[IC] Journey to the East

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee waved in thanks to Elann’s encouragement, returning the smile with the same soft one of unease. Elann’s mood was uplifting for the most part but the Kelvic wanted to be broody for a while. It didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate Elann’s kind gestures, she was thankful for them even.

Noah was looking down at the fire, coming to look at the fingers dancing across his bare abdomen and then to Elann as she looked up at him. She beckoned him and he nodded, taking her hand in his hold as they turned towards the road leading to Zeltiva. It was welcome in the night with the winds as gentle and playful as they were. The wilds continued to behave as they did, uncaring in their way for the caravan’s losses. In a way Noah was the same, he felt pity for them because he managed to compare their losses to losing his mother or his sister. His own loss of Elann would be unfathomable, throwing him into something far more drastic than he believed humans were capable of.

They got to the road with relative quiet and he walked slowly while holding her hand, his stark gaze keenly set on the long road ahead of them. He could make out figures crossing it, recognizing them as deer in the clear, fogless night. Barely any clouds were up ahead, the moon shining brightly with the twinkling stars flanking either side of it. He looked up at Leth and took in the luminescence. With his other hand he pointed to it, silently commenting on the interest in his eyes and how it compared to Elann as his dispeller of darkness, a title he hoped she would reclaim entirely.

His sights angled downwards again, not on the road but just above the treetops looking on. “It would take me three days,” he informed. “From here to Zeltiva. I remember this part of the road because I would rest here in the trees.” He licked his lips. “Sometimes when I wanted to be alone I would go far from the city this way, as if I was going to Syliras.”

Noah looked down at his feet as he walked, watching them take their slow steps in the direction. The more he thought about it the more he knew how desperate he was to be back in the skies. He’d been in the wilds with little more than a few short lived flights. He was cooped up longer in Syliras where he didn’t hunt for a long while because Elann drew so much pleasure from cooking for him. He didn’t want to rob her of that satisfaction, letting it fill the void where he often drew enjoyment from hunting and being untamed.

[snelss0]

A parting smile was given to her sister and as her and her husband headed for the road, she walked at his speed, not her own. Elann was a very fast walker, but here with him, it was much more careful and slow, almost romantic to her senses.

He pointed out the moon to her, and raising her eyes to view Leth, she smiled. Her mind had been more focused on his safety, silently praying in her mind to Yahal, and enjoying the winds that blew about her. Though they chilled her, she had learned to take a minor bit of satisfaction in them rather than a hatred for making her cold.

Once she was done focusing on the moon, she let out a happy sigh and smiled up to him. He spoke then about the road and his breaking in flights around this area. Perhaps it was her womanly intuition or perhaps her own past knowledge of him, but she knew what he was thinking, or thought she did.

They had traveled down the road a little bit and were out of immediate sight from the caravan, but she stopped as the words she wanted to say came to her.

"I feel injured in my heart when I think about how you can't fly. I know how much you love it. After all, it is your true self- the eagle."

She pulled his arm carefully so that he would face her more and she brought her hands up to his cool cheeks. Her hands naturally were freezing, but she wasn't trying to warm herself on him. There was intent in her eyes, a subject yet spoken of.

"I know you want to stay near me, but when you are healed, I want you to soar and enjoy yourself. Go to Zeltiva if you want. Fly into the clouds, into the mountains, I don't care, but I want you to get as far away from these blasted wagons as you can and enjoy yourself okay? I think you deserve a little break for how much you've suffered. Aimee and I have been able to play with kids and do all sorts of stuff and you just have been forced to lay there. It breaks my heart...so please, go be the eagle you are for a while."

[Illumin0sity]

Noah came to a stop when Elann did, turning to her when she tugged his arm. He gazed upon her curiously, partly wondering if they were going to turn back. He looked down the road from whence they came and could only see the glow of the orange firelight but couldn’t clearly see the actual encampment though the trees and thicket. He looked back to Elann, the same look of curiosity on his face. What she said before turning him hadn’t been entirely processed yet but was as she continued on there in front of him. She gave him permission to be free and fly far, pointing out she had observed his want to stay near her for the time being and pointing out his near uselessness and very shallow existence since his injury.

There was a subtle look of confliction on his face as he looked in on himself, his gaze falling from Elann to the small patch of ground between them. He looked up again, searching her face for confirmation and the seriousness of her words. Meeting her eyes, he could see the consideration in them and actual want for him to attain what he wished for. He was brightened by her words, the look of lingering grayness lifting enough for him to nod once and then a few times in quick succession. The edges of his lips curled in a grateful smile, it was small but communicated the new light in his eyes.

