Her eyes fell on the direction Marick had gone. His area was also conveniently the front of the cottage and the location where she had been staying at night since she had arrived. He was also the leader of this group and although she had seen at least Gwy tease him, she had also seen the group follow his orders without complaints. If anything, he was the best place to start. Calmly, she walked into the front room, looking around.

Marick, as usual, was at his potion-making area pouring water into the empty cauldron. Looking around the room, she fully took in how the room was arranged. For as clean-cut as Marick was, the room was incredibly unorganized. His bed was never made, books rested wherever he left them, and although there were beautifully built cabinets that could hold the vials he used, they were empty with all the vials resting on the tables around the cauldron. Behind the cauldron on a stand was his black-covered book filled with recipes for different potions. Apart from her wanting to giggle at how contradictory Marick was. He had to be the most organized unorganized person she had ever seen.

“Do you plan to just stand there looking at me?” Marick suddenly asked, not even bothering to look in her direction, already waving his hand to start a fire under the cauldron. Calla felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. Of course, he knew she had been standing there. She felt slightly awkward but sighed, smoothing out her skirt before walking over to him.

“I was… I wanted to know if I could watch you make potions… or help… if you’ll let me.” She said, her nerve slowly shrinking away as his eyes caught hers as she spoke. He had a way of making anyone feel small just with a glance and with the added fact that he stood at a height of 5’11’’, it wasn’t hard for him to stare Calla down with such intimidation without trying.

He cocked his head a little, his eyes moving to scan her before narrowing. “Why?” He finally asked. In a strange way, that made Calla relax slightly. He didn’t mock her or outright tell her no.

She frowned at his question. “Mostly because I’m curious about it.” She answered, breaking the intense eye contact by looking towards the opened book on the stand. The pages were covered with handwriting that looked to be in another language, marked-in side notes that were more than likely made by Marick, and hand-drawn pictures of different plants or resources. She had no idea how to read the page. “It seems complicated.”

There was a brief pause of silence before she heard Marick give a small snort, making her look back at him. He had closed his eyes to rub them before moving his hand away. His eyes opened, catching hers instantly but were a lot less intense than they had been earlier. His purple eyes were almost enchanting when they were gentle. In a way, Marick could be more handsome than Gwydion if he wasn’t glaring most of the time.

“I guess it would be fine if you observed,” he said calmly, motioning for her to take the seat on the other side of him where she had seen Raven before. “Just don’t distract me.”

Calla nodded at that, glad that he was allowing her to stay. Then again, with her around him it would make less trouble so that might be why. Still, she moved to take the seat, watching as the cauldron was already at a boil. The two were silent for a while, the only sounds being the bubbling cauldron and the tinkering of the glass vials. Marick seemed busy but soon enough he gave a slight frown.

“You are allowed to speak, you know. I only said not to distract me.” he pointed out, his eyes not leaving the book.

Calla seemed confused by what he said. “How do I not distract you?” she asked, figuring talking would be something that was a distraction.

“Don’t be Gwydion,” Marick said sharply. The way he said it, adding to the statement itself, took Calla by surprise before she couldn’t suppress a small giggle.

“It does seem you two don’t get along well.” She pointed out. Oddly enough Marick just shrugged.

“I have no real issue with him, he’s just distracting,” Marick noted, his attention shifting to her for a brief second. “As long as you don’t go out of your way to bother me, you won’t be a problem. I’m more than capable of multitasking.”

She gave a nod at that. “Noted,” she answered, her eyes moving to the page he was running his finger over while he read. “So… um… I guess my first question is what are you making?”

The room was quiet for a moment, almost as if he were contemplating whether or not it was worth trying to explain. “I need 20 more vials of hex deletion for a consignment shop in the other realm. People like to have them on hand before the winter solstice and high-quality ones can go for a good price,” he explained, his eyes never leaving the page he was scanning. “However, they are tricky to make and if not done correctly can either lead to poisoning the person who uses it or it can be highly explosive when making it.”

Calla shifted nervously at that last part, eyeing the cauldron. “No wonder you don’t wish to be distracted,” she muttered to herself, however, it seemed Marick heard her as he rolled his eyes.

“I can make this potion in my sleep. I’ve already made 40 vials of it since you’ve arrived,” he muttered back, her eyes moving to his face again.

