Lily blinked, an amused smile flickering into place as her eyes brightened slightly. "Beasty?" She raised an eyebrow, looking to Rhydar for a second before returning to studying the bird curiously. She chewed on her bottom lip, keeping incredibly still.
"Well, it's the name I've given him. He's bigger than the other songbirds and a bit of a stubborn bully if you ask me," Rhydar explained the bird's name. His eyes flicked down to her lips as she chewed on it before he forced to drag them back up to her eyes. The two smaller–normal-sized–songbirds had finished their meal and were now flying around the clearing. Beasty was eating pretty quickly, seemingly miffed about needing to eat out of a human's hand.
Lily made a 'huh' noise, nodding once. "He's pretty, that's for sure." She said, scrunching up her nose, half in amusement, and half without much reason. "When you say bully, do you mean he bullies you specifically?" She asked, a playful undertone to her voice as she looked up at Rhydar.
He rolled his eyes, though it was more playful than anything. "Oh shut it," he said with a small laugh. "No, he doesn't bully me. He just pushes the other birds around." He opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed and admitted with a grumble, "Okay, yeah, he's been prone to bite and scratch at me if I push his buttons a little too much. If my neck and arms are covered in little marks, then just know it was probably my fault."
"You have the unique ability to annoy both humans and animals, apparently. A man of many talents." She teased, shooting him the same lopsided and warm smile from earlier. "What are these buttons that push him too far?"
"I have no clue. It seems to change depending on the day." Rhydar stuck his tongue out at her teasing, unable to nor feeling like arguing with her on that point. She wasn't wrong—he could annoy just about anyone. He then looked at the pond and considered going for a quick swim to officially start his day.
Lily stood still until Beasty had finished and flown off, raising an eyebrow at Rhydar and following his gaze to the pond. "You look like you're considering going for a swim." She commented, fingers moving at her sides as though playing invisible keys, a habit that only tended to show itself when she felt at ease.
"Considering it, yes. Not sure if I want to or not." He shrugged and leaned against a tree, looking up at the treetops and listening to the singing birds. He also listened to the deer not too far from where they were, and the small rabbits hopping around the flowers.
She nodded, pausing her invisible playing to unbraid her hair and rebraid it. This time, she took care to braid it tighter, and then up in a bun of sorts, the scar on the back of her neck forgotten for the moment. "The question is, when will your next chance be?" She pointed out, making her way to the edge of the pond and crouching to peer down into the water.
"Probably tomorrow morning, if some girl doesn't try to show up at four o'clock in the morning just to drag me shopping with her," he said with a chuckle, coming up beside her and crouching down as well. There were some goldfish in the pond swimming around, and they came up to both of them in curiosity but swam away after a few seconds before circling back around to get another look. He rested his arms on his knees and his chin on his arms, looking down at the fish with an idle smile.
She huffed a laugh, reaching down, her fingertips brushing the surface of the water. "If we're being honest, it's a slight possibility. Though I'm not sure many of those women get up at four in the morning." She said quietly, before growing silent again as she smiled down at the fish.
"True true," he said with a soft laugh, then hummed to himself and tilted his head. Eh, screw it. I got extra clothes in Kaspa's saddle anyway. He started to pull off his shirt, standing up slightly as he did so. There were some faint scars on his back from the lashes he had gotten from stealing—when he had gotten, caught, that is. His birthmark on his shoulder blade, which looked more like a strange grouping of dark splotches, could also be seen.
Her gaze flickered up from the water to Rhydar, and she was immediately torn between flushing a bright red and panicking. Her brain seemed inclined to the latter, but she managed to squash it down, reassuring herself with the fact that it was just Rhydar. The only problem was, that left her with a deep blush as she looked back down at the water hurriedly.
"Welp, I'm going in," he said, taking off his shoes and socks and leaving on his pants for Lily's sake. He didn't seem to notice her blush or inner panic as he lowered himself into the water, causing the fish around him to scatter. He came back up and shook his head to rid himself of most of the water droplets falling over his face, swimming around to the other side of the pond.
