[IC] Journey to the East

[Illumin0sity]

It was the mentality that Noah had with Elann. There was a great deal about himself he had changed since their initial meeting, of that was the imposing stature in which he often made himself up to be. Elann had found him at the height of his independence, when his domain was miles wide and he was unchallenged. Over time, he had begun to shrink himself for her, attempting to adjust to being cooped up in her apartment. He wasn’t uncomfortable there, but she didn’t know the extremes of his power over the Bronze Woods. It truly explained why his apartment was barely touched. Before he confessed his love for her, he was barely there. Afterwards, his apartment was little more than a place to store his shiny baubles. All this meant that now he was simply attempting to keep his bondmate and their bond unstressed and satiated, meaning when he felt he did something wrong, there was a depression on him, momentary or lasting.

Elann found herself welcomed by him openly. He stretched out his legs to make room for her there in his chest and overtook where she once sat with his outstretched body. Maybe unknown to her, he appreciated when she spoke slow and calculated, allowing his thoughtful mind to take in what she meant, digesting it at a slow and steady pace. What she said, while making sense in many ways, confused him in others. He waited until she was done talking - and then some - before speaking himself.

“I don’t understand some of that,” he told her. “I take interest in your body; your lips and how you smell, even when we’re not having sex. I desire you and I want to hold you and kiss you all the time.” He paused, thinking. “I’m attracted to you; I like your body, all of it... just some parts more than others: your eyes and your hair. I like your skin, the color, how soft it is.” He paused once more, drawing breath. “I do do what I want with you; holding you and kissing you, so I do not understand when you say, ‘to be attracted to you and to desire to physically do what I want with you’. I do do what I want with you. It doesn't make sense to me,” he said, lightly shaking his head to indicate as much.

Noah was gently spoken in the moment, though the confusion in him was apparent in their bond and how he phrased his words, the inflections in his voice.

“Do I not do what you want me to do to you?” he went, searching for clarification.

[snelss0]

Elann enjoyed the peace of settling close to him and laying upon him. The warmth soothed her body from neck to toe and every muscle she had she could feel becoming like putty as she lay there with him. Elann hadn't napped like him, she was far too interested in what was going on around her, but there in his arms, she could feel like she could sleep.

There was however an important conversation between them. A conversation that could perhaps errupt into a fight, though Elann had no idea how. If anything like before, it would come out of nowhere to her senses, and would likely be due to his failure to get what was common knowledge to most people. Once again, she could hear him stating the same lacking of understanding of the situation he seemed so prevalent to fail in. She was not falling into that trap, and with her lack of language skills in common, she couldn't exactly express what she wanted anyways.

"Some of the time you do," she answered him. "I don't demand you to be more romantic, but I do love it when you are. The more you are, and the more often you are, the more I'll feel sated by it. I can't explain it any better for you. I guess it's something you will have to try to understand yourself. Maybe look at people around you, your parents, your sibling's past relationships, your old friend's. I don't know, love. Maybe just express it more though our bond, your words, and your actions. Maybe it's that you look at my eyes and find them fair or beautiful, but I don't sense a longing love in your heart because you see them. I know I am, but...does that make sense a little?"

She didn't like asking that question because he had been caught lying to her in the past, saying that he understood something but really didn't. She hoped in this instance he did understand and she could explain a bit better.

[Illumin0sity]

As much as Noah tried to understand what Elann wanted from him, there were many things he knew he was missing entirely. The grey shades of her emotions and how absolutes weren’t dealt with easily frustrated him, as someone who was used to the facts of life. He wasn’t ignorant to his failings, especially now that Elann said that he only sometimes did what she wanted from him. He appreciated she plainly said what she wanted him to do, though the convolution was still there. She confessed she couldn’t explain it any better, that it was best that he observe the world around him in order to get what she was trying to say. As she said, there were parts of her that he found attractive, he just didn’t react in the way that would communicate as much through feeling instead of words and actions unique to him.

“A little,” he said, trailing off.