Noah grabbed one of her chilled hands and placed his lips on the knuckles, kissing it before taking the other and setting them around his waist as he stepped into her, his arms coming around her for an embrace. It was a firm hold filled with his own thankfulness for her and it warmed his already heated being. After a moment, a long one, he released her to bend down enough to place a kiss at the top of her head.

He looked back down the way towards the encampment. Noah took ahold of Elann’s hand and nodded in the opposite direction, expressing his want to go a little further still from the camp before turning back. Her words had instilled a new sense of determination in him to do what he could to aid his healing along so he could be as far away from the wagons. The trust he still had in her words showed here and he trusted her to stick to what she said in encouraging him to be away and airborne again.

[snelss0]

It wasn't the first time she had suggested the idea of him going and being with Zulrav on the air and being one with his true self. She had pressed so hard for him to be human, she had been pressing to show him that she did love the true self of him, but it seemed that each time she had mentioned it, it was not taken as it was now. She stood firm as he turned his gaze to her, showing her intent and love for him. She was purely serious and there was no lie, no trying to suggest this to make him feel better. She really wanted him to do what he loved because she loved him.

It seemed he was grateful and she took it as a sign he would, but in her mind she knew he had not said he would; she could only hope. He took up her hand and she curled her fingers as he kissed her knuckles. Whenever he was romantic, she swooned, and his firm embrace made her all the more. She was immediately clothed in his warm embrace, though not as warm as if he were wearing a shirt, but it was better than her own chilled self.

She curled into him, enjoying the warmth and it was only after a long period of time did he let her go. Elann's eyes closed as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and where she was once cool to the touch, she warmed from head to toe. They pulled apart and he took up her hand once more. She didn't know what had driven him to silence, but she understood. He meant to walk further down the road.

The more they went, the more nervous Elann grew until she voiced, "I don't want to get too far from the caravan, love. Lets walk back a bit, and if you want to walk some more, we can turn around again."

[Illumin0sity]

Noah led them a little further down the road until Elann stopped him, her growing nervousness giving cause for him to slow until she voiced her want to return to the camp. Noah looked to the sky and didn’t feel warning in the winds, thus he didn’t feel any incoming danger. He looked down to Elann before folding and turning to backtrack down the road towards the camp. The firelight grew brighter as they got closer and the whispers of conversation were heard on over the wind. Noah saw the cook and Aimee conversing idly as whatever was in the pot was stewing over the firepit. It seemed they were getting ready to serve what was on the menu that evening, which seemed to just consist of a hearty soup with chunks of meat in it.

Once the camp was within full sight Noah decided he wanted to return to their tent, nodding in that direction and not turning for another lap on the road. The smell of what was cooking was in the air and was pulling him to rest so he could eat since he hadn’t eaten since that morning. The turf turned from well-worn road to cool grass under his feet. He padded on slowly at his pace until the warmth of the fire was felt on his bare skin. As they reached the fire the dinner bell went off, the cook’s voice sounding through the quiet air to tell those gathered to come and grab their meals. Aimee remained by the man’s side acting as a server for the children.

Noah stood by the fire, looking to Elann because at this point he expected her to already be off fetching food for the both of them. Any of his attempts to be self-sufficient in that regard were met by her telling him that she enjoyed serving him. It did make him feel awkward because of the backwardness in comparison to how his family’s household was, where the act of self-preservation was in making sure the women and children were tended to first because it was them who carried on the memory of the men.

[snelss0]

It was strange that Noah looked to the sky when she asked of him to stop, but he did, and more than that, he listened any turned back. It was much more comforting to see the coming fire grow larger as they approached and Elann's nervousness faded away.

Elann saw the cook and Aimee, and hugged about her husband's side, she wished he was able to go hunt with his sister once more. It had been far too long. She hadn't broached the subject, but she was unsure of whether or not she could go hunting again. Whether it was a form of ptsd or not, the images of the roaring bears, the helplessness of the situation, and the blood shattering explosion of the bear's face as it pounced at her still flashed from time to time in her mind. On top of all that was her inability to help her husband in any way. Him bleeding into her hands as she carried him back. All of it was horrible for her, despite the comfort of Yahal and Zulrav's presences.

It felt good to be in nature again with him and to not have something go wrong. As the dinner bell rang, Noah would feel her slide from him steadily.

"Stay here, I'll get it."

