[Whitetail Woods] Green Water Woods

[Hippo]

Granola paid little attention to any patience the griffon was losing. She was being sincere, and the only way she would really realize how the griffon felt was if he vocalized it. When he offered a suggestion on replanting the plants somewhere else, Granola had an unexcited look on her face. She leaned in on one of the trees and pressed her ear against the bark. She nodded slowly with her eyes closed as if she was listening to the tree. She then bent down and whispered to a wildflower, and then paused again concentrating on something like she had a headache or something. She then arose and spoke up. "Um, I don't know. Woody and Flowerida here said they don't want to move. They would rather be here than over by the rocks where plants don't grow often." Granola leaned down again as if the flower was saying something to her. "Oh, and Flowerida says you probably wouldn't want to move if someone asked you to move out of a place you liked living in."

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[Gerrard]

Gerrard remembered his training in customer service, the hybrid squeezing one of his talons tight with all of his might to maintain his composure. "Miss Granola, I can't make all of these adjustments that are absolutely absurd. If you can't make any compromises with me, I won't be able to make your pipeline. Sometimes in life we need to do things we don't like in order to make progress. I am willing to work within my supplies, of which I have extra. Can you ask if one of your plant friends would be okay with a new neighbor," the griffon politely suggested to the plant focused earth mare.

"So what do you say, any ideas to help keep your green friends from going thirsty, " he calmly remarked, the griffon flying down to ground level to look her in the eyes. He was tensed up, but hiding it well, the architect trying to seem more relate able to the earth pony.

[Hippo]

Granola's head was filled with complexities only she could, for the moment, order enough attention and understanding to deal with the current situation. This pipeline needed to be built. And Granola was not too keen on delaying it, as it was already something pushed back beyond its favorable deadline. Instead she decided she had to force a compromise. Something that not only made Granola uncomfortable, but was also something she never wanted to deal with ever.

She walked through some of the trees. "Anyone want to volunteer their spot and go to a new neighborwood? Anyone?" Granola's facial expression was desperate with tears, upset over having to force a living organism to an unfavorable location. And then finally, Granola heard it. A tree volunteered. She ran over to the tree and press her ears against the bark. She embraced the large oak in a hug as she listened and cried to the tree's wishes. He was sacrificing himself for the betterment of the more youthful trees in the area. It was surely a wise tree that knew his place in the forest. He was the largest tree in this neck of the woods.

"Grandpa Oak here said he would move." Granola said to the griffon as tears rolled down her cheeks. It was a moment of witnessing sacrifice for Granola, and she took it hard. Needless for Granola to realize, the tree was massive, and would probably take days to move, not to mention the soil damage that would occur around tree because of the deep roots a tree that old would grow over time.

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[Gerrard]

Gerrard watched closely as she pleaded with all the trees for help. The griffon had no idea how the pony spoke with all of the trees, but that didn't stop him from feeling bad for her. He could see she was torn up, something that had never really happened to him before. Most of his clients were glad to get water or grumpy that they were out of water for one reason or another.

He was perplexed by her strategy though, his pipes not really large enough to cause very much traffic. His idea was to give a tree a neighbor pipe. "I meant more of a bad neighbor than a total tree transplant. Moving an entire tree would cost more than this pipeline, and I feel the damage would dwarf anything a pipe might do," the hybrid suggested as he tried to cheer her up.

[Hippo]

Apparently Granola didn't understand at first what the griffon needed. As he reiterated, he only needed a tree to sacrifice his personal space, not his exact location. Of course this was a lot less serious. Unfortunately, Granola was already hyperventilating during this point in the problem solving, and she had to battle her rapid stuttered breathing while listening. "Oh.. U... OK... hu...," she looked up at the large oak. "He said...hu, you only need...hu, to give up...hu, your personal...hu, space." Granola stroked the bark. At this point, her breathing had calmed a little, but her sinuses were fully flared and her eye sockets were swollen from the tears. A darker region under her eyes giving off that thirty minute scar that said, 'i was upset recently' was written.

Granola needed a break from the emotional stress. She sat down close to the bottom of the waterfall and stared into the water. She figured the griffon probably could do his work without her help for a couple minutes.

