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Idly flipping through pages of news, the violet haired woman was enjoying a nice, leisurely morning curled up with the paper and a warm cup of coffee. Although still a bit groggy, the sleep melting slow from her eyes, Ebony was amazed at how much more relaxed she felt after a night of effortless sleep. A few nights actually. Ever since she'd gone on her one woman shopping spree she'd felt as if the weight on her was gone. Well maybe not gone, that was too much to hope for, but there was definitely less pressing upon her now than prior.

"Shop therapy..." the woman mused as she sipped from her cup, the idea tickling her so. She'd heard of it before, yet Ebony had never bought into it, thinking it to be just an excuse for women to spend tons of money they didn't have. That was until now. Now she knew the power of shopping! Or perhaps it was more of the power of shopping for others?

A soft, musical tune filled the silence then and interrupted her thoughts. 'Who could that be?' she wondered, laying her paper and mug down on the living room table. No family and few friends to speak of, the only one that was ever regularly seen on the lace white porch was the mail man. In fact that was whom she'd assumed was there now, possibly with a package of highly anticipated plants she'd ordered some time ago for the greenhouse. It was to her great shock and surprise to find something entirely different when she opened the door.

"Rivener? Aphismet?" asked Ebony as she looked between the two arguing males with a clearly confused expression. Was she dreaming? Hallucinating? "How...w-what are you doing here?!" She hadn't meant for it to sound as awful as her voice had conveyed then, it was that she just realized how unprepared she was for such an event. Standing there in her white tank and grey sweats, her hair down and untamed as of yet. Oh how she wanted to just slam the door, run upstairs and slap some makeup on!

The Brit was slightly dumbfounded still by the unexpected visit, her mouth slackened open and silent in her inability to push words through it. Words that were still lost as grey eyes followed towards the offered dish of chicken and broccoli. And although the crimson black Sigel was correct in his presumption of her question, it also arose more questions. Like why was Riv here? Last she knew, the Scorpion wasn't her biggest fan.

"That's not it at all Rivener! I, ah, I just wasn't expecting anyone today and I'm just surprised to see you both and well...what I mean is..." Heavens above what did she mean? It wasn't like the woman to be at a lost for explanations nor was she easy to catch off guard, yet these two had REALLY caught her off guard now and it totally threw her for a loop.

With the coveting of the dish and the look of departure in his actions, Ebony instantly felt incredibly shamed in her unintended rudeness. Immediately she opened the front door wide to allow them entrance as she desperately clawed at her messy violet strands. "No no! I'm terribly sorry! Please do come in!"

"Umm..." There was a few moments of contemplation after she'd shut the door once the two were in. With a quick little bow, "Please excuse me for a few moments. I'll be right back. Make yourselves comfortable." And with that the woman was a flash of purple running upstairs. Make-up might not be an option at this moment, but Ebony would be damned if she'd play the role of host in her sleepwear!

And while the previously surprised host was busy ripping a hurricane like storm in her closet, the two guests might also note the other unusual things in the Shade home. Like how the tv was not the focus of the room, all the furniture situated in a manner to have the fireplace (which was obviously not in use now due to the weather) as it's center. Or how a big, black grand piano was nestled next to the kitchen bar making it impossible for stools to be placed there for people to eat like it would have been in a normal home.

They might have also noticed the lack of personal photographs showcasing friends and family. If there was anything in the room with a frame it merely held a painting of some unknown artist as Ebony was not quite the artistic type when it came to paints and such. The room in whole held an aura as if it were fighting with itself, nothing really matching and yet feeling as if it should. Like two people playing mix and match with their possessions when first moving in together. It was an odd feeling to get especially when the visitors knew this woman lived alone.

It wasn't long before Ebony came dashing back down the stairs, hair pulled up in that signature ponytail and wearing simple jeans and a black tank top replacing her previous white one. Stepping off the last step, she tried to compose herself as best she could before addressing the two again. "I'm terribly sorry about that, but I felt it inappropriate to be wearing my pajamas while you were here. Ah..." She'd noticed the Scorpion was channel flipping. Slightly amused, "...I see you found the tellie all right Rivener. No cable I'm afraid, since I don't watch much." Turning to face Aphismet as well, "Can I get you two anything? I have some freshly brewed coffee. Oh, didn't you say something about a casserole?" She felt like she was babbling, but she was still trying to get use to the fact that both Aphismet and Rivener were there.

