Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was the end of a sunny, mellow afternoon as the Maestern household finished preparing for the evening’s guests. The home was cozily settled in the mid-outer region of the city, nearby but not quite in the wealthier districts, on a pleasant patch of land with plenty of space to stretch one’s legs decorated mainly by a well-kept garden of various flowers and herbs. The house itself was of an eye-pleasing, yet modest design; it followed an almost antique, classic style of wooden architecture. The outer walls were of a deep-colored natural wood, in long horizontal slats, and the roofing was of a somewhat lighter, barely weatherworn wood tile. It was a large home, being three stories and spacious in the dimensions other than height as well, but it held a certain quaint, welcoming air to it that kept it from being intimidating, and helped it avoid the stuffy aura that most mansions and other expensive homes often carry. Ultimately, it held the general shape and feel of a pleasant cottage while it was quite a bit larger in size.

A classically-styled cast iron fence surrounded the property, but the gate had been left open for the soon-to-come guests. Once one entered through the gate, there was a short walk on a cobblestoned path through the front garden [mainly comprised of roses and other strongly scented flowers] towards the slightly raised, wooden front porch of the house. From there, a few knocks on the large wooden door, or a press of the doorbell, would soon ensure entry for their guests.

Within, Josev was finishing the various foods he had prepared for dinner; he had combined more refined food with a casual preparation; steak, seasoned chicken, both shredded in various ways to be later set out with various breads and hearty chili to ultimately end up in a sandwich appropriate for an evening meal. Feodor was pattering about, worrying as usual; he occasionally calmed himself down by focusing on the occasional bit of food he shared with his arachnid half given to him by Josev as the man cooked. Eventually the Proto scurried out of the kitchen, into his own room so that he could return to a piece of knitting he had been working on.

[[For reference, his kitchen looks much like this, while the living room is next to it and looks like this without the center sofa thing, with something like this in a corner opposite all the windows. The parts of Josev’s home portrayed by the last two pictures would match the first picture’s color schemes and styles better than the actual pictures do.]]

As Josev was re-entering the kitchen from the back yard, where he had checked on the tritip steaks being cooked and smoked on the barbeque, he heard a rather distinct bell. Ah, that must be them…good timing. he mused, as he set the stove [where the chicken was cooking] to a lower heat to allow himself to leave it on its own. He made the brief walk to the heavy wooden door, unlatching it before opening it wide to greet his guests.

“Callum, Sten, how good it is to see you both, please, do come in.”

He offered a pleasant, mellow smile to the both of them before stepping out of the way for them to come in. On his body was garb somewhat more casual than what they had last seen him in; comfortable, dark brown slacks paired with a collared shirt and light jacket in matching hues, along with the ever-present tie around his neck, relaxed, yet still well groomed and styled in appearance. Even from the entryway of the Maestern home, the scents of Josev’s cooking could be detected as they drifted invitingly through the air from the kitchen beyond.