[IC] Journey to the East

[Illumin0sity]

Elann spoke in Shiber to him, speaking to his quiet love for her accent. It had lessened as she spoke Common more and more in Syliras but the little twangs in her voice remained. Though it broke up her Fratava in some ways, he found it all endearing and almost cute in the closest way he could define cute for himself. Noah knew his own accent was apparent from Zeltiva, but being in Syliras lessened it. All his life he had been basically speaking the two languages of Fratava and Common. Elann was learning Fratava to mix with her already good knowledge on Common and her masterful technique of Shiber. Noah would soon enough be learning Shiber as well. Already he could infer that any child they would have a masterful grasp of Shiber, Fratava, and Common. Their trilingual family was a pleasant thought in his mind.

“A rarou ona’i,” he said, showing her how to say the phrase in Fratava as well.

As she spoke with closed eyes Noah tilted his head, waiting for the rest of the statement in which she pointed out that only fifteen chimes, at most, had passed between her sending him into his state. The lick of her lips spoke to him and the growing sense of desire with him for her spoke to him as well. The familiarity of the feeling was only pressed on as she kissed him, and him her, in their deep way.

Noah’s hands pulled away from their hold to slide to the opening of her dress, smoothing over her legs and under the dress entirely to tug at the band of her underwear beneath. Now that they were in the tent, away from prying eyes and his sister most of all, he felt more comfortable in having Elann in an intimate way. She had relaxed him, lulled him into a state of comfort, and he had sought to reconcile with her in order to hopefully start a new chapter of their lives together, a new episode of understanding.

In this understanding he fed off her desire and let it fuel his want for her. He thought on the aspects of her which he knew he desired in the night before and turned that desire into arousal. His kiss to her turned a little hungrier and, with him contained and her atop him, the excitement made his trousers tight and uncomfortable. It was the first time since their last time did he actively yearn for the warmth she provided him with before and he urged her all the more to be rid of her smallclothes and him of his pants.

Noah pulled back when they broke their kiss for breath and he met her gaze with his own. “Hurry,” he urged in nearly a whine.

[snelss0]

Her husband reminded her of the phrase in Fravata, one she actually knew fairly well, having learned it among the first words of the language she knew. Him speaking it to her only fortified her remembrance of it and particularly taught her his natural Zeltivan accent. For some reason coming from him it felt more beautiful that her own saying, but she didn't dwell on it the constant skipping of her mind.

She was taken into a single mindset by their kiss, and it plowed away all the small other inconsequential thoughts that had arisen in her over any number of things. It felt warming to feel his soft lips once more in a romantic sincere way. It didn't feel like she had to make up for anything or do anything to impress him; she could just be herself and as he deepened the kiss, sneaking his hands under her dress, and grabbing her underwear, he would feel her legs tense her kiss deepen with his, and a small involuntary whimper come from her as she felt his desire for her.

Where Noah had been the one to be coaxed into a state of pure puddle earlier, she now reveled in the feelings he sent her and he became more insistent in the removal of her items. She slid from him, just enough to take the dress, breastband, and underwear off and she came back to him as he whined in similar fashion for there rapidly approaching desires.

"Lay back," she commanded in a passionate and sultry tone, using the voice he seemed to crave in her affections just moments earlier. She would use it against him in their lovemaking this time. The removal of his pants was somewhat humorous to her, but even that wouldn't distract her from her husband, who for the first time wanted her for her mind, body, and spirit. It felt like that was the case to her. He had come to love her mind, as he had expressed, as well as her spirit in how she did things and what she willed to do with him there, and now there was a desire different in him that urged him toward her. She could only assume it was for her body, and she would soon find out as they came together in love.

He knew the spots she loved, and she him as they moved with a sense of urgency and thrill to be done before the call to pack up came. He would find something different this time as he rose to meet the occasion. She would come closer to him in body and act, as if continuing his sensual experiment with her when he told her to calm and just feel him, and as she did, she continually whispered and spoke nonstop to him in Shiber, expressing her love and desire for him. He may not have been able to understand a word as she spoke with enjoyment and passion, but he would see in her eyes the devoted nature of her words and the enjoyment and praise she gave over the two being together.

[Illumin0sity]

It wasn’t Elann’s body as a whole which brought Noah his arousal, it was what he defined as reminders of home and comfort which did. Her hair, her eyes, and her skin were those things as they each reminded him of the shores Zeltiva was built upon. The true bringer of his excitement for the coming act was the sensual way in which she handled him, how she was loving in her personality and in her voice, how her eyes spoke, and what was really special was her newfound ability to understand him, at least in this moment. His own reconciliation with her added to the melting pot tugging on his libido. Noah couldn’t, and probably wouldn’t, ever find Elann desirable for her body alone, but for a combination of things and the setting played a role as well; he felt safe with her hear, felt as if they had their privacy enough to be quiet in their act, and many other variables. He was an extremely complex creature when it came to intimacy, to trust and lovemaking. These things leading up to lovemaking didn’t need to be perfect per se, mostly because there were aspects about her deemed flawless already.

