>"Wake up Dweeb!" Your mother's shrill voice jerks you from your slumber.
>When you aren't out of your bed within thirty seconds your mother comes bursting through the door.
>"I said get up!" Her voice is this loud and the sun hasn't even made its way over the horizon yet.
>"I heard you the first time." you grumble. Your back-talk earns you a twap to the back of the head.
>"Ow..." You gingerly rub where she hit.
>You're going out on a hunt today and you better come back with something more than salmon."
>"Fine, fine, just let me wake up first."
>"You've got five minutes before I'm coming back in here and kicking you out myself."
>With that she storms out of your room and slams the door behind her.
>"Fuck." You rub the sleep from your eyes and get out of bed.
>Today's Sunday, which means its the end of the week.
>That also means that you need to hunt for this weeks stock.
>Typically you'd just go to the market and pick up some meat.
>But ever since your father left your mom for the meat vendor she's forbid you from going to them.
>Though that never stopped your dad from trying to be there for you.
>At least he wasn't a dead beat, he just couldn't stand mom.
>And for good reason, she was a total cunt.
>Day in and day out it was a lot of cursing, berating, and her blaming you for her problems.
>But you're a trooper, you knew she'd be screwed without you.
>So, being the good son that you were, you took her abuse and did what you could to help out.
>Even if she didn't deserve a single bit of the good things you did for her.
>Right now for instance, today you're going to go for big game.
>Today is the day you bring home a Manticore for Mom.
 
>Within five minutes you're up, alert, and ready to get going.
>Unfortunately as soon as you're out the door Gilda slams it and locks it behind you.
>"Don't bother coming home if you have nothing but fish again."
>"Love you too mom." You sigh before stretching out your wings.
>With a mighty flap you're airborne...
>As you soar through the cloudless sky you look to the landscape below.
>The way the sun seems to bathe the land in its gentle glow seems to bring it to life.
>A majestic site that you and you alone get to witness.
>It almost makes getting forced to wake up worth it.
>While the cool air and wonderful scenery below are enjoyable, you're a Gryphon on a mission.
>You can't afford to laze about today, especially since you're going into dangerous territory.
>The Everfree Forest is no joke, and if you treated it lightly you'll wind up dead.
>But you know you can go through it alone just fine, you'll just need to be quick is all.
>And you definitely can't get any Timber Wolves, that'd be a horrible idea.
>Unless you want your Mom to eat wood for dinner.
>And there's no way you'd do that to her, you're a good son.
>You stop mid flight when the telltale signs of the Everfree come into view below.
>Even from this altitude the forest seems cruel and uninviting
>As you hover in the air you gulp, unsure as to whether or not this is a wise idea.
>But those doubt soon disappear as the thought of being left homeless pervades your mind.
>You take a deep lungful of air before diving straight down to the canopy below.
>You're going on foot for this one, the tree tops are much too thick for you to strike your target from the sky.
>You just hope you can take down one of those beasts before it can do the same to you.
 
>You spend the better part of the day roaming through the thicket of the forest with zero luck.
>Though at least you aren't empty handed, you managed to get quite a lot of... fish.
>Salmon, bass, trout, and even tuna. You're hoping the smell might get your real prey to come out.
>Unfortunately it's done nothing of the sort, you're thinking of giving up when the sun is starting to set.
>It looks as though your gamble didn't play out in your favor.
>That means you might as well not even bother going home.
>You know exactly what will happen too. She'll definitely let you in if she sees the food.
>In reality she doesn't really care what you bring home just as long as she's fed.
>But you know that she'll never let you hear the end of it. In fact she'll probably bring her friend too.
>Rainbow Dash and Gilda seemed to love teaming up on you when it came to you not being up to standard.
>In fact, just thinking about it now causes to get pretty angry. Angry enough that it distracts you.
>So much so that you can't even hear the sound of something growling from within the nearby bushes.
 
