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interacting with animals isn't really something that silver just reserves a particular time of day for. it's bigger than that, a constant and consistent part of his days when he had no other obligations that came first.
he couldn't sleep. ironic, given the reputation that preceeded him. his thoughts wandered off to how aurora was doing as he looked out of the window, noting some condensation. it was likely to be chilly this morning. he made sure to dress warm as he quietly snuck out of his dorm to get to the horse stables.
it was foggy out, the sun having barely risen. silver would estimate it to be a bit past 5:30 in the morning, if his internal clock was to be trusted. one would be surprised how often he'd have to estimate the time, after nodding off to sleep for unpredictable periods.
birds chirped from their perches up in trees as silver crunched on foliage, the sounds taking him back to the near-constant birdsong and the thick undergrowth of the woodlands of his home. it had become a comforting thing to tune into, over the years.
a patch of small, purple flowers dripped with moisture. they were quite eye catching... silver stopped down to pick some, lightly drying his prize against his his coat. he made sure not to crush them as he continued on his way, else he'd just make a mess.
the horse stables appeared in his view, bathed by the thin layer of mist that sparkled in the morning light.
it was scenic and familiar. the comfort of it all beckoned to him.
"aurora?" he called out, approaching the horse in her stall. peering over the low doorway, he caught a glimpse of aurora's cream-colored coat as she rested in the corner. made aware of the boy's presence, she raised her head to acknowledge him.
a fond smile crossed silver's face in the way that clouds would lazily drift across the sky. he entered the stall, kneeling down to the horse's level once inside and letting the door close back on its own. unlocked, but it shouldn't be a problem. it was too early for hijinks, and aurora was a good girl.
"good morning, dear," silver whispered affectionately to the horse.
communicating with animals is not as straightforward as one may think. they can't say words to express how they feel, and some may not even make too many sounds on a regular basis. aurora was a quiet type, and silver was well attuned to her body language.
she was happy to see him it seemed, but her energy had not kicked in yet.
silver retrieved a brush, sliding it gently across aurora's coat. her dark eyes closed a bit, seemingly relaxing into it.
silver smiled to himself as he dutifully carried on with his work. it wasn't like the horse needed too much brushing as her coat was well maintained, but it didn't hurt to be thorough.
he ran the brush through her light colored mane, an idea forming in his head.
parting her hair into sections, silver went to work at weaving braids. it was not hard, after the many times he'd done this. picking the purple flowers out of his coat pocket, he weaved them into the mane.
the sun rose higher in the sky as silver focused on the task for a while, washing the wood of the stables in a brighter orange color. it contrasted nicely with the finished product of his work.
"you're so well behaved," silver commented under his breath as he pet the horse's face. he wouldn't want to mess up his handiwork. he was grateful that she stayed relatively still for the whole process.
footsteps briefly sounded against the dirt floor of the stables, coming to a halt behind aurora's stall. "you spoil her."
silver turned around, eyes resting upon his fellow equestrian club member. he'd expected riddle's comment to be some sort of criticism, considering the boy's reputation. but there was a soft, appreciative look in those grey eyes as he said, "she's pretty. in good condition, too. the flowers are a nice touch."
silver softened, offering a small, modest grin in response. "i'm glad you think so. she deserves only the best."
the other's eyes drifted to another part of the stable, in the general direction of where silver knew riddle's own horse to reside. "maybe i should braid vorpal's mane... it has been a while. i've been busy, with... other things."
silver could only assume those "other things" were copious amounts of coursework and chastising students who didn't follow heartslabyul's rigorous set of rules.
riddle sighed. "i don't have the time now, unfortunately. i only accounted time for feeding and basic care this morning. perhaps another time would work..."
before silver really knew what he was saying, words tumbled out of his mouth. "i could help later, if you'd like. make it a less time consuming task, so you can spend the proper time on your other duties."
taken aback, riddle's eyebrows ever so slightly raised in surprise. he smiled as he said, "i'd appreciate that."
---
with free time on his hands before riddle was free of his duties, silver waited in heartslabyul as they agreed on. he chose to wait in the impressive courtyards, admiring immaculately pruned hedges and carefully painted roses. some had specks of white... what riddle didn't know wouldn't hurt him. silver smiled at the imperfections, pitying the poor schmuck that didn't double check their work.
a distance away, silver spotted small yellow flowers growing in a small patch.
weeds are just plants that are unwanted. anything outside of the hedges was weeds .
but silver wanted them. so he plucked them gently, leaving no trace of their existence on heartslabyul soil.
distantly, silver picked up the shrill sound of a nervous first-year student's voice. casually wondering what the fuss was all about, his eyes rolled over to the scene.
beside a student--presumably the one with the shrill voice, judging by their anxious body language--stood a shorter yet more rigid figure. they conversed a bit until the taller student scrambled away in the most dignified manner they could muster.
revealing... ah, just the one he wanted to see.
he steadied his gaze back to the ground, hoping to find some sort of bug crawling around to distract him. it wouldn't do to make riddle think he was watching him, after all.
his efforts in not ignoring, exactly, were rewarded with the sound of shoes crunching on short-trimmed grass.