Noah attempted to find the quietness of his mind again, taking a deep breath. It had been effectively disturbed by the brief conversation they had, one he felt was ending now for he didn’t have anything else to say on the matter. He allowed his mood to be mellowed by the touch him and Elann were sharing. Though the mood had been settled, his thoughts and feelings were graced with a tinge of somberness that remained throughout. The Kelvic sought to distract himself, bringing his hands out of the water to gingerly dab on the surface and watch the ripples as they drifted out, eventually dying.

The distraction was short lived as he brought his attention back to Elann, wrapping his arms around her in full and feeling her skin with his palms. Again, Noah kissed her on the temple before settling back, letting the back of his head rest against the edge of the basin in silence.

[snelss0]

It was important for Elann upon his answer and various emotions to express to him how much she loved him. As a way to calm down his mind, she pulled up, pressing her chest to him and wrapping her arms around his neck just tight enough to seem like a hug.

"Don't let it trouble you too much. I do love you, very much."

That wasn't in question fortunately, as Elann constantly overwhelmed him with her love, though the more he failed to show care and caretaking of that love in Elann, the harder it would become for her. It was a test of her faith as well. She would do what it took to still love him, however she didn't know how hard he would try to grow in romantic emotions for her, let alone that loving feeling she desired from him.

With Noah's arms now wrapped about her, she fell into a deep sleep there on his shoulder as she faced his neck. The water was close to her chin, and if he slipped down just a little, she'd get the soapy solution in her slightly puffed and open lips. The wear and tear of the day led her into that deep sleep rather out of nowhere, and if woken, she'd likely stay awake. The coffee and tea had yet to have a chance to work in her, but if she were to wake, it would all be a different image.

Never snoring, Elann puffed silent whispers of breath at his neck for as long as he lay there and left her in peace.

[Illumin0sity]

“I love you too,” he murmured to her as she settled back down into the water from her brief embrace of him.

Elann settled onto his shoulder and fell asleep, something he didn’t quite expect of her. Noah stayed awake, making sure she didn’t slip too deep into the water since she mostly using his grasp as her support in that moment, along with what little hold she had on his body. Noah busied himself quietly as she slept on him, running his hands along her back and sides gingerly or playing with his hands under the water.

A bell passed before Noah felt the need to wake her up, no longer wanting to sit in the slowly cooling bath. “Elann,” he whispered into her ear, “I need to wash up so we can get out.”

He waited to see if she would respond to just his voice in her ear. If not, he would nudge her gently, as if he was wanting to get up without committing to the action.

[snelss0]

Elann did stir as he nudged her. The strange surroundings made her look around in shock a bit as she had not expected to fall asleep. In the bell that had passed, she had come acclimated to the cooled water, but now that she slowly woke and pushed back from him, she noticed how cold it was.

"Why didn't you wake me up? The water is cold. Can we drain some of it and put more hot water in?"

[Illumin0sity]

“I didn’t want to,” he told her. He didn’t really feel how cold the water was to her and was partly surprised by her reaction. “I want to wash up first, then I’ll fill the bath again.”

With her pushing away from him, Noah’s hands were free to reach up onto the overhead shelf to grab a sponge. He dipped it into the pool of water around them and went about going over his skin with it. He was quiet in his action, clearly still thoughtful as he cleaned himself. When he was done he reached down to the depths of the tub and pulled the plug, starting it to drain. A quarter of it was drained before he plugged it up again, then sliding out of the tub, forsaking the steps in favor of his long legs. After the spout was extended again and the heated basin opened, the hot water flowed back into the tub. It was nearly filled again before the water stopped, the heated basin being empty entirely now.

Noah started to fill the heated water holder with cool water, making sure none of it would flow down into the tub by retracting the spout from the tub and closing it off entirely. With the heater water filled he went back towards the bath, the air in the room wicking away the water on his skin and giving him a distinct chill. There were goosebumps on his skin before he submerged himself in the now warm tub again. The quick contrast was more than welcome, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he settled back into the tub with Elann.

Noah sunk his head under the surface of the water, coming back to the surface and wiping off his face. The curls in his hair had been pulled out by the weight of the water and his strands lay atop his head smooth and lax, slowly springing back as his hair dried.

“Is that better?” he asked of her.

