Festival of Roses

Rychard was mounted on the same large gelding he had ridden recently in the dressage competition. It was a dark blue roan with white spots spattered over its rump, and one white sock. He waited near the brook, the horse bending its head to drink from the crystal clear water. The knight was wearing a tunic and breeches in natural, earthy colours, his hair tied loosely at the nape of his neck.

Lily trotted out on Shadow her little shaggy black garron. "Well met Ser Bridges. You faired far better than I and Shadow here would have in the dressage," she petted the neck of the dark hued pony, "I hope it left you eager for the hunt."

Acting as chaperone, trying to look impassive, Leo was also riding the big black beast from the dressage event. Following behind Lili's horse at a respectful distance he gives the knight a nod when closer. "Ser Leovall Marten. Well met Ser." He dips his head and leaves it at that. Mentally he might be amused about the meeting and keen to root for his cousin, but he also knew appearances were important. A young maiden couldn't exactly go off hunting with a young man and nobody else to watch. Even a small chance of a scandalous rumour wasn't worth allowing when easily enough avoided.

Terrance rode beside Leovall, offering a respectful nod as well. He remained silent, for now, not wanting his presence to influence any opinion of his sister.

“My, you have me quite outnumbered, Lady Liliane,” he slipped from the saddle and offered a bow to her, and another to the Marten heir. “I thought we could secure the horses and have my dog sniff us a trail.” He indicated to a hitching post nearby, it was the reason he’d been waiting in this spot. Next to the post was the promised cooking pot, and the mutt Lily was lounging in the grass close by.

She looked back at them. "It was decided that I required a chaperone," she hopped of the horse and leaned in to whisper, "I shouldn't have mentioned the stew."

"We will need to catch a few more rabbits," she said stringing her longbow, "Which hardly hurts. no?"

Rychard hitched his steed, tugging on the rope to check it was secure, and whistled for the mutt, the dog springing eagerly to her feet. He, too, strung his bow, and jogged the quiver into a more comfortable position against his shoulder.

With a scratch behind the ears, “Lily, seek,” and the dog raced across the meadow, nose high in the air. She weaved back and forth in a loose serpentine until she caught a scent. The knight cocked an eyebrow at Liliane, “let’s see what she’s found.”

She nodded and started to follow. "Your dog is named Lily?" Liliane asked as they got going surprised by the odd coincidence.

Chuckling self-consciously, “aye, my little sister named her, said she looked like Lily, and I couldn’t disagree.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “We have a tradition in my family of allowing the youngest to name the pups when there’s a new litter.”

"I see." She seemed to ponder it for a moment, "I suppose it is a suitable explanation."

She cleared her throat. "So there should be some rabbits near here?"