Inkwell

Inkwell could tell by the tone of Lola's voice that she wasn't particularly impressed by his profession. He did his best to keep his ears up and continue smiling despite his disappointment. Still, the fact that she expressed her gratitude made it a lot easier to do so. "You're welcome, milady. It was the least we could do." Delios mentioned that Inkwell might need some rest, which made Inkwell look himself over. He did feel a bit tired, but probably not ready to sack out just yet. Even so, it looked like the three travelers were all set to handle matters themselves, and Inkwell felt superfluous to the proceedings. "Well," he told Cat, "it looks like they've got everything under control. What do you say we go home and put the finishing touches on our work, huh?" He put a hoof on Cat's shoulder and smiled at her.

As it happened, several ponies happened to catch sight of the trick Magi pulled on that bench, including a rose-colored mare in a bookstore window across the street. Seconds before, Rose Madder was perusing the imperfectly organized books on an uneven, unvarnished wooden shelf labeled "Science Fiction" with marked on a sheet of loose leaf paper taped to its side. Presentation was never one of Index Square's strong suits, but he made up for it with a charming personality and the ability to surprise her with his store's selection. It seemed that every time she visited his store, he could pinpoint her to an under-appreciated, out of print gem sandwiched between the newest edition of a classic and the latest bestselling page-turner. Her list of books to read before she died never seemed to get any shorter, so Dex's help was invaluable. She held one such book with the powers of her horn as she watched Magi play with her flaming snake and ultimately let it fizzle out. So engrossed was Rose in pony-watching that she found Dex's sudden presence next to her, doing the exact same thing, a bit of a shock. "She looks like quite the character, doesn't she?" Dex asked, in his typical on-the-nose manner. Rose nodded and looked at the book again. She used her magic to open it and flip through the pages, behavior that might be frowned upon in more professional bookstores. After seeing enough of the contents within, she nodded and gently closed it again. "I think I'll just take this one, thanks." The payment was processed and the book changed hands, leaving Dex to wave Rose goodbye and recommend one story in the book, "Little White Shadows." Once Rose passed beyond the threshold of the bookshop door, the hustle and bustle of the street, a cacophony of clopping hooves, eased into her ears like an old friend who'd just caught up with her. Soon she passed between the carriages on the main street and crossed to the other side, taking a seat on the bench beside Magi. Rose looked at the smoldering ashes on the ground, which seemed to hold Magi's complete attention. It took a few moments for Rose to think of how to snap her out of it. "Hey," she ended up saying. "I like your mane."

Huh? Did Cat just nuzzle that pompous colt? Inkwell watched her do it, watched him get flustered as a result. What did it mean? He thought Cat confessed her love for him at the Gala, and now she just gave him a public display of affection? His head swam with worry until Cat sat down next to his poor, exhausted body, and the resulting giddiness made him dismiss the issue. "I'd love to," he said to her when she asked about foraging. "My mom's an herbalist. When I decided to see the world, she taught me how to find food in the wild, just in case, and I got a lot of use out of it, let me tell you! I lived in the woods for about a week before I stumbled upon Ponyville!" He remembered the time fondly and sighed. He had to roll his eyes at how quickly Dark reversed his position on accepting their help with food because of that nuzzle, though. First he completely brushed them off and insisted on solitude because... Inkwell didn't know why. And then the poor sap, ill-equipped for his new-found hormones, caved in almost instantly, even though he tried to brush it off by venting at the other... older pony? Inkwell never really noticed that much about Czar until now, and for some reason what he did notice put him in mind of an impetuous little foal, not unlike the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But then Inkwell processed the deep, booming laugh, the grizzled, weathered look of Czar's fur, the scar across his eye, and yes, the gut of a physical powerhouse gone to seed. He couldn't believe it. What was a pony as old as him, Cat, and Dark combined doing chasing after this pipsqueak and crashing into walls? Inkwell looked like he wanted to ask exactly that, but politeness made him awkwardly waver on whether or not to speak.

