Lillian
{^~ he was on his break from the patrol, his wings curled to be out of the way while he watched the snow fall, his brighter scales glistening in the light of the sun as he enjoyed the warmth against his scales, taking a deeper breath he looked back down at the scroll he was reading

Having gotten into writing a while ago and deciding to write a bit while he was on break, it was a rather quiet evening so he didn't think it would matter if he was alittle bit distracted while on duty ~^}
Mildred
*From behind him, Gryfalcon could hear someone walking up behind him, just slow enough to let his imagination run with who it was. Though, when they came into his peripheral vision, said identity was impossible to miss.*

*General Snowstorm sat to her haunches beside Gyrfalcon, she looked up into the snow for a moment, but she didn't say much, waiting for him to be done with his writing before speaking up, not wishing to bother him before then.*
Lillian
{^~ he looked up at snowstorm before carefully Rollin his scroll back up ~^} " General, what brings you here this evening?" 

{^~ he asked looking at her curiously, not fully sure why she was joining him as he didn't really see her as one to do this without reason ~^}
Mildred
"I hear you are the one to thank for many a late night gift when I kept myself up with my work?" *She asked, her tone mostly neutral,* "I do not know if you have talked to Calve recently, but, I wanted to thank you. And talk to you."

*As she went on, it started to seem like she was having to force herself to keep her neutrality in place, though the emotion she was forcing down definitely involved a smile.*
Lillian
" ... That snitch- but- yes, yes I have been- what did you wish to talk about?" 

{^` he asked offering her a small smile as he wanted to seem alittle nicer than he normally did, his tail curled slightly behind him as he was alittle embarrassed about being caught~^}
Mildred
*The stoic general smirked slightly at his reaction,* "Do not worry, he only told me because I asked him, I likely would have found out much earlier, had I even been aware of the meaning behind it all. Which, is what I wanted to talk about, and apologize for. I was, unaware of it almost completely."
Lillian
" That's alright, I wasn't being completely to the point with the messages anyway- I do apologize if you find it weird or anything along those lines-"

{^~ he said coming to a realization some people do not like those kinds of letters and feeling alittle bad, tho he didn't let it show to much as he didn't want to upset the general at all ~^}
Mildred
*She shook her head,* "I doubt I would get it even if you were more clear, it was only after talking to my sister a few days ago that I even realized what it was I was feeling. I never really looked into any of it until then, let alone considered that anyone would actually like me. But, now I want to move past that, if, you still had any interest in me."
Lillian
{^~ he thought a second, his ears flicking slightly in thought, blushing slightly at the offer ~^} " I- uhm- yes- I do have interest in you still- " 

{^` he said rather sheepishly for his normal demeanor, his normal "Tough" Act faltering ~^}
Mildred
*The general looked over, smiling genuinely for most likely the first time since he'd first saw her,* "I know it will not be easy, and that I have a lot to learn, but, I am willing to try, if you will have me," *She said, holding a talon out to him, he could see that she was blushing too, fairly heavily at that, she was definitely not used to that kind of talk.*
Lillian
{^~ he smiled taking her talon and smiling alittle at her ~^] " I would love to" {^~ he said giggling slightly before offering her a snowy flower he had found around the border of the ice wing territory, ~^}
Mildred
*Her breath caught as he showed her the flower, it was the first time she could remember of someone doing something like that, even if it was a simple, on-the-fly gesture, it still caught her off guard. Even she couldn't help but let a tear fall free as she took it, after a second of staring at the flower, she placed it between her ear and spikes, smiling at him with a simple,* "Thank you, Gyrfalcon."
Lillian
{^~ he smiled, looking at her a bit before watching the snow again ~^} " No problem, snowstorm," 

{^` he said gently letting go of her talon as he took out some of the art he was doing of her on one of his scrolls, starting to draw again ~^}✓
Mildred
*Noticing that he was paying more attention to her while drawing, she quickly figured out what his subject was, and gladly stayed still to make it easier on him,* "Perhaps when you are off duty, you could introduce me to your daughter? I've heard you talk about her, but I do not think I have actually met her. And of course, if we work out like I hope, I will certainly see her often."
Lillian
"Oh you'd adore kitti- (his nickname for her) she's a wonderful dragonet, " {^~ he said glad to talk about his daughter, his tail swishing happily ~^}

