Nimbusgait Lakes Special Delivery: Hay Family Farm (ENDED)

[Mojo]

"Mr. Grayfeather is my father. Feel free to call me Gerrard," he replied with a light laugh as he tried to get her to be less stiff in his presence. The griffon didn't like all the formalities that Canterlot seemed to require, but he didn't mind using it from time to time to make a great impression. "Just act natural Haymaker, the Canterlot ponies can smell a faker. Trust me, they won't say anything foolish when I'm around. Consider it a benefit of being friends with a 'scary' griffon, the jerks in the city bite their tongues so I can't," he joked as he lead his date off the campus grounds.

These words calmed the lanky Earth mare. It was plain to see that this griffon was a true gentlecolt. Now Haymaker decided to drop all the pretenses and just be herself.

"I sure do appreciate ya sayin' that, Gerrard. I gotta admit, this big ol' town mighty intimidatin' fer a country gal like me."

"Don't think of it as short notice. Would you complain if a friend came over on short notice to help you out? Of course not, it's great to have someone to talk to on lonely nights," he explained with a smile as he lead her on through the town at a cautious pace. The streets of Canterlot had thinned considerably from minutes earlier when the sun was out. It was quickly becoming manageable. He had heard her stomach growl as he thought over a place for them to eat. He decided to play a bit with his date, the griffon putting on an excited expression on his face as if he had an epiphany. "Ahh, I know a place that serves great fish and chips," he said in an excited manner, glancing over to the mare to judge her reaction.

"When ya put it that way, Gerrard, I kin see yur point. Thanks fer all yur hospitality. Fish and chips? Did ya say, fish and chips?" Haymaker asked, sort of stunned at the choice of cuisine her new friend had chosen. Fish? Griffons eat, fish? The red maned mare got a very puzzled look on her face.

After pausing for moment to gauge her expression, he laughed lightly and decided to help make her at ease a bit more. "I know a great nearby deli. I've been told they serve a mean grass loaf. Wanna ask me anything? I know that most ponies feel awkward around griffons at first. I feel like I have an unfair knowledge advantage on you," he added warmly spreading out his wings to show them off to her as they walked through the streets. His display helped clear the streets, giving her the space to ask anything she might have felt too awkward to around all the fancy locals.

Haymaker breathed a sigh of relief that Gerrard had changed his mind and suggested the deli.

"The deli sounds terrific, Gerrard, and I sure do appreciate this. I'm so hungry, I could eat a carriage!" Haymaker said with a giggle as she followed Gerrard outside to walk to the deli. The nicely dressed mare noticed how others on the streets responded when her griffon friend stretched out his wings. In a way, she found it flattering that Gerrard would be so considerate to her, a complete stranger.

"Ask ya anythin' huh? Well, I would like ta know a little more about ya. Were ya born here? How long have ya lived in Canterlot? Asteria mentioned your job, do ya like what ya do?"

[Gerrard]

"Canterlot is a bit overwhelming at first. Would you believe me if I told you that some adventurous unicorns in the city tried to hassle me for being a griffon. A few roars and swipes later, they stopped messing with me. I just had to explain to some guards that we 'greeted' strangers with roars," he explained with a smile, laughing at his own lie as he tried to cheer her up with his own experience. Ponies did pick on him, but it was only a few foolish ones and his self imposed code of man-ness did not allow him to cry in front of other men! He had learned that flaunting his machismo too much though served to only alienate him, not that he was really such a tough guy any more. Heck, by griffon standards he was probably a total softy after all this time spent with ponies.

When she was stunned by his remark about fish, he chuckled, realizing that she really didn't know anything about griffons at all. "Ahh Haymaker, not every creature only eats vegetables. Some are omnivores, or even carnivores, nasty monsters in particular. Griffons usually prefer meat, but will eat pony food too. And when you live with ponies, you have to get used to it, or learn how to fish," he explained with a chuckle, leaving it up to her mind what exactly he actually ate on a daily basis. He nodded when she accepted his offer of a deli. "Yeah I'm so hungry I could eat some hor-ticulture," he remarked with a smirk, almost saying horse, but cleverly changing the word at the last second to something more appropriate as he wondered if the mare would catch the clever play on words.

