Ariel ran a hand over her tied-back hair and laughed with a giddiness. The sun made the gold of her wedding ring stand out in the brief moment. "Well, it has been a very eventful set of years. The opportunity you gave me certainly enabled many things. Both opportunities; the move and...the antidote." Her attention shifted swiftly to Karl. "Now, I do not believe we-"

Ariel's eyes suddenly caught Sabine's arm locked with Karls, as well as a few other details of his description. Karl's poor eyes did not return Ariel's look, but he tried giving a friendly smile. Ariel's mouth closed into a knowing grin. "You must be Karl," she said in the kind of inflecting tone that people use when gossiping. "I've been looking forward to meeting [i]you[/i] after what my dear sister has written to me."

"It's nice to meet you, Ariel," he said, somewhat stilted. He extended a hand that Ariel shook.

Ariel's tone returned to its friendly approach. "You as well, I'm glad that you came! Now, come in, all of you. It looks like you could all do with a cool drink."

Sabine followed Ariel inside with Karl in tow. Janius traded a look with Julan and followed in turn.

"The girls are at the school house presently," Ariel said over her shoulder. "But they finish after lunch, so they should be returning soon. They've been dying to meet you, Sabine."

If the exterior of the shop was different, the interior of the shop was a different world to the previous establishment. One or two pieces of furniture looked similar, but the displays, lighting, paint, and general atmosphere were brighter and cleaner. The scent of various perfumes gave it the character of an apothecary in all the best ways possible. The main floor was dominated by a long counter running across the front of the wall opposite the door, behind which were tall wooden drawers labelled with all sorts of alchemical reagents. Displays around on the customer's side of the room mainly held bottles and jars artfully decorated and filled with cosmetic items. Little paper signs labelled their purposes and offered containers free for sampling. Without thinking too deeply about the composition, it was clear Ariel had laid out the shop to encourage exploring to find and try new products.

"How was your journey?" Ariel asked. She walked behind the counter and poured some pewter cups full of water with slices of some fresh fruits. A weak frost spell ensured the liquid was cool and refreshing. "From the letters I received, it sounds as though times have been getting safer, thanks to your efforts."

The store was currently empty, but Ariel still kept her words veiled for the sake of courtesy.