Rose chuckled and deposited the small bite of cheesecake on Scale's plate. "Heh. You already know me so well. I do love my desserts, but as long as I get something in exchange, I think I can bare to part with this much." She used her magic to break off a piece of one of Scale's peppers and popped it in her mouth. After a moment of thorough chewing, she swallowed it and took a sip of water. "Not bad, but not really dessert material. And I've had spicier. Things that melt your mouth instead of the other way around." She chuckled and ate another nibble of cheesecake to cover the taste up.

The thump on the side of the shack made Inkwell turn his head. He had a few laughs at Cat's comments about pigeons, DarkCore's comments about this new pony's weight, and when the new pony started laughing at Dark, Inky found himself laughing too. Wait, what did Dark say? Inkwell was just finishing the second apple when he blinked and swallowed, sputtering as some of it went down the wrong pipe. "Hhhack ghaaack! Three days?" he asked, incredulous. "Luna's wings, guy, you know that's not healthy, right? Ponies can't survive on just apples, and they can't make a habit of fasting for days!" He tried to stand up, but found that his legs weren't quite ready to support him yet. His body dropped back a few inches onto the ground. "You know, if you can't get food from civilized society, you can at least let me teach you how to forage," he said. "It's really not that hard once you get down to it. Ever have cattails before? They're actually pretty good!"

Inkwell watched as the basket got closer and closer to the ground, everything on it magnifying until it surrounded him. "Woohoo! Home sweet home! The flight was amazing, Cat! I kind of want to be a pegasus now!" He scrambled out of the side of the basket and tumbled onto the ground. Once he was out, he made a show of inhaling the fresh air around the town. "Oh, you're going to love it here, Ashton! Everypony's so nice and welcoming, and then there's a great library and restaurant and bakery-" That's when Inkwell saw another griffon, a majestic, colorful creature who carried a great sense of dignity about her, easily as much as Rarity, if not more. When she introduced herself, Inkwell found himself bowing almost out of reflex. "Pleasure to meet you, milady!" he said. "I'm Inkwell, and this is my friend Cat Napper. We were looking for inspiration in the forest when we found Ashton and his balloon." He smiled and put a foreleg around Cat, beaming with pride. "All too happy to help!" Then he realized that Lola and Delios had made references to the dietary habits of their kind. That's right, he remembered. Griffons ate... meat. His smile twitched, and he chuckled a bit nervously. Now why would he do that? It's not like either of them would just kill an innocent pony like that, and Ponyville had had griffon visitors before with no problems at all. "Don't suppose either of you are interested in taking the tour?" he asked them. "Or perhaps you'd rather just continue on to Canterlot? I've never been, but my sister says it's a wonder."

It wasn't in Inkwell's nature to be aggressive and confrontational. He could only muster up fierce anger for just long enough to bark out a sentence or two, and then he snapped right back to his normal self like a rubber band. When Aqua walked up to Granola and started shouting at Granola, Inkwell flinched and shrank back, breaking out of his own state of righteous indignation. The risk Granola had posed to his art was quickly forgotten, and soon Inkwell began to feel empathy for the poor filly. True, she just did something incredibly stupid, but Inkwell had been just as dumb at points in the past, and he knew too well what she must have been going through. By the looks of things, though, it seemed as if he was the only one. When Tempest ordered Granola to clean off the debris that got stuck to her in the chaos, Inkwell started helping her, using his magic to scrape the mud and leaves and twigs off of Aqua's body. He could feel his heart start to crack as Granola sniffled and sobbed. "I-It's fine," he mumbled. "I fffforgive you."

