[IC] Journey to the East

[Illumin0sity]

There was a pit in the Kelvic’s stomach as he sat there and listened to Elann describe Yahal. The question was asked with all his willpower and it took even more to sit there and listen to her explanation. He felt significantly lesser than Yahal in all ways, shapes, and forms, regardless of how regal Elann thought he appeared when he was an eagle, or how she complimented him, Yahal was better in all ways. It didn’t make him feel good. He didn’t think of Elann in the same light and put her above his own god in terms of loyalty and admiration. Through any fights her position on the pedestal had not wavered, even if he went to Zulrav for some sort of comfort and escape from her. She knew it though, he had told her.

The pit remained in his gut as he turned the paper lengthwise and horizontal, deciding to begin the framework of Yahal from a torso shot, disregarding the lower portions in favor for the god’s facial features and wings. Noah looked up when she drew his attention to the necklace, the flap coming down in order to hide the vibrancy of the light emitted from his gift to her. It was put away and Noah looked back down at his drawing, continuing on as he sculpted shoulders only to drape them behind the beginnings of what would become a layered robe.

The skeleton was mostly complete a moment after Elann stopped explaining but Noah paused in the detailing of the robes in order to start the work of the wings, establishing their boundaries on the paper before going to the god’s face. She didn’t establish any major features so he was forced to think of his image of a strong and capable man. He decided to use an image of his father, cleanly shaven, mixed with a few other men he had observed in his time around. It was in black and white, all he had at his disposal was the pencil, but he felt he could increase the detail enough to feign dark and light colors of shadows, goldens, and reddish hues.

He attempted to recall himself in the mirror in order to start on the hair. He didn’t understand her when she said it wasn’t as curly as a woman’s. He thought his own hair, and many other men’s, could rival that of even a woman’s curls. It didn’t matter though, he didn’t let the thought slow down his drawing. Noah worked on the spear next, having Yahal hold it off to the side as he gazed off in the opposite direction, only the profile of his face seen with his high cheek bones and solidly structured jaw. Noah attached a sprawling ribbon from the head of the spear as he knew he would want a ribbon there once he retook practicing himself.

He drew a weighted breath when he was complete. His unease growing to a taut point up until the drawing was finished. He set his pencil off to the side then went to carefully tear the drawing out of the book, revealing the other unfinished works. Noah handed it over to Elann if she would take it.

[snelss0]

Elann hadn't watched him draw the figure, nor did she give him corrective comments as he did work. If he had wanted clarification, he could ask; yet he didn't. She ultimately just rest her head in her hands and stared quietly out the back toward the side of the wagon that she sat on.

Upon him finishing, a weighted breath was heard. She shifted her gaze, rolling her head in her hands so she could see what he was sighing about in his unease that had tapered off. It seemed he was done. She didn't know why he was tearing the paper out of the book though, as most of his drawings were kept within its pages. As he handed it over, it was clear he had begun to draw her among other things amidst the unfinished pages.

"It's nice, very pretty."

She then handed it back to him to keep, but she was sure it was meant for her to keep. It was awkward, him handing her the art. Was it supposed to be some form of peace gift? Was it because he felt guilty? What was his motivation? Did he just want to draw her a picture? She had no idea. A normal human she could gauge what she knew of them and measure what he likely wanted, but with her husband she had no idea. It could have very well been a symbol of his undying love for her and she was supposed to see that, but as it was, she was handing it back for him to keep safe in his book.

He could see that she wasn't lying, she did find the art very pretty, even though she didn't think it matched with her God. It was no fault of his. She hadn't explained him well enough for Noah to know, and likely it would only be through many questions that he could ever get close to what he looked like exactly.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah knew he could shut her out relatively quickly and without a second thought until later. He would managed to keep her out for as long as he wanted, but he saw it was at the detriment of their relationship. Following their argument by the river he had attempted to open up to her again but the mood had been soured by his misunderstanding.

He survived by distancing himself from what he didn’t understand when they seemed to pose a threat to him and his personal lifestyle. He froze out what he didn’t understand and kept threats at bay if they were deemed as such. He was attempting to thaw for Elann so that this silent spell wouldn’t go on for as long as they had in the past, earlier in the trip.

The presentation of the drawing was a gift for peace, a professing of his unending love. He wanted to draw her a picture too, and he felt guilty. Any assumptions of the action were correct whether she knew it or not. It was rather simple in his mind; a gift to show his love for her to show that he was apologetic without speaking the words.

