Being Etoile was one of the greatest challenges a shy girl from any of the three sister schools could encounter.  Everyone suddenly looked up to you where before you had thought yourself below the notice of anyone.  For the first couple of months it had been rather confounding for her, certainly overwhelming for the bluenette.  Yet the girl had not wavered in the face of high expectations.  Rather she'd managed to convince herself that she deserved to be Etoile, deserved to be at Coyote's side to inspire all of the girls who studied, laughed, cried and lived on Astraea Hill.  Part of this was simply absorbing some confidence from her hockey playing girlfriend.  Another part came from the inspiration of her grandmother, who offered her Etoile lessons weekly if not more frequently.  All of this added up to her being confident enough to walk through Spica's grounds to arrive at the skating rink, despite all the attention she got because of who she was and who she was dating.  

Hiroko had reflected on her time as Etoile more recently, realizing that it had made her happier than she'd been before being thrust into greatness.  Being Etoile had brought her closer to her loving family, all the closest members of whom had also been star of the three schools.  That pendant she wore had been in Suzumi hands before on multiple occasions.  Thinking about her grandmother, her sister too, as Etoile brought a smile to her face as she daintily made her way to a bench near the entrance.  Today she was meeting Coyote to try and learn a few more things about hockey; she'd made a bit of progress in the past couple of weeks, but wasn't sure the progress was good.  Independent study only did you good if you knew what you were doing, which meant that she'd have to get an expert to help her out.  Luckily she just so happened to know one.  Well, be in love with one.  As she waited on the bench in her Lulim uniform Hiroko adjusted her glasses to rest more comfortably on her nose.  Today had just felt like a glasses day for some reason.  On her lap rested a folder in which she had a list of hockey-related terms as well as one of the winners of Lord Stanley's Cup, which still sounded fancily festive to her.  She could recite a number of teams which had been presented that trophy, and was hoping to demonstrate her  knowledge to her irlfriend.  That and the idea she'd had recently - they weren't graduating, so they could definitely run again.  The first Etoiles to be re-elected!  Such an exciting idea had to be proposed to Coyote, and it made her blush just thinking about all the yoyos which would decorate the stage if they won again.

"Let's see.. Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto... what was the really pretty one? " she recited, scrunching her face up in contemplation.  Then she smiled as she recalled, "The Rosebuds!  That's it!"

There were many reasons for Coyote to be quite happy today. Among other things, the tension between the schools seemed to be cooling down a little. This was always good, seeing as how the meetings had less of a chance into melt down into loud arguments. She was also the Etoile, which the Canadian had to reason was a pretty good thing. Strange though it was. It was a title she had never dreamed of even vying for, let alone winning. When she first arrived at Spica, all she had been concerned with was playing hockey. And maybe a little acting. (And possibly donning a certain disguise and helping a few classmates out).

But, all that had changed when met Hiroko. Which brings us to what might be the primary reason she was in such a good mood. It was hard not to be when she was going to meet Hiroko. The bluenette always brought a smile to her face, usually bringing a curve to the normally straight scar on her cheek. The Etoile pendant hung around her neck, symbolizing the commitment they had made to each other and to the school.

Dressed in her Spica uniform, it was a quick walk from her classes to the skating the rink. They would have plenty of time to try and help get Hiroko up to speed on her beloved sport. It would be even more effective with her teammates absent. Hockey practice was off for the day and many of the other girls had other clubs they had to attend. And as much as she adored her friends...well, there was a tendency to not get a whole lot done.

"Hiroko!" she grinned a waved at the girl as she approached. The girl was sitting on a bench and looking as lovely as ever. She was even wearing glasses, which had been a rare thing to see as of late. An added spring to her step carried the purple haired Seme Etoile the rest of the way over to her Uke partner.

