A balanced diet is having a cupcake in each hand

LOCATION | Bread Ahead
DATE | 20th of January 2022
TIME | 14.00
TOPIC FOR | @Hannah (Later Elroy)
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Okay, the next few costumers and she could clock out and get on with the rest of her afternoon. Taking the last costumor before letting her co-worker take over, Mariella turned her head towards the costumer, before her lips broke in a warm smile. "Hannah?" Mariella could barely believe her eyes. It was at least not the person she had imagined would be standing here in front of her right now. "What can I get you?" She asked shortly after looking down at the display. It was a many years by now since they had been placed in a room while Frederik, Sterling and Jamie had been sent on their small and larger hunts, but it had been nice at least they hadn't been alone. But after Frederik had died, it had stopped, and yeah, all good things came to an end as she couldn't just travel to the states, but had been asked to stay back in Nepal, while her brothers had been able to roam more freely. "You look absolutely stunning," she was so excited about seeing Hannah again, that she was almost happy that she was off the clock. "I'm off like, right now - you want to grab coffee or something?" She asked packing Hannah's order. Then again, she had asked for two cupcakes, maybe she was meeting someone? Then maybe they could just talk till the person arrived?

Hannah had been in some contact with Elroy. Though she knew that her brother really wanted to be a part of finding Madelaine, she had chosen not to include him in any of the results yet. Sterling might not have realized just how much her senses were working when he was around, and she truly wished for as long of a day as possible. That was simply just how things went for Hannah. Hoped for longer day than the one before. Chronic illness as she had believed for so many years. But now it was just an unstable ability that she had to learn how to use. But for now, she had it under some control. Elroy and she had agreed to meet up to share some news about her sister’s case.
As a thanks for the help, she wanted to buy them something to eat together. Something small and not that greasy. At least that was the plan. So, she walked into Bake Ahead, where she had heard about some amazing cupcakes. Her eyes were fixated on the cakes on display, trying to focus and find what she was searching for. She was wearing headphones to block out any sound, even though it never really worked that well.
Hannah?
She looked up and noticed a well-known and very missed face. She pulled her headphones off her ears, “Ella!” she said with a wide smile, clearly excited to see her friend. Not only reuniting with Jade, but also Mariella, how great could the new year get?
Mariella asked the question she was supposed to ask for and for a moment Hannah was thrown out of it, because the first thing that had popped to her mind was to hug her friend. “Umh… I… I was supposed to get two cupcakes,” she said and pulled a wider smile again, since it had faded a little as she had thought. “I’ve heard so much about them,” she said and pulled a kind smile. She couldn’t help but take in Mariella’s looks. No, it wasn’t because she was checking her friend out, but simply just to see how she had changed through the years. Mariella was quicker than Hannah, and it made her chuckle a little, looking shortly out the display windows while smiling. Hannah was quite bad at accepting compliments and had always been. She looked back at Mariella, “Thanks. You look dashing,” she said with a wide smile and a short chuckle, “Even in your apron,” she laughed a little. Mariella had always been such a pretty girl. Pale skin. Freckles. Beautiful green eyes and the always eye-catching ginger hair. Oh, the envy. Maybe it was just because of the privileges she had, compared to Hannah.
Mariella mentioned she was off right now, which made Hannah look at her phone shortly to notify herself about the time. She looked back up at her friend again, “Yeah sure,” she said with a wide smile. “I’m meeting with a friend a little later, but I got time for a coffee,” she said pulling a glad smile. Oh, how she had to hold herself back to not just go behind the desk and hug her. She almost had to waddle on the spot to keep herself from doing it.

She was supposed to meet a friend, no worries, Mariella had been so busy lately with being everywhere that perhaps it was okay after a coffee to just go home and maybe just zone a little bit out - read a little and take her mind of the world for a second.  "Yeah? I've been working her for almost a year by now - I can confirm it's great," she promised with a wider smile. Smiling warmly at the compliment Hannah gave back to her, she had always loved Hannah's hair so much, so soft, dark and curly just yelling for her to touch it really. "Even in an apron and messy hair," Mariella chuckled a little, she had after all been here since opening, which was an hour more or two than she should - but Alison had asked her very nicely if she could get in a little earlier because she had to take her daughter to the doctor - and who could say no to that? Now Mariella was just awaiting whether or not Hannah had time to grab a coffee. Or a hot chocolate for the sake of old times.

