Calla looked to Blaise, seeing the man messing with his shoulder as he turned to head inside. It made her frown a little, hoping he hadn’t injured himself. Gwydion seemed to catch her look of worry and sighed, catching her attention.

“We tell him all the time not to overdo it. The boy never listens.” he said with an exaggerated shrug. He flashed a smirk towards her. “Perhaps he will listen to you.” With that, he turned to head towards the garden. Raven just flashed Calla a smile before heading inside, muttering to himself.

She sighed, fixing her dress before walking inside. She noticed that Marick wasn’t in the front room, meaning he was probably taking inventory in the storage room like she had seen him doing earlier in the week. She was still a bit unsure of how she felt about him taking some of her blood, but at the moment her mind was on Blaise. She carefully moved towards his room and knocked on the door. There was no answer.

“Blaise?” she called, not hearing anything again. She gave another sigh before opening the door and entering the room.

Closing the door behind her, she looked around. She hadn’t noticed it the last time she had been in his room, but Blaise’s room was rather simple. All that he had in there was a chair, a bed, and a desk covered with opened books and wood shavings. It didn’t take long before she saw where Blaise was. The guy was sprawled over his bed, sound asleep.

The sight actually was rather amusing, making her giggle softly before she quietly walked over to the bed. His face was so gentle as he slept, the wrinkles of frowning and scowling smoothing out to more of a baby face. She could understand why he tried to look tough all the time, seeing him like this made it clear that Blaise was still young and given the life he had lived, needed people to take him seriously.

She didn’t want to wake him, knowing how tired he had looked on their trip to the shack and back, but she also didn’t want to startle him if he happened to wake up and see her in his room. She smiled warmly down at him, running her fingers through his red curls gently before turning to move away.

To her surprise, she suddenly felt him grab her wrist. She looked back at him, noticing his eyes were still closed but he’s face was scrunched a little.

“What…” he murmured sleepily. Calla frowned at that, turning back.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to wake you…” she replied softly, watching as he gave a yawn and opened his eyes. He let go of her arm and sat up, scratching his head.

“I was awake,” he muttered tiredly, clearly lying. It made her giggle a little again before moving over to sit on the bed.

“I was worried about your shoulder… you looked like it was bothering you,” she finally answered, looking him over. He glanced at her before rolling his eyes. In the time between when she had started to get to know him until now, he had kept his vow to be nicer towards her, or at least not scowl at her. She had been learning his personality.

Blaise was rude, but not cruel. He rolled his eyes, swore like a sailor, and treated people like they were a pain if they bugged him for too long, but since his vow, he hadn’t acted like he didn’t want her around. She wasn’t even bothered by him getting snippy with her earlier, knowing that was just how he was when he was tired.

She watched as Blaise messed with his shoulder, frowning a little but looking at her with calm eyes. “I’m fine, I just pulled a muscle,” he muttered before looking her over a little. “Is that really all you came in here for?”

Calla frowned at that. He acted like she shouldn’t be worried about him. Or, was that his way of asking her if she was alright? She gave a small sigh, looking away from him. “I’m okay, if that is what you are asking.” she said, seeing his face grow a little flustered in her peripherals. It seemed she was right about what he was getting at. “I won’t lie, I was scared… being around that woman was a lot more tense than how it was the first time I met all of you.”

She looked over to see Blaise looking her over seriously, almost as if checking to make sure she wasn’t injured before his eyes met hers. “...A lot of magicals will act that way around non-magicals. Many sorcerers have a slight fear of non-magicals since witch trials of the past and those who do not have any fear, will see non-magicals as lesser beings,” he explained calmly before giving a yawn. “When I first became a warlock, I had to deal with a lot of prejudice. Sadly for them, I am used to being looked down on from my time as a fisherman. Our boats would dock at all the cities along the trade route, even the richer areas. The upper-class would look at us like we were nothing.”

His eyes grew distant as a memory came to him. He smirked a little. “I remember one time, I believe I was around 17 and had been working on the ship for a while. We had finished dropping off our catch in one of the trading cities when the guys decided they wanted a little poke before we went back out to sea.” he started before catching Calla’s confused look. He blushed a little before giving a slight cough, looking away from her. “Poke… is a term they used for sex. Like I told you, we tended to frequent prostitutes when we were ashore.” he said before sighing, “I must have been drunk off my ass, cause I can’t remember much from that night, but I do remember that I just finished up some business with a prostitute and was on my way back to the ship when I crossed paths with some rich fucker and his lady out for a walk. I think I must have bumped into him cause I remember him turning and pushing me. All I remember was him calling me a filthy sailor before I saw red. Woke up in the brig the next morning to my captain telling me I owed some guy an apology for kicking his ass. Worst morning of my life.”

