Chilly Boulder, Saturday

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Well, apparently Graham had gotten some kind of great news, news so good that it somehow even trumped the 'I successfully stood up for myself to a flamingo today' merit badge she'd earned. (Yes, she was aware that that wasn't actually the flex she was trying to make it into. But also, she was getting bullied by birds, just let her have this, okay?) Which meant the only possible thing to do was to celebrate with ice cream!

Even in this sudden cold snap, yes. Look, there were some things too important to let crappy weather interfere with, okay?

She was also gonna send off a quick Hanging out at CB with Graham! text to the group chat, so more people might decide to come join them and also get to hear Graham's good news.

[If you think you got a text, you totally did, and if you wanted a reason to join into the post, you also got a text! Fandom phones are fun!]

Comments

[pun_king]

Graham would also insist that Arden's news was also big and important and shouldn't be overshadowed by his own big news, although he would also admit that his big news was absolutely a huge, big, mega, dinner-worthy event. In fact, it put enough pep in his step and excitement moving his feet just thinking about telling her that, even with stopping to text her as they both made their way to Chilly Boulder, she wouldn't have to wait long until he arrived.

"Hey, Arden!" he said, waving excitedly when he saw her, and jogging up to her, and he intended to ask if they should do news first or ice cream first, but the excitement of it all took over before he even had the chance, and when he opened his mouth, it was just gushing out, "Look what came in the mail for me!" And he was shoving the Very Official Looking Document out for her to see with her very own two eyes. "Finally!"

This was, pretty much, after all, like getting a college acceptance letter from pretty much the Harvard of Knighthood in his world.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Fortunately, there was only one possible answer to his question anyway, especially since she'd had the whole trek here to be curious about it!

"Oooh!" she said, looking at the very fancy calligraphy that had clearly been written out by hand. "Okay, so this clearly needs to be read out loud for the utmost gravitas. Are you reading it to me? Or am I proclaiming it back to you?"

[pun_king]

And, look, Arden! Look! It even had a seal! An official Daventry seal! Right there on it in wax and everything!

"I guess that depends!" said Graham, laughing a little, which seemed like the sort of breathless laugh that was excitement and nervousness and pride and happiness and a little bit of fear all rolled into one. "Which one of us do you think has the best gravitas voice? I mean, if I'm officially a Knight Hopeful now," pause for preening and beaming, please and thank you!, "then I should probably work on my gravitas voice, don't you think? It's important for a knight to have gravitas!"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"True, sirrah Knight Hopeful, shouldn't you also get used to having your name and great deeds announced for you?" Arden asked in her own gravely gravitas voice.

Which was ruined soon afterwards by a laugh. "It's your letter," she said. "Go with whichever one makes you most excited!"

[pun_king]

"Oh, that's a good gravitas voice, too," Graham had to admit, though he was mostly just sort of beaming at Arden, a faint shade of pleased pink splashed across his cheeks, a more vibrant red along his ears and the tip of his nose. He sucked in a breath, as if uncertain what to do with such a decision, bit his lip a little, and bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, before he then shoved the letter at Arden again.

"You read it!" he decided. "I mean, I've already read it outloud, so you should get a turn, too!"

And she was right, it would be pretty thrilling, to actually hear it announced by someone else. It would also help make it feel that much more real, like he wasn't just making it up or just seeing what he wanted to see.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Well then, Sirrah, let me have it," she said, taking the letter with the utmost care and delicacy, since it wasn't about to get ripped, torn, or tattered on her watch.

"Dear Graham Cra--" she began intoning and then paused. "Wait, okay the beginning of this stuff reads like a bunch of legalese and lorem ipsum. Do you want me to read the whole thing? Or just the good part?"

[pun_king]

When Arden started to read, Graham squared his shoulders, puffed up his chest, placed his fists on his hips in a stately, knightly pose and--

"Oh, right," he remembered. "They tend to all read like that."

Knights of Daventry loved their legalese!

"It's fine," he said, waving a dismissive hand. I didn't read all of that, either. So, yeah, just jump to the good part."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Good part skimming activated," Arden teased. "Aha! We, the Royal Knights of Daventry, do officially accept your application to participate in the somewhat-annual Tournament of Knights. Be there Monday, May 6th--" She had been intoning with the best of them but the next sentence caused her to sputter out a laugh instead "--date subject to change, where we will commence the festivities with the Parade of Knight Hopefuls!"

She looked up at Graham and grinned. "That's you, you know. A Knight Hopeful. You get to be in a parade!"

[pun_king]

And as Arden picked up to the good part, Graham resumed his Heroic Pose^TM, and even managed to keep his face straight and serious through most of it! But a dreamy smile started to slowly surface the more she read, and by the time she finished, he was all out beaming again.

"That is me!" he confirmed, absolutely delighted and sure he wasn't going to tire of hearing that....until he became an actual knight, anyway. "And I do get to be in a parade! Triumph, too, as my trusty steed!"