The second that Hannah said she had time, Mariella untied the apron. "Give me 1 minute and I'm all yours!" She exclaimed very excited, her energy infused by Hannah's happiness and excitement. She put the apron back in place, reveling her clothing, and pulled her jacket over and grabbed her smaller hand bag, before heading around the desk, saying goodbye to her co-worker before finally being able to hug her friend. "It's so good to see you, oh my god," she closed her eyes just taking all the joy in for the moment.

Hannah smiled gladly at her friend who explained that she had been working there for a year, and that the cupcakes were great. It only made Hannah even more certain that it was what she was going to get her and Elroy. She smiled widely as Mariella elaborated how her apron and messy hair was a look. “You could rock a potato sack and still look like a million dollars,” she said and raised her brows. Though Hannah wasn’t a certain mechanic, she knew her friend could need a couple of sweet words on her way.

“I’ll be counting!” she teased her friend. She had her smile all over her face while she waited for her friend to come back out. “… Fifty-nine… Sixty,” she whispered the last count as she closed her arms around her friend. She hummed a little happily in agreement, “You too. It’s been way too long,” she hummed not letting go immediately. With the package with cupcakes in her hand, she was ready to go for a café whenever Mariella felt like actually leaving.

A hug from an old friend was always something rather special, and she just took it in, highly appreciating it before letting go once again. Mariella should be more surprised that Hannah was around here, but she also wasn't, well she had seen Madelaine around a couple of months ago, mostly because of the whole Quentin situation back in Autumn. But she hadn't really known that Hannah was there or had spent time with Quentin after all. "Let's get out of here," she nodded to the side and started heading out of the bakery, waving a little short to her co-worker before heading outside.  What were the changes, Mono getting back few days ago, and now Hannah was standing here? If you took out the part of having discovered that the guy you loved had an uncle who had gotten his heart taken by the wicked witch of the west, and thereby was acting strange, and one of your brother's had threatened the family and cut off Jamie's hand - then this year was off to a great start. Or well, despite the downs there was also plenty to be happy about.

Now, Mariella had a few small secret spots here in town that she had explored herself to, okay, one of them she had to give Leon credit for finding - but the others were mostly because she liked the small less crowded yet cozy places. "There is this cute little sandwich shop around the corner, I took a few extra hours in so I completely forgot to have lunch - ironic since you know, there is bread enough at the bakery, but yeah," she chuckled a little as they reached the small little shop that was pretty much cut away from the busy streets, very old english looking, and styled. Mariella opened the door letting them inside, it was warm. Even old bookshelves that made it smell like going into an old bookstore, to Ella it felt like home, the warmth from the lighting as well as the plants around. The walls a mix with woodened like walls and others painted with a moss green color. "Coffee is on me, or whatever you would like," she looked up at the menu, noticing the tunes from the low classic music playing on the radio. There weren't other than two other people sitting eating in the other end of the café.

Hannah nodded, agreeing that they should get out of the bakery and followed her out. Mariella mentioned a sandwich place around the corner, and for some reason, the simple mention of it made Hannah’s eyes shine. Mariella and Hannah had quite the same taste in cafés and therefore almost couldn’t wait for her to show her where it was. It could also be a good place to take Elroy, right? A place that was more her… Jesus, focus on your friend for a moment, Hannah! She chuckled a little, “We can go there,” she said gladly.