>You're flying back to your home now, with a large manticore draping off of your back.
>It's a bit awkward, but you're still able to flap your wings and stay airborne.
>Your fish stay in your grasp, this week you and your mom will be eating like royalty.
>You don't know much about Manticore meat, but the bits you pecked out of it were delicious.
>Though it kind of did the same to you, a few times actually.
>You didn't need that eye anyway, or those feathers...
>Yeah the wind kind of makes your wounds sting, but at least you didn't get stung by the manticore.
>If you did you might as well have dug your own grave. Momma is gonna be so proud of you.
>You smile despite the burning sensation on your face. Your home is in sight.
>The landing is anything but graceful, you end up in a pile with your food lying on top of you.
>You scramble to your feet and brush off the dust collected. You wanna look your best for Mom.
>Oh wait you're still bleeding... oh well you can take a shower or something.
>You're gonna need some bandages too, and a whole lot of morphine.
>You sigh before knocking on your door to let Gilda know you're home.
>"Anon is that you? You better have brought something good you little punk!"
>When she opens the door she opens her mouth to continue her little rank, but stops when she sees you... well rather the condition your in.
>"What the hell happened to you?" You point a thumb towards the pile of meat.
>"Got dinner." Her eyes widen as she glances over the manticore and fish.
>Then she looks back over you, within a flash she brings a claw across your face.
>It stings more than it should have, but you take it like you always have.
>"Are you retarded?! Look at the size of that thing, you could have been killed!"
>Your eye widens in shock when she grabs hold of your arm.
 
>"Get in here right now, I'm cleaning you up."
>"W-wha... but?"
>She forcefully drags you into the bathroom for what she calls cleaning you up.
>All in all she spends and hour cleaning and disinfecting your wounds.
>Everything burns something fierce and every time you wince or move she insults you.
>Calling you an idiot for going after something so big.
>After an untold amount of time your face is bandaged along with everything else that needed it.
>When the stinging finally subsides the two of you are out in your living room, your kills lie on the table.
>Your mom sits next to you, her glare almost piercing.
>"Tell me why you did something so damn stupid."
>You sigh to yourself before turning your eyes towards your food.
>"I just... well you tell me about how i'm useless, a punk, and all these other things... I believed everything you said... I just wanted to do something that'd make you proud of me."
>You chuckle to yourself before shaking your head.
>"And it looks like I messed that up."
>You gasp when your mother's arm wrap around you and pull you over.
>"Is that all you wanted? To be praised like some sort of faggot? Here then."
>She embraces you tightly... and for once, you don't feel anger towards your mother.
>Her soft plumage, her warmth, her heat beat... you sit there silently as her hug tightens.
>"I AM proud of you. I just give you shit so you won't grow up to be a pussy."
>"But all those things..." She shakes her head and hugs tighter.
>"I'm a bitch, I get it. But that doesn't mean I don't love ya kid..."
>"M... mom?" This has to be a dream, there's no way this could be happening right now.
>"I just can't believe you went so far... I didn't think what I said meant that much to you."
>"Of course it did... I'm your son..."
 
>She's silent for a while, you fell content with her holding you as is.
>You nuzzle into her plumage and when the strikes didn't come your smile only widened.
>Your mom really does love you, she just has a poor way of showing it.
>And to think all this time you were just mad at her, right now you can't think of a reason why.
>Tough love is still love.
>"I'm sorry... I really am."
>"Huh?"
>"I didn't want you to wind up like this just cause I blow hot air."
>Her claws gently caress your new wound upon your face.
>"There's... there's so many things you can't do now because of me..."
>"Mom don't worry about it."
>"How can you tell me not to worry?!"
>"Because I chose to do it. I knew the consequences, I made a stupid mistake but I got us good food."
>She eyes your catch, her hunger certainly showing by the growling of her stomach.
>"Yes... yes you did... Did I mention that I'm gonna brag about you to the other moms?"
>"Really?" Well isn't this a pleasant surprise?
>"Yeah. Most of their kids only bring home fish, MY son brought home a manticore."
>What is this feeling welling within your chest, could this possibly be pride?
>"Mom, you serious?"
>"Hell yeah I'm serious... and my buddy Dash is coming over tonight."
>Oh the braggart is coming to dinner, why are you not surprised?
>"What do you say about having a huge dinner... and some hard cider?"
>You jaw drops, your mother just offered you alcohol.
>Tonight is definitely going to be a fun night.
>"Are you serious?"
>"Dead serious. If you're old enough to bag a manticore, you're old enough to drink."
>Best.Mom.Ever.