She spoke in genuine compliment but that was it, ending up gesturing for him to take the picture back. He looked between her and the drawing and closed his book. He didn’t want it back, he wanted her to keep it whether it would be safe in his book or not. It wasn’t about drawing an accurate depiction of Yahal, but showing her he still cared enough to even attempt to draw something she took an interest in. It was a grand gesture on his part, though it may have looked small in her eyes.

“I wanted you to keep it,” he said, taking it from her gently.

He set it atop the book in his lap and pulled himself and his legs into the wagon, grabbing his pencil as he went. He stood up and returned to the depths of the wagon - lest he was stopped - careful not to lose his balance as the floor jarred beneath him. The book and pencil were dropped back into the trunk and it was closed once again.

Noah took to the bed and slid beneath the blankets, figuring he would try to sleep the day away.

[snelss0]

Elann had no idea what was going on in his mind and so handing the picture back was a way to find out not only what she wanted to know, but also so he could safekeep it. In the end, as he spoke about how he wanted her to keep it, she still let him take it.

"Oh, well keep it safe for me then."

It wasn't as though she had a frame or a book the size of his sketch pad that was able to keep it safe. Her version of preserving it would have been to either lay it on the floor so it didn't get wrinkled - but would likely get stepped on eventually - or would be folding it in half and stuffing it into her journal.

While she could tell it took him some guts to come to her to bring her the drawing he did, it was just another example of his communication breakdown. She didn't despise the art, and actually peaked in a small way of enjoyment upon first seeing it, but she began to think about how he could have asked about Yahal's eyes, his nose, his mouth, his muscles, what type of cloak it was instead of assuming. She realized she was being overly critical, but by that time he had already slipped into bed.

Once he was laid down to sleep, she would slip silently out the back and down into the grass to begin to pick more flowers and to distract herself. She couldn't even admire the nature around her anymore as his words stung her still, that he didn't like when she spoke of things she knew nothing about. There was a bite of pain on her lip to keep her from feeling too strongly about the fight and she sought distraction elsewhere with her eyes, deciding to run ahead of the wagons a bit.

She would continue on her feet for some time until midday and then would come back and nap in the bed with the flaps closed.

[Illumin0sity]

By the time Elann returned back to the wagon Aimee was up and active. She actually wore her own clothes that afternoon instead of Noah’s, a sheer mutlilayered dress which was more a nightgown than anything. She liked the look of it, how the purple was deep when all the layers laid atop one another but were remarkably light when a single layer was held alone. Fair lavender and deep hues occupied her being as she sat on the edge of the wagon, both of the wagon flaps open since the growing day also meant growing temperatures. She sat on the edge with one of her books in hand, looking up briefly to look at Elann when the Benshira climbed back into the wagon. Noah still lie sleep on the pallet on the floor, curled up beneath the blankets but otherwise unmoving with his bond silent in his sleeping nature.

Seeing that Elann was going to sleep as well Aimee put her book down on the bench and closed the flaps, slipping from the wagon entirely to walk and enjoy the nice weather of the day. The sun was shining particularly strong against the ground since the trees were thinning out enough to allow meadows and hills to take over the landscape. It was a sight Aimee was glad to see since it meant she was approaching home, though there was still a ways to go. As much as she was used to cloudy weather, cloudless days were some of the best in her opinion.

[snelss0]

While Elann may not have been in a good mood around her husband, once the sun began to warm her and he was asleep, she couldn't help but feel comfortable. It had been a long time since she felt warm, and after soaking up the rays all day, she was mighty sleepy. Aimee closed the flaps for her once settled into the wagon and she lay there on her back.

In the dark, she could hear the breathing of her husband and how his bond was quiet to her. She let out a silent deep exhalation and turned away from him to face the wall of the bench. She hugged a pillow and began to fall asleep.

Elann tucked the blanket about her and nuzzled into the pillow. She would only sleep for about an hour and then would wake up, looking for where her husband was and then would slip out to walk alongside the wagon train silently.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah was awake when Elann woke up, but he hadn’t moved from his spot in the bed. He had seen Elann sleeping with her back to him and took the sight harder than may have been intended. He lied on his back with his hands holding one another over his abdomen, looking up at the ceiling of the wagon. He was unsure how much time passed between him drawing the picture for her and sleeping himself; the flaps were closed and Aimee was gone. He wasn’t sure how much time passed before Elann stirred at his side either.

