It had been two months since Sulli stormed out of Obscure Brews. Each day made Elias feel that much worse about the situation. He had not expected her to react that way when he didn’t mean to be offensive. Although, he had to admit to himself that it had come off as incredibly rude. Elias rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Mostly at himself, but there had been a few rough customers that day. It didn’t help that Elias had not been able to send her a messenger since he chickened out each time he went to write something. He also didn’t have her PMA address, which reminded him that he needed to update his files to include that information.
He wandered over to the storage section, pulling out the master file of his paperwork. It was easy to adapt as all of the paperwork that was produced from this copy would also change to reflect any additions. He ran his finger over the activation runes and shifted some of the sections around to better fit his current needs for the store. This included adding permanent address locations for messenger notes and adding the PMA contact information. It didn’t help him at the moment with Sulli, but it would help in the future should he need it with other customers.
There was a ding as the door opened.
“Welcome to Obscure Brews. I’ll be with you in a short moment.”
He felt the magic before there was an answer. Elias whipped around to stare at Sulli. She was with someone this time, though Elias could see the resemblance immediately. It must have been her mother.
“Sulli,” Elias whispered. He was surprised to see her.
She smiled at him, though she flushed a bit at the stare that she got from her parent. Elias tucked the master file back into its place and shut the drawer, which locked the moment it closed. He walked around the desk so that he could adequately greet both Anissives. He started with Sulli, though it was not proper to begin with an Unbonded Anissive; he felt that he needed to give her some apology. He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on its back.
Elias turned to the older woman, who was covered in flowers of all kinds and in various states of blooming. Her much paler skin was tinted slightly pink and green. This was where Sulli got her gentle magic from. The woman radiated earthly magic that was vibrant and full of life.
“It is a pleasure to welcome you to Obscure Brews.”
“Elias, I would like to introduce you to my Maera, Salishara Tarkäm.”
Elias gave a short bow to the woman before stepping back. He turned his attention to Sulli. “I wanted to apologize to you. I didn’t have your address or your PMA address. It was rude of me to ask that question.”
Sulli shook her head, “I need to apologize as well. I reacted out of anger and embarrassment than anything. I should have explained to you my reasoning for asking.”
Elias gestured for them to follow. He pushed the vine curtain out of the way so that they could pass through to the back of the shop. There were seats back there for those that he welcomed in to stay.
“Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Is there anything that I can get for you to drink?’
Both ladies shook their heads at the question.
“Thank you, Master Elias. Your hospitality is very welcome. I’ve heard many great things from Sulli about Obscure Brews and you. I decided to come with her to visit, especially after she explained her social blunder.”
Elias sat down across from them and took a sip of the water that he had retrieved. “Think nothing of it. I was the one who broke social niceties in the first place. I hope that Sulli can forgive that. I may be grumpy, but that doesn’t give me the right to be rude.”
Sulli flushed when Elias and her Maera turned to look at her. She fiddled with her bracelets and wouldn’t look at either of them.
“Sullishu, please,” which was all the woman had to say to get Sulli to look up.
“I’m sorry, Master Elias. I had initially requested to work under you due to my need for Journeyman experience. I have passed the exams and earned the rank, but we are required at least two years of practical experience under a certified Master in order to begin our Mastery thesis. I was hoping that I would be able to work for you at Obscure Brews while learning for my Journeyman rank.”
Elias sat back and thought about that. He was already busy with the shop enough that the thought of having to teach someone while trying to work made him sigh. On the other hand, having someone do all the errands and running, along with the basic prep for his potion brewing, was very enticing. He could hide in the back and let her deal with the customers. That sold him. Not dealing with customers would be Goddess Blessed stress-free time.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“I will agree to this with a few conditions.”
The sheer joy that radiated from Sulli would have knocked him on his ass. All of the plants in the store perked up at the waves of magic coming from the woman. Her mother was eyeing the two of them with a thoughtful look that Elias chose to ignore.
“You will take over running the front of the store. I will train you on the different procedures needed to do so.”
Sulli nodded, “I would be happy to.”
“The next is that I will need help with preparation and gathering. This means that you will be on call when there are harvesting seasons and when orders need to be prepared. How long is the travel between Llasish and Verdanthi?”