Much to his expectations, she zipped off to ensure he had enough food. She herself got a smaller bowl of food for herself so there wouldn't be as much leftovers for him. His enforcement of making her eat a bit more had made her a bit more cautious in piling the food on. She brought her bowl back along with his after patiently waiting in line, and he would see his had a nice serving on it and hers only filled about half the bowl. Granted, compared to the normal 1/4th of a bowl she would eat, the amount was more than normal, but less than what she usually had for him.

She ate in silence at his side for the most part, only commenting how Aimee's food was getting better, if it wasn't just the cook who made it. Perhaps Elann's lessons before had helped her to understand to use her nose in smelling the food and how it would taste better? Either way, Elann thought it was delicious and especially enjoyed the potatoes more than the meat. In the end, she only ate 1/4th of her bowl, and the remaining 1/4th was all meat and if he wanted it, she would give it to Noah.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah stood as Elann excused herself to fetch their dinner. The few people around the fire gave him brief looks and he gave them placid looks in return. He yawned tiredly before moving closer to the opening of him and Elann’s tent, slowly easing down to sit there with his legs stretched out in front of him. Elann and Aimee didn’t set the tent up too far from the main fire everyone was lingering around, leaving him much to be desired in terms of isolation. He had seen Emery the doctor and his family, little Alena too, but the adults were clinging to their daughter in a way that didn’t give them any time to socialize. It had graced Noah’s mind to approach them but he decided against it, unsure how he would have been received.

With Elann away the curiosity to poke at his wound came again and he did so, letting his hands fall back onto his lap idly. He played with the grass between his spread legs, plucking and feeling at the strands, dark green in the moonlight. After a moment he pretended the grass was the warm beaches of Zeltiva, the sand being coarse and grainy between his fingers and under the nails. He felt the imaginary warmth of the beaming sun on his bare body and the radiating warmth from the hot sand underneath where he sat.

His daydreaming was dismissed as Elann came, finding him at the tent as opposed to around the fire with everyone else. He took his bowl in hand and brought the brim to his lips, tipping it back to drink the thick broth before dipping his spoon in to scoop up the chunks of meat and potatoes. He ate quietly with Elann as well, humming in agreement to her assumption on Aimee’s cooking. Noah was unknowledgeable as to if Aimee actually cooked this meal or if she was just acting as an assistant to the cook. As he scooped and chewed with a slow rhythm he was looking around the camp and into the thicket off to the flanks. The tree cover wasn’t as thick as their previous encampments, probably see the guards could see any approaching persons with clarity. Noah also noticed the guards were more alert than he had previously observed them to be.

In time his attention shifted to Elann, watching her go through her own motions of eating, following her spoon as it dipped into the bowl then rose to her mouth. Noah’s attention shifted wholly to her after he was done eating, partly waiting for her to be done as well and partly just to satisfy his own fleeting curiosity. As she slowed in her telltale signs of finishing, Noah brought his spoon over into her bowl and scooped up a chunk of the meat, bringing it to his mouth. He hummed to denote its tastiness but also to grab Elann’s attention if it had been elsewhere.

Though he was still chewing, holding food in his mouth, his cheeks were tugged in the way to denote his smile. He brought his tongue over his lips then leaned in on her, placing a quick succession of kisses onto her cheek, each one accompanied with the sharp noise kisses made.

[snelss0]

Elann could feel him staring, but was too preoccupied to take note of his feeling his wound at his side. Though she felt it through sharing pain, she likely dismissed it as his normal movement. He was not longer near the fire, and her very observant eyes were able to socially pick him out of a crowd easily. While she could not see anything naturewise, she was very attentive to patterns of clothing and the presence of her husband.

She found him quickly after retrieving the bowls and came beside him. As the fullness of the food began to take her a few bites in, she eventually stopped. She flopped slightly to show she was done and he scooped out of her bowl. Tingles of happiness were coming from her as she sat there, passively looking toward the fire. The blaze had caught her eyes once her food was done, and she subconsciously just held the bowl for him to take from. The happiness showed though that when his spoon took from her bowl, it was what had made her happy.

She glanced up to him to see his chewing smile and she returned one of her own, only to see him lean in and smooch her cheek repeatedly. A small giggle came from her as she curled toward her shoulder, but it was clear from her bond that she loved it. Her eyes then rose to meet his, a sly suspicious look on her face. It wasn't very like him to often show her silly affection, but whenever he did, she loved it, so she was looking to see if he had a reason besides just loving her.

In her sly gaze, with eyelids slightly shut more than normal, she grinned.