When they got inside, Hannah was immediately amazed. The smell of old books, sandwiches, coffee, and the warm aura that just made one want to find a beanbag chair and get lost in the books for days, feeding on the sandwiches and maybe even a smoothie or lemonade. Okay, Hannah could easily move in here if it was possible. “It’s so beautiful-” she mumbled before she looked at Mariella who had also said something, “Oh, uh,” she looked towards the menu. She glanced towards Mariella, “I’ve never grown enough up to drink coffee,” she chuckled, “So I think I’ll take a hot chocolate,” she looked directly at Mariella, “Like old times,” she said and winked at her friend before she folded her arms around herself, still holding the box of cupcakes. This café was so nice. Most of all, because the different kinds of sensory stimulation she could get from this place was so calm, that it wasn’t going to overwhelm her. She could feel completely at peace at this place.

It was beautiful. Mariella had found it on a day where she had just needed to breath and felt pulled here by the sense of peace, and now it had just become her hang out point whenever she needed a little escape from the world around her. Where she could just focus on her own emotions instead of everyone else's. Mariella chuckled a little bit by the mention of Hannah not haven grown enough up to drink coffee, "well, sometimes I think coffee is the national drink in my family, that and beer. I swear," Mariella couldn't help but laugh a little by the statement. But coffee was always the thing they drank most all of her and her brothers, and she needed it to keep up with her nieces as well. Because even if Mariella was energetic and ready for everything, after work all she needed was two espresso shots - or something similar. "I will take a hot chocolate as well, but please add an espresso shot in mine, my feet depends on it," she joked a little bit, "and your turkey bagel with sundried tomatoes please," Mariella ordered before paying letting the lady behind the desk to her work as Mariella walked towards a nice corner where they could sit near the book shelf.

"So, who has you all smitten?" She asked with a knowing smile. Because well, Mariella could sense someone was making Hannah up in the clouds, and she was very familiar with that feeling herself. So, she was curious. "Is it the person you are bringing the cupcakes to?"

Hannah chuckled with her as she mentioned that coffee and beer was her family’s national drink. It sounded quite important to them somehow. She wouldn’t even be able to choose a national drink for her family, and if she should, it would probably be some kind of native drink that most people didn’t know of. Mariella ordered for them, and Hannah followed her as they walked to a corner to sit by themselves. The cupcakes were placed on the table between them.

Hannah hadn’t been there before, and therefore while Mariella possibly knew every corner of the shop, Hannah didn’t, which made her look around with interested eyes. Now, her senses were always crazy about new things. Finding spiderwebs, dust, small cracks in the walls and what else most people didn’t see. Her eyes immediately found Mariella’s as she asked a very important question. An apple on each cheek appeared. “Is it that obvious to you?” she wondered, even though she knew that she knew. Dang it. She pursed her lips a little shy. Mariella digged into it. “Well… It might be,” Hannah might just be a hopeless romantic, because Elroy and her had only been talking and he had offered help. There was just something about him which made small butterflies bloom in her tummy and a warm, secure feeling spread in her chest. “Okay, but I’m just a little too much,” she said and shook her head. “You know… The first thing I said to him was like… ‘Woah, your eyes’” she laughed and shook her head a little thinking about them. It was such a typical thing for her to say when she was impressed with something. “They’re blue and brown, and-” she stopped herself, because she knew she could talk for hours about the most minor details that she noticed about people. She had to put a lid on her excitement. “It’s nothing, we’ve only met once and-” she stopped herself. She hadn’t even told Mariella that her sister was missing. They had really been torn from each other… “Madelaine is missing… So, he offered to help,” she said and pulled a slightly sad smile.

You didn't have to be an empath or share any of Mariella's abilities to know that someone had completely swept Hannah unexpectedly off her feet. A bit too much? Well, in this world they lived in, maybe being over the top could be a good thing time to time. Mariella licked her lips a little bit as Hannah mentioned that the first thing she had said to this guy was 'Woah, your eyes'. It so seemed like they either way had gotten some kind of conversation going, if they were meeting up today, so completely bad she didn't count it as bad yet. Then Hannah fell into trail of dream tracks thinking about his eyes, but blue and brown, she could imagine Hannah getting stuck on all the details. "Funny enough one meeting is sometimes all it takes to find one with the right connection," the fairy pointed out, just before that Hannah announced that Madelaine was missing.