Inkwell shrugged, the motion barely moving his saddlebags. "Well, yeah, they don't do much for paintings and materials for more salable works, but it's a great fit for my sketchbooks and pencils. Plus it's really comfy, you know? I kinda feel naked without it." Now that he thought about it, Jamba wasn't exactly naked herself. She wore a very conservative dress that barely exposed an inch of her coat. It looked great on her, he admitted, but did she actually travel while wearing it? It looked like too nice a dress to wear on the open road. "Where'd you pick that up?" he asked her. "Looks like a nice find." He remembered that Jamba had her own cart and glanced at it, then remembered that she brought him gifts in it! "You did?" he exclaimed. "Oh Jamba, you shouldn't have! I would've been happy just to see you again after all these years!" Without thinking twice, he embraced her in a friendly hug. "And I didn't get you anything at all! Can I take a rain check or something?"

Inkwell chuckled to himself as Dark Core practically shot steam out of his ears at being called "nice." He was starting to recover from his protracted running session into the bog. His heart didn't ache so much and his breathing wasn't quite as labored. "Oh, alright," he told Dark. "You're... you're a dirty ******* with a wormy black heart and no redeeming qualities whatsoever. How's that?" He snickered at the thought that Dark would be less offended by that comment than by being called "nice." Cat brought him a few apples to eat just as he felt his stomach rumbling again. He managed a feeble smile in return for her generosity. "Aw, thanks," he told her. "You're such a sweetheart." He was in the middle of his first bite when Cat rested her head on him again, causing him to blush and widen his eyes. But soon he got over it, eating his first apple, core and all. "You say you got these from where?" he asked Dark. His eyes moved back to the bushels he'd collected, trying to piece together whan Dark said. "...the townsfolk threw them at you? That many?" He sighed and shook his head. "Dang. I don't... I don't know. I don't get you at all." He craned his head over to the second apple when he head a loud thud, and turned his head to see the wall where it came from. "What was that?"

Rose chuckled. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" she replied. "And it might actually not be much like pie after all. There's no dough covering on top, or filling. I was actually thinking of pumpkin pie, which is also great if it's served right. Not exactly in season right now, though. You know what, I'll just let you see cheesecake for yourself." So she waited a few minutes for Hollandaise to come back with their order, a smile crossing her face when she smelled the food seconds before he stepped into view. The dutiful waiter set a plate of grilled peppers in front of Scale and a slice of cheesecake drizzled with raspberry sauce and white chocolate shavings in front of Rose. She immediately used her magic to cut away a chunk of it and lift it into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she savored the taste, a blend of sugary delight that sent her spine a-tingle. After swallowing it, she looked at Scale again, as if she just remembered he was there with her, and cut off a smaller piece of her dessert. "Want some?"

After blushing from the hug and the nuzzle Cat gave him, Inkwell turned over, onto his back, and did his best to relax. The hard, bumpy floor of Dark's ramshackle dwelling didn't make it easy for him to relax, and he knew he would get really dirty lying there, but he didn't care. His muscles burned with a dull ache and he still found himself short of breath. It was a wonder he didn't just collapse into a deep sleep right there! With Cat's wing as a blanket, he certainly wouldn't mind that. But instead, he stayed awake and listened to Cat's explanation of how she and Dark had met. "Wow, thanks for saving her from the... spider," Inky said, snickering a bit. "For a master of evil, you're a pretty nice colt, you know that?" What was up with Dark? He let Inky and Cat stay at his place despite apparently not liking them all that much, and he certainly didn't mind feeding them all of those apples that he had for some reason. Ech... those apples didn't look anywhere near as appetizing as the ones from Sweet Apple Acres. He could see that a lot of them had bruises and even cuts on them, which let the insides get stale. Still, he did see a few ones that looked mostly okay to eat, and that sprint to the bog had given him one heck of an appetite. "Hey Cat... could you get me a few of those?" he asked, looking up at Cat's adorable, angelic face. "I'd do it myself, but... ugh, so tired." He made a weak attempt to get up but just ended up rolling into her.