"Eat your food," she said with a playful tone, holding the bowl more toward him, but inside there was the tiniest hint of desire.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah swallowed as she giggled. She had made him a happy Kelvic over the last day with her words and promises, along with the way she was behaving in conjunction with what she had been saying. The trust Noah still harbored for her had been drawn upon in order to get him to believe she would adapt to him in this new mindset just as he would continue to adapt to her. Considering, because she was his bondmate, there wouldn’t be a point in which he wouldn’t trust her at all. Even if his own personal trust of her faded, the passive amount of faith instilled in the bond would remain as a silver glimmer of hope regardless of how dark it was.

The happiness she brought to him over the past hours was enough to provoke him into affectionate displays. Noah liked to be affection to Elann after initially practicing what he saw of other couples with her: the hand holding, kisses on the cheeks, and lingering hugs. The reactions he brought out of her because of his actions were enough to make him want to do it more, her reactions brought him joy similar to the way she liked to provide for him and drew joy from that. Her reaction to his kisses, the giggle, was what he was looking to bring out of her and what was he got, so he smiled after swallowing, chuckling with a closed mouth.

Noah raised his bowl in reply to her playful tone, tilting it to allow her to gaze into the empty bottom. Even the thick broth had been drained by the Kelvic. “I ate my food,” he said in his own devious way. “Now,” he went on, bringing his spoon to dip into her bowl, “I’m eating yours.”

He flashed her a mischievous smile that parted for the spoon holding another chunk of the meat in her bowl. He bit down on it, letting out another dramatic hum of deliciousness. His eyes were the opposite of hers, large and opened with the brows raised in clear playfulness. He licked his lips as he chewed, gazing over to her with his lit up face.

[snelss0]

Another giggle came from the Benshira as he dipped his spoon into her bowl and stated he was eating hers. It was restorative how the two of them were getting along, and Elann had almost all but forgiven him and forgotten about her past failures, instead focusing on future successes. She hoped that the bond between them would become even stronger than Lanna's and his mother's bond. Only time would tell.

"Well hurry up..." she stated in her own devious way after his mischievous smile came over him. She inched the bowl closer still and head tilt to the side. A brilliant smile and twinkle came to her eye from the fire as she opened them to him, almost tempting him with her eyes, her smile, and the bowl.

It was hard to believe sometimes that her husband didn't seek out her physical qualities. It was hard for Elann to get over, but she knew he loved her and did find things about her attractive in an different sort of way. She could be bare before him and he would stare at the shimmer of her eyes instead of her body. She chalked it up to the fact that perhaps her beauty was not so great in his eyes. It wasn't that hard to see. She had always been quiet among the tents of her father, and if he were not chief, she would likely not have been married off. She was too skinny and though beautiful, Elann had a poor self worth of herself; her husband's lack of physical appeal only cemented that image.

Still, it was enough for her in that moment to know that he loved her and brought to their relationship a wonderful dynamic of playfulness and young love. Elann with her bowl inched closer to him, not particularly attempting to tempt him, though not avoiding it either. She was just enamored by him and wanted to be closer. All she wanted to do was to be held by him again, but she knew whatever else happened, the last thing she would want was for them to go to be apart from each other.

As the last of the meal was taken, she would take his bowl and set it down on the ground with the other and would turn back to him with a big grin on her face and adoration in her bond.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah set his bowl down into the space between is thighs as she hurried him along, shimming closer to him with the bowl. He gladly hurried, drawing into a state of quiet concentration as he went on to continuously scoop from the bowl until it was empty. Afterwards, he took it from her hands and brought it to his lips, draining the last of the broth from it. He set it down into the other bowl on the ground then brought them both up for Elann to take ahold of. He watched her put them off to the side then look back at him with her grin.

Noah wasn’t entirely ignorant to the plight Elann had with herself and her own image, the gravity of which, however, he remained oblivious to. At one point in their past she seemed to be set on getting him to desire and yearn for body as it was. It wasn’t beyond Noah’s capabilities to believe she was seeking some form of recognition or gratification. What was bizarre about it was that he and his family were quite proud of their image, taking care of it and only becoming self-conscious when they weren’t appearing as if they were perfectly healthy. Elann’s asking of him was odd because it went against the preconceived image on the body he already possessed.

Noah was staunchly set in enjoying how he looked because, as much as he could ask for another body or be like someone else, he ultimately couldn’t. It was a wish made up of wasted breath and he had been reared to be proud of himself, most importantly because he was a predator and at the top of the food chain. He was the one to be adored and feared, not the one to fear and adore. All that in mind, he was melded to recognize his own handsomeness in a way. That added to the reason why he hardly ever cared what others thought of him, his self-image was concrete, only shaky if he doubted it himself, or, by extension now, if Elann doubted it. Noah wanted Elann to share that strength in self-image but was unable to translate the convoluted thought into easily understood words.