The guy was helping her find Madelaine, well she didn't really need all that help. All Mariella actually needed to do with that was to call Elenora and ask her if she still had Madelaine's number. But she also knew just why Madelaine didn't wish to contact her family so, even if she wanted to calm Hannah's nerves about it, she also felt like she couldn't betray the fact that Madelaine trusted them not to say till she was ready. And it wasn't like Ella had known Hannah was here searching. "I'm sorry to hear," she truthfully spoke with a sad smile. "I've seen her, it's a few months ago by now since last time - but I've seen her," now had she known Hannah was searching all around to find Madelaine, she would most likely had done something. "Had I known you were in town looking for her, I would have found a way to call."

Hannah pulled a shy crooked smile. “Stop that,” she said, almost scared that Mariella would be right. The right connection. It could mean a lot of things. Hannah shrugged. Madelaine had been missing for such a long time, that explaining it to the surroundings almost was like a daily thing to do. She had sadly gotten used to talk about it. She really hoped she wasn’t just going in circles, finding clues that would lead her back to something else. Hannah’s eyes got big as Mariella mentioned she had seen her. Okay, cool down, it was a few months ago. Darn, she should’ve met Mariella in the summer, so she could’ve known. She licked her lips a little and looked into her hands, which had interlocked with each other. “It’s okay,” she said and pulled a little smile. “I’m sure we’ll find something,” she said, feeling quite confident in Elroy’s father’s ability. “I also met my brother the other day. I honestly thought he was on a hunt or something,” she said and rolled her eyes a little. She waved the topic away with her hand. “So,” she placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward to place her chin in the palm of her hands. “What juicy news do you have?” she wondered. They could both continue with news for an eternity, but one had to give the other the microphone at some point, so they both got some time to talk.

Wasn't it true. Love was scary. And yet, she wasn't scared as much of the concept once she had let it in, but it was so powerful that sometimes she was surprised by the force of it. However, Mariella did believe in the fact you could meet someone and you could be so lucky that the timing was on your side, and if you didn't take a chance on it, it could be a chance of missing out on the greatest love story of your life.
She knew there was a little sense of regret on not having run into each other before now. But they couldn't really do anything about that right now, and Mariella simply just licked her lips a little bit. "But she was okay, given the circumstances," she added quickly perhaps just giving a sense of comfort to Hannah. Now she knew okay was a very overused word, but Madelaine was breathing and trying to live and deal with what had happened to her. Mariella blinked a little as she mentioned that Sterling as well was in town, "is he still hunting?" She wondered, and the question more or less just left her mouth before thinking. Well Nigel, Jamie and Archie had all put that by the door, well of course in case of extreme danger or just danger they responded. But also just let Hannah wave the topic away.

What juicy news do you have? Mariella blinked a little once again. Just rethinking about the whole last year had been a series of events from left and right, some of the best days and some of the hardest as well. "Archie's back," was the first thing that came to her mind, or it wasn't but she felt like perhaps it was one of the heavier things. "He is a reborn angel now - but seeing him again was far from one of the best days I'd in a long time," she smiled so brightly. Mariella had always seen her older brother as her best friend, maybe because he was only a few years older than her, but they had always been quite close, and losing him had been the worst day in her life. "Also, both Nigel and Jamie has settled in town. Like bought house and have girlfriends settled down - never thought that day would happen, or I had my doubts, I live with Nigel and his girlfriend Irina," she nodded a little bit and looked over at the woman who came over with their drinks and Mariella's bagel. "And Jamie lives a few houses away. Where - Archie and Elenora got married, and live here in the city center," she nodded a little picking up the sandwich and took a bite. "One day you will have to try one, they are delicious."

Mariella chewed off and pressed her brows a little together as she had something she wanted to say, and finally swallowed the bite. "And, if you think your 'woah your eyes' is an odd way of meeting someone, I met my guy back in November where I had a panic attack which he saved me from - so, you know there is  still a chance for you and guy with handsome eyes."