" She is brave and constantly trying to perfect her hunting skills, she never truly wanted to be a guard like me but I can't truly blame her after hearing some of the stories the others have told her"
Mildred
"Truthfully, I would not want for my dragonet to be a soldier, I would not wish it anyone but those who truly believe it is the best path for them. It, stunted me in some ways, important ways. Though, I can see some of my tactics being useful in hunting, if she would be interested in being taught them," *She mused as she looked out over the courtyard, closing her eyes in contemplation, and more than a little happiness.*
Lillian
" I do not wish for her to become a soldier either, but when she was younger it looked like the path she was taking, now she's almost constantly using her slim and smaller body to weasel her way into small caves to catch things-" {^~ he said smiling as he passed the drawing over to snow ~^}
Mildred
"Ah, hero worship, wanting to follow what her father does, seems she grew out of it, and is finding her own aspirations, a positive outcome for sure, I for one, am interested to find out what she does eventually decide what to do, the decision is hers, of course," *She commented as she took the drawing, she wasn't sure what to expect, though she did know for a fact, it would be the best.*
Lillian
{^` the drawing was of snow laying within a beautiful crystal cave, having made sure to include the Smaller details~^} " She seems pretty found of things like hunting, tho she has tampered with things like medicine before and became fond of it before"
Mildred
*She sat and stared at the picture, dumbfounded, for a good minute or so, only barely registering what Gyr was talking about, and like a mask lifted from her face, all of her care of dignity and professionalism dropped, her long established, and heavily defended, side melted away like ice in summer, the last few days doing their job in chipping away at the walls she put up around her heart, as she failed to even try to hold back her tears this time. By the time she looked back to him, even her scowl had broken away into a smile, and she jolted towards him to embrace him,* "No one, has ever given me, anything like this before..."
Marvin
🎉 **| Nightspark43** Leveled up!
Lillian
{^` he seemed taken off guard, looking at her slightly cunfused for a second before returning the embrace ~^} " Your- welcome-?.." {^~ he said not sure how to respond to this, happy her walls where down now but not sure if that was a good or bad thing in this case ~^}
Mildred
*She held him a small while, and when she pulled away, she realized what she just did, and with a noise of surprise and embarrassment, she quickly pulled herself to full height,* "My apologies, I do not know what came over me," *She tried to continue, but words failed her, and she instead sighed,* "That, felt good, to do. Still, it was inappropriate, especially since you are supposed to be on duty still. But, what they do not know will not hurt them," *She gave a short chuckle. While it seemed like she was back to 'normal' she was still talking with more emotion than usual.*

"I hope you will let me know when your shift has ended, I believe they will be serving dinner around then, I would, like to go with you," *She was, extremely evidently, entirely new to the concept of dating, and had no idea if she was being too forward or moving too quickly.*
Lillian
{^~ he thought a moment before nodding ~^} " Alright, amy specific spot I will be able to find you around that time?" {^~ he asked tilting his head in question, he had no problem having dinner with the dragoness, it had been a long while since he had tried anything like that, after his, arranged, marriage he had to go through with his other wife ~^}
Mildred
"You know where my sitting room is I trust? Near the gates? I will likely be there, lest something pull my attention away, nothing should, I made sure my schedule was clear, but, it is impossible to tell fully," *She explained, before adding,* "And hopefully I will not make a complete fool of myself," *Under her breath.*
Lillian
{^~ he nudged her slightly tho it was more or less a excuse to have her touch again ~^} " Alright, I'll see you there, maybe after dinner you would like to meet kitti?" {^~ he asked knowing he wouldn't be able to stay away from the kid for to long ~^}
Mildred
"I would enjoy that," *She confirmed, she was about to turn away to leave, but seemed to get another idea before she did, placing a talon on his shoulder before nudging her snout against his cheek,* "I will be waiting for you," *She said softly, before turning to return to her own duties, light as they were that day, trying incredibly hard to not laugh excitedly, her heart pounding in her ears.*
Lillian
{^~ he paused, caught off guard as the blush on his face turned a deeper shade of red, giggling alittle as he smiled before going back to his shift, excited for later on the evening~^}
Mildred
*For the first time since she was young, Snowstorm was nervous. Her, one of the Generals of the Icewing Kingdom, was nervous over a date, she even caught herself actually diving into the makeup her brother had bought her as a joke on her hatchday. Thankfully she was able to stop herself at just polishing her scales, she'd never forgive herself if she dolled up like a snooty noble...*

