[IC] Journey to the East

[Illumin0sity]

Upon slipping into bed Noah braced himself to feel the eventual chill that was Elann’s body. The difference between their outward and inward temperatures were easily felt to the Kelvic. At this point he failed to be shocked by her cooler body coming to embrace his soon after he settled into a comfortable position. She came in on top of him, nuzzling against his chin and cheek, proclaiming she would miss the hair that was there for it would be gone by tomorrow afternoon. He shied his face away from her, not in avoidance but so he could see her clearly there.

“Why?” he asked curiously.

He thought it much like how he would miss her natural hair color a little. The difference was he couldn’t accidently shave his face.

“I will keep it if you want,” he said, giving her the option. “If you like it so much, that is.”

A slight cant of his head came as he looked at her, the question in the air. He could see himself with a kempt amount of facial hair. His father and eldest brother had beards while his second oldest brother kept his face clean much like Noah. Then again, Donavan and Noah were the lither of the four men in their household, much less brawny and macho than their father and eldest brother Ryon.

[snelss0]

Elann shrugged in response to his question why. She didn't know. Though at his offer to keep it she felt like she had to think.

"Well, I like it like I like anything and everything on you. It's part of who you are. It's different, and fuzzy..." she reached up then to rub it with her hand opposite of her face.

"I like both, shaved and not. But it's whatever you want. If you want to shave it, go ahead, I'm fine."

She huddled tighter about him except in the areas of his wounds, ignoring the beard topic and just settling in to sleep right there upon him if she didn't get too uncomfortable.

[Illumin0sity]

After giving it some thought she gave him the option to keep it or not, expressing her opinion in much the same way Noah would say something about her changing a part of her body. In the end, he didn't care, even if he did like an aspect about her, like her hair. He nodded and hummed at her words and brought his arm around her, resting the other over his chest as he too settled into sleep.

It wasn't long before sleep would take him away from the moment and into a dreamless sleep, if Elann didn't seek to keep him awake with more conversation. It was unlikely that he would be the first to wake, even once the birds started chirping, something that once served as his alarm if he wasn't as tired as he was.

[snelss0]

Elann wouldn't do much, only laying there a while until very warm, then she would get up to blow out the lantern and would go to sleep. She too would not still until the loud ringing of the breakfast bell came. Many people had begun already to deconstruct their tents, but theirs had not. Elann went through her morning routines of waking up, brushing her hair, and would encourage Noah to rise and shave if he was going to.

It wasn't long however before they were packed, had breakfast, and were on their way again on the road. Another long, boring day of just weaving for Elann. She would sit in silence most of the morning, but around noon she would be much more awake, seeking company and conversation.

[Illumin0sity]

The ringing of the breakfast bell came to rudely awaken the Kelvic. He groaned at it in protest, turning over onto his side until Elann came to encourage him to follow through on his words last night. Eventually he did sit up fully, wiping the sleep from his eyes that were much more alert than his body was. It was clear he didn’t want to be up in that moment, and while he usually was groggier than Elann upon waking, this was that tenfold. After a moment longer he managed to get himself to shave, going through the task with the same meticulousness he always put into his grooming. It took him a while to get to the point where he felt awake enough to shave, not wanting to cut himself with the razor or fail in anything before the morning barely got going.

Midway through breakfast he was done and putting away his tools, cleaning his brush, and making sure his face was free of any residual cream. It felt good to him to be clean-shaven again and he was glad he had been encouraged to do so. He ate the breakfast he neglected until he was done shaving then went to put on the change of clothes Elann set out for them. He humored her for presentation’s sake, knowing that soon after they were in the wagon and on their way he would strip off what he didn’t want to wear anymore, namely any shirt she may have put with the things he was to wear that morning.

The Kelvic was lazy that day, he was feeling particularly worse than yesterday evening, the collection of bodily ache, remaining wound pain, and growing sickness doing a number on him and confining him to either bedrest or a meager existence, he chose the latter. The other Kelvic, Aimee, was living a lazy life that day as well, mostly because the other two in the wagon were preoccupied or didn’t seem to be totally talkative in Noah’s case. She busied herself with reading, thankful she brought so many books on the trip. Seeing as in Syliras they were almost always doing something, she wasn’t allowed to reach into her stash of literature to pass the time. Which was a good thing, otherwise she’d be out of reading material already.

