"The flag is up."
Eraqus blinked and looked up from his desk, having completely missed the young girl entering his study. What had she…ah. He glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall, then over his shoulder, where the bright yellow flag's jaunty position atop the flagpole could be seen through the glass-paned window. The flag only rose when there was a market in town, an opportunity for local and inter-world business and trading that became a sort of festival as the week wore on. As resident Keyblade Master, a revered but rather isolated position on this world, Eraqus would be expected to have a presence there eventually; it was good that his apprentice had noticed. "Thank you, Aqua," he replied, returning his attention to the book he had been perusing. "You may return to your studies."
She paused for quite a while before leaving, long enough to make him wonder if he hadn't missed something. It was one thing to train an apprentice; it was quite another to take in a young girl, to add the responsibility of raising her to that of teaching her the ways of the Keyblade. Eraqus was beginning to see just how large the gaps in his knowledge were in this respect.
He noticed the second time his seven-year-old apprentice entered his study a scant half an hour later. It was still early in the day; the market would barely be set up by now, and Eraqus had yet to give any real thought to the possibility of visiting yet. "What is it, Aqua?"
She glanced down, seemingly embarrassed, as though he'd caught her doing something wrong, before looking back up and meeting his eyes. "When you go down to the market," she started, unsure, "can I come with you?"
All he could do was marvel at his own lack of understanding. Was that the question she'd been so hesitant to ask when she'd informed him of the flag? A favor that small had caused that much of a dilemma?
Mistaking his silence for disapproval, she added, "Please?" as though the additional word would make all the difference.
He couldn't help but smile. It seemed as though he still had quite a bit to learn himself. "Certainly," he replied, marking his page and closing the book before rising to his feet. "In fact, why don't we go now?"
Her bright smile and cheery enthusiasm for the adventure at hand led him to hope that the market – often tedious, if social, business – might be enjoyable today.