Walking with his arm around Elann brought him a certain warmth as well. It wasn’t physical, but mental and emotional. Noah was perfectly content walking in the moodless breezes with his bondmate at his side, arm draped around her to form some sort of physical connection. The touch, alongside with being outside the wagon, was freshening up his mind where it had once been bogged down because of the puzzling gems. He was becoming feather-light and wondrously minded once more, the birds singing above helping him realize that he was somewhere he loved being: in the forest. Having his bondmate out there with him in a place he loved was all the more comforting.

Noah looked down at Elann as she spoke, questioning him about his communication with the birds. He nodded at the first question, confirming it.

“All birds,” he said. “When I first moved to Syliras I met a Parrot Kelvic. Her name was Altaira. She was the bondmate of another Benshira, Oriah. We talked as birds before we talked as people.”

She asked him what they said, to which hummed in thought. Translating the simple tweets, whistles, and calls could be tricky sometimes. 

“They were talking about the caravan,” he finally said. “They don’t see people often, so when they do it’s exciting. It’s why they’re following the caravan. Haven’t you noticed?”

“They’re curious, and I told them about you because they wondered why I was walking with you like this. I said it was because you were my person. Basically saying that I’m walking with you like this because you’re special to me,” he expressed, looking back up into the overhead branches.

“Some of them are smarter than others, like people,” he joked. “Ravens and crows, they are smart. Owls, falcons, and hawks are smart too. These birds are a little stupid, but they’re funny too. They’re like… the fool equivalent of people, because some fool people are funny. They’re like that.”

He kind of smiled, liking that he was able to talk about this part of his life. Comparing people to the different species of birds had helped him understand some people better. Living in Syliras was kind of dulling in that regard because there wasn’t a large variety of birds, and the birds that were there weren’t as lively as they ones outside of the castle city. It seemed the grey walls drug everything down with them, depressing not only the people but the animals who were caught in there by either accident or time. Out here, like him, they were wild, happy, and free; it showed.

“How is your sewing project going?” he asked.

Noah reached his other hand over to Elann, brushing the hair on the side of her face behind her ear so that he could see her better. While they hadn’t been talking much throughout the trip in the last few days since their last fight, he had been paying close attention to her, quietly watching as she put herself through the movements of stitching and weaving.