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Name: Helios
Age: Child
Flock: North
Generation: One
Likes:
Dislikes:
Horsefly: None
Mate: None
Chicks: None

Helios Log 1

Helios snuggled in a pile of fluffy fur in the grass. He was awake, of course. He didn't really sleep as much as most of the other chicks about. It didn't matter that he was so little and couldn't do much, he did what he could! The little ball of fuzz stretched his tiny paws out, yawned, rolled over on his back to expose his belly to the warming sun...life was definitely good!

Gaea hovered around the little guy, watching him. She'd spotted him earlier, when she was looking for someone to play with. He was too little, of course, but she sort of like the little-ness of him. She wondered if she'd been that delicate when she was little!

Duke comes wandering around, nearly stepping on the little thing! Had it not been for the bright colors he might have!

"Whoa! Another one! I saw a little one last night too!" he whinnies out in excitement at Gaea, having spotted her. He sets his paw down nearby, looking down at the little sparkling fluff of yellow. "Did you find it? Is it your baby brother?"


Gaea startled a little when Duke showed up, then grinned horsily at him,
"He's not my brother, no, but isn't he cute?" she gently nuzzled his fluffy fur, settling down next to him,
"I don't think I was ever this tiny! He's so little!"

Helios enjoyed the nuzzling. Even if he didn't know what it was or anything. He just knew that it was nice. He got it a lot, though this felt a little different from usual. The nose was a little smaller, for one thing.

"Oh he isn't?" He looks surprised, but obviously he doesn't realize that siblings look alike. "You were this tiny! I think... I know I wasn't." Duke has got an ego that constantly needs to be stroked.

"But he is really tiny and cute." He giggles in amusement, dropping his head down to nuzzle the little thing too, and he takes notice of the sweet smell he eminates! "Wow! And he smells so... so... NICE!"


Gaea whickered,
"I bet you were so," she teases him, snuggling against him. She likes Duke-- he's definitely a lot more fun than most of the other colts she knows! ...well, at least more fun than the fillies. She doesn't know many other colts.

She sniffs the chick, blinking,
"He really does! How odd!"

Helios chirped contentedly. Their sniffings are a bit odd for him, their warm breath tickles his fur against his skin, making him shiver just a little bit out of ticklishness. But, he likes it! He likes everything. He's just that kinda guy.

Duke blinks when Gaea snuggles against him and against his white cheeks is a flush of red, his ears pinning back and he smiles very sheepishly, looking almost like a donkey in the way he flashes his teeth at her.

"N-no! No, I wasn't! I was big and, and, and TOUGH!" He's stumbling, a little out of nervousness at the closeness. His little tail twitches and he clears his throat, forcing himself to relax and looking down at the chick.

"I wonder where he's from. What's his name? Do you know?"


Gaea smiled, giggling at his sillyness. That flush in his cheeks was really cute!
"He's from the North Flock. I saw him come in. His momma said his name is Helios."

She reached over to fluff Duke's "mane" a little bit,
"I bet you were tiny once, though. When you were really little. But you got big fast." she nodded, "I mean, you've always been bigger than me!"


Helios chirped lightl. The nuzzling had stopped, and he liked it! Somebody ought to keep it up! ..or at least keep touching him. He liked the snuggly feeling of being close to another!

He hoped that Gaea didn't see, and thus, he doesn't mention it. "Ohh. Helios. That's a nice name. From the North? Huh."

He grunts when his tuft of hair is fluffed, wrinkling his nostrils a little and glaring playfully at her. "Ha! I was never tiny!" he boasts, still sticking to what he thinks is a fact. "You're just jealous that I'm always gonna be BIGGER."


Gaea peered down at the little guy when he chirped, and then settled next to him, snuggling against him,
"He's so cute...my mother said that one day when I'm big, I'll have chicks of my very own to take care of!" She looked up at Duke,
"Nah. I don't mind being small. I can run faster than most of the bigger colts!"

Helios snuggled closer to the warm presence next to him, flipping back onto his belly and chirping contentedly. This was definitely good.

"You're going to have chicks?" he makes a face of disgust because, like any boy, he didn't want kids! That was girly stuff! "Yuck! No way. None for me. NUH UH." He nods his head, promptly deciding this. It would never happen to Duke.


Gaea glared at him,
"If nobody had any chicks, you wouldn't even be here!" she scorned, sniffing at the little guy next to her. He didn't have to like the idea, but he didn't have to be so down about it!

