Rowan didn't have time to dissect what had just happened, and shoved those emotions aside for the meantime. She wanted to spend a good day with Alvaro and the children, and once she was alone in her room, could unpack what had just transpired.

For now, though, Rowan was nodding to what Alvaro was saying, and thinking about what horse would suit him best. With a glimmer in her eye, Rowan gave one final and firm nod, "Alright then! You get the horses Neo and Hyll will be riding ready, and I'll prepare Frost and your horse."

With a nod, Alvaro trotted off to go get the horses, halters in hand. Despite his earlier exhaustion, he was wide awake now. Though, he didn't know if that was due to the kiss or just having something to look forwards to. If anything, it was probably a mix of both, though the kiss had undoubtedly made the day much different than originally planned. He figured that later, when he had a moment to himself, he'd figure it all out, and eventually, one day, ask Rowan how she felt about the kiss, and him. Whatever her reply was to that, he would be fine with, Alvaro just wanted her to be happy. Even if she left him behind in the process.

It wasn't difficult to get the horses ready, although it was time consuming, so Rowan finished that Neo would be done making the picnic basket. She headed over to Alvaro, leading Frost and a tall, dapple gray mare she introduced as Nixie. The mare would be a good match for Alvaro - capable and fit, but also very well behaved, and hardly ever spooked. Rowan was pleased that Nixie had been willing to give Alvaro a ride, and had gotten a promise from the horse to go easy on Alvaro.

"Want me to hold the horses while you get the kids?" Rowan offered, once she saw that Alvaro was done as well.

Alvaro had happily gotten the horses ready, a task he had once found mundane seemed much more exciting now. Though he knew not if it was due to what would come after, or if it was just genuine excitement from being around the horses themselves. Whatever the case, Alvaro was happy, if not a little confused from the earlier kiss.

When he finally finished, he looked to Rowan with a bold smile, green eyes twinkling softly in the light of the sun. "Well sure! I'll be back in a bit." Alvaro carefully handed over the horses before flying off. He started out slow, as to not spook the horses, but once he was out of seeing range, Alvaro flew high up into the sky and released a loud "yes!" and pumped his fists in the air. Although the earlier adrenaline had worn off, he was still super excited about the kiss and had to release the energy somewhere. Plus, he had to celebrate.

By the time he landed in front of the house, his cheeks were flushed and he was smiling brilliantly, his mark glowing on his cheek. He knocked on the door, and Nakia opened it immediately. She looked him up and down, mildly confused, but then her face finally settled on a smug smirk. Oh she knew exactly, what must've happened. Hyll's plan had worked, as expected.

"Come on guys! Let's get going!" Nakia bounded out of the house, giggling as she jumped into the grass and rolled, earning an eye roll from Neo who appeared soon after, holding the basket of food.

Hyll followed her two smaller siblings out at a slower pace, and although she was calm, had the same level of excitement. The nymph closed the door behind her and checked on her tree while Nakia burned off her initial burst of uncontrollable energy.

She was able to be separate from her tree for short periods of time, although not at a great distance. The ride would most likely be fine, and if she felt any internal fraying or tightness, Hyll didn't doubt they would turn back and go less far if she asked.

Like Nakia, Hyll took a long look at Alvaro - his flushed face, boyish excitement, and contained energy and excitement. There might have been an internal victory dance that was paired with an external smirk, but Hyll did not mention anything about what had certainly happened, "Ready to go?" Hyll asked innocently.

Nakia did indeed burn off her initial source of energy.

By catching a bird.

It wasn't like such things were uncommon for Nakia, she was half mountain lion, but Alvaro had definitely not been expecting it. Truthfully, she was mildly terrifying. Yes, Alvaro was all about nature, as he was bonded with it, and he fully understood the natural way of things. The thing he didn't like was hunting just to hunt, trophy hunting. Alvaro watched Nakia carefully, trying to figure out if she was going to murder the poor, scared bird in her hands. It didn't take him very long to get his answer, with a quick movement, the bird was back on its tree, and Alvaro released a sigh of relief as Nakia bounded over.

Neo meanwhile just ignored his little sister, and made sure the food was still safely packed away. When he heard Alvaro sigh, he couldn't help but grin. Neo wouldn't ever let Nakia kill something just to kill, and plus, she seemed to already have known such things. So although she caught birds often as practice, and to admire their pretty feathers, she'd never killed a single bird, not unless she was actually hungry.

Alvaro turned to Hyll with a smile his pink cheeks slowly fading back to their normal color. The boyish aura around him had yet to fade though, and he began to bounce on the balls of his feet as his excitement returned to him. "Yup I think we are." Alvaro turned and raised an eyebrow at Neo, who just nodded, while Nakia ran off ahead, trying to catch butterflies or falling leaves.

Hyll nodded once, and whistled to attract Nakia's attention, "Wanna race to the horse field?" The nymph knew that Nakia would win, but hopefully running would take the edge off of her energy and she wouldn't fidgit so much on the horse. It also meant the pair might be able to see if Rowan was still blushing and giddy like Alvaro.

-

sorry this one is so short.

Nakia immediately straightened up, her eyes narrowing on Hyll. Neo couldn't help but sigh with relief. He loved his sister of course, but she was tiring with her constant energy, and when she crashed, she crashed. While he'd been making food, Nakia wouldn't leave him alone until he told her to go bother someone else. Instead, she'd fallen asleep on the floor of the kitchen in her little cougar form and had scared the life out of him. She was lucky he hadn't been holding a knife or something or he might've dropped it on his toes.

Regardless, because of that unfortunate nap, Nakia was full of energy again, and as expected, she nodded excitedly at Hyll's suggestion. "Last one there has to wash dishes!" Nakia giggled and waited for Hyll to start, giving her a few seconds head start, before booking it after her. Leaving Alvaro and Neo in the dust. "She really is a handful huh?" Alvaro grinned down to Neo, who merely shrugged, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "She's always been one."

Although Hyll knew it was unlikely she'd win, it was not like the nymph was one to give up. Her tall and willowy form gave her the advantage over the shorter Nakia, and even though trees weren't exactly what people thought of when they imagined fast... Nymphs could definitely book it.

The roots and dirt didn't trip Hyll up like with most, and her bare feet landed softly with each foot step.

Hyll enjoyed running. It was freeing, in a way, and even though she was apart of nature, moving along with it all only enforced that feeling.

As Nakia was a shifter, she was quite used to the rough terrain of the forest floor, as she never wore shoes. It was very uncommon for her to trip, though, it still happened when she was very scared or excited. At the moment, Nakia was hurtling herself forwards, not truly thinking about where she was placing her feet. This, of course, was a mistake that she should've already corrected, mother would've been upset at her if she was still here. She would've gently cuffed Nakia over her head, hissing as she chided Nakia for not listening to her.

It wasn't often that Nakia thought of her mother, mama Rowan did a great job of raising her, Alvaro did too, so she tried not to think of mother too much. Thinking of her brought back painful memories that she preferred remained buried. Unfortunately, times like these, where she could almost see her mother scolding her, happened every now and then. It was because of these thoughts that Nakia tripped and fell, releasing a sharp hiss as her knees scraped the ground, "Ouch,"she muttered as she slowly stood, blinking away the pain. Nakia stayed silent for a moment, pushing the memories back as quickly as she could. "Sorry Hyll, I tripped."