Noah met her gaze and grin with a tilt of his head. His smile wasn’t prevalent any longer but the curiosity in his eyes was loud. Inside he was still whispering in his happiness and enjoyment of the situation and it could be felt if Elann sought out the feelings in their bond, the ones mixing with his overshadowed discomfort from the stitches and wounds.

“What are you looking at?” he asked, face cracking into a smile as he rose his hand to poke at her nose gently.

[snelss0]

The wounds had all but been forgotten as Elann had gone through sore and sharp pain quite often, even severe in the case of her hand, so while it at first was hard to deal with when it suddenly came on, it was all but ignored in the present moment. Her present thoughts were on her subconscious insecurities and admiring his bodily form before her. She too saw him as a handsome man. As he asked her what she was looking at, she squinted to the nose poking and then delight filled her.

"I thought that much was obvious. I'm looking at you," she said in a loving way, full of appreciation. "You are a handsome man. I've not known someone more good looking than you."

It was the truth, and she honestly didn't expect her husband to one day be someone so attractive to her senses. Like an animal who the male had danced before her, she had seen him as worthy in his physicality, mentality, and personality; all the moreso recently and it was felt in her bond.

Slowly she rose, looking away from him toward the fire briefly as she got on her hands and knees. With a little crawl, she closed the distance between them and lounged her upper half across his lap so she could look up at him. She laid partially on her side, but mostly on her back facing toward him and there she began to play with the skin of his chest and shoulders with her fingers - that surprisingly were warmed by the hot bowl - instead of the cold icicles they normally were.

"I've lived my whole life in a tent and in Syliras. But on this journey...I've really loved just being out in nature like this with you. I didn't like being cramped up in that apartment day after day."

With that she happy sighed and reached up to brush at his cheek lightly with her thumb as her other hand lay across her belly.

[Illumin0sity]

Elann’s admiration of him served to further cement his own positive image of himself. There was an ego there in him though it wasn’t loud and boasting. It was self-appreciation spurred on by the appreciation of his partner. Her compliments made his smile remain, softening in a shy way as if he didn’t want his own handsomeness to be pointed out. It wasn’t known to him until she said as much that she appreciated his qualities as a man and not just as a person, she was attracted to him in the way man and woman were attracted to one another, what made the brothels in Zeltiva as successful as they were, what made it so that the women of said brothels sought to encourage him up the stairs to their private rooms.

In his shyness he looked away from her towards the fire a little bit before she did. Noah looked back at her as she was pulling away to come back and crawl towards him to lie over his lap. He watched her fingers go over the skin of his chest and shoulder, eyes trailing down her arms to eventually land on her face. His head canted to one side as she spoke on nature, his gaze showing his devout attention on her as she spoke.

“Really?” he questioned. “You certainly seemed like you did; you rarely left often.”

To Noah, it was clear she was more a homebody kind of person, someone who liked to be within their own space while rarely leaving. Noah liked having his own space as well, even away from her at times, but his curiosity begged to be satisfied, often causing him to leave the comfort of his home – before he met her – and venture out into Syliras. It was partly why he chose the job in Syliras he did, as a courier. He was a flyer and had to divulge his Kelvic nature in order to secure the job after quitting the one he had as a dockworker. Being a courier meant he was able to constantly see the world, even if it was the same thing every day, he was always on the move. A dockworker didn’t have the luxury in loading and unloading ships day in and out.

“Was it the city?” he inquired. “Did you stay inside because of the city… the guards and the walls? I didn’t like them but I didn’t like staying inside all the time either.”

Noah took up the hand near his face and held it over his heart, gazing down at her still.

[snelss0]

With her hand in his over his heart, she took in a deep breath and lay back into her hair that rest on his leg. She averted her gaze a moment to think and squinted as she reached for why exactly she didn't leave.

"I'd say I'm comfortable inside, sure, but this has given me such an appreciation for being outside that I kind of don't really like being inside so much anymore. It all started when we went hunting for the first time. Where before, I feared the walls, guards, and throngs of people, now I kind of dislike them. Not that I don't like the people mind you, but I just like this...looking up and seeing the stars, just being with you, seeing the moon and hearing the sounds of nature. It can be very quiet in a tent, and very...gross...in syliras. Here the air is like home, clean and fresh, and I don't have to be apart from it."