He looked over to her briefly, seeing that she was growing more awake before looking back at the ceiling. He looked at her when she rose to leave but that was brief too. He decided to roll over onto his side again and bring the blanket up over his head and take in his own heat, only the tufts of his curly hair visible to those who may have seen him.

Outside, Aimee walked idly alongside the wagons. She had occasionally talked to some of the drivers as she passed the wagons up to go to the lead car. She strode beside the lead car in relative quiet, keeping to herself now.

[snelss0]

Elann had slowly woken up to the point where she could feel her husband was awake. The thought of his drawing sadly was still in her mind, the will to not want to gauge whether she could talk to him or not was not there. She didn't dislike him nor did she feel any particular anger toward him; she just wanted to leave as soon as possible and give him the space he wanted.

She threw back the blanket off of her and glanced his way, seeing he was staring up at the ceiling as if in thought. Slowly and carefully she sat up to stand and upon doing so, he rolled over with the blanket over his head and she turned away to brush her hair briefly and then walk out.

Outside, his sister was by the wagons and Elann too took up position along side of them. She mainly walked next to the wagon behind theirs, but further out to the side in the field. There she was keeping to herself along with the other ladies and even men who were riding along.

Eventually, Elann would grab a whole tuft of grass and smell it in her hands, realizing it did have a unique scent to it. Humming to herself, she cleaned off her hands and continued walking.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah went through moments of wanting to speak with her and then not, mostly misguaging her own want to talk to him. The drawing of Yahal was another testing point for him. He was afraid to broach the subject of Yahal again, but knew it was something she enjoyed talking about regardless of if he agreed with the god’s ideals or not. To him, the god didn’t matter much, but she meant more than the moon and sun combined. He understood he misspoke some of his own opinions of Yahal, but it was why he was cautious in speaking by the river. It just turned into something more, which was also his fault because of how he took the answers to the questions he asked.

He didn’t like to generalize things, thus he didn’t ask what Yahal or Elann thought of him, he asked specifically what he wanted to know: if she or Yahal thought he was impure. She had said no, but he kept prodding anyway because he disagreed with her notion that purity and faithfulness took place in the wild. He conceded that in some places and in some species it seemed like the laws applied. His problem was that it wasn’t true in its entirety, yet spoken as such with confidence. He was particular and picky when it came to conversation, which explained why many didn’t engage in prolonged communication with them that weren’t already particular and specific in nature.

Outside, two of the children came up to Aimee and strode alongside her, one of the young boys taking her hand while the girl on her side held onto the fabric of the dress near her hip. Aimee loved children much like Noah did, because they were fun and innocent, naive but not to a fault because of their age. Children were awed by the Kelvics and gave positive attention instead of misunderstanding and scorn. That wasn’t to say the Kelvics hadn’t played the receiver in scorn from children, but they were easily forgivable. Adults, however, were not.

The children were called away by the others and a game of play ensued as they began to dart in out of the moving caravans. They asked Aimee to join in but she politely refused, instead choosing to fall back from the wagons. To her surprise she saw Elann though, and she had thought the Benshira would stay sleeping through the afternoon. Aimee stood off to the side of the road and let those who were walking behind her pass by while she waited for Elann to come to her. When the Benshira did, Aimee showed her a genuine smile, baring teeth and all.

“Hello, sister dear,” she said merrily. Calling Elann ‘sister’ was something she hadn’t done before until now in all seriousness. “I like your hair... it’s nice.”

Aimee was walking backwards in front of Elann, her hands tucked behind her back as her dress flowed freely this way and that.

“Sorry I didn’t answer you last night, I was so tired I barely heard you.”

[snelss0]

Noah had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her God, that she could do whatever she wanted. It was why she took such offense at him trying to draw some picture of her God now, after the fight. It was like he was doing it just to make up with her, not because he had any interest in Yahal. In their culture, the husband would have to wander the deserts in search for Yahal, but hers would never care to do that.

He had disagreed with her in every possible way, insulting her intelligence about nature, implying that she didn't know what she was talking about with any of the things she mentioned, gave her warning glances as she simply mentioned it was unwise to stand out in a lightning storm- a common knowledge, particularly to her who was struck by lightning. He had insulted her observational skills with his sister, after having heard her declare she worshiped certain Gods and was a kelvic. Obviously they had some place in her life, which was her point, but instead she was met with a stern 'shut up' essentially. It was why she didn't want to look at nature, didn't seek to travel alongside Aimee, didn't seek to talk to her husband. She was in a prison, in her mind, unable to speak of what he didn't know, and he didn't seem to know much according to her at that moment.

