[IC] Journey to the East

[Illumin0sity]

Elann answered with uncertainty and it made Noah uncertain as well. The tiniest of nuances could be seen on her face, it was a disheartening sight to cement his already bad feelings. The air was frigid and the crisp breeze which blew against the entire gathering didn’t help. No one attempted to put up their tents on the rained on ground, deciding to only come out because social gathering during nightfall - especially after the bandit raid - had become the norm. It seemed everyone was enjoying themselves to some capacity, even if it was just casual talking. All except Elann and Noah, who were dealing with the aftermath of their disagreement.

He saw her gather into herself against the cold, the heat of the fire or him nearby doing little to keep the chill at bay. Her short dress didn’t have a place in the frigid night and she said she was going back to the wagon, saying he could stay there if he wanted. She turned to leave, left Noah to stand with uncertainty in his next action. His tongue ran over his lips as he watched her walk away. In the next breath he took a step after her, stalling at the call of his name chirping from Alena’s voice.

He stopped and turned to face the girl. Her father and mother were heading to their wagon as well, Alena managed to rip away for a moment. Stooping down, he watched Elann continue on to the wagon while he gave his attention to the little girl.

Several chimes passed before Noah made his own way to the wagon. He parted the flaps and slowly helped himself inside, mostly using the iron tow bar under the floor of the wagon to push himself in. He stood for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, opening the fullness of his pupils to aid in transition. He found Elann wherever she was but didn’t speak for lack of knowing what to say. He acknowledged her presence silently but went towards the back of the wagon for their trunk.

The latch sounded and it opened. From the top he got the box holding his gold and other small baubles. The telltale sound of the coins jingling from being disturbed sounded through the air, but he placed a few small flowers inside and closed the box again, setting it back into the trunk before closing it altogether. He relatched it and turned back to face the whole of the wagon, his fingers playing at the edge of his shirt as he contemplated taking it off.

[snelss0]

Elann had moved by herself to the wagon, a steady relief as she felt prisoner in her actions. Once inside the flap, she lay out their bed for the night as well as a nice padded comfortable spot for Aimee should she have decided to come back that night.

As her husband came in, she silently lay there on her side, up close and facing one of the benches, turned away from where he would lay and with her eyes closed. She was not asleep, but surprisingly near to it. She could feel him fight to get in, not bothering to ask her for help, and she was glad he safely made it in.

Now that he was safely in, she didn't bother to speak to him and decided she would go ahead and try to go to sleep, which if he had nothing to say to her, aside from shifting or laying, she would be asleep in about ten chimes if otherwise not disturbed.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah didn’t say anything to Elann, seeing her lying and facing away from him on their pallet on the floor. He didn’t have anything to say to her, nothing in attempts to repair whatever fallout happened and nothing to explain himself to her either, so he left it alone. He took his shoes off again, set them on the floor near their trunk, and moved to take off his shirt and strip off his pants, laying them over the closed trunk without folding them. Only his underwear remained and he let it stay, moving to sit on the bench on the opposite side of the wagon.

The night ticked on with him residing away from her and awake, unable to sleep himself, though he wasn’t restless. He stirred when the flaps parted again, Aimee’s four paws thumping on the wagon floor as she leaped in. She shook out her coat and then shifted, eyes looking to Noah as she noticed him sitting up with his back resting carefully on the frame of the wagon. Her eyes went to Elann then she sought out detecting the tacit mood of her brother as it went through the air. She didn’t ask any questions pertaining to the evening, making an assumption of her own.

She moved to her own trunk and opened it to find clothing to wear, figuring she was in for a long night as well. Still no questions were asked as she went about putting on one of her heavier dresses. It was created for cooler spring nights, but it was layers thinner than someone who didn’t have a high temperature like the two Kelvics. They were able to tolerate some crisp cold, though they couldn’t do it bareskinned for long. Noah rose from the bench and went to put his clothes back on before the two of them left the wagon without uttering any words.