Thoughts of the terrors of nature obviously were far from her at the moment as she sought his comfort and thankful so, as the roaring bears, giant river gods, vicious birds, and raiding bandits were more than her simple mind could take. He was her comfort, and if they were not on good terms, it destroyed her. Slowly her heart was having a chance to heal itself from the trials they had been through, the loss of her parents, and the traumatizing events that had taken place.

The chill of the night air had yet to set in, but it was drawing close as the temperature was dropping. Should it have been summer, the time would linger where it would stay warm into night, but as it was, it was dropping below freezing this night, just enough to frost the grass. Elann could feel it already, being hypersensitive to the cold; but in his arms, she felt much warmer than she would have otherwise.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah listened to Elann as she explained her change of mind and thought process surrounding it; how she admitted to being more comfortable inside like most humans, how it started to change after they went hunting for the first time, and how she was starting to dislike the things she once feared. She pointed out the stars and he looked up, noting the relative clearness of the skies and how the bright balls of light twinkled down from the midnight blue sky. It was odd to have all he just considered normal be pointed out in appreciation by her, who once showed her dislike and failure to understand all that was around them now.

He looked back down at her with a soft expression of understanding, sights flicking upwards at the fire as some of the people shifted and moved. Noah looked off into the woods then, the other hand rising to pull at one of the larger curls in his hair. He appreciated her newfound sense of acknowledgement for the wild around them but he noticed her lack of welcoming all of it, even the facets and animals who often wished what humans believed was harm. It was just a pattern of survival in Noah’s mind, it was why he bore no ill feelings for the now dead falcon that attacked him, it was just defending its territory much in the same way Noah would defend his own once upon a time.

The night was waning on and it was getting cooler out still, the frigidness of the latest winter was still lingering in the night out here. A breeze came through, moodless and only carrying cold air up from Syliras. The breeze hit him and caused goosebumps to rise up on his side and send a tiny tremor of freezing through his body. Noah brought her hand up to his face again, pressing his cheek into her palm. His attention went up to the fire, the firelight flickering in the middle of his eyes, as he observed Aimee and the cook serve the last of the few campers who were sluggish in getting their meals.

“Can you tell me about your people’s wedding parties again?” They were getting closer to Zeltiva every day and the supposed party had been broached by his sister, reminding him of it because he had nearly forgotten amidst all the conflict between him and his bondmate.

[snelss0]

"Sure," she voiced after he had looked down to give her an expression of understanding. In the earliest stages of their relationship as friends, she had come to be irritated with his silence, but now she was seeing it as a form of communication in itself. It had made her feel bad before, realizing this, but now she had moved on and enjoyed his silent behavior.

She pressed her palm to his cheek and took in a breath as she thought.

"Weddings in my land are huge events. They are a matter of survival and are a matter of great importance to both families. We read the stars for compatibility in our matches, ask the Gods for wisdom in our choices, and lay out great wealth to ensure weddings are as perfect as possible. Most girls dream of the day they are married and can provide more for their family. Most of it comes down to money exchanging hands between the parents, but occasionally people marry for love too. Once the parents have sat down and discussed with the groom's parents, they come to an agreement after a lengthy interview. Once money changes hands from the bride's family to the groom's, the two are betrothed."

"After that time, the woman is purified and the man begins his journey in the desert, seeking after Yahal. The guests for the party start to arrive at that time before the wedding and the bride greets them. They can arrive up to a week early, which usually betrothal is a week before the wedding. If the husband's journey to find Yahal is under a week, he too will greet guests as they arrive, but the bride will not see the groom from betrothal day until the wedding."

As the wedding party is being set up by the groom's parents, it is customary for the bride and groom to be sat on a throne. At the actual ceremony, the bride greets all the guests who show up from the throne and the groom is surrounded by those who have arrived, who then sing to him. At that point, a clay pot is shattered by the bride's mother, which symbolizes a showing of commitment-- just as a pot can't be repaired, so too a broken relationship can never fully be repaired."

"Next comes the veiling of the bride by the groom and his family. This shows his commitment to cloth and protect his wife. The couple is married in the center of the group of people instead of at the front like our wedding, and shows unconditional hospitality to others in our lives and is always held outside unless you are a priest."

"The bride then circles the man in a single ring to show unity and that she is figuratively building a wall or hedge of protection around her husband, then the bride sits next to the groom on his right hand side. The officiant then says some words and blesses us. Then he brings two cups of wine to us. The first one we are taught by the officiant our responsibilities to one another and we drink the first cup in understanding, the second we are led in prayer to Yahal for purity and faithfulness, and we drink to understand to that."

