Peacekeepers

Chapter 17: Planning

"So Sebastian finally popped the question." Dan grinned as he sat with Poppy while she fed baby hippogryphs.

"Yeah, I'm so excited I get to be a maid of honor, I've never been one before" She smiled happily, holding out another nugget of food, waving it to get the baby's attention so it would eat it, taking her fingers away deftly before the little beak could chomp on her hand.

He watched her quietly for a moment with a soft smile while she cooed happily at the baby how handsome it was as it chewed. He looked back down to his book again with a little smile, reading leisurely as she took care of her flock.

He looked up as one of the other baby hippogryphs approached him, chuckling softly when it started sniff snuffing at his hair curiously. "These little ones sure are bold aren't they?" He chuckled, reaching out to gently run his hand through the feathers at its neck.

"They haven't learned to be afraid of people yet." Poppy smiled softly, feeding another nugget to the one in front of her. "Though I wish they didn't have to be." She sighed softly.

Dan looked over to her in surprise. "Don't tell me that these guys have poachers after them too?" He looked at the little gray hippogryph who was currently trying to preen his hair.

"Yes, unfortunately. Their feathers are used in potion making and fashion... so poachers hunt them for their feathers." Poppy said in a dark tone.

"But they molt every year!" He scoffed. "Why hunt them? That doesn't make any damn sense."

Poppy turned a little smile of approval over to him but shook her head. "I'm not sure either. Killing them only gives a temporary supply, too. It doesn't make much sense other than immediate gratification."

"I think I see why you and Diane hunted poachers like you did. It seems like they do things just for the cruelty of it." Dan grumbled unhappily.

Poppy chuckled at that, feeding the baby one last nugget before it ran off to go play with the other baby hippogryphs, rearing and clawing at each other as they play fought.

She walked over to Dan and sat beside him, looking down at the book he was reading. It was a book about basic charm spells, something he'd likely gotten from the shop he worked at. "Brushing up on spells, are we?" She chuckled.

"Well you guys are always shouting them, after this last fight I thought I should learn what some of them mean so I can prepare for them better. That bombarda was pretty close." He shook his head in dismay.

"Bombarda is one of the more powerful ones, but you can make it even stronger by adding maxima." Poppy said softly. She remembered how scared she'd been seeing him dive behind that wall to avoid the flames "I'm glad you're alright, though." She said softly, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're alright too." He said softly, hooking an arm around her waist to pull her closer beside him as he set his book down for a moment.

He smiled down to her and leaned down to kiss her hair gently, stroking his hand up and down her back in a way that he knew soothed her. What creatures haven't I seen yet?" He asked softly.

"Well... you've seen unicorns and puffskeins, kneazles and hippogryphs... you haven't seen nifflers yet." She looked up with a smile. "But you can't bring any muggle money with you."

"That's oddly specific." He said curiously.

"Nifflers love to steal valuables." She chuckled. "Or anything shiny."

He grinned and laughed as well. "I'll be sure to leave my watch at home too, then." He leaned down and kiss at her temples, making her gasp softly from the touch. "When did we want to see them?" He asked in a huskier tone.