Evander Macmillan is rolling his eyes at you. (lackadaisically) wrote in enemies_rpg, @ 2012-12-26 21:03:00 |
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Felicity had been glad to see Helena and Evander, but to be honest, there was a part of her that was more excited to see Evander. At least today. Because today she was going to take him for the ride of his life. She was going to let him ride Helios, even, one of her own prized horses. She led out the chestnut horse, beaming at Evander all the while. Felicity was dressed in her riding clothes, in tall boots and with a riding cap to boot. She'd be wearing the same sort of fare for the party as well, only charmed to look more festive. She was very business-like as she began explaining to him. "This is how you get onto the horse," she told him as she fixed her boot into the stirrup and then carried her other leg over. "You have to just do it, and not think about it too much when you're just starting out. I'm sure you have the balance for it," she said, her voice taking a slightly sweet tone for a moment. "And once you're on, I'll go over how to hold the reins," she said, lifting them to demonstrate before getting off the horse the same way she'd gotten on. She smiled at him as though a little shy, although Felicity was anything but. She smoothed the hair on Helio's rump before she moved to stand next to the stirrup. "All right," she said. "Are you ready?" All things considered, Evander just thought the whole thing seemed like fun. It wasn’t like the opportunity to ride flying horses came up terribly often (as it hadn’t until this point in his life), so he was certainly going to take advantage of it. And he happened to rather like Felicity, so really, there was positively nothing not to look forward to. Except for the fact that he was now face to face with the horse itself, and he actually felt a bit apprehensive about it. He listened carefully to Felicity’s explanation as well as watched attentively to the way she got on and off the horse. He didn’t want it to show that he was nervous about it, but at the same time, he didn’t want to hurt the horse either. He doubted that would look terribly favourably on himself. “I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied, looking the horse over for a moment before smiling at Felicity. “It’s very nice of you to be showing me this.” Felicity couldn't tell that he was nervous. In fact, all she could see was that he was glad to be doing this. Perhaps that was partially a reflection of her own excitement to be able to teach someone she liked how to ride a horse, but the fact of the matter stood that she was already enjoying herself and she was glad that Evander seemed invested in the sport as well. She smiled back at him. "I'm sure you're more than ready," she said. "It's easy as anything, I promise. Just seems complicated." She gave the horse another stroke. "But Helios is a wonderful horse. She'll be good and gentle for you, I promise. You can trust me." She moved the reins so they wouldn't be in his way. "I'm really glad to show you," she told Evander. "I happen to enjoy myself thoroughly while in your company." “I happen to enjoy myself in your company as well,” Evander replied, taking a slightly tentative step forward so he could reach out and pet the horse a little. She didn’t seem so scary, not really. And Felicity was being so encouraging. This was all going to be perfectly okay. Good fun even! That’s why he was there. “And I do happen to trust you, so I’m sure this will be great fun,” he added after a moment, but he still hesitated at the idea of actually getting on the horse. He didn’t want to look like a fool, after all, and no matter how complementary Felicity was being, he wasn’t sure he really did have the balance for it. She smiled at that. While Felicity wouldn't say she wanted Evander to fall desperately in love with her, him fancying her would be a nice start that she wouldn't say no to. And so she eased a little closer, nodding encouragingly at him as he ran his hand over the horse. Helios made a little noise. Felicity could read it well, she wasn't upset or anything like that. But she knew that Evander might not know that. "She's just saying hello," she said pleasantly. However much she might want Evander to fancy her, she was a horsewoman first so she made a little clicking noise with her tongue and stood back enough for Evander to get to the horse. "There you are," she said pleasantly. "You're ready, aren't you?" She nodded in his direction. "Foot in, swing your leg, straighten up and you're there. Go on ahead." Evander wasn’t sure he was ever going to be truly ready, and it seemed evident enough to him that it was time to stop putting it off and just go for it. The worst thing that could happen was that he looked ridiculous, which would be unfortunate, but really, that was never something Evander had ever worried that much about before. “Absolutely ready,” he replied, flashing Felicity a smile before moving closer to the horse, slipping his foot into the stirrup and giving a go at getting on the horse. Which, as it turned out, was a touch easier than he anticipated, but he truly hadn’t a clue what to do once he was sitting on the thing. And it was very high up. “So this is...high,” he finally said, looking over at Felicity. She was thrilled that he had managed to do it and not fall on his first try. It wasn't that she really thought Evander wasn't capable, but she had wondered if he might slip on his way up. Felicity clapped her hands encouragingly as he got onto the horse and went to stand by his side. "Brilliant work," she said, looking up at him. She nodded with a grin. "It is high. Don't you love it?" she said. "Being up high at the top of the world?" Felicity showed him how to handle the reins and how to press his heel into the horse to get her to move forward. "Just like this," she said in the voice of an instructor as her shoes crunched in the show. She spoke softly to the horse as they moved to remind Helios that this was perfectly fine and that Evander was a friend not a foe. Evander wasn’t sure he would say that he loved it. It wasn’t that he was afraid of heights, per se, but it definitely wasn’t where he was most comfortable. It was like flying. Evander