The night continued to wane on until dawn began to break, the birds chirping before the sun peaked over the horizon and broke into the cloud covered sky. Time passed still, the sun rising higher and the temperature rising with it until the caravan guards began to go through a morning's preparation to restore the caravan's food rations. A small breakfast was to be served, a helping of collected hares from the night acting as the meat for a morning stew.

[snelss0]

Noah had left that night, the jostling of Aimee coming in having woken her slightly and both of them leaving even more so. She stayed awake for a good twenty chimes, but then fell back asleep after it.

As the morning sun was up, Elann was up with the others, talking happily with them and eating a little breakfast, but instead of hanging around the caravan, she spent time around the fire with others. She ended up making a paint from some flowers and face painted the children, having learned the skill in the orphanage, and even Alena ended up with a flower design on her cheek.

Eventually as the sun would rise, shining through the cloud cover enough to evaporate away some of the dampness on the ground before ducking back behind the clouds. Many people set up their tents, but some still swore that it would rain again. Elann didn't care. Her tent had furs and leather that protected from the rains, and if positioned right, even a heavy rain wouldn't get them wet if it soaked the ground. She found a high spot and set it up there and then laid the rugs and furs inside. It was nice to have a day break, and like many people it was a chance to take a bath. Elann went to find a private spot along the river and cleaned herself before coming back, smelling of the soap she had brought and henna from treating her hair. She even left it in a few more minutes than normal to darken it slightly more and give it a reddish hue more than it normally had.

Other than her time at the river, she sought to spend her time with the people of the caravan and didn't want to think on where her husband or Aimee were.

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee was the cause for the hares captured that night, striking up a deal with the night guards like she had done once before. She just caught enough to sate the caravan in the morning before a full party would be formed in order to hunt for the day. She did so when she came back late that night, seeing that the caravan had went to sleep for the evening. She came into the wagon after she did her hunting for the caravan with plans to sleep, but after seeing her brother in an unsettled mood she found that she would be trekking through the night on fumes.

Turned out, she was still going into the morning. The two Kelvics weren’t far from the caravan, a quarter mile from the clearing minding their own business before they started to return, figuring that the people would be up by now. Aimee came walking through the thicket dressed in Noah’s clothes. Her forearm was wrapped in her dress and perched there was the eagle Kelvic, clicking his beak idly and shifting his eyes through those gathered.

Aimee held Noah close to her center, the feathery beast of an eagle resting there with an ever twitching and swiveling head. She ran a hand over his head down his back then brought it back to the crown, scratching gently with her fingers. She said something under her breath, her lips only seemingly moving to those who looked on from afar. Afterwards she approached one of the trees positioned closer to the bulk of the tents and raised up her arm, letting the eagle transfer from her wrapped arm to low branch with ease.

She then went to the wagon, leaving Noah in the tree as he watched over the collection of tents, children, and people. Aimee drew some attention when she came into the clearing from the thicket, perhaps suspiciously, and eyes remained on Noah once she parted. The attention wasn’t as fleeting as before, people keeping their eyes on him longer than usual since they hadn’t seen his true form in quite some time. As it were, it didn’t last and they went back to their conversations and actions.

[snelss0]

The sun had come up and with it the two had returned. If it weren't for them coming through the thicket, she may not have noticed them. Elann glanced at the eagle in hand. She didn't know what to think about it, but it didn't make her happy. His blatant ignoring of her before had left a bitter taste in her mouth, and his now changed form was only after spending time with his sister. Elann decided it was best to finish setting up the tent and began the toil of hammering in the pegs.

Shortly after, Aimee walked into the camp and Elann gave her a small smile before continuing her set up of the tent. Once set up, she went about her day as indicated, grabbing a set of clothes from the caravan along with the rugs to furnish the tent, and then went off into the woods toward the river to bathe. She found a spot that was covered from the camp and other bathers and once done, roughly a bell later, she returned with her darker hair, her dirty clothes damp and washed clean in her hands, and she headed to the tent. There she set her dress on a line and then moved near to the fire to warm up.

