A Horse with no Name (Katiya)

[Deleted]

AUGUST 1st

To say that Silver was nervous was beyond the understatement of the year. He'd desperately pleaded to Aurum to help him make sure he didn't make a fool of himself and he wasn't quite certain that such a thing had gone according to plan. She'd luckily taken into account that they were going horseback riding. Even though her advice about what he should and should not mention would likely end up largely ignored. The advice in terms of clothing had been followed closely so he could be sure he looked both normal and like he made enough of an effort. He didn't really have much experience in terms of dating but he wanted to give this his best shot. If nothing else, it could possibly be fun right?

He was also blessed to have grown up in a household where horse riding lessons were not optional. He wasn't going to make a total fool out of himself, even though it had been a few years since he'd last been on a horse -- he'd been a bit busy studying. It was good to take a break from his studies so that he could hopefully have some fun and possibly build some meaningful connections. At worst it was some practice for him. One day he wanted to have romantic interactions. He still hadn't figured out what had caused him to sign up for the blind date thing. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Now he stood by the horses where he'd been intructed to meet his blind date. He'd brought some chocolates, which he wisely had kept wrapped in a cold pack. He had mostly been keeping them out of the sun to ensure that he couldn't be giving his date melted goop as a gift. He just wanted to make a good impression. He stood near the horses, waiting patiently while at the same time kind of stressed about the books he'd left at home. At least the books would give him some peace of mind. He was fully out of his comfort zone, but that wasn't much of a problem. He could do this! Right?

Then a redhead approached him and the horses and he smiled a slightly nervous smile. "Hey. I'm Argentum. My friends call my Silver. Are you here for the blind date?" He asked politely. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't offer the chocolates to a completely random stranger while his date would have to go without. Now that would truly be awkward. 

@katiya

[Deleted]

@argentum

she was late. she wasn't sure exactly when this had become a thing but it was a pattern that was starting to show itself more and more over the last few weeks. it was probably just the holidays, moving into her seventh year or perhaps she was finally going through her lazy teenager stage but the one thing she couldn't deny was how late she was running. her boots hit the ground with louder than normal thuds as she ran as carefully as she could over the cobblestone path that led to the stables where she was meeting her date. she was hoping for some fun today, the chance to hang out with someone that wasn't part of her family and just enjoy the rare spot of sunshine that was shining over the city.

she almost slid as she rounded the corner, managing to right herself before she fell to the ground in front of workers and horses alike and slowing to a walk, trying to catch her breath and straighten her hair at the same time. she wasn't an athlete, that was ana. ana had been born with the ability to run, not her. as she approached the fellow teenager she assumed to be here date, she hoped her face had lost some of the horrible flush that running gave her. "i am so sorry i'm late! i wish i could tell you some amazing and believable story but there isn't one.." hoping she had found the right person,. she rested her hands lightly on her hips, hoping her heavy breathing wasn't all that obvious. as he started to introduce himself she smiled. argentum? that was an unusual name, different she thought to herself. "i'm kat. well katiya but my friends call me kat." she nodded as he asked if she was there for the blind date and there was a feeling of instant relief when she knew she'd found the right person. "i'm your date."

[Deleted]

At first he figured he was just early. These things happened and people got a bit delayed. Secondly came the stage where he was staring to second guess himself and started thinking he got the time wrong. Was he too early or too late? He could have sworn he properly checked the time before heading out. He was starting to get nervous and concerned. He hadn't wanted to stand anybody up. Yet as time went by and he kept mulling things over in his mind, he started to come to the conclusion that he hadn't accidentally stood up his date by arriving late. He was being stood up by his date. He could feel his heart already starting to sink and he dejectedly sat down. It wasn't that he was holding out much hope for her showing up, it was more that he didn't really want to face his sister with this particular news. He wasn't fully sure if she'd make fun of him or try to cheer him up. He guessed the latter, although he wasn't sure if that was better or not.

He was about to pick up the courage to go home when she arrived at long last. He greeted her, hoping that she was his date and had decided to show up after all, and he was flooded with relief when she confirmed that as the truth. He smiled in relief as he held out the chocolates to her. "I brought a gift. Nice to meet you Kat. I'll pretend to believe an amazing but unbelievable story right now. I was worried you weren't going to show up." Maybe not the best start but he was never going to be the suave kind of guy. At best he could end up appealing enough for people to be willing to exchange physical affection for knowledge but that wasn't exactly the path he was planning to walk. He desired a far more interesting and happy sort of tale to tell. Not that such a thing seemed to grow more likely with time. It didn't seem like his kind of luck. "As a warning, I'm more of a book kind of guy. I like nature but it's been a few years since I last rode a horse so forgive me if I don't end up being much of a knight in shining armour."

