Gawen can't help but give his mom the stink eye when she calmly encourages him to come greet the girls. Is she stupid? He can't just waltz out there in front of Maude like a fool! And the other girl, Kiada, she's so much bigger and prettier and older! God, adults didn't understand anything, why did he even try? But at least when he finally ventured out his mom gave him a nice little nuzzle of congratulations. Not that Gawen needed it of course because he was brave. Duh.

Maude's gleaming smile struck Gawen dumb where he stood, and if his mother hadn't continued talking to Kiada, he's pretty sure he would have knelt where he stood right then and there and offered to serve her for the rest of his pitiful existence. He'd never met anyone his age before, and certainly not a pretty girl who liked healing. The hawk was so badly out of his depth he almost felt like turning around and staggering love-struck away from the gathering, if only to cry and kick a few rocks over his own misfortune. A pretty, elegant filly like Maude certainly wouldn't want to befriend a clumsy, awkward, pitiful colt like Gawen.

Oh, but Gawen so badly wanted to be her friend already.

Normally Gawen would welcome and thank the arrival of someone new, especially with how stupid he almost made himself look, but then his big blue eyes glance over and -

MOTHER FUCKER.

Gawen's knees really do turn to jelly and he sags against his mother with a stunned, awestruck whimper because there he is. Doctor Tilney. And oh god, he's talking to Gawen and Gawen's mama.

Was the air a little light here? He was feeling a bit lightheaded.

And he used Gawen's name! Gods take him, he could finally die happy with just experiencing Maude's smile and Tilney speaking the syllables of his name.

"Hu- I- nice to sir you meet Tilney Doctor!" he spat dizzily, and then promptly had to suck in a breath to stop from crying because oh my god Gawen you're so fucking awkward what is your problem stop screwing shit up. And then MAUDE IS TALKING TO HIM AND GOOD GODS GAWEN WANTED TO DIE HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO HIM.

But instead he wobbled forward away from Raeden, his fringe falling into his blue eyes as he shyly smiled at her, pretty much in love. "I-I'd love to learn," he confessed as quietly as she had spoken, not wanting to interrupt the flow of conversation as his mother's tight voice answered Tilney's question. "Could you show me the greenhouse?" Whispered like a secret between them, his eyes big and round. He hadn't dared to step inside on his own yet, and his mother was busy with her own duties, but it was like a palace of amazingness and he wanted to see it like, yesterday.

Then Kiada and Tilney are talking again and he looks away from Maude to the gleaming idol of Tilney once more, feeling like he couldn't handle one more minute in their shining company. He was too dull, too uninteresting for their brilliance. But he also couldn't help but want to stay, to soak in their brightness, hoping for it to rub off on him somehow. "Could you teach us Doctor Tilney?" his shy, respectful voice warbled out towards the stallion, casting a smile at Kiada, who he'd somewhat forgotten. "Lessons would be fun!"