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Ros, Elio, and Agate were out riding the trod, coming back from hunting down lunch. Elio was happily trying to lick a spot of red off his nose as he walked. Agate was perched on her shoulder with her wings tucked in. Her feline talons were dug into a strap of Ros' armor halfway down her back and tail flicking back and forth contentedly. She was big, as big as a fully grown golden eagle, but still a child in terms of griffons.
A fully grown griffin suddenly comes soaring over the Trod's hedgewalls, it's inky black wings massive and flapping enough to kick up a breeze. It's claws are wickedly sharp and beak long, clattering loudly. It seems about to swoop down and land, nearly on top of the unicorn and its rider--but notices them at the last minute and lets out a loud squawk, flapping back upwards enough to tumble onto the path just beyond them in a clumsy pile of feathers and claws.
"Dammit, Buck!" A voice from the griffin's back calls, and a scare crow pops up into view past the wings, adjusting a battered black cowboy hat on their head, straw hair sticking out messily from underneath it.
Agate meeped, the rather unimpressive squeak of a mundane eagle, leaped forward to land on Elio's head. He reared up in alarm, and Agate held onto his horn for stability as she mantled her wings out defensively, blocking Rosalyn almost completely from view. "Agate!" Ros said it almost like a curse, but by the time Elio'd returned all four hooves to earth she had her bow out and an arrow nocked.
"Ya damn clumsy buzzard, why don' ya watch where you're goin'!" Bailey scowls, looking grumpy and irritable as the griffin rights its self, wings flapping a couple times before folding in along his long body, giving himself a good shake. The griffin lets out a cackling laugh, then exclaims cheerfully, "Buckaroo!"
Bailey throws their arms up in exasperation, then looks over at Rosalyn. "Eeeh... Sorry 'bout that. Ya aight?" Bailey slides down out of the saddle.
Ros took a moment to assess and then relaxed the draw of her bow. "Sorry, you startled me coming down like that," she admitted, eyeing their adult griffin with admiration. "Hi, I'm Rosalyn. This is Elio, and the little one's Agate."
In the midst of a the hullabaloo, a changeling comes wandering down the trod from the direction of the Shackamaxon Hollow. Their dark form is outlined with glass tubes, neon blue light running through them and emitting a cool glow. They're dressed in simple pastels, striking against the deep black of their skin, and they have a tote bag slung over one shoulder.
Of course, given the ruffled feathers (quite literally, in this case) and the noise, they stop a few yards off, waiting for things to calm down before they approach.
"He gets a lil over excited, sometimes. Don' look where he's flappin'." Bailey hooks their hands onto their hips, looking over the unicorn and young griffin with equal admiration. "Damn nice mount ya got there. Looks healthy and wild. And ah... Ah!" Bailey steps closer to smiling at the hedgebeast. "Lookit you! Ain't you just the cutest lil fluffy bug I've ever seen?" They look back to Rosalyn. "I'm Bailey. This is Buck. And this..." A large crow appears, circling the air above, then dips down to perch on Bailey's shoulder--far too large for a normal crow, with eyes that shine like two mini moons. "This is Echo."
Bailey glances over as the new figure comes walking over, giving an upnod and tip of their hat in greeting.
Agate gave Bailey a look like an insulted kid who thinks she's older than she actually is. "I'm not a bug," she protested fiercely. "I'm Agate." She jumped down from Elio and inched a bit closer to check out the strange dark griffon. Ros glanced over to glowing newcomer and shifted slightly to be able to keep everyone in sight, whether of her or Elio who was clearly standing on guard still. "Thank you," she said warmly. "Your little family group is lovely. Pleasure to meet you Buck, Echo."
It's not until Agate starts speaking that the new changeling comes forward, their smile wide and warm. The faint sound of boots crunching on snow accompanies them, though they're in sandals and there's no snow in sight. "Afternoon." Their voice is melodious and calm, and there's a slight electric hum underneath it all. "Taking advantage of the lovely weather?"