was perfectly fine on a broom, but he always felt a lot more comfortable on the ground. The horses were the same, except that they were alive and breathing and in far more control than a broom was. He listened attentively to everything Felicity told him, because he didn’t particularly want the horse to suddenly bolt or do something ridiculous. “This is okay?” he asked, as they moved about, “she’s not going to suddenly start rearing or running or anything?” There was little in her life Felicity felt as proud of as her horses. Helios was no exception. In fact, he was exceptional. She hoped that Evander appreciated her as much as she deserved to be appreciated. As she marched next to them she was full of smiles, a rare thing for the girl. "You're doing well," she said, "She's not going to bolt. Do you want me to have a grip on the reins?" she offered as she reached up and took hold of it without being asked. She'd let go if he didn't want her to hold on. "But I'm here, so she's calm. She wouldn't do that to you. I think she likes you," she said. "If you want, she can go up a few inches for you to feel what that's like." Well, the whole point was to be on a flying horse, so it would be rather unfortunate if he chickened out now. Especially since he was on the thing. Still, it made him nervous. It was one thing to say that he wanted to ride a flying horse, it was another to be on the flying horse. But Felicity was being so reassuring. Surely it would be fine. “Sure! If that’s okay,” Evander replied. “If she wants to...” And Evander was definitely aware that the horse was the one in control here. "Excellent!" Felicity said. She was enjoying this so much she didn't really catch Evander's apprehension. If she didn't rein herself in, she might end up shooting him straight to the sky in Helios. And while she trusted her horse to keep Evander upright, she didn't think he'd ever trust her at anything ever again. "Here we go," she said, clicking with her tongue and holding tight to the rein just in case. The horse went up a just a half foot, six inches soaring above the ground to give Evander just a bit of lift. With another click, another six inches. She walked with them, her muscled arm having no problem holding on even though they were a foot off the ground. "How does it feel?" she asked. Even though he’d known that the horse was going to rise up in the air a few inches, it was still a different sort of thing to actually be on it when it happened. It was, in some ways, like riding a broom, but with this living, breathing creature instead of a broomstick. He was so distracted that he almost didn’t notice how pleased Felicity seemed to be. Mostly he was just really hoping that the horse seemed as calm as Felicity seemed to think it would be. “It’s a little strange,” he admitted after a moment. “But fun! I can see why you enjoy it so much.” He wasn’t sure it was ever going to be his choice of transport, but it was fun to try. "Do you?" she said excitedly. She beamed at him. It was nice to know that he understood how grand it was to ride a horse like they were. Felicity walked a bit more briskly at his side, Helios moving with her into a trot. The wide wings brushed against her shoulders, a few bits of yellow feather flying into the air about Evander and Felicity. "You know you can come over and fly anytime you like," she said. "Helena too. I'd love to have both of you here. Once you're trained up we could go for picnics together, perhaps." Evander wasn’t sure he would ever be comfortable enough on the horse for picnics, given the increased pace was already making him nervous, but he was determined not to let it show. “Well I know Helena’s really excited about it, so I’m sure we both can be enticed into it...with some practice this all feels a lot more natural, right?” Surely it had to. Though Evander was having a hard time comprehending how it would ever be a fully comfortable thing, riding a flying horse. “It must be a lot of work to take care of them, isn’t it?” he asked, wanting to continue conversation if only to keep himself more calm. She was so proud of him for taking everything in stride. As far as Felicity was concerned, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. She drew the horse to a stop and lept onto Hermes who was waiting nearby and rode over to be alongside him. Still holding the reins, she took them up just a few inches higher, although the horses both wanted to fly higher. "Yes, with a bit of practice it'll be nothing at all," she said. "Truly. You'll be wanting to fly higher than I, I'm sure, Evander." Her own reins were forgotten in her lap as she guided her horse easily with her body. "It is a great deal of work, but it's worth it to be able to see these great beasts so happy and healthy, and to have the chance to ride far away into the sky on them... I don't know that I could ever leave the horses. I hate to think of what I must do one day when I leave the stables. But I suppose I must do, one day. What do you think you'll miss most about home when you leave?" Evander looked at the ground for a moment before answering, because he was a bit distracted by the increased height off the ground. But it was okay, he decided after a moment. The horse had been entirely calm so far, after all. So he looked back over at Felicity and smiled, shrugging just the slightest bit, though he was rather afraid any sort of movement of his might be doing something wrong and cause the horse to go flying off. “To be perfectly honest? I think I’ll miss Helena, though you absolutely can’t ever tell her that, because I’d hate for her head to get too big,” he replied. Because even though they were in different houses at Hogwarts, they still were never terribly far apart. "Oh, really?" she said, grinning at him. "That's positively darling." She realized that was probably not what he wanted to hear so she sat up straighter and forced her smile to be a bit smaller. "I mean that's wonderful. It must be good to have a sibling you're so close to. I do love my brother a great deal but he was older and now he's an old married man and has other concerns that are far beyond me. She said nothing of not telling Helena because, well, she was certainly going to. “I think it’s just the consequence of being twins,” he replied. He wasn’t sure ‘darling’ was really the way to describe it, but he didn’t let the word choice phase him. “We were bound to either be close or to despise each other. It’s much easier being the former, though I’m quite thankful that we ended up sorted in different houses. I think it’s allowed us to embrace being thoroughly different people.