The children were running around and after a good bout of heating, she went to go play with them.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah settled into watching Elann from afar, something that wasn’t foreign whether he was in his human form or not. He watched her hammer away at the stakes in the ground, saw her give Aimee a smile, of which the wolf returned in kind, warmer and genuine. The tent took shape as the chimes passed and he moved very little. It took a great deal of convincing on Aimee’s part to get him to take shape as a eagle, and even after he did take shape he wasn’t happy to be in it. It took hours for him to get over his discomfort in his otherwise true form. Once he got over it he was glad to be feathered once again.

Elann caught his attention again when she went away from the tents to bathe, his eyes followed her as she found the river again but lost her when she was well away from him. Like Aimee inside the wagon, Noah settled for a nap in the branch since he had not slept since yesterday’s afternoon and early evening. The nap was short lived, interrupted by the laughter of the children as they took to playing around the camp. They didn’t disturb anything more than his rest, of which he found again in an even shallower form than before.

Another bell passed before Aimee returned out of the wagon, dropping down in her four legged form. She gave the playing children pause as she strode on the outskirts of their game. She didn’t seek to interrupt but it hard to miss a large stilted wolf walking in the clear of day. She continued on without missing a beat, giving a soft bark out as she passed the tree Noah was perched in to wake him before turning in her spot to sit on her haunches. The few guards and men who were making up the hunting party for that day came to the tree as well.

One of the men raised his guarded wrist up to the branch and took Noah from it. The Kelvic passed from the branch to the man’s forearm before climbing up to his shoulder, resting there as the men went off through the thicket again, the two Kelvics with them.

[snelss0]

Elann napped throughout the day, occasionally coming out and playing with the children or talking to the various people enjoying the day off from traveling. She would continue doing this until lunch time and on into dinner when it was likely for the hunting party would return en masse. While whenever someone got something big, they would come back, they still stayed out until evening.

The guards had to be extra careful from bears and other predators approaching the camp given all the blood as the cook prepared and dried the meat for future meals, but fortunately with the loud sounds the caravan had made and continued to make, most animals kept their distance. Whichever ones didn't, likely added to the meat gathered in the end.

With furs and meat salted, pelts stretched and scraped, the group was ready to travel upon the coming light of the next day. Elann finished playing with the kids in the evening and was mostly found talking to others.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah and Aimee were in the field the entire time, playing their parts in the hunting party as spotters and leaders, occasionally nabbing morsels for themselves and small catches of small rodents. Noah didn’t try his wounds heavily, cautious in how much he pressed between being sent off in order to pursue or scout. Taking off was the hardest part, staying airborne was made significantly easier with the aid of his gnosis mark, able to produce gusts and drafts that kept wind under his wings fluidly. A part of him was sour that he didn’t share the moment with Elann, but he didn’t dwell on the thoughts, simply taking joy in the fact that he could hunt again.

Evening began to fall by the time the bulk of the party returned to the camp, Noah and Aimee in tow. The two didn’t partake in dinner, Aimee returning to the wagon in order to shift and procure a change of clothes. She said an idle hello to Elann if she could, otherwise she went for the river in order to bathe and change into something fresher, exhausted after what was nearly two days of being awake.

Noah swooped down from the treetops after Aimee went away and landed outside of Elann’s tent and shifted before moving inside. He stretched out his sore arms and back but laid around for the most part. He didn’t know when Elann would come back to the tent but he waited up for her nonetheless, idly sitting cross-leggedly with his hands in his lap.

[snelss0]

Elann was sore in some parts of the day, feeling the pain her husband endured, but for the most part it was easy. With the two kelvics hunting again, the take was far greater than anyone imagined it could be by themselves. Elann was busy eating dinner as was the rest of the camp, but Noah and Aimee didn't partake. Aimee said hello though and Elann greeted her.

"Aww, you look tired. You should get some rest," she commented in brief, to which she went to bathe in the river. Noah hadn't been seen by her yet, his dark frame still swooping over the treetops. With the clouded sky and no strong presence of the moon in sight, she hadn't bothered to look up for quite some time. It was only his bright flash in the darkness that caused her to wonder if it was Aimee or her husband. Either way, she didn't look.