The larger griffin finally notices the adolescent approaching, and jumps a bit like a giant startled cat. Then it blinks, head tilting back and forth curiously, before crouching down to crawl closer, it's head low enough to be even with Agate's. Sniff-sniffing.
Bailey just laughs at Agate's reply, then pauses to watch the two greet each other with a grin. Then turns to look back at Rosalyn, nodding. "Thank ya. Yours is too. Nice to meet ya." Then a look over to the glowing Changeling. "And you. Eh--the weather is shit. Too hot. Can't let it slow ya down though."
Agate shifted a bit warily, chirping a soft and polite greeting in griffonic. Hi... you're big. Did you know my parents? Can you speak human? My person can't speak properly, I think her throat isn't shaped right or something.
Rosalyn smiled indulgently at Agate and then chuckled. "Well, it's Summer after all, no help for it."
"It is," They agree with Rosalyn. "I'm Sage, I think I've seen you both around. I've been something of a hermit for the past bit, getting myself settled Ironside before venturing too far into the Hedge here." The hedgebeast chatter gets a somewhat curious look before they turn their attention to the two Changelings.
Buck lets out a soft chatter in reply, beak clacking excitedly, more caw than chirp. Hi! Yes! I am big! You are small. I don't know any others like us. Where are they? You are too small to be far from nest. I speak! And as if to confirm this, he chatters out, "Buckaroo!" His vocabulary might be limited...
Bailey looks to Sage. "Who are you?"
Agate wilted, her ear tufts going back and feathers fluffing out. Even her tail drooped low. Mom and dad died. The nest got attacked. Rosalyn saved me so I nest with her now. She doesn't know how to make a proper nest but I have fluffy blankets. And we hunt. She rubbed up against Buck's beak, turned around a few times, then sat on down next to him.
"I'm still pretty new here," Ros admitted. "I only got out and here last season so I'm sorry for not immediately recognizing you. I'm still learning everyone."
Sage chuckles at Buck's outburst, the buzz of neon getting slightly louder as she does. "I've been in Philadelphia for about a year, now. Chicago, before that, the Freehold there..." they trail off with a small shake of their head. "As I've said, I've been tending to my life Ironside and my connections to the Freehold have suffered a bit. Possibly an inauspicious time, I know there has been a lot of to-do about the Hedge, lately. It seems to have been mended?" They gesture to the greenery around them.
Buck's sleek head doesn't have large ear tufts, but they tilt backwards. Oh. Oh no. Lost egg! The larger griffin circles around the younger, then curls tightly around, nearly sitting on top of the baby like a chicken sitting on eggs, feathers poofing up to be soft rather than crush her. I will take care of you, youngling!
"New here myself," Bailey says. "Just a few months back." They roll a shoulder, hands still on their hips. They glance around at the renewed Trod. "Seems like it."
"It was an entire epic," Rosalyn murmured. "There may be some lingering fall out from it though, so keep your guards up and an eye out for anything odd."
Will you help me take care of my person too? Agate asked innocently. The unicorn helps but I'm not big enough yet.
"I'll do that. I hadn't planned on getting too far away from the Freehold, I don't know the surrounding area nearly well enough yet. And I've been out of town all week, even if I'd had a better idea of what was going on..." Sage spreads their hands as they shrug. "Hopefully I'll find a use for myself if the Freehold needs it. Nothing is ever quite settled, even when it's quiet. Or that's how it's been in my experience. How are the two of you liking Philly, so far?"
Buck twists around until Agate's is just barely peeking out of his poofed up feathers, and starts using his beak to preen and clean the smaller griffin's feathers. My human is dumb too. He lets out a loud laughing ca-caw-caw. Yes, I will protect her.
Bailey looks over to watch the beasts a moment, brows raised, before looking back to the Lost. "It sounded like an epic battle, on many ends. I was on the Trod when it happened. Them roots were nasty fuckers."
"Like it a'ight," they add with a shrug. "I spend most of my time in the Hedge, so ain't really seen much of the city."