As commanded, the Kelvic laid back carefully and slowly, letting his pants be slid off and rid from him even though she had helped him into them not a few moments earlier. Though they moved with haste, they were careful of his stitches and wounds, careful to not whelm to the point in which he could harm himself. He cursed them, wanting to partake more in the act as he had done before, but he appreciated the calm and controlled way Elann approached and continued through their bout. She spoke to him in Shiber, drove him on, played on his love for her voice regardless of it being understood or not. The hushed way in which she spoke, the roving movements she performed, they all brought an immense sense of pleasure to him, both in body and in mind.

Noah, per his normal, kept to his pleasurable gasps and quiet moans, and kept to tending to her zones, holding at her waist and smoothing up her front as far as his arm could go without straining. Eventually he was overtaken, grasping at her as his pent up stress was released in the surging rise and fall of peaking before the denouement came in heavy breaths and glazed over eyes. In this falling moment he wanted nothing more than to be in Zeltiva, to have their own home and space in which they could reside in their own way.

Lying on his back still, the Kelvic let his head rest on the ground, his chest filling and emptying as he calmed back into his usual self. His bond had been open, had been teeming with the slow rise of his build up, and Elann could feel the physical and emotional tension within him suddenly snap when he couldn’t take anymore, just as she could each time before. It was in times like these that their bond was a blessing.

Underneath her, the quiet vibrations of his contentment, his pleasure, grew more in his recovery but were quelled soon after by his conscience. Noah took a final filling breath and opened his eyes to her again, gazing up at her naturalness and admiring her from there.

[snelss0]

From what little Elann had seen of her goats as animals, they grew an attraction and desire to be with the females, then the males would fight over the females, and whoever won, would have the sexual rights. Noah had won his female, but perhaps it was eagles that didn't see the unique physical features of the female that made them desirable. Perhaps it was their minds, or perhaps it was something else at play keeping him from desiring her as he had desired the flesh of his previous lover. Whatever it was, Elann translated it to a small desire for her body and self in that moment. Perhaps one day she would be let down again, but in the moment, she knew her husband.

Elann was very gentle with Noah's stitches. The last thing either of them wanted was for him to pop one and undo all the hard progress he had made. Elann, being far more thoughtful could not come to the fine point her husband had come to in the end, but it didn't mean she didn't derive great pleasure from him in her own way. Their minds were attuned in that moment of completion and she wanted nothing more than for their trip to end and to see what awaited them there in town.

His eyes came open finally to meet hers and she gently lowered onto his chest, kissing the bareness that met her and placed her hands at his sides. It was all so he could better hug her without straining his hurt shoulder too badly. She lay there for a good long while, not saying anything but more quiet mutters of her Shiber, in almost a soothing melody, and it showed how easily shiber translated from talking into song. When she was finished talking, she rested quietly, making soft circles in his skin with her fingers until their time came to pack up. Before it though, she would recognize the time was coming to a head and would help him get dressed.

"You should walk around a little while I pack everything up. I'm sure Alena or your sister are out and about playing around. You should visit them before it's time."

Dependent on what he wanted to do, she could see a change in him, and he in her. She was back to her springy, bubbly self that she had been since he met her and in their bond was a strong pull of joy. She would pack things up and get them set into the caravan before most other people and dependent on what he wanted to do, she would be seen on the back edge of the wagon with her feet hanging out by the time it was time to go.

[Illumin0sity]

|

When finding Elann, when bonding to her, Noah wasn’t looking for a mate. He was looking for a companion and actually starting a family was the last thing on his mind. He would not have the mindset until he was somewhere utterly comfortable, had his own space and security, his own ‘nest’ so to speak. He lacked that in Syliras because it was not a place he wanted to be in the end, only being there because it was Elann who drew his interest just as Caesarion had. It was the both of them who pushed for the human want of deriving pleasure from sex, looking to maybe start families when it wasn’t known how long they would be in an area. It wasn’t to say some Kelvic didn’t derive the pleasure for sex that humans did, but some of those Kelvics had been conditioned, and there was one who was even an escort because sex was all she knew. Noah was not one of those Kelvics.

While he had found his mate, he was still approaching the point where he was making sure he would have her forever and was still searching for the place to call his own. Though his father held domain over the wilds of Zeltiva, he couldn’t hold domain in a home that was Noah’s own. It was what Noah sought in Zeltiva. It would be then that he would actively seek to start his own family in the security of the walls that would be his home.

Noah draped one arm around Elann’s back as she came down to him. The fingers played at her side as she sung her gentle Shiber melody. In the time that passed, his hand came to the strands of her hair, smoothing over them again and again until she rose and aided him in getting dressed for the second time. With her help, he put on his pants and fussed with the shirt enough to get it over his head and his arms into the holes. He was hesitating saying he would walk willingly because there had been so little ache in while they resided in the tent, he didn’t want to evoke any with his ambling around. Yet, Elann told him to visit either Alena or his sister and that was motivation enough.