Calla blushed a little, trying not to focus on the idea of Blaise with prostitutes as she listened to his story, frowning at the end. He muttered to himself before looking her way. “Anyway, the moral of the story is that people will treat you like dirt regardless of magical ability. Besides, you heard the others say that Madam Coffer is a pain in the ass to deal with normally.” he pointed out. She seemed to have a flash of memory of the conversation before they got to the shack.

“They said you were almost killed because you were rude,” she muttered to which Blaise gave a huff in return.

“It wasn’t even being rude. The woman is just crazy.” he stated bitterly before grumbling. He lied down in his bed the correct way, rubbing his face as he yawned. Calla frowned as she watched him.

“Why are you so tired this morning? Didn’t you go to bed when everyone else did?” she asked curiously. She heard him grumble at that, moving his hands away from his face to look up at her.

“No,” he stated, trying his best not to sound irritated by the question. He huffed again before closing his eyes, moving an arm behind his head. “I wanted to make sure I could stop the old bat if she did anything to you, so I stayed up last night practicing the speed of my spells.”

Calla blushed a little at that, a little taken aback at the thought of him being worried about her. He opened his eyes wide with a flustered look, realizing it sounded like he cared before grumbling a little. “I-I just wanted to make sure I didn’t break my vow to protect you is all!” he shot at her, a blush on his own face. Calla blinked a little before humming in thought and giving a nod. That seemed to satisfy him as he closed his eyes again.

She watched him a moment before smiling softly, leaning in to kiss his cheek softly, feeling him tense a little when she did. “Well, whatever your reason… I appreciate it,” she replied with a soft tone. His cheeks grew hot with a blush but he didn’t open his eyes. She smiled at him a moment more before starting to get up.

“Calla,” Blaise called, making her pause and look back at him. His eyes were opened, his look soft but still hard for Calla to read what was on his mind. He scanned her slowly before looking off. “S..Spend the night with me… I-I mean-! U-Unless you enjoy staying in Marick’s bed…”

She blinked in surprise, thinking over his request. In reality, she had no reason to continue to stay in Marick’s bed. It was just the one she had been using. She couldn’t help but blush at the idea of sleeping in the same bed as Blaise, and yet, he might be the safest one to do so with. It seemed her pause made his face continue to grow hotter with his blush before she nodded with her own shy blush on her face.

“O-Okay.” she answered before getting up, wanting to let him catch up on his rest.

Blaise watched her as she left, letting out a staggered sigh when she closed the door behind her. He grumbled a little, staring at his ceiling. He acted like such a jerk around her. Why couldn’t he have just asked her if she was okay? Why did he have to act as if he hadn’t been worried about the situation? What made it worse was that he had to rely on Raven’s ability to calm her down. He wished he could have held her close, been her white knight against the old woman. He wished he had the power to make her feel safe around him.

He sighed a little, eyes softening as his fingers moved to touch the spot on his cheek where the feeling of her lips had been. If he had Gwydion’s confidence, he would have pulled her back onto the bed, kissed her deeply as he held her close to him. Blaise bit his lip as his mind went deep into thought. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to do more than just kiss her. How long had it been since he was last with a woman? He wasn’t the type to pick them up so easily like Raven and Gwydion. Hell, Marick probably got laid more than he did, the guy just didn’t talk about it. Blaise was used to sex being easy to get for the right price. He had never bothered with the whole courting thing. Hell, did he even know how to treat a woman who wasn’t a prostitute?

A thought hit him and he frowned a little. He had never been with anyone who was virgin before. Calla had never been with a man, and Blaise was far from someone who was gentle. If she offered her body to him, would he hurt her without meaning to? He slapped himself, groaning a little. Why was he even thinking about this stuff right now? She only agreed to spend the night with him, it wasn’t like she and him would get that far. This was the first time they would share a bed, far too early in whatever this relationship was for them to be intimate. It wasn’t as if the warlocks had a reason to go to the other realm any time soon, so they had time to get to know each other first.

