Sanria sat in the study within the halls of the Illuminati. The tome before her, "Haon'Dor - A History", lay open; its spine ponderously flat even as the leaves of pages made a small arc. As seemed to be the case with her lately, Sanria was thinking as she stared at the same word she had been for hours. Since the note left to her by Thasmudyan, her days had been spent in and out of the depths of despair, or the height of some sort of eerie elation.
At this very moment, Sanria's mind wrapped around a simple cup of tea. Not a few days prior she had met Throm and Kaz, and spent a good deal of time talking with them. They were like old friends almost, catching up on things, though none of them knew anything about the others. In her typical nature, she offered them hospitality if ever they were in the area of her home... a place she hadn't been back to since she got her letter.
It wasn't unusual for Sanria to find herself in the bakery, for after she had tired of her chicken or mushrooms (thank the stars and Gods above for magic), she often found comfort in the various breads Tom whipped up. She was selecting a loaf, one to take back to the hall and dip into a bit of herbal oil, when Throm walked into the shop to purchase his own luxury item - pot pies.
They chatted easily - Sanria felt quite comfortable knowing he was a guardian and a father, someone to watch over Emalia while she couldn't. It wasn't long into the conversation before Sanria felt it right to invite Throm to see her home. She led the way, heedless to the fact that many were not accustomed to such a distance, until they arrived into the shimmering cavern entry.
And here was where Sanria's mind stood. Throm had come in for a cup of tea. Grinding the herbs and boiling the water had been so natural for her and soothing. She sat across from him as they chatted about their children, the Jihad, and small matters - and it felt absolutely natural. She had contemplated since Thasmudyan left how unnatural things in the cavern felt, and just how she never would have believed herself capable of sitting with any other man in her home.
It wasn't that she had a love for Throm, in fact, though he was stunningly handsome, she didn't know him any more than many she had chatted with in the realms. It was, more than anything else, that a man was in her home and she wasn't absolutely dejected. That she wasn't dwelling on Thasmudyan came as a bit of a shock to her. Even when they went to the observatory, having what felt like the entirety of the realms spread out before them, it didn't feel the least bit strange. Nothing was forced, no one was nervous. Her whole idea of what would happen if she were to walk back into the cavern; the thought that having anyone else in her home would be wrong... simply wasn't happening. It was disturbing.
Sanria gave Throm a tour of every part of her house, watching his face and green eyes as they would light up in awe of the natural stone, the shimmering of the crystals, the absolute harmony of nature and civilization. He was so interesting, so intricate, so full of kindness for his fellow beings of the realms, and so full of love for his son, that she felt a connection. Odd, she thought now, still staring at the same word in her tome, how a cup of tea could reveal so much.