Rosalyn winced. "I was part of the fight to rescue some people that got caught within the tree that was the source of the roots. I'm a little glad I didn't have to fight here at the freehold," she admitted. "I'm glad you're ok."
Agate wriggled in pro forma protest at the grooming, trying to return the favor as if she were fully grown, and then settling down and just enjoying the attention and love that only another griffon could slather on her.
"Yikes." Sage frowns in sympathy. "I hope you're able to find time to take a break, after that. If you ever want to venture Ironside, Bailey, the city is pretty lovely. If a little steamy, at the moment. I've been relying on air conditioning more than I ever expected to."
Buck is happy to play surrogate momma, pulling out loose feathers and even picking off a bug or two to swallow down.
"Yeah?" Bailey glances at Rosalyn. "I heard it was a mind trip, but ended beautifully." They wave a hand at Sage. "Ain't got time for breaks. Rather be workin', or wanderin'. More relaxing to me than loungin' around on my ass. Don' like sittin' still." They consider, then shrug. "Sure, maybe sometime. Though I tend to keep my distance from places with too many people."
"It was Wyrd," she agreed. "Dreams always are, of course, so it wasn't too horrible... Sage is correct though, you should come out and see Philadelphia properly." She smiled to Sage and asked, "What's your favorite part about the city?"
Agate chirped happily, leonine tail flicking back and forth to thwap against Buck's side.
Sage nods, and smiles at Baliey. "Well. There are plenty of parks to wander in, and it's pretty easy to avoid the worst of the crowds there, even in the summer. I'd be happy to show you around them. I have a plot in a community garden near my house, it's next to a park and is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon." They chew on their lip thoughtfully, considering Ros's question. "I do like the abundance of green space. Cities can get me down, with all the built landscape, I'm very much enjoying the variety of places where I can get away from that."
Rosalyn lit up. "Have you been to the Monastery Stables? I work there, it's on the southern side of Wissahickon Valley Park so I wind up getting a lot of time at the park there. It's wonderful. Even when I'm not on horseback."
"I haven't, no...I don't know how to ride, it's really not something I've ever focused on." Sage glances at the happy beasties a little bit sheepishly. "I'm a little afraid of animals so large, if I'm honest. I don't know what to do with them, I can't read them the way I can read people."
Elio snorted his opinion, and Ros reached over to pat the unicorn's nose. "That's fair," Rosalyn said. "Learning to ride one of our mounts can be a little different from riding a mundane horse, but when it comes down to it, it's more about training yourself than the creature. If you want to learn, I'm happy to teach."
"I suppose exposure therapy would be a way to go about things, wouldn't it be?" Sage grins. "I might just take you up on it. They don't have dander the way that dogs and cats do, right? I'm very allergic, always have been..."
"Been to a few parks. I like Fairmount the best," Bailey says. They perk a bit, glancing to Rosalyn. "Stables? Don't think I've been there before... Real good with animals. Wouldn't mind seein' that."
They perk a stitched brow at Sage. "Ain' nothin' to be afraid of. They're big teddy bears. Rosalyn is right, though. It's usually more teachin' people than teachin' animals." A beat pause as they admit to being allergic. "Ah."
"Well... it depends on what you're actually allergic too. Some people do have reactions to horses." Elio nosed her back. "No, you're not a horse but I don't know if someone who's allergic to horse would be allergic to you too. How would I know that? We haven't tested it."
"I wouldn't mind learning, especially if the interactions helps me deal with the terror that I'm going to get trampled. I've never really looked into why I'm allergic, and honestly..." they trail off, looking thoughtful once more. "I don't know that I've really tested it, since I've been back. Perhaps I'm not anymore, I really don't know."
"Might be worth testing, so long as you're not... gonna die, or somethin'."
"And perhaps one of the Springs can do something to help you with it. What's the point of magic if we can't use it to spend more time with animals?"
"I don't think I'll die, it's nothing so dramatic. I might possibly break out in hives. It's worth looking into, definitely. I had to satisfy myself with fish and lizards, when I was young..."
