It had been a little while since Mercury had pulled Anthea out of the ocean. Since then, they’d been caught up in the business of Samhain. They’d each done their part for the festival, but Mercury still felt that he did not really know the woman the shipwreck survivor was becoming.

With a desire to see how she was settling in, the Ermis rose in the early morning sun. He wasn’t set to do any patrols till the evening, leaving him free for the majority of the day. He opened his sliding door, and peeked into the roost Solar had created on the balcony. Chucking the bird some off cuts, he left the slider open and strapped on his bracers.

Making his way down the castle stairs towards the guest room Anthea had claimed as her own. He gave a light knock on the door, and stood back.


"Mercury"

Anthea blinked open her blue and green eyes, squinting a bit against the early morning light that was filtering into the room through a gap in the curtains. Windows were a concept that she was still getting used to and remembering to fully close the curtains before she went to bed was something she was still remembering how to do. Well, at the very least, it made sure that she was getting up at a reasonable time. She yawned as she began to sat up, rubbing a paw across her eyes and face to shake off the last bits of sleep—but before she could fully do that she heard a knock at the door. Her ears perked, the slate woman glancing toward the door with surprise. She knew there was really only one wolf it could be, but she was still getting used to the fact that he was so very punctual and so ready to get going as soon as the sun rose.

"Just a second!" she called as she hurried to get up, giving herself a shake and smoothing out her fur a bit. She trotted over to an old, clouded mirror that sat against one wall to make sure she didn't have any random clumps of fur sticking up at odd angles. There was still so much to learn and know about this man that had quite literally saved her life, but there was no denying how handsome he was and it never really seemed to matter what time of day she was seeing him at or what they were doing, he always managed to look just as good regardless. That made her a little more conscious of her own appearance and maybe she hoped at least a little bit that he happened to be paying attention to her the way she was paying attention to him. After reassuring herself that she looked fine, Anthea hurried over to the door and pulled it open, revealing the tall and dark male on the other side. "I had a feeling it was you," she said with a chuckle, a little grin pulling across her features. "What's going on?"

"Anthea Dásos"

Mercury grinned as he heard the familiar voice within calling out to him. He settled back on his hunches, giving her time to get herself ready. It was rather early in the morning. He kept odd hours at times, and would need to remember that not everyone was up with the dawn.

He wasn’t left waiting long before the door opened, and he was greeted by the face of Anthea. Looking well put together despite the early hour. Or perhaps that's what she had delayed for? Hiding a smile, he nodded his head to the woman. “Anthea, I hope I'm not calling on you too early?” He said politely. “I had some time free, and wanted to see if you wanted to explore some of Auster with me? I realised I've never actually gone any further South then the Hallows” He explained with a wry smile.


"Mercury"

Anthea chuckled and gave a little shake of her head when he mentioned his hope that he wasn't calling on her too early. "No no, not at all... I mean, would I like to still be in bed? Sure, but this is a pleasant surprise." Perhaps one day she would figure out the intricacies of flirting and be able to do it well, but for now this was maybe the best she could manage without throwing out a comment that was far too bold considering the fact that they were still getting to know one another. He always seemed so put together and polite and that was definitely the case in how he greeted her and how he eventually went on to invite her out to explore more of Auster with him, mentioning how he had never been further south than the pack's lands. She met his smile with one of her own, her tail wagging gently behind her at the offer. "I'd love to," she agreed easily with a little nod before stepping out of the room to join him in the hall, closing the door behind her before she turned to face him again.

She didn't have any positions to speak of yet so she didn't have anything to put on like he had his bracers, but she couldn't imagine that they'd be going somewhere dangerous enough to warrant being armed to the teeth anyway. "Any idea how far we'll be going? Should we pack any supplies?" she questioned as they began to walk down the hall that was slowly becoming more familiar to her. She was at least learning her way around the lower level of the castle. She hadn't begun to explore the upper floors just yet, but she did imagine that she would need to select a room for herself eventually... as long as Mercury wanted her to stay around that was. "We could pack some lunch to take with us if you want... A little lunch date out in the wilds of Auster," she added, shooting him a playful grin.

