[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Iswyn spun at the sound of the voice behind her, her plaited hair whipping against her cheeks at the sudden movement. Seeing Deol standing there, tentatively holding out his bunch of flowers, pinkened her cheeks a little, but catching on to the fun she bobbed her head mischievously. "Good day, kind sir." She took the flowers from him shyly, careful not to touch his fingers.

Giggling slightly at his cheeky wink, the two turned away from the play and began to walk back in the direction of the spice stall Iswyn had visited earlier. She snuck sidelong glances up at Deol's face as they walked. She'd seen him around of course, but there had never been much time for more than a bit of fun in passing. He was tall and rather lanky, but not bad looking all the same, and Iswyn had always appreciated his smiles and small jokes. They walked for a bit, without talking, before Iswyn suddenly remembered her errand.

"I have to do a bit of shopping," she said apologetically, "for Mistress Bethberry." She looked at him more fully than she had before, but he was smiling.

"I could come along, if you like," he said, somewhat hesitantly. "Maybe carry things?" Iswyn's face turned even pinker than before, and she inwardly cursed herself as she felt her cheeks grow hot. Grinning in spite of her embarrassment she nodded. The two wound their way between the stalls and vendors, Iswyn privately grateful that her shopping gave her something to be businesslike about, as she barely dared open her mouth. Deol, for his part, steered her far away from Aldhelm's booth and accepted each parcel she handed him with a smile.

After the spice booth, where Iswyn carefully measured handfuls of cloves, cinnamon and cardamon pods into tiny cloth bags, there was the farmstand where they shopped for cheeses. Last there was a small sweet scented stall, Iswyn loved the tea-merchant's best. The sharp smelling leaves in their array of wooden boxes fascinated her. Today she was after simple teas, but the exotic ones were the most intriguing. She held up a little box for Deol to smell, tea with mint and some purple berry, sweet and fresh smelling.

After the dark inside of the tea merchant's booth, the daylight stung Iswyn's eyes and she blinked hard, after the strong smells the air felt empty. Her shopping finished, Iswyn and Deol wandered the market aimlessly, stopping to look at the blown glass and watch the dancers who skipped playfully to the music of a lone fiddler. Passing a stand she'd seen earlier, Iswyn hesitated. The colored silks and ribbons fluttered in the light breeze, their brightness calling out to her. She chewed her lip absently as she wavered, then snatched two skeins of ribbon from the stand.

Holding up the two skeins, one a bright green and the other a periwinkle blue. "Which would suit me better?" she asked Deol, a mischeivous grin on her face. Color flooded his cheeks again as he looked back and forth from the ribbons to Iswyn.

After a short deliberation he pointed to the skein in her right hand. "That one." Iswyn smiled, as she carefully replaced the blue ribbon on the rack and handed the green to the woman in the stall. She'd rather fancied the green herself. She watched carefully as the woman cut a short length of ribbon from the spool, cutting at a diagonal so that the thread wouldn't unravel. Carefully Iswyn counted out a few coins and paid for her prize. As they left the booth she carefully tied the green ribbon around the stems of her bouquet. Iswyn smiled to herself, she didn't know if she had ever felt more grown up.