[snelss0]

While Noah didn't want to, Elann now was freezing cold on the innermost part of her body. It was only the subtle heat generated by her closeness to him and his normally warm body that would keep her from getting sick, though outwardly she showed signs already of light sniffling and holding her arms about herself as she hid in the depths of the cool waters; finding them infinitely warmer than the cold air outside the tub.

Fortunately, it didn't take him long to both drain the tub, and replace the water; but in the instance where the tub was down a fourth of its depth, she was nearly submerged to keep the cold from laying claim to her naked body. Though it would be unseen by normal eyes, perhaps Noah could see she was shivering as the normal body functions took over. Shortly, warm water began to pour into the tub and Elann seemed to come back to life, making all manner of moany-happy-humming sounds as she mixed the water and stopped shivering.

A dramatic sigh was given as if to say, "The cold is finally over!" and she rushed in the water to reclining to her husband and curl up completely against him. There she nuzzled his neck and lightly kissed it before laying her head back down on his shoulders. Her lower lip was bitten as she thought to herself and merely only gave him a nod in response.

Moments later, when finally warmed on the inside as well as the outside, she seemed to slip from him and favor feeling about his body, even in a wifely way merely out of curiosity. Though as if disinterested in having relations with him, she looked to him curiously.

"After we go shopping tomorrow, are we going to go view the inn?"

[Illumin0sity]

The nod was enough for Noah. He took it as a true affirmation of her being warm again, or at least comfortable. With her head laying on his shoulder, he closed his eyes and tried to slip away again. Not necessarily to escape the moment, but to regain any comfort he may have lost when he got out of the tub to fill it. The tub wasn’t as hot as it initially was at the start of their bath but it would do for him, so long as she was comfortable he was fine. Her discomfort would be communicated to him one way or another after all, be it vocally or through their bond. He had wanted to get out of the tub, having told her as much, though she may have been too sleep grogged to comprehend what he said as she woke up. It was fine, he was content with staying in the warm tub a little longer.

He thought she fell back asleep, his mind not looking into their bond to feel the buzz of her thoughtfulness. Elann proved him wrong though, pulling away from him slightly, though her hands remained on him, feeling out his body. He felt as if she was doing something he would do to her, satiating curiosity by feeling up their lover. As she did so, he cracked open his eyes and looked down at her, peering at her through a slitted gaze.

Upon her asking her question Noah straightened up, moving a hand up to push the hair off his forehead and up into a lazy, damp swoop.

“We can go up to the inn if you want,” he said, leaving it up to her in the end. “I was just going to wait to show you. Tomorrow, we should fill out the rest of the papers Aimee got. I’m sure she forgot about them, wanting to take her bath before us.” He smiled at that but it faded quickly as his mind seemingly transitioned.

“Are you comfortable in my brother’s room?” he asked. “Would you want to sleep in my old room instead?”

[snelss0]

Elann had heard him, but unless he wanted a Popsicle for a wife, and likely someone who would catch her death literally, he needed to be patient and let her warm her bones. It didn't take long at all, and by the time of their conversation, she was near ready to leave with him.

Despite her caresses, he seemed more occupied in what she said than feeling much in the way of emotions. Elann elected to stop and just focus on the conversation as well, nodding in response.

"I'm okay with whatever we want to do. I don't mind staying here until the party, but I just would like to have some idea of where we are headed. I am comfortable in your brother's room, but it's not our final destination. We shouldn't impose upon your parents, even if they want us to. Don't you kind of want our own place? A place where we could call our own?"

Elann rose slowly from the tub and squeezed her hair so that the majority of the water would leave it. It smelled nice, as did they both. Carefully Elann slowly stepped out of the tub with one leg and was met with a nice small slat rug that repelled water and kept her from slipping. However, what she wasn't used to was the slippery soapy bottom of the tub, and as she transferred weight, she nearly ended up cracking her skull on the tub by falling backward, however, at the last moment her foot gained some traction and she caught herself; doing a strange arm waving balance pose as she righted herself.

