Ryth sat, hunched over a book.
Master Benedict came up the stairs in early morning to see his apprentice already at work, head resting on his propped-up arm, snoring coming from-Wait snoring?
A pensive look came over his face as he stepped towards Ryth, poking him...
And Ryth's head fell right off his arm and slammed into the book!
"BANG!"
"THE EXTRACT OF BLACK LEAF IS SWEET!" He screamed as he jolted awake.
"..."
"..."
"...have you... been here all night."
"...yes."
"Clean up and get downstairs by the 9th hour."
"Yes Master."
Ryth went out back to the well, splashing water on himself and then filling up the... barrel on wheels?
He wheeled this combination of wheelbarrow but made to hold water, over to a closed door in the ground, which he opened to dump the water in.
(And now that I've refilled the tank for the water magic runes and formations... I'm supposed to... THE BIRDS!)
Ryth hurriedly put the barrel-on-wheels away, rushing inside and running upstairs, past the second floor, going past the folding ladder in the ceiling which led to his room in the attic, but out onto the porch overlooking the street from the second floor.
Then he hooked a right to get to the ladder leading onto the roof itself, which had a small garden-area covered entirely by a thin-wore cage.
Sky magic embedded in the cage and some rods nearby helped avoid lightning striking it, keeping its inhabitants safe.
Ryth carefully opened the door and walked into the aviary, having brought the birdseed from below.
A pigeon hopped closer, trying to peck at the bag in his hand, but instead stabbing Ryth's hand.
"Ow! Bridget! Shoo!"
Ryth dumped the seeds in the tray, and witnessed a multicolored crowd of different birds fly for them... not a single one a predator creature, but all with different uses.
He smiled as he saw one in particular, and let a bit of sun essence float around his hand, leading it to jump on.
A raven sat on his arm, his black feathers appearing to be covered in a gold dust that drew in the sun essence, shining like stars on its night-sky of black feathers, before the sun essence ran dry.
Afterwards the gold dust had not appeared to have changed, but Ryth knew more specks had undoubtedly appeared and grown.
"You'd never expect a raven of all things to begin to become a magic creature by the sun Arcane, would you commoner?"
Ryth sighed, the raven flying away from his arm as it dropped.
"Hello Jonathan."
"Sir. Sir Jonathan. My family are nobility of the sword, not the cloak."
"And yet you've never held one in your life, or ever upheld any value of chivalry?"
"Excuse me?!"
Ryth gave him a droll stare. "What you were trying to do to that barmaid wasn't very chivalrous."
"Are you trying to imply I was forcing myself on her, because if you are-!"
"No no, you were seducing, it's just... isn't part of that whole noble thing that it's looked down upon to just go sleeping 'round?"
"Hmph!" Jonathan snorted.
"Seriously pretty boy, you could get a disease. Healer or not, sicknesses aren't something magic does too well with."
"I know that!"
"Then act like it!"
Jonathan turned in a huff. "I don't have to deal with this!" He exclaimed, leaving the atrium.
Ryth gave a quizzical to the departing back. "Then why were you up here?!" He mumbled under his breath.
After observing the birds a bit longer Ryth left as well, carefully making sure the atrium was locked, and climbed back down to the porch before heading down to the shop.
Master Benedict's apothecary shop was set up with specific sections.
The first was the "store", the entrance with many jars and vials along the shelves from floor to ceiling, a cauldron and a counter.
Behind the counter was a door to the rest of the building, with a stairway to the second floor, a kitchen, and a back door out that kitchen to the fenced yard and it's well.
Along with a room filled with supplies that was originally multiple rooms before the walls were knocked down, and the support beams were repurposed as part of the shelves replacing the walls.
On the 2nd floor was a bedroom, a library, a room with desks and covered in loose papers, recipes for potions or elixirs still in development or considered failures.
Ryth entered the shop proper, the entry room with the counter and drawers for orders and coin, as well as a bank crystal reader for those with that kind of money... which would be more common at an apothecary shop he supposed.
In front of the counter was Master Benedict leaning against it with his staff in hand as a cane, as its ability to shapeshift into a smaller, more refined form had become more apparent after the first day.
"What shall be the schedule today Master?"
Jonathan asked, finally able to now that Ryth was here.
It had still been the first day when he found out that Master Benedict would wait for both to arrive before explaining something when it involved both of them, so he had wised up eventually.
"I have to go to the Versai household to explain why their master is dying, and you, Jonathan, will be taking care of the store while Ryth comes with me."
Ryth blinked in surprise. The past few week whenever Master Benedict had to go on a house-call, he'd take Jonathan and leave Ryth.
His explanation had been that "You still need to learn the basics of education you've missed such as the sciences and grammar before I can have you represent me in society."
Ryth knew he had a late starting point, so he'd accepted it and simply studied as hard as he could.
"You think I'm ready? It's only been 3 weeks though..."
"You've learned manners, wont be speaking, and experience will help. Plus the Versai are not true nobles, but a merchant family."
He looked to the strangely silent Jonathan, who simply bowed. "I will take care of things here Master."
Ryth felt a bit surprised.
In this situation, shouldn't the entitled nobleson demand to not be left out or replaced by a commoner?
This letting it happen because he had already had his turn, this... maturity?
(I guess I can't expect noble kids to be like how books and stories say.)
Ryth had a weird sense of awareness for a moment.
The thought that everyone, all people, are people and have reasoning and motivations. The idea that they all matter and exist at the same level, not just a fact but something he thought through.
The idea of what living as someone else is like, how they see him and how they think he sees them, how self involved and little they are in comparison to what people usually think others see.
He snapped out of it as Master Benedict nodded and strode to the door, cane in hand as he placed his cloak on himself as he passed by the rack, his pace not slowing at all for Ryth.
(Gah!)
Ryth scrambled to follow, rushing for his coat and jogging out the door after Master Benedict.