Anya wrinkled her nose slightly as she placed the tray on the table. "No, that was all Lizzie," she chuckled before her face rested with a small smirk. "But when I got here earlier, you were sleeping like a baby. Literally, you were nestling in and everything." Anya snickered at the thought before looking to the platter. "There are some things that never got served there. Meats, portions of pasta, cheeses, and whatnot. Hopefully, something here suits you guys." She shrugged going to sit at the bottom of the bed.

Sage made a face and felt his face heating up slightly. "Remind me never again to eat anything Lizzie gives me then," he chuckled. "Apparently those poppy seeds did something to my brain." He was teasing, of course, but nestling in? What had she thought of that? That was kind of odd ... Most kids his age didn't do that. Oh well. It was all in the past. Unless she brought it up again. It brought a blush to his face, he was flustered a bit, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing was it? He didn't think so.

Anya gave a chuckle, "Yeah, seems as though they did. But you managed to sleep well, though, right? You looked peaceful for a change, at least." Anya shrugged slightly before puffing out her cheeks thoughtfully. She found herself wondering why he had been so... not exactly cuddly, or needy, she wasn't sure how to put it, but whatever it was, it seemed a little odd. Obviously, Anya didn't really mind, she was happy to sit there with him, but she still was a little curious. Sage seemed a little unsettled when she had mentioned it though, so chose just to keep quiet about the subject. "I promise we haven't drugged any of this though. Try whatever you can, it's all good." Anya murmured lightly, gesturing for Sage and Lizzie to dig in. "No cake, unfortunately." She added with a pout. It wasn't likely that the two would care anyway... by the sounds of it, they were relatively lucky to get any food at all in the slums, so she hoped it would be nice to get something that was clean and properly prepared.

Sage shrugged and gave Anya a pointed look. "Whatever food you give us is more than wonderful," he pointed out. He was actually willing to eat something, while the poppy seeds lasted. They were wearing off, yes, and there was still a generous amount of pain, but he was used to this amount of pain, so he could force himself to eat something. He knew he needed it, and now was the time to do it or he would most likely throw everything back up.

Anya pursed her lips slightly, going quiet for a few minutes to give the two some time to actually get something to eat. She rested her head in her hands as she stared into the abyss before remembering what she had witnessed earlier. "You know, I can see the village from my balcony," she murmured absentmindedly. "Looked like you missed out on a fight today. A relatively big one too. Or so it looked at least," the girl shrugged slightly. Maybe she could get Sage up there at some point, to get some fresh air until he was well enough to leave. It would do him good. Or Anya thought so.

(I'm thinking we do a little time skip in a bit? Move things forward a little.)

(yeah that sounds good. A month maybe? Also are you thinking if anything specific to start the romance bit more or no?)

Sage picked at the food for a few minutes before looking over at Anya. "There's fights all the time," he pointed out. "How far can you see from up there anyway?" He was curious, though he himself could always climb a tree to see far away.

(A month is good. No, not really, though I think a rough plan would be good or it's never going to happen lol. Any ideas?)

Anya shrugged, "Just to the market. The houses get in the way of everything else." the girl murmured thoughtfully before a small smile appeared. She found it slightly amusing that he expected her to be so accustomed to the brawls going on in the village. "Sage, you seem to forget the closest I've been to one of these fights was when I met Lizzie for the first time. It's still a pretty weird thing for me to see," She gently reminded him, followed by a soft chuckle.

(maybe they're attacked out on a walk or something and sage protects Anya the same way he does Lizzie. Like more than a normal friend or whatever? And that kind of sparks her feelings and he realizes she's more than a friend?)

Sage chuckled and nodded. "I know," he admitted. He made a thoughtful face and nodded slowly, popping another piece of fruit into his mouth. "Even so, that's cool. Trees only do so much," he chuckled. He shrugged again. "You'll grow more used to it if you spend every night out there though," he pointed out.

(Could definitely do that! I'll leave the skip up to you whenever you're ready. Could probably do it now if you wanted lol)

"Once you're all better, I'm planning to be out with you guys most nights, so it shouldn't take too long." She murmured with a slight pout. "It's not a bad view, even with all the spats going on. You'll have to come up and have a look one day. When you can walk with ease again." The girl made a face, pausing for a moment before looking back at him. "Actually, you'll probably need to be able to run." She teased with a humorless chuckle.

(I can skip forward lol)

Sage finished cleaning the tavern and started to walk outside to meet Anya at the lake. It had been a busy day and he was looking forward to being with her and Lizzie. He had enjoyed the days they had been together all day at the castle, and while he knew that was only because he couldn't do much, he almost wished it would happen again. But no, he was out here, and this was where he belonged. He didn't belong in a castle, he was a street rat. The tavern boy, as Anya called him. Hers was a sweet nickname, and he enjoyed it, tho he would never actually admit that to anyone, but it was also true. He was just a tavern boy. He got to the lake and settled down with a sigh. He had mostly healed by now, though after a long day of work his side hurt a bit and he had to catch his breath since the infection in his lungs had left his lungs a bit weaker than they were before