“You’re being stupid, Blaise…” he muttered to himself before giving a yawn. “Stop overthinking…” With that, he turned over and soon fell asleep again.

By the time night came, Calla had been mostly hanging out in the dining area, occasionally helping Gwydion as he brought in vegetables he planned to use to cook with that night. Blaise looked to be in a better mood after his nap, but she caught him doing a lot of thinking throughout the day when he would look her way. She never could tell what was on his mind, plus, outside of that, he didn’t act much differently the rest of the day.

She gave a sigh, taking her nightdress from Gwydion’s room and moved to Blaise’s door. She raised her hand to knock but was stopped when she heard Blaise call to her. “You don’t need to knock, just come in.” he stated bluntly. Calla blushed a little embarrassed by that before sighing and opening the door.

Blaise was facing away from her, stretching out his arms as he was looking over a book on his desk. He had no shirt on, just a pair of long john pants that hugged his lower body tightly. Calla felt her face heat up, closing the door behind her once she had walked into the room. Her heart raced as she watched him wide-eyed.

Blaise was built with a strong body which she knew from the last time she had seen him shirtless, but it always managed to surprise her. It seems that his time away from the fishing boats hadn’t lost him much muscle. That or he regularly put his body through grueling training to keep himself fit. Seeing him now, she had no doubt as to his story about beating some guy badly for insulting him. Blaise looked as if he could take on a bunch of people in a fist fight and win.

“Instead of staring at me, maybe you should take the time I’m not looking at you to change.” Blaise muttered, breaking Calla from her thoughts as she looked even more embarrassed.

“R-Right…” she said, moving to set her nightdress on his bed. She knew better than to think Blaise would sneak a peek. After all, he wasn’t Gwydion or Raven. However, he might have to as she found herself unable to undo the buttons on her dress. She huffed a little. Why were these buttons easier to do up than undo?! She could almost bet that Gwydion did it on purpose so she would have to ask for help to undress.

Her eyes fell onto Blaise, who was still looking away from her. “..H-Hey Blaise?” she called. He paused a little but didn’t look back.

“Yeah?” he answered, stretching one of his arms. Calla frowned, blushing a little.

“C-Could you help me with the buttons…?” she asked softly, clearly embarrassed. She saw him jolt slightly, as if a little caught off guard before he glanced back at her. He scanned her before sighing and turning to walk towards her.

“S...Sure…” he muttered, Calla turning her eyes away as he walked over. She sighed, moving her hair out of the way before feeling him grip the first button.

Sadly, it seemed he was having just as much of a struggle with them, only getting a few undone before he started to curse under his breath. “The hell are these damn things made of?” he muttered, growing annoyed by the second. He grumbled more before Calla felt him grab the dress and nearly rip the thing in half, buttons flying everywhere. “There! Stupid dress…”

It had surprised Calla enough to give a yelp, feeling her dress slip fast enough that she grabbed it before she was fully exposed. She shivered, feeling the cold air hit her back. She turned slightly to look back at Blaise, seeing his annoyance turn to realization of what he did. His eyes widened, his stare landing on the look of her nearly naked before him. He seemed to process it a moment before flushing a deep red and turning away.

“Err, um… s...sorry. I’m sure Gwy can fix it.” he muttered as he did. As he listened to Calla mutter an ‘it’s okay’ before hearing her dress hit the floor, Blaise was doing everything in his power not to think about it.

He kept his eyes open and straightforward, looking to the desk he had just been at. It seemed like seconds but felt like a lifetime for her to cover herself. His face felt hot, picturing the sight of her standing there, her dress hanging off her loosely, she having to hold it over her chest so it didn’t fall off.

“I’m covered.” Calla said softly, watching Blaise. She was confused by how tense he looked, only seeing the back of him at the moment. He seemed to hesitate before turning back towards her, looking her over.

“G...Good.” he stated awkwardly, scratching his head before sighing and looking her over. Calla couldn’t help but blush as he did. Sure, Blaise wasn’t like Gwydion, but he was still a guy. She couldn’t help but wonder what he thought of her when he would look her over like that. Did he find her pretty? He always seemed to grow flustered around her.

She blinked as she saw him give a slight cough, blushing. “And, you are okay with spending the night with me, right?” he questioned. Was that what he was worried about?

She gave a nod before smiling softly. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” she countered. Blaise gave a slight huff, eyes snapping her hers.