Upon noon coming, and Elann being more wakeful, Aimee engaged her in conversation, sticking mostly to Fratava in order to gauge where Elann was and what she felt comfortable with. She reassured the Benshira that Common was what they’d be speaking most of all, and she’d even be able to speak Shiber to other Benshira that were in Zeltiva. Occasionally, however, there’d be people who would prefer Fratava more so than Common, and it was usual for the residents to be versed in many languages considering the city was more than a melting pot than Syliras.

[snelss0]

Elann was growing concerned about her husband and his failing health, and as she promised, she would take care of him in his sickness. Being near to Aimee, and her husband in his meager existence, she whispered to her under the guise of the creaking wagon.

"Have you ever seen him sick before? What can I do? Is there anything that makes him better? I don't know how to treat eagles."

She seemed concerned authentically concerned for him, and while it was normal to have him likely just get over the sickness he had, she wanted to make sure she was doing anything possible. Surely the doctor knew some remedies that could work on animals, but perhaps the hunters would know better? If Aimee didn't know, Elann would slip out to ask.

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee fingered the pages of the book in her lap, sitting beside Elann on one of the benches as Noah sat on the floor. The Benshira came in for a whisper, something different from their general conversation they were having but a moment earlier. At the Benshira’s questions Aimee looked at Noah searchingly, eventually shaking her head at Elann’s words and smiling, finding humor in the final statement more so than the questions posed.

“Almost no one does,” Aimee said without much worry. “I haven’t seen him sick often but it’s hardly ever serious. This doesn’t look like anything out of an ordinary cold for him. My mother gets them from time to time, but they hardly get sick as it is. My mother just lets him be when he’s sick, as we let her be when she is. As long as he’s not running a fever he’ll be fine. He’ll just need some water and rest, but I doubt he’ll ever lay down unless you make him.”

Aimee drummed her fingers on the cover of her book. “I wouldn’t worry much about it, Elann. If he wants something from you he’ll come ask for it. He knows you’re there for him, just like he knows I’m there for him too. Probably better to not mention it much. He knows he’s sick, doubtful he wants to be told he’s sick on top of that. He gets kind of testy when he’s not feeling well.”

She spoke rather matter-of-factly and nonchalantly. It wasn’t a big deal in her eyes and Noah wasn’t dying or crippled. She knew he would come and ask for assistance if he felt as if he was being defeated by the illness, and knew better than to poke at him until that point. She showed Elann a little smile and kind eyes, looking down at the necklace tucked into the Benshira’s top.

“Can I see it?” she asked, nodding down towards the golden chain. “I saw it a little bit the day of your wedding but not since, I’m curious.”

[snelss0]

Aimee's words made her think deeply. If it were her, she would want to be pampered, likely seeing her husband every chance she was awake, having him nearby, consoling her in her sickness. It seemed he was the opposite, not wanting to bring attention to his sickness or his fraility, but instead just acting like nothing happened. Her duty to get him to get better would be better served by lying down herself with him.

Elann hummed and pulled out the chain so her sister could easily see it. The necklace was long enough that she could let her sister hold it without even bending much toward her.

"It's very pretty. Simple, but pretty. He did very good in picking it out I think."

Not feeling great herself, she too wanted to lay down and when Aimee was done with the necklace, she would gather some water and bring it near the bed and surround it in things so it wouldn't fall over. She then would look to Aimee and would say, "I think I'm not feeling well either. I'm going to lay down."

It was unfortunately that time of the month for her, and the beginnings of the painful sting inside her had begun. Before laying down, she took her cloth meant for absorbing the coming blood and brought it under the blanket with her. Aimee would likely know what was happening herself, and after protecting herself from the flow under the blanket, she would settle in next to her sick husband and would stroke his hair so he better slept. She felt bad that he would not only be sick, but would feel the sore pain from his wounds, and the dulled pain she herself experienced. If it were up to her, she would close off the bond so he didn't feel it, but it was not an action she could do.

