Who: Ciri & Daphne (and Scooby) What: Post horse-riding coffees and future planning When: Early September {backdated} Where: Daphne's apartment Rating: PG
Daphne was rather glad they’d decided to have a go at horse-riding again, it’d been a while since she’d done it sure, but it was enjoyable. Her thighs were burning from the somewhat lapsed activity, muscles screaming since she really didn’t warm up well for this, and hadn’t ridden a horse in years.
Scooby, on the other hand, was happily resting on his bed beside the couch while Daphne make some coffee with her fancy Keurig (because duh, she had fancy stuff in this fancy kitchen she didn’t know how to use yet). “Looks like that ride really wore Scoob out.” It was hard keeping up with a Great Dane. She wasn’t entirely sure how Shaggy managed it, but then he and Scooby were very alike.
Setting a coffee down for Ciri on the island bar in the kitchen, the tall latte glass on a saucer with tiny little chocolate wafers, Daphne looked out the creamers and sugar in case Ciri needed any.
“I think this’ll need to be a regular thing then.”
Ciri grinned and leaned her forearms on the island, drawing the coffee closer to herself and dipping the wafer into the drink. “We can make it a regular thing,” she reassured with a nod of her head. “I enjoyed having company.”
Snagging the sugar, she poured a liberal amount into the drink and stirred it.
“And he’s so well behaved, it’s nice to have that, too.”
She tipped her head, “you feeling okay after that trip, Daph?”
It’d be good for her to get back into things she enjoyed, now that her life wasn’t constantly working or flying here and there and minding every aspect of her life for the paparazzi. “I’d love that really,” and it’d be very good for Scooby. “I’ve missed riding. Mom decided to sell the stables a while back because the horses weren’t getting out enough.” And Daphne had loved Chestnut too.
Stirring creamer into her own drink, Daphne laughed just a little, “My thighs are going to be killing me in an hour, I can tell.” From the gripping and the bopping, Daphne forgot how many muscles were used while riding.
“I hadn’t even really thought about getting back into riding when I moved out here.” Although you saw it sometimes on the tourist ads for California, riding on the beach, it wasn’t something Daph had put a lot of thought to.
“That sucks,” Ciri sympathised. Her grandmother still had the stables, and the three Akhal Tekes that she’d been given as a gift. One of those was Ciri’s, and - she wasn’t going to lie - was one of the main reasons she travelled home. Her grandmother had decided that she would try and breed them, since they were a rare breed and it irked Calanthe that the leader that had gifted her the horses claimed to have the ‘only’ and ‘best’ Akhal Tekes in the world.
Calanthe hated the idea of anyone being ‘the best’ at something when they were such a loathsome human being.
“I think at some point I’ll try and get some stables of my own and a few horses, I miss being able to just… go riding whenever I’d like rather than having to wait for a place to open.” She tipped her head, “If, or when, I get that set up, you’d be welcome to help out?”
“Yeah, although I get it.” Daphne wasn’t exactly around a lot to go riding, so her mother likely didn’t have the ability to keep the horses there if Daphne was constantly away. Now though, well, now she was settled in a place, she had a home and a mortgage (which she could technically pay off in a year if she wanted to) and roots. So having something enjoyable would be good.
“I’d love to, the idea of it being more spontaneous is better, I mean, who wants to have to wait hours to go riding when you want to go at seven in the morning?” It wasn’t like there wasn’t space around Orange County, and Daph was sure Ciri just needed to make a single call and bam, opportunities.
“Sounds like you’ve got intentions to be here a while too?”
“Aye,” Ciri nodded her head, “My grandma doesn’t want me home until I’ve had my fill of exciting life somewhere else and am ready to go back.” Which, honestly, Ciri wasn’t really interested in doing. She didn’t want to go home and rule a Kingdom. “So buying some stables and horses at least’ll make it look like I’m tryna do something worthwhile with my time here.”
Since she had no idea of what job she’d even get - other than maybe chronicling her dreams into some kind of story because they’d be cool - it would at least help keep her busy.
“If you wanna buy a horse you can store her at my stables when I get them, if you want.”
“At least she wants you to experience things before you take your place,” it was still amazing to Daphne that Ciri was a princess but at the same time she wasn’t entirely surprised she ended up meeting someone royal at the fancy ass school she’d attended. Ciri was at least very outgoing and friendly, down to earth, easy to like. “Could you imagine never getting to live outside of a palace or whatever?”
Daphne couldn’t imagine it at all, her parents had at least caved to her wanting something ‘normal’, so she got to see what things were like a public school too.
“That would be amazing though,” Daphne loved horse riding, and she genuinely enjoyed taking care of animals too, hence her enthusiasm to take Scooby for Shaggy. “Oh, now I want to find a horse right now.”
Ciri snorted, “I think I’d have escaped and driven my personal guard insane if I’d been trapped inside the palace my whole life.” She shook her head, “My grandmother would have lost her mind. Escapades with TJ were bad enough whenever we were in America.”
She grinned and sipped at her drink. “Oh? Well, I guess I better start looking at stables a wee bit sooner than ‘some time in the future’.”
She lifted a narrow shoulder. “Do you think I should offer lessons, too? Or just keep this for us?”
There was really no doubt that a life cooped up wouldn’t be suitable for Ciri, not in the least. It might be a doable thing for certain people, certain types it was probably an easier life. But Daphne couldn’t imagine Ciri as anything but her adventurous and outgoing self.
“Then let’s all be glad your grandmother is far more accepting than some others might be.” Because otherwise Ciri would likely have caused some international incidents.
“Sooner would at least give us more time to do things together, and wear out Scooby.” The Great Dane lifted his head at the mention of his name, before plopping it back down where he lay, content that nothing was going past him for now. Daphne just smirked into her own cup. “I guess that’s up to you, I could never do that, but if you want to open it up to people to learn, it might be nice to get people to interact and care for horses too.”
Ciri hummed in thought and glanced over at the Great Dane, resisting the urge to just go and flop on him. He was always warm and comfortable and made the best pillow. She was really glad, in more ways than one, that Daphne had moved out here.
“I’ll have a think on it and let you know,” she promised. “At the very least I’ll start looking at real-estate.”
She hummed again, and then glanced at the time.
“Fancy a take out?” she asked, “My treat?”
It felt a lot more like planning to stay long term, and Daphne was oddly okay with that. She didn’t need that jetsetting life anymore, she was too old for that anyway. Which was terrible. Mid twenties and she was nearing retirement age in the industry.
“Let me know if I can help, yeah? You shouldn’t need to do it all yourself.” And if Daphne was going to benefit from Ciri’s impulse it was only fair that she help Ciri deal with the stress of it too.
“Take out sounds great, and I have a bottle of wine somewhere.” Dinner and something to drink. A solid plan for the night.