Author's Notes:

There is music in this chapter. If you care for the inspiration or want to get samples before reaching the part where it's relevant, you can go to my blog post right here:

Griffin Music

Just to be clear, it isn't necessary to read the post for the story, at all.

There had been one good thing, Chryssi thought, her behind above her head, her back against the farm wall and surrounded by wooden splinters. The wheelbarrow she had obliterated had been an old one Fidelis had cursed a lot and about whose ancestry he held a lot of opinions. She wasn't really sure how that worked, and she had yet to get a straight answer to her questions about the whole issue, but the important detail currently was that it wouldn't be missed too much. She hoped.

Two calloused hands grabbed her, lifted her up, and turned her around. She broke free of her musings and looked down on Fidelis as he was holding her high. There was something different in his eyes, a glimmer that hadn't been there before. And emotions. Such strong emotions. Confusion, excitement, and other things she had no names for. They were powerful, deep, shining. It made her head turn.

Chryssi blinked. "Uhm… I'm fine?" She vibrated her new wings, nervous. She was expecting a scolding, or maybe some worry and then a scolding, but not… not whatever this was.

A glance to her side, at her wings, and Fidelis grinned. "Yes, you're fine. Hah, you certainly are." He turned around to Ginevra who had just arrived and was staring at Chryssi too. "The little one is fine. And Master Sottile is gonna lose his s– he's gonna be mad."

"I don't want Mater Sottile to be mad." Did that mean that there would be a scolding later? She broke stuff, but she didn't want to. And Master Sottile didn't like to get angry. At all. Made him all weird inside.

Ginevra sighed. "Don't worry, Fidelis is exaggerating. Master Sottile will be alright, just a bit surprised." She emanated surprise and excitement too. "Just… we didn't expect wings."

"Oh." She folded them back, putting them away, and whispered, "I just wanted my honey bread."

"Heh, I understand. Only good reason to leave the ground." Fidelis chuckled. "Any more surprises from you? Any other stuff that will grow?" He turned her around between his hands, his eyes wandering all over her.

It was a good question, probably. And then an avalanche of expectations and curiosity washed over her. She looked around and suddenly became aware of being at the center of a way bigger audience than she was used to. All the griffins were around her, watching her, waiting for her answer, weighing whatever she would say. It was like with the meat, but the scrutiny she felt under was even more intense. She rolled up in a ball, covered her eyes with her forelegs, and murmured, "I don't know."

"Come on, everygriff, leave her some space and think about how you would feel with a flock of gawking chickens staring at you. Chop chop." Garvino's voice broke the expectant silence and was soon followed by the sound of steps going away and chatter starting up once again. The pressure lifted, and when Chryssi peeked out she saw that most griffins had returned to their little groups. The intense curiosity was still there, but was more like a background noise than an overwhelming presence.

Fidelis put her down on the ground and patted her on her head. "Sorry, little one. Was just surprised. Don't worry, if more changes we will discover it together." His ears swiveled. "Now calm down, and then go back to play."

Geno leaned out from behind Fidelis' legs. He eyed Chryssi, then stepped forward and held out the honey bread. "That's yours. I'm sorry. That seemed like it hurt with growing the wings and all."

"Uhm, thanks?" Chryssi took the bun and looked up to the adults. Fidelis nodded at her, while Ginevra and Garvino were furiously whispering. She nibbled at it. "It's…it was kinda mean taking it."

Geno seemed mighty interested in the ground in front of him and scratched it. "It was just to play a bit." He then looked up to her and grinned. "But that was awesome. I mean, now you can fly and–"

"And she won't do that tonight." There was the kind of definitivity, which was a word Tia had taught her and Master Sottile didn't like at all, in Garvino's voice that Chryssi usually associated with Donna Copper Horn. "She will take lessons on flying, but not at night." He looked for a moment into his mug. "Not tonight. Not with the bonfire burning."

"But–" Geno began. For Chryssi it was clear that it would have been useless trying to discuss it even before Garvino's glare interrupted him. They had used The Tone That Extinguishes All Objections, or simply The Tone as Tia liked to call it to the chagrin of Lulu who said it was a too simple name for such a terrible thing.

"Listen, kitten, we know that the little bug here is sturdier than expected, but we don't want to risk it. I don't think you want her to get seriously hurt, right?"