While it was funny and she knew it, it did scare her, so through her bond would be some humorous embarrassment as well as fear. If he was standing by then, she would step the rest of the way out and seek a hug from him for comfort as she whimpered with a pout, but if he wasn't, she would hold herself there as she dripped, looking about where she could safely move.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah was slowly coming to understand her lack of temperature regulation up here in a climate she wasn’t used to. He knew he probably wouldn’t survive in the deserts of Eyktol, both forms of his were built for the four seasons felt in the north to various degrees. Running hotter than humans as it were, he’d likely overheat without a constant supply of water. These were inferences he was making based off what he’d been educated about Eyktol.

He was a little let down when she withdrew her hands from him, the glimmer of the feeling being felt coming from his end of the bond. The feeling passed as she spoke up though, her words making quizzicality etch across his face. He raised his brow to her, expressing his innocent confusion caused by her choice words.

“I know it’s not our final destination,” he explained to her softly. “I was asking because I wanted to know where you would want to sleep for tonight and tomorrow night. I want to take you to the inn overmorrow. I do want our own place eventually.”

Noah wasn’t sure what made her ask that. They had established plans to buy or build their own home in Zeltiva already, plans he had agreed to and hadn’t changed his mind on despite their bickering and fights during the trip. His feelings on wanting his own space, a space with her, remained prevalent throughout and strongly so. Her questions didn’t irritate him, they simply took him off guard, hence the minorly defensive way in which he answered her questions, as if seeking to remind her of what they discussed lest she had forgotten or believed his mind had entirely changed.

As it were, he wasn’t allowed to dwell on thoughts. Noah didn’t rise with her, residing in the tub a second or more longer. He watched her start getting out of the tub. His gaze was intent enough to notice her leg buckle and her entire body shift slightly. The water seemingly thrashed as he nearly leapt to prevent her from falling and hurting herself. Her fright and brief panic threw him into quick action she may not have expected. He was standing fully with wide eyes as she recovered and got out the rest of the way. The burst of adrenaline in him died away slowly and brought forth the ache of disturbing his still vaguely recovering wounds. It was minimal in his opinion, simply causing him to rotate his shoulders before moving towards the back of the tub and coming down the steps he wished she would have taken.

Noah took her into the hug she sought after to quell her embarrassment. It was brief as he left her to grab the three towels she requested him to get an hour earlier. He unraveled one of them and threw it over his shoulder before extending the other one out for her to take. After she took the towel he doubled back and grabbed her nightgown, holding it out for her to take in exchange for the towel she was drying with.

[snelss0]

While the desert was scorching hot, up in the air where birds flew, there was some cooler temperatures; otherwise his mother would have likely died if she was anything like him. 120 or more degrees could demolish someone who was not used to it, and water was a rare thing.

"Donovan's room is fine," she stated in response to his defensive sofly spoken words. He obviously didn't understand that she was just trying to relate and remind him of their mutual feelings, feelings that were obviously more nagging in her mind than his. She wanted to get started in this life with him, but perhaps he just didn't understand the intent of her bringing it up again. Whatever the reason, she got her answer and didn't want to discuss it further.

Though the conversation ended, it didn't mean he wouldn't rescue her, and it was likely him who had saved her from falling. She had taken the proper exit from the tub, but just slipped on the interior's smooth edge. Fortunately he was there to comfort her and she burried her head on his wet body. The fear and embarrassment seemed to simmer down quite quickly, particularly because he didn't point out her slipping.

From there, she moved slightly, shifting to face the oncoming two towels for her, and watched as he took the one for himself. One towel was wrapped up quickly, binding her hair in a sort of turban, and the other went about the process of drying her skin and eventually handing it off as he came to take it. Wrapping her nightgown around her, she tied the solid fabric tight. She looked ready for bed, but in their bond she was wide awake and no longer sleepy looking.

As he dried off himself, she observed him and how he moved. There was minor desire for him in their bond as well as a much more significant amount of attraction, but curiosity was her main emotion. She always found how men did things differently than women interesting.

Feeling ready to go, she collected the dirty clothes and wet towels to wash the next day and held them to her body.

"Ready?"

