Rowan had almost forgotten about Eril, but she didn’t mind. She reached for her notebook since she figured Eril didn’t know sign language and that was the easiest way to communicate. She smiled to Soren and nodded mentally preparing herself to meet his roommate.
Where Soren had emerald green eyes and sandy blonde hair along with lightly tanned skin and his obvious height, Eril had brilliant blue eyes and deep black hair to go with his pale skin and the fact that he was several inches shorter than Soren. "Hey dink," Eril called, not noticing Rowan at first as he kicked off his shoes and closed the door.
"Hey," Soren called back, smiling and looking between the two others in the apartment, "Eril, I'd like you to meet Rowan. Rowan, this is Eril." The introduction caught his roommates attention and he turned around, eyes wide but a smile on his face as he set the drinks on the counter and walked over.
"Nice to meet you Rowan." He said, holding out his hand for a polite handshake before he looked over at his roommate and shook his head, "That's why you ordered two drinks, should've known."
Rowan could tell Eril had no warning that she would be here. That much was made apparent by his wide eyes, but she didn't mind one bit. She took his hand and shook it as she smiled at him. She used her free hand to show him her notebook which had the words written on it, It's nice to meet you too!
"So, I'm guessing you're the lucky lady that Soren was out with last night?" Eril asked, walking back to the drinks and bringing them over to the other two. He knew which one Soren had ordered so he was confident as he handed Rowan the right drink and took a sip of his own, "The pancakes up there are mine, right?" He asked, earning a nod in response as Soren had picked his plate back up and dug back into the food.
Rowan nodded as Eril asked her a question. She took the coffee grinning before taking a nice long sip. Sugary perfection. She started eating again finishing the plate relatively quickly afterward so she could enjoy coffee and easier conversation. She didn't have to worry about performing a balancing act. After a moment she paused and wrote in her notebook showing it to Eril, And your Soren's roommate?
Eril walked back over with his pancakes in hand, taking up a spot at the edge of the couch and nodding, "The one and only." He didn't talk for another moment, busy shoveling pancakes into his mouth. "So, tell me about yourself." He said, watching as Soren was about to wrap his arm around Rowan's shoulders again but hesitated and instead pulled his arm back to his side.
Rowan nodded and rotated her notebook around. She wrote for a solid minute or two as she leaned further into Soren. After that she turned the notebook around to show Eril, Well, I work part-time at a local bookstore. I'm mute. I like reading and gardening. I live with one of my oldest friends in a house together. Aaand that's about it. Any questions?
"Yes, what's your favorite book you've read recently?" Eril asked, perking up at the mention of reading in her response. He was a fan of books, though his taste was more focused towards non-fiction and books that he could gain information from.
Soren wanted to join the conversation but didn't know how, leaving him with several options once he finished his pancakes and sipped quietly at his coffee. He gently attempted to wrap his arm around Rowan's shoulder again, this time not hesitating and just gently settling it around her shoulders as he listened in.
Rowan turned the notebook back around as she tapped the pen against the notebook thinking. She leaned closer into Soren since he wrapped an arm around her. She eventually settled on an answer and turned the notebook around to show Eril, I re-read Seraphina recently. So that's probably it.
Eril thought for a minute, answering truthfully, "I haven't heard of that one, is it any good?" He sipped at his coffee in between pancake bites, humming and letting his attention drift to the cartoons playing every so often. It seemed that this was close to the roommates normal routine from the way Soren tossed the remote to Eril and in return Eril got up and put Soren's plate in the sink. "Super good this time, idiot." He said, sitting back down and just turning the volume up slightly on the TV.
"Thanks." Soren said with a small smile, looking to Rowan and motioning to her coffee, "How is it?" He wanted to break the news about the magic in Rowan to Eril, knowing that even though his roommate had magic in him, he had never taken him on the offer to learn how to use it.
Rowan nodded grinning and turning her notebook around, It's really good! You should read it if you like fantasy or dragons! She watched the roommates interact as she smiled. She heard Soren's question and looked to face him as she took a sip. Smiling, she gave him a thumbs up to say it was good.
"I haven't read many fantasy books, I tend to read more non-fiction," Eril said, tucking into his corner of the couch and thinking about any more questions he had, "I'll check it out though." He didn't think of any more and instead turned to watch TV, sipping his coffee and seeming not to notice Soren or Rowan on the couch with him.