Calla had a look of worry on her face, hoping she hadn’t upset him. “Oh! I… I didn’t mean to offend.” she said with a frown. “I assumed you were a highly-skilled potions master… as I never see you doing anything else…”

Marick was quiet again before nodding. “You didn’t offend me. And you would be correct,” he said before thinking it over and glancing at her. “But yes, it is best to not do anything to risk it. Even highly skilled potion makers can make mistakes. All it takes is one wrong amount of an ingredient to ruin everything.”

Calla nodded before Marick turned to move selected vials closer to the cauldron, more than likely organizing the ones he needed to be close enough for when he needed them. However, Calla caught a glimpse of an annoyed look on his face, making her frown.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to have them organized on one of those cabinets so you only have what you need on the counter?” she asked, though as the words left her mouth she bit her lip, wondering if that wasn’t something she should ask. As she suspected, he shot her a slight glare but sighed, folding his arms, and looking back at the vials.

“That was where they were originally.” he stated in a slightly condescending tone. “I make tons of different potions in a week. I know what vials I need and that they are on the table. I just don’t remember to return them to the shelves when I am done with them before I need them again.”

His attention went back to the vials as he looked slightly annoyed by something, searching the area a few times before grumbling.

“I thought for sure I just bought some… where the hell did I put it?” he muttered, picking up different vials to check tags before putting them down again. The sight made Calla give a slight look of amusement. So much for him knowing where he has things. It seems not even someone like Marick was perfect.

Calla got to her feet and walked over to him, looking at the table. “What is it called? I can look for it while you tend to the cauldron.” she offered. His purple eyes commanded her full attention as they shot to her, making her nearly breathless with how intense he could make his stare. After a moment, he grumbled and moved to pull his long silver hair away from his face before walking around her and back to the cauldron.

“It’s called lum water extract. It will be a clear liquid in a vial that has a plant etched into the bottle,” he said, grabbing the ladle to put into the bubbling concoction already in progress. Calla nodded and went to work searching the vials while Marick tended to the potion, putting the ingredients he had next to him into the boiling water, which had become a blush color.

It was a moment later when Calla found the vial. In fact, as soon as she found the bottle that had the tag that read lum water extract, she soon discovered four more vials. She stared at the sight for a moment before it finally hit her and she suppressed a small laugh. Marick seemed like the type who would get frustrated upon not finding something he needed right away and would probably go out to get more of it rather than admit he can’t find it.

She turned to Marick, holding the vial out to him. “Here.” She said to get his attention. He glanced over before taking it from her wordlessly and once opening it, added the liquid to the cauldron. The color changed from the blush color to a light blue color as he did. Calla’s attention went back to the vials on the table, thinking silently for a moment. “Would you mind if I put some of these back on the shelves?”

Marick muttered to himself before waving her off. “Fine, just don’t break anything. And don’t touch what I have beside the cauldron.” He stated. Calla gave a nod before moving towards the side of the table closest to the first shelf. She began to take up the vials, reading the names of each and placing them on the shelf in alphabetical order. She was a bit surprised with some of the vials containing items that were ordinary. Water, different types of flowers, tea leaves, and so on. However, those items would be in contrast to the odd items she would see between them. Vials labeled as different types of body fluids of different creatures, crushed horns of unicorns, and one vial that slightly bothered her labeled as the blood of the innocent.

The room was silent as the two worked at their own tasks, however, Calla’s mind would soon find itself thinking back to earlier. Her eyes fell to Marick’s form by the cauldron, slightly illuminated by the fire under it. Marick always wore a loose-fitting robe, most of the time a black or deep blue color. It was hard to believe upon looking at him that beneath his robe the man had nothing else that covered him, or that his body was as sculpted as it was. Her cheeks became slightly pink, remembering back to the morning she learned that he slept naked and didn’t bother covering himself when he walked from his bed to the washroom. Unlike the brothers, she didn’t get the impression that he did things like that on purpose. He wasn’t the type that was actively trying to get her to sleep with him. That was unless this was a long con and he was lulling her into a false sense of security...

A thought brought her out of the accusation and she looked at him more curious. “Hey, Marick?” She started, knowing that even though he looked to be ignoring her, he was still listening. “Why do you have a pentagram on your back?” She turned his way more. “I don’t mean to pry, it’s just that I wouldn’t expect you of all people to have a tattoo.”

