She blinked, and then she was laughing, tossing her head back as the sound bubbled up musically. "How-how did I not figure that?" She questioned, half rhetorically, the words punctuated by her laughter. Of course that was how he had gotten the photo. Pickpocketing basics, even if she was surprised she hadn't noticed it.
"You were too busy ogling me," he teased with a wink, grinning at the sound of her laugh. It was like music—and he knew that he had compared it to such before, but it was so accurate that he couldn't think of anything else. "But most people don't expect some random twig to pickpocket them from right under their noses."
"I was not ogling you." She said, scrunching up her nose once she'd managed to quiet her laughter some. Her face was flushed from laughing, and she'd claimed the same half grin from earlier. "I had almost fallen, and was a bit preoccupied." She shook her head, huffing another laugh.
"Mmmmmmhmm," he hummed with a smirk. "I'm sure you weren't." He laughed softly, shaking his head. "I'm kidding, I know you had your nose in that book. You're just like Cin in that manner." He looked around the pond, running his fingers through his still slightly damp hair.
"When you spend two months searching for a book, of course you're going to want to read it." She said, nudging his shoulder lightly with her own before pausing. Not that was something she hadn't done in a while, either. "You enjoy that swim of yours?"
He chuckled at her first comment and nudge. "It was refreshing," he said, looking back at her. "But I think the best part about today wasn't the swim," he continued with a soft smile.
She bit her lip, reaching up to fiddle with a loose tendril of hair that had fallen. "Oh?" She arched an eyebrow slightly, looking up at him.
His eyes flicked down to her lips when she bit it, then back up to her eyes. It lasted only a second, but it wasn't quick enough to be totally undetectable. "Yeah," he said softly, "I got to see you with most of your walls down, and I'd say that's something better than any swim or really anything that I could do."
She switched from fiddling with her hair to rubbing the back of her neck, fingers running over the brand on her skin. She'd managed to catch where his gaze had flickered to, evidenced by the light blush on her cheeks. "I… don't see how that's true, but if you say so.."
"I say so," he insisted, then looked around again. "We should start to head back," he murmured, reaching over to grab his shirt. He knew his mother would chew him out for being so late to breakfast, but he didn't really care at the moment. He could just blame it on Kaspa being a stubborn ass.
"Probably a good idea." She agreed, unfolding her legs and standing. She rolled her shoulders as she closed her eyes, turning her face up to catch a bit more of the filtering light before they had to go. A small smile played on her lips as she ran over the events of the day so far in her head.
He pulled himself to his feet and shook out his hair with a hand, getting rid of the remaining water droplets before pulling on his shirt. He then bent over to grab his socks and shoes. He had been out of the water long enough to be semi-dry, so it was better than being soaked. As someone who had jumped into a river to escape a bunch of guards after being careless in one of his little "adventures," being wet didn't really bother him anymore.
She sighed happily, opening her eyes to look over at him. "You're still damp." She commented, raising an eyebrow as she twisted the ring on her finger three times before wrapping her arms around herself.
"I'll dry off, " he said, flapping his hand dismissively. He finished with getting his clothes back on and turned towards the sound of playful nickering and neighing. "Seems like Kaspa is still enjoying his time out of the stables, " he mused.
"Being kept in a small space for a long period of time will do that." She said, nodding. It was a fact she knew all too well, but she kept a small and amused smile on her lips, despite the slight dimming in her eyes. "He's not going to be happy about having to go back, is he?"
"He's never happy when our rides end, but I make sure that he's regularly let out, even if it's not me taking him out." Rhydar looked back over to Lily and couldn't help but notice the slight dimming of her eyes. He didn't comment on it, however, as she seemed to be set on hiding whatever caused such a terrible thing.
"Well, that's good at least." Lily said, closing her eyes briefly before opening them again. She looked over at Rhydar, surprised to find him already looking at her. She tilted her head slightly in question, but didn't say anything.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, shaking his head slightly. She'll tell me in her own time, he told himself. "We should head back, I have to join my family for breakfast, then some other royal duties that are just so boring." He closed his eyes and threw his head back dramatically, groaning. "I won't survive the day, I just know it."
She huffed a laugh, shaking her head in amusement. "You can always come find me when you have a moment." She offered, whatever haunted mood that had affected her mostly gone as she smiled up at him. It still lingered in her eyes, but seemed replaced by the mirth.
"I'll be sure to take you up on that," he said, shaking his head and opening his eyes. "I am so going to make a petition for Cinthia to be the heir," he muttered, then looked back over to Lily to see if she was ready to go. He was happy to see that her eyes had lost some of the dimness.
"I wonder if getting the people's signatures would mean anything." She mused, unconsciously reaching up to trace the brand on the back of her neck. "Well, let's head back, then. Keep you out of as much trouble as I can."
He nodded and gestured for her to follow as he ducked back into the trees and towards the sounds of Kaspa's frolicking. He wasn't even sure if Cinthia would want to be Queen, but he—and a few of the guards as well—all agreed that she would make one hell of a ruler. She interacts with the people without imposing her rank on them. She went out of her way to learn about foreign countries and their policies. She was just a generally lovable woman that could probably skillfully handle war like a boss—not that he wanted her to be under that kind of stress.
She followed Rhydar quietly through the trees, very quickly getting lost in thought. Despite the joking, he was set on track to be King, and there wasn't much that could affect that in any major way. Which led to her next train of thought. What exactly did the shift in their relationship entail? And would she even be able to stay long enough for it to become anything solid? It didn't take long for her to get drawn into a whirlpool of confusion and apprehension, evidenced by her return to fiddling with the ring, her sleeves, anything she could.
With them both lost in thought, it didn't take long for Rhydar smack right into the side of Kaspa. The stallion, the insufferable beast, nickered in amusement as Rhydar stumbled back and shook his head to clear it, then scowled up at the horse. He muttered under his breath and went to grab Kaspa's saddle.
Lily blinked, startled out of her thoughts as she caught up with her surroundings. She shook her head to clear it, looking around for a moment to place where exactly they were, and how far from Danzing that was. Leaving Rhydar to reign in Kaspa, she slipped off to go grab Danzing.