"Anything at all," he remarked with a smile as they soon arrived at the deli, a rather fancy, yet casual looking building that was lightly peppered with a few fancy looking ponies. They didn't seem to respond to the arrival of the awkward pair as Gerrard lead his date to one of the booths for dinner. "Sure, I can answer all of these questions, no problem," he added cheerfully while gesturing with his talon for her to sit across the table from him. "I was actually born in Talonopolis, the griffon capital city far off to the west. I have been here for about five years I guess. I like what I do, as long as I don't get terrible assignments to deserts or blizzard wastelands. Some griffons say I water ponies for a living, sorta funny if you think about it," he commented with a laugh as he gestured for a waiter to come over and serve them whenever possible.

[Mojo]

"Canterlot is a bit overwhelming at first. Would you believe me if I told you that some adventurous unicorns in the city tried to hassle me for being a griffon. A few roars and swipes later, they stopped messing with me. I just had to explain to some guards that we 'greeted' strangers with roars,"

At first, Haymaker was taken aback by this comment. But then, as she thought about it, she found it very comforting to know that she was in the company of one who was very similar to herself. Facing ridicule for being yourself, and fighting back. This made the lanky red maned mare admire Gerrard more.

"Reckon I kin understand that, Gerrard. Sometimes, back home, I kinda git shunned too. Ain't nuthin' wrong with bein' yurself."

"Ahh Haymaker, not every creature only eats vegetables. Some are omnivores, or even carnivores, nasty monsters in particular. Griffons usually prefer meat, but will eat pony food too. And when you live with ponies, you have to get used to it, or learn how to fish,"

Hearing this also eased Haymaker's mind. Here was a powerful griffon who could easily bully ponies around, admitting that he willingly adapted to pony culture and ways! Gerrard was truly an exceptional male.

"That speaks really well fer ya, Gerrard. I appreciate ya sayin' all that."

"Anything at all," "Sure, I can answer all of these questions, no problem," "I was actually born in Talonopolis, the griffon capital city far off to the west. I have been here for about five years I guess. I like what I do, as long as I don't get terrible assignments to deserts or blizzard wastelands. Some griffons say I water ponies for a living, sorta funny if you think about it,"

Haymaker giggled at the 'watering ponies' reference.

"You certainly have an important job. Irrigatin' crops is vital ta farmin' folk like me and..." the red maned mare hesitated for a moment. What would Gerrard think of her if he knew she was a farm pony? Would that make a difference in what he thought of her? Now she was suddenly nervous all over again.

[Gerrard]

Gerrard smirked when she giggled at his watering reference. She didn't seem to be anything like the usual Canterlot ponies he often had to rub elbows with. "Ya, don't worry about any pretenses with me. I won't judge you, unless you lie to me, griffons don't like liars but you seem truthful," he replied with a warm smile while they got into their seats.

When it slipped out that she was a farmer he didn't seem surprised at all. "Oh you're a farmer, right? Maybe I've been to your farm recently. I hope you aren't ashamed of working an honest living. Anyway, I've heard that farmers are the toughest kind of people. And you look tough, in the good kind of way," he explained with a smile, playfully flexing his forelegs in a joke display of strength. He was having a good time already and they hadn't even started eating.

And like a clock, his thoughts on food were rewarded when a waitress arrived at their table with bread as she looked over the pair. She was a beautiful blonde unicorn with an eccentric outfit that was drawing the eyes of many stallions in the room. "Hello my dear guests, what can I help you with today," she asked warmly, beaming for the pair.

Gerrard's glance only drifted to her for a moment before returning to his lovely date. He scooped up a piece of bread and deftly sliced it in half with a knife and gave one part to his date. "My lovely date will start us off for the evening," he replied with a smile as his golden eyes peered across into the eyes of his date.

[Mojo]

Haymaker now felt more at ease. Apparently, Gerrard had no problem with her profession nor did he look down on her for it. That was certainly a welcome change from the rude stallion she had first encountered earlier in the day. Who knew a griffon could be so charming and nice! He even allowed Haymaker the courtesy of ordering first at the deli! Few stallions she had ever dated possessed so much good manners!

"Ok, let me take a quick look at the menu," Haymaker said as she glanced at all of the different sandwich choices. "Gerrard speaks very highly of yur grass loaf, I'll have that sandwich with lettuce, pickles, tomato and a bowl of hay on the side. What are you going to order, Gerrard?"