"No." Geno sighed.

Chryssi looked at the honey bread between her hooves, then broke it in half and held the non-nibbled part towards Geno.

He looked at it, then took it and mumbled. "Come on, they should start with the songs soon."

Garvino smiled at them. "Right, that's a great idea. Teach Chryssi here to dance, have fun." Then he turned to Fidelis. "Come, let's get something for our dry throats. Ginevra, do you want a mug of sanity too?"

"Yeah, bring me one, I'll be over there with the little ones."

From somewhere in the middle of the assembly of griffins came a plinking. Chryssi tilted her head and whispered, "What is that?"

Ginevra said, "Right, you never heard our music, little bug. You're in for some fun."

As they returned to the big fire that seemed to be the center of the celebration, more sounds like the plinking rose into the night, the tones changing slightly with each repetition. And with each repetition, the mood seemed to change too. There was more laughter, bouts of happiness, and pockets of the weird, sweet, spicy taste that sometimes came out from Millet and Meadowsweet’s room when the door was closed.

When they arrived they saw a circle of griffins with the fire on one side, almost like it was another member of the round and illuminating the open space in the middle, and a group of other griffins inside the circle handling something.

"See those griffins there? They are putting together their instruments. That is where the plinking came from. We use some tambourines, you know them already, but those? You never heard something like that." Ginevra laid down on Chryssi's side, with Geno sitting down on the other and chewing on his honey bread.

Chryssi squinted. The plinking came from one of the griffins holding something white with strings and staffs sticking out of it. He would pick at one of the strings, then adjust the staff, then pick at it again. The others were putting together similar constructs.

"See those strings? Those are sinews, and the instruments are made of bones. The big thing at the end is the skull of a giant bat. You pick at the strings, or you let your talon slide on it, and it makes music. Ponies can't play them because hooves don't work well with it. And they don't like it, call it Song of the Dead. Some even say we make it from ponies we hunt in secrecy and make disappear in the night." Ginevra scoffed, then pointed at one of the tables where there were still remains from the roc. "Stupid stories by stupid ponies. We get new strings from that for when the old ones are used up. We would never use one of the talking races."

The musicians had finished assembling their instruments and were plucking at the strings, looks of deep concentration on their faces. Around them, many others pulled out tambourines of various sizes. Some had engraved borders, others were simply made from wood. Metal disks gleamed reddish and golden in the light.

One of the griffins, the one holding a thing of bone and strings larger than Chryssi, leaned forward and said something. The griffins surrounding him nodded, and suddenly the night was filled with the chirping of the metal shells of the tambourines being shaken. It was a totalizing sound, surrounding everything, encompassing the whole world.

Soon came the beats as they struck the skins. Time was added to the timeless. The strings joined with their voices after that, dancing between the wild tact the tambourines imposed on the reality.

Chryssi sat there, her mouth open, her mind lost to the Song of the Dead.

The lifeless remains of what once had been a creature raised their new voices into the starry sky. It hadn't been the end. Not as she understood it.

When the griffins began to sing everything changed again. What was and what had been danced together, what had once been keeping up what was now.

She had heard ponies sing. It happened often, and she always liked it. The words in songs were fat, juicy, real. She understood them all, even those she didn't know the meaning of. Griffin songs were exactly like that.

They were also completely different. When ponies sang, they sang of their heart and their souls, of themselves and their dears in the world.

When griffins sang, they sang of griffins, and they did it on the foundation of music made by the living and by the dead.

They sang of foolish griffins who wanted to be kings, and of their daughters fleeing them for love and faking their deaths to start a new life. They sang of brigands who did their talking with blades and spears so they could be free. They sang of joyful youth stealing hearts, of old codgers' regrets, of yellow grass in the hot south and of snowfields in the north.

Voices moved up and down along the tones, now telling stories, now being instruments. The tambourines ran along and never slowed down. The strings kept up with everything, playful and serious, jumping and steady, plinking, wailing, and laughing. They did whatever was needed.

Another voice, one that wasn't singing, broke through to her. Chryssi blinked and focused on Geno standing in front of her. "Huh?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"Dance?" Behind Geno, griffins were moving in the open space.