Hannah furrowed her brows a little as Mariella said that her sister was okay given the circumstances. It only made Hannah worry. What circumstances? Had anything happened? Madelaine had after all been gone for so long, and not taken contact to the family. Why hadn’t she? Something must be completely off. “What?” she spoke in a hush tone, clearly wanting to know something more. She wanted to know the circumstances.
Hannah nodded a little as she asked if Sterling was still hunting. “A little,” she replied. It was rather difficult to explain when he was hunting more or less than usual. It was almost like when he was away from constant surveillance of other hunters, it was easier for him to hunt like how he believed was right. He had a lot more respect for the creatures he hunted. It wasn’t that he was naïve, but he knew they had needs and just because they were different than the humans, it didn’t mean that they were dangerous. Well, it was almost like handling the racist theme. It was difficult and not everyone understood it. He understood that there was good and bad, and that sometimes, people who did the wrong things, did it for the right intentions. And sometimes, it was the other way around. One could never really judge without getting into the mind of the other, and that was a difficult thing.

Mariella thought for a moment. It was quite clear on how she blinked a little, as if the motor needed to run over the last year. Her brows raised as she said Archie was back. That was… Incredible news. A short chuckle left her as she mentioned that he was reborn as an angel. It sounded way too crazy, but of course, her family was also just… Just humans.
Nigel and Jamie had settled in Aston. They had girlfriends and a place to live. It sounded amazing and she actually envied it. There was a little bit of her that pulled in her thoughts, thinking if Quentin ever could have settled. Hannah shortly looked up, at the same time as Mariella, as they got their drinks and the bagel. She looked back at Mariella and folded her fingers around her cup. She blinked a little. Elenora and Archie had gotten married. What in the world had happened since she last had seen the bunch? Clearly, Hannah had just been sheltered from way too much. Who knew if it was for her own good? She pulled a small, crooked smile as Mariella was convinced that she had to try the bagel one day. “I’ll take your word for it,” she almost mused. “It was quite a lot of things,” she chuckled shortly. She was certain that Mariella probably had had a very eventful life while they hadn’t seen each other. Hannah on the other hand, not so much.

Hannah looked down at her cup for a moment before she looked up at Mariella again, seeing that she wanted to say something. She was almost about to let a little laugh slip her lips as Mariella said she had met a guy in the middle of a panic attack. But it was no funny thing, it could have been very scary, and Hannah was simply glad that Mariella had had someone by her side. “Thanks,” she said pulling at thankful smile and pressing her lips together, she folded her arms around each other, each hand holding onto the other elbow. “So,” she spoke a little hush. “You’re with a boy?” she spoke, clearly very interested. Now, she had never second guessed that Mariella could easily sweep people of their feet  if she wanted to, but if she had actually settled with someone… Well, that would be quite the news!

How did she escape the situation without lying yet still telling the truth, simple, very simple when you were Mariella - even if she wished to sit Hannah down and tell her everything, because she knew there wasn't any judgmental bone in Hannah's heart that would ever judge Madelaine for having become a witch. Hannah just wanted her sister back, and Ella more than everything understood that feeling when she had lost Archie, even if it had been a closed case. They knew what had happened, Madelaine had been missing. "You know I feel things - wish I could go into more detail, but some stories aren't mine to share," she gave her friend a comforting smile.
Mariella was comfortable in that Jamie and Nora would have mentioned that Sterling was around if they knew, or maybe they just hadn't had time to get the information around with the entire Theobald situation hanging in everyone's hair.

It was quite a lot of things, a little chuckle left Ella as it wasn't even the end of the first chapters. But she kept the stories short for now, maybe one day where Hannah wasn't out to meet someone after, she would let more cards on the table. Talking about how she had found her biological mother and two sisters. Maybe not about how she had been supposed to marry Quentin in the beginning of last year, what an emotional spiral that had been, completely dreadful experience just by the thought of it. Not to mention he had ended up having hand in killing her aunt and uncle, when he had burned that fairy village down.