[Gerrard]

When she spoke her order, the griffon nodded as her request was made. It quickly became his turn to pick, and he decided to avoid making things complicated for the waitress as he slipped on a warm expression. "If the grass loaf is good enough for my date, it is good enough for me. Just double her order and we can share the meal," he explained in a postive manner. "Thank you for all the help ma'am," he added politely while keeping his attention on the mare in front of him. Gerrard did his best to ignore the few curious gawkers as he tried to make his guest at ease.

"I hope my associate hasn't ruined your night. Most ponies in Canterlot aren't as bad as the stories, usually anyway," he added with a chuckle as he looked out the window onto the fancy city they both were sitting in.

[Mojo]

"Well Gerrard," Haymaker confessed, "that fancy feller sure did give me a startle. I'm glad not all Canterlot citizens are like him."

It took a moment, but the lanky red maned mare just realized Gerrard had referred to her as 'my date.' This put a smile on Haymaker's face. She hadn't been on a real date in a long time, and Gerrard has been so nice to her. Of course, wearing her finest dress covered up her boxing glove cutie mark. Just as well, she thought, not wanting to scare the griffon away if he happened to see it.

"I hear tell that Canterlot's famous fer fancy parties and social functions. Do ya git involved in any of those?"

[Gerrard]

"Aww, don't let some uppity jerk get you down. They are just compensating for their personal inadequacies," Gerrard teased playfully, winking while making fun of his fancier counterparts.

When she smiled at his use of the word date, Gerrard returned an equally warm expression. "I've been to few fancy get togethers. I usually avoid the overly fancy get togethers, but I do need to go to the occasional university staff party. The last non-work party I went to was a party Asteria's family threw. Her parents wanted her to bring a stallion and I was the first guy she trusted not to make a spectacle out of us. Aside from being a gruff griffon, I didn't let her down too much," he explained with a laugh as the waitress returned with their food.

"Thank you for the food ma'am," he politely remarked while helping hand out their meals with his talons. The meals were precisely as ordered and looked great, Gerrard maintaining his composure while he checked to see if she approved.

[Mojo]

"Yeah, thanks a lot, ma'am," added Haymaker as the serving mare arrived with their food. The lanky red maned mare was pleasantly surprised to see Gerrard being so complimentary towards their server and even helping her put the food down the table.

"Gerrard, if'n ya don't mind mah askin', how'd ya git to be so polite and mannerly? No offense, but a lot of the citizens I've seen in Canterlot act awful snooty towards everypony, especially waitresses and servin' staff. Over yonder's a unicorn couple that jist gave their waitresses a rough time cause she didn't bring'm the salt and pepper. Now that's jist downright rude of'm! But you ain't like that at all! Yur real nice!"

[Gerrard]

Gerrard remained cool and collected as he presented the food to his date. When she commented that a lot of ponies here were snooty, the griffon glanced over to a pair of uppity unicorns. "Well, maybe I have an advantage over them. I grew up in Talonopolis, and being rude to griffons in that country gets your face clawed. Sometimes, your parents have to set you straight. Whenever I do something, I think about how my parents would view it. If I acted like a jerk face in front of Gale, my mom, she would clobber me," he explained with a chuckle, playfully punching himself in the face with a clenched talon.

"Sometimes the threat of violence motivates people, from being mean. It might do wonders if someone did something to set them straight. Peace and friendship is a great thing for jerks to hide behind. It is illegal for me to give ponies manners," he joked with a smile as he made light of their bad manners.

"Don't fret about them, just enjoy your dinner. If they mess with you, they will mess with me too," he added with a chuckle while presenting her the food to eat.

[Mojo]

Haymaker was completely overwhelmed by Gerrard! He was everything she was looking for in a pony, though he wasn't a pony, but that didn't seem to matter. She was having a great time with him! Now she turned her attention to her food, starting with nibbling on her sandwich.

"Wow! This here's sandwich is fantastic! You really know how ta pick'm, Gerrard! An' I'm glad ta hear ya had strong, respectful parents. Me and mah siblings were raised ta be polite too! Of course, mah little sister Haywire's polite, but she's still gotta onrey streak a mile wide!"

The snobby unicorn couple across the room began to point at Haymaker and whisper. The lanky red maned mare couldn't hear all the conversation, but she did hear them use the terms 'hick' and 'country bumpkin' to describe her. Haymaker tried to smile and not let their insults hurt her, but her sadness did show as she continued to nibble on her sandwich.