[Illumin0sity]

The conversation was put to an end by Elann repeating her answer. Like her, he left it alone and comforted her from her embarrassment and making sure she didn’t have to risk falling again with her damp feet on the wooden floors of the bathroom. Noah stood close to her regardless though, waiting for her to take her nightgown before he grabbed the remaining towel and went about drying himself off. The fairness of his skin, while still apparent in comparison to hers, was hued by the orange candlelight flickering on the perimeter of the room. He bid the wetness from his glistening and clean skin with the towel before roughly rubbing the top of his head to dry his hair. Afterwards he tended to the frayed strands of hair with his fingers, giving them some order. He tied the towel around his waist in the end.

Though Elann was ready to go, Noah went back towards the tub and stuck his hand down into the depths to unplug the drain and let the water go on out in preparation for the next person that would take a bath. It would be Jocelyn, so he double checked the reservoir and the flame under it. Satisfied, he went about blowing out all but one candle, darkening the room considerably.

“Yeah,” he said quietly, holding the towel’s tucked corner with a hand.

Noah went towards the sliding doors, undoing the latch and then sliding them open and allowing Elann to step out first. He didn’t close the door, letting what steam and scents of their bath spill out into the main hall. The house was quiet at this point. The only light in the main hall was the ongoing and large hearth centered in the back of the house. The kitchen, too, was darkened, a dim light of the dying firelight from the kitchen’s oven being seen cast on the ground.

Next, Noah went to the hearth and grabbed a lantern that was sitting atop it. He went about lighting it to give them some form of guiding light. As they drifted to the stairs, the lantern in one of his hands, Noah made sure his towel was tucked adequately before extending the free hand for Elann to take as he would guide her up into the equally darkened upper floor. Upstairs, all the bedroom doors had been closed save for Donovan’s, of which candlelight still flickered, casting midnight shadows out into the hall.

In the room, Noah closed the door behind them quietly, shutting them into privacy. He set the lantern in a free spot on the dresser before undoing his towel and hanging it on the bedpost. He left it there for the time being, moving to the standing mirror in order to look at himself. He examined his face and hair, pulled on the corners of his eyes and smoothing out his brows, looking over all parts of his face and larger ears before standing straight and examining his entire front. He turned, looking over his shoulder to examine the scars he disliked, eventually being lost in the swirling of his god’s mark.

[snelss0]

They both went through preparations for returning to the bedroom, and despite he want for Noah's help in climbing the stairs, with the given light and her hands full of clothes and a towel, she instead kept to herself as she carefully traversed the dark steps. In no time she would be running up and down them with ease, but for the first day there, she was careful.

Quiet as a mouse, she shuffled into the room first and let him close it behind her. It felt good to be in the room by themselves and Elann set the clothes down on the top of their trunk for cleaning in the morning. She had a lot of laundry to do before they left for the markets and clothes shopping.

He had seemingly settled near the mirror and was evaluating himself. That brought a smile to her face as she took in his form in the candlelight. Being free, she moved over toward him where she came to his back near where his gnosis mark was. It was there in her eyes, she sought his attention.

"You look very handsome over here looking over yourself."

It was easy to see that Elann was infatuated with him physically, as he well knew. Her hands sought out his body once more, this time running over his back and smoothly down to his hips where she slid behind him completely to hug around his front. Her face lingered close to his back and she kissed him gently there. Wetness could still be felt on her cold face and her hands were freezing as normal, though there was a clammy warmth to her body as she pulled him in for a hug; perhaps due to the warmth of her nightgown.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah was focused on assessing himself. He could still see the sickness in his eyes, how his hair, though washed, was dull in comparison to it’s usual luster during the springtime. Elann hadn’t seen it often - if at all - but he would gaze at himself a lot, making sure things were in working order and up to par. Mirrors, though shiny, were valuable to him in that they allowed him to see himself and ‘preen’ without relying entirely on what he could see without a mirror’s reflection.

Since he wasn’t expecting her, when she touched him he tensed and jumped slightly in fright. Near instantly he settled back down as she spoke, her voice calming in the quiet room around them. Like her, he was glad to finally have a room to themselves, even if his family were just outside the stone walls and thick door. Elann could feel his already hot body under her chilled hands, and he liked the cool feel of her hands on his bare skin, it was like a refreshing and light massage.

