Noah nodded to Elann, finding a small joy that she enjoyed herself in the time away from him. He was jealous of her having felt the breezes of his deity. It was a jealousy that didn’t turn to envy, just resided in the want to be outside of the wagon as both of them had wished it. He almost wished he had told her he didn’t want to go hunting with her but he couldn’t have done that. It would’ve probably dampened their relationship all the more and he wouldn’t allow himself to let her go off into the wilds alone, especially since he didn’t know these parts as well as he knew the area directly around Syliras.

He took another bite out of his bread as she leaned on the bench. He looked to the hand her head rested in then shot his gaze to meet hers as she asked her questions. “What the cook makes is fine,” he told her, still wanting to be around her for a while longer.

The distance he wanted was bittersweet it seemed. The distance allowed him to reside in his quietness, but also made him yearn for the closeness of his bondmate physically without drawing over the now immensely fragile lines he once had. He longed for her to understand that silence and quiet living wasn’t a curse upon their relationship. His quietness wasn’t a way to say he didn’t love her, didn’t want her around. Him being around her, he thought, was enough to communicate that he was so exceptionally comfortable with her to stay in the same cramped establishments day in and out. Apparently it was not though, and she didn’t respect the quietness, perhaps thinking it was a slight to the relationship and her character.

He didn’t dare broach the subject, not wanting to come remotely close to another argument he wouldn’t be able to bear, keep up, or contend with. As it were now, he had resolved himself to her image and was simply trying to keep her satisfied as to not endanger the recovering bond anymore. 

With that in mind, he set his drink off to the side and held his bread with his teeth, raising both hands to her to signify that she was allowed to come into his lap. Noah understood she enjoyed the affectionate feelings translated through their physical closeness, and so he opened himself physically to her despite his own feelings; he was comfortable with her being beside him and that was all. If he sought her physical affection, should he have not been injured, then he would’ve went to her. As it were, she had to come to him and he had to give the signal that it was alright, reading her in knowing that it was probably what she wanted.