Soren's smile grew at her thumbs up and he nodded, slightly tightening his arm around her for a moment before relaxing his arm again and just sitting next to her quietly. It was nice, watching cartoons after an amazing breakfast, with Rowan leaning against him.
Rowan smiled back at Soren and snuggled closer to Soren. She sipped on her coffee and let out a soft sigh. This was really nice just relaxing with Soren watching cartoons. Eril didn't seem that bad of a guy as well.
"Do you have anywhere you need to be today before you forget?" Soren asked as a commercial ran a few minutes later, "Or are you free?" He silently hoped she was free, mostly because it was the weekend but also because he was hoping that maybe she wanted to go to the park with him. It was a gorgeous day out and he wanted to get some fresh air.
Rowan thought for a moment and shook her head. She made a number 1 with her fingers as she shook her head, and then made the number 2 and nodded smiling. She was free today and hoped the message got across to Soren. She wondered if he wanted to go somewhere since that would be fine with her.
He smiled and nodded, asking gently, "Would you like to go to the park with me?" He drank more of his coffee, draining the rest of the cup and setting it down on the coffee table again as he continued, "Or there's a hiking trail I know on the outskirts of town if you'd rather go for a walk."
Rowan took another sip of her coffee as she nodded to Soren's question. She put the cup down so she could sign over to him, "The park sounds fun! You don't have anywhere to be today do you?"
Soren shook his head, "I'm off work today and I don't have any other plans so I'm free." His smile grew when she seemed to want to go with him, the park was his favorite place in the city to waste time and walk around, mostly since it was fairly quiet and the trees seemed to help calm both his magic and himself down.
Rowan smiled up at him. Today should be nice, at least it wouldn't be snowing like last night… The park would be covered in snow. Oh, Rowan had forgotten how pretty snow looked. She smiled at him "Great! Then we can have lots of fun!"
"Do you want to just wear those or would you prefer to stop by your place quick?" He asked, remembering the snow as well and smiling. If she wanted to wear those it wouldn't bother him in the least, she could borrow whatever she wanted. His apartment wasn't far from the park, only a few blocks away so it would be easy to just walk there.
Rowan thought for a moment. His clothes were really warm, even if they were a little big on her. She bit her lip as she went through the route she guessed would be from Soren's place to her own. She pointed to the clothes she had on, "I can just wear these. I'll be fine!"
He nodded, settling deeper into the couch and looking back at the TV with a childish grin on his face, "We're not leaving right now, I want to finish this show and then we can go." Soren didn't unwrap his arm from around Rowan's shoulders, and he didn't realize that Eril had quietly gotten up and walked to his room with a faint smile.
Rowan nodded and settled up against him. She had a bright smile on as she focused on the TV. Rowan hadn't noticed Eril leave either to enraptured by the thought of snow, Soren, and the cartoon. She didn't mind waiting a little longer anyways.
Until the show ended, he stayed settled on the couch with his arm around her, not pulling away right away when the show did end. "Are you ready to go?" He asked softly, knowing he would have to change into something slightly warmer before they could leave.
Rowan nodded smiling. She didn't mind him pulling away his arm this time. They were going to the park anymore. She paused for a moment before asking, "Do you have a jacket I could borrow?"
"Yeah, I'll grab it for you after I change." He said, nodding and slowly standing up with a smile. His jackets would be quite big on her but he didn't think she would mind. Soren held up a finger to signal he would be a minute before disappearing into his room, closing the door behind him and getting changed into something more appropriate for a walk through a snowy park.
Rowan nodded as he left. She stayed curled up on the couch sipping on her coffee trying to finish it up. Her mind knew that his jackets would be big on her, but she honestly didn't mind getting swallowed up by his clothing. The sweatshirt she was wearing was evidence to that. At least her boots would work for the snowy weather.
It only took a few minutes before he reappeared, wearing a hoodie and joggers and holding a coat for her in his hand. "This one should keep you really warm," He said, handing the coat to her and shrugging on the other one he was holding with a smile, "I'm ready to go then if you are."
Rowan stood up and took the coat. She slipped it on letting the coat engulf her and smiled up at him. She put on her boots and gloves smiling as she signed to him, "I'm ready to go now it that's fine!"
He nodded, pulling a pair of his own gloves out of his coat pocket and slipping them on, "Then let's get going." Soren's smile grew and he walked to the door, opening it and holding the door open for Rowan to go first.