The time had come for the next great venture for Spica's sitting student council president. Himiko Miyamae had been quite ambitious when she ahd first arrived on campus at noble Spica, joining the council as a first year. She'd worked tirelessly to ensure that her sisters at Spica were able to live the best years ever while at the school. No task was too big or small as she tried her hardest to fulfill every request for aid. Her great inspiration President Hiruko had appointed her Vice President before encouraging her to run for the office herself. Now Himiko Miyamae had been elected twice as Student Council president and found herself without any other major goals at Spica. What more was there to do? She was already atop the Spica social world, and she was very content there to boot. But something else had happened.

The previous summer she'd lost her first love, only to rescue a new one from the sting of sea water. Ever since then she'd been just as dedicated to making her girlfriend as happy as she'd been to all of Spica before. A date at the zoo had been kind of rough since it brought up memories of her last date with the departed Homura. As this was the case she was excited to be able to do something more to show how much she cared for her Hawai'ian beauty. Without explanation she'd invited Iori to meet her at the corral. Himiko rode atop her black stallion Kronos, decked out in full Spica riding gear. He'd gotten a little slower in the past year but Himiko knew he'd perk up once the girl who'd taken her heart arrived. Maybe she'd just think Himiko wanted her to meet the steed, but there was something much deeper at work. Inside her jacket pocket was a box with velvet lining. Lining that kept a very special piece of jewelry safe and secure for this day. The day she asked Iori to be her partner in the grandest tradition of the three schools of the hill.

"Iori, will you be my Etoile? No... Will you do me the honor... no.." she quietly rehearsed while she waited.

The warm spring air shone done on her, with just a slight breeze in the air. The weather was especially nice today, which the blue haired girl walking down the path had been extremely thankful for. If any day was perfect, it had to be this one! All the work she had been assigned was really piling up in recent days, keeping Iori from doing much of anything. But earlier today she had received an invitation from Himiko to join her at the stables! She was ecstatic to see her girlfriend again, and didn't even think much about the abruptness of the meeting. Her girlfriend had mentioned before to her that she rode horses, but Iori had never had the chance to see her in action until now. It was just something else Himiko did that was impressive! There was no doubt about it, the Spican student council President was truly an amazing person - and it was even more amazing that she wanted to give Iori her affection.

Approaching the stables, the third year could make out a singular figure riding atop a black stallion. A bright smile appeared on her face at the sight of her girlfriend, although she was a little surprised. The horse was certainly beautiful, but Iori wouldn't have expected Himiko to have a purely black horse. In her mind, the girl riding atop the steed was something pure and good, so she had pictured her on a white horse. That didn't make the image of her riding on a horse any less majestic though, and she quickly strode over to the girl. Tilting her head up, she called up to the girl. "Himiko! Hi!"

A humongous grin spread over the Student Council President's face as she heard that clear, distinct voice call out her name without honorifics. The Hawaiian girl had arrived! Himiko gently nudged her stallion as she turned to wave to the newly arrived bluenette. Soon she was carried in her girlfriend's direction by a steed who was as predicted energized by the presence of a newcomer who might appreciate his magnificence. She certainly hoped that between her equestrian uniform and well groomed mount she would impress Iori. After all she hadn't talked all that much about her clubs with the girl beyond mentioning martial arts a few times. Kronos was kind of picky about who he'd let touch him so this would be another barometer for their relationship; of course she wasn't about to dump Iori just because Kronos was fussy. However he seemed to be comfortable enough to go up close and personal with the girl, which was an encouraging sign.

"Greetings, Iori! The Student Council President of Spica would like to take you for a ride, if you're game," she mentioned, having plotted out just where and how she'd ask the big question. Himiko gave her pocket a pat for good luck, trying not to let on that there was something in there despite the bulge the jewelry box created.

(OOC: Sorry this is short! Homework fried my brain! XD)

The black steed strode over to her, making the Hawaiian girl realize the true height of the horse in front of her. Iori reached up and tentatively patted the horse on the snout. The hair was surprisingly soft, so she continued the motion, seeing as the horse didn't seem to mind. Peering over the horse's head, she smiled at her girlfriend. "I'd love to go on a ride with you!" Admittedly, she had never ridden on a horse before, but how hard could it be? It wasn't as if she was the one riding it really, anyway. She would just hang onto Himiko for dear life and try not to fall off. Before she could even worry about that though, there was another serious dilemma to solve. Walking around to the side of the horse, she said "But...how do I get up there?" When she looked up at her partner, Iori noticed a small bulge in her pocket, but thought nothing of it. It was probably her cell phone or wallet for all she knew.