Noah smiled at her words, finding small humor in them. She hugged and kissed him, wrapping her arms about his frame. He took her cold hands in his hot ones and looked at the both of them in the mirror’s reflection. He thought again on him commenting on how small she was, a difference in stature he could clearly see with her pressed directly up against his back. Some days it seemed like he towered over her, while others the difference didn’t seem that great. The reality of seeing it was enlightening.

“Do I?” he questioned in return, looking down at her hands in his. He grew thoughtful for a moment as he looked at them, grasping at them a little tighter in that instance. He was filled with warm remembrance as he thought on their winter in Syliras together. He looked at her through the mirror then. Inside, the warm feeling bloomed softly into his love for her. He rubbed her hand sweetly.

“Are you tired?” he asked, peering at her through the mirror, asking more to see if they would be staying up this night or not.

[snelss0]

Elann knew full well her husband's nature. Much like the eagle who picked at each feather to be in its proper place for the coming battle, so he seemed to look over himself in the same light as his false self. Her interruption was purposeful, as if stealing him back from the animal, and her gradual touch was met with shock. So intense was his gaze upon himself, he forsook all other things in the room.

On the outside, it seemed like Noah's skin was cool, but as they made contact, his body heat was clearly there. He wrapped his own hands in hers and flutterings of love filled their bond coming from her, though as he seemed to study upon what little of her he could see, she felt that love returned, not in response to her, but spawned from him.

"Mhmm!" she hummed happily toward him and kissed his back once more, her love for him growing increasingly as he rubbed her hands in the sweet way he did. This to her was romantic, and though she initiated it once again, he wasn't without participation in the event.

He questioned her on her intent and she shook her head, slowly straightening up to see over his shoulder into the mirror. The brilliancy of her eyes seemed like two jewels set upon his shoulders and then they seemed to fade as her eyes closed, coming to rest her head upon his skin in an animal-like fashion; like a cat marking its territory by rubbing her cheek along the length of his shoulder as she sought his hands to hold hers.

"No," she whispered into his shoulder, seemingly the only warm thing coming from her being the breath that danced there upon his marked skin. "I'm wide awake, you?"

[Illumin0sity]

It was true, he forsook other things surrounding him in the moment in order to gauge himself and his health. It was mightily important to and for him, something that was ingrained in him by living in a house full of others whose health and mood could be assessed with looks and smells by those who knew what they were looking for. Truthfully, he didn’t take kindly to being interrupted but that didn’t show here in the instance. Should it have been anyone else aside from Elann, he would’ve promptly ignored them or warned them against interrupting with a simple expressive look.

Elann said she wasn’t tired, asking the same question of him. Noah shrugged his shoulders. While he didn’t feel tired in the moment it was very possible he was just feeding off of Elann’s energy. The nap he took hadn’t been enough to restore him for hours on end. He was still getting over his illness, so it was also possible the bath gave him a small bump in mood that may or may not last. He knew he could fall asleep then and there if he wanted to, all he had to do was lie down on the bed and set his mind to it.

“I’ll stay up with you if you want,” he offered, still rubbing her hands for a moment more. In the next beat one of his hands crept up to release a breeze towards a stray candle, snuffing the flame and causing the corner to fall into darkness. The lantern and fully lit standing candelabra still gave the room plenty of warm light, so one dwindling candle being snuffed was little more than a dent.

The quiet love for her continued to reside within him, warming his core. It was fueled by their contact more so than anything else, a feeling in him that persisted so long as they held one another, regardless of conversation or not.

"Maybe I shouldn't have let you fall asleep in the bath," he said in a murmur teasingly.

[snelss0]

"You don't have to," she offered kindly. "You have been fighting that sickness after all."

Her eyes opened, shimmering once more as he murmured teasingly at her. A small chuckle came from her.

"I don't even remember falling asleep. I guess I was just very comfortable."

Elann retracted her hands from his front and gave his butt two light pats teasingly, purely because she was attracted to it.

"I am going to get under the blankets though. Was his bed comfortable when you laid on it earlier for a while?"