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to have chicks some day. When I'm big. I want to be just like my mother!"

Duke shrinks away, momentarily confused at her. "Hey! Don't yell at me!" He huffs, pushing up to his feet, scowling at her now.

"Your mom's mean anyway." And with those final words, he turns, starting to walk off, grumbling in irritation at her.


Gaea realized she was a little defensive. It was just-- he had said that right in front of the chick! ..besides, she liked chicks!

"I'm sorry, Duke!" she hopped gracefully to her feet and chased after him,
"What d'you mean my mother's mean? Did she say something to you?"


Helios squawked in protest as the warmth was moved, but got over it quickly enough, rolling over on his back again to bathe his belly in sunlight.

Stops, glancing at her, shaking his head, deciding to stay silent because he didn't want to upset her more.

"I wanna go take a bath. It's hot out." And it really was, at least to him. He starts to head off again, his direction being one of the four rivers that flow around them.


Gaea blinked, following him,
"Duke...please don't be mad at me! I promise I didn't mean to yell! It's just, with the chick right there..."

She paused,
"Can I come with you, at least? I don't want you to leave me still mad and all. And how do you know if my mom's mean or not? You haven't met her!"

This last wasn't indignant, but curious more than anything else. Maybe he had met her and Gaea just didn't know about it...but she didn't think it was likely. She was pretty sure Duke had never been to the East, and her mother stayed there most of the time.

"Yeah you can come," he answers without looking back. He lifts his head up to give himself the appearance, again, of a more regal Hippogryph. He keeps on walking, not stopping to wait on her, refusing to still answer her on the topic of her mother.


Gaea sighs. She doesn't know what to do. Duke seems really mad, and she is tired of trying to get him to answer her. But....she doesn't want him to walk away still mad at her.

"How come you keep getting mad at me?" she asks, trotting along beside him,
"Do you not like me anymore?"

He stops, glancing at her. "Of course I like you.. Uh... where's Helios?" He hadn't meant to change it on purpose but he realizes that the chick is left alone, and if it had been left in Gaea's care, then she needs to take care of him!

He turns around looking in the direction of where the chick was.


Gaea blinked. Duke was a very difficult gryphon to figure out, that was for sure.

She trotted back in the direction where she'd left the little yellow chick,
"He's over here," she giggled, nuzzling the sweet-smelling little guy gently and flicking her ears in Duke's direction,
"Just enjoying the sunlight. He's a happy little guy."

Helios whicker-chirped in delight as he was nuzzled. Yay for attention again! And snugglings and stuff. All good things.

It seems that, while the two where gone, Helios have recieved some short of visit... as proved by the other chick that was curled near him. Her pelt could remind of an aurora borealis, with it's intricate patterns. She seems to be enjoying herself, trying to make her way even closer to the sweet-smelling yellow chick for yet more conforting warmth.

Helios was sad about the nuzzling warmth leaving, but he found another warmth to replace it! He snuggled closer to the very pretty (though he couldn't see her) gryph, radiating cheerfulness and happiness and sweet smells! ^^

Aurora seemed equally happy... He smelled so nice ! She couldn't recall any of her brothers or sisters smelling like that... Her mind didn't debate this for too long, as she nuzzeled next to Helios, letting a few happy chirp-like noises at the other chick.

Not too far, an adult watched over the two with a careful eye, but did not see too worried about anything happening.


Helios yawned, stretching and rolling back over on his back. He liked the way the sun felt on his tummy. He leaned against Aurora a bit to keep his balance, though it was really unintentional. She just happened to be right next to him where he was leaning...

Aurora didn't seem to mind her status of leaning spot too much, but, as ususal, yawns are contagious, and the chick let one of her own, overall looking like a cute reddish ball standing out in the green grass. One of her tiny little ear moved just sightly, but remained closed, as well as her eyes.


Helios rolled back over, snuffling the warm spot next to him. She didn't really -smell- familiar. Well, sort of familiar. She didn't smell as different as the -previous- warm spot. He snuggled happily against her. Familiar was good too!

Aurora didn't seem to grow any tired of the other's sweet sent. This idea was as far from her little mind as it could be, chirping happilly as she stirred a bit, nuzzeling Helios's tummy in the process.

Helios chirped ticklishly as she nuzzled his belly, rolling over on his side and then back up and then back over on his side. This was fun!