Noah stepped outside the tent and looked over the encampment. There was something he didn’t like about being out and in the open with several strangers able to see him. He was wounded and, though it was paranoid and ignorant, he wouldn’t be able to run away if something were to happen on the slightest off-chance. Quickly, he looked for his sister first and found her residing near the bank of wagons with her arms crossed over her chest. He approached her, eventually catching her attention when he was near enough for her distracted senses to see him coming her way.

“Good afternoon,” she said in a hollow cheery voice to start their Fratava conversation.

“Hello,” he replied, raising his arm to reach out for her.

Aimee took his arm and hooked it into hers, letting him lead their walk parallel to the wagons and towards the edge of the camp as a whole. It didn’t take her sharp nose to smell the various scents on him, to which she looked over to him, examining the male with her eyes.

“You smell like her,” she commented.

“Do I?” he returned, raising his arm to smell the crook of his elbow. “I don’t smell anything really.”

“You reek,” the wolf teased. “I can assume that everything’s all better?”

Noah hummed in uncertainty. “I guess, maybe, I don’t know,” he flip-flopped. “I hope so.”

“So do I. I mean, I know Jocelyn’s going to tear into her. It would’ve been worse if you two weren’t on good terms. You know how she feels about people.” Aimee looked over to him, looking up to the bunched up curls of his hair. She reached across and pulled at them gently, rushing her head through his head of hair briefly.

Noah pursed his lips uneasily. “Donavan’s in Mura, right?”

“Right, so he won’t be there.” She paused. “Are we still having that party for her when we get there?”

“I think so… I don’t really know.” Noah paused too, thinking before he spoke again. “I think we should, it was what she wanted to do in Syliras.”

Aimee hummed uncertainly. “I guess,” she said with a shrug. “Momma’s probably already there setting things up, she did go on ahead after all. Or, she’s letting everyone know we’re coming. I expected her to be back by now, now that I think about it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Noah said to her. “Momma’s fine and is in Zeltiva. It only took six days from when she left. That’s not that long.”

“I suppose.” Aimee looked to the campers as they packed their things, the call for departure coming as they had been talking. “C’mon,” the wolf said, “let’s finish the lap and go back to the wagon.”

They did so. Alena didn’t come up to them, nor did Noah actively search her out. He was conversing with his sister, having a conversation that was much needed in their time together. They hadn’t spoken much in comparison to how often they did speak when they were in one another’s company. The lap didn’t take long but it was cut short because of Noah’s slow pace in comparison to the increasing speed that campers packed up. They came back to the wagon and Aimee helped Noah in before keeping out of the wagon altogether.

“I’m going to walk today,” she said to the both of them, showing Elann a warm smile of possible invitation and giving her brother a parting kiss on the cheek.

[snelss0]

Elann was unknowing of what the two spoke about, but she could clearly see them walking and talking as they slowly ringed the wagons. As they finally made their way back, Elann had finished and was at the edge of the wagon. She helped Aimee get him in, but really since she had been using a stool system the past few days, it had made him much more self sufficient in doing so; much like the pants. Still, one fall and he was done, so both women helped get him up into the back, but mostly it was his doing, and soon, he could do so himself.

Noah's injuries were at one point the talk of the caravan and how horrible it was to happen to sweet Elann and Aimee, now it was just background noise to the loss that people would have to travel with today. As Aimee stated she was going to walk, Elann didn't want to leave Noah, particularly after their activities and especially due to his dream of her leaving him.

While she knew he could likely know the pain and fear was over, minds were never ending machinations sometimes, and could think what they wanted to think, and make you feel like they wanted you to feel. They pulled their feeling and wisdom from the heart, and she knew that despite them having relations, there was still the past between Noah and her residing in his heart.

She had forgiven him, let it go, but he sort of was keeping a tally to see if she was abusing him again, and she was none the wiser. The only thing she knew was that he wasn't sure about his forgiveness of her, so she stayed, coming to the back of the wagon with the flap down to change after Aimee hopped out. After pulling her dress off and other clothing, she went to the trunk to put new on but stopped as she pulled out her embroidered cloth.

"Did you see, I finished this?"

She had not even really displayed that she had to him because the fighting was so fresh at the time, but seeing it there, she wanted to share with him. She didn't know why she didn't before, only that it was hard to share or speak of anything around him by her own fault.

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee rounded the wagon after saying her goodbyes, venturing towards the front with the lead car as they started to move out down the road. Back inside the wagon, Noah settled onto the floor, towards the front of the wagon near the driver, with a pillow to his back as he leaned against the internal frame of the car. He watched Elann close the flap and then strip from her dress and other undergarments. He sat quietly and focused his eyes on the dress she was showing him. He nodded, he had seen her when she finished it, but like her, didn’t comment since their fighting was still a fresh memory, moreso then than now.

“It looks nice,” he said, meaning that.

