Depending on one’s definition of the word soon, Katherine did in fact live up to danny’s expectations. She showed up thirty minutes late. Just enough to leave him second-guessing and wondering if she’ll show up at all— but not enough for him to leave before she arrives.
[break][break]
This time around, she is not riding on her spectrier’s back. She’s pacing, seemingly all by herself. Albeit it was fairly dark still... It’d be hard to tell if a pokemon loomed in the shadows…
[break][break]
“wow…” She sneaks up from behind the rocket, not revealing herself to him just yet. Thankfully, the tree is large enough to hide her.
[break][break]
”here i was thinking you’d be too scared to come back. Maybe there’s more to you than it seems.”

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

her voice creeps up the back of his neck.

even after close to an hour of waiting, the excitement on his face shows when he turns, barely able to make out her frame from around the tree.

"scared? only a little," he chuckles, "but i wanted to see you again."

his mudsdale huffs, freeing danny as it stands.

"no ghost horse today?"

Katherine Fairburne
mission

☉

“No ghost horse today.”
[break][break]
The confirmation comes before she steps to the side, forgoing her place of hiding behind the tree. “It demands more attention than you’d expect, honestly.” Half a complaint, half an excuse.
[break][break]
Quickling glancing around, the disappointment that crosses Katherine’s visage is unmasked and unfiltered. He surely didn’t expect them to ride their horses again, right?
[break][break]
“So… Did you plan something for today, or…”
[break][break]
”..because if you thought horse-riding is my thing, I hate to burst your bubble. It isn’t.” Maybe she should apologize to his Mudsdale too?

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"my zeraora was the same way until i lost it."

or until he was scammed for fifteen gachapon tickets.

disappointment wears across her visage and, naturally, danny takes the bait. he quickly pushes off the ground, standing up before shaking his head.

"yes...! yes! i did have something planned today."

he clears his throat and recalls his mudsdale. in all honesty, he thought they were here to horse-ride, but he's always been quick on his feet.

"it's over this way."

extending his hand out, he gestures.

"come on."

Katherine Fairburne
mission

☉

For a fleeting moment, she considers asking how he lost it, but ultimately decides against it. She didn’t want to feign caring, after all.
[break][break]
“Oh. Great. I thought I’d have to make up an excuse to leave before we even started.”
[break][break]
Seriously. She’d gotten pretty good at texting her assistant to call her for an ‘emergency’ for… well, this exact reason. Nevertheless, for now, she’s curious enough to stay and tail after danny.
[break][break]
”where are we going exactly?”

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"you'll see in like a minute, tops."

if someone more daunting than danny were to say that, it'd probably end up sounding quite suspect. but the sweetness in him likely prevails, making him no more a threat than a sleeping pichu.

and sure enough, after about thirty seconds, they break through the clearing, revealing a wide lake that's frozen over.

he swings his backpack around and unzips it.

"do you know how to ice skate?"

Katherine Fairburne
mission

☉

“fine.”
[break][break]
She’ll give danny that. A minute. Thankfully, he requires even less, and within seconds the frozen lake is revealed in full. How could she have even missed it?
[break][break]
Her eyes flutter before shifting back to him, eyeing his bag.
[break][break]
”no,” she admits in a way that makes it sounds like a lie. ”are you going to teach me?”

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"yes," he says simply, smiling.

he sits atop snow-covered grass, scattering them under his weight. from his backpack comes two pairs of skates, one larger than the other. he places a pair by his feet and the other next to him.

"come on. lace up, kat."

Katherine Fairburne
mission

☉

“you better not let me fall.”
[break][break]
what should be just teasing is spat out almost like a threat. if danny knew what’s best for him, he’d avoid giving kat a reason to enact her punishment. either way, she wears the shoes without sparing this a second thought.
[break][break]
maybe she trusts him. maybe she’s hoping he fails her.
[break][break]
Carefully… she waddles closer to the frozen lake. Her weight shifts from one side onto another in a way that almost resembles a penguin’s walk.

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"of course."

as if he'd let her fall.

where she waddles, he glides. it takes little effort for him to maneuver around the frozen lake, sliding across with a surprising amount of grace.

he ends up beside her, slowing down to a waddle.

"so you're going to want to...sort of just slide your feet."

only now does he realize it might be a bit difficult to explain.

"lean forward a bit so you don't fall back."

gently, he reaches for her waist to help her into a more suitable position for skating.

Katherine Fairburne
mission

☉

“slide my feet?”
[break][break]
it’s hard to question him after having seen how proficient he was at this, so his instructions are followed. she leans forward a little as she attempts to slide across the lake. she seems to do well.
[break][break]
“why does it feel like you chose this place just so you can cop a feel?” her eyes glance down, gazing at the hand dan maintained around her.
[break][break]
she pushes herself to slide away from dan, and as expected, she messes up.
[break][break]
katherine slips, proving that she couldn’t defy gravity as well as her date did. just when her face is an inch away from the ice… she stops. not like a trained skater, mind, but as though gravity merely betrayed itself.
[break][break]
it takes her another moment to rebalance herself before the atmosphere feels normal again.
[break][break]
“yeah. this is easy.”

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"i promise i didn't."

despite the genuineness behind his words, the soft chuckle he gives speaks of something far less innocent.

but as she pushes away from him and inevitably slips, he blinks, watching as gravity around her seems to...stop?

"how did you, uh..."

still in disbelief, he slides on over next to her.

"just...how?"

Katherine Fairburne
mission

☉

”what?”
[break][break]
she plays innocent. or rather, she is innocent. there’s nothing strange about what just happened. ”i guess i’m a natural. you made it seem a lot more difficult than it was honestly.”
[break][break]
where all else fails, gaslighting doesn’t.
[break][break]
”can you do one of those fancy jumps?”

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]