Nevin thumped his head against the cool wood of a cabinet door. He knew, knew, that Eteri preferred to be a wandering soul. So why had he said “I'm glad you're home” instead of “I'm glad your back”? Eteri waaaay probably in there now trying to figure out the fastest way out of window that would have him see her.

His shoulders slumped a bit as he began to work on gathering things that might go well with fish for a picnic. One of the first things he did was get down and start searching his bottom cabinets. He knew he had it somewhere, he'd been given it as a gift by thankful customer, so where he hat bottle gotten to-

There! It had been moved to the back by the passage of time (and him shoving other things into this cabinet) but the bottle was still intact and he pulled it out. Still heavy, so it hadn't cracked and leaked. He popped it open - yes, it hadn't soured to vinegar. He grinned. Eteri had said she liked sweet alcohol, would a honey wine be sweet enough?

Nevin started crawling backwards, trying not to hit his head as he came back out. On his feet, he placed the bottle on the table, then frowned. In his excitement, the Alchemist had forgotten a rather crucial detail. He didn't have a picnic basket to carry things in. Whoops. He rubbed his chin trying to figure out a way of handling this minor detail.

Eteri wandered in, “Nevin...if this Eteri home then can Eteri have key? Sometime you lock window. Make hard go inside.” Nevin’ s eyes shot to the petite cat-girl, and he froze for a moment. Then, with a slow, unsteady shiver, he nodded as a smile cracked his lips.

“Of - of course you can, Eteri. Of course.” That was not, not what he had expected. And it warmed his heart that that was what she had to say in the matter. He moved over and hugged her tightly. “Of course you can. I might have to take it away when your next cycle comes around, but that's just so I have you to myself.” He grinned down at her, a bit of a cheeky grin twisting his lips, then he stepped back and looked at the table where he had piled the wine, some bread, and a few snacks.

“Now, Eteri. We can get your key cut after cut picnic, we’ll get it today. This is your home as much as mine. But first, we have a problem.” He gave a wave at the table.” How do we carry all this?” A sheepish smile stretched his mouth as he looked back to her.

“Easy…” She disappeared into the bedroom for a few moments and returned with her satchel around her shoulders, and a sheet. “Some can go in bag. Rest go on this.” She said as she lifted up the sheet. Nevin stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment, then laughed, his low, rolling laugh. He wiped happy tears from his eyes and smiled at her widely.

“I suppose it is that easy. Well then, let's put the wine in your satchel, that would be the worst to drop.” With that the two busied themselves packing the stuff away, Eteri showing him the best way to bundle everything up in the sheet. Nevin hefted it up and carried it out as they walked down the street, Eteri close by his side.

She was leading him once they were out of the city, her hands wrapped around one of his, tugging him along in the direction she wanted to go. It was a bit strange to Nevin - Eteri had always been more eager to run ahead, and stop to wait for him to catch up, but now she seemed almost eager to remain touching him. In the city she had practically plastered herself to his side, and now, when they were in the woods, she still had not let go of his hand. The alchemist marked it down to being afraid of being caught alone again, like Stefan had found her.