Rowan nodded rapidly a bright smile on her face. She waited in the living room for Soren to return rolling from her toes to her heels. She was glad Soren was letting her stay for a little while longer even though she had probably stayed longer than she was welcome.
He changed quickly in his room before he came out, carrying a stack of clothes out to her, "I didn't know what you wanted so I just grabbed stuff similar to what you borrowed earlier." Soren held out the clothes to her, smiling and glancing towards the kitchen, "Marshmallows in your hot chocolate? And peppermint or no?"
Rowan took the stack of clothing feeling it down. She was happy he had grabbed comfy clothes for her and she gave him a big smile. In order to answer his question, she tucked the clothes underneath her arms, "No marshmallows, but ye to the peppermint!" She figured he got her message and turned so she could go change in the bathroom.
"Sounds good, I'll get it going," He said, waiting until she had a good grip on the clothes before letting go. He didn't stop smiling even as he backed into the kitchen, searching around for the hot chocolate mix as well as some peppermint candy canes and marshmallows.
Rowan swapped her wet clothes for the new ones. She looked at the mirror and smiled at the sight of the clothes swallowing her up. She did tie the sweatpants up to her waist but didn't bother to roll up the pant legs or the sleeves of the shirt. The shoulder of the shirt slipped off again, but she knew at this point resistance was futile. She stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to where Soren was before hugging him from behind.
Soren had everything ready by the time Rowan came out and gave him a hug. All that was left to do was let it cool down a little. "Ready for hot chocolate?" He asked, smiling as he turned and gently spun so he was facing her and returning a small hug, "It's all done and just cooling down right now."
Rowan nodded as she looked up at him. She rested her chin on his chest with a big smile in her face. The fact he wasn’t weirded out by her hugs and touches despite not officially dating yet made her really happy. Some of her past exes hadn’t accepted them even after they started dating.
"One marshmallow free, peppermint filled drink, as you requested." He kept one arm around her, the other reaching out and grabbing the mug to hand to her. Rowan's hugs were something he already was a fan of, even though they had only spent a little time together. It went right with how much he liked physical contact, even if it was something he didn't let show as much as she did.
Thank you! Rowan signed to him before taking the mug. She had a big grin on since he was still holding onto her. It was no secret she adored physical contact and affection. If Soren let her she probably would never let go, but that would become a problem with communication becuase she wouldn't be able to sign.
Soren smiled and nodded, taking his own drink and leaning against the counter so he could both drink his hot chocolate and keep one arm circled around her as long as she let him. As soon as she was uncomfortable he would stop, but he liked being close to her and didn't want to have to let go of her completely.
Rowan leaned against the counter and Soren. She took a deep sip of the hot chocolate letting out a sigh at the blend of peppermint and chocolate. He hadn't let go yet so she figured he was fine with her staying so close to him.
"How is it? Did I put enough peppermint in?" He asked, sipping at his own drink that was topped with marshmallows with no trace of peppermint. Soren never normally had anything other than marshmallows in his, so he had guessed at how much to add. It was very likely that he didn't add enough because of that exactly, "I can add more if you need or want more."
Rowan gave him a thumbs up before setting the cup down so she could sign to him,"It's great. No need to add anything." She picked the cup back up and took another sip trying to peer into his own cup, "Did you put peppermint in yours?"
"No, just marshmallows for me. I'm boring like that." He cracked a smile, grabbing a few more marshmallows from the bag of them next to his arm and piling them onto his drink so the sugary addition didn't disappear as he drank. Soren did like peppermint, he just didn't like it in drinks. On its own it was much better in his opinion.
Rowan took a sip and shook her head slightly. She had to put her cup down again to sign to him properly, ”You don’t know what your missing. Have you at least tried it before?”
He nodded, taking another sip before replying, "I tried it once, a few years ago. It wasn't bad, but I just think peppermint tastes better by itself and not in drinks." Soren tapped the bag of marshmallows, then smiled at Rowan, "Have you tried these amazing sugary things in your hot chocolate before?"
Rowan nodded as she made a face, "Yeah. They get soggy and dissolve really quickly making the hot chocolate have a weird texture. I'm not a fan of that." She picked her cup up again and took another sip.
"You do have a point with that dissolving part," He agreed, getting why she could dislike them in her drink, "I suppose it's just a personal preference like most things." Either way, he assumed they could agree on one thing, that hot chocolate was an amazing drink.
Rowan nodded as she sipped at the hot chocolate. She wanted to finish it before it cooled off too much so she was going to reserve herself from signing for a bit. Once she had finished drinking she would sign again.
Soren did the same as Rowan was doing, refraining from talking for a while as he continued to sip at his hot chocolate. The drink was really good, already warming him up since their snowy walk, the marshmallows just added more sugar he wouldn't turn down.
Rowan took the last few sips letting hot chocolate warm her insides up. She let out a soft sigh and put her empty cup on the counter. She glanced at Soren signing, ”Thank you again for the hot chocolate.”
"No problem," He replied, swirling the last of his drink around in his mug with a smile, "I can make you something else if you're still hungry or thirsty?" Soren drained the last of his drink as well and grabbed her empty cup, setting them in the sink so he could wash them later.
"I'm good," Rowan signed as she shook her head. Her body was all warmed up now given both the hot chocolate and the warmth coming from Soren. She wasn't thirsty or hungry given how many pancakes she had had earlier, "You can get something if you want something."
Soren shook his head, "I don't need anything." He leaned back against the counter again as he glanced at her, a tiny smile on his face, "Well, now what do you want to do, Ms. Rowan?" He would leave the decision on what to do up to her, seeing as she was the guest.
Rowan paused for a moment as she thought. Her hands were in a still motion as she started to forge an idea. She came up with one but now had to figure out how to ask, "Um, remember me using magic that one time? Can. Can we try that again? I want to learn more."
"Magic again? Sure, that sounds fun," He agreed, getting what she meant from what he could understand in her signing, "I'm sure I can teach you more if you want to learn." The only difficult part would be finding some easy spells for her to do, ones that wouldn't drain her fast and that would help her grow stronger so she could do more difficult spells.
Rowan smiled at him and nodded excitedly. She wanted to learn more about this other part of her that was so strange and yet so familiar at the same time. She trusted Soren as a teacher and as a friend and maybe as something more. Was this still apart of the date from last night? Who knew? Not her, "Thank you! What are we going to do first?"
Soren motioned for her to sit on the couch, a tiny smile on his face, "I'm going to go grab my book of magic first, but then I'll show you another easy spell to do that will help you build up your magic strength the more you practice it." He quickly made his way to his room, grabbing one of the books from his bed before making his way to the couch as well and leafing through the handwritten and very dog-eared pages.
Rowan sat down on the couch bouncing a little in excitement. She was ready to learn even simple stuff, it was all so new and exciting to her. Her eyes went to Soren and then to the book. It looked like a very well cared for book with plenty of notes in it. Her next thought was could she get a book like that for herself? Maybe she could find one in the bookstore, but that was unlikely, "Where did you get that book?"
"It was a gift from an old friend," Soren explained, a nostalgic smile on his face, "He was the one that taught me the basics of magic and this was his gift to me when he decided to stop practicing magic." Finally, he settled on one page, glancing between two spells that had been scribbled in on the margins of the book, "Would you rather learn a spell that lets you bring small objects over to you without moving or would you like to learn one that essentially can help you grow things like flowers?"