“I don’t know, from how you talk about things here sometimes I wonder if you think I’m plotting to do terrible things to you.” he muttered, before looking off again. Calla frowned at that, sighing before moving closer to him.

“I’m… I’m sorry…” she said softly, looking up at him. “To be honest, Blaise, I probably trust you more than anyone else here. You’ve never made me feel uncomfortable nor have stolen my blood for any reason I can think of.” She sighed again, looking off. “I promised I wouldn’t talk as if I didn’t trust you anymore and since we made that vow, I thought I hadn’t.”

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He calmly looked her over before muttering a little. “...You haven’t.” he stated calmly, folding his arms. It made her look back up at him. “I just have a hard time letting it go, is all. Forget I said anything.”

He turned and moved to the bed, getting ready to lay down as Calla watched on. Her heart raced at the idea of sleeping next to him. She thought it wouldn’t feel much different from when she happened to share Marick’s bed with Marick, but for some reason, this felt different to her. Knowing he would question her if she hesitated, she moved over to the bed, climbing under the covers as he lay down. He seemed to watch her as she did, his expression looking distant as if in thought as she curled up next to him. He gave a slight frown, looking up at the ceiling.

“This isn’t weird, is it?” he asked after a moment. Calla blushed softly as she thought about it.

“A little,” she admitted, although she scooted closer to him. Out of instinct, he seemed to put an arm around her, sighing as he turned his body towards hers, scanning her face. She just shrugged. “But to be fair, that might just be because I’ve been staying in someone else's bed until now…”

He hummed at that before frowning. “Marick didn’t do anything to you, right?” he asked suddenly, making her jolt in surprise.

“W-What? No! Of course not!” she exclaimed before sighing to calm down with a blush. “He rarely even shared his bed with me. Most nights I would catch him asleep at the table.”

He seemed to think that over a moment before nodding. “Sounds like him,” he muttered before giving a yawn, closing his eyes.

Calla watched his face a moment before smiling lightly. “Out of the four of you, it did seem safe to stay in the rooms of those who seemed as if they didn’t want to do things to me-” she started before getting cut off.

“Don’t be naive, Calla,” Blaise stated, his expression scrunching his face. “Just because I’m not Gwydion or Raven… and I sure as hell can’t speak for Marick, it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to do things with you.” he grumbled before sighing. “If you gave me the okay right now, I don’t think I would have the will power to pause and think clearly before agreeing.” Calla’s eyes widened but soon softened, seeing the look of disgust he had on his face for even admitting that. He opened his eyes, looking serious. “But only if you were to offer yourself to me. I’m not going to stand around pushing the boundaries with you or try and force it to happen. I will tell you that I think it would be a bad idea for your first time to be with someone like me though. As much as I hate the thought of it, Gwydion would probably be the best choice for that.”

Calla blushed deeply, not sure how he could speak of sex so bluntly. However, his words made her heart hurt. “W-Why do you say that?” she asked with a frown. Blaise gave a long sigh, his expression a bit sad but gentle.

“30 silver,” he said calmly, making Calla blink in confusion. He frowned, shifting a little to rest his free arm on her side. “That’s how much it costs for just one round with a woman of the night. I’ve only ever been with prostitutes, Calla. I’ll hurt you.” Calla frowned at that, watching him with gentle eyes as he muttered to himself before looking at her seriously again. “Gwydion’s power literally makes a person feel good, to enjoy themselves.”

She seemed to mull over his words for a moment before looking off. “So the first time does hurt… I was hoping that was a myth,” she said honestly before feeling Blaise give a shrug.

“I think it can be avoided, I just don’t know how I could do so,” he stated bluntly before sighing again, searching her face. “I don’t know why I brought it up. It’s not like you have to sleep with anyone right away. If anyone has to go to the other realm, we can go separately. The only way all of us would need to go is for a bigger request and as far as I know, we haven’t gotten any of those. The coven has gone years before without all of us needing to go to the other realm together and we just came back from the other realm the day you broke in so I honestly can’t see a reason for us to go back for a long while.”

They kept saying that, but that information never seemed to stop them from bringing it up. She frowned. “Then why was it brought up as if it was such a big deal?” she questioned, making Blaise roll his eyes.

