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An exciting prospect in the form of a letter had been offered to the potion maker and she had taken it without a second thought. The proposition had asked if she would be interested in having a student from a far-off school come to her home for a bit of study to see how a witch of the guild operated a potion store by herself. Layne was under no impression that she was finely aged to the point where she would need to groom an apprentice but the desire to meet someone new and foster a different kind of relationship interested her immensely. Once she had accepted a new letter had come detailing everything she had needed to know along with a bit of extra information given to her by a fellow of the name of Ridel. His addendum mentioned that the academ was of an extremely studios nature and would most likely wear out Layne if she allowed but to be patient with her. Strangely, she could feel a sense of warmth from every other word in the statement. She never imagined instructors or teachers to be very kind or gentle but here it was. After receiving the information she needed, the potion maker moved along with her plans to clean and adjust the place before the arrival of her new student. It hadn't taken long before the day came where she waited at the front of her store wearing a dress of black with a crooked pointed hat on her head for the student. Layne had been told that the student would be escorted to her store from the town and that she had no need to concern herself with that but of course, she had not been given a concrete time. The morning was passing slowly without sight or sound of the student that was supposed to be arriving. Her own impatience got the better of her and she got up to step around the front counter just as a knocking touched the door. Layne blinked and stepped toward the door while smoothing her dress down.

Slowly, she took hold of the door's handle and pulled back before saying with a big smile, "Hello?"

Standing at the entrance was a young feline wearing heavy robes with plum fur and bright amber eyes that seemed to be peering through her rather than at her. The small feline was escorted by a rather large fellow in a coat with a long beak and feathers blacker than any night she had seen. By their side the young feline held a bag of sorts that was nearly half her size. The crow brought up one feathered hand to take hold of a hat and take it off to place it at his chest and bow deeply to her, "Miss Luness?" He said in a sharp and concise voice that sent shivers up her spine.

Layne cleared her throat and inclined her head in return, "That would be me. I uh, I'm assuming that the student there is the one I'm taking care of, Mara?"

The large fellow nodded his head as he rose from his bow, "Yes. I have delivered our dear student to you safely and I assume you will care for her as if she were your own, or perhaps better than your own considering history." Before Layne could question how he knew anything about her history, he pulled a pocket watch from his coat pocket and flicked it open, "There are other things to attend to, so please, be good to our student here and we will remember this favor. Of course...Mara?"

The student by the name of Mara looked up and tilted her head, "Yes?"

In kind, the large avian leaned down and asked, "You will be good for your host?"

A small touch of something like annoyance crossed the student's features with a ticking at the edge of her mouth before she took in a breath and nodded, "Yes, of course, I'll be good. I'm here to learn."

The coated avian raised a brow before something showed up as a smile on his face, "I will trust you but I also meant that you are careful with what you do learn. Your natural curiosity is noted and Miss Luness here understands that after reading our documents. Do not poke your nose in things that are too dangerous for your station or perhaps do so, but do so carefully. Ridel says that we cannot stop you but we will be sure to snip your magic for a bit if you step too out of line. Creativity and curiosity are good but too much can harm you and others."

Mara huffed, "I promise I'll be good and I'll keep to whatever lessons I am instructed with and whatever job I am given. I'm here to learn how to make potions not to learn about the dark arts or some other sort of forbidden art!"

The crow chuckled and rose up before clapping down the ticking clock and stuffing it into his coat pocket, "Good! Save those things for me and my ilk."

Layne and Mara both looked at the avian and said at the same time, "What?"

Again the crow chuckled before taking a step back and bowing, a light breeze passing by both felines before he disappeared in a shroud of black leaving Layne and Mara to watch with curiosities unanswered. Layne was the first to recover before she muttered, "Well, I can't say that I expected to meet a practitioner at that coming from an academy but uh, hey, takes all sorts." She then stepped back and opened the door further, "So...Mara was it?"

Mara opened her mouth as if to say something while she was looking at the spot where the crow had just been before she shook her head and sighed, turning her attention instead to step inside of the potion maker's store while speaking, "Yes, and your name was Miss Luness?"

Layne cleared her throat while she watched the student step inside with bag held at the side, "Layne will do. No need for that type of formality."

The student looked at her for a moment before those sharp amber eyes began to turn on the store instead. From the shelves to the front counter to the flowers on the walls lighting the store itself, the young feline continued to look and look with the same type of fixated gaze until she stopped at the front counter and asked, "You have...A lot here on sale. Do you really make all of this yourself Miss Luness?"

Layne thought about pressing the point again that she would rather not be called by her family name but she supposed that this one would just take a little time before getting accustomed to not being formal. For now, she answered with a smile, "Yes! I've made my own potions for more than a few years now and made them from the forest around me or a close friend who provides prime ingredients. Now, I can take your things to the guest room and show you around a bit."

Mara looked down at the bag and frowned, "I uh...I can carry this myself. Well, I...I actually can't carry it myself."