Wings flared out, shaded one another, then folded. Eyes kept contact as if bound, and then, one vault later, they became chained to somebody else. The rhythm of the tambourines gave the tempo for little jumps, barely high enough to move the dancers one around the other in what was almost a glide.

It was wonderful. It radiated joy. It was terrifying. Chryssi's eyes almost bulged out. "I can't dance! I don't know how to do it."

"Don't worry, little bug, it's easy. Go out there, feel it, and go along with the flow." Ginevra patted Chryssi on the back. "Don't wanna leave Geno hanging, right?" Ginevra's eyes seemed to sparkle. She smelled of amusement and mischief. "That would break his little heart, after all."

"What?" And now Chryssi was confused. Again.

Geno, on the other hoof, seemed to have understood quite well what happened, at least according to his sputtering. "What? No! I– She's– It's not–"

"Whatever. Now, away with you two." A madly grinning Ginevra shoved them out and into the middle of the dancing crowd.

It was almost overwhelming. Everything moved, the music and the song filled her ears, the earth vibrated, the warmth of the bodies around her radiated like the sun on a summer evening. Geno stumbled in front of her, a blush on his face. And from all around her emotions pressed down and flowed through her. So much, so different, sweet, warm, salty, tickling, red, soothing, prickly, and so much more for which she hadn't even words.

Geno had started to jump, to open his wings, to circle around her. She couldn't dance, she never learned, but she could imitate.

With each little shuffle, each twirl she did following his lead she felt more in tune. There was a rhythm in the whole, and she began to hear it, to feel it in her hooves. Slowly she went from following to anticipating. Understanding dawned on her, it was not about simply going along, nor was it about dominating. It was about melting into the whole, about feeling and accepting everything.

Dancing for her dear life, Chryssi laughed.

The winds calmed down, their thousand voices slowly falling silent, one at a time. At the end only the crackling of the bonfire remained. The four elder griffins in the center of the circle turned around, facing once again the rest of the flock.

Ginevra held her breath. Many of the others did the same.

Giosualdo stepped forward from the center. His voice was powerful and swept over the assembly leaving an icy chill in their backs. "The hoofed tribes of the north look to themselves for the help their Yak lieges won't grant them. The fangs of the ice are snapping at them, and so they look for strength in the herd. Change. So told us Boreas."

When Gerte came forward the chill disappeared. As she spoke Ginevra could smell sand and salt, a pleasant tepor crawled up her limbs, and then the heat hit. Gerte's voice was scorching. "The tempers in the warring reigns of the south are rising, and forges are spewing soot and smoke into the sky. Kings and tyrants are out for blood and fortune, and once more others shall find both. Opportunity. So told us Scirocco."

A gray hen hobbled on. Her eyes ran the circumference of griffins, slightly milky yet full of life. Her voice cut like stone shards. "Where the sun sets, something is stirring. Its emissary already lurks in shadows. The donkeys know the menace and are turning their spears westward. Danger. So told us Espero."

The last to speak was young Giacomo. Ginevra could almost feel his nervousness, yet when he spoke it was with the force of untold years behind every word. "The concord is frail in the east, and the plague weakened it even more. Those who hold the sun have less might on earth than in the heavens, and new voices raise asking for safety. Fear. So told us Apeliote."

The moment the last word left his beak, every griffon started talking. The silence was not so much shattered as it was beaten, broken, and the fragments set on fire. Everyone seemed ready to share their opinion on what they just had heard, and waiting to hear others out wasn't an option.

Ginevra was about to explain to Giovanni how what happened in the east was clearly a consequence of what was transpiring in the west when she felt something pulling in her claw. She looked down and saw Chryssi with a hoof on her foreleg, the other holding a bone she was chewing.

"What happened?" Chryssi pulled the bone out. "They said things about the danger. Do I have to be scared?" She leaned forward and whispered, "I didn't taste fear."

Neither Fidelis nor Garvino seemed to be around, or at least Ginevra couldn't see them among the chattering groups that were forming all over the place. Which meant it would fall on her. She laid down and looked Chryssi in the eyes. "You can't taste fear because being afraid doesn't help at all now. The Winds told the things they saw far away from here and gave some glimpses about what is to come. That's all to help us know where we should fly, but it doesn't mean that those things will happen here. I remember when I was little, my first Wind Whispering. We were out there in the west, going up and down and bringing clouds to the donkeys because they had just fought with some Concord towns and no pegasi would do it. And the Winds told that there was danger all around us and that there would be a big conflict. I was very scared, but my mother said me not to worry. Then the next year it was all the same, and the year after that. But nothing happened to me or the Flock. Even the hunts were good."