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[Gerrard]

Gerrard could tell that something was very off with this pony. And this was above and beyond her passion for plants. To be hyperventilating over the idea of meddling with a tree seemed almost absurd to the griffon, but he didn't try to verbalize it. "Remember your customer service training. The pony is alright right, even if they are crazy," he thought to himself, firmly planting a balled up talon in his free talon while he reaffirmed his dedication to the job. He carefully walked over to the pony in the plant stupor, making sure not to step on any loose plants as he stood behind her. She seemed to be looking at her distraught reflection, the formerly cheerful pony looked wracked with emotions, the hybrid starting to feel even more worried for his customer.

He carefully placed a talon on her shoulder as he tried to ease her pain, the architect deciding to give her a careful pat on the shoulder for reassurance before going to his work. "It's all going to be okay," he explained in a softer tone before removing his claw and looking back to where he needed to build the line. His keen eyes traced a path up to the waterfall that didn't disturb too many plants. Instead of flying up with each individual part, he decided to construct it on the ground and carry it up to the top in one part. He had learned that working with metal while hovering was tedious and hard to do, the dark griffon more capable while he was on the ground.

[Hippo]

Eventually, the griffon faithfully assembled the first major part of the pipeline that would run from the top of the falls to Granola's house. The pipes were properly fastened, most notably, a couple screws were drilled into the large oak that was willing to take one for the team (Granola decided not to watch that) and several supports were in place to keep the pipes sturdy in all forms of weather and incidental damage. Quality work!

Granola had dried up her tears for the most part, and was more and more eager to reward herself and her plants for the amazing investment she had placed an order for. Occasionally, the once sad pony could be seen jumping in place with a grin on her face. "Wow, this is really coming together. It actually doesn't look too bad. Maybe if we paint the pipes brown, they wont feel so foreign to the trees."

Granola slowly started trotting towards the direction the pipes would go, directly towards her house. And when she looked back she felt puzzled. And then gave a surprised expression. "Wait a minute." Granola looked closely at the system of pipes and the majestic falls that it runs next to. "Is that the right waterfall?" Granola looked around a little to gain her bearings. She wasn't sure if this was the correct waterfall to build on. "There's another waterfall around here somewhere. I think this one might be the one that is privately owed by a recreational ranger pony who prosecutes legally everypony, and everygriffon, that trespasses." Granola gave her chin a few taps. "It's probably fine." Granola didn't seem to worried about it.

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[Gerrard]

The griffon was proud of his work, the hybrid looking over the wild trail of pipes that climbed up to the waterfall. He was impressed that the waterfall was scaled so easily. The griffon sat on his haunches and nodded when she mentioned painting the pipes. "I would suggest painting the system to blend into the terrain. Studies have shown that a negative presence is greatly lessened when those near it don't recognize it," he mused aloud, actually agreeing with her crazy idea.

When she mentioned that it wasn't the correct waterfall, the griffon turned around and tensed up. While it might have been seen as fear building up in his frame, it was almost exactly the opposite in reality though. He tightly balled his talons in frustration, wondering if this was a joke or something worse. He took a deep breath of air with his long black beak and tried to regain his composure.

He was starting to question her own dedication with the gaps in her attention. "No, no, no. I'm sorry to say that you are going to have to ask him for permission. If you make me build it in the wrong spot, you need to set it straight, " he explained firmly for her, his jovial attitude now long gone.

[Hippo]

Granola started chuckling uncontrollably with a nervous complexion. "Oh. Heh. Actually, yeah, that's the right waterfall, may bad." Even a silly pony could read Granola's appearance to be shoving an issue to the side. But unfortunately for her, she was not actually a push-over. In fact, she recognized the trees around the waterfall with a second look. This was definitely the public waterfall that was free to build around. But Granola had the hardest time keeping a straight face while she explained that. "You see the trees? Heh. Yeah, those are definitely the ones I remember from a while ago, last month. I mean last week. Yesterday! Heh heh. You won't get in trouble, I think. I mean I know. Heh. Nothing to worry about." Granola smiled wide towards the griffon. It was her widest smile she had ever given off to date.

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[Gerrard]

The griffon could feel his sharp talons digging into the dirt and rocks beneath him. There was a part of him that wanted to shout off the mare, her lack of confidence only serving to further anger him. He took a deep breath, trying to hold back his annoyance while figuring out what to do with her.