The potion maker wasn't sure what she meant until she looked closer at the bag and saw that there was a distinct glow around it. Her new student wasn't carrying the thing, she was lifting it with magic. Layne scoffed and stepped around Mara's side to take hold of the bag gingerly, "Here, let me give it a tr--" Cutting off the last bit of her statement was the sudden weight on her arms as the bag struck the floor with a loud thump. Layne winced as she tried to yank it up before she simply used a bit of her own magic to heft it up, "Okay, did you bring your entire wardrobe dear?"

Layne's tease was met with silence as she started walking toward the back of her store to lead Mara toward the guestroom. Not a bit of laughter or a giggle even, except, the response came with as much honesty as Layne could imagine, "No. I mostly brought my own tomes and them some others I use for studying."

The potion maker looked down at the bag she was hefting and could even feel the weight of it underneath the magic she was using to carry it along. What sort of studying required all of that? Wasn't this also considered the student's break? Strangely enough and with a bit of humor, she recalled the portion of the letter telling her that the student might very well wear her out rather than the other way around. Layne had to chuckle at that, shaking her head while she kept on moving, the student frowning behind her in kind. When they arrived at the room, Layne opened the door with one paw while making sure to keep the bag up at her side with a bit of concentration.

She kept the door open and stepped inside while beaming, "And here is your room. Bookshelves that are mostly empty should serve the purpose of uh, helping you store the books in your bag for a bit and you've got a study if you need to ever write something. If you need anything else please let me know."

Mara stepped inside of the room, looking up and then towards the bookshelves and then toward the bed itself. A small smile finally touched her mouth as she spoke, "Thank you. All of this looks serviceable, more than that really. You can leave my bag anywhere here and we can begin working."

Layne blinked, "Working?"

The student looked at Layne and crossed her arms, "Well, yes. That's why I'm here. I'm here to learn how to make potions and run a store and that's what I'll do. I have to admit, I don't know much about your store since Ridel said it would be better to simply go without knowing too much but that is something I can learn right now. The day is still young so there is a lot that I can learn, about this place, about potion making and more I'm sure."

Already Layne could feel worn out just by thinking about even attempting to fulfill the desire of this student to learn. Setting the bag down near the bed, the potion maker took a breath to steady herself and she began, "Okay, so, the store is closed today because I wanted you to get adjusted before we did any of that stuff. Hun, we gotta talk about what type of store I run here and the sorts of customers I bring in. Not only that, but we have two weeks together. We have time to take it easy and learning can come naturally."

Mara looked at the ground at that one, eyes narrowing before she closed them and sighed, allowing her arms to drop and her shoulders to sag a bit, "Okay, okay. One step at a time. I'm sorry Miss Lun--"

Layne took the girl's shoulder gingerly and leaned down so their eyes were meeting, "And call me Layne sweetie. I'm not your master, your instructor or your professor. I'm a countryside witch who just wants to share a bit of know how. Okay?"

The student looked away for a moment before nodding, "Right, Layne. I'm sorry." She then looked directly into the potion maker's gaze with an intense one of her own, "I just want to learn, that's all. I want to see the secrets of magic for myself and use them. I'm a little tense because I've uh, I've been finding out that my methods are a bit too extreme and that I should get along with others better but I can't really stop my fixations. Right now, I'm fixated on trying to figure out potion making and in my mind, this trip is all business so I...I'm having a little trouble relaxing."

Such a chord was struck with Layne's heart! The poor dear was stressing out over nothing, except, it was something so long as it still stressed her out and so Layne squeezed on Mara's shoulder gingerly and purred, "Poor thing! I'll be sure to get you nice and relaxed during this little visit of yours. I'll treat you well, you'll see. Now, just think of relaxing as part of the lessons okay? I'll teach you every little thing and trick I know and by the end of it, you'll be making potions without a problem! If you decide you like it, I'm sure you could be a fine one yourself when you get out of that school."

Mara's cheeks seemed to turn a bit red beneath the fur as she muttered, "I uh...I don't think that'll be the case. I'm impatient and have a tendency to cause a combustion or two with the potions I've tried."

The potion maker giggled, "Everyone starts somewhere! Now...How about I explain what my store is about?"

For a moment, she thought that Mara might decline in the way that her eyes seemed to look away for a few seconds as if considering her options, but instead the student took a seat at the edge of the bed and nodded, "Okay. Information is important to have and I suppose I should know what is expected of me."

Layne hopped onto the bed next to her guest and giggled, "Yup! If you were told nothing of this place except that I make potions then well, maybe they don't know or maybe they just wanted to let you have a bit of a surprise! I deal in potions for all sorts of people. You have your usual salves to heal burns and what not, things that pick you up when you're feeling down and concoctions that can pull you out of a dangerous pinch with a monster! I even sell a little poison on the side but we'll keep that just between ourselves." Mara snorted in response and to Layne that had been enough of a chuckle to warrant a sense of victory. She then continued on, "My store primarily deals in things that people want to use in bed and I often help with providing samples of that to make sure those things work and to build trust with the customers."

"In bed..." Mara said to herself.