Aurora chiped right back at him, visibely finding some fun in this little "game" they had probably just invented, as she turned to her side as well, before flopping back on her tummy with a series of little chirps that could almost be considered a giggle.

Helios whicker-chirped happily. This was lots of fun! And lots more entertaining than lying about doing nothing while the other chicks slept! He rolled over again, tickling at Aurora with his nose, and then rolled onto his back.

Aurora chiped once more as she felt Helios's nose, trying to playfully bat at it with a paw, but she missed her "target" completely, the paw instead falling right beside him. It didn't matter much to her - it was still funny ! And better than laying around all day doing nothing, at least.

Helios felt the paw whistle past him and reached for it with his paw, gently touching hers and then rolling over again. After a second roll, he snuggled over next to her, a little tired. This was a lot of work for such a little guy!

She felt his paw on her's, and she chiped happily as she faintly heard him turn around. When he stopped, she was right there, gentely nuzzeling his sides, as if inviting him to rest.

Helios sighed happily, snuggling against Aurora and slipping asleep for a few seconds. It was nice to have a cuddling buddy!

It was nice, indeed ! And would probabely be even nicer when their mothers would carry them back home... where it was always so cold, and here it was so warm... But that didn't matter, she did love home, and the familiarity that went with it.

Giving a low chirp, she curled a bit around him, content to just stay here, in the sun.


Helios snuggled closer, dozing. Then, abruptly, he woke up, and nuzzled against his friend again, rolling over on his back and waving his feet in the air a bit.

It was too bad that Aurora could see none of this - she probably would have found it pretty amusing. She could hear him move and feel him move, however, and she chirped a bit louder when figuring out that he was not asleep, as she had thought.

Log 3

Gaea trotted out into the meadows, gently settling little Helios in a patch of sunlight where she knew he'd enjoy it. She curled up next to him, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the growing things next to her. She was feeling a bit better-- she didn't know what had gotten into her yesterday, but she was still feeling just a little lethargic.

Helios snuggled contentedly against what was quickly becoming one of his favourite gryphs. He could recognize her by scent, at least, and she took good care of him. Not like his mother, of course, but good enough.


That sun is blocked out momentarily as Duke's large body comes into view, hovering over the two curled up gryphs.


"Do you feel better today Gaea?" he inquires, the concern noted in his voice because he was worried she hadn't gotten any better.


Susan had wandered away from her human, yet again. She knew her by scent of course, and slightly by voice. But this time she was not wandering because she was lost, merely because she wanted to find that soft thing she cuddled. She had her head down, sniffing the ground, her head moving from side to side. She smelled something, maybe not her soft thing, but something like it. She inhaled quickly, a plant had tickled her nose and she was trying her best not to sneeze. "Acchoo!" too late, anything in the area would have heard that sneeze.

Gaea looked up at her friend, and smiled softly,
"Yeah...m'okay now. Sorry I ran off on you like that." She clambered clumsily to her feet-- a feat usually accomplished with a lot more grace,
"D'you wanna go swimming again or something?"

Helios caught the familiar scent of Susan and started crawling off in that direction. Yay for snuggly friends!

"What about him?" he inquires, blinking as he looks down to see the little yellow chick starting to scooch across the earth, and that's also when he had heard the sneeze.

His ears swivel and he turns in the direction of where it came from. Without waiting on a response from Gaea -- he's used to her following him wherever he goes -- he heads in that direction to find the very fluffy little lamb like Gryph.

"Wow! Lookit this one! There's so many little babies around now."


Susan made an anxious bleat at the sound of voices, one sounded slightly familiar the other was new to her. Don't bite me, don't, don't! she pleaded in her mind and flopped down against the ground trying to hide in the grass. The bite the Beast gave her hadn't healed yet, but the dried blood had been wiped away carefully by her human.

Gaea blinked, looking at Helios again,
"Hey. Where are you going, Helios?" she asked the little guy, trotting over to him. She nosed him gently, trying to make sure she had his attention.

Helios stopped when Gaea nosed him, making pleased, purring like noises and nuzzling her back, and then headed again towards the little bleating creature he recognized. Gaea was nice, but he wanted a cuddling buddy his own size!

The filly followed Helios, peering at the little lamb chick curiously,
"Oh."

He frowns when he hears the anxious little bleating sounds, something he's never heard before.

