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Journey to the East

It was good to feel the emotions that had been hidden away from her for such a long time in her mind, but it also was good to feel things like hope returning to her husband's heart. It had never left hers as she had forgiven him of any wrong doings she felt he had done, them being based off her own will to press him to be something he wasn't. Even so, she would likely have forgiven him even if he had chosen to hate her or worse. She was a loving sort of person and let the emotion of love rule her life. It was that quality that Yahal saw pure in her and what he saw leading her to faithfulness. He would have made her his champion by now, but love is tested, faithfulness is tested, as is purity. Elann was in those trials now.

Far be it from Elann to be Yahal's warrior though, and it was why Zulrav's chosen Stormwarden was her mate. The two had been brought together by their own wills, but were seen good to at least Yahal who saw Noah as someone who would bring that fighting spirit out of Elann. His wild nature, something that Zulrav adored, was just the right tool to show her things of his world, such as hunting, swimming, and in a family full of predators, it was likely fighting would come as well.

Elann lazed with her husband and bondmate, pulling close to him. She nuzzled up into his chest and then upward to his neck to show her love before coming back down to lay at his side. She scrunched up a pillow under her and made sure he had some pillows too so as not to be injured or uncomfortable.

When they were settled, she would fall asleep up against his chest, her light breath warm despite the cold of her feet, legs, and hands; all of which naturally were pressed up against him and rapidly stole heat from him. As they lay, the wagon would hit bump after bump, divot after divot, but it only lulled her into a deeper sleep. Unlike Noah and many of the other people, she had not slept in until afternoon, but was up with the sun. For that reason, even if he were to rouse her, the most he would get from her was some unintelligible speech before she'd close her eyes again, and would actually be a little pissy if he tried repeatedly to wake her.

Journey to the East

"Nnn..." Elann whined as she burrowed into him, hiding her face from his playful cruelty. "You are going to give me nightmares," she joked, though in part it was probably true.

Elann fell under a spell of peace and comfort in his arms and it was evidenced not by the low rumblings that Noah gave, but by little moans of comfort through her nose. They were short little almost whimpers amidst her breathing and only would come out when the wagon bumped and let them sneak out.

Though he was warm, her feet were freezing like her warming hand, and as he pressed down a kiss onto her head, she almost didn't respond, taking a moment to rouse from the lulled state she had been put in.

"Hmm? Oh yeah."

She slowly rose, enjoying the ability to stretch her back from the curve of his arms and she flopped down into the bed much like she would hop up onto hers at home.

"Are you coming too?"

She beckoned him with her eyes of love, hoping he came to lay next to her. There was nothing that made her feel as empty and as cold as Noah having essentially ignored her the past week. This was therapeutic and she didn't want it to end.

Journey to the East

Elann was pretty oblivious when it came to nonverbal communication. She had to be in the mindset, such as earlier that morning where the two were taking cues from each other, but as she went about her day, she never would notice them. Upon him calling out her name, she was always more than willing to do whatever was wanted or needed though.

He licked his lips then as she wanted chickens and she squinted because it almost seemed like he thought it funny. Her squint faded almost immediately as he spoke about the beach. She perked up and nodded to him.

"I'm deathly afraid of water, so be very slow. Like...maybe learning to swim in a stream or puddle would be better to start out," she joked, bringing a smile to her face and brightening despite the dim light of the wagon.

"Mhm," she answered brightly with a soft smile on her own face as she was correct that he found something amusing out of it. It ended up being not that she was to keep chickens, but more that he wanted to eat them. She chuckled.

"Well, only if they are old or we have too many. I'd prefer we use them for the eggs, but if we raise the chicks and breed them on purpose, sure. Then you can eat some of them. I think I'll have a minimum number of chickens we can keep...adult chickens!" she specified with a smile to him just incase he was getting ideas, "...And then the rest you can eat or hunt or do whatever you want to do with. Just save me the feathers for my arrows."

She then hummed affectionately and pressed lightly into his chest with her cheek. Her cold hand came up to his jawline again and she sat, basking in the scent that made him him, that made her comfortable.

Journey to the East

Noah could be so sweet sometimes that it made all the other times where he was silent or tense with her seem like nothing. He nipped at the fingers of her hand, not drawing a smile from her yet, though he would notice a twinge of happiness in her. Also her fingers played threateningly with his mouth, tempting him to nip at them more, yet on her face she was silent still, adding to the playfulness by her feigning ignorance.

His continued playfulness at her sides made her squirm in his arms and she elicited a betraying giggle before biting her lips, as if trying to remain silent, but after he kissed her on the brow, she soothed from her thoughts and enjoyed the closeness of his squeeze. The tighter it came, the more she would feel comforted.

Like a little kid in his arms, she rest her head on his arm and looked up longingly to him as he asked her what else she wanted to do in Zeltiva.