The answer to his problem quickly came to him and he deflated, his formerly puffed out chest shrinking as he dug through his bags and found a manilla folder. With one flick of his wrist, he slipped a pen and paper out and presented them to her. "Just sign the release and I can finish off the system and you can get back and water your buddies all the sooner. They might start getting thirsty if we dawdle too much," he explained firmly, trying to get the project going beyond the waterfall.

[Hippo]

A document was put before Granola with a pen. She opened the folder and started reading it carefully. She was pretty oblivious to standards and practices of legal forms and the sticky laws and how to wiggle through all the regulations. If somepony wanted to sue Granola, she would lose her soul. But she was just a mare trying to do the right thing most of the time. So when something like this came to her, she made sure she made all the precautions and looked over the fine print, even if she was completely misunderstanding the legal jargon and long technical terms. She was trying to fake it to make it.

But as the griffon implied, it brought an immediately question to mind. "Um, mister Greyfeather, you're not done are you? The piping is supposed to go all the way to the treehome."

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[Gerrard]

Gerrard watched her closely as she looked over the document. He had the feeling that she had no idea what any of it meant. The griffon crossed his arms and sighed loudly as he tried to figure out a way to discuss this with her.

"Of course I am not done. I just need you to sign the release before I can finish this job. The paperwork needs to be done so that all the pencil pushers can put their ducks in a row. I just need to satiate all the rule lawyers so that they don't come out here and bother your plants," he explained, trying to play towards her concern. He wanted to get this work done before night fall and hoped she was going to cooperate.

He looked up to the sky and back to the pony. "I've got like a mile of pipe to lay out here, I know you've got some thirsty plants at home. Let's get this work done as quickly as possible," he cheered in an upbeat manner as he tried to motivate her into signing.

[Hippo]

Without a moment's hesitation, Granola signed away her name on the document as the griffon suggested. The griffon made a short but convincing argument. Of course, pleading that anything will be better for the plants is always a sure way to convince the brown earth pony. Unless of course she knew exactly what she was doing, which was seldom. She still felt like there was a possibility that she could be swindled out of something, but she had no choice but to trust the formalities. "How much longer do you think it'll take you to build the rest of the pipeline? Will my plants get to experience the water tonight you think?" Granola looked around at the piping and other apparatuses and smirked. "I'll probably need help knowing how to operate it, too. Can you help me with that?"

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[Gerrard]

When he was asked about the pipeline, he paused, thinking over her question. He of course knew, but it would be boring to just simply answer. "By tonight? Ah, it is getting pretty late, I dunno. Well...," he commented with a trailing off voice as he looked away. He idly picked at the ground before digging through his bag to get out some pipes. He pulled out a giant arm full of pipes.

"Let's see how fast I can do it. We will have fresh water for dinner! I promise on my honor to get my job done," he declared proudly. "Meet you back at the home," he added with a smile as he carefully stood on his hind legs and placed the pipes in a loose fitting line. He walked at a fast pace, getting a lot of pipe on the ground for him to fit together on the way back to the source when they were done.

[Hippo]

Granola was glad that the griffon would try to get it done tonight. And on her end, she had a good amount of confidence that he would do it. And she wasn't unaware of her own faults in knowing that he probably would work faster by himself than if she was with him staring him down and asking questions every five seconds. So Granola would want to find something else to do that would serve purpose anyway. "Ok! I'll go to the house and rangle up something to eat for both of us, my treat. Um, what is it that you like?" Granola was afraid of what might be asked. She wasn't sure if she would have to go hunt down half of the beasts in the forest in order to get enough supplies for an omnivorious creature. Certainly, a griffon would want more than just green leaves right?

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[Gerrard]

He wanted to get the job done as fast as possible to avoid any additional crazy requests. The skilled worker was laying out pipes almost at a full walking pace that showed off his skill and familiarity with his work. He planned to drop them on the way there, the fasten them on his way back to the water source as he set up the water entrance point.

When asked for his preference in the meal, he kept going while he thought over the offer. He held back a smile as he decided to give her a cheeky answer. "Ahh, I'll have fish and squirrel with a side off non-griffon eggs," he commented with a smirk as he looked at her reaction. After reading it, he chuckled, and shook his head. "I've lived with ponies for years, I'm okay with whatever you want to make," he explained with a smile as he kept onward with his frantic work pace.