Marick glanced her way for a second before silently turning towards her. “I can use it to summon wings for a quick escape if I need it,” he stated calmly. “They are made with concentrated energy and can be summoned and dissipated at will.”

Calla looked on in awe at the idea of Marick having magical wings. She wanted to ask if she could see them, but already she seemed to have an idea he would turn her down. As if to prove her thought, Marick had already turned back to his potion, running his finger down the page of the potion book, eyeing every word closely. Calla sighed, glad to have gotten one of the many questions she had, turning to continue to put the vials back.

It wasn’t that much longer before her eyes drifted around the room again. She looked towards the bed she had been using since she arrived. Now that she was really looking around the place, Marick’s ‘room’ looked very thrown together, like it was something that had happened relatively recently. She frowned at that. “By the way, why do you have your bed in the front of the cottage?” she asked.

“That would be my doing.” A sudden voice from behind her said, nearly making Calla jump out of her skin with a small scream. She turned to see highly amused Raven chuckling behind her. Marick glanced over, looking mildly annoyed by the sudden intrusion.

Raven gave a hum, tapping his chin before he looked between the two. He got a wicked smirk, eyeing Marick playfully. “It’s about time you got yourself a cute little housewife to clean up after you.” he teased, making Calla’s face light up bright red. Marick just clicked his tongue and glared at the man.

“W-What?” Calla exclaimed, to which Raven laughed and patted her head.

“I’m teasing, dear,” Raven said as he did. Marick rolled his eyes.

“You are becoming as annoying as your brother,” Marick muttered, turning towards him and narrowing his eyes. “What do you want, Raven?”

Raven hummed, glancing towards the vials already on the shelf and then the vials on the table. He spotted what he was looking for. Reaching around Calla, he picked up a vial. “I’ve come to take some honey for tea. I hope you don’t mind,” he said calmly, an innocent smile on his face.

Marick grumbled. It seemed that all the silver-haired man wanted was for the other to go away. “Fine, just make sure to return it,” he stated bitterly. Raven nodded, looking at Calla to give her a wink as if she had been involved with some kind of plot.

“Anyway, back to your question. I’m sure you’ve noticed that when Marick gets into his potion-making mode, he will hyperfocus on the task. He’ll go for days without sleeping before finally crashing if he sits down at the table.” Raven explained, ignoring Marick giving him an annoyed look. “Sooo, since Marick wasn’t using the room he had, I moved his room to the main room where he could continue his potions while also being social with the rest of the coven. His old room is currently the storage area for finished items.”

Calla listened, things clicking in her head as the other explained. That would explain everything, she guessed. A shame they wouldn’t turn their storage room into a room for her so she could have a place to get away from them. “Oh, okay,” she said with a nod. Raven smiled and patted her head before looking at Marick.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Behave yourself with the young lady, Marick.” he teased the other. Marick didn’t bother to glare at him for that, just scowled into the cauldron. Raven chuckled before turning to walk off towards the kitchen. Calla watched him go before looking back to Marick.

“I’m guessing he takes vials from you regularly?” she asked, turning to start putting away the vials on the table again.

Marick gave a sigh. “Constantly. However, unlike the others, he does actually return them,” he stated boredly, moving to read over what he needed on the page again. Once again, the room was quiet, Calla managing to get a good number of the vials he had on the table organized onto the shelves.

Marick ran his finger over the page he was on, making sure he had everything before it paused on a section. His eyes narrowed and he tapped the section slightly with his finger before his purple eyes fell on the vials still on the table as if in thought. Calla caught this, tilting her head curiously.

“Missing something?” she asked, looking at the vials, planning to help him search for the item. Marick was quiet for a moment.

“Out of something.” he finally admitted, seeming to mull something over in his head before his purple eyes lifted to Calla’s blue ones. He hummed, moving his hand to tap his chin as he turned his body to face her, walking closer to her. Calla looked up at him both curiously and slightly intimidated. He wasn’t saying anything as his eyes moved over her face as if searching for something.

Calla was about to ask what he wanted, opening her mouth to speak when Marick caught her chin with the fingers that had been originally tapping his own. Calla froze, eyes wide as she looked up at him. “W-What are you-?” she tried to ask, only to be cut off as Marick spoke, leaning close to her face.

“Hold still and don’t speak,” he commanded, albeit in a low tone. His purple eyes began to glow as they had when he cast his spell earlier before they would close. Before Calla could react, she was pulled closer to him, his lips catching hers. Calla gave a squeak in surprise, eyes wide as she stared at him. His brow tightened as he was focusing on something.

