//------------------------------// // Things-to-do. // Story: Road to fame: My new life... As a gryphon. // by lord indisar //------------------------------// I gave Chirp half of one of the sleeping pills I'd bought, since he seemed to still be wide awake. I went upstairs, to my room, though leaving the door open, just in case he got hurt or something, So I'd be able to hear him. I looked around my room, seeing if there was some space I could reserve for a crib or a small extra bed. I'd need one eventually, if I was going to take care of him. Tomorrow, I'd try to get to the store and buy some nuts, and see if he could eat those. If not.. I suppose the grocery store did have ( albeit a very limited supply of) meat, so he wouldn't be living on just berries... I mean, hopefully, if the nuts worked out, I wouldn't have had to buy meat. Though he wouldn't really have much of a dinner tonight, I'd get up first thing in the morning to go to the grocery store, maybe take Chirp with me so I could show my boss why I probably wouldn't be making it to work for the next week, at least, until I could hire a foalsitter. And before that, I'd have to teach him at least his name and my name, just to start on teaching him Equestrian. I'd try to get him a tutor, I suppose. I'd look in town for one. Preferably a Pegasi, so he could learn to fly at some point. And with that I finally went to bed, my plans for the next day laid out. __________***The following morning***_________- The alarm clock rang loud, and, however groggy I was, I quickly turned it off, and got cleaned up. Exiting my room, and making my way downstairs, I noticed little Chirp was still asleep... Shouldn't wake him, I guessed. I'd get the meat, and make my way back home before he woke up, as he'd no doubt be hungry waking up. He hadn't eaten the night before, so hopefully, I could get enough to satisfy him for the day at least. I filled my bag up with bits again, and it looked like I was really going to need the extra money I'd saved up. I was glad I didn't have much to spend on. The garden really cut down on costs of food, and I was going to need all that it saved. Not that I was poor, as I had a pretty good income from what the lights I produced were selling. The garden simply helped, since it meant didn't have to go to the market so much. I sneaked my way out of the door, and shut it quietly, praying to Celestia that he'd stay asleep, at least until I got back( actually, I was sure that he'd be able to smell the meat once I did come back, so that was all I needed.) 30 minutes later, I found myself at the grocery store again, and it was still pretty early, so not many ponies were out yet, so the store was practically empty, except for me, a few clerks, and the butcher who was there, which made what I was about to do... A little less uncomfortable. "I'd... Like..." I began, my blushing easily visible on my white coat... I didn't even know how this sort of thing worked... "To buy raw meat.." I finished quickly. "Shor, any t'ang in p'ticula'?" The butcher asked in a calmness that I found terrifying. We were dealing with meat here, wasn't he concerned, in case I was some sort of cannibal or something?! "I... Anything that could.....satisfy a young gryphon?... Uh.... Rabbit? Duck? Chicken?" I asked tentatively. Never in a million years, would I have believed I'd be in this position... I had no idea what to do. "At t' moment, I only gots chicken, ma'am. Will t'at do?" He responded, though it was a little hard to understand his accent. "I guess? I'll buy... Some chicken? " I asked, trying to move on with this... The hardest part was actually going to be bringing it home, if I took too long, and ponies began their days. "How big ye gon' have t'em??" He asked, though this time, I really couldn't understand him... These questions were nerve-wracking at best... "Just... Get me two, or something," I started saying, "... No, three... No cutting, Don't care how big.... I just want to get home...and can I get more than one bag?" I asked before paying the butcher. I was going to need the extra bag after all this... " 'Aight, t'en" the butcher said, before simply placing the three uncooked, skinned birds, in what appeared to be a leather saddlebag, likely so that it could hold the weight. " I meant.. I want the second bag to be plastic..." I asked, when the butcher was about to place the third chicken in the second bag. He simply nodded and handed me one, placing the third chicken in the original bag, which was now bulging with the blatantly visible raw meat. Best to get home quickly..... Ponies could probably smell me a mile away at this rate.... I was going to need another shower after this.... I began walking... No, trotting... Okay, galloping home from the grocery store, ignoring the looks that I found myself getting, and finally, made it home, breathing heavily. And just as I'd predicted, Chirp was wide awake, looking at me, or more specifically, the leather bag, of which I quickly tossed in the freezer, trying to get my breath. "No.... Not now, Chirp... " I told him sternly. Could he even eat raw meat? Possibly, if he was a wild gryphon, then his body would be adapted to not suffer from such a thing... I wasn't going to take chances, though, so I began heating up the oven. To think I thought I'd only ever use it to bake cakes and pies.... Well... That was out of the way... For now, I decided to stick to my other plans. I had to start making plans for how Chirp would learn his name..... Which I had no idea how to start... I still had his attention, so that was a head start. I sat down in front of him and did what I thought would work best. "Repeat. After. Me," I started saying, making gestures with my hoof from my mouth , forward, and pointing At myself. "Chirp. Chirp. Chirp." I repeated, pointing at him every time I said his name. "Repeat. After. Me. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp." I kept going, for maybe 7 times. He chirped again, just like yesterday, though this time he looked he was preparing to say it. "Repeat. After. Me. Chirp. Chirp." I began again, until- "(Me) Chirp?" I heard him say, and he pointed at himself. "Yes! You. Are. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp!" I said, doing the motions again, reinforcing the name. "Chirp Chirp Chirp?" He asked, tilting his head. No! I mean... "No." I said firmly, shaking my head.. "Just Chirp." I said once again., pointing at him. "(I) Just Chirp?" He asked, pointing at himself again. "Chirp." I confirmed, pointing at him the little gryphon. "Chirp!" He repeated happily, and I smiled. "Yes!" I congratulated, clapping my hooves. I pointed at him gesturing with my head, trying to let him know to speak. "Chirp!" He said, and I lowered my hoof, and pointed at him again. He repeated in turn, and a clapped again. I went over it with him a few times, and then I started saying his name. He pointed at himself, and I knew then, that he knew his name. Now it was time for my name. "Shhhhhh," I went, putting my hoof to my lips, and he seemed to get the clue. I pointed at my self and began speaking. "Lovely Lights. Lovely Lights. " I said, lightly pounding my chest twice for each time. He pointed at me and seemed to get it, so I nodded. "Yes." "Lovely Lights. Lovely Lights." I started, and- "Lights?" He questioned, pointing at me, and I had to shake my head. "No." I tried pounding my chest once this time. "Lovely Lights. Lovely Lights." I kept repeating. "Lovely lights?" He said, pointing at me, and I nodded, clapping. "Yes! Lovely Lights." "Lovely Lights!" He exclaimed, pointing at me, and clapping himself. "Yes!" I said. I pointed at myself a few times, and he was able to get my name. I pointed to him, and he said his. Now for some advanced stuff... And then I was done for now. I pointed at him with one hoof, and the other, I put my hoof to my mouth. "Shhhhhhh. Shhhhhhh." I went, and he seemed to stay quiet, even as I had my hoof pointing to him. "I. Am. Lovely Lights. You. Are. Chirp." I started repeating, pointing at myself and him in turn, once for each word. Then I changed it up a bit, and started pointing at him. "I. Am- " I started, signaling him to speak. "Chirp." Then pointing to my self: "You. Are-" "Lovely Lights." He said. We repeated this as well for a few times, and I finally got him to say what I wanted him to say. "I am Chirp! You are Lovely Lights!" He said, clapping. I'd taught him how to identify, at least, and over the course of the next several minutes, I taught him both Yes, and No, so his ability to speak was shaping up quite nicely. Dear, Celestia, I'm teaching a foal how to speak. By now, the oven was ready, and I levitated one of the uncooked chickens into the oven. I didn't now how long it would take, but I figured I could check over time. Though I thought it would take at least an hour, so there was another matter on hand to do. My workplace. Taking care of a foal was something I couldn't keep from Mr. Frosty, my boss. I wouldn't ask for a raise or anything, but I'd have to let him know. Things could pop up in an instant, especially when I started sending Chirp to school. Huh... Already thinking about school.... If I could hire a tutor to teach him some Equestrian, even just a bit, he'd be ready to attend, possibly in the next two months, at least. I picked little Chirp up and set him on my back, and began walking to work. Actually, looking at the time, I wasn't even going to be late. If I went to work today, that is. But no, I needed to get a foal sitter, before I could get back to working. I finally reached my workplace, and walked into the building, where one of my co-workers, a yellow Pegasi stallion with green hair, greeted me. "Hey-a, Lovely Lights! How did the camping trip g- WHAT is that on your back?!" He yelled, stunned at the sight of the young gryphon. "I am Chirp! You are...?" He asked, as if almost on signal. "Hey, Fluorescent Bulb. This is Chirp," I said, pointing to both of them as I said their names. "Is Mr. Frosty here yet? My trip got cancelled, for the reasons you can see." " Uh, yeah, he's out back. Sorry about your trip..." He said. Pretty much everypony here knew about it, and then I wasn't able to go. "Could you go get him? I can't take Chirp back there. I'll hold the fort while you're gone. " I asked nicely, to which Fluorescent nodded, and went out the door behind the counter.. The place where the lights were being made. Sure enough, Mr. Frosty came through the door after about two minutes, and well, he was just as stunned as Fluorescent. "Where'd you find find it?" Was the first question he gave me, which was where even I became a bit worried. "Him. Just... Out on the road walking towards me. But it's weird, there aren't any gryphons in the surrounding area. He wasn't even near his mother or anything, so I took him back home, and decided to well, adopt him. I'll need at most, a week off, until I can get a foalsitter. I've named him Chirp..." I told him, a little nervous. "Hehe, you don't know the first thing about taking care of a kid." He told me, laughing. "Well by Celestia, I'm going to try. Unless you know anypony who can take care of a gryphon? " I mused, though I got no responses. "Alright, I'll give you two weeks. Just come back as soon as you can, Lovely. " He said, before waving me off, smiling. "Thanks, boss, will do. I'll keep you updated!" I said, leaving the building and returning home. I was getting a little hungry, and I was sure that chirp was going to be even hungrier, so maybe the chicken would be done cooking by the time I get back. Well.. I guess that today is the day I try to hire a foalsitter.