*As the day wore on, and she ran out of paperwork to busy herself with, she started to pace around the room, swearing at herself to calm down, and to not make a fool of herself, she even told the servants to not bother her unless is was critically important. Luckily, nothing was coming up, but it didn't alleviate it entirely.*
Lillian
{^~ he was on his way to meet her, having accepted kitti's offer of helping him get ready so he had some of the jewelry he and kitti had made from some pretty crystals and some bones, having made snow some as well if she would take the gift ~^}

{^~ he wasn't the type to normally feel like backing down from something but for once he felt like he might, scared he would mess this up some how as he went to were she told him to meet her ~^}
Mildred
*Near the entrance courtyard was a door to a sitting room, used to be used by visitors to warm up after the long journey, but nowadays other rooms were better served for said usage, so Snowstorm had commandeered it for her own uses, mostly being an office, and a room to prepare closer to the entrance than her room at the far end of the castle.*

*Gyr's knock at the door made the general practically jump out of her scales, much to her exasperation, and with a deep few breaths, she nodded into the mirror she had painstakingly moved to the room, and turned to open the door. Something about seeing him again made her chest tingle, and the jewelry he had made her feel a little inadequate, but she didn't exactly own anything of the sort, so there was nothing she could do about it. Though, the fact that her scales sparkled in the torchlight thanks to her polishing probably made up for it.*

"Good to see you, Gyrfalcon," *She said simply.*
Lillian
{^` he offered her a small smile trying to hide the embarrassment that was slowly growing as the dragon noticed how pretty the dragoness was, any words he was gonna say dying in his throat and coming out as more of a stifled whine as his face got alittle red, ~^}

{^~ shaking his head as he tried to regain himself ~^} " Good to see you to, snowstorm-" {^~ he said looking down at the bag he had before remembering and taking out some of the jewelry kitti and him had made for snow, ~^} " Kitti wanted to give you a gift- '
Marvin
🎉 **| void** Leveled up!
Jesse
Hh- "Kitti and I wanted to give you a gift" *
Mildred
*His failed attempt at speech was, more charming than she imagined it would be, chuckling at how cute she found it, and his blushing. When he had finally shaken off his surprise, and held out the jewelry, the general took it with a small gasp. Of course, it didn't hold a candle to what some nobles pranced about in day in and day out, but just the fact of who made it and gave it to her made it three times as precious to her.*

"I've, never worn jewelry before," *She said softly as she stared down at it, before looking back up,* "Do you think you could help me put it on?"
Lillian
{^~ he looked at her almost surprised that she'd never worn jewelry, giggling softly before he nodded alittle ~^} " Yeah, I can help,' {^~ he said carefully taking the jewelry and putting it on her, seeming to pay more attention to her then the jewelry as he looked her over while he put the jewelry on her, like she was some sort of art piece that he hadn't taken notice to before or had already fallen victim to some kind of trance she had put over his mind ~^}

{^~ once the jewelry was on he backed up having to remind himself that it was un kind to stare, even if snow was worthy of the attention ~^} " Sorry- didn't mean to stare-"
Mildred
*She didn't seem to dislike the attention at least, and the contact didn't help her attempts to stay stoic, even if it was just to help her with the gifted jewelry, it felt rather nice to be as close as they were outside of a fighting context. She couldn't help but blush blue as she felt his claws pass over her scales, an alien, and comforting, feeling.*

