She hadn't seen Dante since he wished her a good sleep; he couldn't go outside and it made her think he probably was gaining strength in his room, especially since he was severely injured. His absence actually brought her relief – she didn't want to see him. Not now. Or better,never. It was hard to believe any of his words, even his confession of having a bag of regrets about what he did in the past. No, she couldn't just fall for it, even if she wanted his words to be true. He said he'd never lied to her but he'd never been honest as well.
As evening approached and the purple tinge cast a warm vivid hue on the sky, Dante entered the living room to find Violette seated on the coach, gazing out the window. Her fingers fidgeted with her magic wand, her figure stressed and detached from the world. He cleared his throat to draw her attention and her body immediately reacted to the foreign sound.
“Hi,” he said with a hushed tone.
Her eyes raised just to look away a second later.
“Hi.” She moved from her spot on the couch and sat still, with her hands on her knees.
“Did you sleep?”
Violette doubted he was really interested in it, he just needed to start a conversation. His real intention was to scout if she found ingredients.
“I was in a potion shop,” she let out.
“It's not what I asked,” he said but she ignored him.
“I found all except Emersus powder, Sideralis flower and the juice of the Folica plant. The good news, we can find the Folica plant in the forest.”
His gaze dropped.
“Good,” he murmured, his tone clipped. “Then let's focus on this first. Are you ready to go?”
Violette swallowed hard and gave a stiff nod, forcing herself to stand even though her legs felt like a stone.
Violette’s bootsstepped onto damp ground as she was trying to find any traces of the Folica plant. It wasn't picky to the seasons – it didn't need sun or warmth to grow and the snow as well didn't affect it too much, especially since it loved humidity.
She'd noticed a lot of plants in this forest weren't scared of the cold, despite it being the beginning of December, some of them wereremaining green and alive. The air was too warm for this time of the year, as well. It was in hand for them, at least – it should be easier to find the ingredient. And yet their searching continued.
The space between them was plugged in a total silence, only rustling of the leaves and an owl's hoot was heard above their heads.
Violette bowed down to look closer at the little herb hiding in the mud, but unfortunately it wasn't what she was looking for.
A disappointed sigh whooshed from her throat. But as she raised her head her eyes caught a blue hue ahead. She straightened up and rushed there. Her fingers reached to the blue leaves in the ground, covering her nails in the dirt.Yes!
She tugged the plant – a cerulean blue tint glistened before her eyes in the silver moonlight.
“I found it!” she voiced and Dante was near in seconds.
His eyes fell to the plant as Violette folded it into a napkin.
“Will it be enough?” he asked.
“Yes, it's quite succulent.” She closed her bag and the silence again prevailed in the air. Her hand gripped the buckle of her bag as she bit her lip.
“Now that we have this, we need to find the two last ingredients. To find it in the wild is almost impossible,” she expressed.
Dante fetched a thoughtful sigh and knelt down, picking up a dry branch.
“What are you doing?” She raised a brow.
“A fire cannot be lit without branches,” he said calmly, picking another.
Her brows creased but before she asked a question, he already voiced an answer, “We'll sit and think about it.”
It was a strange offer, especially coming from Dante's mouth. She thought he was all about rushing and not making stops but if so she was not going to protest.
Violette settled down on the log near the fire, Dante across, yet she still couldn't bring herself to look at him. She could stare at him for hours before and now she couldn't make herself raise her eyes for more than a second. She knew he'd noticed it and still kept silent.