Chryssi chewed pensively on the bone, then grimaced. As she pulled it out Ginevra could see that it was broken and the little bug had somehow begun getting out the marrow. Her tone was almost indignant as she asked, "Did the Winds lie?"

"No." Ginevra shook her head. "For three years there had been a vicious infighting between the heads of the donkey clans. Something about finding a new leader. Some of the clans weren't happy at all about not getting the help of pegasi while others wanted to continue on that course. It became bloody, and it was all around us, but it never touched us." She scratched her beak. "I think we even got something out of it. When you grow up ask Giosualdo about it. He has some funny stories from that time. Just… not now."

"Why?"

"Uhm, it's not the kind of story a little filly should hear. Or a young mare. Or somebody who could give Celestia and Luna ideas. Or anybody under Donna Copper Horn's care. By Harmony, she'll tan my hide. Forget about the story, there's no such thing, I didn't say anything, ok?"

"But you just–"

Ginevra clamped her claw around Chryssi's muzzle. "I didn't say anything. At all. Go play with Geno."

The moment her muzzle was released, Chryssi said, "He's sleeping. He was very tired, and Giovanni took him under his wing. And he gave me the bone." Chryssi held it up.

"Right, it's late for you. Aren't you tired too? Wanna take a nap?"

"Nuhu, not at all." Chryssi glanced to her side, at one of the gaggles of griffins chattering enthusiastically about. "Uhm, everyone is talking. Should I talk too? I don't know what to say."

"They are just talking about where to go. Don’t worry about it, you don't have to say anything." Ginevra stood up and smiled. She remembered this part from when she was little quite well. Nothing put her to sleep faster than hearing the endless discussions after the Wind Whispering. And maybe she could find Fidelis along the way and leave the little one with him. "I wanna go to chat up a couple of them. Come on my back and let's do it."

During the long night the clearing had been lived up with songs, stories, fights, and laughter. Now, near the break of dawn, it had all calmed down. A song broke out every now and then, but it was a far more intimate affair. Many had disappeared into the bushes; some had returned, most had not. And of those still there, the great majority was snoring, filled with food, booze, or both.

That Chryssi was still awake and seemingly not even tired was admirable in Garvino's eyes. Even now she was nibbling on rolled-up roasted skin gotten who knew where, a trickle of fat running down the side of her mouth, All in all, it had gone far better than what Garvino expected.

He leaned down toward Chryssi and asked, "Did you have fun tonight?"

She nodded and sat down at his side, both turning east, companionable silence binding them.

When Fidelis arrived he sat down on Garvino's right and sighed. He plucked a stalk of grass, put it between his teeth, and sighed.

It took Garvino a lot of self-control not to snicker. He glanced at the diamond dog, took in his content expression, and said, "Now, my friend, what perturbs you? Something happened that wasn't to your taste?"

Fidelis huffed then grinned. "Nope. All fine. No problem at all. I'm full of meat and beer. I danced till my paws felt like falling off. I ended up in the barn with–" His eyes fell on Chryssi. "–nobody important. It was a fine night. Great one even. I like the Wind Whispering."

Garvino nodded. "Good. Good. I'm glad." He put a wing over Chryssi's back and pulled her to his side. "It's important that those of my flock had a good time. Helps to keep everyone together. Reminds them of the good things." He glanced over his shoulder. "Have you seen Ginevra?"

"Yes." Fidelis nodded, then pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. "She was talking with one of the youngsters about what the flock should do. Where it should go." He scratched his chin. "Seemed very important."

"It was." Ginevra emerged from the dying light of the fire, her steps uncertain, her plumage smelling of sweat and smoke. "Talking about the future is what makes the Flock a Flock and not a simple warband," She sat down on Garvino's other side and folded her wings while she spied the horizon. "It's what you and mother taught me. One of the few truly useful things."

