Griffin the Griffin

by BlackWing

Growl (40)

As I stood on the top deck by the railing, leaning my head back to look at the moon upside down, when the little yellow pegasus walked towards me. I had seen her talking with the captain, and he thought she was alright, so I guess I could talk to her, if she wants. She's one of the ponies I thought I'd get along with. Mostly because she's quiet. I don't like loud things. It's why the captain put me in charge of the Romak. They were quiet. They were strong. They know what it means to be still. Not like that yapping Etch. I had worked next to him for seven years, and never once did he shut up. Still, sometimes he was good company, and in the mines as a slave you take what you can get. We were treated considerably better than the pony slaves, as well as a number of griffin slaves I had seen before we were sent to the jungle border. After all, we were still diamond dogs. I never understood why the alphas hated the other races so much. When I asked why we didn't just hire them and pay some gems instead of making them slaves and having to guard them, he grabbed my tongue and threatened to cut it off. My father was not the most lenient of dogs.

That's right, I forgot to mention, my father was the former alpha, before he got killed anyway. He was so disappointed that I didn't have the same trait. Sure, I was taller and stronger than the other pups, but I was nowhere near alpha level. He spoke with nothing but disdain for me. It's his damn fault I wasn't born like that, not mine. Anyway, just because I don't talk much, doesn't mean I'm stupid. I'm a thinker. It's just that thinkers in diamond dog packs tend to get into trouble. You're supposed to leave the thinking to the alphas, which I was not. Then again, I partly am. I am, but I am not. Too confusing.

The pegasus came closer, very slowly, very quietly, hoping not to disturb me. I'll just let her do what she likes.

"Um... hello?" She asked carefully. I blew out through my mouth, the vapor turning into a cloud in the cold night air above the sea. She backed away slightly, timid little thing. I let myself slide into sitting position, against the railing. Seeing that as her invitation, she approached and sat down next to me. We both sat there for what felt like an hour, before I finally spoke up.

"You, don't have to sit here if you don't want to."

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, am I bothering you?" She asked, hoping I wasn't offended.

"No, not at all, it's just you don't need to spare any concern for me."

"Oh, well, okay."

We simply sat there for several minutes more, gazing off into nowhere. She began to sing softly to herself, however, with my ears, I was of course, able to hear it. After all, we diamond dogs have much better hearing than ponies, and considering my father was an alpha, I had inherited that trait more strongly.

The meadowlarks sing,
The bells start to ring,

the beat of my heart,
the painter, his art,

the wind and the clouds,
whisper, no-ne too loud,

of nature's secret joy

The rabbits dance,
the gaz-elle prance,
the fish which swim
and on a whim,

I join their song
and all along

the whole world plays, it's symphony,
but only to those, who lend their ear,
it says to open, eyes and see
that mother is here, and nothing's to fear.

She finished, and gave a sigh to herself.

"That was very beautiful." She practically jumped.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd...." She stammered.

"Hear it? My ears can hear the flap of a butterfly's wings, and do not be sorry, I enjoyed it. Far to often we rush through the world, and forget to be a part of it." When I said that, she suddenly came to realize something, what it was, I do not know, but she moved herself closer to me. She didn't even flinch when I brought my right arm up to run my claws though her mane.

"Um, I hope you aren't offended but, the way you spoke before, it gives off the impression that you're......"

"Uneducated? I know. For a long time, I have spoken that way. I am an.... abnormal diamond dog. A thinker. Thinking is not appreciated among the packs. Unthoughtful loyalty to the pack leader, unquestioningly doing what you are told. I speak in broken sentences to give the illusion that I am stupid, so that I fit in. Although I no longer must speak that way, it became a force of habit for me."

"That must be awful." She looked at me with those big blue eyes, which felt like they bored into the very soul, while at the same time not intruding at all.

"It's strange, I wanted to be an artist. I would find myself absentmindedly forming things from clay, drawing, painting if I could. Of course, I was supposed to just dig for gems, but I always found a way to put just a little bit of artistic flare in that drab cave. I also wanted to leave and see the surface world. Oh, father had a fit when he found out." I gave a low laugh, and she smiled sweetly. I gently moved my arm and pulled the little pony closer to me.

"I was supposed to grow up and handle the weather. All pegasi are supposed to help with the weather, but I couldn't fly to save my life. Literally. I fell off a cloud one day all the way to the ground, where I was saved by a swarm of butterflies. Imagine everypony's surprise when they found out that, as a pegasus, my special talent was helping animals which lived on the ground. Of course, my parent's couldn't have been prouder, and helped me settle in to my ground life right away, but the others.... well.... we're supposed to fly and help with weather, but I didn't. So, I guess that made me a little separate from them. It was okay, because I was shy anyway, and they would always tease me because of that. My animal friends never tease.... well, except Angel bunny, but, he's a bit different than normal." She explained a little sad, and a little shy, although a lot more open than when I had first seen her.

"Tease? A sweet and kind pony like you? Who would dream of doing such a thing?" She blushed slightly. Suddenly, it wasn't so cold out here anymore. Well, it was a summer ocean breeze after all. I slid all the way down so I was laying on the deck, and she blushed a bit before laying down beside me. We each curled ourselves up to conserve warmth, our backs to each other, kindred spirits, before she nodded off to sleep. I noticed the butterflies on her flank, and her gentle snoring, inaudible to anyone else.

"Flap of a butterfly's wings indeed."