_AnaTolia_ & xD3siR3x

[xD3siR3x]

Eric froze the moment the girl entered the room. He tried not to make any unnecessary sounds as he slowly placed the wood and his tool on the ground. He watched her every move without an intention to come in contact with her and he stayed true to that decision till she stretched out her hand towards the sapling. Eric's eyes grew wide and his heart almost stopped from panic. He swiftly left his 'hiding place' and in an instant he was near her grabbing her arm and preventing it from reaching any further.
"Don't touch that!" he growled holding her hand in a tight grip.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss shrieked once she heard Eric's voice. Feeling the tight grip on her hand, she closed her eyes and said, "I just wanted to see if it was real!" She refused to open her eyes until the man explained why he was here. 'What if it's the master?' Aly thought, dropping to the floor from the pain in her hand. "Please! Let me go! I promise I won't touch it!"

[xD3siR3x]

Eric loosened his grip a little once the girl slumped on the ground. He was acting a little too rash, the man acknowledged that. "It's real..." he spoke in a low voice and finally let go of her. Feeling a little bad for startling her like that, Eric moved away and lowered his head to side. "However this sapling is never to be touched. You are free to use any of the heartwood you find around the room, but never touch the sapling," he finished all that he wanted to say. Though, no, not everything, he wanted to greet her properly first for agreeing to come here, but that was out of the question now. Eric just went back to his corner where he continued carving without saying another word to her.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss brought her hand close to her once he let go and whimpered. 'Wonder why I'm not supposed to touch this certain heartwood?' She thought, rubbing her hand, looking at the place where Eric had disappeared to. Getting up, and holding her head up high, she sauntered out of the room never looking back. Once Aly was outside, she muttered, "He should've treated his guests much nicer."

[xD3siR3x]

As she stormed out of the room, the man rubbed his face as if he was extremely tired. What was up with him? The new guest made his quiet life stir, and Eric wasn't sure how he should react or act around her.
"Well, that wasn't very nice," he heard Dia's voice and glared at her. However the sprite didn't seem to pay any attention at that fact. "I'll see what I can do," she added and left the room.
Eric rolled his eyes, now he wasn't sure who was the rightful owner of the mansion. Annoyed, the man continued carving, his hands moving roughly.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss was annoyed and angered by the master's treatment and looked for the cleaning supplies. Weirdly enough, she always calmed herself down through chores. That was how she vented her anger: to the dust that had dared settle in her home. Aly then found the broom and a rag and started to clean furiously.

[xD3siR3x]

Dia searched the house for quite a while till she finally found Alys swiftly running here and there with a broom and a rag. The little sprite felt dumbfounded, she expected the girl to be crying in her room or furiously walking around cursing her fate... Anything, but that.
"Miss Alyss?" she spoke to her carefully. "Are you okay?"

[_AnaTolia_]

"Oui, je suis okay, Dia!" Alyss grumbled in French. She then stopped in polishing the wood and sighed. "Sorry about that. I just speak in French when I'm really angry." Aly then continued to polish the wood of the stairs until they gleamed and felt smooth. "Vous avez un probleme?" She asked, her eyes filled with anger.

[xD3siR3x]

"Pas probleme ..." Dia replied and slowly retreated. It might be a good idea to leave the girl alone for a while and let her head cool down a little. The sprite returned to her master. Eric was still in the same place and position she had left him. Throwing one glance at the sprite, the man could already tell that things weren't going too well.
"Well, all I can suggest you is to try and apologize to her directly," Dia said and disappeared right into the heartwood sapling.
Sighing, Eric stood up and looked down to the carving in his hand. What am I to do now? He watched the little carving as if it could answer him.

About ten minutes later a howling could be heard coming from somewhere in the gardens and soon after, Eric exited Alyss's room. The only evidence of his presence was a carved bird statue and a white rose left on her bed.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss was surprisingly done cleaning half of the mansion. She began to feel fatigue and slowly went to her room, wiping her brow. "I can't believe that I cleaned half of the mansion. I don't think I've ever felt this tired in my life!" As she entered her room, she spotted a carving of a bird and a white rose. She held her breath in anticipation; the air was faintly tainted with magic.

"Could it be..." She fingered the statue and closed her eyes in delight. She knew it was Heartwood, and just it's touch soothed her. Opening her eyes, Aly then saw the white rose and faintly smiled. She remembered the master of the mansion carving something as she abruptly left. 'Probably his way of saying sorry.'

[xD3siR3x]

As the late evening came, Dia suddenly popped out in front of Alyss. "Good evening!" the sprite looked around just to make sure everything was the way it was supposed to be in the guest's room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for the white flower. Dia couldn't remember it being there before, but oh well.
"I was wondering whether you would agree to have dinner with Master..." she started carefully.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss looked at the little sprite and heard her every word. She got up and stretched a bit, looking at herself at the mirror. "I will be there for dinner soon. Just let me have some time to fix myself." Aly then went into the bathroom and marveled at how large it was. She began to tidy herself, not wanting to look like a sweaty girl who just cleaned nearly half of an enormous mansion.

[xD3siR3x]

Dia nodded obviously feeling content, the sprite then left Alyss and went to Eric. The man was already in his room, not shaved, his hair a mess, and his clothes ripped at random places. "No, no, no, no! This simply wont do!" she said and snapped her little fingers. Instantly a pair of scissors and a razor appeared in front of the man. Eric Scowled at her. "You are not doing this..." Dia cowered a little, but still, she couldn't let him appear like that in front of a woman. "At least change your clothes, you cant just walk in looking like that! Don't you have any pride as a man!" Eric almost growled and chased her away. However even he started to think that maybe he should be a little more presentable...

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss was able to pick out a simple, yet elegant, red dress that had once belonged to her mother. She nearly didn't recognize herself when she placed it on. Her plain features seemed to agree with the dress, and she liked it that was. Aly opened her door, looking both ways before she came out. Because of her cleaning rampage, she was able to navigate her way to the dining room.

[xD3siR3x]

Finally, Eric managed to get into some kind of elegant suit. It's been years since he last tried something like that on. Surprisingly, the suit fit like a glove beautifully enframing his built. Now all that was left was his hair... That was a bit more problematic. He didn't want to cut them, not he had time to get a hairdresser come at this hour and this mansion. Therefore, Eric went through a long and agonizing process of combing his hair. After he was done, he was too annoyed to finish with his facial hair and as a result, he looked nice, but a lot older than he actually was. But oh well, at least now he was more like a human than a beast. As he exited his room and went to the dinning room, for some reason, the man felt anxious. Was she there already? Did Dia chose the right dishes? Do I look good enough? Will she even show up...? He was starting to mumble slightly, before the view of the dining room flashed before his eyes in all the elegance of the old days. The room was cleaned, the table set as if for a feast and a beauty approaching from the side entrance...