Noah went to take his shirt off, tucking his good arm into the shirt and then pushing it over his head, letting it slide off the bad arm and hang on his wrist. Turning gingerly, he raised his right arm slightly and looked at the stitches over his ribcage. His hand came over them, delicately going over the skin as to not irritate anything. Then, he pressed on the edge of one of the talon marks which had grown in order to compensate for the shift between his three-foot eagle form and his six-foot human stature. Noah grimaced as he did so and pulled his hand away to look at Elann again.

“You said a few days right?” he asked curiously.

Since they had partially made up and did have their relations the thought of his wounds weren’t as heavy or mentally crippling as they had once been. He held onto the hope he would soon have the stitches out if Elann was confident in herself. It had been a few days since Emery last checked on him or applied any kind of salve or ointment. Noah assumed that was a good sign and looked forward to what Emery said he could do to reduce the scarring. Though they were a natural form of healing, Noah still cared about his appearance. The scars also served as a reminder of his faults in thinking. The scars over his leg were enough to look at every time he was without pants or wore shorts. He didn’t like them.

“Hey,” he said after a moment, “when we get to Zeltiva, my eldest sister may give you a hard time.” It was only a few moments ago he talked to Aimee about the eventual situation, he just hoped that it wouldn’t be as bad as him or his sister believed. “She is really protective of me, so I just want you to know that before we get there since we’re getting closer.” He paused. “I don’t think my father will be much of a problem. He’s just hard to deal with at first. Ryon is… I don’t know how he’ll be. He’s unpredictable sometimes.”

He licked his lips, wondering what Elann was going to say, if anything at all. During their last argument he told her he wasn’t sure how his family would feel about her, and it was true, he wasn’t sure in the slightest. Elann went against a lot of what his family expected in their women, and Noah was the one bringing her home and into their lives. It worried him.

[snelss0]

A grin came on Elann's face as he complimented her garment. She understood something then and quietly put the garment back, folding it back into its place. She then retrieved her clothing and got dressed as he took off his shirt and played with his side.

It was a relief again to feel what he felt, even if it was pain on pain, but there were other things there as well. There were curiosities and various small emotions, but as he picked at the side of his, she could feel a nagging dull ache there on her own side.

She wanted to come next to him as he looked to her again, but she was busy making up the comfortable rolls of the bed for him if he decided the subtle jarring of the wagon's frame proved to be too much eventually. Granted the pillow would help, but nothing like her bed would. Still, she understood why he wanted to sit up. Laying in bed was contrary to his true self.

"Mhmm, maybe less if you keep active, keep eating well, and don't do anything to aggravate your stitches. Just be careful and when you are walking, just be mindful of where you are stepping. It could shorten the time you have to deal with them."

She flopped down the last rug and had made the bed somewhat close to where his knees were so she could lay upon it and gaze up to him, which was where she headed and what she did when she finished.

His "hey" snagged her attention as she was laying down and gave her pause, but upon hearing the subject she continued to lay down. Elann would feel a little bit of sadness, confusion, and longing in her heart at the topic.

"I know. You've said so before," she said peaceably and let out a sigh, "What can I do?" She bit her lip at the subject. "I do want to fit in with them. I just don't know how."

[Illumin0sity]

Noah knew he was doing at least two of the things Elann listed well. She always made sure he was fed and fed well and he never sought to intentionally irritate his stitches. All there was now was he be active but he didn’t like walking around because of how annoying it was to walk at the slow pace. He could be patient with everything but recovery, it seemed, because he yearned to just be free and to fly again, not shuffle around until he was healed. Being grounded was more than annoying and frustrating for him, and the fact they were in the wild only made it worse to deal with. He thought he would be able to enjoy the total freedom of the wilds, to fly and show Elann what it meant to him to be out here in the openness. The fates were stacked against him though and he was to do no such thing.

Noah watched her hesitate to lie down until the fullness of the topic was broached by him. It seemed the emotions she felt weighed her down, forced her to lie in full before sighing out. She questioned him, biting her lip. Noah didn’t know what to tell her. He had been away for three years and could only hope his siblings and father remained the same like Aimee did to a point. Aimee didn’t treat him any differently despite knowing Elann more than any of their other siblings, and he knew he wouldn’t be outcast for his relation with Elann, that was not their way. He hoped since Elann was his bondmate they would be more forgiving but the future remained uncertain.

“I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “Don’t take it personally, okay? They are going to treat you how they treat every person, how they’ll even treat me.”

Going back, Noah knew he was going to be facing a hard time as well. He had been away for so long that if he was going to stay long term he was going to have to reestablish himself in the family’s hierarchy. Because he wanted to be close to his family, even if he had his own home, he would have to deal with the walls put up by Ryon. Donavan was out of the picture, his own place essentially being forfeited and leaving Ryon with a lot of power under their father who only served to rein people in when they were getting out of place. That said, he still didn’t know how it was going to be, all of it up in the air and in the hands of assumptions and fortune.

