“Possibly.” She admitted with a small laugh, shrugging a shoulder. “I don’t get to eat much fruit, so it’s always exciting.” She shifted her feet, adjusting her balance now that she wasn’t supporting Rhydar, and closed her eyes briefly as the memory of her mother’s berry fields flickered through her mind. The fields she had spent hours and hours in, tending to sick plants and dying ones, keeping the plants thriving.
Rhydar tapped her shoulder. "Lily? Our ride is here." He sounded amused, as if she had spaced out a bit and he had spent a few tries attempting to get her attention. The large black mare was all saddled and ready to go, the saddle fashioned to handle two riders. She was standing patiently, eating from a dangling ball of hay.
Lily blinked a few times, flushing as she realized she had lost herself in happy memories. “Sorry.” She apologized quickly, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at the mare. Her eyes lit up happily, and she tapped Rhydar's arm quickly. “She’s gorgeous! I’ve never seen an Appaloosa with coloring like that!” She rambled excitedly, stepping over to the mare and studying her coat with awe.
"She a rare beaut," Rhydar agreed with a smile as he followed Lily. The mare turned her head to look at Lily, munching on her hay still. Her long mane was in braids, and there were some braids in her equally long tail as well. "Sired by one of our specially bred war-horses." He patted the horse's neck, coming on the other side of the mare. "Name's Nevarra."
“Nevarra. What a pretty name for a pretty horse.” Lily cooed, slowly reaching out and running her hand along the mare’s neck. “A warhorse, hm? Strong then too, probably.” She lifted her head to meet Rhydar’s eyes, smiling. “One of the neighboring farmers had a horse of her breed. He was such a sweet horse. All the children in town loved going over there for rides.” She huffed a laugh, shaking her head. “My own family’s horse was entirely different. He was a grumpy old horse. Quickest way to his heart was with fruit.”
Rhydar snorted. "Sounds like Danzing." He moved over to Lily's side of the mare, reaching up to brush a knuckle along her cheek as he passed her. "You can fawn all you'd like over her, but we've got berries to pick. You first." He gestured to the saddle with a chuckle as he checked the buckles out of habit. He trusted the stablehands to do their job to their utmost proficiency, but his saddles have been messed with a few too many times for him to stop checking them anytime soon.
She sighed, giving Nevarra one last scratch behind the ears. “After, then. Actually, Qhuil and Danzing have quite a few similarities. Though, Qhuil was a workhorse.” She mused, pausing before pulling herself up onto Nevarra to make sure she didn’t overshoot. She had done that a few times, when she was young, and sent herself flying over Qhuil and straight into the ground. And then she pulled herself up, Nevarra’s size compared to Danzing’s making it a bit easier for her. “Alright!”
Rhydar pulled himself up after Lily, situating himself in front of her so she could grab onto him if she felt like it. "What's the speed limit, madame?" he asked over his shoulder as he gathered the reigns from one of the stablehands and waited for Nevarra to finish eating. This was a horse to respect, and bullying her was definitely out of the question, considering what she was bred for. She might have an easygoing temperament, but she could get mean and violent when she wanted to be. Rhydar blamed her father.
“None, as long as you aren’t pushing her too hard.” Lily said, hesitating for a second before placing her hands on Rhydar’s waist to hold on. She took a deep breath, glad she wasn’t in front of him. She wouldn’t be able to handle that, for sure. Shaking her head, she pressed her forehead to Rhydar’s shoulder, tapping on his waist. “Thank you. For letting me sit back here.”
He reached down to gently pat one of her hands softly, shifting the reigns into his other hand. "Always," he said, then clicked his tongue once Nevarra was done eating. She responded immediately, starting off at a steady walk as a stablehand opened the doors for them. Rhydar curled his fingers around Lily's, holding them in an act of reassurance for her.
Lily lifted her head once they had left the stables, shifting her hand to lace her fingers through Rhydar’s in a silent thank you. Now that they were moving, the churning in her gut had lessened, replayed instead by the excitement of the knowledge that they were going strawberry picking. Strawberries and Rhydar. Why pick a favorite when the two could be put together like that? She huffed a laugh at her own train of thought, glad for the distraction from the other things she could be focusing on.
They exited the stable, and Rhydar only warned Lily once before picking up the speed to a gallop, Nevarra ready to comply. She wasn't as antsy as Kaspa, but she was always willing to pick up the speed. Rhydar kept the reigns in one hand while holding onto Lily's hand with the other. He glanced back at her briefly to see how she was doing, making sure that he didn't see any signs of discomfort or dread in her face signaling the start of her response to too much contact.
Lily tilted her face up, catching the last rays of light from the sun as it dipped closer and closer to the horizon, the breeze from the gallop drawing a happy smile to her lips. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a horse moving at this speed, but whenever that was, it was still freeing now. Even being stuck this close to someone couldn’t get rid of that feeling of freedom, and a happy laugh spilled from her lips before she could even think about it.