She stayed out there speaking until the only ones remaining were people drinking. Not wanting to remain with a couple of men drinking, knowing better, she bid them goodnight and many bells since he had entered the tent, she came in, looking to see if the lantern was on or off and whether or not he was present in the tent.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah waited idly in the tent for a bell’s time, a few chimes more or less. He left the tent, stepping out to shift and then sail over to the wagon. He went into it and saw his sister’s trunk open, though she was still gone. He figured she was still bathing and didn’t question it himself, instead moving to him and Elann’s shared trunk in order to retrieve his own journal book and a few charcoal pencils. Deeper in the chest were utensils of various uses. He made sure to grab a few of them to delve readily into rekindling his artistic flame. Setting them aside he put on the clothes Aimee stored away for him and then retook up the drawing utensils and his journal before struggling his way out of the wagon again. He passed back to the tent rather quietly, not stopping to talk to anyone and no one went to stop him either.

Inside, he resettled onto the pallet on the ground and strew out his supplies before opening the book up. He started with meaningless sketches of vague treetops, his sights from earlier that day when he was hunting. He drew a hare in growing detail but that too was abandoned in favor for another memory of the day that came through his mind. Nothing was concrete or finished, each drawing taking up a little portion of one page before he moved over to a clean part. He was simply passing the time but he knew it took him a while to get into the flow of drawing in the vivid detail he sought to attain after he warmed up. In that time, Elann didn’t show in the tent. Any time the flaps moved it was the wind drawing his attention from the drawings to the tent’s entrance.

Noah let his mind be filled with her face since he longed to see it and turned to a new and clean page of the journal. He laid down onto ver his stomach, resting his head down on one hand as the other drew the startings of Elann’s face from a sideways glance. Aside from other close people in his life, Elann’s face was probably one he knew the best, having felt it with his hands and kissed it with his lips. The tiny facets from the curve of her eyelid and the shape of the bridge of her nose seen from multiple angles. He was starting on a vivid piece, something detailed and encouraged by his still remaining enchantment with the interesting aspects of her face; the eyes most of all, of which he spent the most time on.

The bells ticked by still and night was drawing on and on. Eventually he fell asleep in the middle of his unfinished drawing, only the top portions of Elann’s hair were finished and her eyes shone out with as much detail as he could put into them. The pencil was limp in his lax hand. He lay face down on the pallet, still dressed in his pants, the shirt cast off to his side careless as he acted as a bed for his various other tools. His lax hand obscured the framework of the rest of her face and the unfinished nub of a nose peeked through his spread fingers that once clutched the pencil.

[snelss0]

Inside, her husband had collapsed with the bells that carried on since he had arrived in the tent. She was warm from the fire still, and having put on her tunic she wore the first day she saw him, she was well warmed by its wool. She didn't enter and silently closed the flap once more.

Their bond was dull, showing him sleeping surely, and as she left the encampment out of the site of the men drinking, she quietly returned to the rock where they had sat earlier. Finally Elann was able to feel with the heavy heart she had without risk to the other caravaners and there she cried by the water. When the cold finally got to her, she mustered her feelings and came back to camp to finally come into the tent.

As she entered, she moved directly to bed after turning off the lantern, thankful no sign of her crying was still evident, and she lay there under the blanket, fully clothed. She didn't move, and not long after, she would be asleep again until the morning when the call for breakfast came.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah shifted minorly to Elann’s coming into the tent, his lids cracking enough to see the lantern’s light fade from the interior. Any shadows that were cast about were silenced and the night took the interior of the tent as well. Nearby, Elann shifted into the blankets with little more than a word. He went back to sleep, figuring that if she did not come until the tent until he was already asleep she did not wish to speak to him.

After a dreamless sleep Noah woke up with the chirping birds long before the call to break fast came. His body screamed at him in soreness from yesterday’s event, his arms ached and his wounds had a new flare to him. He worked muscles that lay dormant for a long time. The pain was able to be disregarded for the happiness in knowing he was working his flying muscles, he was allowed to be in the air and sky again. He sat up and looked at Elann to his side, letting out a morning’s breath, yawn, and stretch. His hands came up through the matted down parts of his hair, breathing new life into the curls.