Mariella licked her lips a little bit with a warmer smile dancing upon her lips so delicate. "I am," she replied and took a sip of her drink, not bothered by it being hot. "His name is Leon," she placed the cup back down with a softer chuckle. Now there was a lot of things she could tell, and she knew she would need to be sat in front of a stop button.

Hannah could feel her heart ache a little for her sister. Mariella had felt something, but she couldn’t go into details. Oh, how she wished for Mariella having been able to say something more. Ever since she had met Elroy and figured that he might be able to help her, she had gotten even more emotional than she already was. She was so close to find her missing sister. She could even feel how her eyes became a little fogged by the tears appearing in her eyes.

Hannah tensed a little as Mariella replied to her question. But not in a bad way, no she was quite excited for her friend, and it was visible in the way she smiled back to her ginger friend. She was almost impatient about Mariella’s patience about having time to take a sip of her coffee! Hannah wanted to know more, and right now! “Oooooh… Ho, ho, ho,” she laughed quite excited covering her mouth a little. Almost like a little girl fangirling quietly. “Leon,” she purred his name and made her eyebrows wiggle a bit. “Tell me more,” she said and folded her hands underneath her chin waiting for a story.

Mariella hated the fact that she had to dismiss Hannah's emotions in all of this, she truly did. There was nothing more she would like than to just write down a few numbers she could call, Elenora did have Madelaine's number. Then again, Madelaine had broken things of with Ethan, so even if everyone had moved on from that one by now, she wasn't even sure if any of them still were in contact. The only one she had heard had seen Madelaine last was Zitora, and she only knew this because she had seen Zitora once or twice. Busy lady.

It was somehow nice, the twist and uplifting excitement. Just to also just being able to sit and talk about someone that genuine made her so happy she sometimes expected to wake up from a dream. Of course Hannah wanted to know more than just the name, making Mariella laugh a little, before she shared small stories, about the hikes they had been on, one of the most memorable one still being the unexpected snow storm that had forced them to snow in. How even the most crowded settings he was able to numb the chaos within her, "so yeah, I think I've gotten a new favorite person - Jamie is gonna take so much offence to that," she chuckled a little bit, not that Jamie had been the favorite person, but she had always valued her brothers very highly. This was very different.  "How about you, other than you know who, nothing new under the clouds?" Mariella asked and tilted her head a little to the side. Of course she understood that Madelaine missing had taken up a great deal of time. She could only think things would get more complicated soon enough. She remembered Elenora, Sterling and Jamie had been on a hunt together, worst idea their families had gotten with three people drown in to much sorrow, hate and anger. Elenora had gotten Archie back. Jamie had found a second chance of the hope of love. Then she remembered one thing. Sterling had been with Angel, and now that she thought about it - even if she had only spoken to Angel a few times in the past, now she started to realize she had seen her time to time at the mansion where Leon lived. Blinking a little, not surprised by now how small the world could get.

Hannah smiled and kept being interested in all the stories that Mariella told. She nodded a little as she mentioned she believed she had gotten a new favourite person. It didn’t surprise Hannah. “I bet he is,” she laughed a with Mariella. It didn’t take long from Mariellas stories to end before Mariella returned the question. Anything new under the clouds? Hannah shrugged a little as Mariella asked if there was nothing new under the clouds. “No… I’ve been staying away from romantic attention as much as possible,” she said and licked her lips a little. She honestly didn’t really wish to share her little secret crush with her. Even though she felt like she could share so many things, Quentin was probably not the one people would see Hannah being with, even though she most of the time hadn’t been able to see past his shell.

Now it was a rather big question, it could have been about someone or anything really. Any given event, but Hannah chose to keep it in the romance area, which was fine of course, yet she could feel there was something that she was a bit unsure about, making Mariella narrow her eyes just a little bit. But also chose to let it go, because it was none of her business if Hannah was crushing on anyone or blinked twice to someone with her big brown eyes. "Alright then, not that I think the staying away from it is actually going to keep it away," she pointed out with a lighter chuckle before taking a sip of her coffee. Mariella, being the little sister of the group, very much indeed, and she embraced it when used to only hanging around her brothers growing up. Then now she had Irina at home with Nigel, and Mila of course - even Katelyn and Maya whenever they chose to stay over and Mariella found it funny how the guys slowly got outnumbered - and yet she seemed to get have way more brothers than any little sister in her right mind would ask for - nothing less she loved them. "So, you just been out here looking for your sister, and nothing has happened - its rather impressive, I feel like every time I breath there is a chance for something to happen around the corner."