"Wow, is it okay?" he inquires, tilting his head as he watches the little yellow chick scurry closer to obviously get comfortable with the lamb. All of this is intriguing Duke who's never seen the lamb before and therefore isn't aware that it's possibly him that's scaring her.


She caught the scent of Helios in her nose and scooted closer to him, still staying low to the ground. She poked her nose against the yellow chick and a soft bleat escaped. Duke's voice was muffled, but she could almost make out concern in his tone. Maybe it wont bite?


Gaea watched the goings-on with a mild interest. The filly settled in the grass again. She'd just enjoy the grass and the trees and earthliness for a few minutes. Let them get reacquainted.
"I dunno. She seems to make those noises a lot."

Helios curled up next to Susan, snuffling her a bit first and then settling contentedly at her side and making a few reassuring, chirpy noises..not that she could really hear him all that well, but the effort was there anyhow.

Duke shrugs his shoulders and sits down next to Gaea, his tail swaying behind him, it too growing out in length along with the rest of his body. His ears swiveling as he watches. "I wonder where it comes from. I've never seen it before. I've never seen one that looks like it either." He was seeing new things every day now, especially in the terms of Hippogryphs.


She wished she had a way to communicate, even if she wasn't sure what that was. She wanted to ask the others where their humans were. She smelled Helios again, taking in his scent and made a face and noise quiet close to a yawn. She was tired from walking, and she found her destination.

Gaea rested her head on her forepaws, tilting it a bit so she could still watch Duke,
"It does seem a little different from the rest of the chicks. Then again, so did that one yesterday."

She stretched her paws forward a little bit, each digit on them digging neatly into the dirt. She picked them up and looked at them carefully, then shook the dirt away.

"My mother said that there's just a lot of chicks 'cause it's spring and that's when the most chicks are born."

Helios rolled over contentedly on his back, soaking in the sunshine on his belly. He liked that. And he liked the fluffy warm chick next to him. Then again, he liked just about everything. Helios wasn't a difficult chick to please.

Log 5

Unaware of the conversation the two older griff where having, a bundle of fluff was, as she usually was, sleeping peacefully. Aurora was curled up in a few longer patches of grass, her mother nearby.

And there was another not so far away, laying on his back comically as he, too, slept. The two chicks seemed, mostly, unaware of each other.

Helios was also blissfully unaware of the conversations the older gryphs were having, though he probably would've been greatly amused by them if he'd been able to hear them. He had caught a familiar scent, though, and he was following it, nose pressed to the ground like some sort of hound.

After a few short moments, he located Aurora, his first cuddling buddy outside of his flock! Gleefully, he lie down, snuggling against her. He peered about, taking note of the other chick. He wondered if that chick were as cuddly as Aurora...

...That scent ! It was familiar, somehow.. yes ! That other chick ! She suddently chirped very hapilly, perked as much as she was able, and snuggeled against him.

...Didn't he use to be smaller ?

Setzer originally ignored the two, but then the sent caught up to him. What was this odd scent... He didn't remember smelling something like this before. How odd !

Curiosity got the best of him, and he flipped back on his tiny legs, trying to figure out from which direction the odd scent was coming from...

Helios smiled, snuggling against her a bit more,
"Wonder what your name is," he mused thoughtfully, then peered at the other one,
"Hey, over here. I'm over here," he called, hoping maybe the sound of his voice would help him. He of course assumed the tiny chick was coming towards him. Chicks seemed to like him because of his smell!

Aurora was definitively happy with all the cuddeling. She loved being near other griffs, but Helios was even better, since he smelled so nice. It is almost as if she doesn't hear him speak, as she laid down beside him and curled up against his fur.

A noise now ! This was probably worth the effort to check out. Setzer got up from his laying position, and half-walked, half-wobbeled to the bight yellow one at a slow rate, flopping in front of him and sniffing as his face.

HAHA ! The source of the smell was found at least !

Helios giggled happily as the little chick snuffled his face, snuffling back excitedly. These guys were lots of fun! As fun as the ones back home, if not more so!

His ears flicked back, listening to Aurora. She was definitely one of his favourites, though! So snuggly!

Aurora seemed to finally realise that there was another chick around... Her own curiosity was perking... yet she didn't really want to leave her spot. Ohh, confliction ! What to do, what to do...

It looked like the second option gave in, however, but she chirped again, nonetheless.

Setzer heard the other chirp, and perked sightly. Another there ? She had his attention for the moment, but then he diverted back to Helios, sniffing and sniffing as if somehow it would give him all the clues about who that sweet-smelling one was.