Huh. That sounded simple enough, Inkwell thought. "Alright, pull the chain to go up, brown rope to go down," he repeated. "I can do that!" He smiled and glanced over the edge of the basket, down at the landscape below. Instead of feeling vertigo, he was enraptured, absolutely enchanted with his bird's eye view. Was this what pegasi saw every day? What Cat saw every day? The sound of snoring made him turn to look at Cat. Such a magnificent voyage they were going on and here she was, curled up in the corner, fast asleep. He chuckled and mussed up her mane with a hoof, then turned his attention to sketching out a landscape scene with lakes and the forest and mountains in the distance! It took him a long time to get everything down to his liking, with the occasional interruption to tend to the balloon when he noticed the altitude changing. But other than that, there wasn't much to complain about. There was no trouble, no turbulence, no crashing into the trees. It was an uneventful trip, and if Inkwell couldn't sketch the landscape, he'd probably be bored. Then another new feature entered his field of vision: Ponyville. Oh, he missed it so! He beamed and felt excitement welling up within him, making him shake Cat and Ashton on the shoulder. "There it is! There it is! Let's... oh horse apples, how do you land this thing?"

"Solstice Heights, huh?" she asked, setting the cake down on the plate Ignus provided. Much to her relief, it fit on there well enough, just coming up to the edges. "I'll stop by and visit soon!" She smiled and levitated a slice up to her mouth, then after a moment's deliberation, another slice. As she walked away from the two dragons, she did her best to finish them quickly, so she wouldn't have to chew on them while she talked to a childhood icon. ((Exit Rose))

Everypony else took notice of the gryphon. Bramble seemed oddly interested in her, probably as a distraction from the awkwardness of talking about Fluttershy's modeling career, and Fluttershy herself seemed skittish and reluctant to socialize. That was weird. Was she scared of gryphons? No, she knew this one. Maybe they had a bad history or something. He had to laugh a bit at the meadowlark nesting in Big Macintosh's hair. It was impolite, he knew, and yet it was really, really cute. So cute, in fact, that he had to draw it. He got his sketchbook and made a quick sketch of Mac's head, just in time for the bird to stop and listen to Fluttershy. Strangely enough, it actually seemed to listen to her, flying away and going to make a nest in something that wouldn't protest. "Wow, you really are good with animals, Fluttershy," he says, impressed with her abilities. "I guess asking nicely really does go a long... way..." His eyes caught a beautiful bird soaring through the air, wreathed in feathers that looked like streaks of flame. It flew over the garden and disappeared in over a tall hedge wall, creating a miniature sunset as it passed out of view. Inkwell blinked and started at that hedge. "Wow... um, listen, everyone, I think I j-... I sh-... Drawing." That was the best explanation they were getting, it seems. He walked through the hedges as quietly as he could, hoping to catch another glimpse of the princess's pet phoenix. ((Exit Inkwell))

Cat was alright! Cat was alright! Inkwell buried his face in Cat's body, embracing her and no doubt getting her messy with sweat and grime. He listened to her words and smiled, using his fetlocks to wipe away his tears. "I know, I heard about it from the other pegasi," he said, trying to get his voice under control. "I was... I'm sorry, I was just so worried that you'd leave after what we said last night. It was stupid, I know, I wasn't thinking straight." He turned to look at the other colt in the room, the one Cat introduced as being another friend from the gala. He looked, well, kind of like a petulant child, honestly. This other friend was rather rude to him, behavior that Cat tried to excuse. Inkwell didn't mind, though. As long as Cat thought he was okay, he was okay. "Okay, thanks for... for helping out," Inkwell told him. "She means the world to me." After taking a few steps he felt fatigued, practically collapsing onto the floor as he went to lie down. "Sorry, I kind of ran here from Ponyville. Give me a minute, please."