“You really have to ask that?” he asked before sighing a little. “We are a bunch of guys who like the company of women. You are a young lady that now lives with us. As far as I am aware, none of us have gotten laid since we returned from the other realm. I bet it’s killing Gwydion slowly that he’s gone so long without it.” He shifted again, trying to ignore the thoughts in his head. “Don’t be too surprised if the others start wandering off to non-magical cities looking for entertainment.” A thought hit him and he hummed. “However, if they got some, they might tone it down with the harassment…”

Calla gave a blank expression as she thought it over. So Gwydion and Raven were only as bad as they were because they were bored and horny? Wonderful. That didn’t explain Marick’s behavior though. She huffed a little, blushing at the idea of the coven running off with girls for their own pleasure. She honestly didn’t want to know how many trips they tended to take just for the sake of getting laid. Her eyes scanned Blaise’s face softening as a thought came to her mind.

“What about you?” she asked, seeing Blaise raise a brow. She blushed softly and looked off. “I mean, will you plan to head into one of the cities for the same reason?”

She saw him pause a moment before shrugging again. “More than likely,” he answered before seeing the hurt expression on her face. He huffed. “I’m not a saint, Calla. I have just as much of a need as the others do…”

Giving a hum in thought, she sighed. She was about to continue the conversation but Blaise pulled her closer to him and yawned. “Look, can we talk about this later?” he mumbled, looking tired. She frowned but gave in, nodding before cuddling close to him.

“Alright, good night, Blaise,” she said softly, closing her eyes.

“Night, Calla.” he murmured back, already beginning to drift off to sleep.

Oddly enough the next day, Marick made a comment about the group heading to one of the richer cities in the area. Of course, he claimed it was for resources but also made an offhand about the group being annoying and needed to go stop bothering him.

Soon enough, she found herself in the city, watching people walk around as she followed Marick and Blaise. Marick was wearing an outfit that made him look like a noble, Calla finding it odd to see him in anything but a long robe. As for Raven and Gwydion, she had lost track of them almost as soon as they got here. She sighed, fixing her gloves as she glanced to Blaise.

He was dressed a bit more like the sailors she had seen around the docks. She could only assume that was his non-magical clothes or that he just refused to wear anything fancy. He looked uncomfortably, catching glances his way from the wealthy around them. Calla frowned a little, turning to him.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly, catching his attention. He sighed and folded his arms.

“I’m fine,” he replied, although he didn’t look like it. They both looked to Marick as he gave a hum, looking over a list in his hands. She assumed it was what he needed while he was in town, most of which were items found in the market.

Blaise pushed off the wall he was leaned against and faced Marick. “What?” he asked curiously. Marick glanced at him before looking back at his list, tapping his chin with his finger.

“...I’m in need of seaweed and saltwater,” Marick muttered before looking back to Blaise. “I’m assuming those would be by the beach. Go gather a few vials, Calla, go with him.”

The two of them nodded. Blaise looked at Calla, motioning her to follow. She had to run a moment to catch up to him but soon walked side by side. She looked around as they headed their way towards the docks.

“At least it’s a nice day out,” she pointed out, smiling as she glanced towards Blaise. She saw him blush a little before nodding.

“Yeah… it is,” he agreed before sighing a little. “You know, when I spoke about us headed into the city, I didn’t expect it to happen right away.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at that and nodded. “I assumed so,” she replied, looking forward. “This is my first time being in a city like this, it’s very different from what I expected.”

Blaise looked her over a little before humming in thought. “We, um… don’t need to head back right away after we gather what we need,” he started before looking off stubbornly. “I-I mean, if you want to see more of the place. I can show you around, I guess…”

Calla blinked at that before smiling. “I’d like that…” she answered softly, the view of the port coming into sight.

There were massive ships at the docks, men moving around carrying things off of ships. She couldn’t help but picture Blaise doing that, knowing he must have done similar things when he worked on these types of ships. Blaise was keeping his eyes forward as they walked passed the docks, clearly not as interested at watching the workers as she was.

“Do you ever miss it?” she asked as she caught up to him, glancing at the ships. “Being out at sea?”

Blaise frowned a little before shrugging. “Not really,” he answered honestly. “It was work, but not what I felt I was meant to do with my life. I also tended to get into more trouble back then.”

She thought about it a moment before nodding. “I think it would be interesting though, out at sea like that. There wasn’t any part of it you enjoyed?” she asked as they reached the beach. There were a few people out on pedestrian boats, ladies with large umbrellas shielding them from the sun. However, the sandy area was empty for the most part. Blaise paused a moment, stopping in place as he thought about her question. He looked up at the sky, arms folding.

