A Pet's Dedication

Saoirse took in a deep breath of fresh air, smiling in contentment as she basked in the glorious rays of solitude. It was the weekend, so there were no classes, and it was a Hogsmeade weekend to boot, so the grounds were fairly sparse of other students. The weather was a bit chilly, however being used to the cold mists from the moor, Saoirse felt completely comfortable.

A sudden chirrup broke Saoirse from her daydream, and she looked to the sky with a puzzled frown on her face. There was something very familiar about that bird-like sound. Comprehension dawned on Saoirse's face as a form burst from the clouds and began to take shape as it neared the ground. To Saoirse's horror, Hawk the hippogriff was standing in front of her, tossing his head happily. He seemed glad to have found his absent friend.

"Hawk!" Saoirse exclaimed, rushing up to stroke the hippogriff, "What are you doing here?! You could get me into trouble!"

The Hippogriff chirruped happily, nuzzling his beak against her arm. Saoirse glanced around quickly, looking to see whether anyone had seen the hippogriff land. The creature was much too large now to be easily hidden, and while the grounds were less crowded than usual, there were definitely too many students for Hawk to remain un-noticed for long. Saoirse prayed only for the chance that a professor would not take interest.

Spoiler:

Lana Di Angelo's days usually ranged between "Ok" and "Awesome." Along this sliding scale, Lana had determined that today would be a "Great" day. The Hufflepuff, far more adventurous than her house indicated, chose to spend this "Great" day out on the grounds, before it was too late and winter's white beauty threatened to blanket over the green. Even though the air was cold and her breath formed little cloudlets, the Seventh Year was glad she wasn't visiting Hogsmeade for the day. She had her fill of quaint magical villages in the past- now she was going to enjoy her awesome school, the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

There was a certain value to solitude. Lana hated it from a personal standpoint, but she could see that some could value it. But Lana loved to talk, almost as much as she liked to listen. She loved learning more about about people, more about wizards and all the fun they had by simply living. For example- some wizards had awesome and unusual pets. Things like Toads, or minx'. Or is it minxes? One of those many peculiarities about living.

Or say... a giant, hawk-headed winged stallion? Like the one that Lana saw land beside one very young girl, treating her almost affectionately. Lana smiled a bit, approaching a bit cautiously, for fear of angering the creature. She liked to think of Griffins as cats- very keen, very proud and very, very, territorial.

A girl approaching herself and Hawk caught Saoirse's eye as she was scanning the area for anyone who may have noticed her hippogriff's abrupt arrival. Hawk appeared to be tensing up a bit as she moved closer, and she could sense the strain in the animal's neck as he readied himself to strike if needed.

"Careful, please," Saoirse said as she moved to stand in front of Hawk (more for the girl's protection than Hawk's), "I'm the only human he has had interaction with. I'm not sure how he'll react to strangers."

Having raised Hawk from a hatchling, she had no idea that there was a prescribed way about approaching a hippogriff. She had always felt that Hawk viewed her as his mother, therefor the presumptive bow had never been necessary for her to approach the creature.