Rhydar looked over his shoulder at Lily, trusting Nevarra to keep control while he gazed at the beauty behind him. Her laugh was music to his ears, an awe-inspiring instrument of unfamiliar making but beautiful nevertheless. Her smile was a brilliant sunrise to the darkening day. Her happiness was a breath of fresh air he's been patiently waiting for. She was so relaxed and unguarded; something different than before; similar, but not the same. It brought a small and warm smile to his face as he studied her uptilted face for a few seconds, then turned back around to steer Nevarra towards the road.
“The wind feels like flying.” Lily murmured, her closeness to Rhydar making the words just audible to him. It felt like the dreams she’d had when she was little about growing wings. Flying had always been something she’d wished she could do, and while she might not have gotten the wings, this was close and perfect enough. She had Rhydar to thank for that.
In the moment, it didn’t quite hit her the way it would later, that she was managing to live out dreams with Rhydar’s help. Things really were getting so much better, a positive change.
Rhydar's smile grew as his eyes bounced along the dancing trees passing by and the racing clouds in the sky. He could hear close to how much that statement meant to her—how happy she was that she was so close to the real feeling of flying. With their hands still laced, he pulled hers up to his lips and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles, letting her know he heard and was glad she was so happy because of him. It lasted only seconds, and he dropped their hands back down to where they originally were around his waist.
A light blush rose to Lily’s cheeks as Rhydar kissed her knuckles, the flush itself just as happy as the warm feeling in her chest. She gave his fingers a squeeze, her nose scrunched and her smile bright as she kept her face upturned. She was taking full advantage of the sunlight, while it was still cast about, lending to the warmth she felt. Though if she was being honest, quite a bit of it was caused by the man in front of her.
Rhydar turned onto the road, keeping their mare at the same pace but focusing his attention on people going past. It was surprisingly busy this time of day, but he didn't seem to mind as he smiled and waved at people who greeted them both as they passed, though he never let go of Lily's hand. The sun was setting at a rapid rate, which called the stars to take its place just as quickly. Rhydar found himself allowing his gaze to linger on the sky as it switched faces, a small and content smile on his face.
Lily tilted her face down, her cheeks reddening as she realized they were passing people. Instead of hiding her face, which a small part of her definitely wanted to do, she smiled, lifting her free hand in a small wave to return the greetings. She tilted her head to try and see Rhydar’s face, the glimpse of his smile she caught making her heart flutter. He looked content, watching the sky. She was glad. It had always been harder for her to feel that relaxed around others, so knowing they felt that way around her, even if it wasn’t directly her doing, made her feel…good. Nice. To be that kind of person, the person she had needed.
Rhydar turned his face back to the road, then thought about Lily after a brief second. He had forgotten that she might not like the attention of the people they were passing, and he glimpsed back at her to make sure she was okay. His eyes softened when he saw her waving back and not looking too overwhelmed by the attention. He caught her gaze, and his smile split into a grin as he added a mischievous wink before. He turned around and tapped Nevarra's neck in a command only he and the mare knew. She snorted and slowed to a canter, and Rhydar completely released the reigns.
Lily tilted her head in confusion, glancing around before focusing back on Rhydar. What was he doing? And why had he let go of the reins? “Rhydar?” She asked curiously, furrowing her brows slightly. Though part of her was just a tad bit worried, she was more curious, especially because she knew that wink. That meant he had something planned, and she would either hate it or something else. Oh Fates, what is he planning?
He didn't answer her right away, feeling slightly guilty about possibly freaking Lilly out. But it was fun, and it was also a test to see if he had successfully integrated this trick into the mare's arsenal. As a warhorse, she'd need to have the ability to keep with her progression without the guidance of her rider some of the time. He was just…helping with that—with the added bit of fun for him.
Rhydar shifted his weight, swung his one leg to the side so he was sitting side-saddle, then turned again so he was facing Lily with bright eyes and sparkling grin. "Hm?" he hummed, arching his pierced brow.
Lily blinked as Rhydar turned around, her heart skipping a beat. And then he was facing her, grinning. “By the Fates-why would you do something that risky?” She admonished, poking at his chest with a finger. “That’s how you fall! I can’t get you back onto Nevarra on my own, if you’re injured!” She wasn’t mad at him, that was obvious, just relieved he hadn’t fallen.
He held up his hands in surrender, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "No risk, no reward," he said calmly, then chuckled, knowing he would get hit lightly by her for that, and amended, "It's fun, and I know what I'm doing, so does Nevarra. Warhorses have to be able to run without their riders, so I took it upon myself to teach her early. I spend a lot of time in the stables, it would seem."
He was right, sort of, as she flicked him for the first comment. “It’s still not safe.” She said, once he had finished talking, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. “You should be more careful, Rhydar.” She finished, furrowing her brows at him with a small and just slightly adorable frown.