@katiya

[Deleted]

@argentum

when she saw the chocolate he held out to her, she couldn't help the smile that grew across her face. she reached out to take them gently and she looked at him. "thank you!" she felt her shoudlers relax and she laughed a little. "i wish i was creative enough to tell you something amazing and unbelievable." her parents had been telling her for weeks now to pick up her act a little when it came to her timing but she didn't really think it was working. she was keeping fingers crossed that she'd be back to normal by the time school started but there was still that lingering worry that she wouldn't. "oh no! no i'd never not show up. i'd have sent an owl or something if it was anything like that. i honestly don't know what's gotten into my head lately, it's like i've become allergic to being on time!" she said, resting one hand on her hip lightly as she kept trying to catch her breath. a runner, she was not.

she opened the bag that was strung over one of her shoulders and she carefully put the box of chocolates into it, mentally kicking herself that she hadn't thought to bring something for him along. she closed the bag and looked back at him as he explained that he was more of a book person. "that's okay. i'm more of a piano person." she'd ridden horses on or off for most of her life, having fallen in love with it while on a pony ride when she'd been a toddler. every chance she got she begged her parents to let her go riding. "you'll be fine. i'm sure their all quiet." she said as she glanced around at some of the horses that had were standing tied up in the area.

[Deleted]

Silver was okay with the idea that not everybody was punctual right now. It had by far more to do with his fear of being stood up than actually not caring about punctuality. He himself was rarely late and only with good reason. He hadn't slept in since he'd been six years old. He had always been the more rigid and close minded of the twins, although he did his best not to close his mind too much. Once you had your mind made up on a subject you were unlikely to learn anything about it. He was open to the idea of being late, but less happy when people were late for bad reasons. Not that he currently cared. His main concern had been about her not showing up at all, after all.

It also helped a lot that she quite clearly felt bad about being late. She also mentioned never standing him up without notice, which helped his nerves a bit. If all girls were like that in dating then he'd probably be fine, even if none were all that fond of him. He smiled a slightly relieved smile. At least they could see if they enjoyed one anothers company now that she was here. That was one of the primary goals of dating, right? To test if one enjoyed the company of the other and if so it was possible to start comparing life goals, ambitions and expectations. He didn't really expect to have to worry about those on a first date. It seemed a little fast to go over all those things if they wanted to get to know each other. Unless the date was supposed to last most of the day to well into the evening. At least a work day, probably and it seemed unlikely that the agency counted on them spending that much time together. Especially on horseback. Silver wasn't fully sure if he was relieved or not. "It's okay. It clearly wasn't a personal thing." He said with the half smirk he usually reserved for teasing his sister. If he couldn't be at least a little playful there seemed to be little point to dates to him.

She said she was more of a piano person and he instantly found himself smiling. "I love piano music. My aunt used to play for us at birthday parties and other family gatherings. She was quite good. Or maybe I just remember it that way." He shrugged. He wasn't fully sure but considering the talents of his cousin it seemed very likely that he'd gotten them from his mother, their aunt. It had made him rather fond of the sound of instruments in a more casual setting. Mostly the piano and guitar, although he had no interest in mastering either. If he was to master any instrument he'd be more inclined to try the violin. It had a magic to it that appealed in the tension of long notes or the nerves that could be built in layering many short ones. It just.. it had style!

He glanced around as he mentioned they all were probably quiet and he was inclined to agree, at the very least. They didn't seem to be very restless and the fact he was a relatively calm person by nature usually helped as well. "They do seem quiet, yes. But not in a bad way." He observed, although not highly passionate. It wasn't a subject he cared about a lot, even if he liked horses. He just generally was far more indoor than outdoor in any and all activities, a few exceptions to be made here and there. "Did you want to start heading out or linger a while longer?" He asked as his eyes searched the stables for the gear they were sure to need for their little expedition. He remembered all the theory, of course. It had just been such a long time he'd worried he lost the feeling of riding. He knew exactly what to do, but he was smart enough to know that knowing wasn't always enough, especially when dealing with other creatures. It just made things far more complicated, and not by default in a fun way.

@katiya