"Next is the giving of the mangalasutra, and in clear view of witnesses, declares his vows to the bride, places it on her head, and at this point, they are married. Then comes a reading of the Penita Scrolls, showing why this bond is sacred. A document is made, showing two witnesses have stood up with the couple in legal binding contract, and it is beautifully and artistically made on a piece of hide and given to the couple. A second copy is given and written on a scroll that is delivered to the temple in Yahebah for census reasons.

Next is a customary dance the bride performs around her husband's throne as she and everyone sing. The couple is then escorted to a hall where a meal, designed to bring joy is. There is music, dancing, and much celebrating with feats of acrobatics, juggling, and wooden swordplay. After the meal, we are given another lesson in the Penita scrolls on devotion to each other and how to do right by each other in our bond, and then the festivity ends by sending the groom to be with his wife on their wedding night."

"The feast itself consists of all kinds of local foods, wine from different areas, and lots of flower petals spread over the floor."

Elann knew it was a lot to take in, so her explanation was slow, and her hand would drift to his chest to lightly play at it to keep his attention as she explained. Focus wasn't his problem. Noah wanted to know what the wedding party was like. It was the whole thing, and that explained it all to him. It showed how much she sacrificed to marry him and what she had set aside from her customs for him. She figured he would think them silly, but to her, they meant a lot.

"Are you asking because of the party coming up? You know I don't require anything like that...Just a celebration with some food and drink is fine."

[Illumin0sity]

The hand in Noah’s hair came down and rested over Elann’s tummy, remaining there as she started on her explanation on her people’s wedding traditions. Bits and pieces were explained to him in the past before when they were friends, little lessons given by her to him. This was the lengthiest explanation he got since they were arranging their own marriage. It was a lot to take in but Noah’s attention didn’t waver, partially due to Elann’s hand moving about over his torso, but mostly because she was answering a question he wanted to know the full answer to.

The traditions were odd and silly to him, that didn’t show on his face though. He could see the importance of the practices to Elann and kept his own opinion to himself. Though, what struck him as most odd was the groom was sent away into the desert to find Yahal. Noah had a hard time wrapping his head around the importance of a single deity to one race of people. Being in the desert, he assumed their patron deities would be the goddess of rain and life, any deity that made their lives in the deserts better.

Noah recalled exchanging the mangala sutra with Elann for his gift of the eagle headed dagger in place of rings, feeling as if it didn’t quite live up to the explanation Elann was giving him. There was dancing and singing and praise of the husband and Yahal seemingly more so than the bride, and Noah didn’t quite like or understand it. The explanation also explained why she drew so much joy and pleasure from serving him, whereas his own need as a Kelvic was to do the same for her. She was worthy of worship in his opinion, so long as their relationship stayed unmarred through mutual respect for one another’s personalities, practices, and cultures, though his own was much less developed than Elann’s, it was just as strong and prevalent because it was forged by magic, not years of tradition.

“I was asking because of that, yes,” he answered. “Some of the weddings I’ve watched are kind of like yours, but they only last a day. There’s the wedding and then the feast that usually lasts well into the night, people and guests leave in the morning or late that night. There’s music and dancing, and sometimes there are singers as well.” He paused. “I’m sorry that we can’t do all of that.”

Noah showed her an apologetic glance, one that lingered as his hand rubbed over her tummy. “There should be a festival after we get there,” he went on. “It celebrates the flower trees blossoming and love too, it’s when a lot of weddings take place. It’s supposed to be a good omen if the trees blossom on your wedding day, but it celebrates all relationships, people don’t have to be lovers. So, we’ll have the party and then we can attend the festival too. How’s that sound?”

[snelss0]

Elann knew in part how her husband felt about her traditions. She had a vague perception on his views of her God, and as long as he stayed true to his word, he wouldn't offend him; particularly when it came to Elann, his favored. With her explanation done, it seemed that he indeed had been thinking along such lines as she had guessed, and as he apologized, she shook her head to show that he shouldn't.

"That sounds great."

Feeling the need to put his mind at ease, she brought her hand down to her own stomach to meet his, where she lay her hand upon his to still it for a moment.

"I don't want you worry that I feel bad because we did things differently or because our party isn't going to be the same. I loved our wedding..." she said as she pulled the golden mangalasutra out from underneath her dress to rest upon the space between her breasts. "...and to me it was special and heartfelt. Even if we hadn't been married, the bond between us also shows our steady devotion to one another, and unlike a bond of friendship, I think ours was forged in trust and love for one another." She then thought a moment and added, "On top of the friendship."

A grin then took her as her chin started to shiver, showing she was starting to get cold.