[snelss0]

Three years was a very long time for a Kelvic in years. One could only imagine how much they had changed for the better or for worse. Elann had no idea what she was getting into, and her husband's revelation didn't help much.

"I don't know what that means, but okay. Are they cruel? Verbally aggressive? Physically aggressive?"

Having a mental picture of what was in front of her could very easily prepare her for what was to come.

"Could you walk me through a day that involves you and your family? Just so I can see?"

She wondered if he could play the parts of his sisters and brothers. The thought piqued Elann's curiosity a little and she delighted in the prospect of perhaps getting to see him act it out.

[Illumin0sity]

When Noah could describe and aid Elann in something he would speak with to the best of his ability. He could talk and explain things well enough when he knew about them or when he was confident in them. In this instance, he was neither confident nor knowledgeable. He wanted everything to be alright and if he was confident in what would happen, he wouldn’t have been this worried. He would’ve just waited for it to happen and dealt with the repercussion after the fact. It was stressful having to consider how Elann would be received and how he, himself, would be received as well. Elann seemingly brought on one bundle of stress after another but he didn’t hold it against her in this regard, she had no idea how his family was and he was failing her in that he couldn’t explain them.

“No!” he urged quietly with a creased brow. “They aren’t cruel or aggressive. They won’t be that way to you. They are just… be careful of your words until they get used to you.”

Noah bit on the inside of his cheek, thinking on Elann’s request. He didn’t really understand the question in the way she wanted him to. He wasn’t going to act out their behaviors, thinking it a disrespect and mockery of them.

“They are kind of apathetic, but it doesn’t mean they don’t care about you,” he assured. “Try to think of them like you did me when we first met.” He shirked his head from side to side in frustration because he couldn’t accurately explain his family to her. It was a light feeling but it was a reason he cursed his inability to formulate his sentences at times.

“I really think Aimee can explain it better than I can,” he admitted. “When she comes back to tonight, we can ask her because I don’t want to give you bad information… Nothing is going to happen to you.” His face softened in assuring her.

“What about our house?” he asked. “Have you thought about what you wanted to do when we get there? Do you still want to see the place me and Aimee talked about or did you want to have our own built?” He showed her a half-smile. “It’s a lot to think about, but I really want you to be comfortable there.”

Noah knew Elann had very little to nothing with her when she came to Syliras. He also knew she was savvy and survivalist enough to figure it out for herself, she was more adept at handling people than he was, but his naturally adaptive mindset let him ease into societies relatively quickly. She was from the unforgiving deserts of Ekytol though, therefore she could survive anywhere as well. It was what they had in common, it was something he admired about her. He figured it was a very uncomfortable few weeks for Elann to become acclimated to Syliras’ lifestyle though between her basic handle of Common and her own familial issues being away from home. He didn’t want that for her in Zeltiva.

[snelss0]

Elann didn't understand how Noah could not know his own family, but at least she felt comforted by his words. She let out a sigh of relief as she settled to lay a hand on his shin. Her chestnut hair fanned out on the blanket she lay on and she seemed to be much more at peace in the heart as he explained.

"Oh, the way you made them sound to me was violent," she grinned to him to show her silliness in thinking such, "or perhaps it was just my own fears nagging me. I'm a fairly shy person. But when I was in the swamps of Kenash, I was going to be eaten by a Dhani who called himself a River God. I fought him and didn't let my fears rule me. I think in the same way, whatever I'll face with your family, I'll handle it, but I just hope they can one day be my new family."

He could tell my her tone of voice that there was sadness in it, and in the bond. She still missed her family and had hoped this would be her new family, one she could be comfortable around. She resolved to talk to Aimee about it a little bit maybe that evening, but wasn't in a hurry. She had a couple weeks yet to find out; plus Isabella would be returning in the next week perhaps.

Noah asked about their house and her thought-filled eyes trailed up to him with a small smile.

"I'll be comfortable in a small or large house. I've never seen Zeltiva, nor lived in a house, so I'm not sure what to expect. I would be okay living in a tent outside the city if you wanted. My preference though...I've thought about it and I know I want a garden. You don't seem like the farming type, but I would love a farm. Other than that, I don't really care. I've thought about decorations and I want it to be a very comfortable home, whether it's a farm, the house you talked about, or even a room at the Inn by your tree. I just can't picture it. It's nothing like I've ever seen I imagine."

Syliras was far from Zeltiva in appearance, and was just one large stone clump of a city with little homes etched into the grey. She had never seen a city like it, as Kenash was mostly plantations (to which she didn't see) and swamp, and her homeland was mostly desert. The only buildings she knew of were the sandstone homes of Yahebah and the temple.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah struggled with putting his thoughts and behaviors of his family members into words. He understood them perfectly, knew them from what he remembered three years in the past, but couldn’t formulate a cohesive sentence enough to tell Elann what to expect from each exact member. He had done the same when she asked about his sister and mother when they were coming to visit. It was hard to explain a world he understood perfectly to Elann when she didn’t understand him entirely, he was supposed to be her glimpse into this new world. It felt like another language, and it was in more ways than one. He hoped for the best and felt as if nothing major would come their way.

