"On a lighter subject," She said, her smile returning to a fuller state. "I think this, spending time with you, is the most enjoyable thing I've done in a while." The closest thing she could think of was going to the library with Cinthia, but even then, she'd been a bit preoccupied.
He hummed with a small smile, looking out ahead of him. The only other person that really hung out with him was Magnus, and he constantly complained about keeping him out of trouble, but he wouldn't mention it—as requested by Lily's rule. "Don't take this as self-deprecating, because this is what I've heard, but most people who I've hung around with have quickly learned that I'm quite annoying."
"I'm sure you have your moments." She said, though her tone made it obvious she wasn't trying to insult him or something. "But I do enjoy spending time with you. I have to wonder though, do you specifically put up a front that can be perceived as annoying?"
He tilted his head as he thought about it. "I mean, I'm usually annoying in that I can't seem to restrain myself from going after certain artifacts or heirlooms, mostly ones that come with some sort of legend. I also tend to get caught, so Maggie constantly has to bail me out of jail…"
"Misunderstandings." She said thoughtfully, glancing over at him. "If someone doesn't get it, it can seem odd, and eventually annoying, when they can't figure out why you'd do it."
He tilted his head to the other side and hummed, thinking it through. "I suppose that's a theory. Or they're just tired of my shenanigans," he added with a playful wink.
She huffed a laugh, shrugging a shoulder. "Maybe they are. Maybe they think you're getting predictable." She teased, raising an eyebrow playfully.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Predictable, she says. How dare she suggest such a thought." His eyes were bright with amusement and his tone was light and slightly sarcastic, so it was clear he wasn't serious.
"What are your hobbies again?" She asked, scrunching up her nose at him as she smiled. "Aren't they thievery, flirting, and a little more thievery, if you have the time?"
He barked a laugh, smiling and shaking his head. "You know me too well," he said with a small laugh. "Believe it or not, but that's not all I like doing."
"What are some other things you like doing, then?" She asked, tilting her head. There was genuine interest in her tone, though her smile had grown lopsided in response to his laugh.
He tilted his head as he thought about it. "Okay okay okay. I can play the piano pretty well, so there's that. I've been learning for as long as I can remember. I like collecting things that are supposedly enchanted, so I might have a slight horde of ancient artifacts. Horseback riding, uhhh…. I can balance blueberries on my nose."
"I knew it!" She exclaimed, very quickly flushing as she realized she'd spoken out loud. "Er-piano fingers." She said, by way of explanation as she motioned to his hands. "Artifacts? And how exactly do you balance blueberries on your nose? Wouldn't they roll off?"
He laughed at her exclamation, but in a more amused way than mocking. He then looked at his fingers and cocked his head. "Hmm, I guess I do. And as for the blueberries," he winked over at her with a cheeky grin. "You'll have to see for yourself. It's a secret gift."
"I'm looking forward to seeing just how exactly you pull that off." She said, shaking her head with a small laugh. She couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest at the casual comment, that he was plenty willing to spend more time with her.
((look who's back for the time being! So here's the rundown of my vacation so far. So after we got to the cabin and hung around for a bit, we went to Wal-Mart to grab groceries. We came back, did some things and ate some food, then hung around again. Queue the fucked up wifi and the thunderstorm. The storm screwed with our dish and the TV kept flickering between signal loss and the original Ghostbusters 2. Then we just lost power. We didn't get it back until 12ish today, so we just went to Wal-Mart—yay—again to just wait until we got it back and to grab some things we forgot. I got munchies that I could actually eat thanks to my braces, and we just fucked around until the estimated time the power was supposed to come back on. I bought a hoodie because I love hoodies, so I gotta get one wherever I go on vacation to add to the collection. When we got back to the house, we hung around for a bit more and waited out the rain once again, then went to do some hiking like we originally planned. My legs were jello by the time we were done, and it doesn't help that it was so WET and MUDDY—and most of those stairs were NOT short person friendly. We saw waterfalls and neat rock formations, as well as a disappointment that we spent too much effort on finding, then headed back. And here I am, on my laptop, watching the rain fall ONCE AGAIN. It started back up the moment we got back to the cabin))
((At least it went away for a little bit, right?))
"I've been practicing, Lily darling." He tapped his nose with a cheeky lopsided grin. "I've got the precise technique down to a science. Probably not a logical science, but a science that I can understand and follow." He tilted his head and looked down at his fingers as he wiggled them some, still mulling over her comment about him having piano fingers. Maybe she was into music? He was usually downplaying his ability to play, but he had skill and he was aware of that skill. "And if you want, I could also play something for you," he offered a bit more seriously as he glanced back at her with an inquisitive eye.