"ah, silver. you came," riddle greeted. it was as if the housewarden expected him not to come. which silver first initially protested--he's not the type to break a promise, but then he remembered. he wouldn't break a promise on purpose .
just how bad was his reputation? surely riddle rosehearts, of heartslabyul , would not have a favorable opinion of a drowsy, semi-reliable--
"hello, um. silver?" the other boy prodded tentatively.
silver could already predict the next words. don't tell me you're falling asleep already...
snapping out of his self-doubting trance, he responded quickly to prevent those words from becoming a reality. "my apologies. i was lost in thought."
the light sound of small giggle floated through the courtyard ever-so-quietly, as if it were a butterfly that did not happen to fit the color scheme. secret, purposely hidden.
it was a gift that silver was given. he softened in the warmth of the gentle moment.
"that's quite alright, silver," riddle continued. "i've got to say, that focused look of yours is quite intense."
intense . malleus's scary bodyguard strikes again, without even meaning to.
"ah--sorry. i hope i did not seem... off-putting," silver stuttered.
"actually, it was quite the opposite," riddle replied, shocking silver down to his bones. his trained exterior did not betray any evidence of the feeling running through his veins as riddle said, "i actually found it quite charming."
charming...
that wasn't a common descriptor he heard. at least, to his face. the word felt as if it were more reserved for the students of pomefiore, or perhaps the royal sword academy. he had no idea how to respond, because why take a compliment you don't believe in?
riddle fidgeted with his perfect stands of hair, making them look worse in the process. "ahem. um, forgive me. shall we go to the stables now?"
in the process of refusing to believe he could be anything but scary, he'd actually freaked riddle out even more. seeing color splash across riddle's face in an emotion that wasn't anger was rare and vulnerable, and silver felt guilty for causing this expression.
"right. lead the way."
---
the stables now stood out against the late-afternoon sun. silver guessed it would be evening soon. a trip to the stables was a good way to unwind after busy days.
riddle led the way to vorpal's stall, which was neat and well-kept. vorpal himself acknowledged his two visitors with a slight bow of the head, adjusting his eyes to riddle's shorter level.
"good afternoon, vorpal," riddle kindly told the horse. timetables did not matter to this majestic creature, but they sure did to riddle. he just seemed happy and quite healthy to boot, with the way that his dark brown coat nearly sparkled in the sunlight.
only basic care, riddle had said earlier.
"i think you spoil him a bit, too. when you can afford to," silver pointed out.
riddle laughed, the infectious sound of it a bit louder than the hushed giggle from before. "i suppose i do, but i always feel like i could be doing more."
but wouldn't you feel that way about everything?
silver didn't voice the thought, instead opting to pick up a little red brush. instead of handing it to riddle, he got to work on brushing the horse's mane. riddle did not say anything, simply opting to watch as silver put the same amount of care into brushing this horse as he would his own.
once he was done, he placed the brush down and readied some elastics. this is where the real work would begin.
he divvied a random amount of elastics between them, and they each got to work on braiding. they were quiet as they focused, but silver's heart was loud every time their fingers happened to brush. which was only a few times, really, but it was still embarrassing.
he didn't know if riddle would approve, but it just seemed to be missing something. fetching the small yellow flowers from his pockets, silver weaved a few into the horse's hair.
"wherever do you keep getting these flowers?" riddle asked, looking up from his own handiwork and noticing silver's covert shenanigans. amusement danced in the tone of his voice. "at this rate, i'll assume you just always have them on your person. like some sort of flower boy who ran away from a wedding."
riddle was better off not knowing where these particular flowers came from, silver decided.
"i'm fond of plants. i grew up surrounded by tall grass and wildflowers," silver deflected. "and trees, of course."
riddle hummed nodded appreciatively after receiving this familiar knowledge, presumably creating his own assumptions off of it in his head. he hadn't argued against the small yellow decorations in vorpal's mane, which was a bit surprising.
with the two of them working, it didn't take too long to finish their task. vorpal now looked even prettier--such a resplendent horse, much like aurora. secretly, none could win against her in silver's eyes.
"thank you, silver. this was... nice," riddle said, appreciating the end product. "the flowers were a nice touch."
he didn't know why, but warmth bloomed in his chest. "i'm glad you think so. now both of our horses are prettier than sebek's."
a soft, humored tch left riddles lips. "don't let him hear you say that."
"i was merely joking," silver offered.
"ah, yes. of course."
with his promise now fulfilled, his regular duty whispered in his ear. come back to guard His Majesty! it said in sebek's voice.
but he didn't turn on his heel and immediately skitter away, instead awkwardly lingering of the presence of his clubmate.
after a moment, silver finally fumbled his way through more words. "it is nice spending time with you and vorpal. i look forward to the upcoming equestrian club meeting."
riddle smiled at silver's flustered sincerity. "of course. i enjoy my time with you as well, silver. but i must be going back to heartslabyul as quickly as i can... can't leave them without a housewarden for too long, i suppose."
something in silver's chest dropped in slight disappointment. "i see. i'd hate to keep you, after all."
that was a lie. the only thing he'd hate about that was making riddle even more stressed than he already was.
"hopefully trey and cater have been holding down the fort while i've been away. i'll be seeing you later, silver."
as if on cue, silver exited vorpal's stall. riddle closed the door behind them.
he gave a little wave before he made his way back to heartslabyul, leaving silver standing absently in front of the door riddle had just closed. vorpal sighed deeply as he lowered himself down into a laying position.
that resonated with silver, who was now alone with the horses and the emotional butterflies and moths alike that swarmed in his chest.
"you and me both, my friend," he breathed, watching the sun inch down just a little bit more before he finally left the stable.