"Hurray!" the children cheered in unison. They ran up to Leonard. A young fawn who had followed the white deer looked over at the group. "Guys, come on!" she called, beckoning them over. Little Blue, George and Pickles raced over as they cried, "We're coming Princess!" Excitement coursing through his veins, Norman was about to join them when Tiberius held his tail and spoke, "Hold on a sec."
"Dad, I have to join my class!" Norman pointed out, turning to face his father. Releasing his hold of the cub's tail, Tiberius rumbled quietly, "I know I know, I just..." Sighing softly, the griffin hugged his son as he mumbled, "Be safe, okay little guy?" Nuzzling his dad, the young cub purred, "I will. I love you Daddy."
"I love you too Norman," Tiberius rasped softly. Letting Norman go, he added, "Have a good day. I'll pick you up after school." Waving one small wing, Norman chirped, "Okay! Bye!" With that, the young cub raced off to join his classmates while Leonard was counting heads. Once he knew how many were in the class, the deer announced, "Alright class, off we go!"
"Yay!" the children cheered, running after the deer as Leonard led the way out of the schoolyard. While most of the other parents left to go about their day, Tiberius stayed behind and watched his son. Norman thankfully was keeping up with the rest of the class despite his small size. He should be okay. Watching as the class disappeared into the forest, he whispered, "Please be safe."
"You're doing pretty good for a first timer your majesty," Nitro piped up as he, Ripper and Reginald walked over to the griffin. Sitting down, Tiberius admitted, "I'm just trying my best. I'm all Norman's got." Patting the mythical creature on the back, Nitro reassured him, "Hey man, no one's judging. Norman is going to be just fine, give him time."
"Yeah. They all need time, and so do we. I remember how upset I was when my oldest went to the Fence on the first day, but I learned to let it go with time," Reginald put out. Ripper grunted in agreement. Tiberius was about to nod his head when a red flag went up. Slowly turning his head towards Reginald, he asked, "Did you say the Fence?"
"Um, yes I did?" Reginald mumbled nervously. Stepping forward, Nitro chimed in, "The classes always go to the Fence on the first day of school." His feathers bristling, Tiberius snapped, "They're going to the Fence?! Are we insane?! How long has this been a thing?!"
"Sir, they've been going there for years now. How long has it been since you went to school?" Nitro questioned. Marching away with his tail angrily lashing about, Tiberius snarled, "Clearly long enough for them to change the school system!" Scoffing, he continued his lecture, "Why don't we just stuff them now and hang them on a wall like a trophy?!" Watching the griffin storm off, Reginald called out, "Calm down your majesty! They're fine!"
"Don't tell me to calm down Stripes!" Tiberius shouted over his shoulder before disappearing into the forest, following the path the class had taken. Reginald looked offended as he stared at his paws. "Perhaps we should have kept our mouths shut," Nitro remarked, biting his lip. Huffing, Ripper grumbled, "Perhaps you should have."
"You can talk?!" Nitro and Reginald exclaimed, whipping their heads around to look at Ripper.