He didn’t even believe Ryon or his father would be a large issue. Elann was a female who would have to prove herself just like every other female had to in their home. What the was problem, in Noah’s mind, was going to be his protective sister and her disdain for outsiders.

Noah shook his head a final time at Elann thinking them violent. He wasn’t aiming to scold or chide her for thinking as much, just correct her thinking. “My mother likes you,” he assured. “It’s a good chance that if my mom likes you, my father will like you too. Really, that’s all you have to worry about with them.”

He drew quiet to listen to her tell him about her preferences for a home and what she wanted to do once they reached Zeltiva. He nodded a few times at what she said, imagining Zeltiva as it was in his memory.

“You’ll like it,” he said confidently, then he smiled in humor. “I don’t think we can have a farm, but you can have a garden if you want. There’s not a lot of land for farming. The houses are pretty close together but if you live on the outskirts you can have a bigger yard. I want to live close to the city though for the parades, so we don’t have to walk far.”

Noah paused, drawing a breath in the next moment. “I’m your family,” he said. “Remember when you said that in Syliras?” If they had never chosen to leave for Zeltiva they would still be in Syliras, it would still be the two of them, and they would still be the only things each other had. They would be one another’s family as she had said.

He creased his brows at her in question, canting his head off to the side as his lips played in a small smile of mirthful disbelief. “Why do you want a farm?” he asked. “That seems… random of you.”

[snelss0]

It was a comfort to hear that his mother liked her, more than he knew, and it was because in her mind, Noah was the baby and they were protective of him, and she had certainly done her best to screw everything up. She wondered at how she liked her still and probably thought it was a patient acceptance only because Noah had pledged to her and must have seen something rather than her own like or dislike.

"Okay," she answered kindly and brushed his leg over where the scar once was with her hand as it moved up his crossed legs while she lazily lay there.

She expressed her desire for a home and he didn't think they could have a farm. Really just any plot of land where they could have something large enough to grow corn on would suffice, and that could be anything slightly larger than a personal garden. She would even till something like that. He shared why he wanted to stay near the city and she nodded, having heard about the parades and festivals that happened there from Aimee.

"I remember," she answered him, "If I can have more family than just you, that would make me even more happy, but you are what is most important to me."

She then scooted up a little bit on the rugs so that she could embrace his knee, using his calf as a pillow. Slowly she was inching closer and closer to him, bit by bit.

"I've never had one."

The answer was simple, but as she thought on the reasonings behind it, she took in a breath and let it out.

"We can't really grow much of anything where we lived. Only down near the river mouths or ocean can anything survive, but where I lived, we had to rely on trade and our herding of sheep and goats. I know how to herd, but I've always dreamed of a land of grass, trees, and rivers. The priests say this was me dreaming of Yahal's resting place, but I've seen it in vision, this was Zeltiva I'm sure. Such a land, beautiful and wild could likely grow anything I want to grow and not wither and die. I think I want a farm because I can. It doesn't have to be like the fields of Syliras, just something not much larger than a little herb garden, but perhaps large enough that I can grow a couple rows of corn, a couple of wheat, and just provide for us without having to rely on the markets and spending our hard earned money so much." She chuckled as he had said it was random of her. "I have thought about this a lot it seems."

[Illumin0sity]

Noah couldn’t explain his mother’s reasoning. All the things she tacitly said when around Elann all those times the four them were together spoke enough to Noah to tell him that his mother did like Elann. Perhaps it was a mixture of patience and understanding with humans or perhaps she was waiting for something to happen. Isabella wasn’t exactly trusting of people too quickly and tended to keep people at an arms distance away. She was entrusting Elann with her last child, her youngest child, the child who was still a baby in her eyes. Whether Elann knew it or not, there was a lot of responsibility and trust in that.

Noah did desperately desire to be near the city for the festivals and the parades and overall ease of access to everything else about the core of the city he missed. The problem was, the closer into the city one became, the less space there was between the houses. In some cases, they were packed tightly together, a cobblestone road just outside the small gated front yard. His own family home was something like that. The yard in the back was large enough to house a chicken coop for the chickens which had been eaten, large enough to house a garden now. It was what he wanted though, something like that.

Elann’s answer was simply put and he waited for the reasons to come. They did, and they were random in his opinion. She never spoke about wanting a farm before yet he supposed there was soundness in wanting one if she never had it before. Noah also presumed her want to provide for them without spending their coin was sound as well. He didn’t really care for coin, never really needing it to the point Elann and others seemed to. As it once was, he hunted whenever he was hungry and only bought clothes when necessary. The golden mizas were but little baubles in his eyes, something to be desired because of their glint and glam, not much for their monetary value.

“It seems,” he repeated. “There are farms outside of the city. We could look further away from the city, I guess, if that’s what you want, so you can have space for the things you want to grow.”