The sound of the Canadian's voice calling out her name brought Hiroko out of her reverie about past winners of Lord Stanley's Cup quite suddenly.  She had such a hard time remembering all of them that she lost the order as soon as someone else was in the immediate vicinity.  Out of her mind went the list of most prominent and most obscure winners, in came visions of yoyos bouncing from clouds with luminous silver linings, Coyote riding on a noble white steed as she came to greet the sparkly princess who was her Etoile partner.  Then from out of the clouds descended a helicopter with all the markings of an official aristocratic aircraft, its rotors thundering to sound the arrival of Lord Stanley himself!  There were likely many cups inside of his private helicopter, but the greatest of them might well belong to the happy couple from Astraea Hill.  A paneled door slid open with the man smiling in a welcoming manner as the cup was moved to the edge of the compartment.. and then her daydream ended as Coyote arrived at the bench.  Blushing, Hiroko looked up at her girlfriend and tried not to look too overwhelmed by the presence of Coyote.  Had the rest of the hockey team been present they certainly would have been mobbed by this point - Hiroko and Coyote managed to attract a wide spectrum of attention no matter what they were doing thanks to being Etoile.  At least that's what she thought was attracting that kind of attention.

Figuring she should say something Hiroko replied, "Hi, Yoyo-chan.  It's great to see you!  How's the team doing.. a-a-are they still strong.. or .. um.. whatever the right word is?"

Then she added, "H-hey, I've been teaching myself about hockey... so do you remember when the Portland Rosebuds defeated the Lightning in 8 games to win Lord Stanley's Cup?  From what I read it sounds like there were a lot of touchdowns scored in that competition.."

Coyote's arrival did not have nearly as much pomp and circumstance as the one dreamed up by Hiroko's imagination. However, that did not understate her excitement to see the bluenette once again. As the girl looked up, with her familiar blush and offered a greeting in response, inquiring into the state of the hockey team. Coyote smiled and took a seat next to her on the bench.

"They're doing fine." she said, "Looking as strong as ever."

For all of the studying that Hiroko seemed to be putting into the sport of hockey, there always seemed to be just a few details that tended to get a bit...mixed up. Addressing these flubs could be a little tricky. Namely in deciding where to start off. Coyote blinked and then gave a slight chuckle.

"Er...that's not quite it." she said, "I mean, they only go to 7 games. That way you don't have to worry about a tie, or anything like that."

Perhaps that would be a good place to start. Addressing which teams were around when might also work. Still, the girl had been trying very hard. Leading Coyote to lean in plant a quick kiss on the girl's cheek.

"Well good, I'm g-glad they're doing well.." Hiroko managed to smile sheepishly as her girlfriend related that the hockey team was a strong as they'd ever been.

Very good to hear that those nice but kind of overbearing girls were doing well in their wicket-chase training.  She'd become something of a cheerleader for them when she was available to watch their games, even though she herself was a LeRim student.  Her connection to one of the team's members had been enough that she felt safe if overwhelmed when she was around the club's larger membership.  For whatever reason it was like they protected her as if she were truly a princess needing that extra care.  It made her feel more special than anything her biological mother would have been able to do for her to make her feel like a lady.  Not that she'd had much contact with the woman anyway.  Though her grandmother had educated her in etiquette and ladylike decorum, Hiroko was still Hiroko and certain things appealed to her noble sensibilities more than others.  A sparkly princess lending her support to a team of gallant knights of the ice was only fitting after all.  All her involvement with the hockey team hadn't totally informed her of the truth of the sport though.  Coyote gently corrected her, making the bluenette blush.. and then kissed her on the cheek which made Hiroko blush even more.  

"Th-th-there are only 7 games in Lord Stanley's Final?  M-m-m-my goodness, I-I've been m-misinformed," HIroko tried to giggle it off, but then leaned over to Coyote and tried to bury her face in the girl's shoulder, "I can't believe I-I-I m-made that mistake... I-I'm sorry.."

After taking a little while to regain her composure Hiroko managed to ask, "Maybe y-y-you could teach me more.... Yoyo-chan.. I'm pretty hopeless."

Hiroko's reactions were pretty typical and about what Coyote had come to expect. The bluenette was so easily flustered and seem to take the misconceptions she had about hockey very seriously. As she tried to bury herself into Coyote's shoulder, the Canadian just put an arm around her, for when she recovered and held her close. They sat on the bench for a moment, until she asked for more lessons in the sport. Coyote smiled and gave a nod of her head.

"Sure." she agreed, "I'd be happy to teach you everything you want to know. The rest of the team would also be happy to show you the ropes. But...well, I'll have to work very hard to keep 'em all in line."

She chuckled a bit. As far as the hockey team went, she was only half serious. Sure, they would love to spend more time with Hiroko and Coyote. And sure, she probably would have to keep a few of the rowdier of the bunch from making Hiroko feel too uncomfortable. Even if they did mean well, they still had a problem with subtlety. And staying focused. Frankly, it was a miracle they could get through a practice.