Her cheeks darkened slightly at his use of the term 'darling', twisting the ring around her finger as she focused on his next words instead. The small and amused smile that bloomed at his talk of silence brightened as he offered to play her something, and the slight eagerness in her nod was unmistakable. "I would love that! If it's not too much hassle, of course."
Rhydar's grin brightened tremendously at her words, and he seemed to sit up a little straighter in his saddle. "Not at all. I'd much rather be playing for you than those grouchy tutors that my mother shooed me towards as a child." It's been forever since he had to play for an audience. He often got stage fright, of sorts. He'd stumble over the keys and miss an entire section because he was so nervous that he had to resort to the sheet music. He never had to look at it when he was alone, but whenever his mother saw him stumbling and looking frantically at the sheet, she'd call for another round of lessons. He finally managed to slink out of her scrutiny when Magnus got married, and she's never bothered him about the piano ever since. Perhaps she forgot. Hopefully, at least.
Lily huffed a soft laugh, nodding. His grin stirred up the same fluttery feelings his laugh had, and though she wasn't quite sure what to make of them, she knew by now that they weren't all that bad. "Well, I have no intentions of emulating any grouchy tutors, so you should be just fine. It helps that I don't know how to play the piano, as well." She had actually had plans to learn, had even organized lessons with a woman in her village who taught them, but things had…gotten in the way, and it wasn't like she could have learned any time inbetween then and now.
"I'd offer to teach," Rhydar started, then rubbed the back of his neck as a slight twinge of rose stained the tips of his ears and cheekbones, "but I'm not the best at teaching others what I know. I don't really see things the same way other people do. I'll just be more confusing than anything." His blush wasn't because of the thought of teaching her—it was the thought of her watching him play. What if he royally screwed up? In front of her? His mother and tutors he could take, but for some reason, the thought of messing up when playing for Lily made him nervous.
"It's fine, really." Lily assured him, lips quirking up into a sweet smile. "If I'm being honest, the idea of learning has some…negative memories attached, so I would really just be happy listening to you play." She was slightly confused by the redness in his cheeks, unsure whether she was the cause of that or not, and debating apologizing.
He sobered up quickly with a firm mental shake of his head, and the redness was gone within moments. He then looked to her with a slight bit of concern at that last bit. Negative memories attached. He studied her for a few heartbeats before forcing himself to keep from asking what she meant. She worded it like that for a reason. Stop being a busybody for two seconds and let her be. He nodded in understanding, returning her smile. "Then at least I'm not a total disappointment. Maybe we can plan for a blueberry balancing and piano playing session sometime today or tomorrow?"
"I would like that very much." She said, her smile brightening once more as she nodded. "Whenever you have free time works, as I'm not exactly all that busy. And please, Rhydar, you are the furthest thing from a disappointment." There was nothing other than honesty in her statement as she met his eyes, her own clear of their usual faint haunted look.
"Your vote of confidence is much appreciated, love," Rhydar said with a dashing smile. "And I'll try to squeeze in as much time with you as possible, I promise. I can't promise whole days or even consecutive hours, but I can promise to try." He reached over to lightly grip her knee, then pulled back after a quick second—just like after her breakdown during the ball.
It was a small gesture, but just possibly the sweetest she'd ever received, and sent her heart fluttering once more. "There are plenty of women in that palace vying for your attention." Lily said, a light blush blooming on her cheeks. That was the second time he'd called her something like that. "I couldn't possibly expect you to spend that much time with me, let alone an entire day."
"Both valid statements that I—in my usual troublemaker fashion—am going to try and defy." He sent her a quick smirk, but it softened into a small smile when he saw her blush. She looked so. . . Adorable didn't fit her quite right, it made her seem soft and childish almost, as did cute. Charming? Charming would do for now until he found the right word for it.
"The only surprising part of that is you wanting to spend time with me." She said, shaking her head slightly. She was starting to get more and more used to the idea, but it still didn't quite make sense to her. Reaching up, she brushed her hair back from her face, looking down at her lap more due to being slightly flustered than anything.
Exquisite. That was the word he was looking for. His smile brightened when he finally found the word to describe this beautiful and elegant woman. This lovely girl with an excellent nature that fit perfectly with his and drew his eyes not to what most men only saw, but to her smile. Gods, how he loved her smile. It was as bright as the stars and as rare as a comet, but just as dazzling and awe-inspiring.
He finally murmured his response after realizing he had been lost in thought. "There's no one on my mind right now that I would want to spend more time with."