Helios smiled, angling himself so that he could nuzzle Aurora a little bit and then snuffling back at Setzer. This was fun! He was getting to know two new(ish, as he'd already met Aurora before) gryphs!

Aurora gave yet another happy chirp. She defintively liked Helios ! He was always so nice, smelt so nice, and didn't mind her close to him. She liked being close to others. It was always warmer this way.

It seemed like it was time for her to go back, however, as her mother came and took her, giving Helios a bit of an apology at the quick depart, and inviting him to look for her in the flock if he wanted... then left, Aurora giving a few, saddened chirps, but seeming overall resigned.

Likewise, Setzer was taken by a female - it was hard to say it she was his mother or not, and the small chick expressed his annoyance in a much noticable string of whines, but it didn't seem to work to well, as he was soon out of sight.

~~Child rps~~

Helios was a little worried. He hadn't really seen Gaea and Duke around for a while, and though he knew where they had set their flock-in-progress, he didn't really want to disturb them there unless he had to.

But...it'd been so long! He hoped nothing had happened to them...maybe, for just a little while, he'd go see them. They couldn't begrudge him that! Gaea wouldn't, definitely. She was always nice! The little hippogryph trotted merrily in the direction of their 'flock' territory.

Artemis wiggled off a bit from the rest of her family, wanting a bit of freedom and fresh air as usual. She was tired of this eternal snuggle-fest and such. She wanted to be moving!

Abruptly, she bumped into the little yellow figure and let out a disappointed chirp-- in her experience this meant her moments of liberty were over and that she was about to be either snuggled or swatted at and jumped on.

Gaea followed the girl closely, noting that the rest of the chicks were sleeping contentedly in the nest. She wasn't the least bit surprised that Artemis had been the first to wake-- she usually was.

Helios chirped in surprise as the little one bumped into him, blinking at it for a minute before jumping in glee. So -this- was why Gaea and Duke hadn't been in the central area so much! He reached down to nuzzle the little one affectionately before moving forward to greet Gaea,
"She's yours, isn't she?" he asked, frolicking in circles around the adult gryph,
"Ooooh she's cute!"

Artemis chirped indignantly at the nuzzle, but then in appreciation as the nuzzler left her alone and headed off elsewhere. Settling in the grass, she decided a brief walking break was in order before she continued her explorations...and she could do some while she was here. The little gryph sniffled at the grass and bugs curiously, trying to take in as many scents as possible.

Gaea let the little gryph wander a bit, though she did keep an eye on her as she greeted Helios,
"Yes, she's mine," she flushed with pride at the little chicks, "As are the others," she nodded in the direction of the chicks surrounding Duke,
"I'm sorry I've been gone so much, but it's hard to carry all four of them anywhere, and I don't want to leave any of them unprotected."

Helios nodded,
"That's okay!" he said cheerfully, watching the little one wander a bit,
"She's pretty mobile, isn't she? I remember I mostly liked to lie in the sun when I was little," he offered.

Gaea laughed, "That's most of what you like to do now," she teased, "You may be bigger, but you still have not grown much."

Helios giggled at this,
"That's true. I don't wanna grow up, though! There are so many fun things still left to enjoy! I don't lie about -all- the time, anyhow. Sometimes I play in the water or chase horseflies."

Artemis snuffled her way back to Gaea at this point, having grown a bit weary of her adventuring and seeking the warmth and comfort of her mother. Not that she was partial to snuggling, but sometimes it was nice.

Gaea nuzzled Artemis gently, realizing the little one's occasionally desire for attention but respecting her space-- this one had already made it abundantly clear that she was probably going to be almost as independent as her father.
"That's true," she smiled at Helios, "I heard you and Lirit were playing in the water the other day."

Helios nodded, the blinked at little Artemis,
"oh...she looks sleepy. Maybe you should get her back to the others," he smiled. Chicks were always first in importance in the North Flock,
"I'll head off. I just wanted to make sure you guys were doing okay!"

Gaea nodded,
"That's fine. Stop by anytime, Helios. You know you're welcome," she said, gently picking up the chick in her mouth and heading back to her nest.

Log 9

The cheerful sweet-smelling yellow chick trotted through the grasses. He wasn't sure what he was going to do today, but he did rather enjoy just being out in the sunlight as usual. Any time it was day and warm was a good time for him, particularly when his home territory was so often very cold and a little darker...

