k_a_webb | September Surprise Story Week: Sebastian continued: Random: 543 words (Reply)

See the beginning of this story here (LJ link).
See the second part of this story here (LJ link).
See the third part of this story here (LJ link).

“What's so special about me?” Sebastian asked.

'You are the one.' He could hear the shrug in Ida's voice. 'I don't have the words to explain how I know, but there is no doubt in my mind that you're a true breeder.'

Sebastian shook his head. “It was sheer luck that I found you.”

'Why does that make it hard for you to believe that I'm telling you? Do you think the other humans who own a breeding pair were any less lucky?'

“I hadn't thought of it that way but...” He sighed. “I'm still at college, Ida. Right now I don't feel mature enough to take on the responsibility of looking after you, let alone becoming a breeder.”

'We need you, Sebastian.' Ida winced as Sebastian's dad did something to her wing. 'Griffins should not be breed for profit. That is not why we are here.'

“What can I do? I don't have the money to buy any griffin from a breeder, I have no experience in looking after griffins, and I have nowhere to keep you.”

'Everything will work out. It will just take some time for us to work things out.'

Sebastian shook his head. “I don't know.”

“If Ida truly believes that you are meant to be a breeder then maybe you should give it a go,” Sebastian's dad said.

“Dad...”

“Do you remember your granddad's farm?”

“I didn't know that either one owned a farm.”

“My dad had a farm not far from here. I have no use for it, but it might be just right for somewhere to keep griffins. Instead of buying griffins you could offer to take those who, like Ida, were injured during the birth process. Maybe it would stop breeders from putting them into boxes and dumping them.”

'The griffins would come to you,' Ida said, sounding happier. 'I have already told all the griffins close enough that I found you, and they're ready to come to you when you have somewhere set up.'

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “I'm not sure that's going to work, Ida. Other people own the griffins and I would end up being charged with theft.”

'Griffins cannot be owned by the wrong people.'

“Okay, people paid money in order to...” He stopped, trying to find the right words to explain a human concept to a griffin. “Here there are rules about ownership and basically if you've paid for something then you own it. Someone taking that item away would be arrested.”

'How do we work around this?'

“I don't know that there is any way to work around it for those griffins who were bought.”

'Those who were found might be seen differently?'

“It's possible, Ida. I don't know for certain, so we're going to have to think about this.” Sebastian looked at his dad. “Have you got any idea about how the first griffins might be seen legally? Are they property or something else?”

“It's something I don't think that anyone's thought about before. The breeders who found those first twelve pairs would probably fight anyone who tried to take them away, but I doubt the possibilty of something like that has even crossed their minds.”

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