Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ella was glad she had been able to save up from her summer job of sorts. Now it meant she had a bit of extra money and could visit the bookstore! Of course, that meant she had to brave the Scottish wind to get to Hogsmeade. As she got ready for the day, Ella pulled on her purple cardigan, which she'd added embroidered stars to the sleeves. She brushed her hair, wincing at the tangles as she worked them out. She then plopped a headband on, hoping to keep her hair from blowing into her eyes.

As she headed out, Ella walked with Sebastian and Alice to the little village. She was a little glad that Sebastian was taller than her, since he served to block the wind a bit. Once in Hogsmeade, the couple split off to do... whatever couples did, and Ella hurried to the bookstore. Once inside, Ella tried to straighten her hair back down a bit. Darn the wind! She then stepped quietly to the fiction section, looking for the newly released book in one of her favorite series. Maybe she could afford to get the other two books too.... it would be nice for collecting later on.... or she could save the money... hmm hmm.

While holding the collector's copy in one hand, Ella held the regular hardcover variant in the other. She could afford either, and that made it harder! But then again, there weren't any other big releases this year that she knew of... so perhaps it would be a nice treat to buy the fancy versions. As she was thinking, someone spoke just behind her, causing the brunette to squeak and duck a bit. After turning, she realized it was a safe person and she let out a soft breath.

"O-oh, hi there. Sorry, you surprised me. But yes, it's a really good series." Ella nodded, offering a little grin. "The school library has the first two, but book three just came out. I was trying to decide if I should buy the books... or the fancier version with art on the edges." She showed the books, one having plain white edges while the other boasted fancy artwork on the pages. Their covers were also different, with the collector's edition having inlaid metallic designs that added a bit of pizazz.

"If you had to pick, which would you most like?"

As she showed the books to Lyric, Ella was wondering what was going through his head. She'd only been allowed to own her own books (or anything, really) a few years ago, so it was something of a delight when she was able to purchase something. It made it even nicer that the money was all earned herself by helping Aunt Lynn with her cursebreaking paperwork. At least it was something she'd gotten pretty good at. Her dark eyes sparkled a bit with the smile that fell on her face at Lyric's advice. Get the one that made her happiest. The one she wouldn't regret. It was pretty solid advice.

With a small nod, the brunette turned back to the shelf, carefully returning the basic copy. Instead, she lifted the collector's edition of book one and two as well, adding them to her arms. "Thanks, Lyric. That was some really smart thinking." She hugged the books a bit tighter, then realized he'd probably come for a reason. "You can borrow them, if you'd like. I can loan you book one and two while I read three, then you can borrow it too." A perfect solution, and it helped a friend!

"D-did you need help finding a book? If you're looking for recommendations, I have a few. Or I can help you look for something specific too." Of course, she only knew the store as well as she did because she was too scared to ask the shopkeep anything yet. So far, she'd only worked up to nervous waves before scurrying away. Maybe eventually she'd be able to talk to people more easily. But if Lyric was looking for something, she had the time to help him find the books. Besides, it was the least she could do to repay him for his help!

Ella was glad that Lyric had managed to help her figure out her quandary about books. Even if they didn't talk frequently, he was still a nice person. Plus, if Alice and Sebastian liked him, he couldn't be bad! "It did help!" She was happy he'd helped anyway, because now she felt happier about her choice. If someone agreed with getting the fancy set, it was less likely to be wrong. That thought led her to offer her new books on loan, but Lyric quickly said no to it. Apparently he had a habit of writing in his books. "Thanks for the warning. Maybe it'd be safer to borrow the Library copies." Ella giggled softly, brushing her hair out of her face a bit.

After asking about Lyric's search for books, Ella was a little surprised to hear his response. It was a book on cross pollination, one on mildew and fungus, and one on fertilizers.... Oh man. Ella frowned a bit, trying to think if she knew any of those books. "Well... I'm not the best at Herbology, but we can look together." Maybe it would've been better if she had asked Alice to come along with her. Instead, she was determined to figure this out.

