//------------------------------// // Ch 40: Date Night // Story: Enchanted // by The Whiskey Spirit //------------------------------// The stars shone brightly in the sky above. Aurick wore a pleasant smile as he stared up at them. His arm was wrapped around a form at his side as they lie in the grass together. Turning his head towards her, a smirk spread across his face as a brow raised. “When you said we were going on a date, I didn’t think you had this in mind.” He told her, earning a playful slap in return. “I can be romantic when I want to be.” Agni insisted with a snort. “Still…” Aurick said, earning a sigh from the red haired woman. “Yeah. I know. We spend so much of our time fighting… It’s just nice to relax every once in awhile.” She told him. Aurick couldn’t help but nod at the statement. He was about to say something more when Agni pointed up at the sky. “Look!” She exclaimed with a smile. “That group looks like a horse.” “A horse?” He blinked up at the stars for a moment, attempting to find what she had seen. “I don’t see it.” He admitted, turning back to her. Ashwyn turned her head towards him and frowned before pointing with a paw once again. “Is there.” She said. “Next to spoon. Look like Princess.” This time he more closely followed where she was pointing. He still couldn't see it. The spoon was there, but he- Oh! There it was. As he looked at it, something appeared strange about it. Then it blinked at him and disappeared from the sky. With a frown, he turned back to Ashwyn, only to find her frozen with a finger in the air. Blinking at her, he heard the sound of hooves approaching and smiled. He sat up and gave Agni a look before standing to greet the Princess. “And what do I owe the pleasure, Lulu?” He asked as he turned around to face her. She wasn’t looking at him, however. She was instead looking down at the frozen Agni, one of her brow raised in confusion. “You seem to be conflicted.” She stated matter of factly. Aurick couldn’t help but frown and stared back at the woman that was lying on the ground. A moment later, she was a pony. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe a little bit.” He admitted. “Though I’d ask you not to stick your nose into this.” She gave him a strange look for a short while before she acquiesced. “Very well. You are both adults, I will trust you to handle this subject yourself.” She said with a sigh. “As it is, that was not the reason I have arrived tonight.” “Aww, and here I was starting to think you cared.” Aurick replied with a grin, making her shake her head in amusement. “Surely not. Why would I care for a hairless ape such as yourself?” Her grin matched his. “No, I am here purely for business.” “Oh?” That had caught his attention. “Well then, step into my office if you would.” With a simple thought, the scene around them disappeared and was replaced by his living room. Luna blinked for a moment before a small smile played across her lips. “And here I was thinking you would actually bring me to one.” “Please place all complaints within the complaint box.” He told her, a small box appearing in front of her. There was no subtlety in the hole in the bottom of the box, nor the trashcan beneath it. Rolling her eyes, Luna sat down on an armchair as a small piece of paper was placed within. “Perfect.” He smiled. “Now then…” He gestured for her to speak with his hand. “Yes, well…” She took a moment to get comfortable in her seat. “As I’m sure your know, Test Tube is not the only pony in Equestria that believes themselves above the law.” She started, earning a short nod from Aurick. “As such, me and my sister have been doing our best to cut down on criminal activity as much as we can.” “Of course.” “While not used for their initial purpose, the armour you had enchanted for us has helped in a number of arrests.” Aurick smiled, having an idea of where this was going. “As such, me and my sister have decided to request another order of them.” “Easily done. Though I will warn you that it’s going to take longer this time. Now that my business has gotten more popular, I have a couple of large projects to work on. Not to mention my personal projects.” If Luna had any complaints, she didn’t voice them. Though she could have discreetly placed them in the complaints box. “That’s perfectly fine. There is no pressing matter that requires them this time. Perhaps during the wait, I can think of what I want that last enchantment to be.” She frowned and placed a hoof to her chin as Aurick nodded. “I’d almost forgotten about that.” He snorted. “Either way, it’ll be done. Is that all you needed?” Luna glanced back to him and nodded. “Why?” “It’s about Ashwyn.” He told her, scratching at his beard. “More specifically about her parents.” “Ah. I was wondering if the subject would come up.” Luna said with a smile. “I had kept them up to date with the events that have transpired, and they have made it known that they would like to see her.” Luna told him before frowning. “It had come to my attention that they had a falling out and now her parents are seeking to make amends.” “That’s great!” Aurick grinned as he leaned forward. “I convinced her to do the same. All we need is for them to get together and talk.” “I could easily arrange that. Tell me, what day would work for you?” “Any day after tomorrow is fine, so long as it’s in the afternoon. Though I’d rather let Ash decide when to do this.” He said firmly. “I want her to do this when she feels she’s ready.” “Of course. In that case, let me know when she’s prepared to meet with them. In the meantime, I shall alert them to this development so that they may prepare themselves as well.” Aurick nodded in response. “Now then, I must depart. There were a number of nightmares in the dreamscape that I must attend to.” “Alright. Have fun battling people’s fears.” With a nod, Luna faded away, leaving Aurick alone in his dream. A smile spread across his face as he thought of the day ahead of him. He hoped she would enjoy it as much as he thought she would. ~-~ Ashwyn stretched out on the couch, a yawn escaping her. She peered back towards the kitchen, a confused look on her face. It was almost time for dinner, and yet the Alpha was not making food. Perhaps he had forgotten? She was almost tempted to simply go make food herself, but she remembered what happened last time. He probably wouldn’t be too happy to find his kitchen on fire again. Before she could think on the subject further, the Alpha emerged from the basement, a smile on his face and a wicker basket in hand. She could smell the meat within it, though he had never needed a basket to bring it up before. As