Noah collected his pencils and other utensils and gathered them along the side of his still open journal. He looked over his work from last night, brushing aside some of the loose charcoal dust to clear up the picture. It was still unfinished and he didn’t recall falling asleep while doing it. He decided it would remain that way, incomplete and unsatisfactory. He didn’t have the will or heart to finish it, so he closed the book and gathered his shirt, putting it on over his head before standing up with his utensils and book in tow. He left the tent and passed through the darkness of early morning to the wagons and rapped on the wood of one of the frames.

Aimee poked her head out sleepily, parting the flaps to help her brother in. She watched her brother through barely cracked eyes as he went to the front of the wagon and put away his things. He came to sit beside her, leaning to rest his head on her shoulder for a few moments before rising again. He moved to sit on the edge of the wagon, the side with an open flap and waited for the caravan to wake up.

[snelss0]

Elann woke shortly after the yawn was heard from Noah and she elected to go back to sleep. When the call for breakfast came, her bond came alive as she sat up to find the tent empty. She lit the lantern and proceeded to brush her hair in the dim light it provided. It had the strong scent of henna to it still and was a full three shades darker and more red, darker than he had ever seen her hair before, but far from black. When she finally came out of the tent, fully clothed already, the sun shone on her hair, flaring it a reddish hue.

She immediately started tearing down the tent while the breakfast queue lined up for food so that she could be done far before they had to leave. It wasn't uncommon for her to spend time with the children while their parents deconstructed their tents, so once she was done, she came to the wagon, and seeing Noah there along the edge, she took in a breath.

"Hi," she voiced quietly as she climbed in past him to lug the heavy tent and rugs into the back of the wagon. It was hard work, but something she had been used to much of her life. The rugs came next and she furnished a bed in the bottom of the wagon. She could tell that Aimee was still sleepy, so she didn't say anything to her, just giving her a smile if she looked her way. Eventually when everything was packed, she hopped down from the wagon like a child would and looked up to her husband.

"Did you want breakfast?"

She could smell the scent of bacon and various fresh meat on the air. It was likely to be the freshest meal they had had in a long time and she didn't think he would want to go without it. She wasn't in the mood to eat herself despite the smells that were coming from the cook's area.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah sat on the edge until the sun started peaking about the horizon and lighting up the sky. He watched the sunrise with half a mind, not minding the chill over his exposed skin as his body fought to keep him warm for the most part. He didn’t pay Elann any mind, not knowing she was near him until she spoke. He brought his attention to her then, bringing a hand up to wave to her in reply, a simple gesture in greeting. He scooted over to the edge of the wagon and leaned against it, resting his head on the frame, so she could get into the open part of the wagon without him being in the way.

Inside, Aimee was flitting between moments of consciousness and not. Elann came in during one such moment and Aimee did the same wave as Noah in hello, though it was much lazier and less focused, her hand coming down with weight over her bust as she slid away again.

Noah looked off into the road and away from the tent village until he heard Elann drop down from the wagon and onto the ground. He looked at her then, taking notice of the change in her hair. His face was placid but his eyes spoke of apparent interest. The strands were no longer brown like the hull of the ships he had seen in Zeltiva’s docks. They were reddishly tinged and dark at that.

Like Elann, he could smell the food being cooked but his appetite wasn’t brought on the cooking smell of flesh. Nothing to him was fresher than a kill, so he didn’t share her sentiment.

“I’m not hungry,” he said, not taking his eyes off of her tresses. “You colored your hair.”

[snelss0]

Elann could still see the pacidity in her husband's reactions, showing something which she didn't want to assume, but in his eyes there was an interest. She knew he would notice. He always noticed every detail of her physicality down to what she would imagine even being a single hair cut shorter. His memory was impressive and he was capable of remember the tiniest of details. In the wagon, after Aimee flopped back, Elann could smell the scent of her husband, the wood, the canvas, the various supplies and the henna particles lingering and sending off their scents into the air. She didn't want to be reminded of him in that moment and even so, she was his wife.