That was when she felt it, a pain from inside of her. She whimpered, gripping his arm tightly and wanting to pull away, only to find she couldn’t. Her eyes closed tightly, tears streaming down her face as the pain grew. It was as if something was tearing at her very soul, her very existence. Her face was hot, her body trembling. All at once, the pain stopped, as if whatever had been ripping was soon broken off, a warm sensation moving up her throat before Marick suddenly pulled away. Calla covered her mouth, feeling as if she was going to gag as her teary eyes opened just in time to see the end of a glowing golden light become trapped as Marick closed his mouth. His purple eyes opened with a calm expression as if nothing had happened, and him turning back towards the cauldron. He opened his mouth again and let out an exhale, the light, now golden dust, fluttering into the potion, making the concoction glow brightly before the color became clear like water.

Marick gave a hum at the sight, stirring it calmly. “...High quality...This might be a bit more potent than the ones I made earlier…” he muttered, more to himself. Calla stood there, still in shock and confusion about what had just happened.

She shivered, her body feeling slightly cold. Her confusion became anger as she moved over to grab his arm, forcing him to look at her. “W-What did you just do? What was that pain? W-Why did you do that?” she asked frantically. However, Marick seemed unbothered by her outburst, swiftly grabbing her arm to remove it from his. His expression was rather cold.

“Relax,” he stated calmly. “I needed a small portion of your life for my potion. I forgot that I used the rest of the current stock I had of pure life essence.”

Calla’s eyes widened more, a bit of fear in her expression. “You… You stole a piece of my life?” she asked, her lips trembling. Marick clicked his tongue in annoyance and huffed, moving to sit her down in the chair nearby the cauldron before calmly moving back to it.

“I only leeched a year off. It’s not as if you are in danger from me doing so,” he stated, turning the ladle in the potion once before looking back at her. “It’s easy to replace. When I leave to get more materials, I will get some to replace what I took.”

Calla just stared back at him for a moment before looking off with a hurt expression. He just casually used her as an ingredient for his potion and he didn’t seem to care how that would affect her. There was still a dull ache from deep inside her but what bothered her the most was just how cold he was about the whole situation. Her eyes softened sadly, her mind deep in thought. Why wouldn’t he react coldly to her? He wasn’t like the others who always gave her a warm smile and a kind look. He was someone who was serious, did what he needed to do without asking, and was focused on tasks without the care of emotions involved in them. Besides, what was she but a thing to be used by this coven?

Unknown to Calla, Marick had been staring at her the whole time she had looked off. His expression was hard to read as if he were thinking about something before he looked at his cauldron again. The room had been silent again for a while before Marick sighed.

“Calla,” he said, catching her teary eyes as she looked up at him with a hurt expression. He folded his arms, not looking away from his own reflection in the potion below. “I apologize… My ability isn’t a pleasant experience and I should have asked if not warned you first.”

Calla was quiet as she listened to him. She wasn’t sure how to feel at the moment. On the one hand, she felt used, but on the other, he spoke as if he was apologizing. After a moment she just sighed. “Okay…” she said softly, not really knowing what else to say. She got to her feet slowly, wanting to just finish putting the vials away. However, before she could walk past him, Marick’s arm suddenly blocked her path. She blinked in surprise, looking up at the man who had turned fully in her direction. His expression wasn’t cold but it wasn’t warm either, just kind of neutral as if he was deep in thought.

He finally tilted his head, his long hair falling over his shoulder like silver water. “Tell me, was that your first kiss?” he asked calmly, his voice low. Calla paused for a moment, moving to touch her lips lightly with her fingertips. With what had happened, she hadn’t fully registered that he had stolen more than just part of her life essence, but doing so in a way that also stole her first kiss. She put her hand down from her face, sighing as her eyes softened.

“...Yes…” she answered. She heard Marick grumble after she answered, her eyes looking up at him to see his free hand was against his forehead, rubbing his temple as he looked slightly annoyed about something. His eyes were closed tightly in thought before they opened, his arms dropping to his side. He studied Calla’s face for a moment before sighing and turning away from her.