After Inkwell came home from the gala and put his formal outfit into storage, he spent the rest of the night in a restless state, pondering the possibilities that unfolded after the sun went down. His thoughts turned to his friend, Cat, who had awkwardly confessed deeper feelings for him after his sister had guided them together again (and none too subtly at that). After the question was broached, he told her he'd think about how he felt about her, and he still didn't know. Before the Gala, she was a good friend, and the question of romance never went through his mind. After, though, he suddenly started thinking differently about her, especially after he heard her sing for the first time. Before he knew what he was doing, he came onto her, then backed off again. He woke up the next morning, memories of Cat-centric dreams fading away, and decided that he'd see Cat again. But unfortunately, he couldn't find her. She wasn't at her apartment, she wasn't flying in the sky, she wasn't sleeping on a cloud, and she wasn't painting! Suddenly Inkwell couldn't think straight, instead immediately assuming the worst of the situation. He spent the morning in a panicked flail, tripping over his words and asking his other Ponyville friends if they'd seen Cat in about twice the time it would have taken him otherwise. After hilarious shenanigans that would no doubt be entertaining to read about, he found out that she'd drifted north on a cloud, and followed her over to Froggy Bottom Bog. The thought of Cat getting endangered by the wild beasts he'd heard lived there drove him to gallop harder than he ever remembered galloping. Even though he'd never been to the bog before, and he'd see many new sights which he could draw, he forgot his saddlebags and didn't spare a thought to getting them before making the trip. He arrived at the bog exhausted, his legs sore and his coat dripping with sweat. But even worse was the fear he felt about Cat's safety, so strong that he felt tears stream down his face. Another hour passed before he saw hoofprints, small hoofprints that began out of nowhere, as if their source had just touched down from the ground. Cat's prints! But there was another set right next to hers, trailing off into the bog. Inkwell got his second wind and rocketed off to the end of the tracks, at a dingy shack in the middle of nowhere. "Cat?" he called out, his voice cracking. "Cat, are you there? It's me!" He didn't even wait for her to answer before knocking on her door.

Wow, he certainly changed his attitude pretty quickly, didn't he? Inkwell smiled and blushed almost as soon as Cat did, not quite believing how forward he was. He supposed this settled the question of how he felt toward Cat. She was just as sweet and sensitive as she said he was and her paintings were absolutely beautiful. He settled in next to her, sitting on the grass and watching the night sky. For some reason he thought of how magnificent it might be to see Luna raise the moon, but then he thought of the magnificent pegasus right next to him. "I won't, believe me. Even if we're not, you know, lovers, we'll always be friends." To show how unlikely he thought that possibility, he lifted Cat's wing and draped over his back. Time slipped away from him as he spent the evening in silence with Cat. He couldn't think of anything else to ask for.

Rose enjoyed her slice of cake, taking a big bite and holding it for longer than she expected. It was an amazing taste, masterfully crafted by an artisan chef, and somehow it felt wrong for her to just scarf it down like she was planning to. That didn't stop that little dragon from doing it, but she got the feeling that Tourmaline didn't particularly comprehend the finer things in life. Heck, he didn't even pick up on her name! At least Ignus was appreciative of that cake. He told her about his own experiences at the Gala, which sounded a lot like Rose's. "I actually haven't met that many famous ponies yet. Mostly I've been making small talk with some of the newcomers to the Gala, ponies from Ponyville who just got their first invitations." She took another bite of cake and savored it while thinking of something else to say. That's when she caught sight of a very specific pony out of the corner of her eye. It was an olive green pony with an orange-red mane, her tail braided and her hair tied in a bun. She wore cat's-eye glasses and a rather plain suit with a vest, which barely qualified as formal attire. The older mare embodied a sort of casual demeanor, as if she'd seen it all and was just enjoying the rest of her life as it came. "Sans Serif!" Rose gasped, bewitched at the sight of a prominent literary figure in the same room as her. She turned to Ignus with an apologetic smile. "Um, listen, I just found somepony I'd really like to talk to, but I'd like to meet up with you some other time! If you live in Canterlot, just tell me where I can find you and I'll drop by and pay you a visit!" She then glanced over at the levitating slices of cake and tried to think of what to do with them. It would be rather uncouth to talk to Serif with them floating next to her, but there was no other way to support them without them falling to the floor. Maybe if she had a plate...