Having jumped out, she asked him whether he wanted food, to which he clearly demonstrated he didn't want anything. She chewed at her lip and nodded, almost walking away, but his statement about her hair gave her pause.

"Mhmm...Yeah."

Her hand came up to squiggle through her hair and she moved a little closer to him so that he could touch it from where her hand held some of it out to him. The powerful scent was enough to fill a room seeing how it was still damp and giving off a fragrant odor actively.

"I am going to go play with the kids. I'll be back..."

She slid back from him and would, unless stopped, head over to where most of the kids were. Very little still was coming through their bond from her and only when she got to the children did some emotions start filtering through as she could not hide her joy from them. They made her happy and successfully distracted her from thinking about him once more. The kids asked her if she could make other paints and such things and she nodded, and then helped them all collect flowers and various elements that could further dye their faces. Before she could make the paints though most people had packed up and were set to go on their way.

The cook's and the tanner's wagon now both had various pelts stretched out across the sides of them to soak up the sun and harden for later working. Upon the call to get moving, Elann came back as she promised with a bright red flower in her darkened hair. The traditional garb she wore matched with it with the belt being black, gold and red. She climbed up into the back and lay across the opposite bench from Aimee much like she did, leaving the bed to her husband if he so wished to lay down on it other than sitting on the back of the wagon.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah got a confirmation, though it was little more than a hum and admittance that she did color it. She brought her hand to it, approached him, and held it out for him to touch as well. He took the invitation, feeling the strands between his forefingers and thumb. The touch was brief, him retracting his hand from her before she slid away like she wanted to do before he pointed out the differences.

“Okay,” he said, watching her walk away towards the kids.

His gaze was maintained until she reached them and he took a renewed interest, feeling the fluttering joy coming from her as she played with the children of the caravan. The sight was displeasing and caused him to draw a breath in consideration. He slid from the back of the wagon and rounded it, heading towards the cook anyway. When it was his turn in the queue he requested small portions of what was being served and moved out of line with his plate, eating right then and there so he was able to give the plate back as soon as he was done. Though he joined the queue relatively late, he was finished eating soon after the line was dispersed and people were returning to their tents to eat their breakfast.

Noah gave the plate back to the cook and went back towards the wagon, his stomach not quite full but satisfied for the moment. He went back to the wagon and went inside, trying to be quiet for his sister but knew she would stir again once the trunks in the back started sounding. He was right but she only stirred enough to see what he was doing before drifting off again. Noah retrieved his necklace from the trunk, the smoothed out grey stone tied tightly with hemp, and the ornate dagger gifted to him by Elann the day of their wedding.

He didn’t show much interest in it aside from the day it was gifted to him, mostly because he didn’t see the need for it other than a display of Elann’s affection. He set it back down and draped his necklace over his head, twirling the impossibly smooth stones in his fingers. Noah closed the trunk again and slid down to the floor, facing the entrance of the wagon as he played with the charm until the call to move out came later. Eventually Elann showed in the wagon with a flower in her hair, of which drew his attention to her. His gaze followed her around the wagon until she settled on the bench opposite from Aimee’s.

[snelss0]

Elann wondered to herself about some things about her husband upon arriving in the back of the wagon. There she would lay quiet, slowly kicking her legs up and down as the wagons jolted forward finally and they proceeded on their way. She lay on her stomach with her arms tucked under her so not as much pressure would be upon her chest, but eventually she would turn on her side to face the back of the bench and placed her hands under her head.

Little to no emotions were coming through her bond, which she knew bugged him in the past, but how could she feel them? Love, anger, joy. None of them she could feel in any great amount at that moment and it was usually in those three she usually resided.

Eventually with enough distance from camp, and should enough time pass, she would sit up and look out the back, sitting cross-legged on the bench while staring out at the passing grass. The driver behind caught her eye and she waved to him kindly before cupping her jaw on a hand and looking at the passing fields once more. She was trying to pick out how many different colors of flowers they came across, not knowing where their flowers they had gathered earlier had ended up. Surely some parent got stuck with them.

