Anwyn knocked politely on the door before checking to see whether it was unlocked.
Oberon got his wings ready, and as soon as Anwyn had the door open, he took off, and flew to one of various perches he used.
Anwyn quickly stepped in, stopping just barely inside. "Hello ?", she called softly, not wanting to interrupt if he was busy, "Mestru Merrick ? It's Anwyn ... and Oberon is with me"
The middle aged man looked up as the door opened and the little bell rang. He smiled as Oberon swooped by and circled him once before settling onto the perch above the store's counter, where Ceroill was to be seen, working on a neat parchment.
And he smiled wider when he saw who his owl had brought with him. "Well! Damisela! Welcome, many welcomes!" He put down his pen carefully, then came around the counter, and motioned her to come fully inside.
Anwyn's face lit up with happiness, as she carefully closed the door behind her. There were many reasons why she liked Mestru Merrick. Not only did he not mind her hanging out among his books and in his attic, but he apparently LIKED her company. Maybe he got lonely sometimes too.
"It's been too long, Anwyn, come in, have a seat, tell me how you've been." He offered her a chair, and stood nearby. "What is that Terranan expression...'A sight for sore eyes'? Your presence brightens this poor and humble shop, Damisela, would you like a cup of tea? It's a new kind, from the Terranan Zone, and it's green! Most interesting. But I'm rambling on, and not letting you tell me what brings you here. Please, Anwyn, tell me what I can do for you."
She grinned, "That's why I came -- for tea and company ... and hopefully some chocolates too, if you've any left ... it's so nice to be truly welcome SOMEWHERE ... right now, this is probably my favourite place in the entire UNIVERSE".
Ceroill smiled, and briefly went into the back room. Soon he returned with two cups of tea. "I'm afraid I don't have any chocolates right now. see what you think of this tea, it's not like any other tea I've had."
Anwyn happily accepted the tea. Taking a small sip, she then pronounced it to be delicious. "Never mind about the chocolates", she said, "I shouldn't be eating so much chocolate anyways. I'm just enjoying being here anyways".
"I'm glad you enjoy my shop, Anwyn", Ceroill replied, "So, you're chafing under the restrictions of the life of a teenager? That's normal. I've got some new books in, well, not exactly new, but new here. The man I bought them from say they're from Alpha Centauri".
New books were always a wonderful thing. You never knew what you might find. "Yes, please", she said eagerly, "I'd love to take a look through them later. But I wanted to talk to you about Kay first".
"So, how's Kay?" He had taken another chair, and sat facing her.
Anwyn frowned. "She's STILL not being ANY fun -- and she and Louis hardly have ANY time for me anymore. Kay would be mad at me if she knew that I came into town today. I don't see what's so dangerous about me wandering around by myself, or with only Oberon for company. I did it when I first got here, and it was no big deal. But if she gets too mad at me, she might not let me stay here any longer. And since I'm still not counted as being an adult, THAT would mean me getting shipped to my family on Coronis, where I was originally suppossed to go INSTEAD of ending up here".
"Like I was telling Gwenn this morning, we have to DO something. She can't play hermit forever", Anwyn added. "And she won't even tell me WHY -- she just says that she's too busy, even though I can that she isn't REALLY".
Ceroill sat and sipped his tea, listening. This was more than just typical teen frustrations. "MOnths, eh? Hmmmm. It has indeed been some time since I last saw her. As to it being dangerous, she's right about that. Between those who resent the Terranan, and those unscrupulous knaves who would seek to force themselves on you, there certainly are dangers. Especially after dark. Well. So much for the standard safety lecture." He sipped a bit more, and thought. "I suspect, Anwyn, that she is brooding about something. Did something happen just before she ensconced herself this way?" This was a bit worrisome. Maybe she was in the grip of melancholy for some reason, or had become frightened by some person or event.
Anwyn frowned, "Hell, yeah!", she exclaimed in frustration, glad that he was taking her seriously. Then she blushed, suddenly thinking that she COULD definitely have phrased that better.
"You remember Kay's friend Lady Dannette, don't you ? The one who was helpful with Kay on the night that you and Oberon found each other ?", Anwyn continued. "Well, she came for dinner at Kay's apartment one night a bunch of months ago, and she brought her freemate Lord Connor something-or-other with her. I thought he was interesting and kinda cool ! But Kay kept looking at him as if she could see something that I couldn't. It was something that made her nervous. But I don't think that it was anything BAD -- 'cause the little ones didn't go hide in the closet or under the bed. Louis didn't see it either. But Oberon saw it (whatever it was), though he just WATCHED like a guard dog and didn't make any kind of fuss.
Ceroill had gotten up, and was sorting through a pile of books as she talked, and came back with a small volume, no bigger than the palm of her hand, and maybe a thumb joint thick. "Here's one of those books I mentioned. I'm having trouble understanding this text, but I assume that is because it is a dialect of Terranan Standard. All I can tell for certain is that it has to do with mathematics."
Anwyn reached eagerly (but carefully) for the book, exclaimed in delight when she saw the author's name and began very carefully turning the pages. "It's a bunch of engineering-related articles; no wonder there's so much math -- I totally HAVE to have THIS", she declared, pulling out her coin pouch.