Let Me Give Your Heart A Break
Gallus was in his room, contemplating.
The school day had been tiring, much as he always found it, because it always gave him too much to process at one time, and there wasn’t enough time for everything to sink in. Study groups with his friends sometimes helped, but more often than not, he found himself falling short, and it was frustrating. He tended to think that if he had had more help with schooling of any kind growing up, he might not have this issue.
Thinking of his chick years made him ineffably sad, which is why he tried not to think about it. He was a big proponent of the idea that if you didn’t think about something, it would go away and not matter. But sometimes, like now, it just couldn’t be helped. It was like opening pandora’s box. Once it was open, it wouldn’t be shut until all the demons inside were released. And even when it was shut, those feelings swarmed him, and usually only faded after a night’s rest.
Growing up in Griffonstone had been hard. Not necessarily because Griffons were inherently ornery, although that did not help, but because he had grown up an orphan. Grandpa Gruff was the leader of the village and probably the closest thing he had to family- and he wasn’t a very stellar choice for one. Even during The Blue Moon Festival, he spent his time looking in other Griffon’s windows. Other Griffon’s had families. He did not. Despite Griffon’s reputations for being tempestuous and coldhearted, it did not mean they did not long for more. Gallus longed for a family while he grew up alone. In a way, this had helped him. He had become independent and self reliant, both good qualities to have. But it had denied him closeness with others. Not that Griffons were all that close in the first place, but most of them had, at least, tenuous bonds with their families.
Gallus supposed he had a family in his friends now, and a home at The School Of Friendship, and he liked that, but… it just wasn’t the same thing. Gallus wanted to be able to pinpoint where he came from. Even if Griffons were mean, rude, and uncaring, they at least knew who they were. His friends had parents, families, cousins. They knew where they came from. He couldn’t.
He was, very simply, having an identity crisis. He just didn’t want to admit it.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he lifted his head from his place on his bed. “Come in.” He said.
His door opened, and in walked Silverstream. Well, in pranced Silverstream would have been more accurate.
“Hey Gallus!” She chirped. “Every creature is heading to dinner right now, and I thought I’d come grab you. They’re having hayburgers today!”
“No thanks, Silverstream.” Though Gallus maintained his nonchalant look, something in his voice gave him away.
Silverstream was, shockingly enough, very perceptive. She tended to observe things others didn’t notice or didn’t consider important. Perhaps another creature might have taken Gallus’ words at face value, but not her. She knew something was wrong. She wanted to get to the bottom of it.
“What’s going on, Gallus?”
He looked at her. “Huh?”
“Something’s bothering you. What is it?”
He looked at her a long time, unsure of what to say, or if he could even put it into words. Seeing the concern in her eyes, he caved, and spoke. “Do you remember what I said on Hearth’s Warming?”
“About not having a family?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Just thinking about that, and about being here instead of Griffonstone. I don’t know where I came from.”
She nodded, looking thoughtful. “So it’s weird being here instead of at home, and you’re trying to deal with not having a family?”
“Pretty much.”
Silverstream was silent a moment, then spoke. “You know, I kind of felt like I didn’t have a home for a long time.”
“Huh?”
She nodded. “Well yeah. I mean, I grew up in Seaquestria and then after The Storm King was defeated, a lot of us moved back to Mount Aris. My brother Terramar had a hard time with that, trying to figure out where his home was before he realized he didn’t have to choose. I kind of felt like that too. I mean, we couldn’t really go to Mount Aris when The Storm King ruled, so Seaquestria was home. And when we could go back it felt weird. Like I didn’t fit anywhere. It made me wonder where I belonged.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Mhm.” She bobbed her head. “It was really confusing, and then coming here just kind of added to it. I mean, I had three places to go and I kind of felt like I was torn between all of them, and what place I should call home. I really didn’t know what to do. But something I learned here helped me.”
“What?”
“The day we ended up going to The Castle Of The Two Sisters when we ran away, I realized that home wasn’t one place. Home is where your family is. Your friends become your family wherever you go. You’re never really without a home or without your family.”
“But I don’t know where I came from. I mean, you have parents and a brother, an aunt and cousins. I don’t have any of that.”
Silverstream tried to choose her next words carefully. “I don’t think where you came from is as important as where you’re going. I mean sure, it’s nice to know who your family is and know what happened before you and all that stuff, but I think that only gets you so far. If this place has taught me anything, it’s that family is the one you create, not the one you were always born into. I mean, look at us. We’re all different creatures, and none of us grew up together, but we’re just as close as any family. That’s what really matters in the end. And someday, you’ll find somegriff of your own, and you might have a family that way, but it doesn’t change the one you have now.”
Gallus took in her words. They sunk in better than any lesson he had learned in school today. He supposed he hadn’t really thought about the future like that, settling down and eventually having a family of his own. It sounded nice. Maybe someday he would have a son or a daughter to teach what he had learned from growing up without a biological family, and get to give them what he didn’t have. That would be amazing. He realized, though, that she was right. He did have a family, and a home here. The thought made him smile.
“Thanks, Silverstream.”
“Anytime.” Her voice was chipper again. She got up to go, and he stopped her. He realized with a start that she had managed to close his Pandora’s Box.
“Hey Silverstream?” He asked.
She turned to him. “Yeah?”
“You wanna get dinner together sometime?”
She smiled at him. “I’d love to!” She clapped her claws.
He grinned, seeing her smile like that, and suddenly, he felt odd. Like the world wasn’t quite right somehow. In a moment that couldn’t have lasted more than a half second, he caught a glimpse into his future. He would have a family someday, an egg to raise as his own, but he wouldn’t be taking that on on his own. He would have friends, now family, to help him. And maybe the one who would help him most was right here.
“Cool.” He said, and got up. “Feel like grabbing dinner right now with everycreature?” He asked.
She nodded. “Sure! I’m starving.”
He walked over to her, and as she went out his door, her claw brushed his, and it sent a tingle up his spine.
Maybe he had found his special somegriff. And he might have done it earlier than anyone had anticipated.
Smiling, he and Silverstream talked as they walked down to dinner together, not noticing that their wings were linked together.