’t dare look up now. There was a slight comforting pressure at his side as Silverstream scooted closer, but she didn’t go further than that. “It was pretty bad actually. But it was my life, and until now I didn’t realize how awful it was. I can barely talk about it, but you make it easier.” He managed to say, only now glancing over to Silverstream briefly. “The snow, my claws shaking. There weren’t any orphanages in Griffinstone, not run by locals at least. There was only one building that did that; sponsored by a Canterlot charity I think. The two gryphon couples who worked there did it because they wanted to. But four individuals and one building…they could only do so much.” Gallus explained softly. “There were not that many orphans in Griffinstone, but there were enough to fill the beds twice over. So every other day, or every two days if there was an influx of orphans, everyone switched. You got two full meals on your day, but that was the best they could do.” He took a deep breath, gesturing to the curtained window. “That was the worst day. When you had a bed, a warm bowl of food, even for one night. And then you see the snow start. And you know that the next day, you’ll be out there...” With blurry vision, Gallus looked up to Starlight briefly. “This is just the beginning of stuff, isn’t it?” He asked, wings slumping. “I don’t know. But if I had to guess, yes. I’d say you’ve got plenty of support though.” Starlight replied, a caring smile on her face as Silverstream leaned on his shoulder. “Thanks Starlight. I-we’ll see about this again.” Gallus managed to say, sliding off the chair and glancing to Silverstream, Starlight nodding and going back to her notes. “Can we-?” “Lead the way.” She replied promptly, at his side as they walked out of the office. The two didn’t say anything, but Gallus paused before stepping out of the door onto the thin layer of snow. The flakes falling weren’t as big as before, but provided a bit of a muting effect to any sound. It was honestly peaceful, when Gallus could look past the unpleasant memories of such weather. They meandered to the edge of the school grounds, sitting on a grassy hill under a tree. While ponies had to wear scarves and such, in mild winter weather such as this, hippogriff and gryphon fur was plenty warm. As Silverstream scooted up against his side, Gallus took a trembling breath. “Silver, I-” His words were choked by the churning combination of emotions that overwhelmed his mind. “It’s a lot to deal with. I’m-I’m afraid you’ll…” “What? Leave you? Not be friends? Not want to be special somegriffs? Just because you’ve had a rougher past than others? Pfft, nope, not a chance of that happening.” Silverstream quipped, giving a set of claws a squeeze with her own. “You’re a good gryphon, my good gryphon, rough start or not.” Warmth blossomed in Gallus’ frame as he held Silver’s claws tightly. “I did have to steal food at times to eat.” He admitted with a sad chuckle, masking at least a little, how desperate he had been. “Still makes you a good gryphon. You were trying to survive. Would you have done it otherwise?” Gallus’ head shook briefly. “So, still my good special somegriff.” Silverstream chirped happily, wrapping a wing around Gallus affectionately. “I don’t know how this is going to go, Silverstream.” Gallus admitted softly. “The shivering claws, it happened before when we fought those Timberwolves. Memories related to it. I don’t know what else will-” “Gallus.” Silverstream’s voice was so laden with affection it caused Gallus’ heart to flutter in his chest. “I’m here for you, ok? We’ll figure out that stuff as it comes.” Now it was Gallus’ turn to snuggle closer to Silverstream, resting his head underneath hers. “What about you? I’ve got enough stuff to deal with, but I don’t want to ignore anything you are going through.” The hippogriff’s bubbly demeanor returned, Silverstream letting out a genuine laugh. She gave his cheek a nuzzle and then yanked him into a kiss that made Gallus see stars. “Gallus, I’m fine. I promise if anything does come up, I’ll let you know. All I worry about at times is you.” She then looked at him with a tender smile, placing a set of claws on his beak as the gryphon was about to speak. “And before you say ‘don’t worry,’ I care about you. And if anyone I care about, especially my special somegriff, isn’t feeling good, of course I’m going to worry. So shush.” Gallus now couldn’t help but smile, Silverstream’s continually upbeat mood as infectious as always. “Alright. Well, do nobles give kissing classes? Because if I had to say, you must have taken that course at least-” Despite her blush being hot enough to melt the snow, Silverstream shut up the cheeky gryphon with another kiss, causing Gallus pulling her close with a happy chuckle. As she pulled back briefly, Gallus was all smiles, no words able to express how much he enjoyed her close touch. Such a simple thing felt like it was starting to fill the gaping hole in his heart where no safety or comfort had ever been given. And all because she wants to. “So was that a yes? A maybe? Or-” “Gallus. Shut up or I’ll kiss you again.” Silverstream grumbled with the worst attempt at hiding a smile yet. Gallus cleared his throat- “This is the song that neeeeever eeeeeends, yes it goes on and on my-MMMFFF”