"Hush now, we taught you nothing but useful stuff. You lacking the wisdom to apply every lesson is not our fault." Garvino felt Chryssi move under his wing and peek out from under the feathers. "So, Ginevra, will you fly with them when they leave?"

There was a small gasp, and he saw Chryssi's eyes grow to the size of dishes.

Ginevra sighed and looked out towards the horizon. "I miss the hunts, I miss feeling new winds caress me. I miss even fighting the ice on the mountains." She glanced at the farm looming massively behind them. "Staying here is not a griffon life, you know? And they will fly south. Planned to do it, and the Whispering just reinforced the idea. They want to reach the southern coast. I've never been so far down. Gal told me you can see the front of the Chaos Storm."

Chryssi retreated under Garvino's wing and cuddled up against his side. He suspected he knew what was going through her head, but for once it was necessary. At the end of the Whispering there was change. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sometimes it was different things for different griffins. And for little black foals, he supposed. "Have you already decided? The Flock will leave in the evening, you won't have much time."

The first birds started to chirp. The world was awakening. Ginevra sat in silence, then laid down.

"We love you even if you go, you know?" Fidelis pulled out the stalk. "You stay, we are happy. You leave, we are happy too if you promise to visit. Do what you want if you think it makes you happy. You are not bound like we are."

"Hey, I don't want to abandon duty. I–"

"You are young, and our duty binds us for longer than what it takes for my old bones to become stone. Harmony needs us old ones here. It needs young ones to become the best they can." Fidelis laid back on the dusty ground. "You're no prisoner to duty. You're no prisoner to Harmony. You're no prisoner here."

Ginevra scoffed. "Eager to get rid of me?"

"Nah, not gonna tell what I want." Fidelis patted on Garvino's side. "'s not important what this old chicken here or what this old mutt want. And that's true for the little one hiding under the wing too." He burped. "Heh, you griffons do the best parties."

Garvino turned to Ginevra. "Fidelis is right. What we do here is no chain. Think about what you want. I will be happy if you are happy." He raised his wing a bit and glanced underneath it. He smiled at Chryssi huddling against his coat. "That counts for you too, learn what makes you happy, and as long as you are not hurting others, do it."

"I…" The little foal flicked her tongue, turned her head a bit as if looking through his wing towards Ginevra. She bit her lip, then turned her head to the other side. Garvino wondered if she could see Fidelis through him. He wouldn't have been surprised.

She stayed that way, deep in thought, silent.

And then the light changed. The gray of the early morning became awash with the red and golden shine of the dawn. Garvino turned his head toward the sun and closed his eyes. More and more birds joined in, waking the world, signaling the true beginning of spring.

"I know what I want."

"Oh, do you?" Fidelis pushed up on his elbows. "This I wanna hear. What do you want?"

Chryssi sat straight, looked into the rising sun on the horizon, and said, "I want my family to be happy."

"Ah, a bit generic, but the classics are always worth something anyway." Ginevra smiled at Chryssi, then scooted a bit closer. "And who's this family of yours?"

"Ah…" The uncertainty and sudden panic were as clear as the sky in the morning. Chryssi turned her head around, looked up at Garvino, then back at Ginevra. "I thought– I mean– It's–"

It was almost heartbreaking. Luckily, Ginevra was faster. Her claw sprang forward like a snake, grabbed Chryssi, ignored the surprised squeak, and pulled her back into a powerful hug. "Aw, we know what you mean, little bug. We love you too and want you to be happy. Isn't that right, Garvino?"

"It is, it is. Fidelis?"

"Solid as granite. Glad you learned it, Chryssi. Told you not to worry."

They slipped back into companionable silence, the sun rising, the world awakening. There was still work to do before they could rest, before the old year would be truly over. The food had to be put away, the clearing had to be cleaned up, the barrel of salted meat had to be moved out of the sun.

Endings and beginnings were rarely clean cut things.

"I'm gonna fly with the Flock again. Just… I'm not gonna do it now. I still have things to see here, and I'm not leaving just you two educating the fillies on the finer points of life." Ginevra glanced over to Garvino. "I'm not a monster."

Garvino took a deep breath and felt a boulder lift from his heart. "No, you are not."

Life was good. Sometimes it was hard, sometimes it was surprising, sometimes it became downright bizarre. But it was definitely good.

Chryssi chirped up. "I also wanna be a griffon."