Elann knew she was thinking bitterly at times about him, but mostly only when he was asleep when she could think freely without fear of the emotions filtering to her husband and causing harm to the people around them via storms. As it was right now, Elann sought to distract herself from her thoughts, thinking instead of good things as she walked, meditating on things that were righteous, pure, and clean instead of the darkness that wanted to take hold in her and fight with her husband more.

Aimee likely already knew what Elann was going through as she had traveled off with Noah the night of the hunt. Elann saw the dress show in her peripheral vision and looked up from where she was walking. The delightful smile brought some happiness to the bond as she looked up at her, though she was not likely visible from the back of the wagon.

"Hi," she chimed back. "Thank you."

Elann offered her hand for her sister instead of walking backwards so they could walk hand in hand and talk.

"Oh, yeah, I imagine. I'm surprised you even remembered. Have you been playing with the kids?"

[Illumin0sity]

“You’re welcome,” Aimee replied. She stopped walking backwards and came up alongside the Benshira, taking Elann’s hand.

Elann’s question came, to which Aimee shrugged at. “Whenever they want to play. They’re usually playing with each other, too busy to play with me anymore. Sometimes I don’t feel like playing either, but that’s more me than them. I think they understand that I’ve been really tired lately though. It’s nice.”

Aimee drew a hand through her hair, pushing aside her fringe and tucking it behind one of her ears to keep it out of her face temporarily. The sun was shining and there weren’t any clouds in the sky, any weather front that may have threatened them had moved on without gracing them with another downpour of rain. The wind, however, whipped up whenever it felt like in strong gusts and constant breezes.

“What made you want to color your hair?” she asked curiously, peering at Elann’s strands.

[snelss0]

It was nice to have a sister that she could walk with and hold her hand. Girls of her tribe and even in Syliras would do that. Even boys in her tribe would when talking, so to her, it was like being home.

"They can be kind of overwhelming."

It was clear that Elann was cold in the wind when the bursts would come upon her, though thankfully, the sun would shine and warm her quickly after.

"Well, I was putting in my henna treatment and just left it in too long. It wasn't that I necessarily wanted to color my hair."

She took up her free hand and combed some of her hair through her hands.

"This isn't even as dark as I could have had it. I got distracted, and knew that it would have set into my hair in some areas and not in others...really it only takes about ten minutes to do, and by that time I realized that if I took it out, I would look like I had dark and light patchy hair," she giggled slightly, "I decided to leave it in and just let it all set in. Does it look bad? I could have gone full black and considered it."

[Illumin0sity]

Holding hands during conversation wasn’t uncommon in Zeltiva either, especially to those of close relation. The bodily contact and body language were important to the already romantic city and the few Kelvics who resided in it, for it was easier for them to communicate, words barred.

Aimee nodded in agreement, the children could be overwhelming, even for her. It amused Aimee that Elann’s skin prickled with goosebumps whenever the wind blew in its bursts. Everytime the wind blew Aimee was forced to readjust her hair, the wind throwing away any order she may have given her tresses between gusts.

Aimee continued to peer at Elann’s hair as the Benshira explained the dyeing process. “It looks fine, nice even.”

She brought up a strand of her own hair to observe it. “I remember when you offered to dye mine. Sorry that I declined, I just never considered it. I don’t think I will, I like my natural color too much.” She smiled mirthfully. “I’m not even sure how it would look if I shifted. I might have an oddly colored patch on my fur. Funny as it would be, I wouldn’t want that.”

She tucked the hair away again since the wind had let up for a moment. She knew it would come again and throw it out of whack once more but she didn’t mind readjusting her wild strands, it gave her an excuse to touch her hair.

“We’re nearly to Zeltiva by now,” she said, nodding to the peaking mountain range. “Are you looking forward to it?”

[snelss0]

Elann could understand her sister's hesitation. She had stated it would take months to leave her hair, that the change was permament on her hair until it grew out, and with Aimee and Elann's hair length's and growth, for both of them it could take upwards of nine months. Her husband was currently stuck with her hair as it was for a long time, so whether or not he truly liked it, she didn't particularly trouble herself at the moment.

"Yeah, that would be kind of strange to see, but we could definitely identify you easily as a type of wolf we know and love right?"

Elann didn't know the exact name of the type of wolf she was, only knowing that something about her was very wolf-like, but elegant.

"You know," she added, "I think you are so pretty when shifted..and not! But really, your fur is so pretty and your long legs. They are fitting and make you seem so elegant. I haven't seen much elegance in nature like you."