Hannah pulled a little smirk as Mariella stated that she didn’t believe that it would keep romance away. “Well, if it comes to me, it might just be the right time,” she said and shrugged her shoulders nicely. She couldn’t really get Elroy of her mind when she said that. It was simply just like she had been struck by a lightning, completely head over heels. Or maybe she just fell in love easily. Or was she actually in love, or simply attracted to him? It was great questions that she didn’t dare to find the replies to as of right now.

Mariella now asked a little more specific, what had she been doing in Athena, besides from looking for her sister. Of course, Hannah could search for her sister every minute of the day – just like right now when she was sitting with Mariella. She raised her brows a little as Mariella expressed how she felt about just drawing a simple breath. “I’ve only been here since… July,” she said and hugged herself a little. She had been closed to end up like a feast for vampires and a doll for demons another day. Besides from that, she had seen how Quentin had been completely out of his mind and the same day die. God, it made her throat tighten just by the thought. “Well, it wouldn’t be Athena without a little bit of a supernatural version of the cat chasing the mouse, would it?” she said with a shy smile. “I’ve mostly been looking after her, but… It has tended to bring trouble to me. Almost as if I was cursed,” she joked rolling her eyes. “I actually ran into Jamie, now that I think of it,” she said narrowing her eyes a little. God, it had been a couple of months already.

Since July. Mariella tried to recall everything that had happened around since then, blinking a little by a few of the flashes about everything that had went down. But the truth was spoken as Hannah mentioned it wouldn't be Athena without a supernatural version of the cat chasing the mouse, making a small agreeing grimace. Mariella understood the fact of just being out and about and somehow still manage to pull trouble with you, sometimes it was also just the price of being of pure heart. People wanted to use that kind heart if you weren't careful or aware of it. Then Jamie was mentioned making her raise her brow a little bit, now Jamie had been a busy man, which would explain why he hadn't said anything, and Mariella had most likely also herself been tumbling around as she had navigated in the events back then. "Jamie has the tendency to be everywhere and nowhere at once, it's his thing," she chuckled a little bit while shaking her head, taking a few bites of her bagel before forgetting to eat it. Would be a waste of good food now wouldn't it? "How long till you reckon Sterling and Jamie realize they are both in the same time, oh boy," she chuckled a little bit, here she thought the energy match with Elias and Jamie were extreme. Frederik and Jamie was also something else, and she knew Elias and Frederik also knew each other. Imagine all four of them. She blinked a little by the thought, Athena was not ready for that.

Hannah shrugged a litte with a slight smile as she mentioned that he was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She agreed. It was the same with Sterling, if she had to say anything. Hannah couldn’t help but smile when she mentioned them figuring out how close they were to each other right now. “I think it would make Sterling very happy to see more known faces,” she said with a wider smile. “He has only really seen me and Jade,” she said pulling a little sad smile. Sterling had been in Athena since October she was quite sure of and she was certain that he missed friends just as much. She licked her lips a little, “Should we set them up?” she said with a playful smile on her lips.

She was happy by the thought of Jamie perhaps getting some of the lost ego back from the attack not even a week ago where Theo had cut off Jamie's hand. It had bruised Jamie's ego more than he let people see, but as always, Mariella looked right through people's tough and strong built walls. "I reckon he could use it as well," Mariella nodded with a warmer smile. "Let's, so how about just getting them to meet up with us outside of Bread Ahead, its a good meet up point," Mariella suggested. "And then they get the surprise of meeting each other instead of us," she cracked a light laugh by the thought. But it would perhaps be good for both Sterling and Jamie to see some good old friends again. She sure hoped so. "Jade?" She then asked, recalling Hannah had mentioned the name. Now it did sound like a name she had heard before, but sure there was plenty of people out there with a name like that. But if it meant Sterling had taken a new chance on love after having lost Angel, Ella was more than happy on his behalf.