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee marveled at the mangalasutra as Elann presented it. She’d never been gifted something so extravagant. She nodded along when Elann said she thought Noah picked well, it was something that looked like it would draw Noah’s attention. It was simple yet seemed to speak a lot with the two baubles for charms at the end. “It’s pretty,” Aimee managed to say before thinking back on Elann asking how she could assist Noah.

The Benshira was right in her assumption that he would much rather act as if the sickness wasn’t happening. It may have been seen as pride in the human sense of the word, but it was ill-advised to show weakness in the wild, especially when you had a huge stake of land at risk if some other roving predator moved in to challenge you. Even though Noah didn’t have a demesne at that time, the behavior was long instilled.

“If you really want to help him,” Aimee said, “ask what you can do for him. He might say nothing but at least you’ve made your willingness to help all the more known to him.”

She pressed a smile towards Elann when she rose in order to lie down. Aimee didn’t watch Elann go about her preparations, instead sticking her nose back into her book and soaking up the story held within the pages and words. She smelled the telltale scent coming from Elann, telling she was about to go through the monthly routine, something she loathed herself.

Upon her coming to lie down with Noah, the male turned to face her, half-asleep in a daze but awake enough to embrace her as she stroked his hair. He had his eyes closed the entire movement but it didn’t prevent his hands from finding the places they readily rested when they did lay together. He felt the dull and familiar prodding of her monthly pain, adding to what was already compounding on him. He lovingly held her caressing where he could as he began to fall back to sleep.

[snelss0]

Elann nodded thankfully toward her sister, glad that she was able to have some insight as to what was alright in this instance. As she tucked away her mangalasutra and slipped down into the bed, she was embraced by him and she swelled their bond with comfort and love despite her pain.

"Shh, go back to sleep," she whispered to him as she lay there. Elann then began to speak/sing in soothing Shiber to him as she curled his hair. Eventually the motion would put even her into a deep sleep and she would lay there until he moved. The both of them together and embracing reduced the shaking force of the wagon and would let each sleep deeper away the afternoon. Elann would likely wake first given her pain and silently would whimper to herself as it only seemed to get worse and worse. Still, she tried to remain still and silent for Noah's sake and would only press a hand to her abdomen to relieve the pain therein.

[Illumin0sity]

Following her shushing and soothing Shiber words the Kelvic was lulled away, holding and being held by his wife. The deepness of his sleep didn’t last long, he woke up into a half-sleep once more and gauged his surroundings, waking up all the more but allowing himself to stay there and relax for both him and Elann’s sake. It had been a while in his mind since they were allowed to embrace one another in this way, and although it wasn’t totally private like he would’ve liked it, he didn’t believe his sister would harbor any ill-feelings towards it. He figured she above all people would understand him and his wants for him and his bondmate.

Upon waking up some he rubbed Elann on her back, mostly just for the continued touch, unsure what his actions did to alleviate any of her discomfort. He truthfully yearned all the more for the trip to be done so he could regain some of the privacy he liked to have with Elann. Knowing he would be allowed to regain some of it relatively soon was reassuring. He felt they would be coming up on the outpost soon and it was probably likely the lead driver would push the oxen and horses for one of the last times in order to reach the outpost in full, giving the caravan a full course meal before the final leg of the journey was tackled: getting through the mountain’s pass.

In time he felt Elann wake and whimper, feeling her hand come between them to press over her abdomen. He brought his own had over her waist and nuzzled her head with his, telling his was partly up and aware of her discomfort.

[snelss0]

While the actions of her husband did soothe her, it would do nothing to whisk away the pain of her flow. The next day would be rough on her, but she'd manage. Elann was one-hundred and nothing pounds, seemingly frail, and her periods often weren't so bad. It didn't mean it felt fine though.

Sleeping was all she could manage to do, but even that was taken from her at the movement of the wagon and her pain waking her. Elann would lay there for the most part for another couple bells, but then would nudge her head against Noah's gently.

"Did you need me to get you anything? I have some water right here if you want it?"

She too wanted a sip and brought it to her lips to drink a tiny bit of it. That night, he would see her eat a great amount of food comparatively and drink a lot of fluids.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah groaned as he was nudged by Elann, a deep hum asking what she wanted. Even though bells had passed he hadn’t fallen entirely asleep again like she did. He stayed dazed and foggy, letting his mind wander while keeping track of the sounds and noises coming from outside of the wagon, what could be heard over the wheels and racket going on below them. He withdrew his hand from her as she sat up, her voice coming through and asking what she could do for him, offering him water. She took a sip as he sat up, rubbing his eyes that remained barely open, lazy like the rest of him in that moment.

