Noah flexed his lips in a smile when Elann looked at him after her explanation. Like Aimee, Noah thought the entire thing bizarre but had information on the dangers Elann once faced in Eyktol, being told as much by her.

“That’s so... pessimistic,”  Aimee said. “I would think, even in the desert, birthdays would be looked upon with happiness. It could mean you’ve survived another year in one of the harshest places imaginable. You survived twenty years in the desert, it’s amazing, even if you didn’t do it alone!”

Noah calmed down Elann’s excitement. She looked away from him and back to Aimee, where the wolf met her gaze before she revealed she forgot Noah’s birthday that year. Aimee’s jaw was slightly ajar at the revealment, she wondered if Noah was hurt by his birthday not being remembered, but seeing as Noah hadn’t been celebrating for the past three years and how long Elann went without celebrating one, it probably just seemed like commonplace in their household. Then again, Noah urged her to celebrate her birthday yet didn’t urge for his own, the wolf was confused.

“I thought you’d remember,” Noah quietly said, causing Elann to turn back to him, saying she didn’t mean to forget. Apologizing, she sought forgiveness for her lapse in memory.

Noah looked at Elann with consideration in his eyes. He was hurt she didn’t remember, hoping she’d urge him to celebrate his birthday like he did hers, it obviously was a big deal to him, or at least he thought that was clear enough. He licked his lips before they parted.

“Worry not,” he forgave in Fratava. “I’ll have more birthdays, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. Besides,” he went, shrugging, “it’s not until the end of the year, like I said.”

Noah patted her hands with his a few times softly to denote that he wasn’t harboring any ill feelings towards her, though his face was placid. He hoped she wouldn’t forget his birthday again or any other important dates to him.