Truthfully Noah didn’t see Elann as much of a farmer. He saw her more as the small gardener type, the one to fill their home and patio with vine plants so she could have the green she so desired all around her. It would’ve fit fine with what he had in mind for a home but she wanted more apparently. He reasoned that it didn’t matter much whether they were close to the city or not, regardless of if he wanted to be.

“Whatever you want,” he conceded without hesitation. “If you’re comfortable it’s fine.”

[snelss0]

Elann was different than her husband. The Mizas he saw as toys or things to stare at were the lifeblood of provision. She was raised by a merchant, a leader of his tribe, and that meant that money was constantly on her mind. Few would have been able to save what she did, short of being like Noah, but she did it and in such a short time.

He folded to her and said whatever she wanted was fine. That was the same mentality he didn't want her to have. She looked up to him and said brightly.

"I'm looking forward to seeing this home you and your sister played in regardless of what my idle thoughts have been. The farm to me isn't important. Being with you is and seeing you happy. So maybe when we get there we will find a happy middle ground where both of us are in agreement on where we should live. I am sure the home you had in mind will be nice too."

She nudged a little closer, how half on the bed, half in his lap. He was not giving her the attention she desired from him and so she inched her arms up toward his armpits to tickle him, but moved slowly so he didn't have to react quickly and hurt himself.

[Illumin0sity]

Elann’s reply to his conceding was hopeful and it meant she was willing to give for him too. Noah still didn’t have it in him to broach the fullness of his argument for fear it would erupt into something else again. They were close like this once before in their fights and it would be damaging to their relationship and bond if the closeness was rifted. He didn’t want that, so he conceded. Elann’s reaction was enough to give him a glimmer of hope in getting what he actually desired as well. There wasn’t much telling how he would act if they got a home distant from the city.

“Okay,” he said, looking down as she nestled all the more into his lap below.

Noah slowly shied away from her hand as it encroached up to his armpit. He grabbed it and gave it back to her gently. The look he gave her didn’t speak of amusement but it wasn’t hard either. It was a glance of studying but could’ve been interpreted in anyway. Since she knew him though, and knew his faces, she could tell by the way his eyes moved about her body that he was examining her more than showing any outward sign of offense to her gesture.

In a motion of curiosity, he reached forth and put his fingers meticulously at the crook of her neck, tickling there. The clear shift from serious moodlessness to playfulness came like the changing winds and, like they would whisper across skin, his fingers did the same, drawing a reaction from her as his smile came about amusingly as he moved. Noah bore down all the more in his tickling of her, moving down over her sides and down to her legs, hands slipping towards the insides of her thighs to tickle there as well.

[snelss0]

Elann wanted attention from her husband and had no idea of his thoughts but thought along the lines of life in Zeltiva and the things he had said before. She knew he would one day broach the subject of going to the brothels and gathering places of women, likely wanting to live near his friends who had fun and did such things, but she was not in the mood to fight with him on such things. She had said her peace and he would either consider her in love, or do what he wanted to do. Them talking about the house and their lives in Zeltiva was a warm memory, and she didn't want it to turn sour. She would try to understand things from his perspective, but it would be hard.

She followed Yahal, the god of purity and faithfulness, and nothing about brothels spoke to those attributes. In fact they celebrated impurity and many sailors who would be faithful to their distant wives would be lured to courouse with said women. While Elann didn't think of her husband in doing such things - particularly since he didn't seem to have an attraction to women much (particularly her) - she didn't think he would be going to be unfaithful, merely to have fun. Still, it was a sign of her household being particularly open to said behavior, and she figured that in Zeltiva, even though it was more open and free, some people would find offense with her being a servant of Yahal and not representing purity.

That however was untrue, and as she worked it out in her mind, she knew Noah's eyes saw it as a place of enjoyment, and if she and he both were pure in Yahal's eyes, who were these people to fight them?

Her creeping hand was gently removed and in return she was poked and tickled. At first it was a light series of quiet giggles, and as he persisted at her neck, she scrunched up, batting playfully at his hand. Then he went for the ribs, her position being prime for him to just simply reach down and get them. It was then she fully laughed and squirmed under him. She flipped onto her back, but it didn't help as he persisted on her sides. It would be no wonder if the wagon in front of them or behind them could hear her giggles.

Elann curled into a ball and tightened her ribs, hands flailing to protect herself as she gasped a little for air, and it was then he attacked her ribs. Elann went silent for lack of the ability to formulate laughter because she was laughing so hard, and only because she ended up straightening her legs out and batting his hand away was she able to breathe. Assuming he was done torturing her she looked up to him with pleading eyes, begging him to stop, but they were in mirth and a wave of sleepiness overtook her as she drew very close to passing out. No doubt he himself would have been feeling extremely tingly from the feelings she gave through the bond. Slowly but surely she was able to breathe and little giggles came from her as she looked up at him, somehow having slid back to the bed in its entirety.

