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.
He leaned forward, hands braced on her knees without actually leaning on her, and pecked her nose with a cheeky smile. "I'm not safe, but I appreciate your concern. I know what I'm doing, Lily darling, however uncoordinated I might seem at times." He couldn't help but add, "And you look more adorable than stern. Just saying."
“You’re so dramatic.” She said, with just a bit too much fondness for her words to carry any bite, scrunching up her nose. Her cheeks flamed as he kept talking, and she lifted a hand to cover the lower half of her face. Part of her wanted to deny his statement, but she knew that would do any good. No matter what she said, he apparently always found her adorable. “I do not.” She said instead, shaking her head slightly.
"Sweetie, I am drama," Rhydar said with a smirk as he raised his hand to tap her nose, then her hand. "And yes, you do. You know it with that blush you're trying so hard to hide from me." He pulled back from Lily, letting go of her knees to lean back and brace himself with the saddle.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” She mumbled, looking away to avoid his gaze. “How exactly does one be drama, as though that’s an occupation?” She asked, very obviously focusing on the first thing he had said instead of how blushy she was. She much preferred ignoring that.
"It's an expression and exaggeration, my dear, however much I'd like to think of myself as the King of Drama." He grinned and swept his hand in an exaggerated bow. "But one can be drama if they incorporate dramatics into everything they do. See example A for reference." He gestured to his face, grin twisted into a lopsided smile.
Lily laughed at that, the sound muffled by her hand but still obviously a laugh. “Be drama. If you say so, dear. I have to say though, you feel a bit more just dramatic, as opposed to drama incarnate.” She said, raising an eyebrow at him playfully.
He stuck his tongue out at her, then licked his lips and adjusted his position so he was sitting side saddle again. "Fine fine. Be that way," he said playfully, his smile clear he was just joking. He then leaned over and kissed Lily's forehead before turning around and taking the reigns once again.
"Now can we try to stay seated properly? Pretty please?" She asked, trying not to linger on the movement of his tongue across his lips. The Fates knew if she did, she'd be very far from functioning. So she didn't. At least, not right at that moment.
He chuckled and reached back for her hand, shaking his head. "Alright, but only because you asked nicely. And because there's a fork in the road, but that's totally not why I turned around." He lightly kicked the mare into a gallop and kept an eye out for said fork.
"Of course that's not why." She assured playfully, happily linking her fingers through his. Hand-holding was easy, and she was extremely glad he was alright with holding her hand as often as he did. Part of her, despite knowing it was sort of stupid, almost expected him to get tired of it. And yet here he was, reaching for her hand.
He wrapped her arm around his waist again, keeping a hold of her hand as he did so, and adjusted the reigns so he could use them with just one hand. Nevarra snorted as the fork in the road appeared, as if warning her rider, and Rhydar barely twitched the reigns, and she was already headed in that direction. "I wonder if the farm has blueberries this year," Rhydar mused, changing the subject to the farm they were heading to. "They do it sometimes, and I make sure to have a batch shipped from them every time they grow them."
She hummed thoughtfully, giving his hand a squeeze for whatever reason. "Mmmm, strawberries and blueberries. They'd make a great tart together. Oh! I wonder if Cinthia would mind helping me make one." She was mostly talking to herself, though her excitement was obvious. "You could taste test, too. Fresh fruit always makes for the best baked goods."
"Wolf is the one to go to for desserts, but I'm sure Cinthia wouldn't mind offering a set of hands if you knew what you were doing. I'm always down for some taste testing though, so count me in." Rhydar smiled to himself, knowing she was mainly talking to herself and finding it rather cute, especially paired with her excitement over fruits and baking.
"Wolf? Maybe I'll see if I can get both of them in on it. Baking cookies and cupcakes with them was fun. I just have to make sure you don't mess up any lattice-work." That was when she focused back in on the two of them, instead of just her own mind, to jokingly reference his icing mishap. "My mother used to set aside a whole weekend at the end of berry season to make as many baked goods as possible. One time, Cassia got caught stealing a pie, and Māmā put her on barn duty for an entire month. Apparently, it was her fifth pie that season." Lily said, huffing a laugh at her own memories.
He detangled his fingers from the reigns to reach back and poke Lily. He wasn't aiming anywhere specific, so he couldn't see where he was poking. "Hey, I did no such thing. I don't know what you're talking about." He fell silent as she started talking again, listening to her story, a smile twitching onto his face when she talked about her sister stealing the pie. "Cassia sounds like an amazing woman."
Lily let out a small sound as he poked her stomach, squirming away from him but keeping her hand in his. When he mentioned Cassia, she looked up at the sky, thinking. "She would be now, yeah. Eighteen…in a month. She was such a fun kid though, always getting up to trouble, especially related to anything sweet. Had one of the biggest sweet tooths ever." I'm going to miss my sister's eighteenth birthday. I've already missed so many of them.
He lightly squeezed her hand in reassurance. He couldn't think of much to say, and he figured whatever he would say would just make her feel worse, so he kept his mouth shut and nodded to let her know he was listening. He focused on the sound of Nevarra's heavy hooves hitting the dirt road at a steady rhythm. He got slightly distracted from it, briefly zoning out as the sound took over his senses.
She took a deep breath, biting her lip and looking back down at Rhydar's back. After a moment, she wrapped her other arm around him, hiding her face in his shoulder. "I miss them." She said quietly, her voice muffled. "If they're even-" She couldn't even finished that sentence, not wanting to think about that. About her family being…anything but alive. "I've missed nine years of birthdays for five people."
Rhydar jumped slightly when she hugged him, but he quickly recovered, glancing behind him in an automatic reaction to the sound of her distressed and quiet voice. He hated hearing her sound like that, especially when she's talking about her family. "They're alive, Lily," he said quietly, the first thing he could think of to say to her. "And you'll see them again."
"I don't-I don't know that." Lily whispered, her hold on him tightening briefly. "I've looked. I haven't stopped but I can't-find them." No matter what she did, she never could find them. They had disappeared, leading her to fear the worst had befallen her family. That her sisters hadn't ever made it away after they'd been separated, that the rest of her family had been caught and taken and sold. That she was the only one alive.