Not too far away Menno gave a confused chirp, it was one of those days where his parents had brought him out of the nest to enjoy the warmth and fresh air. While he could still pick up the scent of one of them he also could smell another for the first time. Confused he chirped again and wriggled towards the smell.

Helios heard the chirp and saw the little one scootching closer to him. Excited, he trotted over and gently nuzzled the little guy,
"Hello there!" he said, though he knew Menno couldn't respond because he was too little. It made him feel better to say something, though.

Menno made a tiny contented sound at the friendly contact. The other was warm and although he could not hear it speak he coud feel it's chest rumbling while it did so. Leaning on the stranger Menno blew softly at it's feathers and down. It was so nice to meet another and they must be good becuase he parents hadn't stopped the contact.

Helios chirped happily at this response-- Artemis wasn't nearly this friendly, and she'd been his most recent chick-ly contact. He snuggled against the little guy, lying down next to him. He liked chicks! They were almost all snuggly and little!

Continuing to mock preen his new friend Menno wondered if there were a lot like him out there and why he had never met any others before. It would be nice to have another to cuddle with in his nest or to play with then he got bored.

Helios enjoyed the preening, lolling his head back a bit to allow the chick to keep up his antics. He wondered absently what flock this little guy was from. He peered at the chick's den mother-- not far away grazing on some grass, and decided probably East Flock. That was where Gaea had been from before she went and formed her own flock with Duke! It must be a flock of all really cuddly chicks.

Suddenly tired of just being still and chirping a challence Menno jumped at his friend, As long as the other stayed close they could paly like this. Of course Menno had completely discounted the fact that the other was bigger and stronger than himself, far likely to outlast him endurance wise.

Menno's pouncing took him by surprise, but that was okay. Helios rolled over onto his side and gently prodded at him in pretend 'fight' mode. Not that Helios was the fighting sort, of course, but playing a little is always fun. He was -very- gentle to make sure he didn't hurt the little one, and he rolled Menno over on his back, chirping cheerfully.

Menno was somewhat surprised to find himself so easily defeated still he batted blindly with his paws in the air. This was great fun and once he could see, oh the other would be in for much more of a challenge then.

Log 10

Felicity yawned gently. Things had been going a bit slow these past few days. It had seemed that the little girl had grown a lot- and with her new, slender legs and fluffy tail, Felicity had also adopted a much more mischevous, adventerous personality. Perhaps it was just temporary- but from the looks of it, Ellie didn't seem to be coming down from her devious kick any time soon.

I wonder where that baby is, she thought absent mindedly, wagging her black, silky tail behind her as she walked lesuirely through the center meadow. It was ridiculously hot outside today- but Felicity didn't mind the warm rays of the sun as long as they were accompanied by an occasional, cold breeze to cool her off. She wasn't very talkative. she decided, still lost in her thoughts of the newborn she'd briefly met, Bravo, a few days ago.

Felicity's mind quickly shifted gears, though, as a sudden wave of flower petals seemed to fall from the sky like rain. Thrilled at the random appearence of soft, light blue petals, Felicity bean to frolic through them. She'd always been very active- at home, with her human, Cael, Felicity would dance around him and prance and be happy. Her little boy even played a strange, huge brown instrument that made beautiful sounds! So Felicity would hum along with it, and because of this, she was constantly singing to herself.

Humming a tune that lacked a harmony, the gryphon paused her silly dancing when the rain of petals stopped. Disappointed, the little girl continued to walk through the meadow, seemingly without aim. I wonder if anybody else is around today.

Helios paused a moment, watching the other gryph. He wasn't entirely sure he'd met her before, but he thought he had! ..if he had, though, she had looked different then.

Ah well, what did it matter?

Cheerfully, the sunshine-yellow gryph trotted over to Felicity, whickering in greeting,
"Hello there!"

Felicity had just about to spin around and try to look for a lake in the woods when she heard a voice call out. Catching herself, making sure she didn't fall over from the sudden double take, (if there was one thing Felicity lacked, it was balance- she had horrible coordination!) she smiled cheerfully in Helios's direction. How bright he was!

Eeriely pale, though friendly lilac eyes glued themselves to him. Oh, a boy! she thought with excitement. Felicity had so many friends that were girls. How much fun it would be to make a new friend that wasn't!