While she admired her husband for various qualities more than Aimee, she had the elegance and beauty going for her in her species.

As Aimee spoke about Zeltiva, Elann looked forward down the road as she swung her and Aimee's hand, wondering how truly far away they were.

"Yeah. I am. So is that Mountain range where we are traveling toward? It looks impassable..."

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee nodded in agreement. “It would make me easier to identify, but that can be a bad thing too. Depending on the color, I might stick out like a sore thumb. That'd be bad for hunting,” she informed kindly, almost in joking. She could imagine her camouflage being broken by a random out-of-the-ordinary patch of fur. Anything with half a brain would go running, birds would spot her easier too.

Elann’s compliment was nice, and Aimee showed her appreciation with a small smile. She didn't blush in embarrassment because she knew she was an elegant creature, Elann’s compliment had not been the first.

“Thank you,” she uttered in Fratava before slipping back in Common. “You can be elegant as well.”

Elann brought up the mountains, asking if they were impassable. Aimee nodded, taking a breath to reveal the secret.

“For the most part, it is. It is steep and dangerous to climb, but this road cuts through a narrow way that lets us get to the city. There aren't any gates like Syliras; the mountains are the gates and walls.” She smiled over to Elann, thinking it was rather neat the mountains acted as a natural defense.

“After we get to the mountains and to the passageway we'll be home free, only half a day’s travel,” she said. “Before we get to the passageway though, we'll pass an outpost. It's a hunting outpost, something small for the hunters who come out of the city to bring in the meat that we don't get from fishing and livestock.” She chuckled aloud. “Speaking of fish, I hope you like it. We'll be eating a lot of it.”

A pause came over the Kelvic. “It must be rather terrible to take another long trip when you were just on a boat last year, yeah?”

[snelss0]

"Oh yeah, because you need to hide from your prey and other predators." She understood the concept, it just wasn't on the forefront of her mind at the time. Nature was a sore subject for her at the moment, though she didn't display it. Noah would feel the restraint in Elann whereever she was hidden from his sight.

"Oh, thank you," she uttered in Fravata with a bright smile, the nerves fading from her quickly to be replaced with happiness. "And I love your haircolor anyways, so definitely don't change it."

As Aimee told Elann about the mountain pass, she shivered in the breeze and pulled her other arm about her. If she was ever cursed by Zulrav, surely even with the weakest of his marks against those cursed, she would die. As Aimee explained Elann nodded.

"Wow, that's interesting." She was going to comment more and about the fish, but Aimee wanted to know particularly about her travels.

"Hah, no actually," she answered about the boat trip. "This is easy compared to that. We spent three long months in the hull of that ship, unable to wander around. I was used to dark solitude, as my father mostly had me making rugs in the tent, but many people weren't. It was a very bad time. Some people died and were thrown overboard. I tried to help them as best I could, and for it, Yahal rewarded me by marking me once more."

Elann would have shown her her back tattoo again, but her traditional garb covered everything.

"Both Noah and I were suffocating in that Syliras city. He wants to live in the city again, but I would love to live in the country, to live off the land. Either way I don't really care, but this place seems so beautiful and clean. I don't know what Zeltiva is like, but I hope it is not like Syliras. You've both tried to explain it to me, but I guess I'm just not very imaginative. I'll wait to see it."

"I do like fish too. My father used to trade mutton for it in Yahebah. It was always nice to have a change of food from the normal, so to me, fish is like a delicacy. I just wish it smelled a little better at times. When it is rotting, eww... We usually got salted fish though for that reason. Everything rots instantly in the desert."

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee hummed to cement the little lesson about nature. “I have to be particularly careful, I'm not as safe as Noah, my other brothers, or my sister. Even my father and mother are safer than I am.”

Aimee was a tad of an outcast in comparison to the others in her family. She was agile and quick but nowhere near as powerful as the dire wolf her father was or the great eagles her mother, brother, and sister were.

Elann explained the trip and how she didn't feel all too bad about being on anotherone. It made Aimee feel a little bit better because she felt guilty for pressing Noah to change his mind about it. The guilt settled in later, but overall she was glad to have both Noah and his bondmate coming to Zeltiva. She hummed intriguingly when Elann expressed she was used to dark solitude though, it was interesting in Aimee’s mind.

“I'm sorry we haven't been doing a good job explaining it. It's better to experience it anyway; it's a large city. By that I mean, your experience may be different from ours and even I'm still finding new things to do.”

