Kourt felt slightly lightheaded as she took in a deep breath. First part down…now to tempt it with a little food. Her arm lifted, the dead ferret swinging slowly from her hand. The hippogriff’s eyes moved from hers to rest upon the ferret. It made a low sound and took a few steps forward.

That…was good.

She stretched her arm out a bit, and the hippogriff’s orange eyes zeroed in on the movement. Not too fast, Kourt. She cautioned herself, warily looking at the steel colored beak. It looked capable of snapping things with little to no problem.

She waited. If the hippogriff truly was hungry….it would eventually come forward, but she was making no move towards it. That would show disrespect and she didn’t want to insult the creature.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the hippogriff stepped even closer, stopping a few feet in front of her. She took that as a sign that she was able to approach now.

The Gryffindor bravely closed the gap between them and held out the ferret. The hippogriff lowered its head and its beak clamped around the dead animal, pulling it free from her grasp.

Oh! She glanced down, checking her hand. Her fingers were all there. That was an accomplishment in itself.