he took a step forward, she noticed he had a pack on his back, and pushing past the scent of the meat in the basket, she could smell wood. “What you doing?” She asked with a raised brow, earning a broad smile in response. “Well, we’ve been together for about a week and haven’t gone on a date yet. We’re about to fix that.” The moment he said the word date, she felt her face heat up. Why didn’t he tell her before hand!? She looked terrible! She could have at least brushed her coat before he sprung this on her! The Alpha seemed to understand what she was thinking. Granted, with the way she was looking over herself, it probably wasn’t too hard to guess. “Calm down.” He told her, his hand coming down to ruffle her mane. A fact that made her frown up at him. He saw this and smiled. “You look fine. Besides, it’s a picnic… of sorts.” That made her blink at him, her frown becoming more confused. “...In Winter?” She asked slowly, her brow raised. The Alpha rolled his eyes and gestured towards the window. “There’s no snow, we’ll have a fire, and…” He flipped the scarf she was still wearing, “we won’t be able to feel the cold.” Blinking, she placed a paw on the scarf around her neck. To be honest, she had forgotten it did that. A small smile came on her lips as she was reminded of it. She had only taken it off when she had too. At first it was because it kept her warm, but now… “Anyways, I’ve already got a place picked out.” Looking back up at the Alpha, she smiled warmly and nodded. “Let’s go.” ~-~ Aurick sat with his back to the tree, gazing up into the sky with a content smile on his face. Ashwyn was curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest. His hand was on her back, holding her close. The fire was still burning before them, two skewers sitting nearby as they dried of the meaty juices that coated them. “Is nice night.” She stated after a moment. Aurick couldn’t help but agree. They weren’t even being pestered by mosquitoes, though that could be because the world didn’t have any. He never looked into the bugs of the world, so he didn’t know. As he stared up at the sky, he allowed his mind to wander. Specifically to his dream. He was sure he had it because if his plans for the date. He had forgotten he had done something similar with Agni. Letting out a sigh, he turned his gaze to the pony he held close to him. He still didn’t know how he felt about her. About this pony that had found her way into his life. He wouldn’t be lying to say she had found a place in his heart. Far from it in fact. Though to say that it was love… He wasn’t sure he could label it as such yet. Snorting, he had to question if it even mattered what he called it. He cared about her. This was a fact. He wanted to help her. He wanted to make her happy. Wasn’t that what love was? He spent every day with her. He cooked for her. Helped her work through her troubles. Comforted her when she needed it. They even slept together! So why couldn’t he say he loved her? Letting out a breath through his nose, he rested his head against the tree. He already knew the answer. Agni. That woman had stolen his heart a long time ago. Even though they had broken up, he couldn’t help but have feelings for her. Even though he was in a different plane of existence, he couldn’t help but love her. Letting out a sigh, he scratched at his beard and looked up into the sky. He hadn’t moved on, even though he thought he had. He got into this relationship with Ashwyn because he thought he could get over his feelings. He knew now that it wasn’t such an easy task. The issue was that he wanted to be with Ashwyn. It had taken him some time, but he was certain that he wanted this relationship to work. He wanted to be able to love her like she loved him. A smile graced him as he thought of that. It was clear how deep the mare’s feelings were for him. She had spent all her time with him. Never once complaining about what they were doing, and simply enjoying his company. He had even seen her taking a look at that Enchanting book Twilight had in an attempt to understand his work better. She was taking so many steps to make this work and he… He didn’t do much. That was something that needed to change. Romance required effort from both sides after all. He had to figure out something he could do. Maybe he could get her back into writing? She said she wasn’t Inkheart anymore, but he knew better than that. She called herself something different now, but she was still the same person with the same soul. There was no evidence that her soul had been tampered with, so it was simply a mental issue. Her mind was hurt, and though it may never recover, that didn’t mean she had changed. Not truly. It was made even more evident with her interaction with Twilight the other day. The thought of that smile on her face brought one to his own. He liked that smile. He wanted her to be able to wear it more often, and it was talk of writing that had made it happen. Perhaps he could do some writing too? She was trying to learn of his passion, so it was only fair he learn of hers. Closing his eyes, he smiled. His mind was made up on the subject. He just needed to find a place to purchase the supplies. He looked down at her once more. She was asleep once more. Snorting, he shook her lightly, rousing her from her slumber. Blinking, she blearily looked up at him. “It’s getting late. We should go home.” He told her. She simply nodded and yawned, her sharp teeth shining in the light of the fire. Once again, his eyes drifted to her lips as she closed her mouth. It still felt wrong. A fact that displeased him. Letting out a breath from his nose, he steeled himself. This feeling was something he took issue with, so he decided that he needed to deal with it. If he truly wanted them to work, he’d need to get rid of it, and what better way than to face it head on? A hand cupped her cheek, making her look up at him. He had enough time to see her eyes widen before his lips pressed to hers. For a long moment, she tensed up. Then a paw pressed to his chest and he felt her melt into him as she returned the kiss. As they pulled apart, he couldn’t help but smirk at her. Her face was red, even up to her ears, though she didn’t seem embarrassed. A dazed smile was plastered on her face in a way that made him chuckle. “You’re a terrible kisser.” He told her between chuckles. A paw gently swatted him. “Was first.” She admitted after a moment. “Well then, guess I’ll just have to teach you, huh?” This served to make her eyes widen. He couldn’t help but grin at the reaction. He may not be able to say he loved her yet, but he certainly wanted to.