"Is it possible to raise chickens? I wouldn't mind raising some chickens. Hmm...maybe go to the beach? If you fly Kites, I'm really good at fighting kites. If there is a river...ummm, maybe you can teach me to swim?"

Journey to the East

It was considered such a bad place to go in her culture, into the tent of a woman by the side of the road. They often would bring down households by their actions, getting pregnant and claiming legitimacy. It was crippling to see some men fall into that, and those who were married could even be stoned if caught, so likely they would give bribes to the women. It was just embarrassing, and to Elann, all that negative connotatively with it translated to the future problems one day she could have if Yahal ever made her a prophetess. Still, she had to do what was right by her husband and knew he would remain true.

She had been trusting of him the whole time, knowing he wouldn't betray her, knowing he wouldn't lie with another woman while there, but she was realizing at the point of their argument that she didn't really know him very well. She thought she did, but she knew the man she had made him into, not this man. So to hear him say he wouldn't was a comfort to her. He called her to his lap and willingly and readily she came to him, snuggling sideways in his lap and curling up so he could hold her there.

His words assured her and she nodded in response.

"I know. I didn't believe you would. I've just seen so much of how bad those places can be to families and I really really didn't want people to see us like that."

She would then go into about four different stories about how men would meet with women along the way and how they would take them into their tents, have fun with them, but then keep belongings of theirs and then when they got pregnant, they would claim a portion of the tribe to themselves and then would explain how everyone looked down upon that family after that.

"Granted I know it isn't the same, but I just didn't want people to think of us like that...I wanted them to think of us as the ones who enjoy the festivals and parades, not the brothels and seedy places. That's why I didn't want you to go, not because I didn't trust you. I just...I guess like you said, it doesn't matter what they think. Before Yahal, you and I are pure and faithful, and he knows that. That's all that matters to me."

"Does that make sense?" Elann lightly brought a hand up to cup his jaw as an endearing gesture.

Journey to the East

Age wasn't important in Elann's culture so much as it was for a man to be able to provide for his family. Noah and her both worked, but even if she didn't, he could likely find a way to support them. Elann didn't know exactly how old he was, but she knew from his mother how old he likely was. It was strange to her at first finding out, but by that time she had already come to love her bondmate.

Come to the picture, Elann's ease away went noticed as her mind was more focused on her thoughts then emotions. His voice pierced them and she hummed acknowledging his question. She was in fact like when she had heard of her father disowning her, but to a much lesser degree. She finished her thoughts and said something that probably would surprise him.

"I have been thinking since our conversation on the brothel..." her fingers played nervously over the bedding as she lay her head down into it. "I shouldn't worry about what others think. I think my rush to judgement was to preserve the sanctity of our bond and marriage in others eyes as well as my own, but I trust you. Even seeing that you were there, remembering the intimate details of that woman there as if she were me, I don't think you would betray us in mind or in action. I don't want to restrict you from having fun, and I do wish you could do it some other place, but I don't see any reason you can't go with your friends if you want. Just...please don't sleep with any of those women and don't get too drunk so that you can't have restraint."

Journey to the East

From the sounds of things Noah had shared with his sister his ability to draw, and as he went through the pages, she would make him slow down so she could see even the partial pictures. It wasn't that she loved him and that was why she enjoyed the picture, but much like the farm, it was something she had never much experienced in the desert. She lingered on his knee, eyes evaluating each turning page as he went along until he got to Aimee's portrait.

The quiet look on her face dissipated and was replaced by a bounding smile as Elann shifted in excitement where she set. She didn't have words for how good it was, but as she looked up into his eyes and sent love through their bond, he could tell she was fascinated by it. He explained the image, showing how just from memory he was able to draw it with such fine detail.

"Very impressive," she stated, "She looks so much younger there. Still gorgeous."

He began flipping more and she once again slowed him down. At the woman lying naked on the couch, she was not expecting to see it, and immediately her mind began to race. He had been there, seen her in her nakedness and had drawn her that way. Elann didn't understand it as art and instead figured it much as how he had seen her, as someone or something interesting to draw. He flipped through the rest of the pages and commented that he was appreciative of her enjoying it, and she nodded in response. She backed away from his knees finally and lay back down.

With a closing of her eyes, she just had to think. She knew Noah was not the type to think lustfully after the woman, but why did she lay there naked before him. He had sex with her on their wedding night and hadn't seemed entirely lost in the act- had Noah been with another woman before? She didn't know, but did it really matter?He was with her now. Since the excitedness faded slightly after the portait of the naked woman, he could deduce she had seen something unappealing in it, but her bond was quiet of the emotions that would usually come from jealousy or anger. Instead, she was thinking and just laying there in silence. She eventually imagined it was something she didn't understand and she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

Journey to the East

Elann knew her excitement probably frightened the bird, but she was being herself. He wanted her to be the way she was, not some reserved caged bird, and so when she saw the drawing, she naturally reacted. Elann was like a chipmunk, wild and fast at times, but mostly just active. She talked constantly, was rarely ever sitting when Noah was, and almost always had something going on. Even her previous laying there and being peaceful lasted maybe a few minutes before she had completely attached herself to him.

