Lily raised an eyebrow, pretending to think. "I'm not sure…" She ran a hand through her hair, nose scrunching for a moment. She didn't like being looked at like this, but a promise was a promise. "Oh, you know, I did." She nodded, looking every bit like she was telling the truth, no hint of a lie anywhere. "I ran into him near the throne room. He said he had forgotten something. If you're looking for him, I recommend checking near there."
They gave her tight smiles in thanks, then strutted down the hall to the throne room.
Rhydar had been listening all the while, and, despite himself, he smiled to himself. "Atta girl," he whispered, then headed for the stables. Besides thieving, he loved horseback riding. It was thrilling, feeling the muscles of the beast work beneath him as it sped over the land like a thundering breeze.
Lily waited until the women were gone, to smother quiet laughter with her fist. That had been too easy. Shaking her head, she continued off on her wandering, this time in a definitely better headspace than before. And oddly enough, her thoughts occasionally turned to the Prince, no assassination tied to them.
((Skip?))
((Yeah. At the stables when he comes back late? Maybe sundownish?))
((Before the ball thing?))
((Yeah. The ball will be until midnight, one o'clock))
((I can't time, but I'm taking your word for it lmao))
Lily slipped quietly into the stables, after saying goodbye to the guard she'd been somehow roped into a conversation with while she walked. She had to admit, this whole endeavor had required more socializing than most things in her life, unless one could count…other things as socializing. She didn't though, and refused to. The guard had been nice, offering to show her around when he was off immediate duty.
Sighing, she looked around, a small smile flickering onto her face at the sight of the large animals around her. While she'd always loved animals, horses had a particular place in her heart, reminding her of simpler and happier times. Stepping up to one of the stall doors, she spoke in a quiet, soothing voice to the obviously finicky stallion residing in the stall. Soon enough, her smile had grown as she was allowed to scratch behind his ears.
((Midnight for them))
((Sorry, I'm not home at the moment. I'll respond when I am so I'm not typing on my phone))
((Alright!))
"He seems to like you," Rhydar said as he led his own stallion into the stable, a light sheen of sweat covering both of them. However, Rhydar had a goofy grin on his face, and his eyes were bright with exhilaration. He had ran alongside Kaspa—a handsome and muscular buckskin stallion with a long and silky mane and tail the color of the midnight sky—in one of the meadows. He's also gone to his favorite pond for some chill time in the forest. It was a nice break before the ball.
Seeing Lily in the stables wasn't expected, but not unwelcome, either. He actually liked being around the surprisingly chill woman, as opposed to the others that just annoyed or bored him to death. He was also surprised to see her somewhat calm and happy in the stables. Again, a glaring difference from the other ladies his mother had picked out.
Lily jumped slightly, obviously startled by Rhydar's seemingly sudden appearance. She blinked, looking from the stallion to the Prince, but staying mostly relaxed. "You think?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. "Also, have fun on your escape ride?" She took in his appearance, her smile brightening just slightly.
He patted his stallion's neck affectionately. The beast snorted and came up to Lily, sniffing her curiously. Rhydar let him, knowing that Kaspa was friendly—a puppy, actually, in a horse's body. "This guy and I had quite a bit of fun, yeah." The corner of his lip curled up in a lopsided smile as he looked back at Lily. "And good ol' Danzing doesn't care too much for people. He has yet to be claimed by someone."
"He's so sweet though." Lily said, brows furrowing as she ruffled the stallion's mane and held out her other hand to Kaspa. "Both of them are." She sounded confused and slightly offended on Danzing's behalf, looking to Rhydar.
"I raised Kaspa," he said as he unsaddled and unbridled his stallion while the beast sniffed and nudged Lily without a care in the world. "Danzing used to have an owner, but he was killed during the most recent war. The poor guy's been left alone and has been slightly aloof ever since. He almost bit me the one time I tried feeding him some sugar cubes."
"Oh." She didn't seem to have a problem with Kaspa's nudging, even huffing a laugh as she moved her hand to scratch behind his ears. "Poor thing." She said, shaking her head as she happily gave both stallions attention. Danzing snorted, seemingly in response to the conversation.
He carried the tack to a spot next to an empty stall, the door labeled "Kaspa" in loopy handwriting. Once the tack was discarded, he dusted off his hands and spoke again. "I feel bad for him as well and would totally care for him, but he doesn't like me." He shrugged and leaned against a wooden pole attached to the nearby stall.
She attempted to blow her hair from her face, giving up fairly quickly. "When I was younger, my family had a work horse. He was the nastiest creature ever, according to my mother. I never had a problem with him. Do you keep sugar cubes here?"
He nodded and turned around somewhat to grab something behind him. "Right here," he said before tossing something at Lily. He cocked his head to the side as he thought about her words. She seems to have a way with horses. Wonder if she'll be able to melt that horse's frozen heart.
She caught the container easily, feeding one of the cubes to Kaspa with a smile, before placing another on her palm for Danzing. The stallion in question seemed visibly hesitant to accept it, but her soft, quiet murmuring in an almost musical sounding language seemed to convince him it was fine.
Rhydar watched her curiously. Shit, that language… He quickly looked away, busying himself with grabbing a brush and grooming Kaspa quietly. The stallion didn't seem to care as he munched on the cube that Lily had given him and nudged her for more.
Lily's lips quirked up into a small smile, as she offered Kaspa another cube before returning most of her attention to Danzing. The stallion seemed much more relaxed, even to the point of nudging her slightly for another. Her smile grew, lighting up her face as she willingly fed him another.
He watched her with a small, idle smile as he brushed Kaspa. Yup, the grumpy stallion definitely seemed to be warming up to the curious woman before him. Rhydar watched as her face lit up when the stubborn beast asked for more sugar cubes.
Everyone gives up when you don't warm up quickly, huh? I get that. She shook her head, continuing to murmur and apparently unaware of the audience she had. There was no magic in use here, simply time and patience, the latter of which Lily had plenty of, paired with gentle and kind movements.
His smile grew slightly as he watched and listened to her, then turned his attention to Kaspa. He swept the brush over the stallion's hide, quietly listening to Lily as she soothed the other stallion. Kaspa bobbed his head up and down impatiently, stomping a hoof against the ground. If he wasn't running around, he was fidgety. He was calmer when he was running free and moving—kinda like Rhydar.