With a simple laugh, Ebony took the dish from the chef's hands and headed into the kitchen. "Of course I have a microwave! No cable does not constitute one living in the stone age you know." The Brit carefully transferred the casserole from Aphismet's dish to one of her own microwave friendly ones before placing it into the device. Apparently she thought it prudent to heat it up now since she did have company over.

While the meal was busy reheating, Ebony grabbed two mugs and poured her guests some of the aromatic beverage. "Well I hope you like this Rivener. It's an Arabian blend. Bittersweet chocolate and mocha." It was when she was passing the cups to the two that the violet haired woman remembered Rivener's gift. She really wanted to know whether he liked it or not, but...for some reason she felt shy about asking. What if he didn't like it at all? What if he thought it a bribe of sorts? Then again...he was being pleasantly friendly right now. That had to mean he did like the gift on some level, right?

Biting her bottom lip, Ebony went to rinse Aphismet's dish out so she could give it back to him. And just to keep herself from trying to seem like a gloat and ask about the gift, "So Aphismet, do you play? I see the way you're eyeing my father's piano."

After she was finished hand washing and drying the casserole dish, Ebony placed it on the kitchen bar so no one would forget it when it was time to leave. She proceeded to move back to the living room to retrieve her own cup of coffee, now lukewarm from sitting idle for so long, but that was okay. The lilac haired female was not one to waste perfectly good food and drinks if she could help it.

Cup in hand, Ebony came back to the two. "Sometimes you just have to treat yourself. I normally just ground whatever beans I have in the freezer. Guess I was feeling a little lazy and indulgent today." The woman sipped her own coffee and nodded her agreement in it not being that bad. Good coffee always had a relaxing property that grocery store knock-offs just couldn't reproduce properly in her opinion.

To the question of playing, Ebony lovingly stroked the lacquered wood before drifting one manicured hand across the black and white keys delicately in a short up beat tempo, almost bordering on playful. She gave a light chuckle, "I play a bit. Father simply adored music and played far, far better than I can. It's both easy and hard I suppose Rivener, depending on your level and passion for it. Go ahead, give it a try if you want. It won't bite I promise." An encouraging smile to Aphismet or maybe a challenging tease. "You can try too if you want. I don't mind."

She nodded a yes even though the Raevan had already taken to placing it down and wandering eagerly towards the instrument. "Too bad you don't have any legs yet, otherwise you could try out the pedals as well." Ebony mused at seeing him play it, although with no real purpose to its rhythm, it was still nice to hear someone else playing the piano again for a change.

Throwing an incredulous grin at her student, "You'll do no such thing. Besides, it could have been far worse. Like an electric guitar or a drum set." She jumped when the night Sigel unintentionally hit the keys of the piano a bit too hard in his anger towards his guardian. At first she thought he'd gotten frustrated with playing the thing.

"Oh, so it got to you okay? That's good." replied the woman as she tried to play it cool like it wasn't making her all giddy inside just to hear this. She finished her coffee and went to rinse her mug out. "I wasn't sure whether you would like or not. But I figured it was worth a shot what with the whole night sky thing. I'm glad you're enjoying it though." She paused shorty before convincing herself it was fine to ask now that the subject had been brought up. "Did Eirdirsceol like his gift as well?"

Try as hard as she might, the happiness bubbling up in her just couldn't be contained entirely, breaking out in small smiles throughout the Raevan's gushing. "Well let's hope it doesn't break anytime soon. Though if it does act up or anything let me know and I will have it fixed up for you."

Finally removing the casserole from the micro, Ebony took out three small plates to place a portion of the meal on them. The rest would go in the fridge for later. Aphismet really was a sweetheart for bringing it over. She really ought to thank him for his kindness properly someday. "Books. Frankenstein and A Christmas Carol. I remembered hearing he liked Poe, so I figured these would be somewhat similar. If you haven't seen him lately perhaps they are keeping him occupied?" She could only hope as she knew the ghostly member of their family had a knack for getting into trouble often.

"Would you two like to eat in the dining room or out on the patio?" asked the grey eyed Brit, presenting them both with a plate and fork. She never asked whether they wanted to eat to begin with, yet that was only in fear of a refusal. Besides, it wasn't a large helping, just enough for a light meal, brunch if you would.