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “It’s hard for me to imagine having a sibling who isn’t the same age. Surely there are merits to having an older brother though?” "That might well be it," she said smoothly. "I imagine if I had a twin I would have a far more difficult time giving them up than I would any other sibling. You've been each other's companions for your whole lives. You hit your youthful milestones together, all of that. It's a special bond that you share with Helena and I'm more than a mite jealous of the two of you. Although it must be good, being split up. Just to do as you say. You're both well rounded people for all that you are twins." Hermes gave a snort. "Yes," she said. "He did look out for me when he was at Hogwarts. He also helped me with my homework now and then and told me things about Hogwarts before I came that I wouldn't have otherwise known. He was a bit of a guide, but of course then he wanted me to leave him alone so that he could be with his friends." “Well it must have been nice to have some insight, though,” Evander commented. “I told Helena, before the sorting, that we were going to have to fight a dragon, so it sounds like your brother was a touch nicer than I was. Even if he wanted to be with his friends.” It really must be a strange thing, having siblings at different ages. Sometimes Evander wondered what it would have been like to have another sibling, but it never really mattered. “Still, it seems like you’ve done rather well for yourself at school.” They were nearing the round that they'd taken, but Felicity wanted to spend more time with Evander. Still, she couldn't spend more time with him than she would with his sister, and so she knew that they'd have to split apart soon. "It did help, and oh, you," she said, reaching to nudge his leg with her boot. She gave a little laugh. "A dragon, really? That would have terrified me. I'm glad my brother let me in on the secret. It gave me a bit of time to prepare." She tossed her hair. "At least you don't think there's anything bad about Slytherins. I imagine that goes for those who wish to be Slytherins? And thank you, Evander. I have tried. I know I'm not Head Girl or anything, but I do wish to help with the school." “Well I was making it up, probably because I was all nervous about it myself, and if Helena was worried about it, it was easier for me not to be. Still it wasn’t the nicest thing to do,” he replied with a grin. “And as much as I have my own house loyalty, I rather like to judge most others on their own, rather than assuming a specific house makes someone terrible. Besides, my mum was a Slytherin, and I rather think she’s an impressive woman.” Sure, Evander rather thought Hufflepuff didn’t get nearly the amount of respect that he thought it should, but he liked the other houses all the same. “And I think being a prefect is just as impressive as being Head Girl, Felicity.” "Is that what you always do when faced with the unknown?" she teased. "Make it up and then go along with it instead of merely waiting for whatever's on the other side to make itself known? I bet others heard you and were mortally afraid for their person thinking they'd have to face a dragon." She slowed the horses with a low whistle and they landed gracefully on the ground. Felicity smiled at him and handed him the reins. She still wished she could have been made head girl, but it was nice to be spoken to as though she was as good as. Especially when that person was someone whose opinion she valued very highly. "Thank you," she said. "That means a lot." She nodded at the horses. "You did very well," she said. "A natural aerial equestrian." “I like stories. You have to admit, facing a dragon is far more exciting than merely plopping a hat onto your head, even it is entirely more terrifying,” Evander remarked with a smile. “And making up stories is rather fun. It’s probably why I enjoy acting. You get to pretend to be someone else for a bit.” Evander wasn’t sure he was sorry to have the horse back on the ground, though he was starting to get used to the whole thing. But he was somewhat sorry to see that this whole excursion would be ending soon. He was having a nice time. “Well thank you,” he said to Felicity. “This has been a really lovely experience.” "You'll have to tell me some stories another time," she said with a wide smile. "You're right, it might be more exciting. Especially if you're a good storyteller, which I imagine you are," she said. "I can tell stories too but I expect yours are better. Although we could put it to the test sometime," she said as she got down from the horse. She offered him her hand if he wanted it for getting down off the horse. "Really," she said. "The pleasure has been all mine." “Oh I’m sure you can tell a lovely story,” Evander said, taking Felicity’s hand and getting down from the horse which ended up being far more graceful than he rather thought he was capable of, which was good. The last thing he needed to do was butcher it now, fall, startle the horse, and get his head kicked in. That wouldn’t be so fun. “But if you’d like, we can always have a bit of a friendly storytelling competition. Make an afternoon of it one day. I’d say it would be a way to thank you for all of this, but that doesn’t quite seem fancy enough.” "Sounds brilliant," she said, squeezing his hand before letting go. "I'd really like that. You just name the time and place and I'll be there," she said, hoping afterwards that she hadn't sounded desperate. She just gave him another smile and started leading him and the horses toward a barn. "You will remember, won't you?" “Of course I will,” Evander replied, following Felicity toward the barn. “Have no fear, Felicity, we can have our lovely afternoon of storytelling. I’ll check on when it would be best, and we shall make it happen.” That seemed like it could be enjoyable, and Evander did like enjoyable times. |