"Anthea Dásos"

He chuckled softly at her admittance. He made a mental note of her enjoyment of sleeping in. He would make sure to call on her a little later next time, unless there was an exceptionally good sunrise he wished to share.

He stepped back to give her space as she exited the room, closing the door behind her as she agreed to accompany him. Once she was finished with that, he led them back down the halls. Keeping pace with Anthea as they made their way to the main exit of the castle.

“I don’t plan to go far.” He promised as she questioned him about supplies. It was just a chance to have an understanding of the territories that spread out from the Hallows. He raised a brow at her words, his own expression amused. “You make it sound like we are going to vast, unexplored worlds.” He teased lightly, already turning down a side door as he brought them to a detour to the kitchen. If she wanted to pack lunch, he would accommodate.

"Mercury"

Anthea nodded when Mercury told her that he didn't plan to go far, but she noticed how easily he turned their path to make a small detour toward the kitchens when she mentioned packing some food to take with them. She smirked a little and followed along beside him, stepping into the space that was plenty warm from the hearth that was burning on one side of the room. "And why not?" she questioned with a playful grin when he said that she made it sound like they were going to go exploring vast worlds, her tail wagging gently behind her. "I've been cooped up for so long and got dropped into a place I've never seen before. All of this is a vast, unexplored world to me!" She chuckled and tossed him another grin before she turned her attention to the food stores and started to pick out a few things to take with them.

She found a simple sling-like bag hanging on a hook in the pantry, clearly left from someone gathering food at some point, and she tossed it around herself as she collected some things like some dried meats, a pouch of berries, and a couple of water skins. The Hallows also had quite a collection of wines and she pondered them for a moment, looking back over her shoulder at Mercury. "Are you much of a wine drinker?" she questioned, holding up one of the bottles to show him. It was a bit more cumbersome of a item to bring along, but she would certainly carry it if he was so inclined.

"Anthea Dásos"

“I didn’t think of that. Well, neither of us have gone South from here, so I guess we have no idea what to expect.” He offered her a crooked grin, a hint of interesting and unexplored places they might chance upon out there.

He let her take point in packing the lunch, eyeing what he grabbed as he leaned lightly on the doorframe. Feeling the warmth from the hearth soak into the early morning air. At her question of wine, he hesitated. He had a tendency to get melancholy when he drank, and the last thing she needed was to be laden down with the woes of what he had lost. “Not particularly” He said in a way of answer. “Have you had any more memories on how you got here?” he asked gently. Remembering the gap in her memories from the land she had been born on, between the fire, and arriving here.

"Mercury"

Anthea shrugged and put the wine bottle back on its shelf when he replied in the negative for being a wine drinker, deciding not to question the hesitation he had when she asked. She hadn't had a strong preference either way so it didn't mater too much to her. She picked another type of dried meat to add to their selection and was pondering a little pot of honey she saw when Mercury asked if she had found any more memories for how she had ended up here. Her ears flicked slightly, but she continued on with her gathering quietly for a moment before she responded. She didn't mind sharing what she did manage to scrounge together in dreams and her time bed-bound while her leg healed, but it was still so fragmented that it hardly even made sense to her and she was the one that lived through it.

"Not really," she replied with a soft sigh, a frown pulling at her lips as she turned away from the pantry to walk back toward where he was waiting at the door. Her ears folded back with a bit of disappointment at the fact, her brows pulling together with thought. "I remember getting to the beach and swimming out into the water. I remember getting swept out in the tide, and... I think there was some kind of boat... I think that's where the wood I was floating on came from, but I don't remember what happened to that boat." There was definitely still pretty large gaps in her memories, some of it just coming in flashes or in quickly forgotten dreams, but maybe she'd manage to stitch them together one day.

She gave a little shake of her head and pulled a bit of a grin back onto her lips. "Well... Regardless, at least I'm here and not food for some big fish, right?" She nodded toward the hall behind him and added, "We should get going so we can justify eating all this food I've packed!"

"Anthea Dásos"