She couldn’t hear what he was saying but he muttered about something being bothersome before raising both of his hands. Both seemed to glow with a purple hue before he waved his hands about the room. Doors suddenly appeared in the doorframes that led to the rest of the cottage, closing before large pentagrams appeared over them as if locking them magically. The door to the outside also had a large pentagram appear on it. Calla watched in awe as magic swirled around Marick’s hands skillfully. The room suddenly felt as if no one else could just waltz in, as if the area only had Marick and her in it. Once every way into the main room was blocked off, Marick lowered his hands.

Marick suddenly turned and began to walk over to her. Calla blinked in surprise but soon looked both confused and nervous, backing away from him until her back hit the wall behind her. She lifted both of her hands up as if to keep him away. “W-What are you doing?” she tried to ask before Marick grabbed both of her arms by the wrist and pinned them to the wall next to her. Her heart raced as he leaned down to her level, his eyes closing before his lips caught hers once again. As they did, Calla flinched, giving a small whimper as she expected the pain from before. However, this felt different.

His kiss was commanding, but deep and surprisingly passionate. Calla soon found herself relaxed, even leaning into it as her eyes slowly closed. Marick moved her arms up, pinning them above her using only one hand, freeing the other to cup the back of her head to give him a better angle. Calla’s face grew hot with a blush, body quivering as his body was pressed against hers. She didn’t realize how dizzy her thoughts had become until Marick broke the kiss.

Calla’s knees felt weak, knowing that if he hadn’t been holding her wrists in place against the wall that she would have sunk to the floor. She panted softly, catching her breath as she looked up into his face. His expression seemed calm, as it normally was, however, there was something in his eyes that was slightly different. She couldn’t quite place what it was, however, if this had been Raven or Gwydion, she would have thought it was the feeling of desire he was trying to hide.

After a moment, he gave a low hum in thought. “There…” he said, his voice low, almost husky but his tone being calm if not cold once again. “Now your second kiss has a much better memory.” With that, he pulled away, releasing her wrists. He just walked back to the cauldron as if nothing had happened at all, putting out the fire. Calla just stood there, her heart racing as she just watched him, trying to calm herself down. She frowned a little. Marick was so complicated in her eyes. The way he acted, the things he did. At this point she had no idea what he thought of her nor did she feel as if she knew any more about him.

“Calla,” he said after a moment, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“..Y...Yes?” she answered, Marick’s serious eyes glancing her way once again.

“In the room to the left of the washroom is the storage area Raven spoke of. There are a stack of wooden boxes that have empty vials in individual spaces inside of them. Will you go get one of those boxes and bring it here?” he said, making her a bit surprised that he asked rather than ordered. Then again, with what he had done earlier, she wondered if he was just trying not to upset her. It would be a waste of time after all. She nodded slowly, slinking off the wall. Marick turned back to the cauldron, raising an arm lazily and waving it. The magic he had done earlier seemed to dissipate as he did. The doors that had appeared, disappeared into dust and the pentagrams faded from every entrance. “Oh, and Calla, don’t say anything about what just happened. Do I make myself clear?”

Calla stared at Marick a moment before nodding. She silently moved out of the room and headed towards the door he spoke of.

Marick watched as she left, waiting before she was completely out of sight before he moved to the vials he had next to the cauldron. He grabbed one from the back of the group, holding it up. There were flakes of slightly golden dust in there, the label reading ‘pure life essence’. He glanced at the doorway before taking in a breath, letting out a long sigh as he looked down at the vial in his hand. Calmly, he moved to the table covered with books to the left of the cauldron, opening one of the drawers and placing the vial inside before closing it again. He casually walked back to the cauldron, looking down at the clear liquid at his reflection. He said nothing but looked to be in deep thought before he heard Calla walking back into the room.

Calla sighed, seeing that Marick hadn’t left the spot he was at by the time she returned. She walked over to him with the box in her hand. “Was this what you were talking about?” she asked. He glanced over before nodding.

“Yes. Hold the box while I fill the vials.” Marick replied, taking one of the empty vials from the case and moving to pick up a dropper of sorts, dipping it into the liquid and filling it before moving it to the vial and emptying the contents into the vial in his hand. Once it was filled, he sealed the top with a cork and placed it back in the box from where he had taken it. He would continue this process silently as Calla watched on.

She was quiet for a moment before she looked up at him. “Um.. so... I was wondering…” she started softly, a bit hesitant to speak. “Is it magic like that which is why it's dangerous for me to be around other magicals? You know… the taking life thing...”

