Madrigal nodded as Sage gestured to the left. Her mind automatically ran through a list of everything they needed and where she would get what. She observed the arena. It was busy for this time of the morning, but not packed. The guards would still be a little bit tired, but their day had just started so they would be alert enough to catch her stumble. So, she thought, I must not stumble.

Before heading on her way, she turned to Sage. Grabbing his upper arms, she looked him sternly in the face. "Do not get caught. Do not die. Do not leave me alone." She squeezed her hands once and then took a step back. She nodded at him once, and before the foreign feeling in her chest could coil any tighter, she turned and headed into the mess of people. She did not know the boy well, but she wanted to. She liked his company. Hell, he liked him. But she was also scared. Trust, she had once been told, was the first ingredient in a recipe for betrayal. And losing someone she loved hurt a hell of a lot more than just losing someone. That, she knew from experience. Madrigal shook her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts. Now was most definitely not the time for this trainwreck of thought.

Scanning the row of stalls ahead, her mind rearranged the list of things they needed into the order of destination. She'd acquire a bag first. As soon as she thought about it, she saw the perfect one. It was hanging on the outside of a stall, on the end of the hanging wrack. It was made out of leather and thick fabric, the straps sturdy. It was plain- a lot plainer than any of the others on display. It was inconspicuous, and the trader hopefully wouldn't notice it missing until much later. Madrigal waited for him to move inside the stall with a client before making her move. It was swift, and less than a minute later, she was walking away, a strap over her shoulder, the bag under the cloak. From there, she gathered the objects by necessity and size, the smaller things going in pockets, the larger things going in the bag. She spotted the vendor that sold the olives the day before and her mouth immediately started watering. She made her way over, smiling at the lady behind the table, and proceeded to pick three tasting olives from the plate that was offered to her. Madrigal closed her eyes for a moment, reveling in the glorious taste. When the moment was up, she thanked the vendor and left. She had only a handful of items left on her list, but they were the larger and harder items. She needed to snatch them in the chaos she knew Sage's plan would bring.

Sorry, I wrote two replies and each tome my acc timed out when I pressed submit *_* Been really busy at work but here it finally is!!)

As the chaos broke out around her, Madrigal took the opportunity to slink between the stalls to get the last items from her mental list. People argued and scattered, reminding her of the one time she blew on a nest of ants when she was a child. The image filled her mind and Madrigal giggled, and then laughed out loud. She clamped a hand over her mouth and looked around, but the sound went unnoticed by those around her.

On her way back, Madrigal snatched a jar of olives from the stall abandoned by the nice vendor girl. Guilt attempted to claw its way up her spine as Madrigal walked away, but she shook it off. This might be one of the last times she ever had olives, preserved as perfectly as these were. As she reached beneath her cloak to slide the jar into her bag, the ground shook with an explosion. Madrigal lost her grip on the jar, and then there was glass everywhere as she staggered forward, grinding some of the bigger pieces beneath her feet into the cobblestones. She gasped at the sheer disappointment of the olives that were now crushed into the ground by other feet, a strangled cry escaping her lips as she tried to save one. She scrambled forward towards an untouched olive, bumping into the legs of hurried individuals, and grabbed it before someone's show could crush it into the stone. But as she clutched it in her hand, Madrigal realised that she couldn't eat it. It was probably covered in glass splinters, let alone whatever else had made its way to the market floor. A string of curses left her lips at this realisation. Getting up, she marched on to find Sage, the olive still clutched in her hand. Face like thunder, eyes ready to sear into his soul, and her tongue ready to give a good lashing, she stormed up to Sage who was waiting for her at their meeting spot, and threw her olive at his chest.

She opened her mouth to growl at him, but in her anger, nothing came out. Instead, she stormed right past him, bumping his shoulder with hers in a huff.

Madrigal marched the first half of the walk, her anger like a wall between herself and Sage. It was only when her frustration dissapated that she was able begin rationalising. Her mind strayed to Sage, and immediataly, the guilt over her harshness, no, her childishness, crashed over like a wave. She wondered what he must think of her, throwing a tantrum over olives, even if they were the most delicious things she had ever tasted. She threw an olive at him, like... Oh God, her actions weren't so dissimilar to those of his Father's. Madrigal didn't know much about the man, but he'd seen him punch Sage once and that had been enough to know. The poor thing was probably traumatised from his childhood. He probably had things thrown at him all the time, and she'd gone and thrown a damned olive at him. How trivial her anger was. How trivial the whole situation was. They were only olives, after all. Sage was a kind and caring human. A companion, hopefully. Too ashamed to apologise, Madrigal carried her guilt with her until they reached his cottage. She checked for fires(there were none), and then turned to the male, struggling to meet his gaze.

"Look, I'm really sorry for how I behaved. In the moment, I acted unfairly, and I apologise for my childish behaviour. I was just really sad about my olives, which I dropped with the explosion, and I was angry with you because you set it off. But it wasn't your fault, it was just bad luck." Madrigal ran an hand through her hair, looking away. She wasn't good at apologising. Hell, she rarely apologised to anyone, but she knew she needed to now. She had a feeling that it was crucial to the future of their relationship.

Well, the 'tonight' part never happened, but here it is now XD)

Eyes turning slightly misty, Madrigal looked up at Sage. "You got me olives?" She asked hesitantly, her brain taking a moment to click into gear. When it did, she stepped forward and threw her arms around the boy, squeezing gently for a moment before letting go and rushing to rummage around in the packs he'd brought in for the olives.

It took a bit of sorting, but at the sound of glass clinking together, she found a jar. Slowly, savouring the moment, she twisted the lid open and plucked one out, popping it into her mouth. Madrigal moaned, the burst of flavour more than she could have hoped for. She took one more(her last), and then held the jar out for Sage. "These are so good," she groaned, eyes closing to savour the moment.

When Madrigal put the jar back, she made sure to screw the lid back on tightly. She took started sorting through what they had, putting them into piles to sort into different bags. Sage would carry one, and she would carry another, each with an even split of goods in case they got seperated for whatever reason. "Can you check on the meat outside?" Madrigal asked Sage as she began packing the items into the bags.