It was a gloriously beautiful day today, and the sun shone brightly down upon the School of Friendship. But, as gorgeous as the weather was, very few, if any students were out and about, instead apparently preferring to spend time with one another indoors, on whatever projects or activities they'd planned for the day. This, naturally, left the central courtyard of the school pretty much vacant, save for one lone student. Gallus, who now leaned against one of the many trees that was planted there, smiled to himself as he enjoyed this peace and quiet, looking more than a little bit satisfied. But, then again, after having been through an ordeal like he and his friends just had, it was small wonder that he would have preferred being out here, just relaxing, to doing anything else. However, his solitude did not last long, as another of his friends, Silverstream, gently landed down from her flight close by.

"Hey, Gallus," she said happily.

The young Griffon chuckled.

"Hey."

Silverstream walked over, looking around at the still-empty courtyard, before again regarding her blue friend.

"So...doing anything interesting?"

Gallus shrugged his shoulders, closing his eyes as he leaned further into his tree.

"Not really. Wanna enjoy the shade?"

Silverstream smiled to the offer, nodding enthusiastically, even though she knew full well that Gallus could not see her doing so. She walked over to him, finding a spot on the grass right beside her colleague, before getting herself comfortable. Gallus cast her the barest of glances as she did this, but got his eyes closed again soon afterwards. Soon, the two were just sitting there together, in the shade of the tree, in utter silence. But, as time went on, Gallus again cracked an eye open. Something was wrong, he realised, and it took little time for him to figure out what. Silverstream was being quiet. Sure, she had her calm moments, just like anyone, but there was something about the way she was being quiet right now that truly caught is notice. Turning slightly, he saw that she was looking deep in thought, staring out at nothing in particular. Something was on her mind, that much was obvious, and after considering his options for just a moment, Gallus finally spoke to her.

"Are you okay?"

Silverstream put on a smile, though Gallus knew already that it was forced, as indeed was her happy and upbeat tone as she responded.

"Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Just...just thinking about some stuff."

Sighing, Gallus took on a somewhat more serious look.

"...It's about the cave, isn't it?"

Realising that the jig was up, Silverstream hung her head slightly, before giving a slow nod.

"Yeah, I...I just can't stop thinking about it."

Gallus, having heard that, let out a dry chuckle.

"I don't blame you. A trek through a dangerous underground cave, a talk with a magical tree? It was pretty weird alright."

Silverstream shook her head though.

"No...it wasn't just that."

Gallus again looked to her, but said nothing as she continued.

"When I was down there...seeing the image of...of him. I...I just couldn't cope."

She looked away, almost ashamed.

"I was terrified. I wanted to run, to swim right down to the bottom of the water and hide away."

Gallus seemed confused by this.

"I don't think anyone could blame you for that, Silver. The Storm King was a big mean monster, remember? Anyone would want to get away from him."

Looking back to him, Silverstream frowned.

"You don't get it, Gallus! My people spent years hiding away from the rest of the world because of him! We made ourselves prisoners in our own oceans rather than face him. We were terrified of what he'd do to us if he got to us...and we ran away!"

Shame returned to her.

"After he died...we were so sure that time was behind us...that the fear was behind us. The Storm King was gone, and our freedom was ours again."

Slowly, she frowned, angry at herself.

"But it wasn't true. Even now, even after everything we've got back for ourselves...we're still afraid of him."

Reaching down, she grabbed some stray blades of grass with her claw, yanking them off the ground. She held them in front of her for a while, then frowned again before just chucking them away from her.

"Even after his death...he still has his grip on us."

Gallus, having heard all of that, didn't really know what to say. At least at first. But as time wore on and he continued to look to his friend, he soon cracked a smile, reaching over and giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. At least you managed to get out of that."

Silverstream looked over to him as he continued.

"The way you told him off, how you said all that stuff about how your people are done with him? That was pretty awesome, Silver."

