//------------------------------// // Meeting Up // Story: Dare To Date // by Scyphi //------------------------------// When it came to dragons, personal hygiene wasn’t something most really stressed too much about, and Smolder was usually no exception to that, typically choosing to just stick with the basics. But tonight wasn’t like other nights, leaving Smolder perhaps a bit overeager to up her game for a change. And after spending several minutes fretting over her reflection in the dorm room’s mirror, making odd fixes, she still wasn’t sure it was enough. “I don’t know,” she mumbled aloud, and glanced at the reflection of her hippogriff roommate seen on one side of the mirror. “You tell me, Sil—what more do I need to tweak?” “I think you look great as-is,” Silverstream assured the dragoness from where she sat behind her on the bottom bunk bed. “Are you sure?” Smolder asked as she skeptically looked at her reflection again. “Maybe I should apply a bit more scale polish…” “Smolder, you apply any more polish to those scales and you’re going to start blinding creatures with the shine,” Silverstream quipped with a smirk. “And honestly? I don’t think Gallus is going to care that much. It’s not your scales he’s looking to see, after all, it’s the gal that’s in them!” Smolder sighed and continued to fuss over her appearance anyway. “Sorry,” she admitted as she did this. “I guess my nerves are getting to me.” “I don’t know why you’re so nervous about it though,” Silverstream remarked, watching her fret. “It’s not like this’ll be that different from all the hanging out you two have done before. Remember everything you told me you did during that three-day weekend?” “I just…don’t want to mess this up,” Smolder said as she patted herself down one last time. “It’s important to me, y’know?” “I get that,” Silverstream assured, rising and trotting over. She patted a friendly paw on her back. “However, I’ll remind you what you said when you told me about this.” She turned Smolder around so to face her. “You two aren’t looking to do a super serious date tonight, so don’t treat it like one.” Smolder sighed, but she grinned thankfully. “And you’re right, of course,” she admitted. She rolled her eyes heavenward and started to pace though, still no less nervous. “It’s just…our first date! That’s still…big, right?” Silverstream shrugged non-committedly. “Honestly, I’m still hung up on you two being a thing at all. Of course, I’m way happy for you two and all that, and I think you’ll make for a very cute couple. It’s just…yesterday you two were still only friends, and then I wake up this morning and find out you’re now starting a relationship…” “And see, that’s what worries me most,” Smolder admitted while continuing to pace, rubbing her shoulders as if cold. “We literally decided to try being a couple just last night. And I still wanna try, absolutely, and I’m thrilled Gallus agreed to give it a shot…but should we really going on a date this soon? Are we going too fast?” “I dunno, you tell me,” Silverstream said with an unhelpful shrug. “How do dragons usually date, anyway?” Smolder snorted, amused by the question. “Dragons don’t really do dating, honestly. We just sort of skip over that and cut right to the chase, if you know what I mean.” Innocent as ever, Silverstream casually shook her head. “No, not really.” Smolder chuckled and decided to spare enlightening her. “That’s okay, I don’t think I really want to do this purely the dragon way anyway,” she said, letting her gaze wander wistfully into the distance. “I mean, Gallus isn’t a dragon, he ought to get some say in it too. So when he suggested we go on a date…I figured I ought to follow his lead.” She sighed once more and resumed rubbing at her shoulders. “It’s just…because I’m a dragon, I don’t really know anything about dating. I hadn’t even really heard of it until I started coming to the school, and even then, it’s all secondclaw basics.” She threw her claws out as she paced back and forth. “What if I mess something up because I didn’t know I’m supposed to do something or not?” “Hey, it’s a first date, I think you’re allowed a little wiggle room on those sort of things,” Silverstream assured. “Besides, don’t forget, it’ll be Gallus’s first date with you too.” She nudged Smolder in the ribs with her elbow. “Betcha he’s fretting over all of these things too!” Smolder snickered to herself, amused by that mental picture. “Yeah, probably,” she relented. “Either way, don’t take it so seriously that you forget to have fun,” Silverstream went on to advise, “because date or not, that’s what you two are really looking to do.” Smolder took another deep breath so to calm her nerves. “Right,” she confirmed, nodding. She then averted her gaze. “But it’s not just the date itself that’s got me worried. What if…what if someone else sees us?” Silverstream shrugged. “So?” “So? What if word gets out to everybody that we’re totally a thing now?” Again, Silverstream shrugged. “And I repeat: so what? I know, Sandbar knows, our other friends know…why not everybody else? I mean, do you plan to keep this all secret forever anyway?” “No, I guess not,” Smolder relented, fiddling with her claws. “I mean, they’re all going to have to find out eventually, and deep down I guess I know that. But then they’re going to be all…wink-wink nudge-nudge everybody-acting-all-gushy-mushy around