*She shook her head as he apologized,* "Do not be, I find it nice to be stared at in something other than fear for once."
Lillian
{^~ he smiled, thinking for a moment before he nuzzled her slightly as he moved to be beside her more ~^} " Do you have any preferences for where we go tonight?"
Mildred
*Snowstorm let out an unconscious small purr at the nuzzle as she considered,* "The soldier mess is still an option, if a little bland. But, since you live in the village, you likely know of some good things there, more than I do, in any case, but almost anywhere would be better than what they serve here in the palace," *She said with a chuckle.*
Lillian
" There is this nice place down near the sapphire lake, they always have the best tasting fish and vole there " {^` he said remembering the times he used to take kitti there for her birthday ~^}
Mildred
*Snowstorm nodded,* "It sounds as if you have experience with them, which means I can easily trust your opinion on it. Shall we?" *She asks, motion to the front gate, it wouldn't be far to fly, plus, it would get them close to Gyr's home, so meeting Kitti wouldn't be too far out of the way.*
Lillian
{^` he smiled before taking lead, hoping that snow would enjoy tonight as he didn't want to make this a waste of their time, knowing how some dragons can be when they are not happy with how something went ~^}
Jesse
Forgot to ping- oops-
Mildred
*Depending on how he looked at it, Snow's lack of experience even with these more simple aspects of civilian life was either a blessing, or a curse. That, and she seemed like even a disaster of a date would be worth it.*
Lillian
{^~ he landed outside of the little diner, his tail flicking alittle as he waited for snow, the diner nice compared to some of the other places around the ice kingdom ~^}
Mildred
*Snowstorm landed pretty soon after Gyrfalcon did, she was used to leading flights of course, so she did have to consciously work at not overtaking her date. Once they landed, she looked over the establishment and nodded appreciatively, there was always something about restaurants that intrigued her, wondering why they always held so much business attention, despite logically they would have generally the same food they could catch on their own.*
Lillian
{^~ he opened the door for her, offering a smile as he watched her, obviously more interested in her then the restaurant, he normally didn't let himself get this comfortable with another dragon but he couldn't help it, he found that snow was all he could truly think about at the moment and in all fairness, he didn't mind that at all ~^}
Mildred
*While she noticed how he looked at her, she didn't quite know what it meant, but, she was equal parts flattered and nervous about it, hoping she could live up to his expectations, with a quick thank as she stepped through, she waited for him as she scouted out the dining room, before looking back to him, smiling a little awkwardly as she met his gaze, while she tried to keep her tail from wagging and failing at it.*
Lillian
{^~ he smiled following her before he went and set up their table and paying what they were supposed to pay (I imagine dragons pay in gold?- or silver?-) before leading snow to their table ~^}
Mildred
*Snowstorm tried to keep her professional face up while in public to maintain her image, but, each time she looked to Gyr, her demeanor broke into a soft smile. And even when they got to their table, her tail moved to lightly coil around his own, while trying to keep her spikes in mind.*
Lillian
{^~ he looked at their tails starting to blush alittle as he hasn't expected that, doing his best to keep his tail still as the tip of it wagged just slightly ~^}
Mildred
*She could feel his tail tip wag and saw his blush, prompting one of her own despite her efforts not to. And she was rather content to stay just like that, tails coiled and just looking at one another, and maybe even holding talons if he offered, until a waiter came by to take their order.*
Lillian
{°` he blushed a bit before carefully inching his talon closer to snows, acting like he wasn't before holding her talon gently, his blush getting a deeper red color ~^}
Mildred
*By the time she realized it, the only thing she could focus on was him, the touch of his talon and tail, the sight of him across the table from her. Part of her chided herself for falling so hard for him so fast, but, apparently she was far from the only one to have done so. At that point, she had tuned out just about everything else.*
Lillian
{^` he seemed content like this, once the waiter came over he had to force himself to speak up, telling them his order before looking at snow and lightly tapping the top of her talon with his ~^}
Mildred
*It wasn't until Gyr spoke to the waiter that Snow realized they were even there, she jumped slightly as she looked over and saw them so close. She quickly made her own order, rather simple, but it was all she could think of on the spot.*

*Once the waiter stepped away to put their orders in, she turned back to him,* "We probably look ridiculous, but, I find that I do not care," *She whispered to him with a smile.*
Marvin
🎉 **| Nightspark43** Leveled up!
Lillian
{^~ he smiled at her, giggling alittle ~^} " I have accepted the fact that someone will always think someone else looks ridiculous or weird, and I don't think their opinions truly matter"
Mildred
*His response brought a chuckle from her as well,* "Then I suppose we will be ridiculous together, no matter what they think of us."