Every weekend on Mt. Aris, the hippogriffs gathered around and set up tents for their weekly market sale, trading all kinds of goods that would never be sold on a weekday. These markets were a big deal after all, a staple of the Great To Be A Hippogriff Festival…which happened every weekend. Why was it a big deal again? Saltwater Taffy had no idea.

It was so boring. Her mom dragged her out to these festivals every weekend, even though it was always the same stupid screeching contests and never anything new. At least it was better than spending the weekend at Nana’s and having to go to her cousin’s boring sermons.

So the young hippogriff chick decided to just put up with it, standing around and twiddling her feathers as she waited for her mom to finish talking to another old friend.

If Taffy was going to one day take over as Queen of Seaquestria, she would have to have a thorough understanding of their culture! That included screeching contests, trashy junk, and…standing around. Skystar wasn’t paying too much attention anyways, her and this fellow hippogriff were prattling on about something or another.

“It’s been so long! What have you been up to?”

“The usual drag! Things have been rough lately what with the…well you know.”

“I see, I see, how’s the little one doing? She’s the same age as little Taffy here.”

Skystar pushed her daughter front and center.

“I bet they go to school together!”

“I think they do! She’s with her—ngh—father at the moment.”

“Oh dear! Well, it was nice talking!”

Skystar beamed as she walked away, her gaze turning back down to her daughter.

Normally, Taffy would be begging her mom to go and do something else to relieve her of her boredom, but something about that conversation piqued her interest.

“What does she mean ‘well you know’? Who is her daughter? Did you say we go to school together? What’s going on, Mommy?”

Skystar could barely get her mouth open before her daughter barraged her with a bouquet of questions, her eyes widening with shock as every time she went to answer one another one was asked. Eventually she put her claw to her beak and let out a loud-

Shhhhhh

Leaning in close, Skystar took a deep breath and her beak formed into a smile. She used her claw as a barrier between them and the outside world. Her eyes looked around the fairgrounds to check if anyone was eavesdropping before going on.

“I hear she’s divorcing her husband, she sure looks like she’s going through it. At least in my opinion! Her daughter is Opaque Opal, you know her!”

Skystar took a few moments to allow the information to sink in.

Taffy’s eyes suddenly lit up with recognition.

“Yeah, I know her! She’s really quiet. And she cries a lot. Maybe it’s because of her mommy and daddy.”

Even with this new knowledge, there seemed to be a hunger for more.

“So why are they divorcing?”

At this, Skystar sort of grimaced, something in her heart aching for that poor chick. Maybe prying into these creatures’ lives, falling apart at the seams, was…wrong?

“Dear, I-”

She pulled her daughter close to her and began rushing off with her in tow, the first time they had ever left the fair before the necklace trading booth opened!

Taffy was being a little too loud and it was sort of embarrassing.

“We’re not going to discuss it any further. It’s none of our business!”

Taffy was about to protest before her mother whisked her away, ignoring her begging for an explanation. What was so wrong with asking questions? Why wasn’t she allowed to know things about other creatures? It wasn’t like she would do anything bad with that information. Right?