[Gerrard]

Gerrard was glad to see that his date was enjoying her time in spite of his rude associate earlier. He ate his sandwich as well, not liking it as much a well cooked fish, but finding it acceptable nonetheless. His expression remained cheerful as he ate his food, nodding as she complimented the food. "Ya, gruffon parents are pretty griff, err you know what I mean," he explained with a laugh, mixing up his words while making light of the compliment. "Ahh, Haywire sounds like a clawful. Must make things interesting around the home. I can imagine that she probably isn't the only one at the farm with an ornery streak though, am I right," he commented with a grin, suspecting that it might run in the family, something that usually ran for all griffons.

When he heard some snobby insults across the room, his golden gaze drifted off to the side and pinpointed the source of the cruel words. The griffon leaned across the table to his sad date and carefully extended his claw, gently lifting her head up with a black digit to look her in the face. "Did I ever tell you the story about what I did to the ponies who bothered my last date? They really needed help going down some stairs, over and over again. They just couldn't stop falling down the stairs for some reason," he loudly remarked to the rude ponies across the room before locking a pair of fierce golden eyes on couple across the room. "I heard that you have some words to say to Lady Haymaker. Would you like to share them with the rest of the class? I've lived here for quite a while and being rude is not required in the city charter," he sternly remarked, flashing one of his sharp looking talons at the couple before tearing a bite out of his meal with his even sharper beak.

[Mojo]

Haymaker was stunned to see Gerrard coming to her defense. No pony, no ANYONE outside of her own family had ever stood up for her like this before! The lanky red maned Earth mare watched as the unicorn couple who had hurled insults at her suddenly cower in fear of the powerful griffon. The unicorn mare hugged her husband tightly as Gerrard issued his ultimatum. The stallion quickly reached for his money sack, tossed out a dozen bit coins to cover the cost of the meal and then grabbed his wife and bolted out the back door. Haymaker looked stunned but then, after giving the matter some thought, understood why the snooty unicorn couple scampered off. A quick smile came upon Haymaker's face, but she quickly took a more somber look, not wanting to gloat over the actions of her date. The incident had a very profound effect on the other ponies gathered in the deli, who were now silent as they continued to eat.

Waiting for Gerrard to return to their table, Haymaker continued to eat her meal. When he did return, she happily greeted him.

"Y'all didn't have ta do that, Gerrard, but I'm sure mighty glad ya did," she said with a broad smile on her face.

[Gerrard]

Gerrard made sure he was seated comfortably, glancing back across to his date as he let a smirk spread across his previously fierce looking face. "I suppose I could have let those unicorns run their mouths, but that would let them think their actions are wrong. If someone is doing something bad, I let them know and it gets corrected, every time," he explained, pounding a clenched talon onto the palm of his open claw. "Anyway, I can't allow them to spread lies. Living in the country doesn't make you a hick, it makes you different. Not everyone can live in a city and do nothing for a living. Some griffons work in the military, some water ponies, heck some even farm food to sell to ponies. How they act, not what their jobs are, determine what they are like," he explained sternly, being slightly serious as he spoke.

"Wanna finish up our dinner and get out of here? It is a bit stuffy in here," he added with a smile, carefully eating his food while making sure that nobody else acted foolish. He found it odd that there was always someone around who felt the desire to act like a total jerk. Perhaps it was just his job to set them straight!

[Mojo]

Haymaker loved everything her date had said. Gerrard seemed to be very opened minded, a trait not found in many males.

"I truly appreciate you sayin' all that, Gerrard," the red maned mare said, "I reckon thar's a lot of folks out there who judge a book by it's cover without takin' the time ta read the pages."

She paused a bit before speaking again, now realizing that she had already taken this sage advice. Haymaker didn't allow the fact that Gerrard was a griffon to prevent her from discovering just what a wonderful guy he was. The longer she spent time with him, the less scary his appearance was to her. In fact, she was beginning to find her date to be quite handsome. Her inner train of thought was broken by Gerrard's last question.

"Oh yes, yes of course! I'm almost finished with mah food," Haymaker said, eating the last of her sandwich and finishing up her hay. "Where will ya be takin' me next?"

