Well, now that all the preparation work had been done, and Sophie had had a chance to blink, she was ready to get to the main part of the activity. The Hippogriff was just standing there waiting for here. She had to admire it for not getting annoyed at all the petting by now. Sophie had been pretty far back in the line, after all.

She smiled for good measure then reached out her hand toward the Hippogriff. When her fingers met the feathers, she smiled even wider. The feathers felt so nice and fluffy. She ran her fingers down them again and again. "Hi, Henry," she said. "I'm Sophie, but I doubt you can really understand what I'm saying to you. I just don't want you to bite me, so I guess talking to you makes me feel like you still know we're friends."

Okay, now she felt like an idiot. Heh. She pet the Hippogriff silently for a little while longer. She should really step to the side now. No hogging up Henry's time. "Bye, Henry," she said, and then she pet him one more time before stepping away.