She covered the lower half of her face with a hand, some small attempt at hiding her blush, as she shifted to sit cross legged on the ground. She carefully kept her eyes away from Rhydar as best she could, though her eyes did occasionally flicker to his swimming figure. What the hell…? Confusion at her own reaction swamped any lingering panic as she shook her head.
He happened to see her in his peripheral vision, and he turned to fully face her with an arched brow and slight smirk. "My, is someone blushing?" he teased, eyes sparkling. He remained on the other side of the pond, dipping down low enough that the water lapped against his chin.
"Not at all." She answered, shaking her head once more. Her hand remained firmly in place over her face, though she wasn't exactly doing the best job of covering her blush. "What would possibly make you think that?"
"Your face is a little red, hun," Rhydar said, his grin slowly growing. She looked cute right then. So damn cute. "So either you're blushing, or both of us need to be a little concerned for your health." He slowly started to swim just a tad closer to her, taking the long way around.
"I'm hoping it's the latter." Lily muttered, audible enough for Rhydar to hear. She didn't seem to notice him moving closer, her eyes on a tree on the other side of the pond to avoid accidentally making eye contact. She let her hand drop, fiddling with the ring as she tried to will her blush down.
He swam just a bit closer, now about halfway through the pond. "Now now, is it so awful to be blushing?" he said in a teasing tone, enjoying this rare moment. He noticed the ring she was fiddling with and felt a small smile bloom on his lips.
"Yes, it is." She said with a nod, hunching her shoulders slightly. Not out of fear or anxiety this time, but more a way to attempt to hide just how flustered she was. She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth, chewing on it once again.
He swam up to her and crossed his arms on the edge of the pond right in front of her, resting his chin on them as he peered up at her. This was as close as he dared to get to her, and he felt his heart flutter slightly in anticipation of what she'd do.
She blinked, a small and startled noise escaping her as she realized he was right in front of her. When had that happened? She met his gaze, staying quiet for a few moments, unsure what all was supposed to happen next. And then, before she could even stop to think, the words were slipping quietly from her mouth. "Would you…be entirely opposed to kissing me?"
His eyes flashed open and his lips parted in surprise. It wasn't an unwelcome surprise, just…not something he had expected her to say. No, of course he wasn't opposed. In fact, he was ecstatic when she had asked him to help her off of Danzing. This strange, beautiful, incredible, and fascinating girl…
He licked his lip ring as his eyes flicked down to her own lips. "No…No I wouldn't be opposed…" he murmured.
She bit down on her bottom lip, that damn red painting her cheeks deepening just slightly as his eyes flickered to her lips. She'd shocked herself with her own question, but his answer had managed to one up that by just a bit. Releasing her lip, she leaned forward just a bit, closing the distance by about halfway and leaving him to finish, as though expecting him to change his mind.
He pushed himself up farther out of the water to meet her halfway. He lightly brushed his lips over hers, still perfectly understanding if she decided to back out. It might hurt just a tad, but he'd respect her wishes nevertheless. With just that small brush, he could feel how soft her lips were.
Lily's hesitation began to evaporate as the initial worry did, the panic surprisingly absent from her mind. Though it hovered in the background, threatening to expand if things suddenly took a turn for the worse, it seemed to stay dormant. Shifting her hands to either side of her legs to sort of brace herself, she leaned forward a bit more to show she was alright.
He took the green light and pressed his lips to hers, eyes fluttering closed. Though he was still half in and half out of the water, he didn't seem to notice. His entire world narrowed in on Lily and the feeling of her soft lips against his. The taste of her like no other. There was no denying it now. He had fallen for her—hard.
She couldn't remember a time she'd been kissed like this. Rhydar was gentle, and willing to go slow as she worked through her issues. And that, she was pretty sure, was exactly what had led to her maybe, possibly falling in love with him. The panic that had been waiting impatiently was completely shoved away as she kissed him, absolutely not wanting this moment to end.
(I've been slowly realizing, with all the roleplays I've used him for, that Rhydar is secretly a feminist. Like, he doesn't agree with any restrictions women have that men don't have, and some other minor details))
After a few seconds, which felt like an eternity to him, Rhydar pulled back. He opened his eyes and silently scanned Lily's face, still making absolute sure that she was okay with all of this. His tongue flicked out to brush against his ring.