Despite her still-lingering doubts on the whole matter, Silverstream nevertheless smiled to her friend's attempts to cheer her up. Gallus' own smile widened at the sight of her looking at least a little bit better than before, and watched as she spoke in a calmer way than she did previously.

"Thanks, Gallus. I guess...I've just been feeling a bit down when I stopped to think about it."

Gallus chortled.

"Hey, it's no problem. I'm pretty sure anyone would have had a hard time down there."

Silverstream giggled.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky I had you with me then. Who knows what trouble I'd have had down there if you hadn't come along!"

The Griffon looked to her, thinking about that.

"Hey, we're friends, remember? Friends help each other. It's what got us out of there in the end after all."

Another giggled from Silverstream.

"Well, you certainly didn't need any help. From what I hear, you got out of the Tree's test for you all by yourself."

The male puffed up his chest a little bit, looking just the tiniest bit prideful over that achievement.

"Yeah, not to brag or anything...but I was pretty great doing that, wasn't I?"

But, his sense of accomplishment faded soon afterwards, and he dwelt further on that bad experience he'd been through.

"I've never liked tight spaces...ever since I was little. Feeling like I can't get out, like I'm trapped and might never see the sky again. It...it's just never been good for me."

Silverstream, showing more than a little sympathy, gave him a quick claw on his shoulder.

"At least you managed to get yourself out of it. You faced your fear, just like I did. And you did it all by yourself. Whatever problems you had growing up with that terror...you've beaten it. And that's something you can be happy about."

Gallus again cracked a smile, looking to his pink friend with obvious appreciation.

"You're right, Silver. Those little places? Yeah, they're not gonna bother this Griffon. Gallus is officially no longer gonna let himself get down by a small room anymore!"

But, as he dwelt on his own declaration, his bravado started to shake just a touch, and he glanced over to his friend again.

"But...just to be on the safe side, let's not actually put me in any small spaces in future...just in case, okay?"

The two shared a laugh, helping to elevate the mood from what it had been before. But, as it died down and the air became quieter around them, Silverstream again looked to her colleague, looking thoughtful once more.

"I...I never really said thank you."

Gallus looked to her, tilting his head slightly.

"For what?"

Silverstream gave him a light punch on the side.

"For helping me, Silly!"

Rubbing the spot where he'd been hit, Gallus chuckled nervously.

"Oh...that...hey, it was no big deal."

Silverstream frowned at him.

"It was a big deal. Gallus, I was frozen down there! I couldn't think straight! All I could do was shake behind that rock!"

Slowly, she smiled again.

"Then you came...my friend. You gave me the encouragement I needed to step up. I..."

She blushed, looking to him with utter warmth.

"...I really am grateful for what you did for me."

Seeing her look to him like this, Gallus too blushed, although, trying to keep up his "touch guy" act, he glanced away slightly, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah...er...you're welcome?"

Then, before he got the chance to say anything else, he suddenly found his Hippogriff friend leaning against him, complete with her resting her head against his shoulder. After blinking slowly, he gradually looked down to her, seeing the peaceful and content look she had upon her face. Now Gallus, naturally, was at a complete loss on what was happening here, and after opening and shutting his mouth several times, he gave a loud gulp, before asking the obvious question.

"Um...Silver? What...what are you doing?"

Slowly, Silverstream looked up to him, bearing a loving smile.

"I just...felt like snuggling up to you a little bit."

Another gulp on the part of Gallus.

"Well...er...not that I mind that kind of thing or anything, but...you do know what that would probably look like...right?"

Silverstream, after taking just a moment to think on that question, developed into a look that Gallus recognised instantly as one of amorousness, complete with a more "you know what I want" tone of voice.

"Maybe I want people to think that."

If Gallus wasn't covered in feathers right now, any passer by would have seen that he was sweating buckets at this moment, made all the more evident by his more frantic breathing.