[Gerrard]

He listened to his date as she thanked him, the griffon a bit sad to hear that most of her dates have been more shallow and timid than himself. "I know all about being judged by my appearance, it happens every day. Ponies look at me and see either a majestic griffon or a flying purple pony people eater," he explained with a smirk, puffing his chest out proudly and following it up with a few squirming talon digits as he laughed at his last remark. He smirked faintly when his previous question broke her from a stupor, almost startling her as he caught her mind drifting.

"Great to hear," he replied in a simple manner before finishing his food as well. The griffon managed to fish out a small stack of bits from a cleverly hidden bag beneath his wing and stacked them neatly on the table before gesturing for a waiter to come over and help them pay for their meal. "Thanks for the meal the meal ma'am. I give my compliments to the chef for the meal, almost as good as meat," he commented with a smirk, getting up and leading his date outside. "Well, I was going to suggest a trip to the museum or an art display, but I came up with an idea that is a great middle ground between the two. We can go to the Canterlot gardens and take a stroll through pony history. There shouldn't be anyone there to interrupt us, and maybe I can use history to explain why some Canterlot ponies seem to act so uppity," he explained with a wink as he spoke of the uppity locals of his town.

[Mojo]

Haymaker couldn't help but giggle as Gerrard's reference to a flying purple pony people eater. She then squealed with delight when the charming griffon spoke of their next destination.

"That sounds like a dandy idear, Gerrard," Haymaker said as her eyes lit up. The red maned mare was excited that she would be taking a stroll in Canterlot gardens! No pony who had ever dated her before ever offered to take her anywhere as fancy as this! Seeing her date complimenting the wait staff, Haymaker added her praise as well.

"An' I'll thank ya too, ma'am! This meal was outstandin'! My compliments to yur chef too!" the eager mare neighed before turning to Gerrard. "I'm ready ta go, lookin' forward to it too!"

[Gerrard]

Gerrard carefully lead his date through the nearly empty city night streets and in a few quick steps, the pair were already at the famed gardens that once held the statue of a certain spirit of chaos. "I'll even throw in a history lesson that explains why some ponies in this city are a bit snooty," he added with a laugh as they were met by a pair of rather intimidating dark unicorn guards.

The guards casually shined their light on the odd pair, only to have their efforts met with a strange expression from the griffon. Gerrard contorted his face awkwardly to look vaguely disfigured, his odd display getting an out of character snicker from the guard. "Now I need to go tell Luna that her night guards have been slacking off," Gerrard joked playfully for his date before the guards inspected Haymaker. While trying to regain their composure, the pair stiffened before stepping to the side to let Gerrard and his date into the dimly lit gardens.

"How much do you know about ancient history," Gerrard asked calmly of his date as the regal form of a unicorn statue came into their field vision. The garden was vaguely spooky at night, seemingly anything capable of darting out into view at any moment!

[Mojo]

Haymaker giggled at the mention of explaining why Canterlot ponies are so snooty. The lanky red maned mare was very curious about this herself.

"I'm lookin' forward ta that, Gerrard," she said to her date.

Haymaker got a little nervous when the guards approached them, but breathed a sign of relief when she saw Gerrard's reaction to them. He was very bold, self assured and confident. These are traits the mare truly admired. She was happy when she entered the garden with Gerrard. As she spotted the unicorn statue, she heard Gerrard's next question.

"Well, I gotta admit, history wasn't mah strongest subject in school. I don't really know a whole lot about it, Gerrard."

[Gerrard]

The black griffon smiled as he saw her get nervous around the guards. When they were out of earshot of the guards, the dark hybrid decided to explain himself before giving her a minor lesson in history. "I have done a lot of work on the gardens in this city. The guards practically all know me by name, after dozens of checks by passing guards, they learned that the suspicious looking griffon in town works for the city. I've done everything here but make a water slide," he explained thoughtfully while acting like he was watering the plants in the garden with an invisible watering can.

"In regards to this statue, though it is of Princess Platinum. She acted as the representative of the unicorn king for the original Hearth's Warming Eve where all the pony tribes got together and decided to live in harmony. As per the story, the tribes were similar to how they operate now, farming, weather control and such. But this time was reported to be before the princesses of modern times, back when unicorns had to raise and lower the sun. The ability to control celestial bodies obviously gave the unicorns a great deal of leverage when dealing with their counterparts. You might say that it made them arrogant, being able to control the fate of the world with just a few ponies controlling the sun. Perhaps a bit of that 'confidence' still lingers around even to today," he explained, air quoting confidence with his talons as he finished explaining his small bit on unicorn history.