[Hippo]

Granola's brown pelt turn white as she looked with a shocked face at the request of the griffon. Though it would turn out he was joking, he face kept it's bleakness as it took sometime for that horrible thought to leave her mind. She couldn't help but imagine for a moment herself hunting down a squirrel. How cruel and unusual that would be coming from a pony. "Oh. Heh heh. Yeah. Funny joke." Granola scurried back to her tree hut, almost in a panic. She wanted to make sure that she could satisfy the griffon with an appropriate meal, but she was afraid that whatever she could come up with as far as pony food would only come as a snack to a griffon like him, even though he was showing signs of kindness and understanding.

Once at the house, Granola reached into her ice box and gather all the chicken eggs she had left. There was nine eggs. She put all of them in a pot full of water and started boiling them using the small fireplace installed in the corner of the tree. While the eggs hardened, she started gathering herbs from her spice garden, taking a bit from each plant without destroying the plant itself. She then ground a bunch of ingredients in a crucible. Eventually, she would removed the eggs which were now hardened, peeled their shells off, and cut them in half. On a tray, she would have 18 hard boiled egg halves with herbal spices sprinkled on top of them. To name a few, the spices included dill, chives, basil, thyme, and paprika. She then fetched a bottle of apple juice from the ice box and poured a couple glasses to their brims.

Granola waited patiently for the griffon to arrive with the tubular construction reaching the house in assembly. And while she waited, she started giving plant food to all of the plants that needed it, including another fly treat to Precious.

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[Gerrard]

Gerrard had raised his brow when she still took his words literally, the griffon making a mental note to slow down on jokes with her. He felt that her mind might break if he did another scary joke, the architect realizing that happy ponies were better than horrified ponies. He didn't say anything else as he left her home to fasten the pipes all together.

The day was vaguely starting to end as the sun had recently passed it's peak. The temperature was slowly starting to dip, but Gerrard knew he couldn't just stand around and enjoy it. He glanced down to see his first pair of pipes and in a flash of moving black talons he had fastened the first pair. A smirk crept across his maw as he hustled onward, fastening everything at breakneck speed. He was proud of his speed and even more proud of his actual work, the dark hybrid finding himself at the source quickly. With a few deft twists of his wrists, the whole set up was operational and Gerrard quickly found himself back at her home.

"Honey I'm home! The water is turned on and ready to work," the hybrid announced proudly as he did the last few adjustments and installed the spout she could attach a hose to. "Just try not to waste any water. The rules lawyers love to bully ponies out in the middle of no where over trivilities," he commented proudly as he puffed his chest out for her to bask in his vaguely delusional swagger!

[Hippo]

The griffon made it back to the tree home, along with the long piping that extended to the waterfall which was out of sight. The sky was now darker and the first stars peeked their twinkle in the twilight. The griffon boasted his performance, feeling very proud of his accomplishment, getting the piping all setup and ready to run. Strange to Granola, he even addressed her as honey, as if he was her loving husband. To extend that unintentional vibe, Granola was standing at the door to greet him, her mouth gripping the side of a plate full of the eggs she prepared as if to present to him what she made. Her eyes glistened with the adorable look of anticipation, the posture that only tried to serve whoever the recipient of this food would be. And since his entrance, while expected, was unexpected in nature, it caused Granola to blush. With a plate in her mouth, all Granola could do is stand there and wait for a response.

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[Gerrard]

His client was standing before him, the brown mare holding a plate of eggs. His long black tail slowly started wagging as he approached her. "Ah, eggs! My favorite. I think I could kiss you dear," the griffon commented with a smile as he nearly kissed the blushing mare.

Gerrard carefully scooped up the tray, freeing her mouth as he held the object in his claws. The dark griffon examined his bounty and slowly drifted his eyes over to Granola. He quickly ate one and scooped up another in one of his black talons. Want an egg dear," he commented politely as he wondered if the pony liked to eat eggs.

[Hippo]

Granola's blush grew severe when the griffon referred to her as 'dear'. Was his use of that pronoun supposed to imply something? She wasn't sure. Granola wasn't sure about a lot of things. "Oh no, I shouldn't, I'm on a diet." Granola spoke softly in a stutter. "I mean, of course, I should. You offered and you're a guest. How rude of me. Sure I'll have one." Granola stepped forward and plucked an egg half from his talons with her teeth. She wouldn't normal eat so fast, but the nervousness she felt influenced her lack of chewing and she swallowed the thing whole. "Heh, heh, so this water pipey thingy. How's it work?" Granola walked over to the piping which was sneaking it's way through an overhang in a window.

