Today was a good day for Serra.
About a week ago, she'd scheduled a nature hike for her class, a simple walk in the woods. Of course, she'd walked the path beforehand, planning out the trail in her mind as she wrote down landmarks to stop at in her notebook - a berry bush, a nearby water hole, a clearing in the trees where one could see the sun as the afternoon drew near. There were lessons to be had in all these places, after all; without the luxury of store-bought consumables, finding suitable food and drink was important, as was the importance of keeping one oriented in a location where everything looked the same.
On this hike, though, she'd met someone - even though she'd criss-crossed these trails throughout her lifetime, it was rare to meet someone out in the woods. Oftentimes it was a couple, out on a date in the forest. She'd wave their way, and go about her business. This time, however, it had been a single person - a rather large figure, whom she had seen from a distance. They talked for a bit - a few of the things he had to say had even made her laugh - and she was just about to head back onto her planned trail when he stopped her, and had offered to join her.
This had taken her aback - Serra still couldn't quite understand the complexities of how the various species of the island were viewed in this interconnected society, but she knew full well from the looks she'd always received that centaurs were considered an isolationist group at best, and a common beast of burden at worst. Nonetheless, she accepted; he seemed quite nice, he wasn't in any of her classes so there was no academic reason he'd want to do this, and after walking alone all this time, the idea of being accompanied held a certain appeal to her.
Today, Serra was walking that same path, humming a tune to herself that she'd heard on one of the radios at the Academy. Before they'd parted ways, she'd offered to meet him again, on the path. He'd agreed, and they'd set a time to meet in the forest. As she moved forward in a slow trot, it had only just started to dawn on her that, were anyone to see the two of them, they'd immediately think this was a date. Serra frowned, her ears lowering just a touch as she brought her hands up, rubbing them together.
"It's just a walk. And a bit of talking, at that." she assured herself, taking a deep breath, and letting it go, her shoulders slumping as she tried to work out why she was suddenly so tense. They didn't know each other, they'd only met the one time, and yet - Serra had been glad when they'd made plans to do this today. Not a date; just a meeting.
Just keep telling yourself that.
The centaur lifted her hand to shield her eyes as she made her way into the clearing, the sun shining bright upon her as she slowed to a stop, glancing around, ears pricking about to try and hear for any sign of movement other than the wind rustling the leaves.
About a week ago, she'd scheduled a nature hike for her class, a simple walk in the woods. Of course, she'd walked the path beforehand, planning out the trail in her mind as she wrote down landmarks to stop at in her notebook - a berry bush, a nearby water hole, a clearing in the trees where one could see the sun as the afternoon drew near. There were lessons to be had in all these places, after all; without the luxury of store-bought consumables, finding suitable food and drink was important, as was the importance of keeping one oriented in a location where everything looked the same.
On this hike, though, she'd met someone - even though she'd criss-crossed these trails throughout her lifetime, it was rare to meet someone out in the woods. Oftentimes it was a couple, out on a date in the forest. She'd wave their way, and go about her business. This time, however, it had been a single person - a rather large figure, whom she had seen from a distance. They talked for a bit - a few of the things he had to say had even made her laugh - and she was just about to head back onto her planned trail when he stopped her, and had offered to join her.
This had taken her aback - Serra still couldn't quite understand the complexities of how the various species of the island were viewed in this interconnected society, but she knew full well from the looks she'd always received that centaurs were considered an isolationist group at best, and a common beast of burden at worst. Nonetheless, she accepted; he seemed quite nice, he wasn't in any of her classes so there was no academic reason he'd want to do this, and after walking alone all this time, the idea of being accompanied held a certain appeal to her.
Today, Serra was walking that same path, humming a tune to herself that she'd heard on one of the radios at the Academy. Before they'd parted ways, she'd offered to meet him again, on the path. He'd agreed, and they'd set a time to meet in the forest. As she moved forward in a slow trot, it had only just started to dawn on her that, were anyone to see the two of them, they'd immediately think this was a date. Serra frowned, her ears lowering just a touch as she brought her hands up, rubbing them together.
"It's just a walk. And a bit of talking, at that." she assured herself, taking a deep breath, and letting it go, her shoulders slumping as she tried to work out why she was suddenly so tense. They didn't know each other, they'd only met the one time, and yet - Serra had been glad when they'd made plans to do this today. Not a date; just a meeting.
Just keep telling yourself that.
The centaur lifted her hand to shield her eyes as she made her way into the clearing, the sun shining bright upon her as she slowed to a stop, glancing around, ears pricking about to try and hear for any sign of movement other than the wind rustling the leaves.
Jarak was already in the clearing where they'd agreed to meet, sitting in the center with his legs crossed and holding a caterpillar on his finger to better investigate it.