Yep, it was her, alright. Nopony else Inkwell knew talked with an accent like that. He smiled and prepared to talk more until Jamba mentioned that he'd gained weight. That one statement made him blush, backing up a bit and turning his head to look at his waist. Did... did she just say he got fatter? It didn't look like he'd gained weight. Maybe he put on a few pounds since he arrived in Ponyville, but surely it wasn't that bad! He supposed he hadn't really been exercising all that much lately. Oh. She just meant that he'd grown up since they last met as foals. Comprehension dawned on his face as he chuckled nervously. "I-I'll say you have! You've grown into a fine young mare!" He looked down at the ground and scratched at the dirt with his hoof. Did she really have to put it in such an awkward manner? "So," he said, trying to get things moving again. "That's your cart, huh? I have one too. Recent acquisition. It's better for selling my paintings and stuff than just using my saddlebags." He shook his back and jostled around the large bags at his sides to emphasize his point. They looked spacious, but barely big enough to fit a single painting and easel in each.

When Cat landed in the basket right next to him, Inkwell looked a little flustered. Apparently he was a bit embarrassed at the prospect of sharing the basket. She pushed right up against his legs and lied down on the basket floor. Even before she said anything he could tell she was tired out again. "Heh. Fine with me," he said, waiting for the balloon to take off. When it did take off, making the basket lurch off the ground, Inkwell felt a little anxiety, especially when he made the mistake of looking down. It made him shy away from the edge and bump into Ashton and Cat, but then he peeked over again and felt his fear change to exhilaration. He was flying, he was actually flying! Once again his pencil started flying over his sketchbook, starting the beginnings of a breathtaking aerial landscape. "What?" he asked minutes later, pausing his work and looking back at Delios. "Watch the mechanics? I don't think I know how to do that." He especially wouldn't know how to do it if it demanded his full attention. But if he had to choose between finishing his drawing and preventing the balloon from crashing and killing everypony in it, he supposed he'd have to pick the latter.

Inkwell just smiled and ate some more of the pie, watching Cat heat up because of his hopeful answer. She tried to deflect the conversation of their relationship in order to enjoy herself more. "Oh, okay," he said, shrugging a bit. "You're the boss. We can just enjoy the night." He just lied down on the ground and relaxed, listening to the crickets chirp. But then he heard her voice, and he opened his eyes, slowly turning to face Cat and watching her sing. That just about did it for him. He blinked and just stood there, watching her sing, and feeling himself start to pine for her. He pined for her, and she was right there. But could he really do it, fall in love with her? Cat finished her verse, and Inkwell took that as his cue to scoot next to her and give her a big hug, nuzzling her head. "You know," he whispered, "you're making it really easy for me to love you." He felt himself getting a bit warm from being right next to her body. "You've got an amazing voice, you know that?"

A smile crossed Rose's face as all three of the other ponies asked her name at practically the same time. "Me?" she asked them. "My name's Rose Madder, and I'm from Canterlot. So you three are from Ponyville? I've never been myself, but my brother recently moved there, and he seems to like it well enough. I don't suppose any of you have met him? His name's Inkwell, he wears glasses, has a beige coat and black hair, likes to draw?" She paid the most attention to Klondike then, watching him try to make up for his earlier, absent-minded comments. Her analysis of his personality began, and she'd try and see how it played out. She saw a rustic pony who wasn't used to socializing, who seemed more interested in tinkering with mechanical things than talking to others. Then she took another look at Tempest and tried to piece her together, too. Tempest seemed like a prim and proper pony who liked to have everything in order and keep herself composed. And Aqua, well, Aqua was a bit harder to read. She seemed perky and peppy and not at all self-conscious of her status as an entirely different species with a handicap. They all had a nice contrast to their personalities and Rose felt a little sorry that she couldn't spend the whole gala getting to know them. She did have other ponies to meet here, including her brother.

