it's really the first time they've come together since the gathering. and it's partly her fault. she's been so busy trying to put out fires and keep things running and this and that and everything in between, that her conversation all those moons ago with cian slipped to the back of her mind. 

but as soon as he'd texted her, she'd cleared a day. and as per her promise, she grabs a pie out of the oven. there's a loud knocking on the door downstairs and elisabet steps out of her pot, shaking soil from her leaven feet before skipping down to open it for their guest. 

"just come on up, cian!" she calls. she bumps the oven door closed with her hip and puts the dish on a cooling rack. 

CIAN MAHER

☉

she snorts, hearing his awful joke from all the way up the stairs. elisabet, not quite understanding, steps aside and follows him up the steps. she dawdles only long enough to help him with some of his bags. then she neatly excuses herself to go back to her plot, face tilted back to the afternoon sun. 

"you shouldn't have," she says with a smile. she takes off her oven mitts and tosses them on the counter. "but i can't say i'm upset. and here, as promised. some tasty food."

CIAN MAHER

☉

when he goes and sets the bottle down, she grabs a wine opener from the drawer and gets to work on the cork. after popping it, she takes a heavy hand with pouring both glasses (with the intention of nursing hers, okay?) and raises her glass to clink against his. 

"busy, but when am i not? Greyson Connors and mine's honey venture has turned out to be, well, a lot. we're going to need to hire some help at this point." she pauses. "but that's neither here nor there. how are you?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

"that's the thing," she says and takes a sip. "he doesn't have the time." they really were quite ridiculous to think they could handle all the production. because of course her father's bee boxes were going to work splendidly. and of course the bees are happy enough that they're producing excess. 

poor ophelia's duties have stretched from bouquet dressing to bottling and labeling honey jars. 

she tries not to look too interested in hearing about bo. in fact, she takes the moment to turn away and hover a hand over the top of the pie to check if it's cooled enough (which, of course it hasn't). 

"sounds fun. haven't been camping in a while. ro liked it when he was little though." maybe we should go camping again. 

willow atkins

☉

she gets the pie cutter out, even though it hasn't cooled properly yet. she gets some glasses out. pours some milk into both. draws out some napkins, keeps her back turned, and the back of her neck goes red. 

she looks down at the glass of wine in her hand, swirls it around. 

"let's not do this, cian." everything's too fragile now. they're both busy now. and lance showing back up has complicated things. 

CIAN MAHER

☉

and with that she turns, glass of wine in hand. she ruffles his hair as she plops down at the kitchen table. her green eyes glimmer and she sighs, trying her best to look annoyed but failing. 

"and you think he wants, what - nope. nevermind. no, we're not going into that." not with only half a glass drank, they're not. she sets it down. 

"if anyone can look out for himself, it's bo. now, how have you been? other than camping. keeping up to no good?" she teases (and oh, if only she knew). 

CIAN MAHER

☉

she perks up at this, relieved (and maybe a little remorseful) that discussion of bo has passed. she's thrilled to know that cian wants to talk to her about this because it means they're getting somewhere. talking, like a family ought to. 

"oh?" eyes bright, she finally cuts a couple slices of pie and slides a plate in front of him. she grabs a seat across from him and simpers. "tell me all about her then. and you're not leaving here without a bouquet to give her."

CIAN MAHER

☉