Ella stepped forward, her silent steps guiding them toward the nonfiction section. From there, she located a section of Herbology and Botanical literature. Her little fingers tapped over the spines, before pulling out a book she'd seen several times before. "Let's see... Tàmhas had a copy of this one..." She slid out a copy of 'Be your own Bee! A guide to Plant Hybridization' and offered it over to Lyric. "Or here's one about fertilizers, but I don't know about reactions. A-Alice is better than me at Herbology." For that, she held over Dragon Droppings & Other Fun Fertilizers. She wasn't sure it was right, but hopefully it'd help.

When Lyric snorted at Ella's thanks for not potentially writing in her new books, Ella was glad. At least he sounded happy enough. He then noted that he was planning on bringing a notebook along with him to -hopefully- help with his book-writing habit. "I've heard that writing passages down helps you remember them anyway, so perhaps it will serve a dual purpose." She often wrote notes on her reading in a notebook, so she hoped it would help Lyric's woes as well. It couldn't hurt, anyway, and who knew how many books they might have saved!

Once they had figured out her book situation, Ella led Lyric over to the nonfiction section for the more important of their tasks. She tried her best to find books pertaining to Lyric's quandaries, and when he said they were great finds, she felt a rush of relief. Something about knowing that she'd been able to help out. He said he'd already read through one of them, but wanted to get it anyway, just in case. It was probably wise, or perhaps Ella just liked to own her own book copies. "Plus then you can annotate the margins to your heart's content." The Hufflepuff let out a small laugh, sweeping a bit of her hair behind her ear.

Ella turned to glance back over some more books. Maybe he'd be better off asking Nicholas or Alice, since both were good with plants. Or... maybe she could write a letter to Linsey! She was super good with plants... but she lived kinda far away. Oh! Didn't Tàmhas live near the castle? If he still did, perhaps he'd be good to send word to. Of course, Ella figured Lyric was smart enough to have already asked his resources, so perhaps it was all in vain anyway. She pondered over the titles, then looked over in a bit of surprise when Lyric thanked her. He said he hoped he wasn't keeping her, and Ella quickly shook her head. "O-oh no. I mostly came here for these books, and you helped pick which set. I was thinking about maybe looking at some easy recipe books, but I'm not so sure about that one. I may just wait until Alice and Sebastian are done so we can walk back." She blushed a bit, feeling silly for not wanting to walk back alone. Sure, she could, but she'd grown somewhat accustomed to making the walk with her friends. Or... maybe she could stop by the stationary stop and get a nice notebook for Lyric's practice in annotating beside his books.

Ella nodded along as Lyric agreed that having a notebook helped, though he quickly said it helped to have the notes right in the book. At that, the smaller teen pondered a second, before coming up with an idea. "Well, maybe... oh! The stationary store has clear sticky notes. Perhaps you could put one on the page and notate there. It would be in the book, but not cause damage to the pages." Perhaps they could brave the wind and walk to the other store together. She could always use some nice pens anyway.

As she spoke about considering recipe books, Lyric asked what sort of recipes she was considering. And wasn't that the question? Pretty much everything she tried had turned out pretty rough. When he paused, Ella froze up, then she ducked down under Lyric's arm. She grinned a bit, carefully staying a bit crouched until he had pulled the book in hand. At least he'd excused himself... and grinned! That was better than some did. Her honey brown eyes sparkled when excitement when he grinned excitedly. That must be the book he'd been looking for! Hooray!

Ella offered a small smile as Lyric had to get himself back on track. Apparently he liked vegetarian meals, but not quite so with vegan meals. She nodded along, not really sure what the difference was between the two, unless there were cheese and eggs involved. "I think maybe it's a preference thing..." It made sense as to why they used veggies in lieu of meat. Maybe it was a morals issue, with not wanting to eat animals? Maybe there was a chance it was similar to an allergy, like how she couldn't eat shrimp...

When Lyric asked about her preferences with cooking, Ella tugged on a lock of her hair, pulling it free from behind her headband. "I'm not really sure, honestly. I've tried a few recipes from România, plus lots from... well, everywhere else, and it doesn't seem I've had luck with any of them. Even with help sometimes." She sighed softly, wishing she'd gotten the same talent as Alice or Linsey... or even Sebastian, though his food often looked a little wonky.