"I do not think I am hungry at this time," she said, having lost her appetite. Indeed, she was feeling pretty low right at the moment, but this was all still fresh to her. It would take some time for her to get through the things that she had gone through. Nobody could wake up the next morning after a loved one had died and be chipper. It had only been a few months since her mother passed, less than a month before that since her father, and four months since the passing of her betrothed... And just a week ago, the one person who hugged her and told her it would be alright, the one person that gave her a chance at life again had died. Of course it was a hard pill to swallow.

"A walk sounds fine, though," she added quietly. She abandoned the crumbled up pieces of bread, deciding to eat them later even if they were stale or not. The fish stew would be fine for a bit longer after she raked some embers around it.

@Maxim Gautier

Max smiled and stood, clapping his hands and leading her to the door.

”Good girl. Come on,” he said warmly.

The warmth of the Venetian air hit them back in the street by the canal. Max looked around and inhaled the musky, salty air. Reminded him of being at sea. Good times.

He started walking, hands in pockets.

”So. Rose. Tell me something about you that makes you smile. No more upset from the past. Let me see that smile again. What makes you laugh. What do you enjoy?”

@Rose Ambre Cartier

She remained kind of quiet as they walked out of her home. He was trying very hard to keep her from being upset. Was it because he just wasn't sure how to deal with someone in mourning? Or was he genuinely concerned for her feelings? She did not ask, nor even comment on it. It was probably best not to voice that thought aloud.

When asked what she enjoyed doing, she merely shrugged. "I do like when I am learning about plants. There is something cathartic about it." That was probably a boring answer. "I like knowing that I am not entirely useless, that I can do something with my hands besides embroidery."

She canted her head and peered at him, her eyes still kind of puffy but not horribly so.

@Maxim Gautier

Max noted the redness to her eyes, like she wanted to cry, but couldn't let it out. Shouldering so much grief and...what else. Regret?

As the pair walked, Max looked ahead.

"How about we find a garden somewhere. Sit, watch the world go by and you can tell me about plants and point out all the different types. Hm? How about that."

He shot her a grin.

"And maybe you can make me something with your hands. A bracelet, or whatever."

@Rose Ambre Cartier

"A bracelet, eh?" she murmured. Rose did not wish to cry any longer, her eyes were just red from having been teary. Although, he did hit the nail on the head in speculating as to whether she felt regret or not. Guilt was the biggest feeling in the situation, and it made sense since she had been the only one to survive in her family circle when running from the revolution.

As soon as a garden came into view, she nodded over to it and said, "There is one right there."

@Maxim Gautier

Max clapped his hands once at the sight of the public garden.

"Perfect."

It was small, but had a bench big enough for two, framed beneath a large tree. Plants were split in a semi-circle around both sides; oranges, purples and reds. Behind the garden it seemed there was a hotel, or a small piazza of a museum or bistro.

He walked past the tree and around to the bench.

"What a view. These little places really make Venice stand out. A different view around every corner and no two ever the like. Look, a little bistro and hotel one side, the other, a canal and street merchants."

Sitting back, Max folded his arms.

"You get this sometimes in France. Well, you did. A blend of culture where you can sit and reflect on one hand, but enjoy it and savour what’s on offer with the other. Come, sit."

He nodded to the seat beside.

@Rose Ambre Cartier

Back in France, she was under close watch and sitting on the same bench as a young man was not encouraged... Now she had the freedom to choose for herself. She hesitated for a moment, then shifted onto the bench, relaxing some. "Over there are roses," She actually got up to go to the roses in question, touching the blooms with gentle fingers.

"Roses are wonderful, not just because they are beautiful blooms, but for medicinal purposes. For instance, syrup made with roses can help with an array of ailments and boost different things; they can act as something to take away sadness, and they can be used as an aphrodisiac, to name a few things." Now it made sense as to why someone would give another person a rose and why they were highly valued or prized.

She buried her nose into a fully opened bloom, and gave a soft laugh.

@@Maxim Gautier

Max sat back, crossed a leg over the other and folded his arms, smiling as Rose walked to the flowers and explained.

"I did not know that, fascinating!"

He stood and followed and picked one of the flowers and gave it to her.

"Here. A rose for a rose."

He slipped the rose behind her ear, tucking the stem through her hair in an impromptu hair decoration. Then, he looked around at the other flowers.

"What else do you like. Impress me again."

@Rose Ambre Cartier

She tilted her head at him after he tucked the rose into her hair, and she wondered if he was actually impressed or if he was just trying to distract her from her woes for a moment. Either way, she wasn't sure how to react to him putting that flower there. It wasn't like someone just came up and did that all the time, no... Actually... he was probably the first. "Are you sure? I know to some people, the topic of botany and medicine is boring."

She pointed at a Peony and said, "It doesn't bore you to find out that the seeds and roots of the Peony are digestive aids?" Rose had to raise her brow at that. Hell, she was kind of breaking tradition as a woman to just be as learned as she was in that day and age. He would probably figure out that she was as sharp as a tack, and possibly even genius, just by the articulation in her words and the fact she had learned all this stuff in a matter of a few months or so.

@Maxim Gautier

”Botany and medicine is just as important as alcohol and sex to some people.”

He side-glanced to Rose, wishing he’d have said “bread” or “violence” instead. He cleared his throat.

”Look, if that’s what the seeds and roots of a Peony help with, then when I need digestive aid, I’ll be after the seeds and roots of a Peony.”

Max walked around a little in the garden looking around.

”I never had time for this in France, you know? Stopping to admire things, taking stock in what was in front of you? Always too busy trying to look ahead, trying to make sense of things. You do that and you miss what’s in front of you. In this case, the Peony.”

He smiled at the girl, trying to bring her smile forth.

@Rose Ambre Cartier