Brian
**Melkaire Amarth 
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient shop in Hexrakes**

The warrior sat still with hands resting on his lap. A gaze wandered around the room, taking in the sights to kill time while he awaited her return. 

A smile greeted Amaryllis when she emerged into the room, carrying a tray in her hands. "It smells great!" Said the warrior, nodding once. A steady gaze followed after the tray she sat down on the table and watched her return to her seat. 

Melkaire's hand reached out, taking the cup of coffee in his hands. The cup was lifted up to his nostrils that began to flex when he sniffed at the scents that radiated from it.

"Smells good." He remarked, lifting the cup slowly to his lips and took a sip.
Corey
Belladonna of Taemar
Ibethiel Countryside

It was a quiet and sunny morning. As the horse that Belladonna rode calmly went down the path, she gave a small piece of dried meat to the pitch black raven on her shoulder.

"Merla, please go ahead and take a look at the path before us, okay?"

The raven bowed her head and flew up high in the clear blue sky. The day seemed to be so tranquil, but yet the sorceress felt like something was off.

She and her horse kept on walking down the road, but stopped when a cloud of smoke rose from a patch of trees quite far from them. *Must be a farmer burning what doesn't serve...* The sorceress thought to herself. As she was about to signal the horse to keep on, a breeze caressed her neatly groomed hair and brought a smell to her nose that made her almost fall to her knees. A familiar smell that was engraved in her memory, a scent that made her whole body tremble and her eyes go wide.

The deathly smell of burnt human flesh. 

She rode her horse, as fast as the mare could go, towards the smoke column that emanated the stench. As soon as she arrived, she hopped off the horse and put out the fire with a spell. She swallowed hard as she saw the small pile of charred bodies. Two adults and four children of varying ages, including what must have been a baby before the flames engulfed it.

Belladonna took a handkerchief from an inside pocket of her coat and used it to cover her nose and mouth, before proceeding to inspect the bodies.

The fire had only devoured half of their bodies, which helped the black haired woman observe they had been dead for some days. It couldn't have been a witch hunt, they usually were burned alive, and people in Ibethiel barely believed in magic whatsoever. Why where the bodies burned then?

The black hand of one of the children caught her attention. It looked like it had either been burned or terribly frostbiten, but the rest of the arm was intact; the flames had not yet reached that arm, and the weather wasn't cold enough for a frostbite.

"Necrosis?" She said aloud to herself as she crouched next to the remains, her brows furrowed in confusion. She then spotted the blisters. And the rest of the family necrosed parts. "It can't be... Oh holy Mother"

She stood up and whistled, calling her raven back. It appeared in less than a minute. Belladonna put her arm up and the raven posed on her arm

"Go to the coven, inforn them a plague is in Ibethiel" The raven nodded and flew away, straight to Taemar.
Anna
**Amaryllis Sage
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient Shop in Hexrakes**

Amaryllis quietly sipped on her tea and ate a few pieces of fruit. She was a bit hungry, but didn't want to pig out in front of Melkaire.

"You said you've never had tea before... Want to try a sip of mine? It's Earl Grey tea. Very good." She said and smiled.
Brian
**Melkaire Amarth
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient Shop in Hexrakes**

The warrior, for all his might and bravado, felt awkward. These types of interactions were far beyond his experience. Usually his time with the fairer sex was usually brief, or unable to be recalled due to inebriation. The result was usually the same, a few less coins out of his purse every time. Enough to satisfy the man's needs, companionship was not something thought of often, for it was the belief that such was beyond his grasp, and yet, this Seer saw otherwise. 

He cupped the cup of coffee in his hands, staring down into the heated, black liquid, making out the faint visage of his own reflection staring up at him. Worn, weathered digits slowly caressed the exterior of the mug, unsure of what to say, how to act. His thoughts raced with wonder when he heard Amaryllis cutting through the silence with her dulcet tone. 

A few rapid blinks of the eyes dispelled the thousand yard stare, his head lifted and turned, setting the sights to her visage and the cup of tea she held in her hand. Head tilted to the side while he regarded her cup, contemplating on an answer in the space of a breath. 