"I...I...I...I...I just...I didn't really think you...you know...felt that way."

Silverstream's smile widened.

"What, a big, strong, brave Griffon who saved me from my own fears in a dangerous cave? Who's been with me through thick and thin and who I feel safe and happy with? You really think I wouldn't have started feeling this way at some point?"

Gallus blinked slowly, considering all of that.

"Okay...when you put it that way...it does kinda sound like this was a likelihood."

Silverstream giggled to those words.

"And you? Do...do you feel anything about me?"

He was trapped, and he knew it. But, as he continued to look into Silverstream's big wide eyes, he soon found his nervousness starting to ebb away, instead replaced with a sudden urge to tell her what feelings he did have.

"Well...if we're being honest? I've kinda always liked how happy you are about stuff. Coming from Griffonstone, it's like the exact opposite of everyone I've ever known. You just love everything, no matter how small or ordinary."

His own smile grew.

"I guess...I sort of love that about you. You're passionate, you're fun to be with, and...yeah...I think I am happy when we're around each other."

Silverstream, in a move that would have surprised absolutely nobody in a situation like this, leapt forward, wrapping her claws around him and holding him close in a tight hug. Gallus, though clearly taken aback by this, soon relaxed a great deal, smiling to his friend's actions, and even returning the hug. It was a sweet moment between the two youths, and one that actually lasted quite a long time. After a few minutes, however, they parted, with Silverstream looking perhaps happier than Gallus had ever seen her before.

"So..." she started.

"So..." Gallus added.

Another pause, and when it was over, the two just simultaneously snorted, sharing another laugh with one another.

"Oh, geez...just look at us!" Gallus sighed.

Silverstream nodded.

"Yeah...pretty silly..."

She smiled once more to him.

"...but the kind of silly I like."

Gallus matched her smile, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah...I think I can like it too."

His smile faltered slightly.

"But...are you really okay with something like this? I mean, I'm not exactly the most prestigious of Griffons."

Silverstream snorted to that, giving him another quick hug before providing him with his answer.

"Oh, Gallus! I don't care about that! I care about you!"

Hearing that, Gallus again smiled.

"Yeah...and I care about you, Silver."

When they slowly parted, they found themselves looking down, seeing that they were holding claws. As they looked back up to each other, Gallus chuckled.

"Well...I didn't expect this to happen today."

Silverstream giggled.

"Same here."

A look of amusement came to the blue Griffon shortly afterwards.

"At least we know we don't have to worry about anyone around these parts hiding behind bushes and stuff while we're together here."

Silverstream too looked tickled by that.

"Nope, so we're starting off better than Sandy and Ocellus at least."

But then, just for a moment, Silverstream's eyes darted upwards, and here, her smile faltered a little.

"Although...windows are a pretty good viewing spot too."

Gallus took no time whatsoever to figure out what she'd meant by that, and at the pace of a snail, he slowly turned his head around. Looking up, the scene he now saw before him was exactly what he'd feared. High above them, staring out of all the windows that encircled the school's courtyard, was every conceivable pair of eyes that could have been looking at them. Their fellow students, their Professors, even their closest friends. The males all looked to this with expressions of "heck yeah", while the females largely seemed dominated by the "dawwww" side of things. Of course, both of the new couple found themselves blushing fiercely to this, Gallus especially so, and as he scoured his and Silverstream's newly-acquired audience, he eventually settled his gaze on the window where all of their close friends were. Now, being the kind of Griffon he was, he naturally frowned at them for having watched this little get-together take place, even though he had no way of knowing just how long they'd been watching. And among their friends, Smolder merely shrugged her shoulders before calling down and saying the obvious.

"Oh, right, like anyone here wasn't gonna want to watch that happen!"

Slowly, Gallus looked back to Silverstream, who, having recovered from her own sense of embarrassment, gave a quick shrug of her own.

"Let's face it, sweetie...she's not wrong."

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