"Hello!" she called back, prancing over towards him with enthusiasm. Pasuing a few feet away, she settled down a bit, though chose to remian standing. She was much too excited for sitting down! "I'm Ellie! What's your name?"

No matter that Helios was nearly an adolescent now, he would forever retain some childlike qualities. One of them was undoubtedly his love for snuggling.

The male gryph snuggled against his new friend gently, smiling,
"I am Helios!" he replied, "It's very nice to meet you, Ellie!"

And Ellie was estatic. Squealing terribly, her entire face lit up. What a friendly gryph! So boys are just like girls, she decided quickly, nuzzling Helios's neck with a series of trilling squeaks. They like to play and cuddle! Little did Felicity know that not all boys were as affectionate as this little ball of sunshine right here. Oh well. She'd find out in time.

Grinning fondly at her new friend- who was a boy!, she thought eagerly, Felicity responded. "Helios? That's a fun name," she decided with a small chirp, before propping herself up once more, raising her head with dignity. "And it's nice to meet you too!" she agreed lightly, nodding with ease.

It was only after this very moment that Felicity thought of something.

"Hey Helios- do you want to go find a lake with me? We could go swimming!" It was so hot outside- today would be a perfect day for a dip.

Helios beamed as well. This new girl was very nice! He decided he definitely liked her...at least better than Gaea's chick, Artemis, who was becoming increasingly hostile towards him.

The yellow gryph nodded,
"Sure! THe lake is always fun!" he agreed, snuggling back against her before heading off in that direction, snorting cheerfully,
"Last one there is a silly squid!"

Felicity grinned happily, flicking her tail absent mindedly behind her. She wiggled her little freckled bottom happily, before raising her head once more. "I found a lake once!" she informed him with a pretty little grin, bobbing her head a bit as she began to trot beside him. She was very clearly eager to get going.
"With my friend, Asajj," she continued to explain, occasionally looking up to meet his face as she spoke. "And it was fantastic! I'm not that great of a swimmer," she admitted, a slightly sheepish tone lacing through her singsong, pleasent voice. "But it'll be fun anyways!"

It was then that Felicity noticed something. There, perched perfeclty upon her new friend's back, were pair of magnificent wings. Feeling a lonely shudder go down her spine, Ellie remembered, that for some strange reason, she didn't have wings. A slightly crestfallen look took her face, but the little girl shrugged it off quickly, ignoring it as they continued to walk along.

Helios laughed,
"Is a lake different from a river, then?" he hadn't bothered learning about such things, really. He liked learning about other stuff better-- like how to be a good friend and a good parent and all that. He fancied he would make a -great- parent when it came down to it!

He let his wings fluff out a bit while he was running, enjoying the sensation of the wind on them. Soon they'd be big enough for him to start flying! That would be fun. And he'd already started helping look after some of the chicks as well as teaching them things.

Felicity smiled cheerfully, letting her shoulders pop up in a slight shrug. "I'm not sure. They're both holes with water in them, right? So they can't be that different!" she decided, logically, that this seemed to be the correct response. It made sense.

Felicity hadn't even begun to think about parenting. She was too consumed by the idea that she'd grown so much! It seemed like just last week, (though it probably was just last week, the silly gryph,) that she was so much tinier. Felicity had undergone such a growth spurt! She was taller now- still rather petite, even for her age, but her legs had grown in and she even thought that her tail had gotten a bit longer. She was pleased, to say the least!

And yet still, Felicity couldn't but notice that she hadn't any wings to grow on her back. A soft pang of jealous poked at her stomach, daring her to ask just why she didn't have beautiful wings like Helios, and all her other friends. Keeping her mouth shut, though, Felicity let her mind wander to other things.

"Let's take a short cut through the forest!" she suggested happily. Besides, the forest was always so pretty in the middle of the day. The shade from the trees would be nice, too.

Helios had no idea that his wings brought her any measure of unhappiness, or he would have eagerly tucked them in as much as he could. He liked for others to be happy! As happy as he was!

The gryph nodded,
"Sure, a shortcut sounds fun!" he agreed, slowing down so that she could pass him and show him where this shortcut was.

But Felicity was a strongheaded, stubborn little girl. She wasn't going to let a silly thing such as fluffy, feathered wings get her down. But they're so nice...
But you don't have them! And you never will! So stop pining! she told herself firmly, and she even gave her head a little nod, as if to confirm this. Yet still, in the back of her mind, Felicity couldn't help but to dwell on the unfairness of it all. Why couldn't she have pretty wings that would someday let her fly as well?

