[Whitetail Woods] Green Water Woods

[Gerrard]

Gerrard blinked awkwardly as his words were met with excitement. He had to shake his head to make sure that he hadn't accidentally proposed. The griffon was unsure of what her reaction was about as she excitedly rushed outside. His eyes tried to track her form as she left, only to come upon the form of the fly trap as it made vague chomping motions in his general direction. The griffon wasn't terribly frightened by the plant monster, but curled his tail up close to his side just to be safe.

For reasons unknown to him, the pony was almost excited to have a sick plant, something that was completely opposite to what he might expect. When she spoke, it all became clear to him. He watched the weak plant closely as she explained the situation to him. Her story was crushing and he quickly felt obligated to help, her eyes only serving to tie a bow on it as she captured his heart.

Gerrard quickly went on one knee in front of her as if he were proposing as he grabbed the the plant's container and secured it in his black talons. "Of course Granola, I will protect Tilly with my life. She will have sole access to the tallest window in the brightest part of my house. Just tell me how much water she needs and I will handle the dirty work," he excitedly commented as he squeezed her tight with one of his huge black griffon wings.

[Hippo]

Words could not easily describe what Granola was feeling right now. The sheer joy coming from her pony could be sensed in all directions and types, most likely even by the nearby plants, who would cheer for joy themselves had they had the physical capabilities to do so. Precious growled in the window. "OH REALLY!? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Granola was clutched by the griffons talons, but she soon squeeze out of them to reach up and give the griffon a generous smooch on the feathery cheek. Granola smiled and then fell away. She had never kissed anypony before. What got into her? Her smile was still there, but she was overwhelmingly nervous about what she had just committed to. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Granola looked down and away, embarrassed for the umpteenth time this day. "I small cup of water a day is all it takes. If it grows taller than half the pot, plant it in a bigger pot or in soft soil outside." What Granola didn't tell him was that it was a rare mountain flower. And when it blossomed, would show a radiant blue color not seen in any other color-giving flora that resides in the mountainsides. "So, yeah. That's all, heh." Granola continued to look away, afraid to look at the griffon she gave physical affection to. She didn't really know what was next.

​

[Gerrard]

Gerrard was used to ponies breaking away from his hugs out of fear. This unusual one acted more strange than usual as she instead kissed his cheek. He blinked his golden eyes with disbelief with her actions. Usually he was the one to initiate kisses, not that he would complain about it at all. His tail wagged excitedly as he made sure that he was standing on his feet. He paused for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, the hybrid quickly settling on a response.

"Oh, no harm done. It just means that you are excited dear. It is flattering, really," he replied with a smile as she continued her directions for him to follow. They were easy enough to follow, but he knew how concerned for her plants she was. "One cup of water a day and move it to a larger container if grows to half the size of it's pot," he repeated politely as he showed his understanding and memorization of the directions. He had no idea what it would eventually look like, but the architect eagerly looked forward to finding out.

Gerrard smiled and slipped a special business card out of his bag as he presented it to her. "This card has my work and home address on it if you need extra help or just wanna visit Tilly. Thanks for everything, anything else you wanna ask," he asked with a smile as he leaned forward and gently kissed the the earth pony on her forehead as he prepared to leave.

[Hippo]

Granola nodded happily as Gerrard recited back to her care-taking instructions for the plant named Tilly. And then after an impressive acceptance of the affection, and the request for responsibility, he awarded her with a business card that had all of his personal information one it. Granola took it with her mouth, unable to say thank you for fear of it falling out. And then, in a wild twist, the griffon would return the kiss he was given back to Granola's forehead. Granola, still unable to speak, blushed loudly and sat down to keep from her rear legs from buckling. Her mouth holding the card smiled, her pupils grew and the light reflecting off them wobbled. "Hm." A small squeak of satisfaction was all that she could express. She didn't want to just walk inside. She waited for the griffon to gather his things and leave, so that she could see him off. Only when the griffon disappeared behind the sunset-colored treeline would she retreat home for the day.

​

[Gerrard]

The griffon was please to find his work for the day done, the initially painful ordeal of having to adapt to some awkward demands slowly giving way to an awkward acceptance between the pair. It had been a long and stressful day, but with a bit of perseverance, the problems had been hammered out, or some other term appropriate for the well being of plants who don't like metal. It was somewhat bittersweet, having to leave his new friend so shortly after getting to know her, but there would hopefully be more interactions in the future. For now, he was tasked with protecting and raising her small friend, and nothing was going to stop him! He couldn't let her down, no matter what! "Until we meet again Granola, farewell and happy days in your future," he kindly remarked while puffing his chest out proudly.

The black griffon hopped off the ground and with a few flaps of his massive black wings, he was off towards Canterlot, Tilly in tow. It wasn't going to be a long flight, but he still took his time, just to be sure that nothing interrupted him or his important cargo. He turned around one last time and waved goodbye before disappearing into the sunset as he headed off to his nearby home. It was a long trying day of work, but at least it was a memorable one, and at the end of the day, that probably was what mattered more than anything.