She had been on it, but not long enough to assess how comfortable it was.

[Illumin0sity]

Noah remained quiet against her words, considering if he wanted to sleep or not. Her chuckle brought his attention to her as she answered him. Nodding, he agreed that she may have been comfortable. The bath was something neither of them had for a while and chilled washes in the river on the way to Zeltiva were nothing in comparison to a tub full of steamy water. She pulled away from him patting his bottom, which drew a look of vague yet playful quizzicality from him as he gave her a side-eye, turning to view her as she left him for the bed.

“I’d say so,” Noah answered, turning to view his back in the mirror again, the swirling hurricane on his shoulder shimmering in its silvery and blue hues. He felt he could see it occasionally light up, glinting over like a brief flash of lightning, telling of the activeness of his god in all areas, presence or non.

Elann’s compliment to him resided with him continuously as he looked at himself. He resided near the mirror a few moments longer, completing his examination of himself, before rounding the bed to the side opposite of Elann and sliding under the blankets and then scooting towards Elann to lie close to her on his side, his hand snaking under the blanket to feel her. Noah was looking at her softly, taking in the way her body created mounds underneath the blankets and how her dark hair was apparent against the cool cream colored bed linens. His hand trailed up over her breasts to play with the soft skin of her clavicle, residing there in the meantime. In his heart was a piquing desire for her, though it remained soft yet able to be felt. It was encouraged by his residing love burning warmly for her.

Noah propped himself up onto his elbow and looked down at her, his hand trailing from her collarbone to her throat where he fluttered his fingers delicately on the vulnerable skin. He looked at her caringly.

“Before we got here,” he told her, “I planned to take you to the beach so we could watch the sun rise over the ocean. I figured that would be romantic, right?”

Noah made the plans weeks before their conversation in the tub, the one Elann brought up about him not being romantic enough. There was a great deal on his mind on how to mend things between him and his bondmate, her words and wishes hadn’t fallen on deaf ears, though it may have seemed like it.

[snelss0]

To her, the bath was a solid reminder of dipping in an oasis back home. Much like dipping in the rivers, body baths just didn't do much, but every once in a long while, when the women would gather to go retrieve water, they would get to dip and nearly submerge in the waters there. Syliras had the first bath she had taken, and even given the pain of gathering water there, it was one of few full baths she had taken. The flowing water and availability of the snow melt revealed that she could take a bath completely and without much regard for the water held in the basin. To her, taking a bath in Zeltiva was like a miracle. He hadn't realized, but the buzz of happiness in her since arriving was not only because of meeting his family and being off the road, but also because she knew she could have a bath. It was everything she had longed it to be, and now after it, she felt relaxed and at peace.

She played with him, only the smallest of sly grins displayed on her face as she walked away, though he would know better. She was proud to have swatted him. He finished his visual examination as he looked over himself. To her, it was like he was modeling for her in a way, though she knew that was far from the truth.

Having slipped underneath the covers, the Benshira was further enjoying the warmth of her semi-thick clothing and now the blankets as well. Time passed and he seemed to have finished. Like an eagle herself, her eyes never left him, darting to and fro over his body in like manner. While there was a great desire and passion connected to her attraction for him, it was not so overwhelming due to the fact she didn't want to get her hopes up again.

He slid under the blankets and a much more present smile came over her face as he came closer. She seemed to meditate on the feelings he had for her. Even if he would fail in his husbandly duties to her at times, emotion coming from him was like a temporary and life saving balm that would heal her heart. Her eyes closed at the gentle touch, and he would find that as his hand rose over her body, not just emotionally, but physically as well, she would react. Her body seemed to shift, or almost slowly squirm at his touch, although not in a negative or repulsive way, but rather in a responsive way. Her nightgown V-necked where the two sides of the cloth wrapped about her and it was there that he rest his hands.

His question, starting off seemed to diminish the emotions inside she was feeling; thinking he was about to ruin the mood that could have spawned between them. Instead, it seemed he was trying to see what was romantic, and smiling, Elann turned her head to face him and nodded.

"Yes. That is romantic."

Perhaps, she thought, he was going to understand and perceive what she said after all.