Sulli thought for a moment, attempting to calculate just how long it took for them to get there. Elias saw her mother roll her eyes and look at him. “It took just under half an hour time. Not accounting for the time changes between the realms. Should she commute to work, she would need to leave much earlier our time to arrive here on time.”
“Early morning?” Sulli whined.
“It’s only half an hour. You know that magic shifts everything differently when using the Bridging Discs. It’s going to be correct when you use your PMA to track the conversion. You know this. You had to do it with Aquilla.”
Sulli huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back in the chair. Elias just raised an eyebrow at her, which made the woman flush a light lavender. There was a smirk on Salishara’s face.
“When can you begin? I understand if you need a few days to get settled into a routine or have prior commitments.”
“I can start now?” She sat forward and smiled at him, “Whenever you have the time. I thank the Goddess for accommodating my request.”
“You will be paid for your time. I understand that this is unusual, but you will be doing duties beyond that of a Journeyman and aiding me here at the store. It will not be much, but it is enough to cover transportation costs and other things should you need them.”
“That is very generous of you, Master Orym.” Salishara bowed her head before turning to Sulli, “I escorted you here, but I must return to prepare for work. You behave and message me if you need anything or anyone.”
Sulli stood and hugged her mother before the woman disappeared through the store and out the front. Elias blinked at the quick departure, not having had the time to stand nor offer to walk her out.
“She’s a busybody and hates staying still for long periods.”
Elias stood and walked over to the sink, depositing the cup he had been drinking from. Sulli followed him over and went to work washing the supplies and dishes.
“You don’t need to bother yourself with cleaning. I can do that.”
Sulli waved a soap-covered hand and scoffed, “I did dishes and cleaned much worse than this for my Parental Sundry and my school work. You do what you need to do. I work on tidying the place for now.”
Elias couldn’t argue with her. Without having to clean the place, it gave him more time to fulfill orders and do the paperwork he’d been avoiding the past few weeks. As he worked from his desk, he kept an eye on the bubbly girl. It was fascinating to watch her work near the plants. They would reach out for her, begging to be pet or have any attention, and when her magic touched them, they would brighten in color or grow. He’d never seen anything like it before. He’d been around plenty of other Verdanthian elves and those who excelled at Herbology, but nothing like this. He wondered just what her lineage was. It was killing him to know, even if it was rude to ask someone.
It didn’t take long for him to get so absorbed in the paperwork that he missed the door ringing or time passing. When he looked up, it was Sulli standing there with a bag. She had a sheepish look on her face.
“It was getting a bit past lunchtime. I wasn’t sure if you had eaten yet and didn’t know what your preference was. So I ordered some food for us. I hope you don’t mind.”
Sulli set down a container containing some of the decadent mushrooms, greens, and other vegetables. A few dressing bottles were set to the side, where he could activate a rune to return them to the store when finished. That was when his stomach decided to make itself known.
“This looks good. Thank you. I had not realized that it was past time to eat.”
Elias opened the container and dug into the meal with relish. The fresh ingredients made it that much better. He groaned in appreciation.
“Where did you order this from? There’s nothing nearby that sells this.”
Sulli flushed, “I have a favorite place in the Marketplace that I visit during my study hours. I gave them a call and asked if they could deliver to me here. It cost a little extra, but I figured that you would appreciate the fresh ingredients. They harvest and gather them each morning or purchase them from locals who come into the Food Markets.”
“You didn’t need to order from the Vale. That had to be quite expensive. Let me pay you back.”
Sulli waved him off, “Don’t you’re doing me a favor. At least for today, I’ll treat you as a thank you.”
Elias felt himself melt a bit at the thoughtfulness. It had been a while since someone had done something as simple as bring him food—not since he first started Obscure Brews and his Maera had brought him dinner, at least a decade ago. He sighed at the thought and reminded himself that he needed to visit his parents at some point.
“It is appreciated. Thank you.”
Sulli flushed and dug into her food, which smelled attractive to Elias. It had a bit of spice to it, though he could tell it was not a peppery one. Instead, it was yellow and topped over rice. Something new that he may have to try. The smell alone was enticing enough. They sat in silence while eating, just enjoying the moment and the excellent food. Elias wondered if this was what it would be like each day.