Hannah smiled widely to Mariella as she agreed that Jamie could use a get together too. She suggested them to meet outside Bread Ahead and she nodded, “That sounds like an excellent idea,” she agreed. She was so certain that it would bring a better light on Sterling’s face than the one he already had being near Jade. Hannah shrugged with a little smirk as Mariella asked about Jade. “Jade is one of my childhood friends,” she replied nodding a little, “But I’m quite certain there’s more than just friendship between Sterling and her,” she said with an almost sly smile. No, she wasn’t going to drag Mariella into it and help them figure things out, but she was certain that Mariella could figure it out if Hannah asked. But it wasn’t for them to dig into.

Childhood friend. Got it. Perhaps it was why she felt like it was familiar in sound, not that she was completely sure. However, it seemed like a story and details for another day. There was so many areas to catch up on, "well I'm sure they figure things out then - he needs a little spark of happiness too after what he has been through," Mariella gave Hannah a little smile, knowing it had to be hard on her too, Sterling losing Angel couldn't have been easy, and then Madelaine going missing. "I met some of my biological family actually. I found my mother and two of my sisters," she announced and folded her lips a little bit, before they broke into a smile. "Girl we have way to many areas to cover, an hour is not gonna cover it," Mariella laughed a little bit shaking her head before taking a few more bites of her bagel, so she could finish it.

Hannah nodded a little, giving her a slightly sad smile for bringing up what Sterling had been through. She missed Angel herself and still couldn’t really understand that she wasn’t alive anymore. It also made her stomach turn a little, because she was so afraid that Madelaine was held captive somewhere and might be on the brink of death. She often blamed herself for doing things like this – sitting in a café and enjoying herself a cup of something with a friend.
Hannah’s eyes widened as she mentioned that she had met some of her biological family, “What!” she exclaimed clearly excited on Mariella’s behalf. “That sounds amazing!” she said with a wide smile. She shook her head, though she agreed, “Way too many,” she said, “We’ll just have to meet up again soon,” she said hugging her arms a little.  She surely wouldn’t mind meeting up with Mariella again soon.

She nodded a little, dismissing the whole, Quentin and that part of the family had burned down a village of fairies down, where her aunt and uncle had happened to be as well. Well, Mariella didn't know them, so it made it somewhat easier to consume the idea, not that she at first had thought it to be her parents that had died, so she hadn't had the chance to meet her biological parents. It had been once twisted month September. But Mariella was a master in telling the tale in the way so she could avoid too many questions whenever she wanted to just tell one part of the story. "Yeah, it is," she chuckled a little bit. Well, she was getting to know her mother a lot better as her and Reginald swung by often. Mariella was getting to know her sisters, but she was getting there, and she loved them no matter how many years or in this case months she had known them. "Yeah we will, and now that I know you are in town, and you know where I work  - I'm sure we will make it happen," she nodded to confirm.

The door opened, not that Mariella at first payed much attention towards that. It was a sandwich shop after all, people walked in and out, even if the numbers of guests at the time was low. However, it seemed like she could feel the power's calmness coming closer towards them, where she turned her head a little bit. Mariella pressed her brows together a little, she had seen him a few times before. "Elroy?" She asked confused about what he was doing here. "Mariella? I didn't expect to see you here," Elroy chuckled a little bit looking towards Hannah. "Hey. I'm Sorry, I was a bit early and I caught your scent around, unless if I'm interrupting," Mariella shook her head a little. "Not at all, go grab yourself a drink, I will leave the two of you shortly either way," she chuckled a little bit looking back towards Hannah as Elroy walked up to order himself something. "Remember to text Sterling about meeting you at Bread Ahead," she took out her phone so she could text Jamie so he actually would have a chance of showing up after work.