The girl gave a bit of a pout when he mentioned that she'd scared her brother... she had to say, the child had been very sheltered considering that they lived in the slums. That was mostly because of her and Anthony, though... they'd been exposed to so much, and she supposed they'd protected him a little bit more than they'd been looked after. He also didn't quite get her sense of humour. Mari stuck her tongue out at the boy teasingly, and the child copied her in response. "We might have to find him his own cat at this point," she noted with a bit of a chuckle as she reached over to run her thumb between the small animal's ears, then went to pick up everyone's empty bowls to help clean up.

Sage chuckled at the siblings antics and then gently placed the resting cat in Xanders lap before reaching to help Mari gather the bowls and whatnot. He was a guest, yes, but he still wanted to help. He was already taking their space and intruding a bit, as well as eating their food and all of that. So, he was going to help out whether Mari wanted him to or not. Besides, he had to do something...sitting around all day wasn't very fun, and neither was chess, as much as he enjoyed playing it. It just got old after a while. He didn't want to ask for things to draw with either....paper and pencils could add up in cost, and the only reason he drew so much at the castle was because he could. He could use a hundred prices of paper and it wouldn't matter. He couldn't do that here. Or rather, he certainly didn't want to. But he did want to help out in any way he could.

The girl kind of shooed him off when he followed to help clean up. "No, go sit down," she murmured almost as though she was a little embarrassed that he was trying to help at all... he was her guest, he didn't need to lift a finger. Though, when he just continued to help, she just furrowed her brows and let him do what he wanted. She kind of wished that there was more for the boy to do... if he was ten years younger she would have told him to go play on the streets or something, but alas she couldn't do that. She felt bad that there wasn't much to do... and to be honest she wouldn't mind if he'd rather go back to the castle. But she could try and find something for them to do. At some point, Anthony disappeared with her mother to go to the bakery, but not before stocking up on brownies. They didn't own the place or anything, but her mother managed the place and Anthony liked to go with her to keep the woman company while she looked after it. After they'd finished their washing she looked at the boy with a bit of a frown. "I'm afraid there's not much to do down here... I don't want you getting bored or anything," she murmured with a soft sigh.

Sage just gave the girl a look when she told him to go sit down. They'd already gone over this...he wanted to help. He needed to do something. He wasn't used to not working, or letting others do the work for him. His life hadn't been that way, and while there were plenty of things he wished were different or had been different, there were just as many things he was grateful for. Well, maybe not just as many, but he was grateful for quite a bit. He noticed soon enough that Anthony and their mother left, but he was content enough to do the dishes with Mari. Besides, the mother had barely said a word to him, so she was just sort of a presence that was coming and going. He chuckled slightly and shook his head at the girl's comment once they'd finished though. "It's fine, Mari. I don't mind just sitting and talking or petting the cat," he hummed. "I just want to help out with the chores some. I'm not used to not doing it myself," he admitted somewhat sheepishly. "It's always been the opposite for me, working in the tavern and raising Lizzie and all."

Mari pursed her lips slightly at the boy but shook her head, clearly a little bit doubtful. She wished she'd planned a bit more for the boy... in truth, all she did was sleep and clean the house whenever she came home, she didn't know about anything interesting around the place. "Ah, but talking is boring after a while," she complained after a moment. "I should have planned more for you," she noted quietly before looking towards the small coffee table. "I'd give you some paper or something to draw but Xander is gonna need it," she huffed. "There might be some little clear canvasses or something in my room if you'd like to have a go a painting."

Sage hummed slightly at the girl's comment, cocking his head slightly. "Not when talking entails someone being nice to me," he murmured softly before shrugging. "Don't worry, you were too busy hauling my butt around to worry about that," he noted in a much more amused manner. He cocked his head slightly at her next comment. "If you're sure...I mean, don't you use them," he asked. The girl was more than welcome to join him too, if she so pleased. He felt the cat rub against his leg, so he bent over to scoop the animal up, cooing something to it as it nestled up against him. In reality, he'd do anything. He was already planning on chopping some more firewood for the household...their pile was getting low, and Anthony already worked, so he'd like to do it for them. But...without them knowing, of possible. He wasn't trying to get them to like him in any way, or make a good impression...people could think what they wanted of him and he really didn't care either way. He'd do that later though.

Mari looked at the boy with a bit of doubt when he said he didn't mind talking... that was fine, but the girl didn't have anything interesting to talk to him about... she was really quite boring in that way, she supposed. She wanted to give him something to do. "I use them sometimes but there's enough for a couple of paintings... they can be expensive but I can just muck some from the castle whenever the artists are over," she hummed with a slightly amused chuckle before standing up and making her way towards her room. She heard a slight knock at the door, then saw a young child bouncing up and down and asking if. Xander would go out an play. The girl grinned and looked towards the younger sibling an gestured for him to go before slipping back into her room and reaping with a bag full of paintings... she seemed to rather enjoy paining small animals, because most of them were of squirrels and cats and birds... but there one or two of people, though it was clear that wasn't her strong point. She then handed him a clear canvas no bigger than your hand and gave a small smile. "You can do what you'd like with this," she told him gently.

Sage hummed thoughtfully and then chuckled when the girl admitted she just took some from the castle artists. "Smart," he hummed. He chuckled when Xander ran out to go play, and gave the girl a thankful grin when she handed him the canvas. It was small, but...it was nice. He hadn't seen a clear one before, and it was definitely interesting. He'd enjoy this, he supposed. He wandered off to go sit down, already knowing what he'd paint. He knew he'd recognized her mother somewhere..he's often seen her walking to and from work, back when he ran about the streets. He doubted she'd ever noticed him...he stayed hidden, and never got near her. But that also meant he'd seen her with her husband. And now he was determined to get the painting perfect and give the woman something to remember him by. To remember his likeness. well, for all of them really, but he recognized a hurting heart, and their mother was no exception. He paused for a moment, recalling the man's face, smiling adoringly as he gazed at his wife. They were much younger then, but no doubt she'd recognize him either way. A smile crept on his face as he started to paint, though it quickly fell into a determined expression. This would be perfect.

Mari watched as the boy set off, trying to figure his way around the paint... she had to admit, it wasn't the easiest to work with, but he seemed to be doing just fine. She got to work on cleaning the house up, and about an hour later she wandered over and poked her head over the boy's shoulder, curious as to what he was painting... he was nowhere near done, but even so she recognised the woman in the painting. It was her mother, only she seemed so much younger, and happier for that matter. She couldn't quite recognise the man, though... or she could, it just took a moment or so to register. Her bright smile kind of dulled a little, but the smallest of curves in her lip could still be seen. Almost as though she was in a state of reminiscing. "What are you painting?" She asked gently as she slipped her arms around his waist lightly and rested her chin on his shoulder as she watched him work.

Sage worked for quite some time, though he didn't really know how long he sat there. He leaned his head against the girls slightly to say hello in a sort of way. He chuckled softly and hummed before glancing over at the girl. "A memory," he hummed. "I knew I recognized your mom...I saw her years ago, with your dad." He shrugged slightly and grinned sheepishly. "I figured it would be nice for her..well all of you I guess...to have something where you can see his face," he explained softly, continuing to paint. "I know how much it can hurt to lose someone you love." It took him a bit longer with the paint, that wasn't exactly the greatest quality, but it was good enough for him to work with. He assumed the man had died a while ago...little Xander may not even be able to recall much of a face from memory. So this would be nice. "How long ago did he die," he asked, curious. She didn't have to answer, but he was curious.