[Illumin0sity]

Elann laid down and some chimes passed before he stood up again and went back into the trunk, disturbing Aimee’s peace once more but not as much as the wagon’s jolting forward did. The loud sounds continued again to refresh all of their memories in just how jarring the caravan could be to the natural world around them. Eventually it settled into the back of their minds, buzzing even though the source was right below them, above them, surrounding them.

From inside the trunk he retrieved his journal and pencil again, closing it to sit back down in front of it. He turned to the page with Elann’s unfinished face but turned to a new page anyway, going over his basic exercises of small things as the time passed still. He was entranced by his own drawing, sucked into his mind as he sorted through memories to figure out what he wanted to draw. He settled on a tree and a squirrel, letting them take up the bottom and top halves of one page as he worked on them in turn.

Elann rose from the bench and caught his attention once more as she moved to the edge of the wagon. He saw her wave to the driver behind their car before settling again. It took a long moment of consideration before he stood up again and moved towards the edge of the wagon as well. There was nervousness and fear fluttering in him but he chose to sit down beside her anyway, adjusting his drawing book on his lap and the pencil in his hand. He didn’t look at her, turning to a new page and going over the residual crispness of an old book kept in like-new condition.

“Can you tell me what Yahal looks like when you see him?” he asked.

The question was a lot harder to ask than he realized when he thought it up. He licked his lips and rose his head up to look at her, wondering if she would take the time to describe the god so he could draw it.

“Please,” he added.

[snelss0]

Elann could hear the rustling sound coming from behind her. It wasn't uncommon for them to make noise while each of them were sleeping on the long wagon rides. Even talking at normal levels were allowed. Sleeping in the wagon for the most part was just to pass the time, not a needed activity. For Aimee that day it was, but most days, Noah could have made a racket and not much disturbed anyone.

In reality, the opening and closing of the trunk was somewhat muffled by the overbearing creaking of the wagon itself. Still, just that little bit extra was enough to sometimes hear if at the right moment. She heard him, but didn't look back. Her ears were attentive to hear him and at the sound of paper rustling, she figured he must have grabbed his art supplies.

As he came closer, bearing fear and nervousness, she briefly looked toward him, seeing the shy look on his face before he even finished settling in. She refocused on the fields behind them, assuming he was going to draw something out the back.

His question came, and part of her wanted to lash out something relating to his inability to understand and would he really want her to speak on such a thing? She resisted the temptation though and had to remind herself that she loved him and he had attempted for whatever reason to come close. It in no way mended their relationship, but she considered him at least.

The please sealed the deal, him looking up at her. She bit her lip as she looked down to the ground briefly before closing her eyes.

"I have met him a few times, and each time he is different. Imagine a man who is your height, with thicker, longer curlier hair than yours, not like a woman's, but like how yours would be if you let it go wild and grow out. He seems to be like a man, physically perfect from what I can tell. There was no weakness in him as I viewed him and he was confidently a warrior. His hair is brown and his skin golden like a man kissed by the sun, yet not burnt. Two of the times he has worn pure gold, so pure it was near see through. He had it on his belt and the sandals laced up to his knees, and a large glittering gold spear, as though the gold had sand in it or something. It shimmered more than his belt or sandals. He has a gentle look, like someone who is kind, someone who cares, and he seems joyous...pure. Two of the times he wore a reddish colored tunic with a cloak, both embroidered with gold that looked like the stars were rest upon him."

She combed back her hair, looking up from where she had closed her eyes. She then looked out to the side at the passing fields.

"Upon his back are always wings that contain all colors, even ones I can't describe, but are similar to my eyes in color I guess, or to the wings on my back, though they are far from the glory he holds. Sometimes I have seen him, he is pure white, as if the sun emitted a white light like the color of snow, like this..."

She reached up to close the flap, concealing her entirely from the driver behind, and her hand crept into her dress and pulled out her mangalasutra. Upon holding it, that same pure white filled the wagon with pure white light. Silently, she slid it back in and returned the flap upward.

"His face was different each time, but he seemed handsome, strong, and capable each time I have seen him, and each time I could feel it was him more than perceive with my eyes his features."