The topic switched back to the fish, Aimee smiling along with the mention of salt and how things spoiled. “Well, you'll be able to taste some fresher fish in Zeltiva. I'll make sure of it personally.”

She paused, considering what Elann said pertaining to possible living arrangements. “The country?” she asked, uncertainty in her voice. “Why'd you want to live so far away?”

[snelss0]

"Why are you less safe?" she asked for clarification.

Aimee apologized for not being good at explaining the location. Elann shrugged and nodded. She gave her another brief example of the city.

"It sounds interesting. I'm having dreams about it," she voiced with a smile.

She offered her fresh fish and Elann slyly smiled.

"Okay, but one of these times you have to cook it for me yourself. I'm going to keep pushing you to be a good cook."

Elann gave her a playful look like she was serious and was going to nag the girl to cook better and use her gift of scent to make amazing creations of food. There was nothing wrong in Elann's mind for knowing how to cook.

"Oh, well...not deep country. Maybe just something near the city. I really am not set on anything, but in my mind, I just think Noah would like it. He keeps talking about living in the city, but I know him. He hated being around so many people. I don't doubt he enjoys festivals and being in the city, but living there, constantly having people around, I just think he would like a little touch of nature occasionally. I was thinking like maybe a house on the edge of town so our backyard could just be nature or something. A way to get the best of both worlds."

She shrugged, showing it wasn't something set in stone to her. She could live contently in a small brick square and be content.

[Illumin0sity]

“Noah can fly,” she pointed out. “So can my mother and sister, plus they are some of the largest birds in the sky. If anything happens they can fly away or face anything that may come their way. For example, the first winter Noah was in Syliras, he wrote to us and told us he had fought off a dire lynx. That’s an amazing feat for him. I couldn’t do that at all. I don’t know if I could even outrun a lynx, let alone a dire lynx.

“My brothers and father are very capable animals as well, very strong, intimidating, capable. It’s unlikely anything will mess with them, especially my father. I don’t have the luxury, so I have to use everything I can to my advantage. I’ve learned from my family in order to survive when I’m not with them. That’s what it’s about in the end: surviving regardless of what happens, using whatever you can to do so.”

Aimee smiled at the Benshira pressuring her to cook again. “You’re persistent,” she said joyfully. “I’ll cook your second meal in Zeltiva, how’s that? No doubt my mother will be taking care of most things when we get there, including sleeping arrangements, unless you and Noah were thinking about checking into an room? There’s enough space in the house for you. If not, we’ll kick Ryon out. He can go to one of his friends’ house.”

Elann informed Aimee on what they were thinking pertaining to living once they began to settle into the city. The wolf nodded at her words, her worry slightly dashed but not completely erased. “Perhaps it’s selfish, but I would like you guys to be close, that’s all,” she said.

“Noah told me that you had a dream about an abandoned cottage?” she said, seeking confirmation. “He said he remembered seeing something like it. Do you think you’ll find it when you get to Zeltiva?”

[snelss0]

The Avians and their father naturally were not targets due to their size and ability to handle themselves, but it seemed that Aimee was much smaller and thus why she had to use intelligence, camouflage and her great scent to assist her.

"Well, you seem to do alright. Honestly I think that might make you a better hunter than all of them, doesn't it? I mean...they have either height or size advantage on you, they can fly fast or run probably faster than you, but yet you still have been doing amazingly well out here. I think that says something?"

A grin passed over Elann's face as she was titled as persistent.

"I think we were going to check into a room at some inn near where he used to go to. We don't want to be a burden on your family in any way, regardless of the willingness your parents would have to provide. We are going to take some time, look for a place that we want, figure out our job situation and just everything once we are there. I'm trying not to stress out about it too much right now. If I think too much on what will happen when I'm there, I'll go crazy. As it is, I don't even know entirely what to expect when we arrive."

"Well, maybe we can find a place close by that is not entirely swallowed up by the walls and buildings of the city? Who knows?"

"Oh...yeah." she nodded, giving confirmation as Aimee spoke about her dream. "I am not sure," she answered. "Really, I have lots of dreams. Some have come true...some have not and are just in my head. I have a feeling such a place exists, especially since Noah mentioned he thinks he's seen it, but there wasn't much else to the dream, just that it's there. Who knows that that means? Ever since I was a little girl I've had dreams and visions like that. I was being groomed to be a prophetess in the main temple in Yahebah before all this happened and I was sent here. I guess you never know what will happen in life, hmm?"