Studying (with) You

A Visitor on a lazy Day

A sudden knock snatches the griffon-boy out of his very pleasant dream. He slowly opens his eyes to see what time it is but the intense sunlight, that shines through the window, blinds him immediately.
Ow! That hurt! Why is it so bright outside!
Without thinking about it he pulls his blanket over his face to shield himself from the luminous attacker.
I'll just wait a bit and then I ca-
The sound of something hitting his door interrupts his thought and it repeats itself again and again.
"STOP KNOCKING AND COME IN FOR GRIFFON'S SAKE! THE DOOR IS NOT LOCKED!", the griffon's voice echoes through the entire room and the hallway in front of his door.
And, much to his relief, the noise stops and is replaced by the sound of his door opening. He peaks from underneath his blanket to see who enters his room and is very surprised to see Smolder, his dragon friend, standing in the door frame.
"I figured you would still be asleep. Have you seen Sandbar? Silverstream asked me to look for him since we are done with our study-session and she wanted to talk with him about something. I knocked on his door but he never answered", the bright-orange female asks the male, who is still hiding from the light.
"No, why should I know? And what time is it?"
Smolder closes the door and sits down on the chair, facing the griffon, who slowly exposes himself to the sunlight and begins to stretch his limps.
She watches him as he finally gets up and walks to the flower on the window seat, which enjoys the warm sensation the sun gives it.
"Second question first, 4 p.m. And for the first question, she heard that you two were together yesterday and since he offered to help you study I thought he would be here but", she looks around, "no Sandbar to be found, Do you know where he is?"
"He said he would be busy today", Gallus explains as he faces the dragon, "so I guess he is busy today. Maybe he went to town to buy something or maybe he visits a friend. The only thing I know is that he is not here."
He switches his view back to the red flower and takes the empty bottle next to it into his claw.
"I'll be right back", he announces before leaving the room to get some water from the, again, empty restroom. He returns and walks straight up to the little pot to let the clear liquid shower the little plant. Without him noticing it, Smolder gets up from her seat and takes a closer look at the flower, which has little, glittering drops on it's petals.^

"Where did you get that flower? Looks nice", the orange female asks which startles Gallus, who immediately turns to face her.
"Oh... I..."
I can't say that Sandbar gave it to me or... can I? I mean it's not weird for someone to give someone a flower... right? right!
The choice between either telling her the truth or making up a story receives all the attention the griffon can offer, which causes him to just stare at the dragon in silence.
"What? What is it?", the dragon tries to figure out why her friend acts so strange, "Did you buy it? Did someone give it to you?"
"Yes!", the griffon almost shouts but that answer is not as helpful as Smolder hoped it would be.
"So... Yes, I bought it or Yes, someone gave it to me?"
Decide! Decide! You can do it!, Gallus's inner voice spurs him to tell her something and he finally makes up his mind.
"Sandbar gave it to me yesterday when we came back", he clarifies his former answer and resolves the conflict they had.
The dragon's gaze switches between the griffon's face and the little plant before she begins to smile.
"That's nice. Must have been a good day for the both of you", she comments and Gallus nods.
Silverstream was right. Sandbar and Gallus really found a way to work together! I knew he is just like me: Listening to stuff just won't do it. Looks like he will pass the exams without any problems. And the flower is a great motivation. Sandbar should consider a career as a teacher, the dragon applauds the pony's ways to encourage and teach her interlocutor.

"Good to see that you're doing alright. I should get going and tell Silverstream that I couldn't find him. And what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"I will eat something and then I will read some comics. And you?", Gallus asks as he lays back down on his bed and crosses his legs, slightly bobbing the hanging one.
"I will watch the documentary again Ocellus and Silverstream got me. It's really entertaining and I'm actually learning stuff. Did you know that the six Pillars of Old Equestria were brought together by a pony named Stygian?"
Looks like she really enjoys her study-sessions with the others and she learned fast! When we studied we only fought but now we are having a lot of fun... Funny how different we can be, Gallus begins to recall the first and only time he and Sandbar actually studied and the horrible turn it took.
"How are you guys doing?"
Smolder's question disturbs the griffon's memory and forces him to return to reality, unsure how to answer.
Oh we only tried it once and it was horrible so we haven't tried it again. But everything else is great, he thinks of an answer he could never vocalize, especially not now!
Instead he decides to lie to her, not a big lie but a lie nonetheless.
"We're really getting along and having fun!"
"Glad to hear that!", Smolder exclaims with a big smile on her face, "Let's hope it stays that way."
She turns around and, before opening the door, she says goodbye to her friend.
"See you guys later."
Gallus, who waves goodbye, watches as the dragon leaves his room and closes the door as quiet as she can.

He grabs a comic book and starts to read it but he can't forget Smolder's expression when she told him about her study-session.
She was so... happy. Why can they get along just fine but me and Sandbar only fight? Is something wrong with us? But when we're just hanging out it feels like I'm on cloud nine... It's strange: On one claw I'm scared that, even though I'm trying my best to be more like a pony, we will fight again but, on the other claw, I don't want it to end either. I really, really enjoy having Sandbar near me... But I guess there is no way to separate it. He wants to be my tutor and I agreed so I have to make sure that we don't fight never ever again once the time comes when we study again!
He continues his comic but the rumbling of his stomach stops him and gives him the idea to get something to eat.
I could really need some griffon scones and some apple juice...
The griffon leaves his room and makes his way to the first floor but instead of leaving the building right away he decides to pay the room of his stallion friend a visit. Maybe Smolder was just not paying attention and he is actually there. He stops in front of the door and knocks on it. And, just like Smolder said, nopony answers.
He must be somewhere else... No wonder we couldn't meet today, he thinks as he turns around to leave but something catches his attention, Wait... what's that? I can swear that I hear something.
And indeed there is a sound, nearly not audible, and it reminds him of a vacuum but quieter. He puts his ear against the wooden object separating the corridor and the pony's room and the sound grows a bit louder, still very quiet but at least a bit louder.
Is he cleaning his room? That would explain why he can't hear me and why he couldn't hear Smolder. I better leave him alone for now. We'll meet each other tomorrow anyway.
With those thoughts in mind he moves back from the door and makes way to the exit of the dorms, ready to get something to eat.

 Yeah, this chapter is not really important for the story but I wanted to include it anyway. I like Smolder and I wanted her to have a part in my story.
Also: I like the way Gallus is unsure how to react when it comes to Sandbar and the flower ;)