"Aye!" He exclaimed, "I will try a sip!"
Anna
**Amaryllis Sage
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient Shop in Hexrakes**

Amaryllis soon offered her mug to him and smiled. She was a bit surprised that he said yes to trying it. She figured he would be too shy. 

"Here you are. I hope you like it, dear. I think it's better than coffee at times." She said and smiled.

She looked at Melkaire and blushed lightly, enjoying his company very much. She scooted closer to him, closing the space between them.
Brian
**Melkaire Amarth
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient Shop in Hexrakes**

The cup of coffee he held within his grasp was slowly moved to the nearby table, sitting it down so that his hands could be freed to take the mug filled with the heated, herbal beverage from her grasp. Shifting in place, he brought the cup he held with both hands, hovering it just below his nose to allow him to take in the scent of the drink just before lifting the rim to touch the bottom swell of his lip, tilting upward. Small, careful sips were taken from the contents before the mug. Swallowing the liquid, he stared ahead while the beautiful red haired woman closed the distance between them. He contemplated the taste- how it registered, how it tasted to him, how pleasurable it was. After a few seconds, he smiled, and started nodding his head as the mug was handed back to her. 

"It is delicious!" He remarked as the tea was offered back to her. It wasn't a long reach, given how close she to him. "To think... I have gone for so very long without trying it." He let out an amused scoff as his head dipped downward. "Mother was right." Soft words nearly hidden by a chortle passed through his lips, "I have not experienced enough in life."
Anna
**Amaryllis Sage
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient Shop in Hexrakes**

Amaryllis giggled and took the drink back from him. "Sweet, creamy, and an earth and floral after taste. It's quite a perfect drink to me, besides whiskey." She said with a smile. 

Amaryllis notes his excitement for the drink as well as him reminiscing, as he had done most of the night. He seemed to care very much about his family, especially his mother. She enjoyed this, taking another note that her reading was quite accurate.

Amaryllis sipped the tea a few times before placing it on the table. She was still nervous about being this close, and felt she needed to be open. 

"I'm going to be frank with you. I... Ive never had a man in my home. A customer, yes, but never invited one in for a drink or anything more. This is a first for me..."
Brian
**Melkaire Amarth
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient Shop in Hexrakes**

The warrior's weathered hand relinquished the cup into her grasp. She cited words that defined the varying tastes that tickled his palate. He fell silent, reaching for the coffee mug from the surface of the table, taking it in back in the hold of his hand, and withdrew to lean back against the seat. "Whiskey is good. I am more of a mead fan, myself." He returned idly, lifting the cup up to his lips and taking in another sip.

Silence was shared between them otherwise as the two awkwardly sipped their heated beverages. Melkaire's mind raced with things to say, how to act, what was proper in situations such as these. Confusion riddled his mind while he tried to make sense of it. Only when he heard the woman speak, all semblance of thought came to a screeching halt with her admittance. 

Pulling the mug away from his mouth, Melkaire turned to look upon her with widened eyes to measure the surprise he was feeling. Indeed, he was hard pressed to believe her. A woman like her nearly needed to wink and beckon with a wave of finger to ensnare some man to fall for her. 

"Truly?" He looked back down at the cup of coffee. "I suppose then that I should feel honored." A warm smile was presented, "This is a bit of a first for me as well." In a matter of speaking. Most of his interactions with the fairer sex didn't involve much talking. 

"You have a lovely home, and I am grateful for your invitation. Your tea is quite good and the company is very enjoyable! I never really had the chance to sit and talk with anyone."
Anna
**Amaryllis Sage
Sage's Gallipot and Sentient Shop in Hexrakes**

Amaryllis bit her lip at this and nodded. "Well, we can talk, always. You will always be welcome here. But um..." She began to trail of, her gaze meeting his once again. 

She sat her mug down and began to twiddle her thumbs. She was pondering what she would say next and how to phrase it. She didn't want to seem too forward.

"Do you like dancing?" She suddenly asked, her face red from the sudden blurt. She clearly had more in mind for them to do, not wishing for their time together to end.