The sigh Inkwell gave in response to Aqua's reassurance was easily audible. "Oh, thank goodness!" he said, putting a hoof on Aqua's shoulder, as if to confirm that she would be alright. "I don't know why I thought you'd shrivel or anything. I must have been thinking of my sister's scary stories. She writes horror stories you see-" He caught Granola out of the corner of his eye, and felt his heart leap up to his throat. His coat turned even paler than usual as she approached with a FIRE HOSE. What on earth was she thinking? A horrific mental image crept into Inkwell's mind. He saw himself collapsed and weeping over the waterlogged remains of his sketchbooks. The hose reduced his beloved artwork to a pulpy mess, the ink he'd carefully inscribed running and diluted through the papers in unrecognizable patterns. Inkwell told himself to run, to get as far away from the hose as he possibly could. Yet his legs wouldn't move; his knees shook and his hooves felt rooted to the ground. He felt cold, as though a stiff breeze blew straight through him, and he could only watch as Granola pointed her hose in her direction. But in a fateful reprieve that seemed to emerge from the bottomless kindness of Celestia's heart, Granola couldn't get the hose to work at first. As she struggled to turn it on, Inkwell finally found the strength to run, bounding behind the nearest house and cowering with his hooves over his face. He could hear the ghastly results of the hose finally activating, surging out of control and spraying indiscriminately. Granola's screams rose above the din, the panicked results of a fool who realized too late the folly of trafficking with such dark powers. Finally, silence reigned, and Inkwell knew that he would have nightmares about this even for the rest of his life. He rushed back out into the open to see if anypony was hurt. When this instinct was satisfied, he turned and glared at Granola. It was a look that could bore a hole in the thickest rock. "What is WRONG WITH YOU?" he shrieked, his voice cracking from the adrenaline rushing through his body.

"Hey, Ignus," she said, bowing her head a bit in a polite response. She couldn't help but smile at Ignus's awkward bumbling. The taller dragon was clearly bewitched by Rose's beauty. Rose didn't consider herself an ugly duckling, but she didn't think of herself as a seductive bombshell. The next great Equestrian novelist, sure, but a beacon of sex appeal? Get out! So it always surprised her when she got this kind of attention, sort of. "My name's Rose Madder. How are the two of you enjoying the gala so far?" Then she glanced at the little dragon, Tourmaline, who seemed a bit out of his element. She noticed him sneaking a peek at her cake, and rethought the idea of sharing it. Technically she wasn't supposed to have made off with the entire thing, so she supposed that she should share it with her new friends, too. With an extra bit of concentration, her magic neatly divided the cake into twelve slices. She passed one each to the two dragons and started eating a third. "Have as much as you like. It's delicious!"

Yep. That was it. Inkwell felt his heart start to beat a little faster as Cat poured her heart out to him. He should have looked at her, but he just stared back down at the pie. As he tried to nibble it, he felt his skin get clammy and sweaty, so much so that his glasses slipped right off his muzzle. Inkwell turned to look at Cat with a bare face, and he saw an adorable, demure, and slightly blurry young filly. But no matter how he tried to look at her, she was still the same old Cat he'd always known, a good friend and peer in the artistic world. What made Cat see him differently? He opened his mouth, a speech practically prepared to leap off his tongue. It would be a conciliatory speech, telling Cat that he wasn't ready for a committed relationship, that he wanted the two of them to still be friends and nothing else. But he couldn't say it. He looked back down and levitated those glasses back onto his face, so that he could get a better look at her face. It was a cautiously hopeful expression, and he didn't want to be the one to dash those hopes. Maybe they had a future after all? "Um, can I... can I have some time to think it over?" Inkwell asked. He cut another two chunks of pie, one for Cat and one for himself.