us all the time, and…I don’t know if I want that special treatment.” “I think I understand,” Silverstream said. “But, y’know, why do you care what others think about it? So long as you and Gallus are happy…well, that’s all that matters, right?” Smolder smiled and took another deep, calming, breath. “Seriously, Sil, you’re like an expert or something on this.” She tilted her head at the hippogriff. “Remind me why you aren’t in a relationship yet yourself?” “I dunno,” Silverstream innocently replied with a shrug to go with it. Smolder laughed, but it was cut short when there was a sudden knock on their door. She whirled around to stare at it, realizing who it could be, and, suddenly tense and nervous again, looked back at Silverstream for guidance. The hippogriff just gently nodded her head at her, motioning for her to continue. “Just remember,” she added as Smolder approached the door, “The most important thing you should do is be yourself.” “Right,” Smolder took another deep inhale, held it for a second then let it out. “Let’s do this, then.” There was another polite knock on the door, so Smolder answered it, swinging it open to reveal Gallus, with the griffon’s own roommate, Sandbar, standing off to one side in the hallway and acting like he wasn’t there. Like Smolder, Gallus had freshened himself up a little, having groomed his blue feathers and fur. But he was overall still keeping it casual, with the pair of pannier bags he carried on his back being the only other noteworthy change from his usual appearance. He, too, seemed somewhat nervous, but he quickly hid it now that Smolder was standing before him. “Hey,” he remarked casually, raising his eyebrows and dipping his beak for a quick nod in greeting. “Heeeey, you’re here!” Smolder declared back, her tone a little forced. She glanced back into her dorm to look at a clock. “You’re…you’re actually a little early. I’d figured you were going to be late.” Gallus snorted, amused. “There a problem with that?” he asked, a little smug. Smolder made a “pfft” noise, waving the matter aside dismissively. “Rocks, no,” she said, making like she was indifferent. “That just means I can watch you mess up pouring me a drink or something all the sooner.” “Oh, you think that, huh?” Gallus said, previous hesitations forgotten in favor of defending his pride. “Well, we’ll see who will be having the last laugh afterwards!” Smolder took that as a challenge. “Oh ho, we’ll just have to see indeed, feather butt.” “Looking forward to it then, scale butt.” “Good!” “Fine!” They stared each other down for a second before breaking out laughing, the lapse back into their usual banter breaking the tension. Though they were quickly reminded they had an audience when Sandbar was heard suppressing an amused snort of his own, which drew Silverstream’s attention, now joining Smolder in the doorway. “Sandbar?” the hippogriff asked, peeking around Smolder to eye the earth pony quietly standing to one side. “Why are you here?” “Moral support,” Sandbar replied simply, giving the hippogriff a knowing grin. Gallus shot him a look. “He just wanted to tag along and see us off, is all,” he stressed. He ran a confident set of talons through his feathery crest. “I totally got this on my own, though.” Now Sandbar shot him a look. “That wasn’t the case just five minutes ago, when you were still freaking out about how the heck you were even going to do—” Gallus gave him a forceful shove, making the earth pony stumble to one side and out of Smolder’s immediate view. “So!” Gallus then continued in a more normal tone, changing the subject, “Who’s up for some pizza?” Smolder smirked but shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I could eat,” she admitted. She started to turn back into the room, eyes wandering as if searching for something. She started rubbing at her shoulders again. “Just, uh, just let me get…” But she was cut short when Silverstream pushed her on out instead. “Nope, you’re absolutely ready to go right now!” she happily declared. “I am?” Smolder asked uncertain, glancing back at her. Silverstream nodded. “You are! No need to try and stall!” Smolder harrumphed and shook the hippogriff’s talons off of her. “I am not trying to stall.” “Mm-hmm,” Silverstream hummed, unconvinced, but pressed on regardless. “It’ll be great, you two, I’m sure!” She gave the dragon a wink that Smolder wasn’t sure how to interpret. But Sandbar, stepping back into view, understood and hid another snicker. Gallus glanced suspiciously between the two roomies. “Don’t need any help from the peanut gallery, guys,” he reminded. “Oh no, of course not,” Sandbar quickly agreed, “Totally staying out of it.” Smolder also looked between their roomies and raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Yeah…whatever,” she said, deciding to dismiss it and turned to Gallus. “Shall we put some distance between us and them before they overstay their welcome even further?” “I thought you’d never ask,” Gallus said as the two turned and walked off. “Bye guys!” Sandbar called after them as they vanished down the hall. “Remember to have fun!” “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Silverstream added. “Now goodbye!” “Toodles!” The two continued waving at them for a second. “Think this’ll go well for them?” “Betcha five bits it goes so well that they have their first smooch.” “You’re on.”