[Illumin0sity]

Since their fight it was doubtful he would bring up the topics which added to their fighting in the first place. He had already scratched off the want to even go to brothels for the food and the fun, despite knowing he wouldn’t partake in the actual purpose to the establishment. Noah had voiced he didn’t care about what others thought of him, his family, or Elann, but his bondmate made it clear she did, wanting to show that she embodied the purity she had been conditioned by all her life. It was something he struggled to understand, actually just deciding to leave it as it were than to understand it. He didn’t have a problem with Yahal, just didn’t appreciate nor see him like Elann did.

He followed Zulrav, the god of storms and the winds that fueled them. The winds and storms came as they wanted and left all the same. There was nothing to lock them down where they were, nothing forcing them to do anything. While Elann hadn’t essentially tried to force anything unto Noah, he had already expressed his detachment for Yahal and any other deity that wasn’t Zulrav. If it wasn’t for Zulrav’s attentiveness and appreciation for Noah’s innate abilities, it was doubtful he’d follow any divine entity at all.

Elann curled under his actions and laughed in a way that made her breathless. He drew happiness from it, not just because it was in their bond, but because she was showing it as well. He laughed, not as hard as she, but laughed to show his enjoyment. As she looked to him, her body tense and relaxing when his hands withdrew, he recognized the fatigue within them. In him tickling her, she managed to shy away from him enough to be on the bed she made on him no longer.

Looking at her tiredness and feeling it in their bond made him yawn, his hand coming up to cover it. Looking back at her, these were the quiet moments he enjoyed between them. Before, when they lived in Syliras, it was commonplace for him to be in her home but say nothing at all. She would talk, he would reply, and he wondered if she took it as a sign of him not wanting to talk to her at all. The actuality of it was that he was comfortable enough to even reside in the closed off room with her without being put off or uneased. She had found her way into his comfort zone without realizing it when she cared for him when his leg was afflicted with injury. Seeing her all the time, observing her, it was how he let her in.

“You’re making me tired,” he said plainly, yawning midsentence.

Noah looked at her again, gazed over her body as it lied there on the pallet on the floor of the wagon. The glance was normal for him but there was curiosity stirring in his mind. It compelled him to stand up, using the bench as an aid, and move towards the front of the wagon to their chests. He opened their shared one and dug around inside it, reaching towards the depths of the bottom with his good arm until he got what he was seeking.

Noah pulled out his journal, the one Elann had found when she saw the papers for the song he wrote on Caesarion. He didn’t stop then though, reaching in again to grab a piece of charcoal, something of a pencil. He set that atop the journal, closed the chest, and grabbed both things before moving to retake his spot with the pillow to his back. He sat cross-legged, opened the journal and set it on his knee. Perhaps surprisingly he took the pencil in his left hand, steadying the pad with his right, as his eyes went over to Elann again. He figured she wouldn’t be moving since she appeared quite tired, near the point of sleep already, so he gave her another lingering glance, something enough to take in the full length of her body and the immediate surroundings before he started scratching away at the parchment in the testing scrapes that denoted the framework of a sketch being crafted.

[snelss0]

Noah hadn't bothered much trying to understand or get to know Yahal like Elann tried to for Zulrav. He didn't even follow Zulrav really, he just was aligned with him in a way that it pleased his God and therefore Noah liked him. Noah liked anyone who liked him as long as they weren't annoying or bugged him in some other way, Elann noticed.

"Yeah," she said bluntly with a chuckle as she held her hurt ribs, "That's because you almost made me pass out because I couldn't breathe!" She laughed a little, showing it was all in fun.

Since Elann had gotten dressed, she now wore a white dress with a ribbon across the center. Embroidery lined the bottom edge of the dress in various floral patterns and her shoulders while clothed with the strap and portion that hung over, the part beside the band that held up the dress was see through and lace. It showed off her shoulders with a hint of modesty and the back of the dress lined her upper shoulders. It was a shorter make, one he had seen before and on she called a Zeltivan dress, and she wasn't far off. It rest above her knees and was very springy like her.

Her beautiful green-blue orbs followed him closely as she began to recover from his tickling. She watched as he dug around and finally retrieved his journal. From all perspectives she could see, he was drawing her. There was a flood of warmth and love in her heart because it either meant he desired to draw her because he was bored, or because he thought she looked worthy to draw. She naturally went with the latter, always desiring that he saw beauty in her aside from his fascinations. She wanted to feel as though he was attracted to her, but wasn't sure there was anything there as he began to draw. She searched his bond, but that morning, she knew he still didn't look upon her that way.

She remained staring up at him, not moving an inch as she lay comfortably on the rug, and would remain that way until he was finished, not saying anything to him at all. As she lay there, she was deep in thought, thinking of him, their home-to-be, how their family would one day grow. It all led to her face having a sort of thoughtful beauty to it, but for all she knew, he was drawing her hand. She however would not pose unless asked, and tried to remain as natural as she once was; almost disregarding his presence for the duration.