[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/VgbuqO2.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240522/49791553b35fa05b88864f9127dc2df9.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Alchemy Chambers[/sub][/cell][/row][/table]Eris blinked, a bit taken aback by the guards sudden shift from drowsy warmth to rigid formality. She hadn’t meant to startle her—or to send her into a flurry. Pulling her blanket tighter, Eris watched as Charlotte scrambled to the hearth. 

[color=B1E4FC]“Oh, you d—”[/color] The words died in her throat as she thought better of it. Charlotte was nervous. Eris could have lit the fire with magic in an instant. She had been doing so the entire time she’d lived here—the logs beside the hearth more for decoration than anything. But in her current state, drained from the night before, the help was welcome. And Charlotte, it seemed, needed something to focus on.

Eris could empathize with that.  

As Charlotte stood before her, their eyes met, and for a moment, Eris felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the fire. A rush of something she couldn't quite name had been ignited as she stood in the taller woman's shadow, struck by the sharp contrast of Charlotte’s steel-blue eyes against her raven hair. 

[color=B1E4FC]“There’s nothing to forgive, Miss Hawthorne,”[/color] she said hastily, needing a distraction herself now. She shuffled around Charlotte in her cocoon of a blanket, waddling closer to the fire. [color=B1E4FC]“You did nothing wrong. We all need sleep, don’t we?”[/color]

She cast a glance over her shoulder, her gaze trailing over the armor Charlotte still wore, likely having slept in it.

[color=B1E4FC]“We’re safe here, in the tower,”[/color] she added, glancing toward one of the darkened windows. Her quarters sat high in the spire of the Alchemy Chambers, above the rest of Dawnhaven. Despite everything, she did always feel more secure here than she would have at ground level.

A flicker of memory surfaced—Charlotte’s steadying hands, the way she had practically carried her up all the winding steps the night before. Eris’ cheeks warmed further, and she quickly turned back toward the fire, hoping the flames would disguise the flush creeping up her neck.

[color=B1E4FC]“Besides,”[/color] she added, voice softer now, [color=B1E4FC]“I would have been worried if you’d gone back out into that storm.”[/color] A pause. The fire crackled, filling the space between them.

Quick flashes of memories replayed in her mind.

Aliseth, his tight grip on her hand. Charlotte, putting herself between Eris and him. The stonemason, simmering under barely controlled anger. The blight-born Priestess, crying. The Princess, cold and silent. Charlotte, waiting for her. 

[color=B1E4FC]“Thank you for helping me last night, Miss Hawthorne. How can I ever repay you?”[/color]

Her gaze drifted across the hall to the small kitchen. She pulled the blanket down from her head as the fire’s heat seeped in, letting her mess of brunette curls tumble free. 

[color=B1E4FC]“To start, do you like tea? Or coffee?”[/color]

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[sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Charlotte [@SpicyMeatball][/sub]