"Good!" she chirped happily, and before she knew it, she had pressed her muzzle firmly against Helios's shoulder, as if to tag him. "Catch me if you can!" she challenged him playfully, taking off at a suprising speed for such a petite little girl.
Felicity had long, slender legs- and unlike some gryphs with the same quality, she knew how to control hers so she wasn't lanky and awkward. They helped her quite a bit, and she dove into the thicket that led into the dense, crowded forest.

Felicity wove through trees happily, giggling and whinnying so that Helios would be able to hear her, if not see her through the mass of shrubs and trees. What fun!

Helios laughed at the tagging, and took off after Ellie. The male gryph had a bit of a harder time with it than she-- he was becoming more and more lanky and awkward just as she was becoming less. The wings didn't help either, as they tended to get caught in brush a bit.

In essence, he was just slower than she was. Still, he could follow her whinnies and did so happily, not caring that he was behind. He'd be a silly squid, it didn't matter!

Felicity, who was just about to cheat and make a sharp left to try and throw him off, skidded to an abrupt, startled halt. Her eyes widened reflexively, and her jaw shifted a little bit, almost in a silent gasp. Ellie backed up a bit, her eyes following the unknown structure in complete awe. What... was it?

Standing before her was a tall, massive, leering wall of trees. Felicity, of course, had seen trees before! Who hadn't? But nothing like this... There were four, perhaps five trees aligned in a row so close together, if you glanced past at first sight, it would've just looked like one massive wall of tree. Growing deep, embedded within the very bark, was vines. Intertwining, weaving, thick, thin, curly, straight- long green vines of ivy.

Unsure whether she was supposed to think it was a frightening abnormality of nature or a pretty place to claim for her own, Felicity simply stood and stared. She'd never seen anything like it before! And how tall the trees were! Her eyes wandered to the canopy above, but the little amount of sun that leaked through blinded her. She couldn't even see the top!

Whump! Helios skidded into the stopped little gryph, not able to catch himself in time after realizing that she was no longer running.

He tumbled off to the side, losing his balance, and laughed,
"Whoops! Sorry! Why'd ya stop?"

Ellie didn't mind so much that Helios had crashed into her. When she wasn't walking, trotting, or galloping, Felicity had a hard time keeping herself balanced as well. She wasn't very coordinated, but strangely enough, the only time she actually had issues when she was standing still!

"Look." she murmured quietly, as if the aligning trees had ears and would hiss at her for speaking about them.

Felicity began to think. What if Helios doesn't think it's as cool as I do? horrified at the thought, she closed her eyes for a moment. What if he thinks I'm weird because I think this is weird? Letting out a silent whimper, Felicity glanced to Helios quickly. ... Why do I suddenly care if my friend thinks I'm weird? I don't!... And he won't! He's nice. she reassured herself, and in no time, was calm again.

"What is it?"

The slightly older gryph peered at the stuff she was indicating. Well, he wasn't really going to guess what it was. He didn't know, and that was half of what made it interesting!

He nuzzled her gently when she whimpered,
"Hey, don't be scared," he assured her, "I'll take care of ya. 'Sides, I don't think trees can hurt you."

He grinned, peering at them more closely,
"Don't know. Just a big tree?"

Felicity smiled warmly. She loved the feeling of being nuzzled! Especially-

He's a BOY, so it's different! she thought with an internal giggle. Oh, how quickly Ellie had seemed to grow up in these past few days! She was just a silly little girl who was new to this silly little world of boys and girls. But it sure was funny to see how happy she became at the littlest things.

But she wasn't scared! No, far from it. Well.. At least now she wasn't frightened. More intruiged, rather, by the strange, massive, ancient trees.

"I guess so," she agreed lightly. For now, Felicity would lead Helios to the lake they'd been questing for. But in the back of her mind, Felicity made note to remember this place. She'd like to come back here and explore around the huge trees.

"Well let's go! The water isn't gonna find us!" She teased happily, nipping Helios playfully on the neck before darting off once more, though this time at a more lesuirely trot. They were close to the lake now, she could feel it!

Helios cheerfully set off with her, without a second thought to the weird tree thing. It was neat to look at, but his curiousity about it didn't really go that far.

He was a little startled by the n** at his neck, but quickly forgot about it in his anxiety to get to the lake and get splashing.