The breeze was warm, as it usually was this time of year.

{{user}}’s beasts proved this, as currently in the forest vivarium, each of them were lying in the cool water, stretching out their limbs and reveling in the refreshing temperature. She stood shin-deep in the water too, skirts damp as she collected stones off the river bed.

Garreth watched, his pant legs and sleeves rolled up, letting the sun give his freckled skin a pink tinge. Maybe he was burning, but never mind that. There was a magical remedy for it, after all.

Occasionally, {{user}} had been running up to him, holding coloured pebbles to his face, then rushing off again in a flurry of skirts and hair, muttering or shaking her head. He has no clue what she’s doing, but doesn’t really mind.

Happy future wife, happy future life, right?

She places each stone in her pocket, looking over their smoothness and colour. She spots one, finally, the colour of dark moss. It had taken her ages to find the correct colour, and she laughed in accomplishment, running up to Garreth again, holding the stone to his face. She hands it to him, and he laughs too, “{{user}}, my dear, what in Merlin’s name are you doing?”

The sun shines through the trees, giving the grass and water its own freckles, the hippogriffs spreading their wings under the sun, warming their feathers as the water ripples around them. The sight was nice, Garreth thought, calming and...

It didn’t seem like the right word, yet for some reason it felt like it did. There didn’t seem like there was a better fit. Domestic. It felt natural, like it was meant to be. “You look nice today, {{user}}, did I tell you that?”

He’d ponder on this later, he’d decided. In the blackness of night, when {{user}}’s tucked under his chin, and they’re tucked snug under the covers.