Sage sort of just let the doctor mess around with him for a bit before the doctor had pulled back and walked out briskly, gesturing for the boy to follow. Sage looked down at Amber, who was in his arms, and made a face at the cat before chuckling to himself and following the old man. "Don't you think this is a bit much," he asked, looking down at the shirt, which had a vneck that was definitely lower than his normal tunic. The doctor snorted and shook his head, rummaging through a bin before holding a small necklace looking thing. "My dad gave me this, and since I don't have any biological children, I'm giving it to you," he hummed, wandering over and clasping it around Sage's neck. It was small, blues and wood colors around a thinish string that was barely long enough for the small arrowhead at the center to rest in the divot between his collar bones. Sage reached up to touch it, a bit surprised at the fact that the doctor was giving it to him. "He gave me a whole speech about when to fight and when to be gentle...but I think you already instinctually understand that," the doctor hummed, turning sage towards the mirror. He looked good ...he could admit that. His hair was still it's usual messy look, but still styled, somehow. And it was casual clothing wise, but yet somehow nice. Amber noticed her reflection in the mirror and pricked her ears, a confused mrrp coming from her throat as she scrambled over to sniff at the reflection. Sage chuckled and turned to thank the doctor, but before he could talk the doctor put his hands on his cheeks and went "I want grandchildren." Sage reddened instantly, sputtering out a kind of response that really made no sense. The doctor chuckled and patted his shoulder lightly. "The gardens are blooming ..find somewhere nice." Sage nodded as the man slipped out of the room...he knew exactly where to go, so he scooped up amber to get it ready.

After a little while, the girl was pretty much done... the other maid sprayed some kind of perfume at her, which made her cough but apparently it was nice... the way she was dressed was kind of casual, but Mari could admit that she did like it, like a lot. She felt good, especially with her hair, which had been cut without any of her permission. It was still very long, but it just looked a bit nicer. The two sat and chatted for a little while, and Mari just kind of explained what happened... really, not much happened at all. The two had just gotten close quite quickly... she was close with everyone in the ward, but it was different with Sage... it was special when she was with him. Like she never wanted the time she was with him to end. Like this morning... it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, even though the two couldn't get any closer if they'd tried. It hadn't even been awkward when the boy had asked her out, she'd just been... happy about it all, she really had. And she felt amazing about everything, she really did. Soon enough, the other maid had gotten up to leave, and wished her good luck, which was a little bit odd but Mari smiled and waved anyway. She soon realised she'd forgotten to ask what time to be there... or where there was. Whatever... Sage would have to come and find her sooner or later.

Sage had spent the next few hours setting up a blankets in a spot of the garden he liked ...it was pretty with everything blooming, and the sunset was cool looking too. He figured dinner and watching the sunset was fine for a first date. He could send Amer to Mari with a note...he had a feeling she'd like the kitten bringing her something on where to meet him. Then he was fully planning on blindfolding the girl until they got to the spot he'd set up. It was mostly surrounded by vines, almost like the cave, except for the spot looking out over the pond, where the sunset would show up. Really, it was the perfect spot for a date...it was his special spot, but he didn't mind sharing it with Mari. Besides, it really was perfect. He was surprised that it wasn't the first place he thought of to have a date at. But whatever. He went back to the castle, and had the doctor write Mari a note to meet him at the northern garden gate before tying it to Amber's collar and sending her to the girls room before slipping off as the cat trotted up to Mari happily.

Mari smiled softly when she saw the door open quietly and the cat was sent through... she gave half an amused chuckle before noticing that the little thing had a note attached to her collar. She cocked her head where she was sitting as the animal jumped up onto her lap and started pawing her for attention. She was a smart little thing, that cat.. she really was. She was very suited to Sage, too... she had the kind of personality that was like she'd already seen what the world had to offer, and was so... relaxed. Well, she supposed she knew that when she picked the little thing up. She smiled softly and stroked her back and gently pried the note from her collar. She read over it quietly, a small smile growing as she did... she was getting more and more exited about this whole situation. It read to meet her at the north gate. She had a feeling that the doctor had helped out a little bit with the note... and she was wondering what he was thinking about all of this. If he approved of, well, her. She looked back to the little cat, and gently picked her up. "Let's go see what that boy has for us, hm?" She hummed lightly before cradling Amber in her arms and quietly walking towards the stated gate. She had a clear bounce in her step, and dropped the cat in her little space in the ward after pressing a light kiss to her nose. Soon enough, she was just in sight on the boy and gave a big grin... he looked good. She thought he did normally, but it was definitely better when he was cleaned up. You could actually see his face, now. "What have you got planned," the girl hummed lightly, really in able to help the grin on her face at this point. "Are you going to tell me or is it a secret," she questioned in an amused tone.