“I miss the stars,” he said calmly, his expression distant as he was off in thought. He turned to look at Calla with a calm look on his face. “When you get out far enough, when the water is still, you can’t tell where the sky begins and the water ends. The ship just looks as if it's surrounded by stars.”

Calla paused, picturing what he was describing. It sounded like an amazing view, making her wish to have had experiences such as that. She hummed, looking off in thought. “It sounds like a beautiful sight…” she answered dreamily. The two stood there quietly for a moment before Blaise sighed, turning to step off the edge of the stone walkway and onto the sand.

“...Anyway, we should get these things and get back to Marick…” he said, catching her attention. She blushed, a little embarrassed for being so spacy before moving to follow him off the stone path. She stumbled a little, making Blaise quickly catch her, the two standing close to each other for a moment before Blaise blushed and looked off blushing.

“Err, um… w-watch your step.” he muttered, taking her hand as he led her towards the water. A thought hit him and he patted his pockets a moment before grumbling. “Wait a minute.” He stopped walking and turned to look back the way they came. “He never gave me any vials!”

Calla blinked in surprise before looking confused. “Why would he send us here then?” she asked in her confusion. Blaise grumbled, looking annoyed.

“We were probably bothering him,” he muttered bitterly. Calla still seemed confused though. She figured Marick would just tell them to go away if they were bothering him. It wasn’t as if Marick was the type to beat around the bush.

Blaise turned away from her and plopped himself onto the sand. “Well, fuck it. I’m not doing anything if I don’t have the method to gather it. If he wants the things, he can get them himself.” he stated loudly, catching some looks from those who walked back. Calla just looked confused a moment longer as she watched him before giggling and walking over to him.

“You can’t just summon them?” she asked softly as she did. He gave her a look.

“Not unless I want a ton of people to see me using magic,” he mumbled before sighing, looking out at the water for a moment.

An idea hit him and he got to his feet, brushing himself off before turning to Calla. “Well, I guess since we can’t gather anything, how about we walk the beach together?” he asked, his face showing a sign of a blush as he held his hand out to her. She was surprised by that, blushing a little as she looked up at him. Was he asking her on a date?

“I...I, um, s-sure,” she said, flashing a shy smile as she took his hand. Blaise nodded at that, turning to walk with her down the beach. They were quiet for a moment before they looked to each other.

“Oh, um…” they both said at the same time before Blaise looked away embarrassed, Calla just blinked in surprise before giggling with a smile on her face.

“G...Go ahead,” Blaise said, scratching his head. Calla looked forward, smiling softly.

“I...I just wanted to say that it was nice… spending the night with you last night. Your bed is softer than I thought it would be,” she said, looking back to see him blushing more at that, keeping his eyes forward. She guessed that was probably what he was going to ask her about anyway.

“Yeah… I mean… I’m used to cots and stuff like that, but this bed is the nicest I have rested in…” he said a little awkwardly. She felt his thumb rub the back of her hand. He looked to the sand before them. “I don’t mind, you know… if you wanted to continue sharing my room. I...It’s not like you keep me up or anything, s-so…”

Calla giggled a little. Blaise was being rather awkward and it was rather amusing to see him acting like a little boy. “I’d like that,” she admitted, the two continuing to walk slowly down the beach. After a moment, Calla looked back at Blaise. “So, um… you said you’ve been with the others for five years now. Have any interesting stories about your time with them so far?”

Blaise glanced at her when she asked before looking off in thought. “I think I may have a few,” he said before smirking and began to tell her some of the stories.

Calla was laughing as she heard tale after tale. Blaise was telling her his first reactions to everyone when he had first arrived. It seemed that group was a lively one at times. Marick punished Gwydion by cursing his mouth to stay closed. Raven nearly set the kitchen on fire the last time Gwydion let him make food. The many strange positions Marick would be located in as he fell asleep at the cauldron before his bed had been moved to the front room. In a way, the coven was very much like a family unit. Then of course there were the stories of them on missions that took them into the other realm dealing with dragons, harpies, and other magicals. They soon were sitting on the sand at the far end of the beach, laughing and talking about the many adventures that Blaise bore witness to.

“That is amazing,” Calla said with a huge grin on her face before clearing some tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. “It seems I am in for quite the ride when we go to the other realm.”