"You have a really pretty horse, by the way. Does it have a name?"

Himiko brimmed with pride as her girlfriend approached and asked how she'd even get up on top of Kronos. This was something that Himiko had planned for in advance. The Spican president gingerly nudged her steed to cue his movement towards Iori, though he took his time doing it. Probably because there was someone petting him and he insisted on soaking up as much of that as possible. She then reached down and took Iori by the hand, leaning over in the saddle to help the Hawaiian get up behind her. This had been something Himiko had practiced as well using an equestrian teammate about Iori's size. Everything had been rehearsed just enough to make the president certain it would work out perfectly fine.

"That's how!" she exclaimed once the girl was firmly in the saddle with her.

She nudged the horse again and they were headed off toward the tree where she'd make her pitch to Iori. Butterflies rumbled in her stomach so she distracted herself by answering, "Yes, he's very pretty isn't he? His name is Kronos, and he is my noble steed!"

Himiko giggled as the horse began to leave the corral area, "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something really important today, but not somewhere that other people can hear us. It's supposed to be a secret until we've discussed it."

Answering her question, Himiko reached down and gently held Iori's hand, helping her up onto the horse. The blue haired girl let out a soft giggle. For some reason, this bottom seemed somewhat romantic. Maybe that was just because she was with someone she loved. Glancing down at the ground below them, Iori tightened her grip around her girlfriend's waist. The last thing she wanted was to fall off of the steed and crack her head open on the ground.

As the horse started to move, Iori's fear lessened, and she slowly relaxed her grip. This was really nice, the cool spring air wasn't too warm or too cold. Smiling, the cerulean haired girl responded "A noble steed fit for a beautiful warrior." She let herself trail off into thought for a minute. "Kronos...isn't that the name of an ancient god? Maybe Greek or Roman.." She couldn't remember, but instead let her speech trail off to think about it in more detail. Kronos...the god of war? Maybe, that sounded kind of right.

Kronos left the boundaries of the corral, and Iori snapped out of her thought train to wonder where she was going. Her eyes were more alert now, and she looked around, wondering where they were going. She didn't see anything in her immediate plane of sight, except for a tree that they seemed to be heading for.

"Something important? A secret?" Now the Hawaiian girl was really interested. What on earth could possibly be so secretive that no one else could know about it? "Nee, Himiko, what is it?" She couldn't wait to find out, secret's were so much fun!

Himiko blushed at the firm grip Iori employed to keep herself on Kronos' back. She'd never thought she would find someone new after Homura left, let alone find someone who she shared so many things with. The cerulean haired Hawaiian was younger than her, true, but she was happy all the same. Something about Iori brought out only the very best in Himiko and that was why this day had to be just right for her beloved. Keeping it secret required deception, something that she hadn't really thought about very much after recovering from the depression which hit when one door of love is closed. There was some fear that not doing this right might drive Iori away as well. That was mostly unfounded, Himiko realized, but best not to risk it if you could at all help it. As Student Council President she had advised a few girls who'd been considering running for Etoile but actually doing it was another matter entirely. Just stay calm, remember why you love her and go for it! Such was the advice she'd given out before and what she tried to adhere to herself now.

She giggled at Iori's guesses about Kronos' name, "He is incredibly high maintenance, actually. Noble steed he may be but he demands teh love and affection of a caring warrior to get his mane properly groomed and all. Kronos is also an excellent judge of character; if he trusts you, then you're a very good person. And his name... it's actually the homeworld of the thlIngan Empire, I just thought it was fitting.."

About when Iori began to ask about the secret, they arrived at the tree. Barely able to contain the secret any longer Himiko steeled herself and climbed down from the saddle. She then reached up and wrapped her arms around Iori, pulling the girl close to her and taking in the sheer joy that came with embracing her girlfriend. Their shared energy was enough to make her want to bounce with energy, but that wasn't appropriate for the moment. Instead she looked at Iori with a serous expression and led her to the shade of the tree, running through the words in her mind. The time had come.

"vaj 'IH 'oy' 'oH...Iori, you know that as Student Council President anything I do is incredibly public and subject to gossip and rumor. That's why this needs to be secret, away from the public eye before we're ready to tell the whole world about it. You're too special to me to allow outside distractions to take away from it," Himiko began, then she dropped to one knee and fished the jewelry box out of her pocket.

She flipped it open, revealing a rather plain ring with two shiny but inexpensive stones on it - one blue the other white. With a goofy grin she asked, "Iori.. will you be my Etoile partner?"