She was not a chipmunk, not his prey though. The Benshira had an otherworldly peace to her that she could slide into as well as a deep passion for things. She was not flighty like the creature of the trees, she stood to fight those who fought her without crippling fear. Noah had seen her attack and kill multiple bandits that night and she didn't seem half as affected by it as she was by seeing the families who had lost people.

A nod was given showing she remembered, and remembered she did. She wanted him all the more to take up art, but she had said her peace and he would do what he wanted. The last thing she wanted to do now was make him feel like he had to do art. She -loved- the way he felt inspired to do it just now and if she could have him do all his art that way, it would make her very happy.

Noah may have braced for her advances, but they didn't come. She was content there at his knees, clinging to them gently and having already kissed them a few times, she now just lingered there, staring at the picture.

"Of course I do! It's beautiful. Does your sister know you can draw like this? Goodness!" She was reserved, but excited. Her natural instinct was to pounce him like a wildcat and kiss him repeatedly, clinging to his shoulders, but Noah wasn't that type of man, and she was learning to love him in a way that appealed to him so both could mutually share their affection. She figured perhaps that was what Caesarion had against her. He must have shared some form of loving that Noah responded to that she just had not given him. Her finger played at the paper's edge, not smearing the drawing any, but like him exploring her, she incorporated touch into the feelings, showing her enjoyment of it.

Journey to the East

The lumbering wagon train carried on through the day, and each bump and divot had come to be so familiar to them that neither the artist nor his subject seemed to pay any mind to them. Everyone had settled into the mood that this was life, a bumpy divoting existence, and where at first people complained, now it was just all faded out. Elann's only movement was the small shifts in the wagon, but then she would slide right back into where she was mindlessly.

The wagon train was loud, but she didn't hear it as she thought to herself. Chimes ticked by, and not even Noah's altering from the charcoal scratching to the use of his thumb drew Elann's attention. While her eyes were set upon him in a steady hum of love, they were focused elsewhere, likely into the canvas behind him, but she didn't know. Her eyes were set on things in her mind, processing thought, and there she remained until he shifted in his completion.

It seemed he evaluated the picture, taking multiple small glimpses to her. Elann's eyes focused more on him and a very subtle look of anticipation grew on her face. Patiently she waited to see the hand or her eyes he drew, but was surprised when it was actually her, laying there, on the bed of rugs. An intense focus came upon her eyes in shock at it as she hopped up onto her knees.

"A on Laouru," she said as a joke as she sat up to view it closer, her hands on her knees like a little kid begging for a treat. She brilliantly looked up to him with a huge smile and said, "You are fantastic! I thought you might be good, but not this good!"

She lovingly clung to his knees with her hands and kissed him there repeatedly more than a few times. In her happiness, she wanted to push him to do more, but she also didn't want him to feel pressured like she had done before.

"What made you think to draw me?"

Journey to the East

Noah hadn't bothered much trying to understand or get to know Yahal like Elann tried to for Zulrav. He didn't even follow Zulrav really, he just was aligned with him in a way that it pleased his God and therefore Noah liked him. Noah liked anyone who liked him as long as they weren't annoying or bugged him in some other way, Elann noticed.

"Yeah," she said bluntly with a chuckle as she held her hurt ribs, "That's because you almost made me pass out because I couldn't breathe!" She laughed a little, showing it was all in fun.

Since Elann had gotten dressed, she now wore a white dress with a ribbon across the center. Embroidery lined the bottom edge of the dress in various floral patterns and her shoulders while clothed with the strap and portion that hung over, the part beside the band that held up the dress was see through and lace. It showed off her shoulders with a hint of modesty and the back of the dress lined her upper shoulders. It was a shorter make, one he had seen before and on she called a Zeltivan dress, and she wasn't far off. It rest above her knees and was very springy like her.

Her beautiful green-blue orbs followed him closely as she began to recover from his tickling. She watched as he dug around and finally retrieved his journal. From all perspectives she could see, he was drawing her. There was a flood of warmth and love in her heart because it either meant he desired to draw her because he was bored, or because he thought she looked worthy to draw. She naturally went with the latter, always desiring that he saw beauty in her aside from his fascinations. She wanted to feel as though he was attracted to her, but wasn't sure there was anything there as he began to draw. She searched his bond, but that morning, she knew he still didn't look upon her that way.

She remained staring up at him, not moving an inch as she lay comfortably on the rug, and would remain that way until he was finished, not saying anything to him at all. As she lay there, she was deep in thought, thinking of him, their home-to-be, how their family would one day grow. It all led to her face having a sort of thoughtful beauty to it, but for all she knew, he was drawing her hand. She however would not pose unless asked, and tried to remain as natural as she once was; almost disregarding his presence for the duration.