Blaise gave a breathy laugh. “You sure will, at least Raven’s place in the other realm is nice. Every once in a while I hear Marick talk about moving the cottage onto the estate’s land, but he never ends up doing it.” he noted, leaning back on his arms.

“It sounds like it’s rather nice there,” She agreed before sighing and laying back, not caring if she got sand in her hair. “To be honest, it’s nice hearing good things about the other realm. I’ve been worried that it’s scary there.”

“I mean, it can be, but it’s also nice,” he pointed out, looking her over a little.

Calla sighed, taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of the beach, especially that of the water rushing around. She was reminded of a question and turned to look back up at Blaise. “By the way, I was wondering. It seems the four of you have your own type of magic that you are best at. Is that common?” she asked curiously. He hummed in thought.

“You mean outside the special abilities of the magical born? Yeah, it’s common,” he noted with a hum. “Most of the time, magic follows the personalities of the user. I’ve been called a bit of a hot head, so my magic tends to be fire based. Gwydion is the fashionable type so his magic tends to be very pretty. Marick’s magic tends to focus more on hexes and summoning. Raven’s brilliant when it comes to the intricate nature of spells, inventing new spells, so he has the largest range of spells of the lot of us, but even then he tends to use dark and light spells.”

Calla listened quietly but her expression soon turned to one of suspicion as she stared at him. “You know… I’m starting to think you guys renamed yourselves after getting your powers.” she muttered her accusation. She saw Blaise close his mouth and look away, scratching his face.

She huffed at that, closing her eyes. “You guys are strange-” she started before she was cut off by a shadow coming over her and the feeling of his lips against hers. Her face lit up bright red, blinking her eyes open in surprise as Blaise broke the kiss, looking down at her with a calm expression.

“Is there a problem with being strange?” he asked softly, his own face having a soft blush. Calla just stared for a moment before shaking her head.

“No…” she replied softly before pulling his shirt to pull him back down, pushing her lips to his once more. She closed her eyes again, just wanting to feel his kiss, happy that he wasn’t tense around her. She didn’t know why, but she wanted this, wanted him to kiss her like he did when he made his vow.

“You two are cute,” a sudden voice said, making Blaise pull away and shooting a death glare with a bright red face as he looked up to see Raven sitting on the stone path just above them. Calla’s face was bright red as well, sitting up as Blaise got up.

“The fuck do you want, Raven,” Blaise hissed in embarrassment only for Raven to toss him a few vials.

“Marick said he forgot to give you vials for the salt water and seaweed.” Raven noted before waving him away. “Go fetch,”

Blaise growled at him but did as he was told, stomping away towards the water. Calla sighed, moving to brush sand off her and frowning at Raven. Raven, however, just smiled innocently back to her. He looked a lot more relaxed, making her wonder if what Blaise said was true.

“You seem to be in a better mood,” she noted, looking over the dark-haired man. “Did you run off to have fun?”

Raven just laughed at that, winking to her. “Very bold of you to ask that. Is someone jealous?” he countered, only for Calla to give him a blank stare.

“The fact that you are avoiding the question is telling,” she muttered to which Raven just snickered again before sighing and looking towards Blaise. Calla did the same, her eyes softening as she watched him filling the vials of salt water, probably grumbling to himself. Raven gave a hum, making Calla look back at him.

“He’s rather smitten with you, isn’t he, now only if he would admit it to himself,” he started, making her blush and look off. Raven just smiled warmly at her. “It’s good though, he seems to be calming down with you around.”

She looked back at Raven curiously. “I would think you would be mad about it,” she said softly only to see Raven smile and shake his head.

“A coven is a family, Calla. We may compete with each other, but there are no harsh feelings. I would fight side by side with Blaise regardless of anything, including your feelings for him.” Raven explained calmly.

“That goes for you too, Calla,” a new voice said, making Calla look to see Gwydion standing next to her. He was easy to tell where he was, smelling of perfume and wiping lipstick off him with a handkerchief. The man smiled at her. “We have been a coven of five since you joined us. As much as I think you have a strange taste in men, anyone in this coven would fight for your safety.”

The backhanded comment about her taste in men made Calla roll her eyes at him but she soon sighed and she looked to the water again, smiling softly. “I just wish I had a way to fight too…” she said to herself, looking to her hands as she remembered the feeling of Blaise’s power flowing through her.

Calla’s feeling for Blaise has increased.