Here’s a drawing of Grandpa Gruff and a few of the cubs from the first pack he looked after. He’d never admit it, but as he’d grown a soft spot for each of them, watching such tiny Griffon cubs gamboling around him and getting excited over their little games was quite adorable and was enough to make even a tough Griffon like Gruff crack a smile. They were all together back then and those were very happy times. Happier actually…

The background choice for this picture is not randomly selected. It’s basically a blurred picture of a couple of hydrangea flowers with some details. The hydrangea represents devotion, understanding, and true friendship. This beautiful meaning is exactly the reason why they’re such a favourite choice of flowers for funerals around the world as they’re also the flowers of sympathy. So, it’s a subtle hint that symbolises Gruff’s bond with his first protégé pack but also foreshadows Arimaspi’s attack years later that costs the life of a few of them. While telling the story, I like to represent Gruff’s emotions through flowers and the colours used. The latter is an idea I got from Mitch-el. Gruff’s escapes feel like a relief in the colours; the further away he gets from harm’s way or the calmer/ happier he is, the lighter and more colourful it gets. Pink hydrangeas symbolise heartfelt emotion while blue hydrangeas symbolise frigidity and apology; this is to symbolise Gruff’s affection for his cubs and his behaviour after “the accident”, as he grows cold, bitter, and grumpy, and constantly blames himself for the tragedy like the majority of Griffinstone does. Hope you like it! ^^

Left to right, top to bottom: Graciela (Gavin’s mother), Georg (Greedy/Gimme Moore’s father), Greg and Gerson (Gabby’s adoptive uncles), Grandpa Gruff, Gabriel and Gisella (Gallus’ parents) — the eggs may or may not be some of the other cubs, I just noticed that they’re the same number of the Griffons that I didn’t include. Such a very happy accident! XD