"So with this festival, you have trees that blossom? Like flowers?"

Elann hadn't been out enough to know or notice that there were such things as blossoming trees. With the spring rains, it often was that the whole reaches of the desert would come alive with budding flowers that only lived a couple days, but trees were rare, and those she had seen in Yahebah when there were never in the season of blossom as they often went to supply and trade in summer and fall months.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah’s opinion of Yahal was minor because the god, in his world, was minor. He didn’t feel any particular which way about Yahal, not filled with like or dislike, only appreciation because Elann found the god to be all-important. Unlike Yahal, Zulrav didn’t need the praise that Yahal seemed to get from Benshira and other followers like the Syliran Knights. Though Noah was Zulrav’s blessed, the Kelvic was blessed because their personalities matched up. If one didn’t know Noah they’d think he wasn’t devout at all, but he was, just not to the activeness of Elann or other worshippers of more socially prevalent gods. If Elann wasn’t as upheld by Yahal as she was, Noah wouldn’t have paid the god any mind at all, not out of disrespect but because the god’s domain didn’t line up with Noah ideals or personality.

Noah looked to the mangala sutra as she displayed, voicing her like of their wedding. Noah was unsure if she was referring to his Kelvic bond or not, saying it was a display of their devotion to one another, even if they hadn’t married. It struck him because he still couldn’t make out with perfect clarity which of the two, the bond or the marriage, Elann favored more. To him, he believed she favored the marriage whereas he favored the bond. The marriage wasn’t meaningless to him anymore, but was eclipsed by the spiritual tie between their souls. He didn’t need a Cheva mark to say he was hers.

The thoughts in mind, he nodded along with her words in agreement. She was only allowed access to his Kelvic bond because of the trust he had for her at the time and the love he felt for the way she treated him then. It was safe to say Elann was lucky enough to catch his attention to the point of keeping it on her there long enough to give grant her access to the otherwise deepest and personable parts of his being.

“The trees have flowers, yes,” he answered. “They bloom towards the end of spring when it’s warmer at night. They’re white, blue, pink, and orange. They last for around two weeks and the festival lasts for a few days, on and on throughout the city so everyone can celebrate their love. Me and my brothers and sisters used to go together every year, then it was just Aimee and me when the others started to get busy.”

Noah’s gaze went back towards the cook and the fire as people were returning their bowls and prepared to sleep the night away. Any sleeping schedule Noah possessed before the trip had been lost entirely with the accruement of his injury, now he slept whenever he was tired, the herbal tea making him sleep whenever the initial pain became unbearable. He was wide awake for the most part, being steeping out in nature and talking to Elann only serving to maintain his wakefulness.

“Do you want to go inside?” he asked, nodding his head back towards the tent behind him. “You’re shivering.” He was too from time to time when the wind blew too hard against his bare skin.

[snelss0]

The fact trees had flowers seemed to excite Elann quite a bit. She let out an excited hum at the thought and her eyes had a bit of further excitement in them as he explained the colors. In the desert, everything was drab. In Syliras as well, everything was grey, but the forests around were green. It was only in rare instances, such as when she picked the flower for her hair that she saw much color. Often in the desert, her people would wear color to defy the lack of it. The thought of trees being orange, pink, and blue- ripe with flowers, blew her mind.

"I want to go!" she buzzed excitedly.

She demanded his gaze then, bringing a hand up to his neck in a loving gesture and would communicate then a longing love for him in her heart and stare. She didn't want him staring at he fire, but instead at her. He had noticed she was cold, and wearing a shorter dress, it was even more so. While her upper body was warm, her lower body was dead-like with the cold of the grass and air.

"Mhm...You go in, I'll return these bowls."

With that, she sat up, rolled over onto her knees and hands, and in effortless energy - compared to his strained - she popped up and darted off toward the fire, all too happy to be near its warmth to hand off the bowls. Once there, she would also say goodnight to people, including Aimee should she be there, and then would head back.

Inside the tent, hanging from the center pole was the lantern and on the rug covered ground was their bed, the comfortable mess of pillows, rugs, and blankets in the form of a mattress. It had served them comfortably and probably moreso than a mattress would. She herself had her journal laid down on the bed with inkwell nearby and the deck of cards should they wish to stay up. Inside, the tent was a bit warmer than outside surprisingly. It had retained the heat of the fire, but not the cold of outside. As Elann came in, she wasn't shivering, likely to have stayed by the fire for a second to warm up while handing off the bowls. She looked for her husband and what he was doing as she closed the flap behind her.