The potion maker waited for it, leaning down to plant her elbows on her legs and balance her chin on her open palms. She watched and watched until the young student's eyes grew wide. At that point, Layne giggled, "Yup! A potion store of a sexual nature. I get custom orders here and there for other things but mostly, people come here looking for potions that can make their lives a bit more spicy. That and maybe help them get it up while preventing a pregnancy or two. Knowing that, would you want me to contact your school and get you out of here dear? I don't want you in an uncomfortable spot."

Gears were surely turning in the student's head as she seemed to retreat into her own mind, growing rather quiet with her eyes glued to the floor. She blew out a breath before finally responding quietly, "Would I have to uh...Help with a lot of customers in that way?"

Layne giggled, "Really? Only if you want! I don't want to push you to anything. What you would be helping me with is making those potions, gathering materials and occasionally running the storefront. If you want to help a customer try something or if you want to try something yourself then I certainly wouldn't mind but pushing that on you doesn't seem right."

Mara sighed and leaned back on the bed while clutching the edges, "Well...I think if I'm being honest, I'm more annoyed by the idea of having to talk to customers than uh, doing other things. Sex and the sort are simple enough but actually interacting and establishing connections? That is difficult."

The potion maker nodded her head and sighed, "That it is dear, that it is but you'll at least learn the first part here when talking to customers and establishing connections? Well, look at what we're doing right now."

There was a sparkle of recognition in the younger feline's eyes and she raised her head up with a smile, "Ah...I suppose that is what we're doing. I thought you were just sharing information but...You've been nice and open with me. I uh, I suppose I should communicate a little better."

Layne shrugged, "Eh, maybe? But we've just gotten to know one another and it'll take time. Anyway, I don't think you'll like me much when you see what the uniform is."

Mara blinked, "Uniform? Is uh...What you are wearing now?"

The potion maker chuckled, "Nope! Underwear and long socks. That's about all you need to wear up front."

"What?!" Blurted the student with a cough, "I mean...I suppose if that's what is needed, I guess I could tough it out but I'm not really attractive."

Well, she wasn't going to let that slip. Layne smiled and reached to give the student's cheek a soft pinch, "Listen, dear, while you're here you aren't allowed to put yourself down like that. I'm sure you're perfectly cute underneath all those robes!"

Mara muttered, "Perfectly pudgy."

A firmer pinch earned a squeak from the young student before Layne chuckled, "A little pudge is nothing to be ashamed of and plenty of people including myself enjoy having something to squeeze. Now come on, tell me, surely you've been with someone if you think sex is easier than socializing."

Mara rubbed her cheek once Layne released it and sighed, "Yes...I'm actually with someone and I care for them very much."

"And how would it be if they heard you saying such things about yourself?"

A small smile touched the student's expression, "She'd say the same thing you did except with more teasing."

Layne put an arm around the student and tugged her close, "See! So you already know not to say things like that."

Mara sighed, "I suppose I'll do fine wearing that uniform of yours. More than fine. I'm sure I could even get you more customers too."

The potion maker giggled, "Good! But I was just teasing about the uniform unless you really want to go out there like that! I've done it a few times and it does help the flow."

Again she saw red sprouting beneath the fur of the young feline's cheeks as she pouted, "I'd rather not be teased like that if you can help it but anyway, I'm glad I don't have to show off to a bunch of strangers and glad I don't have to show off to you. I never thought that someone who was supposed to teach me could be such a trickster."

Layne contained laughter and hugged the poor thing close, "I'm sorry dear, forgive me and I'll give you a kiss to make it all better."

Mara huffed, "I'll forgive you but the kiss is unnecessary, as is most of all of our conversation! Now more then ever I feel as if we should be undergoing some sort of lesson, some sort of structure but here we are sitting and talking about our feelings rather than learning anything!"

Laughter again had to be held back but this time Layne did it by taking the flustered student's cheeks and squeezing them gently before tugging her up into a loving kiss. She waited until Mara's shoulders began to sag and her body pushed into the kiss before pulling away and sighing, "There. Is that good enough to tide you over? If not, then know this. I think I know exactly what I want to teach you and to start things off, we'll learn the recipe to taking it easy. Unpack, get settled and I'll think up some simple things to make. Tomorrow is gonna be our first day running the store together so for now, take it easy."

The flustered student remained still against her touch for a few moments before nodding. When Layne let go of her cheeks she muttered, "Thank you...For pushing me to be more patient and I suppose uh, for the kiss as well."

With a smile, the potion maker leaned in to plant another soft little peck on the student's mouth, "Of course! Anything you need, any question you migt have, please feel free to find me. You're free to explore the house and grab anything you'd like from the kitchen. I'll also have proper meals made at some points and find you for those. Now, I'll leave you to getting ready."

Layne got up from where she sat and smoothed her dress out before excusing herself from the room. It would be interesting to see how she could shape this mind and what she could pass along and more than that, it would be wonderful to see if she could become good friends with this far too serious student. The teasing would be fun as well.