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Well, it had been a pretty busy day for Alex. Going all the way to town to pilfer some food from a farm, only to wind up getting chased off, with another unfortunate arrival in tow. But just because it had been a busy day didn't mean Alex wasn't done with his day.

The path to the hut of the witch wasn't one he took often, but he was familiar with it all the same. Alex adjusted the small bag he wore, taking off a little pressure it had been placing on one of his little winglets. The things were itchy, and were useless, but he didn't have much in the way of making them vanish, less he just try to put them out of his thoughts. Luckily, he didn't have much further to go, as he spotted a few familiar trees.

The half-gryphon hoped Jamie was ok. He knew Damian had mentioned he was alright but he still felt awkward about the situation. Oh well, he just hoped Jamie was feeling better than he was the last time he'd seen him.

It was the sounds of music that perked up the half-gryphon's ear tuffs. That wasn't something he'd gotten to hear in what seemed like a very long time. Had it been that long ago, that he'd listen to music while fishing off the wing of his PBY? Alex couldn't quite remember, but that was okay. He was more curious as to who was playing music out in the woods.

And so the bare pawed Alex made his way towards the sound, and lo' did the pilot spot Jamie, sitting underneath a large tree. His beak twisted at the ends, in something of a smile, his tail seeming to swish from side to side in time with the music. He almost felt bad for having to interrupt the music, pulling the small bag of apples off his shoulder. He then clapped softly, albeit a bit awkwardly with his twisted hands.

"Thats very good", he said towards Jamie, as he moved to take a seat nearby. "You been practicing a lot?", he inquired.

The pilot smiled the best he could with his beak, and moved to offer the bag to Jamie. "Sorry I haven't been by to check on you lately, but I figured I'd bring you something to try and tied you over till I can find some actual trees here in the forest that have fruit. Sadly, I think my ability to find them is slightly worst than my hunting skills right now."

He grinned though, hoping Jamie would like the dozen or so apples, some in various stages of having been bruised when he had to jump out of a tree with them, but they were all still in one piece. "So, Damian said you were doing okay when he stopped by here last. Sorry I didn't stick around but... yeah... I sort of changed." He made the little winglets on his back twitch, just to prove that he had a good reason why he hadn't come back.

"What have you been up to, anyways? And, I'm glad you're not being so jumpy too. Looks like coming out here did you some good, if nothing else." It was hard for the smile to really be seen, but the sound of his voice made sure to convey that he was glad.

"Anyways, I would have brought you more apples but... I had some problems."

"Gerta's back? That's a relief." The half-gryphon sighed softly as he leaned back against a tree, while Jamie worked on eating some of the apples. He sat there a bit as he looked back down at his scaled hand, and sighed.

"Well, at least it doesn't look bad on you." He left the statement at that. No need to bring how distorted he was, when at least the kid wasn't so bad off. In fact, that was probably a good thing. "And I'm sure she appreciates the help you give her. The animals probably get along better with you taking care of stuff for Gerta too."

Alex looked up at the sky, relaxing a bit more as Jamie ate. "You're welcome", he said back. The leaves rustled just a bit as a comforting breeze picked up, a few small loose leaves falling from the branches above.

"Anyone else been by the hut since last time?" The pilot was curious if anyone else had wandered around and stumbled upon the witch's hut, since he'd been running into quite a few here and there during his searches of the forest.

The pilot smiled in his own way, listening to the rustling of the wind through the leaves. A few of his own headfeathers twitched in the wind, a small piece of tattered feather flickering off into the breeze like some sort of tiny stunt plane, one that bobbed and weaved along the air current.

He looked back over to Jamie, and reached over to ruffle the kid's hair, while trying not to hit his horns. He was glad that Jamie was adapting better to this world, than some of the others. Maybe it was just because he was a kid.

"Well, I'm glad you're doing well. For a while, I was sort of worried that you might not be." He ruffled Jamie's hair a bit more before standing up slowly, to stretch out. His back popped in a few spots, as his muscles and spine moved in almost cat-like moments.

"Oh... I was going to see if there was anything you might want me to bring by the next time I visit. I wasn't sure if you liked apples but I figured everyone loves them, or almost everyone anyways." He was a bit suprised that he hadn't found the small bits of apple he'd eaten to be very satisfying to eat. Especially when the pulpie bits landed in his crop to be ground up more properply, an experience he hadn't really enjoyed.

Alex swished his tail too and fro, a little bit of dirt and grass falling free from the fluffy fur at the end of the limb. "Hmmm." The pilot rubbed his chin and beak a bit as he looked down at Jamie and his small collection of apples.

"I have an idea. Sort of a little project to keep you busy. And I bet Gerta would probably help you with it too." His beak was trying its damnedist to form a smile. He leaned back over and picked up one of the apples and held it in his scaled hand.

"Why don't you take some of the seeds and make yourself your own little orchard? Sort of your own little garden, but apple trees. So, what do you think?" Alex figured the kid would be as good a choice to make his own orchard, unlike himself, who's hands were more useful for catching food on the run. And it would probably help Gerta as well, having a small orchard of apples nearby.

The pilot let out a surprised squawk as Jamie jumped up and hugged him. He was surprised, not only because he was hugged, but because he remembered when the kid was so nervous when he first changed. And now he had the squirt hugging him by the neck.

He did chuckle though, happily as he tried to return the hug, albeit a bit more awkwardly. "Well I'm glad one of us seems excited at digging around in the dirt and growing some decent food around here." He chuckled a bit more, as Jamie started to look around for stuff to grow.

"I'm sure you'll find all sorts of stuff to grow for orchard and garden." Alex was glad Jamie would be doing something constructive, even if it wouldn't help him much, considering his growing dislike of vegetables and fruits. His tail swished behind him as he moved to stand back up once more. "I know you said you didn't need anything, but if I find any good seeds or fruit, I'll bring them back with me, so you can add them to your little project."

Alex tried not to chuckle anymore, but it was hard not to, with Jamie seeming so excited. For the short time, life seemed okay.

Alex nodded some as Jamie let go and started to search for things to plant. The pilot stood up, wiggling his shoulders, his winglets flexing as he moved to get them comfortable. "Ah, it's good to hear that. I'm sure Gerta will be full of useful info. She'll probably even have a spot for you to start working with, I'm betting."

The pilot's tail swished behind him as he stood up, resting one taloned hand against a tree. "Listen Jamie, if you ever need anything, you let me know. I know I've not been a great guardian for you, but I'll try to help you, if you ever need any." He was sort of glad Jamie was in such good spirits. Between his changes, playing music, and now being able to make his own guardian, it looked like Jamie might be the one who would most easily adapt to the world, or at least have less problems with it.

"Tell Gerta I said hi." He motioned for Jamie to head off. "You run along now. That garden's not going to get started without you and those apples." Maybe it hadn't been a cargo run of freight via his beloved PBY, but maybe he had delivered something to Jamie that was even better in the long run.

And slowly, the half gryphon slowly turned to head back into the woods.