In silent acceptance, he reached out for the cup after she took her sip and took one after her, drawing much more from the glass than she initially did. When he was done he handed it back to her and lowered himself back down, turning over onto his stomach and bringing his hands up to lay his head on the backs of them, disregarding any pillow for the moment.

“I don’t need anything,” he said with fully closed eyes again. He spoke gently and sleep-choked, what Elann asked didn’t offend him, he was just rejecting anything aside from the water she kindly offered.

“Do you?” he asked in return, cracking open an eye to peer at her searchingly.

[snelss0]

It was good to be able to provide at least something for her husband, even if it was a simple glass of water. She watched as he drank most of it, and upon the last of his drinking, she took it back and finished it herself.

"No, I don't need anything," she answered without looking at him, still placing the glass back in the surrounded area.

With a flop, she returned back onto her side next to him and then rolled to her back with her hands on her belly and knees slightly bent up. She had long since dumped out the tea that the doctor had provided, but wouldn't mind some now to knock herself out, though it was doubtful even that would keep her from waking up.

It was clear that the more time elapsed, the more pain would come, and it would come in waves over her, causing her to wince at them in silence as she lay there, fully awake now, but not wanting to move. The wagon itself was a nightmare the worse her pain got and eventually she scooted up between the wagon's bench and Noah so she moved and shifted less. In time evening would come and the dreadful setting up of the tent, but with their condition it wasn't likely either of them were going to get to sleep in it. If encouraged not to, she would gladly give up the quest to set it up.

[Illumin0sity]

Elann’s pain would continue to increase in strength while Noah’s had long since plateaued and would begin to ease up in the next few days. He felt tomorrow would be the start of the height of his sickness and after a few more days he would start to feel better. He didn’t keep track of Elann’s monthly bleeding, knowing it came and went when it did. Noah was helpless in stopping her discomfort, only being able to alleviate what he could with his presence and giving aid when she requested it. She knew all she had to do was ask for him to do something and he would without much hesitation, so long as he was aiding her. The same couldn’t be said for him entirely, seeing as he liked to reside with himself when he wasn’t feeling well, but that was the difference between the bonded pair.

She scooted and shifted, placing herself between the bench and his body. He remained daze and therefore unperturbed, going through his own suffering quietly, presuming it would be soon that the wagons would attempt to pull over for the night. Maybe if they made it to the outpost Elann would be able to better find aid for her discomfort. As it were though, Noah’s sense of direction was all but shot, only to be restored if he took to the skies in order to scout ahead. Sliding in and out of daze and shallow sleep made him lose all track of distance and time.

Aimee was gone now, the flaps closed, so he was even more unsure whether or not it was still midday or evening or if the wagon was trudging on well into the night. He was unsure if the light coming through the slits of the flaps was sunlight, moonlight, lantern, or torchlight. He didn’t focus too much on it to discern the vague differences in color either; what of his attention that could be focused was on Elann or himself, consistently checking to see how he felt or searching their bond for any signally feelings aside from her pain.

“When we stop,” he whispered, “stay here. Aimee will come back because I’m not feeling well and I’ll send her to get dinner.”

[snelss0]

With the restricted movement of her body, she was much more comfortable. While not comfortable entirely, she was feeling much less like her uterus was ripping itself apart than before. A sigh of relief came from her and as the bells rolled by, her sister left and closed the flaps.

Her husband later whispered to her to stay there when they stopped and she shook her head. She was not sick like him, and while in pain, she wasn't without function. In fact, now that she had rested through the worst of her pain, she felt like she could get up but had elected not to do so while the wagon shook. Once they stopped, she'd be pretty fine.

"I'm okay, I can get it if she's not back by the ring of the bell. I think I'm just feeling so badly because of the shaking. If the shaking wasn't there..." she voiced, annoyed slightly at it as it continued to press at her sides. "You know, I can't wait to come to your house and meet your family."

