She started to finger one side of the folded papers she had in her hands as she approached the Stitch in Time. She glanced up at the clouds that covered the warmth from the sun and shivered slightly. Even though the Marketplace was only a short walk, she regretted not grabbing her cloak before leaving. Her pace quickened only slightly as she reached for the door to the shop, and let herself inside.

It had been some time since she had stepped within her friend's shop, as she noticed new items, and others absent. A faint smile appeared on her lips at the memories of prior to the shops opening. It had been far to long since she had spent a good amount of time with either Lydia or Erin, and the thought itself diminshed her smile. The last she had really spoken with Lydia was when Harold got in the middle of things. Though she was still not pleased with the idea, she had told herself that she would wait for Lydia to approach her, that it was not her place.

And instead, time was only lingering on.

With that thought, she started to thread through the various racks and items, already heading for the corner that led to the stairs. She spotted the green-haired elf that was currently in her thoughts, and brought out a smile and held up a finger, indicating she would be a moment, but would come back down and speak with her.

Once she reached the bottoms of the steps, she sighed slightly and started up towards Erin's office. Erin, the friend that held a lifestyle completely different from her own, the friend that opened up her home to her for a good portion of time, and the friend that slept on the floor with her once she bought the new house. She chuckled slightly, remembering dragging Erin down the street to show her new home, only to pass it without recognizing it. Her fingers stilled against the fold of the papers and a hand reached into her pocket to reveal the key that Erin had gave her to her office. She had failed to give her friends situation the attention it deserved. It was a fact that did not settle well within her. Though it was not without reason, it did not change the way she felt.

Awful.

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she moved towards Erin's office. Her footsteps were soundless, though the only faint noise made was her wiping her dampened palm on her pants. There were many things that needed to be asked and shared. She would not lose her friendships because she did not want to make the first move. She wrinkled her nose at the thought, before carefully smoothing out her facial features to look pleasant. She approached Erin's door and gave it a gentle knock with the back of her hand, "Erin? It is Storm."

Erin's cheerful greeting was contagious, and it only brought a bigger smile from her to see Erin at least appearing better than the last time she had seen her, ""Hello Erin, I am glad I caught you here." There was a genuine ring to the tone of her voice as she stepped inside of the office. She did not mind the stacks of papers, as that was usually mirrored within her own office, which brought a brief reminder that she needed to go there later today. But, the quick thought was brushed aside as she went to go sit in the offered seat.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you." She then paused, "Carley?" She asked, her brows coming slightly together as she thought of the.. overly energized elf. "I think I moved too quickly downstairs to see her. I will have to say hello before I leave." She leaned to set down the key Erin had given her, as well as the few folded pieces of paper she had either obtained to kept during Erin's absence on Erin's desk. She did not discuss them though, nor did she hint that within the folded papers was a small gardenia and a note that she had helped Avery write for Erin. The boy was dearly attached to the SME.

The reminder of their little time together brought a brief and almost regretful smile, "Oh, I am well, thank you. I have been in Yransea, Ewan's homeland for the past few days at a harvest festival. It was a nice time away. He and I are to be wed in a few weeks, but we can talk of that later." She added that last part so smoothly, and did not leave enough room for Erin to make a verbal response, though she was sure she would see a facial one, "Avery is doing very well, and sends you his love."

She shifted slightly in her chair, not out of discomfort but maybe more to prepare herself, "How are you, Erin? Really." She added, hoping to make the gentle point to give more than an automatic answer as her grey eyes stayed on her friend's face.

Storm did not mean to take away her friends surprise, but she wanted to make a point of her visit. She wanted to make the point of coming to see how she was doing, and to not come and talk all about herself. Were the times exciting? Absolutely, but, concern for her friend came first. She listened, keeping any immediate facial reactions at bay, something she was learning from Ewan, no doubt. She busied her hands to make her own tea, before leaning back into her own chair, hands curled around the teacup.

She was silent for a moment, organizing her thoughts before looking back to her friend, "Hmm, yes sometimes changes can be a bit messy. But I think the transition from summer to fall to winter is easier than an immediate change. It is not such a shock then." She did not muse over her words, as they were more just thoughts spoken out loud.

"I am sorry that you are having a hard time adjusting, though I think under the circumstances, that is to be expected. I think many of the situations you have gone through recently are not expected when we think of our futures. But, here you are, supporting this place that you were so eager to start. Maybe some dreams are not worth injury, but they simply change as we do." She gently ran her finger over the handle of the teacup as she briefly looked away.

"I am sorry that I was not around more to help. You put much faith in me, and I feel that I did not rise to the situation well." She did not offer the reasons why that had played in her mind earlier; there was little point, "I just hope that you remember that I still try to be what you, or anyone else, need me to be. Perhaps that is where I never learned to react accordingly." She brought the teacup to her lips then.

"I know that Lydia is not great either, and I fear I ruined an opportunity to help quite some time ago. I am hoping I can start to fix that soon." She looked back to Erin then, "I am glad to see that you look much better than the last few times I have seen you. I think the fact that you are here, doing what you like to do, speaks volumes of the inner strength that you have." And there, was a hint of an encouraging smile.

She sipped her tea periodically, keeping any facial reaction that might not have been pleasant at bay. Even if some of her words were right, they still did not settle well within the Air. "I am glad that our friendship is on mutual understanding; I think that is why we get along so well." She offered a faint, lopsided smile at the thought. She finished her tea and set it aside as resisted the urge to sigh at Erin's last words. How could she express her response without pressing ideas and beliefs?

She licked her lips briefly, studying how Erin's eyes casted downwards, "There are many unfortunate and uncommon events that you have gone through, even before you arrived here." She started slowly, hands resting in her lap for now, "If there is anything that I can help you with, please let me know? I think that recognizing things that you might not like will help you step in a more positive direction. Once you have a goal, it is only a matter of the journey then." Though she reached to rest her hand on her arm gently, "Never think that there things about you that cannot be changed. There is nothing that can be changed unless you allow it. If you would like to be a more responsible woman, then perhaps all of your friends should suppose that choice. And if they do not, then maybe they are not really being of any help." She gave Erin's arm an affectionate squeeze.

"I know that you have gone through difficult times, I lived with you through a handful of them. Some might never go away. Experience and time might be something to embrace. I have seen a beautiful, strong and compassionate woman in you. Those characteristics never leave, it all depends if you let them be alive in you or not." She gave a last smile, before releasing her gentle hold on Erin's arm. She had said many honest words, but hopefully, she knew Erin would take them with thought because Storm cared for her.

Storm finished her tea, a faint smile appearing on her lips as she listened to Erin. Perhaps Erin would decide to take a path that Storm could encourage and support. And if she did not, Storm would still do all that she could to help her friend along in the safest way possible.

Once Storm set her teacup down also, she rose, and let laughter escape her lips, "Oh? You have known all along and somehow neglected to tell me?" Her grey hues brightened considerably, "I am glad that you are supportive though, as it would be very difficult to join with one you did not approve of." A friendly wink, before she opened the door so that they could inform the green-haired elf, "But come, let us find Lydia so that I will only have to tell the tale once."

She started back down the stairs, a smile on her face though her thoughts might reflect differently. Is that what people meant when they thought of a joining, eternal happiness? She did not linger more on the thought as she reached the bottom of the steps to find the missing person to their trio.