Bailey smirks at Rosalyn. "Not a bad idea. There you go--Spring to the rescue."
"And you could always find a flying fish or giant lizard to ride too."
Sage actually laughs at that, that same buzzing electric-y sound, and nods. "I could, that would solve a whole host of problems, wouldn't it? Especially if I find that fur still kicks up my allergies. Though, I wonder what I might get in exchange for my allergies at a Goblin Market..."
Bailey considers that for a moment. "Hmm... Reckon they could bottle it and use it as a curse against their enemies."
"I've never been to a goblin market," Rosalyn admitted a bit dubiously. "You can really sell stuff... like that?"
"You can sell anything you want. Memories. I could probably sell some of this..." Sage gestures to the neon lights running down their arm, "if I could figure out how to get it out of me. It's very much an Experience, even if you don't buy or sell."
"Hobs are pretty fascinatin' creatures. I like a good goblin market. Excited to check out the one here."
"I think I would like to go too," Rosalyn said slowly. "It would be interesting if nothing else. I have no idea what I would want to get though. Not your allergies," she said with a laugh.
"You'd really only want my allergies to curse someone else with, definitely," Sage agrees, laughing. "I haven't been to the one here, either, maybe we could all make a trip of it soon?"
"Would be good." Bailey nods, then looks back to the griffins. "...I think Buck had adopted her."
"He knows he can't keep her, right?" Rosalyn asked a bit dubiously. "I've grown rather attached to her. She could probably use an 'uncle' as a regular part of her life though. It'd be good for her."
Sage looks over to the griffins with a smile, then back in the direction she'd come from. "They're really adorable. I should head back to the Freehold, I have an appointment this evening that I really can't miss. It was lovely to meet you both, I'd take either of your numbers if you're serious about either the teaching or the Goblin Markets?"
Agate had passed out completely under Buck's ministrations, the exertion of hunting for lunch, and having a full belly on top of it all. She was snoring softly, tail flicking back and forth.
"Ehhhh...." Bailey eyes the crow griffin that is still roosting Agate like a freshly hatched chick. "I'll make sure he doesn't try to take her away..." Though they don't look very confident in the griffin's willingness to give the hedgebeast up either.
"Don't have a phone," Bailey says to Sage. "But I'm often around these parts."
Rosalyn took out her card, an old fashioned hand calligraphed one that read 'R. Solfrig' and had her telephone number. "I am quite sincere in the offer, please don't hesitate to call at all."
"Where did you find him anyways?" She asked curiously.
Sage looks at the front and back of the card before slipping it in her tote bag. "Thanks. I'll try to track you down then, Bailey. You can leave a notice in the Hollow, if it's anything urgent, too." One last nod, and they turn back toward the Freehold Hollow, footsteps crunching slightly as they walk away.
Bailey gives Sage a wave, then looks to Rosalyn. "I found him right after I escaped, when I was still trying to find my way out of the Hedge the first time. He tried to eat me, but I wounded him... Ah... then felt bad and nursed him back to health. Been an oversized feathered kitten, ever sense."
Ros chuckled. "Sounds about right... Alright featherheads, this is no place to sleep. Come on Agate, we're in the middle of the Trod sweetie."
"We should be gettin' on as well," Bailey says. "Nice meetin' ya, though." They smile, then whistle at the griffin. "Come on, Buck, we gotta go. You gotta leave her."
The griffin of course lets out a clattering squawking protest, picking up Agate by the scruff of her neck with his beak.
"No, Buck. Down." They give him a firm look, and after a moment he slowly sets the young one down, looking sulky.
Agate yawned, and then flapped her wings vigorously at being picked up. "I'm not a chick," she complained at Buck. "You can come visit us though, if you want."
"Visit," the crow-griff echoes with a caw. He nudges her with his beak affectionately, then steps over to Bailey, who swings up onto the saddle.
"See you around?" They smile to Rosalyn.
Ros remounted Elio and held a gloved arm for Agate to leap up onto, then settled back on her shoulder. She grinned. "Absolutely. Stay safe out here."
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