[Mojo]

"You helped put'n this wonderful garden together?" Haymaker asked in amazement, in awe of everything she saw around her, "that's fantastic! So, ya officially work fer the city of Canterlot. Must mean the Royals have a lotta faith in ya, Gerrard."

The lanky red maned mare listened as the griffon explained the story behind the Princess Platinum statue. She had attended a Heart's Warming Eve play once in her younger days, but the saga made much more sense hearing Gerrard elaborate on it.

"It's kinda hard ta imagine a time in history when the Royal sisters wasn't in charge of Equestria. Betcha things were a whole lot different back in them days. Now, if I recollect right, that was the famous summit with Pegasi Commander Hurricane and Earth pony Chancellor Puddinghead, right?"

[Gerrard]

"Well, not exactly. This garden has been around longer than both of us put together probably, but I am one of the people tasked with maintaining it. I have done my share of work here though, picking some of the plants to fit in this climate and keeping the irrigation system up to snuff. I handle everything except the hedge trimming and lawn mowing," he explain calmly, laughing lightly as he brought up the lawn mowing. He lowered his head to the ground to admire the work of whomever had the tedious job of keeping the grass under control.

He listened to his date give back some of the information on the events of that play, nodding as they all seemed to check out with his memory. "Yeah, the three pony leaders and their advisors. The griffons who know that story like to joke that commander hurricane was a griffon at heart. Hurricane was as 'assertive' as a lot of modern griffons," he joked, poking fun at his own species while focusing on the word assertive as he spoke.

[Mojo]

Haymaker smiled at Gerrard's words of history and interest.

"I never really thought of it like that before, you make a good point about Commander Hurricane," the red maned Earth mare said as she continued to walk with the elegant griffon. "You seem to know a whole heap of a lot about us ponies, but I have ta confess, I don't know a whole lot about griffons. What about the history of your species, Gerrard? How did griffons ever make first contact with pony folk? Was it durin' the time of the land of Equestria or before that?"

Haymaker really wanted to know these things, she wanted to know all about the species of her date.

[Gerrard]

Gerrard continued on, leading his date past a few familiar statues before gesturning for her to take a seat on one of the park benches with him. A firefly lamp dimly illuminated the humble bench while casting an ominous shadow on thee rest of the heavily hedged section of the park. "Well, it is hard to go all the way back to the beginings of griffons because it was well over one thousand years ago. Early griffons were probably a bit like Commander Hurricane and weren't too keen on writing the humdrum sections of their life down. I can say with certainty though that griffons have been around for probably about as long as ponies. Heck, the library in the crystal empire has some very fancy looking griffon statues in front of it, and we know that the empire is well over one thousand years old. It is safe to say that it was before the land of Equestria was founded, probably before both of our species made any meaningful writings," he explained vaguely, not knowing his griffon history as well as he probably should have.

"But in regards to griffons themselves, they reside to the northwest of Equestria in a relatively arid area of the continent. We have had peaceful relations with Equestria for all of pony recorded history at least. I know that Celestia hasn't dropped a sun on us or anything," he joked with a hearty laugh while looking over to his date with his golden eyes. "Griffon families are as tightly bound as yours sounds to be, and anyone we befriend we treat like our own kin. We are fiercely loyal and take great pride in our friendship with the few we trust," he explained thoughtfully, looking his date in the eyes before finishing his explanation with a careful kiss on the lips of his pony date.

[Mojo]

Haymaker was very fascinated by Gerrard's description of griffon history. Having not had much experience with them in the past, the lanky red maned mare was very surprised to learn about how similar socially griffons were to ponies.

"Wow!" a very owerwhelmed Haymaker neighed as she sat on the bench. "I never really knew all that about griffons. And if all griffons are as sweet and kind as you.."

Suddenly, Haymaker stopped talking as Gerrard kissed the mare on the lips. This was not what she had expected, but it was an experience she enjoyed very much! She turned her head as she began to blush. Haymaker felt her heart flutter, flutter like it never had before. It's true she had been kissed a few times in her young life, but this time was very different. All of this was like a dream come true for her! By far, Gerrard was the kindest date she'd had in a long time. Could she be falling in love with this charming griffon? Although she quickly regained her composure, she couldn't help grinning ear to ear, thoughts rushing through her head so fast, not really knowing what to say next.

"That was, WONDEFUL!"