It was a good thing Elann didn’t take any of his dismissing or bluff calling as a bad thing. Noah presumed he knew her rather well, and wouldn’t have bonded himself to her if he believed she didn’t truly appreciate many parts of him. In the beginning of their relationship, as friends, it was the vibe he got from her, that she was beginning to appreciate and even admire him in some ways. It didn’t fluff his ego entirely, more so making it so he felt comfortable shedding layers of his facade in order to be with her in a truer state. Only recently did she seemingly lose sight of what she was in his eyes, now she seemed to be regaining that. 

He heard her tsk in annoyance, could detect it fluttering about in her being as he followed her shadow and then darkened frame to the bench where she lay back down. The game wasn’t entirely over, for he was aiming to pull on the strings of her desire for him. He was alright with pausing it though, for now.

“I love you,” he spoke into the darkness, just in case Elann may have doubted it in that moment.

He reached back down into the trunk, feeling around through clothes and trinkets for his small box at the bottom. Finding it, he pulled it up and set it on top of everything else.

“I want to pay Emery for healing me, like I paid Devi,” he said, seeking approval from Elann before he spent any of the gold. It felt like the right thing to do in his mind and it was only fair, Emery and Devi were services, physicians, and required payment for their aid. He didn’t recall them paying Emery for stitching Noah up and providing the painkilling herbs.