It was clear that despite the familiar subject, that she had been thinking about it. Her voice had shifted from the annoyance toward the wagon to almost a droopy happiness in between her moans and whimpers that seemed without end as the pain shot through her repetitively.

[Illumin0sity]

“Okay,” he said quietly in reply her rejection of his idea. He figured he wouldn’t press it, dropping the issue and leaving the decision up to her in the end. She brought up wanting to meet his family, the tone of her voice softening. He didn’t find a great amount of joy in the words, not because they weren’t hopeful, but because his mind wasn’t particularly wandering to the impending meeting of the rest of his family. So, he hummed simply to say he heard her, shifting a little on his side to tuck a pillow under his head.

“It’ll be nice,” he managed to say, bringing a hand up to feel his own forehead. He set it back down, feeling as if his temperature was relatively normal for what he usually had. As the day progressed the Kelvic was feeling progressively worse, not aided by Elann’s growing pain and discomfort as well. Where he once felt he would be able to get up and go about relatively easily, he was now starting to feel physically weak and he couldn’t tell if the ache in his abdomen was from Elann or from himself. Furthermore, the muscle weakness was accompanied by bodily aches as well, aches compounding on top of sore muscles and wounds.

The degradation of his condition didn’t surprise him, as it was something he’d been through a few times before. He could only hope it wouldn’t last long or wouldn’t be as bad as it could be.

[snelss0]

The pain he felt was likely a bit of both, though hers was decidedly lower than the gut and more internal. He was nice with her, commenting simply, though she could tell that by speaking to him in her opinions that he felt he needed to say something. She didn't want him to, only to lay there and listen, but as it was, she thought the best medicine was to keep quiet.

Elann would curl onto her side in the fetal position to relieve some pain and would lay there facing away from him in silence, though he could feel she was not distant or asleep, just letting him have his peace. If he wanted to talk in particular about something she would, but otherwise, she just kept to herself until they pulled off the road and it was time to get food.

Hopefully the cook remembered what she had said to him the previous night and some others and thus their last few nights could have some actually decent food, but given his lazy record thus far, she doubted he put much effort or thought into what he made. If she were a more verbally bold woman, confident in her newfound city, she would speak out to the company and request a new cook. As it was, she was shy, was not comfortable speaking to anyone yet in Zeltiva, especially in conflict.

[Illumin0sity]

Commenting simply on what she said led to silence between them. He turned to fully lay on his stomach, his head facing away from her as he disregarded the pillow again in favor for laying his head on the backs of his hands. The jostling on the wagon below was getting more annoying to him, Elann having had pointed it out to his attention. It wasn't helping him either, the drudging back and forth further upsetting his already dully aching abdomen.

He let the chimes pass in silence, him lying there in attempts to sort himself out mentally in preparation for when the wagons halted for the night. He wondered where Aimee had gone, not being all too attentive to her when she was present. He figured she was getting some air, getting away from the low feeling couple before she too was caught by any afflictions of theirs out of sympathy.

Noah couldn't fall asleep again, not fully or comfortably. His mind wandered aimlessly, attempting to relax him in the heightened discomfort caused by Elann’s own and the jostling of the wagon beneath him. The quiet was welcome, seeing as he didn't particularly want to hold a conversation about anything or with anyone. Eventually he got restless enough to turn onto his side and sit up, resting his arms over his raised knees as he sat, turning to face the fore of the wagon, where their things sat stacked and jumbled from the prolonged trip.

As much as he should've been lying down, for both himself and to keep Elann stable, he didn't want to anymore. His hands came through his hair, bringing his head down between his legs while both hands rested over the nape of his neck. He looked down to the floor, closing and opening his eyes lazily as he fought off a headache and the haze in his mind.

[snelss0]

When Noah sat up, it caught her attention, but only so much so as to look over at him and then back down to the wood grain before her. Feeling the pain more significantly now than previously, she shifted so her body would shake less, rather than rely on him to soften the wiggling.

She could feel the pain in her from him and could sense the growing tension. If she felt willing, she would get up and mother him, but knowing his attitude according to his sister, she would just rather lay there than bother.

Elann figured that the best thing for both of them would be for her to go to sleep and so she would remain that way, attempting to pass into the realm of dreams until they stopped. Given the way they were going, they would continue like this until Zeltiva, Elann getting better much quicker than him.