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[Gerrard]

He smirked as the pony smiled and blushed at his . He didn't think anything particularly romantic about her, but he did appreciate it, maybe deciding to play with her more at another date.

When she nervously ate one of the eggs out of his dark talons and forgot to chew he chuckled with a laugh. "You should remember to chew," he playfully remarked with a wink before getting asked about how her system worked.

He was about to go over how it all worked, but stopped himself as he remembered to simplify his explanation. "Well gravity keeps the pipes full at all times. All you gotta do is open the valve at the spout here and the water comes out. If you get a hose attachment, you can water everything that way easily. Until then, just use it to fill water buckets for your plant buddies," he explained warmly for her as he lead her out to the water spout. "Remember lefty loosie, right tighty," he explained, placing a talon on her hoof as he showed her how to turn it left to open the flow of the water. The griffon smirked, figuring that she was gonna burn red with embarrassment at the touch.

"Any other questions," he added with a smile, wondering if she needed anything else.

[Hippo]

Granola's face was never able to normalize, her blush continuing to glow from the moment she ate the egg to the point where the griffon showed her the valve outside. Her blood raced when the talon touched her hoof. She didn't know why it made her so nervous. She supposed that any contact with a griffon would be strange to a pony who hadn't done so yet. And of course, she would refrain from explaining that she would most likely be using her mouth to turn the knob.

Granola didn't want to keep the griffon. He was here for a job, after all. And with it getting darker, he would probably want to return to his job and then eventually go home. But where was home? Did Granola ever get a chance to know where this griffon was from? "So where do you live? I thank you for assembling this pipe system for me, and I would probably want you to come back if my pipes ever need cleaning. Would that be possible?"

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[Gerrard]

Gerrard's tail wagged outside her vision as he held her hoof in his dark clutches. He could sense her heart racing either from fear or love, the confident griffon assuming she couldn't resist his rugged charm. The hybrid turned and peered into her eyes with his own golden orbs. The griffon ' s mind played through the possibility of hanging out with the nervous mare and decided to see how she would react. Gerrard hid his grin as he cleared his throat as played his last awkward card on her.

The griffon sat on his haunches and pleasingly held onto her hooves with both of his claws as he looked up to her. "Ah, I live in Canterlot, just on the other side of your local mountains. I am but a few wing flaps away my dear. I thank you for the patronage, and yes, I would love to come out here again and fix your pipes. Anywhere any time, I will always be here for you," he replied with a warm smile as he pseudo proposed to her, the griffon wanting to see if she liked him, or wanted him to go away. At the very least, he enjoyed reading her reactions to him.

[Hippo]

Wow, was he getting close. Did he really need to sit that close to her? Was he hard of hearing? Granola found it odd, but she would be very hypocritical should she call him out on being a little strange. But the answer the quest of where he lived brought attention to Granola's real intentions. Her shutter ceased and she stood up with a warm smile and joyous eyes. "I have to go get something, I'll be right back." Granola trotted quickly back to her tree home and once inside, a tiny plant could be seen in the window. It was Precious, moving himself into position, able to see the griffon from inside the home. With a malicious look on his petals, he licked his lips. Plants have lips, apparently. And tongues for that matter! But the look of the plant was pretty obvious. If Precious ever got close to the griffons tail, well, let's just say short tails are in this season, but not that short.

Granola came back out, and with her she brought a potted plant resting on her head. This one wasn't violent. In fact, it was barely there at all. When one would look at it, all you could see is a tiny sprout brown and hardened just sticking up out of the soil. Granola's face looked pensively happy, though why would she suddenly be pleased to present such a plant? "This plant, is dying." Granola said without cry, surprisingly. "Her name is Tilly, and she needs a home. Unfortunately, the White Tail Wood is too dark and crowded for her to grow properly. I did some studying, and found that she belongs in the mountains, where the air is thinner and the shade is less welcome." Granola started to tear up slightly. "Would you... please take her for me, give her a good home, hm?" Granola's eyes grew in size and the water in her eyes wobbled convincingly.

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