Sage sort of just paced by the gate as he waited for the girl and cat. He was admittedly getting more and more excited and nervous the longer he paced. He felt a big grin form on his face when he saw Mari walking towards him. Amber wasn't there...she must have dropped the animal off in the ward. That was alright...he supposed having the cat there wasn't exactly date material, which was fine with him. He chuckled slightly and held up a small piece of fabric he was planning on using as a blindfold for the girl. "Its a secret," he chirped. "I'll tell you when you can look," he hummed, slipping behind the girl and raising the blindfold to her face. He put his hands on her shoulders to guide her through the garden paths, and stopped her outside the ivy walls before taking the blindfold off. "You can look now," he hummed. "And go in." He pointed to the ivy, which wasn't super thick but thick enough to hide the clearing from view. He was nervous, but excited all the same. Just really nervous....would the girl like it? He certainly hoped so...but would the food be good enough? He'd made a bunt cake, since she's liked it, and some other snacks along with some sandwiches the doctor had helped him make.

Mari gave the boy a kind of nervous look when he showed her the fabric, but eventually smiled and nodded, nervous but obviously excited all the same... she really wanted to find out what he'd had planned, especially at such short notice. She was just excited to spend time with him if she was being honest. And, of course, getting a bit of a pamper from another maid was fun, and the girl had managed to get Mari even more giddy about this whole thing, just by talking about it. She turned and let the boy blindfold her, and she took a few stiff steps before letting him guide her. When he said she could see, she peeked under the blind before slipping it over her head. She looked at the ivy wall before nodding and taking his hand before hesitantly wandering through. When she looked up, she couldn't help the slight hitch in her breath, a little bit surprised by the view... in a very, very good way. The sun was setting over the horizon, making for not only a very cool sky but also an amazingly pretty reflection in the water. She felt her smile grow a little before looking over to the little picnic-like area he had set up... he was definitely right when he said he knew how to make things look good. She was almost completely lost before looking back at the boy with the most stupidly big grin. "It's gorgeous," she told him, not quite sure what else to say. There wasn't really much else she could say... there weren't any words that would give the sight any justice. She wouldn't have cared what the place looked like if she was with him, but this was definitely a nice surprise.

Sage followed the girl into the little area once she'd walked forward into it, feeling his shoulders relax a bit when she looked around, quite obviously in awe of it all. He smiled when she said it was gorgeous and nodded, humming in agreement. "I found this place when I first came here. It's sort of like a mini hideaway, except you and Att and the doctor all know where it's at. Anya might too, but I haven't like...brought her here, so she'd have to learn it from Att," he hummed. "I like to sit here and draw." He shrugged slightly and chuckled almost shyly. "I figured we could eat dinner and watch the sunset...it's cool over the lake...but if you want to do something on top of that I don't mind," he informed the girl, plopping himself down on the blanket he'd spread over part of the clearing. The grass was full and soft, so it was comfortable to sit on the ground, especially on a patch where there was clover too.

Mari nodded to the boy, though she was still busy looking around. She'd never seen anything like it... the lake she took Xander to was pretty, sure, but this was something else. She looked back to Sage when he started to talk, but all she could see was the sun bouncing off him... it was so perfect here. And he was perfect too. He'd put so much into this... the blankets, the food, and the fact he was comfortable enough to bring her here filled her with a certain type of pride, and she'd never be able to quite explain it. She smiled lightly before going to sit down next to the boy. "The sunset is perfect," she hummed lightly as she looked out onto the lake. "How on earth did you find this place... it's pretty out of the way," she mused. She could see why he'd come here, though... it was quiet, and of course gorgeous... especially if you needed a bit of inspiration to draw.

Sage chuckled slightly and shrugged. "I tend to look for the out of the way places. There's a spot back out on the streets where there's a cave and a lake in it with warm water...we'd stay there often in the winter since we didn't have like...coats or shoes or anything." He shrugged slightly and looked back out over the lake. "I tend to look at the places no one else looks," he hummed, nibbling on some fruit pieces that had been cut up. He'd brought out some blankets too, since he wasn't sure how chilly it would get as the sun went down. But it would be warm enough, especially if they hid under a blanket together.

Mari nodded, knowing that definitely sounded like, well, Sage. To look out for things that nobody else would even think about. "That's very... you," the girl hummed as she reached for a couple of bits of fruit. What did people talk about on dates? She didn't have a clue. It wasn't like she could make up some kind of small talk. He already knew her family, so it wasn't like they could talk much about that, and he'd told her a fair bit about his past... so that wasn't really there either. She didn't know... why was this different to whenever they hung out? Maybe it was because they were actually calling it a date now, which was almost scary. "I've never been anywhere like that... the cave, you mentioned," she hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder why it's warm... is it like a spring or something?" She asked curiously.