"Think we could ever get you laced up in a pair of skates?" she grinned.

Coyote always knew the best ways to ease the nervousness Hiroko felt from making mistakes about a good number of things.  As hard as she tried she tended to stumble on one detail or another before she really understood  the thing she was learning.  Falling short in developing her skills for whatever category of thing she set her mind upon made the bluenette feel as if she were letting people down.  people whom she cared about and wanted to do well for shouldn't be disappointed in her performance, but she just couldn't help it sometimes.  It was harder with things that were outside of her normal sphere of interest like sports, as her terminology had repeatedly demonstrated.  At least she had an expert in Coyote who would take it as slow as she needed in order for her to truly understand better what hockey was and how it worked.  That said she didn't move once the Canadian had put her arm around Hiroko; the warmth of Coyote's presence made her feel much more grounded than she'd been at realizing that there were not eight games in the Final.

"I-I think it'd be best if.. we start w-w-with you and me alone.. and th-then ask them for help," Hiroko responded to the suggestion of the team helping out too, "W-we might need them though.. I have lots of questions.."

Then she smiled timidly, "I'm a-a-afraid I wouldn't be much good in skates.  I'd probably fall down a lot and slow you down too much to be bearable.  I'd be happy to try if you'll b-be patient with me... and um.. I have something  I need to ask..."

Here it came.  The big question she'd wanted to ask Coyote.  Hiroko looked up into the Canadian's eyes and then asked, "Are the Rosebuds still playing?  They have such a pretty name for a hockey team.."

"Yeah...might be best if we just start off with you and me." she gave a nod of her head. They could both certainly agree that it was the best course of action to take. Once again, Hiroko was doing a lot of second guessing. Not that picking up skating was necessarily an easy thing. Like any skill, it required one to be patient and put in a lot of practice. And if that meant spending a lot more time with Hiroko, in order to teach her...well, Coyote wasn't one to complain.

"Everyone falls down a lot, when they first start learning." she said. Of course, this was not the only thing that was on Hiroko's mind. The bluenette had a question on her mind and was going to get right down to it. Sort of. OK, so it was a question about the Rosebuds. Not exactly the big question Coyote was expecting, but certainly one that she could answer.

"No, sorry to say." she answered with a chuckle. "The Rosebuds have been gone for quite a long time. But, I'm sure you could still find a jersey if you really looked around."

"I-I'd like that a lot, Yoyo-chan," Hiroko replied with her best attempt at a confident smile.  She still wasn't at all sure about the whole idea of learning how to skate, but it was pretty important to her to at least make the effort.  Skating was an important thing to learn since her girlfriend was so deeply involved in a sport that was played on the ice.  Any way that she could come to understand her beloved purplenette just a little bit better would almost certainly make their affection grow stronger!  So if it meant possibly falling down a lot so that she could get to where she needed to be, Hiroko was willing to go through it.  Heck, imagine the sparkly princess darting about on the ice in a  pretty skating dress, twirling, spinning and even flipping in the process!  It would surely be a sight to behold! 

She was a bit more encouraged with her resurgent daydream and the encouragement of her Canadian significant other.  Getting the answer to her question made the bluenette a little sad - the Rosebuds had been vanquished by the tides of time, leaving nothing but their name and jersey to remind the world of their existence.  Hiroko hadn't meant to ask that question but she'd been curious about the subject matter anyhow.  Having the information made her feel a little more at ease, but the true question she'd meant to ask lingered.  Its shadow was like a dark knight of the ice, lurking just on the periphery of her view and plotting to body check her into the end zone near the goal.  Wait!  Body check!  She was sure that was a real bonafide hockey term!  Using a real hockey term made her really happy, not so much a failure at it as she'd felt lately.  With a big smile she latched onto Coyote's arm, thanking her quietly for the influence that had surely worn off on her.

"It's sad that the Rosebuds don't exist anymore.. th-they had a really pretty name..." Hiroko related, then rested her head on the purplenette's shoulder, "So.. um... I was also wondering if maybe.. y-y-you'd want to.. um.. r-run for Etoile again.. for the second time.. um..."

Then she blushed, hid her face in the girl's shoulder and tried to change the subject, "Hey... I-I remembered what body checking is.. that's pretty impressive.."