Marick’s eyes shifted to hers a moment before back at the task he was doing. “...No. That is something only I can do. Me, and death of course.” he explained. Calla looked slightly confused by that and he sighed, almost as if explaining was bothering him.

He looked back at her. “I am magical born, meaning that I come from magical parents,” he explained sternly. “Those who are born into magic have one ability that is unique to them. I can take life from others. Raven and Gwydion are also born magicals. Their powers are more emotion-controlling in nature, similar but different. The only one among us who was not born magical is Blaise. He made a bond with Gwydion to unlock his power.”

Calla just stared confused at the man before her. That was a lot of information to take in at once but the more she thought about it she seemed to understand. “So could anyone become magical by making a bond?” she asked curiously. Marick stared at her for a long time, as if thinking deeply about something before he hummed.

“Those who have a sensitivity to magic are able to. Blaise could always see the magic invisible to those around him, so by making a bond, it awakened the magic inside him already,” he answered, searching her eyes before narrowing his. “Before you ask, no, I don’t believe you could do the same. You are a bit too susceptible to the magic of others. If you were able to resist our powers more, I would run more tests.” Calla frowned at the comment. Well, so much for that. She sighed, bummed at the news but nodded.

The comment that Blaise mentioned to her suddenly came into her mind and she hummed. “With your ability to take life… is that why no one knows how old you are?” she asked curiously. Marick’s eyes went back to her with a bit more of a dark look. She shrank back slightly. “B...Blaise said something about it…”

Marick sneered before giving a ‘tsk’ and continued with the task he was currently doing. “Of course, he would,” he muttered bitterly. He furrowed his brows and looked back at the intimidated girl next to him. “If he spent more time training and less time gossiping like an old woman, he would be a lot more powerful.”

Calla frowned at that, hesitating before she spoke again. “...You didn’t answer the question…” she said softly. Marick grumbled at that, looking away from her.

“Does it really matter how long I have been around?” he countered bitterly. Calla paused at that, humming in thought before sighing, looking off.

“No… I guess not,” she answered quietly. The two were quiet again, Marick nearly halfway through filling the box of vials. His face became expressionless as he stared into the cauldron.

“...I’m 370…” he answered in a low voice for only her to hear. Calla’s eyes widened, at first, she was amazed at the idea that he had been alive for so long before the realization of the implications of that sunk in and her expression became slightly fearful. If that was the case, how many lives had Marick stolen? She figured that wasn’t a question she wanted the answer to.

“That’s… that’s a very long time…” were the words she settled on. Marick just silently nodded before looking her way.

“And that is not information I want the others to know about,” he stated as a kind of warning. “They are aware that I am a great warlock, one of immense power and skill. They don’t need to know how long my life has been to obtain that kind of power.”

Calla swiftly nodded at that and Marick seemed to eye her but trusted she wouldn’t say anything before going back to filling the vials. Calla frowned as she watched him. Now there were two secrets she shared with Marick that she had to keep from the others. She guessed it was lucky none of them could read minds… that she was aware of. Marick seemed to be uncomfortable discussing his past or personal parts of his existence. Calla was actually kind of glad because he also seemed to be disinterested in learning or caring about her past as well. That or he already somehow knew everything and had no reason to ask her.

There seemed to be a commotion from the hall, drawing Calla’s attention to the doorway. Marick, however, didn’t bother to look up. “Ignore it,” he muttered in annoyance. “I’m sure they are just bickering about something unimportant as usual.” He sighed, the box nearly full at this point. “I swear they are worse than children.” Calla couldn’t help but giggle at that, not sure what was going on with the rest of the house but finding it amusing nonetheless.

Once the box of vials were filled and the cauldron emptied, Marick took the box from Calla, moving to take it back to the room she got it from. Calla turned back to continue putting vials back on the shelf. She only noticed Marick had returned to the room when he appeared next to her, scanning the shelf as if to see how she was putting them on the counter. She looked up at him for a moment before smiling softly and returning to what she was doing. He remained standing there watching silently for only a moment before reaching around her to take up a few of the vials from the table. To Calla’s surprise, Marick would silently help her as they cleared the table, putting everything back on the shelf in a way that would be much easier for him to search for what he needed. Though there wasn’t anything said, Marick seemed relaxed to have her in the room with him.

Calla has increased her relationship with Marick.

Continue this route by going to Chapter 7