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Of course Belle had gotten a text and of course Belle was always up for ice cream even when the weather was cold.

She'd just go back and curl up and read under a blanket afterwards to warm up!

"Is there an occasion for ice cream? Or are we just pretending it isn't still winter?" That could be an occasion in and of itself.

[pun_king]

"Belle!" Graham's eyes lit up to see her come in. Granted, his entire excited buzz hadn't dimmed one iota since he opened his letter; in fact, it had only brightened more now that there were friends and ice cream involved, but still! He had a feeling that Belle especially would be able to appreciate his big news, which was why he was already hurrying over to her (tripping a little over his own two feet as he did, but it was fine, no one noticed that, right? Right!) until he could greet her by announcing it in much the same way he'd told Arden, by holding up his letter proudly and beaming behind it. "Look, look! It's official now! They accepted by application to be Knight Hopeful! I'm competing in the Tournament this year! May 6th!"

Date subject to change, of course.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

What if Belle noticed but promised not to breathe a word of it?

"Congratulations, sir Knight!" Belle dipped into a quick curtsy, smiling widely. "That's wonderful news. Truly cause for a celebration with lots of whipped cream!"

[pun_king]

"Sir Knight Hopeful!" Graham corrected, but he was still grinning from ear to ear and would probably not stop grinning until well into Sunday. Maybe even Monday, too! "I won't be an actual Knight until after I win the Tournament, but....thank you!" He breathed out with a sigh almost like relief, as if the reality was finally settling in and becoming real and its was a great weight of doubt lifted off his shoulders.

...temporarily, until the next one settled in about the Tournament itself, but for now? Nothing but good vibes!

"And it really is! Arden stood up to a flamingo, too! So we're both celebrating good stuff with whipped cream and ice cream and maybe even sprinkles!"

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"You shall always be sir Knight to me," Belle told him. "And soon to everyone else. This day certainly does call for whipped cream and sprinkles and perhaps even a cherry on top!"

[pun_king]

Sorry, Belle. Graham was going to need a moment. That first statement hit him with a particular strong flood of emotions, no doubt because they were already so potent with the buoyancy and awe of his news. That well of emotion even seemed to bubble up into a grateful sheen in his eyes, and then the part that followed made his breath in deep, square his shoulders, lift his chin with his proud grin leading all of it, finishing with a deep sigh of wistful eagerness.

"Maybe," he said, "even all cherries. Thanks, Belle. For believing in me."

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"You've given me every reason to do so," Belle said stoutly. "I've no intention of stopping."

This seemed, perhaps, like the ideal time for a congratulatory hug. If Graham was amenable, of course.

[pun_king]

Graham would absolutely be amenable to a hug! He loved hugs, and felt like there weren't enough hugs in the world, and this was a most excellent time for a hug. There was a happy sigh with the hug, too, still just riding that glow and the excitement of it all, and how great it was to have good friends to share it with, too.

"Maybe," he said, once he pulled back out of the hug and gave Belle a thankful smile, "you could even support me at the tournament, if you wanted! It's," oh so conveniently! "just after the semester is over, so you wouldn't even have to miss any classes or anything!"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"A very important reason," Arden deadpanned. "I won a great victory in my battle with the flamingos." And then she laughed. "Also, Graham got a letter, but he doesn't seem to be very enthused about it, so I figure it barely counts."

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"Graham is never enthusiastic," Belle said gravely. "Congratulations on your victory, Arden. They seem a worthy foe."

Maybe? Belle had no idea what the flamingoes were like besides 'pink' really.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"It's true," Arden said sadly. "He's just very somber as a person, I've noticed. And thank you. They're very pushy. And have unilaterally decided that I was going to be their babysitter. Their unpaid babysitter."

Fortunately, that kind of thing was just something that happened on the island, so she didn't think anybody was going to push too hard into why the flamingos decided that was a good idea. Leroy the Jerk Squirrel has a crush on a human and nobody looked twice at it.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"Isn't it too early for baby birds? The poor things will freeze! And so would you! Unless they wanted the babies to come to you?"

Leroy was a special case. Very special. Everyone knew that.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Oh, they lay eggs according to rainfall, not temperature or date," Arden said. "And the egg won't hatch for another month or so, I think. They just want me to sit on it while they go off and join the other adults in the lake."

LIKE JERKS.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"That seems rather unreasonable of them," Belle said. "Perhaps they ought to look into utilizing space at Furnado?"

Sorry, Prompto, you were just volunteered to put flamingo eggs in an incubator and take care of them by someone who didn't even know you!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I don't know if I can convince them to leave the water and go where cats are," Arden said, a bit dubious.

[wildgalegirl]

Charllie had totally shown up for ice cream and to see Graham and Arden. It might have seemed as if she hdan't but she totally had. "Hey all!"