Little did Hebe know, even though Danae was at home like she had assumed her cousin to be when she first rode into the Stravos manor, this may have not been the best time to bug her Stravos counterpart.

As the clout of the Stravos name was no longer as profitable as it had once been, Danae had to be sure that every bronze obol was properly accounted for and invested correctly. She had never been the sort to be careless with her money as she had known the ins and outs of a budget since she was a little girl, but truly the importance of having this skill now as Elias was intent on running them all into the ground could not be understated. So this was a task that was done on a daily basis with an extensive amount of time dedicated to it -- she was practically obsessive with it really. Anyone on the outside looking in would call it a rather unhealthy hobby at the moment, but truly Danae couldn’t really be blamed for such behavior. Her ledgers, as secretive as she might be with them, were the only things that Danae truly felt that she had control over. These books were the only things that Elias could never touch or ruin with his grubby little paws. These were hers and hers alone. Being mindful about where her coin was being spent brought a sense of both agency and comfort to the girl who was trapped in this turbulent political scene in which that she had been labeled as a pawn.

So, the many hours she spent in her room during the day, claiming that she was just reading or playing with her little tomcats was actually spent on this task. It was easy enough for her to do, after all. There was no reason for her to be so secretive about her pastimes in her room where the only witnesses were the troublesome cats who were too busy trying to see who could climb to the top of Danae’s wardrobe first. For Danae this was going to be a fairly content afternoon, doing the thing that she loved in relative peace.

But then came the knock at the door.

It had been a servant informing her that Hebe of Antonis was there to see her and within an instant, the memory of the promise that Danae had made came rushing back to her. Being a bit of a workaholic, just like her father, Danae was tempted to feign ill and tell the younger girl to come back later so she could finish the work that she had started. But then again, she knew her cousin well enough to know that Hebe would not likely take this for much of an answer. Seven Hades, Danae was pretty certain that the youngest Antonis might even insist on making her way to her cousin’s room to doctor Danae back to health herself. The fear of that happening with all of her ledgers, lists, and stacks of correspondences being scattered about her desk were more than enough to convince the youngest Stravos that maybe it was time to put the money books away and go get some fresh air for a few hours… Just as soon as she got changed, of course. After all, one of the benefits of working from your bedroom was that one didn’t really need to get changed out of their nightclothes and there was no way Danae was going to let anyone see her in that.

Even though the Stravos girl was not entirely pleased to be putting her work away when it was only half-done, Danae sent the servant away with instructions to keep Hebe entertained for the few moments that Danae would need to get ready. The first thing she did was carefully tuck away all of the papers scattered about on her desk. That was far more important than needing to peel poor Theseus and Perseus off of her wardrobe so she could then gain access to their favorite playground. The outfit she changed into was simple enough, especially for the promised riding lessons that Hebe had talked about when they last met a week ago. Danae had chosen a simple brown peplos with a matching hairpiece to keep the small braid that was regrowing tucked up and out of the way that day. It might have seemed rather plain for a girl with such a high status as Danae and Hebe had, but quite frankly any mud splatter the girls encountered was not going to care about noble titles or riches… nor would Circenia if Danae dared to come home with a ruined dress.

In really no time at all, Danae was making her way out of her room. After being sure to latch the door behind her carefully so her kittens wouldn’t get into trouble, the youngest Stravos entered the foyer with an almost nervous aura around her as she considered what was on the day’s itinerary. This was a bit understandable as Danae was not an equestrian by any means. She had learned the basics when she was younger and then decided not to get on one again -- not for any particular reason though. Danae just preferred using the family’s carriage and simply walking to get wherever she needed to go. She just simply wasn’t much of a horse person.

“I’m so sorry for the wait. You caught me a little off guard this morning,” Danae commented as she greeted her cousin. Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth the girl winced, knowing that they did not likely convey the polite cheery-nature conversation that the Stravos girl was attempting to start. Instead, it sounded more like a chiding about Hebe not sending an invitation which was not at all what Danae’s intention was. “Erm… I mean… Your lessons are going well now I hope? Is the method working?” She awkwardly stating, believing that maybe just changing the conversation was the best course of action for this situation. Danae was genuinely curious to know if it was helping her cousin as it seemed to do well when the girl had first suggested it.

As Danae waited for her cousin to answer her and explain how successful their previous lessons had gone, the youngest Stravos couldn’t help glancing outside and taking note of the horse impatiently waiting for Hebe to return. Danae couldn’t help nervously gulping at the sight of the beast. She just knew that this day was going to go terribly for her. It had been so long since she had been on a horse’s back. Danae had likely forgotten everything she had learned previously and she was going to make herself into an absolute fool. That was obviously something that she was not looking forward to doing that day.

However, it seemed to be that her pain was going to be a bit prolonged as there was only one horse out in the front area instead of the two that were going to be needed today. “Shall we head to the stables and find me a steed? I’ll be honest cousin, I barely know a thing about horses” She sheepishly admitted as she glanced over in the direction that she knew her family’s horses were kept. Had she ever stepped inside that building before? No, absolutely not.

But there was a first time for everything wasn’t there?